Author's note: I do not own, Beast Wars, Transformers, its characters or anything else. Everything is property of their respective creators.
Beast Wars, Part 2
The Maximals stood facing the lone Predacon, Dinobot, on the other side of the chasm by their base. Dinobot snarled, renewing his challenge to Optimus Primal.
"Face me, Optimus Primal. I, Dinobot, challenge you for the leadership of the Maximals. You and I. One on one," growled Dinobot, "The winner shall be leader, and for the loser, well, it is a long way down." Dinobot smirked as he peered over the ledge into the chasm.
"I don't want to fight you!" argued Optimus.
"You do not have a choice!" growled Dinobot, "Your command center is bad there, and no one crosses this bridge until you face me!"
Optimus narrowed his optics at the Predacon.
"Don't we get a say in this?" inquired Rhinox.
"Eh, let Chopperface and the Boss Monkey duke it," said Rattrap, "No fur off'a my tail."
"No way! Hey, scale belly!" snarled Cheetor, "How's about you try a piece of the Bad Kitty, huh?"
"Cool your circuits Cheetor," said Optimus, "I wouldn't send anyone to do anything I wasn't willing to do myself." With that phrase, he looked directly at Rattrap.
"Oh yea right, now he says that," remarked Rattrap.
Optimus growled in frustration. "This is pointless Dinobot! We're Maximals, you are a Predacon!"
"All the more reason I should lead then,"
"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Megatron…"
"Megatron! Megatron will fall as soon as I have your Maximals at my command,"
"You are welcome to join us," said Optimus, "But you shall not lead!"
"I beg to differ," explained Dinobot, "For in anticipation of my new role as leader, I have already reprogrammed my activation code. Dinobot, Maximize!"
Dinobot's body shifted into his blue and copper robot mode. Standing before Optimus, he drew his rotary blade and Energon sword standing ready for combat.
"Optimus Primal, Maximize!" shouted Optimus as he transformed.
"Ah man. Do we have to say that damn activation code every time we transform?" asked Rattrap.
"Until our new bodies are used to transforming, it wouldn't hurt," answered Rhinox.
Optimus stepped up to Dinobot putting his fists up. Dinobot advanced clamping his rotary blade, swinging it to keep Optimus back; he opened it again and resumed the spinning. Optimus swung his fist backing Dinobot away. Optimus drew his twin scimitars and crossed them in front of his chest plate. Dinobot struck a challenge pose and resumed advancing.
"I'm goin' in! Cheetor, Maxi…"
"Save it Kitty," said Rattrap, "Nailin' the Chopper from behind won't solve anything."
"Yea," said Rhinox, "Like it or not, we gotta let 'em finish."
Dinobot finally charged Optimus putting his rotary blade out first. Optimus ducked under Dinobot's swing and flung him over his back. Dinobot landed hard on his face plate, with his rotary blade catching on the bridge and grinding as the gears tried to spin. Growling, Dinobot stood and turned around. Still snarling, he leapt into the air and kicked Optimus in the torso plate. Optimus fell to his back and slammed hard against the bridge. His foot dislodged a loose rock as he slipped. He peered into the canyon below. Turning back to Dinobot, Optimus noticed the former Predacon had raised his Energon sword ready for the final blow. Before Dinobot could strike, Optimus swung hard and slammed Dinobot in the jaw. Dinobot's equilibrium sensors went off-line after the sudden blow. His optic sensors rolled back in his head as he collapsed on the bridge. His weapons fell from his hands, but did not fall off the bridge. Optimus put his scimitar to Dinobot's neck as the Predacon slowly raised his head.
"I still live!" growled Dinobot, "Finish it."
Optimus placed one of his scimitars back into his subspace. Holding the other, he extended his hand to Dinobot. "That's not how we Maximals do things,"
"Then, that will have to change!" roared Dinobot. His optics flashed green, and he turned to Optimus. His optics fired a low-power Cybertronic beam directly into Optimus' face. Optimus screamed and grabbed his face plate, stepping closing to the edge, his foot dislodged another rock. Optimus lost his balance and fell. Cheetor, Rhinox and Rattrap all gasped in horror as Optimus fell. Before he could fall into the chasm, Optimus managed to catch the ledge with his legs and stop himself. He looked up in horror as Dinobot approached and put his sword to Optimus' throat. Rhinox looked away and lowered his ears. Before Dinobot could slash, he reached down, grabbed Optimus by his torso plate, pulled him up and tossed him back onto the bridge.
"What are you doing?" asked Optimus, "You'd've won."
"You slipped. To defeat you in such a way would be lacking in honor," explained Dinobot, "I would not have earned the right to lead. I prefer to beat my opponents the old fashioned way. BRUTALLY!" Dinobot swung his Energon sword at Optimus, who countered with his scimitar. The swordfight was brutal, as Dinobot had described it. There were many swings and parries, grazes and sparks, but no hard strikes.
"For a Predacon, Dinobot, I have qualities I could like!"
"And you have proved to be a worthy adversary!" growled Dinobot, "I will have you recycled with full honors!"
"Well, that's just prime!" grunted Optimus.
Off in the distance, the Predacons were watching the battle between Optimus and Dinobot.
"Well, this is an interesting sight, yes," said Megatron, "Optimus and that damn traitor Dinobot engaged in battle."
"Who do you think's gonna win?" asked Scorponok.
"Ooh, Wazzpinator thinks it be Optimus," buzzed Waspinator.
"The winner isn't what interests me," cackled Tarantulas, clicking his mandibles.
"Nor me, no," said Megatron, "How much more preferable would it be if they, both lost, yes. Megatron, Terrorize!" The rest of the Predacons followed suit, all transforming to robot mode.
Rattrap casually turned his glance away from the battle and gasped at what he saw.
"Yo, shift your scanners due east dere pals!" he warned everyone, "Dis party has got big time crashers!"
"Fire!" ordered Megatron. Following his orders, the Predacons opened fire on Optimus and Dinobot. Several missiles soared in their direction. Cheetor's optics widened when he saw the missiles incoming.
"Optimus!" he shouted, "Incoming!" Optimus turned and saw the incoming missiles. He quickly thought of only one thing he could do.
"Beast mode!" he shouted converting back into beast mode. Without a second thought, he grabbed Dinobot and dropped over the ledge.
"Oh no, Optimus!" shouted Cheetor into the chasm. Rhinox and Rattrap stepped up to his side and looked down with him. Cheetor closed his eyes and lowered his head in sadness.
"If you 'bots aren't doing anything," said Optimus, hanging from his foot by a crack on the bridge. He was holding Dinobot by his leg. Several laser blasts hit the bridge tearing out chunks of rocks. The Predacons continued their assault without a pause. A blast caused Optimus' foot to slip and little, but he held his grip firm. "A little speed would be prime!"
Megatron and his troops kept firing at the bridge in their desperate bid to get Optimus and Dinobot to fall.
"Make them fall! Yes!" growled Megatron, "Fall!"
"Let's move!" shouted Cheetor, "Maximize!"
Cheetor and Rhinox were quick to transform into robot mode, but Rattrap sat with his arms crossed over his chest. Rhinox tapped his on the back of his head as a hint.
"Nah hey, hey, hey. You can go and get yourselves scrapped 'cause I ain't…" Before he could finish his sentence, Rhinox grabbed him by the back of his neck and picked him up.
"All right, all right," he managed to choke out.
Hanging off the ledge, Dinobot started to short with energy.
"The Energon fields," he groaned in pain, "I am shorting out."
"Just hang on!" grunted Optimus, "You can't transform in this position!"
"Release me!" pleaded Dinobot, "Let me fall, and save yourself!"
"Now, where's the honor in that?" Optimus' foot slipped again, until he was barely holding on.
"You…have…no…choice," groaned Dinobot. "Damn it! Drop me or die!"
"Then we both fall!" Optimus' foot finally slipped loose and he and Dinobot began to fall. Before they could even fall a meter, Rhinox grabbed Optimus by his foot and pulled them both up.
"Goin' up?" he remarked.
"This is our opportunity, yes!" said Megatron, "All weapons, fire!" All five Predacons stood up and started firing all of their weapons at the bridge and the Maximals.
The missiles and lasers struck the bridge and finally caused it to collapse. The four Maximals and Dinobot, now in beast mode, turned and ran as fast as they could. Dinobot and Optimus were able to reach the edge of the bridge before the others. Rhinox and Cheetor were able to get off of the bridge safely, but Rattrap wasn't so lucky. He began to fall as the bridge collapsed out from under his feet. As he began to fall, Optimus reached out and grabbed his arm, keeping him from falling into the chasm. Optimus raised Rattrap up and set him down on level ground. Rattrap bent over, huffing, and put his hands on his knees.
"You're welcome," said Optimus.
"You're the leader," said Rattrap, "It's your, uh, job."
Optimus looked at Rattrap for and moment and then finally turned to Dinobot.
Megatron growled and smacked Terrorsaur in the back.
"Incompetence!" he growled, "You let them escape!" He turned to Waspinator and Tarantulas ready to blast them, but a rumble in the distance caught his attention.
"Megatron, look up there! The missiles!" shouted Scorponok pointing in the direction of a mountain. One missile had managed to crack the surface of the rock, and the others blew the mountain top apart. A gigantic purple crystal was exposed by the explosions. Glowing bright as the sun, the Energon crystal caught Megatron's attention.
"Energon, yes!" said Megatron, "Raw, natural Energon crystal! I knew it was here!" He stopped speaking when he noticed his body glowing with an Energon overload. Scorponok began to groan in pain.
"Quickly, convert back to beast mode!" instructed Megatron.
The Maximals turned to see the gigantic crystal that was unearthed by the Predacons.
"Raw Energon, in its natural form," said Optimus, "Like that it's highly unstable. We're lucky those missiles didn't cause it to explode."
"If you can call it lucky," muttered Rhinox.
Cheetor glanced off into the distance. His optics turned red as he zoomed in with binocular vision. "Megatron's on the move. Bearing Six One Seven Five."
"He's after the Energon!" growled Dinobot, "With a crystal that size, he would be unstoppable!"
"Oh, thanks for the tip, Scale Belly," remarked Rattrap, "Rhinox, scrap this guy."
As if thinking the same thing, Rhinox charged at Dinobot, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by Optimus.
"Hold on Rhinox!" said Optimus, turning to Dinobot, "Will he said fliers?"
"Oh, for bootin' up cold, you're not gonna believe a Predacon are you?" whined Rattrap.
"That's my call," answered Optimus, turning back to Dinobot, "Will he?"
"Negative," answered Dinobot, "The crystal is too big for the fliers to carry. Only Tarantulas has the skill to segment it."
"Then we have to get there first," said Optimus, "All five of us."
"Yea, all five us of," said Rattrap, then he paused, "Ya mean, that damn Chopperface too? Oh man, we're all gonna die." He turned to see the others already heading for the crystal. "Hey, wait for me!"
On the other side of the mountain range, the Predacon army was marching towards the Energon crystal.
"So much Energon. With a crystal that size, the Predacon forces will be unstoppable, yes," Megatron spoke almost to himself, "The Maximals, and then the galaxy, will be ours to conquer!" The Predacons continued to march as the sun began to set and the moons became visible in the night sky.
The Maximals continued in the dark towards their objective. Rhinox stepped up beside Optimus.
"How ya feelin'?" he asked.
"Improved," answered Optimus, "I believe my internal repairs are completed."
"Hmm. I was wonderin', your flyin' robot form could reach the crystal before any of us,"
"No, we have to stay together. The Predacons could attack at any moment, and there may be other surprises on this planet,"
"There are. Down there, look,"
A strange stone structure was neatly built in the clearing between the cliffs. It was circular in design, and too neat to be natural.
Hmm. Any opinions?" asked Optimus as the others joined them at the cliff.
"Just one," answered Rhinox, "It isn't natural. We didn't build it, and neither did the Predacons."
"Heads up!" Cheetor snarled. All eyes turned skyward to see Waspinator and Terrorsaur incoming towards the Maximals.
"Just what we needed," groaned Optimus, "Quick, everyone, Maximize!"
"You heard 'em!" cawed Terrorsaur, "Terrorize!" The two Predacons swooped as the five Maximals transformed and readied their weapons.
"Defensive positions!" instructed Optimus. Before another word could be said, Rattrap pointed his gun at Dinobot.
"What about him?"
"He's with us," answered Optimus.
"Hey, I ain't buyin' it just 'cause you say so!" Shots exploded behind Rattrap, turning his attention towards the Predacon fliers. All of the Maximals opened fire into the air. With the advantage of flight, Waspinator and Terrorsaur would difficult to hit. They dodged and weaved, turning back and forth, firing all of their weapons. The explosions from the laser blasts and missiles started to cause the stalactites in the cliff cave to start crumbling. Optimus noticed the falling pebbles and motioned to his troops to stop.
"Hold your fire!" he shouted over the blasts and explosions, "We could start an avalanche!"
"You crossed your wires?" shouted Rattrap, "Dey're comin' back!" Optimus looked skyward for a moment and then opened a panel on his forearm.
"I'll handle this!" he said. Firing his rockets, he took off into the air after the two Predacons. As he flew, Optimus pressed two buttons on his forearm console. His rocket launchers flipped over his shoulders into their ready position. Waspinator and Terrorsaur kept firing, undaunted by Optimus' weaponry. He fired his first missile towards the Predacons. The first rocket missed as the Predacons were too fast. Before he could fire the next, he noticed Waspinator and Terrorsaur were shorting with an Energon overload. With their systems partially hindered, Optimus fired the second rocket that detonated between them and sent them spiraling through the air. Once the two fliers regained their composure in the air, and noticing that they were not going to be able to do much more, they nodded to each other and began to fly back towards the rest of the Predacons.
"Now, while they are weak!" growled Dinobot. He charged and began firing his optic lasers at the Predacons as they retreated. His beams were fast, but not fast enough to catch the fliers. The laser fire was aimed too high and was catching stalactites on the ceiling of the cliff cave. A few stray blasts caused large amounts of rock to start falling, particularly where Rhinox stood. Rhinox was barely able to leap out of the way in time to avoid getting crushed. Once he was away from the falling debris, he gave Dinobot a sour look. Rattrap approached Dinobot ready to start a fight.
"I knew it, you damn traitor!" he accused the larger Transformer, "You tried to scrap my pal!" He pounced on Dinobot, knocking him to the ground. Dinobot, not ready for the attack, fell to the ground. Before he had a chance to sit up, Rattrap's rifle was right between his optics.
"Once a Pred, always a Pred," he growled to Dinobot as he slowly squeezed the trigger.
"Ease off Rattrap!" yelled Optimus as he landed, "It was an accident."
"Says you!"
"That's right, 'Says me'!" said Optimus, poking Rattrap hard in the chest plate as he spoke, "You wanna question my orders one more time?"
"I…I don't trust Predacons," said Rattrap as he stepped off of Dinobot. Dinobot grabbed Rattrap's rifle and pushed it out of his face plate, then stood to his full eight-foot height towering over Rattrap.
"We've got enough trouble with Megatron's crew without fighting amongst ourselves!" shouted Optimus. He started off back towards the crystal. After looking at each other, the Maximals transformed and followed him.
At the base of the mountain, the Predacons gazed up at the crystal. Megatron marched up the side of the mountain almost drooling on himself as he thought about the Energon.
"So much Energon, yes," he muttered, "I can almost taste its power."
"With that much Energon, the energy fields would destroy our robot modes in less than a minute!" Tarantulas informed Megatron, "We'll have to stay in beast form! And Optimus and the Maximals are coming!"
Megatron did not seem as concerned as Tarantulas about the Energon or the Maximals; he gazed at the spider, and then turned his attention back to the crystal.
"They must stay in beast mode as well," said Megatron, "And I will handle Optimus, personally."
On the other side of the mountain, the five Maximals finally reached the chamber containing the Energon crystals. Optimus peered inside and gazed in awe. The Energon hummed and pulsed in energy. The crystals' light shone eerily throughout the cavern giving everything a purple hue. The Maximals walked deeper into the cavern stopping briefly in the arch of a giant crystal. The Maximals froze as Megatron, in beast mode, leapt into the cavern on the other side. He roared, the sound of it echoing through the cavern. The Maximals lined up, as did the Predacons.
"Across the galaxy, it has come to this, Optimus Primal," said Megatron, "Face to face, tooth to claw, yes. Have you anything to say?"
"I'd say that's just prime," answered Optimus, "Let's do it!" Optimus growled and charged. The rest of the Maximals and Predacons followed suit. Without ballistic weaponry, the battle was one-on-one. The beasts all collided together in a giant battle. Though they were covered in synthetic flesh and fur, the sound of metal slamming into metal echoed throughout the cave. Optimus growled and punched Megatron in the jaw, causing the Predacon leader to lose his balance and fall. Cheetor leapt into the air and knocked Waspinator from the sky, pinning him to the ground and slapping him with his paws, narrowly avoiding the stinger. Rhinox charged Terrorsaur, but missed the more agile dino-bird and rammed through a boulder. Dinobot swiped his fore claws and snapped at Scorponok, dodging his pincers and tail. A quick swipe from Scorponok's claw caught Dinobot in the chin and pushed him back. Rattrap leapt on top of Tarantulas and began pulling up really hard on his mandibles. Tarantulas screamed in pain. Megatron tackled Optimus to the ground and pressed down on his chest with his large foot, opening his jaws around Optimus' head. Optimus held Megatron's jaws open just enough to avoid his teeth. Optimus pushed Megatron's head away and pushed his jaws closed.
"Admit defeat Maximal!" growled Megatron through his jowls, "The Energon shall be ours!"
"Not if I can help it!" grunted Optimus. Using his more dexterous legs, Optimus flipped Megatron across the cavern. Megatron slammed into a boulder, getting his head wedged between two rocks. Megatron started to struggle to pulled his head free from the boulders.
"Surrender Megatron, you're trapped!"
"No! You shall not defeat me!" echoed Megatron's voice through the rocks. Finally he burst his head out of the rocks and charged Optimus. Megatron carried Optimus across the cavern on his snout and slammed him into a wall. With a swift move, Megatron bit down on Optimus' left leg. Optimus howled in pain as Megatron released and bit down again. Mech fluid leaked from the damaged leg between Megatron's jaws. Optimus raised his fists and brought them down hard on Megatron's head, in an axe hammer, knocking the Predacon leader out. Standing with his weight on his right leg, Optimus grabbed Megatron's tail and began to swing him around the cave. He released the tail sending Megatron soaring across the cavern into another boulder. Megatron's optic made an electronic whine as he opened them to stare at Optimus. Optimus stood up trying to put his weight on his damaged leg. He fell over in groaning in pain. Clutching his damaged leg, Optimus sat up.
"It is over Megatron!"
"It is never over, no!" Megatron quickly transformed to robot mode and immediately began to surge with Energon. As he spoke, his words began to slur, "For if I must die, I will take you with me!"
Megatron aimed his tail pincer and fired a single missile. The missile rocketed towards Optimus, who could not move. Having subdued Scorponok, Dinobot saw the missile, and rushed to Optimus' aid. Slapping it with his tail, he changed its trajectory. The missile inched past Optimus and hit the rock wall behind him. The force of the explosion caused the unstable Energon to start humming very loud. Optimus' optics widened in horror as the frequency of the hum started to increase more and more.
"It's gonna blow!" shouted Rhinox.
"Time to fade heroes!" shouted Cheetor. The ground began to quake, as the Energon overloaded and the crystals began to crumble.
Megatron's body continued to flash with Energon. The Energon had begun to seep into his vital systems as his optics started to darken. Optimus pulled himself onto Rhinox's back. The Maximals scrambled out of the cave and down the side of the mountain. The Energon began to quake and hum even louder. Megatron's emergency systems kicked on just enough to allow him to jump up, scream, and leap out of the cave. With a spectacular purple flash, the Energon finally exploded taking the entire mountain with it. Pebbles began to rain from the air. The Maximals covered their heads and stepped away from the falling rocks. When the rocky hail subsided, Optimus sighed and looked at Dinobot.
"Thanks,"
"It was not an act of loyalty," explained Dinobot, "I owed you my life. Now we are merely, even."
"I'll accept that,"
"Yea, well at least Megatron's gone, and so is the Energon! It's over!" shouted Rattrap, "Can we go home now?"
"No Rattrap. For now we are stuck on this unknown planet with the Predacons," answered Optimus, making Rattrap lower his head.
"Megatron may be back, and there's still more Energon out there. If they ever get enough, they could conquer the galaxy." Optimus turned to face what was left of the mountain. "So for now, let the battle be here on this strange primitive planet. And let it be called; Beast Wars!" Optimus' words echoed across the canyons, into what seemed to be into the far reaches of space, as if to be heard in another time.
The End
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this take on Beast Wars. There will be more "episodes" to follow. Please R&R. Thanks!