MONSTERBOTS RAID AGAIN

By Charles Ellis

CHAPTER ONE

"BURN THE NEBULONS!"
The city of Blisstopia was a happy city, full of life and peace
right up until the Decepticons decided it would be fun to blitz.
Krunix, Cyclonus, Apeface, Weirdwolf, Quake and Scorponok had
descended on the city at midday, catching it by surprise. Apeface and
Cyclonus bombed the roads, trapping the Nebulons inside the city,
while Krunix activated an electromagnetic pulse weapon that knocked
out all communication devices in the city. Then the `Cons were
allowed to rampage through the city, causing as much damage as they
wanted.
Scorponok amused himself by blasting a few panic-stricken people,
but he didn't have much time for games. He was going to attack the
solar power station in the centre of Blisstopia and capture it for
the Decepticons; they NEEDED the power desperately. They needed ANY
edge on those damned Headmasters.
He strode through the streets, grimacing as the Nebulons stained
his feet. He nodded with approval as Weirdwolf went charging past,
chasing cars full of people. And he finally reached his destination,
an oasis of calm where the devastation had not reached and where
people were sheltering. In the centre was the solar power centre.
He grinned and walked briskly towards it-
WHAM!
"YOOOOOO-HOOOOO!"
Scorponok cried out as the ground erupted beneath him, spewing out
Repugnus in creature mode! The Monsterbot began battering the
Decepticon, screaming out a list of swearwords. Scorponok swatted him
away.
"Out of my way, Repugnus!"
"Eat slag!"
He grinned. "Oh, OK. I'll eat THE SLAGGED REMAINS OF YOUR CORPSE!"
Repugnus shrieked as laser fire tore into his chest and staggered
back. Scorponok laughed in triumph and charged forwards, tackling the
Monsterbot into a row of buildings.
High above, Cyclonus was interrupted in his strafing raids by a
low-flying Grotesque, and Quake was surprised from beneath by
Doublecross. And entering the city from the West was Kup and Highbrow
in vehicle mode.
"You know the plan," said Highbrow. "I'll assist Grotesque in
dealing with the flyers and you protect the people!"
"Gotcha," said Kup. "D'ya think Repugnus can handle Scorpy alone?"
"I hope so, Kup. I truly do."

"YOU HAVE NO HOPE!"
"SHADDUP! YER PROGRAMMER LICKS EXHAUST PIPES FOR UNICRON!"
Scorponok hurled his rampaging foe into the power plant. The
Monsterbot swore as bits of glass and rubble dug into him, and he
transformed. He loathed using it, but this time he WOULD have to rely
on his gun to win. Ah, well.
"EAT LEAD!"

Quake swivelled his turret around, trying to hit Doublecross. It
wasn't working; one head was directing him and the other was roasting
Quake with ease.
"Oh, come ON!" said the left head. "Is this the best the
Decepticons can do?"
Quake growled. "No. THIS IS."
He fired, cursed as Doublecross dodged and screamed as the blast
caused a building to fall on him.
"Oh, great. We're REALLY impressed."
"What a dumbass."

YEAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGH!
"Trying to defeat ME?" sneered Cyclonus. "Grotesque, you couldn't
even if you tried."
"As long as I don't see you with your hull off, I'll die happy.
GROTESQUE, TRANSFORM!"
He opened fire, Cyclonus nimbly avoiding each shot and managing to
fire off quite a few of his own. He laughed at the Monsterbot's
efforts, never realising he was just setting Cyclonus up for a seeker-
missile strike from Highbrow.
BOOOOM!

"Here, Nebby's…"
Weirdwolf chased a group of Nebulons around the corner and found
Kup's blaster waiting for him.
BLAM!

Repugnus collapsed, his hull dented and smoking, his gun bent into a
perfect U shape. Scorponok kicked his side, daring him to get up and
continue fighting. He then cried out as the wounded Apeface was
thrown into him.
"WHO DARES?!"
"We do," said Kup, flanked by Highbrow. He had his gun aimed right
at Scorponok's head. "Now get outta here before YOU need a
Headmaster."
There was a long silence. Krunix saw this happening and rushed over
to attack, hoping to tip the situation into Scorponok's favour;
Repugnus transformed and tackled the Decepticon, jamming his claws
into his chest.
Scorponok growled and transformed. "Decepticons! Retreat."
The battered warriors flew off, smoking and dented. Krunix ran
after them, only for Repugnus to grab him in a chokehold. He screamed
and tried to through the brute off, and after a wild glance noticed
Doublecross and Grotesque were now on each side of him, guns armed.
BRATATATATTA!
He wasn't dead, but it'd be a lot of hassle for the Decepticons repairing him. Repugnus
picked up Krunix's severed arm; it'd make a good trophy for his room.
"WE WON!" cheered Doublecross. "Do we rule?" he asked
himself. "Indeed! Oh, thanks!"
"You'd like to think so, wouldn't you?"
The Autobots looked over at Highbrow. He looked pained, and Gort's
voice was coming from his mouth.
"What d'ya mean?" asked Kup. "We won!"
"Maybe. But look at the city. Look at the death, the destruction,
which WE WEREN'T ABLE TO STOP. And look at the power plant we were
meant…ha… to PROTECT."
The plant was flattened, the solar panels reduced to fragments of glass.
Repugnus scratched himself self-consciously.
And then there were the Nebulons. They were pulling each other out
of the rubble, and staring in shock at the ruins. A few saw the
Autobots and pointed trembling, accusing fingers at them, their faces
drawn with hatred.
"Robotic BASTARDS!"
"Why'd you come here?!"
"You feel proud about all this, huh?!"
Highbrow sighed as he regained vocal functions. "Gort has a point.
This is a detestable business and all we're doing is help cause
damage."
"But it's either this or we let the Decepticons spread unchecked,"
argued Grotesque. "That'd be worse, and you know it."
"I do, but the Nebulons don't. How can we explain it to them? Let's
just go…"

"Doublecross, forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't we come on this
mission TO AVOID FIGHTING?"
"You're right, Doublecross. But we can't exactly quit. We may not
play by the rules all the time, but we don't abandon people to the
enemy!"
"I do," muttered Repugnus.
"Oh, shut up."
"Yes, we do have to do this," said Grotesque. "Still, we DID try to
get away from it all. To try and NOT become sparkles killers." He
thought for a minute. "Maybe… Maybe we should do what Maximus and Co.
did. Become Headmasters."
"Why?"
"…I dunno. It just could help, having a Nebulon thinking with us.
Make us appreciate other things."
"Nah, I'm not letting some fleshie share MY brain," said
Repugnus. "We could just talk to `em, get to know `em, y'know."
"That'd work," said Doublecross. "We could learn to see this planet
in a new light! Appreciate art and nature and wossname! Focus on
stuff OTHER than war! …I agree with him!"
Grotesque smiled. That was it, they had a plan. A plan to avoid the
fate that had claimed many of their old friends; the loss of spark,
total immersion in war and war only. They could now focus on LIFE,
finer things, and-
Sinnertwin was blocking their path. Kup and Highbrow were ahead,
they didn't know the Terracons were here…
"Relax, I'm not here to fight. SINNERTWIN, TRANSFORM!"
Doublecross backed up slightly and hissed at the dragon. "What do
YOU want?"
"Simply put, we'd like to make a deal with you…"

CHAPTER TWO

"Let me see if I have this correct," said Doublecross, his monstrous
face right up against Sinnertwin's. "The Terracons are out to betray
Scorponok. The Terracons, led by the EXTREMELY LOYAL Hun-grr. Right?"
"Hun-grr doesn't know about this," said Sinnertwin. His voice
trembled slightly; Doublecross' interrogation was getting to
him. "Me, Cutthroat and Rippersnapper are doing this ourselves."
"Hmm… I see…" The other head swung round without warning and
growled into the Terracon's ear. "Now, if we believe YOU… and I don't
think I do…Scorponok is planning to get rid of you guys. You take up
too much fuel, and you've discovered, via our good friend Scourge,
that he's going to send you on a suicide attack on the Autobot base.
Sounds phoney to me; he needs yer gestalt power."
"He has the knowledge and technology," said Rippersnapper, "to turn
other `Cons into gestalts. He has his eyes on the Horrorcons and
Skullcruncher. Now, I don't want this, so I'm working with you to get
rid of Scorponok before HE gets rid of us!"
"And in doing so, I put Hun-grr into a VERY good takeover position,
huh?" sneered Doublecross.
"Well, yeah, though Cyclonus and Scourge would probably try to take
over themselves. Or not. Those two are WEIRD. Anyway, I need you and
your guys to bump off Scorponok. Our base IS well-guarded, but I
happen to know of a blind spot in the defences. One a good Autobot
strike team should be able to get through…"
Doublecross stared deep into Sinnertwin's optics. He hissed. "You
got yourself a deal."

"YOU MADE A DEAL WITH THEM?!"
"Yes, Grotesque, I did and it's not the first deal we've made with
traitorous Decepticons, now is it? Anyway, HE thinks we're gonna
benefit HIM. BUT… it benefits us more!"
"How?"
"Think about it," he said, both heads grinning fit to burst. "We
get a chance at killing Scorpy. And after that, we get Hun-grr in
charge, and he's not as good a commander as Scorponok…" His grins
widened. "This means our side wins more battles, defends the Nebulons
more easily AND means we win the battle quicker. QED."
"You'd think Sinnertwin would realise this," said Repugnus,
scratching his chin.
"Yeah, you would. But he hasn't."
"How d'ya know?"
"Engine feeling. Now, he says the best time to attack is in 2 days.
So we need to plan, get armed and get across the country for the
attack."
"Should we get the other Autobots involved?"
"What? NO!" Grotesque looked around worriedly. "If Fort Max found
out we were dealing with Decepticons behind his back, he'd tear off
our Autobrands, take our weapons and then… sorta give them back…
Let's just say it won't be fun for someone with a slagging bazooka,
OK?"
"He'd be pissed," translated Repugnus. "I can live with that. We
just stay quiet and do all the dirty work. Heh heh heh."
"What IS it with you and the dirty work? You act like a slagging
Battlecharger at times."
"Well, it all started a few minutes after I'd come online…"

Galen took off his Headmaster armour and sighed. Being a Headmaster
was a gruelling task, and it didn't help that he had to deal with the
Council and those anti-robot groups springing up all over the planet.
It had already cost him Llyra… And then there was the matter of Lord
Zarak. He'd disappeared a few months ago, and many were muttering
about how Galen may have decided to use his new power to get rid of
his political rivals…
"Hey, Galen!"
"Wha-? Oh, hi Grotesque."
The Monsterbot peered down at him and said, "we'd like to have an
audience with Maxie's head, please."
"Oh, sure. First door on your right."
The Monsterbots walked off. Galen looked after them, bemused. They
were a strange group. He never really could tell how they'd gotten
together into a team; they were so different! A mystery wrapped in an
enigma, that bunch. Still, as long as they were defending Nebulos
effectively…
"You want to WHAT?!" Fortress Maximus stared at the Monsterbots in
shock. "I cannot allow you to go to the Decepticon base alone!"
"But we have a lead," argued Doublecross. "Those missing Nebulons,
Zarak and that lot; we think the Decepticons have `em! We could
rescue them!"
"What you are suggesting… It's suicide. I'm sorry."
"We've been in worse situations," said Grotesque. "We can defend
ourselves. And YOU are the one so obsessed with protecting Nebulos
that you TORE OFF YOUR OWN HEAD. `I'll give you the most I have to
give… MY SANITY!' I mean, Primus, if you were willing to do that…"
"It was the only way to avoid all-out war between us and the
Nebulons." He sighed. "Fine. If you are willing to do this, I can't
exactly stop you. But turn back THE MOMENT the Nebulons are in
danger!"
The Monsterbots left.
"I think that went rather well," said Grotesque. "We just make sure
we don't squish anyone and we're home free! Now, where's the heavy
artillery…"
"Guns?" sneered Repugnus. "I need no weapon but my claws!"
"Last time you tried that, Scorponok kicked your aft."
"… get me a gun."

The Monsterbots armed themselves and set off for the Thok plains. It
took them twelve hours of constant travel to get near enough without
being obvious. The problem was that the nearest refuge was right next
to a Nebulon industrial city, oblivious of the robotic menace near
them. Ironically, the people there were extremely vocal in Autobot
prejudice. They couldn't risk going into the city in broad daylight;
they had to sneak in under the cover of darkness and set up in the
sewers (Repugnus felt right at home there).
There, they hoped, they'd avoid detection.

He knew they were there.
His name was Muzzle. He was Nebulos' greatest detective… or he HAD
been Nebulos' greatest detective. What the people of Nebulos' loathed
to admit was that there WAS crime on this world, not much but enough
to cause problems, and VERY well organised. Muzzle had made a huge
dent in the criminal population and therefore angered Heater, a very
big trafficker of illegal pleasure-pods. He'd framed Muzzle for a sex
scandal and the detective had gone out of business. He was now stuck
working in a library, a job he only got because of his friendship
with Librarian Master Quig; Quig was really his only friend, save his
old schoolmate Flintlock and his informant Tracer.
Even though he was out of business, he still took an interest in
the criminal activities. Tracer provided him with information; a nice
kid, young Tracer, though still filled with guilt over a crime he'd
committed. But Tracer noticed EVERYTHING, and so he'd noticed the
giant claw marks near the sewer entrance.
Muzzle measured them, and frowned. "Transformers. But why are they
here?"
"Maybe we should leave," said Tracer. "I mean, did you SEE what
those robots did to Blisstopia? They're dangerous, Muzzle."
"Ah! Don't be so quick to judge. The Autobots are trying to protect
us, albeit clumsily. Now, are we dealing with Autobot here or
Decepticon?"
"No way to find out." Tracer saw the grin Muzzle was giving him and
winced. "Aw, we're not going down there, are we?!"
"Why, what a great idea, Tracer!"
They clambered down into the innards of Thok City. It was pitch
black down here. Muzzle and Tracer had night-vision goggles on;
torchlight would give them away. They were quiet, making as little
noise as possible. They were expert at covert operations.
And they STILL got found out by Repugnus.
"BOO!"
"ARGH!"
Repugnus sniggered as the Nebulons cowered before him. "Couldn't
resist. Now… What are you doing here?"

CHAPTER THREE

"I could ask you the same question," said Muzzle. "The presence of
a giant robot in a sewer is a little… odd."
"I like the décor," said Repugnus flippantly. "Now get lost. This
is beyond ya, squishy."
Grotesque came up behind Repugnus. "What's beyond who?" He saw
Muzzle and waved a paw. "Oh. Hello."
"How MANY of you guys are there?!"
"Just three. We're the Monsterbots; a crack Autobot strike team,
and amazingly handsome if I do say so myself!"
Muzzle looked at the monstrous face of Grotesque and forbade
comment. "Why, exactly, do we need a team of Autobots beneath the
city?"
"Why are we talking to this guy?" hissed Repugnus. "He'll give us
away! Let's just leave him!"
"Hey, c'mon Repugnus! We decided to interact with the Nebulons
more, remember? Here's one right now!"
"I thought we'd do that AFTER the battle!"
"We've got time to kill."
"Oh, alright…"

Rippersnapper sidled up to Sinnertwin and whispered, "You do it?"
"Yeah. The Monsterbots will attack in tomorrow."
"Good. That'll show that uppity Scorponok. Well, for all of one
cycle!"
"Keep your voice down!" hissed Sinnertwin. His eyes darted around,
but nobody was watching them. "We can't afford to be found out.
Scorponok doesn't know that we know his plan, and I want it kept that
way. He'd fillet us!"
"We could take him!"
"Maybe, but you know that tomorrow he's testing that new Eco-
Energon Converter he built! That thing'll boost his power and when
that happens…" The dragon shuddered.
"Here, you think the Monsterbots will be able to handle Scorponok?"
"Yep. Granted, they'll be dead on their feet at the end, easy
targets for ol' Hun-grr, which should DEFINITELY cement his claim as
Decepticon leader. And then we'll no longer have to follow that green-
painted twerp anymore, OR have a bunch of Autobot wannabes running
around!"
The two of them chuckled and walked off.

Muzzle was fascinating. He shared with the Monsterbots his knowledge
of Nebulon culture, its history and the great war before hand. The
Last War was the cornerstone of Nebulon society…
"Before it," said Muzzle, "we were split into about fifty
different nations, all potentially hostile and well-armed. Nobody
really remembers how the Last War started, but it tore apart the
planet and killed half our population. After that, we swore NEVER
AGAIN. Military technology was locked away and nations were disbanded
in favour of a large, united Nebulos. And thanks to this unity, we've
been at peace and harmony for millennia."
"Until we showed up," said Grotesque quietly. "We're sorry. We only
wished to share in the peace. We didn't mean to bring war back here."
"I know," said Muzzle. "But thank you, anyway. I, er, hope your
mission goes well."
"Oh yeah, that," said Repugnus. "Ooo, boy, I have a plasma grenade
with Scorponok's name on it…"
"NO."
They all turned to look at Doublecross. His right head was tense,
its lip trembling. "We can't attack Scorponok," he said. "Don't you
see? If we do, the battle will surely spill out into this city!
People would die."
"But if we don't do it," argued his other head, "MORE people will
die."
"How do you know? If we remain on defensive, it is possible we
could contain the damage and the Decepticon advance, but if we force
an attack there WILL be damage done to this city! Do we really want
people dead coz of us?"
The second head fell silent. "… He has me there."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" Repugnus shook his head in
disgust and started pacing. "We have a chance of taking out
Scorponok, for booting up cold! Y'know, that is kinda A GOOD THING-"
"Not if we get people killed," said Grotesque. "You know Fortress
Maximus wouldn't want that EVER."
"You actually give a slag about them? Those guys insult all the
battles we do FOR THEM, they call us evil and menaces-"
"Do you want to be responsible for proving them right?"
"…"
Repugnus looked away. The other Monsterbots sighed.
"That settles it," said Doublecross. "We're saying `screw you' to
the Terrorcons and leaving Thok City. No battle, no damage caused.
QED."

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

Cutthroat was flying recon with Krunix (now rebuilt after his earlier
decapitation; Cyclonus looked rather disappointed by this) and was
the first to notice the Monsterbots weren't coming. He found some
excuse to leave and radioed his fellow conspirators, telling them to
meet him.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT COMING!" exploded Sinnertwin. "They
promised!"
"Keep your voice down," said Rippersnapper. "Look, they could be
late-"
"Scorponok's nearly set up his Converter! I arranged it so they'd
be on their way now! They ducked out on us… oh, we're SLAG."
"So what do we do?" asked Cutthroat. "Now we're just waiting to all
be disposed by Scorponok. No Monsterbots now…"
"Then we have only one option," said Sinnertwin. "We have to attack
him ourselves."
"You can't be serious-"
"I AM. Look, we can do it- he won't be expecting us, and we can
expect Blot to join in, and maybe Scourge, if we're lucky. Anyway,
there's three of us to start with and remember hearing that back on
Cybertron, Scorpy lost to the Predacons-"
"So did we! We're not in their league, Sinnertwin!"
"Well, do YOU want to wait around for Scorponok to send us on the
suicide run and replace us with the damn Horrorcons? Because I'm not.
If we're gonna end up dead anyway, I'd rather do it tearing that smug
petro-rabbits optics out!"

Scorponok carefully placed his new "toy" into the ground. It was a
strange, cylindrical shape, with three prongs sticking out of the
bottom. These would absorb energy from the nearby plant-life (the
Nebulons had produced special plants that fed on the industrial
plants pollution and used it in photosynthesis, providing
environmental service) and direct it into whoever was plugged into
the device. Mainly, HIM. This little toy would give him the
equivalent of three days worth of Energon in just one dose, making
him strong enough to handle ANY enemy. Even that accursed Fortress-
POPAOPAMOW!
The device exploded and firepower pinged off his body.
"WHO DARES?!"
Standing behind him were three of the Terrorcons, in robot mode and
armed to the teeth.
"We do," said Sinnertwin calmly. "Prepare to die."

CHAPTER FOUR  

It was a bright, balmy day in the Thok industrial zone. It was hard
for any of the workers TO work, they all just wanted to sit back and
enjoy the sun.
They did NOT want a giant robot to land on them, but that's what
they got.
Scorponok got up, cursing softly. His steel was singed and slightly
dented, and now he had Nebulon stains on his aft. And the Terrorcons
were chasing after him, guns blazing. Enough was enough.
He transformed and fired a blast from his stinger. It hit
Rippersnapper, tearing through steel and circuitry and out the other
end. He screamed and fell down onto his knees. Cutthroat retaliated
with an overhead bombing raid, engulfing Scorponok in flames and
destroying one of the factories.
"Did I get him?"
FZAPP!
"ARGH!"
Scorponok climbed up, back in his robot mode. He was angry.
"If that is the best you can do, traitors, you should have just
killed yourself from the get-go! I'll tear our your diodes, Smelting
Pool fodder!"
The Terrorcons dodged his wild charge, letting him crash through a
factory, and headed for the city; they needed cover. Scorponok
screamed and chased after them, throwing a truck at Sinnertwin.
"You are DEAD for this treachery! YOU HEAR ME?!"

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

Doublecross slowly sneaked out of the sewer, checking around to make
sure nobody was watching. He found Tracer watching; well, actually he
was quietly wetting himself, but that was because he had been
watching.
"No need to worry!" said Muzzle cheerfully. He was riding on
Doublecross' left head. "These guys are on our side!"
The other Monsterbots squeezed out and into the street. A few
Nebulons saw them, turned 180 degrees and walked away VERY quickly.
"Let's head back," said Grotesque. "Mission aborted and all that
WHAT THE BLOODY HELL?!"
In the distance, smoke and flame were blooming, flowers of a
battlefield. Cutthroat could be seen hovering above, dropping bombs
occasionally and being rewarded with laser fire. Occasionally a
building would collapse, and a Nebulon would scream abruptly before
being finally, eternally, cut off. Grotesque stared and groaned.
"Oh Primus… We should have realised that just because WE decided to
avoid attacking Scorponok, it didn't mean the Terrorcons would have
as well! Damn it…"
There was no horror in their expressions. They'd seen worse on
Cybertron. But there was anger, for they should have known. THEY
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.
"Can't you do something?" asked Muzzle, his throat drying. "I mean…
God, they're going to wipe out the city!"
"What CAN we do," said Doublecross, "without causing more
destruction?"
Repugnus growled. "Who gives a slag? I'm going out to do what I
should have done instead of listening to you- tear Scorponok a new
exhaust pipe! HAI!"
He charged off, ignoring the cries of hesitation from his comrades.
Grotesque cursed.
"That's it, he's dead. Kiss the city goodbye, people…"
"Not necessarily," said Doublecross grimly. "I have an idea. Fly me
near to the Decepticon base and then go back up Repugnus."
"Gotcha."
He grabbed hold of the dragon and took off, in a low flight so as
not to be spotted. Muzzle and Tracer watched them go.
"Muzzle? What do we do now-"
"Get your car, Tracer. We have work to do."

Scorponok slammed Cutthroat into a skyscraper and began tearing at
his wings. There was no war cry now, no sound at all; just cold fury.
There were people in that skyscraper, people with lives and hopes and
dreams, but he cared nothing for them. Who did?
"GUESS WHO?!"
Scorponok was slammed into from his side and he went flying.
Repugnus got into his fighting stance, and looked towards the
groaning Cutthroat.
"Ah, stop whining ya pansy. And support that building so the
Nebulons can get out."
"You think I'll waste my fuel saving-"
"Or I'll do it and YOU can fight Scorponok."
"I'll do it."
Scorponok got to his feet and snarled. So the traitors were working
with Autobots, eh? Damn them! Well, it mattered nothing. He didn't
care if they had Optimus Prime himself with them; THEY WOULD DIE.
Repugnus dodged a laser blast, which hit a nearby building. He
groaned.
This is slagged. I know now I have to keep the Nebulons safe… But
that means I can't dodge attacks, because people will get hurt. So I
have to LET those blasts get me! DAMN DAMN DAMN!
He charged, slashing Scorponok across the chest and received a
punch to his face. The metal bent inwards.
"That hurt, slagsucker-"
WHAM
"SILENCE AUTOBOT!"

Tracer and Muzzle drove towards the battle scene. The Terrorcons had
retreated to reload and lick their wounds. But Repugnus and Scorponok
were fighting, and the Monsterbot was being pounded. Cutthroat was
watching whilst supporting a building.
"Oh, this is really bad, Muzzle…"
"I know. Get out and help the wounded."
"What about y-"
"Is this car insured?"
"Yes, why?" Realisation hit him. "You're not going to-"
"YES."
He drove off and headed towards the battle.

WHAM
BAM
KER-ACK
Repugnus was falling. Scorponok was badly wounded, but the
Monsterbot had to let EVERY attack hit him, and he couldn't fall for
fear of hurting someone. He cursed Primus for making him care about
fleshlings, and he hoped that Scorponok would stop hitting him soon,
because he couldn't take much more without his head cracking open…
Muzzle drove the car straight for Scorponok and then leapt out,
skidding along the ground and tearing open his arm. The car hit
Scorponok's foot and exploded.
"ARGH! So, you blasted Nebulons attack me now, eh?" He transformed
and aimed his stinger at Muzzle. "No matter."
The detective got up and ran, trying to avoid the Decepticon's
laser blasts. It didn't quite work; he avoided it, only to trip over
some rubble. He'd been out to distract the brute, so Repugnus would
have an opening, but the Monsterbot looked comatose (could robots go
comatose?) and he was about to DIE…
BRATAAATA
Scorponok shrieked as gunfire struck his back. The Terrorcons had
finished reloading.

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

Mindwipe ran towards the battlefield, gun in hand. He had to help
Scorponok-
He was knocked down and fell, face first, into the dirt.
Doublecross was holding him down.
"Hi."
"What do you want?!"
"A deal," said Doublecross. "You are going to go to that
battlefield and hypnotise Scorponok. He won't remember the Terrorcons
mutinied; he'll think it was just us Autobots. And he'll forget all
about getting rid of the Terrorcons and turning the Horrorcons into a
gestalt."
"Gah… What concern of yours are the Terrorcons?!"
"None. But the people in Thok City ARE my concerns, and a
Decepticon civil war would hurt them. Therefore, I want to make sure
one isn't provoked."
"What's in this for me?"
"Well, for starters, I just placed a timed bomb on you. Do as I
say, and I won't detonate it."
"… Fair enough."

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

Sinnertwin fell, his leg blasted off. Cutthroat was already too
wounded to continue fighting, and so Rippersnapper was the only one
left.
It mattered not. Scorponok was badly wounded, it would only take a
few shots…
Grotesque swooped down and landed next to the fallen
Repugnus. "Man, you look worse than usual!"
"Uh huh… Can you restrain Scorponok? I think he'll still be tough
enough to keep the fight going, and therefore-"
"Yeah, I know. But I doubt we can do much about it. Face it,
Decepticon reinforcements will be showing up soon and then this city
is just so much rubble. We're screwed."
Repugnus nodded. "Yeah. Man, I'd be dead now if that Nebulon hadn't
attacked Scorponok. Hard man."
"Muzzle did that? Primus… Still, right now I- HUH?!"
Mindwipe was swooping down. "SCORPONOK!"
The Decepticon leader looked at him and was struck by his power. He
froze, shook his head fuzzily and looked around. "Ah… Blasted
Monsterbots…" He looked over at the Terrorcons and snarled "call
yourselves warriors?! You were meant to protect me and instead the
Monsterbots frag you! Fools…" And with that, he finally gave up and
collapsed.
Rippersnapper watched all this and looked to Mindwipe for help.
Mindwipe said: "He now thinks the Monsterbots did this to him. Yer
off the hook."
Doublecross walked over and helped lift up Repugnus. "Let's leave,"
he said.
"Need to thank Muzzle…"
"We'll send him a letter when we get back to base; we can't stay
here without starting another battle."
"Right…"
The Decepticons let the battered heroes leave. They walked a few
miles from the city and then sent out the signal for an Autobot
recovery party.
"Soooo… Was that a victory?" asked Doublecross.
"Can't be," said Repugnus. "My head hurts too much…"
"Dunno," said Grotesque. "We failed in our original mission, and
the city is damaged. We had to work with Decepticons. On the other
hand, we learned how to relate with the Nebulons, got Scorponok
totalled and prevented the city from being totally destroyed. We also
no longer need to worry about the Terrorcons starting a civil war
in `Con ranks and causing damage. So, I guess we won."
"I don't know." Doublecross sighed. "I think we drew. I'd hate to
think this WAS a victory. I feel like slag."
"At least we're alive. And so is Muzzle and his friend. That's a
good thing."
"Yeah, you're right."

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

Muzzle looked at the wrecked Thok City, and made a decision. There
was a war on Nebulos now, and probably on other worlds as well. And
though he hated it, he had to get involved. He had to try and stop
the Decepticons from doing this again. ANYWHERE. He didn't know how
he would, but he had to.
The Monsterbots had learnt from him. And because of them, he knew
of the fight and he couldn't ignore it. He had to get involved. To
protect his homeworld.

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

In the Decepticons base, Mindwipe lies back and yawns. He'd LOVE to
rat on the Terrorcons and Monsterbots, but he'd get slagged for using
his powers on Scorponok. Ah well, at least he was safe from being
blown up.
The detonator on his back bleeped slightly and went off.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
"ARGH!"
And a few miles away, Doublecross' heads giggle in unison.
"VICTORY!"

THE END