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Mysterious Research Bunker

For a reason or another, Hun-Grrr had assumed his dragon form once again as he watched his men clearing the entrance. To the Terrorcon leader it came almost instictively. Perhaps he just subconciously preferred his two-headed alt. form. There was no denying that the two sharp toothed maws allowed him to feed faster. Destruction-wise though, his both modes were equally able.

As his Terrorcons had managed to rip and tear large enough opening to the entrance for Mindwipe to push through, Hun-Grrr was quick to follow the hypnotist. If there was anything worth of looting, he wanted the first digs. The entrance however, was still too small for his Algean razorbeast mode. Thus, only one of Hun-Grrr's heads pushed into the darkness of bunker entrance and began pretty much eating the opening to be wide enough to allow him to pass through while the other head turned to address his troops.

"Blot! Ripperrrsnapperrr! Sinnerrrtwin! You will stay here and keep watch! Protect the bunkerrr! If Cutthroat shows up, show him what I think of deserrrting!"

Before the head could continue, it had to practically throw up a large pile of scrap metal and soil that had been processed through Hun-Grrr's internal machinery. The scrap being leftovers of a process that turned the most useful metals the large Terrorcon had eaten into projectiles to shot through the mass effect accelerators in both of his mouths.

"Ripperrrsnapperrr, you're in charrrge! Inforrrm me if trouble rrrises. Rrrememberrr, we have no rrreinforrrcements to call upon, so yourrr threat analysis betterrr be accurate." Hun-Grrr finally managed to add before the second head attacked the entrance as well and in matter of nanokliks, the Terrorcon leader pushed his massive form through the opening.

Unlike many other Transformers, Hun-Grrr was far more adapted to use all of his sensors to read his surroundings rather than relying on sight alone. The enormity of the tunnel behind the entrance was the first surprise Hun-Grrr felt as his sensors adapted to the lack of light. The tunnel was large enough to allow several Omega Destructor to stand there in line - although the size of the doorway in the end of the corridor suggested this area was the only place large enough in the bunker for something as large as an Omega. Perhaps whoever had lived here had had an Omega Sentinel to guard the bunker. This corridor could easily have been used as a shelter and maintainance location for such an immense guardian. Hun-Grrr however, did not marvel the size of the tunnel for long as Mindwipe had posed a valid observation. The walls indeed held strange glyphs that Hun-Grrr's universal translator unit could not decipher either. If it was Cybertronian, it had to be tens of millions of years old dialect that for reason or another had been erased from the databanks of Cybertronian society. Perhaps it even wasn't Cybertronian. However, they did have a specialist with them that was expected to make sense of this writing.

"If so, we betterrr not waste more time." One of Hun-Grrr's heads told Mindwipe as the beast turned and the other head poked out of the tunnel to face the Decepticons outside the entrance. "Cipherrr! Get in here! There's some odd writing on the walls we need you to decipherrr!"

Mysterious Research Bunker

Now that the boulders and debris had been removed from the entrance to the structure, Rippersnapper moved in closer to have a better look, but it seemed that the Terrorcon commander had the same idea effectively blocking the hole. The terrorist let out a low growl as he attempted to look around the hulking mass that made up the Algean razorbeast.

The white and blue mech backed off suddenly when one of Hun-Grrr’s alt mode heads turned to look at the rest of the team and growled out their orders. Figures. We can’t even head in there to tear whatever resides in there to shreds.

Nodding to his commanding officer, Rippersnapper moved back and took up a position just outside the bunker entrance. He drew his weapon and set it to its highest setting. He looked back to Hun-Grrr when the larger mech mentioned the inevitable return of Cutthroat. With any luck he would return and the rest of the team could teach him a very intimate lesson in desertion.

With a broad smile etched on his face Rippersnapper turned back to face any oncoming threats to the bunker…Cutthroat included, but at the growling tone of Hun-Grrr the terrorist looked over his shoulder. The last bit of the commander’s orders brought a renewal of his previous smile.

“As you command. And not to worry, my threat analysis is never wrong, commander.”

Cipher grew slightly nervous when he overheard Hun-Grrr’s order for the entirety of his team to stand guard outside the bunker…which meant his body guard would be staying while he advanced alone. Well, not entirely alone he did have Mindwipe, but there was still Hun-Grrr himself. Cipher was sure the Terrorcon commander had it in for him.

The scientist let out a quick yip of surprise when Hun-Grrr bellowed out his name from one of his heads. Cipher twitched his servos slightly before he carefully moved to tunnel’s entrance. With his smaller stature, Cipher was able to squeeze past Hung-Grrr and the wall without any trouble.

“Well now. Let’s see. Mmm. MMhm. Yes…”

The scientist had moved directly to the highly stylized glyphs that adorned part of one wall. He hadn’t seen this particular writing in some time, but that did not mean he couldn’t decipher them. With his hand gently rubbing his chin, Cipher got a much closer and longer look at the wall.

At the beginning of the message the scientist stopped and placed his hand a top the carved glyphs. Feeling them seemed to put them into perspective. After a bit of quiet contemplation, Cipher turned around to face Hun-Grrr and Mindwipe.

“This was an ancient Cybertronian language that fell out of fashin with the elitists. Since they were the majority leaders on the planet initiating a new more streamlined language was a very simple task.”

He turned back around to look at the wall once more as he went on.

“There are actually two different messages here. One is a warning along with a description. The other is a list of directions.”

He motioned to the first set of glyphs as he read through them aloud.

“Housed within this atrium the great Omega Destructor. Guardian to those within…destroyer to those without. And here…”

From the first grouping of stylized lettering Cipher moved to the other.

“This one mentions directions through the bunker, but they seem to be incomplete. Part of the directions is missing. Let’s see, wind away through the forum, drop below land, take heed in gait…”

Cipher shook his head gently as he stared at the last line of the message. There just wasn’t enough information. However, the rest was easy to understand. He turned around completely to look directly at Mindwipe and Hun-Grrr.

“Based on this we’ll need to move out of this area and find a set of stairs or something that we could use to go below ground. Whatever was housed here is set below the surface. Once we get down there we’ll need to watch where we walk. Unfortunately, with the missing information I cannot determine whether there are traps down there or if there is a certain count to each of our steps. If it’s the latter we could miss what we’re looking for. The former, however, I’m sure we could make it through…especially with you, commander.”

Research Bunker

After he and the other Terrorcons had haphazardly torn themselves an entrance in to the building, Sinnertwin took the opportunity to plow his path the rest of the way inside as quickly as he could. The external threats had been dealt with, much to his voracious satisfaction, and he was looking forward to dealing the same sort of vicious mauling on anything that might try to do the same in here.

Padding forward down one of the darkened hallways, he could hear the others speaking of glyphs and languages, none of which was any concern to him. Sinnertwin wanted to find something that meant to do them harm--and harm it first.

Between his optics and the glow of the flames churning in each of his sets of nostrils, the Terrorcon was able to trek forward without incident.

"Peace and quiet. Won't last. Can't last. Something will try....and that something will fail," he grumbled, one of his heads occasionally dropping to absorb any olfactory data that he could while the other remained focused strictly on the optical.

Bunker Entrance

Wheelie looked at Mindwipe with curiosity at the Decepticon's explanation. A weapon? Here? All of this time, he had a means to protect himself from the nasty monsters of the night?

Better late then never.

"What does it do? Do you have a clue?" Wheelie asked while keeping stride with the Bat.

He paused when he heard the shredding of metal and the collision between steel and stone. They had broken through. It was sad, though, he had been there before on a salvage mission and he had explored the stable areas. He had blocked the door so no creature could come in. It was old, but it could hold up a Chaosterous standing on the ground above it. In most places, that is.

Wheelie stepped forward and picked up a stone, then walked into the open room. While Cipher was deciphering text on the walls, which Wheelie never attempted to look at, Wheelie walked past Cipher and tossed the stone. It flew forward and struck the ground, then slid for a few inches. Suddenly, a pair of metal jaws burst from their long sleep to close around the rock, where they laid to rest. The clash of metal rang throughout the room. This was the sign of a barbaric bear trap.

He leaned back to Hun-Grr, "Watch for a trap, wouldn't want someone turned to scrap."

"Since you don't know any more, Wheelie should tell you that he was here before!" Wheelie said before saying some more, "I will share what I know, but I need to know where you wish to go!"

Mysterious Research Bunker

"Seriously? Who the slag writes inscriptions that fragging melodramatic?" Hun-Grrr growled in response to Cipher's translation of the glyphs written on the walls. "Orrr adds permanent instructions to the walls of his hidden lairrr? All codes are eventually cracked. Unless. Diverrrsion?"

Just as the Terrorcon commander ended his sentence, Wheelie decided to spring one of the ancient traps that seemed to be still functioning despite all the odds. And it had caught Hun-Grrr's attention, "The rrrunt has been here?! Does the rrrunt know what powerrrs the traps then?!" One of Hun-Grrr's heads roared and moved to face the small Transformer. "Mindwipe claimed this facility is overrr 100 000 vorrrns old! If it is still powered - I want that powerrrsource!"

At the very same time the right head of the two-headed beast was demanding Wheelie to provide him answers, the left one was still surveying their surroundings. "Marrrks and signs of a battle everywhere. A commando unit went in once. And apparently got out as well. Not without casualties." It spoke up, "You are standing on someone's nearrrly incenerated corrrpse Mindwipe."

Giving some time for his words to sink in, Hun-Grrr continued, "Most of the traps must be eitherrr disarrrmed orrr destrrroyed. Unless the whoeverrr that constructed this place was a genius that could arrrm traps that could last epochs until triggered. Traps that could rearms themselves..."

The left of the massive Terrorcon had hardly finished though, "Forrr whateverrr it is worrrth, the Omega Destructorrrs neverrr went deeperrrr."

Suddenly Hun-Grrr's gaze stopped wandering from wall to wall and began to stare at something in the far end of the hall. "There... do you see it?" He asked from no one in particular and activated a powerful spotlight that illuminated even the far end of the hall. And with it, a massive surprise.

Against the far end wall of the hall sat what was left of the giant guardian of the facility. The enormous Transformer that made even Hun-Grrr look like a mouse in comparison had been torn open and practically soldered into the wall. The damage had been so throughout that the Omega had practically become one with the facility. Were it not have been for the Terrorcon's acute sensors and knowledge of the being in question, Hun-Grrr would likely have missed the giant's remains himself. It really was no wonder that Wheelie had not taken notice of something so much larger than he was in his salvage trip to the facility.

"As for that Omega Destructorrr, there's your answerrr." Hun-Grrr's left head spoke up while the right one grinned viciously in front of Wheelie and more or less continued from where the left one had stopped. "Most interesting you neverrr noticed this rrrunt."

"Then again... these two would have likely overrrlooked it as well." Hun-Grrr added, his gaze passing by both Cipher and Mindwipe, "They wanted it bad. The ones that assaulted this place. They had 2 or 3 Omega Destructorrrs rrreading frrrom the damage that one has suffered." Indeed, the massive amount of force and heat that could cause something like that could only have been generated by the claw arms and plasma cannons of other Omegas. There also appeared to be an elevator shaft next to the dead giant but it had collapsed from the force of the Omega being smashed against the wall.

"Typical, the quickest way has been sealed." The Terrorcon leader grunted and turned both of his heads to face Cipher and Mindwipe. "Stop loitering and tell the rrrunt where you want to go!"

Research Bunker

To say that Mindwipe was enthralled....well...even the word "understatement" did not quite do justice to the Decepticon's current level of intrigue. A facility with this much history and it was now theirs? Uncontested? Mindwipe could hardly have asked for more.

Though, that wasn't to say it had always been uncontested ground. It most certainly had been during its extensive history. The evidence was all around them, even as Mindwipe clung to Cipher's every word since the meaning of the glyphs was beyond his capability to understand.

"How fascinating..." Mindwipe began, trailing off as he watched Wheelie spring one of the bunker's traps. Likely only the first that they would encounter. It was a shame. This Wheelie might make for a fine Decepticon scout. But he was hardly going to make it to the branding process if he kept triggering everything as he seemed to have a penchant for doing since they arrived, be it sentient or otherwise.

Better him than me, of course.

Mindwipe turned to look as Hungrr had indicated another point of interest further down the hall, as well as the corpse that he was standing on. He backed curiously away from the rusted ruins, running a hand gently along them, opening his mind to anything that might try and commune with him. No such luck, in this instance. Hungrr's new destination caught Mindwipe's attention just as quickly and he was in the shadow of the massive Terrorcon's footsteps with all necessary haste. When he had entered the much larger room, Mindwipe's metallic jaw dropped slightly. It was practically a battlefield--albeit contained--the likes of which would not have been seen since the early days of the Great War. Mindwipe had never even heard of stories of Omega-level resources clashing against each other. Whoever wanted this--they wanted it badly. Whoever owned it wanted to keep it just as badly.

"By Primus....," Mindwipe began again, though his reverie did not last long, as Hungrr's command quickly jerked him back in to the here and now. "The juiciest morsels are clearly locked away below."

Mindwipe absent-mindedly picked up a piece of rubble near the destroyed elevation system before casually tossing aside. He looked to Wheelie. "You must know another way. Quick or not, we did not come here just to sight-see. Commander Scorponok will expect results."

And I will deliver, or my end will not be far behind.

Mysterious Research Bunker

The trap that Wheelie had sprung was a surprise to Cipher as were the reasons behind providing a map of the entire location. The smaller mech took another look at the scripts and glyphs scrawled over the walls. They had seemed melodramatic, but one had to remember they were written centuries ago by Cybertronians who were now extinct. At least their culture, which still remained shrouded in some kind of mystery, was now nonexistent.

Still he couldn’t help but feel how alive the site actually was. Of course there were presence of the Terrorcons, Mindwipe and Wheelie, but there was also more. Cipher looked around the room spinning in place as he took in every nook.

The scientist's face contorted into a shocked expression. That shock soon morphed into pure fright. There were images right in front of his optics. Compressed flashes, but they were there. The Omegas. Cybertronians moving about. Everything, but only brief glimpses, right before him. Cipher shut off his optics desperately trying ti will them away. It must have worked because when he on-lined his optics everything was gone save for the mechs that had been with him.

The slim mech shook his head just as Hun-Grrr’s questions to Wheelie caught the scribe’s attention and he turned to look at the large Terrorcon and the young mech. If the traps were still in use then, yes, there had to be some kind of power source. Cipher moved to stand in front of the little mech and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“The last time you were here, could you detect any kind of energy signature? Even a faint one?”

The musings of the Terrorcon Commander caught his attention as Hun-Grrr mused on the signs of a battle. Slowly Cipher took a couple of steps back and lowered his gaze to the floor where Mindwipe happened to be standing. The mention of the hypnotist standing on someone’s corpse made Cipher twist his face up in disgust.

“Gah! I am by no means superstitious, but corpses littered within a bunker we know nothing about, with the exception of knowing whoever occupied it had been able to keep it from falling into their enemy’s hands by having an Omega presnet, just might fall into the bad omen category.”

The scientist's optics moved in the direction Hun-Grrr's spot light shone in and gasped at what the bright illumination was highlighting. Good Primus!

"An Omega."

His voice was low and shaky.

When the shock of the sight wore off Cipher backed away and stopped next to the group’s little guide; he bent down so that he was face to face with him, his voice was desperate when he finally addressed Wheelie.

“There has to be some way to reach the lower levels. Perhaps some kind of access shaft, or…or…I’ll go out on a limb here and say, a hidden entrance?”

He looked up from the little orange mech and scanned the walls once more. There was nothing of use. Nothing but erratic and cryptic messages that either ran on or simply made no logical sense. Cipher let out a low sigh before sweeping his optics back toward the shaft that had collapsed under the sheer weight of the Omega. Nothing's ever easy is it?

Research Bunker

Though he had traveled off in another direction, eventually Sinnertwin's senses lead him back to where the others were gathered. Though the majority of them continued to have their attention focused on the almost protoformic Cybertronian that they had managed to encounter on this planet, Sinnertwin's path and curiosities were still driven primarily by his senses. That, he knew, was what would lead him to the most interesting prey. If there was any to be found within these walls.

"There is life here. Below," Sinnertwin snarled, one of his heads still eagerly taking in any available olfactory data from the ground.

Whatever it was, it had found a way to eke out a living within the enclosed walls of this bunker. Whether it was native to this planet or not, Sinnertwin did not know.

What he did know was that he wanted to be the first to encounter it.

Bunker

Wheelie soon found himself at the center of all attention. It seemed that they still needed a guide after all, much to Wheelie's joy as he did not want to be devoured by Hun-Grr.

He turned to face the area where Hun-Grr lit with a spotlight, apparently the statuesque figures were the infamous Omegas.

"So that is the thing you have respected, it is smaller than I expected!" Wheelie stated with a gleeful skip over to the large foot of the giant, which he promptly sat upon.

He listened to Mindwipe, dangling his legs forward and back. He leaped from the foot and made his way to a vine covered wall.

"Follow me and you will see!" Wheelie said as he pulled out his slingshot and deposited a stone into it.

Pulling it toward his faceplate until he felt the heat of the stone, he aimed for an unseen control pad covered by vorns of vines. Firing his shot, the red glow of fire began to erupt from the wall as the vines burned off, revealing a circular door.

"Before we go deeper into this tomb, we'll need to get to the main circuit breaker room!" Wheelie said as he motioned towards Hun-Grr.

"The door is too thick, would you care to punch or kick?" Wheelie asked the Terrorcon Commander with a smile, a stark contrast to what he felt towards the Commander.

Bunker

"Punch and kick. Punch and kick," Sinnertwin growled heavily, one head looking up at Wheelie as the Terrorcon walked by while the other focused on the newly-revealed door. Surely this would help lead them to the life smells that Sinnertwin had come upon only a few moments before.

"Do neither," he grumbled, before the optics on both heads began to glow fiercely. In the next instant, white-hot flames began to spew forth, pelting against the door.

Sinnertwin then backed away, circled around and then charged at the door, slamming his heads and his entire body weight against the blockage and forcing it to give way, singed metal, stone and all crashing out of his way.