| abstract
| - Highroad What once was a splendid and grand highway has been shelled and bombed almost to the point of non-recognition. It is so cracked, potholed, and littered with debris that traveling it requires a great deal of coordination and even more concentration, a dangerous distraction when an attack could occur at any moment. The powerful bombs that hit this road so long ago were meant to cut off access to and from the city directly to the south. Two shadows, the result of Cybertron's two suns, pass over the terrain. The beast soars just above the elevated roadway known as the Highroad with its massive wings unfurled. It's staying low to the metal surface to better track its enemies and to remain hidden from long range scans. For the first, ultra-sensitive scanning equipment can make out the faint heat signature in the shape of Sky Lynx's feet heading along it. The tracks are clear, and Predaking is following them with fierce determination. The thought of where they may lead is unclear, but given how recent they are it's certain that Sky Lynx is still in its territory. Said territory stretches from Crystal City to the fringe of the Koriolis Desert, of course--or about 8% of Cybertron's entire surface. Hunting. That is the most precise word Sky Lynx could come up with to truly describe the current mission. The shuttle-bot is soaring at a rather high altitude, optics scanning the ground below with a fair bit of apprehension, but rightfully so. << I do not see any signs of Predaking, do any of our scouts have eyes-on? Sweeping back to check the start of my route. Be alert and on standby, Elita One.>> He banks sharply into a dive to skim the ground, doubling back towards where everything began with this monster, the Highroad facility that was demolished not too long ago. "Come on you oversized scrap-heap... I'm not trying /too/ hard to hide." Just to send the message as clearly as he can, the Lynx even lets out a nice, challenging roar, listening for a response. Of course, with the brute tracking in the opposite direction, head on collisions are apparently an inevitability in this fight as well. Tarps are strewn over the ambush point, covering a good number of the potholes in the area. With little to no working access to the underground at this point, dampening nets were secured over the Bot ambush squad in hiding, to help avoid Predaking's senses. The nets aren't 100% effective, but there is still use to work with. Elita One rests on one knee in her killbox, one optic peeking out of the tarp. At her feet rests a large horseshoe shaped rifle. <> She sighs softly, then works her fingers, her hand touching the magne-corrupter for assurance. <> She adds after a moment, <> Cyclonus flips forward ninety degrees, limbs folding up and a nosecone snaps down across his head. Wings emerge from his sides and Cyclonus is now in his powerful space fighter mode! Shockwave's legs combine as his back unfolds. A wide, silver barrel appears out of subspace and connects to his arms, completing his transformation into ray gun mode. Horsepower was similarly hunkered down in semi-concealment, as much as a big blocky guy like him can manage. The dampening tarp and his own colors being gritty and mechanical reds and browns and greys at least help somewhat. He's only gotta stay down long enough for the big ugly to get in range, after all. Then it's open season on Shockwave freakshows. And he had just the gun to do it with too. Hopefully between his ingenuity and Elita's adaptability, it'll be enough to help them out. "Waitin's the worst part," he mutters to himself under his electric breath. Silverbolt folds up, transforming into a sleek Concorde SST. The Aerialbots are flying along with Sky Lynx, surrounding him in a V-shaped formation with Silverbolt at the lead. They've fanned out to cover more ground in the search, but hadn't turned up anything just yet. <> Silverbolt answers, and he dives downward after the bird-shuttle toward the Highroad facility. Hound is here too, under one of those dampening tarps. He's got his rifle and holograms primed and ready to go, just waiting for the ambush to begin. <> he responds to Elita, keeping an eye out for the monster 'Con. The quirky Aerialbot Skydive flies just behind Silverbolt, peering down at the ground below. "Everything is so small from up here!" he announces to no one in particular. Laser Gun and a squadron of Decepticon heavy hitters are just out of sight of Predaking. While the modified monster had huge potential to eliminate any Autobots within Decepticon lines, that potential has turned into a major threat. The loss of the original Predaking, as Cyclonus has been very quick to remind Shockwave, would be a major blow to the Decepticon cause. <> Shockwave is, ultimately, smarter than Predaking in terms of sheer logical deduction, and the possibility comes to him quickly. <> Starfighter is currently overhead at cruising speed, high up in the sky waiting for notification that Predaking has been found. The majority of his damage has been fixed, though the damage to his dignity still lingers. Slapping around the gumbies more than usual helped with that, though. <> Cyclonus transmits mid-flight to the cyclops, "<< I must admit that I am curious as to how you were able to incapacitate all five Predacons for your experiment. Did you knock them out one-by-one, poison their energon with sedatives, or simply swamp them with your drones?>> Cyclonus mostly wants to know so that Shockwave won't be able to use such tricks against him. The ponderings of Shockwave get his attention as well. <> F-15 Streak Eagle and the squadren of Seekers hes been assigned since this all began stand at the ready not far from Shockwave. No they are not in the air. To do so would being attention to their location and thats possibly not a good idea right now. He quietly goes over some stratigic flight patterns with Solo and keeps his comm on for when the order to move comes through. "'Could the Autobots be organizing a trap?'" sneers Galvatron, who is peevish about Shockwave having lost control of one of his better-looking combiners, even if Galvatron himself wasn't doing much with it. "Of course, Shockwave! When are they NOT organizing a trap, the slinking cravens?! But if they do they will not find us wanting. The beast is a danger, yes... but it's the OWNER they should beware of!" Near the Seeker Contingent, Misfire and Aimless, who currently resides in his right hand, prepare themselves for action. At the mention of trap, the Targetmaster pair flinch, but steel their nerve after a moment. Misfire quietly mouthes, 'For The Empire! For the Empire!' before looking up and around, waiting for a direct order. The normal lopsided grin is replaced by a rather blank look. A broken down Empty, missing an arm and several panels on its body, peaks out from behind one of the Highroad's support columns. His good optic rotates as he focuses in on the monster as it soars overhead. The jitters in his body are either the results of terror or poor maintenance. "I don't believe it," the Empty says to his buddy right behind him. "It must not have seen us. I can't believe our luck!" Up until now, anyone that was close enough to see the creature has been close enough to be spotted, targeted, and ruthlessly hunted down by it. The Empty's guess is wrong, though. Predaking detects them. Their leaking, rusting, sparking chassis can be detected by its animal-like sensors from over a microquad away. But Predaking ignores them because, for the first time in its existence, it has an equal to go after. Predaking soon reaches the ambush site. If it recognizes this as being the first time it met Sky Lynx, it doesn't show any sign of it. The dragon realizes something is wrong, though it can't figure it out for sure with the dampening nets keeping the Autobots hidden. In another time or place it might be able to instinctively recognize the trap, but thus far in its life nobody has had the ball bearings needed to try it. The ground shakes as Predaking lands on all fours. Its head snaps back and forth, optics blazing as it tries to spot... ah ha. It sees Sky Lynx on the horizon, and roars a challenge to him. It seems this time Sky Lynx has a pack with him as well. Clearly his opposite is afraid to face him one-on-one, and that gives Predaking confidence. Slag...it's on sight before him? So much for baiting and leading him there. Sky Lynx hits the afterburners, breaking away from the Aerialbots accompanying him. <> He drops down low enough that a toe casually skims the planet's surface, gouging out a trail before he spreads his wings to break sharply. No challenges given, no lead up...he's right into the thick of it by throwing himself against the monster. "HA! Missed you dearly, old chap! You left before I could give you a fitting farewell last time." Elita One throws back the tarp covering her, letting it flutter away due to an animation error since Cybertron surely has no wind, right? She hefts the heavy rifle in her hands as she goes to take a bead on the enormous creature. <> She bends to knee, the magna-corrupter whirrs to life, a crackling distortion forming in the weapon's base of sheer magnetic force. "Take him, Autobots. He may be bigger than us, but he can't work together like we can!" Her rifle propels the sheer magnetic energy forward until the secondary toggle is hit. It discharges, sending her back a small distance from its kick, almost enough to damage her as well! Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Sky Lynx sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Elita One strikes Monster Predaking with Magne-Corruptor's Magne-Corruptor attack! Combat: Sky Lynx strikes Monster Predaking with his Bodyslam (Smash) attack! "Aerialbots, you heard him--keep your sensors alert for any further Decepticon presence." Silverbolt orders, pulling away from Sky Lynx. He would let the thing get focused on its favorite opponent and potentially forget that there had been others present...was the monster aware of the fact that his squadron could turn into another 'worthy' adversary? They would just have to find out. Hound, likewise, throws his tarp into the air, letting it be carried off by the nonexistent breeze. Or maybe it's just a hologram, who can really tell when he's involved? <> he responds, raising his rifle to...well, let's be honest, he probably doesn't even /need/ to aim. But he does anyway, going for whatever weak points he can find. Combat: Hound strikes Monster Predaking with his Turret Gun attack! And there's the cue. Thank Primus, his actuators were starting to cramp up from hunkering down. With a grunt Horsepower plants one large foot on the edge of his foxhole to stabilize himself as he stands up with a push, throwing off the dampening tarp with his right arm in a manner that almost looks like he was discarding a cape. "There's the guest of dishonor now." His left hand is already up bracing the refurbished launcher angling over his shoulder, giving the rectangular form a slight nudge up to adjust the angle. "An' here's the party favors! Fire in th' hole!" A plume of vented fumes blasts out behind him as the launcher fires and sends its projectile screaming through the air towards the dragonfied gestalt. Within the rocket-propelled grenade is carried a volatile mixture of thermate and accellerants that upon ignition will detonate to a very high temperature very quickly. Extreme enough that the explosions should be able to melt and penetrate even the thick armor of a modified gestalt. Combat: Horsepower strikes Monster Predaking with the Horsepower-forged Thermate Rocket-Grenade attack! "Got it!" Skydive affirms. He drops down lower to improve his visibility, keeping a sharp optic on Predaking. "<>" he informs the Aerialbot leader. Combat: Concorde SST sets his defense level to Protected. Laser Gun knows exactly why Cyclonus asked that question. While he'd prefer to keep that a secret, Shockwave realizes he's on thin ice here and cannot afford to be evasive. "A meeting room with over 500,000 volts of current running through the floor and ceiling, Cyclonus, was very effective at disabling them." Does Shockwave realize how /pissed/ the Predacons are going to be at him should they be rebuilt? At Galvatron's chiding, Shockwave says, "Your point is noted, Galvatron. Per your orders we shall allow the Autobots to bear the brunt of Predaking's assault." The Decepticons are now at maximum observation range. The Autobots, if they aren't distracted by their own problems, will probably be able to spot them. If Shockwave fully understood what Predaking's system logs were telling him about Predaking's emotional state and priorities, he'd recognize that there is a small flaw in the otherwise solid plan. Alas, he does not. Galvatron steps up onto a tall chunk of rubble and throws out an imperious hand, fingers outstretched, towards the Autobots as they bravely surge out of their concealed positions on a dragon quest! "Now that they've revealed themselves, let the carnage begin! Decepticons, ATTACK!" Combat: Galvatron inspires Laser Gun , Misfire, Starfighter , Windshear, and Space Going B-1R Lancer with dramatic and moving words! Windshear hears the order to attack and turns to the Harrison Squad. "Transform split into your trines and attack." he glances at Misfire, "Lets rock and roll, Misfire." he leaps into the air and transforms. Windshear transforms into a dead black McDonnell Douglas F15A. Starfighter continues to linger in the sky, waiting for confirmation to move in. However, from where he is he can see the flashes on the ground as the Autobots reveal their trap. < "Silverbolt!" Cyclonus booms as he zooms in on the Aerialbots. "No doubt you plan to add the power of Superion to Sky Lynx's. That's hardly sporting, now, is it? Allow me to even the odds!" And he begins to strafe the Concord with a spray of lasers. Combat: Starfighter strikes Concorde SST with his Forward Weapons Array (Laser) attack! Combat: Starfighter (Cyclonus) used "Laser": A Level 2 RANGED attack. Upon hearing the order to attack, Misfire takes a deep breath as Galvatron's words echo in his processor, the words from Ravage on a previous conversation seem to also reverberate through his processor as lets loose a Decepticon Battle Cry as he nods to Windshear! Leaping over some rumble, Misfire steadies himself aiming his weapon at the biggest, well, second biggest available target. Steadying his arm, Misfire takes aim at Sky Lynx pulling the trigger slowly, his voice still echoing the battle cry, as laser fire erupts from his companion. Combat: Misfire misses Sky Lynx with his Battlecry Laser of DOOM! (Laser) attack! F-15 Streak Eagle gets a sudden bead on Elita One and brings his targetting system up and waits for tone. Hes met with the sound shortly and fires. Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle misses Elita One with his Laser attack! Predaking watches as the Aerialbots peel off from Sky Lynx. Its mechanical face twists into an approximation of a satisfied sneer. Clearly his enemy's pack doesn't have any courage after all. It doesn't back down from Sky Lynx's charge. Instead it beats its wings and takes off, mouth open as it brings its teeth into the fray. Sky Lynx and Predaking smash into one another in a flurry of wings and claws. With the size advantage, Predaking struggles to wrestle with the Autobot in mid-air. Snarling only briefly due to its teeth about to be otherwise occupied, Predaking tries to take a chomp out of Sky Lynx's belly before breaking away. As it does so, the Autobots spring their attack! The effect this has on Predaking is crystal clear, and the monster rears back in shock. Hound's turret blasts ricochet off its armouring, but Horsepower and Elita One have much more success. Struck by the magne-corruptor, a large part of its chest suddenly melts. This is quickly punctured by Horsepower firing a grenade that breaks through and detonates. For a moment, Predaking lights up from the inside out, with smoke pouring out of its body. A trick! Its fiery optics widen as fear briefly grips it. Briefly. It is about to roast the Autobots when Galvatron shouts at it. Its primitive mind doesn't even realize that the Decepticons are /helping/ it. It just knows that of all the Decepticons, *Galvatron* is the undisputed Alpha. His enemies are working together, and so Sky Lynx spews flame towards the Decepticon leader! Hearing the sound of incoming fire, Elita bellows a bit late in warning to Silverbolt. <> Suddenly there's an inbound party of Seekers et al joining the fray. She narrows her eyes, "Who's leading this quarry? Did Shockwave come himself or leave it in the hands of Contrail..." Windshear comes in strafing her location, the bunker doing its work to protect her from the laserfire. She glances about for a moment before returning her gaze to the great beast, and for a moment sees hope return in bloom, only to get suckered in by Predaking's lure. She glances to her corruptor, "Might need this in a moment, should've crumbled at least some of that armor..." With a flash of purple, subspacing the weapon, then swaps it out for her trusty pistols. She takes a firing stance, watching Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Sky Lynx with its A Chomp For Sky Lynx and a Fireball for Galvatron Area attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Galvatron with its A Chomp For Sky Lynx and a Fireball for Galvatron Area attack! [Pulled -4] Hearing the sound of incoming fire, Elita bellows a bit late in warning to Silverbolt. <> Suddenly there's an inbound party of Seekers et al joining the fray. She narrows her eyes, "Who's leading this quarry? Did Shockwave come himself or leave it in the hands of Contrail..." Windshear comes in strafing her location, the bunker doing its work to protect her from the laserfire. She glances about for a moment before returning her gaze to the great beast, and for a moment sees hope return in bloom, only to get suckered in by Predaking's lure. "I didn't expect him to be so wily still..." She glances to her corruptor, "Might need this in a moment, for whatever they brought to tame Predaking..." With a flash of purple, subspacing the weapon, then swaps it out for her trusty pistols. She takes a firing stance, watching Windshear and the monsterous gestalt, then spreads pistol fire out to both, in action hero stance! Combat: Elita One strikes F-15 Streak Eagle with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected F-15 Streak Eagle's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Elita One strikes Monster Predaking with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Monster Predaking's Accuracy. (Blinded) There's a very distinctive sound, protesting metal as it is torn and mangled. Sky Lynx lets out a rather pained cry as well from the aerial commander as altitude suddenly drops sharply, sending him crashing to the ground. But it's not all lost, the vantage point is good reprieve to make a quick assessment. <> Engines roar back to life as Lynx goes airborn again, leaving behind a notable trail of energon in his wake as he charges the Decepticon lines... though, rather than give Predaking reason to not mangle the Decepticon leader, he goes to give his own fellow Autobots some reprieve, keeping Shockwave occupied for Silverbolt to handle the merge. Combat: Sky Lynx strikes Laser Gun with his Fire Breath attack! "<< Bolt! I'm ready! Let's do this!>>" Skydive swoops over to where Silverbolt is, protoforming. "Better hold onto your servos, Predaking, we're about to shake things up!" Superion has arrived. Superion floats into view, scanning the area below him. <> Silverbolt responds over the comm, before turning to his fellow Aerialbots. "Superion's presence has been requested!" Silverbolt calls out, even as Cyclonus' weapons array strikes him in the side of the fuselage. "You've guessed right, Cyclonus. Unfortunately for you, that won't really help your cause." "Aerialbots, to me!" The flying Autobots make their way quickly toward their leader as parts shift and slide until the towering gestalt Superion stands before the Decepticon second-in-command. "PREPARE FOR SUBLIMATION!" You know, Hound is starting to get the feeling that maybe he should have just started off with the missiles. Predaking's armor is way too thick for his rifle to do much more than scratch the paint, after all, and his fellow 'bots are bringing out the heavy artillery. But then the Decepticons decide they want to join in too, and the scout notices one of them shooting at Sky Lynx and making quite a ruckus. "Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size!" he shouts over the din of battle, turning his rifle on Misfire and snapping off a shot. Combat: Hound strikes Misfire with his No actually Disruptor works pretty well. (Disruptor) attack! Horsepower ducks down as Seekers swoop overhead and gunfire rattles off the ground in short bursts of dirt and rust where they hit. "Well this huntin' party's gone to pot now," astutely observes the mechanic as he stands back up again. Looks like Predaking didn't take kindly to the interruption, either. "Hoo boy, that bludger's mad now, that's for sure." Okay, launcher needs time to cool off before it can fire again. But Elita's weapon should have made firearms more effective, hopefully. So everyone can contribute now. So instead Horsepower pushes the launcher back into standby position and hunkers down again as he pulls out his rifle. Though he's waiting on taking any potshots, seeing as he doesn't want to distract Predaking from hopefully being ticked off at Galvatron now. Combat: Horsepower sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Horsepower takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Laser Gun is genuinely surprised when Predaking sends a fireball hurtling towards Galvatron. That was the mistake he made in analyzing the logs. He didn't realize that while the monster hates Sky Lynx... it hates Galvatron almost as much, and Galvatron didn't even *do* anything to it other than be the top dog for the Decepticons. This surprise is somewhat less than when Sky Lynx targets him. <> A fire burst strikes the flying gun, and Shockwave is sent spinning around away from the Decepticons until his rocket handle can steady himself. "Sky Lynx. Tell me: Did you deliberately set out to make a nemesis out of my creation or was that merely chance?" Shockwave asks this casually even as he tries to turn the Autobot into a puddle of melted goo. Combat: Laser Gun sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Laser Gun strikes Sky Lynx with his Shoxcannon attack! [Pulled -6] "I missed?" Misfire says in stunned disbelief as he watches his shot track off the mark. Aimless emits, "Misfire, over---" The weapon is cut off as Hound disrupts Misfire's thoughts on his accuracy, forcing the pair to tumble off of his perch. Rolling over, Misfire leaps to his feet as he charges at Hound, Aimless' barrel pointing at Hound as he streams out weapon blasts! "You think you're in my league, you JUNK PUNK!" Aimless emits, "Cutting retort, Misfire." The solar intensity of the flames Predaking breathes forth melts the remnants of the building had Galvatron climbed to address the troops into a hissing crater of lava! Galvatron pulls himself up out of the crater in an instantly foul mood, molten slag dripping off of his glossy exterior, which seems more or less unharmed but is glowing a cherry red around the edges. "Disobedient," Galvatron grumbles, shaking lava out of his cannon before he aims up at Superion, making a point to stay further away from Predaking. "If only they were all like Bruticus!" Combat: Galvatron sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Misfire misses Hound with his Hail of Fire! (Pistol) attack! F-15 Streak Eagle gets hit by Elitas pistol. His targetting systems goes wonky and he rolls out of the formation. Deck and Widowmaker close in and fire on the femmebot while the other Harrison trines take aim at Superion. Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle misses Elita One with his Thermal Laser attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: Galvatron strikes Superion with his Magma Cannon attack! [Pulled -8] Combat: Galvatron (Galvatron) used "Fusion Cannon": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Guest has arrived. "What?" Cyclonus blurts out as he continues to fly straight at the Aerialbots--who have now merged. "Sublimation. Er... well, that's not what I would have said." His incendiary bombs are perhaps roughly as eloquent as that statement as he sends at Superion's face. Combat: Starfighter misses Superion with his Incendiary Bombs attack! Combat: Starfighter (Cyclonus) used "Incendiary Bombs": A Level 10 AREA-RANGED attack. Predaking does not understand what is happening. In the Me vs Everyone equation, it's all gone wrong. Autobots are shooting Decepticons, Decepticons are shooting Autobots, and some are shooting it. The monster *does* understand that the Autobots and Decepticons are two separate packs, but the idea of a free for all like this doesn't make sense in its primal, instinctive thought process. Misfire's thermal laser bolt flies by its head on the way to missing Elita One, and the dragon backs up. Elita shoots both it and one of the gnats in the sky. Intentional? Galvatron shoots... but not at Predaking... it's at... Predaking's optics widen as it sees the huge, imposing form of the Aerialbot Combiner. This is the first time it has ever faced something *that* big. As has happened before, Predaking has a fight or flight decision to make, and as before comes to the same conclusion: FIGHT! It bellows a roar that causes everyone in the area to rattle from the intensity, and then it charges towards the largest foe here, trying to claw at Superion's chest with its back legs before flying off again. Angling its draconic wings, Predaking pulls around for a strafing run. Its neck suddenly glows before spewing out fire, engulfing a huge area that includes Horsepower, Hound, and Elita One in napalm. Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Superion with its Claw Rake attack! Combat: Monster Predaking (Monster Predaking) used "Savage Instinct": A Level 9 AREA-MELEE attack. Combat: Monster Predaking misses Horsepower with its Flame Breath Strafing Run Area attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Monster Predaking misses Elita One with its Flame Breath Strafing Run Area attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Hound with its Flame Breath Strafing Run Area attack! [Pulled -3] Sky Lynx is struck again, spinning as bits of wing go fluttering to the ground. "Hah, no. Far from! Rest assured, the feeling between us both was mutual." He brings himself up above Shockwave as... Galvatron ignores Predaking and goes after Superion? <> He looks towards the ground, where Horsepower is at...and leaves Shockwave in favor of Galvatron. <> He rather aptly joins Predaking previous effort in targetting the Decepticon leader, picking up speed to transfer that inertia into a healthy punch to the face as he lands. Ah...good. Predaking went after Superion...good. Combat: Sky Lynx strikes Galvatron with his Dragon Claw attack! Well, that definitely got the 'Con's attention, and now Hound just has to /keep/ it while Sky Lynx does his work. Hopefully the other Decepticons will be just as busy as this one. "Actually, yeah, I think I am!" he returns, quickly switching to his Jeep mode. Several of the shots pass right through where his upper body was just a second ago, and then more are nimbly avoided as the scout weaves his way across the battlefield toward his new opponent. At least, until Predaking breathes fire all over the place, bathing Hound in flames that warp his armor and start to melt his tires. But, being the kind of 'bot he is, he grits his nonexistent teeth and presses forward through the inferno, jumping off of a conveniently located piece of debris. The result is that he comes flying out of those red hot flames, some still trailing off of his body as he transforms in mid-air, and he just tries to /ram/ his fist into Misfire's face as he comes down. Elita One marvels at Superion's arrival. The large combiner was now their best asset against the ghastly fusion of Shockwave's own. A blast of fusion energy strikes the great warrior. She wonders aloud <> She surveys the situation, "Galvatron's on site!" Even with her renowned courage, there is a sense of urgency to her words, "Can't see Shockwave, but Galvatron must've..." More strafing fire comes in, disrupting her words. She scowls to Windshear's Harrison Squadron. "Probably brought him along too." Her tactical evaluation had to pause as a torrent of napalm blows towards her. Assessing the situation in a microcycle, she darts out of her turbofoxhole, running through the battlefield as debris picks up. Stray fire explodes the ruined land again. She makes the leap into a second bunker, out of the way of the horrid napalm blast. When she rises again, her cannon is in hand. So many targets, so many tactical options...She murmurs, "The moment will present itself, until then...we fight and cover each other. She raises her cannon to Cyclonus... Combat: Hound strikes Misfire with his Oh yeah and his fist is on fire. (Punch) attack! Superion says, "I wouldn't get in the way if I were you!" Superion rumbles at Cyclonus and Galvatron, who have apparently made him their target whilst he's now being attacked by a bewildered and angry Predaking. Turning to face his opponents, he swings his arm out mightily 180 degrees, swiping at Cyclonus and Galvatron while aiming to give Predaking's armor a good pounding." Combat: Elita One strikes Starfighter with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Superion sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Monster Predaking with his Laser attack! Combat: Superion misses Starfighter with his Fierce and Frightful Frenzy Area attack! Combat: Superion misses Galvatron with his Fierce and Frightful Frenzy Area attack! Combat: Superion strikes Monster Predaking with his Fierce and Frightful Frenzy Area attack! Horsepower grunts as both Predaking and the Decepticons start ganging up on Superion, and jumps up from his hiding point to hightail it towards the gestalt. Except Predaking starts spewing napalm loogies all over the place. The mechanic jukes to one side, then the other side, and then just up and dives across the ground. Napalm flames hiss through the air overhead, but he manages to scrape under the fire without actually getting hit. He rolls at the end of the manuever to come back into a half-crouch, then sprinting the rest of the way to start climbing up Superion's backside until he can get a good look at the worst of the Gestalt's damage. Hanging on with one arm he points the other, a pair of tubes emerging from under his forearm guards to spray quick harding sealant into the damages. Combat: Horsepower sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Horsepower quickly patches up some of Superion's minor injuries. The Debris base underneath was a shaking with the violent battle taking place overhead, so much so that it raised Red Alert from his ordered time off here. Apparently Magnus got tired of him filling up his inbox at Autobot City with half-cocked conspiracy theroies and random tidbits that usually amount to nothing. Usually. Taking the shuttle car to Iacon, Red Alert doublebacked as fast as his tires would take him; which was quite a bit from the initial fighting. Transforming, he quickly scans the area and transmits some targetting data. Taking a look at dragon Predaking, he sighs. "Hate to say it, but told ya so." the Security Director quips, before taking cover to analyze the situation at hand. Faster than you can say 'Richard Nixon', Red Alert flips up into his robot mode. Combat: Red Alert takes extra time to assist Superion's next attack. "You missed again, Aimless!" Misfire exclaims at his weapon who emits, "So, we aren't a team now..." Misfire shakes his weapon causing it to scream, as the Targetmaster attempts to re-track the nimble Autobot scout. The jeep is far too quick for Misfire to draw a bead, as the noble Autobot fills Misfire's view. "No fai---" Misfire blurts as Hound's fist clangs against his jaw sending the mech straight to the ground, flat on his back. The impact of the fall jars Aimless loose, sending the gun scattering. After a brief moment, Misfire rolls backwards, finding purchase with his feet, thrusts upwards, his left knee flying towards the Autobot. "GRAHHAHAAHAHHAA!" is all the Targetmaster manages to spit out as energon leaks from his cheek below his left optic. Combat: Misfire misses Hound with his Tiger Knee! (Kick) attack! Laser Gun watches as Sky Lynx goes after Galvatron instead of retaliating. This mission has been completely unlike what he expected. The Guardian of Cybertron expected Predaking to dismantle the Autobots, and for the Decepticons to take out what was left of Predaking. Now EVERYBODY is shooting EVERYBODY and Predaking is being allowed to pick people off relatively untouched. Shockwave isn't even sure whether a free-for-all is a good thing or a bad thing. Shockwave quickly decides on targets. While Elita One can't see him, Shockwave can see her fleeing the section of the Highroad that's currently on fire. As she shoots at Cyclonus, he tries to cowardly (or effectively) blast her in the back. Combat: Laser Gun misses Elita One with his Starscream Would Be Proud (Laser) attack! Galvatron turns towards Sky Lynx just in time to be struck and skids across the smoothly rippling ground, which is still hissing from the heat of Predaking's monstrous flame breath. Seizing onto the giant Autobot's leg, Galvatron leaps over Superion's sweeping hand, swings upwards onto Sky Lynx's broad back and tries to get his arms around the snakelike neck! "Prating blowhard! You'll wish you had challenged Predaking instead!" F-15 Streak Eagle runs through whos firing on who through his battle computer system. <"Rusty, Indy, take your Trines and go behind the Autobot line. Lay down fire toward Predaking. Make him attack toward the Autobots."> And with that he rejoins the two Seekers he paired up with and lays another attack toward Elita One. Combat: Galvatron strikes Sky Lynx with his Dragon Quest II attack! [Pulled -4] Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Sky Lynx's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle misses Elita One with his Photon Pulse attack! Starfighter swoops up and over Superion before the hand makes contact, but Elita's blast manages to find its mark, blasting a hole in his underside! "Elita! Once again you impede Shockwave's operations. Are you obsessed with with him? It won't matter--soon your rivalry will end!" And he loops back around, spraying lasers at her! Combat: Starfighter misses Elita One with his Oxidizing Laser attack! [Pulled -2] The two Trines Windshear called out in the Harrison Squad lift up and blast ahead over the battle to fall in behind the Autobots line of fire. That puts them effectively in the line of fire against the other Decepticons but orders are orders. Seekers can dodge pretty good anyway, right? they start laying down fire toward Predaking to try and entice him to turn back and fire toward the Autobots. Predaking is swatted aside by Superion, but its own great size means it isn't sent far. The powerful anti-gravs on its wings keep it in the air, and it swings around to try and grapple Superion from behind. Its front and back claws attempt dig into the Combiner's heavy duty armour while its teeth are brought to bare against Superion's head. The roar it gives is partly muffled due to its mouth being full of Aerialbot. As it does this, Predaking kicks with its back claws, unwittingly putting Horsepower in grave danger of being knocked hard to the ground. Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Superion with its Chomp attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Monster Predaking (Monster Predaking) used "Shatter Punch": A Level 6 MELEE attack. Combat: Monster Predaking's attack damages your armor. Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Horsepower with its Kick attack! Sky Lynx is struck. Superficially, there does not seem to be much damage done, but internally, it compounds previous damage courtesy Predaking. He whirls about as Galvatron scales his back and pushes himself into the air... it appears there's a contrail behind him, yes, but that is still the energon leak. "You know, Galvatron, there's a difference between you and I... How willing are you to go down in flames for your own ideal?" There's a sickening lurch as his thrusters cut out and he enters freefall, throwing himself at the ground, with a Decepticon leader as his cushion. "And I really do not like you. Your face. It is ugly and offends the eyes." Wham! Horsepower's gestalt hitchhiking is brought to an end as the claws connect, leaving several gouges across his chestplate as the mechanic hits the hard cybertronian ground with a heavy thud. Steam vents out of his battle mask in lieu of a sigh as he gets one arm down and pushes himself up. Checks internal readout. His laungher is ready to fire again ... but there is something else more useful he can do first as he hauls himself onto his feet. "Hey, Sup'rion! Time to get juiced, don't hold back!" As he's saying this he reachs into his pack and pulls out a sizable canister, turns the top on it, and flings it up towards the gestalt. It mag-locks onto Superion's back, deploys a few tap lines into the combiner's energon lines and discharges its contents to make sure the titan can keep giving it everything he's got without holding back. Combat: Horsepower refuels Superion's energon reserves. It's a desperate battle in the Highroad. <> Still, she manages to keep her wits about her anticipating the strafing fire coming in. Windshear's squadron, Cyclonus.... An accurate surgical strike nearly catches her as she steps back. Her optics glance up, "Shockwave!" She actually moves to ignore all the other incoming fire, as her weapon swaps out. "Shockwave, how great it is that your own monster can't be controlled, Hopefully he'll eat you before this is over!" She raises her magne-corrupter...with a murmur she adds, "I was saving this for later, but...." The first switch is flipped, a magnetic charge whirs to life in the horseshoe weapon. Louder she adds, "You can't predict monsters, Shockwave...because you're the only one who listens to LOGIC!" She lets out an angry cry as the weapon roars in her hands. Trembling as she fires, for once her temper takes over! Combat: Elita One misses Laser Gun with Magne-Corruptor's Magne-Corruptor attack! Orders are orders, Red Alert figures anyways. It's not like he was looking forward to working alongside the human sympathizer and likely spy/traitor. Nothing concrete -just- yet, but he's on the verge of uncovering a slew of information on Hound. He just knows it. It goes without saying that Red Alert 'has' information on every Autobot currently on the roster.. a few dead ones too. Firing off a couple of potshots, Red Alert quickly picks his way over to Hound. "Alright, what's the problem?" Combat: Red Alert strikes Misfire with his Pew-Pew (Laser) attack! Hound comes down a little harder than he had intended, ending up in a kneeling position when he'd meant to be standing and ready to head the other way. A quick self-diagnostic reveals that the flames had actually done some damage to his shock absorbers, too. "Slag, I hope that's not gonna come back to bite me later..." he grumbles, but then he sees Misfire getting back up and trying to knee him in the face. "For the love of Primus, I don't have time to deal with you!" the scout says as he jumps to the side to avoid the attack, catching a glimpse of Windshear and his trine firing on Elita. Shifting back to his altmode, he takes off again, firing a few shots from his turret gun at the Seekers. "Hey, down here! Stop paying attention to your surroundings, and I'll shoot you all down before you know it!" Hound transforms into his 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar mode. Combat: 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar strikes F-15 Streak Eagle with his Distractions! attack! Superion groans as Predaking latches itself onto his back, its claws digging into his armor. Cracks form and spread outward, but Horsepower's energon reserves lend him new strength! "THANK YOU, HORSEPOWER." He says briefly, then focuses his attention upon the rogue draconian gestalt. Funny how even Shockwave can't control his own creations, even going as far as depending on the Autobots to help him take it down. Pathetic, really... With Predaking still latched onto his back, the combiner takes to the air, twisting an elbow backward into his opponent's chassis in an attempt to force the monstrosity off. Combat: Superion strikes Monster Predaking with his Off with you! attack! By most standards, Cyclonus and Shockwave versus almost anyone is not a fair fight. Not that Cyclonus cares much as he transforms into robot mode while descending towards Elita One, his sword whipping out from his back to slash at the femme. He figures that the less Elita distracts Shockwave, the more likely the latter can regain control over Predaking. "Sorry, Elita, but you still have me to deal with!" Laser Gun 's shot is just wide of Elita One, and he knows he's in for trouble unless he moves /fast/. The moment Elita One grabs the magne-corrupter, Shockwave calculates its expected trajectory and effect. He saw what it did to Predaking. It turned a large section of the creature's armour into mush. Knowing full well just how strong the chassis on the dragon is, Shockwave is able to make a very educated guess on just how powerful this gun is. "Your hopes are unlikely to be fulfilled, Elita One," Shockwave says as the gun dips down low, nicely evading the deadly weapon. "In any case, you will not be alive to see it. You, Sky Lynx, and Superion are *all* doomed. Then the Decepticons will re-assemble Predaking and demolish any remaining Autobots. It is only a matter of time." The hovering laser cannon fires a trio of blasts. The first is targeted towards Elita One's position, and the ground explodes underneath her. Is she still there? The second and third is aimed for Superion and Predaking, but with the way the two were grappling with one another it isn't clear which (if either) are going to be hit by it. The space fighter's nosecone snaps back as its body flips upright. Arms and legs unfold from the wings and fuselage respectively, and a dour face emerges from the body, forming the robot mode of Cyclonus! Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Cyclonus strikes Elita One with his Diamond-Boron Carbide Sword attack! Combat: Laser Gun strikes Elita One with his The Only Thing Better Than A Shoxcannon Is Three Shoxcannons Area attack! Combat: Laser Gun strikes Superion with his The Only Thing Better Than A Shoxcannon Is Three Shoxcannons Area attack! Combat: Laser Gun (Shockwave) used "Gamma Ray Burst": A Level 3 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: That attack has slightly corrupted your Firepower systems! Combat: Laser Gun strikes Monster Predaking with his The Only Thing Better Than A Shoxcannon Is Three Shoxcannons Area attack! F-15 Streak Eagle suddenly finds himself stiched up his undercarriage by Hounds Turret Gun. The damage is minor but enough to cloud his visioin with a few red texted reports flashing through his HUD. The Zombie Seeker swings around, the two gumby Seekers on either side following him and returns the favor to the Autobot Jeep. "My turn, and you wont have far to go when I shoot you 'down'." His wind canons fire off. Flying past Hound with his knee, Misfire curses loudly. "Gahhh!" As he lowers his leg in order to pivot in the air, Misfire gets tagged right in the chest by Red Alert's chest, causing the Targetmaster's leg boots to cut out. Misfire haplessly falls to the ground, crumpling into a ball. He lets out a moan as energon leaks out of chest from his brand new laser wound. Pushing himself up, Misfire stumbles towards Aimless grabbing his wayward weapon, after a moment, Misfire points Aimless at Red Alert, letting loose a large blast, which de-cleats the Decepticon Solider, sending him to the ground again. Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle strikes 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar with his Laser attack! Combat: Misfire's Large Blast of Rage! attack on Red Alert goes wild! Combat: Misfire misses Galvatron with his Large Blast of Rage! attack! "You are one to speak of faces, faceless beast," sneers Galvatron in reply. It's a good thing he doesn't notice Misfire almost hitting him with a stray shot. He has other things distracting him. "I have ALREADY gone down in flames, and risen accordingly!" Although pinned under Sky Lynx's talons, Galvatron has the strength to wrench his right arm free and charge his cannon, yellow sparkles glowing in the barrel as energy gathers. "Death and rebirth hold no terrors for me. Do you wish to test your OWN luck in that regard?" Wrestling with the Autobot dragon, Galvatron struggles to bring his cannon in line with Sky Lynx's belly for a point-blank blast! Combat: Galvatron strikes Sky Lynx with his Spalling Gutshot attack! Predaking growls. For now it is nothing but teeth and claws as it savagely tries to tear Superion apart from, hacking at the Aerialbot Combiner with an animal fury that defies its mechanical nature. It *hates* Superion. As it *hates* Galvatron and as it *hates* Sky Lynx. Superion's elbow comes back and smacks the monster in the face, and it responds with more claws and teeth, scraping angrily at Silverbolt's back armour. Then, Predaking remembers it is also fire. Using its long neck, Predaking rears its head back and breathes flames at point blank range, threatening to push Superion to the melting point. As the flame burst sears Superion (hopefully), Predaking lets go, flapping its wings again. Its instinctive nature is beginning to shift towards fear. Superion is bigger than it. This is clear. Sky Lynx just might be stronger. Galvatron just might be angrier. It needs to deal a mortal blow to the enemy and then escape. A blow that will permanently *hurt* them so that once Predaking has recovered, the enemy will be weaker for it. Spying Sky Lynx from above as it smashes against Galvatron and is blasted for his trouble, Predaking roars and rapidly descends, claws outstretched as it tries to latch onto the dino-bird, dig into the white armour, and carry him off to be dissected, gutted, and utterly destroyed. Combat: Monster Predaking sets its defense level to Fearless. Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Superion with its Hotter Than Hell attack! Combat: Monster Predaking (Monster Predaking) used "X-Ray Laser Cannon": A Level 7 RANGED attack. Combat: Monster Predaking strikes Sky Lynx with its Grab attack! "That is the problem with you, Galvatron, you keep coming back, making your sacrifice nothing more than a farce." Sky Lynx strains to get back up onto his feet, there's not much struggling on his part to divert a blast, especially when he does not quite see it coming. The blast does not resonate near as much as the loud crack of metal stressed to its limits. Armor plating from his stomach and back go flying through the cavity created by the cannon as the Lynx staggers to one side, his optical visor flickering erratically. Just the opening Predaking most likely needed. There's another loud sound of metal protesting as he suddenly has a Predaking on him, the armor damaged by Galvatron yielding to the claws with ease. Lynx lets out a loud roar as he lets fly a gout of flame at both adversaries though it's clear at this point his own systems are suffering the initial onsets of failure. Combat: Sky Lynx sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Sky Lynx misses Galvatron with his Fire Breath Area attack! Combat: Sky Lynx strikes Monster Predaking with his Fire Breath Area attack! Combat: Monster Predaking damages itself. Combat: Monster Predaking falls to the ground, unconscious. Superion is all set up to dish out the cans of asswhooping. Hound and Red Alert are dealing with the other Decepticons. Sky Lynx is trying to keep Galvatron in check, but that looks like it's going so-so at best. Shockwave resorts to just blasting away at a lot of people as one would expect a cannon to do. Unfortunately for Elita, Cyclonus decides to take after the femme leader while she's already contended with the flying microwave. Despire to help take down that thing conflicts with the desire to help his fellow Autobots for a few moments, but fortunately it's a very short conflict. Lynx is a big boy, he can take care of himself for a little longer, hopefully. Elita might not be so lucky, so he turns and starts sprinting in that direction. Only for it to go from foot falls midway there to the roar of an engine, and the blare of an air horn as Horsepower transforms and slaps the gas down in an attempt to slam the Decepticon away with the bulk of his vehicle mode. Combat: Horsepower sets his defense level to Fearless. Horsepower drops his bulk to the pavement, converting into a modified wrecker rig. Combat: Cyberpunk Wrecker Rig misses Cyclonus with his TO THE RESCUE attack! Nodding to Hounds' inquiry, Red Alert frowns when Misfire takes a.. potshot at Galvatron? Is this his grand gesture, his master stroke? To go the way of the Starscream and get himself murdered, or was there something else? Was this all a clever ruse, meant to catch the Autobots off-guard? In any event, the pause is only momentary as he merely shrugs and ducks behind some cover. Slowly inching his way over the cover, Red Alert draws a bead on Misfire and adjusts his scope. "Let's see if we can't bag us a baddie." he chuckles, slowly clicking the scope on the rifle. Combat: Red Alert takes extra time to aim his next attack. Elita One growls fiercely as she tries to recover from Cyclonus brazen sword attack. She holds her shoulder, her eyes burning with intensity. Shockwave's strike hits her next, her guard down against the assault, sending her to a knee. "I'll take you both down!" Elita One snarls, "I'll fight for another ten eons if that's what it takes!" She looks aside at her teammates, Sky Lynx devastated by that powerful blast from Galvatron. Hound and Red Alert overwhelmed. Predaking was still a terror, even with her assets, her bag of tricks... << I can buy you time, that's all I can do. Just...>> Words fail her. Cyclonus was right there. He was going to exploit it, She knew this. Recoiled over, holding her side...perhaps in her own way mirroring another warrior's last stand. Surely this would be the end soon, wouldn't it? All her eons of fighting evil, fighting oppression. She was just not a warrior, despite everything, everything she had done. Behind her fire rages and something shudders. Sky Lynx. He must've fallen finally. Maybe Superion could extricate him, maybe the others could retreat to point B as the plan instructed. The Healthabots, Whirl and others were right there waiting for the fallback...They'd survive. She clenches her fist, did she need to throw away her life so needlessly? The murmur that escapes her lips was her own answer, "...what other need is there?" Purple Pink flashes of aura activate about her, flickering a little. Only then does she hear all the communication on the Autobot channel. She spares a glance down to Predaking's form...She would live another day maybe. "I'd love to stay and chat..." Her cannon swaps out for her pistol, "But I'll deal with you later. Watch your back, Cyclonus." She fires some rudimentary shots towards the left hand of Galvatron then bolts away from him. Combat: Elita One strikes Cyclonus with her Battle Pistols attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Cyclonus's Accuracy. (Blinded) Superion grunts, still quite sore and rather damaged from Predaking's final blow. Disoriented, he stumbles slightly before regaining his footing and his composure. Looking around, he sees Sky Lynx take a direct hit from Galvatron. Turning to face brazen Decepticon leader, his optics narrow and he barrels towards him, fists clenched and blasters blazing. Combat: Superion strikes Galvatron with his Stress Fracture Cannon attack! Combat: Removing targeting data for Galvatron. Yep, that got their attention, alright. Hound immediately makes an about-face, driving off to lead them away from Elita. Unfortunately, he's not quite so nimble now that his tires are sticking to the ground, so that wind blast knocks him straight up into the air. He crashes down hard, causing more worrying creaks and groans from his armor, and he's just about to go after Galvatron to pull him off of Sky Lynx... ...when Predaking falls, the rumbling sound accompanying the orders to retreat. "I'll play with you creeps later!" he calls up to the Seekers, his wheels spinning uselessly for a second or two before he finally takes off, leaving a trail of rubber chunks behind. Combat: 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Superion and F-15 Streak Eagle Laser Gun transforms into robot mode, touching down on the very same chunk of rubble that Galvatron had been hiding behind at the beginning of this fight. He watches as Predaking carries the defiant Sky Lynx away. It might be worse it to lose the Predacons in exchange for one of the Autobots' finest. He then turns his attention towards the Autobots, and watches as Superion blasts Galvatron with his over-sized cannon and Horsepower tries to crash into Cyclonus. Perhaps Shockwave is eager to regain some favour in the two Decepticon leaders, because he takes aim with his arm cannon and attempts to blast the two offending Autobots with a flurry of laser bolts. Shockwave's handle separates into legs as his barrel splits into arms. Straightening out, he completes his transformation into robot mode. Combat: Shockwave sets his defense level to Aggressive. From his position on the ground, Misfire looks upwards to track his blast, which flies wide right of Red Alert, his optics widen as the blast hits some poorly placed reflective crystals causing the blast to reflect. Misfire traces the blast with his optics widening ever further as it goes towards a new target. "Oh, Slag me!" He curses as the blast comes close to hitting Lord Galvatron. It is at this moment, that Aimless pops out of Misfire's hand, transforming and fleeing. Aimless emits, "It was nice knowing you Misfire..." Misfire breathes a sigh of relief as Galvatron doesn't seem to notice...Primus truly favors Fools, Drunks, and Wheelie... Turning back to the battle, Misfire's optics flicker as his attention is divided between Red Alert and Aimless, confusion on which way to go forces him to freeze. Failing to account for Red Alert's actions, Misfire runs after Aimless. "Wait! I haven't gotten my new back-up weapon, yet!" Misfire dives tackling his partner, after a short scuffle the pair pop back up, Aimless in gun mode and Misfire ready to continue the fight. Combat: Misfire takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Combat: Shockwave strikes Superion with his Actually I Was Going To Only Attack Superion But Jeebus That Pun... (Full-Auto) Area attack! Combat: Shockwave (Shockwave) used "Full-Auto": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Shockwave strikes Cyberpunk Wrecker Rig with his Actually I Was Going To Only Attack Superion But Jeebus That Pun... (Full-Auto) Area attack! Sounding the air horn was a bad idea--it let Cyclonus know that Horsepower was about to slam into him! He sidesteps, allowing Horsepower a glimpse of him triggering a detonator in his hand. But this leaves him vulnerable to Elita's pistol shots, which he takes to the back. "ARGH! Witch! You're a fool for taking me on as one of your vendettas, as well!" Combat: Cyclonus has created a bomb: "Woah"! Combat: Cyclonus strikes Cyberpunk Wrecker Rig with Woah's Huge Explosion #10240 attack! Combat: Cyclonus's Woah is destroyed! Galvatron kicks away from Sky Lynx, falling back to the ground and landing on his feet, but before he can recharge his fusion cannon and finish off Sky Lynx, suddenly Superion! The stress fracture cannon slams him to the ground with the force of the concussion wave, and rather than get back up, Galvatron transforms in place to return fire in kind. "Flee, Aerialbots! Flee for your lives!" he mocks, 'gently encouraging' him as the other Autobots scatter. Galvatron transforms. F-15 Streak Eagle watches the fight seem to fall apart but notices Superion not getting the picture to leave yet. He calls the Squadren back in formation and heads straight for the Gestalt. Combat: Fusion Artillery strikes Superion with his Galvcannon attack! Combat: Fusion Artillery (Galvatron) used "Galvcannon": A Level 12 RANGED attack. Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle strikes Superion with his Photon Pulse attack! Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle (Windshear) used "Photon Pulse": A Level 0 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Superion's Accuracy. (Blinded) Predaking has its prey! Steam pours from its nostrils as it carts Sky Lynx away, eager to get its foe to a safe place where it can feast on the Autobot's corpse. Shockwave never set up such a system in Predaking, but its instincts outweigh its physical capabilities. The dragon's wings flap madly as it barely manages to hold up the shuttle-bot's great weight, but determination and anger keeps it going. Even as Predaking flies, it keeps its claws digging into Sky Lynx's hull, tightening and relaxing its grip in order to ensure he can't escape. But though pinned, Sky Lynx manages to twist around to get Predaking in his line of fire. The fire breath spews upwards, covering Predaking's neck. The metal ridges on it twist back and forth as the ex-Combiner tries to lean out of the way. Alas, with how Sky Lynx is being grappled so close to it, Predaking is unable to. The heat quickly rises, fusing the ridges together until Predaking can't move. Predaking cries out in pain and horror as the molten metal that was once its neck drips down onto Sky Lynx and the Highroad below. Predaking's death grip on Sky Lynx relaxes as its reprogrammed brain loses the ability to communicate with the rest of its body. Wings now flapping erratically, Predaking drops from the sky and smashes against the roadway about a microquad away from Crystal City's still-ruined north gates. Bits of the road are sent flying in all directions. Predaking's broken wings twitch before settling, and the glow in the monster's optics slowly fade out. Elita One retorts as she beats steel feet, "Watch your back..." She warns again, with a scowl before she takes one last look around. <> With that, she quickly transforms into her car mode and evacuates the area. < Combat: Elita One begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Shockwave, 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar , Superion, Cyclonus, F-15 Streak Eagle, and Cyberpunk Wrecker Rig Sky Lynx falls with the monster bot, no longer near enough the fight to truly see things. <> He struggles to get to his feet, optical visor flickering, the rest of him a total mess. Energon leaks in sufficient quantities that internal warnings are almost deafening as his reserves are tapped into. Dragging one leg that refuses to work, he walks up to the fallen Predaking, watching as it struggles and finally powers down. "This is why solitary hunters will always fail." He leans down to bite through the weakened armor at the base of the skull to sever the head before stepping on it, throwing the full of his weight into it. <> Leaving the crushed head behind, Lynx limps his way back towards the fight, saving his engines for if, and when, they are needed as he tries to get a good status of forces assessment. It got Cyclonus to move away from Elita One and give her a chance to get her bearings, that was the important part. As Shockwave's blasts rattle across his form Horsepower hits the brakes long enough to skid sideways. And then Cyclonus sets off his explosive device, resulting in a loud *BOOM* and plenty of smoke. Except out of that cloud of ash the wrecker comes rolling again, pieces of scorched plating clattering across the Highroad, but overall the big rig is still in one very smokey piece. "Unlike some mad inventors Ah'm shielded against stray detonations!" However all he does is motor past to follow Elita after the others. "Com'n li'l lady, lets leave 'em with their broken toys." Combat: Cyberpunk Wrecker Rig begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Sky Lynx, Shockwave, 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar , Superion, Cyclonus, and F-15 Streak Eagle Squeezing off a round from his High-Energy Particle Beam Rifle, Red Alert notices two things. The first and foremost, Misfire's weapon is running away from him. He makes a mental sidenote to look into that further, perhaps an underground Nebulon slave ring? The second, is Elita's call for retreat. Seeing his shot for as long as he can spare, the Security Director aboutfaces and makes a beat for the exit. Combat: Red Alert strikes Misfire with his Particle Sniper Shot attack! [Pulled -1] Superion watches with satisfaction as the giant monstrosity is taken down for the count. It had only been a matter of time. If the Decepticons thought that Shockwave's experiments had done nothing but improve Predaking's battle prowess, they were mistaken. The original Predaking would have been a fiercer foe! But then, while he was distracted momentarily with watching the ex-combiner's demise, Galvatron's fusion cannon slices through the air and strikes him on the right side of his massive chest, blowing a hole clean through his armor. He howls in pain and fights the urge to retaliate, feeling the need to heed his superior officers' orders to retreat. Though the Decepticon leader's attack had done monumental damage and wreaked havoc on his systems, he was far from being knocked out of commission. The gestalt takes to the air upon hearing of Elita One's minefield, turning briefly toward Galvatron with a slight smirk. "HRRRRGGN. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. I WILL CRUSH YOU ANOTHER CYCLE, GALVATRON." And with that he flies off after the others, being sure to cart the badly injured Sky Lynx away with him. Combat: Superion begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from F-15 Streak Eagle <> the Guardian of Cybertron reports from his perch, <> Shockwave can barrrrely make out the form of Sky Lynx rising up and stepping on the Decepticon's neck. <<...it seems unlikely. The creature is near the gates of Crystal City and should be-...>> Shockwave's transmission is suddenly fried from the energy feedback of Galvatron cutting loose. Shockwave patiently waits for the interference to clear before continuing. <<...and should be recoverable.>> Shockwave diverts more power to his arm cannon. <> Shockwave works to this goal by firing uncoded plasma shots at the retreating heroes. Scanning the battlefield, Misfire attempts to find a target when Red Alert blast nails him right in the chest, sending Misfire off of his feet and straight to his skid plate, bouncing a couple of times for good measure. Misfire grasps at his chest with both hands as energon follows through his fingers, smoking raising from his chest. "Aughgghgh...that hurt..." He rests his head back on the ground with a thud, rolling to the side as his optics flicker and he sighs. Which raises an interesting question, if Misfire's hands are free then where is Aimless...well... The blast nails Misfire right in the chest as he pulls the trigger, the force of the blast causes Aimless to go flying, spinning in a near perfect circle, weapons fire flying towards Red Alert and conversely, Misfire... F-15 Streak Eagle watches the bots retreat and banks over toward the remains of Predaking. <"My squadren and I ware on our way to access his condition, Shockwave."> Combat: Misfire misses Red Alert with his Flying Aimless Blasts of Pain! Area attack! Combat: Misfire's Flying Aimless Blasts of Pain! attack on Misfire goes wild! Combat: Misfire misses F-15 Streak Eagle with his Flying Aimless Blasts of Pain! Area attack! Cyclonus sneers at Elita One, running up beside Shockwave to fire at the femme as she drives off. "Watch YOURS, you skulking pink ninny! Graah!" Eventually he seems satisfied at his retaliation, and holsters his weapon in subspace. <> He'd threaten Shockwave with torture, but he knows that it would have no effect. Sky Lynx is...satisfied, watching the withdrawing forces, though the Cons taking parting shots draw his ire all too well. Claws dig into the ground as a low growl rises from the battered resonnance chamber. Ignoring the protesting in that damaged leg, he takes a step forward to intervene on the behalf of his forces. "You want a target? Come face me, you cowards! Shooting others in the back is poor form!" The threat goes relatively unanswered, though, as Superion heads his way to pull him off the ground. Part of it is rage, part of it is simply damaged logic circuits, but he rears back to take a snap at the massive bot...only to catch himself. "If all are out...then so be it." He gives in to the massive energon loss on his part, slumping as he's carted away. "To the rear lines, I need to notify Rodimus." Combat: Sky Lynx begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from 2010 Jeep Wrangler Mopar , Superion, and F-15 Streak Eagle Predaking looks back at Sky Lynx with dead eyes and responds to having its neck severed with only a last twitch of its hulking body. Even when the shot lands, Red Alert just keeps on trucking and beats feet out of the dangerzone. Raking his hand along the ground, the Autobot scoops up a wounded soldier and gives him a reassuring nod. "Don't worry buster, I'll get ya out of here." Tossing him a bit forward, Red Alert transforms and allows the wounded dude to land on his canopy. <> Someone must be following Red Alert.. suspiciously, because he folds down into his Lambourghini Countach Fire Department vehicle looking to book it!! Combat: Fire Department Lambourghini Countach sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Fire Department Lambourghini Countach begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Superion and F-15 Streak Eagle "Regretfully," Shockwave tells Cyclonus as he finally stops shooting at the fleeing Autobots once they're out of range, "I suspect I will have to initiate the back-out plan we discussed earlier. Though I was pleased with the creature's effectiveness in clearing out these sectors, I believe even my expertise in the technology cannot overcome the Predacons' base instincts." He looks over to Windshear is checking on Predaking. "Assuming anything of its brain survived." Fusion Artillery transforms back and surveys the field with a stern, even dissatisfied expression. "The enemy is routed. Another victory for the Decepticons!" Turning to address Shockwave as he stalks off towards the city, Galvatron adds in a warning tone, "You have a lot of WORK ahead of you, Shockwave. But your apology is accepted." Galvatron straightens up and converts his supports back into limbs, his cannon sliding down and locking into place on his arm as his scowling face rises from his shoulders. Cyclonus turns back to look at Galvatron, but says nothing. He glares at Shockwave next, and apparently was hoping Galvatron would chew him out more. But then, kicking Shockwave is like kicking a computer--it doesn't feel it, and you might break it. F-15 Streak Eagle circles around the fallen Predaking and leaving Solo to handle that he looks back off toward the retreating Autobots. They think they did a good job undoubtedly. They think they have destroyed Shockwave's creation and are feelign so proud of themselves undoubtedly. The Zombie Seeker decides to send them a little reminder that all is not as perfect and victorious as they probably think. He aims at the first Autobot that comes into his sites and fires. Aimless finally lands, missing everything.../again/. The Weapon walks over towards Misfire, pulling out a flask and sits on top of Misfire, sipping his flask. "We Won Misfire!" He says with a chirp as he sits on his comrade. Misfire smiles, "Ahhh, Tell me it something..." Aimless takes another sip, "Nope." Misfire lets out a sigh, "Oh well, at least we fought like Decepticons..." He lowers his head again, too weak to push Aimless off. Aimless pops back up and looks over at the wreckage of Predaking. "Yeah, that thing you wanted me to get...ain't happen." Misfire just sighs again. Combat: F-15 Streak Eagle misses Sky Lynx with his Thermal Laser attack! [Pulled -4] "Agreed, Galvatron," Shockwave replies in a matter-of-fact manner, "I will keep you and Cyclonus updated as to my restoration efforts." Over a week ago he described the back-out process as being a 'maybe possible' thing to Cyclonus. Here he is even more vague about how long or hard it will be. This is so he can flee the Empire and move to space-Mexico if it turns out the Predacons are dead forever. "I assume you are satisfied with the results as well, Cyclonus?" he asks. ================================== Autobot =================================== Message: 3/121 Posted Author En Memoriam Mon Apr 29 Sky Lynx ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **The Autobot emblem is displayed rather prominently, a bold, blood red with gold trim, with a solitary black bar running diagonally over it. It spins slowly before dissolving into a shot of Sky Lynx who has a freshly repaired visage with a ceremonial polish, the rest of his body is far from patched up to match, but mostly kept from sight.** "My Autobot brothers and sisters, I am honored to stand before you and say that the menace known as Predaking has fallen. This monster's creation and subsequent reign of terror, brought about by the Decepticons themselves, will not go unanswered. We will reclaim Cybertron, and this vile act against the populace by the Decepticons will serve as fuel for the proverbial fire. You have sent your worst at us, Galvatron. We still stand." There is a pause before he continues. "This victory, however, has not come to us without a price. Many fell while this beast hunted our allies and outposts. I commend their unrivaled dedication to the liberation of Cybertron and hereby issue their final standing orders, that they have been relieved of their watch. Those left behind shall take charge in their absence as they are sent to rest beside the noble Optimus Prime. Sky Lynx's image fades, replaced by a montage of various fallen during the campaign against Predaking, most submitted by their fellow Autobots. "Oneway, Autobot, Fifth Infantry Division. Drift, Cybertronian resistance. Kickstarter, Autobot Intelligence. Overcharge, Autobot, Eightieth Field Artillery. Killswitch, Cybertronian resistance. Crashcourse, Autobot Fifth Infantry Division. Skyjacker, Autobot, Third Air Strike Division..." The extensive list continues until the last name is given. The camera feed with Sky Lynx's visage filling the frame returns. "To those lost, I commend you all and salute you with only the highest of respect. To those still standing, we will not falter. Not now, not ever. Until all are one. "Lieutenant Commander Sky Lynx, Third Air Strike Division, Cybertron. Out." **The feed ends with the previous Autobot emblem bearing the black bar.** ==============================================================================
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