Beast Wars: 

Amnesty
By: Michael

Chapter 3

"You guys aren't going anywhere without me," stated Blackarachnia firmly, "Silverbolt is out there somewhat being held by those two miswired maintenance 'bots and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get him back!"

Dinobot stared at her in amusement. Clearly, this was not the same black widow spider he remembered from their last battle where she had tried to fool him by shooting the fuzor with her machine guns and then, pretending to want an alliance with Dinobot to take over the Ark.

"Well, Rattrap," said Cheetor, "I think we all know the call, what do you want us to do?"

"Okay... Cheetor and I are gonna go search for Rhinox and Waspinator while Depthcharge and Blackarachnia go in search
of Silverbolt. Dinobot, stay put here. We'll radio you for backup," said Rattrap after coming to a firm decision.

Cheetor and Rattrap walked down the streets of Cybertron. They noticed that most of the citizens regarded them with a mixture of awe and fear.

"Hey, RT," asked Cheetor, "I don't get what's with these 'bots. When they look at us, they look like they've seen a ghost or something. What's wrong?"

"Kiddo, it's our transmetal armor," explained Rattrap, "They ain't use ta seeing 'bots like us. They think I'm weird lookin' enough but with you... Hoo boy! You look like somethin' that came straight out of a B-horror movie!"

"THE END TIMES ARE UPON US, MY FRIENDS!" a voice rang out.

Cheetor and Rattrap turned aside and saw an old rusted 'bot whose optics were practically non-functional. In other words, he was blind as a bat.

"There will come a day when fire will fill the skies and all who have forsaken the ways of Primus will burn in the darkest depths of the Inferno! The day of reckoning is nearly upon us, my friends! One day soon, the Chaos Bringer will descend upon Cybertron and other worlds! He and his fallen angels will destroy Cybertron and there will be a time when great darkness will ensue!" the old blind 'bot raved on.

"This guy needs some serious upgrades in his circuitry," whispered Cheetor to Rattrap.

Suddenly, as if he sensed Rattrap and Cheetor, the old, self-proclaimed prophet turned to them.

"And you!" he cried in sudden fear, "You two are Pit-spawns from the same place that spews out unholy legions of Predacons! I sense the unnatural perversions that your stench gives off! In our final hour of judgement, Primus himself shall smite you and all your kind!"

"Normally I'd be tempted to shoot 'dis clown but given our circumstances, I think it's best that we get outta here before we attract any unwanted attention," whispered Rattrap to Cheetor.

The two of them walked away as the old 'bot continued raving and screaming obscenities.

As Blackarachnia and Depthcharge walked down to the alley where she and Silverbolt were ambushed, Blackarachnia noticed that the whole time Depthcharge had said nothing to her. No words of comfort, no telling her how close they were on Silverbolt's tracks, not even a simple gesture that 
acknowledged she was there. Blackarachnia finally decided to break the silence.

"So, are we making any progress?"

A low "Hmph!" sound was heard from Depthcharge.

"What's crawled its way up his exhaust pipe?!" wondered Blackarachnia, totally caught off guard by the Manta Ray's abrupt rudeness.

"Look, Depthcharge," she said again with as much patience as she could muster, "In case you haven't noticed, we're partners on this and I would appreciate it if you would acknowledge my presence. But then again, this isn't even about me. What I'd really appreciate is if you would at least tell me how close we are on Silverbolt's trail."

He continued to ignore her.

"Right now, I think Rattrap would be much more pleasant to be around with than you," she muttered.

They crossed over into the alley where Obsidian and Quickstrike ambushed them.

Depthcharge took out his cybershark gun, which also happened to be a scanner. He scoured the alley, presumably searching for leads on Silverbolt.

"Cheetor said that he was blinded by Obsidian and couldn't see which direction that helicopter drone took Silverbolt off to. I was also out at the time. Are you listening?" she asked angrily.

Depthcharge still did not answer. He laid his scanner down.

"Silverbolt could be out there being tortured or Primus knows what?!  And you're this complacent?" yelled Blackarachnia.

"ANSWER ME!" she screamed angrily and shoved the larger Maximal.

Before she knew it, she was thrown against the wall, HARD.

"You listen to me, WIDOW!" growled Depthcharge, "It's bad enough I have to search for your brain-dead boyfriend but having an eight-legged freak like you tagging along really takes the cake! So you will either shut up or I will blow your slaggin' head off!"

"And what exactly is your problem, Fish-face?!?" she yelled back, "Silverbolt and I have done nothing to you. As far as I can remember, I hardly even talked to you during the Beast Wars. My chief concern right now is Silverbolt but you can at least TELL ME what it is that's crawled so far up your exhaust pipe that you see me on the same level that you see Rampage!"

"Take a good look at yourself, spider!" snorted Depthcharge disgustedly.

"And what about me?" she asked, "I'm a Transmetal 2 female Maximal. What's your point?"

"You do remember how you got this way, don't you?"

"Yeah, I used the Transmetal II Driver to...." she paused after saying that. Suddenly, she realized the reason for Depthcharge's hostility towards her. He knew that she had stolen the Driver from him after he had tried to throw it into the lava. Besides, her new form was already a dead give-away. She was willing to bet that after he found out, any trust he ever had in her, which was probably very little, dissolved.

Blackarachnia lowered her head, feeling new emotions that she had experienced only after her Predacon programming was deleted from her. She felt guilt and remorse.

"Finally figured it out, eh?" grunted Depthcharge, "I wanted to destroy that device for a reason. Back then, I thought it had cost Cheetor his life just to prevent it from falling into the hands of a crazed tyrant who craved more power. I didn't want that driver, along with Megatron's ambitions, to take any more innocent lives. But guess what I found out a few months later, huh?"

He gestured towards her.

"I found out you stole the TMII Driver I originally thought I destroyed and you used it to gain more power just like a certain Predacon general would have," said Depthcharge with more fury in his voice, "Is it any wonder why I hate you?  To me, you're no better than scum like Megatron."

After saying that, he turned his back on her to resume his work.

Blackarachnia's lips quivered. She fought back the water in her eyes. She looked at Depthcharge and then back at herself. As much as she hated to admit it, the Manta Ray was correct.

"I... won't deny what you said," she finally spoke, "I also don't blame you for not trusting me anymore, if you ever did in the first place."

Depthcharge's back was still facing her but Blackarachnia could tell that he was listening.

"But after all my Predacon programming was deleted and filled with nothing but love for Silverbolt, I came to terms with what I was in the past. And trust me, I no longer want to be who I was back then. I look back at all the times now and I can truly see how much pain and suffering I've caused. To be honest, I am no longer the conniving Predacon I use to be. You think it's easy living with all the lies, the treachery, the deception, and the evil that use to be in my life? I no longer wish to be the 'bot you hate so much right now. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for what I've done to you. But
all I beg you to do now is to trust me," finished Blackarachnia.

She suddenly realized that it was the first time she had ever apologized for anything since coming out of her protoform.

Depthcharge tensed. She noticed that he had found something.

"I've found Silverbolt's trail," he said, "We'll talk about this later."

She noticed the change of tone in his voice. He was still slightly upset at her but she could tell that he was at least willing to trust her right now and to talk it over with her later.

Rattrap and Cheetor continued their search for the missing Rhinox and Waspinator.

"Man!" said Rattrap, "Our scanners ain't picking up nothing from big green or bug-eyes! Where could they have vanished to?"

"Umm, right there?" pointed out Cheetor.

Surely enough, Rhinox and Waspinator lay there on the street. They had somehow been dumped there. A crowd had already gathered around their unconscious bodies. "Comin' through!" echoed Rattrap as he and Cheetor pushed their way through the crowds, "These are our friends. We
can help 'em!"

Cheetor tended to Waspinator while Rattrap got to Rhinox.

Rhinox's optics opened and blinked a few times.

"Ohh man... how did we end up there?" he asked.

"Well, eh, Cheetor and I were lookin' for you and we happened to find ya here, big guy!" replied Rattrap.

"Ambush... by Strika.... knocked unconscious.... underground laboratory..." Rhinox managed to say before falling into stasis lock once more.

"Oh, man!" said Rattrap, "This ain't good!"

"Rattrap, I think we'd better get them to a safe place before any of our questions can be answered!" called Cheetor to Rattrap.

"You're right, pussycat! Let's get 'em home first!"

Depthcharge flew through the air with Blackarachnia on his back.

"We're almost there," he said, "It's on the rooftop of that giant building over there."

As soon as they landed, they were greeted rather warmly.

"Greetings! I was expecting you to come, Blackarachnia!" mocked Obsidian.

"You're mine!" she screamed as she leaped off Depthcharge's back and flipped through the air where Obsidian stood.

"NO! You don't know what you're getting into yet!" yelled Depthcharge towards the black widow.

"Damn spider.." he cursed under his breath and transformed into robot mode.

Blackarachnia didn't waste any time as she kicked Obsidian across the head several times and wrapped her webbing around his neck, spinning him around several times before smashing him into the floor. Obsidian got up slowly but Blackarachnia was in front of him in a nano-klik. She immediately punched him down and lifted him up by grabbing his neck. She squeezed with all her might.

"You're going to talk NOW!" she yelled, "Where's SILVERBOLT?!?!?"

Obsidian managed to raise his arm and point to the ground Blackarachnia was standing on.

Without warning, the floor she stood on was smashed open as Strika burst out and uppercutted Blackarachnia. Before Blackarachnia could fly into the air, Strika grabbed both her feet and slammed her body down hard.

"I knew this was a trap," cursed Depthcharge who ran forward to help the black widow.

A stray shot burst out and grazed him across the arm.

"I don't think so," said Obsidian who opened fire on Depthcharge. Depthcharge had to use his wings to shield himself as he forced his way towards Obsidian through the rapid fire. Strika continued pummeling Blackarachnia.

Strika finally lifted Blackarachnia up and slammed the back of the ex-Predacon down on her knees, snapping Blackarachnia's spine. Blackarachnia coughed up mech fluid briefly before going into stasis lock.

"Nooo!" cried Depthcharge as he witnessed Blackarachnia being taken out by Strika. Obsidian stopped firing.

"What's wrong, manta ray?" inquired Obsidian, "We've been monitoring you and the spider the whole time with your heated conversations. I thought you'd be happy we did this!"

Depthcharge backhanded Obsidian aside. Taking out his gun calmly, he blasted Strika away from Blackarachnia before she could do any further damage to her. He walked towards her and picked up her body.

He looked at her with a brief flash of sadness in his eyes. "We may still have our differences to sort out but right now," he said, "Rest here. I'll make sure Silverbolt comes back to you alive."

He laid her body down gently and turned around to face Obsidian and Strika who were sneering at him. There was an ice cold look in his eyes.

Two figures stood on top of another building, watching the scene that had taken place between the Beast Warriors and the two Maximal generals.

"This is quite amusing," said Senator Nero.

Maximus Primal merely nodded.

"Everything is going according to plan so far," said the Maximal politician, "Maximus, I believe in a few moments, your chance will come to engage Depthcharge."

"Absolutely, master," replied the dark Maximal, "I will show him no mercy."

"Not in this case, Maximus," said the senator, "I will require Depthcharge alive.... for now. Just make sure that you do not kill him. Bring him to me after you are through for questioning."

With that, the Maximal senator walked off.

Maximus Primal continued watching the ensuing scene.

Obsidian and Strika were engaging in a staredown with Depthcharge.

"Your time has come, Depthcharge," sneered Obsidian, "Anything you wish to say?"

Depthcharge smirked. "I say give it your best shot," he retorted.

Obsidian transformed into his helicopter mode while Depthcharge transformed into vehicle mode. The two of them flew towards each other firing. They finally clashed but Depthcharge transformed back to robot mode and forced Obsidian down, holding him in a position as to where he could no longer go back to robot mode. They crashed down on the roof top with a sickening thud, Obsidian feeling it full force, with Depthcharge on top of him.

Depthcharge got up and aimed his gun at Obsidian, blasting him off the side of the building coolly and calmly.

Strika attacked Depthcharge with a roar.

She aimed straight for his face and punched but he caught her hand. He squeezed it hard until Strika screamed with pain. Depthcharge quickly kicked out, his heel connecting with her jaw, knocking her back several feet.

Strika got up again and roared with anger. She quickly transformed into tank mode and blasted several shots at him. He quickly blocked the blasts with his wings.

Depthcharge, remembering what he did during his battles with Rampage, took out his spear. Aiming carefully, he threw it straight into the barrel of her cannon just a nano-klik before she could fire. The explosive backlash knocked her down, rendering her helpless on the ground.

Depthcharge walked towards her. "Now to get some answers," he said. Several missiles rained down upon him.

"What the slag?" cried Depthcharge.

A sleek, black jet above him landed. "Maximize!" it yelled.

Standing before Depthcharge was the face of Maximus Primal.

"I knew you and those accursed Elders would be behind this," hissed Depthcharge.

Maximus Primal took out his sword.

"Security Captain, Depthcharge! You have been charged with high treason! You will come with me for questioning immediately!" boomed Maximus, "You have been found guilty of conspiracy against Cybertron!"

"Cut the slag, Primal!" replied Depthcharge, "I know the real reason you're here. You want to silence all the survivors of the Beast Wars and since I'm the one with the information on Protoform X that could cause a planet-wide scandal, you're here to do me in first."

Maximus Primal stared at Depthcharge long and hard. Finally, he started laughing.

"You're correct, Security Chief," Maximus Primal said, "And my superiors require you for questioning."

"And who are your superiors, Primal?" growled Depthcharge, "The High Council?"

"Not quite," said Maximus, "But I've told you enough!" He pointed his sword at Depthcharge.

"I've prepared for this," said Depthcharge quietly. He unsheathed his own blade, concealed under his wings.

With a battle cry in the air, both opponents launched themselves at each other.

Back at Rattrap's apartment, Rhinox and Waspinator had recovered after a CR bath.

"And then, big female tank-bot attack us!" buzzed Waspinator.

"Why, though?" pondered Rhinox aloud. Rattrap had scanned Rhinox and Waspinator earlier. There was nothing unusual about them. No change in chemical mech fluid activity and nothing implemented in their heads. Their sparks also appeared to be unharmed. Physically, they were okay right now.

"If my rodent instincts are servin' me right, they wanna silence us all for some reason!" declared Rattrap.

"What makes you say that?" asked Rhinox.

"Well, for one thing, it takes a rat to notice other rats. Did you see that look in the Senator's eyes? He's definitely up to no good!" said Rattrap.

A loud scream exploded in another room. The three rushed forth to that room.

They saw Cheetor suddenly awake. He was taking a nap earlier.

"Cheetor, what's wrong?" asked Rhinox.

"It's Depthcharge. He's in trouble!" said Cheetor.


To be continued...