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Over Area 51

At first Skywarp thought he had successfully destroyed Aftershot when he saw his two missiles collide and consume the Autobot flier in an aerial inferno. It was a sight the Decepticon seeker had been waiting to see after his humiliation in the desert. But, ‘Warp’s delight soon turned to dismay when he saw Aftershot emerge from the flames still intact.

What’s this?! How the frag did he survive that?! Impossible! Skywarp was at a lose to explain what he had just witnessed. He had seen many Autobots survive explosions before, but nothing as close as this. Primus must be looking after this one.

Before Skywarp could even consider his next move, Aftershot was already behind him, firing round after round of lasers directly at his aft section. ‘Warp took evasive action, suddenly banking left and then right again, but it did little good. One blast struck his tail fin, damaging his vertical stabilizer in the process, while another hit his left wing. ‘Warp’s mobility was severely compromised and he began to lose altitude. This Autobot was playing for keeps and if the seeker didn’t do something fast, he would end up crash landing for a second time.

“So, you want to play rough, do you? Fine! Let’s play rough! I still have a few tricks left up my tin sleeve!” And in a flash Skywarp vanished from sight.

An astrosecond later, the teleporter reappeared above Aftershot and immediately transformed to robot mode where his mobility would not be hindered by a damaged tailfin. Looking down at the Autobot flier, ‘Warp could see some badly scorched and melted armor plating. Hmmm, perhaps you didn’t come out of that fireball unscathed after all, he thought, a devilish smile forming across his faceplate. The black and purple seeker pointed his arm cannons down at his opponent, taking aim directly at the weakened points in the Autobot’s armor. Skywarp then unleashed a torrent of laser fire at Aftershot. “Surprise! Time to die, Autobot scum!”

Over Area 51

Aftershot wasn't a rookie, he had flown air support for pretty much every battle of his career as an Autobot pilot. As one of the few Autobot's who could fly he had to learn quickly how to survive against the Decepticons superior numbers in the air and win. Oh sure he had been shot down a number of times, but the key was to learn how to survive the fall, and to make your enemy pay for it, and to do that you had to know what your opponent was capable of. So when Skywarp teleported away he wasn't surprised, or even phased. He had read up on the Decepticon Seekers stationed on this planet, and he had been waiting for this Con to use his rather unique and useful ability. However, he had not anticipated how fast he could actually teleport and focus on his task. Although as soon as he saw Skywarp vanish he was beginning evasive maneuvers to avoid being jumped he felt a shot strike his win and blast a chunk out of it, his airspeed dropped a bit as Aftershot grunted in pain. However, he wasn't out of the fight yet.

The Autobot flier banked hard to the left and pulled up, swinging the nose of his alternate mode around to line up with the Decepticon, whom was now in his robot mode. Aftershot didn't really care what form he was in, he just wanted to see this 'Con fall from the sky screaming and in flames. There was something about him that really got to him.

His laser cannons were firing away as usual, but now he locked on with his remaining missiles and fired all three. With all of his ordnance gone Aftershot was now free to move as top efficiency, well as best as he could manage with a damaged wing. His missiles closed in on Skywarp, who had someone managed to evade the other three the Autobot had fired at him, his lasers laying down a withering stream of fire, yet somehow Aftershot was expecting the Con to avoid these three yet again.

Regardless Skywarp was going down as far as Aftershot was concerned, even if it meant he was right behind him.

Over Area 51

Skywarp was getting agitated now. While Aftershot had suffered some damage from the teleporter’s lasers, he had once again avoided being shot down. And once again, the Autobot flier had turned directly into the seeker’s line of fire. First he came at my missiles head on and now at my lasers. This Autobot doesn’t know what’s good for him, ‘Warp thought as several blasts struck him in the chestplate. A bit shaken, 'Warp was forced to dodge several more laser blasts as Aftershot then unleashed three missiles at him. Acting quickly, Skywarp took aim at each missile and unloaded his arm cannons on them. Two of the missiles were destroyed at a safe distance from the Decepticon, but the third somehow slipped through and was closing in fast. Skywarp continued firing his lasers rapidly, finally striking the last warhead.

Unfortunately, this one was too close and the force of the explosion sent the seeker tumbling backwards end over end, his audio sensors ringing. “Ahhhhhh, Slaggit!” He shouted as the sky and ground flashed by his optics in quick succession. Finally, Skywarp was able to regain control by using his thrusters to slow himself and eventually stop.

Hovering in midair, Skywarp shook his head trying to get his rattled processor to stop spinning in his cranial unit. The black and purple seeker had seen better days. He had numerous dents, scrapes and laser burns across his entire body, a damaged tailfin that made it difficult to fly in jet mode, and a banged up left wing. Staying in robot mode was his only option for the time being until his internal repair cycle did it’s thing, but that would take time. What he really needed was a CR chamber, but he didn’t have one of those handy. His opponent was not in great shape, either, but both of them were determined to bring the other down no matter the cost.

Setting his sights back on Aftershot, Skywarp considered his next move. The Autobot flier was out of missiles, but he still had his lasers and the determination to face a seeker head on. He was one brave ‘bot. The Decepticon air warrior would give him that, but bravery would only get you so far before it got you dead. If ‘Warp took much more damage, he’d end up in stasis lock like Astrotrain. He had to be careful.

Without wasting any more time, Skywarp raised his arm cannons and opened fire once again on Aftershot. At the same time, 'Warp noticed Thundercracker out of the corner of his optics flying nearby. Keeping his eyes and lasers fixated on the Autobot, 'Warp opened a private comm. link to his blue friend.

>>Hey, ‘Cracker, ol’ buddy! You wanna help me out here with this determined Autobot pest? I could use a little back up considering my current condition.<<

Outside Area 51

Runabout was trying to steady a shot to finish the damaged Arcee when shots came his way. Too damaged in his robot mode to try and stand toe to toe, he transforms and heads on a collision path with the Autobot Smokescreen. Both mech's speed toward each other, both with guns blazing. Runabout thinks he has the edge on the Autobot, with his armor ram plates his vehicle mode is more durable, and his transformation scheme easily allows vehicle mode front end injuries to not directly effect his internals.

"Time to but my best foot forward as it seems..." Runabout isn't falling for any tricks, he is determined to meet his opponent strait on. Preparing himself for impact, Runabout is sure he can collide with Smokescreen and transform fast enough to fire a shot before he can react. Runabout is fighting desperately, he's beating himself up without delivering enough damage, and if he's not careful he will take himself out of the battle too soon.

==========================================================

To Runamuck everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He fires at Arcee, she fires back, piercing his left shoulder. The blast from his rifle caused Arcee's hand to flame up and become almost molten hot before she drove another powerful blow to the center of the Battle Chargers torso. His chest-plate smashed in and blasted threw in several spots, Runamuck must do whatever it takes. Some of his internal functions have become stressed, and have leaks or bent parts, it may not be long before his body shuts down all together. Lunging forward, Runamuck tackles Arcee, attempting to pummel the fembot. She was a better hand to hand fighter, but didn't seem used to being grappled. Bounding up from his desperate attempt, Runamuck attempts his transformation. Its painful but he does it, Runamuck speeds toward a rocky outcropping to try and make some emergency repairs.

Area 51

Pipes was amazed that one of his shots actually managed to connect with his target, but given his current position, he wish he hadn’t. Seeing Divebomb descend upon him, the Autobot vainly tried to stand, but couldn’t manage even a bit of movement without causing himself pain. His servomechanisms were still damaged, and unless treated right away, he’d be left completely immobilized by his own toxic gases.

It was then that the Predacon landed close to him, drawing out a wicked looking blade. In a great flash of motion, he swung down upon Pipes with every intention to do him. He acted as quickly as he could…

And made it only just in time. Unable to properly roll out of the way, Pipes instead tried to block the weapon with one of his free limbs. He could now feel the blade as it dug into his right arm, and his exhaust pipe.

“N-not just yet, Decepticon. Not just yet.” With that, black smoke erupted from the puncture wound, and with his pistol in his left hand, fired again at Divebomb. He knew what he did was rather foolish, nowhere near the proper thing to do, but even if his own weapons did him in, he would do his best to cause some trouble for one battered buzzard.

~*~*~*~*~

Swindle was rather pleased with himself as Sunstreaker suddenly jerked and went limp from his attack, and as Rampage tossed him about by like a limp doll. Hopefully his assistance would pay off for him in the long run, that is if of course the Predacon didn’t take offense to it. Deciding to test the waters, Swindle casually said to his comrade,

“Well, Rampage, is it? Always nice to see an old friend. I trust you and your unit has been keeping busy. How’s Razorclaw by the way-“

Swindle was cut short in mid-sentence as Sunstreaker opened fire on the two Decepticons, having briefly recovered from the last attack but not quite back on both feet. Swindle only had enough time to step back, as electro-pulse bullets caught him in the left side of his leg and foot. Wincing through the pain from having one of his lower extremities torn up, he came to one conclusion; this Autobot needed to be put down.

“We’ll talk later, eh? Right now, back to ‘business’.” Swindle brought his scatter blaster to bear and took aim for Sunstreaker’s firing hand. If he didn’t horribly damage it and his pistol, he would at least leave a nice, big scar of laser fire across his chassis.

Area 51

Wheeljack was hidden behind some debris as he reloaded his shell launcher. He figured this would be the best chance to try out his new armour piercing, delayed reaction explosive shell. He had only carried out a few field tests at the base, all of which had failed, though each one had a smaller explosion, and the last test had barely caused any damage. Now was to see what it would do to a Con, but before he could do anything he heard a rage filled roar as something exploded from the debris. More then a little curious Wheeljack looked up from behind his cover to see Snarl charging at Soundwave, forcing the Decepticon to retreat with Ravage in hot pursuit.

"Whoa, thanks for saving our skidplates there Snarl." Wheeljack said as she stood up and walked over to the confused looking Dinobot. Bumblebee was a little roughed up, but he was still able to function.

"Where's Grimlock?" Snarl bellowed at the Engineer, he seemed unconcerned about the situation and with only finding the Dinobot leader. "Well I guess it doesn't matter... there seems to be plenty of Decepticons for me to vent on."

Without even getting an explanation from Wheeljack he took off and began to climb out of the hole, crawling up to the opening and pulling himself up to look around A wonderfully chaotic battle was raging all around the area, he had a feeling out there somewhere was Grimlock, but despite his rage Snarl knew he would have to wait until things had calmed down. However, he was not prevented from slagging some 'Cons in the mean time. Looking around he spotted the pink fembot Arcee being beaten on by the Decepticon Runamuck, who after battering Arcee transformed and hid behind rock for cover. He transformed into his dino mode and with a roar he charged at the hiding Con.

Meanwhile back down in the ruined bunker Wheeljack and Bumblebee were clearing away debris that had trapped Swoop and Sludge.

"Whew... that wasn't easy to do." Bumblebee said as he tossed aside the last metal girder keeping the two Dinobots pinned. "That should do it though."

"Yeah Bumblebee." Wheeljack replied as he knelt next to Swoop and gave him an energon injection. "These two might be as confused as Snarl was, but hopefully not as angry. If their more rational we keep explain what is going on and hopefully they won't take off in a blind rage."

Wheeljack then moved to Sludge and gave him one of his remaining energon injections and then stood back to wait for them to come on line. He then looked over to Slag, he was trapped behind a heavy pile of debris and would take some time to get to.

"Bumblebee, contact Prime. Sludge and Swoop should be on line soon, but Slag isn't going to be up anytime soon. He is trapped by to much debris for us to get to quickly, but I am going to try and dig him out."

"Got it!" Bumblebee opened up his com link as Wheeljack began to cut away at the debris around Slag, and pulling them away and tossing them aside as he began to dig his way toward the trapped Dinobot. >>Bumblebee to Optimus. Me and Wheeljack have managed to secure most of the Dinobots. Grimlock, and Snarl are both on line and out of the bunker and engaging the enemy. Wheeljack has just given Sludge and Swoop energon injections and they should soon be on line, we hope to be able to keep them calm. At the moment we are trying to reach and reactivate Slag, but he is pinned behind some heavy debris. We will contact you once the situations has changed down here. Bumblebee out.<<

After closing the link Bumblebee turned and walked over to work next to Wheeljack to dig out the final dinobot.

Area 51

Rampage roared in victory as he finally got a hold of Sunstreaker, sank his claws into the yellow Autobot's armour and pulled him off his back. With a powerful throw he threw the Autobot into the ground. He was about to charge after him when Swindle walked over and began to babble. The Predacon wasn't paying attention, instead he drew his weapons and was ready to attack again when the Autobot got up and opened fire. However, he wasn't aiming, just firing rapid blindly and with rapid fire. Most of his shots missed, a few hammered into Rampage, causing the Decepticon to stagger a bit. His armour was pit marked with bullet holes, but he managed to recover quickly.

With a snarl Rampage raised his lighting rifle, aimed and fired a full 60,000 volt blast from his weapon. He then began to charge at Sunstreaker, roaring as he fired shorter, less powerful shots from his rifle. His thermo sword was raised, he planned to to weaken Sunstreaker with ranged fire and then finish him off in close combat.

* * *

Aftershot turned and carried out a series or rolls and turns when Skywarp opened fire again. He had planned to trick the Seeker by making it appear foolish that he was once more charging head long into him. The damaged Autobot, pulled off a sharp turn, which might not of been the best idea in his condition as he has taken a few hits to his thicker front armour, and opened fire. From what he had seen the Seeker was probably in worse shape considering he was hovering and not flying in robot mode. In fact he hadn't transformed since he teleported. The Autobot flier was gaining confidence and a little hope he could bring down Sywarp now.

He knew this fight was near its end, and it had been going on for quite a while. He had never met a Con that was so durable and tenacious, he had withered some of the best Aftershot could punch out and was still able of fighting, even if he wasn't at the top of his game. This was certainly a fight to remember. However, there would be time to reflect on that story later, right now he had to put this Con down. He had to fight smart now given that he was in such bad shape, and that meant using all of his skill as a pilot.

After he fired out a heavy stream of laser fire, Aftershot snapped up in a sharp turn, his rudders groaing in protest as he pushed the damaged mechanisms to their limit. He then turned down, nosed dived from above Skywarp and fire constantly for several seconds before turning to the left. He fell in a controlled tumble with his engines cut, and then kicked them back in and pull up, aimed at the Con's back from an angle just below him and fired for several more seconds before peeling of and turning in a wide circle to the right.

After his three short passes the Autobot was now coming back around to see if his fancy maneuvering and attacking from different angles quickly had managed to actually hit his target and deal the finishing blow to him.

Area 51

A crash of what sounded like thunder echoed through the surrounding desert accompanied with a flash like lightning. Sonic sword collided with energo sword as the Dinobot leader clashed with the Predacon leader.

Grimlock grunted as the two of them fought. His internal chronometer couldn’t tell him how long it had been since the Dinobots had arrived on this planet but he could definitely tell he’d been buried for far too long. First of all he could tell his fuel tank wasn’t exactly overflowing, a bad thing for what might be an extended fight. Then there was the little matter of not having moved for however long it had been. It was probably fortunate that his joints were even moving at all and not clogged with debris or corroded to the point of uselessness.

He needed to end this fight quickly. Unfortunately Razorclaw wasn’t just another one of Megatron’s overconfident thugs. This Decepticon had also taken part in those gladiator matches so long ago on Cybertron. He wouldn’t be as easy to beat as one of the cowardly seekers or other Decepticon weaklings. At the very least it was going to take more that just sword fighting.

Grimlock launched another slash at Razorclaw’s chest with his sword. He let the momentum of the slash spin him around, bringing him back around and lashing out with his left leg with a roundhouse kick to his stomach. Not waiting to see what damage, if any, he had done to the Decepticon he lowered his left shoulder and plowed into him, his sword held in his right hand ready to stab into the Predacon leader.

**

Megatron sidestepped the Prime’s axe blow, but it still scored a glancing hit. A fair size chunk of armor sheared off of his left arm and shoulder but it wasn’t enough to keep it from functioning. He took a couple of steps back from his opponent, wanting space to maneuver.

“No Prime, you’re wrong. This planet will be another burnt out cinder when we are done with it. We’ll leave once these filthy inhabitants are wiped out, every resource stripped bare and every ounce of energy is drained. It will be another world consumed for the Decepticon cause. How many of your brave soldiers will die defending a cinder Prime?”

“As for the battle, it is already won. Our presence here has been erased and one of our own recovered. They might have some inkling of what happened here, but they are paranoid creatures. With a slight nudge from us they will be back to wiping themselves out. It will be almost too easy with these creatures Prime, yet here you are trying to protect them, even after knowing they have several of our kind in captivity. That compassion is your weakness Prime, and it’s why you’ll never beat me!”

Megatron twirled his mace in the air and moved to swing it at Optimus Prime. At the last minute he pulled it back and instead lashed out with his left fist at the Autobot leader’s face, a strong jab. He followed it up with a kick at his right knee, hoping to bring him down to a prone position so he could finally end it once and for all.

Over Area 51

Sideswipe latched onto Needlenose’s nosecone as he flew in an erratic array. The Decepticon flier suddenly moved into a more stable pattern making Sideswipe wonder what was happening next. His thoughts were satiated when he felt a white hot burn on his back. Luckily his jetpack took the brunt of the fire from Thundercracker. Now, without his means of flight, Sideswipe was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Knowing he’d be shaken off at some point he dug his fingers into the side armor of Needlenose’s cockpit and held on tight.

“Let’s go twinkle toes!”

_____________________________________________________


Outside Area 51

A bright flash of light and a buzz of electricity and the ground that once stood bare was where Ratchet now stood. The coordinates that he entered put him just outside of the gates to the human facility. No sooner had he materialized he had to duck to avoid being hit in the head by stray weapons fire.

“Whoa!”

Down on one knee the medic took in the battle. His processor began to zero in on all of the injured mechs. Astrotrain was down and in stasis, good. Across the field Ratchet took notice of Hot Rod also in stasis. He had to get to him before his inert form was hit by shrapnel or worse.

“Aw slag. How on Cybertron do I get to him without getting hit myself?”

Ratchet drew out his laser pistol and began to stealthily make his way to Hot Rod’s position. He took cover behind boulders and whatever was left of shattered buildings. Laser fire filled the area as he moved in on Hot Rod.

“Oh Primus. What the frag happened to you?”

Ratchet knelt down next to the cavalier’s prone form and began working to repair to most damaged systems and chemical lines. He needed an influx of energon as soon as possible.

______________________________________________


Razorclaw relished in the fact that his opponent now was the mighty Grimlock. Beating the Dinobot commander and taking his head as a trophy made any damage he might take worth every savored breem. The Predacon put enough strength into his blow that it could crumble a building, but Grimlock was able to ward it off.

As Grimlock slashed with his energo sword once more Razorclaw again avoided its damaging effects, but before he could recover from the attack Grimlock followed through with a roundhouse kick to the Predacon’s abdomen.

“Oooof!”

Flat on his back Razorclaw watched Grimlock begin another attack even though he was now out of range. Lifting his left leg the elite of Megatron’s forces swept at the Dinobot commander’s legs hoping to drop the large gladiator to the ground where he could then commence tearing out his spark with his bare clawed hands.

“Grrrrr, you’ll not dispatch me so easily, Grimlock! Arghhh! I’ll make sure to show you your spark before you go off line completely. “

_________________________________________________________


“All of the Autobots fight for what is right, and we will stop you before you destroy this planet like you’ve destroyed our own.”

As Megatron pulled away from the fight slightly Optimus Prime took stock of the moment’s reprieve to recover from his last attack. The two circled one another as each spoke.

“Your infiltration of this planet will not go unnoticed by the humans. We are here, Megatron, they are not blind creatures, and above all, you will be stopped. It was unfortunate that the humans were able to uncover our own man; which makes me wonder why they were here to begin with. Then again you know why.”

Optimus had his suspicions that the Decepticon leader had a much more elaborate plan in motion. Shockwave would not have attempted interstellar travel without an important reason, and Prime needed to know that reason.

Just then Optimus Prime’s head jerked back from Megatron’s left blow. Before he could clear his cranial unit the gladiator kicked him in the right knee falling the large Autobot leader to one knee. Just then he got the communiqué from Bumblebee. He opened an internal link with the minibot.

>>Understood, Bumblebee.<<

“What are you planning for this world, Megatron?”

Area 51

As Snarl charged at Runamuck something was grinding in the back of his processor. He could not help but recall that when he came back on line a few breems ago how empty his fuel tank was, how weak he felt as a result, and even how right now his long inactive joints and gears were groaning from the stress. They were in bad need of repairs. The only thing that was off setting his energy reserves were the plates on his back, absorbing solar energy to keep his power at operational levels. This meant Grimlock was in the same position, but without the added ability to gather energy from the sun.

Snarl growled as he ground to a half, slamming his four feet into the ground and skidded to a stop. As much as the Dinobot wanted to see Grimlock shredded from what he had done, Snarl had to admit that in the very depths of his being he wanted to see Grimlock survive, but he also wanted an explanation for why he had betrayed himself and the others. Assuming as he did that Razorclaw was operating at full energon levels that meant Grimlock was outmatched by the full operational Predacon leader. Snarl roared in frustration. He wasn't used to thinking like this, he much preferred someone just telling him where to go and what to do, but of course look what happened the last time that happened. The Dinobot swayed in place for several astroseconds as he tried to make up his mind. Finally he cursed to himself and turned in the direction of where Grimlock and Razroclaw were fighting.

He saw that the Dinobot leader had been knocked to the ground with his opponent standing over him. With a great sense of urgency Snarl charged as fast as his lumbering body would allow. Once Snarl was in range, and behind Razorclaw he suddenly slammed to a stop and shifted his weight a little to the right, causing him to turn and he shifted to the left as he swung his tail around to line up with his target. Channeling the solar energy he had collected from his plates to the pair of spikes on his tail he let loose with a blast of energy right at Razorclaw.

Although he wasn't careful in his aim, he just wanted to distract the Predacon leader enough to allow Grimlock regain his footing. However, the sudden shift of energy and all of the running he had been doing left him drained of energy. He grunted as his legs buckled as strength abruptly left his body as he fired the shot from his tail. It was going to take several astroseconds, or even a breem, before his plates drank in enough solar power to allow him to get moving again. Of course that meant he was now vulnerable to any Decepticon that might attack him.

Over Area 51

Skywarp was already little late with his transmission to his wingmate for Thundercracker had all the intention to remove Aftershot from the seekers' domain. He had been carefully using the Autobot's determination on attacking Skywarp to his own advantage to gain a perfect pursuit position, one that left several miles between him and Aftershot and allowed him to react in time for Aftershot's possible attempts of shaking him off his tail through setting his speed to match the Autobot's.

>>"I am already on it. I have him in pure pursuit position, good deal of miles between us. Aaand... I have a targetlock."<<

With that said, Thundercracker launched one of his remaining three drone rockets straight at Aftershot, hoping the rocket would do its job without him having to get his hands dirty so to speak.

The Past

Initially, Sludge and the Dinobots had the upper hand in their battle against the Decepticon Shockwave. They had taken him by surprise and confused his logic circuits with their erratic attack. At one point, the Jungle Warrior even thought they had won, but Shockwave had not yet been beaten. He struck back against the Dinobots with a fury, transforming to gun mode and blasting away the synthetic flesh coverings of their newly acquired beast modes. Sludge remembered falling to the ground, all of his vital systems quickly shutting down as he was overcome with excessive energon radiation. As he fell into stasis lock, the last image he remembered was that of Grimlock reaching for Shockwave and then......nothingness.

Area 51 - The Present

Sludge’s systems began to stir again after thousands of years of slumber. One by one they each came back online, powering up thanks to a fresh infusion of energon. Sludge’s optics flickered as his vision and consciousness returned. He found himself in a dark place, not unlike where he had just been for countless stellar cycles. He raised his head and long metal neck and peered around the room. Wreckage lay everywhere, but it wasn’t caused by anything he had done. Not this time, anyway.

A bit confused, the giant mechanical Apatosaurus came to realize that he was in some sort of artificial chamber, far from where he had previously been. How he got there and why he was there were irrelevant questions to him. He didn’t care. He just wanted to get back into battle. But, how long had it been? Was Shockwave even still around or had he escaped? His internal chronometer was still resetting itself, but it seemed to indicate that he’d been in stasis for quite some time.

Sludge could hear laser fire and explosions coming from above. He looked upwards to see a bright source of light at the very top of the chamber. The Dinobot forced himself to his four feet, determined to enter whatever battle was currently going on. It was then that he noticed his comrade Swoop slowly powering up nearby and just beyond him were two mechs clearing away debris that was covering Slag.

The Jungle Warrior transformed to robot mode and drew his energo sword. If these mechs were Decepticons, he would make quick work of them before they reached the Flamethrower. Making his way over to the pile of rubble, Sludge spotted the Autobot symbols on their chassis and quickly lowered his weapon.

“May I help?” He asked Wheeljack and Bumblebee, looming over the small ‘bots.

*******

Divebomb felt his blade dig into the Autobot’s arm. It was a good feeling that the flying Predacon relished almost as much as taking out a target from above. However, this feeling quickly went away when black smoke poured from the wound he had just created. “What manner of weaponry is this?” Divebomb bellowed, withdrawing his sword before it melted. He quickly backed away to avoid serious damage from the toxins as Pipes opened fire on him again. One blast struck his chestplate, causing little damage.

Divebomb returned fire on the Autobot before transforming to Eagle mode and taking to the skies once more. This is where he should have stayed and not gotten involved in a land battle. His specialty was aerial assault not ground assault. Divebomb circled around his smoking prey before diving down towards Pipes and unleashing a new shower of laser fire on the small minibot.

*******

With his gun blazing, Smokescreen raced in his alt mode towards the oncoming Runabout, avoiding most of the Decepticon's laser fire as he went. A few blasts ricocheted off the hood of the red and blue race car, but nothing too serious. The humans would call this a game of chicken where two vehicles headed towards one another and the first one to dodge out of the way lost the game. Smokey knew that playing chicken with Runabout was a losing scenario for him. The battle charger had better armor plating then the diversion expert and could withstand a head on collision easily. He had no reason to move out of the way. Smokey’s armor, while capable of enduring some damage, was not able to take a direct impact like that.

Smokescreen was also concerned about the ramifications of trying to dodge Runabout. If he did so, the battle charger could simply match his move and they would still collide. Runabout wanted to hit the Autobot that was for certain. Smokey needed to avoid this at all costs. Even if it meant that he looked like a coward in the process.

As the distance between him and the Decepticon grew smaller, Smokescreen took action and turned his front end abruptly to the left, which caused his aft end to fishtail and skid sideways to the right, spinning him around 180 degrees. The loose sand under his tires aided in this risky manuever. Now, with his back end facing Runabout, who was dangerously close to him, the diversionary tactician quickly unleashed a cloud of magnetized smoke directly at the battle charger. Just like your brother, the Autobot racer thought, as he peeled out and zoomed away from his opponent to avoid a rear end collision. Once he was far enough away, Smokescreen spun around again and fired several laser shots into the smoke cloud with the hopes of hitting a potentially blinded Runabout.

*******

Skywarp dodged the initial stream of laser fire from Aftershot before returning more fire of his own. He watched as the Autobot flier turned up and then quickly down, going into a nosedive directly at him. More shots came the seeker’s way, striking him again in the chest plate and one grazing the right side of his head. “Slaggit! You fraggin Autobot!” Skywarp shouted as he placed one hand over his ringing audio receptor. The right side of his face and head were scorched from the blast and his hearing was now impaired on that side. Thankfully, his optics were still intact, but things were not looking too good for the teleporter.

Skywarp attempted to return fire again, but Aftershot was now gone. ‘Warp had lost sight of his opponent while dealing with his damaged head. “Where’d you go, Autobot? I’m the only one that teleports around here!” He soon had an answer as several lasers struck him from behind, knocking him for a loop. Aftershot had gotten beneath him somehow and wasted no time in opening fire. It was a similar move that Skywarp, himself, had made countless times before, usually right after teleporting. But the seeker was not in that position now. This time, it was the Autobot that got the drop on him.

As Skywarp tumbled through the air, he began to lose altitude and landed with a thud on the rooftop of a partially destroyed building. It was then that the black and purple seeker received Thundercracker’s transmission. Slowly sitting up, ‘Warp opened a comm. link to his wing mate:

>>Roger that, 'Cracker. Unfortunately, I’m already down, and I’ve sustained too much damage to continue fighting without risking stasis lock. Hopefully, my internal repair cycle will have me back in action before long. Until then, Aftershot’s all yours. Take him down, buddy!<<

And with that, Skywarp sat back and watched the fireworks begin.

Outside Area 51

Runabout speeds haphazardly threw the sudden cloud of smoke, "It'll take more than some dust to slow me down..." Or so thinks the impatient Decepticon. "I can't see.. Where'd everyone go?"
The magnetized smoke clings to his optic receptors, blinding Runabout.
<<Hey 'Muck I could use some support.>> Runabout signals to Runamuck.
Meanwhile Runamuck, blissfully unaware of almost being slagged by a Dinobot, makes it to the outcropping of rocks. Taking a moment to let his systems stabilize, he's not up to any more physical combat at the moment.
<<No can do, I'm almost scrap.>>Runamuck replies.
<<I need you to direct me, you know be my optics.>> Runabout pleads.
<<Turn left.. No your other left, my left. No stop!! What are you doing?>> Runamuck directs his Runabout.
<<We have to find a more effecient way to do this...>>Runabout suggests.
After a few moments the Battle Chargers get their bearings coordinated and think they can work threw this.
<<I know! Transform. Smokescreen is right of you, 5 degrees to the right. Shoot 'em! Shoot 'em dead!!>> Runamuck orders of Runabout.
<<I'm tryin, besides I'm in charge, remember?>> Runabout retorts as he opens fire, shooting a volley of shots at Smokescreen's way, hoping to get lucky.

Area 51

Seeing Divebomb back away and his shot connect, Pipes had hoped he would have sometime to recover. However, he would find that such luck would not be in his favor this day. The shot did little more than scratch the paint from the Predacon’s chest plate, and having drawn his sword from the Autobot’s wound, it was still in fine condition. Then, he felt the impact from Divebomb’s own weapon against his chest. It was a dull blow, but the force was enough to force him onto his back once more. What’s more, his emissions continued to escape form the hole in his exhaust pipe. Needless to say, the situation was bad.

And then it got worse. Raising his head, he saw as Divebomb transformed and leapt back up into the air, perhaps retreating to where he knew he would be safe. Then, the Predacon turned sharply and flew overhead in a circle above the Autobot warrior. As the great flying beast dived down upon him, Pipes could only watch as the creature released several bolts of light at him. As his optics closed tight, all he could feel was the heat of laser fire and erupting ground surrounding him.

Scorched and suffereing some severe internal injuries, Pipes was in very poor condition. By now the toxins present in his body had damaged his motor functions, leaving him immobilized, and the blasts he had taken from Divebomb’s several aerial attacks had taken their toll. There was nothing that the Autobot could do but lie in pain as his vision begin to gradually dim…

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

In the beginning, there was darkness, and then suddenly light! As energon poured into his circuitry, Swoop’s optics began to open as he stirred slowly but surely back to life. At first, he was unable to register where he was or what was happening. All the he could recall were his most recent data-tracks, memories of a great battle when he fought alongside his fellow Dinobots, raging against the Decepticon tyrant Shockwave. Images of gnashing teeth, raging flames, and beating wings rambled through his mind, until there came a great flash.

Eventually, Swoop’s vision cleared and he could see his surroundings for what they were. Where once he had lain on a barren, desert landscape, the Dinobot found himself in an artificial chamber, with stone and rubble clinging to his body. Above he could hear the sounds of battle and saw the source of light in the otherwise gloomy setting pouring in from the hole in its ceiling. What could be happening, he thought to himself. What had happened to Shockwave… and the others?

Whipping his head around the room, Swoop could see the fallen form of Slag, buried in a huge pile of debris. Then, he saw Sludge, who appeared to be coming online as well, and was no more aware of what was happening than himself. The pterodactyl began to stand up, shaking off of himself the bits of rock and stone that still hung to his frame. The Dinobot then transformed, destroying what few pieces of earth he could not shake loose.

“Sludge,” He asked, “that is you, isn’t it? What happened to us, what’s been going on?” It was then that Swoop realized to whom he was asking these questions. Then, seeing the two other Autobots standing in the room, his worries were alleviated to some degree.

“Hey, you two. Care to fill a mechanism in?” He shouted to Wheeljack and Bumblebee.

Over Area 51

"You're on, man. Time to face the music!" Needlenose grimaced inwardly at Sideswipe's fingers pressing into his armor, though he wasn't particularly surprised at the Autobot's persistence. Nowhere left for Sideswipe to go while they were still in the air, after all, with a melted jetpack. That did give him some possible ideas on how to deal with his "dance partner", however...

Needlenose banked into a sharp turn and headed back towards the middle of the battlefield, scanning the area quickly. He soon found what he needed for what he had in mind, and pointed himself at the tallest still-standing building in the area. As he made his approach, he adjusted his height and angle so that he could pass over with just barely enough room for his own body to clear the building's roof... though any annoying Autobots still attached to and sticking out from him at the time would probably not be so fortunate.

"Let's see how you get down with this curtain call." With a bit of a gleeful chuckle, he sped towards the building.

Area 51

Wheeljack was carefully cutting away a metal girder that was trapping Slag as Bumblebee stood by him, holding it steady so he could cut it clean. The work was slow, but it had to be any misstep could injury the still deactivated Dinobot. The two Autobot's were so focused on their work they didn't notice the large figure behind them until he spoke. Bumblebee looked up quickly, taken by surprise when he heard the voice, wondering if the Decepticons had come back down to clear them out, he was relieved to see it was Sludge. However, before he could answer the large Dinobot's question Swoop had also come back on line and was now asking his own questions.

"Boy I am sure glad to see you two back on line!" Bumblebee exclaimed happily, almost loosing his grip on the girder Wheeljack was cutting away at. "Well we have no idea when you guys got here or how long, but needless to say an infilitration mission has been under way for a while on this planet. Things got a little more intense when both Optimus Prime and Megatron showed up. The 'Cons hit this human base to recover some lost tech, which turned out to be you Dinobot's and Shockwave. Grimlock and Snarl are already operational and top side. There is a pretty intense battle going on up there and I am sure the others could use your help."

"You guys don't need to worry about us." Wheeljack piped up, not looking away from what he was doing. "We can handle this, it will take us a while, but we can get Slag out. You're strength are needed elsewhere at the moment. We've been down here most of the battle, so you will have to check with someone else for a sitrep."

* * *

Aftershot felt a thrill as he watched Skywarp tumble from the sky, having finally subcombed to the Autobot fliers persistent attacks. However, the damaged fliers victory was short lived as his sensors suddenly began to scream at him, another one of the Seekers had crept on him from behind and had launched some sort of missile. No, it wasn't an air to air weapon, it was moving to slow, it looked like a cruise missile. This could only mean Thundercracker has snuck up on him during his duel with Skywarp and had launched one of his drone rockets. Interesting choice to fire at an air borne target.

The Autobot flier knew he had to act fast in order to get away from this new threat. Thundercracker was in better shape then Aftershot, which meant this fight had to be carried out fast and carefully, not exactly easy. The drone rocket would be easy to avoid, it just wasn't made to track a fast moving jet that was moving around. However, the Seeker was another matter. The blue 'Con was hot on Aftershot's aft, sticking close to him so he can easily track the Autobot. This wasn't a new situation for Aftershot, but it was always difficult and given his current level of damage it was going to be hard. Regardless though he had to get away in order to strike back at the 'Con, this meant taking some more extreme measures then he was used to and he wasn't sure if he could pull it off at the moment with his condition.

Aftershot went for it though. He slammed hard to the right and began to dive, carrying out a series of fast and erratic roles. It appeared he was in an uncontrolled spin as he nose dived for the ground, but Aftershot was in full control. He hoped anyway. As the ground raced towards him The Aubotot flier quickly began to calculate when he would need to pull up to avoid killing himself with a high impact with the ground. He suddenly stopped his dive, not as sharply as he would of liked and began to pull up. His body felt sluggish as it was not pulling up as fast as he wanted, actually he was now greatly worried he was going to crash, but at the last second he pulled away. As he pull up he began to loop around, flying upside down and pulling up from the ground, how heading in the opposite direction he had been before diving. He then pulled hard to the left as he began to climb up once more. Searching the sky for his target.

(OOC: Note, this post has been edited as part of a discussion me and Cry had over this particular fight.)

Under Area 51

Sludge turned to look at the newly awakened Swoop standing next to him. He was happy to see his comrade up and about, but also still confused as to how and why they were there. “Yeah, it’s me, Swoop. Don’t know what happened to us, though. Was hoping these two could help us.” Sludge then listened as Bumblebee and Wheeljack filled them in on what was going on. They didn’t have many answers as to why the Dinobots were here in this dark hole, but they did confirm what Sludge had already suspected. A battle was going on topside and Shockwave was most likely up there, too. Whether the purple Decepticon was still functional like they were was another question that needed to be answered. Either way, Sludge wanted to finish what he and the others had started so long ago.

“Sounds good. You two keeping digging out Slag,” the Jungle Warrior said to the Autobots before turning to Swoop. “Let’s get up there. Grimlock and Snarl will need our help.” Sludge then made his way to the side of the cavern and slowly began climbing up the wall towards the light above. His huge girth made this task a bit difficult for the energy drained Dinobot. “Hmmm, this may take longer than me thought.”

Area 51 - Topside

Divebomb was pleased with his latest attack. While he had not outright destroyed the tiny Autobot, he had succeeded in doing enough damage to take Pipes out of the battle for a while. Hopefully, the small mech would suffer before falling into stasis lock or, better yet, die all together. Either way, the flying Predacon had done his job.

Now it was time to find a new target. Divebomb regained a high altitude and began circling the battlefield again. Using his telescopic lenses within his optics, he quickly found his next victim. Another Dinobot, the one called Snarl, had crawled his way out of the hole in the ground and was trying to attack Razorclaw as the Predacon leader fought with Grimlock. However, Snarl looked to be low on energon as he abruptly collapsed to the ground.

Seeing an opportunity that was too good to pass up, Divebomb came around into attack position. Targeting the weakened Snarl, the metal eagle dove down and opened fire on the desert warrior.

*******

Skidding sideways, Smokescreen easily dodged the latest round of shots fired by an optics impaired Runabout. “Not bad for a blind mech!” Smokey shouted while coming around for another run on the battle charger. Actually, that was almost too good, the diversion expert thought, considering that Runabout seemed to change direction whenever Smokey did for no explicit reason. It was almost like someone was guiding him. Wait, where’s the other one?

Smokescreen quickly scanned the area and discovered Runamuck hiding behind an outcropping of rocks nearby. I knew it! Changing directions, Smokey made a beeline for Runamuck. He fired his lasers at the damaged white mech, hoping to either hit him directly or hit the rocks above him with the intent of burying the meddlesome Decepticon alive. At the very least, Runamuck should be distracted long enough so that the red and blue Autobot could make another attack on his brother.

Smokescreen then immediately turned his attention back to Runabout and zoomed at the blind battle charger once again. This time, he decided to try something a bit more daring. Beginning to transform, Smokey unfolded his arms from under his hood and pushed off against the ground, propelling himself up into the air. He didn’t achieve a lot of height. It was just enough to get up and over his opponent. Passing several feet above Runabout, Smokescreen was now in full robot mode. He twisted his body and threw his legs up and over himself. Appearing upside down in midair, Smokey drew his rifle and fired directly down at the black car as it passed beneath the airborne Autobot.

Once this bit of acrobatics was done, Smokescreen tucked and rolled as he landed in the sand. Sitting up, the diversion expert brushed himself off and looked to see if any of his shots had hit their marks on the two battle chargers.

Outside Area 51

Runamuck was too concerned with pulling his bashed-in chest plate back into place to react to the shots fired at him. His online systems report he's not as critically damaged as he thought, though he was still beat up.

"Ha! Ya can't even hit me standing still!" He taunted Smokescreen.

But Runamuck's declaration was a little too naive, as the rocks above him crackle he looks up. Diving to get out of the way, Runamuck makes his upper half out of the way of the falling debris, but his legs are caught and buried under a pile of rubble.

"Help! Help me!" he pleads to anyone around.

As the rocks above him explode the only response he can give is "Thanks jerk!" as he's pelted with more small chunks of sediment and rock matter.

After Runabout explodes the larger rocks on top of Runamuck, Runamuck tries to start digging himself out. If he wasn't bad off before he definitely was now. He couldn't move his legs and wasn't sure if he could feel them. As he shifts the rubble he notices torn metal across his pelvis running deep. Even though his legs are buried and possibly crushed, the damaged Decepticon refuses to give up hope. Furiously shifting smaller boulders and rocky rubble off of himself, he knows he must get out of here quickly, before any Autobots terminate him, but without more help it will take him a while to get out, if he can even do it alone.

Simultaneously...

As Runabout wipes at his optic sensors, regaining some vision, he hears the avalanche fall on his brother in arms. Runabout looks over at the fallen Runamuck, hearing his cries for help. He fires a shot at the rubble which partially explodes it, but also sending more rock debris pelting Runamuck. As the rocks explode, Runabout is struck in the right shoulder by Smokescreens daring shot, unaware of the awesome feat of acrobatics that has happened above him but knowing he was shot from above.

"So thats how you want to play?" Runabout challenges.

Smokescreen has to be too close to avoid this one, the black Battlecharger thinks to himself. Using his rapid transformation back to vehicle mode, Runabout quickly accelerating bounds himself into the air, as if to ram the red and blue mech at chest level, but then transforming back to do a flying dropkick at the last split second.

Area 51

Swoop was rather relieved to see Bumblebee and Wheeljack. While the Dinobots had never been on the best of terms with other Autobots, he’d always tried to maintain a healthy relationship with them. Having heard what the two of them had to say, and told him exactly what he wanted to hear. Shockwave was up on the surface. And if Grimlock and Snarl were already in the battle, they would be looking for some payback as well. It didn’t need to be said; it could be seen clearly across Swoop’s gritted smile that he wanted in on some revenge.

“Thanks for that guy. We’ll be seeing you topside, and careful around Slag. He bites.” Swoop said, as he made his way towards the wall leading to the hole up top. As he watched Sludge begin to steadily, but slowly scale the side of the rocky terrain, the Dinobot had to sigh. Sludge was rather simple-minded at best, but sometimes the simple approach wasn’t the quickest one. The Dinobot then transformed to his pteranodon form, stretching out his great wings. As he climbed into the air, he quickly approached his comrade from behind and grabbed onto his shoulders with his talons.

“Hold on, and try not to make a lot of sudden movements.” Swoop said to his friend as he began to lift his great body up into the air. Now, Sludge was rather heavy, and because of this Swoop had put a considerable amount of effort into raising the Dinobot from the ground, which did slow him down. However, Swoop managed to fight through whatever discomfort he felt and in a short time later, he had soon broken through the top of the hole and brought Sludge to land on both his feet.

“I’m taking to the air, get a good scan of the area,” Swoop said, “find Grimlock or Snarl, and try giving them a hand. And if you find Shockwave, save a piece of him for me!”

With that, the Dinobot pteranodon climbed into the air, higher and higher until he had a clear aerial view of the entire battlefield. He could see across the desert area as numerous fights were being fought. He had no idea how long he had been offline, but now it didn’t seem to matter how much time passed by; nothing had change, it was still Autobots fighting Decepticons. Eventually, the Dinobot came to see his comrades who were already in the field, as Grimock and Snarl engaged a Decepticon in a fight. However, he also saw a winged form trailing them from above, diving down as he fired upon Snarl. For some reason, he seemed vaguely familiar to Swoop, but he couldn’t quite recognize the Decepticon, considering his organic form. However, when he drew a bit closer, something suddenly clicked within his mind.

“Him.”

Taking a moment to rise higher into the air, Swoop then began to use his new altitude to trail above his target. Once he seen he had a clear shot, the DInobot then dived straight down, coming close to crash right on top of the avian creature. When it seemed like just when he would come to smash into his prey, Swoop instead opened his missile launcher barrels and fired upon him, then pulled up sharply to avoid colliding with his own attack.

“Divebomb!”

Desert Outskirts-Area 1

From a rise overlooking the battle-worn facility, a lone Ford Mustang GT pulled up. It hadn't been on Earth long, having only just arrived the other day and spending much of day one searching for a suitable disguise in a city the planet's natives called Las Vegas. He really didn't understand certain aspects of human nature, such as creating static objects that only lit up and consumed energy that could be used for more effective purposes. He saw no logic in what was going on with that city. He also had no means of contacting the Autobots, but thankfully the readings of energy emissions from the fighting drew him to the area. He was not one to believe in luck, much less dumble luck, nor fate. The situation was as is and he had to take advantage of such an opportunity to regroup with his fellow Autobots. He knew little about the planet, nor the situaiton, thus is was not wise to throw himself into the fray so recklessly wihtout some clear idea as to the situation.

He put the gear in reverse and backed away, slowly making his way down the maoutnain for the road, with sirens blairing. The sides of his car said "POLICE" as it was a car driven by the human authority figures he had selected. He began accelerating towards the outskirts of the battlefield with siren blairing, nearly masked by the cloud of dirt he was picking up from the surface he traveled. There was not time to find a road. He'd simply waste time that way.

He would be needed. That was certain.

Area 51

As he approached, Prowl observed the situation objectively and thoroughly. He spotted a familiar mech Sideswipe flying around, being chased by two strange flying machines which he determined had to be Decepticon seekers. He had not seen many since leaving Cybertron, and none he encoutnered had bothered to change their form from a Tetrajet they were known for favoring. And judging from the styles of fighting, he determinend Starscream was not amongst them. Though seeing one of them teleport caught his attention.

"Skywarp." he muttered to himself.

But his attention was then driven by a new energy signal, one that arrived and was not too far from him. He adjusted his course but readied himself just in case he was to encoutner a Decepticon. As he approached, he noticed a white mech bearing an Autobot symbol, bearing a crest on his head much like his. It had to be Ratchet.

He kept his sirens blairing to indicate someone was approaching as he slowed down before cutting them.

"It's been quite a few decades, hasn't it Ratchet?" Prowl said as he came to a halt. He then transofrmed. His arms emerged from the bottom chasis of his car mode and pushed his body up into the air and the rear of the car spread out and spun around before handing on the ground, windows side facing foward. and pulling the forward section up wars, and the hood of the car falling forwards to face Ratchet and head and missle launchers emerging form within. His headshape resembeld Ratchet's, only somewhat thinner. He looked down at the downed Autobots, frowning. It was Hot Rod and Trailbreaker. Clearly a result of the fight. Trailbreaker didn't look too bad, but it was Hot Rod who needed immediate attention. It looked as if he tried to take on Megatron and was merely toyed with by him and for him that was a lot given he knew what Megatron was capable of. He turned his attention back to Ratchet after a brief moment of observation.

Approaching Area 51

The common purple paint job and mirroring Decepticon symbol shined with pride while Blitzwing maneuvered over the surrounding area of Area 51 from above. The Triple-Changer was one of the most deadly Decepticons, due to his ability to combat almost any force. At the moment Blitzwing was transformed into a Mig-25 Fighter Jet. A lag stream of smoke was displayed across the sky, following in his wake. The purple and white fighter maneuvered into a slow descent, taking in the developed situation below. The battle was well underway at this point and he could make out casualties below in stasis.

Blitzwing was pleased, all things considered. His unique personality liked to see others struggle and fail. He often credited it to building character in the long run. Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, he reminded himself as he prepared his next course of action. Astrotrain and Skywarp were down as far as he could tell; though it appeared Astrotrain had slipped into stasis-lock. Blitzwing and Astrotrain go way back and ultimately had similar attitudes at times. Blitzwing was one of the most powerful Decepticons; he didn’t see why he shouldn’t be engaging the enemy with his combat abilities. “Spineless plasma heads.” Blitzwing mentioned watching the flesh creatures flee the area.

Area 51

With most of the battle already well underway Blitzwing approached the battlefield. His mission was to extract Astrotrain, however; he picked up a number of feint signals that he translated as request for aid. It was Runabout and Runamuck; it appeared they were getting the short end of the stick in dealing with the Autobot opposition. The Mig-25 circled the area for a moment, setting up for an attack run and began a transmission to the pair of Decepticons below. Blitzwings bomb bay opened and a pair of heat-seeking missiles fell roughly ten-feet before they activated. Once locking on and confirming their target, the pair of missiles accelerated, their intended target, Smokescreen. The attack was meant to be an ambush while Smokescreen was busy dealing with Runamuck. The pair of heat-seeking missiles continued onward, scorching across the sky straight towards Smokescreen.

After Blitzwing had launched his assault that was intended to give Runamuck time to retreat, Blitzwing transformed in midair into his robot form. His dexterous ability allowed him to perform an agile flip, which landed him on his feet next to Astrotain. A sparkle of light erupted over the area as Blitzwing activated his Electron Scimitar, holding the deadly weapon in his right hand while his left hand featured a Gyro-Blaster Rifle. “The games a foot.” Blitzwing uttered in carnal pleasure of the destruction that was being had this evening. Blitzwing approached the battered body of Astrotain while he leveled his Gyro-Blaster incase any Autobots got any ideas to try and sneak a cheap shot in.

“You sure did it this time Astrotrain. That’s what happens when you go to battle with out Blitzwing.” Blitzwing said as he reached down and grappled Astrotain, placing him over his shoulder. Blitzwing started to back off with Astrotain on his shoulder, holding his Gyro-Blaster Rifle out in front of him while back peddling to try and get Astrotrain out of the combat zone.

Area 51

Snarl legs had actually given out on him for a few astroseconds, causing him to slump to the ground, but it hadn't taken long for the bright sun to warm his plates, powering up the large Dinobot. This sort of terrain was exactly the type he had been built to fight in. He felt his body begin to fill with energy and strength once more and he began to get back on his feet. However, the momentary loss of power and strength had drew the attention of an enemy in the air. His body shuddered with impact hits, his heavy, sloped armour able to take the brunt of the damage, but his armour was still blackened and mangled where he had been hit. He had no time now to check to see the result of his attack on Razorclaw, he had something else to deal with.

The Dinobot swung his head around to try and see who had hit him, it was then that he spotted something in the sky. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the Predacon Divebomb, he roared as he angled his tail up and fired off some shots from the spikes at the tip. It was then he spotted something else in the air, coming in from behind Divebomb, if the 'Cons wanted to take him on in the air so be it! Snarl was ready for them! However, it was then that he saw the other air borne threat, but it wasn't a threat at all, it was Swoop!

>>Swoop! You're alive!<< Snarl communicated to his fellow Dinobot, he was thrilled to see more of his comrades in arms back on line. >>Lets take down this 'Con, just like the good old days.<<

Area 51

Sunstreaker saw Swindle return fire on him and began rolling back and away from the Decepticon. He took a few hits from the scatter blaster but he managed to keep a hold on his gun. He was sure as slag going to need it if the fight kept going the way it was. You’d think one of the other stupid Autobots would have come along and kept Swindle busy for a few seconds so he could take down Rampage and get back to killing the arms dealer. Of course he’d learn a long time ago that you couldn’t rely on any of the other Autobots. They were all incompetent or weak. If they were worth half a scrap then they would have won this war a long time ago.

The rolling also saved the warrior from a full power blast from the Predacon’s rifle. While that blast missed the follow up, weaker shots, did score some hits on the Autobot warrior. Sunstreaker grunted as the shots hit home. He rolled up to see the Predacon charging at him, his sword at the ready. If he wanted to charge, then that was fine with him. The effects of Swindle’s blast were wearing off and he could see straight well enough for what he had in mind.

The yellow Autobot transformed and with a roar of his engine charged right back at Rampage. He would see what these Predacons were really made of. He would either take out his legs or the Decepticon would get out of his way. Either way he would learn that no one fought Sunstreaker with his courage or his body intact afterwards.

***

Grimlock grunted as his legs were swept out from under him and he was sent crashing to the ground on his backside. He silently cursed his foolish move. He’d been too eager for the kill and had walked right into that. Now he was on the ground and going to pay the price for being a bit out of practice for a gladiatorial fight.

But before Razorclaw could take advantage of the situation he was distracted by a blast from Snarl. Grimlock glanced only briefly over at the other Dinobot, simultaneously grateful and annoyed at his intrusion into the battle, before jumping back up to his feet. He smashed his right fist, bolstered by the sword hilt still grasped in it, into the Predacon’s head. Razorclaw staggered back, but countered with a swift slash to Grimlock’s midsection, cutting a fair sized gash in the Dinobot. Grimlock lashed out with his own sword but was met by Razorclaw’s once more.

This was getting old. In robot modes, with his current less then optimal condition, Razorclaw might have the edge over him. Fully energized and repaired he had little doubt he could overcome the quicker Decepticon with his raw strength and skill but with the way this battle was going he would get worn down too quick. He needed to change things so it shifted back into his favor. Maybe he could spring something unexpected on the Predacon leader.

Grimlock stepped back from their intense sword fight and transformed. His Tyrannosaurus alternate mode was still functional, although all of the synthetic flesh was long since gone. That was fine with him, as long as the teeth and claws were still there he was good to go. He lunged back at the Predacon, his jaw open and ready to clamp down on him. He hoped Razorclaw would be caught off guard by his new, at least to him, alternate mode and abrupt change in the battle so that he could get a bite out of him.

***

Megatron smirked at Prime’s question. “Whatever I desire Prime. It, like the rest of the galaxy, is mine for the taking.” He swung his mace at the prone Autobot leader’s head, ready to smash his head in. Optimus intercepted it with his axe, then moved quickly to grab Megatron’s outstretched arm, pulling him down towards him. He fell backwards, pulling Megatron back with him. He shoved his knees and legs into the Decepticon’s midsection to send him flying over him and slamming face first into the ground behind him.

The Decepticon leader growled as he climbed back up to his feet, exchanging his mace back for his standard hand in the process. Megatron scooped up a piece of steel girder still attached to some cement from one of the now ruined military buildings and bunkers. Holding it in both hands, Megatron swung the bit of debris like a baseball bat or club at Optimus Prime. The improvised weapon caught the Autobot leader in the midsection, smashing and crumpling some armor. The Autobot leader bent over, clutching his midsection.

Megatron brought the weapon back to another swing only to have the weapon cleaved in half. Optimus followed through with a punch from his left fist into Megatron’s stomach. Armor plates cracked and crunched under the blow and Megatron staggered back a few steps. With a roar the Decepticon rushed the Autobot, slamming his right shoulder into his torso. Prime groaned in pain but countered with an overhand smash of both of his fists, having retracted his axe, to Megatron’s back. Megatron grunted and pulled up from his shoulder slam.

The two sworn enemies separated and took stock of their injuries and their opponents. Megatron was hurting, but he knew Prime must be as well. A one on one fight with Prime hadn’t been his intention on this mission, but it was proving an excellent diversion. If he could put a final end to the Autobot leader the entire war would soon follow. Any chance to do that was worth doing at the expense of all else.

His optics quickly glanced over their surroundings, looking for something else he could use. He briefly spotted his fusion cannon under a bit of debris but he did not linger on it. If he could distract Prime, draw his attention elsewhere, then perhaps he could reclaim his weapon and end this battle. He sidestepped, trying to circle Optimus and bring him closer to his weapon. “You’ll never win Prime. This world is just another stepping stone for me and this little battle just a clean up operation. If you can’t stop me here, what makes you think you can stop me anywhere else?”


OOC: Prime-Megatron and Razorclaw-Grimlock fights agreed upon by both players.

Area 51

To call what went through Rampage's mind thought would be a generous thing indeed. Instead the Predacon was driven by the more primal instincts that all sentient beings possessed, left over from the early period of their species existence, for Rampage he embraced these feelings. Thinking things through, or devising some clever strategy were not for him, he viewed such thing for the weak, individuals who could not get by on their own power. Rampage preferred to act and react, to see where his opponents weaknesses were, and what his strengths were. So far this Autobot Sunstreaker left him unimpressed, he seemed to like to prattle on about himself, do something fancy and hoped it worked.

As the Predacon charged, firing with his rifle, he felt frustration as his fully charged shot missed, he hated it when some lousy Autobot refused to die. Although his follow up shots scored some hits they were clearly not enough as Sunstreaker transformed and charged towards the Predacon, his engine roaring. Less then an astrosecond later Rampage mimicked the manuver of the Autobot and transformed into his tiger form, the double barreled machine guns in his legs hammering away as they each pumped out hundreds of rounds, draining his ammo reserves quickly. Then, when it appeared Sunstreaker was about to run down the charging Predacon, Rampage pushed off with his powerful legs and lept into the air, sailing over the Autobot easily. Before he hit the ground Rampage transformed into his robot mode, landed, rolled and sprang back to his feet turning to face the back end of the Autobot.

He raised his lighting rifle, took aim at Sunstreaker and began to fire 30,000 volts blasts of electricity at the Autobot.

Over Area 51

Thundercracker had prepared himself for the mission at hand by carrying a payload suitable for destroying ground targets, it had been Skywarp who had been the designated air superiority fighter for the mission. This had left Thundercracker handicapped for a long range air combat, something he had tried to fix by taking a gamble after sneaking behind the Autobot flier who had bested Skywarp. Firing one of his drone guided cruise missiles towards Aftershot like he had done to much slower Sideswipe earlier, Thundercracker had hoped to force the Autobot on defensive so he could enter a dogfight with him and utilize his sonic booms and incediary guns.

And it had worked. The Autobot had been forced to shake off the missile by pulling out a series of rather impressive maneuvers. While not impressive enough to keep one of the best fliers in Decepticon ranks off his tail, they were definately impressive enough to cause the missile being unable to fix its trajectory fast enough to not collide into the ground. Nevertheless, it had done its job, allowing Thundercracker to close in and follow Aftershot through his maneuvers. He had the edge now, Aftershot was in range of his incendiary guns and to top it all, the Autobot was already damaged from his earlier battle with Skywarp while the blue seeker himself was still in top operating condition.

Generating a sonic boom directed towards Aftershot in hopes of destabilizing the Autobot and making him an easier target, Thundercracker opened fire with his incendiary guns, hoping to drop the Autobot so he could break off to give support to other 'cons against the growing threat of the Dinobots.