The Energon Pub

by **Stormtalon** » Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:27 am

Author’s Note:
Welcome to my adventure pitting the mighty Dinobots against the equally powerful Predacons of Transformers Prime. I love feedback so send me a missive: good, bad, or 'OMG you're totally awesome.' I'd like to hear from you.

Before we start some casting changes.

Slug goes by Slag (G1 all the way :grin:

)
Skystalker goes by Icefang
Darksteel goes by Dreadwing(To match his brother: Grimwing)
Predaking goes by Scourge

The events of Transformers Prime and Fall of Cybertron are part of the history of this story, but not 'Predacons Rising'. In short, Prime is still alive and Megatron is still dead. Like any fan fiction writer, I kept what I wanted and scrapped what I didn’t I hope you enjoy.

Part 1: Here There be Dinobots

“Remember when patrols were routine and quiet?” Slag asked.

“Yeah, things have really livened up lately?” Swoop replied.

“Not where I was going…”

A Predacon tackled Slag. Swoop charged at the second Predacon who transformed and took flight.

“That’s not going to save you!” he shouted, transforming and flying after the beast as a Pteranodon.

Slag grappled with his opponent avoiding its snapping jaws and slashing claws. With a twist, he threw the Predacon off and got a good look at him. Slag was up against a yellow and orange striped creature lashing an axe like tail.

“Ugly sucker, aren’t you?”

“You should talk, half-breed!” growled the Predacon before charging.

Slag was ready this time. The Dinobot transformed into a Triceratops. He gored the Predacon and with a flick of his head sent him flying.

In the skies, Swoop gained on his Predacon, a sleek, icy blue dragon. Swoop launched a fire bolt, but the dragon rolled around it.

“Now, try one of mine!”

With a mighty beat of his wings, he sent two blue and white disks spinning towards Swoop. He was quick enough to dodge the first one, but the second clipped his wing and a coat of ice spread up from the wingtip. Swoop squawked in alarm. The dragon laughed as Swoop lost control and crashed.

Back on the ground, the yellow and orange wyrm growled at Slag. Slag stamped the ground and shook his frill. “Any time!” he shouted.

The wyrm’s back split open revealing dual missile launchers. Two missiles flew at Slag from point blank range. The explosion rocked the battlefield.

“Ready for that?” the wyrm sneered.

“Actually…” Slag stomped out of the fire, “I was.”

Slag charged the wyrm. The wyrm hissed and charged too. Before they collided, a huge shadow swooped past and a curtain of flame fell across their paths. A gigantic black and red dragon landed in the flames and bellowed a deafening roar. Slag and his opponent slid to a stop. Swoop crash-landed next to Slag. His blue opponent dropped near his partner.

The big dragon took a look at the battlefield then turned to the two Predacons.

“Icefang! Vertebreak! Explain yourselves.”

The orange and yellow one, Vertebreak, transformed and spoke.

“These two half-breeds entered our territory. We defended it.”

Vertebreak crossed his arms in a ‘case closed’ fashion.

“I wonder how they marked their territory,” Swoop whispered to Slag.

“Not helping,” Slag whispered back.

The big dragon turned to the Dinobots. “Do you have something to add?”

Slag transformed back into a robot. “We didn’t know this was your territory. We were patrolling, not invading.”

Scourge eyed the Dinobots then the Predacons.

“You will leave the half-breeds unharmed,” Scourge commanded. Icefang nodded in agreement. Vertebreak seethed but bobbed his head too. Scourge turned to the Dinobots.

“We will uphold the truce started by Bumblebee. This area is now under Predacon control. We will handle any future threats,” he said pointedly.

“And who gave you that authority?” Swoop muttered under his breath. Slag waved him down.

Slag spoke to Scourge, “We, too, will respect the peace.”

Slag turned on his heel and walked away. Swoop gave Icefang a dirty glare then followed his partner. He waited until they were a distance before opening up.

“Are you cracked in the braincase? We’re Dinobots! We don’t back down!”

Slag turned toward Swoop.

“I counted three Predacons, including one big enough to knock Bruticus on his backside.”

“But you let them have…”

“A pile of rubble? What have is more valuable.”

“And what is that?”

“Information. Lets report back to base.”

Slag transformed and galloped off. Swoop transformed and followed.

* * *

“Ok, this should…do…it!” Smokescreen closed a panel. “Fire her up!”

Snarl nodded and activated the device. Energon coursed through its circuits and displays lit up. Smokescreen let out a sigh of relief.

“So far, so good! Now… Kaon? This is New Spark. Come in?”

First, only static, then Arcee’s voice came through. “Kaon Hub responding. We hear you, New Spark.”

Smokescreen and the few bots in the area gave a ragged cheer. Snarl nodded his approval.

“Good to hear from you, Kaon. We’ll call again when we have the supply list compiled. New Spark, out.”

Snarl grunted, “Humph. Orders from Kaon…”

Smokescreen understood the Dinobot’s misgivings.

“Yeah, it still seems weird. In the Academy, I saw Kaon as the source of all evil. Personally, I’d rather rebuild Iacon. But Kaon suffered the least amount of damage. It makes sense to have command and control there.”

“Humph.” Snarl grunted and stomped off.

Grimlock entered the communications room. “You done, tinkering?”

Snarl replied, “Humph.”

Smokescreen snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. We’ve established communications with Kaon.”

“Snarl just said all that.”

Smokescreen stammered a bit, but then caught Snarl and Grimlock sharing a grin. Where they playing with him?

Slag and Swoop entered in a rush.

Swoop blurted, “Grimlock? We got a situation with fangs and wings?”

“Show me.”

Snarl moved to the main computer terminal. With a few commands, a holo-map of Cybertron floated in the middle of the room.

“We met them right…here,” Slag said pointing to a spot on the holo-map.

“Three Predacons, including the ‘King’,” Swoop added.

Slag filled in the details, “We encountered two Predacons and engaged. Scourge intervened and ordered the others to stand down, but declared the entire sector Predacon territory.”

“Territory?” Grimlock grumbled, “What is he up to?”

Snarl grunted to get everyone’s attention. “Helix,” he said pointing to the map.

Smokescreen peered at the map markings. “Helix… a port town on the Sea of Rust. Anyone there?”

“Chromia,” Slag answered.

“Friend of yours?”

“A survivor.” Grimlock answered. He turned to Swoop.

“Fly on ahead, make sure she’s ok.”

Swoop nodded. “You got it boss.”

Smokescreen stood up. “Can I come?”

Grimlock looked to Swoop. Swoop grinned. “Only if you can keep up.”

“Just watch me,” Smokescreen answered.

by **Stormtalon** » Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:42 am

* * *
Swoop approached Helix with Smokescreen close behind in a cloud of dust.

“Swoop to Grimlock?”

“I read you Swoop.”

“… have a visual on Helix. So far no sign of trouble.”

Helix was a one-road town with docks on the seaside and warehouses on the other. An explosion drew his attention to a warehouse on the far side of town.

“Hey boss, about that trouble…”

Smokescreen poured on the speed. Swoop wasn’t going to let wheels beat wings and dove toward the explosion ready for anything. As the two reached the scene two bots emerged from billowing smoke.

“Told you, I could get it open,” a smaller bot said to a taller female.

“Without bringing the roof down on top of us?” the female shouted.

“Eh, that’d take longer,” the first bot retorted.

Swoop hailed New Spark. “Hold the rescue party. Looks like we’ve found Chromia and company.”

“Swoop?”

Chromia rushed to greet the Dinobot. Chromia was scout class sharing the same body model as Arcee, but in silver with blue accents.

“Hiya, Chromia,” Swoop returned the greeting, then introduced Smokescreen.

“I thought we had another cycle before reporting back. Don’t tell me Grimlock sent out the search parties already?”

“Sort of. You run into any Predacons?” Swoop asked.

“Predacons?”

The smaller robot jumped at the word. “Whoa. Predacons? I didn’t sign on to become a monster’s chew toy.”

“Easy, Huffer.”

Chromia turned back to Swoop. “What’s going on?”

“We spotted a couple of Preds not far from here,” Smokescreen answered.

“Then you can spot me back at New Spark,” Huffer added. He came to Smokescreen’s midsection; bright yellow and dour purple with darting eyes.

Chromia shoved Huffer. “Why don’t you see if there’s anything worth salvaging in that vault you blew up?”

Huffer grimaced but followed orders. He reentered the smoking warehouse. Chromia returned to her would-be rescuers.

“No signs of Predacons. It has been a quiet tag-and-grab operation.”

“Ah, Chromia?” Huffer called out from inside, “I’d come and see this, if I were you.”

Chromia, Swoop and Smokescreen hurried inside the warehouse. Like most of Cybertron, it was stripped and bombed out ages ago. A vault door at the far wall hung open at an angle.

Huffer pointed inside where a row of five stasis pods sat. Stasis pods were used in deep space exploration so finding some in a support town to the Hydrax spaceport wasn’t unusual, but recent stasis pods contained Insecticons drones.

“One of ours or theirs?” Chromia asked.

“I hope it’s an Autobot. We still haven’t decided what to do with the Insecticons we keep tripping across at Kaon,” Smokescreen said.

“What? The smelting pits aren’t working?” Swoop asked.

“Prime wouldn’t snuff a bot unless he had no other choice,” Smokescreen replied.

“That’s why Grimlock’s a better leader. Running things is tough enough. Why tie one hand behind your back with morality?”

“Argue leadership styles on your own time,” Chromia asserted, “Let’s see what we have here.”

Chromia peered into the window.

“Not an Insecticon, but not any bot I’ve seen. Take a look.”

Swoop, Huffer and Smokescreen peeked inside but didn’t recognize the robot. The bot was green with yellow limbs. Smokescreen gave it a second look and spotted the wings folded against the arms and fangs in the mouth.

Smokescreen hazard a guess, “I think this bot might be a Predacon.”

Chromia took a second look and nodded. Swoop inspected the other pods.

“Looks the same down the line.”

“What do we do with them?” Chromia asked out loud.

Smokescreen suggested, “Activate them?”

“Swell, just what Cybertron needs…more Predacons,” Huffer grumbled.

“You’d probably want to destroy it,” Chromia ventured.

“Wouldn’t be off the table,” Huffer admitted.

Swoop spoke up, “These Predacons didn’t grow in these pods. Someone created them and podded them. And that someone is Shockwave.”

“Grimlock will want to question them?” Chromia asked.

Swoop nodded.

“Fine, but do it at New Spark. I’ve seen the damage one Predacon can do and don’t like the 5 to 4 odds.”

Swoop and Chromia left to contact Grimlock and rustle up a ground bridge. Smokescreen stayed with Huffer in the vault.

“They think Shockwave made these things?” Huffer asked pointing to the pods.

Smokescreen nodded. “That’s the story. Shockwave got his hands on some ancient CNA and cloned them. Why? What have you heard?”

“The way others told it, that beam or whatever Optimus used to restart Cybertron also revived some of the ancient life buried beneath its surface.”

“Then why would these five be in stasis pods?” Smokescreen asked.

Huffer’s face fell. He didn’t have the answer to that question.

“I’m going to steer clear of the fight that’s surely brewing,” Smokescreen offered.

“How do you mean?” Huffer asked.

“Grimlock will want to question them about Shockwave. Arcee and Ultra Magnus will want them to stay on ice. With Optimus roaming the stars looking for all our scattered people. No one has the final say. Mark my words it’s going to get explosive.”

An explosion knocked them on their heels.

Smokescreen looked surprised. “That wasn’t me.”

It came from outside. Huffer and Smokescreen rushed out. Several warehouses were already on fire. A dock exploded into searing debris.

It was the Predacons. They were destroying Helix.

* * * To Be Continued * * *

by **Stormtalon** » Tue Apr 08, 2014 11:15 am

Part 2

Cinders and ashes filled the sky. Wings and bodies darted in and out of the smoke above. A loud pop drew Smokescreen’s attention to the warehouse wall cracking from the heat. He slapped on his phase shifter and grabbed Huffer as the warehouse collapsed on top of them.

An instant later, both Autobots emerged from the rubble. Chromia and Swoop rushed to them. Smokescreen handed off the rattled Huffer to Chromia, looked up and dove back into the rubble. A volley of fireballs carpeted the street. Swoop extended his wing shielding Chromia and Huffer as fire rained down. When it passed, Swoop transformed and rocketed skyward.

He climbed above the smoke and spotted the attackers: three Predacons coming around for another pass. Swoop ducked into the smoke and felt the air currents. When he felt three whooshes, he popped up and fired.

A green Predacon with red wings was hit with a missile. She tumbled out of the sky. The other two stopped their firebombing and charged after him. Both were bulky gryphons; one blue with grey feathers, the other gray also with green feathers.

Swoop banked and slide between the two as they passed. Both pinion turned and fired on the lone Dinobot. Swoop tried an up-and-down maneuver to shake them, but a fire blast nicked his wing tip. Another hit his wing claw. Swoop rolled and fired behind him. But both Predacons were gone. The blue one flew along Swoop’s left flank, the gray on his right. They closed the pincers.

Swoop transformed. In robot mode, he dropped like a stone. Both Predacons collided in front and above of him. Swoop transformed again and recovered from the fall. He started to feel good about his odds when claws raked his back.

“Swoop! Down!”

Recognizing the voice, Swoop obeyed. He tucked in his wings fell through the smoke just as it lit up with laser fire. Predacons are resilient, but that barrage did some damage. Both gryphons dropped out of the haze crashing into a dock crane.

“You guys are a sight for sore optics.”

Swoop couldn’t keep the relief out of his voice as he landed in front of the other Dinobots.

“Humph,” Snarl grunted.

“You’re lucky we have access to a ground bridge,” Sludge added.

Grimlock asked, “You OK?”

“A few scrapes and dings. I’ll be fine,” Swoop answered.

The first Predacon climbed out of the ruined warehouse. A whirling hum heralded Smokescreen emerging from the rubble. He carried the yellow and green Predacon under his arms. The dragon saw the two and took a swipe at Smokescreen but the claw passed through him. She swiped again. By now Grimlock and the others charged to Smokescreen’s position. Seeing she was outnumbered and her gryphon partners fleeing, the green dragon hissed at the Autobot and took flight.

The Autobots and Dinobots joined Smokescreen and his new charge.

“Humph,” Snarl grunted at the Predacon in Smokescreen’s arms.

Grimlock nodded, “You can say that again.”

* * *

by **Stormtalon** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 11:26 am

* * *

The three Predacons winged their way inland. Their destination was an abandoned villa on a mesa overlooking the coast.

Tarnished walls surround a vast courtyard with an energon reflecting pool and statues flanking both sides. In front of the house steps stood a headless statue. The plaque on the base read, ‘Councilor Contrail: Greatest of His Age’.

Scourge rested on these steps rolling Contrail’s head under his claw. He lifted his head at the arrival of the trio.

“Is it done?” he asked.

The twin gryphons ruffled their feathers and looked at each other then their companion. The green dragon hissed at them, transformed and approached.

“No, my king,” she answered.

Scourge’s eyes narrowed. His nostrils flared.

“You encountered resistance. Autobots?”

The green Predacon nodded. Scourge took another deep sniff.

“And Dinobots… the winged one. And… something more. Ripclaw?”

The green Predacon described the entire encounter. She was contemptful of her companions: Grimwing and Dreadwing. Scourge listened patiently to the whole story. It wasn’t until the end that he heard what he wanted: the discovery of another Predacon.

“So it is another Predacon I smelled. And she’s at the mercy of the Autobots. Which is no mercy at all.”

“Your orders, my king?” Dreadwing asked.

“We will attack, but first we need facts. Vertebreak!”

The orange and yellow striped Predacon approached.

“Dreadwing will take you to the outskirts of Helix. Scout the situation and return quickly.”

Dreadwing and Vertebreak roared acceptance. The gryphon sprang to the air landed on Vertebreak and carried him back towards Helix.

* * *

It didn’t take long to knock out the fires. The offshore breeze cleared the smoke and Autobots and Dinobots got a good look at the former town of Helix. The docks, not much to look at before, were completely scrapped. The warehouses were melted metal with some twisted wreckage to break the monotony.

Slag and Sludge began clearing the rubble of the stasis pod warehouse. Smokescreen helped but managed a fraction to the amount cleared by Sludge and his tail.

“I can phase through and pull them out,” Smokescreen offered for the fifth time.

Sludge replied, “And have more Predacons up and about? No, thanks.”

“What else was I supposed to do?” Smokescreen argued.

Slag, in Triceratops mode, pushed more debris from the area.

“Throttle down, rookie,” he growled, “In the heat of the moment, it was the right call. But now we is the time to think. Better to get them while they are still in stasis. Let the leaders have the headaches on what to do with them.”

“The leaders can decide, once we’ve asked our questions,” Sludge grumbled.

“That sounds mildly ominous,” Smokescreen commented.

“What’s grinding your gears, Sludge?” Slag asked.

“Think on it, Slag. Vector Prime didn’t just open up a time portal and drop these Predacons here. They were lab breed…by Shockwave. That means these guys might know the location of one of his labs, maybe even where the mad scientist is himself. Prime or Magnus can have the lot of them after we get that info.”

Slag turned to his fellow Dinobot. “You’re not Grimlock. That isn’t your call.”

The brachiosaur glared down at the triceratops. “No, I’m not Grimlock. I’m the bot Shockwave left for scrap. Don’t think that matters? Think again!”

Smokescreen put himself between the lumbering dinos.

“Easy. Easy. Back to the task at hand, there are four more stasis pods in this mess. Lets get them out.”

Slag and Sludge returned to the recover operation. But both shot the other sidelong glances. Smokescreen was surprised by the change in Sludge. He seemed the friendly sort. Certainly not the sort to carry such a deep hatred. They continued to dig in silence.

* * *

“Hello, I am Chromia. Who are you?”

The Predacon’s eyes flickered online. She scanned her surroundings. There was a lot of rubble and two Cybertronians standing over her, but no immediate threats. The Predacon stared through Chromia for a time before processing her question.

“I… am…Windrazor,” the Predacon answered at length.

“Welcome Windrazor. We found you nearby. Are you hurt?”

Windrazor looked down at her body. She raised her left arm, but couldn’t hold it up. She answered, “I am weak, but unharmed.”

Grimlock introduced himself and asked the next question.

“How did you get here?” Grimlock asked in what he thought was his softest voice. It wasn’t soft enough because Windrazor recoiled from the Dinobot.

“More beasts? Am I still on the island?”

Grimlock frowned and backed away.

Chromia interceded. “Easy! You aren’t on any island. Grimlock is a friend.”

Grimlock stepped away frowning. Chromia might have a better chance alone. Snarl waved Grimlock over to a loading dock without a warehouse.

“Find something?” Grimlock asked.

Snarl nodded and swiped away rubble hiding an old but familiar insignia.

“Decepticon science division,” Grimlock breathed out as a whisper. “A lab?”

“Humph.”

“Keep searching quietly. We’ll come back to this later, after we send our new ‘guest’ on her way.”

* * *

From an alleyway, a pair of purple eyes watched the whole exchange. Vertebreak excelled at stalking. He made it this far without raising an alarm. He feared being found out, but they either didn’t have a Predacon’s highly tuned sensory array or didn’t know how to use it. He remained undetected.

Vertebreak used his own senses to navigate around Helix. The faint whiff of the new Predacon led him through the rubble to where the Autobots held Windrazor.

Chromia stood with the yellow and green Predacon. Vertebreak was too far to hear her words, but his nose picked up the acrid tinge of ozone ahead of a blue-green portal blossoming out of thin air. Two new Autobots emerged from the ground bridge: a green bulky one and a yellow and black one. They exchanged more words (Autobots are a wordy bunch.) then took the Predacon through the portal. Scourge needed to know of this.

* * *

Smokescreen and Slag carried the fourth stasis pod into the area the ground bridge just vanished. Smokescreen held the end with the window.

“This thing is so ugly, I can’t tell if this is the beast or his robot mode.”

Smokescreen chuckled at his joke. Slag rolled his eyes. But the laughing didn’t stop. Instead it echoed, grew louder, and carried a manic edge to it. Slag peered around the pod to look at Smokescreen. Smokescreen was looking at him…and he wasn’t laughing.

Slag was suddenly yanked away. Smokescreen lost his grip on the stasis pod and it fell. Something stuck to his back and suddenly he was yanked into darkness.

* * *

by **Stormtalon** » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:15 pm

Smokescreen opened his eyes to darkness. Some groaning to his right assured him he wasn’t alone.

“Slag? Grimlock? Swoop?” Smokescreen whispered.

“Slag here,” the groaning voice answered.

“Where is here?” Smokescreen asked.

“Uh-uh-ah!” spoke a different voice from the dark, “That would be telling.”

“Who’s there? Who are you?” Smokescreen asked.

“A curious mind,” the voice chuckled.

“A curious mind that smells like an Insecticon,” Slag commented.

“I suppose I do. It’s been eons since my last oil bath, but don’t mistake me for my drones. I am the master here.”

Smokescreen reached for his phase shifter, but some sticky substance held his in place.

“I could tell you escape is impossible, but it’s so enjoyable watching you struggle. How about you large one?”

Slag grunted against his bonds.

“Dinobots don’t take well to captivity.”

“Consider me warned,” the voice snickered. “No lets see what kind of Cybertronian you are.”

“Better yet, lets see what kind of Cybertronian you are.”

Slag spit out a fire plume lighting up the room. Smokescreen spotted Slag tied down to the floor in dino mode. He also saw the voice in the dark. He was a spindly creature with four extra arms curled to protect his eyes. Two of them shot a few globs of webbing sealing Slag’s mouth shut. Darkness returned. In the afterimage, Smokescreen saw another room with another bot tied down.

“Oh look, now you’ve lost your speaking privileges,” the dark voice returned but the mirth was replaced with malice.

“You’ll regret losing those. This next part will be extremely painful.”

In the dark, a saw revved up to a high-pitched whirl.

* * *

Kaon was a hub of activity. A freight hauler rolled microns in front of the ground bridge depositing Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Chromia and Windrazor. When it passed, Arcee and Ultra Magnus stood before the four newcomers.

Arcee put on a bright smile and extended her hand. “Welcome to Kaon.”

Windrazor looked at the hand, then the Autobot it was attached to but did nothing. Ultra Magnus stepped in with a martial air.

“Report, solider.”

His command was directed at Chromia. She frowned and pointed a finger at Magnus’ chest.

“I’ll say this once so listen carefully,” Chromia said through gritted teeth, “I’m am not your ‘solider’; not yours, not Optimus’. While you lucky ones gallivanted among the stars, we slowly starved on a dying world. As far as I’m concerned you lost the right to command me the moment you broke orbit.”

The other Autobots were stunned by the outburst. If Ultra Magnus was it didn’t show.

“Then why are you here?” Ultra Magnus asked calmly.

Chromia glared at him for a second.

“Because, I’m responsible for more than just me. This is Windrazor. She came from one of five stasis pods we found in Helix.”

Chromia presented Windrazor. The green and yellow Predacon looked fearful. All the activity going on was overwhelming. She clutched her hands over her ears.

“You took her out of stasis?” Arcee asked.

“Nope, Smokescreen did.”

“And where is Smokescreen?” Ultra Magnus asked.

“Back at Helix with the Dinobots,” Bulkhead answered.

“Didn’t want to face the music,” Arcee quipped.

“The point is we have more Predacons. Grimlock said you knew how to deal with them.”

All eyes turned toward Bumblebee. The Autobot had been notoriously silent up to this point.

“I only managed a ceasefire with Scourge. That doesn’t make me a Predacon whisperer.”

“But he listens to you,” Bulkhead started.

“Yeah, because I snuffed out Megatron,” Bumblebee explained, “Look Scourge respects power. Megatron defeated him so Megatron is powerful. I killed Megatron therefore I’m more powerful. He respects me enough not to barbeque me on sight. That’s not the same thing as being able to talk with every Predacon.”

Ultra Magnus stepped in.

“Let’s operate on facts not fiction. The Predacon should be examined and Chromia should be properly debriefed.”

Chromia frowned again, but did not object. He led her and Windrazor inside.

* * *

Swoop finished a third pass of Helix. He spiraled down and transformed next to the other Dinobots. One terse headshake answered their questions: no sign of Slag or Smokescreen.

Grimlock studied the recovered stasis pods. The Predacons were still in there. No signs of a struggle. It didn’t add up. Slag would definitely put up a fight and he knew Smokescreen long enough to know he’d go down swinging too. What could take them down so quietly?

“Found something,” Huffer called out.

The Dinobots gathered around the yellow Autobot crouching over a drift in an alleyway. The persistent winds leisurely erased a footprint in the rust. It was a clawed footprint.

“One of yours?” Huffer asked the Dinobots.

Grimlock answered, “I don’t think so.”

Sludge peered down.

“Not the right size for me. Too long for Slag or Snarl and the claws are too spread out for Swoop.”

“And Grimlock?” Huffer asked look up at the Dinobot.

“If he were in beast mode, you’d know,” Swoop quipped.

“Definitely Predacon,” Sludge surmised.

“Think it is still in the area?” Huffer asked looking over his shoulder.

“I’ve scanned the area thoroughly. No one is here but us Dinobots…and you,” Swoop argued.

Snarl grunted then transformed into a stegosaur. He sniffed the footprint and began tracking.

“Snarl will sniff him out,” Grimlock said, “He’s an excellent tracker.”

Sludge stepped next to Grimlock and whispered, “But not our best tracker.”

Grimlock grumbled.

“It’s for Slag,” Sludge persisted.

“No,” Grimlock growled, “The beast stays buried!”

Swoop spoke up, “Think I’ll do a wider sweep of the area. I mean they can’t have gotten far dragging Slag around.”

Sludge and Huffer followed Swoop’s cue and found somewhere else to be. Grimlock fumed. He knew Sludge was just worried about their teammate, but transforming brought its own risks. It was a last resort they weren’t at yet.

* * *

by **Stormtalon** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:50 pm

Dreadwing blew out a puff of smoke. The minutes stretched into hours waiting for Vertebreak. He was worried. A roar echoed through the foothills. Dreadwing answered with one of his own. Soon, Icefang landed next to the gryphon.

“Scourge grows impatient,” Icefang reported.

Dreadwing nodded in acknowledgement.

“Vertebreak has not returned,” the gryphon explained.

“Captured?”

Dreadwing transformed and walked to the cliff’s edge. He possessed sharp eyesight as a gryphon or a robot. He scanned the ruins of Helix.

“I see the half-breeds…stasis pods…but no Vertebreak.”

“Maybe the flightless wonder got himself killed,” Icefang snickered.

Dreadwing snapped at the ice drake, “Don’t say that. Not to me and especially not Scourge. Every Predacon is precious.”

“Even the useless ones you have to carry?”

Dreadwing eyed the white and blue dragon with pity.

“You don’t remember, do you?”

Icefang reared his head back.

“Remember what?”

“Scourge in full fury,” Dreadwing answered.

Icefang shook his head.

“The Forged to their brief regret did.”

Icefang held out for a quick moment before curiosity got the better of him.

“Why? What happened?”

Dreadwing sat down on the ledge keeping an eye on Helix below. Icefang plopped himself next to the big blue robot to hear his tale.

“Scourge revived Grimwing and me. We all came from the same lab. Scourge taught us the basics: how to transform, breathe dragon fire, and speak.”

“A few days later, we began the Hunt for our Brethren. Scourge compiled a list of Shockwave’s other labs. We searched each one for Predacon clones. One such lab was occupied by the Forged who converted it into a shrine.”

“The Forged? This sounds familiar…” Icefang added, “They are degenerates. They wanted something…”

Dreadwing continued, “The Forged saw Shockwave as some of living god walking on Cybertron. His laboratory was sacred ground. When we arrived, they welcomed us like heroes, proof of their god’s great deeds.

“These were the first Decepticons Grim and I ever encountered. We welcomed the praise but Scourge was skeptical. He was right to be wary. The Forged allowed us full access except for the upper level. Scourge bristled at any restrictions and forced his way in.

“The chamber was labeled Cyrostasis: experiments were frozen for long time storage, but the Forged had turned it into a killing floor.”

Icefang shook his head. Fear crept up his spine. This was something he tried very hard to forget.

“Rows of maturation tubes, once containing Predacons, were empty. At the very back on the chamber there was an altar.”

Icefang was visibly trembling now. The memory was close to the surface.

“They sacrificed us!” Icefang croaked out.

“Sacrifice implies something reverent,” Dreadwing answered, “No, the Forged bleed your brothers and sisters. They hung them up, cut them and let the life-sustaining energon bleed out into a basin. And when they drank their fill, they staked the empty husks in gruesome display.

“When Scourge saw all this… he radiated fury and let out a primal roar, one that shook the lab to its foundations. He scorched the nearest cultists into a puddle. Those who fought back didn’t last long. Those who begged for their lives outlived the fighters by a few moments. We swept through the lab for the ones smart enough to flee.

“When it was finished, we took down our fallen brethren and returned them to their empty tubes. It wasn’t the best burial arrangements, but better than being staked out like that. I discovered one of the tubes was still occupied.”

“That was me,” Icefang perked up from his misery.

Dreadwing nodded.

“The tube had cracked. Some of the refrigerants seeped in, turning you ice blue.”

“Is that why I can do this?”

Icefang blew a puff of white mist that fell as snow.

“That’s what we believe. We think the Forged didn’t drain you, because they saw you as damaged. Scourge revived you without hesitation. To us, you weren’t worthless. You are a Predacon and that means something.”

Icefang sat quietly for a moment.

“We’ll give Vertebreak a few more minutes,” Icefang announced.

Dreadwing nodded.

“A sensible decision.”

* * *

Smokescreen heard Slag moan again. He had to do something.

“Hey, tall, dark and ugly. I’m feeling neglected here,” Smokescreen shouted with more bravado than he felt.

“Well, well, well,” The voice said to himself, “Looks like Shockwave has been tinkering in here.”

Slag grunted, “Old news.”

“What rock have you been hiding under?” Smokescreen shouted to get his attention.

“Now, lets look at you, my pet.”

Smokescreen forced himself to be calm. He wasn’t going to let this scrap-eating creep see him afraid. The minute stretched. Then came a shriek from the other end of the dark room. It was too high pitched to be Slag. It must be the other bot.

“Shockwave here too? A marvelous job of cloning.”

Smokescreen and Slag hit on the same thought. “Predacon?”

The voice continued talking to himself, “As a scientist, I am jealous. This shames my feeble efforts. But I can’t help but admire the craftsmanship and imagine the possibilities.”

The voice muttered about CNA and reduction algorithms as he moved farther away until a door slide closed. The only sound was the ragged breathing of their unseen cellmate.

Smokescreen whispered, “Slag?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you move anything?”

“No,”

“Hey, don’t go Snarl on me.”

Slag chuckled, “OK, kid. I won’t. Any ideas?”

“Well, he’s completely ignoring me. That might help us.”

“Don’t bother,” a new voice joined their conversation.

“Predacon?” Slag asked.

“How quickly you forget half-breed.”

“Vertebreak.”

“You know this guy?” Smokescreen asked.

Slag cocked his head in the direction of the Autobot.

“Danced with him the other day.”

Smokescreen raised his voice to carry. “You have an escape plan?”

“No,” Vertebreak growled, “But I have one shot. I will destroy our tormentor.”

“And how does that get you free?” Slag asked.

The Predacon coughed, “It doesn’t.”

Slag replied, “Tempting, but I’d prefer freedom to vengeance. How about you?”

Silence filled the room.

Smokescreen muttered, “That doesn’t sound good.”

“I choose freedom.”

by **Stormtalon** » Tue May 06, 2014 11:43 pm

New Author's Note
Hello all. Working on the finale right now. I've decided to roll all of Part 4 into one post. The second half was only a couple of pages long. I didn't want to jerk you guys around.

I'm happy to make the 500 views mark. Please send me feedback (good, bad or otherwise) Please enjoy a cleaned up version of Part 4 and keep an eye out for the finale in Part 5.

Part Four

Smokescreen could see why their captor worked in darkness. He was five kinds of ugly. He stood like a normal robot but with another set of limbs attached to his back. The lower pair reached down to the floor. The upper pair bent over his shoulder ending in serrated tips. His chest and torso was a riotous blend of purple and black with pulsing green lights radiating from his chest to his thighs and upper arms. His face was hidden behind a helmet with lighted green visor.

“Going somewhere?” their captor asked the trio.

Vertebreak growled, “Yeah, through you!”

The Predacon charged in a blur of yellow and orange. Their jailer laughed. His lower spider arms fired into the ground propelling the rest of him up to the ceiling. In mid-air, the robot transformed into spider. On the floor, a glistening strand stretched between the half buried tips. Vertebreak tangled on this trip wire.

Clambering across the ceiling, the spider-bot laughed and sprayed a web over the Predacon. Vertebreak thrashed and roared but his opponent worked fast spinning layers upon layers of webs from his abdomen. Smokescreen tried to shoot him while his back was turned. One of the arms fired another tip causing Smokescreen and Slag to dive for cover. The enraged Predacon was bundled in a tight cocoon by the time they got to their feet. Satisfied with his work, the spider turned to Slag and Smokescreen.

“Who’s next?”

Slag glared at their opponent. “You are: Tarantulas.”

* * *
Grimlock left Huffer guarding the pods as the trail led out of Helix to the canyon lands southeast of town. Swoop, who flew on ahead, soon returned transforming from Pteranodon to robot.

“What did you see?” Grimlock asked.

“Twists and folds every which way. If you get lost in there, you won’t be coming out anytime soon.”

“Predacons?”

Swoop shook his head. “No trace, boss. But they could be hiding in a cave or crevice and I would never know.”

Sludge in dino-mode turned to Snarl. “Still picking up the single scent?”

Snarl bobbed his head. “Humph.” [Just one. Kind of stale.]

“This must be the way he came into town. Maybe he left by a different route?”

“Maybe,” Grimlock conceded, “but if we follow the trail it may lead to the Predacons’ lair.”

Sludge asked his leader. “And what do we do when we find their lair?”

Grimlock stared at the canyons ahead. “Bumblebee’s ceasefire is a joke. These beasts have attacked us, destroyed Helix, and kidnapped Slag. Now we do things our way.”

* * *
From his overlook, Dreadwing saw the Dinobots coming.

“They must have Vertebreak and are heading our way. Go tell Scourge. Quickly now.”

Dreadwing pushed Icefang off the cliff. He transformed into an ice blue dragon and winged his way back to the villa.

Dreadwing surveyed the terrain. Scourge will want options and the land offered a few. He looked down at option one: the box canyon where he dropped off Vertebreak. Only one of the Dinobots could fly. The canyon would be a great place to ambush. Dreadwing’s line of sight slid to the left. Option two was to bypass them all together. Once the Dinobots enter the canyon, the Predacons could fly in a wide arc and enter Helix to retrieve the stasis pods. Dreadwing swiveled his head back to the canyon. Option three was out of sight: a bottleneck leading to the box canyon. Collapse those high walls on the Dinobots’ heads and instant tomb. It all depends on how ruthless Scourge wants to be.

* * *
“Ok. Who or What is a Tarantulas?” Smokescreen asked.

“Decepticon scientist under Shockwave’s command,” Slag answered quickly. “Believed to have perished when Cybertron went dark, but when has that ever panned out.”

“Gotcha. So how do we deal with him?”

“You don’t,” Tarantulas answered clinging to the ceiling. He fired his remaining tip. Smokescreen hit his phase shifter. The serrated shot flew right through him and buried itself in the wall behind him.

Smokescreen smiled. “All out. Now you can come quietly or…”

The rest was lost as Smokescreen saw Tarantulas regenerate four new tips.

“They never give up quietly, kid.” Slag informed him.

“Would be nice for a change. So what’s the game plan?”

Slag kept his eye on Tarantulas but spoke to Smokescreen.

“See to our ally. Come on web-for-brains lets see what you got!”

He transformed back into a triceratops and breathed fire. Tarantulas shied away from the bright flame. With their captor distracted, Smokescreen phased into the floor and reappeared near Vertebreak.

He shot the webbing around Vertebreak’s front claws when a soft glob struck to his back. Before he could react, Smokescreen was yanked off his feet and hurled across the room toward Slag. Slag turned to his side and caught him with his tail. It wasn’t a pleasant stop but better than the wall.

Tarantulas webbed Slag’s snout shut and laughed as the Dinobot struggled to free himself. Smokescreen transformed his arms into blasters and fired. Tarantulas skittered across the ceiling. A quick web shot pinned Smokescreen’s right arm to the wall. Tarantulas was about to fire another when Vertebreak leaped up and clamped onto one of Tarantulas’ many legs.

He pulled the Tarantulas off of the ceiling and began tussling with the spider. Smokescreen freed his arm then worked on Slag.

“This guy is really touchy about fire,” Smokescreen commented.

Slag worked his now-freed jaw. “Yeah, rather interesting.”

Tarantulas slide his spider legs under Vertebreak. With a grunt, he flung the Predacon across the room. The striped beast slammed against the wall followed instantly by strands of webbing keeping him pinned where he landed.

“Be grateful, you are Shockwave’s experiment. Otherwise, I’d eviscerate you right now.” Tarantulas shouted with frustration.

“Get ready,” Smokescreen whispered before phasing through the wall.

A strand of spider silk stuck on Slag’s exposed side. With a might tug, the Dinobot was pulled off his feet. He was slung to a corner of the room and the webs piled on. Slag tucked his head in to keep his mouth free.

“That’s two. Now, the Autobot,” Tarantulas growled.

“You mean little old me?” Smokescreen taunted. Tarantulas spun around and shot a web.

“Nope over here.”

The spider shot again and again didn’t catch Smokescreen. Shifting through floors and walls, the Autobot warrior continued goading Tarantulas.

“Come on, I thought you were good with those things.”

Each taunt was met with webbing. Along the way, Smokescreen picked up one of the serrated tips. A few more taunts and the entire room was coated with webs.

“You think you’re so clever,” Tarantulas hissed, “Trying to catch me in my own webs.”

Smokescreen emerged next to Vertebreak. He put his finger to his lips signaling for silence and cut the webs around his mouth with the serrated point.

Tarantulas scuttled from ceiling to wall. “…but I don’t stick to my own webs.”

Smokescreen phased next Slag. A few silent cuts and he had room to move his head.

Tarantulas coated one last piece of the floor with webs. “And now you have no where to go without getting caught.”

“I don’t suppose you want to come quietly?” Smokescreen asked as he phased up from the floor. Sure enough his feet stuck as soon as he was all the way through. Tarantulas saw his prey caught regained his good cheer.

“I think not.” He laughed.

“Ok, you had your chance. Fire!”

Slag breathed fire igniting the webs him. Vertebreak followed his lead and breathed dragon fire. Both fires spread quickly. Slag, who could take a missile to the frill, was fireproof. Vertebreak didn’t seem to mind fire indicating he was fireproof too. The tarantula, on the other hand, was going crazy. He scuttled here and there across the ceiling fleeing the flames. He even tried to smother the flames with his own webs. The fire quickly climbed up the strands singing his spinnerets.

Smokescreen freed the Dinobot and the Predacon while Tarantulas hissed and screamed at the fires. Slag turned to Smokescreen, “Exactly as planned?”

“More or less,” Smokescreen replied.

“Lets leave before the flames die down,” Vertebreak suggested.

* * *
The canyon narrowed to a bottleneck forcing the Dinobots into a single file in robot mode. Grimlock took the lead with Snarl and Sludge following. Swoop disappeared from view.

The cyber strata of the canyon was tarnished and scored by millennia of rust storms. It dulled the light coming from above creating a gloomy foreboding feel.

“I’m getting that feeling,” Grimlock whispered. “How about you, Snarl?”

“Humph,” Snarl grunted with a nod.

“And you, Sludge?”

“Since we stepped into the canyons,” Sludge agreed. “Here would be where I’d ambush us. Collapse both sides to contain us or drop the whole thing to finish us.”

“Humph.” [But they haven’t. Strange.]

Grimlock held up the halt sign. “I think I see why.”

A few steps ahead, the bottleneck widened into a box canyon. In the center stood Scourge. As the others entered, they spotted Predacons perched on the canyon rim. He also saw Swoop held by one of the big bruisers. Oddly, once they saw the Dinobots they let him go. Swoop glided down to the others.

“Ambush?” Grimlock asked. Swoop nodded sheepishly.

“Humph.” [If it is, they aren’t doing it right.]

“I’ll find out what he wants,” Grimlock stated.

The other stayed put while the leader of the Dinobots meet with the leader of the Predacons.

Scourge was definitely built by Decepticons. That was Grimlock’s assessment. Black plates blended into red spikes and orange horns. Scourge’s face was a perpetual scowl beneath a spiked helm. He planted his sword in a rust drift to show that he was armed but wasn’t attacking. He wanted to talk.

Scourge heard tales of Grimlock and his Dinobot half-breeds. Frankly, he was under whelmed seeing the myth before him. Like most Autobots, he wasn’t primarily built for combat. His grey limbs were rounded for their function. His chest was golden and he hid his face behind a battle mask. Most of the beastly features were folded behind as if he were ashamed of noble Predacon heritage he imitates. He, at least, carried himself as a leader not needing his men to back him up.

When Grimlock reached him, Scourge began without introduction.

“If I wanted you dead, I would have buried you. Do you doubt it?”

Grimlock grunted, “Not at all. You didn’t so you want something.”

“You half-breeds took one of my people. I want him back along with the Predacons held in stasis.”

“We didn’t kidnap your teammate. But since we are on the subject, we’d like Slag and Smokescreen returned unharmed.”

Scourge tilted his head. “You’ve lost a teammate too.”

“And you lost your scout you sent into Helix?”

Scourge nodded.

“Well this is interesting.” Grimlock cupped his chin. “We don’t have your teammate. You don’t have ours. Either one of us is lying. Or…”

“There is a third party,” Scourge concluded.

“Normally, this is the point where we put aside our differences, work together against a common enemy and save our friends.”

Scourge glared at Grimlock.

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Let us begin,” Scourge reached his sword.

“For Helix and the stasis pods.” Grimlock unsheathed his sword.

Predacons and Dinobots tensed as both blades met and the battle was joined.

by **Stormtalon** » Sun May 18, 2014 9:34 pm

Author's Note: The final installment is now here. I hope you enjoy it. I'm pleased with the interest the story has generated. I may follow it up with a sequel this summer. As always feedback is appreciated. You can PM through Stormtalon. I'll check to see if a review thread can be opened. In the meantime, enjoy the fifth and final part of Dragons and Dinos

Part 5

When swords met, it was like the crack of a starting pistol. The Predacons pounced spiraling down on the Dinobots. Sludge, Snarl and Swoop circled up back to back to back. Blaster fire met dragon fire as the dragons descended on them. Snarl cracked one of his rare smiles. Sludge nodded and as one they leapt at their opponents.

Swoop transformed and kept soaring through the pack of Predacons. The green and gray Grimwing dodge the pterosaur but not Sludge’s fist. Snarl grabbed Ripclaw by the tail and tomahawk threw her toward the canyon wall.

Swoop spotted Icefang and turned to engage. His eyes spotted movement below and he pinion turned avoiding Dreadwing’s slashing claws. Swoop banked around the canyon dodging dragon fire.

Sludge and Grimwing landed in some powdery rust. With a battle roar, they charged each other. Sludge fired his blaster but the green and grey Predacon batted them away with his own weapon. Grimwing aimed the flamethrower at Sludge and sprayed a stream of flame but fire could not slow a charging Dinobot. Both bruisers slammed into each other with such force the canyon floor trembled.

Snarl hurled Ripclaw into the canyon wall, but the mottled green dragon transformed into a robot, tucked in her legs and sprang off of the canyon wall instead of colliding with it. Snarl turned receiving Ripclaw’s punch full in the jaw. On her follow through, Ripclaw’s tail wrapped around Snarl’s head. She tightened her coil attempting to pop off his head. Instead, both fell over in a heap of arms and legs.

Grimlock and Scourge dueled ferociously. Blades rang with each cut and block. Grimlock swung hard in a chop that would have taken off Scourge’s head. The Predacon leader crouched avoiding the blow. With a snarl, he sprang up in an upper cut. He knocked Grimlock off his feet. Scourge pressed the advantage. He leapt on the Dinobot leader coming down with a double-handed strike with his sword. Grimlock rolled to the right. The sword bit deep in the rust all the way to the cyber-strata. Grimlock kicked out with his leg catching Scourge at the side of the knee joint. The Predacon grunting as his leg buckled. Grimlock rolled getting his hands and legs underneath him and rose again. Scourge got up at the same time ready for another go.

* * *
Vertebreak and Slag emerged from a hatch just south of town.

“Of course, the exit is halfway to Iacon,” Vertebreak grumbled.

“Like I had a floor plan of the secret underground lab.” Slag shot back.

“Think the Autobot escaped?”

Slag nodded his head. “Even without a phase shifter, Smokescreen is pretty hard to catch. Hopefully, the town was right above…”

An explosion and the sounds of blasters echoed from the canyons. Slag turned to his Predacon ally, but Vertebreak had transformed and was running toward the sounds. Slag transformed himself and followed. Wherever there was destruction and mayhem, his buddies were close by.

* * *
Swoop promised he’d make those pesky Predacons pay. As soon as he figured out how go from defense to offense. Dreadwing closed in on his tail while Icefang hurled cyro-disks boxing him below the canyon rim.

Another disk whizzed past his head. A few microns to the left and he’d have brain freeze the hard way. Swoop pulled up into a climb. Dreadwing was still gaining, but Swoop had an idea. He rolled, dodged and now hovered above Icefang. He tucked in his wings and dived.

Icefang prepared his disks and then realized he couldn’t fire without hitting Dreadwing. And now the pterosaur was barreling straight toward him. Swoop smiled. This is where Icefang would flee and he’d be the hunter. Only, the icy dragon wasn’t running: he was charging. Swoop brain caught up. He realized he was in a ‘Pincers move’ again. It was either the gryphon or the ice drake. He was already going down. At least he’d take that smirking ice drake with him.

Sludge saw Swoop and the blue dragon collide and fall out of the sky. He started to run to his teammate, but he had his hands full with Grimwing. He wrestled in the rust with the Predacon. Grimwing pulled the Dinobot off balance. Sludge went down in a rust red cloud.

Sludge growled in frustration and transformed into an Apatosaur. Teeth bared and tail snapping. A gryphon caw answered his challenge. Not one, but two. Dreadwing joined his green twin. Both cawed in unison and sprang on the sauropod. Dreadwing jumped on his back. Grimwing attacked Sludge’s neck.

Snarl shook his head to clear it. He searched for his opponent when a thick tail wrapped around his ankles and tightened. With lightning reflexes, Snarl transformed into a stegosaurus with a stance that broke Ripclaw’s tail hold. He thrashed his spiked tail slamming it into the green Predacon. She transformed into a green dragon and squared off against her opponent.

Grimlock and Scourge knocked each other’s swords out of their hand. Now they went at it bare-knuckle style. Grimlock clocked the Predacon with a right cross. Scourge tried to shake it off, but took a left too. Grimlock didn’t boast or banter. This was a job.

Scourge roared back with gut punching which caused Grimlock to double over. He followed it with a knee to the faceplate. Grimlock swung wildly. Scourge avoided the punch and laughed. He spun Grimlock around and put him in a headlock.

“Watch and despair!” Scourge hissed in Grimlock’s ear. “Your team has lost.”

Grimlock grunted, “No!”

Everywhere his team was in trouble. The gryphon twins pinned down Sludge. Swoop had a frost dragon on his back. Snarl was cut off facing the green dragon alone.

Scourge taunted, “You half breeds never stood a chance against true Predacons!”

“No!”

Grimlock radiated fury. Scourge tightened his grip but Grimlock broke it. The Dinobot leader transformed into a bellowing, fire breathing Tyrannosaurus Rex. His roar shook the entire canyon. He turned and faced his foe. Scourge glared back.

Across the box canyon, Grimlock’s roar awoke something in all the Dinobots. Swoop fired one of his wing missiles. It caught Ripclaw in the back. Snarl seized the opportunity aimed his flame breath at Sludge. He easily picked off the gryphons holding down Sludge. Both Dinobots turned toward Icefang. Icefang lowered his maw over Swoop’s neck. The intention was clear. ‘Any closer and Swoop was finished.’

Grimlock made a running leap at Scourge. The Predacon leader waited until the right moment then rolled back. He grabbed the T-rex and judo flipped him. Grimlock face planted into the rust. He got up and roared at the Predacon leader.

Scourge roared back in defiance. He ran full bore at the T-rex. Between one step and another, he transformed into a fiery red dragon. Grimlock ignited his flame breath but Scourge leaped into the air and breathed fire of his own. Scourge poured molten rage on the Dinobot.

Grimlock leaped through the flames. He tried to head butt the dragon but a strong wing beat lifted Scourge out of range. Grimlock grabbed the next best thing: his tail. The T-rex clamped hard on Scourge’s tail and pulled him down. Scourge screeched and tucked in his wings. Grimlock saw where this was going but couldn’t avoid it. He crashed followed quickly by Scourge dropping his full weight on top of him.

Pain shot through Grimlock. He let out a cry releasing the tail. Scourge smacked him hard with it. Grimlock had a tail too. He used its tip to skewer Insecticons now he jabbed the Predacon leader. He heard a scream and suddenly the weight lifted off of him.

The frost drake had his eyes on the two Dinobots in front of him. He was caught by surprised by the one from behind. The triceratops gored the blue dragon flinging him high in the air.

“Slag!” Sludge shouted with joy.

He transformed and helped Swoop up. “I leave you guys alone for one minute…”

“Where have you been?” Swoop asked.

“A lab underneath the town. I’ll tell you more once this is over.” Slag answered quickly. “What have we got?”

Across the canyon floor, the Predacons regrouped around Vertebreak.

Sludge summed things up, “Well, they are strong. For another, they are more of them.”

Slag chuckled, “What? I count only 6, that’s almost a fair fight.”

Sludge smiled in spite of his aches. “You got a plan?”

“Nope, but I’m betting we have one advantage they don’t have,” Slag boasted.

“Humph,” Snarl answered. [Teamwork]

“Can’t argue with that,” Slag agreed. The Dinobots charged the Predacons.

Grimlock hurt all over. A pain shot up his left leg from a shear break in the support struts. Moving was agony. Who knew what transforming would do. Through the hazy of battle rage, he saw his Dinobots rally to fight on. The pride he felt for his teammates lent him the strength to get up again. Across the canyon floor he spotted Scourge licking his wound, a gaping hole where his right leg met with his chest. The dragon hissed at the T-rex. The dinosaur bellowed an answering challenge.

The battle turned into a great melee. Dinos and dragons, bots and cons struck, blocked, fired and dodged. Slag swept the legs out from under Ripclaw. He turned to his next opponent and came face to face with Vertebreak. The two squared off, but didn’t attack. Neither said anything nor attacked. The moment hung there. Then it ended as Grimwing stormed through and Snarl fired at Vertebreak. The fighting resumed.

Scourge didn’t look like he could stand either. He spread his wings and lifted up off the ground. ‘Lucky dragon’, Grimlock thought. Standing was all he was going to manage.

The red and black dragon streaked low over the floor. Grimlock was his. The other Dinobots spotted their leader in trouble and broke off their fights. Sludge stepped in the way. Whoosh! Scourge glided over him. Snarl and Slag transformed and charged head on. Wham! A strong swipe with his good arm knocked Slag into Snarl and both into the dust. Swoop dive-bombed the dragon but got side-tackled by the twins.

Scourge cracked a predatory grin. The Dinobot leader was his.

A volley of laser fire rained down on the Predacon. His wings tripped up when he tried dodging. He collided with Grimlock. Predacons and Dinobots looked up at this new attacker. It was Smokescreen with a posse of Autobots.

“I’d back off if I were you,” Smokescreen suggested.

Ripclaw, still in dragon mode, growled her mouth glowing with fire. Two more Autobots trained their guns on her. Dreadwing transformed and gestured for her to cease.

“You have two choices: leave or die. Choose quickly.”

Scourge pulled himself together. A quick glance around told him they lost the advantage. This solidified his desire to bring more Predacons to life so this loss won’t be repeated. Scourge gave a deep bellow. The remaining Predacons transformed to beast mode and departed. Only when all of them were in the air did Scourge take wing. In the next moment, all six Predacons were gone.

The Dinobots recovered as Smokescreen and his unit including Chromia and Arcee joined them.

“Humph,” Snarl snorted.

“I’ll take that as ‘Thanks for saving our transistors’,” Smokescreen declared.

“We had everything under control,” Swoop grumbled.

“If you say so…” Smokescreen replied.

Chromia helped Grimlock as he transformed back to robot.

“Tough fight?” she asked.

Grimlock shook his head. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He shifted his weight and collapsed. Sludge was at his side holding him up.

Slag transformed from triceratops. His red face beamed at Smokescreen. “Sure took you long enough?”

Smokescreen chuckled, “Well, I had to phase through a few levels to reach the surface.”

“Any sign of Tarantulas?” Slag asked.

Smokescreen shook his head.

“Tarantulas?” Sludge, Arcee and Chromia asked with differing levels of surprise, disgust and alarm.

“Yeah, our host while you guys enjoyed your play date with the Predacons.”

“Lets get back before his trail gets cold,” Sludge insisted.

* * *
The trail hadn’t gotten cold. It was smoldering. As the Autobot/Dinobot team exited the canyon, they spotted smoke on the horizon. As they got closer they saw the charred pit that once was Helix. Slag looked to the other Dinobots. They nodded in recognition.

“What happened?” Arcee asked.

Slag explained. “All Decepticon labs are equipped with a self-destruct device. Tarantulas must have activated this one when we escaped.”

“Huffer!” Chromia shouted.

The other began searching. It wasn’t long before they found him buried under the stasis pods.

“I’ll never complain about those pods again,” Huffer explained, “Those things are built to take a beating.”

Swoop chimed in, “Ah, I don’t want to alarm anyone, but weren’t these pods occupied last time.”

Everyone peered in the windows of the nearest pods. Each one was empty. Chromia shook her head. “So we have one pack of Predacons seizing territory, a mad Decepticon scientist on the loose, and another group of Predacons unaccounted for… oh and a pit that was formerly a city.”

Snarl grunted, “Humph.”

Chromia nodded. “You said Snarl. Primus help us all.”

The End

by **Stormtalon** » Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:24 pm

1000 views! Yeah!

Thank you to everyone who has read and reread my story. I am totally pumped.

I promised myself if I made it to 1000, I'd re-edit the story into a final draft. So expect another draft in a week or so.

I also hope that you multiple readers will post you comments. I thrive on constructive feedback.

Once again, thanks for the positive interest in this story. I hope you gain a lot of enjoyment reading this story. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

Thank you.