CHAPTER THREE
"What did the... creature look like?"
"It was big," Airazor replied, her beak pointed to the ground as she relayed her tale to the other Maximals. "Big and with lots of legs. And eyes. It looked like an arachnid, but... unlike any I've seen before."
Cheetor's ears pricked. "Large arachnid? You think it was a Fateweaver?"
Airazor looked up at him. "A what?"
"I've heard Backstop talk about them. They claim to be emissaries of Onyx Prime. Before the Preds took over, they were more or less the ultimate authority of Eukaris after the Beast King."
Rattrap made a derisive sniff. "Sounds like a load of scrap to me."
Primal waved off the rodent as he said, "I've heard the same stories. But I had been led to believe that the Fateweavers were more or less extinct. Are you sure it wasn't just an ordinary Crawler?"
"It was far larger than any I've encountered," Airazor said. "It was definitely no Powerpinch or Retrax."
"Then Cheetor may be onto something. Lead us back to where Tigateon was captured."
Airazor frowned at him. "Are you sure? What if it comes back?"
"Then we'll deal with it like we would any other Predacon," Primal said. "Let's move out."
* * *
Chipper groaned as reality reshape itself back into normalcy. For some reason, it was far more disorienting than the endless spiral of colors she had been stuck in for the past several hours. It had been so long since she had seen an actual shape, something recognizably real.
She shut off her optics to prevent her processor from overloading. The comforting darkness gave her systems to cool down and resume normal functionality. When she switched her visual sensors back on, it was as if she was awakening from recharge.
While this process succeeded in orienting her senses, it failed to prepare her for the sight that greeted her.
All around her, bodies of her fellow Fur Walkers littered the ground, covered in strands of webbing. Some hung from the trees in tattered cocoons, an arm or leg poking out. None of them looked like they would be awakening any time soon.
Struck with horror and grief, Chipper found the strength within her to break free of her own bonds. Shakily getting to her feet, she found it difficult to keep her balance as she surveyed the harrowing sight in greater detail. As far as she could tell, she was the only survivor of whatever had taken place here.
But why? Why was she alone spared? How could she still be alive when far more experienced warriors lay dead before her?
The rustling of bushes startled her and she spun on her heel to see five animals emerge from the foliage. One of them, a brown falcon, flapped its wings excitedly upon seeing her.
"You're awake!" The bird flew off the back of its rhinoceros partner and towards Chipper, transforming into a tall, agile bot. "Are you all right? What happened here? Who did this?"
Chipper stepped back from the Maximal, confusion written all over her face. Another of the beasts, a dark-furred gorilla, lumbered forward.
"Easy, Airazor. Give her a chance to collect herself." Shifting its gaze to Chipper, the primate said, "My name is Primal, member of the Maximals. These are my teammates Airazor, Rhinox, Cheetor, and Rattrap. Who would you be?"
Chipper cast her gaze downward, shifting her feet. Primal raised a placating hand.
"In your own time. Are you injured?"
She shook her head.
"Not much of a talker, is she?" piped up a large rat.
Primal shot him a glare. "Shut up, Rattrap." He then offered an apologetic smile to Chipper. "Sorry about that. Are you sure you're all right?"
She nodded, arms behind her back as she continued to look down at the ground. Frowning, Primal exchanged a glance with Airazor. The latter knelt down to be at eye level with the smaller bot.
"Can you... can you speak?"
Chipper hugged herself as she shook her head again.
"Is her vocal processor damaged?" asked the rhinoceros. "Maybe Santon can fix it."
"It could be trauma," the cheetah murmured, looking around at the webbed-up Eukarians. "I wouldn't be surprised."
Chipper shook her head at that. Opening her mouth, she pointed inside. Airazor frowned as she looked into the Eukarian's maw.
"Her vocal processor isn't damaged," she said.
"Then why isn't she speaking?"
"Because she doesn't have one."
Primal looked concerned at this. "Was it removed?"
Chipper shrunk away, her frame trembling. Airazor put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay. You're going to be fine." She looked over to Primal. "Maybe we should take her back to camp. I don't think this is a comfortable environment for her."
"Ya think?" Rattrap replied, eyeing the cocoons hanging over them. "Really. I wouldn't have guessed."
Primal nodded in agreement. "All right. Let's head back for camp. But before we do... is there any way she can give us her name?"
Looking around on the ground, Chipper found a stick and began tracing in the dirt, drawing out Cybertronix glyphics. The Maximals all leaned in to read it.
"'Chipper.'" Airazor smiled. "That's a sweet name."
"Yeah, real nice," Rattrap said dryly, glancing pointedly at Cheetor. "At least it sounds like a name and just your beast mode with a couple of letters changed."
"Hey, I've always had this name!" Cheetor retorted. "Besides, you're one to talk, Rattrap."
"A rattrap is an actual thing! The heck's a cheetor, anyway?"
"It's because I'm fast! I used to be a racer back on Cybertron?"
"Oh. Was Yellow Streak already taken?"
Cheetor growled as he bared his fangs only to be separated from the rodent by Primal.
"Enough! I expect better behavior from you two, especially in front of a native Eukarian." Primal glanced back at Chipper. "I don't want her to get the wrong impression from us."
Chipper's quizzical look remained as the Maximals started to trek back to their camp. Airazor tapped her on the shoulder, prompting the smaller bot to look up at her.
"Can you still transform? I can carry you."
Chipper blinked at her. Airazor chuckled in response.
"Don't worry. I promise I won't drop you."
After a moment, Chipper nodded before transforming into her chipmunk form. Airazor followed suit and before Chipper knew it, she was soaring through the sky, the distressing sight of her fellow Fur Walkers rapidly disappearing from view.
No comments:
Post a Comment