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Area 51

Sludge continued his slow climb up the wall of the underground cavern. He could see the light above him grow larger by the astrosecond. It just wasn’t coming fast enough for him. At times like this Sludge wished he wasn’t so big. Sometimes, he wished he were leaner and more agile like many of the other Autobots. Being big had its advantages, especially when fighting on the battlefield. Great strength was always a bonus when battling an opponent. But being large also made the Dinobot slow and cumbersome, unable to get out of the way of enemy fire and thus taking more damage. Thankfully, he had a thick hide.

At one point in his climb, Sludge’s right foot slipped and he began to tumble downwards when he felt a pair of talons grab him by his shoulders. It was Swoop who immediately told him not to make any sudden movements. “No problem,” the Jungle Warrior replied as he was carried upward at a quicker rate than before. Soon Sludge was out of the hole and standing on both feet near the edge. Swoop then suggested that he go find Grimlock or Snarl and help them if need be. Sludge nodded as the mechanical pteranodon took to the air again. “Sure thing and thanks for the lift.”

The Jungle Warrior drew his sword in one hand and his laser gun in the other and trudged across the battlefield looking for his other team mates. He soon spotted his leader battling Razorclaw with the desert warrior nearby attempting to give him assistance. Snarl should know better, Sludge thought, shaking his head. The Dinobot leader neither needed help nor did he usually want help. Grimlock much preferred taking out an enemy combatant alone. It was just his way.

Sludge then watched as Snarl came under fire from Divebomb, another Predacon. He was about the render aide when Swoop entered the picture. So much for helping Grimlock or Snarl, the Jungle Warrior thought, still looking for a ‘con to crush.

Sludge continued onward until he came upon Swindle whom had just fired upon a golden Autobot currently battling Rampage. This double-teaming seemed unfair to Sludge, considering that the Predacon was fully capable of dealing with this Autobot without any help from another. So Sludge decided to make things fair.

“Hey, ‘con!” Sludge called out to Swindle. He didn’t know his name and he didn’t care. The Dinobot just wanted to crush him. “Time you fought someone else.” Sludge then raised his laser gun and opened fire on the Decepticon arms dealer.

**********

Divebomb felt absolute glee when his blasts struck the Dinobot Snarl, whose armor was able to absorb most of his hits. This was not unexpected to the aerial Predacon. He knew full well that it would take more than a single attack to take down a Dinobot. He had done much research on this elite Autobot force and knew their traits and attributes quite well.

Divebomb circled around and prepared for another run on the Desert Warrior when he was forced to avoid several shots from Snarl’s spiked tail. Snarl was up on his feet again, power seemingly restored to his body. It’s those metal plates on his back. They’re restoring his energy, Divebomb thought, remembering what he had learned about this particular Dinobot. Perhaps I’m aiming for the wrong areas. Instead of the body where the armor is thickest, I should be aiming for those plates!

The flying Predacon quickly switched gears and targeted Snarl’s plates, opening fire on them. The best way to take this Dinobot out was to eliminate his power source. But Divebomb’s attack was short lived as he levelled off and caught glimpse of a new, winged shadow cast on the ground beneath him. This shadow was in addition to his own and seemed to be following him. Interesting, the Predacon thought as the new shadow changed shape and direction, indicating that whatever is was had just gone into a dive.

Simultaneously turning his body sideways and his head around, Divebomb’s optics fixated on the creature that was heading right towards him. “What manner of mechanical flying beast is this?!” Divebomb exclaimed, as his attacker seemed to be on a collision course with him. But, instead of colliding, the winged monster unleashed a pair of missiles at the Predacon.

Taking evasive action, Divebomb soared up suddenly into a steep climb as the missiles shot past him and into the remnants of the human base below. The aerial Predacon then heard his own name shouted: “Divebomb!” The voice was shocking and familiar to him. He knew it all too well. It came from the vocal processor of his closest aerial rival, the one he had defeated so long ago before Cybertron had been laid to ruin.

“Swoop?! Is that you, old friend?” Divebomb replied as he came out of his climb. He descended towards the flying metal creature. “Wow, you’ve certainly changed. Nice alt mode you got there. Not all that dissimilar to my own. But, then again, you were always trying to be like me, weren’t you. Too bad you never could measure up.” Divebomb’s taunts were meant to rattle Swoop’s metaphorical cage and cause him to act irrationally, thus giving Divebomb the upper edge. “You’re not looking for a rematch are you Swoop? One defeat wasn’t good enough, you want me to hand you another? Well, okay, if that’s what you want.”

Divebomb then brought his weapons to bare and opened fire on his old rivial, Swoop.

**********

Sitting on the desert floor after his crazy acrobatics moments ago, Smokescreen looked over at Runamuck whose legs were now buried under a pile of rocks. Better you than me this time, Smokey thought to himself with a grin. He then turned to see what damage he had done to the other battle charger, Runabout. Smokey recalled one of his shots striking the black mech in the shoulder as he somersaulted over the Decepticon’s head, but the diversion expert wasn’t sure if it was a serious injury or not.

What Smokescreen saw was a black car zooming towards him on a visible collision course. Apparently, not serious enough, Smokey thought, as Runabout went airborne and abruptly transformed back to robot mode in an attempt to drop kick the Autobot. This would have been a good move had the red and blue mech been standing up. But since Smokey was in a sitting position, he simply laid flat on his back and watched as Runabout flew by over him.

Smokescreen then got to his feet and drew his weapon. His legs were feeling a bit better now, but they were still far from functioning at optimal levels. He was about to fire off a few shots at the battle charger when he spotted Blitzwing approaching overhead. “Oh great, just what I need, another triple changer.” The Decepticon Mig-25 wasted no time in firing two heat seekers at the diversionary tactician. “These fraggin’ triple changers must have it in for me!”

Without delay, Smokescreen took careful aim with his shoulder-mounted launchers and fired two rockets directly at the incoming missiles. Smokey’s rockets were usually meant for Decepticon aircraft and not enemy projectiles, which were smaller and harder to hit. But the Autobot racer had no choice. It was either this or further damage to himself.

Smokescreen watched as one of his rockets hit home, destroying one of Blitzwing’s heat seekers in a fiery explosion. However, the other rocket just missed its target, forcing Smokey to draw his electro-disruptor rifle and fire a series of shots. One of them finally struck the second warhead, causing another intense explosion that was close enough to knock Smokey right off his injured feet.

Feeling a bit rattled, Smokescreen picked himself off the ground again and scanned the skies for Blitzwing, who had seemingly disappeared after his initial attack. I wonder where he went, Smokey thought, unaware that Blitzwing was not far away and tending to the fallen Astrotrain. Forgetting about the triple changer for a moment, the diversion expert turned his attention back to the battle chargers who were no doubt regrouping.

Outside Area 51

Struggling and pinned, Runamuck can't feel the fluid leaking from him. Power fades and eyes grow dim as Runamuck succumbs to his injuries. Entering stasis lock The damaged battlecharger seizes up, functions halted. Only time will tell how long untill this Decepticon is functional again.





----------

Tiring of fighting the seemingly invincible Autobot Smokescreen Runabout isn't sure what to do. While thinking of retreating from the battlefield, rather than suffer the same fate as Runamuck, Runabout could speeds away. Death be not proud, and the Battlecharger seemed to have little impact anyway. Tearing threw the desert terrain toward the highway, the cowardly Decepticon could cut his losses before he becomes a casualty himself.
But that would be admitting defeat. Landing and pulling himself to one knee, Runabout turns and blasts at Smokescreen. "Die you insufferable piece of slag! DIE!" He screams at the red and blue mech.
The angered Battlecharger is giving no quarter to the Autobot. Repeated shots fire from his powerful rifle. Despite still limping and having a mild shoulder injury, the black Decepticon was standing his ground, and still a force to be reconned with.

<<ooc, the post earlier was a roughdraft that was never suppost to see th light of day. stupid wrong buttons all look alike first thing in the morning. Please disreguard it. sorry for the inconvienence>>

Area 51

At first, Smokescreen thought that Runabout was going to tuck tail and run once he saw his brother fall into stasis. But then the lone battle charger turned and opened fire on the diversion expert with an incredible fury. Runabout was mad, that much was certain. The Autobot had just taken out his kin, after all. Several shots struck Smokey in the chest plate while another pierced through his right wing/door. I need to get moving, Smokey thought. I’m a sitting duck-bot out here.

Smokescreen transformed to race car mode and sped off in a circular pattern around Runabout, hoping that a moving target would be harder for the Decepticon to hit. Deploying his rifle from his headlight, the diversion expert returned fire on the battle charger in a non-stop stream of lasers. “I haven’t made you mad have I, Runabout?” Smokey taunted as he made another pass around his opponent, kicking up sand and debris as he went.

Smokescreen began to widen his distance from Runabout as he encircled him, bringing Smokey a little too close to the edge of the huge crater that led down into Area 51. As the Autobot racer neared the edge, several lasers blasts from Runabout struck the ground around him, causing the already destabilized rock and dirt to give way and collapse from under the red and blue mech. As a result, Smokescreen tumbled down into the giant hole in the ground, disappearing into the darkness.

As he fell, Smokey transformed back to ‘bot mode and quickly reached out to grab a hold of a piece of twisted metal and rock that was protruding from the side of the cavern. Holding on with both hands, his body’s momentum carried him into the wall with a thud. “Ow! Frag, that smarts!” He then brought his feet against the side to provide some support for his arms. He peered up and realized that he was more than half way down the crater. There was no way he’d make it back to the top in his current condition. So, the only way he could go was down.

With that in mind, Smokescreen began to slowly descend further into the huge room under Area 51. The servos in his arms and legs were really feeling the strain now. As he neared the bottom, he lost his footing and fell backwards, a pile of rumble breaking his fall. Smokey then slide down the side of the junk pile and ended up on his aft section on the floor. Looking around, he saw that the room he was in was mostly destroyed. He also saw two shapes moving nearby. At first, he thought they might be a couple of humans who had survived down here somehow. However, Smokey soon realized that the forms were too large to be humans.

As the dust around him settled, he saw what and who they were. “Bumblebee! Wheeljack! You're alive! I thought for sure you had been scrapped when Thundercracker blew this place up!” Smokescreen exclaimed happily, seeing that they were okay and busy uncovering the last Dinobot. “So, when you fellas have an astrosecond, could one of you help me out over here? I’m really banged up and my power reserves are pretty low.” The diversion expert then laid his battered body back against the debris pile behind him and waited patiently.

Sigh. Somewhere high above, Runabout must have a smile on that ugly faceplate of his, Smokescreen thought, knowing that the battle charger had gotten lucky. He may have won this round, but at least I'm still functioning unlike his brother.

Area 51

Blitzwing had managed to avoid detection it appeared he removed Astrotrain from the battlefield with little to no difficulty. Blitzwing dropped the stasis-locked body of Astrotain to the ground after travelling across the battlefield to deliver him from harm. “You owe me Astrotain.” Blitzwing said as he started to perform minor repairs on Astrotain. It took Blitzwing around an hour to attempt to make the most basic repairs that would allow Astrotrain to function in minor capacities. When he was finished, he closed Astrotains armored chest.

Blitzwing transformed into his MiG mode, instantly taking off into the sky to recalculate the battlefield from an aerial view. The purple and white MiG was travelling back towards the location he had encountered Smokescreen and the pair of Battlechargers. Blitzwing could not locate Smokescreen any longer; he must have retreated from the grid. Blitzwing managed to locate Runamuck or what he identified as Runamuck’s legs, sticking from a pile of rubble. Blitzwing descended towards the ground and transformed into his robot mode, landing near the rubble. He aimed his weapon at the rubble and fired a number of shots, destroying portions of the rubble that surrounded Runamuck. Once the rubble was depleted in size, Blitzwing reached forward with both robotic hands to grapple Runamuck’s legs and pull him from the pile of rock.

Blitzwing glanced over his shoulder, noticing Runabout was still functional for the time being, though badly damaged.

Area 51

It had been a few breems and it wasn’t looking too good for Hot Rod. If Ratchet didn’t get him to a CR chamber soon he probably wouldn’t make it. If only the medic had a hand with some of the major parts of surgery. Just then Ratchet heard a familiar voice. A smile spread across his face as he looked up to Prowl.

“It’s a good thing you’re here. I need some help with Hot Rod. Here…”

Ratchet grabbed hold of Prowls hand and pulled the strategist to his knees. The medic then shoved Prowls hand into the hole in Hot Rod’s exposed chest.

“Take this. It’s his main line; hang onto it while I close it off.”

Retracting his hand and replacing it with a welding torch, Ratchet closed off the line. After he finished his work he took hold of Prowls fuel covered hand and pushed it away. A moment later Ratchet stood up.

“I need to get these guys back to base, but Roddy needs a CR chamber badly. Could you bounce him back to base and place him in a chamber while I look at Breaker?”

___________________________________________________


With his fingers dug deep into Needlenose’s nosecone, Sideswipe clung desperately as his flying dance partner banked towards the battlefield and began to fly directly into a building. Siders turned his head to see where they were headed and abruptly shook his head.

“I’m not liking your dance moves sweetheart.”

Sideswipe knew an impact was coming soon. Thinking quickly the crimson warrior began to tug at Needlenose’s nosecone in the hopes to change the Decepticon’s trajectory and head him directly into the top of the building. On his final tug Sideswipe dislodged his fingers from the Decepticon’s hide and dropped from the sky to land directly on the back of Rampage’s robot form.

“Ooof! I got ‘im Sunny!”

Sideswipe wrapped his arm around the Predacon’s neck in attempt to bring him down.

Area 51

Swoop cursed under his breath. He hadn’t expected the shots to strike, especially against such a superior fighter as Divebomb. Still, he couldn’t fight the rage building up inside of him. The memory of Shockwave’s attack was still fresh in his mind, but he would always know the sting of that first defeat. The Predacon did nothing to help his mood by taunting him. Thankfully, to in part to Snarl’s sudden message, he snapped to attention as he turned sharply to dodge Divebomb’s first round of shots.

>>Snarl, I’m sorry, but you have to stay out of this.<< Swoop replied back to the other Dinobot, >>He’s all mine!<<

Swoop was aware he was rather short with his teammate, but he couldn’t spare any time for him now. The pterosaur made a turn through the air, heading directly for Divebomb. With his missile launchers at the ready, he was prepared to engage in attack.

“That’s not going to happen this time. To fair, I’ve been looking forward to paying you back for a long time now, and I promise you I’m not the same as before. Whatever it takes, I’ll put you in the ground, even if it means I take you with me!” Swoop let out a horrible screech, then fired several missiles at the Predacon. He then flew in closer to his target, ready to bite and rake at his prey with his beak and talons.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Swindle was rather disappointed that his scatter blaster had failed to disable the Autobot’s weapon and firing hand. This fighter had become something of an annoyance for the Decepticon. With both he and Rampage attacking, he would’ve thought this yellow-armored upstart would be dead, and free to search for parts. It seemed that he was now beginning to shake off the effects of the gyro gun. This would be easily remedied, as Swindle prepared to fire the weapon again.

But then, Swindle’s attention was drawn from his intended victim by the sound of another. The Decepticon turned around to see some great, hulking Autobot facing towards him with a laser rifle in hand. He had fired, but Swindle managed to side step it with relative ease.

“Well, they sure don’t make them like that anymore, do they?” Swindle smirked, “Is the range on that weapon calibrated correctly, or is your aim as poor as your tactics? If it be the former, I might have something for you.” The Decepticon had no idea whom this new combatant was, but even it was plain to him that any opponents that announces themselves make for easy mark on the battlefield.

“Take for example these fine beauties, all manufactured by yours truly. Capable of bringing down any foe, an absolute guarantee,” Swindle said as he activated both his scatter blaster and gyro gun, and then began to fire on Sludge. By general apperance the Dinobot looked like he could take a beating, and if the wide-spread of the blaster didn’t faze the Autobot, perhaps he’d be more susceptible to fire when his limbs were inhibited at their joints.

(ooc: this will also serve as Blasters intro.)

Area 51

Prowl grabed the main line fromRatchet so he could operate on Hot Rod. The youngster was in very bad shape and he did not like the comment from Ratchet that he was out for a bit. He just hoped they weren't too late to save him. Once Ratchet finished, Prowl put Hot Rod's arm over his shoudler. It especially didn't help given the youngester was built taller than him. But there was no room for complaining. He had work to do.

"I'll move quickly, and if need be return once Hot Rod's secure." Prowl said.

As he began to walk he felt something causing his left leg to twitch.

"How did I forget about him?" he thought to himself, having been so caught up in the situation that he fogot he had a passenger, or rather "passengers". He nelt over slightly and pressed a latch that opened a compartment in his leg. Activating a launcher inside, out shot a red, yellow and grey sterio with an Autobot symbol on it.

"Sorry Blaster. I forgot I had to put you on mute. You got too excited seeing all those lights in that city we were just in. I couldn't have you drawing too much attention." he exclaimed as he tapped a button on Blaster to undo the mute function.

"It seems Optimus and the others could use a hand. I'll handle things with the injured if you can give the others a few more numbers. If Megatron's out there, then it's almost certain Soundwave is nearby." he told Blaster, suggesting a certain form of action to help the situation.

Area 51

When Prowl finally released him from mute, Blaster begun his normal tradition of being unpredictable. “Hey alright! Blaster is back on the air.” Blaster exclaimed as he was ejected from Prowl and into the air. Blaster transformed into his towering robot mode, he towered over most of his counterparts. Mostly red, his tape deck featured a yellow lining with an Autobot symbol. Blaster raised his Electro-Scrambler gun and prepared it for combat.

“That poor excuse for a sound system is still claiming to be legit?” Blaster seemed puzzled by the comments of Soundwave being a threat. “I been waiting a long time for this.” Blaster said as he studied Hot Rod for a moment. “Oh man. Hot Rod is looking bombed out and depleted.” Blaster studied his wounds for getting back to the task at hand. “I’ll go see about dealing with outdated entertainment systems.” Blaster responded as he headed off into the distance away from Prowl and Ratchet.

He figured in this instance, Optimus Prime would be engaged with Megatron, which means Soundwave would be somewhere in the immediate area. Blaster tried to locate Optimus Prime on the battlefield or any other Autobots in the area that needed assistance. His large red robot form could be seen running across the field of battle, his Electro-Scrambler clutched in his right hand.

Area 51

Prowl watched as Blaster wasted no time runnning into battle. He was somewhat surprised Blaster hadn't complained about him being muted. Then again, in his history of knowing Blaster, he never really knew him for holding grudges. With that settled he turned to Ratchet and activaed a laser-based network conneciton to acquire the coordinates of the Autobot Headquarters, having not been there yet. Once he got it, he severed the link.

"I'll return shortly, and if things hold out perhaps some sort of strategy can be found to quickly ending this battle in our favor." he said. Though with Blaster on the field and the use of Eject, Ramhorn, Rewind, and Steeljaw things may very well turn for the better.

He activated the transporter and both he and the injured Hot Dod traveled through a vortex of light for Autobot HQ.

Area 51

Razorclaw was a bit taken aback at the sudden change in Grimlock’s forward advance. The Dinobot Commander stepped back and transformed into his alternate mode. The fearsome site did catch Razorclaw off guard and he was quickly taught a hard lesson when Grimlock took a bite at the Predacon Commander’s arm.

“Arghhh!”

Razorclaw howled in pain but swiftly took his free hand and pounded it into the side of Grimlock’s head. The tyrannosaurus set him free as he opened his great maw and let out a terrifying cry. The Predacon staggered back and quickly examined his arm. It was torn and mauled but still functional. Razorclaw quickly transformed into his lion mode and lunged forward, his claws bared. In an attempt to avoid the attack Grimlock turned his head only to get a full face of lion claws down the left side of his face.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Grimlock reared back on his hind legs and swung his enormous tail in attempt to trip up Razorclaw. The gigantic lion leapt deftly over the tail and landed back on his feet.

“Grrr, you know you can’t win this one, Grimlock. Best if you take what’s due you and die at my claws!”

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


“You’re wrong Megatron. This battle will end in one way, with you lain out.” Prime circled his opposite now taking into account what might be in the Decepticon leader’s mind. He spotted some debris and some other makeshift weaponry, until he caught a glimpse of Megatron’s fusion cannon.

“I don’t think so Mega-tron!”

With his final word Prime plunged at the Decepticon with his right shoulder and planted it firmly into his chest. Megatron grunted and stumbled backwards from the blow. He quickly got back to his feet and suddenly began to close the distance between the two and swiftly grabbed a hold of Prime’s head and bashed it into his knee. Prime fell from that spot face down into the dirt.

“Aghh!”

Optimus Prime got to his hands and knees and stood back up. He was tiring, but he knew his opponent was also just as tired. Prime placed a hand on the side of his head and watched as Megatron began to circle him once more.

Area 51

Needlenose's gleefulness faded as he felt Sideswipe start tugging at his nosecone. "I'm not digging your moves either, dude," he grunted, as he tried his best to pull against the Autobot's grip. But between his speed and the already close clearance he'd been going for, he knew it just wasn't going to work. He went for starting to transform instead, Sideswipe thankfully dropping off before he had to worry about the effect having an Autobot hanging off him might have during his mode change.

He managed to finish transforming and turn himself just in time to crash shoulder-first into the building's roof, his momentum carrying him through the top of the building and out the other side, debris flying everywhere. His anti-gravs slowed his descent enough to twist around and dive into a roll upon landing, but he still hit the ground solidly and skidded for a ways before coming to a stop. He muttered as he stared up and back at the result of his little trip, "I give it eight points for style, minus five for hurtin' like the pits."

He took stock of his condition as he remained laying on the ground. A number of dents, and what felt like it might be a crack on his cockpit, but what bugged him the most was that the tip of his left wing was now bent at an odd angle from where he'd hit the building. He could probably still fly with it if he was careful, but any of his usual fancy maneuvering would be difficult at best. "Fine, whatever. Don't need to fly to show up these wannabes anyway." He pulled out both his electrostatic rifle and his light burst discharger as a precaution, just in case any uppity Autobots came across him before he'd had the chance to recover somewhat. No sense in charging off looking any worse than he had to, after all.

Outside Area 51

Unsure of what to do next, Runabout was sure of one thing; he couldn't sit still. The overwhelming amount of action was exactly what the mech desired, so much so that he couldn't make up his mind as to where to go first. Refusing to be a sitting target the anxious Decepticon assumes car mode and speeds around the battlefield. Although he wishes he could free Runamuck he had to be concerned with himself, besides Runamuck had to learn to carry his own weight. Taking on Dinobots doesn't sound like a smart idea, and the arrival of other Autobot reinforcements couldn't be good news either. Rather than pick a fight with the fresh troops, Runabout decides to harass a already damaged foe. Quickly analyzing the chaos, he circles around Rampage and transforms, locking onto Sideswipe. The banged-up bot looks to be the easiest target for the delinquent Battlecharger to bully, and attacking him could hopefully free the grappled Predacon in the process. Lets hope he appreciates this Runabout thinks to himself.

"Stick this in your exhaust-port Autobot waste!" The sadistic black warrior taunts the red Autobot wrapped around his fellow Decepticon, maliciously firing at the Sideswipe's back.

Area 51

Divebomb prepared for Swoop’s counterattack as the flying Dinobot was busy boasting about how he would take the Predacon down one way or the other. It amused Divebomb to the core of his spark to hear such rhetoric coming from one such as Swoop. Perhaps he had changed more than just his alt mode as he claimed, or maybe Swoop was just trying to scare his opponent a little. It didn’t work, of course. Divebomb would never be afraid of the bombardier, no matter how much tough talk he spat out.

Spotting the oncoming missiles with his enhanced visual sensors inside his optics, Divebomb locked on and opened fire, destroying two of the four missiles in mid air. Through the explosion came the other two warheads. Since they were now too close to destroy with lasers, the aerial Predacon was forced to tilt his body sideways, bringing his wings into a vertical position in order to avoid the projectiles. The manuever worked. The rockets shot passed Divebomb, coming within inches of his metal body.

Divebomb then levelled off as Swoop came in close and snapped at him with his long beak. The Predacon quickly dove down under the Dinobot to avoid being bitten, but instead was clawed across his back by Swoop’s sharp talons. “Arrggh!!! Swoop, you fragger!!” Divebomb roared. The wounds on his back were not serious nor deep enough to prevent him from continuing the fight, but they still hurt like a son-of-a-glitch. If anything, the flying Pred would have war wounds to show off from this encounter.

Becoming angrier now, Divebomb pulled up through the air and then came around, settling in above and behind Swoop. Now was his chance to do some serious damage to his old rival. Back on Cybertron, Swoop’s primary weak spots were his wings, being relatively fragile in their design. However, now that he was a mechanical pterosaur, his wings might be stronger then before. They didn’t appear to be different in strength, but looks could be deceiving. Of course, there was only one way to find out for sure.

Aiming at both of Swoop’s wings, Divebomb dove in closer and unleashed a concentrated barrage of laser fire, attempting to strike at his foe’s weak points.

**********

Sludge felt a tickle as shots from Swindle’s scatter blaster bounced off his armored plating, leaving only minor scorch marks behind. The Jungle Warrior laughed as more fire came his way from the Decepticon’s gyro gun. Now, Sludge didn’t know what a gyro gun was or what it did. It was really of no concern to him, and it probably would only hurt his head if someone tried to explain it to him. So, Sludge simply stood his ground and deflected two of the gyro blasts with his sword while a third struck him in the left shoulder.

At first, Sludge felt nothing. But then he began to lose mobility in his shoulder and arm. The energy of the gyro blast radiated down to his hand, which caused him to drop his laser gun. “Errr…what’s this? Can't move my arm.” Sludge didn’t understand what was happening. His overall center of balance seemed a bit off, as well, but not too badly. Thankfully, the blast had not been a direct hit and mostly affected only the joints in his left arm, which now hung limp at his side. The effects would wear off soon, but until then he would have to make due with only his right arm, which still had full functionality. It also had his energo sword!

Glaring down at the small, yellow mech in front of him, the angry Dinobot charged directly at his opponent. As he drew closer, Sludge brought his sword to bare and furiously slashed at Swindle in a series of powerful assaults, hoping that one would hit its mark.

Area 51

Aftershot was tired. His long, drawn out fight with the down Skywarp had banged his body up pretty badly. On top of that the high number of maneuvers and the rate of fire he had been forced to maintain had drained his energy reserves pretty badly. Now he was faced with a practically undamaged Thundercracker who had not been involved in heavy combat and had most of his ordnance left. The Autobot flier knew in his Spark he couldn't win and remain flying, he was going down in this fight. Question was, would Thundercracker join him?

Suddenly the Decepticon's sonic boom hit him. Aftershot had always heard of these strange bursts, and the effects it could have on an individual, but to experience it first hand was something else. Suddenly every small doubt about his ability to fly, to fight and win, the fear of every battle, every crash and lost fight came flooding into him at once. The flier became like a terrified animal and bolted. He took off into the air, twisting and turning eractically, without direction as if he was fleeing from some horrible monster. It was like Aftershot had lost the ability to think and was simply operating on the basic instinct of fleeing and surviving. It was only the pain of Thundercracker's incendiary rounds slamming into his armour, blasting even more holes and causing him to list sharply to the right that Aftershot was snapped out of his panic.

With reality flooding back to him the Autobot found himself in a arcing loop, and he knew he only had one last shot to take out his pursuer. Transforming into robot mode, Aftershot let gravity do the work for him and start to pull him down to earth. Although the Autobot couldn't fly in his robot form, he could still use the jets in his feet for short bursts to would let him jump, or alter his direction. Arcing his back in a controlled fall backwards, Aftershot fired those jets and shot away from Thundercracker in a sudden burst of speed. As he fell towards the ground he transformed once more into his alternate form, this time above the Decepticon, aiming right down on him.

"Alright, time to end this!"

Aftershot locked onto his target, kicked his engines into full throttle and flew towards Thundercracker, his laser cannons firing at full power. His goal; to ram Thundercracker at full speed so to maximize kinetic damage, and to give him as little time as possible to avoid the incoming Autobot.

* * *

Wheeljack sighed as he and Bumblebee pulled another piece of debris that was keeping Slag trapped, he though this was the last major piece and getting to the trapped Dinobot would be easy as servo pie after that. He was wrong. The girder he removed was a load bearing girder and more debris feel to keep Slag trapped. The normally calm Engineer slammed his fist against the new debris. This day had been a little much, he was used to being blown up, but for some reason trying to dig Slag out was really getting to him.

"Someone's on the way down." Bumblebee said suddenly standing up and looking up as he heard noise from above. "Hey, it's Smokescreen."

Wheeljack looked up and turned around as he saw Bumblebee make his way over to the downed 'Bot. The engineer made his way over to Smokescreen and gave him a look over.

"Whoa, you look like you've seen your fare share of a beating." SAid the engineer looking over the other 'Bot. "We don't really have the energon or parts to spare on fixing you up, we need what we have to get Slag on line once we have him free. You'll just have to rest up here, and keep an eye out for any 'Cons who might come crawling back down here."

Wheeljack offer and apologetic shrug to Smokescreen before turning back to start work anew on getting Slag free. Bumblebee did his best to help the injured bot to find something to prop himself up against and did the best he could to treat his battered body. However, Bumblebee was a scout, not a medic and his skills were limited.

"Sorry Smokescreen, we really can't do a lot right now. I think it is best that we lay low until someone can help us out down here."

* * *

Snarl was feeling oddly confused and lost. There was a battle raging, yet he could not find an opponent to fight. It was then that he noticed a jet fly over head and transform to land not to far away. He knew that it could only be a Decepticon. He stalked forward, picking his way through the ruins of the human base and spotted the Decepticon triple changer Blitzwing. He observed as the 'Con tried to effect useless repairs on the fallen Astrotain, who was in stasis lock from battle damage, and would need a CR chamber to repair.

However, the Dinobot cared little for the fate of Astrotain and was now focused on the unsuspecting Blitzwing. With a roar the Dinobot charged forward at full speed, aiming right for the triple changer in an attempt to ram him full on with his armoured body.

Area 51

Prowl phased back to the very Battlefield from where he left. Checking his posiiton he noted he was one mile off from his original posiiton, where Ratchet was most likely still working on Trailbeaker. He knew well that the medic had things under control, but that did not mean that there were other Autobots that were seriously injured. Logically the best thing for him to do would be to find them and get them back to Ratchet. Of course, he had to be careful not to draw unwanted attention to hismelf.

He transformed into his Ford Mustang GT mode and drove into the battlefield, remaining on high alert. of course the first thing he needed to do was radio the other Autobots. He switched on his comm to an open Autobot frequency. "Autobots, this is Prowl. If anyone is seriously injured but sitll functioning, send me your coordinates and I'll be right there to get you out. Ratchet is on site and I'll do what I can to get you to him. I'll also provide backup if need be."

With that, he left the channel open, waiting a response fom any Autobot in need, as he drove in but sitll half-expecting to encounter a Decepticon.

Area 51

As his talons raked across the Predacon’s back, Swoop would have smiled, if his beak were capable of expressing such an expression. He silently relished in hearing Divebomb’s outburst and the pain he felt. However, he couldn’t allow himself to be caught up in such emotion, at least not yet. Even having lost in their last confrontation, the two fliers were arguably of equal skill and capability. This fight was far from over.

For as strange as it was, Swoop had to admit that this new bestial form was of great use to him. And it seemed to have caught Divebomb for a loop. His opposite didn’t seem to be making use of his organic form, which was something that the Dinobot could exploit. Pulling off from his attack, the Dinobot tried to stay from out of Divebomb’s sight as he rose higher into the air. As the Predacon dove in closer, Swoop tried to fly from out of range of the attack. He had thought he had evaded him, but then he suddenly felt a twinge of pain. Looking to his rear, he saw a small tear at the end of his right wing.

Swoop cursed himself; after all this time, his weakness seemed to remain the same. If only he had chosen an organic form with some stronger wings. However, he did not want Divebomb to become aware of this fact, so he shouted,

“You’re losing your touch Divebomb. I was offline for years under this planet, and I’m feeling fine. What’s your excuse?” Swoop turned in the air and fired another three waves of missiles at the Predacon, then drew in closer for a second attack with his primal weapons.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As Swindle had thought, his scatter blaster had absolutely no effect on Sludge’s armor plating. Then after firing his gyro gun, he could see that it was beginning to take an effect on the lumbering Dinobot. As he had dropped his laser gun, the Decepticon smiled to himself now knowing how he could he hit this guy. Then Sludge seemed to charge forward at him, waving a sword in his other hand. The Decepticon quickly tried to back away from the Dinobot, a relatively easy task given how slow and awkward he moved. As his sword came down to a loud clatter into the ground, Swindle fired upon several more times with his gyro gun, aiming for his right shoulder and hand.

“Feels strange doesn’t it, and quite uncomfortable, eh? Makes for an effective means of crippling opponent without the use of excessive force.” Swindle chuckled to himself as he looked down upon the Dinobot, bringing his scatter blaster to point right in the face of Sludge, “Brings even the greatest of enemies down to your level, just how I like it.” He then pulled the trigger and fired.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Pipes was having trouble keeping track of time. For all he had known, he’d been lying crippled on the desert floor for days or weeks before he had picked up an open Autobot comm. message. The Autobot tried to open his optics, but only flickering images flashed before him, nothing he could clearly make out. He tried to sit up, but he could he feel no response from his lower extremities, and then his arm began going. Pipes opened up into the channel and said,

<<Prowl, this is Pipes… I-I’m pretty damaged here… I’ve taken some nasty shots by a Decepticon flyer… I got hit with my own toxins and it ate through my equilibrium components… I can barely move… I’m sending my coordinates.>>

Then the Autobot closed the channel and drifted off into semi-consciousness.

Area 51

Blitzwing was not prepared for an attack while he stopped to listen to the rushing sound in the distance. “Astrotain?” He thought for a brief second until he turned around to notice the massive Dinobot known as Snarl. “What the?” Blitzing concluded as he attempted to dodge, however; it proved to be futile. Blitzwing was sent hurling to the ground while his large frame crashed into the ground beneath them and he slid almost two meters in distance from the powerful collision. “Mother Slaggin!” Blitzwing exclaimed as his robotic arms clashed into the ground to stop his moment. “Snarl!” Blitzwing concluded as he attempted to pick himself from the ground.

Blitzwing was an accomplished warrior of many battles; he quickly tried to forge the best plan of attack on such a powerful creation that was Snarl. “Pretty brave of you to make the trip all by yourself Snarl, Grimlocks not here to save your behind!” Blitzing said finally making it back to his feet after taking a dirt nap. Blitzing focused his field of vision on the selected Solar Panels that acted as a source to restore and store useful energy that was later transferred into energy. This ability gave Snarl his great strength and energy reverses. Blitzing supposed that Snarl could even match him in direct melee and strength confrontations. But there was no way Snarl could match his speed, firepower, or accuracy in a fight.

Blitzwing then transformed as his arms formed into his body and then his legs become a combined set of rolling-track. His chest formed into the center, which would be the command center for his new form while a huge cannon sprouted from the center. When completed, Blitzwing had transformed into a purple and white tank that featured Decepticon symbols. The long barrel that formed the cannon started to adjust and inside the cockpit, Blitzwing lined up a set of crosshairs that locked onto the target location, he targeted the Solar Panels on the back of Snarl’s body. Blitzwing’s cannon glowed with a powerful purple aura as it charged only to be released with one powerful blast. The Track-Mounted Cannon fired a powerful explosive shell that was aimed straight at Snarl’s Solar panels. Blitzing planned to wear Snarl down and then engaged in a one-on-one duel, just the way he liked to fight.

Smoke was left fuming from his Track-Mounted Cannon while Blitzwing geared his engines and started to race away from Snarl, hoping that the primitive instincts of the Dinobot would compel him to chase Blitzing, chase him, right into a trap. “You’ll never be good enough Snarl!” Blitzing hammered out as he drove away setting the trap into motion for either a one-on-one duel of Electro-Swords or possibly to ambush Snarl with more Decepticons, but Blitzwing had started to make a number of calculations, the tide was starting to turn in favor of the Autobots.

Area 51

Blaster had been trailing Sideswipe through the area when he decided to grapple the Predacon in a daring maneuver. “Hold on Sideswipe! 21 first century soul machine here to bring you an electronic saving.” Blaster declared as the large red Autobot traveled in Robot mode across the terrain. Before Blaster could reach Sideswipe, Runabout had fired a number of shots at Sideswipes back. “Oh hell no.” Blaster interjected as he approached the scene near Runabout. “You like ganging up on my Autobots of virtue? Well two can play.” Blaster said as he motioned as he clutched his Electro-Scrambler gun. “Prepare to be jammed like never before.” Blaster said as he pressed a button on his chest, and his deck opened up.

“Let’s introduce the team and now introducing the Heavy Weight Champion of the world. Ramhorn!” Blaster said as a single cassette was launched from his chest transforming in mid-air. Ramhorn transformed into a robotic rhinoceros that made a number of aggressive sounds landing on the ground and prepared to strike. “And in this corner, the undisputed trivia master of the Autobots, Rewind!” Blaster announced his next introduction as anther cassette was shot into the air. Rewind transformed landing near Ramhorn, wielding two silver guns. “And now to introduce the all time rushing leader for the Autobots, Eject!” Blaster stated as the next cassette was launched into the air, which transformed into Eject; hold sported a small golden blaster. “Last but not least my man Steeljaw can sniff out any trail, if it’s hot or if it’s not.” Blaster said as he launched an additional cassette into the air, this last cassette transformed into Steeljaw. Instead of just being Blaster, it was five Aut0bots facing down Runabout now.

Blaster and the Mini-Cassettes prepared to a number on Runabout. “Now that we have evened the odds. Bust his ass team!” Blaster commanded as he opened fire with his Electro-Scrambler gun, firing a single shot. Ramhorn leaped from the ground trying to tackle Runabout’s right leg while Steeljaw went for Runabout’s left leg. Rewind and Eject both leaped from the ground, attempting to land on Runabout’s shoulders to attempt to punch him the optics while Blaster aimed his Rifle for anther shot. “You either play fair or you don’t play at all.” Blaster responded.

Area 51

After a number of long moments of admiring the destruction he'd managed and letting his internal repair systems do their thing, Needlenose finally worked on getting to his feet and stretching a bit. He wasn't fully recovered, of course, but at least he wasn't quite as sore, either. Besides, from the sounds of it there was a grand spectacle happening on the other side of the building, and he wasn't part of the show. That just simply wouldn't do, would it? Certainly laying around on the ground wasn't very glamorous.

As he rounded the building, the sight before him really was a spectacle. There was Swindle battling the giant Autobot Sludge, for starters. Good old Swindle, Needlenose thought. Every mech who knew how to look good valued a promoter who knew how to make them look even better, even if the merchant did take a little too high a percentage of the profits in Needlenose's opinion.

For the moment Swindle looked like he had things well in hand, and Needlenose had heard that Sludge and his teammates were tough customers, so he decided to look around further. Not much style in getting flattened, after all.

It seemed Sideswipe had survived his dismount, but still hadn't learned his lesson about not hanging off people. Well, if anyone could teach him a lesson, it was Rampage, Needlenose figured. This certainly was interesting, though... first the team of Dinobots that had passed into near-legend at this point, and now the elite Predacons had been called into the fray. Whatever had been so important about this particular place, it must have been something major.

But there was time to worry about that later, Needlenose figured, as his gaze finally fell on the battle between Blaster and Runabout. Now that just wouldn't do at all! Ganging up on someone for a easy fight just was no way to make yourself look good... Needlenose would have expected someone with as much style as the flashy tapedeck Autobot to know that. Well, seems he'd just have to go and do the Autobot a favor by giving him a better-looking fight.

Needlenose overheard Blaster's last few lines as he ran over, and he called out, "No worries, Runabout, I've totally got you covered. Hey there, Autobot! Five-on-one isn't playing fair at all! Or, like, three-on-one, since they're all little midgets anyway. But I'll be nice to you and even things up so it ain't such an uncool fight." Not wanting to risk electrocuting Runabout, he fired several charges of his light burst discharger at the cassettes instead.

Area 51

Before he could even register if he did any damage to Sideswipe, Runabout is knocked to the ground. His right leg is gored and his left is pulled out from under him with sharp teeth. The damage to his lower extremities is getting more severe by the hit. The only lucky break the black mech has had is Needlenose blasted at Rewind and Eject before they could inflict any damage. Just after hitting the ground Runabout rolls sharply to the left. To avoid the humanoid duo of cassettes.

"Thanks for the prompt reaction good friend," Runabout shouts to Needlenose as he transforms, "Now if you can keep these runts off me for a moment it would be rather appreciated."

Transforming into his more mobile vehicle mode Runabout rends a piece of his frontend around his lfet headlight assembly. Freeing himself Runabout lays down suppressive fire with his vehicle modes guns, as he heads for the leader of the circus that was just unleashed upon him. Circling around to avoid Ramhorn and not sure if he clipped the side of Steeljaw as he speeds off. Runabout notices a broken-off piece of his bumper hanging from the lions mouth from its earlier attack.

"Hope you choke on it!" He mocks the yellow beast.

Spotting what may be a weak point he speeds toward Blaster, as he swerves to avoid oncoming fire. Attempting a move that was seen earlier Runabout boosts himself into the air, aiming for the chest plate of the yellow and red mech. Why an Autobot would have such an exposed weak point is beyond logic.

"Hey Blaster I got a transmission for you to intercept! And an exhaust, and a wheel, and an axel..." He taunts the Autobot communications expert.

NO SIGS IN RPG FORUMS - Devastron

Area 51

Sunstreaker grunted as he took the hits from the machine guns but he kept on plowing ahead. He was determined to deliver a knock out blow to this Decepticon even if it meant he got himself wrecked in the process. He snarled in frustration as Rampage leapt over him. It seemed that ramming wasn’t even going to work. Well, he still hadn’t used all of his moves, although he was starting to reach the bottom of the fuel tank for them.

As soon as the Predacon leapt over him Sunstreaker pulled a hard right turn, tires screeching as he made the abrupt maneuver at such high speeds. He’d been in enough fights to know what would come next. The blast that would have struck him had he not pulled his turn slammed into the pavement beside him. The Autobot warrior began racing back towards Rampage, this time swerving back and forth to avoid more of the blasts coming from the Decepticon.

The twin spotted his brother dropped down on Rampage from behind. He had no idea what Sideswipe had been up to and didn’t particularly care. Normally he would be annoyed at anyone, even his brother, but he could use any advantage he could get at this point. He would still chew him out about it later though. With the Rampage hopefully distracted Sunstreaker transformed. His armor was pot marked and he was leaking fluids from more than one injury, but he continued charging at the Decepticon. He made a flying leap at the Predacon, screaming a war cry as he aimed his right fist at Rampage’s midsection.

*

Grimlock was a bit disappointed that he didn’t score a more lethal blow with his alternate mode. Sure, he had mauled Razorclaw’s arm a bit but it hadn’t been a decisive or even debilitating blow. The Predacon had then turned the tables on him by shifting to his new alternate mode that Grimlock wasn’t familiar with and scored a quick hit to his face. It wasn’t terribly damaging but the fact that he got in such a hit was irritating. He could feel himself moving slower and slower. He had just been given and emergency supply of energon and all of this fighting was burning through it quickly.

“You all talk Razorclaw, not enough bite!” With a burst of speed, using up a considerable amount of his remaining fuel, Grimlock clamped his jaws down on Razorclaw’s torso. As he began sinking his teeth into the Predacon leader Razorclaw howled and thrashed about, slashing claws on Grimlock’s and tearing through his right optic. The Dinobot roared in pain, releasing the Predacon from his grasp.

Razorclaw wasted no time and quickly pressed his advantage. As Grimlock turned away from him to shield his damaged optic the Predacon sprung, landing on the Dinobot’s back and began tearing away with his claws and teeth. Grimlock roared again and transformed to his robot mode, shaking the Predacon off of him. He turned and brandished his sword, ready for the next round of fighting. Then he felt it. His joints were beginning to lock up and his circuits were seizing. He’d push himself too far and was falling into stasis lock. He went down on one knee, leaning on his sword to help keep him propped up.

“No slaggit, not again.”

Area 51

Divebomb was somewhat happy with the fact that Swoop’s wing appeared to be damaged from his last attack. However, it seemed to only be a small tear and nothing major that would cripple the winged Dinobot. “I see that your wings are just as fragile as before, dear Swoop, just as my visual sensors are also just as acute as you may remember. I can see that tiny tear in your wing. It can only get worse as our battle rages on!”

Ignoring Swoop’s own taunts, Divebomb watched as the pterosaur turned towards him and let loose more missile waves. The Predacon turned to face Swoop and his projectiles head on, not worrying about the possible consequences. “More rockets? How original…” Divebomb began as he avoided the first two waves. “…and how boring. Must we continue along these lines? Perhaps a change is in order.” Divebomb then fired his lasers at the last wave of missiles, striking each of them and causing a large mid air explosion that seemed to grow larger as each one detonated.

Without hesitation, Divebomb flew directly into the fireball and quickly emerged from the other side a bit singed but otherwise in full operating capacity. He accelerated towords Swoop, seeing that his opponent was ready to strike at him again with those talons. As the Predacon approached, he pulled his body upwards, exposing his own razor-sharp talons underneath. “Time you felt my sting!”

Divebomb closed in and lashed out at Swoop’s head with his claws, aiming for the Dinobot’s long beak and face, hoping to cause some damage or even blind him in one optic. Immediately afterwards, the aerial Predacon ignited his rocket thrusters on his back and shot straight up to avoid any retaliation from Swoop’s own claws. But before he had achieved any great distance from the metal pterosaur, Divebomb shut off his rocket pack and turned back down and fell into a steep nosedive. Heading directly towards Swoop, the Predacon drew his wings in close to his body, which allowed him to gain more and more speed as he rapidly approached his winged target from above.

Divebomb extended his vicious talons just as he shot down past his old rival and attempted to slash at Swoop’s slightly damaged wing, hoping to make the tear wider.

**********

Sludge became more and more agitated as he slashed at Swindle with his energo sword repeatly. The small Decepticon was quick and able to back away in time to avoid the Dinobot’s attempts to cut him in half. “Hold still, little one.” But the ‘con was not cooperating. Instead, Swindle fired more shots from his gyro gun, this time striking Sludge’s right arm. The same weird sensation from before began creeping through the Jungle Warrior’s limb, but this time he fought against it. He could not allow his right arm to become useless, as well.

Trying desperately to hold on to his sword, Sludge looked up and saw that Swindle was aiming his other weapon directly at his face all the while boasting about how great his gyro gun was. “You talk too much, ‘con.” With no other options available to him, the large Dinobot then charged forward suddenly, knocking into Swindle and ruining the aim of his scatter blaster. The weapon went off harmlessly, missing its intended target by a wide margin.

Sludge then backed away from the Decepticon arms dealer, still struggling to hold on to his sword. It was then that the Jungle Warrior noticed that feeling had begun to return to his left arm. He could now move it again, if only in limited motions. It wasn’t at full strength, but it was currently in better shape than his right. Without another thought, Sludge reached down and retrieved his laser pistol that he had previously dropped. Using his improving left arm, the Dinobot fired off a steady stream of shots at Swindle, hoping to keep the ‘con busy long enough to allow his right arm to recover.

**********

Smokescreen smiled as Bumblebee and Wheeljack finished speaking to him. “No worries, guys. I understand completely. Getting Slag back online is more important. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right for the time being.” And with that, Smokey watched as his Autobot comrades returned to digging the last Dinobot out from underneath all that rubble. He wished he could help his friends, but in his current condition the red and blue mech would be lucky to even stand up for two astroseconds let alone heave chunks of debris around. Smokey would just do what Wheeljack suggested and keep a look out for any Decepticons that might come down the hole. At the very least, the diversion expert could still fire a gun so he wasn’t totally useless.

It was then that Smokescreen received a trasmission from a familiar mech:

Roadbuster wrote:"Autobots, this is Prowl. If anyone is seriously injured but still functioning, send me your coordinates and I'll be right there to get you out. Ratchet is on site and I'll do what I can to get you to him. I'll also provide backup if need be."

Smokey’s eyes lit up at the sound of Prowl’s voice and quickly opened a comm. link to him: >>Prowl, this is Smokescreen. I didn’t know you were on Earth! Good to hear your voice again!<<

Smokey knew the Military Strategist from way back before the Decepticon uprising. They first met when Prowl was forced to arrest the diversion expert for cheating in a local Cybertronian casino. Cheating was a nasty habit that Smokescreen had picked up while racing on the underground circuit and it was one that got him into a lot of trouble back in the old days. Between the cheating allegations and the illegal street racing, Smokey ended up seeing a lot more of Prowl than he had wanted. Regardless, Prowl was always fair to Smokey and treated him with respect, all the while trying to steer the red and blue racer down the right path. Later, once the war broke out and Smokey had joined the Autobots, the two became good friends.

>>Yeah, I’m pretty banged up, Prowl. I’m down at the bottom of the big crater. I’m low on energon, but I’m not about to expire. So, help out the other ‘bots that are in worse shape first. I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve got some company down here in the form of Bumblebee and Wheeljack.<<

**********

Skywarp sat on top of the crippled building and watched as Thundercracker and Aftershot fought high above. The downed seeker wished he could be up there with them, but his internal repair cycle was still trying to fix his systems, which had been badly damaged by the Autobot flier. On top of that his one wing had a hole in it and his tail fin was melted, making it impossible for him to fly in jet mode. “This is taking too long. I have to get back into this. I can’t just sit here,” the seeker muttered in frustration.

Forcing himself to his feet, Skywarp approached the edge of the roof and looked down over the battlefield. He peered off to the right and saw an airstrip on the other side of the compound in the distance. This gave Skywarp an idea. Hmmm, perhaps they’ll have jets over there. Damaged or not, they could be a source of spare parts that I could use. It’s worth a shot.

Skywarp leapt off the top of the building and, using his foot thrusters, landed easily on the ground below. The purple and black seeker then began trekking through the ruins of the human base towards the air field.

Area 51

Although Rampage had derived some satisfaction from the machine gun hits on the racing Autobot, he knew it wasn't enough to put Sunstreaker out of commission, if anything they were meant for the lucky hit on something vital. A slim chance at best. However, what ever satisfaction the Predacon gunner had gained from the small bullet hits and leaping over his prey had granted him, it was washed away by the Autobot consistently dodging the fire from his lighting rifle. Even Rampage's skill as a marksman seemed inefficient to score a single glancing hit, let alone a direct one. Truly he would have to put some effort into killing this Autobot. A rarity, but one Rampage somewhat relished. This battle was at least a challenge for his skills, rather then a simple slaughter.

The Predacon had dropped to one knee and was raising his rifle to take steady aim of his target. He was fast, and maneuverable for certain, but he had taken down better foes then this. He had his target dead to rights, his finger was on the trigger and beginning to squeeze, a fully charged blast was about to come down the barrel, one that would kill Sunstreaker without question, but Rampage never had the chance to pull that trigger. Before he could fire something large and heavy landed on Rampage's back, nearly knocking him over. However, when the Con regained his stance he leapt onto his feet and began to thrash around, trying to shake off what it was. As he did so he caught sight of a red paint job, and came to the obvious conclusion an Autobot had come to the rescue of Sunstreaker.

This change was unwelcome, but not a sure end to the battle. Ramapge snarled as he tried to get a grip on Sideswipe, the Predacon wasn't sure why these twins enjoyed jumping on his back so. However, he was distracted long enough not to notice that the other twin had transformed and was sailing towards him ready for a solid punch. Though before Sunstreaker could land his hit Rampage managed to get a grip on his twins leg. Using his superior strength, Rampage pulled Sideswipe off of his back and swung him around, almost like a club, with all the strength he could muster with the intention of smashing the red twin into his yellow counterpart.

(OOC: Me and Ember have both agreed to this post.)

Area 51

Prowl received two signals, Pipes and Smokescreen he did an energy scan of the area where each one was to determine who would get priority. Depsite Smokescreen's claims, he was going to be fair. He recalled on more than one occassion he had arrested the gambler-tuned comrade for cheating in a gambling ring. Ironically that was how he got to know him and how they later became friends, after the war started.

After scanning he determined that Pipes was the one in more need of repairs. He knew he couldn't keep making trips back and forth as he figured doing so may burn out the Orbital Bounce pad or cause it to malfunction. It was also impractical to keep doing so. Possibly the most viable alternative was to get each one to Ratchet and let him fix them up.

He then turned on his emergency sirens and veered in the direction of Pipes. He opened his commlink to him, though half-expecting him not to read it. "Pipes, this is Prowl, I'm enroute. Hold on!"

(OOC: Agreed with Smokescreen GT about the backstory through PM.)

Area 51

Blaster glanced over his shoulder noticing a barrage of incoming fire from Needlenose. Eject and Rewind have been knocked off Runabout’s shoulders from the fire concentrated by Needlenose. “Oh so that’s how you want to play it! Two damaged broken down Decepticons for the price of one, they should have told me you guys where on sale!” Blaster said as he diverted his attention to Needlenose. Ramhorn had managed to tear off a piece of fender and was carrying it in his mouth as he chased after Runabout; coming in behind Ramhorn was Steeljaw.

Blaster was on his way towards Needlenose for messing with his kids, so to speak. Blaster glanced behind him to notice Runabout advancing on him, using vehicle fire to cover the area, until Runabout launched himself up into the air above Blaster to commence the next phase of his attack. Blaster was struck with a number of shots in the chest that managed to knock him backwards. Blaster lost his balance and started to fall backwards while in the process aiming above him waiting for Runabout to reach the the correct front point, so that he could put him in the crosshairs.

“Your mine turkey!” Blaster screamed out as his finger pulled the trigger on his Electron Scrambler Rifle and let loose a powerful blast at the damaged Runabout who was still in midair. Blaster then fell on his backside from losing balance, provided by the incoming fire that had struck him from Runabout. Blaster moved to sit up holding his Rifle in his right hand. He glanced to Needlenose before he commanded his Cassettes. “Ramhorn, Steeljaw, sic em!” Blaster commanded. From behind blaster the pair of bestial Mini-Cassettes leaped into the air, each attempting to pounce Needlenose while Blaster recovered.

In the near distance, Rewind and Eject emerged from a pile of rubble after surviving the light blasts that Needlenose had ambushed them with. Rewind and Eject emerge with their little blasters in hands and run back towards Blaster, attempting to help him to his feet. "You guys are the best." Blaster said from the ground.

Over Area 51

Thundercracker followed closely behind his prey through the duration of the effects of his sonic boom on Aftershot - firing short bursts of incendiary rounds towards the Autobot every time he had the enemy lined up for a shot. Nothing changed when the Autobot managed to gain his senses, Thundercracker was still heavily on Aftershot's tail, looking to finish of the duel. Until something surprising happened and the Autobot transformed.

Surprising... but not unpredictable. The move the Autobot pulled next was as familiar as if it had been pulled directly from Starscream's unofficial bag of tricks. Nevertheless, it was something Thundercracker decided to capitalize on. As Aftershot jetted away from him, the blue seeker slowed his speed and changed his flight path slightly so that he was positioned under the Autobot when Aftershot transformed again. He knew what was coming next, the Autobot flier wanted to ram him. He would have none of it, airborne collisions were Ramjet's thing, not his. Aerial finesse was his game and with Starscream exluded, there weren't many who could dance with him in the air one to one. Although he was pretty sure he could give even ol' Screamer a fight for his energon any given day. Still, couple of Aftershot's laser blasts clipped his wings slightly but not decisively. Nevermind the pain, Thundercracker was clearly making it difficult for the Autobot flier to hit him while waiting until for the last possible moment to act as the Autobot dove towards him.

Until he finally acted. This sky is mine. Directing full power to his engines with additional thrust from the unique construction of his engine subsystems which allowed him to generate his sonic booms. Thundercracker suddenly hit full throttle and accelerated rapidly while pulling his nosecone slightly upwards, thus getting out of way of the suicide diving Autobot in a nick of time and making sure he would have the upper position no matter what happened next. This was followed by a mid-air transformation into his sleek robot form and a quick turn in order to be able to witness the collision he expected the Autobot to make with the ground in the matter of astroseconds. For Thundercracker a sight of Aftershot's burning husk in the ground would be enough. He would not get down to check whether or not he had scored a kill. The thrill and glory of the battle was what he sought, not death.