Crystal Clear

Emporium

Even more so than the Residential Sector, the Emporium is separated into hundreds of small structures, mixed in with numerous medium-sized and a handful of large buildings meant to correspond to the affluency of the businesses in question. Unlike the Residential Sector, though, these indigo steel/titanium-and-crystal buildings are almost nondescript, perhaps waiting for the new owners to personalize them with business logos and advertisements. The confusing, almost randomly-interconnected streets are short, wide, and disjointed, encouraging hidden nooks and cul-de-sacs to explore. Despite the availability of the buildings, there are few here to take advantage of the convenient layout and new establishments.

Crosscheck has arrived.

"Hnn. Me Grimlock think me find something 'portant."

The dinobot mutters this into his radio- not bothering with a secure channel, unfortunately. He's currently standing inside of a battered warehouse- empty, half destroyed, and really quite similar to the bunches of other industrial sites surrounding it. That is, well...except for one thing.

The large, shiny trapdoor taking up a good part of the floor!

Hinder is here, actually, but she's small and easy to overlook...hopefully. She's been meandering about the ruins of Crystal City for many Terran days now, either idly exploring or earnestly searching for something. Difficult to tell which if one were to track her movements. She shuffles along with her nose to the ground, pausing when she hears a voice. Risking being spotted by someone not-so-friendly, she stands up meerkat-like to see where the voice is coming from.

Crosscheck arrives piloting an hovercraft. He is wondering what is it that Grimlock found...hopefully it won't be a waste of time. The scientist parks his vehicle along the building from where Grimlock emitted his signal and climbs out of it. "Grimlock, where are you?"

"Over here!"

Grimlock looks over his shoulder at the sound of Crosscheck's voice. This done, he looks back to the trapdoor...and, impatient, Grimlock pulls out his energo sword and thrusts it into the gap between the doors- at which point he levers it back and forth, attempting to pry the thing open with a great *creeeeench!* of twisting metal!

Yeah, Grimlock doesn't do subtle.

Cyclonus flips forward ninety degrees, limbs folding up and a nosecone snaps down across his head. Wings emerge from his sides and Cyclonus is now in his powerful space fighter mode!

Starfighter < Cyclonus > is somewhere in the skies, leading a combat air patrol across Crystal City. Not so long ago, he shot one of the gumbies down for failing to maintain a tight formation. "Galvatron's standards demand better," he explained dryly as the screaming seeker fell to his doom.

Ravage is slinking through the city, climbing debris and leaping here and there - he and Rampage had been out and about seeking to cause a little trouble of their own. To this point they haven't had any luck drawing an Autobot response however.

Crosscheck is guided by the sound of Grimlock's handiwork. He enters the building and watches the dinobot prying open the trap door. "Thanks a lot for the indications...". The scientist looks around, trying to identify the building where they are. "Grimlock...be careful, we don't know what's inthere. "

Dust Devil has arrived.

Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > glances up at Crosscheck. "Course us dunno! That why me Grimlock open door." he explains, as if to a somewhat...slow child. Really, shouldn't these things be obvious? With a final *wrench!* Grimlock tears the door from its hinges and tosses it to the side. He peers downwards, holding up his glowing red sword as an impromptu torch...and pauses. "Me Grimlock think you better take look at this."

As, within the chamber in the floor, is a spaceship. A small one, sure- one that could hold only one or two transformers...but it certainly is a well-put together spaceship. All sleek lines and fins- it looks FAST.

Hinder can't help but notice Grimlock, and she notes the other individual with the dinobot. Dropping back to all fours, she quickly sends a radio message on a secured (hopefully) frequency.

There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode!

< Decepticon > Hinder says, "Found Autobots, Grimlock and other. They seem interested in something inside a building. Coordinates are... Permission to observe more closely?"

Dust Devil has actually appeared. He goes from hovercar mode to Autobot and approaches the Dinoking. ""Ya know it isn't nice ta threaten ta squish me. We ARE on the same side."

Crosscheck steps forward and looks down into the trap, "Well... how convenient... spaceships are my specialty." The scientist jumps through the trap door, landing beside the ship. "I don't know who built that thing but it is sure well built... But I have no idea how it got here. But I should be able to identify its origin."

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "Hmm. Interesting. Permission granted. Who else is in that area?"

< Decepticon > Ravage makes a soft growling sound.

< Decepticon > Hinder sends a slightly grainy still image of Crosscheck entering a half-destroyed building, Grimlock's imposing form just barely visible further inside.

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "Ravage. Excellent. Rendezvous with Hinder and assist with her investigation."

< Decepticon > Ravage emits another growl, inflected to the affirmative.

The hidden kitty diverts from his original goal and starts to track his 'sister' of sorts... Ravage cannot help but feel a little disdain over that. He doesn't like most of the siblings he has, but there you go. He's moving fast and quietly, though occasional scrabbling sounds might be heard - he's good at sneaking, but the field helps tremendously. It won't be long before he's got a strong scent of the ferret-tape, and is closing in.

"Is not threatenings. Is TRAINING." with that, Grimlock shears a chunk of the door off and casually throws it at Dust Devil's head! Lucky for the little warrior, Grimlock's more interested in the spaceship!

"Hnnn. It still work? If it work, me Grimlock can fly it! Me Grimlock good at flying spaceships!"

Dust Devil yelps and does a diving roll to avoid being hit by the chunk. "HEY! You know if you kill me, I won't die an agonizing horrible death in one of Kup's stories for you to hear over and over again." He does move closer. "Have ya done any scans before just rippin stuff apart like a human with presents?

"If me Grimlock kill you, then ME GRIMLOCK tell story!"

Somewhere in the skies above, Cyclonus rumbles to his wingmen, "Blastout, you are now wing leader. Continue the patrol, I have... matters to attend to." He breaks away from the wing, which reforms itself with surprising quickness and efficiency, and Cyclonus diverts himself towards the general direction of the incident Hinder detected. He maintains cruising speed, however, so as not to draw too much attention from anyone watching from the ground.

Crosscheck circles around the ship while replying to Grimlock, "I don't know if he works... but it is definitely brand new... Cybertronian origin. I would advise against trying to pilot it until I complete my inspection." He climbs on the hull and and takes a closer look at the engines. "Impressive. I've never seen that design. I must take a closer look at those."

Dust Devil hahs! "If you tell it, you'll be like you squished me in one stomp. The story SHOULD go that I fought valiantly against ya, nearly defeating you....and then you stomped me."

Hinder starts slinking closer to the Autobots, using the debris and her small size to stay as concealed as she can. She's not a professional sneaker like Ravage, but hopefully there's enough to distract them so she can get right up to them before she's noticed. She cringes and freezes momentarily at the sound of the chunk Grimlock threw hitting the ground, but then as nothing seems to follow, she moves closer still, peeking around a section of broken wall to see the opened trap door and the Autobots around it. Oooh, what's inside? Curiosity... a ferret's eternal downfall.

Fortunately for Dust Devil, Grimlock seems more interested in the spaceship itself than the act of murder. "Hnnn. 'least me Grimlock story be TRUE." he notes- and then looks back down at Crosscheck. "New Spaceship? Who build new spaceship in middle of war zone?"

"I did." A 'civillian' steps out of the shadows- he's a slim grey robot, with yellow optics...and a laser pistol that looks entirely too large in his hand. "I should have known this day would come." he murmurs. "Seems I couldn't work fast enough!"

To this, Grimlock growls, and takes a half-step forward.

Ravage draws closer, slinking and darting this way and that, his long tail countering his movements until he's practically next to Hinder. He doesn't announce his presence however, at least not at once. Instead he merely studies the Ferret before turning his attention to what she's seeing... slowly he circles around to the otherside, leaning in close he lets out the softest growl to let her know he's there, and then he's moving, spreading wide away from the other tape while he starts to close in on the trap door.

Crosscheck raises his empty hands to show he means no harm. "Calm down here. We mean no harm to you. You built that ship to escape Crystal City? Nice job by the way. But if you want to escape, we can help you...if you would just aim that gun somewhere else..."

Hinder startles slightly at Ravage's seeming abrupt appearance, but then she bobs her head at his faint growl and slips around the corner to shuffle closer to the Autobots and the as-yet unidentified fourth voice coming from the trap door area. She's not here, honest! She's just, um... looking for something else. Yeah. That's it. Don't mind her. At least she has the presence of mind to stop where there's a piece of debris to shield her from casual Autobot view.

Starfighter < Cyclonus > is, for the time being, still just cruising along. However, he does have a question or two for his "furry" little friends...

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "Report status. Have the Autobots found something?"

Grimlock tightens his fingers around the hilt of his sword- but the poor civillian remains alive...for now.

"Hah!" he says, shakily whipping his aim from one Autobot to another. "Lies and propoganda! You're just the same as the Decepticons- look, your brute just came in here like a common looter and started tearing the place apart! And why shouldn't he?" the mech gives a half-mad laugh, "My design is PERFECTION. I've combined both a FTL drive with the matter displacement circuits of a space bridge, creating a starship engine DOUBLY as fast as anything you've got! I'll need it, too, to get away from the likes youf YOU."

< Decepticon > Ravage starts to pump a visual feed through as he peers down at the ship and the 'civilian' below.

Crosscheck keeps his hands before him, "We're nothing like them...dinobots aren't exactly subtle but they are good guys... We didn't mean to intrude...this building is in ruin, we thought every civilian were long gone." He pauses for a moment, "It's a brilliant idea...how did you manage to do that?"

Ravage chokes back another growl and resists the urge to use his current situation to pounce upon the Autobots and maul them straight away. It is an odd sensation for him really... for some reason there is a strong bloodlust in the cat this particular cycle. Slipping in closer even as Hinder does, he focuses his attention on the civilian, studying every detail that he can. The mecha-kitty slinks around slowly, positioning himself directly behind Crosscheck.

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "...Excellent. That ship, though small, looks highly advanced. Ravage, Hinder... *attack.* I will join you... now."

Combat: Your stats and limits have been reset by an administrator.

Dust Devil grins at the new mech. "So what's yer name? I'm Dust Devil. I was just tellin Grimlock here ta be a bit more careful with yer stuff. And he's right about that soundin like a cool idea! Did ya teach yerself ta make it?"

Hinder snuffles at the air, trying to determine if the strange craft and/or the yellow-opticed mech is the source of the 'energy signature' that Galvatron has had her searching for for several days now. She slinks even closer as curiosity starts to win out, leaving her bit of cover and approaching Dust Devil... but then her attention shifts from the trap door to the Autobot. She stands still for a moment before dashing at her top speed to launch herself at the back of Dust Devil's knees.

And suddenly, from above, there is a great and terrible howling as a massive object hurtles through the air. It is Cyclonus, of course, and he is diving right down at the Autobots. "Decepticons! ATTACK!" he cries, and begins his assault by ramming his way right through the top of the warehouse's roof, transforms, and extends his legs towards Grimlock in an attempt to drop kick him in the face!

The space fighter's nosecone snaps back as its body flips upright. Arms and legs unfold from the wings and fuselage respectively, and a dour face emerges from the body, forming the robot mode of Cyclonus!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Grimlock with his Kick attack!

Combat: Drained 2 energon.

"Oh, wouldn't YOU like to know! I'm sure your primitive mind wouldn't even be able to UNDERSTAND my- AAAAH DECEPTICONS!" and as all hell begins to break loose, the civillian scientist fires off a few random blasts from his pistol, and dives for his spaceship!

Grimlock ducks beneath those badly aimed blasts...but then Cyclonus is smacking him right in the face! The dinocommander snarls, and his free hand whips up to grab at one of the Decepticon's legs, attempting to use that momentum to *SLAM!* him into the floor.

"Finally! Me Grimlock was getting bored!"

Combat: Grimlock misses Cyclonus with his Dino Judo! (Kick) attack!

Combat: Grimlock (Grimlock) used "Kick": A Level 2 MELEE attack.

Crosscheck spins around as the civilian shouts, just in time to see Cyclonus dropkicking Grimlock, "Oh great..." Then he notices the civilian going for his ship, "NO! That's what they want, they'll target you. RUN!"

All Ravage needed was the order from Cyclonus and a nice convenient opening, and... there it was. Bolting forward all at once, the tape-cat leaps with a ferocious metallic roar and swipes his paws right at Crosscheck's face, hoping to bounce off and bound away - the element of surprise spent, he moves quickly into a defensive stance, bright red optics glowing malevolently as he stares down the Autobot Scientist.

Combat: Suddenly, Ravage appears out of thin air!

Combat: Sneak Attack!!

Combat: Ravage strikes Crosscheck with his Slashing Paws (Kick) attack!

Combat: Hinder strikes Dust Devil with her back of knee chomp attack!

Cyclonus manages to do a roll through the air, neatly evading Grimlock's powerful grasp, and lands near the diving scientist. "I think not, my cowardly little friend. Lord Galvatron would surely desire your work for *himself.*" And, to prevent the scientist from flying off with the craft, Cyclonus whips out his sword with one hand and stabs it, hard, into the civilian's leg, hoping to pierce it right through to the floor of the warehouse and pin him there. Then, Cyclonus turns his attention back to the greater threat (by far), pulling out his Oxidizing Laser and trying to use its bizarre rusting properties to ruin Grimlock's knees. "Hrmph. Dinobot scum."

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Grimlock with his Oxidizing Laser attack! [Pulled -4]

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Grimlock's Agility. (Crippled)

Combat: Drained 20 energon.

Robot Tiger < Rampage > manages to catch up with the rest of the Decepticons. "Finally!" he says, when he spots the others locked in combat with some Autobots, notably Grimlock among them. "OK, where do you need me? How about all over THAT one!" he announces, attacking the Autobot that Ravage seems to be tangling with, attempting to chomp the Autobot's arm.

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

Combat: Robot Tiger < Rampage > misses Crosscheck with his It's not CAT-nip! (Punch) attack!

"Augh!" The scientist goes down beneath Cyclonus' blade, wailing. "Noo! You can't have it! It's mine! I made it!" he protests- but he's stuck in place, and there's nothing he can do!

Grimlock, meanwhile, growls menacingly and storms forward- the rust laser slows him down...but only slightly- as Grimlock soon transforms, and lashes out with those teeth of his, attempting to chomp down on the Decepticon and yank him AWAY from the spaceship! "Rrrrgh! Me Grimlock no let you hurt little puny man!"

With a grunt and a growl, Grimlock changes into a robot T-rex! Watch out.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Dust Devil yelps as he suddenly finds himself falling on his back. Hopefully he falls on the offending critter. There's suddenly cons coming out of the woodwork!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > strikes Cyclonus with his Bite and grab (Punch) attack!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > (Grimlock) used "Punch": A Level 1 MELEE attack.

Combat: You took 8 damage.

Combat: Dust Devil strikes Hinder with his Weasel squish (Punch) attack!

Crosscheck's face is slashed but thankfully, his face is protected by his faceplate. He's thrown to the ground, which conveniently puts him out of Rampage's way. He gets back on his fist and pulls something from his subspace pocket. "You wanna play kitty... catch!" Then he throws the device towards the Decepticon panther. "Everyone TAKE COVER!"

Combat: Crosscheck's attempt to use Modified EMP Light's Modified EMP Light attack on Robot Tiger < Rampage > goes wild!

Combat: Crosscheck strikes Dust Devil with the Crosscheck-forged Modified EMP Light Area attack!

Combat: Crosscheck's attempt to use Modified EMP Light's Modified EMP Light attack on Ravage goes wild!

Combat: Crosscheck misses Dust Devil with the Crosscheck-forged Modified EMP Light Area attack!

Hinder yelps loudly as Dust Devil falls over and slams the back of his leg (and her long with it) against the floor. She skitters frantically to pull herself clear, kicking and snapping at Dust Devil's leg as she tries to extricate herself, not even noticing the flash of very bright light.

___   ___    _  _   ___   _   _

/ __| / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | |

| (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

\___| \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)

Combat: Hinder misses Dust Devil with her I'm not a pancake (Kick) attack!

Ravage lets out a loud howl as Rampage butts in, snarling at his fellow cat at the intrusion before his attention is grabbed by Crosscheck... the thrown device is caught and with lightning reflexes, he leaps behind Rampage as the blast goes off, nicely shielded from the light and EMP as it goes haywire on the Autobot.

As soon as the danger is passed, he bolts around the other side of the larger cat and charges towards Crosscheck, his beady red eyes blasting out laser beams the whole way.

Cyclonus smiles at his handiwork thus far. One Dinobot's fighting capability has been damaged while the civilian is firmly pinned to the floor with nowhere to go. Cyclonus soon regrets abandoning his best weapon for close combat, however, once Grimlock has seized his arm and is dragging him off! "Arrrgh! You filthy beast, release me!" he growls, making a futile attempt to push the Dinobot off. With that not working, Cyclonus says, "Very well, I shall take you with me to the skies!" and transforms, his thrusters flaring as he tries to take off. However, with a massive Dinobot still clamped onto one of his nuclear turbines, Cyclonus barely manages to approach the ceiling before he and his "passenger" both drop to the ground! "Blasted Dinobot! Small wonder Galvatron hates you so!"

Combat: Ravage strikes Crosscheck with his Eyelasers (Laser) attack!

Cyclonus flips forward ninety degrees, limbs folding up and a nosecone snaps down across his head. Wings emerge from his sides and Cyclonus is now in his powerful space fighter mode!

Combat: Error - You can't pull that attack to level 3.

Combat: Starfighter < Cyclonus > misses Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > with his Ram attack!

Combat: Drained 5 energon.

Robot Tiger < Rampage > fortunately manages to duck as the device goes off, so it doesn't hurt him a bit. "Nice try, lame-o," he says to Crosscheck, "Looks like you need glasses." His gun ports flip open and rounds of ammunition start peppering the general area the Autobot is in.

Combat: Robot Tiger < Rampage > strikes Crosscheck with his Gun-Ports attack!

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

Dust Devil tries to get up in time when Crosscheck says take cover. The result is a flashsizzling of his exostructure, effectively ruining his paintjob and circuitry. Apparently this is Karma's way of getting even for laughing at Rodimus' new looks. He'd have been damaged worst but the charring he receives keeps him from further pain. Either way he ends up stumbling around, trying to clear his optics and get his systems working effectively again. Feeling something hitting his feet, he dances around, trying to get free of it and avoiding the nips!

Crosscheck grunts as his weapon has unexpected effects, "Sorry about that...". Before he can finish his sentence, he's hit by a laserblast, which leaves a burned spot on his left shoulder. "Hrmmm I'm gonna need to improve that design..." The scientist attempts to get some cover when Rampage starts firing at him but it's too little too late. His left arm is nearly shredded by the bullets. Trying to forget the pain, he grabs his sword and jumps towards the Predacon.

Combat: Crosscheck strikes Robot Tiger < Rampage > with his Ionic Sword attack!

Combat: Dust Devil strikes Hinder with his Ferret under Foot (Kick) attack!


 * CRASH!*

And Grimlock comes down on the ground- but, like a cat, he twists around in midair, landing on his feet! He grunts, and looks over the battlefield. "Hnnn. You Crosscheck science guy! Fix him!" he points over at the downed civillian (who's still wailing about the sword through his leg).

THis done, Grimlock sights in on Cyclonus- and he opens his mouth to belch out a stream of superheated flame at the nuclear jet. "Raargh! Is just you n' buncha cats vs. Me Grimlock! You know you no can win, right?"

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > misses Starfighter < Cyclonus > with his Fire Breath attack!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > (Grimlock) used "Fire Breath": A Level 4 RANGED attack.

___   ___    _  _   ___   _   _

/ __| / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | |

| (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

\___| \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)

Robot Tiger < Rampage > yelps as the sword cuts into him. He transforms and draws his own sword, facing Crosscheck. Holding the wound with one hand and the thermal blade in the other, Rampage hacks at the Autobot. "Oh yeah? I can play the slice-and-dice game too!"

Rampage rises up into his robot form.

Combat: Rampage strikes Crosscheck with his Thermo-Sword attack!

The tape-cat darts right past Crosscheck as he lunges after Rampage, his paws digging in a bit as he circles slowly around behind the scientist, his gaze flicking away and looking towards the ship. Ravage's optics flicker brightly and then he heads towards the conflict between Grimlock and Cyclonus, intent on slipping past them both while leaving the combative Rampage to deal with Crosscheck.

He starts to transmit something as he approaches, slinking and watching the two titans battling as he moves.

< Decepticon > Ravage starts to transmit video again, looking intently at the ship and overlaying it with one word, 'Acquire?'

Combat: Ravage takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "Hm, yes. Intfiltrate the ship, and take command. I shall keep this lumbering brute occupied."

Combat: Hinder takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]

Starfighter < Cyclonus > clatters to the ground somewhere near Grimlock, but is quick to revert back to robot mode and backflip over the roaring flames before hovering up and away from him. In fact, Cyclonus uses his antigravs to position himself so that, in order to keep his attention on him, Grimlock must face away from the craft. "Oh, I need not destroy you, Grimlock. I need only humiliate you, but that is hardly a difficult task since you have already humiliated yourself by the simple act of *existing.*" And with that derisory comment, he levels his rifle at the Dinobot and fires a more powerful blast at him.

The space fighter's nosecone snaps back as its body flips upright. Arms and legs unfold from the wings and fuselage respectively, and a dour face emerges from the body, forming the robot mode of Cyclonus!

Combat: Temporarily restricting the CRIPPLE effect from all of your attacks.

Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Cyclonus misses Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > with his Oxidizing Laser attack!

Combat: Drained 26 energon.

Fighting with one functional arm isn't easy. Crosscheck attempts to parry Rampage's sword but he's too slow and the predacon's sword slice deeply into his chestplate forcing him to fall back. The scientist adopt a defensive stance and goes right back at Rampage, trying to overpower him. "Grimlock! Get that guy out of here... I can't...reach him."

Combat: Crosscheck sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Crosscheck strikes Rampage with his Ionic Sword attack! [Pulled -2]

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

"Haw!" Grimlock ducks beneath Cyclonus' laser, and then growls a bit. HE looks over his shoulder at the other Autobots, who sem to be having trouble...and he grunts. "Hold on! You Autobots save stupid science guy!"

Again, he points at the civillian, and then he wheels around, attempting to *SMACK!* Cyclonus with that broad tail of his...and then he's storming after the other Decepticons! Rampage is treated to a *SNAP!* of Grimlock's jaws, while Hinder and Ravage had better watch out for the *STOMP!* of clawed dinobot feet.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > misses Cyclonus with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > (Grimlock) used "Dino Rampage": A Level 4 AREA-MELEE attack.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > strikes Rampage with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > strikes Ravage with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > misses Hinder with his Dino Rampage Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Dust Devil isn't being attacked by the monster that as under his feet. Or whatever it was. He hears Grimlock's orders and despite being insubordinate verbally, he does his best to do as he's told. He heads for the neutral. "Sir, we need to get ya out of here....." He looks back worriedly at his comrades.

___   ___    _  _   ___   _   _

/ __| / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | |

| (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

\___| \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)

Ravage reacts immediately to confirmation of his intentions from Cyclonus, the panther closing in on the ship quickly now, almost trotting. As he draws closer, he becomes wary however, Grimlock is close and could easily... yes, there it is.

As Grimlock goes into that frenzy, Ravage gets belted and slams against the side of the ship, dropping in a heap and rowling out in pain as he tries to regain his composure.

For the moment, at least, the cat-spy is down.

Combat: Ravage takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Rampage gets chopped into again with a sword, and on top of that he gets to feel the effects of one of Grimlock's Dino-rampages. Grumbling in discomfort, the Predacon tries punching Crosscheck square in the jaw.

Combat: Rampage misses Crosscheck with his TIGER! UPPERCUT!!! (Punch) attack!

Hinder skitters and hides behind an outcropping of the building's wall, narrowly avoiding getting stomped on by Grimlock the dervish and peers out across the way to see what's going on. T.Rex dervish, check. Autobot fighting with Rampage, check. Autobot reaching to help strange mech with yellow optics and a sword impaling him, ch...HEY! She darts out of cover again to try and take another bite out of Dust Devil.

Combat: Hinder strikes Dust Devil with her Achilles' tenderloin (Punch) attack!

Cyclonus simply floats up a bit higher to evade Grimlock's tail. "No, Grimlock, you will not save that 'stupid science guy.' Indeed, he shall meet his end here and now. He no longer serves any purpose." And with that, he opens fire on the civilian, but despite his words his aim is to injure him rather than kill him. Thus, he is aiming for a shoulder, just something to make him scream in pain and terror. "Pathetic Autobots. Always trying to save others who don't deserve the privelege... and failing."

Combat: Cyclonus takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Combat: Regained 10 energon.

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

Crosscheck nods at Grimlock who's trashing the Predacon in front of him. However, Rampage is a stubborn one and he goes right back at him. The scientist manages to dive under the punch and he stops just beside the neutral. "I'm a medic. Just relax, we're going to get you out of here." He decides to make his next move as fast as possible to reduce the pain. He grabs the sword and removes it from the civilian's leg.

Combat: Crosscheck takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

"Well, you could START by taking this SWORD OUT OF MY LEG." The civillian hisses at Crosscheck and Dust Devil- only to give another cry as Cyclonus' bolts strike home! Still, as soon as he's freed, the mech scrabbles forward- there's a *beep-boop!* and the spaceship begins to rise on its launching platform, cockpit hissing upwards!

"Now let me go! I won't let EITHER of your idiot armies have my masterpiece!"

Meanwile, Grimlock spits out a chunk of Rampage, and wheels back on Cyclonus. "Hnnn. Me Grimlock think you talk too much!" he says- and he bulls forward- putting his full bulk behind the charge as he attempts to tear into the tall decepticon! "Me Grimlock say you no get fancy spaceship!"

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > strikes Cyclonus with his Dino Crush attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > (Grimlock) used "Dino Crush": A Level 6 MELEE attack.

Combat: You took 17 damage.

Dust Devil frowns, "I'm sorry sir, here let Crosscheck get that out fer you. He's aaaaaah Dammit, will you let go!" He's got a the thing on him again. "I am NOT going to be able ta live this down..." He tries again to get rid of the Tape.

Combat: Dust Devil misses Hinder with his Metal Mustelids can Fly? (Kick) attack!

___   ___    _  _   ___   _   _

/ __| / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | |

| (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

\___| \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)

Ravage growls and hauls himself to his feet as the ship rises up... the black panther snarls towards the civilian and starts to move towards the cockpit. It is a strange thing to consider, of course... a Panther piloting a ship? Still, he seem's absolutely dead set upon getting into that cockpit regardless of the civvie, or Grimlock, or anyone else trying to stop him.

To that end, as he gets his bearings, he -leaps- for the cockpit, starting to transform downwards into tape form in the hopes of finding an interface he can plug into to steal the ship right out from under the unaffiliated scientists grip.

The Panther leaps and twists, compacting and transforming down into a small black tape.

Combat: Cassette Tape < Ravage > takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Rampage, still smarting from his injuries, decides to transform and try to maul Grimlock. "Let's see how you like this, you Dino-Dolt!" he snarls. Probably not the best idea Rampage has had in a while, but he's so worked up right now it doesn't even matter.

Rampage collapses down into his Tiger mode.

Combat: Robot Tiger < Rampage > strikes Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > with his Mauling attack!

Hinder has one advantage in being so small. She avoids Dust Devil's reaching hand without letting go of her teeth-grip on his achilles' tendon area then bites down harder, shaking her head a bit for good measure. Take this!

Combat: Hinder strikes Dust Devil with her tendon shred attack! [Pulled -2]

Cyclonus made the mistake of settling down onto the ground, thinking that Grimlock was distracted by Ravage and that perhaps he had to entice the Dinobot into focusing on him again. Of course, as it turned out, Grimlock needed little encouragement and before long Cyclonus finds himself making a nice bunny-eared imprint on one of the walls. "Hmmwwfffghhhhh!!!" Cyclonus grunts, teeth clenched as he struggles to push the horrible Dinobot off of him. "I... loathe you!" he grunts, though with his voice muffled it sounds almost like he really said, "I love you!" Regardless, Cyclonus is far from down, and if Grimlock isn't careful he'll find a disc clamped onto the side of his neck.

It's a small bomb, of course, and given that it explodes almost immediately, it seems that Cyclonus wants the Dinobot off of him even if it means injuring himself and Rampage in the process!

Combat: Cyclonus has created a grenade: "Small Disc"!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Robot Tiger < Rampage > with Small Disc's Small Explosion #10704 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus's Small Disc is destroyed!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > with Small Disc's Small Explosion #10704 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes himself with Small Disc's Small Explosion #10704 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus (Cyclonus) used "Small Explosion #10704": A Level 3 AREA-RANGED attack.

Combat: You took 11 damage.

Combat: You have foolishly damaged your own Agility!

Combat: Used up 1 Grenades. 0 remain.

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

Crosscheck sighs as the civilian still attempts to escape with his ship. He cannot stop him unless he knocks him offline...and he refuses to do that. The only option left to him is to protect his escape. He watches as Ravage leaps into the air and he jumps as high as he can, in hope to intercept the casseticon.

Combat: Crosscheck sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Crosscheck strikes Cassette Tape < Ravage > with his Punch attack!

Combat: Dust Devil sets his defense level to Fearless.


 * KABOOM!*

Grimlock is battered by Predacon and explosions both, which sends him reeling...right into the open trap door! The spaceship's cockpit is still low enough to provide a tripping hazard- and Grimlock falls right inside! The thing rocks on its mountings, but remains (mostly) stable...and then the cockpit quickly seals itself shut, leaving a somewhat confused looking dinosaur inside!

"Uuuuh. It okay." Grimlock says. "Me know how fly spaceships!"

The poor civillian, meanwhile, just looks on in horror. "NO! You fool! The launch sequence has already begun! I can't stop it! YOU'RE STEALING MY SHIP!"

Combat: Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Dust Devil frowns as this seems like its going to get worse before it gets better. He runs forward, trying to stay aloneside Crosscheck. "I've got a bad feelin about this." When in doubt stay with the guy with the brains. Unless he's wearing a red shirt and is low ranking. "What can we do to stop that thing?!"

___   ___    _  _   ___   _   _

/ __| / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | |

| (__ | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

\___| \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)

Ravage was so close he could taste it, and as such a small target surely he'd be okay! But no! Crosscheck slaps him clean out of the air, the tape smacking into the far wall and dropping with a clatter to the ground. For a long few moments he is stunned, and then the ship rocks, and with an explosion of transformation Ravage is on his feet, watching in horror as the cockpit seals around Grimlock.

So close, and that lumbering oaf was going to wind up with the ship... almost at once Ravage's attention is on Crosscheck, his bright optics blazing as one of his Proton Missiles primes, smoke streaming up from the thrust nozzle before flame bursts forth and the missile launches!

The little black tape suddenly explodes upwards, expanding out into a black and grey panther, Ravage has arrived!

"GAH!" the robot tiger howls, as Cyclonus' bomb blows and throws him backwards off of Grimlock. He lands on his back and is slow to get up. "Nice going," he murmurs.

Combat: Robot Tiger < Rampage > takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Combat: Ravage strikes Crosscheck with his Heat-Seeking Missile attack! [Pulled -2]

Cyclonus glares murderously up at the departing space ship, whiping away some soot from his own explosive. "NO," he growls, mostly to himself. He stomps past the remaining Autobots, ignoring them, and scooping his sword back up. With this weapon back in hand, he also jumps up onto the side of the craft and attempts to stab the blade right through the canopy and into the Dinobot! "You... clumsy... ignorant... oaf! I'll be damned if I'm letting you claim Galvatron's prize! Wretched, debased creature!"

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "That's unlike you, Ravage. You *failed.*"

< Decepticon > Ravage growls in frustration.

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock > with his Diamond-Boron Carbide Sword attack!

Combat: Drained 8 energon.

Hinder loses her grip on Dust Devil's ankle when he runs toward Crosscheck, tumbles briefly, then picks herself up, shakes herself off, and races after the mech again. She wasn't done chewing on that ankle!

Combat: Hinder takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]

___   ___    _____   ___   _   _

| _ ) / _ \  |_   _| / __| | | | |

| _ \ | (_) |  | |   \__ \ |_| |_|

|___/ \___/    |_|   |___/ (_) (_)

Crosscheck is blasted off his feet by the missile and he heavily crashes into the wall. He stumbles back to his feet in time to watch Grimlock taking off with the ship, "What in the pit is he doing /again/?" The scientist doesn't know what to do...this is a very unexpected turn of event. "Dust Devil, let's fight our way out of here." He charges towards the exit, slashing his sword at Ravage as he passes nearby.

Combat: Crosscheck sets his defense level to Neutral.

Combat: Crosscheck strikes Ravage with his Ionic Sword attack! [Pulled -2]

Cyclonus' sword easily stabs through the canopy- and into Grimlock, but it's not quite enough to carve it open! Grimlock just grunts, and shifts around- wrapping those claws of his around the controls- it's too cramped for him to transform! He can figure this out. "Hnf!" Grimlock says, and pushes a big red button that says 'ignition'...and with *FWOOOOOOSH!* the spaceship rockets into the sky, reaching orbit in a matter of seconds...and it still keeps going, and going, and going!

"NOOOOOO!" The wounded civillian cries, grabbing at his helmet. "You IDIOT! I hadn't installed the navigation computer yet! There's no TELLING where he's going- or if he'll ever come back!"

Dust Devil finds himself stuck with a very uncomfortable situation. He wants to listen to Crosscheck, but Grimlock is still in danger. Sort of. "Slaggit!" He raises his arm weapons and tries to fire on Cyclonus, hoping to dislodge the con.

Combat: Dust Devil strikes Cyclonus with his No peanuts on this flight! attack!

Combat: Dust Devil (Dust Devil) used "Electron Arm Guns": A Level 4 RANGED attack.

Combat: You took 4 damage.

Combat: Dust Devil's attack has damaged your Firepower!

< Decepticon > Ravage howls in pain -and- frustration this time.

< Decepticon > Cyclonus seems more calm and measured than normal. This is a bad sign. "Decepticons. Clear out of the warehouse. Now.

< Decepticon > Animal Crackers Rampage says, "You don't have to tell me twice!"

Ravage is cut down by the sword, howling in pain as it cuts deep into his body, leaving one leg not working at all, and a second limping. The cat isn't going to press his luck, and then of course the order is made anyhow. The wounded mecha-panther leaps as best he can, kicking in his anti-gravities and rocketing out of the building just as fast as he can.

Combat: Ravage begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Robot Tiger < Rampage >, Dust Devil, Cyclonus, and Crosscheck

Upon being ordered to withdraw, the Tiger turns tail and flees the area. "We

Upon being ordered to withdraw, the Tiger turns tail and flees the area. "We'll get you for this!" he says to the Autobots as he runs, "One of these days Predaking will stomp you all flat!"

Combat: Robot Tiger < Rampage > begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Cyclonus

Cyclonus has his grip loosened once Dust Devil fires open him, though the Autobot hardly needed to bother given that even a Decepticon as strong as him would be hard-pressed to keep a grip on that craft. "Arrgh, no!" he snarls in frustration as he tumbles through the air once the craft zips away from him. For a moment he considers pursuit, but it doesn't take him to realize how futile that would be--even an advanced space fighter like himself is easily outclassed by that thing. And thus, Cyclonus becomes very angry. Now, Galvatron's anger is, of course, a terrible and easy thing to provoke. Cyclonus, on the other hand, needs a great deal of provocation before he becomes angry... though in many ways it is every bit as terrifying.

"Autobots. Celebrate your victory in the few seconds you have left before termination," Cyclonus rumbles, "for you will not live to tell the tale to your comrades!" And with that, he transforms into fighter mode, ascending high into the city before dropping back down, straight at the warehouse. He then drops his *entire* inventory of incendiary bombs into the warehouse, and the orange-tipped bombs smash through the roof one-by-one before they connect with the floor of the warehouse and instantly turn it into a blazing inferno of death!

Cyclonus flips forward ninety degrees, limbs folding up and a nosecone snaps down across his head. Wings emerge from his sides and Cyclonus is now in his powerful space fighter mode!

Combat: Starfighter < Cyclonus > sets his defense level to Fearless.

Emporium

Even more so than the Residential Sector, the Emporium is separated into hundreds of small structures, mixed in with numerous medium-sized and a handful of large buildings meant to correspond to the affluency of the businesses in question. Unlike the Residential Sector, though, these indigo steel/titanium-and-crystal buildings are almost nondescript, perhaps waiting for the new owners to personalize them with business logos and advertisements. The confusing, almost randomly-interconnected streets are short, wide, and disjointed, encouraging hidden nooks and cul-de-sacs to explore. Despite the availability of the buildings, there are few here to take advantage of the convenient layout and new establishments.

Contents:

Dust Devil

Crosscheck

Robot Tiger < Rampage >

Ravage

Hinder

Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock >

Obvious exits:

North < N > leads to Academe.

Northeast < NE > leads to Memorial Square.

Northwest < NW > leads to Entertainment Sector.

Southeast < SE > leads to Crystal City Spaceport.

Combat: Starfighter < Cyclonus > misses Dust Devil with his Incendiary Bombs Area attack!

Combat: Starfighter < Cyclonus > strikes Crosscheck with his Incendiary Bombs Area attack!

Combat: Drained 34 energon.

Hinder stops abruptly and turns to flee out of building as well. She tries to keep up with Ravage, mostly to try and help him. But his anti-gravs are apparently faster than her feet so she's the last one out of the building. Though not for lack of trying.

Combat: Hinder begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Robot Tiger < Rampage >, Ravage, Dust Devil, Robot T-Rex! < Grimlock >, Starfighter < Cyclonus > , and Crosscheck

Crosscheck grabs the civilian and throws him outside the building. One moment later, it comes crashing down on the scientist who's buried under the rumble. It's going to take a while for him to crawl out of there....

You've been awarded the Nobel Prize for the science of great RP.

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "And now I must answer to Galvatron for this failure. Hm. But on the other hand... this battle has unexpectedly removed Grimlock from the fray."

< Decepticon > Ravage is panting softly in pain, and growling in abject horrific anger at the whole world.

Grimlock has left.

< Decepticon > Cyclonus says, "Be at ease, Ravage. You remain one of our most competent agents. For now..."

=
===================== Autobot =================================== Message: 3/115                    Posted        Author Grimlock MIA                      Mon Aug 15    Crosscheck --
 * Autobot symbol is replaced by the very damaged form of Autobot scientist Crosscheck**

"I got grim new to report.... Last night, Grimlock reported discovering something in Crystal City. Dust Devil and I joined him to investigate. Under a ruined building, we found a small cybertronian spaceship. Pretty advanced design with a whole new engine technology. Something far beyond what we're capable of building at the moment. We also discovered the civilian who built it...and he wasn't pleased."

He pauses for a moment before continuing, "He was treathening us with a weapon and before we could calm him down... Decepticons attacked. During the fight, the civilian was injured by Cyclonus. Thanks to Grimlock I was able to rescue him but as soon as I freed him from the sword holding him down, he activated the launching sequence of his ship... Cyclonus chose that moment to detonate a bomb, damaging the building and sending Grimlock flying right into the cockpit. The ship then launced while the civilian was screaming that he hasn't installed the navigation system... The Decepticons then brought down the building on us. I tried to throw the civilian outside but I got buried and I don't know what happened to him. I can only assume that Dust Devil dug me out. "

"Grimlock's ship reached space in a matter of seconds, that ship was going faster than anything I've seen... Autobot, I'm sad to report that Grimlock is gone. He cannot pilot that ship and we can't know for sure where it headed or our far he got. I'm gonna try to calculate some potential destinations so we can send a rescue them but it could take month given the ship's speed. Crosscheck out."

=
=================================================================

=
==================== Decepticon ================================= Message: 2/50                     Posted        Author Grimlock Departed? Sun Aug 14   Cyclonus --       Cyclonus appears on-screen, glowering at the camera... but glowering is normal for him. "Mighty Galvatron, let me first begin this report by apologizing to you. I have, regrettably, failed to retrieve a one-person spacecraft of unparalleled speed for you. As I oversaw the attempt to retrieve it I must take the majority of the blame. However, there is perhaps an unexpected benefit from this failure, as I will explain.

"This incident began as one of Soundwave's cassetticons, Hinder, notified me of suspicious Autobot activity. It seems they were rummaging about in some warehouse when they found the spacecraft which I mentioned earlier. The owner of the spacecraft was none too pleased by this, however, and tried to stop them. It was in vain, of course, as I, Ravage, and Rampage arrived at the scene and challenged the Autobots for control of the craft. We did battle with them, and Ravage came *close* to suborning the craft for our purposes, but alas, it was for naught, and the clumsy Dinobot *tripped and fell* into the craft, which was already taking off automatically. And then, despite my best efforts, the craft suddenly accelerated straight into the stars, and thought I greatly desired to pursue it, I knew by mentally calculating its velocity that such an attempt would be an exercise in vanity. But, this may actually prove to be a boon. The Dinobot's incompetence, I believe, will result in him failing to pilot the craft, and thus, its astounding speed shall send him streaking across the galaxy, thousands of light-years from his friends. Without their pet, the Autobots shall lose a powerful ally and the only Dinobot capable of keeping the others in line. So... I suppose it's not a total loss."

Cyclonus's left optic brow raises a bit. "Well. Then again, that is for you to decide, Lord Galvatron." His posture turns even straighter as he salutes. "That is all. Hail Galvatron!"

=
=================================================================