The Galupus clawed the ground fiercely, jumping over rocks, plants, and the bulbous yellow energy warts that littered the planet. It stumbled slightly as it slid around a tree to head South-East.

The warts pulsed whenever they sensed another living thing among them and would sprout gold flowers around it for animals and other inhabitants of Rozaria to feed on. The flowers produced a sticky energetic slime that had vitamins no other organism had. They also helped fend off unwanted bugs by releasing a toxic gas only the bugs could breathe and die from. Where they came from or how they spread was unknown though ancient texts described it as a living being trapped within a grounded bubble that if popped, killed the area it resided in which left a blackened forest about fifty yards wide.

The Galupus strained its six legs as it maneuvered around obscured obstacles in its path. The four front legs were the power-equivalent to its back legs, giving it a stunning ninety-two miles per hour top speed. Color varied depending on the gender; red and orange for female, brown and black for males. They supported a mixture of designs that ranged from mere speckles to large blobs that covered an entire limb. The female always had the fancy designs to attract males.

The animal was considered a great adversary when it came to hunting. Its speed wasn't the only thing that made it deadly in the game; its strength when cornered was meant to tackle anything that dared to cross it. If you got caught under its eight claws that formed an almost-complete ring on its foot, your life could be gone in mere seconds and to add to it, those who survive usually have to deal with the poison its appendages generate when it tore through the skin or metal of its victim.

Its snout had several blue barbed limbs that attached to its jaw that created the same poison found in its claws and spikes that lined the side of its body. Its form was a combination of a horse's and a cow's that supported a thin but strong dolphin-like tail. Its size was roughly thirty-five feet tall and sixty-three feet from snout to the tip of its end tail spikes.

It slowed a little to check its surrounding when something crashed through the trees behind it. Growing agitated and scared, it fled faster than its previous sprint. Claws flung dirt and grass into the air, hoping to blind its predator enough to make a clean getaway. It wasn't working, and it knew this wasn't one of its normal hunters.

Tigressa felt uneasy as she ran on all fours but it was better than two, for four had numerical advantages such as grounding and speed. Though her species was renowned for their agility as well as their mobility on four legs, or more, she couldn't help but pant, for she hadn't done such a thing for some time. But she was not one to lose, and her prey was close enough to where if she coordinated her attack right, she'd bring back her fifth Galupus that would tie her with her now-first place opponent, Sephtis.

Sephtis was a five time champion at hunting and had received second place other times for being only one Galupus short of tying with the other winners. Dark, dangerous, and devious, he was a Rozarian that nobody underestimated. He respected his opponents nonetheless but if he wanted to, he could sabotage them instantly. He was known to find weaknesses of his opponents and used said weakness against them when the time was right. It was a move Tigressa had admiration for; she already knew somewhat how to do it, but with more training, she could master it in no time.

The Galupus seemed to regenerate energy faster than she could, for there were no signs that it had depleted any. As a barricade of several broken trees on top one another forced the animal to change tracks to go around it, Tigressa leapt over the fallen trunks and skimmed her prey's back enough to make it trip.

Watching it cartwheel over a few objects made a smile appear on her face and finally, she stood above it, pinning it down with her clawed pede in victory. She bent down to snap its neck and carried it back to the awaiting tables set up to hold each contender's catch. It took a while to reach the podiums, for she had chased the animal a mile or two, but when she did arrive at her stand, Silos was there, smirking at her.

"Another one bites the dust, eh, Princess?"

The spikes on her spine flared up with a hiss, "I told you, I hate that title. Just call me by my name; it won't kill you."

"It's a part of your name; I'm supposed to call you that! Well, at least around the citizens of Gemelo and the inhabitants of Kanjis itself. But fine, if you feel comfortable with only 'Tigressa' then you best hope I don't get in trouble for referring to you without it!" His smirk was still present as ever as he studied her recent kill.

"So," Tigressa scowled, "is the five-star champion still beating me or what?"

The Captain shook his head, "No, you're tied with him, and he's been struggling with an alpha bull Galupus he discovered near the lake shore. Probably protecting one of the herds we're chasing, no doubt. Say, you don't mind if I talk to you in private for a few minutes? I highly doubt Sephtis will conquer a bull, knowing bulls will literally fight to the death with everything they've got or until they make sure their offenders are dead. That's enough to kill even you, if you weren't such a skilled hunter."

The tiger-dragon gave him a false smile at his comment before moving towards a pond on the far-end of the event. Ceros followed but turned towards the King who was observing his daughter before nodding at the dragon and running to keep up with the femme.

"Tigressa, something is wrong with you, we all see it, so what's bothering you enough for to become enemies with your own father?"

"Are you serious!? You asked me to come out here to invade my personal dilemma?" She growled, rattling her tail as a warning.

Silos sighed, "Yes, but I can help you. You can trust me. Despite I am very loyal to your father, I swear upon Primus I won't tell him. You know as well as I that I'm bound to my word when I make such a vow."

Lowering her ears for second, she glanced from the ground to him and back again. "I wish to create something of my own design, an energy like no other capable of being sentient, but at the same time dormant until touched. However, recent…uh…events between the King and I have been making me think about it even more. To change one's fate and hold power at the same time; to change my father's visions and creations and use them to form a new era during my upcoming time as the Queen.

"In order to achieve such a risky endeavor, I need him either gone or distracted for some time so I may perfect such a godly tool and train it to obey my every whim!"

Captain Silos was speechless for the longest time before narrowing his eyes at the large femme, "You want to get rid of your own father? A-And create a substance that can change not only one's fate but their entire will? Whatever you wish to accomplish with that is madness! You can't go around screwing with people's lives! It's cruel, unjust!"

"And where will you stand when I ascend the throne? You must pick a side, you and Rozaria, so which will it be? Mine or his!?" Tigressa snarled as she stared down at the alien rhino.

"I-I know you and to be on the receiving end of your future army, whether fueled with whatever corrupt substance you plan on brewing or not, is to face death. Supt malo ecknatouille! I shall think about it, but before I make my decision, I want you to promise me you won't harm the Queen, your own mother, whether you truly care for her or not. Promise me that!"

Smoke rose from her nostrils while her eyes darkened. Reluctantly, she said, "I swear upon Primus, I will not hurt her in any way possible. I give you my word."

Peering back up at the tiger-dragon with a cold frown, he began walking back towards the hunting grounds. The frown turned neutral after a few seconds. When the time came, who would he choose? The answer was clouded as was his feelings for the whole situation. The choice was up to him, and one option he was certain would lead to his death.


The day was zooming to a close with Tigressa and Sephtis still tied. Unfortunately, the battle-worn Rozarian lost the large bull that would've won the competition even if the tiger-dragon tied with him again, for a bull counted as two because of its unusual large, bulky size. Bulls were the ultimate Galupus trophy and an alpha would be worth three times the amount of a normal bull. Luckily, there were so many Galupus on Kanjis and they reproduced with several eggs a liter that it was frowned upon to not attempt to take a bull's life. Kill one bull, and about three more usually were born to take its place in the world.

Since both were the last two hunters, because the others struck out knowing they wouldn't win the grand prize, everyone was on edge and placing bets on who would emerge as the frontrunner. There was one Galupus targeted now and whoever brought it back without losing it to the other competitor would earn the trophy and the leader position in next year's Galupus Hunting Season.

Adrenaline pumped through Tigressa like water flowed through pipes. Her senses went into overtime to pinpoint where her prey was. Sephtis' musk was thick but the faint scent of a Galupus was traceable. The element of surprise wouldn't do much good now, for it would waste precious time and give her opponent the ability to snatch the game before she could.

Every plan she thought of was drowned out by a wave of outcomes, most not in her favor. It was distracting, but true, despite she was closing in on her prey already. To her delight, Sephtis wasn't near her but he was to the North of her, seemingly stalking towards the Galupus just as she was.

Finally, the animal was in her sight, and no endless thoughts plagued her mind anymore as her senses beleaguered her about the Galupus and it only. Her pupils were barely visible slits as she hissed in the brush. Teeth bared, spikes raised, she was ready for anything. Immediately as a shadow blocked her view, she pounced out of the bushes and heard a yelp sound from beneath her as she forced it to the ground with a dust cloud covering her.

Smiling, her three-clawed tail fanned away some of the air-borne dirt to find what she had jumped on was no Galupus. It was Sephtis. Before she could question why he got in the way, four talons raked across her neck as she tried to back away from his strike. Luckily, they weren't deep enough to cause any damage, but it did make Tigressa rear up and stomp her servo into the area he was. He rolled out of the way before she could crush him.

Snarling, Sephtis tricked her into trying to bite him and clawed over the bridge of her nostrils, forcing her to rise up with a deep whimper and reposition herself for an attack. Whipping her tail around, she caught the Rozarian by the chest and slammed him into a few trees, knocking them over. Growling, they collided with Sephtis going under her and biting her ear instantly.

The tiger-dragon roared and whip-lashed her head to swing him around and drag him across the ground. She pounded her head into the dirt surface and successfully detached a few of his nails in the process.

He backed away a little before zigzagging back to hit her head on. The impact stunned both though Tigressa recovered quickly and snapped her jaws around her enemy's back leg. Hauling the Rozarian into the air, she let him fall before bringing her large appendage down onto him. He bellowed in pain but did not break eye contact with the Kanjian femme.

Rule one of fighting, always aim for the head. Apparently, that logic worked in both Kanjian and Rozarian cultures. Tigressa had to admit, Sephtis was true to his own legend. The rhino could fight, though not in the way she preferred.

"You poor fool, why would you risk getting killed?" Tigressa smirked cockily.

Sephtis spit some green blood out before giving a fake grin, "You think I'm the fool? I overheard what you and the Captain were saying. Whatever you're going to do, I suggest using some of the juices from those warts to do it. I heard their properties really ignite a boom in many experiments done recently."

The tiger-dragon raised a brow before lifting her tail off her fellow hunter. "Your deceptive skills need work but your ideas are 'flawless' for sabotage. Tell me, why do you care what I do? Unless you're interested in helping, then I have no business with you."

"Ah, but that's just the beginning. I am very curious about this 'corrupted substance' you wish to create. Light Eco, though rare, already exists, why not form a darker version of that? After all, one must not truly exist without the other. Light Eco already has an opposite, though not powerful like it nor is it an energy, but I know you can pull it off."

He had a point, which was respectable nonetheless, but it was a risky objective. Her smile grew wider, "I thank you for the new idea and I shall allow you aid me on our newfound quest."

She held out her hand to Sephtis who hesitated to take it. "I can also supply you with test subjects for when you complete this mysterious formula." He took it and shook on his promise.

"It's a deal, my dear Sephtis. I shall keep in contact with you, one way or another."


Sephtis returned with a dead Galupus in hand while strolling up to the podium with a crooked smile. Silos sighed silently but held up the flag that had the Rozarian's initial on it. "Sephtis has won the Annual Galupus Hunting Tournament. He shall be next year's lead hunter…again."

Cheering erupted from the stands at their victor, who bowed gracefully at their applause. While he was raising his trophy high, Tigressa walked towards Silos with dignity. Usually, Tigressa hated losing and the Captain had to admit it was too strange for his liking. With a puzzled look, he asked, "So you gave up the trophy? On purpose or what?"

"I did what I had to do, besides, it's only a game," she replied, moving past him to her father.

Ceros paused as he noticed both Tigressa and Sephtis had scars that didn't match a Galupus' signature attack markings. He narrowed his eyes at the unnatural wounds. Sephtis turned at that moment with a sinful, growling smirk.


"Tigressa, I must show you something. And bring your sisters; they must see this too," King Kronos motioned as he nodded to one of his lead scientists. A sudden green-blue light awoke among them and the King stared into the grounded swirling vortex with a stern face. The swirling tunnel of vivacity, with its abilities to travel to any planet with a Space Bridge, fed eagerly off the power within the consoles within the room.

Thanks to the Cybertronians, the technology came in handy from time to time and provided a good way to endure in trade with the foreign worlds out there. Cybertron itself was a big exchange tycoon and both planets found each other pleasant.

Tigressa came back with Eclipse on her shoulder and her other sisters awaiting their orders. The wind being thrown about by the vortex didn't affect them, but the light made some put their servos over their optics. "We're ready when you are, Father," Kalypso spoke as she stopped by his side, placing an impatient hand on her hip.

Prometheus turned to the group of girls, "Good, now follow me. This surprise will be the finest one yet. You'll see."

Nobody questioned him as he entered the swirling mass, disappearing after a certain point. The femmes trailed behind him, some exited more than others. When they vanished, the portal closed down with baffled scientists at the entrance.

On the other side, each femme's expression turned unique. But Tigressa's wasn't one of confusion or fear; it was rather one of a bland frown.


AN: Hey, a new character has been introduced! Sephtis is someone you already know; if you don't know, then you'll find out. I've hinted enough in the story for you to figure it out. Next chapter, guess what planet their on and what does Tigressa get to do?