Primal Hunter
by: Takashidaimao
Chapter 8: Little Hunter

The Axalon fell into a peaceful silence as the sun set and everyone headed back to their quarters for the night. Gorgonus, having been playing with Cheetor all day, was already fast asleep against his creator's chest plate, too exhausted to bother giving him trouble tonight. Dinobot was grateful, as it meant he'd be getting the first decent night's sleep he'd had in weeks. To that end, he tried to be as careful as possible not to wake the child as he made his way to bed, a task that was made slightly harder due to the fact that it was awkward carrying the boy while he was in his beast mode. When he made it to the room he laid the little gavial on one side of the bed before transforming into his raptor form and joining him. As he curled up to go to sleep the child unconsciously scurried over to lie against his side, curling up to mimic the way the warrior laid. Dinobot let out an amused chuckle before wrapping his long tail around the two of them and closing his eyes.

The calm of the night wouldn't last, however. An hour after everyone had retired for the evening a metal grate came loose from the maintenance shaft it covered, falling to the ground with a resounding clang. After a moment, two red optics peered out from the shaft, ensuring the coast was clear before jumping out into the hall. "See? What'd I tell ya? Easy as takin' oil from a scrapling!" Terrorsaur rasped out in as low a tone as his vocal unit could manage. Seconds later, Waspinator came tumbling out of the shaft. "Nyuuur… Maximals find us, Wazzbinator get scrapped! Spider-bot find out his shield gizmo stolen, Wazzbinator get scrapped! Why Wazzbinator listen to Birdie-bot?" the wasp complained as he staggered up to his feet. He was immediately shushed by his teammate. "Keep your voice down, you idiot! If they find us in here before we get our hands on that brat, we're dead!"

"Wazzbinator still don't get it… Why Birdie-bot want to steal Gator-bot?" Terrorsaur let out an annoyed groan in response, hanging his head. "Oh, come on! Even you gotta see what we could do if we get our hands on that brat! If we have that kid, none of the Maximals can touch us, especially that traitor Dinobot! They wouldn't dare risk Primal's precious li'l ball o' scrap getting' hurt! They'll be linin' up ta kiss my exhaust port to keep 'im safe! Then, once I have the Maximals serving me, Megatron won't stand a chance! I'll overthrow that fool and conquer the galaxy myself!" the pterosaur screeched excitedly, earning him a frantic shush from his insectoid companion. The red reptilian bot quickly clamped a hand over his mouth as the two listened for a tense moment. Once they were sure they hadn't alerted any of the Maximals, they proceeded down the hall towards their objective.

They found Dinobot's room easily enough, mainly due to the fact that the closer they got the more Waspinator would freak out. He knew all too well that the level of fury about to descend upon him if the raptor caught them trying to kidnap his son was beyond description. He already had the image of an absolutely livid Dinobot with his claws around the wasp's neck, fangs bared in anticipation of the unthinkable horrors about to be unleashed. By the time they reached the end of the barracks, Waspinator was shaking so bad Terrorsaur was sure he'd fall apart before long. He rolled his optics. "Oh, don't be such a baby… Just get in there and grab the brat." The urging only served to deepen the insect's panic attack. The pterosaur let out a sigh. Well, that didn't work. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Hey, c'mon… When I overthrow Megatron I'll, uhhh… I'll let ya do whatever ya want to Inferno." He offered hesitantly at first, unsure of what to bribe the insect with. For whatever reason, that seemed to do the trick. Waspinator's antennae perked up, his shaking ceased. "Wazzbinator gets to do naughty things to Ant-bot?" Terrorsaur could only stare for a moment, but eventually managed to force a smile, nodding slowly. This time he got the mental image of himself holding Inferno down, cackling in anticipation of the unthinkable horrors about to be unleashed. Horrors of a different brand than Dinobot's, but horrors none the less, I assure you. With renewed confidence Waspinator marched up to the raptor's room, Terrorsaur giving a silent gag of disgust once the wasp turned his back to him.

There was no need to hack the door, as it hadn't been locked. Dinobot had gotten into the habit of just leaving it open in case one of the other Maximals wanted to take Gorgonus for a while and let him sleep. When the door slid open Waspinator's antennae drooped. The first thing he saw was the brown velociraptor hide stretched on a frame hanging on the far wall, a trophy he'd kept from Megatron's clone of himself. It served as a grim warning of what happened when the raptor caught an intruder. Waspinator's mandibles began to quiver as he looked back at Terrorsaur, as if begging him not to make him do it. The pterosaur merely gave the bug a shove, pushing him into the room. The wasp now stared down at the large sleeping predator, his target curled closely against the raptor's side. Waspinator took one last glance back at his comrade, who merely mouthed the words 'Just grab him' from the safety of the doorway.

Waspinator approached the sleeping reptiles, reaching out a shaking hand hesitantly. Just inches before grabbing him, the little gavial's eyes popped open, causing the insect to jump back. Gorgonus stared up at the Predacon for a moment as if trying to figure out if this was another of his parent's friends that he hadn't met yet. He soon determined that he was not. Letting out a chirp, he pushed his head up against his creator's jaw, trying to wake him. Waspinator's wings fluttered nervously, standing ready to dive out of the room as the raptor stirred. Fortunately, Dinobot never bothered to open his eyes. "Enough… I'm not dealing with your nonsense tonight…" he grumbled, nudging the child away gently with his snout. Waspinator vented out the breath he'd been holding once the raptor settled down to go back to sleep. Gorgonus let out a growl, crawling backwards as the wasp reached forward to grab him. Suddenly, when Waspinator went to snatch the boy up, the infant gavial lurched forward, jaws snapping shut around the Predacon's hand. The insect had to stifle a yelp as the crocodilian took his hand off with one clean jerk. The appendage was then spat back at him, bouncing off the side of his head.

Terrorsaur slapped a hand over his optics as the insect darted out the door to cower behind the wall. Contrary to his expectations, even that didn't wake the raptor. Dinobot merely gave the child a growl of warning before shifting position and returning to sleep. It seemed if he wanted it done right, Terrorsaur would have to do it himself. The Predacon marched into the room without any fear of waking the warrior. Gorgonus emitted another growl as this second stranger approached. Terrorsaur wasn't about to be scared off by some child, though. This was going to be the easiest victory in history! Well, it was supposed to be, anyway. Just as he went to grab the boy, the gavial opened his mouth once more. Before it could snap shut on his hand, the pterosaur grabbed ahold of each jaw, holding the mouth open. 'Ain't gonna get me with that one!' he thought with a smirk. A smirk that almost immediately disappeared when he saw the laser charging in the back of the reptile's throat. The explosion that followed sent the two Predacons into the hall in pieces, as well as most of the wall.

"What in the fiery pits of the Inferno?" Dinobot shouted as he awoke with a start, jumping up to his feet on the platform bed. His eyes widened when he saw the collapsed wall that once shielded his quarters from the hall outside, smoldering rubble strewn everywhere. He glanced down at Gorgonus in time to catch him disengaging his weapon, the barrel of the energy cannon retracting back into his mouth. The raptor could only stare as the young gavial let out a small burp, a puff of smoke wafting out of his nostrils. He then looked up at his creator and gave him a crocodilian purr, his tail flicking back and forth as if nothing had happened. "You've got to be kidding me…"

Moments later Dinobot found himself making his way down the hall towards the other end of the barracks, the tip of his tail flicking in mild annoyance. Gorgonus hung by his own tail from his creators jaws, chirping happily as he bounced in the air. The entire time the dinosaur could be heard complaining aloud to the child through gritted teeth as to not drop him. "When I find out who activated your weapons grid, I will slaughter them. And I've already got a good idea who I should start with. Oh, and don't you think you're getting off scott free just because you're still an infant! I'm certainly not going to take the blame when Rhinox sees the mess you've made of my quarters…"

Soon enough, the raptor found his way to his destination. The door slid open at his silent command as he strode through. Optimus was splayed out over his bed in beast form, snoring softly. His snoring came to an abrupt stop when he felt something being dropped on his stomach. The gorilla blinked wearily and glanced down at the little gavial that had been plopped haphazardly on his midsection. Furrowing his brow, he looked up at Dinobot, who instantly gave his mate a growl of annoyance. "You deal with the little swamp monster for a night!" he snarled. Rather than storming out as the commander expected, the raptor instead muscled his way in next to the ape and was asleep before he could be asked what happened.

Gorgonus stared up with wide, curious optics as the science officer examined him intently. "Well, he doesn't seem to be damaged at all. My guess is he blasted them before they ever touched him." Rhinox commented, replacing his diagnostic scanner back where it belonged under the protest of the young bot, who grabbed at the device wanting to see what it was. Optimus furrowed his brow plates, shaking his head in slight disbelief. "I still don't understand how he did it in the first place. Didn't you disable his weapons systems?" he asked, concern apparent in his voice. He couldn't hardly believe it even now. When Dinobot came into his quarters complaining about their son causing trouble he'd thought he was just up to his normal squirming. Imagine his surprise when he'd woken up the next morning to find half the hallway trashed to hell. Imagine his further surprise when he saw the security footage from the camera out in the hall and discovered that it was the infant that had caused the damaged and that it was because of a Predacon infiltration that he attacked. "I did, but it looks like he's overridden the command somehow..."

Immediately, both of them looked over at Dinobot, who had been standing off to the side with a prideful smirk on his face ever since seeing the security data. Seeing two of his old comrades getting blown to scrap by his little boy was quite the ego boost, even if it was just Terrorsaur and Waspinator. A kill was a kill. Optimus rolled his optics. Great. Just what he needed. Now his mate was going to be all gung-ho about training the boy to fight when he couldn't even stand on his own yet. "Can you make sure it won't happen again?" the commander asked, at which point he could have sworn he saw Dinobot's shoulders droop in disappointment. Such overly cautious bores, these Maximals... Personally, he'd have liked to see the same thing happen to a certain rat, by accident of course. Rhinox nodded in reply. "Already done. He won't be shooting anything unless either you, Dinobot or myself gives him clearance." At that, the raptor seemed to cheer up a bit. At least he was going to be given access as well. Optimus let out a sigh, giving his mate a sideways glance. He supposed that was better than nothing.

The two emerged from the science lab minutes later, Gorgonus babbling wordlessly up at his father. Only Cheetor was left waiting for them out on the bridge, Rattrap having been stuck with cleaning up last night's mess. The two Preds had managed to pull themselves together enough to drag themselves out of the Maximal base, only a few parts and pieces left in their wake. The young scout smiled when the infant looked down at him from his spot against Optimus' chest. "Hey, little man! I heard you took on a couple of Preds last night. Way to turn those two goons to scrap!" he said, earning a delighted giggle from the tiny bot. Optimus let out a small chuckle. "Not exactly what I had in mind for his first combat experience," he began, thinking that he'd have preferred that his son never had to experience battle, regardless of his age. "but I suppose it turned out as well as it possibly could have, given the circumstances."

"As amusing as it was to watch my child obliterate those two imbeciles into hot steaming slag, I personally believe that the fact that they managed to penetrate our shields and infiltrate our base is one that should be immediately investigated." Dinobot snarled, folding his arms over his chest plate. Optimus raised a brow at that. "Well, I must say I'm shocked. You? Suggesting preventative maintenance? Usually you would be insisting upon an all out assault on the Predacon base right about now, not improving our defenses." Dinobot merely scoffed at the acusatory comment. "Those idiots were inches away from taking my son from me. I assure you, they will not be afforded another such opportunity so long as I'm alive. Even if that means I must fight... defensively."

Optimus couldn't help but smile at that, even as Dinobot looked away. Well, it looked like the stubborn warrior really could be talked into changing his ways after all. "In that case, why don't we go back and see if Rhinox has any ideas on how to increase the shields' resistance to hacking?" he offered, the mild grin never leaving his lips. The commander then turned back to face Cheetor. "I don't suppose you'd mind watching Gorgonus for a while?" It was a rhetorical question at this point, the feline's response being a huge grin. He loved babysitting for Optimus. It was by far the easiest job he could be given, and playing with the little bot was actually a lot of fun. He had no idea why Rattrap had made such a big deal about it before.

The infant gavial chipped happily as he bounced lightly on the trotting cheetah's back. He rarely got to go outside, so he was always ecstatic when he got the opportunity. He nuzzled against Cheetor's soft fur, closing his eyes. The warm sun felt good against his thick plated scales. So good in fact that he nearly fell asleep. That is, until he heard a very familiar sound. The little crocodilian's eyes popped open as the sound of falling water came within audio range. Cheetor couldn't help but laugh to himself as Gorgonus began fidgeting around excitedly, realizing where they were headed.

It was a small spring area, water trickling down from sections higher up the mountain. It wasn't far from the base, as per Optimus' orders. As soon as they neared the spring Gorgonus scrambled off Cheetor's back, ploping to the ground before squirming around on his belly, going absolutely nowhere. Cheetor let out a snicker as he watched the boy trying desperately to get to the water. After having his fill of watching the kid struggle, he nudged him forward with his nose until he was able to slip into the spring. Gorgonus disappeared almost instantly, a set of wedge shaped ripples the only thing to give his position away as he glided just under the surface off the water. Cheetor curled up at the edge of the pool, a content smile on his face. The kid couldn't walk, but boy could he swim.

After a moment, the ripples disappeared. Cheetor stared at the glassy surface of the water, brow furrowed in concentration. When Gorgonus didn't immediately surface, the young scout jumped up to his paws. "Aw, c'mon kid! Don't disappear on me like that! Optimus is gonna kill me if I lose you!" He shouted frantically. He didn't even want to think about what Dinobot would do to him if he came back without his son. The feline trotted around the spring, trying to see through the water to find the little gavial. Thankfully, a long reptilian snout emerged nearby. Cheetor let out a relieved sigh as the boy bobbed over towards him. Once at the edge of the bank he popped his head up, giving his guardian a chirp.

"Oh, thank the Matrix... You scared me for a minute there." he commented, laying back down. Gorgonus continued his chirping, staring intently up at the feline. Cheetor raised a brow, lifting his head up from his crossed over paws. "What's got you excited all of a sudden?" he asked, tilting his head to one side. The gavial mimicked the expression before diving back down into the depths of the spring. When not immediately followed, he surfaced again and resumed his chirping. Cheetor let out a reluctant groan, face falling into his paws. "Aw man... Look, I'm not exactly the best swimmer..." The excuse didn't seem to satisfy Gorgonus, as he then dipped back down into the water just far enough that his eyes remained visible. When he emerged this time, it was to spray the cat with a mouthful of water. "H-hey!" he shouted as he shook the liquid from his fur. He glared back down at the little crocodilian, who was back to his chirping routine. Cheetor gave a defeated sigh. Well, he was already soaked...

Hesitantly, the cheetah stuck his face into the cool surface of the pool. The first thing he saw was Gorgonus zooming past on his way to the bottom. After his eyes had a chance to adjust, he saw what the little bot had been trying to show him. "Jumpin' gyros! It's a stasis pod!" he sputtered out after pulling his head out. Satisfied that he'd done his job, the infant gavial had taken to floating lazily on his back, still starting towards his guardian with a curious expression. Cheetor gave the boy a grin. "Wow, you're on a roll today, huh?" Gorgonus replied with a crocodian purr, closing his eyes contently as he drifted aimlessly across the surface of the water.

Within minutes of receiving Cheetor's report, the others joined him at the scene and were busy hoisting the pod from its watery tomb. Rigging a simple pulley crane was easy enough to do. Diving to the bottom of the spring to attach the rope, however, was not so easy. Due to a severe lack of volunteers, Optimus was left with the task. As it happened, the pod was the very one Rhinox had been tracking several weeks beforehand, but had lost due to heavy interference. This meant that it would be empty and no poor protoform will have drowned. Soon they would be heading back to base with Rhinox leading the way, the stasis pod strapped securely to a makeshift cart towed behind him. Cheetor and Rattrap followed closely behind, then Optimus. Dinobot dragged behind a ways, Gorgonus fast asleep on his back. He'd been silent ever since Cheetor reported finding the pod. Optimus glanced back over his shoulder towards his mate, who was staring off into space with a troubled look on his face. The ape slowed his pace, dropping back to walk at the raptor's side.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked softly, snapping the warrior out of his daze. He gave the commander a brief glance before looking away again. "Perfectly fine. Never better." he replied quickly, staring off into the trees. Optimus narrowed his eyes. "No, you're not. Something's been bugging you, and I think it has something to do with that pod." The raptor flinched slightly at the accusation. Optimus let out a sigh. He thought that was it. "I know how you feel, buy it's not like you'll never see him again. As soon as we get back to Cybertron it'll be safe enough to let him out." There was a long pause during which Dinobot never turned to look at him. That worried the ape. "You are planning on returning with us... Aren't you?"

Finally the raptor gave his mate a sideways glance. It was a discussion they hadn't had for some time. The last two times the subject had been brought up, Dinobot had outright refused to go back with the Maximals, even choosing to stay on a primitive world over returning home. He had valid reasons, even Optimus couldn't deny that. What awaited the warrior back on their homeworld was most likely prison, if not death. The instant he broke into the archive and helped Megatron steal the golden disk he became a fugitive. At this point the only thing he wasn't sure about was who would get their hands on him first, the Maximal council of elders or the Tri-Predacus council. The situation had changed since the two of them had last spoke about it, however. He had something to go back for. Dinobot let out a sigh. "I suppose there are worse fates..." Optimus smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

The ship seemed quieter than usual that night. Rhinox had no trouble setting up the stasis pod to hold Gorgonus; the little bot hadn't even woken up by the time they placed him inside. Dinobot hadn't said a word to anyone since they returned. Optimus was beginning to worry again. He hated seeing his mate so depressed.

Later on in the evening as he made his way back towards the barracks he decided perhaps he'd better go talk to him again. He already knew what was wrong, of course. The warrior had convinced himself that he'd never see his son again, despite the commander's reassurance. Optimus aimed to convince him otherwise. There was no way he could just let Dinobot be taken away to rot in a cell for the rest of his life, not after all he'd done to atone for his mistakes. Not after all he'd done with Optimus... He couldn't allow it! Surely he could convince at least the Maximal side to see that the warrior had really changed. That he was no longer to be considered a Predacon.

The hall had been repaired sometime earlier in the day, so the commander made his way towards Dinobot's quarter's. The door slid open at his silent command, but revealed nothing but an empty room. Optimus furrowed his brow plates. Perhaps it was a little harder on the raptor than he first thought. Immediately, he turned around and headed back towards the bridge. Gorgonus' pod had been set up in the secondary lab area, all systems connected directly to the ship's power supply. Sure enough, that's where he found him. Optimus vented a sigh as the door slid open. Dinobot was curled up just in front of where the pod lay, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth in time with his light snoring. He intended to stay as close to the boy as physically possible, protecting him with his life should the Predacons invade again. He'd probably never admit it, but he really did love that boy.

The next morning, everything appeared to have gone back to normal. Cheetor, Rattrap, and Rhinox were at their usual monitor stations. Dinobot was staring intently at a three dimensional projection of the Darksyde, supposedly updating the layout to include alterations he'd seen while captured. Really he was staring right through it, mind wandering elsewhere. He was so lost in thought that he nearly made a grab for his sword when he felt something touch him on the small of his back. The raptor was relieved he resisted his reflex to attack. When he turned around he came face to face with a smiling Optimus, the small bot in his arms reaching out expectantly. The warriors lips betrayed the smile he'd tried very hard to conceal before he glanced back up at his mate. "I don't see why he can't come out every now and then. It doesn't seem fair to keep him in that pod all the time." the ape explained, answering the raptor's unspoken question. Dinobot took the child, who immediately gave a delighted squeal at being held by his creator again. The raptor glanced over his shoulder towards his comrades' stations, all of whom were kind enough to pretend not to notice the scene behind them. He then turned back to face his mate. "Thank you..." he whispered, leaning down to place a soft kiss on the commander's lips. It was an action that the rest of the crew had gotten used to by now.

"Jeez, get a room, will ya?" Well, almost...