A Plee for Vengence: Part 1
In a last desperate act of the Predacon generals to eliminate the Maximals, a Massive fight explodes that will determine once and for all who will triumph in combat.
PART ONE
The maximals had just gotten to the hotel and were unpacking nessacry gear as rhapsody was already walking around collecting statements as evidence and gathering any documents she could find.
Elsewhere on CYbertron a small predacon vessel landed and out a group of Predacons wearing shock collars......
Trapper awakens to find himself within the confines of a cr chamber in a law enforcement center on cybertron....
he had forgotten about his record.....he owed roughly one hundred and fifty units of currency to a local creditor......that was the last time he was on cybertron....now it was significantly higher.......
Officer:
"Okay, he is awake, whats the orders about this one"
Another Officer:
"He owes some people alot of money, but according to this he is a witness to something thats being brought before a trial and the council, we're supposed to bring him to the hotel the others he was with are now"
Trapper sighs......what luck.....after the trial he would skip planet.....maybe......
[Elsewhere on Cybertron]
In the grainy half-light of dawn, a crowd of morbidly curious onlookers had already managed to gather in the small square. The old Decepticon district of Cybertron had never been a very safe place. Everyone knew that. Murder was often times as common as petty theft. Yet the gruesome scene played out that morning, was enough to give even the most jaded resident a moments pause.
Atop the ancient fountain hung a massive black enameled Predacon, impaled on the filthy rusted spike that had once served as a waterspout. Its fluid crusted point had entered in the ‘bots lower back and exploded through his sternum like some great giant’s spear. He hung there limply, legs and arms dangling, face turned up to the morning sky. For all his positioning, though, he had not lived long enough to see the dawn of the new day. Below the large Transformer lay another nameless Predacon. Though smaller, he too stared with dead eyes at the Cybertronian sky. His mouth had been wrenched open and filled with his companion’s spilled lifes blood, as it flowed down drop by drop. Whatever else had happened in the night, it was worryingly obvious that the bodies had been arranged by someone…or something else. The locals had long to consider the nature of the killer before someone arrived to take the bodies down.
Across the street, nearly hidden in concrete and shadow, a pair of haunting yellow optics watched the scene with satisfaction. Finally, they were all dead. Every vile, murdering, soulless one of them. The figure breathed deeply. He could smell it – The smell of revenge. It had a cool crisp smell, much like the dawning of a new day; alive, and full of promise.
The figure smiled. His work there was done.
With a sudden flurry of movement the stony gray ‘bot turned and was gone, leaving his art work farther and farther behind with each step. Already his mind was turned to other, more important matters. Matters of a more personal nature than the settling of old scores.
“Karra…” he rasped in a deep tenor. The memory of her flooded back to him like a tidal wave. Gods he had missed her in his absence. So deadly, so agile, so capable. Quick as the wind, beautiful, and sharp as the switchblade from which she had derived her name.
She could not have known it, but her protector had returned.
Her guardian angel.
[The Predacon Shuttle Warbringer]
“Have we acquired a fix yet?”
“No Commander,” replied a thin modeless communications ‘bot. He appeared a dwarf amidst the collected Predacon Generals. Croak, Cloak, Dagger, Grapple, Buster, Press, and Blacklight lounged in various places inside the ship’s main hold. Though each exuded an air of icy calm, the room was still charged with anticipation. Everything depended on being able to pinpoint the imp Cutter’s locator signal. Their mission, their careers…and even their lives.
Grapple sneered at the half-melted silver band, fused tight to his already burned and discolored frame. He was not happy with his new arrangements, to say the least. “This is a Primus damned waste of time,” he snarled at the others. “Who gives a slag about some little scrap heap of a gopher. It’s the rest we’re after.”
Rapier, the commander, looked up from the comm screen just long enough to shoot Grapple a savage look. “Fool,” she spat. “We find this ‘Cutter’, and we do find the rest. Or have you forgotten so soon?”
Grapple snorted. “If we go through channels, we don’t even need to bother with this. Skip the waiting and get right to the killing,” The tortoise, never the most photogenic of ‘bots, even prior to his last encounter with Solarflare, loosed a gruff chuckle. The subsequent grin twisted the metal of his scarred face in a disturbing manner. Rapier scowled and turned back to the comm ‘bot’s display.
Blacklight uncurled himself from a darkened corner of the hold. “At any rate, we couldn’t use channels even if we had wanted to. I’m afraid that we’re quite on our own this time. The instructions from Triumvate Cicadon were very clear on that point,”
Grapple hawked, and spat a wad of thick mech fluid in the griffin’s direction. It landed at the Fuzor’s feet. “You and your pansy rules can sod off. If I gotta’ stick my head on the chopping block for this, I’m going to do whatever I damn well please to make sure that ax doesn’t fall,” The General swept a mangled finger around the small room. “Pit take the rest of you for all I care.”
Near the comm station, the mammoth Press laughed. “Who said it already hasn’t!” The squid ‘bot laughed uproariously, tapping at his own silver bracelet for emphasis.
Croak stood and excused himself to the ship’s small bridge. “Call me when you’ve got this all figured out,” he said as he retreated. “I’ll be up front,” Of all the Predacons, only Blacklight looked up suspiciously. When he reached the bridge, the amphibian Transformer collapsed heavily into astrogator’s chair. For a moment it was all that he could do just to stare at the colored lights in front of him.
He was tired, he realized. Very tired indeed. For years on end, his entire career, he’d done only what the Tripredacus council told him to do. By and large he had been very successful too. Sure he’d made his mistakes…but then, who didn’t. For almost his whole life he’d played the role of the loyal servant. So why, now, did he have the feeling that he was being sold out; used like a pawn in some larger game that he just wasn’t seeing. To an old campaigner like Croak, the feeling carried especial sting. To know he was walking into something that would almost certainly kill him… Croak shook his head. He’d done it a million times before. But this time, something just felt wrong. Every nerve in his cold metal frame seemed to cry out in warning.
Without really thinking, the frog ‘bot reached out a hand and flipped on the ships main communications array. Seeing as the locator equipment in the hold was independent of the ship, the airwaves were empty and awaiting his command.
Croak paused.
Was he really going to do this? He must be crazy, he knew. Oh, there was one trick he could run, just to see if his fears were justified. It was an old one, but a surefire way to figure out whether there was something going on behind the scenes. However…if he turned out to be wrong about his situation, it would almost surely mean his head.
Of course, it could save his life too. It was a fifty-fifty gamble.
The Predacon sighed as he made up his mind. His life was already being held hostage, he supposed. Why not throw the dice again. He could only come out a winner. Croak typed in a brief code. Maximum-security clearance. The comm machine hummed and went to work. The old ‘bot was a Predacon through and through. But there were some things that even he wouldn’t stand for. One of them, unfortunately, happened to be dying for no reason.
At length the screen connected. A short flash and the image of a darkened room came into dim focus. In the shadows a pair of red optics burned ominously. Whoever their owner was, he did not seem pleased by the disturbance.
“Speak,” the voice intoned gravely. “And realize the ‘inconvenience’ that this has already caused me,”
“Yes,” Croak began. “General Croak, reporting, sir. From Cybertron, where I have landed with the other Endport Generals. We have located the source of the homing beacon and will commence our operation shortly,” It was a dangerous lie, and Croak knew it. But he pressed on. “We estimate complete liquidation of the Resistance in less than one standard day. We’ll kill them all, sir, and quick too. You can count on that,”
The shadowy figure paused. Only a moments hesitation, but it was enough. Croak’s stomach sank.
“I…thank you for your timely report, General Grapple,” the replied, shifting in his seat with only the slightest hint of discomfort. The edge of a large vice clamp where the figure’s right hand should have been, came into view at the edge of the screen. Seaclamp for certain. “I shall pass it on to the remainder of the Tripredacus Council. Pray accomplish your work quickly. We will tolerate no mistakes,” With that the image suddenly terminated, the screen falling dark once more.
A bead of sticky sweat rolled down from Croak’s temple. ‘By the Destroyer!’, he thought. ‘He didn’t know. He didn’t even know!’ In a fraction of a second, everything had changed, and from there, he could see only one option. Calming quickly, Croak forced himself to leave the room quietly, slipping out the shuttle’s side portal unnoticed.
Well, almost completely unnoticed. Blacklight removed himself from the shadows cloaking the outside entrance to the bridge. If a Transformer could have turned white with shock, the Predacon would have been mistaken for a ghost. He had overheard the brief conversation, and had no doubt as to whom the mysterious speaker had been. Unlike Croak however, he had been able to guess the nature of the knife poised above the Generals’ heads. It was a dire situation indeed, but yet, opportunity often knocked at the strangest moments, and with the strangest hands.
Blacklight smirked as he reentered the shuttle’s main bay. As quietly as Croak had gone AWOL, he retook his seat in the corner. He doubted that any of them even noted his absence. Or Croak’s for that matter. The smirk deepened into a full-blown grin.
Yes, things could work out yet. But only for him.
Seated behind a giant oak desk, in a white office with marble, wood, and titanium trim, Caska, Deputy Director of Council Security, was getting very confused trying to follow a frantic call from a press contact.
"What hearing?" she asked into the phone, "Resistance? They're HERE?! No, I didn't hear a thing. I can't believe those bastards went over my head again! .. So it's tomorrow? I think I'll have enough trouble getting my own fraggin people in there, but I'll see if I can get a few of you guys in.. Don't count on it, though.. Sonofa! Ok, I gotta go, and deal with this.. bye."
The bed felt hard but suitably comfortable. The walls were smeared in places with grime, but all in all, it was passable. Not the best hotel in all of Cybertron, but Querion had had worse. The wolf-bot picked up the phone, and proceeded to order a couple jugs of ale. Might as well milk as much out of this offer as possible. He suddenly remembered Buckshot's offer, and tapped on the rottweiler's door, hoping that he had brought alone that bottle of drink he was talking about.
"He's not going anywhere until he's 100% fixed." The guards heard and turned to see Cross. The mean looking doctor glared at the two guards. The saber toothed didn't like his patients out of the CR chamber in such a short time. "Back outside where your function lays."
The two guard grunted at Cross's remark, but passed the doctor and out the door. Cross then walked over to the CR chamber Trapper was in and looked him over. "How are you feeling in there?"
Weede and Penji quickly hid a neon-colored tubular device as Rhapsody walked up. The femme looked oddly at them and sighed.
"I don't suppose I could get a statement from you two?"
"Uh...statement?" Weede repeated.
"Your thoughts on the trial."
"Trial?" Penji repeated.
"Your opinions on the rebellion!"
"Rebellion?" they both repeated.
"Just say something!!!"
"Uh...the quick brown fox jumped over the slow red dog to get to the hot orange cat." Weede giggled.
"About Gaiana! Say something about Gaiana!"
"What's that...?"
"The planet we were on. We were taking part in a resistance. It failed. We are now on Cybertron awaiting trial."
"Oh, THAT Gaiana! Uh, huh huh uh huh, thought you were talkin' about somewhere else...um...Gaiana was forest-y."
"Oh...never mind." Rhapsody sighed. "Penji?"
------------
Querion arrived at the door to Buckshot's room and knocked simply on the door. There were sounds of confusion inside, and Buckshot yelled:
"Um, gimme a sec!"
There was some more rummaging, and Buckshot thought he heard another voice. He frowned, knocked again.
"Wait up, dammit!" came Buckshot's reply.
Querion sighed.
"Buckshot, either you're busy or you're not-"
He swung open the door.
A small femmebot rushed past him and scampered out into the hallway as Buckshot flopped off the bed and stood up. Querion glanced at the doorway, seeing Eternity run into her own room, then looked back to the highly embarrassed Buckshot.
"You...saw...nothing." the rotweiler finally managed.
Penji just shrugged. Rhapsody let out an exasperated sigh and moved on. Once she was gone, the penguin finally thought of somehting to say.
"Roomservice!"
Phyphen peered around in the hallways. She had left her room and was wandering around with her ferret companion.
"I never got your name." she said as they turned a corner to see a small female 'bot run past.
"What was that?!" Phyphen peered down the hallway where she had run from and saw... Querion and Buckshot entering the room.
Skitch shreiked, "Hide me!" He tried to run but Phyphen held him.
"I told you," She said. "I'm taking care of you. Now what's your name?"
"Uhmm," The ferret stammered. "Skitch. My name's Skitch."
In a blinding flash claws move in and out, shattering a nearby lamp into hundreds of fragments and withdrawing to a defensive position in seemingly the same split second, a movement that would be intangible to the average optic. Scope grunts, and flexes his claws as he examines them. He relishes the feeling of destroying things... the one thing he had learned to enjoy, even love, in the last half of his life time. How pathetic.
Scope slides down into a sitting position against the wall. His optics flicker off, but his acute senses remain at full height. In this position, he ponders things.
"Yeah, right. Nothing," Querion nodded solemnly, as he tossed two cans of beer into Buckshot's hands. "You know," the wolf-bot said, "you ought to post a 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside, or at least keep your noise down."
"How would I slagging know you'd be coming?" retorted the rottweiler, his face still flushed.
"My fault... my fault..." muttered Querion, as he dropped himself onto a chair. There was a "snap" as the tab of the can came off, followed by the gurgling of liquid down the throat. The wolf-bot licked his lips, grimaced, and tossed the half-empty can aside.
"Say, wasn't that the pony girl we found on Cybertron? Man, you sure are quick to start riding her." Querion smiled inwardly as Buckshot blinked at the wolf-bot's obviously ribald comment. "You still owe me a taste of that drink you mentioned. You still got it with you?"
Solarflare again found himself in a situation. After some long lonely brooding, which wasn't as good as Relic made it out to be, he decided to calm down and talk to switchblade. The finch paced outsite of her room and the approached the door again. He was about to knock when it opened. Switchblade was looking back at him, bags in hand. They both stopped and looked at each other but then she slammed the doors. "Swtich!" Solarflare knocked on the door loudly. "Come i just wanna talk..."
--------------------------
Rhapsody sighed. "Alright you guys, just try and unclog the bong resin out of you head for the trial."
"What trial?"
"Nevermind." Rhapsody saw burnout walk by. "Hey Burnout come here."
"Penji's head clear!" he protested. The penguin actually knew what was going on, he just had no real commentary at the moment.
====
"Doesn't concern me? You invite suspected terrorists to the Council chambers and it doesn't concern your security forces?!"
"As I've said, miss Caska, the police, military and the councilmember's own personal security arrangements were more than adequate."
"And as I've said, no one knows the Citadel like Council Security. You know the control we exert over these facilities. If you want to use them, you have to follow our procedures."
"Are you trying to claim jurisdiction over the Citadel? That could be interpreted as a challenge to Council authority."
"It is no such thing. Council Security was given control over the security features of the facility in its charter, and I can tell you right now, there are integral features that neither you, the police, the military, nor your boss's "personal" guards are aware of."
"The charter can always be changed."
"You're not even close to having the votes to do it. Now, to be quite blunt, if we cannot provide security for the hearing tomorrow, then it would be unwise for us to let suspected terrorists into the Citadel, and we will be forced to bar them at the door. I don't think anyone needs a conflict between us and the other security forces, but if it comes to that to fulfill our mission.."
"Very well. Be on hand for the hearing. It makes no difference anyway."
"Thank you. Though if we're so irrelevant, I don't see why you fight us so."
"Waste of taxpayer's money."
"Oh. Not like your resort home on Riza."
"Good day, deputy director."
"Good day, sir."
Prime's chief of staff left her office, and Caska breathed a deep breath and laid back in her chair.
Buckshot smirked at Querion.
"A guy sleeps with a girl who happens to have a pony Beast Mode, and next thing you know everyone's making puns about riding her. Obvious, way too obvious."
The canine turned and opened up a cabinet, emerging with a bottle of energon- although from its unusual color and the warning labels on the bottle, Querion guessed it was far from the usual energon.
"Catch." Buckshot said, tossing it to Querion.
The wolf caught it easily and unscrewed the cap, releasing a surge of foam.
"Got any glasses?" he asked.
"Ah, just swig it. I don't give a damn."
Querion shrugged and took a big gulp of the bottle.
"Have you talked to Rhapsody about the trial yet?" he asked.
"I got nothing to say. I'm part of the resistance by accident- if my escape shuttle hadn't crashed into a tree, I wouldn't be in this damn mess. But, I am now, so no turning back, right? I figure I'll say, um...I did it to stay out of jail."
Buckshot let that comment hang in the air for a moment, then chuckled.
"Hmmm, guess I screwed that one up. How about you?" he asked.
Burnout had been looking for Retro for the past ten cycles. Last he heard, the little marsupial was off trying to find that owl girl, Tundra. On hearing Rhapsody call for her, he stopped, took one last look around, then walked over to her.
“Yea?”
Mimi and Cutter had fond there way to her room and were chatting. Cutter had almost loosened up, this being the only maximal to be very polite and kind to him so far. "So what are you gonna do now." SHe asked taking a sip of a drink she made from things from her mini fridge.
"I really don't know ma'am, i should be her now, but i am to afriad to run." Cutter said still very rigid.
"What did i tell you!" Cutter hunched down for a minute and Mimi sighed. "We aren't going to kill you, were not like the people you are used too." Mimi sat down next to him. "Why don't you just hang out for awhile with me..." Mimi said using the best of her charm.
"Well, maybe i could stay a little while." Cutter said weakly.
"Yeah, see thats better." Mimi got closer to him, "YOu know your really cute, for a predacon." The beautiful female leaned over and kissed nearly taking hi out of his shell.
"Well well well." Rapier was sitting inthe window pain of the seventh floor hotel room. "Isn't this just the sweetest, our little homing beacon fond a new bet." Her voice cut through the room like a laser beam and Mimi grabbed her firestorm cannon.
"Well this a provate room, so i think you will be leaving." The gatlign gun errupted destoying the window and most of the wall around it. Rapier nearly escaped rolling to the ground and slicing the gun away with one of her swords. Mimi pulled her MK-5 from subspace and unloaded on her at point blank sending rapier to the ground. The small cat grabbed the other and tossed her into the hallway via the door.
**5 minutes ago**
"Look i need a few competent" Rhapsody glanced at weede. "Statements so we don't loose this thing and end up being excuted."
"EXECUTED!" Burnout said in suprise. Rhapsody sort of shoved him and told him to be quiet.
"Now do you have a statement or what..." The elevator doors opened behind rhapsody. "I gotta statement for ya lady. BOOM!" Buster had barily fit into the elevator and was now lumbering down the hallway.
"@#%$." Rhapsody said. At that moment rapier came crashing through Mimi's door nailing Buster in the head. "WERE UNDER ATTACK WERE UNDER ATTACK!" Rhapsody said bailing into a near by room.
**5 minutes ago**
"Well" Querion said sipping Buckshots special drink. "I really don't know...." In a flash Cloak was standing infront of querion his blade coming down but was met by the bottle Q was drinking from.
Buckshot was meet with his counter part stopping the blade strike barely with his bat. "Sonofabitch! Interuptting my drink!" BUckshot overpowered dagger and struck him with the baseball bat.
**Again another battle setting**
"Come on switch i just want to talk to you."
"No, go away, and stop CALLING me that!" The bader said from inside her room.
"Please just open the door." After a moment of quiet the door opened.
"You got one cycle." Switchblade said her cold expression had returned in full effect.
"I just wanted to tell you the truth, why are you being like.."
"Awwww isn't this just the sweetest." Grabble said walking down the oppisite hallway smiling a twisted scared smile. "The two love birds are still together. I am gonna hurt you bird boy, and then you can watch me kill her." Grapple laughed and began spraying shotgun pellets.
"SWITCH!" Switchblade grabbed solarflare and pulled him in the room. Tossing a bookshelf infornt of the door way. "I thought you killed him!"
"I thought so too." Switchblade said not wanted to admit that she never did fnish the job. THe door exploded from shotgun blasts.
"Come out come out birdy boy!"
The officers ascorted Trapper and threw him into the hotel room where the others were waiting....
Trapper:
"HEY WATCH IT.....I'LL FILE SUIT!!!!...oh, hi guys,"
Penji noted the battle, calmly walked over to the stereo system (as weapons fire and furniture flew all around him), and tried to find some suitable fighting music. By some strange chance or momentary break in the fourth wall, the only music to be had was the "Matrix" soundtrack. He put on the office lobby shootout scene music, and transformed. The innocent little penguin now held builtin lasers and a machinegun, and held a large rocket launcher in his right hand. Smiliing maniacally, he fired them all at Buster. The hallway erupted in flames, but the Predacon's giant form was barely moved. Penji frowned. More firepower was needed. This he had, but it would take down at least a good portion of the hotel in the process.
"Patrol." Cross said as he drove down the streets of the city. "Better then hanging around doing nothing..."
A field medic left to be on patrol. Go figure? To any soldier a bot assigned patrol met he was not useful to the team. So if Cross was not useful. He didn't like where he was and he would run patrol then run into them.
As Cross continued on his patrol route, his radio turned on with a report. Cross switched his attention to the radio as he looked at the signs to see what street he was on. He quickly turned the wheel as he pressed down on the acclerator. He knew where to go and he knew who was there.
In a few cycles, his patrol car stopped in front of the hotel as he practically broke the door to get out. He ran as fast as he could into the hotel. He could hear the battle in his own ears. Instead of taking the elevator he took the stairs as he drew his swords, Render and Pierce. He stopped to catch his breath at the level the Maximal were on.
I hate stairs. He thought to himself as he panted. Catching his breath he peered down the hallway, he saw a Rapier get to her feet, smacking Buster who was still on the ground, but eventually got up. Cross watched a little longer as Penji fired his weapons.
"Wow." Cross couldn't help but say.
Rita was puttering about the room she’d agreed to share with Burnout, waiting for him to get back. The hoverboard lay upside-down on the floor and made sleeping noises. The rope had tied itself into a noose and was lurking above the doorway. It was also waiting for Burnout.
Every five cycles or so Rita paused in her puttering and frowned. She knew she should be worried about and looking for Catfish. Her charge had last been seen with an unstable murderer and since then had completely disappeared, but for some reason she couldn’t find it in herself to be concerned. She was having trouble even thinking about Catfish. It made her head fog over…
Rita forgot everything else as gunshots sounded from the hallway. Her guns were in her hands and she was out the door in half a nano. She opened fire on the first target she saw. This was Grapple.
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