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Garrus-9 -- Amphitheater

The shark monster sunk its serrated teeth deep into Cutthroat’s neck and shoulder plating. The resulting gush of energon and other fluids into Rippersnapper’s maw set the terrorist’s taste receptors on fire. “Mmmmmmm.... sooo gooooood,” the amphibious beast mumbled with his mouth full. The end was near for the avian Terrorcon who had dared to misbehave and defy Hun-grrr earlier. But his end would not come quickly. Oh, no. It would be a slow and torturous process as the former actor methodically devoured each piece of him and made him watch as Ripper did so. It would be fun and tasty at the same time.

Rippersnapper then felt Cutthroat begin to thrash about within his jaws, shouting profanities all the while. It was enough to make the land shark chuckle as he bit deeper into the vulture-former’s frame with the hope of silencing him. It was useless to resist the inevitable end. Cutthroat would die, filling Ripper’s stomach and forcing Hun-grrr to eventually find a replacement. It wouldn’t be the first time they had lost a comrade and it likely wouldn’t be the last time, either. Still, it was always a difficult task to find just the right mech with the power and ferocity required to be a Terrorcon. Not to mention the appropriate alt mode to fit in with the rest of the unit. Difficult, and quite often time consuming, but certainly not impossible.

Just as Rippersnapper was about to tear out a large chuck from the vulture-former’s neck area, Cutthroat decided to change tactics and began beating on the shark monster with both of his balled up fists. The former actor wasn’t surprised really as Cutthroat was as tenacious as they come, not wanting to give up no matter what. It was the sign of a true Terrorcon and perhaps there was still hope for him after all.

“Hey, stop that!” Ripper mumbled again with his jaws still holding on as the avian mech’s fists repeatedly struck his shark-like cranial unit. The terrorist tried in vain to block the continuous blows with his arms, but he wasn't strong enough. His nose, the top and sides of his head, everything got hit with the raw power that only a Terrorcon could muster up. Even with the relaxants still coursing throughout Cutthroat's systems, the hits were hard and vicious. The crowd of Decepticons around them continued to cheer, louder now, as they realized that the fight was not yet over after all.

The terrorist growled deeply under this breath as one of Cutthroat’s fists smashed into the land shark’s left optic. “Aaarrrrgggghhhh!!!” Rippersnapper yelled as the outer translucent glass shattered from the strike, sending a single shard into the inner optic, itself. More pain followed, intense and sharp, shooting through his head like a lightning bolt. Thrashing his monstrous head to the right, Ripper then whipped his cranium around to the opposite side, opening his powerful jaws in the process and tossing the avian beast a short distance across the floor.

“You mother-fragger!! My eye!!” Rippersnapper shouted as he stumbled back slightly, attempting to ascertain the damage done. His HUD was only visible in his right optic now as the left one had sustained considerable damage from the attack. Sparks emanated from the broken socket as energon dribbled down the shark monster’s cheek. “You’ll pay for that, Cutthroat!! You’ll pay dearly!!!”

With his depth perception now compromised in beast mode, Rippersnapper quickly transformed back into robot form where both of those optics were still functioning at full capacity. Wasting no time, the former actor brought his cyclone gun up to bare and prepared to unleash a powerful whirl wind directly at his avian comrade. At the very least Ripper hoped his attack would knock Cutthroat down or even blow the shock trooper's armor plating right off his chassis.

Garrus - 9 - Command Center

"I...I...gahhh...you torture me so! Hmmm...Ironhide? Jetfire? Perceptor? Oh, I just don't know!"

Cipher laughed while Mindwipe struggled with narrowing down the candidates of who might be on Aequitas’ transcripts. “Oh now, my friend. I can’t go and spoil the ending.” He admonished. Cipher’s chuckle quieted as his thoughts turned internal.

Aequitas was his to plunder. His to tear through. He already knew what was on the super computer’s drives he just needed to extract it for all to bear witness.

“I saw everything.” He finally spoke out loud what was on his mind. “Oh, of course I wasn’t there, but I saw all of it.” Cipher looked over at his comrade. “Every confession. Every denial. Every sorry attempt to apologize. But in the end they couldn’t hide anything. Not from Aequitas.” He sighed wistfully.

“And…” Cipher began, “I’m afraid, my friend, that what I was privileged to see will remain locked in my own head…until, that is, I get inside of that judgment machine.” Now if only Scourge and his trackers could hunt down what he desired.

Garrus-9 – Mines

”A joke Skalor? No my smelly friend. He is the Butcher. Have you ever heard him joke around?” The simian Horrorcon told Skalor in response to his question. ”I am afraid he is being extremely serious.”

“I mean I guess not…” Skalor mumbled, “Boss never was much of a kidder even before he became an emotionless killing machine…” Skalor sighed and shook his head. Just didn’t make any sense. Maybe his audio receptors were just malfunctioning. A lot. The odious fish banged his audios a few times to give them a good jolt.

Shaking his head, he turned around and looked at the two Horrorcons. “Well, I can give ‘Kil a ring for ya, if ya want. I wouldn’t mind tagging along either. Be more interesting than sitting around waiting for insect diaclones to fight over some piece of scrap.”


Amphitheatre

Firewire kept working on the Monstercons despite the distractions that arose, moving onto the Technobots in a rather timely fashion. If there was one thing that the little scientist could get lost in, it was her work. The only thing that broke her concentration was further orders from Scorponok. His transmission only made her itch to pry them apart to study this new unknown technology all the greater even as she installed the modification into Lightspeed. As she finished applying the inhibitor to Lightspeed, Firewire closed him back up again. It was fairly decent timing as well. For Scorponok requested a progress report at that particular moment.

“I’ve finished, my lord,” Firewire reported, lacking her usual pep.


"Is it where-? Oh.....ungh....yes....yes, it never left my cell along with those two other pieces you gave me over the vorns. Too...valuable...to...lose track of."

Really now, Slog thoughtly mildly, That’s laying it on a bit thick. With a dismissive sigh, the monstercon leader turned his attention back to Kronus. “There you have it,” Slog said, spreading his restrained hands out a little. He craned his head around to look at Icepick, hoping his usually cheerful compatriot was not in too much agony. Slog had fortunately taken the worst of it from Jhiaxus, sparing the others from his fate. Still. The pain left him feeling rather faint.

He almost missed Wildfly’s words. Actually. He had. But he hadn’t missed that Wildfly had actually said something. He turned his head sluggishly toward Wildfly’s rough direction.

“What was that, Wildfly?”


Semper Tyrannis – Lobe’s Lab

“I’m sorry my friend, but it’s just not possible to get what I need with a dead subject.”

“Ah, well, it can’t be helped then,” Synapse said with a shrug. He watched as the robot at the cabinet began to gather supplies. That was when the one standing beside him asked after his patient. Synapse gave his old friend a terse look.

“You know, if your patient becomes…difficult…I could always lend a hand.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Lobe,” Synapse said politely. Say what one might about the Decepticons, their methods assured that the job was done one way or another. Synapse was the first barrier. Asking nicely, if he was honest. Lobe was the next. Reconditioning. That would be doing things the hard way. And if they continued to fall through the cracks and attract attention to themselves…the DJD might await them at the end of their road.

Synapse wouldn’t allow that. Couldn’t.

“Now, what say we get a move on. I’m excited to meet my new specimens…” Lobe gave the other mech’s shoulder a squeeze, “and your patient.”

“Quite,” Synapse said wearily, moving to exit the lab and make for the space bridge. He rather hoped Deadlock would get back to him soon regarding his location. He didn’t want to make any guesses as to where his patient might be. Enough could go wrong without that added factor.


Garrus-9 – Amphitheatre

The pleasant din of battle greeted the Butcher’s audio receptors as he stepped into the amphitheater. A familiar sound. But not wholly welcome. Snaptrap seized the hilt of his sword as he entered the large chamber, optics scanning the area to pinpoint the source. He relaxed when he sighted it at last. The Terrorcons were hosting some sort of pit-like gladiatorial match. It was contained and didn’t seem to be interfering with anything else going on.

The Seacon Commander approached Scorponok first, inclining his head in a show of respect. “Lord Scorponok,” he stated simply by way of greeting. It was then that he began to take in the occupants of the amphitheatre. The Monstercons restricted to slabs. The Technobots too. That brought the butcher some satisfaction to see, though none shone through his impassive veneer.

Nautilator was not far away, restricted on a slab much the same as the other assorted Autobots and Decepticons. The unfamiliar, ancient Cybertronian next to Scorponok stood overseeing it all like some grand slaughter about to commence. It seemed to be as he had suspected. Presumably, the Seacons were compatible for the super weapon process. If the same could be said for the Terrorcons, discern Snaptrap could not.

All would become evident in due time, however, so the Butcher felt no need to pester Scorponok with useless queries that would only serve to distract the fleet commander. Given that Nautilator still functioned, there remained nothing for Snaptrap to do other than observe. A task that he was contented with for the time being.

Mines

Pointblank released a sigh of....acceptance, he supposed? It wasn't frustration or anything else. Just acceptance. Whirl was free now. And it would be anyone's guess as to whether he would increase or decrease their odds of getting out of here at this point. He supposed if any other Wrecker could keep Whirl's hazardous tendencies in line, Roadbuster was the mech.

Saying nothing, Pointblank looked on as the subject of discussion shifted from Whirl to some kind of tunnel that had been discovered by Pyro followed by his request and cautionary warning to Umbra. The femme, from her reaction, clearly had not been aware that she was the prime candidate to carry out whatever Pyro had in mind. Creeping around the mines would be a sure way to instigate a swift and severe end to your life if you were caught. Granted, the payoff could be worth it. Pointblank just wasn't sure at the moment what that was. Umbra seemed nice enough but he supposed, out of all of them, the Autobot-killer was probably the most expendable. Still, he was a little confused. Just like Umbra.

"Yeah-what? I'm sorry, I might have checked out during some earlier, critical part of our stratagem here, but we want her to crawl into those vents and do what again?"

Garrus 9 - Mines

All these jokes... These "quips"... The preverbal fuse to Snapdragon's bombshell of an anger problem was beginning to boil down to its last thread. He knew Apeface was quite the comedian and was more than a fan of his ragging on other mechs, but that was just it, it was funnier when it was any other mech besides Snapdragon.

And then Snaptrap in whatever twisted sense of humor he hid behind that stoic expression of his decided, "Hey! Let's send Tentakill along with them!" Apeface is going to have a frickin' field day with this. Adaptus spare the poor fool that decides to push Snapdragon's next button.

"Can we JUST get a move on now?" The interceptor growled as he folded his arms over his chest plate, his face scrunched up into deep snarl behind his violet mouthplate. "And we can leave the Seacon to handle with their own affairs, we don't need to bring any of them along.... Do we?"

Garrus 9 - Corridor Outside Command Center

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Octopunch cried out with arms held high above his head, both knees dropping to the floor in a defeated manner. The multicolored Decepticon then hunched forward on himself and began to pound on the metallic floorboard in distraught.

"We've lost the bet!!" He called out to his partner in devastation, continuing to pound his clenched fists into the corridor floor. "Megatron, Deathsaurus, it doesn't matter anymore! It was Scorponok all along!!"

After a brief moment of silence of sitting in the corridor waiting for Stranglehold to respond, Octopunch rose back up to his full height and dusted himself off before placing his hands around his hips and looking over to his mustached accomplice.

"Well that settles that waste of my time. What's next on the agenda?"

Mines

Pyro stifled a brief chuckle. "Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself in assuming our youthful friend was interested or capable of enacting what I had initially believed necessary." He shook his head briefly as he turned his massive frame to face the aged and experienced veteran.

Quietly the ranger studied the veteran's facial features. The etched lines and creases across the face plate told enormous volumes to any one who dared to read them. Pointblank had been through hell and back more often than most, and the weight of the war had become a massive burden upon him. Pyro could understand and decidedly felt the burdens of the war even though his direct involvement had not been as vast.

He folded his arms over his chest before placing his thumb and forefinger of his left hand to the base of his chin. "That is correct Pointblank. If we are to survive this ordeal we are going to require more than the little intelligence we have managed to gather through direct observation of our enemy during our incarceration. We do know that Scorponok has with him two of his special forces, the Seacons and Terrorcons... as well as a handful of Seekers and Sweeps at his disposal. Not to mention the probability of a reconstituted Monstructor Six. Add in the Horrorcons, odds are not exactly in our favor. For us to manage any form of potential escape, we must know where those units are stationed, potential patrol routes, ammunition dumps, possible energon storage cashes..." Pyro allowed his head to look up and study Pointblank before shifting his gaze to Whirl and then back to Roadbuster who simply nodded.

"We also need to confer with Fortress Maximus... With the Technobots currently enduring Primus knows... at the hands of the good Doctor, we need to move now and gather as many advantages as we can while they are distracted. Umbra gives the highest probability of success thanks to her training and experience as a scout. But there is also something more to it." He dropped his hands to his side and looked down as Amaranth walked up to the scout with a cobbled together device that had been torn from the wreckage of the brute. Pyro then looked over to Umbra and offered a confident smile behind his face plate. "I offer her this mission because I believe she can do it. Optimus once stated that we should trust ourselves and our intuition when making decisions,.. course he also added that those decisions must also be processed with as much data as available."

Amaranth offered up the friend or foe transmitter to Umbra, her expression almost unreadable. Initially when Pyro had mentioned this as a possible course of action, the medic of the Sundered Heart, had resigned herself to the fact that she would be the most likely candidate to undertake the dangerous operation. And while, with the discovery of the corpse of the brute and the harvested transmitter had mitigated some of the risk, espionage was not her line of work. "As the big guy said, its your call. If ya don't wanna do it... I'll go."

Pyro said nothing for a moment. It was between the two smallest members of the resistance. The environmental conduit was simply too small for the likes of Pointblank, Roadbuster, Whirl or himself. The ranger immediately chastised himself for believing that because Umbra was a scout by trade and by training, she would not hesitate to jump at the task that could possibly expedite their liberation. Amaranth was far from ideal, though decidedly smaller than even Umbra, her skills did not exactly scream mini spy.

"Umbra is the best person for the job. However, I do not begrudge her reluctance either Amaranth. It is difficult to place one's self back into harms way after narrowly escaping it the first time."

He pivoted back on his heel and faced the Scout. "Even if you no longer see it, there is still a glimmer of hope within your very spark Umbra. Trust me, I know it is easier to stay on the sidelines, to believe that your fight is over and done... I do not know of a single soldier be they Autobot or Decepticon who has not thought that it would be simpler to give up. But in doing so we allow dark shadows of unwanted memories to seep into our lives and to define our very actions. But I do not believe that will be the case for someone as strong as you are Umbra. Though I do not pretend to know the extent of your traumas or the past that haunts you, I can say with great authority that there is still a flicker of courage and a desire to do what is right burning within that sea of darkness you carry. That flame dances against that torrent that is allowed to grow and feast upon you, it dances and it burns... devouring that darkness. All you need to do is to fan that flame." He placed a reassuring hand on the young scout's shoulder, as a mentor had once done to him when he felt fear or cringed from danger. Though he had idolized the likes of Optimus Prime for much of his waking function, Pyro had served under some the Autobot's greatest heroes... and learned as much as they were willing to teach.

"Still our window is incredibly limited. Whirl," Pyro turned his attention to the one optic warrior. "Help prepare an ingress point. We will have to get this mission under way in short order before the Technobots are returned. Or we risk exposure of who ever is sent to the surface."

Garrus-9 Central – Amphitheatre

“Ah, it was nothing,” Wildfly said to Slog.

Only an awesome fight between two insane spawns of glitches, he wanted to say. An awesome fight between two crazy spawns of glitches that he did not have the privilege of observing, he wanted to add after that. And quite bitterly, like a proto-form who'd been told he couldn't have his sweetened energon before recharging for the night.

“Slog.”

More forceful than the magnetic rifle he'd once carried into battle, poor Slog himself was a magnet for Wildfly's atrociously short attention span. When he spoke, his words flew straight to the Monstercon leader and attached themselves to him, needling him for his attention.

“Hey, Slog.”

Slog, Slog, Slog. Slog would have to slog through Wildfly's irritating chatter, may Primus grant him the strength to do so.

“Hey, Slog, what are you talking about? And who are you talking to?” Wildfly nodded towards Kronus.

Garrus-9--Command Center

“Oh now, my friend. I can’t go and spoil the ending,” Cipher teased and Mindwipe grinned. That was a lie. A bold-faced lie! Of course he could spoil! But apparently the information was just too juicy. So be it. Mindwipe would not press his colleague any further on the matter, even though it tempted him so. Such goodies would be divulged in their own time and place.

"The pain!" Mindwipe exclaimed in mock-distress. He then listened attentively as Cipher continued.

“I saw everything. Oh, of course I wasn’t there, but I saw all of it. Every confession. Every denial. Every sorry attempt to apologize. But in the end they couldn’t hide anything. Not from Aequitas. And I’m afraid, my friend, that what I was privileged to see will remain locked in my own head…until, that is, I get inside of that judgment machine.”

Well, that settled it really. If Mindwipe wasn't already keen on getting Cipher unfettered access to that glorious repository, he certainly was now. The fact that it had been Omega Supreme that had taken possession of the core of the machine, however, posed a nigh-insurmountable number of problems. Such was life, he supposed. They had made it this far, had they not?

"Well then, we'll just have to see to it that you're the first to tickle its control panel when the time comes. I'm sure our mighty provider Scorponok will have no objections," Mindwipe said pleasantly, before looking around at their ruinous surroundings. What a waste. If Scorponok had any hope of salvaging this prison and repurposing it for Decepticon use, the repair crews were going to have their work cut out for them.

"Have you had your fill of this ruin? Perhaps Lord Scorponok has fared better in his progress. Perhaps he's received word from the Tracker and is preparing a second wave to lay claim to Aequitas even as we speak!"

Garrus-9 Central--Amphitheater

Upon reflection, Icepick was somewhat glad that the conversation had turned to Slog's art, even in the midst of this tortuous hell. It gave him something other to focus on rather than the horrible things that Jhiaxus' machines were doing to them. One other small consolation was that the Technobots appeared to be having even a rougher go of it. The praetor had clearly thought up some different approaches to his modifications that he wanted to try.

Wildly, for his part, looked as if he were about to have a near conniption fit from being restrained the way he was. His only recourse? Bothering their leader ad nauseum.

"That would be Kronus. Interesting...individual. Been here a while. I've not spoken with him much...but...I've heard word that he's not to be trifled with lightly. Some bad things have happened. Some of them rumored to be his doing," Icepick said, interjecting an unsolicited answer to Wildfly's query.

"Fear not, old friend. This will be over soon."

One way or another...
___

Lightspeed had cried out in agony more times than he would be comfortable admitting as Jhiaxus' machines did their work. No...their machines. Garrus' machines, but under Jhiaxus' guiding hand, suddenly capable of inflicting nightmarish punishment in the name of progress. Jhiaxus was the embodiment of everything Lightspeed hoped he and his team never became. Technological advancement was good. Technological advancement at the expense of sentient life? Well, all around this room lay the evidence of where that path lead.

Scattershot was doing his best to help their team glean something constructive out of this experience. For his sake, Lightspeed concentrated as much as he could as each recorded file was transmitted to him from the other members of the team. Scanned, re-scanned. Copied. Filed. Copied again. Re-filed. Yes, if they made it out of this, they would have something they could use.

-Getting them, Scatter. Just don't strain yourself,- Lightspeed commed back via their subspace link.

“I’ve finished, my lord,” the slight femme said, string of words that prompted Lightspeed to loosen his rigid posture.

Maybe. Maybe this was it.

Garrus-9 Central--Amphitheater

”As do I. The wrath of the Terrorcons has served me well and continue to do so in the future. Even more so if your initial scanning prove out to be correct and they are compatible for the process.”

Jhiaxus had offered a dark smile in response to Scorponok's musings. Indeed, Jhiaxus too had been well-pleased to see that his calculations were compatible with that particular subgroup. A fearsome motley they were. United together? One could only imagine their effect.

"Yessss. Wrath personified. A fearsome one that one will be," Jhiaxus said, his attention returning to his precious designs. His thoughts lingered only momentarily on Scorponok's prattling about the superiority of his war-tested generation. The fools. To be so proud of finding themselves engulfed in a war that no one could win?

And others thought him insane.

After Firewire had confirmed that the gladiator's little safety measures were in place, the praetor re-examined all of his pieces. Yes. Yes, everything appeared to be well in place.

"We proceed, then," he said ominously, shifting his jade gaze down to the Monstructor Six.

"One more time, my lovelies. One more," he said, as he hit the activation sequence command on his console.

Garrus-9 – Amphitheater

“You mother-fragger!! My eye!!” Rippersnapper shouted as he stumbled back slightly, attempting to ascertain the damage done. His HUD was only visible in his right optic now as the left one had sustained considerable damage from the attack. Sparks emanated from the broken socket as energon dribbled down the shark monster’s cheek. “You’ll pay for that, Cutthroat!! You’ll pay dearly!!!”

At this point, Hun-Gurrr had seen enough. While Rippersnapper probably disagreed – Cutthroat had clearly proven he was still among the strong. His will to survive against a predator of Rippersnapper's prowess despite of his weakened state was testament to his unyielding nature. Besides at this speed the combat was going to escalate beyond control. Rippersnapper had already used his flamethrower earlier which could have easily led to grievous damage being done to the ring of spectators. But to transform and pull out his cyclone rifle? A single shot could cause a fatality within the crowd and that they did not need right now. Especially with Scorponok present himself.

”ENOUGH!!” Hun-Grrr's both heads thundered as the massive beast stepped forth and pinned the both combatants down to the floor with a burst of speed rarely shown by the the Terrorcon leader. With his teeth grinding against the neck servos of both Cutthroat and Rippersnapper, the two smaller Terrorcons had all the reasons to listen to their savage leader. Well, if they
could make out what he was saying while biting them of course. ”Snap out of it! Orrr I will do it forrr you both!”

Hun-Grr's sudden roar to end the duel made even Scorponok to shift his attention away from Jhiaxus and their work momentarily. Finally. The Terrorcons had battled long enough. And not a moment too soon.

“I’ve finished, my lord,” Firewire reported, lacking her usual pep.

”Excellent work Firewire. Move over to the main console to supervise the next phase.” Scorponok spoke up. While he was convinced that both Jhiaxus and the Autobots might eventually attempt to find away to disarm the safety measures he had designed, it would prove to be extremely difficult task, impossible to most. The scramblers that could both cause even traumatizing pain to steer the giants or simply force a combination to take place or break the combiner apart to its component pieces were grafted directly into vital components of both Monstercons and the Technobots. And by using the same technology a certain morally challenged engineer had developed to create the diabolical anti-personal mines.

Tampering with the safety measures were beyond the abilities of both parties the technology was enforced on. However Scorponok was painfully aware that the existence of certain extremely gifted individuals that at least possessed a chance to find a way around the devices. But it would still at the very least bind time and resources accessible to even fewer. Scorponok was not interested in taking chances or giving any of his would be challengers a free guide into defeating him with his own creations. No, these combiners – they were weapons of mass destruction and were to be handled with utmost care.

Jhiaxus certainly was one of those individuals. A reason enough to make him a dangerous liability. Especially due to the attitude the ancient scientist had shown so far. Despite of the enormous scientific potential Jhiaxus could help the Decepticons to reach, Scorponok would have to ponder thoroughly whether it was going to be worth of the risks to ensure Jhiaxus' continued newfound freedom. Getting rid of ages old supremacist was rapidly becoming more and more appealing idea.

"Yessss. Wrath personified. A fearsome one that one will be."

”Yes. Yes it will.” Scorponok agreed with Jhiaxus' comment on the possible Terrorcon combiner. Monstructor had already proved to be ridiculously powerful. Easily more than sum of its parts. If same technology would work on Hun-Gar and his men, the end result would be simply astonishing.

”Snaptrap. You came just into time to witness the re-imagination of the next evolutionary leap of our species and its architect.” Scorponok, his time on reflecting on possible Terrorcon giant cut in short - addressed the arrival of the fearsome leader of the Seacons, gesturing him to look at Jhiaxus with a slight nod and an unvoiced signal for the Butcher to keep his optics on the scientist.

"We proceed, then, one more time, my lovelies. One more."

Yes. One more time Jhiaxus. But this time, under his control.

”Firewire. Activate to the failsaves.”

Garrus-9 – Mines

“I mean I guess not…” Skalor mumbled, “Boss never was much of a kidder even before he became an emotionless killing machine…” Skalor sighed and shook his head. Just didn’t make any sense. Maybe his audio receptors were just malfunctioning. A lot. The odious fish banged his audios a few times to give them a good jolt.

”Oh my poor, dense friend. Don't try to overthink it. You will just get your processor tangled up.” Apeface chuckled, patting Skalor's back.

Shaking his head, he turned around and looked at the two Horrorcons. “Well, I can give ‘Kil a ring for ya, if ya want. I wouldn’t mind tagging along either. Be more interesting than sitting around waiting for insect diaclones to fight over some piece of scrap.”

Before Apeface could reply to Skalor, Snapdragon voiced his annoyance.

"Can we JUST get a move on now?" The interceptor growled as he folded his arms over his chest plate, his face scrunched up into deep snarl behind his violet mouthplate. "And we can leave the Seacon to handle with their own affairs, we don't need to bring any of them along.... Do we?"

Snapdragon was clearly tense, it was better to tone down his act a bit unless he wanted to waste time wrestling an angry Snapdragon during a mission with so many highly combustible elements present. And a mission given by the second highest authority in the Decepticon Empire for that matter.

”I don't know. Didn't you have Autobot prisoners to guard?” The simian Horrorcon asked Skalor, rubbing his chin in thoughtful manner. ”I am pretty sure there was supposed to be more of them here than I can see right now,” he added with a wink. ”Like bunch on guys whose ugly mugs we stomped back on Nebulos. Or did you get rid of them already?”

Apeface turned to look at Snapdragon, ”Remember Snaps? Like you know? That… eeeh… that green? Guy? The one with what that was called? Bustersomething?” The notorious saboteur scratched his head with a puzzled look on his face, his optics wandering from Snapdragon to Skalor and back, ”And that brainy buffoon with… that thing? Yeah, pretty sure this guy had… something attached to his wrist? Yeah, had to be. We mugged him pretty bad didn't we?"

"And and… there was that..." Apeface made his best Optimus Prime imitation, "Prahme is my hero!" Prancing around with his chest puffed comically, trying to look all important, never leaving his simian alt-mode, "The big guy who had like gotten his armor re-crafted to look like his slagging idol?”

”Hah! Recall him? His Prime act sure did not stop ol' Turmoil blasting him into pieces!” Apeface added in a fit of laughter as if remembering something truly hilarious, ”And Skyhammer! The way you mauled him? Priceless! Oh those were the times.”

Garrus-9 – Amphitheater

Rippersnapper had brought his cyclone gun up to bare with every intention of using it against his comrade. He so wanted to see the intense winds rip Cutthroat to pieces, effectively ending the shock trooper's tenure as a Terrorcon and providing the shark beast with a new meal that he could devour. Unfortunately, none of that happened. Instead, before the former actor even had a chance to pull the trigger, Hun-Grrr’s monstrous vocals bellowed across the make-shift arena. “ENOUGH!!”

The very sound of his commander made Rippersnapper flinch slightly, but it was the two-headed razorbeast lashing out and pinning both the terrorist and the vulture-former to the ground that forced the amphibious mech to ultimately settle down. Ripper listened to his unit commander’s words carefully as those vicious teeth came in direct contact with his neck servos. The former actor wanted so much to finish Cutthroat off and show that he was not worthy to be a Terrorcon any longer. But it seemed that the battle had gone on for too long and had almost gotten out of control. As a result, Hun-Grrr stepped in and threatened to end it, himself, if the two of them didn’t stop fighting.

“Understood, master Hun-Grrr,” Rippersnapper conceded as his body relaxed under the weight of the razorbeast’s might. He gave a brief sideways glance over at Cutthroat with a scowl etched across his faceplate before returning his attention back up to his duel-headed leader. The shark-former said nothing further as he patiently waited to be released from his commander’s grip.

Mines

”I don't know. Didn't you have Autobot prisoners to guard?” The simian Horrorcon asked Skalor, rubbing his chin in thoughtful manner. ”I am pretty sure there was supposed to be more of them here than I can see right now,” he added with a wink. ”Like bunch on guys whose ugly mugs we stomped back on Nebulos. Or did you get rid of them already?”

“Hrk,” Skalor grunted, glancing around here and there. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen them around…They’re somewhere though. No getting outta here.” Skalor listened as Apeface went on about the Autobots that had been captured. Their names did ring a bell. Eh…he supposed he might should go check on them. Just to be safe. He didn’t wanna have to be the one to endure Snaptrap’s wrath if those Autobots got up to anything.

“Well, maybe I will now that I think about it. Good luck with finding ‘Kil for whatever,” Skalor said, giving the Horrorcons a dismissive walk as he walked away. Now, about finding those Autobots. There really was only one mech for the job.

>>”Hey, Overbite? Can you come meet me? I got a thing for you to do.”<<


"Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself in assuming our youthful friend was interested or capable of enacting what I had initially believed necessary."

Umbra’s expression fell flat. That hadn’t been what she had said. Still, she listened intently as Pyro explained their needs. An intelligence gathering mission she could do. She was capable of it at least. Conferring with other prisoners though…they were likely to be guarded. If it was Fort Max, it would be heavily guarded. The warden…Umbra supposed she shouldn’t still think of him like that, but in a way, she still did. After all, she was still a prisoner. The warden was just Scorponok now.

The scout rubbed her chin thoughtfully. To even get close to the ward- Fortress Maximus…That may be too risky. When Pyro mentioned there being something more to it, her blue optics flicked up to the Optimus-lookalike’s faceplate.

"I offer her this mission because I believe she can do it. Optimus once stated that we should trust ourselves and our intuition when making decisions,.. course he also added that those decisions must also be processed with as much data as available."

He believed in her? They had just met. Where did he get this faith from? Umbra frowned, a disheartened expression on her faceplate. She didn’t know. Didn’t know what to do. As Amaranth extended the transmitter out to her, Umbra stared bleakly at it. Her optics flicked up to Amaranth, searching her expression for a moment.

When Pyro began to speak again, Umbra glanced over to him. Perhaps she had ought to tell him what Pointblank and Roadbuster had neglected to do. Tell him that she was an Autobot killer. That would probably change his tune. Though, it seemed that he could see the darkness that plagued her. The inner torment. Was she perhaps that easy to read? Maybe without her mouthplate. Her fingers brushed lightly against her chin.

The little scout nearly jumped out of her frame when Pyro placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him for a moment, then to the transmitter. In the end, she didn’t have a choice really. Umbra needed to do this. She reached out and grabbed the transmitter, moving away from Pyro and Amaranth toward the vent. She looked over to Whirl, who happened to be closest.

“Can I get a boost up?”

Garrus-9 Corridor Outside Command Center

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!" Stranglehold cringed and rubbed his audio with a finger. His companion’s cry was accompanied by an extravagant display of despair.

“What in Pit are you going on about?” he growled, looking down at the salvager.

"We've lost the bet!!" He called out to his partner in devastation, continuing to pound his clenched fists into the corridor floor. "Megatron, Deathsaurus, it doesn't matter anymore! It was Scorponok all along!!"

“WHAT?! SLAGGIN’ PIT!” Stranglehold roared, whirling about and flinging his fist at the adjacent wall. His arm sunk into the wall as it gave way. The wrestler snarled and wrenched his arm out to mercilessly beat the wall to death in frustration. After a new crater in the wall had been quite clearly created, Stranglehold slowed his manic flurry of punches, huffing and puffing.

"Well that settles that waste of my time. What's next on the agenda?"

“Think there are any Bots left?” Stranglehold asked Octopunch before pausing for a moment and adding, “Maybe we should go report to Scorponok.”

Garrus-9 – Amphitheatre

Well, it was over. The master had decided it as such. Seemed that Cutthroat was still worthy to be a member of their pack. If it was Hun-Grr’s decision, then Blot had no problems following it without question. Satisfied with this, Blot frowned slightly when he felt something crawl on the back of his neck. He rubbed it absently with a hand. Hm. That wasn’t a good feeling. Oh well. Probably not important.

”Excellent work Firewire. Move over to the main console to supervise the next phase,” rumbled the enormous fleet commander’s voice across the chamber.

The little orange femme moved to obey, quickly jogging up to main console next to Scorponok and Jhiaxus. She began running remote diagnostics on the Monstercons’ system, prepping for the next phase. Snaptrap observed Firewire impassively, listening to the conversation between Scorponok and Jhaixus. His amber optics snapped up to Scorponok as the fleet commander addressed him.

”Snaptrap. You came just into time to witness the re-imagination of the next evolutionary leap of our species and its architect.”

The Butcher of the Bogs directed his gaze to the indicated ‘architect’, noting the unspoken signal from Scorponok. His hand moved to rest lightly on the hilt of his sword in a casual gesture, his stance remaining calm and collected. The Seacon Commander’s gaze did move slightly as Firewire was commanded to proceed in order to watch this re-imagining as well as keep a watchful optic on its creator.

Firewire cast her gaze out to the Monstercons with a little, sad frown. Upon seeing that Kronus was still lingering around in that area, she shot him a quick message.

>>”Hey, scrap-for-brains! I’d make some distance from the Monstercons if I were you. Stat.”<<

With that, Firewire released the restraints on the Monstructor Six’s slabs and activated the failsave sequence as Jhiaxus activated the combination itself. She looked over to them with anticipation.


“Ah, it was nothing.”

Slog frowned behind his mouthplate. Then why even mention it? He shook his head. It was Wildfly. He was always like this.

“Slog.”

Case in point.

“Hey, Slog.”

“Yes, Wildfl-“

“Hey, Slog, what are you talking about? And who are you talking to?”

“Hm? Oh, this is-“

"That would be Kronus. Interesting...individual. Been here a while. I've not spoken with him much...but...I've heard word that he's not to be trifled with lightly. Some bad things have happened. Some of them rumored to be his doing," Icepick said, interjecting an unsolicited answer to Wildfly's query.

“Quite. He caused a scene in the yard last activity period, I believe. That was you, correct?” Slog asked, glancing over to Kronus before glancing back to Wildfly. “Oh, but yes. We were discussing my art and where it might be located.”

"Fear not, old friend. This will be over soon."

Snap!

Slog’s optics went wide. His restraints had been removed. The Monstercon leader sat up as silence seemed to fall across the amphitheater.

“No…”

He came. Like a demon summoned from some vile, horrendous pit, He came. A palpable miasma of dread descended on the amphitheater as the Monstercons’ bodies convulsed all at once, contorting and twisting in ways appearing wholly unnatural. An amalgamation of grinding and writhing metal formed, slowly beginning to take shape. Abruptly, a monstrous visage became clear as his individual parts settled, malevolent optics peering down onto a world of victims.

The atmosphere of the chamber shifted slowly. Dread was filtered away and replaced by a subtle tug at the occupants’ sparks. As if their very life was being sucked away with each passing moment. A circle of decay spread out beneath his feet, consuming the slabs which had once restrained his components. A wicked smile cut Monstructor’s faceplate in half.

In his hands, the solar fission rifle whirred to life, immediately beginning to dim the surrounding area, making his crimson optics smolder out from the darkness. They settled upon the nearest gathering of Cybertronians. The Terrorcons and the Decepticons that had surrounded them. Shifting his stance, Monstructor pointed the rifle and prepared to fire.

Mines – Miner’s Respite

"Still...more intact than one would expect."

“Quite. I admit to some minor astonishment that the Decepticons have yet to happen upon this abode,” Highbrow commented blithely. He slipped inside behind Brainstorm, moving away from the biomechanical engineer to sift through a pile of rubble with a genteel delicacy. A lot of dust, dirt, rubble and scrap metal. Highbrow fanned the dust cloud away idly. So filthy.

"Like being back on Nebulos. Ya know, if Nebulos had thrown a Dinobot-sized party. You find anything good yet?"

“If you perhaps are implying an object of utility, then I fear not. Merely debris and…and…well, well. What have we here?” Highbrow gently tugged at a tangled knot of wiring, lifting it to reveal a very basic container filled to the brim with simple electronic components. “It seems I have indeed procured some valuable assets for our flight.”

Garrus-9 Central -- on the way to Amphitheater:



Gadget had been directed by a Seeker to the Ampitheater where Scorponok was. Gadget assumed that it was for a new job. How could he know what was going on? This was his first time walking around the Ampitheater since being taken out of the Autobots' Garrus-9 cells, and tested by the Decepticons to make sure he wasn't dangerous.

"Well, this should be interesting," said Gadget, “it’s always fun to meet new friends.”

Garrus-9 Amphitheater:

Gadget walked in and stared in awe at all of the equipment and gizmos that he could tamper with. It had been a while since he had even seen a lab this nice.

Gadget entered and saw Firewire and some other Decepticons.

“Um, hello.” said Gadget nervously. He walked in with his briefcase full of parts as he awaited a reply, and then shook when he saw the monstrous beast known as Monstructor.

Garrus-9 – Amphitheatre

It was over.

Hun-Grrr's intervention – his bellow and forceful separation, which led to Cutthroat being pinned to the floor by his master's massive jaws clamped down on his neck servos – made it so. Neglecting common sense, he squirmed in Hun-Grrr's serrated grip, eager to continue his fight with Rippersnapper. Only moments ago, the amphibious Terrorcon had released his hold on Cutthroat – because of his frenzied insistence with his fists – and, having transformed, swiftly brought his cyclone gun to bear.

He'd taken aim. At Cutthroat. With his digit choking the trigger.

Cutthroat had grinned at him, pleased with the damage he had wreaked upon his bestial comrade. Let him take the shot. Relying on a single optic and his apparent fury, the avian monster would have betted that the shot wouldn't have found him but a Sweep or Seeker standing behind him.

He'd stupidly hoped – for his vulnerability was as clear as the unmissable target he offered to Rippersnapper. Those relaxants. Those damned relaxants were still cluttering his logical cogitator with idiotic thoughts. No wonder his cerebral module currently processed information in a bizarre and illogical fashion.

Good thing Hun-Grrr had stepped in. Cutthroat, ailed by his enfeebled state, would've been finished by the cyclone gun. Not terminated as such, but wounded to the extent where the battle would furnish its victor with his crown: Rippersnapper.

Growling his disappointment that Hun-Grrr had concluded their bout, Cutthroat obeyed his master, albeit reluctantly. It would be unwise to rebel against his order when his jaws were firmly closed around his neck servos. One bite and it really could be all over.

Cutthroat ceased all movement. He glared at Rippersnapper, then looked at Hun-Grrr. “Yes, boss,” he said, irritation souring his tone.

Garrus-9 – Amphitheater

Firewire took a step back when the wave of dread crashed into her like a truck, optics wide as she stared at the horror forming before her. What in the name of Solus Prime had they just unleashed?

“Um, hello.”

The petite femme turned slightly to see who exactly was behind her. Her faceplate filled with abject horror, Firewire pointed shakily to the smoldering crimson optics of the giant Monstructor as she stared at Gadget. She stumbled as that aura of dread was augmented by a rather peculiar feeling. She felt a bit tired. What was that all about?

Garrus-9 – Amphitheater

"Um, yes you must be Firewire I assume? My name is Gadget..."

Gadget looked around at all of the chaos going on with those Monstercons and everyone in a tizzy, "um, did I come in at a bad time?"

Gadget saw Firewire staring blankly at him, "hmm I suspect that I was not meant to come in at this time."

Gadget walked carefully over to a counter and neatly put his briefcase full of random tools and parts that were surprisingly organized for being in such a small case.

Garrus-9 - Amphitheatre

After all of the chaos in the battle with Omega Supreme, Spinister had taken some time to himself. A nice little stroll down memory lane. There had been a beating over there once. Was so bad that Fortress Maximus came down to help clean it up. Good times. Over there he’d seen someone freak out and try to rip off their inhibitor claw. Guards couldn’t make it to him in time before he went up in smoke. Gooooood times.

Spinister stopped in his tracks and glanced around. Hm. Where was everyone? Sure, as much as he had been reminiscing about his recently passed prison days, he had also been trying to find out where everyone was. The halls were sparsely populated, only a few patrols going about their business here and there though they hadn’t paid him any mind. Hm.

The aerial specialist turned his head to the right when he felt a strange prickle on his armor plating. To his right was a large chamber, filled to the brim with mechs. Not least of which was the imposing form of Scorponok, easily recognizable in that…well. Who else really looked like that anyhow? And then there was something else. Well, there were a lot mechs he didn’t recognize, but that wasn’t what he meant.

A formless mass of transforming metal that set his circuits on edge. He reached for his weapons – any of them – and his twin target-lock laser rifles found their way into his hands. He lifted them, pointing with no uncertainty, at Monstructor. This could become very bad very quickly.

Garrus – 9 Central Amphitheater

For the most part Kronus kept quiet and simply watched and listened to Slog, Icepick and, yes, even Wildfly. His lips drew upwards slightly while the three Monstercons discussed, well, him.

And while he kept his audios open to what was being spoken he kept his hands over the things he began to covet. His attention, however, was swiftly drawn from his roving hands and the three other ‘Cons to the small form of Firewire.

>>”Hey, scrap-for-brains! I’d make some distance from the Monstercons if I were you. Stat.”<<

Upon receiving her message Kronus refocused his attention on all six of the mechs that were just now free from their slabs. The thief slowly and very carefully began to back away making his way over to Firewire’s location. Dear Primus.

His optics had widened and his jaw grew slack as he took in the growing sight before him. All of the previously restrained Monstercons had suddenly merged into a behemoth that seemed to suck the will to live directly from his spark. A deep sense of dread nearly overwhelmed Kronus as he backed up even further, stopping only when he was in front of the smaller form of Firewire.

“We’re all going to die.” He whispered to the little femme.

The Amphitheater

Hun-Gurrr released his death grip on his two minions when they finally relented enough to be considered sufficiently obedient to stand down as commanded. It was actually more difficult for him than most Decepticons gathered to see the duel thought – for Hun-Grrr really had to resist hard his own urge to bite through the necks of his own soldiers. The leader of the Terrorcons suffered from craving only someone like Bomb-Burst might understand. Even the other Terrorcons – as despicable they were – couldn't understand the hunger that drove Hun-Gar's appetite for destruction. They enjoyed wreaking havoc, destroying everything on their way. Some Terrorcons had even adopted his habit of devouring his enemies. Mostly they just ripped them apart. But they did not do it out of hunger. They could drink the fuel of their victims. But the others - they were not able to cannibalize them the way he did.

And exactly for that reason, Hun-Grrr reverted back to robot form. At least it gave him some relief – taking away the worst edge of his unnatural hunger that grew exponentially in his razorbeast form. It was if something... something primal attempted to take over him every time he did. He was still a Cybertronian, not a mere beast. Or was he? He couldn't remember it anymore. The beginning - his birth. Had he always been like this? Born a monster? He knew he had not been constructed cold. He was older, far older. But how old? No, this was not the time for reflecting. He had to set his warriors straight.

”You are both strong. Fit to survive to serve me,” he declared, his optics glowing eeriely in the dim lighting of the amphitheater.

”The rest of you,” the mightiest of the Terrorcons growled, his words meant for the circle of Decepticons gathered around the two duelist. ”Scatter.” They, however did not. Not the way Hun-Gurrr had expected anyway. Some ran. Some had stopped on their tracks. Many of the Decepticons looked startled. But not because of him. They were looking over him. Plenty of them pointing at something behind the Terrorcons either with their actuators or guns. Something enormous.

Turning around, Hun-Grrr saw exactly what the reaction of the Decepticons was about. The Monstercons – they were uniting. And for the first time, Hun-Gar was seeing the process to take place first hand instead of watching it to happen from the projection of an ancient holocube. And it was... magnificent. The power reeking from the transformation. He could feel it. He wanted it. He had to have it. As the other Decepticons around him took steps backwards as if struck by a feeling of unnatural dread, the leader of the Terrorcons took a step towards the monstrous giant, a gleeful look of unconstrained greed cast on his face. The malevolent gaze of now fully formed Monstructor only provoking this need he had.

Well, that was until he saw the giant lift his enormous rifle which began drawing the light from the amphitheater into itself. Fearless. That was one word to describe the Terrorcon leader. And yet, he had stopped on his tracks too like so many others in Monstructor's presence. But it was not fear he felt. Nor dread. Hun-Gurrr simply was not suicidal. It was his innate survival instinct kicking into play. Forcing him to snap out of it and assess the situation. The monster was not taking aim directly at him. Rather, it was pointing its gun into the central mass of the Decepticons gathered in the amphitheater. He was fairly certain he could evade the potential blast. And despite of his great endurance, he likely had to do so to survive.

Hun-Grrr never got a chance to follow through whatever he was planning to do though. One word was spoken out. One word that changed tide of the whole encounter.

”Fall.”

The voice was commanding, powerful, its source unmistakeable. Scorponok, standing defiantly before the monster that made even the gargantuan Decepticon leader look like a very robust child next to a full grown adult – had given a single simple command. Fall.

And the giant did fall. Dropping its rifle and grasping its head with its massive hands while unleashing a terrifying roar of anguish, sparks erupting from its less armor hidden servos, it dropped on its knees before the mighty Scorponok. Finally staring the Decepticon leader optic to optic. Whatever Hun-Grr had heard Scorponok to tell for Firewire to install into the Monstercons was clearly working.

”Monstructor.” Hun-Gar heard Scorponok stating out before the giant's pained visage while approaching the two titans. ”Your power is mine to command now. Serve me and I will unleash you against our hated enemy the Autobots. Serve me and I will give your worlds to shatter.”

”Resist me and cease to exist.” The leader of the 2nd Fleet snarled, his optical visor flashing ominously. ”I am Scorponok, leader of the Decepticons. I am your one and only master.”

”Do we have an understanding, oh mighty one?” Scorponok spoke up, a smirk clearly visible on his face before it was replaced by a stern, gravely serious look again, ”Or am I to show you how your might pales before mine.”

Garrus-9 - Amphitheatre

Gadget was shaking in his proverbial boots. He had no idea what was going on. There was a giant Decepticon made up of a bunch of smaller Cons about to go on a murderous rampage, the Terrorcons were being weird, Spinister pointing a gun at this giant Con, and a lot of scrap happening. Was this what Gadget expected when meeting new colleagues? Obviously not. Is this a normal occurrence of these chaps or did he come in at the exact wrong time?

"Uh, guys? What is uh, ehh???" Gadget couldn't say anything. He had such a mix of emotions right then. Part of him wanted to laugh at how absurd everyone was acting, part of him was terrified, and another part of him just wanted to shout out a "let's be a peace" speech. He felt like his mind was going to tear in those three pieces.

Scorponok had just then commanded Monstructor to obey him, and somehow it worked! How? Gadget was desperate to ask someone if it was just a sense of authority that drove Monstructor to submission, or some sort of tech put into the giant Monstercon behemoth's head. Either way, it was impressive.

"Wow." said Gadget simply.