"I'm stepping out for a hunt. Do not disturb me unless it is a dire emergency."
The snarling voice of the large bot carried across the quiet bridge of the Axalon, his announcement instantly grabbing the attention of all present. Four pairs of optics averted from glowing display consoles to glance curiously over shoulder plates. Optimus observed in silence for a moment as the warrior approached the ships exit port, nonchalantly reverting to his raptor form as he strode past. "Alright, just be sure you're back in time for your patrol." The leader reminded dismissively. Dinobot replied with a low growl, bearing his fangs aggressively. After a moment he seemed to reconsider his stance, turning away as the exit opened. "Of course…" With that he left, a momentary awkwardness lingering behind in his wake. The four bots exchanged glances before returning to their duties. It didn't take long for the stillness to be broken once again.
"Say… has anyone else noticed Dinobot acting kinda strange lately?" Cheetor wondered aloud, looking across control panels at the three older Maximals. It was of course the shortest of the group whose wit seemed to be the quickest. "'Lately?' Heh! You kiddin'? Old Lizard Lips' core processor was manufactured by 'Abnormal Industries'. He starts actin' normal, then I'll worry." Rattrap joked, earning a stifled chuckle from the young feline. "C'mon, Rattrap! I'm trying to be serious! I mean, don't you think he's been hunting an awful lot lately? It's been almost every day for the past week. He always comes back to base dripping with boars' blood and with an attitude worse than when he left! Doesn't that concern you even a little?" At that, Rattrap merely shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, you always come back drenched in tha stuff after a hunt, but do ya hear me complainin'?" Cheetors' optics narrowed at the rat. "Not drenched in it. And I hunt deer, not boar. Those things are vicious! Last time I even got near one it thrashed my tail halfway across to Pred' territory."
"Perhaps he's decided it's better to recharge his fuel cells by ingesting organic matter rather than sneaking energon from the Axalon's emergency stores. Something a certain bot could stand to learn from in my opinion." The gruff tone of the old science officer's vocal processors interjected, his optics remaining focused on the screen in front of him. Normally Rhinox would keep his nose out of the often witless banter of those two, but he couldn't pass up the chance to voice the concern he'd had lately. Of course everyone knew who that 'certain bot' was, including the very one in question. "Eh, very funny, Horn-head…" Rattrap grumbled to himself.
No sooner had he returned his attention to his monitor did the computer chime to life. "Alert; Predacon energy signatures detected in Sector Seventeen." The monitor then proceeded to prattle out coordinates in the same monotone, unfazed voice. Rattrap vented out a heavy sigh. Great. Just what the mechanic ordered. "Speakin' of food, tonight's menu consists of a four-star Pred' buffet, all ya can eat!" Rattrap announced, brass-tinted fingers darting across the control panel in front of him. Cheetor let out a frustrated groan. "Aw, man! Isn't that where we set up our new com tower? We can't let them take it out! It took us forever to drag all that equipment out there!" At that Rhinox shook his head. Apparently the time it took him to develop and build the slagging thing in the first place wasn't an important factor to the young scout.
Optimus, who'd been silently observing Rhinox's monitor over his shoulder, finally decided to join the conversation at this point. "I'm more worried they'll bug the thing and intercept our communications again. Either way, I'm not about to let them get their claws on it." The commander replied before activating his communicator. "Optimus to Dinobot; Your hunting trip is going to have to wait. Report to base and prepare for combat." Several seconds passed. Nothing but static across all channels. He tried again. "Dinobot! Respond!" he shouted this time, his growing aggravation apparent in his voice. Still nothing. There was no reasonable explanation for his com silence. He'd only left ten minutes ago, not enough time for him to have found suitable prey and certainly not long enough for him to have wandered out of range. He was either ignoring his communicator or simply turned it off. Either was outright defiance. He tapped his communicator one more time.
"Tigatron, Airazor; I need you in Sector Seventeen on the double. I'm sending you rendezvous coordinates now. Prepare for battle and wait for us there." This time, the response was immediate. It was the smooth bass of Tigatron vocal processors that replied. "On our way." That was enough to account for the both of them, as Airazor was almost never far from the white tiger. It also served to confirm that there wasn't a damned thing wrong with the coms. "Hey, what about Choppaface? You just gonna let him chase wild pigs all day while we all get our exhaust vents handed to us by tha Pred's?" Rattrap complained as he finished his inspection of his sidearm. Cheetor folded his arms across his chest plate, narrowing his optics at the rat. "Told you he was acting strange!" Optimus vented a sigh. "I'll deal with Dinobot later. Our priority right now is that com tower! Now move out!"
It was dusk before the Maximals returned to base. They'd managed to keep the Predacons from doing any permanent damage to the tower, but not without taking damage themselves. The initial strike only consisted of Blackarachnia, Scorponok, Waspinator, and Terrorsaur, but it wasn't long before the other three Pred's showed up to play. Optimus' repairs were taking the longest, as Inferno managed to back him onto a corner for a while. When the CR chambers door opened his optics focused just in time to catch Cheetor hopping off from his seat on the edge of the circular table on the bridge. Rattrap was sitting backwards in his chair at his station, apparently waiting for their fearless leader to complete his repairs. Rhinox was working on slapping together an extra defense gun for the com tower. Airazor and Tigatron had already been dispatched to keep a tight patrol of that sector, their damage having been relatively minimal.
"Where's Dinobot?" Optimus demanded immediately as he pulled himself out of the chamber. Cheetor and Rattrap glanced at each other as if trying to decide who should tell him. It had been a long time since they'd seen their leader quite that mad at a teammate. "Well, eh… That's actually a real good question, Boss Monkey… He ain't here." Rattrap admitted hesitantly, massaging the back of his neck and averting optics. Cheetor glanced back up at Optimus, feeling the need to elaborate on Rattraps explanation. "The logs say Sentinel hasn't lowered the shields since we left this morning. Wherever he is he's probably still there, 'cause he never checked into base."
At this point, Optimus wasn't sure weather to be angry or concerned. He activated his communicator. "Optimus to Dinobot; report in." Static. He tried again. "Dinobot, report in immediately!" More static. He vented a frustrated sigh. Rattrap shook his head. "How much ya wanna bet Dino-breath is up to his old Pred' tricks?" The comment earned a glare from the Maximal leader. "I'm not about to jump to any conclusions just yet. Rattrap, I want you to scan for his signal. Open the range up as far as it'll go. I'll search from the skies."
"H-hey! Wait a second, Big Bot! What if Rattrap's right? He could be waiting in ambush out there or something!" Cheetor protested as Rattrap turned around in his chair to scan for Dinobot. Optimus turned to face the cat, folding arms over chest plate. "We've been over this before. Dinobot may have been a Predacon at one point, but he's one of us. Besides, ambush isn't his style." That didn't seem to fill the young soldier with much confidence, as his optics averted downward. "Yeah, well… With the way he's been acting, I'm not so sure about that anymore…"
Just then Optimus heard the entrance lift activate behind him. "Guess who's home." Rattrap commented as the lift door opened. The rat could be heard turning in his chair to more effectively heckle the Saurian. "It's about time ya came crawling back, ya sorry—Holy slag on toast! What in tha Pit happened to you?" At that Optimus turned around, intending to chew the raptor out for ignoring orders. He was unable, as his jaw nearly dropped right off his face.
Dinobot was quite a sight to behold. Already in robot form, absolutely caked in mud, bright red blood still dripping from his talons. He seemed to be keeping his left side facing the wall, but even through all that mess he couldn't hide the twisted metal just below his chest plate. Everyone's optics were fixed wide on the bot, unable to believe the state he was in. He said nothing, merely strode slowly past towards the interior of the ship, bypassing the CR chamber altogether, likely headed for his quarters. A stunned silence fell across the bridge. Eventually, it was Cheetor who sprang back to life first.
"See? I told you!" Rattrap looked around, as if trying to reprocess what just walked through. "Wh-what tha Slag? I thought all tha Pred's were at our party!" Optimus knelt down next to the thin trail of red, brown, and blue that Dinobot had left behind. Rhinox left his work to kneel next to him. "That's not boars' blood…" the science officer informed in a low tone. Optimus reached down, swiping a finger across a thick trail of blue and holding it up to inspect. "Neither is this…" Servo fluid. It had to be from the damage the raptor was trying to hide. Optimus quickly rose to his feet. Enough was enough. He had to get to the bottom of this. Fast.
The trail was easy enough to follow, though Optimus had already guessed where it would lead. The doors to the raptors quarters were wide open. Highly unusual, given his preference for privacy. They slid shut behind the Maximal leader at his silent command. Dinobots talons were balled into tight fists against the surface of his desk, the bot staring vacantly downward as he vented slow, heavy breaths. Optimus approached with caution, knowing better than to sneak up behind the raptor under even the best of conditions. These were far from best conditions. However, even as the gorilla plucked a tuft of long brown mane from between scaled plates, the other bot never lashed out at him as was expected. In fact, he didn't seem to notice him there at all. Optimus inspected the fur, his optics darting down to the damage on the warrior's side. It looked as if someone – or rather something- had latched onto him and twisted the metal like a knife in a wound.
"A lion did this to you?" Optimus questioned, his voice very calm, being sure to show no signs of aggression. As far as he was concerned he was talking to a ticking time bomb, and he had no idea just how much time was left. A low growl emanated from Dinobots vocal unit, but there was still no true sign of aggression. "As if I would give a mammal the satisfaction of damaging me. The lion was but my second quarry. This was the work of the… Crocodile…" Optimus vented a sigh, shaking his head. Well, that explained the mud at least. But two in one day? Of course those were probably just the ones he'd mentioned so far. "You've needed to eat this much?"
At that Dinobot straightened his posture slightly, glancing over his shoulder plate. "The vultures are getting rather plump, are they not?" In other words his prey of late had become little more than a donation to the local scavengers. "Then you're hunting for sport?" Another growl, this time a bit more defensive. "No. Not sport precisely. Rather a distraction from more… Primal urges…" Optimus raised a brow plate at that one. "'Primal urges?'" he repeated mostly to himself. "How long has this been going on?" he asked, though the symptoms of Dinobots behavior hinted at the most probable source. The warrior hesitated to reply. It wasn't in his nature to talk about personal matters. "Since the… incidentregarding our energon shields being stolen…"
Optimus recalled instantly what Dinobot was talking about. The Predacons had stolen the Axalon's energon shielding system, forcing the Maximals to remain in their beast modes even on base. Eventually the instincts of their beast forms overtook their logic circuits, rendering them little different from their animal counterparts. If it weren't for Tigatron, who spent almost all his time in the wilds and knew how to control those instincts, they'd be mere trophies on Megatrons wall right now. Optimus assumed there were no more issues once the problem was resolved. Apparently he was mistaken.
"That was months ago. I hadn't noticed anything until these past few weeks." He commented, folding his arms across his chest plate as if waiting for an explanation. Dinobot let out another low rumble, optics staring down at his desk again as if ashamed. "They've grown exponentially stronger recently. Hunting used to calm the hunger, if only for a few solar cycles. Now, however… It doesn't seem to be working anymore… I've even tried more challenging prey. Dangerous prey. Nothing helps…" Optimus nodded slowly, having a fairly good grasp of the big picture now. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on. "That explains why you're going after apex predators now. What it doesn't explain is why you didn't answer my call to battle earlier today. If it's combat you've been craving, then surely fighting the Predacons could only help—"
Optimus' words were cut short by a particularly vicious snarl. Before he had time to react Dinobot shoved him into the wall, a metallic bang resounding through the Axalon's halls. The warrior was on him in an instant, taloned hands gasping the Maximal leaders upper arms in a vice grip and pinning him against the wall. Dinobot towered over the ape, using his superior size and weight to his advantage. Optimus readied his arm cannons as dagger-like fangs were bared. "You do not seem to realize what I meant by primal urges!" he roared out. Suddenly, Dinobot shoved his face into the commanders. Optimus' optics widened as he felt the warriors rough metallic lips pressed violently against his own. His sensors had barely enough time to register what was happening when the raptors leathery torso pressed heavily against his body. His spark skipped a pulse when he heard the doors locks engage. Well, this was just Prime…