First Impressions
Quickfire stood among the other two Preds. They had received word of Maximals in the area and had been dispatched to scout and eliminate the threat. She looked out to the horizon as the two higher ranked Preds talked among themselves. It had been harder then she had thought to adjust to their new lives among the Preds.
She sighed thinking to herself as they waited for the Maximals to come their way. She was wondering how the rest of the team was fairing, when she saw something moving their way not far off. "Two Maximals sighted" she reported to the other two. They looked out and sure enough, the Maximals were coming.
Quickfire, The Predacon, and Di Cerberus prepared for battle. The Maximals had already spotted them so there was no point in trying an ambush. They watched as the Maximals increased their speed, charging towards them. The other Preds didn't move, obviously waiting for the Maximals to reach them, but Quickfire wasn't one to wait. She made a decision, transformed, and took to the skies.
If they won't make the first move, I will, she thought, I don't care if they disapprove. She soared high, and then dove down strafing the Maximal known as Brain Sucker. She repeated the move and strafed Maximal Zerobreaker. It didn't do much, but at least now the other Preds got off their afts and charged.
Di Cerberus was the next to attack, using his heat-seeking laser blasters on Zerobreaker. Zerobreaker hissed in pain, but he wasn't going down that easy. Now The Predacon attacked using his elemental powers, but Zerobreaker transformed into his beast mode and moved out of the way. Irritated, The Predacon used his powers again, only for Zerobreaker to transform once again and run out of the way. Zerobreaker was now close to Quickfire and she couldn't help but think to herself, how did he get over here so fast?
Zerobreaker was back in robot mode and lunged for Quickfire, but she swerved out of the way. "Too slow!" she yelled tauntingly (sure that was pretty stupid, but you know even some of you wouldn't be able to resist, right? Thought so). Zerobreaker growled and went for the next closest target, Di Cerberus. Zerobreaker punched Di Cerberus square in the gut, winding him. Brain Sucker jumped out of nowhere and hit Di Cerberus with his mace bollo while he was still trying to catch his breath.
Oh, yeah, Quickfire thought, forgot about him. Just as Zerobreaker was going to take another shot at Di Cerberus, Quickfire pulled out her sword and charged. She missed, but it at least gave Di Cerberus time to recover and get back into action. Brain Sucker had been distracted by this and didn't realize that The Predacon had come up behind him until he was hit with The Predacon's elemental powers. Di Cerberus fired his heat-seeking laser blasters on Zerobreaker, but missed.
"Slag!" Di Cerberus cursed. He prepared for Zerobreaker to charge at him, but instead the Maximal transformed and charged towards The Predacon.
"Pred! Heads up!" he yelled, too late. Zerobreaker rammed The Predacon.
"My turn" Quickfire said
"Not without me" Di Cerberus replied
They both transformed into their griffon modes, both looking almost identical except that Quickie had golden, fiery orange feathers and Di Cerberus had purplish, blue. They rose into the air and dove down.
"I call Snow White!" she yelled playfully, laughing
"I've got ugly" he replied with a chuckle
Quickfire couldn't help smile at that. She dove for Zerobreaker and Di Cerberus went for Brain Sucker.
"Heads up!" she called out. Zerobreaker looked up to see Quickfire diving for him. He didn't have time to move out of the way and Quickie strafed him down. A little to the left Di Cerberus descended upon Brain Sucker and strafed him furiously. Brain Sucker growled, picked himself up, and struck Di Cerberus with his mace bollo. Brain Sucker smirked to himself.
"Not bad. Now I go" he growled, taunting them. Brain Sucker transformed into his beast mode. He gave a vicious roar and charged for Quickfire. Di Cerberus got in front of her to take the hit, but Brain Sucker strafed him down and kept charging, strafing Quickfire next.
Quickfire was about to pick herself up when Zerobreaker came and kicked her back down. Furiously Di Cerberus transformed, rose into the air, and strafed Brain Sucker. He saw Zerobreaker next to Quickfire. She struggled, trying to raise her body up, only to have Zerobreaker kick her in the gut. She collapsed back onto the ground trying to catch the breath that had just been knocked out of her.
Quickfire gathered her strength and jumped up, pulling out her sword, and lunged for Zerobreaker. At the last minute Zerobreaker transformed and leapt out of the way with an unbelievable amount of speed. How does he do that? she thought, confused. Suddenly The Predacon came out of nowhere and attacked Zerobreaker with his elemental powers, but once again he transformed and moved out of the way.
Quickfire looked to The Predacon and, irritated, asked, "Where have you been?"
The Predacon ignored the question. Di Cerberus came and turned around to see The Predacon standing there. He was just about to ask the same question when Brain Sucker came running towards them. Di Cerberus aimed his heat-seeking laser blasters and shot him down.
Brain Sucker got back up, hissing, and charged towards The Predacon, but he transformed into his racecar form and drove away. Quickfire saw this and wondered why he was leaving.
"Hey! Where are you going!" she yelled after him
Di Cerberus heard Quickie and turned to see The Predacon driving away. What's he up to? he wondered. Quickfire growled, clearly irritated, and pulled out her sword. She charged towards an unsuspecting Zerobreaker and nailed him. She didn't notice Brain Sucker coming up behind her until she heard him give a low growl. She whipped around to see him ready to take her down. Oh slag, she thought.
Then she heard a car engine and looked to see The Predacon charging full speed. He transformed, still speeding down the desert, and jumped up into the air. Using all his might, he unleashed a furious blast of his elemental powers upon Brain Sucker, sending him into stasis lock. Quickfire just stood looking at The Predacon confused.
"I just don't understand you" she said with a sigh
"Join the club" he chuckled softly
Quickfire looked up at him and a small smile formed on her face. He smiled back. Taking advantage of the moment, they didn't see Zerobreaker transform into his beast mode and charge. They looked up too late to see the charging mech. They wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. At the last second, an already weak Di Cerberus pushed them out of the way and took the hit. He immediately went into stasis lock.
Quickfire and The Predacon stood stunned at their comrade's actions. Zerobreaker once again transformed and rammed down the Predacon. Quickfire pulled out her sword and charged while Zerobreaker was turned around, but he moved out of the way. Unfortunately, he moved towards The Predacon, who used his elemental powers and hit him. Taking advantage, Quickie charged and hit Zerobreaker with her sword. Enraged Zerobreaker turned and swung at her, punching her in face and sending her flying to the ground.
She picked herself up warning lights beginning to flash of imminent stasis lock if she took one more hit. She grabbed her sword and weekly tried to hit Zerobreaker, but he moved away and she fell forward to the ground due to the weight of the sword. The Predacon saw that Quickfire was week and tried to hit Zerobreaker with his elemental powers. He missed, big time.
"Slag!" he cursed. Zerobreaker ran toward him and kicked him down. We lost, was all he could think. Quickfire was week and could hardly pick herself up and he was on the ground bracing himself for the impact that would end this battle.
Quickfire looked up to see The Predacon on the ground, Zerobreaker standing over him, preparing to deliver the final blow. Time slowed down in front of her. It was over.
Can't be, she thought hopelessly. Her memory suddenly flashed back to her days in the academy, training to be a soldier and remembered her drill sergeant. He would not tolerate quitting. He pushed them all the way.
"Get up!" she commanded herself, "Get up!" She gathered her strength, raising herself off the ground. She stood, shakily trying to keep her balance. Time resumed its normal speed and she transformed. She flew into the air and dove down with great speed towards Zerobreaker. His fists were just about to come down on The Predacon.
"No you don't!" she yelled. Both looked up to see the griffon charging down. Quickfire strafed Zerobraker with enormous impact. Zerobraker was sent flying and into stasis lock. Quickfire transformed and was suddenly free falling, no longer having the strength to fly. The Predacon dove and caught her in his arms. He gently shifted her so she was comfortably sitting on the ground with him kneeling on one knee beside her.
"That was very brave of you" he told her gratefully
"Pff. It was nothing" she said waving it away
He chuckled. He got up and went over to Di Cerberus. He kneeled down and checked him. Quickfire watched quietly.
"He alright?" she eventually asked
"Well, he's not going to die so I'd say he's going to be okay" he replied turning back to repair whatever he could of Di Cerberus.
Quickfire turned back around and laid herself down, gazing at the stars. She watched contently, wandering how the others' missions had gone. She sighed and decided shut off her optics so she could relax a little. The Predacon looked up to see her lying down and smiled gently.
"So, what's next?" she asked softly
"Well, we should probably walk as far as we can. We won't be able to make it to base tonight so we should find some shelter to rest" he answered softly still busy repairing his comrade, "You think you can make it?" he asked looking up
She turned her body to look at him and nodded. I hope so, she thought to herself. He nodded back and finished his work. The Predacon stood up, lifting Di Cerberus onto his back. Quickfire picked herself up, stumbled a little, but regained her balance. She watched as The Predacon walked toward her with her comrade on his back and followed him as he began to walk towards the horizon, where the sun was beginning to raise.
They were able to reach a cave not to far from base and recharged for whatever was left of the night. The sun rose a few hours later shining down on them. Quickfire had gained a little more energy and Di Cerberus was able to come out of stasis lock, still weak, but strong enough to walk on his own. The Predacon woke up as well and immediately they all began moving, The Predacon leading the way. They made it back to base with no obstacles blocking the way. They were sent to the CR chambers immediately after arriving.
Quickfire sat in the chamber, her head lay back, and sighed in relief, falling into a peaceful recharge.