The dying golden sunlight shown and glittered through the savanna. The sunset was gentle this time as the rains had finally cooled down the harsh rays. The nearby valleys and forests seemed to have become flush with life once again, as if the storm had given a lifesaving breath to them. What had become dry and dead, was now fresh and alive.
Cheetor stared out of his window, excitement overflowing from his being. He quickly swapped over to beast mode and ran down the halls of the Axalon. The storm had lasted for nearly a week. Meaning all members of the maximals had been cooped up inside for all that time. Everyone had been feeling the imprisonment, whether they knew it or not, so a breeze of relief was now flowing through the ship.
Cheetor felt the most excited, as he usually was. Not only just the get outside, but he, Dinobot and Tigatron were planning to try and hunt again. This time though, there would a fourth one of them. Over the passing of the storm, Rhinox had successfully coached Chicory through transformation. Of course, just because she had done it, didn't mean it was an easy process. Due to the unfamiliar sensation of switching to beast mode, the newly forged femme practically had to be calm down from a panic attack during her first few attempts. But eventually she worked through it. With a full function beast mode now at her disposal Chicory could now join them on the outside. It would probably be something that would comfort her, in weird morbid way, as it would be something that she would probably be an expert in rather than everyone else knowing what they were doing in the Axalon while she was lost.
Actually, Chicory had been doing much better in the last few days. She had started to come out of her room a little more often, and the others started engaging with her. Optimus usually tried to get her to help them with small tasks, (of course he didn't really need the help but trying to make her feel more useful and less helpless made everyone a bit better). Dinobot tried to teach her combat, much to everyone's protest (he claimed that predacons would attack again they all needed to be ready), but after she had tripped for the 17th time in the first two breems of the first lesson, the raptor agreed it was best she learned to walk first. Airazor, and himself had started to get her into movies and games; turns out the King Cheetah was a helpless romantic, loving anything that had a Disney label.
But not everything with the crew and her were going well. Rattrap still refused to have anything to do with her. And after a while his paranoia wasn't entirely unwarranted, as Chicory did say (one of the rare occasions that she spoke outside of a private conversation) that the rat former did look delicious in the middle of breakfast. Tigatron wasn't having much luck with her either. Chicory still behaved coldly towards him, and seemed to lightly glare at him whenever they were in the same room. Strangely, the glaring intensified whenever they were refueling.
Cheetor halted in front of the lab and swapped back over to bot mode. Other than himself, it was Rhinox that the femme had taken a liking too. Chicory would always stay quiet, but that didn't stop Rhinox from talking to her. Sure, the larger maximal wasn't always the conversationalist but this was a special case. Chicory, still retained the natural curiosity of a feline, even though she didn't always show it. Rhinox, had picked up on this, and just started to talk with her, finding that the femme was a good study. Keeping her mind busy kept her calm.
Cheetor walked inside and found, them (well mostly Rhinox) organizing a number of tools. Chicory was sitting on the nearby countertop, her optics tracking every movement of Rhinox's servos. Her ear flick over the sound of young maximal's pedesteps, and then her helm turned to look at him.
"Hey," Cheetor greeted.
"Hi," Chircory whispered.
"Evening Cheetor," Rhinox greeted, "What brings you over?"
"Well-"
Cheetor didn't get to finish that statement, as a small bolt, started to roll across the countertop. Chicory's body tensed and in a flash her arm shot out, a servo with curled digits slamming down on the moving bolt. After a moment of silence, her ears pricked up. She glanced around the room seeing the confused faces of the others present.
"Sorry," She whispered, removing her servo from the bolt. Her tail twitching, and ears drooping in embarrassment.
"It's alright, Chicory," Rhinox said, picking up the bolt, "You were saying, Cheetor?"
"Oh, yeah," Cheetor cleared his vents, "Uhm, 'Cory, I was wondering if you wanted to come outside with me?"
She quirked her helm to the side, "Outside?" she whispered, sounding slightly excited.
Rhinox hummed, "Chicory, you will have to transform, will you be alright with that?"
Her expression twisted slightly with worry, but eventually she nodded.
"If you have nothing else to do, go on ahead," Rhinox said.
Cheetor flashed a smile, and quickly rushed to grab Chicory's servo. The latter cat must have been what startled by her friend's excitement, as she slipped and fell to the floor right after getting to her paws. Cheetor, was quick and frantic to apologize, but she quickly stowed his attempts, with a small and soft smile.
The dust heat was mellow, and the breeze gave the outside world a fresh smell to it. The ground was still slightly soft, but not soaked. Perfect for moving and not making a sound.
Cheetor had lowered himself to the ground. The downy soft fur on his belly almost scraping the ground. Through the tall reeds of grass, he could see the gazelle. The creature flicked its simple tuff of a tail, while it chewed on its dinner. Cheetor slowly crept closer and closer.
Finally, he felt he was close enough. The maximal's hunched up legs, and sprung forward, launching him towards the prey. In the blink of an optic, he rushed, aiming his jaws at the creature. But the prey was smarter than it looked. The gazelle dashed to the side, dodging the maximals snapping mouth. Cheetor's paw slipped out from under him, and he faceplanted into the ground.
Cheetor groaned, before picking himself up.
"Are you alright furball?" Dinobot asked with halfhearted worry.
"Fine Dinobot," Cheetor grumbled.
"You'll get them next time little cat," Tigatron said walking up.
"Hope so, big cat," Cheetor replied.
"Well, now that you have successfully scared away all the nearby prey, it might be best that we move on to another herd. This one is far too alert to our movements," Dinobot snarled before stalking away.
Tigatron rolled his optics before following the warrior. Both catbots knew he was right, all of the nearby gazelles were practically gone, thanks to their clumsy excuse for hunting. It was a lot harder than it looked. By now most of the animals nearby the base left, meaning they usually had to travel a few miles to find any herds. While, Cheetor didn't mind exploring far beyond the walls of their ship, he was just a little worried about Chicory being this far away. He was scared that she was going to get overwhelmed, have her beast side completely take over her programing and get her lost. Slowly starving herself from energon and die.
Cheetor shook his head, and sighed. Speaking of the wild cat, he needed to let her know that they were moving on. Chicory had placed herself up on top of one of the nearby hills and watched them from a far. Clearly, they were quite entertaining as he could see the slight smile on her beast modes face, as he approached.
"Chicory?" he asked.
Her head swiveled towards him, and one of her ears flicked. Primus her beast mode was practically identical to her original organic body. The only difference was her optics, but it wasn't noticeable if it you'd hadn't seen her before. They looked the same, but they didn't feel the same. They felt clouded; merely hollow copies trying to replace what was once there.
"You enjoyed the show?" Cheetor asked.
Chicory giggled, her tail flipping wildly.
"Don't laugh we weren't that bad."
"You were very bad," She giggled.
Cheetor groaned, "On a scale of starve to a full belly?"
"You would die."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence."
Chicory giggled again.
"Come on, we're moving on from here."
Chicory nodded, and got to her paws, before following him down the slope.
"Hey, since we're so bad, maybe you could show it how it's done?"
"Maybe."
"Why, maybe? I thought you'd be happy to hunt again."
"Happy? I am, but it's...different. I feel safe out here, but...I don't fit anymore."
"I get it. You're not what you were, but that's not a bad thing."
"Maybe."
"So will you teach us how to actually hunt?"
A small smirk formed on Chicory's face, and she giggled, "Maybe."
"I'll take that as a yes."
It didn't take long to find another herd. This one was placed in a gentle meadow, the gazelle grazing on the succulent blades of green. Before anyone could stop her Chicory, snuck forward. Experience and instinct took over her movements as she lined up her prey of choice.
"What is she doing? She'll scare them away," Dinobot sneered.
"Cool your circuits Dinobot, Chicory knows what's she's doing," Cheetor said.
"Cheetor might be right. Kitten had learned the ways of the wild long before she was a maximal, let us see what she can do," Tigatron said.
Dinobot grumbled, but kept quiet.
Chicory kept her steps light, and hushed her breathing. With the dying light of dusk flowing past the tall grass, she was nearly invisible. Her tail twitched with anticipation, and excitement. It had been far too long since she had prey in her sights. Creeping forward, her belly nearly brushed the ground. She didn't rush, taking her sweet time. One paw stalked forward silently, before followed by the other. Until she was right behind the target.
Her prey had chosen to be foolish this evening. It had wandered away from the safe blanket of the herd; the watchful eyes of its brotherhood. It remained blissfully unaware of her presence; oblivious to the danger creeping closer and closer.
Closer.
Closer.
She glared, holding her breath, legs curled up ready to pounce. A low growl escaped from her lips, and she lunged. Her claws dug into the soft ground, as a snarl raged from her throat. The gazelle, darted off, going from the left to the right, but it couldn't shake Chicory. Every twist and turn it threw the wild cat copied, her tail whipping back and forth keeping balance. Eventually, her claw nicked one of the gazelle's legs causing the animal to tumble. Taking her shot, Chicory thrusted her jaws around the creature's neck and bit down. The gazelle went limp with death, as the rest of the herd fled in fear.
"Whoa!" Cheetor said, while Dinobot and Tigatron stared on in silent amazement.
Chuckling, Cheetor leapt towards the femme. Said king cheetah, unhooked her jaws from her kill and look up at him, her ear flicking in some morbid delight as she let out a chirp.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?" Cheetor asked.
"I don't know...I just...did," Chicory said, before looking at the gazelle, "Hungry?"
"uh..." Cheetor paused, and looked back at the gazelle.
The red wounds on its neck now visible to him, still dripping blood from the fresh imprints of chicory's fangs. The glanced over black eyes, and expression of fear on the dead face; his tanks churned. The thought of catching prey, the thought of the chase, the thought of success, they all appealed to the young maximal. But actually, eating an organic, that was not something he had really thought about. Sure, with his beast mode he could technically do it, but possibly doing it, and actually doing it were two very different things.
Cheetor knew that Tigatron felt the same way he did, but Chicory and Dinobot?
Considering that the latter two were already feeding on gazelle, they clearly didn't have any hesitations. In fact, they both look like they were actually enjoying the meal. Chicory was certainly was, and considering how long she had gone without it, knowing that it was her main food source once upon a time, Cheetor tried not to blame her.
"I'll wait until next time," Cheetor excused himself.
None of them even noticed the large optics watching at them from above.
Megatron sighed, and then sighed again.
Judging by the damage to the still-being-repaired mad science lab, half of his evil schemes would have to be put on the back burner for a while. And to make it even worse the last experiment was worthless! They didn't even get a new predacon out of it! As the maximals had stolen the pod before any of them had even regained consciousness. So, all the entire endeavor had achieved was depleted energon reserves.
He now sat in the control room, the rest of his lackies now grumbly (except for Inferno, he was doing it happily, and Waspinator, he was on scouting) working on repairs. The predacon commander, rubbed his face, considering taking a hot oil bath to relax.
That's when Waspinator returned.
The giant wasp crashed into the commander center with more panicked gusto than the norm. The flyer was buzzing around in a way that would make a swarm jealous. Screeching his helm off about...a cat? What on Cybertron?!
"Waspinator! What is the meaning of this!" Megatron demanded as he stood form his chair.
"Kitty! Killer Kitty! mAximalss have new killer kitty cat!!!" Waspinator panicked.
"What?!"
Megatron swiped Waspintor out of the air, once the flyer got close enough. Shaking the warrior in order to get his attention. The predacon leader, knew his flyer had seen something, Waspinator was a nutcase, but he wouldn't act out this much if nothing was wrong.
"Waspinator, what did you see?"
"Maximals have new kitty bot!" Waspinator gasped.
"What? Where did you see?"
"Ssector 14!"
Megatron dropped the flyer, and turn to the computers, "Computer! Scan sector 14 for life signals!"
"Acknowledged; detecting four life signals in the area," Spoke a monotone female voice.
"Display visual," Megatron ordered.
A screen of the four maximals popped up on the monitors. One velociraptor, one snow tiger and two...cheetahs. Megatron felt his optics widened, even the ones on his dinosaur head hand.
"Rescan for life signals."
"Four life signals detected."
Megatron returned to his chair, rubbing the bridge of his olfactory sensor. So, the creature did survive the transfer after all. And the maximals stole her from them! That creature was supposed to be a predacon warrior! They didn't even get to reprogram her into her full potential...pity.
His processor began to boil with ways to get her back. Perhaps they could swipe her up when she's outside of the base? No, this is the first sighting of her in weeks; the maximals were clearly keeping a close optic on her. Appeal to the vulnerable state she could possibly be in? No, that wouldn't work if she retained any kind of memory from the transfer. Perhaps some form of blackmail? Yes, perhaps that could work.
But how?
What did she hold close to her wild spark? One of the maximals? The young pussy cat did seem close to her; however, it must be something even closer. Something she had known since before her glorious cybertronian rebirth.
Perhaps something like that did exist...
The rotating blade swiped over her helm. Chicory quicky ducked her helm down, and tried to raise her own sword. However, the weapon was too heavy for her awkward servos, and the momentum of her dodge was too strong for her unbalanced stance. The next attack, sent her toppling to the ground.
"What are you doing! Get up!" Dinobot sneered.
Chicory panted, staring up at the warrior with wide, frightened optics. Cheetor couldn't take it anymore.
"Alright, Dinobot that's enough," the cat bot said as he walked up to them.
"She needs to learn how to defend herself. Sooner or later, she will be sent on to the battle field. If we do not prepare her for it, then she will perish with the first shots fired."
"Maybe give her something lighter to use? The sword is clearly too heavy."
"All the other spare weapons we had are blasters, she's not ready for those yet, and she has no internal weapons other than her claws. This is her only option, unless you'd rather her go into battle unarmed."
"Can you just lay off her, for a klik? Let her pick herself up?"
Dinobot rolled his optics, "Very well, we will take a break. But heed my warning, Optimus's charity to her will wear off, and she will need to prove her worth. Best she does that before she becomes a burden." The warrior stalked out of the room.
Cheetor shook his helm, before turning back to the femme. Chicory was still on the floor, the ears on her helm drooping.
"Hey, you, okay?" He asked while helping her to her pedes.
Chicory nodded, sniffing. Her optics glanced down to the sword still resting on the ground; her tail twitched nervously, "Cheetor? Am I a burden?"
"What? No, no. You are not a burden."
"But Dinobot..."
"Sometimes Dinobot forgets that we don't do things like the predacons. Maximals stick together, and help each other. You needing a little more time than others, is not a problem."
"But I can't do things. I can't fight. I can't build. The beast makes it hard," she sniffed.
"You can do things. You help Rhinox all the time, and you're the only one of us who can actually hunt."
"When will hunting help us? You didn't even eat the gazelle."
"I don't know, but Dinobot will probably appreciate it."
Chicory stayed quiet for a moment, before sniffing again, "I'm not like you, the beast won't let me. I'm not like I was, the maximal won't let me," She choked a sob, "I don't know what I am."
Cheetor pulled her into an embrace, "Oh, Chicory."
"What am I?"
"'Cory, look at me," Cheetor pulled away from her, allowing him to see the tear stains on her faceplate, "I can't tell you who you are to yourself, but I can tell who you are to me. You're Chicory, of sector 7 of an unknown world. Nomad turned maximal hunter. Beautiful, wild and strong," He swallowed, "and that's..."
The klaxon started blearing. The loud wailing sound made, Cheetor flinch and Chicory stumble. Bright flashing red lights were quick to join the party, making the room become somewhat of a messed-up rave. Chicory let out a whimper of distress; Cheetor immediately knew what was wrong. In flustering situations, Chicory would forget on how to form words, and would offend shift to using chirps, growls and whimpers to communicate (The others would sometimes have problems with understanding her, but Cheetor usually knew what she was saying).
He hushed her gently, "It's just an alert, it's not going to hurt you. But we need to get to the command center, can you come with me?"
She chirped in acknowledgement and they both took off down the halls. Chicory's servo safely tucked inside of Cheetor's.
"What's going on!?" Cheetor shouted as the entered the command center. Which was strangely empty, other then the Rhino former at the monitor.
"Predacon activity in sector 7," Rhinox said.
Chicory looked at Cheetor, fear in her optics, "Mother," she whispered worryingly.
"What are they doing there?" Cheetor asked.
"Not sure, Optimus took Rattrap, and Dinobot to find out," Rhinox said.
"What about Tigatron and Airazor?" Cheetor asked.
"Tigatron is too far out, but Airazor will meet them there," Rhinox said.
"So, what are we doing?" Cheetor asked.
"Staying back and protecting the base incase they try something," Rhinox said.
Cheetor nodded, and turned back towards the other catbot in the room. Chicory had slipped her servo out of his, and wandered over to the other side of the command center. He could see her frame shaking and hear her panic vents.
"Chicory?" Cheetor said as he approached her.
"Mother, I am scared for mother," She murmered.
"She's gonna be fine. The predacons don't know about her, and if they did, Optimus and the others wouldn't let anything happen to her," Cheetor reassured.
Chicory stayed quiet for a moment, before speaking again, "It's strange."
"What is?" Cheetor asked.
"I love my mother; in a way I always have. And I know that she cared about me, but not in the same way that I can care about her now. She raised me out of instinct, the need for her genes to survive, and now that job is done. Is it bad that I love her, when she doesn't love me in the same way?"
"No, no, Chicory, your mother loves you."
"She is a wild animal, who has new litter to raise. She forgot about my brothers who left home, and now...She's forgotten about me."
"Chicory, she's your mother, she could never forget you."
There was a sudden beeping from the monitor. Rhinox quickly rushed over the console and clacked a few of keys with his large yet gently digits.
"What is it?" Cheetor asked.
"Comm. From Optimus. Putting him on speaker," Rhinox said.
"Optimus to Axalon, come in Axalon," Came Optimus's voice.
"We're here Bigbot," Cheetor said, "Do you need us to come in?"
"No! Stay there! We cannot leave the Axalon unguarded under no circumstance!" Optimus nearly shouted through the comms.
"What happened Optimus?" Rhinox asked.
"Megatron was after the cheetah clowder. I'm sorry Chicory, but he took them hostage."
Her ears pressed to her helm, and servos when up to her intake.
"Hostage? What he holding them hostage for?" Cheetor asked.
There was no answer.
"Optimus?" Rhinox prodded.
"Megatron wants to trade the cheetahs for, Chicory."
An emergency meeting was held, after the others returned. Megatron's terms were simple, if they didn't hand over Chicory by the end of the day or he would kill the cheetahs. Due to Chicory's spot pattern, it was confirmed that her mother carried the rare gene mutation for a king cheetah, so it was likely that the cubs did too. This fact only doubled the worth of the cubs. If they killed them, it could be the end of the lower the numbers of future generations having king's cheetah by tenfold. They couldn't let them die.
"So, what are our options?" Tigatron asked.
"Not many," Optimus said, "Megatron, holds all the cards. He's currently got the cats held up in one of his strongest cages, in the middle of predacon territory."
"And even if, we were to get them out, there's about 25 miles of volcanic plane surrounding them. The mother could possibly be able to survive out there and return to her territory, but the cubs wouldn't have a chance," Rhinox chimed in, "We'll have to transfer the family back to the den ourselves."
"We'll need to find them a new den in general," Airazor said, "Predacons already knows where the first one is, if we try something and bring them back there. The preds will just grab them again."
Optimus sighed, "So, we'll have to secure the cheetahs, release them from their captors, and fly them back to their territory. All while keeping them safe from the predacons."
"It's not going to be easy," Rhinox said.
"Dat's da understatement of the steller cycle. It be easier to go through wit da deal," Rattrap said.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Dinobot grumbled, "But I agree with the vermin."
"Wow," Rattrap said, "Dat must have hurt."
"Shut up, rodent," Dinobot snarled, "It would be best as to not go through with anything. Megatron, will make sure he always has the upper servo in this situation. Six wild animals for one of our warriors. The one that has the most worth to us is clear."
"That's six lives you're talking about Dinobot," Cheetor said.
"They're animals furrball, no one will miss them," The warrior said.
"Chicory will miss them, they're her family!" Cheetor nearly shouted.
"And what are the alternatives?! We go through with the deal? We'll lose her to Megatron. We try to break them out, one of us will likely be killed in the extraction. Either scenario, we'll lose our advantage over our enemies. This isn't worth it," Dinobot snarled.
"A tactical advantage? You'd let them die for a tactical advantage?!" Cheetor nearly shouted.
"Stop!" Chicory nearly growled. Now with the room's attention, she continued in her usually quiet voice, "I'll do it."
Rattrap fake gasped, "I forgot ya talked."
Optimus sent a glare towards Rattrap, "What was that, Chicory?"
"I'll do it. I'll go through the deal," Chicory said.
"What? Chicory no!" Cheetor said.
"Cheetor," She tried to said.
"Chicory, there's got to be another way!" Cheetor continued.
"Cheetor, I want too," Chicory said.
"What?" Cheetor was taken aback, "Chicory..."
"Cheetor, ever since I can remember it was my duty to watch over the cubs. I wasn't supposed too, but I did anyway. The brothers from my litter left early, and cubs were unexpected, instinct told me to stay. To stay and guard the next generation, until I could bear my own. Now I can't do that," her optics traveled the ground and ears pressed against her helm, "But they still could. By doing this I can protect them again, and you."
"'Cory, do you know what you're saying? They'll reprogram you, get in your helm, erase everything you are," Cheetor said, taking her servo in to his.
"There's not that much to erase."
"'Cory..."
"Cheetor I need to do this."
Cheetor looked into her optics, she wasn't pleading with him. Her decision was already made, and he knew he couldn't stop her. For a brief glimpse, he saw a spark of the King Cheetah in her optics. The
He nodded, excepting what was about to happen, "Okay."
"While, how heroic giving yourself up is, Chicory," Optimus chimed in, "I believe there is a way, for us to save both you and your family."
"What do you mean?" Rhinox said.
"I looked closely over the terms of the trade again, and if I am right, I have a plan."
Megatron, was not in a good mood. He was outside in the hot sun, dirt was getting stuck on his beast mode, and Terrorsaur wouldn't stop making their captives snarl their heads off. The constant combination of high-pitched whimpering and snarling was giving him a processor ache.
"Terrorsaur! knock it off!" The purple T-rex snapped.
"Aww," Terrorsaur groaned, before landing back down on the ground, "If we're not going to torture them, then what was the point of them being prisoners?"
"Our new predacon, seems to be attached to these creatures. They were her biological family, from when she was an organic weakling. Organics tend to have the disgusting trait of caring about individuals who share genetics."
"Yeah, I know about that. My uncles were really into old earth movies."
"Uncles?" He raised a confused brow.
"Hey, family units aren't just for humans. I was raised in one, sure my entire family tree was built of parents adopting bitlits who came out of the well, and not in the human way, but that doesn't discredit us."
"Well, I'd hate to meet any of your relatives."
"Too late you've already met one."
"What?"
"Dinobot, he's a distant cousin."
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any stranger," Megatron shook his head.
The walk to the meeting place was quiet. No one really wanted to talk. Per Optimus's plan, the maximal had split up their numbers, in too two groups. Optimus, Cheetor, Chicory and Rattrap, in the group that would meet with the predacons. While everyone else, was in the other group doing who knows what (Optimus kept they're job a secret from everyone in this group). Optimus took point, while rattrap took up the rear, leaving the two cats in the middle.
Cheetor had a hard time looking at Chicory. Her expression as a cheetah had never been the most emotive, but he could tell that she was upset with this situation. He couldn't really blame her, her family was captured, and she was about to hand herself over to the preds to free them. His thoughts drifted over to what would happen to her there, and he tried not to shiver. They would probably strap her to a table, and do all sorts of diabolical things to her. The word shadowplay came to processor.
He knew they would reprogram her, probably make her forget all about the maximals, forget about him. Take away everything she was; the wild, strong, gentle, and beautiful, creature that had saved him. He felt his ears droop, and spark ache at the thought of her being lost to predacon reprograming.
"Hey, kid," someone touched his leg.
"Huh?" Cheetor looked down and behind him, to see Rattrap walking alongside him. he hadn't even noticed he drifted this far back.
"Ya need ta stop it, and just tell 'er," Rattrap said.
"What?" Cheetor asked raising a brow.
"Don't play dumb, ya know wat I'm talkin' about."
"I don't."
Rattrap groaned and rolled his optics, "Listen Kid, I'm sick an' tired of watchin' ya make googoo eyes at Chicory. Ya need ta be straight an' tell 'er how ya feel."
"What?! Googoo eyes? At Chicory?" He chuckled but it didn't sound very convincing, "Very funny Rattrap. I'm not crushing on Chicory."
"Oh, so ya need still need to confess ya feelin's to ya self. Dis ya first dime crushin' on a dame?"
"That obvious, huh?"
Rattrap tutted, "Kid, I've watched a lot of mechs and femmes fall in love, and ya got it bad. Ya always smile when she enters da room, dat lovestruck gaze staring at 'er from afar, an, don't t'ink I missed that servo holdin' between ya two."
Cheetor's ears flopped down even further, and his optics looked at the ground, "You think she noticed?"
"Naw," Rattrap shook his head, "She's ta busy tryin' to figure out 'er feelin's for ya."
Cheetor perked up, "You think?"
"She always smiles an, looks towards ya. She's happy to see ya, an' the servo holdn' ya been doing wit 'er, she likes dat."
Cheetor smiled, "How do I tell her?"
"Confessions can happen in two ways, by bravery or by high grade. Or dey n'ver happen."
Cheetor raised a brow.
"Now, I don't t'ink dat da drunken approach will work wit 'er. So, ya will have ta talk ta 'er."
"How do I do that? I don't even l know how to start."
"Wow, ya really are a rookie ta dis," Rattrap mumbled underneath his breath.
"I mean, you know how Chicory is with all this higher consciousness stuff. What if I tell her and she doesn't understand, and then I explain it and she thinks that she has to go through with a relationship, or what if..."
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Spots, first off, don't go down dat road of 'what if's; good or bad dey do nothin' for ya. Second, Chicory is more capable them you give 'er credit for. Sure, deep down she's still a wild animal, but even wild animals have romance. Some organic species pair for life."
"Not cheetahs, they jump from one partner to the next."
"Well, it's a good t'ing dat neither of ya are actual cheetahs den is it."
Cheetor paused for a few moments, thinking over this, "You really think she likes me back?"
"Oh, yeah. More dan she'll ever like me! But I might be wrong, which is why ya need ta talk ta her before it's ta late."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I know dat boss monkey has got dis great plan, but if it falls through and we don't save 'er and 'er family, den dis will be da last chance ya have ta talk ta 'er."
Cheetor sighed, "What do I say?"
"How should I know? I've never crushed on a femme who was born as a cheetah, then turned into a Frankenstein inspired experiment before."
Cheetor rolled his optics and then looked at Chicory. The King Cheetah was walking a head of him. The jet-black fur glistened gloriously in the sunlight.
"Thanks Rattrap," He mumbled.
"Ey, don't worry about it, just don't let me walk in on ya."
He swallowed uncomfortably, before he picked up speed to catch up to her. Now or never.
"Chicory?" Cheetor started.
"Hum?" She looked towards him.
"Listen, Chicory, I want to talk to you about something."
"Cheetor, please don't try to talk me out of..."
"What? No, no, it's not about this."
"Then what?"
"Well..."
"Megatron!" Optimus suddenly shouted.
They had arrived.
Megatron stood at one end of the volcanic field, his rival, Primal, standing at the other. Optimus had appeared to bring along his rat and his other spotted pussy cat, accompanying the soon-to-be predacon. Honestly with their history an understandable play. He didn't come alone either, Terrorsaur, Tarantulas, and Inferno were present, along with the annoying caged wild cats.
"Primal, looks like you decided, to come after all!" the purple dinosaur called out.
"You didn't give us much choice," the gorilla grumbled.
"Yes well, you did steal from us, I thought it was only fair."
"We stole from you? Are you seriously using that as part of your messed up excuse? The protoform was of maximal make, and Chicory was of this planet."
"Technicalities Primal. And Chicory?"
"It's her name."
"After a flower? Oh, how original. Hopefully she'll change it to something more threatening once she had proper coding."
Optimus sent a glare over the field.
"Enough of this chatter Primal, send her over!"
Opitmus turned around and called out. Slipping out from the behind, an outcrop of rocks there she started toward the predacon side. Megatron took notice of the movements, the confidant stalking of her paws spoke of a top predator, a fine predacon in the making. She looked so much like the wild animal she once was.
"Transform," he ordered her, once she was close enough.
She paused her ears and head swiveling as if unsure as to how. But with a glance and the ground the small voice squeaked, "Maximize."
Megatron frowned at her choice transformation sequence word, but eventually he let it go, reminding himself that little bugs like this would be fixed one she was reprogrammed. As for her robot mode; he hadn't expected the creature to be so pretty. With the way that her creation came about, one would think there would be twisted limbs, miss-matched proportions, or something else hideous. Yet, he stood before the predacon commander was a normal looking beast forming femme. Sure, she still retained her tail, auditorial sensers rested atop her helm, and had paw in favor of peds, but other then that she was relatively fair.
The large dinosaur began to circle her taking in every detail. The petite frame was slim, and the curves were beautifully crafted. The deep hue of her metal contrasted nicely with her fur. Oh, she would be a such a beautiful attention to the predacons. Then Megatron noticed how she held herself; helm hung low, and tail curling around her legs. The stance did not scream deadly wild cat. It was more of a meek gentle kitten. So, she was shy in bot mode, nothing that couldn't be fixed.
Her golden optics, glanced over towards the Cheetahs in the cage. Those optics gave every thing away. All the fear and desperation, came gushing towards the fore front of her fair faceplate through those honey optics. Something else he'll have to fix.
"Your designation?" Megatron ordered, stepping back in front of her.
She didn't answer right away, clearly thinking before saying, "Chicory."
"Did you think of that yourself?"
Once more a pause, "No."
"Who did then?"
Pause, "Rhinox."
"Do you like it?"
She nodded, immediately. That made Megatron raise an optic ridge. Every time she answered verbally it took her moment, yet nodding her head was instantaneous. Did she have problem speaking as well? Another thing to work on.
"Let them go," Chicory suddenly said, so quietly that he almost missed it.
"Pardon me dear?" Megatron cooed.
"Let my mother and the babies go."
"Oh, you want them freed?"
She nodded.
"Well, I do suppose that could be arranged. You are going to join the predacons aren't you not?"
"If it means my family's safety."
Megatron chuckled darkly, "You are a smart little femme, aren't you?"
Rhinox looked over the rocks of obsidian he was hiding behind. The rhino former watched as Megatron stalked around Chicory, it made him sick. The way he eyed her... it wasn't right. So far, Chicory was the epitome of sweet, and youthful. Even as a wild animal she had yet to be deflowered.
The maximal engineer, had honestly taken a liking to the maximal kitten. Her natural curiosity, paired with her shy, quiet demeaner was charming. She had taken and interest in biology, both maximal and her home world's, and Rhinox was happy to teach her. In a way rhino former had taken her under his wing, seeing her a surrogate daughter somewhat. Meaning, while he was proud of the bravery that she was showing, he also felt genuine fear of what would happen if Optimus's plan fell through.
He leaned into his comm, "Airazor, Dinobot, are you in position?"
"Affirmative," Dinobot's voice snarled, "Do we engage?"
"Not until Optimus gives his signal, so be on standby," Rhinox said, before closing the comm.
"The time is nearing, isn't it?" Tigatron asked.
Rhinox nodded, "This will soon be over. Did you find a new den spot in the territory?"
"Yes, it's big enough and well hidden. They will be safe there."
"Good. Perhaps now she won't glare at you anymore."
"While, I don't enjoy it, I don't really believe that Kitten can control it. It is a Cheetah nature to be fearful of larger predator cats. Most of the time, cheetahs are chased off from their kills by them. She's just following her instinct. I don't blame her for it."
Rhinox nodded.
Optimus had had enough of this. The predacon had threatened one o his soldier's family, and Megatron was now ogling over the newest member of his team. He sighed; time to get this over with.
"Megatron!" Optimus called out, "You have her, now release the Cheetahs!"
"Oh, Optimus, must you interrupt her welcome?" Megatron cooed.
Optimus sent an unamused stare across the field.
Megatron rolled is optics in dramatic fashion, but nodded over to Terrorsaur. The red flyer flapped over to the cage, and then gripped the handle on the roof with his talons. There were snarls and whimpers of discomfort coming form the captives it held, as it was dragged over other maximal occupied side of the field. Chicory's ears flopped down at the sound.
It was when the cage reached the center of the plane, that two bright green lasers shot out of one of the nearby hills and struck Terrorsaur in the back.
Then all pit broke loose.
Cheetor didn't have much time after Dinobot fired the first shot before everyone else to joined in. Apparently, the maximals weren't the only ones to bring all of their numbers and kept them out of sight. The fighting had reached fever pitch quickly turning what had been a peaceful yet tense volcanic plane, into a raging storm of laser fire, dust, and sparks of clashing weapons. Yet, through all of the chaos and violence, he could still hear her whimper.
Cheetor leaped through the battle, prancing between the blaster fire. He could barely see through the kicked-up dust, but eventually found the signature of spot and splotch pattern of her fur. Quickly swapping over to robot mode, he hooked his arm around hers and pulled her away from the fighting and behind a number of boulders.
Cheetor sat her up behind the rocks. Chicory was shaking, dust and soil coated her fur and metal. Her servos were curled into fists and pressed against her ears; the noise of the fight was triggering her. Her tail curled around her body protectively.
"Hey, hey look at me. You're alright!" he called out.
An explosion sounded, sending a shower of small black sharp stones down on their heads. Chicory flinched, and curled further into herself. Cheetor vented and looked back over the rock where the fight was happening. He had to get back out there; the team needed him. He glanced back over to the femme present, so scared and flustered. Leaving her right now was the last thing he wanted to do, but if he didn't, it could mean the end of the maximals themselves. What could he do?
Chicory reached out a shaking servo and touched his, "G-go," she shuddered.
Cheetor nodded, and gripped her given servo firmly "Stay here, I'll be right back."
With that he jumped back into the fray.
Megatron used his head servo, to bit down on Optimus primal's shoulder padding. He should have known that the maximals would pull something, it was pretty obvious that was their play after Primal asked that the Cheetahs were present for the swap. Megatron allowed his theatrical side's desire to have the new predacon to literally watch her past leave her, to blind his judgement and walk right into Primal's servos.
Speaking of the new predacon, where was she? How Megatron longed to see the beautiful, creature in all of her predatory bloodstained glory on the battlefield, yet she wasn't there. That was when the predacon leader saw the maximal scout pull her away from the fighting. Megatron tried not to gasp, and ducked underneath Primal's swords.
She was fleeing. Running away like a frightened kitten. So, that meek deminer she had showed wasn't just an act. She wasn't a warrior at all. Trickery! Even if the Maximals hadn't meddled with the deal, her weak nature would never all her on the battle field. Even with reprogramming, which Tarantulas had warned might fry her processor, her nature, her instinct would most likely render her immobile on the battle field. She would be nothing more but a pretty trinket. She must have known this.
A devious mind, was something a fine predacon would have, but even her trickery, couldn't save her image from the black stain of her cowardness that a true predacon would never have. Rage built up inside of him. She would need to pay. But how?
Snarls from across the battle field drew his attention.
Perfect.
Chicory was terrified.
The heavy smell of smoke, and plasma settled in the air. While, war cries, clashing blades, and blaster fire. Dust swirled in her optics. She hated this. She hated how it smelled. She hated how it sounded. And she was certain she would hate how it looked, if she had enough courage to peek from behind her cover. But most of all...
She hated how she couldn't do anything.
Out there were the people who took her in, and cared for her like she was part of their clowder. The taught her how to navigate through the complex emotions and pains of higher consciousness. They were fighting and possibly dying for her family, a family that she technically wasn't part of anymore.
And she couldn't even do the same to help them.
She understood death for organics. It was part of nature. When you died, you serve a purpose. Either as a meal to feed someone else, or you returned to the soil to give back the life you barrowed. It was cycle. A wild unruly, yet still balanced cycle. But for cybertronians...?
Death was something that didn't happen in a cycle for them. You either lived long enough to watch eras pass you by, or are killed in a vicious bloodbath. Chicory understood killing. She had done the deed many times, but she never did it for merely the point of enjoyment (all though hunting was fun), glory, or just to pick off numbers. She killed for survival. In a battle you are not even killed with a purpose, you didn't give life to anything else. You didn't banish hunger pains. You were merely another soldier that the opposite side didn't have to deal with anymore.
They only fought and killed for the sake of that fact they were on opposing sides. Not for the need to live. Not to feed any little ones. Just because they could.
Sure, the wild world had many disagreements, that ended in fights. Over food, territory, mates. But there was always a reason as too why. Chicory couldn't see any reason as to why, here; like she couldn't understand anything the maximals did.
And the crushing feeling of helplessness, returned. She didn't understand the maximals, yet she was expected to be one. She didn't understand the conflict, the battle tactics, or really anything about Cybertron. And they knew that. She couldn't fight, she couldn't plan, she couldn't build. She was useless. And they knew that. She knew that. There was no place for her in this clowder.
Another explosion sounded, sending rubble raining down. Small pebbles bouncing off the frame, and dust stuck to her fur. She whimpered, but slowly got to her paws, reaching up to peer out from behind her cover. Her optics teared, and ears flopped down. It was just as terrifying, and confusing, as she had feared.
Her eyes darted left and right, what was happening. It all came in flashes to her. If she watching in motion then she would have passed out from dizziness. Then she heard the snarls and whimpers. She looked over, seeing her family still in that horrid cage, caught in the cross fire.
Every fiber of her fur stood on end, with fear, and her venting quickened. She had to do something. But what? She wasn't a warrior. She didn't have any weapons. She could hold a sword. She wasn't even allowed near the blasters by herself yet! What could she do? Tears flowed form her optics. What could she do?
Then she saw the blaster, Megatron's blaster point at the cage. Something snapped. All programming seemed to leave her mind. The wild cat took over. The only thing speaking was her instinct, Protect.
She didn't really know what happened next. The blaster wasn't a blaster anymore, it was prey. She had swapped over to beast mode, a and leaped forward. Strong jaws locked around what she saw as the neck, Megatron's forearm. The now metal fangs sank deep into the mesh, drawing energon. Megatron screamed, and flung her away.
Twisting her body around in the air, she landed on her paws. Fangs bared. Snarling.
Cheetor, froze, the entire battle field froze. All optic were now on the snarling king cheetah, and oh how she had eared the title of her fur pattern. Her growl was savage, sending chills up Cheetor's frame. This wasn't the sweet shy, maximal that she had become. This was the wild animal that was deeply buried inside, now released in fury of a might top predator's roar.
Her footsteps no longer meek, but made with assertiveness. Slowly creeping back forward, her hind legs readying to lunge. The steady growl that flowed from her throat like a raging river, was one that the savanna itself could fear. Fur and ears spiked, alert to the smallest movements. And finally, her eyes, oh her beautiful eyes; so, wild, so free, so clear, so enraged. This wasn't a warrior readying for a battle, this was a hunter, ready to claim a fresh kill.
Cheetor could see that Megatron realized that too. The look of shock and fear, along with the lack of gloating about how he was right about her being fierce, proved that.
In the snap of digits, all of the build of tension in her body was released and she lunged forward. She was too fast for Megatron to even have a chance of evading her claws. Bright gleaming slashes, he soon wore on his faceplate. And then her jaws locked on to his neck.
The T-ex head, swung up, clamping down on the wild cat's back. Megatron flung her off once again, but in doing so, shredded the mesh of his neck. She landed away from him, still on her paws, snarling. The blaster was raised next, but Cheetahs were known for their speed and agility. And Chicory dashed between each and every shot.
Except one.
The hot plasma exploded the ground right in front of her, knocking her back in robot mode. She remained on the ground coughing heavily to removed the soil and dust now coating the insides of her pipes. A heavy ped was suddenly pressed into her chest, pinning her down.
Megatron growled, one servo clutching his neck, and the other, the T-rex Head Blaster, pointed at her helm, "So, you side with the weakling maximals? We created you. No matter how beautiful you are, you are a traitor and there is no place among my ranks for a traitor," He charged his blaster, "Go back to pit form which you came, monster."
"NO!" Cheetor shouted, his joints finally deciding to unlock from their shock, as he ran forward.
The catbot raised his rifle, firing three shots, before shoving himself into the predacon leader's frame. With the dino former now toppled to the ground, Cheetor snatched up Chicory's servo, pulling her to her peds and ran.
"What are you waiting for!" Terrorsaur screeched, "Shoot them!"
Blaster fire, bombs and bullets began to rain down like a hurricane. Blinding their optic with dust, and heat, while sounds like crashing cymbals blared in their ears. They had to move.
"Bigbot!" Cheetor called out.
"Maximals Forward!" Optimus shouted.
The battle didn't last much longer after that. With many of their numbers wounded, and the lack of Megatron's leadership (his voice box eventually shorted out thanks to Chicory's bite), the maximals were able to force the predacons to...
"Retreat!" Terrorsaus squawked.
"Woooo!who!!" Rattrap cheered, as they watched the numbers turn tail and run, "Yeah! Get out of 'ere ya stinkin' preds!"
"Well, done everyone," Optimus said, "Anyone hurt?"
"Nothing serious, thankfully," Rhinox said.
Opitmus nodded, before turning to Chicory, "I think you surprised everyone here today. Despite not having any combat training, you held your own. Like a maximal warrior."
Cheetor shook his head, "She's not a warrior," Everyone looked to him confused, but he only locked optics with Chicory's, "She's a hunter."
Chicory smiled at him. And Cheetor swore that his spark stopped beating for a moment. Then there was a screeched of metal. Everyone looked towards the sound, finding Dinobot cutting through the bars of the cage that held Chicory's family, with his sword. With another screech of metal, the side of the cage fell to the ground.
Her family was right there.
Chicory could barely focus on anything else at the nanokilk. Her mother and the cubs were there. Her tanks fluttered with nervousness and sank with dread. She hadn't seen any of them since her transformation, partly due to restrictions on her outside time of the ship and partly to shame. She wasn't the same anymore. She wasn't one of them anymore.
Cautiously, The King Cheetah took a step forward, distancing herself from the maximals. Folding herself into her beast mode, as she approached. After the initial shock, the cubs came running towards their sister, no hesitation. A tear slipped from her eye, as she watched them crowd around her legs. A chirp made her raise her head.
Mother...
The elder Cheetah was exactly as she had remembered. Strong, tall, and wild. Her spot pattern wasn't unique like her daughter's but they shared the same sandy shade of light fur. Chicory's ears drooped as she came closer to her mother. Scared for the reaction the femme would get.
The elder leaned closer to Chicory, gently sniffing her. Mother suddenly back up, shaking her head at the odd smell that was covering her daughter. She walked around the femme, looking her daughter over with a critical eye, before stopping in front of Chicory and leaning forward to rub her daughter's cheek with hers, purring.
Tears began to flow out of Chicory's optics. She leaned in to her mother's touch. She was remembered. She wasn't forgotten after all.
The sun was hot. But unlike a few months ago, it wasn't as harsh. The dying beams of yellow light, stretched out over the horizon, as the death of another day drew near. The canyon walls were going red in the golden orange rays.
Cheetor walked along the cliff's edge near the Axalon. The dry ground crunching underneath his pedes. Once he might have gone running at this hour, but he had something more important to do this evening. He had to find her, and he did.
At the tallest cliff was Chicory. She sat with her legs handing off of the edge. Clawed servos resting in her lap, tail laying lax at her side, gazing out into the horizon. The light of the sun set making her fur and metal glow beautifully. Cheetor couldn't help but smile at her.
"Hey," he said as he approached.
Chicory's ear pricked up and she turned to him, "hey."
"So, how are you doing?" He asked sitting next to her.
"Mother and the cubs are safe, and she has accepted me."
"So, better?"
She nodded, "I'm going to be staying with her again, and protecting them, once they get a comm. Tower in the territory. I'm happy about that."
Cheetor nodded taking in this information, before saying, "You were awesome out there."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I mean the way you went after Megatron. I could have never done that."
She tilted her helm, "But you did? When you saved me."
"No, no, I didn't...well I did, but not the way you did. You were wild, a top predator."
"Is that bad?"
"No, no, it's amazing. You were amazing. You were you."
"But Cheetor, I am me."
"No, no," He tried not to laugh, "What I mean is that you, didn't fight like a normal Maximal. You didn't follow normal rules, you did what you do best. And that's being a badass wild hunter. That's amazing. You were amazing."
She smiled and looked away, "Thank you, Cheetor."
There was a slight pause, silence filling the air. They both gazed at the sun set. Cheetor swallowed, no time like the present.
"Hey Chicory?"
Chicory chirped, acknowledging him.
He chuckled, before coughing to clear his vents, "Uhm Do you like me?"
Her helm tilted again, "Of course I do. We're friends, right?"
"No, no like that."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you like me in another way?"
"What other way?"
"Well, some times when to people really like each other, they are more than just friends."
"Like family?"
"Well, yeah, but that's no the way I'm talking about. It's more just between two individuals..."
"So, mates?"
"Well, yeah but..."
Chicory's ears flopped down, "Cheetor, I can't give you cubs."
Cheetor reached out and grabbed her servo, "I don't need you to give me cubs. It's a little different for cybertronians, we pick mates not for reproduction, but because we love each other. Too be with someone else, to protect them, so we're not alone. Like in those human movies."
Chicory stared in awe at him. Her optics sparkling. So, wild. So, free. So, clear. So mysterious.
He swallowed, "I love you Chicory. I think you are an amazing beautiful person, not just another soldier, science experiment, or some trophy. I want to protect you, care for you, be there for you, and find away way to make you smile every day."
She was silent for a moment, before whispering, "You want to be my mate?"
He pulled away from her, "It's okay if you don't feel the same. I know that you're still adjusting..."
It was her turn to reach out and grab his servo, "No, Cheetor. I love you too."
His optic widened, "What?"
"When you saw me in those reeds, I didn't know what to think. Males, when they find females, it's not for any reason other then to breed, and we're not given much of a choice in the matter. We're snarled, snapped, and swatted at until, they determine if we're fertile or not.
"Then I met you again, and you didn't do that. I thought you were weird," she giggled, "because you never tried to mate with either me or mother. You hanged out, played, and talked to me. It was like there was no instinct for you. And then," she looked down at herself, "This happened, and you still didn't run off. These past few weeks you have been the one person who made me happy. I always felt like smiling when you came to see me, I didn't understand why I did with you and not anyone else."
"How'd you figure it out?" Cheetor asked.
"Rhinox spoke to me, before we left to rescue my family. I was so confused, about how to tell you, and when you came to me before we arrived, a small part of me, hoped that you would tell me that you wanted to be my mate."
Cheetor stared at her in awe.
"I'm unsure what maximal mates do, if there are no cubs involved, but I would be willing to try with you," she smiled, her wild optics sparkling brighter then he had ever seen them.
His servo cupped her cheek, "Like I said, I don't need cubs with you to be happy. I just need you."
Their optics closed, and lips pressed together.
In the last rays of day, and the first flashes of fireflies, they, a maximal warrior of cybertron and a wild huntress of an unknown world, shared their first kiss.
A/N:
God, this took me so long! I know this probably should have been split up into two chapters! But! I thought that after I finished the original chapter, all I had to do was the final battle and ending confession, and that it wouldn't take me long. But I was wrong! LOL!
That part about Dinobot and terrorsuar being related, that's a personal headcanon.
Now all that I have to write is the epilogue, and a chapter of bonus content (like some of you have requested), when you'll read deleted scenes, and I'll answers questions that you leave in the comments/reviews, if you want.
Now! Announcements! Like the last transformer's story I wrote, in the final chapter, before the epilogue, I held a poll on ff.net for what TF story I should write next. I am doing the same of this story! please vote! The winner will be announced in the epilogue of this story.
Link to poll - https://www.fanfiction.net/u/13964043/EmpressGeek