| abstract
| - Across the open wastelands there is a lone bit of movement amongst the rolling open expanse. With a faint tendril of smoke, it almost would look like something out of the old west if not for the post-apocalyptic rebuild of the locomotive that currently churns across the open landscape. While the slower of his forms to choose from, it's also the most energy efficient one for travelright now, as he doesn't necessary have to burn only processed energon to function. "Pfah...alternate fuel sources, this stuff is doing murder on my innards." The triplechanger's course takes him into an old, abandoned town that is half submerged under some sickly, green looking water. Times like this, one scavenges what they can, where they can. Moonracer is that gleaming white flying hover-beetle which is skirting the path, ahead and behind, of Astrotrain. As the enormous transport unit makes his way back to the wreckage to assist with carrying any salveagable materiel out, Moonracer is almost non-apparent except for her brazen powerslides across the front of Astrotrain's course. "Don't worry big guy, you're covered, " Her headlights narrow as she spies a ragtag gang of scavengers allready picking through the rubble and sacrifices her front end to smash into an outcropping of rock and debris sending it and the humans scattering. "Private Party." she chastises before returning to the larger robot. "Start complaining when you get retrofitted with the filter for deep fry oil, OK?" she says sweetly and innocently as she flips into robot mode, fully charged pistol allready smoking in her right hand. Astrotrain is not the only one nearby. Sixknight is currently stalking slowly through the reams of smoke that lift their tendrils through the acrid air, his wrist communicator beeping instructions from Praxis' fortress. "Yes BORAD" he mutters. "I have the sensor readings, please stop transmitting..." He pauses, taking in the atmosphere of this desolate scene. "Is this the way the world ends?" he speaks aloud. Moonracer says, "No. It's not. There'll be a hell of a lot more laser fire and smoke." "Nothing ends," comes a bland voice from behind Sixknight as he muses. Flat at best, the voice of Greatshot still rings out clearly as he hovers several feet above air, optics scanning around him for signs of life -- signs of inferiority. "In time this withered husk will simply be used as material for rebirth of our kind into something greater and more magnificent than we ever were before. It is just a cost of evolution." Eyes scan over heat signatures of humans, only to stop and linger over the distant sight of something -other- than the haggard remnants of Terran society. "Transformers," Greatshot murmurs, thoughtfully. "It would seem we are not alone." Locomotive grinds to a halt amidst the wreckage, an old car crunching under his massive steel wheels as he lets loose with a thick jet of steam in all directions. Finally, he rises up into his own robot form, rifle in hand and braced on one shoulder as he glances about the remnants of the town. "I'm startin to forget what it's like to actually -have- a full tank..." He grumbles a moment later, stumping over towards an old gas station. It only takes a moment for him to see that the hatch has been popped open and the tanks long since emptied. "I keep tellin Grimlock, if'n I could get enough power to get back into space I bet I could find us scraploads of energon in one trip that's way more than we're used to picking up on a single factory run here." Okay he's in a bit of a grumbly mood to put it lightly. Several more humans have taken cover here, and he shoos them with a sweeping motion of one large hand. Time was a hundred years ago he'd have taken distinct pleasure in making their lives miserable...now they're just other creatures. He's even had to get used to working alongside them back at 'home' too. In a chorus of shifting and spinning parts, Astrotrain's body spins and lifts up into his large robot mode. Moonracer grins and plays along as she scouts the perimeter around the enormous triplechanger, keeping an alert eye out for any danger. "I know we could fit enough energy for two generations in your cargo bay big fella, but that's not the game the King wants to play." Her pleasant expression fades to the taut lines of caution suddenly and she holds a finger up to her mouth peering about a little more intently. "We are never alone" Sixknight replies slowly. "Why do they struggle so in the dirt and the muck, Greatshot. Why do they cling on to the filth of their former lives when we offer them a glorious new beginning. Why do we offer them one at all? By their very existance, they are not worthy. We should just start afresh. Cleanse this world, leave it to us. This planet is our birthright. A new Cybertron." His optics zoom in on Astrotrain and Moonracer. "It causes me great sadness to see them. They are like dying animals, but they do not know it. We should kill them, put them out of their misery." Astrotrain hmphs. "Or an entire fatafted gestalt inside there, but now we're talkin ancient history..." He trails off as Moonracer's expression changes, his one optic narrowing. The cybered optic whirring as it studies the horizon for a moment. Nevertheless, he is already preparing himself, his rifle in hand as he takes out a bullet filled clip, giving it a quick knock to get any dust loose before he slaps it home into its chamber. "Fer nuthin but a fraggin wasteland, this place gets -entirely- too crowded sometimes for my tastes." Moonracer chuckles attempting to appear casual and not alerted even as she continues to peer around attempting to pin point where the attack will come from. "you know the Inquisitors if they werent' inquisitioning us they'd have allready fed themselves to the Sharkticons." "Nothing that verges on extinction can ever come to grips with the fact, Sixknight. ... That, too, is nature." As Greatshot mulls out the words, his gaze focuses intently on Astrotrain and Moonracer, considering silently. "Many of them are weak. But even the weak have a purpose. To be culled for materials so that we can survive and multiply. And then some of them... have what it takes to evolve. Do not be too hasty to cast them all aside." As he speaks, Greatshot's body transforms into that of a sleek, black, blue and red Cybertronian jet, hovering distantly above ground. "Subjects are Cybertronian in origin. The Triplechanger should be acquired for study. The other, should be shut down and used for raw materials." Quick. Simple. Efficient. The alien hovercar flips foreward into the lithe form of Moonracer accompanied by a familiar sound. Shooting up into the air, Greatshot folds into a sleek, Cybertronian fighter jet, ready to rain down destruction. Sixknight simply stands as the wind whips around him, watching the Cybertronians in the distance. "Perhaps. But they will never reach their full potential, Greatshot. They will never become true sixchangers. I try with Foxfire, but I doubt he will ever truly embrace the change. And that is a tragedy in itself." With that, he too leaps forwards, transforming to jet mode and blasting away Accelerated, Sixknight transforms into a sub-orbital jet. "Oh that's just great..." Astrotrain mutters, turning towards the sound of the jets raising into the air. Well no stealthy attack from here it would seem. Rifle in one hand, he thuds quickly across the landscape towards the nearest bit of cover, which is in the form of an old convenience store for now. "And here's Blitz missin out on this. Got us a couple imitation multichangers..." He quickly pulls the bolt back on his weapon setting it to the ready as he calls out. "Always wondered if you guys thought you were tryin to be extra special with all them modes. Dontcha know ya can't improve on perfection!?" Moonracer smirks at Astrotrain as she listens to the comforting whirr of energon flowing into her pistol, "They know." she says with a wink and then falling into a backwards somersault she quickly disappears into hard cover becoming very hard to spot from the air as she takes advantage of her small stature (for a transformer) to hide. "Our inherent superiority simply means that we are most fit to lead when all is said and done," comes Greatshot's simple reply before blasting off towards the sky, engines roaring with life as he and Sixknight rapidly close in on their prey. He sweeps in dangerously low to the ground, rocks and debris picking up around him in the booming wake of an explosion as the jet rapidly veers -upwards-. "We can't," he intones to Astrotrain above the roar of his engine as he releases a short volley of energy blasts to rain across the ground, seeking to rip through that convenience store in a straight path for the triplechanger. "But you are furthest thing from perfection." Greatshot misses Astrotrain with his Laser attack. Sixknight lands close to where Moonracer is attempting to hide, and then stares at Astrotrain as he sees Greatshot start to engage. "You know, Cybertronians" he mutters. "I am one of the newest and most advanced Transformers ever created. Please do not insult me by trying to hide." He narrows his optics as he sees Astrotrain avoid Greatshot's not-so-great shot. "I am the endgame of Transformer evolution, you are simply a misstep along the path. Come out now, and your end will be swift and painless, this I promise. It is far more cruel for you to go on as you are, living a half-life" Sixknight springs up into his massive robot mode. Astrotrain steps neatly to one side as the energy blasts cut through the building, hitting where he was a few seconds ago. "Are you kiddin me!?" He responds a moment later, leaping up from his cover and into the street beyond, one foot crushing down on an abandoned pickup truck. "That whole multichanging thing -started- with me and Blitzwing. Then the Autobots copy us, then you mugs try and add even more on top of it. Here's a news flash for ya! All you are is a constant attempt to improve on the originals. And guess what, the creators are still battin zero. When they made us they threw the mold away. Face it!" If there's one thing Astrotrain is, it's fast. and he is moving forward suddenly, cutting across the street at a dead run before taking to the air in a motion to make his old Decepticon heritage proud, anti gravs roaring as he actually rises to intercept the jet in mid air, both fists thrust forward as he makes to try and crash into Great Shot's undercarriage superman-style. "Lookit ya both, burnin energon like it's easy to come by nowadays!" Astrotrain strikes Greatshot with Blow. Moonracer smirks and tosses some rocks behind Sixknight when he's looking the other way, causing them to clatter loudly on some fallen steel signage. The resultant noise gives Moonracer the confidence needed to sneak out from behind a pile of wrecked cars and grab Sixknifht by the ankle with her hand, immediately sending an enormous burst of energon converted into systems-overcharging elecricity. "I'm a sucker for punishment, Hon." she admonishes before scrambling back for cover. Moonracer strikes you with taser for 1 points of damage. There is no pause, no second's hesitation as Greatshot's initial volley misses. Instead, he veers through the air once more, reeling back towards Astrotrain. "Prototypes. The beginning steps of evolution. All you are is a stepping stone." With the rending of metal, Astrotrain impacts Greatshot from beneath with an impressive strike, launching the jet upwards into a flip. As he ascends, the jet's form rapidly transforms, taking the shape of a large transformer reminiscent of Sixshot. Before any musings can take place, though, the Reaper is already -blazing- through the air, leading off with an elbow to simply RAM it into Astrotrain's face with metal-crushing force. "It's natural for evolutionary dead-ends to have such bravado in the face of their end." Greatshot unfurls and expands into his towering robot mode. Greatshot strikes Astrotrain with Blow. Sixknight turns his head slightly as a taser blast pings off his armour barely scratching the surface. "That was... was that... was that supposed to /hurt/ Cybertronian? I am Sixknight, the only Transformer alive to have mastered the calmness of inner peace that is Tenchokon." His fist starts to glow, crackling with a pale blue and pink energy. "I am the future. In my beginning is my end, and my end is my beginning. I see your existence as something pitiful. You limp about this landscape like a wounded animal, and it is with a heavy heart that I put you down." With that, an energy blast arcs from his hand towards Moonracer. You strike Moonracer with laser. Astrotrain falls back to Earth, and ironically back to the convenience store he took cover behind initially. Crashing through the roof, he falls down amidst a chorus of collapsed plaster, timber and metal beams, needing a moment to extricate himself from the wreckage before he continues. "End? Don't make me laugh. Didn't anybody tell ya? Me and Blitz can't die" He flips a switch on his rifle, leaping clear of the wreckage and dashing across the street, firing a burst of bullets from the hip as he goes, spent shell casings singing their tinkling chorus as they impact the ground. "We outlived Megatron, Unicron, Galvatron and we're gonna outlive this too when the rest of ya are rusting wrecks all but forgotten!" Astrotrain strikes Greatshot with Rifle . Moonracer has obviously underestimated the abilities of her aggressor as she's barely managed to escape Sixknights reach before she crouches down pulling out a far more menacing-looking weapon. She grits her teeth and cries out as the energy blast tears a hole in her shoulder and she squeezes her own round off without taking the time to ensure the head-shot she was going for. "Bastard!" she snarls scrambling for the hulking wrecked automobile chassis. Moonracer strikes you with gauss for 10 points of damage. "A fact that can be claimed by many more than just you. Terrans have a word used to describe things like you. I believe it is 'cockroach.'" As he speaks, Greatshot rushes back down towards the site of Astrotrain's impact, swinging through the air towards his opponent. Bullets rain towards him, striking Greatshot's frame with the ringing of metal striking metal... but they seem to do little to deter him. "But you, at least, have the potential to be more than that. To become something greater." The moment Greatshot strikes the ground, he's already transformed -- taking the shape and form of a MASSIVE Cybertronian tank, outfitted with a massive cannon as it RIPS across the ground towards Astrotrain, seeking to do little more than just... RAM into him at full speed. His body moving lower to the ground, Greatshot assumes his heavily armored and threatening Cybertronian tank mode. Greatshot misses Astrotrain with his Ram attack. Sixknight's shoulder jerks back slightly as a few chunks of armour fly off. But not much. "Cybertronian... please do not struggle, I implore you..." he gives a smile. "Lesser creatures do not act bravely or powerfully, and I have never seen one that has changed my mind." His fist starts to become a crystal blue transparency as energy crackles around it. "Why do you still protect the humans so, the ape-creatures that turned this world into a wasteland. Your very actions are a lie to your heritage." With that, another blast arcs towards Moonracer, this time much more powerful. Moonracer evades your plasma attack. Astrotrain skids to a halt in a shower of sparks, the clip in his rifle expended. He quickly ejects it, slamming a new one into place as he turns to face his opponent once more. "I'm startin to feel like an Autobot in the old days for some reason..." he grouses as Great Shot transforms and begins to bear down on him. "Who'd a thunk it?" Time may have passed but his reflexes are still top notch, and he suddenly vaults up and over the sixchanger's armored form. Feeling like an Autobot he may, but built a Decepticon he still is, and he lands several hundred feet behind the tank, turning and lifting his arms into the air as he twists and transforms, landing with the heavy *BOOM* of his huge steel wheels. "Oh it's a demolition derby you want...do ya?" He growls menacingly, thick black smoke belching from his shortened smokestack. "Word to the wise, don't play the big boy games unless yer ready for a world of hurt!" With that, Astrotrain explodes forward as his rear booster packs rocket his armored battle train frame towards Great Shot's armored form, the menacing ram prow angled low. The concept of impacting an armored target at such speed doesn't deter him in the least...he was built for ramming the most armored targets imaginable. Spinning and shifting parts result in Astotrain's heavy locomotive form taking shape. Astrotrain strikes Greatshot with ram. Moonracer grits her teeth and clutches her hands against her chest in a very human emotive. "You're right, I should just give up, it will be better for the future of the universe since my existence is futile." Moonracer rises to her feet shakes her head sadly looking at the ground. But then as the energy plasma comes shooting towards her she is suddenly compacted into her cybertronian hovercar and goes flying into Sixknight, "How's my driving?" Moonracer does a backflip folding up into the compact rotund chassis of cybertronian transportation. Moonracer strikes you with ram for 6 points of damage. This is not going well. A clearly inferior individual is gaining the upperhand on Greatshot rapidly, despite his own speed and capacities. As Astrotrain vaults through the air, Greatshot strikes the wall of the nearby convenience store with an explosion of concrete. This in and of itself allows Astrotrain JUST enough time to RAM his locomotive form straight into the tank's highly armored hide. Despite Greatshot's relative agility, he finds himself unable to outmaneuver, ripping across the ground with a screech of metal as he -tears- backwards. "... hnn..." the time for talking now -over-, the crackling and damaged form of that tank rears back, apparently still intent on playing 'demolition derby'. This time? He ROARS to life in a full-powered onrush, seeking to CRASH himself right into the nose of Astrotrain's locomotive form with all the power he can muster, to just crush in that frunt end of the former Decepticon with unholy force. Greatshot strikes Locomotive with Crush. Sixknight nods. "I'm glad you feel that wa-aargh!" The Cybertronian car catches him offguard as he gets run over, tumbling into the air and ducking into a roll, transforming into his drill-tank mode as he falls. "Pathetic, is that really the best you can do? You will be so cordial in the face of extinction? Once more I pity you. You fight dirty, you ally yourself with savages. Do you not want to live and live in harmony with a world that loves you, that is not corrupt and bitter and desolute?" The drill tank suddenly upends, plunging into the ground as it digs through, and then suddenly bursting up into the air, in an attempt to drill underneath Moonracer Sixknight rapidly transforms into a hulking drill tank. You strike Moonracer with ram. Locomotive's front end is surprisingly capable of taking the weight of the cybertronian tank and then some, what with the ramp prow and all. What it does do however is provide a rather convenient ramp for the treads to go up as he crashes full force into the front of his boiler, the two vehicles entangling themselves like a couple of cars in a head on collision on the freeway. "Gnnrrh..." The triplechanger can be heard as the front end of his boiler crumples in, a thick belch of smoke rising from his twisted smokestack as he finally cuts into reverse, sending up a shower of sparks as he gets clear and transforms again, dropping to one knee. "....heh heh heh..." he coughs, breaking open his rifle's underslung launcher. "...-that- shut ya up, didn't it? See? When ya stop spoutin about how yer all the latest and greatest, suddenly it gets more...INTENSE don't it!?" With that, he snaps the rifle shut again, the underslung launcher brought up and aimed at the tank's undercarriage as he pulls the trigger. The entire weapon kicking back with a deafening *BWAM!*. In a chorus of shifting and spinning parts, Astrotrain's body spins and lifts up into his large robot mode. Astrotrain misses Greatshot with his Rifle attack. Moonracer shrieks as the undercarriage of herself is torn apart by big fucking drills. "This is a good hard drilling of the kind a cordial and well-to-do young woman of my calibre really should be reserving for the second date!" She grunts and discharges even more of the precious and recently acquired energon into a violent electro-shock explosion hoping to disentangle herself. You evade Moonracer's electricity attack. The drill tank that is Sixknight continues to drill at Moonracer's undercarriage until it fully exits the ground, in which instance in the same motion it transforms into jet mode, blasting upwards in the same vertical line, before turning to wheel around with a rocket salvo that fires from each wingtip. "I am Sixknight" it emits. "I do not like to be kept waiting before a good drilling." Rocket trails start to blossom all around him in his attack. Accelerated, Sixknight transforms into a sub-orbital jet. You strike Moonracer with rocket. Moonracer falls to the ground unconscious. "No," comes a surprisingly simple response from Greatshot as Astrotrain drones on and on. As he suddenly transforms, he'll find himself pulling the trigger of his rifle... at nothing but empty air. Even as Astrotrain is aiming, Greatshot, too, is in the midst of a transformation, assuming his tall robot form and collapsing mass in on himself as that grenade launcher fires off with a deafening explosion of ignition. Yet, the grenade-fire soars through nothing more than air as Greatshot rushes forward, pulling his right leg back and seeking to swing it FORWARD and bury it into Astrotrain's abdomen with the sudden -CLANG!- of impact. "The time for talk is simply over, now." Greatshot unfurls and expands into his towering robot mode. Greatshot misses Astrotrain with his Kick attack. You receive a radio message from Quickswitch: Situation? Moonracer gets blow'd up. Like she's barely managed to get off of Sixknight and is zooming away when a missile jams up her exhaust pipe and the resultant excitedment is too much to handle, with a desperate shriek she collapses in midtransformation to robot form and lays amidst the destroyed regular cars, she doesn't look so fancy schmancy now. Just as the tank is no longer there for the grenade launcher? Astrotrain is no longer there for the kick. Gone in a blurr of movement that belies his size and the damage he has already taken, he has found purchase on another rooftop nearby, rifle pointed at the sky. "Yer kinda slow for a newer model. Must be a trend lately. All armor and size, no speed. Better luck next time, pal!" Just as he says that, he suddenly becomes aware of Moonracer's shriek, and finally grunts under his breath, kicking into high gear as he literally leaps forward and soars towards where she fell. "Guess that's my cue it's time to pack it in." Sixknight transforms to stand over Moonracer as she lies on the ground before him, the acrid fogs of the dead Earth swirling around him. His right fist starts to glow brightly with tenchokon energy. "It is a poor thing" he mutters as he kneels over her, placing his hand firmly on her chest "to die alone in the dark. Down the passage which we did not take" he quotes "...towards the door we never opened. Return when you have come to your senses." And with that, and making sure that Greatshot is still distracted and engaged in battle, the tenchokon energy in his hand glows brightly and fires like a pulse into Moonracer. Behold, the miracle of the Sixknight! Sixknight begins work on Moonracer's severe injuries. Your repair attempt is successful, and Moonracer's self-repair systems can handle the remaining damage. You send a radio message to Quickswitch: Greatshot and I have taken on some Cybertronians. My opponent fell easily. His is a triplechanger and is proving rather difficult for him, I am afraid sir "... Subject: Astrotrain is far more mobile than anticipated. Sixknight, assistance is necessary to incapacitate the target. He is being... resistant." As he speaks, Greatshot rips forward a pair of large, gleaming guns. Nothing base or simple about them, the high-tech weaponry begins to hum audibly with life as plasma wells up within their barrels. "You will desist." From there, he fires off two massive -beams- of plasma towards Astrotrain, fortunately not yet noticing Sixknight's actions -- too absorbed is he in the hunt. Greatshot misses Astrotrain with his Plasma attack. You receive a radio message from Quickswitch: Is your opponant's laser core extingished? You send a radio message to Quickswitch: No sir, they live. For now You receive a radio message from Quickswitch: ...A triplechanger... who shunned what we offer? *A moment of crackling over the radio* Destroy the traitor! Three should be no match for six, especially of Sixshot's make. You send a radio message to Greatshot: Quickswitch has commanded we terminate the triplechanger for rejecting your offer. That is... if you offered him You receive a radio message from Greatshot: Affirmative. Assist in a more efficient elimination process. Moonracer is surrounded in faggoty blue light, She floats up in the air, limbs splaying about as she transforms limply into robot mode and is healed by Sixknights SPACE POWAH. She doesn't yet regain consciousness so it's your best guess as to what's happening next. Astrotrain didn't really notice Sixknight's actions either, probably because he's busy taking evasive action yet again. Quickly flipping to one side he literally spins about one of the beams before ducking low from the other one, letting it slice past where his head was a moment ago, though it does proceed to shear off an old water tower and sending it crashing to the ground a moment later. As serious as the situation is and all that, he just can't resist turning and fist-shaking at the sixchanger. "I toldja better luck next time, pal! Get that? Next time, not now...next! Sheesh some guys -never- get a clue." He then turns back towards where Sixknight is no doubt hovering menacingly over his erstwhile ally, about to apply the finishing blow! Or maybe gloating...who knows? It's something Astrotrain probably would have done back in the old days. "Scuse me, comin through!" He shouts then, going low as he flies past Superman-style, going low as one hand reaches down to not so subtly snatch Moonracer up by one arm. It isn't what one calls the gentlest extraction but he's in a bit of a hurry. "Scuse me, sweetheart. This is where we came in!" No sooner has he made contact than he is already doing that nifty trick transformers can do. Where they change modes and the person they're carrying ends up inside them or in their cockpit and -isn't- reduced to scrapmetal or a bloody paste. A miniature hurricane is kicked up in his wake as his rocket thrusters suddenly ignite, sending him hurtling into the sky like...well, a spacecraft making a break for it. Parts spin, components shift and Astrotrain's body grows in size until he is an enormous space shuttle. Astrotrain retreats from the area swiftly, outdistancing all pursuit and parting shots. Sixknight straightens up, clenching a fist as Astrotrain speeds away out of range. "Subject escaped before I could engage. My apologies sir" he utters into his communicator, then he turns to Greatshot. "We should return back to base and report this. He was fast, it was not your fault." Moonracer wakes up in the back of Astrotrain, as she's partially repaired. "Whoah, where am I? Are we OK?" "Last I checked." Astrotrain's inner communicator chirrups in response. A faint bit of smoke trails from behind him as the last of soe of the damage he took fizzles out. "I need a vacation..." Moonracer says, "Me too I had a travel voucher for Goo but Galvatron blew it up."
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