I do NOT own Transformers: Beast Wars! I only own my OC's!

Chapter 8: The Agenda

It's been well over two months since Dinobot destroyed the golden disc, and a little over a month since I handed Transmutate to Rampage. That delicate matter known only between me and Silverbolt –who seemed to be less engaging in conversation than usual…

Optimus had long since allowed me to resume my patrol duties for whatever reason, which I found inane because I didn't understand why I had been pulled out in the first place. I had more run-ins with the Predacons during my patrols; the encounters not deviating from what they were months ago so Megs must have decided I was not 'wasted potential' as he had said back in the valley. I even apologized to Waspinator once for when Rampage shot at him, and the other Predacon that was in his company tilted his head like a confused dog (Inferno). I also had discovered that Quickstrike had a personal vendetta against me –because damn that guy could hold a grudge, and would go out of his way to try and kick my keister. I haven't seen much of the spiders, especially Tarantulas, but I made sure to always keep an eye behind me.

As for my team members, I hadn't really drifted from them. But I have noticed that their behavior had changed minimally. Particularly Rattrap, Rhinox, Silverbolt, and Optimus…I presumed it had to do with how I reacted back when we had Transmutate in our company and, perhaps, me and Trailblazer assisting Dinobot when we shouldn't have been: I was not even supposed to be off ship, whereas Trailblazer hadn't returned to the ship after his patrol in favor of tracking me and Dinobot. I was also very aware of my demeanor after those events, which liked to switch between friendly when I was around Trailblazer, Cheetor, and Dinobot to quiet (speaking only when I really needed to) when I was around Optimus and Rhinox. I didn't joke around with Rattrap as often as I used to and being around Silverbolt was just plain awkward given his distrust in me. Oh well.

"The trans-warp explosion wave front should be entering Cybertronian space now. They'll be detecting it within a few cycles…" Rhinox spun in his chair to face us "…this is it. We're going home"

Excited whispers quickly escalated into giddy shouts. Everyone either whooping or doing a little jig, whereas I merely smiled, that façade not even breaking even when Rattrap hopped up on Silverbolt and kissed the side of his head –something that any other day I would have found to be 'laugh out loud' material. I felt so out of place, mainly because I was nervous with the idea of heading to Cybertron. Maybe I'll get transported back to my reality before that happens and because I had some knowledge on the Beast Wars 'sequel' series, I winced.

"Cybertron…the home I've never known…"

"Ohhhh you are gonna love it! I know dis little place where you can get dirty mech fluid mixed with just a touch of radium that will take your head right off! And not only dat but eh…" Rattrap glanced over to a curious Cheetor and leaned in closer to Silverbolt to whisper "…not only that but the servant bots are walking around minus dere torso plates you know what I mean?" …something that I did (unfortunately) hear as he rubbed his palms together in anticipation. I wonder how many bars he's been kicked out of, I suppressed a snort as Silverbolt shifted his gaze to the side uncomfortably.

"Ah yes, a veritable mix of culture and refinement. How can I refuse…" there seemed to be an air of sarcasm in the fuzors' words as he walked off.

"Hey! If you took dat broomstick out of your tailpipe every once and a while you might have some fun for a change!" and Rattrap certainly caught a whiff of it.

"Ahhh forget him big R! We can go to The Six Lasers over in the Cybertron amusement park! There's this-"

I face-palmed as Trailblazer began to snicker.

"-Space Slide and the Galaxy Coasters and-!"

"Kid-" Rattrap held up a palm "don't make me hurt ya" and wagged his index finger.

I patted Cheetors' shoulder and waltzed tiredly over to my seat to start my early morning shift for monitor duty. My eyes did a quick once-over of the trans-warp front calculation on Rhinoxs' monitor, a few minutes you say?

My foggy mind refused to keep track of time as it slipped by my focus. The voice on the other end of the consoles' radio not being registered until its' owner decided to raise his voice: "-anyone in there?"

Oh sh- "sorry 'Bolt" I deactivated a portion of Sentinel so the fuzor could enter home base. Once the lift reached its peak and Silverbolt walked through, I gave an apologetic smile "I must really be out of it today huh?"

"We all know of your space-outs lil' miss Astro-Head" Rattrap snarked beside me, I slapped him gently with a grin. He seemed to be getting back to the habit of teasing, something I was glad for.

"About time you got back, Sentinels on full alert" Optimus lightly scolded Silverbolt as he walked over behind Rattrap and myself.

"Is there any trouble?"

"It's now or never for Megatron. If Cybertron shows-"

"You think he'll try to take hostages?!" Cheetor seemed very hyper. But then again, the kid was always hyped.

"I'm praying that's all he does"

I wanted to say something to break the tension, but found that I couldn't, early shifts sometimes did not mix well for me. I kept my eyes trained on my monitor as Silverbolt sat down next to me, and that unsettling feeling in my stomach increased ten-fold as Rattrap decided to float over: "Sooooo uh, where've you been bird-dog?"

"Scout patrol" the fuzor stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah yeah, scoutin' the enemy…find any new positions-?"

"Why-"

I had to launch myself from my seat as Silverbolt lunged at Rattrap, my presence obviously not being put into consideration. And because they were close-by, Rhinox, Optimus, and Trailblazer rushed in:

"Hey-!"

"What's going on here-?!"

"The Pit-!" Trailblazer was by my side in an instant and helped me to my feet "You almost flattened her you dog-faced jerk!"

"Trailblazer it's fine-!"

"Fine? He just went postal on me and nearly crushed you-!" Rattrap whined from beneath Silverbolts' clawed foot.

"Enough!" Optimus shouted "Silverbolt? What happened?"

"I…I overreacted, my humblest apologies"

Overreacted is an understatement, I shakily grasped Trailblazers' waist.

"Believe me I know Rattrap can have that effect. But now is not the time, get back to your posts…" we went to our respected places –Trailblazer insisted he wanted to stand by me. As I focused back on my computer, I heard Rattrap mutter under his breath; "ehe, think I touched a nerve". And so we got back to work.

"I want you all to stay alert, report any motion and any unusual readings. The attack will come, but it will be subtle"

I glanced over to Optimus as he strained his optics on the strategy hub, doing what we were all doing for the past few minutes. And by 'subtle' the attack is going to be in the form of rockets hitting our damn shield, my thoughts went to Rampage and I grinned, courtesy of CrabbyCakes. I braced myself as the whole place quaked violently, any bot seated or not seated, was thrown to the ground. I was no exception as I hit the floor hard, I'm really gonna kick his ass for this…somehow. I held my head as the power in the room flickered.

"Like I said…subtle"

I pulled myself near the monitor and reported "Shields at forty percent and falling…" I shot a worried look toward Optimus.

"External auto-guns online" he typed in the command. The mechanical whine of the auto-guns being enabled could be distantly heard as a few other Maximals gathered behind me to see the status of our defenses. Which were then destroyed one by one, such a bummer…

"Now what do we do?"

"Well given our proximity, I breathe through my mouth"

I chuckled at Silverbolts' witty retort, it was barely audible, but it was heard.

"Ey!" Rattrap narrowed his optics at me, a very slight smirk graced his faceplates "…it wasn't that funny"

"Yes it was-" I squeaked as I was thrown to the side by more explosions. I didn't bother get back on my feet as the base continued to rock violently. Someone's really letting loose, I latched onto the strategy table for dear life, everyone giving me distance in fear of crushing me as they all attempted to maintain balance themselves. A few of them, Cheetor, Silverbolt, and Rhinox whom were the nearest to the computers, started to frantically report:

"Shields at twenty percent and falling!" Silverbolt exclaimed over the alarms.

"And we're losing weapons systems power!"

"Back-up grid online but it won't last!"

At that time Dinobot barreled into the room, his faceplates fixed in a scowl, "What the Pit-?!" he roared as he was tossed against the wall by good old Physics. The raptor quickly shook off his disorientation and leaned against a CR chamber.

"Any sign of Cybertronian ships?"

I rushed to the computer nearest to me; the radar showed nothing "Not a single blip!" (but I knew better). My legs trembled with the ground, I should just tell them –get your priorities straight!

"Then stand ready team! We may have to-ah!" and so our fearless leader was launched right into the nearest lift, and mere moments after that, the explosions ceased. Everyone stood at the ready as we all looked amongst ourselves, confused being an understatement in such a moment. Rattrap walked up beside me to look at the radar.

"What the heck just happened?"

"We had…help"

I tilted my head to one side "That can't be right, I scanned across the board" I felt a poke;

"Then what would you call this?" Cheetor pointed to a sleek black ship as it landed gracefully. A really fancy ass ship that's gonna spell trouble for us –sigh…

"A stealth vessel?" Dinobot piped from across the room.

I heard footsteps come up on my right. It was Trailblazer "Stay close, somethin' ain't right" he said with a whisper.

"Lower the shields"

"What?! Please tell me that new brain of yours is still under warranty, that-" Rattrap pointed to the mysterious ship "ain't no Maximal ship".

Trailblazer put a protective arm around me.

"If they wanted to attack us Rattrap they would have done so already. Lower the shields"

"Sentinel standing down" Rhinox announced.

After that, we waited and Trailblazers' hold did not loosen. Another few moments passed before Silverbolt hummed: "Hmm, strange. One would think a greeting would be the next step"

"Tried all the hailing frequencies, but with no response-"

The nose hatch suddenly opened, startling us all. Enter Ravage

"Scanners?"

"Nothing out there, nothing. Ohhh man, this is gettin' weirder and weirder"

Silverbolt sniffed the air loudly, "I smell something-" the fuzor pulled out a feather-blade "-someone is here…someone we can't see"

"I knew it" Trailblazer mumbled as we inched towards Dinobot "He's here"

There was a gasp as everyone then aimed up at the hatch. Two red lasers skimmed over us all, I readied my blaster as they continued to peruse the room. Please don't shoot my hands…please don't shoot my hands…

"What do you think it is big-bot?"

"Not what; who" Trailblazer corrected, his cobalt optics trained on the opening. Optimus nodded, "After the Great War a few Decepticons were granted amnesty. Most of them retired, but rumor has it one was reprogrammed and rebuilt…as a Predacon!"

Gunshots flew across the room and disarmed us all (the round thankfully didn't find my hand). The air at the opening shimmered as whatever cloaking device was hiding Ravage deactivated. There was a deep, rumbling laugh as a black and grey Predacon with feline features revealed himself after touching down on the floor.

"Ravage" Trailblazer mumbled, acknowledging the Decepticon. The cat-like Predacon laughed some more as he holstered his weapons.

"You will pardon my shooting the weapons out of your hands. I only wish to avoid any regrettable accidents onto a person…" red optics briefly glanced at me.

"Neeyea? Well next time try the front door" Rattrap sneered.

"Rattrap please"

"Please? Oh for bootin' up cold! The only thing worse than a stinkin' Pred-" Dinobot shot a death-glare "-is a stinkin' Decepticon"

"Shut up Rattrap" Optimus palmed the smaller Maximal "Forgive us, we've been fighting Megatron a long time"

"For which the Predacon alliance is deeply apologetic, I assure you. This is why I am here-" Ravage stood to attention "covert agent Ravage at your service"

Ravage shot another glance at us. Dinobot snarled, I could only guess that he wasn't too pleased with the former Decepticon coming to our aid either. I always wondered how he would react to Ravage…guess it should have been obvious…

"Wait, where are the Maximals?" I refocused on Rhinox as he pointed a digit at Ravage.

"I'm afraid the trans-warp wave was very weak. Only the Predacon sensors detected it. You understand we prefer to handle this situation…discreetly…"

There were suspicious glares all around.

"…I will say; some of you look different than I was expecting, and…is that a human?"

I waved. Tempted to ask how Soundwave was doing.

"We've had some interesting times, and as for the woman, she's with us"

"Oh?"

"Maybe when there's time I'll explain everything. But right now, we need to launch an assault on Megatron"

"Finally!" Dinobot didn't bother mask his eagerness.

With another glance, this time at Dinobot, Ravage chuckled. Red eyes scanned the whole room before they rested on Optimus "Eager lot this is no?" the Predacon/Decepticon activated his jetpack and flew toward the nose hatch "Then let's get to work".

And got to work we did. Not even a minute passed before we all left through the lifts to regroup with Ravage on his ship. As the cassette-con calibrated his ship's systems in anticipation of take-off and everyone else fidgeted with their weapon or spaced out, Trailblazer lightly pushed me to the back of the group; "This is gonna be a long trip, wanna play a game?"

"Sure". And with the go-ahead, he pulled out a deck of funny looking cards.

We played for a fair measure of time. Afterward, we started to chat about small things which slowly became bigger details related to Trailblazers' life before he became a soldier. The tales from his childhood were probably what captivated me the most, I even felt some tears roll down my cheeks for that duration. Eventually we transitioned into talking about his mischievous antics while he was looking for a decent career, and by Primus; Trailblazer was quite the troublemaker when he was in his late adolescence. However, the revealing of one's personal life soon came at a price:

"So I spilled mine…" cobalt optics narrowed, a sure sign that he smiled underneath that mouth-guard "Time to spill yours". Yes, he caught me off guard.

Damn it! He's good…luring me in like that, but what will I tell him? I'm no good at lies, and he's a walking lie-detector! I shit-you-not, the guy was fluent in body language and facial expressions. "Oh…okay then, where do I begin…" I hummed. I don't really have anything worth telling-

"Hey guys whatcha talking about?!"

We both jumped/yelled at Cheetors' harmless inquiry. I would have hugged the cat and blessed him, but composed myself with the reminder that that would have been a very rude thing to do in Trailblazers' presence.

We spent the rest of the ride in silence. As we neared the Darksyde, everyone stirred as they readied their weapons: "So this is it. We just blast our way in and finish this thing"

"Fast and final. I don't want Megatron going anywhere"

"This ship is our advantage. Cloaking now" Ravages' hands flew over the controls, and with the command, gradually cloaked everything and everybody, talk about not being able to see your hand in front of your face, "Oh, and we have one other advantage as well"

I took deliberate steps backward.

"Let's do it" Optimus got his game-face on. Well, everybody did.

After hearing a clean 'click' followed by a mechanical shifting, I found that I was free-falling. And considering I chose to do so, I splayed my limbs and grinned with pure maniacal satisfaction:

"Wooohooo!"

"Silverbolt grab her!" it was a shame it had to end so quickly though. I needed to keep in mind not everyone shared my foresight.

"On it!" an arm wrapped around my waist as Silverbolt dove down and maneuvered around the AA rounds that flew toward us. Once he found a spot, the fuzor then quickly deposited me onto firm ground, "Stay safe!" and proceeded to fly off. But I wasn't alone as a large red Transmetal horse cantered up to join me.

"Need a lift-?"

Another Maximal landed on his head close-by. Me and Trailblazer cringed as we heard the metal crunch, "Hey Cheetor you okay-?" the cat's jets suddenly activated and launched him straight into a boulder. And as cruel as it may be, we both laughed, because we honestly couldn't help ourselves. After we gathered our composure, we then walked over to a KO'd Cheetor, who turned out to be not KO'd at all as the agile Maximal quickly hopped to his feet with his weapon raised. Trailblazer snorted.

"Easy kid"

"…sorry..." we all heard buzzing. Waspinator halting as soon as he saw he was outnumbered. His bug-eyes contemplated whether or not he really wanted to open fire, though it wasn't as if he got to make that decision as Cheetor made that choice for him "You're all mine Bug-Boy-!"

But failed miserably as a hidden turret popped out and blasted him.

"Slag!" Trailblazer seized my waist as he dove for the nearest cover, the rounds whizzing by his head.

"That automated turret was a damn ninja!" I peeked around the corner to see Waspinator blow a raspberry at a downed Cheetor, oh ho how unsportsman-like! My arm and hand acted on their own as I promptly blew the wasp to smithereens. Trailblazer took that chance to toss an incendiary grenade at the turret and destroy it, and maybe some more parts of Waspinator. The universe really does hate that guy…

"Hey-"

I looked into cobalt optics.

"-don't space-out on me now, the war's almost over"

"Yes sir"

Once we caught up with Optimus and Silverbolt, we needed to immediately find cover as Ravage opened fire on the Darksyde. The sheer force of the rounds meeting the ship sent tremors throughout the periphery, and when the bombardment was over, Ravage landed his ship. Shortly after that, Optimus, Rhinox, and Rattrap all hurried inside with Ravage in tow. "Should we head inside?"

"I don't think it's safe to crowd too many of us in there" Trailblazer patted my back "For now we'll wait and see what happens". Good call, I don't feel like sweating my tits off…

Megatrons' sorry skidplate was tossed behind bars, on Ravages' ship anyway, as expected. Not that I enjoyed it because 1) I needed clearance to waltz into Ravages' fancy-ass ship just to mock Megatron and 2) I knew of the deal Megatron would strike with the Predacon cat. So I just had to make do with sitting in the fueling room in deep thought.

"Just so you are aware, that cup will not empty just by gawking at it" Dinobot raised an optic ridge.

"Sorry I was…thinking" thinking about home, the finale, etc… "…about many things"

"Oh…?"

"What are your thoughts on Ravage?"

The raptor snorted "I am convinced Optimus has made a foolish move…especially with handing Ravage the responsibility of confining Megatron. We have a brig here on the Axalon do we not?" he asked the last part rhetorically, so I only shrugged. We sat for another few minutes in complete silence as I finished my apple.

"…so you wouldn't have happened to have seen Silverbolt around here would you? He disappeared shortly after we brought in Megatron"

"You ask such a thing as if I'm the fuzors' babysitter"

"I'll take that as a no"

The grumpy warrior just shook his head.

Later, after I had left the kitchen, I went about searching for the White Knight. Only to eventually bump into Cheetor…

"On my way Big B-Whoa!" literally "Hey Cass! What's up?"

"Trying to solve the mystery that is Silverbolt. Have you seen him?" I rubbed my forehead since it was the point of impact.

"Oh uh, he's in his room" he gestured for me to follow him "You wanna go say 'hi'? I was going to say a few things myself" we both continued to walk. In a matter of two minutes, we reached the fuzors' quarters. Cheetor knocked lightly "Uuhh, Silverbolt?"

"You in there big fella?" I asked, my question answered as I heard footsteps…

"Yes" and got a reply.

"Uh…I uh, just kinda wanted to say I'm sorry about all this-" Cheetor apologized, stepping closer to the door.

"What happened?"

There was a sigh on the other side of the door "…I was confined to quarters…"

"…yeeeah that, well I promise I'll bring her in with minimal damage okay?"

I poked Cheetor. Yes, I was being nosy "Who? Blackarachnia?"

"…Yep…"

"Well that is very considerate of you Cheetor…and I am sorry too"

"For…for what?"

I backed away from the door, an uneasy feeling in my gut.

"…for…THIS!" Silverbolts' silver fist punched through the door and landed right onto Cheetor's jaw, which knocked the transmetal cat straight into the wall. I watched with a frown as Silverbolts' room door opened. The fuzor casted an apologetic glance my way before walking over to Cheetor, whom was still conscious. You're lucky I'm letting this happen for the plot's sake!

"You alright Cheetor?" the fuzor bent down. I rushed over like a concerned friend would.

"Y-yeah, a little dizzy, but otherwise okay"

"…then I am, again, sorry"

My body stayed still as Silverbolt picked Cheetor up by the scruff of his neck and sucker-punched him hard enough to send him flying through the hallway. Fortunately, that's where Rattrap walked around the corner.

"Why you sucker-punching spaniel!" his fist punched the emergency button. I ran toward Cheetor once the alarms started blaring, sure to give my meanest death-glare toward Silverbolt as he sprinted by me and blew a hole in the wall to make a hasty retreat.

When that fiasco was over I went back to the command center, curious as to what assignment I'd be given. Optimus and Rattrap helped Cheetor into the nearest CR chamber as I chatted with Rhinox about Silverbolt's stunt. And because he was sitting right next to us, Trailblazer face-palmed "That guy…"

"Should we go repair the breach?" I asked Rhinox. It was better to get it done sooner than later, and besides, it meant bonding time with the boys.

"I'll join you"

Some time passed as the four of us worked on cleaning up the fuzors' mess. Rattrap stayed in the command center to keep tabs on Optimus and a recovered Cheetor as they went to search for our troublesome pup.

"So will any of you enlighten me on what the Pit is brewing in that fuzors' microscopic processor?" Dinobot welded the last bit of scrap metal of our make-shift patch.

"Heck if I know" Trailblazer cracked his knuckles "but he owes an explanation after not only nearly flattening Cassie, but also punchin' poor Cheetors' lights out"

"We can only guess" Rhinox wiped at whatever liquid accumulated on his forehead "But until then, no harsh judgments" red optics focused on cobalt ones. Trailblazer shrugged dismissively as he gathered as many tools as he could carry. The rest of us followed his example.

On our way back to the command center, after putting all the tools away of course, we all heard the sound of an aircraft taking off. "Did Ravage get sick of us already?" I joked as we increased our pace. As soon as we entered the large room, we were greeted by a worried glance by Rattrap.

"So uh…good news or bad news?"

Everyone's gazes were fixed in horror as one of the monitors showed a sleek black ship soaring toward an approaching Optimus and Cheetor…with Megatron standing on top of it. Knowing all too well that was when we needed to hustle, Rhinox jogged over to the computer on Rattraps' right. I hastened over to the one on his left.

"We shouldn't have let our guard down…" Dinobot stomped closer to Rhinox "…trusting Ravage was a mistake"

"Not much we can do about it now! Let's just give Optimus and Cheetor the cover fire they need!"

Aye aye Captain Rhinox

Our shields continued to take the brunt of the explosions. In return, their integrity faded fast, "Not sure if the shields can handle anymore of that" I commented as an especially powerful blast rocked the ship.

"Just so that it's long enough" Rattrap walked over to the hidden weapon cache in the ceiling and grabbed a few explosives.

"What are you doing?!"

"This mouse is goin' cat hunting! Vehicle mode-!"

"Rattrap wait!" I ran up to the bomb cache and grabbed a few bombs myself and sat myself on Rattraps' vehicle mode "Pint-sized back-up wants to tag along"

"Hehehe alright lil GhostLady; Maximum Burn!" as Rattrap did a burn-out and proceeded to shoot up an incline leading to the nose hatch, Trailblazer waved and shouted.

"Screw that ship up!" his red frame becoming smaller as we shot through the two openings of the nose hatch itself and the ship's shield, and right onto Ravages' ship. The landing was not the most graceful as both our bodies tucked-and-rolled along the cold dark metal.

"I didn't know the ship would catch us did you?" big fat lie, I may have taken such an opportunity to bond with Rattrap more, considering me and the rat had not talked often the last two deca-cycles. The rat Maximal smiled "Ehehehe maybe" we then hurried over to a make-shift patch on the vessel. The discoloration easily observed as Rattrap pulled out a torch and got to work, but that was a futile effort when the torch proved faulty.

"You have any torches on ya sista?" it was genuine question, not one bit of attitude in it. It was a shame I didn't have a spare torch though.

"…no sorry…" shoulda grabbed a torch instead of more bombs, Primus knows Rattrap already had plenty, I smacked my forehead, genius of the century, folks.

With a huff, Rattrap stood up "All right ya stinkin' piece of Decepticon cheese, let's see how stand up against this stainless steel rat! Hehe" and with a swift transformation he bore down on the patch and ripped it off. It was a tight fit, especially with the inner-workings of the ship in the way. "Ladies first?" Rattrap swayed his arms in a gentlemanly manner. With a smirk, I pulled out my blaster and blew away a good portion of the frame-work, leaving a hole just big enough for me to reach the inside.

"Why thank you sir, I appreciate your chivalry" and then I climbed, using a cable to rappel on down. Once I got halfway, I heard a voice; Ravages' voice.

:"Maximal shields are down. Tarantulas, all power to weapons":

I heard the sickening chuckle of the transmetal spider and hastened my progress. Not on my watch, oh man what if he does succeed because I was too slow. I need to get my ass in gear! There was a mechanical whine, shitshitshitshitshit I loosened my grip to the point where I was falling down the hole. My momentum easily took out any of the ship's panels/wires that were weakened by my earlier shot. As I crashed through, I startled Tarantulas as a sinister grin stretched across my face "Eat 'em and weep you cackling crackpot". Tossing all my bombs in his direction, I yanked on the cable I was still dangling from. There was little delay as my partner effortlessly pulled me to the top, the explosion underneath my toes sending me flying across the ship. "Cassie!" my eyes widened in surprise at Rattraps use of my actual nickname "-up here!" he pointed to the missile. I gave him an incredulous look, but did not argue as I clambered onto the massive war-head that was to be our escape. Hope this goes as well for me as it did for him!

"Not really an escape method for sane people, just to let you know" I wrapped Rattrap in a death-grip as the ship plummeted to the ground. As we fell, I waved at Rhinox as he leapt out of the way of our descent, the ship meeting the ground where he was moments before. I was very certain he gave a thumbs-up.

"Yeeeeeehaw!" Rattrap cracked his tail whip as the ship scraped across the ground and closed in quick on Rampage. As the ship advanced toward a group of rocky spires we saw that as our opportunity to get the heck off. We both leapt off, the fall thankfully not hurting so much since Rattrap cushioned my fall.

"Ya know, ya may be tiny…"

"Shut up Rattrap" I pushed myself off the rat and with a smile, held out my hand. With his signature grin, the shortest of the Maximals pulled himself up. "Let's go find Rhinox"

We didn't get very far before an explosion caught both of us off guard. The force sending us soaring through the air. NonononononononononoI'mgonnadie! Notlikethis! Ohgoodnessafteralli'vebeenthroughthiscan'tbetheend- my dramatic thoughts paused as I felt someone catch me. I slowly opened my eyes to see that Dinobot had caught me. And across from us, Rhinox had caught Rattrap, as he had done in the show. The rat snickered.

"Ahhh, ehehe my…hero!" and smooched Rhinox on his cheek.

The rhino dropped the rat "Oh get down". I chuckled and shifted my gaze to Dinobots' red optics, a mischievous grin spreading –only to disappear once the raptor dropped me.

"Don't even try it"

Rubbing my posterior as I stood up, I smiled as I saw that everyone was present, everybody but Silverbolt. He's still not back from helping his lady…

"Whelp there goes our ride home"

"Guess it's over…for now"

"No chance, something turned that Decepticon against us. And Megatron isn't headed back to his base; we've got to stop him! Flight mode!"

And there he goes… Cheetor transformed next to me and Rattrap climbed onto his beast mode.

"Rhinox get on!" Optimus swerved his board over toward the rhino-former, whom looked very skeptical, "Yes, now hurry!"

"Okay you two, get on" Trailblazer transformed as he instructed me and Dinobot to get on. Once Dinobot hopped on, he outstretched his claw to hoist me up –Optimus held out a palm. What?! I wanted to go to Mount St. Hilary too!

"I'm sorry Cassandra, but you're in no condition to come with us"

I did a quick examination of my body. Oh my… its' condition was worse than I had expected. Or felt.

"…we also need someone to keep an eye on the Axalon"

I frowned, but gave an understanding nod "Aye aye captain" and shuffled toward the Axalon, maybe I can stop Crabby from pulling the Axalon into the ocean. I waved a goodbye to all the boys as they headed off, not yet aware of how dire their situation was. They'll find out, I shivered as Optimus Prime's half-blown head flashed across my mind. For now, I'll take a nap, I winced in pain as I finally registered the pain I was in and made slow steps, anxious but also in no hurry to cross the gorge before I passed out.

As soon as I was in close proximity to the ship –and not in the damn thing, I found a nice spot in the shade to rest. Too lazy to call Sentinel, let alone haul myself onto the lift. Just gotta be sure Rampage doesn't spot me…that can't be too hard can it? I repositioned so I had my back on the rock, and the rock blocked me from view from where the arachnoids and CrabbyCakes would be.

And now, I rest…