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Shockwave’s Tower – Blackwind’s Office

Blackwind let out a heavy sigh when she received the communiqué from the Commander. She had just settled down to begin some work and now she was being uprooted for a skirmish that the Predacons most assuredly could handle themselves. She typed in a few commands on her terminal and rose from her chair. She was going to do as Shockwave wished; she just had no intention of rushing it.

She made her way through the corridors to a lift. When she arrived on the correct level she made her way to the balcony where she expected to meet with Darkwing and Dreadwind. On her trek she opened a link with Razorclaw in order to get information on the attack and to cooridinate a strike on the Dinobots’ location.

>>”Razorclaw, this is Blackwind. What is the current situation with the Dinobots?”<<

With the link still open she made her way onto the balcony and waited for the two fliers to arrive.

Underground tunnels below Polyhex

It wasn't too surprising that Sharkticons still infested the underground tunnels of Cybertron. Their species hardly ever wandered to the surface outside the Rust Sea and had found their own little niche in the Cybertron's ecosystem out of the sight of surface dwellers. They were also highly territorial and as hostile as ever. And they seemed to have forgotten their place as well thanks to the absence of Transformers for hundreds of vorns. Skullcruncher was glad to remind them. The massive Cybertronian beast moved methodically through the Sharkticon herd he had run in to, swatting the smaller mechanoids out of his way and devouring an occasional unlucky victim. He had to admit it felt great to be able cut it loose and just wade into the enemy lines. It did not take too long until he had made his presence felt. The Sharkticons began to run away from him in chaos instead of trying to defend their territory. They finally acknowledged Skullcruncher as the new apex predator of the tunnels, leaving him to continue his journey towards the heart of Cybertron.

Transforming back to his robot mode, Skullcruncher pulled his sword out of the carcass one of the Sharkticons that had assaulted his hoverboard earlier and forced him to fend off the herd. At least he could still continue the mission Shockwave had given to him for the small beasts had been more interested in Skullcruncher himself rather than the hoverboard and its cargo. Boarding his ride, Skullcruncher grabbed the controls of the hoverboard and set off to continue on his way towards the Plasma energy chamber, relieved that the unit was still working - afterall it would have been long journey back to the base without transport.

Sector 4

Once Grimlock gave the order all hell broke loose. Lasers, explosions and debris filled the air as the Dinobots launched their attack and the Predacons moved to counterattack. It was everything the Dinobot leader hoped it would be.

He ducked behind cover as one of the Predacons gave some return fire his way. Grimlock knew this fire fight wasn’t going to last long though. On average neither the Predacons or the Dinobots were known for great firepower. Both teams preferred to finish things up close and personal. This was just a bit of softening up, an appetizer to the main course that was coming up.

Grimlock’s thoughts were interrupted by a steady pounding on his makeshift bit of cover. Someone was trying to bring the wall down on top of him. That was alright, he’d already had his fill of a gun battle. His specialty had always been melee combat, going back from his days as a gladiator. He was eager to see what this alternate mode could add to his prowess since he hadn’t really gotten to test it to his satisfaction.

The Dinobot stowed away his gun and hefted his energo-sword. The constant fire was rapidly weakening the wall that he took shelter behind. He stabbed the sword into the wall, skewering it, and kicked it, snapping what was left of it off from its foundation. Bracing it against his shoulder and on his sword he raced towards the source of the fire, the wall absorbing some hits but rapidly disintegrating.

Grimlock brushed off the remnants of the wall as he arrived at the building Razorclaw was perched on top of. He would never be described as agile or a good jumper, so he would just have to climb up to his opponent. He took his sword and jabbed it into the building, using it as a handhold to help pull himself up onto the roof with the Predacon leader. The Dinobot briefly considered coming at him with the sword, but discarded it. He wanted this up close, personal and ugly. He transformed and let out a roar before putting his head down and charging towards Razorclaw, his jaws ready to clamp down on the Decepticon.

*

Swoop was still reloading when the hail of laserfire flew in through the window. “Hmm, looks like someone spotted me. So much for more sniping.” The bombardier noticed the angle of the incoming fire. It was obviously not coming from ground level. That could only mean Divebomb, which was fine with him. He always had a score to settle with the Predacon flier.

He waited until the incoming fire had died down before charging at the window and diving outside, transforming in midair and taking flight. He soared in the skies, coming around to spot Divebomb. “Welcome back to Cybertron Divebomb. I’ve got a present for you!” The Dinobot launched one of his missiles at the Decepticon.

*

Sludge emerged from around his hiding space as the Predacons scattered. He spotted Headstrong heading in his general direction. The Dinobot lumbered towards him, firing his rifle and brandishing his sword in his other hand. “You’re mine!”

*

Slag had a cruel smile on his face as they sprung the trap on the Predacons. This was definitely his idea of a good time. The perfect capper would be splashing around in a puddle of molten metal that had been a Predacon. Of course, to do that he would need to get close to one of them, and he wasn’t exactly fast in his robot mode.

The Dinobot transformed to his dinosaur mode. Glancing around he spotted Rampage darting across the battlefield. With his target spotted he went barreling towards the Predacon, hoping to impale him on his horns, putting him in an optimal position for his flamethrower to finish him off.

*

The whole battle was confusing to Tantrum. One minute everything was quiet, the next everything was yelling and lasers and explosions. He dived for cover as Razorclaw ordered and fired off some random shots in return. The Predacon wasn’t exactly known for his marksmanship. He was at his most accurate when he was charging at an enemy.

Fortunately he was able to pick out an enemy as Snarl began firing at him. Tantrum didn’t hesitate to transform, sparks coming off of his horn. He was mad that the fight was going the way it was with all of the shooting. He was mad the Dinobots had caught them by surprise, and he was mad that one of them had singled him out. It was all more than enough to send him charging at Snarl, his horn sparking with electricity.

*

Shockwave’s Tower – Balcony

Darkwing and Dreadwind came towards Blackwind’s position, transforming and landing next to her. Darkwing began rubbing his hands together in a mixture of excitement and a bit of nervousness. He looked over at the femme “So where is this bomb we are supposed to drop? I assume that Shockwave has examined the weapon to make sure it’s still operable and won’t explode in midair on us? I hope?”

Dreadwind shook his head. “I told you he wouldn’t have the time to do that, and that he wouldn’t care enough to check.”

Darkwing sighed. “Well just make sure if you are carrying the bomb that you aim for the nearest Autobot if you start going down. Also a heads up if you think its going to explode in midair so I can reach a safe distance.

Dreadwind glared back at him and sighed.

Shockwave’s Tower – Balcony

Blackwind watched as Darkwing and Dreadwind landed next to her. She rolled her optics as she noticed Darkwing’s excitement. She uncrossed her arms from over her chest and sighed. “The bomb is where it should be, in the armory. Head down there and get it.”

Blackwind then turned her attention to Dreadwind, giving the flier a wicked grin. “I want you to carry the bomb and drop it on the Dinobots.” She moved to stand directly in front of him. “Think of it as a mission you’ll never forget.”

She stepped away from Dreadwind and addressed both of them now. “Alright, now go get the bomb, and please, don’t do anything stupid. I’m in no mood to tell Shockwave that we’re now down two soldiers and that that half of his tower is non functional.”

Sector 4

Razorclaw continued to pound Grimlock with intense fire from his shoulder cannons even as the Dinobot Commander ran across the open space that separated them, using a wall as a shield. During the fire fight, Razorclaw received Blackwind’s message and opened a comm line back to the femme seeker:

>>”This is Razorclaw. We are currently engaging the Dinobots in Sector 4. The battle lines are blurred as each member of my team is fighting a different Dinobot. I’m sending you the exact coordinates of my location now. I will report back when the Dinobots have been nullified. Razorclaw out.”<<

Shutting off his comm link, the Predacon Commander’s attention returned to Grimlock, who had since climbed up on top of the same building with him. Transforming to T-rex mode, the Dinobot leader charged at Razorclaw with his jaws open and ready to bite. “So, that’s how you want it, huh? Works for me!”

Razorclaw remained in his lion mode and made a return charge directly at Grimlock, unloading another volley of cannon fire at the open jaws of the mechanical dinosaur king. At the last moment, the head Predacon leapt up and over Grimlock's head, pushing off of the Dinobot’s back with his metal paws to gain more momentum and then landing behind the Tyrannosaur. Razorclaw then bit into Grimlock’s tail with his powerful jaws and attempted to pull the Dinobot Commander back towards the edge of the building’s roof. The idea was to throw Grimlock off and watch him plummet to the ground below. However, whether or not Razorclaw would succeed in doing so remained to be seen.

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

Divebomb ceased fire as he drew closer to the third floor of the building ahead. As he approached, he saw Swoop exit the window and transform into his flying dino mode. “Impressive you were able to survive my fire blasts, Swoop! You won’t be so lucky next time!” The aerial Predacon banked left to engage his nemesis directly. Divebomb opened fire again, this time targeting an incoming missile from his opponent. The flying Predacon destroyed the projectile with ease and continued through the explosion it created. Emerging from the fire cloud as quickly as he had entered it, Divebomb targeted Swoop’s fragile wings and opened fire with his lasers. “What goes up must come down!”

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

As he lumbered across the battlefield in his rhino mode, Headstrong came under fire from the Dinobot called Sludge. He turned to face the dim-witted Jungle Warrior and charged directly at him, allowing his opponent’s lasers to bounce off his thick armored hide. “I’m not yours, you stupid Dino-dolt! Your aft belongs to me once I impale it on my horn!” Lowering his rhino head down, Headstrong continued his charge in the hopes of stabbing Sludge directly in his midsection.

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

Rampage bounded through the ruins, trying to avoid laser fire as he went. Looking for an opponent to attack, he soon found one in the form of Slag. The flame throwing Dinobot was charging straight at him with his two sharp horns aimed directly at Rampage’s side. As Slag drew closer to him, the Predacon Gunner transformed to robot mode, brandishing his lightning rifle. “You wanna play with me, Slag? Fine! I’m going to light your aft up!” Rampage took aim at Slag and fired a 60,000 volt blast of electricity directly at him, hoping to stop the Dinobot dead in his tracks.

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

As a sense of happiness crept back into his demeanor, Snarl couldn't help but smile as he continued firing on Tantrum. The Predacon fueler charged at the Dinobot with electricity jumping from one horn to the other. Snarl knew that Tantrum wasn’t the brightest Predacon in the group. He was all violence and little else. The Desert Warrior simply stood his ground, allowing the angry mechanical bull to draw closer and closer to him. Yes, that's it! Come at me you stupid Predacon! Come get what you deserve!

At the last moment before impact, Snarl quickly transformed into his Stegosaurus alt mode and then swung his massive, spiked tail around directly at Tantrum’s horned head. The hope was to knock the Predacon off his feet so that Snarl could then move in for the killing blow.

Sector 4

Grimlock snapped his jaws shut as the Predacon leader opened fire on him. As he continued pounding towards the Decepticon “You hide behind guns a lot. Maybe you not as tough as everyone say.” He continued his charge, weathering the assault from Razorclaw as he rapidly drew within range of his jaws.

Before the Dinobot could clamp his teeth down on the Predacon Razorclaw deftly leapt over him. He pushed off on Grimlock’s back which made the Dinobot stumble a bit. It was enough to give the Decepticon the opportunity to bite into his tail. Grimlock let out a roar of pain and anger as Razorclaw began pulling him backwards. He curled his tail, body and neck around, bringing his jaws around to the Predacon, once again trying to snag whatever part of the Decepticon he could in his massive maw.

*

Swoop was annoyed but not surprised to see the Predacon shoot down his missile. This wasn’t exactly the first time the two of them had fought. He was also well aware of how fragile his wings were. To avoid the incoming fire he folded his wings and dived down towards the ground, rapidly dropping before pulling up at the last minute.

“Let’s see how well you can maneuver Predacon!” Swoop then began darting along the ruined roads of Polyhex, weaving in and out between buildings and wreckage at breakneck speed, trying to see if he couldn’t get Divebomb to smash into something while chasing after him.

*

Before Sludge could ponder a retort to Headstrong’s words he saw the Predacon charging at him. A smarter or smaller opponent might have simply leapt out of the way or otherwise dodged the incoming attack from Headstrong. Sludge however would never be described as smart or small. Instead he braced himself, bringing his hands down to prepare for the collision. Headstrong slammed into him, but Sludge grabbed his horn to keep from being impaled by it. The massive Autobot slid back a bit, but his massive bulk and strength kept him mostly in place.

Sludge smiled back at Headstrong. “I don’t think you’ll be impaling me today, but maybe I’ll return the favor to you now.” He moved his left hand to grab the Predacon, his right hand still on the horn to keep it away from his midsection. He began to attempt to lift the Predacon up into the air where he planned to slam him down on a jagged piece of wreckage nearby.

*

Slag grunted as the blast from Rampage’s rifle struck him head on. Despite his heavy armor the blast did do some damage to the Dinobot. Slag pulled to a halt in front of the Preddacon. His typical plan was to simply impale a Decepticon on his horns, but he always had his other method of attack. Opening his mouth Slag let out a large burst of flame directly at Rampage.

*

Snarl’s tail attack proved highly effective against Tantrum. A loud grunt and some cursing came out of the Predacon as the tail slammed right into him and sent him flying through the air and smashing into a pile of wreckage.

Groaning the Predacon transformed back to his robot mode to better get back on his feet. He staggered back up, an angry sneer on his face. “You’ll pay for that Dino-scum!” With his rifle in his left hand and electrosword in his right he charged at Snarl, firing shots and swinging his sword down at him in an effort to cleave through him.

*

Shockwave’s Tower – Balcony

Darkwing was quick to complain about the situation. “Doesn’t Shockwave have drones for this type of work? You’d think that would be one of his top priorities, getting drones working to do the cleaning and grunt work around here, after inspecting all of the weaponry. I’m guessing he didn’t do that either.”

Dreadwind simply morosely nodded at Blackwind. “I knew it would be me carrying it. It’s always me on the suicide missions. It always seems like they want me to die. No one likes me.”

“And with your wonderful attitude no one ever will Dreadwind. Now come on, lets go fetch this bomb and see if we can avoid blowing it up inside Shockwave’s precious tower. I mean, sure, we’d get vaped in the process, but more importantly it would result in more paper work for Blackwind!”

Dreadwind simply shook his head and followed the other Decepticon into the base and towards the armory.

Sector 4

Razorclaw snickered as he heard the Dinobot Commander roar in pain and anger. It pleased him to know that he had brought some measure of suffering to the mighty Grimlock, even if it had lasted for only an astrosecond.

Biting down harder now onto the Dinobot’s tail, the mechanical lion continued to pull the large T-rex closer to the edge of the roof. However, the Predacon Leader’s plan to throw his adversary off came to an abrupt end as Grimlock’s huge maw came around to bite him. Razorclaw attempted to shift his body away from the Dinobot’s razor-sharp teeth, but he could only move so far while holding on to his rival’s tail.

As a result, Grimlock was able to bite down onto Razorclaw’s back left leg. Now, it was the Predacon Commander who roared in pain, and in the process, he was forced to let go of the Dinobot’s tail. However, the pain Razorclaw felt only served to fuel his strength and rage further towards his foe. “Ahh, good! Show me what you’ve got, Grimlock! I guarantee it won’t be enough!”

With his leg still trapped in Grimlock’s mouth, Razorclaw managed to roll over onto his back and lash out with his jagged front claws, slashing repeated at the face of the mechanical Tyrannosaur. With any luck, the Predacon Commander would cause enough damage to force the Dinobot Leader to release him.

*********

Divebomb watched as Swoop tucked his wings in, avoiding the Predacon’s lasers, and then dove towards the ground. Igniting his back-mounted rocket thrusters, Divebomb followed his prey down and kept pace directly behind his aerial counterpart. “You’d be surprised how well I can maneuver, Swoop! And when I catch you, I’ll rip the spark from your chest cavity!”

Using his enhanced optics to guide him through the ruins, Divebomb mimicked Swoop’s path perfectly, weaving around and over debris and half-crumbling structures, all the while blasting away at the flying Dinobot with his lasers. “You can’t run forever, Swoop! Eventually, you’ll have to face me like a real warrior!”

*********

Headstrong slammed into Sludge with all of his might, but was still unable to impale him as the Jungle Warrior grabbed a hold of his horn and redirected it. He was able to push the Dinobot back a bit, but not by much as the dim-witted mech stood his ground and replied with a stupid remark. Sludge then tried to lift the mechanical rhino into the air, but the Predacon would have none of that.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Headstrong snorted as he struggled in Sludge’s grip. The Predacon then transformed into robot mode and aimed a kick directly at the Dinobot’s midsection, which was the same place he had just attempted to impale moments before.

*********

Rampage was happy that his blast had struck Slag, successfully bringing the Dinobot’s charge to a halt. However, that happiness was short lived as the metal Triceratops then opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of fire directly at the Predacon. Acting fast, Rampage transformed to tiger mode and swiftly leapt out of the way and up onto a nearby ledge. He hadn't avoided the flames completely, however, as his back legs had been scorched from the intense heat.

Reverting back to robot mode again, the Predacon turned around and jumped back down onto Slag’s back, grabbing a hold of both horns in the process. “Let’s redirect those flames, shall we?” Rampage then yanked Slag’s head around trying to aim it towards Snarl who was battling Tantrum nearby.

*********

Snarl felt a sense of satisfaction as his spiked tail smashed into Tantrum, sending the Predacon fueler flying into a mound of scrap. “You look right at home in that pile of junk, Tantrum!” Snarl taunted his nemesis. “Scrap belongs with more scrap, after all!”

Snarl’s taunts were then cut short as Tantrum came at him in robot mode, forcing the Desert Warrior to transform, as well. Standing his ground, Snarl brought up his sword in an effort to block the Predacon’s own blade as laser blasts struck his armored chest plate. It was then that Snarl felt a wave of heat emanating from an unknown source. He turned his head slightly to the side and noticed a stream of fire coming dangerously close to him.

“Slag, turn off the flames!” Snarl shouted, as he moved away from the incoming blaze. He was now safe from the fire, but his attention had been diverted for too long, which allowed Tantrum to get close enough with his sword that Snarl was unable to completely avoid or block it. The Desert Warrior went to dodge, but it was not enough as Tantrum’s sword came down, scraping across Snarl’s right shoulder and then cleaving directly through his corresponding wing that was used to form half of his tail in dino mode.

Great, now I’m stuck in robot mode, the Dinobot thought as his gold wing fell to the ground with a thud. Snarl had also lost a layer of armor plating from his right shoulder. The joint was still functional, but it had now been weakened and was more vulnerable to attack.

Bringing his energo sword to bare, Snarl took a swing at Tantrum, hoping to return the favor and chop a piece of the Predacon off, as well.

Shockwave’s Tower - Balcony

Blackwind rolled her optics as Darkwing began to complain about the whole ordeal. She then turned her attention to Dreadwind who also replied, but his response to her order was even more annoying. The Areospace Coordinator crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.

Once they left the balcony for the armory, Blackwind let out a heavy sigh. Working with the likes of these two was going to be a trial, one she was sure she’d despise. After they were out of sight Blackwind opened a comm link with Shockwave.

>>“Commander, I must object to use of this EMP bomb. The arsenal in the armory was never tested for functionality. There is no guarantee that it will even work. As well, the Predacons are in very close proximity to the Dinobots. If the bomb should happen to work then the resulting blast will take them out as well.”<<

Sector 3

Final Checks...All good. Network working...Seems like it. Ok, I guess I'm done. Swindle looks back across over the section of city he'd laced with sensors. It was surprising how fast he could get things done without Tantrum getting in the way...And under the suspicion that it was partly his fault the Dinobots had gotten this close.

The weapons fire from Sector 4 was more intermittent now, but the sounds of battle were still quite fierce: No doubt the Dinobots and Predacons had gotten bored with shooting and decided to tear each other apart hand-to-hand. Swindle was glad he wasn't near there, far better to let those beastial combatants have their fun while he did something he was good at.

"One final check..." Swindle muttered as he ran one last diagnostic, then activated the Sector 3, while simultaneously rebooting the Sector 4 grid that had failed to give warning the last time. This time, both grids would send full confirmation signals to the network in Shockwaves Tower. If they still didn't work, then it was because Shockwaves own security features were blocking the dataflow, not any fault of his.

With my luck, it'll work perfectly and I'll still get in trouble for annoying Shockwave with minor technical details...

Shockwave's Tower - The Nerve Center

The continous incompetence of the troops he had available was starting to get on Shockwave's nerves. Even the Predacons had forgot the mission objective by endangering the whole mission by risking a defeat at the hands of the Dynobots. And then there was Megatron's pet spy Blackwind who seemed to have taken it to her spark to slow Shockwave down every opportunity she got. The transmission he sent forward as a reply to Blackwind did little to hide displeasure.

>>"Your objection is noted and ignored Blackwind. Do as you were told. Coordinate an EMP strike against the Dynobots with Razorclaw instead of letting his units' lust for battle endanger our mission with an illogical melee scramble. Also, pay more attention to your surroundings and information given to you, the bombs are already on the balcony. The weapon vaults were kept properly sealed during our absence from Cybertron. The likelyhood of a detonation failure in crude instruments like these even without testing is below 3 percent. A failure in following the given orders will only reinforce my estimation that Megatron overestimated your abilities to function as my second on this mission. Prove me wrong."<<

While waiting for Blackwind's inevitable reply to his message, Shockwave found some satisfaction in the sensor grid he had ordered finally getting online. Now, if only the results from his refining tests with ore-13 were to finish on time...

Sector 4

Grimlock would have smiled if his jaws weren’t clamped around one of Razorclaw’s hind legs. His tail had taken some nasty damage, but it was relatively unimportant compared to the damage he could deliver to the Predacon’s limb. A tail could be useful in battle, but a leg was far more important.

The Dinobot moved to get more of his mouth to the Predacon, a feat easier now that he had released his tail. Before Grimlock could get a bigger bite of Razorclaw the Predacon rolled over and lashed out with his claws at his head. He tried to shift his head away from the strikes, but it wasn’t easy to do while keeping his jaws clamped down on the Predacon’s leg. Finally one of the claws found its way to one of his optics, slicing through it and leaving in inoperable.

Grimlock whipped his head around and released Razorclaw before letting out a howl of rage and pain. He transformed back to his robot mode and glared at the Predacon leader. “Fine, no fancy alternate modes. We do this hand to hand, like gladiators.” He brandished his energo-sword. “Should have just done this in first place. It was meant to happen this way.”

*

Swoop knew that Divebomb was right. While he might be a bit more maneuverable than Divebomb, the Predacon was faster and tougher. At the very best this bit of flying would lead to an unending stalemate. This wasn’t the type of battle he could win, as much as he hated to admit it. He was going to have to change it into some sort of battle that maybe he could win.

The bombardier looped around, leading them both back toward the site of the main battle. The maneuver did cost Swoop a grazing hit on one of his wings, enough for him to grunt in pain and wobble a bit in his flight path but he did his best to keep on target. He swooped down low to the ground and transformed back into his robot mode, landing on his feet and facing Divebomb, sword in hand. “Alright then Divebomb, lets see what kind of warrior you are!”

*

Sludge struggled with Headstrong as the Predacon did his best to escape his grasp. He was big and strong, but Sludge knew he was bigger and stronger yet. If only he could get a good hold on him he would give the stupid Con a good smashing.

“OOOF!” Sludge grunted and staggered back as Headstrong planted a solid kick in his midsection. If he were organic it would have most assuredly knocked the air from his lungs. Unfortunately for Headstrong, Sludge did not possess any organic parts and, aside from some dented armor, the blow only had the effect of angering the Dinobot.

With a glare on his face, Sludge seized the wall of a nearby ruin in his hands and ripped it off of its foundation. What was left of the building quickly collapsed, but the Dinobot barely noticed. He lifted the massive chunk of the wall over his head. “I’ll smash you good Decepti-scrap!” He then swiftly brought it down, aiming to slam it into Headstrong with all of his strength.

*

Slag hated fighting enemies like this one. He hated the jumping, fast moving little cowards. He preferred someone who would just stand up and fight you. Those types were always easy and satisfying to kill. You didn’t have to run all over the place just trying to get in that one hit that would easily kill them, like it was looking like he would have to do with Rampage.

The Dinobot turned off his flames after Snarl yelled about it. He would have to apologize to him later. He hated apologizing almost as much as he was beginning to hate the stupid little Predacon perched on his back.

Slag shook his head and body in an effort to be rid of his unwanted rider. When that failed he simply transformed to get him off of his back. With an angry sneer on his face he looked down at the Predacon. “I’m gonna smash you like a little bug Decepti-scum!”

*

Tantrum grunted as his sword clashed with Snarl’s. The Dinobot was no pushover that was for sure. That was fine with him though, he was definitely up for a good, hard battle. Maybe killing a Dinobot would sate his temper for a little while. There was only one way to find out.

The Predacon smirked after scoring a hit to one of Snarl’s ‘wings.’ Yeah, just hurting the Dinobot was already burning off some of the rage. Unfortunately Snarl was able to take advantage of Tantrum’s distracted state and scored a slash across his chest and stomach. Tantrum took a couple of steps back and looked down to see fuel dribbling out of the wound. Sparks and bolts of electricity leapt from his horns and his rage came back full force. “No one makes me bleed my own fuel! No one!” With a loud roar he charged back at Snarl, aiming to run him through with his sword.

Shockwave’s Tower - Balcony

Blackwind rolled her optics at Shockwave’s attempt at a tirade. She didn’t respond to him yet, instead she took a look around her immediate surroundings, but could not locate the EMP bomb. She let out a annoyed sigh and began searching the area. The Aerospace Coordinator finally located the required weapon hidden behind a large storage crate. She opened a link to Darkwing and Dreadwind as she looked over the device.

>>“Come back here, boys. Our resident calculator already had the bomb delivered to the balcony.”<<

Blackwind shook her head as she waited for the two fliers to return to her. She then opened a link to the Commander.

>>“I don’t have to prove anything to you. I’m here to watch you, Shockwave, not help you. And remember; it’s Megatron I answer to, not you.”<<

She quickly closed the link and opened another to Razorclaw.

>>“Razorclaw! I will be sending Darkwing and Dreadwind to your location with an EMP bomb. On my mark you are to disengage the Dinobots and retreat from the immediate location. The bomb will take out Grimlock and his motley crew, when they’re disabled; tear them apart.”<<

Sector 4

Razorclaw continued to lash out with his front claws at Grimlock’s dinosaur face until finally he met with success and sliced through one of the T-rex’s optics. The Dinobot Commander roared in pain, releasing the mechanical lion from his jaws. Razorclaw took the opportunity to right himself and inspect his back leg which had been severely damaged by the Dinobot’s razor-sharp teeth. While he did so, the Predacon Leader received Blackwind’s encrypted transmission. Razorclaw opened a secured comm line back to the Aerospace Coordinator and gave a simple response:

>>”Acknowledged.”<<

Razorclaw then returned his attention to the battle at hand. With his ability to walk or run on all fours compromised, the Predacon Commander had no choice but to transform back to robot mode. He turned to face Grimlock and drew out his sonic sword. “Agreed. We should have fought like this to begin with. At least you should be more of a challenge now that you are at full power unlike the last time. It won’t help you, though. It’s time to cut you down to size!”

Gripping his sword in both hands, Razorclaw charged at Grimlock, slashing furiously at him with his bladed weapon. He fully expected the Dinobot Commander to block his attack but that didn’t matter. All he had to do was keep Grimlock occupied long enough for Dreadwind and Darkwing to deliver the EMP bomb. After that, it would be easy pickings for him and the rest of the Predacons.

*********

Divebomb followed Swoop through the ruins of Polyhex as the flying Dinobot banked around and flew back to where the others were still fighting. The Predacon mimicked his opponent’s maneuver, keeping his lasers trained on his prey. One of the blasts finally grazed Swoop’s wing, forcing the Dinobot to ultimately transform and land. He then challenged the aerial Predacon to fight like a warrior. Too bad Divebomb wasn’t the type to play fair.

“Alright, Swoop, whatever you want. But you might not like what you get!” He replied as he promptly targeted the grounded Dinobot and fired a volley of lasers at him to soften him up. Divebomb loved this part of his job. Attacking mechs on the ground was what he lived for. The Predacon then dived down directly at his rival, transforming to robot mode in midair. While still airborne, Divebomb brandished his sword and aimed it right at Swoop’s chest plate, intending to impale him and drag his limp body back up into the sky.

*********

After placing a well aimed kick to Sludge’s midsection, Headstrong was able to free himself from the Dinobot's grasp, allowing the Predacon time to prepare for a follow-up attack. He watched as the Jungle Warrior ripped a large piece of wall right out of the ground, demolishing a building in the process. Headstrong quickly reacted by jumping back as the wall came crashing down in front of him, kicking up a cloud of dust and chunks of debris. One such chunk struck the Predacon in the chest, knocking him back and to the ground. Pushing the large fragment off of himself, he inspected the big dent that was left in his chest plate. Fraggin’ Dinobot!

Picking himself up, Headstrong wasted no time and quickly bounded over the pile of rubble in front of him in order to face Sludge directly. He pulled out his diffraction sword and began waving it around in front of his opponent. The sword had the ability to bend light and make the Predacon appear to be somewhere he wasn’t. He hoped to confuse the dimwitted Jungle Warrior enough to inflict a killing blow on him.

Making himself appear to be off to one side, Headstrong instead attacked Sludge from the front, slashing at the Dinobot with his sword in the hopes of cutting off his adversary’s arm or hand.

*********

Rampage hung on tight to Slag’s horns as the Dinobot turned off his flames and began shaking his head and body violently back and forth in an attempt to knock the unwanted rider off his back. “Is that the best you can do, Slag?! I’m unimpressed!” Rampage taunted the flamethrower in an attempt to make him even more angry and reckless. The Predacon knew full well of Slag’s reputation of having a lousy temperament and he hoped to take advantage of that flaw. Not that Rampage had any room to talk. His own aggressive and often immature behavior left a lot to be desired.

Finally, Rampage lost his grip on Slag when the Dinobot transformed to robot mode. Landing with a thud on the ground, Rampage looked up at the enraged mech. The Predacon quickly pulled out his thermal sword and slashed at Slag’s legs, intending to cut him off at his shins. Rampage then transformed back to tiger mode and quickly leapt through the window of a nearby building, hoping to draw the large Dinobot into a darker environment where he could more easily stalk and attack his prey.

*********

Snarl smiled as his sword sliced across Tantrum’s chest and stomach, leaving behind an open gash that fuel began to seep out of. However, this only served to infuriate his Predacon antagonist even further, causing the enemy mech to charge at the Desert Warrior. “No one but me, of course!” Snarl retorted as he brought his sword up to block Tantrum’s latest strike. The two blades clashed together, sparks flying as Snarl stood his ground.

However, lacking the extra power of the sun, or any star for that matter, Snarl knew that his increased strength would not last forever. Without the additional augmentation that solar energy normally provided, Snarl would soon weaken and thus become more vulnerable in prolonged combat. Therefore, the Dinobot needed to do something more to attack and damage his rival even further before it was too late.

Snarl stared the Predacon fueler directly in the optics. “You’re leaking all over yourself, Tantrum. You might want to patch that hole up before you catch fire!” The Desert Warrior then scraped his blade down and across Tantrum’s own electrified weapon, creating more sparks in an attempt to ignite the leaking fuel from his opponent’s open chest wound.

Shockwave’s Tower

Darkwing and Dreadwind stopped in their tracks as they received the signal from Blackwind. Darkwing shook his head. “Who the slag is running this place? I swear we are going to get sent on a mission to run some scans and somehow end up in the middle of the Autobot base surrounded.”

“Things certainly don’t seem to be running well around here,” Dreadwind replied as he turned around to head back to the balcony they had just vacated. “I suppose you have to expect that on a dead world.”

It didn’t take too long for the two fliers to return to the balcony. After having the bomb pointed out to them they quickly went to work on it.

“Well it doesn’t look too bad from what I can tell. Still, if it were me I wouldn’t want this thing slung underneath me for too long,” Darkwing said after a cursory examination of the weapon.

Dreadwind sighed. “I don’t want it slung underneath me for any period of time.”

Darkwing waved a hand at him. “Oh quit your whining and transform so I can get this thing connected and we can all see whether it will work or accidentally kill us all.”

The other flier transformed and Darkwing carefully went to work arming him with the bomb.

*

Sector 4

If he were capable of it Grimlock would have smiled if he were capable of it. Now this was truly the battle he had been hoping for. No fancy new alternate modes, guns or missiles, just him and Razorclaw, sword to sword.

The two weapons clashed with a thunderous crash and sparks flying. Razorclaw launched into a series of rapid slashes, perhaps hoping to outmaneuver the larger and bulkier Dinobot. Grimlock had killed more than one opponent in the past who had underestimated his intelligence and skill in this type of battle, thinking he was just a brute. Hopefully Razorclaw would join the ranks of those dead Decepticons.

Grimlock blocked each of his attacks with his sword. He then launched into his own series of attacks. His moves were aggressive, trying to get the Predacon to go backwards. If he could get him close to the edge of the building or, better yet, to fall off of the building, then he could easily make a killing blow.

*

Swoop snarled as Divebomb opened fire on him. He really should have seen that coming. Too often the Predacon had tried to pull some sort of honor or bravery stunt on him only to prove that he was the exact opposite of what he spoke of. The Dinobot dived out of the way of the fire, taking a hit to his left leg. The hit stung, but he was still able to roll back up into a fighting position by the time Divebomb landed.

The Predacon immediately moved to impale him on his blade. Swoop was narrowly able to sidestep the attack. As Divebomb moved past him he lashed out at him with his own sword, hoping to hit his back or one of his wings, making them a little closer to even in this battle.

*

Sludge frowned as Headstrong began waving around his sword. It looked like the Predacon had just moved off to the side instantly. Sludge growled and launched his fist at the Decepticon, only to have it connect with nothing. He then shouted in pain as the real Headstrong slashed his arm. The cut was deep and he was leaking a little fluid, but the arm was still usable.

Sludge glared at the Predacon, or where he though he was. “Now I’m mad!” The Dinobot transformed and proceeded to turn around, sweep his tail all around to try and trip up Headstrong. Then he could simply trample all over the place. He wouldn’t be able to escape him with his fancy tricks then.

*

Slag grunted as Rampage slashed at his legs, staggering for a second. The predacon had done some damage as it looked like he would be walking with a limp. The thought only made him angrier. This Predacon was going to leave this battle as a puddle of molten metal if he had his way about it.

His glare quickly turned into a cruel smile as he saw Rampage duck into a building. His dinosaur mode could still move around find and if there was one thing he was as good at as torching things it was smashing through things. He quickly transformed and charged the building, smashing through the outer wall. He didn’t stop there though, he kept running, smashing through whatever walls or Predacons might get in his way until he would come out the other side.

*

Tantrum growled as his sword clashed against Snarl’s. Why couldn’t this slagger just lay down and die already? Stupid Dinobots never knew when they were beat. He would just have to teach this one by stomping him into the ground.

The fueler was startled by the sudden sparks coming from the swords, swords that began to ignite the fluids leaking from his chest. Fortunately it wasn’t leaking from his extra fuel tanks or they might have exploded right then and there. Of course, leaking from his personal fuel tank wasn’t a whole lot better. He backed off from the dinobot, trying to pat out the fire on his chest with one hand while he replaced his sword with his rifle in the other. “Stinking piece of scrap! I’ll send you to the junk heap!” He opened fire on Snarl.

Shockwave's Tower - The Nerve Center

Shockwave left Blackwind's transmission unanswered. She had been walking on a thin line for a while now but now she had wore off Shockwave's patience. Time for veiled threats and warnings was over. Action would have to be taken to make sure that her disrespective behavior did not spread to the other members of the unit and compromised the whole mission. Shockwave had little tolerance for troublemakers and those that stood against him, whether or not they were Megatron's pets. And Megatron was far, far away from Cybertron. He only needed to find the right time and place. It would be relatively simple to neutralize Blackwind and modify her binary data to suit Shockwave's own needs without Megatron ever finding out. The opportunity just needed the present itself.

For now, it was more important to have the Autobot intruders in Polyhex either neutralized or driven out. Blackwind and Razorclaw had better to succeed. Getting himself involved in a skirmish that should have never taken place was not something Shockwave looked up to. Especially when he was this close in unveiling the secrets of the Ore-13.

Sector 4

Grimlock did as Razorclaw had expected and blocked each of his attacks, their swords clashing together with each attempt. The Predacon Commander knew that he was simply trying to keep Grimlock busy until the EMP weapon arrived to finish him and the rest of the Dinobots off. However, if Razorclaw could get in a hit or two in the meantime then that would be icing on the cyber-cake.

Razorclaw then executed a series of defensive maneuvers as Grimlock launched into a succession of counterattacks against the Predacon leader. “Your fighting has improved since last we met, Grimlock, but not enough to beat me!” Razorclaw taunted the Dinobot Commander as their swords continued to collide in a brilliant display of sparks and sound. The fact that Grimlock was slowly forcing the Predacon leader closer and closer to the edge of the roof had not gone unnoticed.

Razorclaw took a quick glance back as his feet neared the edge and then immediately returned his gaze to Grimlock. As he did so, the Dinobot leader succeeded in knocking Razorclaw’s sword out of his grip, sending the bladed weapon to the ground below. The Predacon Commander growled at his adversary as he delivered a swift kick towards the Dinobot’s midsection, hoping to temporarily knock the wind out of him. Razorclaw then spun around and leapt off the rooftop, landing on the ground below and immediately retrieving his lost sword.

Razorclaw then glared back up at Grimlock and waited for him to jump down so that their battle could continue.

*********

Divebomb was disappointed that he was unable to impale Swoop onto his sword. He had been looking forward to dragging the flying Dinobot up into the sky like a ragdoll. Instead, Swoop sidestepped Divebomb’s attempt and retaliated with a slash of his own, cutting into part of the aerial Predacon’s right wing. Divebomb staggered past his opponent, feeling the pain of the slice.

“Frag you, Swoop! You’ll pay for that!” Divebomb shouted angrily as he pulled out his rifle and fired several shots at Swoop. The Predacon then quickly followed that up with several vicious slashes from his sword.

*********

Headstrong smiled as his sword cut into Sludge’s arm. It had done some damage but not enough to keep the angry Jungle Warrior from transforming to dino mode and swinging his tail around. Headstrong tried to avoid being tripped up, but was unable to and fell over the massive tail. Landing on his back, the Predacon looked up to see Sludge stomping his way towards him. Headstrong quickly rolled over and out of the rampaging Dinobot’s way, but lost his sword in the process. As a result, his blade was broken beneath the trampling feet of the mechanical Apatosaurus.

Headstrong then transformed to rhino mode and charged directly at Sludge’s side, hoping to either impale him or knock the stupid lug over.

*********

Rampage hid within the building and waited for Slag to come looking for him. He didn’t have to wait long as the mechanical triceratops smashed through the outer wall of the structure and continued onward through the entire building. Rampage easily avoided a direct collision with Slag as he watch the Dinobot pass right by him.

Rampage then made his move and came up behind his destructive foe in an attempt to once again leap onto Slag’s back and tear him open like a tin can. However, the robotic tiger’s planned attack failed as the building began collapsing around him, burying the Predacon beneath the rubble.

After the dust and debris had settled, Rampage slowly began to claw his way out of the ruins in the hopes of finding Slag still close by so that the Predacon could exact vengeance on him.

*********
Snarl laughed as the leaking fuel coming from Tantrum’s chest caught on fire, forcing the fueler to back away and attempt to put the flames out. “You look a little hot under the collar, Tantrum! Hahaha!” Snarl shouted as a smile spread across his face plate.

However, that smile quickly faded as Tantrum pulled out his rifle and opened fire on the Desert Warrior, striking him once in his midsection. The strength of the blast forced Snarl to his knees as he covered the wounded area with both hands, sparks emitting from between his fingers. The pain he felt was intense, but it was nothing he couldn't endure. However, with no solar power to replenish his weakened state, Snarl knew that he had to finish this fight quickly before he ended up in stasis lock.

Still in a kneeling position, Snarl straightened himself up and pulled out his missile launcher. Taking careful aim at Tantrum’s still burning chest, the Desert Warrior fired a rocket directly at the Predacon, hoping to finish him off for good.

Sector 4

Grimlock could feel the battle going his way. It felt good, but almost a bit too easy. He knew Razorclaw was a skilled combatant, but he had easily blocked his first attacks and was now just as easily driving him back to the ledge of the building. The battle was going his way a bit too much a bit too easily. There was some larger game at play, one he needed to figure out.

His train of thought ended as he knocked his opponent’s weapon out of his hand. Whatever else the Predacon might be playing at it wouldn’t matter if he ended him hear and now. Before he could terminate the Predacon leader he stumbled backwards from a kick to his midsection, giving Razorclaw enough time to leap down from the building and retrieve his weapon.

The Dinobot scowled down at Razorclaw. He possessed the higher ground, and with it the potential for a devastating blow against the Decepticon. The trick would be avoiding a deadly counterattack. The opportunity was too good to pass up and he suspected he could avoid any deadly counterstrike. The fact that it would be a spectacular attack wasn’t lost on him either.

Grimlock leapt off of the building, his sword held in both hands over his head. As he dropped down towards Razorclaw he swung the sword down, combining his momentum with the downward slash to try and get in a strike that would cleave the Predacon straight down the middle. Even if he somehow missed he figured the Predacon would be thrown off balance by the effect of his impact on the ground.

*

He should have known that Divebomb wouldn’t stick to a straight up sword fight. Swoop did his best to dodge the incoming shots from the Predacon, but he did take a couple of hits. The bombardier knew he wasn’t in the best of shape now, but he wasn’t about to quit now. He quickly engaged Divebomb in a sword fight again, but along with block the blows from his opponent he began slashing at his rifle in an effort to force him to fight a little more cleanly.

*

Sludge let out a roar as Headstrong slammed into his side, his horn piercing his armor and the impact sending him sprawling onto his side. He flailed around for a moment helplessly before transforming back to robot mode so he could stand up. The horn had punctured into him and left a painful wound on his side. That only made him more determined to take out this Predacon. Drawing his energo-sword he began slashing at Headstrong, trying to hack him apart.

*

Slag let out a cruel laugh as he watched the building collapse behind him with Rampage inside of it. The Dinobot knew just how to finish him off. He opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of flame on the ruins of the building. He would just melt the debris and Rampage into a puddle of molten metal.

*

Tantrum had finally put out the flames on his chest when he heard the familiar whistle of a rocket hurtling towards him. He only had time to throw up his arms to try and protect him before the rocket fired by Snarl detonated. The Predacon was sent hurtling back towards a building, slamming into the wall and sliding down to the ground. His arms were mangled and his body was scorched and burnt. The Decepticon’s optics flickered for a moment before going dark as he entered stasis lock.

*

Shockwave’s Tower

Darkwing rubbed his hands together. “Well that should do it. You and the bomb are ready to go Dreadwind. I guess I will be flying on your wing, just well off of your wing.” The Decepticon snickered.

“Enjoy yourself at my expense while you can Darkwing, but I’m sure it won’t take long for you to join me in the Pit once this bomb takes me out.”

Darkwing nodded. “Probably so, which means I have to enjoy this for all its worth.” He turned to Blackwind. “The bomb is ready and we are prepared to take off commander, at your order.”

(OOC: With Dev’s permission I’m moving Doom and Gloom along to the battle)

Shockwave’s Tower - Balcony

Blackwind keeped her optics on Darkwing as he attached the EMP bomb to the underside of Dreadwind’s alternate mode. He worked quickly and before she knew it he was complete. She nodded and stepped over in order to make a final inspection.

Once she was satisfied that the weapon was properly installed she made her way to the center of the balcony and transformed. Darkwing followed suit.

“Alright you two. Head out towards the battle. I’ll follow behind and let you know when to deliver the bomb.”

Both fliers took off with Blackwind following close behind.

Heading to Sector 4

Both Dreadwind and Darkwing made good time towards the battlefield with Blackwind not too far behind. The Commander had her long range sensors active since they left the Tower. Once the two fliers were close enough she opened a link with Razorclaw.

>>“Razorclaw, pull your team out now!”<<

She closed the link with the Predacon Commander and opened another link with both of her men.

>>“Dreadwind, once you reach the center of the fray deliver the bomb and then get out of there. I don’t need you two getting hit by the EMP wave.”<<

Sector 4

Razorclaw looked up at Grimlock standing on top of the building glaring down at him. The Predacon Commander readied himself as the Dinobot leader jumped off the roof with his sword grasped in both hands over his head and dropped down towards the ground. Razorclaw leapt backwards as Grimlock landed in front of him and slashed his energo blade down just missing the Predacon’s chest plate.

“I almost felt that,” Razorclaw commented as he brought his own sonic sword to bare. He was about to lunge at the Dinobot when he received Blackwind’s encrypted message to pull his team out of the area. The EMP bomb must be on its way. Razorclaw quickly opened a secured comm line back to Blackwind:

>>”Acknowledged.”<<

Razorclaw returned his attention to Grimlock. It was a shame the battle had to end this way. The Predacon leader had so been looking forward to gutting Grimlock like a cyber-fish. But, orders were orders, and the Dinobots would soon pay for invading Decepticon territory.

“I’m afraid our battle must end prematurely. It was fun while it lasted,” Razorclaw said as he lowered his sword and aimed his shoulder-mounted concussion cannons directly at Grimlock. He then opened fire on the Dinobot Commander before withdrawing from the fight and heading away from the battle zone all together. Razorclaw then opened a secure channel to the other Predacons:

>>”Predacons, withdraw from the battlefield immediately. An EMP bomb is en route to eliminate the Dinobots. Fall back to Sector 3 at once. We'll rendezvous at the following coordinates. Razorclaw out.”<<

With the order given and the coordinates sent to his troops, Razorclaw double-timed it to Sector 3.

*********

Swoop managed to dodge some of Divebomb’s shots, but not all. The bombardier was in bad shape but still a threat to the flying Predacon. Divebomb attempted to fire another shot, but was denied the opportunity as Swoop’s sword sliced the laser weapon in two. “Blast it, Swoop! I’ll take you apart one piece at a time if I must!”

As Divebomb moved to engage Swoop in a sword fight, the Predacon received Razorclaw’s message and quickly backed away from his opponent. “Well, Swoop, today’s your lucky day. I’ll be seeing you...maybe!” Divebomb then turned and transformed to eagle mode and ignited his rocket thrusters which propelled him up into the sky. Unfortunately, he was unable to maneuver as well or fly as high due to the damage his wing had suffered, but it was still quicker than running on the ground. Divebomb set a course for Sector 3 and hoped his wing would hold out long enough for him to make it.

*********

Headstrong felt great pleasure as his horn pierced Sludge’s side, knocking the dim-witted Dinobot over. But, the Jungle Warrior was not down for the count yet as he was able to transform and get back up. As Sludge inspected the wound in his side, Headstrong received his commander’s orders. The Predacon brute was not happy about retreating from a fight he knew he could win, but at the same time Headstrong knew what an EMP wave could do to his circuits and he wanted no part of it.

Turning away from an attacking Sludge, Headstrong charged off towards Sector 3, hoping the Dinobots would get what was coming to them.

*********

Razorclaw’s order to retreat came as Rampage dug his way out of the rubble of the collapsed building. Once the mechanical tiger had broken through the top of the debris, he was immediately met with a torrent of flames that were no doubt coming from Slag. It was unfortunate that Rampage would not be able to take revenge on the Dinobot. Another time, perhaps, Rampage thought as he headed away from the inferno, hoping the fire would mask his escape.

As he left the battle zone, Rampage caught sight of Tantrum being struck dead center by a rocket and then knocked into a wall. The metal tiger changed direction and quickly made his way to his fallen comrade. Transforming to robot mode, Rampage pulled out his lightning rifle and fired a powerful 60,000 volt blast directly at Snarl, striking the Dinobot in the upper torso. Electricity coursed through the Desert Warrior’s already weakened body causing his circuits to short out. Like his opponent before him, Snarl fell limp to the ground and entered stasis lock, his optics growing dark.

Rampage then turned and lifted Tantrum up, slinging the fueler's deactivated form over one shoulder before heading away from the danger zone and towards Sector 3.

Sector 4

Grimlock scowled as Razorclaw and the other Predacons began a hasty retreat. He had suspected that there was more to this battle then what was obvious. The Predacons had been delaying, buying time for something. Now it looked like he was going to find out what they were delaying for the hard way.

*

Skies over Sector 4

Dreadwind received the message from Blackwind and quickly replied to it. >>”And I have no desire to get hit by it. Moving to drop the ordinance now.”<<

The Decepticon flier, with Darkwing on his wing, moved directly over the sector and released the bomb. Both of the Decepticons then kicked in their afterburners and raced back towards the tower and out of the weapon’s range.

The bomb dropped to the ground, a loud whistle accompanying its descent. All of the Dinobots were familiar with the sound and the ones who were still active did their best to dive for cover and shield themselves.

The bomb detonated a short distance over the ground. Instead of a massive explosion that the Dinobots had been preparing for though it instead emitted an electromagnetic pulse that rippled through the area. The Dinobots felt the pulse shutting down systems inside of them, but it failed to put them in stasis. The bomb had lost some of its potency over the ages. It had succeeded in slowing down the Dinobots, but not stopping them.

*

Sector 4

Grimlock grunted as he felt his systems weakening. Pursuing the Predacons now was hopeless. They were fortunate that they could still limp back to their vehicle. The Dinobot leader staggered over to Snarl and began dragging him away. “Dinobots, fall back to vehicle. We leaving. Predacons too cowardly to fight for real.”

The Dinobot leader wasn’t even remotely happy about this battle. This was twice that he had been dragged into a fight on terms he could not dictate. Next time they met the Predacons he would be prepared. Next time they would not escape.

Shockwave's Tower - The Nerve Center

Before his troops bothered to report back to him, Shockwave had already used the now online sensory grid to determine the outcome of the EMP bomb drop. It had worked, not as well as expected but well enough to force the Dinobots to withdraw for now. That had to do for now. The game had changed however. The Autobots knew the approximate location of the Decepticons now, an advantage was lost. While they had the sensor grid active, defense network had to be prepared as well and the enemy positions scouted.

Thus, Shockwave sent out an encoded transmission to his most high ranking officers. Instead of telling them who to use for which task, he made his command a test on how well the two could work together. >>"Razorclaw and Blackwind. Proceed to fortify the base perimeter. Some of the pre-exodus autocannons must still be salvageable. We also need to scout the enemy positions, send out the stealthiest of you to follow the Dinobots. Your presence must not be uncovered and if spotted you are not allowed to engage. The information regarding the enemy presence on Cybertron is critical for our mission. Shockwave out."<<

With the new orders given, Shockwave turned his attention back to the experiments on ore-13 he was running. The breakthrough was close, he had to wait just a while longer.

Sector 3 - Rendezvous Point

Razorclaw arrived at the rendezvous point first still in robot form due to the damage done to his lion mode's leg. He turned and faced the direction from where he had just come, waiting for the other Predacons to arrive. It didn't take long as Divebomb soon flew in and landed next to him, transforming to robot mode. Then Headstrong and Rampage trudged into view with the latter carrying a stasis locked Tantrum over one shoulder.

"What happened to him?" the Predacon Commander questioned Rampage in regards to Tantrum's sorry state.

"Snarl happened, sir," Rampage responded, dropping the fueler to ground with a thud.

"I see," Razorclaw responded as the EMP detonated in the distance. The Predacons looked on in satisfaction, knowing that the Dinobots were probably all in stasis now. "I bet you didn't see that coming, did you, Grimlock?" The other Preds laughed at their leader's remark. It was short lived, though, as Razorclaw then received an encrypted communique from Shockwave. Apparently, the Dinobots were still functioning and on the run back to their headquarters. The Predacon leader opened a secure comm back to the one-eyed mech:

>>"Understood, Shockwave. I'll send my best mech to scout the enemy positions and then proceed in reactivating the autocannons. Razorclaw out."<<

The Predacon Commander then turned to Divebomb. "How's that wing of yours? Will your internal systems be able to repair it without a CR chamber?"

Divebomb glanced back at his damaged wing. "I would think so. I was able to fly here without much trouble. I just had to stay low to the ground."

"Excellent. I want you to follow the Dinobots back to their base. Scout their positions and report back your findings. Stay out of sight and do not under any circumstances engage them. Those enhanced optics of yours should allow you to keep a considerable distance from them without being spotted. Understood?"

Divebomb stood at attention. "Yes, commander. I won't fail you."

"For your sake, I hope not. Now go!" Razorclaw dismissed his soldier and watched as Divebomb transformed back to eagle mode and flew off low towards the Dinobots' last known position.

Razorclaw then glared at Rampage and Headstrong. "You two start locating the autocannons around the perimeter. They should be pretty easy to spot. See which ones are salvageable and begin whatever maintenance is necessary while I take Tantrum back to the tower for repairs. Think you can handle that?" The two Predacons responded with a simultaneous nod and then headed off to look for the first autocannon.

Razorclaw then opened a comm line to Blackwind: >>"Blackwind, I have sent Divebomb to follow the Dinobots. If you wish to send one of your cronies with him, then feel free. Headstrong and Rampage are assigned to autocannon duty while I take Tantrum back to base for repairs. If you need me that's where I'll be for the short term. I'll then be out in the field helping to fortify the perimeter defenses. Razorclaw out."<<

The Predacon Commander then picked up the inert form of Tantrum and carried him back towards Shockwave's tower.

Crossing into Sector 4

With the battle over, Swindle decided to take a look for himself what all the fuss had been about. For an EMP bomb of that caliber to be used, it must have been a major engagement, and sure enough, the violence done to the battle site backed that up.

Swindle tried hard not to grin when he saw Razorclaw carry off Tantrum. So much for my partner. Maybe now I can get some peace around here. Then the Munitions Expert realised something: The EMP blast would likely have disabled the sensor arrays he had spent so long installing and repairing!

Slag that mono-opticed calculator to the Pit!! He doesn't have any appreciation for the equipment or the poor bots who have to maintain it! He'll work us all to statis lock just to keep his blasted experiments running! I'm beginning to think I should have stayed on Earth... The Munitions Expert can't keep the resentment from his faceplate as he goes back to adjusting the sensors, for the third time.

Skies Over Sector 4

Blackwind received Shockwave’s orders right after the EMP bomb had detonated. The black Seeker let out a heavy sigh and gradually made her way back to the Dinobot’s last location. “That pompous calculator. How dare he order me to perform manual labor.” She quickly opened a link to Shockwave.

>>“I’m sending Darkwing and Dreadwind to work on the autocannons. I don’t believe either of those two are capable of following the Dinobots without being noticed.”<<

She quickly closed the link and opened another to her two fliers.

>>“Darkwing, Dreadwind. You two are to fortify the base perimeter. Locate the autocannons and perform any needed repairs and or inspections to get them back online.”<<

Before she turned about to follow the Dinobots’ retreat she received the comm from Razorclaw regarding his choice of scout. The Seeker femme opened yet another link, this time to the Predacon Commander.

>>“Acknowledged, Razorclaw. I’ve sent Darkwing and Dreadwind to fortify the perimeter. I will be joining Divebomb on the scouting mission.”<<

Once the link was severed she rendered herself invisible and engaged her thrusters and activated her long range sensors as she then began to follow in the direction of Grimlock and his mechs.

Skies Over Sector 4

Darkwing and Dreadwind were already flying back to base when they received the orders from Blackwind.

“So we go from dropping an aging, quite probably defective bomb to working on aging, possibly damaged autocannons? We are never going to make it off this plant alive,” Dreadwind said mournfully.

“All I know is you are going to be the one to test fire the cannon so when it jams and explodes you will take the brunt of the damage and die immediately. I wouldn’t want to see you suffer pal.” Darkwing replied, only semi-serious.

“Your care about my well being never ceases to amaze me Darkwing,” Dreadwind replied sarcastically.

The two Decepticon fliers swooped down low beside the tower. They transformed and landed beside the first autocannon they spotted and began to inspect and work on it as best they could.

*

Outskirts of Polyhex

The Dinobots finally dragged themselves over to their makeshift transport. Grimlock loaded Snarl’s still stasis locked form in the back of the vehicle while the other Dinobots piled inside. Their circuits were slowly reactivating but all of them were still feeling a bit sluggish. The EMP burst hadn’t exactly helped their wounds either. It was fortunate that they had the transport. At this rate it might take them days to return to Iacon just by walking.

Grimlock reactivated the vehicle. With a whine and squeal it turned on, floating up into the air a little off the ground. The Dinobot leader activated the engines and the hovertruck sped off on its way out of Polyhex.