Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape, or form, own the Transformers© franchise or the characters it contains. All publicly recognizable characters are copyrighted to Hasbro, and the respective artists/writers/et cetera. No infringement intended.

Continuity: G1 Generation One

Characters: Original characters: Tideslash, Prowsaw, Hullpunch, Wavepounder, Shoreline, Wingdip, Seadart

Warnings: Some violence, slash, and general creepiness of everybody.

Author's Note: Criticism encouraged, technical points preferable.

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There was not much use in a liquid-covered planet such as Vruush. Oh, certainly, it seemed pretty enough, from a distance; all purple and indigo, capped with blue, without a speck of terra firma in any direction one cared to look. Its numerous Epipelagic-dwelling residents, as well, were wonders unto themselves; sleek, quick beings, sparkling and luminescent as fresh high-grade rations. Though skittish, they could prove hypnotic, diverse and graceful in basic build, made for speed and high maneuverability.

But, if one cared to drift lower, to view the deeper waters, to what denizens patrolled beyond the warmer tides… it was quite a different story. Things with teeth. Things that lurked. These were dark, bulky creatures; beings that cruised slow and easy, bulbous eyes turned toward the light and their shimmering prey, always looking for that telling glimmer against the darkness of their home.

And they weren't very good at discriminating on what kind of shiny they sought out.

Tideslash jerked aside, sending up a great spray of foam as he banked. The massive, rending jaws snapped closed, rising like dark fingers from the deep. Empty, they slid slowly back into the churning water, unperturbed by the narrow miss. There would, after all, be other chances.

Caught by the pull of his own maneuver, the knife-like Decepticon spun about, stalling his propellers and simply going with the current he had created.

"This is exactly why," He said to no one in particular, "Nobody comes to visit." Harrumphing to himself, he dipped low into the water, riding out the waves as his sonar gave off a single ping. Ah, there was the slag-sucking lump, another of those nasty tri-jaws. Not yet realizing he had pinned it, the sea-beast smoothly glided toward his aft, propelled by filtered water forcibly expelled from its side-mounted ventilation slits. The trine of its maw opened, stretching to one hundred eighty degrees, the blackness of its gullet like great iris—

Tideslash crowed in delight, pulling his oversized propellers up to full revolutions as soon as the creature's massive orifice began to clamp down. The tri-jaw wailed its peculiar, low call, bits of its mouth and tongue-tentacles emerging from the frothing water in sprays of green-grey. It's body thrashed, desperate to back out of the blender that was its metallic prey, but it had gathered too much momentum, and became tangled in the churning blades.

Jerking forward, Tideslash at last pulled free from the mutilation as he felt his propellers strike upon solid bone, whipping forward as if he had been launched. The disfigured creature behind him continued to writhe and wail and moan, in the last throes of death even as its fellows descended upon it to begin the feeding.

Turning sharply, the Decepticon slowed his engines, pulling to a stop to watch the slaughter. Up went a pliant, carbon-gathering frill, shorn free from the unfortunate creature's head. There a flipper broke the roiling water, followed by a lethargic, murky expanse of body. One massive eye rolled about to regard the bobbing Decepticon, and just as quickly discount his existence. What was the point in hunting such a dangerous being when more readily available fare was there for the taking?

"That's ten," Tideslash chortled, tallying it off in his head. "Ten today."

The water began to still; the feeding was over, and naught but the sparest of pieces remained. Silent, ghostly, and well-sated forms slithered away, going in all directions of the deep.

Tideslash waited for the largest among them – those big enough to pose something of a hindrance to the Decepticon – to depart, before trundling forward, rumbling his engines and stalling his propellers to frighten the younger tri-jaws.

The creatures scattered from his approach, slinking out and away, leaving the messy, indigestible remains to the metallic interloper to do with as he pleased. Most had learned, he supposed, to fear the sound of engines. Those who did not take heed to the lesson, well…

Taking a moment to check his sonar once more – no need to repeat that last, embarrassing incident, no – Tideslash transformed, sinking deep into the water. The liquid immediately sucked him in, submersing him in near impenetrable gloom. The world was suffused in indigo, with narrow slashes of light, and distant flickers of slight, glittering forms, the scavengers come to see what remained of the feast.

Tideslash, noting their boldness, kicked his foot-propellers into a low gear, just enough power to keep him barely brushing the surface as he surveyed his handiwork. The shining, slippery figures jerked, and slid away, back into darkness, leaving him to his grisly prize.

The tri-jaw had been of a decent size; nearly his length and half again, judging from the doubled spinal columns dangling from the badly-scored remains of its skull. Empty, clean, and white, it hung suspended, its optic holes wide and black. Unfortunate, for the optical units could be used to blend a decent polishing mix. Of course, one had to be quick to get the luminous, mucky-yellow orbs. It seemed a delicacy to all creatures, and was the first thing to go when a tri-jaw perished. Evidently, the beasts were getting desperate, as well, to risk his ire by going after such a recent kill. Somewhat unfortunate, but not particularly worrisome. Organics were not to be feared, after all; they were inferior, simple diversions. Their lapse in training could be rectified with only a minimal amount of effort.

Tideslash grinned. "Ten," He told the deeps. "Ten, and not even a full rotation. I'd say the lesson is going swimmingly." Amused by his own jest, he broke out in a fit of chuckling, tickled with his wit. "Let's see Waves beat this."

Still chortling to himself, the Decepticon reached out, seized the drifting bit of vertebrae, and began to take it apart.