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The Extreme, Part 3: Crisis
By nightdragon0
While the others managed to get some rest, through more out of pure exhaustion than anything else, Nightfire found himself staring at the ceiling. The thought just kept coming back to his mind.
Can destiny truly be altered? He thought. Could I stop myself from standing on that faulty platform and missing that shot? But wait…
Pulling himself up, he looked out of the cavern's entrance, up to the stars above. They still shone brightly, even through there was a downpour outside.
Why limit myself to just that? Time is limitless, isn't it? Why not go back further…and…and stop myself from dying at all. If Sky Lynx had lived…if I had lived…where would I be now? A great Maximal commander. At least more than this…
Nightfire turned towards Deathwing's sleeping form and snorted with disgust. His archenemy in such close quarters…and not being to do anything about it.
If Deathwing slept at all, Nightfire knew it was with one eye open. The dragon had learnt the trick from Deathwing himself. There had been a time either one of the two would've been willing to give up their lives for one another…but that was in the past.
One he now had a chance to completely leave behind. If only…
Then, his gaze fell upon another figure.
Syndrea...love can be a great burden. If I had to leave this timeline then…perhaps it's for the better.
Something sprang into his mind. Nightfire cursed himself, realizing he should've been paying more attention to their current situation instead.
"Get up now! Everyone!" He roared.
"What is it?!" Kirath asked, over the astonished gasps.
"He's coming." Nightfire muttered. "I can feel it. We have to get out of here, now!"
It needn't have been asked what the dragon meant by 'he'. For the next instant, a loud explosion shook the cavern.
"Head North." Nightfire said, transforming and drawing his Energon blade. "Trust me on this one."
Without waiting for a response, he dashed out of the cave and into the pouring rain. Nightfire tensed upon seeing nothing. However, he noticed something else.
The ground was hot. And the rain coming down was causing steam to form. Lots of it too, making it somewhat difficult to see. Cheetor approached from behind, weapon ready.
"You'll need help if you're going to hold him off." He insisted.
"Damn, why do you have to be so stubborn?!"
Too late, a series of energy bursts came towards them. Nightfire swung his sword, deflecting the shots. Cheetor unleashed his Quasar blasters in the general direction of the enemy.
Or so they thought. As they backed away, a loud growl came from the trees above them. Nightfire was swift enough to dive out of the way. Cheetor however, wasn't as fortunate to avoid the huge, pouncing shape.
"RRaaggrrhhhh!"
"NO!" Nightfire roared, seeing his comrade being mauled by a gigantic crab. He fired his rifle, which did little more than dent the creature's heavily armored back.
Nightfire saw a blue flash that was almost like the one emitted by a spark. He then realized that its victim had stopped screaming now and was no longer moving.
Nightfire fired his weapon in fury, just as the Transmetal crab was turning towards him. One of the shots hit its chest area as the crab was raising its body.
The crab, Rampage, gave a gurgle of pain.
The sounds of gunfire sounded as the other Beast Warriors joined in, firing their weapons.
"Run!" Nightfire yelled, pulling out a flashbang tossing it.
Fortunately, this time the others heeded his advice.
"Why didn't you save him?!" Airzor screamed, furiously shaking Nightfire by his shoulders.
"I did everything I could."
"That's no excuse!"
"Airazor…calm down." Syndrea gently pulled the falcon away.
"I…I…I'm sorry." She muttered, staring at the ground.
"Whatever it is, this doesn't change the situation at all." Deathwing said.
"No, that's where you're wrong." Kirath spoke. "You all saw how he seemed to be hurt when some of us hit his chest area, didn't you?"
"In my humble opinion, that's because he keeps the alien artifact there." Shadowflare nodded. "It seems he does have a weak point."
"So what? We're supposed to blow him up by blasting that open?" Calico asked.
"No. Getting the artifact away from him is the true objective." Dinobot replied.
"Exactly." Kirath nodded. "We'll need to distract him somehow…"
The green transformer's gaze turned as he faced a rocky bridge. The area the group had retreated to comprised of 2 walls of a canyon connected by a single bridge in the center. Kirath looked down and guessed it lead at least 70 feet down to the waters below.
"You have a plan?" Deathwing queried.
"Possibly. See the bridge there? We'll position ourselves on either side and remain hidden. Then, we have someone lure him onto the bridge. We hit his weak spots, and blow out the bridge. Then the bait will get the artifact out of him during the fall. Seeing Rampage doesn't have flying capabilities, it should distract him sufficiently."
"And that's supposed to be called a plan?!"
"Well, if you have any other suggestions, I'm open to them."
"Fine…but that's still a great risk on the chosen one's part."
"At most, he'll just be going offline a little earlier than the rest of us." Kirath said grimly. "I'll do it."
"Negative, you must coordinate the shooters. Leave this to someone with superior skills on close combat." Dinobot snorted.
"And tell me how you're going to fly away when the bridge is blown out?" Calico blurted out.
Dinobot snarled but Calico reached up and grabbed him by his neck.
"It's for you own good, Mr. high and mighty. Deal with it!"
"Airazor's wing is damaged, so that leaves the two of you." Muricate gestured towards Nightfire and Deathwing.
I couldn't have asked for a more perfect chance!
"I'll do it!" Both Nightfire and Deathwing shot out at once, then stared and growled at each other.
"Wow, I've never seen you two so enthusiastic to die." Syndrea commented.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd challenge you to a duel for that." Deathwing muttered.
"It's only going to turn out like it did last time, with the bridge." Nightfire said under his breath.
His rival however, still heard and threw a punch towards him. Nightfire stepped to the side and caught his hand, pulling both down to the ground. A fierce punching match started which the others had to break up.
"Stop it you two!" Kirath yelled angrily. "Put your differences aside, at least for now."
"We'll both attack then." Deathwing decided. "Two fighters will have a better chance than one."
"Agreed." Nightfire muttered reluctantly. He turned and walked off into the forest. "I'm going to get prepared. The rest of you should too."
Syndrea nodded to the group, and then ran after him. Meanwhile, Deathwing had taken off in the opposite direction. Muricate dashed up to the vulture and tapped his shoulder. Deathwing hesitated slightly, but he gave a gesture of approval and allowed her to follow.
"Is it just me, or is there some great resemblance between those two." Calico said as the two departed.
"Perhaps." Kirath agreed, looking down at the golden alien disc he held. "But there'll be a time for that later. Hopefully at least. Come on, we should get into position."
Shadowflare stood slightly off to the side. The Black Panther looked towards the sky, deep in thought.
"And this stuff is?" Muricate was asking.
"A liquefied Energon mixture." Deathwing replied. "I always keep a canister hidden in my Gunblade."
The hole he'd dug in the ground was filled with the glowing blue liquid.
"What is its purpose?"
"Any transformer, no matter how powerful, is always vulnerable when its spark is attacked. When working with melee weapons, it's good to coat them with this first. As such, they'll inflict much more damage if you strike properly."
Deathwing dipped his Gunblade in and used his hand to rub some liquid over the higher parts of his weapon.
"You should dip your claws and daggers in too."
Muricate nodded and did as she was told.
"You seem to have quite a bit of respect for me. That's not very common unless you're a mindless drone."
"Erm…well…I…you see…" Muricate was caught aback.
"I do notice these things, my feline friend." Deathwing laughed. "Hmmm…it's been a while since I've had a partner-in-crime. Through I certainly didn't expect it would be a transformer created from the spirit of a wild animal."
"You know all about me, but I know nothing of you."
"Curious aren't you? Well, what would you like to know?"
"It's about you and Nightfire…"
Meanwhile, Nightfire was replicating the exact same procedure with the liquefied Energon on the other side of the forest.
"Attacking the spark?" Syndrea asked. "That seems like a logical response."
"Indeed." He nodded. "Although these are already Energon weapons, and such we can't let them soak up too much."
As the dragon pulled his sword out of the liquid filled pit, its green blade glowed more brightly. Syndrea did the same and found her own sword a much more brilliant shade of blue.
"I've got to do a little more." Nightfire said, dipping his claws in as well.
He was in beast mode, and lowered his dragon head into the liquid.
"You're drinking it?!" Syndrea gasped.
"No, just coating my fangs with it." He replied, lifting his head. "And my tail too. You'll never know when you'll be forced into a beast brawl."
Syndrea nodded, but she turned her had slightly to the side, as if hesitant to ask something.
"What's bothering you?"
"You and Deathwing. There's something between you two."
"We were former comrades turned archenemies. That's all."
"No, it's not." Syndrea grabbed his shoulder. "There's more on the rivalry part than what you're telling me."
"Nightfire!"
"Its sibling rivalry, gone way too far."
"Wait…so that means…"
"Yes, Deathwing is my brother." Nightfire gritted his teeth, glaring at the floor. "It was just us, alone on the streets of Cybertron. Just a couple of simple thieves. Nothing much until that time we tried to steal from this terrorist organization. We were caught, but I guess the leader saw some potential in us. They offered to train us, on the condition that we'd serve them for life. And there was no better choice then."
"The dreams I had…" Syndrea asked. "…back when you were in the sword. They were?"
"Yes. You told me you heard the name Bladewing. That was what he was called back then."
"But what happened?"
"You see, both of us were extraordinary and excelled in what we did. We were considered prodigies. And sometimes, we competed for jobs and missions. It started out as a 'casual' thing, but over time it turned really nasty. We soon stopped talking to each other. Then came the time when a certain, famous criminal came. Guess who?"
"Megatron."
"Indeed. He had his plans to steal the golden discs and wanted to recruit only the better of the two of us. It was decided we'd have a sniper duel, winner takes all. Let me ask you, do you remember the Seranus Sector bridge incident?"
"Yeah, it was the one where some terrorists blew out the top bridge, sending it crashing down onto the other four below."
"And I was that terrorist."
"What?!"
"I didn't think I could beat Deathwing in the duel back then. So I instead blew out the supports of the bridge, whilst he was on it. Many died, but I got the job from Megatron. I thought Deathwing was dead too…however, I was mistaken. And you know the rest, how I quit and tired to run soon after. But I choose the wrong ship to get onto."
"Perhaps, but…"
"Forget it. If I hadn't missed that shot, we wouldn't be in this mess." Nightfire shook his head, quite clearly trying to change the subject. "At least we had the alien disc to get the information from and…DAMMIT! THE DISC!"
"Huh?! What about it?" Syndrea started, having to chase after the dragon as he took off in a mad dash.
"The disc and the orb…both of the same alien origin." Nightfire explained hastily. "I just realized they might be connected, like a tracking device. That's possibly how he found us before!"
"Kirath took the disc, I think." Syndrea said. "Then he might be in trouble!"
"Why do you think I'm running like this?!" Nightfire panted. "It's a bad feeling. But as always, my bad feelings usually turn out to be right…"
"I know how to work my weapons, thank you very much." Calico growled.
"No, they're not configured to make the maximum usage of the limited energy supplies we have." Dinobot snarled.
"What?!"
"You need power, not speed in this situation. Rapid firing of weaker shots will not be of much effect."
"Fine, fine." Calico wasn't pleased at being beaten, but she complied, adjusting several controls at the sides of her Uzis.
"In my humble opinion, if the happy couple is done arguing, can we get into position?" Shadowflare called from the other side of the bridge.
"Shut up!" Both yelled simultaneously.
Airazor managed a weary smile.
"Hey…" Nightfire barged onto the scene, on the side of Calico and Dinobot's positions. "Where's…where's Kirath?"
"He's just a little further ahead over there." Calico pointed as Syndrea returned as well.
"Got to warn him…" The dragon gasped. "About…the…"
Gunfire rang out, abruptly followed by a scream.
"Kirath! No! Dammit!" Nightfire yelled.
There were other sounds of yelling as Deathwing and Muricate came into view. Both were in robot mode and firing away. Deathwing had the golden disc clutched under his arm.
"He's coming!" Deathwing warned.
"Syndrea, here!" Nightfire shoved his Rail Cannon into her arms. "Better take that and hide."
The female velociraptor nodded and scrambled into position beside Calico. Muricate was doing the same on Dinbot's side. Shadowflare and Airazor were already prepared on the spots across the bridge.
"He wants the disc." Nightfire said, transforming as he stepped up to Deathwing's.
"I figured that part out myself." The vulture muttered. "And here he is now."
The huge Transmetal Rampage shoved dozens of trees down as he approached, letting off a scream that could neither be described as animal or Cybertronian.
"You want it mother f#&#er?!" Deathwing yelled. "Come get it!"
And for the first time in a long while, both he and Nightfire unleashed their firepower on a common foe and not upon each other.
Rampage roared as the shots hit him in all places, but he kept advancing…just as the plan was supposed to go. The pair continued backing away until both they and Rampage were standing on the rocky bridge.
"Now! Just fire now!" Nightfire yelled.
Shots erupted as the hidden Maximals and Predacons sprang from their hiding places. Calico's Uzis, Dinobot's eyebeams, Shadowflare's bowgun bolts, Muricate's shotgun and Airazor's missiles all joined in the fray.
Howling, Rampage used his arms to block his chest. Unfortunately, his tactic was working. Airazor's missiles were soon depleted and Calico was shaking her weapons in frustration. Their ammunition would run out long before they'd be able to do any significant damage to him at all.
Bad…very bad! Nightfire realized.
Then he saw Syndrea shoving his Rail Cannon into position. She was ready to take a shot, but she was located behind Rampage and in no position to hit his chest. Unless…
(When I give you the word, ignore everything and just shoot.) He sent a telepathic message. Nightfire just hoped that she'd listen.
"Hey you!" Nightfire transformed into his dragon mode and charged, ignoring the fact that his comrades were still firing.
"What in the pit are you doing?!" Deathwing yelled after him.
With a roar, Nightfire leapt up, slashed at Rampage's face and flipped over behind him. As expected, the huge Transmetal spun round. Giving Syndrea a prefect shot.
(NOW!)
Syndrea hit the button on the cannon and gasped as the recoil threw her backwards. Time seemed to slow down as a blue beam emerged from the weapon, heading straight for Nightfire and Rampage. At the last instant, Nightfire spread his legs and dropped as low as he could. However, he still felt the surge of energy scorching his back as well as heard the deafening explosion.
The scream of pain mingled into that was an indicator that there was no time to waste. In one swift motion, Nightfire whirled around, drew his sword and swung. The brilliant green blade ripped into Rampage's chestplate, tearing part of it off. Beneath was the glowing blue orb.
His goal in sight, Nightfire reached for it. However, his opponent wasn't completely disabled yet and the dragon found himself grabbed by the neck. Rampage had his missile launcher in the other hand, ready to make scrap metal out of Nightfire.
Deathwing fired at the bridge, blowing it out. Rampage let out a gurgled scream as he plummeted, dragging Nightfire down with him. The crab's missile launcher was firing wildly as he fell.
Shadowflare and Airazor were fortunate enough to be on the opposite side the missiles hit, but Calico was knocked off the cliff.
Panicked, she screamed and failed to grasp onto the side. Dinobot immediately reverted to beast mode and went down after her.
Meanwhile, Nightfire's world was spinning as he wrestled for the orb in mid-air. His crazed opponent simply would not give it up. The dragon realized the river was a fast flowing one only moments before both of them plunged into it.
"Nightfire!" Syndrea cried upon seeing the splash.
"Did he get the orb?" Muricate wondered.
"I don't care if he did or not!" Syndrea went back to beast mode and took several steps backwards.
"What are you…"
With a graceful dive, Syndrea leapt down into the raging waters below.
"…doing…" Muricate finished, stunned.
"Urrgghh…" Deathwing moaned. The soldier was lying on the opposite side of the bridge, groaning and holding his chest.
"Oh no!" Muricate jumped across and ran to his side. "Deathwing? Are you OK?"
"I just ate one of the bastard's missiles. Do I look OK?"
"I noticed." Muricate said softly. "But do you think…"
"Yeah…I hate to admit it, but Nightfire's going to have to pull this one off by himself." Deathwing sighed.
Shadowflare came walking up beside them.
"Where'd the other Maximals go?" Deathwing queried.
"After the fox." The panther replied. "But in my humble opinion, I feel we should follow Nightfire."
"No need." Deathwing let off a slight grin. "I have a feeling I know what he's going to have to do…"
One moment air, one moment none. In addition to the constant struggle for the orb, it was quickly wearing Nightfire down.
Arugh! Why couldn't I have been a water dragon?!
Suddenly, Rampage hit him…really hard. So much that he went flying out of the water. Nightfire cried out in pain as he slammed the ground hard. Apparently he'd landed on a small patch of land.
There wasn't even enough time for him to get into robot mode before he screamed again. Rampage was up as well and had stomped onto his back. Nightfire clawed wildly, only to be grabbed by his neck.
The dragon gasped under the vice-like grip, his systems screaming at a critical level. In desperation, he slashed across Rampage's face, doing nothing more than leaving a scratch.
Rampage growled menacingly and lifted his free right arm. The Transmetal simply twisted and ripped Nightfire's right arm out of its socket.
"RRRAAARRGGHH!"
"It hurts, doesn't it? Good!"
Nightfire swung his remaining claw, only to have his left arm caught, and abruptly torn off in a spray of mech fluids. The dragon hadn't even felt the shock yet when his head was thrust into the ground. Both his wings were grabbed and ripped out.
It was already obvious that roaring in pain wasn't helping, but Nightfire's instincts were hard to control. The dragon felt as much as heard the slow twisting of his right leg, the creaking of the connecting parts, and finally the spray of fluids as the limb was ripped out. Already numb and in shock, Nightfire could do nothing to brace for the following agony of his left leg being torn off in a similar manner.
Finally, his tormentor braced his foot against the base of Nightfire's tail and yanked that off as well.
The pain was so extreme and yet the dragon had no strength left to scream. The limbless dragon could only watch and squirm as he was grabbed around the neck and brought up to face Rampage.
"Now, you can watch, as my spark consumes yours!" Rampage opened his chestplate, showing off not only the alien orb, but his own hideous spark as well.
Nightfire stared up into the means of his destruction.
Then, came a yell. It was Syndrea, leaping down from the cliff above and transforming in mid-leap. Her blue Energon blade blazed fiercely as she brought it down. It startled Rampage enough so that he hesitated and gave Syndrea time to drive the blade into his shoulder.
Rampage yelled in pain, letting go of Nightfire's neck. The dragon had been dismembered and greatly crippled, but he still had one weapon left…his Energon coated fangs!
With every ounce of strength left in his battered body, Nightfire clamped his jaws down, right onto Rampage's exposed spark. All at once, he was hit by both incredible pain and an indescribable roar of agony.
Got to…hold on…
Finally, the explosion came…and everything was still.