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Outside Area 51

Arcee winced as the second battlechargers shots hit her, leaving burn marks. She had seen their tactics before and knew they were going to try and box her in. 'Not this time boys', she thought to herself. Much to her suprise, Fenzy flew overhead and crashed into Runabout behind her. This gave her an opening on Runamuck, and she took it.

"Got you now, decepticon!" She yelled, transforming and jumping up, keeping her momentum and the battlecharger ahead of her had slowed down. Remembering the Circut-su she learned with her partner Elita One from their now dead master, she focused her energy into the integrity field of her hand and brought it down hard into the roof of Runamuck while firing laserblasts from her pistol at him at close range with her free hand.

Thanatos – Earth Orbit

Divebomb sat quietly amongst the other Predacons, waiting for the order to be given. To say that he was bored was an understatement. He wished he could crawl into his metal “nest” that he had constructed high up in the rafters of the cargo bay and just be alone while he waited. However, Razorclaw had insisted on the Predacons all being together and ready to go at a moments notice. And so Divebomb was forced to sit with his teammates, a group that he found to be barely tolerable.

Then the order from Megatron finally came over the comm. and Razorclaw ordered them to the transport room for immediate bounce to the surface. Divebomb was more than happy to oblige and quickly made his way through the warship. Once in the transport room, Divebomb stepped onto the pad and disappeared from sight.

Area 51

In an instant, Divebomb appeared on the battlefield with the others. At first, he followed Razorclaw as the Predacon leader drew his sword and began to lead the charge. However, Divebomb quickly realized that, for him, the fight was higher up. Transforming to eagle mode, Divebomb took to the skies above and began circling the area, searching for his first target.

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

Smokescreen knelt down behind the large boulder and quickly reloaded his weapon. He was about to peek out to see where Astrotrain was, when suddenly the boulder rose into the air. A surprised Smokey spun around and looked up to see the triplechanger holding it high over his head. Oh, dear. This will not end well, the diversion expert thought as Astrotrain then threw the large rock down at him. Smokescreen’s optics widened as he leapt backwards in an attempt to avoid the huge rock. He was not extirely successful and the boulder struck his legs in mid air, propelling him backwards even further.

Landing on his aft once more, Smokescreen watched as the boulder came down directly in front of him. He let out a sigh of relief, believing he had avoided becoming trapped underneath it. However, the boulder’s momentum caused it to roll forward and onto the lower half of the Autobot’s legs, pinning them to the desert floor.

“Ahhhh, slaggit!” Smokescreen yelled as he placed both hands onto the rock to keep it from rolling any further onto him. He tried moving both legs, but could only get the right one to move slightly. His left leg was completely immobile under the large boulder. He then tried pushing it off of him, but the boulder was too heavy. He was trapped with Astrotrain looming nearby, waiting to finish him off. On top of that, the Autobot's rifle was lying nearby but just out of reach. So, Smokey quickly opened his comm. to any Autobot that was close enough to render assistance.

>>This is Smokescreen. To whoever can respond, I need immediate assistance! I’m trapped under a rock and unable to move with Astrotrain about to blow me into scrap! I need help now!!!<<

A short distance away, Trailbreaker was tending to his damaged back when he received Smokescreen’s distress call. He looked across the battlefield and saw that his red and blue friend was indeed in a lot of trouble. >>I hear ya, Smokey! I’m on my way!<<

The defensive strategist hurried across the war zone, avoiding stray laser fire as he went. Arriving at the diversion expert’s location, he stopped several feet from where Astrotrain stood. “Hey, you triple changing ugly slagger! Leave my buddy alone!!” Trailbreaker shouted, as he pointed his laser rifle directly at Astrotrain and opened fire.

Thanatos - Earth Orbit

Rampage felt like he had been trapped on board the Thanatos for eons, it had been far to long since he had been allowed off the the ship to do anything. Even Razorclaw's briefing had failed to raise his interest, of course Rampage was far from interested in that sort of thing. Battle plans, strategy, combat frequencies, blah blah blah, it was all so boring and uninteresting to him, it felt unnecessary as once in the heat of the battle all of that slag didn't mean anything. It all came down to what you did and how you did it in the heat of battle, to fell your foe in honourable combat.

Once they reached orbit of this mudball that was called Sarth... or was it Earth? Maybe Narth? Rampage hadn't really paid that close attention to all of the info that Razorclaw had provided, Rampage was put in charge of monitoring the human satellites. He had never expected much to come of it, but he was surprised when he had stumbled across the entertainment frequencies these meatbags used. Most of it seemed so dull, but a few drew his attention. Actually he became so focused on the program he was watching he found he was able to focus on the actual job assigned him, just so long as he could keep an optic on that human television broadcast.

When the call to battle came, Rampage was as eager as the rest of his team. He quickly scrambled to the transport room, eager to get into the thick of battle. His circuits seemed to almost buzz in anticipation as he was bounced down to the planets surface. Once on solid ground he wasted no time and transformed into his beast mode and charged off head long with out a single thought as to what he was going to do. He simply let his instincts guide him.

***

>>This is Smokescreen. To whoever can respond, I need immediate assistance! I’m trapped under a rock and unable to move with Astrotrain about to blow me into scrap! I need help now!!!<<

>>This is Aftershot to Smokescreen, I am in bound on your position. Keep your head down and tell any other Bots to do the same!

This is what Aftershot had been waiting for. As much as he was still thrilled about besting not just a Con in the air, but Skywarp, one of the elite Decepticon aerial warriors, he knew he could not stand up to them on a regular basis. His specialty was to help the Bots on the ground, which can be a hard thing to do given how often the Cons were buzzing around.

The Autobot flier banked sharply and began a dive on Smokescreen's position. Although ditching his ordnance allowed him to move and maneuver better, he still wished he had kept them for a situation like right now. Not only would the added punch of his bombs would of been really useful, it would of been just out right satisfying to drop a few right on top of Astrotrain. However, he didn't have them and had to settle for just his laser cannons. They were dangerous, but didn't match the power of his bombs.

His engines screamed as Aftershot lined up Astrotrain in his sights. It was then he noticed Trailbreaker firing on the Con. Knowing that 'Breaker was a little to close to make this a safe run, not to mention Smokescreen, Aftershot knew he was taking a huge risk of a friendly fire incident.

>>Incoming!<<

He screamed his warning to his comrades on the ground, hoping Trailbreaker would have enough time to get his protective shield up to protect himself and hopefully Smokescreen as well. With nothing more he could do Aftershot opened fire on Astrotrain, his laser cannons hammering away.

Area 51

As Trailbreaker fired on Astrotrain, he received Aftershot’s warning over the comm link. ‘Breaker looked skyward to see the incoming laserfire and quickly initiated his force shield. Unfortunately, he wasn’t close enough to include Smokescreen with him under the shield, but it looked as though his buddy would have plenty of cover behind that large boulder.

Several laser blasts rained down around the black mech, striking his shield repeatedly. His energy reserves dipped with each blast. Once the lasers had stopped, Trailbreaker lowered his shield and opened a comm to Aftershot.

>>Hey, thanks for the help there, Aftershot. But, I’ve got things covered down here. Go help Smokescreen get out from under that big rock while I keep Astrotrain busy.<<

Trailbreaker then turned his attention back to the triplechanger. With his energy reserves very low and his damaged back still in pain, ‘Breaker could only hope that Astrotrain had been hit by at least some of Aftershot’s blasts.

Meanwhile, Smokescreen, having also heard Aftershot’s warning, ducked down behind the large boulder that had become his prison of sorts. Most of the laserfire missed him completely, streaking by just overhead. But one blast had struck the very top of the rock, causing a small crack to form and slowly inch it’s way down towards him.

By the time that crack gets down here, I’ll be an old rust bucket like Kup, Smokey thought to himself as he began to dig around his right leg in hopes of freeing it. His laser rifle was lying nearby to his right, but he couldn’t reach it with his hands. However, if he could free his one leg, he might be able to retrieve it with his foot.

Area 51

Needlenose soared at high speed towards Area 51. He'd almost gotten way too distracted to know there was a mission going on... blast the humans' websites for being so addictive anyway! 'Course, once he heard what was going down, well, there was just no way he was going to miss out. Let the other rejects sit at base being boring; he was making sure to be where the excitement was.

He did an inside loop as he reached the battlefield, and sang out theatrically, "Hey there, one and all, faithful fans, Needlenose is on the scene! Don't mind me being fashionably late to the party!" He did a few dips and swirls during his approach, then looked around to take stock of who was doing what to whom. "Quite the shindig you got going here. Who wants to be my partner in the dance line?"

The answer came in the form of something zooming into view over on the side, and he grinned inwardly and peeled off to intercept as Sideswipe came flying out of the back of one of the buildings.

"Well, looks like we got a first taker! Better let me lead though, Autobot; ya gotta have wings to do this right." He inverted himself and maneuvered on an approach to fly upside-down over Sideswipe, while charging up his electrostatic rifle in anticipation of sending off an arc of energy once he was close enough. That would make for a potentially delightful little light show.

Area 51

Sunstreaker ducked behind the building as Swindle returned fire. Dust, dirt and shrapnel from the building were thrown into the air as the blasts impacted. The warrior waved his free hand in front of his optics, trying to blow away the cloud of dust obscuring his vision. As he moved his arm around he noticed some scratches and chipping in the paint on it. He stopped and examined his other limbs, noticing similar scuffs and scratches all over, probably from the blasts kicking up everything.

The Autobot’s face twisted into a scowl. It was bound to happen in a battle out in the desert, but it didn’t make him any happier, not in the slightest. With this amount of damage he was going to have to strip his current paint job and gent an entirely new one to make sure it was all level. It was going to be an ordeal to say the least.

The only good thing about his paint job getting messed up is that it was done by a Con. He would be able to actually get back at a Decepticon without anyone trying to stop him, at least not for awhile. They’d probably stop him from beating him to death one the battle was over, but that was only if they got to him in time.

The Autobot warrior charged from around his bit of cover, gun blazing away at Swindle, the scowl still on his face. After firing off a good number of shots he transformed and raced towards the Decepticon. He might have some sophisticated weapons and guns, but he doubted he would take too well to getting run over. After that it would come down to fists, and he seriously doubted the little weapons dealer would be even close to a match for him in that department.

*******

Tantrum glanced around at the battle being waged around him and the other Predacons and snorted. It was all of the second string Decepticons, except for Megatron of course, fighting the second string Autobots. None of them were really worth his effort, and that irritated him. On top of that all of them were already busy fighting each other. That made him angry, and there was only one cure for his anger, and it was destruction.

The Predacon transformed into his newly adopted bull mode. With another snort he took off running towards the nearest human building. He easily smashed through the walls of the building, horns sparking and sending electrical bolts throughout, adding to the destruction. Once he exited the other side of the building he skidded to a stop and turned around, slamming through the building once again. It wasn’t long before the building was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble.

Tantrum snorted again. While that had been enjoyable, he was still angry as ever. He would just have to level every building he could see, maybe then he wouldn’t be so angry.

********

Astrotrain laughed as he saw Smokescreen trapped beneath the boulder. This was almost better than crushing him with it. Now he could see the little weakling flail around and beg for mercy as he tore him apart with his bare hands. This was turning into one of the best fights he’d been a part of in longer than he could remember.

The triplechanger loomed over the smaller Autobot when he was pelted with blasts from Trailbreaker. Astrotrain growled and whirled around to face Trailbreaker. Before he could move against the Autobot he put up his forcefield and Astrotrain was pelted with laserblasts from above. The Decepticon staggered under the unexpected blows from Aftershot. Here he was about to finish off some little weakling and all of his friends came running to help. They’d probably be better off letting him die. Then they wouldn’t have to stick their necks out for him later.

Astotrain let out a warcry and charged at Trailbreaker. He threw a punch at the Autobot’s face. It connected hard, knocking bits of metal plating off. The Autobot returned with a punch to his midsection. The Decepticon could hear and feel some of his armor plating crumpling. The old Bot wasn’t as weak as he though he was, but he was still stronger. He slammed his knee into his midsection. The blow sent had him bent at the waist and Astrotrain followed it up with an elbow slam to his back. There was an awful crunching sound as he slammed into Trailbreaker’s already damaged back. Trailbreaker went sprawling to the ground flat on his face. He gave the Bot a swift kick in the side to make sure he was down for the count.

Astrotrain then turned around and drew his gun. He was hurting pretty well now and he wasn’t going to take any more chances of some Autobot getting the drop on him unprepared. He carefully began walking over to Smokescreen to deliver the killshot.

*******

Grimlock finally reached the top of the tunnel. The Dinobot carefully peered over the edge of the tunnel to get an idea of what he was up against. Most of the time he would simply charge right in, but enough weird things were happening to make even him a slight bit cautious. What he saw made him happy.

There was fighting all around him. Decepticons and Autobots were locked in combat. It looked like despite however long he’d been in stasis the war was still going on. There had been a bit of fear that it was all over and the Autobots had finally won it. He doubted there would really be a place for him in the peaceful utopia the Autobots wanted to build. He had barely fit in with society before the war broke out. It was only now, with his Dinobots under his command, in this war, did he truly feel like he had found his calling. If the Autobots did win the war he had little doubt that he would end up in some prison somewhere.

That wasn’t to say he wanted the Decepticons to win either. Yeah, maybe there was some truth to the ‘strongest should rule’ philosophy, but not how they used it. They used it to bully and enslave. Deep down in his spark he knew that wasn’t right. They weren’t here to push around and kill those who were weaker. Then there was the little part about all of the Decepticons being little more than lackeys to Megatron. He’d never admit to being weaker than anyone, and one way to prove that was to fight the strongest there was. Megatron had been the greatest of the underground gladiators on Cybertron with an undefeated record. Someday Grimlock would change that.

That’s not what the Dinobot had in mind right now though. Right now he was still looking for some payback on a certain one-eyed Decepticon. He spotted Shockwave lying on the ground not too far away. Apparently he was in worse shape than he was. That was fine with him. Some Autobots might have trouble killing an unconscious foe, but he wouldn’t have any problem driving his sword through his spark chamber.

Between Grimlock and his goal was the Predacon leader Razorclaw. That worked just fine for him. While he wouldn’t mind killing Shockwave while in stasis it would be a little anti-climatic. Taking down one of Megatron’s little elite warriors along the way would go a long way to making up for that.

Grimlock gripped the edge of the tunnel and heaved himself up and out of it, landing on the ground with a mighty crash, sword in hand. He landed directly in front of the Predacon leader. He brandished his sword at the Decepticon. “Me have business with Shockwave and you in the way. Me would ask you to move but me going to enjoy moving you myself. And me need a work out after long nap.” With that he slashed at Razorclaw with his sword, aiming to decapitate the Decepticon.

(OOC: The Trailbreaker-Astrotrain fight was agreed upon by both players)

Area 51

After making his pass on Astrotrain, Aftershot banked around to observe the aftermath. The Decepticon triple-changer had some obvious armour damage, but nothing serious. In fact he was still in good enough shape to beat the ever living slag out of poor old Trailbreaker and drop the mech. Aftershot knew he was the only thing between Smokescreen and his death at the end of Astrotrain's gun.

The flier brought himself around for another pass and hammered away at Astrotrain with his laser cannons before transforming and landing in front of the wounded Smokescreen. He had his arm mounted cannons raised and he was firing fully charged blasts, hoping to Primus that they would slow him down. He knew that if the larger Decepticon got close him to hit him he was done for. Aftershot was about as useful in a hand to hand fight as a hungry Dinobot guarding an enrgon goody supply depot.

"Come on Space-for-Processor! Let's see what you got!"

I am so slagging dead!

Was all Aftershot could think as he tried to glare down the much larger AStrotrain.

* * *

As the fast moving Rampage stormed through the ruins of the human base looking for something to fight he heard the sounds of gun fire not to far away. The running Predacon turned sharply, his legs joints groaning a little under the strain, as he raced towards the sounds of the fighting. He wasn't even bothering to consider who or what was doing the fighting all he knew was there was a potential enemy to fight. He weaved his way through the buildings, smashing through the shattered walls that were to weak to stop him. His optics were fixed on trying to find his prey.

He rounded a corner just into to see the Autobot Sunstreaker transform and roar towards Swindle. Rampage had heard of this vain and potentially dangerous Autobot before. Perhaps he would be a worthy opponent! The Predacon kicked into full speed as he raced towards him, he passed between two builds allowing him to pull up next to the charging Autobot. Although Sunstreaker was clearly faster the Predacon had just enough time to pull up next to him and attempt to ram his right side as hard as he could into the left side of the Autobot.

Area 51

From the tremendous force he had flung Frenzy with, Pipes could just see as the Decepticon flew through the air and collided with Runabout, knocking him off his crash course towards Arcee. That was one down, but one still to go, as Rumble literally tore into him with several shots form his laser rifles. The bolts scorched and tore into the Autobot’s backside with little he could do about it but work through the pain.

Bringing himself up from off the ground, he turned to face his attacker and said,

“You’ve got a mouth on you for such a little guy. Guess I should wash it out!”

Raising his arms, his exhaust pipes emitted two streams of thick, black gas. They grew in mass and form, eventually becoming one large cloud bearing down on Rumble. The gas itself was a corrosive composite that tore through metal alloys if used consecutively for a long period of time. Pipes knew it wouldn’t do any long-term damage, but it would provide him some cover. However, while continued to emit his gas, he was unaware of the small wounds left in his back.

~*~*~*~

After firing upon the Autobot warrior, Swindle could see how Sunstreaker’s expression soured following the bit of minor scuffs and scrapes he had taken from his last attack. He ducked just in time for the last shots fired to whip past just the surface of his shoulder plating and saw as the Autobot transformed in mid-charge towards him. The Decepticon prepared his scatter blaster to fire another round, but it seemed that Sunstreaker may have been too fast for him.

However, as Swindle prepared himself, he saw coming from the distance a large form heading towards his position. It seemed to be an organic creature at first, but saw it to be large for any animal that was native to this region, let alone the planet, and it radiated no body heat. At first he was prepared to fire upon it as well, but it was then that he saw the creature try to ram into Sunstreaker that he held back.

“Why look a gift beast in the mouth?” He mused to himself. With his scatter blaster at the ready, Swindle took aim and fired upon Sunstreaker's right, hoping to hit him from the opposite side of where he was being attacked by Rampage.

(OOC: This will be my final post for Trailbreaker.)

Near Area 51

The battle with Astrotrain had been swift and deadly. Trailbreaker only got in one good hit, and that was all. The triplechanger, on the other hand, got in several powerful strikes to the face plate, to the gut and finally to ‘Breaker’s already damaged back. That last blow severed his primary circuit cord, sending the defensive stategist face first to the desert floor, unable to move or to feel anything from his mid-torso down to his feet. Then there was that one final kick to his side to make sure the crippled Autobot wasn’t getting back up.

Trailbreaker knew he would lose, of course. His energy levels had dipped too low and even with Wheeljack’s capping device, his high fuel consumption had still been a problem. Therefore, he knew he had no chance of winning this match. Astrotrain may be injured, as well, but he was still in much better shape than the black mech. ‘Breaker’s main goal was only to keep the triplechanger’s attention away from Smokescreen long enough so that Aftershot could help free his friend.

As the last bit of energy drained from him and his systems began shutting down, Trailbreaker watched as Aftershot stood between Astrotrain and Smokescreen. The battle would continue without the defensive stategist now and would hopefully end with his friends being victorious. Confident that he had done his job successfully, Trailbreaker let himself go and he slowly fell into stasis lock.

********

I have to do something, Smokescreen thought as Trailbreaker was being pummeled by Astrotrain. The diversion expert began digging around his right leg faster and faster, trying to free it. “Come on, frag it! Come on!” Eventually, he was able to move his leg a little more and he started shifting it from side to side and then pulling it straight back with all the strength he could muster. Finally, his foot gave way and was free of the boulder. “At last!”

Smokescreen quickly swung his free leg around towards his laser rifle that was lying just out of reach. He’d previously had no luck in getting it with his hands, but his leg was longer and closer to it. The first try was unsuccessful. Smokey then shifted his body to the side and flung his leg out again towards his weapon. This time his foot landed right on top of it and he quickly drug it back towards himself.

Reaching down he grabbed his rifle in his hand and pointed it directly at the top of the boulder where the crack had formed. Shielding his optics with his other forearm, Smokey fired several blasts into the crack, causing it to open up and spread rapidly down the rock. One more shot blew the boulder wide open, covering the Autobot with bits of debris and freeing his left leg.

Now able to help his comrades, Smokescreen carefully got to his feet. His legs were a little sore and dented from being pinned, but were otherwise okay. Although, he wouldn't be running a marathon anytime soon, it would have been far worse had the boulder fallen directly on him.

Smokey looked over to Trailbreaker who was now lying motionless on the ground, having lost the battle. “Trailbreaker!” The diversion expert staggered to his friend’s side as Aftershot kept Astrotrain occupied with more laserfire. Kneeling down, Smokey turned the black mech over. “Breaker! You okay?! Breaker! No…” He shook his friend, looking for any signs of movement. But it was too late and Smokey knew it. Trailbreaker was in stasis lock and only Ratchet was capable of bringing him back.

With a fury that Smokescreen seldom felt, the red and blue Autobot stood and turned towards Astrotrain. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Trailbreaker!” And with that, Smokescreen silently raised his weapon and opened fire on the triplechanger.

Area 51

Wheeljack grunted as his head snapped back from the force of Soundwave's kick. For a moment his visions suddenly cut out as his processor was knocked around. He put a hand on his head as he let his senses restore themselves and then found himself staring down the business end of the Decepticons weapon. Wheeljack was starting to wonder how he was going to get out of this one when he heard Bumblebee yell from the other side of the chamber as he opened fire. Soundwave dove for cover as a result and Wheeljack used the distraction to haul himself out of the hole and load his shell launcher and sent a high explosive round towards the Decepticons hiding place as the engineer sought out his own cover.

Seconds later Bumblebee went down as he wrestled with Ravage. The Cassetticon scrapped gouges in the yellow minibots armour as the two struggled. Bumblebee attemtped to roll on top of Ravage, trying to use his greater weight to either crush him or gain momentum to toss him off as they rolled. Though even if he did manage to get Ravage off of him he still wasn't sure how he was going to deal with him, the Decepticon was faster then he was and bumblebee wasn't sure if he could beat the smaller mech.

Both Bumblebee and Wheeljack were wondering how they were going to get out of the situation they found themselves in. Although Wheeljack was a skilled and capable warrior, Soundwave was a very dangerous opponent and any misstep could be his end. It was then that the debris that had buried him began to shake and then with a roar it erupted scattering shards of metal all over.

"GRIMLOCK!"

Snarl screamed as the clearly enraged Dinobot burst from his prison in robot mode. His anger filled optics scanned the area looking for somthing, and then they settled on Soundwave.

"You'll do."

With his energo sword drawn the massive Dinobot gave a loud roar as he charged the Decepticon.

Above Area 51

Not much after Thundercracker had fired one of his drone rockets after Sideswipe, the situation on the battlefield began changing rapidly. Grimlock, the leader of the notorious Dynobots who had disappeared for milleanias dug out of the hole in the ground where the ruins of the largest fleshling installation on the area remained. And only fractions of seconds laters, five incoming orbital bounces brought perhaps the most feared of Megatron's elite units on the battlefield - the Predacons.

With so many new combatants joining the fray, Thundercracker felt no need to go to help any of his comrades, choosing instead to make sure he dropped Sideswipe off the skies. He watched in amusement as the Autobot tried to avoid his drone rocket by firing his way through one of the fleshling buildings. Sure, Sideswipe was fast for an Autobot but the rocket was faster. Also the the line of explosions his sensors calculated from inside the building appeared to be too direct for the rocket to lose itself in the building. Everything seemed to go just as he had wanted until the Autobot made a tight turn inside the building just before blasting out of the end of the building. Soon a violent explosion followed and the building crumbled down to the ground as the rocket, unable to make such a tight turn while travelling as fast as it had - exploded.

Cursing, Thundercracker dove down towards the red Autobot with his lasers blasting, carefully securing a position behind the Autobot while trying avoid hitting Needlenose who had appeared as suddenly as the Predacons bit earlier.

Area 51

Astrotrain hit the dirt as Aftershot took another strafing run at him. So much for Decepticon air superiority. Where the slag were the seekers anyone? Aerial elite his aft! He was definitely going to knock some heads together when this mission was over. It was an embarrassment how this Autobot could just strafe him like this.

At least this time he was a little more prepared. He only got a partial dose on his back instead of the full thing. Still, with the damage he’d already taken he was now seriously hurting. He could feel some energon leaking out of his back from one of the wounds that had penetrated his armor. He was going to have to make this quick.

The triplechanger staggered up on to his feet and once again began trudging over towards Smokescreen. He growled as he saw the annoying Aftershot land between him and his target. He exchanged fire with the Autobot, taking more hits, this time to his front armor. Astrotrain knew that if he could get close enough to the much smaller Bot he could just crush him with his bare hands.

After a few steps he was close enough to take a swing at Aftershot. He lashed out with his left fist at the Autobots face. Unfortunately after taking his shot, Smokescreen opened fire on him. Astrotrain wasn’t prepared for that additional fire and it caught him unprepared and right in the chest and head. The Decepticon dropped to his knees with a grunt before falling face first on the ground in stasis lock, the energon leakage and damage finally proving too much for him.

********

Rumble laughed as Pipes began spewing gas at him. “What’s wrong Autobot, ya eat some bad energon?” He was still laughing when the gas overtook him. He stopped laughing when he saw it start eating away at his outer armor. “Hey, what the frag is this stuff?!” He started backing out of the cloud, firing randomly into it.

“Screw this slag! I ain’t gonna be eaten by some Bot toxic cloud! Once I find Frenzy we’re gonna pound you into the ground Autobot!” With that the cassetticon scurried off to find his twin.

*******

Sunstreaker was doing fine getting to slam into Swindle. At this point his paint job was ruined so that didn’t matter and he doubted running over the weakling would do much damage to him. Hopefully he’d just tear him off right at the knees. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about chasing him down later.

Just as he was approaching the arms dealer something slammed into him on the right. He was sent skidding and swerving to the left, right into a shot from Swindle. The Autobot warrior cursed as he transformed and came to a halt. It would take two Decepticons to fight him on close to even terms. That was fine with him. Fighting just Swindle alone wasn’t going to be any sort of challenge.

He looked over at Rampage. “I don’t know what you’re supposed to be, other than ugly, but you just rammed the wrong slagging Autobot!” With that Sunstreaker leapt at the Predacon, trying to grab a hold of his back while he was still in his alternate mode. He figured if he could hang on to him with one hand he could use the other to punch the Decepticon repeatedly while he couldn’t do much in reply without giving him some sort of opening. That’s what he hoped at least.

*******

Megatron smiled as Prime easily dodged his blast, just as he knew he would. They had been through this dance enough times; they both knew each other’s moves. It would come down to close combat, as it always did. It was as it should be. There were none better at that type of combat then the Decepticon leader. It was what he had been training to do before there ever was an ‘Optimus’ Prime. It was how he had risen through the ranks of the underground gladiator matches, how he had forged the Decepticons and began his conquest of Cybertron and beyond. Primes had already fallen before his might, Optimus would some day join them.

The two Transformers collided with tremendous force as Prime tackled Megatron. The fusion cannon and rifle went flying as the two leaders smashed into each other. The force of the impact sent them both hurtling back, the two of them exchanging blows as they went. Optimus delivered a vicious punch to Megatron’s head. Megatron returned with a punch to Prime’s stomach. They landed on the ground with a crash, Prime trying to pin Megatron to the ground. The Decepticon wedged his legs between them and kicked the Autobot flying off of him.

The Decepticon climbed back to his feet laughing. “Yes, this is how it should be. You have the courage your predecessor’s lacked Prime. That is why you have lasted so much longer than them, but your end will come Optimus, at my hands.” With that Megatron slid his right hand into his arm, exchanging it for a specialized laser emitter. The device activated creating a purple energy mace. Megatron charged the Autobot leader, the deadly weapon twirling in the air, aimed to tear his opponents head clean off.

Area 51

Aftershot had been backing off from Astrotrain when the large Decepticon suddenly surged forward and struck him across the face plate, snapping the Autobots head to the side and sent him spinning to the ground. His vision flickered and his processor felt like it had partially scrambled for a moment as he spun to the ground. He landed with a thud, the left side of his face plate dented from the impact of Astrotain's punch, and it appeared he would need Ratchet to recalibrate the sensory input for his left optic once he got back to base. However, other then that the damage wasn't to bad, the aim in his left cannon might be off though.

The Autobot suddenly jumped back to his feet, knowing full well he had a 'Con ready to tear him limb from limb, and unfortunately for the smaller Aftershot close combat wasn't really his strong suit. However, once he was back on his feet he saw that Smokescreen had managed to free himself, was on his feet and fighting! He watched as the defensive strategist put two shots into Astrotrain, one to his head the other his chest. Energon sputtered from the gaping wounds as the 'Con stumbled a pit and then fell forward, stasis locked.

"That was some fine shooting 'Screen." Aftershot said as he walked up beside his fellow Autobot, looking down at the fallen Astrotrain. "I think you just saved my aft from thrashing that would of required Ratchet to rebuild it with parts from my face!"

The flier then offered a salute to his comrade and transformed, taking off into the skies once more, circling the area to see if anyone else needed his help.

* * *

The hit Rampage gave Sunstreaker caused sparks to fly and the sound of metal screeching filled the air as the Autobot careened off to the left. The Predacon suddenly halted his charge, skidding to a stop and turning to face the yellow 'Bot as he transformed. The Autobot muttered something that he probably thought was intimidating, but Rampage ignored him as any blustering from an Autobot was beneath his notice. Then Sunstreaker leaped at him just as the Predacon began to transform, but still managed to catch his back before he was fully in robot mode. Rampage was impressed, this Autobot clearly had courage, even if he was reckless and fool hardy to challenge one of the Predacons so directly.

"Yes!" Rampage bellowed with a laugh. "Prove to me your worth! Prove you are a worthy foe deserving of the honour to die at a Predacon's hands!"

As Sunstreaker clinged to Rampage's back he managed to land several blows against the larger Predacon. Rampage had come looking for a good fight and it seemed he had gotten one. He was thrilled, it wasn't often he got his way. He then reached back with his clawed fingers, trying to grab a hold of Suntreaker, to allow his claws to dig into the Autobot's armour and then try to throw him off.

Area 51

When Sideswipe exited the building he had hoped the sharp turn on his way out would destroy Thundercracker’s drone missile, and it had. He sighed with relief as he made his way around the building and back up into the air. Just as he gained some altitude he heard something above him. Had he eyes he would have rolled them at the cliché speech given by Needlenose.

“Well then, let’s just see how you like this!”

As he finished his sentence the crimson warrior inverted himself and reaches out with both hands in an attempt to grasp onto the front end of the Decepticon. His hopes were to latch onto Needlenose and use him as barrier between him and Thundercracker’s laser fire.

_________________________________________________________________________________________


A flash made its way to Razorclaw’s visor as he saw the Dinobot leader land in front of him. Grimlock and his men were thought by both factions to be gone for good, as was Shockwave. To have such a worthy opponent appear out of a hole in the ground was no surprise for the Predacon commander. He would find it most satisfying to dispatch the former gladiator once and for all.

“Ah, Grimlock. We all thought you were lost to the sands of time. It’s no surprise to find you here on this mudball. You always did enjoy wallowing in the dreck. “

Razorclaw brought up his vibrating sonic sword to block Grimlock’s swing. After the Dinobot followed through Razorclaw chuckled.

“Your aim is somewhat lacking.”

He brought his sword to bear and slashed at the chest plate of Grimlock. The Tyrannosaurus like mech jumped away in time. Grimlock then lunged forward his sword out for another strike. Razorclaw did the same, pulses of light and energy spewed from both weapons as they made contact.

“Grrrrr! I’ll strip you of your skin and place it on my wall as a trophy!”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________


“Not at your hands, Megatron. Not by any Decepticon.”

Optimus Prime Withdrew his hand and out emerged his own laser emmiter. From it his energy ax appeared. As Megatron made his way to the Autobot commader Prime put the ax up to block the mace’s blow. As the weapons collided Optimus grabbed Megatron’s free hand drawing the slagmaker closer making it easier for him to knee his opposite in the abdomen.

Megatron pulled his arm fee and swung his mace down on Prime’s shoulder causing dents and pieces of armor plating to chip away. Optimus winced as he brought his ax down in an arch hoping to catch Megatron’s won shoulder.

“You won’t win this fight or this planet, Megatron. I’ll make sure of that!”

Area 51

Divebomb was finally where he loved to be most. He was flying high above the battlefield, looking down over the ruins of the human installation at all the potential targets below. He had so many to choose from that he didn’t know where to begin. It was always a tough decision. Which Autobot should I take out first? Divebomb thought to himself. They were everywhere, scurrying about like cyber ants. But, he always liked having a wide range of targets and today was no different.

It wasn’t long before he noticed a sight he did not expect to see. Grimlock was climbing out of the large crater in the ground below! Grimlock?! How did he get here? Divebomb was a bit perplexed at this revelation. But, no matter. At least now the Predacons had some real adversaries to fight and not just the typical Autobot rank and file. It made sense that if Grimlock was there, then the other Dinobots were not far behind. Which means my old rival Swoop is down there somewhere, as well. This could be interesting. If Swoop was there, he would have to wait. Divebomb had other Autobots to destroy first.

The Predacon circled the battle zone one more time before finally zeroing in on his first victim. It was the thick black cloud of gas that drew his attention to the small blue and silver mech. He didn’t know the Autobot’s name, and he didn’t really care either. He just wanted something to destroy and this one fit the bill nicely.

Divebomb quickly came into attack position, angling down towards his target. Once his weapons were locked on, the Predacon opened fire on the minibot called Pipes.

*******

Smokescreen watched as his blasts struck Astrotrain in the chest and head. The triplechanger fell to the ground and was in stasis lock before Smokey realized what had happened. He was a bit surprised that his shots had taken down such a big Decepticon, but he also knew that Astrotrain had already endured many hits. And if it hadn’t been for Aftershot, it could very well have been Smokey in stasis lock, instead.

Aftershot then walked up to Smokescreen and complimented him on his shooting. The diversion expert glanced over at the Autobot flier and smiled. “I try. And thank you for helping me. That would’ve been me in stasis lock if it weren’t for you. I owe you one.” Smokey then returned a salute to Aftershot before the flier took to the skies once more.

His smile quickly fading, Smokescreen turned to look down at Trailbreaker. “I just wished I could’ve saved you, my friend,” Smokey whispered to his fallen comrade. “Just hang in there. Ratchet will have you back up and running in no time.” And with that, Smokescreen then headed out across the battlefield looking for his next Decepticon target.

*******

In the skies overhead, Skywarp had finally made it back to Area 51 and found the battle to be a bit different then he had left it. The Autobots had outnumbered the Decepticons before, but now the Predacons were here to even the odds. On top of that, Grimlock had crawled his way out of the big hole in the ground and was fighting Razorclaw. What an interesting fight that will be, he thought to himself. Too bad I’ll miss it. But I have other matters to attend to, namely finding that Autobot flier! No one humiliates me like that and gets away with it!

Skywarp scanned the area for any signs of Aftershot. At first, he couldn’t locate him. Divebomb, Needlenose and Thundercracker were the only other aircraft he detected. Probably hiding from me. Coward. However, the Autobot flier soon appeared, soaring back into the sky from the ground. Ahhhh, there you are! Time for some payback!

The black and purple seeker banked sharply to his left and headed straight for Aftershot. Coming up behind him, Skywarp shouted, “Hey, punk! Remember me?! How about a rematch?!” Skywarp then locked on to Aftershot’s exhausts and fired two heat-seeking missiles directly at him.

Area 51

Needlenose was just as surprised at Thundercracker's appearance on the scene as the Seeker was at his. He quickly adjusted his own trajectory to try and stay out of the line of fire, which left him momentarily too distracted to properly dodge Sideswipe as the Autobot suddenly moved towards him.

"I wouldn't have cut in if I'd known that... hey!" He was interrupted as he suddenly found himself with a new red ornament attached to his nosecone, and started weaving slightly. "Totally invading my personal space, dude! And clashing with my paint job, too."

He grumbled slightly as he dropped the charge on his elecrostatic rifle. There was no way he could hit the Autobot in this position without zapping himself in the process, after all. Instead, he went into a barrel roll as he kept heading straight, hoping to disorient Sideswipe at the very least. And if that didn't work out... "Yo! Thundercracker! You wanna pick off this parasite with some ace shootin', or should I scrape 'im off someplace?"

Area 51

Seeing Rumble caught in the thick cloud of gas, Pipes was rather pleased with himself. Deactivating his exhaust systems, the Autobot checked his laser pistol, preparing to march on after the Decepticon and his twin partner before they had a chance to recover from the trashing he had given them. But before he could have a chance to do so, he saw an odd black shadow on the ground, growing larger and larger.

Before he had time to realize what was happening, the enemy was upon him! Divebomb had released his array of missiles that struck the Autobot’s rear flank. The ground erupted in a shower of exploded rock and debris, sending Pipes flying right through the air and crashing some distance in front of him. With his face in the dirt once again, he tried to get up.

“Ugh… what was that just hit me? Came out of nowhere it did.” Pipes mumbled to himself, placing both his hands on the ground to propel himself up. However when he tried, he suddenly felt a great pain in his backside, “What?”

Again Pipes tried to stand, but the pain only returned, this time much more fiercely. Surely it wasn’t just from the sudden sneak attack? Running a diagnostic on himself, the Autobot was shocked to discover that part of his servos were damaged and non-responsive. Further, he detected trace amounts of corrosive material still in the air around him.

“Oh no,” He said, “not again, not now.” As it had happened before in times past, Pipes’ toxic gases, his signature tool and weapon, had worked his way into his systems through minor wounds previously inflicted and were now terribly hampering him. Effectively stricken down and struggling to stand up, he tried to turn onto his side to see his attacker. He looked up into the air to see the great, winged form of Divebomb hovering above and without little else thought fired vainly at him with his laser pistol.

“You won’t take me so easily, scum!”

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

As Rampage had rammed Sunstreaker directly into the path of his attack, Swindle looked very pleased with himself. The Autobot had taken a pretty nasty shot, but still he seemed content to fight on. However, as he transformed, his attention was now focused upon that of the other Decepticon facing him. It was only when Sunstreaker charged and did the Predacon transform to announce himself did the arms dealer recognize him.

“Rampage? The Predacons are here?” Swindle smirked to himself, “Today has just been full of surprises. Now then, what to do…?”

As he looked to see the Autobot and Predacon locked in battle, Swindle had to consider his options. Now would be the right moment to slink away, before any unwanted fire was sent his way. This Autobot warrior was very fierce, even by Decepticon standards, and he had all about he could stand of him. And Rampage was even worse; no chance would he come out of a fight clean between the two of them.

However, he was no doubt already in hot oil, what with his strike upon Megatron, accident thought it were; a retreat would not look well upon his already blemished record. Further, if he were to aide Rampage in battle, perhaps he, and his Predacon ilk would look him upon favorably. In all his times of battle, Swindle had always found it best to keep as many ‘deals’ as he could. And besides, it certainly wasn’t becoming to abandon a comrade in arms, he thought to himself, a wry grin on his face.

Standing his ground from where Sunstreaker and Rampage fought, Swindle readied himself. Instead of again using his scatter blaster, the Decepticon prepped his gyro gun for an attack. Bringing his weapon to bare, he aimed for the Autobot’s backside and fired a shot. With just the right aim, that target’s systems of balance would be attacked, leaving him severely immobilized.

Outside Area 51

By the time Runabout has any idea of whats happened, its too late. Frenzy impacts the right side of his vehicle mode with a loud THUD! Runabout is sent flipping sideways threw the air, impacting the desert terrain tumbling.

"Ow, my achin'' everything!" Runabout exclaims as he transforms.
"Watch where you're going squirt. I gotta admit short stuff, you sure pack a wallop." Runabout says to the unimpressed Frenzy as he picks himself up.

While his exterior is battered and scratched, other than damage to his feet from his rough landing earlier, Runabout thinks he is in fairly good condition, but he is now walking with a pronounced limp having blown out the actuators in his ankles.. Observing the battlefield he notices the downed Pipes and should take the advantage, but he needs a more sporting time, lest boredom sink its deadly roots. Runabout carefully lines up a shot at Arcee with his Particle Beam Rifle.

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

Runamuck knows he's in trouble. The last hit from Arcee did a lot more damage than it looked like, coupled with the previous shots he absorbed, Runamuck looks like he's been in a worse wreck than usual. Knowing he must do something desperate to save his skid plates, he must take the offensive with this annoying fembot. In about half a second Runamuck is on his back in his robot mode, attacking the pesky warrior princess in front of him.

"I'll send you to the smelting pool!!" Runamuck screams at Arcee, blasting at her arms with his Friction Rifle, deciding to go for her favorite points to attack.

Area 51

Smokescreen was the Autobots’ diversionary tactician. His job was to divert the enemy’s attention away from his comrades. It’s a function that required more brains than brawn, and Smokey was certainly not the strongest Autobot by any means. His encounter with Astrotrain had left him tired and battered, especially his legs. They had been pinned underneath a boulder for several cycles and were a bit more banged up than Smokey had cared to admit, even to himself.

The Autobot’s walk was more of a hobble now as the pain in his legs worsened. He stopped and peered around the battlefield. He saw that the Predacons had arrived to reinforce the Decepticon ranks. But that was not all. None other than Grimlock, himself, had appeared from beneath Area 51 and was already locked in combat with Razorclaw. The other Dinobots must be here, too, probably still down in that hole, Smokey surmised. I wonder if they were the Cybertronian technology that the humans had along with Shockwave. It would make sense.

Smokescreen considered engaging one of the Predacons, but in his current state that would be unwise. They were an elite force to be reckoned with and would make short work of him. Maybe if he were operating at full capacity he might stand a chance, but not now. Smokey needed to find an opponent he could handle.

It was then he noticed that Arcee was still having trouble with the two battle chargers. She currently had her hands full with the white one, but his brother Runabout was nearby, having just recovered from a collision with Frenzy. The black mech had a severe limp and was getting ready to fire at Arcee in an attempt to double team her. I don’t think so.

Smokescreen transformed into his race car mode so he could give his legs a rest and have more mobility. Deploying his laser rifle from his headlight, the red and blue Autobot took off at full speed towards Runabout, his lasers blasting away at the wounded battle charger.

*******

Divebomb was pleased with himself. His lasers had found their mark and knocked Pipes a good distance from where he once stood. It always made the flying Predacon happier when he eliminated his target. Nothing felt better to him, not even a full can of energon.

Divebomb was about to move on to another target when he felt the sting of a laser hitting his left wing. He checked his limb and found no real damage, but his good mood was now gone as more lasers shot by him. He looked down to see that the source of the blasts was from the very Autobot he thought he had just taken out. Apparently, this small minibot was tougher than he had anticipated.

Now feeling a bit of anger, Divebomb transformed to robot mode and landed by the blue and silver mech. “Time to die, Autobot,” the winged Predacon growled as he stood over his prey. Divebomb then drew out his sword and quickly swung it down at Pipes in an attempt to eviscerate him.

Area 51

Aftershot had barely gotten back into the air when he detected Skywarp back up and running again and closing in on him! This was already turning into a full day, he was used to being out numbered in the air, but the sky was getting a little crowded with Thundercracker and now Needlenose in the fray. Of course he wasn't alone up here, Sideswipe had that handy jet pack that allowed him to get involved in some aerial combat.

"Oh it's you!" Aftershot said to Skywarp. "I've been so busy dealing with other, more important targets I completely forgot about how easy I had left in the dirt back there. I figured you would be to busy picking rocks out of your exhaust ports to get back up here any time soon."

Aftershot turned to face Skywarp head on. He locked on with his missiles on the seeker and let one drop away and launch, its contrail tracing its path through the air. He then followed up with a blast of his laser cannons. He had learned long ago that the best way to deal with the Cons in the air was to keep hammering at them, and to not even give them an inch to relax. He also found it was a good idea to attack their egos, Seekers and other Decepticon fliers were often so arrogant and secure in their dominance of the skies they over rated themselves, and any Autobot pilot capable of tangling with them could gain a psychological advantage by talking down to them.

>>Hey Sideswipe what do you say we team up to try and take down these Decepticon airheads? Two Bot's are better then one if you ask me.<<

Over Area 51

Skywarp couldn’t help but laugh at the foolishness of Aftershot as he dared to turn and face the seeker head on. Had the Autobot flier not noticed the two heat-seeking missiles that ‘Warp had just fired directly at him? It was either a wondrous display of courage or a perfect example of carelessness.

“Silly Autobot! You just turned directly at my missiles. You must have a death wish or perhaps you think that just because you got lucky back there that you think you’re invincible now. Your newfound confidence will be your downfall. I will enjoy watching you explode into a millions pieces!! Ha ha ha!!”

Skywarp then blasted Aftershot’s oncoming missile with his lasers, causing a large midair explosion that left the seeker shaken and a bit scorched. As the fireworks subsided and more laser fire came his way, ‘Warp decided to pull up and back, watching from a safe distance as his two heat-seeking missiles continued to close in on the Autobot flier.

Area 51

As he watched the pair of missiles come streaking towards him, Aftershot racked his processor trying to figure out how to avoid them. Even if he shut off his engines to try and force the missiles to lock onto another heat source, which was likely given how many other jets were up here, considering how close they were to him it was unlikely, since his thrusters would still be hot from firing them so much. No, that wouldn't work and he would fall like a stone, not being able to fly in robot mode was really starting to get annoying. The Autobot flier had one option left. He had to try and trick them into hitting something else or each other, and he only saw one way of doing that.

Aftershot kicked his engines to full power and he flew straight towards the missiles. This was going to be tricky, but he had no other option. At the very last second he turned up on his side and transformed, firing his engines to give him a final burst of speed. He barely slipped between the missiles, but he had not calculated how quickly they would turn, and into each other. He had barely passed by them when the two heat seekers collided and exploded. A large fireball burst in mid air, and consumed Aftershot, and it appeared he had been overwhelmed by it. However, at the last second Aftershot appeared in his alternate form from the fire ball, his armour scorched, dented and badly melted in some areas. Although he was still capable of flying and fighting, he didn't look in the best shape.

As he pulled up sharply he brought himself in behind Skywarp, dropping his sights over the aft end of the 'Con, lasers firing.

"Really? Is that what the great, and mighty elite Seeker Corps is reduced to? Popping off a few missiles and then turning and running? Well guess what now you got a real fight on your hands, so lets go tin face!"

Aftershot was out for blood now, he was pouring out withering stream of fire at Skywarp, knowing full well he had to take him out quickly or he wouldn't last long in his present condition.

Over Area 51

Thundercracker was getting agitated. Not only was Sideswipe mocking the Decepticons air superiority, he was also tied too many Decepticon flyers to himself - effectively removing them from giving support to their comrades on the battlefield.

>>"I'll take a shot at him but I can't guarantee I can drop him without blowing up you as well so you will have to deal with the rest."<< The blue seeker replied to Needlenose through his comm-link. With Needlenose being informed of what was to come, Thundercracker accelerated to reach the other Decepticon, transformed into robot form and unloaded several dozen of his incendiary rounds on Sideswipe's back - with the Autobot's jetpack taking most of the punishment and likely saving the Autobot's life despite of being partially molten beyond repair.

"You have outlived your welcome Sideswipe!" Thundercracker bellowed, transformed again to his jetfighter mode, pulled away from Needlenose to avoid retaliation from Sideswipe incase the Autobot was still in condition to do so and soared off towards Skywarp's position. >>"He is yours Needlenose."<<

Over Area 51

Thundercracker wrote:>>"I'll take a shot at him but I can't guarantee I can drop him without blowing up you as well so you will have to deal with the rest."<<

>>"No worries, I'm hip. You work 'im over, I'll peel off what's left."<<

Needlenose stopped his roll and levelled out his flight path to give Thundercracker as clean a shot as possible. The heat that the incendiary rounds gave off was uncomfortable, but it sure beat having an Autobot attached to him. It'd also hopefully help teach the Autobots to leave the flying to the Decepticons.

When the barrage was finished, Needlenose watched as Thundercracker transformed again and flew off to other parts of the battle.

Thundercracker wrote:>>"He is yours Needlenose."<<

"Right on, TC, you're the mech!" He made a little shake as a gesture as he switched to addressing Sideswipe. "You ready to finish this dance, Autobot?"

Area 51

Sunstreaker grunted as he slammed into the now transformed Rampage. He had been hoping to catch him in his alternate mode, but this would have to do. As he clung to the larger Decepticon’s back and landed some solid blows on him Sunstreaker did overhear his prattlings.

So the Predacons were on Earth? That was fine with him. They were supposed to be Megatron’s personal ‘elite’ team. At the very least they should prove to be more of a fight than the pitiful arms merchant. They were still no match for him, but at least they would give him a work out.

The Autobot warrior was still punching Rampage when the Predacon began trying to pry him off of his back. Sunstreaker was doing his best to avoid the Decepticon’s clutches until Swindle shot him in the back with his gyro gun. With his center of balance completely thrown off he could do little more than flail about until Rampage finally grabbed hold of him and flung him off of his back. He crashed into the ground a short distance away, still discombobulated from Swindle’s blast.

Sunstreaker rolled up onto his knees, not recovered enough to stand up again. So even the elite soldiers needed help in taking him down? It didn’t really surprise him much. The Predacons probably just got by more on reputation then anything else. They hadn’t fought the best of the Autobots. They’d never fought him.

That said he was in a bit of a bind now. There were two of them and both of them were liable to open up on him now, or Rampage would just try to pin him down while Swindle poured fire down on him. He wasn’t about to let that happen. He pulled out his own rifle and opened up on both Decepticons with a full automatic spray of shots. It might not be the most accurate fire, but when you could put out as much firepower as quickly as he could, it didn’t need to be perfectly accurate. Hopefully it would buy him a little time to recover.

**

Soundwave rolled away from the blast as Wheeljack’s explosive shell detonated. He took some damage from the shrapnel but luckily avoided the brunt of the blast. He returned fire with his concussion blaster, getting off a couple of blasts before the Autobot found shelter behind some cover.

The Decepticon took in the situation. The odds were currently in his favor. Ravage was superior to the minibot and he was a more capable fighter than Wheeljack. He would feel more comfortable if he had more of his minions with him. While he felt confident in the situation now success would be achieved quicker and with less personal damage to himself with their assistance. Then there was the possibility of other Dinobots being reactivated, which would change the entire scenario. He needed to move quickly.

The communications expert was just arming his mini-rocket launcher when Snarl burst out from under the wreckage. With that the entire situation was changed. At his best he might be able to take down the Dinobot, but it would have to be a distance battle, using his firepower and avoiding a toe to toe battle. It was the type of battle not conducive to their current cramped surroundings. There was only one alternative.

Soundwave launched a barrage of his mini-rockets at the charging Dinobot to distract him. He then leapt into the air, flying towards the hole in the roof. He was not as foolish or reckless as other Decepticons to fight to the death. It was better to retreat and fight again another day. Besides, he was far too valuable to Megatron to die in such a way.

“Ravage!”

The cassetticon had scored some early hits on Bumblebee. The Decepticon slipped away when the minibot tried to pin him down. He’d fought enough larger opponents to know how to avoid that move. He was preparing to strike at him again when Snarl burst from the ground and Soundwave summoned him. With a last growl and Snarl he leapt into the air, following Soundwave up to and through the hole and onto the surface.