Beast Wars: Symmetries

Armor of the Sentinel Part 1

On command, the screen opened up. Backup files were now available for the user to see.

"So, this is what they've been doing on Cybertron," Tarantulas mused.

It was late into the night already. Tarantulas had snuck inside the Maximal base to ascertain their secret files and databanks on what the Maximals had done while on Cybertron. It was all part of his reconnaissance trip. This time he was not working under the revived Megatron. He was merely in it for himself.

"Surely there has to be something about the Darkspark," Tarantulas typed in a few more keys.

While on Cybertron, he had allied himself with a warlord called Shokaract. The ensuing reward of being in the alliance was a small crystalline piece known as the Darkspark. It was an artifact of great power Shokaract had bonded with his spark. Luckily, Tarantulas managed to obtain a small piece of that power. He had to find out all he could about it, even if it was from Maximal sources.

No such luck. The data logs Depth Charge had kept were short and to the point. It included nothing in-depth on the very nature of the Darkspark.

Tarantulas got up. He would have to chance his luck elsewhere.

Without even noticing, Tarantulas stepped right in front of a silent alarm.

"Intruder alert!" the sirens wailed. "Intruder alert!"

"Slag!" Tarantulas grasped his hand angrily. "Not now!"

Already he had disabled most of their alarms. Apparently he had overlooked one.

Just as Tarantulas turned around the corner of the cave, Rhinox stepped out.

"You!" he gasped.

Fortunately for Tarantulas, Rhinox had just gotten up from his slumber and wasn't in tip-top shape.

Taking a step back, Tarantulas fired two missiles from his shoulder guns before Rhinox could reach his own weapons. They struck Rhinox and knocked the larger Maximal against the cavern wall.

Tarantulas turned and fled. Now there would be more Maximals coming after him, especially considering the noise he'd just made.

Before Tarantulas could move, a smaller body collided into him and tackled him to the floor.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to my buddy!" Rattrap grabbed Tarantulas' throat with one hand.

"Get off me rat!" Tarantulas placed both feet underneath Rattrap and kicked him off.

Just as Rattrap got back to his feet and pulled out his gun, a single shot from Tarantulas' gun dispatched him.

"Two down," Tarantulas snorted. Then he ran outside as fast as his feet would take him.

He did not get very far by the time he had left the cave and entered into the night air. Before he could even transform to vehicle mode, a ferocious roar emerged from behind him.

Tarantulas turned around, facing the ferocious Transmetal Two Cheetor.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Cheetor.

"I don't have to answer to the likes of you!" Tarantulas raised his gun and began firing.

Cheetor ducked and weaved, avoiding each and every shot Tarantulas sent his way. He was a Transmetal Two now, with greater speed and agility than the great majority of Cybertronians.

"Too slow," Cheetor spun around and kicked the gun out of Tarantulas' hand. Then he backhanded Tarantulas to the floor.

"Omph!" Tarantulas hit the floor face-first.

"Cheetor, who was it?" Optimus came out finally.

"No worries Optimus," Cheetor grabbed Tarantulas by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up. "Just found myself a creepy crawler out for a late-night snack."

"And what a snack it would've been!" sneered Tarantulas. "If you Maximals hadn't interrupted me!"

"Why were you sneaking into our base?" demanded Optimus.

"I won't talk!" Tarantulas replied stubbornly. "And you won't make me!"

"Talk!" Cheetor gave Tarantulas a violent shake.

"Ugh!" Tarantulas almost felt his head snap back. "And if I don't?"

"Then I'll beat it out of you," Cheetor looked at Tarantulas with a dangerous glare.

"Cheetor…" Optimus looked at his young ward apprehensively.

"Do your worst," Tarantulas said scornfully. "Heh heh heh heh!"

Without warning, Cheetor used his other hand to grab Tarantulas by the skull, squeezing down and gradually putting more pressure onto the Predacon's head.

"S-Stop…" Tarantulas suddenly began to feel it. "What are you doing?"

"Just seeing how long you'll last before your memory circuits start caving in," Cheetor began to squeeze down harder on Tarantulas's head. "Maybe then you'll remember!"

"Yaaagh!" Tarantulas howled.

"Cheetor, stop it!" Optimus grabbed Cheetor's hand, trying to pry it off.

"What?" Cheetor smiled. "I'm just trying to squeeze some information out of him."

What happened next occurred so fast that the three Transformers did not even register it until it was too late. From underneath the cliff they were standing on, a small explosive device detonated, throwing Cheetor and Optimus off of Tarantulas.

Before the smoke cleared, Tarantulas looked up. It was a helicopter drone, being auto-piloted from a remote location. Two seats lay open within it.

"Come with me if you want to live," a voice from within the helicopter directed him.

"Like I have a choice!" Tarantulas leaped inside.

Ascending into the sky, the helicopter flew off into the distance.

When the smoke was completely gone, Optimus dusted himself off and beckoned Cheetor to follow him.

"Want me to chase 'im?" suggested Cheetor.

"No, we have to attend to Rhinox and Rattrap," Optimus stepped inside the cave, followed up shortly by Cheetor.

Cheetor only shrugged nonchalantly.

"And we're going to have a serious discussion about this new attitude of yours," Optimus warned.


"Tell me Scorponok," Megatron ordered. "What has happened in the time I was gone?"

Megatron leaned against his throne chair, crossing both legs. With his new body, he was much larger and more powerful. Not to mention far more intimidating to boot.

It was almost as if Tigerhawk's punishing him had been a blessing-in-disguise. Now he was back and with much more strength and firepower than he originally had. He practically towered over all the other Predacons and the only one whose regality closely mirrored his own was Dinobot.

"As you already know," Scorponok pointed out. "We spent most of the time building your new body and recovering your spark. And according to Tarantulas' report, he made his way back to Cybertron for unknown purposes and so did the Maximals."

"So, that spider has attended a homecoming ball," noted Megatron. "I must question him about it later, yesssss…"

"Speaking of spiders," Scorponok pointed out. "Blackarachnia has defected. She's now with the fuzor Silverbolt."

"What?" Megatron snarled. "That treacherous she-spider would dare to cross me?"

"I hate to be the one to report this," Scorponok admitted. "But she and the fuzor appear to be in a relationship of some sort."

"A relationship, hmm?" Megatron's interest suddenly rose. "That is most fascinating."

"Master, if I may," Dinobot rose, bowing before Megatron slightly. "I would suggest a full frontal attack against the Maximals now to destroy them."

"Not just yet Dinobot, though I admire your enthusiasm," Megatron held up a hand. "We attack on my time."

"As you wish," Dinobot agreed.

"Scorponok, send one of your cyber-bees to monitor Silverbolt and Blackarachnia," ordered Megatron.

"On the double!" Scorponok saluted with one claw and disappeared.

"As for the rest of you, I would like a full account of what you did while I was on my… impromptu vacation," commanded Megatron.

Terrorsaur was the first to step forward.

"Oh great and powerful Megatron!" he huffed up his chest. "It was I who also played a crucial role in recovering your lost spark!"

"Yes, Waspinator did too!" Waspinator added.

"You did, did you?" Megatron raised an eye-ridge incredulously.

"Of course!" Terrorsaur saluted. "In fact, I— "

"You did nothing of the sort," Ravage interrupted.

"Yeah, you were resting your plump beak the whole time!" Strika accused.

"Is this true, Terrorsaur?" demanded Megatron.

"Well, I, uh…" Terrorsaur cleared his throat uneasily.

"It's our word against yours!" Obsidian glared at Terrorsaur.

"Let's hear the whole story then, shall we?" smiled Megatron. "In front of all these witnesses!"

Terrorsaur gulped.


In all his life, Tarantulas had never seen a laboratory so rich and complex in design.

To his right were communication stations and monitors, watching over a large portion of the city and next to the main monitor was a small robotic orb.

"Greetings Tarantulas."

Tarantulas was so busy admiring the handiwork of the lab's machinery that he scarcely paid attention.

"Attention!"

"Ah yes, you," Tarantulas turned around. "Sentinel, is it?"

"Correct," Sentinel acknowledged. "It is fortunate for me that I have summoned you."

"If it's gratitude you want, you can look elsewhere," Tarantulas replied dismissively. "I'm a free agent."

"I wish for you to build me a new body," Sentinel told him, ignoring the spider's snide tone, "an indestructible one which will aid me in my goals."

"An interesting offer but I'll pass," Tarantulas smirked.

"I have calculated this would be your reaction," Sentinel stated. "In exchange for your assistance, this laboratory will be granted to you as your new base. You shall be free to perform your operations without disturbance."

Cocking his head back, Tarantulas pondered over the offer. The labs he originally had on earth had already been destroyed and there was little chance Megatron would give him much freedom back at the Predacon base to perform his experiments without close supervision. Under the circumstances, the offer presented before him was most tempting.

"I remember how you managed to sneak aboard my ship without my notice," Tarantulas told Sentinel. "That was quite clever of you."

"While on Cybertron, I commandeered a new body in an attempt to download my essence into Cybertron's core," Sentinel explained. "A major setback occurred when the Maximals from Earth stopped me."

"Hah hah ha, they can be quite meddlesome, can't they?" Tarantulas laughed.

"Indeed."

"You know, I've decided to assist you after all," Tarantulas finally told Sentinel. "We both share a common goal, the destruction of the Maximals!"

"Then it's settled?" asked Sentinel.

"Of course," Tarantulas replied, staring at Sentinel's equipment around the room. "After all, what other brilliant mind on this planet can I rely on aside from my own? You help me, I help you."


"I don't know what's been going on with you lately, but your new attitude isn't helping," Optimus reprimanded Cheetor.

"Relax Optimus," Cheetor sat down on the seat with both feet on the table. "I've got everything under control."

Rattrap, Silverbolt, and Rhinox also sat there. Being a relative latecomer, Silverbolt had stumbled in on the group conversation just as he had returned from patrol. An awkward moment had thankfully been avoided as the Maximal knight sat down without another word.

"Cheetor, this is serious," Optimus Primal's features remained stern. "You attempted to torture Tarantulas into telling us information."

"So?" Cheetor shrugged. "As long as he spills the beans, right?"

Rhinox and Rattrap looked at each other uneasily. This conversation had just taken a turn for the worse.

"You're a part of this team, you know this isn't how we do things," Optimus pointed out.

"Depth Charge does it all the time," Cheetor pointed out truthfully. "You don't scold him like a new-born Protoform."

"That's because Depth Charge isn't technically a member of the Axalon crew," Optimus reminded Cheetor. "But you are, and I expect better behavior from you! Besides, interrogating opponents like that isn't like you, Cheetor…"

"I gotta agree with Optimus," Rattrap interjected. "You ain't been yourself lately, pussy cat."

"Alright Big Bot," Cheetor finally agreed half-heartedly. "Don't get your gears in a grind."

"Thank you," Optimus got up along with the other Maximals. "And to set the record straight, we're concerned about you, Cheetor. We just want what's best for you, that's all."

Cheetor stretched out his arms and yawned lazily.

"I gotcha," he said. "Well, may as well fly out on patrol now."

"Will you require assistance?" asked Silverbolt. "My wings have not yet tired and I could accompany you if you wish."

"Nah," Cheetor told him. "I could use some alone time. Besides, if I'm lucky, I could find that Blackarachnia babe and offer her a ride."

"How dare you!" Silverbolt's mood drastically transformed, taking a swing at Cheetor.

The young Maximal was not prepared for one of his own comrades striking him. Almost dumbly, he took the punch. After a few seconds of registering what had occurred, the emotion of surprise left Cheetor, only to be replaced with anger.

"The slag do you think you're doing?" Cheetor demanded, striking back with greater ferocity.

He grabbed Silverbolt violently by the throat and lifted him up. Silverbolt struggled under the cheetah's powerful grip but could not break free.

"Cheetor, put him down!" Optimus ordered. "Let us handle this!"

Unceremoniously, Cheetor dropped Silverbolt who immediately gasped for breath.

Now all optics were on Silverbolt and his unexpected reaction.

"Silverbolt," Optimus folded his arms gravely. "Do you have any excuse for attacking Cheetor like that?"

"Yeah, 'dat was uncalled for!" Rattrap added.

"I… I apologize for my abrupt and rash behavior," Silverbolt finally told them. "I merely feel that it is dishonorable to behave chauvinistically towards any female, even the enemy."

"Whoa, whoa, this coming from the guy who refuses to hit femmes because they're so dainty," Cheetor retorted. "Who's the real chauvinist here?"

"Cheetor, had you not gone through as much as you have recently, I would require that you give satisfaction!" Silverbolt glared daggers at the younger Maximal.

"Tough talk coming from a bird-dog who's about to get his wings clipped," Cheetor made an abortive move towards Silverbolt.

"Did I miss anything?"

All the Maximals immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to the front entrance where Depth Charge stood, leaning against the wall. Though he had his head leaning down and both arms crossed, it had been apparent that he'd been listening in for some time.

"You two done now?" Depth Charge spared a glance at the feuding Maximals.

"Just about," Cheetor snorted.

"I've got some news," the blue Maximal turned to Optimus. "Lately my sensors have been picking up not one, but two spark signatures of Protoform X."

Optimus Primal was surprised, as were the other Maximals.

"But I thought you said Rampage was destroyed," Optimus responded with uncertainty.

"I thought so too," Depth Charge confessed. "But apparently not. How he even got back to Earth is a mystery to me."

"Is your scanner malfunctioning?" Rhinox asked. "I could run a diagnostic examination of it for you."

"No," Depth Charge shook his head. "I've scanned it myself several times. It's functional."

"You don't think Shokaract's back, do ya?" Rattrap looked at Depth Charge.

"I don't know," Depth Charge confessed. "But for your sakes, I recommend you keep an eye out. And be careful."

"Thanks," Optimus nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."

Depth Charge tilted his head as an acknowledgement. He transformed to flight mode and flew out of the cavern.


"What is this?" asked Sentinel. "I asked for an indestructible body, not this unwanted mass of liquid."

Tarantulas sighed. Sentinel had so little creativity and ability to think beyond certain norms despite his genius. It was no wonder he had past bodies repeatedly destroyed by the Maximals on multiple occasions.

In the past few hours, he had retrieved a stasis pod with a spark-less protoform inside. Despite a multitude of protests from Sentinel, Tarantulas managed to bring it back to the base to begin work on it. Thanks to some of the advanced technology in Sentinel's lab, he had been able to decipher how to best utilize the power of the small Darkspark fragment he possessed.

"You're just going to have to be patient," Tarantulas told Sentinel. "A liquid metal protoform is not something you want to rush."

Carefully, he removed the green gem at the middle of his forehead before a curious Sentinel. Holding up the Darkspark, which he had carved into the appropriate shape to fit into his head, he placed it where the previous gem had been.

"Ah, that's more like it," Tarantulas exclaimed.

He opened up the stasis pod and connected several tubes to the protoform.

"Are you ready?" he asked Sentinel.

"I should tell you that I have my doubts," Sentinel warned. "Do not betray me, Tarantulas."

"Oh, you have my solemn word," Tarantulas promised.

From his orb-like body, Sentinel's main connector cable attached itself to the stasis pod. With a press of a button, Tarantulas helped start the machine up. The stasis pod surged to life, downloading Sentinel's programming into itself.

"This had better work," Sentinel told the spider.

"Download complete," the pod's computer stated.

The small robotic orb which held Sentinel's essence powered down.

"Do you feel it?" Tarantulas asked.

"I… I feel it," Sentinel stated.

A large mass of liquid metal rose from the stasis pod, splattering across the floor.

"No! What is this?" Sentinel screamed.

Like goo, Sentinel spread across the floor. A few metal tendrils rose from his body but disappeared back into the liquid metal form as quickly as it had appeared.

"You tricked me!" Sentinel turned to Tarantulas. "This was not the body you promised!"

"Don't be a fool!" Tarantulas glowered. "With your liquid metal body, you're practically impervious!"

"I cannot even take solid form!" the glob of liquid metal that was now Sentinel quivered.

"Concentrate!" Tarantulas directed him. "Intellect alone is not enough! Use your willpower to take solid form!"

"I… I…" sputtered Sentinel.

The mass of protoplasmic liquid twisted itself around in the air. Several tendrils shot out, splattering against the wall. In the first few spasms, a face emerged from the liquid metal mass, only to disappear again.

"I feel it now!" Sentinel cried.

Now the liquid metal coalesced into a small metal biped. It had no distinctive form, save a head, two arms, a body, and two legs.

"So this is what it feels like?" Sentinel asked.

"Yes, you're practically invulnerable now," Tarantulas informed him, lowering his arm-guns.

Without warning, Tarantulas fired away into Sentinel, blasting away at him full force.

"Tarantulas, what are you doing?" demanded Sentinel.

Finally, Tarantulas stopped what he was doing. Several bullets were lodged into Sentinel's new form. A few holes had even been torn into Sentinel's chest.

But all too soon, the wounds healed up immediately. The bullets which were lodged into Sentinel were lodged out by his rapid healing.

"With your liquid metal body you can recover from any injury, regenerate any wound," Tarantulas explained. "Surely this is the body you wanted from me?"

"Yes, yes!" Sentinel raised both hands in the air.

"You can also take any form," Tarantulas told him. "This, too, requires concentration."

Sentinel was taken aback. He was no certain what Tarantulas meant by that.

"You mean to say I can transform into anything I wish?" he asked.

"Yes."

Focusing on his hand, Sentinel created a mega-cannon where his arm used to be. Taken aback, he unleashed a blast from that cannon which destroyed the wall in front of him in one blow.

"With your new powers, the sky is the limit," Tarantulas crossed both arms satisfactorily.

"You know, perhaps it is true what they say," Sentinel stretched his head towards Tarantulas.

The empty shape of Sentinel's liquid metal head transformed into a face that greatly resembled Tarantulas.

"Great minds think alike," Sentinel sneered.


Cheetor's new attitude was not the only thing which bothered Silverbolt. He was concerned also about Blackarachnia.

When he made his way to America, he had left Blackarachnia behind in Europe. As far as he knew, she was still back there right now. And he did not want anything unfortunate to fall upon her while he was gone, especially considering the last time they were alone when they had been assaulted by several Dinobot clones.

"Hey Rover."

Silverbolt spun around. "Blackarachnia?"

Blackarachnia landed neatly next to Silverbolt near the cliff he was standing on.

"How did you find me?" asked Silverbolt.

"I followed you, duh."

"We cannot be seen together like this!" Silverbolt protested. "If the Maximals found out you were here—"

"They won't, bone-brain," Blackarachnia reassured him. "I'm just here to pick up on some spare parts. I won't take long."

She leaned over and kissed him. Silverbolt held her tightly, though he realized that his meeting with her could only be brief. Finally Blackarachnia broke the kiss.

"Hey Silverbolt!" the familiar voice of Cheetor called out. He was just a few moments away from reaching them.

"Blackarachnia," Silverbolt turned to Cheetor's voice. "You must hide!"

As he glanced back, he saw that the femme-bot was already gone.

"Hmm, nevermind then," Silverbolt scratched his head.

"Yo Silverbutt," Cheetor walked up towards the fuzor. "Get your feathery hiney in gear. We're going out for a reconnaissance trip."

When Rattrap used such language, Silverbolt was used to it. But Cheetor was a different matter altogether. Normally when Rattrap talked in that manner, it was all in good humor. None of it was meant to demean him or put him down. But the way Cheetor said it was a manner in which he, Silverbolt, was the blunt of crude insults.

"Very well," Silverbolt frowned. "But there is no need to use such language around me, Cheetor."

"What's it to ya?" Cheetor glared at Silverbolt.

"Optimus was indeed correct when he described your behavior," Silverbolt pointed out. "What happened on Cybertron to cause you to act in such a way?"

"I grew up, that's what," Cheetor snapped, pushing back some painful memories. "And need I remind you that you threw the first punch earlier?"

"You were out of line!" Silverbolt pointed an accusing finger at the younger Maximal.

"How?" demanded Cheetor.

"I—" Silverbolt began, but quickly stopped.

If he mentioned Blackarachnia, it would mean exposing his relationship with her, the relationship which he worked hard to conceal from the Maximals.

"Cat got your tongue?" Cheetor sneered.

Snorting contemptuously, Cheetor transformed to beast mode and flew off. Reluctantly, Silverbolt followed him.


"Lousy slaggin' Megatron…" muttered Terrorsaur quietly. "Always gotta make me do the hard work…"

He and Waspinator were scrubbing the floors vigorously across the throne room. But they had a far bigger burden to bear. Megatron expected them to clean the entire Predacon base and make it spotless.

"Waspinator is getting tired…" his partner complained.

"Is that grumbling I hear?" Megatron rumbled.

Several feet away from the two sat Megatron on his chair. The foreboding Predacon tyrant sat there, crossing both legs. He was keeping a stern optic over them. All because of the fact that they did nothing to contribute to bringing him back from the edge of the abyss.

Megatron smiled. He was going to work the two until they made up for all the time they loafed around.

"No boss," Terrorsaur muttered, soaking his sponge into the vat of water.

"Waspinator never grumble…" the Predacon wasp buzzed exhaustedly. "Waspinator like work…"

"Good, because I want this entire base clean by tomorrow morning," Megatron warned them. "And Terrorsaur…"

"Yes?" Terrorsaur stopped scrubbing momentarily and looked up.

"You missed a spot," Megatron pointed towards a stain Terrorsaur had yet to clean up.


"Your new body also includes an advanced radar system," Tarantulas walked Sentinel through the process of familiarization. "It can detect any Predacon or Maximal within a hundred mile radius."

Currently, Sentinel had taken new form. He had taken the form of a cone-shaped satellite, monitoring all air frequencies. Tarantulas was there with him in the mountains conducting further field tests.

"I sense something…" Sentinel warned Tarantulas unexpectedly. "The Maximals are approaching!"

"What?" Tarantulas exclaimed.

"They are fast approaching," Sentinel told him.

Tarantulas took out his binoculars and towards the distance. The Maximals flew down from the air and landed in some nearby thickets.

"Well I'll be a Primal's uncle…" Tarantulas grimaced. "They are here."

"Tarantulas," Sentinel suggested. "What do you say we conduct some further field tests, except this time with Maximal targets?"

"Hah hah hah!" Tarantulas cackled. "Sentinel, you've read my mind!"


"So what's 'da plan for today?" asked Rattrap.

"Rhinox has discovered a new batch of energon," Optimus pointed out. "He'll explain."

"I've found a raw batch in this area," Rhinox informed them. "Judging from my sensors, the amount in this area will be enough to repower the Axalon's turbo thrusters."

Though he hid it, Cheetor was thoroughly bored. Here was nothing more than a mining expedition for energon and he was supposed to be enthusiastic? There were so many better things he could be doing, like slagging Predacons.

"Here are your scanners," Rhinox handed different scanning equipment to each of the team. "When you find a batch, first alert everyone else."

"Gotcha," agreed Rattrap.

A rumble emerged from the ground, shaking the entire floor.

"Anything else we need to know?" asked Optimus.

"This place isn't supposed to be geologically unstable…" Rhinox held himself still, despite the trembling.

After a brief tremor, the ground stopped shaking.

"Was… was 'dat an earthquake?" asked Rattrap.

Abruptly, the ground beneath them burst open as a mound of liquid metal erupted into the air, spiraling around in a circle before coalescing together to form a single amorphous body.

"What the heck is that?" Cheetor growled.

"Greetings, my old friends!" Sentinel saluted.

He stood there with a smooth, streamlined body. Though he had arms and legs, there was no visible expression on his face.

"Sentinel, it's you again," Rhinox stepped forward.

"Yeesh, how many times do we gotta send you to the scrap heap before you get a clue?" Rattrap pointed his gun at the newly reformatted Sentinel.

"This time will be different," Sentinel promised.

Sentinel's mass expanded until he towered over the Maximals. Raising his massive fist, he transformed it into a hammer and brought it down, scattering them.

"Whoa, how'd he manage 'ta do that?" Rattrap exclaimed.

"Impressed?" Tarantulas stepped out from the trees. "I built his new body myself."

"Tarantulas!" snarled Silverbolt. "I should have known you were behind this!"

"Sentinel, destroy them!" Tarantulas ordered.

Sentinel looked down at them, transforming his hand into a massive plasma disrupter. With one blast, he knocked Optimus down from the sky.

"Agh!" shouted Optimus as he fell to the floor.

With another succession of blasts, he sent the rest of the Maximals scattering for cover yet again.

Hiding behind a tree, Rattrap and Rhinox drew their weapons.

"What 'da heck is Sentinel made of?" Rattrap fumed.

Rhinox took out both machine guns and reappeared from behind the tree, blasting away at Sentinel with hundreds of bullets. While he hit his target, he did not count on one thing…

Swiftly, the bullet wounds on Sentinel closed up as he absorbed all of the bullets which had been riddled into him. Turning to Rhinox, he fired back with a plasma shot which forced Rhinox into hiding once more.

"Judging from the looks of it, he's made of liquid metal," Rhinox analyzed the situation to Rattrap.

"Slag, 'dis is gonna be great…" muttered Rattrap.

Rattrap decided to try his luck. Transforming to vehicle mode, he sped towards Sentinel, dodging a hail of plasma fire. Several whip-like tendrils erupted from Sentinel's chest, striking at Rattrap at nearly every quarter. The Maximal rodent barely swerved to dodge the blows and slid underneath Sentinel, transforming back to robot mode. He took out one of his explosives and threw it at Sentinel who promptly caught it.

"What's this?" Sentinel looked at the item impassively.

The next thing he knew, an explosion engulfed that of his entire body.

Rattrap looked on hesitantly through the smoke. Abruptly, several tendrils erupted, one of them catching him across the face.

"Ugh!" Rattrap fell down from the blow.

An enraged Sentinel allowed four tendrils to emerge from his body, each of them grabbing one of Rattrap's limbs and dragging the Maximal close to him.

"You'll regret doing that," Sentinel told him.

With a quick twist of his wrist, Rattrap freed his gun hand from Sentinel's grip and brought the pistol directly at Sentinel's forehead, blasting a hole through it.

But just as quickly as Sentinel had recovered from the machine gun wounds, the hole in his head reconstituted itself in a matter of two seconds. Hissing angrily, Sentinel lifted Rattrap up and prepared to bring him down head-first into the ground.

Before he could do so, Cheetor kicked Sentinel in the neck, causing him to lose his grip on the smaller Maximal. Cheetor clenched both fists and punched Sentinel across the head two times. The third blow knocked Sentinel's entire body back several feet, splattering against a tree.

Soon, however, Sentinel's liquid metal body reformed itself again. He transformed both hands into laser pistols and unleashed several rapid-fire shots at the Maximals. Fortunate for Cheetor, he was fast enough to dodge them, but the others were not so lucky.

One shot struck Rhinox, knocking him clean on his back. The other shot hit Rattrap, taking him out on the spot.

From behind Sentinel, Silverbolt snuck up, firing two wing missiles.

Sensing the attack, Sentinel contracted his body together, making it as thin as a stick, causing both of Silverbolt's feather missiles to miss him and nearly hit Cheetor. With widened eyes, Cheetor leaped across the air, with one of the missiles clipping his shoulder.

"Raagh!" shouted Cheetor. "Are you blind?"

"Cheetor, I did not mean—agh!" Silverbolt quickly tried to apologize but was knocked aside by one of Sentinel's tendrils.

"Cheetor, it was an accident!" Optimus shouted. "Now concentrate on Sentinel."

Landing on both feet, Optimus mounted his missile launchers on his shoulders and began firing repeatedly. Sentinel braced himself as explosion after explosion from the missiles racked his body. By the time Optimus had run out of missiles, Sentinel leaped out of the flames and attached himself to Optimus Primal, throwing him to the ground, then lifting him up and hurling him into tree. As Cheetor attacked, Sentinel spun around and whipped Cheetor across the face, sending him crashing through the thickets.

As Optimus got up, he grabbed the tree which had been broken during his fall and brought it down on Sentinel, smashing him on the spot. But all in time, Sentinel's elastic metal body reformed itself and transformed into a satellite. The front tip of the satellite shot forth a powerful blast which struck Optimus in the chest, taking him out of the fight.

Tarantulas giggled in glee as he watched Optimus Primal fall. There were only two more left and it would be a matter of time before Sentinel took care of them.

"I don't care what you're made of," Cheetor got in front of Sentinel while Silverbolt stood from behind. "You're going down!"

Cheetor charged at Sentinel, intending to tackle him down. Utilizing his new body's natural elasticity, Sentinel opened up a hole in his body for the Maximal to go through. Cheetor dove right through that hole and crashed into Silverbolt instead.

"What are you doing?" demanded Silverbolt. "Sentinel is the enemy, not I!"

"It was a mistake!" protested Cheetor.

"Yes, you seem to be making many of those," Silverbolt pointed out.

"Gimme a slaggin' break!" growled Cheetor. "You saw what Sentinel did!"

"Ahem," Tarantulas' voice interrupted them.

"What?" Silverbolt and Cheetor turned around angrily.

One plasma blast from Sentinel erupted beneath their feet, knocking them both across the air. Silverbolt landed on his back while Cheetor skidded across the floor a bit before crashing into a rock.

"You really should be paying attention," Tarantulas giggled. "Hee hee hee!"

"These Maximals are fools," Sentinel landed in front of Tarantulas.

Tarantulas surveyed the battlefield. Thanks to their advanced new technology, they had won the engagement. It also helped that dissension within Maximal ranks aided them in their endeavors.

"It would be wise of us to finish the Maximals for certain," Sentinel told Tarantulas. "But first… hand me the piece of the Darkspark you hold."

"What?" Tarantulas was taken aback. "Why?"

"Because you will no longer need it," stated Sentinel.

"No, it's mine," Tarantulas warned. "Don't you get any ideas in that mundane processor of yours!"

"Ah, but I have," Sentinel replied confidently. "From the beginning I had counted on you to create an invincible body for me. And now I have no further use for you. But the artifact you hold interests me, arachnid."

"You were never planning to allow me access to your lab," Tarantulas realized. "It all makes sense now."

"Correct, and now you will hand over the Darkspark," ordered Sentinel.

"You'll have to pry it from all eight of my cold, offline legs," Tarantulas warned him.

"Gladly," Sentinel grew to a much larger size.

With one swift motion, Sentinel enveloped Tarantulas in a mass of liquid metal, completely absorbing the Predacon spider. His intention was to first smother the spider, then take the Darkspark from him once his spark had indeed gone offline.

"Heh heh heh…"

"What is this?" Sentinel cried.

Yellow electricity crackled around Sentinel's body as he felt his body slowly losing control of itself.

"Did you really think I'd build you a new body without inserting some fail-safes?" Tarantulas' voice emerged.

"You planned this all along!" realized Sentinel.

Inwardly, Tarantulas rolled his eyes. How could it not have been so obvious?

"Hmph, thought you could get away with cheating me, eh?" Tarantulas sneered. "Well this time Sentinel, the joke's on you!"

The electricity crackled all around them as Sentinel's new liquid metal body began fusing with the Transmetal body Tarantulas possessed. From that amorphous glob of metal goo, a head was the first to emerge, then followed up by the arms and legs.

"By the Matrix…" Silverbolt raised his head.

Before them was a new being. The primary color of his body was white, while thin black streaks ran across his chest and parts of his arm. The head was a grotesque sight. Four glowing red eyes lined the front. At the bottom, a gaping mouth with sharp teeth was complemented with a pair of mandibles.

"What did you do to yourself?" Cheetor demanded, getting up from his previous injury.

"I have gone through an upgrade," Tarantulas replied, spitting out acid as he talked. "One which will tip the balance of the Beast Wars in my favor…"

Both Cheetor and Silverbolt watched with horror and disgust as the acid from Tarantulas' new jaws dripped onto the ground, melting right through it.

"Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…"

"This isn't good," Cheetor looked at Silverbolt.

"Hah hah hah hah hah!"

"No, it certainly is not," Silverbolt gripped his weapon, agreeing with Cheetor for the first time in that day.

From his back, Tarantulas sprouted eight spider-like limbs, lifting his bipedal body from the ground as he marched towards the two Maximals, stalking them as if they were prey.

"You know what I call Maximals who get caught up in my tangled web?" Tarantulas asked them jokingly.

Neither of them answered.

"I call them lunch…" Tarantulas smiled, allowing further drops of acid to fall out of his mouth.