Darklight couldn't believe her sensor, the Autobot Vibes daring to travel into the Predacon city despite how she should be witnessing the battle between Grimlock and Sixshot. She immediately notified Nightbird, but Darklight knew she had to confirm and follow Slipstream's target unless she wanted to be torn apart by Slipstream herself. While Thundercracker rallying the Vehicons was rather annoying and a tad necessary to watch, this had to take priority. If the Autobots were willing to risk turning this into an all-out battle, this was something that needed to be investigated and possibly intercepted if she could pull it off alone.

Vibes was uneasy about these changes of plans, even the Raptoricons seem to have some doubts about the trustworthiness of the Shifter beyond his abilities. Currently, they were walking through the streets openly, but soon they were going to take an elevator down beyond what was originally planned. They were going straight to the heart of the Predacon research facility while using Vibes as their latest 'quarry'.

Vibes tried adjusting herself to the binders, and the fact that they needed to alter her colors again to make this farce work did give her some pause. "And we're sure this will work?"

Soundblaster didn't bother turning back to her, "You have analyzed the bounty yourself; she will suffice to infiltrate the laboratory. And I do not need to iterate why you three require holographic alterations."

The three Raptoricons were utilizing small holographic projectors to alter their altforms so they didn't appear to be animal-based. Vibes wasn't used to all the constant noises of a living city, being brought online during a time of war where the noise was a sign of a battle or something worse.

Thrashclaw did glance back for a moment, returning to looking forward, "So how much longer before we finally do something about our extra legs?"

Soundblaster slyly acknowledged her concern, "We are close to our destination. Please remember discretion. The plan has not been altered."

Darklight moved above ground level to not lose sight of her prey. It wasn't too hard for her to track them, especially while following that Soundwave-lookalike. She did lose them for a few seconds, though with the alleyway they soon started traveling through they had only one path to follow. Admittedly she did lose sight of them a few more times, partially because she had little need to keep up with some of her training while watching over Thundercracker so openly.

The strange group soon stopped at a crossroad, a conversation of some kind going between them. Then some of them started to change appearances, holographic projections hiding the truth. Unfortunate for them, Darklight already locked onto the Autobot's signature. She was departing with the fake Soundwave while using their holographic displace to pretend that the Autobot was being escorted by the others.

With what Darklight knew of the city's layout, she couldn't see a destination they were trying to reach. The trio was heading underground, a rather difficult task to continue following but they weren't her priority. She wasn't going to allow her presence to be uncovered due to her carelessness.

She needed to know where they were going and how that was going to affect their plans. Just the same, if she can determine that, then she could intervene and capture the Autobot for Slipstream to help gain leverage over their unruly leader.

Vibes was grateful to be out of those binders for the moment, but she couldn't help but worry what'll happen with that unknown observer. "Are we certain this will take us to the lab?"

Shred kept up the map on her HUD, "Well normally they only want their bounty hunters to utilize specific entrances, each different from the other to prevent any conflict over bounties. Particularly over bounties they want intact. And thanks to some old contacts Thrashclaw has among other hunters we have narrowed down a few other entrances we can use that are unaware of our history. Plus, we need to get underground as soon as possible before the fighting starts."

Vibes understood how Thrashclaw was more than willing to jump into the fray, but she had not seen the Raptoricons go all out yet. "Will she be okay with our 'friend' watching her back?"

Shred jumped at Vibes, "Of course! Thrashclaw is the best! She'll never let something like them bring her down!" Even so, Shred did seem a little worried about what could happen if they took too long.

Gnash snarled, "Thrashclaw smart. She strong. Not be beat by bad guys!"

"Right! Next to Gnash in strength, Thrashclaw is our best CQC combatant. She'll turn them into metal shavings in no time!" Shred's fanfare was showing again. Not that Vibes minded from time to time. "Hey, Vibes. I know I haven't talked with you that much, but I am grateful that you haven't berated me for flipping side to be with my team."

"Honestly, I think I should be thanking you more." That took Shred completely by surprise, "I was on the fence about this 'team' I was given but with everything we've seen on both Zoid worlds, I can't hold any anger toward any of you. Your war, your battles, have long since passed on as little more than distant memories. However, I can't forgive Slipstream and those who follow her, but I've been thinking more about us as a species. What our war has done to us as a people. I've been worrying about what I should do for my group, what it means for our battles to come now that my optics have been opened to this basic truth we seem to have forgotten."

"I can see why that'd weigh heavy on your spark. I think you'll eventually need to talk with everyone sooner or later, but I think they understand the threat Slipstream's kind of Decepticon possesses for their futures. I know it's a bit selfish of me to want to protect my future with the Raptoricons, but this is what I want."

"Then we need to work together for the futures we all want. Like Optimus would always say, "freedom is the right of all sentient beings'."

Several monitors were watching over Autobot activity, including the infiltrators heading toward the laboratory. "Everything is proceeding just as expected. The Autobot infiltrators will soon arrive and the battle between Sixshot and Grimlock appears to nearly be over. At first, I was hesitant to allow us to stagnate in a cold war, but it did allow us to make such fascinating research progress." A different set of monitors started flashing, "Ah yes, I nearly forgot that the plan also involves the other Zi. The latest reports I saw indicated everything with our agents should be proceeding without fail. It does help that the old inventor finally died of old age so they could finally start introducing the technology necessary as wells as that faked distress signal. I suppose Soundwave's painstaking need to log and intercept all transmissions ended up being useful long after he was departed our side."

Flamewar entered the chamber, knocking into Deluge, nearly knocking him down. "Of course, Soundwave's old archives were useful. Its Soundwave, he never does anything half measured. Even if he's not around to benefit from it personally." The monitor lights flared red as Flamewar quickly adjusted her posture, "Yes, forgive my intrusion. But I came to retrieve Deluge so we may proceed with the next phase of our assault."

Deluge bowed, "If you will excuse us, we must proceed if we wish to eliminate the Maximals and reignite the war and claim two worlds for our research."

Nightbird and her sisters kept themselves hidden from the Autobots, keeping their presence out of their knowledge to use should Slipstream or Sixshot's plans fail them. The other concern was the fact that Maximal spies were attempting to hide among the Vehicon and Predacon recruits. If even one of them remained within their ranks and found anything usable against them it would be harder for Slipstream to maintain order. Though as much as the sisters would prefer another to oversee the Decepticons, now wasn't the time for a change of leadership.

As Darkstar moved to finally check the top deck, she was not expecting to find anyone here. She silently notified her sisters while moving toward the lone Predacon with a sniper rifle. "What brings someone up here?"

If it wasn't for the fact the Predacon was already sitting on the ground, he probably would have fallen over. "You nearly stopped my engine."

"Apologies, but I didn't think anyone would be out here." Darkstar slowly moved toward him, examining his sniper rifle. "So, what are you doing up here with this weapon?"

"Oh…I…I wanted to watch the fight away from the crowd, and seeing how I wasn't picked to be down there, I thought if I used a sniper to watch from up here there'd be nothing to block me and I don't need to be around the others crowding around a monitor."

His lies were obvious, but Darkstar wasn't too sure as to what his real objective was. She picked up the sniper rifle, fiddling with the firing mechanism, "Here, we wouldn't want an accident to happen and you end up starting a war unintentionally."

"R-Right…" He was confused as to why she did something so easily undone, but then again, she wasn't just fiddling with the rifle. She had placed a small device to his back to help monitor the situation. It also doubles as a shock device to allow them to stop whoever's plan was being unfolded.

Darklight was eventually forced down to ground level just to keep following her prey, yet she soon realized something was wrong. Their path was going in circles, no real destination even if they were trying to lose any followers. Rather than continuing this chase she drew out a pair of energy shuriken and tossed them at the two.

The two weapons fazed through her targets, getting Darklight on the defensive as she quickly checked her surroundings. "I guess we couldn't keep you distracted for long."

"Long enough…" Darklight now had two of her targets surrounding her, the Soundwave-lookalike and the blue raptor but no Autobot.

She had been tricked and she needed to find the Autobot fast. But these two would probably try to stop her. Darklight had no choice but to fight her way out. She quickly grabbed for the sais attacked to her arms, twisting her hands around to a reverse grip stance as she readied for battle.

The blue raptor punched her fists together, "Good. I've been itching to scrap all day."

Grimlock and Sixshot barely slowed down compared to when they started. It seemed to be that Grimlock had grown far more aggressive in his attacks. Sixshot was on the defense now, deflecting blows and avoiding grapple attempts by Grimlock while also getting in a few strikes at Grimlock's joints but that didn't seem to be slowing him down in the slightest.

Sixshot had to push even harder if he hoped to win. The only problem was that he couldn't see his path to victory against Grimlock's advance. Sixshot charged at Grimlock to throw one more punch at his face. Grimlock grabbed Sixshot's fist and started to crush his hand. Sixshot tried throwing another punch only for Grimlock to grab his arm. Using his overpowering strength, Grimlock dragged Sixshot to the barrier and slammed the Decepticon against it repeatedly.

Once satisfied in seeing his foe slowly losing his resolve Grimlock threw Sixshot to the ground, still holding his grip on Sixshot's left arm and placing his foot against Sixshot's back. Grimlock started yanking against Sixshot now trying to rip off his arm. Unfortunately for Sixshot, his ununtrium bound endoskeleton worked against him causing him even more pain as Grimlock continued his effort to tear off his arm.

Legion rushed over, the canopy popping open of the Zoid, "Unit-Sixshot, as per the rules dictated by Cybertronian guidelines, we are permitted to offer an opportunity to surrender in a situation that appears unwinnable. Do you wish to surrender, unit-Sixshot?"

"N-Never… We decided to fight until one of us died! I-I won't back down!"

"Acknowledged." The raptor Zoid quickly jumped back, staying away from the battle. Not that Grimlock had even stopped his attempt to pull off Sixshot's arm.

Everything turned eerily silent as only Sixshot's screams and Grimlock's grunts became the only sounds emanating for miles. As Grimlock continued he momentarily lost his footing in the sand. Hardly noticeable from the outside, but it was enough for Sixshot to finally break free. He was forced to discard his arm's armor so he could finally slip free of Grimlock's grip. With his arm finally freed he was able to have enough leverage to throw Grimlock's foot off him, swiftly rolling back to his own feet.

Sixshot looked down at his exposed arm. There was little more to show how much of a disadvantage he was truly at now. Even so, the Decepticons started to cheer for Sixshot as he prepared for his next move. It was strange to see Grimlock patiently waiting to see what Sixshot's next attack would be.

"This is unusual to see you so thoughtful, or generous, Grimlock…"

"What's the point of winning, if you aren't ready? This is a dual, not a battlefield." Grimlock huffed, steam escaping from his mouthplate, "You of any Decepticon should at least know that difference."

Sixshot respected that aspect of Grimlock, but given the stakes he almost expected him to forgo such honor in this battle. "Very well, then I will not cause dishonor for either of us." Sixshot shifted stance, ready to strike his next move.

Before the two dualists could resume their battle, an explosion erupted. Everyone quickly turned toward where it happened, smoke still seething from the top of the Decepticon ship. Slipstream quickly jumped on this, pointing toward the Autobots, "You dare sully this sacred dual with such a folly surprise attack!"

Everyone was confused, yet Vibes tried to calm things down. "That's impossible! We were just as focused on the dual as you! Are you trying to say someone managed to stealth past my sensors?"

Slipstream's finger lifted toward the dune, "You can't seriously believe your sensors weren't focused on the battle before you to ensure we weren't 'cheating' as you so dare claim? You don't control your organic pets, so who can say if they didn't attack us just now. How many more hide themselves behind those dunes, I wonder?"

Vibes looked back, "No, I didn't detect any…"

"Enough of your lies and excuses! This has been nothing but a ruse to eliminate us while defenseless! Decepticons, crush them!" Immediately the Decepticon warship started bombarding the Autobots, blasting the area to glass.

Sixshot pounded his unarmored fist against the shield, "What are you doing?!"

"Eliminating a threat." Just as Slipstream was taking her next step, a barrier just like what was containing Grimlock and Sixshot erected itself around the Decepticons.

Some of the Vehicons they brought were looking a bit worried, attempting to blast or punch their way out. "Hey, what happened?"

"Let us out!"

Slipstream and the others soon looked down at the Zoid standing next to Grimlock, "Deactivate this barrier!"

"We cannot. Contingency protocols activated upon breach of neutrality."

Sixshot looked to Grimlock, "What contingency protocols?"

"Did you think we didn't expect you to attack us?" Slipstream's anger only grew as she heard the voice, but as the smoke cleared, it intensified, as Vibes and her group was being shielded. "I had Legion link to my sensor array before you arrived. You can't deny it now, you violated the sanctity of this honor dual as an excuse to kill us. Me specifically, given your obsession with trying to personally eliminate me."

Explosions in the air got some to look up, seeing the Autobot ship starting to engage the Decepticon warship as the two exchanged fire. Slipstream growled back to the bots behind her, "Dig us a way out or find the shield generator and destroy it!"

Sixshot wasn't too interested in the fight now, sitting himself down onto the sand as he gathered his discarded armor. He soon turned to Grimlock. "So, what now, my enemy? Continue this battle, or are we to just add to the chaos when it chooses to release us?"

Grimlock looked back to his friends, "We'll fight, but not like this. Machine, drop the barriers after the Seekers launch. Then, we fight like we were on Cybertron. I'm hungry for Seeker."

Sixshot felt how well he readjusted his arm's armor, "Did you plan for this from the beginning?"

"Sort of." Grimlock pointed a thumb back toward Vibes, "She figured something would happen that would end up messy."

Sixshot was ready, "Do we have time to recover our weaponry, or should we just fight here?"

Grimlock shrugged, "Whatever you do, I'll react to." He opened his chest and unlocked his t-cog. Grimlock then started to act rather unusual, stiffening his stance before suddenly a seam starts to appear around Grimlock's sides. The front half of Grimlock opens as Grimlock steps out, undamaged from their battle.

"What is this?!"

Once freed, Grimlock kicked the shell aside, "A handicap." Grimlock started feeling his arm that he had readjusted during their earlier intermission. Nothing physically appeared wrong, yet he did appear to be suffering from some pain. Once he appeared used to it, Grimlock roared to the heavens, "Dinobots, RAGE!"

Grimlock's fists slammed into the ground, claws extending out as he started to transform. His legs folded up, extending into a long tail as a body started to encase his robotic head and a new large tooth-filled maw appeared in front of Sixshot with flames spewing out. His attention was no longer on Sixshot. Instead, his red gleaming optics were scooping Slipstream as he snapped his new teeth together. The other Dinobots also transformed into beastly forms, fangs, horns, spikes, and claws. The Zoids moved out, extending the shield just to try and keep the Dinobots protected until the Decepticon bombardment ended.

A new series of explosions erupted in the sky, the Autobot ship started to engage the Decepticon warship as a new cry shouted above, "WRECK AND RULE!" A group of jets, helicopters, a silver and purple dragon and other metallic beasts flew out.

"Seekers, obliterate them!" As soon as Seekers took off from the Defiant, all three barriers suddenly dropped. Grimlock's roar startling everyone as he charged toward the Decepticons.