More than meets the eye (6/9/2007)

Author's notes

Sorry guys, but there will be a part 3. Everytime I think I'm going to complete it, I forget that I left something out, in this case, Prowl vs Barricade, Jazz vs Brawl, Cologne and gang vs Onslaught, even the status of Ranma, Akane and Kasumi. I'll try to cover lose ends in part 3, ETA Sunday 9/9/2007. Saturday at best. In the mean time, honour me with at least 5 long reviews OK? Like I mentioned before, I don't care about the number of reviews, its how much you review. Thanks. So without further ado:

Chapter 16: Rise of Megatron Part 2

Ratchet cautiously approached the place where the Russian fighter had crashed. He had dispersed the Amazons to the roofs of the surrounding buildings and instructed them to inform him first of the location of the Decepticon. He was especially wary, as he didn't know if it was Blitzwing or Starscream that was shot down. Both of them had very different capabilities, especially Blitzwing, when they were on the ground.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" Ratchet whispered, pointing his right gun arm straight ahead. The place where the fighter had crash was just around the corner of a building. The Autobot medic took a deep breath then swiftly went around the corner.

The jet fighter had smashed into the ground with half of it still being buried underneath. However, as soon as Ratchet appeared, the fighter started to transform. To Ratchet's astonishment, instead of transforming into a humanoid form, the fighter had instead transformed into a T-72 Russian tank that now turned on its tracks to face him.

"Blitzwing! All Amazons, fire! Do not, I repeat, do not engage in close combat!" Ratchet snarled and promptly started firing with his gatling gun. From above and below, multiple RPGs were launched and even a few chi-enhanced spears and axes were thrown at the tank. However, the tank's armour withstood the barrage even as it levelled its main cannon at Ratchet. The Autobot medic quickly threw his body to the right but instead of shooting at him, the tank instead aimed for a building where several Amazons were stationed. To his relief, the Amazons merely jumped into the next building as it collapsed beneath them.

The Autobot medic turned his attention to Blitzwing who was now aiming his main cannon at him. He quickly transformed into his ambulance mode and swerved to the side to avoid the tank shell that was fired at him. The red and white ambulance with its sirens blaring weaved between the tank shots in order to get close to it. The tank similarly was moving to close the gap between itself and Ratchet.

At a distance of exactly twenty metres, both the ambulance and tank transformed. As they completed their transformations, both leaped towards each other to intiate close combat. Ratchet's left hand disappeared and a huge buzzsaw as wide as a church bell emerged and started spinning with lightning speed. From the Decepticon, his right hand was holding what looked like a cross between a chainsaw and a sword, the teeth of the chainsaw was rotating so fast to the naked eye, it didn't look like it was moving at all, until the chainsword and buzzsaw clashed and a terrible sound of metal scraping metal was heard followed by a shower of blinding sparks.

"Old bot, why don't you just die and take your stupid code with you?" the Decepticon said even as he punched his left fist at Ratchet only for it to be held back by the Autobot's right hand.

Ratchet winced at Blitzwing's strength. 'The young punk is right, I am getting a little too old for this shit,' he thought. "You're right, I'm really too old to teach children like you a lesson. But somebody's got to!" Ratchet retorted before he head butted the Decepticon in the face. The Decepticon cried in pain but retaliated by pulling Ratchet's body closer then kneeing him in the gut, which produced a similar cry of pain from the Autobot.

Ratchet then ferociously shoved Blitzwing forward in an attempt to topple him backwards but the Decepticon was fast on his feet and both wrestled with each other attempting to bring the other's close combat weapon down on the opponent. Ratchet was a skilled fighter in close combat but so was Blitzwing and they appeared to be in a deadlock. The Amazons did not quite know what to do as the two alien robots were a blur of wrestling shapes so they could not aim and fire their weapons properly to support Ratchet.

"How can a chump….. nurse like you be such a great fighter!" Blitzwing yelled, frustrated at his lack of success in outfighting Ratchet. The two were still locked in their original fighting position although their rolling over, pushing and pulling had put them at least a kilometre from where they started, leaving a trail of devastation and flabbergasted Amazon warriors.

"If you surrender, I'll tell you," Ratchet coolly said.

"NEVER!" Blitzwing gave up trying to use his chainsword and transformed back into a tank to force Ratchet to release him. Ratchet quickly backed away even as the tank's cannon once again searched for him. The tank cannon roared and Ratchet barely managed to dodge the shell fired. He charged and managed to close the distance between him and Blitzwing and then used his buzzsaw in an attempt to saw off the tank's turret. However, even the main cannon's armour was too strong and withstood his buzzsaw. The tank then accelerate and ploughed into a building, forcing Ratchet to jump off and at the same time, catch a few Amazons who didn't quite manage to jump to safety, including Shampoo and Mousse.

"How we beat tank-bot? Skin thicker than Ranma's skull!" Shampoo exclaimed.

"You have to aim for the joints or somehow get beneath him and shoot behind his armour. But that is suicidal, do not do so until I can immobilise him," Ratchet said grimly.

"Shoot with what? Our RPGs aren't making a dent on him whatsoever! Neither is our chi-enhanced weaponry," Mousse said exasperatedly.

Ratchet frowned. "Jazz mentioned that your friend Ranma can make powerful energy blasts with your organic chi-based energy. Can't any of you use it?"

"That's a technique only privy to the Elders. The rest of us don't know a lot about chi-techniques! Besides, Ranma's version is improvised from ours and doesn't work the same!" Mousse said.

"Fine, then go get Ranma. We're going to need him to take down Blitzwing. He can withstand all of our weaponry but I can't. Just make sure one of you replaces Ranma to protect Kasumi. I will not have our defences weakened," Ratchet said.

"Shampoo go get Airen…." Shampoo started to say but Mousse interrupted her.

"No, I will go. Shampoo is your only heavy hitter that can possibly damage the Decepticon with her heavy Bonbouris. I can get back to the castle faster and Ranma can come out to help you. Until then, keep that Decepticon occupied," Mousse said sternly before taking off.

"Mousse… let Airen fight with me?" Shampoo said in amazement.

"How many times has Kasumi said this already? This is not the time to think of the fiancée war! Now get out of the way!" Ratchet shouted when all of a sudden Blitzwing burst out of the destroyed building and charged at him. Ratchet then took Shampoo off his shoulder and threw her to another building. The raging Blitzwing then initiated another wrestling match with Ratchet.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi held back her tears as she continued to treat the ever increasing amount of Amazon wounded and dead that were being brought into the fortress. 'Now is not the time to grieve or wail the injustice of it all, now was the time for action,' she thought grimly to herself as she helped bandage the stump that used to be the left leg of an Amazon warrior. Nearby, Ranma and Akane were also helping the various Amazon doctors patch up the wounded. Akane's tears were freely flowing though whilst Ranma's face was grey and ashen at the amount of blood and gore he was now witnessing. True he had seen plenty of injuries before but they were made from punches, kicks and the occasional hand weapon, not bullets, explosions and extreme heat methods employed by the Decepticons. He also experienced something new: death. The death of Amazons right before his eyes as they succumbed to their wounds, bleeding and sometimes screaming before the grim reaper claimed them. Lifeless eyes from barely recognizable bodies being brought into the castle stared at Ranma wherever he turned and the aquatransexual was one step away from being an emotional wreck.

Kasumi injected a small dose of morphine into the Amazon she was healing and the beautiful Chinese girl, who looked no younger than Akane, gave a small smile before she slept. Kasumi then walked up to Ranma, who had gone to take water from a nearby well which was situated in another room. She found the pig-tailed martial artist drawing water but when he reached for the pail, he seemed to drop the pail back into the water. She stopped for a moment to observe Ranma drawing water and then dropping it once again. Concerned, she stepped closer to him and saw that his entire body was shaking. His fingers were trembling and the boy looked as pale as a ghost.

This time, she could not stop her tears and as Ranma tried to reach for the pail again, she walked up to him and stopped his trembling hand from taking the pail. "Please Ranma, let me do it," she said sadly and she pulled Ranma's hand away and pulled the pail to the edge of the well instead. Ranma could only dumbly watch as she emptied the well's pail water into the various pails that Ranma had brought with him.

"Kasumi…" Ranma said in a hoarse voice. "I… am so …. scared. Was your mother… like ….. any of them?" he gestured at some of the dead Amazons.

A wave of painful memories invaded Kasumi's mind as she remembered the image of her mother dying on the hospital bed. She was also covered in bandages, her body broken beyond repair by the reckless driving of another. Yet she still had the strength to reach and hold Kasumi's hand and even smile at her…….

She gripped Ranma's hand. "Yes Ranma. People die all the time especially when they fight. Sometimes, they fight for something they believe in. Like their family, their friends, their… loved ones…… Sometimes, death isn't to be feared but to be accepted as a natural part of life. It is never easy, and death will forever seem pointless and unnecessary."

She then pulled Ranma to her and embraced him. "These Amazons are fighting for their city, their culture, their families, their loved ones. They also fight to prevent the enslavement of our world. So do the Autobots even though this isn't their world yet they have sworn to protect our family, the human race and us. We can only aid them in their fight and make sure that they do not die in vain. Ranma, I know you want to protect me and Akane but right now, there are more important things than even our lives. You are the greatest martial artist I know. I think it's about time you used in on other things than defending Akane's honour or your own honour," she said.

As if on queue with what she said, Mousse burst into the well room led by Akane. "Saotome Ranma, Autobot Ratchet needs your help in defeating the Decepticon. Shampoo is in danger and won't last…." He stopped as he noticed the state that Ranma was in. Akane looked at Ranma and was shocked to see her fiancée so shaken. She had been so engrossed in helping the Amazon doctors that she hadn't noticed Ranma's predicament. Only Kasumi had. The blue-haired girl felt ashamed and quickly went to Ranma side.

"Oh rats, of all the times for Ranma to become a cry-baby, it has to be now," Mousse groaned. This had the effect of redirecting Akane's destination to the duck-cursed boy and she angrily smacked him into the wall.

"Shut up Mousse, you have no right to say anything about Ranma after what you Amazons just did to us," Akane said.

"Stop it Akane, we don't have time to argue now. Mousse, what is it about Ratchet needing help?" Kasumi quickly interceded before Akane proceeded to turn Mousse into a bloody pulp.

Akane and Mousse glared at each other before the blue haired girl released her hand from Mousse's robes. Mousse straightened himself before saying, "Ratchet says that Ranma's Moko Takabisha attack may be able to damage the Decepticons. None of us Amazons know how to do it, nor do we know the Shi Shi Hokodan as well save the Elders and the one called Ryoga. Ratchet is fighting one of the Decepticons now but he just can't damage it and neither can we. We need Ranma's help," he finally said with humility.

It was not needed. For now Ranma's eyes were filled with a cold fury. He looked once again at the Amazon wounded and dead and to everyone's surprise, he took a pail of water and upended it on himself, changing into a girl in process.

"Ranma, what are you doing?" Akane asked in confusion.

The now-girl martial artists walked to Akane then took the blue haired girl's shoulders. Although Ranma was now a girl, Akane still blushed at the contact. "Take care of Kasumi for me Kawaiikune. I'm going to make sure those Decepticons are thoroughly humiliated."

Akane slowly caught on the dark side o Ranma-chan's humour and it slightly frightened her. Nevertheless she said, "Just come back safely Ranma," she said as she quickly hugged Ranma. This surprised Ranma who gingerly patted Akane's back before backing off and going to Mousse.

"Where is Ratchet?" Ranma-chan asked grimly.

Mousse told her.

"Protect Akane and Kasumi, Mousse," she said before rushing off to the burning Amazon city.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ironhide leaped into the air and twisted himself to avoid the four missiles that the F 22 Raptor shot at him. At the same time, his two arm cannons exploded with out coming fire, one shooting missiles while the other shot a thick ray of blue light at the incoming fighter. Two missiles missed him due to his aerial twist but another two impacted on his chest and threw him back on the road on his back. His front armour, which would have been the front of the Toyota Hilux, now had two smoking holes in them but it didn't appear to penetrate deep into his chest.

"That all you got Decepti-chump?! Come on, you wanna piece of me? I'm wide open!" he taunted the circling F 22, even thumping his chest where the two missiles had hit him.

The response was a strafing run as Starscream's underside opened to reveal a gatling gun that even now shot at Ironhide. The Autobot veteran stood his ground even as several shots bounced of his front chassis. He took careful aim with his left arm Lascannon and then with unerring accuracy, a beam of blue light shot out again and finally hit the F 22 Raptor on the underside of its belly. The F 22 actually screeched in pain but manage to dodge the missile that followed Ironhide's laser blast. It flew past Ironhide and finally transformed. It's new body was vaguely triangular in shape, with the cockpit of the fighter forming the middle of its chest whereas the fuselage folded somewhere into its back. Long gorilla like arms protruded from the under side along with two shorter legs, almost avian like emerged, one of which was smoking and partly damaged. The Decepticon landed on top of a pagoda and glared at Ironhide while using one arm to pat out the fire on its left leg.

"Owwww my foot! You'll pay for that old bot!" Starscream's voice, despite being male, was extremely high pitched and could have passed for a woman.

Ironhide only grinned. "Trust me bird-brain, by the end of this night, your foot will be the least of your worries!"

To his astonishment, Starscream smiled even as two hand held rifles appeared on each hand, one looking like a four-barrelled missile launcher and the other a huge gattling gun.

"We'll see who will be laughing by the end of this day."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Autobot leader was not having a good night. Of all the Decepticons that picked to fight him, he had to face of with the biggest one off the bunch: Blast Off, a Decepticon so huge that he often served as transportation for the other Decepticons in his vehicular mode, which used to be a transtellar transport. To top it off, none of Prime's weaponry seemed to be effective against him; Blast Off's armour was already extremely powerful due to the necessity of withstanding interstellar travel and atmospheric re-entry.

Which meant Prime's Beam Saber was virtually ineffective against Blast Off's armour. The same could not be Prime's own armour, which even now healing itself against a cut made by Blast Off's power axe.

To make matters worse, Blast Off was a cool and calculating warrior. The huge Decepticon had not said one word since the battle started, silently testing Prime's reaction and fighting skill with his axe. His fists were oversized gauntlets that, like the axe, were surrounded by some sort of energy field. Optimus couldn't scan the Decepticon's abilities but he guessed that in addition to the matter disrupting axe that could cleave even Autobot armour like butter, the fists were also surrounded by the same field that would literally punch through his armour even if he did manage to disarm the Decepticon.

The Decepticon moved towards him again, weaving his axe in a complicated pattern to disorient Prime and catch him off guard. Optimus cautiously backed off then turned off the beam saber but left the long rod that served as the beam's centre intact to parry the axe as best he could. He was at a disadvantage though, none of his weapons were working, and he may as well be throwing rocks for all the good that it would do …..

Optimus frowned at that line of thought. For someone wielding a gigantic axe, Optimus was still able to parry and even block the huge axe when Blast Off made a full swing at him. As a matter of fact, the force of the hits were not really powerful.

The Decepticon finally smirked and said, "It seems you are out of ideas, O Great and Wise Autobot," he said and then swung his axe in an overhead swing intending to cleave Prime down the middle.

As the axe was held high above his head, Optimus suddenly dashed forward and gave a huge forward punch at Blast Off's head. There was a terrible sound as the armoured fist met Blast Off's head but the result was quite satisfying as Blast Off let go off the axe, screamed and then was propelled at least three hundred metres backwards. Quick as lightning, Optimus immediately unholstered a tremendously huge rifle, which appeared from his back with his right arm. He bent his right foot forward with his left leg back then locked both legs to the ground before he pulled the trigger. Two deafening booms were heard as Optimus fired two shots of explosive energy with the power of five thousand tons of TNT each at Blast Off. The chest armour withstood the first shot but the second one cleanly tore an open hole in the centre of his chest where his Decepticon symbol had been displayed.

Optimus sighed in relief as his memories served true: despite being huge, Blast Off's strength was disproportionate with his size; he was barely as strong as Jazz. This was somewhat balanced by his superior fighting skills but in the end, Optimus only had to rely on his brute strength to overcome him. He took the axe that Blast Off had dropped then twisted it into a crumpled heap of metal to prevent it from being used again.

Blast Off then broke off a part of his shoulder and threw it at Prime. The boomerang made an eclipse journey before it sliced Optimus' gun in two.

"You're good Prime, but we'll see how well you do against my fists," Blast Off snarled as he got off the ground. He twisted his chest armour to cover his innards although it still left a dented mess at his chest. He then punched both of his fists together and a crackle of anti-matter energy appeared to surround the gauntlets and adopted a fighting style like that of a boxer.

Prime sighed. "I think we've both been associating with humans too long until we've adopted they're fighting styles instead of our Cybertronian styles," he said as he dropped his ruined rifle.

"They are insignificant insects but fascinating insects nonetheless. I especially find boxing a very satisfying art to study and I will relish relieving your body off that oversized heard of yours," Blast Off snarled.

Inside his faceplate, Optimus' mouth twisted into a smile. "For what it is worth Blast Off, you are an honourable Decepticon. I only wish you didn't believe in Megatron's mad cause for conquest."

"Enough, we both made our decisions long ago. Now we abide by them. The only question is, are you strong enough to defend your naïve hope of peace in the galaxy."

Optimus' eyes narrowed and he proceeded to adopt a loose fighting stance. Then using his right hand that was stretched towards Blast Off, he gestured with his fingers for Blast Off to come at him. The Decepticon complied and practically skipped boxing style towards Prime with his huge gauntlets.

"What is this, some fancy impractical Chinese kung fu?" Blast Off taunted as he threw the first punch at Optimus.

Optimus proceeded to flip the huge Decepticon over his shoulder and slammed him to the ground. "Allow me to introduce you to Japanese martial arts. Lesson 1: Judo….."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bumblebee looked in horror at the missile launched by the F22 impacted into the countryside outside the Amazon city. At the same time, Hound's Autobot life signal which all the Autobots shared with one another, began blinking red indicating critical damage had been sustained by the Autobot scout. Almost at the same time, Ratchet's life signal also began blinking yellow, indicating medium damage to the medic.

"Ratchet! Hound! Please answer me!" Bumblebee shouted into his comlink.

No answer came from Hound but Ratchet shouted, "Slag, I'm getting creamed. Bumblebee, I need help. Mousse will be coming along and ask Ranma to help."

Bumblebee gritted his teeth. Ratchet was a good ten kilometres away from the castle and even someone of Ranma's speed would need ten minutes to cover that distance. "Ratchet standby, I'll personally come and help you as well. Hound needs you and I can't have you out of the fight."

A series of vicious clashes was heard over the comlink with cries of pains that were unmistakably Ratchet's. "Negative, you're the only Autobot defending the castle. We still haven't accounted for all of the Decepticons!"

"I will worry about that. The Amazon Fortress is secured, no Decepticon can get in from the outside, not even Ravage or Soundwave's minions. I've done all I can and will escort Ranma to you ASAP," Bumblebee said. He then proceeded to scan the surrounding area for Decepticons as well as ensure that the Amazon positions around the castle, which included a maze of trenches dug around it, were adequately manned and instructed the Amazon captains to stay alert. Mousse soon appeared and went into the castle. Five minutes later, Ranma emerged in girl form.

"You sure you don't want to put on some body armour? It's going to be rough out there kid," Bumblebee said concerned.

Ranma-chan shook her head. "Nah, it'll slow me down some. I need to move as fast as I can."

Bumblebee suddenly had a brainwave and then transformed into a Toyota Celica, except that he left the roof exposed like a convertible. Ranma-chan looked confused until Bumblebee asked him to hop in.

"What's the big idea? I can take down those creeps without any help!" Ranma-chan boasted.

"Even if you can, it'll take longer. Now get in before I tell Kasumi you're being an ass," Bumblebee said in a commanding voice. The pig-tailed martial artist wanted to argue but remembered that this was Kasumi's friend. If Kasumi heard about him quarrelling with Bumblebee….. Ranma-chan shuddered at the thought of facing Kasumi's wrath. He quickly sat at the back seat and Bumblebee promptly drove off at a speed that nearly threw Ranma off.

"So what's the big plan Autobot?" Ranma screeched as Bumblebee made a few sharp turns.

As the fighting shapes of Ratchet and Blitzwing loomed closer, Bumlebee's headlights disappeared to reveal two missiles jutting out where the headlights used to be.

"I'll drive, you shoot," Bumblebee said.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as Bumblebee moved to engage Blitzwing, the Amazons truly sealed the castle, not even letting in retreating Amazons to go into it. All other Amazons retreating acted as reinforcements to the surrounding perimeter. The Amazons were on their highest alert without their Autobot ally and did not take chances that a Decepticon might infiltrate the castle so every remaining entrance was closed, locked and sealed from the inside. Heavily reinforced steel sluice gates slid over every entrance and exit, powered by unknown mechanisms inside the castle. Even the ones leading to the external AA and artillery gun emplacements were closed as well. Unfortunately they weren't of much use as most of the Decepticons and Autobots were fighting in the city, which meant the Amazons couldn't use their big guns on the Decepticons on the ground or destroy their own city. For some reason, the rocket artillery from outside avoided hitting the castle.

The elder Tendo daughter was finding it harder and harder to stay calm. Mousse telling of the situation outside did nothing to calm her nerves: as far as she knew the situation outside was barely under control and that the nemesis of the Autobots seem to be as strong if not stronger than her friends. So far, no Amazon army was able to halt a Decepticon and it always took an Autobot to do so. Now that Ranma was gone, she also felt very vulnerable and naked even in the midst of many Amazon warriors.

"Onee-chan, let's go get more water, they're just about finished the current batch," Akane interrupted her thoughts.

Kasumi mentally smacked herself. 'What's the use worrying about events beyond my control?' she thought. She then quickly placed a wet rag over a feverish Amazon's temple then followed Akane to the well.

As they drew water to fill a number of pails between them, Akane asked Kasumi, "Are you alright Kasumi?"

Kasumi contemplated putting on her false smile but this time, the adventure affected her directly and was probably even because to her. No, she could not give false hope now.

"No Akane, I'm sick and worried for the Autobots. Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Hound, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, even Jazz. I was warned that this day would come but now that it has, I wonder if I'll ever see them again," Kasumi said quietly.

"Come on sis, it isn't like you to be so melancholic. We've been through a lot of things together already, this can hardly be worse than any of them. In the end, we always pull it through. Saotome Ranma never loses doesn't he?" Akane tried to liven up Kasumi but the elder Tendo sister only sighed.

"But Tendo Kasumi can," she whispered.

Akane shook her head as she lowered the bucket into the well. As she started to pull up, the rope jammed and couldn't be pulled up. Akane frowned and looked into the well but could not see the bottom due to its depth. Puzzled, she gripped the rope connecting to the bucket and gave it a big tug.

All of a sudden the rope pulled itself into the well and Akane who, was tightly gripping it, was pulled in along as well.

"AKANE!" Kasumi cried as she saw her sister disappear into the depths. The younger Tendo screamed then was suddenly silent as she fell into the water headfirst. Frantically, Kasumi started circling the well calling for Akane's name but for some reason, Akane did not reply. This frightened Kasumi as while Akane knew how to float, treading water was something she didn't manage to learn properly in Okinawa, and the well opening was too small for her to float horizontally. And why wasn't she saying anything?

Kasumi leaned into the well as hard as she dared and cried to her sister again. "AKANE! PLEASE ANSWER ME!" she cried.

She then thought she saw something in the dark shadows move. She thought that perhaps it was the bottom of the well and the movement was Akane. "Akane, hold on, I will get help," she cried then attempted to raise her own body out of the well.

The moving shadow suddenly moved upwards towards her and then two huge paws lunged out of the well and both slammed into Kasumi's torso. Kasumi cried as she was pushed out of the well's opening. The paws belonged to a huge panther only it was as large as a pony, with metallic skin as black as night, broken only by cruel red eyes. Even its teeth, which were as big as human fingers, were black in colour.

The black shadow pinned Kasumi to the floor and only eased its pressure slightly to avoid crushing Kasumi's shoulders. The girl was terrified and was about to scream again when the panther's right paw transformed and actually elongated into somewhat human hands except they still retained the vicious claws. It then used the hand to cover her mouth, cutting off her scream.

Then the panther spoke, in English but with a thick Russian accent. "Speak not if you value your life and that of your sister, Tendo Kasumi."

Kasumi watched horrified as the rest of Ravage's fore arms and hind legs transformed into a more bipedal form. Then the Decepticon roughly pulled the terrified girl to her feet and to the edge of the well. A red light shone from his eyes to the bottom of the well. At first Kasumi couldn't see anything except the water at the bottom of the well. Then Ravage took the bucket's rope and tugged it. Out of the waters, the unconscious body of Akane was pulled out and Kasumi cried and struggled to free herself but Ravage only tightened his grip and now covered Kasumi's nose as well, preventing her from breathing. He then waved the rope holding Akane in front of her.

"You see this rope Kasumi? It is the only thing preventing your sister from dying in a watery grave. Come with me quietly and I will tie this rope and ensure that she stays above the water. If not…." Ravage let the rope go and Akane went down under. Kasumi quickly nodded her head and Ravage pulled her up again. True to his word, he tied the rope to the base of the well then turned his attention to Kasumi.

"Fear not Kasumi. My Lord Megatron prefers healthy slaves, which are far more productive. Now remember, be quiet," he said as he used his claws to cut the extra length of the bucket's rope and used it to tie Kasumi's wrists together. Kasumi's mind was racing with a way to contact the Autobots but all of a sudden, something hard hit the back of her head and everything went black.

Ravage smiled and said, "Decepticons forever," before pushing a button in his right forearm.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"ARGH!" Ratchet cried as Blitzwing's chainsaw finally connected to his right leg at the knee. The powerful chainsword went right through Ratchet's knee with nearly no resistance. Ratchet tumbled off balance and fell to the ground hard on his back. Blitzwing immediately stepped on Ratchet's buzzsaw arm.

"Ha ha, you lose, Autobot!" he smirked as he swung his chainsword. Ratchet desperately tried to transform his arm into a gun again but knew he would be too late.

"MOKO TAKABISHA!"

A huge burst of blue energy slammed into Blitzwing's chest and actually pushed him off Ratchet. This was followed by twin missiles slamming into the same area, tearing a few chunks of armour off Blitzwing. Ratchet quickly grabbed his severed right leg and tried to get upright. He then saw the cause of the blast.

Ranma was standing on Bumblebee's hood, perfectly balanced as Bumblebee raced around Blitzwing. The pig tailed martial artist chi blast was considerably powerful and had managed to weaken Blitzwing's armour enough for Bumblebee's missiles to penetrate into the exoskeleton, thereby hurting Blitzwing. The Decepticon warrior to his credit, gritted his teeth and then transformed his left hand into a large rifle, which he then proceeded to fire deadly purple rays of destruction at the Toyota Celica.

"Split up!" Bumblebee shouted and the pig tailed martial artist jumped off just as Bumblebee transformed. The Autobot had to cartwheel for awhile to avoid the deadly laser fire from Blitzwing before Ranma distracted him with another Moko Takabisha to the leg. This caused Blitzwing to stumble but he managed to lean against a building and steady himself.

"You miserable little insect, how dare you challenge me, Blitzwing, mightiest of the Lord Megatron's warriors!" Blitzwing said furiously as he tried taking aim at Ranma.

If he was a human, there would have been a vein threatening to pop at his temple as Ranma was now sticking out his tongue and saying, "Nyah Nyah Nyah Nyah, you cannot shoot me!"

"WHY YOU LITTLE.. AARRRRGGGHHHH!" a huge yellow fireball slammed into the Blitzwing's rifle-hand and destroyed it. The rifle itself exploded, taking half of Blitzwing's arm with him.

"You know, you really should take note of your surroundings Blitzwing," Bumblebee remarked. The Autobot's right arm had transformed into the huge arm cannon, which was still smoking from the earlier shot. He then stood up, put the gun's barrel near his mouth then dramatically blew the smoke off it.

"GRRRRR, You will pay for this you mute son of a …." Blitzwing's eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, how can you speak? I saw Megatron rip your puny voicebox apart!"

Bumblebee's jovial look soured. "Remind me to return the favour one day," he said angrily before two missile launchers appeared on each of his shoulders and fired at Blitzwing. Blitzwing was about to dodge but from behind came another burst of chi-energy that slammed and pushed him forward right into the missiles path. The first missile ripped off what was left of the chest's armour, leaving a red sparkling object in its chest open to the second missile. The second missile penetrated the chest and exploded inside. Blitzwing gave an earpiercing cry and he proceeded to thrash about as though ripped by insanity, tearing down several buildings almost like Godzilla in the process.

Ranma took a deep breath and readied another Moko Takabisha. Bumblebee charged up his solar cannon again. Even Ratchet had managed to stand on his one leg and aim his gun arm at Blitzwing.

As one, they all fired. Blitzwing's body was pummelled in three directions by a huge chi ball from Ranma, a solar cannon shot from Bumblebee and a barrage of auto cannon fire Ratchet. Much of the body shattered and cracked before finally admitting defeat and falling to the ground.

"Take that you evil son of a bitch!" Ranma snarled whilst cracking his knuckles.

Ratchet carefully hopped on one leg over to the burning and smoking body of Blitzwing. The Decepticon's armour, which had once been a mixture of white and dark green had turned grey. In the hole at his chest, there was no more spark of energy inside. The Autobot medic sighed and was sad. Despite being a Decepticon, Blitzwing was still a kinsman and Ratchet always grieved when a child of Cybertron died, especially when their numbers were so few now.

"His life has been terminated," Ratchet pronounced.

"WOOHOO! Alright man!" Ranma gave a shout and shot his fist into the air. He then ran up to Ratchet and said, "Give me five!"

Ratchet could only stare sadly at Blitzwing's wreckage. Bumblebee walked up behind him and put a hand on Ratchet's shoulder.

"It had to be done Ratchet. He would have killed countless more innocent humans had we not stopped him," Bumblebee said quietly.

"Famous words even on this planet Bumblebee, where the sacrifice of a few is always deemed necessary for the good of the many. And it still leaves victory tasting like ash. I know this more than anyone else. I grow weary of this violence," Ratchet replied.

Bumblebee sighed and tried to cheer Ratchet up, "Hey, at least we still got Kasumi's dinner to look forward to."

That shook Ratchet out of his depression. "You better get back to the castle. I'll need some time to reattach this leg of mine and pick up as many wounded as I can."

"Don't worry, the castle is secure. And I think we've accounted for all the Decepticons," Bumblebee said.

"Yeah, no way the Decepti-creeps can bust into the castle now," Ranma said.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Every Autobot in the city looked in horror as explosions dotted the Amazon castle. Most of the explosions seem to come from within the castle and many of the gates and openings were blown apart from the inside. Then from the buffer zone around the castle, guns suddenly blazed and the sounds of battle was heard as something penetrated it.

A cold hand of fear gripped every Autobot's spark, even Hound who was crawling back to the Amazon city.

"KASUMI!" Bumblebee and Ranma cried as they raced back to the castle.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Prowl turned towards the castle, quickly transformed and drove like the wind to the castle.

"COME BACK HERE YOU SLAGHEAD!" Barricade bellowed even as he lay on the ground with all of his arms and legs chopped off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jazz also transformed and sped off leaving a cursing Brawl behind, demanding that he finish the fight.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ironhide gaped in horror whereas Starscream laughed in delight. "Well its been fun toying with you but that's my cue," he said before he leapt into the air and transformed. Just as he was about to complete his transformation though, Ironhide leapt up and grabbed Starscream's wings.

"What in the pit are you doing?! Get off of me you dirty old bot!" Starscream screeched as he climbed into the air.

"Man I hate flying," Ironhide groaned as the F 22 Raptor proceeded to do aerial manoeuvres at near sonic speed for his personal benefit for flying Starscream Airways.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Blast Off was hardly moving now, he was thoroughly fatigued from chasing Optimus Prime. The Decepticon had been trying to land a punch on the Autobot leader for the past ten minutes. But Prime proved that he was the Autobot leader by lazily dodging every blow despite his huge size and then occasionally landing a pain wrecking punch or kick at Blast Off before moving away from the Decepticon.

Their attention was briefly taken away from each other by the explosions at the Amazon castle. Blast Off laughed. "Victory will soon be ours, Optimus Prime."

"NEVER!" Optimus Prime shouted before he leapt into the air and gave a devastating kick at Blast Off's head. The Decepticon fell to the ground with half of the head destroyed and the body twitched uncontrollably. Optimus then transformed into his truck form and raced to the castle.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ratbat, Scorponok. Eject. Operation Crack the shell" the metallic sound of Soundwave said as the M577 APC rumbled into buffer zone, undetected until it was almost upon the first trench. The APCs movements were nearly silent and it wasn't until an Amazon spotted him just metres away from the trench did she try to raise the alarm. A burst of gunfire from a pintle mounted gun silenced her but alerted the rest of the Amazons of his presence.

The top of the APC opened and through it, four objects were launched into the sky towards various areas of the trench. Two were Sony boom boxes, one red and the other purple, one was an LG 42 inch plasma TV with red edgings and the fourth was a purple Apple Laptop computer. Then all four of them transformed. The Sony boom boxes transformed into large six feet tall humanoid robots with muscular bodies. From the 42" Plasma TV, wings sprouted along with talons and an evil hawk-like head. The purple laptop also sprouted wings but instead of a bird head, a vicious bat's head emerged with fangs at least a foot long. All four Decepticons were launched towards various part of the buffer zone with guns blazing. From the back of the APC, another hatch opened and a huge robot scorpion leapt out and tunnelled into the ground.

Even with the surprise appearance of the APC and its Decepticon cargo, the Amazons would have responded swiftly and gave them a fitting welcome. However, the moment the five small Decepticons were launched from the APC, multiple explosions rocked the Amazon castle from the inside and burst out into the open at virtually every exit and entrance. The biggest entry into the castle was a huge gate of reinforced steel, more than three metres thick. The hinges of the gates were blown apart from the inside and crashed forward leaving the castle wide open. Into the opening the hawk and bat like Decepticons entered but the other two humanoid Decepticons proceeded to assault the suddenly disarrayed Amazon warriors, armed with rapid firing plasma rifles. Then from below the ground, the scorpion Decepticon attacked the Amazon trenches and gun emplacements, surprising and terrifying them in a flash of metal claws and stings which ripped the Amazons apart with horrifying precision.

Once the buffer zone became a disarrayed battlezone and the gates were wide open, the APC transformed. Its shape was quite blocky and not as fluid or flexible as most of the other Autobots and Decepticons. The chest was flat and seemed to be made of a glassy material. A round multiple rocket launcher sat on his right shoulder. In its right hand it held a strange rifle that was cylindrical in shape and instead of a long barrel, the cylindrical shape ended with what looked like a radar dish with a long and sharp antenna jutting out of it. From this antenna came a rain of deadly fire as the Decepticon attacked the gun emplacements swiftly while it ran into the castle.

Inside its chest, the sound of something hammering away could be heard.

"Let me out, let me out! We had a deal! I want my payment now!" a furious voice was heard.

Soundwave said as he opened his chest, "Soundwave fulfil bargain. Take payment now but do not forget plan."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inside, Mousse struggled to dig his way out of the rubble that had been the roof of the hospital room. He cried as several broken bones announced themselves to him but fortunately they did not seem too critical. His mind was still reeling to understand what had happened. One moment he was dressing the wounds of an Amazon warrior and the next thing, the entire castle seem to be shaken by a earthquake of a Richter 10 magnitude followed by the collapse of the hospital room's roof.

He managed to free part of his body but immediately wished he had died when the room collapsed. Because at the moment, he was the only one that had managed to crawl out. What had been a room full of wounded and dead Amazons was now a room full of buried Amazons. To make the situation even more surreal and dreadful was the buried moans and cries of the Amazons giving an almost haunted atmosphere.

Then another horrifying thought invaded Mousse's mind. 'Where is Kasumi?!'

With a new sense of urgency, Mousse freed himself from the rubble and was slightly relieved to see other Amazon women doing the same thing. He started looking around and calling for Kasumi's name into the rubble, occasionally helping to dig out a buried Amazon.

Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. A black shadow leaving the hospital room. He moved so fast Mousse could not discern the shape of the black shadow. However the shadow was carrying a bundle over its shoulder that was unmistakably Kasumi.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT! CASTLE HAS BEEN INFILTRATED! TO ARMS, AMAZONS, TO ARMS!" Mousse screamed. He went to a button on a wall and pressed it repeatedly but the alarm system was not activated. To his horror, he started to hear gunfire and screams of Amazon warriors outside the room. Grimly, he checked every weapon inventory in his coat then ran after the shadow.

The shadow left a trail of death and destruction everywhere. Many Amazons had tried to stop the intruder but all seemed to have died with a single bullet wound to the head, sometimes it was a metal shuriken instead. Mousse picked up speed but noted with alarm that the intruder seemed to be heading for the cavern entrance to the Spring of Drowned Megatron.

At last he caught sight of the running intruder. From the back it appeared humanoid but its legs were reverse jointed like an animal's and instead of feet, it looked like it had lion's paws. Grimly, he took aim, then let loose every hooked and chain weapon he had from within his long flowing robes. Five chained hooks wrapped themselves around the Decepticon's legs. Three chains with a dagger, an axe head and a duck-shaped potty wrapped around the Decepticon's left arm. Two more chains, which had spiked metal balls at the end impacted directly at his head.

All of this happened just as the two entered the cavern cave leading to the spring. The Decepticon tripped and dropped the unconscious Kasumi to the floor. Mousse then took out a huge warhammer from his sleeve and tried to bring it down on the Decepticon's head. Quick as lightning the Decepticon used its claws to cut the chains with a single swipe and then dodged out of the way. Mousse slammed the hammer into the ground making a small crater then had to let go and dodge himself as several shurikens whizzed towards him.

The Decepticon growled, aptly as his face was that of a panther. In an instant, his body transformed slightly and once again became four-legged. He pounced at Mousse but the Amazon teenager was as quick as him. Frantically, he decided that Kasumi had to be brought to safety first and at the next pounce, he threw himself towards Kasumi, swept her in his arms and started to run to the exit of the cave, intending to bring her to Bumblebee.

His heart fell however at the sight of a huge robot that was definitely NOT an Autobot. In his mind, if there was a Decepticon in the fortress, it meant that Bumblebee was either defeated or engaged elsewhere. Which meant right now, Mousse had no Autobot support.

"Ohhhhh my head," Kasumi groaned as she recovered consciousness.

Mousse gritted his teeth and held Kasumi close. "Hang on tight Kasumi, we'll make it through this," he said as he looked at her.

Then Kasumi's face changed to one of abject terror and she started screaming as she looked at the Decepticon. Mousse frowned and saw that the Decepticon's chest had opened outward slightly. Too late he saw that something had gotten out until that something slammed a fist into his face. The impact was so great it literally broke Mousse's nose and turned part of his face inward. The force propelled him backward and he was slammed to the wall unconscious.

Kasumi watched in horror as her protector fell then nearly fainted when a hand covered her mouth. It then forced Kasumi to turn her head to face her greatest fear.

"We meet again, my love," Happosai said softly with a maniacal grin.

To be continued……

Sorry guys, I have to break this chapter into three. I think I made one too many Decepticons and Autobots and now paying the price of it in this massive battle. Holy hell, it means the next battle will probably be six chapters long judging by what I've done in this battle.

And no, I haven't forgotten Cologne and the Rocket Artillery outside the city.

Note about Ravage's humanoid appearance. This is homage to the Beast Wars series, which is set a few generations after Generation 1. Ravage actually appeared in the series and though he maintained his feline appearance and could transform/shrink into a small cassette, his form was more bipedal and spoke with a thick Russian accent for some reason. He is one of the few Decepticons who still lives after the Great War as the war in G1 was called. Quite nostalgic actually and helped establish that the Beast Wars was indeed set in the same Transformer universe as we know it.

Lastly, no longer will I apologise for the fate of any Ranma females. For this story, I know exactly where I'm going, including how Megatron and Happosai is going to die. I have also envisioned the perfect ending for Bumblebee and Kasumi. Well, several in fact.

Apologies for any grammar mistakes. If you can, personal message me for grammar mistakes but save your storyline opinions for the reviews.

Thanks for your time and goodnight.