pSheriff Rattrap sat in his chair playing cards with his his partner Cheetor. He was playing a simple game of Go-Fish, and was quickly becoming bored. Cheetor, on the other hand, was as peppy and as cheerful as usual. He was the one who even suggested playing cards.
pRattrap was contempt with slacking off, drinking whiskey, and sleeping; but Cheetor just wouldn't let him have that fun. He kept on saying things like "Rattrap, how could you be asleep when there is so much crime to stop," or "Come on Rattrap, your suppose to be alert at all times. Drinking will only slow you down if an emergency happens."
p"I hate rookies." Rattrap said outloud, handing Cheetor one of his cards, and picking one up from the deck.
p"What was that Rattrap?" Asked Cheetor with a puzzled glance on his face
p"Nothing Kiddo. It was nothing."
p"Oh Okay. Do you have an ace of hearts?"
p"Dang!!"Rattrap slaps his cards on the table, grabs his whiskey bottle and drinks from it.
p"Ahhhhhhhhh," he says with his eyes close. He then wipes his mouth with his hand.
p"Rattrap!! What do you think your doing!!"
Cheetor grabs the bottle from Rattrap and pours it's contents into a nearby sink.
p"Sheesh kiddo! That was my last bottle!"
p"Stop lying Rattrap!! How many times have you said that I poured out your last bottle!?!"
pRattrap put on a sheepish grin and shrugged.
p"I'm telling the truth this time. That was my last bottle, and it'll be a long time before I can go out and get some more."
pCheetor shook his head and kicked his leg against the wall near him. A cabinet that was hanging on the wall opened up to reveal a secret chamber behind it. Inside the chamber were rows and rows of many different acohol beverages, liquors, and spirits.
p"Explain that?" Cheetor said sternly.
p"Who died and made you my mum? Wait, don't answer that, my mum iis/i dead."
pCheetor shook his head sadly. He had wanted to be a sheriff for all his life. He had grown up admiring them and wanting to be just like them. Taking out the bad guies, winning the hearts of all damsels, helping the common folk; were his dreams. Finally, after much hard work, he was finally a sheriff....er... almost, and instead of defeating scum and having adrenalene pumpimg shoot outs, he was acting as a nanny to some over the hill, out-of-it sheriff; who found drinking liquor and sleeping his favorite passtime.
p"Listen Rattrap, I'm going out and scouting around to see if there is any trouble. Tell me if anything has happened when I get back."
pCheetor abrubtly left without getting any response from Rattrap, who was now looking at an empty liquor glass.
p"Who would have thought that you, ol' shoot-em-up Rattrap, would become such an old geezer." Thought Rattrap out loud to himself. "Twenty years..... and I thought I would go out with a bang. Now I'm just some old, lazy drunkard....damn kid!! That was my last bottle of cyber whiskey!"
pThe cup that Rattrap was staring at, suddenly started to fill up. Rattrap blinked his optics a couple of times in confusion. He looked up into the face of a familiar stranger.
p"I believe this will acount for the cyber whiskey," says the stranger with a heavily Russian accented voice. He sets down the bottle of whiskey in front of Rattrap. Rattrap eyes it warily, and then grabs it and chuggs it down (not all of it though). He then starts to cough and hack. When he's finished he glances up at the stranger and smiles.
p"Ah so I see you like it" the stranger says.
p"Hell yeah! What is this stuff?" Rattrap asks.
p"Just moonshine whiskey I make for long assignments."
p"Mind if I keep this."
p"Not at all, go ahead."
p"Thanks. Who are you anyway?"
p"I'm surprised you don't reconize me Rattrap. I am Ravage.'
p Rattrap spits out the whiskey in his mouth; stands up; and with lightning fast reactions, pulls out his guns and aims them at Ravage.
p"Ravage!" He says with much scorn and hate in his voice. "You have the nerve to show up here!" Rattraps pulls slightly at the triggers to his guns. "Leave, now, before I have to shoot you!"
p "Rattrap! After all these years, you still surpise me! Now put those weapons away!"
p"And why do I have to listen scum like you!?!?!"
pRavage pulls out a badge and and beams it at Rattrap.
pRattrap gaped his mouth in awe and surprise, momentarily relaxing his trigger fingers.
p"Your part of the CCIA (Cybertronian Central Intelligence Agency)!!" Rattrap exclaims with disbelief.
p"Of course I am. After you and your gunslinging friends defeated the Red Moon gang and arrested me, I thought I was doom to live the rest of my days in prison forever. Lucky for me, the Cybertronian Central Intelligence Agency were looking for bots just like me, who knew the ways of things over here, so to undertake missions and assignments for them."
pRattrap still could not believe his ears, and was openly telling himself that it wasn't true.
p."Face it Rattrap, we're suppose to work together from now on until....."
p"Until what!?!" Rattrap cut in.
p"*Ahem* Until we eliminate Megatron and his crime ring."
pJust then Cheetor came in, oblivious to what was going on.
p"Oops, i kinda forgot my badge. . ." Cheetor looked up and notices the guns in Rattraps hand, and the unfamiliar mech in the room.
p"Was I interupting something?" asked Cheetor.
p"Hello young one, my name is Ravage. You must be honored to partners with Rattrap?" Ravage held out his hand to Cheetor. Cheetor firmly shook it.
p"The name's Cheetor, and I do feel honored to be partners with Rattrap. I just wish he lived up to his reputation."
pRavage laughed
p"That is what happens, young one, when you get old, and haven't seen action in years."
"I never really thought of it that way. And I thought he was always like this. "
p.Oh no. Rattrap was a proffesional sharp shooter. He could shoot with the best of them."
p"So I've heard, just that I doubted it once i got to know him."
pRattrap laughed, the tension between him and Ravage was seemingly gone.
p"Listen kiddo, there's a lot you don't know about me. Just because I like a good drink every now and then, doesn't mean I can't shoot."
p"I guess I'm sorry Rattrap."
p"That's okay Cheetor. I need to stop drinking anyway. With you here, at least I'm reaching that goal." Ironically, Rattrap reached out to Ravage's moonshine whiskey, and drank a gulp. Cheetor shook his head sadly.
p."So what brings you here Ravage?"
p"Why don't you explain Rattrap?"
p"Kitty face over there is part of the CCIA. Those pampered no gooders sent him out here to team up with me to stop Megatron."
p "Wouldn't they send more then one agent to stop someone as powerful as Megatron?"
pRavage smiled wickedly.
p."You and Rattrap should not concern yourself with that matter, young one. Your only job is to back me up, and follow my instructions."
p "What do you mean of that!?!" Rattrap yelled, the tension between him and Ravage appearing again.
p"As I said before, that is none of your concern! Now gentlebots, I must go." Ravage turned and left for the door. He then stopped, turned around, and said "I shall return to you in a couple of days to tell you my plans." With that he left.
p.Cheetor eyed Rattrap, and noticed that his hands were shaking. Rattrap quickly put his weapons away and sat down.
p"I don't get it?"
p "Get what?" says Rattrap, sighing to himself, downing a cup of the moonshine.
p"I thought you two were friends, and then you both suddenly snap. Did you two use to be partners who had a falling out in the past or something?"
p"Worse kiddo. Ravage killed my partner."
p
p***
p
p"Hmmm....." Mumbled Dinobot, casually ripping apart a pillow.
p"Hey! Why'd you do that!! Why would he be hiding in a pillow!!!"
pDinobot mumbled something under his breath
p"Answer me when I'm talking to you!!"
pDinobot looked at the angry bot, and picked him up by the neck.
p"Listen scum." he said in a cool voice. "I do what I find necissary to do. Any objections to that and 'omae o kurosu'." b(For all of you who aren't Gundam Wing fans, "omae o kurosu" means "I am going to destroy/kill you" - uSparky /u)/b
pThe bot nervously nodded his head and then asked in a questioning voice "'Omae o kurosu'?"
pDinobot slammed him against the wall, and continued his reckage of the place; ignoring the question, and causing the bot to nearly faint in fear.
p The bot could only watch in silent horror as Dinobot did his own destructive biddings. After a while, Dinobot stood up straight, obviously satisfied, and left. The bot stared after Dinobot for a while, and then turned his attention to his place to asses the damages Dinobot caused.
"I hate my life." Thought Nightscream to himself.
p
p Outside of Nightscream's place, Dinobot studied the piece of paper he had found hidden in Nightscream's drawers. It was a simple note addressed to Quickdraw from a familiar someone. How Nightscream got his dirty hands on something like this, Dinobot didn't know, or care. He titled his head a bit.
p"Hmmm... apparently I need to make Tarantulas a visit." he thought.
p
p
p Nightscream hurridly ran out his home towards Tarantulas's Bordello. Taking a short cut, he reached it way before Dinobot.
p"Tarantulas!!! I must see Turantulas right away!!" He screamed to the secritary-bot.
p"Please stop yelling, your upsetting the costumers. Now, Tarantulas is busy. May I take a message?"
p"I have no time for this!!" screamed Nightscream (heh) ignoring the secritary-bot's cries of protest as he raced towards Tarantulas office.
pOnce there, he began to bang on the door and yell.
p"Tarantulas open this door!! I have an urgent message for you!! Tarantulas, please open the door!!"
pThe door opened to reveal a very annoyed Tarantulas.
p"What could be so important, for you to yell at the top of your voice box like some psyhcopath. Now this better be good. I have some important business to attend to."
pNightscream nodded his head and impatiently yelled out "Dinobot is coming!!!"
p"Calm down my lil' bat friend. Why is Megatron's spawn coming to visit me?
p"Remember the letter you told me to give to QuickDraw?!?"
p"Yes......." Suddenly Tarantulas realized what he was getting to. "OH NO!!!!"
pThere was a scream of pain and then a loud explosion.
p"Boss...." questioned Nightscream. "I believe Dinobot is here?"
p"No kidding you dolt!! We must think of something, or else i am doomed."
p"We?!?"
p"Yes we!!! If it wasn't for you, this wouldn't be happening!!"
pTarantulas pulled him into his office, and then locked the door. They began to argue over what to do, when a tiny voice suddenly spoke up.
p "Tarantulas, what's going on?"
pBoth Tarantulas and Nightscream turn their heads towards where the voice was coming from. An explosion rocked the building causing the fem-bot to shriek and cower into a ball.
p"Primus! I almost forgot about you!! Nightscream, take her and leave here right now!!"
p."But Tarantulas, what about....."
p"Forget that.." cut in Tarantualas. "I don't want anything happening to my goods, now take her away from here."
pNightscream nodded happily. Glad that he wouldn't have to stay and face Dinobot's fury. He raced over and picked up the small fem. He then unlocked the door and took off for an exit. He glanced at the fembot and realized what Tarantulas's important business was, that he had interupted (It's a bordello. Put two and two together). He shook the thought out of his head.
p
pTarantulas watched them leave, and then locked his door again. He sat down in his chair and waited for Dinobot.
pFor what seemed like an eternity, Dinobot finally reached his office, and broke down his door.
p"Ah Dinobot, a pleasure it is to see you. What brings you to my bordello. Obviously it isn't for the service."
pDinobot growled at Tarantulas.
p"You know why I'm here, and so does Megatron." Dinobot pulled out a strange looking machine. The machine began to hum, and floated out of Dinobot's clawed hand. It then split into three spheres. The air between the spheres began to haze. The face of Megatron quickly appeared out of the haze, and stared at Tarantulas disdainfully.
p"Ah.... the spider. How pleasent it is for me to meet with you."
p"H . . . Hello, M . . . Megatron!"
p "Enough with the pleasentries. Now, I believe you know where a certain someone, that I'm looking for, is.
p Tarantulas lowered his head and appeared to be thinking. "Sorry Megatron. I don't seem to know the where abouts of someone that you would be interested in finding."
pMegatron laughed a bit, and then said sternly "I do not tolerate your scheming, spider! Tell me what I want to know, or else I'll have Dinobot, or my new 'Pet' Rampage" Tarantulas gulped, "dismember you."
pTarantulas tried to hide the fear in his voice. "You know, I almost forgot. I do know the where abouts of someone of interest to you. Would this person happen to be QuickDraw?" Tarantulas said nervously.
p Megatron smiled smuggly, and nodded his head.
p"Well, I'll tell you, but for a price of course."
p"TARANTULAS!!!"
p"Fine, fine QuickDraw is located at . . ."
pBefore he could finish, Megatron interupted.
p"You know. I think it would be better if you showed Dinobot to where QuickDraw is at."
p"Wha... WHAT!"
p"You heard me Tarantulas. You aren't complaining are you!?!"
p"But.. but Megatron, I can't possibly show one of your goons . . ."
p"I said, we arn't complaining are we!!!!?!!!"
p"I'm not complaining" grumbled Tarantulas.
p"Good. You'll be leaving right away. I'm sending my newest recruit Rampage over to tag along." Megatron turned his head towards Dinobot. "If Tarantulas does anything sneaky, you and Rampage have permission to destroy him." Dinobot nodded silently with a low growl.
pMegatron's image then phased out, and the machine pieces returned back together. Dinobot hid it in subspace. He then grabbed Tarantulas by his neck.
p"Let's get going." Dinobot growled.
pTarantulas grumbled silently, and reluctantly followed.
p
p***
p
p Ravage watched Dinobot leave Tarantulas' Bordello, followed by Tarantulas. He watched them as they mounted their cyberbucks (horses) and ride off into the desert- Tarantulas in the lead.
pRavage then hopped onto his own cyberbuck. He patted it's head, and soothingly said to it "We shall soon have Quickdraw."
pHe kicked his heals into the cyber-creature's sides, and it sped off, following Tarantulas and Dinobot.