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Last time, on Beast Wars… Contention: ... A figure emerges from the light, rushing toward Jungle. Like Jungle, he is a Cybertronian but lacks the features of a secondary mode or beast form. Another of the same superstructure type flanks the first. Only, he is holding a data pad of sorts and with a few quick key strokes, Jungle’s restraints become unbuckled. ... “... those men at the prison belong to a group called, Atheist.” “Never heard of ‘um,” responds Jungle to Icerunner. ... Quade is seen in the process of being rushed to the medlab. His body is covered in burn marks and he was leaking fluid from various sections of his body. ... “What now, JJ?” Ice asks. “Now, Atheist gets a bruising.” ... Jungle grabs Jade who is still unconscious. He hits her several times in the face. “Cat, we have to get the slag out of here,” exclaims Jennifer Scott. She finally resorts to just pulling Jungle off. “Come on,” she commands. ... Now viewing the settlement as a whole, we see a portion of it go up in flames. ... ... ... ... ... ... “We are Alpha,” “And Omega,” “The beginning,” “Of your end.” Jennifer and Jungle exchanged glances in reaction. The two ‘bots before them had no features of any secondary or beast form, however their superstructure look came across as TM in nature. They were rather plain looking. Only visible feature on their respective faces were their eyes. No mouths, no nothing. The one dubbed, ‘Alpha,’ was predominantly blue. The other dubbed, ‘Omega,’ was predominantly red. Beyond the different taste in colors, they were identical. The fact that they seemed to finish each other’s sentences made one wonder, just ‘how’ identical they in fact were – how far that extended. The setting was that of a tavern. It was dirty. It was ancient. The mix of aliens that once crammed the scene had dispersed. Alpha and Omega projected certain, ‘coldness.’ Jennifer and Jungle both eye the visible Atheist emblems across the chests of Alpha and Omega. That alone gave our protagonists all the information they really needed. An invisible force comes to be that knocks the J’s back and into each other. Going by Alpha’s and Omega’s mannerisms, they were the likely cause of the phenomena... ... ... ... Prior to all this... ... ... ... “You know, you could have just come down and said ‘hi’,” stated Cyan as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She had just finished sparing. Competition? Local boys. She stood almost a head taller then the cat. She was a TM, bonded with saber tooth rabbit DNA. She came across as innocent and cute. Like Jungle, she belonged to the Maximal faction – at least in theory, that is. “Where would the fun of been in that, Trix?” Jungle retorted as he came into better view by stepping out of the shadow. The saber tooth rabbit had caught a glimpse of the Dark Warrior during her exercises in spite of his best efforts. But she had elected to humor him and continued about her business, pretending to be none the wiser. She never quite ‘got’ all this ‘brooding’ Jungle seemed to like to do. The wind blew by. The pair rested atop the building. Prime City glistened around them. “It’s good to see you,” Cyan spoke up with. Jungle simply nodded in response. He stood stiff. The cat was never quite sure how to act/react to Cyan. She was his daughter. But was fathered by one of his alternates. So in reality, that made him more like an ‘uncle.’ The rabbit, for her part, was never quite sure how to act/react to Jungle. She secretly always felt, ‘nervous’ around the Dark Warrior, but hid it well. Better then Jungle hid his nervousness around her. ... Shortly there after: ... The balls scattered across the table. Cyan had made a clean break. Jungle cocked his head slightly toward one side; a silent applause. Two solid balls found respective holes. Their surroundings had changed to a billiard hall. “So, did you just bust out, or what?” asked Cyan - well, more or less, commented - referring to the cat’s jail time and how he should still be in there. “Would I do a thing like that?” Cyan shrugged. Jungle smirked. “It’s on account of good behavior. Ever hear of, Atheist?” Jungle asked. Jungle summarizes his adventure, leaving out the minor details or rather things he considered to be none of her business. The more ‘personal occurrences,’ that is. ... Meanwhile: ... Darkness largely surrounds us. The cr-tank before us drains, revealing Jadestone’s lovely frame. Her physical condition had much improved since we last saw her on that dustbowl of a planet. A hand reaches down. She takes it. The look in her eyes reads, ‘pleasure,’ caused by the sight of the one before her. The look remains even after she is punched in the lip. Fluid trickles down from the cut, which she licks, with a smile. Turning to face the direction Jade faces, we find the identity of the other to be that of; Red Jungle. Red Jungle of course being that crazed alternate who was brought to this universe by the Maximal Secret Police (MSP), bent on killing everyone our Jungle carried about (see: Heart). Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your stance, things didn’t quite work out for Red. At present the Crazed Caviler is finding it hard to breathe – a result of Jade’s telekinetic hold. He smacks Jade across the face who moans from the act. He slaps her again and again and her moans of pleasure continue to intensify. Red struggles to breathe all the while. Notably, that was something that he seemed to be enjoying. Jade rubs her body up against his. “There is no end to your brilliance,” stated Jade whose voice was practically a whisper. “Having me set up your alternate so that he would have to spend all that time confined. All that time alone-” Red slaps her. Much harder then the ones previous. “He didn’t break enough.” “He will,” replied Jade as she touched the Atheist symbol on Red's chest. ... And, back to where we were: ... A moment of silence passes while Cyan takes in everything the Dark Warrior had just told to her. It was quite a lot. Of course, Cyan knew that it would of taken a lot for Jungle to be willing now to be being so ‘open’ with her. This was probably the longest conversation that the two have ever had since Jungle found out the truth about her heritage, that is. “What luck you have.” “I’m truly blessed,” Jungle dryly retorted. Cyan smirked, taking the time to appreciate Jungle’s humor. Like with Icerunner, she understood it. Be it rare as it was. That was due to the certain insight she had into his soul. Being an offspring of a Jungle, meant she carried with her a piece of the Jungle spark. A random guy encroaches upon the rabbit’s personal space. Before he can manage his well practiced pick up line, she smacks him in the stomach with the queue stick, then nails him in the face with it, all without turning around, mind you. She continues in her conversation as if the interruption never occurred. Jungle opens his mouth part way but closes it, declining to comment. “What?” Cyan asks. “What?” Jungle asks. The cat takes his turn. He hit his mark as a stripped ball is sunk. Jungle was beginning to wonder if he was even going to get a turn this game. Cyan had gone on quite the streak, endangering the cat of being shut out. In the back of his mind, Jungle couldn’t help but think if the act of ‘missing’ on her part had been on purpose? The random guy from before comes back, this time with many friends. “You like it rough huh? Well, these guys like it rough too,” he stated. In response, Cyan withdraws her submachine gun and fires off several shots into the air. A couple shots pass just north of her assailants’ heads. That causes the majority to lose their nerve and thus run off. The sight of the concussion grenade she pulls out next causes the rest to scatter. Meanwhile, Jungle continues about the pool game. KA-BOOM, is heard in the background. The force of which nocks the final ball into a hole for Jungle. He shrugs. “That would be game,” he states. That gets Cyan’s attention whom focuses back on Jungle. “Care to play again?” She asks. ... Later: ... The pair is seen walking about in the streets of the city. Judging from the lack of a crowd, it was late. Police sirens are heard in the background however, proving that Prime City is a city that never sleeps. “What?” Cyan asks. “What?” Jungle asks. “Something you want to ask me?” “No.” “No?” Not that Cyan could tell from the cat’s face, as it was usually impossible to read, but she could nevertheless just ‘tell’ that Jungle had some alternative motive in play. Jungle sighs, giving in. “I need your help, Trix.” “Oh?” “I need transportation.” ... Soon enough there after: ... The pair found themselves to be shaken quite a bit when the freighter engaged its transwarp drive. They sat across from each other in the cargo hold. The conditions sucked, but the ride was free. Also, not many ships tended to head out in the direction the cat was looking to go. How exactly she got talked into going? A moment of weakness on her part is what it had been. It had been three years since she saw him. When he asked, she said yes. She didn’t comment on it, but Cyan wondered, why Jungle even needed her help to get ‘transportation’ in the first place? The cat had his fair share of connections as well. Maybe even more then Cyan had in this universe. What was the cat up too? Silence. Many might find the silence uncomfortable. Jungle didn’t, he preferred it. Cyan allowed Jungle his long silence, but it still unnerved her. You see, his alternate had been her 'biological' father, so to speak, but she'd been brought up by her mother and her large family of chattering fireflies. Her true paternity was a secret to the husband, and when she did see Jungle, more often than not it was on opposite sides of the battlefield. In other meetings, he'd spoken but a few words. She'd run across this Jungle at various times in her time travels, and heard plenty of his reputation, so she knew him better now, but at the same time she 'knew' him no better than any of the characters on her childhood television shows. They were headed to a hub near the edge of Maximal Alliance space. There, they were hoping to barter for another ride. “Where exactly are we going anyway, Broodie McBroodster?” That momentarily broke the silence, though afterward, a pause ensued. “You know,” Jungle finally retorted. Just prior, Cyan was beginning to wonder if the cat was going to reply at all. “I meant our final stop, Unkie J.” Jungle, simply didn’t give an answer. Cyan rolled her eyes. The cat had yet to provide her a source of motivation for her participation. She was wondering if coming along was a mistake? He seemed to be, being ‘strange,’ even by Jungle standards. Maybe keeping an eye on him wasn’t a bad idea in case he finally went off the deep end or something, she concluded for now. ... ... flash back... The scene is a storage section inside the Cybertronian Alpha 3 space station. “Is this the person we have been searching for?” Charge asked while Icerunner patched him up. She looked the ‘big cat’ up and down. He seemed like a very dark character. Like he never could tell you the whole truth of any matter. Cyan and Icerunner both nodded. The Dark Warrior grabs Ice’s arm – a signal for her to cease in her current actions. Rising to his feet, Jungle gently pushes the snow leopard away. His eyes narrow and fists form – noticeably his left fist is formed awkwardly as damage remained from a conflict prior. The panther eyes Charge and then Cyan, followed by Ice and then Charge again. “Care to explain what you meant by that darl'n?” “S-s'cuse me?” Charge asked startled by his actions. She started to back away as if a mountain bear had just appeared in front of her. Cyan stepped in between Jungle and Charge, and smiled at him reassuringly. “She means your reputation precedes you, as usual.” Jungle stared at her, trying to place the face, figure her out, and form the question, but Cyan didn't give him the chance to get very far. If she didn't already know what he was going to ask, she knew how he wanted it answered. “Hi! I'm Cyan. I've met you already, but don't worry it's just time travel and a screwed up continuity.” ... end flash back... ... Cyan is puzzled by the cat’s blatant stare at her. Obviously, the Dark Warrior was deep in thought. Thoughts pertaining to her? Upon becoming aware of his stare or rather, Cyan’s awareness of the stare, the cat quickly shifts his eyes to another direction. She does the same with hers. ... ... flash back... We are in a field. Clear sky. Warm to the touch. Slight breeze. Jungle – he looks so young – is present with one other: a female Maximal with a puma secondary form. Her name? DeVin. DeVin begins to laugh and lies back down next to Jungle. “Oh please Jax, don't mistake what we have for love. You just make an ‘interesting diversion,’ is all.” She states quite smugly or ‘matter-a-factly’. “Is that so?” Jungle asks. “Yes,” DeVin is quick to reply with. Jungle is silent. In thinking that the conversation is over, she settles against Jungle's side. However in response to that, he rises and begins to walk away. The puma is heard snarling. ... end flash back... ... The freighter jerks Jungle and Cyan somewhat violently as it sets down. It seemed as if the vessel was being held together by duck tape, which may not be too far from the truth. The pair makes their way out into the crowded dock. Before them was a domed covered city or perhaps ‘town’ would fit better. The dome was not fancy enough for stars to be able to be seen through it. Rugged figures were everywhere about. It took a certain personality type to travel this far out. The quote, unquote, ‘Outer Rim.’ A good bit of Maximals and Predacons strolled about. In addition to a handful of Generation One style ‘bots. One’s faction didn’t so much matter out here. You were as likely to be stabbed by one of the same faction, as one of a different faction. Assorted aliens were present and seemed to be the majority in comparison to the Cybertronians. A few of the ones they passed, greeted Jungle as the ‘Dark Warrior.’ For the most part, he returned the acknowledgement with a nod. Obviously, the cat had been here enough times before. That did it. “Why was I drug out here? You obviously don't need me,” Cyan lashed out with. “I need someone to watch my back,” the Dark Warrior responded - admittedly caught off guard by her comments. “Since when?” Cyan asked. The Dark Warrior faces her. “Do you want to be paid or not?” Jungle asked, inwardly hoping that, that would at last quiet her. She stared at him blankly, as if the answer were obvious. Of course, if it were obvious to Jungle he wouldn't have asked. She furrowed her brow a little. No, the silent look thing did not seem to be working both ways today. “In-house jobs are free, provided the benefiting party is not trying to exploit the policy,” she recited. Jungle nodded and continued on. She followed. Why? She honestly didn’t know. Jungle and Cyan make their way into a tavern. It was dirty. It was ancient. A mix of aliens cram the scene. One alien in particular catches Jungle’s eye. A bald, slightly tubby alien, with red, welty, skin. His clothes were rather fancy implying that he did do rather well for himself. Whatever his assortment of occupations. The alien takes note of Jungle as well. Initially, he looks less then pleased upon sighting the Dark Warrior. But he does force a smile as he approaches them. “Jungle, it’s been too long,” stated the alien. Even though his voice was masked by cheerfulness – be if fake - it still came across as ‘sly.’ “CaVin,” Jungle retorted. “And who is this lovely young lady?” CaVin asked as he examined Cyan from head to toe and from toe to head. “She looks like she’d be a real demon in the sack,” CaVin added, as he nudged Jungle with his elbow. “She’s my daughter. Her name is Cyan.” CaVin’s jaw literally drops. Jaw still dropped, he looks back at Cyan, who waves. “Hi!” The rabbit exclaims. “Hi,” retorted CaVin. Cyan was inwardly surprised from Jungle referring to her, as ‘his daughter’. She was beginning to wonder if she was in fact stuck in the, ‘Twilight Zone’? The theme song to that show plays in her mind. “I need a ship,” Jungle speaks up with, to bring CaVin back. “A ship? Right of course. Of course you do. However, you force me to say; too bad, so sad, JJ, my boy.” Jungle’s eyes narrow to but paper thin slits. Gulping hard, CaVin scrambles to form a reply. Jungle could come across as rather fierce when he so wanted. “I just rented my last one.” “To who?” Jungle asked. “To her,” CaVin replied. He motioned over across the room to a human female seated at a corner table. The human had green hair and green eyes. Jennifer Scott. ... ... flash back... Jungle and Jennifer cross paths in a hallway. Both pause upon spotting the other. For a moment they just stand there. That is till Jen kisses Jungle. A kiss they share. Then she’s on her way. Jungle didn’t exactly mind what had just happened, mind you. But he was left to wonder, ‘what that was all about?’ As she headed off. ... end flash back... ... “Stalking me, cat?” Jennifer asks, in between drinks. “Don’t flatter yourself,” is Jungle’s retort. “What brings you out here, anyway?” Jungle asks. “None of your business is what,” Jen’s response. An awkward moment passes when she and Jungle lock eyes. But that dissipates when she eyes Cyan. Cyan takes note of that. “Hi, Jen!” Cyan exclaims. “Have we met?” “Well, yes. Rather no. It’s-” “Never mind.” ... ... ... Presently…as in where our story originally came in at... ... ... ... Jungle’s mind was clouded. He felt dazed. The cat had always suspected that Jennifer had a hard head. Now he had proof – the forming lump on his head. On instinct alone he staggered for cover. Jennifer’s instincts were different then Jungle’s. Staggering to her feet as well, she blasts both with an energy beam. A silent, ‘too easy,’ hangs in the air as Alpha and Omega both sidestep, effectively avoiding the blasts. But the wall behind them does not. It belonged to the women’s bathroom. Cyan sticks her head out of the created hole. She had retreated there previously to give Jungle and Jen some space, which she felt they needed, sensing some ‘issue’ there. Well, actually, she just needed sometime to herself. Alpha and Omega punch the air. The reaction to that action being that Jen is flung back. The whole, ‘invisible force,’ thing. Plasma rifle in hand, the rabbit takes a couple pop shots at her obvious foes to get a feel for them. Alpha and Omega easily evade. Shrugging, Cyan chucks a concussion grenade their way. Alpha raises his hand, causing the inbound projectile to, ‘freeze’ in mid air. Omega, for his part, waves his hand to the left, causing the grenade to shift in that direction. Thus it explodes with no one in harm’s way. Feeling someone grab her shoulder, Cyan is ‘yanked’ back into the women’s bathroom. The cause? Jungle. He deactivates his cloak field, returning into view. “We have to separate them,” the Dark Warrior commands. Cyan nods in agreement. Alpha and Omega were definitely connected. They did everything together. Thus, logically speaking, divided they would fall. Shaking it off, Jen jumps into the air from across the battle ground. Converting into her energy state, she charges at the pair – rather ticked off, I might add. With their attention on Jen, Jungle comes into view, in mid leap, chest chain guns to bear. Omega takes notice of the Dark Warrior. Attention divided, Jen is able to successfully slam into Alpha. Jungle in turn, slams into Omega. Cyan, for her part, leaps into the air, exclaiming; “Maximize!” As she transforms out of her saber tooth rabbit beast mode. She then tosses about her four sub space grenades. Converting into her third mode, which her TM body allows for, her jets take her to safety as the grenades go off. A white flash follows. Alpha, Omega, Jennifer and Jungle are all down and out. The grenades are designed to disrupt energy fields and tear a part matter. Thus, Jen was forced back into her human form and sections of the others’ plating were burned and all together missing. The act of stasis lock had forced Jungle into his panther form. Back in robot mode, Cyan touches down gracefully. “All in a day’s work,” she half way mumbles. ... Later, not by much: ... The trio of Cyan, Jungle and Jennifer have taken refuge in some back room. The latter two have – for the most part – recovered. “I’m sorry,” we hear Cyan say. “Forgiven,” Jungle replies with noted effort. "Is anyone but mean wondering why two top Atheist agents just happened to be at this random backwater place?" Cyan asked. Jungle shakes his head back and forth in response. The situation did smell funny but he had other things on his mind. Alpha and Omega were nuetralized so Atheist could wait. It’s a struggle but the cat does successfully transform into his robot mode. Another awkward moment comes when Jungle and Jen again, lock eyes. Cyan rolls hers. “About that ship...” commented Jungle to Jen. ... There after: ... Jungle and Cyan stand in a field. A forest sounds them on all sides. Their attention is focused on the stone statue of a dragon. The dragon’s head is lifted high, with its wings arched back and its tailed curled around its body. Etched into the statue's base is one word; ‘DeVin.’ ... ... flash back... Tears begin to roll down DeVin's cheeks. Tears, which Jungle carefully wipes away. He then kisses her. Her frame was largely burnt and melted. Less then a moment later, she is gone... ... her fierily red eyes fade to black and her head tilts to the side... ... the sound of her systems shutting down is heard and echoes, adding to the effect. Jungle feels the hand of hers he holds go limp. It falls to the ground. An unnatural silence fills the air which is broken by Jungle letting out a loud roar – that being all he can do to channel the un-measurable amount of pain, sadness and frustration he feels. At the roar's conclusion, he immediately collapses upon her, his strength having left him. ... end flash back… ... As those memories begin to fade back into Jungle’s mind, the cat takes hold of Cyan’s hand. In that moment, Cyan finally understood... ... this, all this, was Jungle’s way of finally letting her in. Cyan returns the grip. “Thanks for coming, Trix,” stated Jungle. “You’re welcome, Unkie J.” Pulling back, we see Jen standing a respectful distance away. ... Epilog: ... We are in Icerunner’s apartment on Cybertron. In addition to Icerunner being present, so are Jungle and Cyan. They had sat down to dinner. A knock is heard on the door. All three exchange glances. After all, they weren’t expecting anyone. Ice stands, to answer the door. But Cyan nudges Jungle and so he stands, fulfilling the role of the, quote, unquote ‘gentleman.’ Jungle’s eyes widen at who he sees. There stands a battered but functional, Alert. Alert was bonded with wolf DNA and was an MSP agent; Stopper’s right hand man to be exact. Giving into his damage, Alert collapses into Jungle’s arms. “Dark Pyre,” Alert manages before stasis lock finds him… … … … fin. Basically like this fic? Then read this one: Yesterday's Demons and this one: Heart. |
