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Arriving at the Fissure

Thunderwing briefly considered the question from Blackwind. It was something he had been pondering for a while now himself, but he had yet to reach a definitive conclusion, >>”We will stay together initially at least. I don’t want to make too many critical decisions until I have seen the situation firsthand. If we encounter too many obstacles I don’t want us broken up, but if it begins to take up too much time then splitting up may become necessary. Did you have any suggestions on that matter?”<<

The sleek black Seeker cruised alongside Thunderwing as she pondered his question. Sticking together was probably the better idea, but she honestly felt that moving through the winding tunnels of the underground would be better handled if the team split up. If they could cover more ground the sooner they could accomplish their task.

Blackwind remained silent until she saw the clearing where the fissure was located. She finally spoke up through the private comm channel before the team got too close to their target.

>>”I agree that we should stay together, initially, but in order to achieve our ultimate goal we should branch out. Perhaps Darkwing, Dreadwind and Skullcruncher could proceed without Weirdwolf, you and I.”<<

With the speeds she and Thunderwing were capable of; the duo arrived at the coordinates before the others, however the rest of the team was not far behind. Blackwind transformed in the air and gently lowered to the ground just beside the void leading into the underworld of Cybertron.

Tunnel opening in the fissure

As soon as Weirdwolf arrived to the fissure, he transformed into his cyberbeast mode and jumped down, bouncing between the walls of the fissure until he reached the right opening. With his keen sensors sweeping deep into the opening leading into one of the many tunnels spanning across the underground of Cybertron - seeking for any trouble. There was nothing they needed to be wary of within the range of his optical sensors but his olfactory sensors did find traces of various beasts that lurked into the tunnels. Mostly Sharkticons and Allicons, offsprings of leftovers from the wars Transformers had waged against Quintesson Supremacy thousands of vorns ago.

>>"Clean the opening is, nothing there is to fear. Oooh, a cybersnack."<< He reported back to the other Decepticons still on surface before a cyber rat caught his attention and ended up to be a snack for him - and as he did not remember to cut out his comm-link, the other Decepticons ended up witnessing the terrified screams of his prey and the sounds he made while tearing the poor critter to shreds.

Tunnel Opening in the Fissure

Blackwind watched intently as Weirdwolf landed and swiftly transformed and then leapt down into the fissure. She kept her optics fixed on the opening waiting for any information from the beastly mech. It didn’t take long before Weirdwolf had reported back that the tunnel he was currently located in was clear of any vermin and fearsome creatures. Unfortunately, Weirdwolf also managed to revolt the Seeker femme by munching on some critter while his comm. line was still open.

Blackwind’s face twisted in disgust as she turned to look at Thunderwing. She shook her head slightly as she finally spoke.

“I’m starting to think Shockwave assigned Weirdwolf to this team in order to irritate me to no end.”

She let out a heavy sigh before she looked back to the fissure and jumped into the darkness. The black Seeker femme landed near Weirdwolf as the beast was finishing up his light snack. Blackwind cleared her throat in order to get his attention.

“Ahem. Can we expect that the remainder of our trek will be free of any hindrances, and of your snacking?”

Tunnel opening in the fissure

As Blackwind landed into the tunnel opening, Weirdwolf turned to face the femme, tilting his head. He had extremely keen senses even for a Transformer and he had heard what Blackwind had said to Thunderwing. He did not let it show though. Perhaps this journey wouldn't be all that dull after all if this femme was so easily disturbed.

"Safe are we for a time being. How long however, tell I cannot." Weirdwolf replied to Blackwind's query just as the massive Skullcruncher landed into the opening, causing a small tremor. The tracker turned his attention to his larger comrade. "Out came you through here. Followed by beings various you were. Courage all lacked for tunnels to leave."

"I am not surprised." Skullcruncher grumbled. "Made few enemies, even some followers on my last visit. Who'll know this time?"

Tunnel opening in the fissure

Thunderwing touched down next to the other Decepticons, quickly followed by both Darkwing and Dreadwind. The two decepticon fliers brandished their rifles, not particularly relishing the thought of going in the tunnel or the talk of whatever foul creatures Skullcruncher had encountered there before. Thunderwing himself remained unarmed, aside from the weapons systems embedded into his enhanced body.

He flashed the briefest of smiles to Blackwind before he switched to a more serious and command like posture. “Weirdwolf, you will take point, followed by Skullcruncher. Between your tracking ability and Skullcruncher’s previous expeditions down here I will assume you will lead us safely through the underground maze that is our homeworld. Darkwing, Dreadwind, you will take up rearguard. Your flying skill and speed should allow you to rapidly catch up with the rest of us should we encounter any trouble.”

The two fliers exchanged a look between them, but remained quiet for now. It was best not to discuss the futility and ultimate ugly demise they saw their new orders leading them to right in front of the commander who had given them. They would wait until they were out of audio receptor range before they verbally bemoaned their certain ugly fate on this mission.

“Blackwind and I will remain at the center of the party to deliver orders more efficiently and be in position to quickly aid any Decepticons in distress. Now lets get moving.” He gestured for Weirdwolf to begin to lead the way.

Thunderwing had plainly detected the uneasiness that his fellow fliers were displaying at this mission. While some of it was certainly a general distaste at it, in the case of Blackwind, or simply due to their natural personalities, as in the case of Darkwing and Dreadwind, he suspected there was a bit more to it. Being trapped underground like this was going to feel unnatural to anyone who specialized in aerial combat and defense. They would feel hampered, closed in, perhaps even crippled. He might have felt the same had he not grown accustomed to living in his bunker on Cybertron.

As they moved out he decided that silence would not be of any help. They had might as well gather whatever intel they could get now before they got very deep. “Skullcruncher, you said you encountered creatures down here before. Can you tell us anything about them, their abilities or intentions?”

Tunnel opening in the fissure

"Go ahead I shall, faster I move alone. Not too far ahead will I go. Cruncher of skulls' sensor range I shall not lose." Weirdwolf acknowledged Thunderwing's command and bounced ahead of the others - deeper into the tunnels.

"He knows my range well commander." Skullcruncher grunted. "Better this way, I hear I have a certain habit that irritates his sensitive audio sensors." He added, flashing a grin and grinding his razor sharp teeth together to serve as a sample what was to come if they would find any aggressors in the tunnels.

"I met mostly glitch mice, retrorats and rustbugs. Few alloygators. Occasional signs of tunnel dwellers. You know, those Transformers that have left the surface that are rumored to have settlements underground. Didn't bother to investigate. Also run into a small band of Cannibalizers, killed few of them, rest of them ran. Had to fight few hunter parties of Sharkticons too. Cowardly creatures if you have bigger jaws than they do. There are surprisingly many of them living under the surface considering they were brought here by Quintessons. At least that's what we have been told. Personally, I think they have more common with us that one would think by first glance. Maybe they have been here always. There's much we don't know under the surface. I also saw marks from claws that I have never seen before, didn't meet their owner. Given the size of them, it could have been a challenge." He explained as Thunderwing requested information about the creatures living in the tunnels. "And some of our own legacy. Remember Scorponok's cloning experiments with Insecticons? Plenty of failed ones nesting down here. If you see a nest, stay clear unless you can burn it."

With his rifle in his right hand and sword in left, Skullcruncher began walking after Weirdwolf, his sheer bulk making it difficult for anything to get past him in the tunnel the size they were in. "I trust you saw your fair share of underground creatures during your stay on Cybertron commander?"

Within Cybertron’s Underworld

As the group began to make their way into the tunnel, and ultimately into the bowels of their home world, Thunderwing queried about what kind of creatures Skullcruncher had come across. Before the hulking Decepticon could respond, Weirdwolf spoke up letting the team know that he would move on ahead, but he’d still be in sensor range. It was then that Skullcruncher spoke up. Blackwind listened quietly as the group traversed the first of many turns.

Once Skullcruncher had finished he posed a question to Thunderwing, but Blackwind interjected before the scientist could answer.

“The claw marks you mentioned could belong to a Demon. Vorns ago I was given an opportunity to read through some of the ancient texts. Some of the scriptures mentioned creatures that roamed the Underwold. They were described as towering titans with the power to devour the very life force of any sentient being.“

The Seeker femme had a deadpan expression as she followed behind Skullcruncher. After a moment or two of silence she spoke up once more.

“If those scriptures have any truth to them then we’ll need to keep our optics open.”

Blackwind looked over her shoulder at Darkwing and Dreadwind.

“You two better keep alert. There’s a good change these Demons will come at us from behind.”

She turned her head to look up at Thunderwing and flashed him a slight smirk. She took the ancient texts with a grain of salt, and since there was no proof of these creatures actually existing, she had no reason to believe in them.

Below the Surface

Thunderwing walked quietly along with the rest of his group, taking in the warnings from Skullcruncher and the less then serious words from Blackwind. While the others might be willing to more casually dismiss the threats or tales of creatures lurking inside of Cybertron he wasn’t going to take anything lightly. With the environmental collapse and evacuation of the surface it may have quite likely driven whatever creatures lived down here to more bold actions. They had lived on Cybertron now virtually unchallenged for quite some time. They would likely not take too lightly to their intrusion.

“Yes, I recall the swarm,” he replied to Skullcruncher. “I had hoped they would have starved themselves into stasis lock by now though. If there are any still active then they most have found some sort of cache or alternate source of fuel to keep functional.” The swarm wasn’t of too much concern though. There greatest strength lied in sheer numbers. As long as they only encountered a few of them and made sure they did not escape to get others they shouldn’t have any problems with them. The various unknowns the lurked down here concerned him far more.

*

Darkwing and Dreadwind listened as Blackwind mentioned the supposed ‘demons’ that lurked beneath the surface of Cybertron. The two fliers were fairly nonplussed by her comments however.

“I had already figured out that mythological creatures were on the lists of things to be worried about ending us down here. They are kind of down the list though,” Darkwing replied. “I figured they would be well below tunnel collapse and friendly fire incidents.”

“I was thinking they would be around complete systems short out due to planetary energy discharge,” Dreadwind added.

“Yeah, now its different if you were talking about how bad the death would be. Then I would put being killed by demons ahead of tunnel collapse, but still behind friendly fire.”

Dreadwind nodded sadly. “The instant of humiliation alone about being killed by someone on your own side combined with the pain makes that easily the worst death possible on this mission.”

Within Cybertron’s Underworld

"Well, apparently they found whatever they needed to stay alive. Whether there's just one nest left of dozens, I do not know." Skullcruncher replied to Thunderwing while pushing forward.

Hah. Demons. Skullcruncher thought while listening to the story Blackwind was spooking Darkwing and Dreadwind with. Shaking his head slightly, amused over the stories, he continued to follow Weirdwolf's tracks. He was far more familiar with underground of Cybertron than most of Transformers. While he had not admitted it, he had actually indentified the claw marks. He just did not want to scare the already annoying rear guard they had to become utterly useless. The demons were real but they were hardly the gigantic, energy-sapping monsters of the legends. If it had been up to him, the word demon would have been left to describe beings far more powerful. Still, as much the legends exaggerated the size and abilities of these creatures, there was some truth in them.

The demons were sentient, ferocious predatory species with their origin lost from the pages of history. The sheer number of Transformers had forced them to escape under the surface of face extinction long before Skullcruncher himself had even been created. Their sizes varied almost as much as Transformers', the biggest being roughly his own size if far more slender while smallest being no larger than a mini-con. Perhaps the stories of their exaggerated size had something to of misinterpreting ancient texts or Cybertronians just being smaller when such texts were written. He doubted that the demons of the past had been any larger than their modern day offsprings.

The danger was in their pack hunter mentality. They would overwhelm their victims with their numbers, separate the weakest from the group and quickly disappear with their chosen target. Often the dead husks of their victims were later found siphoned empty of energon. Which in turn had helped to create the stories of them being energy-vampires. Which was technically true, but the claims that they just could just touch their victim and suck one out of energy were as far fetched as Skullcruncher claiming to be the next Prime. Still, considering he hadn't met a single demon on his last trip to the Plasma Energy Chamber, he hardly believed in meeting them this time either.

>>"Split the corridors shall. Travel left you need to. On right, a swarm nest found can be. Rear guard wake up has to. Their safety no longer guaranteed is."<< Weirdwolf reported back to the group through a comm-link. If anything, this message made Skullcruncher to screech his teeth again. Perhaps there was a promise of battle ahead. Anything to break this stagnancy would be welcome.

Within Cybertron’s Underworld

Skullcruncher’s reply wasn’t particularly reassuring, but Thunderwing had suspected that the other Decepticon wouldn’t have any real details on the swarm’s survival. It was just another minor concern they would have to be on the look out for while plumbing the depths of Cybertron. When he spoke he spoke to all of the group, including sending it out on a communication frequency so Weirdwolf would receive it as well. “If you spot any of the swarm do not hesitate in attacking them. We must not let any of them escape to alert the rest.”

He returned Blackwind’s quick smile before refocusing on the trip ahead. The Decepticon grimaced as he received the signal from Weirdwolf. At least they were aware of that particular nest, thus making sure they could avoid it. Still, it was far closer then he wanted to get to any of the monstrosities lurking down here. >>”Message received Weirdwolf. We will follow you down the left tunnel.”<<

Thunderwing gripped his cyclone cannons in his hands as they approached the branch in the tunnels. As long as they moved quickly and quietly it should prove to be any sort of problem for them. He followed Skullcruncher at the lead while Darkwing and Dreadwind brought up the rear with Blackwind in the middle. The two fliers, while often depressed, were not cowards, or stupid for that matter. They walked carefully, their own guns at the ready. Dreadwind carefully walked backwards to keep his optics looking behind them while Darkwing watched the opposite direction. Say what you might about them but they made a good team.

The Decepticon was ready to relax a bit once they had gotten a ways down the tunnel when the struck. They burst out from the walls and the ground, obviously haven lain there waiting for prey to pass by. The creatures were almost skeletal in appearance, with thin limbs ending in claws on the hands and feet. They did have broad chests, topped with heads adorned with two large horns on the sides and a mouth filled with fangs, their optics a dark red color. They were large creatures, bordering on the size of a Dinobot. He could make out a bit of drool dripping out of the one standing in front of him. All in all 5 of the beasts stood around them, boxing them in.

“Hungrrrrrrry….” The one in front of him managed to rumble out.

Thunderwing did not hesitate. He fired both of his cannons at the beast, throwing him back into one of the tunnel walls. “Decepticons, take them out!” He charged at the one he had just sent flying back, hoping to pummel it to death. At the same time he opened a channel to Weirdwolf. >>“Weirdwolf, return to the group! We are under attack!”<<

At the rear of the group Darkwing and Dreadwind pelted another of the beasts with fire. The creature laughed at the fire as it seemed to only slow him down. “Hurtsssss, but hungerrrrr morrrre.”

Darkwing grimaced as he continued firing. “I’m thinking mythological beasts just moved up the list Dreadwind.”

Dreadwind merely nodded in reply as he tried to focus his fire on the creature’s knees. Darkwing’s fire was hurting it, but he knew there was only so much real damage they could do. He needed to find some way to actually stop it, preferably before it got close enough to use its claws.