Author's Note – Next part in the "Corsicon" series. Like all of the stories in this series, Night of the Hunter can be read independently. You don't need to read the others to get this story.

Night of the Hunter

Chapter 1

Tigatron moved silently through the jungle. He knew that his prey was close. He could smell the stench of fear clinging to the wet ground with every deep cycle of hot, muggy air that he vented. The scent was confused, scattered; there was nowhere left for it to run. The chase was almost over. Tigatron tensed when he heard the snap of a twig break beneath one massive paw. He waited for the birds to shriek and the monkeys to scatter, signaling his position to his prey. But there was… nothing. For the first time Tigatron noticed how oppressive the silence was. It was a dead world, completely lifeless except for himself, his prey and the ever-watchful trees that pressed in on him. Tigatron drew back in bewildered fear. He didn't recognize this place. These flowers, these trees… the colors were all wrong. The entire jungle was completely alien to him. Was he even on the same planet? And… what was he hunting? Tigatron felt the hair on his beast mode rise on end when he heard a low, mocking chuckle echo through the jungle.

Tigatron's optics flickered on, the laughter still resonating in his audios. Only it was softer. Sweeter. He looked up to see Airazor bending over him, her servos braced against her knee joints. He was in his cave in the arctic tundra, not lost in some Primus-forsaken jungle; there was no reason for him to still be feeling anxious. It was just a dream. She laughed again as he groaned and stretched, kneading the dirt floor with his huge paws. "That must have been some dream," she commented. "You were kicking out your feet and growling. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I can't wait to tell the other Maximals."

Tigatron took a playful swipe at her legs, watching as she easily danced away. "Seriously though," she pressed as she came to sit on a rocky outcropping. "What were you dreaming about? You looked like you were chasing something."

"It was more than that," he admitted with a shake of his head. "I was hunting. What it was I do not know. Or at least, I don't remember what it was. I was trapped in some place strange and alien, somewhere I'd never been before."

Airazor leaned forward, her optics wide. "Do you think maybe it was a memory? When I recharge I sometimes see glimpses of Cybertron. Or, well, I assume it is Cybertron anyway."

"Wherever it was, it certainly wasn't Cybertron." Tigatron sighed. "I think perhaps you're reading too much into it. It was just a dream. It didn't mean anything."

Airazor folded her arms and looked out through the mouth of the cave to watch the snow fall. "It just gets a little frustrating sometimes," she admitted. "Don't get me wrong. I love this planet. It's my home. But… sometimes I'll just get this sense of déjà vu and then there is a face, someone's name, a smell… something that just appears in my processor and I'll have no idea what it means. I feel like I'm missing something important, something that made me the bot that I am." She finally turned to look at him. "I think… I think I might have loved someone on Cybertron and… it scares me, to be honest. This bot… whoever he was… is like a ghost hanging over my head. I don't want the past to ruin my present."

Tigatron knew that she was referring to him when she spoke of the present. There had been this connection between the two of them for so long; a small spark that had grown steadily into a white-hot blaze. He had done nothing about it however, despite the fact that she had made her intentions clear. He wanted to though, desperately, but there was always something that held him back. He knew what he was supposed to do, how to show her his love like the bot he was. But it didn't seem natural to him; he felt more like an organic than a robot. What he really wanted was to call out to her in the way tigers did when attracting mates, but she wouldn't understand. That duality – robot and animal – was always there, tugging him in opposite directions. There were still times when he found himself in battle and looked down in surprise to see mech fluid instead of real organic blood.

Airazor shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "I suppose in the end it doesn't matter. Rhinox told me that the damage to our memory banks was too extensive. Apparently the banks are the most delicate part of the stasis pods and when the Axalon was hit-" Airazor made a booming gesture with her servos. "They were the first things to fry. We'll probably never get those memories back."

"I'm sorry," he said.

She laughed. "No, you're not. You don't care if you ever remember."

He didn't say anything. It was true after all.

"I've got to check in with Optimus," Airazor said as she shifted into beast mode. When her body had adjusted she looked up at him from where she perched on the ground, peering at him with those intense falcon eyes. It was like she was trying to see right through him. If anyone could, it would be Airazor. "Why don't you come with me? Cheetor will be happy that you visited."

For a moment he hesitated. He wanted to, but… "I need to patrol Sector 40," he heard himself say. Why could he never let himself give in? "I haven't been there in two days."

Airazor sighed and mumbled out, "Suit yourself." She took off, flying out of the cave and disappearing into the gray sky. Tigatron watched her go for a moment before dropping his face into a paw and shaking his head. He needed to get over this or he would eventually push her away completely. Tigatron straightened up and began to make his way to Sector 40. He might as well go ahead and patrol the area, Optimus would be expecting him to anyway once Airazor reported back to him.

Sector 40 was a long trek out of the arctic, deep into the jungle that bordered the Predacon base. He knew this place well; it was here that the Maximals lost themselves to their animal programming and where Tigatron had taught them to calm and soothe the raging beasts. But the familiarity did nothing to comfort him now. The jungle reminded him too much of his dream, despite the fact that the two looked nothing alike. This was a land teeming with life, unlike the barren jungle of his dream. The chirping and chattering and roaring of animals comforted him. This was where he belonged, in the wild as an animal. Tigatron let his animal side take over and lost himself in his instincts.

He didn't know how long he had been walking when he suddenly realized that the birds had stopped chirping. That could mean only one thing: danger was nearby. Tigatron shivered at the way the heavy, wet air clung to his fur and kept his optics and audios peeled for any signs of Predacon activity.

There was an explosion right by his feet and with a roar Tigatron transformed. He hadn't even finished adjusting to his robot body before a barrage of bullets and laser blasts flew at him. He leapt to the side, rolling behind a tree while pulling out his own blaster from his subspace pocket. His face scrapped against the rough bark as he turned to peek at his opponent, his blaster drawn and ready. Tigatron nearly dropped his gun at what he saw, he couldn't believe it. He had been expecting Terrorsaur or Waspinator – perhaps even one of the spiders – but certainly not… this.

The bot was perched in a tree and grinning like a loon, with a Predacon insignia blazed across his chassis. Tigatron didn't recognize him and he wildly wondered if another stasis pod had crashed; had the Predacons captured it before the Maximals could get to it? But that didn't explain why he looked like that. The Predacon was Cybertronian, pure Cybertronian. He didn't have a beast mode and looked like he transformed into some sort of jet. But it wasn't possible. The energon on this planet would have fried him without an organic alt mode to act as a protective cover.

"Hey there, Killer," The Predacon called out as he lifted his gun. He pretended to shoot it at Tigatron, laughing when the Maximal flinched back. "Bang. You're dead."

Tigatron jerked his head back around the tree and readied himself. It didn't matter if the bot had a beast mode or not. Right now was not the time to wonder these things. He needed to take him out; he could find out why later. With a roar Tigatron leapt out from behind his cover and ready to knock the Pred onto his aft, only to find that the bot was gone. Tigatron let his arms drop, mystified at where the Predacon could have disappeared to.