Author's Notes: Thanks to your overwhelming support, I have decided that this story is worth pursuing. I'm glad so many people still like it, because this is the final installment to my longest running series of fics at this point. Not that this baby is even close to over though. We've barely begun, and I'm glad you're on this journey with me. That being said, it might be a while before I update any more of my fics on this site due to a large writing project coming up. I won't completely neglect my fics, but there might be more time between updates. Thank you for sticking with this, and I hope you all enjoy this new chapter of "I Owe You" :)


Chapter 15

Golden Opportunity

Several newspark pods had fallen from orbit down to the planet, and the Maximals were scrambling to try to recover them. Dinobot and Bitten had been left alone to guard the base, yet they had not seen each other in hours despite the ample opportunity presented to spend quality time together.

Bitten had to admit to herself that she was to blame for this. She was so focused on rebuilding her animal sanctuary that she hadn't even been inside the ship since the sun came up. Now it was dark, and she was only just beginning to allow herself to rest.

Metronome, her beloved bird, had never returned. She wasn't surprised, but given the rest of the awful news from the past couple days it just served to add a new nail in her spark. She also feared that she and Dinobot were in an uncertain position. Ever since the disappearance of Primal he had been acting odd, looking up at the one remaining moon in the sky and growling softly to himself.

Just as Bitten was hopping toward the base, she stopped when she noticed the elevator open and Dinobot walking out. He looked all around to check for any sign of others, but Bitten hid behind a shrub just in time to avoid detection. She wasn't sure why she wanted to hide from him, but the intense aura he gave off told her that he was up to something. Sword in hand, Dinobot took off in the direction of the Darksyde. Little did he know however that a small white shadow was following him.


"Punch me!"

"I dunno..."

"Stop hesitating! I will kill you if you do not gain the upper hand. Now punch me!"

Ravage practically danced around the cargo bay as he kept himself barely within striking distance of Syphon. She could barely turn herself around to face him, and she looked uncertain and tense as she kept her claws near her face defensively. Training was not going very well, as Syphon had been hit several times already but had not managed to land a single hit herself. Ravage was growing impatient, and he needed to find a way to get the feeble old bat to unleash her inner Predacon.

Whack!

Ravage hit her again with his left hook, not hard enough to hurt too badly, but enough to try to annoy Syphon. Syphon screeched pitifully and slowly tried to scratch Ravage. He moved out of the way, not exactly difficult when the opponent was so glacial in movement. He then kicked at her wing, since he didn't want to injure her, but it was still enough to cause her to fall over.

Ravage stopped what he was doing when he realized she might actually be hurt. Syphon was shaking, and he feared he had caused her to go into another seizure.

"Syphon!" Ravage shouted as he held her shoulders, "Syphon speak to me!"

Syphon did not speak to him. Instead she swiped at his face and caused him to bleed energon from the impromptu wound.

"Gocha!" Syphon exclaimed playfully, "Heeheeheehee!"

Ravage looked at her scoldingly, but that only made the bat-former laugh even harder. Finally Ravage just sighed and went to one of the supply boxes to find a towel to wipe his face off with.

"You know, most of your enemies will show no sympathy for you," Ravage pointed out, "Your little tricks won't work then."

"Naydee, dut naydee dey'll try to steal frun ny dead dody," Syphon said cheekily, "Den I'll get dose no good Naxinals."

"If only your optimism equated to fighting ability," Ravage said wistfully, "How did you survive so long with such weaknesses?"

"Cannidalisn," Syphon replied impishly, and Ravage really hoped he heard that word wrong.

There was a barely audible beeping noise coming from Ravage's inbuilt chronometer, and he sighed once again when he realized he had to tend to another unpleasant task; feeding Quillbit. The movies always made spending time alone on a ship with two femmes look like fun, but those broadcasts never factored in two ugly elderly femmes, with one being too weak and the other being too powerful. Not to mention crazy. Quillbit somewhat reminded Ravage of when Wildrider was alive, and a Stunticon was never a positive thing to be compared to.

Ravage chose a dish of crushed up bugs for the Maximal, and as an aside he took out an enerjolt for her to smoke. She hadn't had one yet, and she was refusing to take her antipsychotic pills, so perhaps one of these hyper-refined sticks of high grade would get her to calm down. Then again, Syphon had said she saw improvement in the spiny femme. Perhaps she was taking her pills after all.

When Ravage entered the hallway that led to the enclosure, he couldn't help but notice how quiet everything was. It wasn't just that Quillbit wasn't screaming or ranting, but that no sound could be heard at all except the hum of the ship's machinery.

Looking through the glass that separated Quillbit from the rest of the ship, Ravage saw that she was laying down near the far wall with her back to the glass. He couldn't see her faceplate, so he didn't know if she was really asleep or just ignoring him. Either way, it would make his job easier. He slid the plate of crushed up bugs through the food slot and waited to see what happened. She didn't move.

Shrugging it off, Ravage walked away. He would check the navigation tools, scan for the Axelon and/or the Darksyde, and then get some well earned recharge.


Dinobot had made it to the outer perimeter of Predacon territory. He stayed as silent as he could, tensed and ready just in case an enemy showed up to try to stop him from completing his quest. It was fortunate the other Maximals hadn't been in the base, as they would only get in his way.

A sentry computer detected him and shot at him, the laser barely missing his helm! Beast mode was apparently not enough to keep him from being detected, but then he got an idea. He transformed into robot mode so he could use his hands, and then slathered himself with mud. He crawled back into the sentry's detection range to see what would happen, and just as he hoped, the computer simply ignored him as it would any other form of fauna. This was his time to strike!

Dinobot lurked in the shadows and drew closer and closer to the sentry, until finally he was within range to punch it into oblivion!

He smirked as he looked down at his destruction, and then continued on his way toward the Darksyde. He just hoped the Predacons were as interested in the stasis pods as the Maximals were. It would make his job a whole lot easier.

Just as he reached the ramp that led inside, he noticed a shadow behind him. So...the Predacons left someone to guard the ship, eh? Well, Dinobot could take care of one stooge easily enough.

Quick as a flash, Dinobot turned around and zapped his eye lasers at the target! The twin beams of deadly green light went right between the two protruding ears of Bitten's beast mode. She looked up at where the lasers had been, somewhat shaken but mostly just impressed that he managed to miss and also shoot his beams at a difficult target. Dinobot was grateful he didn't injure Bitten, but rather than express this he simply growled at her.

"What are you doing here?!" Dinobot demanded to know, "This is a dangerous espionage situation! Why did you follow me? You left the base unguarded!"

"So did you," Bitten calmly pointed out.

Dinobot stared for a moment, unable to find a witty rebuttal. So instead he went with his default mode of snapping and growling at his problems.

"Why are you here!?" Dinobot snapped.

"Why are you here?" Bitten threw the question back at him.

Dinobot didn't want to answer her. He knew his mission was not only dangerous, but deeply personal. He didn't want the Maximals knowing about this, and he wasn't sure if Bitten was more loyal to him or to the team. After all, his allegiance depended on what he found, and Bitten might not like where his destiny would lead him.

"Go back," Dinobot said firmly, "You don't belong here. This is my quest, and you are not to interfere."

"You don't trust me," Bitten stated with unsettling certainty, "You're doing something the Maximals won't like, and you think I will betray you."

Dinobot was somewhat taken aback by her accuracy. It was hard to tell what such a stoic face was feeling, but Dinobot couldn't help but think she looked a little hurt, maybe even a little angry.

"I think we should bond," Bitten suddenly said.

"Fine, we'll go fishing or something," Dinobot replied dismissively, "But not right now! I'm doing something important."

"No, Dinobot. I mean we should bond," Bitten repeated, "I don't know what Predacon rituals require, but if our sparks were bonded we would no longer have to hide from each other, nor would we have to communicate verbally or over hackable comm frequencies. I miss that, spark communication. Besides, you're not getting rid of me. So, how do we bond?"

"Maximals usually give some long-winded speech about how much they love each other before some old junker pronounces them femme and mech," Dinobot snorted in contempt, "Predacons just take their mates somewhere private and interface, forming a bond during the act. Do you really want to be my sparkmate? I'm not certain you understand everything it entails."

"Does it matter?" Bitten asked, "Who else do we have besides each other? Where else would we go? I already know you don't intend to go back to Cybertron, and frankly neither do I. So, we should take the opportunity we've been given."

"Fair enough," Dinobot conceded, "But not now. I have to get inside this ship!"

"What are you looking for?" Bitten asked, all business now.

"Two golden discs," Dinobot explained, "Just do as I say and take down any Predacons that stand in our way. I'm not leaving without those discs."

"Understood," Bitten nodded.

Dinobot took point, with Bitten following close behind. Their steps were silent, and their guards were up. While Dinobot had been disconcerted by Bitten's abrupt changes in mood and conversation, he wasn't about to lose focus on his task. Those discs had been the ultimate goal of their mission when he worked for Megatron. Those discs were meant to help them shape Cybertron in their image; the glorious image of what a true Predacon should be.

Dinobot had fallen for Megatron's theatrics and flowery talk when he was young and stupid. As the Tripredacus Council became more timid, the Maximals grew bolder. As new laws were enacted in the name of "peace", Predacons were left to languish and rot.

Megatron had offered an answer. If Maximals didn't rule Cybertron, then Predacons could fight and conquer as they pleased. The universe's weaknesses would be cured through the strength of the Predacons. One action led to another. History led to the present. Maximals ruled Predacons because the Autobots defeated the Decepticons. The Decepticons lost because of the human race, a small weak species that used their cunning and native advantage to weaken the Decepticons on earth. No humans, no Autobot victory. No Autobot victory, no Maximals. No Maximals, then Cybertron would belong to the Predacons.

It had all sounded so easy, and Megatron sounded like the kind of leader the Predacons needed. Someone who was willing to act, and willing to think outside the box. The problem was his lack of honor. Dinobot had already begun to question his leader's right to rule when everything had suddenly devolved into chaos. Megatron had crashed their ship on the wrong planet, they were being pursued by Maximal scientists, and the two parties declared war on each other. If it was one thing Dinobot hated more than dishonesty it was incompetence. Megatron had failed them, and was thus unworthy of his loyalty.

Even defection wasn't as simple as Dinobot had originally thought. He had wanted to conquer the Maximals, but instead had found kindred sparks that likewise believed in honor during battle. Optimus Primal was not the mech he had expected to lead him into the Beast Wars, but he never regretted it. Primal's sacrifice was noble, and he would be missed despite their brief time working together.

When the second moon exploded however, it didn't just take Optimus Primal with it. It also took Dinobot's current world view.

One moon. One circular 24-cycled moon. This planet had to be earth, which meant Megatron was right all along. The plan could go ahead as scheduled. If it did however, what would become of Dinobot, of the Maximals he considered friends, and of Bitten? She was a relic of the past. Did her presence in their timeline change things already?

The discs were designed using wave space technology, and thus existed outside regular space/time. In other words, if anything changed in the past, then the discs would simply correct themselves accordingly. If the Predacons killed the human race before it began, then the change would likewise be logged. It was a way to shape history from the outside.

Forcing himself back into the present moment, Dinobot made his way to the vault where Megatron kept the golden discs. He didn't smell anyone on the other side of the door, but given how thick the metal was he probably wouldn't.

Opening the door, Dinobot readied himself for anything, and wasn't disappointed when Waspinator turned around and dumbly glanced at them. The green and yellow bug didn't even have time to fire his weapon before Dinobot punched him and sent him flying against the wall! Bitten pulled out a gun and held it to Waspinator's chassis while Dinobot ran for the discs.

"Wait!" Waspinator shouted at Dinobot, "We can zteal dizcz together."

"Excuse me?" Bitten asked; confused.

"Yez, We three could zteal dizcz, and become powerful," Waspinator enticed, "No Megatron, no Maximalz, just uz in charge of remaking hiztory!"

"What is he talking about?" Bitten asked.

"Who cares? Just shoot him," Dinobot scoffed dismissively.

Bitten shrugged, and then used her stun gun to zap Waspinator into stasis lock. With no one to stop them, the duo ran off into the night with their ill-gotten treasure; the means to view history and the present day...and to reshape it in any way they chose. Bitten didn't yet realize what sort of power she had just handed Dinobot.


It had been several joors since Ravage had fed Quillbit, and Syphon thought it would be a good time to feed her again. After all, even murderous psychopaths needed fuel. Syphon hummed a jaunty tune as she chopped up carrots and turnips for an earth-themed stew. Since they were going to earth, it seemed like the right way to get Quillbit excited for their journey.

After the stew was finished, Syphon held it carefully in both hands and shambled slowly to the elevator. She would be careful to not spill any, since she didn't want Ravage to think she couldn't keep things clean. He never yelled or complained, which just made her want to help him more.

She still remembered her first spark mate Scorponok, and how he would beat and scratch her for any little mistake she made. It still made her energon boil that so many Predacons looked up to him and named their sparklings after that horrible mech. The Decepticons deserved a better leader in Galvatron's absence. Not that Galvatron had been very good either, but at least she never had to deal with him on a personal level.

When the elevator let Syphon off she tried to quicken her pace a little, and much to her chagrin spilled a few drops of the stew on the floor. She moaned miserably, knowing it would be very difficult for her to bend down and clean that up. She would do it though. She didn't want Ravage to see the mess she made.

Sighing to herself, she walked over to Quillbit's cell, more carefully this time, to give her what was left of the stew. She saw Quillbit was in recharge with her back to the window, which Syphon was actually relieved by. As much as she wanted that porcupine to like her, she also couldn't help but be scared by the mental patient's random outbursts.

As Syphon went to put the food through the slot, she noticed that the crushed up bugs Ravage gave her was still there, untouched. No food, and Quillbit was unconscious. She had been in recharge when Ravage came in as well. Was Quillbit alright?

Knock Knock.

"Killdit?" Syphon called as she knocked on the glass, "Killdit, wake up!"

No response from Quillbit. Syphon gulped, realizing there was only one way to properly check on her. She would have to go into the cell and examine her. What if Quillbit was faking it? Playing the long game until one of them foolishly entered, only to be pounced upon by a crazed Maximal? What if she woke up and tore Syphon to shreds? The responsible thing to do was wait for Ravage, but if Quillbit was dying or dead it would be terrible to just stand there watching and waiting. What if Syphon could save her? What if something serious was happening?

Gulping again and gathering up her courage, Syphon pressed her servo to the security scanner and opened the door. With timid steps and shaking wings Syphon drew closer and closer to the prone form. She was almost upon the spiky body when suddenly...

"What are you doing?"

"AAAHH!" Syphon screeched, only to turn around and realize Ravage was standing in the cell's doorway.

"Syphon, why are you in here? Are you mad?" Ravage yelled.

"I'n sorry, Ra-vage," Syphon apologized, "Dut sonethin's wrong wis Killdit."

"Let me see," Ravage ordered even as he pushed her aside.

Syphon watched nervously as Ravage turned the body around, only for them to see empty black optics; open but seeing nothing. The body was already supposed to be grey, but it was even greyer than usual.

"How can this be?" Ravage asked in disbelief, "Quillbit has an immortal spark. Even if she starved herself, it should not have killed her. Only weakened her. How could this creature be dead?"

"Whah do we do, Ra-vage?" Syphon asked, "We needed her."

"What else can we do?" Ravage shrugged helplessly, "We will continue your training. You are the only one left who can assist me in taking down Megatron and the Maximal scientists."

"Dut whah adout Toject X?" Syphon asked worriedly, "He's innortal!"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it," Ravage replied stoically, "For now, we focus on the criminals...and the witnesses."

"Okay," Syphon conceded, still afraid but unwilling to question her captain, "Ra-vage?"

"Yes, Syphon?"

"I stilled sone stew."

"That is alright," Ravage replied patiently, "I will clean it up."

"Oh no! I can keen it!"

"Is not necessary," Ravage insisted, "I am able to do it, and you need to train. Now, go to your room and do 100 push ups."

"Yes, sir!" Syphon replied gamely.

Together the two went their separate ways, with Ravage going to the supply closet for a rag and Syphon going to her quarters. They left the door open to the cell that now housed nothing more than a dead shell. They didn't know what they were going to do without their secret weapon, but losing Quillbit didn't mitigate the mission. Megatron was still a threat, as was Project X. They would have to think of something, but Ravage and Syphon had been through the war. Surely they could handle a few rogues.