Buried in a Snowdrift





It was a bad day for Dinobot.



But still, most days when he did not have a battle would be considered bad days for him. Unfortunately right now, that was not the case.



The reason his day was so bad, was that he was on scouting duty with the bane of his existence.



Nightshade.



The black and yellow raptor was skipping through the undergrowth. She was humming a song to herself, one that Dinobot did not know the name of. Her sky blue eyes were wide, taking in every detail of the morning. Nightshade cocked her head at any bird song, and smiled at any crickets chirping. Her whole little body and mind was rejoicing in a new day, it seemed.



The velociraptor growled to himself. Why did Optimus have to send him out with Nightshade, of all bots? Even Rattrap was preferable to this innocent angel that had decided to grace the Beast Wars with her presence. He had insults lined up for Rattrap, such as "Cheese-Breath" and "Vermin." But for Nightshade......he just could not win a fight with her, because she had the amazing ability to be right all the time!! Still, the only reason she had all the right answers was because of her virtue and purity, but still, she was right.



"Isn't it a lovely day, Dinobot?" she asked, glancing back at him. The former Predacon blinked, trying to get out of the spell of those blue eyes.



"It is not unpleasant" he replied. "But still, we should not be concerned about the day, we should be looking for Predacons."



"We are" Nightshade replied, nodding her head. "But still, I can look at the world around me at the same time. Nature rewards flexibility" she grinned.



"And Optimus rewards people who report Predacons instead of staring at flowers!" Dinobot snapped.



"I already told you Dinobot, I am" Nightshade said. "And I'm not staring at flowers. I mean, I'm looking at them, but I'm not staring at them. Besides, there aren't that many flowers here anyway. This is a jungle, so there are mostly trees and large leaves."



Mostly was an understatement. The landscape was ALL trees and large leaves. It was also very steamy too. Honestly, green just got boring after a while, in Dinobot's opinion. Monkeys hooted and howled. Far off in the distance, the velociraptor could here the roar of a jaguar. There were a few flying squirrels, or bush babies, flying around up in the treetops. The incessant twittering of birds was annoying, almost as much as Nightshade herself was.



Dinobot growled again. He could tell he would be doing that a lot today. "Are trees and large leaves that interesting?" he snapped.



"Anything can be interesting, if you look at it from a different perspective" Nightshade said. She arched her neck, and stared up at a large tree which was looming overhead. "See, right now I'm looking at this tree from down on the ground" she said.



"Obviously" Dinobot agreed. Oh, how he hated agreeing with her! But still, she WAS on the ground.



"But watch" Nightshade said ominously. In one quick movement she dashed up the tree, digging her white claws into it's ancient bark. Dinobot had to admit she was a fast climber, for she the dromaeosaurus scampered up that tree like a squirrel. It almost looked like Nightshade had practiced tree climbing. Maybe she was a raptor/squirrel Fuzor in disguise?



Nightshade quickly shinnied up the tree, until she had got past the branches, and all Dinobot could see of her was a black shadow. Dinobot was also forced to admire the way that she hardly made a sound as she climbed. That would be good for tactical advantages. When she had climbed up to the top, or semi-near the top, she stopped climbing.



"And now Dinobot, I'm looking at this tree from the top!" Nightshade called down. " And it's almost as, if not a lot more, interesting than looking at it from the ground. See, now all these trees look interesting, because I'm at a different point of view."



"That's wonderful Nightshade!" the velociraptor said sarcastically. He growled to himself again. Every day with Nightshade was a remarkable lesson on things that he already knew, or did not really care about. "But, if you did not hear me before.....WE SHOULD BE SCOUTING FOR PREDACONS!"



"I am scouting!" Nightshade replied. "Because from up here, I can see Terrorsaur, Inferno and Waspinator."



"What?!"



"You heard me. The three of them are flying around, heading towards us. They're going to pass by this tree in a few minutes."



Dinobot snarled to himself. He longed to fight them. He had not had a fight in a long time, and he was afraid his battle skills would be getting rusty. Dinobot's practices with Killshandra and Cloud Runner were all well and good, but they did not really satisfy that warrior's craving for mech-fluid.



He knew that he could not fight Terrorsaur, Waspinator and Inferno here, because the trees were so dense, he would never get a clear shot at them. And, they would probably never notice the velociraptor if they passed over him.



"Let me up there! I shall not miss another chance for battle!"



"Can't you climb up?" was the inquisitive reply. Dinobot could almost picture Nightshade cocking her head in her all-too-famous "curious dog" look.



"Uh, no. Unlike you, I don't spend my free time climbing trees for fun. I spend it doing useful things, like planning battle strategies."



"Well, you're suffering for it now!" Nightshade exclaimed. "Just dig your killer claws into the bark, and push yourself up with your hind feet. Then grasp the trunk with your hands, and dig your hand claws into the bark if necessary. Your hind feet should be your main propellers, and your arms should only be used for balance."



Dinobot growled. He hated having to learn by a teacher, even something as useless as tree climbing.



When Dinobot had first been programmed he had been born in a world of war, and he had been trained to be a warrior. But, then the Great War had ended, and the Predacon Elders decreed that any bot who had been in the Great War would have to take schooling, to get back into the "new groove" of Cybertron. When he had been in school back at Cybertron, he had hated the teachers, because they had always molly-coddled their pupils, and made it look like they could not do anything right. Dinobot had been quite cynical about school, because he had not gone to school when he was a young bot, and he was old enough to be cold and cynical.



They were a foolish old lot of cows, Dinobot thought. Especially my teacher of Earthling Culture, what was his name again? Backcall, I think it was? He was the most boring of them all! I always picked fights with that one. I never needed anything he taught me. Backcall did this one section about Earthling musicians.....hah! Since when did I need to know about Beethoven or Handsel? Even if it was a generation of peace, when did Earthling humans have to come into it?



Dinobot shook his head. This was not time to be reminiscing! It was a time to be tree climbing, and possibly, fighting. He sighed, and did as Nightshade had instructed.



Thanks to her teachings, it was not as hard as he expected, but still it was hard enough. The raptor sunk his claws into the tree's bark, and pushed himself up with his back feet. It was almost like hopping up the tree.



He almost fell down a couple of times, and Dinobot felt he might be developing a previously unknown fear: a fear of heights. He was quite relieved when he finally reached Nightshade's perch, a thick, strong branch.



"See, now was that so hard?" Nightshade asked.



Dinobot did not answer, because as usual, she was right. Also, he could see the three Predacons from up here. And they were also heading towards him. Triple right.



"Dinobot, Maximize!" he snarled, transforming into his robot mode. His sword and rotary shield flew into his hands, but he put them into sub-space, realizing he would not need them.



"We could follow them and see where they're going" Nightshade pointed out.



"We could" Dinobot admitted. "But, we could also destroy them now, and stop them from going to whatever place they were heading for. That will save us the inconvenience of having to run through all these trees after them!"



"Are you getting lazy?" Nightshade asked, raising a raptorish eyebrow.



"No!" Dinobot snapped. "Once we battle them, I assure you that thought will be no where in your little pint sized brain."



"My brain isn't pint sized" Nightshade replied. "It is pretty big, once you consider my bodyweight and mass and such. In fact, the average dromaeosaurus has a fairly big brain. Just because I'm a baby dromaeosaurus, doesn't mean I'm stupi-"



"Enough with the lecture!" Dinobot snarled. "You're worse than an episode of National Geographic!"



The bot scanned the skies. His mech-fluid froze, and he realized that Terrorsaur, Inferno and Waspinator were out of striking range! Dinobot growled again. He had been a fool, talking with Nightshade when he should have been watching the enemy! What was getting into him?



"Raaarrr!!" he roared, shooting at the trio with his eyebeams. He saw Terrorsaur turn around and point at him, and Waspinator load his gun.



Good, maybe he would get his battle after all.



It turned out he would not, for Inferno said a few words to Terrorsaur and Waspinator, and the three of them flew off, faster than before.



Dinobot hissed instead of growled, this time for variety. How could he have been so stupid?! Why had he let that raptor brat interrupt him? Now he would have to wait a few more days, probably, until an opportunity like this arose again! He swore to the Matrix that he would never talk to Nightshade as long as he lived.



But, he found himself breaking that promise, because Nightshade was just sitting there so....calmly! As cute as can be, without a care or thought in the world! It just made him so mad!



"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" Dinobot asked.



"You have" the black and yellow raptor replied, nodding.



"Then I am going to tell you again" Dinobot said. "I hate you."



"Why?"



"Why?!?! Because you made me miss a battle! Now I'll have to wait for another one! I am a warrior, trained to fight. Can't you understand that?"



"Yes, I can. When battle arrives, a warrior's senses are sharpened to their fullest. His blood races, his one thought to kill and destroy his enemy. Instinct and tactics come together, with every slash of the sword or shot of the gun. Life and death depends on what moves you make, what skills you have acquired. Comrades at arms fall to the ground, wounded and dying. Through all this carnage, the warrior knows he must go on, to battle with all his strength and determination, until the enemy has been defeated, or until he lies with his comrades on the ground. To kill or be killed. The battle is won by the fastest, the strongest, the only ones that have the right to survive. The defeated retreat hastily, lest they should be the ones to fall."



Dinobot stared at her.



"What awful novels have you read that could have inspired such lunacy?" he asked. But really, Nightshade had gotten the warrior's point in life just perfectly. Of course, Dinobot would never let her know that. Maybe she understands war better than I assumed, the velociraptor thought.



"I've been reading Little Women" Nightshade replied. "But, to get back to the subject, I think you'll be able to experience those feelings again."



"Why?" Dinobot snarled.



"Because look at the Predacons" Nightshade said, pointing. "Killshandra has intercepted them. She is battling them in the air. We can run over to there and help her."



This time, Dinobot did not care to look because he knew Nightshade was right.



***********************



I might have bit off a bit more than I could chew, Killshandra thought to herself. When she had first seen the three Predacons just flying there oblivious to everything..... it would have been a sin not to attack them. Now she was realizing she might loose her life BECAUSE she had attacked them.



Terrorsaur shot her in the back with his gun. The winged raptor turned around and let her dagger fly at his throat. Unfortunately he moved out of the way quickly, but the dagger hit one of his shoulder cannons, rendering it useless. Terrorsaur took the knife out of himself and threw it towards thr ground. Killshandra sighed, that had been such a nice dagger.



Killshandra took out her gun and shot at Waspinator a few times, who had been shooting at her while she had been trying to harm Terrorsaur. One shot got the wasp in the chest, but the other shots he managed to avoid.



Inferno laughed his trademark laugh, bravely shouted that he would destroy her for the Royalty, and charged at her. Killshandra growled, and ducked his shots.



Suddenly, from a tree to her right, green and yellow optical lasers came out, and hit Inferno and Waspinator. The winged raptor looked, and saw to her amazement that Dinobot and Nightshade were in a tree! She would have to look into this!



But not now. Terrorsaur was shooting at Dinobot, who was having a hard time dodging shots, on account of being in a tree. Inferno was shooting at Nightshade, who was doing a bit better than Dinobot, and moving her lithe body from branch to branch.



Killshandra charged at Waspinator, taking out her katana. She slashed at the wasp, and made a thin line across his chest. Retaliating, Waspinator shot Killshandra a few times in her wing. Her instrument of flight failed her, and Killshandra tumbled to the ground, her back getting whipped by branches as she fell.



The winged raptor tried to hold onto something, but there was nothing to hold on to. She finally hit the ground. Killshandra felt pain assail her back and neck. She tried to move, but she could not. She realize she had taken a large wound to the head.



That was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.



******************



With Killshandra out of the way, the other two Maximals were easy pickings. Terrorsaur fired everything he had at Dinobot, and he was rewarded by the velociraptor falling out of the tree, unconscious.



Nightshade was a bit harder to finish off. She was quite quick, and with a sharp eye. Her laser beams hit Inferno and Waspinator a few times, but they managed to dodge her other attacks. Inferno roared, and aimed his flame-thrower at the tree, burning Nightshade's cover to cinders, and allowing the two other Predacons to send her tumbling out of the tree.



"Yay!" Waspinator buzzed. "Predaconzz win battle with Maximalzz! And Wazzpinator shoot down female traitor-bot!!!"



"So?" Terrorsaur snapped, "I got Dinobot!"



"Female traitor-bot more dangerous than other traitor-bot!"



"Is not!"



"Izz too!"



"Is-"



"Be quiet!" Inferno shouted. "We must get to the arctic and mine some energon, our Queen commands it!"



"But Wazzpinator want to bring Maximalzz pain" Waspinator whined, feeling the exultation go out of him.



"Yeah" Terrorsaur replied.



"Our Queen did not command this" Inferno said.



Waspinator and Terrorsaur both thought their hardest. How could they torture the Maximals, and mine for energon too?



"I got it!!!" Terrorsaur cried. "We'll bring the Maximals with us to the arctic! While we mine, we can torture them as well" he screeched.



"Good idea dactyl-bot" Waspinator applauded. He swooped down, and picked up Nightshade by her hands.



"Oh very well" Inferno snapped "I'm sure Our Queen will accept our behavior, once we bring the Maximals back to him as well as the energon."



With a grin Terrorsaur picked up Killshandra. Inferno flew down and picked Dinobot off the ground.



With that, the three Predacons flew off to the arctic.



*******************



When Killshandra awoke she found herself in a very odd situation. Her hands and feet were tied with chains. Killshandra felt the pain of the wounds she had been dealt, but she ignored them, and looked around.



Dinobot and Nightshade were beside her, also bound up. Nightshade was wriggling, trying to get out of her chains, and Dinobot was still unconscious.



But the odd thing was, she was in a cave. And not just any cave. It was filled with stable energon. It lined the walls and crevices, glowing and sparking like lights from the Matrix. The energon bathed to room in an eerie, yet very lovely glow.



It seemed that they were not only in a cave, but a cave that was connected to several, or a few others, for at the cave entrance, she could see another stone passage. There was also a passageway to her right and left. If it was not for her being chained up, Killshandra would have liked to look at the beauty around her some more.



"Hi Killshandra, glad you woke up" Nightshade said enthusiastically. "The Preds must have captured and chained us here. Don't worry though, these chains are tied pretty loose. I'm almost free. The three Preds are mining for energon here, and we're in the arctic" the young raptor informed.



Killshandra nodded, and realized that the air around her was quite chilly. She tested the chains. Nightshade was right, they were loose. And the chains looked like they were poorly made too. They were probably left over iron. Therefore, easy to break.



"I'll try to bust out of them" Killshandra said. "Then we can defeat these Preds, and radio the Axalon for help."



Suddenly, Terrorsaur's ugly face invaded her vision. "Killer, what a treat!" the pterodactyl laughed.



"Up yours!" Killshandra snapped angrily.



Terrorsaur just grinned, a grin that Killshandra wanted to wipe off his face. Her blood boiled. If that Pred was thinking of touching her he was sadly mistaken. The flying raptor slowly pulled at her chains, quietly, so her captor would not notice.



"You're in no position to do anything" Terrorsaur snapped. "We've got you chained up, and you can't do anything about it! Ha ha!" he chanted, just like a school boy.



The bird slapped her across the face, and Killshandra felt a ringing in her ears. Her head spun with dizziness. She shut off her optics, and wished the ringing would stop.



"Stop it!" Nightshade cried. Terrorsaur walked over to her, and kicked her. Nightshade flopped to the ground, and whimpered.



"Maximalzz are stupid!" Waspinator called as he passed by. He was pulling a large cart, filled with energon cubes.



"Izz dactyl-bot going to help or not?" Waspinator demanded.



"One minute!" Terrorsaur called in exasperation. "I'm not finished!"



"Yes you are" Nightshade replied quietly, as she wriggled herself so that she was facing Terrorsaur.



"What's that supposed to mean?" the pterodactyl asked.



"This!" Nightshade said, her eyes glowing yellow. Before Terrorsaur could grab his gun, her lasers had lanced right through his chest a few times. The dactyl staggered to the floor.



"Well, I'm glad these Preds are the stupid ones" Killshandra said, smiling.



"Uh huh!" Nightshade nodded.



Killshandra tugged at her bonds again. After a few minutes, she managed to break the ones that tied up her hands, and she simply untied the ones that held her feet.



The flying raptor stretched her muscles, grimacing in pain as some of her wounds began to bleed anew. Killshandra tried to flap her wing mechanisms, but they were completely busted.



She went over and helped Nightshade get out of hers, and was thanked profusely afterwards. Killshandra noticed that she was almost as beat up as she herself was.



"Let's go take care of the other two Preds" the black and red raptor said. "I'll take Inferno, you take Waspinator."



"Got it!" Nightshade said, as she slipped quietly down one of the corridors.



Killshandra also proceeded with her hunt. She heard a creaking sound in the hallway in front of her. It was like, squeaky wheels? Yes, it was squeaky wheels. Killshandra ducked back into the cavern and peeked to see what was coming. She reached into sub-space and pulled out her gun, the one weapon the Predacons had forgotten to take off her. Killshandra loaded it, and waited.



It was Inferno, pushing another cart of stable energon, just as Waspinator had been doing before. The flying raptor smiled, and aimed at his head.



It only took two shots, and he fell down.



Killshandra sighed. The gun was not her favorite weapon. Her kitannas were, and her daggers were favored on assassin duties. Hand to hand combat was so much more......enjoyable than long range. Of course it put her at a risk some times, because she needed to get in close to attack some one. It was a risk she was glad to take though, if only to see her victims wounds up close, and to hear their screams ringing in her ears like trumpets at a festival.



A sword through the gut is much better than a bullet that misses, was her private philosophy. She had never admitted it to anyone else, but, even though she was a Maximal, she still liked to see her opponents in pain. Killshandra just found it a good feeling, and it was odd to imagine that no one else did. The Predacons had been evil, and when ever they got wounded or in pain they were paying for it. But no one else shared her sentiments, so she never said anything.



Nightshade appeared from the corridor on the left.



"Waspinator is taken care of!" she replied.



The two females looked at Dinobot. Nightshade snickered.



"He's still asleep" she said, giggling.



Killshandra chuckled too. "Men are such lazy things" she said.



"Not all of them" Nightshade added, "but most."



The two of them started laughing. Killshandra was happy. It was rare that she felt such camaraderie with another Maximal. She still felt she was not FULLY accepted into their fleet yet. She was almost accepted, but still not quite. So, it was nice that Killshandra was laughing with Nightshade. Of course, Killshandra had to admit Nightshade was a very easy bot to get along with.



Nightshade had been the first Maximal, other than Cheetor and Phantom, to really open up to Killshandra. At first, Killshandra found Nightshade too nice, but that feeling disappeared into a feeling of grudging acceptance that she would have to have this nice person around her all the time. Killshandra usually thought Nightshade was annoying, but sometimes such as this time, she felt the young raptor was pleasant.



"Let's undo his chains" Nightshade suggested. Killshandra nodded, bent down and pulled them off. As she bent down, an odd thought popped into her head.



He is handsome, in an odd, off color way, she thought. Killshandra smiled to herself as she undid his chains. The two of them were velociraptors, why should she not be attracted to him?



Dinobot stirred and groaned. The velociraptor's optics lit up a scarlet red.



"My head" he grumbled.



"Finally you wake up, sleepy head!" Nightshade said, bending down and getting a closer look at him.



"My ears" Dinobot groaned, putting his hand over his audio circuits. "The first thing I wake up to is you Nightshade, how quaint."



"Why thank you Dinobot" Nightshade replied.



Either Nightshade is the most ignorant person I know, or she is extremely sarcastic, Killshandra thought. Dinobot and Nightshade seemed to share this history, of Nightshade really annoying Dinobot but being completely oblivious to it, and of Dinobot grumbling his head off when ever he was around her. It was like this had lasted since the beginning of time. For some reason, Killshandra resented the fact that her two raptor friends were so close.



The two females stood up, and Dinobot looked around.



"Where are we?" he asked.



"In a cave in the arctic" Killshandra replied. "We managed to subdue the three Preds we were fighting before" she nodded to Terrorsaur's prone body.



"Good" Dinobot said.



He tried to stand up, but his legs gave way under him, and he fell down.



Nightshade went to help Dinobot to his feet. Killshandra growled to herself, and pushed Nightshade away from him. She literally shoved Nightshade out of the way to help Dinobot.



Once he was standing, Killshandra thought about that action. Why had she done that? She shook her head as Dinobot spoke.



"Do you think we could get some of this energon for the Maximals?" he asked.



"Do we have enough strength to carry it?" Nightshade asked.



"Probably not" Killshandra admitted. "My wings are broken, I can't fly. Dinobot is weak as it is, and Nightshade isn't that strong."



"Very well then" Dinobot said. "I thi-"



"Warning: prolonged exposure in robot mode will result in stasis lock" their internal computers spoke up. "Transformation to beast mode necessary."



The three raptors did as they were told, converting into beast mode.



"I think we should contact the base" Dinobot continued.



The three of them walked outside. It was useless to try to contact the base from here, inside the cave. There would be too much interference.



Killshandra was greeted by world of whiteness outside. The sky was a light, pale blue, the color of Nightshade's eyes. There were many clouds in the sky, yet the sun still shone, master of them all. The snow sparkled like diamonds, but the most breathtaking scene was HOW much snow there was. Killshandra had never seen so much in all her life!



"It's wondrous, isn't it?" Nightshade asked. She seemed to be under the spell of beauty that was around them.



Dinobot, however seemed unimpressed. "Dinobot to base" he said, tapping his com-link.



"Rhinox here, what is it Dinobot?" came the rhino's voice at the end. Killshandra noticed that there was a lot of static that followed the message.



"We were captured by some Predacons and brought to the arctic" Dinobot explained. "We have escaped unharmed, and the Predacons will bother us no more. But, we'd like a lift back to the Axalon."



There was a few seconds of static. Had the transmission been cut off? Then Rhinox's voice appeared again. "You are in grid Reenon" he said "you must move to the west of your position for a few......." there was more static.



But this time, Rhinox's voice was not heard again.



"Rhinox, come in Rhinox" Dinobot said, pounding his com-link. Buzzing, whining and clicking sounds of static were all they got as a response.



"Guess what people?" Dinobot said, a look of despair in his eyes.



"We're stranded in the arctic."



*******************



"Follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road!" Nightshade sang. She was trying to lift her spirits up, and to forget about the pain she had every time she moved. She was also trying to forget about the cold. The arctic was a beautiful place, but very deadly.



The three Maximals were heading to the west, as Rhinox had advised. They were following the sun, which was moving with a never-ending slowness. Nightshade felt snow cover her hind legs as she hopped through it. The snow was very deep, and she was sinking through it, even though she was very lightweight. Nightshade was up to her waist in snow. She shivered with cold. She was a dinosaur, not used to such cold temperatures.



"Will you stop singing that song!" Dinobot snapped. He and Killshandra were trailing behind Nightshade, who had scampered off like a child on a winter holiday. The two of them did not talk much, they just kept silent.



"It will get too repetitive" Killshandra said, a bit less angrily.



Nightshade liked Killshandra, but then again, she liked every Maximal she met. Nightshade was just drawn to the two ex-Predacons, because they were so interesting.



Maybe it was that they, mostly Dinobot though, still had a Predacons views on life. Nightshade did not want to make them change their views, because she believed that diverse people were special. Predacon and Maximal views were just things to argue over, something Nightshade enjoyed doing immensely. Not because she always won, but because it exposed her to different ways of seeing the world around her, and new learning experiences.



And also, Dinobot and Killshandra were larger and older raptors than she was. She looked on them with respect. But of course, they were only older in body, because she was the same age of them in mindset.



"You know, the song does have more words" the black and yellow raptor said. "Follow the rainbow over the stream, follow the fellah that follows a dream, follow follow, follow, folloooow! We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a whiz of a wiz, if ever a wiz there was. If ever there was a wiz there was, the Wizard of Oz is one because, because, because, because, becaaaauuuuuse! Because of the wonderful things he does! We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz."



"Ever with more lyrics the song is still annoying!" Dinobot growled.



"Fine, you're entitled to your own opinions" Nightshade said, shrugging as best she could in her beast form. Sometimes she just did not like arguing with them.



"Slagging straight" Dinobot grumbled.



Nightshade stared up ahead of her. She saw, not snow but......ice? Yes it was ice. And if there was ice, that mean that underneath it there must be a lake. Nightshade scanned the distance. It was ice as far as she could see.



"Looks like we have a lake of ice ahead of us" Nightshade said.



"A what?" Killshandra asked, looking into the white distance.



"You know, a lake" Nightshade explained. "It's a large body of water that...."



"Yes, yes I know" Killshandra replied.



"We're going to have to cross it, aren't we?" Dinobot asked, wearily.



"Uh huh!" Nightshade replied, nodding vigorously. "Why are you so tired and snappish?" she asked.



"Nightshade" Dinobot explained. "We are stuck here in the arctic, and Predacons could come visit us any second. It is cold, the snow is thick, and now we have to cross a lake of ice. Do you see why we're upset?"



"Just look on the bright side guys" Nightshade replied. "The landscape is pretty, if not monotonous. If we keep walking, we'll reach the Axalon. Nothing lasts forever! And, we have plenty of snow for a snowball fight! Not like we're going to have one, but still if we were, we have plenty of snow."



"And we have plenty of snow to shove you under if you get too annoying" Killshandra snapped.



"That too, yes" Nightshade agreed.



Before they knew it, the three of them had reached the lake. Nightshade blinked, the reflection of the sun off the ice hurt her eyes. She stepped on the ice, to make sure it was thick enough to hold her up. It was, and the young raptor grinned. She had never gone skating before, and it would be an interesting experience. Nightshade looked back at the two other raptors. They did not look happy with the ice, and were mumbling to each other.



Slowly, Nightshade put her other foot on the ice. It still held. She dug her left killer claw into the ice, and it still held. The raptor took a deep breath, and pushed off with her left foot, taking her killer claw out of the ice. She slid for a few feet, then stopped.



Encouraged, Nightshade tried again. The same thing happened. It was sort of like tree climbing, except she was not climbing vertically. The raptor felt herself wobble, and stuck her arms out for balance.



"Come on you guys, it's easy" she called back to them. She pushed herself forward to demonstrate.



"I'd rather get my head chopped off!" Dinobot shouted back.



"Do you always think of war?" Nightshade asked.



"For some reason you seem to bring out my worst side!" Dinobot snapped back.



Nightshade sighed. She would not get anywhere with him. Sometimes Dinobot could be too stubborn. Of herself too nice. But, the world needs friendly, open people. That was what Nightshade thought, anyway.



"What about you Killa?" the dromaeosaurus asked.



"I think it would be better if we find away around this lake" Killshandra responded, eyeing the ice warily.



This is going to take some coaxing, Nightshade thought.



"You guys can either trudge through snowdrifts, or get to the other side of this lake much faster by just skating across it" Nightshade replied. "Please? It takes a while to get used to, but once you do, it's quite interesting."



"Of course" Dinobot snarled sarcastically. "It will be "interesting" when I hit my shins on the ice. No thank you."



Killshandra looked between the two of them, undecided. That was something Nightshade had noticed a lot about Killshandra, she was undecided about a lot of things. It seemed that she did not accept Predacon policies, but did not understand the way Maximals worked. That was sad, and Nightshade suddenly was seized by an impulse to help Killshandra.



It was an impulse she gladly accepted.



But first, she would have to deal with the ice problem.



"You know Dinobot, I always thought warriors had a high resistance to pain" Nightshade commented. She saw Dinobot glare at her.



"They do" the velociraptor replied.



"Well, then why don't you come on the ice then?" Nightshade asked. "It would prove your theory about the high pain resistance of warriors, AND get us across without too much walking. So you see, both things would be solved."



Dinobot stared at her in a grudging scowl. "I really despise you right now" he said. The velociraptor put a tentative foot onto the ice. Then, he put another foot on the ice.



Nightshade quickly skated over to him, timing her feet so that they slid in rhythm. First one clawed foot than the other. She hopped into the snow bank behind Dinobot and pushed him out onto the ice with a great heave of her forearms.



Dinobot squawked indignantly as he slid onto the ice. His feet flew out from under him, and he was launched up into the air. What comes up must come down, and that theory was certainly proved now. For Dinobot came tumbling down onto his raptorish rear-end.



He sat there with such a stunned look on his face that Nightshade and Killshandra laughed. Dinobot shook himself out of the haze of pain and glared back at the two of them.



"Women" he grumbled.



Killshandra stepped carefully out onto the ice. She pushed herself slowly towards Dinobot. Nightshade glided over to Dinobot as well, to help him up.



To Nightshade's surprise, Killshandra glared at her. It was an very angry glare, the kind Nightshade thought would never be possible on the face of a Maximal. Yet there it was on Killshandra's face, and directed exclusively at her. It seemed to challenge the young raptor's right to be near Dinobot.



That made Nightshade stop in mid-skate. And it also allowed Killshandra the time to go and pick Dinobot up, and back onto his feet.



Nightshade shook her head. Killshandra's look of fury still stayed in her mind though. Her sapphire eyes flashing, he lips curled into a half snarl, and the glint of sun off half-exposed white teeth. It made Nightshade shiver.



"Well, are you two fully fledged skaters yet?" she asked, sliding over to them. She almost tripped, but managed to catch her balance. Nightshade found herself quite good in the field of acrobatics.



"This experience is dampening any enthusiasm I ever could have had for the Winter Olympics" Dinobot said.



"I can see myself being a silver medallist" Killshandra said with a chuckle. The black and red raptor smiled at Nightshade, as if trying to make her forget the snarl she had seen before. It did not work. Nightshade had always thought of people's faces in the happy sense, and to see a face with such anger in it was shocking.



Killshandra pushed her claws into the ice and, using her wings as balance, glided across the transparent ice. Nightshade had to remark on the fact that since Killshandra had wings she had an easier time balancing.



Dinobot slowly followed behind her. "I just want to get this over with" was his excuse. Nightshade noticed how Killshandra waited for him to catch up until he was right beside her, before starting to skate again.



Nightshade shook her head again and skated after them. She wondered why she had never noticed such details before. Was something happening to her? Was she sick?



Just for some familiarity, she began to hum "Chim-Chimer-y" to herself.



********************



Rattrap would never admit it, but he was starting to worry about the three raptors. It was almost nighttime, where were they? Optimus had gone out with Tigatron, Cheetor and Cloud Runner to scout for them. They had gone because they were all Transmetals that could fly. If Rattrap had gone his wheels would have gotten stuck in the snow. Any other member of the Maximal fleet was too vulnerable to frostbite, because they did not have thick enough fur.



Rattrap paced around in his quarters, listening to the clank clank of his Transmetal feet. It was not annoying him though. It gave him something to listen to, and the sound of metal on metal was familiar. It was to Rattrap like the ticking of a clock was to others.



Worries were seeping into Rattrap's mind. What if they were frozen in the arctic? Dead....or what if some of the Predacons had got to them? Maybe one of them had fallen into the arctic ocean. Or it could be possible that they were merely waiting the night out, and ready to walk in the morning. It was equally possible that their joints had frozen stiff......



"Rattrap!" came a voice from outside. The Transmetal knew exactly who it was. Marbelle. Hearing her voice was nice, it had been a few days after she had been revived by that energon overload. Matrix, was he happy that she had been.



"Come in" he said. It was a long time since a female had entered his personal quarters. It had never happened ever since he had gone in the Axalon and gotten stuck on this planet. And, the only time it had happened on Cybertron was one of the female workers asking about business details.



Rattrap pushed those thoughts out of his mind. He knew they were entirely out of place.



Marbelle did as she was requested, walking in her beast mode into his room. She widened her eyes at all the risqué posters and junk in his room.



"Eh, it's a rat thing" Rattrap said, sincerely wishing he had cleaned up his slag heap of a room.



"No, it's a you thing" Marbelle replied, smiling. Then, her smile turned to a frown.



"You're worried about the three raptors aren't you?" she asked.



Rattrap sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am" he said. He paused. "I never actually thought I'd care about dose guys. Nightshade's so slagging innocent....no offense Marb" he amended. "And Chopper-face is a stinking ex-Pred, and so's Killer-head, except she tries tah be a Maximal. But, I miss dem. Without them, I can't call anyone Lizard-Butt."



"Well, I checked out some raptor biology" Marbelle said. "It turns out, that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Yes" she said proudly. "I can prove this too. There aren't that many dinosaurs around here, but I got some of Nightshade's DNA and I found that out. So, that means we don't have to worry about them going into a torpid sleep of hibernation, like normal lizards would do in such cold temperatures."



"Great" Rattrap grumbled. "What we do have tah worry about is them getting frostbite....or the metabo-whatever furnaces dying out or something."



"That is quite true" Marbelle concluded. "Bots don't need to consume natural food to survive, but they do need power sources such as energon to keep them active and healthy. But, since dinosaurs are warm blooded, it proves that they can shiver. Shivering is what keeps the body warm in cold temperatures. Plus, they also have the natural body heat of each other to keep each other warm. Shivering of course, does use up most of the body's energy. Still, I think they should be able to make it to warmer climates by tomorrow, if they keep walking during the night."



"Well, dat's good" the Transmetal rat said.



"But, there is one main person I'm worried about" Marbelle continued. "It's Nightshade. She was scanned from a baby dromaeosaurus. Therefore she is smaller, and her metabolism is faster than Dinobot's or Killshandra's. She is young in body, and uses up more energy than an older dromaeosaurus would. That and the fact that she has less body fat on her than Dinobot and Killshandra would. Last but not least, Nightshade's skin is like a child's skin, smooth and thin, without a lot of dead skin or calluses. That means it is more susceptible to frostbite. If anyone is going to come out of this experience safely, I would bet Nightshade would not."



Rattrap placed his head in his paws. Nightshade....the little black raptor with the squeaky voice...she could freeze to death. The Maximal fleet would be minus the regular angel. Marbelle was an angel, but not always the best one, and she was not an angel all the time.



Rattrap felt a light hand touch him on the shoulder. He looked up, and saw Marbelle's sympathetic face in front of his.



"I just gave you the scientific analysis" she said. "Now I'm going to give you some comfort. Rattrap, we have to keep in mind that we're all robots in disguise. Because Nightshade is a bot, maybe she will come out of this fine. She probably will. There is no need to worry, because there's nothing we can do to help."



"You're right" Rattrap agreed. "Still, it's gonna be hard not to worry."



"Of course it will" Marbelle agreed. "If anything happens to them it'll be awful."



Rattrap slipped his hand into Marbelle's. The two of them stood silent for a long time, thinking thoughts unspoken. But, for some reason, they did not need to be spoken, for the other knew their partner's thoughts.



****************



For those who have seen the northern lights, they know it is wonderful.



Nightshade was just experiencing this wonder right at that moment. It was so beautiful, seeing greens and reds and purples of so many colors flash across the sky. She held her breath, fearful that those flickering colors were but a dream, and that the slightest thing would make them vanish.



The three raptors had decided to rest for the night. They were tired, and needed a rest from their wounds, and the exhausting feet of walking through snow and skating on ice. Even Nightshade had gotten tired at the end of the day. Besides, it would be hard to go west without the sun as their guide.



When the raptors had first lain down, the sky had been clear. Nightshade had marveled at that fact as well. All the stars had been shining so brightly then, each one blinking and flickering. The moon was half-full, but it gave off a lot of light, illuminating the clouds around it. It was nice that there were no trees to block the view of the night sky. Dinobot and Killshandra had sat off a bit farther away to talk to one another, and left Nightshade alone to stare at the heavens above.



Then, there had been the slightest flicker of blue light off in the distance. The black and yellow raptor had rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. Then, a flash of red followed that blue. After the red there was an orange streak, and then a yellow. They all blended in together, making a multicolored curtain across the sky. Wonderful colors were held within that curtain, each more wonderful than the last. They made patterns on the snow, and on the faces of the raptors.



"Look!" Nightshade called out in rapture. There was a sense of awed excitement in her voice. "Look! Dinobot, Killshandra, is it not wonderful? Oh, look at all the lovely colors. So beautiful!"



"It is Nightshade" came Dinobot's hissed reply.



Nightshade did not bother to point out that that was not a characteristic saying of Dinobot's, but she decided not to. Nothing must spoil such a wonderful display of nature's beauty.



But, something did.



Nightshade heard voices, and craned her neck around. Killshandra and Dinobot were talking. They did not seem very awed by the northern lights. Well, that was understandable. They were not much used to things of beauty. Killshandra did seem to watch the lights a bit more than Dinobot did though.



The other thing was that Nightshade suddenly realized how close Killshandra and Dinobot were sitting together. They seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. Nightshade caught the words "war" "shot him dead" and "fighting for survival" in their conversation. When Dinobot looked at Killshandra he seemed.....at ease. He seemed happy, and pleased with the winged raptor.



He never looks at me like that, Nightshade thought. Whenever he looks at me he's angry. I never thought I'd see him actually smiling a smile out of happiness before. And he's smiling at Killshandra, not me......



Killshandra seemed quite happy talking to Dinobot as well. The two of them were engaged in some rapt conversation. Nightshade realized that he never talked to her with such. And as Nightshade looked, Killshandra placed herself an inch closer to Dinobot, so that they were almost touching.



Nightshade shook her head, and quickly turned back to looking at the northern lights. She did not want to see anything else.



For some reason though, they did not seem as beautiful as they had been before.



**********************



Killshandra looked over at the night sky, for the first time that night prying her eyes off Dinobot. It was not something she liked to do. Dinobot had a stern and noble face, it was a kind of face that commanded respect.



The sky was so beautiful, with those northern lights. All their wonderful colors just added to the romance of the situation.



For that is what Killshandra considered the situation. Romantic.



Killshandra had learned something this night. She was not alone in the world. She was not the only Predacon traitor that felt uncertain about what to say and do in front of Maximals. Dinobot had gone through all the same thing she had gone through. Someone else had shared all her uncertainties. There was someone else that felt urges to destroy people as a Predacon would. Dinobot also clung to certain Predacon policies, as well as his honor. They had something to relate to together.



She turned back to face Dinobot. "What did the Maximal team first think of you?" the black and red raptor asked.



"They thought I was a worthless burden" Dinobot replied. "Now, they think I'm a semi-worthless warrior. Their concepts change quite quickly" he said, his green eyes glinting with mirth.



Killshandra chuckled. "They sure do" she said. "What about the vermin? Do you think his concepts of you have changed."



"The vermin is someone I do not concern myself with often" Dinobot said, with a growl of mock-hatred. "I think he respects me more, after saving the human race. The feeling of course is not mutual. Rattrap also thinks I'm still a fool, and I think the same of him."



"Well, the rat doesn't change then" Killshandra replied. Rattrap and Dinobot still fought a lot, and insulted each other as much as ever. The only difference was that usually Satin joined in the raptor teasing, and Killshandra helped Dinobot win victories over Rattrap.



"Do you remember what your old name was?" Dinobot asked, filling in the silence.



"I have no idea" Killshandra said with a shrug. She did not really care about her past. It was not a prominent feature in her life. And with Dinobot near her, why would she want to remember another life?



Killshandra had learned yet another thing that night.



Love was sudden. It could spring upon you like a cat on a mouse. It can be subtle at first, but it will always grow more and more. Love was something you never knew you were missing until you felt it. It added something new and wonderful to your life, for all it's suddenness. It came quickly, but whether is left quickly was entirely up to the actions of the one love had struck.



So, Killshandra realized she was in love with Dinobot. She chided herself on not having figured that out before.



Dinobot yawned, and Killshandra felt tiredness cascade over her as well. She had no idea she had been so sleepy. Talking with Dinobot had seemed to rejuvenate her, but now that the conversation had ended sleep caught up with her.



"I think we had better sleep" he said. "We can continue this conversation tomorrow." Killshandra nodded gratefully.



The two velociraptor's lay their heads down in the snow. Killshandra shivered at the sudden rush of coldness, but eventually her skin turned numb and the cold blast abated. She snuggled closer to Dinobot, for body heat, and also to feel his skin touch hers. Like every Earthling love song dictated, that was a very romantic action.



But, she had to stop thinking about romance. It was time to sleep, to close her eyes, and let her brain shut down for the night. Killshandra welcomed sleep with open arms that night. It would take her mind off the coldness around her, and the now dulled pain of her wounds.



She was awakened by the sound of footsteps in the snow. Killshandra opened her eyes slowly, feeling somewhat irritable at being awakened. She tensed her muscles, just in case it might be an enemy, although she doubted it. The first thing Killshandra saw was that the northern lights were out. The next thing was a black shadow with a yellow blaze on it's snout, and light blue eyes.



"Nightshade?" Killshandra asked.



"Yep, it's me" Nightshade whispered back. "I'm sorry to wake you up Killshandra. I think it's time I went to bed."



"I think so too" Killshandra replied. "You can lie beside me" she offered.



And, you can stay away from Dinobot, Killshandra thought. To her, the small raptor was suddenly a threat to her fledgling relationship with Dinobot. Nightshade and Dinobot had almost always been together as friends, and now that Killshandra was here, she was determined to keep them friends. Only friends.



"Thank you very much" Nightshade nodded. The young raptor laid herself down gently next to Killshandra, snuggling up against her for body heat. The red and black raptor was amazed at how small Nightshade was compared to her, and how delicate she was. It would only take one slash of Killshandra's claw for her to break her neck......



Killshandra shook her head, with a bit of fear. What had she just been thinking about?! Hurting a fellow Maximal? She shivered with fright and shame. How could she think of hurting a comrade willfully? Was it part of her Predacon programming? Or simply the thought of a jealous mind?



"Goodnight Killshandra" Nightshade said, laying her head on the snow like it was a pillow.



"Goodnight, Small One" Killshandra said.



Killshandra looked back at Nightshade, and her small body, so easily breakable, and so easy to destroy. She shook her head again, and put her head down in the snow, thinking claming thoughts. That was all she did until she fell asleep.



*******************



When Dinobot woke up that morning, he received a considerable shock.



It had not happened at once though. Dinobot had gotten up and opened his eyes, trying vainly to picture himself in his quarters. His vision told him that he was still in the arctic wastelands, and he growled to himself angrily.



Then, he had pushed himself onto his feet, which was somewhat hard, considering the shape of his body. Raptors were good at running on the land, and possibly for climbing trees, but they were not designed to get up off the ground. Coupled with the fact that his wounds from yesterday were still hurting, this was a painful job. Getting himself up, along with all the swearing and grumbling it had caused, had woken Killshandra.



Dinobot allowed himself an uncharacteristic smile at the sight of the red and black raptor trying to clear the sleep from her eyes, her black body very clearly outlined against the snow.



The tan and beige velociraptor had never had always avoided females, and he had not considered them of any worth, back on Cybertron and during the Beast Wars. He had not held a very high opinion of Air Razor or Satin, and Nightshade only served to dampen his thoughts about women. Dinobot would be called without a doubt a male chauvinist. He considered females weak, and too quick to break down and cry.



But, Killshandra was not that kind of female. She was not weak by any means. Killshandra did not whine and cry. She was not annoying like Nightshade, or a seductress like Satin. The black and red raptor knew how to fight in a war, and she knew how to kill. Killshandra had been a Predacon like he had been, once. She had gone through everything he had gone through, except the Maximals treated her a bit better then they had him. It seemed they were getting used to Predacon traitors. Matrix, Killshandra had even served in the Great War, like him.



Dinobot thought of Killshandra as a copy of himself. The two of them enjoyed the same things, and they hardly disagreed about any views on life. The only readily noticeable difference between them was the fact that Killshandra tried hard to be a Maximal, while he clung to his old Predacon ways a lot. She was more compassionate than he was, to some people.



All in all, Killshandra made Dinobot change his views about women. She was a different change from the normal "generic Maximal." Dinobot found himself fascinated by her, because he had never met anyone else quite like her. Or anyone else so much like him.



"Good morning" Killshandra said, with a stretch of her arms.



"I would not call it that good a morning" Dinobot replied, indicating the arctic wastes with a wave of his hands.



Killshandra looked around, and nodded. She sighed and lifted herself up off the ground.



"How long do you think it will take until we get back to the Axalon?" Killshandra asked. Dinobot shrugged.



"I would estimate another six or five hours" he said. He really did not know. After he had been knocked out by the Predacons, he could have stayed knocked out for any number of hours. Dinobot guessed that they had only been walking for four or five yesterday. It had been slow going because of their wounds, even though the "ice skating" had helped.



Killshandra nodded, then turned around to wake up Nightshade.



"Come on Small One, get up" Killshandra said, nudging the small raptor with her foot. Nightshade stirred, and opened a glassy eye.



"So cold......s-s-so weak..ACHOO!...c-c-c-c-cold" Nightshade managed to sputter. She began to shiver uncontrollably, from her tail to her snout. Sneezes began to come out of her mouth at a phenomenal rate.



"Primus!" Dinobot shouted, seized by panic. "Nightshade, are you all right?!" He cursed himself as he said that. Of course she was not!



He and Killshandra both bent down, and picked Nightshade up, holding her small body in his arms. Nightshade shuddered and sneezed some more. Dinobot was wondering if she could breath properly, with all the air that was flying out of her lungs.



"We have to get back to the Axalon fast" Killshandra said, crystallizing the fear that was inside them.



"I think I can....ACHOO!" Nightshade began. "I think I can walk....ACHOO!" She sniffled, as her nostrils began to get gummed up with snot. "I just...ACHOO...feel so, cough!" she began. "I feel so weak..." the black and yellow raptor said, whimpering a little.



Dinobot gingerly set Nightshade down, loathing to let her go. What if they did not make it back to the Axalon in time? What would happen to Nightshade?



Nightshade leaned against Dinobot for support, and he did not object to their closeness for once. Any other time he would have shied away from skin contact with that annoying brat. But, right now Nightshade did not look like the bane of his existence. She looked like a poor little raptor, in need of help and attention. A little lost baby, crippled and cold, looking like a beggar or an orphan.



Can it be? Dinobot asked himself. Can I actually be feeling compassion for this little manipulative beast? Primus, I think I am!



Dinobot had accepted some while back that, by Predacon standards, he was soft. He had almost given his life by saving the human race at that valley. The only thing that had saved him was that Predacon energon belt, and that had been destroyed afterwards. Just like his reputation had been.



No one had said it out loud, but they knew as he knew, that Dinobot had changed. He was kinder to his comrades, and more respectable of Maximal policies. While he did not practice those policies often, he learned to tolerate Maximal sentiment, and Maximal love. He no longer thought of Air Razor and Tigatron's relationship with contempt.



Dinobot still kept his shield of grumpiness and Predacon-ness around him. He would not give any bot the outright opportunity to mock him about his now softer heart. Dinobot could never feel truly himself without his sarcastic, honorable Predacon side, which was why he kept it. But he knew that, despite what the shield said, his heart and most of his mind were now Maximal, never to be changed....for better or for worse....



How long ago was it that I would have said "leave Nightshade, she's wounded and will only slow us down?" Dinobot thought to himself. It's times like these I cannot believe I was so cold-hearted. But there are other times when I believed I would be doing the right thing. There are still two parts of me inside, only the Maximal part is now predominant. If the Predacon part ever takes control again, who knows what I will do?



Killshandra interrupted his thoughts, by walking over to the two of them, and supporting Nightshade on the other side. The small raptor leaned against the two of them.



"Thanks you guys....ACHOO!" Nightshade said. "Let's geb back to d'Axalon." Clearly Nightshade's nose was getting stuffy, for she had a hard time speaking.



Dinobot and Killshandra took a few tentative steps, seeing if the black and yellow raptor would keep up with them. Apparently, she did, and the three of them started off at a bit quicker a pace, though slower than yesterday's had been.



The three of them walked in silence for a little while, the only sound the crunching of their footsteps in the snow.



Dinobot decided to take a look around him, and see if there was any marker or anything that was familiar. There was nothing he could see, only mounds of snow. The sky was a dismal gray, instead of the sunny sky he had seen the day before. The snow had also seemed to turn gray, and had lost it's shining brilliance. There was a sharp wind, that seemed to cut Dinobot to his very bones it was so cold.



"Always look on de bride side of yer life" Nightshade began to sing softly. "Always look on de bride side of yer life." She coughed for a few seconds, then returned to her song.



"Wheb you're chewin' on life's griddle, don't forgeb to sing an whistle, and always look on de bride side of yer life." Her throat was clogged up with mucus, which made her voice sound like paint being slopped into a bucket.



"Why are you singing that song, Small One?" Killshandra asked softly. Dinobot could see a maternal gleam in Killshandra's eye. It seemed even Killshandra's heart was melting at Nightshade's plight.



"Becaud it makes me 'appy" Nightshade replied. "It has a gud message too."



Dinobot groaned to himself. Could Nightshade not see that she was in danger? Matrix, she could die if not treated for all he knew! Why was she wasting time singing her silly songs?



Still, even though he would have liked to think otherwise, the song did cheer his heart. It was nice to see someone so innocent, and so full of life. Willing to stand in the face of danger and hum a song to calm herself. Just because she was not like him did not mean that she was stupid or bad.....



Matrix! Dinobot cursed. I'm even starting to admire her! She might look helpless now, but in a few days she'll be back to her normal, jabbering self! And I'll suffer under her white claws of wrath once again.



"Do you guys know any sungs?" Nightshade asked.



"Only a few Cybertronian war tunes" Dinobot replied. "And, my voice would not be the best one to hear them in" he added, with a chuckle.



Killshandra and Nightshade chuckled too.



"I don't know any" Killshandra said, with a shrug.



"Oh well" Nightshade said with a sigh that quickly turned into a hoarse coughing fit. Nightshade stopped, her body racking with sneezes. Dinobot stopped, and, for lack of anything better to do, patted her on the back, and hoped her coughing would go away.



As he did this, he noticed Killshandra staring at him with particular intensity, which made him stop. It was like she was saying "don't you dare betray me!" or something to that extent. That look unsettled Dinobot, who shifted his weight uncomfortably. Maybe he was wrong about Killshandra being an exceptionable female? What did that look mean? He quickly turned his head away, and looked in front of him.



Nightshade spat out some phlegm onto the snow, and took a few deep breaths. She shivered, and looked at the two of them.



"I'b sorry guys" she said. "Led's keep goind" she said.



Dinobot and Killshandra nodded. As they kept walking, Dinobot was aware that the wind had picked up, and it was now blowing drifts of snow everywhere. The snow stung his eyes like miniature bullets, and he put down his third eyelid to protect his eyes.



"It looks like a storm's coming" Killshandra warned. Dinobot and Nightshade nodded.



"We must keep going" Dinobot urged, looking at Nightshade beside him. No matter what his Predacon side said, Nightshade needed some medical attention.



Killshandra nodded her assent, and the three of them trudged onwards.



*****************



Tigatron flew in his jet mode, his eyes scanning the area. It was still odd, to have himself in a Transmetal mode, and to be able to fly. But, it was a good adaptation for being in a war. A war which needed killing, if one were to survive.



The four Transmetals had been searching all day yesterday, and had stopped to rest during the night. Even though they were Transmetals, and had more stamina than normal animals, they still felt compelled to rest at night. Even though they were made out of metal, they were not invulnerable to things like beast mode urges.



Tigatron had been quite happy, being out in the wild, and in the savage beauty of nature, even though it was not that nice a day. Adding to the beauty was the fact that he was in the lands of his birth, the frozen arctic. It was quite joyous to be back in these lands, with the wind singing in his ears, and he soared over a sea of white.



Rhinox had told them to go to the west, since that was probably the way the three raptors were heading. What Rhinox had been going to tell the raptor trio before he had been cut off by static, was that they needed to go west for eight miles, but go south for twelve miles. Since he had not told them that, Rhinox had guessed the raptors were still walking west.



"What does it look like today, Cheetor?" Cloud Runner asked of her companion beside her.



The Transmetal cat turned and looked at her. "It's a kinda gray day" Cheetor replied. "The sun is hidden behind some light gray clouds, and the snow's kinda....blah" Cheetor gave a shrug of his feline shoulders. "It ain't that pretty."



"Do you think Megatron sent some other Predacons up to search for their missing comrades that the raptor trio destroyed?" Cheetor asked of Optimus. "Because if he did, those Preds might find our fellow Maximals, and then they'll be in big trouble."



"Let's hope not, Cheetor" Optimus said. He looked at the Transmetal cheetah, and Cloud Runner, who was flying beside him. "Don't worry you two. They're survivors."



"Those Predacons that hurt our comrades shall pay with their lives!" Tigatron announced. How he hated Predacons right now! Did they not care about things other than killing? They were pure evil, that must be destroyed, and eradicated from this wonderful planet. The thought of Predacons made Tigatron wish he had one right now just to beat up on.



Optimus saw Tigatron look at him worriedly.



"Is something wrong Tigatron?" Optimus asked.



"No" Tigatron replied. "Why do you ask? This is a war, those who are evil must be destroyed, and never walk the face of the Earth again."



Optimus looked at him with orange eyes, filled with curiosity, and pity. Tigatron did not understand why he was being scrutinized by his leader. Was it something in his attitude? Tigatron, the old Tigatron, had been a wimp. This new Tigatron in his Transmetal body was strong, and no longer the pacifist. Why could Optimus not understand that?



Tigatron shifted his gaze from Optimus to Cheetor. What he saw in Cheetor's eyes was no better. It was a look of betrayal, and of hurt trust....Tigatron shook his head. What was wrong with his comrades?!



Tigatron was suddenly buffeted by some fast moving winds. He almost was knocked off course by them, for he had not gotten used to his jets. Snow was blowing around the landscape now, making it quite hard to see.



"Stay close to me, CR" he heard Cheetor say. Cloud Runner crept closer to Cheetor, and he grabbed her paw in his paw.



"We have a storm on our hands" Optimus said. "That's just prime." He turned to the other Maximals. "We have to keep searching for our lost comrades. Our Transmetal bodies have a high resistance to natural elements, so we can make it through this. Tigatron, you can use your new infra-red scanning to help us."



Tigatron nodded. Infra-red was one of the new upgrades to his super-structure. He switched it on and looked around him, seeing all red, and orange for the body heat of his fellow Maximals.



He only hoped that he could see the body heat of his ground dwelling Maximal friends, before anything happened to them.



********************



Snow....snow....snow...more snow....Nightshade thought to herself. She could feel the cold wind biting into her, like a ravenous wolf biting into it's prey. She shivered as she had many times before. Dinobot and Killshandra's body heat offered some bit of blissful warmth, but it was not enough to keep her completely warm. Her legs, tail, neck, head and back were still exposed to the lashing wind.



Nightshade was feeling miserable. It felt like her insides had been turned into Jell-O, and were now wobbling around inside her. Her head ached and throbbed. Slime and snot coated the walls of her throat, nose and mouth, making breathing almost impossible. Also, her strength seemed to disappeared by the minute. Never had she felt so awful in all her life.



Nightshade took a deep breath, and trudged on. That was all she could do, just walk onwards. Time had no meaning to her now, it had all passed away in a dreamy haze. Had she been walking two hours, or two seconds? The only two beings she could see was the dark outline of Killshandra, and the fainter outline of Dinobot, the snow was that thick. No one bothered to talk, for they probably could not be heard over the roar of the wind.



"Hakunnam Madadda, what a wonderful phase" she tried to sing to herself, trying to lift her spirits up. Even Dinobot and Killshandra were slowing down because of the storm, and because of their wounds. The two of them were somewhat pessimistic, and they would not be able to salvage anything good out of this. That was what she needed right now, high spirits. And, that was what she received.



Nightshade thought of the Axalon, and how, if they only kept walking a little further, they might reach it. She would reach warmer lands, she would get to be home....and home meant warmth....a release from the cold.....



"Dis liddle light o' mind, I'm gonna led it shine" the black and yellow raptor sang again. "Led it shine, oh led it shine, led it shine! My buddies anb my frienbs, I'm gonna help 'em shine...hmm hmm..hmmm...hmm...."



Before Nightshade could finish the rest of her song, a coughing fit seized her with an iron fist. She coughed and sneezed, her body shaking with the impact. She felt Dinobot and Killshandra stop and wait for her to finish.



The small raptor gave one colossal sneeze, and threw herself off balance, landing on the ground. She did not try to get up. It seemed she was wasting all her energy sneezing and coughing. Her throat was getting raw. Matrix, why could she not stop?



Suddenly, Nightshade felt some warm liquid come up her throat and out of her mouth. It gurgled in her throat. She coughed it up with a mighty heave, and spewed it out onto the snow. After a few more minutes of coughing up the same substance, as well as some mucus, she looked at it. Nightshade almost fainted when she realized she had coughed up her own mech-fluid, and it's silvery blue stains coated the snow.



"Nightshade!" Dinobot shouted. He and Killshandra lifted her to her feet, and she allowed herself to be lifted like a limp rag doll, with lackluster eyes and a spiritless body.



"I-I can'd walk" Nightshade said, shaking her head. She was just so cold, and she had no more energy to go onward.



Nightshade coughed heavily again, bringing up some more mech-fluid. She shut her eyes, because she did not want to look at the liquid spewing out of her mouth and body.



Indeed, Nightshade did not look. She fell right asleep in their arms, like a small child, wanting security from the pain within, and finally receiving the blessing of sleep to take it all away.



****************



Killshandra looked at Nightshade, who lay limp. The fact that she was breathing was the only consolation.



Dinobot said spat out a swear word, and heaved Nightshade onto his back. Killshandra felt a bit of resentment as he did so. Nightshade was getting all the attention just because she was sick....but she pushed those thoughts out of her head.



The tan and beige velociraptor walked into the white distance, as did Killshandra. The winged raptor flexed her wings, to try to see if they could work. Unfortunately, they could not, for her wings seemed to have frozen stiff during the night, and were in no more working an order then they had been yesterday.



Killshandra followed after Dinobot, praying and wishing that they would get out of this storm safely. She was feeling very weary, and her muscles cried out in pain every time she took a step. She and Dinobot had both been walking too long.



The bad thing about this situation was that they were fighting an enemy. Normally, fighting any enemy would make Killshandra happy, but not this time. This was not an enemy she could wound, or destroy. Killshandra and Dinobot were both battling against the elements, against wind and snow. It was a battle against the cruel forces of nature, and a battle that the two bots were unequipped for.



It's times like this I almost envy Satin, she mused. At least she has fur to keep himself warm.



Killshandra suddenly thought of the Axalon, and a stab of homesickness passed over her. And, a stab of fear entered her heart. She might never see the Maximals again. She might be cast out of them by the cold hands of death before she had ever been truly accepted.



Killshandra shivered with cold. Maybe she was catching some of the disease Nightshade had gotten? Oh Primus! She hoped desperately she had not. Despite her wishes, Killshandra coughed with coldness.



This is not the way a warrior dies, she thought. A killer cannot be killed by some stupid snow! A warrior does not perish because of a mere storm. I will not let my carcass be swallowed up by the earth! I shall not be buried in this snowdrift!



Killshandra roared, breaking the tension she was feeling inside. It was like she was protesting against the weapons of nature, and the death it had in store for her. She was Killshandra, and she would fight! No storm in the world could hold for long. She pawed at the snow with her feet, and lashed at it with her killer claws.



"Stupid snow! Go away!" Killshandra growled, snorting snowflakes out her nostrils. Then, instead of attacking the snow, she decided to flee from it, and bounded away from Dinobot.



She simply ran forward, her heart pounding and her lungs hurting. Snowflakes stung at her, but she only stopped until she could run no more. Killshandra fell down in the snow, and let her anger cool and her body get even colder.



After a few minutes, she heard Dinobot calmly come up beside her. She looked up into his swamp green eyes, and saw their disapproval. Killshandra almost lowered her head in shame, for she had not meant to make him think badly of her. But, Killshandra glared back at him with her sapphire eyes.



"There has to be a way out of here!" Killshandra shouted, still looking up at Dinobot.



"There will be!" Dinobot shouted in reply. "But it cannot be achieved by going crazy! I feel sick of this place too, but I know I will be able to take my frustrations out on Rattrap!"



This made Killshandra laugh, and Dinobot smiled at her. He put down a three fingered hand, and lifted her up.



His face lights up nicely when he smiles, Killshandra thought to herself.



"So, am I forgiven for my grievous actions, oh pious one?" Killshandra asked, with a smile.



"Quite" Dinobot replied, nodding his head.



The two of them set off again. Killshandra thought back to the way Dinobot had smiled at her and sighed, feeling the thought warm her heart. If only it could warm the rest of her body, for it was very very cold......



****************



Optimus flew through the air, his hoverboard trying it's best to ignore the billowing winds that buffeted it by both sides. He had to stick his arms out for balance continually, for it was very rough flying weather.



If we don't find them soon, we might not make it out of here safely, he thought to himself with a groan. He could not abandon three fellow Maximals out in a wasteland like this! But, this was a war, the Predacons could attack the base at any time. They might even attack now, and the Axalon, with so many heavy hitters away, might just fall into Predacon hands....



I can't think like this! Optimus thought. I must not be paranoid. Slag, I'm the leader here! I can't be the pessimistic one.



But, another thought came into his mind, what kind of person couldn't be pessimistic right now? I'm in a storm, there are three missing Maximals that will probably remain missing, and four Transmetals to the rescue, who still haven't found the people to rescue! There have been better days.



Optimus surveyed his other comrades. Cloud Runner clutched Cheetor's paw with a vengeance trying to keep her balance in the storm. Optimus wondered why he had brought the blind Maximal. He had thought maybe she could have sniffed Dinobot or Killshandra's tracks, or she maybe could have heard them. When a person looses one of it's senses, it is said that the others increase...but now those hopes were dimished. They were in a snowstorm, and sight was the only thing they had to guide them, and the one thing Cloud Runner lacked.



Cheetor seemed to be loosing his usually ever-flowing supply of energy, for his tail and head both sagged unhappily. He still kept guard of Cloud Runner, though, and kept checking back to make sure she was okay every few minutes. Optimus Primal managed to smile at how Cheetor fussed over Cloud Runner like a mother hen. It was nice to see the cheetah getting a bit of responsibility in his otherwise carefree life. Optimus could already see that Cheetor was a bit more "sobered up" to the ways of life, and the ways of war.



Tigatron flew grimly onward, but his mech-fluid colored eyes held a look of despair. The brown and orange Transmetal looked at Optimus Primal and gave a sigh, confirming his thoughts about the mission. The two of them were flying right next to each other. Optimus had decided to stay near Tigatron in case the tiger lost control of his jets.



"These lands hold beauty, but they also hold death as well" Optimus heard Tigatron whisper to himself.



Optimus shook his head. Death....it was something no Maximal ever hoped to face. Optimus had never been part of the Great War, but he had been named in honor of Optimus Prime, the great Autobot war hero. That meant that Optimus had never been part of a war, and had never had to see killing and carnage, like Dinobot or Rhinox.



"What was that?" Cloud Runner shouted over the roar of the storm.



"What was what?" Cheetor shouted back.



"I heard some shouting, and it didn't come from us" Cloud Runner replied.



"Big Bot, do you think it's-" Cheetor began excitedly.



"Let's move in and see" Optimus replied, catching Cheetor's enthusiasm like a virus. Maybe it was the three raptors!



The four of them all pulled into a dive, Cloud Runner a bit more slowly though, because Cheetor was guiding her, and Tigatron a bit more slowly, because he was still not used to his jets.



After looking and searching for seven minutes, there was no sign of anything. Just a blank whiteness. Optimus sighed, feeling his happiness leave him. Matrix, how much he wanted to get them all back to the Axalon safely! He was their shepherd, he needed to lead them out of barren ground into greener pastures. Or at least to the savanna that the Axalon was located on.



I can't have Dinobot, Killshandra and Nightshade die! Optimus thought to himself. If I do let anything happen to them, I'll never forgive myself. I'm their leader, I'm not supposed to let them get lost.



Suddenly, Optimus saw something up ahead of him. It was a black shape.....with raptorine features....and a brown figure beside it.....the raptors!!!



"KILLSHANDRA!" Optimus shouted. "DINOBOT! NIGHTSHADE!" He suddenly felt like he was Santa Claus, calling all his reindeer by name. The thought made Optimus Primal laugh, and he felt his frustration and tension leave him. They would be fine!



"Yahoo!" Cheetor shouted. Tigatron laughed out loud, and Cloud Runner grinned broadly.



"Dad" she said with a smile on her face. Even her white eyes seemed to shine with a brilliance.



Dinobot and Killshandra looked up and them. They suddenly seemed to be full of life, and very animated. They jumped up and down and waved to them. The two raptors seemed to be leaving their tension behind in this arctic land, where it would freeze with the snow and ice.



Then a thought struck Optimus. There were only two.



He searched around for Nightshade in a panic, wondering what on earth could have happened to her. All his previous doubts and fears assailed him. Matrix but it was hard being a leader! Then, Optimus realized Dinobot had her on his back. That still did not comfort him though. Nightshade could be dead....or worse.....



Optimus drew in a breath lined with snowflakes, and put on a poker playing face. He could not express his negative emotions to his team. To do so would corrupt the morale they desperately needed in this situation. A few years ago he would not have realized this, but now he did with full force. The mantle of leadership was a heavy thing, but Optimus made sure never to stagger under it's weight.



He landed beside Dinobot and Killshandra, somewhat unsteadily because of the storm. He heard Tigatron, Cloud Runner and Cheetor land behind him, but he was not looking at them. Optimus was looking at the prone figure on Dinobot's back.



"What happened to her?" he asked.



"She caught some sort of virus" Killshandra explained. "She started coughing and sneezing a lot. After that, she began to cough up mech-fluid, and then she passed out. I don't know what's wrong with her."



The group was silent, letting the roar of the wind steal their words for a few minutes. Optimus broke it with a wave of his hand.



"We need to get you three back to the base fast" he said. "You two might have also caught a bit of that virus yourselves. Give Nightshade to Cheetor."



Dinobot took Nightshade off his back and put the small body on Cheetor's back. Killshandra got on top of Tigatron's back like he was a metallic pony. Dinobot hopped onto Optimus' hoverboard. The Maximals started off, back to their base, leaving the storm to howl in frustration behind them.



*************************



Cheetor tried valiantly to keep his balance, but it was very hard. Even though they had gotten out of the snowstorm, it was still hard to balance with Nightshade on his back, and Cloud Runner at his side.



The land below the flyers was mountainous, with the air still chilly, but certainly not as cold as it had been. He could sense the two raptors were very grateful for that.



Cheetor looked at Nightshade on his back, whose breathing was usually interrupted by sneezes and coughs. He was worried about Nightshade. She was one of the few people that did not look at him like a little kid, she looked on him as an equal. Nightshade had the uncanny ability to make people around her feel good about themselves.



At least some people. Cheetor had seen Dinobot with Nightshade, and he knew that Dinobot tried to avoid Nightshade at all costs. But, Dinobot was a guy that disliked everybody.



"Cheetor, what does she look like?" Cloud Runner asked him.



"She looks very weak" Cheetor replied. He found that Cloud Runner asked him a lot of questions, and wanted a lot of details back. That was understandable of course, and Cheetor tried not to fail her expectations.



"Her eyes are closed, and sometimes they flick open" he said. "She never awakens though. Her nose is clogged up with snot as well, and Nightshade's basically lying still."



"The poor girl" Cloud Runner said. "Nightshade's always so nice to everyone, it must be sad to see her like this."



"It is" Cheetor replied.



"How long will it take until we get back to the base?" Dinobot asked of Optimus.



"We have at least half an hour to go" Optimus Primal replied. Dinobot absorbed that information, as did everyone else. Half an hour, that was more than enough time for a creature to die. More than enough time for a spark to be extinguished.



"It's okay bots, we'll get there in enough time to save Nightshade" Optimus comforted, but his voice fell flat, betraying his doubt.



Poor Optimus, Cheetor thought. It's gotta be so hard to be a leader, and have to be confident all the time. It's like I have to be with Cloud Runner, except on a bigger scale. Optimus has to take care of people almost all the time, as well as Pred attacks and planning war strategies. It makes me glad I'm not a leader, but it also makes me feel proud about Optimus.



Suddenly, Cloud Runner gave a fox-like bark of alarm. "I hear something!" she explained, fear in her voice.



Cheetor looked behind him, and gulped. "I don't hear something, I see it!" he gasped. "Crystal!" he shouted.



That one word made all the Maximals freeze, and turn around. The giant dragon was heading towards them, the short horn on her nose like a dagger, and the four horns on her head glinting like spears. All of them knew that, next to Rampage, Crystal was the strongest, most deadly Predacon. And she would not leave them alone without a fight.



"Beware Maximals, death and I are partners!" Crystal shouted, her voice booming. "I clear the way for him, while he takes your lives! You shall meet him this day!"



"Not if I can help it, Predacon!" shouted Tigatron. "Excuse me, Killshandra" he said, swooping towards a cliff edge, and dropping her off hastily. Then, the brown and orange Transmetal flew at the dragon, his teeth and claws bared.



"Tigatron, no!" Cheetor shouted. Tigatron was acting like an idiot, flying off to face Crystal like that. There was no way he could survive one of her attacks! Tigatron did not stray from his course, it was as if he had not heard Cheetor's warning.



"Prime!" Optimus growled. "Cheetor, set Nightshade on the ground, and out of harms way. Then, join us trying to help fight Crystal. I'll take care of Cloud Runner" Optimus assured him, with a fatherly smile.



"Thanks" Cheetor replied, at loath to see the female fox/raptor leave his side.



The Transmetal cheetah flew carefully down to the ground, looking for a place to hide Nightshade. Cheetor got as far away from the battle of possible. He could still hear gunshots and the sound of ice pelting rock above him, as far away as he was.



He flew down low into a valley. This seemed like a warm spot, which was what the black and yellow raptor needed right now. Cheetor set her gently down on a sun-warmed rock.



"Hold on Shade" he said. "We'll be back, and you'll get better soon."



I hope, Cheetor thought with a grimace. He activated his jets, and flew back towards the battle.



It seemed to be a loosing one.



Killshandra was still on the cliff edge, because she could not fly on account of her useless wings. She was using her gun, but it hardly seemed to be doing any damage to the dragon. Dinobot was with her as well, but the impact of his twin eyebeams was barely noticeable as well. The two of them could not get close enough to Crystal to use their hand-held weapons, which were their specialties. There were patches of ice all around them, that she managed to avoid somehow.



Optimus was on his hoverboard. He was trying to get close enough to attack Crystal with his two maces, but it was very hard. Tigatron had not bothered to transform, and tried to attack Crystal by use of his beast mode, but that was as useful as trying to drown a fish. Cloud Runner was standing in a sheltered cleft, shooting at wherever she thought might hit Crystal. Sometimes she did hit, but, like the shots of other people, it hardly made a dent.



Cheetor went over towards Cloud Runner, and transformed into robot mode. She turned around and held her sword out, thinking he was an enemy.



"Relax, it's just your personal assistant" Cheetor said, with a smile. Cloud Runner gave an embarrassed smile.



"Sorry" she said.



"It's okay" Cheetor replied. "Now, let's trash this white slagheap!" he said, putting his hand together and forming his gun.



He shot a green laser at Crystal a few times, each in different spots. Cloud Runner also shot with her eye beams. Crystal spat out some ice at Dinobot and Killshandra, then turned her neck around to snap at Optimus, who dodged away quickly.



After a few more shots, Crystal turned towards where Cheetor was, and her purple eyes lit up. Cheetor gulped, realizing he had made a mistake. Now Crystal knew where they were, and that meant.....



"CR! Get into flight mode quickly!" Cheetor ordered. "Cheetor, flight mode!" he said, as he morphed into beast mode and jets sprouted out of his back. He saw Cloud Runner had done the same, and the two quickly jetted out of their hiding place.



Just in the nick of time, for a few seconds later that entire part of the cliff face was covered with ice.



Cheetor flew up towards the cliff face where Dinobot and Killshandra were.



"You do realize that no matter how much we shoot nothing is happening?" he asked them, as he landed.



"Affirmative" Dinobot replied.



"If only my wings were working, then there'd be lizard guts all over the ground" Killshandra growled. Cheetor shuddered. He had never really gotten used to the bloody-minded way Killshandra thought. He had never heard anyone other than Dinobot speak that way. Even though Cloud Runner was supposed to be a warrior, she never talked like that.



"It is a pleasure we must do without for today, unfortunately" Dinobot replied, shooting a laser at Crystal. "I would enjoy such a sight."



I seriously hope these guys aren't flirting, was the thought that entered Cheetor's head. He smiled, then realized what he had just thought. Somebody actually flirting with....no, even having a crush on Dinobot was bone-chilling at best!



Optimus came up behind them, and transformed into robot mode.



"I'm going to call for reinforcements" he said.



"Wouldn't it be better if we just got Tigatron away from Crystal and flew like the Pitt?" Cloud Runner asked.



"I can't get Tigatron away from Crystal" Optimus said in frustration. "He's determined to keep up his attack, until he or she winds up dead! I don't know what's gotten into him!"



"It could be the ways of war" Dinobot said. Nobody responded to that. Cheetor could see Tigatron swooping and diving at Crystal on his airplane wings, roaring and cursing. He looked like a fly against a human, nothing more than a mere annoyance, which could be terminated with any fly swatter.



"Optimus to base, come in please!" Optimus begged, hoping that there was no interference. While he was waiting for an answer the group of five had to dodge away from a blast of ice from Crystal's mouth.



"This is Jade here" came the voice on the other end of the com-link. "What's wrong?"



"We're under attack by Crystal-" Optimus began.



"Crystal?!" Jade said, with a growl in his words. "You've called the right bot for dragon fighting! I'll be out there right away!"



Cheetor nodded. He had been on scouting duty once, when Crystal had passed over him. Jade has been his companion on that trip, and he had gone after Crystal. Jade had then executed a lot of tricky flight maneuvers, and had taunted and teased Crystal. Cheetor and Jade had finally retreated under Rhinox's instructions, but Cheetor had been very impressed with Jade's skills.



Jade had seemed to be a lot more self-confident and positive a person. His eyes did not change color as much anymore. Jade was usually quiet, but while fighting he was quite a dare-devil, but he did not do completely stupid. Jade was creative when it came to flying and fighting, always willing to try something new and give something a chance. All these things made the green dragon a nicer person to be around, and Cheetor was finding another youthful friend in him, as he was with Lotus.



"You?" Dinobot snarled, opening up his com-link. "You are one of the weakest members in the fleet! We need power to stop this Predacon!"



"You warriors really are a clawful, aren't you?" Jade said, with an annoyed sigh. "You don't need power to defeat her, you need brains."



"Crystal may be strong on the outside, but on the inside she's weak" Jade began.



"Basically, you have to watch out for Crystal's teeth, claws, tail, breath and wings" Jade began.



"Well obviously" exclaimed Dinobot.



"Her skin is very rough, and it isn't hard for her to resist the shock of bullets" Jade continued. "But she's almost as weak as anyone of us to the use of blades. If you just stick a sword at her though, it won't work. You have to get in close, and jab it in between her scales."



Everyone ducked as Crystal soared over them. Optimus had to jump closer to the edge of the cliff, because Crystal shot some ice at him. She was not going down and hitting them with her claws and tail, she preferred strafing them with her ice. Crystal did not know it, but she was doing the Maximals a favor. If she had actually thrown her whole bulk at them and had hurt them with her claws, she would have been unstoppable. But, the ice she aimed at them they could dodge, albeit with some difficulty.



"We don't have anyone who can fly that uses a sword" Optimus said, and explained that Killshandra's wings were off-line.



"Hmm....well" Jade paused. "Another way is to focus all your bullets at one area. A vulnerable part would be best, such as her throat or eyes. You should charge up your primary weapons, to make each shot count. If possible, shoot inside her mouth while she's going to shoot some ice at you. Crystal won't put two and two together. When she fights in her beast mode, her beastial instincts usually take over, and she isn't as smart as she usually is."



"All right Jade, we'll try your suggestion" Optimus said.



Everyone took out their weapons.



"Tigatron" Optimus spoke into his com-link. "Get over here! That's an order!"



Cheetor saw Tigatron reluctantly leave his giant prey, land beside them, and transform into his robot mode.



"On my signal, fire" Optimus said, loading his double barrel gun.



"All strength to primary weapon" everyone whispered. Dinobot and Cloud Runner's eyes began to charge up with their normal neon green, except this time it was a lot brighter. Cheetor looked and saw his gun was glowing with all the restrained power his laser gun had. Tigatron's head cannon was glowing blue at the mouth, and his shoulder cannons were yellow at the barrel. Killshandra's gun was glowing as well.



Cheetor looked at Cloud Runner's face, to make sure it was in the right position to strike.



"Over to the left a bit" he whispered to her, and the female moved her face over to the left.



"Good" he whispered to her.



Crystal opened her mouth, ready to spit out some ice at these six Maximals that were standing as still as stones. Everyone aimed towards her mouth.



"FIRE!" Optimus Primal shouted.



The energy that had been pent up inside their weapons sprang out, and hit Crystal in her mouth. Actually, Cheetor had been a bit off when he had told Cloud Runner where to shoot, so her eyebeams missed the dragon's mouth. But, they hit Crystal directly underneath her left eye, which was good enough.



The dragon roared, and snorted out steam. She tried to bellow in pain, but all that came out of her throat was a squawk. She blinked her huge purple eyes in shock, and tossed her head from side to side in pain.



"Optimus!" came Jade's voice over the com-link. "I just remembered. Once Crystal is shocked, she won't get out of it for a few minutes. That a great time to strike! Go for her wing muscles! She has no protection at her wings."



"Maximals, flight mode!" Optimus Primal said. All the Transmetals transformed into their flight mode, and flew towards Killshandra. Dinobot and Killshandra stood on the cliff ledge. They could not use their weapons, because using them as their top priority had wiped out their weapon systems for a few minutes.



Cheetor and Cloud Runner, paw in paw, attacked Crystal's right wing. Cloud Runner sunk her claws into Crystal's white flesh, and they sunk in deeply. Cheetor also bit in, feeling mech-fluid drip into his mouth. He could see Optimus with his maces and Tigatron with his claws and teeth working on Crystal's other wing.



Crystal flicked her wings, and the four Transmetals flew away from her, expecting another attack.



Instead, Crystal stared at them with shock and amazement in her eyes, as if thinking "how in the world can these petty creatures hurt me like this?!" Each time she flapped her wings it obviously gave her pain. Crystal flew away from them, and towards the Predacon base, and a CR chamber.



The four Maximals all cheered, and laughed happily. They swooped towards Dinobot and Killshandra, who looked quite happy as well.



One bot did not cheer though. It was Tigatron. He was staring after Crystal with a look of burning anger in his eye.



"Once again, my vow has gone unfulfilled" he mumbled, but Cheetor heard it. "I must destroy one of these Predacons soon."



"Come on Big Cat, let's see those pearly whites" Cheetor said with a laugh, indicating that Tigatron should smile and show his teeth.



"I shall not smile until that Predacon lies dead, Cheetor" Tigatron replied. Cheetor coughed uneasily. What was wrong with Tigatron? How come he did not call him Little Cat, like he usually did? Why was he so filled with hatred towards the Predacons? Cheetor's idol was not acting anything like the bot that Cheetor had respected, he was turning into something worse.



Stop thinking about that! Cheetor thought. This is time to celebrate, and be happy. Serious thoughts can come later!



"All right, three cheers for our mentor, the green dragon!" Cheetor shouted into his com-link. "Thanks Jade!"



"Yeah, great tactics Jade!" Cloud Runner said. "You'd make Optimus Prime proud."



"Not stinking likely" Dinobot mumbled.



"What was that Lizard-Boy?" Jade asked sweetly.



"Good job" Dinobot grumbled.



"I second that notion" Killshandra said, with a smile on her red face.



"You're welcome guys" Jade said. There was not a trace of shyness in his voice, just acceptance and happiness. "Anything to help."



"Speaking of helping, we've got to get Nightshade back" Killshandra said suddenly. "Were is she?"



Cheetor felt some urgency. "I put her down in the sun" he said. "I'll go get her back." He flew towards the valley, and found Nightshade still lying on the rock. She was twitching and whining now. Cheetor transformed into robot mode, set her on his back, got back into his flight mode, and shot up into the sky.



Optimus nodded his approval. "I'm glad she's safe. But still we've got to get back to the Axalon for medical treatment" he said.



Everyone else concurred wholeheartedly.



***********



Dinobot sighed in contentment, feeling the warmth of the Axalon flow through him. Matrix, it was good to be indoors again! He felt like he would never leave the base.



He and Killshandra had already been in the CR chamber, and their wounds had been cleansed, so they were fine. Nightshade was still in the CR chamber, and she supposed to be out any minute now.



Dinobot, on the whole, was feeling wonderful. Being out of the arctic cheered him up a lot, but also knowing that he had conquered nature, a very worthy, if somewhat unhonorable, opponent. And, being so close to Killshandra all the time had not been that bad as well....



But being with Rattrap will be, Dinobot thought as he saw the vermin walk through the hallway's entrance. Dinobot had to admit that that was a lie. He could not wait to bother Rattrap.



"So Lizard-Butt, I guess your scales gotcha into a little bit of trouble, eh?" Rattrap asked, a grin on his face.



"Hrmph" Dinobot replied. "You vermin, probably could of melted all the snow with your stench."



"Oh!" Rattrap replied, with a look of mock-surprise on his face. "Look who's talking? Your breath smells like some died and farted down your throat!"



"Your butt smells like someone someone shoved all the garbage of the world up it" Dinobot replied.



"Hah!" Rattrap laughed. "You went around sniffing my butt just tah figure dat out?!"



Better think fast, Dinobot thought.



"Oh, no, I would never want to infringe on your favorite pastime" he replied.



"You stupid little-" Rattrap began, but he was cut off by Nightshade coming out of the CR chamber.



Dinobot's good mood vanished instantly. Nightshade's body was all healed up, but she still looked awful. She coughed and sneezed.



"My heab.....it's so hod......ACHOO!" she began, but sneezes racked her body and she was forced to stop. She took a deep breath, merely to let it out by coughing some more. Dinobot walked towards her, all thoughts of insults banished. Why was she still in pain? How come the CR chamber had not fixed her?!



Dinobot trembled in fear for his raptorine friend. Part of their journey through the arctic had come back to haunt him....and it might cost Nightshade her life.



****************



Marbelle looked at the expectant faces of the Maximals in front of her. Primus, it the entire fleet! A lot of people must care for Nightshade! The small raptor had gotten out of the CR chamber half an hour ago, which had been more than enough time for her and Rhinox to examine Nightshade.



Marbelle wondered why she had volunteered to tell the Maximals and not Rhinox. Rhinox could have handled this well, he had a good way of speaking....but no, she could not go back on this now. She had said she was going to tell the Maximals the news, and she would.



She coughed, and prepared her announcement.



"Well" the medic began "I've checked over Nightshade successfully, and I know what's wrong with her."



"So she's cured?" came Bouncealot's cry from the audience.



"I didn't say that" Marbelle replied. There were a few mutterings, starting mainly by Air Razor and Dinobot, but they were quieted down. Marbelle cursed herself on saying the wrong thing. She had never been very good at public speaking.



Marbelle looked at Rattrap, and saw encouragement shining in his neon green eyes. She smiled, and continued.



"It seems Nightshade has a cold" she began.



"Of course she was cold, she was in the arctic for Primus' sake!" came Dinobot's reply.



"No, Nightshade has a cold" Marbelle hastened to explain. "A cold is an Earthling expression. A cold is a bacterial infection characterized by sneezing, coughing and nasal congestion. Meaning they there's a lot of snot in their nose." She gave a nervous laugh, which died out flatly.



"I didn't hear coughing up mech-fluid in that list" Air Razor broke. "Is that part of a "cold" as well?"



Marbelle sighed. Now came the even worse news.



"Nightshade's cold was a very, very bad one" she said. How stupid those words sounded in her ears! Could she not have used other words than "very, very bad"?



"The bacterial infection has gotten worse" she explained. "It's now developed into a viral infection, called pneumonia. Pneumonia is another type of virus that makes one hot and cold at the same time, and very weak. Nightshade's immune system was weakened by her cold, and the pneumonia virus set in shortly after. Pneumonia attacks the lungs, and makes it hard to breath. On Cybertron there's a virus like it, called a oxygen pump virus, or OPV for short."



Optimus, Cheetor, Lotus, Dinobot and a few others nodded their heads. Others just looked at her with a clueless expression.



"Pneumonia is a deadly virus" Marbelle said. She saw pained expressions as people let the words sink in. "The reason that the CR chamber did not fix it is because CR chambers are only supposed to deal with the robotic parts of the body, and they only deal with physical wounds. The CR chamber did not extinguish the pneumonia because it is attacking Nightshade's beast mode self, and it is not a robotic disease."



"So, what is going to happen to Nightshade?" Lotus asked timidly.



"Well" Marbelle began. "The good thing is that I've administered her with a form of anti-biotic. It's not necessarily a powerful kind, because since this is not a robotic disease, I can't find any way to really deal with it in my medical files. Ever since the Great War ended, it's been hard to find files about human diseases."



"Firecat tried to help Nightshade with her magical abilities, but she failed" Marbelle said, forlornly. "I don't exactly know why...." she trailed off, looking at the red, orange and yellow cat for assistance.



Firecat sighed, and looked up. She looked very weakened, and was leaning against Rhinox for support.



"I had not been able to extract the virus," Firecat explained " because I could not see inside of Nightshade, and therefore could not tell where the virus was attacking, and what the virus was attacking."



"Marbelle just told us that it was the lungs!" Dinobot snapped, glaring at her.



Firecat glared back. "It's difficult to explain" she said, faltering, trying to find some words to explain herself. "I could not picture the pneumonia in my mind. That's what my magic is mostly about, mental imaging. I tried to conjure up a picture of some black force inside of Nightshade....some disease that I could abolish.... but it did not work. Maybe it's because it's a microscopic virus, or something. It's just....it's just really hard to explain" she faltered, and looked around the room.



Marbelle sympathized with her, and nodded, to signify she understood what the feline was going through. Firecat nodded in appreciation.



"The anti-biotics I gave Nightshade will probably have a positive affect" Marbelle continued. "The worst thing that could happen is that Nightshade will get a very bad fever. A fever is like a hallucinatory virus, of an HV, for those of you who remember Cybertron." A few bots nodded.



"Will she be able to live 'er life?" asked Bouncealot in a subdued voice. "'Ow long will this fever be? What if she doesn't survive this night? What then?"



Marbelle looked at Bouncealot's lost face. His nose that was usually so vibrant did not even twitch, his ears sagged as did his whiskers. The usual happy gleam in his eye was no more. He was hunched over himself, his wings limp and touching the floor. His cotton-ball tail did not flicker.



"I...I don't know, Bounce" Marbelle replied, trying to blink back tears. "Please Bounce, don't talk that way. I'm sure Nightshade would want us to have hope."



Dinobot gave an amused snort. "She would, wouldn't she?" he said, with a chuckle.



"Whoever thought dat we'd be learning thing from dat little squeaky-toy?" Rattrap joked, referring to Nightshade's voice, which, if you were truly cynical, could fall under the squeaky category.



Marbelle nodded, for lack of anything better to do. She looked to Optimus, imploring him to say something.



Optimus took his hint, and did.



"Maximals, we all care about Nightshade" he said. "Even those who'll deny that under oath" he looked at Dinobot, who snarled and glared back. Rattrap and Satin chuckled.



"Maximals, you are dismissed" Optimus said. "And, if you do pray tonight, pray for Nightshade. She needs us there for her, like would be there for any of us, if the circumstances were reversed."



Everyone nodded, and left to do their duties. Marbelle sighed. Would Nightshade be all right? Would the angel go back to the Matrix? Only time would tell.



**************



Bouncealot looked at the door. Behind it was Nightshade. He could hear her moanings and groaning of pain, as well as her coughing fits. He wanted so much to get in there and help her! But, he knew with a sad certainty that he could not.



Marbelle had ordered Nightshade to go to the cargo hold of the Axalon, saying the pneumonia was a very contagious disease, and it would be best if she were isolated so it would not spread.



Bouncealot lay his head against the door, feeling the metal cool down his furry cheek. He had tried five times that day to melt the wall with his x-ray vision, only to find out that he had none, and was back at square one.



The hare/sparrow Fuzor had stood in front of the door to the cargo hold all morning. He did not know what time it was, and he did not care. Without Nightshade he did not care about time or anything of importance. He just wanted her alive and healthy. The hare/sparrow Fuzor had stayed away from any bot contact all morning, while keeping a long vigil. Bouncealot wanted to open the door. He wanted to go inside, but if he did, then he might catch the virus. And Marbelle had told him not to, so he could not.



"Pretty Lady, can you 'ear me?" he asked.



"Ye....yes Bounce.." Nightshade managed to groan out.



Bouncealot smiled happily, that was a good thing. She was still conscious, that was good. The last few times he had called she had not answered. But, her voice did not sound very well. Bouncealot sighed hoping it would be all right.



"Pretty Lady, I prayed for you" he said softly. "I prayed twelve times. Or was it eight? Oh, I can't remember I prayed so long for you! Pretty Lady, we need you back. It just won't be the same without you. It's just like if we 'ad lost the Winged Raptor, and the Warrior, it just wouldn't be the same without them. Without you, I don't know what I'd do. I don't know what the Leader or Mrs. Falcon or The Transmetal Tiger would do. Will you promise me you'll make it out all right?"



Nightshade coughed and sneezed a few times. "Oh Bouncealot....I'll-" she was interrupted by a huge fit of hoarse coughing, which stirred panic in Bouncealot's mind. He wrung his front paws nervously, and thumped his feet on the metal floor of the base.



"I'll try" came Nightshade's whisper. "I just want to sleep for a bit." She coughed a bit more.



Bouncealot nodded his head. "Of course, Pretty Lady" he comforted. "You just rest your 'ead, and close your eyes." He listened to Nightshade's steady breathing.



"And we might get a big surprise, if you're better when you wake up" he whispered to himself. Bouncealot rubbed tears out of his eyes. Nightshade's voice had sounded so weak, and so cracked with the fits of coughing she had. It was pathetic, just having to listen to someone who used to be so full of life be so lifeless.



Maybe a song would cheer her up? Maybe it would make her better? The thing that Bouncealot had found the most interesting on Earth was, other than the terrain and humans, were their music and recreational activities. Cybertron had had interesting things, but they never seemed as interesting as the things Earth had. When Bouncealot returned to Cybertron after the Great War, he had taken a few momentoes with him, such as some CDs, board games, computer games and movies. Songs always seemed to make people happy, at least happy songs did.



"Goodnight sweet'eart" Bouncealot started to sing. " ''Til we meet tomorrow. Goodnight sweet'eart, faith will banish sorrow. Through the long and sleepless night, we'll meet again, when the new day has dawned. Hmm, hmmm, hmm, hmmm...do you know the rest, Pretty Lady? Oh, of course, not! You're asleep. I forgot that. It's a nice song, but I can't remember the rest. And I'm not going to go around singing 'Anson. Do you know that there's a seven year old kid called Aaron Carter or some such thing that's seven years old, and he sings songs on the 'It List! It's really funny....sort of. It kind of makes you wonder about 'ow cool young Earthlings can be. Maybe I could 'ave made it on Earth, if I 'ad stayed after the Great War."



He paused, wanting Nightshade to say something, but having his hopes dashed again. He sighed. All he needed was time.



"It takes a little time, sometimes, to get your feet back on the ground. It takes a little time sometimes to make the Titanic turn back around...."

*************



Nightshade was having dreams. They were horrible dreams. Lots of blackness, a few scenes of her life, bots she had never seen before, all in a landscape of unmentionable oddity. It was like some odd and twisted version of Alice in Wonderland.



Dinobot, standing in front of Megatron. The raptor was scarred and bloody, but still with honor and dignity. A fierce light burning in his eyes, ready to sacrifice his life for the lives of others. A suicide mission with the most honorable cause.



The scene then changed to snow. It whipped around everywhere, it was just a lot of whiteness. Nightshade knew there was something she was supposed to find in the snow storm. What was it? Where was it? Nightshade started walking through the storm, trying to find it. All around she was just whiteness, whiteness....



Red. It was a fire! And inside that fire there was....a beating pulsing heart, red with blue veins. Inferno stood over it, but this time Inferno looked distorted. He had horns, goat feet, and a reptilian tail. There was also Tigatron, brown and orange, his face looking red because of the fire. He too had horns, but he also had bat-like wings, and a snake tail. Tigatron and Inferno looked at the heart, which was still pulsing. Tigatron gave it to Inferno, and the fire ant put it in his mouth and ate it. There was a smile on his face, a smile of evil.....the heart cried out in pain. That cry turned to a dismal song, with haunting music, which was suddenly cut off....



Tabitha came in, and doused the fire with water. The purple star on her forehead started to glow. First it went white, then red, then black. The star on her forehead shot out a red light. Tabitha disintegrated, seeming to blow up into a thousand pieces....



Which came back in the form of Optimus. The Maximal leader looked like an evil troll. He was holding a staff, and he was all green, with slime dripping from his elbows and knees. Skeletons rose up behind him, clacking and chattering......



"Before your life, before your death, their is a path you have been set" came the skeleton's ghostly voices. Optimus struck them down with his staff, and they lay back down again.....



Suddenly Jade, looking like a huge bull, came charging at Optimus, and smashed him in two. Lotus appeared, waving a red colored Birch, which looked like a cape. Jade charged at Lotus and the Birch/cape, roaring and raving madly. He charged at Lotus, and smashed her in two, just like Optimus had been....



Suddenly, Dinobot appeared again. This time he was all healed, and bathed in white light. There was an odd, happy smile on his face. He floated around inside Nightshade's mind for a few minutes, then he finally began to morph. The light invaded Nightshade's field of vision, and suddenly Dinobot was an odd version of Bouncealot. This Bouncealot was in a tuxedo, and had blond hair on his head. His wings protruded out the back of his suit......



Killshandra appeared in robot mode, with Air Razor on her wrist, looking like a trained falcon. There was a fox, no, there was Satin at Killshandra's side. There were also two glowing yellow eyes, looking like the disembodied eyes of a ghost....looking like a phantom's eyes.....



"Rowf, rowf, rooowwwrrr!" came a voice from behind her. Nightshade turned and saw Cheetor and Cloud Runner behind her, as well as the same pair of glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her with happiness and love. But soon, they were swallowed up by darkness, an all consuming void....



Nightshade cried out loud in her sleep, and wished she could wake up. But, she could not, at least not right now. She was still in the grip of sleep, and continued to dream those dreams.

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