Back to the Utopus Realm

"Board the rocket."

Megatron's voice rang out with ultimate command.

"Now!"

He raised his fusion cannon and pointed it at Optimus Prime's head to emphasize his point. His eyes were full of gleaming malice as he stared into Optimus's soft blue ones, daring him to defy the Decepticon Lord.

Had he known that at that instant he himself was framed in the crosshairs of a powerful weapon, the look would have quickly disappeared.

Just try it, Megatron, the Transformer behind the crosshairs thought coldly, his finger barely a hair's breadth from the trigger. His eyes were hidden behind his visor, but his mouth was tight with determination. Just dare to shoot him. Dare to shoot at any of them.

He was a large Transformer, his dominant color a dirt brown with thin streaks of yellow outlining patches of darker brown. A helmet covered the top and back of his head, curving down to connect under his chin. On the back of his lower legs, large air intakes slanted outward and down from below his knee before abruptly angling back into his leg. The heels of his large feet contained the turbine engines.

His name was Dusty.

And he'd be smelted in the Center Core if Megatron fired on his fellow Autobots without Dusty retaliating.

The rest of the Decepticons had pointed their weapons as well, and the air between the two factions throbbed with tension as the seconds ticked by. Then Prime turned away and headed toward the elevator that would cart them to the rocket. Dusty was positive the Decepticons had built or at least helped to build the rocket. It had too many Cybertronian characteristics to be solely human work.

Prime's retreat was a silent signal to the rest of the Autobots, and they turned as well, following their leader under the guns of their enemy. Their respect for their leader's authority outweighed their personal opinions... for now.

Dusty respected the Autobot leader just as much. He had fought next to Optimus Prime and Prime had earned his respect. He had seen the leader keep going, never stopping till he had done all he could for his soldiers -- and then pushing himself even farther. But Dusty didn't, couldn't, agree with all of his methods. The fact that he was on his belly watching the others leave testified to that.

Yes, he respected Optimus Prime greatly, differences and all. But he wouldn't allow the gem planet of Earth to be shattered by the Decepticons, leaving the humans with a home that would not be a home because it would be so barren, as they had left his home on Cyberton.

Not this time. Not when he could do something about it.

The Autobots had boarded the rocket and moments later the engines flared to life and pushed it into the sky, towards the coldness of space. Dusty's deep blue visor darkened to almost black as it adjusted to the brightness of the flames, allowing him see without much hindrance as the Decepticons and humans left the premises.

He watched the transport ship carrying the Autobot army as it faded to a black speck before vanishing into the darkening sky. Rising, Dusty turned his back on the launch pad and tossed his Autobot patches away as he stared grim-faced into the setting sun. It was half hidden by the distant hills and was turning red, almost the red of Megatron's optics. He thought he remembered one of the humans saying that the reason it changed colors at sunset was because of all the floating dust particles in the air.

Fitting.

With a sudden leap, he transformed into a hovercraft and streaked across the sparse terrain.

It was late at night. The perfect time to strike.

Under the cover of darkness no one saw the alien hovercraft traveling, its turbine jet engines propelling it swiftly across the terrain. The vehicle's brown colors were broken only by the darkened windshield and two small side windows. The intakes, set at a 45 degree angle against the tapered end of the cargo section, continually gulped in air from in front to feed the engines behind.

Dusty traveled most of the way to his destination using his engines, but when closing in on the power plant that Megatron was lording over, he shut them down and just traveled on his levitation units, manuvering by varying power to different units. The faint whine that they produced quickly dissipated with distance and would not alert any Decepticon guards.

Dusty reached a rock and brush-covered slope, and transformed. His upper legs telescoped out from his lower legs and as his feet unfolded and touched the ground, bringing him upright, his arms unlatched from their positions on the side of the hovercraft and fell to his sides. His vehicle nose split in half vertically, the upper and forward half sliding back inside the cargo area, while the lower half slid inside his chest. With no immediate need of his fins, he relaxed their position and they lowered down to rest against his arms and legs.

Kneeling down behind a nearby boulder large enough to provide cover for him, Dusty laid his rifle across the top. He leaned forward and cradled the rifle stock against his shoulder and cheek, then took careful aim through the scope at the wall of the power plant.

The power plant was well lit inside, but the windows were few and small and its concrete walls made it impossible to see inside...normally.

Without removing his visor, Dusty adjusted the knobs and switches on his rifle's scope, fine-tuning its sensors until the Decepticons' outlines were clearly visible through the wall.

He watching the activity going on inside with interest until the roar of accelerating jet engines broke his concentration. He glanced up at the skies above the power plant, seeking the source of disturbance.

There it was. The unique wing design and the faintly visible red markings told Dusty the object in the air as Thrust. He was circling the power plant in an obvious search pattern that was slowly getting wider. Dusty studied the fighter carefully. What or who was the Decepticon looking for? Whatever it was, Thrust evidently expected it to be very close to the power plant; therefore, he couldn't be looking for Dusty.

Still, no point in taking chances. Dusty crouched closer to his boulder and did his best to blend in with it, changing his colors to match that of the stone. The darkness would help hide him if the Decepticon should come his way, but given Thrust's search pattern, that seemed unlikely. But if Thrust did spot him, Dusty would make sure he got his intakes full of Mother Earth.

A semi and trailer left the power plant, the sound of its diesel engine reaching his ears as a distant purr. The Conehead poked around the plant for several more minutes under Dusty's watchful optics before gaining altitude and streaking towards the distant horizon.

Dusty waited for him to disappear, not bothering to lift his rifle. Thrust's time would come eventually--just not now. He turned back to the power plant and, after settling into a mantainable position, continued his study of the routine inside. He would like to know who he could be expecting to leave the power plant first.

After an hour of careful study he selected Soundwave as his first target. His detection abilities represented the most danger to Dusty at the moment. Besides, the communication officer was always alert, his sharp mind at work, while his cassettes made him a walking one-man army. Rumble and Frenzy were out and about, though he couldn't tell one from the other; through the scope, their silhouettes were identical.

Not that it mattered, they were both going down.

He checked his ammo and made sure there was a round loaded in the top barrel, then went back to watching Soundwave through the concrete wall, waiting in the dark for a clear shot.

Half an Earthern hour later, his patience paid off.

Soundwave came to a halt near a group of working humans, unknowingly facing towards Dusty's scope and giving him a perfect target silhouette. As the Decepticon made a threatening gesture with his laser pistol, Dusty squeeeeezed the trigger of his rifle.

CRACK!

The sound split the night like lighting. The shell slammed Soundwave back into a generator. He slid to the floor, the hole in his chest sparking in a way that indicated serious damage.

Bringing his gun back down from the recoil, Dusty settled his crosshairs on a nearby Frenzy, who was staring at Soundwave in baffled shock, trying to figure out just what had happened. Again Dusty's rifle cleaved the night in half as its AP shell ripped through the cold air. It punched through the thick concrete wall, melting it with a combination of speed, pressure and heat before it smashed into Frenzy, ending his futile examination and any coherent thought.

* * *

"Outside, you idiots!" Megatron snarled, jabbing a finger towards the still smoking holes in the wall as he came running towards the scene. "The attack's from outside!" He came to a halt and whirled to look down on the severely wounded communication specialist. "Soundwave, release Laserbeak and Ravage!"

Soundwave weakly lifted his hand and ejected the two requested cassettes. "Laserbeak, Ravage," he commanded, his monotone voice wavering more then normal. "Search and Destroy." The two cassettes transformed in mid-air and followed the mass of scurrying Decepticons towards the exit.

Thunder rumbled across the cloudless night and Rumble, the first to set his feet outside the plant, was thrown back through the door and into the legs of the following group of Decepticons, tripping everyone.

Laserbeak flew above the pile of arms, legs and wings while Ravage bounded almost gleefully over the struggling mass, nearly stepping on several optics, and both sped outside, weaving to throw off any enemy aim while they headed for the surrounding hills.

Behind them their comrades had disentangled themselves with much cursing on one another's heads. The Seekers quickly took to the sky while the rest made tracks after them, ready to blast anything in sight...

Every nearby boulder, bush and any dirt pile big enoug to hide so much as a mini-Autobot had been melted to slag. They had been scanning, searching and combing the area for hours. And yet they still hadn't so much as found a track left on the ground or detected any readings that might indicate where their attacker was hiding.

Blitzwing had been struck a glancing blow in the back, but his tank armor had caused the projectile to angle off before it exploded nearby, causing only minor damage. Converging in the general direction the shot should have come from produced no results. Even Ravage could not pick up any scent to trace.

Needless to say Megatron was not pleased at their success.

He flew out of the power plant and landed on the ground near the searching Decepticons with a heavier than necessary "thud", an aura of displeasure crackling around him. "Spread out, you fools!" he commanded, immediately spotting a way to increase their effectiveness. "Spread out and search for that accursed Autobot!"

CRACK!

Megatron's head snapped around, first in the general direction of the sound, then towards the scream of the victim. Thrust, who had returned the runaway human to the plant and then joined the search in the sky, was no longer maintaining altitude.

Where his left wing had been was a short jagged stump from which smoke and sparks billowed out of as he plummeted down. Megatron narrowed his optics as he watched the red fighter dig a furrow in a nearby hillside, before he returned his gaze to where Thrust had been shot. His tactical mind spun into action, calculating, adding in possibilities.

Yes... he was beginning to understand where the shot could have come from.

Megatron looked back down at his army and found them either on their bellies hugging the dirt or peering from behind any cover they could find. Several of them were now wishing they hadn't been so thorough in destroying all the cover around them, leaving them open to an attacker they couldn't see, couldn't harm.

"Get up, you cowards!" Megatron shouted at them as the Seekers and Coneheads overhead quickly backed off from the area where Thrust had been shot and started circling above Megatron. Not eager to meet the same fate as Thrust, they were trying hide behind a more tempting target. "Get back to searching!"

"But mighty Megatron," Starscream transformed and landed near the Decepticon leader, "As long as we don't know where to look, he will keep picking us off. We can't keep searching like this!"

"Are you ignoring my order?" Megatron demanded, taking a threatening stride towards the other.

In mid-step he felt a burning sensation run across his shoulder before something exploded right behind him an instant later. The blast caught him off balance and threw him forward into the dirt at Starscream's feet, the ringing in his ears nearly drowning out the echoing report of the enemy's weapon.

Megatron pushed himself away from the ground, spitting dirt from his mouth. A glance up at Starscream showed the Air Commander wearing a snickering sneer on his face. Megatron's optics flared dangerously. How dare anyone make him lose face in front of Starscream!

"I will have his head!" he roared as he lunged to his feet. "No one fires at me and gets away with it!"

The clue he needed fell into place as he sighted the slope off to the side, his optics still glowing. There was only one area where a sharpshooter could hit a target in the air and within seconds shoot at him. That slope over there still had plenty of cover near the top and was half a mile away.

"Quickly, our enemy is over there!" Megatron never thought an Autobot could shoot so far!

"But Megatr-" Starscream began. Megatron cut him off by bringing his fusion cannon inches from the red and white Seeker's face and spat a last rock out.

"I want him found, Starscream," Megatron ground out. "And I want him found now. Or I'll settle for your head instead!"

Starscream's sneer disappeared as he belatedly realized that he had just saved his despised leader from the unseen sniper. Closing his mouth and giving Megatron a parting glare, the Decepticon took to the air, calling new orders to his flying comrades. The circling fighters broke up a few seconds later, spreading out and weaving in random patterns as they headed towards the coordinates that Megatron had pointed out.

Now, he had to mobilize his ground forces quickly. "Decepticons, follow the Seekers and surround our foe!" A few hesitated, but they got off the ground and quickly followed after the air support.

"Laserbeak, Ravage," Megatron called to the two cassettes. "Circle around behind. Make sure that he doesn't slip away without us knowing."

Laserbeak squawked in reply and flew off toward the hilltop, with Ravage following his grey shadow on the ground.

Megatron watched his forces move out before brushing dirt off his chest. He had better get back in the power plant and out of sight. He was obviously a prime target.

Through his visor, Dusty scanned the area ahead of him, calculating.

Until now he had been able to keep ahead of the searching army. They had boiled out of the power plant and were already past the melted boulder that had so recently given him cover from which to fire. Then, after he had taken down Thrust, he had noticed that Megatron had come out from the building and was standing out in the open.

It had been a clear shot; one explosive round into the neck and the Decepticon threat would have been reduced to a squabbling horde.

Unfortunately, Starscream had chosen that moment to question an order, and in doing so had inadvertently saved his leader's life -- a fact Megatron hadn't seemed to appreciate much. Sniper and Seeker alike were now cursing the jet's rotten timing.

Now they were getting close... Too close. Megatron was a battle master whose abilities were leaps beyond Dusty's, and in moments it seemed he had triangulated where a sniper might be, unfazed by the fact that he could not see his enemy. Already the jets were brushing too close to Dusty's cover. It was time to fall back to the next hill, and from there it was a matter of timing to pull off a disappearing retreat.

He transformed, his upper legs sliding into the lower portions. The upper half of his cockpit slid out from the cargo area to meet with the bottom half which slid up from his chest, sealing without a crack. As he dropped forward to the ground, no longer supported by his feet which had folded in, his arms snapped up and attached themselves onto the side of his cockpit, metal sliding over his fists to meet smoothly with the main hull. The fins located on his upper arms and lower legs unfolded as he settled onto his levitation cushion.

He moved out silently, not engaging his turbine engines. His levitation units weren't as fast or as manuverable, but they made less noise and left hardly any trace for scanners to pick up. That was how he'd been able to evade the confused Decepticons for so long.

Sol had come up over the horizon and brightened the sky, makng it easier to see, so Dusty kept to the trees as much as possible. He couldn't risk being spotted by the jets.

Suddenly Dusty came to an abrupt halt and, after a breath of a pause, he transformed out of his vehicle mode into a crouch, facing the way he had been retreating, his rifle ready in his hands. Something had made a sound, ever so faint, that just didn't fit in.

He was sure that any wildlife that had been residing in the vicinity had fled, so it couldn't have been an Earthen animal. What had it been? He waited, every sense straining to pick out what didn't belong in an environment that was still so alien to him.

He could almost feel the Decepticon army coming closer and closer to his position as he watched intently over his rifle. Their proximity sent a creepy feeling along his back that he quickly tried to squelch, with only partial success. The Seekers were starting to circle so closely that he could see the dirt streaks marring their colors.

A shadow of a movement drew his attention to his left. He activated sensors in his visor which let him detect the shape stalking within the shrubbery.

Ravage! So Soundwave had still been able to eject the cassettes!? He had aimed to damage or temporarily destroy that ability. Apparently that shot had missesd its mark as well.

Blaster slag! He was going to have to do something, and fast, or else he would be at the bottom of the heaviest dog pile the Earth had ever seen. He didn't want his only memorial to be an impact crater in the dirt.

From the slope behind him he heard the sound of rocks being kicked and sent tumbling by metallic feet, telling him that the ground forces were moving closer. Wood snapped under treads -- too loud and close. He had to move forward or be found by the ground forces. Yet if he dared to move and Ravage saw him, he would be in the same position.

Between a smelting pit and a pack of hungry Torans.

His mouth set in a thin line, Dusty flipped a switch on his rifle, changing the firing from the upper 'cannon' to the lower barrel and setting it to automatic.

Well, he decided as he sighted on the slinking metallic shape, here goes nothing. Holding the rifle against his hip, he started to squeeze the trigger...

* * *

Ravage halted, head cocked at an angle while his ears constantly moved back and forth, scanning for any sound. He was actually listening for a particular sound, one that he had been hearing until just now.

The sound had been faint, and could easily be mistaken for the sound of the wind. Except there hadn't been any wind blowing, and though he couldn't quite say what it was, there was just something wrong with the sound. Something that just barely brushed the audio sensors.

Ravage started moving again, cautiously, ears straining for anything as he moved towards the general direction where he thought he had last heard the sound. It had to be the Autobot. A soon to be dead Autobot...

* * *

A roar of nearby engines caused Dusty to jerk his finger off the trigger. Swamp mud! If there was a jet in the air near his position it wouldn't take a mathematician to figure out where he was if he fired. And as good as he was, he would have as much chance against Megatron's forces as would a bug would against a windshield.

A flicker of shadow from above made him to duck instinctively, doing his best to blend with the terrain by adjusting his colors accordingly. A Conehead had passed in front of the rising sun; he watched as the Decepticon circled and dissappeared from view.

Now there was no one in the air above him -- they seemed very hesitant to outdistance the ground forces. He should be able to snap off a quick disabling shot at Ravage, he thought as he looked back to where Ravage was... Or where he had been.

Ravage had disappeared.

Dusty hissed silently to himself and quickly scanned the area while his coloring faded back to normal. Ravage was good, which made Dusty's situation undeniably bad. He had to keep retreating, though. He could hear the ground forces creeping up the hill.

He started moving again, traveling at an angle to Ravage's last known position, and alert for anything that might tell him where the black Transformer was...

Light streamed in through the high, narrow windows of the power plant. The earth's sun could be seen through the newly created holes in the plant's walls as it rose into the blue sky. To the workers slaving below it meant the dawn of another day and the death of a hope born last night. After the fifth shot they had heard nothing but search patrols, and could only assume the worst.

To Megatron it was a reminder that a rogue Autobot was still eluding all of his forces.

He stomped over to Soundwave, who with the help of Buzzsaw had repaired himself temporarily. The communication specialist was kneeling beside the inert forms of Rumble and Frenzy, working on them while Buzzsaw kept watch over the humans.

As Megatron paused to watch, Soundwave finished his work and the pair shifted into their cassette forms. For a moment Megatron hoped that Soundwave had gotten the two up and running again, but it was quickly obvious from their dull colors that they were still inactive. Soundwave picked the cassettes up and placed them inside his chest before getting to his feet, favoring his wounded side. Another reminder of what one accursed far-shooting Autobot could do.

Megatron put a fist on his hip as he scanned the building. So much energy, so much power at his hands. Bah, so there was one Autobot running around. Just one. Soon he would run low on power and would have to find some place to resupply. Most likely he would go to the Ark. Megatron's army, on the other hand, would have limitless resources. They'd be ready for him.

A familiar tread made its way to his side. Megatron didn't need to look to see who it was. In his present mood, the mere thought of yet another verbal battle made his optics narrow ever so slightly.

"I have seen to it that the Autobot will not escape, Megatron, as only I could." Yes, that was Starscream's voice, ever bordering on insubordinate.

The Seeker turned his head this way and that, looking around the building. "What has required your great courage here?" His voice turned to silk with just the right measure of curiosity. "Surely Soundwave, as damaged as he is, is more than able to handle this building full of pitiful humans."

Megatron turned and started walking around the power plant again, not bothering to rise directly to Starscream's jab.

"Look at it," he said instead, waving a hand at the piles of energon being produced. "All of this... mine."

He emphasized the word mine, his own reminder to Starscream as to who was still in charge around here. "Have you ever seen so much energy, Starscream?"

A light on Soundwave's shoulder started flickering, making him pause in midstride before turning and interrupting Megatron. "Warning. Strong energy transmissions detected."

Megatron glanced at Soundwave with concern. Had the shot done more damage than than they'd realized? They were in the middle of a power plant!

"Of course," he confirmed. "From the generators, Soundwave."

"Negative, Megatron," Soundwave refuted firmly. "From primitive jet engines."

Megatron's eyes narrowed. So the humans dared rebel against him? They would learn a harsh lesson... and he knew just the mech to teach them. Besides, it would relieve him of Starscream's company for a while.

"Starscream, go and --"

"I anticipated your order," Starscream interrupted, one corner of his mouth twitching up slightly. "O fearless leader."

Once transformed, the Seeker didn't even bother to head for the exit doors, but instead rammed through the ceiling. Megatron glared at the new ventilation system, then lowered his gaze to the bullet hole in Soundwave's chest.

Why couldn't that Autobot at least shoot the right Decepticon?

***

Ravage crept through the foliage as stealthily as any jungle predator. Had he given himself time to think on it, he would have been hard put to bring to mind any other bot who could move so quietly.

His ear twitched and he paused, two paws freezing in mid-air as he strained to hear. Had he heard the crunch of a foot putting weight on the ground? Of dirt particles being ground beneath a metal heel? Keeping still, he tested the air. Nothing.

Again he sniffed, but detect nothing that smelt like it was from Cybertron. He was about to continue searching another way when he felt a faint brush of wind. Acting on instinct, he drew another breath.

And opened his mouth in a small smile of victory as he was rewarded with the best results. He had caught the enemy's scent.

The enemy was close, very close. He quickly started off in the direction of the scent, getting even closer before the wind died down and stopped bringing the scent to him. But he didn't need his nose anymore. He detected movement, and was able to see the enemy for the first time.

His eyes glowing slightly, Ravage positioned himself to leap onto the enemy Transformer. One swift bite into the neck, and the victory would be his.

* * *

A soft noise was his only warning before a weight slammed Dusty forward and off balance, pain blossoming in his shoulder as something tore at it. Ravage! The cat's razor teeth were within inches of his neck!

Dusty thought fast. Instead of resiting the forward motion caused by Ravage's impact, he shoved off with his feet and turned it into a somersault. He landed hard on his back, letting Ravage take the brunt of the impact.

Ravage did his best to hang on, but the shock of being crunched between the heavy Autobot's armor and the unyielding ground shook him loose. Free of the cassette's teeth, Dusty rolled to one side, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and Ravage.

Ravage snarled in rage. He had almost had the Autobot's lifelines crushed between his teeth. Another second, and he would have eliminated the sniper without even calling for backup. He twisted and got to his feet with another growl. He could still make this kill.

Dusty came out of his roll facing Ravage, one leg folded beneath him and the other stretched towards the rock formation behind. He dropped his rifle to catch himself on his right hand, sending a jolt of pain through his torn shoulder.

Ravage was already on his feet, eyes blazing as he whirled to face Dusty and spring towards him. There was no time to scoop up the rifle; Ravage would be all over Dusty in a sparkpulse, using his speed and smaller size to his own advantage.

In one blurring motion, Dusty yanked his baton out and sent it spinning to meet Ravage in midleap.

The cat's eyes widened as the flying object registered, but it was too late to dodge. The baton smacked into his forehead, denting it, and ricocheted off at an angle, still a whirling blurr.

The impact snapped the cat's head back and he crumpled upon landing, sliding to a stop near Dusty's outstretched hand. Dusty straightened and caught the returning baton without taking his eyes off the cassette.

Ravage was still conscious. His optics were flickering dimly, and he was struggling to get up. Given time, he would recover and bring Megatron's entire army down on Dusty's head. Couldn't have that.

Dusty brought his fist down in a hammer blow. The Decepticon let out a soft hiss and stopped moving, his optics dark. Satisfied that the cassette would be out of action for the day, and probably the one after as well, Dusty retrieved his rifle and got to his feet.

He had only taken a few steps away from the scene of the fight when an unearthern shriek pierced the air above him. He lunged forward instantly, feeling heat wash across his heels as laser fire raked the area he had just occupied. He hit the dirt, slid, and rolled into a half-kneeling position, his darker patches evaporating to match the tan of the ground. Random splotches of richer tan appeared, mimicking the nearby rock formations. It wouldn't fool Laserbeak for long, but a few moments was all he needed.

He pulled out his other baton and flipped them both over to join the long ends together. Before they'd quite touched, a ribbed cylindrical mechanism appeared from subspace, enclosing the ends of both batons. Dusty locked them firmly together, feeling the click of connection in his mind.

He froze as Laserbeak made another pass overhead, trying to blend with the brush and rocks. The baffled cassette swung his head back and forth. There was no way a bot that big could just crawl under a rock and disappear!

He flew on, still searching. Dusty gave another mental command and pulled the right baton out of the join band, trailing a luminous blue energy line between band and baton. He waited as Laserbeak wheeled for another pass, spotted him with a triumphant shriek and opened fire.

Wait... wait...

Dusty held his ground as the bolts struck ever closer, waiting until they scorched his armor.

Almost... now!

Dusty surged to his feet and sent the loose baton into the air with a flick of his wrist, the engery line hissing through the air after it. Laserbeak hit the line with a squawk of surprise as his small body became the fulcrum of a dizzying wraparound derby.

Dusty felt the line tighten as the airborne baton ran out of slack and hooked over Laserbeak's wing. Dusty turned as the mechanical condor flew over him and tightened his grip on the second baton in anticipation.

The next instant Laserbeak ran out of line and found himself arcing towards the ground. Only his quick reaction saved him from a high-speed introduction to Mother Earth; he rolled out of the unexpected dive and veered towards Dusty, intending to blind the Autobot with a blast to the visor.

Laserbeak's maneuver caught Dusty by surprise. The Autobot whipped up his arm to protect his face and flipped out his fins to form a shield. The bolts dissipated harmlessly across his armor. It would have been a different story had Laserbeak hit his visor.

The Autobot ducked as Laserbeak whizzed overhead and realized that he was now on a collision course with the rock formation that Dusty had been eclipsing. He tried to pull up, but the baton and ever-tightening line kept him from gaining altitude in time. He had time for just one fleeting thought.

This is not my day.

Dusty winced at the sound of metal smacking rock. He hunted through the brush until he found poor Laserbeak -- on the ground and out for the count. He freed the baton and line from the cassette and surrounding bush, then reeled the line in until the batons were once again connected. Another mental command sent the join band back into subspace for storage. He flipped the separated batons around and slid them back into place along his sides.

Suddenly he remembered why he had been so keen on keeping a cease fire and looked around, surprised that there were no Decepticon jets diving in for the kill. Had they been anywhere near the area, they would surely have noticed the scuffling. And if they'd radioed his position to the others, they should have all been on him faster than Starscream could tick off Megatron. Yet he couldn't so much as hear a jet.

Had he died and gone to Cybertron?

He activated his helmet radio and flipped through known Decepticon channels.

Nothing.

He cocked his head and broadened the search until he hit an active channel. But it wasn't the Decepticons transmitting.

"Carrot, watch your six!"

"Tagged the blue F-15."

"The red one is on me!"

"Slaggin' Decepticons! They shot down Hurl!"

"Smee, Suntan, split up. Now!"

"I got a lock on the black -- He vanished! He just disappeared!"

"Venom Squad, Control. Be advised; The black F-15, designation Skywarp, has short distance warp ability. We think his favorite trick is to reappear at his attacker's six."

Dusty frowned slightly at the strange transmissions until realization dawned. He was hearing human pilots in combat with the Seekers. So they were in the air... but where?

He pulled a sensor from his utility belt, wincing as the movement jostled his damaged shoulder, and swept it in the direction of the distant power plant. The sensor obediently displayed a map of the area and overlaid it with blinking points to mark Decepticon positions -- as well as several unfamiliar signals, moving fast. The sensor tagged them as human fighter jets. Two of them winked out in mid-blink as he watched, victims of Decepticon ruthlessness.

There was something else too, a signal so faint that the sensor barely acknowledged its existence. Dusty stepped this way and that until reception improved and scrutinized the diplay so closely that his optics almost crossed behind his visor. Now he could tell that it was actually several signals... and they were closing in rapidly.

Well, well, well. Dusty felt a small smile play across his lips as his mood brightened considerably. It was about time!

He put the sensor away and transformed, engaging his turbine engines for greater speed, and took off in the direction of the power plant.

Megatron smacked the large human, causing him to sprawl on the floor at his feet, dazed. Worthless beings. He pointed his fusion cannon at the other three humans staring at him with startled yet defiant faces.

"Grovel for my amusement," he demanded, his voice leaving no doubt that he would blast all three into ashes in one shot if they did not do as he ordered. He doubted they would make the smart choice and live. These three were trouble; these three had tried to get the evidence to clear the Autobots name. And the one in the wheelchair, despite his obvious disability, had tried to contact the Autobots through Teletran-One.

Yes, he would like it very much if they gave him any little excuse to blast them. They were too annoying to be left alive for very long. The three merely stared up at him and made no move to get on the floor and beg for mercy. As he had known they would not. The one in the wheelchair jutted his chin up in rebellion. Megaton's red eyes narrowed as he surveyed the trio. So be it.

But before he could trigger the cannon, the other young human whipped his head around towards the wall.

"Do you hear that?" he asked his companions, excitement lacing his voice. Puzzled, Megatron looked up as well. The older human seemed to know what the young one was talking about though.

"...It sounds like..."

All three of them spoke, excitement packed into one word.

"Autobots!"

Now that Megatron was listening, he heard what the humans' ears had picked up. The sound of ground vehicles, lots of them. Then one that sounded all too familiar came to a halt outside the window, and an unforgettable voice called out.

"Megatron!"

"No!"

* * *

With the Decepticon air force busy fighting human jets and the ground forces hesitant to advance, Dusty had been able to slip around them and find a suitable elevated ground. It wasn't quite a hill, but his view of the battlefield-to-be was good enough. As he settled to the ground on his belly, he saw several Terran vehicles pull to a halt outside the power plant. They were led by semi truck.

And let the show begin.

It didn't take Megatron long to react. There was a breath of a pause after the semi pulled to a halt. A blast from inside breached the power plant's wall and the Decepticon leader stormed out into the open. Using his scope, Dusty could see surprise mixed with utter hatred on the Decepticon's face.

The large Decepticon was obviously exchanging words with Optimus Prime, but Dusty was too far away to hear them. Then Megatron called his army, and as they came to his side, the Autobots transformed out of their vehicle modes.

The two forces seemed to measure each other for a moment, as if waiting to see who would be first to flinch. Then they scrambled for cover and a flood of deadly energy filled the air between them.

Sunstreaker, you idiot, get to cover, Dusty urged the yellow Autobot mentally. The shiny yellow Autobot was firing blast after relentless blast at the Decepticons, unflinching under their return fire. You know, cover. Like, dive behind that boulder before you catch one. The twin was a pain, but Dusty wished no Autobot injury. Besides, he was a fine warrior when not preoccupied with his looks.

A red and black blur tackled Sunstreaker and both of them went flying behind the large boulder, Sunstreaker waving his arms and legs in protest until an explosive projectile made confetti of the space from which he'd just been removed. That's right, Dusty remembered. You can afford to be a little reckless when your brother's around to yank you out of trouble.

Dusty let his scope and optics roam the battlefield, checking on both friend and foe. The Autobots had the upper hand at the moment, so he held his fire and waited. A movement caught his eye; he panned the scope in time to see Starscream slam to the ground, one shoulder blackened by a glancing shot.

The Air Commander staggered to his feet and made his way back to Megatron's side. Dusty shook his head at his stubbornness. You know, Starscream, you just got shot standing exactly there a moment ago. Why not move so you won't -- oh, nevermind.

He shook his head again as the red and white Seeker caught not one but two blasts in the chest and was thrown back even farther than before.

See what I mean?

The Seeker was no great threat at the moment. Dusty went back to scanning the battlefield as something started nagging at the back of his mind. The dynamics of the conflict were about to change... he felt it, not knowing why or how.

Alert, Dusty scrutinized the Decepticon ranks, trying to understand what his intuition was telling him. What was it? There was nothing except... No! There! The six Constructicons had gathered together, and it wasn't hard to figure out what they were going to do next.

Urgency flashing through him, Dusty trained his rifle on one of the green robots and fired.

* * *

Megatron felt rather than heard the impact; Dusty's rifle was far too quiet to be heard above the roar of battle. Had he not been an alert and experienced warrior, the Decepticon might have dismissed it as just one more weapons discharge among many. The cry of the victim drew his attention immediately.

He twisted to throw a glance behind. Longhaul was on his knees, clutching a shoulder shredded by a lucky blast from the Autobot ranks. There was no way he would be able to transform and merge with that kind of damage.

No matter, Megatron thought as he turned his attention back to the Autobots before him. Longhaul was an arm; even missing an upper limb, Devastator would still be able to form and crush the Autobots. Even as he risked another backward glance, the remaining five were going through their preliminary transformations to create the mighty gestalt.

He had barely gone back to exchanging shots with Optimus when he realized that none of the Autobots currently battling his forces could have caused Longhaul's injury. He made it a point to be familiar with Prime's warriors and their weapons of choice, none of which had that particular damage signature. It could only have been --

Another shriek both cut his thought short and confirmed it. Hook was down, sprawled motionless where another precision shot had dropped him. Now missing both arms, Devastator stood uncertainly as a scatter of Autobot fire bounced off his armor.

There was that quiet report again as a round impacted against Devastator's chest joint. The confused gestalt took a step back as two more projectiles exploded against his chest. They weren't piercing his heavy armor, but neither were they bouncing harmlessly off as was the laserfire. Megatron cursed so volubly that Thundercracker spared one hand to cover the audio receptor nearest his leader. That son of a retro-rat sniper was trying to take down the Constructicons before the gestalt could wade into battle!

He warmed instantly to the idea of crushing the unseen Autobot with his bare hands; as distance made that impossible, he settled for redoubling his attack on Optimus instead, snarling with rage. Devastator could shrug off the long-range shots despite his missing parts. There was still time to turn the tide against the Autobots.

The ground shuddered beneath his feet with a finality that could not be ignored. Devastator had tripped over his own feet and broken apart. Even as he watched the Constructicons stumble to their feet, another shot spun Mixmaster around and put him out of action.

Without the gestalt, Megatron knew he had to pull out, and the faster the better. There was no point in letting his warriors sustain any more damage, or indeed in waiting for the sniper to single him out again.

"We've lost the advantage!" he cried, activating his foot boosters. He climbed into the air, swearing to himself that Prime would get what was coming to him. The rest of the Decepticon army was quick in following its leader's example, pausing only long enough to gather up those too injured to transport themselves.

The Autobots gathered near the power plant and raised their weapons in the air, obviously cheering as the Decepticons fled. Smaller human figures poured out of the newly blasted opening; many bounced and waved their arms excitedly despite their energy restraints.

Ah well; all in a day's work. Dusty settled contentedly on the ground to watch Ironhide and the others go about freeing the humans from their high-tech shackles. Grapple and Hoist transformed into their vehicle modes and began to clear away battle debris with help from Prowl, Red Alert and Inferno.

He looked to the sky. The sun was well past the halfway point, already on its way down to the horizon. Had it been only last night that he'd fired his first shots, not far from this very spot?

It took several hours, but eventually the last captive was unshackled and the mess had been gathered into a neat mound. During that time the military arrived and erected a multitude of tents to house the civilians until they could be transported home.

The sky was aflame with sunset colors when the Autobots gathered outside the power plant's fence once again to confer with several humans, Mr. Sean Berger among them. Mr. Berger now had two guards with him at all times, courtesy of the Army. They weren't letting him get out of sight for a moment. Dusty felt his lip twist with extreme dislike. The big human had only discovered what Dusty already knew; Megatron kept his promises no longer than it suited him to.

He dispelled the thought with a shake of his head. No need to dwell on that. It looked like there was a three-way conversation going on between the Mayor, Mr. Berger and Optimus Prime. Whatever was being said, it wasn't going well for Berger. Fortunately for him, the Autobots didn't suggest deep-spacing; the Mayor looked angry enough to agree.

Finished talking, Optimus called to his Autobots. They transformed and took off into the setting sun, headed west toward the Ark. Feeling a spreading satisfaction, Dusty rose, put his rifle away and transformed.

He dropped over a small roadside cliff to join the Autobot convoy and landed with an airy thump, sending a wave of condensed air across the road. Hound and Prowl saw him coming and moved over, but Sideswipe caught the worst of accompanying dust and swerved a bit before recovering.

"Hey, watch it, big guy! You nearly sent me off the road with that seismic wave of yours," Sideswipe groused, revving his engine irritably.

Dusty snorted. "You want a seismic wave, try the Dinobots stomping grounds."

Hound chuckled. "Good to see you, Dusty. What have you been doing with yourself?"

Dusty's fins conveyed a shrug. "Oh, I put in some target practice to pass the time. I found that big green and purple objects are hard to miss. You?"

"Oh, you don't want to know," was Hound's reply. "Count yourself lucky that your one-way rocket ticket got lost in the mail."

Prowl dropped behind Dusty only to pull up on his other side. "You're missing your patches, Dusty."

"Um, yeah," Dusty confirmed. Trust Prowl to notice a detail like that. "Maybe you could dig me up some more, once we get to the Ark."

Prowl's headlights flashed briefly in an understanding smile. "I'll do that first thing."

"I'm not going to let anyone kick me off this planet again," Hound promised. "Prime or no Prime. There's too much beauty here for me to leave willingly."

"I know what you mean," Dusty murmured. "We can't let Megatron have free rein here."

Sideswipe made a noise of disgust and with a roar of engines pulled up ahead of the three.

"C'mon, slowpokes!" he hollered back to them. "Pick up the pace so we can get home! I've got to get to my room before Sunstreaker does!" With that he tore ahead of them, weaving between the other cars until he pulled up alongside his twin brother at the front.

Home... his home had been on Cybertron. Dusty felt a pang of loneliness that he quickly banished. Now, home was this strange planet Earth; home was the Ark, buried in the side of a fiery mountain.

Still, it felt good to be able to call this place home.

"For once, Sideswipe has a good idea. Let's go home, guys."

The sun touched the hills, turning them into gold-laced silhouettes and setting off a cascade of colors along the whispy cirrus clouds. The sun itself glowed red as it sank lower in the dusty atmosphere. Then it vanished, and all that was left was the deep blue sky.

The End

... or is it?

Disclaimer: The Transformers and all things not fan made belong to Hasbro. Dusty though is of our own creation and he is ours.
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Need a picture of what Dusty looks like in vehicle mode? Can't quite figure out what his batons look like? View Dusty's Specs.

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