The Preds were still recovering from their botched attempt to wipe out the Maximals a few days back so things were relatively quite around the Axalon. The quiet times were the best times to do upkeep on the ship. Running ship's diagnostics were time consuming, but needed to be done and Ruby was all too happy to help Rhinox get it over with.
Primal was on the bridge with them, working with the system on the table to assist the pair, when Sentinel gave notification that its scanners had detected an odd blip. Blinking, the Maximal commander inputted a few keys to bring up the information. With the discovery of another alien race not native to the unknown world they were on he didn't want to take a chance. As his hand reached up to activate his comm-link, he heard the soft click of sharp nails on metal with a soft underlying purr to the breathing pattern that indicated that Dinobot was almost on the bridge.
"Ah, Dinobot, good timing," the Maximal leader began, half turned as he addressed the saurian fighter. "Sentinel just picked up something and I need you to go check it out. It could be related to our recent encounters with the other visitors to this planet."
Dinobot, in beast mode, looked up at Optimus as he received his orders and then over at Ruby, who was sitting at the station behind Primal. The flying squirrel had paused in what she was doing and had her head partially turned as if she was speaking with Rhinox, or even looking at his station, but in truth she was listening to their conversation. Keeping his satisfied smile to himself, the warrior knew he had the opportunity he had been looking for the past few days.
"Since Rattrap and Cheetor are out checking in on Megatron, perhaps it is best if I take Ruby with me," he purred a bit, "if Rhinox can spare her. Her gliding skills would be most prudent in our search."
Nodding in agreement, Primal looked over at his engineer. "Can you spare your assistant?"
Rhinox, having turned when Dinobot had mentioned his name, nodded as he smiled at Ruby. "Optimus and I can get the rest. Some fresh air will do you some good."
"If you're sure you've got this," she replied, letting her chair slide towards the table and spin her around before she stood up. Transforming smoothly into her beast mode, she started to paw her way over to the lift. "Let's go, Dinobot."
As he joined her on the lift, Ruby stood on her hind legs to give him plenty of space before it lowered them out of the ship. Once outside they began their long slow trek. The path was rocky and steep most of the way, at first moving over the area that Ruby last faced her enemy only a few nights before. As they crested over one of the taller peaks of the small mountainous area, she began to worry about what exactly that odd blip was. This was the direction Megatron had fled in his injured state. Could Sentinel be picking him up, his injuries bringing his once hidden signature to the scanner's attention? Ruby knew that Sentinel was not calibrated yet to detect and identify Transmetal signatures, especially the further mutated Transmetal-2 stage.
Dinobot snarled a bit, sniffing the air around them as he took in the view. He wouldn't admit it out lout, but Primal was right. The terrain had a unique beauty that even a battle scarred warrior like himself could be at peace in. His predatory eye caught the flying squirrel as she slowly climbed up a small pile of rocks at his left, her tail twitching in a jittery, nervous fashion. Something was bothering her.
"The rocks make it difficult to pinpoint from our current location," he began calmly, sweeping his head in a slow manor as he snarled a bit. "Perhaps you should an aerial sweep of the area."
Nodding, Ruby scanned the area herself. "I don't have enough clearance to get a good wind under me." Hopping off the rocks she slowly made her way over to her partner. "Think you can throw me?"
"I'm sure it would be an easy feat, for a warrior of my skills," he dipped his head down, tilting it to the side to look at her with one of his eyes as he purred a bit, "but the question would be, why would I want to throw away a perfectly good snack?"
Unintimidated, mostly due to being told how harmless he was to his fellow Maximals by a certain adopted uncle of hers, Ruby just smiled brightly. "I'm hardly snack sized."
"You're right," Dinobot countered. "I'd save you for dessert."
Her jaw dropped, unsure at how to take the comment as she watched him transform and quickly followed suit. The towering warrior looked around again out of habit before he bent over and laced his fingers together to give her a place to rest her foot. The smaller green and gold bot transformed before she braced herself with her hands on his shoulders and nodded to him. On the count of three she hopped a bit, putting her other foot in his hands before Dinobot tossed her up into the air with as much strength as he could put behind it.
Fortunately she was light enough to be air-born quite easily, spinning slightly before transforming into her beast form. Dinobot was impressed at the grace she was able to pull off such a move, but recalling how Airazor pulled off her transformations in the air gave him the impression that female Cybertronians could probably make even the most mundane thing lovely.
Once she had a good current under her, Ruby scanned the area below her carefully. Dinobot had transformed back into his beast mode and was following her from the ground, but she kept far enough ahead of him that her scanners kept him on their edges. As she circled around, the frequency she had adjusted for came into focus. There were a few drops of altered Energon that slowly trailed to a huge cavern.
It didn't surprise her to find yet another cavern system in the area, the mountain terrain was bound to be covered with them, but this one was large enough to hold her foe. As she began to descend Ruby noticed that Dinobot had caught the scent of the strange Energon in the gentle breeze that was making its way across the rocky terrain.
"I've never detected anything like this," Dinobot told her as she landed next to him, his nose close to the ground to take in the scent. He saw the way she tensed as he examined the Cybertronian lifeblood, watching him as has he would prey. Then something clicked into place in his processor. This same scent was on her when she was so injured the day that Airazor had joined them, faint then but the same.
"My communicator can't access the base from here," Ruby informed him as calmly as she could manage, "and you can make it back to the base faster than I can. It might be one of Megatron's remote bases of operations."
The saurian snarled a bit, looking at the cavern that opened before them. She was hiding something, trying to prevent him from seeing something that could possibly be in the cavern. It was possible that she wasn't alone on that ship when it crashed. Was she protecting another passenger that came with her? And if she was, why?
"I say we scout out the cavern before we report back to Optimus," he said, gauging her reaction out of the corner of his eye. The way she ruffled up a bit giving him a bit further proof that she wasn't giving them the whole truth. "We could prevent a possible attack by acting now than spending the time trying to get a hold of the others at the base."
Ruby was shaking now. If Megatron was in there, the one she was fighting directly, he would be injured and pissed. The Maximal femme also knew that Dinobot would be a priority target for her foe and that the stupid warrior wanted to waltz right into the dragon's den! The problem was she wasn't able to come up with a counter to anything that he was suggesting. Proper protocol was to scout and report, and since when did Dinobot want to follow protocol?
Before she could even think of a reason to counter his point, the saurian started to walk towards the cave. Panicked, Ruby ran after him as fast as her little legs could manage, reaching his side as they reached the opening in the mountain side. Her senses were wide open, every little squeak and scampering of the creatures that resided inside making her fur stand on end.
Dinobot naturally noted the skittish nature of his partner, his mind working through all the possibilities. She seemed too at ease in their fold as if she knew, or at least knew about, the Maximals stranded there. There was also what he had overheard her saying in the hallway a few nights before. He wasn't sure why, but hearing her refer to the smelly demolitions and infiltration expert as 'Uncle' was in a way comforting.
They had gone ten meters into the cavern when they saw a huge fireball heading their direction. Both Maximals dove to the side, out of the way before they got singed, but the massive flaming projectile collided with the roof of the cavern. The concussive blast shook the mountain around them, the opening beginning to cave in.
Dinobot, despite another fireball heading their way, transformed and dove to cover the smaller Maximal from the falling rocks. Ruby, still in her beast mode, looked past her partner and in the direction the onslaught was coming from. Looking behind them, both Maximals saw their opening and chance of escape quickly become covered with the falling rocks, the last bits of daylight fading into nothing. The cavern was punctuated with an orange light as another fireball was making its way directly towards them.
"Run!" Ruby shouted, transforming as she propelled herself forward with Dinobot hot on her heels.
Barely avoiding the blast, both of them ran deeper into the cavern. Raw flame soon filled the rocky hollow, giving the source an eerie glow. Dinobot's optics widened in shock at what he saw, the tarnished metallic form, its head, the source of the flame, waving in the air wildly as the beast unleashed its furry around itself as if it couldn't see its prey any more.
Ruby glanced behind them, seeing Megatron in a blind rage as he threw his head around in an attempt to catch them in the flames. They were a 'two-for-one' special if she had ever seen one, if they were unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast. They needed to neutralize the threat before they could even begin to focus on escaping from the cave in. As they rounded around their attacker's tail, the flying squirrel looked up at the ceiling above them all. Some rocks were still falling; others looked loose in the orange light. Her wrists transformed into her weaponry and she aimed above Megatron, hoping to let lose more rocks down upon his tarnished crown.
Dinobot was at first confused as to her tactic until he saw the rocks falling, joining her plan with well placed shots from his eye lasers. Soon rocks began to rain down on the fire breathing creature, ceasing its attack and casting them all into complete darkness as Megatron let out a furious and pained scream that echoed around them.
Unfortunately the sudden lack of light gave the heroes another problem; instinctively needing to move for cover before their optics could properly adjust, Ruby tripped over a jutting rock and Dinobot tripped over her. They only felt the slope of the rock as they tumbled down, spooking all sorts of creature that called the cavern its home. They rolled uncontrollably for a good while, surrounded by the angry roar of the beast they left in a downpour of rubble and the dark until the ground evened out, giving the pair a sudden stop.
Back on the Axalon, Rhinox frowned at the readout across his screen. Sentinel had detected seismic activity in the area that Dinobot and Ruby's energy signatures had just disappeared from. "Optimus," the engineer twisted around to his commanding officer as Primal came closer, explaining the situation.
"Have Airazor meet me there," Primal wasted no time opening the roof doors. Crouching a bit, he yelled, "Prime Jets on!" Swiftly the Maximal leader flew off of the Axalon bridge and straight towards the area that the missing Maximals were last detected. Approaching the area, Primal transformed into his beast mode, letting his systems purge out the excessive unstable Energon that had built up during his flight and on all fours slowly began to walk the same path the other two had.
The silver back gorilla paused, frowning thoughtfully at the glowing blue specks of liquid Energon that dotted the ground, leading up to the collapsed cave entrance. Gently he dabbed two of his fingers into the fluid, bringing them up to his nose to take in the scent. He had to know who it belonged to.
His first reaction was to jerk his head back, the pungent smell not even close to any of his Maximals. There was something really off about the Energon, almost a burnt smell to it that made his olfactory sensor rebel, but then Primal paused as his internal systems detected something familiar. Looking down in shock at the glowing blue on his fingers, Primal's jaw dropped. This tainted Energon belonged to Megatron.
Rubbing his fingers on the ground to remove the glowing blue from them, Primal slowly looked at the dripping trail again, slowly adjusting his stance on all fours to take it all in. He had thought it belonged to an injured Maximal, that it was from someone fleeing from the rockslide, but looking at the pattern of how the Energon fell, it came from someone going into the cave.
"Prime…" he mumbled, making his way over to the pile of rocks that was most likely separating him from his crew and most likely the reason Ruby had joined up with them. Dust still floated up from the cave-in, but his sensors detected smoke as well. A caw from a bird above him gained Primal's attention, making him look up into the bright sky. Airazor carefully swooped down, flapping her wings to turn herself upright before landing on a rock nearby.
"What a mess," she said, looking around. "What do you think caused it?"
"That's what we're here to find out," Primal replied quietly. "We think Dinobot and Ruby are trapped inside, but I'm hoping that they're trying to find a way out." He then stood upright on his hind legs, focusing on the beautiful falcon. "Any idea if this cave has another entrance?"
"I did see some smoke coming from the mountain a bit further down as I approached the area," the scout stated with a flap of her wings. "It could be from what caused the cave in down here."
"It also could be our only way to get our people back," Primal affirmed, transforming back into his robot mode and taking off after Airazor.
They reached the area she had originally seen the smoke coming from, a faint trickle of it now escaping the high side of the natural structure. The cave-in had apparently worked lose some internal rocks, making a natural vent. Landing on the side of the mountain in beast mode, Primal began to investigate the hole and gently work at the rocks around it. If it was unstable, and his crew was nearby, he didn't want to risk bringing more rocks down on them as he made the hole big enough for him and Airazor to enter, or Dinobot and Ruby to escape by.
Ruby awoke to pain all over her body, but mostly in her central processor. With a groan she rolled onto her back and fluffy tail, letting her sensors re-calibrate before she even thought of sitting up. As she felt comfortable doing so she suddenly felt a massive clawed hand slam down onto her torso plating, pinning her in place. Her optics opened up, finding herself surrounded by darkness and being stared down by two brightly glowing red optics, anger tensing around their edges. She also felt the gentle moving air around her throat, knowing that Dinobot had his sword at the ready and at her throat.
"What game do you play?" he snarled.
"I… I…" she began, trying to think on how to answer and not get herself killed. "Chess."
"Liar!"
Ruby winced at the slight scrape of the blade as it spun over her metallic skin. Both of her hands, which had gripped the one of his that was pressing her to the rocky surface below, were shaking. He could unknowingly end everything that happened here and now. "I'm telling the truth."
Dinobot looked down at the optics below him as they stared back up at him, wide with fear, staring intently into his own, almost pleadingly. At seeing the spark from his blade coming into contact with her, he bared his teeth. He wanted her to answer him, and if he saw fit, stand before Primal and the others to be judged as a traitor. There were just so many questions swimming through his mind at the moment he had trouble picking one to start.
"You tried to send me away before we reached the cavern," he stated with a growl. "What the inferno attacked us?"
"I don't know," she answered, wincing reflexively with a pained groan as he pressed down on her with the hand on her torso. "A creature that has been mutated by bad Energon? I don't know!"
"This was the area that Sentinel had you logged at the other night," he stated bluntly, feeling her still, like cornered prey, "and we just happen to come across a creature that bleeds Energon?" Her wavering optics spoke to him louder than her silence on the matter. "What is the real reason you came here? What did you bring with you on that ship, Ruby?" When she didn't say anything, Dinobot lost his patients. "Answer me!" he yelled in her face.
Her optics closed as she began to shake worse, but eventually she calmed and looked back up at him. "I come from a future where the Beast Wars is already recorded in the history tomes," she began as calmly as she could, "a future that had been changed for the worst by the foe I face. I did not bring my enemy here, but merely followed him."
"Why?"
"To make sure that the Beast Wars happen like they should. To make sure that history doesn't become the twisted nightmare that I had left." When he didn't ease up on her, only kept her pinned there in the silence of the cave, she continued. "My foe fights without honor and wishes to win by his code."
"Then you know everything that will happen?" he asked her quietly.
"Not all of it," she admitted, "but I know how it's suppose to end." She became fearful when he growled again. "I did not come to alter history myself, Dinobot," she pleaded. "I am not the master of your fate."
Ruby felt the weight ease off of her torso and the blade move from her throat as the Maximal warrior stood upright on his feet, the clink that came from his direction telling her that he had stored his blade away. Slowly she made it upright onto her own feet, but before she could even begin to get her bearings she felt Dinobot grab her by the arm and pull her closer to him.
His optics were right there, looking intently into hers. "You said your grand-sparker sent you, and by your appearance and the way you look up to him," Dinobot purred, "I'm guessing that he is Rhinox."
The way her optics moved up and down in the dark told him that she was nodding her head. "I grew up at his knee, listening to his old war stories."
"What of the others?"
"I cannot tell you that, Dinobot," she answered seriously. "I've already jeopardized my mission sharing what I have with you."
He held her for a moment longer, then growled as he gave her a little shove away. "You might want to consider not talking to yourself in the halls when you believe you are alone from now on."
She looked at him, watching his optics disappear before they reappeared again, like the twin moons in their lunar phases, as he apparently spun around to gain his bearings in the darkness. "You overheard?" Ruby asked quietly; not really shocked but more disappointed in herself.
"Your 'Uncle' Rattrap might have taught you to bluff," the saurian snarled, "but he didn't teach you much about not keeping it up when you're alone. You never know who might be watching and waiting for such flaws."
Her spark was pulsing rapidly in her torso. "Are… are you going to tell the others?"
His optics focused on hers again, softening a bit. "If I was not satisfied with your answers," he snarled, "yes."
"And," she began quietly, "are you?"
He was silent for the longest time, staring into the wide, pleading, and hopeful optics of this tiny warrior before him. Looking back over the past events with the information he had now shed new light on the subject of the mysterious Maximal female before him. She never directly involved herself in any of the crucial decision making discussions, always kept herself to the back and out of the way of the events that unfolded before them.
With the knowledge she had, even as limited as she claimed it to be, Ruby could have easily won the Beast Wars for them. She could have warned them all about the Predacons lying in wait as the Maximals repaired their ship to return home. She could have told them all about the attack during the attempt to make contact with the probe.
Then he recalled how she supported him about the clone at the base, standing firmly on his side of things when the others all doubted him. Then there was all the damage she had received the day that Airazor joined them. Because Ruby didn't out right jump into the fighting, Dinobot had thought of her somewhat as a coward, or at least fearful of being injured, but after seeing her so hurt only to turn around and still fight with them spoke volumes.
Even recalling the glimpses of the foe she claimed was hers, which was possibly larger than what little the fire in the cavern above hinted at, Dinobot came to one conclusion. This little rodent was no coward. Her mission was not an easy one, her burden heavy on her small shoulders.
"I will not betray your secret," he told her finally.
Ruby sighed with relief, making Dinobot smile in the dark. "Thank you," she whispered. Clearing her throat, the flying squirrel focused on their next problem. "Now how do we get out of here?"
Dinobot, paused as he let his olfactory sensor take the lead where his eyesight was uncertain. There was fresher air, but from where? Slowly spinning around, he let his data read out tell him, stating promptly, "This way."
Ruby reached out, taking the warrior's hand. Dinobot firmly gripped her tiny one in his own, leading her through the cave. It was half a megacycle later when they first saw the streams of sunlight coming through a hole in the roof. Shadows were moving over it, rocks falling away from the opening, as they slowly made their way closer to it.
Both shielded their optics as they looked up into the brightness. It looked like a feasible climb, but the hole was their main concern. The shadow moved over it again and another rock fell from around the opening. Dinobot quickly moved the smaller bot out of the way, in a very protective nature. When he checked on her, he couldn't help but return the bright smile she gave him.
They both looked up when the shadow moved over the hole again, a voice calling down to them. "Dinobot? Ruby?" It was Optimus'.
"We're here," Ruby called up happily.
"Thank Primus," the Maximal leader exhaled. "Are either of you injured?"
"A bit dented from the cave in, but otherwise fine," she replied.
"Airazor and I will get you out as soon as we get the hole large enough," Primal informed them.
They didn't have to wait long, the other rocks pulling free as both of the Maximals outside worked together. Dinobot had Ruby climb up first, following close behind her as they scaled up the side. The sun was beginning to descend in the sky as they finally pulled themselves free from the mountain and began their way home.
Rhinox slowly made his way down the hallway, heading to Optimus' quarters as per the Maximal leader's request. Ruby had volunteered to take Dinobot's monitor duty that night, saying that it was in repayment of his help on getting her out of there. There was a difference between the two that the engineer was having trouble placing, and by Rattrap's glares at the former Predacon, he wasn't the only one to notice.
Dinobot was quiet, as usual, during their debriefing, but he was uncharacteristically agreeable with Ruby's account of events. The odd reading that Sentinel had picked up was reported to be some unstable Energon that went critical on them when they had gone into the cave to investigate. They ran in the only direction that was open to them, which turned out to be further into the cavern, avoiding both the cave in and the explosion.
Optimus' door opened for Rhinox as he stepped closer to it, so he entered and allowed the door to close behind him. Primal had his back to the door, staring out the large window to the view below, his hands clasped behind his back. "You wanted to speak with me?" Rhinox asked.
"I did," Primal turned around. "I came across something that I believe makes Ruby's foe more dangerous than we realized."
Recalling the damage state she had been when Dinobot had retrieved her, Rhinox frowned, "What do you mean, Optimus?"
"I came across tainted Energon," the commander stated bluntly, "droplets that led to the cave that they were trapped in. I could be wrong, but it smelt like Megatron."
The engineer frowned, running his fingers over his metallic beard in thought. "That does explain why the Preds haven't had a new team member join with them."
"Indeed," Primal replied, "which is fortunate for us."
"Do you think Dinobot knows anything about it?"
Optimus frowned, thinking on the matter. "If he doesn't, I'm sure it won't take him long to figure it out."
"What do we do about it?"
"Is there anything we really can do until we know for sure?" Primal gently touched a leaf on his plant. "The best we can do is make sure that he doesn't interfere with her mission."
Rhinox nodded, then bid his friend goodnight before leaving. Dinobot still wasn't the most trustworthy of the bunch, but Ruby didn't even seem to hesitate around him or have any reaction of fear. If the former Pred knew something about her mission, and wasn't reacting harshly towards the smaller bot; then Ruby felt comfortable with that knowledge.
Author's Note: I don't own the show. Thanks for reading!