//------------------------------// // Murky, pt 3 // Story: Transformers: Ancient Legacy // by Goldymarg //------------------------------// Warpath spent the better part of fifteen minutes pounding away at the floor before he finally had enough, slumping down into a kneeling position. Shards of crystal crackled between his fingers as he continued to clench his fists, his visor staring at the crater he created. “Then what are we supposed to do?! You know as well as I do that we can't just leave Megatron here!” Prowl had his fingers on the side of his head again, replying as a data stream flashed across his optics. “I'm working on that. Give me a few microcycles to finish my analysis of this cavern, then I'll figure something out. In the meantime, just give me some quiet for a change.” “Uhm...excuse me, mister Prowl?” His attention was brought to Fluttershy's small voice, the yellow pegasus backing away as she saw the irritated look in his eyes. “Ugh, what is it now?!” She hesitated at hearing the tone of his voice, but only for a second. “I...I want to apologize. All this time I thought you were just another mean old bully, but I...guess I was wrong. There's no way you could be so bad, not after the way you talked about protecting us.” He replied with a quick sigh, “The Autotbots fight for the sacred virtue of freedom. To deny any innocent beings that virtue by taking their lives is illogical.” Fluttershy frowned as she floated away, softly landing a good distance from the central pillar. His words were indeed just, but he sounded so dour. It was like he was acting out of necessity instead of want. Did Prowl really believe in those morals, or did he follow them just because he thought he was supposed to? “...what's your deal, anyway?!” It was Warpath again. Seemed like he wasn't quite done raging yet, as he had gotten up to yell at Fluttershy some more. “Listen to me, you don't know who Megatron is! You don't know what's he's done! He ain't like the rest of us, he's a monster! Why the heck would you wanna protect - ” “I wasn't talking about Megatron.” That stopped him mid sentence, considering it was so unlike her to sound so confident. Though it only lasted for a second when she realized she cut him off. “Oh! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you...wh-what I mean is, I was talking about Howler.” Trixie's ears perked up, her expression quickly going from uncertain to incredulous. “What?! You mean the stupid fish that ate us?! Why in Celestia's name are you even worrying about this sea monster?! WE'RE STANDING IN ITS STOMACH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!” “I-it's not his fault! This poor shark is thrashing around because all this dark energon is giving him a tummyache! That's why he's howling so much, he's trying to cough up this whole cavern!” Fluttershy gazed back at her with pleading eyes. Even now, she was still concerning herself with the animals around her. It didn't even matter to her that this creature nearly killed them. The unicorn knelt down onto her belly and looked back at Megatron's suspended form, more as an excuse to avert her eyes. She didn't want to admit that she might be right. “...she might be right. According to my scanners, this cavern extends for approximately 0.4 clicks in all directions from this room, give or take. Judging from the jagged state of this deposit, I can't imagine carrying it around inside one of oneself would be too comfortable.” Trixie eyed him and grit her teeth. What, could he read minds too? “Well...what in Primus is Megatron even doing here?! Matter of fact, how is he still alive?! He fell off the Ark, right?! Don't tell me he can survive a wound like that, and re-entry!” Warpath had arranged himself into a sitting position, resting his elbows on his knees. He couldn't blast him right now, so he had to settle for asking questions. “I believe it has something to do with dark energon itself. Not only does it somehow empower him, but it can also preserve his life. Even after sustaining such heavy damage...this entire cavern is evidence of that. It's as if the dark energon spread outward from that wound in his chest to create a protective carapace.” “Hold on, you sayin' this stuff is alive?! I've never heard of that!” “It's only conjecture. Then again, we were never able to get proper analysis done on dark energon. We were always too busy clearing it out of our way after all...as for how he got here, I wouldn't know anything about that. You, you seemed to know this creature's name, can you tell us anything?” He was looking at Fluttershy. Stuttering a bit, she replied, “Uhm, well...megalodons are supposed to be extinct. I wouldn't know how...Megatron...got here. I'm just wondering how this sharky got so big. I've never seen one up close, but I'm sure megalodons aren't supposed to be this huge.” “Who cares about Megatron, OR this stupid fish! Trixie only cares about how we get out of here! You, Prowl! Have you figured anything out yet?!” He chose to ignore the tone she was taking with him like a professional would. “...I have something, though it's a bit of a gamble. Warpath, did you bring any thermal detpacks with you?” The red Autobot stood up, “Uh, yeah. Just two of em' though.” “It'll have to do...alright, I've pinpointed the location of at least three critical points in this cavern. If we can detonate the charges at the correct apex, the megalodon should be able to dislodge the mound from its innards on its own. Though at the same time, we run the risk of collapsing the entire cavern if they're improperly placed...Warpath, I'm sending you a rough schematic of the cavern now. Remember, if the detpack isn't placed in the exact coordinates I'm giving you, then all you'll do is drop this place on our heads. So try and show some restraint for once.” His partner pulled out a strange device from his backside. It was somewhat larger than his hand with a rectangular shape, and had two cylinders sticking out of its sides near the bottom. He pressed a button in its rear, causing the cylinders to spin and retract into itself. Tossing it to Prowl, he said, “Yeah, sure...and what happens when the cavern's out of this thing's stomach?” Catching the device, he replied, “We won't have much time to act. The cavern is already structurally unsound, so there is a high chance it'll break apart when the water floods in. You'll have to stay transformed to keep both of those ponies safe on your way out.” “Hey, whaddya mean on our way out?! We aren't just gonna leave Megatron here, are we?!” Prowl had already turned around and started walking away. “You expect us to attack him under these circumstances? You might as well step in front of a warp cannon while you're at it.” He pulled out another device himself, a sphere no bigger than his index finger. Dropping it off to his side, he continued, “Our only option is to leave a homing beacon behind and return with backup. We're ill-equipped to handle the situation as-is.” Fluttershy floated up near him, her eyes still filled with worry. “Mister Prowl? Shouldn't one of us go with you? It might be dangerous going off by yourself.” She couldn't help but notice his comment about keeping the both of them safe. He already had his right hand on the hole made in the wall earlier, and was about to step through. Turning his head, he replied, “As I've said earlier to that blue one, I've had enough of dealing with you ponies. Our original mission objective didn't involve babysitting you. Warpath, you deal with them.” She frowned as she watched him step through the wall, feeling the other Autobot come up from behind. “Ah, jeez...don't let Prowl get under your circuit boards. He ain't exactly a ray a' sunshine. Nobody likes goin' out on assignment with that guy, s'pecially me.” Fluttershy stared at the floor, looking at nothing. “Warpath...why does he act so cold? I mean, he talked about protecting us, but then he goes and...” He crossed his arms, “Tch. All I know is that he's a grade-A hardcase. Don't think any of the Autobots are even friends with him.” She moaned to herself softly and looked at the floor, the news only making her feel worse. There was an entire civilization of Autobots inside the Ark to be friends with, but apparently he just pushed them away. She couldn't begin to grasp just how anyone, pony or Cybertronian, could live with being so alone. “Enough with the chit-chat! If that insufferable robot says we need to bomb something in here to get out of this fish, then what are we doing standing around here?! Trixie is not interested in being inside the belly of a monster any longer, so let's pick it up!” Warpath stood, placing a hand on his face while shaking his head. He just realized he was going to be stuck with Trixie's mouth until the charges went off. Taking a look at the central pillar through his fingers, he considered taking that shot at Megatron again just to end it. (“Ugggh...this day just keeps getting better and better...”) ---- Navigating the cavern's expanses proved to be a challenge. There was no singular path that could be taken due to the abhorrent ways the dark energon spread, so they were forced to take one detour after another. Warpath was their only source of light, so the two ponies followed closely behind. “So, why exactly do you choose to care about this hideous creature? Because Trixie is certain that it doesn't care about you.” Fluttershy flinched and stifled another squeak at the sound of her voice. Aside from the occasional complaint from their powder blue companion, they had been traveling in relative silence. Looking to her left, she replied, “Uhm, well...how can't I? Just look at all of these jagged crystals. I definitely wouldn't want them poking around in my tummy...” “Psh. You're not making any sense. This thing came out of nowhere, went straight for us, and swallowed us whole! How can you not see it as anything other than some mindless monster?!” “He's not a monster!” She flew up in front of Trixie, raising her voice. “He's a megalodon! And the only reason why he ate us is because this cavern is making him go crazy! Don't you know what that feels like? To be scared and hurt?” She scoffed back, “The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't get scared. Trixie always conducts herself with dignity and a cool head.” “But...weren't you scared when Howler first showed up? And, and back when you first saw Megatron? I even saw you fall over.” She looked away with her jaw set upon hearing that comment. She could have sworn that Fluttershy didn't see that. “Ah, well...that was different! It - it was hot in there! The sudden change in temperature made me dizzy, that's all!” There was no way she could admit it. From what she saw, she was probably the only one in that room who was petrified. But that wasn't her, and she knew it. She knew she was above petty things like fear and weakness. She knew in her heart that she was great and powerful, not pitiful and helpless. And there was no way they could understand. “Trixie...everypony gets scared. It's okay to admit it, I won't judge you. I mean, we're friends, right?” All that did was earn a quick glare from her. Turning up her muzzle, she trotted past her, “Hmf! Trixie already told you that she does NOT know fear! Trixie is the most powerful and magical unicorn in all of Equestria! To think she would be anything like you lowly ponies is laughable! Trixie does not need friends, and she certainly does not need you – omf!” Her nose was filled with the scent of saline and metal as Trixie walked straight into Warpath's leg. Stepping back and rubbing her face, she yelled at him, “What do you think you're doing just stopping like that! Haven't you figured out yet that we're not as fast as you?!” He had turned his torso to the side and was looking directly down at her. “...what did you just say?” “Oh, what? Did Trixie say something to offend you too? Are you going to chew her out just like Prowl did? Trixie would not be surprised.” His voice was slightly shaky as he responded. “Uh, naw, I don't mean that...what did you just call yourself?” She turned her head away with a smug smile, looking back into his visor. “Hm? The most powerful and magical unicorn in ALL of Equestria? Well, Trixie knows it's hard to believe, but it's true. Want to see proof?” “Uh...no thanks, I um...believe you. Just thought you said somethin' else...” He stepped away from her in a hurry, leaving her to wonder what that meant. Though he didn't move very far as he jerked to a halt after taking a mere two steps. Putting a finger on his temple for a second, he suddenly punched the wall to his left. Fluttershy squealed and zipped behind the two of them a good distance. “Ugh, again?! What the scrap is wrong with this place?! It's like no matter where we go, we keep running into a dead end!” Trixie mimicked Warpath's exasperated grunt. Glaring at him, she said, “Can't you do anything right?! All you've done so far lose your temper and make us walk around in circles! Trixie is beginning to think you Autobots are all incompetent fools! If Trixie had a map of this place, we would never - ” The pony's angry rambling sank into the walls and floors as Warpath found himself clutching his face again, this time with a trembling hand. He was already driven to the brink at least twice today, and he was moments from losing his composure again. “...you think for one second that The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to stand by while the rest of you parade around us like you own the place?! If we weren't surrounded by all this putrid dark energon, Trixie would - ” “ARRRGGH, I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!” Warpath transformed without warning, making the unicorn double back in reaction. He must have heard her say her name at least twenty times during that tirade, which unfortunately made it that much more difficult to try and ignore. No matter how hard he tried to focus on finding a path that didn't end in a wall, all he could hear was 'Trixie this' and 'Trixie that'. The last straw had been placed, and he wasn't going to deal with it. “I don't care if this place falls apart, we're gettin' outta here!!!” *KTHOM – CRASH* The red Autobot pointed his main cannon at the wall he punched and fired, peppering Trixie with small bits of crystal as she reflexively raised a foreleg in front of her. The heat from the blast lapped at her face, and the noise rang in her ears like a pinball in her skull, causing them to fold over. Sure enough, the next few things that filled the air were more incessant complaints, mostly involving life endangerment and noise pollution. It didn't matter at this point though – this wall was the only thing separating Warpath from the blast point. Transforming back and taking out the detpack, he leaned forward into the hole he made, spotting a somewhat thick column of crystal extending out into the darkness above his head. (“Alright, here it is...just gotta make sure it's facing inward at a 2.2 degree angle an'...what else was I supposed to do? Augh, what's with this schematic, it doesn't make any sense!”) [“kzzzzt – Warpath, what happened?! I – kzzzt – that shock from over – kzzzt.”] He tapped a button in his torso a few times, trying to adjust his comm-link. “No worries Prowl, I've got it under control! Just had to clear some trash outta my way!” [“I don't know – kzzzt – did, but there's a massive – kzzzt – going throughout the entire – kzzzzzzzzzt.”] “Prowl? Hey, pick up! You get cut off or somethin'?!” No response. The only thing that came back through the receiver was static. Not thinking much of it, Warpath finished setting up the detpack and leaned back out of the hole he made, satisfied he was one step closer to getting away from that pony's motormouth. (...hold on a sec.) Even with the static, it shouldn't of been that easy to hear him. Why was it so quiet? He was certain that Trixie would’ve been screaming her head off by now for being ignored, but somewhere during his conversation she stopped. Looking back down at the two ponies, he found her staring blankly ahead into the darkness. Her legs shook like they were about to give out again, and it looked like she was trying her hardest to remain stone-faced, despite having her mouth loosely hanging open and sweat going down her brow. “Warpath, b-behind you!!!” Fluttershy poked out from behind Trixie, pointing a hoof behind him. Transforming his right arm into a long-barreled minigun, Warpath thrust himself around, grabbed the top of his weapon with his free hand as it revved up, and fired into the corridor, spraying bullets at anything that moved. More inert energon shattered as some unknown forms in the dark scuttled around like cockroaches before being blown apart. Shining his lights over, he discovered the shattered, smoking remains of at least seven smaller robots, no larger than the two ponies in the room. Judging from what was left, they resembled six legged insects. Their bodies were a mix of crystal and circuitry, and they glowed with the same ill purple as the central room. “Aw scrap, not these things again!” Warpath transformed into vehicle mode and pulled up next to both of them rather quickly. “Forget bein' careful, we gotta bail, NOW!” Fluttershy jumped on without any hesitation, but Trixie of course felt the need to demand an explanation. “What ARE those things?! Why are they so...disgusting?!” She felt herself edging away from them, feeling her stomach go queasy as she watched their legs twitch like they were still alive. “All ya need to know is that they're bad news! I fought em' on the way to Cybertron's core once, they're made of dark energon! Which is pretty bad considerin' we're standin' in like two hundred tons of the stuff!” Parts of the cavern sparked with purple light as more insectoids burst forth from the walls and floors like they were hatching from eggs. They made no noise aside from the scratching and clicking of crystal against crystal, scampering towards the three of them at nearly seven miles an hour. Just watching the way they moved made Trixie's skin crawl, finally motivating her to hop on as Warpath kicked his nitro into gear. All she wanted was to get away from the creepy crawlies as fast as possible. [“kzzzt – rpath, come in!”] Looks like the comm-link was working again, albeit still garbled by static. “Prowl! Somethin's goin' on, parts of the cavern are comin' back to life and makin' those dark energon bug things!” [“I know that, I'm – GAH!”] Gunfire could be heard over the intercom, followed by the sounds of smashing crystal. [“I've traced the – kzzzzt – back to the central room! Make your way back there and disconnect Megatron from the cavern! I think he's somehow subconsciously creating – kzzzzt.”] “Prowl, you're breakin' up again! Wha dya say?!” [“kzzzzt – and whatever you do, DON'T forget to use restraint! Do things heavy-handed like always and you'll – kzzzzt.”] Prowl's distorted voice was drowned out by interference before the line went completely silent. Not even static came though anymore. “Little late to start bein' careful! Only thing I understand right now is KABLAM!” An explosion from behind sent a massive tremor through the cavern, signaling that Warpath detonated the detpack remotely. Intense fires singed the backside of Trixie's coat, and more bits of shrapnel ricocheted off the Autobot's armor. Fluttershy screamed at the noise, hanging for dear life onto the speeding tank. “Quit your bellyachin' Fluttershy, I've got this! Plowin' ahead's always the best way to – UGH!” An insectoid had latched onto Warpath's main cannon, having spawned from the ceiling a little ways ahead. Its bladed legs dug into his armor, intent on shredding into him. This time it was Trixie's turn to scream, as it had landed practically next to her. “AHHHH!!! GET AWAAAY!” Seeing one up close was so much worse. It was like she was suddenly covered in millipedes and spiders, crawling around on her skin by the hundreds. She put her forelegs over her head, screwed her eyes shut, and fired a concussion spark, not even caring about the consequences. That thing had to go, and it had to go now. *pyo – KTHOOOM* “Whoa, what the scrap...?!” Peeking an eye open at first, Trixie eventually realized what she just did. There was nothing left of the insect but a single leg, still hanging out of his armor. Using levitation, she pried it off and flung it behind them, the leg shattering into pieces as they sped by. “Wait a nanosec, you weren't just blowing hot air?! Why didn't you just blast those things from the start?!” Trixie didn't say anything at first. Her mouth twitched a little like she wanted to talk, and she was staring at the space where the bug was. She knew the spell for a concussion spark, but had no idea it was that powerful. No, she had no idea she was that powerful. “I, uh...of – of course! You never should have doubted the Great and Powerful Trixie! Trixie merely wanted to, uh...test how useful you were to her, that's all!” “Augh, you're meltin' my processors with that dumb act! Just give me some cover fire, will ya?!” “Hmf! If you insist!” The blue unicorn threw off her magician's hat, the smell of burnt cloth letting her know that her first attack already ruined it. Steadying herself on the speeding Autobot, she took sharp aim at the emerging insects ahead and fired shot after shot of bright, lavender energy, marveling at the power behind this spell. Every shattered insect, every massive crater she made in the walls, it all felt so good. She couldn't even feel the slightest bit of recoil, or any sort of fatigue from using this much magic at once. Trixie grinned like a maniacal mare – this was the most fun she ever had in her life. ---- “HWOOOOOO...!” Prowl fell onto a knee to stabilize himself as another tremor shook the cavern. Crystal stalactites fell from the ceiling and pierced the floor like paper, while the walls around him crumbled and shattered, making the air look like the inside of a snow globe. As he jumped to his feet again and ran from danger, the Autobot kept two fingers on his temple, keeping his firearm at ready. “Warpath, come in! What in blazes are you doing over there?! The entire cavern has become unstable!” Another insect spawned from the floor, lunging at him. Grunting in frustration, he took his hand off his head and blasted it to pieces without stopping. “You're deviating from the plan, aren't you...of all the – ugh!” Prowl's stride slowed, his legs becoming wobbly and his shoulder scraping a wall. He could literally feel the inside of his head vibrating as sparks went off inside his logic center. All Warpath needed to do was set up a detpack and detonate it in unison with the other, and he couldn't even do that right. Even worse, he's somehow managed the worst case scenario; according to his calculations, they had less than a cycle until the dark energon cavern collapsed completely and flattened them all. Communications were down, his partner could only be making things worse, insectoid drones were endlessly harassing him, and despite setting off his own detpack, the megalodon still wasn't capable of regurgitating the cavern. Nothing was going according to plan, and the stress was overloading his circuits. He could only pray Warpath managed to hear the last part of his message. “Haaa...have to...get to the last point! It's the only way!” Prowl tried to focus on the task at hand, but even that was difficult. He was merely armed with a subsonic repeater, and that wasn't nearly enough firepower to destroy the blast point. He had to think of another course of action, and given the current situation, he simply couldn't focus. All of the chaos surrounding him was too much to bear. ---- “KABLAM!!!” Back at the central chamber, Warpath blasted another entrance into the room, skidding to a halt in a blaze of flame and debris. Trixie held onto the rear end of his cannon the best she could, knowing he'd forget about the momentum from his sudden stop. Fluttershy, however, wasn't as prepared as she was flung from him at high speed, forcing her to tumble into the room like a beach ball. Flopping onto her belly with her forelegs splayed out, she waited until the world stopped spinning before trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden burst of light. “Warpath...could you please, pleaaase, try to be more gentle? I'm starting to think you're not being careful about – EEEK!” The room had changed dramatically in the few minutes they were gone. The glow that was coming from the central pillar Megatron was encased in had spread, invigorating the once inert dark energon in over half the chamber. The Decepticon himself was obscured, covered in hundreds of insectoids, moving together like a single organism. Fluttershy finally remembered that she had a pair of wings and flew backwards, getting as close to Warpath as possible. Trixie jumped down, the force of her landing cracking the floor under her hooves. Her head was lowered and her crazed eyes were slightly bloodshot. “One or one million, it doesn't matter how many of you disgusting bugs stand in Trixie's way! You'll be dust in the wind when she is done with you!” Just as she fired her first shot, she heard the Autobot behind her transform, followed by the sound of her spark colliding with something that didn't break. Raising her head, she saw that Warpath had somehow produced a large hammer and thrust it down in front of her, blocking her shot. Trixie looked up at him like she was insulted. “WHAT do you think you're doing?!” “Didn't ya hear what Prowl said?! You fire one shot into that stuff and you'll turn us ALL into dust! You gotta hold back here, understand?!” “I, uh...! Trixie does not want to hear that coming from you!” The energy from her horn dissipated, though a little reluctantly. Once again she didn't want to admit fault for being so overzealous. ("You an' me both...”) Warpath stepped over her, brandishing his hammer. “You two stay close! Prowl said somethin' about pryin' Megatron outta that thing, so I'm gonna do it!” “Oh?! And just how do you expect to do that?!” She turned her attention back to the horde of already advancing insectoids. “I, uh...I'll figure somethin' out! You two just stay alive!” Fluttershy looked on as Warpath started thrashing the insects in his path, watching him sweep his hammer across them like he was raking leaves. 'Stay alive', he said. How could he say that so casually? Was it because he was used to having his life in danger? She was so lost in thought at those two words that she didn't notice an insectoid lunging at her from behind. Only a spark from Trixie's horn smashing the creature apart brought her back to her senses. She shrieked as the noise rang in her ears, bringing her forelegs to her mouth. “Stop spacing out! You're lucky Trixie decided to save your life - AHH!” The pegasus' pupils slowly contracted as she watched her get blindsided by another crystal bug, tearing off the sapphire broach holding her cape together before she blasted it to bits as well. She wanted to do something for her, to protect her just the same, but all she could do was float there. It was getting hard to just breathe and flap her wings now. (“What do we do, what do we do...?! Those insects just keep coming!”) It was true. For every enemy that was destroyed, two more spawned from the surrounding crystal. And every time another insectoid spawned, the glow from the central pillar spread further, like it was trying to compensate for its losses. Poor Fluttershy had her lips scrunched together, trying to suppress another scream. Her floating had become erratic and the humidity of the room was making her dizzy. No matter how she looked at it, this was a losing battle. “Warpath, Trixie, we have to run away! Those bugs keep getting replaced, they won't stop until they get you!” Warpath smashed another insect under his hammer before he picked up on what the chamber was starting to look like. There were so many holes dotted all around the place, like a hundred pipe bombs went off at once. “Ugh...! Scrap, she's right! What are we gonna do?!” “HWOO...KAAAH. HWOOOOOOAAAHH!!!” The megalodon's howl echoed far and wide as the cavern was struck with a colossal tremor, a tremor much more violent than the ones before it. The chamber tilted slightly at first before bobbing back and forth like an unstable boat. A giant crack split across the entire floor, sending arcs of purple lightning everywhere, and parts of the ceiling started to fall and crash into the floor. The insectoids were no longer able to hold their footing as they slid across the ground and smashed into each other, completely at the mercy of the cavern's movements. Warpath attempted to remain still, smashing his hammer in place to use as a foothold. It was clear what was happening now. “Hey, alright! Prowl did it! The shark's coughin' up the cavern! Now all we gotta do is get outta here!” He pried his hammer out of the ground and retracted it back into his arm the moment the shaking came to a stop, though it was still hard to walk. The floor was now on a thirty degree slant, and getting steeper. Transforming back to vehicle mode, he opened a hatch in the base of his cannon. “All aboard! Time to jet before this place blows!” Fluttershy wasted no time flying into his compartment, nearly grazing her wing on entry. She cowered there for a few seconds before realizing that Trixie wasn't following behind her. Poking her head out, she spotted her just standing there, staring at the glowing central pillar. She took a breath to speak, but Warpath cut her off. “Hey Trixie, what're ya doin', takin' a pitcture?! Let's MOVE!” She didn't respond. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she just stood and watched as the insectoids clamored together once again, climbing all around Megatron and stabbing their legs into the now sparking dark energon. It was like she knew they were up to something. “Trixie! TRIXIE! Say somethin' – GAHH!” The wall nearest to Warpath cracked and broke open, engulfing him in a torrent of sea water. The pegasus in his hatch held on, holding her breath until he moved out of the way. She spat a couple of times and moved her wet mane out of her eyes before calling out to her. “Trixie, please! We have to go, the cavern is sinking! Why won't you move?!” The moment she finished, Trixie finally turned her head and retorted, “Stay back you foals!” She turned back, not taking her eyes off the flashing pillar despite the copious amounts of water flooding into the room. More and more insectoids piled around the pillar, freezing themselves in place. When there was no longer any more space, they simply climbed onto each other's backs. Warpath finally figured out why that pony was just standing there – as more of those bugs stuck themselves to the pillar, the further and faster the glow spread. “...this ain't good! They're tryin' to reactivate all the dark energon in the whole cavern! There's no way we can outrun an explosion THAT big!” “(GASP), oh no!” The chamber had become too steep for him to transform now. Not giving up, Warpath attempted to fire shell after shell at the insectoids. His rounds collided with water, exploding in fire and steam, and numerous bugs blew apart like paper mache, but no matter what he did, he couldn't stop the spread of dark energon. Fluttershy put her forelegs over her head and rested it down on the lip of the hatch, tears starting to stream down her face. She couldn't think of anything she could do other than panic. *pyaooo* Her head peeked out from under her hooves, hearing a familiar noise. It was the same noise she heard every time Twilight conjured a barrier. Snapping her eyes open, she found that Trixie had indeed raised her horn and created a barrier, it's purple light illuminating the entire chamber. It passed though the floor and ceiling, cutting off the spread of dark energon. Fluttershy stared at it for a full minute before jumping from the hatch and recklessly flying into the barrier, feeling her heart in her throat as her weak hooves pounded on it again and again. For whatever reason, Trixie was on the other side. “Trixie, what are you doing?! The dark energon is going to explode, you have to get out of there!!!” She continued to pound on the barrier like her life depended on it, but to no avail. She knew it was useless to do this, but she couldn't stop herself. The stinging pain in her hooves felt like a dull, distant ache compared to the pain she was feeling in her chest. All she could think about was getting her out of there before it was too late. “Trixie, please! Don't do this!” In her heart, Fluttershy already understood what she was witnessing here. She knew that her barrier was the only hope they had of survival, the only thing stopping the spread of dark energon. She simply refused to accept it. All she could do was watch Trixie turn her head towards her, showing off the same arrogant smile she had seen countless times over...as everything inside the barrier vanished a burst of lavender energy, leaving nothing behind but inky darkness and an empty crater. “...uh...uh...!” Fluttershy's wings stopped moving, the rest of her body going into emotional shock. Warpath sped down the incline with his hatch still open, catching her before she fell into the lightless waters. Slamming it shut, he spun around and fired one last mortar at the hole where the water was flooding in. There was only one way back to the surface, and it was through the bay itself. “No...please, no...!” The only light inside Warpath's compartment came from the floor. A dim, red light, barely illuminating anything. Fluttershy found herself staring at the source as she lay on her side, her breath short and her legs numb. She barely felt the Autobot tossing her around as he dodged incoming debris to ascend to the surface, her mind still firmly locked on what she just witnessed. That Trixie, a hopeless, arrogant braggart, was capable of performing such amazing feats of magic after all. That her prowess was so great, she was capable of teleporting something so enormous away from them. That somepony who acted so self-centered and haughty, would do something so...selfless. No, there was still a chance she was still alive. She could just teleport back to shore, right? “Agh, finally! We're out!” Warpath's hatch opened once again, revealing a star-filled night sky. Fluttershy took a deep breath and scrambled out of the hatch, motivated entirely by desperation. She wasted no time jumping on his armored hide and searching the black waters, looking for any sign of her. “Where is she, where is she!?!” *KRA-THOOOOM* An earth-shattering explosion thundered in the distance, nearly one mile away. Even under the blanket of darkness, a bright column of purple water shot into the stratosphere, turning night into day. Warpath grunted as he tried his best to maintain stability on top of the waters. Fluttershy went limp again, feeling sea water fall down on her like rain, the sight of the explosion burned into her mind. “No...NOO!!! TRIXIIIIIIIE!!!” ---- [Shockwave's Case Files, Entry #: 172] That old relic was a fool. He had no idea what he had created. The untapped potential, the endless possibilities...wasted on such pointless, illogical sentiment. Rest assured, I will make much better use of your innovation, old friend. Processing plant 7A has been decommissioned. Any and all pertinent data has been reallocated and the facility scrubbed and demolished. As such, the rrrrrrrrr - “Ugh, shut UP! I already know that! Just tell me where the scrap you're hiding her!” [“...mia, Chromia, come in, do you read?! This is Firestar, over!”] “Ah, what?! What do you think you're doing breaking radio silence?! You've compromised the entire mission!” [“You're over your mission time limit by like a whole megacycle, it's a little late for that! Besides, we've got bigger problems than – hey!”] [“Sorry ta cut in toots, but you all gotta hear this! Shockwave's on his way here, an' he's bringin' a whole mess a sentinels with em'! I'm thinkin' the cat's outta the bag, you gotta get back here an' take the old guy someplace safer than here!”] “Wha – Swoop?! What are you even doing there?!” [“Savin' yer hide, that's what! Grimlock's already outside bustin' heads, but it's only a matter a time till they start doin' the bustin'! I don' know what's goin' on here, but that loony Con ain't holdin' anything back right now!”] “Uh...alright. I'm on my way!”