by Rodimus Prime » Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:21 am
- Motto: "Individual freedom above all else."
There you are! I was wonderin’ if you were gonna show up! Have a seat! What’s goin’ on? I’m doin’ good, it’s been a good few days for the Stunticons, hehe. Well, I’m sure you’ll hear about it soon enough. Well I can’t tell you that, we just came back. But I’ll tell you what, what we did in the last few cycles reminded me of somethin’ else that happened a while ago. Not too long ago, but it’s been a few megacycles. Want to hear it? You got the time? Well alright, then, have a few drinks with me and I’ll tell you all about it, haha!
Bartender! 3 double shots of Engex-50!
What are you drinkin’? The usual? Alright. My treat, I’m in a good mood tonight! Dentin’ in some Autobot skid plates always sizzles my circuits, know what I mean? Hahaha!
Thanks, boss bot! Bring my friend here a few rounds of what he’s drinkin’! We’re gonna be a while. And put it on my tab!
Alright, you ready for somethin’ crazy and outta control? Cause that’s what this mess I’m gonna tell you about was! Outta control! I don’t think I had so much fun since we were on Earth trashing those human cities, hahaha! Anyway, it was a situation tailor-made just for us, because we were in our element in the chaos, and wouldn’t you know it, we were the only ones who came out with only minor injuries. Well, if you count blaster shots minor injuries, hehe. But believe me, the others who were there got it worse. Much worse! But let me start at the beginning and set it up for you. This was after we came back to Cybertron, after the supposed “peace” was reached. Please. There was no peace, the Decepticons were just simply leaderless. Scorponok was dead, Megatron and Shockwave were gone, Bludgeon ran away to who knows where, and the only one who even resembled some sort of authority figure was Soundwave, but nobody wanted to listen to that weirdo. Motormaster thought he would assume command, but unfortunately Onslaught, Razorclaw and the other team leaders had the same idea. So it was a stalemate. They thought they might get together and try to command as a group, but the Decepticons have never been ruled by a committee, it had always been just one bot, usually the biggest and the strongest. Megatron, Shockwave, Scorponok, Thunderwing, whoever else. Yeah, Starscream and Soundwave tried, but they lacked a certain toughness that the job requires, know what I mean? Starscream was cunning and capable, but nobody liked him because everyone knew how he was. Some of the ‘Cons who were afraid of him followed his orders, but it didn’t last long. Then Soundwave became leader after we were returned to Cybertron, but it was simply due to everyone else having gone missing. So it’s not like he beat anyone for the job. So the team leaders decided to hold a secret meeting. Razorclaw, Onslaught, Hun-grr, Motormaster, Snaptrap and Scavenger. The agreement was that they would all go alone and hash it out. But being Decepticons, none of them trusted any of the others. So they all wanted to bring the rest of their teams, in case things got out of hand and the big guys needed to be brought out. Having the rest of the teams there was another sign of no one trusting anyone else, so someone threw out the idea of having the team leaders come with only one other member of the team. But that was also a problem for everyone, because no one wanted to give any ground for fear of looking weak. I mean, the whole thing almost came down to an all-out fist fight right then and there. But somehow they kept their cool and settled down to talk terms. It ended with them agreeing to that very condition. The team leaders plus one member from each team as back up. And guess who the big M picked out of us Stunticons? That’s right, the fastest bot on Cybertron, this side of Blurr and Hot Rod, hehe. Well, I’m just being modest, I could torch that flamed-up loudmouth punk in a drag race any day. My name is Dragstrip for a reason, after all. But I digress. So the meeting was set, away from prying Autobot sensors, in an abandoned warehouse in the Tagan Heights. Yeah, that area had a lot of industrial operations before the war, and a lot of stuff that wasn’t blown up or rusted out simply stayed there. So we had the meeting in this giant warehouse that was used to store those huge tanks that went on the interstellar freighters for fuel, after they came out of the factories. Good thing they were all empty, because if they hadn’t been, we would have all blown ourselves to the next solar system, hahaha!
Bartender! 3 more shots of E-50!
But the tanks weren’t the only things in there, either. There were piles of leftover supplies, some rusting, some holding up pretty well. I mean, I guess, I don’t know what the hell they were for. But there were also abandoned vehicles, transport platforms, and other machinery. It was a pretty big place, with 2 levels. The bottom was split into 2 parts, the bigger area where those tanks were lined up and secured to the walls and floor, and the smaller area with the piles of supplies I just mentioned. The upper level wasn’t even really a level, because the middle of it was open, and we could see that the place had a retractable roof, presumably for hover transports to come down to either drop off or pick up stuff. But it was closed, and probably stuck that way forever, from a long time of erosion eating away at it. If someone tried to open it, it might even break apart. But we didn’t care about that, it was good that we had cover. We could discuss this important matter without being noticed or disturbed. Anyway, we all showed up., each leader with one back up member. Razorclaw had Divebomb, Hun-grr had Cutthroat. I’m guessing they both had the same idea that a flyer would be an advantage if things got messy. The problem with that was that there wasn’t much room for maneuvering in the air, and if they flew up, they became easier targets. I guess that was a risk they were willing to take, it probably wasn’t enough to outweigh the added advantage they had in the air. Onslaught must have thought the same way, because Vortex came with him. I figured it would be either Brawl or Blast Off, as they were the stronger members as well as packed more firepower than Swindle or Vortex, but Vortex was there. I didn’t give it much thought, Onslaught is a military tactician, I figured he analyzed all the risks and advantages to having a specific member. I sure as hell know Motormaster didn’t do that. He picked me because I was the smallest and fastest, he said. I would make a hard target if things came to a firefight. He told me not to worry about being in a fistfight, if it went that way he would handle things, being stronger than all the other team leaders. I don’t know if it’s true, he’s definitely bigger and bulkier than the others and has more armor. Hun-grr maybe close to him in physical strength, but Motormaster can take more hits, so if they went shot for shot, the big M was the safe bet. Anyway, I was just worried about covering my own exhaust pipe, the boss can take care of himself. Snaptrap showed up with Tentakil, but those fish heads are all the same anyway, so I didn’t think it mattered. Same with the Constructicons, it could have been any of them showing up with Scavenger, but it turned out to be Long Haul. I guess he was the biggest of the bunch, and the builder bot was counting on a physical confrontation as well instead of a firefight, if things came undone.
Bartender! 2 more!
Easy, my tailpipe! I earned these shots! Anyway, as I was saying, we met at this huge place, the 12 of us. But before we went in, Motormaster and I came up with a plan to have the other Stunticons nearby in case something went down. Around the warehouse was nothing but rubble, the result of abandoned industrial machinery as well as partially-finished products of the area’s factories that were in use the day Megatron launched his planet-wide attack. Add to that 50000 vorns of bombardment, ground combat, rust, and finally Unicron’s attack, and the place looks like it does now, even after the Last Autobot’s revival and resuscitation of the planet. I mean, a lot of the outer layer and the junk on it is starting to float away, but trust me, there’s a lot of layers of junk in the Tagan Heights, hahaha! Okay, okay, back to the story. So Motormaster had Wildrider and Dead End camp out a day in advance to watch the place, and see if any of the others tried something. Breakdown was not far away, being a lookout to cover the other 2. Yeah, it had to be that way, we couldn’t leave Dead End alone by himself, he probably would have finally put the barrel of his blaster in his mouth and blew his cerebral casing to Moon Base 2, hehe. Anyway, the big M was right, because Razorclaw had sent Tantrum and Headstrong as well, to do the same thing we were doing. Except we got there first. They even went as far as construct their own little hiding place. Then it dawned on us, they weren’t just watching the place for the other teams, they were going to be there while the meeting was going on, maybe to jump us or something. We couldn’t figure out what exactly, but we didn’t want to believe that the remaining 3 Predacons would stage an attack on the meeting, especially since they would be outnumbered. Yeah, yeah, I know. Predaking would definitely turn things around. If they were allowed to combine. Which we were determined not to let happen. As soon as we figured out they were there to stay, Motormaster told Dead End and Wildrider to stay put where they were, and if the Preds made a move, to take them out, or at least cut them off. Don’t let them enter the warehouse at any cost. But at least we knew they were out there planning something. I was surprised they were the only ones, we figured the Combaticons would at least have something under their side panels. But anyway, the day of the meeting came and we rolled in like everything was fine. Motormaster out front, me right behind. The Combaticons and Predacons were already there, which was no surprise. The Constructicons, Seacons and Terrorcons were late, but they were never accused of being intellectually superior anyway. But the thing was, the other teams, besides the Predacons and Combaticons, all showed up. Every member. They were there openly, the remaining 3 Terrorcons, 4 Constructicons and 4 Seacons staying outside the warehouse. And here we were, just me an’ the boss, Onslaught and Vortex, and Razorclaw and Divebomb. This gave me the first clue that the Combaticons were up to something as well. Where were the other 3? We knew why the Predacons were short, and they figured we were short because we were too stupid to bring the rest of the team. That was fine, let them think that. Let them underestimate us. But Onslaught is not stupid. Like I said, he’s probably the best tactician the Decepticons have besides Shockwave, especially when it comes to an armed confrontation. So something was not right when the other Combaticons didn’t show. But the meeting went on anyway, as everyone acknowledged everyone else, and we headed inside.
Hey, who let you in here, anyway? I thought scraplet-infested rust buckets like you were piled up in the Dead End with the other Empties! This place has really lowered its bar, they let anyone in here now! Ah, I’m just bustin’ your tailpipe! It’s good to see even bots like you managed to get past the war! Alright, you too. I’m stayin’ here for awhile, I have more drinkin’ to do, haha! Don’t run over anyone on your way out! See ya!
I hate that idiot. He used to challenge me to races way back when, even though he never had a chance. Yeah, I would make it interesting for most of the race, letting him keep up, but that last 10th or so of the distance, I just turned it up and left him in my exhaust. Anyway, back to the story. Hopefully we won’t get interrupted again. Inside, Razorclaw and Onslaught seemed to lead the way, they were walking out front. Their team members right behind them. Then it was us and the Terrorcons, and finally the Constructicons and the Seacons. Razorclaw picked this big open area in the warehouse, where there was nothing except one big table, or some kind of flat surface they used for whatever was being done in there back before the war. I looked all around, up to the ceiling, at the walls, in the corners. All I saw was junk. I had been suspicious that maybe the missing Combaticons were somehow already inside and getting ready for an ambush. It would be their style. But nothing really seemed out of place. So I just kept an optic open all around me, which is exactly what the boss brought me for. The team leaders all stood around this table, and started talking. Surprisingly, the conversation was kept civil and at a low tone. The other back up bots and myself were just idling by, each of us far enough away to not be considered eavesdropping, but close enough to cover our team leader if the need arose. For a while everything went fine, they seemed to be making progress towards some kind of agreement. Once in a while they would get animated, pointing fingers at each other, and a couple of them even slammed their hands on the table a few times. From what I could tell, the biggest thing they were trying to figure out was rule by a committee or have one leader everyone answers to, and if so, who would be the second-in-command. Well, of course they all wanted to be the leader, and that’s when the shouting started. Instead of listening to thought-out arguments, they all tried to force their wills on each other, using whatever abilities they thought was their best as the reasoning. It was getting heated, and the other back up bots and I were starting to get on edge. I had my blaster put away, but I put my hand on the grip anyway, just in case. I kept it out of view of the others, as I leaned on a metal container, the blaster on my hip between me and the box. I looked around and saw that both Vortex and Tentakil were doing the same. Cutthroat was pacing back and forth, his wings half spread open, which meant he was agitated. That’s all we needed, a psychopath with a short fuse. For some reason, Divebomb and Long Haul seemed calm and cool, and this made me suspicious. I mean, they were either 100% confident in their bosses’ abilities to defend themselves, or they were oblivious to the tensions rising in the place. Well, before things could get out of hand inside, we heard a loud bang from the outside. It was so loud it shook the entire warehouse. Like someone set off a bomb. The leaders all turned toward me, because the sound came directly from behind me. I turned around as well, and along with Tentakil and Cutthroat went to the door. I was there 1st so I opened it, and looked out.
Bartender! 3 more!
I want to keep this buzz going, hehe. Anyway, I looked out, and all I saw was a bunch of bots laying on the ground. They were all out. No moving, no sounds. Then I saw the structural damage to the other smaller buildings nearby, and figured it out fast: it was a concussion grenade. We were under attack! I pulled my blaster and turned back inside, closing the door behind me. By then, they were all behind me, Tentakil and Cutthroat pushing to look for themselves. The leaders were all standing there, and Motormaster asked me what I saw. I told him, and they all went on alert. Everyone pulled their guns, and started looking around for possible threats. Everyone except Onslaught and Vortex. I noticed they kinda separated themselves from the rest of us and were standing off to the side, talking to themselves. I was about to bring it to the big M’s attention, when Razorclaw suddenly jumped up on the table they had been using to talk, and got everyone’s attention. And I can’t believe what he was saying. He said that the others who stayed outside were all incapacitated and that he now had the situation under control, because it was his Predacons who did the attacking. This caught me off guard, because Motormaster left the other Stunticons out there just to counter the Predacons if they tried anything. And we were there before they ever showed up, they couldn’t have known we were there already. Did they get in a fight that we never heard from the inside? If so, why didn’t the other teams get involved? When I looked outside, they were all laid out, except the 3 missing Predacons, the rest of our team, and the missing Combaticons. The Constructicons, Seacons and Terrorcons were all knocked unconscious by the blast. But then Razorclaw’s words snapped me out of my thoughts. He said he wanted the other members of the other teams taken out, so that when the time came, no one could challenge his claim to the leadership. Immediately, Motormaster, Hun-grr and Snaptrap raised their weapons, pointing straight at Razorclaw, which prompted Cutthroat, Tentakil and myself to do the same. However, Divebomb, Scavenger, and Long Haul drew down on us in response, while Onslaught and Swindle still just stood off to the side. Razorclaw went on, saying it didn’t have to be this way, and that there was no point of us all killing each other. Everyone was totally psyched out, ready to pull the trigger. For a long moment, I was sure we were all gonna die, just a matter of who was gonna start the shooting. But then, the door opened. From the outside. Some of us turned to see who it was, but some of us stayed on our original targets. I turned, as did Long Haul and Snaptrap. Based on what Razorclaw said, we expected the rest of the Predacons to walk through the door, and then we’d all be in trouble, especially if they merged to form Predaking. But to my surprise, the other Combaticons were the ones coming through. I looked at Onslaught, who was now standing by himself, because Vortex had slowly maneuvered himself behind Razorclaw. He now had his blaster out, pointing at the Predacon leader, who had a surprised look on his face as well. He was clearly expecting his own team to walk through the door. But instead, Blast Off, Brawl and Swindle were there. As usual, Swindle had that smug, arrogant look on his face. I wanted to knock it off his face with my fist so bad, but my 1st priority was to have Motormaster’s back. Now the rest of the Combaticons all had their weapons out, pointing them to the other leaders. Onslaught himself had the big M in his sights, and I had my blaster trained on him. This was quickly turning into a stand off. Then Onslaught started talking, speaking directly to Razorclaw, even though he kept his optics at the end of his blaster, which was pointed at Motormaster. He said there would be a leader chosen here, but it would be him. He then told us that the others had taken out both the Predacons and the Stunticons before they even attacked the others, so there was no one coming around. The Combaticons had all the other team leaders under their blasters’ sights, and even though we were ready to shoot back, if things started to go down that way, the bosses would definitely get hurt at the very least. Especially Razorclaw, because he made himself a wide open target by jumping up on the table. Idiot. Anyway, this was probably the most tense situation I have ever been in, including the war against the Autobots. I mean, this was about to become a massacre. And I knew what Onslaught planned: if the Combaticons survived the first shootout without dying, they would be able to combine into Bruticus even if they were injured. Then the rest of us were going to be easy pickings. The warehouse was tall enough to let the Combaticons combine, but small enough that once they did, there was no getting away from them. So i did my best to try to prevent that. As Onslaught was talking, I slowly kept raising my blaster up until it was pointed at his head. Just below the optics. Even if my shot missed the exact mark, I was sure I could get him somewhere in the head, and maybe render him unable to take control of the Combaticons once they combined. Then Bruticus would just become a big target for everyone else. If everyone else decided to work together. By now Razorclaw was talking back to Onslaught, trying to reason with him to defuse the situation, even though he had been intending the very same thing the Combaticons were now doing. How laughable. Nonetheless, it was enough to distract Onslaught for just a moment, who turned his head slightly toward Razorclaw to respond to him, and I took it upon myself to act. I squeezed the trigger of my blaster, and the shot smashed into the side of Onslaught’s head, knocking him down. He managed to fire his weapon, but it was pointing up by then and all he hit was ceiling. I immediately ducked down, because I knew I just kicked off a hellacious firefight. I expected Motormaster to rip into me verbally, but once he ducked down as well, all he said was ‘good shot’ and then we tried to find a place for cover. Everyone else started shooting as well, and as I moved behind the big steel box I had been using earlier, I could see that Razorclaw was already down, 2 blaster shots in his back and one in his leg. He wasn’t moving. I’m guessing at least one of those shots were from Vortex. Speaking of whom, he was lying face down on the other side of the table, a blaster wound in his arm, another in his side. I had seen Divebomb target him before everything got off, so I figured that’s who did him in. Anyway, I couldn’t really observe much more, laser blasts were slamming into the other side of the steel container as well as zooming over our heads. Before we could even look for a target to shoot back at, a couple of shots hit the big M in the back and the arm. He grunted and fell down next to me. His armor was thick, so he wasn’t seriously hurt, but it still stunned him a bit. I returned fire in the direction of the shots, but I doubt I hit anything. I tried to keep my head down, trying to keep score. 3 were already down, there were 10 more out there besides us. Motormaster got back up on one knee and propped himself against the container, taking out his rifle. He leaned around the corner and started shooting. Immediately return fire came raining on us. Seems like most of the others also found cover and were doing the same thing we were. As he was shooting from one side, I peeked out around the other corner. I saw Tentakil and Cutthroat were also down, laying in the middle of the open space, blaster wounds in their chests. Not far from them, Snaptrap had taken cover behind some propped up sheets of metal, while Divebomb was behind a pillar holding up the warehouse. I aimed at him, as he couldn’t hide his wings behind the pillar. Before I could open fire, however, a flood of laser blasts came my way, and even though most of them hit the steel container, one slammed into my shoulder and I dropped my blaster. I fell backward, and Motormaster quickly grabbed my good arm and pulled me behind the box. He said those shots all came from the Combaticons, who had gathered together directly opposite us on the other side of the meeting area. They were trying to get to Onslaught’s unconscious body to most likely try to revive him. The big M chuckled when he said they must have all been really pissed at me for taking out their boss, that’s why they were all trying to kill me and not even paying attention to anyone else.
Bartender! 1 more round of 3!
Yeah, that might do it. I mean, the story is far from over, but I don’t want to get too smashed to tell it right, ya know? Anyway, here we were, pinned down in the middle of this warehouse. By then it became obvious that it was the Combaticons against everyone else. They were huddled together, under good cover, and were trying to get to Onslaught. He was out in the open, but they were working towards him little by little, despite being constantly shot at. The others seemed to take a wide circle around them, Snaptrap and Divebomb on one side, me and the boss on the other, and the Constructicons across the way. The 3 Combaticons took up good defensive positions, their backs to each other while using covers around them. They were in this small area that had some machinery and stacks of metal crates in a circle. They could move around inside that area and stay covered. I reached out and snatched my blaster back, and a volley of shots hit the ground where it had been. I had everyone’s position pegged, except one: Hun-grr. As far as I knew, he hadn’t fired a shot, and he was holed up somewhere secure, because I couldn’t see him anywhere. The shooting died down, and it seemed everyone was taking a moment to evaluate things. The Combaticons started all this, and we had them surrounded. But that didn’t mean the rest of us were together. One of the others could turn on us unexpectedly, even though Motormaster and I decided that our main goal was to get the hell out of the warehouse. We didn’t care if we won the shootout or not. Luckily, the door was on our side of the warehouse, and as far as I knew there was no one between us and it. But what was was there was a lot of open space, and if we straight ran for it, we most likely would have gotten cut down by blaster shots. Well, maybe I would have made it, because I’m pretty damn fast, and since Motormaster is bigger and slower, he would have been behind me, covering me from getting shot. But he would have gotten shot, and if he made it out, he probably would have beaten me into stasis lock for not covering him. So that was a no-go. We had to take out at least the ones that were close by, so I looked around again. The Combaticons were directly on the other side of the steel container we were hiding behind, so they weren’t going to get us. Besides, if they tried, the others would have fire don them anyway. The Constructicons were directly on the opposite side from us, and the Combaticons were between us, so they weren’t gonna get us either. Snaptrap was off to one side, he had a clear shot all the way to the door. Divebomb was obscured by the pillar, but if he was brave enough to stick his head and his blaster out, he could get lucky with the few shots he had time for before the others took him out. But where was Hun-grr? The Terrorcon boss wasn’t the smartest bot ever to be constructed, but he was definitely cunning and lethal if given the opportunity. So we had to be careful. Motormaster was trying to calculate if we could make it to the door if we ran for it, but as I was looking around for Hun-grr, I happened to look up, and I found the solution: when I shot Onslaught, his rifle turned up as he pulled the trigger, and he hit the ceiling. Well, the warehouse was already going to hell, and the roof was all rusted apart. The blast tore a section of it open, and it was now hanging freely by a single beam, ready to fall down. It was directly above Snaptrap’s head. I couldn’t believe it. One well-placed shot could bring it down, taking out at least one of the others who had us covered. But in order to do that, we had to distract him. If he saw that what we were going for, he would have moved before the piece fell on him. And even though moving him most likely would have been enough, we figured we might as well take him out while we had the chance. So the boss and I came up with a plan. We were gonna start shooting at the Combaticons, drawing Snaptrap into the fire. I was then going to exchange blasts with him, keeping him occupied long enough for Motormaster to take a shot at the broken ceiling part. He was gonna make it look like he got hit by the Combaticons, and aim his rifle upwards and let off a shot. What we didn’t count on was the Combaticons actually hitting him. As we started, everything went well, but then he took a shot in the arm and the chest, and while his armor protected him for the most part, he fell out into the open, dropping his rifle. Before he could scramble to safety, the Combaticons and Snaptrap all had their shots at him, and he was banged up pretty good. Plus he lost his rifle, so now all he had was his sword. A lot of good that did for us. He sat down behind the steel box, cursing anf grimacing from the pain. One good thing did happen, though, I got Snaptrap in the leg, so now he was hobbled as well. And when the Combaticons started shooting at us, the Constructicons started shooting at them from behind, and I think a couple of them got hit as well. So we were again in a stalemate. We sure as hell weren’t gonna break it by running for it, especially with Motormaster taking those hits, so all that was left was to fight it out. I was starting to wonder how long the others on the outside would be out, because whichever one of them came to first would decide the showdown on the inside. I was trying to think of something, but suddenly, blaster fire caught my attention. I peeked around the edge of the box again, to see the Combaticons all shooting up at the ceiling! Apparently they ahd figured out what we were trying to do, and now they were doing it. Snaptrap was preoccupied with the wound on his leg, and by the time he realized what was going on, it was too late. The big piece of rusty, jagged roof came right down on him, smashing his entire back, driving him chest-first into the ground. He let out a loud scream, the gun went from his hand and he went silent. I think he was knocked out, but I could see one of his legs was kicking and shaking, sticking out from under the rubble. Yeah, he was definitely out.
Bartender! 2 more!
So decided to do something about our only remaining obstacle, which was Divebomb. Like I said before, he was behind the pillar, but his wings kinda stuck out, there was nothing he could do about it. I couldn’t believe no one else had aimed for them yet, taking out his wings would have severely crippled him. So that’s exactly what I did. I aimed carefully, and my first 2 shots were right on target, hitting his wings right where they attached to his back. He groaned, the wings spreading out in reaction to the impact, but he quickly retracted them, even though they were now clearly damaged. The shots also knocked him out from behind the pillar, and before I realized what happened, he was shot directly in the face by a blast I couldn’t tell where it came from. It wasn’t the Constructicons or the Combaticons, and Snaptrap was out. Hun-grr! He had taken the open shot at Divebomb and taken the Predacon out of the fight. He was on the ground, unconscious. But I’m glad he did it, because now I knew where Hun-grr was hiding. He was directly behind Snaptrap’s spot, on the opposite side of the Constructicons. If he hadn’t given himself away, the boss and I would have tried for the door, thinking we had a clear shot and Hun-grr could have taken us out. But we stayed, the situation not changing much. Except the players were dropping out slowly. I knew the Constructicons wanted the Combaticons, and I’m guessing Hun-grr did as well. We didn’t care, like I said, we just wanted to make it out before the others on the outside came to and we were trapped. The Predacons and Stunticons weren’t in the same spot as the others, and we only heard one concussion grenade go off, so the Combaticons must have taken them out some other way. We couldn’t count on them being the first to arrive from the outside, so we had to be ready for anything. I thought about what I had seen outside: when I opened the door earlier, I saw mainly green. Which meant the Constructicons were the closest to the door. If they woke up first, they would come through the door, or at least get in contact with the Constructicons inside the warehouse, and if that happened, we were all in trouble, because all the Constructicons were still functional. That meant Devastator. And he may have been slow and stupid, but he was definitely strong and most likely unstoppable by the rest of us unless we combined as well. Except we couldn’t because each of the other teams had some of their members out already. So suddenly, whether the others realized it or not, the Combaticons weren’t the main threat any longer. The Constructicons were. But the immediate threat for the 2 of us was still Hun-grr. We had to do something about him. The boss suggested I use cover and try to get close to him, but I didn’t see the point. The Terrorcon was bigger and stronger, and definitely had more firepower. If I got close to him, I would just become an easier target. But Motormaster kept saying he wouldn’t expect me, and I was faster, and all I needed was one shot to the head, like I did with Onslaught. He almost had me convinced when the decision was made for me: with Snaptrap and Divebomb out, the Combaticons weren’t completely pinned down anymore. They had taken it upon themselves to get out of their little hiding space, exchanging fire with the Constructicons as they moved toward the door, going from debris to other piles of stuff, trying to use them for cover. They were taking shots, but they were also hitting the others, until Hun-grr decided to jump out from his cover and start shooting as well. We stayed down, letting them fight it out, but the Combaticons were coming our way. They were trying to get to the door as well. Sooner or later, they would be going right by us, unless we moved. But then one of the others got lucky, and Swindle took a direct hit to the back, knocking him forward into the rubble. Brawl kept shooting back, using his thick armor to try to cover for the others, as Blast Off tried to help Swindle. But It wasn’t enough, as Brawl was overwhelmed and knocked down as well by the time Blast Off helped Swindle up. The smaller Combaticon was barely moving, the shot must have done serious damage to his internal systems. Blast Off flung him behind another large steel box, much like ours, that was not that far away. As soon as he did, a shot hit him straight in the back as well, knocking him down against the box. Brawl scrambled behind the box as well, joining Swindle, and Blast Off managed to pull himself around the corner and out of the field of fire. But now they were in our line of fire, and we were in theirs. I lifted my blaster and aimed in their general direction, but held off on shooting. Blast Off looked our way and realized the situation, but saw that I wasn’t shooting. So he also held off the fire, and when Brawl lifted his blaster and aimed at us, Blast Off put a hand on his arm. In that moment we became sort of allies. But while this was going on, Hun-grr managed to sneak closer, he was even closer than Snaptrap had been, and as I tried to reach out to grab Motormaster’s rifle, Hun-grr shot me in the arm. The blast knocked me back against the steel container, and I scrambled back behind it. The shot took me by surprise, because I didn’t realize Hun-grr had switched positions, much less that he was so close. But if he was so close, why didn’t he shoot me in the head? He hit my arm, the same arm that was already injured, so it didn’t do a lot more damage, just some more fluid leaked out. While I was doing this, Motormaster started talking to the Combaticons. I heard them, they were trying to decide on the next step. But then the boss asked why they were helping us. Blast Off responded by saying they weren’t, they just wanted to save me for themselves, because I was the one who took out Onslaught, essentially starting this whole mess and ruining their well-thought-out plan. So it seemed I had an extra target on my back. But right then I didn’t worry about it, my main concern was to get out of the warehouse before the ones outside woke up.
Bartender! 1 more E-50!
So there we were, trying to figure out what to do, but then out of nowhere the Constructicons made the choice for us. There were these huge panels propped up against one of the other pillars in the middle of the warehouse. They were taller than Motormaster and about twice as wide as I am. They were as thick as my arm, so I knew they could withstand blaster fire. I don’t know what they were for, but it didn’t matter. Long Haul just picked one of them up and held in in front of him like a shield. I couldn’t believe it! It had to be really heavy! Well, anyway, the Combaticons responded by opening fire on it, but it didn’t do much. Long Haul is probably the strongest of those green idiots, and he would have to be wouldn’t he? He’s the middle part of Devastator, haha! Anyway, Scavenger tucked in between Long Haul and the panel, and they started walking towards us! Immediately the Combaticons started shooting low, trying to hit their feet, but the panel was barely off the ground, so that wasn’t working. Well, Swindle decided to play sharpshooter, and he started carefully aiming at Long Haul’s fingers, which were wrapped around the each of the side edges of the panel and were the only visible parts of them. He took a few shots, but kept missing. Scavenger started shooting back, sticking his gun out by the side of the panel, and even though he wasn’t aiming at anyone, the shots were still in the Combaticons’ direction, and they had to duck down. They almost made it to us when the big M just stood up. He looked at me, told me to go get his rifle, and jumped out into the open. I couldn’t help but just watch, he ran straight at the panel, putting his head down and twisting his upper body at the last moment. He rammed into the panel shoulder-first, and since the Constructicons didn’t expect that move, they weren’t ready for it. The panel went backwards, the Constructicons under it, Motormaster on top of it, and the whole pile of them fell backward. The boss is a big bot, and with all that armor he’s pretty heavy, so he managed to pin Scavenger down under the panel, and Long Haul was helpless because he was under all of that. Well, I noticed that Hun-grr stuck his head out to check what was going on, and had his attention away from me. I jumped out, grabbed Motormaster’s rifle, and scurried back behind cover by the time the big dumb Terrorcon realized what happened. He shot at me, but nothing. In turn, the Combaticons all shot at him, hitting him a couple of times and knocking him away from his cover. While this was going on, Motormaster managed to wrench Scavenger’s gun out of his hand and was now using it on Hun-grr as well. A couple of well-placed shots at the exposed Terrorcon did him in, as Motormaster hit him twice in the head, taking him out. Actually, I haven’t seen him since, so that might have been it for him. But I haven’t heard, and this was a while ago. I doubt he’s gone, the Terrorcons would have come for some revenge if that was the case. Hell, they still might. Oh well, bring them on. They’re big and strong, but they’re idiots. Just like the Constructicons. Anyway, suddenly, the Combaticons turned on Motormaster and started shooting at him! He was exposed, after all, but he is well-armored and he had Scavenger’s gun, so he fired back. I had his rifle by then, and I opened up on the Combaticons as well, and immediately I took out Swindle with a shot to the face! Hahaha! He just flopped backwards like he had too much of this Engex! Hahahahaha! So then of course I got their attention, and it became a shootout between us and the Combaticons. Me against Blast Off, Motormaster against Brawl. And the boss was still kneeling on the panel, keeping the Constructicons pinned, but that wasn’t gonna last. They were recovering, and Scavenger managed to wriggle out from under the panel, but as soon as he stood up, he got a faceful of laser from his own gun! Hah! Unfortunately that took Motormaster’s attention away from Brawl for a second, and that big idiot managed to hit the boss right in the middle of his back, knocking him off the panel. I fired back, but the return fire pinned me down, it was now the 2 of them against me. Long Haul got out from under the panel, just as Motormaster recovered from that shot, and believe it or not, in the middle of all this shootin’, the 2 of them went at it barehanded! Just started shovin’ and swingin’, and they were gettin’ their licks in, too! I mean, I gotta give it to Long Haul, he was givin’ as good as he was takin’! I know how hard the boss can hit, and that big green moron stood his ground, shot for shot! But it didn’t last long, the Combaticons started takin’ shots at them again, and why not? They were wide open targets! The first few shots hit them, and they both dove for cover. This gave me enough time to take aim, and I scored another hit in the face, this time Blast Off gettin’ his profile rearranged, hah! Immediately Brawl turned on me, and started shootin’ back. But I got behind the steel container and I was safe. I looked out over the other corner of the box and saw both the boss and Long Haul gettin’ up. Brawl was still preoccupied with tryin’ to hit me, so those 2 got to their feet without a problem. The big M was just a little quicker, and as the Constructicon stood up, the boss met him with a right cross to the face. Long Haul got stunned and Motormaster landed another shot to his torso, which made him bend forward. Then the boss brought up a knee and smashed it into the green idiot’s forehead. He stood straight back up, but I could see the lights were out already, his optics weren’t glowing. His arms were down, and Motormaster isn’t known for wastin’ opportunities like that so he cocked his right fist as far back as he could, and as Brawl turned his attention back to them, he smashed his fist directly into Long Haul’s face, shattering it! The impact snapped the Constructicon’s head back and he just fell straight over, landin’ with a loud thud and shakin’ the ground so much I could feel it all the way over where I was. But then the boss took another direct hit in the upper back from Brawl and that sent him stumbling forward, smashing face-first into the pillar the other panels were stacked up against. The boss fell down, but I had enough presence to take advantage and I turned back toward Brawl, who was just turning toward me as well. But I was faster, and I had the big M’s rifle, and I left off a shot that was dead on the mark. Yep, you guessed it! Another face hit! Haha! I got Onslaught, Swindle, Blast Off and Brawl, all in the face! After that big idiot crumpled in a heap, everything went quiet for a moment. I realized that the fight was over, at least inside the warehouse. And I was the last one standin’!
Bartender! My tab!
Well, the boss was still conscious, but he had taken some serious hits, so he was in a bad way. He was gruntin’ loudly, tryin’ to get to his feet. I checked on the others to make sure they were really out, and went over to him to help him. I got him to his feet and we started goin’ for the door. I had the boss propped on my shoulders, his big arm draped over me. He wasn’t really damaged, he was just knocked for a loop. I mean, his armor was dinged up bad, and I could see scuffs and scrapes on his face and bucket head, hehe, don’t tell him I said that! But otherwise he was fine. So we made it to the door, and just as I was about to open it, it was opened from the outside! It surprised me and I let go of Motormaster, who just kinda slumped against the wall behind the door. I mean, the door didn’t really cover him because he was so big, but still, he was out of view for a moment. That’s what saved us, because in the doorway was Rippersnapper, one of the other Terrorcons. He also stopped for a moment, then saw the carnage behind me and immediately raised his blaster. He was faster than me, but he never had the chance to use it, because Motormaster grabbed the edge of the door and just slammed it in the Terrorcon’s face with all his remaining strength. The big idiot fell outside as I jumped back in surprise, and when I looked over at the boss, he had a half-grin on his face. I chuckled as much in relief as in amusement, and he just put his arm out, and motioned with his index finger towards himself. I didn’t know what he wanted so I just stood there. The half-grin faded and he then called me an idiot and told me to give him his rifle back. I did, and he opened the door. We stepped outside, the boss first, and saw that Rippersnapper was just gettin’ to his feet. He was a bit out of it, havin’ taken the door full force in the face. And the door had a huge dent in it, by the way. But Motormaster didn’t hesitate, he aimed his rifle right at the Terrorcon, and almost from point blank range blasted him square in the chest. The impact was so hard that Rippersnapper was lifted off his feet and blown back, landing on his back with his arms and legs spread out and a big smokin’ and flamin’ hole in his chest. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. We then looked around to see if there was anyone else, but there wasn’t. We saw the rest of the Constructicons still out, their bodies strewn around the ground near the warehouse. On the other side, the Seacons were the same way. All out cold, but they were neatly layin’ next to each other. Like they got taken out one at a time and laid down. There was also a good-sized crater in between them, which is where I figured the grenade that took them out landed. But the hole was pretty big, so I figured the grenade was not the regulation size. It didn’t surprise me, the Combaticons know their weapons and artillery. Too bad they’re all scrap-heads otherwise. Anyway, we walked in the direction where we left the others, and sure enough we found them, right where we left them. They were all out as well. Those damn Combaticons! To this day I don’t know what they used on them, but none of them remember anything! They had to use a concussion grenade on the Seacons and Constructicons, but on the rest of the Stunticons it had to be somethin’ else. We got them all up, and I made a suggestion that we go back and finish the others off before they get up, but I was reminded that this was just a disagreement, and that they would get over it. Besides, the condition the Decepticons were in at the time, we couldn’t afford to lose any more of us. So we got the other Stunticons straight and just left. We did see a couple of the other Predacons’ prone bodies on the way out, so I guess the Combaticons got to them as well.
Here ya go, big bot! Great service as usual.
Anyway, the whole thing blew over after a while, but the other teams didn’t speak to us nor to each other for some time. It gave Soundwave fits, because he was tryin’ to organize all of us into a resistance, but it wasn’t workin’ without proper communication. His little idiots had to be messengers between him an’ all of us, an’ that just sizzled his circuits, I guess. Well, we got over it an’ you know the ‘Cons turned out. But I tell ya, it sure felt good to be the only team left standin’, and even better to be the only bot to walk outta there without any help, haha! That’s somethin’ I can claim until my spark goes out! Alright, I think it’s time for me to go. Yeah, I’ll be alright, I kept my drinkin’ in check, and the buzz is startin’ to wear off. I guess I’ll catch ya another night, I’m sure I’ll have another story to tell by then! Take care an’ don’t turn your back on any Combaticons, hahaha!