(Made Two Years)
[Cult Classics by Madecipha plays]
Me: Yo, what up everyone, it's WolfKnight30 and The Amazing Ghost Musician here! We both hope that all you readers out there had a very wonderful Christmas, I know I did!
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Hey everyone, Happy New Year!
Me: That's right, 2022 has arrived and boy, are we gonna kick it off with a bang and brakakoom! And as you can see, we are once again in the ring of Club Luda from Def Jam Vendetta.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Not only that, but my guy Madecipha is getting his old Hip Hop trio "Unlimited Future Objectives" announcing their reunion tour in Connecticut for 2022, and yours truly will be taking part in their tour.
Me: Wow! I've never listened to their songs before, but I'll give it a try.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Just go out to YouTube, look up Madecipha and it'll show you a lot of his music. I've already got Lucas, and a bunch of my old high school friends hooked onto his music. Plus I've promoted his record label "Spider Bite Records".
Me: I shall, and also, I posted chapter 16 of What A Strange Web We Weave but it's unfinished, I'm gonna try and perfect it but until then, let's get to work on chapter 8 of Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: If you all wanna know what happens in this chapter, we shall tell you. You wanna tell them?
Me: Sure thing, amigo. It is a little bit inspired by the 8th episode of Beast Wars.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Except in this one, Rattrap will not be accused as a traitor.
Me: True dat, he goes with Steven and Amethyst to infiltrate the Predacon base to find out why the Maximals kept getting ambushed lately.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: The Predacons have no idea that Rattrap, Steven and Amethyst along with the other Gems and Maximals are setting them up.
Me: Plus, this chapter also features the arrival of everyone's favorite Beast Wars femme fetale, Blackarachnia!
The Amazing Ghost Musician: That's not all, seeing how the Predacons have been getting the upper edge, Megatron decides to sit this one out for the day and let his own team handle what happens.
Me: That's right and also it looks as though Terrorsaur is leading the charge for now with Jasper at his side.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Well he'll be co-leading, since Scorponok is Megatron's second in command.
Me: Oh yeah, there is that. But other than that, Lapis and the others will also be in the battle.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: This is gonna be a chapter that is a must read.
Me: Yeppers! So, read on, pop some popcorn, grab a soda and enjoy our next chapter.
Both: IKUZE!
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 8: A Double Jeopardy Mission feat. Blackarachnia!
It was a normal weekend in Beach City, and we see Steven in the main hold of the Axalon and he was with Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth, telling them about the adventures he had with the Maximals and how he first met them.
"Okay Steven, how did you meet the Maximals?" asked Bismuth.
Steven then told them, "It was many a week ago." he started off. "Amethyst, Garnet, Pearl and I were surfing when their ship crashed outside the house. They scanned a silverback gorilla, a cheetah, a rhino and a rat for their beast forms just like how Tigatron scanned a white tiger thanks to their ship's computer." he continued. "They were in a dog fight with the Predacons in space, but then they both crashed on Earth and we don't know how that happened."
Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth were awestruck by this, "WHOA! Who knew?" said Peridot. "So, what about Dinobot, he sounded as if he knew the Predacons before?"
"He used to BE one of them, but he defected to the Maximals and is now their strategist." said Steven, denoting the events that happened. "He defected because he knows about Megatron's plan." He then showed them a hologram of Megatron. "You see, Megatron is the leader of the Predacons and named himself after the original Megatron, who was the leader of the Predacons ancestors, the Decpticons. For years they had The Great War with the Maximals' ancestors, the Autobots." he elaborated, "Back then, they could transform into cars, trucks, jets, guns, music players and such, but that was back in 1984."
"No way!" said Lapis. "He left their side because he knew what Megatron's plan was." she was awestruck, "But what is it?"
"Well it's like this." Steven showed them. "He wants to enslave the Human Race and turn the planet Earth into a fortress for the Predacon forces and one day conquer Cybertron."
They all gasped in horror at this. "Oh that is just evil!"
"Exactly!" Steven said, denoting that to be true. "Dinobot was against the idea, gathered this knowledge and decided to use it against Megatron. And aside from that, the rest of the Axalon's crew is orbiting Earth in the Stasis Pods they lost in the dog fight. They are protected from the Energon Fields out here, but now Optimus and his crew have backup from Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl, me and of course you guys as well."
They were all taken aback by this and "Well, we shall help in any way we can." said Peridot. "But there is something I don't get."
"What is it?" asked Bismuth.
"How come Dinobot didn't strike you down before and why did he not agree with Megatron's plan?" Peridot replied.
"Well believe it or not, guys!" Steven said, "Dinobot has a code of honor and he follows it to the letter. He's probably a practitioner of Bushido."
Lapis then looked at him and asked, "You mean, the Code of the Samurai?"
"Yes." said Steven. "In fact, he saved me, Rhinox, Rattrap and Amethyst from getting crushed by avalanching boulders."
They saw the footage of Dinobot doing just that and were quite impressed. "Wow, going from bad to good is quite a feat for him," said Lapis.
"I'll say." Bismuth added.
Peridot nodded, "Oh yes! Also, why is it that Jasper sided with Megatron and not you?" she wondered.
"Yeah, what is wrong with that bitch?" Bismuth said, agreeing with Peridot. "Sorry for the foul language, but Jasper is really pissing me off!"
Steven sighed and said, "I tried to convince her to join Little Homeschool, but she refused and would not stop until I was dead, but then Optimus showed up and straightened it out." he told them, reflecting on how badly he got hurt because of Jasper and how glad he was that Optimus helped him out. "But also, Bluebird Azurite is actually Eyeball Ruby and Aquamarine."
"WHAT!?" the trio shouted in unison.
"Eeeeyup, that's right." Steven said, they merged due to their hatred for me and even held my dad hostage. However, dad saved himself by cutting off his hair."
"Damn, Eyeball Ruby and Aquamarine have gone too far!"
"Yeah, but they pale in comparison to the three Gem Predacons made by Megatron's scientist, Tarantulas." He then pressed a button on the console and showed them an image of Tarantulas. "Yeah, for his beast form, he chose a Tarantula." He then showed the images of the three Gem Predacons he created. "And the Gem Predacons, he created them to wipe the Maximals out. Their names are Flamenix, Spinotor and DarkFanger. Flamenix is a phoenix, Spinotor is a Spinosaurus and DarkFanger is a python."
"Ick, it had to be a snake." said Peridot, denoting her disgust for snakes.
"And why a spinosaurus for Spinotor?" asked Bismuth. "Couldn't they have gone with a turtle?"
"I have no idea, Bismuth!" Steven said shaking his head, "But they have these crazy powers, unlike the usual Predacons. Tarantulas made them in a petri dish and stole some Crystal Gems that had been dormant for a long time. Cheetor found that out when he got teleported into the Predacon base, which they called the Darksyde."
Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth all blinked in unison and then Bismuth spoke up. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!?" he shouted. "That is just whacked out, dude!"
"Yeah, so messed up!" said Peridot, agreeing with her.
Lapis saw the footage, "How did Cheetor get out?" she asked.
"Oh, I got him out of there, it wasn't easy though." Steven said to them.
Lapis then hugged Steven, and so did Peridot and Bismuth, giving him a group hug. "You're so brave, Steven," said Lapis. "You risked your very life to save Cheetor and you survived."
"That was amazing." said Peridot, as the lot of them all let go.
"Thanks everyone." he said to them. "However, at the time, Tarantulas, Terrorsaur and Megatron had gone to this Floating Mountain while Bluebird/Aquamarine and Eyeball Ruby were tormenting me." Steven then showed them that footage.
They looked on and were stunned to see Megatron and Terrorsaur supercharged by the Energon Crystal in the area. However, Rattrap came through and blew the mountain to pieces and it showed Lapis there too, fighting Terrorsaur. "Oh yeah, I still felt exhausted after that battle," said Lapis. "But other than that, I hope we can help you again Steven."
"Well, Optimus, what do you think of that?" Steven asked, as Optimus walked into the room and was in robot form. They all turned to see Optimus there.
"I welcome the idea," he said. "The more the merrier, right?"
They all nodded in unison and did a collective high-five together.
We now find ourselves in orbit around Earth where yet another Stasis Pod has entered the Earth's atmosphere and is about to crash in a sub-zero temperature environment. It crashed on the top of the mountain and here we see Optimus in his beast mode along with Dinobot, Garnet and Pearl, they were sent there to figure out what the disturbance was.
Dinobot then jittered out of control, "C-C-C-C-Cold!" he said. "My circuit fluids are within 2 degrees of crystallization!"
"Base Camp, confirm our position!" Optimus said, pressing the communicator inside his Beast Form's shell. "Are we near the Stasis Pod?" he asked.
Back at the base, Rattrap replied over the communicator. "Well, if it was a snake it would have bit ya. Should be within a few feet of it."
"You're telling me." said Pearl.
Optimus looked up and all around and replied, "We're within a few feet of it, horizontally. Vertically is another story." He looked up at the side of the cliff.
Garnet nodded, "It's up there!" she pointed.
Just then, Waspinator and Terrorsaur showed up along with Flamenix and Bluebird, and Terrorsaur cackled evilly. "Well, some intrepid explorers seem to have stumbled into a boxed canyon!" he said. "Let's close the lid shall we?" he asked Waspinator
Garnet looked around, "We're ambushed!" she said, as she saw Scorponok, DarkFanger and Jasper there and they fired at them too.
"And surrounded!" said Optimus as he and Dinobot got battle ready. "MAXIMIZE!" They both turned into robot mode and began fighting against their enemies.
"Wazzzpinator TERRORIZE!" he buzzed, as they both went into robot mode and fired their weapons at the quartet.
Dinobot saw the rocket and got Pearl out of the way, "Thanks, Dinobot."
"You can thank me later," said Dinobot.
Now in Robot Mode, Waspinator, Flamenix and Terrorsaur hover and launch missiles at them.
The missile blasts hit, sending up chunks of rock in front of them. They're literally backed against the canyon wall. "Our strategic disadvantage is considerable."
"Work with it." instructed Optimus.
Dinobot fires his Cybertronic Beams, as Optimus raises his left forearm and fires a Mini Missile but is hit. Scorponok causes ice chunks to break off and trap Optimus, Dinobot, Garnet and Pearl.
"They're trapped." chuckled Terrorsaur. "The pod is ours!"
Garnet spotted this, "That's not a good sign!"
He already has the pod, carrying it like an ant carrying a crumb. The energy blast hits Dinobot. . . his circuits short wildly. "Blast!"
Pearl and Optimus both looked up, "The pod." He activated his jets and launched into the air while Dinobot blasted Scorponok with his energy beams, causing Scorponok to fall flat onto his back.
Optimus activates the JETS on his back and soars up and rockets toward Waspinator, "That pod is Maximal property!" But just then he's hit by a missile Terrorsaur had fired. He spins out of control.
His missile launcher is still smoking. "Which the Predacons will gladly steal."
Garnet attempts to stop him, but is zapped by Flamenix's flamethrower. And it was then that Scorponok and DarkFanger got away from the area as Terrorsaur, Bluebird, Flamenix and Waspinator flew off with the Stasis Pod in tow.
Optimus recovers from his fall. He watches the two flyers recede into the distance, carrying the pod, "Well, that's just prime." he said sourly.
Pearl raced over to Optimus, "Optimus, do you need some repairs?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you for asking, Pearl." said Optimus, feeling a little bit of relief now that Pearl was there.
"Allow me to assist you, Dinobot." Garnet requested Dinobot.
Dinobot nodded, "Granted." he said. "Let's head back to the Axalon."
Back at the Maximal Base, Optimus and Dinobot were done using the C.R. Chamber and were fully repaired. Garnet and Pearl had gotten patched up, and Optimus slammed his palms on the war table, "This makes three straight operations ambush!"
Rhinox was deep in thought about the whole thing, "Sounds mighty suspicious." he tapped his chin.
Steven nodded, "Yeah, very suspicious." he said to himself, "But, I'm not ruling anything out."
Rattrap turned his head over to them, "Maybe they're using some kind of new spy technology to eavesdrop on us."
Amethyst face palmed herself, "Oh come on, Rattrap! You don't expect me to believe that ridiculous notion, do you?"
Garnet then said, "No, he might be right."
"Well, even so, something doesn't add up." Cheetor said,
"Yes, I agree with Cheetor." Pearl stated, "It makes no sense."
"Indeed." said Rhinox, putting his arms on the console.
Optimus put his fingers to his chin, "Well, I'm not so sure what to make of all this."
Steven and the others all wondered as they sat there deep in thought, the Maximals were also thinking about this. But then Optimus turned to Rattrap, Amethyst and Steven. "Rattrap, I want to speak with you, Steven and Amethyst, in private."
This had Steven, Amethyst and Rattrap wondering about this. However, Optimus signaled the others to be part of this private conversation and not want the Predacons to spy on them.
At the Predacon Base, Tarantulas was going over the specifications of the Stasis Pod. He chuckled a little bit, and Terrorsaur then spoke up, "Tarantulas, have you identified a suitable life form?" he asked.
Tarantulas was seen readying the controls. "Yes, I have indeed." he hissed as he chuckled.
"Then begin scanning a replication!" said Terrorsaur, the scanner beams STREAK out from the Predacon ship, and one of the beams scans a massive Black Widow Spider, fighting a normal spider and trapping it in its fangs. The image of said creature appears momentarily in X-Ray form. "Lovely." said Tarantulas, admiring the completion. "Scanning, replication, and programming complete. The new Predacon form is everything we could desire." he said, as everyone all gathered around. "Everyone, meet….Blackarachnia!" He introduced the new Predacon in the form of a Black Widow Spider as he chuckled.
Now we see where the new Predacon (in Beast form) stands on a floating platform, "Blackarachnia! TERRORIZE!" the Predacon said in a female voice, and transformed into Robot Mode, all gleaming black and bristling with weapons.
Tarantulas REACTS, clasping his chest, "Be still, my spinnerets!"
Flamenix wolf-whistled at Blackarachnia, "Hubba hubba, I got one word for her. Sssssssssssssssssmokin!" he said, doing his imitation of The Mask. The She-Spider smirked and winked at Flamenix.
Terrorsaur then looked at Tarantulas, "You know, Tarantulas, I suspect that there is an ulterior motive behind your beast form selection." he said. Before him, Blackarachnia performs martial arts in full combat mode. She looks sleek and deadly. "However, I am sure that Blackarachnia shall make an EXCELLENT Predacon, without a doubt." he then turned around and added, "Thank you, Maximals, for the protoform gift!" he taunted.
Scorponok had stood there folding his arms in frustration, Jasper noticed this and spoke up, "What's with you, shell-head?" she asked.
"It just isn't right." Scorponok replied. "I mean, I'm second-in-command, and even though Megatron is out of the base for a while, he leaves me and Terrorsaur in charge, why couldn't it just be me alone?" he sighed.
Jasper then put her arm around Scorponok's body. "Just do what you can to endure it and keep your composure."
Scorponok knew what she meant and agreed to it. "Alright, keep my composure and endure it." he said, as the two of them walked off into the depths of the ship.
Meanwhile, at the Axalon, the Maximals and Gems all thought it over and they whispered it over and did what they could to make sure that no one heard them.
"Alright team, we need to figure out how this keeps happening to us." said Optimus. "So, here is how we'll work this." he turned to Steven, Rattrap and Amethyst. "Rattrap, I'm sending you, Steven and Amethyst on a different mission."
"Okay, Optimus." Steven saluted Optimus. "What's the assignment?"
"You're to search for Energon….In sector 45." Optimus continued.
"Sector 45?" asked Amethyst, getting a nod from Optimus.
"The Volcanic Island, that's a death sentence, Big Bot!" Cheetor felt panicked. "45 is one big Energon storm!"
Pearl nodded, "And within the weapon's range of the Predacon Ship, they can ."
"She's right!" Rhinox agreed, "But where will the rest of us go?"
"Garnet will go with you, Rhinox." Optimus said, before he added. "Lapis will also join you as well, you three will search for something we can use to smoke them out."
"Could be useful," said Rhinox.
Garnet nodded, "Indeed, and at the same time, you and I can go over this ecological improvement invention you had in mind." she said to him.
Rhinox smiled at this and they mobilized.
"Dinobot, you and Pearl are with Cheetor, I'll search the skies and see if they set up any aerial defenses," said Optimus.
"As you wish," said Dinobot, as he went with Pearl and Cheetor.
"Hopefully we won't be caught off guard so quickly," said Pearl.
Cheetor nodded. "Yeah, here's hoping."
"Optimus, there is something I've been wondering." Steven said. "Don't you think that maybe Megatron could be hearing us?"
Garnet then spoke to Optimus, "Steven's got a valid point." she said. "I mean it's possible Megatron could surprise us at any time."
Optmius knew that this could be true and then he looked at the rodent Maximal. "Rattrap, will you be able to get along with the Predacons, but without them catching onto you?" Optimus asked.
"It won't be easy, but I'll be ready, just in case." said Rattrap.
"Same to us, right Amethyst?" Steven asked her.
"Oh yeah!" said Amethyst.
Optimus smiled at the three of them. "Alright team, let's mobilize!" he said. "In the words of my ancestor, it's time to Transform and Roll Out!" he said the famed phrase of the original Optimus Prime, his ancestor.
Elsewhere, we see Megatron stomping around and enjoying the sun while he could. He had his screen out so he could see what was going on. He was amazed by there being a new Predacon like Blackarachnia and that something else had been happening.
"Ah, a new comrade in arms and it's a She-Spider." said Megatron, as he chrottled at this. "I'm sure she will be reliable to the cause. Yesssss." He then saw what the Maximals were doing. "Well well well, isn't this something. The Maximals are splitting up and so are the Gems."
Little did Megatron know, a drone had been spying on him. And up in space, the Shadow Diamond Empire had also been observing this too.
Black Diamond had been watching this from the bridge of his ship. "Hmm, so, there is a new Maximal and a new Predacon too?" he wondered.
It was then that Tanzanite came in, "Darling, mind if I join you?" she asked.
"Not at all, my dear." said Black Diamond, as Tanzanite sat down next to him and put her arm around him. "It seems there is a new Predacon on Megatron's side."
"Ohhhhhhh, who is it?" asked Tanzanite.
It was then that Black Diamond ordered one of his troops to show the image of who it was. "They call her Blackarachnia, a Black Widow Spider Predacon who was once a Maximal Protoform."
Tanzanite looked at her. "A female Predacon, about time. I think she would be a good fit for our son."
Black Diamond was intrigued by that notion. "Hmm, yes, you're right." he said. "When he comes back, we'll show him what she looks like."
"Fabulous, my love." said Tanzanite, as she and her husband kissed.
Meanwhile, on Earth, Rattrap was in Beast Mode and he sniffed around and looked everywhere, Steven and Amethyst followed along and used the new Energon Detector Garnet invented to aid with their search.
They follow a river of molten rock through an eerie landscape of steaming lava pits and Energon effects surge through. Rattrap hits the com—link on his chest. "Everyone, this is Rattrap reporting in." he spoke into his communicator. "Our recon mission indicates nothin' here but meltin' rock. How should we proceed?"
In the air, Optimus replied, "One more sweep, then bring it in."
"Roger that, Optimus!" said Steven, speaking into his communicator.
Inside the Predacon ship, Terrorsaur spots this and chuckles a little bit. "Ah, the pleasures of code-breaking." he said to himself. "I think I'll pay our Maximal friend and his Gem pals a visit." he converts to Beast Mode and flies out of the main hold.
Amethyst looked around the area, but found nothing. She then tapped her communicator. "Nope, nothing around here." said Amethyst. "Energon or otherwise."
"Are you sure about that?" screeched a voice, coming from behind as we see Terrorsaur as he swoops in over Amethyst and hits her with his wing.
Amethyst is launched into Rattrap and says to her communicator, "Scrub that last report! Engaging Terrorsaur!" She gets off Rattrap and gets out her weapons.
Steven did the same as Terrorsaur began to transform. "Terrorsaur, TERRORIZE!" he screeched and went from Pterodactyl to robot.
Amethyst and Steven draw their weapons, "Rattrap, MAXIMIZE!" Rattrap converted to robot mode and began firing his weapon at Terrorsaur.
Terrorsaur countered with some blasts of his own, his blaster tried to hit, but Steven blocked it with his shield.
Amethyst and Rattrap opened fire at him and Terrorsaur dodged them. Rattrap raises up and FIRES his stasis rifle, but the blast misses Terrorsaur.
"Your marksmanship is unimpressive." Terrorsaur scoffed at Rattrap, as he fired a heat beam from his eyes.
The beam hits the red—hot volcanic rocks behind Rattrap, Amethyst and Steven, starting an avalanche. Rattrap starts blasting at the avalanche to not get any rubble on his head and Amethyst does the same thing.
"Bet I can blast more of these than you, Rattrap!" Amethyst taunted him.
"We'll see about that!" said Rattrap. The two began their shoot-off, and Rattrap got rid of six while Amethyst got the same amount, but she soon got two in one shot so Rattrap decided to one-up her by getting four in one shot.
As Steven fights off Terrorsaur, he notices the shoot-off between Rattrap and Amethyst and they had just gotten the last two, he felt a little annoyed by the way they bickered.
"Man, that last one would have been mine if you hadn't gotten it first!" he ranted.
Amethyst countered, "Hey, I was doing fine by myself."
Steven yelled in a rage. "Guys, this is not the time to be bickering among yourselves!" he yelled. "Focus on the Predacon!"
Just as Steven had his back turned, DarkFanger rammed Steven with his head as he slithered out of the shadows. *WHAM!* Steven's weapons were knocked out of his hands and he fell to the ground.
"We think not, Ssssssteven Universssssssse!" hissed DarkFanger, as he arrived along with Flamenix, Waspinator and Bluebird.
Amethyst and Rattrap turn around to see this, Amethyst charges at them, only to be caught in some kind of blue web. "What the? Is this a spider web?" she asked herself, "Come out Tarantulas!" she dared the tarantula Predacon to come out.
"Wrong guess, purple girl!" said a female voice. And out comes Blackarachnia. "This is MY web!"
Amethyst gasps, "Who are you!?"
"The name's Blackarachnia." She introduced herself in a taunting way.
Rattrap attempts to open fire only for the She-Spider to aim her gun at him, "The only thing worse than one Spider Predacon is two of them!" he ranted.
It as then that they all pointed their weapons at Steven and Amethyst. "Prepare to be terminated, Steven Universe."
Bluebird then readied her weapon and said, "DIE!"
Rattrap then shouted, "WAIT!" causing Bluebird to stop and the Predacons all turned to the rodent. "I…Beg for mercy!"
This had Amethyst, Steven and the Predacons all shocked and Terrorsaur then signaled for them to stop. "Predacons, hold your fire!" He ordered them and they all followed with it. "The mouse begs for mercy, eh? At what price?" he asked.
"Please, spare my friends and take me as your prisoner instead." said Rattrap, as he pleaded with Terrorsaur.
Bluebird is confused, "What do you make of it?" she asked Terrorsaur.
"Since the routine has been shaken up for today, I will allow this." said Terrorsaur, as he considers for a beat, sizing up Rattrap. Then he grins. "Well, finally, a Maximal with logic circuits." he scoffed a little bit. "Very well. I will spare your friends…in exchange for you being our prisoner."
Rattrap converted back to beast mode and had cuffs placed on his feet.
Steven and Amethyst were released and then cuffs were put on them too, "But now, all three of them are locked up thanks to all of us." said Flamenix.
"Agreed," said Blackarachnia.
"We won't destroy them, just hold them prisoner," said Terrorsaur. "Lord Megatron will be pleased."
"Seeing how we've made Steven Universe, and both his gem and Maximal friends, give themselves up, he will be overjoyed." said Bluebird.
However, in his laboratory, Tarantulas was mixing chemicals and such, and he made one that did not backfire in front of him.
"Hehehehehehe, yes…This is wonderful!" he said. He then poured it into the machine and then he opened up a drawer and thought about what color gem to use next. He had been collecting more colored Gems and they had all been dormant, but on the inside they were being tortured.
This time, he had a navy blue, a crimson blood red and a slime green gem along with a blood orange one in the container and he marveled at them.
"My Gem Predacons were a success, time to make another batch of them." he said to himself.
Tarantulas then heard a knock at the door. He opened it up and in came Scorponok and Jasper, "Tarantulas, we captured Steven Universe, Amethyst and a Maximal. It's the one called Rattrap!"
Tarantulas was taken aback by this. "Really?!
Jasper nodded, "Terrorsaur, Flamenix, Bluebird and DarkFanger surrounded them along with Blackarachnia."
Tarantulas then decided to show them what he had been doing. "Well, that is excellent news!" he said. "And since Flamenix, DarkFanger and Spinotor were a success, I plan on making some more Gem Predacons to join us."
"Brilliant! Brilliant!" said Scorponok, agreeing to this.
"The more Gem Predacons we have with us," Jasper replied, "The more we'll be unstoppable against the Maximals, and we'll be able to take over Beach City!"
"Lord Megatron will be pleased to hear this!" said Scorponok. "So, how is it coming along?"
"It's not ready yet, but with just the right amount of Energon, it will be!" said the Tarantula Predacon. "Let's head to the main hold and plan our next move."
"Right!" both Jasper and Scorponok said in unison as they walked out of the lab.
Later, at the Axalon, we find Cheetor, Pearl, Rhinox, Garnet, Dinobot, Lapis and Optimus all gathered in the main hold, knowing that their plan to fool the Predacons worked, they were heading for those places, but all came back to the base, leaving just a few things behind to make them think they were there.
"Looks like Phase 1 of the plan worked," said Cheetor.
"So far so good!" Optimus replied, "Now, we get ready for Phase 2."
"Yes," Garnet nodded. "Is our new device ready, Rhinox?"
"Just got to add one last touch." said Rhinox, fiddling around with the Synchro Laser on the new device he and Garnet built. "There we go. It's ready."
Cheetor then turned to Optimus. "So, what do we do for Phase 2 of the plan?"
"We go to the Predacon ship, and await the signal from Rattrap, Steven and Amethyst." Optimus said to his speedster.
"Gotcha!" Cheetor agreed.
Lapis, Garnet, Pearl and Dinobot all nodded in agreement.
"Okay, let's move!" said Optimus.
Back at the Darksyde, we see Rattrap, Steven and Amethyst in three cages, above the lava pool.
"Boy, that lava is hazardous," said Steven. "I definitely don't want to fall into that."
"Neither do I." said Rattrap.
Amethyst then said, "I know you were trying to save me and Steven, but surrendering yourself wasn't how it should have gone." She lectured.
"Hey, I didn't want to do it either, but my back was against the wall!" Rattrap countered. "And besides, that She-Spider would have used her Cyber Venom on me if I fired at Terrorsaur!"
"Yeah, well, you're not the only one she caught off guard!" Amethyst said.
Steven however, was lost in thought. 'And I thought Cheetor was as immature as Amethyst.' he thought to himself.
"You know this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to prove yourself better than me!" Rattrap countered.
"Me?" Amethyst complained. "If you hadn't…"
"Guys, stop it!" Steven said, getting their attention. "Let's just get out of these cages and focus on the task ahead, alright?"
"Very well." Amethyst said, not feeling too happy about they're predicament. "Got your infiltration kit?" she asked Rattrap.
"Sure do." said Rattrap, as he began to get the operation underway. "Rattrap, Maximize!" he whispered silently as he converted into robot mode. Rattrap quickly picks the cell lock, the cell door clicked open, he looks carefully left, then right, looking for a way out and does the same thing to Steven and Amethyst's cages.
"Okay, this spot should be a way out, through that vent." said Steven. Rattrap, Amethyst and Steven jump over the bubbling lava and grab the ledge that leads to a corridor by the tips of their fingers. They hang from the barred door as they slip inside.
They manage to pull themselves up and through the bars and crept down the corridor. The three of them quietly slid by in the shadows, as far above, in the next room, DarkFanger and Terrorsaur continued to argue. Rattrap and Amethyst follow Steven, as he moves along in the shadowy corner of the base, glancing up uneasily at the Predacons bickering.
"I will NOT follow you forever!" DarkFanger said, not liking Terrorsaur's leadership. "Lord Megatron isssss our true leader!
Terrorsaur yelled, "ENOUGH, I am your INTERIM leader!" he shot back at him.
The three of them watch the action above them, snickering at that and trying to plan an escape at the same time. They see an ordinary little rat walk past and they show him the way down the corridor, they follow it down that direction.
Outside the place, we see the other Maximals and Gems on a ridge outside the base, the clouds were all covering the sky and just then, lightning began to strike. Optimus watches the Predacon base from its perimeter. Cheetor is beside him, along with Pearl and Dinobot.
"What're we waitin' for?" asked Cheetor.
Dinobot twitches impatiently. Rhinox sits on his haunches, overlooking things. "Yes, why do we not attack and draw out the Predacons?" he asked, wanting to know
"We attack on my command." said Optimus, denoting that his orders were absolute, as he stares out toward the Predacon Base intently.
Back inside the base, Steven, Amethyst and Rattrap look down to see Tarantulas on a computer scanning device and at the same time, he spots something inside his laboratory.
"Scanning for Maximal frequency." said the computer, it kept blipping and nothing came up. "None detected."
"Oh well." said Tarantulas, as he converted to Beast Mode and decided to head back to his laboratory to find out what was in there. He moves away from the scanner and the three heroes jump down to check it out.
Steven, Amethyst and Rattrap were now at the same communications console, around which the Predacons crowded earlier, Rattrap crouches secretly, and it was then that he noticed something was a little out of place. He pulls a largish computer chip from an open panel.
Steven looked it over, "What is that?
"A Maximal chip! No wonder we were getting ambushed everytime…"
"How did they get that?" asked Amethyst.
"Dunno." Rattrap replied. "Maybe some wreckage around the city," he added. "But, let's head away from here."
"Righto," said Steven.
He tucks the chip away and moves down another corridor.
As they walked, they tripped a laser beam, causing a blue spider web to appear in front of them. The computer repeated, "Unauthorized access to restricted zone!" over and over again.
"Oh what in the galaxy!?" Rattrap complained.
They tried to get out, but it was sticky, "Can't move!"
"What the hell is this stuff?" Amethyst said.
"It's a standard Cybertronian spider web." said Rattrap, getting out his cutter. "Easy to use and difficult to get out of, unless you have a cutter. Which I do!"
"Then use it!" said Steven.
While in another corridor, Tarantulas is about to eat the very rat that the three heroes saw earlier, when he hears the computer warning. He scuttles down the corridor.
Rattrap decides to cut the web with his wrist knives and escapes down the corridor.
"Phew, that was close." said Steven, feeling glad to be out of there.
Amethyst turns around, "Uh, what do you think caused us to get stuck in that web?"
"I think I know who." Rattrap replied, he then pointed at the spot where the trip wire was at. "Steven must have done it by accident without knowing."
"Sorry about that guys." he looked a little down.
It was then that Amethyst put her arm around him, "It happens to us all the time." she said. "Don't beat yourself up."
"Yeah, what she said. " Rattrap agreed with her, for once.
Amethyst blinked a little, "Well, what do you know? We actually agree on something."
"Well isn't that a coincidence!" Rattrap muttered to himself.
They all get out of there quickly and avoid detection, a little later, Tarantulas slides along the same corner, and arrives at the web, only to find it broken and tattered. No trace of Rattrap, Steven or Amethyst. Tarantulas turns his head and spots something, while he was nonplussed.
Tarantulas arrives at a different area of the ship to see Rattrap, this was the restoration chamber and Steven and Amethyst were with him. "So! The juicy rat has been running his maze along with his medilsome friends." he said, making them turn around and spot Tarantulas, lowering on a web strand.
"But not for long. Tarantulas, TERROR-" as he had gotten done transforming, *BANG* Rattrap jacks his rifle's action and blasts the now-Robot Mode Tarantulas flying OS. He then spin-cocks it up and blows steam from the muzzle .
"Nice shot," said Steven.
"Thanks." he said to him, as they high-fived. Then, Rattrap hits the com-link in chest twice. "Alright . Time to join the' party, big ape." he signaled.
Outside, Optimus' own chest com-link beeped twice, making them all look in his direction.
"Hey...what's that?" asked Cheetor.
"Must be the signal." replied Pearl.
Garnet stated. "That was Rattrap, he just gave us the signal."
Optimus nodded, "We attack now! Maximals…MAXIMIZE!" he said, roaring as he went into robot mode.
"Gems, ARMOR ON!" said Lapis.
"RIGHT!" they all said in unison, agreeing with her.
In Robot Mode, they raise their weapons and fire simultaneously at the ship, causing the ground in there to shake up and down.
Inside the base, Terrorsaur, Waspinator, Jasper, Bluebird and Black Arachnia are rocked by the shaking ground and such as the Maximals and Gems' missiles rock the Command Center.
"Maximal attack! Maximal attack!" said Waspinator.
"What!?" said Jasper.
"Why were we not warned by the codebreaker?" asked Terrorsaur. "Where's Tarantulas?" he demanded.
Waspinator moves in, bangs on the panel a second, "Maximal codebreaking deactivated! Shields damaged! Tarantulas offline!" he replied.
Looking panicked, Terrorsaur let out a scream. "Eeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!"
"This cannot bode well for us!" said Blackarachnia, feeling startled by this.
"I agree with you, Blackarachnia." said DarkFanger.
The other Predacons turned towards Scorponok and he looked worried. "Well, you're second in command." Flamenix said, "What are your orders?"
At first he was nervous and said, "We'll be buried here! Prepare to counterattack!"
"You sure?" asked Bluebird.
"It's what Lord Megatron would want us to do." Terrorsaur said. "Predacons, TERRORIZE!" and with that said, they all converted into robot mode and ran right into the battlefield.
Optimus spotted the new one with them, "They've transformed the Proto-Maximal. But we have a secret weapon. Fight on." he said, activating his mask and jumping into the sky.
"What now?" asked Flamenix.
"Split up and take them one at a time!" ordered Terrorsaur.
"Right!" they all said in unison.
The Predacons split up and fight them off one at a time, Optimus is in the air and spots Terrorsaur in front of him. "So, Optimus, it seems you and I have another fight."
"After what you did at the floating mountain, I'm ready!" Optimus shot back.
"So am I!" said Lapis, as she went in from behind the Pterodactyl Predacon.
"LAPIS! You're here for a rematch!?" Terrorsaur snarled.
"Oh yeah!" said Lapis, getting out her sword. "And it looks like this is a two vs. one battle."
"No matter, I can take it!" Terrorsaur sneered at them both. "With Megatron out of here for a while, I will make short work of you two!"
"Wanna bet?" said Optimus, as he fired his arm rockets at him, but Terrorsaur was unfazed by it.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Cheetor was shooting at Jasper and Flamenix, and he got them both, "Yeah! That got them!" he said. Then he heard the sound of something launching at him, he dodged it by rolling out of the way.
It was then that Blackarachnia was the one who fired on him, "Hmmm, a cat bot, eh?" she teased a little. "Well, this is something."
"Who are you?" asked Cheetor.
"Name's Blackarachnia." she said, telling her name, as she fired her gun at him again. "Just joined the Predacons!"
"Well, you'll have to do better than that, hot stuff!" Cheetor shot back at her, both flirtatiously and literally as he fired his quasar rifle, but she dodged it.
Blackarachnia then used the blasters in her spider legs to try and blast Cheetor, like a machine gun. After she stopped, "Was that good enough for you, big boy?" she flirted a little bit.
"Way more than I could handle." said Cheetor, as he and Blackarachnia faced in hand-to-hand combat. "Now that I see your face, you're quite the looker."
"I know." she teased a little bit, before she kicked him in the midsection. "But, I can't say you're my type."
Before she could deliver a final blow, she was kicked by Pearl, who had rushed to help Cheetor. "Unbelievable." she said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks to you, Pearl." said Cheetor, as he was helped up by her.
DarkFanger was a little preoccupied with aiding Terrorsaur, as he and Spinotor worked together on the ground while Flamenix joined Terrorsaur in the air battle with Lapis and Optimus.
Meanwhile, Dinobot fired his lasers at Scorponok, got out his sword and they dueled with Scorponok using his tail as a sword. "Scorponok, you are not the one I want, where is Megatron!?"
"He's not here." Scorponok replied. "Lord Megatron went out and wanted to see how we'd handle ourselves without him so he left me and Terrorsaur in charge of things while he was gone!"
Dinobot smirked at this, "So, you and Terrorsaur are leading for today."
"Got a problem with that, traitor?" Scorponok ranted, little realizing that Bluebird and Jasper heard that, which left them a little confused.
Garnet then looked at Pearl as she returned to her. "What do you think we should do?" asked Pearl.
"Let's merge!" Garnet said, getting a nod from Pearl. They joined hand in hand and began to combine into a giant woman who had vermilion skin and pale apricot-colored hair, styled into a tetrahedron with very rounded corners. Her torso and legs greatly resemble Garnet's, but with less mass. As a fusion, she has four arms and inherits the same locations of her gemstones as her components. This was Garnet and Pearl's fusion form, Sardonyx.
Everyone saw this and were quite in awe, "W-W-W-W-W-W-What the hay!?" stuttered DarkFanger, as he was frightened a little bit.
"She's gigantic!" said Scorponok, marveling at this.
Terrorsaur screeched in horror at this. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!" he screamed.
Sardonyx then began whacking the Predacons and evil Gems around with ease. Then she kicked Scorponok and slammed Waspinator flat, making him fall like a piece of paper. Next, Sardonyx grabbed Flamenix and began breaking his wings, rendering him unable to fly. "Alright, who's next!?" she said, feeling ready for a fight.
DarkFanger attempts to run away, but then Sardonyx forms her hammer and he goes into Beast Mode and slithers out of the way of her whacks.
"Sardonyx has joined the fight, eh?" said Bluebird, as she then felt a little sneaky and planned to do something about it. "Well, not for long." She then planned on sneaking up behind Sardonyx and hoped to ambush her.
Cheetor saw this and fired his blaster at Bluebird, "NOT ON MY WATCH!" he yelled, blasting her and causing her to spiral out of control and hit the ground. "Bullseye!" he said, as Sardonyx looked down at Cheetor and they gave each other the thumbs up.
Rhinox then fired at Spinitor and Dinobot decided to join in the fight, making it 2 on 1 the odds were in the favor of the Maximals for that fight. "That takes care of Spinotor," said Rhinox.
"Indeed," said Dinobot, agreeing with him.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Terrorsaur was officially outnumbered by both Optimus and Lapis, but he kept fighting. He then pulled out a sword that looked very much new, "I got my own blade this time!"
He used it to fight Lapis, "So, you took some notes from the last time we fought." said Lapis. "Very cunning of you, Terrorsaur."
"There's more to it than that!" said Terrorsaur, as he and Lapis clashed their swords. Optimus was about to join in, but then he got hit from behind by Jasper.
"OPTIMUS!" Lapis shouted, as she was then grabbed by Terrorsaur and then thrown down to the ground where the front gate of the Predacon Base was.
"Hahahahahaha!" Terrorsaur cackled at Lapis
Optimus charged at Jasper and punched her right in the face, knocking her into a small hill, causing her to leave a crater where she impacted. "That should teach you to mess with a commander, Jasper!" he said.
"That's what you think!" Jasper said, feeling weakened.
However, Terrorsaur still had Lapis cornered and had her at gunpoint. "Looks like this is the end for you Lapis Lazuli!" he cackled.
But then, a voice could be heard, "GET YOUR GUN AWAY FROM HER!" shouted the voice and then.
"WHAT THE?!"
*BANG*
A blast hit Terrorsaur, knocking him back and out of the shadows came Rattrap, Steven and Amethyst.
"Did we miss something?" asked Steven.
"Where have you guys been?" asked Cheetor, wanting to know.
"We had a little trouble getting out of there." said Amethyst. "The inside of the ship is like a maze."
Steven nodded, "I can vouch for that." he said. "So many twists and turns." he then turned to Terrorsaur, "Looks like you and Scorponok both failed in leading the Predacons while Megatron was away." he taunted.
"Dammit!" Terrorsaur growled, attempting to get back to his feet.
But then, Steven and Rattrap both scorched his face and made his head fall off. "Now, let's bail before Megatron gets back here!" said Amethyst.
"Right! Back to the base, on the triple!" said Optimus.
"Time to fade, heroes!" Cheetor added.
And just like that, they all bolted out of the area and headed back to their base. However, as the Predacons all got up, Megatron had returned and converted into robot mode. "So, Predacons, which of you 'glorious victors' would still follow this fool's lead?" he said, emphasizing a few words.
After a brief silence, he knew that none of them would follow Terrorsaur, and Scorponok was glad that the true leader had returned from his rounds. "And thus ends the glorious reign of Terrorsaur." he said, as Terrorsaur chuckled nervously. "A LOST battle! A MISSING Tarantulas! And who was in favor of imprisoning some MAXIMAL SPIES!" he yelled, causing Terrorsaur's head to fall off again.
"Oh my aching head!" he winced.
Megatron then turned over to the new girl, "Blackarachnia, I presume?"
"Yes, Lord Megatron." she knelt down in front of him.
"I was quite impressed with how you handled yourself." Megatron said to her. "Welcome to the Predacons." he welcomed her.
"Thank you, My Lord." said Blackarachnia, as she rose to her feet.
Back at the Axalon, we see the Maximals all speaking to Amethyst, Steven and Rattrap. And Optimus said, "Congratulations are in order. Rattrap, you, Steven and Amethyst did well on your infiltration job."
"Thank you, Optimus." said Steven. "Also, I did find this." He showed them a container that had an Energon crystal, but it was raw. He had the container on him just in case something like that would happen.
"Excellent!" said Dinobot, showing his gratitude. "If we can stabilize it, it may be useful."
Optimus then looked at Rattrap and said, "You have the chip?"
Rattrap nodded and took out the item in question, "It's a Maximal Decoder." he replied. "They must have recovered it from a wreckage crash."
Cheetor and the others were in awe at this. "No wonder they were able to hack our communications, they were using OUR decoder!" he said.
Pearl was stunned by this, "Unbelievable. How dare they do that?"
"I don't know! However, it seems they made sure it did not happen again." said Rhinox.
"Yes," said Dinobot. "Hopefully, this will turn the tide in our favor."
"You got that right." said Steven, agreeing with Dinobot. "Also, any word for Tigatron?"
"Right now, in his area, everything's calm," said Garnet.
"Good." said Pearl.
Lapis then added, "Let's hope it stays that way, for the time being." she said. "And I think Terrorsaur will think twice before getting A Head of himself." she joked.
*COMEDIC RIM-SHOT*
Everyone in the base laughed about it and went on with the rest of the day.
To Be Continued…
[Cult Classics continues]
Me: Well, that's another one in the bag, right dude?
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Hell Yeah! The Maximals and Gems were able to knock off the Predacons, and beat them at their own game.
Me: Uh huh! Plus, it seems Blackarachnia got into a flirt off with Cheetor.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Indeed! But I doubt it'll last for long.
Me: Yeah, but anyway, you remember those guests I told you about?
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Oh yeah, who were they?
Me: You're about to find out.
Just then, the doors opened and out of nowhere came a guy dressed in a red and blue costume with a spider logo on it, a woman with a black catsuit and a red hourglass logo on her belt with gold gauntlets, a boy with brown hair, green eyes and a jacket to match and lastly a stacked woman in a white unitard, a red cape and blue boots and gloves
Me: These are our guests, Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Ben Tennyson/Ben 10 and Karen Starr/Power Girl!
The Amazing Ghost Musician: WHOA!
Me: I know right?
Spider-Man: Nice to meet you, Amazing Ghost Musician.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: I can't believe that I'm meeting my childhood hero.
Me: Same here!
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Nice to meet you all.
Black Widow: Likewise.
Ben: Hi there.
Power Girl: Sup?
Me: I should let you know, these four are on a double date to this place. (Amazing Ghost Musician's jaw dropped.)
The Amazing Ghost Musician: WHAT?
Spider-Man: Yep, me and Black Widow are an item in his story What A Strange Web We Weave.
Black Widow: Got that right. (she lifts her chest.) And this is how big my rack is in his universe. Can you believe it? I've got some more 'upstairs' right here.
Ben: Uh, Nat, you're making your boyfriend and myself a little turned on.
Power Girl: Yeah, I should do that to Ben. I mean after all, WOLFWATCHER12 made me and Ben an item.
Me: Oh right.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Okay guys, while it's nice to meet all of you, Wolf and I need to close out this chapter. Also Spider-Man, I hope all goes well for you and Black Widow.
Spider-Man: Thanks. Mind if we help you with closing out?
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Go ahead!
Spider-Man: Okay, be sure you guys look forward to the next chapter of Steven Universe: War Of The Beasts. In the next chapter, Rhinox and Pearl install a security system called Sentinel.
Ben: However, it goes haywire after Amethyst pulls a prank on Dinobot, which causes more tensions among her and Rattrap, the Maximals clear out of the base and at the same time, Blackarachnia, Flamenix, Spinitor, Waspinator, Terrorsaur and Jasper all plant a Sonic Emitter underneath the base in a hidden cavern.
Power Girl: So, Optimus, Steven and Garnet go to Sector 19 and find Waspinator and Flamenix hovering over the trees in that area. They meet up with Tigatron, who follows them on the ground in case they lose them.
Black Widow: So, the only question is, will Rattrap and Amethyst find a way to reboot Sentinel or will they get fried?
Me: Well, it's up to the readers to find out.
The Amazing Ghost Musician: Also for any of your readers who are wondering where Greg Universe is, and when Connie's gonna appear in the story, all of that will be explained in the next chapter.
Me: That's right. So, we hope you all will enjoy Chapter 9: An Amethystically Better Mousetrap!
All of them: See ya next time!
Please, read, review, comment, favorite and share. And Remember, NO FLAMES!