(NOTE: A Round Robin fic is where one person starts off, then other people add on their parts as the story progresses. The total amount of people that are working on this project are: Washer, Silth (Vail), Beastbot, JW% (JaggedWing), Skycat, Enforcer, Architeuthis, Mirai_Cyborg17 (Hailblaze), Hitchhiker, Mako, Scaleblade, JEDI (from here on known sometimes as Windchaser) , Skidz (Skidplates), and Matrix3. Ed's Transformer name is now known as Wolfsbane. Also, an ARGO Conquest looks somewhat like a jeep, with tank treads instead of wheels. This part of the fic is rated PG-13 because of violence. Hope you like this fic!)

 Vail looked at the motley group she just left, quiet and subdued by the day's harsh events. She asked herself again why they were actually listening to her. She had become, over the last few days, harsh, rude, and completely unreasonable. Truth be told, she was starting to scare herself. She found herself constantly forgetting who she was, and instead turning into what she had always feared most; an unfeeling, unseeing creature with no knowledge of right or wrong. Sometimes, she found herself wishing that she could just lay down and die. She had been trying to hide most of her feelings from the others. When it was found that Jag was dead, she had gone off on her own for the night. When she had been sure that nobody was near, she had immediately changed to beast mode, curled into a tight ball, and cried herself to sleep. It was all too much. At times, she felt like screaming; at others, she felt like laughing at the insanity of it all. It was like they were all the butt of some sick interstellar joke, and the entire universe was jeering at their constant stupidity.
 She acted like a total idiot, but hardly anyone commented. She wished that they would. She wished that someone would shoot her, give her a short, if not permanent, reprieve from this living nightmare. She wished that she would never have to come back, to torture the very people she had come to call friends. Yet, she found that they were all changing, sinking farther into an emotionless abyss, as harsh and unfeeling as their now metallic bodies.
 She suddenly stopped herself.
 She had left to do some soul searching. But what she had found inside herself was more terrifying than she could have ever imagined. She made the decision, then and there, that she would find her way out of this. She still had dreams to dream. She had been brought up to reach for the stars. She had been given wings. Now she must learn to fly.

Daybreak:

 "Wake up."
 Mako looked over the dozing Transformers. Sound asleep.
 Ultrasonic shockwave--activate.
 Almost instantly, every bot jumped to their feet-their hands to their ears. Shutting off the Ultrasonics, Mako again addressed the assembled bots.
 "I am Mako."
 "You", Enforcer growled, ready to attack.
 "I see you live. I trust you did, however, learn your lesson from the last time you crossed me."
 "I learned you're a cold-blooded murderer."
 "Murder?" Mako sounded, taken aback. "It's only murder if the victim is HUMAN."
 Enforcer took a step backward and retracted his weapons. But, before he could do anything, Skidz started yelling, "DURAN! How DARE you show your face here?!"
 Skidz leapt forward, grabbing Mako by the shoulder pads.
 "This IS my island! I built those bodies you inhabit." Mako threw up his arms, breaking Skidz' grip. "You are in NO position to judge me!"
 "I WILL kill you!" Skidz lunged again, but this time missed as Mako shifted his weight to the side and took the bot's outstretched arm. Skidz was promptly thrown to the ground, and skidded to a halt near a grove of trees.
 "You can fight with me to your heart's content," Mako said coldly, "Only after I deliver to you this news: the aliens are attacking. Soon."
 "I, for one, suspected as much," Vail answered. "We did capture one of them."
 Looking out, Mako saw an alien body. At first glance it looked dead, but..
 Scan.
 Status-alive.
 With a wave of his hand, Mako blasted the body, scattering the remains over the cool sand.
 "Why!? Why'd you do that?!" Scaleblade cried, sounding angry. "He wasn't a threat!"
 "It was a she. And it WAS a threat. Now listen-all of you. What we are dealing with here is a race called the X'Kaetil. Many years ago, they made raids on Earth Dominion space, finally growing bold enough to actually take hosts, human hosts, for their nobility. We responded by purging their world of life--only a few off-world survived. And most importantly, their third sex, the Breeders, were utterly annihilated-guaranteeing their demise as a threat to the citizens of the Dominion."
 "You KILLED them?! ALL of them!? How could you DO such a thing!?"  one of them interrupted.
 "They were a threat to the people of Earth. To humanity." Mako's voice trailed off slightly at that word. "We have been at almost continual war with alien powers since the first Hyper Jump occurred, nearly 700 years ago. Aliens are a threat, an inhuman plague, nothing more. The defense of humanity and protection of Dominion citizens are our only concerns."
 "The moment you tried to wipe out the X'Kateil," Hailblaze growled, "you lost your humanity."
 "You're not one to talk," Mako responded with contempt. "Everyone has someone who was lost to alien aggression. Everyone feels the pain of suffering non-humans to live. We thrive in a different time; do not presume to judge us-or me, by your petty, outdated morality."
 Mako stressed the word 'outdated' before continuing. "X'Kateil survivors came here to use MY nonorganic cloning facilities to recreate a Breeder population. In the process of breaking through the shield, they caused a disruption pulse, deactivating all the bots on the island, and knocking me out as well. A plane full of people then crashed here, and their minds, somehow transplanted into the disabled bots' bodies. And mine."
 Mako kept going, "I intend to reverse what was done to us--to preserve our humanity. And I can--provided we recover the human bodies from the plane crash. Unfortunately, the X'Kateil intend to use them as hosts for their new population of Breeders. This WILL, of course, result in the...consumption of the bodies by the X'Kateil."
 "So, we go in there--finish what your people started--commit GENOCIDE, just to save our own skins?!"
 "I came here believing, no, hoping, there was a shred of humanity left in your cold bodies--a desire to return to your natural form," Mako folded away his helmet and ran a finger down his cheek, "a return to flesh and blood...or you can stay forever on this forsaken rock, your humanity thrown to the cosmic winds and lost forever. The choice is yours."
 JEDI: *she stands slowly, barely containing the rage she can feel burning livid under her armor* 'Shred of humanity'?
 Mako: *jumps, the sheer ice cold undercurrent of the voice catching him off-guard* What?
 JEDI: 'Shred of humanity'? *she steps forward, her face emotionless and her stride and voice now calm* And who are you, oh Dark God, to say that we 'mere robots' have less humanity than you? When our 'cold bodies' generate more warmth of heart than that rock in your chest ever could? *she's walked up to him now and she stabs her finger at his chest as she says this* 'a return to flesh and blood...or you can stay forever on this forsaken rock, your humanity thrown to the cosmic winds and lost forever. 'The choice is yours'? *she snarls, revealing the fangs in her mouth* Why would we be forced to stay here forever? Sooner or later we'll get past that forcefield, sooner or later we'll make it to the mainland...Return to flesh and blood? *snorts* "Foolish man whose mind is blank with naught but death...", she quotes. Did it ever occur to you that some of us may WANT to stay like this? I can WALK now, run even, without having my knee give out on me...I can fly, I can FIGHT. *she smirks* 'Humanity thrown to the winds'? Who is more human, he who has flesh, or he who sees another and does the best that can be done to help and aid that other? Humanity isn't judged by the form..*She points at Mako again* It's judged by what's in HERE. What is your SOUL made of? Besides ice. And what right does a beast with naught but a human shell have to call those who look different from him the beast..after all, that's what Hitler did, and I'm sure you're positively beaming now that I've mentioned your idol. *she leans forward, activating all her weapons, ready to fight if he tries anything* I don't speak for the others...but tell me this, Dark God...Who here is more the fool, you who insult and ridicule, though he says he wants to help, or she who defends them, helps them, yet lets them make their own choices? Who?"
  "Hitler? He killed humans--not the alien menace. I SAVE lives, foolish child." Mako pushes JEDI aside almost gently. "You know not of the real world, my world."
 "Did you know, Hitler, that your namesake said almost word for word what you have just said? 'Not human'. And tell me, do you always act like this? A fool in a hero's garb? I'd rather not be saved by you, if that is true."
 "I am human. And I know from experience a single human life is more precious to me than every alien in known space. Tell me, were you there for the Great Burn? Were you there when the Alahth slaughtered four colonies during the Katelli campaign? You know NOTHING!" Mako gave in to his Duran persona. "You ARE nothing!"
 "My grandfather fought and died during the Dire Wars," he continued. "My father was crippled defending his family on Cerona 8. I have SEEN innocent people cut down by the alien threat. Do not preach to me, stripling! You are but a child; my infant son has greater responsibility to his people than you could ever muster."
 "Nothing justifies genocide."
 "SURVIVAL justifies anything. It has for a thousand years, and it will continue to. The Earth Dominion was born of the need to defend humanity--built on the backs of those willing to fight and die in defense of their fellow men. Now listen--you want to stay as you are, stripling? I BUILT those bodies you inhabit. Here, I AM the creator. Here, I AM master. There is no escape from the island save a phase drive, which I was careful to exclude from any of your systems. And I will not suffer an inhuman abomination to survive."
 JEDI smirks. "Ah, then I have YOU to thank." She suddenly growls and lunges forward, grabbing Mako and lifting him clear off his feet. "Thanks to you, I have Windchaser's time sight, which shows her all the important things of the past that she needs to know. Thanks to you, I SAW those battles, saw more than you or any others...I saw the AFTERMATH of those battles! The parts the video crews never show! I've seen more than you know....thanks to you. You think I am BLIND to what drove you? Seer. Learn the word. It is a blessing and a curse. With it I can anticipate every move you make, and see why you are who you are...I have seen your wars and your past, now Hitler, and I have not become you...who here is the child, and who here can still carry on?" She throws Mako down, and says something in some unidentifiable language. She suddenly stiffens and stares at Mako with an almost evil grin. "You included Gypsy. You thought it was her and only a culture and you included Gypsy..." JEDI suddenly smiles and backs off, the smile fades, her expression now matching the cold and calculating look in her optics..."I think you designed this body with more than you intended."
 "Never forget who created you. Each of you was designed and created through ME. I am fully aware what you are and aren't capable of. I have worked too hard, seen too many die to suffer the quips and naievete of an uneducated youth." Mako's human eyes glowed. "I am a member of the PsiCouncil. THE Council itself. I know what you cannot even begin to imagine. Tell me, have you ever been in an alien mind? Seen through their eyes and known, with absolute certainty--that this creature would kill you, kill your family, kill everyone you know and blast all you hold dear, given an inkling of a chance to do so? You don't comprehend what you're dealing with. You don't even know WHO you're talking to!"
 Skidplates lies, sprawled in the warm sand...and nearby...Duran! The youth within struggles to restrain the raging, nearly insane soul whose body he now shares.
 "No...I'll never serve him again! Never again will I be his tool, to be held in the possession of that sniveling coward, that creature of flesh!" rages the dark entity, its voice booming through Skidplates' head, trapped within its steel and circuit confines.
 The youth attempts to reason with the mad creature, drawing upon his psychic reserves to bolster himself against the crashing waves of fury. "I will never bow to him...the butcher...he stole our very souls, our very lives...my dearest friend--he killed...he killed Protos!"
 "YOU killed Protos!!" The youth screams forth the words, aimed at his phantom tormentor, the psionic battle finally exploding into the corporeal world...
 A few of the others spin around, eyeing him. He spies Hailblaze reaching for her gun; Mako simply ignores the exchange, continuing to address the remainder of the group.
 "Don't you see?" taunts the mind-voice. "They don't trust you...they'll never trust you...do what you know you want to do...fulfill our deepest, darkest desires..."
 "No..." The youth clings desperately to a sanity being swiftly torn away. "You fool!" he exclaims finally, his harsh tones buffeting his alter-ego. "If what Duran says is true, then even if we...you...kill him, your precious island is still doomed to destruction! Don't you understand?!"
 "Understand THIS!" he screams, rising from the sand and whipping forth his plasma rifle. With a deafening screech, the weapon opens fire, spitting energetic death at Mako.
 "NO!", someone screams, as the concussive array slams into Mako. Mako strides forward, his power cells in his armor easily absorbing the fire, his gauntlets glowing with an eerie light.
 Skidplates rolls to the side, the tactical experience of his alter-ego sparing him from the torrential wave of plasma which rips into the trees. As the nova burst strikes the ancient palm trees, they detonate in a hail of fiery splinters.
 "You...you started the fire!" screams Vail, leaping from the sands in a flash.
 Mako twitches at the sudden exclamation...only to feel Skidplates' fist slam into the side of his helmet, sending a web of splintered cracks across its metallic surface.
 "That..." begins Mako, "...was a mistake."
 In a single motion, Mako spins around, smashing the gun from Skidplates' fist and bringing his other gauntlet down on the young robot's left arm, detonating the payload of wrist grenades stored within.
 Skidplates screams in pain as his arm explodes, ripping from his body with a spray of mech fluid. Almost imperceptibly quickly, Mako swings his other fist once again, crushing the translucent armor of Skidplates' stomach. Driving his hand into the rebellious robot's body, he seizes cords and tubing tightly in his grasp--and then rips them forth, in a violent explosion.
 Scornfully, Mako drops the limp mutilated body upon the sand. "This experiment is concluded."
 Turning, he faces the assembled group of robots, who are gaping, some in fear, others in admiration, at the armored being before them. "So.." begins Mako, "..any questions?"
 "Why all this?", Vail hissed, tensed to attack.
 "Simple. I did it to save lives. Disposable robots, sentient AI's, used to soak up damage during invasions. Now--stand with me against the alien menace and I shall restore you to your time and bodies. I will even heal your injured. I am not cruel," Mako smiled as he activated his cloak, "but I will not hesitate to use force where appropiate. You have five minutes to make a collective decision."
 And he was gone.
 JEDI watches, her mind cataloging every move. She nods. "So it begins."
 Architeuthis had been listening and watching during Mako's intrusion. She had seen his power and ruthlessness, Skidz' madness, and JEDI's rage.
 Finally, some of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together...
 "I think we should go with him," she said.
 There was a horrified collective gasp at this.
 "Have you lost your mind?!" demanded Vail.
 "No. Hear me out, please. I DO NOT mean we should follow him blindly. That would be insane. But we DO have a common enemy in the form of these aliens. Even if they did not mean us any harm at first, it's doubtful they're going to forgive us for killing their people. If Mako's telling the truth, the aliens have our bodies stashed away somewhere in suspended animation, and they are keeping them for their own use. If we get our bodies back, we can restore ourselves to humanity--if we want to.
 "Another consideration is that Mako himself is probably as much a victim as the rest of us. Before dying, JaggedWing told me that everyone here was a member of the BWA board."
 "JaggedWing? Who's that?" asked Skycat.
 "His human name was Jedediah Warwick. BWA knew him as JW%. He was killed in the forest fire."
 JEDI gasped. "He was the one I saw, then..."
 Architeuthis nodded. "Yes, he was. I've tried to scan for him, but no luck. Either he was baked, or he landed somewhere my scanners can't reach."
 "Mako was also on the BWA board," she continued, "Duran was one of his fanfic creations, and he was as ruthless as they come; he created Hydra. Remember that fic?"
 Several people nodded.
 "It seems that they have somehow been blended into one being--and Duran is calling the shots, even though he's calling himself Mako."
 "Think you can explain ME?" Skidz demanded challengingly.
 "I suspect you're a distraction. What better way to keep us away from the aliens' base and our bodies then by pitting us against one another. Mako/Duran may be the same thing. So, I think we should follow him; he can help us fight the aliens. And we can keep an eye on him, just as we do Skidz, to make sure he does not cause any more harm. There's a saying we should all remember; keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

 Minutes pass--no one objects--no one speaks up. From the shadows, Mako comes forward.
 "Your decision?"
 "We'll come," said Architeuthis. "Just don't try and double-cross us--or you'll be sorry."
 "Some of you may think me a monster."
 Mako gazes toward JEDI. "But I mean those of you not tainted by inhumanity-only good will. We do what we must to survive. I will NOT allow harm to befall my wife--my children due to inaction. We fight..or we die. There IS no middle ground."
 "Just keep it to yourself, fascist,"  JEDI spat, watching him through slit eyes.
 "Fascism died over a thousand years ago, during the dawn of Earth's Atomic Age."
 "So, you're what, then? A democrat?"
 "I am a citizen of the Earth Dominion. As all humans are."
 "And anything not human simply isn't worthy of life."
 "Those who would threaten us must be vanquished, lest they attack again. In the First War there were many, like yourself, who expounded peace and co-existence with alien powers. But there was no communication. No peace. Eleven million people learnt that first hand when they invaded us. Without provacation." Mako straightened his back. "We were never again caught off-guard by alien aggression. We have since fought 650 wars, of varying sizes, with as many alien races. Of these alien species, only eighteen still survive in the universe. The first few were simply beaten into submission--after which either they rose again to threaten us, or were enveloped by more powerful alien foes. Finally, a policy of annihilation was developed use against more territorial or dangerous species--both as a deterrent to future aggression and as a warning to others not to endanger human lives. Since the General Order, over three hundred and eighty years ago, we have only been involved in 21 wars. All of which have ended in our eventual victory--as we shall taste victory today over the X'Kateil. Onward--to the mountains!"

 It had begun to rain. The temperature had dropped, and lightning flashed across the sky every few moments. They had been walking for hours, Mako in the lead, driving them relentlessly onward.
 Vail walked toward the back of the crowd. Though she shared JEDI's views, she had come to realize that Architeuthis was on to something. But that did not mean that when the time came, she would involve herself in the destruction of an entire species. To be honest, she was sick of death, sick of blood, sick of everything. That was when she heard it. A whimper, scarcely loud enough to be heard, coming from the back of the procession. She turned slowly, to see Ed, trudging miserably, arms wrapped around his body. She stopped, waiting for him to catch up. Hailblaze, walking next to him, was also beginning to show signs of fatigue. As they came to her side, she realized just how miserable they looked. In an unusual flash of intuition, she trudged up to the looming form of Washer, a few short feet ahead of them. Tapping him lightly to get his attention, she whispered a few words into his audio sensors. He stood for a moment, then smiled and nodded, pausing in mid-stride till Ed and Hailblaze were in front of him. Careful to keep behind them, he provided the perfect wind brake. Vail smiled slightly. But at the same time, as she looked at the bots passing her, she noted that they all were, in one way or another, exhausted. They wouldn't hold out much longer. That much she knew. Finally, after about another ten minutes, she began to make her way to the head of the column.

 "The aliens approach," the X'Kateil scented, a warning betraying its fear and loathing. "Should we strike?"
 "No." The other peered as best he could through the foliage and rain. "Who is leading them?"
 "The human. I know not his name."
 "Then I shall return to the Chambers and alert the Guard of their approach. You watch them."
 "Wait, why do I have to watch them?"
 "Just do it." The alien got to his feet. "Remember, if they get through and recover their bodies, we will not have hosts for the breeders. It will be the end of us. Again. Now, stay and watch them."
 "Fine," the first alien grumbled, clicking its mandibles in frustration, before turning to address again its departing comrade. "If I survive this, I sure better get mated, though!"
 "I'm sure you will," the other spoke back, disappearing into the jungle, "You may even get promoted!"
 "A promotion..." The alien slumped back to the ground, watching through glassy alien eyes at the human and bots below. "...I can see it all now. A Hearth of my own, by the swamps perhaps...a Breeder and family before I die...just like home."
 A sudden crack of a branch interrupted the alien's reverie. Turning the alien saw only a small lizard, barely three inches long, clinging to a branch broken by the wind. Taking a deep breath, the alien looked back down and saw--nothing.
 "Curses!"  it whispered, searching the jungle trails. Remembering its orders, the alien hefted its weapon over one of its shoulder joints and held it to its side as it slowly made its way down the steep incline of the hill below. Reaching the ground, the alien took a careful search of its surroundings.
 Nothing.
 I lost them! Now I'll never get--
 Suddenly, a shape materialized from the wind and rain. A dark form--tall and imposing. A hand reached out, almost too fast to see, seizing the alien by the neck.
 "An X'kateil," the shape said slowly. "Female. The weapon is of Zuroi manufacture. Probably stolen. We're on the right track."
 The grip tightened.
 "Don't kill it!" another said, but to the alien, the sounds, indeed the language, were but clicks and mellow gasps, devoid of scent or emotion.
 "I know what it's thinking," the dark form said as the alien squirmed in the death grip, foreign thoughts entering its mind--probing it.
 "Well?"
 "Nothing of consequence. It seeks to hinder us in our way."
 "Let it go," a softer sound this time, "at least give it a chance."
 "Are you mad?" the dark one spoke again. "No..fine, then. I shall humor you."
 The grip loosened and the alien fell to her feet. A splash of mud and water were the only comforts from the shapes that loomed over her, unmoving.
 "Go on! Run for it!"
 The alien inched her hand down, taking the rifle by the hilt. These creatures were out to kill her race. To take her people's only hope for a next generation...
 "Watch her," the dark form crossed its arms. "Watch and see why we killed off the X'Kateil years ago."
 Raising the weapon to aim, the alien almost wondered why the creatures weren't moving to defend themselves.
 "Their loss," she thought, remembering the dream of a Hearth of her own. "We will not go quietly!"
 Three shots parted the air, all of which were absorbed and dissipated by the tall, dark one's armor--the one who had let her go. With a wave of a hand, green energy leapt forth, blackening the alien's vision, for she saw no more.
 Stepping over the corpse, Mako grinned. One less alien scum between him and his body. One less alien threatening humanity.
 "Onward! We are almost there," he said, the mountains already in sight.
 JEDI nodded. "For once, we agree, Hitler."
 "Stop calling me that!"
 JEDI just grunts in response, scanning the mountains for caves the already tired people could use for shelter. "There."
 "There what?"
 "A cave. Looks big enough for all of us. Pretty steep climb, but if we help each other out, we should make it."
 Mako blinks and checks the area where JEDI was looking. "You're right; it would...Child."
 JEDI smirks. "Very well, Hitler. Let's get this moveable target range underway."
 "Stop calling me that!"
 The whole group headed off. JEDI glanced back from the flanking position of Mako. Vail had Washer acting as a wind brake again, and the others were staying closer together.

Of course, Architeuthis thought, it WOULD have to be on the mountains, where her aquatic abilities would be of no use whatsoever. "It is as it is. No use complaining," Architeuthis told herself.
 Vail came up from behind her and was about to pass her; Architeuthis lightly touched the medic with a tentacle. Vail slowed and began walking alongside her.
 "What is it?"
 "I have an idea. These aliens need THREE sexes to reproduce. One sex, the Breeders, has already been destroyed. Without them the aliens will eventually go extinct. Mako claims that the aliens came here to steal his cloning facilities to make Breeders. If that's the case, then we don't have to slaughter aliens; we just have to find and disable the cloning mechanisms so the aliens can't use them. We wouldn't have to do anything extreme: removing a part or two might do the job."
 "What about our bodies?" Vail asked. She badly wanted to be human again.
 "Mako can no doubt fix whatever damage we do to his machines. Apparently he also has a psycho-neural transference device. That's what was used to transplant our minds into these bodies."
 "How do you know that?"
 "Mako goofed. He forgot to delete or change my functions programming. I'm a scientist, Vail. I'm SUPPOSED to know stuff like that, just like you're programmed to know medicine. You might know something about mind transplants yourself; it could be considered a rather bizarre medical problem. Given the knowledge in our functions programming, we should be able to do some minor sabotage to the cloning device, making it useless to the aliens, and we should be able to operate the psycho-neural transference device ourselves. Getting control of it ourselves is crucial; we can't let Mako use it!"
 "Why not?"
 Architeuthis looked around furtively, and saw that Mako was far ahead of them, apparently out of earshot. Keeping her voice low, she answered, "Because we're really dealing with Duran, not Mako. Duran and Mako are somehow trapped together in one body. Duran wants to use the psycho-neural transference machine to expel Mako's personality from the body that they're sharing. If he succeeds, the real Mako--our friend from BWA--will be killed. So, what do you think?"

 JEDI smiled, then quickly hid that and looked forward, hoping no one had seen that. Now was NOT the time to be asked what was wrong. Whoever had changed Mako, as well as them, had done it good. Mako's memories were so realistic that her time sight had picked them up. So that meant that she was going to be picking up even more of them. "Oh, what joy," she muttered.
 Mako glanced back at her. "Anything wrong, Child?"
 "Not a thing, Hitler. Just don't try anything and I'll stay peachy."
 "Peachy?"
 "It's called a JOKE, Hitler."
 "Stop calling me that, and I KNOW it was a joke! I just wanted to know how you can joke at a time like this?!?"
 "When else?"
 Mako sighed and turned around; the mountains were now before them, and the rest of the group looked about as ready to collapse as she felt. "Come on, guys, not that much farther, just up here for a bit, then you can get some sleep out of the rain. I'll take first watch, unless someone else wants to."
 A collective groan answered that and JEDI turned and began climbing. The others followed. Mako took up the 'anchor man' position, ready to catch anyone who fell, while JEDI found the easiest path, and helped anybody that needed it. Finally, they were at the cave.
 JEDI sighed under her breath, then slid in, waving the others off. A quick scan proved that nothing more than a few lizards resided in the cave. She slid back out. "Everybody that doesn't want to stay outside, come on in. Nothing in there but a few lizards."
 The rest of the group slid in. JEDI deliberately waited until Mako had gone in before entering herself. She turned once she had a bit of roof above her and transformed to beast-mode. She sat down; with the cave's small mouth, she was as good a wind break as anyone could make.
 The wind buffetted and ripped at her; the rain slammed into her. She did her best to ignore it, narrowing her optics and pulling her wings close. She glanced in. Beastbot was staring at her strangely, as were Mako and Hailblaze. Hailblaze with a hidden something, either fear or something else, she couldn't tell. Mako with calculating eyes and something hidden, possibly respect. JEDI snorted to herself at that thought. No one respected her; Mako was simply studying her like she had studied him. Beastbot stared at her with...worry? Compassion? Possibly even a little care? JEDI sighed and stared back out into the night. "When you looked to see a god, you saw naught but your reflection. When you looked to see the devil, you saw naught but your soul. Everything in life is what you do or do not make it...Why do I get the feeling I've made nothing? Enemies with a friend from the board, everyone thinks I have no feelings, and I'm running out of control...Someone up there has got to be laughing at me now...REALLY hard."

 Mako's eyes wandered.
 The rain was audible, drops the size of golf balls, splashing and impacting the rock and stone...
 The weather had apparently tired the bots. To his left, Mako saw JEDI, her optics closed, apparently resting after a long first watch.
 Good.
 Closing his eyes, Mako entered her mind. The thoughts were confused, yet determined. And unmistakably human in origin. Silently cursing to himself, Mako reminded himself of his oath. His oath to defend humanity.
 Duran. His memories, not mine.
 Delving deeper into her mind, Mako found a barrier, repulsing his efforts. Concentrating, Duran's training returned to him, almost instinctively, and his power silently rose. And the barrier broke.
 "Mako?"
 Duran suddenly returned to reality, "Who?"
 "You..."  Vail said, her eyes easily visible in the pale light, "...are you O.K.? You look like you dozed off."
 "Ridiculous," Mako heard himself scoff. "I need not sleep to sustain my body."
 "Good." Vail turned back to the second watch, scanning the wet horizon. "Can you really restore us to our bodies?"
 "Yes." Mako smiled to himself, again activating his psiimplant. Vail slouched down, still keeping watch, but feeling very much tired. "I will save you."
 Mako stood up in the cave and left. Around him the rain fell. Brushing his hand lightly over Vail's face, Mako turned away, leaping from the perch and floating through the air. Below him, a small form looked up.
 "Mr. Mako," the bot spoke up as he approached, "I'm here."
 "So I see." Mako smiled. "Keep watch over them."
 "The aliens approach. An army--over 100 strong."
 "I know, I scanned one of them. I know of the attack."
 "Then why are you leaving?"
 " I needed only distract the aliens with them. I have scanned each of them, and will perform the transfer when the time comes. Their bodies may fall, but the HUMANS shall survive. It is the bodies that demand my immediate attention."
 "I wish you luck, then, Mr. Mako," the short bot commented as he shook Mako's hand. "I will alert them when the aliens approach."
 "I know you will, Jake." Mako let go and floated upwards. "Try...try and keep casualties to a minimum...especially the loud one. I want to see her face when she gets her humanity back."
 "Yes, sir." Jake waved as Mako disappeared into the canopy. Miles away, hundreds of feet scattered the topsoil, marching through the rain.

JEDI watched quietly as Mako left. "Finally figured out we're human?" She smirked. "Mistake to go in my mind, Mako...Now I got a line on you..."
 ...especially the loud one. I want to see her face when she gets her humanity back.
 Great.
 Coming back.
 Even better.
 JEDI stood slowly, then walked to the cave entrance. Mako landed, and began to walk by as she slid out from behind her rock and leaned against it. "Going out for a little sunshine stroll, are we, Hitler?" Mako jerked in surprise, then spun around to face her.
 "We must stop meeting like this...people will talk."
 She narrowed her eyes and glowered. "We head out when they wake up. North and up. I saw some aliens the way you were coming from...I'd HATE to think what would happen if we bumped into them...After all...DURAN doesn't kill humans...Does he?"
 Mako glowered. "No, I don't."
 "Even if they fail to have human bodies?"

All is blackness. Warm, comforting, friendly blackness. Like I'm snuggled in my bed on the weekend with no reason to get up.
 "Stasis lock off. Activating diagnostic read out."
 "Huh?"
 "..."
 "Did you say something?"
 "No, go back to sleep."
 "Oh...okay."
 "Systems repaired within tolerable limits."
 "Wha...?"
 "Nothing. Go back to sleep."
 "No, you said something that time. I'm sure of it."
 "Don't be silly."
 "No, I mean it, what did you say?"
 "..."
 "Come on, talk to me."
 "..."
 "Why won't you talk to me?"
 "Because I AM you, you idiot. These are just your thoughts bouncing around in your head."
 Finally, the realization dawns on him. He wasn't talking. Talking would be too hard to do at the moment. Even opening his eyes would be too hard to do at the moment.
 "Um...if I haven't opened my eyes, why is it that I'm seeing something?"
 "Oh, wait...my optics might be closed, but the read-out I'm still perceiving as visuals are still being displayed."
 "Optics? Read-outs? Visuals?"
 "Never mind, just go back to sleep."
 "I will not go back to sleep! Why do you keep telling me to do that?"
 "Because I'm you and you really WANT to go back to sleep."
 "...Okay, I guess you're right."
 "Thank you."

 (Author's note: I don't have anyone to talk to except myself, who I always talk to, [at least silently in my head] so all thoughts are being done in quotation marks. Yes, I really DO have these kinds of thoughts when I try to get up in the morning. I, however, hear it, you have to see it, so the paragraphs and divisions are for you benefit, I get it all in one endless flow.)
 JaggedWing shifted. It was the best he could do at the moment. He was in a dark cave. A
 mudslide or cave in had blocked the entrance and buried him half way in it as well. Scanners weren't reading anything outside of the cave, and not much inside either.
 A little more shifting and he slid down and out of the wall, head first. His horns stuck in
 the mud and he simply lay like that thinking. "I guess I didn't wake up. I'm still dreaming. Felt sure I would wake up by now. Oh well, never could remember my dreams that well, I don't really know how long they would be."
 Again a shift, and he slumped all the way out of the wall, and fell to the ground, his head still sticking at the base of the wall.
 "Okay, where did I leave off? Oh yeah. I had to put out that fire. I gathered as much water
 to me as I could... systems started to go offline... I blacked out."
 Slowly pulling his horns out and rolling over into a more comfortable position, he
 continued to think.
 "All the water must have made the mudslide and washed me in here. Wonder where here
 is. I must have mud over my visor, I can't see."
 Reaching up to wipe the mud off, a thought occures.
 "I probably have more mud on my hands than on my face. How am I going to clean up?
 Wait, of course... Internal computer; reference cleaning up."
 "I really wish you would quite trying to do that. You don't HAVE an internal computer."
 "What are you then?"
 "For crying out loud... I'm YOU. Your thoughts second-guessing yourself."
 "So I don't have a split personality?"
 "No more than usual. I guess that is a relief."
 "Why don't I have an internal computer?"
 "You always ask the hard questions, don't you?"
 "Oh wait, I remember, I'm in the body of JaggedWing. I designed him to my preferences,
 and I liked the G1 idea of everything being computerized, instead of a Beast Warriors split personality."
 "But then that leaves you at a disadvantage in this situation. You AREN'T a computer, and
 that means you have no computer."
 "One might look at it like that. However, two points are in my favor."
 "One; I designed JaggedWing totally. I know EVERYTHING there is to know about him,
 I don't NEED an internal computer."
 "Two: this situation is not real. I'm dreaming. As long as I can keep the knowledge that
 I'm dreaming in the front of my mind, I can control my dream."
 "That means... I don't have to clean up! I gave JaggedWing a static antimatter shield that
 repulses dirt, grime, and the like from my 'skin'."
 "That still leaves fur to worry about."
 "Yes, but I don't have fur on my eyes, so they are clear."
 "I still can't see."
 "Um, okay, maybe I'm simply in the dark."
 "It took you THAT long to figure that out?"
 "How long? This is all thought, it only took an instant."
 "Um.... yeah, I knew that."
 "Okay, so it is dark. I can't see where I am or what I'm doing. How am I to do anything?"
 "Well, darkness never bothered JaggedWing because he had scanners."
 "Um, I don't know how to do that."
 "Well, try it like it showed on 'Beast Wars'. Activate light amplification or infrared or something."
 The view jumped from black to green to red.
 "No go. You can't amplify light that isn't there. I don't even have starlight."
 "Well, what about making your own light?"
 "With what? Only thing I've got is my quasar rifle..."
 "Nope, didn't make that customizable. It just fires those destructive balls of light."
 "...my portable field generators..."
 "Hmmm...maybe if I switched them to photon field they would generate light."
 "Wait, what about something else? Thermal scan or sonar or something?"
 The world suddenly became a field of blues and greens.
 "I'm the only thing in this cave that is producing heat."
 "That always gives me a headache anyway. What about sonar or radar?"
 "Sonar is sound bouncing back. Radar is the same thing, only not with sound. You can't see it, only feel it, and maybe hear it. I wouldn't know how to handle that info. I need to SEE."
 "Yes, but remember when the Daredevil guest-starred on 'Spiderman' and 'Fantastic Four'? He sees in radar."
 "Okay, I've switched visual to that, but I still don't see."
 "If it is radar, try emitting radar waves. If it is sonar, try making a noise."
 From the base of his throat, JaggedWing made his purring sound. The sound waves traveled out, and for a split second, he saw nothing. Then the waves hit the nearest objects and started to return. Admittedly, seeing in sonar has more of a dilation than seeing in photons (light, like normal eyes), but in a confined space you couldn't tell. You could tell there was no color or shading, but the texture was strangely vibrant.
 "Wow, that is much better. But I can't be hearing this through my eyes, so how am I doing it?"
 "Beast mode ears transferred to my shoulders, remember? That gave me better depth perception when dealing in sound rather than light."
 "Oh, that makes sense."
 "On to the next order of business..."
 "Where am I?"
 "In a cave, obviously. Looks volcanic. Have to be careful of sharp stones in here, not like the limestone caves you're used to."
 "Mudslide behind me. Don't think I can go back out that way. Guess I have to explore this cave."
 "Read-outs show that energy is at full. Raw materials for repair are also pretty good. Systems are being fixed as we speak."
 "So to speak."
 "Flight is still off-line. Don't have enough of the gravity field generators working to lift me off yet."
 "Still, they are coming back on, and weapons are still just fine."
 "Well, then I guess I can handle myself. Might as well explore."
 He set off down the cave tunnel.
 "Wonder if anyone is looking for me? I hope they even notice I'm gone. I hope they are all right."
 "I left Skidz in a pretty bad situation. I hope someone turns off my field generator and lets him free if he recovers his sanity."
 "That Architeuthis sure can kiss. I never thought a Transformer could react that way, since they lack hormones and what not. I hope I impressed her."
 "Probably scared her to death grabbing her like that."
 "I hope not. I hope they've noticed I'm gone."
 "I bet they think I'm dead or something."
 "Maybe it is best that I never really did meet them, then. Wouldn't want them to mourn or anything."
 "This is too depressing, let's think about something else."
 "Okay, how about...". And the thoughts strayed in circles as he walked.

JEDI walked ahead of the group by a good portion. "Snow...why did it have to snow? You'd think on a tropical island I'd be safe from the junk, but nooooooo....There just HAS to an ice cap, and we just HAVE to go over it...Great, just great. If I get stuck in another avalanche, I am going to kill the Hitler wanna-be...JEDI sighed and walked carefully over the ice bridge, then began scaling the gentle slope on the other side. Muttering softly inder her breath, griping just to have something to smile about...She did love snow, it was just the avalanche part that got her...Literally that one time...(NOT fun, believe me...Five feet under snow is NOT fun!!)
She felt the rumbling before she heard it...And for the first time since she had woken up, she froze, gaping up at the wall of white that was racing towards her...then her mind kicked back in (albeit not all the way) and she did a quick 180 and beat feet towards the ice bridge, already coming ahead.

-At the ice bridge-
"JEDI to ANYBODY!! Get back on the other side of the ice bridge!! AVALANCHE!!!!"
The others reacted, racing back over the ice bridge or just staying on the 'safe' side. It wasn't until the wall of white raced up the ravine, and fell down it, shattering the natural bridge and cascading downward that someone voiced the question of "Where's JEDI?" All heads turned to the deadly waterfall...Wondering...

-A half mile back up-
Nononononononononononono!!! JEDI's mind screamed as she desperately tried to get back above the surf of white...A glimpse of blue below her sent her shoving in that direction...To burst out of the snow, gasping desperately...She scrambled to stay up, but was rolled over and under the tide of snow...Five more times she managed to get above, only to be shoved down...On the sixth try, she managed to turn against the tide, practically swimming, trying to get high enough above the snow to use her wings...

-Back to the group-
"JEDI!!!"
They could see her now, trying to slow herself down, heading for the ravine, carried by the inexorable tide of snow...Still in beast-mode, and the snow surged over shoulders, rendering her wings useless...The others didn't have time to do more than scream her name before she disappeared over the edge, carried into the darkness with terrifying speed...

-A few hours later, underground and remarkably alive-
JEDI tried to stand, but couldn't move with all the snow piled on top of her back; she finally stopped, catching herself and looking around.
'Oh well,' she thought, 'At least I'm not completely under it this time...I'll get out of this sooner or later...'
So why did she get the feeling that she was doing nothing more than lying to herself?
"Grandpa, if you can hear me...help."
(I got my thoughts in test...or at least me and my computer...Oh well, at least it isn't my shadow...)
Cold, cold, cold, cold, COLD!!!!
Had she mentioned that she was cold?
Just in case...
She was bloody FREEZING!!!
"Body temperature dropping."
"Oh, REALLY? I hadn't noticed!! I've got to get myself free of this!! I'm gonna get hypothermia!! I hate what I remember from the last time that happened, thank you fates!!"
She struggled to get up, but the few tons of mush, ice, melting snow, and soft powdery snow held her even more firmly than before...
"Warning, slight power decrease, power lost from body temp controls..."
"Oh, joy..."
"Body temperature dropping to dangerous levels."
"Oh well...I already got the wings, now all I need is the harp..."
She felt tired...nothing else really...just tired. Some part of her was screaming mad and scared, but that part wasn't big or strong enough to stop her from resting her head on her front paws and falling asleep...even as her internal computer bleeped out a message.
"Final warning...Body temperature dropping to fatal levels...Body heat required to raise or spark will terminate..."
She heard, but she did not care...
Weak...
Tired...
Sleep.
"And may the angels sing thee off to sleep, fair dreamer, for though she shall never wake...," she muttered sleepily, as her optics slid closed, and her mind wandered away from her harsh reality...

Skidplates watched in abject horror as the malevolent wall of snow and ice slammed down. Titanic forces shook the icecap, as if a godly hand had suddenly seized it and was proceeding to tear it apart. A shockwave slammed into the jagged ledge upon which he perched. Acting on raw instinct, he shifted out of jaguar mode, flipping back through the air as the ground vanished beneath his feet. For a moment, he seemed to be floating, suspended in the cold, clear arctic air--and suddenly, with brutal force, he was slammed hard into the unyielding ground. A blade of pain tore through his injured arm, and suddenly, with nary a warning, his world went black.
He was back in the cave, the previous night...one of the first nights of genuine peace which he had had since fate tore him from his ordinary life, and hurled him into a nightmare. Firelight flickered off of metallic skins as the motley group of robots lay about the cavern. Skidplates felt a momentary pang of pride; it had been his welder, housed in his finger, that had ignited the flames, lending the cavern a homey feel.
"Duran...", Skidplates snapped from his warm, relaxed reverie as the groaning tone impinged on his mind. "Must...stop...Duran...kill." Skidplates paused for a moment, his sudden fear ceasing. The tone of his dark alter-ego seemed almost...grudging...and perhaps...possibly even...half-hearted. "So...you're finally awake.", he responded, speaking to the violent specter not in raw terror, but as a friend. He'd sensed, since the moment that Vail tore him from near-death, that the haunting mental presence had weathered the savage storm that was Mako far worse than Skidplates himself had. The creature's mind now seemed...at rest, somehow, as if the sheer violent force of Mako's assault had shattered the all-consuming grip of madness.
"I wasn't...always...insane," thought Skidplates, gazing into the mysterious golden flames. His mind drifted lazily, the tightly bound sphere of tension which had imprisoned his spark for so long slowly unfurling...and, as his visor, with a low hum, deactivated, he didn't seem to care about the fact that his organic....his human...mind was slowly merging with a technological mesh of circuits and steel...
Skidplates walked a dream environment, a world where he seemingly floated, drifting through the air...finally...he was at...peace..."Nooooooaaaaaarrrghhh!" The scream of pure terror ripped into him, shredding his perfect little world and plunging him back into the nightmare...Skidplates dashed over the hard, sulfuric stone, his metallic feet scraping and clanging against its unforgiving surface. "Nightblade! NO!!", he screamed, as he crested the peak, and watched, rooted in place, as his love sank into the molten inferno, her shimmering black skin melting away to ash and slag...He tried to turn away...but he couldn't move...and found himself forced to watch, as the one bot he cared most about was ripped from the world...
"Windchaser! NO!", he found himself screaming, his throat raw, as he watched yet another plunge into oblivion. "No..No..no."

Meanwhile, back to JaggedWing....
 "Wonder how long I've been wandering these caves."
 "Internal chronometer is still off-line."
 "Guess that means I don't even know how long I was out."
 "Yep."
 "Hey, what is this?"
 "Water. It looks like water."
 "Well, guess, now is as good a time as any to get a drink."
 "Hmmm, sea water. Still, this body can drink sea water as well as any water."
 "Wonder how it got there?"
 "This cave could go right out into the ocean. If so, this could be the end of the tunnel for me. I can swim out."
 *Splash, stroke, stroke.*
 "Huh? What's this? Aw, man, I feel a current coming from the sea, but the hole is too small for me. I can't get out this way."
 "I could always try blasting my way out."
 "If I was going to try blasting my way out, I would have done it long ago. All I would have to do is blow a hole in the ceiling. Trouble is, I wouldn't know how much rock I'd be dumping on myself."
 "Same problem here."
 "I guess I'll have to try the other tunnel."

*Time passes.......*
 "Wonder how long I've been wandering these caves?"
 "Whoa, deja vu."
 "Well, the slope is actually going up, so maybe I'm headed up to the surface."
 "Or I've walked all the way to the mountains in the center of the island, and I'm climbing up the lava tunnel inside it."
 "Enough negative thinking out of y..."
 "Whoa, careful, looks like there is a tunnel below this one, and they caved in on each other."
 "Long drop. Can I fly yet?"
 "Repairs almost complete. You're not up to full power yet, but you can fly yourself."
 "Glad to hear it."
 "Hey, I hear water down there, too."
 "Might as well drop down and check it out."
 "Hmm, this tunnel is bigger than the other one. Water is...fresh. Maybe a spring or snow run-off."
 "Snow run-off? That's the Oregonian in you thinking. You saw the mountains, they don't have snow caps."
 "At least I don't think they do. Clouds were covering them pretty much."
 "No, don't be silly, it's a tropical island. You saw the curvature of it; the island isn't big enough to hold snow-capped mountains. It would be unnatural."
 "Gee, it isn't like I haven't dealt with anything ELSE unnatural in this dream, have I?"
 "Touche."
 "Well, might as well keep going. There isn't much else to do."
 *He trudged onward*

Crimson streaks of fire sliced the sky above the small island,bathing every expansive beach,every crevice,every hutch,with an eerie,unworldly light.
"The end is near..",mumbled Wolfsbane,through a near-blinding, all-consuming haze of lunacy."Soon,the creators shall come,and all shall be consumed by their unholy fire.."
"Shut up..," mumbled Vail, in a mixture of disgust, and slight, but ever growing, fear.A cold terror in the pit of her stomach, a horrifying feeling that soon, her world would be shattered forever, grew within her. Since the moment when she had awaked from her troubled sleep,to spy Skycat carrying Wolfsbane's mutilated, battered form out of the jungle..the fear had possessed her. Even now,as she knelt in the shelter of the jagged,circular stone formation she called home,attempting futilely to patch together damage that she knew in her spark would be irrepairable,the phantom held her.His grip growing tighter..squeezing..and crushing...
"Wahsre...," mumbled Wolfsbane, madness garbling his speech. But Vail knew very well the word..the name..that her crazed patient was trying to speak.
Her voice,barely a whisper,repeated Wolsbane's utterance.."Washer.."

"You're saying that you haven't found him?"
Skidplates glared up at the massive soldier,the golden firelight rendering his optic band all the more molten..the more baleful.
"We've scoured the nearby provinces," replied Enforcer, his burning irritation at his commander becoming all the more pronounced by the second. Reflexively,he clenched his fist,tempted to convert it to cannon mode right then and there,and ventilate Skidplates.
"Well, search some more!With the crisis at hand,the last problem we need is a lunatic running around!"
"My thoughts exactly...," growled Enforcer, his tone rife with menace, as he stalked away.
"You know..we'll never find him in time." Skidplates seemed to bristle at the sudden tone, followed by the sound of light footsteps padding along the sand behind him.
"Really. Does your "sight" tell you that, Windchaser?" Skidplates twisted the word, sight, scorn, and mockery obvious in his voice.
Windchaser emerged from the blackness, the fire's warm glow flickering off of her skin. She, too, bristled, shaken by the sarcasm in the
voice of one that she had once considered a friend..
"My sight is my affair-we both know that." She spoke in hard, low tones, drawing the pain she felt into herself and presenting a hard, stony exterior.
"Then tell me..could your sight have predicted this?" Skidplates inquired, staring into the flames.
Windchaser could see him struggling, and within, she bled, as she saw her old friend slipping into the depths of madness.
"First Washer...now him.." Quickly, she pushed the thoughts away, shoving them into a proverbial safe, forged in the fire of her determination.
She began again, regaining hold of her internal composure.
"What I'm trying to tell you is this...Washer is on a mission...where he has gone, no one can follow.We'll never stop him in time..stop him from..."
"From what?!" Skidplates spat, rising to his feet."The creature is mad!Were he to escape,my.."
"Oh,it's always about you..isn't it?!" began Windchaser, her hackles literally raised."A poor,tortured creature..he used to be your friend, for creator's sake! Perhaps Protos was correct..you ARE.."
"Protos is dead!" screamed Skidplates,cutting her off with the acidic fire of his words.
Flipping open his comlink,he spoke rapidly. "Skycat-Plasma. Reinitiate the search...provide Ranger and Enforcer with air support.This is your command-the renegade known as Washer is to be stopped-dead or alive."

(Thoughts are back to narrative)
I don't know how long I've been half-walking, half-crawling and half-floating down this tunnel. Heck, I don't even know how I manage to have three halves. I would think I've gone quite a ways, but I can't tell.
Only twice have I had to turn back and take a different tunnel. For some reason I seem to be keeping a perfect map inside my head of the caves, so I know I'm not lost. Three times I've had to convert to beast mode to walk on four legs through a low passage way, and five times, counting now, the tunnel has become either so jagged or so steep that I've had to activate my powers of flight.
I've been feeling stronger and stronger as I walk. I guess my feast back on the beach filled my reserves of spare parts, so I don't need to eat for a while now. I have yet to run out of power. I'm not going to even try to figure out what kind of fuel source I'm using.
Cave levels out here, my sonar tells me, even though there is no light. I touch down and keep walking.
What was that? Oh no, the floor is shaking. Earthquake? I hope not.
"...can hear me...help."
What was that? My horns stand on up in interest. Communications array picked up a faint signal. It's coming from further down the cave. Something in the cave must be blocking most of it. I bet no one outside could have received it.
Well, they asked for help, I might as well oblige. Tracing the signal, I lift off from the ground. No time for walking, it is time for speed!
My sonar shows me cave mouths as I pass them. I dodge and avoid walls and sharp sections of rock. This isn't like the limestone caves I'm used to, this is a lava cave and it has no stalagtites or stalagmites. It does have sharp rock, though.
Signal tracer is only a vauge pointer, I hope I'm going the right way. I've passed some tunnels that might have taken me there more directly, or some tunnels that might have lead me away. I'm just guessing.
Okay, I'm here. Signal came from about this spot. But there is nothing here. Just a large tunnel.
"And may the angels sing thee off to sleep, fair dreamer, for though she shall never wake..."
There it is again, but the signal isn't just being blocked, it is growing weaker. It's directly above me. I did take a wrong turn, I should have flown up more.
Okay, I could blast my way through the ceiling, but that might do more damage than good. I need to see what is beyond the rock.
Vision switching to X-ray. No good, no radiation to see. Wait! Stupid me, I can generate my own X-rays. Portable field generator set to the proper radiation, I still have a mental link to it if I need to adjust anything. Hope this works. Hope I've got the setting low enough that I don't irradiate anyone.
Nope, no worry there. Setting is too low, I can see the ceiling, but not through it. Turning it up... ah, I can see through some of the rock. Hmm, everything is in greys, the darkness being the density of the object I'm looking at. Interesting.
Okay, beyond the rock... something softer, except for that thing right there... it is... a body?
Found them. Okay, mentally pinpointed the victim's location, now to wrap him or her...or it?... in a gravity field. Did I do that? I can't tell, I hope I did.
My quasar rifle comes to my hand. Three quick shots, the roof is caving in. Got to hold the bubble on whoever that is, while I shove the rock away so it doesn't crush me. Now I have to deal with the stuff that is...
Snow? But I thought... nevermind, I can think about that later. Bring them down to me, looks pretty much just like a bubble of snow.
Portable field generators out, set to microwaves and melt off the snow. My wrists are getting tired holding the wings up, wonder if I always do that when I use my gravity field. Oh well, I can relax enough to let the water drain away. Yes, that is better, guess it is harder to hold lighter objects. Ten generators put in a double pentagram around me. Five set for a forcefeild, five set for heat.
She looks like a sphinx. Lion body, but with wings. She also looks like she just jumped off a cliff.
"What has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?" The riddle comes to my lips in a whisper and is shortly followed by the answer.
"Man."
Looks like she took damage from the cold. Don't remember seeing her with the party, but I don't remember all of them that well, just those I've met.
Frost bite? Hypothermia? I don't see how a Beast Warrior could be effected by these things. Transformers could exist in the chill of deep space with no problem. A little snow they would feel and complain about, but it shouldn't hurt them. Electricity flows better in the cold.
I guess her body isn't built the same way as mine, despite us both being Beast Warriors. Well, if I made my body, she probably made hers, I guess she had a different design philosophy.
I bring her down and lay her in my pentagram. The rest of the cave is filled with snow, but this little area is free. The heat melts the snow, but the forcefield keeps the water out.
She is cold. Hope she doesn't mind me taking a tactile scan. It is simply a gentle massage of her body. No internal damage that I can find.
I have to get her warmed up. The thermal field generators should do the trick, but my body also is heated.
I wrap her up in my wings and hold her in my fur. She should come out of this soon. Hope she appreciates all I'm doing for her. Oh well, at least I'm enjoying myself.
Catnap time. I'll wake up soon as she moves.

 A scythe of pain slashed through Hailblaze's mind, as she regained sudden consciousness. Flexing her wings, she sprayed a film of white powder through the air.
 "Ugh..I hate to be wet..," she muttered,as she dragged herself from the tumultuous snow drift."Hmmm...?" Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a metallic gold gleam, stark against the uniform shades of the ice.
 Padding over, she seized the jutting metal edge in both hands,and proceeded to haul a battered Thuntor from entrapment. Laying the avian form upon the ground,she quickly attempted to compose her thoughts."We were flying, Thuntor and I-and suddenly, I heard JEDI scream...and now..this..whatever it is." Towering heaps of ice and snow stretched toward the crystal-clear sky, blotting out the harsh arctic sunlight.
"So the question is...," she wondered,staring at the bleak landscape all around her, "What in the name of heck happened?"

 "I'm leaving." Skidplates' somber tone cut the tension like a knife.
 "Whaaat?!" asked Vail incredulously.
 "It's like I said..I'm leaving," Skidplates reiterated, as a mass of coiling tendrils slithered into his gaping stomach cavity. "My repairs are complete-and I'm going to find Windchaser."
 "Who?" Vail wondered momentarily,before making the connection."You mean JEDI?"
 Skidplates stared at Vail quizzically, his optic band seeming to somehow convey confusion.
 Vail suddenly had the strangest feeling that Skidplates was even less himself than he had ever been before. "He's..losing his mind..literally." She visibly shuddered,suddenly filled with a cold dread. "What if..if that..is my fate as well?" she pondered.
 And to make matters worse,she had a bizarre feeling that she was now strangely alone... "Skidz?" she asked,a visible quaver in her voice.
 Quickly, she spun around, to face the mysterious young robot...who she felt somehow held the key to unlocking the mysterious fear that festered within her as of late.
 But, alas, he was already gone.
"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS DOING THAT TO ME?!?" Vail yelled out in frustration and anger.
She turned to see that not only was the rest of the group looking at her, but the expressions on their faces registered a mix of fear, confusion, and, she could almost swear, amusement.
"So he went off to find JEDI? I would think that after that she'd be--......" Washer dropped off in the middle of the sentence, seeing that all eyes were riveted on him. "....That is.....to say...well....."
Some frowned at the sudden revelation. Others averted their gazes to the ground. No one spoke. Except, that is, for Hailblaze. For, unlike the others, she had looked to the horizon for inspiration to speak the unspeakable truth, and had spotted a disturbance. One which seemed to be growing nearer........
"Uhhh, guys...," she said softly.
They looked to her. Then Hitchhiker followed her gaze until she too saw what had caught Hailblaze's attention. When she did, a sudden fear surged into her.
"Oh my God........"

Skidplates perched on a ragged stone outcropping, which jutted precariously from a nearly sheer crystalline wall of ice. Before him lay an expansive field of snow, a bitter, icy wasteland which stretched nearly as far as the eye could see.
"Hmmm...unusual...," he mused, as his heat scanners swept the terrain. "In a tropical locale like this, there definitely should not be this much ice..but then again,this entire island is..unreal."
A crimson form leapt into clearly defined life before his eyes...a four-legged, furred form, burned into the plasteel of his visor..
Skidplates felt a pang of hope burst into life within him..but such hope was not to last...
"Just a wolf...," he muttered, as his scanners determined that the animal was, indeed, of flesh, blood, and bone, not alloy and mech.
With the characteristic hiss of well-oiled components, Skidplates shifted back into jaguar mode. His footing unsure, he treaded lightly as he made his way up a winding, natural stairway of stone, which grew from the frozen cliff face.
Upon reaching the peak, he halted..a decision had to be made, as to what direction to travel in next...
"I have to find 'Chaser, I just have to..if I fail her..then I fail Nightblade once again.."
The youth and the phantom winced alike, as their shared memories brought to the fore an image of Skidplates' beloved.
"We'll find JEDI..I promise..," the youth stated hesitantly, afraid of what reaction he might receive from his mental partner..
But, as it was, there was but a silence, more haunting and frightening that any psionic scream could ever be.
A fluid storm of snow greeted Skidplates' optics, as he stared up at the towering snowfall. The avalanche, while minor in scale, had had a devastating effect upon the arctic ecosystem. The brutal wall of snow now poured over the somber cliffs of slate....
Fueled by curiosity, Skidplates bounded forward, on a direct course with the bizarre natural occurrence.
"Somehow...the snow is..falling. It isn't accumulating at the base..but rather,dropping away.."
As he neared the base of the falls,a thunderous roar met his ears.
"The voice of God...," he whispered..a strange notion, considering that he was an atheist, born and bred.
Skidplates' reverie was disrupted, as his sensor grid leapt suddenly online...
"Alert...plasmatic energy source detected-proximity-extreeeee!"
Skidplates' computer systems squeeled in seeming agony, as a mighty energy blast slammed into his shoulder, hurling him into a bed of glimmering blue ice.
The nearby snow drifts exploded into a nova storm, as horrible, insectile forms burst from concealment, their razored mandibles gaping.
"Beware...the wrath of the Cha-anix guard!" The vile tones slashed into Skidplates' mind,as the demons leapt forward on dark, oily, segmented limbs...exposed muscle and tendon flexed as the creature brought their gleaming claws to bear.
Skidplates, rising to his feet, gripped tightly in his fist the satisfying weight of his plasma cannon. The aliens, slamming into the ground before him, each of their four limbs a lethal instrument of destruction, were duly unimpressed..
"So...you boys want to play?" spoke Skidplates, his voice a sinister echo of his normal, quiet voice.
"Mechanoid wretch! Your kind shall be cleansed from this world..and we, the supreme evolution of the warrior drone, shall see you burn in all the hells there are!" roared the insectoid, its head bursting from its body upon a sinewy, translucently armored neck...
"Well...sounds like fun.."
The youth was gripped with a sudden dread,as he realized that the voice, and the fury, seething within him were not only those of his alter-mind..they were also his...

Meanwhile, Matrix had walked further on down the trench, looking for a way out.
 "Guys, they're coming from the..." Matrix was cut off as an alien attack dog jumped down onto him. Matrix threw a quick fist. The alien flew back into a wall. Another bounded out of an explosion. Matrix fired round after round of ammunition, stopping the creature. The other he had punched ran to join his partner. One of the creatures stood up, getting ready to pounce.
 "Matrix, duck!" Skycat yelled, unleashing her quasar cannons upon the aliens. One of them exploded, sending chunks onto the ground. The other fell from the explosion. It hissed loudly as Matrix fired a bolt of energy at it.
 "Medics needed at southern post!" Matrix yelled over the gunfire and screaming.
 "What medics!?" Skycat yelled back, wrestling with a X'Kaetil bladed warrior. She uppercutted him, buying them some time.
 "Let's get back with the others!" Matrix said to her, blasting an alien warrior off the top of the trench.
 "Good idea!" Skycat yelled back. The two of them ran down the muddy trench. Two X'Kaetil warriors jumped down in their path.
 "Ha, ha, ha. Where are you two going?" one of them asked. The other fired its rifle, nailing Skycat's left wing. Matrix fired back. The alien he hit staggered back, then fired a fully charged blast at Matrix. Matrix dived, getting scarred by the high-energy blast. The other alien put his foot down on Matrix's head.
 "Not so sure of yourself now, are you?" The alien aimed his rifle at Matrix. Skycat looked over her shoulder to see Matrix on the ground.Skycat jumped up in the air, gained a little altitude, then flew down from above. She held her fist forward as she dove, punching the back of the alien's head. The alien fell, grasping his head.
 "Arggg! Fools!" the alien shouted. Matrix kicked the alien hard in the chest. The blow silenced him. Skycat sent a finishing blow to her alien's head.
 "Let's get back!" Skycat yelled.

Warm. Warm and fuzzy. Like a soft quilt, something to snuggle into.
Okay, so I'm not sure if that is exactly what was passing through her mind at the time, but she did try to nuzzle deeper into the fur on my chest. Her movement woke me from my thoughts. A smile played across my face, hidden under my mask. Maybe she is waking up now.
"Good morning, sunshine," I said as gently as possible.
Her reaction to discovering that she was curled up in my arms should probably have been insulting, but it was also expected.
"What the..." (...followed by a couple of interesting swear words.) I instantly called up a "Peace field", my own invention; it bloks out all subspace transfers so no guns can be drawn. I also tighten my grip on her, holding her arms to her sides and trying to keep her still.
Okay, maybe that wasn't the best move. She obviously has at least minor close quarters combat knowledge. She pulls away and I double over (I would be gasping if I was still human, I note, so I put up a good show of it, even though I'm not really that hurt).
"Who the devil are you and where the heck am I?" she asks from a corner she had slided to. My odd humor got the better of me in my response.
"Funny you should phrase it that way." Again, not the best thing to say, par for course with me I guess. She was still probably working on optical sensors. The only light in this little area I had cleared was from the ten field generators(set up in a double pentagram). The faint red light they caused reflected quite well against the white snow the five force field generators kept out. I think she was touching the wall, which was out of the thermal generators' field, so it must have been deathly cold. In the middle of this entire scene I was, large, dark, horned, clawed, batwings, and well, probably rather imposing.
Something suddenly felt wrong. Really, really, really wrong. I guess she panicked and was doing something unfriendly, because somehow I could trace whatever it was back, and she was the source of it. My hand lashed out, claws grasping her neck.
"What are you doing?" I managed through gritted teeth.
"...my time sight..."
"Nevermind, just stop. Stop it now! I can kill you five ways without even thinking." The feeling faded like it had come and I lowered my hand. Putting both my hands up in a calming gesture, I eased back and sat down crosslegged.
"You... you fought it. I couldn't get anything clearly. How is that possible? Nothing has ever..."
"I don't know or care, just don't do it anymore," I said, gesturing exasperatedly. "Now, my name is JaggedWing. Can we both sit here and talk peacefully?"
"My name is... JEDI, and... no... probably not."
"Oh, why not? What are you going to do that is so all-important?"
"I think I'm going to pass out again."
"Oh." I caught her again. Well, maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Skidplates bit back a scream as cerulean lightning rampaged across his form.
"Alert-class 5 ion bursssst't't-activate-vate-ing defensive compensators."
A screeching whine filled the air as Skidplates' malfunctioning internal computer attempted to repair the damage being done by the wild lightning.
"The X'Kaetil shall have their victory, dog!" screamed the insectoid leader,as he bounded across the ice field, gaining inevitably on Skidplates.
"Hate to point this out...friend..," Skidplates groaned,as he shifted painfully into jaguar mode."But I'm...a cat!"
With a feral roar, the lithe form sprang through the air, slamming head-on into the X'Kaetil master's stomach. The violent force of the impact hurled insect and feline alike to the ground, smashing them into the cold, cruel ground.
Transforming back to robot mode, Skidplates reared back his fist and smashed into into the chitinous exoskeleton of his opponent, again and again.
Skidplates reveled in the feel of bone shattering and flesh tearing as he drove duel onyx piledrivers into the ever-weakening alien.
"You...miserable..insect..DIE!" he screamed, his full fury unleashed, youth and madman united in an unquenchable, unstoppable rage.
The alien raised its head,and seemed to sneer,even as gooey emerald fluid, his very lifeblood, splattered Skidplates' fists.
A dark chuckle erupted suddenly from his maw...
"You...gah!...fool! While you unleash your miniscule..your futile..rage against me..my brothers..are already slaughtering your friends..both those..above..arrrghhh..and those weaklings who cower within the caves!"
"Did you truly believe..that one of your infinite weakness..could defeat an ultimate X'Kaetil...? I..am but the martyr. Kill me if you will...it is for naught.."
"Soon..gluk!..soon..the righteous swarms shall descend,and rip the shimmering flesh from your accursed, Dominion corpses..the hive....shall live..again..."
Roaring with rage, Skidplates reared back,and slammed his fist through the warrior's bulging chest.Ignoring the geyser of blood spraying his armor, Skidplates armed his twin wrist grenades..and fired.
At close range,the alien's form practically disintegrated,becoming a hazy spray of blood and ichor.
Skidplates was hurled back, chittin fragments rippng into his skin,as the explosion ripped apart the terrain.
Crawling through the boiling slush,stained with a mixture of alien fluid and his own mech fluid,Skidplates gasped,his throat seemingly raw with pain..."Others...cave...JEDI...Windchaser!NO!"
Above him, another figure appeared. Hazy...
"What are you talking about?" it said, flatly.
"Ah..." Skidplates struggled to speak.
"I see you're injured." The figure knelt down, taking something from behind its back. "I guess I DID show up a little late, eh? Your name?"
"Skid- Skidplates," the bot said, suddely feeling a rush of energy.
"Well, then... Skidplates. What kind of name is that, anyway? I'm Jake. Jake Austin."
"Thanks," Skidplates rose, almost fully healed, "What WAS that?"
"Nanocore stimulator. Mr. Mako gave six of them to me. In case some of you ...people got badly injured during the fighting."
"Mako...?"
"Mr. Mako, yes. Now, what was all that about the others?"
"The bugs said they were going to attack them!"
"No, no no. Impossible. The alien language is based on scents and clicks. You couldn't have understood it. Mr. Mako couldn't. I've fought them and I couldn't. You were probably just hearing things."
"I wasn't hearing things."
He sighed, "We'll check on them anyway," Jake whiped out a long, complex, and unusual-looking staff.
"What's that?"
Jake leveled the weapon and pointed to a nearby block of ice. Pinned to the ice was the body of an X'Kaetil warrior. Three glowing bolts dug into the chest, sparking away with an amber glow, the area around them burning slowly as fluids dripped from the once-proud warrior's mandibles and joints.
"I see," Skidplates answered.
"Good," Jake growled. He didn't like the thought of 'babysitting' these people, if they still were people, while Mako went off by himself to retrieve the bodies. It just didn't seem prudent to risk the entire mission, just to save some of these... bots. But the decision wasn't his to make.
"Hey... are you the short guy who was with Enforcer on the beach?"
"Yes," Jake smiled, "and no. Now... show me to them."
"Sure."

Author's Note:  (The Clawed Alien "Attack Dogs" as I'm calling them, look like Zerglings from Starcraft. OK, now for the fight.)
A hundred X'Kaetil warriors crested the snowy hilltop, rifles blazing. The robots managed to climb down into a ditch, using it for cover. Beastbot, Washer and Hitchhiker fired over the top, blowing holes in the earth. Some of the aliens fell, but they continued their charge. Enforcer sat next to Vail, calling all his weapons online.
"I'm goin' in. Cover me." Enforcer stood up, launching missle after missle, knocking a few warriors back. Blue and green lasers sliced the air, decapitating one alien. Vail jumped up, firing her pistol at a charging alien. Three of the aliens stopped to fire their rifles. Architeuthis launched her spear, cutting an alien's arm off. The aliens jumped into the trench, slashing Beastbot's arm. Washer sprayed a blast of cold water, freezing an alien. One X'Kaetil warrior grabbed Hailblaze's weapon. Vail shot the alien in the back. More aliens poured into the ditches, burying Ed in the mud. Enforcer fired round after round of gauss rifle ammunition, his eyes glowing with hatred.
"Guys! We got company!" Beastbot yelled, pointing at three dozen alien attack dogs. Hitchhiker turned around, unleashing thousands of bullets. Two of the attack dogs dropped. Four more jumped onto Hailblaze.
"Ahhh!" Hailblaze screamed, punching a dog's gruesome face. The aliens began to claw her, when Washer sprayed them down with gallons of hot tar. The aliens writhed in pain, smoking and making screeching noises. A bladed warrior swung at Washer, making a deep gash in his left arm. Mech fluid sprayed the alien's eyes, causing him to cut himself. Enforcer had five aliens slashing in front of him. The first lunged, a bladed wrist held forward. Enforcer punched the alien, sending him into Hailblaze. Two others rushed forward. Vail shot one, while the other tripped over a dog's body. Beastbot fired an alien's weapon, shooting an attack dog.
"We're surrounded!"  cried Architeuthis. Hitchhiker put the sleeper on an alien. Hailblaze was down, along with Ed. Washer turned to find two attack dogs slashing his legs.
"Man, these are annoying!" he cried, kicking the dogs away. Eight X'Kaetil warriors blasted at the robots, slashing Washer and Beastbot's metal. Enforcer transformed, running over a dog. Two warriors blocked his path. They wielded their rifles, waiting.
"Hmph." Enforcer called his autocannons to bear. The aliens fired, and one bolt of discharge nailed Enforcer's radiator. "Gah!" Enforcer transformed, ducking another bolt of fire. Vail came from behind the aliens. Enforcer was tackled by an attack dog, while Vail slashed an alien's neck. The other turned, shooting her dead center in the chest. Vail looked down at the gaping hole. Mechfluid gushed out, while black smoke poured out of her reactor. Enforcer rolled on the ground with the dog. After he blasted a hole in its head, he looked up to see Vail collapse. Enforcer's eyes widened.
"Vail!" Skidplates shouted, running down the mountain. Scaleblade had a pile of X'Kaetil warriors at her feet. She saw Vail fall. Skidplates fired blast after blast of bluish laser beams, nailing the alien warrior time after time. Enforcer stood up, unleashing an Alpha Strike. Six alien warriors were blown apart. Hitchhiker and Washer battled four alien warriors and three alien attack dogs. Washer was knocked to the dirt. Hitchhiker shortly followed.
"It's my fault she's dead," Enforcer yelled, punching alien after alien to the ground. "Come here, you freebirth scum!" Enforcer charged at a X'Kaetil warrior. The alien turned to run. Enforcer fired a pulse laser, just missing the alien's back. Another X'Kaetil warrior with blades jumped off a large rock, knocking Enforcer down. "That's it!" Enforcer swung a fist at the alien. It ducked, swinging a bladed arm. The blow cut into Enforcer's gauss rifle. Skidplates fired at the alien, busting it in half. Enforcer slowly turned towards Skidz.
"No, it's my fault she's hurt. I wasn't here in time." Skidz helped Enforcer off the ground. "Let's help the rest. We could save Vail yet. I saw her move just a bit ago."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Enforcer transformed, but the busted radiator kept him from moving. "Ahhhh!" Enforcer transformed back. Skidplates was already back at the battle, shooting an attack dog off of Hitchhiker.
"Man, where have you guys been?" yelled Beastbot. "Washer, Architeuthis, Scaleblade, Ed, Hailblaze and the others are down. Only me, Hitchhiker, you and Enforcer are still functional. By the way, where's Vail?" Beastbot asked, shooting an attack dog. Skidplates pointed at the plain, where Vail lay. "Oh, man! No!" Hitchhiker tackled a bladed warrior.
"She's OK, I think." Skidz turned to punch a X'Kaetil warrior, tossing its weapon to Hitchhiker.
"Thanks. My weapons are busted." Hitchhiker fired the weapon, missing a warrior by a mile. "Whoops!" Hitchiker fired again, shooting a tree. "Man, these are hard to fire!" The tree fell over on three warriors. "Yes!" she said, ducking a blast from above. Enforcer jumped down into the ditch, landing on a warrior with a rifle. An attack dog turned towards him.
"What're ya waiting for?" Enforcer taunted, and tried to fire his gauss rifle. A few sparks followed by some smoke was his reply. The attack dog charged, lunging on Enforcer. Enforcer pulled one of its bladed arms off. The alien bit down into his face. Beastbot pulled the alien dog off Enforcer, punching it three times. The rest of the aliens regrouped.
"Man, we still have at least two and a half dozen more to go!" Hitchhiker yelled, ducking down.
"Artificials, stand down or we'll destroy you!" an alien commander yelled, with two dozen X'Kaetil guarding him with rifles. "Come peacefully with your weapons offline, and we may spare you," he offered, sending his two dozen troops marching towards them.
"What now?" Beastbot asked Skidz.
"Me? How should I know!" Skidplates replied, getting scared.
"No deal, alien," Enforcer yelled back.
"What're you doin'!" Washer yelled, sprawled on the ground.
"Fine," The X'Kaetil commander signaled something, and ordered his troops to attack. The two dozen warriors clicked and made noises as they ran full speed at the small group of 'bots. Enforcer fired all his rockets, sending half the warriors flying. "They've all grouped up! I can do that again, and they'll be gone." Enforcer aimed again.
"Spread out, you fools!" the commander shouted, knocking his servant to the ground.
"Die, clatters." Enforcer whispered. A voice from his computer replied, "Ammo, depleted."
"Uh-oh," Skidplates said.
"Uh-oh," Beastbot said.
"Uh-oh," Washer said.
"Shut up, idiots," Hitchhiker said. All of the 'bots ducked. Lasers fried and melted the snow all around them. An explosion sent Beastbot into the side.
"Good plan, Enforcer.," Hitchhiker grumbled. Vail sat up behind the alien commander, pistol in hand.
"This......is....for.....us!" Vail pulled the trigger over and over. The X'Kaetil commander's eyes widened, as green blood gushed out of his mouth and wounds. His troops stopped, looking back at their screaming commander. One of the aliens clicked in confusion. The rest turned, throwing their weapons to the ground, and dropped to their knees. Skidplates looked up.
"Vail, you're OK!" The rest of them sat up. Enforcer looked at the surrendering aliens. "Go home. Inform your leader." The aliens really didn't understand the words, but ran anyway. Skidplates kneeled down by Vail.
"Vail? You're gonna be OK, right?" Skidz asked, shaking.
"I don't think so, Skidz. Take care of Enforcer." Vail turned her head. The lights went dim on her eyes.
"Vail? NOOOO!" Skidz yelled. Enforcer lowered his head to the ground. Hitchiker started to cry, and Beastbot looked shocked at the sight before him.
"She fought bravely," Enforcer said darkly. "We'll bury her back at camp. But now, we have to tend to the others."
 Skidz stood up.
"Agreed."

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