Beast Wars Symmetries

A New Beginning, Part 2

"RUN!" screamed Optimus as the police opened fire on them. The Maximals ran off together as they were met with a hail of bullets. Some of the stray bullets struck them and bounced off of them.

"What?" cried one policeman in disbelief, "I could've sworn I shot 'em!"

Soon, several police cars gave chase.

"Give me one good reason not to turn around and waste 'em!" yelled Rattrap.

"Because it's not the Maximal way!" Optimus shouted back.

"That's a REAL good argument, boss monkey!" shouted Rattrap, "I'll take that into consideration the next time you come up with a stupid idea like this!"

"Ugh! Would you just be quiet, Rattrap!" roared Optimus as the four Maximals were nearing Crimson City Park.

"Save it!" shouted Rhinox, "We're getting closer to the Axalon!"

"You three go on ahead!" ordered Optimus, "I'll stay back and hold them off!"

"Ah, so now yer playing 'da hero to feel better about yourself!" remarked Rattrap snidely.

Optimus Primal ignored Rattrap and turned around to face their pursuers.


Detective Madison could hardly believe it. He and the three other police cars were going well over 70 miles per hour and yet, they couldn't keep up with the four animals. Just exactly WHAT were they?

Without warning, the gorilla turned around to face them while the cheetah, the rhinoceros and the rat continued running.

Detective Madison quickly hit the brakes. Because the road they were on was so narrow, some of the cars collided with each other.

The gorilla then leaped on to the hoods of their cars and ran off in the other direction.

Detective Madison got out of his car. By now, the other animals had escaped but the gorilla was still in sight.

"Chase him!" he shouted. The gorilla soon disappeared behind an alley. Madison and his unit gave chase.

As soon as they turned to face the alley, the gorilla was gone. There was not a trace of him anywhere… no hair samples… no blood… nothing.

"What are we dealing with here?" wondered Madison. "They can run this fast?"

None of the answers would come to Detective Madison, however.


After Optimus went by the lake, he summoned the Axalon's submarine through radio control.

What awaited him back at base was the furious expression of Rattrap.

"What kinda dumb plan was that!" demanded Rattrap, "Now look at the mess you put us in!"

"I know that, Rattrap," said Optimus, "And I'm sorry for putting all of you in danger."

"Sorry ain't enough, Diddy Kong," snorted Rattrap, "You screwed up big time, fearless leader!"

"Look, I said I was sorry," Optimus shot back, "What else could you expect me to do, Rattrap? You know as well as I do that we can't hide from this world forever!"

Before a full-blown argument could begin between the two, Rhinox decided to step in.

"You're right, Optimus, we can't hide from this world forever," said Rhinox as he glared at Rattrap who looked like he was about to say something completely out-of-line, "But at the same time, introducing ourselves to them all at once may not be the best approach."

"You have a suggestion, old friend?" asked Optimus, "I'd like to get as much input as possible before taking our next course of action. Go ahead and tell us."

"Well, for one thing," explained Rhinox, "The humans we met were much older and more set in their ways. From now on, we will have to gain the trust or more… shall we say… the younger and more open-minded?"

"Makes sense," agreed Optimus, "We can make friends and allies on this planet and at the same time, not start a mass stampede."

"Have any idea why the humans on this planet are such stiffs?" wondered Rattrap aloud.

"Probably because they haven't been exposed to any cultures outside of their own planet," Rhinox explained, "That kind of isolationism can lead to fear of what they don't understand."

"You bring up a lot of good points, Rhinox," smiled Optimus. "You sure you don't wanna take command?"

"Nah," Rhinox replied. "I'll leave it to the younger generation. Besides, I'm more content smelling the flowers."

"Speaking of which, there's a lot of flowers in this park," noted Optimus, "We should head out for a hike in that big forest someday when the humans are scarce. As explorers, we should also check those out sometime."

"Now you're speakin' my language!" exclaimed Rattrap, "So let's get going then!"

"Sorry, Rattrap," said Optimus, "But not tonight. I want you all to go get some rest before tomorrow."


10:00 A.M.

At a military base in the outskirts of Crimson City…

"Welcome, gentlemen!" exclaimed Damien, "Please be seated right away! Today is the day that I show you some of my new prototype models!"

"The President really likes some of the weapons you've built for him, Mr. Damien" commented General Wesley, "I know that you won't disappoint with what you're presenting today."

"Then you're going to love my new series of robots, the Predacons!" replied Damien as he picked up the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he said through the microphone, "Today marks the beginning of a new era in robotics! No more will we have the clumsy, unbalanced tin cans of the past, but now, we will witness a rebirth!"

Several, large robotic war machines appeared. There were ten total and each brandished a nasty, looking blaster cannon on their right arms.

"A few years ago, I sent these Crimson Clawbots to the White House," explained Damien, "They were state-of-the-art weapons capable of many enormous feats… but today, they will be put to rest."

"What the heck's he talking about?" muttered some of General Wesley's colleagues behind him, "He actually created better robots than our current ones?"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" cried Charles Damien, "Enter the Predacons!"

Suddenly, from an underground tunnel that opened up right beneath the sand, a large dinosaur-like creature emerged, followed by a pteranodon and two giant insects.

"I present to you Megatron, Terrorsaur, Waspinator, and Scorponok!"

"These are your new robots?" laughed a journalist, "They look more like Jurassic Park rejects to me!"

"And that's where you're wrong!" smiled Damien as he snapped his fingers.

Immediately, all four "Predacons" shouted "TERRORIZE!" in unison. To the awe and shock of all the spectators, they transformed into large, menacing robots.

General Wesley carefully observed the four robots.

"They move far more fluidly than any robot I've ever seen!" he thought, "Mr. Damien may indeed be onto something here!"

"Let's see what the Predacons are capable of, shall we?" asked Damien. The audience roared their approval. All 10 Crimson Clawbots were immediately activated and turned to the Predacons.

They simultaneously lifted their right-arms up and fired powerful plasma rounds from their cannons, causing much dirt and smoke to rise up from the ground.

A large explosion could be seen from where the audiences were seated.

The Crimson Clawbots scanned the smoke for any signs of movement.

In a flash, a purple laser effortlessly weaved through the smoke and cut through five Crimson Clawbots, destroying them.

When the smoke cleared, Megatron and the Predacons attacked the Clawbots savagely.

Terrorsaur and Waspinator flew into the air, blasting away at three Crimson Clawbots.

Scorponok quickly dispatched one with his missile while Megatron impaled the last, remaining Clawbot with his T-Rex tail, which was now used as a spear.

It was over in a matter of moments.

The audience burst into cheers.

"You really out-did yourself this time," complimented General Wesley as he shook Charles Damien's hand, "Your new inventions are brilliant!"

"Oh, the credit doesn't belong to me," said Damien humbly, "But to the men and women in our Cybernetics Department who have worked day in and day out to complete the Predacons!"

"When do you think you can make the Predacons available for use for the United States Government?" asked General Wesley.

"Oh, in about a year or two, I suppose," replied Damien, "They still have glitches here and there that still have to be fixed up. It's going to take quite some time before I can have them operating at their full potential so I hope you don't mind the wait."

Charles Damien stole a quick glance at the Predacons. He noted that Megatron was glaring at him with a look of outright hatred.


"Blast that human!" bellowed Megatron as he and the Predacons were lounging around in the private mansion of Charles Damien, "Does he dare claim credit for creating us?"

Waspinator and Terrorsaur were mounted on the sofa, watching television while Scorponok was rummaging through the wardrobes out of curiosity.

Megatron, himself, was reading one of the books from Damien's private library. He was ranting and reading at the same time.

"Sooner or later, I will no longer have any need to put up with that lesser being," growled Megatron, "Why exactly are we performing his menial tasks anyways?"

"Well, he did kinda threaten to expose us to the world," said Scorponok who was trembling slightly at the sight of his leader so furious, "We just gotta follow him until we learn enough to free ourselves."

Megatron put down his book and turned around to face Scorponok.

"For one thing, you follow ME!" threatened the giant Predacon as he towered over the scorpion, "

"Sorry, Megatron," stammered Scorponok, "I follow you above anything else!"

"Suck-up," muttered Terrorsaur as he and Waspinator were fighting each other in the video game Damien had purchased for them.

Megatron's glare focused on Terrorsaur.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"Err, I said that as much as we don't like listening to that human, we still don't have much of a choice," replied Terrorsaur, "He could sic all the human governments on us if he wanted to. Besides, this deal isn't totally bad. Some of the pastimes here can be amusing."

Megatron took one look at the TV set, aimed his T-Rex cannon at it, and calmly blasted it to bits.

"HEY!" screeched Terrorsaur, "We were playing that!"

Waspinator was also visibly upset.

"Yes, why Megatron so angry?" he asked.

"This whole time, that human has been lulling you into a false sense of happiness with the temptations of this primitive world!" seethed Megatron, "He wishes to keep you content with trinkets and gifts so that you will willingly do his work! Can none of you incompetents see that?"

The three Predacons didn't dare say a thing.

"One day I will grind that pathetic sack of flesh beneath my heels," said Megatron who had calmed down slightly and walked off.

After Megatron was gone, did the three Predacons dare to talk amongst themselves.

Terrorsaur glowered. "Hypocrite… He accuses us of accepting trinkets while he goes off and reads books from that human's entire catalogue!"

"You shut your mouth!" ordered Scorponok, "Megatron always has a good reason for doing what he does! Unlike the two of you who are just wasting away time on primitive electronic games, he's actually doing something to enrich his knowledge of this world!"

"And what does he have to learn from a bunch of hairless apes?" asked Terrorsaur, "If I were in charge, we'd have taken over this planet in two weeks, max!"

"If you were in charge, we'd have landed in a black hole during this trip!" countered Scorponok.

"Oh yeah?" asked Terrorsaur mockingly, "And Megatron landing us in some bizarre, never-been-seen-before galaxy is any better?"

"Better than anything your scaly red hide could accomplish!" growled Scorponok.

The arguments went back and forth until Waspinator decided to just leave.

Half-way down the hall, he saw a strange room where many strange utensils lay.

"Hmm," he pondered, "Where Waspinator now?"

He walked inside and saw many pots and pans hanging around the place.

What caught his attention, however, was something that lay on the table. It seemed that small, miniature particles lay within a small glass container.

"Hmm," he hummed, "Waspinator not know what this is…"

He zoomed in with his optics that could also act as a microscope. It appeared that the small particles within the glass were like… energon cubes.

"Humans take energon too?" he buzzed in confusion. Inquisitively, he popped the lid off the glass easily and stared within.

"Ooh, Waspinator try!" he chirped as he hungrily slid the "cubes" down his throat.

It was an odd and strange, yet breezy sensation for him. For some reason, he felt much more elevated and energized than before. Before he knew it, the power of "human energon" had taken over his very spark.

It was a wondrous moment for Waspinator that day. He had his first dose of sweetened sugar.


"Come on, Rattrap, don't be such a spoil-sport!" urged Cheetor.

"Nope! I ain't doing it!" declared Rattrap angrily, "I don't trust them humans, especially after what they tried to do to us!"

"Just because a few humans are like that doesn't mean they all are!" pleaded Cheetor, "We've got to give some of them a chance if we ever want to gain their trust!"

"Easy for you to say, kid," said Rattrap sadly as if he were recalling some unpleasant memory from the past, "Yer still young and can still be open to new things. As for me… I'm not so sure I can do it anymore."

"Come on, Rattrap," replied Cheetor, "I'll be there with you and those two kids are still young enough to accept us for who we are! You gotta give it a try!"

"Oh… fine," sighed Rattrap, "May as well. It's not like they can scratch us or anything."


Luna and Jack arrived just in time to see a cheetah and an enormous rodent appear from the bushes.

"You showed up!" exclaimed Cheetor, "We were afraid you weren't gonna appear."

Rattrap looked up at the two and started sniffing them cautiously.

"Rattrap, what are you doing?" demanded Cheetor, "Remember how I told you to be nice!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" grumbled the older Maximal.

"What would you like to see around here?" asked Luna, "We'll try to show you around our world as best we can, without people seeing you."

"Sounds like a plan," Cheetor agreed.

"Well, are you ready?" asked Jack, "We can't take you down town or anything but we'll show you around the places we live."

"Lead the way," said Cheetor.


After a tour of the park and their old middle school, Jack and Luna arrived home, with Cheetor and Rattrap close behind.

Normally, the Luna would have never dared to walk outside during the night but tonight, she and her brother had two invisible guardian angels with them.

"This is our home," she said, "Our parents are out of town for this week. Wanna come in?"

"Sure," said Cheetor, "We'd love to."

As soon as they entered the house, Cheetor and Rattrap .

"Hey, Rattrap, how much more time do we have on our bands?" asked Cheetor.

"Eeh, looks to be… one megacycle and two cycles," remarked Rattrap as he glanced on the chronometer on the band.

"Do they mean one hour and two minutes?" asked Jack.

"I think so," replied Luna, "But I'm not entirely sure."

"Want to check out upstairs?" asked Jack.

"Sure," said Cheetor, "You coming, Rattrap?"

"Nah," replied the older Maximal, "I think I'm gonna lounge around here for a while and look at this…?"

"TV," said Luna as she used the remote to turn it on, "Wanna watch?"

"Whoa," exclaimed Rattrap, "Didn't know you humans had this!"

Rattrap sat comfortably on the couch to experience the joy of flipping through channels.

"This is my room," said Luna as she led Cheetor up, "Looks nice, don't it?"

It looked like a typical room of what a normal girl her age would have. However, to Cheetor, it was new and fascinating.

"Whoa!" he cried, "What's this?"

"That's just a lava lamp," she explained, "You get used to it after a while but I guess to someone who's never seen one before, it can be pretty spectacular."

Jack also showed Cheetor his room, along with some of the action figures he used to collect when he was younger.

"Wow, you guys aren't too advanced but you can still create miracles!" exclaimed Cheetor who was thoroughly fascinated with some of the things he had seen.

"Err, thanks, I think," said Jack, "Wanna check out my Playstation?"

"Sure, what's that?" asked Cheetor, "Whatever it is, it sounds like it'll be fun."

Jack never got the chance to teach Cheetor how to play video games that one night as a loud, booming voice came from downstairs.

"Yo, Cheets!" Rattrap yelled, "Get down here so you can see 'dis!"

Cheetor quickly bounded down the stairs in beast mode.

"What is it, RT?" he asked.

"Look!" said Rattrap, "These are the Preds!"

Sure enough, on television, the four Predacons could be seen at the site of a military installation displaying their powers before an audience of humans.

"And in today's news, Charles Damien presented his new batch of robots before the United States Government," said the reporter, "These so-called Predacons quickly outperformed most of Damien's old robots as well as the heavy artillery used against them by the military's tanks."

"Is this human crazy making friends with the Preds!" asked Rattrap.

"I dunno," said Cheetor, "Is it possible they fooled him?"

"I'm not exactly sure, kid," replied Rattrap, "From my experiences, when Predacons are holed up in a new habitat, they tend to seek out… kindred spirits."

"So you think this human is a bad seed as well?" asked Cheetor.

"Not think, know!" declared Rattrap, "Just from the looks of his face, I can tell he's up to no good!"

Sure enough, Charles Damien's face was on the television.

"It will be a great honor to serve society with my new Predacon units as soon as I'm able," said the man called Damien, "For now, these are only experimental units and it may take a while before they may be utilized."

"We'd better report this to Optimus!" proclaimed Cheetor, "Do you have all this recorded in your memory banks?"

"Every last shred of it!" declared Rattrap, "We'd better go back to base now."

Cheetor glanced over at Luna and Jack.

"Thanks for your tour of the city and all you've done for us," he said, "I know that with people like you around, humanity can't be all bad. Hopefully we'll meet again soon?"

"Same time two days from now," said Luna, "Hope to see you then!"

"And good luck with what you're doing!" piped Jack, "Oh, and to help you out, our dad used to work for Damien Enterprises. I seem to remember him telling us that Damien's mansion is just in the outskirts of town near the rolling hills when he was there for a dinner party. You'll see it situated in the lowest hill, hopefully."

"Thanks!" beamed Cheetor, "Come on, Rattrap! Don't be so sour!"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks ya brats," grumbled Rattrap, "You ain't so bad for humans."

"Err, you'll get used to him," Cheetor explained to the two children, "He'll grow on you eventually."

"Don't worry about it," said Luna, "Just be sure to stay safe!"

"Will do!"


"So, the Predacons have allied themselves with a wealthy and influential human?" asked Optimus after watching the clips downloaded from Rattrap's central core processors.

"Yeah, and that human even claimed credit for building them," replied Rattrap, "He's got a few loose screws if you ask me!"

"This can't be good," said Rhinox, "Right now, the Preds have one-upped us in terms of adapting to this planet. With their new advantages, going against them is gonna be harder."

"That means we'll have to pay this 'Charles Damien' a visit soon," grimaced Optimus, "Perhaps we can talk to him and convince him that the Predacons are a threat to his world."

"You also got a few loose screws, big monkey!" sneered Rattrap, "This Damien fellow is just as bad as the Preds! I can just tell from the looks of his face!"

"You don't know that for sure!" Optimus told Rattrap, "For all we know, he could be an innocent who is being held against his will by the Predacons. We have to go over there to see!"

"Besides, if we convince him we're right, we could make another human ally on this world," said Cheetor, "So let's have at it!"

"Let's scan for the geographic locations first," began Rhinox, "Cheetor, you said that his whereabouts were located on the outskirts of this city in the hills?"

"Yeah," replied Cheetor, "It's on the lowest hill, supposedly."

Sure enough, on the scanner, they picked up the traces of a building on the lowest hill on their scanners which were able to show their geographic locations within several, several miles.

"Well, what're we waiting for!" declared Cheetor, "Let's get this ball rolling!"

"Before we do that, I have to show you all something," said Rhinox with a gleam in his eye, "Something that just made our lives easier!"


7:00 AM

Damien Manor.

Optimus, Cheetor, Rattrap, and Rhinox were there in beast mode. They had snuck into the mansion successfully without tripping any alarms. Rattrap had been kind enough beforehand to disable them.

"Prime," said Optimus through his disguise, "Remember, we're not here to cause confrontation… we're here to prevent it!"

"Speak for yourself," said Rattrap, "I ain't takin' my chances if the Preds come blastin' at me!"

The four Maximals walked up the hill.

"Why would that sleazeball work with Megatron?" asked Cheetor.

"Greetings Maximals," a man in a black suit walked up to them. "That is what you're called, right?"

"Are you the owner of this property?" asked Optimus.

"I am, yes," Damien answered. "I assume you're here to see your friends?"

Four, mechanical clawed creatures arose from the ground. They were clad in shiny, red armor and had the savage snouts of animals.

"I'm sure you'll play nicely," Damien smiled and stepped back.

The four mechanical units took aim and fired. Optimus, Cheetor, and Rattrap managed to roll aside and evade the blasts, but Rhinox was struck with two beams of laser and knocked down.

"Prepare for engagement, Maximals!" declared Optimus, "Don't hesitate to defend yourselves!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" shouted Rattrap as a Crimson Clawbot attacked him with repeated thrusts from his three-digited claw.

Optimus blasted forth with his Prime Jets, slammed into a Crimson Clawbot and punched it right through the abdomen.

Cheetor somersaulted over a charging Clawbot and blasted it behind the back simultaneously with his quasar cannon.

Rhinox, in the meantime, got back up and tore his Crimson Clawbot opponent to shreds with his chain-guns.

As for Rattrap, he was knocked to the floor by his adversary but quickly slid under between its legs, while planting a small bomb in its thigh region at the same time. He ran away quickly as the Crimson Clawbot turned around to see an explosion overtake its systems, blasting it to pieces.

"Well, so much for that," remarked Rattrap, "Can we go home now?"

Optimus shook his head.

"We're not leaving until we find the Predacons," he said resolutely. A clapping could be heard coming closer.

"Bravo," said Damien, "You destroyed my robots like they were nothing! Megatron told me all about you and what you were capable of."

"You must be Charles Damien, correct?" asked Optimus.

"I am, and as a man of many resources, I'd like to help you and your friends."

"Help us?" shouted Cheetor, "You tried to slag us with your drones!"

"Do you know what you're getting yourself into," demanded Optimus, "You're housing Megatron and the Predacons who happen to be some of the worst criminals on Cybertron!"

A missile smashed to the ground where the Maximals stood, knocking all of them off their feet.

"On the contrary," smirked Damien, "I know exactly what I'm getting into. You see, Megatron's descriptions were correct. You may be strong, but what is all that strength without the will to conquer? Having the Predacons on my side will serve my purposes well enough for now."

"Oh, do be quiet," groaned Megatron in robot mode. He made a motion to Terrorsaur.

Terrorsaur grabbed Damien by the back of his shirt.

"Put me down, I command you!" shouted Damien, "You serve me and you will treat me with respect!"

Terrorsaur rolled his eyes and flung Damien several feet away. The Predacons watched in amusement as he sailed through the air. The millionaire then landed with a thud and was knocked out instantly.

"Now, back to the main course," said Megatron as he and his soldiers turned to the fallen Maximals.

What greeted Megatron as he turned around, however, was the sight of Optimus' fist smashing into his face and knocking him back, head over heels. By now, the Maximals were ready to engage the Predacons.

Terrorsaur reacted quickly and shot Optimus in the back. In turn, Rattrap took aim and blasted away at Terrorsaur who also fired back.

Cheetor transformed to beast mode and ran off with Waspinator trailing him closely behind with several shots.


Scorponok stood over the fallen Maximal leader and pinched his claws excitedly. Here was the perfect chance to prove to Megatron how good of soldier he was!

Megatron, in the meanwhile, was slowly recovering from the punch.

He took aim with his rocket launcher with dangled from his claws.

"Say nighty-night, Primal!" he growled.

"Back off!" rumbled a low voice. Scorponok was soon sent flying through the air as Rhinox charged into him in beast mode. The short Predacon smashed into several rocks outlining a pond and was sent into stasis lock from the impact.

Rhinox helped Optimus up.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Never felt better," winced Optimus. Two consecutive laser beams struck both of them.

Megatron was back on his feet with an angry, expressive look. Rhinox managed to get up but Megatron brought him down with another shot to the chest.

"Now for you, Primal!" he growled as he kicked the injured Optimus Primal viciously.


"You're fighting a hopeless battle, vermin," laughed Terrorsaur, "My strength, speed, and firepower are superior to yours!"

He gracefully avoided three shots from Rattrap and took aim. He pointed his gun at Rattrap's direction while his shoulder cannons appeared and his eyes glowed purple.

The eye lasers struck the ground first, followed by twin missiles and his plasma blast, throwing Rattrap into the air and back to the ground again.

"There's one thing he ain't bragging about," thought Rattrap, "His firepower's top-notch! But there's just one thing he's missin'! If I can only just get him into the right range…"

Rattrap opened his arm-compartment to reveal the bombs that he made for special cases that required demolitions. He took one out and glanced at the distance between himself, Terrorsaur, and the sun.

He ran off in another direction.

"Hey! Where are you going?" demanded as he flew after Rattrap bombarding the ground behind him with missiles, "I'm not through with you yet!"


As fast as he was, Cheetor couldn't keep running forever. The insect-like Predacon did not show any sign of slowing down.

"There's gotta be some way I can get this bug off my back!" thought Cheetor who suddenly saw the metal gates in a distance.

"Kitty-bot better give up!" giggled Waspinator as he took several more shots at Cheetor from different angles. It was only Cheetor's immense speed that helped him to narrowly avoid each blast.

Because of his overconfidence, Waspinator began to fly at a lower altitude, something Cheetor was expecting.

"Dead end for cat-bot!" laughed Waspinator as he and Cheetor neared the gates.

However, without any sign whatsoever, Cheetor leaped into the air, used the wall as a toehold to bounce off, and pounced on Waspinator, knocking the gun out of his hand and bringing the bug to the ground once more.


To Terrorsaur's surprise, Rattrap stopped running and threw a small mechanical device in his direction.

"A bomb!" thought Terrorsaur as he sailed up into the air before the explosion could engulf him.

Terrorsaur looked down to find Rattrap but a glaring flash of light blinded him.

"My optics!" screeched Terrorsaur before several shots struck him and sent him crashing to the ground.

Rattrap stood over his charred body and smirked.

"Had to get ya into the right 50 degrees angle so that the sun would blind ya!" grinned Rattrap.


Megatron grabbed Optimus by the leg with his T-Rex cannon and slammed him into the ground repeatedly.

On the third swing, Optimus gripped his sword and stabbed Megatron's arm with it.

The Predacon leader howled in pain and dropped Optimus. He did not get much of a chance to recover as Rhinox tackled him to the ground.

Megatron elbowed Rhinox in the face to force him off but as he got up again, a missile from Optimus Primal struck him and smashed him into the side of the mansion, destroying a good portion of it.

"Thanks, old friend," said Optimus, "Looks like we've won this battle."

Cheetor and Rattrap gathered next to them after defeating their respective opponents.

"Looks like we beat the Preds… now what?" asked Rattrap.

"Hmm," pondered Optimus, "There's no way we can bring them back with us now that the sun has risen. We may have to wait until nightfall. Then we can take them with us back to the Axalon."

"Don't forget, their ship has to be somewhere around the premise," added Rhinox, "These lands are most likely their territory right now. We'll also have to search their ship as well."

Suddenly, Cheetor convulsed violently and fell to the ground.

"Cheetor!" shouted Optimus, "What's wrong?"

"Is it some kinda energon surge?" asked Rattrap as he and the others bent down to help the young Maximal.

"No," replied Rhinox darkly, "He was shot with a dose of cyber-venom! We need to get him back to base and fast! Forget about the Preds. We'll have to go now if we want to make it back in time!"

Sure enough, a small, metallic dart was revealed on the back of Cheetor's neck.

"Our cloaking devices have all been damaged. We need to go back through the woods," said Optimus, "That way, the chances of humans spotting us are less likely."

"Who the heck did this?" asked Rattrap, "It's all so sudden!"

Optimus picked up Cheetor gently and headed off with Rattrap who did his best to help Optimus and the fallen Cheetor.

Rhinox stayed behind for a few seconds to look around. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a dark figure on top of the mansion… well, on the part that hadn't been destroyed by Megatron's body.

"What the-?" wondered Rhinox as he quickly zoomed in with his telescopic lens. But by then, the figure had disappeared completely.

"This can't be good," thought the large green robot, "But right now, I have a crewmate who needs my help!"

He quickly left to join Optimus and the others.


Cheetor woke up to the familiar sights of Rhinox, Optimus, and Rattrap.

"Hey guys," he said groggily, "What happened?"

"You took a bad dose of cyber-venom," explained Rhinox, "We had to leave the Predacons and take you back to base through the woods."

"My cloaking device is damaged!" said Cheetor in alarm, "Did any humans see us?"

"Well, two human hikers saw us but I doubt anyone would believe their word about talking animals in the woods," chuckled Optimus.

"This means the Predacons are still out there," said Rhinox, "And who knows what they may plan next."

"Well, when the time comes, we'll deal with them," replied Optimus, "But right now, I think all of us can relax. They weren't in exactly the best of conditions when we left them so I doubt they'll be starting trouble soon."

"Guess this means we're adjusting to life on Earth," snickered Rattrap, "I can tell things are gonna be REAL interesting from now on!"

"Oh, and I promised Jack I'd meet him tonight for the Gamestation," said Cheetor, "Mind if I go out?"

"As long as you promise to be back within four megacycles," promised Optimus, "And try not to stay out for too long."

"I'm gonna go with Cheetor too," said Rattrap, "I'm gonna watch more cable TV!"

"I'll need to write these events down in my log," mused Optimus, "Any suggestions to what we should call our current situation?"

"How about 'da Beast Wars?" suggested Rattrap cleverly.

"The what?" asked Optimus.

"Ya know… the Beast Wars," continued Rattrap, "We're beasts… and we're in a war. It sounds like something you'd say!"

Optimus raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, would I really be that corny, Rattrap?" asked Optimus who had a slight grin to his face, "Maybe I said it in a past life but… Beast Wars?"

Cheetor and Rhinox could barely conceal their laughter.

"Haha, it definitely sounds like something you'd say, BigBot!" snickered Cheetor.

Despite the stern and orderly demeanor Optimus wanted to present himself as captain of the Axalon, he soon found himself laughing with his friends and teammates.

Life on this Earth would be interesting indeed.


"So, we have a stowaway," mused Megatron aloud as Terrorsaur, Waspinator and Scorponok kept their guns trained on the figure who stood before them.

He also appeared to have a strange, arachnid-styled beast mode of some sort…

"I appreciate you bringing us to the CR baths but tell me exactly why you decided to follow us or we will be forced to deal with you… in an orderly fashion," said Megatron in a low, dangerous voice.

"Why, I've been sent by the powers-that-be to help you in your quest," replied the shadowy figure who was soon revealed to be an average-sized 'bot clad in purple and shades of green.

"You mean the Tripredacus Council?" demanded Megatron.

"Let's not worry about that for now," replied the 'bot, "You see, I know the reason why you're cowering before that pathetic human right now. You, along with your incompetent crew, have no idea how to refine or process energon. It's logical to assume that your current supply of stabilized energon is dwindling! As such, you'll need my assistance."

"I should have you executed on the spot!" bellowed Megatron angrily.

"And lose your only means of survival?" laughed the figure, "I think not! You see, I'm the only one who knows how to refine energon and without me, you're stuck for the rest of your lives taking flanking orders from that human!"

"Then by all means, process the energon!" growled Megatron, "If you are indeed as skilled as you say you are! But should you fail, I will personally rend you to pieces!"

"I am more than up to the challenge," laughed the figure as Megatron gestured for the Predacons to lower their guns.

Soon, they reached the energon chamber in the ship. The mysterious figure soon got to work. The pieces he refined were merely small fragments of the crystal but the sheer fact that he knew how to process energon impressed Megatron enough.

"What was your name again?" asked Megatron who, along with the rest of the Predacons, was quite curious.

"Oh, I've been called many things," said the stranger, "But you may call me Tarantulas."

The End.