Day 34…
At the Maximal base, it was the middle of the night. The Thorne sisters are fast asleep on their shared berth. Their heads are resting on their bundled up jackets. Hallie was sleeping soundly on her back. Her bruises and cuts were long healed. She has grown used to the metal berth underneath her.
However, Melody was mumbling in her sleep. She is tossing and turning. She suddenly snaps her eyes open and jolts upright. It was another nightmare again. "Hallie?" she whimpered.
With a groan, Hallie stirs from her deep sleep. She rolled over to her right side and attempts to go back to sleep. She was trying to ignore her little sister until she felt someone shaking her shoulder.
"Please!" Melody whined.
Hallie looked up at the small figure crying her eyes out. "What? What is it now?" she grumbled.
"Hallie!" Melody shrieked, shaking her sister. "I had that dream again! I was drowning!"
"Did you wet the bed?" Hallie joked dryly.
Melody continues to cry. She wraps her arms around her sister and starts squeezing so hard. Her teddy bear Mr. Snuggles is almost smothered into her.
"It's okay." Hallie said tiredly. "It was just another bad dream."
"Oh, Hal," Melody whined. "I'm so scared."
"Stop breathing on me." Hallie complained.
Inside, Hallie is just absolutely annoyed with Melody. She was driving her crazy. She is just crying all the time. She wishes she had her own bed back, bigger pajamas than the one her sister wears, including her blue rucksack that she lost to the Predacons a month ago.
Whenever Melody had a nightmare, Mom would usually let her sleep in her bed and sing a lullaby until they both fell asleep. Now it was Hallie's turn. She is the closest human being that Melody has to human contact and is desperate to be loved.
The next morning…
Hallie was half awake. Her baby blue eyes blinked tiredly. She took a huge gulp of water from the large bottle. She is resting against the wall near the open door, hugging her knees close. She is watching Melody draw the Maximals in their animal forms on the walls.
Her sister Melody's blonde hair is fluffy. It is held back thanks to her silver, glittering hairband that gleams under the light. She also had her favourite overalls on. She was humming 'Hushabye Mountain' so happily. She is using different materials on a wooden plate as paint to draw her pictures. There are red, blue berries, yellow flowers, grass, mud and purple flowers. She learned this technique from her first grade teacher Mrs. Bell.
This was the eighth time in the past two weeks that Melody has woken Hallie up because of nightmares. To think the sisters use to hold hands once. It has been two weeks since Hallie's brief adventure with the river and the Predacons. She has since grown used to the Maximals' presence, apart from the occasional argument with Rattrap and Dinobot. They are such pain in the butts.
But now, Hallie really needs her space from Melody who is bugging the heck out of her.. She is so clingy and keeps following her around.
Hallie has such a throbbing headache. "Oh, crap…" she groaned.
"Don't swear. I'll tell." Melody said unhappily. "Will you draw with me?"
When Hallie was a little girl, she remembers Mom catching her drawing on the walls back home and threw a huge fit. Since then she was hesitant in drawing things.
"I don't draw." Hallie huffed. "I'm no good. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Melody frowned at this. "You're no fun. You never want to play." she whined.
Then Hallie remembered today's chores and its her little sister's turn. "You should learn to clean up after yourself, Mel."
"What do you mean?" Melody asked.
"The last time you had a bath," Hallie explained. "You splashed a lot of water on the floor playing submarine. I almost slipped and broke my neck this morning."
Melody pouted at this. "How come I have to clean up?" she asked.
Hallie lets out a exasperated groan. "Because you have to take responsibility. Being a kid isn't an excuse. Besides, it's our bathroom and the Maximals won't help."
Outside in the hallway, Cheetor happens to pass by and is noticed by Hallie who quickly thought up an idea.
"Hey, Cheetor!" Hallie shouted, waving at him. "You and me are on a secret mission. Am I still in?"
"Yeah," Cheetor said with confusion. "Why not?"
Hallie immediately stepped out of the room and started walking alongside Cheetor. But then she realized her little sister is following her.
"Can I come?" Melody asked with a smile.
Hallie raised her eyebrows and acted aloof. "Nah. Me and Cheetor can handle it. Besides, you have to clean up the bathroom. Smell ya later, Mel."
Quickly, Hallie leads Cheetor to pick up the pace away from the Thorne Quarters down the hallway. She has to get away from looking at Melody's sad face so she doesn't feel guilty.
Cheetor noticed this. "Are you guys getting along? You seem tense." he asked.
"Shh!" Hallie hissed. "Get me out of here."
"Come on, Hal," Cheetor insisted.
Hallie lets out a sigh. "Melody's driving me crazy. I'm so sick of it. I just want to get away for a while."
"Then go out." Cheetor suggested.
"I know that." Hallie said with a sigh. "But this place is worse than school. At least I had recess-"
Then Cheetor stopped when he and Hallie made it near the command center. Before Hallie can ask why, she heard Optimus and Rhinox's voices. They were examining a peculiar watch-looking device. She held her breath and began listening in with her cheetah friend.
"Good work, Rhinox." Optimus praised.
"Well," Rhinox began, sounding unsure. "Still needs a field test."
"Test?" Cheetor exclaims loudly.
Before Hallie knew it, the enthusiastic Cheetor sprints past her through the corridor and leaps onto the table. He nearly crashes into Optimus and Rhinox. "I'm your bot! Whatcha got?" he said eagerly.
Despite Cheetor's unexpected arrival, Optimus decides to explain in a professional manner. "Rhinox cobbled together a new comlink. It's going to solve our long-range communication problems."
Hallie remembered when Rhinox borrowed the Thorne sisters' walkie-talkies for examination. That was two weeks ago. He must have been reverse-engineering them to create this new comlink.
"If it works." Rhinox said with doubt.
"Well, let's find out!" Cheetor shouted, before snatching the comlink out of Rhinox's hand. He examines the device by sniffing and it lets off a spark. "Whoa, ultra gear!"
Rhinox frowns at Optimus for trusting the rookie with such a delicate device. The Maximal leader shares his old friend's concern, but shrugs it aside.
"Cheetor," Optimus warned. "It's a valuable piece of equipment. Take care of it."
"I copy, Big Bot." Cheetor replied. "What do I do?"
"The device is voice-activated." Optimus explained, clipping the device on Cheetor's left leg. "Just talk into it and we'll hear you."
"We hope." Rhinox corrected.
Optimus sits down on a motion chair that brings him over to a large computer screen. He types away on the keyboard and activates a grid map of the whole Maximal base sector. "Head away from the base at Vector Omega and check in every ten microquads. We'll see how far we can track you. Now if you encounter any Predacons, return immediately."
But Cheetor does not seem to be paying attention. "I'll be moving too fast for them to see me." he said confidently.
With a snarl, Cheetor bolts toward the elevator, as it descends toward the bottom until he is out of sight.
Rhinox had a bad feeling about this. "Mmm. mmm." he mumbled, shaking his head.
However, Optimus Primal is confident and chuckles reassuringly. "He'll do fine." he replied.
Both Maximals watch as the red dot on the grid map, representing Cheetor, move quickly away from the base...
Outside...
Without Optimus Primal or Rhinox knowing, Hallie has snuck passed them and went down the elevator to follow after Cheetor. It was so hot outside that Hallie did not bother to bring her black jacket.
As soon as they found each other, Cheetor is already dashing across the rocky wasteland with Hallie riding on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck. She can feel cool wind blasting at her face. Her wavy brunette hair is flapping about. She will have to brush it again later. Her t-shirt, jeans and black all star shoes are also wrinkled. The frequent washes made her smelt of fresh soap. At least she doesn't stink so much.
"Why did I let you convince me?" Cheetor said with regret.
Hallie sighed at this. "I love the outdoors, just as much as you do. I want to get away from my sister anyway."
Cheetor continues to run and leap over rocks. "Don't you feel bad about leaving her behind?"
Hallie shrugged her shoulders. "Not really. Besides, Melody is too scared to go out. And I just want the freedom that I'm used to. A chance to explore an alien world."
"I don't know," Cheetor said. He can imagine Optimus' disappointed look.
"Come on," Hallie insisted. "We're friends, aren't we? This could be my first mission with you. I can be your scout."
"What about the Predacons?" Cheetor asked.
"I'm not scared of the Predacons!" Hallie announced with a smirk.
Cheetor did a toothy grin. He admires his human friend's enthusiasm. "Neither am I! Let's do it!" he said with a snarl.
In the middle of the rocky wasteland, Scorponok is digging through a mound amongst the pillars with his claws. He has recently discovered a silver mega-cannon that has wedged itself in the earth. It can prove a great advantage against the Maximals and himself as second in command.
"Megatron will award me for finding this." Scorponok said, struggling to pull the thing loose. "If I can ever get it out of this blasted rock!"
Yelling in frustration, Scorponok scuttles back and is prepared to make his task easier. "Scorponok, Terrorize!" he shouted, transforming to robot mode.
Scorponok takes aim at the rocks with his claw cannon. He had to be careful not to hit the mega-cannon. His claw splits open and unleashes a missile that blows apart the rocks.
BOOM!
An explosion is heard echoing from a location in the rocky wasteland not far from where Cheetor and Hallie are.
Cheetor skids to a halt so hard that he nearly threw his human passenger off his back. She moves her brunette hair out of her face and tries to collect herself.
"What was that?" Hallie demanded.
Before Hallie could stop him, Cheetor tapped the prototype comm link attached to his leg and came into contact with his leader. "Cheetor to Optimus. Do you read me?" he asked.
"Yes," Optimus Primal announced. "And he's over five microquads away! Looks like its working!"
"So far," Rhinox said doubtfully.
"I just heard some kind of explosion." Cheetor reported, ready to defy orders. "I'm gonna check it out."
"Explosion?" Optimus asked with shock.
"Let's get 'em, Cheetor!" Hallie cried.
"Hallie?" Optimus exclaims. "How did you get out of the base?"
Hallie cringes when she sensed the anger in Optimus' voice. "I just walked out in the elevator." she explained smartly.
"Return to the base at once!" Optimus demanded.
"But I'm with Cheetor." Hallie said. "You said that me and Melody can go out if we had an escort."
"That is not what I meant." Optimus said unhappily.
Already nervous, Cheetor immediately takes action and decided to investigate the explosion. "I'll talk to ya in a minute." he said, turning off the commlink.
Optimus tried in vain to communicate with Cheetor, only to realize too late that the connection has already been cut. "Wait, Cheetor! Don't...!" he protested.
"He's moving again..." Rhinox said ominously.
Optimus sighed in frustration. "I'm going after him." he said, preparing depart down the elevator. "If he calls in, tell him to get out of there now!"
Optimus Primal knew he must leave to recover Cheetor and Hallie fast before something bad happens to the both of them.
As soon as Optimus had gone, Melody walked in the command center. She looked lost. She approached her friend Rhinox who happened to notice her standing behind him.
"What's the matter, little one?" Rhinox asked kindly.
"Have you seen Hallie?" Melody asked curiously. "She said she was going out for a walk with Cheetor."
Surprised, Rhinox kneels down to the little girl. "Your sister has snuck out again. Why didn't you tell us?" he asked gently.
Melody looked worried. She realized that she had been lied to and believes she's in trouble. "I thought Hallie meant inside the base." she said sadly.
In response, Rhinox pats Melody on her head to reasure. "It wasn't your fault." he said with assurance.
Upon arrival, Cheetor has finally tracked down the source of the explosion. He slowed down his pace, which allowed his human passenger step off his back. He and Hallie crouch against a rock pillar and peaked over a corner to find Scorponok digging out a mega-cannon. He must have blasted the mega-cannon free. Scorponok transforms into scorpion mode and is now using his enormous claws to drag the mega-cannon from the hole.
Cheetor and Hallie had to keep their voices down. They couldn't risk alerting the dim-witted, but dangerous Predacon to their presence.
"Uh, oh," Cheetor said quietly. "Cheetor, Maximize...!"
Transforming to robot mode, Cheetor pulls out his laser pistol and beeped the prototype comlink. "Cheetor to Optimus." he said.
"Optimus is on his way." Rhinox answered. "He said that you and Hallie should get out of there."
Raising his laser pistol, Cheetor is about to take immediate action. "No can do, baby blue," he said. "Scorponok's here and he's found a mega-cannon. Must have come from their ship. I gotta stop him before he gets it back to their base. Cheetor out."
Cheetor begins to sneak around the rocky hideout to catch Scorponok off-guard. Hallie is about to follow after her friend. "Let's get him." she whispered.
"No way, Hal." Cheetor warned, raising his hand at her. "That creep still has a grudge against you. Just stay back and watch the show."
"Fine," Hallie sighed.
An unsuspecting Scorponok continues to drag the mega-cannon. "Still operational." he said, examining it. "Megatron will be pleased."
Scorponok is oblivious to someone sneaking up behind him. Cheetor stepped out from the rock pillar and pointed his blaster at the giant scorpion. "And you'll be slag if you don't stay right where you are, claw-hole!"
Enraged, Scorponok spun around to face his Maximal adversary. He starts clicking his claws nervously.
"Clicking makes me twitch." Cheetor stated, powering up his laser pistol. "And there's a full charge in this beauty."
Hallie can tell that Cheetor is trying to prove he is top cat. "What a show off." she huffed.
Then Hallie suddenly hears a rock falling and landing near her from above. She slowly turned her head to look up. She sees long, black legs danging down from on top of the rock pillar, followed by eight, bulbous eyes staring down at her.
It was Tarantulas!
Hallie was as horrified as ever by the sight of this giant tarantula, which makes her want to cry. She stood still, her skin crawling and unable to call for help. It was just her and the creep. She feels nauseous. Her scream was trapped in her throat.
Seeing Tarantulas made the blood drain from her face. Her arms wrapped around themselves, suddenly cold. Before Hallie knew it, she was seeing stars and loses her sense of balance. She collapsed on the ground, listening to the ringing sound in her ears. She saw an image of the giant tarantula cackling before her vision goes black.
Cheetor is holding Scorponok at gunpoint, completely unaware of what happened to Hallie.
Scorponok moves sideways to guard the mega-cannon.
"Ah-ah!" Cheetor warned. "Away from the big boom, plug-ugly."
Scorponok obeyed and raised his claws, moving away from the mega-cannon.
Cheetor kept his eye on his target. Then he activates the prototype comlink on his arm. "Cheetor to base." he reported. "I got the gig in hand. Tell Optimus to home in on my signal."
There was no response on the comlink, much to the cheetah-bot's confusion. Unknown to the young Maximal, there are long, black legs creeping down from the rock pillar over him.
"Cheetor to base?" Cheetor asked with confusion. "Come in, Rhinox!"
Scorponok looked up and noticed who it was. He began to move forward.
"Ah-ah-ah!" Cheetor tutted. "You're making me twitch again!"
Suddenly, the gigantic tarantula is dangling down by a single thread of web and is right behind Cheetor. "And I shall make you scream!" Tarantulas cackled.
Surprised, Cheetor immediately opened fire multiple times at Tarantulas. But the wicked spider dodged every shot and quickly retreated back behind cover. With the Maximal distracted, Scorponok took the opportunity to transform. "Scorponok, Terrorize!" he shouted.
Then Scorponok fired a missile at Cheetor, blasting the Maximal into the rock pillar before he can cry out. He did not stand up.
Scorponok punched the air. "Yes!" he shouted triumphantly.
Before Scorponok can celebrate further, he heard Tarantulas' voice echoing in the air. "Better grab that weapon while you can and get back to base! Optimus is coming!"
Scorponok looked around the rocky pillars to see where Tarantulas is. But there was no sign of the sneaky spider anywhere.
"Don't give me orders!" Scorponok shouted angrily. "I'm second in command! You will take the cannon back, and I will see to Optimus. You hear me?!"
By then Scorponok realised he was just yelling at the empty air. He just stood there, feeling like a fool. "Tarantulas?" he asked. "Tarantulas!"
Scorponok saw a distant speck up in the sky. It was moving toward him. He panicked when he realized who it was. He immediately transformed and started dragging the mega-cannon out of sight.
In the sky, Optimus Primal is flying over the rocky wasteland to locate Cheetor's last known signal. He pressed his comlink on his neck. "Cheetor? Cheetor!" he shouted.
The comlink receives nothing but static.
Optimus lets out a groan. "His signal's stopped. Could be Energon interference. Better use scan mode."
As Optimus narrowed his optics, he scanned the ground below him and quickly detected an energy signature.
"Target spotted." the computer said. "Locking in."
By the time Optimus had landed with a soft thud, the two Predacons are already gone.
Optimus looked around the rocky area until he found a startling discovery. "Cheetor!" he exclaimed.
Optimus is shocked to find Cheetor badly damaged and unconscious. He soon discovers Hallie is lying unconscious on the ground behind a large rock. She seemed unharmed.
"Cheetor... Hallie..." Optimus before letting out a scream. "NOOOOOO!"
Later…
A bright light is in front of her face. Hallie Thorne is dazed and confused when she came out of it. She felt weak, though it passed quickly. She opens her eyes to find herself resting on a table. She is scared because she doesn't know where she was. She felt like things were crawling over her.
Panicked, Hallie wakes up suddenly and jumps off the berth. She retreats against a wall. She is gasping for breath.
A tall, bulky figure is standing near her. He appeared to be fixing something yellow on the table. "Hallie!" he said calmly. "Hallie, calm down. You're safe now."
At first, everyone looked distorted and blurry until she saw it was Rhinox. Rattrap is in rat mode and is resting on the big guy's back. Hallie is unable to think clearly until a blonde-haired figure wrapped her arms around her big sister.
"Hallie, you're okay!" Melody cried lovingly.
Hallie felt embarrassed that her sister is hugging her in front of the Maximals. She had a headache for a couple of minutes. She couldn't remember why she had it. "What happened?" she asked with a groan.
"You were found out cold," Rhinox stated grumpily. "Optimus brought you and Cheetor back for repairs. You're both lucky to be alive."
As Hallie observed her surroundings, she realised she was already back at the Maximal base, the Axalon. The last thing she remembered is being with Cheetor and trying to stop Scorponok from taking the mega-cannon when-
Tarantulas! Hallie thought. It made her shiver in disgust whenever she thinks about him.
Up on a repair table, Cheetor is laying unconscious and is dreaming heavily. Rhinox had not used CR chambers because he hasn't got them working yet. At the moment, Rhinox is busy trying to do the last internal repairs on Cheetor when he suddenly jolts upright and starts screaming. That is until Rhinox pushed Cheetor back down on the table. He was gasping for breath and looking around.
Rhinox had just finished welding Cheetor's wound shut. "There," he smiled. "Good as new."
Rattrap moves forward on Rhinox's shoulder. "Yeah," he said, rubbing his sore ears. "And twice as loud. Ow!"
Hallie and Melody had both covered their ears to block the noise out.
"Is Hallie alright?" Cheetor asked with concerned.
"I'm down here." Hallie answered.
Cheetor looked over the berth and is relieved to see that his human friend is safe and well.
"Hallie's fine." Rhinox explained. "As far as I can tell, she merely suffered a shock due to a lack of oxygen with her brain."
"In other words," Rattrap said with a smirk. "The kid fainted."
Much to their amusement, Cheetor, Rhinox and Melody started laughing at the thought that the fearless Hallie actually fainted.
Hallie has never felt so embarrassed. She glared at Rattrap. "Did you have to tell them that?" she asked in a low tone.
Before Hallie could start a fight, she and Cheetor happened to notice Optimus Primal is looming over them. He looked greatly disappointed with them.
Feeling unhappy, Hallie crossed her arms. She was not in the mood for another of Optimus' lectures.
Melody kept quiet and watched everyone talked.
Cheetor sits up from the berth. He is quite nervous, remembering that he defied his leader's orders. "Hey, Big Bot," he said. "Uh...What happened out there?"
Rattrap spat out a piece of rotten apple. "You took a Predacon missile right in the chestplate. Guess you're not as fast as you thought. Huh, kiddo?"
It was Rhinox's turn to speak. "And you two got my comlink trashed!" he said furiously.
Hallie flinched when she was yelled at, but she kept quiet and kept her posture.
"Hey," Cheetor said calmly. "At least I proved it worked."
Optimus was not impressed at all with the rookie's cocky attitude. "Rhinox said you reported something about a mega-cannon?" he asked.
Cheetor widens his optics in remembrance. "That's right." he said. "It must have blown off their ship from the crash. Scorponok found it so I catted in and got the drop on him."
Rattrap scoffed at Cheetor's false bravado. "I'd, er...say you were the one who got dropped." he mocked.
Finally, Rattrap ate down his rotten apple, much to Hallie and Melody's disgust.
"Hey," Cheetor protested. "Tarantulas' was there too. He got behind me. A-a-and now..."
"Scorponok capitalized on your mistake!" Optimus interrupted angrily. "Not to mention you impulsively put Hallie in danger by bringing her with you!"
"It wasn't Cheetor's fault!" Hallie cried. "I volunteered-"
"Stay out of this, Hallie." Optimus said emphatically.
As much as Hallie wanted to retort back, she knew it was Cheetor's responsibility. She felt like it was her fault for allowing Tarantulas to scare her before she could warn him. She stayed quiet pondering on this.
"Yeah, I guess so." Cheetor admitted sadly. "It was my fault."
Optimus was not finished making his statement clear. "Rhinox worked on that comlink for a month, and he doesn't have the components to build another one! You've cost us an advantage!"
Cheetor protested against this. "I couldn't let him get away with that cannon." he argued.
"Oh, yeah," Rattrap said sarcastically. "You...uh...you took care of that real good, kiddo." he snickered.
"Back off, rat face!" Cheetor shouted. He immediately transformed into a cheetah and is snarling at the rat's face. "Or I'll have a little vermin on a stick for lunch!" he threatened.
Then someone seized Cheetor's head and jerked him back. "No! You back off. NOW!" Optimus ordered.
"Sorry, Optimus. I-" Cheetor began.
"Sorry isn't enough!" Optimus barked. "We're in a battle for survival and you treat it like a game! If you had obeyed orders, none of this would have happened!"
Cheetor looked guilty and started staring down at the floor.
It was not over. Optimus Primal turned his attention to Hallie. "As for you," he said with a glare. "For sneaking out on a dangerous mission, you just cost yourself three days confinement inside the base."
"How come?" Hallie groaned. "What have I done to deserve this?"
"You don't listen to anyone, Hallie." Optimus scolded. "And I'm tired of your stubbornness so you're grounded until further notice."
"Like I care about your stupid rules!" Hallie said with disgust.
Hallie loses her temper and kicks the wall in anger. Then she exasperates with frustration and storms out of the repair room. Melody watches her sister leave. She had been covering her ears to block out the arguments. She looked sad. She knows that Hallie just needed some time alone.
Optimus Primal turned to face his fellow Maximals gathered around him. "I'm going to call Dinobot in from the perimeter." he announced. "We'll need his knowledge of the Predacon base to do something about that mega-cannon."
Before Optimus can leave, Cheetor decided to speak up. "I can get inside their base! Let me do it, Optimus!" he begged.
"You've done enough!" Optimus said.
That was the Maximal leader's final word. He leaves the repair room before the metal door slides shut behind him..
The repair room is filled with complete silence. Rhinox, Rattrap and Cheetor were looking at one another, hoping to come up with brilliant ideas. Melody Thorne watches them silently.
"I'd better come up with a plan." Rhinox said dryly. "If I know Optimus, he'll want to move fast."
"Yeah," Rattrap sighed with displeasure. "With me in front. Heh! No, thanks, partner. The pussycat got us into hot oil, let him dance into Predacon HQ."
Cheetor is frustrated that Rattrap is giving him a hard time. "At least I'm not afraid to do it!"
"You know," Rattrap said. "That is why you mess up, kiddo. You don't have the sense to be afraid."
"OH, YEAH?" Cheetor retorted foolishly. "I'll show you what I have the sense to do, motorhead! You and Big Bot!"
With an angry snarl, Cheetor rushed out of the repair room.
Once again, Rhinox has that bad feeling. He starts shaking his head. "Mmm, mmm, mmm." he mumbled.
"Whaaaaaaat?" Rattrap grumbled.
"You know what he's going to do." Rhinox said.
Rattrap knew so, but choses not to admit it. "Ah," he groaned. "He's just grinding his gears! I mean even he's not dumb enough to disobey the great Optimus again..."
Rhinox glared at him. "Uh huh?"
Finally, Rattrap relented. "Okay, okay, okay, okay!" he cried. "I'll stop him! That's if I can catch up with him..."
Rattrap started grumbling his thoughts about Cheetor and leaves the room to go after him.
Then Rhinox gives a small smile.
Melody stepped forward and looked up curiously at her Maximal friend. "Do you think they'll be okay, Rhinox?" she asked.
"I hope so." Rhinox replied.
Before Rattrap could make it down the corridor, he was intercepted by that annoying human who stood on his tail. Hallie was leaning against the wall when she noticed the rat and stood in his way.
"Let me come along." Hallie insisted.
"Heh," Rattrap scoffed. "No way, kiddo. It goes to show you're all talk."
Hallie noticed that Rattrap is heading down the corridor toward the elevator, which is way passed his quarters. "Why are you sneaking out?" she asked.
Rattrap did not answer. He marches on to his destination. "None of your business," he replied.
"Look," Hallie sighed with annoyance."This is different. I'm worried about Cheetor. He's my friend too."
"What makes you, kiddo," Rattrap mocked. "tough enough to face Tarantulas? We both know how that went."
Hallie cringed when she heard his name. She grimaces at the thought of facing that hideous spider. She worries that her fear may have effect on her sister Melody, like what happened on the Energon mountain. Plus, she also let down Cheetor by fainting.
"I accept the challenge." Hallie said with a determined look.
"Come on, then," Rattrap exasperated in disgust.
Outside in the Predacon territory, Terrorsaur and Scorponok are up on the scaffolding near the Darksyde. They are installing the newly recovered mega-cannon. It was pretty useless now that their mighty ship has crashed. But the components are perfect to create multiple laser turrets that will defend the perimeter from intruders. Waspinator flew over to supervise the construction.
Meanwhile, Cheetor is out in the volcanic wasteland and is watching the Predacon base from a distance. "Gotta move quickly." he said.
Cheetor sneaks past the unsuspecting Predacons until he makes it to a gathering of rocks. He creeps forward and then stops to anticipate his next action. "All I have to do now is wait for the right moment." he said to himself.
But Cheetor is so focused that he failed to notice a rock behind him shift aside. Then a boomerang-like snare emerges from the ground and quickly grabs Cheetor's back leg, pulling him straight into the dark hole. He lets out a scream.
The last thing he saw is green eights staring at him, cackling away before Cheetor lost consciousness...
Later...
Water is dripping loudly from the stalagmites of the dark cavern, creating tiny echoes upon impact. In the centre of the enormous cave, there is an unconscious cheetah stuck to a glowing, energy web that restricts his movement. When the echoes hit his audio receptors, Cheetor stirs from his nap and found himself in a dark cavern.
"Ugh...What?" Cheetor groaned.
As Cheetor wearily scans the dark cavern he is in, he swore he heard a computer beeping nearby. He thought he was hallucinating at first. But then he hears that creepy laughter, which chills his spine. He follows the mad cackling sound to a giant tarantula who happens to be Tarantulas. "Welcome!" he said eerily.
Cheetor couldn't believe his luck. "Oh, brother," he groaned. "You need a maintenance bot badly."
Tarantulas snickers at the insult. He turned to his monitor machine and presses a white up button that sets the green bars up to full.
Suddenly, Cheetor is gasping and choking for life. His strength is somehow rapidly leaving him.
"You're in a stasis web." Tarantulas explained. "It drains the energy, but leaves the flesh alive!"
Cheetor stares in shock, unable to utter a sound.
"At its current setting, it should take only a few moments." Tarantulas chuckled, before he presses the blue down button. This makes the green bars go down. "But I find a slower pace makes the vital fluids taste so much better..."
"Whoa..." Cheetor groaned. "You are one spaced-out spider! Cheetor, Maximize!"
But nothing has happened.
Tarantulas begins crawls over his captive's body and laughs with delight at the thought of his meal. "I'm afraid the stasis web makes that impossible. Cat you are, and cat you stay. And when your energy is gone..."
Tarantulas' fangs are just inches from the terrified cheetah's neck.
"...I feast." Tarantulas finished, before laughing manically
In the Axalon's control room, Optimus, Rhinox, and Dinobot are looking over a holomap of the crashed Predacon ship.
"Frontal assault now!" Dinobot demanded. "Before Megatron has a chance to use the cannon against us!"
"Impossible." Optimus stated. "The modifications would be too extensive. He's more likely doing placing it as a defensive weapon. The question is, where?"
Optimus is unaware that Rhinox had marched into the room. His rhino form leaned onto the holo-table to look at the Darksyde hologram.
"Rhinox!" Optimus exclaimed. "This is your specialty. Take a look. And where's Rattrap? I'll need him to scout."
Rhinox is taken aback, but manages to keep calm. "Um...Still talking to Cheetor and Hallie." he said.
Dinobot growls in frustration at this. "We waste too much time talking! We must act!" he yelled.
"Rushing in headlong won't help!" Optimus argued.
"No, no, NO!" Dinobot snarled. "DESTROY THEM!"
Elsewhere...
Unknown to everyone, Rattrap is already out in Predacon territory. He is climbing and following Cheetor's trail up a rocky hill. He can see the dark spikes on the horizon. The rat was unfortunate to have the stubborn little girl convince him to let her come along. It was a never-ending argument.
"Don't tell me to shut up." Hallie said, stumbling over the crooked rocks.
"Come on, kid," Rattrap groaned. "This ain't baseball where you can go in and act tough."
Hallie had her arms crossed unhappily. "Spare me the pleasantries, Rattrap." she retorted.
"Hey...!" Rattrap complained. "You stood on my tail!"
"You're still on about that?" Hallie asked with disbelief. "You should have transformed into an elephant. They never forget."
Through the smoky volcanoes, Hallie has never imagined she would returned to the crashed site of the Darksyde again. It has been a month. She can hear numerous steams coming out of the cracked vents.
"I don't get it." Rattrap said. "Why'd ya have a problem with spiders?"
Hallie can barely think of the word 'spider' without feeling her skin crawl. Her fear has grown worse with age. Her fear is completely irrational. She feels upset with herself for being terrified of something silly. She is not looking forward to reliving one of her worst childhood memories. But Rattrap will never shut up about it so she might as well tell him.
"When I was seven," Hallie explained reluctantly. "I was in science class at school. In the middle of it, the teacher's pet tarantula had just died. I was glad because the thing has always made me uncomfortable. A boy poked its body with a pencil and it suddenly came to life! The next thing I remember is waking up in the nurses' office. Now, every time I see a spider, I just freak out. People are always teasing me about it."
When Rattrap started sniggering, Hallie gave him a glare that forced him into silence. "Don't tell anyone, ever," she warned. "Or I'll do worse than stepping on your tail..."
Scoffing at her threat, Rattrap continued to follow Cheetor's recent scent. "I must have a bug in my program to be doing this for that dumb feline..." he grumbled.
As Rattrap climbs up the hill, his ratty nose started twitching and sniffing around the large rocks. "Ugh," he groaned in disgust. "I can smell his stink, even in this sludge box."
Rattrap sniffed harder, knowing that Cheetor had be close by. He rested on top of a rock, which he inadvertently shifted. "Something's weird here." he said.
Hallie is confused at this, but doesn't say a word.
Rattrap pushed the rock further aside, revealing a dark, gaping hole. He paused in thought before he immediately slides down without a word.
Taking a deep breath, Hallie sat down at the edge of the dark hole with her legs dangling. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. "I hate my life." she said.
Hallie pushed herself forward, sliding down the dark hole. Before Hallie knew it, she fell on top of a protesting Rattrap. "Get off me, will ya?!" the rat shouted.
Hallie immediately did so. The dusty dirt kicked up, making her cough a little. Her clothes were dirty.
The giant rat hissed with annoyance and started walking deep into the dark cavern. He didn't bother to wait for Hallie to catch up. The nerve of that rat is enough to infuriate her.
"Sheesh!" Hallie huffed, dusting herself. "And I thought I had an attitude problem."
The size of this enormous, dark cavern is enough to make Hallie feel small. She followed after Rattrap who picked up his speed. The scent he was sniffing for is growing stronger. Then they saw a bright light in the centre of the cavern.
As Hallie and Rattrap move closer, they realized they have finally found Cheetor. Unfortunately, he is stuck on a stasis web and is under Tarantulas' mercy.
Hallie finds herself too scared to move any further. Seeing that giant tarantula has rocketed her arachnophobia above her stress levels. She remained frozen to her hiding spot behind the large rock columns, unable to move.
Rattrap noticed this. "What is it now, Toughgirl?" he asked with a groan.
"I can't do it, Rattrap." Hallie said, feeling ashamed. "I just can't."
"Fine by me." Rattrap scoffed. "I was gonna do it on my own anyway."
On the computer monitor, the vital signs of Cheetor's image grew faint as each indication lets out a low whine.
"Not long now." Tarantulas said with a creepy laugh.
Cheetor is looking so weak he can barely keep his eyes open. "This is a really dumb plan, web-brain." he said tiredly. "I don't have any real blood, just mech fluid."
"Oh, my filters will adjust." Tarantulas explained cruelly. "It is the act I enjoy more than the nourishment."
"You know," Rattrap said with disgust. "You're one sick bug, eight-eyes."
"Ah!" Tarantulas exclaims, turning around. "The rat!"
Rattrap laughs at this. "Ya got it! Now, what do ya say you let my pal go?"
"TARANTULAS, TERRORIZE!" he shrieked, changing to his hideous robot mode.
"RATTRAP, MAXIMIZE!" he shouted, changing to his warrior mode.
Laughing manically, Tarantulas pulls his laser gun from behind his back and fires a missile at the Maximal.
Rattrap lets out a gasp and dives for cover, blasting a rock column.
BOOM!
The rocky ceiling started to crumble.
Tarantulas paused for moment when he realized he couldn't see the Maximal in the dark.
This gave Rattrap the opportunity to pop out, pull out his laser pistol and open fire.
Leaping forward, Tarantulas dodged the explosive projectiles and took cover next to his computer. He fires another missile at Rattrap, missing and causing pebbles to rain down. Rattrap groaned when a rock fell on top of his head. He shakes his fist in frustration and retaliates with multiple laserfire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The laserfire reverberated throughout the dark cavern, as the explosions threaten to bring the ceiling down.
Hallie covered her ears. She can see the flashes of light from her hiding spot.
"Now he'll have you for lunch, web-breath!" Cheetor taunted.
Tarantulas turned around and aimed his weapon at the trapped Maximal, immediately silencing him.
But instead of shooting, Tarantulas pressed the up arrow button on his computer which increases the web's energy drain rate. This makes Cheetor gasp and cough for air. He immediately loses consciousness on the web.
"Thermal scan," Tarantulas said, as a green visor covered his optics. He can now see Rattrap's heat signature in the dark and fired a missile at him.
With a scream, Rattrap was blasted through the rocky cover Hallie was hiding behind and landed in a heap. She muffled her scream by covering her mouth with both hands. Rattrap lifted himself up and rested against a large rock. He examines his surroundings. It seems that the hunter has become the hunted.
Resisting the urge to panic, Hallie peaked out to see that Cheetor is running out of time. The computer seems to be the cause of his aliment. His vital signs were really low.
Rattrap knew that Tarantulas is using a heat scanner to track him in the dark, probably can detect Hallie too. Thinking of a new plan, Rattrap puts away his laser gun and unclamps a device with red lights from within his left arm.
"What are you doing?" Hallie asked.
Without a word, Rattrap seizes Hallie and carried her underneath his arm. She did not protest this time, not with her life on the line. Rattrap looks around the corner and ran across the cavern before Tarantulas had the chance to fire on him and Hallie.
Rattrap ducks behind the rocky cover and carefully puts Hallie down. He places the hot box onto a rock next to her. He is gasping for breath. He pushes a button that allows it to flash continuously.
"Stay right where you are, kiddo." Rattrap said, pulling out his laser gun.
"What?" Hallie gasped.
"Enjoy being the bait." Rattrap snickered, before disappearing into the darkness.
"Have I told you how much I hate you?" Hallie hissed angrily.
Hallie heard nothing but the approaching footsteps of Tarantulas moving closer toward her. She is feeling anxious. She picks up a rock to defend herself. It is not an Energon crystal, but it will provide a distraction anyway. She is shaking uncontrollably. She wanted to cry and run away. But she forced herself to stay, rather than puke with fear. "I wish I never had this stupid phobia!" she whispered.
There was a sound of a weapon reloading and then the footsteps stopped.
After a few intense moments, Tarantulas stepped out and aimed at his enemy. But to his surprise, he saw only the human girl standing next to a flashing box.
Hallie is shaking slightly. She is standing at a not too far distance from the giant tarantula.
As a puzzled Tarantulas looked at her, he flinched when he heard a weapon being reloaded right behind him.
It was Rattrap. He was standing right behind the Predacon and pointing his weapon right at his head. "Fell for the old hot box." he tuts.
Tarantulas narrowed his gaze with contempt. He slowly turned around, keeping sharp optics on the Maximal. They were both trapped in a Mexican stand off and kept their weapons aimed at each other.
Hallie held the rock in her trembling hand, positioning her arm to aim correctly.
Before Tarantulas can fire, Hallie threw the rock at his head which bounces off him. This distracts Tarantulas long enough to allow Rattrap to blow the spider bot's left leg off. He lets out an agonized scream, falling on his back and accidentally firing a missile at the ceiling.
As Tarantulas nurses his cauterized wound, multiple rocks fell on top of him and seemingly knocked him out.
Hallie exhales with relief and steps out of her hiding place. She sees Rattrap and said: "What? Didn't think I could handle it?"
After that, Rattrap and Hallie ran toward the giant web where Cheetor is stuck on. He looked terribly weakened.
Rattrap ran over to the computer that is draining his energy and tries to deactivate it. "Hold on, kiddo!" he cried, pressing a few buttons.
"Unable to respond," the female voice reported. "Incorrect energy signature."
Shocked, Hallie is more worried for her cheetah friend. As she watches helplessly, she noticed her blue rucksack is resting underneath the web.
It's my rucksack! Hallie thought. I thought I'd lost it. Tarantulas had it all this time? Who knows what the creep had done with it...
Hallie snatches up her unzipped blue rucksack. It still has her stuff inside, but she makes sure there are no booby traps. Her lunchbox is devoid of the crisps and tuna sandwiches, the matchbox is still full, the maroon blanket, her pyjamas and her blue-sleeved white shirt are intact. Even her baseball medal is there.
Hallie zipped up her blue rucksack and slipped it onto her back. She noticed that Rattrap is hesitating on the computer. "Hurry! Get Cheetor off that!" she yelled.
Frustrated, Rattrap snapped out of it and tried frantically pressing the buttons on the computer.
"Incorrect energy signature. Unable to respond. Incorrect energy signature. Unable to respond."
But suddenly, the computer had malfunctioned and hastened the energy drain on Cheetor, much to Rattrap and Hallie's shock.
Rattrap lets out a gasp and starts shaking the computer about. It starts beeping in response. "Incorrect energy signature." it reported repeatedly.
Hallie immediately covers her ears to block out that racket. "Shut that thing up!" she shouted.
Rattrap rattles with anger. Then he had an idea. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled out his laser gun. "Guess I'll have to use my own signature," he said, taking aim.
Rattrap blasted the computer over down the dark abyss and it landed with a boom, silencing it for good.
Hallie is glad that piece of junk is gone. It was getting on her nerves.
Rattrap laughed at his victory. He turned to face the unconscious Cheetor stuck on the web. He uses a knife to cut the bonds, allowing the cheetah to fall into the Maximal warrior's arms.
Slowly, Cheetor shook his head and opened his eyes to look at his friends. "Hey, ratface, Hal," he said with a weak smile. "What's the good word?"
Before Rattrap, Cheetor and Hallie are ready to leave, they saw Tarantulas limping forward without his left leg. He does not know when to quit.
"Game over, vermin." Tarantulas stated, with a groan. "Give my regards to the inferno!"
The insane Predacon fired a missile directly at Rattrap, Cheetor and Hallie. This forces them to make a run for it.
BOOM!
Time seems to slow down. Rattrap, Cheetor and Hallie managed to evade from the large explosion by jumping over the dark abyss and landed flat on the other side. Although her ears rang, Hallie forced herself to stand on her sore knees and make her leave with her two Maximal friends.
The missile had exploded upon impact, causing the cavern ceiling to collapse upon Tarantulas. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.
As Tarantulas watches Rattrap, Cheetor and Hallie flee for the exit, he continues to scream as he is being buried alive by rocks.
Up on the surface, the entire Darksyde base is shaking. The Predacons might as well mistaken it for an earthquake. Hallie climbs out of the dark hole. She sweated and coughed a little. With a grunt, she helps Rattrap pull Cheetor up.
Meanwhile, Tarantulas is stuck in his ruined lair, trying to unbury himself free. He manages to poke his head out through the rocks. "I hate that rat." he declared bitterly.
Before Tarantulas could utter 'human' too, a rock fell on his head and knocks him out.
At the Maximal base...
The silver moon is full in the sky. It was soon nightfall by the time Cheetor, Rattrap and Hallie had made it back to the Maximal base. It was pass midnight according to Hallie's watch. It took forever for Rattrap and Hallie to carry Cheetor out of Predacon territory and across the landscape undetected. Cheetor was in a weakened state but he eventually recovered and managed to walk on his own.
Inside the corridor, Hallie is not looking forward to another lecture from Optimus. She had already broken his rules three times. It had to be a record. He might as well ground her for good this time. She also hopes he doesn't noticed her blue rucksack that she lost before.
As the three arrived in the command centre, Rattrap gave an ashamed Cheetor an annoyed look before facing Optimus. "Heya, fearless leader! What's the haps?" he asked with a nervous grin.
An unhappy Optimus Primal turned around. "Where have you three been?" he demanded.
"Uh...just honking around." Rattrap lied. "Ya know, Cheetor and Hallie needed some activity. You were kinda rough on them before. Everybody makes mistakes, ya know."
Rhinox stared silently, preferring to keep quiet about what he really knew.
Dinobot remained silent as well. He prefers to talk more on war strategies than be involved in domestic squabbling.
Cheetor smiled that Rattrap actually covered for him.
Hallie was surprised at the rat's brief selflessness. But she dare not raise her hopes yet.
Optimus paused to think in silence over this. "Ah, well, maybe you're right." he admitted. "I'm sorry, Cheetor, Hallie. I shouldn't have been so harsh."
"No, you were right, Big Bot," Cheetor said modesty. "I messed up. But I won't do it again. From now on, this cat is a team player!"
Rhinox narrowed his eyes at Optimus. He wasn't ready to trust the young Maximal yet after the comlink was trashed.
"I'm glad to hear it." Optimus said.
It was then that Hallie decided to speak up. "I know I wasn't thinking either." she said. "I just wanted to prove I wasn't useless so I thought I could help Cheetor out. Be his scout or something."
Rattrap raised his optics with a smug smile at the idea. "Its true," he said. "The kid can be resourceful when she puts her mind to it."
Optimus frowned a little at this. "Its quite a risk." he said. "I'll think about it later. Meanwhile, you go straight to bed, young lady."
After that, Cheetor, Rattrap and Hallie walked back down the corridor to return to their quarters. It was late and they all needed a good night's rest to recover their strength. The whole ordeal with Predacons in one day has wore them out.
Cheetor turned to look at Rattrap. "Hey..." he began. "Thanks. For not telling him about -"
"Save it, kiddo!" Rattrap snapped angrily. "If I told Optimus about your little play date with Tarantulas, he'd kick my my sweet pink butt too! And yours too, Toughgirl!"
Cheetor widens his optics at this.
Hallie knew that Rattrap's nice side was too good to be true. She sighed and crossed her arms.
"And one more thing," Rattrap said emphatically. "If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I will personally rearrange your spots! Now... Get outta my way, I got garbage to munch!"
With a huff, Rattrap walks through between Hallie and Cheetor. He walked his paws back to his quarters.
However, Cheetor knew that Rattrap has a good heart even when he won't admit it. "And thanks for saving my life...pal." he said with a smile. "You too, Hallie."
"Of course," Hallie smirked, stroking his head. "You're my friend. Friends watch out for each other."
"Night, Hal." Cheetor said, walking away.
Hallie lets out a yawn and stretches her arms. "Good night." she replied.
When Hallie entered her quarters, she saw that Melody is resting on top of the berth. She is dressed in her pyjamas and hugging her teddy bear. She seemed surprised to see her sister again.
"You're…You're back, Hallie." Melody said. "Where did you go?"
Without a word, Hallie climbed on the stool step and jumped onto the berth. She planned to wash up and brush her teeth in a minute. Then she puts down her blue rucksack next to the pink one, unzipping it and pulling out the maroon blanket. "I went out for a walk." she answered.
As Hallie puts the blanket over her little sister. Melody was suspicious of her sister's 'walks'. "But that was hours ago." she replied with confusion.
Hallie turned her head to look at Melody and put her hands on her hips. "Hey," she said proudly. "I like the great outdoors."
Melody noticed that Hallie has her blue rucksack that she had lost to the Predacons two weeks ago. She chose not to say anything about it. She didn't want to put her big sister into more trouble with Optimus than she already has. She also too tired for another unwinnable fight with Hallie.
"Next time," Melody said, closing her eyes. "You're taking me with you. It must be fun."
Hallie laughed a little. "Oh, you have no idea, Melody."