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Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

Being all too certain that no other Autobot on the battlefield possessed any chance against him, Motormaster focused his attention of the Protectobot commander that had been seemingly following him through half of the galaxy. While Hot Spot's words failed to cause the desired effect from Motormaster, they did annoy the towering Stunticon. Under his thick durabellium skin, Motormaster was ultimately very close to your typical school bully or the alpha male of the college football team. Well, your typical school bully with sadistic and psychotic tendencies rather than bad rising. Nevertheless, challenges towards his superiority over others did bring out his more primal side, the one that would settle for no less than total humilation of his competion. Unfortunately for the Autobots, Motormaster was not as easily baited to act out of sheer anger than some other Decepticons. And speaking of the other Decepticons, they had better to prove their worth today if they wanted to avoid his wrath when the battle was over.

"Don't flatter yourself Hot Spot! After all these vorns one would think you knew me better than that!" Motormaster laughed out loud as he delivered his response to Hot Spot's insult. No, Motormaster knew he still held a psychological advantage over the Autobots and he would be damned if he threw it away just like that. It was all about pain now. Both mental and physical.

Positioning his back to face the diesel tank Octane had been draining earlier, Motormaster secured his feet into the gravel beneath him and switched between his rifle and his energon sword. With his sword flaming into life and a sadistic grin forming on his hard visage, the thuggish leader of the Stunticons moved Axle's now motionless form between himself and the approaching fire engine. If Hot Spot wanted to ram him, he had to do it through Axle, something Motormaster would certainly draw deranged pleasure from. And were the Protectobot commander fail a potential evasive manouver, Motormaster would be certain to introduce his blade to Hot Spot.

Frontier Refinery - El Dorado, Kansas

Drag Strip was disappointed that his little diversion with the flesh bag had neither fazed Hex nor slowed the crazy mech down as he performed a series of handsprings to avoid the energy blasts fired from the yellow Dodge Viper. It didn’t take long for the young ‘Bot to launch another series of arrows towards the former racer, who knew that it was imperative for him to steer clear of the new projectiles at all costs. Drag didn’t know if they were explosive tipped or had more of that corrosive substance on them. It didn’t really matter as he needed to prevent more damage to his frame regardless of the source.

“More arrows? Is this all you’ve got, Hex?!” Drag Strip shouted back as the Dodge Viper changed course and raced straight towards the Autobot’s position. It was a daring move as the arrows cut a path through the air and began to arch downwards right at him. Instead of slowing down, the low riding sports car accelerated even faster, firing his plasma energy blaster once more. The balls of energy incinerated the first couple of arrows while the rest continued towards their target. With only astroseconds to spare, Drag darted left just as the remaining projectiles struck the ground mere inches from were he had just been. “You’re a lousy shot, Auto-scrap! A femme could do better!”

Drag Strip’s taunts were meant to incite anger from the crazy mech and make him loose his focus in a fit of uncontrollable rage. Drag had seen this happen before, but he had been ill prepared to take advantage of it back at the former Decepticon base, and it had been a costly failure on his part. Now, however, the yellow Stunticon was ready and might be able to gain the upper hand if the insane ‘Bot lost control once more.

In an attempt to shake things up a little and rattle his adversary’s equilibrium, Drag Strip switched directions again, his tires screeching as he zoomed behind a crumpled wall before emerging from the other side moments later. He quickly unleashed another volley of plasma energy, this time directed at a large storage tank full of crude oil that was only a few feet from Hex’s position. If all went according to plan, the resulting explosion would at least partially engulf the young ‘Bot or hopefully knock him down long enough for Drag to get in close and deal a killing blow.

Frontier Refinery - El Dorado, Kansas

"Grah! Go--join the--Primes--in never-never land, Autoscrap!" the Stunticon cackled, he and the Autobot locked in mortal combat.

Wildrider could hear cables bending and steel giving way as Sprints pushed against his head. Despite the pain, the Stunticon Terrorist was relishing the rush of battle, especially when it was this up close and personal. Two Cybertronians trying to rip the vitals out of each other. He appreciated why Megatron loved it so much. There really was nothing like it on the rare opportunity he was able to just run wild and do it.

Not having momentum on his side at the moment, and recognizing the kill shot that was coming his way if he didn't do something, Wildrider stopped resisting and ended up being pushed off and rolling back a meter or so.

Little stain's stronger than he looks..., the Stunticon grunted internally, now recognizing the familiar annoyance of this planet's filthy soil in his joints. Not to mention the energy hits he had taken already. As he staggered forward, ready to resume their struggle, one of his leg joints gave out, causing him to pitch forward. He hadn't even been shot in the leg! Slagged circuit glitches. Wildrider pushed himself back up to his feet, his optics flashing erratically.

"You wanna kill me, Autobot? C'mon! Come finish the job!" the Stunticon taunted, since he wasn't sure he could close the short distance between himself and Sprints without going in to some sort of forced stasis lock at this point anyway.

Frontier Refinery- El Dorado, Kansas

Sprints gasped as he struggled to place his gun into Wildrider's neck, when suddenly, all the weight that had been pressing down on him was gone. Realizing it was probably a feint or other attempt to catch him off guard, Sprints tried to kip up, but when he rolled back, the pain in his shoulders shot through his systems, excruciating pain that interfered with his vision for a moment. Gasping again, this time out of pain, he rolled sideways and slowly pushed himself up, turning as he rose to face his current target.

Sprints was just as surprised as Wildrider when the 'Con fell forward and struggle to rise as Sprints just had. The battle was already taking its toll on them both, and Sprints still expected Runamuck to come barreling into him any moment. That reinforced his knowledge that Wildrider had to be finished quickly.

Then Wildrider, his optics flashing on and off as if damaged, said, "You wanna kill me, Autobot? C'mon! Come finish the job!"

Sprints stared into Wildrider's face for a moment. The enemy was kneeling before him, his weapons offline, his joints all but destroyed, energon leaking out of his ruined chassis. Yet still it sneered into his face, snidely requesting death. He raised his gun, rammed the barrel into the 'Con's face, and put that familiar pressure on the trigger...

Sprints shook his head and raised his arm, gritting his jaw through the pain, pointing the gun right at Wildrider's face. "I should. If I were smart, I'd end you here and now, like the slag you are."

Then he grinned mischievously. "But I ain't that smart, eh?" Raising his other arm faster than a human's blink, Sprints fired on each of Wildrider's elbows, shoulders, and knees, wanting to obliterate the joints to the best of his ability in the short time he spared before turning in anticipation of the oncoming Runamuck. "So long, slag."

Road 54

Onslaught had bounced planetside with as minimal an amount of fanfare as he could hope for. Just empty skies and minimal illumination. Transforming in an open field, a small dirt road quickly connected to highway 54. Just that efficiently he was now on his way to rendezvous with the Decepticons who were involved in this operation, his Combaticon unit surely right behind him.

Somewhere in the distance, his sensors could detect a cluster of human vehicles, but they didn't appear to be moving. His unite, conveniently, was headed in the other direction. The whole situation suggested to Onslaught that there had already been some collateral damage en route to completing this objective. Given that the Stunticons were involved and that Motormaster was surely imposing his brutish will over all involved--be they Stunticon or not--it was to be expected.

>>"Weapons fully charged and ready to go, Combaticons. No one takes us by surprise. Ever."<<

Road 54

Swindle, in his drab jeep form, follows Onslaught at a respectful distance. His weapons were stored in his rear compartment, ready for quickdrawing, and so far sensors were clear. The nearby vehicles were unlikely to be Autobots, the risk of organics being injured if a fight broke out there would be too high. So Swindle focused his sensors ahead, looking for the signs of war he always hoped would be slightly further away than they were.

>>Vortex, without Blastoff we need you to be our eyes. Any sign of Motormaster yet?<<

OoC: The following fight with Runamuck and Sprints has been approved by both controllers (i.e. Chuck Norris approves this RP)

IC:
El Dorado Oil Refinery - Bustin' a move

"FRAG ME!" Runamuck exclaimed loudly as he managed to roll to the side in a split-second to avoid the incoming missile that had been fired from the Autobot he barely recognised. He took a tumble into a few oil drums, spilling the contents into the sand as the missile impacted into one of the large oil bins.

It went up with a dull boom - the large oil well turning into a flaming pyro, fueled by the flowing oil - it cast a hellish light over the compressed battle. Runamuck looked over his shoulder at the burning oil fountain and breathed a colourful expression;

"Son of a Glitch...if that had hit me..." He turned back and glared at Sprints "...Oh that's it...son of a sump tank...you're mine!"

Recovering from the missile attack, Runamuck broke from the tumbled oil drums, and thundered forwards in full charge mode at Sprints as the autobot was trying to take apart Wildrider. Runamuck did one of his infamous quick-switches as he revved up and shot towards the brawling duo. Switching from charging mustang to running robot, he loosed off a few shots of his friction rifle, the wild shots ringing in a rapid spread, impacting various targets - two of them unfortunate humans who were hit with so much friction, they burst in the air like greasy red balloons, the blood spraying in all directions as they popped.

"Head's up 'Rider..I'm coming to kick aft!" Runamuck shouted as he continued to fire off shots with his gun

Runamuck's mad firing spree had clipped Sprints on the shoulder as he then switched back into full charge vehicle mode and over revved, spinning out the rear end of his vehicle mode as he throttled forwards and hit a ruined segment of a building. It acted as a ramp, and Runamuck shot through the air and, in mid flight, he transformed to robot mode and tackled Sprints to the ground, throwning in a few punches for good measure as the Decepticon and Autobot hit the red, oily sand with a hard thunk.

Runabout however, had taken over the Autobot bus Saferoute as he had charged into her in vehicle mode. On impact the Battlecharger had reverted to robot mode and swung a kick at the femme-bot. As he did so he slipped on an oil spill and landed hard on his back, crushing a few oil drums under him, one of which burst its seal, throwing the metal cap like a missile in a random direction. There was a strangled cry as one of the fleeing humans took a direct hit with the hurtling cap, the errant missile cracking its ribcage and punching a hole clean through the organic. The human hit the ground dead as Runabout picked himself back up, the oily sand sticking to his chassis as he turned and growled at the femme-bot.

Runabout turned and started throwing oil barrels at the autobot, all the while cursing her.

"Slaggin-Fraggin'-Motherglitchin'-Glitch!" He threw the oil drum and then wipped out his cannon and open fire on the oil barrel, intent on setting the crude liquid alight and burning the autobot.

[OOC: Premission was given from Baneblade for the following actions to Runabout]


Frontier Refinery- El Dorado, Kansas

Just as Runabout slipped on the spilled oil, Saferoute also fell as her kick missed the Battlecharger. Much to her horror she saw another human die in front of her, this time from one of the drum covers nearly breaking him in half. As she got herself up, picking up her rifle, her optics seemed to turn red. Already she had seen too many innocents die.

"No more." she said to herself.

As she stood up, Runabout had started throwing barrels of oil at the femme-bot. They did little to damage her, though one or two broke open upon impact, covering her with the black oil. She paid little attention to them, as she marched toward the Battlecharger with purpose.

"I told you." she started to threaten, "To stay out of my-"

Before Saferoute could finish her sentence, Runabout had fired his weapon. In an instant the oil that had surrounded and covered her ignited, engulfing her in flames. The fire scorched her, burning off her paint, sending her cooling fans into overdrive. Without panicking she got down to the ground, where the sand was, and rolled around, smothering the flames. Once the fires on her had died she got back up, and ran as fast as she could toward Runabout. Her arms and legs that were originally painted yellow were now charred black.

"No more humans are getting hurt today!" she exclaimed as she got in close to the battlecharger.

As soon as she was close enough, Saferoute grabbed Runabout, and used her great strength to lift him above her head.

"NO MORE!" she yelled, throwing the battlecharger into a large group of oil drums a few dozen meters away.

Her obstacle now out of her way, Saferoute transformed back to her bus mode, which was now mostly black from the fire damage she took. Activating her avatar again, she finally drove to an open area where many of the hostages had still remained together. Saferoute honked her horn and opened the regular and emergency exit doors.

"Hurry in here!" the bus driver shouted to the surrounding humans, "You'll be safe, I can get you out of here! Please hurry in!"

Most of the humans were timid. Despite the kind face of the "driver", most were unsure about boarding a bus that was really an alien robot in disguise. It didn't take too long for the surrounding chaos to change their minds, deciding not to take their chances against stray laser fire and giant mechanical limbs that would easily crush them.

"That's it, you'll be safe in here, I promise." the red headed bus driver assured them as they quickly scrambled into the bus.

As they boarded her, Saferoute noticed many of them were injured, burns and broken bones and lacerations. Saferoute quickly checked her GPS, looking for the nearest hospital and the quickest route.

Before long there were no more humans waiting outside. As Saferoute looked over she saw that they had all managed to find a seat. Out of the possible one-hundred the Stunticons had taken, around 70 had boarded her.

Is that all? How many others were killed?

Though Saferoute wanted to wait, or to search for any other remaining humans, she didn't have much choice. The hostages she had now needed medical attention, and they couldn't wait too long. Reluctantly she closed the doors and started driving north, onto Douglas Road.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine, I promise.", the bus driver assured her passengers, "The hospital is a mile and a half away, I'll have you there in less then ten minutes."

----------------------

"I'm glad to hear that, because I promise that we can help you.", Groove gave a genuine smile to Breakdown as the Stunticon lowered his gun.

Deep down, a small part inside Groove thought this was too good to be true. For a mech that saw enemies from all sides, Breakdown was rather quick in his decision to give Groove a chance. But the Protectobot scout ignored this thought. To him Breakdown was a victim that needed help, as were a lot of the Decepticons. If the Autobots just put down their weapons and listened they would see that.

Slowly Groove walked closer to Breakdown, his hands still in the air unarmed.

"The Decepticons have taken your psychological problems, and rather than helping you they've exploited you. I promise that if you join us, we'll give you what Megatron and Motormaster never did; help in fighting your inner demons, and peace of mind."

As Groove finished he was standing right in front of the Stunticon. With the same kind smile on his face, the scout reached out his hand and place it gently on Breakdown's shoulder.

"Will you give it a chance?"

Frontier Refinery- El Dorado, Kansas

Sprints had been about to decimate Wildrider's joints--he even had his arms raised and was a fraction of an astrosecond from firing--when he was savagely tackled from the side. As he hit the sand, which was now slick with blood, oil, and energon, Sprints glimpsed Runamuck before one fist after another slammed into his cranial.

Spawn of a glitch, I didn't even hit him, Sprints thought as he futilely raised his arms to ward off the blows. I could at least have grazed him...

Another fist slammed into the side of his face--

The 'Con grinned murderously as she pounded one fist after the other into his head. She was heavier than him, a rare thing, what with his heavier armor, and those factors combined to make it hard for him to throw her off. Recognizing what had to be done, he swung an arm up and grabbed her wrist, twisted, and chopped his other hand into her suddenly exposed neck as she cried out in pain and collapsed--

Sprints was brought out of his reverie when he was hit again. Wondering what the images were, he attempted to perform the maneuver from the vision, swiftly grabbing one of Runamuck's wrists and wrenching it to the side, twisting with brutal ferocity, and lashing out with a balled fist at the Con's neck.

Road 54

To speed up the journey the Combaticons had ahead of them, Brawl had rolled onto a trailer pulled by Onslaught as soon it had been possible. While he certainly could have traveled to their intended target on his own power - it would have been waste of time and energon. The fact that tracked military vehicles didn't seem to be all that numerous on the paved roads of America had made Brawl also assume that this was what Onslaught wished of him anyways. The wild Combaticon could at least wait that much longer if it meant there was a battle ahead of them. Having loaded his main turret with explosive shells, his sonic blasters fully charged and even the anti-infantry machineguns and countermeasures such as smoke grenade launchers prepared for action - Brawl was ready to cause some mayhem.

>>"Locked and loaded! Just give the word boss bot! There better be some Autobots though! I need some serious stress relief! I haven't got to blow anything up since we left Kolkular!"<< Brawl boomed through his communicator, leaving little doubt about the level of anticipation he had for possible action in the future.

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

Breakdown kept his optics focused on the ground in front of him while the Protectobot motorcycle spoke of help and compassion. The Stunticon scout was having a hard time believing that he could even be saved, but there was no reason not to try. After all, it seemed that Groove knew what he’d been through while a part of the Stunticon team.

Breakdown lifted his head when he heard Groove start to slowly move toward him. The scout took a step back not sure what to expect from the advancing Autobot. With Groove’s hands still raised without any weapons, Breakdown eased slightly.

Once the Protectobot was standing in front of him Breakdown lowered his optics again to the ground, he forced himself not to flinch when Groove placed his hand on his shoulder. Breakdown let out a heavy sigh before he slowly looked back up into the ‘Bot’s optics, a sadistic smirk etched on his face.

“Of course I’ll give it a chance.”

In a flash of blue and white Breakdown gripped the hand on his shoulder and twisted Groove’s arm behind his back. The scout forced the ‘Bot to his knees. He quickly picked up his concussion rifle keeping his grip tight on Groove’s arm. Carefully the blue and white Stunticon placed the muzzle of his weapon against the Protectobot’s head.

“You know what I really wanna have a chance at doing? Splattering yer cranial contents all over the ground.”

With a heavy chuckle Breakdown began to power up his weapon.

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

Wildrider had sneered in sadistic glee when the Autobot spoke of wanting to finish him off--really wanting to---but allowing his conscience to tell him different when it came down to it.

Ahhh....Autobots....that's why you're never gonna win this thing. You gotta become us to destroy us...and if you do, we win anyway, Wildrider thought. It was one of a dozen different thoughts streaming through his processor in that moment.

Whatever the Autobot intended to do, he hesitated long enough for Runamuck to get the drop on him. Watching the Autobot get speared by one of his fellow Decepticons caused the Stunticon Terrorist to let out a howl of laughter as he started to take a step forward. His joints were not having the same idea that he was, and he pitched forward, his vocalizer taking in a mouthful of native soil as his systems attempted to either recalibrate or force him in to stasis lock.

"Pfeh! Disgusting."

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

In the midst of all the unfolding chaos, Blades studied his surroundings. All of his comrades had been partnered with one of the enemy, the dance of death the only activity they could all agree on. Limbs flailed with ferocity, various weapons spat out destructive beams or other powerful effects, and choice words were transferred from one to another.

It was truly beautiful, which was why he desperately wanted to be a part of it. To feel his fists collide against armour-plating and crumple the metal. To embed his rotors into the depths of a Decepticon scum's helm and watch him quiver violently. To experience a geyser of vital fluids coat his entire chassis a combination of dark colours.

Blades didn't just want it. He needed it.

Casting his gaze back out into the tumult, Blades came across a situation that was all too familiar and, unfortunately, all too common. Groove was talking with Breakdown, no doubt offering peace as a resolution to fighting. It wouldn't work; it never worked, but that never abolished his determination to try. They way it was progressing, though, Blades would have to step in and fast.

A moment later the Stunticon produced his rifle, pressing it firmly against Groove's helm. Blades' optics shrunk, forming into sky blue slits. He sprinted towards the two, retrieved his photon pistol from a sub-space compartment, and levelled it at Breakdown.

“Groove! I'm gonna blind this fragger! Cover your optics!”

Blades squeezed the trigger.

Priority Transmission from Ultrax to Octane on a Secure Channell

>"Octane, this is the Ultrax - Vindicator speaking...prepare to receive co-ordinates for safe transfer to the Ultrax. You have valuable cargo, and we do not want it damaged or tampered with..oh and Octane...Jettison the fleshlings"<

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

Hot Spot watched as Motormaster refused to take his bait. Instead he seemingly moved into a stronger position. His back was covered and he had a living shield in front of him. Engaging him from the front would only result in Axle getting hurt, and quite likely himself. He didn’t exactly have the maneuverability to pull off a quick flanking attack and the Stunticon had his back up against some sort of tank…

The Protectobot leader transformed back to robot mode. Even if Octane had completely drained whatever fuel was in that tank then it would still at least have some sort of fumes inside of it. If the fuel on this planet was like the fuel on almost any other planet then it wouldn’t take too kindly to a couple of fireballs. Gripping his rifles he fired a shot from each, aiming to each side of Motormaster and the fuel tank behind him. Whatever sie the explosion was the Stunticon leader would have the tables turned on him as he served as a living shield for Axle. At the very least Hot Spot hoped to throw him off guard long enough to rescue the Autobot medic.

*

Rumble was too busy firing at the mass of Autobots to notice Ramhorn charging until it was nearly too late. As it was he was able to avoid being impaled by the Autobot’s horn but he was sent hurtling back by the force of his charge, landing in a heap a short distance away.

“Uuugggh, lousy Autobot scrap!” He staggered back to his feet, a large dent on his chest. His first instinct was to start up an earthquake but he remembered Motormaster’s words. Snarling in anger and annoyance he opened firing on Ramhorn with his remaining rifle, the other one lost from being knocked back.

*

Frenzy was only just regaining his sight when Steeljaw pounced on him, locking his gun arm in between his teeth. Frenzy cried out in pain as he began punching at the other cassette with his free arm. Quickly regaining his senses he stopped his physical attack and switched to his sonic one, blasting the Autobot with a sonic attack from his free hand. At this close range it was liable to scramble some of his circuits too, but it wasn’t like this would be the first time that happened.

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

Hex paid no heed to the Stunticon’s taunts and instead the young mech stored his crossbow away and watched as Drag Strip pulled behind a dilapidated wall only to appear from the opposite side. He wasted little time in releasing another salvo from his vehicle’s main weapon. Hex stood at the ready, but the trajectory was much too high to be aimed at him. His instincts told him that the blast was headed for one for the tanks that was littered throughout the area.

Not wanting to end up a smoldering heap, Hex quickly transformed to his Chrysler ME 412, but before he could get too far the plasma blast hit its target causing the oil tank to explode in a brilliant flash of white hot heat that propelled Hex’s alt form into the air.

When the youngling hit the apex of his flight he transformed back to his root form and used him momentum to land with his head tucked. When he finally hit the ground it was in a roll where he wound up in a crouch.

Hex lifted his head as he glared at the incoming form of Drag Strip. His optics narrowed as he rose up and began to run directly at the Stunticon. Moments later he resumed his alt mode and continued on his crash course. He hit the accelerator and closed the distance between the two of them until he got close enough and transformed to his robot mode and leapt before the former racer collided with him. He back flipped over the front of Drag Strip’s form only to land on top of his roof.

“I think that was more on target, don’t you?”

****

The smile on Breakdown’s face seemed to be in total contradiction to his usual behavior of complete paranoia. With the muzzle of his weapon pressing harder into Groove’s cranium, Breakdown began to squeeze the trigger but stopped when he heard the voice of Blades call to his comrade. The moment he turned to look where the Protectobot copter was he was met with a blinding beam of light.

“Gahh! You slaggin’…agh!”

Breakdown pulled is weapon away from Groove and quickly brought his hands up to his optics trying to block out the painful sensation. He twisted he whole body away from the direction Blades had fired from and began to make a run for it, but he lost his footing and took a tumble to the ground. The blue and white mech removed his hands from his optics. The brilliant flash had caused them to offline causing him unwanted blindness. He quickly tried to reboot his optics’ systems so he could get back to finishing off Groove and then tearing Blades apart.

Frontier Refinery

For a moment Groove thought that he had reached an understanding with Breakdown, that the Stunticon had come to realize that there was a better life for him outside the violence and abuse within the Decepticons. That moment ended as soon as he saw the smirk on his counterpart's face. Though he tried to move away, Breakdown was just as quick as Groove and stronger. Groove felt the sharp pain of the Stunticon's grip as he grabbed his wrist with relative ease, forcibly twisting the scouts arm and bringing him to his knees.

"This isn't what you really want.", Groove still tried to reason with Breakdown as he felt the Stunticon's weapon pressed against the back of his head, "You don't have to-"

Before Groove could finish he heard an all too familiar voice- Blades. This wasn't the first time the aerial Protectobot had come to Groove's rescue, and as much as he abhored Blades' overly aggressive tactics, he couldn't help but feel some relief. Knowing just what to do, Groove quickly shut off his optics as the other Protectobot fired on Breakdown.

Just don't take it too far this time, Blades.

In what seemed like an instant Groove no longer felt the grip on his wrist or the gun barrel against his head as Breakdown shouted at Blades. Groove brought his optic sensors back online and got back up on his feet. He shook the pain from his freed right arm- a little hyper-extension in his shoulder, but nothing serious. Turning he saw Breakdown on the ground, and as typical of those hit with the Protectobot's photon pistols, his hands clutching his eyes.

"I hope someday you'll see the error in your ways.", Groove said to Breakdown, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Groove then activated the vaporator cannons attached to the sides of his legs, and fired a stream of corrosive liquids at Breakdown's hands to prevent him from hurting anyone else.

Road 45

Vortex flipped end over end as he took to the skies. His new found rotors slicing through the thick dry air of the desert winds. Raising higher into the heavens of this sandy rock, he was glad to finally stretch out. "Feels good to get out of that tin can." He muttered to himself as he brought all of his combat systems back online.

His internal rail guns loaded depleted uranium shells into each of the breaches and prepared for battle. Once satisfied that his secondary weapon systems were operational, he plugged into his sensor array.

"Yeah yeah, I got it covered." Refocusing his energies to the sensor array. His first action was to devote energies towards his Electronic Counter Measures systems, as well as to the Electronic Counter Counter Measures, ensuring the locales nor the enemy would detect their approach. "I detect five Decepticon signals due east several klicks. Near a terrain fuel refinery."

Road 54--Approaching Frontier Refinery

A fuel refinery? Interesting. That meant that the Stunticons weren't here simply to engage in some wanton destruction. That, in some small way, was reassuring. If a resource run was at the core of this little engagement, Onslaught would be all too happy to assist, while also working to complete his own underlying objectives for coming here.

The closer they got, it became clear that there were more than just Stunticon signals present. Or Decepticon for that matter. There were far too many. That meant Autobots.

"That word you were looking for? You have it," Onslaught said as he disengaged the secondary trailer he was carrying, freeing Brawl. "Flanking positions east and west. Destroy anything without a Decepticon insignia!"

Making a sharp left, Onslaught plowed through some of the outer fencing leading in to the refinery, cutting the distance between himself and the battle he was detecting.

Frontier Refinery – El Dorado, Kansas

As he had hoped, Breakdown's optics surrendered to the photon pistol's beam, seeking protection from behind the Stunticon's actuators. To also add to Blades' exploit, his feet engaged in a brief session of squabbling as he attempted to escape, resulting in a little fall. What a pity. Now Blades would have to destroy Breakdown in order to save him from any further embarrassment.

Who said Blades didn't possess the righteous qualities his team-mates already demonstrated?

But before he could commit to arranging Breakdown's permanent departure, Groove intervened, dousing the Stunticon's actuators with corrosive liquids that consumed them rapidly. Contempt currently being worn on his face-plate, Blades stared down at Breakdown. Blinded by a harmless beam of light, he rested on the concrete, the ability to grasp and hold no longer available to him. He was almost too pathetic to destroy. Almost.

Blades alternated his focus from this poor excuse for a Transformer to Groove. “You have to stop doing this, Groove. Even you should know by now that these losers are happy picking off the weak and innocent.” He aimed a digit at the ground. “This world? They don't give a damn about it—any of it. All they want is the energon, that's it.”

He sensed his frustration was beginning to fester like a severe case of rust rash. It would not do to adopt aggression at this point while speaking with his team-mate. That had occurred numerous times in the past, abandoning any sort of discussion in favour of berating Groove for his foolish actions.

Blades looked away for a moment, concluded that trading the subject for another was his best option, then regarded Groove once more. “You okay?”

Frontier Refinery - El Dorado, Kansas

To see Hot Spot to transform and open fire with his fireball cannons surprised Motormaster. By positioning himself in front of a fuel tank, Motormaster had expected that the Protectobot commander would not endanger human lives by using his weapons given how a stray blast could have set the whole refinery on fire - yet, that was exactly what Hot Spot had done. Motormaster had to admit he had underestimated Hot Spots ruthlessness, or was it recklessness? Either way, Motormaster changed his footing and angle towards Hot Spot so that the blasts flew harmlessly past him and towards the diesel tank behind Motormaster.

As expected, an explosion followed as the fireballs burned through the walls of the diesel tank and lit fire on the remaining diesel fuel. However, due to the lack or pressure, the explosion was not as strong as it would have been with more volatile gasoline. Not that Motormaster would have cared either way. He was far enough from the tank to ignore the explosion. And even if he had been inside the said tank, he would have survived a fuel fire with his paintwork being the only victim. However, the burning diesel flowing out of the broken tank was now endangering the other fuel containers. And unlike this particular tank, many of the other tanks were filled with highly volatile gasses and petrol products. The spectacle did provide a short distraction for Motormaster though as he turned his head just enough in hopes of seeing burning fleshlings. Instead someone had taken them all away... no wonder Hot Spot had dared to take a shot that was obviously not even meant to harm Motormaster but someone else.

"I did not know you were ruthless enough to endanger the whole refinery but I am going to make you pay for interfering with my fun!" Motormaster boomed, clearly beginning to lose his calm and falling for the raging demon that wanted to be cut loose as he charged forth towards his enemy with all the intention of crushing Axle against the large Autobot running towards Motormaster himself. Were they to collide, Motormaster would have the advantage of mass, however if Hot Spot were able to step out of his way, the thuggish Stunticon would have difficult time to stop his momentum in an instant.



Above Oklahoma

>"Octane, this is the Ultrax - Vindicator speaking...prepare to receive co-ordinates for safe transfer to the Ultrax. You have valuable cargo, and we do not want it damaged or tampered with..oh and Octane...Jettison the fleshlings"<

Before Vindicator had managed to finish his transmission, Octane was already transmitting a message of his own back to the siege specialist and with a rather frantic manner. >>"Whoa! Vindicator, slow down there! I am in form with dimensions Ultrax's hangar cannot properly handle! Trust me, I know my logistics like you know how to crack down fortifications! You can't bounce me into Ultrax without severe damage to both the Ultrax and myself! Prepare a blind spot few miles away from Ultrax's orbital position and bounce me there! My cargo has to be unloaded before I can transform and enter the ship, so prepare the drones if there's any left."<<

Allowing a short pause, the fueler continued, this time sounding far more calm and sinister. >>"As for the fleshlings... I have always wanted to see what happens to them in the void of the space."<<



Road 54 - Approaching Frontier Refinery

"Onslaught! You just know what's music to my audio receptors!" Brawled howled as he rolled off the trailer. Assuming he was to spearpoint the Combaticon offensive as usual, the heavily modified M1A2 main battle tank began rolling straight towards the refinery while Onslaught turned to left and Swindle to right to achieve flanking positions.

It came quickly clear to Brawl that he could not get a clear shot towards any living beings within the refinery grounds from his current position. As it would take a while until he could get close and personal with the Autobots, he went forth with the next best thing he was able to think of and called for a spotter.

>>"Vortex! Spot a target for me! I can't get a direct shot from here! Not that I care but I don't think boss bot wants me shooting blindly!"<<

Road 54 - Approaching Frontier Refinery

"Right, Boss!" Swindle pulls away from the group, not too hard, don't want to overturn or anything, but he makes his own course towards the right flank, waiting for Brawl to start making noise so he can shoot people in the back.

Not that a fuel refinery is the best place to be shooting, the human fuel aren't that energetic but its still not entirely safe. Another good reason to let Brawl go in first, he's better at being unsafe.

The wide circle takes the Munitions Specialist around the perimeter of the facility, and while things were still unclear, there were definitely a few struggles going on. But where to go? Probably should wait for more orders, but from here, I can be, whats it called? Tactically Flexible. Also, I can make a break for the highway if needed.

Frontier Refinery - El Dorado, Kansas

Drag Strip’s spark jumped with glee as he witnessed the oil tank explode and send Hex’s alt form tumbling end over end through the air. The yellow Stunticon half expected the fight to be over with right there and then as it looked like the Chrysler ME 412 was destined to end up as a pile of scrap metal. However, Drag was not overly surprised when, instead, Hex transformed in mid air and eventually landed in a roll before ending up in a crouching position.

“You’re luck’s gonna run out one of these days, Auto-brat!” Drag Strip shouted as he gunned his engines and raced directly towards the kneeling psychopath. Hex’s reaction was to recklessly run towards the incoming Dodge Viper, transforming into his alt mode to close the gap and then quickly returning to robot mode once again before leaping up and seemingly over the former racer. Of course, when Drag felt the extra weight land on his roof he knew that the crazy ‘Bot had other things in mind then just avoiding a direct collision.

“So, you want to go for a little ride, Hex?! Fine by me!” Drag Strip shouted as he accelerated even faster and began to drive erratically in an attempt to shake the silver mech off of him. In all honesty, Hex was way too close for Drag’s liking, especially considering the Stunticon’s spark chamber could still be potentially gotten to even while residing in his alt mode. Therefore, it was imperative to knock the Autobot lunatic off of him as quickly as possible. “Buckle your seat belt, slagger! This is gonna get bumpy! Oh, wait, you don’t have a seat belt! Ha ha!”

The Dodge Viper SRT-10 abruptly changed course and headed for a nearby brick building that was still standing even amongst all of the chaos that raged around them. As he maintained his high speed, Drag Strip could feel the increased heat that was slowly beginning to build up within his engine and surrounding circuitry. His internal fans kicked into high gear, but they could only do so much as his cooling system was known to explode if pushed to the limits. If he did not rid himself of the Auto-pest soon, the yellow Stunticon would overheat to the point of shutdown.

“You forget, Hex, we Stunticons are built for crashing! You’re not!” Drag Strip shouted as he slammed head-on into the human structure, breaching the outer wall and entering into the rooms and tiny hallways beyond. The yellow Stunticon did not stop there, however. His reinforced chassis allowed him to keep going, smashing through numerous plaster walls, office furniture and support pillars while running over a few cowering humans as he went. The ceiling collapsed behind Drag as debris and dust particles filled the confined space around him. The former champion then careened through the outer wall on the opposite side of the building, hoping that his destructive maneuvers had been enough to knock Hex off of his roof so Drag could finally slow down before he overheated or his cooling system exploded.

Incoming Transmission from Ultrax to Octane

>"hah...cute Octane, very cute...request confirmed Octane. Co-ordinate's are set to bounce to the outside of the Ultrax. Primary Hangar is being organized and ready for your arrival, and I've prepaired drone squad's 5 and 8 for unloading when you dock...and yes I will admit, I would like to see what happens when the fleshbag's meet with space....Jettison them when you pass the viewport of the observation lounge, then I shall meet you in the Hangar....Bounce transmission in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Engage!"<

El Dorado Oil Refinery - Oil Barrell Blast

Runabout lay there in a heap as the oil drum's clattered down around him, the thick viscous fluid glooped down his torso, pooling at his crotch-plate, and as he moved to get up, another drum fell from the pile and bashed him on the head with an audible clunk with oil spraying out from the damaged container - spraying into Runabout's optics as he then fell face first into the dirt. He thrashed wildly as he tried to wipe the muck from his optics, all the while allowing the damned Auto-Bus to get the humans and take them away.

"Arrrghhh my optics...MY OPTICS!!!" Runabout squealed as the murky gunk was made worse by the dirt of the oil refinery, as he thrashed his fingers around, searching for something to wipe away the blindness.

Slowly getting to his feet, Runabout stumbled over the spilled oil drum's and then collided with another building, falling through a windsock as he fell again. His hands grabbed the fabric of the windsock and tore at it as he furiously wiped away the obstruction from his optics. He cast the stained windsock aside as his vision returned.

His hud started to scan the area as diagnostics were ran. The area was empty, but he was able to pick up the energon signature of Saferoute and....

"SLAGGIT! SHE'S TAKEN THE HUMAN'S!!!" Runabout shouted at the top of his vocal processor as he started to run after the Autobot, transforming mid leap into his Ford Mustang form, the turbo charged engine kicking into life as he switched instantly into persuit mode - the plates and ram-bar's shifting and sliding into position as he thundered out of the refinery, and onto the main road leaving the battle zone. He opened a channel to Motormaster informing him of his intent.

>"Motormaster, I'm in persuit of that damned Auto-Bus and those blasted meatsacks!"<

El Dorado - Sprinting a Fight

Elsewhere however, Runamuck was tusseling with Sprints, as his initial charge left him grabbing the Autobot and pulling him to the ground and after throwing a few punches, he found that Sprints had grabbed and torqued his wrist to the side and had turned sharply. This had pulled Runamuck down to the ground, but he held on and rolled through, coming to his feet he pulled out his blaster and rattled off a few more shots at Sprints.

Runamuck lunged from his crouching position towards Sprints, intent on smashing the Autobot over the head with a large metal spike from one of the many ruined buildings..infact he would rather just impale the Autobot and be done with him.

"Come on Auto-Plank...lets see if you make a good pin cushion!!"

El Dorado, KS- North of Frontier Refinery

The sounds of the battle grew faint as Saferoute drove closer to the hospital. Much to her relief she had found the streets empty- either the humans had left or been evacuated. Either way, she was glad there wouldn't be any further casualties if the battle left the refinery. Of course as she thought this, she couldn't help but think of the humans she had already seen die. Or the ones that already died, the corpses she had seen the Decepticons had left strewn all about.

If only we'd made it her sooner...

Her human passengers had stayed quiet so far, either still in shock or tired from the recent series of events. After a minute a young man sitting in the front passenger's seat got up. He looked to be in his twenties, tall and skinny with messy black hair. He appeared to be one of the few who hadn't been hurt in all the chaos, though his clothes were covered in dirt and torn in a few places. He stood right up behind the "driver's" seat.

"Excuse me, miss.", the man nervously asked, "But I'd just like to say, thank you for saving us."

Saferoute's avatar gave a big smile as she felt a warm feeling in her spark.

"I just did what I felt was right.", she humbly responded.

"Do you know what's going on back there?", he asked, "Where did all of those robots come from?"

Having rescued so many species from this type of situation, Saferoute had gotten used to that question. Deep down she wanted to tell him the truth- that his whole planet was now caught in the middle of a seemingly endless war. She wanted to tell all of them the truth, they at least deserved that.

Slag infiltration protocols, they should know what's happening.

"I'm very sorry." her avatar began to answer with a sense of sadness and guilt, "But- Oh SLAG!"

Before Saferoute could say much, her sensors picked up a fast moving object coming from behind. Her avatar looked in the rear view mirror and saw a black Ford Mustang catching up to her. It turned out Runabout wasn't giving up just yet.

Rotten slagging... Why won't he leave them alone?

"You need to sit back down, now!", the "driver" sternly told the young man behind her.

"Why, what's-", the man started to ask.

"NOW!", Saferoute repeated, now loudly so everyone on the bus could hear her, "EVERYONE SIT DOWN, BUCKLE UP AND STAY CALM! WE'RE NOT OUT OF THIS YET!"

Quickly the man sat down, and as intructed buckled his seat belt. Meanwhile Saferoute tried to think of what to do. Her bus mode was nowhere near fast enough to out run him, and even if she could she'd be leading him to the hospital where he would hurt more humans. Her weapons were all mounted on her front, so there was nothing she could do to slow down or stop the Battlecharger while he was behind her. She couldn't transform to her robot mode with all the humans inside, and wasn't about to endanger them any further by letting them out nearly a mile away from the hospital.

>>Saferoute to Autobots, I'm transporting the humans to a hospital north of the refinery, but I'm being followed by one of the Battlechargers. Someone please get this slagger off my exhaust, HURRY!<<


---------------------

Frontier Refinery

Groove kept an eye on Breakdown, his optics filled with pity. Thankfully Blades hadn't tried to finish the job.

"I'll never stop trying, Blades", the scout answered while still looking down at the Stunticon, "Because this isn't what Breakdown wanted, it's what Megatron wanted, and it's what Motormaster and whomever is leading the Decepticons now wants. He's just doing this because he's a victim trying to avoid any further punishment."

Groove looked at Blades, seeing the frustration on his fellow Protectobot's face. Their relationship had been the most strained amongst the Protectobots since their personal beliefs were constantly clashing. This certainly wasn't the first time Blades had saved the scout because of his moral code. Everytime it happened they would have the same argument, and neither of them would back down from what they thought was right. Thankfully, Blades changed the subject before their endless debate could be further discussed.

"I'm fine, he didn't do any serious damage-", Groove answered.

Groove wanted to explain that, given enough time he was sure he could have talked Breakdown into dropping his weapon and giving himself in, with honest promises of rehabilitation and psychiatric help. But given the current situation, Groove decided it was best not to push Blades.

"But I'd probably be slag now if you had not showed up when you did. Thank you."

Just then Groove recieved the communication from Saferoute. She had managed to get the humans out of battle zone, but they were still in danger.

"They need our help!", he exclaimed to Blades, "Forget Breakdown for now, you can get to them faster than any of us. I'll be right behind you. Transform!"

As Groove finished he took a running start, then transformed into his motorcycle mode speeding off as fast as he could.

>>This is Groove to Saferoute, just keep the humans safe as best you can. Blades and I are on our way!<<