As anticipated, the Autobot coordinates lead them fairly close to where Sixshot predicted the dual would take place. The area itself was nothing special; a barren desert wasteland where the sands were in constant motion and weight distribution might end up playing a role in the battle to come.

Nightbird and a few Seekers were sent out ahead to confirm the situation. "We have confirmed the Autobots are here. We see over a dozen on the ground with three Zoids and a group of smaller bots. The Wreaker vessel is also on standby with no active targeting detected."

They were getting Nightbird's feed who was remaining cloaked before turning back. Sixshot saw Grimlock and his entire team was there, along with others who shared their distinct color scheme. He also saw Slipstream's anticipation seeing Vibes on the ground as well.

Sixshot turned to the crew, taking control of the situation, "Prepare to land. Once our group is on the ground, the Defiant will hold its position to mirror the Wrecker ship. Demolisher, I want a group assembled that is triple what the Autobots have. I don't care if you have to pull Predacons in to fill the numbers."

"Right away."

"Hold it." Slipstream finally spoke out, "Since when were you in charge?"

Sixshot glanced down to her, "Do you really want to fight over this now?" Seeing the Autobots were nearby, now wasn't the best time for her to grip over the little things. When Slipstream turned away, Sixshot took that as enough of an indicator to proceed. "Decepticons, today is a day that will not be forgotten any time soon."

While imposing, the Decepticon warship made no aggressive maneuver while it made its landing. It was obvious some were more than a little nervous to be standing within range of their imposing guns. The Decepticons were putting up one hell of a show given the grandeur of their entrance along with the sheer numbers of visible spectators they were presenting everyone to see.

Vibes and Legion looked to one another and nodded yet before much more could be done Slipstream called out to them, "A rather fitting location for a funeral wouldn't you agree, Autobots?"

Vibes didn't take the bait, instead, she turned it against her, "So long as you manage to keep your triggers locked and your weapons cold."

Slipstream was about to do something; however, she was stopped by Sixshot. "Grimlock, we are here, however, I do wonder why you would call out such a challenge now? You lead a team, not the Autobot forces, and I am not the leader here."

Grimlock hefted his sword up to his shoulder, "Fighting a Seeker would be a waste of time. They break too easy."

That got a small chuckle out of Sixshot, "Indeed. So, I can assume the conditions are as expected?"

Grimlock nodded, "Loser's faction leaves the planet."

"Any other conditions?"

"Just two." Grimlock swung his sword and swiftly planted it into the sand, burning the ground to glass around the impact zone. "No weapons."

He then proceeded to open his chest, exposing his spark, as his hand reached inside to press a button and an automated voice responded, "Transformation cog locked."

"No transformations."

Before any Decepticon could protest, Sixshot stepped forward, "Very well." Sixshot proceeded to toss both blasters and disengaged all weapons affixed to his body to the sand. Sixshot even went so far as to open his wrists to dump the ammunition for his wrist-mounted weaponry.

Sixshot also opened his chest to perform the same action as Grimlock, though with a much more ominous automated voice, "Transformation cog locked."

As the two warriors prepared to square off, Grimlock groaned as his arm was grabbed by Vibes. Sixshot huffed, "What is it now?"

Grimlock groaned, "Forgot one more thing." He looked down at the white raptor Zoid, "A judge…"

The Zoid took a few steps forward as the canopy opened to reveal a damaged organic sized mech, "We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. Allies to Autobot forces."

Slipstream was quick to call them out, "Hold it! How can you have a judge who openly stated his biases."

Vibes countered, "And do you really believe you have someone on your side who can put aside their biases to judge this battle fairly?"

Legion's flaps around its largest optic for a head flared at Slipstream's comment, "We agree that such biases are difficult for many to remove. That is why we have had processes that will abstain from judgment to allow neutral factors to declare a victor according to Cybertronian rules."

"Does that satisfy your concerns, Slipstream?"

"Not really but I doubt you'll change judges at this point."

Legion looked to the Autobots, "While we may be allies in combat, that does not mean we cannot judge this contest of battle prowess unfairly. If you would like, we can provide a detailed parameter check on which processes will be allowed to vote and the parameters for how voting will be judged."

Slipstream was getting rather irritated now, "I'm sure it'll be technical and full of programming codes wouldn't it?"

"Yes."

"Enough." Sixshot moved forward, "I believe this little one will properly judge our battle without favoritism. Now shall we begin?"

The raptor Zoid moved into position between the two combatants, "First, Decepticon forces are requested to move back 3.581 meters." They were obviously hesitant to do what an Autobot ally wanted them to do, but Slipstream was the first to reluctantly do so.

After the Decepticons reluctantly did so, and as Sixshot and Grimlock moving toward one another, a sphere appeared between the two bots before an energy field started to form around them. Sixshot examined the barrier, pressing his hand against it. "A containment field to keep us in?"

"A measure to keep interference out." Legion's flaps flared again, "Past Decepticon actions have strained trust for Autobots in the legitimacy of this battle. To ensure no outside forces can obstruct or alter the outcome of this challenge. Once a victor has been declared the barrier will be lowered."

Grimlock punched his fists together, "Just get on with it!"

Sixshot started stretching his joints as well, "Lets…"

Legion's Zoid backed away, "If both combatants are ready, we will begin shortly."

Vibes had been against this plan from the beginning, but unfortunately, Thrashclaw was right about a few things; she had to be at the dual and be a part of the infiltration team simultaneously. At least while within the Predacon city she wasn't as likely to have a target over her spark chamber. Though they did have her go the extra hic by removing her 'ears' and altering her color from red to blue. They had reached the edge of the forest just before the Predacon city outpost, "So how will this go?"

"Just follow our lead and don't do or say anything too contradicting to our little story." Thrash looked to her team, rubbing Gnash's neck, "Gnash, we're gonna need you to transform for us, okay? Just until we get past the guards. Shred, have our fake ids ready and scramble their monitors. Slice, get ready with that distraction."

Vibes was a little taken aback by how different Thrashclaw seemed to behave when she was being serious. Gnash reluctantly transformed, waiting for her instructions as Shred pulled out their passes. "IDs are ready to go." Slice had long since left the group, setting herself up.

Thrash pulled out three grenades, "Grab Gnash and get ready to bolt. Now Slice!" Thrash threw the grenades as far as she could, giving her sniper her shot. The four of them ran from the tree line toward the city, Thrash firing at nothing as she started shouting, "Move it! We're almost there!"

Vibes had some difficulty with pretending they were running from enemy forces, though her visor did help hide some of the confusion on her face. Especially when she saw how easily Gnash acted like she had been injured or Shred's panicked look on her face as she 'carried' Gnash.

The guards rushed toward the group, scanning the area for where the enemy could appear as they fell back with the others providing covering fire. "What are we facing?"

Thrash put one of her weapons away, "Those damn invisible cats. I think someone thought our guard would be lowered while the Autobots and Decepticons had their damn battle."

The guards nodded, "Right, defensive formation. Invisible hostiles inbound! Switch to electrometric scanning."

As many of the guards rushed toward the tree line to start scanning for these invisible foes as a Maximal guard remained with the group to get some clarity on the situation. "How did this all happen?"

Thrash looked back to the others, "We're scavengers out in the wilds. We prefer to avoid all of the nonsense about Predacons vs Vehicons, so we built ourselves our own little community to keep to ourselves and trade what we need with the city." She then lowered her head, "Look, we probably should have said something sooner, but we've seen their scouts push into our territory from time to time but never this far in or actually pursuing us. I'll answer whatever questions you need, but our friend is seriously injured."

He looked over Gnash, who was avoiding optic contact while pretending to be low on energon and injured. Vibes tried to help convince the guard, "We'd have tended to her ourselves if we weren't so far from our base. Our horrible patch job was only made worse by trying to do while under fire."

"Fine. But only she can take her inside," pointing to Shred, "I need a thorough account of everything that happened."

Vibes was worried, but Thrashclaw jumped at this opening, vigorously shaking the bot's hand, "Thank Primus for your kindness. I don't know what I'd do without her…"

Vibes slowly got out from under Gnash's arm as the two Raptoricons 'hobbled' their way past the gate. The Maximal nodded to Thrashclaw, "If you two would come this way out of danger, we can proceed with writing up an incident report."

The Autobots chose a wise place for this battle. The sand prevented pure strength to be the sole factor in who would win. And whether the Autobots planned for it or not, Slipstream was using the Defiant to broadcast the battle across the planet just like Grimlock had done when issuing his challenge. The battle itself wasn't as intense as many were expecting given the reputation both warriors had. Of the few clashes, the two did engage in they easily showed their spectators why they were the strongest Cybertronians around.

This stalemate couldn't remain, and one of them would have to take the initiative to push this in any direction. However, before that, Sixshot needed to know something. "Grimlock, as much as I respect you as a warrior, I do wonder what your true purpose for this battle is."

"No secrets. Just gonna kick your skidplate…"

Sixshot glanced to their judge, "So you say, yet you aren't the aggressive gladiator I've wanted to battle for so long. So much time wasted assessing and looking for openings, you would rush into battle eager to greet your foes in hand-to-hand combat no matter the cost. Where is that Grimlock whom I wish to defeat?"

In a fit of rage, Grimlock rushed at Sixshot, grappling him and slamming him against the barrier before proceeding to try to pummel him down. The shockwave from each blow sent ripples across the entire barrier.

Sixshot took the blows with his arms, but then he surprised Grimlock by catching his next punch. "That it is." He then pulled Grimlock in, ramming his knee into Grimlock's abdomen. While he was recovering Sixshot threw his opponent down into the sand. "More… I want to see the real power you possess." Grimlock wouldn't stay down for long, quickly getting back he charged at Sixshot once again.

The questioning from the Maximals took a bit longer than they would have liked, and thanks to Legion's mindscape, they were able to keep their story straight despite being kept separated during the ordeal.

With Slipstream broadcasting the battle everywhere, it gave them a rough estimate on how much of a crunch they were now under thanks to Grimlock's temper being used against him. "Do you think Shred has found our 'friend' yet?"

"She better given how long she had." Just as Thrash was about to look for Shred when she spotted Gnash alone. "What is going on?" The pair moved toward Gnash, but she started acting weird and ran off into the ally.

The two quickly gave chase after her, nearly losing sight of her from a few quick turns but Vibes was keeping track of her footsteps so they wouldn't lose track of her. Yet something weird happened soon after as she heard a transformation yet the stride of the steps remained relatively constant.

They reached a dead end where a lone manta ray Predacon was waiting for them. "About time you showed up. This way." He turned around and opened a wall that held a secret passage down.

Thrash drew out one of her Mini-Gatling-Blasters and loaded her Veloci-Missile just in case. The staircase they were following was narrow, and if they weren't so cautious, they might not have noticed how it slightly curves on them.

It soon opened up to a small office-like space with a few terminals that Shred was working on while Gnash was pacing around until she saw Thrashclaw again. As much of a happy reunion this should have been, it was sadly interrupted by the Predacon clearing his vocal processor, "Now that everyone is here, we need to get moving with the plan before your friend gets beaten to death."

"Sure thing," Thrashclaw and the rest of her team was ready to strike, "As soon as you reveal yourself, Shifter."

Vibes was about to draw one of her own weapons, but Thrash pushed her back as the Shifter looked around. "Rather presumptuous to think…"

"Don't give me that scrap." Thrash moved closer, "A Shifter is only effective around those who aren't familiar with the bot they're impersonating."

He started looking over himself, "What gave me away? I have his most current body scan."

"Easy when you can get them to admit it." The look on his face was just what Thrashclaw wanted to see, "Besides, Depth Charge is the only Maximal I know who could sneak into Decepticon ranks without drawing too much suspicion. Meaning he's watching the dual right now."

Seeing no point in continuing the charade his body started to change colors and began shifting. The Raptoricons kept their eyes on him even as he transformed, waiting for any signs of a threat. When he finally finished his frame appeared to take on the same body-type Soundwave used but black.

Thrash pushed her pistol against his chest, "This isn't your true form."

"No, but I find it the most accurate form to my role." It was rather disturbing to hear him with a voice that sounded like Soundwave. Yet what separated him from the actually Soundwave was the emotion behind his voice. "But I only reveal this form when absolutely necessary. Do I have your trust now?"

Thrash and Shred pulled their weapons, "We won't have a blaster to your back, but that doesn't mean we won't at least have Gnash keeping her optics on you."

He looked to the snarling Raptoricon behind him, "You'd trust this damaged Shifter that much?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you not seen the signs?" Gnash snarled as the Shifter turned toward her, "How much pain does she go through to transformer between altmodes? Her instability and absurd energon consumption. She has obviously been experimented upon but to what extent or the damage from it is unknown to me. Even if you can repair her, being forced into these selected forms for so long might not allow her to utilize her full potential as a Shifter ever again."

Shred looked to have some doubts on her face as Thrash tightened the grip on her blaster. Vibes quickly jumped into the conversation finally, "Enough! I know this is important for the Raptoricons, but you can talk with them about this later when we aren't racing the clock."

"If that's what the Raptoricons desire." The Shifter waited a moment, looking to Shred and Thrashclaw as the two remained silent. "Very well. I have taken to using the name Soundblaster when using this form. Though if you prefer, I have a number of other aliases that you might choose from."

"We can decide after we hear what information you have to help us."

Grimlock took a mighty punch to his face that cracked his visor in exchange for doing the same to Sixshot's mouthplate. The two warriors were starting to feel the fatigue of their battle setting in as their arms felt heavier and their legs started to resist any movements. Despite these lackluster limitations the two were prepared to end this battle, only for their judge to suddenly roar at them.

There was obvious confusion from all sides as the Zoid's canopy opened and Legion looked to the two sides, "Pardon this intrusion. However, in accordance with the rules established by Ancient Cybertronians after the First Cybertronian Civil War by leaders…"

Slipstream pounded her fist against the barrier to shut it up, "Just get to the point!"

Legion's flaps flared around his optic, almost like it was showing disapproval to Slipstream's reaction. "We would like to call for a five-cycle suspension to allow both combatants to recharge their energon reserves."

Sixshot was confused, "If we consume energon cubes, our bodies will initiate repairs on their own. How do you propose going around that fact, machine?"

Legion activated its omni-tool, displaying a readout of Vibes' chassis, "As experimented and personally experienced by unit-Vibes, the ambient energon from this world and the previous Zoid world has an unusual effect upon Cybertronian energon consumption rate and requirements. While it is unknown for unit-Sixshot's consumption rate, unit-Grimlock is reaching critical stasis lock status. Ambient energon levels do not provide enough energy to initial internal repair subroutines. Estimations on energon consumption rate values of unit-Grimlock along with known variables of passive energon intake we calculate the minimum time necessary to resume combat to be five cycles. Or roughly five minutes as described by organic standards. The previous rules still apply, no external assistance may be provided."

Sixshot moved back toward the Decepticon side of the shield, "That's fine by me. Are we allowed to readjust certain components such as dislocated arm joints or legs?"

Legion nodded, "You may so long as it does not include noteworthy repairs. We will continue monitoring both combatants to ensure neither's party interferes."

Sixshot grabbed his left arm, violently shifting it back into position before testing his range of movement again. Grimlock did a similar action, adjusting his right arm from the elbow though not as forceful or loud.

Slipstream took this opportunity to confront Sixshot about this dragged out battle, "Are you done having fun yet? It's getting boring over here."

"Do you believe I'm holding back?" Sixshot started rolling his shoulders, "Grimlock is the formidable warrior I imagined him to be. It has taken all of my training to keep up against him. But something does feel off about his fighting."

"Well just try and finish this quickly."

Nightbird suddenly approached Slipstream's back, "Something interesting has just come to our attention."