Disclaimer: Beast Wars, Beast Machines and all characters related to those series are the property of MainFrame Entertainment and Hasbro Incorporated. The Transformers and all characters related to that series are the property of Hasbro Incorporated. This fan fiction is dedicated to the cast and crew of all three Transformer generations.
The following story, the personal histories of the characters, the history of Cybertron both past and future, and the briefly mentioned Valnatron are all my creation.
Special thanks goes out to Ben Yee of www.bwtf.com for the use of his "Cybertroninan Dictionary" and reviews of the episodes of Beast Wars and Beast Machines; to Gemini83 for his persistence in making sure I stayed on my schedule; to the talented voice actors who brought the characters to life and the people who worked behind the scenes to give those voices a frame to dwell in and adventures to endure.
Beast Wars: Basic Program
Chapter 7; Discoveries
Dinobot stopped at the top of a grassy hill and looked the valley over. The grass rippled and swayed in the cool breeze, reflecting the sun's warm rays with each ripple. A flock of birds broke the surface of this green ocean and filled the sky with their music. Flowers dotted the meadow like jewels in a crown. Not twenty klicks from the hill rushed a glowing blue river that bubbled and trickled its way through the valley.
"Beautiful." Air Razor sighed as she landed next to Dinobot "Just beautiful."
Dinobot snorted.
"You disagree?"
"We are not here to admire the scenery." Dinobot snarled
"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy it while we're here, does it?
Dinobot narrowed his eyes and growled darkly. A butterfly approached the two Maximals and fluttered playfully around Dinobot's head, attempting to land on his snout. Dinobot reared back and shook his head, letting out a high pitched snarl. The butterfly raced away from Dinobot and landed on Air Razor's out streached wing.
"You know what you're problem is?" Air Razor asked, bringing the butterfly up to her beak "You don't know how to enjoy yourself. Relax for once in your program! It won't kill you."
Dinobot turned and looked Air Razor over with the same unimpressed gaze he had bestowed upon the valley. Air Razor smiled gently, and when the butterfly jumped onto the tip of her beak she began to laugh.
Dinobot watched her for a moment, eyes narrowed and mouth sent into a bitter frown. He wasn't sure how to react to what he saw, or if he should react. So he watched Air Razor and the butterfly with narrowed eyes. Finally, Dinobot took a deep breath and snorted angrily as he started down the hill towards the rushing river.
Air Razor sighed as the butterfly flew away. Dinobot was impossible.
The grass shortened as it approached the river, but was never shorter than Dinobot. Suddenly the grass disappeared and Dinobot was confronted by a five foot strip of shimmering, snow white sand that separated the meadow from the river. Dinobot stopped and scrutinized his surroundings.
"Will you stop doing that, please?" Air Razor asked as she landed next to him. "You are making me nervous."
"A warrior must know every inch of a potential battle field before he enters." Dinobot said
"Is it your own rules or your Predicon program that makes you so paranoid?" Air Razor asked, tilting her head to get a better look at her partner.
"I am NOT paranoid!" Dinobot snapped "Merely cautious, as all great warriors are." Dinobot looked his surroundings over one last time before he started towards the river cautiously, Air Razor a few klicks behind him.
The river glowed a very pale shade of blue for about twenty klicks, then faded to a crystal clear. Farther up the river the glow intensified and the color was a deeper shade of blue. Dinobot sniffed the air and cringed. Scorpinok and Waspinator had been here a few Mega-cycles ago. The sand told Dinobot that Scorpinok had wandered around the banks, scooping the sand up between his claws and letting it sieve out. But why?
Dinobot turned his attention to the river, scanning it with narrowed eyes before approaching its banks.
"You do remember we're supposed to be looking for Optimus, right?" Air Razor asked
Dinobot stopped by the waters edge and sniffed at the glowing water, purposely ignoring what Air Razor had said.
"Well, do you?" Air Razor snapped
Dinobot touched the tip of his tongue to the glowing water. It tasted bitter and sent a chill down his spine, numbing his processor. Dinobot reared back and snorted, running the tip of his tongue over his teeth to scratch way the taste.
"Dinobot?" Air Razor said, coming over to his side "What's the matter?"
Dinobot shock his head and glared at the river. Then he realized something.
"Were you speaking to me?" he asked, looking Air Razor in the eyes
"Yes, I asked what was~"
"No, no! Before!"
"Before? Yes, I asked you if you remembered we were supposed to be looking for Optimus. Why?"
Dinobot blinked. He looked down at the water then back at Air Razor.
"Are you purposely trying to scare the operational program out of me or are you always this weird?" Air Razor asked
"Were you a permanent resident on Axalon there would be no need for your question." Dinobot said, turning back towards the pale water
There was something about this river and the area surrounding it that Dinobot didn't like. The obvious flaw in the scene was the river was glowing. Dinobot knew enough about natural environments to safely say rivers should not glow. Another oddity was the sand, which glittered all the colors of the rainbow under the noon day sun. Dinobot dragged his foot across the sand then grabbed some of it between his toes.
"Crystal shards." Dinobot growled deeply
"What?" Air Razor asked
"This is not sand. This entire shore line is made up of crystal fragments."
"If the fragments are small enough it's still called 'sand'."
Dinobot glared at Air Razor but made not reply
"As much fun as this is, we should start looking for Optimus." Air Razor said
"This river takes precedence over our missing leader, Air Razor," Dinobot said "for I believe it holds the key to his disappearance!"
* * * * *
"Ohh, man!" Rattrap groaned "We's been out 'ere since dawn en naht a sign a Fearless Leada!"
"We'll find him." Rhinox said "Question is, in what condition?
"I jist don' git it." Rattrap mumbled to himself "One blast. How da slag could Prime lose it from one blast?"
The forest thinned and pulled away, revealing an open field. Here, the river split.
"One thing's for sure." Rhinox said "We lucked out not running into any Predicons."
"Uhhh, ya might wanna take dat back, Big Green." Rattrap groaned, motioning to a patch of grass.
Rhinox looked and groaned.
His lower half submerged in the glowing river and his upper half resting on the grassy beach, Terrorsaur slept soundly not two nano-klicks from Rhinox and Rattrap's feet.
"Tell me 'e's off line." Rattrap groaned
"Our luck ain' that prime." Rhinox said
Terrorsaur groaned and stirred. As a precaution, the two Maximals transformed and aimed their weapons at the dazed Predicon.
Terrorsaur tried his best to shake off his hang-over, but that only made him nauseous. His entire body ached, his engine turned, his mainframe was spinning, his joints were stiff, he was cold and he was uncomfortably aware of a giant gap in his memory banks.
Terrorsaur slowly opened his eyes and looked around. His upper torso was laying on a soft bed of grass, his rear was being chilled by bright blue water. The forest and meadow that surrounded him was alien and the sun was a little too bright for his liking.
Where was he? This wasn't Cybertron. It was too organic to be Cybertron, too green. Terrorsaur distinctly remembered, though doing so made his head pound, joining up with Megatron to steal the golden disk. He remember the planning, the practicing and the fights over mission before they finally broke into the Archieves and stole the disk.
He remembered them encountering the Maximals. Trying to lose them in a transwarp jump only to fight over a strange planet. Both ships crashed. They all took on beast forms, Dinobot defected, they fought, energon was found running beneath the two bases and Terrorsaur was transported to the Maximal Base.
The last thing Terrorsaur remembered was making the pact with Dinobot to bring down Megatron and...and...Was there anything else to that deal? As second part, maybe? There must have been. Mustn't there? Terrorsaur couldn't remember any other part no matter how hard he tried. So...since he couldn't remember there must not have been a second part.
Terrorsaur groaned, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling out of the river. The world spun in circles and rippled like waves. It hurt to move, but Terrorsaur began to truge onward. If he had joined up with Dinobot that ment he had joined up with the Maximals, which ment he had better get back to the Axalon before any one got worried, though Terrorsaur wasn't looking forward to the lecture he was going to get when he returned.
"Hold it right there, Terrorsaur." a deep voice boomed
Terrorsaur turned and saw, through blurry double vision, Rhinox and Rattrap in robot mode aiming their weapons at him. He knew them, they were Maximals...and since he was a Maximal they were his teammates.
An Terrorsaur knew that teammates will pull wonderful trinks on you when you're surged.
"Come on, give me a break, guys." Terrorsaur moaned, rubbing he back of his head "I have a hang-over the size of Cybertropolis. I'm in no mode for games!"
"Games?" Rattrap asked "War ain'a game, Pal!"
"You're telling me? After the slag I've been through? Funny, Rattrap, real funny. And speaking of 'funny', what gives dumping me in the river? I could have drowned. Dinobot put you up to it?"
"Dump ya in~?" Rattrap was too stunned to complete his thought.
"Why would Dinobot have us dump you in the river?" Rhinox asked
"Oh, I see." Terrorsaur said, a weak smile crossing his face "He's trying to cover his tracks, ehh? Make it look like I did something stupid while I was charged? Well, that worked when I was a spark....and once right before we stole the Golden Disk, but he's not going to pull the same trick on this bot three times in one operating time. Nope. I'm not that stupid, and he knows it, so you two can put your guns up 'cuz I'm calling your bluff."
Rattrap lowered his weapon, shocked beyond believe. If the Pred was acting, trying to loop the two Maximals into a trap, he was doing a great job.
Not that Rhinox and Rattrap would fall for anything, but Rattrap had to give Terrorsaur credit for trying.
"Now," Terrorsaur said "if one of you would be so kind as to point me back in the direction of the Axel...Axlon...Axolen...the ship, I'll be on my~"
Terrorsaur started towards Rhinox and Rattrap with swayed steps, determined not to fall. Rhinox narrowed his eyes and fired a few warning shots at Terrorsaur's feet. That was better than engine coolant. Terrorsaur snapped back into a state of sobriety and lept back, tripping over his own numbed feet and tumbling onto his back.
"Wait! Wait! What I do!?" Terrorsaur shouted
"Don't try to con us, Predicon," Rhinox said "because we're not stupid, either."
"Unlike sum." Rattrap said, approaching the terrified Pred, pistol ready.
"Come on, this isn't funny anymore!" Terrorsaur said "I'm not a Predicon."
"Oh, ya naht, is ya? Den why ya got deir sign on ya...huh?" Rattrap stopped. The Predicon emblem was gone, but there was nothing to take its place.
"I...I left the Predicons...all most a stellar cycle ago....Remember?" Terrorsaur panted, trembling from head to toe "Che...Cheetor was warped to the Darkside and I got transported to the Axalon. Dinobot was in the command center at the time. At first he was going to scrap me, but then he noticed the control panel. After we figured out it was the energon the Kid had targeted with the scanning rods that created the transporter I....I joined the Maximals."
Rattrap slowly rose his gun and aimed it at Terrorsaur's head. Terrorsaur closed his eyes and turned away.
Rhinox watched the glowing river with narrowed eyes. Terrorsaur had one MAJOR glitch in his system, that much was clear. But how did he get that way? Could Terrorsaur and Megatron have gotten into a fight and Terrorsaur's memory files been damaged? Only one way to find out, but that ment taking the Pred to Axalon for a systems scan, which really didn't look like a good idea.
"I joined because I was tired of being bullied and bossed around by Megatron." Terrorsaur said, clenching his hands "He treated me the same way his forefather treated StarScream. I was sick of it! And it didn't want to suffer the same fate."
"So, ya joined up wid us." Rattrap said, charging his pistol. It was obvieous that Terrorsaur was no longer playing with a full deck, but how to be sure it wasn't all an act. The answer came to him like a lightening bolt, Rattrap just hoped he could keep from laughing.
"How's it been?" Rattrap asked. Rhinox raised his eyes from the river and turned towards Rattrap and Rhinox.
"Huh?" Terrorsaur opened one eye.
Rattrap holstered his gun and took a step back, saying "Gotta ya!"
Terrorsaur lept to his feet, a wry smile on his face, and said "That wasn't funny, Rat! I'll figure out some way to get you back! Just you wait! But to answer you're question; it's been great! We've come close to beating Megatron several times, but he somehow finds a way to slip by us. I'm certain we'll get him soon enough, though. And when we do it's Cybertron, Sweet Cybertron with energon to spare!"
"Why would we need the energon of this planet?" Rhinox asked as he came over to Terrorsaur and Rattrap, holstering his own guns
"Huh?" Terrorsaur asked, turning towards Rhinox "That's simple, to recharge the planet."
"Wha'?" Rattrap asked
"Cybertron's in the middle of an energon crisis." Terrorsaur explained "You Maximals were sent out to get energon to keep everything up and running. The Golden Disk spoke of a planet with a great amount of energy, and the Maximal Elders sent the Axalon out to find this planet and get the energon. But Megatron wanted the energon so he could conquer Cybertron, so we stole the Golden Disk to prevent any one else from following, then we followed you through the worm-hole created in transwarp space and knocked you guys off course....By the way, sorry."
Rattrap smiled, but he was too unnerved to make it look genuine. He nudged Rhinox in the hip and whispered "Sumbody's history tracks are scrambled."
"That could work to our advantage." Rhinox whispered back
"Anyway!" Terrorsaur continued, not having heard Rattrap or Rhinox "We knocked you off course and we came out of warp over this planet. We fought for a while then both ships crashed. We've been trying to get back home ever since."
"Kin I ask ya one more question?" Rattrap asked, then quickly added "Ya overdosed last night, en I wanna make sure ya ain' fried ya memory banks...too much."
"Sure, go ahead."
"`As bein' wid us changed ya mind 'bout anytin'?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we keep 'avin' ta remind Choppa-Face dat we don' settle disputes by da blade or da blasta."
Terrorsaur narrowed his eyes, confused "Is that why I'm out here?"
"Huh? No, no, dat's naht why ya out 'ere!"
"Then...what happened? Why'd I get charged last night and how come I'm out here?"
"Well." Rattrap was going to have to be REALLY creative and REALLY convincing to pull this off.
"Megatron challenged Dinobot yesterday morning." Rhinox said, buying Rattrap some time and giving him a slice on inspiration "During the fight Optimus was hit and severely damaged."
"What?" Terrorsaur gasped
"When we got Optimus back to the base, you and Cheetor decided to watch him, until he came to and we could do a full scan of his systems."
"Yeah," Rattrap jumped in, trying not to look to eager "buh Prime's logic circuits were damaged en now 'e thinks 'e's a gorilla. 'E knocked ya both flat ta da ground en bolted. Nah 'e's runnin' 'round da jungle thinkin' 'e's King Kong."
"And I...got charged because I thought I had failed?" Terrorsaur asked. He wasn't buying it.
"Hey, Choppa-Face wuz pretty steamed." Rattrap said with a shrug "I ain't sure wha 'e said ta ya, buh ya took ta da energon like a fish ta wata."
'Please let that be enough!' Rhinox begged The Matrix
"I....I must....have...." Terrorsaur started, trying to make some sense from what he had heard. Then it all snapped together. "I must have been trying to prove I could do something right! Ever since that insident with the Maximal Guard Dinobot has never trusted me! He say's I'm not serious enough to handle any real responsibility! I must have joined up with the Kid to prove him wrong!" Terrorsaur's face fell and he buried his face in his hands "What have I done! I shouldn't have let him just run off like that! I should have stopped him!"
Rattrap and Rhinox' eyes widened in shock. Not only did Terrorsaur believe what he was told, but he actually felt guilty for letting Optimus get away. He hated to say it, but Rattrap was starting to feel like a real rat for placing blame on an amnesiatic Predicon.
Terrorsaur uncovered his face, his eyes burning with determination, and said "Don't worry, guys! I'll find Optimus! No way I'm going to let this go un-corrected! Let's go! The longer we stand here talking the longer Optimus has time to get into trouble."
Terrorsaur transformed into his beast mode and took to the air, flying towards the jungle as fast as he could. Rattrap and Rhinox looked at each other, neither one having any clue as to what just happened, and shrugged. They transformed into their beast modes and raced after Terrorsaur.
"We'll have to be careful!" Terrorsaur shouted down to them, once they had caught up "Megatron and the others aren't far from here."
"Where are they?" Rhinox asked
"In a energon valley just up stream. The energon crystals are huge and all of them are stable. I found the place yesterday afternoon, while I was looking for Optimus."
"Oh, great," Rattrap groaned "make my day worse, why don' ya."
* * * * *
The vegetation ripped away from the stone mountain and the grassy trail became a rocky ledge. Where the ledge stopped there was a gaping cave entrance, and it was here that Silverback stopped and waited for Optimus, who was racing Spike up the path.
Optimus stopped halfway to the ledge and rose on his back legs, pounding his chest. Spike laughed and lounged, tackling Optimus to the ground. The two wrestled for a bit before Optimus managed to catch the little gorilla in a gentle head-lock and ruffle his hair.
Spike tried to get away from Optimus or at least retaliate. Spike wriggled and squirmed like fish out of water before he finally broke free and started running up the trail. Optimus followed, but not to close. He had decided a long time back that he was going to let Spike win. After all, it was only a game.
Silverback sighed and shock his head impatiently, but he was smiling. Spike was the first to reach the Silverback and the entrance to the cave. With one glance at the gaping whole in the mountain, Spike was dumb-struck. Optimus trotted up to Silverback and Spike and peered into the dark abyss. Silverback turned towards Optimus and placed one hand on his shoulder, nodded, then started into the darkness.
Optimus watched as Silverback disappeared into the cave, then turned to the petrified Spike. Spike shivered and started to back away. Suddenly, from inside the cave, Silverback barked for Optimus to follow. Spike let out a high pitched yelp and raced back down the path, diving behind the first bush he found for cover.
Again, Silverback barked. But this time....
"Come!" rumbled out of the cave, deep and demanding
Had Silverback said that? Optimus took a few steps back. Spike's hiding place was looking very comfortable right about now!
"Come!" a great breeze rushed out of the cave as the word rumbled through the air.
Optimus took a deep breath and entered the cave. Spike watched in horror as Optimus' form disappeared into the darkness, then he curled himself up into a ball and began to whimper. He wished his sister had come with them.
Optimus walked for twenty yards in complete darkness. The ground was smooth and cold, unlike any cave floor Optimus had ever felt. For some reason it felt familiar. It felt like....like the floor in the monsters' cave. A metal floor.
The cave lit up with a FLASH!
Optimus shielded his eyes and turned away. The light dimmed, or his eyes got used to the glow, and Optimus lowered his arm. The cave was filled...NO! It was made of crystals every color of the rainbow! They seemed to be growing out of the metal ground, glowing and pulsing with a life force all their own.
There was a path that cut through the crystals, leading deep into the heart of the cave. Optimus followed if causiously, keeping an eye out for Silverback. Suddenly, Silverback appeared a few yards infront of Optimus. He motioned for Optimus to follow and disappeared around a corner.
Optimus ran as fast as he could to catch up with the old gorilla. As he skid around the corner, Optimus came upon a giant stone structure. Several giant stone circles were laid one on top of the other, the one on top was always a third smaller than the one it sat on. The top stone disk was surrounded by crystal pillars, one pillar of each color Optimus had seen.
And there was Silverback, waiting for Optimus, at the top of the stone pyramid.
Optimus placed his left hand on the first stone. It lit up a clear white. Optimus removed his hand and the glow stopped. Silverback snorted impatiently, and so Optimus slowly climbed up the stones, each step lighting up and fading out as he went.
Once at the top, Optimus was quickly motioned and moved into the center of the disk by Silverback. Silverback grunted at Optimus to stay where he was then hurried down the steps. Optimus couldn't see where Silverback had gone and didn't want to anger the Old-One by moving, so he busied himself with the study of the top disk.
Not only was the disk surrounded by crystal pillars that grew out of it, but the top was carved. A series of circles, triangles, squares and other geometric shapes, interloped and scattered, decorated the disk below Optimus' feet and hands.
The cave echoed with a great grinding sound.
Optimus looked up just in time to see a hole in the cave ceiling spiral out like...the opening of an air lock! As the ancient metal pulled apart, raining down a gentle mist of rust, a great beam of sunlight rushed into the cave.
AUTHOR'S ASIDE: The deal between Dinobot and Terrorsaur (which was made entirely by Terrorsaur) in "Equal Measures" was as followed: The two would join forces, they would "conquer" the Maximals (which probablly means 'enslave' the Maximals), destroy Megatron and take command of the Predicons. Once all the energon on the planet was mined and everyone returned to Cybertron Terrorsaur would make Dinobot his second in command. Terrorsaur's fragmented memory translates "join forces" as "join Maximals" and "conguer the Maximals" to "conquer the Predicons", everything else is forgotten.
The following story, the personal histories of the characters, the history of Cybertron both past and future, and the briefly mentioned Valnatron are all my creation.
Special thanks goes out to Ben Yee of www.bwtf.com for the use of his "Cybertroninan Dictionary" and reviews of the episodes of Beast Wars and Beast Machines; to Gemini83 for his persistence in making sure I stayed on my schedule; to the talented voice actors who brought the characters to life and the people who worked behind the scenes to give those voices a frame to dwell in and adventures to endure.
Beast Wars: Basic Program
Chapter 7; Discoveries
Dinobot stopped at the top of a grassy hill and looked the valley over. The grass rippled and swayed in the cool breeze, reflecting the sun's warm rays with each ripple. A flock of birds broke the surface of this green ocean and filled the sky with their music. Flowers dotted the meadow like jewels in a crown. Not twenty klicks from the hill rushed a glowing blue river that bubbled and trickled its way through the valley.
"Beautiful." Air Razor sighed as she landed next to Dinobot "Just beautiful."
Dinobot snorted.
"You disagree?"
"We are not here to admire the scenery." Dinobot snarled
"That doesn't mean we can't enjoy it while we're here, does it?
Dinobot narrowed his eyes and growled darkly. A butterfly approached the two Maximals and fluttered playfully around Dinobot's head, attempting to land on his snout. Dinobot reared back and shook his head, letting out a high pitched snarl. The butterfly raced away from Dinobot and landed on Air Razor's out streached wing.
"You know what you're problem is?" Air Razor asked, bringing the butterfly up to her beak "You don't know how to enjoy yourself. Relax for once in your program! It won't kill you."
Dinobot turned and looked Air Razor over with the same unimpressed gaze he had bestowed upon the valley. Air Razor smiled gently, and when the butterfly jumped onto the tip of her beak she began to laugh.
Dinobot watched her for a moment, eyes narrowed and mouth sent into a bitter frown. He wasn't sure how to react to what he saw, or if he should react. So he watched Air Razor and the butterfly with narrowed eyes. Finally, Dinobot took a deep breath and snorted angrily as he started down the hill towards the rushing river.
Air Razor sighed as the butterfly flew away. Dinobot was impossible.
The grass shortened as it approached the river, but was never shorter than Dinobot. Suddenly the grass disappeared and Dinobot was confronted by a five foot strip of shimmering, snow white sand that separated the meadow from the river. Dinobot stopped and scrutinized his surroundings.
"Will you stop doing that, please?" Air Razor asked as she landed next to him. "You are making me nervous."
"A warrior must know every inch of a potential battle field before he enters." Dinobot said
"Is it your own rules or your Predicon program that makes you so paranoid?" Air Razor asked, tilting her head to get a better look at her partner.
"I am NOT paranoid!" Dinobot snapped "Merely cautious, as all great warriors are." Dinobot looked his surroundings over one last time before he started towards the river cautiously, Air Razor a few klicks behind him.
The river glowed a very pale shade of blue for about twenty klicks, then faded to a crystal clear. Farther up the river the glow intensified and the color was a deeper shade of blue. Dinobot sniffed the air and cringed. Scorpinok and Waspinator had been here a few Mega-cycles ago. The sand told Dinobot that Scorpinok had wandered around the banks, scooping the sand up between his claws and letting it sieve out. But why?
Dinobot turned his attention to the river, scanning it with narrowed eyes before approaching its banks.
"You do remember we're supposed to be looking for Optimus, right?" Air Razor asked
Dinobot stopped by the waters edge and sniffed at the glowing water, purposely ignoring what Air Razor had said.
"Well, do you?" Air Razor snapped
Dinobot touched the tip of his tongue to the glowing water. It tasted bitter and sent a chill down his spine, numbing his processor. Dinobot reared back and snorted, running the tip of his tongue over his teeth to scratch way the taste.
"Dinobot?" Air Razor said, coming over to his side "What's the matter?"
Dinobot shock his head and glared at the river. Then he realized something.
"Were you speaking to me?" he asked, looking Air Razor in the eyes
"Yes, I asked what was~"
"No, no! Before!"
"Before? Yes, I asked you if you remembered we were supposed to be looking for Optimus. Why?"
Dinobot blinked. He looked down at the water then back at Air Razor.
"Are you purposely trying to scare the operational program out of me or are you always this weird?" Air Razor asked
"Were you a permanent resident on Axalon there would be no need for your question." Dinobot said, turning back towards the pale water
There was something about this river and the area surrounding it that Dinobot didn't like. The obvious flaw in the scene was the river was glowing. Dinobot knew enough about natural environments to safely say rivers should not glow. Another oddity was the sand, which glittered all the colors of the rainbow under the noon day sun. Dinobot dragged his foot across the sand then grabbed some of it between his toes.
"Crystal shards." Dinobot growled deeply
"What?" Air Razor asked
"This is not sand. This entire shore line is made up of crystal fragments."
"If the fragments are small enough it's still called 'sand'."
Dinobot glared at Air Razor but made not reply
"As much fun as this is, we should start looking for Optimus." Air Razor said
"This river takes precedence over our missing leader, Air Razor," Dinobot said "for I believe it holds the key to his disappearance!"
* * * * *
"Ohh, man!" Rattrap groaned "We's been out 'ere since dawn en naht a sign a Fearless Leada!"
"We'll find him." Rhinox said "Question is, in what condition?
"I jist don' git it." Rattrap mumbled to himself "One blast. How da slag could Prime lose it from one blast?"
The forest thinned and pulled away, revealing an open field. Here, the river split.
"One thing's for sure." Rhinox said "We lucked out not running into any Predicons."
"Uhhh, ya might wanna take dat back, Big Green." Rattrap groaned, motioning to a patch of grass.
Rhinox looked and groaned.
His lower half submerged in the glowing river and his upper half resting on the grassy beach, Terrorsaur slept soundly not two nano-klicks from Rhinox and Rattrap's feet.
"Tell me 'e's off line." Rattrap groaned
"Our luck ain' that prime." Rhinox said
Terrorsaur groaned and stirred. As a precaution, the two Maximals transformed and aimed their weapons at the dazed Predicon.
Terrorsaur tried his best to shake off his hang-over, but that only made him nauseous. His entire body ached, his engine turned, his mainframe was spinning, his joints were stiff, he was cold and he was uncomfortably aware of a giant gap in his memory banks.
Terrorsaur slowly opened his eyes and looked around. His upper torso was laying on a soft bed of grass, his rear was being chilled by bright blue water. The forest and meadow that surrounded him was alien and the sun was a little too bright for his liking.
Where was he? This wasn't Cybertron. It was too organic to be Cybertron, too green. Terrorsaur distinctly remembered, though doing so made his head pound, joining up with Megatron to steal the golden disk. He remember the planning, the practicing and the fights over mission before they finally broke into the Archieves and stole the disk.
He remembered them encountering the Maximals. Trying to lose them in a transwarp jump only to fight over a strange planet. Both ships crashed. They all took on beast forms, Dinobot defected, they fought, energon was found running beneath the two bases and Terrorsaur was transported to the Maximal Base.
The last thing Terrorsaur remembered was making the pact with Dinobot to bring down Megatron and...and...Was there anything else to that deal? As second part, maybe? There must have been. Mustn't there? Terrorsaur couldn't remember any other part no matter how hard he tried. So...since he couldn't remember there must not have been a second part.
Terrorsaur groaned, pulling himself to his feet and stumbling out of the river. The world spun in circles and rippled like waves. It hurt to move, but Terrorsaur began to truge onward. If he had joined up with Dinobot that ment he had joined up with the Maximals, which ment he had better get back to the Axalon before any one got worried, though Terrorsaur wasn't looking forward to the lecture he was going to get when he returned.
"Hold it right there, Terrorsaur." a deep voice boomed
Terrorsaur turned and saw, through blurry double vision, Rhinox and Rattrap in robot mode aiming their weapons at him. He knew them, they were Maximals...and since he was a Maximal they were his teammates.
An Terrorsaur knew that teammates will pull wonderful trinks on you when you're surged.
"Come on, give me a break, guys." Terrorsaur moaned, rubbing he back of his head "I have a hang-over the size of Cybertropolis. I'm in no mode for games!"
"Games?" Rattrap asked "War ain'a game, Pal!"
"You're telling me? After the slag I've been through? Funny, Rattrap, real funny. And speaking of 'funny', what gives dumping me in the river? I could have drowned. Dinobot put you up to it?"
"Dump ya in~?" Rattrap was too stunned to complete his thought.
"Why would Dinobot have us dump you in the river?" Rhinox asked
"Oh, I see." Terrorsaur said, a weak smile crossing his face "He's trying to cover his tracks, ehh? Make it look like I did something stupid while I was charged? Well, that worked when I was a spark....and once right before we stole the Golden Disk, but he's not going to pull the same trick on this bot three times in one operating time. Nope. I'm not that stupid, and he knows it, so you two can put your guns up 'cuz I'm calling your bluff."
Rattrap lowered his weapon, shocked beyond believe. If the Pred was acting, trying to loop the two Maximals into a trap, he was doing a great job.
Not that Rhinox and Rattrap would fall for anything, but Rattrap had to give Terrorsaur credit for trying.
"Now," Terrorsaur said "if one of you would be so kind as to point me back in the direction of the Axel...Axlon...Axolen...the ship, I'll be on my~"
Terrorsaur started towards Rhinox and Rattrap with swayed steps, determined not to fall. Rhinox narrowed his eyes and fired a few warning shots at Terrorsaur's feet. That was better than engine coolant. Terrorsaur snapped back into a state of sobriety and lept back, tripping over his own numbed feet and tumbling onto his back.
"Wait! Wait! What I do!?" Terrorsaur shouted
"Don't try to con us, Predicon," Rhinox said "because we're not stupid, either."
"Unlike sum." Rattrap said, approaching the terrified Pred, pistol ready.
"Come on, this isn't funny anymore!" Terrorsaur said "I'm not a Predicon."
"Oh, ya naht, is ya? Den why ya got deir sign on ya...huh?" Rattrap stopped. The Predicon emblem was gone, but there was nothing to take its place.
"I...I left the Predicons...all most a stellar cycle ago....Remember?" Terrorsaur panted, trembling from head to toe "Che...Cheetor was warped to the Darkside and I got transported to the Axalon. Dinobot was in the command center at the time. At first he was going to scrap me, but then he noticed the control panel. After we figured out it was the energon the Kid had targeted with the scanning rods that created the transporter I....I joined the Maximals."
Rattrap slowly rose his gun and aimed it at Terrorsaur's head. Terrorsaur closed his eyes and turned away.
Rhinox watched the glowing river with narrowed eyes. Terrorsaur had one MAJOR glitch in his system, that much was clear. But how did he get that way? Could Terrorsaur and Megatron have gotten into a fight and Terrorsaur's memory files been damaged? Only one way to find out, but that ment taking the Pred to Axalon for a systems scan, which really didn't look like a good idea.
"I joined because I was tired of being bullied and bossed around by Megatron." Terrorsaur said, clenching his hands "He treated me the same way his forefather treated StarScream. I was sick of it! And it didn't want to suffer the same fate."
"So, ya joined up wid us." Rattrap said, charging his pistol. It was obvieous that Terrorsaur was no longer playing with a full deck, but how to be sure it wasn't all an act. The answer came to him like a lightening bolt, Rattrap just hoped he could keep from laughing.
"How's it been?" Rattrap asked. Rhinox raised his eyes from the river and turned towards Rattrap and Rhinox.
"Huh?" Terrorsaur opened one eye.
Rattrap holstered his gun and took a step back, saying "Gotta ya!"
Terrorsaur lept to his feet, a wry smile on his face, and said "That wasn't funny, Rat! I'll figure out some way to get you back! Just you wait! But to answer you're question; it's been great! We've come close to beating Megatron several times, but he somehow finds a way to slip by us. I'm certain we'll get him soon enough, though. And when we do it's Cybertron, Sweet Cybertron with energon to spare!"
"Why would we need the energon of this planet?" Rhinox asked as he came over to Terrorsaur and Rattrap, holstering his own guns
"Huh?" Terrorsaur asked, turning towards Rhinox "That's simple, to recharge the planet."
"Wha'?" Rattrap asked
"Cybertron's in the middle of an energon crisis." Terrorsaur explained "You Maximals were sent out to get energon to keep everything up and running. The Golden Disk spoke of a planet with a great amount of energy, and the Maximal Elders sent the Axalon out to find this planet and get the energon. But Megatron wanted the energon so he could conquer Cybertron, so we stole the Golden Disk to prevent any one else from following, then we followed you through the worm-hole created in transwarp space and knocked you guys off course....By the way, sorry."
Rattrap smiled, but he was too unnerved to make it look genuine. He nudged Rhinox in the hip and whispered "Sumbody's history tracks are scrambled."
"That could work to our advantage." Rhinox whispered back
"Anyway!" Terrorsaur continued, not having heard Rattrap or Rhinox "We knocked you off course and we came out of warp over this planet. We fought for a while then both ships crashed. We've been trying to get back home ever since."
"Kin I ask ya one more question?" Rattrap asked, then quickly added "Ya overdosed last night, en I wanna make sure ya ain' fried ya memory banks...too much."
"Sure, go ahead."
"`As bein' wid us changed ya mind 'bout anytin'?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we keep 'avin' ta remind Choppa-Face dat we don' settle disputes by da blade or da blasta."
Terrorsaur narrowed his eyes, confused "Is that why I'm out here?"
"Huh? No, no, dat's naht why ya out 'ere!"
"Then...what happened? Why'd I get charged last night and how come I'm out here?"
"Well." Rattrap was going to have to be REALLY creative and REALLY convincing to pull this off.
"Megatron challenged Dinobot yesterday morning." Rhinox said, buying Rattrap some time and giving him a slice on inspiration "During the fight Optimus was hit and severely damaged."
"What?" Terrorsaur gasped
"When we got Optimus back to the base, you and Cheetor decided to watch him, until he came to and we could do a full scan of his systems."
"Yeah," Rattrap jumped in, trying not to look to eager "buh Prime's logic circuits were damaged en now 'e thinks 'e's a gorilla. 'E knocked ya both flat ta da ground en bolted. Nah 'e's runnin' 'round da jungle thinkin' 'e's King Kong."
"And I...got charged because I thought I had failed?" Terrorsaur asked. He wasn't buying it.
"Hey, Choppa-Face wuz pretty steamed." Rattrap said with a shrug "I ain't sure wha 'e said ta ya, buh ya took ta da energon like a fish ta wata."
'Please let that be enough!' Rhinox begged The Matrix
"I....I must....have...." Terrorsaur started, trying to make some sense from what he had heard. Then it all snapped together. "I must have been trying to prove I could do something right! Ever since that insident with the Maximal Guard Dinobot has never trusted me! He say's I'm not serious enough to handle any real responsibility! I must have joined up with the Kid to prove him wrong!" Terrorsaur's face fell and he buried his face in his hands "What have I done! I shouldn't have let him just run off like that! I should have stopped him!"
Rattrap and Rhinox' eyes widened in shock. Not only did Terrorsaur believe what he was told, but he actually felt guilty for letting Optimus get away. He hated to say it, but Rattrap was starting to feel like a real rat for placing blame on an amnesiatic Predicon.
Terrorsaur uncovered his face, his eyes burning with determination, and said "Don't worry, guys! I'll find Optimus! No way I'm going to let this go un-corrected! Let's go! The longer we stand here talking the longer Optimus has time to get into trouble."
Terrorsaur transformed into his beast mode and took to the air, flying towards the jungle as fast as he could. Rattrap and Rhinox looked at each other, neither one having any clue as to what just happened, and shrugged. They transformed into their beast modes and raced after Terrorsaur.
"We'll have to be careful!" Terrorsaur shouted down to them, once they had caught up "Megatron and the others aren't far from here."
"Where are they?" Rhinox asked
"In a energon valley just up stream. The energon crystals are huge and all of them are stable. I found the place yesterday afternoon, while I was looking for Optimus."
"Oh, great," Rattrap groaned "make my day worse, why don' ya."
* * * * *
The vegetation ripped away from the stone mountain and the grassy trail became a rocky ledge. Where the ledge stopped there was a gaping cave entrance, and it was here that Silverback stopped and waited for Optimus, who was racing Spike up the path.
Optimus stopped halfway to the ledge and rose on his back legs, pounding his chest. Spike laughed and lounged, tackling Optimus to the ground. The two wrestled for a bit before Optimus managed to catch the little gorilla in a gentle head-lock and ruffle his hair.
Spike tried to get away from Optimus or at least retaliate. Spike wriggled and squirmed like fish out of water before he finally broke free and started running up the trail. Optimus followed, but not to close. He had decided a long time back that he was going to let Spike win. After all, it was only a game.
Silverback sighed and shock his head impatiently, but he was smiling. Spike was the first to reach the Silverback and the entrance to the cave. With one glance at the gaping whole in the mountain, Spike was dumb-struck. Optimus trotted up to Silverback and Spike and peered into the dark abyss. Silverback turned towards Optimus and placed one hand on his shoulder, nodded, then started into the darkness.
Optimus watched as Silverback disappeared into the cave, then turned to the petrified Spike. Spike shivered and started to back away. Suddenly, from inside the cave, Silverback barked for Optimus to follow. Spike let out a high pitched yelp and raced back down the path, diving behind the first bush he found for cover.
Again, Silverback barked. But this time....
"Come!" rumbled out of the cave, deep and demanding
Had Silverback said that? Optimus took a few steps back. Spike's hiding place was looking very comfortable right about now!
"Come!" a great breeze rushed out of the cave as the word rumbled through the air.
Optimus took a deep breath and entered the cave. Spike watched in horror as Optimus' form disappeared into the darkness, then he curled himself up into a ball and began to whimper. He wished his sister had come with them.
Optimus walked for twenty yards in complete darkness. The ground was smooth and cold, unlike any cave floor Optimus had ever felt. For some reason it felt familiar. It felt like....like the floor in the monsters' cave. A metal floor.
The cave lit up with a FLASH!
Optimus shielded his eyes and turned away. The light dimmed, or his eyes got used to the glow, and Optimus lowered his arm. The cave was filled...NO! It was made of crystals every color of the rainbow! They seemed to be growing out of the metal ground, glowing and pulsing with a life force all their own.
There was a path that cut through the crystals, leading deep into the heart of the cave. Optimus followed if causiously, keeping an eye out for Silverback. Suddenly, Silverback appeared a few yards infront of Optimus. He motioned for Optimus to follow and disappeared around a corner.
Optimus ran as fast as he could to catch up with the old gorilla. As he skid around the corner, Optimus came upon a giant stone structure. Several giant stone circles were laid one on top of the other, the one on top was always a third smaller than the one it sat on. The top stone disk was surrounded by crystal pillars, one pillar of each color Optimus had seen.
And there was Silverback, waiting for Optimus, at the top of the stone pyramid.
Optimus placed his left hand on the first stone. It lit up a clear white. Optimus removed his hand and the glow stopped. Silverback snorted impatiently, and so Optimus slowly climbed up the stones, each step lighting up and fading out as he went.
Once at the top, Optimus was quickly motioned and moved into the center of the disk by Silverback. Silverback grunted at Optimus to stay where he was then hurried down the steps. Optimus couldn't see where Silverback had gone and didn't want to anger the Old-One by moving, so he busied himself with the study of the top disk.
Not only was the disk surrounded by crystal pillars that grew out of it, but the top was carved. A series of circles, triangles, squares and other geometric shapes, interloped and scattered, decorated the disk below Optimus' feet and hands.
The cave echoed with a great grinding sound.
Optimus looked up just in time to see a hole in the cave ceiling spiral out like...the opening of an air lock! As the ancient metal pulled apart, raining down a gentle mist of rust, a great beam of sunlight rushed into the cave.
AUTHOR'S ASIDE: The deal between Dinobot and Terrorsaur (which was made entirely by Terrorsaur) in "Equal Measures" was as followed: The two would join forces, they would "conquer" the Maximals (which probablly means 'enslave' the Maximals), destroy Megatron and take command of the Predicons. Once all the energon on the planet was mined and everyone returned to Cybertron Terrorsaur would make Dinobot his second in command. Terrorsaur's fragmented memory translates "join forces" as "join Maximals" and "conguer the Maximals" to "conquer the Predicons", everything else is forgotten.