CHAP 36

Sari was actually making good time in repairing Nos-4-a2. Though she couldn't do much about the scratches on his frame she did manage to remove some of the dents and replace his broken monocle. But there was one place he would not allow her to touch. His chest. Every time she tried to to he would yell at her, telling her he'd repair that himself, so she gave up. XR noticed this and couldn't help making a comment about it. "What's wrong, Nossy?" he asked. "You got a problem? Since when have you been sensitive about people touching you in places?"

Nos-4-a2 glared at him. "I do not appreciate what you are getting at, little one."

"I'm not your little one," XR told him. "and do you even know what I'm getting at?"

"Of course," Nos replied, reaching up and re-aligning the monocle on his eye so it was back in its proper place. Now that it had been replaced he could see much better. "I'm not an idiot."

XR was tempted to question that statement but chose not to. Instead he moved out of Nos-4-a2's reach and rummaged through his drawer for a weapon. He wasn't going to be caught off guard this time if the energy vampire made any false moves. Unfortunately he didn't have anymore guns. "Craters."

Finally Sari finished repairing what she could and moved away. Nos pushed himself off the floor and was pleasantly surprised when the anti-gravity hardware worked. He turned his attention to XR who moved away further from him. "You know, I haven't fed on a normal machine for quite awhile," he commented, grinning. "How about I change that by feeding on you?"

XR backed away, realizing he'd made a mistake sticking around while Sari worked on the energy vampire. He wasn't even sure why he'd bothered to stay around for that. Oh that's right. You didn't leave because you know Prowl would be angry if you did.

"Well forget about Prowl," he said out loud. "I'm outta here!"

Extending his arm he shoved at Nos who fell back into Sari, knocking her to the floor. While they struggled to untangle themselves XR took off down the hall, not bothering to look back.

"Get back here, Little One!" Nos-4-a2 shouted after him.

Like he was going to do that. Not with the cray vampire in perfect working order and Sari the psychotic techno organic as his slave. If he was suicidal he might but he wasn't so he didn't.

That was for the best anyway.

XR kept on running down the halls until he could not run anymore. Then he stopped and bent over, trying to catch his breath. "You wouldn't think a robot needed to breath," he gasped. "It makes no sense really and-" he cut himself off when the sound of approaching footsteps reached his audio units.

Somebody was coming.

"Uh oh. I'd better get out of sight." he looked around himself, panicking. There was no place to hide. "Craters!"

Then his optics settled on a statue of Zurg standing against the wall. Having no other choice, he jumped behind the statue, doing his best to stay out of sight. A few seconds later three figures came into view. Warp Darkmatter, the female robot vampire and between them was..

"Prowl?" Oh craters! They got him! I knew this was going to happen! He should have listened to me!

He watched them getting closer, wondering what he was going to do. He couldn't exactly allow them to take Prowl to wherever they were taking him but he couldn't think of any way to get him away from them. It's times like these when I wish Buzz was here. He always comes up with good ideas to deal with problems.

But Buzz wasn't there and would not be up to doing anything for a long time. So XR was on his own and would have to come up with something without help. It was harder than it looked, especially since he didn't have a weapon. "Craters."

Even if he did it didn't matter he wouldn't have been able to use it anyway.

At that moment Shadowstar suddenly stopped in her tracks, forcing Warp and Prowl to do the same. Darkmatter looked at her curiously, wondering why she'd halted. "What is it?" he asked her.

She put up her hand for silence. "I think," she said, her optics scanning the hallway. "We're being watched."

'"Huh?"

"Shh!' she ordered, her optics locking onto the statue of Zurg. "I think I found it."

Suddenly she moved. Before XR knew what was happening or had time to react Shadowstar kicked the statue over and stared down at the small robot cowering behind it. He stared back at her, unable to move.

"Well well," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "What do we have here?"

"Uh, hi," he said nervously. "I'm lost. You wouldn't know where I can find the little mecha's room would you?"

She reached down and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him off the floor and dangling him before her. "Uh, would it help if I said you had nice legs?" he asked. "Because those are the nicest ones I've ever laid my eyes on."

She glared at him. "Flattery will get you nowhere," she stated flatly. Then she turned back to Warp, her hand tightly clenching the space ranger robot's arm. "Look what I found."

"What we have here?" Warp said when he saw the robot. He moved over to him and grinned. "One of Lightyear's rookies." he grinned. "It looks like we have two intruders to show Zurg."

"You don't have to do that," Xr protested, thinking quickly. 'You could just pretend you never saw me and-"

'Nice try, soda can," Shadowstar said. "But you're coming."

Further down the opposite hallway, Nos-4-a2 and Sari who had followed XR watched as Shadowstar and Warp walked toward the throne room with Prowl and XR in tow.

"Do you want to still go after them now, Master?" the techno organic girl asked, looking at the energy vampire.

Nos-4-a2 watched them move away with a thoughtful expression on his face. He ran his hand over his chin as he replied. "No, not right now." he turned to the girl and touched her shoulder, grinning. "I've got a better idea. Come along, my dear. I am need of your services elsewhere. Let us make sure nothing can interfere when I finally chose to have my revenge."

She nodded. "Yes, Master," she responded, moving to follow him down the hall.

"But first," he added before they had gotten very far. "I'm going to finish my repairs." he gingerly touched his chest, remembering... remembering again what the fembot had done. You think you're going to get away with it? No. Silly female. I don't forget being violated that easily.

"Are you all right, Master?" Sari asked him.

"I'm fine," he told her. "But like I said I need to finish repairing myself." he grabbed her wrist. "Let's find some place I can do it without interference."

Prowl was starting to get the guilty feeling again. As Warp and Shadowstar led him and XR to Zurg's throne room the Autobot noticed the smaller robot glaring at him. It was clear he was not happy that Prowl got them both caught by once again going off by himself. The Autobot didn't feel proud of it either. He felt stupid and had the urge to say he was sorry, though he couldn't do that with Warp and Shadowstar there.

If only she hadn't cuffed me, he thought, grinding his teeth together. While they're on I can't do anything. Stupid pacifier. and he had no way of getting them off either. In this universe Processor Over Matter didn't seem to work all the time or all that well. Not since he'd used it to free himself and Sari from the cables in 42.

Maybe his power levels were too low to allow him to use that ability. There was no other explanation for it. Crystal power had managed to keep him online and he could still use most of the abilities he had, including the holograms, but it wasn't enough to keep him at full power. Crystal energy was like energon but it would never be energon.

Shadowstar's grip tightening painfully on his arm brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his head and found her smiling that smile of her's that reminded the Autobot that he was in for major agony in the near future if she had her way. He didn't even have to be a mind reader to know what she was thinking. The vampire femme was picturing all the things she was going to do to him as soon as she got the chance. But he noticed a second thing as well.

She seemed tense and something about the way her optics were flickering told him she was annoyed about something.

She knows she can't do anything she wants to me, he concluded. Because Darkmatter said I have to be taken to this Zurg being.

He wasn't looking forward to that either but it would give him a chance to see what the creature looked like and decide for himself if the description the space rangers gave him and his reputation proceeded him.

Prowl would find out a few minutes later when Warp and Shadowstar drug their prisoners into the throne room and brought them over to the being sitting on the chair.

"Zurg," Warp said, looking up at the seated figure. "These are the beings Shadowstar was after."

Prowl looked up and stared at the creature sitting on the throne. It was a humanoid being with red eyes and silver colored horns. He wore a purple robe and dark gray armor. He also seemed to have a permanent smile on his face.

This was Zurg?

"Hmmm," the being said, leaning forward on his throne and staring down at the captives. "Very interesting."

He stood and took the stairs, his hands behind his back. The being was sure footed and didn't seem to need to use his arms to keep his balance. If he had any feet. He seemed to glide rather than walk.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he stood over them prisoners, looking from one to another. "I see," he said, his eyes locked on XR first. "Star Commands Expendable Ranger."

"Experimental Ranger," XR corrected, offended.

"Whatever." Zurg waved him off and turned his attention to Prowl. "Now who is this? I've never seen a machine like this one before." he leaned forward, his hand rubbing his chin, thoughtfully. "Interesting." then he noticed the Autobot symbol. "What is that?" he demanded, poking the symbol with his finger. "Who do you work for? If there another emperor trying to take over?"

For some reason this set off both XR and Shadowstar. The two robots laughed in unison. Zurg glared at them. "Something amuses you?" he demanded.

"Zurg," Shadowstar said, recovering first. 'That symbol you see on the Autobot is not for an emperor but a fraction." he walked over and touched the symbol. "It's a fraction of machines called Autobots. I have a symbol too, even if you can't see it, though mine is much different, seeing as his fraction and mine are not the same."

The evil emperor looked confused. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Fractions?"

"It's just a mark to show whose side you are on," she explained, shrugging. "Nothing to worry about."

Zurg didn't seem to see it that way. "Are you telling me there is a war going on in the galaxy I don't know about?" he demanded.

She grinned. "Well there's a war and you didn't know about it but it's not in this galaxy."

"It's not." he stared at her 'Then what galaxy is it in?"

"Nothing you have to worry about, my purple friend," she said, poking his forehead. "As it will never get in your way."

Zurg slapped at her hand and she withdrew it. "How are you do sure?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

She shrugged. "I just do. Now why don't we get back on topic here?" she rested her hand on Prowl's shoulder and squeezed it, amiing him flinch. "Like what do you intend to do with these intruders here?"

"Oh them," Zurg looked back at Prowl and XR. He grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Put them in the dungeon for now until I think of a better way to deal with them."

"Might I suggest a few things?" she asked.

"No!" he shouted, making her jump. "You may not."

It took a moment for her to was obvious he wasn't happy about what she'd done to Nos-4-a2 and most liekly didn't want a repeat of that. While this offended her it was better not to push it. She said, resigning herself. "Fine, Zurg, whatever you say." she pulled both robots away. "Let's go."

Sari waited patiently near the door as Nos-4-a2, seated on the edge of a table in one of the labs, worked on repairing all the damage inside his system. When the two had entered the lab Sari had once again offered to repair it for him but he refused. She'd started to ask him about it but he cut her off by roaring in her face. The girl quickly backed off and apologized for prying. He then ordered her to wait over by the door and keep an eye out for any trouble while he commenced repairing.

She'd done so without protest. The girl still retained some of her stubbornness even under his control but she was obedient. He smiled to himself. Yes, she was. Obedience fit her more than that fiery personality she had before, though now that he gave that some thought, the girl's normal way of acting wasn't all bad either.

Sure she was a brat but that didn't keep him from admiring the stubborn attitude and the ability to take care of herself without anyone else there to do it for her. She could improvise. She wasn't some wimpy little wall flower that needed her prince to come and get her. If the girl hadn't acted so foolishly she could have gotten away from him by herself, and he would have enjoyed chasing her down.

After all; her energy was too tasty to pass up.

But chasing her was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He needed Sari to help him get back at both beings responsible for what happened. Zurg and Shadowstar. No thanks to them he was getting such rotten luck and it all started because that stupid femme refused to just hand over the little robot he'd lain a claim on.

Who does that harpy think she is anyway? he asked himself, carefully working on his damaged system. Thinking my prey belongs to her? Think she can feast on me anytime she wants? Thinking she can.. she can VIOLATE me like that! I'm one of the most respected villains in the galaxy! There is no way I'm going to let her get away with what she did. Once I have completed my repairs she'll regret this. I'll make her regret this. I'm show her what a real vampire can do and when I'm done she'll beg me to kill her.

Nos-4-a2 smiled at the thought and finished his repairs, removing his hands and carefully closing the metal plating's of his chest. "Which I shall do with great pleasure," he said, his monocle lighting up maliciously. "I'm going to drain her energy slowly.."

"Master?" Sari spoke up.

"What?" he asked, looking up, irritated. Why was she interrupting his thoughts?

Sari kept her eyes focused on the hall. "Somebody is coming."

"Well deal with it," he told her. "I'm not finished repairing myself." He still had a few things to do, though they weren't inside his system.

She glanced at him and grinned maniacally, as if she was looking forward to following the order. "As you wish, Master." she said before turning and dashing out of the room, activating her blades on the way.

He watched her leave then turned back to his repairs, a smirk on his face. "Lovely..."

"This is your fault!" XR shouted, pointing at Prowl who sat in the cell across from him. "If you had just listened to me this never would have happened!"

The Autobot looked at him with a bleeding heart expression. "I know," he admitted. "It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

"Sorry won't cut it this time," the space ranger robot ranted, waving his arms around. "You're really making it hard to sympathize with you, you know that? Every time I agree to help you with something you do something dumb and make things worse!" he folded his arms. "You know, when I first met you, I used to think you were one of those level headed machines that avoided doing stupid things. It looks like I was wrong on all accounts."

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. The Autobot wasn't sure about anything anymore. He seemed to be constantly making trouble for himself and the people who wanted to help it. He just couldn't seem to avoid it. Maybe it had to do with everything going it. Ever since Sari had been taken he seemed to have reverted back to his old self to compensate.

I should do some mediating, he considered. Try to clear my mind some more. Maybe then I'll feel more like myself.

Prowl doubted how much good it would do him. It hadn't seemed to help earlier but it was worth a try. Pulling his feet onto the mattress he folded his legs into the lotus position and began the long process of clearing his mind.

XR watched him, frowning. "So you're just going to sit there and hum to yourself," he grumbled. "Well go ahead. See if I care." he jumped onto the cot in his own cell and started running his hands over the wall. "and while you're doing that I'll try to get us out of here."

"How could he be so selfish!" Shadowstar ranted, pacing back and forth in front of Nimrod and Warp who were watching her. All three had gotten together in one of the rooms where the Brain Pods had their coffee breaks. While Warp and Nimrod had their coffee Shadowstar, who did not drink organic beverages, let off some steam. "That robot belongs to me! I won't allow him to prevent me from doing what I want with him!"

"Whoa calm down, Sky-bot," Warp said, setting his coffee down. "What is this about you owning the Autobot? What are you talking about?"

She glared at him. "You're so smart you figure that out for yourself," she snapped, her optics flashing green then red. "You really think I'm going to tell you everything about myself and the things I have lain my claims to?"

"Well whatever the reason is it sure must be a big one," he commented, picking up his coffee again and sipping it. "Is that why you seemed so determined to keep Zurg from knowing about him being here?"

"You could say that," she answered, evasively. It was obvious she did not want to explain herself to an organic. "But it's not your concern and I'd rather you not push it."

"Oh I won't push it," he told her. "But if you want to avoid trouble, you'll let this go."

"Who asked you?" she snapped, folding her arms and leaning against the wall.

"Nobody," he said, walking over to her. Before she could react he slammed his hand into the wall next to her head and leaned close forcing her to kneel down to create some space. "But I'm going to warn you anyway. Much as you refuse to admit Zurg's not an idiot nor is he incompetent. And even while you're here ranting about him and calling him names he's been plotting your demise." he grasped her shoulders, pulling her up until their faces were only inches from each other. "Now unless you want to give him a reason to terminate you right now, you won't push the issue."

The alien was hurting her as well as invading her personal space and she didn't like it. She shoved him hard in the chest, knocking him back. "If Zurg thinks he's going to get rid of me easily he's got another thing coming," she informed him. "I won't let him extinguish my spark nor will I give him any reason to speed up the process."

Shadowstar moved away from the wall and slammed both fists down onto the count top. "He won't kill me," sjhe growled. "I will not allow it. NEVER!" she turned to Darkmatter, her mood darkening. "Let's see him try it. I'd love to see that!"

"Do you really want to provoke him?" Warp asked her. He was honestly worried about her. "I'm telling you it's not a good idea."

'If he's planning on killing me any way why does it matter?" she turned from both of them and headed toward the door. "And why do you even care what happened to me?"

"Why shouldn't I care?" he wanted to know.

She ignored the question and continued on her course. "Well I'll let him think what he wants, for now. But if and when he sets it into motion, I'll be ready."