TERMINATION...IMMINENT
Part One
By Snowblaze
Snowy's notes: Snowblaze and BW Prowl are my copyrights. While Slasher Red is the copyright of Nibblix. Snowstalker is Wes' character. All other BW characters are the sole copyrights of Mainframe, Alliance, Hasbro, etc. This and all my other fics are for entertainment only. Please no suing.
This fic is directly after Confessions of Darkness. It's time span is right after the last events in that fic. Prowl and Tigatron are bringing in Optimus and Snowblaze. Read on to see how this saga concludes, this is in three parts.
The man lift came up with a shift of steam. On it was a Siberian white tiger with the downed Maximal commander on his back. Optimus groaned as he felt the ride on the man-lift come to a jittery halt. Moving into the command centre more fully, Tigatron was able to edge the black and red commander on to the command table so that he could transform. With a roar, Tigatron flipped forward and soon was standing in his robot mode, he was pretty beat up himself compared to his downed leader. Although Optimus needed immediate repairs or he'd go into permanent status lock. There was a slight problem though, as Tigatron went over to the CR chamber he noticed the red lights surrounding it, signifying that it was in heavy repair sequences and still had about two mega cycles left to go on it. The white Maximal peered in through the glass worried, he knew Airazor was still recovering over what injuries Snowblaze had earlier inflicted on her. The femme was laying with her optics switched off, much of the damage had been repaired but still she needed to get her vital circuits back to maximum working order or she would struggle out in the open.
Tigatron stepped back and he shook his head a bit, his CPU working at a furious pace to try and configure what to do, he could hold out on his injuries, but Optimus was leaking quite a considerable amount of energon from the torpedo blast to his shoulder. The commander groaned as he tried to power himself up. The tiger's attention darted at his leader's attempts and tried to make sure he didn't hurt himself any further. Rhinox was still in the medbay, that's where they had to head for immediate manual repairs. Placing his hands underneath Primal's shoulders and supporting him over his back, Tigatron started to head over to right corridor, leading to the repair bay. Optimus moaned with pain, and the white tiger grunted from the strain which the commander's weight presented. Still the two held out and made their way to where Rhinox currently was with Slasher Red and the newly restored Dinobot.
*****
Outside the Axalon the winds were blowing quickly, the energon storms were settling down but some remnants remained. The sky was a dull grey, some heat lightning was flashing in the rustled sky. The surroundings of the Maximal ship were quite a wreck; fallen over trees, scorched ground, rock slides and gloomy black clouds still lingering in the sky. At the moment, they weren't the only thing within the sullen sky, a black and silver mech was gliding his way in so he could land. Supported in his arms was a dark blue and silver femme, remaining silent as she was in deep recharge. Prowl swerved his massive wingspan in so he could make a light landing a couple of meters away from the Axalon's shields.
His feet made the dust kick up as they slammed to the ground. Planting themselves firmly, allowing the owner of them to adjust himself to the feeling of being on the ground. It had been a long flight on Prowl since grid Trion had been about five quadrants away from the Axalon. Tiredly, he tucked in his wings to rest on his back, even with his field dampers to the max he still was surging pretty badly. He had to endure them for about twenty minutes while in the air, but he knew if he could hold out till he got his mate inside the base then everything would be fine with his systems. Prowl could take heavy damage, later his beast mode would effectively make repairs within a few cycles. He glanced down at his sleeping partner and a wave of relief sped through him knowing she was back to normal. Still she had quite a bit of energy drained from her systems.
"Sentinel, stand down."
Complying the computer within the ship let down the defenses and Prowl made his way over to the man-lift, already down and waiting for them. He stepped on to the device and it began to bring the two lovers into the base. Snowy's wings had been sagging off her back and as they entered the main command room, her primary feather tips just barely swept along the floor, although they did make contact with the front of Prowl's lower legs. As another surge raced through the black and silver male, it jolted into Snowblaze. She let a slight moan escape her vocals and she flickered her optics on groggily. Prowl smiled down at her and he headed over to their computer console, letting her ease herself to sit in a console chair.
Her hand came up to rest on her forehead, and her optics switched off. It was evident that her head hurt immensely, it should have after all the abuse it took from the black lightning in it and also her final efforts to expel it from her CPU. Prowl got down on one knee and looked her over, worry still flooding his mind. "Are you alright?"
The femme looked over at him, since he was now at the same eye level, "I've had better days, still I can't get over what images I'm seeing flash in my head. My systems feel like they'll crash at any moment." A slight throb slashed through her mind again. Snowblaze flinched violently. Her optics slammed shut and both hands came up to hold on to her head. Prowl was alarmed at this, his hands extending to rest on her forearms, wanting her to know he was feeling her pain as well. He surged again, the energon had built up quite badly in his circuits. She took notice to it though.
"Snowy you need to rest."
"Prowl..."
"Com'on I'll carry you to our quarters." Another surge went over him, her optics flashed on again to see the waves of blue flow over him.
"Prowl."
"Here let me help you up." He got to his feet, standing above her as she still remained seated.
"Prowl!!"
He stopped where he was and looked down at her with a slight look of surprise. He didn't reply but looked at her in the optics, showing he was listening to her.
"Prowl, I want you to transform."
"What? But how can I get you to..."
"Save it hon. You're surging too much. I can make it on my own. Please transform, you're worrying me."
The silver and black of his metal started to surge again and he gasped, his hand coming up to cradle his chest. He looked over at her and nodded his head at her. He didn't want her to worry about him. With a roar his beast mode came raging forward after his gears shifted and he flipped backward. She looked over at him, relief written all over her weak features. The black jaguar rushed over to her side, rubbing his head along her side. His beast mode was as tall as her as she sat in the console chair. Meaning being he was one massive cat. His wings were tucked into his back and he looked at her through a set of ice blue eyes.
"Lean yourself against me, Snow." She pushed herself up to her feet, a bit wobbly but soon she found a bit of equilibrium. She looked down at him through barely functioning optics, she was so exhausted from everything that had happened to her. The visions she remembered weren't helping her to cope either. Her hand slid along her lover's sleek muscular back, feeling his soft silky black fur as it passed along her fingers. He purred slightly, and she used her other hand to gently reward him with a quick massage of his left ear. Then she turned herself around to face the eastern corridor, leaning her weight on to the black jaguar beside her. Before they began to move, a thought crossed Prowl's mind.
"Snowy, can you transform?"
She looked over at him, "I think so, but I'm not totally sure. I can try."
Taking her support off of her mate she concentrated and began to flip backward. Prowl watched as her transform circuits tried in vain to get her beast form present. She struggled a bit, but then with the familiar roar her snow leopard form graced his optics. Instead of growling and gripping the ground with her claws like she regularly did, she groaned, closed her eyes, swayed around, lost her balance and fell sideways to lay on her side. Not moving.
"Snowy!!" He crouched down on all fours trying desperately to get her to open her eyes. Still as many times as he tried to revive her with nudges with his muzzle her systems refused to bring her back on-line. Her transformation had taken up considerable amounts of energy, in turn she couldn't deal with the strain. Without any more hesitation, Prowl got up to look around wildly for the alarm console. Seeing it on the other side of the room, he jumped on the table, disregarding the loud screech of metal as his weight bent the table off balance. He took up most of the room on the table with his beast mode. He jumped down with a loud thud, then quickly proceeded to hit the alarm switch.
"This is Prowl, I need help!! If anyone can hear me please come to the command centre!" He ran back over to his mate's side and lay himself over her gently, keeping her systems warm from the cold metal she was laying on. His body's heat radiating into her fragile state. Both his wings draped over them. He shuddered trying to hold back his worried tears, she had to be alright. Yet so much had happened to her that he could only hope she had some strength deep inside her left to survive. He shut his eyes, feeling her fuel pump beat beneath him. All he could do was wait as one tear slid down through the black fur on his face.
*****
"What the hell are you doing?" The enraged voice of Razorclaw came up over behind the black mech's shoulder. Onyx shook slightly as he tried to figure out how on Cybertron this crab had got into the secured room. He was typing through the data base, trying to find out some bit of information he needed to make sure of his own survival.
Swinging around quickly from his position in front of the computer console, the screens behind him outlining his form in a fuzzy white haze. All Onyx could respond to this intrusion was slag the living shit out of his so-called comrade. Comrades, ha, like hell these people were any of his friends. He preferred to work solo, and being a Predacon was his name sake, the only one he had to tolerate was Megatron, for he was the leader. Now as the crab was sticking his nose where it didn't belong, only sparked the internal battle rage within Onyx Primal, and the evil grinning leer came up on his features now as he was now facing the blue mech.
Razorclaw was glaring right back in his optics, and had a right to do so. For even though he was of the lower ranks, he still protected what happened to his leader's affairs, especially when it came to the personal database of Megatron. The two were within a small room off the side of the throne room, where the evil Predacon leader spent quite a considerable amount of time. For he constantly was trying to find a way to win the Beast Wars over the Maximals. Now Onyx was in his personal files, tampering with information not designed for other people's viewing. If Megatron ever had found out that the black mech had been messing around on the database he'd be one smelting pile of slag right now.
The black mech didn't even reply to the early question stated, he had to know what the leader had been conforming for his own sake, he knew that Megatron planned some missions where sometimes none of them would ever come back. That damn lunatic never gave two shits about which of his troops lived or died, it was all blind work. It was expected of the troops to live and die for the glory of the faction. That was a load of cyber bull shit. Onyx never had really trusted Megatron, yet he had to continue to serve the brute, because one he was more powerful and he was the leader of the Predacons, something which the psychic bot would never give up. The Maximals would never have his sympathy or even consider joining forces with them. Onyx had snuck into Megatron's private bureau to tap into the system, he needed to know if he was on the possible termination list. Slag the others all to the pit, he didn't care for anyone's well being but his own. A creature of the night he didn't have feelings for anyone or anything, his own survival is what mattered to him and if that had to do with obeying a tyrant, then so be it.
Someday though he vowed to escape his oppressors, never letting himself be dragged under into the "ranks" again. Being more powerful then some of the other Preds, Onyx could handle almost any situation and "team work" wasn't apart of his vocabulary. Soon though he might reconsider at the fact of who was coming to the base, Megatron and the others were heading back to base from grid Trion.
The crab bot, lowered his stance as he tried to make his way closer to this intruding mech. Razorclaw being the newest, didn't like Onyx at all and wasn't afraid to slag the crap out of him in order to keep the records and conspiracies generated by Megatron safe from temperament. The blue Predacon reached behind his back and pulled out his rifle, pointing it straight at Onyx's face. The cross-hairs of the aiming systems locked dead centre on the smirking black mech's face.
A low menacing chuckle bellowed out of Onyx Primal, his red optics ablaze at the thought of what was happening. His lips quirked up into a malicious grin and he only dug his optics into Razorclaw's. That glare of indifference made the crab, want to release the catch. It was something so unthinkable, he wasn't afraid of being slagged to crap. It was a strong impulse probably from being a Pred, never surrender to an enemy, even if he is your comrade. Without even realising what was going on, Razorclaw studied Onyx's face as his previous look faded away and it now turned to look like he was controlling something but with his features twisting so that they could be processed. Red optics flickering and, ridges raising to administer the comprehending blow to Razorclaw's side.
The crab flew to the titanium floor within Megatron's quarters, the twin blades administrating a searing blow to sides. The sabres cutting into the metallic flesh of Razorclaw as they headed forward to their destination. The control Onyx had over these swords were known throughout most of the members of the Beast Wars. This was a disadvantage to most of the recent additions to the Beast Wars, for they had hardly any experience in knowing the capabilities of all the different soldiers. Razorclaw being one. He didn't know that Onyx had psychic powers.
The blue mech held on to his sides as the pain was starting to register, how could he have let his guard down so much? Simply put, he didn't have much intelligence to him. Onyx reached his hands out to catch his twin sabres, not really caring about the gruelling form of Razorclaw, he could care less. He didn't care about anyone but himself, he didn't take any slack from Megatron's lower lackeys. He obeyed the tyrant in make sure he survived long enough to get off the wretched planet. The Predacon cause to him was much more than just futile battling back and forth, they needed to destroy, to conquer. The feeling of such things were much contrary to what most of the other Predacons were used to. He played off most of the time just like a solider only in this war to feed his bloodlust. There was some truth to this fact, but the more wiser the mech was, was he who kept his true identity in obscurity. Onyx had mastered this to the bone.
The black mech sneered at the form down by his feet.
"I told you not to interfere, fool." He kicked the limp form of Razorclaw, snorting a bit of air out his intakes.
He then turned his attention back to what he had originally been plotting to do, for the most part he wasn't sure if Megatron was planning something that meant his death, but he wasn't that nieve to think otherwise.
The cursor made its way over the desktop of the console, it had been easy to hack into the data tracks of the Predacon leader, not a hard task for a student of Tarantulas, for he had silently been observing the devious spider sometimes late at night, hanging from the roof of his cave undetected. Finally the computer spewed out what the bat was yearning to see and know. The look on his face plate spoke it all, it made his mouth cringe into a stark frown, his optic ridges lowering in disgust, so this is what the tyrant was up to. Humph, not much to be desired for how he treated his troops.
"Buzzzzz Zaw go see Megatron, he returns...Zzzzz Zzzzz."
Onyx swiftly turned around to see Buzz Saw fly past, paying no attention as to what he was up to but on his merry way to great his leader. Onyx shook his head, "What a gullible freak he is, I better get back to the lower levels, I don't want old scale face to catch me in here." he thought to himself. He typed a few codes to end the program access, before turning and reverting to bat mode, flying close to the ceiling in an attempt to escape the light, it chilled him. How he hated the light, more to serve the way of one's destiny in darkness, it was much more suitable to his tastes than the wretched light. His wings touched the sides of the corridor as he made his way down the hallway, silent as a ninja in training, leaving no trace that he had been in Megatron's quarters. The only thing left to be under the wrath of the Predacon leader was a half dead blue mech, energon oozing out of his gashes.
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"Sounds like we've got some more lovely problems to deal with. Seems like Prowl is acting too much out of emotion." Slasher Red snarled.
Rhinox looked at her from behind the medbay table, his features reflecting a bit of annoyance towards her. "It doesn't matter what the situation is Red, we need to respond to any call for help, the only problem is that I have my coils busy at the moment. I need every bit of help I can get, why don't you take Dinobot over to that recharge berth and go answer Prowl's call, I need to get Optimus' shoulder fixed before I can do anything else, seeing that if I leave him now he's gonna lose too much mech fluid. Please Red, hostility won't get us anywhere and you're one of the only ones who can help."
Red glared at him, she didn't like to be reprimanded like that, still she didn't have much of a choice, she knew he was right, but still she thought of Prowl over reacting to what she already knew what had happened. "Snowblaze's energy reserves are too low, it's no wonder she's probably half dead." she thought to herself.
Supporting Dinobot with one of her arms she led him over to a recharge berth close to the side wall close to where Snowstalker had been moved. The femme had been fixed with the treatment and now was recovering, soon she too would be able to help lend a hand, at the moment there was much still needed to be done. Polar Claw was still in a frozen state within the cryogenic recharge docks, ones which only Dinobot knew how to operate seeing he built them. The amount of victims from the black lightning was more than the Maximals had bargained for. No one could have seen what had come to land in their laps which Primus had dealt to them.
Dinobot groaned as he was lowered to the recharge berth, he had been embarrassed beyond belief at the way he had acted and was now trying to erase the events which had taken place over the last few days. He knew it wasn't Rattrap's fault that he was hit with the lightning, still he didn't mind laying all the blame on the rodent. It was all to convenient. Red adjusted the blanket around her mate and looked up to gaze into his tired optics, the red dull haze of them reflecting the exhaustion of his body to her. Red wasn't in the best of moods at the moment to head up to the comm room, for as far as she was concerned Prowl was over reacting, it kept flying through her head, yet would she ever be wrong.
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"My queen? Why did we pick up this useless drone? She is not worthy to be within the colony. She is nothing but another lowly femme."
Chuckling with amusement only he would be able to understand why, Megatron looked behind at the severely battered fire ant, he was still in t-rex mode. "Simply put Inferno, she is more reliable at the moment then some of the current help, your state of being isn't exactly glorious. I won't warn you again about calling me that either."
Inferno glared a bit at the tan griffin vulture flying above them, then back to Megatron, "As you command my..." <
"You were saying?"
The red mech jittered looking down the barrel of the gun, "I meant to say my leader."
"That's better, but still don't forget where you stand Inferno" The Predacon leader let off a small shot brazing the side of the fire ant, causing him to step back just a bit, he then turned laughing to start to enter the Darkside. Not aware that his privacy had been violated already by another.
Bonesteele wasn't much to criticism and already she didn't like the fire ant who was demanding her dismissal from the Predacons. "I stick up for him and already he's excluding me from the ranks? Where's the justice in that? Only because I am a femme, too much lugnut juice flowing in here for me. Where was he when I was out there fighting the enemy? A huge pile of parts, lousy bag of slag, I can see my time with the Predacons has already started on the right foot, more over to the path of a bunch of pathetic fools." Her thoughts were a jumble of things which dwelt deep within her CPU, like all femmes she resented being treating like an unequal, yet being loyal to her faction was something she embraced full sparked.
The Predacon ship, the Darkside was before them now and she cringed a bit. This is what she was supposed to call home? There was no life around, and it saddened her. On their way over here she had marvelled at the beauty this world held, how could it ever be destroyed? She didn't know the full ways of how Megatron ran the Predacons, they didn't care anything living or non that wasn't a part of full conquest. This was something she'd learn all to well and soon come to despise.
Megatron looked up to the femme and a sly expression crossed his gaze, it seemed to him this femme held the key to something he needed to reach, yet for now he knew he'd have to wait until the time was right, for being the wise leader he was aware there was something at the present which demanded his attention much more than just a simple thought of interest. His new solider would soon be put to the test but he'd have to find a suitable position for her in the mean time, better to keep her on the lower ranks than get higher and demand more from what she knew should be hers. It was all too complex to think of right now, all Megatron could think of right now was his defeat by the Maximals, although he hadn't completely lost. He transformed to robot mode and made his way into the Darkside past the rusting hull of the ship. Time to see the rest of his 'loyal' band.
*******************
"What is it you want from me?!!"
"Do not resist me! You are the key to what I seek, and must be brought before the world!"
"Sure you give me that crap now! I can't win, you've got me going crazy, but who the slag are you? Floating around in my mind, one minute a raging glow of white, feathers all around, the next the venomous results of a darkness envisioned within a serpent. I don't get it!"
"Don't you see? You are the key, the one to set me free. Darkness is a hunger which must be fed, and I am starving. Rat, you must not turn away, you will surely die if you do!"
"Darkness? But why not the light which you showed me earlier? I felt so much at peace then, like I had known someone for so long, but when you come forth in this black evil I can't help but think I'm losing more than my sanity. Look what I've done to my friends! You think I'd let you get out into to hurt them more you slagging bitch! I think not, not even in the name of Gouda or Primus himself would I let you LIVE! Even if I must rip my own spark out from my chassis!!"
"Calm yourself, you think I'd let you do such a thing? If your end is to come it will be by my hands alone, closing around your core until your spark goes out in a violent twist of heart ache. Think of it young one, I am more powerful than your will. You know that I must come to pass in this world, and you are my gateway to it. Still the other one has seemed to elude in you, she will not help you now, for only the darkness is reining supreme. Forget about the light. Forget about the white owl, for the ghost can do nothing to save you. Heh, I fear that no matter what you do Rattrap, you belong to me."
"Ugh, NO! You've caused too much pain already, this is one mouse who doesn't give in just to mere dames who hide in your circuits and threaten death on you. I am not one to lightly be taken, I didn't go through years of spy tactics for nothing, thanks for the info, Shadow. "
"So you've come to know me by name? So be it Rattrap, but remember that even if you do find a way to separate yourself from me mentally, I will find you out and kill you myself, and I will be out, there is nothing you can do about that, for the one called Ghost cannot help you. She is too weak to do anything about it. The Predacons will rise above you pitiful Maximals, Ancestors to the Autobot scum. I would spit on every Autobot carcass I saw back in those days, Decepticon rule isn't far from reality and you can do nothing to prevent it! Admit it mouse! You know I'm right! Your friends will try and separate you from my power, when they do I will be released and you will die. If not I will get out by using your body and you will die anyway in the process, to make a long story short rodent, your termination is imminent!"
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To be continued....