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Side corridor

Blitzwing had anticipated Autobots to return fire. It was partially the reason he had chosen his tank mode. Not only he was a smaller target than in a robot mode, but he had superior firepower too. Even Smokescreen's disruptor blasts didn't concern him too much. His shielding was nearly at full capacity, the Autobots would have to hammer his defenses for more than that for the disruptor doing more than causing some annoying static to his sensors. The best part was that he didn't even have to aim to hit. His machine gun was howling without a pause from left to right. It was certain to wound the Autobots still on the corridor if not even scoring critical damage. Not even Blurr would have been fast enough to avoid being hit there.

The triplechanger had just fired another explosive shell towards the position where Smokescreen had fired on him when Hound did the unthinkable. The Autobot scout filled the corridor with holograms and charged towards him! Heheheh... I have you now.

Making a quick pass with his machine gun from corridor wall to another, Blitzwing managed to pinpoint the real position of Hound through the sounds of bullets hitting the Autobot. With his target locked, his machine gun was quick to whirl to face the obviously crazy Autobot and opened fire again. Within mere seconds, Hound's frame was punctured through by dozens of bullets, forcing the Autobot's charge to a halt while the triplechanger commando's main cannon turned to face his target to deliver the final blow.

"Goodbye Hound." Blitzwing snickered, only to have his aim blown off by a sudden stream of pressured water from Hot Spot. The explosive shell prepared for Hound was launched but with his turret turned it was fired off its intended course and into a wall somewhat away from where Smokescreen and Hex were hiding in - creating another hole in the wall. The continuous stream of water was making it difficult to target its source or even Hound again so Blitzwing returned to his original plan of spraying the corridor with machine gun bullets while hoping to gain some form of of distraction or reinforcements to be able to take aim with his main cannon again before the Autobots had escaped.

Base Perimeter

Jazz was grinning to himself as Hardhead blew a hole through the side of the Decepticon base, it was almost elegant as the explosion demolished the wall, leaving a large gaping hole. Then Optimus Prime fired off his Ion Rifle at Thundercracker and Slipstream, sending one of them to the ground with a large crash. He didn't know which one fell, but he hoped it was Thundercracker since he gave him a beating the other week and Jazz wanted a little payback. But now wasn't time for personal vendettas, it was time for battle. Jazz then heard a young voice emanate from the hole, it was Sunstreaker saying that he wanted to bust some 'Cons then ran through the new doorway.

"Hey, man! Wait up!" Jazz called after him as he did a somersault through the hole and ran after Sunstreaker.

Jazz then opened his comm link to the rest of the Autobots, >>Hey, everyone coming? Last one there is a rotten Cyberegg!<<

"Jeez Sunstreaker, WAIT UP!" Jazz called as he ran after the young yellow Autobot.

Base Perimeter

"You think you are a good shot Hardhead?! Try practicing on something that doesn't move!" Thrust mocked as he did made a slight maneuver to avoid being hit by Hardhead's shatterblasters that were effectively comparable to shotguns and thus had their effectiveness reduced over the range the seeker had between himself and the powerful Autobot. However, his attention was hardly on Hardhead. Thrust was a braggart and not all that courageous. He wasn't going to get into a fight he knew he'd lose. Rather, he chose to focus on Prowl who had opened fire on him with his acid pellet rifle.

Being forced to avoid Hardhead's blasts, made Thrust to take some glancing hits from Prowl's acid pellets but none of them hit anything critical. Sure, acid never felt nice but it was still tolerable. The missiles Prowl fired were something else. Thrust couldn't allow them to hit himself. He was not in a position to be able to fire the missiles out of the sky so he did what he could. Electronic countermeasures and chaff activated to fool Prowl's missile, Thrust hit his engines on overdrive, accelerating quickly out of the range of Prowl's missiles.

His luck however, didn't seem to be getting any better. For now he found himself as the target of the Autobot air guardian - Jetfire, and his heat-seeking missiles. Firing off flares to fool the heat-seekers, Thrust began a number of evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit by the Autobot's particle beam blasts while Dirge who had also dropped flares to catch the attention of Jetfire's heat-seekers on his tail, broke off to opposite direction from Thrust. Jetfire now had to chose which seeker to tail for he could not follow both. Whatever he did, the Autobot was alone against two skilled Decepticon flyers, if he chose to chase one - he was going to open himself to be tailed by the other.

Approaching Decepticon HQ

Ignoring Thrust’s pathetic and cowardly taunts, Hardhead decided to make his move towards the destroyed hangar doors, running across the uneven ground at a quick pace. Sunstreaker and Jazz had already slipped inside without a problem so the big green mech saw no issue with doing so, himself. It was better to move in now as the ‘cons within the base had not yet reacted to defend the sizable breach in the side of their headquarters. But that would not last long and internal reinforcements would soon arrive.

Hangar Bay

Hardhead reached the hole and swiftly entered the hangar bay which appeared to be largely empty, which the exception of some storage crates and chunks of debris that had been blown across the bay from the destroyed entrance. The war veteran made his way cautiously across the vast room, scanning his surroundings for any signs of ‘cons.

It was then he heard a groaning sound apparently coming from a large chunk of the hangar door resting nearby. Hardhead moved slowly towards where the sound came from, his shatterblasters ready for anything. As he moved around the side, the Autobot looked down to see an unconscious Astrotrain lying flat on his back, trapped underneath the heavy piece of metal. Hmm, wrong triplechanger, Hardhead thought as he relaxed his stance a bit. Astrotrain had clearly been taken by surprise when the hangar doors were suddenly blown apart earlier by the green mech's explosive shells. The military transport was then subsequently knocked down and pinned by flying debris.

“Wrong place, wrong time, ‘con,” Hardhead muttered as he moved away from the helpless Astrotrain and headed into the corridor beyond the bay. He stalked through the hallways, following his two comrades that were ahead of him somewhere. The veteran soldier could hear the sounds of laser fire and heavy explosions growing louder and louder as he continued onwards. He knew Blitzwing had to be close by and soon the two opposing warriors would come face plate to face plate once again.

Storage Room

Smokescreen watched in shock as Hound drove towards Blitzwing instead of fleeing from the powerful triplechanger. What the slag does he think he’s doing?! Even with his holograms, Blitzwing’s gonna rip him to shreds! Smokey thought as he then felt the barrel of a gun touch the back of his head. He was immediately ordered to get inside and relinquish his rifle. The diversion expert complied, backing away from the door and into the room. He then handed his weapon over to who he thought was a Decepticon.

However, it soon became apparent that it was not a ‘con behind him as Smokescreen then recognized the voice. “Hex?” Smokey asked as he slowly turned around to see the young mech standing there. “You son of a glitch, I thought you were a ‘con!” The red and blue racer relaxed a bit, but not too much. Hex had always puzzled him as Smokey didn’t understand what motivated the silver bot’s crazy behavior. Sometimes Hex even scared the diversion specialist as was the case with what he had done to Drag Strip back in the bounce room. Smokey had only caught part of Hex's actions against the Stunticon, but it was enough to raise a big red flag of concern. Smokey had never seen any Autobot react like that to a ‘con before. It was as if Hex had been possessed by the spirit of Unicron, himself.

Regardless, Smokescreen would have to tread carefully here. Hex was still an Autobot, but he had clearly gone over the edge back there. If Smokey wasn’t careful around him, it was very possible that the young mech could lose it again, maybe even against his own kind. “Okay, so what’s your plan, Hex?” Smokey asked calmly, wondering if he could really trust him to get them out of there.

Half a section away

Long Haul followed Scrapper down the make shift ramp and into the corridor. Explosions and laser fire could be heard coming from down the hallway where the bounce chamber was located. The Constructicon transport couldn’t see what was going on from his current position, but the battle sounded intense as the trapped Autobots were surely trying to escape before being captured.

Long Haul readied his laser pistol as Scrapper pointed the way to the bounce chamber. “Okay, boss, I’m all set. Let’s go slag some ‘bots!”

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp snickered as one of his shots hit Hot Spot before the blue Autobot escaped through the wall breach. The teleporter got to his feet again and watched as the Protectobot leader came under fire from Blitzwing before disappearing from sight. Seems Blitzy has things under control out there, ‘Warp thought as he looked over to Breakdown who was calling for help from Wildrider. However, the terrorist appeared to be too busy keeping Drag Strip functioning to lend assistance. Guess it’s up to me.

“I’m coming, Breakdown,” Skywarp replied as he walked over to the paranoid Stunticon who was stuck on his roof in car mode. The seeker bent down and turned Breakdown over onto his tires. “There, you should be fine now.”

The teleporter then glanced around the room and noticed that Lore-lock was the last Autobot who had not yet made it through the breach. 'Warp took aim with his arm-mounted lasers and opened fire on the gray scout.

Outside

“Does he seriously think I’m going to go running over there?” Blaster murmured, firing off one more shot at Skyjack before ducking through the still smoking hole that had been the hangar bay doors of Decepticon HQ. Several Autobots had preceded him, and it several more were right behind, including Ironhide and Prime himself.


Hangar Bay

Prime had no more than cleared the entrance than Prowl was giving his analysis of the situation, and making suggestions. Optimus nodded, glancing around at his assembled troops, and noticing that Hardhead, Sunstreaker, and Jazz had already gone haring off into the base. It was unlike the veterans to break rank like that, but what was done was done. There was no time to worry about it now.

“You’re right Prowl, it’s essential that we hold this door. Unless we’re able to destroy their jamming equipment, we won’t be able to bounce, so this is our only way out. Blaster, you’re with Prowl. Keep Sideswipe as well when he gets inside. The rest of you are with me,” he commanded, then added almost as an afterthought, “And make sure you keep an eye on Astrotrain,” he nudged the unconscious triple-changer before turning his attention to the others.

“Ironhide, can you give us a location on Hot Spot and his team.”

“Ah’m tryin Prime,” the old veteran replied, focusing his sensors. “There’s a lot of weapons fire below us and to the north, but mah sensors aren’t a durn map. Ah can point us in the right direction, but that’s about it.”

“Rewind thinks he can help,” Blaster interjected, turning from his position at the door and opening his chest cavity to eject the diminutive Autobot. Rewind transformed in the air and rushed to join Prime’s group as Blaster returned his full attention to covering the door.

“Most Decepticon bases follow a similar pattern. I have records of all of them we’ve encountered through the vorns. With Ironhide’s sensor readings I should be able to guide us, or at least assure we don’t head down a dead end corridor.”

“It will have to do,” Optimus remarked. “Ironhide you’re on point. Rewind, keep him pointed in the right direction. The rest of you,” he said picking out Annex, Axle, and Brawn, “follow me.”

Following Prime’s orders, Ironhide took the lead, heading off into the bowels of the Decepticon base.



Though he had successfully landed on Hooligan’s back, Sideswipe hadn’t had time to even deliver a blow before Space Case was charging at him. The red racer smirked as yet another crazy stunt presented itself. The timing just had to be perfect.

As Space Case closed in wielding his rocket club, Sideswipe waited until the last possible moment and triggered his rocket pack, launching himself clear, and hopefully causing the two Decepticons to collide.

**

As Prime led the others off into the base, Blaster focused his full attention on the battle going on outside. Sideswipe and Jetfire were still outside, but there were still five Seekers in the air, not to mention the three Cyber-Jets. Though Ramhorn and Steeljaw wouldn’t be much use unless the ‘cons brought the fight to the ground, Eject could provide a bit more fire support. Once more Blaster opened his chest cavity, this time calling Eject forth.

“All right! Back in the game,” the Cassetobot cried as he transformed. “What’s the play coach?”

“Shoot the ‘cons,” Blaster replied, “Unless Prowl has something fancier in mind.” The communications expert then matched deed to word by opening fire on Dirge, trying to pull the Seeker’s attention from Jetfire.

“Skeet shooting isn’t my favorite sport, but I think I can manage that,” Eject replied, then let loose a series of blasts at his own target, Thundercracker. Though his Overload gun didn’t pack the punch of Blaster’s Electro-Scrambler, it could still fry someone’s circuits if they weren’t specifically shielded from it.

Bounce Chamber

“And just how in the name of Unicron am I supposed to do that,” Wildrider growled, in response to Hook’s communiqué. “I knew it was a mistake to call that snooty git.”

With no other choice, and little idea what to do, Wildrider tried. He began crimping as many of Drag Strip’s leaks as he could identify with his fingers. He wasn’t sure if his “aid” would do any good, but it was the only thing he could think of - stop the bleeding.

Corridors near Breach

Contrary to the belief of most Decepticons, Darkride did leave his sanctuary even when he was not directly ordered to do so. He had heard the klaxons when they first went off, and thus had made his way from his chamber through the lower levels slowly moving up until he finally arrived in the same corridor as the Autobot invaders.

The interrogator carefully traversed the twists and turns until he came to a blind corner. He carefully peered around it but no one was there. He had just begun to move when he heard the rapid foot falls of someone coming. He engaged his scanners and was more than happy when the readings came back as Autobot. A devilishly cruel grin crossed his features as he held fast his position.

As the mech grew closer Darkride was finally able to see that Sunstreaker would have the pleasure of becoming his next guest. The interrogator licked his lips as he anxiously waited to make his move.

Corridors

Nightraven stifled a laugh as Hellion slapped the back of Snowcap’s head. The frigid Seeker had it coming after all. Not only is Snowcap a master of low temperature warfare, but his personality is just as cold. The slim femme never liked the white mech, but the top brass seemed to believe he was worth the trouble, and the expense to keep functioning.

The black femme’s optics widened when Hellion grabbed her by the arm and urged her along. Nightraven rolled her optics as her upset sister began to vent about the makeup of the Con army.

The two femmes made it down the corridor and stopped just behind Blitzwing. The Commando was firing on a couple of Bots that had made their way out of the bounce chamber, but one of them, Smokescreen it looked like, had disappeared into a nearby storage room leaving Hound to fend for himself.

“Well, Helly you can finally take out your frustration on Hound!”

Hanger Bay

Axle finally caught up to Prime and the others at the Hanger Bay door and quickly slipped through the gaping hole as Blaster took a few shots at Skyjack. The field medic made his way to the wall just next to the door keeping his attention on the Seekers circling above the Base.

He looked to Prime when the Autobot Leader began to address Prowl, but he quickly refocused his attention back to the skies. He was surprised that the Seekers hadn’t attempted to follow them into the base.

At the sound of Prime’s decision to move on, Axle turned his attention, once more to their leader, and when Optimus picked him out along with Annex and Brawn, the medic was all too eager to follow.

Storage Room

Hex kept his weapon trained on the back of Smokescreen’s head as the diversion expert handed over his rifle. The young mech quickly snatched the weapon from the racer’s hand and then lowered his rifle. Hex trotted back to the counter where he assembled the explosive device. He placed Smokescreen’s rifle down and then began to rummage through the equipment stored on the shelves.

He picked through boxes of small electronics and other materials until his hands were full. The silver mech dumped his trappings onto the counter and rapidly put together a small cylindrical device. He picked up Smokescreen’s rifle and turned around to face its owner.

Hex narrowed his optics as he slowly made his way back to the diversion expert. He furrowed his brow as he stopped directly in front of Smokescreen. The Energon and fuel from Drag Strip was still present on the young mech’s body, the thickest amounts still dripping off his body.

Hex shoved Smokescreen’s rifle against his chest hard as he began to lay out his plan.

“You’re going to fire you’re rifle at Blitzwing, and then you’re going to fill the corridor with your exhaust. Once it’s filled go get the nature boy and make a run for it. I’m heading further down the corridor to find an exterior wall. Follow me if you want. I honestly could care less if any of you make out of here in one piece.”

His icy glare focused intensely on Smokescreen’s optics.

“Make your move Autobot.”

Hangar Bay

Brawn smiled as Prime ordered him and a few others to follow while Prowl and Blaster guarded the door. This was jsut what he wanted, a chance to clobber some Decepticons inside thier own fortress. Of course, they also needed to shut down the jamming field, though Brawn suspected that they'd have to get by Megatron to do that. Honestly, it'd be a perfect objective for Mirage. Brawn couldn't quite figure out why he didn't bother to show up, unless he did show up and was camoflaged somewhere.

But that didn't matter right now. He needed to focus on the current situaiton.

"Right behind ya Prime!", Brawns aid as he followed the Autobot leader further into the base.


Outside

Meawhile, Prowl stayed by the door with Blaster and his cassettes. While it wasn't much, they jsut needed to keep a charge in of Decepticon seekers from blockading their only exit. There wasn't much to work with for him to devise a fancy plan. They at least had Jetfire to cover the skies, and Sideswipe outside fighting, despite the odds.

"For now Blaster, the plan is nothing gets by us unless it's an Autobot no matter what. All other concerns are secondary!", Prowl told Blaster, who he was certain was expecting some well thought out idea. When he saw Blaster aiming at Dirge, Prowl, decided it was necessary to interviene, "Ease off Blaster! Jetfire pulled them off us so he could keep them busy! The less Decepticons we have to deal with, the easier our job will be."

Prowl knew there were plenty more Decepticons out there. In fact the only other thing Prowl was thinking about was an alternative way out should they fail to shut down the jamming field. At the very least, examining the Decepticon's Bounce Platform might be an option if an opportunity presented itself.

Thankfully, Jetfire was doing exactly what he planned, keeping the enemy at bay.

----

In the skies above, Jetfire had managed to draw Dirge and Thrust away from the hangarbay doors, allowing Prime's team to enter. Both Dirge and Thrust managed to evade Jetfire's missiles and seemed to make their own approach and were giving Jetfire a choice of who to pick while the other attacked.

A simple diversionary tactic, though Jetfire doubted they had deduced who they were dealing with. In this case, the best option was to spring the trap and lead them on into thinking they had the advantage.

Jetfire turned his attention and flew at Thrust, openning another round of particle cannons against the Seeker, with two more missiles added in, all while anticipating Dirge to follow after him.

Bounce Platform

Help did not come from Wildrider, nor Rumble, nor Frenzy, nor any of the Constructicons. It came from Skywarp. Breakdown had to amdit, Skywarp was one of few Seekers that actually had some class. Wasting no time, Breakdown transformed and examined hismelf. He was dented and his armor cracked in various places, from the crash. Fortunantly, he was built to take that kind of damage. Still, he felt an urge to thank the seeker, since he knew Skywarp was a known prankster, and ti was easier on his mind if he stayed on the seekers good side.

"Thanks. I hate being put in that position. Leaves me open to attack. I'll buy ya one later.", he told Skywarp as he brandished his gun.

Bounce Chamber
Lore-lock was sure what happened. One moment he was rushing to get Hex off of a disabled stuntipunk, the next he was locked in ice. After a little while, the rage of the battle cracked his icy prison and he quickly took stock of things. Hex had cleared out, while Hot spot was busy with the Baneblade at the door.

Given his options, the autobot ran for the hole, that Hound had made before things got too fuzzy. He cleared the corner and transformed.

Corridor
Before he got himself lost in the maze that this foreign base was he opened a comm to Smokescreen>>I got held up by some frost blast, Hot Spot is still in there. I need a bit of a map or I might end up turned into spaer 'con parts.<<

Corridors near Breach

Sunstreaker continued jogging down the corridors. Perhaps it would have been better to wait for the others, especially if they actually knew where they were going. He wasn’t really the waiting type though, and too many Autobots would just slow him down. He would just head for where he heard the most gunfire and explosions coming from. The Autobot always knew how to find a fight when he wanted to.

The warrior continued moving through the corridors but he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his optics. It was a bit of movement. He let his instincts take over and he lunged in the direction of the movement, slamming into Darkride and knocking them both through an open door that promptly sealed shut behind them.

*

Corridors

At first Hellion frowned as she saw Blitzwing sitting in the middle of the corridor in his alternate mode. Much like the bulky Baneblade before him the stupid oaf was taking up most of the space in the hallway. Fortunately for the triplechanger she could still see over him and what she saw brought a smile to her face.

“Hound huh? Not my first choice, but at this point any Autobot will do,” she replied to Nightraven. The seeker floated up into the air with the help of her anti-grav units to help give her a better shot over him. She added to Blitzwing’s spray of machine fun fire with her own.

*

Side Room

Hot Spot grunted as he heard the sounds of machine gun fire blaring down the corridors. They were quickly getting pinned down here. They desperately needed some way out of here. Unfortunately the Protectobot was running out of ideas, not to mention not even knowing what condition his team was in.

Maybe he could get some sort of short range signal off to his team. There was a jamming field but if they were close enough they should be able to pick up his signal. Even Soundwave had his limits, and as long as he wasn’t in the room next door he figured it might just work.

>>”Hex, Hound, Lore-Lock, Smokescreen, do any of you read me? We need to figure out what our next move is. Can everyone give me a report on location and condition?”<<

*

Bounce Chamber

“Well, you’ve all certainly made a mess out of yourselves and this chamber,” Hook commented with more then a touch of haughtiness. He quickly strolled over to where Wildrider was crudely trying to help Drag Strip. The Constructicon pushed his hands away as he want to work sealing off leaks with a torch in one hand while running a scan of him with the other.

“So what exactly happened to you and your team?” he asked Wildrider. “I would hope that the Autobots you were fighting got off worse then you, but I have a hard time imagining that.”

Corridors

As the shots from Blitzwing and Hellion began striking him, Hound quickly re-evaluated the tactical situation. Wait, I thought they were attacking, not dug in!! What am I- His train of thought is interrupted by bullets shredding one of his tires, sending him careening into a wall. The confused Autobot tries reversing, but it takes a crucial second to do so. Thankfully Hot Spot lays down some covering fire, giving him time to start retreating again.

I misread things bad. I thought that big galoot was charging straight at us, and I had to stop him. Dammit, I've done it again...So useless. Hound transforms to hide in what alcove space he can find, his frame protesting and fluid running down his leg. Thought I'd attack Blitzwing from close range to damage his weapons or sensors...Should be thinking more laterally.

>>Hot Spot, I'm about 30 meters ahead of you, hiding after doing a really dumb Prime impression. Gonna make up for it now...<< Leaning out a fraction, Hound fired one of his last rockets into the roof of the corridor, above the deadly Triplechanger and the oncoming Seekers. The debris from the blast might not be the best distraction, but Hound didn't have much more left in him, as his vitals continued to leak.

Storage Room

Smokescreen watched carefully as Hex rummaged through several containers full of electronics, filling his arms with as much stuff as he could carry. The young mech then dumped his load on a nearby counter top before quickly assembling a crude looking cylinder device. Hex may very well be crazy, but he was far from stupid. Must be some kind of explosive, Smokey surmised as Hex walked back over to him and shoved his rifle into his wounded chest plate. The silver 'bot then told the diversion expert exactly what to do while Hex, himself, would head for an exterior wall.

Smokescreen took a hold of his rifle and stared directly back at his crazy comrade. "All right, Hex. I'll do my part. I just hope you know what you're doing," The red and blue racer replied before turning and approaching the storage room doorway once again. Machine gun and laser fire still filled the hallway beyond, so Smokey knew that he had to act fast.

Corridor outside Storage Room

Stepping half way out into the hallway, Smokescreen took aim at Blitzwing and fired several shots directly at the powerful triplechanger. The diversionary specialist then immediately transformed into race car mode and zoomed out into the middle of the corridor before screeching to a stop and spinning around so that his tailpipes were facing the Decepticons' position. As bullets and lasers struck his back end, causing some damage, the Autobot racer unleashed another cloud of magnetic smoke which quickly filled the hallway from top to bottom.

>>"Okay, Hex! Now it's your move!"<<

Smokescreen returned to robot mode and made his way over to Hound's hiding place, keeping low to the ground. "Come on, buddy, we gotta move now," Smokey began to say to the green scout as he then received both Hot Spot's and Lore-lock's transmissions. The diversion expert opened a comm line to both of his comrades:

>>"Hot Spot, this is Smokescreen. I'm with Hound out in the corridor. I just filled the entire hall with my smoke. Hex has some kind of plan to get us out of here. He said we can follow him further down the corridor to an exterior wall. I think he's got some kind of explosive device he's gonna use to make us an exit. We're heading after him now. Lore-lock, just follow my signal through the smoke and you'll be fine."<<

Smokescreen then closed out his comm link and returned his attention back to Hound, noticing that he was leaking a lot of fluid. "That looks bad, but we gotta get going before my smoke dissipates. Lean on me if you have to," Smokey said, offering Hound his shoulder to lean on. "Besides, Hex isn't gonna wait for us. You know how he is."

Smokescreen then got to his feet, helping Hound up, as well. Keeping close to the right side wall, Smokey made his way further down the corridor and away from his magnetic cloud, hoping that Hex's plan would work and they could all finally get out of Decepticon HQ.

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp growled under his breath as Lore-lock avoided his lasers and escaped through the breach. The teleporter's attention was then drawn back to Breakdown, who was thanking him for the assistance earlier. "No problem, and you can buy me two later."

The prankster then approached the breach in the wall and poked his head out into the hallway. Blitzwing and Hellion were firing at the fleeing Autobots, including Hound who had the not-so-bright idea of attacking the triplechanger head on. Stupid Autobot, the seeker thought as he was about to unload a barrage of his own laser fire on the green scout and his comrades.

However, Skywarp's attack was halted by the sudden appearance of yet another smoke cloud filling the corridor. "Fraggin' Smokescreen! Don't you know any other tricks?! This slag's getting boring!"

Corridor Approaching the Bounce Chamber

Hardhead rounded a corner just in time to see Sunstreaker tackle Darkride into a room before the door closed shut behind them. The veteran soldier approached the door and attempted to open it, but the mechanism seemed to be jammed somehow. "What's wrong with this thing?" Hardhead wondered aloud as he began pounding on the steel door without much success. "Ah, no matter. Sunny can take care of himself anyway. I've got bigger mechs to fry!"

Moving away from the sealed room, Hardhead continued on down the corridor towards the sounds of laser and machine gun fire. He turned another corner and finally found what he was looking for. "Blitzwing!" The large war veteran exclaimed, seeing that Hellion and Nightraven were there, as well, all firing in the other direction. It mattered not, the femme seekers would not get in the way of his prize. The green warrior could also see a large, thick smoke cloud begin to fill the hallway in front of the 'cons, which could only be the work of Smokescreen.

Good! That means our friends are still functioning! Hardhead thought as he transformed into his Stryker Armored Vehicle mode. He then aimed his top-mounted, 120mm laser-guided cannon towards the back end of Blitzwing's tank mode and immediately let loose an explosive shell that would hopefully hit their mark. That was not a certainty as Hellion and Nightraven were standing right behind the triplechanger and in the line of fire. Hardhead didn't care, though. His shells would either blow right through the seeker sisters or they'd move out of the way.

Corridor
Lore-lock didn't even bother replying to Smokey's response. But he did find the diversion experts signal and followed it. When he caught up to them he returned to his bot form, and fell into place on Hound's other side.
"I'll provide cover fire if need be, now let's get outta this slag pile. Hound it may be to our advantage if you can create a projection of us about 20 meters behind us."

Side corridor

"Shut up and return fire Nightraven! This is war! Not some seeker academy party brawl!" Blitzwing bellowed as the duo of femme seekers showed up. He was under fire from too many Autobots to bother with formalities. At least Hellion knew what to do the instant she arrived to the scene. That girl doesn't have the killer instinct...

Hot Spot's water shower was still keeping Blitzwing's aim off as Smokescreen decided to take a chance of being holed up by machine gun fire in order to get some blasts of his own through. His shielding was still holding though but given how Smokescreen weapon worked, the web did have a chance of hitting the seeker sisters who did lack the amount of protection against electric warfare the triplechanger had. The diversionary specialist's attack was likely meant to be a distraction for something Blitzwing could only guess about but in the end it mattered little as the commando's highly strung sensors picked up the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching from behind him. Given how no Decepticon had signaled him about joining the combat, he could only expect another Autobot entering the fray.

While he wasn't the smartest 'con around, Blitzwing had extremely fast decision making capabilities. Calculating several possible scenarios that could take place, Blitzwing prepared to turn his turret 180 degrees to meet the possible assailant while continuing to keep the Autobots before him under machine gun fire. It did not take long for the newcomer to reveal himself. Hardhead.

Immediately upon identification of his new target, Blitzwing's turret swung to meet the powerful Autobot - his cannon barrel throwing Nightraven against the wall on her left and saving at least one of the seeker sisters from Hardhead's attack.

What followed was almost simultaneous blasts from the two tanks against each other. As Blitzwing's explosive shell shot through the air towards Hardhead's 120mm cannon, so flew the Autobot's own shell towards the triplechanger's turret. The explosion that followed tore Blitzwing's turret open, destroying his main weapon and causing tremendous amount of pain and various leaks of different kinds of fluids that normally ran into the turret. But it did not incapacitate the triplechanger. Quickly transforming into robot mode, Blitzwing grabbed his sword and pushed past Hellion to meet Hardhead despite the distracting water shower and smoke now behind him.

"Hellion take the point! Hardhead is mine!" He roared and charged towards the green Autobot, his damaged back exposed to the Autobots on the other end of the corridor. At least Smokescreen's smoke cloud was protecting him as much as it protected the Autobots on its other side.

(OOC: Ok, looks like the post I typed up on Wednesday night didn't actually post... very frustrating!)

Skies above Decepticon HQ

Starscream transformed to hover in the air next to Thundercracker and began to survey the situation. Although the Seekers were doing their best, and the Cyberjets bumbling about like the pathetic excuses for warriors they are, the Seeker Commander frowned to see that his forces had been scattered so easily by a ground based force. The Autobots had managed to disperse the formation of air borne Decepticons rather easily and had breached the entrance to the base with minimal effort. This was unacceptable.

>>Dirge, Thrust end your toying with Jetfire and remove him from the skies quickly, we can no longer afford such distractions. One of you get him to pursue you and the other engage him form the rear. Slipstream, don't think for a moment I believe your little stunt knocked you out of the fight, I am aware you are still capable of contributing to the fight. Move into position to either harass the Autobots at the breach into or provide targeting information for those of us carrying out strikes ground based enemies. Ramjet, once you are capable of rejoining the fight give me a status update, I will require you to assist in one of our engagement areas as soon as you are able. Space Case, Hooligan if you two buffoons are done being that Autobots toys pull back and coordinate your attacks in a joint effort to eliminate him.

his new orders given Starscream looked over at Thundercracker.

"The two of us are going to attack the Autobots protecting the breach into the base, we will use heavy ordinance to scatter them and to attempt to cause a landslide to seal off the breach. Hopefully we will be able to seal off the Autobots only avenue for escape and regain control of the outside of the base. Transform and follow me!"

Starscream transformed into his jet mode and took off for the breach of the base at attack speed, coming in at an angle for a strafing run. He could see several Autobots around the breach they had managed to create and he opened fire with his null rays, one of his weapons he had not used for some time. As he racked the area he closed in and released a pair of cluster bombs aimed directly at the area where the Autobots had managed to force their way inside. Once his attack was made he pulled up away sharply confident that Thundercracker was not far behind him as he prepared to come around for another pass.

Inside the Decepticon HQ

Annex had been taken off guard when one of the Seekers had singled him out and began to pepper his general area with fire, trying to isolate him from the rest of the Autobots. However, the ranger had not long to be concerned about Slipstream's attack on him as Prime managed to bring her out of the sky with several well placed shots from his weapon. Moving forward with the others he transformed into his vehicle mode and sped across the terrain between where they had appeared and the breach that Hardhead had made in the 'Con base. He roared through the breach, landing hard on his wheels and transformed, taking stock of the situation as Prime began to give out orders. Annex was surprised when the Autobot leader singled him out to follow him as well as Axel and Brawn deep into the base.

"Right behind you Prime."

He said in response and taking his carbine in his hands he began to follow Optimus deep into the Decepticon base.

Bounce Chamber

Baneblade had been knocked off of his feet by Hot Spot, the Autobot proving to out match him even over come the Decepticons great strength. Although he had been temporally knocked out of the fight, he wasn't finished as his systems recalibrated from the beating he had took and he slowly got back to his feet, the shrill female Seekers demanding he and Snowcap stand aside. He ignored them and turned his attention to the other Decepticon.

"Although I am not a hand to hand combat specialist, I am however competent enough in that field to be a threat given my considerable strength." He said slamming one of his massive fists into the opposite opened hand. "If you would tip the odds in favour of my superior strength I would delight in dismembering any number of these fools who dare to flaunt the might of the Decepticons!"

Hanger Bay

OoC: Oh yeah! Time for some excitement!

Jazz jogged after Sunstreaker and caught up to the young yellow Autobot, just as soon as Sunny tackled Darkride into a nearby room, whose door closed behind the dueling duo. Jazz glanced to his left and he saw Hardhead was beating on the door to the room where the two bots were battling in an attempt to free them, but to no avail. Jazz frowned at this, sure Sunstreaker could hold his own, but Jazz was concerned about his opponent, who knows how weak or powerful Darkride could be.

Jazz looked to his right, seeing a hallway with a very familiar tank in the middle with two Femmes standing on each side of it, Jazz would have been happy to see the two of them, (except for the tank.) but they were Decepticons judging by both their laser color, and the purple insignia on them.

Thats either Blitzwing, or Brawl. Hmm, both Decepticons, oh gee, probably ought to start shooting huh? Jazz smirked at this thought.

Hardhead then recognized the Decepticons as well, and fired off his weapons at Blitzwing. The blasts tore a gouge in the top of the turret, Blitzwing then transformed and charged at Hardhead.

"Dude, if you need my help any, I'm gonna be over there with the Femmes showing them their bad choice of sides." Jazz said to Hardhead as he then made his way around the irate Triple-changer, and to Hellion and Nightraven.

Jazz gave a big smile at the two Femmes and said, "Hey girls! Planning on changing sides? No? OK, fine, see it yourself!"

Jazz revealed his Mega-Woofers on both of his sides, and his Headlights flipped back to reveal the Light-Show bulbs and activated them both. The Woofers were at the highest frequencies possible, and the Light-Show at maximum. So, Jazz decided, he should probably attack.

Jazz held his Flamethrower in one hand and Rifle in the other, and fired them both at each one. The Flamethrower on Hellion, and shot at Nightraven.

"I don't hit Femmes, but I can, and will, shoot enemies!" Jazz said over the chaos of his weapons.

Jazz hated shooting and fighting, especially Femmes for that matter, but what has to be done has to be done.

Skies above Decepticon HQ

After becoming a target of weapon fire from Eject, Thundercracker shifted his position just enough to make sure the mountainside was now between himself and the Autobots at the base entrance. He had thought his position being such already but perhaps Prime's shot had rattled him just enough to miscalculate this particular detail. At least the range between him and the Autobot in addition his incredible agility in air had made it relatively easy to evade the blasts.

While considering his next move, Starscream joined him at his vantage point and made a quick tactical analysis of the situation. The blue seeker couldn't have been more pleased as the seeker commander set out to establish order into the ranks of the Decepticon flyers outside the base. Thundercracker very much preferred well organized and coordinated military operations over these unrestrained skirmishes he had been involved in during his stay on this planet.

>>"Acknowledged Commander."<<

Having given Starscream his reply, Thundercracker transformed and took his place on Starscream's right, raining incendiary rounds at towards the hangar entrance more as a distraction than anything else. After Starscream let loose his cluster bombs that alone could have been enough to collapse the entrance, Thundercracker fired off one of his powerful drone rockets - aimed just above the wrecked hangar door. The following explosion caused a sizable landslide that hopefully had enough volume to cave the Autobots in. If not, the next pass by the two seekers would surely do it and once trapped, the bots had to deal with the might of Megatron.
__________________________________________

Meanwhile Thrust was doing all he could to avoid being hit by Jetfire. The Autobot was tremendously fast and an excellent pilot. Thrust had little time to even think of anything else than merely evading Jetfire's particle beam shots. At least his rapid acceleration ability and flying skill had so far kept the Autobot air guardian's heatseekers from hitting him.

Behind Jetfire, Dirge made his move. Tailing a pilot of Jetfire's skills was not a task suitable for a Cyberjet but Dirge was one of the seeker elite and the best flyer of the conehead trio. He was not afraid of Jetfire being able to out maneuver him, however - the Autobot was able to reach speeds he could not. The threat caused by Jetfire to the seekers had to be eliminated quickly or they'd never hear the end of it from Starscream. Thus, Dirge let his laser cannons do the talking - particularly aiming for Jetfire's wings and engines, adding a heatseeker of his own after Jetfire who was easily the most heat emitting target in the skies. Yet, he was not convinced of the missile being able to reach a target as fast as Jetfire, at least he could always detonate the missile remotely if Jetfire managed to trick it to follow Thrust.

Skies above Decepticon HQ

"WHAT THE CRAP MAN?" Hooligan managed to avoid crashing into Space Case but his club was a different matter all together. "YOU BENT MY SLAGGING NOSE CONE!!! I OUGHT TO..." He causes, hearing Starscream's message. "Tcchh...I know Screamer, we're on it." Hooligan turns to Space Case. "Follow my lead and don't swing that thing at me again."

"Yeah yeah." Space Case said belligerently. The two began to ascend so as to be out of the potential blast radius of Starscream's squad. "So now what?"

"Plan A." Hooligan says.

"Huh?" Space Case scratches his head, lost by the statement.

"Fire until the enemy is dead, make them stay close to Screamer's barrage." Hooligan says as he takes aim for Sideswipe. "Jet Judo THIS!!!" He remarks as he fires his rocket at him.

Space Case arms and then throws his club also at Sideswipe before aiming his own rocket launcher and sending a third projectile at him. The two begin to reload their rocket launchers and take aim again, firing two more shots.


Outside Base

"Stupid...Autobot."

Skyjack was lying there, feeling humiliated. Not only did Blaster's shot manage to temporarily paralyze him but as he fell he learned the trap he tried to trigger was not working. Little did he know that Holligan's recent stunt with Starscream also required him to disassemble all of his traps he had inside and outside of the base.


It seemed the joke was on him and he wasn't in the mood to laugh. He weakly raised his arm. He was not going to take this anymore.

Side Corridor

"Then let us advance." Snowcap says, exiting through to the outside. He turns his had one direction and sees Hound fighting Blitzwing, Nightraven and Hellion. "They look like they got that...let's go see if we can find Hot Spot. We kinda owe him a bit of payback, don't we Baneblade?" He says as he begins to walk in the other direction, though prepared in case someone attacks from behind.

Hangar Bay

Blaster grabbed Prowl by the wing and hurled him bodily from the doorway as the Seeker barrage brought what seemed to be the entire side of the mountain crumbling down into the breach they had made in the doors of the Decepticon base. Blaster dove after the strategist, and was relieved to see Eject sliding after him looking for all the world like he was diving for home-plate.

“Well that didn’t last long,” Blaster remarked sardonically as he clambered to his feet.

“Geez, throw the damn flag ref,” Eject grumbled. “They aren’t playing by the rules.”

Despite the situation, Blaster couldn’t help but smile at his symbiont’s constant stream of sports metaphors. Of course, the smile was expected of him, no matter how grim the situation, the Voice was always optimistic.

“Well Prowl, it looks like we have to go looking for the scrambler that keeps us from bouncing. We might be able to dig our way out of here, but it would take just this side of forever. The good news is the ‘cons can’t get in this way either.” The communications expert brought his sensors online, scanning the comm. frequencies for the origin point of the jamming field that was inhibiting them. “I should be able to find the scrambler without too much problem, unless you just want to go find another door or something. Up to you…”

Outside

Oh this was not good. It was epically not good. The Cyberjets had slammed into each other just like he’d planned, but the other parts of the battle weren’t going so great. The damn Seekers had brought half the mountain down on the breach his friends were defending, possibly crushing them, but at the least sealing them inside the base. That, of course, meant that Sideswipe and Jetfire were outside with pretty much the entire Earth-based Seeker core, not to mention the Cyberjets. Yeah, it went so far past not good that Sideswipe couldn’t even think of a word for it. Even his vaunted courage was shaken facing these odds.

“Frag me…” he muttered, cutting power to his jet-pack and dropping like a stone to avoid Hooligan’s rocket. He landed with a thud, but was launched back into the air from the explosive force of Space Case’s rocket barrage. Neither shot was a direct hit, but the shockwave from the blast was probably more damaging that the explosives themselves would have been had they come directly up against his armor.

Sideswipe was rattled, but far from finished. He rolled back to his feet, took three running strides and transformed. The red Lamborghini darted forward into the tree cover with a burst of speed that would have done any racer back on Cybertron proud. He roared through the woods and onto a long abandoned logging road where he poured on more throttle. He wasn’t much good in a long distance fight, but with all this cover and his natural agility, he was sure he could keep several of the Decepticons busy trying to take him out for a good long while.

Corridors

Ironhide held up a hand, fist clenched, in a signal for those following him to stop. There was major activity ahead, Jazz and Hardhead had engaged the enemy, and judging by the signals, Hot Spot and his crew weren’t too far beyond that.

“What have you got Ironhide?” Prime asked.

“Well from the weapon load-outs they’re carryin’, ah’m thinkin’ we got Blitzwing, and the two femme seekers, Hellion and Nightraven in the corridor ahead. There’s a room or somethin’...”

“From their usual layout, it should be the bounce chamber,” Rewind interjected.

“All right then, the bounce chamber’s got an aft-load of ‘cons in it. Ah’m no medic, but ah think some of ‘em are hurt. There’s life signs but a lot of ‘em are fluctuatin’ all over the place. Ah think our guys are just on the far side of the bounce chamber.”

“Annex, assist Hardhead and Jazz. Brawn, Axle, Ironhide, Rewind, you’re with me,” Prime commanded, then wasted no time charging into the chaos that was the remnants of the Decepticon bounce chamber.

Bounce Chamber

Prime burst through the door, leading with fire from his laser cannon. His first few shots were randomly placed blasts, just meant to keep the ‘cons off balance, his first targeted shot was aimed at Wildrider who, though he was on the far side of the room, was directly across from the door.

Following in the wake of Optimus’ barrage, Ironhide charged into the room and launched himself at Baneblade. The massive ‘con looked to be the biggest threat still on his feet, and Ironhide intended to take him out first. With a running charge, Ironhide swung a two-handed punch at Baneblade’s head.

Rewind, rushed in and slipped to the side. He wasn’t afraid to mix it up with the bigger mechs, but there was no point making a target out of himself if he didn’t have to. As it often did, his diminutive nature gave him a perspective on the battle that his larger compatriots lacked, and allowed him to see an opportunity that many of them would have missed.

Motormaster was still on the ground. He was prone, but obviously still operational. The larger mechs couldn’t see him due to the control board, but Rewind could see right under it, and could see the opportunity he had. He opened up with his adhesion rifle, and coated the Stunticon leader with such a mass of glue that he’d be lucky to get loose in the next century.



Hook was just as much an exhaust pipe as Wildrider remembered. The Constructicon had pushed him rudely aside and started making snide comments about the condition of he and his team. Not that Wildrider cared much for the others, but he’d be damned if he’d let this snooty glitch talk down to him.

“We might have taken the worst of this fight Hook, but at least we got out there and fought. When was the last time you…” Wildrider never finished his thought as Optimus Prime and a band of Autobots burst through the door of the Bounce Chamber. Blasts from Prime’s cannon tore through the room, ripping through the walls and causing minor explosions as they hit. The Stunticon looked up in horror and realized he was looking straight down the barrel of that terrible weapon. There was a flash of light, and he knew no more.

The shot hit Wildrider dead between the eyes, blowing through his armor, shattering his face, and blasting out the back of his head in a spray of liquid energon and scrap metal. The force of it threw him back against the wall were he slid bonelessly down into a stasis-locked heap.

Outside

>>I’m fine Starscream.<< Ramjet replied, reporting in as ordered. >>I’m coming in on course… uh-oh. Hey I might not be the smartest guy around, but I’m thinking we might want to stop throwing this kind of ordinance around on this mountain. I’m seeing smoke from the peak of the cone. I think we might be waking this volcano up with all these explosions.<<

Corridor Approaching Bounce Chamber

Hardhead was not known for being subtle or quiet for that matter. Rather, he liked to charge head on into battle with little care if others thought it was a good idea or not. Thus it was no surprise that Blitzwing had heard the war veteran coming and was ready with a counterattack. Just as Hardhead had gotten off a shot from his 120mm cannon, the triplechanger had managed to spin his turret around and fire back. The two blasts were almost simultaneous as the deafening sounds echoed through the hallways near the bounce chamber.

First, Hardhead's shell hit it's intended target, effectively destroying Blitzwing's turret. It was a small victory, however, as the green Autobot suffered a similar fate an astrosecond later. The triplechanger's own shell hit home, as well, striking Hardhead's cannon which caused a massive explosion that shredded the barrel like tin foil and knocked the green armored vehicle into a nearby wall.

Shaken and in intense pain, Hardhead transformed to robot mode and got to his feet. The damage he had sustained was significant, but regulated to his back where the remains of his 120mm cannon were smoking almost as much as Smokescreen's tailpipes. Filthy slagger! The green mech thought as he heard Jazz offer assistance. "I'm fine, Jazz. Just take care of those two glitches!" Hardhead responded as he then saw that Blitzwing was already on his feet, as well, and charging directly at him, sword in hand.

"Oh, no! Not this time!" Hardhead shouted as he pulled out one of his shatterblasters and fired off several shots, aimed directly at Blitzwing's sword-wielding hand. The green warrior wasn't about to risk the same beheading as last time and thus sought to disarm the triplechanger of his bladed weapon. "We do this the old fashioned way, 'Con! Fist vs. fist!"

Not waiting to see if his crystal shards had been successful, Hardhead threw away his weapons and charged down the corridor right back at Blitzwing. The veteran soldier kept his head down low to avoid possibly loosing his head again, but also with the intent of slamming into the triplechanger's abdominal area and tackling him to the ground.

Bounce Chamber

Skywarp stood near the breach as smoke from the diversion expert's tailpipes filled the corridor beyond and began to seep into the chamber, itself. Cough! Cough! "Slaggin' Autobot!" The teleporter said, choking on some of the smoke. He backed away from the breach just as Optimus Prime and a new squad of Autobots burst into the bounce room. The Autobot leader immediately unloaded with his laser cannon forcing 'Warp to dive for cover in order to avoid a direct hit. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough as one of Prime's blasts tore through his right wing, effectively reducing it to a smoldering mess of burnt metal. His pain sensors were on fire, but he was hardly out of the battle yet. It was only his wing that was damaged, after all, and since flying wasn't an option inside the base it mattered little.

Skywarp scrambled to his feet just in time to see Wildrider get his head blown off. Acting quickly, 'Warp grabbed a hold of Hook by his shoulders and then teleported out of the bounce chamber.

Front Corridor outside Bounce Chamber

Skywarp and Hook reappeared in the hallway a short distance down from the bounce chamber door where Prime and Ironhide had just burst through. The teleporter knew better than to corner himself inside the chamber with two of the most powerful Autobots alive without appropriate back-up. He also knew that he needed to get Hook to safety, as well, since the surgical engineer would be needed to help repair the wounded once the battle was over.

"Sorry for the sudden teleportation, Hook," Skywarp said apologetically. "There was no other choice. We were no match for Prime."

Skywarp then turned his attention down the hallway towards the bounce chamber door where he could see more Autobots attempting to enter. The seeker immediately took aim with his arm-mounted lasers and fired off a volley of shots directly at Brawn and Axle, hoping to pin them down outside in the corridor and prevent them from helping Prime and Ironhide inside the chamber.

Side Corridor

"Optimus..." Snowcap says, turning to see what was taking Baneblade so long. He sees the Autobots attacking and fixates on the Autobot leader. "I'll bring you to Megatron on ice PRIME!!!" He says, raising both of his cannons and firing.

Outside

"KEEP POURING IT ON!!' Hooligan yells to Space Case. "We ALMOST...ehhh...what did you say Ramjet?" He says, overhearing the communication. "STOP FIRING!!!" He yells at Space Case.

"Huh? Why?" Space Case asks.

"We might wake up the volcano if we keep this up. We're gonna change tactics and go old school on their afts." Hooligan says. "Gimmie a club or two."

"Oooohhhh...this plan." Space Case says as he arms Hooligan.

Hooligan laughs evilly. "Alrighty then, we'll follow that road and trap Sideswipe. Be on guard as he's a good close range fighter. I'm counting on you for most of that."

Space Case thinks for a moment. "Shouldn't we get Skyjack?"

"Naw, he's a liability." Hooligan says.

Outside Base

Skyjack had vanished from where he was lying in the midst of it all.

Side Corridor

Nightraven wasn’t able to let loose a retort to Blitzwing’s irate exclamation when Hardhead and Jazz arrived, causing the Decepticon Commando to quickly turn his turret in order to take aim at the offending green Bot. As a result the slim black Seeker femme was thrown against the wall. With a solid thud her body connected with the metal wall and then slid down to the floor.

Damnit. I’m getting tired of this slag, she thought as she rose back to her feet. She was barely back up when Jazz began his infernal sound and light show. The decibel level was unconscionable causing Nightraven to grimace in pain. She quickly shut off her audio receptors before they ruptured. As far as the light show was concerned, the femme simply shut her optics and at the same time she engaged her camouflage effectively vanishing from sight.

As luck would have it, Nightraven was able to avoid Jazz’s weapon’s fire, but just barely. Fortunately for her she was very good at her function, and as a Seeker she was fully equipped with very accurate tracking systems. With its help she was able to follow Jazz’s movements even sightless. The Seeker femme took aim with her arm mounted lasers and let loose a volley aimed at the Special Operations Director’s head.

Conference Room

The nefarious interrogator was not at all surprised when the yellow warrior had taken note of him and made his move, in fact he was expecting it. The tackle caused both mechs to pass through an open door, and on cue the door slid shut locking the opponents in.

Once their entangled bodies slid into the empty conference room Darkride somersaulted off of Sunstreaker stopping in a crouched position. As the dark purple mech slowly stood up to his full height he offered the twin an evil grin.

“Well now, it must be my lucky day. I get the better half of you and your brother. Too bad he’ll be the one left alive.”

Narrowing his optics as he began to circle his prey he continued his berating monologue.

“If I recall correctly you never really got the opportunity to battle in gladiatorial combat. Perhaps you just weren’t up to par with the real fighter.”

Darkride’s tongue slipped from his mouth as he ran it across his teeth.

Bounce Chamber

Axle remained close behind Prime and Ironhide as the small group entered the Bounce Chamber and inevitably into the fray. The field medic carefully assessed the situation within the room taking stock that there were no other Autobots present; which meant that their missing teammates had made it out of the room and were now somewhere in the immense base.

The situation grew more intense when before Axle could address Prime, the Autobot Leader took aim at Wildrider and effectively destroyed the Stunticon’s cranial unit. The action caught the medic off guard. The type of behavior was not entirely like Prime. The Autobot Leader was more than capable of incapacitating an enemy without nearly killing him.

Axle whipped his head around ready to question Prime, but before he could get a word out a stream of laser fire shot past Axle’s head. The medic quickly turned around and noticed Skywarp some distance down the corridor. The black and purple Seeker hadn’t let up and as Axle took aim with his balance disruptor rifle he took a searing hit to his shoulder causing a hiss of pain to escape. Once he recovered he raised his rifle and let loose his own weapon’s fire aimed at the teleporter’s head.

Storage Room

Hex’s demeanor remained as Smokescreen agreed to do as he was told, and once the diversionary specialist exited the storage room and fired on Blitzwing, Hex was able to make a run for it. With Smokescreen now the main target he was able to get away completely unnoticed. As he navigated the adjoining halls he received Hot Spot’s communiqué. The young mech never bothered to respond. In his mind it was just better to traverse the base and find that exterior wall to plant his explosive device.

From the look of things the Cons were much more interested in the Bots actually engaging in combat, leaving him to reap the advantage of making his move. With any luck he’d be out of the base and back in the Ark 19 before anyone even realized he was gone.

Side corridor

"Agh...Smokes, you're showing me up again. Guess I'm just not cut out for the hero business like you." Hound smiles thinly, a dribble of fluid escaping his lip. "Guess I should stick to scout work, leave winning the war to professionals..."

The scout looks up at Lorelock. "Illusions? That I can do." His projector flares back to life and images of the three of them appear at the edge of Smokescreens cloud, another layer of obfuscation. Then he begins to hobble away, determined not to let his earlier mistake slow the others down.

"....Have my auditory sensors been busted, or does that sound like Primes gun?"

Front Corridor outside Bounce Chamber

Scrapper leads the Constructicons on to the battle zone, only to stop short as Skywarp and Hook appear in front of them. "Huh? Whats this, are you retreating?" Scrapper pauses and listens to Skywarp a moment. "Prime, here..."

He turns to his team, including Hook. "If Prime really is here, then Lord Megatron will surely respond soon. Until he arrives, we have to keep the Autobots pinned down. Long Haul, Bonecrusher, get some material together!! If the fightings too intense for us, we'll compromise by barricading them into one room. Skywarp, can we coordinate with some reinforcments to keep them boxed in?"

Side Corridor

With all of the fire being flung back and forth Hellion had taken a few hits, but nothing too damaging. A random shot from Smokescreen and some shrapnel from Hardhead’s attack on Blitzwing had left some scorches and cuts, but nothing that was going to slow her down.

She was ready to charge at Hardhead when Blitzwing brushed past her to get to him first. The seeker glared at the triplechanger, her anger beginning to boil up inside of her. She considered attacking him but was interrupted by Jazz and his light and sound show. The femme grabbed her head as her senses were assaulted by his obnoxious music and blinding lights. The flame from Jazz’s weapon struck her and that was enough to send her into a full rage. She lunged blindly at the direction the flames were coming from, hoping to slam into the Autobot and begin pound him with her fists.

*

Front Corridor outside Bounce Chamber

Hook had to admit to himself that he was a bit dazed and confused over what had just happened. He had been working on one of the Stunticon idiots when the cranium of another one had abruptly exploded. Before he could get off a sarcastic remark he spotted Optimus Prime, gun still smoking, standing in the doorway. Then, as he scrambled to stand up and draw his gun, Skywarp grabbed him and they reappeared in the hallway.

The Constructicon nodded dumbly at Skywarp as the seeker explained what happened. He certainly hadn’t relished fighting Optimus Prime. Then Scrapper ran up with the rest of the team and Hook had to hold in the sigh of relief. He didn’t always like the other Constructicons, but at least he understood them.

The surgical engineer produced his pistol and checked its charge. Fighting was not his particular forte, so in this instance he would freely listen to Scrapper’s orders. “What should the rest of us be doing Scrapper?”

*

Side Corridor

With the signals from the rest of the team Hot Spot ran back into the corridor with the rest of the team. Smokescreen had already done his part in filling the corridor with smoke. The Protectobot stumbled and staggered a bit before catching up with Hound, Smokescreen and Lore-Lock. He quickly helped prop Hound up, his strength letting him help the other Autobot without slowing them down very much.

“Glad to see everyone alive. I’m going to assume Hex dashed on ahead somewhere.” He paused as Hound mentioned hearing Prime’s rifle. “It could be. Its worth a shot at least, if he’s that close he might be able to pick up a signal.”

>>”Hot Spot to Optimus Prime, or any Autobot. Can anyone read me? We are trapped inside the Decepticon base but we are trying to get out. Please respond.”<<

*

Corridors near the Hangar Bay

Soundwave and Megatron jogged down the corridors. The Decepticon leader was intent at meeting up with Prime at the entrance they had created in the base. It would cut him off from the trapped Autobots and possibly limit some damage to their base. It already looked likely that they would have to relocate, but hopefully there would be something worth salvaging.

The two Decepticons rounded the corridor to see the hangar firmly sealed shut with debris, trapping the Autobots inside and leaving a large number of Decepticons outside the base. Megatron let out a short growl before spotting Blaster and Prowl approaching them. Prime was close, he could practically feel it. He had no desire to waste time with any of his troops. “Soundwave, deal with them. Prime is mine.”

“As you command, Megatron.” As his leader turned back down the hallway Soundwave faced his opponents. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he relished the chance at facing Blaster. The Autobot idiot thought he was a match for him. He didn’t realize he was nothing more then a joke, wasting his abilities on frivolous music and morale boosting assignments instead of doing anything of real value. Proving once and for all who was the superior would be a pleasure.

Of course, Prowl would still have to be dealt with. “Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage: Eject. Operation: Warfare!” He pointed at Prowl to make sure his minions new what their target was.

“Alright! More action already!” “Yeah!” Rumble and Frenzy quickly opened fire with their lasers on Prowl. Ravage backed up, blending in with the shadows. Unlike the other two, Ravage had patience and some idea of tactics. He would wait until the moment was right before he struck.

With his soldiers dispatched Soundwave closed in with Blaster, firing his concussion gun as he went. He was reluctant to use his heaviest ordinance or sonic attacks so close to the collapsed entrance to the hangar bay. This battle was likely to be up close and ugly. It was no his preferred form of combat, but he would savor it this time.

*

Outside the Base

Slipstream let out a frustrated grunt when Starscream contacted her. She would have rather stayed away from him for the duration of the battle, but apparently he was in full commanding mode.

>>”You are far smarter then the Autobots commander Starscream. They will assume I’m down allowing me to close with them on the ground unawares.”<<

Hopefully that bit of ego stroking would keep him happy for awhile. She continued to jog through the woods, quickly approaching the entrance the Autobots had blow in their base. The seeker arrived just in time to see the Autobots get sealed inside. She barely stifled a sigh. The femme could conceivably jump inside of the base from here, she had no great desire to do so. She would be going into a battle blindly, a battle that was likely going to be up close and personal. That type of battle did not play to her strengths.

>>”Commander Starscream, the hangar appears to be sealed off and I don’t see any Autobots on the ground now. What are your orders?”<<

*

Conference Room

Sunstreaker was somewhat satisfied with tackling the Decepticon. It felt good to get in some real combat, but he knew this was only the warm up. He climbed to his feet as his opponent sprung up. Apparently he was a talker as he began rolling out some lines that it sounded like he had been saving up for who knows how long.

“Oh yeah, because I recognize you from all of those gladiatorial fights you were in. What was your name back then?” He began circling Darkride as well, hands held out at his sides ready for anything. “Freakshow? Talkstoomuchatron?” He was sizing up his opponent as he spoke. The Decepticon wasn’t terribly big, but he seemed pretty solidly built. It probably meant he was slow though and not very agile. The fact that he was talking already probably meant he wasn’t confident in his skills so he needed the ego boost. This wouldn’t be too hard.

“Or maybe I never saw you because you were always laying face first on the ground.” The Autobot warrior dropped down and lashed out with a leg sweep from his right let, hoping to bring his opponent down and take care of him quickly.

Skies above Decepticon HQ

Thundercracker observed with satisfaction as his attack resulted in the hangar entrance to cave-in, just as he had been ordered to do. He had to admit though that he really did not know what Starscream had in mind next. Was he going to utilize Skywarp's teleportation skills? Or perhaps they would enter into the base through the emergency exit. Knowing Starscream's ambitions for Decepticon leadership, it was not unreasonable to think that they would just wait and see what was to happen next, especially as the volcano was starting to give signs of seismic activity. Then again, Starscream had been acting far more professional lately, perhaps he was following a plan.

>>"That was easy enough and the Cyberjets should be able to keep Sideswipe busy. So, what's our next move?"<<
_____________________________________________

Corridor Approaching Bounce Chamber

Blitzwing knew Hardhead was stronger than he was, but given how their size and endurance was even, his own speed and experience from the gladiatorial arenas tipped the encounter to his favor. At least that was what Blitzwing liked to believe.

The shot from Hardhead's hastily aimed shatterblaster strike against his sword wielding hand had been easy enough to counter with his sword. The Autobot veteran seemed to be as thick as he name implied to even try something like that. Blitzwing had been on the move before Hardhead but the shatterblaster shot had forced him to stop to deflect the attack. And that had given the Autobot all the time he needed to charge at the triplechanger in hopes of tackling Blitzwing down.

"I play to win Autobot, I do not play fair!" The triplechanger roared in response to Hardhead's bellows, while taking a defensive posture. He knew he could not stop Hardhead's charge in time, nor he had the time to take a swing with his sword but Primus be damned if he had not time to lift his sword to meet Hardhead's attack. With Blitzwing's electro-scimitar pointed to meet the charging Autobot, it was very unlikely for Hardhead not to end up impaling himself as he lunged at the triplechanger commando.

(OOC: I'll try and cram it all into one post Just got through with an AP physics midterm, so I had to put my thoughts towards that these past several days)

Hangar bay

As Blaster pulled Prowl to safetey, the doorway was sealed shut by an avalanche of rocks. This was going to complicate tyhings, yet at the same time, it kept Stasrcream and some of the other Decepticons out. The only real drawback was now that Jetfire and Sideswipe would be grossly out-numbered. Prowl hoped Jetfire could utilize some fancy flying and take a few seekers out of the skies.

Still, Prowl needed to inform Prime of the situation.

>>"Prowl to Prime. The Decepticons have sealed the doorway shut. Blaster and I will try to find another way out.<<"

As Prowl finsihed, Blaster suggested they go find the scrambler. It was better than ntohing, especially given they would probably have to travel some distance through a seeker bombardment just to get out of range to bounce back.

"We might also want to consider shutting it down from the command center if getting to it is not possible.", he suggested to the communications expert. "Lead the way.!"

Their treak deeper intot he Decepticons base was very short, in fact only several stepped before the worst kind of scenario stepped before them: Megatron and Soundwave.

"Don't try anything foolish Blaster!" Prowl muttered. "He's beyond our ability."

However, Prowl was certain Megatron did not come to fight them, since that would be too easy. And indeed this was true. megatron sought Prime, leaving Soundwave and his cassettes to deal with them.

This presented an opportunity to them. With Megatron and Soundwave out of the command center, it would supposedly be deserted. If Prowl could get away, he could locate it and shut down the scrambler, and possibly the Decepticons communications and security grids.

However, there was the matter of getting past Rumble and Frenzy first. He knew Ravage had been deployed, yet the Decepti-kitty quickly went into hiding.

As the twins opened fire, Prowl dove and rolled, brandishing his acid pellet rifle. He fired hit and a couple of rockets, oping to draw the two cassettes back.

He then opened his comm to Blaster.

>>"Blaster, I can try and make a run for their command center. Can you keep these guys occupied?", he asked. He wouldn't abandon Blaster if his fellow Autobot wasn't certain he'd be up to the task of stalling Soundwave and his cassettes. However, time was of the essence.

Inside the Orbital Bounce Chamber

Breakdown only got a momentary sigh of relief before Wildrider was decapitated by a laser blast from Optimus Prime.

"Oh no! It's Optimus prime!" he said in fear. His team was neutralized, and he was the only one still standing. In this situation, it was best to fall back and regroup. His best way out had already escaped without him. "Hey! No fair! I'm taking that out of what I owe ya!" he yelled, even though there was no Skywarp there to yell at. The only viable way out now was through the Autobots. he was going to have to chance it.

He transformed and hit his accelerator, making for the exit, past Prime, Ironhide, and a few other Autobtos, before making his way into the corridor's. Ironically, the one thing driving him to do this was not the presence of Optimus Prime, but the thought of Megatron's wrath if his entire team fell. Oh no. He was not going to be standing in line while Motormaster and the others got chewed out for losing to lesser Autobots.

[(OOC: Jetfire and Brawn sections are coming shortly.)