Transformers
Robots in Disguise

113 - Final Run, part 3

by Mike Watson

	Prowl struggled to move Midnight Express to a safe location.  He was unable to 
transform, so he had no way of transporting his fellow Autobot out of the Vertigo at any 
sort of decent pace.  To top it off, he had shot Slapper while he was communicating with 
Megatron, so no doubt the Preds knew something was up.
	Prowl looked down at the explosives he had strapped to the inside of his shield.  
It was also apparent he wasn't going to detonate anything any time soon.  Not with Midnight 
Express unconscious and some Preds on his trail.
	"Come on," he muttered to himself.  "Wake up, Express!"  Of course it was futile.  He 
glanced over at the entrance to the core.  No one yet.  There had to be something he could do.  
Prowl clicked on his communicator.
	"Sideburn, come in," he said.  Nothing.  Jamming signals were probably on.  Prowl 
finally got to the wall of the core.  Midnight Express would be at least somewhat safe here, 
and the shadows would hopefully hide him as long as the cloaker held up.
	"Slapper?" a voice from the entrance said.  Prowl snapped his head in that direction.  
Sky Byte.  Prowl dared not move.  He had left Slapper in plain view, but he was in no condition 
to rat him out.  Sky Byte was no fool, though.
	"Slapper!" Sky Byte said, running over to his fellow Predacon.  "Wake up!"  He nudged 
Slapper's limp body with his foot.  Out cold.  Sky Byte looked slowly around the room, then 
drew his weapon.
	"Who's there?" he demanded.  "You will pay for this, Autobot."
	Prowl stayed as still as possible.  Sky Byte started walking towards him.  Slowly.
	"I will find you," Sky Byte said.  "And destroy you!"  He was now only about ten feet 
from where Prowl quietly stood and was still walking towards him.  Then, to Prowl's horror, 
Sky Byte looked directly at him.  Actually, it was really hard to tell, since Sky Byte was as 
now into the shadows as Prowl and Midnight Express.  Prowl slowly drew his weapon.
	"Night vision!" Sky Byte snapped.  A visor slid out of his helmet and over his eyes.  
Prowl knew this was his last chance, so he fired a blind shot.  It was followed by a scream of 
pain from Sky Byte and the Predacon stumbling backwards.  Lucky shot.
	Prowl took his chance.  As quickly as he could he stumbled in the opposite direction, 
trying to lead Sky Byte away from Midnight Express.
	"Hey, shark boy!" he yelled.  "Over here!"
	Sky Byte looked up at Prowl.  "You'll pay for that, scum!" he yelled, enraged.
	"Gotta catch me," Prowl said, stumbling away.  He had only been able to get so far 
away from the Predacon.  He needed to run against the wall for extra support.  Prowl felt along 
the wall.  A door!  He glanced back at Sky Byte, who was walking towards him, visibly injured, 
but nothing that would slow him down too much.  Prowl pushed on the door and it slid open.  The 
room on the other side was pitch black.  Even darker than the core.  A shot flew over his 
shoulder.  He had to take his chances with the room, whatever it was.  Sky Byte would not be 
so kind to miss the next time.  Prowl ducked into the room.
	"You can't escape!" Sky Byte yelled.  This was perfect.  The stupid Autobot had walked 
right into a dead end.  It was the control room though, so he couldn't fire any shots in there 
without a big chance of shutting down the core, and the Vertigo with it.  Sky Byte holstered 
his gun and followed Prowl into the room.
	Prowl sat against the wall on the other side of the control room.  It wasn't very big, 
he wouldn't be able to elude Sky Byte.  Not at all, especially since he had night vision.  
Prowl faintly saw the figure of Sky Byte enter the room.  Then a loud whirring noise started.  
Sky Byte's tail blades!
	"I see you, Autobot," Sky Byte said darkly.  "And now I'm going to liquify you."
	Prowl stood up as best he could.  His back was to the wall now, there was no escape 
it appeared.  Something jabbed him in the back.  A switch.  Could it be?  He had but one hope.  
He quickly spun around and pushed the switch up.  Light flooded the room.
	Sky Byte let out another scream, covering his eyes.  "Night vision off!" he yelled.  
"Off, now, now!"  His visor slid up, but he still couldn't see.  The massive intake of light 
had overloaded his optics.  He was blind!
	"Now I see you," he heard Prowl say.  Sky Byte pointed his tail blades at the source 
of the sound, though there was little chance of Prowl just walking into them at this point.  
Then he felt pain in his chest and fell backwards.

					* * * * * *
					
	"Sky Byte, report!" Megatron yelled.  "Sky Byte!"  No response.  Megatron spun around 
in his chair.  "Dark Scream!"
	"I'm not getting a signal from him," Dark Scream said.  "He's offline."
	"Blast!"  Megatron yelled, pounding his fast on the arm of his chair.  They were once 
again in the main control room, awaiting something from Slapper or Sky Byte as to the condition 
of the weapons systems.  According to readings from the control room they weren't online, but 
they were functional.
	"Dark Scream," Megatron said.  "Get to the core and finish it."
	Dark Scream looked up at Megatron.  "I'll get blasted," he protested.
	"I know," Megatron said.  "That's why I'm sending Scourge with you."  Megatron clicked 
his commlink.  "Scourge, come in."
	After a few seconds Scourge's voice came in over the link.  "Yeah?"
	Megatron shook his head.  "I need you to accompany Dark Scream to the core and assist 
him with an Autobot problem."
	"Can't, I'm busy," Scourge said.  "I'll send Armorhide.  Scourge out."
	"Wretched Decepticon!" Megatron said.  Scourge had cut off the link before he had 
even had a chance to say any more.  "Why must I put up with them?" he asked.
	Armorhide walked in.  "You called?" he asked from the doorway.
	Megatron looked over at the Decepticon.  "Hardly," he said.  "Accompany Dark Scream 
to the core, destroy any Autobots you find."
	Armorhide nodded and walked out of the room, not bothering to wait for Dark Scream, 
who quickly ran out of the room behind him, trying to catch up.
	"Almost as bad as the Autobots," Megatron muttered to himself.
	
					* * * * * *
					
	"It's been too long!" Rail Spike said.  "We need to assist them!"
	"And what, walk into a death trap?" X-Brawn said.  "It's insane."
	"It's what needs to be done," Optimus said.  "I'm going.  The rest of you stay here.  
The second time their weapon powers up, abandon the base.  I don't want any casualties."
	"I'm going with you," Rail Spike said.
	"No," Optimus said.  "I'm leaving you in command.  You're best fit to lead this group 
if I don't make it out of there."
	"Who says you're not going to make it out?" X-Brawn said, a bit surprised by Optimus' 
insinuation.
	"It's always a possibility," Optimus said.
	"If you ain't gonna let Rail Spike go, then let me," Rapid Run finally spoke up.  He'd 
been silent most of the time, seemingly taking things in.
	"I can't risk it," Optimus said.
	"Well, if you aren't gonna let me go with ya," Rapid Run said.  "I'm goin' in alone."
	Optimus sighed.  "I can't risk that," he said sternly.
	"Listen, Ops," Rapid Run said, somewhat angered.  "Express is like a little brother 
to me and Spike over there.  You've gotta let one of us go, boss.  I won't take no for an 
answer."
	Optimus looked at the train bot.  It appeared he didn't have a say in this matter.  
"Very well," he conceded.  "Let's roll!"  They both transformed and left the base.
	"So now what?" X-Brawn said after they were out of sight.
	"I hate to say it," Rail Spike said.  "But all we can do is wait."
	
					* * * * * *
					
	"Megatron, come in," Dark Scream said.
	"Speak, rodent," Megatron said over the link.
	Dark Scream shook his head.  "The weapons system is online now.  I just need to configure 
a few settings in the control room and everything will be online and ready to go."
	"Excellent," Megatron said.  "Any sign of Slapper or Sky Byte?"
	"Yeah," Dark Scream said.  "Both of them were offline here.  Taken out by the Autobots 
in the ship, no doubt."
	"And the Autobots?" Megatron inquired.
	"No sign of them," Dark Scream said.  "It looks like they bolted after they took out 
our Pred friends."
	"Friends indeed," Megatron remarked.  "Megatron out."  The link closed.
	Dark Scream looked over at Armorhide, who was leaning against a wall in the hallway 
leading to the core.  "We can go now," he said.
	Armorhide looked at the Predacon, then without a word transformed into tank mode and 
lumbered off in the opposite direction, dragging the limp bodies of Sky Byte and Slapper.  Dark 
Scream just watched him go for a second and then began his walk back to the main control room.
	On the opposite side of the room, Midnight Express lay, still unconscious, but still 
hidden as well.

					* * * * * *

	Prowl checked Midnight Express' signal on his scanners.  Still functional.  And better 
yet the two Pred signals had left the area.  Leaving his ally alone like that was not the best 
idea, but he had little other option, and at least the darkness of the core room had hidden him 
enough.
	Right now Prowl was headed to the upper part of the core, though not very quickly.  He 
figured he could plant an explosive or two at the very top of the core.  This would not have 
quite the damaging effect as if he planted them at the bottom, but this way there was no chance 
of the room exploding.  There was no way he could plant a bomb and get Midnight Express out of 
there, even if it was a remote detonation.  He would easily be caught and the bomb would be 
disabled.  He just hoped no one would find him in time.
	He was almost there at this point.  Just a few more rooms to pass through.  The one 
he was in now was lined with CR chambers.  One of the many recuperation rooms of the Vertigo.  
The Autobots would have to come back here and take one or two of these if enough survived this.  
Having only one chamber wasn't what one would call sufficient.
	Prowl looked at the status of one of the chambers.  It was active!  Someone was in it.  
The door of the chamber slowly opened with a hiss.  Prowl ducked behind a chamber opposite the 
occupied one.  From the reflection in the chamber next to the one he was hiding behind Prowl 
saw that Bruticus, in robot mode, had occupied the chamber.  Apparently he had hurt him more 
than has been let on.
	The Predacon looked at his arms, then down at his chest, then he began to walk out of 
the room in the direction Prowl had come from.  Prowl watched him go.
	Bruticus stopped.  Something was odd.  "Beast mode," he said.  Once transformed he 
raised his center head and smelled the air.  Someone else was in the room.  He turned around 
and let out a low growl.
	Prowl stayed as still as possible, his hand over his remaining weapon.  Bruticus slowly 
walked over to the chamber he had been in, slowly moving closer to Prowl.  He stopped at his 
chamber and growled again, then he smelled the ground.
	"Bruticus, terrorize!" he said, transforming into robot mode again.  Prowl ducked 
completely behind the CR chamber.  He was now unable to see Bruticus, but none of him was 
exposed, though the Predacon did have heightened senses, so no doubt he could smell him.
	Just then Bruticus leapt over the chamber Prowl was behind and landed in front of the 
sitting Autobot.
	"I knew I smelled something foul!" Bruticus said, taking out his dagger.  He lunged 
at Prowl, who was barely able to move out of the way of the attacking Predacon.  This was not 
his day for Preds at all.
	Prowl fired a shot at Bruticus, but missed.  "Ha!"  Bruticus said.  "You'll need to 
do better than that!"  Prowl looked up at the Predacon, then fired a second shot not at 
Bruticus, but at the CR chamber behind him.  The blast caused the door on the chamber to 
open, knocking over the Predacon.  Prowl fired another shot, this one connecting, and Bruticus 
fell to the ground, offline.
	"I am getting really sick of you guys," Prowl muttered.  He holstered his gun and 
limped towards his destination.

					* * * * * *
					
	"Okay, we're all set," Dark Scream said, closing a computer panel.
	"Excellent," Megatron chuckled.  "And the pods?" he said, looking over at Gas Skunk.
	"They're secure," Gas Skunk said, looking up from his console.  "The tractor beam 
just pulled them into the docking bay."
	"Excellent," Megatron repeated.  "Get them online!"
	Gas Skunk punched in a few keys.  "Can't, sir," he said, a hint of fear in his voice.
	"Why is that?" Megatron said, slightly amused.
	"The tractor beam disabled their remote systems.  They're functional," Gas Skunk said.  
"But we need to activate them manually."
	Megatron shot a look at Dark Scream, who spun around in his chair when Megatron looked 
at him.  "Fine," Megatron said.  "We'll get our new Predacons online after we destroy the 
Autobots."
	"Decepticons," Dark Scream corrected.
	"Whatever," Megatron said.  "Charge up the primary fusion cannon!"
	"Charging," Dark Scream said, pushing a few buttons.
	
					* * * * * *
					
	"They're charging!" Sideburn yelled.  "This is it!"  X-Brawn and Rail Spike ran over 
to Sideburn, all three glued their eyes to the console.
	"Are the shields up?" Rail Spike asked.
	"One hundred percent," Sideburn said.  "But we still take longer to recharge our 
shields than they do to charge their weapons.  We'll survive the first blast, but we can't 
get up to one hundred percent in time for their second blast."
	"We'll have to hope Prowl and Midnight Express get it done then," Rail Spike said.  
He looked over at X-Brawn.  "We got most of the equipment out of here, right?"
	X-Brawn nodded.  "Yeah, but who knows what the blast radius will be, it could still 
all be destroyed."
	Rail Spike looked at the ground.
	"One hundred percent!" Sideburn yelled.  "Get ready folks!"
	
					* * * * * *
					
	From the main fusion cannon of the Vertigo a huge beam shot out.  Optimus and Rapid 
Run, who were almost at the Vertigo, saw it and came to a screeching halt.
	The beam connected with the base, making the mountains rumble and shake.  A huge 
explosion of rock came from the base, and a giant cloud of smoke rose from the area.
	"Did it miss?" Rapid Run asked.
	"No!" Optimus yelled.  "It took out the base!"
	"I thought the shields could take one shot!" Rapid Run said.  Both of them had changed 
their directions and were headed back towards the base now.
	"Apparently not," Optimus said grimly.
	
					* * * * * *
					
	"Autobot base, destroyed," the Vertigo's computer chirped.  All the Decepticons along 
with Dark Scream and Gas Skunk let out a cheer.  Megatron sat back in his chair and smiled.  
After a second of reflection he stood.
	"Do not celebrate yet," Megatron said.  "There is still a chance some survived.  
Myself and the combaticons will go to the base and destroy any who remain.  But remember, this 
is a glorious day for Predacons and Decepticons, past, present and future!"
	More cheers erupted.
	"For we can now return to our home planet of Cybertron and purge it of the remaining 
Autobots who infest it!  For the first time in eons, the Autobot and Maximal infestation will 
be cured!"
	Megatron smiled as more cheers erupted.  "We have won."
	
THE END?