-Look at first chapter for disclaimer.

Chapter 5: Bad Spark

It had been four weeks since the alien ship was destroyed. In that time I was mostly on patrol with Trailblazer, Cheetor, and a few times with Dinobot. There wasn't much interaction between me and the rest of the Predacons. And although I was mostly shooting at them and they were trying to capture rather than kill me –because apparently Megs suddenly took a fascination of me…I kind of cherished that sort of thing. I honed my skills in tracking and computer repair, all while learning how to construct bombs thanks to Rattrap finally giving into my charm. And by that I mean pestering him to his wits end. I added a lovely scope to my custom blaster, which was near and dear to me by then, and wore a utility belt (credit to Rhinox) that had a holster for my blaster. My feet and shins also sported boots (also credit to Rhinox) that were comprised of a special alloy that was light enough for me to sprint in, yet tough enough to resist blast damage and the terrain. As for my title of 'The Crazy Ghost Lady'…I maintained it fairly well. And it was because of my mischievous and playful nature that I eased the sad tension in the ship. Especially for Cheetor, who had finally begun seeing me as more of a big sister?

"Long range recon report: this kitty's keen sense of discovery has uncovered a mondo stasis pod. But it's thoroughly thrashed, and plowed into a load of residual energon. And it's branded with a big bad looking X!"

Speaking of which, he was my recon partner for that day. That damp and irritably cold day, I shivered as I patched in "in other words, whoever is inside is scrapped" I rubbed my arms.

:"Just hang on, I'm on my way": and so the line dropped. And just when I was about to request a coat… damn it all to the Pit I shivered some more as Cheetor landed softly next to the pod. I got off, still holding my arms.

"You okay?" he transformed to robot mode, curiously tilting his head.

I saw no reason to sugar-coat it "I'm cold. Wait, no, I'm cold and damp" I sighed.

"You should have asked Bigbot to bring a coat or something"

"He hung up before I could" I walked over to the pod, leaning against it. Cheetor did another curious head-tilt.

"…you're not scared of it…?"

No I'm not scared of him…even though I very much should be… Rampage was (strangely enough) one of my favorite characters, primarily because he was just so damn interesting. "You gave the report yourself: thoroughly thrashed, crashed in a pile of residual energon…yeah this guy's a goner" I wiggled my nose, no he's not, just jumpstart him "shame if you ask me, it would have been badass to have a soldier this big…hehehe…" I trailed off. Cheetor raised a brow and smirked.

"What are you thinking?"

"He would have been my latest victim" oh, how the tables would turn later that day "it would be hysterical seeing him jump".

A moment of silence then: "What makes you think it's a 'he'?"

"Just assuming"

So I went about walking around the area, and jogged when I got absolutely bored. As time passed and I decided that I wanted to treat the pod like a jungle gym, Optimus and Silverbolt then promptly flew in, and deterred me from doing something potentially stupid. I stayed put and tried to look innocent as Optimus walked over and picked up a leg that looked very much like it belonged to a crab, "Perhaps, it did expire".

I suppressed the urge to correct him with 'he'. And that 'he' didn't quite expire.

"What is he Bigbot?"

With a nod, Optimus went about explaining "The dark secret of Axalon's journey. It was originally an attempt to replicate Starscreams' mutant, indestructible spark-"

"Cue the eerie music" I smiled coyly.

"-with a Maximal"

Cheetor snorted "Indestructible? Eh! 'fraid not"

"Sooooo, this guy was an experiment…?" I asked with a slightly raised eyebrow, I knew the back-story, but as a 'character' I couldn't be okay with it. Optimus sighed.

"…well, it was a mistake to even try. Though brilliant, it was hopelessly treacherous and incapable of being recycled"

"It was put on the Axalon for what purpose?"

I crossed my arms and gave Optimus the expression of 'go on, I'm listening'. He sighed, again, only a little louder.

"To dump it. Somewhere far, someplace barren" yeeeah…he wasn't going to like my opinion based on the expression I gave him. I decided to test my acting.

"For the love of Primus he's a he! And why would Maximals do such a thing to one of their own? I thought you guys were the pinnacle of ethics!" I threw my hands up in the air, and was about to start throwing profanities when a loud noise, which was undoubtedly a 'fart' caught my attention. I gave Cheetor a death-glare and pinched my nose. I hadn't the slightest clue it would have smelled that bad.

"…ehehe, sorry, my Transmetal bod's been soaking up so much energon I'm about to blast one off-"

"Well then, 'blast one off' somewhere else!" I rubbed my arms; I had almost forgotten how cold I was. With a nod of agreement, Optimus then turned his attention to the pod, attempting to sneak a peek. However, his examination was cut short once a blast shook the area. Silverbolt shot Cheetor a look, the cat raised and waved his arms in defense.

"Hey, wasn't me!"

"It wasn't, look!" I pointed to an incoming Waspinator and Blackarachnia, the widow fired off rounds powerful enough to jolt the area.

"Predacons claim that protoform!" and fired off another shot, that of which sent Silverbolt sprawling onto the ground. Waspinator then fired his own rounds, which sent Optimus flying backwards. Me and Cheetor dove/ran in different directions. The kid delivered a successful dead-center shot on the wasp.

"Good shooting kiddo" I chuckled as Waspinator landed head-first into the mud.

"This is unnecessary! It's spark-"

"His spark" I was given a glance.

"-has already been extinguished, we are too late!"

Blackarachnia sneered, a look I would've loved to adopt, and readied her crossbow/blaster "pardon me if I don't buy that load monkey" and fired a shot that went right past Optimus and straight into the boulder that buried him. Not paying any attention to me or Cheetor, BA strutted right over to Silverbolt as he was still trying to get out of his stupor. I face-palmed and pointed past him.

"Yo 'Bolt! Widow alert!"

And so he ducked and the shot went straight to Cheetor, sending him flying into a cache of raw energon crystals. I backed up slowly with my gun drawn, and so I just had to be the last one standing. And what did she do? I'll give you a hint: nothing friendly. I dodged multiple shots as I ran for whatever cover was closest. Since the firing ceased, I chanced a peek, only to see Blackarachnia beating the slag out of Silverbolt and goading him into fighting her. I was tempted to start taking potshots, but given her proximity to the one I considered an older brother…I passed.

"How far are you going to carry this silly chivalry? Because this dark damsel is not impressed-!" and she kneed him. I cringed, and stepped out from behind my cover, deciding that she was far enough from SIlverbolt. I got a couple shots in before I heard the sound of a 'motorcycle' approach quickly. Tarantulas sped in, performing some kind stunt against one of the rises, and finished it with a tackle and put Blackarachnia in a headlock. I ran over to my fuzor friend and helped him to his feet.

"What…are you doing here?!" BA choked out, sounded like Chuckles had a nasty grip on her.

"You've got information I want"

I trained my weapon on Tarantulas.

"Uggh, fine Tarantulas. Here's the scoop: Megatron is a slag-sucking saurian, got it?!"

"Foolish spider, let's see if playing my shield will improve your sense of reason!"

At that moment Silverbolt decided he had had enough of the shenanigans and politely pushed me aside, he looked thoroughly ticked off, "Though threatening your own comrade is business as usual in the Predacon guide to villainy-" he suddenly lunged and pummeled Tarantulas, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him in the air "it is simply unacceptable behavior-" he punched him in the abdomen "in my book!" and threw him against the stasis pod…which triggered a violent humming as the energon crystals began reacting with the sudden force. I didn't take the time to yell 'you idiot!' in favor of running behind what appeared to be the strongest piece of cover. As soon as I was behind safety, an ear-splitting bang shook the area, and fierce winds soon danced around my cover. I held on for dear life the best I could, but the winds were ludicrously strong and my upper body strength…left something to be desired. So, I was carried away.

I did not have a pleasant nap. Or even a long one as I found myself sprawled on rocky ground. And to top it all off, I had a killer headache. I struggled to get onto my feet, with every inch of me hurting as I did. As soon as I stabilized my posture, I panned my surroundings.

Only to stop on one particular sight.

"Well, shit" I could tell the pod was empty by the slightly ajar lid. Of course I didn't dare bother take a peek; because there was no way in hell I'd have my back to those bushes (I didn't feel like taking Tarantulas' place). So I instead stretched, breathed loudly, and stretched some more. I had no idea on how yoga worked so I just did whatever I thought would be close to such a practice. Once I sat down, I crash above me caught my attention. I smirked as Tarantulas landed flat onto his back. "Way to stick the landing, buddy" he jumped up, surprised by my presence. My smirk got wider as he narrowed his yellow visor.

"…oh, it's you" he stated dryly. I rolled my eyes.

"Nooo, I'm Protoform X. Raawr"

A dead stare, then a deep sigh "Just great, I'm stuck with a lunatic". I only sniggered at the irony.

"Seriously, did you bump your head?"

"Maybe"

He shook his head and walked toward the pod. And for some stupid reason I had to say something, "Just so you know, it's empty" that stopped him dead in his tracks. He then backed away, and saw the obvious clue that the pod was indeed empty. So, he walked over to where I was comfortably seated on the ground, and sat down as well.

"So, when the protoform shows up you're not going to toss me at his feet in hopes that he eats me first are you?"

"What-"

I laughed loudly, I really did bump my head "Relax, I was joking…er –half-joking"

"Oh really"

There was a rustle in the bushes, we both stilled. I felt something, someone, grip my arm. It was Tarantulas. And once the rustling got louder Tarantulas stood up and dragged me up with him. Oh that son of a b-

"Just so you know…you gave me the idea" he chuckled sinisterly, and walked forward. I found myself being picked up once he stopped at throwing distance of the bushes.

"Tarantulas…" I said in a dangerous monotone "Don't you dare-eep!" and so I was tossed into the bushes. My world spun multiple times as I tucked-and-rolled through the merciless brush. I instantly sat up, but too quickly as I held my head. "I think I got a concussion" I mumbled, rubbing the back of my sore head. I looked down at my criss-crossed legs to find that they were blurry. Curious, I looked up to see everything that was in front of me was blurry…including a rather strange shape. I winced at what I thought may have been a leg, of a very tall person. I blinked several times before my vision cleared. Yep, that's definitely a leg, two legs actually, I dared to look up, and boy I really needed to crane my neck, to find a pair of green optics looking curiously down at me. I heard a faint chuckle behind me. Tarantulas, you will pay…

"Are you still alive?" his mocking voice drew the protoforms' attention.

I smiled, my eyes never leaving the pair of green orbs, "Yeah, very much so…if you want to kill me, try launching me off a cliff next time…" that earned a light chuckle from the bot in front of me. Okay…good first impressions…

"Is the protoform even in there?" he yelled back, sounding interested.

"No, it was just an adorable white bunny-rabbit…"

The protoform's expression shifted into an amused quizzical one. I wonder if I can get on Rampages' good side?

"You should really take a closer look…" I stood on wobbly legs "you eight-legged pain in the-" I mumbled that last part. I heard a shifting of movement, and looked up to see the protoform's hand come toward me as he kneeled down:

Pat. Pat. Right on the head. I blinked rapidly as I stood still, for just a moment…it's like my life flashed before my eyes.

"Run. I'll catch up to you soon enough" his suave deep voice echoed right next to my ear.

"Uuhm, y-yessir". And so I ran like an adorable white bunny-rabbit. In doing so, I was sure to wave at Tarantulas as I ran by the confused spider "Byehaveagreattime!". Once I was some distance away, I paused long enough to hear Tarantulas shriek, and then resumed running till I reached a suitable hiding place –a rocky outcropping. Being blown away and falling umpteen feet surely did a number on me as I found that I was extremely exhausted. The pain I was in surely being the main benefactor. I knew Rampage could read emotions, mostly acute to negative ones related to pain, and so when my eye lids grew heavy I tried my best to will them to stay open. However, I eventually succumbed to the exhaustion and pain, and lied down with a whimper.

I wasn't sure how much time passed before I woke back up. But it was quite the chunk as I had noticed it got darker out, my headache long since cleared. I could still remember things, so I surely didn't have amnesia -and thus the concussion wasn't so severe. I looked around, expecting to find a pair of malicious-green optics, but there wasn't a transmetal crab in sight. I did hear footsteps though, two pairs of them. One quicker paced, obviously shorter and in a rush, the other tailing close behind but their footfalls were slower. Curious I eased myself from the outcropping…only to barely dodge a bolt as it collided with the boulder behind me, the exploded chunks sending me harshly to the ground.

"Blackarachnia wait!" Silverbolt rushed over to help me up "she's my sister-in-arms!"

"Well she startled me!"

"Startled you?! Lady, you're an eight-legged-" A pair of black voids narrowed at me. I raised my hands up in surrender and sighed "…sorry, you guys are obviously spooked" I tilted my head "May I ask why?".

BA lowered her weapon, shivering with recollection, "…the protoform, we saw what it did to Tarantulas"

"He"

I got quizzical looks; I cleared my throat "The protoform is a he". Blank stares and the widow kept walking. Silverbolt followed closely behind as he placed me on his feathery/downy back, as I had proved that I had difficulty standing up. We didn't get far before a large transmetal crab blocked our way, bellowing out menacingly while he snapped his claws. Ohhh, so he was nearby… I was a little shocked that he just left me on that outcropping, especially with the knowledge that I was right there. The crab switched to bipedal mode and stomped forward sinisterly (and kind of acting like a zombie), which got his desired effect on BA as she screamed loudly. After he advanced backwards and set me down to the side, Silverbolt confronted X as he stepped out in front of Blackarachnia and I in a defensive stance, which did little as he was just merely swatted to the side. It was then BA's turn to damage X, but that only succeeded in making him laugh, pull out his weapon, and blast her away. I crawled away and covered my head as Silverbolt launched one of his feather javelins, but that was promptly destroyed half-way to it's target by a rocket. I stayed down as another rocket zoomed by me and hit Silverbolt dead center. I didn't dare reach for my blaster (which was still shockingly in my holster) as I heard a transformation sequence close behind me. Not even bothering to play dead as I figured I would die anyway, I watched as a massive claw lightly, yet with a grip, pick me up as the transmetal crab scuttled on over to Silverbolt and performed the same action. There was a thoughtful hum.

"Ahhh, is that…fear you are feeling Maximal? Hmmm, yes, my spark, it feeds on terror. Let it grow. Let it consume your circuitry-"

I wiggled helplessly, and in response the crab squeezed lightly. Is it me or is he being gentle? Then again, I probably look fragile compared to Silverbolt

"-Feel it. Yes, feel it! Feel the fear!"

Silverbolt screamed (a manly scream). I shot Rampage a look. Wasn't so sure if it was a dirty one…but it didn't go unnoticed. His green optics sparkled sinisterly at me as Blackarachnia yelled "Silverbolt!". I just gulped; it's my turn isn't it. Whether he wanted to or not, the crab dropped me and Silverbolt and refocused on Optimus, Cheetor and an airlifted Trailblazer. As soon as they hit the ground, they released all sorts of fiery fury (pun intended) on their target. That being enough to drive the protoform back as Trailblazer snarled "That's what you get for hurting my friends-!" his jets of flame grew exponentially stronger "-ya slag-faced Pit-spawn!" that final push drove X straight off the cliff. Everyone gathered (Trailblazer carried me) by the cliff's edge in time to see the protoform recover almost immediately, twisting certain parts of his body to shift into his tank-mode. That tank climbed up the cliff face with relative ease and fired off three rounds, all of them thankfully missing, as he progressed upward.

"I-It's unstoppable!" BA added in disbelief.

"Your persistence is futile! I rise again!"

There were footsteps behind me as a shaken, but recovered Silverbolt walked up to my right, "In that case…let's give you further to fall!" and launched a feather javelin. The projectile landed precisely between the moving gears that enabled movement of the crabs' tank treads. That being instantly effective as his progress was hindered, then stopped, and gravity pulled him backward and ultimately sent him careening down not just one cliff, but the one after that. As he fell, he got one more shot in, and the rockets' impact sent Blackarachnia flying backward a good distance away. As Silverbolt pursued her, I couldn't help but smirk, nah, she'll be fine…kind of serves as karma for shooting at me earlier…multiple times. Trailblazers' hold on me tightened.

"You okay?"

"I'll live, Ram-I mean X- didn't do much damage. If anything, this-" I gestured to all of me "was all carelessness" we both looked over to Optimus and Cheetor as they talked amongst themselves. I sighed "You know what, I'll tell you all about it when we get back to base".

With a nod, he transformed into his beast mode while carefully maneuvering me on. As we galloped off to keep up with the fliers, Trailblazer brought up a question regarding my slip-up: "So uh…you named him? You were actually going to call him something other than 'X'"

I softly chuckled, "I did. Though 'X' seems too short, how about something that describes this little fiasco? How about…Rampage?" that earned an amused snort.

"Okay…you know if you name something -er, someone- you get attached right?"

I just shrugged and kept quiet the rest of the ride.