The Energon Pub

"Winning?!" Starscream snapped back at Thrust. "You call this rabble on the ground getting a few firebirds out of the sky winning?"

Starscream circled around where The Fallen had landed after Devastator's punch, and readied his null rays and cluster bombs.

"No..." he said to Thrust. "Winning will be when the power possessed by that egomaniac down there is ALL MINE!!!"

With that, Starscream dove down towards The Fallen. Even as he did, he couldn't make up his mind whether to open fire with everything he had, or try to get The Fallen's attention and attempt a truce of sorts, if only to gain favor with The Fallen at least temporarily.

Uluru – FUBAR Station

Foxfire13795 wrote:

“Shhhhh..." Darkfire whispered to the chattercon, “It's okay...The mean old-timer Autobot can't get you from in here. Unless he tries."

"Haha, very funny, Dark." Feedback snarled at Darkfire. He was a touch irritated to be hooked up to Landgrab's equipment and not be able to really observe what was going on. "Course I have you to protect me..." His voice had slipped down to sarcastic. "So I'm not worried."

And then, then Arcee showed up.. Another Autobot? "Slag... they breed like earth rodents." He said, not realizing humans didn't consider rabbits rodents. "Landgrab, I hope you have a mirrored ball in your equipment list, because it's getting to be a party around here."

Australia - On Top Of Uluru

"Winning?!" Starscream snapped back at Thrust. "You call this rabble on the ground getting a few firebirds out of the sky winning?"

"Oh...uh..."

Thrust followed Starscream with a confused look on his faceplate.

Australia – Ayers Rock

While waiting for a response from either Commander the CMO had decided to take another scan of the young cavalier. This time, however, he’d focus on the physical and not the psychological.

Ratchet already knew that Hot Rod was still present within his own body, what he needed to know now was how to free him from the hold The Fallen has on him.

He bit back a curse as the scanner engaged. This would probably take longer than he wanted.

“Hey Ratch…” Trailbreaker said while gritting his teeth.

“What is it?” came an annoyed response.

“I hate to pile on more slag to worry about but….I’m runnin’ low. You’re gonna need to finish up, and soon.” The tactician flashed Ratchet a pleading look. His fuel readings were closing in on the red zone. Low energy means no force field. And he wasn’t about to put the CMO’s life in danger.

Ratchet nodded, “I’m nearly done, Breaker. Just try to hold out a little longer.” A moment later Ratchet's comm. line came to life.

>>”What’s wrong, Ratchet? Why do you want them to fall back? Is there something about the Fallen's shield that’s dangerous? Send me whatever data you have collected. If you need to scan again to confirm anything then do so. I still need to know how the Fallen is possessing Hot Rod. Understood?"<<

Finally, Ratchet thought.

>>”Because falling back will save everyone’s’ lives! That damned shield The Fallen has erected….it’s not repelling our fire power; it’s absorbing it!”<<

Ratchet pause as he took a quick glance back down at his scanning. Still needed more time.

>>”Look, Prowl, that thing is feeding off our weapon’s energy. It’s getting stronger with each hit. You’ve got to get everyone to stop firing and move them back and away.”<<

The red and white doctor glanced toward Trailbreaker…the mech looked like he was in pain. Ratchet offered a curt nod. And just as he was about to address Prowl once more the scanner on his wrist gave an indication that it had finished.

“Oh no.” he mumbled. This was not the result he was hoping to find.

>>”I just finished my second scan. Not only are there two thought patterns within Hot Rod’s body, there are also two sparks! One’s growing stronger…looks like it’s snuffing out the smaller one.”<<

“Arg! Sorry Ratch. Felt like my spark was going to ignite.” Trailbreaker pressed an open palm to his chest as he to one knee. “If I was fully fueled I could’ve…”

Ratchet waved a hand quieting the ailing ‘Bot. “Nevermind. We’re done here. Come on.” He quickly grabbed a hold of Trailbreaker’s arm and pulled the large mech back up to his feet. After gathering himself the tactician and CMO began to make their way back toward the Longevity.

On the way Ratchet opened another link with Prowl.

>>”Listen, we can save the kid, but we’ll have to get in close to The Fallen. Which means that shield has got to come down. And the only way to do that is from the inside. The kid’s got to do it. Once that damned thing is out of the way we can move in and extract that spark!”<<

Ratchet paused. "Extract..." he thought out loud. >>”…get ‘Jack on the horn.”<<

Australia – Autobot Shuttle Longevity – Combat Casualty Care Unit

“How’s he holding up?"

Chromedome’s voice echoed in Axle’s audios as the medic set to work hooking Rewind up to the various monitors and scanners. Although he wished to avoid it, the question the mnemosurgeon asked was inevitable, and as would his response.

Axle pressed a hand gently to Rewind’s. He held the pose a moment before finally turning to face the archivist’s conjunx endure.

“He’s holding up well.” It was the truth, unfortunately whether or not that would remain was up to the strength left in the little mech’s spark.

“If there’s any spare parts, any innermost Energon I can donate…"

Axle took a step toward the upset ‘Bot but stopped…

“Just tell me he’s gonna be make it through this… Please…"

The former surgeon put up a hand to stop Chromedome from continuing.

“Chromedome, the connections I was able to make between his body and his cranium are holding. His self-repair systems should reinforce those with some time.” Axle smiled softly but it faded when he glanced back down at the unconscious Rewind.

“But…there’s something else.” He gripped Chromedome’s upper arms and looked the mnemosurgeon in the optics. “It’s his spark. It’s shrinking.” He let his hands slide from Chromedome’s arms.

“Rewind’s spark needs a “jumpstart” form a compatible spark. And that’s where you come in.” Axle’s smile returned.

“You both are Vitreous-Positive. I can use your spark to help Rewind’s.”

Axle gestured to an adjacent slab.

Australia – Not far from Shuttle Longevity

"Oil Slick!"

The shout emanating from the Seeker gave the chemical expert pause. Oil Slick slowly turned to face the purple and black flier, Darkride secure in his arms.

“Did you get Darkride? Is he...."

Ah, he isn’t as stupid as he looked.

“Oh, good, so you did get him,"

“As expected.” He shifted the interrogator in his arms as he approached Skywarp. “The task was easily accomplished.”

“Sorry I missed it. Must’ve been one slag of a fight."

Oil Slick grunted slightly as he looked the taller Decepticon up and down. “Not necessarily. Darkride is easily manipulated. Play on his ego and the battle is yours.” He glanced once more, up and down Skywarp’s frame. “Of course you would have to be wittier than he in order to accomplish this.”

Oil Slick’s demeanor remained stoic as he began to move past the larger mech. “And so few are.”

>>"Oil Slick, if you haven’t already, place the interrogator into stasis cuffs and remove him from the battlefield. Return to the Thanatos and take Darkride to the infirmary where he can be kept in indefinite sedation until the Fallen’s hold on him is removed. While you’re at it, find Drag Strip and take him with you, as well. He should be near the Stunticons. Have Skywarp help you if you require it. Those are my orders."<<

The chemist glanced down at his prize. He hadn’t placed the interrogator in stasis bindings, but then he did not feel the need to. That sedative worked rather quickly which indicated that its contents were a superior mix of some of the more powerful sedatives known to Cybertronian kind. Darkride would be out for the better part of several days.

>>”Understood, Lord Razorclaw.”<<

Oil Slick looked over his shoulder. “We are to deposit Darkride and Drag Strip in the Thanatos’ infirmary.” He jostled Darkride a bit before turning fully to face Skywarp. “Care to retrieve the Stunticon? I would do it, however, my hands are…full.”

Australia – South of Ayers Rock

“Whoa...” For the first time thorough their assault against the Fallen and his forces, Brawl had found himself impressed over something their side had achieved. Whatever Swindle was saying escaped the attention of the Combaticons' front line specialist. A giant had appeared out of the dust storm, a green and purple giant that looked a lot like someone had built the creature out of Scrapper and his boys.

But it wasn't the appearance of Devastator that had impressed Brawl, or even the chosen name of the green menace which certainly had some weight in it. Particularly when delivered with such gust. No, it was the action. Before Devastator's attack – nothing had seemed to have an effect on the Fallen or his blasted shield. Not even the dreaded phase sixer - Sixshot had been able to do much more than get his faceplate punched in by the kin slayer repeatedly. At least Sixshot had fared better than the accursed, albeit legendary Autobot general Ultra Magnus. So imagine Brawl's surprise when a single, mighty punch from Devastator sent the Fallen flying across the Ayers Rock, clearly shaken and taken by surprise.

“Boss?!” Brawl roared, turning to look at Onslaught, “Did you fraggin' see that?!”

And if not shouting to Onslaught wasn't enough, Brawl proceeded to announce his amazement to Vortex and Swindle as well through comm-link. >>”Vortex?! Swindle!”<<

>>”Did you fraggin' see that?! They slaggin' hurt him!”<< Brawl celebrated their first if fleeting triumph during the battle before crouching down to collect some hefty rocks from the ground that had been cracked off Uluru by the Fallen's earlier assault which had almost ended up swallowing Brawl and several other Decepticons.

Brawl could effortlessly be blamed for his many shortcomings but he had a knack for reading how a combat scenario was folding before his optical sensors. The crack in the Fallen's shield was now as visible to him as the Fallen himself. A glaring weakness in the Fallen's formerly impenetrable defenses. A kinetic attack had worked. And thus, putting all of his creativity and cunning to a good use, Brawl had formulated a plan.

If going too close to the archaic traitor of their species was only going to end up turning him into a smoking husk as was the case with Nightweaver and three fifths of the Predacons. And if his beloved guns weren't cut for the job either - he was going to do the next best thing.

He was going to stone the Fallen to death.

Australia--Uluru

With a flurry of new battlefield activity, reports and intercom chatter had begun flooding in regarding a change in the battle status. Damage had finally been inflicted against the entity's seemingly impenetrable shield. The reports indicated that the damage the shield had sustained was highly negligible, but the fact that it had sustained any at all shifted the nature of Shockwave's strategic calculations considerably. If the psychological gambit did not pay off, their only chance to avoid extinction would be through the application of heavy kinetic energy. Isolate the shield, and thus the Fallen, from having any energy to draw upon.

Shockwave's sole optic regarded his operative Psychout only briefly as he took his leave. The Decepticon strategist quickly turned his attention to other matters, such as the steady elimination of the entity's supplemental forces. Raising his arm cannon, Shockwave prepared another plasma blast for one of the nearby Terran elementals, but before the shot could be fired, he registered a new report--one targeted specifically for his attention.

::Mighty Commander Shockwave. Here enclosed is a series of battlefield data readings that have been collected up to this point by Mal Practice. He assures me that you will find the information useful, which of course I'm sure you will since you're so smart and all......oh....and he also says that the Predacons will be up and running in a few hours, or right here and now if you have a few thousand extra shanix on hand. Ha ha. I'm assuming he's kidding.::

...

:: ;-) ::

Shockwave's optic flickered.

Australia--Uluru

"Rampage has been treated, he’s on his self-repair cycle now. He’ll be a little sore when he wakes up but he'll be alive. Headstrong’s injuries are being finished as I speak and Tantrum’s just a bit battered so we’ll get to him eventually, critical cases come first. You’re lucky our medic got to them when he did, what is taking so long up there??!"

Divebomb nodded, examining some of the repair work that had been completed for himself. His fellow Predacons appeared to be in capable hands. At Psychout's last statement however, Divebomb looked away and regarded the tiny little Decepticon directly.

"Lucky? Consider yourself lucky, little one. You're overseeing the repair of the now and future overlords of the Decepticon Empire. Perhaps you will find yourself rewarded with an energon stick. Don't worry yourself about Lord Razorclaw's efforts. If he fails, you won't be alive for long thereafter."

Divebomb looked upward, his expression darkening.

"None of us will."

When the smaller Decepticon flitted off, Divebomb paid no attention. Instead, he returned his focus to the tending of his brethren.
___

The diminutive little 'Con had started to speak, but before he could even get a few words out, the apparent medic on the scene decided to interject his own view of the situation. For all his bluster, at least he gave Kup some kind of idea just what the frag had been going on. It probably didn't go down exactly like the 'Con said, but Kup wasn't here to quibble. If there was an Autobot in distress, Kup did his best to get said Autobot out of distress. it was something he had done for a long, long time.

"...uh, ok, thanks Mal. ...You’ll be the 'rescue party' for Bumblebee, right? My second is just bringing him round, he's run out of fuel of all things... You realise he shot one of my team when he was the one who sent you the signal having found a survivor from your faction in the first place? You can even ask Blades over there if you don’t want to believe me, he’s been here the entire time although I’m not entirely sure why... Were not going to press the issue, we have more important things going on up there with ‘evil’ Hot Rod still trying to kill off our race, but I think you need to have a few words with your 'scout'. Wouldn't you agree?!"

Kup just smirked, taking another drag from his cy-gar as he listened. This little 'Con ran at the mouth just like the other one did. Only with this one, Kup figured there were some overcompensation issues going on.

"What the hell when did this become help the aged Station" one of the bigger 'Cons chimed in. Kup just smirked, cy-gar firmly in place.

"I dunno. You tell me. Looks like yer body's been reformatted more times than Starscream's face, so why don't ya shut yer yap, junior, and let the grown ups talk, eh?"

Kup wasn't about to back down from a threatening Decepticon. He faced off bigger and badder ones than any of the ones standing here. But getting Bumblebee back safe and sound was the priority at the moment. After that, it was saving Hot Rod. After that? Well, he wouldn't say he'd mind the chance to mash some 'Con craniums again. Even so, Kup had been in this game long enough to recognize a potentially explosive situation when he saw one. Kup noticed that Arcee had arrived. Convenient. He opened up a quick comm to Ironhide.

>>"Hey, 'Hide. We might have a situation. I might have it under control, I might not. You can back me up if you want, but I think me an' Cee got it handled."<<

“Ah, yes, you! Old, decrepit Autobot? Your bumbling Bee is over here. He should come to shortly," another 'Con spoke. This time a femme.

"Yeah, yeah...I think we covered the whole age business. Glad t'see 'Con 'intelligence' isn't trickling its way down into the grunt ranks, heh."

Kup was about to defend Bumblebee's shooting of the Decepticon--if that was even what had happened--when the kid suddenly seemed to awaken and spoke up for himself, confirming what the little runt had said.

"Y'did what?" Kup asked, exasperation clearly evident in his tone. "We got Wreckers here who haven't started smashing Decepticons yet, because they have a fraggin' sliver of self-control and you go and do it?"

Kup took his cy-gar out of his mouth and pointed at the top of Ayer's Rock.

"Our enemy's up there."

He pointed at some rampaging rock golems.

"And there."

And then up at some soaring firebirds.

"And there."

And then lastly at the little grouping of Decepticons.

"Not right there. Not right now. Not 'til Magnus 'n Prowl say otherwise. Clear? I told Ironhide you'd go and get yerself killed and ya slaggin' well almost did it. You wanna help? Go keep those rock and fire whatever-they-ares away from Prowl and Magnus so they can do their job. Otherwise, get in the shuttle and sit there 'til someone calls ya."

Australia - Top of Ayers Rock

As Starscream dove down, he caught a glimpse of someone. It was the Combaticon Brawl. That stubborn single-minded idiot had begun looking at the large rocks around him. "What was he going to do...?" Starscream thought. "Build a wall around himself?"

He spun in mid-air, avoiding some firebirds. He kept The Fallen in his sights, but decided not to fire his weapons. Starscream, with all his scheming, just couldn't make up his mind which way to go: attack or attempt a truce? As he veered off, he kept his mind on Brawl. "What was that sawed-off pile of nuts-and-bolts doing?" he kept thinking.

Then it dawned on him: Brawl was planning on gathering ammunition! OF COURSE!

Starscream immediately opened a comm-link to Brawl and Onslaught, not caring whether The Fallen could listen in or not.

"Brawl!" he transmitted. "Listen to me! This is Starscream. I know what you're trying to do! I'm flying above you, getting ready for another pass! This has to be timed perfectly! Acknowledge!"

Outside Longevity

Ironhide had received the transmission from Kup. He blasted a couple of more firebirds, and uncoupled his rifle. (Detached the long barrel from the stock and chamber for easier storage.) As he tucked the rifle back into its place on his back, he opened his comm-link.

"Kup, I hear you. I'm on my way! Don't do anything stupid!"

Ironhide transformed and floored it. His top speed wasn't anything to brag about, but his toughness was near-unparalleled in vehicle mode. Ironhide made his way towards Kup's location.

"What has this loudmouth walking junkyard gotten himself into now?" he muttered to himself.

Australia - South of Ayers Rock

Of course, I realize what I’m asking, Prowl thought to himself as he heard the beginning of Ultra Magnus’ response over the communications frequency. He did not respond directly to the City Commander, but instead simply shook his head. And I don’t want to abandon Hot Rod, but I also don’t want all of us to die, either! The military strategist’s internal musings were cut short as Magnus continued, once again wanting him to keep the ion burst option open along with the final solution if the cavalier could not be saved and the Autobot leader’s vitals flatlined. Finally, Magnus asked what a Devastator was as if the big giant combiner on top of the mountain wasn’t evidence enough.

>>”I read you, Commander Magnus, I....”<<

Prowl’s transmission was cut short as a loud roar could be heard from the top of Ayers Rock, followed by a deafening crash and ultimately the dissolution of the surrounding sand storm. With the air clearer, the summit was now easier to see. Sure, the four fire tornadoes were still there at equidistance from one another, but they only concealed a portion of the mountain. Casting his gaze between the vortexes revealed to the black and white that the Fallen’s shield had been cracked by the power of Devastator’s own gigantic fist. “Impressive,” Prowl muttered to himself. “I so want one of those.”

The strategist was referring to the gestalt, of course, and if he still had his probe (the one Sixshot destroyed) he would be sending it to gather information right now. However, before he could contact someone else to conduct said scans, another message from Ratchet came across his comm line. The first words from the CMO confirmed what many had already figured out. The Fallen’s shield was absorbing power from energy weapons. Only kinetic attacks could be of any use. However, that was not all Ratchet had discovered. Not only were there two thought patterns emanating from the fiery demigod, but apparently there were also two sparks inside of Hot Rod’s possessed body! One belonged to the cavalier while the other was the Fallen’s own dark spark, and it was feeding off of Hot Rod. Therefore, that dark spark needed to be extracted ASAP.

Naturally, there was only one mech who would likely have the right tool they needed to get the job done. Wasting no further time assimilating the latest data, Prowl sent a non-verbal response back to Ratchet before opening a comm line to the Ark-22:

>>”Wheeljack, this is Prowl. Do you read me up there? I’ve just received information that the Fallen’s spark is inside Hot Rod’s body, drawing power from him. That’s how the demigod is possessing him. Therefore, that dark spark needs to be extracted. Please tell me you’ve got something in your vast array of inventions that can accomplish that task! If so, I need you to send it down here without delay! Understood?”<<

With that message sent, Prowl then opened another wider comm to the City Commander as well as the Autobot communications specialist:

>>”Ultra Magnus, Blaster, we have determined how the Fallen is possessing Hot Rod. His dark spark is inside the cavalier’s body and is leeching off of him. We need to get it out of him if we are to save him. I’ve already contacted Wheeljack in the hopes that he has some kind of spark extractor that we can use. In the meantime, continue to try whatever you can to get through to Hot Rod. Devastator may have finally cracked the shield, but I fear it’s going to take that young mech inside it to bring the barrier down all the way. Blaster, if you are still planning on infiltrating the Fallen’s mind, then do it! There’s no time to lose! In the meantime, I will have our ships moved into position in orbit overhead and the gravitational lens ready for deployment. Needless to say, DO NOT fire on the shield. Ratchet has confirmed it is absorbing energy attacks. Pull everyone back and let Devastator continue his assault.”<<

Cutting the transmission, Prowl then accessed the coordinates within the security file Omega Zetus VI and transmitted them to the bridges of both the Ark-22 and the Guardian. Once that was done, the military strategist opened yet another comm line to the Protectobot frigate:

>>”Ironfist, this is Prowl. Magnus has given the go ahead to ready the gravitational lens for deployment. However, it is important not to fire the ion burst until you receive further orders. The Fallen’s shielding is absorbing the power of energy weapons and will only grow stronger if it is hit with an ion blast. The barrier must be brought down first before any kind of orbital strike can even be considered. Am I clearly understood?”<<

Closing that channel, Prowl turned his attention back to the top of Ayers Rock. All of the fire birds were now converging on Devastator as the Fallen attempted to regroup from the hit that had actually done some damage to his shield. It was minuscule but at least it was something. Now, all the black and white needed was to hear some good news from Wheeljack and they might actually have a chance at finally beating this damned demigod.

((OOC: More to come.))

Australia - Uluru

"Y'did what?" Kup asked, exasperation clearly evident in his tone. "We got Wreckers here who haven't started smashing Decepticons yet, because they have a fraggin' sliver of self-control and you go and do it?"

Kup took his cy-gar out of his mouth and pointed at the top of Ayer's Rock.

"Our enemy's up there."

He pointed at some rampaging rock golems.

"And there."

And then up at some soaring firebirds.

"And there."

And then lastly at the little grouping of Decepticons.

"Not right there. Not right now. Not 'til Magnus 'n Prowl say otherwise. Clear? I told Ironhide you'd go and get yerself killed and ya slaggin' well almost did it. You wanna help? Go keep those rock and fire whatever-they-ares away from Prowl and Magnus so they can do their job. Otherwise, get in the shuttle and sit there 'til someone calls ya."

"Well, how am I supposed to help without a weapon?"

Bumblebee walked out of the medical station, feeling angered. He transformed and rolled back to Longevity noticing Ironhide speed past him.

"I think you're a bit too late, Ironhide!" he called.

Bumblebee reached Longevity, where a new Autobot was standing, it was Blindside. Bumblebee transformed and instead of going into Longevity decided to sit on a pile of tall rocks and started thinking.

Australia - Not far from Shuttle Longevity

It was a dig, Skywarp was sure of it, a dig at his level of intelligence. One had to be wittier than Darkride in order to beat him, Oil Slick had said, meaning that the prankster would have lost. Of course, ‘Warp had already lost when the herald of torture knocked him out a few breems ago. The seeker barely knew what had hit him, in fact. Thus, he was dumber than Darkride, and the chemical expert was well aware of it along with everyone else for that matter.

Skywarp was used to being treated like an idiot. He was, after all, a prankster and therefore most did not take him very seriously. Only Nightraven had looked beyond his outer casings and saw the mech underneath that he could become if he only put his processor to it. It was only a pipe dream, though. Even Thundercracker would tell him to accept who he was - an aerial warrior, a thug that liked to watch others, especially the Autobots, suffer while he sat back and laughed. That’s who Skywarp was and he enjoyed every astrosecond of it. Only Nighty had made him see that he could be more than that, but it wasn’t likely to happen. You had to be wittier to accomplish more and ‘Warp just wasn’t witty enough.

The teleporter watched as Oil Slick moved by him, seemingly preoccupied with a transmission he was receiving. Skywarp remained quiet until the chemist turned around and uttered the words, “Understood, Lord Razorclaw.” Ah, the pretend leader had given them new orders. How wonderful. Moments later, Oil Slick revealed what those orders were and suggested that the seeker go retrieve Drag Strip from the Stunticons so they could deposit both heralds in the infirmary of the Thanatos.

“Sure, no problem,” Skywarp replied, scoffing at the idea of having to interact with any of those clowns, especially that brute, Motormaster. At least he didn’t have to stick around long and converse with them. He had orders and he was simply carrying them out. “I’ll be right back.” The prankster turned and glared out across the battlefield towards Ayers Rock. Now, where in the slag are those Stunticons anyway? ‘Warp thought as he swept the desert with his long-range scanners. Ah, there you are! Having found his target, Skywarp teleported away in a flash of purple light, leaving nothing but space behind.

Australia - South of Ayers Rock

Skywarp reappeared near where the Stunticons were advancing on the mountain. A short distance away was the prone yellow form of Drag Strip, one of the Fallen’s heralds. Or at least he used to be, the teleporter thought as he approached the unconscious body of the former racer. Leaning over him, ‘Warp could see that one of the herald’s leg joints had been crushed, likely by Motormaster, himself. The large thug of a Decepticon was known to treat most others harshly, even those in his own unit. Oh, would Drag get the crap beat out of him once this was all said and done, assuming, of course, they all lived through it.

“Heh, I sure don’t want to be you in a few cycles,” Skywarp whispered to the inert Drag Strip as he picked him up and slung him over one shoulder plate. The prankster then opened a comm line to the Stunticon Commander:

>>”Motormaster, it’s Skywarp. I’ve got orders from Razorclaw to take your man, Drag Strip, here and secure him in the med bay back on the Thanatos. Once the battle is over you can find him there.”<<

Thankfully, the Stunticons were all too busy fighting golems and whatnot to bother with pointless small talk. That was just fine with Skywarp as he had no intention of being buddy buddy with any of them. Not only were they a crazy, uncontrollable lot, they had also sided with “Lord” Razorclaw and his group of beasts when it came to the throne of the Empire. They were certainly no friends of Starscream or the rest of the seekers.

Not waiting any longer, Skywarp simply teleported away as fast as he had arrived.

Australia - Not far from Shuttle Longevity

In another flash of purple light, Skywarp appeared beside Oil Slick with Drag Strip secured over one shoulder. “Got him,” the teleporter said, looking over at the chemical specialist. “None of the Stunts complained, but then again I didn’t hang around long enough to hear any.” The prankster paused for a moment, rubbing his chin guard with his free hand. “So, now what? You wanna send the bounce codes up to the Thanatos so we can get the frag outta here already? I'd do it but, well, I can't seem to remember them off hand.”

In all honesty, Skywarp couldn’t wait to get back on board the Thanatos, if only for a little while. All this sand, dust and flying glass was enough to jam up any mech’s servos if exposed to it long enough. He wasn’t at all vain like Knock-Out, but the teleporter’s joints felt like they had sandpaper jammed inside them. Not a pleasant feeling to be sure. Then, of course, there was Nightraven, who ‘Warp had last seen in the crimson mechanic’s lab some time ago if he remembered correctly. It would be nice to see her again and how she's doing before coming back down once more to fight the Fallen and his elemental lackeys some more.

((OOC: More to come.))

Australia - Shuttle Longevity - Combat Casualty Care Unit

Blindside’s glare from within the CR chamber made Howlstrike’s toothy grin grow even wider as a low chuckle escaped from his vocalizer. When the door slid open, the former Predacon took a small step back to allow the sightless mech room to step out. Instead, the tactician lurched out and wrapped one arm around the back of the tracker’s neck as he then balled up a fist with the other. “What? You gonna hit me, Blindy?” Howl asked just as he received his answer in the form of a noogie right on top of his cranium. “Hey! Knock it off will ya!”

Howlstrike pushed Blindside away from him as the blue jet-former released his hold and stepped out of the pod to stretch his servos. The disable Autobot’s question regarding some expression made the hunter shake his head. “No, can’t say that I’ve ever heard that expression before. Sounds stupid.” Then, finally, Blindside remembered about Darkride and that they needed to kill him for what he had done to Veneer. “Now you’re talking some sense, Blindy! Kill Darkride, kill the Fallen and then maybe kill Razorclaw and his marry band of misfits. After that we’ll call it a cycle!”

The former Predacon gave the blind tactician a hearty pat on the back just before the jet-bot made his way out of the shuttle. Howlstrike started to follow but was quickly stopped by a hand that had grasp his forearm. Looking down to one side, the tracker could see the prone form of Smokescreen lying on a nearby med berth. At first, Howl thought it was Bluestreak due to the similar body design, but then he remembered that he had previously thrown the chatterbot into another CR chamber. The rallybot appeared to be in some distress.

“My energon line,” Smokescreen began to say weakly, releasing the lupine mech’s arm and pointing with his left hand towards the dripping tube. “It somehow came loose. Can you put it back in for me?” Howlstrike glared down at the diversion expert before glancing around the room to see if there were any medics or drones nearby that could help. “Please, Howl, everyone's busy now helping others. All you have to do is reconnect it there.”

The Autobot hunter looked back down at the spot on the racer's damaged right arm where the energon line had been connected. “Okay, Smokes, hold still,” Howlstrike replied with a low growl before taking the energon line and reattaching it as instructed. “I hope I did that right.”

“You did great. Thank you,” the rallybot replied with a smile and a thumbs up just as the ex-Predacon began to walk towards the exit. “By the way, did you get Hardhead?”

Howlstrike stopped in his tracks again and turned his head back towards the diversion expert. “Oh, we got him, all right. Don’t you worry, Smokes,” Howl responded with a wry smile and a nod. Smokescreen smiled back before lowering his head down on the med berth and off-lining his optics. The tracker then took his leave of the Combat Care Unit and finally left the shuttle all together.

Australia - Outside Shuttle Longevity

Howlstrike strode down the shuttle ramp, noticing the presence of Bumblebee sitting on top of a tall rock nearby. The only other mech present was Blindside, who appeared to be keeping watch. “Hey, Blindy, you standing guard or something? I thought I overheard Kup’s vocals out here earlier. Where’d he head off to in such a hurry? Something going down that we should know about?”

Not waiting for an answer, the Autobot hunter visually scanned the battlefield, his body still sore from the shortened CR cycle. “So, the storm’s gone now, huh? I guess that makes things a bit easier. No signs of Darkride I take it?” Just as he said that, Howlstrike spotted a flash of purple light out of the corner of his optic. Turning towards his left side where the flash had originated from, the tracker took a few steps forward, squinting his optical sensors in order to see clearer.

“I think I may have something here,” Howlstrike said, pausing for a moment as he focused in on two Cybertronian forms standing a short distance from the shuttle. “Yeah, I can see Skywarp and Oil Slick just over there a ways. It looks like they’re both carrying someone or something. I can't be certain, but it looks like they may have beaten us to the punch.” A disappointed tracker then glared back over his shoulder at Blindside. “What do you want to do?”

Australia-–South of Ayers Rock

Onslaught had been just as impressed by the presence of the Constructicon gestalt as Brawl had been. Devastator was his name, if the creature's bellowing was any indication. It appeared to be, for all intents and purposes, a very apt title. more apt than many of the rest of them could ever lay claim to.

“Boss?! Did you fraggin' see that?!"

Onslaught looked up and around, noticing that the majority of the Fallen's elementals had turned their attention away from the Autobot and Decepticon alliance and turned much of their focus on this Devastator. What a formidable resource he would be, provided they managed to survive this melee.

"I did indeed, Brawl. It would appear that our original strategy was in error," Onslaught mused, still keeping his weapon leveled for any potential incoming threats.

The situation now required a wholly different tact. Onslaught had no doubt the likes of Prowl would recognize this just as easily as he had. The more pressing question would be whether they were in a position to successfully mount a renewed assault. Regardless of whether or not they could, they would have to try. They had precious few alternatives.

"Brawl, we should-Brawl? Where are you going with that rock? This is insan-!"

>>"Brawl! Listen to me! This is Starscream. I know what you're trying to do! I'm flying above you, getting ready for another pass! This has to be timed perfectly! Acknowledge!"<<

Onslaught looked up. Just as indicated, the brash Seeker Leader was soaring overhead.

>>"Another pass?! Starscream, you fool! Your weapons are of no use unless you intend on ramming that shield! It's just-wait. Speaking of that...where's Ramjet?!"<<

Yes. Ramjet. How perfect! If that idiot just happened to be lazing about somewhere, they could throw him at that infernal shield and see if it opened the crack any wider.

Australia - Top of Ayers Rock

As usual, Starscream was going to have to spell this out to those mindless drones on the surface. It's a miracle Megatron made it as far as he did with troops like that, Starscream thought to himself.

"No, I am not planning on a full frontal assault!" he said to Onslaught over the radio. "Follow your soldier's lead for a change! Brawl knows exactly what to do! But we only have 1 shot at this, before The Fallen gets wise!"

Ironhide transformed as he arrived at Kup's location.

"Kup!" he said. "What is goin' on?! I just saw Bee headin' back to the shuttle. What are these 'Cons up to now?"

Uluru – Medical outpost FUBAR.

Mal Practice finished with Headstrong’s repairs and setting his patients self-repair routines going, shoved him onto the pile with Rampage using his customary delicate touch before checking on his power levels. Hooked up to a large repair bay Decepticon the power drain from his forcefield was far less than usual, but as he didn't want to expend such a useful allies resources as well, he allowed it to drop. “Well Landgrab, that’s the VIP’s out of the way. Now onto the mere mortals...” he muttered, looking up at their Predacon watcher, Divebomb, as he moved towards the other bay where Feedback was bleeding everywhere from what could only be considered as ‘self-inflected’ Crueljaw injuries.

The nose was broken, and the lower jaw all but unrecoverable, but this just didn’t seem right to Mal. The normal dermal layers on a Cybetronian faceplate were of a malleable alloy that allowed for expression and movement but these were more rigid, and appeared to be set into a near-constant smirk. No matter he thought and, indicating impatiently towards Blades to hand him a crowbar from one of Landgrabs lockers, the surgeon began to look at the readings on his lab-partners holographic terminal. He stopped after a few seconds and waved his finger in the image, disrupting the projection. “Hmmm. I've seen these readings before, haven’t I? I never forget a spark...” Having joined the battle late, this was the first time he had had a chance to see the newest team member up close, and until he was on the slab he never would have recognised him. He leant over and held his scalpel next to Feedbacks broken face. “Now, let’s see what’s hiding under here then...”


Psychout however, trying to get his team to sort the mess here out, was beginning to get irritated at the continuous interruptions. First that microbe Bumblebee stumbles into Feedback, causing this mess in the first place, and now every Autobot and his turbofox wanted to know what was going on. It must be really boring over in the Autobot shuttle he figured. The arrival of Ironhide and even more questions caused him to stop for the briefest of instances to collect his calm before addressing the growing Autobot collective.

He nominally addressed Arcee's confusion, but elaborated for the sake of the newest arrival “Yes. Bumblebee was called here to collect one of your faction’s wounded, who has probably died by now, but instead he shot one of my team. Thats him in surgery over there. He told Kup what happened, and then he bolted.” He tried to keep his tone civil. Tried. “I assume that your presence here at our medical outpost means that you are either injured or whatever is going on over there...” he indicated the giant red rock with a god on the top, being pummelled back into rubble by a slow-moving force of mechanical nature “...has been all sorted and so we can all go home now?”

Still hovering at the same level as when he had stepped off Landgrabs repair platform, he radiod his team.
>>>Darkfire, have a sweep and see if anything interesting has happened up on that hill yet, we've got three combat wounded and a corpse lined up already, so I’d better go and help the ‘doc. Crueljaw, shift those bodies into some kind of a defensive barrier, we've still got Golem out there - make sure they stay out there, but feel free to break as many as you like while you are at it. Cloudbreaker, salvage what you can for repair parts to restock Landgrab, and get me a drink, it’s going to be a long cycle...<<<

Knowing his team wouldn't take their eyes off the 'bots no matter what orders he gave them, he turned his back to the Autobot trio. “Feel free to help. Or leave. Whichever. Just don’t make a mess. Now if you will excuse me?”

He stayed where he was as he didn't want to upset his twitchy ‘guests’, but as he began to try and speak to Landgrab and Mal, he was cut off again, but this time by a painful-sounding crunch followed by a scream, and instinctively snatched a flat plate of metal the size of his head out of the air as it flew past his head. He inspected it and recoiled briefly. It was covered in energon, the optics were smashed to bits and it had a huge forehead-shaped dent in it, but he definitely recognised who it was. It was Feedbacks face.

It was immediately followed by Mal Practice’s insane laughter echoing across the desert.
“Hahaha!! ...I told you I never forget a spark!!”

Mal Practice used with permission from Fearless Leader himself, Psychout.

Uluru – Medical outpost FUBAR.

There was a certain relief, for Feedback, as the mad doctor let the force field drop. But then what he had heard of the medic didn't make him totally comfortable. He quietly watched as Mal look over the readings. None of the medical techno babble made much sense to him, so he didn't even bother to try to read it. He just shifted slightly out of boredom and turned off his music.

“Hmmm. I've seen these readings before, haven’t I? I never forget a spark..."


Feedback had a rather confused look on his face. Granted he was not very good at remembering others, but he did tend to try to avoid medics... at all costs, so if he'd run across Mal before, then he would at least look faintly familiar.... right? Unless he had come across him when... Feedback's thoughts trailed off. "I'm afraid I avoid medics, Doctor..." He said, but got the distinct feeling that Mal wasn't listening to him.

He leant over and held his scalpel next to Feedback's broken face. “Now, let’s see what’s hiding under here then..."

"Oh wait!" Feedback nearly shouted as Mal and his scalpel got uncomfortably close to his face. "It's fine, Doctor, don't worry about the face, I'll get that fixed later... or something."

But it seemed that nothing was going to stop Mal once he was on to something, a few quick incisions with his scalpel led to him switching to the crowbar in an insane attempt, against Feedback's continued protests, to get under his face.

Feedback got a bit frantic, he was very particular about keep people away from his face, but Mal was much too determined to solve his mystery.

Starting up near Feedback's forehead with the Crueljaw shaped dent in it, he pried at the face. "Can you just leave the face where it is, please!" He protested.

When that didn't produce desired results, Mal moved down towards Feedback's mouth. "Doctor!" But Feedback was silenced as Mal got the crowbar to move the face plate just a bit, enough to stop him from speaking as it lifted off, loosing connection.
As Feedback had secondary vocal outputs, he was in the process of trying to switch to them, though the pain level was getting a bit... increased as his face plate was not meant to bend that way. All of Mal's doings was distracting. Once again, though, the face plate was giving Mal some difficulty.

Mal decided to try loosing it by giving Feedback a couple good whacks, which landed on Feedback's optics and resulted in him breaking Feedback's optics. Which produced a result that was not what Mal was intending, but rather blinding the poor Seeker, so now his plan to attempt to escape was hindered as he couldn't see where he was going and all his radar was off. Though the result was not intended, it at least served Mal well.

Since he had made some progress further down, Mal continued to force his crowbar in near the mouth when finally for Mal, there was a satisfying pop as Feedback had finally switched to his secondary vocals and promptly let out a rather painful scream. His face plate now in Mal's hands, who causually tossed across poor Landgrab and off towards Psychout, who caught it

And the face plate was immediately followed by Mal Practice’s insane laughter echoing across the desert.

"Oh scrap..." Feedback muttered. "Scrap! Oh scrap that hurts, hurts!" He then yelled. "Doctor! Seriously! There is a release switch if you had just asked!"

Mal was then staring into a different face. The face of an empurata victim. One single optic went online in the midst of a blank face. No mouth, nose, nothing. Just the single optic glowed in a sea of black. The face plate that Psychout was now holding was not much more than an elaborate mask Feedback wore over his real face.

Psychout wrote:“Hahaha!! ...I told you I never forget a spark!!"

It was then something clicked in Feedback's memories. "But you should have known about that release switch...." Feedback said softly.

"Whoa!" Ironhide said. "WHAT is goin' on here?!"

Bee's actions, combined with what these 'Cons were doing, had his paranoia working in overtime. He didn't trust them, and they had done nothing to prove him wrong. Maybe it was time this 'alliance' got a review. But 1st, he had to speak to Kup.

Top of Ayers Rock

Starscream was becoming impatient. The Fallen's temporary halt wouldn't last. Devastator was powerful, but 1 punch wouldn't do it, nor would 2 or 3. It would take a concentrated attack from everyone, and no one on the ground seemed to grasp this. Brawl had a great idea, but no one else was backing him up, not even his fellow Combaticons. So much for teamwork, Starscream thought.

"Listen to me!" he said over the comm-link in 1 last desperate effort. "If your physical attack is to be successful, we must get the most out of it! And for that to happen, The Fallen must be totally unprepared!"

Starscream circled around, readying his cluster bombs. His idea was to drop the bombs around The Fallen, without striking him, but unsettling the ground around him. The Combaticons then could follow through on Brawl's idea of battering The Fallen with the huge rocks. If The Fallen was too busy trying to keep his footing, he wouldn't be able to defend as well against the attack. Starscream just hoped the Combaticons realized this before it was too late.

Australia - Fubar Station

This was getting more interesting by the moment another old timer had appeared on the scene Ironhide was adding to the general confusion of the situation. Add in the arrival of Arcee a very gender confused mechanoid with a sword and you where looking at a powder keg ready to explode.

it was then that he received orderes from the microbe king

>>Crueljaw, shift those bodies into some kind of a defensive barrier, we've still got Golem out there - make sure they stay out there, but feel free to break as many as you like while you are at it.<<

Crueljaw looked at his commander with a distain "what am I a forklift get Nimbus smasher or Strife Cracker, Cloudfart or whatever that newbies name is to do it"

Crueljaw looked over at the gathering of Autobots Bumblebee had taken his cue to leave after getting chewed out by Kup. Who had responded to Crueljaw's jibe "Your about as grown up as a Protoform in a Blank state and now you've called in the Rust patrol for assistance" Crueljaw looked from Kup to Ironhide.

"So who woke you up from your 1 million year nap Rusthide i mean it's not like your much use here you should be with your leader up there. Mind you by the time you get there the sun would of gone cold and Psychout might have grown a foot taller"

It was cold but Crueljaw couldn't resist his taunting of autobots mind you his team mate's weren't immune to his taunting either. The bodyguard stayed where his was his arms folded across his chest as he surveyed the area the golems thou a threat where thinned out in the area and the dead bodies would probably be just a speed bump to them lumbering things. But he did keep a wary optic on them just in case they got closer the more immediate threat was a slightly paranoid old mech and a cy gar chomping drill sergeant stood opposite his leader.

Australia--Uluru

Kup was glad to see that Bumblebee had at least a little sense and hadn't argued with him. Now wasn't the time for that kind of foolishness. There were too many things running around here trying to kill them without actively trying to add to the list. He might not understand it right now, but he'd get it someday, even if the likes of Kup, Ironhide and others had to drill it into him. He had the right makings of a future Autobot leader, but his naivete could easily get him killed. And others too.

Ironhide, thankfully, was pretty quick on the draw. Kup felt better about the whole mess as soon as he had arrived. The two Autobots had seen a lot of this war side by side. Kup didn't have any doubts about charging head long into Megatron himself or whatever other pretender decided to sit themselves on his throne after his death if Ironhide was there. They'd go down fighting, that's for sure.

"Kup! What is goin' on?! I just saw Bee headin' back to the shuttle. What are these 'Cons up to now?"

"'Bee was apparently gettin' a little trigger happy...and, well, you know 'Cons. They were more than happy to return the favor. I think everything's alright now, though, ain't that right, kids?" Kup plastered on the least-sincere, taunting smile that he could manage as he switched the cy-gar from one side of his mouth to the other.

“Yes. Bumblebee was called here to collect one of your faction’s wounded, who has probably died by now, but instead he shot one of my team. Thats him in surgery over there. He told Kup what happened, and then he bolted. I assume that your presence here at our medical outpost means that you are either injured or whatever is going on over there...has been all sorted and so we can all go home now?"

Kup's attention was piqued by the mention of another injured Autobot. That definitely meant keeping a closer eye on this group, but as long as they were actually doing what they said they were doing, Kup was not of a mind to interfere.

“Feel free to help. Or leave. Whichever. Just don’t make a mess. Now if you will excuse me?"

Kup nodded, more serious, but giving Ironhide a sideways glance just to let him know that he was ready for anything.

"We'd be happy to help, wouldn't we Ironhide? The Fallen ain't goin' or stayin' based on anything I do, so might as well be useful somewhere."

The big, ugly one still thought he had something useful to contribute to the conversation. When he finally opened his mouth again, he proved just how wrong he was.

"Your about as grown up as a Protoform in a Blank state and now you've called in the Rust patrol for assistance," Crueljaw interjected. Kup stood there quietly for a moment, looking at the larger mech.

"'...Grown up as a protoform in a blank state' eh?" Kup said, grinning as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, if I thought that made any sense, I'd say somethin' back. I got an idea though. How 'bout I tell the lil' fella and he can translate it into glitchspeak for ya? No no no, don't wanna waste my time...why don'tcha let the midget here do the talkin', 'cause it obviously ain't what Megatron hired you for, is it, slick?"

Kup turned his attention from Crueljaw back to the 'Con medic.

"So what can we do to help ya patch that Autobot up?"

Australia - Fubar Station


"'Bee was apparently gettin' a little trigger happy...and, well, you know 'Cons. They were more than happy to return the favor. I think everything's alright now, though, ain't that right, kids?"

Feedback had been getting antsy anyway with what the face thing and all, Ironhide's appearence didn't help his mood, but Kup's words cut through the mutterings of the 'Con to his medic. Being repaired enough to push aside Mal a bit so that he had a clear view of the Autobot's old war hero, he fixed his most evil glare on Kup.
Then he remember that no one could tell that he was glaring and cursed his face.

Somehow, though, as if by a miracle, he remained quiet until the old fool stopped blathering. He let free a low growl before he spoke. "I didn't harm that little scraplet...." He finally said to Kup. "Even after it shot me... please give that child a bigger gun... Crueljaw hurt me more in one punch than that little insect's toy gun did... I didn't, nor did anyone from the team harm, it's precious little horned head. We scared it a bit, but you can not tell me you wouldn't do the same, if not worse, if the situation were reversed." He paused for a moment as he contemplated Kup. "If I had a guess, I would guess 'or worse' out of you Autobots. And trust me... if we survive that deranged 'Bot up on that rock..." He left the threat there, as he figured carrying on with it might provoke one or both or all three... wait, no there was actually four of them, of the 'Bots still conscious, that were present.

"Doctor, I won't waste any more of your resources.." He said, though loud enough for all the 'Bots to hear. "Save them for the poor spark the heroic scout left behind." He unhooked himself from Landgrab with a mutter of thanks to the big guy and headed towards Kup and Ironhide. He looked down at the Autobots for a moment without saying anything. "The Autobot Bee left.It is this way." Feedback turned the other direction and started walking. "I didn't catch it name, it was barely conscious when I found it, who knows what condition it is in now."

Before Ironhide could reply to Kup, the 'Con's challenging tone caught his attention.

"If I had a guess, I would guess 'or worse' out of you Autobots. And trust me... if we survive that deranged 'Bot up on that rock..."

"Then...WHAT?" Ironhide replied, as he drew his rifle from its holster.

His intention wasn't to start anything, he was going to draw the weapon anyway, considering they were dealing with Decepticons. As he snapped the long barrel onto the stock and jacked a cartridge in, he slightly turned towards Kup.

"So?" he asked. "You got here before I did, what do we do? I'm ready to rock 'n' roll, if that's what it's goin' to be."

Australia - Fubar Station

"Then...WHAT?" Ironhide replied, as he drew his rifle from its holster.

Feedback stopped at Ironhide's words. He turned to look at the Autobots. He really wished he had his face on right now, because that smirk would have been cruel. Well, maybe it was best he didn't. Didn't want to escalate anything after all.

"Trust me..." He said lowly. "You don't want to know what I'm capable of. Now be a good Autobot and put your gun away." He turned back around not fearing Ironhide. If the old bot was foolish enough to shoot, which he doubted he was, Ironhide would probably never make it out of the Decepticon medical outpost.

As the 'Con turned away, Ironhide let a small smile play at the corner of his mouth. It was the same threat he had heard countless times from countless tough bots. Yet he was still here and they weren't. But he understood the situation. Though he didn't put his gun away, he resisted the urge to blast a crater in Feedback's rear plating. Instead, he turned toward Kup, waiting for the other bot's lead.