CHAPTER SIX
--Outpost One--
"On your left!"
Drift barely had time to drive away in time as the large primate Monstercon descended upon him, slamming his fists into the ground. As a large cloud of moondust engulfed him, Drift converted to his robot mode and drew his swords. Once he had spotted Groundbuster's silhouette, he moved swiftly and lunged at the primate.
Before he could land his attack however, a rocket appeared out of nowhere and struck Groundbuster, sending him flying away. Disoriented, Drift collided roughly with the ground, earning himself a face full of lunar soil. As he got back to his feet, he shot a glance at Whirl, who was standing there with his rocket launcher.
"I had him," Drift muttered.
"Uh-huh." Whirl pointed a claw behind Drift. "I think your friends want to play with you."
Drift turned around to see three Decepticons before him, all wearing eager, sinister grins. One of them, a short mech with the features of an Earth-native raccoon, stepped forward, lugging a gun larger than himself.
"Hey, Deadlock," Forager said with a scrap-eating grin. "Long time no see."
"Huh. And here I was being sarcastic when I called them your friends." Whirl slapped Drift on the back before trodding off. "Have fun."
Once the ex-Wrecker was gone, the three Decepticons collectively known as the Ronin raised their weapons. Forager's grin became a nasty scowl as he cocked his gun.
"Let's dance, glitchhead."
Drift simply raised his swords as his three enemies charged at him.
* * *
"Have you seen Rodimus?"
Atomizer did not miss a beat as he fired another arrow, nailing a purple Corvicon in the wing. As he reloaded, he glanced at Trailbreaker, who was holding off enemy fire with his force-field.
"No, I haven't," Atomizer said, taking aim at another airborne Monstercon. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I haven't seen that bat dragon guy either," Trailbreaker said. "I dunno, guess I'm just..."
"Worried?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, he's our leader after all."
"Uh-huh." Atomizer released his arrow, which downed the avian Scavengebot. "He's no Optimus though."
"No, of course not. But I mean, who is, right?"
Atomizer did not immediately answer. Loading his last arrow, he pointed his crossbow at a green Insecticon hopping towards them. Narrowing his visor in concentration, he carefully calculated his aim before firing. The arrow struck the bug upside and sent him springing several feet backwards, colliding into a bovine Decepticon that had been charging ahead, knocking him off course.
"We should relocate," Atomizer said to Trailbreaker. "I'm out of ammo."
"Hopefully Whirl's got some spare guns," Trailbreaker murmured. "You go on ahead. I'll cover you."
As Atomizer transformed and drove off, Trailbreaker followed on foot, keeping his force-field up to deflect enemy fire. Once he was far enough away, he started to transform... when the ground suddenly exploded beneath him, sending him flying several feet into the air.....
* * *
"What do you think, Saberhorn? Should I go for the record?"
Crossblades crawled on her front, inching towards the closest gun she could find. The two Decepticons standing over her had yet to take notice.
"Do not be so crass as to treat this like some sick game, Razorpaw," retorted the violet Insecticon. "Even us Decepticons should show some sportsmanship towards our foes."
"How easily do you think his head will come off?" the brown puma-like 'Con went on, holding up a struggling Highbrow. "The yellow one's came off real good. Are they all like that or...?"
Just as Crossblades' hand found the headless Sunstreaker's gun, a blade came down and drove into her servo, causing her to cry out.
"Were we thinking of doing something foolish?" Saberhorn asked with a mirthless grin. "Rather unwise, don't you--"
He was cut off by a sudden scream eliciting from Razorpaw, who released his hold on Highbrow. With both 'Cons distracted, Crossblades grabbed the gun with her other hand and fired it at Saberhorn. As the Insecticon fell, Highbrow tackled Razorpaw to the ground. However, the Decepticon was somehow already offline.
At that moment, the headless body of Sunstreaker rose, startling Crossblades. As Highbrow stepped away from the deactivated Razorpaw, a small robot in black and yellow emerged from underneath the Monstercon. It started to change shape, taking on the form of Sunstreaker's head, which the yellow Autobot easily reattached.
Both Highbrow and Crossblades stared in awe. "What--" the former started to say.
"Oi, questions later." Sunstreaker nodded up ahead. "Looks like some scrap is going down."
The other two looked over their shoulders to see a large shape rising in the distance, causing panic amongst Autobots and Decepticons alike.
"Right," Highbrow murmured, helping Crossblades to her feet. "There's always a bigger fishbot."
Sunstreaker laughed. "Hey, I understood that reference!"
* * *
"Okay, who the smelt let the dog off his leash?"
Longhorn and Frostbite exchanged weary glances as they stood behind Carnivac. The canine Chimeracon had his optics focused on the many viewscreens, which all showed the titanic form of Ragnarok rising from one of the moon's craters.
"Seriously, I didn't authorize that," Carnivac went on. "Neither did Tarantulas or Gigatron... at least, I don't think they would have. They're mad, but not that mad."
He then turned to Longhorn and Frostbite, who immediately straightened their stance. He fixed them both with a withering glare.
"Were either of you monitoring his chamber?"
Longhorn opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Frostbite. "If any of us should have been monitoring him, it should have been Longhorn. He monitors the interior, I handle the exterior."
"Well, excuse me!" Longhorn retorted. "I guess I was just too busy looking for that blasted Prime clone that I didn't notice Tarantulas' pet escaping his dog house."
"Surely you would have noticed something--"
"Shut up, both of you!" Carnivac snarled. "Let's just go out there and deal with that animal before Gigatron gets mad."
"What about the clone?" Longhorn asked.
"Forget about him. If we haven't found him by now, then he's most likely dead." Carnivac pushed past the other two as he strode out of the room. "I'll recall Reptilion and the others. Deploy inner defense in case that clone is still alive."
Once the Chimeracon leader had gone, Frostbite glanced at Longhorn. "Did you see Ragnarok get free?"
Longhorn hesitated before nodding. "Yes."
"Then why didn't you--"
"Because he would have killed me if I had. He would have thought I was trying to be funny -- and you know how much he hates jokes."
Frostbite frowned. "What did you see?"
Longhorn said nothing. Instead, he simply brought up a view of the chamber which was meant to hold Ragnarok.
The same chamber which still held Ragnarok....
* * *
You have got to be kidding me.
Gigatron stared in silent rage as the monster known as Ragnarok emerged from the ground, moondust pouting from his massive frame. Now no longer concerned with the red Autobot that had been at his mercy, Gigatron released Rodimus as he strode towards the giant, brandishing his double-edged blade.
"Animal!" he roared, attracting Ragnarok's attention. "You have been a nuisance to me for far too long!"
Ragnarok fixed him with a baleful glare... and smiled wickedly.
"You," the giant growled. "I remember you."
Gigatron paused, taken aback by Ragnarok's newfound eloquency. Before he could dwell on it however, the larger Decepticon began to lumber forward, unveiling large guns on his shoulders and chest.
"You desired a taste of my power while you had me in captivity," Ragnarok rumbled, charging up his guns. "Allow me to sate your thirst."
Gigatron only had a moment to retreat as Ragnarok's guns tore the ground he walked upon asunder.
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