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| - The cavern where the portal was has been destroyed, leaving a large hole where the icy stone structure had once been. The depression that had formed on the planet's surface is still there, and at the center of it lay the interdimensional matter bridge itself, now surrounded by a recently constructed Autobot fortification to protect it from any further Decepticon incursions. From a distance, it somewhat resembles a silvery-grey disc at the center of a large crater in the ice. Inside, the facility isn't too large, but is structured somewhat like it was before the cavern housing it was destroyed, with a viewing/control room positioned on a balcony just above the portal and shield generator equipment. And as before, the generator apparatus is accessible via an elevator that travels up and down between the control room and the ground floor, should direct interaction with the machinery become necessary. Perceptor is busy running simulation after simulation of the various theories he has come up with to put an end to the threat for good... So far, the most promising method appeared to be that of drastically increasing the containment field's output capacity, rendering it completely impenetrable and therefore bringing any particle-antiparticle collision to a halt and effectively ridding the matter bridge of its only source of energy. Once that was done, it -should- simply collapse and cease to exist. Now the real problem was finding a power source sufficient to make the field completely impermeable for long enough. In the simulation he was running as of right now, multiple accelerators like the one he'd been using are all strung together in order to deliver an exponentially increased output of energy to the device, but without overloading the generators. He'd made some modifications to the generator in order to allow it to effectively utilize the rather sizeable power boost. It wouldn't really be fair to say that the simulation guaranteed success, or that it even -predicted- it. However, this method was the only one that had -any- chance of working at all, as well as the fact that the probability of disastrous consequences or side effects was also greatly diminished when statistically compared with the others. A larger Autobot contingent has also been assigned to guard and maintin the facility, especially after the initial invasion had succeeded in escaping with the payload and laying waste to the premises. Most of them have been ordered to patrol the perimeter outside, while a few have been assigned to keep watch on the doors from the inside. Still others, that is, the more technically inclined, have been tasked with monitoring the frequencies for enemy transmissions or assisting with the simulations. Elita One arrived late to the reinforcements, but given her time and skills did what she did best...Improvised. She used her knowledge of explosives to help give the Bots a small advantage in the the upcoming fight. Problem was that the mines she had to work with were best for land based targets, not a choice tactic for flying Cons. She kept the mines offline for now, not knowing how they may end up interacting with the energy already at play. Best case scenario - Take out a few Cons, worst case scenario - Something far worse. She muses as she checks over the structures, "If it comes to it, I'd rather drop the entire cave on us all than let them possess that sort of power..." Hubcap is not one of those late to the party, as he's taken a keen interest in this project since... well, since the initial investigation into irregularities on this iceball. However, his skills extend to more than merely listening to communications signals (and, to be fair, filtering out interference for all 'Bot transmissions off this place, for which Comms techs are rarely thanked.) To that end, he's running one of "Alright. I'm no fool. I've been noticing the rest of you guys keeping your distance from me ever since we entered the hot zone." Actually, with barely average intelligence, it's amazing Long Haul finally realized that. "Now didn't the head honcho say I'm carrying important cargo here, that's the only reason why I reluctantly signed up for this unglamorous job here. ...wait a minute. What the frag did you guys say I've been hauling was again?!" It didn't occur to Long Haul to actually ask in detail the cluster of antimatter arsenal he had been carrying in his dump bin, "Oh Primus... it's dangerous. Isn't it?" Yep, he's definitely not the quickest tool in the shed but he's just so darn easy to manipulate into doing the crappiest job on the field. INSIDE THE WORKSHOP.. The target explodes into a billion tiny particles.. then instantly vaporizes into the air. The only trail of there being an actual target is a thin whisp of smoke that disipates in a matter of moments. "Alright, we need some more of this Antimatter." NOW.. Flying along in his Payload mode, because he gets to hold onto Devastator's funky chest piece, Scrapper sighs. <> Scrapper folds down into a Payloader. Is that a wing on the back? When the scientific geeks want to play, it's those hard working schumcks that get the brunt of the hard work. Motormaster was sent to do just that, do the brunt of the hard work...and that included hauling Slugfest and Cindersaur to where they needed to go, on top of his trailer. Oh Primus NO was he ever going to let them IN the trailer! What a disaster that would be! He could just imagine the claw and scratch marks he'd be working to get out for solar cycles afterwards. Roaring across the ice, he used chains on his tires to get better traction. <> he snarls in his deep basso voice. If Slugfest were in Motormaster's cabin (Primus forbid!), he'd probably treat it like a toddler treats a toy steering wheel. Or he'd have both front feet planted firmly on the dashboard, to the point of leaving marks. As it is he clings tightly to the top of the trailer. Maybe Motormaster was afraid those two would get the oil runs. "Are almost there yet?" he wonders out loud, though he's not sure with all the noise that Motormaster can hear them. Perceptor is still too busy with the simulations to be keeping an optic on any of the base's the sensors. Well that was what the patrol was there for. And Hubcap, of course. If Decepticons were anywhere near, surely either someone outside would spot them, or Hubcap would pick up on their comm transmissions. Right? Well, at any rate, the Autobot scientist is too engrossed in his work to have given any of that much thought. Elita One gazes out into the darkness. It was so hard to really see anything from a distance, not when the backdrop is just blank space. Still the air was almost definitely the attack angle, Cons were violent and predictable, but it was more an issue as to who would show that defined their tactics. Galvatron? She shuddered in thought, it would make sense for him to lead this assault. That spelled death for any one of the Bots guarding this bridge. Still, rather to die than let him...THEM get their hands on such raw power. <> It was the third time she asked him, quietly cursing herself for her display of anxiety. Hubcap frowns to himself as he examines the monitors' simulation feeds. Now, several generators, feeding into an exponential charge system... hmm. "Any way we could run the generators off the matter/anti-matter reaction inside the bridge? Or would that be too -" He breaks off at the sound of approaching engines, turning to stare off into the distance. "You guys hear that?" "Oh ain't that fantastic? I just got to live through this raid without letting these ticking time bombs on my back going off to see that day, huh?" Long Haul retorts sarcastically, he's definitely not happy at the realization of the grim cargo he's hauling but he does his task regardless. The icy terrain proves to be a treacherous path to drive across as Long Haul slips left and slides right every so often, but eventually he makes it to the edge of the facility grounds, "Haw! Made it here at last. Alright alright, get these things off of me." Transforming, Scrapper keeps to the air with the aid of anti-gravs. Stealing a glance over towards Motormaster and the other two, he gives a slight chuckle. Better the Stunticon commander than him, it's times like these he actually appreciates the company of Bonecrusher or Scavenger. Landing, the Constructicon leader carefully unloads the munitions with a series of very cautious and calculated movements. "By Straxus, if you didn't have anything to complain about you wouldn't be Devastator's ass.. now would you?" The Payloader reconfigures into the Necromechanic Scrapper! Combat: Scrapper sets his defense level to Protected. Kenworth K1000 rolled through the darkness, the two small Cons on top of his trailer, clinging with claws, "NO! We are NOT there yet! Hold your fracking circuits!" He manages to keep his distance from Long Haul, having spent enough time on the roads around America and the world really to know that when driving on ice and snow, you use chains for better grip. He smirks to himself at his cleverness at that. He slows some, not wanting to dump his speed completely. <> he threatens, not liking the thought that he could be left hung out against all these bots with two tiny little things riding his back. As he crosses that 'line' he picks up his speed and shifts gears, heading for the base. "In the words of the slant-eyed squishies...Bonsai!!!" Combat: Kenworth K1000 sets his defense level to Fearless. Slugfest ohs quietly, still hanging on for dear life as Motormaster drives like, well, a Stunticon. Cannonball run this ain't! He looks over at Cindersaur. "Will make bots into puddles, or saw up in little pieces?" The firecon hears the message from Motormaster, and moves to the back, readies himself for when the semi says it's time to bail out, antsy with anticipation, his fire at full burn Elita One turns to hear Hubcap's report. "Then they're on the move. Keep sharp." She rushes about the perimiter, scanning the skies. A telltale cloud of dust tips her off finally. "They're on the ground. East side....I see Constructicons." Devastator? She nearly pleaded to Primus to let it not be him. The count was off, they weren't all present...unless the others were... It didn't matter, handle the tasks as they come. Maybe one could be eliminated early, keep him from assembling. Elita takes advantage of the fortifications, bracing against them. This was to be a fight of endurance more than anything else. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Elita One strikes Kenworth K1000 with her Plasma Cannon attack! [Pulled -4] "Hmmm?" Perceptor doesn't look up when Hubcap alerts him. Instead, he answers the comm tech's earlier question. "Yes, I had given that prospect some thought...however, such would require us to place a flux capacitor not unlike the previous model inside the portal, hence breaching the containment field. This would be far too dangerous." In other words, it wasn't worth the risk. Yes, that had been one of the methods he'd tested in the simulations. The consequences of an unsuccessful experiment with that would be...well, catastrophic. More so than many of the others he'd run through the program. But now the noise of a fight could be heard outside. He glances at one of the displays and notes the presence of Scrapper, Long Haul, Motormaster, and...two very small Decepticons whose names he did not know. It was looking as if the simulations would have to wait. "Hubcap, Elita One requires assistance." He says as he stands up, drawing his weapon from subspace and heading toward the door that led outside. Combat: Perceptor sets his defense level to Protected. Hubcap raises a hand to his forehead in an unconscious gesture as he focuses on the Decepticons' talk, as they aren't using the radio channels. Fallout from his Shockwave debacle? Who knows. "Spread out, people, sounds like they've got some sort of explosive ordinance, don't give them an easy target!" Glancing around quickly, he follows his own advice, diving for cover away from the others. Kenworth K1000 takes the hit but only gives a slight grunt and keeps charging on in the dark, now targeted in on where the shot came from. <> he snarls as he actually slews his trailer sideways a little to help slingshot the little cretins a little farther. He adjusts his trajectory and aims right for Elita One. Combat: Monster sets his defense level to Fearless. Slugfest goes flying with a rather decidedly undignified yell, half quasi-tarzan yell, half startled tapecon. As he is launched forth, perhaps he'll be some Autobot's facehugger? Monster kicks the door of the trailer open and leaps out, hopefully cleared to find some bot to land on and gnaw on! He seems to have a launch pattern perfect for interacting with Elita One! Combat: Kenworth K1000 misses Elita One with his King of the Road attack! [Pulled -5] "Someone had to mech up and be Devastator's ass, Scrapper!" Long Haul protests the comment made by the Constructicon leader but drops the subject shortly in favour of something that interests him far more. The antimatter napalms! There's almost excited glee in Long Haul's footsteps when he makes his way over to the stash of arsenal just begging to be used, "Aw yeah, it's been way TOO long since I got to have some real fun around here!" Pew pew pew! "Uwaaaah! They've already started shooting. Frag it, I'm throwing these things before a stray shot into this stash atomizes us!" A small cylindrical bomb, shaped like a potato smasher is soon lobbed towards the Autobot facility by a frantic Long Haul! Cackling as he launches a batch of Antimatter napalm towards the facility, Scrapper pauses in the mayhem. "Mech up? Alright, next time we merge I promise you and Hook can trade places." FWOOOOOOOOP Another shot is launched from the weapon. "Heh, trade one ass for another." Combat: Scrapper strikes Perceptor with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Napalm Area attack! Combat: Scrapper (Scrapper) used "Antimatter Napalm": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Scrapper misses Hubcap with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Napalm Area attack! Combat: Scrapper strikes Slugfest with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Napalm Area attack! Combat: Industrial Dump Truck strikes Hubcap with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Napalm Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Industrial Dump Truck strikes Slugfest with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Napalm Area attack! [Pulled -1] "What in blazes?" Strange explosions shake the fortifications, with violent energy eruptions. <> Motormaster came in close for a charge. She scowled to herself, 'A vicious mockery of Prime...'. Her eyes follow the semi, then back to the others. Elita-One darts to one of the upper levels of the disc, trying to stay out of reach, when suddenly a strange monstrous Con comes in close to grapple with her. She struggles against the Con. He had some strength, but she was wily, and didn't need much room. Grasping the detonator from subspace, the crater comes alive with explosions from the activated mines. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Elita One strikes Kenworth K1000 with minefield's Huge Explosion #10323 Area attack! Combat: Elita One's minefield is destroyed! Combat: Elita One strikes Industrial Dump Truck with minefield's Huge Explosion #10323 Area attack! Combat: Elita One strikes Scrapper with minefield's Huge Explosion #10323 Area attack! Hubcap raises his head above his cover, only to be assaulted face-first by a slung Stegosaur that sticks! "Arck-fthppt!" Hubcap tumbles backwards, trying to prise off the offending cassetticon, only to be saved from a spray of unusual napalm by the critter. "Hey," he smirks, "Thank yAGH!" Ah, There was a second bombardment, which, unfortunately, only /mostly/ misses. Gathering his strength, Hubcap tries to throw Slugfest off him, so he can shed the clinging napalm. Combat: Hubcap strikes Monster with Slugfest's Chainsaw Plates attack! The bombs go off, surprisingly potent for their size. The scientist knew that the antiparticles were actually less effective as explosives the smaller their mass inside the bombs was. The force of the explosion singes Perceptor's armor as he makes his way outside to find Hubcap being assaulted by Slugfest and Cindersaur grabbing Elita One. He ducks behind some icy rocks and points his weapon in Scrapper's direction as he lobs bombs at the fortification. Combat: Perceptor takes extra time to aim his next attack. Kenworth K1000 slid a bit too much sideways on the ice and missed Elita One by 'that' much, but unfortunatly he didn't miss the minefield. As he rolled past her, preparing to head for Hubcap to take a run at him, he felt the explosion rip at his underside and he was flung on his side, sliding for some distance like a great semi wreck on a highway. Snarling, he transformed into his tall mech form and got to a knee, pulling his gun out of subspace, before looking around and taking aim as Perceptor became visible to him from his angle, somewhat behind the first line of Autobots, though he might not be visible to Scrapper. Hey, he's all up for shooting someone in the back. Kenworth K1000 transforms into his Motormaster mode. Combat: Motormaster strikes Perceptor with his Why Yes I Shot You In The Back attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Motormaster (Motormaster) used "Cyclone Gun": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Perceptor's Agility. (Crippled) Monster rolls off Elita as he's suddenly hit from behind by the blades of a certain cassete! He grawrs, turning his gaze on the fem'bot, and grins before unleashing a wave of flaming blah on her The little con stegosaur is peppered by some friendly fire and shouts, "NO! NO HIT! IS MY AUTOBOT!" Suddenly he's grabbed, peeled off Hubcap's face, and flung at Cindersaur! And somehow Hubcap managed to trigger the switch on his tail that set the blades grinding! "NOOOOOO!" he shouts, as he is thrown. Combat: Monster strikes Elita One with his ENJOY JALAPENO GARLIC HALATOSIS! attack! "Motormaster, show this femme why they call you 'KING OF THE ROAD'!" Scrapper moans, getting thrown asunder by the mine detonation. While on the ground, the Constructicon takes the time to rewire some of his circuits and bypass the damage sensor ping. Looking back over the battlefield, "Long Haul.. when did we suddenly get an influx of morons?" Combat: Scrapper quickly patches up some of his minor injuries. Boowoooosh! The napalms are working surprisingly well and Long Haul can't all but help to laugh with glee, "Haw haaaah! I got 'em good, I got 'em rea---. Uh. Did I just set Slugfest on fire too?" Whoops. He shifty eyes to the left, then to the right, and finally steps back a few paces so that only Scrapper is in clear view at the top. Oh the perfect crime. This doesn't last long though as Long Haul is caught in one of the femmes' trademarked explosive traps, "Gaaaah, Primus it hurts!" He's sent flying forward and lands onto his back down below, skidding to a halt after a few meters. "Ugh... wow, being on the frontlines hurts. Ow." Long Haul eventually gets his wits about him and transforms into his vehicle mode and begins speeding towards the facility, "Time to go get what we came for!" Combat: Industrial Dump Truck sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Industrial Dump Truck takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Coming back from the ship, Bluestreak was carrying some equipment that Perceptor said was most definitely needed. Leaving Elita-One alone to guard the post. It seemed pretty calm for the most part, but everyone in that group knew better than to keep their guard down. The gunner for one, was definitely prepared, and on edge. So naturally, when he came close, he heard the sounds of gunfire being shot. More than a tall tale sign. Putting the equipment off to the side somewhere, he pulled out his blaster from his subspace and comes close enough to see the fighting going down, but still keeping the distance he needs. He stopped momentarily as the mine field that was set up exploded. While he was glad that the Decepticons in attendance was caught, he was not happy to see Motormaster take a shot at Perceptor. Taking careful aim at the tall Decepticon, he fired at his gun arm. Combat: Bluestreak strikes Motormaster with his Autobot Reinforcement! (Laser) attack! The flamethrower wounded Elita-One. She covered her face, staggering away from the destruction. 'Blind them....slow them down. We can manage....' She ducks around a corner, swapping out her cannon for her pistols. Her face still sizzling, she scowls. 'Can't...can't let them.' With a grimace through the pain, she aims one towards the monstrous Con, and the other out to the field below, to hit whatever she could. A crackshot from above comes into play moments before her attack, <> Combat: Elita One strikes Slugfest with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Slugfest's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Elita One strikes Scrapper with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Scrapper's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Elita One strikes Monster with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Monster 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Elita One strikes Motormaster with her Battle Pistols Area attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Motormaster's Accuracy. (Blinded) Perceptor stumbles forward as Motormaster's cyclone gun struck him in the upper leg, impairing his movement slightly. He manages to recover, though, and brought his weapon around in Motormaster's direction instead of Scrapper's. He'd have to deal with the Constructicon later... He keeps his optics on each of the Decepticons, in case one of them attempts to sneak in unnoticed. Combat: Perceptor misses Motormaster with his Don't make me stun you again (Laser) attack! Hubcap bats frantically at the napalm burning into his armour, then flaps his hands to cool them off. "Damn, that is /nasty/ stuff!" Flinging an arm out, he utilises his fold-out laser to send several shots the Constructicons' way, mostly just hoping to distract... /whichever/ green and purple one that is. Combat: Hubcap misses Scrapper with his Laser attack! Motormaster snarls as he takes first one hit from Bluestreak, one he recognizes from the Junkticon planet, and the other from the femme. He tries to shake it off, but has to raise a hand to his optics, rubbing at them. Growling at Scrapper's words, he coms him <> And with that he stands up and lunges towards the vague shape of Elita One, his long frame and arm, reaching out to try and grab ahold of her. Slugfest somehow manages to right himself, and is shot again. He gets angry; if he had ears, steam would be shooting out of them with a boiling teakettle sound! He totters towards Hubcap again, attempting to take his revenge on the Autobot...or his foot. Monster doesn't see being blind as a problem. He opens his mouth, and spews a curtain of flames out in an arc. Can't do it directly, then, have a party... he does like fire after all Combat: Monster strikes Elita One with his YAY FOR JALAPENO GARLIC HALITOSIS! Area attack! Combat: Monster misses Bluestreak with his YAY FOR JALAPENO GARLIC HALITOSIS! Area attack! Combat: Monster strikes Slugfest with his YAY FOR JALAPENO GARLIC HALITOSIS! Area attack! "I'm pretty sure we allowed the morons in the day we started recruiting mechs without wheels or jet wings, Scrapper! Oooh Primus that's one mean Femme." Long Haul would wince in empathy for Scrapper if he had a face in this mode. "Hey, at this rate with this many Bots shooting at you, I just might need to take your place on Devastator instead by the time this mission is over!" Aw. This is just Long Haul's way of showing concern for his fellow Constructicons. Long Haul drives into the facility from the hole that Scrapper had made with the antimatter bombs earlier and transforms as he gets inside. Now the search truly begins, and Long Haul does so by searching room for room while exchanging weapons fire at the various Autobots that he might encounter along the way, "Hey, what the frag were we specifically looking for again?" Combat: Industrial Dump Truck takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Making his way closer towards the base, Scrapper is suddenly beset with some pistol fire! One shot riccochets off his visor and leaves a nasty little crack running up it. "Alright, time for more antimatter!" Lifting into the air, Scrapper flies towards the facility and lands outside the doorway with a THOMP. Following in behind Long Haul, "Wait, seriously? Remind me to upgrade your cache when we get back to base." Combat: Scrapper takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Determined to not let the tech fall into Decepticon hands again, Bluestreak starts to move to a higher ground, where he can see all of them at a better angle. Unfortunately, he was caught in the flamethrower attack before he can do that. "Augh!" He yelled out as he got caught in the flames. Stumbling back again, scorched but definitely not out, he aimed instead at the stego cassette, hoping to knock him back with his attack. Combat: Bluestreak strikes Slugfest with his That is why they invented BREATH MINTS (Pistol) attack! Elita One struggles as she is surrounded by Decepticons. What a mockery of everything, this Motormaster, some twisted version of the mech she knew so well, held her as the monsterbot breathed fire yet again on her. She howls in frustration and in pain as she is scorched a second time, some of her features starting to melt. She tightened her grip on her pistol, there was only so much she could do for now. The most important thing was to get free, find some cover...and to do that, she'd need to do some damage. Her cannon returns to her arm, is promptly aimed at Motormaster's leg and plasma explodes from it. Combat: Elita One sets her defense level to Protected. Combat: Elita One strikes Motormaster with her I Knew Optimus and You're No Optimus Prime! attack! Perceptor's shot goes astray on Motormaster, and as if that wasn't enough, the napalm that had flown out of the bomb is still clinging to his shoulder armor, slowly burning a hole there. He winces, partly for the pain it's causing and partly for the trouble Elita One is in. But he can't help her right now...if Scrapper managed to gain access to the generator inside, he could lock the Autobots out of the system. And if the Decepticons gained unfettered access to the mysterious phenomenon...he shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. "Bluestreak, assist Elita One. I will take care of Scrapper..." The scientist calls out as he rushes in after the Constructions. He fires at Scrapper, finally taking advantage of the targeting data he'd previous acquired. Combat: Perceptor strikes Scrapper with his Don't touch my stuff! attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Removing targeting data for Scrapper. Hubcap keeps brushing at the napalm, "Seriously, am I the only one-" he hisses, then pauses as Slugfest tramples towards him, either on fire, or smelling really badly, or both. "Oh." Looks like most folks have more on their minds. Shrugging, he jumps back quickly and lashes out with his foot, although his aim might be thrown off by laserfire flashing by. Combat: Hubcap strikes Slugfest with his Break damn you! (Kick) attack! Slugfest realizes suddenly that he's on fire, so as he tramples towards Hubcap, he can't see where he's going! He runs around, trying to find his target and still burning! "OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Combat: Slugfest takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Motormaster let out a snarl of pain and went down to his knee, his leg feeling like it might not hold his weight as the plasma cannon takes a chunk out of him. NOW he's pissed. And in the fit of pain, his massive hand squeezes onto her tighter. "I'm gonna crush you once and for all, femme! Crush you out of existance," he snarled in rage. With the sound of shifting metal he began to transform but not down into his truck form....but into his car crusher form, trying to take Elita One into the core of it to elimiate this....troublesome femme. Motormaster transforms into his Car Crusher mode. Combat: Car Crusher strikes Elita One with his Car Crusher attack! [Pulled -3] "Long Haul, locate the Antimatter!" Scrapper calls out, right before Perceptor's cannon shot strikes true. Scraping, haha get it.. he's Scrapper and he's scraping, at the wound.. he aims a kick to the Autobot Scientist's kneecap. "Did you not think we'd return for this??" he scowls, drawing backwards. Combat: Scrapper misses Perceptor with his Knee-Capper! (Kick) attack! Combat: Scrapper (Scrapper) used "Kick": A Level 2 MELEE attack. The firecon seems enamored that the female autobot seems intent on staying here before him. Cindersaur then sees Motormaster take her out, so his attention moves to Hubcap, moving to slash at the bot with his claws and teeth Combat: Monster strikes Hubcap with his I HOPE YOU TASTE GOOD! RAHR! attack! "Wow, even the egg head is after you, Scrapper. How'd you get so popular anyways?" Long Haul comments dryly before he turns around and transforms back into his industrial sized dump truck. "Since you're so smart, you go find what we're after. I'll show the point dexter what happens when he messes with the lime green machines!" That's one of the good things about Constructicons, they're misfits that actually works together. Soon the dump truck is speeding straight for Perceptor with flood lights on and car horn honking, "Dump trucccccck ahoy!" Combat: Industrial Dump Truck sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Industrial Dump Truck misses Perceptor with his Grill Bender attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Industrial Dump Truck (Long Haul) used "Truck Bash": A Level 3 MELEE attack. Bluestreak hears Perceptor tell him to assist Elita, but it is not like he isn't doing that already. He moves closer to her, covering her back. Seeing what Motormaster was doing, he shouts out "NO!" before taking out his volt- no, that would shock Elita as well. Hoping, wanting Elita to be all right, he takes aim at the Stunticon again, this time with a missile. Combat: Bluestreak strikes Car Crusher with his Shoulder-Mounted Rocket attack! Elita One braces herself for the crushing maneuver. This one was newer to her, and so deadly. She grunts, servos tearing as she keeps herself in one piece, before throwing the bed open, just long enough to roll out of the way. Energon sparks from her joints as she mentally wishes she had another bomb to have left behind for him. She sits on her knees beside Motormaster's large form, panting, groaning in agony. A sudden blast erupts around him, her eyes dart over to Bluestreak. Summoning what strength she has left, Elita One moves to tackle over the car crusher, off the side of the platform. Maybe if she braced against him just right, he'd absorb all of the impact. Combat: Elita One strikes Car Crusher with her A Woman Scorned attack! "Of -course- we expected it. Hence the patrol contingent." Perceptor counters as he dodges Scrapper's kick. Then Long Haul's truck form is hurtling at him. Fortunately he manages to jump out of the way of that in time, as well. "However, I sincerely doubt the integrity of your judgement, Scrapper. These particles' behaviour is far too unpredictable to be controlled. They are unsafe even for you and your comrades. Additionally, I doubt your superior officers would take kindly to any damage inflicted to your cause as a result of these experimental weapons!" He tries not to show the pain he feels as the napalm continues to burn into his armor, instead he attempts to shove Scrapper into Long Haul and distract them from their objective. Combat: Perceptor sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Perceptor misses Scrapper with his Away from the computers! (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Perceptor strikes Industrial Dump Truck with his Away from the computers! (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Scrapper's attack finally wears off. Hubcap rolls backwards with a cry of pain, seeking to avoid the whirlwind of claws and fangs. He's /really/ not built for this kinda thing. "Perceptor," he yells, "Please tell me you've found the damned off-switch!" Raising a hand to fend off the Decepticon, he concentrates briefly upon the audio-signatures of the enemy and transmits an audio-burst at them all, hoping to slow some down. "You call my integrity into question? Oh I'm sorry, it's a little hard considering you destroyed an entire UNIVERSE!" Scrapper counters, dodging out of the way. Pulling a miniaturized antimatter weapon he created in secret, since Contrail and Carjack told him that bombs were MUCH better, the Constructicon leader pulls the trigger on the weapon. "Please, don't compare Autobot engineering to the Decepticon MSE division. Your mentor Wheeljack is likely to blow himself up more often than not." Combat: Scrapper sets his defense level to Aggressive. Car Crusher roars with aggression as he's unable to keep Elita in long enough to crush her into the cube of Cybertronian scrap metal that he wanted to. Just as he feels her slip out, he felt the explosion rock his frame, followed by being tackled onto his side by the wounded femme. Oh she was gonna pay for it now. Transforming while she was trying to brace him, he attempted to roll over on top of her. Hey, he might not like the squishies that inhabit this planet but he has to admit, he's tuned in and watched some of their entertainment. That WWE stuff was pretty entertaining and there were some interesting moves there. Maybe one or two might just work for him too. Combat: Hubcap strikes Car Crusher with his Super Hearing Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Car Crusher 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Hubcap misses Monster with his Super Hearing Area attack! Combat: Hubcap strikes Slugfest with his Super Hearing Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Slugfest's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Hubcap strikes Scrapper with his Super Hearing Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Scrapper's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Hubcap strikes Industrial Dump Truck with his Super Hearing Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily limited Industrial Dump Truck 's Agility! (Crippled) Combat: Scrapper strikes Perceptor with Antimatter Arsenal 's Pocket-Rocket Antimatter Space Gun! attack! Combat: Scrapper (Scrapper) used "Antimatter Napalm": A Level 2 AREA-RANGED attack. Car Crusher roars with aggression as he's unable to keep Elita in long enough to crush her into the cube of Cybertronian scrap metal that he wanted to. Just as he feels her slip out, he felt the explosion rock his frame, followed by being tackled onto his side by the wounded femme. Oh she was gonna pay for it now. Transforming while she was trying to brace him, he attempted to roll over on top of her. Hey, he might not like the squishies that inhabit this planet but he has to admit, he's tuned in and watched some of their entertainment. That WWE stuff was pretty entertaining and there were some interesting moves there. Maybe one or two might just work for him too. Just as he's about to try though, he groans in pain as his audio receptors cause him to expreience pain and a touch of dizzyness. Wow. It's a good thing he's laying down and going to roll over on the ground. Otherwise he might have ended up on his aft! Car Crusher transforms into his Motormaster mode. Monster keeps gnawing on Hubcap, clawing on the bot, trying to do even more damage, even as the bot does his girly scream attack. Combat: Monster strikes Hubcap with his YUS! YOU ARE MOST SCRUMPTOUS! (Punch) attack! Combat: Motormaster strikes Elita One with his Crushing California Roll (Smash) attack! Industrial Dump Truck gets shoved into by Scrapper, but clearly it is he himself that gets the worst out the ordeal as his wheels loses traction and collides against the wall. "Oof! Lucky shot, but that ain't going to happen aga--- owww!" Hubcap's audio-burst hits Long Haul's audio receptors like a hundred pins and needles jabbing at the insides of his head! Disorientation takes over and soon Long Haul transforms and staggers around, dazed and confused. "Aw, alright. That's it. There's a lot of antimatter somewhere in this base, right? Well I'm going to find it and then shove it all down this one's throat." He staggers his way out the door and towards the central control room deeper in the Autobot facility. Industrial Dump Truck transforms into his Long Haul mode. Combat: Long Haul takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Bluestreak is out of rockets, but now he can shock Motormaster without damaging a comrade in arms. Or, at least he thought, as he watches Elita take a great wallop to the head. If she can't move... There is no time to sit and wait either. He takes careful aim at the Stunti, hoping it shakes Elita off of him (at the same time, not hurting her) and keeping the Con down! Combat: Bluestreak strikes Motormaster with his Volt Beam attack! Combat: That attack has locked on Motormaster. (LOCKON) Her leg is mauled by the vicious slam, the entirety of her exoskeleton in that region shatters. Bluestreak serves his purpose well, enoughof a diversion to free Elita from the deadly melee. She barely manages to register the dump truck invading the shelter. There was so much damage, so much chaos. Her receptors still worked but for how much longer? Her recent weld from the battle on Pluto broke open as she hobbled up to the building's entrance. Long Haul was gaining access... Hesitation is the enemy, even worse than... What was it she said? It didn't matter, not when she still had enough left for a good blast... Combat: Elita One misses Long Haul with her Plasma Cannon attack! "For the last time, that dimension was uninhabited! Yet how many -inhabited- planets have you Decepticons destroyed?" Oh, what was the point of arguing with the Constructicon? Especially over scientific -integrity- of all things. Scrapper's antimatter weapon strikes him in the shoulder, sending him reeling backward into a pile of storage crates near the door the other Constructicon has just gone through. They topple over, falling onto both Perceptor and Long Haul. Combat: Perceptor misses Long Haul with his Crate avalanche (Smash) attack! Motormaster felt the voltage hit him and he jerked violently, still laying there on the ground, not even noticing as Elita pulled her leg out from under him. He had several large rents in his armor now, huge holes and a couple of cracks where the armor had failed him from hits he'd taken. Energon leaked from the corners of his mouth and down the sides of his face by his audio receptors. He needed to get out of there but he knew that Galvatron would probably kill him if he let the others fail in their mission or he'd take the brunt of the punishment. He tried debating if he should call a retreat, to get the little guys out of there or if he should stick it out...he got to his knees, pulling his gun from subspace, but seemed unable to decide what to do. Hubcap has only a second to realise that possibly the only person unaffected by his attack is... the one tearing him to shreds. At some point while he's trying to roll out of the way, he registers Long Haul making a break for the facility. Nothing much he can do about that, except... maybe... Oh the hell with it. Combat: Motormaster takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Hubcap's screeching siren affects Scrapper's circuits, giving him an instant cerebro migraine. Shaking it off, he pushes his verbal attack on Perceptor further. "Or so you say, convienent.. isn't it?" When Elita One launches some plasma cannon Long Haul's way, Scrapper retorts by drawing his sword and charging the femme. "You will not prevent our capture of the Antimatter, Elita One!" Bringing the sword down slanted across his body, the Constructicon aims to cleave her in half. Combat: Scrapper sets his defense level to Fearless. Monster seems to be getting winded, even if you consider the bot is still gnawing and clawing Hubcap, tail wagging Combat: Scrapper strikes Elita One with his S-WORD SLASH! attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Monster strikes Hubcap with his Thou art most toothsome Hubcap (Punch) attack! Combat: Hubcap falls to the ground, unconscious. Slugfest finally is no longer on fire? For a while his audios were ringing so he couldn't hear himself think. Then he sees Cindersaur chewing on Hubcap until the Autobot passes out. He sulks. "Aw no gotted bite," he says, poking at the Autobot like a child poking a dead body with a stick. Combat: Slugfest takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Elita One's plasma cannon misses its mark and melts away the wall that Long Haul had just been standing beside of. That sure makes a convincing argument for the Constructicon to get his butt outta dodge! "Alright" Long Haul bursts into one room but finds it void of anything of value. "Where are" Yet another room deeper inside the facility is forced into, but it turns out to just be the mess hall. "--you. Ah hah!" Success at last as door number three at the center of the facility proves to be the winning door! Inside is an Autobot technician that's controlling the facility itself, but not for long as Long Haul guns the Autobot down just as he had turn around in alarm, "Damn, so many buttons. I put these things together. I don't operate them!" Suddenly Long Haul gets a radio message from fake-Scrapper informing him that there is instability within the infrastructure! Well Long Haul isn't the smartest guy in the tool shed anyways, so he stops his pathetic attempt at hacking the computer terminal and keys in his radio to the real Scrapper instead. Looks like Hubcap managed to secure the Autobots yet another round. Oh rest in pieces, lil tricky guy. Combat: Long Haul takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Elita cries out as the sword impales her, energon within her crackling. She slumps to her knees. She is beaten. Her head droops as Scrapper looms over her. She mutters something inaudible as she gazes about the scene. Just a few moments, just a few...if only. Her hands dig into the metal beneath her as she wretches, precious energon leaving her. "t..." She sputters, trying to keep herself in motion. "t..." Energy crackles within her, a faint, pinkish hue. "Till...all are ONE!" She bellows as time shudders around the team, a large dome of energy rips out of her with dramatic effect, covering the entire fortification. Combat: Elita One strikes Motormaster with her Time Stop Area attack! Combat: Motormaster has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Elita One's attack leaves her temporarily incapacitated! Combat: Elita One strikes Monster with her Time Stop Area attack! Combat: Monster has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Elita One strikes Long Haul with her Time Stop Area attack! Combat: Long Haul has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Elita One strikes Slugfest with her Time Stop Area attack! Combat: Slugfest has been temporarily incapacitated. Combat: Elita One strikes Scrapper with her Time Stop Area attack! Combat: Scrapper has been temporarily incapacitated. Bluestreak ran up next to Elita, taking in her extensive injuries. Watching Long Haul go inside the room, then stop, he takes the opportunity to shoot at the back of a Constructicon, but still standing guard. Until something comes out of her. It made him pause for a moment as he watched the effect of the time stop. Seizing the even BETTER opportunity, he decides to take out two at once. First a shot at Motormaster, then hitting Long Haul. Combat: Bluestreak strikes Motormaster with his Full-Auto Area attack! Combat: Bluestreak strikes Long Haul with his Full-Auto Area attack! Perceptor doesn't have time to argue with Scrapper, though he would probably love to...the napalm is once again burning into his armor, now in multiple places, and Long Haul has taken off toward the control room. Perceptor isn't worried about the other Constructicon hacking the controls, but with Scrapper's direction, perhaps over a comm, it was possible. That was a risk he couldn't afford to take. He rushes after Long Haul, but suddenly a strange energy discharge comes from Elita, stopping all the Decepticons dead in their tracks. Knowing this opportunity won't last long, he seizes it, firing upon Scrapper just after he strikes the fembot with his sword. before moving toward the control room once again. Combat: Perceptor strikes Scrapper with his Laser Cannon attack! Motormaster had managed to get to his knees when he was hit with the strangest .... and then he was getting slammed into by another shot from Bluestreak, causing him to totter off balance. He snarled and had just about had enough from that little runt! Staggering to his feet, throwing caution to the wind, he took aim with his gun and fired off a shot at the annoying Autosnot, while calling out to the two little Con's, "Start getting out of here. It's time we get out of here. Now Move IT!!!" Combat: Motormaster misses Bluestreak with his Cyclone Gun attack! Reeling from the cannon blast, Scrapper shakes aside the effects of Elita One's 'time stop' power. This wasn't going well, Perceptor had pretty much hid inside here the entire time while they were fighting. Furthermore, Long Haul is pretty confused about what's going on. "Well, you know what?" he sneers, pulling a device out from behind him. It's a huge antimatter bomb! Wrenching on the controls and typing furiously, he sets the device to blow and makes his way towards the control chamber. "Scrap this!" Hopefully the control room offers him -some- shelter. Combat: Scrapper sets his defense level to Fearless. Monster has just dropped the Hubcap, and is about to turn to engage another when time stops on him. Combat: Scrapper strikes Perceptor with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Bomb Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Scrapper (Scrapper) used "Antimatter Bomb": A Level 4 AREA-RANGED attack. Combat: Scrapper strikes Elita One with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Bomb Area attack! [Pulled -2] Combat: Elita One falls to the ground, unconscious. Combat: Scrapper strikes himself with Antimatter Arsenal 's Antimatter Bomb Area attack! [Pulled -2] Long Haul listens in annoyance as real-Scrapper seemingly feigns ignorance, from his point of view, but he never does hear the end of Scrapper's explanations. From his perspective, he literally was listening to Scrapper explaining himself one second and into getting plastered by Bluestreak's rifle! That's a shocker, but that's what makes time stopping mojo so much fun for the user. "Wha?! How'd you get here?!" His optics widens when he sees a severely pissed off Scrapper enter with a bomb. He knows what kind of things is going to happen when Scrapper has that look on his face, and he's not about to stick around to witness it. Long Haul bolts out the room and straight for the nearest hole out of the faciliy but six seconds into his journey, he's sent flying along with the rest of the facility! "Ooooh Primus the FRONTLINE SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!" Combat: Long Haul sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Long Haul takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] With an 'EEK!', Bluestreak managed to dodge the shot. He starts to go for Elita when the antimatter bomb goes off, luckily he was already was taking cover, so he doesn't get hit with it, but when he hears what Perceptor was saying he says. "Wait Perceptor!" But he watched the scientist go in, and knew it was a lost cause. But he wanted to protect his unconscious (but alive) teamates. It took a few trips, but he managed to pull them both to where they can take cover. He didn't plan to leave anyone behind. Combat: Bluestreak takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] Elita One get blown free from the bunker, landing several yards away. Her arm snaps off at the shoulder, during the tumble, her damaged leg joins it. She twitches for a moment, then a slow hand pulls beneath her to proper herself up. She gets several inches off the ground before stasis lock finally kicks in, sending her out, and in pieces. Perceptor is thrown backward by the force of the explosion, though he'd managed to get far away enough from Scrapper by the time it detonated that he managed not to take -too- much damage from it. "I will -not- allow you unfetterred access to such dangerous particles!" he exclaims, recovering quickly. He watches as Long Haul goes flying. At least that will buy him some time. And instead of attacking, he turns and runs in the other direction, hurrying down the corridor and into the control room, taking the elevator down to the ground floor where the generator equipment is. The auxilliary accelerators are all lined up down there, ready for him to fire them up and make an impenetrable containment field. The napalm still searing painfully into his armor, he works quickly, flipping all the circuits into position. A low hum sounds as they power up, and the field crackles with energy as it glows brighter and brighter. But nothing was happening. The portal wasn't collapsing. What could possibly have gone wrong? He stares at a display, realizing that the output just isn't enough. The field is much more powerful, but still weak in certain locations. The algorithms in the simulations had been off. Slagging exotic particles and their unpredictability. There wasn't time now to shuttle all the back to Cybertron, the Ark, or Earth and build another accelerator, of course. There was only one thing left to do... He reaches down and opens his chest cavity, shoving a series of cables into his lasercore chamber. This would -have- to be enough. The machine hums on a higher frequency now, drawing its power from the accelerators now as well as the scientists' own life energy. The field crackles even more loudly, glowing so radiantly that its light is blinding... And almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over. With no energy to draw upon, portal collapsed in on itself, vanishing completely. And Perceptor is lying motionlness on the floor below, not even twitching in the slightest. Combat: Perceptor damages himself. Combat: Perceptor falls to the ground, unconscious. Motormaster snarls, "That's it! We're through! Get the frack out of here NOW!" He's calling the retreat if no one else will. He doesn't even try to get off another shot. He subspaces his gun, doesn't even manage to get to his feet. He just transforms into his Semi form and fires up his engine, starting to roll across the ice. "Grab on or get left behind," he tells Slugfest and Cindersaur. Combat: Motormaster begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Shi-Lai Deathship, Slugfest, Monster , and Antimatter Arsenal Slugfest finds he can move again! He follows Motormaster's lead and chases after him! "Us winned, right?" he wonders as he spies all the fallen bots, save one. He LEAPS in order to grab onto Motormaster's trailer top and ride into the...sunset? Combat: Slugfest begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Shi-Lai Deathship, Monster , and Antimatter Arsenal Motormaster leaves a trail of energon and other fluids trailing along the ice behind him. Somewhere, out in the middle of nowhere there is a pair of lime green legs sticking out of a snowbed. There's some smoke coming out from the legs. Later on... Long Haul is sitting on a medtable, having been found and retrieved by Decepticon search and rescue. "Oooh Primus I knew I was going to get blown up one way or another." The Constructicon whimpers a bit before sprawling onto his back on the medtable again, moaning and groaning in pain as the medic work on him. Combat: Long Haul begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Motormaster, Scrapper, Shi-Lai Deathship, Slugfest, Monster , and Antimatter Arsenal Scrapper meanders down to Perceptor, an audial "Tsk tsk tsk." excapes his vocalizer. "Such heroic nonsense." Bending low, the Constructicon leader breaks out a nasty buzzsaw and goes to work. Coming up from the elevator, Scrapper whistles as he walks.. Perceptor's arm and magnifying shoulder thing in tow. Stopping on his way, he stoops low at Elita One and Hubcap respectively, taking choice selections from either. A arm and leg from the femme, a shoulder and pelvis from the Bumblebee ripoff. Floating up into the air, Scrapper withdraws. Not before sending Bluestreak a radio message: Try and stop me. Combat: Scrapper sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Scrapper begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Motormaster, Shi-Lai Deathship, Slugfest, Monster , and Antimatter Arsenal Monster makes his way into the place, looking for stuff to take. Or stuff to burn. He's an equal opertunity pyro :D Motormaster was a hurting unit, and in serious need of some serious work. He'd taken more damage and the brunt of the firepower of the three combatants out on the field that day....one big fracking target. He didn't give a scrap what Scrapper said about looting. He just wanted to be put back together, fixed and the pain to be made to go away. And to be left in peace really.... It was over. Perceptor took himself out in order to collapse the portal. One thing he can say is that Scrapper at least kept his promise... on his end. No lasercores. No antimatter. But he took the body parts of his own comrades. He tried to rush at Scrapper, do anything to wrestle for it back. But by the time he made his nearly paralyzed body do something- it was too late. Curbing his panic, and shoving back memories that threaten to just engulf him completely, he took the bodies of his team back with him to the base, they needed help IMMEDIATELY. He only wished he did more... Eventually Elita One's timestop power wears off, Greenhorn stumbles forward with his blaster held aloft. "No you don't, Scrapper!" he shouts, realizing that Scrapper isn't here anymore. In fact, the base looks a lot crappier now too. Looking down, the Autobot cadet also finds some Antimatter scorching on his frame. Meandering out of the base, Greenhorn follows what appears to be a cookie-crumb trail of Perceptor pieces.. which leads to a paraplygeic Elita One and gimpy Hubcap. Rubbing his optics, he looks to Bluestreak. "Umm, what happened?" Bluestreak doesn't answer, not at first. Then he looked, hauntingly at Greenhorn, and in a voice so very distant and small, he says "Help me pick up the pieces, they need help..." Hubcap just remains stubbornly unconscious as the Decepticons make off with his crotch. I swear, /no/ respect. "Help?" Greenhorn surmises, "They need Primus."
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