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| - With the sun beginning to hang low over the Arabian Sea, a red and green blur skims the crests of the waves. Underneath, and stretching several miles in either direction, an iridescent sheen of an oil slick twists about like a dying rainbow. Another twisting, turning bank of the Cybertronian suborbital jet dumps off a few more volatile liquids, rich not only in crude oils, but more complex hydrocarbons like benzene and toluene. <> Quickswitch squawks out on local radio waves. Catechism transforms to her jet mode, which is quite astoundingly simple for the coneheaded model that she is. Giant Whalicon From a distance, this appears to be some sort of gigantic robotic whale, its round yellow optics glowing like twin suns. It shares many of the design aesthetics with Sharkticons, but with a broader snout. It lacks limbs of any sort, aside from gigantic fins with underwater jet turbines attached to them. Worst of all, however, is its gigantic gaping mouth, filled to the brim with painful looking saws, crushers, and other implements of rending and pain. All of this, however, must be determined at a distance, for up close, the sheer scale of the thing overwhelms senses and sensibilities. 'Massive' falls short. This monster's gaping maw looks large enough to swallow down aircraft carriers. Up close to something so huge, general shapes and patterns become meaningless, and all is lost in manacing metal designs. The Autobots are dumping things into the ocean! How horrible! Actually, Rodimus Prime has good reason for doing what he's doing. Or at least, he believes he has good reason. The Prime stands near the rear cargo hatch of the Sarikus, which is opened. Up front, Ace, a carbot who spends more time flying shuttles than rolling anywhere, keeps the vehicle steady, though there are other Autobots in the air to help as well. He then kneels by the edge and pulls another barrel of delicious, delicious oil near him, opens it, then tips it overboard. It is, however, significant to note that the barrel isn't actually full. He sighs over the radio. <> Rodimus answers Quickswitch. Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules rumbles along, coming in last and lowest. Heavy with cargo, the prop plane leaves a wide, ever-widening wake behind him. Alice Cooper fills his cockpit as he follows the shuttle and the other one, watching their own dumps of fuel barrels and other things <> he rumbles over shortband back. His own cargo bay door opens up and drops his tail. A small wedge is released, and the barrels start to roll out, one after the other into the waves in a long trail. Shockwave is in the New Crystal City Command Centre, sitting in a command chair watching one of those giant walls o' monitors that he loves so much. Each monitor is showing something different. Decepticon reports streaming in from the fringe of the galaxy. An update on the energon production from the Io base. A CNN news report on the struggling world economy. A map showing the progress of a pair of Seekers out on a space patrol near Mars, and so forth. This section of the command centre is darkened, and Shockwave watches while remaining unmoving. At first glance it'd almost be easy to mistake him as part of the computer system here were it not for his striking dark purple colour scheme. XF-35B Astral Lightning is actually underwater but not inside NCC. With a propeller that pops out of her nosecone (and folds away for atmospheric travel), she's capable of traversing the briny deep. It makes her well suited to help guard NCC, since Cuddles has gone off to work for the Japanese film industry or something. (Catechism really has no idea what happened to Cuddles, honestly.) However, there is underwater guard duty to be done, so there she is. Suddenly, a tiny messenger runs up to Shockwave, bearing a Datapad that isn't scaled to his size. "Mr. Secretary! Mr. Secretary! I have an urgent report for you sir!" Americon waves the datapad at Shockwave, and announces, "They're going to re-imagine Battlestar Galactica *again!*" Americon waits for that to sink in. "Oh, and also, a scout reported an Autobot shuttle and a heavy lifter departing from Belgium... in America!" At around this time, underwater sensors (especially if active sonar is going) are liable to detect the approach of something to the general area of NCC. Something /massive/. Above the water, Rodimus narrows his optics and peers down at the water. "I can't even tell if the thing's follow-" then, the water ripples as a /massive/ shape can be seen beneath for a moment, then is gone again. "Woah!" Rodimus exclaims. <> He dumps out another barrel. "Ach!" exclaims the aerodynamic Disco Ball. Banking up sharply, he moves up a little bit more as the huge thing follows. Staying in the back, he too drops another barrel <> he reports <> At the radio alert from Rodimus, Quickswitch hrns to himself, and punts out a few more carboys of performance enhancing additives and fuel system cleaners to sweeten the pot. <> He flinches a bit in his flight path at the nigh unintelligible gargle emanating from Fanfare. Shockwave doesn't move as Americon comes up to him, chirping away about some idiocy or another. It isn't until the Cassetticon mentions the Autobot shuttle that he finally stops watching the monitors and turns his head towards the little Decepticon. "What was the heading of this shuttle and lifter?" he demands. Before he can get an answer from Americon, Catechism reports in about something really big getting picked up on her sensors. This cannot be a coincidence. "Put all sectors on alert and lock down the city," he states in his emotionless monotone. Launch the alert fighters." That is a coincidence, Americon. Honest. Giant Whalicon is now listening. XF-35B Astral Lightning is a bit shaken up to hear Ramjet over the radio. She thought he was dead! Oh, he's in jail? Typical. The submersible jet rocks herself back and forth underwater, trying to clear her processors. Huge thing. Approaching. Why... does this ring some memory bells? Hmm. The Aquaspeeder tries to approach closer to the... thing and get a real idea of its scale and nature. Americon salutes Shockwave. "I apologize, sir, but Fred could not provide more information than that! He informed me, afterwards, that he "had to get high," which means he must be a pilot or something!" As a report comes in about something huge approaching the city, Americon muses, "Hmm! That must be a coincidence! But even so, I never miss an opportunity for mindless violence!" He scampers away, tossing his datapad into the hands of a rather surprised Seeker. There is, indeed, something following the Autobots, something now close enough to have noticed the rather large meal nearby. However, the greedy creature is obviously not worried about ruining its appetite with a snack right before dinner, for suddenly the beast, a mammoth whale-creature, breaks the surface, giant maw opened wide in an attempt to scoop up any low flying Autobots... or perhaps underwater swimming Decepticons as well! The Sarikus is, at the moment the monster breaks the surface, flying far too low, and although Ace's reflexes are good enough to suddenly veer upward, there's a problem: Rodimus was standing beside an open hatch on the back! As the shuttle climbs, the Prime, taken off-guard, tumbles forward. Hands grab desperately at the open hatch, and he manages to hold on for just a moment... then his fingers slip, and he falls into the Whalicon's giant, toothy jaws! Rodimus Prime has left. Gnaw arrives from Below Northern Indian Ocean. Gnaw has arrived. Dipping one wingtip, the Cybertronian jet roars out of reach of the massive breech, slicing past flumes of metric tonnes of water. However, at the radio calls, and the horrific sight of Rodimus disappearing into the cavernous gullet of the Whalicon, Quickswitch nearly tumbles over himself midair as he alters course. With a burst of thrusters, he accelerates to blistering speeds, before snapping into DRILL TANK mode, diamond carbide tip revving to life. If he doesn't fall into an already existing hole, he'll most definitely MAKE one. An expeditious set of origami folds results in a sturdy drill-tank, ready to pierce heaven. Quickswitch has left. Astrotrain arrives from the Bay of Bengal to the east. Astrotrain has arrived. Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules watches this, wordless as he keeps his course. He then drops another barrel "Come on, Moby. Follo tha shiney thing... that's et." Swimming around in the ocean is a roly-poly ball of Shark. He's searching for a meal. Let's hope he's not going to bite off more than he can chew! Ransack has arrived. Klaxons are going off all over the New Crystal City shark as Shockwave sounds the alert. Decepticons are running two and fro, but are probably being about as useless as they were back when Unicron attacked Cybertron. The cycloptic strategist stands and rushes towards the exit of New Crystal City along with Americon. Several Seekers are taking off by the time they reach the mouth-like exit. It's clear the Decepticons are aware of the Autobot & Whalicon threat and are mobilizing to neutralize it. Defensive weaponry along the outside of the shark are preparing to blast at the Whalicon. Since the dawn of time Whale and Shark have battled for supremacy of the oceans... now that battle continues here today! XF-35B Astral Lightning is trying to investigate this... thing more closely. It's bigger than she thought. Much bigger. In fact, this is start remind her of Neocron, how it just went on and on and on... and of Neocron for other reasons. Why? Oh, she remembers now, and opens up her radio connection - and then she's swallowed by the beast, as she is sucked in past teeth bigger than sky scrapers, like a tiny krill. Catechism has left. The tower to NCC bursts up out of the waves, and Americon stands proudly on the elevator, hands on his hips as he looks out across the ocean. "It is a good day to die... in America!" he cries, transforming into eagle mode and launching himself into the sky. "Now where are the invaders--ah ha!" His keen eagle eyes spy Fanfare, and Rodimus Prime falling out the back of an Autobot shuttle. "You will not escape danger that easily, Rodimus Lame! Or Lamimus Prime! Or maybe Lamimus Lame! Look, that insult's a work-in-progress, lay off, man! Oh, and I attack!" Fearlessly, he dives inside of the whale, narrowly dodging various buzzsaws, crushing devices, and the occasional plasma torch. Several gumby Seekers see Catechism and Americon fly in, and, inspired by their bravery, follow suit, letting loose war cries as they fly in, but sadly, most aren't as small as Americon nor as lucky as Catechism, so a lot of them just crushed to bits, their agonized screams transmitted to their fellows. Giant Whalicon The inside cavity of the Whalicon, while cavernous, is not nearly as big as one might expect. This is because there has to be room for other systems. This is also because in the main cavern, there are any numbers of tentacles, spikes, chopping and grinding mechanisms, and other devices intended to 'process' anything and everything that's been swallowed into usable parts. In order to get that far, however, one must pass beneath the giant robotic whale uvula. It is an evil uvula, designed with laser systems to help soften up food that passes below. Just because. Contents: XF-35B Astral Lightning Drill Tank Winnebago As Rodimus falls, he transforms, so as to hit the water in a mode somewhat more capable of dealing with it. However, he quickly finds his tires and axels wrapped in tentacles that attempt to drag him towards a processing station. In the far, deep corners of his mind, this situation manages, at once, to remind him of being inside Unicron and being stuck underwater on Quintessa, but he doesn't say as much out loud. That would be disturbingly Kuppish of him. Quickswitch's last pose: Catechism's last pose: Cyclonus has arrived. A distinctive rend of metal, accompanied by screeching gears and treads, announces Quickswitch's arrival from... the side of the Whalicon. The deluge of brine that sloshes in with the Wrecker is quickly followed by a strong lurch and forceful lateral G-forces as the creature slings its head side to side in protest of the surprise orthodontic surgery. The drill tank is briefly upended, treads whirring uselessly in the relative dryness inside the Whalicon. However, he is immediately set up on by spikes and tentacles, and is wrenched toward the back of the mouth, closer to Rodimus's position. As lasers begin firing, he pauses, lit by the flashes of light. "Are... are all those shots coming from the dangly thing in the back of its throat? Whaddycall that thing?" A sharp whine sounds out before he beings laying down return fire from his photon blasters. "THAT THING!!!" he points with his own weaponsfire. Astrotrain has arrived. Gnaw has arrived. Who knows exactly how or why, but something else explodes into the area from the Whalicon's mouth. This would be a small submersible craft of some sort. Only a scouting vessel, really. Either way, it lands half crumpled into this area; mangled and green and lies still for a moment. Then the canopy bursts open from the lateral stroke of a sword and Cyclonus clambers out. There is a slightly dazed look on his face for a second that indicates that he totally saw absolutely none of this coming and was probably on an unrelated exploration venture in the submarine in question. But now . . he is here. Witha n evil uvula. Ransack has arrived. Shockwave has arrived. Hinder has arrived. XF-35B Astral Lightning is a spacejet with a very Golden Age propeller sticking out of her nosecone. After being swallowed like a bit a plankton, she finds herself in the mouth of the whale. Some tentacles grab at the jet. Oh, /Straxus/, no! Why is it always tentacles? Why couldn't it be barbed wire, for once? Wait, barbed wire would be worse. She ignites her afterburner, trying to convince the tenacles to leave her alone. Vigil has arrived. "-GHHHAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Hinder yeeks a few times just to show she's REALLY not too happy about this...but at least she floats in water. She's paddling as fast as she can, but it's not enough to keep her from getting washed down the giant cetacean's throat along with Shockwave and everyone else. Giant Whalicon is no longer listening. Locomotive makes his entry at the expense of a tooth or two, smashing them to bits with his ram prow as he comes in RIGHT through the mouth on the tail end of some of the others who came in here. With thick gouts of smoke erupting from his smokestack, the triplechanger grinds over several large tentacles before coming to a halt in a deafening whoosh of steam. A few seconds later, he transforms and rises up onto his feet, ion rifle in one hand, his sword glowing in an evil manner in his other hand as he looks about, "So uh...yeah!" In a chorus of shifting and spinning parts, Astrotrain's body spins and lifts up into his large robot mode. Americon flits past a ridiculous number of crushing and grinding implements, and narrowly dodges whipping tentacles as he streaks towards Rodimus Prime. "There is no escape, Losermus Prime! For I have you cornered in this death trap, and you will die here very... um... deathly! I... ok, I need to work on that... hm..." His pursuit, however, is brought to a halt by Cyclonus's command, and the little tape flits back to him, rapidly circling above him in crazy-eights, occasionally zapping at tentacles that get too friendly. "I am here, Mr. Vice President!" This is all wrong! Sharkticons are not supposed to be eaten! They're the ones supposed to be doing the eating! The Sharkticon has no trouble manuevering in the slosh of water, and when the fluid drains he stands up, tail flicking back and forth as he tries to figure out where he is and what's going on. "-GHHHAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The yell of distress heralds the coming of a new "visitor" to the interior of the whale, a gold and black mecha-grasshopper flying (or to be more accurate, falling) down the beast's mouth and hitting the gooey surface, skidding to a stop and ending upside down and covered in goo. After a few moments of kicking he manages to turn himself upright in time to notice that he's definitely not alone. "...I...uh...that was all part of my brilliant attack strategy!" "Those. Really. ARE. Coming from its uvula thingie," Quickswitch deadpans in a low growl, as he switches gears and grinds out several caterpillar tracks in his wake. He's currently being pelted by laser fire from the softening portion of the tremendous metallorganic beast, before he hunkers down on his tracks, and then lunges forward unmercifully, flensing a swath toward Rodimus. "COMMANDEFR!!" he bellows as he tries to locate Rodimus in the dank darkness of the Whalicon's interior. Cyclonus and Americon's exchange is lost under the noise of his treads and drillbit. Winnebago finally gives up trying to just roll out of the tentacles and transforms. He pulls his hand in and replaces it with a buzzsaw, swinging it around to slice at the things until they release him. "This is starting to feel /very/ familiar," he notes aloud (or perhaps over his radio, for the verbally picky). Then his optics widen as he realizes what he just said. He jumps back, avoiding another tentacle. "Although it's just not the same without Kup arou-" and then Americon begins shouting at him. "Americon, those threats are horrible!" he shouts back. Winnebago transforms into his Robot mode. Cyclonus is already inside the Whalcon, located near the remains of a submersible craft that he used to enter . . or be eaten, depending. Either way, some tentacles approach him and in a flash of steel his broadsword is drawn and a graceless chop sends bits of them raining all around him. "What is Rodimus Prime doing here?!" He demands. Americon will be the first one that he asks. His free hand reaches down to grab Ransack roughly by the back of his neck and lift him to his feet -- a nearby slash of his sword preventing some tentacles from getting to the insecticon. He begins to stomp forwards though, pushing deeper into the creature as he waves his sword around. "PRIME." He bellows. Hinder oofs and lands on the slimy icky flooring when the water swallowed with her and Shocky and everyone goes away. She looks around with her less than sharp optics but can't make out much of anything useful. So instead she uses her hearing and skitters toward the nearest non-whale moving object. Fanfare has arrived. Americon snarls with rage at the words of Rodimus Prime! "You dare to insult my insults, you bastard! You have gone too far! Oh, yeah! And now I will unleash the ULTIMATE WEAPON upon you!!!" Reverting to robot mode, his AMERICANNON materializes across his shoulder, like a comically oversized bazooka. "And now you--what?" Cyclonus asks his question, and Americon replies, "Oooohhhhh. Well, I'm not sure what he's doing here, sir! But I think he might've been retreating into the safety of the whale? Uh. You could also try asking him before I destroy him! Americannon... uh..." He aims down the sight of the Americannon, though his aim is a wobbly considering the gun's size and all of the chaos. "...uh... Americannon... FIIIIIRE!" He squeezes the trigger-- Folding down and around, Fanfare transforms from a Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Super Hercules into his robot mode. Combat: Americon's Americannon attack on Rodimus Prime goes wild! Combat: Americon strikes XF-35B Astral Lightning with his Americannon attack! Combat: You took 8 damage from using a RECOIL attack. XF-35B Astral Lightning manages to burn off the tentacles ensnaring her with her afterburner, and she transforms to robot mode to hover above the fetid, stinking mass of tentacles. To go hide behind Cyclonus or not to go hide behind - ACK! She gets pasted into a mouth wall of the beast by Americon's Americannon. Catechism says weakly, "I... feel more American now. In America." XF-35B Astral Lightning transforms into robot form. Catechism's feet unfold, her arms unfold out of her body, her nosecone rotates through her body and ends up on her shoulders to expose her face, and her wings rotate into position. Gigantic Locust turns his head towards his savior, simultaneously trying to kick some of the watery mess off of his legs. "Thank you, sir, I nee-" His attention switches back to what's left of the tentacles his commanding officer just effortlessly cut to pieces "...Why don't /I/ have swords? That was great!" He reverts back to robot form, drawing his blaster and aiming at Rodimus Prime. Normally, he would hesitate a least a little bit, but orders were orders (and he could surely just aim for the Whalicon anyway and no one would notice, right?) Ransack's humanoid legs unfold as he stands up, shifting into his robot mode. Astrotrain steps to one side as a trio of tentacles snake out towards him. It's like the movie all over again! Except that this is Astrotrain, and not some pink femme bot running for her life, nor is it some whiny little kid in an exo suit...it's a big, strong triplechanger armed with a sword! Letting the tentacles wrap around one arm, he brings the other slashing up, carving his sword across the thick appendages and shearing them off in the process. "Haw!" he announces, turning and slogging his way through the mess towards the tangle of bodies not so far off, his rifle up and leading the way as he blasts a few stray tentacles that get too close to him. "Haw haw, trashing autoscraps inside a giant robot whale!? Who'd have thunk it!?" The sound of engines is heard as a cybertronian fighter flies in and begins to fly around the various machines and mechanisms. His engines hum as he hopes the decepticons dont notice him despite the chaos going on about him. Shockwave washes up on the inside of the Whalicon. Even as he does this, he's getting bombarded with requests for Cyclonus, who is incapable of thinking for himself. Rising back up to his feet, Shockwave immediately targets the robot turned winnebago with his arm cannon. "It is not the threats you need to worry about, Rodimus. Your attempts to lure the Whalicon to New Crystal City to do your bidding have backfired." This is the most likely scenario he has calculated. "Now you are outnumbered, outgunned, and soon to be obliterated." Even as he blasts at Rodimus, he is mindful of Quickswitch's presence. Still, he is very confident given the numbers advantage. Combat: Shockwave strikes Rodimus Prime with his Arm Blaster attack! [Pulled -4] BAROOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Inside the cavity of the whale suddenly fills with a hideous roaring noise. Screaming as he dives down the creatures' open mouth, Fanfare drops low, killing spead as his engines rumble loudly... even louder than outside. A tentacle catches on one wing and slows him further, and finally the mech transforms, falling into the water with a huge SPLASH as it goes quiet once more. Hinder skitters, getting caught by tentacles more than once but rolling or biting at them to get free each time. Her target is closer and she continues to make a flat out sprint for the mech even though there's weapons fire very close by overhead. Combat: Ransack misses Rodimus Prime with his Concussion Blaster Gun attack! Cyclonus takes a moment or two to issue some orders on the broadband as he stalks forward. He must be channeling Galvatron in Galvatron's absense, because any Autobot actually listening will hear a whole lot of 'Obliterate them!'. This is what happens when Cyclonus gets lonely for Galvatron. He starts emulating him. Either way, he begins to move forward at a brisk clip; drawing his pistol as well and squeezing off a shot at Rodimus as he heads towards him. He does not hear Ransack's thanking of him. Fortunatly, at least! As tentacles snake out towards the little Sharkticon, he chomps and chews at them, to keep them from wrapping around him, and also to feed himself. After all, he's hungry! Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Cyclonus misses Rodimus Prime with his Oxidizing Laser attack! [Pulled -5] With the proteinaceous coating of most of the planking and striated panelling of the whale's interior, Quickswitch's going is pretty tough. Several of the tentacles snake within his treads, miring him down even further and threatening to haul him off to one of the processing stations. In the glare of the light from Americon's botched attack, the silhouette of drill tank ratchets to that of assault beast. Quickswitch nimbly leaps free, tail blasters handily covering his rear while iron jaws and hydraulic-powered claws spike through the slippery, gelatinous mess of the floor. Able to better evade now, and gaining proper traction, he bounds over Rodimus, pressing his flank against the Autobot leader's left leg. "We're probably giving this thing enough indigestion that it's probably not gonna go from the main course, Rodimus," he advises, tacitly implying that now is the time to fight their way out to the surface, and escape. And then, another flash, this time purple, tinged with the acrid lingering odor of ozone, fires out, striking Rodimus. "YOU!" he snarls out at Shockwave. Flickering in the strobe-like lights of weaponsfire, Quickswitch leaps sideways, digging talons into the wall, before springing forward. He barrels into Shockwave's chest with all the sympathy of a Brandaxian pit hound, slashing and crunching down jaws on any of Shockwave's appendages that might get in the way. Rocket booster engines roar to life as this Cybertronian speedily morphs into a sub-robital jet! Lickety-split, the Wrecker is replaced by a cat with two big honkin' guns on its butt! Combat: Quickswitch sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Assault Beast strikes Shockwave with his Mark of the Beast attack! Hinder reaches the mech she's been aiming for and wraps her short little forelegs around Rodimus Prime's foot to keep herself in the protective cover of his much taller stature. Odd. Shocky smells different after being swallowed by a whale. Rodimus Prime gets ready to leap as Americon kindly broadcasts his attack... the attack that instead shoots Catechism. The Prime's optics flicker in a blink, and then he brightens and gives Americon a thumbs up. "Thanks!" He then leaps anway, ducking another tentacle grab, and is about to blast the thing with his pipe-shots when he realizes something. "... Oh, Primus," he mutters. In his moment of distraction, he's blasted by Shockwave who knocks him off his feet. He doesn't stay off them long, instead rolling to the right and hopping into a crouch to avoid Ransack's attack, then leaps back and out of the way of Cyclonus's laser. "Being outnumbered just means that this thing's already done more harm to you guys than us, Shockwave," he points out before lifting both arms to fire as he issues orders over the radio. Unfortunately, one of his own troops leaps in front of him as he's aiming! Whoops! Catechism is trying to peel herself off from the wall, where Americon's stray shot plaster her earlier. Then, Rodimus Prime's shot plasters her right back against the wall. Arugh! She has robo-saliva dripping down her, ugh. Catechism /hates/ animals sometimes. Most times. At least the second shot knocks the Americana out of her systems, and she aims a shot up at the evil uvula. Americon is flung backwards at high velocity from his weapon! "Yaaaiiiiieeeee!" He disappears back down into the whale's massive chompers, where a terribly, rendy death awaits any who linger there, and perhaps is lost to their mechanized eating action. Vigil barely avoids having a wing chomped and transforms in mid-air, able to fly a bit better. Green optics begin trying to scan for Any of the autobots and he flies faster towards the sounds of screaming and guns, watching Americon fly past him. He just goes back to the task on hand, flying towards the sounds of combat. Cyclonus seems hardly bothered as he takes the shot against his armored chestplate; Rodimus' energies of good searing into but not penetrating the renforced metal. Still, some of it bubbles up and dribbles down in molten droplets towards the ground of the Whalicon. "Ransack." He states, and points at Quickswitch. "Kill him." Then the resumes his focus on Rodimus Prime, letting go with another blast at him -- albiet a low powered snapshot. He's still looking around as well for some obvious means of hurting the Whalicon. But, then again, didn't he order Shockwave to do that? So, yeah, he shoots Rodimus instead. Astrotrain turns, cleaving another tentacle in twain as it attempts to come up and grab onto one of his wings, "Haw! Thought you were a sneaky devil, eh!?" He announces, then is suddenly sent scrambling as a series of blasts from Rodimus' torrent of fire fills the area. One of it clips his arm as he shields his face, bringing a tendril of smoke from the point of impact, but no real serious damage. "Gragh! Why you flamin freak! I oughta..." He can be heard snarling, then fist-shaking for good measure at the Autobot Leader. He looks like he'd love nothing more than to join in, but things are getting a little chaotic in here, to put it lightly. But something -does- stand out... ...is that a rainbow glitter paintjob? Astrotrain blinks across the battlefield, staring full on at Fanfare. And then? Then he's breaking out in heavy guffaws, one hand raising to point as his entire frame shakes with the exertion of laughing so hard, "BWAHAHAHA! What the frag is that!? New Autobot paintjob!? That's the most ridiculous thing I ever seen!" Combat: Cyclonus misses Rodimus Prime with his Oxidizing Laser attack! [Pulled -5] Ransack misses his target! Or does he? It's not really clear whether the bugmecha was aiming at Rodimus or the whale's mouth, and given his normal aiming skill (or lack thereof) it's hard to tell and he definitely isn't saying. Regardless of his success, the warrior ends up getting a shot from Prime in return. Ransack gets a pithy taunt ready...just as he recieves new orders. "The other guy? No problem, sir. I'll blow him apart!" He turns to Quickswitch and fires off another quick blast. Combat: Ransack strikes Assault Beast with his Warning shot! not really attack! [Pulled -1] Shockwave fries Rodimus Prime, but before he can mouth off to the Chosen One some more, Quickswitch makes an impressive leap forward. The walking calculator takes a defensive step back, reaiming his arm towards Quickswitch. He's a hair too slow, however, and the Sixchanger is on him in a flash, smashing into him with those jaws. Both the Decepticon and Autobot go tumbling away through the Whalicon's innards. Luckily this brings both of them out of Rodimus Prime's line of fire. Shockwave fights back against the beast as best he can, trying to smash his fist through the Autobot's feline head. His optic flashes in desperation, and it is clear that he isn't available to carry out Cyclonus's orders at the moment. Combat: Shockwave misses Assault Beast with his Punch attack! Sharkticon continues to munch on tentacles. For some reason he's missed by incoming blasts. Maybe a tentacle or two took the brunt of it. Hinder digs her claws into the ankle of the mech she's dashed to for protection, all of the nearby weapons fire and general chaos disctratcing her from wondering why he smells different from any Decepticon she's ever encountered. As Rodimus deals with the continued incoming attacks, she has to resort to biting into the Autobot leader's ankle to not get thrown off. Mech-she-thinks-is-Shocky will forgive her for biting him...right? There's a sharp, cold stab of panic in Quickswitch's processor as he realizes just where he is between Rodimus and the Decepticons. Twisting so that Shockwave takes the Autobot leader's scattershot, before continuing to try to mangle the Cyclopean commander. "Last time I squared off with you was in the swamps of Nebulos, Shockwave, and you've gotten no prettier since then," snarls Quickswitch around Shockwave's forearm. However, Ransack's shot lands true, and it's with an abrupt cry that he arches his back and releases Shockwave. The unexepected intervention means that the beast is slumped on the ground, below the range of Shockwave's punitive swipe. Quickswitch backpedals, and transforms to robot mode. "How's about picking on someone your own size, vermin?" Firmly punching his fist into his palm, Quickswitch's cyan optics glint with delight at the opportunity to wail on two Decepticons at once. "Pucker up!" he grunts, before spinning about, letting both cinderblock-shaped fists fly free. With a flurry of red, green, and white panels, Quickswitch arises in robot form! Combat: Quickswitch strikes Ransack with his Quickswitch Blitz Area attack! Combat: Quickswitch misses Shockwave with his Quickswitch Blitz Area attack! Rodimus Prime this time dives forward into a roll in order to avoid Cyclonus's shot, and then his expression twists into a scowl as he realizes that will instead damage is instead done to the Whalicon. One knee is resting on the Whalicon's 'floor', and the other foot is in place. He stands up, ready to charge Cyclonus, when something bites him in the ankle. "What the- hey!" he exclaims, and automatically tries to kick the little creature towards Cyclonus. "You lost this!" he states. Combat: Rodimus Prime misses Hinder with his Grab attack! Catechism finally peels herself off the side of the wall, now totally covered in disgusting gunk. She adds 'whales' to the list of things she hates. It is a long list. The uvula shoots back at her, so she tries to dart behind a patch of tentacles and trick the whale's internal defenses into attacking each other. Fanfare clambers out of the water, shaking it off him with a twirl of blades. Optics flicker at the laughter and he turns to scowl at Astrotrain "YE haven't seen much in yer lifetime, have ye? " he qips back simply in his thick accent, arms folded as he glares at the triplechanger "EEEEK!" Rodimus Prime tries to kick Hinder off, causing her to clamp her teeth even harder into Not-Shocky's ankle. Americon suddenly flies back in--the Decepticons aren't lucky enough to see his end, today--on a collision course straight for Gnaw! "Hey, you! Cyclonus wants you OVER THERE!" he says, trying to bounce Gnaw like a cue-ball in the direction of the Laser Uvula of Torment! Americon's robot legs pop out metallic feather-like objects as they and his lower torso split apart, also revealing an eagle head. The arms and robot head join the main body, and his guns convert into tail feathers and rocket launchers. Americon is now a bald eagle! Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle strikes Sharkticon with his Pool Shark (Grab) attack! Astrotrain guffaws even harder for a moment, half falling over in the process. He has to put one hand on a large blocky knee to keep himself upright, "I know what I -have- seen, an Autobot with the worst fraggin paintjob in the whole universe! And I've even seen a planet with mechs that paint themselves plaid colors and do nothing but hold hands all days and sing songs! Right before we invaded it of course..." He pauses then, having no doubt lost his train of thought. "...where was I? Oh yeah...down you go Autoscrap!" And with that, he hefts up his rifle and lets loose a quick snapshot! Combat: Astrotrain strikes Fanfare with his Disruptor attack! Cyclonus is in no hurry to stop pew-pew-pewing at Rodimus Prime. Afterall, every shot that misses him hits the walls of the Whalicon and either way puts them a tiny bit closer towards victory. Cyclonus leaps upwards; transforming and engaging in a hover as he begins to track Rodimus and Quickswitch both. A pair of missiles go streaking from his launchers -- one heading towards Rodimus, one towards Quickswitch. Guided, they make adjustments towards their targets on their own but with such little room inside the Whalicon it is hard to say if they will hit them. Weather it is the Autobots or the Whalicon though, there will be two large purple explosions! Ransack, for what feels like the millionth time this cycle, takes someone's huge fist right in the faceplate. It's something he was trying not to make a habit of, but slag happens. The dazed 'con stumbles back a bit, dropping his blaster as he tries to right himself. "I've been hit worse, Autobot! It'll take more than that to stop an Insecticon!" He follows his boast up with a punch of his own. Combat: Ransack misses Quickswitch with his Violent Swing (Punch) attack! Transforming into his starfighter mode, Cyclonus is backlit by the eerie blue glow of nuclear-powered turbines as they come online. Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter misses Rodimus Prime with his Possibly Guided Missiles Area attack! [Pulled -7] Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter strikes Quickswitch with his Possibly Guided Missiles Area attack! [Pulled -7] Shockwave climbs back to his feet as Quickswitch is warded off thanks to the Insecticon's strike. As the Autobot reverts into robot mode, Shockwave takes the time to recompose himself. "Appearance irrelevant, Quickswitch. Efficiency has priority." He is here to fight the Whalicon and destroy it, but Quickswitch isn't giving him much of an opportunity. "Ransack," he orders, "Engage Qui-" The strategist is cut off as Quickswitch charges the both of them. Shockwave raises his gun arm, blocking the vicious strike before it can hit his body. Sensing that he has a momentary advantage, Shockwave brings his other fist around, aiming to crack Quickswitch's jaw. "You would do well to consider engaging one enemy at a time, Quickswitch. Your overconfidence will be your undoing." Combat: Shockwave strikes Quickswitch with his Red Right Hand attack! [Pulled -4] Grimlock has arrived. Sharkticon finally runs out of tentacles to nom. He runs over to where Rodimus Prime is and tries to take a bite out of him. Rodimus Prime instinctively leaps out of the way of the missile heading his way, landing on his feet and scowling at the Hinder trying to hinder his ankle. "I've got more important things to worry about," he growls at the tape, before chosing to ignore the ferret clinging to his leg. Instead, he jogs towards Cyclonus, closing the distance between himself and the space-fighter as he fires up at the Decepticon second with his photon eliminator. Combat: Sharkticon misses Rodimus Prime with his Sharknibble (Punch) attack! Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Cybertronian Starfighter with his Photon Eliminator attack! [Pulled -6] Hinder keeps her teeth clamped firmly on Not-Shocky's ankle until she sees an oddly familiar blue glow from somewhere nearby. Wait...if Cyclonus is over there and shooting things this way...then this probably isn't Shockwave. Which means.... "EEEEEEEK!" She lets go of Rodimus Prime's ankle and tries to RUN away from him as fast as she can, on a beeline toward Cyclonus. "HOW COME YOU NO TAKE ME GRIMLOCK FISHING!?" So echoes a rather irate-sounding dinobot from the cavern that is the Whalelicon's mouth. Grimlock slips between two massive teeth and heads towards the Autobot gathering- narrowing his optic ridge as he sights in on the Decepticons. "Hn! Me Grimlock think maybe we just let these guys get ate." Incoming from three sides -- Quickswitch thinks he has the Decepticons right where he wants them. Shockwave's estimate is right on the money, though, and the six-changer is an easy target while wrestling. Although Ransack's blow doesn't connect, it's understandable if the Insecticon were feeling a bit skittish with the INCOMING MISSILE and implacable, machined punch from Shockwave. With a distinct 'crack-a-thoom' that could be from either the missile detonation OR the pistoned punch from Shockwave, Quickswitch shudders, silhouetted in the detonation that casts long shadows and brilliant magnesium glare across the slick flooring of the Whalicon's gullet. "Don't lecture ME, Shockwave," he grates out, raising one broad foot before smashing his heel toward the commander's chest. "Because you never know when I just might start LISTENING and focus -- on YOU!" Sharkticon got bumped but barely noticed it. Combat: Quickswitch misses Shockwave with his Kick attack! Robotic Bald Eagle frowns, noticing Gnaw barely even acknowledging him! He was going so fast, too! Regardless, he announces, "Heads-up, Decepticons! I am about to give this thing the WORST CASE OF INDIGESTION IT HAS EVER HAD!" From the bird's back, he launches a small missile--actually a torpedo for some reason--which flies past the Laser Uvula and down the gullet of the whale. "Let's see how it likes my new Seismic Torpedo, available at the Ratbat store for only 200 robot points!" Catechism gets grabbed by tentacles /again/. Ack! It will take her a while to fight them off, and it's really not very interesting for the animators to draw. Cybertronian Starfighter takes the shot through the left side of his chest this time. Armor plating explodes outwards in a cloud of silvery, ceramic-metal fragments that litter the floor where he had been standing. But he remains on his feet at least though that clearly was a pretty brutal hit. He didn't even have time to dodge or see it coming. Now leaking waste radiation, he levels his pistol in the direction of Rodimus again -- registering Grimlock's arrival out of the back of his mind. Yeah, this really isn't going well at all. Fanfare flinches as the disruptor slams into his shoulder. He grimaces and starts towards Astrotrain slowly "... That was nae very interesting." he admits, bringing up a glittery fist to swing it in Astrotrains' direction. Combat: Fanfare misses Astrotrain with his Punch attack! Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter misses Rodimus Prime with his Oxidizing Laser attack! Hinder skids and slips to a stop when she sees a big, ugly HOLE appear in Cyclonus's armor. She turns to look back at Rodiums Prime, her beady little red optics glowing more brightly all of a sudden. "MEAN!" She hisses air out through her vents and actually CHARGES toward the Autobot leader. Look out, y'done made her mad. Ooh, so scary. Rodimus Prime jumps clear /over/ Gnaw in his mad dash towards Cyclonus, barely noting when Hinder finally lets go. Grimlock's arrival gets noticed, however. "I couldn't find you and didn't have time to wait!" Rodimus protests Grimlock's complaints about being left behind. "You've got to cast your line while the fish are still biting, you know!" Before he's finished, the tremendous screech and crash and clatter of metal on metal can be heard from closer to the front of the Whalicon's mouth. Rodimus's turns to look, and his optics widen as large amounts of wreckage are forced back towards the combatants by the Whalicon's digestive system! "And this thing's definitely biting!" he adds, now jumping backwards to avoid some debris as it falls his way. Just as his feet touch Whalicon 'bottom,' however, the creature shakes mightily, knocking the Prime onto his aft! The intense shudders suggest two things: one, that the battle inside is beginning to have an affect on the Whalicon, and two, that NCC is also putting up one heck of a fight outside! Rodimus, still on the ground, rolls out of the way of Cyclonus's laser. He looks around for a weapon - It seems that in the scuffle, Rodimus has misplaced his photon eliminator. Boy, Crosshairs is going to kill him if he has to get that thing replaced, isn't he? Settling on the nearest thing he can grab, which happens to be a chunk of metal from NCC itself, he chucks it at Cyclonus, attempting to ding him in the head! And then Hinder charges him, though perhaps doesn't close the distance yet? "Oh, for the-" he starts to grumble, then cuts himself off. "You're brave, I'll give you that." Combat: Rodimus Prime misses Cybertronian Starfighter with his Chunk o' Metal! (Punch) attack! Kill Grimlock? Ransack grumbled to himself, hopefully low enough that Cyclonus or Shockwave couldn't hear it. Why not have them just blow up the whole whale while they're at it? It would probably be easier, and on a personal level more fufilling. With a quick whirring noise, the warrior shifted again into his alternate mode, leaping in front of the Dinobot and giving him a quick mule kick (grasshopper kick?) with his powerful legs. Ransack's limbs fold as he falls forward onto his locust form's legs. Combat: Gigantic Locust strikes Grimlock with his Leg Strike attack! The purple glow of nuclear-powered turbines fades away as Cyclonus shifts into Robot Mode. "Given your rate of successes, Quickswitch, listening to my lectures would do you well," Shockwave quips as he leaps into the sky, activating his boot jets and hovering above Quickswitch. There isn't a whole lot of room in the Whalicon's gullet, but enough that this maneuver gets him away from the Sixchanger's attempt to shove his foot into his chest. The Decepticon begins backing away from the Sixchanger. He needs time away from Quickswitch so he can go kill this damn Whalicon! He spies another Decepticon out of the corner of his optic. Shockwave has no sense of humour, but one might not know it from the way he decides to throw one of his troopers into a bad situation. "Hinder!" he commands, "Go destroy Quickswitch. I have other business to attend to." Shockwave begins backing up, hoping Hinder can grab agro from Quickswitch. Combat: Shockwave takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Astrotrain reacts as Fanfare comes lunging towards him, stepping hard to one side and reaching out to push the Autobot off balance! "Hah! You call that a punch!?" He hefts his rifle up, pointing it at Fanfare at point-blank range. "Yer not even worth my time, you glittering little pansy-freakmech! I'm gonna do the whole universe a favor and..." And just at that moment, a stray tentacle wraps around the barrel of his rifle, and proceeds to yank it away! "Hey...HEY! GIVE THAT BACK YOU FREAKING...." And with taht, the triplechanger is scrambling to get his rifle back from the whipping tentacles, engaging in a brief tug-of-war as he digs his feet into the ground, hauling away mightily! Combat: Astrotrain takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] "So if thingie always biting, how come you no wait for me Grimlock?" The dinocommander grunts, and tromps forward- only to get booted in the chestplate by Ransack's bug-feet- it's enough to...stop the dino, at least. And make him angry. Then again, there are times when Tom & Jerry cartoons make him angry, but that's beside the point. "Insecticons?" Grimlock asks, "Me thought all yous was dead! Me Grimlock fix that!" And, lacking a giant can of RAID, Grimlock just raises one foot in the time-honored tradition of bug-smooshing, and brings it down again. STOMP. Combat: Grimlock strikes Gigantic Locust with his *STOMPY!* (Kick) attack! Cyclonus transforms in mid attack; lifting his sword with both hands to strike the incoming metal away. With a shower of sparks it goes flying off towards the depths of the Whalicon; forgotten and ignored as Cyclonus sets himself to meet Rodimus Prime's charge. Tentacles come for him and are sent flying themselves in various pieces as he braces himself -- and then as Rodimus comes in, Cyclonus ducks low, attempting to slide on past him wth a feathering of his antigravs to slam the blade of his sword with a full strength albiet graceless two handed swing into the back of the Autobot Leader's knee. Combat: Cyclonus misses Rodimus Prime with his Diamond-Boron Carbide Sword attack! Combat: Quickswitch strikes Shockwave with his Photon Blasters attack! Extensive scoring and bubbled metal along his back armor, a pothole that looks like it was delivered by a pile driver, Quickswitch's temper has been triggered, and he's seeing red. There's something to say about the single-mindedness that combat gives the mech. Even as Shockwave hovers up in the air, he snaps up photon blasters, teeth gritted in determination. "Skipping out, huh? Get back down here!" He squeezes the trigger, sending a barrage of bolts flying at Shockwave. The distincitive voice and trundling steps of the Dinobot leader earn a quirk at the corner of his lips from Quickswitch, but the press of metal coming in from the front of the Whalicon's maw as it chows down on New Crystal City isn't a very comforting sight at all... they'd have to be quick about this. Hinder closes the rest of the distance between herself and Rodimus Prime, her next course of action set in her mind and not about to change. She leaps at the Autobot leader, mouth open and teeth brandished, aiming for his FACE. If he's no longer lying on the floor, she'll paddle her little front legs and use what little hovering ability she has to REACH his face. I mean...he tried to KICK HER! And then he was MEAN to Cyclonus! Combat: Hinder strikes Rodimus Prime with her BITE ON THE NOSE! attack! CRUNCH! Grimlock's foot succeeds in squishing the bug, flattening Ransack more than a little into the gooey floor of the whale mouth. However, sometimes insects just don't stay squashed. It takes a little, but the locust manages to push itself back off the ground, leaving some metal fragments behind. "T...that was nothing!" He tries to hide how much of a blatant lie that was by zapping the leg that just pounded him. Combat: Gigantic Locust strikes Grimlock with his 80kV electricity attack! Robotic Bald Eagle tilts his head. "Huh? Why didn't it work? Well, maybe I need to test it on somebody else!" Directing his gaze to Grimlock, he buzzes him a few times before firing a seismic torpedo at the Dinobot's feet! "Shake, shake, shake your booty, Grimlock--TO DEATH! Mwahahaha!" And yes, the idea of the torpedo is to make Grimlock fall over and hurt himself. But it may also aggravate the whale, as well! And there's still the first torpedo, which is still flying around in the whale! Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle strikes Grimlock with his Seismic Anti-Giant Torpedo attack! Rodimus Prime actually roll-flips backwards, heels over head to land on his knees, moving him out of the way of Cyclonus's sword. His hand balls into a fist and he starts to clamber to his feet, when a ferret latches itself onto his face. "Oh, for- Cyclonus /deserves/ to have mean stuff happen to him!" he exclaims, this time trying to grab Hinder with /both/ hands and throw him more forcefully at Cyclonus. Should he fail to actually grasp Hinder, he'll blindly grab another piece of debris and throw that instead. Grimlock grinds his heel in a little bit, on Ransack for good measure, and hmphs. "There!" and Grimlock keeps on stomping through- though this is a mistake, as Ransack gets in a cheap shot! And Americon an even cheaper one! (To be fair, suckerpunches are very American). "Hnn. That kinda hurt." Grimlock decrees, and turns around to face Ransack. "So me Grimlock repay favor. By chopping you up!" And Grimlock brings out his energo sword, blazing hellishly red in the dark belly of the beast, swinging down in a brutal arc towards the insecticon! Combat: Grimlock strikes Gigantic Locust with his Energo Sword attack! Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Hinder with his Debris or Thrown Hinder Area attack! [Pulled -5] Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Cyclonus with his Debris or Thrown Hinder Area attack! [Pulled -5] Shockwave fails to get Hinder's attention. This is unfortunate but perhaps not surprising. He makes a note to bring something shiny next time for when he needs a distraction. The Decepticon turns and sprints away from Quickswitch in an attempt to lose him in the tunnels of the Whalicon's innards. This has the added benefit of getting away from the jagged shards of New Crystal City now coming in. Shockwave doesn't get far before the Sixchanger blasts him in the back with several photon bolts. He falls forward, stumbling but managing to remain on his feet. "You are persistant, Autobot..." he drones, optic flashing in the relative darkness of the Whalicon's gullet, "Persistant to the point of stupidity." He sends a trio of blasts back at the Autobot. Combat: Shockwave strikes Quickswitch with his Arm Blasts attack! [Pulled -3] Fanfare stumbles a step or two, watching as Astrotrain is distracted. He grins a little and reaches to try and grapple Astrotrain from behind, his fans whirling loudly, producing a dull roar sound. "Ha! " "EEEE!OOF." Did Hinder at least manage to keep her teeth on Roddy's nose so when he pulls her off to throw at Cyclonus...does he manage to keep a bit of his nose? Rhinoplasty by Hinder. It's all the rage. Rodimus Prime is now missing part of his nose, sure. Transforming into his starfighter mode, Cyclonus is backlit by the eerie blue glow of nuclear-powered turbines as they come online. Grimlock glances up across the battlefield at Rodimus, momentarily distracted from his murderizing of Ransack. "Him Rodimus have no nose! How him Rodimus smell?" Combat: Fanfare misses Astrotrain with his Grab attack! Cybertronian Starfighter is sick of this. He's sick of not being able to hit Rodimus Prime, sick and tired of the fight in general and now that NCC is under attack the entire thing is a stupid botch. And so, he actually ignores Rodimus; transforming with an oath that is vile enough to melt the very floor itself into slag as he rockets away from the scene. Hovering in midair with a blast of his retro-rockets he simply opens his magazines and begins bombing high-powered missile after high-powered missile after high-powered missile down the mutated throat throat of the Whalicon, punctuating with purple-magenda blasts from his Oxidizing Lasers as fast as they are capable of recycling. The area around his missile ports is soon charred black with the soot and detritus of the launches, and the emitters for his lasers first begin to steam, then glow ruddy-red and soon glow white. The end result is that the hovering spacecraft is simply not capable of dodging incoming fire but is actually shrouded in a hazy mist of waste heat, rocket exhaust and melted armor -- especially as Hinder is likely to riccochet off of his wing. But Cyclonus pays it no attention, simply firing as fast as his weapons can recycle -- creating a rolling barrage of fireballs and destruction from one end of the combat scene to the other. This is probably as close to him pulling a flailing Galvatron as one has actually ever seen. Either way, fireballs and energy blasts surround him to produce an almost rhythmical percussion element of sound in the midst of this battle. Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter strikes Rodimus Prime with his Symphony of Destruction Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter strikes Fanfare with his Symphony of Destruction Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter strikes Quickswitch with his Symphony of Destruction Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Cybertronian Starfighter strikes Shockwave with his Symphony of Destruction Area attack! [Pulled -2] Astrotrain continues the tug-of-war with the giant tentacle for a few seconds more, before he abruptly wins! By cheating that is, kicking out with one foot and sending it thunking into the thing's lower body, almost like kicking someone in the crotch! Indeed, the tentacle doubles over and falls back, even as the triplechanger gives a triumphant, "HAH!" And then Fanfare comes up and grabs onto him from behind! "Hey that the...LEGGO!" A moment passes as the triplechanger starts to struggle with the Autobot, almost sent off balance....but a moment later the big Decepticon's size and strength comes into play as he begins to wrestle back! Though he can't seem to dislodge Fanfare from his back...he does the next best thing, in his books! "Get offa me you multicolored freakazoid!" With the antigravs in his feet humming powerfully, he lifts off from the bottom of the whale's mouth, going straight towards the ceiling at full speed to crush the Autobot between him and the roof! Combat: Astrotrain misses Fanfare with his Astro-Beating attack! Gigantic Locust will really miss the massive section of thorax that he just lost to Grimlock's sword. It was his favorite bit of his body that didn't produce explosions. With his mechanical innards sort of hanging out, leaking energon fluid everywhere, it occured to Ransack that getting away from the angry brute was the best course of action. Thrusters igniting, he prepares to retreat...and only makes it as far as by Shockwave before plopping back to the ground, somehow having missed Cyclonus' fireworks display by a narrow margin. "Ow." is all that he utters as his wounded body hits the ground once more. Combat: Gigantic Locust takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] The dank, revolting stench of the Whalicon's innards is enough to bring those with functioning olfactory sensors to their knees. Such as it is, Quickswitch doggedly courses after Shockwave, knuckle servos white in their death-grip on the photon blasters. When they get closer to a series of oozing ducts, Shockwave's blasts hit home. With a grunt, he skids to a halt, Rodimus's orders over radio barely a whisper against the enraged, drumming insistance of his desire for revenge. That notion gets squarely smacked out of his consciousness with the lambasting that Cyclonus inundates the entire vicinity with in his lunge to break free of the Whalicon -- and this strategic clusterpump. He creaks a bit, and then falls forward on his face, before ratcheting back into drill-tank mode. With one set of tracks flopping limply about like a decapitated chicken, he mutely sets to work on getting a guaranteed exit for himself and his comrades. With a meaty series of pops, layers of synthetic integument and mechanized blubber begin to part under the assault of Quickswitch's drill. Combat: Quickswitch takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Hinder bounces off of Cyclonus's wing and...right into Grimlock's path. She splats into the floor's slime coating and takes a moment to recover from the disorientation. And then the STINK hits and she curls into a ball to try and get away from it. "EEEEWWWWWW!" An expeditious set of origami folds results in a sturdy drill-tank, ready to pierce heaven. There's a loud shuddering noise as the Whalicon clamps onto NCC, a noise soon followed by the buzz of saws and the chewing of crushing implements. Artillery thunders against the Whalicon's hull, rumbling throughout its body. And yet, Cyclonus's laser barrage may have done the most damage of all! The whale roars loudly in pain as its gullet is scored with countless laser blasts, and its already damaged uvula explodes when the lasers cross over it. Are the whale's most important components vulnerable to attack now? They might have to be, because bits and pieces of NCC continue to pour in from the mouth and down the Whalicon's throat, albeit not quite as well chewed as they ought to be. Indeed, the torso of a Seeker--Darkburner, it seems--is swept along with the debris deeper into the whale, and, before he disappears into the blackness, he apologizes with, "Shyyyclonus... I'ssshhhh failed you... shorgive me..." Grimlock wrenches his sword out of Ransack, and lets the bug jet away. "Haw! That right! Dinos is better than bugs! Dinos is better than every- gah!" Grimlock ducks beneath one of Cyclone's errant blasts, grabbing a chunk of debris to use as an impromptu shield. This done, Grimlock growls, casting the metal aside- he takes a moment to peer unimpressedly down at Hinder- and then, looking across the mechawhale's gullet, sees Quickswitch going to work. "ME GRIMLOCK HELP!" he says, eagerly- and then steps over the curled up ferret-thing to stomp over towards Quickswitch, transforming as well- dino teeth and clws may not be as efficient as a simple drill, but Grimlock at least enjoys his work. Rend! Bite! Tear! With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out. Combat: Robot T-Rex! takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] With a mighty "CAW" Americon flings himself at the back of Grimlock's head, pecking ferociously at it! "You will never defeat my countrymen, Grimlock! You may take my life, but you may never take... my FREEEDOM!" *peckpeckpeck* Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle strikes Robot T-Rex! with his Peck (Punch) attack! "I don't think any of us smell very good, Grimlock!" Rodimus shouts at the Dinobot Commander. "Not with all this... I don't even want to /know/ what these liquids are!" Really, having no nose in a situation like this is kind of a blessing. The Prime is knocked /back/ off his feet by Cyclonus's act of rage, his chest a pile of smoking, melted slag that quickly cools, the trademark flame designs having been burned off. Realizing that something like that will damage the Whalicon more and earlier than the Prime wants the Whalicon damaged (sure, Prime wants it dead, but only /after/ it's chomped a good bit out of NCC), Rodimus fires a high powered blast towards Cyclonus before rushing to join Grimlock and Quickswitch. He looks ready to try and cover them as best he's able while they work on the escape route. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Cybertronian Starfighter with his Arm Blasters attack! Shockwave is just getting set to send another blast towards Quickswitch when Cyclonus detonates his missiles down the gullet of the Whalicon. Debris begins to rain down on him and Quickswitch, and what looks like a futuristic I-Beam crashes down on Shockwave's right shoulder, nearly severing the arm. To his great relief, Quickswitch has turned and is concentrating on making an exit. Since this consists of hurting the Whalicon, he gratefully takes the opportunity this has given him. The Decepticon strategist hovers in the air as his arms come up over his head. His legs connect as he leans forward. A targeting scanner pops up on the rear of the ray gun as Shockwave aims in the same direction as Cyclonus and unleashes blast after blast at the Whalicon from the inside, desperately trying to save New Crystal City from utter destruction. Shockwave's arms and legs connect into a barrel and handle as he shifts into Ray Gun mode. STruck across his glittering wings, by the time he was hit, Fanfare was high above the others... glitter is blasted off and flies off to flutter upon anyone below who might be in the way. Still holding onto Astrotrain, his yellow optics widen... And to evade the incoming roof, he lets go. Combat: Fanfare takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Transforming midway, Fanfare's wings are... perpendicular to their usual placing, and the dull roar of his engines boom back to life as the huge jet lurches to a halt only a few robot-lengths from the hard, watery surface of the whalicons' stomach, the four props keeping him in air steady. "Ye can't drop a flyer ye know that, Astrotricks? " he shouts up over the sound of his own engine (no attack) Folding down and around, Fanfare turns into a Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Super Hercules. "Uhm, thanks," Quickswitch rolls the words experimentally around his internal vocalizer as Grimlock begins widening his path by a full ton with each lunging mastication. Still trying to quell the numerous warning klaxons in his internals, Quickswitch is stalled briefly by the tremendous plates of the Whalicon's infrastructure, but their combined efforts soon have them boring past the skull plating, and into the deep blue -- oh, wait a second! The pressure from the water seeking to replace air causes another flood to inundate the cavity with ambergris slicked floor platings, the oily liquid foaming and clinging to any metal nearby. Washed back briefly, Quickswitch digs his way back through the widened path, and once through the torn-out hatch, bobs upward as a hovercraft. Combat: Drill Tank takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] A brisk set of ratchets reassembles the Autobot six-changer into a transport sized hovercraft! Hinder finally uncurls as ocean water starts to fill the room. She looks around...SO MANY GLITTERY THINGS! Astrotrain watches with some satisfaction as Fanfare lets go to let gravity take over! Not quite as much satisfaction as if he'd managed to actually smash the Autobot against the roof...but satisfaction nonetheless. "Hah! That's more like it! Stupid Autobots...still can't fly like a real Decepti..." He neglected to stop rising, and proceeds to impact the ceiling with a harsh *CRASH* of impact. "...ow." He isn't hurt really, of course, as he floats down a moment later, then has to shield his optics as the blasts from Shockwave and Cyclonus start to cut loose down the gullet of the whale. "...uh oh." Cybertronian Starfighter is entirely unconcerned with the Autobots at this point, even as his energon reserves begin to trickle down. By now, his right laser emitter has long since overloaded and his left missile launcher is slowing down on target aquisition but he remains hovering beside Shockwave; pouring everything he has down the Whalicon's throat in, as aforementioned, they desperatly try to save NCC. The Autobots? They are purely forgotten at this point. Gigantic Locust unsteadily pulls himself back off the floor for like the third time tonight. It was really getting old. His optics managed to focus on his commanders' new combined effort to bring down the Whalicon, which was definitely something Ransack could get behind: wanton destruction. "Ha...hahaha! DIE DIE DIE YOU STUPID THING!" Whether because of his injury or just..being destruction-crazed as always, the Insecticon begins firing high-powered electrical blasts all over the place, occasionally even at the same spot everyone else is aiming! "Rargh!" Grimlock munches down on a mouthful of blubber, and hmms, "It kinda taste like Klud." he notes- only to be attacked by a little bird! And a gushing of water! *Glurb!* is the incoherent sound the dinocommander makes- though he's big and strong enough to stand against the torrents of the very ocean!...if temporarily. With only about half of him above water at this point, Grimlock grunts, and reaches up with his dino-arms to attempt to grab hold of the suicidally brave Americon and dunk him beneath the water! It'd be harmless horseplay, if it weren't for the claws. Or the fact that it's Grimlock. Combat: Robot T-Rex! misses Robotic Bald Eagle with his DUNK (Punch) attack! Robotic Bald Eagle flaps his wings, darting away from Grimlock, yelling, "Ha, I am too fast for you, because you are not an American dinosaur, sir! You must have been one of those less cool dinosaurs they found in China!" Observing Cyclonus and Shockwave firing into the whale's body, he ooohs and decides to join in the fun! "Hold up, guys, let me transform and use my new weapon again!" Reverting to robot mode, he aims the Americannon down into the creature's bowels, and struggles to line up with the shot, what with water rushing in and getting bapped by debris constantly. His aim inadvertantly aligns towards Shockwave, but fortunately a stray hand hits the back of his head, miraculously pointing his weapon back in the right direction. "Ow!" Americon complains as he squeezes the trigger, disgorging an enormous purple plasma bolt down the whale's guts. Americon undergoes a patriotic transformation into his All-American robot mode! As the water starts to rush in, Rodimus braces himself, then makes a grab for the best raft he can spot: Quickswitch! He clings to the side of the hovercraft as it starts to bob towards the surface, having decided he's accomplished all he can in the Whalicon. He'll have to take comfort in the fact that the Whalicon will soon be destroyed, and even if it doesn't destroy New Crystal City, it certainly caused some damage! Hinder looks at all of the radom chunks of debris and whatnot that have a dusting of glitter on theim from Fanfare, as if trying to decide something. She keeps her teeh clamped closed and picks one random glittery object before the water rises so high she cant' dive for it. Unable to paddle while hugging her 'prize', she opts for an otter stunt and rolls to float belly-up, prize held on her underbelly that's now exposed to everyone. This, of course, means she can't control where she's floating to, and she ends up bumping up against Ransack. Combat: Rodimus Prime takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Robot T-Rex! growls, and waves his little hands over at Americon- but lets the tapebot go! Smashing tapes is even less of a priority than smashing Insecticons. "Hnn!" Grimlock grunts, and transforms to his 'bot mode as he pushes through the water. "Is time to go now?" he asks, glancing over towards Rodimus and his Quick-raft. Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules hovers in midair, his props sending down fast, turbulent air. He drops strong cables out of his cargo bay for those on the ground to help with the evacuation, swerving this way and that. There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode! Ray Gun , fortunately for Americon, is unaware of the little Cassetticon's near miss concerning him. As the place starts to come down, Shockwave continues to fire, readjusting his aim so as to hit what hasn't been annihilated yet. "Cyclonus, the Whalicon is becoming unstable. I recommend an evacuation within the next thirty astroseconds at the minimum." This means that Astrotrain has the right idea. Astrotrain knows that it's time to get while the getting's good. "You just wait, you brightly painted junkheap!" Astrotrain does a customary fist-shake for good measure in Fanfare's direction. "I'll show ya that an Autobot tryin to fly is just an imitation of a perfectly good Decepticon. ESPECIALLY me! But for now..." And with that, he proceeds to jet forward, transforming as he goes and spreading his wings out, thrusters glowing a deep vermillion as they gather power. Any Decepticons looking to hitch a ride on the Astrotrain had best do now, because it doesn't look like he's going to wait around as his undercarriage plasma cannons proceed to blow a hole in the Whale's hull big enough to let him through! Parts spin, components shift and Astrotrain's body grows in size until he is an enormous space shuttle. Gigantic Locust 's lack of a wing is presently making his swimming against the oncoming water a bit harder, not that bugs are great at it anyway. He switches back to robot mode despite the pain. The damage to the Whalicon is done and he frankly has nothing left. "I am not going to be stuck in this stupid thing while eve-eh?" The Decepticon glances down at the shiny object and grabs it (and Hinder along with it) at the same time. "You're hugging a /bomb/ you stupid little pest! Argh, I'll carry your worthless aft out of here but don't get used to it." Really, it's just quicker and easier than tearing her apart to get at the precious explosive. Feeling something grip his rudders, Quickswitch rockets out of the water, landing back with a splash against the wave breakers, before catching a glimpse of the heavily damaged Autobot leaders' armor. He chugs out several hundred yards from the corpse of the Whalicon, in case its sinking might cause whirlpools. "Oh! Sir, it's you. Glad to see you made it out." Catching the sound of Fanfare's props overhead, Quickswitch grunts, "Yeah, I think that's all present and accounted for, Grimlock. I'd like to stay a bit to see just how much damage this did to the Decepticon city." Ransack's humanoid legs unfold as he stands up, shifting into his robot mode. Combat: Assault Hovercraft begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , and Decepticon Shuttle "And so it is." Cyclonus states to Shockwave. "Disengage firing and retreat as soon as you are able." He continues firing himself for the moment, apparently wanting to be absolutely damn sure. Both of his laser emitters seem to be offline, but his missiles are still going, curving down into the depths of the creature. Rodimus Prime is still clinging to Quickswitch as he floats upwards. "Yeah, I think now's a good time to leave," he answers Grimlock. Combat: Rodimus Prime begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , Assault Hovercraft , Decepticon Shuttle , and Ray Gun Grimlock hnfs. "Kay! Me Grimlock get go fishing this time. So that good." and so, Grimlock pushes forward, ducking through the hole in the side of the Whale-icon, and pushing through into the great blue beyond! Combat: Grimlock begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Rodimus Prime, Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , Ransack, Assault Hovercraft , Decepticon Shuttle , and Ray Gun Ray Gun ceases firing and turns about, passing by the Autobots. It is only due to the imminent threat of being buried alive (buried... alive...!) that causes him to refrain from giving them all a goodbye blast for their troubles. The Decepticon strategist has no problems leaving Cyclonus behind as he soars through the very exit that Quickswitch made. This might give the Autobots a brief opportunity to blast him, but they might have their own problems to deal with. Combat: Ray Gun begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , and Decepticon Shuttle Combat: Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Cybertronian Starfighter and Decepticon Shuttle Hinder gets snagged by the Insecticon and squeaks in surprise, her grip on the glittery bomb in her paws slipping. She doesn't fight his hold, though, because she seems to understand that he's trying to get her safely out of the increasingly awful mess of a whale's innards. Which smell like a combination of vomit and barbequed dog hair. :(Ransack uses his last remaining bit of energon to light his thrusters up once more, flying out towards the exit. He briefly ponders if dropping Hinder would make a significant weight difference to help, but disregards it because A. it would mean losing the bomb, B. it probablyu wouldn't matter, and C. He's not Astrotrain. Combat: Ransack begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Rodimus Prime, Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , Assault Hovercraft , Decepticon Shuttle , and Ray Gun Combat: Decepticon Shuttle begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Cybertronian Starfighter Flames and detonations light up the innards of the whale as the Decepticons unload their firepower into it, and it seems indeed, as the whale roars in pain and rage, that it they have indeed hit something important. A huge explosion roils back out of the whale's guts, threatening to consume anyone foolish enough to remain! "Woah, Astrotrain, wait for me, pal!" Americon says, flinging himself at the triple changer and using his talons to stick to his hull. "Woohoo! I'm not even sure what we did, but it seemed fun!" Decepticon Shuttle doesn't even seem to take notice as Americon latches onto his hull. Because a moment later he SLAMS forward in a roar of acceleration, blasting through the hole he made and into the wide blue yonder beyond! "It's always good to end things off with a BIG explosion!" he howls out. Combat: Hinder begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Rodimus Prime, Grimlock, Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules, Cybertronian Starfighter , Ransack, Assault Hovercraft , Decepticon Shuttle , Ray Gun , and Americon Cybertronian Starfighter continues to fire until he is absolutely certain that the whale is dead or dying; even as the port missile launcher finally runs dry. The right adds one more cylinder of destruction before he executes a neat wingover and punches his fusion drives to full -- rocketing out of the hole that the passing of his Decepticons has left, hopefully leaving the Whalicon to it's doom. Quickswitch has left. Rodimus Prime has left. Astrotrain has left. Ransack has left. Grimlock has left. Hinder has left. Cyclonus has arrived. As the Decepticons pull out of the Whalicon, the massive creature detaches itself from New Crystal City, drifting away lifelessly as flames pour out of its mouth and numerous breaches on its body. As for NCC itself, its crew manages to steer their city towards the Whalicon, and, in a bit of retribution, opens its own great maw, clamping down on the Whalicon's neck and, with a great SNAP! the Quintesson-built beast, a horrible experiment that slumbered for so many centuries, at last dies. Fanfare has arrived. Shockwave has arrived. Grimlock has left. Ransack watches the beautiful ruin, letting out a sigh of pleasure and appreciation. He will miss the Whalicon, if only because he won't be able to see it get its neck snapped again. Hinder just dangles in Ransack's grasp for a moment, then squirms to be let go, the bomb dropping from her paws. Rainbow Glitter CF-130 Hercules roars out after Quickswitch and Rodimus, his battered form leaving a trail of sparkles behind "That didnae last long." he admits, roaring up just underneath of Rodimus. His props facing forwards again he waits there to get Rodimus home again. Americon, after having eventually evacuated with Astrotrain's help, nods to Ransack, saying, "A good neck snapping is a great way to end the day... in America! Now who's up for some reconstruction?" He looks about, grinning. "Anyone?" Cybertronian Starfighter will let his masses handle the repair and reconstruction, for now, he has to recharge. And indeed, blasting clear of the water he heads towards the damaged NCC to get himself looked after first in a blatant abuse of rank. Ransack just glares at Americon for a second from behind his damaged optic visor...and then tosses Hinder at him. Ray Gun soars out of the sinking Whalicon, watching as it detatches from New Crystal City. The ray gun streaks back towards the Decepticon Headquarters to assist with the defences in case the Autobots decide to get overconfident today. If they do not, New Crystal City will still require a lot of repairs from the damage dealt today. Shockwave has to admit, this was a pretty clever maneuver by the Autobots and he did not see it coming. Hinder yeeks! as she's thrown AGAIN. Americon catches Hinder. With his entire body. "Hwaaagh!" he yells as the little ferret sends him plummetting down to the ocean below. "There's your answer." Ransack snickers as he turns towards New Crystal City and begins the flight back for repairs and enough energon booze to choke a...well, a gigantic robotic whale. Hinder drops the bomb and flails briefly to right herself....which just means that now she's digging her claws into Americon's shoulders as they fall. "EEEE!" When they get close to the water's surface, she jumps off of the cassetteicon to hit the water away from him.
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