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Corridors

Blades sprinted down another corridor, desperation residing in his thoughts. Hardhead's transmission, upon further reflection, alluded to far more sinister circumstances than the red and white Protectobot had previously regarded. Though somewhat faint, Blades' audio receptors perceived, what he believed to be, a large collection of voices and weapon fire – raucous in purpose – haunting the background of the transmission. An unfortunate result he had partly anticipated.

Right.

If that happened to be the case, then Blades would have to be prepared for whatever scene he was about to enter. A feeble smile developed on his faceplate. He felt as if his inclusion wouldn't elevate their chances by a great margin, considering his estimated number of the enemy. Oh, well. All the more reason to unleash his raw fury on the Decepticons.

Right.

He hoped he would reach his destination in time before his optics witnessed Hardhead's ravaged corpse. An unsavoury image, to be sure, but not one Blades had fully adopted. And wouldn't. He would recover Hardhead and the others, consequently removing them from that Pithole of a place. Possibly even crack a few 'Con cranial units open, if good fortune was to be inflicted upon him.

Left.

Finally! Traversing through that confusing network of passageways had –

Oh, frag.

Corridor 3B – Near the Outer Breach

Blades couldn't recall the last time he had witnessed so many Decepticons clustered in the same vicinity. Come to think of it, he also couldn't recall the last time he presented such a conspicuous target to his foes. Seekers to his left, Constructicons to his right; and even a certain Stunticon's presence could be easily viewed in that unappealing congregation of mechs. Still, he was relieved to discover a functioning Hardhead. Even if Blades' continued existence remained in obscurity...

(OOC: I hope I got all the 'Cons in that post. Primus only knows there are a million of ya in the one place. lol)

Outside the breach

"Just Hardhead eh?" Thundercracker scoffed at Skywarp as he moved away from the breach to avoid getting pierced by a blast from Hardhead's shatterblaster. "That's plenty enough and besides, he is not alone anymore."

"And neither are we. Down!" He said and tackled Skywarp down just in time for them both to avoid the blasts by Protectobots that had practically appeared from nowhere. Instead of staying down to wonder how in the abyss another group of Autobots had gotten past their sensor network, Thundercracker turned to take a look at Dirge to see whether the conehead had managed to avoid being hit.

"Just some burns." Dirge replied his usual morose way. To which, Thundercracker nodded in response.

"We are sitting targets here, we need get to the air." Following his own statement, Thundercracker shot into the air and transformed into jet form, with at least Dirge following his example. While his backfin was still damaged he wasn't about to join a dogfight with any aerial opponent. And what came to First Aid, Groove and Streewise - they weren't exactly that high on the list of enemies an elite seeker respected.

The blasts from the Protectobots had managed to distract the seekers long enough for Blades to enter into the base through the breach but that was hardly something Thundercracker was going to worry about. Instead he took a dive at the Protectobot positions with Dirge, the two seekers trying to force the Autobots to seek shelter with their laser fire and possibly buying Skywarp and chance to score some critical hits.

Conference Room

Darkride cracked a slight smirk at Sunstreaker’s attempt to belittle him and his abilities. Just as the golden warrior, Darkride had spent a considerable amount of time in the gladiatorial arena with a substantial amount of victories under his belt, but taking out the Autobot sociopath would be a win he would relish for a long time to come.

His train of thought was interrupted when Sunstreaker’s fist made contact with his face; a sickening crunch sounded throughout the room as the interrogator’s head was shot back from the sheer force. As he attempted to lower his head to meet his enemy’s optics he was, once again, his square in the face. Not wanting to lose this battle to a second string gladiator, Darkride quickly altered his position by quickly gaining his bearings and stepping backwards.

The purple Con flashed Sunstreaker a toothy grin and then attempted a roundhouse kick to the Autobot’s cranium. With any luck his foot would make contact and send the warrior flat on his back, leaving him open to a more personal attack.

Command Center

Unfortunately, the plan that Ravage had was deteriorating by the second. As the panther attacked Prowl fell to the floor, but he was able to grab Ravage by the neck, holding the cassettecon at bay as he struggled to attack the strategist.

Nightraven inwardly groaned, but instead of backing off and letting Soundwave’s little pet take the brunt of Prowl’s ire, she silently crept to the two struggling mech and uncloaked standing just above and behind the strategist’s head; her arm mounted laser pointed at the middle of his forehead.

“Turn the lights off and let him go, Autobot.”

Bounce Chamber

Once Axle had given out his orders to Hex the medic quickly turned to attend to Hot Spot. The Protectobot leader had taken a pretty serious blow to the head, but without access to proper medical equipment the field medic had no way of knowing how severe the damage to his processor would be. As it was he could just make the minor repairs to Hot Spot’s frame and get him out of the base and back on to the Guardian where Axle could care for the Protectobot leader better.

As the field medic finished up with Hot Spot’s last patch Lore-Lock requested one of Axle’s patches from his kit. Without turning his attention away from the Protectobot, Axle grabbed the kit and was in the process of tossing it over when he heard a resounding crunch. Axle turned only to see Lore-Lock flat on his face. Axle let out an annoyed sigh as he shuffled to the Autobot’s side and flipped him over.

The medic quickly went to work trying to stop the leak from the hydraulic pump. Fortunately the damage was not severe enough to keep the Bot off his feet. With the leak temporarily patched Axle removed a small canister and attached it to the intake of the pump. There wasn’t enough fluid to pressurize it completely, but it was more than enough to get Lore-Lock back on his feet.

“Now get up and see if you can help Hardhead get us out of here.”

****

An amused smirk played over Hex’s face as he shoved his hand into Smokescreen’s wound causing the diversionary technician to scream out in pain. He had to admit, the sound was rather exhilarating, but his daydreaming was soon interrupted by Hound’s call. Hex turned his head quickly to face the scout, his bright blue optics strangely ice cold as he focused on the green mech.

“If I wanted him dead, believe me he would be.”

Hex’s optics narrowed as a sinister grin grew on the young mech’s faceplate.

“Don’t worry; you’re next on my patient list.”

The silver mech finished rerouting the last few tubes and connecting the final wires. Once completed Hex leaned in close to Smokescreen’s audio and whispered.

"I enjoyed that very much. Now if you’ll excuse me I have another patient to attend to.”

Hex made his way to Hound’s side; an enthusiastic looked etched on his features.

“Well now. What seems to be the problem here? Oh, and just so you know, your insurance is no good here so we’re going to have to do any and all procedures the hard way.”

Bounce Chamber

Lore-lock was half expecting to be just left there and collected later, but such was not the case as Axel rolled the mech onto his back. After the medic finished the apparently simple procedure, he instructed the scout to make himself useful.

"Ok. Who am I to argue with a medic."

Lore-lock then rocked up into a sitting position, figuring it better to not over stress the patch, and fall back on his face. The lower pressure was indeed evident, as the mech moved as though he were in a viscous liquid.By Primus this is won't be quick, I don't like it. He thought as he quickly scanned for targets. Fortunately for the scout, the seekers on the far side were making enough noise to roust Unicron. And he asked simply, "How can I help?"

Corridor 3B – Across from the Breach

Using the bounce chamber’s collapsed wall as a barricade of his own, Hardhead ducked down to avoid new shots fired by Breakdown. He quickly began to reload his shatterblasters as he received simultaneous transmissions from two of his comrades. The battle hardened soldier opened a comm line back to both Autobots:

>>”Copy that, Blades. I’ll be here.”<<
>>”Jetfire, I read you. I’ll do my best to gather the others. We have a lot of wounded in here so it may take some time.”<<

Shutting off his comm line, Hardhead cocked his weapons and was about to return fire once again when Lore-lock appeared and asked how he could help. “Shoot those fraggin’ cons over at the breach! We need to clear a path outta here!”

The green warrior then peered over the collapsed wall and spotted Blades out of the corner of one optic. “Hey, Blades! Get over here quick! I’ll cover you!” Hardhead then rose up from behind the pile of rubble and unleashed more crystal shards at the outer breach, hoping he would hit one of the many Constructicons, seekers or the lone Stunticon, Breakdown.

Bounce Chamber

Smokescreen was relieved once Hex had finished his not so delicate work reattaching the necessary fuel lines and wiring within the diversion expert’s gut. The words that the silver mech whispered to him afterwards solidified in Smokey's mind just how crazy this supposed Autobot really was. “I’m sure you did,” Smokey replied as Hex then moved away from him and over to Hound’s side. It was clear that Hex did not care about any of them, regardless of which side they fought on. And what was worse, he seemed to enjoy inflicting pain on not just the 'Cons but his own kind, as well.

In many ways, the young ‘Bot reminded Smokey of the interrogator, Darkride, who also enjoyed inflicting pain on others just for the sheer fun of it. Perhaps the two were related somehow or maybe it was just a simple short circuit somewhere deep within his cranial unit. Either way, Hex was a danger to all of them.

The diversion specialist slowly got to his feet. He was a bit unsteady at first but quickly regained his stance. His energon levels were still low, but at least they had been stabilized for now. It was a miracle that Hex hadn’t done more harm to him than good. Regardless, something had to be done, or at least said, before someone on their side ended up in stasis at the hands of the young mech.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Smokescreen approached Axle, who had just finished working on Lore-lock. Smokey knelt down right beside the medic and leaned over to him, whispering into his audio receptor so that only he could hear him. “Axle, you need to keep a close watch on Hex. He went crazy earlier when he ripped Drag Strip apart with his bare hands. He was completely out of control. The energon stained floor back over there says it all.” Smokey casually motioned towards the spot where the yellow Stunticon had fallen prey to the crazy Autobot. “There's something seriously wrong with him, Axle. I don’t know what it is, but something’s gotta be done or he may do that to an Autobot next time.”

Outside the Breach

Skywarp barely had time to react to Thundercracker’s response when his blue friend tackled him to the ground as several blasts from the newly arrived Protectobots flew by over top of them. “Thanks, ‘Cracker. I owe you one,“ the teleporter said as he quickly sat up. Thundercracker and Dirge then took to the skies in their jet modes, leaving ‘Warp down on the ground. His damaged wing prevented him from joining his seeker comrades in a similar fashion. However, the prankster still had the ability to fly in robot mode as well as other ways to fight back, and he planned on utilizing everything at his disposal.

Thundercracker and Dirge then dived towards the Protectobots, opening fire on them and giving Skywarp the chance he needed to get to his feet. The teleporter quickly ignited his foot thrusters and took to the air, hovering just above the breach. He then aimed his arm-mounted weapons directly down at Streetwise, Groove and First Aid and unleashed a volley of laser fire at them, hoping to prevent them from following their comrade, Blades, into the base.

Corridor 3B – Across from the Breach

Had it not been for the multitude of Decepticons present in the corridor, Blades would have sought after cover moments after his arrival. His surprise initially overwhelmed him, immobility possessing his sturdy frame. Though the street fighter dwelling in Blades quickly conquered the astonishment, recognising the fantastic potential the tin foil toys portrayed. Not in the form of a substantial challenge, exactly, but one where he was at liberty to exercise his full array of vicious techniques. Then again, to create a certain degree of difficulty for himself, Blades could oppose the Constructicons all at once. Might even make for an interesting spectacle.

Most unfortunate it was, then, to realise the Decepticons' firepower prevented him from performing his desired course of action. Reality was such a pain in the aft, at times.

Blades heard a gruff voice not far from where he was situated. His optics hunted down the voice, as if it it had appeared into a shape of unequivocal proportions. Little time was expended, however, as the Protectobot detected Hardhead's bulky form – the green Autobot releasing a torrent of crystal shards at the Decepticons in an attempt to provide Blades with an opportunity to seek cover behind a pile of rubble next to him. With the distraction arresting many of the Decepticons' attention, Blades scrambled over to Hardhead.

After collecting himself, he turned to face Hardhead, a mischievous grin smeared on his features. “Fancy seein' you caught up in a predicament like this. You must be loving it, huh?” Just as rapidly as it had occurred, his grin faded, relinquishing to a more grim expression. “Have you seen Hot Spot, by any chance?”

(OOC: With the absence of Aetrius I will be NPCing Prime and Sideswipe)

Bounce Chamber

With Lore-Lock headed toward the most recent breach in the wall to help Hardhead, Axle resumed caring for Hot Spot. The medic dug into his kit and removed a small scanning device and went to work taking cursory readings of the large blue mech’s core processor. Concerned of the blow he took to the cranium, Axle wanted to be absolutely sure there was no damage done to such a vital component.

During the process he was approached by Smokescreen voicing his concern over Hex. As the diversion specialist mentioned that Axle keep a closer watch over the young mech, the medic let out a sigh.

“I’m doing the best I can with him.”

As he finished his sentence Smokescreen added to his warning by bringing the brutal attack on Drag Strip to light. At that Axle quickly turned, shock etched on his faceplate. Hex had been spiraling out of control for a while now and Axle was worried that the young mech would fall off the edge of barely holding on to complete and utter violence. From what Smokescreen was telling him it would seem that he finally fell off that edge.

Axle took hold of Smokescreen’s arms, digits digging slightly into the red and blue mech’s armor.

“Tell me he didn’t kill Drag Strip or any other Cons. This is important Smokescreen, did he kill him?!”

Outside

Sideswipe kept his optics glued to the Decepticon flier as he put himself through a series of quick maneuvers; however the movements just seemed to prolong the inevitable for Space Case. Sideswipe swiftly turned in the direction the flier was now headed in and slammed into by the club Space Case was wielding.

The red Bot was thrown back colliding with a nearby tree. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the fog, Sideswipe stood back up and flashed his trade mark smirk. He nodded at his foe while also taking up a fighting stance, “Okay, I’ll give ya that one. Now let’s try it fisticuffs.”

Mountain Side

Prime was able to easily avoid Megatron’s quick punch at his midsection only to be subjected to the tyrant’s ramblings. The Autobot leader huffed in annoyance. He hadn’t come here to reminisce about the past. On that contrary, Prime was here to end the leaders’ constant dance with life and death at the hands of one another. There needed to be an end to Megatron’s madness, for the sake of this planet and their own.

Before Prime could intone his own musings, Megatron swung his mace aiming it directly at the imposing mech’s head, but the Con wasn’t through just yet. The maneuver was a ruse, and Prime fell for it. The Autobot ducked his head, but was struck in the midsection with a sold kick from Megatron.

Optimus grunted in pain, but he was able to keep his footing, and after mere seconds he had already recovered. But now it was his turn to make a move.

“This has to end, Megatron. I will not stand by and watch you plunder this planet as you have others.”

Prime inched closer to his opposite. “This war has cost both sides much; friends and our own home world. For that I plan on making you pay!”

With his final words, Prime lunged forward, drawing his ax up only to bring it down in a brutal blow aimed for the Slag Maker’s shoulder.

Outside

"Wait...I know this trick. You think I'm stupid enough to drop my weapon so you can take me on in hand to hand and suddenly beat me up, don't you?" Space Case says. "HA!!! You're not the first one to pull that one on me. I work with Skywarp Buddy. I've seen it all." Space Case then throws Sideswipe his club and arms himself with another. "THERE!!! Now we're even on my terms."


From way back where he was pinned down all a observing Hooligan could do his bang his head into the ground chanting "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" as he sees Space Case once again sink to a new low in stupidity.

Bounce Chamber

Despite Smokescreens reassurances, Hound can't help but wince at the sight of Hex working his 'magic'. He watched the young Autobot work on his friend, who seemed better afterwards, but it was obviously not a pleasant experience. So he wasn't exactly eager when Hex approached him, offering the same treatment in a tone implying it wasn't an offer at all.

"H-hey now...Sure, I've sprung a few leaks, but...You sure it needs to be done like that? I do need to be functional, you know, if you pull out something vital by mistake, we might be down the cheeky scout you need to escape!"

Hound looks to Axle and Smokescreen for help, but they appear to be conspiring in the corner. "...Ok, go ahead. But you gotta be careful, ok?" He tries to steel himself for whats about to come...

Outer Breach

Scrapper grimaced at the state of his team: Long Haul in stasis lock halfway down the mountain, Hook trying desperately to fight back while his tiny niche of cover was worn away by incessant Autobot fire, Scavenger cowering at the breach, Bonecrusher and Mixmaster trying desperately to rebuild their own cover as it was chewed up, ripping up floor and wall panels to be bonded to the barricade, while Scrapper was left trying to fend off the Autobots almost single-handedly. There were Seekers around, and Breakdown was blazing away, but there was no central command, no focus. It seemed it was every mech for himself: A fine state for a glory-mad Seeker, but Scrapper had a team he had to lead through this.

"Argh!!" Scrapper falls back behind cover, clutching his arm in pain, as he sees crystal shards embedded there. He roughly yanks them out, flexing his gun arm to make sure all the servos are intact. "This is getting us nowhere!! We don't have the firepower to hold them off, we need to bring this to close range. Mixmaster!! Can you whip up something explosive, or something to at least get them moving this way? Megatron ordered us to draw them in and pounce on them, and thats what we need to be doing!"

(OOC: With Aetrius gone for now I will be temporarily NPCing Blaster and Ironhide. Darkride used in this post with the permission of Ember)

Hangar Bay

Blaster ended up across the hangar bay, sliding to a stop next to the door that led further into the base. He almost laughed at Soundwave’s comment. It was like the only line his Decepticon counterpart had, while he had a veritable arsenal of trash talk and insults he could fire back at him.

Unfortunately now wasn’t the best time to use his verbal arsenal. He had been monitoring for signals throughout the whole battle and even through the intense jamming he could still pick up bits and pieces from the other Autobots. It looked like his friends were in a bad way and needed his help, He wasn’t about to let them down. As Blaster dodged the punch from Soundwave he sent out a signal to Eject.

Eject spotted Frenzy trying to flank him, thanks in part to the signal from Blaster. “Gonna try a corner blitz eh? Not gonna work this time Decepticons, especially since the ref isn’t looking so I can get away with some high sticking!” He dashed out from behind his cover and swung his rifle like a club, clocking the startled Frenzy right in the head and sending him stumbling out of his way as he dashed over to Blaster. A cursing and irritated Rumble fired after him.

As Eject joined him Blaster looked at Soundwave and smiled. “As much as I enjoy throwing down with a charismatic cat as you Soundwave, I’m needed elsewhere. So you take it easy and keep tuning into the Voice!” With that the Autobot drew his rifle and fired at a damaged support on the ceiling which sent a variety of debris and parts raining down on them as he and Eject dashed through the corridor deeper into the facility.

Soundwave’s visor flashed as the debris made an effective barricade, cutting him off from direct pursuit of Blaster. It meant they would have to take a longer route around to get to him, but there was no other choice at this point. He jogged towards the other corridor, a simple order of “Follow” given to the other Decepticons with him.

*

Corridors

Blaster and Eject jogged down the corridors, heading towards the greatest concentration of Autobot signals they could detect. Blaster abruptly stopped in front of a sealed door. “Did you hear that Eject?”

The cassette paused and cocked his head. “Sounds like someone is going twelve rounds in there Blaster.”

The Communications expert gestured at the door lock and Eject blasted it with his electric overload rifle, shorting it out and causing the door to slide open. They peered inside just in time to see Darkride deliver a hellacious kick to Sunstreaker’s head, sending the Autobot tumbling to the ground. Blaster didn’t hesitate in opening fire on the Decepticon, quickly joined by Eject. “I suggest you beat it short, dark and gruesome. I’m having a bad day already so I would have no problem rocking and rolling your world!”

Darkride, now outnumbered and outgunned was able to use the table as cover and backed out a second door to make a strategic withdrawal.

“Good riddance,” Blaster muttered as he stowed away his rifle and went over to Sunstreaker, pulling the other Autobot up to his feet and wrapping his right arm around his shoulders to help support him. “Come on Sunny, I think its time we all busted a move out of this place.” He began carrying/dragging the other partially conscious Autobot out of the room and down the corridors towards the other Autobots.

*

Bounce Chamber

Ironhide let out a pained grunt as the EMP blast hit him dead on. It was strong enough to send the tough old warrior down to his knees. “Stupid slaggin’ EMP blast. I hate those darn things.” His vision blurred for a moment and he felt a wave of vertigo wash over him as the power in some of his systems fluctuated. Fortunately this wasn’t the first time he had been hit by such a weapon. He knew his thick armor had saved him from the worst of it and it would just take a moment for some systems to reboot before he became fully functional again.

Rewind saw Ironhide go down and had a sinking feeling. Fortunately he could tell the old Autobot was ok, but Baneblade was still all too functional. He saw Brawn lunging in the air at him and he decided he should play a part in taking down the big Decepticon. He fired his adhesion rifles at Baneblade’s feet, hoping to stick him in that spot so Brawn could really give him a beating up high.

*

The three shots to Hellion’s damaged midsection were the last straw. They bit deep into her systems and she was well on her way to stasis lock by the time she hit the floor.

*

Outside the breach

First Aid continued firing while Jazz managed to scramble out of the base and give him a report. “Not too surprised to hear that about Hot Spot. He always pushes himself too hard. As for our ship, the computer can do the bouncing, but we need to get out of this jamming field first.”

First Aid almost laughed when the seekers abruptly took to the skies, leaving the breach wide open. You could always count on the stupid fliers to always think going into the air would solve all of their problems.

“Autobots! Transform and move in!”

The three remaining Protectobots transformed and charged at the door, shots from Dirge and Thundercracker chewing up the ground behind them. Skywarp had flown up in robot mode to guard the breach, but it also left him a ripe target for the Protectobot’s expanded arsenal. First Aid fired his double barreled decrystallizer cannon, Groove with his two vaporator cannons firing streams of corrosive liquid and Streetwise with his air compressor cannon, each aimed at the seeker’s legs, hoping to knock him out of the air.

Whether any or all of the shots worked or not didn’t matter; it proved enough for the Protectobots to roar through the breach, racing past the Constructicons and into the inner breach and the Bounce Chamber.

Bounce Chamber

The Protectobots drove into the room, screeching to a stop and transforming. First Aid was instantly jogging towards Hot Spot’s fallen form where Axle was tending to him. “I just knew this is what I was going to find when I got here.” He began running his own scans on his team leader while he looked up at Axle. “Your name is Axle right? I try to get to know all of the Bot medic types. Can you brief me on the condition of the wounded here so we can get them some immediate treatment?”

Streetwise remained near the breach, occasionally firing a shot from his photon pistol at the gathered Constructicons. Groove moved to help the wounded with First Aid, combat not being his primary desire. He walked over to Ironhide and slapped an emergency energon patch on him. “You look like you could use a boost their friend.”

*

Ironhide felt the rush of energy into his systems and pulled himself back to his feet. He patted Groove on the back. “Thank you fer the boost there Protectobuddy. It definitely hit the spot.” Now we just need to get everyone else in here so we can make a combined push out of here.”

*

Hangar Bay

Slipstream appeared in the hangar bay just in time to see Soundwave and the others running out of it. She made a dramatic sigh before briskly walking after them.

*

Command Center

Ravage snarled as Prowl effectively blinded him with his lights. That didn’t mean he had to listen to the Autobots words. He was an absolutely loyal Decepticon and wasn’t about to be swayed by anything an Autobot said. He began wriggling, scratching and snapping at the Autobot as best he could while being virtually blind.

*

Mountainside

Megatron smiled evilly as his kick hit home, knocking the Autobot leader back a few steps. His smile only grew as he heard Prime’s words. “The war will cost you much more then that Prime. It will cost you all of your troops, the death of many more worlds to bring Cybertron back to life and then, only when all of that is done, will it cost you your life!”

The Decepticon leader moved to dodge Optimus’s lunge, but he was just a bit too slow. He felt the axe slice into his left shoulder and let out a cry of pain and rage. Megatron countered with a swing from his mace, intending to bring it slamming down on Prime’s extended axe arm.

Outer Breach

Unfortunately, the Protectobots may have forgotten that the Decepticons rule more than just the skies... Clanking up to a ridge overlooking the breach and the Autobots' cover, Ramplate could see that he'd arrived late to the party... or maybe just in time. He'd been out on patrol, but the reports he received over the comm channels had gotten him to turn back to base. As First Aid and his crew pushed for the breach, the grey-and-blue warrior transformed into a blocky, robust tank, hovering on four anti-gravity pods as his engine brought itself up to speed. If not for the sound of his engine whine, the Decepticon's chase of the Autobots would have been silent. However, given how they'd bunched themselves up inside the bounce chamber, it wouldn't matter now...!

Bounce Chamber

Blowing through the breach, Ramplate aimed himself at Ironhide's back, trusting in his extremely thick armor and reinforced frame to take the shock of impact along with his ablative plating. Whether he hit the elder mech, or his compatriots, or both, he would then transform into his robot form as the tank-former landed on the opposite side of them. "Bad day for a picnic Auto-trash..." he said in a low voice, like oil over a rumbling motor as he brought his shield up along with his mass-driver rifle, sending magnetically charged pieces of high-density metal at speeds nearing Mach 3 in a cone of shrapnel, aiming to hit as many of the enemy as possible before making for cover in the firefight to come.

Outer Breach

As a blast of fire whizzed past Mixmaster’s head, he took a microsecond to reevaluate his own position. He looked around and then took approximately a half-meter step to the left. Yep, that should do it. He then fired off another errant shot. It wasn’t likely to hit any of the Autobots in the area, but he felt as if he was better contributing to the whole grimy “fight” thing that way.

When Scrapper ordered him to start changing the nature of the barricade materials he was concocting he couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Combustible, eh? Ohhhhh…I think I can do that,” Mixmaster said, his internal systems pulling up a list of materials that he currently had access to within his storage systems. It took only a few seconds for several raw materials to be selected before the mixing process began in the large drum on his back. A few moments later, the then began to spray the material on the ground in front of them. Mixmaster stepped forward and began to mold the explosive compound along the walls as a stream of it continued to eject.

“It’s like fleshie Play-Doh, heheheh…but it goes BOOM!”

Bounce Chamber

Smokescreen was slightly taken aback by Axle’s reaction. The medic had a firm grip on both of Smokey’s arms, demanding to know whether or not Hex had killed Drag Strip or any other ‘Con for that matter. The diversion expert shook his head. “I don’t think so, Axle. From what I could see, it looked like Drag Strip had fallen into stasis lock before Hex had the chance to kill him. It wasn’t for a lack of trying however. He was still attempting to pry open Drag’s spark chamber and was only stopped by Wildrider. Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened.”

Smokescreen sighed before locking optics with Axle again. “As for him killing any other ‘Cons, I just don’t know. I’ll tell you this, though, the last time I saw Hex before now was several cycles ago down the corridor in a storage room. He had a lot of fluid on him then from Drag Strip, but it wasn’t nearly what he has on him now. After the store room, Hex ran off further into the base looking for a way out. I don’t know what exactly he did after that since I wasn’t with him. He didn't find an exit that's for certain, or he wouldn't be back here.”

Outside the Breach

Skywarp was a bit surprised when the three Protectobots all transformed and charged towards the breach. Keeping his lasers trained down on them, he hoped to knock the trio off their intended path. His plan was unsuccessful, however, as the three ‘Bots managed to open fire on him with a variety of weaponry they had at their disposal. Knowing he didn’t have the maneuverability to simply dodge the sheer number of blasts headed his way, ‘Warp quickly teleported back down to ground level where he appeared behind the Protectobots as they forced their way past the Constructicons and made it into the base.

Stupid Constructicons! There are five of them and no one could stop three lowly Protectobots from getting inside! Unbelievable! Skywarp thought as he then set his sights on Jazz who had also somehow made it past the Constructicons. “Well well, look what we have here! I hear you like Earth music, Jazz. Let’s see if you can dance, Auto-scrap!”

Skywarp took aim at Jazz’s feet and lower legs, opening fire with his arm-mounted lasers. With any luck, ‘Warp would get a good laugh out of the Special Operations Director’s predicament before moving in for the kill shot.

Corridor 3B – Across from the Breach

Hardhead continued firing as Blades made it to cover behind the collapse wall. The big green mech couldn’t help but chuckle at the Protectobot’s comment. “Yeah, I’m lovin’ every astrosecond of it! Ha ha!” Before the veteran soldier could then answer the more serious question Blades had posed, he noticed the rest of the Protectobots forcing their way in through the breach. Hardhead ceased firing and stepped to one side, allowing the trio of Earth rescue vehicles to race by him and into the bounce chamber where they returned to robot mode.

“Looks like the rest of your buddies are here,” Hardhead said to Blades as he ducked down behind the debris pile. “As for Hot Spot, he’s not in too good a shape. Megatron knocked him into stasis lock a cycle or so ago. Nothing that can’t be fixed, I’m sure.”

Hardhead was then interrupted by the sudden appearance of a large hover tank that barreled its way into the base, across the corridor and into the bounce chamber. “What the slag was that?!” The green warrior shouted as he dove out of the way. Picking himself up, Hardhead peeked back into the chamber to see the tank transform into the Decepticon Ramplate. “There’s nothing I hate more than a latecomer. Hold the fort here, Blades, while I take care of the new guy.”

Bounce Chamber

Hardhead leapt back into the bounce chamber. Unfortunately, the grey and blue Decepticon had already gotten off a volley of shots directed at the other Autobots. “Look out, guys! Incoming weapons fire!” Hardhead shouted as he quickly trained his shatterblasters on Ramplate’s position and opened fire, hoping to strike the large mech in his back which was not protected by his shield.

******

Across the room, Smokescreen heard Hardhead’s warning and quickly ducked for cover, pulling Axle down with him. The diversion expert wasn’t quite fast enough, however, as several of the metal pieces tore through his left door wing, sheering it in half between the ‘3’ and the ‘8’. A new surge of pain radiated through Smokey’s upper body as half of his wing fell to the floor, the number 8 riddled with holes.

“Slaggit! That was way too close!” Smokescreen whispered as he pulled away from Axle and quickly rolled over onto his other side. Staying low, the diversion expert pulled out his electro-disruptor rifle and returned fire at Ramplate, hoping to short out the new arrival’s electrical systems.

OoC: Yup, Hellion's gonna want Jazz's head on a silver platter in the next battle... Same with Nightraven for that matter. One thing I've noticed, if we have the stranded team, why aren't the Autobots getting into Bounce range? If I messed up, please tell me. I will make the appropriate changes if needed.

Outside

Jazz watched as The Protectobots blasted into the base with a broad smile, the calvary has arrived!

Jazz was happy for about an Astro-Second until Skywarp started to mock him.

"Yo Skywarp!" Jazz answered 'Warp's comment, "Yup, Earth music rocks! Oh and-"

He paused to dodge the expected blasts by sliding to the side.

"-I don't really have time to dance, or deal with you!" Jazz said, almost through a grunt.

Jazz gave him a wry smile and said, "Sorry."

Jazz then began to run at 'Warp at high speeds, and suddenly squatted into a somersault. He then thrusted his hands at the ground, sending him into the air. Jazz then did a midair twist, sending him twisting over the purple and black Decepticon.

He landed on the ground behind 'Warp lightly, and began to run to the Bounce Chamber with a grim look on his face.

He suddenly felt a strong vibration, it was a quake, This cannot be just a coincidence, a known volcano, a battle inside, this battle is giving good 'ol Helen a wake up call!

It was all speculation of course, but the idea was still in his mind.

It must have trickled into his subconscious, for he ran faster into the Bounce Chamber.

He paused for a second, the Constructicons were in there, something that Jazz completely ignored before. Not to mention that they were making a barricade, made of explosives.

He simply, if not to mock them, ran by the Constructicons and to Blades and Hardhead.

"Hey Blades! Have you noticed the 'Play-Doh' good 'ol Mixy is putting down over there? Judging by my knowledge of the Humans and their explosives, that looks like a relative to 'C4', a highly explosive putty like substance." Jazz said to the Protectobot warrior, "Perhaps we could spoil their little party?"

Jazz pointed his rifle at the putty lining the walls, to make a point for Blades to point his rifle as well.

Bounce Chamber, Near external Breach

Lore-lock nodded, as Hardhead filled him in. Then things then got very chaotic. The rest of Hot Spot's team had finally arrived, which in and of it self was as far as this scout cared a Primus sent blessing. However, after his dance with Dead End, Lore-lock was not one to dwell in the moment, especially with Ramplate in the room. Leaning against the wall, as much for support as, for cover he swapped out his axe for his crossbow. Dailing it up to maximum yield he sent out a volley at the newest target.

Then the scout opened a line to First Aid
>>Do you have a spare can of hydraulic fluid, Axel patched me up, but I'm sorely low. Pressure at less than 50%.<<

Without changing his rhythm, he changes from sending his high yield bolt at Ramplate, to Scrapper and the rest of the Constructicons

Corridor 3B – Across from the Breach

“Megatron, huh?” Blades' fists curled into white balls, bristling with fury. “Fragging spawn of a glitch! If I see that piece of slag, I'll kill him!”

Blades appreciated Hot Spot's manic approach to accomplishing any task he was designated. There was hardly a moment squandered with waiting or trifling conversation; he was always enveloped in some sort of procedure, attempting to resolve the problem with any means necessary. Physical force was one of the best options available to him, and he did use it quite often. Blades loved that about Hot Spot, as he related to that part of him so well.

But there wasn't any time to fondly recall characteristics of his leader's personality. He had an objective to focus on. A rescue mission to fulfil. The Autobots' lives were entrusted into the Protectobots' hands – something Blades regarded with the utmost importance. There was no way failure was going to violate his thoughts and impede his performance. Not a chance.

Although there was a strong possibility Hardhead would not hear the red and white helicopter's proceeding comment, he shouted it to him, anyway, hoping the exiting Autobot's audio receptors might snare it. “Will do, Hardhead. And break a leg for me!”

With the rapidity of events progressing chaotically as Blades could have expected from it, Jazz entered into the weapon-dominated fracas, a swift arrival the Protectobot had not anticipated. An excellent substitute for the combat-orientated Hardhead, though, even if Jazz demonstrated frivolous manoeuvres instead of a more appropriate killing blow. Were they not involved in war, after all?

“You better believe we're gonna spoil their party! But I don't know about all this shooting... I was thinking of just breaking them in two with my bare hands. I can count on you for cover fire, right, Jazz? Because I know you're one Pit of a shot with that rifle.”

True, Blades did possess a photon pistol and “smart” rockets, but he revelled in the destruction of his enemies he delivered with his bare hands. Or feet. Or whatever body part was qualified enough to mangle the Decepticons.

Hangar

Astrotrain shook his head in annoyance. Apparently his cognitive functions still had not returned to proper operational status for his attempt to catch Eject had ended - well, empty handed. When he had reached down to grab Blaster's little helper, the shape of the small Autobot had moved away like his speed had been at least doubled. And now, Blaster and his minions had already fled, having collapsed part of the hangar to slow down the chase by the Decepticons.

Of course, that was all that it was, a way to buy the Autobots more time. It was hardly the only way to go. Securing his ionic displacer rifle with both hands, the large triplechanger set off after Soundwave, determined to dish out some punishment against the insolent Autobot intruders.
___________________________________

The breach

"I've had it! Slaggin' Autoscraps!" Bonecrusher growled, as more Autobots forced their way into the base through the breach and past the Constructicons. As a response he took few steps back from Mixmaster's work, crouched down and sunk his fingers into the floor plating again. Utilizing his enormous strength, the Constructicon demolisher half tore and half bent the steel plate into a makeshift blockade that would protect him and the other Constructicons from the explosive agent Mixmaster was spreading between them and the Autobots.

"If you want a blockade, I'll slaggin' make one!" He boomed, transformed and pushed enough volcanic rock behind the steel plate to be sure the barricade would hold long enough before moving to right to do the same for some more floor plating and rock under it.
___________________________________

Skies above the breach

Thundercracker was getting seriously pissed off with the Autobots seemingly making mockery of them on every turn. While not fuelthirsty savage like some other Decepticons, he was a proud mechanoid and this battle had made the Decepticons look like amateurs again. First the Stunticons had managed to got themselves beaten and then they had managed to bounce and unit of Autobots into the the Decepticon base. Instead of them being taken care quickly, they had managed to hold Decepticons back long enough for Optimus Prime himself to lead a rescue team into the Decepticon base. And that rescue team had plowed through their way into the base with too little effort. Completely chaos had followed inside the base and now the Protectobots had gotten inside with like it had been a stroll in a park.

Before he had decided how to continue, he received a message from Ramjet, informing him that the Autobot they had been fighting there had sealed the side entrance with an explosive. If nothing else, this made it clear where they needed to be now.

He knew he was not in charge but it appeared that no one else was leading the effort at the breach either. If Megatron or Starscream wanted to berate him afterwards, so be it, but now Thundercracker was going to take the initiative. Opening up a comm-link to give out instructions to Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Skywarp and the Constructicons, Thundercracker landed before the breach and moved into the base, taking cover behind the blockade the Constructicons were building.

>>"This is Thundercracker, we will stop the Autobots getting out! Form a line behind the Constructicon blockade! Between the seekers and the Constructicons we will have enough firepower to bring down Prime let alone the Protectobots!"<<

Outside

The red and black warrior rolled his optics at the psychobabble the idiot flier was spewing. If he wanted to pull a prank on Space Case he would have done it already leaving the morn in pieces on the ground. But before Sideswipe could voice his annoyance, Space Case went and did something one lacking in any mental proficiency would do….arm his enemy….even when he knew said enemy was well tuned killing machine.

An evil grin grew on his face as he caught the club. “We may be even on your terms, Con, but you’re not gonna survive to gloat; I’ll be doing that.”

Sideswipe twirled the club before he shot toward Space Case. Once within striking range Sideswipe swung down aiming for the Con’s head.

Bounce Chamber

The grin on Hex’s face melted into a savage sneer. The young mech leaned down and put his face in line with the green scout’s, his nose almost touching Hound’s. In a hushed tone Hex spit out his contempt for the job he was sanctioned to perform.

“I’m doing this as a favor, nothing more. The way I perform the task is my choice, not yours.”

The silver mech placed his right hand on Hound’s shoulder and shoved the scout down flat on the floor. Hex’s deep cerulean optics focused intently on Hound’s own optics. He only broke off his icy gaze once he set to work on the wounds.

Hex went to work in silence; focusing on stopping the energon leaks and patching the armor over the tubes. The majority of the scout’s injuries were concentrated on the left side of his torso; not hard to repair, but for Hex the chance to cause someone else pain in order to alleviate his own was very welcome. Hex looked back up into Hound’s; gone was the savage sneer, instead the young mech’s features were dark almost serene as he dug his hand into one of the deeper wounds.

Only when the repairs were complete did he finally speak again. He leaned back down and whispered into Hound’s audio, “You get torn up again causing the team their escape; I won’t be the one repairing you; I’ll be the one putting a bullet in your head.”

Hex got back up on his feet and took a moment to stare down at the scout’s prone form. Before he turned to walk away, the young mech spit a glob of oil aiming for the green ‘Bot’s face.

****

At first Axle’s grip on Smokescreen’s arms eased up. Thank Primus he didn’t kill anyone. The medic’s silent praise was interrupted by Smokescreen’s voice and his continued explanation on Hex’s recent actions. Axle’s optics nearly glazed over at the possibility that his ward could have wandered off alone and brutally offlined another mech.

Without another word Axle turned his attention to the newly arrived First Aid and Groove. He quickly put Hex out of his processor and his responsibility to the young mech, and refocused on the current situation.

“That’s right. Hot Spot suffered a damaging blow to his cranium thank to Megatron. I’ve performed a few initial scans and there doesn’t seem to be any severe trauma to his processor. The perforation wounds on his chassis are mostly superficial. Hex is taking care of Smokescreen and Hound, who both seemed to be suffering from….”

At that moment Axle was pulled down to the floor by Smokescreen as artillery fire blazed just above their heads. The medic was relieved when he turned to look for First Aid and Groove, who had also heard Hardhead’s warning of the incoming fire.

While Smokescreen tried to down the newly arrived Ramplate, Axle called out to the two Protectobots.

“We need to get Hot Spot out of here. I’ll need you two to load him onto my bed. We’ve got to get out of here before this place becomes our tomb.”

Just then the chamber began to shake violently again. The once dormant volcano was on the verge of eruption; it was too obvious that the ‘Cons would use the natural disaster to their advantage. Keeping them pinned down long enough for the mountain to spill its contents and bury them all in a molten river of hot magma.

“Let's move!”

Mountainside

When his axe sliced into Megatron’s shoulder a small hint of satisfaction crossed his processor. It was his only proof that the Decepticon leader was not immortal or immune to pain. Before he could pull his weapon from the ‘Con’s now mangled shoulder, Megatron took another swing with his mace and struck Prime’s arm causing his axe to fall away from the mech. The blow caused the Autobot leader to cry out in pain, but he quickly recovered.

Once more he circled his opponent.

“You’re wrong Megatron. I do not intend on dying today. Today I intend to end your reign of tyranny by sending you to the Pit myself!”

Prime charged, his left shoulder down in an attempt to plow into the “con and knock him off his feet.

Outside

"STUPID!!" Space Case blocked the club. "I wanted you to come in close." His club's button was blinking. "A trick Sky Jack taught me. It's called Kamicozy. I'm taking you down with me." He laughs at Sideswipe, though he didn't realize he got the word wrong. If his club went off so would Sideswipe's and it was seconds away from detonation. Space Case was armored enough to be able to survive it but was his foe.

Bounce Chamber

"A favor...right..." Hound tried not to wince under the attention of Hex, as the supposed medic worked him over. It hurt about as much as he'd expected, which has a lot. Sure, he wasn't slowly fading into stasis lock anymore, but he felt like he'd been dissassembled, and his internal thrown back into his chassis loose. Sitting up stretched pistons Hound had forgotten he'd ever had.

But the worst part was the gob of lube landing on his face. Not just to see an Autobot acting so vindictive, but because Hound couldn't fully disagree with the sentiment, even if a death threat was way too much. I don't need a reminder that I messed up. I know I'm embarrassing this team. But at least I'm still trying to act like an Autobot...

Theres no more time for musing which of them is right, however, as the Protectobots burst into the room, Ramplate hot on their heels. Hounds grunts, and levers himself to one knee as he readjusts his holograms, sending a virtual representation of Springer leaping at the Decepticon, to give the others an opening in the confusion.

Outer Breach

"Scavenger!! You cowardly scraplet, I gave you an order!!" Scrappers grimace is visible through the hole in his faceplate as he sees the Construcicon salvage specialist take a hit from the oncoming Protectobots, and dive behind Bonecrusher's new barricade in response. Had Scrapper been a more typical Decepticon leader, he might have shot one of Scavengers arms off in punishment, but the Constructicon leader simply went back to covering Mixmaster.

"Mixmaster, I don't doubt your chemical prowess, but I was hoping you'd put it a little closer to their end of the tunnel." Scrapper tries to guess what Mixmasters explosive trap would do if set up. Bonecrushers barricade should protect them from the blast, but what if the Autobots set if off at range? Would the shock still affect them, or would it block the tunnel, or would it just give them a chance to get out? "You did choose a formula that only you know how to set off, right?" Scrapper leans out to take a potshot at Jazz, as the autobot was looking at the explosives a little too oddly. I can't let us fail now!! Megatrons wrath would be the end of us all!

Outer Breach

Mixmaster looked over at Scrapper.

"Hmmm...now that would've been a good idea!" he said, chuckling.

At this range, his little concoction had every possibility of taking them out rather than some incoming, foolhardy Autobot. But the Constructicons were a team. One of the best, in Mixmaster's view. Bonecrusher quickly picked up the thought where Mixmaster had left it, and before long, there was an impressive steel and mineral barricade to further support the combustible mixture that Mixmaster had spread around the other breach. From the looks of it, they were safe. He couldn't say the same for the first stray Autobot who happened to get a little trigger happy too close to the chemical engineer's display.

"Good thinkin', Bones, heheheh," Mixmaster said before looking back at Scrapper. "There, one problem solved."

Bounce Chamber

Ramplate growled as Hardhead's weapon made a porcudroid out of his back, studding it with diamond shards that nearly pierced through his armor. Fortunately though, the plates held, while his shield took the brunt of the Smokescreen's weaponfire. Because the shield was just a chunk of metal, without an integrity field of its own, there was nothing to short out, and what energy made it through the dense alloys to the Decepticon's own hide just left a tingling sensation of static over his hull. Still, Ramplate was no fool. If it kept up, they'd find a way around his defences, which meant going with what he knew best....

How fortunate that one Autobot had his back turned to him...

Firing two more shots from his oversized shotgun at the Protectobots, Ramplate then dove to the side and slipped the gun away, deploying his mace instead before charging straight at Jazz and Blades, sweeping his weapon in low just as Lore-lock's bolt sliced a chunk out of his shoulder plate, marring the Decepticon insignia there and tearing off a good two foot thick piece of protective alloy.

Hound's illusion seemed to be believable to the grey-and-blue mech as well, but rather than move aside the tank-former merely lowered his shoulder, aiming to barrel through 'Springer' to get at his target... And when he went through, there was only an astrosecond to be confused before the glowing mace was swinging towards Jazz's back... Leaving the music-loving Autobot and his comrade with two options... Take the hit, or move closer to the Constructicons' barrier...

OoC: Yup! Just your friendly neighborhood Out Of Character note... Oh, and this will be my last post in the RPG! NOT! April Fools everyone! Another thing, wouldn't Scrappers sharpshooting (Sarcasm) be now heading toward Ramplate?

Bounce Chamber

Jazz was musing the situation before he looked over his shoulder to see Ramplate charging him with a mace swinging to smash his already damaged back.

Two thoughts raced through his mind, one was how much he loved Rock and Roll, the other was to improvise.

He did a backflip to tackle the burly gray and blue Decepticon tank with his feet, dodging the mace, and unknowingly dodging a pot shot from Scrapper.

He turned around midair to face the big 'Con, with his elbow pointed into the large Decepticon; his momentum combined with his weight should bring the destructive force down.

He shot his Ion Rifle and Flamethrower at Ramplate midair at the same time, hoping to do the most damage possible.

Outside the Breach

Skywarp scowled when Jazz averted his shots and was then a bit surprised to see the Autobot run directly at him. “So, you wanna fight hand-to-hand…” the teleporter began to say just as Jazz leapt over him and ran back through the breach and into the bounce chamber. ‘Warp spun around, surprised that his adversary had tucked tail and run off. “Hey! Where are you going, coward? Come back out here and face me mech to mech! Filthy slagger!”

Skywarp then looked up to see Thundercracker land and take up a position within the breach. Hearing his friend’s instructions over his comm line, the prankster jogged over to the blockade and took up a position behind the Constructicons and next to the blue seeker. As he took aim with his lasers, the mountain shook once again. The tremors seemed to be getting worse by the astrosecond.

“Sounds like the volcano is waking up,” Skywarp said, glancing in Thundercracker’s direction. “Best we seal these Autoscraps inside the base and let the mountain bury them alive.”

Bounce Chamber

Smokescreen frowned as his shots were easily absorbed by Ramplate’s shield. It was as he had feared when he first took the shots. Nevertheless, it had been worth a try if only to buy his comrades some time to react to the newcomer’s violent arrival.

The room then began to shake violently as the mountain continued to awaken under the intensity of the battle raging both inside and outside the base. The Decepticons had been foolish to build their headquarters within a volcano and now they were on the verge of losing their Earth-bound home. They would surely find someplace else, of course, but it would be at the expense of both energon and time.

Hearing Axle’s words to the Protectobots, Smokescreen knew right away that their situation was dire. The idea of being buried under molten magma did not sit well with him, not at all. It was a fate the Dinobots had known and not one to be repeated by any other Autobot.

Picking himself up off the floor, Smokescreen walked over to Hound, who had also survived being ‘fixed’ by Hex and was using a hologram of Springer to confuse Ramplate. But the large tank-former simply barreled through the illusion as Jazz then engaged the ‘Con. “Good try, Hound. Now, let’s get over to the breach. We’ll need your holograms to help us get through to the outside. This volcano is active again and we need to get out of here before the whole place comes down on top of us, which I’m sure is exactly what the Decepticons want.”

******

Hardhead ceased firing on Ramplate as he saw the large mech charging directly at Blades and the newly arrived Jazz. “Look out, guys! Tall, dark and gruesome coming your way!” The green warrior shouted to his comrades, but Jazz was already one step ahead of him, doing some kind of back flip before attempting to tackle the giant ‘Con.

Brave. Foolhardy, but brave, the veteran soldier thought before turning his attention back to the breach where he could see that the Constructicons had made their initial barricade larger and then reinforced it with a good amount of volcanic rock. “I guess they got tired of us running back and forth through the breach,” Hardhead muttered under his breath as he took aim once again. He stopped short of firing, however, when he remembered what Jazz had said just moments before. The white mech mentioned something about an explosive substance that Mixmaster had smeared all over the sides of the breach. And, sure enough, Hardhead could see some kind of goo covering the breach just in front of the reinforced blockade. “This isn’t good.”

Hardhead switched on his comm line to the other Autobots within range:

>>”There’s some kind of explosive substance covering the outer breach. I’m not sure how powerful it is, but one stray shot will likely detonate it. Be very careful!”<<

The war veteran then increased his signal’s output, hoping to reach Jetfire on the outside if he hadn't already.

>>“Jetfire, this is Hardhead. Change of plans. I need you to fire on the Constructicons and Seekers positioned at the outer breach. Try to force them to move further into the breach if you can. Maybe we can blow them up with their own volatile mixture!”<<

(OOC: In order to move things along I will be calling a hit on Prowl and moving Ravage along with Devastron’s permission)

Outside

Sideswipe stopped his advance with a degree of difficulty. He quickly looked at the club in his hand and noticed the button on his club was blinking in time with Space Case’s. There wasn’t enough time to get his opponent’s club, along with his, and get rid of them, so he opted to just rid himself of his own.

Flashing the Con one of his smug smirks he quickly yelled out, “Think fast!” and tossed his club to the idiot standing in front of him. With the explosive device finally out of his hands, Sideswipe tried to run for cover.

Command Center

Her weapons remained trained on Prowl’s visage as the strategist slowly released his grip on the black cassettecon panther. At the same time he switched off his headlights giving Ravage the opportunity to scurry off and readjust his sensitive optics.

Nightraven offered Prowl an angry sneer and a slight nod. Without removing her optics from the prone Autobot, Nightraven addressed Soundwave’s precious little kitty.

“Ravage, return to your master. I shall handle things from here.”

Without a sound the black mech padded out of the Command Center and back toward the hanger where the Decepticon telepath was located.

Nightraven then carefully made her way to Prowl’s rifle and picked it up by the barrel. She stood back up and maneuvered herself over him, her sneer now replaced by an air of dread.

“Coming here was a big mistake, Autobot. You’re just lucky I was the one you encountered.”

With that she gripped the rifle with both hands and brought the butt of the weapon down hard on the side of the strategist’s head knocking him out. Nightraven let out an anguished sigh before she turned to the door and jogged out of the room, tossing the rifle as she went.

Corridors

With Prowl successfully taken out of the battle, at least for a little while, she was now able to focus on getting out of the base before the damned volcano erupted. The black seeker femme quickly opened an encrypted channel to her sister in an attempt to find out where the orange seeker was.

>>”Helly! We need to get out of here! What’s your status? Helly?! Hellion!”<<

Not receiving any response, Nightraven ran to the location she last saw her sister Please, Primus, don’t let her be offline. The last time she had been in this particular corridor it was filled with smoke thanks to that Autobot diversionary specialist, Smokescreen. Thankfully the sticky smog had lifted revealing a nearly destroyed hall.

She traversed the torn metal and wires that were littering the floor until finally she saw Hellion’s unmoving form. Nightraven’s optics grew wide as she quickened her pace. She knelt down beside her sister and took note of her injuries. Once she was satisfied that she was, indeed, still functioning, Nightraven let out a relieved sigh.

She took a few moments before she hooked her forearms under Hellion’s underarms and lifted the larger seeker’s upper body up off the floor. To her chagrin Hellion proved to be just too heavy for the lithe femme to hoist and carry out safely.

“Slaggit, Helly. Why in the pit did you choose to add so much armor?” …she managed to say through clenched teeth. Placing Hellion back down on the floor gently, Nightraven let out a heavy sigh. She needed to get Hellion and herself out of this place, but there was no way she could do it on her own.

The black femme took a look around and noticed that there was no way out of the immediate area leaving her with no other choice but to call someone for help, and she dreaded calling the only mech she knew that could help.

Nightraven looked down at her sister and quickly opened a private channel to Skywarp.

>>”Skywarp. It’s Nightraven. I need your help. Hellion’s in stasis and she’s too heavy for me to carry out of the base. I need you to teleport to my location, grab Hellion and teleport her out of here to a safe location….”<<

She paused for moment before she added, >>”…please, Skywarp. I want her safe.”<<

Bounce Chamber

As soon as Hex finished with his repair job on Hound and stood up he was forced back down by some random shots from the new comer, Ramplate. Slagger! Now safely pressed against the floor, Hex took a look at the large mech that entered the fray. Where do they grow these things? They hardly look Cybertronian.

His thoughts crossed his processor in only a matter of seconds, but they distracted him long enough to nearly miss the pained cry that came from behind him. The young mech quickly looked over his shoulder, his optics widening in disbelief. Axle had taken a shot to the shoulder, and the field medic was down on his side trying to clutch his wound.

Hex ground his teeth as the anger within began to boil, but instead of charging Ramplate, Hex retained some composure and quickly made his way to his guardian and friend to make sure he was alright.

“Axle! You okay?”

The medic hissed in pain and looked over at his ward, thankful that his unfortunate circumstance hadn’t caused Hex to try and run down the huge Con.

“I’m…I’m fine. Help First Aid get Hot Spot on my bed when I transform.”

Fighting the urge to refuse, Hex simply nodded. The medic forced a smile and quickly converted his body, albeit rather painfully, to his flatbed mode.

Hex looked to First Aid as he picked up Hot Spot from beneath his underarms leaving the Protectobot’s legs to his teammate.

“Crap! This slagger is fraggin’ heavy!”