Primal Prime was in the midst of a horrific nightmare; he and Rattrap were being pursued by hundreds of Drones...
Realising they were getting nowhere fast, Primal Prime attempted to transform.
"I am transformed!" he exclaimed, but to no avail...
"I am... Transformed!" Rattrap tried as the city collapsed around them...
A fissure opened beneath Primal Prime's feet, swallowing him! Rattrap's robot mode was revealed to Primal Prime as Tarantulas took possession of the rodent's Spark...
Primal Prime gasped as he awoke in a daze; had he imagined the whole thing?!
A light illuminated the Maximal leader, revealing Blackarachnia, Snowstalker, Shadow, and Aurora watching over him.
"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Blackarachnia asked. "You're still weak from the reformatting number you pulled on Nightscream, remember?" She reminded.
Primal Prime blinked a few times as his vision adjusted.
"Where's Rattrap?" the Maximal leader asked groggily. "Something's wrong!"
As the others guided Primal Prime back to his bed, Snowstalker filled the Maximal leader in.
"He's with Cheetor and Nightscream on an info-gathering mission; it's STRICTLY recon..." the tigress explained.
"Yeah, he's perfectly safe," Aurora agreed.
"Unless the new guy screws up..." Shadow muttered under his breath. Snowstalker gave him an unamused expression.
Meanwhile, at the so-called "Recon" mission...
Rattrap was running from Tankor and Blastcharge, as their firepower barely missed him repeatedly!
"We'll slag the little mouse-bot!" Blastcharge simplemindedly said. Just then, he and Tankor ran out of road!
"Not in THIS lifetime, tin-head!" Rattrap announced as they fell.
Nightscream's voice rang out at that point.
"Rattrap, look out!" he warned his fellow rodent as a couple of Aero Drones aimed at the rat.
Picking Rattrap up by the tail, Nightscream flew out of harm's way with his comrade.
"Just sit tight, cheddar-lips; Cheetor and I can handle this!" the bat advised as he dropped Rattrap off next to their interim leader.
"I am transformed!" Nightscream announced as an Aero Drone fired off some rounds at him.
Nightscream fired back with a sonic attack, rendering the Drone offline. As another Drone fired upon Cheetor, he deflected every shot with his twin scimitars!
"Rattrap, just stick to the mission! Search the computers and leave the fighting to the Maximals that can TRANSFORM! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Cheetor snarled.
Looking hurt, Rattrap made haste to the computer terminals, grumbling under his breath.
"Jeez... You try to help, and they bite your whiskers off!" Rattrap whined.
From his command centre, Tarantulas was watching the events unfold... His servant Drone floated up to him.
"I must warn you that this DNA purge is still in the experimental stages, my liege..." the Drone advised.
"That may be, but will it eliminate my beast mode?!" the Unicronian hissed.
"Absolutely... In theory," the Drone answered. Tarantulas sighed in exasperation.
"Then WHY am I still waiting?!" he asked. Typing in some commands on a terminal, the Drone gave one last piece of advice...
"Perhaps you should wait until the Maximal situation is more stable?" it asked.
"And allow them to unearth ANOTHER mongrel beast?!" Tarantulas snarled, gesturing to a monitor with Nightscream on screen... "Hardly..."
Cheetor, meanwhile, was being shot at from all sides by Cycle Drones, nimbly dodging their firepower.
"Here, kitty-kitty..." Thrust hissed as he and Mirage rolled upon the scene.
Above them, Nightscream launched his fangs at Thrust, viewing him as the more prominent threat.
As Thrust was drained of all available energy, Mirage ran off in panic! Thrust's Cycle Drones powered down without their leader's guiding intelligence...
"Did you see that?!" Cheetor asked Nightscream.
"Yeah! You crash the big guys to make their minions go down!" Nightscream answered. Cheetor formulated a plan...
"I'll draw the Drones away from Jetstorm and the other Vehicon Generals; still thirsty, Nightscream?" the interim Maximal leader asked. The bat gagged.
"Nope! Any more energy and I'll blow my capacitors!" he advised. "Although, if we can use the big zap chambers in this place to overload them..." Nightscream hinted. Cheetor nodded.
"You lead 'em in; I'll tackle them from behind!" Cheetor agreed.
Cheetor ran as fast as his legs allowed, deflecting blasts from Tankor and Blastcharge's Drones. Looking around, he saw Rattrap where he was supposed to be: the computer terminals above...
"Man... What I wouldn't give to get my paws on some of THAT!" Rattrap sighed, drooling over a schematic view of some heavy artillery... Just then, his attention was diverted by the sparks flying from one of the "Zap Chambers"...
"Holy Gorgonzola!" Rattrap gasped as he saw Nightscream being backed towards the chamber by the Vehicon Generals. "I'd better do something quickly, or it'll be a lonely ride home!"
Entering his Zen stance, Rattrap pleaded with Primus...
"C'mon, just this once? I... Am... TRANSFORMED!" he tried.
As red energy emanated from his Spark, Rattrap FINALLY managed to transform on command!
"I... I did it! Oh, look out, world; Rattrap is comin' back in style!" he announced.
"Any last words, bat boy?" Jetstorm asked as he and the remaining Vehicon Generals cornered Nightscream.
"Just one: NOW!" Nightscream announced as he and Cheetor attempted to enact their plan. Just then, however...
"GANG WAY; RAT CROSSIN'!" Rattrap announced, swinging in on an overhead cable. The newly transformed Maximal knocked the Vehicon Generals, who were line-abreast, out of Cheetor's path! Cheetor himself collided with the zap chamber, receiving a nasty shock!
As the Vehicon Generals went flying, Jetstorm and Tankor also collided... With the building's "On" switch!
This was a factory; its intent? To build more Vehicon Drones! The so-called "Zap Chambers" were there to give them power!
As Rattrap tried to access his... Weaponry, he came to a horrifying realisation:
"I think someone forgot to load this robot mode with weapons!" he whined.
As the Drones were behaving quite erratically, Tarantulas, from his command centre, decided to step in...
"ENOUGH! I'm taking control of those Drones, starting now!" the Unicronian announced. The Drones were now acting more in sync, but Rattrap was more concerned about how MANY there were!
Attaching an interface tool to his tail's tip, Rattrap attempted to stop the factory from fabricating MORE Vehicons!
The machinery wouldn't stop! Rattrap was between a rock and a hard place as Tarantulas aimed with an Aero Drone...
"Oh, NO!" Rattrap exclaimed as he saw the Drone fire upon him. As the Drone's firepower hit the console, it gave Rattrap a painful surge of energy, which started a feedback loop that led back to Tarantulas!
Tarantulas flew to the ground while Rattrap was forced back into beast mode!
Cheetor and Nightscream grabbed Rattrap and fled underground as the factory began to self-destruct...
Tarantulas, meanwhile, went unconscious as the lights of Cybertron powered down...
"At least tell us you got some USEFUL information..." Cheetor groaned as the threesome made their way back home.
"Not... Exactly," Rattrap replied with a whimper. Nightscream sighed.
"Everything would have been fine if you'd kept your nose out of it..." he growled.
"But don't you wanna know why I was ABLE to transform? For once... I wasn't thinkin' about myself! I was only focused on savin' you guys..." Rattrap explained. Nightscream scoffed.
"Yeah? Well, the next time you want to do us a favour? DON'T!" the bat snarled as he and Cheetor headed home.
Rattrap was venting to an asleep Primal Prime...
"I did EVERYTHING you told me to do; I believed it when I said: "I am transformed!"," Rattrap explained as he proceeded to convert into robot mode. "And THIS is what I get! Oh, man... What kinda lemon did you sell me, Boss Monkey?" the rodent whined.
"HAVE YOU LOST IT?!" Blackarachnia asked angrily as she and the others entered the room.
"Yeah! Transforming down HERE, of all places?!" Snowstalker snarled.
"Tarantulas is probably already locking onto your signature, dumb-aft!" Shadow growled, his sister nodding in agreement.
Nightscream sighed in exasperation.
"BACK TO BEAST MODE! NOW!" Cheetor ordered with an acidic tone, tackling the rat to the ground. Just then, Rattrap's visor descended over his face, playing a visual of Tarantulas during the feedback loop.
As his visor arose, Cheetor felt the need to repeat himself.
"I said: TRANSFORM TO BEAST MODE, THAT'S AN ORDER!" he snarled.
Doing so, Rattrap decided to explain what he'd just seen.
"That feedback loop when the computer zapped me... It must have downloaded Tarantulas's vital signs to me! He's weak! Like, REALLY weak!" he explained.
"Gee, did it tell you his favourite colour, too?" Nightscream asked sarcastically.
"Oh, come ON! What're we waitin' for?! Now's our chance to SLAG Tarantulas, once and for all!" Rattrap reasoned. Cheetor snarled.
"NOBODY'S slaggin' anybody!" he growled.
"Primal Prime needs rest; we must protect him at all costs!" Snowstalker explained.
"PERIOD!" Shadow and Aurora finished.
"But-" Rattrap tried again, only to be cut off by Blackarachnia.
"Haven't you caused enough trouble for one day?!" she hissed as the lights turned off.
Later, the group (minus Rattrap) discussed the rodent's role on the team.
"It's bad enough we were saving his tail all the time when he was stuck in beast mode; now he's got a useless ROBOT mode!" Blackarachnia reasoned.
"It's MY fault; I never should have brought him on the mission in the first place!" Cheetor expressed.
"We should cut him loose before he gets us ALL slagged!" Nightscream reasoned.
Unaware to the assembled group, Rattrap was eavesdropping...
"WE DON'T ABANDON OUR FRIENDS! We'll have to cover for him until Primal Prime regains his strength..." Cheetor explained.
Rattrap gained a determined expression.
"I ain't anybody's charity case..." he growled in a whisper. "From now on, it's every rat for himself," Rattrap decided quietly.
In Tarantulas's Citadel lair, the Unicronian dictator could barely stand...
His servant Drone flew to him, examining the damages. "It's worse than I first thought, your immenseness... All planetary systems are failing; your drones have powered down, and your Generals will require several Megacycles in the restoration chambers... That is IF the power holds out," the Drone observed. "And as for you, my liege, I'm afraid you'll need to refrain from purifying the planet, weeding out the rogue elements, etcetera... For at least half a Solar Cycle," the Drone continued to reason.
"And... If I don't?" Tarantulas asked.
"You'll go offline... Permanently," the Drone replied. Approaching footsteps could faintly be heard at this point.
"Would you care for a second opinion?" Rattrap calmly asked as he appeared from the shadows. Tarantulas sighed and rolled his optics.
"So, this is how the world ends: not with a bang, but with a squeaking rodent," the spider remarked.
"Speak for yourself, eight-eyes... I am here to make a deal," Rattrap retorted. "I am transformed!"
Transforming, the rat showed the dictator his robot mode.
"You've got noisemakers, yeah? Well, I WANT noisemakers!" Rattrap explained. Tarantulas lifted the rodent to his level upon a floating platform...
"And... In exchange?" Tarantulas asked hesitantly.
"In exchange, I can guarantee that the Maximals won't attack you until mornin'; half a Solar Cycle, plenty of time for you to recuperate and recalibrate... Plus, whatever else you need to do!" Rattrap replied. Tarantulas smirked.
"Here's my counter-proposal..." he began. "I liberate your Spark here and now, thus freeing you from your wretched Maximal existence..." Tarantulas "Offered".
"Nice try, web-butt! I've got a distress signal ready and waiting for the other Maximals if you try a stunt like that!" Rattrap said, holding up a transmitter. "They'll be more than happy to slag you!"
Tarantulas gave a knowing grin. "Please, by all means... Send for your friends," he pushed. "You wouldn't be here unless you had nowhere else to turn, vermin... So, let's cut the act, eh?" the Unicronian said.
Realising that Tarantulas was right, Rattrap dropped the signal transmitter to the depths below...
"I sense that you are at a crossroads, vermin... Estranged from your allies? Perhaps you've begun to realise that Primal Prime has... Led you astray?" Tarantulas presumed.
"I'm not ready to fly the Vehicon flag, if that's what you mean..." Rattrap replied. Tarantulas chuckled.
"All I ask is that you defend me for the night; perhaps you'll learn to see things from MY point of view? If, after that time, you still wish to fight for Prime and his cause, the weaponry is yours to keep... No strings attached," Tarantulas explained. Rattrap hesitated; was he doing the right thing?
"And... I walk out of here in one piece, right?" he asked.
"You'll be completely unharmed, I assure you..." Tarantulas agreed. "Naturally, if any harm comes to me by Maximal hands, the deal is off," he advised. Rattrap gained a determined expression.
"Deal..." he agreed.
Later, Rattrap was jetting about gleefully upon his "New Ride".
"Sweet!" he exclaimed. Tarantulas chuckled.
"I trust you are satisfied with this model?" he asked. Rattrap blew up a floating platform to demonstrate his pleasure. He then aimed at Tarantulas...
"Word of advice, webslinger? NEVER trust a rat!" he advised. Tarantulas gave a knowing smirk.
"Even a rat wouldn't destroy a defenceless opponent; I am only asking for one night, Rattrap. Are you afraid you might LIKE being a Vehicon?" Tarantulas queried. Rattrap grit his dental plates.
"I'm not afraid of anything..." he hissed.
"After all, I DID keep my word to YOU, which is more than I can say for Primal Prime..." Tarantulas said, pointing behind Rattrap.
Whirling around, Rattrap saw the other Maximals in robot mode!
"Let him go, Tarantulas!" Cheetor snarled.
"What are YOU doin' here?!" Rattrap asked angrily.
"What's it look like?! We're saving your tail for, like, the billionth time!" Nightscream replied in exasperation.
"Your "Ally" is here voluntarily, Maximals!" Tarantulas expalined.
"What's going on, Rattrap?!" Blackarachnia asked.
"And what's with the artillery?!" Snowstalker added.
"Wait a minute, Rattrap was right!" Shadow observed.
"Yeah, Tarantulas IS weak! Let's get him!" Aurora added, rushing to slag Tarantulas.
"Primal Prime would NEVER attack a defenceless opponent..." Rattrap stated.
"Primal Prime isn't here..." Nightscream retorted.
"What's it to be, Rattrap? Will you... Honour your word?" Tarantulas asked.
Angrily aiming, Rattrap had three words for the other Maximals:
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Rattrap shrieked, shooting Nightscream out of the air. "Why did you have to come and mess things up, huh?!" Rattrap screamed. "Just get OUT of here, eh?!" he continued, shooting more shots at the other Maximals.
"Not gonna happen, TRAITOR!" Blackarachnia retorted, sending an Electro-Web Rattrap's way.
Letting loose more firepower at the Maximals, Rattrap slowly backed his friends towards the doors...
"Nobody was supposed to leave the base until mornin'... Now you're gonna mess up EVERYTHING!" Rattrap shouted.
"Mess up what? Some deal you have with your new pal, Tarantulas?!" Nightscream asked angrily before launching his fangs at the mech Rattrap was piloting.
The mech was only partially drained; Rattrap could still fire off more volleys...
"You don't understand! I swore that we wouldn't attack him!" Rattrap explained.
"You sold us out for WEAPONS?!" Cheetor snarled.
"Short him out now; sort him out later!" Snowstalker said.
"Don't make me do this..." Rattrap said tearfully.
Cheetor launched a scimitar at Rattrap like a boomerang, as the rodent shot back in kind...
The servant Drone was reporting to Tarantulas about the energy he was regaining...
"58%! 60! 70, 80..." it reported.
"Ah... Finally!" Tarantulas exclaimed as he regained his full strength.
"See how quickly your friends have turned upon you?" Tarantulas said to Rattrap through a monitor. "You were promised great power, but only *I* have delivered it!" Tarantulas explained. "They abandoned you, Rattrap; they did worse than hate you... They PITIED you!"
"You still think you've gotta cover for me?!" Rattrap asked angrily, firing off another volley. "You still wanna "Cut me loose"?!" he added as the Maximals transformed back into their beast modes. "You never believed in me... EVER." Rattrap whispered mournfully.
"I... Believed in you," Primal Prime's voice rang out. The ape himself emerged from the shadows.
"What do you mean by firing at your friends?" Primal Prime asked. Rattrap looked down in shame.
"He is correct," Tarantulas said, emerging from his lair. "Prime is the one you hate, is he not? He is the one who lied to you, making promises he KNEW he could not keep! He made you WEAK and defenceless!" Tarantulas reasoned.
"Look inside yourself, Rattrap; you don't need his weapons! You're stronger than you know! Stronger than ANY of you know!" Primal Prime reassured, pointing angrily at the other Maximals.
"Well?! What are you waiting for, vermin?!" Tarantulas asked impatiently. "FINISH HIM!"
"Have we REVISED our policy on attacking defenceless opponents?!" Rattrap asked.
"It was never MY policy..." Tarantulas replied. "Choose carefully, rodent; destroy me and your own doom is carved in stainless steel..." Tarantulas advised.
Rattrap chuckled...
"Not by my watch, arachnid... The Solar Cycle is over, and no Maximal harmed you... I kept MY end of the deal; will you keep yours and let me walk away?" Rattrap asked.
The freshly regenerated Vehicon Generals emerged...
"I stand by my word, vermin... Leave them be, Vehicons," Tarantulas stated/ordered. "You bargained with machine-like precision, Rattrap... You would have made a FINE Vehicon," he observed.
Transforming into beast mode, Rattrap had some final words for the Unicronian...
"Not from where I'M standin'... The Boss Monkey's right; I AM stronger than you know..."
Tarantulas's servant Drone floated to his leader, asking the obvious question:
"You... SPARED them, sire?"
"He played the game well, my servant; we'll liberate their Sparks another day..." Tarantulas replied.