Disclaimer; I own Shadow Stalker and the plot. That's it.
Warning: Due to language and violence, this series is rated PG.
Of Shadow And Light
Chapter 3
Fight
by Switchblade X
As soon as they were out of sight as well as earshot, Dinobot and Shadow Stalker shared a hug that lasted for several minutes. They clung to each other for dear life, almost like they were afraid that they would never see each other again.
Shadow Stalker felt Dinobot start to tremble against her as his adrenaline rush began to come to an end. She gently nuzzled his neck, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent. "You're tired."
He nodded, "I didn't sleep last night."
"I noticed. …I owe ya one, D."
"Nonsense. You would've done the same for me."
"But-"
He leaned his head against hers, silencing her. "Shhh."
She smiled.
After a few more moments of silent embracing, they pulled slowly away. "Come," Dinobot sighed, "you need to learn the layout of this place."
"Okay." Obediently, she followed him.
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Tarantulas growled to himself as he looked through the charred remains of what had once been a Maximal Starhopper. Nothing could be salvaged.
"Looks like this was a wasted trip." Blackarachnia sneered. "Nothing could've survived that crash."
"And you know this how?" Tarantulas demanded.
"Hello! Look at this place! I'm not even sure Waspinator could've survived that crash, let alone anyone else."
Again, he growled, "As much as it sickens me to admit it, you're right. This junk-heap isn't even suitable for scrap metal anymore. We might as well go back." He transformed, and headed back to the Predacon base.
Smirking to herself, Blackarachnia followed suit. Someone had survived that crash; she had seen footprints that could only belong to Dinobot beside what looked like the slight indentation of a female body. But, she wasn't going to tell Tarantulas that. No, this was something that she had decided to keep to herself.
Besides, some nagging instinct was telling her that this newcomer would be more trouble to the Maximals than she would be to the Predacons.
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Shadow Stalker had zoned out long after Dinobot had shown her where her quarters were— conveniently beside his. He was bored, she could tell. Frankly, she couldn't blame him; everything looked disappointingly the same.
Her gaze drifted to her lifelong best friend, and she studied him closely. Dinobot was as muscular and fierce as ever, even if his body had been altered slightly in order to accommodate his beast mode. He was also as intimidating as ever. She wasn't afraid of him in any way, she just felt slightly inferior. True, he had always been considerably bigger than her, but that was natural. He was, after all, male. You could feel his strength just by being somewhere near him, but standing as close as she was, his aura was almost suffocating.
In a way, his size was comforting, as was his sometimes-brazen fearlessness. She felt safe around him, content. When she was with him, she felt like nothing could possibly go wrong, even if her surroundings were apocalyptically chaotic.
But, perhaps the most important thing of all was this; he loved her, and she loved him. It wasn't the type of love that was generally shared between best friends. This was a type of love that only existed between them. It was raw, unbridled, and completely open; it was honest.
"Primus Almighty, this is monotonous." Dinobot grumbled, jolting her out of her thoughts.
"Just a little bit." she agreed.
He stopped, "Let me put it this way; if you've seen one hallway, you've seen them all."
"That bad, huh?"
"Yes. Maximals aren't terribly distinctive when it comes to the designs of their ships' interiors. They tend to be frustratingly consistent with one design, which, to be quite honest, has gotten me lost in here several times."
"Simple designs for simple minds."
"Ordinarily, I would agree with you, but living with these particular Maximals has taught me some rather useful lessons. For example: not all of them are as stupid as they let on. Most of them, yes, but not all of them. I suggest you remember that incase you decide to let your anger get the best of you again."
"Do we not have a right to be angry?"
"Shadow, we can't blame them for what happened. We were barely out of college, Rhinox, Optimus, and Rattrap were just starting high school, Cheetor wasn't even born yet, and Primus only knows where Silverbolt was. We can't take our anger out on an entire race just because of the actions of a few rogues."
She was silent for a moment. "You're right." she sighed, "Where would I be without you, D?"
He smiled, taking her hand in his and continuing down the hallway, "Probably deep fried in some other galaxy."
"That was so funny, I forgot to laugh."
He chuckled.
"No, seriously, I forgot to laugh."
"Let's get out of here."
"Yes, please. This place is giving me a headache."
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Shadow Stalker inhaled deeply, enjoying the earthen scent of the forest. "Where are we going?" she lazily asked, watching the sun dance through the canopy of leaves above them.
"We're going to one of the most beautiful places on this planet." Dinobot answered, gently squeezing her hand.
"Ah." She didn't press the matter, instead trusting him to lead her to "one of the most beautiful places on this planet."
They walked on in silence for a while, and the farther they walked, the stronger the scent of water became. Soon enough, Shadow Stalker could hear it; they were nearing a waterfall.
"Almost there." Dinobot assured her as they neared a dense veil of ivy. He stopped, pausing somewhat dramatically before asking, "Are you ready?"
She nodded.
He pulled the ivy back far enough for both of them to walk through the veil.
Shadow Stalker gasped, her optics widening, "Dear Primus…it's beautiful!"
Dinobot smiled, wrapping one arm around her waist. "I thought you might like it." He moved his face closer to hers.
"Like it? I love it! It's absolutely beautiful!"
"That it is." he whispered, his voice low and husky.
Tiny electrical shocks rocketed through her body when his warm breath touched her face.
"Like you." he concluded, gently kissing her cheek.
She glanced down, embarrassed, "I'm not pretty."
He raised her chin, making her look at him, "Who told you that?"
"Nobody. It's common knowledge."
"Shadow, you are the most beautiful creature I have ever known. You always have been beautiful, and you always will be. And don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise."
She smiled in spite of her sudden negativity and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "You always know how to make me feel better."
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Dinobot sighed contentedly, his tail twitching lazily. He was curled up on a rock in beast mode, soaking up the sun while watching Shadow Stalker explore the little hideaway in her new beast mode: a black wolf.
Shadow Stalker trotted over to the pond that the waterfall had spawned, and studied herself. She liked her new alternate mode; it was fast, strong, and stealthy. It occurred to her then that she hadn't seen herself in robot mode yet. Feeling somewhat foolish, she transformed, and studied her robot mode.
Black Harley-Davidson-style boots came to a point above her knees. The bands that encircled her ankles and went under her instep were red, as was a stripe that encircled her calves and followed her boots up to the spike. Her thighs were black. Her torso was red except for a V that came from her neck (think V-necked tank top), which was black. Black gloves came to a point just above her elbows, and like her boots, a stripe of red surrounded her elbow and came into the spike. Her face and neck were black, except for her eyes, which were red. A helmet rested atop her head, coming to a widow's peak in the front and flaring out a little in the back to provide a bit of protection to the back of he neck. The slight crest that ran down the center of her helmet was red until it met the black diamond that was the "peak" of the widow's peak.
She still retained her Amazonian proportions, and her alternate mode still disappeared completely, giving her opponent no indication whatsoever as to what she might turn into. This was good. This was very good.
Something troubled her, however. Her gun belt was missing. She had been sure that she'd had it on when Dinobot had rescued her, but where was it now? Her only weapon was gone.
"Did I do good?" Dinobot asked, suddenly appearing behind her.
"I love it." she answered. "You did great."
He smiled, "I'm glad you like it."
"How'd you learn to do this, anyway?"
"Just something I studied in my free time."
She grinned. "There is one thing that I don't get."— she raised her hands— "What're these little silver things between my knuckles?"
"New weapons for you."
"Huh?" Suddenly, long metallic claws sprang from the cone-shaped silver things that were positioned between each of her knuckles. She gasped, and looked at the six claws that protruded from her hands. "Cool! I'm like, Wolverine, or somethin'!"
He laughed, "I hadn't thought of it like that."
She hugged him. "You're a genius, D, did you know that?"
"I am not. Oh! I almost forgot!" He pulled away from her, and removed her black gun belt from behind his chest plate. "I took this off before I put you in the CR chamber." he explained, fastening it around her waist, "I didn't think the introductions would go well if you were armed."
"Thank you. I thought I'd lost this thing!" Her claws retracted, and she lay a hand on the butt of her pistol, "I'm glad you took it from me; I probably would've done something stupid." Her other hand strayed briefly to the little pouch that was secured to the left side of her belt.
"Aaaaw, how cute." Blackarachnia said, stepping out of the trees with Quickstrike in tow. "Dinobot has a girlfriend."
Dinobot whirled, grabbing his sword. "You're out of your territory, spider."
She shrugged, "That never stopped me before."
"Yer goin' daown." Quickstrike said. "Ain't they, Sugarbot?"
"Who are these two lackeys?" Shadow Stalker asked, her claws shooting outward with a shrink!
"Blackarachnia and Quickstrike." Dinobot answered, "Minions of Megatron."
Shadow Stalker snorted, "Are you kidding? This is our opposition? A slutty little bitch and a delusional cowboy?"
"Sad, isn't it?" Dinobot kept an eye on Blackarachnia, knowing that she would strike when they least expected it. Quickstrike, on the other hand, was little threat.
"Hell yeah it's sad! These idiots were our teammates? I'm almost glad ol' Meggy scratched me from the team at the last minute!"
"Enough!" Blackarachnia roared, lunging. She tackled Shadow Stalker, knocking the bigger woman down.
Quickstrike, eager to fight and impress Blackarachnia, followed her example, going for Dinobot.
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"Has anybody seen Dinobot?" Optimus asked upon entering the command center.
"Last time I saw him, he was giving Shadow Stalker a tour of the base." Rhinox answered. "Why?"
"I can't find either one of them."
"What?!" Rattrap demanded.
"Bingo!" Rhinox exclaimed. "They're in Sector Delta, and it looks like they've got company."
"Silverbolt is close by, right?" Optimus asked.
"Yeah."
"Get him over there; they may need backup."
"Whoa whoa whoa." Rattrap interrupted. "Why are we sendin' in reinforcements? For all we know, dose two could be sellin' us out!"
"I'll remember that the next time you're out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by enemy soldiers." Optimus snapped.
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Blackarachnia was becoming more and more aware of the water that was steadily climbing up her legs. Shadow Stalker had backed her into the pond, where the water was a lot deeper than it looked. Her gun had been destroyed, and the spider legs that lined her arms had been sliced off; she had only her ninja skills to rely on now.
Shadow Stalker growled, baring her canine fangs. She was also damaged, but not as badly as Blackarachnia. Quickly, she glanced sidelong at Dinobot.
He was leaned up against the rock that he had been sunning on earlier, struggling to breathe. Before he had literally been torn to pieces, Quickstrike had pumped Dinobot full of some new type of cyber venom.
Taking advantage of this momentary distraction, Blackarachnia smacked the water, sending a spray into Shadow Stalker's face before she struck.
Water suddenly surrounded her. Panicking for a brief moment, Shadow Stalker kicked Blackarachnia off of her and headed to the surface.
Blackarachnia, on the other hand, had other plans. She grabbed the stunned wolf around the waist, and dragged her deeper into the water and farther to the bottom.
Recovering her wits, Shadow Stalker struggled. She began slashing at the spider's damaged arms, desperate to break free. She hadn't had a decent breath when she had been attacked, and she was drowning.
Blackarachnia knew this, and was not going to let her opponent escape, no matter what the cost. She had taken a decent breath, and could still last a few more moments.
It was getting hard for Shadow Stalker to focus. Her new body was screaming for oxygen, which wasn't exactly something she was used to. Panic began to take over, and she struggled harder, ramming her arm backward. She was rewarded with Blackarachnia letting go when a spiked elbow connected with her chin.
Stunned, the spider drifted back a few feet. It was in that instant that she lost her advantage and her one chance of winning this fight.
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Silverbolt flew as fast as he could towards Sector Delta, fearing the worst. He cursed himself for not being a Transmetal.
His instincts told him that something really bad had happened. For once, let me be wrong. he prayed, pushing his body well past the limit. For once, don't let me be too late. I don't want to lose another friend because I'm so Primus-damned slow.
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Coughing, sputtering, and cursing, Shadow Stalker dragged herself and Blackarachnia from the pond. She dropped the stasis-locked spider onto the grass like she was a sack of grain, and rushed to Dinobot's side. "D?" she choked, gently touching his cheek.
"Are you…all right?" he gasped, trying desperately to breathe and fight the venom that was searing through his veins.
"I'm in one piece, more or less." Her worried gaze fell on the two puncture wounds that glowed an eerie green on his right forearm.
"Son-of-a-bitch pumped me full of some new kind of venom." He winced, "Shit!"
Shadow Stalker felt fear grip her spark. New venom? She didn't even know what to do when the old venom was involved! "Aw man…. I dunno what to do!"
"There's…nothing you can do. …Bloody hell this shit stings!"
"Help won't get here in time, will it?"
He shook his head, "Not from this distance."
"Aw, man…" Tears began spilling out onto her cheeks, "This is my fault."
"How?" With a great deal of difficulty, he managed to wrap her in his arms and hold her.
"If it wasn't for me, we wouldn't be out here, and you wouldn't be…" She couldn't bring herself to say that final word.
"Shadow…it's not your fault. …Please don't cry."
She lost it, and began to sob uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, Shadow, please…" He grunted as the venom took a stronger hold on him. "I'm…going to have to go into stasis. …It's the only way to stop the venom."
Finally getting her crying under control, she nodded, pulling away just enough to look at him. "Do whatever you have to."
"I'll be okay, love. …I promise."
"Come back to me."
"I will."
With fresh tears streaming down her face, she kissed him. "I love you, D."
"I love you, too, Shadow." He hugged her once more, before slipping into stasis lock.
Shadow Stalker howled in rage and sorrow as his limp arms fell away from her. "Damn you, Megatron!" she screamed. "Damn you and all your minions straight back to the deepest pit of hell from whence you came!"
Someone gasped behind her.
She whirled, gun drawn, but paused when she saw who it was.
"Am I…?"
She nodded, not ashamed of letting him see the tears that flowed freely down her face. "He just went into stasis. Fuckin' Quickstrike pumped him full 'a some new kinda cyber venom. Whatever the hell it is, it's eating him from the veins outward. …He'll probably be dead by the time we get him back to the Axalon."
Author's Note: Thanks to Kat Drama (Sorry I didn't mention you before. I don't check my e-mail consistently. Can you tell? ;) ), Amity-Star, Libero H, and DayDreamer9 for the reviews; I really appreciate it. More to come!