Written by DBX
"The evil men do lives after them." The evil I had done haunts me even after my death. Betraying my friends, trying to kill them, I even contributed to an event that almost destroyed Cybertron. I can blame the corruption of my spark by Megatron, but it only unleashed the evil that was already inside of me. I became consumed by it even to the very end. My one chance for atonement is to accomplish a momentous task, to restore Cybertron to its technological glory. In effect, almost doing what Megatron had intended. This bothered me for so long until I understood that it wasn't the same. Megatron was trying to create a cold, single-minded machine for his own purposes. We were trying to save Cybertron not just for ourselves, but for everyone on the planet.The Matrix sends me visions of my assignments. Locating new allies and investigating what Destron is doing to the planet. The visions are vague, and much of what I learn I have to find out for myself. I've always craved knowledge and I used it to help others. I never felt like I was doing anything great, it was just what I was good at. I never felt like a hero, probably because I was comparing myself to those that I thought were the real heroes, like Optimus Prime, Optimus Primal or even Dinobot. Dinobot...was it really him? After I brought Orion Prime online I saw something in the shadows, someone who saved us from a Maximal soldier. It looked so much like him. But that's impossible, Dinobot is dead...or is he? We all thought he was dead on prehistoric Earth, but Megatron brought him back as an evil clone. Could Megatron have done it again? I had been separated from my team by the collapsing cavern. I suppose I should have waited for them but I couldn't shake this feeling that I had to follow the mystery bot. Was the Matrix telling me to follow him, or was I convincing myself that it was what the Matrix wanted. If I continue to let my own feelings cloud my visions, I may become no better than Destron who believes the Oracle is calling him to create a new age for Cybertron.
I couldn't see the bot any longer but I knew he was somewhere in the small facility. He had helped us when that Maximal tried to throw a grenade at us. If he was on our side, why hadn't the Matrix told me about him? There were still a few rooms in the lab I had neglected to search. I had known where Orion Prime was and I thought that he was the only thing in the facility worth finding. The lab was old, maybe a decade or two, and it had been sealed off since before Megatron took over Cybertron. There was the possibility that he too was an emissary, then the Matrix would be able to transport him into the lab unseen. If the Matrix sent him, then it could really be Dinobot.
I came to another room in the lab, this one was rather small. In the back was a door partially covered by a computer terminal. The terminal was used to hide the door, obviously a secret lab. I pushed the terminal aside and tried to open the door but it was locked and there didn't appear to be a way to unlock it. I thought about forcing it open but I was interrupted by Nightwolf,
"Hey Rhinox, why did you ditch us like that?" he asked.
"I thought I saw someone I knew." I answered. Prime stepped forward,
"We should leave here soon. They'll be coming back for us with reinforcements."
"See? Stealthy retreat. This guy knows what he's doing." Nightwolf said. I decided the door could wait for a better time, I had to stay focused.
"There's an old military bunker we can use as a temporary base." I said, "We have to cross Maximal territory to get to it but once we're there we should be okay. The bunker is located in an abandoned section of the city."
"At least we'll have the cover of night." Ballistic said.
Ballistic took the lead in his vehicle mode, after talking to him about it I learned that he had been to the bunker before. I should have known that, he was part of Cybertron's military. Prime took to the air in his fighter mode, he was a tri-changer. Robot, tank, and air defender. Nightwolf walked beside of me in beast mode,
"Don't you have an alternate mode?" he asked.
"Yes, I just don't use it that often." I replied.
"Let me guess, with a name like 'Rhinox' I'll bet your alternate mode is....a gorilla?"
"You remind me of someone I used to know." I said thinking of Rattrap.
"Do you think we can really accomplish this big reformatting thing and turn Cybertron back the way it was? And what about the Matrix? Is it going to help us or do we have to do this on our own?"
"I don't know."
"Man you're boring."
Ballistic suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. I looked in front of him and saw two Predacons standing in the road. I recognized them both, Shadowclaw and Razor. I had never seen them in their techno-organic forms but my connection with the Matrix allowed me to sense their sparks. I knew Destron was desperate to stop us if he was sending them out. They were bounty hunters, Razor had a wolverine beast mode, he was known as an expert in hand-to-hand combat. Shadowclaw had a panther beast mode and was an expert tactician. Before I joined the Axalon crew I remember hearing about them a lot. Usually they rounded up fugitives like Megatron. Their loyalties were with the one who was paying the most, Maximal or Predacon. Glancing around I saw a Maximal flying above us he then landed on a nearby building. I recognized him even from a distance, Nightscream, Optimus Primal's former ally, now nothing more than an overpaid spy. Probably overseeing our capture.
"The four of you are under arrest!" Razor said, "Come peacefully or be taken by force!"
"Though we much prefer it if you resist arrest." Shadowclaw said smirking.
"Happy to oblige!" Ballistic said transforming to robot mode. He pulled out two weapons and started firing at the two bounty hunters. They easily dodged his attacks, both were much faster than him. Nightwolf, still in beast mode took off after Shadowclaw trying to take her down. She stopped a few yards away seemingly mocking him. He ran towards her at top speed, his exterior structure began to glow a little, then he vanished into thin air. Shadowclaw was confused for a moment, then something struck her from the side. I wondered when Nightwolf would learn to use his cloaking ability.
Razor kept the rest of us occupied easily dodging our shots and leaping around the battlefield. Shadowclaw still had her hands full with Nightwolf, otherwise we would have been taken down rather quickly. Prime finally got a shot in on Razor sending him reeling. Unfortunately, Razor's endurance prevented us from taking advantage of his weakness. Out of her mind trying to avoid Nightwolf, Shadowclaw ran over to Razor,
"We have to finish them off quickly!" she said. I looked around but I couldn't find Nightwolf, had Shadowclaw damaged him? Then, Nightscream cried out as he was thrown off the side of the building. It looked like he was being pushed to the ground. He slammed into the pavement but he couldn't get up, I realized Nightwolf was holding him down. I could hear Nightwolf talking,"Stop it! Either of you fire one more shot and the flying rat is toast!" Nightwolf said. The bat was more than a little scared,
"Do what he says!" he shouted in fear. Razor and Shadowclaw looked at each other trying to decide what to do. Then I noticed smoke rising out of a reappearing Nightwolf,
"AGH! I'm on fire!!!" Nightwolf yelled rolling on the ground. Nightscream took advantage of the confusion and quickly escaped into the sky. I ran over to Nightwolf to calm him down,
"Your cloaking ability uses a lot of power. Your exostructure will overheat if you keep it on too long. You'll be fine." I told him.
"I beg to differ." Razor said. The two of them were preparing for another attack. Without warning something leapt down from the building above and tackled Razor. I could clearly see what it was this time, a Trans-Tech velociraptor, it really was Dinobot. With Razor down, the raptor transformed into robot mode and attacked Shadowclaw with a blast from a gun on his arm. We were going to intervene but he looked like he was holding his own against the two. Just when it looked like the new bot had the Predacons on the ropes, Razor pulled his sword out and jabbed it into Dinobot's stomach. He fell down badly damaged but the bounty hunters did nothing to take advantage of the situation. Instead, they retreated down the street. Prime ran over to the bot and checked him,
"He's been hurt bad. We need to get him to safety." Prime said.
I helped the bot up, seeing him didn't convince me that he was Dinobot, but he looked a lot like him. He was on our side but there was so many things we didn't know like who he was or how he had become a Trans-Tech. We needed all the allies we could get though, especially now that Destron has sent bounty hunters after us. I now worried about my own destiny more than ever. Nightscream had been there during the battle, helping the techno-organics. Would I also have to fight my former friends? Redemption was a long and difficult road, but I knew I would be better for it.
