Author's Note: Here's the teaser chapter I promised. It will be very short, a kind of lead-in to Chapter 11. But it's all I can do right now; I have Chapter 11 half-finished and I can't really do anything until it's finished and posted. I will do my best to have it up within the next couple of weeks.

Disclaimer: You get the idea.

Metal and Neon

Chapter 10 ½: Interval

After leaving the Autobot ship, Nick and Grissom drove up one of the winding trails leading up the side of the nearby cliffs until they found a place that overlooked the battlefield. Once there, they had to park the Tahoe and walk to the edge to get a look. What they saw stunned them.

The ground had been burned and scorched by weapons fire. In some places the heat had been so intense that the sand had been turned into lumpy, irregular black glass, like the fulgurites made by lightning strikes, only on a far larger scale. In other places it was churned and torn, gouged by the feet and alternate-mode appendages of the warring Transformers. Pools of a bluish fluid, almost black as it slowly soaked into the sand, were everywhere. Shards of metal from the warriors' armor lay scattered across the shattered ground. In some places were huge heaps of smouldering wreckage, what remained of those who had fallen under heavy fire. Most of those heaps were the remains of Decepticons. Two Autobots, their paint marred by scorch marks and fresh weld marks, were gathering up the remains of three Autobots who had been killed in the fighting.

Even the mountains had not been spared the Transformers' fury. The stone was blackened and seared, cracked and crazed, even melted in some places. In other places there were the deep craters made by missiles and the Cybertronian versions of grenades. One cliff face had been so heavily damaged it had collapsed, taking most of the mountainside with it when it fell.

Nick shuddered. "At least the bulk of the fighting took place out here. This makes what Ultra Rodimus and the Predicons did look like a toddler's snowball fight. If something like this had happened inside city limits..." He couldn't finish the thought.

His partner nodded, gripping his hand. The same thoughts had occurred to him as well. It was very clear how destructive the warring Cybertronians could be.

"I just hope it's over," was all Grissom could say.

Even as he said it, he has the sick feeling that it wasn't over. Some deep, forgotten instinct was telling him that what had already happened had been nothing but the chill breeze that came before the storm, and that something much worse was on its way. The hurricane hadn't yet come, but it was on its way and when it arrived, it would bring with it a force more terrible than anything Earth had yet seen, and it would leave its mark on those who survived its wrath for all time.

To be continued...

I'm not trying to tease you, but this is the best I can do until I get the disk that has the first part of Chapter 11 on it. It is my hope that this will hold you until I can get the next chapter finished and posted. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the delay. There wasn't much I could do about it.

No name: Who are you? And I said I'm sorry. This will have to do until I get a chance to finish typing the next chapter.

Chiomon: He'll bounce back. And I know the fight did end quickly, but I don't intend to finish it there. There will be more to this. Think of it as a strategic withdrawal.

Gromia: I don't think it occurred to anyone that Ultra Roddy's alternate modes have separate optical systems. Each mode uses its optic systems a different way, so he can't have a one-system-fits-all type of setup. Each mode has to have its own separate systems, and each is set up a different way, with different main functions. His dino mode's optics have enhanced depth perception and peripheral vision. His serpent mode's optics are mainly infra-red. His scorpion mode's optics are adjusted to see different densities, a necessity since that mode's a climber. He has to be sure that what he's climbing on can support his weight. And yes, chapter titles are quite hard to think of. I have more trouble than I should trying to think up decent titles for my chapters. Sometimes I spend more time staring at the screen trying to think of a title than I do actually writing the chapter. Isn't that pathetic?

New Dye: As for his optics, see above review response. His robot eyes are not repeat NOT the eyes of his dino mode. And Grissom wants to be sure the danger is past. Yes, Sara has an attitude, and she will get what's coming to her, trust me on that.

Fenestrae: I did see Amityville Horror. I liked it, but I wish they'd stuck to the original story. And when watching a horror movie, my sister recommends a large bucket/bowl/whatever of some edible material; stuffing your face while watching helps keep you from getting sucked into the movie. It works for me, anyway. Of course, then when I go to bed I pull up the covers until only my nose pokes out, but anyway... No, I didn't blind him. So don't worry. If you start crying you might short out your keyboard.

'Til next chapter!