Beast Wars - White Cheetah Sapphire Series

"In the Raining Mists"

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"Fate and Destiny are one and the same…and they can always be changed!"

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A/N: Okay, this story comes about a week after "Behind Enemy Lines" If you want show timeline…uh, I'll have to think about it… -_-' (makes a Brock (from Pokemon) face

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It seems that the days are just the same – I get up in the morning, report to Megatron, get duty assignments, get into a fight with the maximals; the majority of the predacons get their tail pipes realigned. Then we get back to base and listen to Megatron rant about how we are all incompetent imbeciles, then start the process over the next day.

Wonderful life, ne?

Usually, if I'm lucky, I'll have done something to annoy him enough that he won't want to see me the next day, so he puts me on patrol.

Today seems to be one of those rare, lucky days.

I get jungle patrol.

Luckily, I got out before Megatron could say anything else to me.

In the jungle, everything seems to fit so perfectly…everything knows what is to be done, what they are there for; and possibly when their lives will end.

I thought I knew my place…

Now I'm not so sure.

I was not born Maximal nor Predacon…but both – and throw in two minor factions just for fun. I cannot be one nor the other, because each side hates the other, and even if I choose one, I will always have that part of me that is of the other group. Never will I be trusted because of the actions of my 'parents', because I am not fully one or the other.

There is a group on Cybertron that lurk in the shadows and do anything to survive…

Such is the group I was raised in.

The Tour'quoi – The Lost Rogues.

They are of many types who seem to have found a peace with each other, and they ignore their pasts – sometimes they are defects of both Maximals or Predacons; others may be like me – a mixture of both that just want to find their place.

Such are the thoughts of Sapphire, the white cheetah predacon. And now I'm wondering why I'm feeling sorry for myself…oh well.

Hmmm… what is that foul odor?

I walk through the bushes, looking for the source, and end up in a clearing.

In the clearings center, lying bloody and broken, is the maximal Cheetor. He struggles to try to get up…and I wonder, what happened?

He sees me, and growls. Feeling a gust of cool wind, I look to the sky.

A thunderstorm.

"So…Megatron sent you to finish the other preds job?" He manages out, drawing my attention back with his voice.

Strange he sounds like he's almost my age…

I give him a curious look, and cautiously walk up to him. The storm must be blocking his comm. link, or the other maximals would have found him before I.

"What are you talking about Maximal?" With my voice wavering between annoyance and non-caring, I made sure to hide anything else I would have liked to voice. I spoke as I slowly walked up to him some more, still in beast mode.

"What do you think? You're a pred." He struggles to sit up, but ends up back on the ground. The numerous wounds bleed of mech fluid and blood.

"I have been on patrol all day stupid. This storm is most likely blocking any comm. transmissions- Maximal and Predacon. I happened to have found you by accident. And it looks like the sky could drop at any time. I can… help you get back to your base."

"Do I look that stupid? You tried to attack Rattrap last time, and tried to put a virus in our computers!"

The only response I could give for that was a shrug of my cat-shoulders.

"Ok then. You can stay out here in the rain…I going to a cave until this passes."

I turned away to leave.

"Heartless Predacon."

I stopped and whirled at him, optics blazing.

"Hey, watch what you say Maximal! I offered help, and you refused it! So don't even talk about bots being heartless!" I turned around again, intending to leave.

"Whats that suppose to mean!?"

This time, I only stopped, but did not turn around.

"Why do you care? I'm a heartless predacon, remember?"

There was a larger gust of wind, then a crash and a flash of light. The storm had started.

"Look, lets just get out of this rain huh?" Somehow, he managed to get up and limp over to stand next to me.

I simply nodded, not knowing what to make of this maximal cat. But I'm pretty sure he's thinking the same thing about me.

We managed to get to the cave, more wet than dry.

I shook out my fur and wings, then found a dry area to lay down.

I saw the other cat doing the same – except shaking out his fur, because he was a metal cat.

"There. We're out of the storm. A little wet, true, but out of it none-the-less." I said from my position. He, on the other hand, tried to stay as far away from me as he could, without going out of the cave.

"Man oh man…where's the kid? Its stormin' out 'dere, and he hasn't checked in since he left!" Rattrap, the maximal's spy and demolitions expert, exclaimed in his Brooklyn-type accent.

Rhinox looked up from the console he was at.

"He probably found some kind of shelter to get out of the storm…as for not contacting us, the storm is interfering…I can't get a hold of Tigatron or Airrazor either."

The overgrown rat sighted, and looked back at the monitor. "I guess you're right big guy…just hope the preds didn't get him."


"Sir…the storm has set in, and all the patrol units are back except one." Quicksilver reported to Megatron.

The purple predacon leader looked down at the silver hawk predacon. "Then she will have to survive on her own until this storm is over."

"Are you sure that is a wise idea?" He pressed the tyrannosaurus.

"YES I AM SURE! NOW GET BACK TO YOUR DUTY!"

"O…Of course, Megatron." Quicksilver said meekly. Once Megatron had turned his back, Quicksilver gave a malicious grin as he walked to his console. His group was standing there waiting for him.

"Well..? What did he say?" Goliath asked.

"She is to stay out there… perhaps our plans will not be ruined if she perishes."

NightDawn looked over to him. "Why is she so important? Even I can do anything she can!"

Goliath groaned at the young scientist. "Because, stupid, she is important to the Tour'quoi. Our higher-ups on Cybertron are most likely in the upper hand, now that the Tour'quoi leaders are looking for her."

NightDawn folded her arms over her chest. "That still doesn't tell me why she's so important."

Goliath started to walk off. "Get over it NightDawn."


For what seemed to be a long while, we sat and stared at each other.

Finally, I decided to break the silence. " You can come in the cave some…I won't bite."

He just sat there and stared.

I groaned. "Ohkayy… what's your name? I don't think I caught it last time I was at your base."

*stare*

"Is that all you're going to do? Stare at me?"

*stare*

"Fine."

I sat there for a while, the transformed and took out my twin daggers. Taking out a rag and some other things, I started the process of cleaning them.

Curious as to my actions, the cheetah slowly got up and limped over. "What are you doing?"

Not looking up, I continued what I was doing. "I'm cleaning my weapons, what's it look like?"

"Why? So you can attack me when my back is turned?"

"Gee, aren't you the optimist…they've gotta stay clean or they'll rust." The daggers, with a blade of adamantium and titanium plating, the hilt lapis lazuli and gold, set with two large sapphire gems on either side, shone when they were finished cleaning. Once I was done with them, I took out my two katana's.

"Sorry…can't help thinking that…can't trust predacons..."

"Have you ever trusted anyone that wasn't maximal before?"

"Uhh…no?"

This caused me to snicker. "Of course you haven't. You were raised with the teachings that all who weren't maximal were wrong and evil; correct?"

He simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Figures. Even the Tour'quoi-" I stopped myself, but my words had already come.

He tilted his head to one side, in a confused manner. "The tour – what?"

My answer to him was, at first, silence and my continued work on my katana.

"Nothing…now, what did you say your name was?"

He took the time to transform, wincing as he did so because of his wounds.

"Its Cheetor…and your name?"

"…Sapphire."

I glanced at him; quickly taking a look at this other cat. Right now, his yellow optics had a laughing look in them He was a head taller than I was, and had a lanky build to him. Instead of hands like mine, they were his beast mode head was. He kept the legs and feet of his beast mode.

"Sapphire? It's a nice name. What are you doing in the predacons anyway? You look like you couldn't hurt a fly."

I looked up from my work, and glared. "The last person who said that got a new exhaust pipe."

He looked a bit scared; his optics wide and his mouth in a little 'O'.

"What, you think I can't fight?" I said in a slightly laughing tone.

He shook his head; probably to get his senses back. "No…I mean, yes…I mean…argh! How do you manage to get me tongue-tied?"

I shrugged, going back to cleaning my second katana.

"I don't know … I don't control your voice box, do I?"

He shook his head.

We sat there in silence for a while, just listening to the storm outside.

"How'd a pr…a femme like you manage to get weapons like that?" He spoke up, pointing to my katana's and daggers.

"If you're trying to say that I stole them; think again. They are family heirlooms; I got them from my mother."

"M…can I see one?"

I shook my head. "Nope. I don't let anyone touch them."

He watched me finish cleaning them, looking at them from his position. I sighed, then picked up a dagger, handing it to him hilt- first.

He stared at it a bit, like it was a poisonous snake.

"Do you want to look at it or not?"

Hesitating, he finally took it. The look on his face went from curiosity to … something.

It was almost as if we were both part of the same faction; like we were…friends.

"Well, it looks like we can leave the cave now." I stated the obvious, getting up and putting my things away, then going to beast mode.

"Yea, looks like. I guess we'll have to go back to being enemies huh?" He responded…did he sound sad? Odd…

We both walked out of the cave, to see the clouds parting, revealing the sun behind them.

" Eh, so long Sapphire." He called as he walked off.

"Yea, so long." I walked through the brush, heading slowly back to the predacon base.

Predacon…Maximal…Tour'quoi…Autobot…Decepticon…different factions. But at the same time, they are just names.

There can be heroic predacons, and evil maximals; and vice versa.

All of them are just names…

So why are we all judged by the name of the faction we carry?

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Authors Note: Well, there's 'In the Raining Mists' the third story in White Cheetah Sapphire. This was more of one of those 'fill in the gap' stories.

In any case, tune in next time for ' Knocking on the Enemy's Door' 4th in the series!

Cheetor: You mean I get beat up again!?
Rattrap: Yep kiddo; you, me, and ol' Chopperface.
Dinobot: This is not honorable! I will not tolerate loosing to those idiotic Predacons!
Saph: Aw, deal with it Dinobutt.
Dinobot: I want to speak to the writer!
Cheetor, RT, and Saph: -_-;;