Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Australia - Uluru

The battle was in full force now. As Smokescreen raced up the right flank towards Ayers Rock, his sensors were closely attuned to what was happening up ahead. The Fallen had already displayed some of his raw power by turning Waspinator into an energy projectile. Thankfully, the members of his diversion team had avoided being hit by the helpless insecticon. The heralds, themselves, had begun to unleash their own brand of firepower as the Cybertronian armies marched forward, the anvil assault beginning to dig in at the quarter mile mark. Soon the hammer would fall, but first the heralds must be drawn out. In Smokey’s case, Drag Strip was his target.

>>”I read you, Blurr.”<< Smokescreen transmitted back to the blue speedster as the rallybot adjusted his course and speed, heading directly for the yellow Stunticon. >>”I got him in my sights! Yeah, he seems to be melting those vehicons somehow. Must have some new abilities now. We’re going to have to be very careful even more than before. Your speed will definitely be imperative when sedating him. You and Breakdown stand by while I draw him away from Ayers Rock.”<<

The diversionary expert grew silent as a strong sense of deja vu came over him. First it was the encounter with Oil Slick that left his old body in ruin and now Drag Strip seemingly had a similar ability to corrode metal and leave his new body in the same state as before. I wonder what alt mode Wheeljack will pick for me next, Smokescreen thought, hoping he would not have to go through another full body reconstruction. Although, if he did at least he wouldn’t have to lie and make up a reason like the last time. Ah, a silver lining. Heh.

All jokes aside, Smokescreen skidded to a sudden halt not too far away from where Drag Strip was now coming under a renewed attack from a variety of sources on both sides. Smokey kept a safe distance to evade friendly fire, knowing full well that while his Autobot brethren would try their best to avoid hitting him, the ‘Cons would likely not care so much, if at all. Regardless, now was the rallybot’s chance to draw the Stunticon away from Ayers Rock as well as the Fallen.

>>“Hey, Drag Strip! Over here, slow poke! Let’s see if you still got what it takes to race me now that you’re a herald you filthy slagger!!!”<<

Not waiting for a response, the rallybot quickly spun his tires in the sand and fish tailed around until he was facing the opposite direction. Flooring it, Smokescreen sped away from the rock formation hoping that Drag Strip would take the bait and give chase.
_________

A disappointed expression spread across Drag Strip’s faceplate as the rest of the vehicons steered clear of him once they had seen what he had done to some of their own. They may only be drones with little intelligence, but they weren’t entirely stupid. “Ah, come on! Does no body want to play with me?!” The former Stunticon’s tone was one of mock sadness as a devilish wide grin replaced the look of disappointment on his visage. “Well, if no one wants to play with me then I’ll just have to play will all of you, instead!! Ha ha!!!”

Drag Strip took a step forward, his hands outstretched as his actuators flexed in anticipation of his next victim. While he had just demonstrated his ability to spread cosmic rust, that was not his only choice available to him. Perhaps next he would use the Energon Discharge Virus or maybe Cybonic Plague. A nano-virus would be fun as would transformation paralysis or even the dreaded Red Rust, which made Cosmic Rust look like a simple metal rash. So many choices, so many possibilities, so many victims to use them all on! Oh, what fun! What fun, indeed!!

Before he could choose, the yellow herald came under fire once more from numerous sources who all thought they had a chance to take him down. Such foolish notions of grandeur. Drag Strip was not some mere Cybertronian now. He was a herald of the Fallen, a servant of the Chaos Bringer! It would take more than a mere laser blast or missile to take him down. “Fools,” Drag Strip muttered as explosions erupted all around him, forcing him to retreat back towards Ayers Rock while lasers struck his chest plate.

“Fraggit!” The former Stunticon cursed as he stumbled backwards from the force of the numerous attacks he was now under. “You think you’re all better than me?! Huh?! I don’t think so!!” Unleashing a deafening war cry, Drag Strip brought his gravito-gun to bare and unloaded a torrent of firepower directly at those who had shot at him, including Hot Spot and Nova Strike on the ground before angling his weapon up to the skies and firing on Slingshot and the rest of the Aerialbots.

Then a powerful sonic boom from none other than Thundercracker shook the ground, causing Drag Strip to lose his balance and fall backwards. The former Stunticon cast a stern glare into the skies as the blue seeker banked away. Leveling his gravito-gun once more, Drag fired off another series of shots, hoping one of them would catch Thundercracker’s tail rudder and send him into an uncontrollable dive like the Autobot triplechangers the yellow herald had downed earlier.

Drag Strip then picked himself up off the ground as more weapons fire came his way. Dodging the new series of lasers and explosions, the yellow mech’s comm line came alive with the sound of a very familiar voice. It was Smokescreen! Drag turned his head and caught sight of the red and blue rally car that had stopped at a safe distance. How cowardly of him to shy away from a real battle! The diversion expert’s taunts almost suggested otherwise if it were not for the fact that he was now fleeing.

>>”Slow poke?! Who are you calling a slow poke, you street racing scum?! Not only will I beat you, Smokescreen, but when I catch you, you’ll suffer a fate worse than losing. When I’m done with you, coward, there won’t be enough left to put back together!!”<<

Drag Strip then transformed into his Dodge Viper SRT-10 alt mode and sped after the Subaru BRZ. Deploying his plasma blaster, the yellow herald unleashed a barrage of explosive energy balls directly at the rally car. >>”If you can’t take the heat, Smokey, stay out of the fraggin’ desert! Ha ha!!”<<
_________

Smokescreen ignored Drag Strip’s threats and remained focused on getting the herald as far away from Ayers Rock as possible. At least the former Stunticon had taken the bait and was now chasing the rallybot. Unfortunately, Drag wasn’t really that interested in a fair race as he was in winning and blowing Smokey back to the Afterspark in the process. A volley of plasmas energy balls rained down around him, forcing the Subaru BRZ to take evasive action, which was very difficult to do in the desert sand. So, that’s how you wanna play, huh? Well, good thing I’ve never been much for playing fair, either! The diversion expert thought as he then unleashed a cloud of magnetized smoke from his tailpipe. Suck on that, Draggy!

As the smoke cloud enveloped the former Stunticon, the weapons fire stopped and Smokescreen was able to get back on track towards the rest of his diversion team. At best the magnetic cloud would only slow Drag Strip down. It certainly would not stop him, especially now that he was a herald and more powerful than ever before. Still, it should provide the rallybot with a scant few more astroseconds to get the yellow mech closer to the rest of his squad. The red and blue racer quickly opened a secured comm line to his two comrades:

>>”Blurr, Breakdown, I’m heading in your direction now with Drag Strip right on my tail! I gave him a whiff of my magnetic smoke, but that’s not gonna slow him down for long! Get ready and make your move as soon as he’s close......”<<

Smokescreen’s transmission was interrupted as a plasma ball erupted in a fiery explosion next to the rally car, causing it to skid sideways in the sand and overturn. Acting as quickly as possible, Smokey transformed back to robot mode and got up to a kneeling position, pulling out his rifle in the process. He was shaken and had scorch marks across the right side of his chassis, but he was not out of commission. Not yet.

“You didn’t really think that smoke of yours would stop me, did you?” Drag Strip called out as he rolled to a stop near the rattled rallybot. Transforming back to his own robot mode, the former Stunticon approached the diversion expert and extended a hand down to ‘assist’ him, the sight of cosmic rust forming on the tips of his actuators. “Need a hand? Heh.”

“Not really,” Smokescreen replied as he brought up his electro-disruptor rifle and fired off a quick shot at pointblank range, striking Drag Strip in his chest plate. The blast sent the herald’s electrical systems into a brief frenzy, giving Smokey just enough time to get to his feet and run as fast as he could towards his diversion squad.

>>”Blurr, Breakdown, I need help! Make your move now!!”<<

“Ahhh!!!” Drag Strip exclaimed as his HUD flickered uncontrollably while his systems suffered some of the effects from the disruptor blast. If he had still been a normal mech, the former Stunticon would’ve felt that more. As it were, the effects were short lived but had lasted long enough to allow Smokescreen a short reprieve from his inevitable demise. “Get back here, Smokey, and die like the disgusting Cybertronian that you are!"

Australia - Top of Ayers Rock

Hardhead was in his element and he loved every astrosecond of it. He was the embodiment of war. In fact, even before the green warrior had became a herald of the Fallen, war was what he did best. It was the primary reason why his master had chosen him to evolve beyond a mere Cybertronian. Hardhead was the perfect choice to lead the armies of chaos across the universe, decimating everything in his path, starting here, of course. War was what he loved, and he never wanted it to end. The sheer violence and carnage left in his wake is what the veteran lived for. Death and destruction had once been regulated to only the Decepticons but now it encompassed all mechanical beings from the dead world called Cybertron.

Once he had returned fire on Blindside, Hardhead’s attention was immediately drawn away from the fleeing harrier jet as more weapons fire erupted all around him. A plethora of laser blasts from Jazz and Chameleon struck his heavily armored framework as he then dodged to avoid a series of four micro rockets launched by Ultra Magnus. Missiles and concussion shells from Blitzwing and some of the Aerialbots exploded everywhere, forcing the green herald to once again try and dodge the incoming projectiles. Unfortunately, even as one of the Fallen’s chosen, Hardhead was still big and slow. Speed and overall agility was not his forte. As a result, one of Air Raid’s rockets struck his back, the force of which sent him forward into the rocky ground while more bombs detonated around him, cascading dirt and stones across his huge body.

“Heh, that tickled,” Hardhead commented as his systems registered the damage to his back plating. There were blackened scorch marks and a sizable dent, but the thick armor had held, protecting his internal workings the way that it was designed to. Pushing himself up, the herald of war tried to stand but was once again knocked down by the powerful sonic boom of Thundercracker. “Slaggit! These Cybertronians are getting on my nerve receptors!!” Hardhead spat out a clump of dirt as he cursed his predicament. The Cybertronians had made some decent hits here, but it would not help them in the long run. All they were doing was delaying their inevitable fate and pissing Hardhead off in the process.

“That’s it! I’m done playing with these slaggers! Time for the real pain to begin!” Hardhead bellowed as he once again pushed himself up from the dirt. It was then that he felt something sharp wrap around his right ankle joint and dig in deep. The pain was there but tolerable as he looked around and saw a large mechanical timber wolf biting down on his foot. “Howlstrike! Where did you come from you sneaky son of a glitch! I’m happy to see that you’re still alive and you have found your head...both of them! Ha ha!”

The former Predacon ignored the herald’s snide comments as he attempted to drag Hardhead towards the opposite edge of Ayers Rock. Howlstrike had ascended the mountain and snuck up behind the green warrior while he was preoccupied. Once there was a brief lull in the weapons fire, the hunter made his move. He had to be quick as the top of the rock formation was ground zero of the battle and he highly doubted many on either side would try to avoid shooting him, as well. After all, he was a traitor in the Decepticons’ optics and untrustworthy to most Autobots. Either way, Howl was taking a great risk putting himself in the line of fire.

“Unfortunately for you, Howl, I’m no longer in the mood to play games,” Hardhead growled at the tracker before kicking him hard in the snout with his free left foot. The force of the kick sent the timber wolf flying backwards and landing near the back edge of Ayers Rock. However, the beast was not down for long and quickly righted himself.

“Sorry to disappoint you, Hardhead,” Howlstrike roared as he reverted back to robot mode, pulling out his laser rifle in the process. “But it’ll take more than a simple kick to get rid of me!” The former Predacon then aimed his weapon at Hardhead and opened fire, some shots missing while others struck the herald several times in the chest plate before one finally hit him in the center of his forehead. Howl's aim had been haphazard, but if enough shots are fired one is bound to strike something important, if even by sheer luck.

“Ahhh!!” the green warrior bellowed as he gripped his head with his hand. His HUD flickered slightly as Hardhead quickly shook off the disorientation. “You’ll pay for that, Cybertronian scum!!” The herald of war pulled out one of his shatterblasters and fired a volley of diamond-hard shards directly at Howlstrike, forcing the hunter to duck down to avoid getting hit. A few shards struck Howl’s left shoulder plate, becoming embedded deep within the armor. Some surface damage had been done, but nothing internal that he could feel.

Hardhead then got to his feet and charged directly at Howlstrike. Before the wolf-former could react, the green herald had collided with him, the momentum of the assault sent both combatants over the back edge of the rock formation. Falling end over end, the two adversaries tumbled to the bottom of the mountain where they landed in a small body of water. This pond, like many others that could be found around the base of Ayers Rock, had been formed by rain water that had run off the top of the sandstone structure and pooled in various areas at the base. Now, one of these pools contained two mechanical warriors that were hellbent on destroying one another.

Australia - Bottom of Ayers Rock

Regaining his composure, Howlstrike stood to his full height as water dripped off of his frame. Pulling out his energo sword, the Autobot hunter quickly charged at his prey while brining his blade up to bare in order to deliver a cutting blow to Hardhead’s cranial unit. “Vengeance is a real glitch, isn’t it?! Ahhhh!!!”

However, before Howlstrike could finish his attack, a crouching Hardhead delivered a devastating uppercut, his fist striking underneath the former Predacon’s chin guard. The sheer force of the blow propelled the wolf-former up and backwards, causing him to lose his grip on his sword as he became airborne like a large rock that had been thrown a great distance. The traitor landed with a thud on the shore of the small pond, falling limp from the crushing blow the herald of war had bestowed upon him.

“Foolish mech,” Hardhead muttered aloud as he stood up and slogged through the knee high water towards his downed opponent. “You can’t beat me, Howl. None of you can! Your fates have been predetermined. Just accept it. Trust me, it’ll be easier that way.”

Howlstrike’s optics flickered as he lifted his head up to look at the approaching herald and object of his vengeance. “I accept only...your head...separated from.....your body!” The tracker found it hard to form words as his jaw was now badly damaged from the powerful uppercut he had just endured. The pain was severe but Howl had felt worse. As a former Predacon, he was used to feeling pain, but not as much as he was used to dishing it out on his various enemies. In this case, the pain and agony he had wanted to bless Hardhead with had not come to pass. Instead, it was the green herald that was once again making the hunter suffer.

“Ha ha ha!!” Hardhead laughed out loud to Howlstrike’s latest comment. “You want to decapitate me, do you? Well...” the herald of war bent over and retrieved the former Predacon’s lost energo sword from the water. “...you’ll be needing this, I’m afraid. Unfortunately, I now have it....again! You know, this scenario seems awfully familiar to me. Heh, but don’t worry, I don’t intend on cutting your head off again. Instead, I think I’ll just impale you through the spark chamber and end your miserable existence forever!!”

“Again, sorry....” Howlstrike began as he pulled out his laser rifle again and fired off several more shots directly at the green herald. “...to disappoint you!” The blasts struck Hardhead in his chest plate, forcing him to take a step back. The tracker was not the best of shots, but the war veteran was standing pretty close to him so it was difficult for even Howl to miss a mech of that size. Regaining some of his strength and composure, the former Predacon quickly reverted to his lupine alt. mode and darted off away from Ayers Rock. “Catch me...if you can...Hard-aft!!”

“Aaagggghhhh!!! Howlstrike, I’m going to gut you like a cyber-fish with your own blade!!!” Hardhead screamed as he placed the energo-sword into sub-space storage before assuming his Stryker vehicle mode. He drove away from the rock formation while his targeting systems attuned themselves to the retreating mechanical beast that was dead ahead. Hardhead then unleashed a barrage of explosive shells directly at the faux timber wolf.

As explosions erupted all around the fleeing beast-former, Howlstrike opened a secured comm line to his partner in crime. At least he didn’t need to use his damaged jaw when speaking through a comm link.

>>”Blindside, I hope you’re still up there somewhere, buddy, because I need your help ASAP! I’m on the western side of Ayers Rock leading Hardhead away, and he’s not happy! I’ve suffered some moderate damage, but it’s nothing that’ll keep me out of this fight. Regardless, you need to make your move now!”<<

Ending his transmission, the former Predacon focused on avoiding Hardhead’s various shells that were raining down around him. The shards that had previously struck Howlstrike’s left shoulder had gone a little deeper than he had initially thought and were causing him some discomfort in that joint. Therefore, the tracker’s speed and agility would be somewhat limited as he tried to stay alive long enough for the blind tactician to make his move against the green herald.

Australia - Uluru

"Hey, Blindside! Here's a bunch right back at ya!"

"And....time to move!" Blindside banked a hard right and gunned his thrusters to avoid the lethal hail of incendiary shells. They tore a swath throw the sky toward Blindside. When they were near enough to be extremely uncomfortable, the blind tactician deployed his own heat-seeking missiles back at the shells. Then, the tactician cut his engines and plummeted toward the ground below while the two firearms exploded overhead. The heat from the explosion seared his wings and sent him into an uncontrolled spiral. Not...not good.

Blindside reactivated his engines and tried to regain control of his chaotic tumbling to earth. His efforts to right himself were fairly useless. Well. Time to try robot mode. Transforming back into his robot mode hastily, Blindside threw out his limbs to try to stabilize himself with a little more success.

The blind tactician finally righted himself only to see that the ground was mere astroseconds away. No time to transform. Blindside fired the auxiliary thrusters in his feet as he swung his feet out beneath him. A huge plume of sand shot up in all directions around him, showering him in the quartz substance. A comm from Howlstrike buzzed on his audios.

>>"Blindside, I’m climbing the rock now. I need to get closer to him to get his undivided attention and if that means attacking him at close range, then that’s what I’ll do. If anything goes wrong, be ready to move in quickly to use that syringe. Otherwise, hold off until I lure him away from the mountain and get my revenge. Got it, bud?">"Blindside, I hope you’re still up there somewhere, buddy, because I need your help ASAP! I’m on the western side of Ayers Rock leading Hardhead away, and he’s not happy! I’ve suffered some moderate damage, but it’s nothing that’ll keep me out of this fight. Regardless, you need to make your move now!"<<

Finally! Blindside immediately plunged into a nosedive, gaining more and more speed as he rapidly dropped. He aimed himself so that he would collide with Hardhead at a slant and transformed back into robot mode.

With a crack, Blindside collided with Hardhead, sending them both sprawling into the sand. Blindside tucked and rolled until his momentum was once again manageable. He leaped to his feet, and out slid his dual energy sabres from their on his arms. The blind tactician could see Howl and that, yes, he was indeed moderately injured, but still operable.

Blindside grinned and pointed his face at Hardhead. "Hey there, Hardhead! Remember me?"

Australia--Uluru

>>"Iseehim! A few klikswest ofyour position, Smokescreen! Be careful. Helookslike he'sgot somethingnasty!"<<

>>"Yeah, he's got Fallen germs. 's nasty enough!"<< Breakdown shot back.

>>"Blurr, Breakdown, I’m heading in your direction now with Drag Strip right on my tail! I gave him a whiff of my magnetic smoke, but that’s not gonna slow him down for long! Get ready and make your move as soon as he’s close......"

>>"Yeah yeah yeah," I'm goin', I'm goin'!<<

>>"Blurr, Breakdown, I need help! Make your move now!!"<< Smokescreen commed again. Man he was pushy.

>>"On it!<<

Breakdown sped into position, ready to transform and use the syringes. Even so, he couldn't help but wonder if just seeing him might trigger something in Drag Strip's mind. He didn't know how the whole "possessed by a myth" thing worked, but it was worth a shot.

Transforming, the Stunticon began waving his hands wildly, doing anything to get the yellow Stunticon's attention. Then it hit him.

"Hey! Hey hey! Motormaster's gonna beat you a new aft when he finds you!"

Gold.

Australia--Uluru

Air Raid flew closer to the Uluru rock "Confirmed hit! My missile hit the target" said Air Raid. The missile didn't miss after all, and it hit Hardhead thanks to the Lock-On implemented into his targeting system. He watched as Thundercracker shot a sonic boom of his own, trying to compete with the Aerialbot, and it also hit the former stunticon. Seems like the Cons have no mercy for their former friends.

Hardhead soon started to fire at the Aerialbots. "Heralds shooting at us from the rock!" Air Raid stated the obvious. He attempted a barrel roll and escape Hardhead's lasers, but one of them hit the belly of his flying form. "I'm hit!" shouted Air Raid, thankfully, his armor plating survived that one. Another hit could cause severe damage to his alternate mode, so Air Raid better be careful.

Australia – Uluru

From the direction of the Autobot shuttle Longevity two ambulances sped toward the downed Waspinator. There wasn’t much information to go on other than that idiot Insecticon got himself caught in The Fallen’s way who, then sent him into the ground. Hard.

>>”So. Do you think this ‘Con is still functioning, Ratchet?”>”From what I know about this slag-headed reject he’s very hard to kill. He’ll no doubt be fine.”<< Bar the subject at hand, Ratchet was able to keep his voice neutral and professional.

The Autobot doctors’ came to a quick stop near a smoking crater that no doubt contained what was left for Waspinator. First Aid transformed and jogged the short distance between him and Groove.

"Hey, Waspinator is still functional but I think his voice box might have been damaged. I really don't know since I rarely get this close to an Insecticon. He doesn't look too critical even though I doubt he'll be forgetting the experience for a long while."

“So who gets…” Aid stopped when he spotted the wayward Insecticon trying to walk away from his landing zone. “No slaggin’ way. He’s still alive?!”

Ratchet quickly jogged passed First Aid. He stepped in front of Waspinator and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Not a good idea.” The CMO turned the dazed and singed ‘Con around and guided him off to a much more secure location. “Come on, Aid.” The Protectobot took off after both bots.

“Sit down, Waspinator. Let me take a look at you.” Ratchet grumbled.

While Ratchet focused on Waspinator First Aid took a moment to question Groove. “How’s it going out there? Has there been any kind of progress…on our side that it?”

Shuttle Longevity – Hold One – Combat Casualty Care

How he had moved all four of those power packs into the second hold without throwing out something vital was a complete mystery to Veneer. When finally was able to get a good hand hold on the device’s handled he still had to lift the damn thing. A feet in itself.

“Someone must’ve jacked me up on something. There’s no way I could have done this myself.” The nurse chuckled as the power pack in his hands shifted and he had to quickly maneuver in order to balance the load. “Okay. No more laughing. Seems these things are violently against it.” He mumbled out loud.

Finally. Finally he had made it back to Hold One. He wasn’t even sure if he was actually walking. It seemed more like hobbling.

He was able to make it to the nearest equipment tray. And not a second too soon. As soon as the power pack’s edge touched the tray Veneer lost his grip. The device crashed hard onto the crash cart. He hissed in surprise hoping the pack wouldn’t bounce and hit the floor.

When there was no deafening collision Veneer relaxed. He pushed the pack further onto the cart and wheeled it to a location it would easily accessible by the medical staff.

plink

The soft sound caused Veneer to look up. He scanned the area to his right but saw nothing.

plink

There it was again. Veneer looked toward his left. Still nothing.

“Hello? Someone there?” He took a tentative step back to the center of the room where the light was brighter. Nothing. Must be in my head, he thought.

When no other sound came Veneer went back to work. After getting Ratchet’s work area tidy the nurse had put the odd sound out of mind.

plink

His head shot up and turned around in a full circle trying to find whoever it was that was attempting to drive him crazy. “Alright! Who’s there! You better show yourself or I’ll contact security!” At the same time he was making his demands Veneer was also rummaging for some kind of weapon.

His finger finally wrapped around the handle of a laser scalpel. The nurse brought it up so that it was between him and whoever was with him. “I said show your…” He was cut off when something flew from one of the shadowy corners and hit him on the side of the head…hard.

“Agh! Slag!” He brought his hand up to his temple a small smear of energon coated his fingertips. “Okay! That’s it! Show yourself you piece….” From one of the corners came a body barreling toward him. He had no time to move and was plowed into. The body that hit him sent him slamming into the wall behind him.

The hit came out of nowhere and the impact shut down both his optics and vocalizer. He had to quickly reboot in order to take stock of the situation.

When he was finally able to see his vision was filled with a smile. Broad and fang-filled the mech before him seemed out of touch. Veneer wriggled trying to move away but the mech had him pinned against the wall.

The purple mech moved in closer noses nearly touching. Veneer tried to press into the wall behind him but the stupid thing wouldn’t budge. “Who….what do…what do you want?” Veneer could hear his vocalizer straining to produce sound. The mech in front of him didn’t bother answering. Instead his smile faded and he lowered his head away from Veneer’s face.

The purple mech then placed his face against Veneer’s neck and took in a deep sniff. Veneer whined and turned his head trying not to look.

“You smell like him.” He said. His voice was smooth almost soothing. His face still against Veneer’s neck he went on, “You smell like him, but you’re not him.” Darkride pulled away but only so far so he could look into Veneer’s optics.

Australia – Uluru – Atop Ayers Rock

Hardhead and Drag Strip hungered for a battle and he had given it to them. His Angels of War and Pestilence wanted more than anything to destroy all in their paths. They were perfect.

A smile formed on the fiery demigod’s face as he watched his two Heralds take on their respective opponents.

His musing was rudely interrupted when a sonic boom broke through the din of weapons fire. The suddenness of the sound attack sent the blazing mech stumbling backward. His staggered steps were quickly corrected and the Fallen looked towards the one who dared attack his person.

Thundercracker, the blue Decepticon Seeker was now just out of sight….lucky for him. The Fallen Prime growled as she shifted his sights on those below the rock making their advance. Unwise. So very unwise indeed. Who did these pathetic Cybertronians believe they were? Children of Primus be damned! These stains on the universe would be wiped out by his hand and his Heralds.

It seemed that Hardhead was, as expected, holding his own as he dodged and survived several devastating attacks.

An attack by a ranged foe this time caught The Fallen's full attention. The weapon that this mech used resulted in the flaming bot raising his arms to shield his body. A beam was sent from Blast Off’s x-ray laser device.

“Aghhhhhhhh!” The Fallen cried out as he hit the ground on one knee. “You will pay for that abomination!” He quickly rose back to his full height and raised the Void Scepter still gripped in his hand and sent its tapered tip pointing skyward.

The Combaticon flier’s position remained within the former Prime’s sight as he concentrated a bright fiery beam of energy through the staff’s tip. The shot was quick and devastating as it hit the underside of Blast-Off’s alternate form. The Decepticon quickly lost control flipping end over end. As he steadily descended Blast-Off transformed back to robot mode, straightening his position. But he was unable to control dis descent. The hit from The Fallen’s weapon and the damage to his systems was too much and the shuttle hit the sand hard. Blast-Off slowly tried to push himself back up but it was stasis that finally won.

While he watched his handy work in the form of the falling Blast-Off many more and varied weapons fire were sent his way, one of which was aimed for the fire engulfed demigod's torso.

And although he could have simply avoided the shot The Fallen remained in place. His attention moved from the now eliminated Combaticon to the Predicon’s only airborne member, Divebomb. The creature dared to fire his pathetic artillery on him? “Hahahahahaha!” The Fallen laughed while the particle laser aimed at him was diverted away but not by his own will or power.

His laughter quieted down as he looked down before hm. “Ah. Child. You needn’t worry for my wellbeing. I am perfectly capable of surviving anything these loathsome spawns of Primus can throw at me.”

Hex, who had stepped before his master, was intently focused on the advancing Cybertronians below. “Yes, Master. But a little help is always welcome. No?” The Fallen smiled and patted the youth on his shoulder. Unwavering Hex stood firm the force shield he had created still in place, still strong. The fire that had been raining upon them, and the fire that was still being directed at them, was diverted in differing directions.

“You will make the perfect vessel. Our Lord will be pleased with you. As I am.” The compliment brought a broad smile to the young mech’s face. He was anxious to see the end of the Cybertronian species. He wanted more than anything to become the Lord of Chaos’ living host.

As the Heralds’ master stepped from behind he handed Hex his staff. The Fallen stepped to the edge of the rock. He took in the positions of all in the area. He noted that the combined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons were moving in behind a contingent of drones. Perfect.

Protected within the force shield The Fallen raised both hands. With his telekinetic powers the front line of advancing Vehicons was raised several hundred feet above the ground. “You send in your mindless creations in order to hide your positions and attacks?!” He spat out. A gesture, simple in nature, sent the raised Vehicons back at the combined army like high speed projectiles. “These pathetic tactics shall not spare you from your extinction!” He roared.

Australia - Uluru

“Sit down, Waspinator. Let me take a look at you."

The green and yellow wasp-former was halted by Ratchet pulling him back by the shoulder and sitting him down. Waspinator's optics flickered in awe at how strange of an encounter this was. His was surprised anyone was willing to help him right now, at least an Autobot of all mechs.

"You-you wanna help Wazzzpinator?" The insecticon reject asked in confusion, still unsure how to process what was happening. "Why does Doctor-bots wanna help Wazzzpinator? Evvven if Decepticons and Autobuckets are parnters for the battle, Wazzzpinator doesss not understand why Horn-headed Doc-bot is willing to help Wazzzpinator..."


((OOC: More to come later))

Australia - Uluru

[quote]>>"Rewind what are you doing? You said you'd hang behind and stay clear from the fight!">"Hex is dangerous and you aren't built to take a hit, I don't want to lose you out there! If anything were to happen to you, it would all be my fault... I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to you out here...">"Axle!">"You're the only one Hex knows really well. Do you think you can lure him away from the Fallen somehow? Once we do, I can shoot his feet with my glue gun, and Chromedome can stick him.">"It's me, Warwolf. Don't bite me. We're going to hold the line and focus fire on the Fallen. That's our job. Keep moving, and I'll fire at him from your back.">"Motormaster - sir - it looks like the Fallen is using some kind of...gravity control or magnetism to fling our forces back at us. And...that Autobot - Hex, I think - should not have force field capabilities. It wasn't in his file. Any powers demonstrated by the heralds...it's a fair guess that the Fallen has them too.">"I see the Autobot Trailbreaker assigned to our anvil force. He can put up a force field to shield us. If Windcharger is around, he can use his magnetism to fling some Vehicons back or at least deflect them.">"Those with photon pistols and other light and laser based weaponry should concentrate blinding fire. He can't hit us if he can't see us. Use Dead End's radar to keep tabs on the Fallen and his minions. If one of the diversion teams fails, some of us should be ready to jump in. Alternatively, we need to know if the Fallen moves. The rest of should see about hitting that force field until it breaks. It has to have a damage threshold. Whoever is that little bot's assigned team needs to slagging get on that!">"Hey, Warwolf,">"Try to avoid the doom raining from above, yeah?">"Did anyone bring an EMP? If so-"<<[/i] Flamewar cut off as she was clocked in the head by a flailing limb of a Vehicon as he soared past. "SHOOT IT AT THE FORCE FIELD!" the black operative snarled as she batted another Vehicon away with the flat of her burning blade. "Slag it..." Flamewar grumbled to herself as she wiped a bit of energon trailing from her mouth.

Australia--Uluru

Onslaught's progress forward had been as measured as the circumstances would allow. Though they were on far stronger footing and not scrimping for energon scraps like he and his unit had been back on Cybertron, they were also far from wallowing around in the excesses of the Golden Age also. As the main front of the war, it was only natural that more of their resources would have been apportioned to Megatron's battalions and even in the chaotic aftermath of their fights to fill his void, Onslaught would not see those resources wasted. Particularly his unit.

Brawl was obviously close at handle, Swindle was not on the field and he had received no distressing transmissions or visuals from either Vortex or Blast-Off. His resources were still perfectly in tact. How long that would remain was debatable, given the nature of the foe their were facing.

The battle was a full-on uproar now, with heavy energy blasts being traded between both opposing forces. It was still strange to imagine that there were foes out there that could warrant, much less survive, a combined assault of Autobot and Decepticon forces. And even so, one stood before them.

The advance had been proceeding just as the Combaticon Commander expected it might and he was preparing the first of his missile deployments in order to find just the right target. But what he saw before him stopped him in his tracks--metaphorically at first and then quite literally. The missile truck's brakes whined and hissed as they brought Onslaught's vehicle mode to stop, as far in front of him it seemed like their entire army of Vehicon drones had been suddenly forced into the air.

A dozen tactical options sifted their way through his mind even as he kicked his accelerators back into gear. Fortunately it was entirely likely that Fallen would not even notice their particular attack group thanks to the Autobot and his little mechanical parlor tricks..

"Steady, Brawl."
___

As Tracks came around for another go, he really couldn't believe what his sensors were picking up as he saw what appeared to be the entire Decepticon vanguard hoisted into the air and then launched backward like so much trash. Or worse, debris in one of those violent planetary storms that was oftentimes even more deadly than the storm itself.

No thank you, Tracks thought, arcing back and away from the furor of the battle to look for a better opportunity.

Australia – Uluru

Soundwave watched as the Predacons transformed and charged off into battle. Unfortunately he did not have a mobile alternate mode. His current one had been advantageous for observing and spying on the native population but was worthless in a combat situation. It was something that he would have to look into rectifying if he was going to end up in heavy combat duty. For now though he would have to move out in his standard mode on foot, as flying would likely interfere with the Autobot’s holographic camouflage.

The Decepticon jogged with the rest of his combat unit, most of them racing ahead of him. He looked up to observe Waspinator getting struck down by some sort of bolt, presumably from the Fallen or one of his minions. Fortunately Waspinator was of no particular importance, an insignificant loss. It appeared that he didn’t take anyone down with him, also fortunate.

As they surged forward Soundwave began to reach out with his telepathic powers. It was difficult sorting through the chaos of so many other minds and thoughts. It didn’t help that so many of the thoughts were very similar now. He could smell the bloodlust and eagerness of the more violent warriors, mostly the Decepticons, taste the cold, determined resolve of some veteran warriors, and see the dark colors of fear and nervousness many had about going up against these mythical beings with untold powers and abilities.

Soundwave sifted through it all, reaching out to try and find the thoughts of the Fallen. He didn’t know what to expect, but he would know when he found it. Finally he brushed up against it, a taste like fire and rage like he had never encountered. It was familiar, but alien at the same time. It was like something he had sense before buried underneath the thoughts of something much more ancient and powerful. The Decepticon began to carefully try and read the thoughts, being cautious so as not to get burned by the fire behind them.

*

Rumble and Frenzy had quite literally been left behind in the dust by the rest of the anvil force. While riding with the Stunticons could be fun at times they didn’t want to get thrown out when they transformed, and this wasn’t going to be an alt mode type of battle for many of them. They could have gotten a ride with an Autobot, but that just would have been awkward. So now they were trudging forward on foot, Slowly getting closer to the battle.

“Holy slag! Did you see that Frenzy?”

“Was that one of ours?”

“I think it was one of those bugs. He ain’t going to be doing any flying again anytime soon, or probably ever,” Rumble chuckled.

“Looks like the bugs and the Vehicons are going in to get squashed,” Frenzy replied as they saw the various drones getting mowed down. The two cassetticons stopped as they saw more of the drones lifted into the air and flung back. There smaller bodies made it easier for them to take cover as the body parts hit the ground and flew overhead.

“Man, what else can this Fallen guy do? I never fought somebody who could do that before. I can’t wait to blast him now, cheating with magic powers and slag!”

“Don’t matter what he can do, he’s still gonna take a tumble from Rumble! Come on!” The two continued their advance, rifles drawn as they began shooting wildly up at the Fallen. Their firepower wasn’t particularly accurate or powerful but it was something to do until they were close enough to use their real weapons.

*

Further back the slow tandem of Overkill and Slugfest continued moving. “Yeah, gonna have me a Fallen crown. Maybe I’ll make one from what’s left of him when we win! Yeah, think I’ll make a collection of crowns from all the guys I killed. That’s a good idea, I have to record that one for later!” Overkill continued rambling on and on. Slugfest simply grunted and frowned as he slowly moved toward the battlefield, his speed keeping him a captive of Overkill’s lunatic rants.

*

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw deftly dodged the projectile Waspinator silently. Ratbat dodged as well but was far from silent. “Insecticons, every one of them a waste of materials! Sure they are cheap to make but what do you get from them! Dead in one shot! Not to mention the obnoxious chattering and noises they all make.”

The two birds watched as the other airborne Decepticons launched their attacks, along with a few of the Autobts. They almost laughed as the triplechangers were torn apart in their attacks. Never let an Autobot lead an air assault. Of course neither of them were front line soldiers so they weren’t about to mimic any sort of frontal assault or even dive attack like Divebomb was doing. They only had their lasers and they certainly weren’t going to risk their beaks in this fight.

The two cassettes dropped altitude and came at the Fallen from the flank. They fired a volley of laser fire, hoping to strike him before peeling off and flying behind and away from him. They would just keep doing hit and run tactics until they were noticed, then it would be time to beat a quick retreat.

Ratbat didn’t have the raw speed the birds had, but he had other abilities. The former senator hung back and activated his weapon systems. Hovering in the air some distance away he locked on to the Fallen with his radar guided electro lasers. They weren’t powerful but they were accurate. He began firing at the Fallen, aiming for his head. While others rushed in blindly he would try to take out the head of the attack, literally.

*

Ravage slowly drew closer to the mountain where the Fallen was still standing, climbing up it from one vantage point to another. Like most of the other cassettes he was not a frontline soldier, but he also wasn’t slow or cowardly. His particular skills would require him to get nice and closer to his target and that’s what he would do. There wasn’t a Decepticon alive better then him at hiding, so when he did make his move not even the supposed demi-god would see it coming. He would strike the Fallen hard with everything he had and if he was fortunate it would give some of his brothers in the Decepticons an opportunity to end this threat once and for all.

*

Australia – Uluru – 1 mile from the main battle site

Oil Slick screeched to a halt and transformed back to his robot mode. This site seemed as appropriate as anywhere, another deserted stretch of desert populated by a few boulders and indigenous plant life. It resembled most of the rest of the area but there was no active combat here or other Cybertronians. The plan Skywarp and himself had concocted would require this isolation, pulling Darkride into the open, alone so the could neutralize him.

The chemist examined the syringe Skywarp had given him, its contents concocted by some Autobot scientists. He pushed out a few drops of the chemical inside, stowing them in a container he kept with him. It was rare for the Autobots to use any sort of chemical weapon, as they generally kept them off limits. From the instant the seeker had given the syringe to him he had been intrigued by it. Only the importance of the battle occurring was keeping him from running tests on it now.

The Decepticon was snapped from his reverie by the signal from Skywarp. He frowned at the seeker’s comment. >>”It isn’t like Darkride to miss a battle. He enjoys inflicting and suffering damage far too much. He likes to make it personal though. Looking for isolated combatants, or possibly any injured. He will have no qualms picking off stragglers or medics.”<< It appeared they would have to locate their target before they could instigate the rest of their plan. Skywarp would be the better bet to locate Darkride in the air, but Oil Slick had a suspicion on where he might be. The Decepticon transformed and with a single rev of his engine took off.

Australia - Uluru

Prowl observed the overall anvil assault against Ayers Rock from his position on the battlefield. The military strategist’s own missile attacks had been largely unsuccessful in doing any damage to the Fallen or his heralds. This was a truly powerful adversary to be sure, one that would take more than conventional weapons to bring down. Unfortunately, they had very little in the way of unconventional weapons to use. Instead, they were attempting multiple strategies at once including divide and conquer along with the hammer and anvil tactic. So far the battle was going as well as could be expected. Although, casualties were beginning to mount on the Cybertronian side while the Fallen and his minions were still largely unscathed. If that didn’t change soon, there wouldn’t be enough Cybertronians left to fight.

At least the diversion teams seemed to be making progress. From his vantage point, Prowl could see that Hardhead and Drag Strip were no longer on Ayers Rock, the latter of which having disintegrated several vehicons before being drawn away by Smokescreen. Darkride was no where to be seen, which left only Hex as the sole herald on the rock formation. The silver Autobot was staying close to the Fallen, providing assistance to his new master. Three out of four wasn’t too bad. The black and white then received a transmission from Hot Spot, confirming what he already knew.

>>”I saw him, Hot Spot. Tell your men to stay away from him for the time being. Smokescreen’s diversion team is doing it’s job and will hopefully bring Drag Strip under control. As for new powers, anything is possible under the current circumstances. Proceed with extreme caution.”<<

The intelligence warrior known as Decibel then trotted up alongside Prowl and gave the strategist a hearty salute. The black and white gave the small mech a curt nod before his attention was then drawn to the sight of the Fallen’s latest counterattack. It was a much larger scale version of what had been done to Waspinator, only without the glowing energy surrounding each victim. Regardless, dozens of vehicons being used as giant projectiles could still cause a considerable amount a damage to anyone that was unable to avoid them in time.

“Trailbreaker, shields! NOW!” Prowl shouted to the defensive strategist before diving head first into a shallow trench as a hapless vehicon flew by him overhead. Knowing that there would be a slight delay in Trailbreaker’s reaction time, the military strategist quickly poked his head up and began firing off rockets from his shoulder launchers at the nearest vehicon projectiles, destroying several of them while missing a few others. They were moving at a quick pace and were difficult to get a lock on.

“Motormaster!” Prowl then shouted over to the Stunticon Commander, who was situated not far away. “I suggest getting your men into some of these trenches that your drones previously dug. Once Trailbreaker activates his shield, have everyone get safely behind it until the latest attack subsides! Then focus all of your weapons fire on the Fallen, himself. Most of his heralds, save one, have been lured away. We need to overwhelm the Fallen and hope it disorients him long enough for the hammer assault to begin!”

“That goes for the rest of you ‘Bots, as well!” Prowl shouted to the various Autobots that were in earshot of him. “Focus your firepower on the Fallen! There seems to be a shield up protecting him. We need to break through it if we are going to be successful!”

Unlike those under his command, Prowl knew that Motormaster would not like to follow the suggestions of a Autobot, but that was irrelevant now. They needed to do what was necessary to survive this confrontation and the strategist felt confident that even the brutish Stunticon leader would see things his way. After all, it really wasn’t in Motormaster’s nature to think up strategies, especially not on the fly. Once that was taken care of, Prowl opened a secured comm line to the new leader of the Decepticons, who was currently leading the hammer forces around Ayers Rock:

>>”Razorclaw, this is Prowl. What’s your status? The anvil forces are getting pelted over here with your own vehicons that have been turned into living missiles. Bring the hammer down ASAP!”<<

_________

Bluestreak sped across the battlefield towards Ayers Rock in his Nissan 370z alternate mode, kicking up sand and rocks as he went. After helping to deflect the Waspinator energy ball, the gunner did what he could to support his comrades, launching several more rockets at Hardhead in an effort to help the Autobot triplechangers fall back from the sandstone formation that the Fallen and his cronies had perched themselves atop of. It didn’t take too long for the diversion teams to make their moves as Hardhead and Drag Strip were lured away while Darkride simply vanished altogether.

Now, the black and silver sports car was bringing up the rear, attempting to catch up to Ultra Magnus as the car carrier barreled across the landscape towards its destination with two Autobot silhouettes balanced precariously on top. That’s where I need to be, ‘Streak thought as he approached the rear of the Autobot Commander’s alt mode. Once he was close enough, Bluestreak transformed and ran a short distance before leaping onto the back of the trailer. The gunner then climbed up on top of Magnus where Jazz and Chameleon were already situated. “Hey, guys, how’s the battle from up here. Hope you don’t mind me joining the party. Being a gunner and all, I need the best possible vantage point from which to launch my missiles and fire my rifle. The Fallen already has the high ground which gives him a distinct advantage I’m afraid. However, being up here on top of Commander Magnus should give me a clearer view of my targets. Know what I mean?”

Before anyone could respond to him, Bluestreak noticed the entirety of the vehicon army being lifted high into the air and then propelled at great speed directly at the anvil forces. “Holy Primus! Get down, guys! Incoming!” The gunner shouted to both Jazz and Chameleon as he drew out his ion-charged disperser rifle and fired a particle beam directly at one such vehicon that was headed right towards them. The shot struck home, destroying the living projectile in mid air and showering them with debris. Bluestreak knelt down and placed his left arm up to shield himself from the metallic bits and pieces that were once part of the vehicon.

“Whoa, that was close, guys! But our job’s not done yet. There are even more! Look!” Bluestreak pointed to more vehicon ‘missiles’ as they were hurled towards them. Keeping low and in a kneeling position atop of Ultra Magnus’ trailer, the Autobot gunner continued to fire particle beams at any vehicon projectiles that threatened his comrades. “Don’t worry, fellas, I got you covered! Just focus on the Fallen and Hex while I clear the way of vehicon obstacles!”

((OOC: A post for Razorclaw and Sixshot will be next.))

Australia - South of Ayers Rock

Trailbreaker has been aimlessly shooting at the Ayres Rock for the past few minutes. It seemed that their weapons had no effect on The Fallen himself, but are doing well against his Heralds. He kept close near Prowl knowing that his force-field will come in handy when things get hot. The rock was now bruised with holes and craters left by the missiles and lasers of the combined forces. At some point the rock will be useless, but right now it stood against all the fire.

It didn't take long before The Fallen initiated his counter-attack, which was basically Waspinator on a larger scale. It was vehicons, many of them, being hurled at the combined forces. The cons didn't seem to be that careful in this battle, and many of them were being used as weapons by The Fallen. First it was Waspinator, now it's the vehicons, what's next? The Fallen's tactics seem to always involve using our forces against us.

Prowl wrote:"Trailbreaker, shields! NOW!"

The force-field started to form around Trailbreaker, a few vehicons were already knocked back by it. "Get into the field! now!" Shouted Trailbreaker, he didn't want anybody outside of the shield, they had to get in before the force-field finished forming itself. It didn't take long, after a few seconds the force-field fully covered all nearby Autobots...and Decipticons.

Trailbreaker stood in his place, keeping the shield active as the Vehicons flew past him. Some of the cons hit the force-field and were knocked back and into the ground. Even after all the Vehicons have passed, Trailbreaker did not deactivate the shield yet. He was suspicious, something could still be on it's way. He awaited Prowl's command.

Australia - North of Ayers Rock

The trek around the rock formation had been an uneventful one as Razorclaw led what was being referred to as the Hammer forces into position just north of the Fallen’s place atop the mountain. The anvil assault had begun on the south side and was doing it’s job as was Hound’s large hologram, which served to conceal the movements of the Predacon lord and his troops. Apparently, neither the fiery demigod nor his heralds knew that they were flanking the rock as no attack had yet been directly their way. Of course, that would soon change once the hammer finally fell.

The mechanical lion shifted his gaze away from Ayers Rock and towards Rampage, whose communique over the Predacons' private frequency was received and heard loud and clear. >>”I understand your eagerness to make the traitor pay. However, the Fallen is still the main focus, Rampage. Our existence depends on his defeat. That being said, if you have a shot on Howlstrike, take it. Just don’t allow it to divert your attention away from our primary objective here. Understood?”<<

Razorclaw’s attention then returned to Ayers Rock as another transmission came across his comm line, this time from the Autobot strategist, Prowl, who was demanding a status update. Furthermore, it seemed that the vehicons on the south side were being turned into “living missiles” by the Fallen and then used against the anvil forces. The black and white mech, who served as second-in-command to Ultra Magnus, was also demanding the hammer be brought down as soon as possible. The Predacon lord did not like the tone in Prowl’s vocals, but then again, from what he knew, not even the strategist’s own men liked him very much. A prick-bot was what he was called, a designation that more than suited him.

>>”The hammer will fall when I give the order, Prowl. Not before. Don’t worry about us. You just do your job over there and we’ll do ours.”<<

Razorclaw wasn’t one to mince words with his own Predacons let alone some Autobot higher-up who thought he had command over him. The lion-former was known to wait until just the right moment to strike, which sometimes led to waiting for too long. That could not happen now as the Fallen would take advantage of any kind of delay and lash out at them first. Not to mention, Hound’s hologram would not last much longer as it was already beginning to flicker and fade.

“Maintain the illusion, Autobot!” Razorclaw roared at the green scout. “We’re not in position yet!”

“I’m trying, Razorclaw,” Hound responded, trying to keep his tone respectful. It was not that he actually respected the Predacon Commander. He just didn’t want to be ripped apart. “But my energon levels have been greatly depleted by the size of this hologram. I’m almost on empty now.”

A low growl emanated from the mechanical lion’s maw as he realized that expecting anything more from a puny Autobot like this was simply asking for too much. “Very well. It seems your usefulness is at an end. Drop your hologram and stay out of my way!”

The green jeep skidded to a halt and quickly deactivated the illusion that hid the hammer forces from the Fallen’s sight. At least they were now behind the flame-covered demigod. So, unless he turned around, there was still the chance of sneaking up on him. Of course, for all they knew the Fallen had optics in the back of his malformed head. It might very well be impossible to sneak up on a supernatural entity such at him. “Hologram’s down. We’re now fully exposed.”

“Fine,” Razorclaw replied as his gaze shifted towards the surrounding mechs, which included his Predacons and the Combaticons along with Sixshot, Soundwave, a contingent of vehicon troops as well as a few Autobots scattered throughout. “Hammer forces, the order is given! Attack the rock formation and bring the Fallen to his knees!!!”

With the attack order given, Razorclaw leapt forward, still in his lion mode, and raced towards the northern side of Ayers Rock, launching several concussion shells up at the Fallen from his shoulder mounted cannons.
_________

Sixshot was bored to say the very least. He wanted to unleash hell and he wanted to do it last cycle. Instead, he found himself walking across a desert terrain in his wolf creature mode, following the likes of Razorclaw as they flanked the rock formation where the Fallen, himself, was located. The sixchanger was not accustomed to taking strolls regardless if they were a part of some half-concocted strategy. He was a phase sixer for Primus sake! He did not need war strategies. All he needed was to be pointed in the right direction and then unleashed. Megatron understood this basic concept when dealing with the STAG, why couldn’t the Predacon lord?

There were several moments when Sixshot felt like simply abandoning these hammer fools and staging an attack on the Fallen all by himself. If anyone currently on the battlefield could bring the fiery demigod down it was the sixchanger. If not, well, then they were all pretty much screwed as no one else had the power and abilities that Sixshot possessed. If the Fallen could best a phase sixer, whether it be Sixshot or Overlord, then the Cybertronian race was pretty much doomed. After all, even Megatron had a fail safe installed just in case the STAG ever got any ideas of taking over the Empire. Even the slagmaker took precautions when it came to dealing with Sixshot, and that was very telling, indeed.

Regardless of how he felt, Sixshot remained in formation and continued following Razorclaw. Breaking his own cover now would also mean breaking everyone else’s cover and that was something which could cause far more problems at this point. The idea of sneaking up behind the Fallen and attacking him while distracted was a sound concept....in theory anyway. The problem was that they were all dealing with a supernatural entity that could very well already know they were there even while hidden behind some Autobot’s illusion. The Fallen may not have attacked them yet because he was simply not afraid of them or overly concerned. Having no fear gave the demigod a great advantage, one of many over mere Cybertronians.

Finally, the hammer forces reached their position just north of Ayers Rock, or at least they almost made it. The hologram was fading in and out as Hound’s power levels had dropped too low to sustain it any longer. This turn of events forced Razorclaw to give the attack order and bring the “hammer” crashing down onto the Fallen a bit sooner than he wanted. That was fine with the phase sixer. At least his boredom was about to come to an end.

“Well, it’s about fraggin’ time!” Sixshot roared as the wolf creature leapt into the air and, in a flash, transformed into his star fighter mode. “I’ll bring him to his knees and then some!” The sixchanger quickly ignited his rear thrusters and rocketed into the skies, focusing his attention on the rock formation straight ahead. Sixshot scanned the top of the mountain and detected only two mechanical beings standing there. The Fallen and a smaller mech were poised near the edge of Ayers Rock, the fiery demigod hurling vehicons at the anvil forces on the south side while the small silver bot protected his master with some kind of force shield.

Let’s see if your shield covers your back as well as it does your front, Sixshot thought as he then swiftly transformed into his jet-propelled laser pistol mode. The transformer-sized weapon approached the rock formation from the north and took aim, unleashing a steady torrent of hypersonic concussion blasts directly at the demigod’s back. “Okay, Fallen, time to face the firepower of a phase sixer!”

Australia - The Skies Above

This...isn't exactly...what I had in mind when they told me, hey, let's go fight the Fallen!

Couldn't see! Couldn't tell what was happening! Seriously! Worst seat in the house! No offense to Silverbolt of course, but Blaster was more than sick of getting jostled around inside the Aerialbot commander's cockpit, looking for a signal that didn't even exist. Of course, Blaster had to stick around with the flybots until he was absolutely sure. And he was. Now. Opening a comm to Ultra Magnus and Prowl, Blaster reported in.

>>"Ultra Magnus, Prowl, I'm not finding any sort of signal that the Fallen is using to communicate with his heralds. However he's doing it, he's not going through standard channels. Permission to join the anvil force requested!">"Blurr, Breakdown, I’m heading in your direction now with Drag Strip right on my tail! I gave him a whiff of my magnetic smoke, but that’s not gonna slow him down for long! Get ready and make your move as soon as he’s close......">"Yeah yeah yeah,">"Gotchacovered, Smokes!"<< Blurr added from his vantage point.

As soon as the Stunticon left cover, Blurr darted out at his top speed, using some dunes as cover as he flanked Drag Strip. He watched Breakdown transform and wave his arms around wildly. Well if that didn't scream distraction...sheesh. Once solidly behind Drag Strip, the blue speedster transformed and braked harshly, prepared to strike.

"Hey! Hey hey! Motormaster's gonna beat you a new aft when he finds you!"

Oh boy. That was going to go over well. Blurr took his cue, and charged, running at his top speed, which was also little more than a blue blur. He snatched the syringes from where he had stashed him in a side compartment, and was on the yellow Stunticon in the blink of an optic, wrapping one arm around the herald's torso and attempting to thrust the syringe into the Stunticon's neck.

"TimetogotosleepDragStrip!"

Australia - South of Ayers Rock

"Motormasterrrr, there's one of them up ahead! Looks like it appears to be Drag Strip. How do you wish to proceed?"

Damned Warwolf, he just had to spot Drag Strip straight ahead, reminding Motormaster that one of his own gang had deserted and joined up the enemy. And not only had the former racer drawn Motormaster's ire by doing that, he had also been blessed with new powers to boot. Powers that even the leader of the Stunticons was wary of placing under a test after witnessing Drag Strip to decay several Vehicons into twisted, rusted husks through something that sure resembled the cosmic rust far more than Motormaster wanted to admit. Being eaten away by a disease was a fate far worse than falling to a blade or a gunshot in a battle.

"We do as tasked! Ranged suppressive fire! Focus on the Fallen!" Motormaster roared out in response to Warwolf just in time to witness Hex to lift a forcefield over the Fallen who followed his herald's action with an insult something that took even a seen it all veteran like Motormaster by surprise, "Well I'll be slagged..."

“You send in your mindless creations in order to hide your positions and attacks?!" He spat out. A gesture, simple in nature, sent the raised Vehicons back at the combined army like high speed projectiles. “These pathetic tactics shall not spare you from your extinction!"

The thuggish Stunticon had seen the powerful repulsor fields of Trypticon at work and various anti-gravity weapons wreaking havoc against enemy lines but a staff wielding maniac from pre-history of Cybertron turning dozens of Vehicons into living projectiles by making a simple gesture? That was new. Both awe inspiring and troubling. What the slag were they up against? The ease the Fallen and his heralds had stood their ground so far was certainly something different. Having Vehicons thrown at him was hardly something that was going to stop Motormaster though as he plowed his way through several Vehicons unlucky enough to be sent in his path.

>>"Motormaster - sir - it looks like the Fallen is using some kind of...gravity control or magnetism to fling our forces back at us. And...that Autobot - Hex, I think - should not have force field capabilities. It wasn't in his file. Any powers demonstrated by the heralds...it's a fair guess that the Fallen has them too.">"Agreed.">"I see the Autobot Trailbreaker assigned to our anvil force. He can put up a force field to shield us. If Windcharger is around, he can use his magnetism to fling some Vehicons back or at least deflect them.">"Those with photon pistols and other light and laser based weaponry should concentrate blinding fire. He can't hit us if he can't see us. Use Dead End's radar to keep tabs on the Fallen and his minions. If one of the diversion teams fails, some of us should be ready to jump in. Alternatively, we need to know if the Fallen moves. The rest of should see about hitting that force field until it breaks. It has to have a damage threshold. Whoever is that little bot's assigned team needs to slagging get on that!">"Did anyone bring an EMP? If so-"<< Flamewar cut off as she was clocked in the head by a flailing limb of a Vehicon as he soared past. "SHOOT IT AT THE FORCE FIELD!"

More from Flamewar. And this time without the courtesy of private transmission to Motormaster first. To be fair, this was not a time for petty rivalry over technical details of rank. Her notification was well and sound - and the way it was delivered certainly increased chance of quick enough response from the other Decepticons. And thus, Motormaster settled to reinforce her words, "Got the goods?! Do as she said!"

And at least one of the Decepticons did. Skullcruncher, still fresh from having raided the armory of Thanatos with Weirdwolf, abandoned his Trojan combat engineering vehicle form and pulled out a grenade launcher he had taken with him to increase his firepower, only to send several EMP grenades flying at the Ayers Rock only few seconds later before kneeling down behind a cover to reload the weapon.



Australia - North of Ayers Rock

"Steady, Brawl."

"What?!" Brawl found himself shouting back at Onslaught, not having understood the reason behind Onslaught's words and sudden decision to brake. Flying Vehicons? He had no time to think about trivialities such as that. He was far more concerned over getting a chance to fire at the enemy before Sixshot would turn Fallen and his heralds into scrap. Brawl couldn't fathom a scenario which would end up in the phase sixer losing. "Let them fly!"

"That slagger shot down Blast-Off and I am gonna make him pay for that!" He raged back at his commanding officer just as Hound dropped his illusion. "What the?! We're exposed boss!"

“Hammer forces, the order is given! Attack the rock formation and bring the Fallen to his knees!!!"

Oh, that explained much. His turret adjusting to compensate the rocking caused by his speed and bumps in the ground, Brawl set his sights at the Fallen and wasted no time in opening fire at the enemy. Joining Sixshot in his assault against the demigod with his own pair of sonic blasters and his main gun which sent 120mm HEAT shell flying straight towards the Fallen's seemingly exposed back about the same time as Headstrong opened fire at them with his plasma sphere launchers.

Australia- North of Ayers Rock

Groundspike emerged from the drop pod, rolling out of the glowing-hot metallic shell on steel treads. He came to a stop and transformed, shifting himself upright with a clanking, whirring noise as his entire body reconfigured itself into a roughly humanoid shape (albeit one made of tank parts).

Surveying the landscape, he noticed a rather large, skeletal, fiery figure astride a rock formation, hurling what looked like Vehicons through the air like toys with mere gestures. Presumably, this was the target he had been informed about. He had to be honest, it looked rather nasty. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but it needed getting rid of.

It was just then that he spotted Brawl and Sixshot, slowly rumbling forward and pouring gunfire into the burning figure on the rock. They looked like they could do with some cover- Vehicons and other debris were hurtling down like meteors, and getting hit by one of those things would not be fun. A huge health and safety hazard, he thought.

"Hey, fellas!" he called out to the two Decepticons, trying to keep pace with them and ducking as a piece of Vehicon sailed past his head. "Y'all look kinda exposed. D'ya think a shield generator would help?"

Ayer's Rock

Skydive watched as his fellow Aerialbot brothers took their shots on the Fallen and his minions. He then noticed the Vehicons taking their own unplanned flight just like Waspinator did but this time in mass. He took down a few as they went flying by. As the debris went flying, he saw the shield Hex held up in front of his new leader. The anvil portion was putting all they had into taking it down. Sometimes the best way to drop a shield is to take out the source which looked like Hex. This gave him some ideas even though Prowl would probably grind him for them later.

>>Slingshot, time to use your great pinpoint skills and knock out the staff Axle is holding. Fireflgiht, Air Raid, and I will target Hex directly in hopes of making him drop the shield protecting himself and the Fallen. I know there is a team who is designed to take down Hex but we could lend them a hand on getting Hex away from his new master. Fireflight and Air Raid, follow my lead with whatever you have left.<<

Skydive unloaded a couple of his missiles at Axle with Fireflight launching his fire fog missiles as well.


Hammer Squad

Ground Striker continued to follow the lion former Con leader around the base and held fire until he noticed the hologram drop. He then heard the beast Con announce the attack. It amused Ground Striker the Cons seemed to have more animal alt modes then the Bots. He wondered how Adaptus would have accepted beast formers as well as the more typical vehicle or weapon formers. If he understood the deity well enough, Adaptus probably would have welcome all forms regardless of shape or origin. The one thing he was certain of is Adaptus would not have liked the Fallen taking over a mechanoid. Shaking himself internally, Ground Striker refocused on the fight and stopped his movement in preparation of his own assault. He raised his main cannon and his missile pods. Once the range was calculated and trajectory plotted, he fired at the lower portion of the Fallen hoping to take his legs out from underneath of him.

Anvil Squad

Everything was now moving fast for the anvil squad with Vehicons flyiing at them just like Waspinator was a few moments ago. Hot Spot took aim at the Vehicons and tried to dodge the return fire form Drag Strip. With him not being the most agile of mechs, Hot Spot took a decent shot from Drag Strip's weapon which made him lose two of his back left tires and damage enough to roll him over a couple of times. He was prone on his side long enough to have a Vehicon skid off of his left side causing sparks and a little more damage. Hot Spot then transformed into robot mode after the shield was tossed up and jogged carefully up to Prowl.

"Prowl, sir, I hate to say it but I think the overall power levels of the heralds are also increased. My left arm has enough proof from a glancing blow from Drag Strip. We need to somehow bring Fallen down to our level and I hope the hammer portion will do just that so we can pin him against the rock instead of trying to shoot up at him. I'm not engineer but often times I and my squad had seen buildings drop from a fire because all or most of the support beams were gone. Instead of shooting at the shield, maybe we should shoot below and literally drop Hex to our level."

Not waiting on a reply, Hot Spot fired his cannons on the rock below Axle in hopes it would melt the rock enough for the mech to fall down in front of them. The flames reached up in front of the shield by a few inches.

_________________

All by his lonesome, Octane got bored and quickly. The only action he saw was some of the Vehicons finding their way back which he easily sliced away with his sword.

"Huh, looks like all this Fallen can do is pick up things and toss things. I bet such a trick takes some sort of concentration. Maybe he doesn't have any real weapons so he is using our troops against us. Admittedly it is a smart move since it does help thin us out more. If he keeps this up, Onslaught will have to be forced to order me into the fray especially since the Autobot triple changers got their tails kicked. At least I'm getting one of my requests even if it isn't by Onslaught. Those Autobot triples should be cleaning the feet of Blitzy, 'Train, and myself instead of thinking they can take down a cyberfox let alone the Fallen."

Australia - Uluru - Base of Ayers Rock

>>"Anvil squad, hang back here and dig in! Let the vehicons take the initial brunt of the Fallen’s fury. Continue to fire at will, but don’t get too close just yet. Springer, Broadside, Sandstorm, the Vehicons are incoming. Try to avoid friendly fire. Try to keep the Fallen and his heralds on top of Ayers Rock if you can. Remember everyone, we are the anvil. We must form an immovable wall until the hammer is poised and ready to strike!">"It's me, Warwolf. Don't bite me. We're going to hold the line and focus fire on the Fallen. That's our job. Keep moving, and I'll fire at him from your back.">"Hey, Warwolf,">"Try to avoid the doom raining from above, yeah?"<<

Warwolf let out a deep snarl as he dug his clawed feet further into the earth to propel himself and the femme riding atop of him further towards their objective.

Dead End! Keep your radar on enemy movement!

"Oh what's the point?" Dead End asked in the deadpan tone he was famous for as he shifted out of his Pontiac alt mode beside his commander, Motormaster. "There's one of them over there squaring off with Howlstrike, we can see Drag Strip straight ahead, the big guy is launching vehicons from atop of the rock... Why bother?..." The maroon Stunticon drew his weapon sluggishly and readied it while he activated his long-range sensors just to appease his Commander.

"Look, they're raining down on us... Nothing new to report here." Dead End coldly replied aiming his compressed air rifle into the air. He fired a slug into a Vehicon who was approaching their position which stopped the living projectile in mid air, causing it to fall back as opposed to continuing on its intended path.

"Oh yeah, that was one closing in on us. Annnnd looks like you've got a few more coming your way from the North. Got about 150 feet or so..."



The intense light from Needlenose's rockets exploding overhead caught the attention of Tailgate who looked up from his scan while still holding himself back inside Magnus' trailer. He peered out the side of Magnus' trailer to find hundreds of Vehicon drones raining from the sky. The sight was one the minibot had never fathomed of happening before, such a power being used was completly foreign to him. Sure, a mech like Magnus or Motormaster would have no problem hoisting a bot over their heads and tossing them around, but this...This was something beyond his comprehension.

"Those drones!" Tailgate cried as he rose to his feet inside the car storage area of the trailer. "They need help! Not to be shot down!" The cyan and white scout turned towards the back of the trailer and made his way for the access ladder that lead to the upper deck of the trailer platform. The steps were human-sized, but at least the minibot still had something remotely capable of climbing up upon. The trailer rocked as the Autobot Commander continued to speed one. Tailgate stumbled to get a proper footing as Bluestreak hopped aboard, making the situation harder once more.

"Hey! What's shaking Blue'??" Jazz welcomed the gunner as he fired another round of his photon rifle up the rock formation. "Welcome aboard the Magnus Express! AKA, our Mobile-Mech with Armored-Tech!" Bluestreak seemed to waste no time in opening fire on the vehicon projectiles. His function as a gunner seemed to paying off very well from their mobile vantage point. With him providing covering fire while Jazz and Chameleon focused on the Fallen and his heralds, it sure would make things easier on their end of this assault.

“Don’t worry, fellas, I got you covered! Just focus on the Fallen and Hex while I clear the way of vehicon obstacles!"

"NO WAIT!!" Tailgate cried over the roar of battle as darted for the Autobot trio, attempting to pull Bluestreak's rifle away from his current line of sight. "They aren't just drones! They're Cybertronians, just like we are! They have a spark too! I know we're in a war with them, but we can't just kill them, we gotta help them out!" Tailgate continued to tug on the gunner's firearm, hoping his words could spark something in any of the Autobots' minds here.

>>"Anvil squad, hang back here and dig in! Let the vehicons take the initial brunt of the Fallen’s fury. Continue to fire at will, but don’t get too close just yet. Springer, Broadside, Sandstorm, the Vehicons are incoming. Try to avoid friendly fire. Try to keep the Fallen and his heralds on top of Ayers Rock if you can. Remember everyone, we are the anvil. We must form an immovable wall until the hammer is poised and ready to strike!"<<

Broadside rolled his optics at the sudden communication as he peered up the side of the rock “I think the Dinobots have bolted from the energon hangar before someone dead bolted the door” he said pointing at Dragstrip running around near the decepticons. “Someone might wanna inform captain killjoy” he added sarcastically

"Man, Hardhead got me good up there. How you two doing? Your alt modes still capable of any sort of use?"

Broadside sighed then started climbing again “yeah cause a slagging huge boat is gonna be of great use to me getting up this Frugging rock and I’m still dizzy from the tailspin Dragstrip put me in” Broadside growled at Springer as he dug his fingers into the rock and hauled himself up the rock cussing and berating to himself as he climbed placing his axe onto his back along with his rifle.

“If we keep this pace up we’ll end up facing the fallen alone nothing like a suicide mission to oil your gears”

Broadside peered across to his comrade Sandstorm "So you still happy you brought all that extra weaponry on this leisurely climb?"

Australia - East of Ayers Rock

The Stryker armored vehicle bounced over the uneven desert terrain as Hardhead pursued the cybernetic wolf that was beginning to gain distance on the slower herald. Still, the green warrior’s alt mode was far better suited for this kind of topography then the vast majority of Autobot vehicular modes. Hardhead was enjoying much more traction, allowing his tires to keep a firmer grip on the sandy ground beneath him. Unfortunately, Howlstrike’s alternate mode was a four-legged beast, not unlike those of his former Predacon brethren, which gave him a slight advantage over the lumbering military vehicle. However, the herald found it amusing that the tracker picked an Earthen beast mode so similar to those of his old teammates. Perhaps this traitor wasn’t as much an Autobot as he claimed to be.

Still within firing range, Hardhead let another volley of incendiary shells fly towards the retreating mechanical timber wolf. One explosion erupted very close to the lupine adversary, shrouding him in a thick cloud of sand and dust, temporarily hiding him from view. Where are you, Howl? I know you’re there somewhere? The green herald thought inwardly as his scanners focused on the dust cloud as it began to shrink with each passing astrosecond. Hardhead half expected to see a metal corpse rotting in the sun, but somehow he knew that the tracker was not yet down for the count. Soon, though, very soon!

As the dust settled and the former Predacon’s silhouette came back into view, the Stryker armored vehicle prepared to finish its target off with another volley. However, before Hardhead could fire off another shot, Blindside seemingly came out of nowhere and slammed into the warrior’s side, sending both mechs careening end over end across the sand-covered ground. The herald of war transformed back into his robot mode as his momentum sent him tumbling into a deep ditch. He was uncertain if this trench was one dug by the vehicons or a natural one. It didn’t really matter as the indentation in the ground brought Hardhead to a sudden stop, allowing him to quickly regain his composure and pick himself up off the desert floor.

“You will regret that, Autobot!” Hardhead bellowed as he walked up and out of the trench while the blind tactician produced a pair of energy sabres on either arm, taunting the green herald in the process. “Yessss, I remember you, Blindside! I'm afraid your puny little energy weapons will do you no good!” The former Autobot soldier drew out his two shatterblasters and took aim at his new opponent before unleashing a torrent of diamond-hard shards at the disabled mech. “Let’s see how well you dodge these, you sightless freak!!! Ha ha!!”
_________

Howlstrike tried to stay as far ahead of the green herald as his four legs could possibly take him. Unfortunately, the front left shoulder had a shard embedded deep within it and all of the quick movements from his running were causing said shard to dig deeper into his joint. In fact, a thin trickle of energon was now leaking from the ever worsening wound, which made it increasingly more difficult for the tracker to keep up his current speed.

I’m gonna rip your guts out, Hardhead! I swear to Primus, you’re going to suffer like no other mech has ever suffered before! Howlstrike’s thoughts were quite literally shattered when another volley of incendiary shells erupted all around him, one of which came a little too close for comfort. The blast sent the mechanical timber wolf barreling sideways before he came to rest at the base of a small sand dune. The former Predacon anticipated another follow-up attack, but apparently one was not forthcoming, at least not until the dust had settled.

The wolf-former righted himself onto all fours, his internal sensors registering the new damage done by the recent explosion. It was nothing too serious, just some more dents and scorch marks across his chassis. Howlstrike certainly looked battle worn and he had only been facing one adversary. That fact alone made it clear just how tough these heralds really were. They were certainly not to be underestimated. You’re still going to suffer!

With the cloud of dust now gone, Howlstrike was able to set his scanners back in the direction he had just come from and quickly realized why there had been no follow up attack. Blindside had finally shown up and rammed Hardhead off the proverbial road, knocking him into a ditch. “Well, well, looks like you’re going to earn your keep after all, Blindy,” the former Predacon growled under his breath as he began to swiftly head back towards the pair, increasing his speed as much as he could as he went. There was no time to waste as Blindside was now facing down the Fallen’s herald alone and would almost certainly need back up. That became even more clear once the green warrior had picked himself up out of the ditch and unleashed a steady stream of shards at the disabled mech.

Leaping down into the same long trench Hardhead had just been in, the mechanical wolf stayed low and near the bottom of the embankment as he closed the distance between himself and the green behemoth. Positioned right where he needed to be, Howlstrike stopped and peered up the side of the ditch where he could see Hardhead standing at the top, the herald's back facing him. As the emerald warrior was distracted, laughing maniacally at Blindside, the wolf-former raced up the embankment and leapt onto Hardhead’s back, digging his various claws into his opponent's armored plating.

“What the...?” Hardhead exclaimed as the sudden attack from behind forced his aim into the sand and away from Blindside. Wasting no time, Howlstrike found Hardhead’s back-mounted 120mm cannon and wrapped his snout around the base of the long barrel. The mechanical wolf’s fangs bit deep into weapon until the barrel was crushed like a tin can, almost completely severing it. “Agggghhhhh!!! You fragger!!!” The enraged herald dropped both of his shatterblasters as he reached his hands around for the beast on his back. “Come here, you little cretan! Come meet your doom!!”

Hardhead swung himself around violently in an attempt to dislodge his assailant. Then, as if almost by chance, the green warrior located and grabbed a hold of Howlstrike’s tail. “There you are, beast!” Using all of his strength, the green warrior yanked on the wolf’s tail and pulled the former Predacon off of his damaged cannon before flinging him helplessly back into the Cybertronian-made trench. “You’re mine now, Howl!” Hardhead yelled as he jumped down the embankment and quickly approached the Autobot hunter who had landed hard at the bottom and was now lying on his right side. “I will destroy you with my bare hands!!”

Kneeling next to the stunned Howlstrike, Hardhead immediately placed an armored knee joint directly onto the wolf-former’s bleeding left shoulder, pressing down with all of his weight and pinning the creature securely to the ground. Using both hands, the green herald then grabbed the upper and lower jaws of the mechanical beast as it roared in pain. “You know, I saw this maneuver in a human-made movie once, Howl. It was called King Kong. This big ape ripped a dinosaur’s jaws apart, killing it in the process. Let’s see if that happens here, too! Ha ha!!!”

As his laughter filled the air, Hardhead began to pull the timber wolf’s jaws in opposite directions. Howlstrike tried to fight it, attempting to close his jaws as his lupine legs flailed erratically while trying to claw the green herald off of him. Hardhead’s weight was just too much, though. The former Predacon had no place to go, unable to transform due to the physical stress his body was under as well as his current positioning. With his life on the line and his jaws on the verge of becoming dislocated, Howlstrike opened a private comm line in a last desperate attempt at survival:

>>”Blindside, get this fragger off of me! Use the syringe! NOW!!!”<<

Shuttle Longevity – Hold One – Combat Casualty Care

With a cruel smile Darkride pulled away, but only far enough to give Veneer some breathing space. It wouldn’t last long. Darkride’s smile grew in width as thoughts of torture filled his wicked mind.

The interrogator’s movement gave Veneer enough room to free his shoulders. And a moment later the nurse had pressed both hands to both of Darkride’s shoulders and shoved. “Get off of ME!” Once the purple mech was far enough away Veneer lifted his leg and sent a hard push kick to Darkride’s stomach.

“Agh!” Darkride cried out as he hunched over. Veneer paused and watched as the herald grunted before he realized he should be running. But the moment Darkride’s optics met his Veneer froze. Precious seconds passed before the nurse came to his senses and began to back away.

He didn’t make it very far as his attacker was already on the move. Moments later Veneer was falling backward. His head slammed against the floor knocking his optics offline for the second time.

He moaned lowly as his head lolled side to side. He felt a weight on his hips. Veneer knew what it was.

“Get….get off…me.” He groaned weakly. His head hurt and his vision hadn’t cleared quite right. And now there was a maniac straddling his hips pinning him to the floor.

Veneer’s optics started to clear up bringing into full view Darkride’s grinning face. Veneer grunted and tried to buck up. But Darkride stayed put. “Renew your struggling. I rather enjoy it.” Darkride leaned down, “It makes it all the more fun.”

“Slag off!” Veneer renewed his attempts which only caused Darkride to chuckle. “I told you before. You are not him because your scent is wrong. Now I know you are not him.” The Angel of Death moved in even closer, his mouth against Veneer’s audio. “You still have your optics.” He whispered.

The struggling trapped mech continued to buck and jostle only to remain stuck beneath the smaller herald. Why was this so damned hard? The ‘Con was so much smaller than he was.
Veneer suddenly stopped moving. His optics widened with realization. The last thing the interrogator said to him echoed in his audios.

Veneer’s mouth went slack as he was finally able to focus on that evil grin above him. “It was you. It was you.” He repeated lowly. The shock of the revelation wore off and was replaced by pure rage. Veneer bucked up violently shaking from side to side trying even harder to remove Darkride. “I’ll kill you! Get off me so I can kill you, you filthy slagger!”

Darkride let out a steady stream of rousing laughter as he held tight to the enraged ‘Bot beneath him. This was becoming so much fun. And this nurse, well he was a delight.

In that brief moment of reprieve Veneer found the opportunity to make a move. With a violent tug Veneer removed one arm from beneath Darkride’s hold. The quick action caught the herald off guard giving Veneer the chance to raise his arm to send a palm heel strike directly to Darkride’s chin.

“UGH! You worthless….” Darkride cried out while checking his face for damage. In the meantime Veneer wasted no time in turning over and trying to get to his feet. He was only able to crawl several feet when he felt a clawed hand grip his ankle.

“Where do you think you are going, Veneer? We have not finished my game!” The Autobot dug his fingers into the floor plating attempting to pull himself away, but the herald continued to pull. Kicking out Veneer’s leg was caught and painfully squeezed. He cried out and stopped struggling.

Darkride chuckled. This was so much fun. “You certainly have got spunk my little pet. But I cannot have you getting up and walking out of here. So….” The interrogator raised his right hand above his head, Veneer caught only a small glimpse of the razor sharp claws before they made contact with his leg. They tore through tension cables, fluid lines and major junctions rendering the leg useless.

The pain was incredible. Veneer had never been in so much physical agony.

When the now lame Autobot’s screaming finally died down Darkride stood up, the mangled limb in hand and stared down at the exhausted mech. “Let up take this to a more private location, hmm.” He then started to drag Veneer to another more secluded location. Whimpering lowly Veneer dug his fingers into the floor leaving deep gouges in their wake. He knew he wasn’t coming out of this alive.

“Blindside.” He whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Australia - Uluru

Shadowing completed his attack and swung back into the air. Within his vehicle form he frown and sent more data to Shockwave as to what had just happened. He then moved close to Divebomb.

"These kind of attacks are not going to do anything with them raising shield. I suggest organizing simultaneous attacks from different angles. Try to overwhelm their attention and hopefully get in a surprise hit.

Australia - Uluru

"Yes Sir!" Decibel replied to Prowl's order and aimed his weaponry in the direction he had ordered. He opened fire.

Australia – Uluru

Sand and dirt kicked up as Axle’s alt mode plowed across the nearly barren landscape. He had his accelerator down but the uneven traction and his size made it difficult to keep up his pace. The field medic grumbled as he made his way closer and closer to the rock.

He knew both Chromedome and Rewind were close behind and that he needed them in order to get Hex sedated and out to safety.

>>"Axle!"<< Rewind chirped over the comms, >>"You're the only one Hex knows really well. Do you think you can lure him away from the Fallen somehow? Once we do, I can shoot his feet with my glue gun, and Chromedome can stick him."<<

Rewind’s voice filtered through his comm forcing Axle to refocus his attention on the archivist. He was right. The only one who Hex would have any kind of reaction to was him.

Axle slowed down and finally came to a stop. He transformed back to his bipedal mode and jogged to a makeshift dune that had been dug out by the ‘Cons’ drones. The location was ideal. He could see the rock, but it wasn’t close enough for them to be seen completely by the Fallen and his heralds.

The medic looked up at the monument and noticed that the Fallen was still present. Not at all surprising since he had the perfect vantage point from up there. He was also well aware that the Vehicons that had been sent in as their first line of offense were still airborne.

Axle took another quick glance up at the rock. His optics locked on the force field and Hex who seemed to be the one who creating it. “Force field? What else can he do?” Axle mumbled.

>>”Chromedome! Rewind! Over here!”<< Axle beckoned the two mechs to his location with several waves of his hand. >>”I’m going to get Hex’s attention. Make him come down off that rock so we can handle him better. You two stay out of sight. Chances are if he sees you he won’t hold back.”<<

Axle glanced up at Hex who was holding onto the Fallen’s void scepter. >>”When I give you the go ahead, Chromedome, move in and sedate him.”<< He gave a nod before he stood up from the behind the dune.

Carefully he stepped closer toward the rock but only enough so as not to lose sight of Hex and his master. So focused on the young bot Axle never noticed the flying limb of a recently dismembered Decepticon drone. The metal appendage struck him hard enough to send him flying onto his back. The impact split his cheek open causing a trail of energon to trickle down his face.

Slowly Axle pushed himself back up to his feet. He ran his hand gently down his face and hissed in pain as his fingertips slid over the gash. “Damn. Wish that hadn’t happened.” He grumbled to himself.

The former doctor shook off the incident and opened up the private comm link that he and Hex share.
________

The firepower being directed at him and his master was being easily deflected; however the constant bombardment from the abominations below and above was becoming tiresome. Hex craved to be with his brothers. He wanted to sow carnage. He wanted to kill.

The Fallen could feel his herald’s restlessness. They were both connected perhaps more so than his other three heralds.

The demi-god glanced in Hex’s direction a smile on his face. “You wish to cover your hands in the life blood of these creatures.” It wasn’t a question. Hex took a quick peek at his master and sighed. Just then a series of missiles fired by one of the Aerialbots slammed into the force field. Hex grit his teeth as he supplied more power to dome covering he and his master.

“Cause carnage young one. Show them how much power you truly have.” The fire engulfed Prime raised his hands higher lifting whatever debris and drones that was still in the air making room at the base of the rock. From his side Hex stepped forward and raised the scepter. He smiled down at the mechs below as a swirling tower of fire rose from the ground. And then another, and then two more. Each one positioned at four cardinal points around Ayers Rock.

Fiery tornadoes would hold most at bay, but there would be others that would break through their defenses. Let them come. The Prime thought. Let them come to meet their fate.

>>”Hex? Hex. It’s me. It’s Axle. Please I need to see you. Meet me at this location. I can help you.”<< The medic’s voice came through Hex’s comm line loud and clear. The young mech looked down at the activity below. He couldn’t see his former guardian in the chaos on the ground. His head snapped back when the Fallen’s hand pressed down gently on his shoulder. “Find him.” He gestured to Hex’s comm and then out beyond the rock. “Find him and bring him to me. He will watch as his race is wiped from existence. And then…” the Fallen reached out and took Hex’s chin in his hand. “And then he shall be the first to be devoured by our Dark God of Chaos.”

>>”Axle? I…I’m coming. I just need to get away from him.”<< Hex smiled up at his master.