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Running From the Darkness
Scorpinok looked around his laboratory. It was a fairly large room, almost as big as the ship's main room. There was a large table in the middle of it, and shelves filling almost every space in the wall. One of the shelves was filled entirely with energon cubes. There were vials, jars, flasks and bottles of liquids, some in greens, others in reds, a few in purple, three in black, and a few in gray. The room was very neat and orderly, for, although Scorpinok did not look like it, he knew that organization was a very key factor in science.
Of course, the lab might not be his in a few days. Megatron had requested that Unnamed Flyer move all her scientific things into his lab a few days ago. She was still trying to find everything in her room, but the scorpion knew she would occupy his laboratory soon enough. Obviously, Megatron found Unnamed Flyer a more competent scientist then Scorpinok ever had been.
That isn't fair! Scorpinok thought. I helped make that virus the Maximals are now infected with, it wasn't just Unnamed Flyer. I practically did most of the work! That ditzy bat was always forgetting where she put things, and which liquid went in the proper vial. She probably would have lost everything if it had not been for me!!
The gray scorpion just could not bear the thought of having to share his laboratory. It was his, and had always been. When he had worked with Unnamed Flyer on the virus, he had worked with it in her room. It had been a mess! Portable computers and floppy disks everywhere, posters that were half falling down lining the walls, energon cubes tossed recklessly in the corner....... it had been awful!!
Scorpinok was not a neat freak by any means, but he knew when Megatron told him to create something, he meant it to be done quickly. And, to get a job done quickly, you need to be able to locate things easily. Which is why he liked to have his laboratory organized. It had taken so long for him and Unnamed to get the virus done, because she had been looking for and losing things all the time. It was not an experience he had cared to go through again.
But, he had to. Every single time he went into his laboratory, Unnamed Flyer would be there, cluttering up his sanctuary. For that was what Scorpinok considered his lab to be, a sort of sanctuary against the creeps like Blackarachnia and Inferno. It was a place where the scientist part of him could just revel in the joys of creating viruses, or antidotes, and of doing a job well done, and of pleasing Megatron with his accomplishments.
"You're gonna miss this scrap heap, Scorpy?" called a voice from the hallway. Terrorsaur. Scorpinok groaned. This was the LAST person he wanted to talk to right now. "I know Unnamed Flyer is going to move here. You'll have to share your lab with her."
"That is none of your business" Scorpinok replied gruffly.
"Yes it is, I can read your thoughts, I know you'll hate it when Unnamed comes here" the dactyl replied.
"Well, at least I did not have a child with her" Scorpinok snapped. He knew that Terrorsaur was very touchy on that subject.
"If you ever talk about that....." Terrorsaur sputtered, his crafty grin giving way to anger. "I'll... I'll..... make sure you'll never get even anywhere near Megatron!" Terrorsaur's face abruptly went from anger to his crafty grin. " I can read your thoughts, and I can control your very actions! I can even make you cluck like a chicken if Megatron comes by. Ha ha!"
Scorpinok felt a burning anger inside him with the knowledge that that was all true, and that he could do nothing to stop it. He had followed a leader all his life, and he had always been second in command to that person, because of his skills in science and his skills in fighting. Back on Cybertron he had been a very valued person to have on any Predacon's team, so he had always ranked the highest.
The first leader he had served under had been a bot called Orion. Scorpinok had been head of Orion's scientific institute. That leader had only been interested in scientific research, that was where Scorpinok, who had been called Swordbane at the time, had learned his scientific skills. But Orion had gone bankrupt, and Swordbane had to leave the institute.
The next leader was a young Predacon called Recktor. He had been determined to start the Great War up again, and had raised armies to try to engage the Autobots and Maximals in combat. That was where Swordbane had learned his fighting skills, battling Maximals for his leader. He had been such a good fighter that he had been Recktor's second in command. Recktor had been caught by the Predacon police, and had been sent to jail by order of the Pact Cybertronia. The soldiers that had not been arrested fled, and Swordbane had to as well.
After that, Swordbane had hired himself out to Megatron, when he had learned about his plan to steal the golden disk. He had also been Megatron's second in command too, because of lack of any loyal people. Now that Tabitha was gunning for second in command position, what was he to do?! Scorpinok could not bear the thought of not being a follower, for he had been one as long as he could remember.
"I will make your life miserable too" Scorpinok threatened, but his words sounded hollow.
"Yeah right, you don't have any control over your......powers" Terrorsaur spat. Even as he said that though, Scorpinok knew that was a lie. He had controlled Terrorsaur's body once before, and he could do it again.
"You'd be surprised at how much I know about you, Scorpinok, or should I say Swordbane? I can rule every move you make. I can get any information you have. Megatron knows this, too. That's why he's keeping you away from him, because he can't trust you with anything important. He knows that I can get into his plans if he tells you even the smallest amount of them. I'm the iceberg that's sinking your Titanic!"
"Terrorsaur, you can talk to Scorpinok about your movie preferences later, I need to speak with him alone" came a voice from the other hallway. It was Megatron. The Predacon leader was completely covered in shadow, only his red eyes were visible.
Terrorsaur glanced around, then left.
"Scorpinok, this is of utmost importance" Megatron said. "I want you to give the four Maximals the antidote to that virus you gave them."
"But Megatron, I have not created an antidote yet" Scorpinok said. "I thought I told you that."
"Oops" Megatron said. "I forgot. I was wearing my dress for so long, and I just felt so in touch with my feminine side, that I just forgot."
Scorpinok blinked. What in the Pitt did Megtron mean by that?!?!
"I want you to take the virus out of Phantom, Cheetor, Bir- I mean, and the two children. You will put it into Waspinator, Dippy, Unnamed Flyer, and Guano. I will bring them to you today in two cycles. Make sure that Unnamed Flyer, Guano and the others are unconscious while this happens. Knock them out, or give them sleep gas or something. And do NOT tell them what you have just done to them! That is very important. I want the Maximals cured and free of the virus by tomorrow!"
"But M-Megatron...." Scorpinok began, dumbfounded. Why did he want to take the virus out of the Maximals? Then they would not be effected by the energon box, and the Maximals could do whatever they wished.
"These four Predacons have been bothering me, and I think they might be conspirating against me. And by the way: why the hell did you just question my orders?!?!" Megatron roared. "You are a soldier, it is your DUTY to do whatever I say, and never question me. Unless....... unless you do not want to help me, is that it? Are you another usurper? You might even be in league with Terrorsaur......"
"N-no Megatron!" Scorpinok said, clumsily saluting. That was the last thing he wanted Megatron to be thinking! " I will do as you command."
"Good" Megatron said. "And Scorpinok," Megatron added, his voice changing from a commanding one, to a comforting one. " I know how hard it is for you not to be second in command, but, you need to get a life, other then with me! Okay? You've been licking my butt ever since you signed on to this mission. Now, I have Tabitha licking my butt. You understand, don't you? Tabitha is sexy, you are not. That is why she is my second in command. Once you get sexy, call me, and I might let you be second in command again."
"But Megatron....umm....what in the.....how...." Scorpinok sputtered. This was VERY odd. Since when did Megatron ever talk like this?!?!?!
"Fine, never mind, Scorpinok" Megatron said. "You won't be second in command, because you're not a girl. I like girls, because most of them are babes. Some aren't, like Unnamed Flyer, but Tabitha, definitely is! That's why I watched Titanic, because Kate Winslet was VERY sexy. That's probably why Terrorsaur watched it too....."
Scorpinok could still hear Megatron mumbling as he turned away from Scorpinok, and walked down the hallway.
The scorpion turned to his work, with the expression of one who has just witnessed a powerful monarch start barking like a dog.
**************
Waspinator walked down the hallways with Terrorsaur.
"Zzcorpion-bot afraid of loozzing position?" he buzzed.
"That's what I was getting at, you idiot!" Terrorsaur said. Waspinator smiled. Terrorsaur might say he was stupid, but he was a good friend, even though he was a bit of a bully. It was just like the good old days, before he had fallen into that pit of lava.
"Scorpinok is such a wuss."
"Hee-hee" Waspinator laughed. "Wazzpinator can see why zzcorpion-bot afraid for position! Megatron has been hanging around Tabby-bot very much. He likezz Tabby-bot az much az Wazzpinator likezz sugar!"
"Who wouldn't, with a body like that?!" Terrorsaur replied. "You seem to get along with her pretty well."
"Tabby-bot is good friend of Wazzpinator. Tabby-bot makezz Megatron do nice things for Wazzpinator. Wazzpinator will not get stupid azzingments if Tabby-bot izz zzecond in command! Wazzpinator will rule the Predaconzz. Wazzpinator rulezz!!"
Waspinator smiled at the word. He would get to boss around that stupid spider-bot, and the Fuzor! They had always been mean to him.
"Hey Waspinator" whispered a voice. Waspinator turned. It sounded like Unnamed Flyer's. "If you come to Scorpinok's lab in two cycles, you'll get to rule the Predacons. I heard Scorpinok saying he had this potion or something that would make you strong and powerful, powerful enough to beat Megatron."
"Bat-bot?" Waspinator asked, peering down the hallway that the voice had come from. He could not see anything. But he was sure it was her. When Terrorsaur had disappeared, Unnamed Flyer had been his only friend. The two of them had been like two peas in a pod, for they enjoyed the same things. Unnamed Flyer was a bit more stupid than Waspinator, which is why he liked her. And she was also very pretty. The wasp had developed a sort of crush on her, although he would never admit it.
"That's me! Oh, and once you overthrow Megatron, can you bring me the two Maximal kids? They are sooooo cute!"
"Wazzpinator knowz they are!" the wasp said, smiling. Those little babies were irresistible!
"Wazzpinator will be there!" he told Unnamed Flyer.
"What are you looking at Waspinator? Get over here!" Terrorsaur snapped.
Waspinator wriggled happily. Should he make dactyl-bot his second in command or not........
**************
Unnamed Flyer sighed. She was sitting in her quarters, looking at her room. Half of it looked so.... empty, now that she had taken all her scientific artifacts out of it. Her microscope, her posters of bot anatomy, her floppy disks, her portable computers, her slides with animals cells in them..... all of it was going to be moved to another place! She liked having her own room to work in. It was so much more personal.
And another bad thing was that she had to share that lab with.......Scorpinok! He was the most awful person ever! When they had been working on creating that virus together, he had screamed at her the whole way through. So what if she could not find things that well, or she had a bad memory? Not everyone was perfect! And he kept on saying stuff like "Megatron said to do this quickly" and "you should be more organized so you can serve Megatron" all the time! She really did not like Scorpinok.
But that was not the only reason why she was unhappy. It was also because of the Maximal children, the newly hatched babies. They were so cute and..... helpless! They looked stupid too, like they did not have any intelligence. Unnamed Flyer wanted to cuddle the cute little things, and she wanted to look after them. She wanted to be like a mother would be. Why did Megatron have to torture them? The two teenagers she could understand, they were a menace, but the babies?
"Hey Unnamed Flyer, it's me, Terrorsaur" came a voice from the doorway of her room.
"I don't want you to come in right now" Unnamed Flyer said. Much as she enjoyed Terrorsaur's company, she did not want to see him right now. Terrorsaur was usually nice to her, and he always tried to get close to her. She did not mind that. But, she did not feel like talking to anybody to day, she just wanted to think.
"I just have to tell you something: I know a way that you can save those babies!"
Unnamed Flyer's heart leapt. "How?" she asked excitedly.
"You have to go to Scorpinok's, and now your, lab in one cycle and a half" Terrorsaur replied.
"What do I do when I get there?" she asked.
"I don't know, but just be there" Terrorsaur said.
Unnamed Flyer grinned. She could save those poor kids! She rushed out of the room to thank Terrorsaur, but, when the door hissed open, there was no one there.
"Weird!" the bat commented, but she shrugged it off.
******************
Dippy stared at her with a rapt, intent fascination. She was so beautiful, so clean, and so pure. Every single aspect of her was wondrous, from her legs, to her wonderfully sculpted head. Dippy was practically in love with her.
Which was why he had killed her.
Dippy stared at the doe some more, marveling at how brown it's coat was. It was a light, tannish brown, with a creamy underbelly. Of course, some of the fur was stained red from the blood which had spilled out of her as Dippy cut her throat, but that was irrelevant. She was such a beautiful deer, the finest he had ever killed.
"Good taste it does?" Dippy asked out loud, to no one in particular.
The purple and brown troodon licked it's lips. After a second's hesitation, he dug into the carcass, his small mouth making small gashes on the doe's sides. His small, curved claw, the kind only troodons and raptors have, cut open the doe's belly. The pink intestines spilled out, like snakes erupting from a jar. Dippy nibbled at them for a few seconds, then went back and mutilated the rest of the carcass.
He did not know why he was doing it, only that it was amusing to him. And if it amused him, it must continue, to amuse him even more. The troodon ripped out his quarry's brain after cracking it's skull, and began to eat it. It tasted good, all slippery and squishy, like blood flavored Jello-O.
Just then, the Maximal named Cheetor came up to him. Dippy blinked his golden eyes. Why did the Maximal want to talk to him now? Could he not see that he was having fun?
"Want to fun have too?" Dippy asked. He saw Cheetor look a bit puzzled at what he had just said. Dippy sighed. He just wished that for once someone did not look like that every time he talked. The troodon tried, but he could not say things any other way. He had never practiced trying to communicate with his fellow Predacons, and he did not want to. Dippy did not know why, but he just did not care about his team mates, and what they thought about him.
"Uh.....no, thank you" Cheetor said. "Say Dippy, Rampage told me to tell you that he knows this way that you can kill deer and stuff like that every day."
"Interesting it is" Dippy said. Deer and meat every day! That would be a treat! "Good eating is, fun hunting is. Hunt thrilling. Thrilling is eating. Rampage how discover this did?"
"I don't know how he discovered it" Cheetor said "but he says to be at Scorpinok's lab in one cycle. And don't tell anyone where you are going either, or Rampage might get mad."
"Not care I do Rampage about, about food care I" Dippy said, his tongue flickering over his sharp little teeth.
"Come I will, food I get!" Dippy cried happily. He turned to the doe carcass and began chewing on her ear madly, digging his little claws into her flesh with glee.
He did not notice that Cheetor had slipped off, and that a shadow with a gray stripe down it's back had joined the cat.
****************
Demi-God is the same, Guano thought with a sigh. The two of them were walking down a hallway, Guano in beast mode, as usual, and Demi-God in the same mode.
"And now, my ignorant yet spiteful domestic helper, with an un-angelic visage and skunk-like odor, go and fetch the computer which is the smaller then the normal kind, that I sit on my lap."
"What is it again, Master?" Guano asked.
"Go out there and get my laptop!!" Demi-God shouted. "And while you're at it, get me an energon snack too. I'm feeling hungry."
Guano blinked all eight of his eyes. "You didn't say that right...." he began, shocked. His Master, Demi-God, who always spoke in the highest vocabulary he knew of, had actually said something Guano had understood. THE FIRST TIME!!
"Heh! My, isn't this a treat? Demi-God actually manages to say something using his lowest vocabulary! Oh, somebody up there likes me...."
"Shut your mouth Phantom" Demi-God snapped. The black dog smiled at him, showing his sharp beast mode teeth.
"You did it again!" Phantom cried with rapture.
"It must be probably your insistent an omni-present self that is driving my vocabulary to a minimum, and myself to an odd and unprecedented depression" Demi-God said.
"I'm that annoying?" Phantom asked.
"You have no idea.....oops! I mean uh..... you cannot, even in your wildest fantasies which come while you rest your optics, begin to comprehend how much effect you can have on a person's temper and patience. You are the most aggravating...."
At this point, Guano ceased to listen. Demi-God, the NORMAL Demi-God, was back, and using bigger words than ever. What more could the spider ask for?
After a few minutes, Demi-God gave Guano a command. Guano listened then. Demi-God wanted a command obeyed quickly, or else he would get hit on the head, which was a sensation Guano did not like.
"Just get me my laptop Guano!" the bird/bat snapped.
The spider hurried to do as he was bid. He hurried to Demi-God's room, leaving his master and Phantom behind.
Or so he thought.
"Hey Guano, I know a way you can hurt Demi-God just as much as he hurts you" Phantom said, pulling up beside Guano.
"How?" the spider said, interested. He hated Demi-God with a passion. Ever since the two of them had been together, he had always hated him.
"Just come to Scorpinok's lab in half a cycle, and you'll see what I mean. I heard Quickstrike talking to Crimson saying that Scorpinok had this potion that could make anyone hurt Demi-God, but they need to give it to someone first. I think it would be best if you were that person. Just think of it" Phantom added, as if to quell any doubt in Guano's mind. " You could hit Demi-God in the head and laugh at him all the time."
"All right!" Guano said, grinning. He would finally get his revenge. All those times Demi-God had said he was stupid, an ignorant person, and an idiot, Guano would make him pay for all of it! The slave would turn upon it's master, and it would be a great day!
"Good, now bye Guano, and remember, half a cycle" Phantom said, and dashed down a hallway.
Guano grinned, and proceeded to look for Demi-God's laptop.
****************
Phantom, Cheetor and the two babies stood before Scorpinok. Waspinator, Guano, Unnamed Flyer and Dippy were lying on the table, like four corpses in a morgue. Their optics were shut off, but the odd thing was, before he had administered the sleeping gas, they had all looked pretty much happy. Scorpinok did not know why, maybe Megatron had promised them something if they went through with this? He shrugged. Megatron had been acting strangely, due to what he had said to Scorpinok when he had ordered that the Maximals should loose the virus.
The scorpion took out the giant needle, and stuck it into Phantom. The virus was designed to rush towards the tip of the needle if it was coated with a substance that the virus fed on. Scorpinok had coated the needle tip with the right mixture,and he hoped the virus would be completely out of Phantom's system. Luckily it did.
It went well with the other three Maximals, until all of the virus was out of them.
"I am finished with you now, you may go" Scorpinok said, waving them away.
He turned to administer the virus to Guano, which is why he did not see the two teenage Maximals smiling at each other.
******************
"You know, technically we did keep our promise to Unnamed Flyer" Phantom said casually.
"She did get to save the two children" Cheetor agreed. "I didn't know Predacons could have any sympathy for Maximal children. I guess some Predacons do have emotions."
Phantom smiled and looked down at Griff, who he held in his arms. "Well, I can't see who wouldn't like these cute little kids. Everybody has emotions of some sort. For example: Megatron lusts for Tabitha, Blackarachnia loves Silverbolt, Guano hates Demi-God, Terrorsaur feels happiness when he tortures Scorpinok like that. See, even Preds have emotions."
"Yeah, that's true" Cheetor agreed. Phantom glanced at the cheetah, his partner in crime.
" When playing games with people's emotions, all you have to do is find them out, through acute observation, and play upon them. That's what you do when you manipulate people. We certainly used Scorpinok's fear for his position to our advantage, didn't we?"
"Yeah, it was kinda funny.....you blabbing on and on about Titanic" Cheetor laughed. "But still, it's still sorta wrong."
"Almost everything in life is still sorta wrong, kitty" Phantom agreed. "Sometimes you just have to do it, and sometimes it's the most amusing way to get something done. But still you need decency to live too."
Cheetor had at first objected to his suggestion of manipulating the Predacons, but after a while he had accepted it. He had actually done quite well, even though Phantom had done most of the work on account of him being able to do voice impressions. It was Cheetor who had thought of the idea of standing on top of his shoulder in beast mode. His red eyes had made Scorpinok believe it was Megatron. It was also Cheetor who had watched the children when Phantom had gone off and did his voice impressions for Waspinator and Unnamed Flyer.
The fox/raptor shook his head. Am I actually feeling respect for Cheetor?! he thought desperately. No, that can't be! He is a stupid cat, and idiot who disobeyed Optimus twice, and who was infatuated with my mother, and who is stealing my sister's love from me. He is clumsy, and he babbles a lot. I can not start liking him as a friend!
But another side of his brain pleaded Cheetor's case. He never disobeyed Optimus again after that. He learned his lesson. And, come one, so what if he was infatuated with mom? If you weren't related to her, you probably would be. She is beautiful. And, Cheetor has also stopped his infatuation. Just because he doesn't handle love as gracefully as you do is no reason to put him down. And don't give me that stuff about stealing your sister's love! Cloud Runner is not a tool, she can love whomever she wants. And Cheetor has the right to fall in love with her too. Your sister will still love you as much, even if she loves Cheetor too.
Phantom shook his head. He was NOT respecting Cheetor, no matter what his brain said. It was times like this that he hated the ability to analyze both sides of a problem.
"So Phantom, when should we blow this popstand?" the Transmetal cat asked.
"Huh?" the fox/raptor shook his head. "Oh, well......I was thinking something like we could both escape at the same time, except one of us would take the kids and the other would distract the Predacons. But of course, to be a decoy you need to make it look like you have the kids with you. In short, I think we should go hunting for skins or something, and patch together two decoys that look like the kids. Got it?"
Cheetor laughed. "Already done, my friend!" he said.
Phantom blinked. "What?" he asked.
Cheetor smiled, and drew out two little dummies from his sub space pocket. They weren't perfect replicas, but from far away no one could tell the difference. For the wings and feathery parts Cheetor had used white, full grown snowy owl feathers, and for the tiger areas, he had used zebra skin. Of course, the dummies had no heads, and their legs were merely tied on with twine, but still, they looked good enough.
"They're stuffed with leaves, so they're pretty light" Cheetor explained. "I found everything I needed in Dippy's room. That guy has a museum of dead animals in there, I swear by the Matrix. I tied it together with twine that I found in Unnamed Flyer's room, I snuck in when she wasn't there. Some how I just knew we'd have to make decoys. Great minds think alike, eh?"
"You're right Cheetor, they do" Phantom said with a smile. Inside, though, he was panicking. The feeling of respect had doubled, into something akin to........ admiration! That was even worse then respect! He really wished that he did not have any emotions right now.
"Wazzpinator not feel any more powerful" Phantom heard a voice from behind him. He and Cheetor turned around. Waspinator, Dippy, Unnamed Flyer, and Guano were heading into the hallway that they were standing in! If any of them found out what they had done......
"Do we hide or run?" Cheetor asked.
"We hide" Phantom said. He looked around him, then realized that there was a door right next to them. "In here, kitty" he motion to Cheetor.
The two of them slunk into the room.
"I just wanna hurt Demi-God" they heard Guano say.
"Those cute little babies" Unnamed Flyer sighed. "I wonder how I saved them?"
"Bat-bot, did you tell Wazzpinator a lie?" the wasp asked.
"I don't know, what did I tell you?" the bat responded.
"Bat-bot tell Wazpinator he will be leader if he goezz to zzcorpion-bot'z lab!"
" I didn't say that!"
"Idiots you are, you all" Dippy replied. "Meat eat I."
"Shut up, troodon-bot!" Waspinator cried.
That was all they heard of the conversation, for the ones participating in it had walked past the room.
Phantom took the opportunity to look around. He saw a large, blue spider's web covering on part of the wall, a small chair that stood in front of a metal table. On the table was a small computer, which was turned on. The screen showed a picture of Silverbolt, in robot mode.
"Three guesses who's room this is" Cheetor said.
"And three guesses who she has the hots for, too" Phantom replied, pointing to the screen. He saw Cheetor fidget.
"I just can't believe everything that you've told me about those two" he said. "I mean, Silverbolt in love with a Predacon? It just doesn't make sense."
"Love is the blind, and therefore it cannot see the difference between factions" the black dog said.
"It's also gotta have a high tolerance for pain, seeing as what you put me through" Cheetor said. Phantom blinked. Of all people, Cheetor was the last person to he could of thought of to make a remark like that.
"Hey, you be careful" Phantom warned. "Once you start making cynical remarks, you're entering my forte."
"Sorry to bring that up again" Cheetor mumbled.
"It's okay, it's probably a very prominent feature in your life right now" Phantom replied. "I got you into this mess, I'm trying to get you out of it."
"Thanks man" Cheetor said. "And you're doing pretty well too. We're almost outta here."
Footsteps were heard, heading towards Blackarachnia's quarters.
"Of course, I said almost" the Transmetal cat whispered, clutching Birch tighter.
"Hey, Sugar-Bot, you in there? I can here something in there at least, is it you?" It was Quickstrike.
Phantom sighed. He knew how he could get out of this situation, but it was not a way he liked. This was something he really did not want to do, but he had to. He just wished he could have studied a bit more. The fox/raptor took a deep breath, and hoped all would go well.
"Yes, it's me Quickstrike" he said, in his best Blackarachnia voice. He saw Cheetor stare at him with wide eyes. Phantom glared back at him. "Say one word about this and you're toast" he whispered to the cat, who had begun to giggle.
"Is there somebody else in there Sugar-Bot?" Quickstrike asked.
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