CHAP 35

XR was right. The secret entrance was right where he said it was and it wasn't guarded. Not one single hornet stood on either side of the door. Prowl wondered how this Zurg could maintain his place as the biggest threat to the galaxy if he didn't even take the precautions to prevent infiltration. Megatron would never allow something like this if it was him they had to deal with instead, the Autobot thought, remembering the current threat to his own dimension. Megatron. The most feared Cybertronian in the galaxy. Ruthless to the core. If it was him he'd have at least two Decepticons guarding it.

"Prowl?" XR's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the smaller robot. "Hmm?"

"Are you going to stand there all day or are we going to save Sari?" he asked, folding his arms and giving him an impatient look.

"Oh.. sorry," Prowl said, shaking his head. For a moment he'd forgotten where he was. "Let's go."

Both machines entered the palace as one.

Once inside they paused. "We usually go this way," XR said, pointing to their left. "He never seems to have as much security in that part of the palace and-" he looked back toward Prowl. The Autobot was gone. -and now I have to go looking for you."

He wheeled in the opposite direction of which he'd intended, grumbling to himself. Why did the Autobot have to go and ruin a meticulously thought out plan. "I thought we agreed that we wouldn't split up," he complained folding his arms and making a face. "I guess I shouldn't have expected him to follow orders. That would be too hard for somebody like him, stupid glitch head."

Prowl made his way carefully down the halls of Zurg's palace, his senses on alert and his hand hovering over his weapons. Whenever he saw a hornet or anything else that might prove to be hindrance he would press himself against the wall and create a hologram to hide himself. After the being passed by he moved away from the wall and continued down the hall. So far things were going smoothly and he didn't seem to be having any trouble.

It was all too easy.

You know you really shouldn't have just left XR like that. A voice in his head pointed out.

Here it was again. The voice of logic and reason. Why did it always sound like master Yoketron?

I know but what else could I do? he argued. This is my problem and I don't want him getting involved.

He's been involved since Nos-4-a2 took off with Sari and he did nothing about it, the voice pointed out.

You're right. he agreed. But I still don't want anything to go wrong by him being there.

Do you really think him helping you will only make things worse?

What else should I think?

You should put more faith in them. They're called Space Rangers and defenders of the galaxy for a reason. They're not incompetent.

That was true and Prowl never thought otherwise but that did not keep him from changing his mind about things. He paused before stepping into another hallway. A deep feeling of dread washed over him. The cyber ninja didn't know why but for some reason he felt as if a great weight was on his shoulders, as if all the problems of both his dimension and theirs were his to bear alone.

Just like before...

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, shaking his head and scattering the thoughts. "Why would you be feeling that way? Their problems are not your own and once you have Sari back to normal and have Shadowstar back into custody, you can breathe easier and relax. Maybe you could even find some time to enjoy this whole thing somehow...."

It really wouldn't hurt to see more of the dimension. Besides Star Commander and Trade World.

What was he thinking? He didn't have time for anything like that! After he had both Sari and Shadowstar back they would go to their own dimension. Who knew what kind of things were happening while they were gone? For all he knew Megatron could have taken over by now and Cybertron could be overrun by Decepticons and Iacon could be in ruins or-

Quit it! You don't have time to worry about such things, bolt head! You got a techno organic girl to save and vampires to take out! You can play that little what if game later!

Yes, you're right. "Sparks, I'm such an idiot."

"I won't argue with you there."

Prowl gasped and turned around to face the speaker but the hall was empty save for himself. "That's strange," he said. "I could have sworn I heard somebody talking to me."

"Nobody is talking to you," the voice spoke again. "You're crazy! Why would anyone want to say anything to you? You sure are vain, get over yourself, Autobot."

That voice. He knew it very well. He'd heard it so many times he would never be able to easily forget it. She's here.

Prowl looked around the room a moment more than spoke. "All right, Shadowstar, I know you're there so stop trying to hide yourself."

The voice spoke behind him again. "Who said I was hiding?"

He pulled out a throwing star and spun around to face her. Shadowstar moved faster than him and grabbed his wrist, yanking it painfully behind his back. Then, before he could attempt to fight back, she shoved him against the wall, face first . "Too slow," her purred in his left audio unit. "You're getting rusty in your old age."

"It wouldn't hurt him to let me know he's planning on ditching me like that," Xr complained as he wheeled down the hall. "I'm just saying. It's not like it would be hard to do. All he had to say was; "I'm going to go my own way because it will cover more ground if we split up." But no! He didn't do that because that would ruin his lone wolf image and put a dent in his ego." He folded his arms and glared at nothing, though he pictured Prowl standing in front of him. "Stupid glitch head. Doesn't he realize that this was a bad idea? What if he runs into Nos-4-a2 or that Shadowstar lady? What if I run into Nos-4-a2 or Shadowstar?!"

He ducked behind a statue of Zurg when a group of Hornets walked past. Once they were gone he came back out and continued his search. "It's not like I'm asking too much. All that I want him to do is follow the rules for once."

He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize Nos-4-a2 was sitting in the hall until he wheeled into him. One minute he was walking along complaining, the next he'd tripped over the energy vampire and both wound up on the floor.

"Argh! Get off me!" Nos ordered, shoving him away.

XR scrambled to his feet. "Oh I'm sorry I- AH!" he stared in horror at the energy vampire. He wheeled away from him, making weird noises. "You-you you-"

"Oh stop that!" Nos-4-a2 ordered glaring at him. "If you can't talk properly don't talk at all, you're giving me a migraine." and he rubbed his head to prove his point.

XR pulled out his remaining gun and aimed it at him. "All right, Nos-4-a2, no funny moves!"

Nos angrily slapped the gun out of his hand. "You don't need that, you stupid space ranger," he growled. "It's not like I can go anywhere or fight with you anyway. Not in my current state."

That's when XR noticed his scratched and dented form and the broken monocle. "What happened to you?"

"Not that it's any of your business but I've been subjected to the wonderful world of that harpy's imagination." XR noticed him shudder slightly. "So now that you know go ahead and laugh, I know you want to." he folded his arms, his good optic burning with irritation. "Go ahead and rub it in that I'm totally helpless and can't protect myself. I know you want to."

"Well I-"

"Oh shut up."

He was helpless? He couldn't defend himself? Was XR lucky or what? With the energy vampire in his current state the space ranger robot could take care of him without worrying about getting himself damaged or bitten. He could knock the vampire out and carry him back to the ship. If Prowl or anyone else asked he'd make up a wild story on how he did it just to save face.

But he never got to do what he planned.

Just then Sari came out of the lab, holding some tools. "I found the stuff, Master," she said, heading toward him. "So I can start-" she stopped when she noticed XR. She recovered from her shock quickly and glared at him,. "What are you doing here?"

"Sari! Thank the Nebula you're safe!" XR explained. Two for the price of one! Things were looking up. "I came here with Prowl to get you and-"

The expression on her face shut him up.

"I don't need anyone to save me," she growled. "Nor do I want it, especially not from a coward and a perverted robot."

XR looked at Nos-4-a2. "You sure got a strong hold on her," he commented.

Nos smiled sadistically. "I rather like her this way," he answered. He reached up and patted Sari's cheek. "Much better than the loud mouthed brat I had to deal with before." he pointed at him. "and she's a much better servant than you were."

Why was he pointing that out to him? Was he hoping for some kind of reaction? "Am I supposed to be jealous, because I'm not," XR informed him. He looked back at Sari. "Oh come on, Sari. You can't still be under his control after so long. Don't tell me his mind control hasn't wained even a little." he pointed at Nos. "Especially after that."

Sari responded by kicking him into the wall. Then, while he was recovering from the blow, which hadn't been all that powerful, she and knelt down to begin her repairs on Nos.

"I don't think it has." he said before laughing hysterically.

XR got to his feet and rolled his eyes. "Prowl's not going to like this."

Prowl forced himself not to think about the pain in his arm as the femme held him pinned against the wall. "Let me go, Shadowstar," he growled.

"Let you go?' she asked, sounding surprised at such an order. "Why would I want to do that?" She reached up and twined her long fingers around his neck, pulling his head back. "It's been so long since you and I have had an encounter. I'm just saying hello."

He tried to hit her with the elbow of his free hand but missed because she sensed it coming and moved out of the way. "If you want to say Hello you can do it without this. Let me go!"

"No, I don't think I will," she said as if she'd been giving the idea some thought. "I think I'll keep you this way for awhile." the hand around his neck moved away and he heard something jingling. "I got a present for you, Prowly."

Prowl didn't have to look to know what it was. Stasis cuffs? How had she gotten her hands on a pair? Well he had no intention of sticking around to find out.

When she tried to slap them on him he jerked back and slammed into her face with the back of his head. Shadowstar screamed in pain and loosened her grip on his arm just enough for the cyber ninja to break free. He spun around and kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back across the hall. She slammed into the opposite wall then fell to the floor on her hands and knees.

Prowl moved as if to escape, the femme screamed in anger and charged after him, not about to let him escape her after doing such a thing. Blue mech fluid bled down her face from her broken nose, only helping to fuel her anger.

"You're not going to get away from me, that easily, Autobot!" she roared, going into vehicle mode and shooting down the hall.

Prowl copied her movements, also reverting into his vehicle mode and burning rubber. The fembot was not far behind. She chased him down the hall and right past Zurg and Warp Darkmatter who were walking in the opposite direction. The two machines created a back draft so great that the skirt of Zurg's robe was blown into his face.

"Argh!" he exclaimed, shoving it back down. "What in the world was that?"

Warp shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the horrible image of his bosses chicken legs, before responding. "I think it was the femme," he looked down the hall and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "and it looked like she was chasing after somebody."

"Now who would she be after now?" Zurg grumbled, making sure his skirt was in its proper place. "I already let her feed on my hornets and she had her fill on Nos-4-a2." he looked down at hall as well. "She'd better not be trying to snack on a brain pod!"

"Want me to find out?" Warp asked.

That sounded like a good idea. "Go right ahead," he answered. Darkmatter took off down the hall. "and if she is trying to feed on a brain pod shoot her!" he called as an after thought.

"Commander Nebula's not going to be happy that we stole the one of the Star Hoppers," Booster pointed out as he looked nervously at Mira who sat at the controls of the machine. "If he finds out about this he might make us do something smelly as punishment."

"If we get in trouble XR and Prowl will too because they stole one as well," the Tangean pointed out, her dark blue eyes focused straight ahead. It was clear she did not want to discuss what might happen if and when Commander Nebula found out she and Booster had taken the other Star Hopper. "They're the ones who broke the rule first, we're just breaking the rule to bring them back. So our actions are justified." then she thought about that statement and admitted. "Okay they're not justified exactly, since we were told not to follow, but they're justified enough because we're only trying to fix things before they get worse and both you and I know that if they have gone after, her things are going to be much more complicated then-"

"I get the point," the red alien interrupted, not wanting to hear her ramble anymore. "I still think we should have waited."

"Waited!?" she explained. "You heard Commander Nebula; he wasn't planning on doing anything until Buzz is better and who knows when that will be? Besides; all the star ships were destroyed, no thanks to that girl, so he couldn't have sent anyone after them anyway."

"He could have if we hadn't taken the Star Hopper." he looked out the windshield. "Somebody who has much more experience."

"Hey!" she shouted, offended. "We have plenty of experience! It's not like we're fresh out of the academy or something! We've been doing this for years now!"

"I know, but.."

"No buts" she cut him off.." We're doing this and there's no turning back." she glared out the windshield, clearly unhappy that he was trying to play her conscious. "and something tells me that we're already too late."

Prowl wasn't having much success in ditching the fembot. No matter how fast he went she was right behind him, like a large black and red falcon. He tried to come up with a way to get rid of her but nothing came to mind and he was starting to get tired. He couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Suddenly he lost traction and wiped out. Shadowstar saw her chance and transformed, using her momentum to lunge forward and slam into him as he was transforming to break his fall. She landed on top of him, wrapping her arms around his body and pinning his arms at his sides. He hit the floor face first.

When the Autobot tried to get up the femme slammed her knee into his back and held him down. "So much for escaping," she said, unwrapping her arms and straightening up. She grabbed his left arm and forcing it behind his back. "You're getting slow. I was hoping to have more fun." she sniffed in disappointment. He'd ruined her fun by running. "Too bad. Though I can still have fun with you even like this."

Prowl tried to get up again but her weight held him down. "Ever try finding someone else to have your sick fun with?" he demanded.

"Actually I have," she replied, clicking the first stasis cuff around his wrist. "But he wasn't as fun as you. He didn't even have a spark and he barely put up a fight." she grabbed for his other arm which he tried desperately to keep away from her. "Well what did I expect from a drunk?"

She finally caught his hand and clicked on the other cuff. Instantly Prowl's struggling ceased and he went limp. She giggled and turned him onto his back so she could see his face. "You on the other hand will most likely give me some entertainment." she ran her finger over his chest plate, getting the desired result from him when he flinched. "Just like old times."

"No."

She frowned. "Too bad," she said. "I can make you do what I want one way or another." her optics briefly focused on his neck then she seemed to change her mind about it. "How about we try something else?"

But just as she reached for his chest plate, a voice spoke up behind her. "So that's what you were chasing."

Shadowstar's probing hand closed into a fist. She ground her teeth in anger. "Sparks," she cursed under her breath. "Does he have to show up now?' she turned her head and looked over at Warp Darkmatter. "Yes, I have."

Darkmatter walked over to her and stared down at her prisoner. His eyes widened with recognition. He'd seen this being before. "Hey, isn't this the robot from Trade World?" he asked, pointing down at him. "What's he doing here?"

"He's probably here to capture me," she replied, getting up. "But that won't happen. I incapacitated him." she kicked Prowl brutally in the side. He rolled over, forcing himself not to make any sounds when she repeated the movement twice more. "Probably here to bust out that wannabe too."

The alien looked up at her. "Why would he do that?" he inquired curiously.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "But he's probably got a reason."

Warp had to agree. He stood over Prowl, his hands resting on his hips. "Well I think we should take him to Zurg then," he stated. "He'll want to know that you weren't chasing after brain pods."

Shadowstar made a face, clearly unhappy about his suggestion. Those ugly little pink squishes in the life support suits did not appeal to her even if the suits were full of energy. Aside from that she had been hoping to keep Prowl to herself and have more fun with it. It seemed now she would not be doing that because something told her Zurg would keep her from it this time. "Does he have to know?" she demanded. "Why can't you just lie and say it was?"

"Because he gave me strict orders to shoot you if that was the case and I really don't want to shoot you," he stated, looking right at her. His eyes met hers and he held her gaze. "and we should tell him because this is his palace and he has a right to know about people infiltrating his it, no matter who they are or what your relationship is with them."

Shadowstar stared at him, startled by his words. 'How do you-"

"I'm not as dumb as you think I am," Warp cut her off. He reached down and grabbed Prowl's arm, pulling him to his feet. "Once we tell him I'm sure he'll think of some way to deal with him properly."

But I wanted to deal with him myself! a whiny voice in her head moaned. He belongs to meeee! "That's what I'm afraid of."

Warp cast her a look of confusion but didn't push the matter. Something told him it would be wise just to let it drop. "Let's go," he said.

"Fine whatever," she said, folding her arms and following him down the hall, her optics burning into his back. "But can I at least carry the Autobot?"

Warp looked over his shoulder and shot her a a tolerant smile. "I'm good," he told her. "No need."

She glared at him and looked away. Jerk.