Chapter Four
All the Maximals gasped in shock as a loud explosion rocked the cliff face and sent up a huge cloud of smoke. They heard a choked off scream of surprised rage and then silence. Dinobot was gone.
"Chopperface!" Rattrap cried; his face twisted into a look of horror he didn't even try to suppress.
Optimus quickly transformed back to beast mode and activated his thrusters. He was about to rise into the air when he felt several tendrils wrap tightly around one of his legs. He looked down in surprise. It was Quick-Strike.
The Predicon had his scorpion hand in a death-grip around Optimus's leg. He lifted his head out of the sand and gasped weakly, but with a sadistic gleam in his optics. "Say goodbye…to yer…pal, tinhorn!"
"No!" Silverbolt howled, kicking Quick-Strike with one of his talon feet. The Predicon's eyes flickered and he slipped back into stasis lock.
Silverbolt rose into the air, struggling for altitude, while Optimus wasted precious nano-clicks extricating himself from Quick-Strike's grasp.
Despair rose in him. He didn't think he could reach Dinobot in time now.
His head snapped up as Cheetor's dismayed cry cut through the air, "Dierdre! No, wait!"
Dierdre watched, appalled, as the cliff edge Dinobot was standing on disintegrated. The bot's optics registered shocked anger as he plunged from sight. His cry rang in her ears.
She stood frozen for an instant. Then her brain went into over-drive. An image of Quickblade flashed in her mind. He and Dinobot were alike in many ways. Both were ex-Predicons. Both were warriors. And it seemed that Dinobot was about join Quickblade in death.
No! She wouldn't lose another comrade! Not while she still breathed.
The three flyers couldn't help. Cheetor was injured, Silverbolt would take time to achieve sufficient height for a dive and she could see that Optimus was having problems with the Predicon Fusor.
So, she did the only thing she could do. She broke into a run and dove off the shattered cliff-face.
I am going to die, Dinobot thought as he fell. Rocks that had once been the cliff he had been standing on rained down around him. The thought of death didn't bother him as much as the method with which he was about to meet his end. He had always pictured himself dying on the battlefield.
A rock smacked him on the side of the head, whirling him around. He was now facing towards the sky, as the canyon walls on either side of him seemed to rise higher into the air. He was falling much more quickly now, the wind screaming over his toppling form. The canyon was deep, but this free fall could not last much longer.
He noticed with some satisfaction that none of the others were sharing his fate. They had all been far enough away.
He looked up at the sapphire sky. It was a beautiful day…
His optics widened as a glint of silver flashed.
This is the stupidest thing I have ever done, Dierdre thought as she began to fall.
She could see Dinobot far below her. Stones from the broken cliff face were pummeling the bot. He seemed remarkably calm considering the circumstances.
She, on the other hand, did not feel calm at all. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins and panic threatened to set in.
No! Think! Focus on the problem at hand. Get to him. Get to him now!
Her eyes narrowed. She knew what she had to do.
The human straightened her body, holding her arms stiffly at her sides. She held her legs together and locked her knees. Her body offered little wind resistance as gravity pulled her faster and faster towards the flailing bot below.
To say that Dinobot was surprised at the sight of the human doing a suicide dive off the cliff would have been an understatement. He was stunned.
He saw her align her body, causing a dramatic increase in speed. He suddenly realized what was going on. She was trying to reach him. She is insane! He was a dead bot already. There was nothing she could do, except join him in death.
She was definitely closer now. He could see her eyes, narrowed against the wind. Her face was set in stone as her red braid whipped around her head like a live thing.
"What in the Inferno are you doing!" He roared into the howling wind. She either didn't bother to answer or didn't hear as she raced towards him like a bullet.
Dierdre shifted her body slightly to avoid a falling rock. Once she had gotten over her fear, she realized she could control her direction with small body movements. It was just like flying, except there was nowhere to go but down. Come on! Just a little closer…
The human slammed into Dinobot, sending them both spinning wildly. Somehow, she managed to cling to him. She wrapped her left arm around his massive torso and her legs around his hips.
A small rock struck her on the forehead, making her see stars. Ignoring the pain, she touched the transporter magna-sealed to her thigh. It began to glow a soft blue.
His optics registered anger and confusion as she clung to him. "What are you…"
"Hold on to me! HOLD ON!" She screamed into his audio sensor. Her braid lashed him savagely across the face.
He only had time to wrap one arm around her waist before the world dissolved in a brilliant flash of blue light.
Optimus had finally managed to free himself from Quick-Strike's grasp. He fired his thrusters and plunged down the canyon, quickly passing Silverbolt whom had just begun his own dive.
He could see Dierdre far below him and Dinobot even farther than that. They only had a few more seconds of life left before the canyon floor killed them.
He was too far away and he knew it. That didn't stop him from trying however. He set his thrusters on maximum burn, rocketing towards the falling duo. Dierdre suddenly slammed into Dinobot, sending them both spinning uncontrollably. Primal's energon pump clenched. Matrix, help them.
Then, as if the Matrix had heard his simple prayer, the two disappeared in a flash of light. An instant later there was a deafening sound as the remains of the cliff crashed into the canyon floor.
Transporter. She had a transporter!
Hardly daring to hope, he changed directions and flew back the way he had come.
Cheetor and Rattrap looked worriedly over the edge of the cliff. They could see very little, just a few dots that they assumed were their comrades.
"Do you think Optimus will make it in time?" Cheetor asked, silently cursing the injuries that prevented him from flying.
Rattrap was about to say that there wasn't a chance in the Inferno, but he stopped when he saw the stricken look on the young bot's face.
"I don't know kiddo," was all he said. He sighed. He understood the bot's concern; he felt it himself. Dinobot and he had been adversaries from the moment they had met. They argued, fought and threatened to scrap each other constantly.
It was great fun in Rattrap's opinion, and sometimes, when the two fought, he thought he could detect a gleam behind the ex-Predicon's optics. Perhaps Dinobot enjoyed it too.
Now it looks like I'll never see his ugly face again, the rodent thought mournfully.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of blue light behind them. They whirled around in time to see Dierdre and Dinobot materialize out of thin air and fall to the earth with a loud crash.
After exchanging a look of shock, Cheetor and Rattrap ran over to the two. Dinobot lay flat on the ground with Dierdre draped across his torso. They both seemed stunned.
The woman stirred and the bot's optics flickered. They both groaned.
Dinobot looked up to see Rattrap standing over him. He grimaced. "Wonderful. The first thing I wake up to is you, cheese eater. I must be in the Inferno."
"Scale belly, you're alive. Too bad." Rattrap fought the urge to dance with glee.
The human came fully awake. Blue eyes met crimson optics as she raised her head from Dinobot's chest.
"So, do ya two want t' be alone or what?" Rattrap asked. Cheetor snickered.
Dierdre rolled off Dinobot and they both sat up. A thin trickle of blood ran down the side of the human's face.
She glared at the small Maximal. "Rattrap, I'm not in the best of moods right now. Don't force me to hurt you."
"I, too, insist that you depart, rodent." Dinobot rasped, slowly standing. He towered over the Transmetal rat. "Or I will do more than hurt you."
Rattrap threw up his hands and said with an expression of mock fear, "Heh, I'm quakin' in my servos over 'ere."
Before any more words could be exchanged, Optimus and Silverbolt rose out of the canyon.
"You're both all right!" Silverbolt cried as he landed next to the group.
Dierdre stood up, looked at Dinobot's heavily damaged superstructure and touched her bleeding head ruefully. "In a manner of speaking."
Optimus transformed in midair, dropping the last few feet to land with a thump. "Excellent work, Commander. That was…"
"That was foolish, fleshling!" Dinobot snarled suddenly, walking over to the unconscious Quick-Strike and pulling his sword from the Fusor's chest plate. Sheathing the weapon, he stalked up to Dierdre and growled into her face. "Do you have a death wish?"
Dierdre's eyes widened in shock but quickly narrowed. She spoke with an anger that matched his own. "No, but I thought you had a life wish, which is why I risked myself to save you." She turned her head and glared at the others. "Just as you all risked yourselves for me; a stranger. Did you expect me to do any less?"
Silverbolt stepped forward and tried to speak reasonably, "No one disputes your bravery, my lady. But you shouldn't have put yourself in such peril."
She laughed humorlessly. "I did not become a commander in the United Earth Army by being timid or hiding from danger. I knew the risks." She turned back the angry ex-Pred and stabbed him in the chest with an armored finger. "Or would you have rather gone 'splat' all over the canyon floor?"
"Well…" Rattrap began, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought.
"Rattrap, be quiet," Primal said. He focused his attention on the human. "While your actions were reckless, they were, as you say, effective. Thank you for your help."
Dinobot gave a growling hiss of rage. "I require no 'help' from a semi-evolved anthropoid!" He abruptly transformed into his deadly beast mode and snapped his jaws just inches from Dierdre's nose.
Oh, Grandma, what big teeth you have… Pushing down her instinctive fear of being eaten, she smiled tightly. "My apologies. Before I so thoughtlessly intervened, I'm sure you were just about ready to sprout wings and fly away."
Rattrap, of course, thought that this was hilarious. Dinobot growled at Dierdre once more and turned on his heel, his tail 'accidentally' whacking Rattrap in the back of the head. This did little to stop the rat as he laughed uncontrollably.
Dierdre watched thoughtfully as the injured velociraptor stalked back to base, trying very hard to conceal a limp. Her expression was unreadable.
Cheetor walked over to the human and looked up at her. "Don't mind him; he's like that with everyone. I think what you did was ultra-gear."
She smiled down at him. "Thanks, Sky Cat."
Cheetor grinned at the nickname and replied, "Any time, Red."
They both turned at the sound of Optimus's voice. "Rattrap, quit laughing and go with Dinobot. Make sure he gets home safely."
The rat finally stopped chuckling and grudgingly transformed. He drove off after the injured bot, muttering something about raptor-sitting. At Optimus's orders, Silverbolt transformed to beast mode and picked up Cheetor. The Fusor slowly climbed into the air, the Transmetal held tightly in his talons.
"Beast mode." Optimus said. Once the transformation was complete, he turned to the human. "Commander?" He motioned for her to climb aboard.
Dierdre bowed her head for a second and then spoke. "Optimus, I have a favor to ask. I am a Commander, but I am a Commander without a squadron. So call me Dierdre, and ask your people to do so, as well. Please."
Primal nodded as the human stepped onto the flight board behind him. He had heard the pain behind her calm words as she spoke of her squad. "As you wish, Dierdre."
As he activated his thrusters and rose into the air, he did not notice the eight-eyed Predicon still watching them from the deep shadows.
The Predicon base loomed up ahead like a malevolent insect straight from the Pit. Ash-gray terrain, laced with rivers of lava that never cooled, only served to add to the aura of evil that permeated the entire area.
Home, sweet Inferno, the black widow spider thought to herself as she entered the belly of the Darkside. She scurried down the dark corridor that led to the Battle Bridge, her skinny spider legs making hardly a sound on the metal deck.
She slowed as she approached the bridge. Hugging the shadows, she peered around the corner. As usual, Megatron was seated on his 'throne' while Inferno, also as usual, was kneeling before him.
The ant swayed a little as he described the battle that had taken place just over a megacycle ago. He left nothing out, but his head bowed in shame as he told of his failed attempt at destroying the traitor. He had lingered in the shadows of the canyon as Dinobot began to fall; wanting to make sure the raptor was dead. Thusly, he witnessed the human's rescue of the turncoat. He left immediately afterwards, knowing that he had to report this incident to the Queen, regardless of the consequences to himself.
He finally lapsed into a resigned silence, waiting for his royalty's justified anger to descend upon him. Megatron said nothing after the ant finished speaking. He simply leaned his elbow on the arm of his throne and cupped his chin in his hand. He stayed that way for a long moment, seemingly in deep thought. The lava that bubbled from the earth beneath Inferno's platform cast strange shadows upon the Predicon leader's visage, giving him a truly diabolical appearance.
He was pulled from his thoughts by the soft feminine voice of Inferno's personal computer systems. "Warning: stasis lock eminent."
"Inferno," the Transmetal T-Rex suddenly said. "Get yourself to a CR-Tank. We will discuss your failure at a later date." He waved the ant away distractedly with his tail gun.
Inferno's shattered optics registered surprise at this unexpected reprieve, but he did not question his good fortune. He stood slowly and painfully, several severed wires in his chest sparking. "Thank you, Majesty."
"Oh, and Inferno," Megatron continued, bringing the ant to a halt. "Take these two with you." The tyrant pointed at the stasis locked Quick-Strike and the barely conscious Waspinator.
"As you wish, Royalty." Inferno leaned forward and grabbed the Fusor by his snake arm. Dragging the badly damaged Predicon behind him, he kicked Waspinator in the side.
"Get up, Drone," he hissed. "The Royalty commands it!"
"Oooo… Wazzpinator haz headache in hiz whole body!" the wasp moaned, slowly standing and following the ant as he walked unsteadily in the direction of the Darkside's repair chamber.
As soon as the three had staggered out of earshot, Megatron raised his voice. "Black Arachnia, I know you are listening. Come out."
The Predicon spider gave an involuntary hiss of surprise. How had old grape-face known she was there?
She stepped out of the shadows and transformed, trying to fix a look of guileless innocence and borderline stupidity on her face. "Megatron, it is good to see you."
"Drop the charade, spider. I do not take kindly to my own troops spying on me. Nooo."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Megatron. I only just arrived here." The she-spider replied with an air of wounded dignity.
The Pred leader spoke in a voice laden with sarcasm. "Yes, I have no doubt you did." He leaned forward and fixed his intense gaze upon Black Arachnia. "On to more important matters. I trust you were able to complete the mission I assigned for you."
Sighing a little, she pulled a red recorder disk out of her subspace compartment and handed it to Megatron. "Of course. The entire battle, including the biped's dramatic rescue, is recorded here." She was now glad that she had made a copy of the recording into her data tracks. It would bear closer scrutiny later.
"Excellent, yesss."
"How did you know that the human would show up at the battle? I doubt those three idiots have figured it out," She pointed with a scorched pincer in the direction of the restoration room. "But I dislike being used as bait."
"A calculated risk on my part," Megatron said nonchalantly. "And apparently a correct one." He twirled the red disk with the fingers of his left hand.
"Leave my sight, Black Arachnia. I have much to think about. Yesss."
"As you command, my Queen," she said mockingly. She ran towards the restoration chamber, disappearing from sight before Megatron could do more than snarl at her words. Her high-pitched cackle reverberated throughout the base.
"Treacherous arachnid," the tyrant growled. Dismissing her from his mind, he inserted the disk into one of the computer consoles that hovered around his chair. The fight, seen from Black Arachnia's perspective, began to play on the screen.
The recording ended as the Maximals began to disperse. "There is more to this human than meets the eye. Yesss."
Opening a secret compartment in the armrest of his throne, he pulled out a small data disk with black and white markings.
He inserted it into the computer and watched as an incredibly complex code composed of indecipherable lettering flashed across the screen. Preparing himself for a long night, he leaned forward and began to try to unravel the code that human military scientists had spent five years perfecting.