[Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival plays]

Me: Good choice on the music today. Hey everyone, it's WOLFWATCHER12, The Amazing Ghost Musician and PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47 here with ya in Club Luda once more! Good to be with you fellas.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: What's up, fellow FanFiction readers and authors? It's good to be back after that small hiatus I took, it's been soooooooo long since we continued our story. Am I right?

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yep.

Me: I heard that you and your father had been trying to find a new place. I hope it works out for you. But other than that, we're here for a new chapter of Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Yeah it's kinda rough having to find a place with affordable rent now-a-days, all we can do is look and save up our money for a deposit. But other than that, I'm back in the mood to continue our story as you've mentioned. How about you, Phantom? Are you excited to be back doing Steven Universe: War of the Beasts?

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yessir, I am. I've also been working on an Ultraman Unity rewrite and a third chapter of The Fantastic Justice Avengers.

Me: Now for this new chapter, it's based on another one of our favorite Beast Wars episodes entitled "Call of the Wild".

The Amazing Ghost Musician: That's right, broski! But it's going to be somewhat different from the episode, as we'll be changing it up a little bit. For the plot: The Predacons make another attack against the Maximals and Crystal Gems outside the Axalon and the Beach House. During the battle, the Predacons steal the two rectifier coils, and it results with neither the Maximal Base nor the Beach House being energon shielded.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: As a result, the Maximals are stuck in their Beast Modes 24/7, and becoming more and more animalistic, like a real-life silverback gorilla, cheetah, field-mouse, rhinoceros, and velociraptor.

Me: I believe Tigger would say, this is terribibble! However, this cannot bode well for the Maximals. As long as they are stuck in their Beast modes, they lose all sense of reason. Hopefully, it can be sorted out.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: You're not kidding! Now with their options limited, Steven and the Crystal Gems must call upon Tigatron for help, since he knows how to balance out his beast and robot forms.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Thank goodness.

Me: Jetfire spies on the enemy and will inform Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot about it as well.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Unfortunately, things get worse around nighttime when the Maximals who have turned into full on beasts get loose from the Axalon, and they start roaming the forest of Beach City.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh crap! That can't be a good sign.

Me: I agree, this is starting to feel pretty grim right now. And also, Jetfire is out patrolling the skies, so he's not affected by what's been going on in the base. Neither is Airazor, which is a good sign.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: That is all good, but there's a bigger problem. With all 5 Maximals stuck in their beast forms, they become easy targets as the Predacons with them acting like a group of what they call "Big Game Hunters"... So it's up to Tigatron to find the Maximals, and bring them back to their senses before they all become hunting trophies… At the same time, both Airazor and Jetfire must head to the unguarded Predacon base to retrieve both rectifier coils back…. And while all of this is going on, Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems must fight off the Predacons by themselves, and they're outnumbered 12-to-7.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yipe!

Me: Can Steven, Tigatron, Jetfire, Airazor and the others put a stop to this? I really hope so guys.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: We all do, Wolf! But for now, let's get started with chapter 19 and find out what will go down.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: You got that right, gents!

All Three: ENJOY!


Disclaimer: We do not own Steven Universe or Beast Wars/Transformers in any way. All rights for Steven Universe go to Rebecca Sugar, Ian Jones-Quartey, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Inc. All rights for Beast Wars: Transformers go to Hasbro, Larry Ditilio, Bob Forward, YTV, Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Media and Claster.


Chapter 19: Call Of The Savagely Wild Instinct!

We find ourselves inside the Axalon and we see Cheetor and Pearl, laying together in a hammock, Cheetor was curled up in a giant ball as Pearl brushed her fingers through his fur, making him purr like a real-life cheetah which he found soothing. He then started nudging his head against her neck.

As the two were resting, Pearl began having a vision of something. It was very strange but, someone was fighting the Maximals and Predacons, and Megatron was going to triumph only to be smashed by a figure in heavy purple, silver and lavender armor with both the Predacon and Decepticon insignias on him. He fought against some kind of being dressed in all black armor who had violently stabbed someone.

She tossed and turned as she saw this vision and an image of a horrifying creature which could be heard as 'Protoform X' in the vision, the voice was from a robot that sounded like a medieval knight. Then a giant python charged and tried to chomp down on Steven, but something kicked said beast out of the way.

Next, she saw another Gem Kaiju fighting against some kind of giant Crystal Gem warrior, it was fighting against the Kaiju and then a dark shadow came towards her and attacked her, pointing a blaster, "See you in Hell!" he said, firing at her.

Pearl wakes up fast in a panic. "AAAAAHHH!" she screamed and panted, as she was sweating.

Cheetor notices her jerking awake and yawns a little. "Hey Pearl, you okay?" he asked.

"I don't know, Cheetor." said Pearl. "I had some kind of vision, you and the others were in it, we were fighting Megatron and when he was about to attack, someone stabbed him through his Spark, I don't know how to put it into words, but there was also a woman being sacrificed to some kind of ritual."

Before Pearl could explain, the base shakes and knocks both her and Cheetor from their hammocks

"This is a code one emergency! Predacon attack, Sentinel disabled." said the A.I. of the Axalon.

"I'll have to tell you later," said Pearl, as they both raced out of the hammock and into the hallway.

Outside the Maximal Base, Scorponok, Tarantulas, Jasper, DarkFanger and Spinitor began their attack and fired their guns, "Keep them pinned while the others begin their part of the plan!" ordered Scorponok, as they kept things up.

Back inside the base, Optimus, Steven, Rhinox, Garnet and Rattrap are in the main hold, getting a gist of the situation.

"Damage Report!" Optimus said.

"Top side autogun, destroyed!" said Rhinox, as he told him what had been happening.

"Garnet, Steven, you defend the beach house!" Optimus ordered them. "I'll take to the roof hatch and defend the Axalon from the air!"

Garnet replied, "Right!" as she got ready to battle.

"We'll fight them off, Optimus!" Steven told Optimus.

The lead Maximal turned to Rattrap and gave his order to him. "Rattrap, get that backup cannon online!" said Optimus, to the rodent Maximal.

"Don't get your bananas in a bunch, I'm on it!" Rattrap said, as he got to his station.

Amethyst darted for the main hold and panted a little. At that moment, Cheetor and Pearl raced into the room.

"What's the situation?" asked Cheetor, as he wanted an update.

"We're being swarmed by a number of Predacons out front!" Steven stated, as he informed them of the situation.

The three of them grimaced at this sight. "Oh man, this is not good! What do we do!?" Cheetor asked, as he wanted to act on this.

"Well first off, you can get maximized and arm your weapons into gear." Rattrap said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot!" Cheetor said, as he switched to robot mode while Amethyst and Pearl got battle ready.

"Alright P, let's go kick some Predacon behind!" Amethyst said to Pearl.

Pearl nodded, with a smirk on her face. "Right behind ya!"

"Hey Rat-Face, hope you watch those screens closer!" Amethyst said to Rattrap. "You're about to see what we can do as Opal!"

Once they're ready, Amethyst, Pearl, Cheetor and Dinobot head into the elevator.

"Man, I swear that Purple Gems of Amethyst's goes clear through to the brain." Rattrap muttered to himself.

Steven then said, "Please don't start, Rattrap." he facepalmed his head.

"Whatever!" Rattrap replied.


Back outside the base, the five Predacons continued to fire their ammo at the ship, Amethyst, Cheetor, Pearl and Dinobot began the counterattack. Amethyst and Pearl started firing towards where Scorponok and Tarantulas were at, while Cheetor and Dinobot charged right after DarkFanger, Jasper and Spinitor.

"Now, while they are distracted!" Megatron ordered, over the comms. He fires a rocket at the backup cannon, destroying it in the process.

Once that was done, Terrorsaur and Flamenix landed on the roof hatch of the Maximal Base, and they fired at the access panel.

"We're breached!" Rhinox gulped, seeing the damage.

"Open the roof hatch!" Optimus exclaimed to Rhinox, and he opened the roof hatch and Optimus darted into the sky, firing his missiles at the Predacons, they rolled out of the way.

"Garnet, we've gotta protect the house!" Steven said, as he and Garnet got their defensive barriers ready and got out their weaponry.

As the two hopped out the roof hatch, they saw Bluebird and Waspinator landed on top of the roof of the beach house, and they fired at the access panel. Opening the panel, and revealing a crystalline coil (rectifier coil).

"Look! There's the rectifier coil!" said Bluebird to Waspinator, as the two rip it loose from the access panel.

Megatron looked at said coil. "That's it, Yessssss!" he said, grinning like the madman he was.

As Steven and Garnet flew towards the beach house, Optimus came rocketing up from the roof hatch and opened fire at Flamenix, his forearm gun extended. He fires and the missile hits Flamenix, carrying him back.

Terrorsaur fires back at Optimus, knocking him down.

As Bluebird and Waspinator were about to fly off, Steven and Garnet landed on the roof of the beach house.

"Where do you two think you're going!?" Steven said to them, as he fired his blast at them.

Waspinator fires a missile at the two, only for Steven and Garnet to duck. Garnet fires back at Waspinator, but misses Bluebirdand she fires back at Garnet and Steven

Down on the ground, Amethyst and Pearl continued to fire at the Predacons. Pearl sees Steven and Garnet in trouble

"Amethyst, time to fuse!" said Pearl, as she instructed her fellow Crystal Gem.

"You've read my mind!" said Amethyst, with a smirk, as the two of them fused into Opal and began to fight them off.

"Uh-oh!" Scorponok shuddered.

Opal fires her arrows at Scorponok and Tarantulas, sending them flying.

"Now, fall back!" Megatron ordered his minions.

Cheetor and Dinobot were busy fighting DarkFanger, Spinitor and Jasper, as they were stalling them, Dinobot roared in anger as Cheetor kicked Jasper in the gut, sending her colliding with a boulder.

"NOW he tells us!" Jasper gritted, as she fell.

Dinobot tosses Spinitor up into the air, and collides with DarkFanger, knocking them both down.

Back on the Maximal base roof hatch, Optimus got back to his feet, and he sees Flamenix, Waspinator, Bluebird and Terorrsaur all flying away to the sky while carrying both rectifier coils in their hands.

"Optimus, they're making a break for it! " Steven said, as he helped Garnet back to her feet.

He saw this and said, "You're not leaving the party THIS early, are you?" as he rockets after them.

Up in the sky, we see Airazor flying about, returning from her patrol, she saw the flares of explosions around the Axalon and Steven's house as well as the combatants taking to the sky.

"Trouble with the neighbors again… Airazor… MAXIMIZE!" she exclaimed, as she transformed into robot form.

Optimus flies after the four Predacon flyers, he sends a salvo of missiles after them but Megatron fires another rocket up in the air and it hits Optimus.

"Aaaaargh!" screamed Optimus, as he was shot down by the Predacon leader.

"OPTIMUS!" Airazor gasped, shocked, and she quickly dashed over to save him.

Terrorsaur fires his cannons at her, but she dodges his blasts and he, Bluebird, Waspinator and Flamenix make their way towards her, but Opal gets in their way.

"You Predacons are not going anywhere with those." Opal fires her arrows at the Predacon flyers and provides defense for Airazor.

"We'll see about that, Crystal Gem!" Megatron sneered, he fired another rocket at the Gem Fusion.

The impact of the rocket forces Opal to defuse back into Amethyst and Pearl, and they both end up free falling down to the ground.

Terrorsaur fires three more missiles at Airazor, hitting her in the process and she ends up damaged, but is still airborne as Amethyst found something to break her and Pearl's fall.

"Need a lift, big guy?" Airazor asked her leader.

"Airazor, you're hit!" Optimus gasped, worried.

"Drag…isn't it?" Airazor asked, dryly, as she knew that was true.

And standing atop a giant boulder, looking at the retreating enemies, Cheetor is behind Dinobot, who was still raging and was smashing his sword against the rocks as he also fired the laser from his eyes at said rocks.

"OPTIMUS!" Cheetor reacted to seeing his leader badly injured.

Steven and Garnet ran over to where Optimus and Airazor had fallen, they checked their conditions.

Amethyst, Pearl, Cheetor and Dinobot join them to help them out, "Airazor, you alright?" Pearl asked in concern.

"I will be after a repair." said the hawk Maximal, knowing what she needs.

'Please be OK, you guys!' Steven thought, worried for them.


Back inside the Maximal Base, Airazor was placed in the C.R. Chamber

"How's Airazor's condition, Optimus?" Steven asked.

"Not good! She took a few bad hits, it'll be days before repairs are complete." Optimus replied.

"I hate to bring in more bad news, but we've got another problem." Rhinox said, worried.

At that moment, something began to happen as bits of electricity surrounded the Maximals. The Crystal Gems were all puzzled,

"What on Earth is happening?" Pearl asked in concern.

"You guys are having an Energon buildup!" Garnet stated.

"What the hell!? We're… inside the base!" Rattrap complained.

And Rhinox replied, "That's what I was going to tell you!" as he went on, "Beast Mode!" he called out and the Maximals all transformed to their Beast Mode. "The Predacons took both our rectifier coils, without them, the base and Steven's house are no longer shielded from the Energon Fields!"

Steven gasped in horror at this, "Oh no, that's very bad!"

"Unless we can get those rectifier coils back," Garnet states, as she was keeping herself aware of the situation. "You guys are gonna be stuck in your Beast forms!

"AW MAN… You mean we gotta wear these fur coats day and night?" Rattrap complained in a panic.

"That could be a problem." said Optimus.

"Yeah, it's a serious problem!" Pearl agreed with that.

"What are we gonna do?" Cheetor said, feeling worried, as Pearl stroked his fur to comfort him.

Garnet then turned over to Amethyst, "We're going to have to put the base in lockdown so that you guys don't Beast Out on all of us and get loose." she said, and Amethyst nodded.

"It's not our best option, Optimus, but it's the only one we've got." Steven said, with a serious expression on his face.

Optimus nods, "Agreed, Steven." he said, reluctantly agreeing with the boy.

And so, Garnet added to this, "Amethyst, while we get the lockdown activated, I'll need you to go into the northern sectors and find Tigatron." she said to Amethyst. "We're gonna need his help."

"Yeah, if anybody knows how to handle beast forms, it's him." Cheetor said to them.

Amethyst nodded, "Okay. I'll do the best I can!"

"We'll inform you guys when we've got" Steven said, as the Crystal Gems exited the base through the elevator and went back to the house.

"Computer, activate Maximal Base full lockdown Mode!" Optimus said.

"Acknowledged! Lockdown Activated!" said the ship's computer.


Meanwhile at the Predacon Base, Megatron and the Predacons cheered at the victory they stole from under the Maximals' noses.

"Perfect!" Megatron chuckled, holding the one of the two rectifier coils. "Without these coils, the Maximals are forced to remain in the Beast Mode even inside their own base. Yessssss!" he chortled as he went on.

It was at that moment, Jasper then added to it. "A brilliant solution, milord." she bowed to him.

"With the Maximals in Beast form, the effects should soon be noticeable." Megatron gloated. "And when that happens…. WE STRIKE!"

And with that, they all laughed with glee as the criminals they were.


Up in space, we see Black Diamond's ship, monitoring the whole thing and here we see a soldier at the computer and there was a beep on the console. "Sire, you better have a look at this!"

Black Diamond approached his soldier, "What is it?" he asked.

"It would appear that the Predacons had stolen a victory from under the Maximal and Crystal Gems noses." said the soldier, as he showed the ruler of the Shadow Diamond Empire what had been going on.

This left him baffled. "Care to explain?"

"Yes, sir!" The soldier then showed him the footage. "It seems the Predacons stole the rectifier coils from the Axalon and Steven Universe' house, disabling them to walk around the area in robot form without Energon Buildup. So they're stuck in Beast Mode until they can get the coils back."

Black Diamond was bewildered by this, "What!?" he asked. He looked at the footage of it again, "While I admit that is an impressive stratagem, that is an outrageously unfair advantage!" he slammed his fist on the wall. "Sorry about that, my dear." he said to his wife. "That was genius! If I had only known they could do that type of thing, I would have been the one to do it myself!"

"I must admit, that was every bit unfair, but impressive nonetheless." said Tanzanite, as she looked on and held her husband.

Black Diamond nodded to Tanzanite. "You're right, darling." he said. "I'm eager to see where this goes from here."

"Father, if I may speak." Prince Obsidian asked, getting the nod 'yes' from his father. "I must admit, this would be the type of strategy you would use against the Diamonds, should they ever find out about your return."

"Yes, yes you're right, son." Black Diamond chuckled a little. "I have taught you well." he said, giving his son a hug.

"Indeed you have, father." Obsidian replied.


The next day, we see Jetfire flying around and he is greeted by Steven, who is on the balcony of his house, waving for him to land in the area. Amethyst had not returned from her search for Tigatron, who had still been in the woods. Garnet and Pearl are taking precautions to make sure.

"Steven, I've got your message about an emergency." Jetfire said to the boy, "What's the situation?"

"The Predacons stole the Rectifier Cores from the Axalon and the house." said Steven, explaining everything. "Without them, the others are at risk of Energon Poisoning, so they have to be in Beast Mode 24/7."

"Bloody Hell!" Jetfire gasped. "That's a coward's tactic!"

"Exactly." said Steven "Now we have to find a way to get the rectifier coils back before they go full-tilt animal on us!"

"We placed the base on lockdown," Garnet added to this horror. "Unfortunately, the Maximals beast forms have already started to go feral. Dinobot tried to eat Rattrap alive, and Cheetor went into a frenzy with Dinobot."

Jetfire gasped in shock. "Sanctified mother of Primus!" he said, shocked and appalled as he heard this.

"Now you see the severity of this situation!" Pearl said, feeling panicked by this.

"We have cameras inside the base, we even have footage of it right now." Steven said.

"Show me right away!" Jetfire asked, and so they showed that the Maximals beast forms are taking serious effects.

Garnet turns the camera towards the control center of the Maximal Base, they all look inside to see that it was complete and utter mayhem.

"Sweet mother of Primus! It's like a tornado touched down here!" Jetfire gasped.


Inside the Axalon, they were starting to lose their focus on things, but they were not doing so well with trying to focus.

Rhinox was pacing, with an anxious look on his face.

"There's no update from Steven and the others, it feels like it's been days," said Rhinox.

Optimus was asleep in one of the chairs, resting his mind and he was seeing several bits of landscape zooming by him and explosions coming from all sides.

"OPTIMUS!" Rhinox hollered, startling Optimus awake.

"Huh? What? Predacon attacks?" Optimus asked, feeling startled. "Any word from Steven and the Crystal Gems?"

"No, they haven't." Rhinox replied. "It's been… Primus knows how many days, I really hope that they can find Tigatron soon."

Rattrap tried to reach the higher switch that was up really high, but failed to do so. "Man, I hate workin' in these short little arms and legs." Rattrap groaned, flustered at this. "I wanna Maximize!"

"No! We can't, energon will build up!" Optimus explained "If the Predacons attack, you'll have less fight time."

"DAMMIT, OPTIMUS!" Rattrap yelled, snapping at him. "I swear if you weren't acting like a freakin' coward, then maybe…"

Optimus reacts with an Ape scream, acting like it was a challenge. Rattrap bares his teeth out, and hisses back at him. Optimus rips the armrest off the command chair and lifts it clublike in anger as if he was in a frenzy.

"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" Rhinox hollered, stomping both his front feet furiously, and he flipped the table over with his horn.

All three of them stopped what they were doing, and looked at each other for a long moment to regain control of themselves. Optimus, Rhinox and Rattrap were all breathing heavily and calmed down somewhat. "Uhhh! What's happening… to us?"

"We've been in Beast Mode too long." Rhinox said, as he was concerned.

Rattrap let out a wail "I'm a robot trapped in a rat's body, and the rat is takin' over!" he fidgeted.

"We must…. fight it!" Optimus heaved a little, "Tigatron….He must've dealt with this before!" he said, as a lightbulb went on in his head.

Rhinox then added, "Amethyst should be able to relay the message to him." he said. "I just hope that they can make it back in time."


Back inside the Beach House, Steven, Garnet, Pearl and Jetfire were terrified with what had just happened.

"Ohhhh, this bodes poorly." Jetfire gulped, worried.

"It's worse than we thought," Garnet said, with a look of concern on her face. "They're all been in beast mode for too long, and it's only getting worse."

"If we don't act soon, the group will act more like animals than Cybertronian! " Pearl said, worried

"We better contact Amethyst and see if she's found Tigatron." Steven said, as he then contacted the gem in question

Garnet attempted to contact Amethyst and had to make sure she got the correct frequency. "Amethyst, come in! This is Garnet, do you copy?" she asked.

And it was then that Amethyst answered, "I read you loud and Crystal Gem clear!" she said. "Good news, I found Tigatron!"

Steven and the others were relieved. "Tigatron, I'm glad Amethyst was able to find you, we need your help!" he said.


Amethyst was with Tigatron at his usual spot in the forest on the outskirts of Beach City, he had just gotten done talking with Snowstalker, the tiger he became friends with when he first came out of the Stasis Pod.

"What's the situation?" asked Tigatron.

"The Predacons took both rectifier coils for the Maximal Base and our house, and are not fielded from the energon" Steven stated to him. "Now Optimus and the other Maximals are trapped in their Beast forms with no way to stay in robot form while in the Axalon and our house!"

Tigatron gasped at this horror. "By the Matrix!"

"The situation has gotten worse over night." Garnet explains it further. She then showed the footage of what had been going on inside the Axalon. "Their beast forms are taking over, and they're wrecking the base!"

"I had a feeling this would happen," Tigatron felt concerned about this. "It seems they have a Programming block in their circuits."

"We need you and Amethyst to return to the house, STAT!" Steven said, as he were.

"We're on our way, Steven!" Tigatron said, as he signed out.


Back at the house, Steven and the others began to report the situation.

"Amethyst and Tigatron are on the way here!" Steven felt glad.

"Thank goodness, I really hope they make it back soon!" Pearl replied, feeling nervous. "All we need to do is make a strategy, just in case things get out of hand."

"Jetfire, we need you to find Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot, and alert them of our current situation." Garnet said, giving him instructions.

Jetfire nodded in understanding, "Got it, mates." he said, and then he converted. "Beast Mode!" he shouts, going from robot to Gryphon form and flying off into the sky.

"Optimus, this is Steven, come in!" he said to the communicator.

"Optimus here!" Optimus responded.

"We've got good news," Steven said through the commlinks, "Amethyst was able to find Tigatron and they're on their way back here!" he then added to this news. "Jetfire is going to find Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot and see if they can help out too."

Optimus was relieved, "Acknowledged, let's hope they get here in time." he said, with a light smile.

"Here's hoping. Steven out!" he added, cutting the transmission short.

"Well that's a big relief!" Rattrap took a deep breath and sighed as well as let out a big yawn. "Put defenses on automatic, I've got some serious sleeping to do."

"For once, Rattrap, you'll get no argument from me!" Optimus said, with a small smile as he agreed with him. Rattrap smiled too as they went to bed.


(BGM: "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy" by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra plays)

Later that night, inside the Maximal Base, Optimus is dreaming about a clearing where he was out for a leisurely run. He dreamt of swinging from one tree to another, with an elated look on his face. He was tossing and turning on his cot fitfully.

In Optimus's dream, he swung about in the jungle and there were many eyes looking in his direction.

Optimus wakes up with red feral eyes, the door to his cabin opens up and he sneaks around.

In Dinobot's room, he did the same thing Optimus did while on his cot, he lunged to his feet with predatory grace. Looking around, scenting the air in his cabin.

Inside Rattrap's room, he awakens and his eyes are glowing red as he is curled up on his trash-covered cot.

Cheetor woke up, with his eyes glowing scarlet-red, as he leapt from his cot with the grace of a wild cat and let out a snarl of fierceness. He then spotted Dinobot, and he hissed while the velociraptor Maximal roared at him and they began clashing.

Rhinox wakes up, with his eyes glowing feral red and he rumbles.

Optimus then catches Cheetor and Dinobot clashing, trying to bite each other. He roars like a real silverback gorilla, pounding his chest with both fists and breaking up the fight. Optimus walks away from their direction, heading towards the control center and towards the elevator.

Rattrap saw what happened between the other three Maximals, he ran away from the area.


Outside the base and inside the Beach House, Garnet watches in horror as the Maximals go berserk in Beast form and escape from the beast running off into the Beach City forest.

"NO!" She panicked.

"Garnet, what's happening?" Steven said.

She related, "Optimus and the others have gone full-on animal and escaped the Axalon!"

Pearl gasped in horror at this, "OH NO!"

"This is very bad!" Steven said, in a grim manner. "They're heading for the forest! And I think Tigatron and Amethyst are already there!"

Garnet senses that this could turn the tide. "We've got a bigger problem, I sense that the Predacons are heading to that spot, and they're hunting the out of control Maximals as they sleep prowl and they're going to shoot them like cattle!"

Steven and Pearl gasped in fright. "That's not good!"

"We're not going to let that happen!" said a voice, and turning around they saw that it was Amethyst, who had returned with Tigatron.

They were astonished by this. "Amethyst, Tigatron, thank goodness you two came." Steven said, as he greeted them."We've got a major problem!"

Tigatron added, "I'm aware of the situation. I can help the Maximals with my idea of dealing with this sort of thing."

Garnet then added, "There's more! The Predacons are on the move in the forest, hunting the other Maximals there!" she told him.

It was then that Tigatron said, "Leave Optimus and the others to me." he looked around and said. "Was Airazor with them?"

"No, she was in the CR Chamber, getting repaired." Pearl said to him. "Speaking of which, the repairs should be done right about now."

"We notified Jetfire of the situation," Garnet added. "And he's going to look for Lapis, Bismuth and Peridot. Hopefully they'll come in time!"


Garnet's senses were right, not too far was Megatron along with Blackarachnia, Flamenix, Tarantulas, Scorponok, DarkFanger, Jasper, Spinotor, Bluebird Azurite, Inferno, Terrorsaur and Waspinator on a march through the forest with Megatron sitting in what looked like one of those old Egyptian mobile thrones.

"Exactly as my research on Maximal programming postulated, yessss." Megatron chuckled evilly, as they carried him through the woods. "Their beast forms have taken over… In their exhaustion, they are… sleep prowling!"

Megatron cocks his claw-canon missile launcher in anticipation, "And tonight… WE HUNT!"

The Predacons cheered in a hunting mood, with Blackarachnia and Jasper beating on some drums. Following them behind were DarkFanger and Spinitor, while Scorponok and Tarantulas carried Megatron in an old fashioned India big game hunter carrying chair. With Flamenix, Terrorsaur, Bluebird Azurite, Waspinator and Infero all in the air with hunting rifles and net-guns.

While they all did so, the feral Maximals began running from the scene in a rage, waiting for the right moment to pounce on them, not the other way around.

What the feral Maximals didn't know is that they're being hunted by the Predacons and not normal humans or big-game hunters.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." Megatron says to himself, as he looks this over. "Flyers, spread out! Hunt down the other Maximals and destroy them, yessss!"

"Yes, Lord Megatron!" said Terrorsaur, saluting the Predacon leader, alongside Waspinator, Flamenix, Inferno and Bluebird.

"But leave Optimus Primal to me." Megatron said to his subordinates. "I will finish him myself!"


Back at the beach house, Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Tigatron were watching in horror as they saw this awful thing happening.

"Oh, crapricketts!" Steven gulped, shocked. "The Predacons are turning into big-game hunters!"

Just at that moment, a screech was heard and out came Airazor, fully repaired and ready to go. "Mind if I assist you guys?" she asked.

"Airazor, good timing!" said Pearl, as she was glad to see her.

"Yep, I'm fully repaired and ready for anything." Airazor told them, as she landed in front of them. "I heard a ruckus while I was being repaired. What happened?"

Garnet then explained everything to her. "The Predacons stole the rectifier coils from the house and the Axalon, without them, Optimus and the others were stuck in Beast Mode for a full 24 hours and now they've gone feral!"

"I'll help as well! Or rather, WE will!" Jetfire added, as he returned with Lapis, Bismuth and Peridot.

"Thanks, fellas." Amethyst said, giving the thumbs up.

Steven breathed a sigh of relief for this as they all came to him. "Steven, we just got your message" Bismuth said, as she arrived "What's going on?"

"It's called The Hunt!" Tigatron said grimly, as he explained the situation. "Megatron and the Predacons are hunting the now feral Maximals, who are stuck in Beast Form due to the Rectifier Coils being stolen."

Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot were all in shock by this horrendous news. "Oh damn!" said Bismuth, as she was freaked out.

"If we don't get the coils back, then we'll have to lock the Maximals up forever! And I for one do not want that." Garnet said.

"None of us do." Lapis said, as she agreed with Garnet. "So, what do we do first?"

Steven then turned to the tiger Maximal. "Tigatron, how much time do you need to find Optimus and other Maximals?"

Tigatron responded, "I'll need about 17 minutes to do so." as he went with his part. "I know how to get them out of this state. They shouldn't fight their beast urges, they should be in harmony with their beast forms." he said to them, making them amazed.

"Right! Airazor, you and Jetfire head to the Predacon base," Steven said "Find and retrieve the rectifier coils and bring them back here."

"Right. Lead the way, Jetfire." Airazor said, as Jetfire went into Beast Mode and they both took off into the sky.

"The rest of us will have to stop the Predacons ourselves," Steven said, with a determined look on his face. "We're outnumbered for now, but that's never stopped us Crystal Gems from saving the galaxy several times over."

"You're right, Steven!" Amethyst said, agreeing with him. "We have to hold our own until Tigatron is able to complete his part of the plan."

"Amethyst is right." Lapis said. "And besides, I know Terrorsaur will be up to no good again. So, we're gonna bust them up again!"

Garnet nodded at that, "Agreed."

"Alright team, let's move out!" Steven declared, as they all charged into the Beach City Forest.

Tigatron goes into beast mode, and heads towards a clearing that the Predacons cannot find and uses it as a place where he can help the feral Maximals.


Meanwhile in the Beach City forest, the Predacons continued their hunt for the feral Maximals who were 'sleep prowling' as it were.

Bluebird, Flamenix, Inferno, Terrorsaur and Waspinator kept an ever vigilant eye on what had been happening.

"This is better than what we could have hoped for!" Flamenix said.

The others agreed with him. "Wazzzpinator loves it when prey cannot shoot back!" Waspinator buzzed.

"Me too!" Bluebird cheered with glee. "And what's better is that those Maximals are too blinded by their own animal instinct to even notice us!"

"Hunting from the air with automatic weapons." Terrorsaur chuckled a little. "Now that's a sport!"

Suddenly, they heard sounds that were slightly disgruntled and out of nowhere, a shard of frozen arrow shot at him.

"What the hell is this slag?" Terrorsaur freaked.

The five Predacon flyers turned around to see Opal on the ground and Lapis flying in their direction. "Surprised to see us, Terrorsaur?" Lapis taunted.

Terrorsaur screeched in fright mixed with anger, "Lapis! I should have known you'd muck this up!" He fires his blasters at her and then out of the bushes comes Steven and the others as they begin to battle the ground team.

"Hey Megatron, sorry to ruin your little game!" Steven said, getting his blade out with a look of seriousness in his eyes. "But this hunt will be canceled!" he taunted.

Megatron grunted and said, "Predacons, to arms!" signaling for his minions to attack against the Crystal Gems.

Scorponok and Tarantulas placed Megatron's carrying chair gently onto the ground, drew their weapons and began the counterstrike.

Steven, Garnet, Bismuth and Peridot fought against Scorponok, Tarantulas, Jasper, DarkFanger and Spinitor. As they fired, Steven deflected DarkFanger's blasts right back at him.

"You Crystal Gems really think you can take us on?" Megatron taunted, showing no intimidation. "You might be tough, but you're outnumbered!"

As this was all going down, feral Maximals Cheetor and Rhinox were running from the explosions from the sides. Suddenly, Tigatron leaps in front of them! Making the feral Cheetor react differently, and it was as if he was influenced by Tigatron, compelled to follow him to a safe place. The Feral Cheetor and Rhinox glanced at each other, and they followed Tigatron to where he was going.


Meanwhile, outside the Predacon base we see Jetfire and Airazor, flying towards the base and as they flew over there, they landed to where the autoguns could not see them.

Jetfire scans the area, "I sense the Predacons defenses are on, but there's nobody inside the base or around the area." he said, getting a look at this.

"Time to make our move, Jetfire." Airazor said, agreeing to the notion with gusto. "She stoops to conquer!"

The two Maximal flyers then took to the skies, and steep diving down at breakneck speed in order to avoid the autoguns. They managed to make their way to the back of the base, sneaking around, making sure the security cameras didn't spot them.

Jetfire looked ahead and his scanners picked up a trace of the rectifier coils. "Hey, I found them! They're over there!" he pointed to the upper right corner.

"Excellent work, Jetfire!" Airazor said, praising the legendary Autobot.


Back in the Beach City forest, Steven and the other Crystal Gems were fighting off the Predacons while Tigatron guided the feral Maximals into a safe area. Steven fired a beam at Scorponok, but he countered it with his own shell, which had no damage at all.

Up in the air, Opal fires her arrows at Flamenix, Inferno, Bluebird and Waspinator, Flamenix melts some of them, but one lucky arrow manages to graze his shoulder.

"Never underestimate the abilities of a Gem Fusion!" Opal taunted the Gem Predacon.

"Wazzzpinator zzzzting Opal so hard in the axel!" Waspinator scowled in anger as he fired his stinger gun like crazy.

"I wouldn't count on that!" Opal, aiming her bow at the Predacon flier.

Lapis began her rematch with Terrorsaur, she made the first move as she charged at him with a speed bag punch. The Terrorsaur tried to kick her back, but she blocked it and they clashed.

"You think your Crystal Gem Fusion friend can take us on!? " Terrorsaur said with a sneer.

Lapis shot back, "I don't think, I know!" as she delivered a knee to his face.

Inferno comes from behind Lapis, with his weapon drawn. He fired at Lapis with his blaster, but Lapis evaded every shot. "Insolent Gem! Keep still!"

Back on the ground, Garnet was fighting Tarantulas and Scorponok. Bismuth was fighting Blackarachnia, and Peridot was battling DarkFanger.

"You're hissssssssstory!" DarkFanger snarled, glaring at Peridot and charged his tail at her, but she rolled out of the way.

"Not!" Peridot said, countering his attack.


As the Crystal Gems did their best to fight off the Predacons, Tigatron was leading the feral Cheetor and Rhinox, when they encountered the feral Optimus who had begun acting like a real ape. Tigatron managed to get the feral Optimus to calm down and follow him. Tigatron then escorted the Maximals to a center of the forest.

That was when they encountered the feral Dinobot snapping his jaws at them and roaring angrily at Tigatron. However, Feral Rattrap stayed hidden from this whole thing, to make sure he didn't get hurt. "Here me, fellow Maximals!" Tigatron said, as he stood atop the rock in front of them. "I know you are frightened, but I'm here to help."

"Access Maximal core consciousness. Passcode: Tigatron!"

|PASSCODE ACCEPTED| Sentinel repeated. This causes the feral Maximals to react with roars and screeching rage at Tigatron.

"SILENCE!" Tigatron barked, making them all shush in fear. "That's better! Now listen well and learn."


Meanwhile inside the Predacon Base, Airazor and Jetfire managed to find the reactor coils and began loading them into a plastic crate with ease. They see the two rectifier coils

Jetfire had a cautious look on his face. "This looks a little too easy."

"I have a feeling that ol' Megs would've made this way too easy," said Airazor. "Something's wrong here."

Jetfire scans the base, looking for any traps that might be in the area, "Yeah, you're right." he said, looking at the area. "There's some silent alarm triggers, over there. And laser launchers on the sides.

"Figures!" Airazor deadpanned.

Thinking it over, the Autobot hatched an idea. "Maybe I can use one of my Gem Abilities to shut those down." said Jetfire, as he formulated.

Airazor wondered, "How are you gonna do that?" she asked.

He then had a gem appear on his right palm and it began sending an electrical charge to the systems and it caused the defenses to shut down without raising the alarm.

Airazor was impressed with Jetfire's ingenious ability after being made half Crystal Gem.

"Nice work." Airazor said.

The two flyers flew over to the Rectifier Coils and managed to get them out with ease.

"Whew, that takes care of this!" Jetfire said to his fellow flight Maximal. "Now if only Tigatron is having any luck with Optimus and the others."

"Let's hope that Steven and the others can hold off the Preds." Airazor replied, 'I should also ask Steven how he was able to get Jetfire these Crystal Gem powers.' she thought to herself, as they flew off into the distance.


Back in the Beach City forest, Steven and the Crystal Gems were having a tough time battling the Predacons as the numbers game was in the Pred's favor. DarkFanger was fighting against Steven and he blocked every shot.

Opal and Lapis were still fighting off the five Predacon flyers, and Terrorsaur fired his cannons. "Take that, Lapis!" he ranted.

However, the blue Crystal Gem was not deterred. "You can't expect me to believe that you can take me down that easily, can you Terrorsaur? You're gonna have to do better than that!"

Inferno roared in rage. "You shall burn in the fires of Inferno!" he yelled, mentioning himself in the 3rd person.

The impact of that fireball sent Lapis crashing down to the ground, "Ugh, dammit!" she winded.

Opal continued to fight Flamenix, Bluebird and Waspinator, with all three of them dogging her arrows.

"You really think your gem fusion form can take on five of us?" Flamenix taunted.

Opal shot back, "We don't think, we know!" as she whacked his gun out of his hand.

"Wazzzpinator begs to differ!" Waspinator replied, firing at her, but she rolled away.

"You can't fight us off forever, Opal!" Bluebird gloated, "Soon you're gonna fall, just like what's happening to your friends down there."

Back on the ground, Garnet was fighting off both Scorponok and Tarantulas by herself, with both Predacons attacking her at once and she blocked their blasts with some of her own.

"I look forward to dissecting you, Garnet!" said Tarantulas, with a psychotic look on his face "Maybe I'll get to see what makes you tick!"

"Don't bet on it, Tarantulas!" Garnet said, blocking his attack with her shield.

Scorponok clicked his claw twice and struck a missile. "See if you can block this!" The impact of the missile takes down Garnet from behind.

Bismuth tried to fight off both Blackarachnia and Jasper, but the odds were against her and it was beginning to tire her out, so that the two were doubling teaming Bismuth down for the count.

Peridot was still battling Spinitor and started bashing his spines, only for Spinitor to block her attacks and take down Peridot, only to get kicked by Steven, who could see how badly his situation was. "Keep fighting, don't let up!" He motivated them.

However, DarkFanger uses his blast to take Steven down to the groundd and what he did next was send him colliding into Jasper, who headbutted him. Taking him down for the count! "Ugh, you're gonna pay for that!" He ran to Jasper.

As Megatron watched this battle from his carrying chair, he had a gobsmacked look on his face and then chuckled evilly.

"Well well, it seems that the Crystal Gems are not as strong as they think." Megatron said with a sadistic smirk. "Soon enough, I shall make Steven Universe, his Crystal Gem friends and the Maximals into our own personal hunting trophies….. And I have a special place for that boy…. Yessssss!"


Meanwhile, Tigatron was facing the other feral Maximals and he decided to guide them through the method he used when he was that way.

"Once we were merely robots in disguise," Tigatron said, "But on this planet, and thanks to the help of our Crystal Gem allies, we've become something more."

This calmed down feral Maximals all heard his speech "Maximal programming was designed to block our beast urges, but that has proven to be an error. Our beast forms are part of us, fighting them only makes our beast forms stronger. We must accept both beast and robot forms!" Tigatron continued "Feel your core-consciousness! Find the programming block and delete it… Bring both your beast and robot forms together, let them work in harmony…. And let them make you stronger than you were before!"

|PROGRAMMING BLOCK DELETED!|

|PROGRAMMING BLOCK DELETED!|

|PROGRAMMING BLOCK DELETED!|

|PROGRAMMING BLOCK DELETED!|

|PROGRAMMING BLOCK DELETED!|

Optimus then said as he spoke in English again, "Yes, I can see it now!"

"Rat… Robot… Rat… Robot… I'm a rat and robot!" Rattrap said, as he began accepting both his animal and robot forms. "Yeah, I like it!"

"I understand now, I do not see why!" Dinobot exclaimed.

"Rrowl…. I get it now! Thanks, Tigatron." Cheetor said, facing the white mainland tiger Maximal.

Booms from the battle ahead could be heard where they were at, Optimus said, "Steven and the others, they must be in trouble." as he looked on.

"We gotta help them!" Cheetor said, as he panicked.

Tigatron nodded in agreement with that. "Yes, Cheetor. You're right. Remember, do not fight your beast instincts. Let them help your robot forms, both in battle and in peace." Tigatron said, giving his wisdom to them. "But for now, let us maximize…. Assist our friends in their battle… AND SLAG SOME BUTT!"

All the Maximals cheered as they transformed into their robot forms and were now stronger than ever.


Back in the forest, Steven, Garnet, Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot were all down on the ground and Megatron stomped over to him.

"Well Steven Universe, I'm afraid your time is up." Megatron "Any last words to say before I end your miserable life?"

Before he could respond, a blast shot Megatron right in the eye. "GAAAAH!" the Predacon leader yowled, having one of his optic-sensors shot out

"Yeah, stay the slagging hell away from him, Megatron!"

Megatron turns around, "Uh oh!" he gulped

(BGM: "Transformers EVO -2015-" by JAM Project plays)

Optimus now back in beast mode, swinging on a vine through the trees, "AAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAA!" he yelled like a real gorilla and then transformed into robot mode, and hit foot first into Megatron with a kick.

Just then, Cheetor and Tigatron jumped into the fray and pounced on Tarantulas and Scorponok, saving Garnet. "Tigatron, your strategy worked!"

"It sure did, Garnet!" Tigatron gave the thumbs up to her.

Jasper gasped, "WHAT!? TIGATRON!? WHERE DID HE COME FROM!?" she demanded, as she attempted to take down the two Maximals cats, only for Dinobot to come from behind and knock her down with his claw. "Dammit!

When Blackarachnia is open to fire at him, Bismuth gets back up and suplexes the female arachnid to the ground, "Take that, you spider!" she taunted.

Spinitor turns around to see Rhinox in his beast form charging in, with Rattrap on his back and he fires at the beast, only for them to dodge his blast. Rhinox transforms into his robot mode, rolls Rattrap like a bowling ball right between Spinitor's legs! By the time he could react, Rattrap transforms into robot mode and blasts Spinitor with his gun.

"HAW! Didn't expect that one, did ya?" Rattrap smirked.

As the five Predacon flyers saw what was happening, they saw both Airazor and Jetfire flying in at top speed, "RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" roared the voice, denoting it was Jetfire. He zoomed at him and punched him square in the jaw

Opal smiled. "Glad you two could make it." she said.

"Glad we can help," said Airazor.

"Let's kick some Predacon behind, shall we, mates?" said Jetflire.

"Don't just stand here, you twits! Destroy them!" said Megatron, barking orders at the Predacons.

Steven uses his power-up mode to fire another shot at them and it is then that Optimus joins in and they do a double attack on some of them while Megatron gets the wreckage shot.

Up in the sky, Opal fires another set of arrows at the five Predacon flyers, making them spin out of control and dazing them.

Airazor charges Flamenix and fights him in aerial combat and clashes with him.

Jetfire opens at both Waspinator and Inferno, launching his lasers at them, causing them to spiral out of control.

Lapis flies back up in the sky, going back after Terrorsaur and slashes his armor with her sword, causing a cut to appear on his body.

Bluebird opens fire at the water gem, only for Cheetor to blast her

"It's time for us to finish this!" Steven said to Optimus.

"I couldn't agree more." said Optimus, as he lifts Megatron overhead, and hurls the Predacon leader up into the air, crashing into the ground.

At that moment, all the Maximals and Crystal Gems surrounded them.

"It's over Megatron. Consider your big hunt canceled." Optimus said, pointing his gun at him.

"The tables have turned in our favor now." Steven said, "So how's about you go quietly and we won't beat you to a pulp."

Megatron growls in anger and frustration, when his body began surging with electricity, and it did the same thing to the other Predacons. "Aargh! Energon build up! The Hunt has gone on too long!" he groaned in pain from it. "You Maximals and Crystal Gems have won again…But you shall face your destruction someday….So watch your backs….YESSSSS! PREDACONS RETREAT!"

The Predacons all transformed into their beast forms, fleeing the forest area and back to their base.

Once the Predacons were all out of sight, the Maximals and Crystal Gems celebrated their victory.

"Aw RIGHT!" Cheetor said, feeling charged. "Beast or bot, we're still the baddest!" Then he did a knuckle bump with Optimus as Opal diffused back into Amethyst and Pearl.

"You've got that right!" Amethyst said to Cheetor, agreeing with that notion.

"I'm glad you guys are alright now." Pearl said, hugging Cheetor.

Airazor and Jetfire show the rectifier coils they retrieved. "Even better, we managed to get the Rectifier Coils back too."

Garnet smiled, "Tigatron, thank you for helping with this."

Tigatron smiled. "Always a pleasure to help, my friends!"

"And it looks like things will be back to normal!" Rhinox said.

"Maybe even better!" Optimus said, as they all looked up into the sky.

"You're right about that!" Steven agreed.

The Maximals and Crystal Gems all celebrated as Optimus let out a triumphant ape yell while beating on his chest like a gorilla.

To Be Continued…


[Run Through the Jungle plays]

Me: Alright, another chapter in the bag, wouldn't you agree fellas?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: You've got that right, broski! As Cheetor just said "Beast or bot, they're still the baddest!" Am I right, Phantom?

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Hell yeah! They kicked some Predacon butt!

Me: They sure did, if this were made into a game, I'd give it a SSSS Rank! Wouldn't you say so?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: I totally give this chapter a 5 of 5 stars, saying this chapter was amazing as usual. Probably some of our best work yet!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Yeah!

Me: You bet! Anyhow, shall we tell them about the next chapter?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Oh yes! The next one is based off another one of our favorite Beast Wars episodes "Dark Voyage".

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Righto.

Me: Ah yes, I remember that one.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: In the next chapter, Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Rhinox, Rattrap, Cheetor and Dinobot head to the great ruins of an ancient city and ancient temple somewhere in Asia to look for energon. But as they're looking, they get an unexpected attack from Megatron, Jasper, Scorponok, Flamenix and Waspinator.

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh damn!

Me: Man, that has got to be rough for them all.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: That's not all, when those Five Predacons make their attack, they have an arrow device that Tarantulas made in his lab. But it's not any kind of weapon, this arrow will affect both the Maximals and Crystal Gems. When the Maximals and Crystal Gems wake up from the massive energon explosion, they find the Maximals internal systems are offline, the Crystal Gems abilities are defected, and they're all blind. Except for Steven!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh crap!

Me: I hope Steven can sort through this. Don't you?

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Yes, I do. So now with the four Maximals and Crystal Gems all blind, it's up to Steven Universe to head back to the ancient temple where the warp-pad is, and get them back to Maximal Base… But to make matters worse, they must reach the C.R. chamber in 60 minutes or the contamination will put their Sparks and Crystal Gems out for good… And they will all perish!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh shit!

Me: Damn! That's not a good sign.

The Amazing Ghost Musician: No it really is not! Now all nine of them find a way back to Maximal Base, Optimus is out looking for them. As well as Bismuth, Tigatron and the others….. Will they be able to find Steven and the others in time? Tune in for the next chapter to find out…

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Oh damn.

Me: Yes, what Ghost said. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts - Chapter 20: Dark Voyage Of The Blind!

The Amazing Ghost Musician: Until we meet again, we hope you all enjoyed this chapter and make sure to leave your review…. NO FLAMES!

PHANTOMKNIGHTMARE47: Until then…

All three: SEE YA NEXT TIME!

[Song Fades]