A/N: The fifth rewritten chapter of Vocantem Ventis.

I apologise for the large number of OC's.

Enjoy.

The morning was like a sigh of relief for the group as it drove away the fears and happenings of the night. Ty had returned to the camp shortly after Dozer and Blue Diamond and had found the two Dozeratops giving the rest of the group a hurried version of what had happened to them. He was quick to add in his own encounter with the two mysterious Trux. Needless to say, the group slept fitfully that night and it seemed an eternity before the sun finally rose over the eastern horizon.

Daylight at last.

"Who do you think it could be?" Skya asked, as the group packed up their encampment with Flynt and Rain helping them, the former having recovered from being knocked out by the tree and woken up along with everyone else. "I don't know. But whoever it was, they were gone before I could see who they were. And as to the other one? I think the quicker we're out of here the better." The Trux were quick to agree to this suggestion.

Soon it was time to go. Ty turned to the two Hydrodons. "You want to come along?" he asked. "There's room for two more in the gang?" "It would be nice Ty, but we have to go our own way," replied Flynt. "We have a forest to check on, it's probably burned itself out by now." "I understand," said Ty with a smile. "Goodbye, and thanks for everything," called Rain as the two headed back towards the forest. "And lookout for yourselves," added Flynt.

Everyone watched them until they were out of sight, then they turned and headed off in the opposite direction as the sun began to climb higher into the sky. Silence prevailed as they travelled on, their new friends having given them directions, the slightest sound having them all on edge. At last, they rounded a large rock and saw a group of trees up ahead. "What's that Rev?" asked Ty, squinting his eyes.

"I think it is the oasis we have been looking for," replied his friend. "Finally, I could do with a drink. All this traveling is making me thirsty" said Ton-Ton. "You said it," agreed Dozer. As they got closer though they began to make out shapes by the trees and water's edge. "Are those Trux?" said Rose squinting her eyes to try and see if she was right. "Skya, take a look," ordered Ty. The orange Craneosaur nodded and she extended her neck to get a better look.

"I can see a Craneosur... Three Gluphosaurs and a... Rollodon?" she answered, tilting her head in confusion. "Huh, guess we're not the only group that has different Dinotrux working together," said the red T-Trux. "That doesn't mean their friendly though," said Shade. Nobody contradicted him. They were remembering their battle with Reaper and Ty's encounter with his larger adversary.

Nevertheless, Ty and the others moved slowly forward, hoping to get as close to the strange Trux as possible without being noticed. Unfortunately, they didn't have much luck. The group had not gotten within more than a few yards towards the quintet of Trux when one of the Gluphosaurs happened to glance round in their direction and spot them. "T-Trux! T-Trux!" he yelled, alerting the rest of those gathered around him to the gang's presence.

The other two Gluphosaurs, Craneosaur and Rollodon immediately turned around and glared at the group with narrowed optics for they had clearly gone into battle mode while the glue-shooters put the frills out. "Stay back T-Trux!" growled the Rollodon. To say that they were shocked that he was talking normally like them would be an understatement. "Yeah! Unless you and your friends want to go home sore and sorry!" added one of the Gluphs.

"Hey, calm down! We're not here to fight!" Ty protested as the others came up beside him. But before anyone could react the three Gluphosaurs rushed straight at them, firing as they went. "Scatter!" The order was not needed as everyone had seen that the situation had deteriorated very quickly and darted every which way to avoid the sticky projectiles being hurled at them like hailstones in a winter storm.

While the group were dodging them, the Rollodon charged forward and slammed into Ty, sending him spinning backwards. "Alright! We tried using words but now you've made us angry!" the red T-Trux roared. Before the one-horned Trux could attack again, he was blindsided by Dozer and Shade, the force of which almost flipped him over onto his side, such was the pair's combined strength.

Ton-Ton, still fully loaded, and also still fully attached to his trailer, was severely hampered in his attempts to dodge the glue shots being hurled at him. That was until Rose rammed into the trio, sending them flying in different directions. "Leave him alone!" she yelled at them. Before any of them could get back up, Blue Diamond pile drived straight at them only for something to wrap itself around one of her horns and pull her back.

The male Craneosaur had entered the fight and immediately stopped her from attacking his allies. "No you don't!" he cried before he yanked the blue female Dozeratops back and onto her side. Before he could move in, he was hit by a full barrage of Garby's bricks and several of his back plates. Skya, in the meantime, quickly shot out her own hook and pulled Blue Diamond back onto all four treads.

"Thanks," she called before turning her attention back to the battle. A pair of loud crashes got their attention and they looked round in time to see both Dozer and Shade being flung to either side by the Rollodon as he charged straight at them and, using the momentum he had gained, headed straight at Ty. This time, though, the group leader was ready for him and knocked his attacker aside with his wrecking ball.

"Nice shot, Ty!" called Shade as he and Dozer regained their awareness.

And that was the turning point.

Hearing the red T-Trux's name the male Craneosaur's eyes suddenly widened and he stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait... Ty? As in... Ty Rux?" he asked, excitement and nervousness mixed together in his voice. At their friend's reaction, the rest of the Trux immediately halted in their attacks before slowly relaxing themselves as they took in the group before them. "Huh seems like our fame's spread," said Ace from Ton-Ton's bed spikes.

"You mean Ty's fame," said Waldo in a dry contradiction. The Gluphosaurs retracted their frills and smiled apologetically. "Sorry we tried to paste ya," said the first one, who was clearly the leader of the three. "Meh, not the first time we've dealt with you guys," said Ty. "I'm Rusty by the way," said the Craneosaur, deciding that introductions were in order. "Nice to meet you, Rusty," said Rose smiling.

He then gestured downwards at the three smaller Trux beside him.. "These three are Split, Splat and Splot." Said Trux waved in greeting. "And the Rollodon over there is Rolley." "Sure am," came the reply which only increased the curiosity of the gang. "I thought Rollodons didn't talk," said Dozer, looking at the one-horned Trux with a questioning glance. Rusty bent his head down to the yellow Trux's level and whispered in response.

"He got separated from his herd during a tornado, it somehow jolted his voice box." "Oh, right." Now that names were out of the way. Rusty's group moved aside to allow Ty and the others to take a drink which they gladly did, the cool water was welcomed into their systems as they gulped it down in relief. The Torttools, as the crater Trux expected, were equally quick to jump into the water and start playing around in it.

"So, what are you guys doing out here so far from your crater?" asked Splat, carefully probing for information. "It was threatened by a volcano," said Ty, in an almost distant voice as past memories came flooding back to him. "We were lucky to escape before it started, we've been on the move ever since," added Skya. "And a lot can happen in that time," said Rolley. "Yeah, like what happened last night," said Ton-Ton.

"What do you mean by "last night", Ton-Ton?" asked Rusty curiously. "Do you guys have trouble with something? "Oh, Dozer and Blue Diamond heard a strange noise and Ty saw some eyes in the dark and then he got into a fight with a strange T-Trux-" he broke off as he noticed that his friends were giving him the "look". "Er... Oops. He, he," Ton-Ton chuckled nervously. "So yeah, as Ton-Ton just told you we had some strange occurrences last night," said Ty.

"Hmm... Well it certainly sounds very odd I will admit," said Rusty. "Hey, maybe one of those strange Trux was the one who stole our ore all those months ago," said Splot. "You know when we first met you Rusty," he said looking up at the Craneosaur. "Yeah, I remember. But you also told me that you didn't get a look at who it was, all you found was just a few tread prints." "What did they look like?" Skya asked.

"Well, they were multi-treaded for one thing, and they obviously belonged to a large T-Trux-" "The large T-Trux! Out here!" Click-Clack screamed, cutting Splot off, before he quickly pulled his head inside his body as his bits started rattling with fright. "Oh come on nothing, we can't handle," said Blue Diamond. "Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, and you may very well come to regret it at some point later on. Take it from me," came a new voice.

All the Trux all turned their heads to see a trio of Tools were approaching them. One was a Scraptool who looked exactly like Skrap-It, only he didn't twitch every now and then, and he was a lighter, almost silver, shade of grey. The second was a Slamtool, Revvit had told the group that they might encounter the hammer-headed Tools outside the crater, but he had a much friendlier expression on his face than most of his kind.

The third and final was a species of Tool that they had never seen before. Unlike his companions, he was bipedal with a set of pliers for a mouth and a tail that ended in a u-bend. He had small two-digit hands, three-toed feet, a long neck and two large eyes on either side of his head. He was mainly black in colour with greyish and rusted parts all over his body. The group all stared at the three tools, suspicion in the, especially at the Scraptool.

Rusty noticed these looks and was quick to explain the situation. "These are our friends, Scorcher, Banger and Locker. They help to repair us and we provide them with shelter and food," he said much to the disbelief of the other Trux. "Working with a Scraptool! You're crazy!" Dozer almost yelled at them. "Most Trux would consider working and living with other Trux and Reptools crazy so you're in the same boat," said Scorcher.

"The dude's kinda gotta point," said Ton-Ton. "That's what I thought you'd say." "I don't suppose we could... You know... Join you perhaps?" ventured Rusty, though eagerness was present in his voice. Ty laughed. "Of course you guys can, after all, there's strength in numbers," the group of eight smiled at this. "Now let's get moving, if that mystery T-Trux and his allies are still around we don't want to be in the same area as them," he added.

"You don't think he *gulp* followed us do you?" Garby asked nervously. "I think he's been following us long before that, Garby," the red T-Trux, "but we're not gonna stick around to find out. Let's move out, Trux." "You heard him gang," added Rusty as he and the rest of his friends fell into line with Ty and his friends. As the twenty five strong group moved off, none of them noticed a large figure emerge from behind a nearby rock and watch them go.

"SCRAPTORS!" Rolley's shout of alarm made them whirl around to see the Rollodon being attacked by three of the metal menaces as they scraped their claws down his sides and bit down hard on his body with their jaws. They had been traveling for about an hour and had just entered a canyon. Not long after, everyone had the feeling that they were being watched. That feeling had completely disappeared now that they saw what was happening.

"Hang on, Rolley!" Ty rushed forwards and in one swing knocked two of the Scraptors off of the Rollodon while the third was sent flying into the other two by a hook. Of course, Ty naturally assumed that it was Skya who had done it. He was in for a surprise, however, when he turned around in time to see Rusty retracting his hook back into his and he realised that the younger male had beaten her to it.

"Nice job, Rusty," commented Ty. "Thanks," the other replied, who looked very excited at having been complimented by his hero. "We do practice from time to time to improve our aim, especially on moving targets." "Yeah, and we're the moving targets," added Splat sarcastically, "Oh, knock it off will ya," said Locker crossly, who was sitting beside Scorcher and Banger in Ton-Ton's bed with the other Tools.

"If I know Scraptors they'll be back, and with friends who we don't want to meet," said Ty. "So let's get moving before-" A loud screech cut him off. "...they show up," he finished and turned around just as another lot of Scraptors appeared in front of them. "Tools, take cover! We'll deal with these things!" Ty ordered rolling forward with the others as the Tools piled out of Ton-Ton's bed and darted behind some rocks.

"Save some for us!" said Splot as the three Gluphosaurus put their frills out ready to fire. The battle was much longer than the last one, and even with the group having a lot of Trux it didn't make much difference to their impression factor on the Scraptors. Blue Diamond rammed one into the closest wall of the canyon before slamming another one with her tail. "Don't these guys ever know when to give up?!" she half asked.

"Do you really want to ask that right now!" Skya yelled back as she smashed another pair of the metal pests away with a rock. "Good point!" the female dozeratops shot back, plowing into another Scraptor in front of her. Ty slammed two more away with his wrecking ball. "These guys are even more scrappier than the ones that were in Scraptor Valley!" he declared. "They have to live in a harder environment," said Rose, flinging a boulder at one of their attackers and pinning it to the ground.

It was then that one jumped onto Ty's face and no amount of shaking would get it off. Suddenly, a fair sized rock slammed into said Scraptor knocking it clean off the red T-Trux. An unfamiliar voice followed it up yelling, "Get out of here you hear me! You pint sized buckets of bolts!" At that instant a Trux that they had never seen before, followed by two more, barreled into two of the Scraptors, sending them flying, as they joined the battle.

The rest of the group renewed their efforts until at last, the evil creatures were driven off and left them panting for breath. This enabled them to take a proper look at the newcomers. One was a male Dozeratops, his paint a slightly darker yellow, almost honey colour than Dozer's. The second was a female Gluphosaur, like the trio, and the third Trux was a male of a species that they had not seen before.

He was noticeably larger than a normal Dozeratops, and possessed a much larger frill that showed it would form a sort of face guard when lowered as well as a blade, not unlike that seen on the aforementioned Trux. He also had an excavator claw on the end of his tail, in place of the jackhammer that was normally possessed by most Dozeratops. His body was mainly a bluish-silver grey with black highlights.

They were looking at the trux mirroring their blank stares before Dozer spoke to the second Dozeratops. "Ronto? Is that really you?" he asked in wonder, while the other simply stared at him. "Who are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "It's me, Ronto," replied the other. "Dozer?" The name brought a slow change to the other male's face before it split into a big smile. "What the?!" Ronto cried before rushing forward.

Both of them began talking at once while the others, especially Splat, stared open mouthed at the scene before them. "Wow!" "Where did you come from?" "It's great to see you!" "Hey, what's goin' on here?" asked Splat moving forward. "What are you doing here?" asked Dozer. "What do you mean? "What am I doing here?" What are you doing here?" answered Ronto. "HEY! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Splat yelled, finally bringing the pair out of their reunion.

"Everyone this Ronto, he's an old friend of mine," explained Dozer "You can say that again Doze and that's "best friend" if you don't mind," Ronto replied. "Back at you Ront." "Mind sharing with the rest of the class," said the other male Trux, who was looking slightly irritated more than anything. When Dozer saw him his mouth fell open but no sound came out. "You know you're gonna catch Dragonflopters if you keep gawking at me like that," came the sarcastic reply.

The yellow Dozeratops shook his head. "Sorry. You just... Remind me of someone I knew," he said, his voice trailing away slowly. "Oh," was the single reply. "Troy has a point though Ronto. How do you know Dozer?" the female Gluphosaur asked. "And how do you know Ronto, Dozer?" Skya asked. "We knew each other when we were young," said Dozer, smiling happily. "And we haven't seen each other until today," added Ronto.

"Really?" asked Rose "Really!" was the reply from both Trux at the same time. They both looked at each other before they both burst out laughing. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, that never gets old," chortled Dozer as Ronto did the same. "Ok, ok, greetings aside, let's get the heck out of dodge unless we want to be Scraptor chow," said Troy, with a hint of sarcasm. "My thoughts exactly, stay sharp everyone," agreed Ty as the group resumed their journey.

"So how long have you been with Troy and Luna?" Dozer asked Ronto as they progressed down the canyon. "Five weeks give or take. I ran into them after being chased by those Scraptors we just fought. They're a really nasty bunch I can tell you," he replied. "What's your story? "I suppose you've had a grand time gallivanting about the world with this merry band of Dinotrux and Tools I'd wager."

"You bet. Blue Diamond especially since she and Rose joined us. She's brave, strong, kind, beautiful-" he broke off as he realised Ronto was grinning at him like there was no tomorrow. "Don't worry Doze I won't tell anyone you're in love with her." "I am not in love!" was the protest Dozer made while he felt his face heat up like an oven. "Denial is the first sign of romance between lovers," said Ronto in a matter of fact tone.

"Troy, I do not wish to seem rude but do you know your way out of this canyon, and more importantly, what lies beyond?" asked Revvit. "I do. We just keep going this way, then it's flat land for a while and then we'll hit the river," Troy answered. "River?" asked Ty. "Yep, and there are also some great rocks for ramping as well, if you like that sort of thing." "Ramps?! Did you say ramps?! You said ramps right dude?!"

Ton-Ton had, to zero surprise from anyone, zoomed up alongside them as soon as he had heard the key word "ramping". "Uh huh. You just wait until you see them," said Troy happily. "They're some of the best there are." "Sweet. I can't wait to try them!" "Me neither!" agree Ace. "If we lose any parts or bolts you're picking them up," grumbled Waldo. "I wouldn't mind doing some myself. I could do with letting off some steam after what we've been through," said Skya.

"Agreed. I think we've earned some time to rest before we press on," said Ty.

"Absolutely," agreed Revvit.

A while later they had arrived at the plains and, as Troy had said, it was dotted with rocks, several of which, a certain blue Ankylodump was quick to notice, were all sloped diagonally. "Dudes this place is like ramp heaven" said Ton-Ton dreamily as he gazed around at the group's surroundings. "I think it's about time we stopped for a break anyway," said Ty. "Me too, I'm starving. We got any food?" asked Dozer.

"Not on us, but there's plenty around," said Troy. "Who's up for an ore hunt?" the red T-Trux asked, looking at the group for volunteers. "Count me in," said Rose. "I have a feeling you'll need someone to carry it back for you." "I'll come too," chipped in Rusty. "Great, then let's get some ore. You want in, Ton-Ton?" "Maybe later, dude. I'm gonna hit some of these sweet ramps," he said as Skya removed the last boxes of parts from his bed and the Tools unhooked the trailer.

"Go ahead."

The blue Ankylodump was off like a bullet from a gun. "WHOOOO!" he cried as he launched himself from one of the rocks and landed on the ground with a thud before zooming off to the next one. "I'll admit, seeing him makes me want to hit those things," said Split. "You're welcome to it," said Splat, lying down. "I, on the other hand, am going to take a nap." "Me too," Splot agreed with a yawn, before settling down beside his brother.

"All this excitement and rushing about is too much." "Oh come on, we live for adventure," said Split. "Whatever you say bro," the other two replied before they closed their eyes and fell to sleep. Later Ty and the others returned with enough ore for everyone though it took them two trips to carry their find back to the group's resting place. "I will say," said Banger. "You Trux and Tools don't overfeed those who you call your friends."

This earned more than a few chuckles and giggles from all round and a "Very funny" from Waldo. "What can we say, we like good food," replied Shade with a smile. "I concur," agreed Troy. "You know what," said Rolley when they had finished. "We should have an oath, or a motto, or something that binds us together." "I agree, that would be kind of cool," said Ace. "But what would it be exactly?" asked Blue Diamond as everyone all delved into thought.

After a few minutes, Troy spoke. "I know just what we need," he said as the others all turned to look at him. "When Scraptors first became a threat to all Trux, herds would swear an oath of mutual protection." "Fascinating. How did it go?" asked Revvit. "Something like this. Repeat after me. I name of Dinotrux." "I name of Dinotrux," repeated Split. "No! I Gluphosaur or-" "I Ankylodump," said Rose.

"Do solemnly swear," said Troy. "Do solemnly swear," repeated the others. "To protect and guard." "To protect and guard." "All members of this herd, or group, on our journey." "All members of this herd, or group, on our journey." "Alright gang, we'll rest for a bit then we'll tackle that river tomorrow morning," said Ty. "Yeah!" "Let's do it!" "Alright!" the others choursed. Troy smiled. "All for one and one for all," he said.

"I like the sound of that," said Click-Clack. "Then all together," said Rusty. "ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL!" The sound of this proclamation echoed around as the group knew that they were now stronger than ever. Once the noise had died down, everyone set about making camp which, with the help of the four Gluphosaurs, went smoothly. As evening drew in, the Tools collected Bitbugs to use for the lanterns and placed them in the centre of a small rock circle.

To pass the time whilst eating, Troy, Luna and Ronto were being informed about the group's previous adventures from their battle with Reaper to the fire to their encounters of the previous night. Ty was talking about his encounter with the rogue T-Trux he had gotten into a fight with. "As soon as I regained my senses I looked up and there he was," said the red T-Trux dramatically. The newcomers were listening with rapt attention, particularly Rusty.

"What did he look like?" asked Banger. "Two heads taller than me, that's for sure. His paint job was mainly blood red and black while-" "What did you say!" The sudden question from Troy made everyone jump. The Edozeratops, that was the name of the male's kind, a relative of the Dozeratops, they had learned, had been relatively quiet for the majority of the time the others had been talking, but now he was looking at Ty with a hard gaze.

Everyone was more surprised about how quickly his demeanour had changed. In an instant he had gone from quiet and reserved to someone of action. "Are you sure those were his colours?" he asked. "They were," the red T-Trux replied. "Why? Do you know him?" Troy went silent at this question. "Not personally. But I know more than I should, and that's why I'm reluctant to talk about him." "Why's that?" asked Scorcher.

The Edozeratops was quiet before Luna replied. "Ty? Did he say anything to you?" Ty thought for a moment. "He said that I was brave but foolish to resist him. We fought and just before he was going to take me out, there came this strange screech, and before you ask, it wasn't Scrapadactyls or Scraptors." Luna simply nodded in silent acknowledgement of this information, so the group leader continued.

"Whatever, or whoever, it belonged to, it made him stop mid-attack. Then he said that, the next time I, it may cost me my life, or the lives of my friends." The former of the two Trux frowned. "Ty, you should consider yourself very, and I mean, very lucky that you are alive." His voice had dropped lower as he spoke that sentence. It sent chills through everyone. "I'm most likely gonna regret asking this, but who is he?" asked Splat.

Troy and Luna glanced round at everyone before they sighed. "His name is Maul. He's a T-Trux from the far East, and one of the fabled "Sons of the Nightsisters", if that name means anything to any of you." "The Nightsisters?" said Rolley, "I thought those female T-Trux were just a myth? A story to tell to young Trux." "They are very real, I can assure you of that," replied the Edozeratops grimly. "So... You've seen them yourselves?" asked Skya.

"Yes, and we're extremely lucky to be alive," Troy replied. "They take a very poor view of intruders," added Luna. "I knew that I was gonna regret asking," said Splat shakily. "What else do you know about him?" asked Shade. "I know that Maul's anger and fear is his fuel. He was cast aside as a child by his mother and left to survive, along with his brothers," the other Trux replied. "That explains the roar I heard afterwards," said Ty.

"That was probably one of them," agreed the Edozeratops. "Well, you've told us about him. But how do we beat him?" asked Dozer. "Beat him? Are you out of your mind?" remarked Split incredulously. "Haven't you been listening? From what Troy's told us, he's practically invincible." "I also don't care for words like invincible unless they're proved to be true," replied Troy. "But you do have a point, Maul is one of the most powerful Trux to ever live, and that's saying something."

"How powerful are we talking?" asked Blue Diamond. "I once saw him take on two Craneosaurs," Troy answered. "I'll spare you the gory details, but only one of them got out alive. Yes, I said that," he continued, noticing the looks of horror on the group's faces. "Maul's killed others before, and he will kill again. And now it seems that we're on the number one spot on his leader's hit list." "That dude has a leader?" said Ton-Ton in disbelief.

Troy nodded. "I know. It's hard to believe but it's true. Maul may be ruthless, and have no qualms about taking us out, but he's smart as well as strong. After all," he continued, "he did set the fire in that forest you were staying in after all." Of all the revelations that evening this one threw the group through a loop. "So you're saying, in effect, that he's been following us ever since we left the crater!" exclaimed Garby.

"I think he's been following our movements long before that, Garby," said Ty, a serious look appearing on his face. "Whilst he and I were fighting, he mentioned D-Structs by name, and the only way he would know that information was if-" "-he'd been in the crater before," finished Rose. "It may not have been Maul watching us specifically," countered Revvit. "Ty did say he heard the screech of a strange creature."

"Which further drives home the point that Maul isn't working alone," concluded Rusty. "But with who?" asked Ronto. "We know he's working with another T-Trux but what kind of creature could make the sound that Ty heard?" "I think I know that as well," said Troy. "From the description you've given us, Ty. It sounds like it was a Droneix." "A Droneix? What's that?" asked Locker. "They're fliers for one thing," said the Edozeratops.

"That explains how Maul found out everything he currently knows about us," summed up Skya. "Quite," agreed Luna. "Some Trux have even learned the trick of understanding their language. They can make excellent scouts, or in this case spies, depending on who befriends them." "Also in this case it looks like Maul, and whoever he's working with, have some of these birds in their service," said Troy.

"And something tells me that they're not the only ones after us."

Later that night, Rawl and his scouting party arrived at a large, dark hill where many other Trux, and Droneix were gathered along with several Tools. A gate with metal doors set into a stone wall opened as they arrived and rolled inside. Crude windows are scattered generously around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with overhanging crenelations for the defenders inside to launch projectiles at any invaders.

As they approached the centre, a large, white, blue-grey and black Trux growled at them. He was a full head taller than the turquoise blue T-Trux with arms that were easily two to three times the size of his own and ended in long claw-like fingers. On his head was a series of small spikes while silver grey two crests projected backwards over his dark orange-red eyes. Down his neck and back were thin wires in rows of three abreast.

On his lower back were two large blue-grey spikes, one facing forwards and the facing backwards. Two rows of triangular l-shaped spikes ran up his tail while there were four smaller ones on the four corners of each section. Instead of a chain, he had a steel cable which was intersected by small cubes that had small spikes on four of their six faces. At the end of this cable was a large pyramid shape with five spiked drills on it.

The top drills were set at angles that showed that they could come out on chains. His tread housings also had l-shaped spikes on them that faced backwards along with three angled spikes on the sides. He also had three large claws on the front of his treads connected to the two front wheels that acted as additional weapons. Overall, he cut a far more imposing figure than any of the Trux in front of him.

Behind the large Trux was a pair of T-Trux facing away from the patrol. One was Maul, the other, whilst similar, was also different. His body was like the red and black T-Trux in shape but there were multiple differences. For starters, he was yellow and the horns on his head were larger and there were fewer of them. Two of the left-hand side ones were broken three quarters of the way down.

He had large circular plates on his tail and had four oblong-shaped spikes with four more oblong-shaped spikes on top of it. Projecting out of the spikes was a large blade with a straight top and a curved underside. Rawl, feeling more than a little nervous, and rightly so, moved forward to speak. "Cold Stone's son, sir... We found him. But someone overheard us, we were forced to confront him and-"

"My brother, Savage and I don't want excuses," Maul growled, as the T-Trux turned to face the patrol. "Maul is right," added the other. "Our father wants the heads of the Craterdwellers!" The pair then approached the smaller male who was mustering all of his will power not to back down. "We had no choice... Cold Stone's second son heard what we were planning to do. We cornered him but he barely escaped."

The two brothers exchanged glances, this was an unexpected development. "Did you take care of him?" the former asked. "Not for want of trying," Rawl replied. "He got away-" With roars of fury, the two T-Trux slammed their tails into the patrol leader, throwing him against two of the pillars to the side. His followers quaked in fear. They knew all too well what happened to those who crossed the two brothers.

Maul and Savage, however, along with the strange Trux, were unfazed by this. As Rawl lay groaning in pain, Maul turned to the patrol. "I will lead you in the search for Ty and his friends." He then looked around at the rest of those gathered. The rest of you will remain here with Savage and await further orders, understood?" Several nods came in response. Satisfied at this, the red and black T-Trux turned to his brother.

"I trust you will be able to keep an eye on things whilst I am gone?" Maul asked. Savage nodded. "Do what you must, little brother?" the yellow and black T-Trux replied with firm certainty. His brother turned and let out a thunderous roar as, with Rawl's patrol in tow, he made for the gates. They opened as the group reached them and closed when the last of the company had passed through and set off into the night.

And that's another chapter of VV and here are a few notes to round it off:

1) Flynt and Rain will return in a later chapter.

2) Origins for OC's will be revealed as we go forward.

3) Maul and Savage are inspired by the Star Wars characters.

See you all next time.