| abstract
| - Covering nearly a million square miles, the vast lands of the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island reach as far as the eye can see. Canada is an immense land rich in resources, from the mines of gold, nickel, and iron to the huge hydroelectric installations on the St. Lawrence, Churchill, and Columbia Rivers to the extensive forests, producing nearly half of the world's newsprint. Most of the people live on the southern border, in cities like Toronto and Montreal, but that represents a bare fraction of the extent of this region. Contents: Swoop Space-Going B-1R Lancer Payloader Hazard Raptor T-72 MBT Onslaught Cliffjumper Ottawa Canada's Wonderland CN Tower Montreal Obvious exits: North leads to Hudson Bay. South leads to Middle Atlantic States. Southeast leads to New England States. East leads to Northwest Atlantic. West leads to Western Provinces - Canada. Fly Punch has arrived. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...kind of a combination of the two. /Kind of/. It's a real stretch. Nevertheless, the fact remains the same: Swoop is here and he's ready to do all sorts of Dinobot things! This includes yelling, waving his sword around, and shooting rockets at things. Flying through the sky in glorious robot mode, the Pteranobot holds his arms out to the sides like a blue and grey airplane. "Me Swoop am here to save day!" <> Fusillade scoffs over the local radio frequencies. The low searing roar of engines rumbles behind her as she lurks about the horzion, emitting a faint 'ooooh' to herself at Cyclonus's latest orders. That part sounded positively delightful. She swings her wings back to their full rear sweep, and then practically blows past Swoop in her enthusiasm to reach the main skirmish. Hazard finishes sorting himself out after his crash, "Alright!" he cries, and begins running in the general direction of the assorted mayhem & violence at a jog, taking time to avoid any civilian cars that remain in the battle area, "Hang in there Cliffjumper!" I sure hope no one sees him running across the open fields like this. <> Scrapper transmits back over the Decepticon shortwave broadband. His tone is the same as when someone is talking to a little kid or someone with mental problems, so it's possible that Scrapper might not think it's such a hot idea after all. <> Scrapper asks as additional orders come through on the Decepticon frequency. Just when it couldn't be more plainly obvious that the green payloader is, in actuality, Scrapper, the vehicle suddenly flips up. Legs extend, arms pop out, and a head slides up to replace the shovel as Scrapper transforms into robot mode. Landing on his feet with laser pistol already in hand, Scrapper's optical visor scours the battlefield for targets. He'll leave Cliffjumper to Onslaught since there's specific orders for him. Raptor, however, is not so lucky. "Well well, if it isn't a poor-mech's Seeker," he mutters. Payloader transforms into robot mode. Porsche 959 has, somehow, driven to Canada from the United Kingdom? More likely, he was over in the North Americas for some reason or other. Nightbeat is a mysterious fellow! He zooms along the highways, evading traffic, and soon, he'll be there to... "Oh, slag." A blue car screeches into the area, tyres blazing and throwing off steam against the road as he races to the rescue. Is it the devilish Counterpunch? No, it is his Autobot counterpart, Punch. Phew! "Cliffjumper, Swoop, Raptor, anyone? What's the situation?" he blares Raptor continues to fly over head, and flips in the air to hover to a stop, pulling out his assault rifle, <> Raptor then turns his attention to the Punch, <> It was about here did Raptor realize someone was looking at him and heard Scrapper's voice below. The black visor stared down at the constricon, "And isn't it yesturday's sand-box player.." He remarks back. Hazard looks over towards Punch as he jogs past, and responds to his question even though the pose didn't have his name in it and that has offended him greatly, "PUNCH! Thank goodness." he gestures wildly in the general direction of the battle, "Onslaught and Blitzwing are out to get Cliffjumper!" he pauses, "Don't ask why -- I have no idea! I just got here myself." he fails to mention the method of his arrival. His armor is filled with scrapes, burns, and huge chunks of earth though. Swoop lets out a little squawk as Fusillade blows past him like some sort of hot shot plane. Oh wai-. "Hey! HEY!" He flails his arms around as he speeds along through the sky. "Me Swoop am best flier! How dare you plane-girl try one-upping me?!" Other than a growl, a shaking fist, and empty threats, he doesn't do much else. Hey, he's a little distracted, what with everyone yelling on the radio. "Hrmm!" As Onslaught approaches Cliffjumper, the little red robot transmits over to Raptor: <> He emphasizes this by saying, "What, you think I should be scared'a you?" to Onslaught, stepping forward as if the Combaticon leader were as threatening as a creampuff. "Well, c'mon, tall, purple, an' ugly -- let's /dance/!" Cliffjumper runs forward, swinging a titanic blow toward -- well, his shoulder level is unfortunately Onslaught's crotch. Cliffjumper misses Onslaught with his Punch attack. Onslaught doesn't respond to Fusillade's chiding words, his attention divided between his radio transmision and Cliffjumper, but isn't unaware of enough of Clffjumper's activities to turn slightly so that Cliffjumper's punch dings harmlessly against his leg armor. Once the attack is deflected, however, Onslaught turns back around and lowers his right arm to attempt to grab hold of Cliffjumper by the back of the neck. "A valiant attempt but foolish." <> Blitzwing replies to Scrapper. <> Onslaught succeeds in grasping Cliffjumper, throwing him off-balance. With a loud clanging and clunking Blitzwing rearranges himself into his imposing humanoid form. Blitzwing grabs Cliffy by the legs as well. Punch's car mode zooms past Hazard towards Onslaught, a laser on his front popping up. "Got it Hazard, I'll get them off the poor guy." And then, louder "Pick on someone your own size, jerks!" With a zap, his laser discharges in the direction of Onslaught Punch strikes Onslaught with laser. Cliffjumper tries his best to kick those gigantic, clubbing feet of his, as well as thrash around with his grey arms. "You pieces'a -- Lemme go! I'll take ya /both/ on!" Ventress Exo-Suit descends from the skies above. Ventress Exo-Suit has arrived. Scrapper glares at Raptor. "Oh yeah? Well.... well f--- you!" he shouts. Four days, five hours from now Scrapper, as he's driving along the Great Cybertronian Highway, will suddenly skid to a stop. "'Lucky for me, because you're about to be buried!'... slag, /that's/ what I should have said. Then he would have been all 'oh no!' Hmph." Scrapper will say. But for now, Scrapper sticks with one of the few Earthling insults that he knows. <> Crouching in a good firing stance, Scrapper sends a trio of laser blasts arcing upwards into the sky after Raptor, hoping to nail him before that assault rifle can be put in play. The Lancer twists hard to avoid the collision, emitting a faint cackle and Nelson-laugh Swoop's way with a taunt of <> As she begins pulling up local sites on her navigation system. <> She scrolls through her munitions list, humming a disjointed song as she reviews her list of concrete-penetrating warheads. Ah, this one would do the trick! Scrapper strikes Raptor with Laser Pistol - Low Setting. You receive a radio message from Red Alert: Please transfer to the backup frequency, 'AutoTemp' (@chan/on AutoTemp) Ok, being distracted sucked. Raptor gets in a radio call just as he takes a shot to the shoulder from Scrapper, "..slagger.." He muffles behind the plate, before he opens a missile bay on the other arm, and fires down a missile at Scrapper. Raptor strikes Scrapper with Target Guided. The best defence is a good offence. It says so in the Detective's Handbook. Nightbeat counts four Decepticons, two high end, two mid-range. He counts six Autobots, one Dinobot, four normal, and one Cliffjumper. The Porsche accesses FUTUREGoogleEarth, which pops up on a screen in his dash, and he peels off toward the nuclear powerplant. If the Decepticons want to blow it up, they'll have to go through him. Hopefully the four other Autobots can rescue Cliffjumper. Primus. Nightbeat hates being responsible. Onslaught is shot from behind, enough to puncture his upper armor, as he half turns to level the rifle that has suddenly appeared in his free hand. He aims it in the general direction of Punch's tires as she still holds onto Cliffjumper's arm as he opens fire on Punch. "Blitzwing, you may have to withdraw with the Autobot. The presence of other Autobots is increasing dramatically!" Turtle Van arrives from the Western Provinces - Canada to the west. Turtle Van has arrived. Turtle Van It's a yellow and green. It has a Turtleshell on the front and it has the Junkion Symbol proudly stamped on the middle in yellow. It has a green roof in the shape of a turtleshell. IT's THE Turtle VAN! With a few modifications. Like it's bigger than it was in the TV show! On the roof it sports 2 nice shinny guns and on the front mounted under the grill is a grapling hook. There must be other options too! On the sides of the van it proudly presents KNUJ 66! in big letters! Contents: Andi Lassiter Monstereo Blitzwing follows Onslaught with his gun trained on Cliffjumper just in case the little red guy tries anything funny. Well, anything funnier. After a while he fades into the background because the writers weren't giving him any lines, and because his alt is needed for another mission which happens to be in the same room... Shockwave has arrived. Shockwave is here, look busy. Blitzwing has left. Punch shifts to his robot mode Turtle Van full throttles approaching, narrowly missing any and all obstacles. Coming to a complete halt to let a family of ducks waddle across the road and then peeling out onwards approaching trouble. Inside, the driver passes the passenger a baggie. Onslaught strikes Punch with Burning Beam. Decepticon Shuttle descends from the skies above. Decepticon Shuttle has arrived. The giant "laser" unfolds back into a big purple space robot. As he fires, Punch transforms to robot mode, yelling into his radio, his laser transforming into a handheld pistol as he shouts. "What? NUCLEAR? What?" he manages before staggering backwards as Onslaught hits him heavily, causing him to spin backwards and clutch his shoulder. "Ack!" Scrapper begins to backpedal as a missile streaks down at him. Leaping dramatically (in slow motion) as the warhead slams into the ground, a massive fireball erupts behind the Constructicon, briefly bathing him in flames and shrapnel. Tucking and rolling, Scrapper comes back up just off the side of the highway. "C'mon, get Cliffjumper handled already!" he shouts to his allies. "I don't know how much longer we can hold them off here!" Trying to buy himself some time, Scrapper flicks a switch on his pistol. Instead of a normal laser blast, blue rings of stunnyness are launched back at Raptor. They overload circuitry, but don't do any long lasting damage. Of course, if Raptor falls it wouldn't be pleasant. Scrapper misses Raptor with his Laser Pistol - Stun Shot attack. The sound of Fusillade's engines finally approach the Bruce power plant in Nanticoke, Ontario. Abruptly cutting off, the bomber transforms and alights on the edge of one of the reactor cooling towers, gazing far far down through the steam of the heated water clashing with the cold air. She snorts a bit at the Decepticon channel, muttering under her intake that she's <> She struts like a jaybird on a wire as she sizes up the best spot to drop a bomb to crack the cooling rod control drives. Ventress Exo-Suit Robot is above the turtle van and keeping low so to avoid detection. Despite the air being crowded...she stays out of that battle for now...... As if having a buttload of Decepticons here wasn't bad enough, Shockwave decides to show up. And then the Decepticon shuttle. Swoop cranes his neck to stare at it and simply mutters under his breath. "Sheet." The sleek bomber rears up, wings collapsing onto hips even as the rear fuselage splits to form arms. The horizontal stabilizer slides up, the forward fuselage folds up accordian style, and Fusillade hops up on thrustered feet. From Turtle Van, Andi Lassiter is surprisingly stoic despite Monstereo's ... unique driving. She even declines the baggie. Honestly, she's traveled with TWIN TWIST. This is nothing. From Decepticon Shuttle , Inside his ship, Cyclonus simply raises his hand to click his fingers. "Fleet, fetch me Cliffjumper. Then we depart with haste. I will NOT be kept wanting" Cliffjumper has a gun barrel -- Blitzwing's -- ground into his head still. "Aw, the blazes with this," he grunts, kicking Blitzwing away -- which causes him to fade into the background of the scene -- and making a break for it on foot. "You want me, Deceptichumps?! COME AN' /GET ME/!" Raptor dodges the attack as he dives down, "Ya know! I bet you look better as peice of the grass!" Raptor barks down as his body screams down at full speed, to only seem to becoming in to tackle the decepticon to the ground with sheer speed force. However-- if he misses, he has the covered as well. Gotta love anti-gravs! From Turtle Van, Monstereo looks over his shoulder and says in Morgan Freemans voice, "So, where would you like me to take you, Miss Daisy?" Autobot Shuttle descends from the skies above. Autobot Shuttle has arrived. Ultra Magnus leaves the Autobot Shuttle . Ultra Magnus has arrived. Raptor strikes Scrapper with Air Knock-down. Onslaught turns around toward Cliffjumper as the other makes a break for it, holding his weapon still, before he begins to give chase on the Autobot. His longer legs out distance Cliffjumper's own speed as he reaches out to grab hold of the fleeing Autobot again. Onslaught succeeds in grasping Cliffjumper, throwing him off-balance. Apparently Nightbeat has his work cut out for him. As the Decepticons' nuclear engineering specialist, Shockwave has tasked himself with executing Cyclonus' command. The big purple war criminal descends on plasma jets to touch down in the parking lot of the Pickering nuclear power plant outside Toronto and immediately emits a wave of infrared which sends the human guards packing with third-degree sunburns and burns the paint off of their patrol cars. "Turn back," Shockwave says to Nightbeat, turning his small hexagonal head towards the brave Autobot. "There is nothing for you here." Punch looks at the Decepticon shuttle, and then back to the powerplant. Making a decision, be transforms to car mode, wheels screeching as he drives towards it. "The lives of the few outweight that of the many!" he yells as he retreats from trying to save poor Red Bumblebee Punch shifts to his car mode Fleet leaves the Decepticon Shuttle . Fleet has arrived. Fleet looks out uncertainly at the fray below. Fetch Cliffjumper. Oh, lovely. He nods, putting the controls on autopilot... Cyclonus can take over piloting if he needs to, right? Then he leaps out of the Decepticon shuttle and dives towards the fray, flying directly towards where Onslaught has grabbed Cliffjumper. "I've got it, Onslaught," he says, firing his freeze ray at Cliffjumper first to make him easier to handle. Fleet strikes Cliffjumper with his Freeze Ray attack. Porsche 959 reaches the reactor - just after Shockwave has. He transforms, looking extremely disgruntled. Nightbeat hasn't had his usual energon overdose, so every little noise is hammering into his head like a jackhammer, there's still that stupid ankle monitor around his leg, and now? And now the Decepticons are trying to steal Cliffjumper and nuke Canada. He's not a happy detective. He says lowly, "On the contrary, there's a lot here for me. Just like on Mia, Shockwave. Get out of *my* way." He draws one of his photon blasters. The puzzle pieces of Porsche 959 rearrange into the hard-boiled Autobot detective, Nightbeat! Fortunately, SOMEONE cares about poor little Cliffjumper. "Hey! HEY YOU, UGLY GUY WITH GUNS AN' STUFF!" Swoop swoops (huhuhuh) down, down, down towards the ground like an angry speeding bullet untill he lands on both feet with a loud, hearty 'THUMP-UMP'. "Me give you one warning! Leave little Jumpy guy alone, or me have to get..." His optics gleam all bad-ass and such. "...serious!" "Oh yeah?" Scrapper snarls, "Well... f--- you!" Six days, twenty-three hours from now, as Scrapper is performing life or death surgery on a Decepticon Seeker, he'll suddenly raise his fist, "'Well YOU look like a piece of ASS!' That's what I should have told him!" He'll then shake his head and go back to finishing up the surgery. Sadly that insult isn't available right now, and so Scrapper still has to deal with Raptor. The Autobot swoops down, and Scrapper tries to evade. He's only half successful, though, and Scrapper gets clipped. The blow is more than enough to cause Scrapper to he knocked to the ground. Luckily, he manages to hold onto his pistol, and from this position he fires another three bolts Raptor's way. Hit or miss, Scrapper lifts up off the ground, flying towards the Conquest II for protection. Scrapper strikes Raptor with Laser Pistol - Low Setting. Onslaught is also making his way toward the Decepticon shuttle, his hand still gripping the now frozen Autobot, as the number of Autobots trying to rescue the Autobot continue to increase. He still holds his rifle and something in his stance shows he's ready to use it if need be which, as he has totally ignored Swoop's order, as he attempts to near the shuttle as quickly as possible. Raptor takes the shot on his backside, but growls softly. Instead of chasing after, like he wants too, he keeps what he said. Lifes are far more important right now. He leaps back into the air, his thrusters kicking on full as he leads towards the reactor in the sky. Hopefully he wont get tractor-beemed, shot-down, or tackled. He hates getting tackled... As the freeze ray strikes him, Cliffjumper is covered in a thick coating of ice, that builds and builds until he is enveloped completely in a gigantic ice cube. He's a little guy; that's a lot of freeze ray to use on him! Inside the ice, he is trapped, motionless. MEANWHILE, inside the PICKERING CONTROL ROOM... "There are Decepticons everywhere! Should we evacuate?" "No, goddamnit, you might be a bachelor but I have family in Toronto!" "But what can we do?" "Put the reactor into shutdown RIGHT NOW!" The technicians leap into action... but their computers do not respond! A cascade of strange symbols flows across the screens and a high-pitched shriek comes from the modem. "Nothing's working! It's all just gibberish!" Norton's going crazy! Something's accessing our systems from the outside! It's shutting down all the cooling systems and overriding the safety interlocks! I can't stop it!" MEANWHILE, in the PARKING LOT... Shockwave's eye blinks rapidly. Hazard has left. Swoop just stares up at Onslaught as he successfully kidnaps Cliffjumper and makes his way back to the shuttle. ".....That not work so well.." The distracting dance on the edge of the cooling tower seems to no longer be needed. Fusillade grins wickedly as she spies Nightbeat engaging Shockwave. Kicking off the edge with a blast of double-thrustered heels, she fishes out a hefty reinforced GBU-37, kisses its hull, and then chucks it at a 45 degree angle at the joint of the reactor's polar crane winch and the horizontal steam generators. Between there, under meters of concrete, lies the prize: the control rod drives. Se tap tap tap taps one foot as she waits for the bunker buster to finish burrowing. There's a muffled roar, and the building shudders under her feet. She grins, and takes to the air to repeat the process on the second reactor. Punch blasts down the security gates on the reactor plant as he transforms to robot mode again, letting his internal sirens blare out. "EVACUATE, EVACUATE!" he yells to the human workers, looking in the direction of Shockwave. "Oh boy" he says, in his best Sam Beckett voice "You would be wise to leave this locale," Shockwave replies to Nightbeat. "I recommend a minimum safe distance of six miles in no less than..." he pauses a moment to cogitate. "Twenty minutes." If Onslaught lets him, Fleet grabs the now frozen Cliffjumper and finishes the trip to the shuttle, speedy little Seeker that he is. The massive thrusters of the Autobot shuttle 'Alpha Trion' become aubible with a deafening roar over the battlefield. The gleaming ship soars high above the plant as its lone occupant, Ultra Magnus, stares down upon the battlefield with a distinct frown. "... Dammit," he mutters, watching as Cliffjumper is subsequently abducted. Hands clenched, the shuttle begins to touch down quickly, even as Magnus himself busies himself in trying to deal with the situation as expediently as possible. Steam begins to roil off the surface of one of the cooling towers. A loud whooping siren can be heard throughout the Pickering campus. Orange lights spin. From Turtle Van, Monstereo looks over his shoulder and says in Morgan Freemans voice, "So, where would you like me to take you, Miss Daisy?" Nightbeat just has to hope that the few Autobot fliers can handle the aerial menace that is the dangerous dame known as Codename: Fusillade. The detective cracks his knuckles and replies to Shockwave, "Uh huh. Well, Ma Sigma never said I was wise." Just a wise guy. The relatively short Autobot makes as if to slug Shockwave - and then pulls a gun and shoots. You strike Shockwave with Space Revolver. From Turtle Van, Andi Lassiter says, "The nuclear power plant. I need to try and stop the overload there." Fleet does take Cliffjumper from Onslaught! Hoorah! He takes hold of the swiftly melting Ice-Mini-Cube, and starts to fly back towards the shuttle. Onslaught nods, releasing Cliffjumper to Fleet's control, before he turns fully around to level his rifle at any opponents that may try to make an atempt to grab hold of the red armored Autobot as Onslaught continues to backtrack toward the shuttle. "Make haste, Fleet. Our luck may not continue hold for much longer!" Raptor flies over and locates down Fusillade and makes a sharp whistle at her, "Hey! Big gal! You outta get a new job!" He locks onto her and narrows his optics behind his visor, "Because really-- this has got to be a waste of time for you." Rodimus Prime has arrived. The bullet pwings harmlessly off of Shockwave's reentry-proof, radiation-proof outer hull. He holds forth his left arm, moving slightly slower than normal due to the distraction of hacking the human computers while he responds to what he can see in front of him. "I cannot feel pity for you," he tells Nightbeat, and shoots him. Shockwave strikes you with Infrared for 5 points of damage. From Decepticon Shuttle , Cyclonus gives a rare smile as he sits in his chair, viewing the many monitors dotted about. "Soon..." he utters, stroking the pages of the Black Book of Primus. "I heed the call." And then he leans forward. "Shockwave, Onslaught. When I return, I will see this country RUINED, understand me? There will be nothing left but radioactive DUST." Raptor just as he was about to play with fusi, he remembes the radio form Magnus. Grumbles softly. Ah well, the others could handle this, and thus he bolts back to where the shuttle is. From Turtle Van, Monstereo makes the necessary turn just in the nick of time. Born To Be Wild plays from the Vans sound system. The spacious interior provides plenty of work and hiding places for a human. The van is as big as a semi afterall. Soon the Van pulls into the parking lot of the plant! Cliffjumper has left. Cliffjumper enters the Decepticon Shuttle . Nightbeat gets blown into the air and far, far away from the power plant by Shockwave's blast and ends up landing near where Ultra Magnus asked him to be. Ugh, that stings. Nightbeat gets to his feet. Raptor has left. Raptor enters the Autobot Shuttle . Fleet successfully gets the Cliffjumper-cube to the shuttle, due to the distraction being caused by the others. Galvatron has arrived. Scrapper looks over his shoulder as he soars towards the Conquest II to see whether or not Raptor is still pursuing him. Luckily, he isn't, and Scrapper is clearly satisfied with the skirmish. Scrapper lands on the Decepticon shuttle in time to see the Alpha Trion make its arrival. <> From this position Scrapper can't see that Fleet has him. Opening the top hatch to the shuttle, Scrapper ducks inside. He'll meet up with Cyclonus on the bridge shortly. You enter the Autobot Shuttle . The interior of the shuttle is very roomy. There is a highly technical cockpit that seats numerous bots at various stations, and a huge cargo area for additional troops or equipment. This vessel requires Space-Pilot to use. Syntax: DO - IE. do east, do +profile, do attack scourge=laser. l/o - Looks outside. Contents: Raptor Outside, Fleet has left. Outside, Fleet enters the Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, A shooting star in the sky suddenly becomes much, much brighter! A glowing disc, shrouded in atmospheric plasma, spins into view, rocketing inevitably down towards the urban area below -- not miles away from the current Autobot / Decpeticon battle. The disc plows into a suburban farm in a glorious shower of flame and dirt, plowing a ditch several meters deep straight into the Earth. At last at a stop, the UFO's glowing metal skin hisses before a rear panel is punched off unceremoniously. "Nngh!" Rodimus Prime grunts, tossing an unconscious alien spaceman in a silver armored space suit to the ground in front of him before he hauls himself likewise out of the UFO and onto terra firma. "That's the last of the Nebula Men," he mutters, dusting his hands off and surveying the scene with a scowl. Ultra Magnus has arrived. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet scrambles into the shuttle after pushing Cliffjumper in. He jumps into his seat and says, "Sir, that ice'll melt any time. Taking off now." With that, his fingers jump over the controls and he takes off. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle soars upward to the Sky above Canada. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You take off and soar upward to the Sky above Canada. Outside, Skies above Canada Outside, Lush coniferous canopies, genetically engineered to support northern Canada's lumber industry, launch up hundreds of feet. Formerly endangered, eagles are now a common sight. Fronts roll through constantly with fog-shrouded mornings and the sound of thunder, nourishing the central breadbasket regions. During winter, the weather turns violent, with blizzards and pounding rainstorms. Commercial air traffic is more plentiful than in previous decades, but is still spread far and between the country's urban centers in British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Fly leads to Stratosphere above North America. Outside, West leads to Skies above Russia. Outside, North leads to Skies above the Arctic. Outside, South - Eastern U.S. leads to Skies above the Eastern United States. Outside, South - Central U.S. leads to Skies above the Central United States. Outside, South - Western U.S. leads to Skies above the Western United States. Outside, Northwest Territories/Yukon Hudson Bay Western Provinces Eastern Provinces Steeltread has arrived. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Cyclonus simply smiles at the imprisoned Cliffjumper. "Make haste Fleet. Make haste to the Medusa Cascade. UNICRON AWAITS!" Raptor makes it inside, which was easy to keep up with the shuttle, yay for being a flier. "Sir. Sorry for the delay." He reports to Magnus as he rests on hand on the wall. His battle-plate sliding back and his visor going up. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Inside the ice cube, Cliffjumper tries to blink, but is too frozen. Unicron...?! Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet frowns, his wings drooping as he taps over the controls. "As you command, sir," he says dejectedly. Unicron is never really very good for Fleet's survival. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle soars upward to the Stratosphere above North America. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You take off and soar upward to the Stratosphere above North America. Outside, Stratosphere above North America Outside, Autobot and EDC craft aggressively patrol the airspace over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, and for good reason. The richness of military and commercial air traffic cutting across the well-behaved jetstreams makes this a prime area for plunder. Most of the weather actions this high up come from the occasional supercell thunderstorm billowing up over Tornado Alley of the midwestern U.S., and from hurricanes over the Caribbean. The extreme northern reaches of the Yukon are coated in snow, the white marching down the spine of the Rockies while rain clouds obscure the Pacific Northwest. At night, the entire eastern and southwestern seaboards light the night skies, the light pollution proclaiming humanity's industrial success. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Fly leads to Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere. Outside, North leads to Stratosphere above Arctic. Outside, South leads to Stratosphere above South America. Outside, Southeast leads to Stratosphere above Atlantic Ocean. Outside, Southwest leads to Stratosphere above Pacific Ocean. Outside, Skies above Canada Skies above E US Skies above Ctrl US Skies above W US Outside, Decepticon Shuttle flies to the Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You fly to the Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere. Outside, Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere Outside, From this high up, the curve of the Earth is visible, dominated by the North and South American continents. The Rockies and Andes flow into each other, forming the spine of both landmasses. To the north, summer strips the Arctic Ocean of its wintry coat of ice, while Antarctica remains stubbornly frozen year round. The impact of forest reclamation in South America is apparent even in these altitude-darkened skies. The grainy sprawl of white rooftops and blacktop streets marks the advance of the North American megalopolises, and spacecraft headed toward New York's and California's spaceports zoom past on their way to space. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Orbit leads to Earth Orbit. Outside, Longitudinal leads to Stratosphere above Eastern Hemisphere. Outside, Down leads to Stratosphere above Atlantic Ocean. Outside, Down leads to Stratosphere above North America. Outside, Down leads to Stratosphere above Pacific Ocean. Outside, Down leads to Stratosphere above South America. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Scrapper says, "Either of you need a jury-rig, lemme know." Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet didn't take damage. "It's fine," Magnus replies to Raptor at the controls; the Alpha Trion tails -just- behind the Decepticon shuttle, even as Magnus sets the thrusters to maximum output. "Where the hell are they taking Cliffjumper...?" Outside, Decepticon Shuttle maneuvers towards the Earth Orbit. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You maneuver through space towards the Earth Orbit. Outside, Earth Orbit Outside, As you enter orbit above the blue-green surface of Earth, you peer through the clouds and see various possible landing sites... Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Harvest One Copernicus Station Terran Sensor #8438 Moon Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Starport <76> leads to Starport 76 -- Landing Pad. Outside, Escape Orbit leads to Terrestrial Planets . Outside, Eastern Hemisphere leads to Stratosphere above Eastern Hemisphere. Outside, Western Hemisphere leads to Stratosphere above Western Hemisphere. Outside, Ayotizinco Cairo Spaceport Houston Spaceport Autobot City New York City EDC Korean Spaceport Raptor shakes his head, "I have no idea sir. I don't even understand why they are after him." Grumbles softly, "But I sure as slag don't like the feeling of this." Outside, Decepticon Shuttle travels through local space to the Terrestrial Planets . Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You travel through local space to the Terrestrial Planets . Outside, Terrestrial Planets Outside, As you travel along what might be considered the organic life belt of the Solar System, the gleaming dots of Earth and Mars visible as they reflect the brilliant light of the Sun. This part of space seems much more cluttered as various defunct space probes from NASA and... others, litter the void. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Autobot Sensor #3383 Mars Asteroid Belt Earth Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Rimward leads to Gas Giants . Outside, Coreward leads to Core . Outside, Decepticon Shuttle travels through local space to the Gas Giants . Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You travel through local space to the Gas Giants . Outside, Gas Giants Outside, The light of Sol dims to a bright speck as you look from beyond the asteroid belt, the gas giants spinning cold and silent in the depths of space. Their grandeur and majestic beauty show themselves as they continue their slow and unceasing revolutions about the Sun. Stars flicker vibrantly in the cold depths of the void here, untainted by a brilliantly shining Sun. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Jove Relay Station Uranian Orbit Saturnian Orbit Jovian Orbit Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Rimward leads to Fringe . Outside, Coreward leads to Terrestrial Planets . Steeltread tickas away on a computer outlet. "I can track their course, Sir.....but it'll take some time. Raptor....can you help me with this?" he says and he gestures to a seat next to him. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle travels through local space to the Fringe . Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You travel through local space to the Fringe . Outside, Fringe Outside, Neptune, Pluto, and a small, nondescript planet known as Quaoar slowly circle here in their chill, distant orbit around the Sun. Beyond them lies the expanse of the Milky Way, while towards the sun you can see several more welcoming worlds lying ahead... Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Triton Pluto Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Rimward leads to Sol System. Outside, Coreward leads to Gas Giants . Outside, Decepticon Shuttle travels through local space to the Sol System. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You travel through local space to the Sol System. Outside, Sol System Outside, This star system, tucked in an obscure corner of the Milky Way, seems ordinary enough at first glance. At its heart is a yellow, G-type star named Sol. An asteroid belt between the fourth and fifth planets makes a convenient dividing line; the four inner planets are small and rocky, while the four outer ones are gas giants. Beyond the outer planets are a number of borderline planetoids, such as Pluto, Sedna, and Quaoar. The system is also home to many comets, moons, and stray asteroids. From this vantage point, it's not readily apparent that the third planet is home to a complex society, including billions of lives whose future may depend on the outcome of the Transformers' civil war, in which it has been unwittingly caught up. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Fringe Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Above Plane leads to Deep Space - Paraplanar. Outside, Spinward leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Outside, Coreward leads to Trifid Nebula. Outside, Rimward leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Outside, Below Plane leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. Raptor glances over to Steeltread, then at the controls, then back at him, "Just to warn you-- I have like.. no technical skills." He then takes a seat beside Steeltread. "What do you need me to do?" Outside, Decepticon Shuttle accelerates to FTL speeds to the Trifid Nebula. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You accelerate to FTL speeds to the Trifid Nebula. Outside, Trifid Nebula Outside, The Trifid nebula is a particularly beautiful stellar factory that glows with the blue light of scattered starlight, as well as the red light of hydrogen emission as it generates more and more new stars. The blue haze surrounds the red in a lovely display, each color distinct from the other. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Clakta Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Below Plane leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. Outside, Above Plane leads to Rainbow Climbs. Outside, Spinward leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Outside, Rimward leads to Sol System. Outside, Coreward leads to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Perceptor has arrived. Nightbeat has a huge, gaping hole in chest that smells of melted metal and burn circuits from that shot Shockwave delivered, and he's banged up from his impromptu flight. The detective collapses in the back of the shuttle, too slow to actually get a seat. Nnng. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle travels through interstellar space to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You travel through interstellar space to Deep Space - Galactic Plane. [Commercial Break] Outside, Medusa Cascade Outside, The Medusa Cascade, an area of space tens of thousands of light years across, and considered completely impassable by many. The mix of gases and ion and elements that make it up create a beautiful red, green and blue artwork splashed across the galaxy, but these same factors confuse sensors, leaving ships vulnerable to the many gravity eddies and rogue asteroids within. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Alkor Zephyr Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Coreward leads to Further Into the Cascade. Outside, Out leads to Deep Space - Subplanar. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Scrapper barges into the bridge, sporting a gash across his chest and burn marks coupled with tiny pieces of shrapnel lodged in his backside. "So what's the deal here, Cyclonus? I think I missed a briefing or something. What are we trying to do with Cliffjumper, anyway?" Turn him into a chair. Turn him into a chair. Turn him into a chair. Scrapper does his best to send this message via mind control to Cyclonus. /Turn him into a chair/. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , "You should not be here Scrapper" Cyclonus mumbles in the Constructicon's direction, as he sights the Medusa Cascade approaching on the scanners. The Ion Storm that so recently ravaged the old Cybertron System can be seen in the spacial distance, near the end of its long journey. "Fleet, take us in, direct to the ancient temple. YOU KNOW THE ONE" Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet looks up and over at Scrapper. "He, erm, wants to sacrifice him on a temple so he can summon Unicron," the Seeker explains. He looks at Scrapper, his expression imploring, as if to ask, 'How can we stop this?' Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet sighs heavily. "Yes, sir, Cyclonus, sir." Despite the difficulty of navigating through an eight-starred system, avoiding unusual magnetics, radio waves, and everything else, he manages to keep the shuttle in one piece. He's crashed once in this system, but he's also managed to fly here without doing so a second time. Time to see if he can't repeat that. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle lands on Alkor Zephyr. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You enter the gravity well of Alkor Zephyr and descend to the surface. Outside, Middle Dust Plains Outside, Nothing. There is nothing here but ground and sky, and even the ground barely deserves mentioning. Gray, cracked ground is packed tight, though not so tight as to keep the top layers from blowing about in the exceedingly heavy winds, some hot, some frigid. Looking around, there is no hint of life in this arid and inhospitable land. The sky, when it can be seen through the dust, is much more interesting. This system sports seven visible stars, but now, in a junction that occurs once in countless eons, the suns have aligned so that only indication that this world has more than one are the different colors flickering along the edges. Blue in the center, yellow beyond that, red on the edges, with other, more exotic hues bursting into life and before fleeing vision as quickly. It's difficult to tell what the light is bouncing off of, but as it reaches its fingers towards the edges of the sky it is reflected and refracted and recombined and split again, scattering shards of broken crystal colors across the cloudless firmament. It offers such stunning contrast to the lifeless gray of the planet that it's visually overwhelming, so that one almost misses the dark spot of a moon hanging halfway between the horizon and the sky-stars. Come to think of it, that moon seems a bit closer to the suns than it had a while ago... Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, Orbit leads to Medusa Cascade. Outside, North leads to Magma Barrens. Outside, East leads to Deep Oceans. Outside, South West leads to Refuge Valley. Outside, South leads to Kingdom of Iraklia. Steeltread looks to Raptor. "it's not a big deal, Raptor. Track their course.....and find the likeliest target. No real problem." he says as he taps away. "It's the same thing for a homing, Missile, Raptor." Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , "Well I don't really have anywhere else to go at this point," Scrapper replies to Cyclonus. "My super payloader FTL is on the fritz again." Scrapper stands by Fleet. He gives her an odd look. "He... what?" The look Scrapper gives Fleet is one of confusion mixed with surprise mixed with disbelief mixed with lack-of-a-face. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , In the background, Cliffjumper slowly thaws, making a big puddle. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet's freeze ray has never been more effective! Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Cyclonus takes out his black and silver laser pistol, rising to his feet to stand over Cliffjumper, and throwing the minibot in the direction of Scrapper. "You may be of some help then Scrapper, at this moment of glory. Take the minibot, you may carry him." Then he stares towards Fleet. "FASTER!" Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Cliffjumper misses Scrapper with his ram attack. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Cyclonus misses. Raptor sighs softly, "...My systems are designed to handle the homing missile-- i just look and mentally tell it to lock. Like I understand what those techs did to me?" Seriously, he just knew his original function. Hunt down seekers, which had turned into more like.. decepticons in general and just prove autobots can also own the airs just as well has the cons could. Raptor looks over it and just stares at the buttons, like it was some-- alien machine. Then his slides down his visor and just scans over it, before watching what Steeltread does then, looks at the control pannel and starts to mimic at first, then-- with a bit of mimicing starts to get it down. "..right.. target location.." Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Cyclonus just throws Cliffjumper at the wall then or something :(Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , "Sir, this system is exceedingly difficult to navigate!" Fleet protests. "It's all I can do to keep it in the air, nevermind more speed!" Sir, if I give it anymore, she'll blow! "I'll... erm... I'll do what I can, sir." Outside, Decepticon Shuttle moves south to the Kingdom of Iraklia. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, You move south to the Kingdom of Iraklia. Outside, Kingdom of Iraklia Outside, Despite the wretched heat in the north, the deep freeze in the south, and the frying radiation, intelligent life lives on Alkor Zephyr. In the south, closer to the cold than the heat, sits the kingdom of Iraklia, descended from the earlier kingdom of Lor. Small hamlets scatter the land. With eight suns, the common people tend to farm out solar cell ranches and solve most of their energy needs in that way. Glossy expanses of solar cells stretch out across the fields, and one may catch a glimpse of a native dusting the soot from the north off the cells to keep production peak. Along trade routes and rivers created by glacier melt, there are larger cities, where trade bustles. The natives seem a suspicious people, however, and are quite wary of strangers. It is as if they expect doom at every turn. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, South leads to Lake of Sorrow. Outside, South West leads to Nameless Town. Outside, North East leads to Refuge Valley. Outside, North leads to Middle Dust Plains. Steeltread peers over. 'you don't want to mimic me. If I remember what Fixer did...command function 4520, enemy target lock....function 7526....then f8." Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , "Ah!" Scrapper shouts, ducking and throwing his hands up to cover his head. Cliffjumper soars overhead and crunches against a wall. Scrapper turns around and looks at the crumpled minibot before hoisting him up into his lime green arms. "Cyclonus... what's going on here? You... you aren't really trying to summon Unicron, are you?" Raptor does as instructed with ease. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet glances up at Cyclonus. "Sir, how... how did you know about the temple, anyway?" After all, he never mentioned it in any of his reports. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , "It shall be as it is written!" Cyclonus exclaims, holding the black book with one hand, and a wicked dagger in the other. "SCOURGE has been on a mission for me, Fleet. /Tracking/" Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet murmurs, "It's a mistake. This planet's chief export is doom, you know..." Perceptor is off with the scientific instruments running tests and readings, and then taking the readings and extrapolating their meanings. It's all very well and good, because if there's science to be done Perceptor is the mech to do it! Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , And with that, the Seeker nudges the ship through the heavy atmospheric storms, moving a bit further south. Outside, Decepticon Shuttle has left. Outside, You follow Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, Nameless Town Outside, Far enough south to guarantee short days thanks to the extreme axial tilt and far enough north to have a short growing season is a bleak and nameless town whose origins stretch back beyond the beginnings of recorded time. The stone-cut buildings are few, and fewer still are actually intact, as geological instability has cracked and shattered the construction material of choice many times over the centuries. Though the buildings are made of simple stone, they are all richly carved in a very ornate manner. Representations of the sky, the many suns, of herd animals being frightened by fire and cataclysm, of the earth tearing itself asunder and pouring out blood-magma, of ice cooling wounds and freezing all, and of the mysterious locals themselves, robots in smooth, rounded designs and muted colors, literally litter every exposed stone surface. The few intact buildings show themselves to be well constructed, carefully fit with small gaps in clever places to compensate for the instability in the area. In all, the town gives the impression of something just clinging to life, something whose grandest moments are far in the past. Still, it's incredible that any people could even survive out here, much less build structures as enduring as these. That this town is dying is no shock - it was dying the moment the first stone was laid. That it ever lived at all is the marvel. Outside, Contents: Decepticon Shuttle Temple Of The Fifth Outside, Obvious exits: Outside, North leads to Refuge Valley. Outside, North East leads to Kingdom of Iraklia. Outside, East leads to Lake of Sorrow. Outside, South leads to Wreck of the Dark Comet S-10. Nightbeat is sprawled out on the floor in the back of the shuttle, occasionally groaning. Life is pain. Why do his shoulders hurt? Outside, Cyclonus leaves the Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, Cyclonus has arrived. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Fleet brings the shuttle to a rough landing - it falls the last few feet, actually, and rocks to a stop. They are in a town. Like many towns in this world, this one has no name. However, not all towns without names have a temple quite like this one. Outside, As the shuttle blasts into the area, Cyclonus eagerly blasts out of the exit hatch towards the Temple of the Fifth. "It is here!" he announces. "Inside this temple, this is where the final scene will be set, and Unicron will rise once more. Hurry! Destiny awaits!" Outside, Fleet leaves the Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, Fleet has arrived. Steeltread taps away. "Magnus....I'm sending a course through the atmospheric storms that can help us get through it unscathed...." he says as he taps the enter key....sending it to magnus' console. Outside, From Decepticon Shuttle , Scrapper hesitates as he holds Cliffjumper in his hands. He's had first hand experience dealing with Crazy Cyc (remember the Civil War? Remember Cyclonus destroying the NCC spaceport? Scrapper sure does). He edges over towards Fleet, pretending to just be interested in the pilot's work. Muttering under his mechanical breath so that Cyclonus hopefully can't hear, Scrapper says, "We've got to do something about him. This is insane." They can talk more about this along the way. Outside, Scrapper leaves the Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, Scrapper has arrived. Raptor stands up from the chair. Yea, he wasn't a consol person. "Just let me know when we get close enough. I can at least jump out and maybe get a better view." After all-- He does have anti-gravs and yea.. he was a 'seeker' design, so might as well make that useful! Outside, Cliffjumper leaves the Decepticon Shuttle . Outside, Cliffjumper has arrived. Outside, Fleet scrambles out of the shuttle after he brings it in for a landing, but he gives Scrapper a nervous nod, not saying anything out loud. He had considered just crashing the shuttle, but, well, Fleet has never been one for self-sacrifice. Frowning distinctly, Ultra Magnus nods to Steeltread's words; he doesn't say anything. The further and further they go, the more uncomfortable Ultra Magnus feels with the situation. With almost cold efficiency, the path routed to his control panel is taken, the Alpha Trion veering precariously across the stormy skies as they begin to approach... "A temple?" The Autobot City Commander leans forward with a frown as his optics squint, taking in the sight as the Decepticon shuttle touches down. "... what does Cyclonus have planned...?" A second later, and Ultra Magnus begins directing the shuttle down, straight towards the Decepticon ship. "Autobots, get ready to disembark and take these Decepticons down -- /fast./ I don't know what they have planned, but I don't even want to see them get one step closer to that temple." Ultra Magnus has left. Outside, Ultra Magnus has arrived. Perceptor glances, "I'll..I'll do what I can, Ultra Magnus though it's common knowledge that I'm not imbued with a highly durable combat chassis." he finishes his readings and disembarks. Nightbeat gets up to his feet, rather shakily. Holding his head and leaning against the wall, he mumbles, "Get the plate on the truck that hit me." Then he stumbles out of the shuttle. You leave the Autobot Shuttle . Far enough south to guarantee short days thanks to the extreme axial tilt and far enough north to have a short growing season is a bleak and nameless town whose origins stretch back beyond the beginnings of recorded time. The stone-cut buildings are few, and fewer still are actually intact, as geological instability has cracked and shattered the construction material of choice many times over the centuries. Though the buildings are made of simple stone, they are all richly carved in a very ornate manner. Representations of the sky, the many suns, of herd animals being frightened by fire and cataclysm, of the earth tearing itself asunder and pouring out blood-magma, of ice cooling wounds and freezing all, and of the mysterious locals themselves, robots in smooth, rounded designs and muted colors, literally litter every exposed stone surface. The few intact buildings show themselves to be well constructed, carefully fit with small gaps in clever places to compensate for the instability in the area. In all, the town gives the impression of something just clinging to life, something whose grandest moments are far in the past. Still, it's incredible that any people could even survive out here, much less build structures as enduring as these. That this town is dying is no shock - it was dying the moment the first stone was laid. That it ever lived at all is the marvel. Contents: Ultra Magnus Cliffjumper Scrapper Fleet Cyclonus Autobot Shuttle Decepticon Shuttle Temple Of The Fifth Obvious exits: North leads to Refuge Valley. North East leads to Kingdom of Iraklia. East leads to Lake of Sorrow. South leads to Wreck of the Dark Comet S-10. Perceptor leaves the Autobot Shuttle . Perceptor has arrived. Magnus is out of luck though, since Cyclonus bounds into the temple. "Faster!" he commands. "Faster, HE AWAITS!" With that, Cyclonus vanishes into the darkness within. Cyclonus has left. From Autobot Shuttle , Raptor nods he head and heads out, anti-gravs already on he takes to the skies, just a bit above everyone else. Raptor leaves the Autobot Shuttle . Raptor has arrived. Steeltread leaves the Autobot Shuttle . Steeltread has arrived. Perceptor watches Cyclonus go into the temple, "Shall I give chase, Ultra Magnus?" Steeltread Nods to Ultra Magnus. "yes sir." and without another word.....as Magnus angles towards the ground....he opens the door to the shuttle and leaps out......just before he drops like a damned stone. Fleet has been following Cyclonus. Reluctantly, but still not too far behind, because he's also reluctant to get blasted by Cyclonus. He looks at Scrapper, frowning - BECAUSE HE /CAN/ FROWN, HAH! - and follows the Unicronian into the temple. Fleet has left. Making landing, Magnus is already charging full speed ahead as Perceptor speaks. "Yes -- but be careful! We have no idea what they have planned!" Rushing as fast as he can towards that temple, Magnus produces his plasma rifle, the weapon charging ominously as he goes. Steeltread lands on his head.....only a few seconds after the shuttle lands. Scrapper wouldn't bother crashing the shuttle. Not only because he isn't the sort to sacrifice himself either, but more because he thinks Cyclonus is simply insane. He takes it for granted that Unicron cannot be resummoned, and even if he could, it wouldn't be by something as nonsensical and unscientific as this. Scrapper carries Cliffjumper without much difficulty, though the minibot is somewhat awkward to hold. "Alright, we'll follow him on this retarded plan, and once Unicron fails to show up we'll try to talk some sense into him." Raptor watches the decepticons head in and makes a soft 'tsk', "..slag it." Then before Magnus can say a word, Raptor darts full speed of his thrusters for the decepticons. Scrapper has left. Ultra Magnus has left. Raptor has left. Steeltread has left. Cliffjumper has left. Perceptor has left. Inside, the stonework of the temple is just as ruined as the outside. Several blocks have crumbled, but the main chamber is mostly clear of rubble. Carvings of robots litter the wall, as well as a repeated sun motif. The centre of the temple is strange. Where one would have expected an altar or pews is instead a circle of sycamore-looking trees, seemingly growing from the stone itself. In the middle is a medium-sized pool of an unidentifiable black oily substance. Contents: Perceptor Cliffjumper Steeltread Raptor Ultra Magnus Scrapper Fleet Cyclonus Cyclonus's last pose: Cyclonus has raced halfway across the universe to be here, at this place. He literally runs into the ancient, ruined temple. Above him the open roof lets the starlight shine through, the sky rumbling as the ion storm that threatened to destroy Cybertron slowly returns to its place of origin - the Cascade. "The inscriptions on the walls" he breathes. "The circles, the book, it is all TRUE, the time is right. As the storm hits, I will summon Unicron back to our domain." He looks to Scrapper. "Scrapper, hold off the Autobots, Fleet, place Cliffjumper before me, I will take his SOUL!" Cyclonus weighs the blade in his hand, standing near the black pool, staring into its murky depths Fleet takes Cliffjumper from Scrapper in order to approach Cyclonus, a frown etched deeply on his features. "The ion storm... you mean, the one that's been blowing up planets left and right? /It's/ heading here? Might we, uhm, not want to be here, if that's the case?" Raptor lands down as it gets to hard to keep flying through this ruin place. He kicks on his battle-plate and black visor, along with pulls out his assault rifle. His visor adjusts for the darkness of the temple as he carefully, or tries to be careful, moves in, muttering softly to himself, "..why do they have to make these places so.. tight." Not that it was really tight, but when your use to the air, this is really cramped. "NO FURTHER AUTOBOTS!" Cyclonus takes the small Minibot form of Cliffjumper, and places the blade to his throat. "One move, one move which I do not like, and your friend DIES." Cyclonus' optics flash. "And then I will have WON! As it was, so shall it be!" "Look, Cyclonus, this has been fun and all, but once this stupid thing fails how about we just get the slag out of here... I'll give you a nice tune-up and we'll see if we can't find out what's wrong with your brane right now," Scrapper offers, trying to use his kindest voice so that he doesn't insult Cyclonus. Scrapper doesn't so much hand Cliffjumper to Fleet as he just drops him on the ground so he'll have time to draw out his laser pistol. With the Autobots hot on their tails, Scrapper's original plan to fail with the 'summoning' and then flee might not work. Curse the Autobots and their speed! "Bakc off, Autobots! Believe me, we're aren't going to accomplish any evil today so you might as well go home!" Scrapper looks over at Cyclonus. There's a crazed look in that optic flash. "Trust me on this one, Autobots..." Steeltread snaps on his helmet and faceplate as rifle with a really long barrel appears on his shoulder. "Ouch....my head still hurts." he says softly as his left hand starts twirling a cylindrical object in it.....oddly.....so is his right hand. Nightbeat stumbles into the temple, at the back of the pack, looking rather haggard and bleary. His optic band brightens and widens when he sees what Cyclonus is doing to poor Cliffjumper. Then he facepalms when Scrapper starts talking. This is a long day, and it just got longer. Perceptor does indeed give chase, and no sooner makes it in than he sees Scrapper and hears his words - "Given the track record of us working together when Cyclonus is present, you'll forgive me if I find myself Skeptical about all of that no-evil-going-on-today business." Fleet scratches his head as Cyclonus puts a knife to Cliffjumper's throat. He decides not to point out that any number of Transformers have survived decapitation. Instead, he quietly circles around the Unicronian, putting the more powerful Cyclonus between himself and the Autobots. Stampeding in, Magnus' rifle is at full charge by the time he skids to a halt. The barrel points directly at Cyclonus' head, bluish-white energy glowing ominously within its depths. "Put him -down-, Cyclonus. I don't know what idiotic thing you think you're going to be doing here..." The pressure on the rifle trigger increases, just a little bit. "... but all you're going to be doing is going home in pieces, if you're /lucky./" Ultra Magnus doesn't even pause as Scrapper speaks; he just frowns even more. "I wouldn't trust you anymore than I'd trust a slimy Quintesson, Scrapper, and that's the bottom line." Cliffjumper is still mostly frozen -- most of the ice has melted away, but his internal heating systems are taking longer than they should to spark back up. Thus, he is still defenseless. Raptor holds his own assault rifle at ready. His black visor hiding the look in his optics, but he doesn't move, nor does he open fire. He just stays silent, letting the commander in charge(which being Ultra Magnus), lead when to fire. "Well what about the time we saved Cybertron, huh?!" Scrapper yells back at Perceptor, figuring this might convince Ultra Magnus as well. "Good times, right? Well you trusted me then and you can trust me now! I mean come on... trying to summon Unicron?" Whoops was that a secret? Ah it doesn't matter given how implausible it all is. "That's just insane! You'd have to be crazy to believe that this is going to work... so... how about you just let us deal with this by ourselves?!" Scrapper isn't firing simply because that's just going to provoke the Autobots into firing... and there's a whole lot more of them than there are of him. In front of Cyclonus, the black pool glistens with a sickly hue as the Decepticon continues to grasp Cliffjumper's head with one hand, the knife in the other. Above him, the storm rumbles as it approaches. "Doom comes Magnus, soon Unicron himself will return and there is nothing you can do to stop me. There is nothing ANYONE can do to stop me." Slowly, he raises the knife. "The Black Book, Scrapper" he mutters "it is all in the Black Book, if only you could learn to UNDERSTAND it!" Perceptor blinks, looking at the madness going on here. "Primus, man, do you even know what you're saying?! Unicron is /dead/ - he can't simply be summoned like a maitre'd!" he looks to Scrapper, "I don't care /what/ he's doing he can use one of Soundwave's little minions for his dark deeds. Cliffjumper's an innocent mech and he'll not die in such a grisly manner!" As Cyclonus raises his knife, a strange expression comes over Fleet's face. It twists into one of anger, one of determination - a firmness of purpose that's rare on the Seeker. He tilts his head as though listening to something only he can hear. Then his own arm raises as the knife is raised and he fires his freeze ray once more - AT CYCLONUS. With that, he leaps into the air, makes a grab for Cliffjumper, and dives into the pool. Fleet strikes Cyclonus with his Freeze Ray attack. Raptor continues to hold his own. However-- this-- made some sense to him. Why? Because his Mentor believed in primus, spirits, and all that relgious stuff. Actually the reason Raptor is still functioning today is because he believed his Mentor was still watching and guiding him. Raptor then blinks as he watches what Fleet just did, "..what the..." Okay, Fleet's not in the pool yet, but he's jumping towards Cliffjumper. Cyclonus's face is twisted in triumph and then... it freezes in surprise as he is shot from behind and slowly topples forwards into the black pool, hitting it. There is no splash, simply the blackness rippling over him as slowly he sinks into it Cliffjumper remains still -- in dramatic /slow motion/. "What nonsense," Scrapper snarls. His growing panic is meshing with his annoyance at Cyclonus. It is a rare thing for Scrapper to stand up to a Decepticon far more powerful than him, but the Constructicon is fearing for his life at the hands of the Autobots more than he is at the hands of Cyclonus. "This is stupid, Cyclonus!" he yells at the Decepticon second in command. "The Black Book is just a book!... that happens to be black! Come on, forget all this slag and lets get out of here. I think we can blow past them if you lay down a cover of missile fire... then we can outrun them back to the shuttle and be on Earth within just a few astro hours. And then Fleet freezes Cyclonus. Shocked, Scrapper takes a step back. "You..." he says to Fleet as she dives in. "You are a braver Decepticon than I am." He sounds impressed. He moves towards the pool as well, hoping Fleet has a plan for getting them out of here. "You think you'd learn your lesson by now," Ultra Magnus grates out grimly, hiding his concern behind his stern expression. "The only thing coming to you is a whole lot of pain if you do -not- put down -Cliffjumper- -now-." It doesn't seem that Magnus is listening to Scrapper; his gun is still up and pointed, but he has yet to make a move thanks to Cyclonus' hostage. "Let him go or I will pu--" And then, Magnus is cut off at the sound of a gun firing -- at Cyclonus. Optics wide, his own finger releasing the trigger. "--Autobots! Get Cliffjumper, now!" Nightbeat has an idea of what might be going down here. The ion storm is going to hit the Cascade, the stars have shifted... yep, it's time for the 'cons to do some loopy stuff, but - what is that Porsche-framing Seeker doing? He attempts to run after the Seeker, even if it means diving in the pool himself. That stupid Seeker framed him! Steeltread runs his way forward....but you know what? Steeltread ain't that fast. Raptor succeeds in grasping Cliffjumper, throwing him off-balance. Raptor charges foreward with sheer speed that he has, his thrusters kicking on to give him more speed as he grabs for Cliffjumper, however-- so is Fleet, whom is heading for the pool, and thus, just by sheer fact this stuff is wierd, it seems not even raptor's anti-gravs can save him now... but he still tries! Fleet ALSO has hold of Cliffjumper, and has momentum on his side. He does his best to pull the Autobot - Autobots? - into the pool! Fleet has left. Cyclonus has left. You enter the pool and are sucked down into a shimmering mass that turns from black to red... Everywhere is dead. Red rocky outcrops spread as far as the eye can see, and above, there is no sky, no space, only a bloody red expanse. Flames flicker on random ridges with nothing obvious burning. And yet there are signs of life. Huge, Transformer-sized footprints litter the dusty windless plains, and the still atmosphere is tense with... something. Chains lead down into what looks to be a bottomless pit, lined with cobbles with flames licking around the side, and a smaller black pool lies to the south, still and shimmering. Contents: Cyclonus Fleet Pool Raptor travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Raptor has arrived. Cliffjumper travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Cliffjumper has arrived. The pool has claimed both Fleet and Cliffjumper. As the frozen form of the Autobot slowly flickers into some semblance of movement, Raptor grabs his arm. Which is enough to tug Raptor down, too. Cliffjumper's optics flicker -- "Whaddayou, crazy?!" and that's all he can get out before he sinks. Steeltread travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Steeltread has arrived. Scrapper travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Scrapper has arrived. Perceptor travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Perceptor has arrived. Ultra Magnus travels into the pool to the Temple Of The Fifth. Ultra Magnus has arrived. Scrapper hopes Fleet knows where she's going, because Scrapper dives in and... vanishes! Scrapper also hopes he knows where he's going. With a shimmer, Cyclonus, one of the first to arrive in the realm materialises. But he is still unconscious, laying on the ground, still as the flames flicker around him, a charred mark on his back - the mark of BETRAYAL! Fleet materializes next, and unlike Cyclonus, he is conscious. His expression twists into a frown. He's... holding onto Cliffjumper, and next to him is Cyclonus, unconscious. But where is this? How did he get here? "... Where...?" the Seeker asks uncertainly. Fleet lets go of the Autobot. Cliffjumper awakens as well, shaking his horned little head in confusion. "What the blazes--" he starts to ask, before Fleet lets him go -- and he promptly puts a bit of distance between himself and the Decepticon. "What did you Deceptipsychos /DO/?!" he barks. Raptor isn't to far behind Fleet and Cliffjumper. Somewhere he lost his hold and he finds himself on the dead grounds. He slowly groans and lifts himself up, "..Primus.." He mutters softly, till his optical sensors flicker on past the visor. Then he realizes.. at least in his mind where he is. "...though.. I doubt you can hear me here.." With no other alternative, Ultra Magnus leaps in after Cyclonus, Cliffjumper, Fleet and the others, striking the almost gelatinous substance and subsequently sinking down past all notion of time and space. With a sickeningly wet 'splorch' sound, the Autobot XO is released from the dark, dark folds of the pool... into some hellish world. Collapsing onto his knees upon his arrival, Magnus stares blearily at his surroundings, dazed and more than a little confused. "Where in the world /are/ we...?!" Scrapper hits the ground in this new place. It is a barren wasteland. A very red barren wasteland. For a brief moment it reminds Scrapper of Mars, but it's clear this isn't it. "Fire?" he queries. "Wh-where /are/ we?" He looks back at the pool. It must be some sort of disguised spacebridge, but Scrapper has never seen a spacebridge look like that before. "Come on, lets head for those outcroppings. We can lose the Autobots there and use Cliffjumper as a hostage if we have to. Then when we have time we can find a way off this rock or to contact a rescue team." He gazes at the knocked out Cyclonus. "Lets ditch him." Steeltread materializes next and.....actually lands on his feet. He looks around uneasily as he grips the objects in his hands a bit tighter. "Great....radio's out." He says to himself as he continues to look around. Perceptor lands with a bump, but rights himself and dusts himself off. Looking around, and hearing the queries of the others he says, "I'm not sure Ultra Magnus, but I can ascertain that it is most assuredly /not/ Kansas." Nightbeat ends up falling into the pool after Fleet, his hated enemy. He hits the ground hard, and gets up, groaning again. The detective looks around in horror, his extremely detailed senses nearly refusing to register this dismal place. Shakily, he gets to his feet, and he opines, wagging a finger, "One thing. I'm *not* Toto." Raptor notices the others and walks over to the other bots, "Lets just say-- I think where we are, we /don't/ want to be." The autobot seeker's black visor slides up, as his battle-plate retracts. "...If I was religious as my Mentor-- and to use a human term.. I think this could be called Hell." Cyclonus continues to lay motionless. Perhaps he is even dead. Perhaps Fleet has killed him? And then the wind starts to rise, howling across the barren landscape. But there is no motion, no blowing of the flames, simply a loud howling. Louder and louder, coming from the large stone pit that lies near the Cybertronians. The chains near the pit mouth start to clank and grind, as if pulling something up.... "Using Cliffjumper as a hostage at this point may be easier said than done," Fleet answers Scrapper. He pulls himself to his feet, and frowns. "Last thing I remember, Cyclonus had his knife to the Mini-Bot's throat, then we woke up here." He looks down at Cyclonus's body. "What happened to him?" "Who knows, who cares?!" Scrapper says, starting to panic. "Maybe your shot broke whatever was obviously loose inside his head! Come on, we've got to get out of here before the Autobots figure out how many of us there are and how many of them there are!" "/My/ shot?!" Fleet exclaims, obviously shocked. Still, Scrapper makes good sense. "Yeah, got it." With that, he turns to run, preparing to take to the air. Steeltread looks over. "Don't relax Raptor. we're in unfamiliar territory here." he says holding over one of the cylindrical objects he was holding. "Use my beam Saber if you need it. I've got 3 more." he says as he starts to walk. "Perceptor? got any scanning equipment?" Perceptor begins to looks around for a point of exit. Hearing Steeltread, he turns and nods, "I /am/ scanning equipment." he transforms and begins to try to get a lay of the land, especially where they're at according to the fix of the stars, etc. Perceptor transforms, cannon shifting slightly to the right as he folds down into his microscope/field artillary mode. Nightbeat mutters, "Hell is other people." Mostly Red Alert and Punch. He draws his laser pistol and checks the number of laser bullets in it. Nightbeat frowns. He then points out, "Maybe we ought to apprehend the Decepticons before..." ... what's happening with that pit? Scrapper follows after Fleet, taking to the skies with his anti-gravs. Once they're away from the Autobots they can make a plan that doesn't suck. Raptor hears the howling and stiffens up, his optics flash red for a moment as he readies his assault rifle in that moment, before he looks over to Steeltread, "I'll be fine. I have my mentor's if it comes down to the wire." He slides down his visor once more and like Perceptor, starts to look around for any targets. However nothing shows up on his lock-on as he looks around, "Sir?" He looks to Magnus, "Do you want me to take to the air?" "Ngh..." Ultra Magnus groans as he rubs his temples with two metal fingers, standing up with a wobble. He looks around him once more, squinting and frowning as he speaks again, "Priority is getting Cliffjumper back from the Decepticons. They're probably desperate, who knows what they might... try...?" Ultra Magnus' voice trails at the sound of the howling. As the winds pick up, he looks towards that pit so close by, optics flickering. He doesn't seem to hear Raptor. "...What in the world..." Where is there to go? The plains stretch forever and yet... there is a roar. To the south there is a mighty crash and roar, as a dozen mighty beasts approach, half metallic, half organic, dragonlike, the same type as the guardian that guarded the world of Zephyr, before being felled by Galvatron. From the west comes a scuttling, as dozens of robotic spiders scuttle into view, like the transorganic one found on the Darklab satellite. Eastwards, closing the net comes a rumble of earth, as the very ground shakes, and four huge towering cybernetic worm-creatures, as the ones found on Sikkara explode from the ground, guns attached to them training on the Cybertronians, but not opening fire. And northwards comes a clanking sound, a sound of marching feet, as if an army approaching. And in the pit, the clanking gets louder, as if something approaches, a gout of flame spurting from the opening "I don't like this," Cliffjumper says, as if that needed elaboration. Raptor looks towards the cave, that sound really starting to cause him to get on edge. His visor scans the area for a moment. "...we better move.." He says softly. It was about then he spotted the decepticons. However, he didn't want to leave everyone... Then, that is when 'hell' did seem to break loose. He hand tighten on the assault rifle, "Sir.." Looking to Magnus once more, "..orders?" Fleet is fleeing, having left Cliffjumper and even Cyclonus behind. And then, the armies show themselves on the horizon. The Seeker stares around him, his optics flickering in a blink. "You know what, sir? I think I'd rather take my chances with the Autobots. They /usually/ take prisoners. With that, he pulls a full reverse and gets to advancing in the opposite direction - back towards the pool and the 'Bots. That's the horizon I'm staring at, and Scrapper I'm addressing. Blah. Perceptor hears the wind and focuses in that direction, then sees the worms. Transforming, he stays put. "This doesn't bode well.." Perceptor's viewfinder shifts over slightly to the left, as he gains height and transforms into his robot configuration. Nightbeat looks over at the dragons and comments, "Frying pan," then to the spiders, "fire," and then to the fire in the pit, "actual fire." Then, at Fleet's comments, he pulls out a pair of handcuffs and hollers to the Seeker, "C'mon! I got a cell with your *name* on it." With a sticky note. Ultra Magnus snaps back into focus as the howling grows ever-louder and those strange worm-like creatures explode forth from the earth. His plasma rifle at the ready, Magnus takes a single step backwards, eyes narrowed and frown severe. "Orders?" he repeats. "... Get ready for a long fight." Steeltread snaps his head to the side as he hears the roar. "I've......got the wrong loadout for this." He says with a somewhat shaky voice before he looks to Nightbeat. "Nightbeat....we've gotta survive this to put Fleet into a cell." He says as his longbarrel and beam sabers disappear. "I'm gonna need a little bit of time to help." Raptor's battle-plate activates as he readies his assault rifle. "Yes sir.. and sir," He looks over his shoulder and wings to Magnus, "It was good working with you sir over the year--" Then back toward the horizon. "--and along with everyone else.." May primus watch over Peacekeeper when he is gone... Scrapper is fleeing along with Fleet. He pulls up, however, as he sees the armies on the horizon. "Ah... no, no no no no no no no no no no..." he stammers, not liking this. Scrapper curses his luck. He didn't have to get into the Conquest II during the brawl back on Earth. He curses again. This is Raptor's fault for forcing him to retreat. He curses Fleet for bailing on him. But he curses Cyclonus most of all for getting everyone into this mess in the first place! Reluctantly, the Constructicon follows Fleet back towards the Autobots. "New plan!" he calls out. "We do the old work together schtick!" Fleet holds his hands up as he approaches the Autobots. "Uhm, yeah. I surrender and such." Then he looks around. "Well, kind of. All things considered, I'm going to need my weapons." They can worry about cells and such another time. The marching becomes louder as from the north appears a robot, and then another and another, black and featureless against the sky. And from the pit, a voice emerges over the clanking, rough and crackling. "The ending approaches" it booms, the chains pulling *something* upwards. "People and planets and stars will become dust. And the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become... nothing." Something emerges, a blackened figure rising slowly from the pit, and next to him, a large, almost coffin-like box. The figure stands tall, covered in grey and black metal, its face resembling a grate, with two pairs of burning optics flaring beneath, and fire licking around its body. The clanking stops as the platform becomes level, and the figure passes his burning gaze over those present in a silent act of examination, almost condemnation. And then, simply: "Excellent" The Fallen has HIDDEN-connected. The Fallen A huge bulky tank, ancient in design yet humming with barely restrained power. The main body of this tank is black, held together with massive rivets. Through cracks in the armour can be seen an eerie orange glow, as if the insides are aflame. From the turret juts two enormous gun barrels, the corroded silver cannons moving slowly but deliberately. This is NOT a vehicle you want to mess with lightly. The Fallen rises into his mighty robot mode. The Fallen The Fallen is a Cybertronian of bulk. Every facet of his form is made from a wrought metal, black and dusky. Perhaps it could be said that his body is built from out-moded technology. Certainly it looks like it, with a functional elegance to his design. However within him lies a raw power, a body built for absolute war. He is covered in small slots, which almost like a furnace have a glowing orange light radiating from within. His head itself is covered in an imposing helmet, with a grate-like faceplate over most of it, with just baleful yellow optics peering out. But the most unusual thing about this mech is that bright orange flames flicker over his body at all times, as if something from the Pit itself. Perceptor is a scientist, and doesn't stop behaving as such except to freak out like a Nancy. His lens connects to his optical sensor, to start getting an idea for composition and structural weakness. Raptor looks at the decepticons, but doesn't say anymore. However his optics glance back over to the cave. Whatever came over the hills-- came over the hills, but that cave. Then he comes out and Raptor stiffens, fully stiffens. "...no.." he says softly, "..no no no.." If Raptor could turn ghostly white, he would. He knew who that was-- he knew what this ment and far as he was concerned.. he was in Hell. Nightbeat tries to convince himself that he could just push Fleet into the fire and be done with it, but he can't. That would be vengeance, not justice. Nightbeat's a detective, not a vigilante. Then, suddenly, he has much worse issues than his feud with Fleet. The detective can only declare, "I thought I knew ugly, and then I saw you." Perceptor blurts out, "Oh my stars and garters." "What'd be excellent is if you started tellin' us what the deal was, ugly," Cliffjumper says, always unhesitating in his purusit of sassing all unknown beings of the galaxy. "Where are we, who are you, an' /what's/ goin' on here, an' if I don't like them answers," the little Autobot waves his gun around, "you're in for some /pain/!" Fleet turns to face the new arrival, and for a moment his optics widen and his jaw drops... and then he shakes his head and rubs his temples. "I..." the Seeker murmurs. "Uhm..." Steeltread grumbles lightly as he watches the new threat.....present itself. Understatement of the milennia....he sighs lightly as his longbarrel comes back into view. "and here I thought we were going to face an armada." Raptor tries to shake it off, "..The Fallen.. follower of Unicron..." Raptor seems to mutter something else to himself before he rises his assault rifle and his finger looks ready to pull the trigger. "..I will not surcome.. I will stand strong.." He keeps telling himself that in whispers. Yea-- Raptor is spooked, but he is brave and though he is sure he will indeed now die here, he will try to go down with a good fight. Scrapper touches down next to the Autobots next to Fleet. They seem content not to shoot at them, and so Scrapper takes this as a sign that they're fine with another temporary alliance. The Constructicon gazes out at the approaching armies in silence, wishing beyond all wishes that he had his fellow Constructicons with him. He just doesn't trust Autobots like he does them. "Long story short," he tells Cliffjumper, "Our CRAZY second in command decided to, um, sacrifice you to... something.... to... summon Unicron... that... that didn't work... or something. And now we're on another planet and an army led by a gigantic mech that's on fire is coming to kill us!" Pause. "At least I think they're here to kill us. Hey, Magnus, how about you go see if you can talk it out with them. Maybe reach one of your famous 'peaceful resolutions' that you Autobots love so much, huh?" "I ain't askin' /you/, Limeade," Cliffjumper says, glaring over at Scrapper, before pointing at the Fallen -- "I'm askin' /that/ bozo!" Evil comes in the form of a burning robot. Ultra Magnus knows; he can feel it in the air like a palpable substance despite others' bravado. The thing that stands there before them is something greater than any of them. "... Nightbeat, Cliffjumper," Magnus says slowly, in warning. "... We're not going to get answers we want to hear from this thing. This creature isn't here to negotiate with us. /Get back./" Despite his own unease at the situation, Magnus points his plasma rifle forward towards the Fallen. "/All/ of you, /fall back/! /Now/!" His voice booming and authoritative in that 'do what I say or die' sort of way, Magnus proceeds to do something even he thinks is foolish. He shoots the giant flaming death machine. The Fallen simply stares at Cliffjumper. "I am Fallen" he announces simply, one arm rising, weapon in hand, to spurt out a gout of laser at the minibot. "As are you. As are we all." He raises a fist, the approaching mechanoids and creatures stopping in their tracks, obeying as they all watch from a distance with intent. "You have served me well Fleet" he growls. "You will now all serve a new master and serve him willingly and lovingly." His armour crackles as Magnus blasts him. "All but you Magnus. For you, I have a different fate in mind." The sky becomes slightly brighter, as if the sun is coming up. But there is no sun in sight, no sun in the sky The Fallen strikes Cliffjumper with DIE CLIFFO >:(. Fleet's head snaps up, optics opened wide in shock as the Fallen addresses him. Then, softly, he murmurs, "Yes... yes... I... I remember..." The Seeker sways very slightly, then looks around the area. "I was dead..." Cliffjumper is shot right in the chest, and launches backward, hurtling ass over elbows until he comes to a smoking, sparking stop. Nightbeat does indeed back away, as ordered by Ultra Magnus. He points over at Fleet and shouts, "I *knew* he was evil! And the Girl Scouts are working with the Illuminati, too! If only I had my tinfoil hat..." Sinking into car mode, he snaps, "Sorry, the only master I serve is Mastercard, and that's because Blaster keeps buying too many songs off iTunes." Nightbeat slouches down into Porsche 959 form. Time to roll. Raptor takes a step back even as Magnus gives the order. Fighting instinct. Instinct was to fight by his commanders side, instinct was the stand his ground. He lost one person he cared about, he doesn't want to lose another-- not like this.. not like this again. "You heard him!" Raptor barks out, "Move it people!" Yea, he had been taking some leadership classes, though he never had the chance to prove it. Raptor kicks on his anti-gravs and hovers in the air. If everyone here was dead-- maybe Offroad... no.. his mentor would not be here. He mentor was not someone from this hellish place. However he moves back, but slowly, allowing the others to go first before he follows behind. Perceptor watches Magnus, then hears the Fallen, then blinks as Cliffjumper is smote. He heads towards the body and tries to assess damage and repair. He's not much good in combat. But repairs? He can do that. "Cr-... ah... forget it," Scrapper mutters. He was about to mouth off to Cliffjumper, but then he remembered that he's surrounded by Cliffjumper's friends. As much as it irks him, Scrapper has no choice but to shut up and play nice. He hesitates only for a second at Ultra Magnus's order. Autobot or not, that mech has a commanding tone, and even Scrapper finds himself wanting to obey it. he backs off as per the Autobot 2IC's orders. When The Fallen addresses Fleet, Scrapper stares at him (Fleet, not The Fallen). "Wh... what? Fleet? Fleet?! What is he talking about?!" Scrapper's voice has more than a small hint of fear in it. Steeltread does retreat.....and in the form he loathes. After transforming, his turret turns behind him and fires it's main gun at the larger fallen mech....probably gaining speed when he does. Falling forward, Steeltread's rocket pack closes together and deploys it's weapons revealing his other form to be a tank. Raptor was heading back as he notices Perceptor going to Cliffjumper, "Perceptor!" Raptor yells over and flies over to him, taking his arm gently, "Lets go-- I'll carry Cliffjumper. we need to get out of here now, and we can repair him in a safer area." He tries to explain to the scientist. Ultra Magnus can only give a passing stare at Fleet as he rambles, grimacing as he continues to train his weapon on the Fallen. "--Cliffjumper!!" the Autobot XO shouts as the Fallen blasts away at Cliffjumper. "Dammit! I don't care what 'special plans' you think you have for /any/ of us!" The plasma rifle flares again as Ultra Magnus continues to fire high-powered blasts at the strange Transformer's fiery armor, attempting to garner the creature's attention in a perhaps suicidal bid. "You are -not- touching -any- of my men." Ultra Magnus strikes The Fallen with ::Full Power::. The Fallen does not seem to concerned about the hubbub around him. Instead he raises a hand into the sky as it continues to brighten. And a sun does appear. But it is not the sun, but a ball of light, yellow and blue and white that flickers in the sky, electrical auras flickering around it, a vague octagonal patterning made from energy swirling on its surface. "Behold!" utters the Fallen. "Your God. As it was, so it shall be!" And with that, an arc of light flashes from the large sphere, towards the separate forms of Perceptor, Raptor and Nightbeat Fleet turns his head just far enough to catch Scrapper out of the very corner of his visual field. "I was dead, and left for the by the Empire, another insignificant Seeker. It was here I was reborn. Because of him," he gestures his head towards the Fallen. He then grins as he watches the firefight. "Slag it, Fleet!" Scrapper growls, "Cyclonus going bat-slag crazy was bad enough," Scrapper gestures at the fallen Cyclonus. "But don't tell me you're glitching also! What nonsense are you talking about? Reborn? Who is this mech?" Scrapper has a lot more questions, but he gets cut off as The Fallen acts upon Perceptor, Raptor, and Nightbeat. Scrapper stares in horror. Porsche 959 sheyaghs as the energy arcs into him. This... this is... worse than anything Nightbeat's lurid imagination has ever conjured. His headlights flicker in the gloom, and the Porsche swerves, rolling over onto his roof as he over-balances. Then, he is still, and his wheels spin no more. His headlights flicker off. A beat. They flicker back on. As his shots apparently don't do anything, Ultra Magnus grits his teeth and looks upwards at that massive, brilliant sphere. Looking disgusted more than impressed, Magnus puts that rifle away, his right hand clenching so tightly it begins to shake with the rattle of metal. "How about you and your 'god' stop picking on the little guys--" Magnus rushes -headfirst- at the Fallen now, uncaring about what the consequences might be. His right hand pulling back, his shining blue optics narrow dangerously. "--and try fighting against someone who's ready and waiting for you!" Magnus -lunges-, and swings his fist, intent on slugging the Fallen right in his armored, flaming face. Raptor sees the light, "SLAG!" He barks out before he gets hit with the sudden jolt of the energy which feeds right into his systems and right into his own laser-core(which is already a rather confused messed. He slams backwards and slides onto his backside. The energy archs over his body, seeming to pin him for a moment. Behind that visor all systems flashing red, everything within going crazy, and one could say-- his systems were being scrambled from within. He at last lets out a sharp yell in pain, before he seems to just pass out, right there. His body going limp, and his head falling to one side. Was he dead? Was he in stasis-- it was hard to say... Ultra Magnus strikes The Fallen with Kapow. "Glitching? No. I'm finally thinking clearly," Fleet answers Scrapper, and then he shrugs. "And he's already told you who he is." The Seeker jumps into the air and hovers only a few robot-scaled feet above the ground. He watches the Autobots and Scrapper - serving the Big Bad doesn't mean he's any more eager to die. Again. So he watches in case one of them chooses to strike against him. Steeltread slides to a stop (since this form can go 120 MPH.....)....and the commando transforms again. "This is stupid." He says as he fires a shot at the Fallen....thing. "Raptor!" Standing up and the main turret splitting into two, the body of the tank seems to shrink into the lighter, faster form of Steeltread The Fallen impassively watches Raptor, Perceptor and Nightbeat fall as Magnus continues to pound away at the mighty titan. "Fleet" The Fallen steps forwards, one hand pointing towards the huge coffin-like box that he had brought up from the pit with him. "Begin to unlock the box." And then with an almost cat-like speed, his other hand lunges towards Magnus' chest, tearing at the armour. "You Magnus, you will be taken, body and soul, YOU will live forever in torment and torture." His optics flame brighter as the sphere in the sky blasts out more arcs of power, this time in the direction of Scrapper, Steeltread and Cliffjumper. "TEN MILLION YEARS" The Fallen announces. "TEN MILLION YEARS in exile, time to plan a revenge most appropriate, yes?" The Fallen strikes Ultra Magnus with TEAR. Cliffjumper's body is wracked by terrible spasms as the evil power surges into his red form. He shakes uncontrollably, limbs flailing and mouth emitting a stream of pained gibberish. Finally, his optics turn dim. "Yes, my lord," Fleet answers the Fallen. He was already hovering, and now he darts to the coffin hanging over the pit. The Seeker begins to unlock the box. Where did he get the keys? Eh. (He's an Escape Artist - he might not be using them). Steeltread screams loudly as he's nailed with the energy from above........worse....his processor blacks out for a time..... Scrapper reaches for his pistol as The Fallen absorbs everything Ultra Magnus can throw at him. Along with the armies backing The Fallen up, everything looks hopeless. "Well if I'm going to die, I'm dying fighting... Better to stand and die than perish in ignominous flight!" Scrapper raises the battered laser weapon and aims it at the Fallen, planning to add his own meager firepower to that of Ultra Magnus. But the sphere lashes out again, and Scrapper is caught. The pistol falls from his grasp, and the Constructicon falls to his knees in agony as he's filled with the light. His optical visor dims as he slumps forward onto the ground. As the others face their challenges, Cliffjumper's body goes dark and grey. Perceptor screams, and goes unconscious. Perceptor blinks, and isnt where he was. He's not where he should be, either. He stands alone, or so he thinks, in a dazzling place of nothing but white. "Where am I..am I..dead?" he asks no one, but gets a response. "You're with me, Perceptor?" Perceptor turns, and his jaw drops. "Optimus?" The legendary Autobot Commander steps towards Perceptor, "Yes," his kindly voice says. "You've come to me, now that you are dead." he pauses, and his eyes narrow. The next question that comes out from him is heartfelt and sincere, and it nearly shatters the scientist where he stands - "Why did you let me die, Perceptor? Why couldn't you repair me?" Perceptor reacts as if struck, sinking to one knee. "I tried, Optimus. I tried." "You didn't try nearly hard enough. However, I will give you something you failed to give me. Life." he reaches out and touches the scientist between the optics. This causes something to happen to Perceptor both here and where others can see him. He turns black, with purple and chrome coloring. "Arise, Magnificus, and serve your new master...and your new destiny." When Perceptor looks up, it is no longer Optimus, but The Fallen, looming over him several dozen stories above. He feels his new master's purpose flow through him. Not to help people, but to hurt, to use his vast intellect to cause pain...and it seems right to him. He stands. "Yes.." his voice cold "I will serve..." Perceptor is no longer here. It is Magnificus that awakens. "And /YOU/ talk to m-- ghhnhgh*kkkzzzzt*!" Magnus' words of bravado fall by the wayside as the Fallen's mighty hand crushes against the red and blue exoskeletal chest that protects him. Those massive fingers -rip- into that armor as if they were knives puncturing through tissue paper. All he can do is emit a strangled, crackling noise as he is gripped on, and then -torn- into. Metal shreds with horrible shrieking sounds, the red-hot fingers of the Fallen gripping and -ripping- Magnus... ... right out of the blue and red power armor. Metal torn asunder, the gleaming, pristine white form of Magnus' real body can be seen as it is literally -torn- free from its protective outer casing. Falling to the ground with a booming impact, the robot who looks so decidedly like Optimus Prime groans, smoke rising from the finger imprints that the Fallen's searing grasp has left behind. "Gggkkt... kzzzt..." Ultra Magnus seperates from his power armor, revealing... Optimus Prime?!?!! (But not really?!!?) Raptor slowly starts to come around. So-- here is a little fact about Raptor. When Raptor was constructed, as many know, he was constructed for destroying seekers, the seeker base they took data from and installed into his core was none other then the best seeker at that time.. some of you can guess who. Thus combining that with autobot attributes to make Raptor-- those before him were done the same way, but he was the only one to survive.. not go crazy or kill himself. However, due to this other side, he had his.. evil moments. However, now thanks to the Fallen, it was like someone snapped their finger and pretty much let that side he kept in check for so long, arise... No one, no autobot.. realizes just what has been awoken from within. The Autobot 'seeker rises his feet at last, that black visor stays down, as the plate retracts back. He staggers foreward for a moment before he looks over to Magnus and where the fallen fight. His hands tighten then loosen. Before he surveys the area once more. The dim, grey, dark, possibly dead form of Cliffjumper remains still. And then Cliffjumper's eyes spark to life, a blazing red. The Fallen bows as much as he can towards the ball of light in the sky, which slowly departs like a celestial sphere. "Arise, my Reavers!" he announces, his harsh voice rasping over the landscape. As he says this, the creatures and soldiers that encircle the group at a distance give a cheer. "Soon the ten million years of exile will be at an end. Our master has decreed that the Matrix be taken and CRUSHED!" He hoists Magnus' inner robot into the air, grasping him by the neck. "He has decreed that we will find the heir of Straxus and TEAR HIM APART for daring to imprison us. Arise ARISE!" There is... an unearthly cast to the Porsche's headlights, just for a little bit. The mysteries of the universe are open to him - all of them, but only for an instant. He's left groggy and reeling. He had it, all of it, for one shining instant! You see, knowledge is power, and power corrupts - the ultimate evil and the ultimate knowledge are one and the same! But it's gone, and Nightbeat's just left feeling cold and hollow. Dead, even. He knows, deep in his soul, that he would do anything, *anything*, to know what he once knew again. He will see the mysteries of the universe again, if he must blind every eye. He transforms and gets to his feet, his movements stilted, his hands clenched to fists. On his lips? "As you command, my master." The puzzle pieces of Porsche 959 rearrange into the hard-boiled Autobot detective, Nightbeat! Steeltread also rises to his feet...and his helmet visor changes color from blue.....to a blazing red as well. Unfortunately.....that also means that his entire knowledge and arsenal is under the command of the Fallen. However....he looks to Raptor and flickers his optics.... There's very little that Ultra Magnus can do in the wake of the Fallen's overwhelming strength. Already weakened and shocked by the sudden departure of his power armor, the Autobot XO attempts feebly to get out of the Fallen's grasp -- but to no avail. Instead, he just stares defiantly with a flare of orange optics, willful still even weakened as he is. "G... kkkk... go to -- kkkkt -- hell." Raptor glances over to Steeltread, before he looks to the fallen, canting his head softly. That Black visor reflecting The Fallen within it. He is silent before he speaks, "To serve you.." Raptor then bows his head softly, "..and do your bidding.." This all directed toward The Fallen. Magnificus raises his right arm, "ALL HAIL THE FALLEN! ALL HAIL THE FALLEN!" Scrapper remains slumped on his knees. Inside his mind he hears a booming, terrifying voice. The Constructicon instinctively tries to block it out of his brain by covering his audio circuits. "Constructicon: Failure." the voice says. "Scrapper: Failure. Crystal City: Stands. Crystal City: Rebuilt! Crystal City: Better than before." Scrapper shakes his head, furious that his hated rival has gotten everything back. Everything that he and his Constructicons worked so hard to take away from him. Airwolf did it, and Omega Supreme reaped the rewards, getting his precious city back. Omega Supreme /won/, and Scrapper clenches his fist, falling forward onto his hands and knees in anger. "Decepticon Cause: Failure. Omega Supreme: Happy." Suddenly it all becomes clear to Scrapper what needs to be done to defeat Omega. Galvatron and the Decepticons are never going to do it. Galvatron and the Decepticons are content with letting Omega Supreme have his city and be... happy. Ah, but the Fallen... Scrapper's optical visor flickers back on as he gazes at his new master. It all makes so much sense now. Scrapper rises, knowing that the Fallen will see to it that Omega pays for his crimes. "ALL HAIL THE FALLEN! ALL HAIL THE FALLEN!" he shouts, echoing Perceptor as he raises his right arm. Fleet has unlocked the box. Then he steps back, and turns to look at the Fallen, a faint, strange smile on his face. "It is ready, my lord," he reports, then with a graceful leap, moves from the platform containing the platform to the ground proper. Steeltread doesn't repeat Magnificus as he yells that. he's always been a quiet sort. "To serve." he says....as everyone else decides to openly state their.......alliance. And as Magnus utters those words, a shot fires, a laser lancing right for the exposed noggin of the Autobot City Commander. A blast designed to silence -- in as expedient and brutal a way as possible. Behind the crowd, a finned black rifle smokes, having just let off its shot. It rests in the hands of a small black being the size and shape of a minibot. Its form is completely dark, denying even the light of reflections on its ebon form, sucking in all light around it and giving nothing back -- like a shadow that walks, save for its burning red eyes. Gaze, ye mighty, on Black Cliffjumper. And despair. "Some of you" the Fallen announces as he holds Magnus. "Some of you will work in secret, destabilising your factions. Others" he looks at Magnificus "Others will have more overt roles to play. But the darkness will come soon, we have been planning in our exile for millennia. The ion storm that rode out of the Cascade two years ago collected energy, driving the very fabric of space and time BACK into our hands. And now, it returns to the Cascade, from the oververse. For our purposes." He stares at the box as the ground itself begins to rumble, as in the Medusa Cascade, the Ion Storm that once threatened Cybertron blasts inwards, crackling with energy. "In the box, he lay, a weapon far too great to contain. And now Magnus, now it is time. Gaze into the abyss!" A wave of power blasts from the pit below, enveloping the box which Fleet just unlocked. And slowly, the coffin-like doors open.... Nightbeat doesn't change his looks in any obvious way, for the record. His orange optic band is still orange. He is still a cheerful blue, but those flames on his arms, ah, those flames, perhaps they flicker like hellfire, if one looks at them out of the corner of one's optics. Just an optical illusion, surely. Unlike some of the others, Nightbeat won't remember any of this most of the time, ironically, as a sleeper agent. The one who needs to know so very keenly won't even have an idea what lurks inside him. Right now, however, he knows, and he smirks the smirk of every corrupt cop, looking like he was just handed a box of doughnuts with some Benjamins inside. He gazes at the box, enraptured. Black Cliffjumper watches, silently. Raptor hovers softly in the air now, only half an inch off the ground. Watching the display. So-- The fallen wants the Matrix destroyed. That mean taking it from Rodimus-- and that.. wont be easy to do. After all-- A Prime.. was a Prime. And-- one could theory, it would take a Prime to beat a Prime.. perhaps.. one could over throw a Prime? But how? As The seeker continued to watch his gears were turning, part in trying to decide how to get the Matrix-- and the other.. trying to decide if he should keep the matrix for himself. Typical evil thing to think after all. As the Coffin doors open, he smirks softly, "Good Bye Magnus," Twiddles his fingers, "Hope you like the dark-- cause I doubt you will have a flash light.." He whispers softly with a soft cackle. Fleet joins his fellow Reavers and turns towards the opening box, the faintest of smiles playing about the edges of his expression. Perhaps amusingly, he is standing near the Autobot he so recently framed in the service of the Fallen. Had this happened earlier, he could, perhaps, have just /asked/ Nightbeat to do it. With a sizzling -=thoom=- of impact, the laser blast explodes right against Magnus' face, the impact scorching his vocal emitters. He can barely speak the word, "Clifffffkkkkjumperrrr...?" before they shut off entirely. Dimly, Magnus looks towards the jet black form of Black Cliffjumper, to the forms of all his former allies. And he does despair. It is in that brief moment of weakness that the hinged doors open wide in a rush of stale, chilling air. Magnus' eyes roll down to stare, unable to look away... ... as a single figure steps out of the darkness. His armor, of the blackest pitch, like it was forged from the darkness of space itself. Unlike the Fallen, he does not burn, but seems to simply /absorb/ every semblence of heat around him, leaving nothing but a chilling sense of nothingness. Leg joints groan from a lack of use as the figure stands fully, fingers splayed outwards as his dark arms spread wide. The monochromatic form stands tall, and slowly, its bloody red optics flare to life. Large, imposing. But most of all, save for the color scheme... ... he looks exactly like the pristine white form of Ultra Magnus. He says nothing. Instead, he takes a single step forward, the dead ground chilling at his feet. He looks towards the abandoned power armor of Ultra Magnus, and without a word, he steps within, red and blue beginning to fold in on abysmal black as Magnus can do nothing more than crackle a dim sound of protest. But there's nothing he can do. Nemesis Prime has awakened. Scrapper stands, basking in the warming glowing warmth of the Fallen, nodding enthusiastically as He gives out His directives. "We won't let you down!" he vows to the mech. Scrapper looks over at the others assembled. He never noticed this before, but he can almost see the courage and sense of purpose radiating from all of them. Each of them are like long time comrades, and Scrapper feels like he could trust each and every one of them with his life. He can't wait to infiltrate back into the Decepticon Empire and start doing some damage. Scrapper hasn't had this much motivation since the last time he plotted to destroy all the Autobots with a doomsday device. He casts his gaze over towards Fleet, nodding in approval. "Now I know what you were speaking of, Fleet." Scrapper looks over at Magnus. He is strangely unaffected by what he just saw. It is, to him, perfectly natural and expected. Nightbeat wouldn't have done it, anyway, Fleet. He is so very much more useful to his Lord and Master if he is in a position to undermine the Autobots from within as the Intelligence XO. He comments, idly, to Fleet, "Huh. Guess you got that wing fixed, then." Nightbeat is unapologetic. What he did made sense at the time! He tilts his head to one side, and the ever-irascible private eye comments of what was once Ultra Magnus, "I like the new look." "Now Magnus" The Fallen booms, powerful hands thrusting the broken Autobot to take his black counterpart's place in the coffin. "Now you will descend into HELL where you will learn what it truly is to suffer. And a noble spirit shall be broken by HIS power." His hand waves across at his assembled forces. "Return to your places, sew chaos and mistrust where you can. The Matrix and the heir of Straxus MUST be mine. His will be done." A hand thumps his metallic chest, and he gestures to the pool and the fallen Cyclonus. "He is tainted and unusable. But he will not remember this." Raptor hears what his master says and nods to Nemsis, "Your will be done.." He says as he heads to go back to the 'normal' realm. He motions to Steeltread. Perhaps that silent look back there had made these two a team? Who knows and that is something everyone will be finding out. A tank-- and a jet fighter.. military force 101. Scrapper looks over at Cyclonus. Earlier Scrapper was furious at the Decepticon 2IC for getting them into this. Now Scrapper sees that, in the end, it all worked out for the best. The Constructicon feels pity for Cyclonus. He isn't going to get to feel the glory that is working for the Fallen. "By your command," Scrapper replies to his new master, offering a slight bow. Perceptor walks towards The Fallen and looks up, up up.."And what would you have me do, My Lord?" sounding more like grima wyrmtongue than Perceptor, "I can't insinuate myself amongst the Autobots. It would not bode well for my brothers who wish to remain...anonymous." If he could, Ultra Magnus would issue a protest. As it is, he's helpless to do anything more than be -flung- into that terrible coffin, the doors clanging shut as he scrapes hopelessly against the doors. But there's nothing to be done. His fate is sealed. And as Ultra Magnus descends... ... Nemesis Prime ascends, the blue optics of that power armor flickering to life as he stretches those fingertips open and closed experimentally. "... Hrn," he grunts out as his voice starts to shift from a grating, unnervingly unnatural tone to one more in keeping with the imprisoned Ultra Magnus. "... It shall... be done." The face of 'Ultra Magnus' contorts, lips pulling into a cold smile. "Just as you command." Fleet shrugs. "It was mild enough damage." He smiles at Nightbeat. "No permenant harm done." And then he turns to look at Scrapper and nods. "And I knew you'd get it. It doesn't take long." Then he looks at the others. "Scrapper and I will be returning with one who isn't one of us, so we can't just drop off those who appear different on our way back, but you... your group could do the same." Nightbeat rubs his finger along his nose and then crosses his arms. "Yeah. Just to get things square, none of you know me. And I don't know you. Not unless we're actively working on a mission together. There's this lil' thing called plausible deniability. Know it. Love it." Steeltread snorts at the Fallen Cyclonus.....and shoots him in the back of the head. "worthless." too bad the shot wasn't enough to penetrate his armor....but leave a really really big dent. He then puts his longbarrel back into it's ready position as he starts to walk out.... Scrapper nudges Cyclonus with his foot. "We will tell him that we managed to flee from the Autobots back to the shuttle. He's quite gullible, and running away is the sort of thing Decepticons do... he'll believe it. We won't have any trouble, I don't think." He looks over to Fleet to see if he agrees. The Fallen simply regards Magnificus, placing a huge, burning hand on the robot's shoulder. "Hide your true form" he announces. "Prepare for the downfall of the Autobots and Decepticons, and weaken the defenses for the coming strike. The one thing, the ONLY thing that can destroy us is the Matrix. But it shall NOT be as it was, not again." Nightbeat twiddles his fingers together, and he asks, "Any advice on *how* to destroy the Matrix, Boss? It's a bit... hard to get out of the boy Prime, so once we manage it, I'd like to have the destruction apparatus ready." A good detective is always prepared. A detective from Hell is just always prepared to blow things up. Perceptor shudders and his appearance changes, the glossy oil-slick black being replaced with the firey red as before. "I will do as you will, and I will pay special visits to the Autobot infirmary...My special ministrations to the wounded will be most..fruitful for us." Fleet listens to Scrapper's plan, and nods. "It sounds plausable." Then he kneels and picks up Cyclonus. Then he frowns. "Truth be told, there may be times when we even believe it ourselves," he adds. "But it's for the best - how we best serve." At Nightbeat's question, The Fallen simply laughs. It is a terrible thing. "Leave that... to me!" he booms. And the flash in his optics has only one order - Go. Destroy. Black Cliffjumper doesn't wait for his orders. Toting his heavy ebon keyfob -- well, it looks like one, anyway, since it's a big chain with a thing at the end -- he simply turns and skulks off, footsteps not making a sound. Scrapper puts his hand on Fleet's shoulder. "It's for the best - how we best serve," he agrees. He turns away from the others and casually steps back towards the pool, nodding his approval to his fellow Reavers. He can't really remember why he used to hate them so much, but it doesn't matter now. Fleet, carrying Cyclonus, heads to the pool and jumps through. Steeltread trots his way out.....and holds up his fist for Raptor. It's a terran expression that he's seen....but now it'll probably be the secret handshake for Tread and Raptor. who knows really... Raptor makes his own fist and taps it against Steeltreads with a deadly grin on his face. This can't be good for earth. Raptor has left. Nightbeat remakes his mental checklist. It now reads like: 1) Clear his name. 2) Steal the Matrix. With a lazy salute to the Fallen, the Bad Cop ambles off. Fleet has left. Scrapper has left. Steeltread has left. [Commercial Break] The Main Lobby has undergone a somewhat dramatic change. Scaffolding is erected everywhere, there's cranes loading equipment, and many of the lobby floor panels have been removed, exposing Metroplex's inner circuitry. Construction crews move through the area quickly, all busy performing their necessary tasks. Contents: Raptor Steeltread Autobot Museum Building Equipment Obvious exits: Spacebridge to California leads to Entrance to Autobot City. Large Doors leads to Barracks. Small Doors leads to Human Lounge. Doors leads to Autobot City - Repair Bay. Doors leads to Lounge/Observation Room. Blast Doors leads to AC Command Center. Blast Doors leads to United Kingdom. Mausoleum leads to Mausoleum. Gravlift leads to Main Lobby - Second Floor. Steeltread smirks a bit. "of course......after we steal a shuttle, of course." He says his faceplate slides down. "It shouldn't be hard to draw out the Matrix-bearer." Raptor nods softly to Steeltread and hrms a little. Tapping his chin, "I sadly have no use for a shuttle..."
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