Beast Wars Chronicles Honor and Blood By: Eliot Lefebvre (aka Stormcloud)
The winds issued forth another icy blast, aimed straight into the face of the weary traveler. Were he flesh and blood, he would have cursed the cold that would have seared his vision, numbed his senses, slowed his pulse, pulled him ever closer to death. As it was, he barely noticed it. Snow and wind danced across the metal, the gold and black so deeply charred that they were barely discernable as different colors. In the center of the snowstorm, he continued forward, his eyes twin pinpricks of glowing red light, casting an eerie glow around him. Over his shoulder draped what might have once been the remnants of a truly spectacular cannon, but was now little more than scrap. He carried the weight effortlessly, as if it were a body part. Unsurprising, as it was. His autonav system was running, still - though low on power, like everything else in his body. Energon tended to crystalize around heat, however, so he did not plan to find anything with which to replenish his power supply in the near future. Instead, he focused on the task at hand - returning to the remains of the ship. HIS ship. Although its state was uncertain after his absence, he was certain it would be there. He almost laughed. If he had not been damaged so by that damnable explosion, he could have effortlessly flown through here, the northern tip of this continent. He would be home by now, basking in the glory that was rightfully his. Instead, he was forced to sacrifice dignity for focus. "How they would laugh now," he muttered to himself, still trudging onward. It had been... how long HAD it been? He had lost track, and his internal chronometer had been shut down as an unnecessary function. Time could be a maddening thing when you could figure out no way of measuring it. However, he was certain that the snowstorm he was in now was part of the region's spring, so he had not been there long - or he had spent at least a year unconcious. Unlikely, as his energon would have run down by then... "Focus, you fool," he spat at himself, having fallen out of step. With anger, hatred, and determination burning in whatever might be called his heart, Megatron continued his long walk back to the Soundwave. * * * * * * * * * * "I thought I said FOCUS!" Nightpounce snarled, hurling the chair to the floor with a crash. "Primus, Mercutio, ENOUGH!" she screamed, residual energy still crackling across her frame. "This is insane! I've been at this more than an hour, and - and -" She gestured helplessly at the chair, relatively undamaged by her fit of rage. "It's ludicrous! I can't have the kind of mastery over my powers that you do - I just can't. I've barely had them a month, and you act like I'm slacking!" Mercutio stood calmly, unmoving as she vented her rage and frustration. "Done?" he said at last. She glared at him, and made a gesture vaguely resembling a nod. "Glad to see it." Without moving, Mercutio let a tendril of energy loose, moving it like a tentacle. It grabbed the chair, and with crackling force transformed it into a curving sword. Still unmoving, he threw the sword at Nightpounce blade-first, letting her dodge and catch it without a slip. Nightpounce glared at him again, seemingly more enraged now than before. "And what was THAT supposed to prove?" "We have the same powers, Nightpounce. Your problem is not inability, but lack of focus." He gestured towards the sword. "You caught that effortlessly, by instinct." She nodded. "You should have been able to simply stop it - or disintigrate it, if you so desired. Inability is not a problem." "But I can't adapt to these powers that quickly, dammit!" the female Maximal spat, slamming the sword into the floor. "I'm a general, Mercutio, and one who spent her entire life learning to focus on a weapon and wield it correctly. Now you want me to forget that." Mercutio laughed at Nightpounce, and it was not a terribly happy noise. "I would like you to stop mistaking the forest for the trees, Nightpounce. I would like you to stop copping out of your activities. I would like you to stop thinking in two dimensions. But I would NOT like you to forget your training from before." Mercutio finally unfolded his arms from in front of his chest. "You need to stop thinking of THIS -" he grabbed the sword "- as a weapon." He shot a burst of energy through the sword, and it shattered. "That was a toy. YOU are the weapon." Nightpounce sighed. "Slag off, Mercutio. What if I don't WANT to be the weapon any more?" "This is not a question of WANT, Nightpounce. You MUST be the weapon, or the universe as we know it is on the way out." Mercutio sighed. "Grimlock seems to be adapting to his training much better than you. You could learn a thing or two from him." "Grimlock is adapting better because these powers are some sort of twisted catharsis for him," Nightpounce snarled, slamming on the pad to open the door from the training room. "This session is over, Mercutio. I've had enough of your mind games." "That's precisely what I'm afraid of, my dear," Mercutio half- muttered as the door slid shut. Nightpounce ignored him, but the comment gnawed at the back of her thoughts as she stormed back to her quarters. What the hell DID he know, anyways? "Getting pissy, 'Pounce," sneered Nightdagger as the two of them slammed into each other. "I like it. Get a bit of bite back in the panther, heh?" "Oh, go rot in Inferno," Nightpounce muttered as she walked around the former Decepticon. Primus, Nightdagger seemed to actually enjoy being antisocial. Then again, so did Dinobot. He still did, to some extent, but not as bad as Nightdagger... oh, to the Pits with it. Nightpounce opened the door to her quarters, optics half-off and rage still tumbling in her brain and Mercutio's words still gnawing at her. She attempted to fall on her recharge bed, then realized that something was already there. Namely, Dinobot. "If you wanted to get me in bed, Nightpounce, all you had to do was ask," Dinobot remarked casually, seeming to be somewhere between pleased and concerned. "I hope you don't mind - I let myself in, but I assumed you would be a while with Mercutio, so I decided to take a bit of a nap -" "Don't worry about it," sighed Nightpounce, lifting herself off of her partner. "But please don't mention that bastard of a Maximal again, if you would be so kind." She sighed, beginning to pace around the room like a caged panther. "Aha," replied Dinobot. "Bad session?" "Aren't they all?" she sighed. "I'm sorry, Dinobot, I'm just not terribly social at the moment. I won't be a horribly charming companion for the evening." Dinobot paused for a moment, seeming to contemplate Nightpounce's statement. Finally, he shrugged. "Fine by me. I assumed we would have to experience a role reversal at some point in our relationship." Nightpounce paused, then began laughing. It wasn't long before Dinobot began laughing as well. * * * * * * * * * * Shardwing twirled an energon blade on her finger, occasionally tossing it skyward out of boredom. The two massive, bladed wings on her arms - for which she got her name, after all - were digging small furrows in the bulkhead behind her as she rythmically mover her shoulders forward and backwards, in an effort to relax somewhat. She had nothing but quick glances to go by - conjecture, really. But she had reviewed the tapes of the conflict between her forces and the Maximal / Predacon force. They had both undergone some serious modifications, but... She was certain that her assumptions were incorrect, of course. But it wouldn't hurt to have Skyscan reassure her of that fact. The chance of them being here was a mathematical impossibility, but if they were here - suffice to say she needed the reassurance. "It's about time!" snapped Shardwing as Skyscan slipped in. Skyscan cringed, and Shardwing smiled in response. The poor gal had never adapted well to Decepticon politics, but Shardwing and Twistout both recognized her talents immediately. She was safe as long as the couple had any power - she was too valuable to let go. "What did you find?" "I'm still not sure precisely what you wanted me to find, ma'am," replied Skyscan, thumbing through her results. "But I did run scans on the signatures you gave me, and cross-referenced their identities on the records we hold at the moment." "And what did you FIND?" snarled Shardwing. "I already KNOW what I told you to do, girl. I want you to tell your RESULTS!" Skyscan cringed again, and Shardwing nearly scolded herself for being so unnecessarily cruel. "Well, ma'am - both signatures appeared on the planet. They have been here since the beginning, for that matter. I checked the crew registers - both were due on the Soundwave for her departure." For a moment, Shardwing could only gape. Skyscan was the one who first broke the silence. "Yes, ma'am, you heard me right. Your ex-husband and your son are on this planet." "How did you -?" "It wasn't too difficult, ma'am," said Skyscan, trying her best to sound humble and subtle despite her obvious smugness. "First of all, there aren't many other people you would be so ungodly worried about being on the same planet as you. So I took the liberty of running the background check a little further. Plus..." She shrugged. "He bears a sharp resemblance to you, ma'am. It made sense. Ma'am." Shardwing drummed her fingers on the desk. "Skyscan." "Yes, ma'am?" "You seem to imply that you know me very well." The Decepticon co-commander suddenly sat up straight, bringing her impressive wings around to intimidate Skyscan. "In that case... what will my next course of action be?" "To eliminate them both, ma'am." Skyscan allowed herself the liberty of a slight smirk. "I have the network and all my assistants running scans for their locations - without any reasons given to them for such. I can probably whip up an Zeta-level elimination order once we get them pinned -" "No, Skyscan. Complete the search, but do not send our warriors to take care of my business." Shardwing sighed. "This is something that I must handle... personally." She stood, flexing as she strode towards the door into her weapons cache. "Besides, I'm not sure our warriors would be able to take either of them out..." "Understood, ma'am. I'll keep you posted." Skyscan stood, dropped the results on Shardwing's desk in the event that her commander wished to look at them, then strode out of the room, now far less nervous. The commander sighed again. "Thank Primus she's on our side," she muttered, openening the door to her personal cache - all modified to allow for simultaneous usage of multiple weapons. She thumbed through her armament casually, looking for the best weapons she could find - after all, she was going up against some extremely powerful opponents. * * * * * * * * * * "Useless, worthless, pointless CHAFF!" snarled Blackarachnia, swerving her chair through the room. "This data is worthless! The data recorded tells me only the performance of the subjects, and NOTHING about the technologies involved in such performance!" She finally swerved down to Aquasting, who was cowering more than a little. It was almost comical, to see Aquasting's massive form cowering beneath the slimmer and less powerful Blackarachnia, but neither of the two seemed to find much humor in the situation. "Um - Empress - madam - I - can - explain -" Aquasting fumbled, trying to find a way out of a fate that seemed inevitable. He didn't know what the Predacon leader had in mind for him - but knowing Blackarachnia, it could be nothing but bad. Blackarachnia seemed to be ignoring her victim, more fixated on her anger than his feeble pleas. "I do not tolerate this level of failure, Aquasting, and I am tempted to smelt you. But I'm more sympathetic than that." She let her face melt into one of apparent mercy, letting her body loose and shed its former tension. Aquasting was amazed - possibly even more frightened. "No, I wouldn't waste your life like that." She hit the side of her chair, and Flatline's face appeared on one of the monitors. "Flatline!" "Yes, Empress?" rasped the Predacon medic. Aquasting's terror rose. Although Flatline was a medic, he was also a notorious sadist and not above some rather... bizzarre experiments. Not surprisingly, he and Tarantulas got along quite well. Blackarachnia's smile changed from one of angelic mercy to one of absolute evil. "Aquasting has been gracious enough to offer himself as a test subject for your latest project. Would you care to come down and take him?" Blackarachnia glanced down, and smiled as the frantic Predacon struggled at the reinforced cables that held him to his ground. She had thought to have such a restraining system installed a long time ago, and was not displeased at all with its performance. "Of course, Empress," Flatline replied, a grin breaking across his face. "I'll be down momentarily. I'm sure I can find a... use... for him." The display went blank, and Blackarachnia's grin widened. Aquasting struggled and cried out helplessly, the look on his face like that of a dying animal. Blackarachnia ignored him, and turned to more important matters. As the armrest on her chair beeped, she patched the transmission through to the monitor farthest away from Flatline's new guinea pig and brought it on screen. "Juliet," she stated flatly, recognizing her first officer's face immediately with more-than-friendly familiarity. "What has your snooping network picked up now, m'dear?" "Nothing good, I'm afraid." She paused for a moment as Aquasting's cries for mercy reached an unusually hgih note, then resumed her speech. "I've detected signs of life at the blast crater at the northern end of the continent - the place where Megatron disappeared to. It looks like our favorite saurian is hoofing it back to home base." "Not much of a problem, Julie. Let him come if he wants." She looked back as Flatline began dragging off Auquasting - not a difficult task for a Transformer as large and powerful as the medic. "He'll find a less than warm reception... but might actually be worth keeping on as a warrior, should he submit." "Yes, Empress," sighed Juliet, shutting off her monitor and leaning back. "But if only it were that easy." She drummed her fingers, letting thoughts sift through her head. *I might have a problem here. I eliminated Retrax to keep things under wraps... but now I've got the problem coming at me from a different angle. My only hope is that even HE doesn't realize it... yet...* * * * * * * * * * * "If I hadn't been eavesdropping, I probably wouldn't have even realized it," RATCHET quipped as he shuffled through a stack of papers. "I must admit, the ability to project anywhere on the ship does have its advantages - not the least of which is being able to see a whole lot more stuff that goes on..." "Get to the point!" snapped Nightdagger, her patience wearing visibly thin. "I didn't like you much before, and I sure as hell don't like you much now that you're making me wait for ages!" "Oh, calm DOWN, Nightdagger," reassured Tailwind, putting his arm around her shoulders. He barely had time to think of a follow-up before she had grabbed his arm and slammed him into the ground, with the anger on her face becoming even more visible. "And I CERTAINLY don't like YOU!" she snapped as the lightly built Maximal struggled to his feet. "Who the hell invited YOU, anyways? I can understand Nightpounce, since she just needs a collar and we'll all be certain how Dinobot leads her around, but what do YOU have to do here?" "Watch the language, little girl," snarled Nightpounce, "or I'll be happy to show you what it means to REALLY be a badass." "Oooh, clever. One of these days, 'Pounce -" "You so much as TOUCH her, and I'll -" "CHILDREN!" snapped RATCHET, bringing the assembled Maximals back to order. "Getting Airazor out of here today was one of my major triumphs, and I'd like to KEEP this day on a high note." He drew down a display screen, beginning to run a simple program demonstrating Dinobot and Nightdagger fighting. "Now, this might be nothing -" "It certainly seems to be," muttered Nightdagger. "I already KNOW how to fight, Lightbulb-boy." "That... was... sort of my point, assuming you'd shut up long enough to listen." RATCHET produced an indignant squawk from Nightdagger, but chose to ignore her. He moved through the demonstration, looping the shots. "Now... anybody notice anything about these two in action?" "Our fighting styles," replied Dinobot, suddenly sitting up and taking some notice. "They're nearly identical." He watched the demonstration intently as Nightdagger also began paying attention. "Our firing stance, our hand-to-hand maneuvers... even the minor errors are similar." "PreCISEly!" shouted RATCHET, seemingly pleased. "But the interesting question is: why? Nightdagger's a former Decepticon, Dinobot a Predacon. Their two factions have NEVER gotten along, so the only chance they would have to come into contact with the same style is in the Cybertronian Military Academy." "I assure you, the style they are using is NOTHING like the Academy's style," added Nightpounce. RATCHET let the monitor slide back into the ceiling, shutting down the display. "Nightdagger... where did you learn to fight?" He asked the question casually, but there was an inquisitive edge to that question. "I... don't remember a lot of details, like everything in my memory... but it was my mother," she replied, dropping her voice's usual growl for a lighter, more feminine tone. Tailwind's head snapped up, taking note of the change in her tone and facial expression. "Dinobot?" Dinobot was silent for a moment. "It... it was my mother. I know it. I remember... very clearly. And... I do remember a sister..." He paused, as if considering the possibility. "But that is ludicrous! My sister died, and she would be far older than Nightdagger! Perhaps our mothers simply learned fighting from the same location." "It's certainly a possibility - Primus, the likely possibility," replied RATCHET with a sigh. "I knew that there were records of you having a sister, Dinobot - I just thought that it might be Nightdagger. But now that you mention it, she IS far too much younger than you..." "Well, there's a shame," muttered Nightpounce, half to herself and half to the other occupants of the room. "And here I was so looking forward to having that related to me by extension..." "Just keep pushing, 'Pounce," muttered Nightdagger, seemingly in an effort to mock Nightpounce. "Keep pushing, and just wait till I start pushing back." Dinobot ignored what was being said around him. He had too much to think about. *Nightdagger's mother... it couldn't be. There's no way. I know for a fact she is not Megatron's daughter. But... if she is... if mother is still... then that would mean...* * * * * * * * * * * The hand burst through the earth with a resounding crack, shattering the more flimsy stones surrounding its quarry. As the stones fell away, its owner smiled, seeing the soft purple glow of energon crystals. Not caring about their stability, he tore loose a chunk of the crystals, devouring them with notable zeal, relishing the crackle of purple energy around his jaw. He felt his systems revitalize, his body regain its former zest, his power return to him once again. Megatron staggered back to his feet, testing his jury-rigged repairs. It had been years since Tyrasix had graduated from his engineering school, but Megatron was pleased to find that his skill as an engineer was still holding up through the years. Although the systems were far from perfect, they would certainly help him return to the Soundwave faster. He reached down again, gathering as many of the crystals as he could in what used to be his tail cannon - he had been forced to convert it to hold equipment. Although he might have been concerned for the energon buildup, the metal of his Transmetal form allowed him to effectively baffle the energon running through the planet. His primary concern was getting back - ASAP. Once he was finished gathering the crystals, he stood once more, hearing the whir in his engines. Half-needing a miracle, he lept skyward, and was reassured as the re-positioned engines sent him fly skyward, despite a noticable rattle. Smiling evilly, he continued on his course towards the Soundwave's wreckage, to reclaim his leadership. Primus, how had the Predacons fared under Scorponok? He wished he had a more reliable second-in- command... * * * * * * * * * * "Wazzpinator is having a hard time trusting Snake-bottess at this point," muttered Waspinator only half to himself. The Predacons were striding towards the head of the central bluff - one of the cliff formations in the area that allowed a nearly complete view of everything going on in and around the complex. "Shut up!" snapped Juliet, truthfully quite worried that her barely- won ally would move on these suspicions. And that would not do at all. Juliet had worked too hard, had put up too many elaborate bafflers to let everything fall down now. Though she was never really worried before... Retrax couldn't be an isolated case. It was simply survival, and she had no intentions of compromising her chances of such. "The lady's got a point, Waspi," conceded Terrorsaur, looking quite spiffy in his new Transmetal form. "After all, our job isn't to TRUST her, it's to OBEY her." Terrorsaur shot a glance back at Juliet. "And she knows how well we can be trusted." Juliet had reached the breaking point. She grabbed Terrorsaur by the throat, whirled around, and slammed him into the wall, pointing her other arm cannon at his head. "Listen to me very carefully, you stinking heap of slag. This is not a joke. This is deathly important. And if you fail - or if you push me ANY FARTHER - you will be in a cage in Flatline's lab so quickly it won't even be VISIBLE." She began charging her blaster to emphasize her point. "Everybody clear on this now?" "Yes, ma'am," gasped Terrorsaur as she released him. He moved swiftly and silently up the stairs to the bluff, Waspinator following close behind. Juliet watched them go, then decided that it wasn't worth wasting any more time on the two of them than she already had. She spun on her heel, then began to head back to her quarters. Quite a bit for her to think about now... and worry about... * * * * * * * * * * Nightpounce sighed heavily as the door slid open. "If that's you, Mercutio, then you can just take your lectures and shove them straight up your -" She came face to face with Dinobot as the door finished opening. "Oh. Dino. Sorry, I'm still a bit on edge. Come on in." Her invitation hardly seemed necessary, as Dinobot let himself into her room regularly. Still, formality was something they were both used to, and it put them at ease. She occasionally wondered where they would have started without the occasional dose of ettiquette interfering with life. "Thank you," he muttered, slipping past her with grace that belied his size. He walked smoothly and resolutely, sitting down upon her recharge bed with a worried look on his face. "But I'm afraid that what brings me here isn't exactly a pleasing call, and it probably won't take you off edge very much. It's... well... it's about my family. And that's NEVER been a very relaxing subject." "But still interesting," replied Nightpounce, sitting down in a chair across from him. She crossed her legs out of habit, then leaned forward and rested her chin on her right hand. "Don't tell me that RATCHET's speculation's got you losing sleep." Dinobot grimaced, looking almost comical. "Well... in a way..." "Come on, Dinobot. He's got nothing to do all day except deal with the odd medical case - awfully rare lately, since the Preds have stepped down their attacks. When you're bored out of your skull, you tend to come up with things out of right field pretty easily -" "Except the fact that it's NOT out of right field, Nightpounce. How much have you read up on me?" Dinobot sighed as Nightpounce feigned a look of innocent shock. "You're a general, Nightpounce, and I know you reivew personnel histories on just about everyone you'll be... working with." This time, the shock was genuine. "Are you suggesting that I've been -" "No, no, I was just attempting to make a joke. Don't take it like that." Nightpounce sighed, her dignity repaired. "Well... there's not much that your file has to say, to be honest. Your father was Megatron. You were born in the Terran year 2047 AD. You spent most of your life after 2084 AD in the Predacon military, and you were generally regarded as a rising star. However, in 2276 AD, you had a serious falling-out with your commanding officer over a training issue. You left the military in a huff, and worked for a merc for about twenty years before you met up with Megatron again and agreed to join up with his little "resistance group". 2325 AD, your group pulls off the heist of the Golden Disk, and the rest is history." She leaned back, re-crossing her legs and folding her hands on her lap. "Encapsulated, but I think that's the gist of it." "Yes," replied Dinobot, a little taken aback by the nearly textbook retelling of his life. "Well... obviously, there are some blank holes in that biography." "I would say so," Nightpounce replied. "You never did reveal the identity of your mother..." Dinobot sighed. "Nightpounce... in 2047, the Predacons were a just-emerging faction, sort of a splinter of the Decepticon remnants that advocated more active status. The lines weren't very clearly drawn yet... and it was fairly common for the two groups to cross over." Nightpounce looked at her lover intently - she was beginning to wonder exactly what he was getting at. "Do tell, Dinobot. I'm all aflutter." The larger Maximal sighed again. "My father was Megatron... my mother was a Decepticon. It was... well, it was most certainly not a textbook romance. I would be willing to place political ambition as the cause. I was predominantly raised by my mother... Megatron was generally unconcerned about me or my sister." "Oh, yes, the sister," noted Nightpounce, nodding as she took in the story. "What happened to her? And your mother?" "Megatron..." Dinobot gulped. "Megatron wanted assurance that those attached to him were survivors. He destroyed our home intentionally, waiting to welcome any survivors just outside of the wreckage. I was the only one that crawled out, damaged but alive. It was the first time I ever saw him smile. He called me his 'prodigal son' - the epitome of his potential. I was too young to really see what he had done... but I didn't really care, either. I was still very much influenced by my father." "So if your mother died, what are you worried about Nightdagger for?" asked Nightpounce. "I mean, it's more reason to hate Megatron, but -" "I don't know about THAT," Dinobot interjected. "My mother might have been a victim in that once instance, but she was by no means kind and loving. She was every bit as evil as Megatron. She nearly killed me on multiple occasions - I sometimes think that she would have finished the job if her husband hadn't pulled that trick on her first." "Granted," replied Nightpounce. She stood and walked over to Dinobot, sitting close beside him on the recharge bed. "But even so - that doesn't give any credence to RATCHET's theories. It just means that you had evil parents that somehow created a noble child." "But I never looked back, Nightpounce. What if my mother did survive?" Dinobot put his head in his hands. "The only person who would know is Megatron... and he's no longer with us. Not that it's such a shame." Nightpounce said nothing for a moment. "Dinobot..." She paused again, trying to find the correct words. "Dinobot, we picked up an energy signature moving from the crater at the northern tip of the continent. It was Megatron's last known location. We don't have confirmation, but it appears that he is moving towards the Soundwave..." Dinobot stood, suddenly resolute again. "I must go to the Soundwave," he said flatly. "Even if Megatron isn't there, his personal files are. I need to answer this question, Nightpounce." "But WHY?" the black female asked, drawing back Dinobot's attention with the urgency of her question. "Dinobot, what difference does it make if your mother IS alive? You still don't know if there is any connection between you and Nightdagger. It doesn't change ANYTHING. Why do you want to beat yourself up over this?" The question cut to the heart of the matter, left Dinobot silent for a moment, struggling for the words he searched for. "I... I barely remember my mother and sister. Megatron might have edited those memories in the past... but that's not the point." He drew forth his sword, almost as a reflexive action. Nightpounce jumped a little, surprised that he would draw the weapon. "Dignity, no, HONOR demands that I find the answer to this question... about myself." "You honestly plan to go all alone into the depths of the Soundwave complex, guns blazing? That's a kamikaze mission, Dinobot." Nightpounce stood, putting her hand on Dinobot's shoulder in an effort to comfort him. "No slagging way I'm going to let you got this solo." Dinobot smiled. It was not his usual smile, a sadistic look of pleasure. It was... warm, almost tender. She'd only saw it a few times, but she always cherished its appearences for its rarity and honesty. "Thank you," he said. "But this wasn't a solo operation anyhow." The door to her quarters slid once again, and Nightpounce set eyes on Nightdagger fully decked out in battle regalia. "Hurry up, old man," snarled the female, her fingers resting anxiously on her twin plasma cannons. "I don't have all year to get this done with. Let's try to speed this up." "Oh, this is going to be more fun than I had planned," muttered Nightpounce, slipping past Nightdagger as she let go of Dinobot's shoulder. "Let's get this over with, folks. Next stop, the Soundwave..." * * * * * * * * * * "He's coming in fast, Waspi," noted Terrorsaur, the night wind whipping hard against their metal frames. It was a clear night, and the light from the moon and the stars lit the valley in a sort of eerie glow, almost unearthly in its color. Terrorsaur's enhanced vision could see clearly, noting the battered and patched - but still recognizable - form of their previous commander. "Moving at 60 mpk... good clip for jury-rigging." He hefted the laser lances that he had been outfitted with. "You know the orders." Megatron's eyes widened as twin lasers shot towards him in mid- air - laser lances, from the looks of the thick beams. He barely moved far enough to avoid the bolt of energy that followed them - a blast that was highly recognizable. "Waspinator!" he shouted, knowing that his mentally unstable lackey could hear him from even this distance. "You fool! Your leader is returning!" "Wazzpinator not THINK so!" came the buzzing reply as Waspinator swooped towards Megatron, Terrorsaur flying close behind and calibrating his lances. The whine of charging weaponry filled the air, drowned out only by the roar of the Predacon thrusters. "Blackarachnia is sitting happy on her chair - and Megatron is target practice!" The Predacon punctuated this statement with another burst of energy from his handheld cannon, sending Megatron into a frantic spin to escape. *Blackarachnia!* snarled Megatron mentally. *That fool of a scorpion!* As he heard Terrorsaur charge his lances and ready them for firing, however, he quickly turned his thoughts back to the battle at hand. The bluff was not far - perhaps 300 meters at most. Howver, Megatron had no weapons left - he had been forced to shut them down in order to survive this long. Taking a risk, he reached into his container for the energon crystals, grabbed a handful, and threw them at Terrorsaur and Waspinator. As he threw, he flew towards the bluff as fast as he could, and his former soldiers firing, not seeing the purple glints of light. Explosions rippled through the air as the beams struck the crystals and sent the unstable energy free. Megatron was blown forward by the force of the explosions, scuffing hard against the bluff in an emergency landing. His thrusters were dead and gone, but he had managed to throw off his pursuers... at least, temporarily. As he focused, he could see that they were moving to regroup after the attack, damaged somewhat but by no means out of the battle. He rushed down the stairs, practically hurling himself down the narror corridor to the bottom. He looked around, and saw this led to one of the transparent domed bridges that laced across the valley - he would be visible to them. Looking around, he saw a security weapons cache left open, complete with laser lances. He grabbed one of the bulky rifles, then dashed forward, hoping to make it across before he was spotted. Terrorsaur looked down to see Megatron running through the connector. "He's in the complex!" the pterodactyl screeched. "I'll try to hit him - you cut off his escape route!" As Waspinator set about firing into the opposite end of the connector, Terrorsaur began firing his lances through the connector, shattering glass and metal in showers of shards that erupted with each blast. Megatron stumbled as the blasts rippled through the corridor, then quickly noted that the two would cut him off quickly if he didn't take action. Trying his best to aim while in motion, Megatron lashed out with his laser lance towards Waspinator, tearing through the floor of the connector. The blast seared through Waspinator's shoulder, and the Predacon dropped back. Megatron took the incentive, and fired again, this time through Waspinator's chest. He was sure he missed the vitals, but he still made Waspinator drop like a stone. Nothing daunted by the loss of his comrade, Terrorsaur aimed and lanced out at the already-weakened end of the corridor, holding the beams and letting them tear through the corridor. As the blasts tore it in two, the corridor weakened and buckled, sagging downward. Megatron dug his fingers into the floor for fear of falling to the ground, his lance dangling uselessly. Terrorsaur swooped over him, smirking like a cat, taking careful aim with his lances. Before he finished off Megatron, something hit Terrorsaur. Hard. Megatron couldn't see the origin of the volley of firepower - energy bolts, ballistics, at least ten different weapons - but it tore into the left side of the Predacon pterodactyl, loosing a cry from his lips and sending him flying sideways, dropping a lance in the process. Deciding not to wait for his eleventh-hour ally to display themselves, Megatron leaped to the other end of the corridor, pulling himself up through the shattered wreckage, then dashing through the hallways to get as deep inside the complex as he could. He vaguely heard someone transform and land behind him, but he paid it no mind. His priority was Blackarachnia - he would handle the rest later. * * * * * * * * * * Dinobot glided to a stop next to the savaged Terrorsaur, surprised to see so much damage visited on the Predacon. Though the body was unfamiliar, the face was, and Dinobot knew his former comrade quite well. Behind him, Nightdagger transformed and landed, followed closely by Nightpounce dropping her energy bubble and landing. "What went down here?" asked Nightpounce as she moved next to Dinobot, staring at the same display. Terrorsaur's left side had been savaged ruthlessly, now missing most of the arm. What was left was covered in gashes and dents, lubricant spilling out from the many holes torn open. He looked up at the trio of Maximals, then fixed specifically on Nightdagger, as if he recognized her from somewhere in the past. "She's... one... of yours?" he rasped to Dinobot, hardly in a state to defeat the Maximals, or even put up a fight. "Recently," replied Dinobot, unsure of Terrorsaur's motivation. "How would you know her?" Terrorsaur laughed - or at least tried to. The result was a hacking noise that spat forth globs of lubricant and mech fluid. "Sent her... as an advance scout... and tore us apart. But... you wound up... helping Megatron... in the process..." He hacked again. "Forgotten... who you sent.... scouting... already?" Dinobot was thoroughly baffled by Terrorsaur now. "Terrorsaur, she was flying behind me the whole time. I was the first person to reach the area." A creeping suspicion began to form in Dinobot's head, one that might have unpleasant connotations. "Are you sure it was her?" "Dead... certain... you lying heap of slag," hacked the Predacon. He opened his mouth for more, but his energy conservation systems kicked in, putting him into suspended animation until he could be adequately repaired. Dinobot continued to stare at him for a moment longer, pondering his words, then turned back to face his comrades. "I've got an entryway already secured," said Nightpounce calmly, trying hard not to wonder what was going on. "The site of the battle that tore up Needlenose over there. One of the valley's connection corridors got torn apart in the process. I would guess that was the initial intent, but I'm not sure..." Dinobot grabbed the still-functional laser lance Terrorsaur held, then flew in the direction Nightpounce was indicating. Very slowly, in his head, he kept repeating the same phrase to himself: "There is no connection between us." * * * * * * * * * * "Imbeciles," snarled Juliet as she saw Terrorsaur's status drop to inoperative. "He's half-dead and you still can't kill him. Worthless." She violently stood from her chair, knocking it over in the process. Her arm cannons were both fully charged and prepped, but against Megatron, she expected she would need something... better. Reaching into a drawer, she pulled out her scramble gun - a weapon she hadn't used in a long time. She smiled as she holstered it, seeing that it was still at maximum operating efficiency. Hitting a few keys on her console, she called up the complex's maps, and traced Megatron's route. "Blackarachnia's throne room. Huge surprise there." She turned off the monitors, not bothering to trip any of the security alarms. This was a personal matter, and she would deal with it personally. Juliet slipped out of the room, and began to head down towards the throne room, prepared to put an end to her secret once and for all. * * * * * * * * * * Megatron stepped before the door to the throne room - HIS throne room. He was still weak, and was beginning to feel worse - perhaps an aftereffect of the explosion. But he would not allow such to deter him. Security was surprisingly light around the area, which had made him wary at first. But he had consoled himself, concluded that Blackarachnia simply did not place the priority on security that he had and WOULD. A lesson she could stand to learn - not that she would live long enough. As he opened the door, Megatron was ready to destroy his former subordinate. One attempt at betrayal, he could forgive - it showed a useful amount of cunning. But two was too much cunning, and necessitated her elimination. As Megatron stepped into the throne room, lights snapped on to acknowledge his presence, and he aimed his laser lance at the chair. He inwardly noted the well-designed system around him, but kept his goal in sight, and the prospect of being able to bend it to his will afterwards. It was only seconds before Megatron realized that his quarry was not there, and that she had foreseen his arrival. Unsure of where to go in light of this conclusion, Megatron stood for a moment, trying to figure where she might have run off to. It only took him half a second, but he quickly realized that he was still being stalked by someone, and threw himself to the side in anticipation of a blast. Unfortunately for him - as he had guessed - his hunter had already fired, and he resisted the urge to cry out as a laser tore through his side. Still, he had avoided the brunt of the blast, and quickly whirled on his feet to see who his attacker was. Juliet stood there, anger visible on her face. "Damn you to the Inferno, Megatron, you were supposed to stay dead." She punctuated her statement with another volley of blasts from her arm cannons. Megatron flipped around the room, taking advantage of the spherical shape and springing off the walls onto the central poles that moved the throne. He braced himself against the pole, then let loose a high-power stream from his laser lance. Juliet flipped forward over the beam, then twisted and grabbed the top of the doorframe, pulling herself up with trained reflexes. "How times have changed, Juliet," smirked Megatron as they faced each other, weapons at the ready. "And now you've gone right back to being Blackarachnia's lap dog. Do you have a leash?" He clucked his tongue, finding some small solace in her growing anger. "I would never have pictured you as an assassin..." "This is not about Blackarachnia, Megatron!" snarled Juliet, whipping out her scramble gun and flipping off its internal safegaurds. "This about you and me, and I don't plan on having any interference!" Megatron frowned. "What are you talking about, Juliet? Outside of Blackarachnia, there is no connection -" "But there is between us," snarled Dinobot as he, Nightpounce, and Nightdagger strode into the room, weapons at the ready. Juliet noted the increasing amount of firepower pointed at her, and decided to move to a more advantageous position. Flipping forward again, she hit the catch on the door, sliding it shut behind the Maximals, then sprang around behind Megatron, leaving him pinned between the Maximals and her own gun. "Help me here, Maximals, and we can all walk out of here alive," snarled Juliet, her eyes never ceasing in their angry glow, never moving half an inch from Megatron. "Help me kill this bastard, and I'll overlook your intrusion into our base." "We still have our uses for him," replied Nightdagger calmly, training her weaponry on Juliet. "And I don't much like being ordered around by ANYONE." The click of Nightdagger's arsenal being brought on-line drew Juliet's attention - though not her gun - away from Megatron for a moment, leaving her and Nightdagger scowling at one another from opposite sides of the room. "You so much as twitch on that trigger, and you'll be wall splatter." "Agreed, Nightdagger," interjected Dinobot. "I have my questions for him - but afterwards, I have no compunctions about bringing him to death's door." Before Dinobot could say another word, a high, trilling laugh came from the very top of the chamber. The assembled Transformers looked up at once to the high ceiling to see a previously unnoticed shadow break away from the ceiling and deactivate her cloaking system. Her weaponry covered her body, with her massive bladed wings making her look more than slightly demonic. She was slender and angular, her design only having a few soft curves like those of the Maximals and Predacons. Her black body seemed to actually pull in light rather than reflect it. She laughed again, a beautiful but terrifying noise. "Oh, you do have your rivalries, even now," she said slowly, somehow deriving a great deal of mirth from this. "Who the devil are you?" asked Juliet, deciding to focus on external threats first and aiming her gun at the new arrival. As the cloak finished falling, a pair of Decepticon sigils became visible on her shoulders. "I am Shardwing, Juliet," she intoned, seeming to lose a slight note of her confidence. "And I am here to complete a task never fully realized - though you do throw an interesting element into the mix." "What task?" Nightpounce's head was swimming, and she felt as though she had just jumped straight into the heart of the Predacon-Decepticon relations. "What is a Decepticon doing in the Soundwave? Why does Juliet want to kill Megatron? Will SOMEBODY explain what the slag is going on?" Shardwing laughed again, still hovering in midair like a bird of prey. "Well, I'm not going first. Dinobot, do be a dear and start us off?" Dinobot did not respond, aside from continuing to glare at her. "Very well. Obstinate as ever, I see." Her words finally spurred Dinobot into action. "How do you know me, Decepticon witch? What business do you have with Megatron and I?" His anger was beginning to get the better of him, and he drew his sword, brandishing it before himself. "This is between a father and a son! It does not concern you!" "It concerns ME," snarled Juliet. "Dammit, Dinobot, what could you possibly want to know from this murderer?" Her grip on the gun tightened, and she swung it back to aim at Megatron. "You've got every reason I do. He must die. He DESERVES to die." Megatron, who had thus far been taking in the situation rather than acting on impulse, finally took in the whole of the situation. His eyes widened, and he looked straight at Juliet. He waited a moment, examining her, then began laughing uncontrollably. "Well, well, WELL. You had more spunk in you than I gave you credit for, daughter dearest. So you wish to follow in the prodigal son's footsteps?" "Shut up, bastard," snarled Juliet. "You left me to die. I'm here to return the favor." All eyes had fixed on Juliet, who looked more and more resolute, less and less compassionate. "It took me a while to figure it out, Tyrasix, but I put two and two together a while back, before the Decepticons attacked. Thankfully, you were always too thick-headed to notice anything that subtle." She adjusted her grip on the gun. "I didn't really want it to come to this. Retrax telepathically found out... but I made sure that he was out of the picture. It could have stayed buried, but you had to come back and screw it all. Nobody will ever find out again, Megatron." "Too late, Julie." All eyes spun towards the door, where Blackarachnia stood, outfitted with ceremonial armor and fully armed. "You could have tried to be a little more subtle, Julie. After all, why would you seem so distraught at allowing Megatron back into our ranks?" She smirked. "Haven't done much spying lately, or you wouldn't have been so obvious." Juliet's confidence and hard edge seemed to melt away like butter. "Blackarachnia - don't make any assumptions. I'm still faithful to you. You know -" "I know you're a liar, Julie. But I already knew that, and I can live with it. Don't make any assumptions yourself. This changes nothing." She turned her gaze towards Megatron. "As for you... I could use another warrior in my ranks. Care to take the position?" Megatron scowled. "I will never follow you -" "News flash, Megs - you are currently surrounded by several people with guns who want to kill you. I wouldn't recommend being choosy at the moment." Blackarachnia accented her point by pointing her weapons straight at her former leader. "Time's up, Megs. With us?" There was a moment of hesitation, and Megatron sighed. "I do hate you, Blackarachnia, and I will continue to. You do realize that, right?" "As long as you obey me, I could care less." Blackarachnia turned her weapons away from Megatron, now fixing them on the silently observing Shardwing, who was taking in the entire situation with a bemused grin. "Now for you, my dear. I don't recognize you offhand - but I'm certain that I never allowed you into the complex. This could get rather nasty." "It need not," replied Shardwing, floating somewhat lower, still unmoving in her position, still equally ominous. Her eyes glowed a deep blue, shining with a fierce drive. "I am here for two people, mockery - Megatron and Dinobot. They are... loose ends." She glanced briefly at Juliet. "Though I wouldn't mind finishing her off as well... I can wait for that. Give me my targets, and I will depart." "I certainly have no emotional attachments with Dinobot," replied Blackarachnia, her gaze hardening. "But Megatron is a different case entirely. As for Juliet... we go back a ways. And I don't take very kindly to being called a mockery." She narrowed her eyes, stepping forward into the room. "I am afraid that you are not in very good company anymore." Shardwing laughed and relaxed her posture, casually fishing out a cannon from behind her back. "Oh, don't make me laugh, little girl. You may be able to cower Megatron, but the only thing he ever brought to our pairing was cowardice and treachery. You cannot hope to stand against me." Dinobot's eyes widened. "No - I - mother?" His battle stance went limp, his sword falling to his side loosely. He was visibly shaken - visibly disturbed. "You - you WITCH! I refuse to believe this! I know you, Shardwing - know you for a cold and evil woman! My line may trace through Megatron, but I will not be traced through two such evils!" "You make it sound as if it was a choice, Dinobot!" laughed Shardwing, ascending in the air once again. Her arms were spread wide, her cannon ready at a moment's notice. "Tell me - do you still hear the screams of your unit, my son? The last group of Predacons you ever commanded? I only wanted you, but you retreated too soon." Seeing Dinobot's disturbance, she grinned wider, deciding to press the issue. "How did you tell it? A dispute with a commander? How did you hide the fact that you were dismissed from military service because you led your soldiers into a deathtrap?" "I..." Dinobot's resolve seemed to have leaked out of him. "I... no..." "It all comes out now, son," continued Shardwing, smiling at her children with the grin of a very lucky cat. "I sought you and Megatron to kill, because I wanted - and still want - to purge you abominations from my line. I had a daughter who was pure - a perfect Decepticon - but you abominations helped destroy her." She trailed off for a moment, lost in thought. "Nightdagger... a shame she was lost..." Nightpounce's head snapped to Nightdagger. "Nightdagger? You mean to say that you are..." Shardwing and Nightdagger locked eyes, both of them realizing what was going on, both visibly shocked. Nightpounce looked from mother to daughter, began noting the similarities - the prominent wings, the hard edges, the formdiable armaments. Even the facial structure... It was Shardwing who brought herself to speak first. "You... have... taken my daughter!" Her arrogance was gone, stripped away by this new revelation. She brought her weapons back to bear, aiming now at Nightpounce and Dinobot. "Give her to me, or I will destroy you ALL!" Nightdagger snapped up her cannons, aiming them at her mother. "You are not my mother," she snarled. "Try anything and I will KILL you, WHOEVER you are!" Weapons clicked. Energy built up. Everyone had their weaponry pointed around the room, and only Dinobot was remaining uninvolved. He looked around torpidly, and knew that there were only moments before a rather nasty firefight would erupt. Best, then, to go with some last measure of honor... "You will never better me!" shouted Megatron, whipping his lance around and firing at Shardwing. Shardwing turned and began spitting fire around the room, the Predacons and Nightdagger returning fire. Blackarachnia was trying to split her attention between Nightdagger and Shardwing, and it was only moments before chaos erupted, the room being shattered as the blasts echoed down the corridor. Nightpounce threw up a defensive shield around Nightdagger and Dinobot, lunging over to the latter, who was now kneeling limply. "Dinobot!" she shouted, trying to shake him into action as laser fire rippled across the shield. "We've got to get out of here, now! You've got your answers, now let's GO!" "Leave me to die, Nightpounce," sighed Dinobot, staring at the floor. "My honor is gone... if I had any to begin with. I am a son of murderers, brother of a traitor, and a coward. Let me die here, among my misbegotten kin, and let it end now." "You know I'm not going to do that, Dinobot," Nightpounce replied, now kneeling next to him as glass rained down around them. The light from the batte filtered through the glass, throwing maddening glints of light and shadow around the room. "You are more than your family, Dinobot. You owe nothing to Megatron, or Juliet, or Shardwing. They can only remember your past, not shape your future. Honor is thicker than blood. You have your honor still. Don't give it - and your life - up for nothing." Dinobot looked up, saw the battle raging around him, Nightdagger falling back to near their position. "This is suicide if we stay any longer," he snarled, balancing on his sword as he stood. "I will not let my family destroy me - not any more than they already have." He looked to Nightdagger. "And they have left me something worth saving." With lightning grace, he dashed forward and leaped through Nightpounce's shield, landing squarely on Megatron's back. Driving his sword into his father, he jumped for the door, tucking and rolling as he hit the ground. Nightdagger and Nightpounce picked up his meaning, and followed him outside as he weaved through the corridors of the Soundwave complex. Behind them, the battle still raged, anger fueling the fierce conflict. * * * * * * * * * * Blackarachnia scowled as she flexed her arm, still sore from Flatline's repairs. Her throne, thankfully, was fully functional, but the battle had all but destroyed her monitors around the room. Her crew's repairs had most of them up now, but even as she thought they continued to patch up more of the destroyed displays. The roof was another matter entirely. Shardwing's exit had been more dramatic than necessary, and the hole had blasted through some of the upper corridors as well. They could be fixed, but Blackarachnia did not like the idea of having a structural weak point directly above her throne room. Megatron had been stripped of his Transmetal body - it was too badly damaged to be repaired, and besides, Blackarachnia thought that the demotion was more complete if he lost his body in the process. He was in no shape to protest having his old body back, though - not after the punishment he had taken. Shardwing had laid into him after Dinobot stabbed him - it was luck that Juliet and Blackarachnia hit her hard enough to drive her away. Juliet was in the CR Chamber, but nothing serious. She should be out within the megacycle. She was certainly upset by the revelation of her first officer's heritage. After all, she had trusted Juliet with a great deal, and that trust had apparently not been entirely reciprocated. Still, she knew how deep Juliet's loyalties ran, and she was not about to waste such a wonderful soldier. Juliet - and Megatron - would prove quite useful in the future. She was certain of it. A crash came from one side of the room, and Blackarachnia heard one of her workers fall, smashing another pair of monitors on his way down. She sighed, and called up Flatline on a functional monitor. "Flatline? Are you still in need of volunteers?" * * * * * * * * * * Nightpounce tapped her foot, waiting for Mercutio to answer his door. She hated having to come down here badly enough, but to have to WAIT on top of everything else fixed no problems. She had left Dinobot in Vixen's care - he was still coping to some extent - just to come here. If he didn't show up soon... The door slid open, and Mercutio stood before her. "Nightpounce. You've returned." He stepped aside, as if to invite her in to his quarters. The room was still rather sparse, but he did have a couple of rather... unusual sculptures up around the area. "I was a little worried that you would be getting in over your head with Dinobot. But, as you are back here unchanged, I would wager a guess that -" Nightpounce said nothng, merely flicked out a tendril of energy at a nearby chair. She focused, trying to see the chair as movable, pliable. For a moment, nothing came, and the chair was still just a chair. But as she studied it, it was suddenly as if a barrier had snapped, and she saw the chair not for what it was, but what it could be. She strained and shaped it into a sword, then tossed the crudely-shaped weapon at Mercutio. The former Emissary calmly stopped it in midair, then let it drop to the floor. "So you have changed." "You were right," she sighed. "About everything. It's not ability I lack - it's the willpower and the vision. I can do it, I just don't WANT to." She sighed again, slumping against the doorframe. "But I can't change unless I choose to. And I have to change - I have to accept the facts." Mercutio smiled as he picked up the sword, formed it back into a chair. "So Dinobot's lessons have been useful for you as well. Excellent. Are you ready to begin taking me seriously now?" Nightpounce paused, then nodded. "I am the weapon, Mercutio. Show me what you've got."