Sparks Exposed

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AN: This might explain why Megatron suddenly became so obsessed with stealing Sparks in the Beast Machines series. Hopefully, it will also provide a decent background into Meg's future descent into complete insanity.

This takes place sometime around the end of season 2, minus Dinobot's death ('cause we need him). Centric around four characters: Dinobot, Rattrap, Cheetor and Optimus.

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Chapter One: Need For Violence

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The shadows of Megatron's creations cast over his polished Transmetal form. His face disturbed only by a shady, conceited grin that help promise for undeniably vicious intent, the Predacon leader reclined back in his seat while his underlings prepared themselves for the next stage of his ultimate plan.

"Tarantulus," he said, his deep voice booming. "Report on the status of my…" Detecting the spider's deadly glare, Megatron decided to be charitable this one time. "Very well…our delightful pair of mechanical marvels, would you?"

Bristling at the stronger Predacon's condescending tone, Tarantulus hovered over his controls and pulled up the respective status screen. "Scans are showing significant improvements in Energon field tolerability, just as I said they would. Both are in perfect condition to be…er, graced with the finishing touches."

"Yes," said Megatron, quite pleased with himself. "But I'm afraid there's been a change in plans. After all, it would be such a waste of…erm, Predacon talent this way. Instead, I've decided to test them using the Maximals."

"What?" cried the outrages spider-bot. His face squinted dangerously as he faced the Predacon leader. "And deliver our strongest weapons into the hands of our enemies?"

"Do I look like a complete fool, you eight-legged parasite?" Megaton snapped. "My finest ingenuity went into this scheme, and I'd sooner devour my own Spark rather than let these weapons fall under Maximal control!" His fiery glowering ceased to a mere smoldering stare. "No, let us call this an…experiment, if you will. One that will prove most useful if it succeeds…yes."

Tarantulus's many optics traveled to the odd-shaped device the length of his arm on the platform in front of his two newest creations. Its purpose was originally intended for the incompetent Waspinator and Inferno, but the maniacal glint behind Megatron's demeanor suggested that this piece of machinery would be put to a much better use.

Much to his character, the arachnid cackled to himself, wondering why he hadn't considered this line of reasoning before. Of course the Maximals would prove to be much more…convenient suppliers than their own, dim-witted counterparts. If he hadn't loathed the saurian so deeply, he might have commended Megatron for his spur-of-the-moment brilliance.

Of course, with the two new toys in his possession, Megatron would soon be the least of his problems—a mere purple smear in the dust, perhaps. Very soon, the Predacons will pay homage to their true leader—him!

Megatron was ignoring plotting spider-bot. His attention averted to his other minions. "Inferno! Waspinator! Quickstrike! Come before me!"

Unsurprisingly, the flaming red 'bot was hovering and saluting the disgruntled saurian within the next instant. The lagging Waspinator buzzed in slowly a few moments later, drooping with the impending dread over certain destruction that would soon come. The scorpion-cobra hybrid skittered out of his hole across the desolate chamber, anxious if only for the possibility of a massacre.

Inferno bowed deeply in mid-air. "My Queen! What humble duty can your servant fulfill for you on this, the most glorious of occasions?"

The Predacon leader forced himself to ignore the demoralizing feminine title and focused on his gleeful task at hand. "Yesssss…you three. I have a 'special' assignment for you…"

-

The season had turned to rain. Above the Axalon, the skies opened and flooded the canyon with sheets of water, bringing down a storm that would only be succeeded by more storms. There was no end to this nature. Dust turned into mud, trenches into rivers and plateaus into sponges. It turned everyone's mood against each other.

It started when the relay detected a Predacon signal approaching the Axalon from the edge of their boundaries. The entire base was jerked to life by Optimus—the first to join the assembly was Dinobot, who was always prepared to strike out at their enemy.

Rhinox and Rattrap were already present. With Silverbolt and Cheetor yet to return from their scouting excursion, and Optimus still in need of recovery from their last Predacon skirmish, only the remaining three Maximals were fit to do anything about the sudden invasion. By the looks of things, three Maximals might very well be too large an army for the situation.

Dinobot, in beast form, snarled. "Ha! It is only a single Predacon! Allow me to intercept the intruder myself! There will be only molten slag left of him by the time I am finished!"

"Absolutely not," Optimus said firmly. "No doubt Megatron knows about Silverbolt and Cheetor's expedition and wants to take advantage of the situation. It might be a trap."

"What are you saying?" the former Predacon snapped challengingly. "That you will simply…allow them to attack us?"

"I didn't say that," the Maximal leader replied. "The others are too far away to do any Predacon chasing right now. I'll head out to meet our guest myself."

"You," growled Dinobot, "are in no condition to battle a common computer virus let alone a fully armed 'bot!"

"Y'know, for once…" said Rattrap, lifting his hands in a helpless gesture. "I agree with ol' Chopperface here, fearless leader. You might wanna consider…lettin' 'im go this time?"

The rare and precious display of Rattrap's logic circuits had the bridge drenched in silence. Optimus stared at the much smaller 'bot and hummed thoughtfully. "Fine. You, Rattrap, will go with Dinobot and watch his back. If this is a Predacon trap, I'm counting on you to do that rational thing for once and contact us before you get in over your head."

"'Ey! Since when do I ever do anythin' rational?" Rattrap denied, but didn't argue with his order. He spun around in his chair and stood up, transforming into his beast form. "Guess that means you an' me are up for slaggin' duty, Dinobutt."

"And what precisely have I done to deserve this?" the raptor demanded of Optimus.

"I need Rhinox here to monitor the other Predacons," the collected reply came. "Besides, you and Rattrap are the only ones who have personal experience with the enemy. Is there a problem?"

Dinobot considered for a moment, then replied darkly, "No." Without so much as a word of dismissal, he turned and stalked away. After he'd taken the lift and lowered outside the ship, Rattrap scuttled towards Optimus and lifted his head to gaze up at him.

"Don't cha worry, boss monkey, I'll look after 'im," the navigator promised with a wry smirk. He started to leave, but the 'boss monkey's voice froze him dead in his tracks.

"It's not him I'm concerned about. It's you." This was probably not meant in a nice way either, considering the Maximal leader's tone as he said it. "You've been disappearing more and more frequently just in the past while. Now I'm not sure exactly what it is you're doing that's so important, but I don't approve of it interfering with your responsibility, Rattrap."

The accusation (which was only partially true) caught the rodent like a heap of bricks over the head. "What in three flavours of cheese is that s'posed to mean?"

"It means you'd better start thinking about what's more important to you—the team, or your own leisure time," Optimus translated sternly. "We're still at war, Rattrap, and that means you have to contribute just as much as everyone else. Do you understand?"

Even though he could tell the lecture hurt the smaller robot, Optimus felt no remorse over his words. If they were to continue functioning as a group effectively, he had to make sure everyone was ready to drop what they were doing and prepare for battle at any moment. Rattrap was, at this time, the only one who seemed to be out of sync with the rest of the Maximals. And with the Predacons being as inactive as they were, he knew they had to be preparing something big—something that would take everyone's best efforts to repel.

"Eeyah, sure" Rattrap said curtly. "I get it. Anytin' else I can getcha while I'm out riskin' my tail for the 'team', Optimus Put Down? Some groceries, maybe?"

"Just do you job," came the cool reply. "We'll finish this discussion later."

"Heh, not if I can help it," the rat retorted. Before Optimus could reprimand him, he climbed onto the turbolift and vanished from sight. This left the Maximal leader heaving an unhappy sigh, wishing he had the faintest idea of what went on inside the annoying little navigator's processor.

"Asking him to change is like teaching a Predacon table manners," Rhinox commented, always the one to be the neutral negotiator. "It won't do any good now. Wait until this is over—then you can bend his skid plate in half."

Optimus nodded grimly. "I suppose. If only I had Dinobot's brashness when it comes to these things. It would certainly make dealing with Rattrap a lot easier."

"Actually, that would probably be more effective against Dinobot," the amused reply came. "But I know I'm glad I'm not in charge."

You should be, Optimus said silently, turning away from the front of the ship. His circuits were still twitching from his last scramble with the Predacons just megacycles ago. He'd thought he'd damaged them enough to grant them at least a few solar cycles of peace.

Apparently not.

He felt confident, at least, that Megatron wouldn't have enough fully operational troops to perform a full-scale attack. Whatever this Predacon was doing, it was probably acting alone. Dinobot and Rattrap were more than sufficient means to rid them of this pesky invader.

But even as he stared upon the CR chamber, an unsettling feeling formed in the pit of his Spark. He only hoped it was part of his damaged circuitry.

-

High above the cracked plateau, the two insectoid Predacons hovered in great anticipation. Far below them traveled two solitary Maximals, wandering unwittingly into the trap laid out by the Predacon duo as per Megatron's instructions. The first stage of their long-awaited goal was about to take place.

"Wwwwazzpinator thinks we should attack now!" the flying metallic Predacon complained, buzzing with eagerness. "Maximals too stupid to discover Wazzpinator's great plan!"

"Shut up, you bumbling moron!" Inferno hissed, clanking Waspinator over the head with his weapon. "This is the Royalty's plan! It will be carried out exactly as my Queen demands it!"

"But Wazzpinator wants—"

But no one ever heard what Waspinator wanted, for a moment later, the Predacon's trap sprung. The soil in front of the Maximals burst open and out sprung Quickstrike, landing on all eight legs with claws snapping, and cobra head lunging forward to attack the 'bot nearest to him.

"For the Colony!" screeched Inferno, diving straight down towards the event. Waspinator mumbled things to himself, but quickly darted after him while transforming into his slightly more lethal form.

Dinobot and Rattrap, so caught up in their own heated argument that they did not notice their pursuers, were taken off guard. The ground before them exploded in a shower of stones and dirt, knocking them both off of their feet and flat on theirs backs. Dinobot jumped up immediately, snarling and transforming into his robot form before he was even standing upright.

"What the—" Rattrap flipped himself over, still in rat form. His red eyes stared in surprise at scorpion-like threat that stood amidst the rattling debris. "Oh, look. A Predacon ambush! I'm a'reelin' wit' surprise."

"Shut up and fight, vermin!" Dinobot snarled over the sound of energy shots scorching the ground. He shot several well-aimed blasts of his laser into the sky, narrowly slicing the Predacon duo in halves.

During the moment of confusion, Quickstrike transformed into his robot form and lunged forward, claws swiping towards his nearest target. Dinobot narrowly dodged the swipe and knocked the scorpion-cobra Fuzor back, bringing his sword to an offensive position. Before he could attack, however, a red blur shot down from the sky and crashed into him at full force. The kamikaze attack was not what he was expecting—Dinobot crumpled under the force of Inferno's projectile body.

Rattrap was ducked behind a boulder for shelter, avoiding Waspinator's volley of shots. Grimacing, he drew out his pistol and swiveled his head about to glance around the edge of his hideout. A burst of green energy nearly burned off his allegorical whiskers. Realizing he was pinned down, he started to reach for his comm link. The terrible screech of metal colliding against metal stopped him.

Inferno rammed Dinobot into the ground. For a moment, neither 'bot moved, and the remaining Maximal thought for a moment that both were in stasis lock. Then the wreckage of Inferno was suddenly tossed aside, crashing against the rain-slick rocks. Dinobot stood up slowly, using the sword he'd used moments ago to slice down the fanatic Pred to steady himself.

The brief interlude was cut short by Quickstrike's raging curses. His aim was mad, driving his next laser shot off target, singeing the Saurian's shoulder rather than catching him full on. Growling, Dinobot took this opportunity to collapse behind a crude rock for cover.

"Oh, man…" Rattrap whined, tapping his comm quickly. "Rattrap ta Optimus," he said earnestly. "Come in, fearless leader!"

"Rattrap?" came not their leader's voice, but that of Rhinox. "What's happening?"

"Whaddaya mean, 'what's happenin'?" the navigator snapped hysterically. Just then, Waspinator flew overhead, cackling as he aimed a pistol in his direction.

"Ohhhh, slag!" he cried, diving to one side. The buzzing Pred's shot missed, and he turned quickly to blast away at the striped underside of his oppressor. "We've been ambushed! 'Ol Chopperface took a hit!" he informed Rhinox nastily.

"Silverbolt and Cheetor are headed your way," Rhinox said meticulously. "Can you hold out for a few cycles?"

No sooner had the transmission ended than the rock beside Rattrap's head exploded. In a dread-filled voice, Rattrap replied, "Didchya have ta ask?"

Uncannily enough, both Waspinator and Quickstrike were starting to harrow in on Dinobot's location, leaving their backs exposed to Rattrap. Being the kind of 'bot to shoot before asking questions, Rattrap took advantage of the situation and leapt after them.

Waspinator and Quickstrike converged on damaged Dinobot. He prepared to face them, gripping his sword even tighter, his eyes flashing green with anticipation. Quickstrike shot at him, laughing insanely. The beam sizzled in the rock just behind Dinobot's head. The raptor fired in return, striking a glancing blow off the scorpion's flank with his laser.

Drifting to a fro above the battleground, Waspinator crooned and bellyached to himself about the woes of his soon-to-be annihilation. "Ooohh…thingz aren't going azzz well as planned at all…"

"Waspinator!" roared Megatron's voice over his temporary comm. "Why haven't you deployed the device yet?"

"Becauzzze…Wazzpinator doesn't want to be blown up!"

"Ugh…" There was a disgruntled pause. "You will do it now, or it will be your Spark on the line, you witless insect!"

Twitching with reluctance, the buzzing Predacon grumbled something unclear, before detaching the rectangular gadget from his body. This wasn't Waspinator's job. Inferno, crazy stupid ant 'bot was supposed to catch stupid Maximal. Now Waspinator would get blown into itty-bitty pieces because stupid Inferno wasn't doing his job like he was supposed to! He fiddled awkwardly with the controls of the small invention, and made ready to drop it onto his target—

WHAM.

Something landed on his back with a loud bang, accompanied by a loud, sarcastic battle cry. Rattrap straddled the giant wasp-bot, planting his pistol against the Pred's noggin point-blank. "'Ey there, bug-breath," he jibed. He snatched the device from Waspinator's claws. "Whatchya got 'dere? Anudder one of Meg's new toys, huh?"

"Nnnoooo!" Waspinator squealed. "Give it back to Wazzzzpinatorrr…!"

"Give what back t'ya, buzz butt?" Rattrap asked innocently. "'Dis t'ing?" He crumpled the device with a careless squeeze and tossed it over his shoulder. "Oops. 'Dat won't come outta ya salary, will it?"

On the other half of the battle, Quickstrike managed to jump on top of Dinobot, pinning the raptor to the ground with his numerous claws around his neck. The weakened saurian wrestled with the Pred, snarling, but in his weakened state he was at a major disadvantage. His sword lay just out of reach, though he struggled to reach it. Laughing gleefully, the scorpion-bot slammed his snakehead down on Dinobot's outstretched arm, crushing it. Circuits shorted and metal crumpled. Dinobot bellowed in outrage.

"Noooooo! You ruin Wazzpinator's plaaannn!" screeched Waspinator high above. He dived, twisted and tumbled through the air frantically, tossing the rodent Maximal around like a sac of scrap metal. With one wild fling, Rattrap lost his grip on his pistol and his Predacon steed and plunged towards the ground below.

He didn't have far to fall. He landed with an 'oomph' onto the flat terrain. Propping himself up on one elbow and muttering bitterly about his hard luck, he then spotted the Predacon device not two arm-lengths ahead of him. The half-twisted little apparatus was blinking rapidly, emitting a high-pitched beeping noise.

"'Dis…can't be a good t'ing," he said.

Dinobot was nano-cycles away from collapsing with exhaustion, when an eruption of glaring white light, an invisible force ripped through the air and struck them full on. Quickstrike was sent flying through the air, dislodged from his damaged prey. Dinobot was smashed against the same rock he'd been using as a shield a few cycles ago. In an instant, the flash and the explosion subsided, leaving the area eerily devoid of sound or motion.

Growling his frustration, Dinobot stumbled to his feet and grimaced. His one arm suspended uselessly, mashed almost in half by the Predacon Fuzor. Quickstrike lay in a dazed pile many lengths away—his smallest concern at the moment. That explosion had been much too close to be an accident…

Rattrap, he saw, was just sprawled on the ground, most definitely out cold. Whatever that…blast had been, it had shocked him into stasis lock. Before the raptor could think to move, a green-and-yellow shape zipped downwards, latched onto the unresponsive vermin, and rose into the air with its prize.

"What?" he growled, staggering forward. His internal systems were in a state of imminent shutdown, and he ignored them accordingly. "You…will not…take him…alive, insect!" he snarled after the blurry figure of the buzzing Predacon. "Not if I…am still…able…to fight!"

But Waspinator floated by overhead, carrying with him the defeated Maximal rodent. Dinobot's extended fist closed slowly on the open air as he finally collapsed, powering down as he was forced into stasis lock. The buzzing drifted away, as the world went from a blur of colours, to a deep, black veil.

TBC