A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Been busy. As usual, the only thing I own in this story are a few names of Pride members. Enjoy.
Cheetor's feet barely touched the ground as he ran at top speed towards sector vega. The entire time, his mind was swarming with millions of thoughts, and they were all about Prowl. Cheetor finally entered a clearing in sector vega and transformed. He looked around for any signs of Prowl. That when he heard something behind him. He spun around and drew his blaster just in time to see Prowl aim her rifle at him. The two stood there staring at each other, each one's weapon pointed at the other. Their eyes were locked on each other. The level of intensity was incredible.
"So," Cheetor said, "Are we gonna just stand here, guns drawn? Or are you gonna tell me why you asked me here?"
Prowl stared at him for a moment, then threw her rifle down, leapt onto him, and pressed her lips against his. Cheetor's mind exploded with a thousand different sensations. He dropped his blaster and returned her embrace and her kiss. They stood there, kissing, for what seemed like an eternity. Cheetor finally pulled away from her and began pacing back and forth.
"This is insane," he said, "I'm a Maximal, you're a Predacon. Something like this just screams disaster."
Prowl stared at him. "I'm a Predacon by circumstance. And as I recall, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia made it work." Cheetor cocked his head questioningly. "I spoke with Inferno and Quickstrike about the events prior to our arrival," Prowl explained.
Cheetor nodded slightly, and then looked back at Prowl. "But even so, she was originally a Maximal protoform," he said, "And she hated what Megatron was trying to do."
Prowl rolled her eyes. "Cheetor," she said, "I'm a Maximal by design and I hate Megatron, too. I became a Predacon because my brother, Darkstripe, made me a Predacon after he joined Ravage's team."
"Then why did you commit so many atrocities if you didn't want to be a Pred?" Cheetor asked.
"Because I hated what the Maximal High Council did to my family," Prowl replied.
There was a silence. Cheetor's face contorted into a look of puzzled confusion. Prowl, realizing what she had said, sat down on the grass and motioned far Cheetor to join her. Cheetor slowly sat down next to her on the grass as she explained her last response.
"I was just a little girl on Cybertron when my parents were arrested by the Maximal High Council's soldiers," she said, "They had spoken out against the council's decision to replicate Starscream's spark to make protoform X. Starscream was among those who destroyed several members of my family many stellar cycles ago, and my family didn't want a copy of him running around the universe. My parents tried everything they could to stop the experiment from happening."
"And they made him anyway," Cheetor said, "He was here for awhile. He was Pred called Rampage."
"What happened to him?" Prowl asked.
"Depth Charge found him and the two destroyed each other," Cheetor replied, "I'm sorry I interrupted. Please continue."
"My parents were brought to trial for treason against the council. No one would defend them, so they were found guilty and sentenced to death," Prowl continued, "They were killed and anyone related to them were subjected to the aftermath. We lost our social standing, our property, and many of us were put in prison. Darkstripe and I fled and that's when we met Ravage and the Tripredacus Council. They told us that we could get revenge on the council if we were patient enough. So, we returned to Cybertron under false identities and joined the elite guard, the same soldiers who ruined our lives."
Cheetor's eyes lowered as he seemed to feel what she was feeling. It was anger, sorrow, and a thirst for revenge.
"Darkstripe and I deceived the council for years," Prowl continued, "We made friends with Leo, Fang, and Snarl, who were also double agents for Ravage. We finally made our revolt and destroyed the council's elite guard. We became Predacons and the rest is history."
Cheetor's hand slowly inched towards Prowl's. She noticed this and placed her hand on Cheetor's. Cheetor looked deep into Prowl's eyes.
"You don't have to be a Pred, Prowl," he said, "You could become a Maximal again. You'd be safe with us."
Prowl looked away. "I could never become a Maximal again, Cheetor," she said, "There's just too much pain associated with it."
Cheetor was afraid of what was gonna happen next.
"So, how can we be together?" he asked.
Prowl lifted her head and looked at Cheetor.
"Join the Pride, Cheetor," she said, "You don't have to be a true Predacon, just be one of us."
Cheetor's eyes dropped to the grass. "All that I am I owe to Optimus," he said, "How can I betray his trust?"
Prowl stood up and transformed into beast mode.
"Think about it, Cheetor," she said, "We could be something special."
She turned and bounded off into the forest. Cheetor stood up and watched her disappear from view.
"I guess I got some serious thinking to do," he said to himself.
He transformed into beast mode and took off back to the base.
Quickstrike was trembling with fear. Megatron had ordered him to spy on the Pride to see what they were up to. Quickstrike found himself a dark spot and hid as the members of the Pride entered their ship one by one. Leo sat down first and began talking, but it was too low for Quickstrike to hear. Suddenly, the door to the ship opened, startling everyone inside, including Quickstrike. They each breathed a sigh of relief when they saw it was Prowl.
"Well?" Leo asked, "Is it done?"
Prowl looked at Darkstripe forlornly, but Darkstripe simply nodded in Leo's direction.
"He is thinking about our offer," she said.
"We need Cheetor on the team," Leo said, "It is important that he join us."
"I tried my best," Prowl said, "But he still wanted to think about it."
"Well, maybe you should've tried harder, sis," Darkstripe said.
Prowl, almost in tears, smacked Darkstripe on the back of the head. Darkstripe leapt to his feet, furious.
"You wanna explain what that was for?" he asked. Prowl said nothing and sat down.
"Cool it, Darkstripe," Leo said, "Save that anger for Megatron."
Quickstrike, hearing this, leaned forward a bit more to hear the rest.
Leo turned to Snarl and Fang. "Any news on the status of this ship?" he asked.
Fang sighed heavily. "I'm afraid the ignition circuits were damaged in the crash," he said, "We're not going anywhere in this thing."
Leo grew disturbingly silent.
"Snarl, Megatron allowed you access to the Nemesis' fusion reactor. What's the status of it?" he asked.
"The fusion reactor needs some repairing," Snarl said, "But once repairs are made, Nemesis could theoretically fly again."
Leo hummed as he thought to himself.
"Very good," he said, "We'll continue to make repairs on the Nemesis. When it's near completion, we'll strike at Megatron and Optimus and take this planet for ourselves."
"And what of Cheetor?" Tigerhawk asked, "What if he chooses not to join us?"
"Prowl is responsible for that," Leo said, "It is her duty to ensure Cheetor's decision to join us."
Tigerhawk opened his mouth to say something, but instead leapt from his seat and dove into a far corner of the ship.
"Tigerhawk, what's gotten into you?" Darkstripe asked.
Tigerhawk walked back to the table, dragging Quickstrike behind him.
"I recognized his signal since we first started this meeting. Megatron sent him to spy on us," he said.
Leo looked down at Quickstrike, who was trying not to show his fear.
"Is that true?" Leo asked.
"I ain't telling you nothing, you fur-shredding snakes," Quickstrike responded.
Leo nodded to Fang, who transformed into beast mode and grabbed Quickstrike in his huge jaws. Quickstrike was flailing around, but couldn't get free of Fang's jaws. Fang then started crushing Quickstrike in his gigantic jaws. Quickstrike started howling in pain.
"This will continue until you tell was what we want to know," Leo said.
"Alright," Quickstrike said, "I didn't hear much, just that you're plotting against Megatron. I promise I won't tell if you please don't scrap me."
Leo stared at Quickstrike for a moment and then nodded to Fang to let him go. Fang let his jaws relax and dropped Quickstrike on the floor. Leo knelt down beside him.
"You will tell Megatron nothing about what happened here," he said, "You heard our plans to repair the fusion reactor. Understood?"
Quickstrike quickly nodded.
"Good," Leo said, "If you breathe one word otherwise, I'll have Fang finish the job."
Leo tossed Quickstrike out of the ship. Quickstrike slowly crept back into the Nemesis and switched on the CR tank. He needed to repair himself and relax before he reported to Megatron. But, what would he say to Megatron? He thought about telling Megatron the truth, but then the Pride would scrap him. On the other hand, keeping information from Megatron would also earn him a scrapping. Quickstrike relaxed as he sank into the CR tank.