Beast Wars: 

Amnesty
By: Michael

Chapter 2


That night, the entire gang stayed at Rattrap's apartment, discussing what had happened that day.

"So, uh... what's wit' this Senator?" asked Rattrap.

"From what we can figure, he just pardoned us without any questions asked about anything, even about the Beast Wars," said Rhinox.

"I'm wondering who this guy who looks so much like Bigbot is," said Cheetor, "There's no way he can resemble Optimus so closely!"

"Maybe 'dis guy's a clone?" wondered Rattrap loudly.

"That's possible," said Rhinox, "But the Maximals Elders put into place the Replica Act, 50 stellar cycles ago, banning the cloning of Transformer circuitry."

"The very act of cloning goes against every moral standard I believe in!" declared Silverbolt.

Dinobot growled and gave Silverbolt a nasty glare. Silverbolt saw the glare and immediately shut his mouth before he could elaborate any further.

"If my memories of the first Dinobot serve me correctly, Senator Nero is notoriously corrupt and knows how to play upon the prejudices of Maximals in order to further disenfranchise Predacons. There have even been rumors that he has connections to the Tripredacus Council and how he has struck several shady and illegal deals with them to further his own agenda," said the Transmetal 2 raptor, "He is immensely popular with the Maximals of Cybertron for his hard-line stance on issues dealing with Predacons. He is, however, despised by my people!"

"Yeeesss! His laws force Waspinator to join Megatron for hopes of better future for Predacons," chimed Waspinator.

Nobody in the room blamed the two Predacons for hating the senator.

"I shoulda slagged the guy when I had the chance!" snarled Depthcharge, who was still upset.

"Depthcharge, you did the right thing by holding back. Fighting this guy is not like fighting Megatron or Rampage. We can't just go against him with all guns blazing. He has the backing of most of Cybertron's population and the support of the entire High Council as well as the military," said Rhinox.

Depthcharge stared at the floor glumly without saying a word but everyone could tell he was still seething.

In a large complex near the official building of the High Council, sat Senator Nero in a chair, sipping on an energon margarita and contemplating thoughtfully.

He soon heard the doorbell ring.

"Come in!" he said cheerfully.

Obsidian entered, followed by Strika and Maximus Primal.

"You sent for us, master?" asked Obsidian.

"I did," said Nero, "I have very special assignments assigned for the three of you."

"Your wish is our command!" declared Strika, who bowed along with Obsidian and Maximus.

"Obsidian, Strika... I will need you two to steal the locking chips of at least three of the Maximal crew who arrived back from the Beast Wars. However you accomplish it is of no concern to me. All I need are those locking chips, which compose part of their circuitry as well as blueprints to their sparks. Now I give you my leave to depart," said the Maximal Senator.

Obsidian and Strika bowed before leaving.

Senator Nero turned to Maximus Primal who still remained. After a long moment of silence, the tall, dark Maximal finally spoke.

"Yes, master..." he said in a deep voice.

"I have a special assignment for you, Maximus.." declared Nero, "Depthcharge still remains a threat. If he is allowed to reveal Protoform X to the populace, he may ruin my plans. I want him brought in, alive. Whether or not I decide to eliminate him will be decided later. For now, he must be silenced and brought in."

"Of course, master.." replied Maximus, "But what of the crew of the Axalon? Shall I hunt them down and eliminate them in the future?"

"They are not a foreseeable threat right now," said Nero, "I only wish you to deal with the rogue Maximal Depthcharge for now."

"Soon, very soon, Cybertron will be under your control, master," bowed Maximus.

"I gladly anticipate it too, my dear Maximus. You have my leave to go."

Maximus Primal bowed once more and left.

Senator Nero closed the door and walked towards a giant screen. He turned it on to the face of a shadowy figure who looked at Nero in the eyes.

"Is everything going according to plan, Nero?" asked the figure who was hidden by shadows.

"Of course, once we have obtained the locking chips and blueprints of some of the Maximals, my plans will bear fruit!" declared Nero.

"Very well, but just remember to keep your end of the bargain or you will no longer have our backing," said the hidden figure.

"Fear not, the citizens of Cybertron care more about abstract 'moral' issues such as preventing Predacons from having any equal rights than their own livelihoods and economic well-being," responded Nero, "Leading them on with prejudice and ignorance will be no problem."

"Very well," said the voice. The screen turned off and Nero laughed quietly to himself.

"My friends, it is time that my beloved and I departed," said Silverbolt, "We do not wish to burden you financially with our presence in your quarters."

"Where ya gonna go, birddog?" asked Rattrap.

"My beloved and I have not seen much of Cybertron. Tonight is the night to explore this home that we have never known. We shall rent a hotel for tonight and as for the days following, we shall figure out what to do with our lives from there on," replied the fuzor.

Rattrap snickered at the hotel comment and Blackarachnia glared at Rattrap. The couple left after saying their goodbyes.

"I've gotta go too," said Rhinox, "Waspinator, you can come stay with me until we get you settled back to life on Cybertron."

"Oooh, Waspinator look forward to new life," he buzzed and went with Rhinox.

"Depthcharge, you can come to my place to chill out for a while," said Cheetor.

Depthcharge grunted but finally conceded.

After they left, Rattrap turned to Dinobot.

"Well, it's just you and me now, Dinoboob! I guess you'll be staying with me for a while. Not to offend ya or anything but a large weird-looking Transformer with Transmetal 2 armor and slashing claws is kinda gonna scare people, ya know what I mean?" asked Rattrap, "I gotta get you used to life on Cybertron which is why tonight, I am gonna take you to this little place downtown where you and I's gonna get loaded up on some energon fluids, mixed with Potassium. Oh boy, it's gonna knock yer head off!"

"Pardon me, Vermin! But alcoholic beverages do not befit me---urk!" he cried out as Rattrap grabbed him and led him out the door.

"Targets acquired," said the small diagnostic drone who floated towards the top of the building Obsidian and Strika stood on.

"Excellent!" declared Obsidian, "I shall track the fuzor and his mate. Who have you decided to go after, Strika?"

"We don't know yet about the properties of these so-called Transmetals. I've decided to go after the Predacon and that Maximal scientist instead of Depthcharge and the cat," replied Strika.

"Agreed then!" said Obsidian, "With your great strength, those two organics should be no match for you, my dear."

"How about you, Obsidian? How shall you deal with the couple?" inquired Strika.

"Oh, let's just say I have acquired some help," laughed Obsidian as Quickstrike stepped out of the shadows.

"And so... I turned to Silverbolt and said, 'Find any new positions?'... HAhahaha!" snorted Rattrap. Dinobot sat next to him and laughed as well. The two of them were reasonably drunk from all the energon mixers they had.

"Ya know Dinobutt, I never thought you'd be this great ta hang around with!" said Rattrap. The two of them laughed even further. Suddenly, their good moods and moment was ended by a voice.

"Hey you! Yeah, we talkin' ta you, ya ugly maintenance 'bots!" said a voice.

Rattrap and Dinobot turned around to see three Maximals, two medium sized and the one in the middle, a giant.

"We don't want no stinkin' Preds hanging out in our turf!" said the largest 'bot, "Normally, I'd ask you to leave but this time, we's gonna have a little fun wit' you! We ain't never seen such a strange Pred before. Now we gets to test him out, right boys?" he laughed. They moved in on Rattrap and Dinobot.

Rattrap got up and stared the leader right in the eyes. "You and yer goons had betta leave 'dis place before me and my pal decide to get rough on ya!" he stated.

"Oh yeah, shorty? You're really askin' for it now!" growled the giant robot as he backhanded Rattrap into a table.

Dinobot growled and leaped to his feet, ready to defend Rattrap but one of the medium-sized 'bots smashed him from behind with a chair. The other kneed Dinobot in the stomach and both of them held him still as the giant 'bot walked towards Dinobot.

"I dunno what you are, stranger! But I sure as the Pit won't let you walk outta here alive!" he yelled and began punching and pummeling Dinobot. The three of them lifted Dinobot up and slammed him down upon a table, breaking it. The giant 'bot lifted Dinobot up again and punched him hard in the gut. Revealing how he had a wrist-mounted missile, the giant Maximal fired into Dinobot's stomach, sending the Transmetal 2 into the wall, destroying nearly the entire thing.

"Now for you, shorty!" declares the big Maximal as he lifts Rattrap by the neck.

"Hey! You're gonna pay for all this damage!" yells the bartender.

One of the big Maximal's thugs punches him aside. "Stay outta the way, old geezer!" he cries. None of them realize the purple glow emanating from the rubble where Dinobot was blasted into.

"Now for you, shorty!" declares the giant Maximal who's about to pummel Rattrap with all he has.

A furious mechanical roar is heard from behind them. They all turn around to see Dinobot leap out of the rubble, fully healed thanks to his Transmetal 2 powers.

"What the pit!" cries the large Maximal who drops Rattrap. Rattrap wastes no time and knees one of the goons in the groin, taking him down. The other rushes Rattrap but Rattrap quickly stepsided it and smashes him in the back of the head with an energon bottle.

"I dunno what you are, freak! But I'll make you beg for mercy after I'm through with you!" cries the big powerful Maximal as he rushes Dinobot. He throws a punch which would've smashed through a wall only to have it caught in mid-air by Dinobot.

"I don't think so!" declares Dinobot as he crushes the hand completely, forcing the giant Maximal on his knees in pain.

"Aaaahhhhhh!!!" cries the large Maximal but Dinobot only lifts him up and uppercuts him into several tables. He manages to get up but Dinobot would have none of that as he runs towards the Maximal equivalent of white trash and unleashes several powerful punches on the large 'bot. Grabbing him by the neck, Dinobot throws the giant Maximal right through a wall. The two other goons run towards Dinobot, drawing their 
blasters in the process. Quicker than lightning, Dinobot blasts the guns out of their hands. Rattrap quickly spun one of the low-lifes around and punched him out. Dinobot flew towards the other one and sliced his head off neatly with one claw.

"Well, that takes care of 'dat!" declares Rattrap.

"I thank you two from the bottom of my spark!" exclaims the bartender, "Those three have been tormenting me and my customers for several months! Get out of here, quickly! I will tell the authorities that they have had a little too much to drink and did this to the place as well as to themselves. They authorities will take my word over any of theirs. Thank you, my friends!"

"Well, this is our cue to exit," declares Rattrap. Dinobot nods in agreement and the two of them disappeared into the night.

-----------------------------------------------

There were many stars in the night. Silverbolt and Blackarachnia walked down the streets of Cybertron hand in hand.

"I never want this to end, my beloved," said Silverbolt.

"It never will, Jojo," replied Blackarachnia, "Now that we're back, we have a chance to start over. We can make a new life
for ourselves. Maybe someday, the two of us will pass on our happiness to another generation." She winked at a blushing Silverbolt.

They looked at each other in the eyes for a brief nano-klik which seemed like an eternity to them. Finally, leaning towards each other, the couple kissed their first deep, heartfelt kiss since the end of the Beast Wars.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang out from the alley.

"What was that?" cried Blackarachnia.

"I do not know, beloved, but it sounds as if an unfortunate spark is in need of help," declared Silverbolt.

"Possibly from muggers," said Blackarachnia, "Some parts of Cybertron are full of them."

The two of them rushed towards the alley. Peering inside, they saw nothing.

"Who was that?!?!" wondered Blackarachnia aloud, "It came from this alley. He sounded as if he'd seen the ghost of Unicron!"

"I'm not sure, beloved... but be prepared for whatever may come--AAAAHHHHH!!!" Silverbolt screamed as an electrical cable wrapped around his body, sending massive shocks through his superstructure. Blackarachnia looked up and saw Obsidian with the gun.

Before she could do anything, a powerful surge of cybervenom struck her from behind. She screamed in agony as another powerful blast of cybervenom ripped into her. She was soon forced down by the cybervenom. Turning her head in pain, she saw the one responsible for attacking her.

"Quickstrike!" she growled.

"You got it, sugarbot!" he cried, "How's about you leave ol' fur n' feathers for a real 'bot!" With that, he blasted her again with another surge of cybervenom. She screamed in agony but soon realized that she was losing her strength.

She reached out with her hand in desperation. "Silverbolt...." she managed to moan weakly before coughing out mech fluid.

"BELOVED!" cried Silverbolt who, through a huge surge of willpower, tore the cable off and flew towards Quickstrike, intent on killing the other fuzor. Before he could reach him however, Silverbolt was blasted from behind by Obsidian several times. Quickstrike kicked Blackarachnia's body aside and used his laser to blasted Silverbolt in the chest-plate while Obsidian blasted him from behind. Soon, after a few agonizing moments, 
Silverbolt was down.

"Silverbolt... nooo..." moaned Blackarachnia. Quickstrike walked over to her and used his cobra hand to bite into her wrist.

"Special paralysis chemicals, sugarbot," he told Blackarachnia, "You'll be out for the count now, darlin'!"

Blackarachnia felt her entire body being immobilized. She had a bad feeling as to why Quickstrike injected this chemical into her.

"Quickstrike, my friend, thank you for your assistance," said Obsidian.

"Mah' pleasure, pal! You got what you wanted and now, Ah's gonna get what Ah've been wanting ever since the Beast Wars!" He looked down at Blackarachnia with an unreadable, yet undeniably wild and savage look on his face.

"Yes, well, you go on right ahead and have your fun, "said Obsidian, "It's time for me to get down to work..."

Opening his chest plate, he took out several items which resembled surgical tools.

Blackarachnia's eyes darted towards Quickstrike as the fuzor advanced upon  her slowly and menacingly.....

Rhinox and Waspinator walked down the streets with rows of Cybertronian apartments.

"So Waspinator," began Rhinox, "What was your life like before you entered the Beast Wars?"

"Oooh, Waspinator was low-ranking Predacon in slums of Cybertron," buzzed the wasp, "Could escape danger because Waspinator was one of few Predacon fliers in the ghetto. Managed to keep alive for several stellar cycles until one day, Waspinator heard news from friend Terrorsaur of opportunity to escape life in slums and fight for glory!"

"Wait a cycle, you knew Terrorsaur before the Beast Wars?" asked Rhinox.

"Yes, Waspinator good friends with Terrorsaur. Was saddened after Terrorsaur died in lava pit," replied Waspinator.

Rhinox had never known how close Waspinator and Terrorsaur were. The whole time, he only considered the Predacon pteranodon to be nothing more than a nuisance. He hadn't really stopped to think that Terrorsaur may have had friends or family like any other sentient being. "But war does that to people," he thought, "It de-humanizes the other side and becomes a battle where only one ideology can emerge victorious in the end."

"I'm sorry," he said to Waspinator, "Go on, please."

"Soon, Waspinator signed up aboard crew of Darkside. Megatron promised us fame, glory, and eventual conquest of Cybertron! Soon, after war begin, Waspinator discover that no glory or fame come his way. Other Predacons even look down upon Waspinator," he went on.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet crumbled. Without warning, the two of them fell down to the sewer systems of Cybertron.

"What happened?" exclaimed Rhinox, "Those streets we were walking on aren't deteriorating or anything. How'd this happen?!?"

"Waspinator not know but Waspinator will fly up and get help!" buzzed Waspinator. As he flew up, a missile flew out of the darkness and nailed Waspinator to a wall.

"What the-!!!" cried Rhinox.

From out of the darkness stepped a familiar figure.

"Strika!" yelled Rhinox.

"That's right, big guy!" she said, "I'm here for you and the bug."

"If it's me you want, then you've got it! Just leave him out of this!"  Rhinox looked at the fallen Waspinator.

"I'm afraid that won't do! My prime directive right now is to take the both of you down!" she declared. With that, she immediately transformed into tank mode and went straight for the Maximal scientist.

Rhinox quickly leaped out of the way as the giant tank missed him narrowly. He then took out both his chain guns and fired at her. Several of his bullets bounced off her powerful armor.

Strika transformed into robot mode and leaped through the air in front of Rhinox. She knocked both guns out of his hands. Rhinox, however, responded just as quickly and punched Strika across the face, knocking her to the floor.

"You... just hit a girl!" screamed Strika.

"I...." Rhinox said. He lowered his fists and hesitated. Strika took advantage of his confusion and punched him down.

"Fool! I didn't become one of Cybertron's greatest general by being a dainty little femme-bot! You should have known that by now!" yelled Strika. She lifted Rhinox up and threw him against a wall.

Rhinox got up slowly. He saw Strika running towards him with one arm raised, intent on finishing him off with a final blow. Strika threw that punch but Rhinox stepsided it, grabbed her arm, and threw her several feet.

Strika landed on her back. Screaming in anger, she charged Rhinox again.  This time, Rhinox step-sided her and tripped her with his foot. She landed on her chin.

"Despite what most 'bots think of me, I'm not just all brawns," explained Rhinox. Strika roared in anger and leaped into the air, intent on crushing Rhinox with both her feet. She missed as Rhinox tumbled aside but the entire sewage system shook with the power of her body impacting on the concrete. Rhinox noticed how Strika was allowing her anger to cloud her judgement as he blocked several of her punches. Finally, Rhinox 
cupped both of his fists together and swung, knocking Strika into a wall. She moaned in pain and fell to the floor, not getting up.

Rhinox quickly ran up to Waspinator and tried to wake him.

"Waspinator, are you alright?" he asked. However, the ex-Predacon was out cold.

"Well, that's just great," sighed Rhinox as he lifted Waspinator up, "Now to find a way out of here..."

After taking a few steps, a powerful surge of electricity coursed through his entire body. Screaming in pain, he dropped Waspinator and fell on his knees.

"Hahaha! Did you really think I could be defeated so easily?" laughed Strika as she held the gun from whence the electrical cable came from. She sent another powerful jolt through his body. With much effort, Rhinox pulled the cable off of his body and slowly got up. Before he could do anything, a powerful punch sent him staggering back. Strika was soon on him, hitting him with her full strength. Finally, she lifted Rhinox up by his neck and kneed him in his solar plexus with all she had. She stopped for a minute and after deciding that Rhinox was out, she threw his body down.

"My mission is complete. Now all I have to do is take you two to a place less conspicuous." Strika lifted the bodies of Waspinator and Rhinox up and took them down to deeper, darker corridors of the sewers.

Quickstrike looked down at Blackarachnia's fallen form.

"Now it's just you and me, darlin'!" he cried in excitement. Suddenly, a furious mechanical roar was heard from the air.

Looking up, Quickstrike saw Cheetor flying towards him at full speed. Cheetor rammed into Quickstrike, knocking him into a wall.

"Don't even think about it, ugly!" he yelled.

Obsidian took notice of the unwanted company.

"NO! My work isn't complete yet!" he cried.

Quickstrike got up but Cheetor wouldn't give him the chance to fight back or escape. Roaring furiously, the Transmetal 2 slashed Quickstrike across the face viciously, leaving three claw marks. Quickstrike howled in agony but another slash across the across the chest put him into stasis lock. Cheetor then turned his attention towards Obsidian.

"Alright, 'copter back! Why did you attack our friends?" demanded Cheetor.

"That's not for you to know, cat!" growled Obsidian. A visor suddenly appeared over Obsidian's eyes.

"I have no time to deal with you, fool!" he said.

"I don't think so," snarled Cheetor as he flew towards the Maximal general. Obsidian quickly took out a small round object and threw it into the air. It exploded in an enormous flash of light, blinding Cheetor.

"Yaaahhh! I can't see!" screamed Cheetor who covered his eyes in pain.

"Blast him!" cursed Obsidian, "I must now finish my work elsewhere."

With that, he grabbed Silverbolt's limp body and flew off to destinations unknown.

It was a while before Cheetor regained his sights. Looking down, he saw Blackarachnia's unconscious body.

"Oh man... this isn't good!" exclaimed Cheetor, "I gotta get her to somewhere safe!"

"Cheetor to all units, Blackarachnia's been injured and Silverbolt's been kidnapped! Obsidian and Quickstrike were behind the whole thing. Requesting help now!" he said to his com-link.

Later that night at Rattrap's apartment, Rattrap, Cheetor, Dinobot, and Depthcharge met. Blackarachnia was inside a small CR tub.

"Hey, uh.. I haven't heard from big green yet!" said Rattrap worriedly, "Same with Waspinator! Whaddya suppose happened to them?"

"Yeah, Rhinox and Waspinator didn't even send me a message back!" thought Cheetor aloud.

"Perhaps an ambush?" mused Dinobot.

Depthcharge looked down at Cheetor. "You said that Obsidian and Quickstrike were behind Silverbolt's abduction, right?" he asked.

"Positive," said Cheetor, "Obsidian was also standing over Silverbolt with what looked like surgical tools!"

"What models were they?" Depthcharge asked again.

"I believe one of them was a NA991 scalpel," replied Cheetor.

"By Primus.... if Obsidian's doing what I think he's doing..." Depthcharge's voice dropped low.

"Whaddya gettin' at, fishface?" Rattrap asked.

"You realize that the NA991 model, aside from being used to operate on a 'bot's fuel pumps and mech fluid, is meant to extract samples off a Transformer's spark without destroying it?" Depthcharge asked the group.

None of the others knew what it was until now. Rhinox was probably the only one with any knowledge of what the model could do beforehand and he wasn't here right now.

"We have to go find him NOW before it's too late!" said Depthcharge, "Come on!" He gestured to everyone to follow him.

"WAIT!" a voice rang out.

Everyone turned around to see Blackarachnia.

"Silverbolt's out there somewhere and I'm going to find him so don't any of you DARE thinking of running off on this without me!" she said angrily.



To be continued....