This story takes place: Just after the Primal Screams episode where every
one thinks they're real animals.
Disclaimer: The only characters I own are the new ones and their not even
sentient beings so I guess I'm not claiming much. The Maximals and
Predicons belong to Marvel Company LTD, Hasbro, and Mainframe Entertainment
as far as I know. If I'm wrong please e-mail me at Sandrad_sead@yahoo.com
and set me straight. Thank you and please enjoy.
Lots of love, Kaysin-12
Burrrrrrrrrr.Smack!
"(Growl) Stupid chronometer! Such a nice dream to." The young maximal leapt from the metal shelf that served as his bed and stretched in typical cat fashion. He then proceeded to groom his beastmode and transform. After booting up on his daily ration of energon the kid cat left the mesh hall and reported in at the central command room.
"(Yawn) Morning." Cheetor took his usual post. "So where are bigbot and the others?" Rhinox was a few feet away working on yet another new invention and he didn't bother to look up as he answered,
"AirRazor and Tigertron are out on patrol; Optimus, Dinobot, and RatTrap are investigating some Pred activity in the western quadrant." The large mechanism grumbled. Cheetor got the feeling that Rhinox didn't want to be bothered so he turned back to his screen but to his surprise,
"Hey! Somebody already did systems check and climate control!"
"That would be me!" Came a gravely voice from behind. The feline youth turned to see Dinobot step off the elevator with Optimus and RatTrap by his side. Optimus was fuming and his tone was stern as he began his reprimand, "Do you realize what time it is?!" The golden eyed boy visibly gulped as he answered,
"Uh.one a.m?"
"Try one p.m.! As in you slept twelve hours late!" Upon seeing the ashen look on his charge's face the silverback gorilla sighed, "Look, most of the day is gone and Dinobot has already done your duties." At this comment the large raptor snarled but was silenced by a glare from Optimus as he continued, "So why don't you just take off and have some fun?"
"What?! The kid slacks off and you let him." Primal held up a hand to show that the subject was closed to discussion.
"Go on Cheetor." The feline boy felt a heaviness in his chest plate as he walked past the elder warriors and exited the base. Then Optimus explained his odd choice of punishment. "Cheetor looks up to me as a role model and friend. My disapproval of his actions is greater then any other punishment I can think of. Ha." The commander smiled as if recalling something, "I remember when my mentor used to pull that stunt on me! Trust me guys he wont let this happen again." Dinobot snorted and walked down the hall mumbling something about his days as a cadet and stricter, BETTER methods. Meanwhile Cheetor had been running a top speed for as long as he could to drown out how badly the day was going. Soon he found himself twenty clicks away from base.
"Ah man! I'll never make it back before sundown! Great now I'll be grounded for braking curfew! What else can go wrong?" Then he heard it, Kah-chick! The sound of the safety on a laser pistol switching to off right behind his ear. "Slag!"
"Transform, drop all weapons in your possession, and put your hands were I can see 'em kid!" It was Terrorsuar; he could recognize that nasal whine anywhere.
"Maximize!" Cheetor dropped his Quasar cannon and tail riffle then he reached under his chest plate for a little surprise he had brought along just in case, "Ya got me needle nose!" He scoffed. Terrorsuar squinted with suspicion, "What are you reaching for brat? Give it to me!"
"Heh." Cheetor smiled and whirled around, "Remember you asked for it!" The Energon grenade fused onto the saurian's head and went off almost immediately sending both warriors flying in separate directions. Cheetor grabbed a tree limb, spun on it once, and landed in a crouching position.
"Pred heads never learn! Ouch!" The teenager realized that he hadn't 'walked' away totally unscratched; there was a small piece of sherdnal stuck in his shoulder. As he pulled it out he heard a noise so pathetic that it could have never have come from him. Moving some ferns Cheetor found an average sized red fox with a large cut in its right hind leg. Its breathing was labored and there was no telling how far back it had been thrown in the blast.
"Poor thing must be in shock. Come here little guy, it's okay." The fox mad no move to attack as the Cybertronian boy gently scooped it up, in fact the vulpine nuzzled his neck and made a faint chirping noise as if it was relieved by his presence. Cheetor checked for any broken bones, upon finding none he placed the fox down, "I'll clean your wound and then bring you back to base. Don't be scared now." The fox instantly began to squirm when Cheetor went to beast mode,
"Easy. It's still me. Calm down." The sound of his voice helped a little but the tiny creature still quivered as the boy bot cleaned the dirt from the lengthy injury, "At least it's not deep. Come on little guy." Cheetor gently nudged the fox onto his shoulders, ignoring the pain from his own newly acquired battle scar, and set off at top speed back to base.
It was late evening when the Maximal headquarters loomed on the horizon. Cheetor stood on a cliff just out of surveillance range trying to figure out what to do next, "I can't just walk in with you. RatTrap will complain, Dinobot will want to eat you, and I don't have any idea how AirRazor, Rhinox, and big bot will take it!" The fox sighed and dropped its ears. "Oh that does it! I gotta find a way to get you in. You're too cut to abandon!" Cheetor nuzzled the smaller life form lovingly and then looked back down at his home, suddenly the solution struck him.
Meanwhile Optimus was going over some files in the command room. He could have done this in his personal chambers but he was worried about Cheetor being out so late and wanted to speak to him when his returned. Primal had no real children and he considered Cheetor like a little brother or a son of sorts. Just as he was thinking about going out to look for him the elevator rose with the kid cat in robot mode.
"Uh.hey Optimus.uh.look I'm really sorry about this morning. It won't happen again! Promise! Kay, g'night!" The self proclaimed golden rocket shot down the hallway as fast as his feet would carry him. As he rounded a corner Cheetor slammed right into Dinobot, "Sorry!" The young seer merely leapt over the flattened raptor and dove into his room. The door slide shut with a click signaling that the automatic lock had been activated. Cheetor sighed with relief and removed the fox from his chest plate compartment. He placed the small creature on his desk and started looking threw his drawers for some clean polishing rags to wrap its wound in, "Hope the ride wasn't too rough little guy but.!" BAM, BAM, BAM! The startled vulpine jumped at the sudden racket,
"You infuriating fur ball! Come out of there and face me!" Dinobot growled threw the thin door. Cheetor groaned,
"Jumping gyros am I in for it now! Just a minute!" Cheetor flung the pile of rages over the fox, "Stay there or you're lunch!"
"What are you doing in there?!"
"Dinobot what's going on?" Optimus's voice joined Dinobot's out in the hall and Cheetor slide out of his room closing the door behind him.
"Look I said I was sorry! It's not like I meant to plow you down!" Ignoring the enraged raptor Primal turned his youngest warrior to face him,
"Cheetor you're bleeding!" The boy's golden gaze fell to the floor,
"Uh.yeah. That's why I was late tonight. I got in a tussle with Terrorsuar on my way back. It's nothing major, I can hardly feel it!" The freckled youth tried a weak smile but now that his mind wasn't so busy he realized just how much the wound really hurt, "I'll hop in a CR chamber in a minute right now I gotta fix my chronometer." For a moment Cheetor didn't think he'd buy it. Optimus just stood there, arms crossed, frowning. Finally,
"Never mind that, I'll fix it. You get repaired before you end up with an infection."
"Sure thing big bot!" Cheetor ducked back into his room and snatched up the disk like device. Optimus tried to force open further but it remained in place,
"Something wrong with your door Cheetor?"
"He is hiding something!" Dinobot snarled.
"Eh, sorry." The feline boy shoved the scarlet head of the fox back under the pile of cloths and rushed out of his room, "My den's a mess and I'd rather you not see it." It was a good excuse as any and believable considering his age. Cheetor handed Optimus his chronometer and fallowed the two adults back to the command center.
Such a minor (yet annoying) injury would only take twenty terrain minutes to heal in a CR chamber and while Cheetor was in the cramped compartment Dinobot and Primal discussed his unusual behavior,
"We should search his room." The striped saurian narrowed his large eyes as he glared at the reflective surface of the chamber door, "He's acting paranoid."
"Ha!" Optimus covered his mouth too late to catch the laugh, "No offence meant my friend but you're no one to talk! And as for searching his room, that's out of the question. I will not invade his privacy unless I think it necessary to assure everyone's safety." Just then the door rose and Cheetor stepped out eagerly,
"May I go now, or do you need me for something?" His gold optics blinked once as Dinobot snarled and stomped away. Primal shook his head and sighted,
"No Cheetor that will be all. I expect a full report on your encounter with Terrorsuar tomorrow though." The rather small ape smiled, "We'll make a trade of it. Your chronometer for the report and you will get up on time right?" Cheetor's fangs became visible as he returned his commanders grin and said good night. Upon returning to his courtiers the Maximal teen was greeted by the comical sight of the fox with rages hanging from its ears, bushy tail waging happily,
"Hey little one." Cheetor sat down and began wrapping the critters wound. Surprisingly the fox was very cooperative. "Now that we're both on the mend I gotta think of a name for you." The vulpine chirped and licked his hand as he scratched it behind its big ears. "Hmmm. What suits you? How about Pax?"
"Grrrrr!"
"Okay no!" Cheetor chuckled, "Chip?" The fox snarled, "Binx?" The small animal covered its muzzle with a paw and Cheetor took this as another negative response. "Humph! You're a tough one to please. Let's see.I haven't tried any Maximal names yet."
"(Bark!)"
"Huh? What? Max? Is that what you want for a name?"
"(Bark!)"
"Alright Max it is! Now get some sleep. I have a report to write." Cheetor sat the newly dubbed Max in a box with the remaining cloths as a bed but the small vermin wasn't about to stay there. Max leapt onto Cheetor's lap and gave a small whimper of discomfort,
"Well what did you expect? A couple of bandages are hardly a miracle cure." The cybertronian teenager smiled and went back to his report, "At precisely 1800 hours Cyber time, Maximal unit Cheetor engaged Predicon unit Terrorsuar, in sector."
"(Gurglglglgle)" Cheetor blinked as he looked down at Max,
"What the spotted heck was that? Don't tell me you're hungry." The fox smiled as it painted, "Oh great! (Sigh) Just what do foxes eat anyway?" He wondered out loud, and then he remembered something Optimus had taught him,
"Long canine teeth mean carnivore and short canines with big molars means herbivore." Gently lifting the fox's upper lip Cheetor was rewarded by the sight of glisoning fangs.
"Okay you're a meat eater." The mere concept of killing something and then consuming it made Cheetor's power core churn, "Belch! Man, what am I gonna do? I have nightmares about hunting in beast mode!" Max, sensing the feline boy's discomfort, bunted his hand. Cheetor realized that he couldn't let the small creature starve.
"It was my fault you were hurt in the first place. I gotta take responsibility for you. The problem is.I don't know how to hunt." Max hobbled onto the desk and batted a picture nearly knocking it off onto the floor,
"Hey! Be careful you midget wolf! That's the only picture of Tigertron I got!" Cheetor tried to sound mad but Max licked his face and caused the youth to laugh. "Ya see? This is my bud Tigertron." Max sniffed the image of the white and green Maximal from his place on the desk.
"He's real smart when it comes to nature. Oh talk about being a motor head!" Cheetor grinned as he fell back into his chair, "The answer was right in front of me the whole time! I'll watch Tigertron's friend, SnowStalker, and learn from her!" Max barked joining in on Cheetor's enthusiasm. Meanwhile AirRazor had been passing by Cheetor's quarters and heard the muffled sounds,
"Yo kid, you alright? You sound.strange." The she-hawk said threw the door. For a moment the freckled boy considered pretending to not be there but that might cause the concerned aviator to enter.
"I'm fine AirRazor. I just.uh.swallowed wrong. Yeah and.um, I was coughing!" There was a tense moment of silence as AirRazor considered this and then,
"Okay but whom were you talking to? Don't tell me you have an imaginary friend!" Cheetor frowned and held back a growl. He could just picture the smile on her face without even opening the door.
"Oh yeah, real funny! I'm going over a report for Optimus and saying it out loud helps me to find mistakes. Any thing else ms. hall monitor?" AirRazor crossed her arms and frowned at the door. Cheetor was usually very polite.
"No. And excuse me for caring about your mental health!" Max's ears perked up as they listened to AirRazor stomp away. Suddenly the cat bot felt very ashamed of how he had handled the situation.
"I'll make it up to her later. Right now I gotta get you something to eat." After petting Max to sleep Cheetor quickly finished his report and slipped out of the base heading north.
It was around seven p.m when the cheetah finally spotted (pun intended) the two tigers. He could tell which was the real animal by their scents. One smelt like a steel garter with a fake fur coat draped over it. That was Tigertron. The other smelt like fresh air after a snow storm, that was SnowStalker. 'I'm in luck!' Cheetor thought, 'They seem to be hunting something and the wind is on my side.'
Suddenly SnowStalker crouched down and all of her muscles went tense beneath her thick fur. She remained totally still for an instant only then with speed, that seemed impossible for one of her bulk to posses so naturally, she fired the powerful tendons in her legs and pounced. The roar she emitted was enough to chill the young Maximal's mechfluid and Cheetor lurched back in horror as the unfortunate gazelle met a quick yet tragic end.
"So.so much blood! No! I can't! I just can't do that!" He turned to flee the scene of carnage but was knocked flat by a frying pan sized paw. "Ah! No! Tigertron, it's me!" The bangle tiger halted his defensive assault.
"(Sigh) Sorry little cat but when SnowStalker hunts I kind of revert to more ancient instincts. I feel it's my duty to keep other predators from stealing her hard earned meals." He sat back on his haunches and watched as Cheetor rose on shaky legs, "You alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"
"Na.no. Uh.I'm.I'm fine." Cheetor cringed at what sounded like a bone braking in two. "Ugh. I thought it was dead." The teen feline gasped.
"It is," The elder cat assured him, "But you don't expect her to swallow it whole do you? She got a good one tonight. It's hard to find any creature that's lived long enough to warrant targeting it with enough meat to fill her in one setting. She'll take a nap when she's done and I can do my rounds for the night. Care to join me?" Tigertron's nonchalant tone was remarkable to the youth who was about to swoon if he didn't get away from the feasting female tiger soon.
"(Gulp) Sure. Love to." They walked in silent for what seemed to be a long time and this disturbed Tigertron. First of all he was wondering why the boy was out so late and how he got Optimus to let him leave base at such an hour, that is if the commander knew about it at all. Finally the white cat decided it was time for answers. He stopped near a stream and waited as Cheetor took a drink.
"You need something from me. Otherwise you wouldn't risk Optimus's punishment if he found out you came out so late and so far from the base." No answer. Tigertron sighed again and moved up to sit beside him. It was a strange sight, one of snow one of sun, one of stripes the other spots, an impossible pair by nature's rules but here they were, friends.
Cheetor felt numb from the shock he had experienced. Though his body remained still his mind was racing. What to do? How could he bring himself to commit such an act? And if he couldn't what would become of Max?
Tigertron was getting scared. He'd never seen Cheetor so distraught. The urge to comfort the younger cybertronian became too great for the tiger and he nuzzled his neck like a father would a cub. Tigertron purred and suddenly Cheetor felt safe. Like the bangle was the only one in the world who could understand his dilemma. He felt like he could tell Tigertron everything, about lying to the others, even about Max but Cheetor came to his senses and decided that he had done too much lying to turn back now.
"Come on kid. There have never been any secrets between us. What's bothering you?" Cheetor gulped. This wasn't going to be easy but then it dawned on him. He didn't really have to lie just leave out a few parts. That couldn't be considered lying.could it?
"I've been having the worst day of my life." Cheetor sighed and flopped down crossing his front paws and resting his chin on them. This raised a chuckle from Tigertron who remained sitting up.
"Trust me; you're still young, you'll have worse." The spotted teen glared at him then turned his gaze at his reflection in the calm stream. It was easier if he didn't look the tiger in the eye.
"I'm serious. I woke up twelve hours late! Bigbot was so disappointed he couldn't think of a good enough punishment he just dismissed me. Then while I'm jogging I got side swiped by Terrorsuar, I mean Terrorsuar! Of all the Preds why him?! It was so embarrassing to put on the report." Tigertron was quite for a moment then he smiled and said,
"Well it could've been Waspinator. And you did win.right?" Cheetor laughed at this comment and Tigertron lay down to be on his level.
"Yeah, I won. I blew his head off with an Energon Grenade!" This earned him an approving grin from the adult feline. "Any way, I got home and ran down Dinobot, it was an accident but you know how ole leather head can be." Tigertron nodded, "And before the evening was over I even ticked off AirRazor." If Cheetor hadn't had Tigertron's full attention before he certainly did now.
"How by the Matrix did you accomplish that? She's usually so calm." Cheetor dipped a paw in the water and shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess I was a little crabby after everything else and she picked the wrong day to try and joke with me."
"Well don't worry too much about it. Just say you're sorry. Maybe even tell her all that you have told me. She'll understand." Cheetor only half heard his striped companion. He was more interested in scaring a small school of fish that might have been some strange ancestor of trout. That's when a brilliant idea came to him.
"Hey Tigertron.what do small carnivores eat? Optimus has been tutoring me on the local wild life but he never mentioned what little critters do for food. They can't take down an antelope."
"It was a gazelle." The tiger smiled. He could already see the change in the boy's mannerism.
"What ever. What do.oh say badgers, weasels, foxes.those kind of animals do?" Tigertron chuckled under his breath as the old ejective, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back, came to mind.
"They forage mostly. Those that can, like the weasels, climb trees and rob bird nests. Some even eat other creatures that are already dead." Cheetor began to feel sick again and took another drink before asking his next question,
"How about fishing? Do any of them do that?"
"Yes many animals' fish. Everything from bears to birds to those that you mentioned. In fact I even saw SnowStalker do it once." This perked Cheetor's interest all the more.
"Really? You'd think she wouldn't have to considering what she did to that." He paused to shudder "Uh.so how did she catch them?" Tigertron ignored the young cheetah's momentary show of discomfort and stood.
"Like this." He said and crotched watching the water carefully. He flexed his claws and squinted then suddenly he lunged forward and flung a still flapping silver fish in front of Cheetor, who had jumped back to avoid the splash.
"Whoa! That was too cool! So quick!" Cheetor's greenish yellow eyes were larger then ever with surprise. Tigertron picked up the swimming beast by its tail as gently as he could and flung it back into the water. "Hey!" Shouted Cheetor.
"What? Don't tell me you wanted to try it! Look little cat I know Dinobot and RatTrap eat organic food for fun but have you asked them about the repercussions? It can really gum up your systems if you don't have the proper filters built in." Cheetor frowned and glared at the glisoning water. Oh well. He'd just have to catch one on his own later at the river by the base. Far up stream to avoid the others seeing him on the scanners of course.
"Thanks for the advice and for listening to my problems big cat. I'd better head back." He bunted heads with the heaver feline and turned to walk back.
"Do you want me to come along and tell Optimus that you were with me the whole time?" Cheetor smiled over his shoulder never stopping.
"No that's okay. Thanks for the offer. You'd better get back to SnowStalker before she begins to worry." And with that Cheetor bolted, ignoring the low branches that brushed his face as he shot between the tree trunks.
Burrrrrrrrrr.Smack!
"(Growl) Stupid chronometer! Such a nice dream to." The young maximal leapt from the metal shelf that served as his bed and stretched in typical cat fashion. He then proceeded to groom his beastmode and transform. After booting up on his daily ration of energon the kid cat left the mesh hall and reported in at the central command room.
"(Yawn) Morning." Cheetor took his usual post. "So where are bigbot and the others?" Rhinox was a few feet away working on yet another new invention and he didn't bother to look up as he answered,
"AirRazor and Tigertron are out on patrol; Optimus, Dinobot, and RatTrap are investigating some Pred activity in the western quadrant." The large mechanism grumbled. Cheetor got the feeling that Rhinox didn't want to be bothered so he turned back to his screen but to his surprise,
"Hey! Somebody already did systems check and climate control!"
"That would be me!" Came a gravely voice from behind. The feline youth turned to see Dinobot step off the elevator with Optimus and RatTrap by his side. Optimus was fuming and his tone was stern as he began his reprimand, "Do you realize what time it is?!" The golden eyed boy visibly gulped as he answered,
"Uh.one a.m?"
"Try one p.m.! As in you slept twelve hours late!" Upon seeing the ashen look on his charge's face the silverback gorilla sighed, "Look, most of the day is gone and Dinobot has already done your duties." At this comment the large raptor snarled but was silenced by a glare from Optimus as he continued, "So why don't you just take off and have some fun?"
"What?! The kid slacks off and you let him." Primal held up a hand to show that the subject was closed to discussion.
"Go on Cheetor." The feline boy felt a heaviness in his chest plate as he walked past the elder warriors and exited the base. Then Optimus explained his odd choice of punishment. "Cheetor looks up to me as a role model and friend. My disapproval of his actions is greater then any other punishment I can think of. Ha." The commander smiled as if recalling something, "I remember when my mentor used to pull that stunt on me! Trust me guys he wont let this happen again." Dinobot snorted and walked down the hall mumbling something about his days as a cadet and stricter, BETTER methods. Meanwhile Cheetor had been running a top speed for as long as he could to drown out how badly the day was going. Soon he found himself twenty clicks away from base.
"Ah man! I'll never make it back before sundown! Great now I'll be grounded for braking curfew! What else can go wrong?" Then he heard it, Kah-chick! The sound of the safety on a laser pistol switching to off right behind his ear. "Slag!"
"Transform, drop all weapons in your possession, and put your hands were I can see 'em kid!" It was Terrorsuar; he could recognize that nasal whine anywhere.
"Maximize!" Cheetor dropped his Quasar cannon and tail riffle then he reached under his chest plate for a little surprise he had brought along just in case, "Ya got me needle nose!" He scoffed. Terrorsuar squinted with suspicion, "What are you reaching for brat? Give it to me!"
"Heh." Cheetor smiled and whirled around, "Remember you asked for it!" The Energon grenade fused onto the saurian's head and went off almost immediately sending both warriors flying in separate directions. Cheetor grabbed a tree limb, spun on it once, and landed in a crouching position.
"Pred heads never learn! Ouch!" The teenager realized that he hadn't 'walked' away totally unscratched; there was a small piece of sherdnal stuck in his shoulder. As he pulled it out he heard a noise so pathetic that it could have never have come from him. Moving some ferns Cheetor found an average sized red fox with a large cut in its right hind leg. Its breathing was labored and there was no telling how far back it had been thrown in the blast.
"Poor thing must be in shock. Come here little guy, it's okay." The fox mad no move to attack as the Cybertronian boy gently scooped it up, in fact the vulpine nuzzled his neck and made a faint chirping noise as if it was relieved by his presence. Cheetor checked for any broken bones, upon finding none he placed the fox down, "I'll clean your wound and then bring you back to base. Don't be scared now." The fox instantly began to squirm when Cheetor went to beast mode,
"Easy. It's still me. Calm down." The sound of his voice helped a little but the tiny creature still quivered as the boy bot cleaned the dirt from the lengthy injury, "At least it's not deep. Come on little guy." Cheetor gently nudged the fox onto his shoulders, ignoring the pain from his own newly acquired battle scar, and set off at top speed back to base.
It was late evening when the Maximal headquarters loomed on the horizon. Cheetor stood on a cliff just out of surveillance range trying to figure out what to do next, "I can't just walk in with you. RatTrap will complain, Dinobot will want to eat you, and I don't have any idea how AirRazor, Rhinox, and big bot will take it!" The fox sighed and dropped its ears. "Oh that does it! I gotta find a way to get you in. You're too cut to abandon!" Cheetor nuzzled the smaller life form lovingly and then looked back down at his home, suddenly the solution struck him.
Meanwhile Optimus was going over some files in the command room. He could have done this in his personal chambers but he was worried about Cheetor being out so late and wanted to speak to him when his returned. Primal had no real children and he considered Cheetor like a little brother or a son of sorts. Just as he was thinking about going out to look for him the elevator rose with the kid cat in robot mode.
"Uh.hey Optimus.uh.look I'm really sorry about this morning. It won't happen again! Promise! Kay, g'night!" The self proclaimed golden rocket shot down the hallway as fast as his feet would carry him. As he rounded a corner Cheetor slammed right into Dinobot, "Sorry!" The young seer merely leapt over the flattened raptor and dove into his room. The door slide shut with a click signaling that the automatic lock had been activated. Cheetor sighed with relief and removed the fox from his chest plate compartment. He placed the small creature on his desk and started looking threw his drawers for some clean polishing rags to wrap its wound in, "Hope the ride wasn't too rough little guy but.!" BAM, BAM, BAM! The startled vulpine jumped at the sudden racket,
"You infuriating fur ball! Come out of there and face me!" Dinobot growled threw the thin door. Cheetor groaned,
"Jumping gyros am I in for it now! Just a minute!" Cheetor flung the pile of rages over the fox, "Stay there or you're lunch!"
"What are you doing in there?!"
"Dinobot what's going on?" Optimus's voice joined Dinobot's out in the hall and Cheetor slide out of his room closing the door behind him.
"Look I said I was sorry! It's not like I meant to plow you down!" Ignoring the enraged raptor Primal turned his youngest warrior to face him,
"Cheetor you're bleeding!" The boy's golden gaze fell to the floor,
"Uh.yeah. That's why I was late tonight. I got in a tussle with Terrorsuar on my way back. It's nothing major, I can hardly feel it!" The freckled youth tried a weak smile but now that his mind wasn't so busy he realized just how much the wound really hurt, "I'll hop in a CR chamber in a minute right now I gotta fix my chronometer." For a moment Cheetor didn't think he'd buy it. Optimus just stood there, arms crossed, frowning. Finally,
"Never mind that, I'll fix it. You get repaired before you end up with an infection."
"Sure thing big bot!" Cheetor ducked back into his room and snatched up the disk like device. Optimus tried to force open further but it remained in place,
"Something wrong with your door Cheetor?"
"He is hiding something!" Dinobot snarled.
"Eh, sorry." The feline boy shoved the scarlet head of the fox back under the pile of cloths and rushed out of his room, "My den's a mess and I'd rather you not see it." It was a good excuse as any and believable considering his age. Cheetor handed Optimus his chronometer and fallowed the two adults back to the command center.
Such a minor (yet annoying) injury would only take twenty terrain minutes to heal in a CR chamber and while Cheetor was in the cramped compartment Dinobot and Primal discussed his unusual behavior,
"We should search his room." The striped saurian narrowed his large eyes as he glared at the reflective surface of the chamber door, "He's acting paranoid."
"Ha!" Optimus covered his mouth too late to catch the laugh, "No offence meant my friend but you're no one to talk! And as for searching his room, that's out of the question. I will not invade his privacy unless I think it necessary to assure everyone's safety." Just then the door rose and Cheetor stepped out eagerly,
"May I go now, or do you need me for something?" His gold optics blinked once as Dinobot snarled and stomped away. Primal shook his head and sighted,
"No Cheetor that will be all. I expect a full report on your encounter with Terrorsuar tomorrow though." The rather small ape smiled, "We'll make a trade of it. Your chronometer for the report and you will get up on time right?" Cheetor's fangs became visible as he returned his commanders grin and said good night. Upon returning to his courtiers the Maximal teen was greeted by the comical sight of the fox with rages hanging from its ears, bushy tail waging happily,
"Hey little one." Cheetor sat down and began wrapping the critters wound. Surprisingly the fox was very cooperative. "Now that we're both on the mend I gotta think of a name for you." The vulpine chirped and licked his hand as he scratched it behind its big ears. "Hmmm. What suits you? How about Pax?"
"Grrrrr!"
"Okay no!" Cheetor chuckled, "Chip?" The fox snarled, "Binx?" The small animal covered its muzzle with a paw and Cheetor took this as another negative response. "Humph! You're a tough one to please. Let's see.I haven't tried any Maximal names yet."
"(Bark!)"
"Huh? What? Max? Is that what you want for a name?"
"(Bark!)"
"Alright Max it is! Now get some sleep. I have a report to write." Cheetor sat the newly dubbed Max in a box with the remaining cloths as a bed but the small vermin wasn't about to stay there. Max leapt onto Cheetor's lap and gave a small whimper of discomfort,
"Well what did you expect? A couple of bandages are hardly a miracle cure." The cybertronian teenager smiled and went back to his report, "At precisely 1800 hours Cyber time, Maximal unit Cheetor engaged Predicon unit Terrorsuar, in sector."
"(Gurglglglgle)" Cheetor blinked as he looked down at Max,
"What the spotted heck was that? Don't tell me you're hungry." The fox smiled as it painted, "Oh great! (Sigh) Just what do foxes eat anyway?" He wondered out loud, and then he remembered something Optimus had taught him,
"Long canine teeth mean carnivore and short canines with big molars means herbivore." Gently lifting the fox's upper lip Cheetor was rewarded by the sight of glisoning fangs.
"Okay you're a meat eater." The mere concept of killing something and then consuming it made Cheetor's power core churn, "Belch! Man, what am I gonna do? I have nightmares about hunting in beast mode!" Max, sensing the feline boy's discomfort, bunted his hand. Cheetor realized that he couldn't let the small creature starve.
"It was my fault you were hurt in the first place. I gotta take responsibility for you. The problem is.I don't know how to hunt." Max hobbled onto the desk and batted a picture nearly knocking it off onto the floor,
"Hey! Be careful you midget wolf! That's the only picture of Tigertron I got!" Cheetor tried to sound mad but Max licked his face and caused the youth to laugh. "Ya see? This is my bud Tigertron." Max sniffed the image of the white and green Maximal from his place on the desk.
"He's real smart when it comes to nature. Oh talk about being a motor head!" Cheetor grinned as he fell back into his chair, "The answer was right in front of me the whole time! I'll watch Tigertron's friend, SnowStalker, and learn from her!" Max barked joining in on Cheetor's enthusiasm. Meanwhile AirRazor had been passing by Cheetor's quarters and heard the muffled sounds,
"Yo kid, you alright? You sound.strange." The she-hawk said threw the door. For a moment the freckled boy considered pretending to not be there but that might cause the concerned aviator to enter.
"I'm fine AirRazor. I just.uh.swallowed wrong. Yeah and.um, I was coughing!" There was a tense moment of silence as AirRazor considered this and then,
"Okay but whom were you talking to? Don't tell me you have an imaginary friend!" Cheetor frowned and held back a growl. He could just picture the smile on her face without even opening the door.
"Oh yeah, real funny! I'm going over a report for Optimus and saying it out loud helps me to find mistakes. Any thing else ms. hall monitor?" AirRazor crossed her arms and frowned at the door. Cheetor was usually very polite.
"No. And excuse me for caring about your mental health!" Max's ears perked up as they listened to AirRazor stomp away. Suddenly the cat bot felt very ashamed of how he had handled the situation.
"I'll make it up to her later. Right now I gotta get you something to eat." After petting Max to sleep Cheetor quickly finished his report and slipped out of the base heading north.
It was around seven p.m when the cheetah finally spotted (pun intended) the two tigers. He could tell which was the real animal by their scents. One smelt like a steel garter with a fake fur coat draped over it. That was Tigertron. The other smelt like fresh air after a snow storm, that was SnowStalker. 'I'm in luck!' Cheetor thought, 'They seem to be hunting something and the wind is on my side.'
Suddenly SnowStalker crouched down and all of her muscles went tense beneath her thick fur. She remained totally still for an instant only then with speed, that seemed impossible for one of her bulk to posses so naturally, she fired the powerful tendons in her legs and pounced. The roar she emitted was enough to chill the young Maximal's mechfluid and Cheetor lurched back in horror as the unfortunate gazelle met a quick yet tragic end.
"So.so much blood! No! I can't! I just can't do that!" He turned to flee the scene of carnage but was knocked flat by a frying pan sized paw. "Ah! No! Tigertron, it's me!" The bangle tiger halted his defensive assault.
"(Sigh) Sorry little cat but when SnowStalker hunts I kind of revert to more ancient instincts. I feel it's my duty to keep other predators from stealing her hard earned meals." He sat back on his haunches and watched as Cheetor rose on shaky legs, "You alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"
"Na.no. Uh.I'm.I'm fine." Cheetor cringed at what sounded like a bone braking in two. "Ugh. I thought it was dead." The teen feline gasped.
"It is," The elder cat assured him, "But you don't expect her to swallow it whole do you? She got a good one tonight. It's hard to find any creature that's lived long enough to warrant targeting it with enough meat to fill her in one setting. She'll take a nap when she's done and I can do my rounds for the night. Care to join me?" Tigertron's nonchalant tone was remarkable to the youth who was about to swoon if he didn't get away from the feasting female tiger soon.
"(Gulp) Sure. Love to." They walked in silent for what seemed to be a long time and this disturbed Tigertron. First of all he was wondering why the boy was out so late and how he got Optimus to let him leave base at such an hour, that is if the commander knew about it at all. Finally the white cat decided it was time for answers. He stopped near a stream and waited as Cheetor took a drink.
"You need something from me. Otherwise you wouldn't risk Optimus's punishment if he found out you came out so late and so far from the base." No answer. Tigertron sighed again and moved up to sit beside him. It was a strange sight, one of snow one of sun, one of stripes the other spots, an impossible pair by nature's rules but here they were, friends.
Cheetor felt numb from the shock he had experienced. Though his body remained still his mind was racing. What to do? How could he bring himself to commit such an act? And if he couldn't what would become of Max?
Tigertron was getting scared. He'd never seen Cheetor so distraught. The urge to comfort the younger cybertronian became too great for the tiger and he nuzzled his neck like a father would a cub. Tigertron purred and suddenly Cheetor felt safe. Like the bangle was the only one in the world who could understand his dilemma. He felt like he could tell Tigertron everything, about lying to the others, even about Max but Cheetor came to his senses and decided that he had done too much lying to turn back now.
"Come on kid. There have never been any secrets between us. What's bothering you?" Cheetor gulped. This wasn't going to be easy but then it dawned on him. He didn't really have to lie just leave out a few parts. That couldn't be considered lying.could it?
"I've been having the worst day of my life." Cheetor sighed and flopped down crossing his front paws and resting his chin on them. This raised a chuckle from Tigertron who remained sitting up.
"Trust me; you're still young, you'll have worse." The spotted teen glared at him then turned his gaze at his reflection in the calm stream. It was easier if he didn't look the tiger in the eye.
"I'm serious. I woke up twelve hours late! Bigbot was so disappointed he couldn't think of a good enough punishment he just dismissed me. Then while I'm jogging I got side swiped by Terrorsuar, I mean Terrorsuar! Of all the Preds why him?! It was so embarrassing to put on the report." Tigertron was quite for a moment then he smiled and said,
"Well it could've been Waspinator. And you did win.right?" Cheetor laughed at this comment and Tigertron lay down to be on his level.
"Yeah, I won. I blew his head off with an Energon Grenade!" This earned him an approving grin from the adult feline. "Any way, I got home and ran down Dinobot, it was an accident but you know how ole leather head can be." Tigertron nodded, "And before the evening was over I even ticked off AirRazor." If Cheetor hadn't had Tigertron's full attention before he certainly did now.
"How by the Matrix did you accomplish that? She's usually so calm." Cheetor dipped a paw in the water and shrugged.
"I don't know. I guess I was a little crabby after everything else and she picked the wrong day to try and joke with me."
"Well don't worry too much about it. Just say you're sorry. Maybe even tell her all that you have told me. She'll understand." Cheetor only half heard his striped companion. He was more interested in scaring a small school of fish that might have been some strange ancestor of trout. That's when a brilliant idea came to him.
"Hey Tigertron.what do small carnivores eat? Optimus has been tutoring me on the local wild life but he never mentioned what little critters do for food. They can't take down an antelope."
"It was a gazelle." The tiger smiled. He could already see the change in the boy's mannerism.
"What ever. What do.oh say badgers, weasels, foxes.those kind of animals do?" Tigertron chuckled under his breath as the old ejective, curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought him back, came to mind.
"They forage mostly. Those that can, like the weasels, climb trees and rob bird nests. Some even eat other creatures that are already dead." Cheetor began to feel sick again and took another drink before asking his next question,
"How about fishing? Do any of them do that?"
"Yes many animals' fish. Everything from bears to birds to those that you mentioned. In fact I even saw SnowStalker do it once." This perked Cheetor's interest all the more.
"Really? You'd think she wouldn't have to considering what she did to that." He paused to shudder "Uh.so how did she catch them?" Tigertron ignored the young cheetah's momentary show of discomfort and stood.
"Like this." He said and crotched watching the water carefully. He flexed his claws and squinted then suddenly he lunged forward and flung a still flapping silver fish in front of Cheetor, who had jumped back to avoid the splash.
"Whoa! That was too cool! So quick!" Cheetor's greenish yellow eyes were larger then ever with surprise. Tigertron picked up the swimming beast by its tail as gently as he could and flung it back into the water. "Hey!" Shouted Cheetor.
"What? Don't tell me you wanted to try it! Look little cat I know Dinobot and RatTrap eat organic food for fun but have you asked them about the repercussions? It can really gum up your systems if you don't have the proper filters built in." Cheetor frowned and glared at the glisoning water. Oh well. He'd just have to catch one on his own later at the river by the base. Far up stream to avoid the others seeing him on the scanners of course.
"Thanks for the advice and for listening to my problems big cat. I'd better head back." He bunted heads with the heaver feline and turned to walk back.
"Do you want me to come along and tell Optimus that you were with me the whole time?" Cheetor smiled over his shoulder never stopping.
"No that's okay. Thanks for the offer. You'd better get back to SnowStalker before she begins to worry." And with that Cheetor bolted, ignoring the low branches that brushed his face as he shot between the tree trunks.