Lol
Beast Wars is mine for sure.
Chapter back tracked, you'll see.
Dirty Little Secrets
Chapter two, Disaster Struck
Red optics looked up at the ceiling, the small body was at the back of his room up on his bed curled into a corner like a rat. Convenient wasn't it? His fist slowly balled; never been so scared in his life, and it wasn't because his life was in danger that scared him. That fact was truly frightening all on its own.
So what happened back there? Well he wish he could tell ya but the fact was simply Rattrap didn't know himself. He really didn't wanna think about it, didn't have much choice though. Sittin' here alone in his room kickin' about a few pred pieces s'a real fun time ya know, but he couldn't bring himself to do much else right now. He'd never been in a situation he couldn't rat his was out of. This really got 'em, really got 'em good 'n there was no denying it even though he'd try his best. Sooner or later it would all come out, and what happens after that well he didn't wanna think of that either. 'Till than, Rattrap stayed in his room with the door locked just starin' at the ceilin'.
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"Anything?" Optimus asked transforming back in to beast mode as he came off the plank.
"Nope," Rhinox turned around from his work, "He's incredible unstable, I'm surprised his spark is still online."
Primus stopped once he got in front of the central control station's table with a heavy sigh; leaning against the monitor table he slowly rubbed his forehead, "And Rattrap?"
Rhinox could only shake his head going back to the screen at hand, "I spotted him in here when I had to leave for a nanoclick, heard him cursing to himself and the chamber but other than that he hasn't said a word."
The gorilla slowly frowned. It had been three days since he sent them on that mission. It was in sector twelve a dangerous zone, but he was confident that Dinobot and Rattrap could handle it; both had what was needed for the job. The outcome however was very unexpected.
"I have a feeling though," Optimus's head rose as the Rhino's voice came up again, "whatever it was.. it was something bad. Real bad."
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Flash back
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Tiny feet moved over broken rock surrounded by lava. Rattrap hated sector twelve, it was like a death sentence. So of course Optimus would assign him to such a dangerous mission and of course it would be in sector twelve. Oh, but oh just wait a nano because it got better. You hear that? Yeah, that's the sound of a big ol' dino-pain-in-the-butt bitching about something like he always was. Eh, okay so the lizard wasn't so bad Rattrap would admit – only to himself of course – but after being stuck out here with him for a few megacycles the rat really needed something to convince him otherwise.
It was when suddenly the casual combat of insults between rat and raptor came to a halt that Rattrap looked back, "what's stoppin yer gears choppaface? We only got a few more to set up."
"Be silent rodent, there a.." The velociraptor rose his head, "malignant up drift about," and his voice dropped lowly, "something's not right."
Malignant, who uses that kinda word in a sentence? Rattrap rolled his eyes, "course there's something 'malignant' 'bout the place," his speech in mocking tone, "We're in a lava pit if ya haven't noticed dinobutt."
"You ignorant fool," optics glared as he snarled back, "have you not a single danger sensor in that vile system of yours?" Dinobot growled once more spoken through gritted teeth as he transformed scanning the area.
"Hey Mista," Slowly the rat's body turned about to carry on his sentence but let it drift. Dinobot wasn't kidding, he obviously felt something Rattrap was missing.
His head canted about, "hey eh.. choppaface I think your," his sentence was again dropped when his mech fluid ran cold, a shiver slicing down his spinal system in torrents like he'd never felt before.
Quickly Rattrap transformed and began moving back from the unstable rock and on to more firm ground by the other bot. Where was it? What was it? The grip on his gun tightened as it rose, held out in position to shoot whatever it was that was out there. There was no sight of anything anywhere but that feeling couldn't be shaken.
"Wh- what is" he hissed looking up, oh boy.. that was some awfully large shadow covering them.
"Turn around and shoot you incompetent rat!" - Green optic lasers shot as Rattrap turned around and began to shoot as he backed away, there was no way in hell they were going to take down this.. thing! It was huge.
"Run!"
For once Rattrap had no complaints about following Dinobots orders. He turn and ran, ran as fast as his little body could carry him and it was damn luck they didn't get vaped on the way behind a big ol' rock like it would really do anything against a monster that size. It didn't take long for their bolder to be blasted to smithereens. Turning around, Rattrap gave it a few more shots as Dinobot tried reporting to the base for back-up. No good though of course, too much interference.
"Oh man, we're really gunna die this time," the rat spoke swerving from the large beams being shot a little too late, his gun was shot out of hand. Quickly he tried to head for cover but all boulders were blown to its before either could get to them, they were cornered.
"I've got cybernetic bombs, they might do something if you can distract it," Rattrap explained hitting the back of a large hill.
"He's not that stupid, he'll knock you out piece by piece."
"Well what choice do we got lizard lips, you gotta better idea? He's commin in range, our fire power's doin' notta and the comlinks are down. We're trapped, and who is this anyways? Where in the galaxy did he come from?"
Couldn't even make out its form, just a big ass black robot. It was massive, bigger than Megatron times twenty. He tried the links again, nothing but static, and what timing! They were going to die, this was it. He was going to die here beside choppaface of all places for his life to finally come to its end. There was so much garbage to munch, so many holes to dig, it couldn't end now, it couldn't end!
"Vortex."
That name snapped him out of his internal panic. Vor..tex? You mean that big ol' sadistic decepticon who lived and rampaged millions a stellarcycles ago? That.. holy swiss cheese it was here.
A scream of defeat, "there's no where to run! We're gunna die! WE'RE GUNA—EH!?"
In midst of panic his body was lifted thrown up to the top of the cliff, "shut up and run vermin." Was all he could hear.
Time seemed to stop as the small mech hit the top of the cliffs plank. One big ass blast after another, the cliff crumbling in each one's wake and he backing up further but just close enough to see what was going on. His processor felt like it was going to overheat, weak in the knee's and helpless as he watched the two battle – Dinobot was obviously fighting a battle he just could not win. There was no way anyone could have understood what Rattrap was thinking in those few moments, some would say he wasn't thinking at all but he begged to differ because it was than Rattrap did something he never thought he'd do ever in a thousand stellarcycles. He took a dive right in to death's face back down below, quickly grabbing the larger bot and rolling both their bodies between the large feet of the decepticon incarnate. This might, just might buy them some time Rattrap hoped, but when his optics fell to the comrade below he knew that was unlikely.
"You.." vocal systems weak and squabbled, "idiot you,"
"Can it lizard head," he ducked from a blast seeing the large mech slowly turn. There wasn't much time, they needed to get to shelter somehow.
Getting up he grabbed under the Dino's shoulders but he didn't stay up too much longer, another blast knocked him back quite a ways with a screech almost sinking into the lava pit. He wouldn't give up that easily though and forcing himself to his feet with a shake of his head he stood back up heading over to the side of.. wait to the side of? How the?
"Lets go," Dinobot pressed out weakly forging his way towards a small cubby, a hidden nook that was created by the crumbled cliff. It wouldn't give them much but they might be able to come up with a plan, maybe.
"Oh yessir Mr invinsabot," the rat was immaturely responding, in truth he didn't know how the other bot did it time and time again. Somehow he kept going, for some reason he kept fighting, "tellin me te ru" He was shot down just inches away, everything went black.
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He couldn't tell how long he was out but slowly sound began to register with his system, gradually optical sensors came back online; a faded and blurry picture of someone a few inches above. As his optics refocused he could tell who it was and just how much damage was done. Eyes widened, a gasp emitted screeching from his vocal drives - It felt like his spark just dropped to his little metal toes seeing that face, that body that slagged… and still fighting.
"Try and contact the base again," Rattrap could hardly make out the words from the glitches noise, voice coding depleted to a monotone warped in sound. "Do it you insufferable rat."
"What'ya think yer doin' ya slag'o'saurus," by the tone of his voice it was obvious he was frightened beyond computing, "get-get offa me."
"Saving your life you pathetic, ungrateful rodent now," another hit to his back sent him flat against the one below, "contact," but he would slowly rise again, "the base."
"R-rat-t-trap to.. any.. anybody.." That look in those crimson optics, they were starting to fade. Why was Dinobot doing this? His fingers fumbled tapping the comlink again, "any..anybody.. track my signal.. code red.. s-s-situ-ati-" Another hit, the heavier mech's head knocking against his shoulder plate and almost sent his spark clear through his chest plate, "situation we're gunna die get your skidplates over here pronto!"
It seemed like forever, and he didn't even realize when the attacks stopped. Honestly he didn't care. Metal digits shaking; rose between their scrapped bodies, Dinobot never knew when to give up did he? Obviously not, he was still tryin' to rise without any help even though it'd gone way past the point where the smaller mech's arms – bent in and forearms up vertical – was the only thing really keeping his body half up. He couldn't see the damage done to the rest of the raptors body, with the look of what he could see he really didn't want to.
"Don't look at me like that." Thank the matrix, he broke the silence.
"Come off'a it you overgrown lizard, I aint gotta choice yer the one a'top a me."
"Pestilent vermin, your optics say pity mouse. Stop looking at me that way."
'They aint sayin pity fossil face.. they aint sayin pity.' Rattrap couldn't react, he'd never been in a situation like this either. Boy he sure was learning new things today. He didn't know what to say or what to do so he'd do what was typical of him, "you're always so hard headed ya scale belly! Stop talkin' or you're gunna short out the rest of yer energy supply." It was said flawlessly even though he couldn't stop shaking and with each moment he'd swear his processor was going to blow out, he'd swear it, "get back in to beast mode"
The silence even if it was for a few nanoclick was excruciating, for a moment there it looked like the raptors system shutdown, "Why did you come back down after me?"
It clicked, Rattrap got the message between the words. They were talking to keep the silence from saying what both always avoided saying. In a moment like this where either's system could short out things avoided or, this covered by lies just might surface. Strategic babble to hush the silence.
"You got bugs in your ear sockets lizard lips?" He knew by that short moment that there wasn't enough energy left to even convert back to beast mode. Dinobot's systems were running on next to nothing but pure will – something he'd never seen before in all his days and believe it or not Rattrap was a lot older than one would think. He'd pretend he was oblivious though even still, "Your systems are failing, get your scaly butt back to beast mode."
"Why did you jump back down?"
Dinobot didn't know how to handle a situation like this either for in all of his days not once had he ever met someone quite like this rat below. He didn't understand it, it wasn't in his programming to pay attention to such trivial things like emotion but that tricky little pest somehow infiltrated his system; pays off being a hacker sometimes. However, while it seemed like he was just dumbfounded to those sorts of things he actually wasn't, and it seemed for once they'd override his logic; he knew the answer to his question but kept asking anyway. And Rattrap knew Dinobot better than people thought, he knew Dinobot was a fighter, a warrior, and stubborn to boot. He'd off and lie all the time and make it seem that beyond a small level of acquaintance it was childish rivalry rooted from boredom – that maybe a small spark of friendship was there because without the other there'd be no one to yell at and maybe at one time it was true but it really wasn't, wasn't true at all. They weren't so different though neither would ever owe up to this truth.
"because," angrily he balled his fist around the sides of charred metal that they were supporting, "because.. I love ya ye slaggin' metallic fossil," His body was getting heavy, he was going into stasis lock, "so don't you die on me choppa'face ya hear me!?"
But Rattrap wasn't lucky; must have been the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt when his arms couldn't hold the other up any longer and Dinobot became deadweight against him. The sound of his system shutting down riveted through his ears and he had to force his optics away turning his head in disbelief. He couldn't even really register any thought on why Vortex fled, didn't notice when the backup came either. Maybe he was in stasis lock too, maybe he just kinda wanted to die.
// Author Notes: Here's to hint Vortex somehow came back? Startling isn't it? While I'm someone who likes intricate plot complexities and 'easter eggs', Vortex really doesn't have much of a purpose other than to do what he did here. If you must find a reason for his coming back we can say Megatron somehow brought him back to further their end the beast wars and claim dominence over everything and lawl woops good ol' RT and Dinobot were oh so conveniently in the wrong place at the wrong time. //
