Smoke clouded thick and heavy over the city as the battle raged on, screams of pain and the resounding clacking of bullet impact punctuating the air as a mingled spray of metal and plasma illuminated the haze, making it virtually impossible to even so much as attempt to cross the debris-strewn street without running the risk of being shot down. Faintly glowing pools littered the ground and smeared the bodies of the fallen, some dead and others well on their way to it, though neither of the two forces were willing to call a cease-fire to try and reclaim their fallen comrades. Too much was at stake to back down now; the feud was over a good sum of energon, and that was something that both sides desperately needed.

"Do you think the captain was able to get around behind them?" One of the Autobots asked as he ducked down behind some debris beside one of his companions. "If we can't get rid of them soon, we're scrapped!"

"I hope he did." The smaller, senior officer in the force replied grimly, shaking her head as she peered over the edge of the rubble and fired off a few more shots before being forced to duck down again. "Because I don't know how much longer we can hold the line!"

It wasn't long after this, however, than the warzone was struck by a sudden and eerie silence. None of the Autobots dared move for several moments, until finally someone dared to breathe. "D-do... do you think our forces routed them?"

The crunch of gravel betrayed the advance of someone through the dust, all optics turning to stare as a massive frame drew closer. "Th-that... th-that's not one of ours..." One of the Autobots said weakly, his hands trembling as he and his comrades took several shaky steps back. There was only one silhouette that could belong to, only one figure that carried themselves with that much fearlessness and pride. Glossy black and red armor was soon easy to make out as the smaller cybertronians sped up their movements. In moments, a Decepticon big enough to rival Optimus and Megatron was standing before them, his burning red optics staring down at them as he regarded their reactions with an almost careless air of satisfaction. "I found your captain." He growled lowly, his deep, almost smoky voice resonating with sinister pleasure. "And I felt drawn to escort him back."

Lazily he cast his hand before himself, releasing the object he had been holding... and smirking as the deceased Autobot's head rolled towards the remaining members of the unit. The femme of the group gasped loudly, stumbling and falling over her own feet as she fully registered whose head it was. Seemingly reveling in their panic, the large Decepticon spoke again. "He begged for mercy as I broke his limbs one by one, you know." He sneered. "He cried for help as I forced him to try and crawl away. He wailed like a sparkling before I ripped his head off with my bare hands." He paused a moment as the full horror of the captain's brutal death sunk in. "Such a pitiful leader... he couldn't even manage to find the right words to say before I put an end to his miserable life. Can any of you do what he could not? Or are you all too weak to compare?"

As the Autobots turned and fled, only the femme remained standing where she was, her hands trembling as she stared up at the Decepticon before her. At first it was hard to tell if she was too afraid to move or simply trying to stand her ground, but it was soon proven to be the latter as she lifted her blaster and aimed at the Con's head. "I-I will drop you where you stand, Magnus." She seethed in spite of her desperate shivering. "S-stay where you are or so help me Primus, I-I will end you right here and now."

Magnus smirked as he leaned down so he was closer to her eye level. "Go ahead." He encouraged, optics unblinking as he stared straight into her own. "Shoot me. End me right here and now. Get revenge for the murder of your beloved captain. Put an end to my tyranny on the battlefield if it helps you feel any better about yourself. What will it matter in the end? You know as well as I do that our deaths will mean nothing in the long run. Just two more dead soldiers in a war where nobody is willing to try and make peace. So do it. Go right ahead. Blast my head off my shoulders and prove yourself as a capable Autobot, for shooting someone who didn't even raise a weapon against you."

The femme's aim faltered as she began to tremble even more, her own optics wide as she stared up at him in horrified fear. Barely able to stay on her feet, she stumbled back a couple steps and withdrew her weapon, shaking her head as she whimpered out. "N-no. I-I... I-I won't sink t-to your level. Y-you're wrong. Y-You're wrong!"

"Am I?" He jeered. "Am I really? What makes you think that Optimus Prime really cares about the singular soldiers who run out here and get shot down in the name of 'freedom'? What makes you think that any of this is going to matter to him, or anyone else?" He stood up straight, crossing his energon-stained arms as he continued to smirk down at her. "The war is pointless, and losing your life for it isn't worth the effort. Your captain was too stupid to see that when he had the chance to save himself, and now he's dead. Do you really want to end up the way he did? Or worse? Think about that." Carelessly, he turned and began walking back the way he'd come. "Shoot me if you really want to, but in the end it won't mean anything. You should run while you have the chance. Maybe some other planet will be more accepting than this one."

He paused to glance over his shoulder and shoot her a sinister looking smile. "Unless, of course, you want me to turn around and shoot you right here and now. I would be happy to oblige."

Magnus didn't even have to turn fully in order to tell that the femme was now running for her life. Even as he returned to his own forces, he knew she was well on her way to escaping. One of the vehicons nearby spoke up, looking up at him in confused agitation. "You're going to let her escape? Why not kill her and put an end to it all?!"

"Oh believe me; she won't be making it back to the Autobots." The larger cybertronian all but purred. "Panicked femmes make mistakes... and she's running straight for a minefield. If she can navigate that, by all means let her live. But..." He paused, listening for a moment and smirking as a scream and a resounding bang echoed from behind them. "... I doubt she'll get far."

Returning to Kaon was a very quiet affair, the brutality of the battle leaving those in the transport ship in a state of quiet reflection, and perhaps horror. Even as the vehicle was brought in to land, several of the Decepticons were still giving Magnus – who by this point was casually leaning against the vehicle wall and seemingly admiring the energon stains on his hands – very uneasy glances, and no sooner was it safe to disembark than the ship emptied, leaving the largest of the cybertronians to get out last, and well behind the others. This suited him perfectly fine, however; he actually preferred solitude over the companionship of his teammates. The quiet gave him more time to think, to plan and muse over past actions and future endeavors. And, perhaps, more importantly...

Figure out how he was going to deal with the next battle.

Loathe as he was to admit it to himself, Magnus knew that he was tiring of the war. Day in, day out, it was the same routine; go out, shoot Autobots, return to base. That was all there was. There was nothing new, nothing exciting or enjoyable. It was always the same thing, and until the war was over, that was all he had to look forward to. He'd taken to amusing himself by finding clever ways to avoid actually killing his opponents, resorting instead to scare tactics big enough that they could, with any luck, push an Autobot into defecting and trying to hide rather than continue fighting. He knew already that several of his attempts had worked, and he had no doubt that his latest was a success as well. After all, getting past the terror of thinking you were blown up, only to register – once the panic wore off – that you had actually fallen down a hole and out of blast range, wasn't likely to be easy, especially when presented with the head of your squad leader shortly beforehand.

Magnus knew he'd lied through his teeth on that one as well. There had been no begging for mercy. No breaking of limbs and no screaming in agony. One swing, one kill. That was all it was. The captain hadn't even known he was there until it was too late to stop the inevitable. For all Magnus knew, the captain didn't even feel a thing. Part of him hoped that was the case; as much as he boasted about prolonging the suffering of an Autobot that was unfortunate enough to be cornered, Magnus was truly sick and tired of the game. The hunt was no longer fulfilling, and with each day he pushed his act, his desire to just say he was done grew only stronger. But he couldn't just resign, not from the Decepticons and certainly not after he had built a reputation for himself as a brutally efficient and slightly deranged killer. No, he needed to come up with a different plan. A better plan. One that could wipe him off the board and allow him to seek a refuge of his own, away from the war and away from anyone who might try to shoot him.

And then it came to him. All he needed was to put it together, and present his plan to the one person he knew would never doubt his loyalty.

He needed to show it to Megatron.

A few days of preparation followed the creation of his grand plan, and while he couldn't push back the unease he felt about what he was aiming to do, Magnus was certain his plan would work. It had to work. Any one piece of his plan going awry would spell his death, and while it would give him rest from the war it was certainly not the way he hoped to achieve his peace. Even now he was making his way to one of Kaon's exits, and while he hadn't picked the location of his mission, he knew how the rest was supposed to unfold. He had, after all, organized the rest. And if things went to scrap... well, it wasn't like he would be there to take the blame. If anything, the heat would fall on Starscream's shoulders, and that was something Magnus had been hoping would happen for a very long time. It was common knowledge among the Decepticons that Starscream was, while a capable flier, good for very little else. Arrogant and whiny, the Seeker in question had more likelihood to muck up a good mission than salvage a bad one, and even the missions he completed were more than likely fixed by someone other than Starscream. Magnus had lost track of how many times it was Thundercracker, not Starscream, who had the foresight to avoid or repair problems as they turned up, and secretly he hoped Thundercracker would be put in charge of the Seekers whenever Starscream actually died.

"Pff... as if Starscream's going to die." He muttered under his breath, idly wandering around Kaon as he waited for the mission's deployment to happen. "He's too stupid to die, and even if he wasn't, his stubbornness would get in the way of it regardless."

"Now that is a statement I'm sure all of Kaon can agree with."

Magnus hesitated and turned, blinking slowly as he regarded the rather small cybertronian who stood nearby, half his size and twice as shiny. This little fellow was the resident – and one of exceedingly few – medic for the Decepticons, and while he was often disregarded or even picked at for his lack of stature, very few would deny his skill when it came to repairs.

Granted, rumors said that Knockout wasn't opposed to 'mercy killing' a patient he thought wasn't worth saving. Which could easily be translated as someone he didn't like. In fact, it wasn't unheard of for the doctor to remind and threaten people who were harassing him. Luckily for Magnus, he knew the value of the 'little people', and in his opinion Knockout was one of the most valuable players the Decepticons even had.

After all, nobody would ever trust the likes of Starscream with surgical tools.

"Knockout," Magnus remarked with vague amusement. "didn't anyone ever tell you it was rude to interrupt someone's conversation?"

The little medic smirked up at him, undaunted by the size differences. "I'll keep that in mind when I find myself in that situation. But you and I both know you don't do conversations that much. Too many people you'd be tempted to just shoot."

"You know me too well." The bigger cybertronian remarked with a faint laugh. "But I also know you well enough to guess that you're not here chatting for the fun of it."

"That is definitely the case." Knockout confirmed, still smirking casually up at Magnus in amusement. "You didn't see me after your last fight, and the last thing anyone needs is for you to end up wrecking yourself in the name of ignorance to damage."

Magnus seemed vaguely amused by this statement. "Is that concern for my health, Knockout? Surely you know better than to start picking favorites; accidents happen when the doctor gets too friendly."

"Perhaps." The medic replied absently, idly admiring one of his silvery hands as he spoke with a tone of careless intrigue. "But it kept you alive this long, didn't it? Someone has to make sure you don't get scrapped, and you certainly don't let anyone else give a frag about you."

"Just part of the job. Just like it's your job to keep people fighting for the cause. Speaking of, I think another crew is about to come in. You should probably make sure your supplies are organized and ready."

Knockout sighed loudly as he lowered his gleaming hand back down to rest on his previously crossed arms. "Yes yes, I'm aware. I was simply putting it off because I know who was on that mission, and if I'm lucky, one of them will keel over on his way to my medbay."

"Starscream?"

"Funny you should ask." The medic stood up straight and rolled his shoulders before heading off down the hall. "Whatever you're off to do, Magnus, just remember not to get scrapped while you're out there; you're one of the few people in this base that I actually tolerate."

Magnus smirked after him. "And you better not get your paint scratched up while I'm out there. I don't want to come back and hear you whining about it."

Not that the larger Cybertronian aimed to return. As he once again set off for the door, he shook his head and sighed. He didn't really want to leave Knockout behind. The little doctor was probably the only one in Kaon he could have a hope of convincing to join in the desertion, and he didn't like the idea of something happening to extinguish his spark. There was too much pluck and personality in such a generally small package for him to think anything harmful would be entertainment. He wasn't that heartless. But it would probably be better this way. Knockout would remain safely tucked away in Kaon where he wouldn't be hunted down for desertion, and Magnus could go through with his own plan to escape unhindered on his own.

That, at least, was his hope.