Chapter 59: You Can Call Them Prehistoric Beasts
"Damn creature, now I remember you! You bit me! At least a third of my scars are from you!"
Compared to the standoff between Red Spider (Starscream) and Lockdown, the mechanical warrior Thunder Dragon known as Sludge suddenly recalled something...especially when she saw the black mechanical cheetah before her. The fragmented data in her memory, stimulated by her senses, pieced itself together into something coherent.
Among those fragments was a record of a battle between Sludge and that very same black mechanical cheetah standing before her now. Whatever had happened back then, this black cheetah was definitely her enemy.
Hearing her companion's warning, Sludge immediately drew her weapon and aimed it at the agile opponent. It seemed this beast was seeking revenge for her fallen brother!
"Sludge, your wounds haven't fully healed yet. Let me, your brother, take your place in this fight!"
These mechanical dinosaurs truly stood united! But that also meant Starscream would now have to face the veteran Decepticon, Lockdown, alone.
"System God, do you have detailed information on this Lockdown in your database? Why do I keep running into unexpected Transformer warriors since arriving on this strange planet?"
Judging by his age, Lockdown must have been a warrior from the same era as Sixshot. Why weren't these old war machines retired peacefully on Cybertron? What were they doing on this backwater world?
"Heh, looks like it's just the two of us now. Your Autobot friend doesn't seem too fond of you yet, does he? So, Mr. Starscream...what do you think is going to happen between us?"
There was a strange gleam in Lockdown's optics, one that could almost be mistaken for amusement. Even Starscream couldn't understand why this veteran Decepticon bore such hostility toward him. If not for the confined space, the two would likely have already come to blows.
Meanwhile, the others weren't sitting idle. While Red Spider and Lockdown exchanged sharp words, the two Dinobots sprang into action.
"Javelin, transform!"
"Sludge, transform!"
The dungeon was spacious enough to accommodate the massive Thunder Dragon's transformation, but a bit cramped for a pterosaur robot that thrived in open skies.
Still, the mechanical panther, obsessed with seizing the dinosaur's transformation device, didn't care about the limited space. It charged straight at the towering Thunder Dragon, baring its steel fangs as it dashed forward...apparently targeting the giant's abdomen while it couldn't turn in time.
Unfortunately for the panther, before it could even extend its claws, a sharp whistle rang from behind, and its hind legs were suddenly snagged by a pair of massive steel talons.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kitty. I won't let you!"
Though Javelin's flight space was limited, his tactics were clever. He had deliberately flown over his companion, seemingly leaving an opening for the panther to strike...but in truth, it was a carefully planned trap.
Whatever level of intelligence this robotic beast had, it clearly relied on brute force alone. When it closed to within three meters of the Thunder Dragon's body, Javelin dove from above and caught its rear mechanical leg mid-stride.
The combat power of these dinosaur mechs was not to be underestimated. Though the panther's armor was thick, Javelin's claws pierced through it like tofu, latching onto the inner strut of its hind leg. With a few powerful wingbeats, he lifted the struggling beast into the air.
Bang!
But the attack didn't end there. As the panther lost its balance and tumbled headfirst, the Thunder Dragon's massive, millstone-sized forelegs swung forward and slammed into it.
A heavy thud echoed through the dungeon, followed by the grinding clash of metal. The fierce mechanical panther's head snapped violently to the side...its attack, seemingly unstoppable at first, was instantly neutralized by the teamwork of the mechanical dinosaur brothers.
"Ugh, Predacons… so pathetic! Beaten so easily. Good thing I didn't admit I was ever one of you, or I'd die of embarrassment."
Lockdown's tone was that of a jaded veteran, watching the mechanical panther...his frozen companion of nearly a thousand years...fall to the ground in defeat.
But the moment he mentioned the word Predacons, Starscream's Transformer system began processing again.
"What? These are Predacons? I recall something about them… though the data is incomplete. As I remember, a Cybertronian scientist proposed the concept ages ago...to help Transformer warriors on expeditions adapt to low-tech planetary environments by giving some of them beast-like alternate forms for easier integration. I never thought I'd actually see them!"
It wasn't exactly a secret. Due to the endless war between Autobots and Decepticons...now finally over...Cybertron's energy reserves had nearly been depleted after millennia of conflict. Both factions had long sought new worlds to colonize, and the Predacon Project had been one of their earliest attempts.
"Alright then, System God, you sure know your stuff! But if this planet was once a Cybertronian development site, why is there nothing about it in my database? You know, I am the current Decepticon Air Commander...yet next to you, I feel like a clueless decoration."
As the old saying goes, knowledge is power...but Starscream had no idea just how much history this planet truly held.
(End of Chapter)
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