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Episode 4: The Storm

     Noctorro zipped back and forth through the trees. The area was foggy, as the sky was marked with dark, tumultuous clouds. He gave his comlink a tap.
     "Commander Atlas, I am able to detect two of the enemy ahead. I request permission to engage the enemy!"
     At the base, sitting in front of a console, Atlas allowed a smile to slip across his face. "Please do. Why don't you try that technique we've been working on...And Noctorro?"
     Noctorro's response came through heavy interference. "Yes, commander?"
     Atlas leaned forward, and his face softened. "Be careful. There's a storm growing out there."
     Noctorro grinned and nodded. "As always, boss." At that, he increased his speed.


     Two figures slowly made their way through the foggy, swampy terrain. A wolverine crawled over broken logs and splashed through the muck. Just above him a fish with a bee up its butt flew along.
     "I...am confused," Razor Claw said, clearly struggling with the words. "Why...was I asked...to stop my patrol?"
     "Torca and Waspinator called us to meet here, because Icefire's new array detected something. It seems like one of the enemy's signatures, but they're not sure. We're here to investigate."
     Razor Claw nodded, but the blank look didn't leave his face. Injector glanced at him.
     "Forget it kid. Just follow my lead."
     Razor Claw, finding these instructions much more palatable, nodded more happily this time.
     A message came over Injector's intercom, splattered with static. "This is-*crackle*-rca. We'r-*crackle, crackle*-ecting TWO enemy Autobot signatures out there! One in front of you, and one behind!"
     Injector and Razor Claw immediately looked at each other in surprise, when suddenly...
     BLAM!!
     Injector was knocked from behind, and he slammed into a tree. His massive head broke straight through the tree, not even slowing him down. His vision began to clear and another tree came into focus just as he slammed into it too. This time, things stayed dark.
     Razor Claw took that opportunity to duck into some brush. Noctorro began to circle above him, able to detect him, but unable to see him.
     *crackle* "This is Torca again! *crackle*-ppened? Is Inje-*crackle* there?"
     Noctorro smiled, lowered his horns, and made a head-first charge straight into...The ground. He rested upon his head for a second, and then his body toppled over. A trail of mech fluid led from the crash point, and a mangled comlink, straight to Razor Claw, who began to hobble over, sparks flying from his foreleg.
     Razor Claw rolled the fuzor onto his back, and remnants of Razor Claw's communicator could be seen on Noctorro's head. The mutant raised his forelegs high, and slammed them down on Noctorro's chest.
     "Razor Claw, beast mode!" Fully transformed, his legs still rested on Noctorro's chest, and he brought his dino-head down to meet him face to face. Steam blew out, as he snorted into Noctorro's face. For a fraction of a second, neither moved. Suddenly Noctorro's body gave a jerk. He began writhing in pain, because Razor Claw had driven his front claws into Noctorro's stomach.
     "Ungh...Urk...Noc-UCK -Torro...Grr...Maximize!"
     As part of the transformation, Noctorro's beast head snapped forward, with the result of crushing Razor Claw's hands. Razor Claw roared in pain, and Noctorro forced himself to his feet, dragging the mutant up with him.
     "Rotten...little...FREAK!" Noctorro snarled. At that, Noctorro decked Razor Claw in the head. Razor Claw responded by trying, unsuccessfully, to jerk away from his captor. Noctorro lifted his other arm.
     "Get your FILTHY..." -WHAM- "DISFIGURED..." -WHAM- "claws off of me!" -WHAM-
     That last time, the stress was too much to bear, and Razor Claw was sent flying. As he zipped through the air, he painfully drew his now-stumped arms close to his body. With a thud, he fell, motionless. Noctorro reached under his beast head, and pulled out the claws. Slowly and deliberately, he walked over to Razor Claw. As he got there, he raised them over his head, and brought -


     - his fist forcefully down onto the table.
     "WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING!?" Torca shouted in frustration. "We had them a second ago, but now we have nothing! This slagging storm is creating too much interference to do ANYTHING."
     Waspinator meekly peeked over his shoulder at the control panel.
     "Waspinator hopes bird-bot is alright. Why can computer not find her either?"
     Torca shook his head worriedly. "I just hope she's not trapped inside that storm too..."


At the enemy base...
     "Uhoh...We've just lost all contact, sir," Scavenger reported.
     "Let's see," Atlas thought aloud. "We know he managed to neutralize two of the Maximals, but that still left one other active in the storm with him."
     He swivelled his chair to face "Poison Bite, remain in beast mode. The winds and rains will have no effect on you underwater. Find Noctorro and assist him BEFORE you engage the ‘Maximals'. Understood?"
     Poison Bite snickered. "Sure. I'll have him back in time for me to go back and tear ‘em up later!"
     He leapt into the air, transforming, and vanished into the stream. Atlas shook his head unhappily.
     "That one has a bit of an obsession with battle...I don't believe he's entirely healthy." Atlas stood and walked over to the console next to Scavenger. "Now, let's see if we can't get this working. If Poison Bite calls in for backup, I'm heading in myself."


     "The storm's beginning to lighten a little!" Torca typed away at his console. "C'mon...C'mon...Alright. I can get most of the area through, but things are pretty sketchy. Keep in mind we may not have the whole picture here..."
     "Uh-oh!" gulped Waspinator. "Now Waspinator sees TWO enemy signatures!"
     "And Razor Claw's signal is dim. This is bad. This is VERY bad...Wait. What's that- No, not now!" The screen returned to static, and he began working the console again as quickly as he could. "I thought I saw another signal entering the screen...That could have been Icefire!"


     A call came in over Poison Bite's communicator. "Alright, you're almost on him...And...now." Scavenger was watching signals on his display, helping to navigate the barracuda to their teammate. "Surface there, and try to get visual contact."
     Poison Bite halted his underwater sprint, and stuck his head above water. Only a few meters away, he was able to make out two figures through the fog. One was lying on the ground. The other was Noctorro, leaning against a tree, wheezing. Poison Bite gave a few cautious pokes at the ground with his nose. A grin spread across his face, and he charged out of the stream, and continued to speed through the thick mud. Noctorro, hearing something different, looked up cautiously. When he saw a red fin heading his way, he breathed a sigh of relief.
     "Poison Bite!"
     The mutant stopped at his feet and stuck his head above ground. "Hurry up...I'm in a rush to..." His voice trailed off as he realized just how ravaged the body on the ground actually was. His eyes widened, but gave way to a smile. "Nice work, bat boy."
     Noctorro climbed onto his back. "I'm hurt, and I'm tired. Take me home," he said wearily.
     The barracuda sneered in annoyance. "Great. You get all the fun, while I'm stuck carting your lazy carcass around." He turned and made his way back to the river, swimming through the heavy mud. As he pulled close to the water's edge, he gave a warning to his rider.
     "Get ready to get wet," he instructed Noctorro. But he got no response.
     He craned around to look at the fuzor, trying to get some sort of acknowledgment, but when he turned, he saw nothing. His back was completely bare. In shock, he spun forward again, and found himself face to face with the monstrous head of Injector! Injector hissed, and Poison Bite flinched. Seeing only one exit, he dove forward, underneath the fuzor, into the stream. Though Injector would be able to follow him, at least he wouldn't be encumbered by the slowness of the mud anymore. As he hit the water, he heard a tell-tale splash behind him, as Injector started the chase.
     "Great..." Poison Bite activated his communicator. "Boss, we got trouble...I lost the bat."


     Torca was working the controls as Waspinator was brooding over the situation.
     "Fishy-bot, how did you know it was bird-bot on the scanner?"
     Torca gave him a questioning look. "You mean earlier? Well, it's not you or me, right. And we already saw Razor Claw and Injector's signals too. So it must be Icefire, right?"
     Waspinator shrugged. "Waspinator just wants to know why Fishy-bot was so sure it was a Maximal."
     Torca's gave Waspinator a blank look for a second, and then his face twisted in a rather displeased frown. "Oh Slag..."
     He tapped away at the console for a second more, and his shoulders sagged at what he saw.
     "I'm reading 3 Autobot signals....Torca, beast mode!"
     He turned and charged out the exit.
     "Fishy-bot, wait! Fishy-bot will sink in the swamp!" But Torca was already out the door. "*sigh*, SURE, nobody listens to Waspinator, but when Waspinator is the one dragging them in for repair, Waspinator wants to hear no complaining!"


     "Look Buzzclaw, I got the scanners working again," gloated Scavenger.
     Buzzclaw glanced in his direction, and returned to the game he was playing on the computer. "Nice."
     Scavenger scowled. "Don't even care about your teammates, as usual, eh?"
     Buzzclaw shrugged. "Busy."
     Scavenger shook his head. "Stupid bug," he grumbled under his breath.
     "You're a bug too," Buzzclaw shot back, not even looking away from his game for a nanoclick.
     In frustration Scavenger returned his attention to his control panel, did a quick count of non-Autobot signals, and his jaw dropped in surprise. "Scrap, look! They've got their entire team out there! Their base must be unmanned!"
     He turned to Buzzclaw. "Can you run the base by yourself?"
     "Yep."
     Scavenger frowned. "Never mind, I'll program it to watch itself."
     "Good. Busy."


     Atlas surveyed the situation before him. Noctorro needed repair, but Razor Claw could be taken in for questioning and a trial for treason. With a sigh, he lifted Noctorro with his horn and set the mutant on his back.
     It's not easy being on the good guy, he thought.
     He wheeled about and readied himself to find his other teammate, but he was interrupted by a loud rumbling. My worthy opponent, he thought with a smile. He quickly set Noctorro behind a large rock, and took in his surroundings, readying himself for the assault. He smiled darkly, enjoying how easy this was going to be for him.
     Torca saw Atlas standing still amidst the wooded swamp, and he skidded to a halt at the edge of the trees, trying to take in the surroundings his enemy had chosen. It was a circle of trees around a clearing covered with grass-like greenery. Just behind Atlas was a large rock.
     "A clearing, Atlas? I see as usual, you're not planning on outwitting me."
     Atlas lowered his head and revved his rear treads. "Let's see. Last time, you weren't the only one who was taught a lesson. I believe I learned that ‘a whale + an elephant = a chicken'"
     Atlas chuckled deeply at his little joke.
     Torca shook his head sadly. "That was pretty weak. You do realize I'm going to have to destroy you, if for no other reason than to prevent you from ever telling a joke again." He lowered his head and charged.
     Atlas charged forward too, only a split second after Torca. Torca noticed it, but just attributed it, incorrectly, to fear. Suddenly Atlas's foreleg hit some squishy ground. He tried to slow his massive bulk, but he had no ground to press against for traction. The grass between him and Atlas wasn't grass at all; it was algae floating on the surface of some water. Atlas laughed even harder than before.
     "Are your logic circuits malfunctioning or something!?" Torca shouted incredulously. "Not ONLY do you hope to stop me only with water, not only am I half WHALE, but you insult me for not finishing off the last charge we had, while you were planning to avoid this one all along?"
     Atlas stopped laughing to think on that. "Hmm, I suppose you're right, I do see the irony in that. However, it doesn't matter. Even though you're more than capable in the water, this is a swamp. And you're overweight. I do believe you'll find you have trouble moving your legs, despite your comfortability in the water."
     Torca, unbelieving, struggled to lift his legs, but failed.
     "And just think, foolish ‘hero,' if you hadn't stopped to mock me, you wouldn't have gotten stuck!"
     Torca could do nothing but glare back at him, as his mouth had sunk below the waterline, leaving him to rely on his blowhole for the air intake and exhaust for his system. His angry glare softened somewhat as he was distracted by something he heard in the water, a type of humming. Traveling up the stream, Injector could be found chasing Poison Bite along at full speed. They darted over rocks, under logs, and through murky water. Poison Bite was panting from the exertion, while Injector continued to tear along, gaining ground by the second.


     As they rounded one more bend, they found a massive obstacle blocking their path: Torca. Poison Bite managed to squeeze beneath his belly at very the last second. No matter how much he tried to though, Injector wasn't going to be able to slow down in time. Just before impact, something darted into the water, slamming into Torca's front, jarring his front feet lose. As his front legs broke free from the muck, Injector slammed his middle, knocking his back legs loose, and tearing a hole with his massive horn. Torca, loose but damaged, crawled onto the shore to regain his bearings. Icefire and Injector rushed to his side.
     "Ungh...Icefire? So this is where you were," he groaned.
     "Yes," she answered. "I was checking out a sig-"
     "Pardon me if I'm interrupting your friendly reunion," Atlas cut in.
     The three Maximals looked his way. He was in bot mode, with his gun trained on the them.
     "Now, if you don't mind-"
     "Atlas!" His communicator cut him off.
     He sighed in frustration. "Yes, Scavenger?"
     "The reserves are empty, sir! Permission to activate Operation C-Scythe?"
     Atlas let his gaze swing over the Maximals as he smiled.
     "Excellent work lieutenant! Please do!" He cut off his transmission, and his smile faded. "Now, as I was saying,-"
     *cough, wheeze* "Sir, I have to tell you something!" Noctorro had recovered enough to speak, and had crawled up behind his leader.
     Atlas turned to him in surprise. "You're damaged! Convert to beast mode, now!"
     Noctorro did so. However...
     "Get him!"
     ...The distraction was long enough for Icefire to bowl him over, as he barely dodged Injector's thrust with his large head. Icefire came by for another pass, but as she passed over the water, Poison Bite leapt up, chomped his mouth tightly over her wing, and brought her underwater with him. Injector shouted and headed after her, but Atlas managed to blast him with his gun, sending him tumbling the ground.
     "Don't move!"
     Torca, now in bot mode, was still on the ground, unable to stand on his own. However, he had still managed to pull his gun out, and aimed it at Atlas's head.
     "Set your gun down."
     Atlas sighed in annoyance. "I really-"
     "NOW."
     But at that moment, Noctorro dove out of the shadows behind him to deck him from behind, knocking the gun away. As Torca was pummeled from behind, Noctorro abruptly stopped and dove to the side, allowing Atlas to bring his gun to bear on Torca.


     Scavenger was hiding behind a rock, with Buzzclaw by his side. He peeked around the rock to look at the Maximal base, not more than 50 meters away. He nodded at Buzzclaw, and took off running towards it.
     "Attaaaaaack!"
     Suddenly, there was a single, massive energy discharge. It flew through the air, and hit Buzzclaw dead on. Scavenger stopped in surprise as the fuzor dug a small trench into the ground with his body. He heard a voice come over a loudspeaker.
     "Go...Away."
     "What!?" he shouted. "But...but...but you're supposed to be out! In the swamp! You're ALL supposed to be out there!"
     "Waspinator is not in the swamp, Waspinator is in charge!"
     And at that, another energy discharge blasted Scavenger too, sending him flying.


     "Stasis lock commencing."
     Atlas turned from the now smoking Torca to his teammate.
     "Noctorro, you had something you were trying to say earlier?"
     Noctorro was already beside him, digging. "According to my sensors, we're standing right on top of an energy signature...I thought it was one of theirs at first, because I didn't recognize it, but now I'm not so sure."
     Atlas took a step back, slightly caught off-guard. "Really?" A devilish grin grew on his face. He lifted his foot, and stomped. The ground shook slightly, and suddenly a yellow light splashed everywhere.
     "Scanning...Scanning...Scanning...Suitable life form found."
     Noctorro and Atlas faced each other as their jaws dropped.
     "Let's go!" Atlas commanded, regaining his composure. He reached into the ground with his hands, Noctorro dug in with his feet, and they lifted a stasis pod out of the ground. The two quickly began flying to the Autobot base.
     As they vanished over the tops of the trees, Poison Bite was launched out of the water at breakneck speed. He slammed into the large rock, and fell, momentarily stunned. Icefire crawled out of the water, mech fluid dripping from all over her...Some hers, some from an external source.
     "So...*cough, cough* I'm supposed to hit you over the head *cough* with a bat now, right?"
     Out of the corner of her eye she saw Torca.
     "Oh no!" she gasped.
     She saw Injector stumbling through underbrush in her direction, holding his head. "Ungh...I haven't had a day this bad in some time now...."
     He shut up as he saw Torca's slagged body. He and Icefire dragged themselves over to him and hefted his large body over their shoulders. As they began to drag Torca away, Icefire activated her communicator.
      "Waspinator, this is Icefire."
     "Ooh! Bird-bot is ok!"
     "Can you help us locate Razor Claw?" And her conversation trailed off as she vanished into the trees.
     Poison Claw, now by himself, shook himself awake, rolled over, and vanished into the water.
     And all alone, the rock that Icefire smashed with Poison Bite's body...It began to give a little rumble...

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