Beast Wars: 

Amnesty
By: Michael

Chapter 5


The Maximals stood their ground and surveyed the five "Vehicons" surrounding them.

"Seven of us and five of them," said Rhinox, "We've been through worse."

"Yeah," echoed Cheetor, "If we can fight off Preds after being blinded by an energon explosion, these dumpster 'bots shouldn't be much."

With a roar, the tank-drone named Tankorr attacked first. Cheetor and Dinobot braced themselves ready to take down the giant robot but Tankorr rammed into the two of them, knocking them aside as if they were bowling pins. Thrust and Jetstorm entered the fray as well, scattering the Maximals. Silverbolt flew into the air to engage the one who called himself Jetstorm.

"Whoever you are, sir, I do not wish to fight you," said Silverbolt, trying not to use force unless absolutely necessary.

"Aww, how cute," remarked Jetstorm, "But let's see if Lassie can play dead!"

Jetstorm transformed into his vehicle mode, which was, needless to say, a jet. He blasted towards Silverbolt at top speeds. Silverbolt quickly flew out of the way and blasted at Jetstorm with several of his feather missiles. Jetstorm rolled through the air, executing several impressive aerial moves to avoid the missiles.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Thrust transformed into a motorcycle and charged Blackarachnia, who flipped through the air and landed on Thrust's back. Thrust abruptly hit the brakes and threw Blackarachnia off of him, then transformed back into robot mode. He aimed carefully and fired several shots at her. She avoided the shots and fired back with a dart filled with cybervenom. Thrust quickly caught the dart just a few inches from his face.

"Nice shot, babe," he commented, "Try harder and maybe next time, you'll get a free ride."

Most male 'bots making sly innuendos towards Blackarachnia were generally not looked upon very kindly. Thrust was no exception. Blackarachnia only got angrier and attacked Thrust with several kicks and punches which the small Vehicon blocked with relative easy.

Meanwhile, Tankorr was having the time of his life. He swatted Waspinator aside and engaged Rhinox eagerly.

"So, you're the mighty Rhinox, eh?" taunted Tankorr as he threw a punch which Rhinox narrowly avoided.

"Your voice..." cried a bewildered Rhinox. It was the precise voice of him  when he had been turned to a Predacon by Megatron.

Tankorr took advantage of Rhinox's confusion and punched him down.

"Yeah!" said Tankorr, "What about it, sport?!"

He stomped his foot down on Rhinox's chest but Rhinox was not done. He managed to lift up Tankorr's foot just enough to kick out and sweep his other foot, knocking the giant tank-drone down.

Cheetor and Dinobot managed to get up from being knocked down by Tankorr.

"Oww," said Cheetor, "I wouldn't care to go through that again!"

"Cheetor," said Dinobot, "Our Transmetal II bodies allow us certain otherworldly senses. Do you sense what I detect on the top of this building?"

Cheetor paused for a second. "Yeah," he said, "As a matter of fact, I do. It's a familiar presence alright."

"I will go handle it," growled Dinobot, "He may be the source of our problems!" Dinobot transformed into beast mode and ran off to confront whatever it was on top of the building. Cheetor was left with Rattrap to confront Obsidian and Strika.

"So, Ratface," joked Cheetor, "You wanna take the big dumb one or should I do it?"

Strika roared in anger at the remark and fired at them. Cheetor avoided all the shots swiftly and rammed into Obsidian.

Strika was ready to pry Cheetor off but she was shot a few times from behind. Turning around, she faced Rattrap.

"Stand aside, little mouse!" she rumbled. Raising her fists, she smashed them down, hoping to crush Rattrap. Rattrap avoided the blow and transformed into vehicle mode, racing in circles around Strika. Soon, Strika became dizzy, trying to keep up with Rattrap's movements and Rattrap, seizing the moment, stiffened his tail and tripped Strika. She landed hard on her chin.

"Ain't it a fact 'dat the big dumb ones always go down easy?" he remarked. 
When he turned around, a blur of blue and yellow was upon him. Quickstrike quickly pinned him down.

"Looks like Ah' caught myself a big one," gloated the fuzor. Rattrap cursed himself for allowing Quickstrike to get the drop on him. Once you were caught off guard by Quickstrike, you didn't get much of a chance to get back up.

Rattrap tried to get his feet under to kick Quickstrike off but the the cobra/scorpion hybrid used both his claws to hold Rattrap's hands down. The Cobra tail hissed venomously and bit down on Rattrap's neck, injecting him with a large dose of cyber-venom. Rattrap screamed in pain. His systems started shorting out and soon, darkness closed in on his vision.

Meanwhile, Rhinox was being overpowered by Tankorr. "I gotta hand it to you, though," said Tankorr, as he was forcing Rhinox down, "Without your circuitry, I wouldn't be here today. Thanks a lot, bro.. or should I call you dad?"

"Who are you?" cried a bewildered Rhinox. "Where would the fun be if I told you that," asked Tankorr who shoved Rhinox back.

Silverbolt was faring little better in his fierce aerial battle against Jetstorm. The blue Vehicon was superior in speed and flight. He had a hard time following Jetstorm's movements.

Meanwhile, Blackarachnia and Thrust continued their melee on the ground. Blackarachnia lashed out at Thrust with a spin kick which he ducked. He swung at her only to have her block it with her arm. Blackarachnia's claws, a reminder of her Transmetal II state, popped out and she slashed Thrust across the chest. He backed off, surprised. Thrust glared at Blackarachnia and through the blaster on his arm, a blade popped out. He slashed back at her only to have her block the slash with the two claws on her hands. The two of them continued their fierce battle.

In the air, Jetstorm transformed back into robot mode and held his hands up towards Silverbolt. Silverbolt, confused by the weird gesture, halted his attacks. Immediately, a powerful blast of air erupted from the Vehicon General's hands and struck Silverbolt, pushing him back. Jetstorm then created a whirlwind that sucked Silverbolt up and swung him around and around. Soon, the whirlwind disappeared and Jetstorm was on Silverbolt 
in an instant, punching him into the side of the dome. Jetstorm then raised one hand and powerful gusts of wind  surrounded it, creating a ball of air. Aiming carefully, Jetstorm blasted it towards Silverbolt, striking the fuzor mid-air and knocking him to the ground.

Before Silverbolt struck the ground, confusion was written all over his face. Jetstorm was not that much bigger than he was. There was no engine that powerful enough to generate such wind, especially in a 'bot the size of Jetstorm.

"Not only am I the master of the air," bragged Jetstorm, "I have control over the element of wind. Don't ask me how I got this nifty little power, I don't even know how."

Silverbolt struck the ground and was knocked out instantly. Blackarachnia noticed, temporarily distracting her from her opponent.

"Silverbolt!" she cried, but before she could do anything, Thrust used his blade to stab Blackarachnia from behind. She screamed in pain as Thrust dug his blade deeper into her. He then pulled out, leaving a trail of mech fluid on the floor.

"Shouldn't turn your back on me, miss," said Thrust. He then punched her across the face and sent her reeling to the ground.

Rhinox, fed up with being thrown around by Tankorr, retaliated. He cupped both his hands together and swung, smashing Tankorr across the chin. He then beat Tankorr back, punching him left and right. But Tankorr was no pushover. He slammed his head into Rhinox's, causing the Maximal scientist to see stars. Tankorr and Rhinox both balled their hands up and punched, fists colliding and causing a massive shockwave that echoed 
across the dome. However, when it was done, Rhinox noticed how his hand was broken and that Tankorr's was barely scratched.

"Nice shot, sport!" mocked Tankorr, who backhanded Rhinox into the side of the dome. "I'm stronger, smarter, and superior to you in every way," he continued. He aimed his mega-cannon at Rhinox and fired. A blue beam of light burst forth and struck Rhinox on the chest, just as he managed to get back up. The beam struck Rhinox and engulfed him completely in a wall of blue energy. Soon, after it was done, Rhinox was frozen in ice.

"Gee, I was kinda hoping to blow him into itty' bitty pieces," said Tankorr disappointedly, "Oh well, this will just have to do!"

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The Transmetal II Dinobot climbed to the top of the dome at last. It was no small feat but thanks to his razor-sharp claws that could rip into steel, Dinobot scaled his way to the top.

He saw nothing at the top, although he felt the haunting presence. "Come out, whatever you are," he growled, "I detect your stench."

He heard the sweeping of wings behind him. Turning around, Dinobot stared straight into a monstrosity of fangs, wings, and an unnatural Transmetal aura.

"By the Pit!" cried Dinobot who even trembled with fear, "What are you?!?"

Whatever it was, it stood several feet higher than Dinobot. It was about the size of Optimus Primal when he combined his spark with hisi ancestor's. It had a wingspan that was even larger than Megatron's and it had the head of a lion, with both organic and cybernetic properties fused together to create a monstrous amalgram. Its eyes glowed red as it spoke.

"Transmetal 2 Dinobot... clone of the original Dinobot, one of the mightiest warriors on Cybertron..." it rumbled, "It seems that you are not like your predecessor in some ways."

"Who or what are you?" demanded Dinobot.

"We have more in common than you can imagine!" growled the lion-like creature. Dinobot flexed his claws. How on Cybertron did this creature know that he was clone to the original Dinobot?

"Go on, attack me," taunted the creature, "You know it is inevitable. I hold the secrets to everything that has happened to you and your friends since your landing on Cybertron. Defeat me in battle and all the answers will be revealed."

Dinobot knew right there and then that he had no choice. Echoing a ferocious mechanical roar, he leaped into the air and slashed down at the creature with all his might. He was caught easily and thrown aside however. He leaped back to his feet and blasted at the creature with a shot from his cybernetic eye. The creature stood still and allowed himself to be struck full force. After the smoke cleared, the monster was still there, unscathed.

Dinobot could not believe it. Even his half-brother Rampage couldn't withstand such a blast without sustaining some damage. The creature was in front of Dinobot in a nano-klik. Apparently, it could teleport itself over short distances Dinobot assumed. Smiling unnaturally, the creature used one of his wings to whack Dinobot aside. Dinobot got back up and as he did, the creature grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up, choking him. Dinobot saw his chance as the monstrous thing lifted him closer to its face. Seizing the moment, Dinobot slashed out viciously, ripping open the lion
creature's throat with his extended claw. His brief nano-klik of triumph turned into fear as a red glow surrounded the wound and healed it immediately.

"Not bad," it growled. Dinobot roared in pain as the creature grabbed Dinobot by the hand and snapped his claw off without much effort.

"Let that be a warning to you," the creature roared, "Join me and share in the glory of Cybertron's future or perish along with all who oppose my will!" With that, it leaped into the air and flew off into the distance.

Dinobot could hardly believe what he had seen as he held his wounded hand. This thing, whatever it was, spelled certain doom. He got back up, even though his knees were shaking.

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Cheetor, in the meantime, was the only Maximal who managed to hold his own in the fierce battle. He dodged several of Obsidian's rapid-fire ammunition and ran forward, kicking the Maximal General down.

"Why are you doing this?" Cheetor asked.

"The answer is simple, cat!" remarked Obsidian, "To defend Cybertron!"

"You realize you don't make any sense," yelled Cheetor who had to dodge more of Obsidian's deadly bullets, "You attack your own citizens for some obscure ideology of 'defending Cybertron?'"

"It's an issue of national security!" retorted Obsidian, "We don't have to tell you anything!"

At some point, Cheetor realized that nearly all his teammates had been taken down by the Vehicons and that he was left on his own, surrounded completely by these new robots.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" mocked Jetstorm.

"Time for some of mah' homegrown, deep-fried dish of revenge!" hollered Quickstrike. They advanced on Cheetor.

"Oh man, why me?" wondered Cheetor.

Several shots rang out and struck some of the Vehicons, Quickstrike was knocked down. The Vehicons turned around to face a wounded Rattrap and Waspinator firing at them.

Rattrap was on the ground, his body still convulsing from the cybervenom. 
"Cheetor..." he managed to cough, "Get outta here!" He continued firing.

Most of the Vehicons turned their attention to the rat and the wasp. "I can't leave you!" cried Cheetor towards Rattrap and Waspinator.

"Hey, don't worry about us! You still need to find and save Depthcharge! Now run!" yelled Rattrap.

"I don't think so! I--" said Cheetor, who suddenly paused.

<<Cheetor! Get out of there right now!>> he heard a voice yell.

Before he could move, he was struck from behind the neck and knocked out.  Transmetal II Dinobot stepped out from behind him and picked Cheetor up.

"Forgive me," he said, "But this is a battle we cannot win..."

He bounded off with Cheetor on his back.

Meanwhile, Rattrap and Waspinator noticed that their shots were having little to no effect on the Vehicons. Some like Thrust and Jetstorm moved too fast to hit. Others, like Tankorr and Strika, laughed off the blasts.

Thrust took careful aim and blasted off one of Waspinator's wings, forcing the ex-Predacon to fall to the floor. Jetstorm shot a huge gust of wind at Rattrap, picking him up and slamming him against the wall. Thrust took aim again and shot four accurate blasts, crippling Rattrap's arms and legs. Rattrap fell to the ground wounded, and unable to reach his weapon.

Waspinator got back up and grazed Jetstorm across the face with a stinger missile.

"Vehi-bots will leave Waspinator's friends alone!" yelled Waspinator. He continued firing.

"That little INSECT!" roared Jetstorm, "He dares to wrinkle my face!"

Before Jetstorm could blast Waspinator, Thrust got in front of Jetstorm.

"No, he's mine!" declared Thrust. "Who do you think you are, Pinky?" demanded Jetstorm, "No bug is going to catch me off guard like that and LIVE to tell about it!"

"BACK OFF, JETSTORM!" roared Obsidian, "It is time we see what your brother is capable of."

Jetstorm still had a look of anger on his face but decided not to say anything more as Obsidian entered the fray.

"Thrust, OVERDRIVE!" he yelled and transformed into his motorcycle mode. He raced towards Waspinator at top speeds and knocked him back several feet.

He transformed back and looked up at the opening of the dome, sunlight pouring in. He raised his head and his arms up high and allowed the rays to bask onto him. Soon, his body glowed with an yellow flair of energy.

Waspinator got back up slowly and painfully, noticing that Thrust was practically radiating with energy from the sun.

Thrust extended one of his hands towards Waspinator. Waspinator took aim at Thrust as well. Thrust concentrated all the solar energy he had collected into the cannon of his arm. With a roar, he blasted a powerful yellow beam of energy that struck Waspinator head-on, blasting him into the side of the dome, causing a huge explosion that destroyed a quarter of the dome.

Tankorr and Jetstorm stared at Thrust, with their jaws agape, while Obsidian and Strika looked on proudly.

"Solar energy," thought Obsidian, "Thrust is capable of gathering tremendous amounts of power from absorbing the rays of the sun. And with that power, he is capable of dispersing powerful blasts of solar energy. Although he is the most diminutive of the Vehicons, he contains the most power. But how can such a little robot have an engine powerful enough for such a task? Some secrets Maximus just chooses to keep to himself, I suppose."

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Depthcharge stared at the cell he was in. He was tied down in energy bonds but at least his whole body had healed from last night's beating thanks to a dip in a nearby CR tank.

"Once I get my hands on Primal, I'm gonna make sure he gets worse than an energon shard through the spark," said Depthcharge to himself.

Still, he had to figure out a way out of this place. If anything, it would have to be by tonight before Maximus could come back to unleash even more punishments on him. It was not just Maximus, Depthcharge seriously wanted to scrap but Senator Nero as well.

Depthcharge suddenly felt a sharp prick to the side of his hand, which was bound behind him. After feeling around, he discerned it was part of the energon blade Maximus had previously used on him. He managed to pick it up between his two fingers. Perhaps it would be quite useful later on....

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Obsidian, Strika, and the Vehicons surveyed the damage around them. All the Maximals, minus Dinobot and Cheetor, were down.

"Congradulations, Vehicons!" said Obsidian, "You have all done extremely well! You three will help usher in a new era on Cybertron. An era of order and prosperity, led by our leader Maximus!"

Strika patted Jetstorm and Tankorr on the back. The two of them beamed in pride at the power they displayed in the battle. Only Thrust looked rather down.

"Thrust, what's the matter?" asked Strika.

"It's nothing.. it's just that, I never knew I was capable of such destructive acts. You told me that these Maximals we engaged today were evil and that they threatened the peace on Cybertron. I still believe you but what I did today.. I lost myself in the fight and became more sadistic and dangerous than I thought I was. I just want my powers to be used for what's right," said Thrust almost sadly.

Strika put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," she said, "With your abilities, Cybertron will finally be able to enter an age of peace and prosperity once more without any tensions from the age-old Maximal/Predacon conflict."

"I hope so," said Thrust uncertainly. Meanwhile, Tankorr and Jetstorm were disgusted with the sight of Thrust.

"Look at that little runt!" exclaimed Jetstorm, "He displays the most massive amount of power out of any of us and he feels bad about it!"

"You said it" replied the giant Vehicon, "If I had what he has, I'd be running this planet by now!"

Thrust seemed to be visibly better after Strika managed to comfort him. 
Meanwhile, Tankorr turned his attention to Rhinox, who was frozen in ice. "Well," he said, "Time to tie up loose ends." He took out a large sledgehammer from his back and prepared to smash Rhinox to pieces. Before he could swing, Strika caught his hand.

"Wait!" she ordered, "We are to bring ALL the Maximals back alive for interrogation and eventual public execution!"

"Oh," said Tankorr. He shoved Strika away. "You really think I care?!?"

Before he could swing, his whole body crackled with electricity. Obsidian stepped out from behind him with a remote control. He pressed the button on it again and sent another powerful surge through Tankorr's body. Tankorr screamed in incoherent rage.

"So sorry for doing this," said Obsidian, "But this is what happens when Vehicons don't learn their place! Tankorr, are you going to be this brusque to Strika or myself in the future?" He pressed down on the button harder.

Tankorr managed to scream "NOOO!" loudly before collapsing down in pain. 
Obsidian stopped the torture. "Let that be a lesson to you, Tankorr!" reprimanded Obsidian, "Should you continue with your outbursts, we will remove your circuitry and replace your core conscious with that of a drone's!"

"I comprehend..." replied Tankorr, who dropped his hands to indicate that he would no longer cause more trouble. Still, Thrust saw a gleam of hatred in his eyes.

Obsidian radioed the Maximal police force, giving them instructions on where they would hold the Axalon crew.

In time, several Maximal troops arrived and picked up the unconscious bodies of the Maximals, taking them to their individual prison cells where they would await judgement from Senator Nero and the Maximal Tribunal.

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Meanwhile, Cheetor finally managed to wake up from being knocked unconscious. He looked around at his surroundings and found himself in a junkyard, surrounded by mountains of scrap heap everywhere. He realized he was not alone. TMII Dinobot was kneeling next to him.

"You've awakened," remarked the raptor. "How did I get here?" wondered Cheetor aloud.

"I was forced to neutralize you for the moment because you would have gotten yourself killed going after five Vehicons and one Predacon," explained Dinobot.

"But why?" yelled Cheetor, "They have all our friends now and you RUN away!"

Dinobot winced at the comment. His predecessor the original Dinobot would have never run from battle. However, his programming and core conscious was not that of the original's. At least not completely.

"I was forced to abandon them," he explained painfully, "The odds were stacked against us in that battle! Not only that, but I discovered a new threat that could spell doom for us all!"

"If that new threat you're talking about is me, then you're right!" Cheetor growled, "As I recall, we never finished out fight back on Earth!"

"Cheetor!" Dinobot finally exploded, "Calm yourself! What I did was save both our lives from a fate worse than death! I know this because I was able to read what the Vehicons had in store for us if they had captured all of us! Now we have a fighting chance to rescue our friends and clear our names!"

"Yeah?" asked Cheetor who calmed down slightly, "And how exactly do we do that? Transmetal 2 or not, we're just two 'bots. Obsidian and Strika command the Maximal Army and Navy! Plus, with that creature out there, who knows what might happen!"

"True," replied Dinobot, "But I believe that winged creature is a creation of this planet."

"What do you mean?" asked Cheetor.

"Nevermind," said Dinobot, "For now, we will figure out a plan to save our friends."

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Depthcharge was elated. Finally, he had found a way to open the energy bonds locking his hands behind him. He would make his escape later tonight when Senator Nero and Maximus appeared again to take him out of his cell. Before he could celebrate, he noticed a familiar figure next to his cell.

"Nero..." he snarled.

"Hello, Depthcharge," he said, "My session in Senate ended rather early today so I thought I'd pay you a little visit."

"So soon?" mocked Depthcharge, "Did they vote down your proposed bills on barring Predacon kids from public education?"

"Oh, something like that," replied Nero disappointedly, "The moderates in the Senate think I'm moving too far with some of my measures."

"It's funny," said Depthcharge, "Someone like you becoming the most powerful 'bot on Cybertron through appealing to the prejudices and fears of the Maximal population."

"I do not necessarily feel this way about Predacons," countered Nero, "But I ran for Senate on the most effective, polarizing issue that would help gain me power."

"You're asking for a civil war then," said Depthcharge.

"Perhaps," said Nero, "But I have assurances from the Tripredacus Council that the Predacons on this planet will not pose too serious of a threat."

"The Tripredacus Council!" gasped Depthcharge, "What the slag do they have to do with all of this?!?"

"Hmm," said Nero, "I believe I've told you far too much..."

"Don't you pull this with me!" growled Depthcharge, "I can imagine you withholding even more information from the citizens of Cybertron. Why don't you just be more direct with me, seeing how you plan on silencing me anyways!"

"Hn," said the Senator, "Very well. I shall tell you, seeing how I plan on having a public execution of you and your friends after I've extracted the information I want. The Tripredacus Council is charitably supporting me from behind the scenes with funding, advanced cloning technology, and political support. I'll admit, many of the other senators are bought out by Tripredacus as well but they've promised me control over all of Cybertron 
once I've done them several favors. I've done everything that they've asked of me so far. They're the reason why I've become the most influential voice in Senate politics."

"First of all," asked Depthcharge, "Why are they supplying you with advanced cloning technology?"

"Why, to create a technologically advanced army of drones for me to conquer Cybertron and eventually the galaxy with, of course," replied Nero unabashedly.

"Second of all," continued Depthcharge, "What have the Tripredacus Council asked you to do in order for them to have elevated you to the status you are now?"

Before Nero could answer that, an alarm sounded off on his wrist. "Oh, look at the time," he said, "I have a meeting with some of the Maximal Elders today for oil and cookies."

Depthcharge narrowed his eyes and glared at the Senator. Senator Nero merely smiled back.

"Oh, and I regret to inform you, Maximus is dealing with another Predacon uprising in Cybertron's Eastern sector. He is unable to attend the session with you tonight. Instead, we'll have someone else. Just remember to treat him with the same respect as you would give Maximus."

After saying that, the Maximal Elder left Depthcharge contemplating. "Hmmm, the Tripredacus Council supporting Nero with political power and cloning technology, huh?" pondered Depthcharge.

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Down in the eastern Tianlong sector of Cybertron, a fierce battle was being waged between that sector's local Predacon resistance and the Maximal's forces led by Maximus. It started out even-sided but soon, more Maximal reinforcements had forced the Predacons back.

What forced the Predacons back even further was the ferocity Maximus displayed in battle, slashing and hacking his way through legions of Predacons. Soon, the Predacons were in full retreat.

One small Predacon had tripped and fallen while retreating. A larger, more rotund Predacon ran back to help him.

"No! Leave me," cried the smaller Predacon, "They'll kill you if they catch you!"

"No way, bro" cried the large round Predacon, "I can't leave you behind!"

A large shadow fell over both of them. Before the big Predacon could react, a sword impaled him through his chest and slashed straight through his head. He fell to the floor.

"NO!" cried the smaller Pred who faced Maximus. He cried angrily and whipped out his blaster, shooting several rounds at Maximus, which the dark 'bot deflected with his sword. Maximus reached out and snapped the smaller Predacon's neck easily.

Primal surveyed the carnage around him. Most of the Predacons had been rounded up already. He walked into the abandoned warehouse, which was the Predacon's hideout. From out of the shadows, he thought he detected some sort of movement.

A smoke bomb hit the feet where he stood and exploded, blinding him. He set his vision to infra-red and looked around for any sign of enemies. He was struck fiercely from behind soon enough. He turned around with his sword ready.

"Show yourself!" he growled, "You must be the leader of the Predacon resistance in this sector!"

When the smoke cleared, there stood a tall, lanky, and skinny purple 'bot. 
"Wrong!" he said, "I am THE leader of the Predacon resistance!"

"Gigatron," nodded Maximus, "I've heard stories about you. I heard you ascended to leadership of the Resistance after I killed your uncle Magmatron!"

"Don't you dare," growled Gigatron.

"Oh, and I have good news too," taunted Maximus even further, "Your brother Megatron has died in his quest to discover energon and kill Optimus Prime!"

Gigatron screamed angrily and his left arm produced a blaster, which he used to fire at Maximus. Maximus used his sword to deflect the blasts easily.

Gigatron took out an energy whip and used it to knock the sword out of Maximus' hand. Maximus was surprised momentarily before he took aim with one of his shoulder missiles and knocked Gigatron down. Gigatron clung to his side in pain and stared at Maximus balefully. Quickly, he produced another smoke bomb from his arm and threw it to the ground, concealing himself.

When the smoke cleared, Maximus could not see Gigatron anywhere.

Soon, a young Maximal lieutenant ran inside to report to Maximus.

"Sir, we've captured and rounded up all the Predacon rebels here!" he stated, "What is your next command?"

"Expose their sparks and execute them on the spot!" growled Maximus, angry that his prey had escaped from him that day.

"But, sir..." stammered the young officer, "Isn't that unnecessarily harsh?"

Maximus grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "No, it isn't," he snarled fiercely, "Unless you want to occupy the dumpsters of the local Predacon neighborhood tonight."

"Y--yes sir..." said the officer. He ran off to his unit, dreading the orders that he had to carry out.

Maximus surveyed the place once more and left in disgust. He wouldn't even be able to make it back in time for his intended interrogation.

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Rhinox finally felt himself come back to consciousness. He felt very cold for some reason and saw that he was standing on a puddle of water. Then he remembered what had happened. The big tank robot Tankorr had frozen him in all of that ice.

"Rise and shine, sweety!" rumbled a deep voice. Rhinox looked into the eyes of the one named Tankorr.

"Who are you?" asked Rhinox, "And why have you done this to us?"

"That's not for you to know, gramps!" laughed Tankorr, "All you need to know is that once this is all over, I will be your angel of death!"

Rhinox slammed his fists on the walls of his cell but even he did not have the strength to cause any damage to them. He looked around and saw that the other Maximals were still unconscious through a small window that connected his cell to the others.

"So, you're a big tough 'bot who has the ability to freeze things with your cannon, huh?" asked Rhinox. "That's not the only thing I can do, big guy!" stomped Tankorr who suddenly cupped his hands together as if he were praying.

Rhinox felt a cold chill in his cell. Soon, the temperature in his room dropped to below 0 degrees.

"I have power over ice," explained Tankorr, "I can magically drop the temperature in your cell and turn you into a living popsicle if I wanted to. Oh, and there's one more trick I'm capable of."

Rhinox suddenly noticed a large, sharp spear of ice materializing beside his head. After formation, it flew towards Rhinox's head at top speed. Rhinox quickly dropped to the floor while the spear struck the side of his wall and fell into thousands of pieces. Tankorr walked off, laughing.

"That was some cold slag," muttered Rhinox.

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That night, Depthcharge sat in his cell, awaiting whoever it was that was going to come torture him more. He picked the energy bonds just right so that they would come loose if he pulled hard enough.

The door opened and in came a blue jet 'bot. "Lieutenant Jetstorm, at your service," he said. Depthcharge could tell that making stupid jokes was part of this 'bot's programming.

Jetstorm took out a few scalpals and laid them carefully on his cart. He also took out an energon drill along with a few sonar devices meant to torture a 'bot's hearing circuits.

"So," continued Jetstorm, "I would like to interest you in some of our top torture devices. Which will it be? Scalpal? Energon drill? Sonar disrupter? Or just the same thing you had last night?"

"I think I'll take... NONE OF THE ABOVE!" roared Depthcharge as he broke his energy bonds with a quick snap. Jetstorm panicked and was prepared to hit the emergancy button for any jail breaks but before he could do that, Depthcharge slammed him into the electrified fields used to hold in other prisoners. Jetstorm's circuits sizzled and as he felt himself being electrocuted. "Time to get the slag outta here!" said Depthcharge.

Depthcharge quickly transformed into flight mode and blasted straight through a window he saw at the rooftop. It was then that the security alarms went off. By that time Thrust, Tankorr, and a few Maximal guards got there, they found the charred body of Jetstorm as well as shards from a broken window off the top of the building.

Depthcharge flew as far away from the prison as he could. He finally landed on a large building.

"I gotta be honest now," he said dryly, "Everything that's happened so far has been just prime!"


To be continued....