Chapter Text
Ripclaw paced back and forth. She looked to the doorway several times in short increments, waiting and expecting for something to happen. She was itching for something to happen. Anything at this point of waiting.
“Ripclaw. Have patience,” Predaking called to her. He currently stood back facing her and the flight deck's doorway. He appeared so calm and stoic. Ripclaw couldn't understand how he was bearing the wait. They would finally get their first act of revenge.
She sighed and flexed her claws before moving to join Predaking's side. After a few moment's of silence, she huffed and flicked her tail back and forth.
“What's Cybertron like?” she asked suddenly. During the process of her recovery, Ripclaw had no other choice but to lay still and listen to Predaking's tales. But she did enjoy hearing about his living on their home planet and the time he spent there with Shockwave. It made her feel...hopeful.
“Now? Barren,” Predaking answered honestly. However, the other Predacon began to smirk as he glanced down to Ripclaw. “But there was a time when the planet was full of life. During that time, our kind still walked among it. Imagine what it will be like when we return just as the planet sprouts to life again. As if Cybertron waited for the Predacons to revive as well.”
She nodded silently and moved her claws, resting them against her sides.
“Ripclaw, listen well to what I am about to tell you.” Predaking's voice had changed. His tone became much more serious and commanding. “When you face the Autobot, look into his optics and show no fear. I am here. The Autobots can never harm you again.”
She blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic, but Ripclaw nodded again in response.
“I wasn't planning on it, Predaking,” she murmured.
He seemed pleased by her answer when he spoke again.
“I believe it will still take some time for this formula Lord Megatron mentioned to be completed. Let us rest for now.” Predaking had already walked forward as he spoke. He beckoned Ripclaw to follow with a simple shrug of his shoulder and reverted to his beast mode.
Predaking moved to the right side of the open deck, most likely to not block the other fliers that may need to come or go.
Ripclaw followed suit and quickly transformed to beast form as well. She trotted after Predaking and took a spot on the ground to his right. The metal felt warm underneath her and she couldn't help but to stretch out in the warm rays of light shining down.
She glanced over to Predaking and studied his beast form. She was not as darkly colored as him. She was smaller as well. She was about the same height, but her neck and tail were much shorter than his. Her wings had only half of the wing span his did. She recalled Starscream mentioning fire as well? She didn't figure out if she could produce flames yet, but she enjoyed her tail and the deadly liquid it produced even if she couldn't.
Perhaps they were cloned from different samples to produce diverse abilities among the Predacons.
Ripclaw was stirred from her thoughts when Predaking made a loud growl and moved his snout against the side of her neck. Ripclaw made a growl of her own and moved the tip of her snout underneath Predaking's.
Ripclaw blinked a few times before she made a loud yawn and laid her head down on the ground. However, after something moved onto Ripclaw's back, she slowly lifted her head up and glanced over at Predaking. The other Predacon had moved his right wing over her to cover her body.
She slowly inched closer beside Predaking and nuzzled her maw against his own. Predaking made a soft growl before slowly moving his head away and rested it on the ground. He stretched his head closer to Ripclaw and encircled his neck around the ground directly in front of her.
Ripclaw gently laid her head against Predaking's neck and closed her optics again.
It did not take long for Ripclaw to fall in recharge.
But it did not take long for the visions to begin either.
For a time, Ripclaw was met with darkness.
It was quiet.
Her vision was cloudy and couldn't make out more than basic shapes and forms.
Experiment #SW13334.
Who...?
This particular clone has aged sooner than most.
She tried to look in direction of the voice.
Blurs.
Darkness fell again.
The darkness soon disappeared again.
Loud sounds.
Bright flashes moving back and forth.
Something urged her to move.
She heard the other Predacons.
Something felt different.
Her vision finally cleared.
She saw them.
Two of them.
She watched them.
The others continued to howl and cry.
The two ran.
She growled and tried to smash the glass of her container with her tail.
But a large flash interrupted her.
Pain followed.
She was dying.
They were all dying.
Ripclaw quickly snapped her optics again and looked around. Even in her Predacon mode, her intakes were heavy. She swallowed and made a relieved noise. She wasn't in that lab anymore.
The skies nearby had turned into a dark, cloudy mess. Crackles and flashes sounded in the distance. She watched the approaching storms before rolling off her side.
She lifted her head up and glanced to the now empty space beside her. Her frame felt on edge and strained. She wasn't sure how long she had been out, but she wasn't sure if resting had helped or not.
“Ripclaw.”
After following his voice, Ripclaw saw Predaking standing near the doorway. He was currently in his Cybertronian form.
Ripclaw perked up and immediately moved up from the ground. She rushed over to Predaking's side and reverted to her own bipedal mode.
“Lord Megatron has informed me that the Autobot is being brought here now.”
Ripclaw's optics brightened immediately and she stared up at Predaking with a gaping expression. However, she immediately straightened her posture. She took a large intake and watched the doorway with a peering gaze.
Predaking was watching the door with a stoic yet neutral expression.
Slowly, his golden optics turned from the doorway and met with Ripclaw's.
They watched each other for a short time and did not speak over the silence.
Ripclaw simply nodded to Predaking before they turned back to watch the door.
She froze, however, after the door snapped open. The Autobot stood in the doorway with two Vehicons restraining his arms. He was quickly shoved onto the flight deck by the drones and fell face first onto the metal floor with the door closing quickly behind him. Sealing him to his fate.
Predaking stepped forward.
Ripclaw watched with anticipation.
“Do you feel... defenseless, Autobot?” Predaking asked him as the Autobot sat up in a kneeling position. He quickly glanced up as his expression twisted into a horrified one.
He managed to give a single look in Ripclaw's direction as well.
Ripclaw almost laughed at the fear his optics held.
“Good,” Predaking continued when he was met with no response. He reached one claw for the Autobot's face and gripped it tightly. “Now you know what my fellow Predacons endured, right before you massacred them!”
It was amusing to watch the Autobot struggle and try to free himself from Predaking's grasp.
Ripclaw watched with approval and slowly backed up. She moved away to give Predaking more space as he needed, but she did not take her sight off of Predaking or the Autobot for even a second. She smirked as she watched the Autobot be thrown down the flight deck and tumbled roughly on the ground. This was nothing compared to the pain that was brought on the Predacons. And Predaking did not seem like he was in a hurry to see the Autobot's life ended. Not yet.
In a flash, Predaking had transformed and had closed the distance between them. He produced a mighty roar, one that managed to shake the very ground Ripclaw stood on, as he stalked after the Autobot.
“Wait! Please–”
Predaking did not even humor the plea and snatched the Autobot's frame in his mouth. With a jerking motion, Predaking shook his prey in the air several times before raising on his hind legs. He violently snapped down and slammed the Autobot against the ground.
Ripclaw paced back and forth again as she walked. Every grunt, groan, cry of pain she heard was music. Every single strike was some form of revenge for their kin.
Predaking howled before the Autobot tried to stand up, only to be smacked with the backside of Predaking's massive claws. He was flung at the closest wall. The Autobot yelped as he smacked into the wall and dropped down.
He was quickly picked up in Predaking's mouth again tossed once more.
Ripclaw watched as Predaking leaped after the Autobot and slammed his claw down on top of him. The Autobot produced a loud wheezing groan as the full weight of Predaking landed on him.
“Just...get it over with,” the Autobot hissed. He weakly grabbed at Predaking's claw and stared up at the Predacon.
Ripclaw narrowed her optics and began to approach the two. At this rate, there wouldn't be much of the pitiful Autobot's left for her, but witnessing it helped to keep her entertained. Ripclaw glared down on the Autobot. She eyed the dents and scratches on his frame as well as the fresh fluids leaking on his face. It made her wonder if she looked that pathetic when she was first rescued by Predaking.
“It's not like I could live with myself, knowing the role I played in human kind's extinction.” As the Autobot continued speaking, Ripclaw growled and looked at Predaking while she joined him at his side.
“Oh? And yet, the extinction of our kind doesn't bother you?!” Ripclaw demanded as she lifted her tail in the air. The prong tips clasped in and out quickly as she leered down at the Autobot.
He did not respond to Ripclaw and stared up at her. He made a loud gasp in before he continued on. “If you want to truly avenge your cohorts, then don't stop with me. Keep avenging all the way to Megatron!”
Ripclaw was stunned to silence. Predaking seemed just as caught off guard as he pulled his snout away from the Autobot to study him. Predaking then switched back to his bipedal form and stepped closer.
“What? What do you mean?!” Predaking towered over the kneeling Autobot.
The Autobot struggled to stand. He grasped at his side. His face was smeared with his own energon.
“He wanted your Predacons exterminated and simply allowed us to do his dirty work for him!”
Ripclaw's optics darted back and forth as the Autobot's words sank in. That made no sense. Predaking had said that the Decepticons were allies...
She watched as the other Predacon roughly grabbed the Autobot by his shoulder and lifted him up several feet in the air.
“Your words are merely a false claim. You cannot save your spark from retribution!” Predaking spat in growing anger. The Autobot tsked as he struggled in Predaking's grip again. He then gave up trying to free himself as he grabbed at Predaking's arm and stared directly at his optics.
Ripclaw glanced at both, watching how they maintained eye contact with one another.
“You considered yourselves intelligent beings, don't you?” The Autobot questioned. He moved his optics from Predaking and glanced at Ripclaw as well. Ripclaw flexed her claws as soon as she noticed how Predaking's expression softened as he listened on. “Rise above your base instincts then. Analyze the situation!”
Ripclaw blinked in surprise after hearing the Autobot speak. Compared to how the Decepticons spoke to them and regarded them, it seemed almost...respectful.
She perked up as Predaking dropped the Autobot again and she moved even closer to his side. Silently, Ripclaw crossed her arms together and watched the Autobot.
“We followed the trail on our scanners that day with a desperate hope it would result in us finding an energon mine. We need any energon we are lucky enough to find. We had no idea Shockwave's laboratory was there!”
Ripclaw turned to face Predaking and stared up at him. She looked for some kind of answer in his expression. What would they do if it was true?
“The coincidence barely seems plausible...” Predaking replied and frowned. For the first time during their conversation, Predaking had finally looked at Ripclaw again. Ripclaw could see Predaking's conflicted feelings in his expression. He was just as confused as she was.
“Because it wasn't a coincidence! Energon was clearly planted to lure us there. By Megatron!”
Predaking growled in consideration as he turned his attention back to the Autobot. Ripclaw frowned and stared at the Autobot as well. That couldn't be true. It made no sense. And yet...Ripclaw found it harder to believe that the Autobot was lying.
“But why would my liege wish to destroy us?” Predaking asked and gave an offhand gesture in Ripclaw's direction. She tilted her head as she glanced between Predaking and the Autobot again.
The Autobot made a short sigh and clutched his side. He struggled to stay standing.
“With the firsthand experience of your might and power? One theory springs to mind,” the Autobot explained with a weak voice. He leaned closer and looked up at Predaking. “Megatron fears you.”
Ripclaw tilted her head as she continued to listen on to the medic.
“And any like you,” he added, optics now on Ripclaw instead.
She blinked again and took a single step back. She stared down at her claws and slowly shook her head in disbelief. It was true that Predaking was strong. And it was no doubt that he was more powerful than many of the Decepticons. But...Predaking was loyal to Megatron.
Predaking snarled before turning his attention to Ripclaw instead.
“Stay here,” he ordered. Ripclaw moved her gaze up to examine the other Predaking. His teeth were barred. His body language was extremely aggressive. “I'm going to find Megatron.”
Ripclaw wasn't given time to reply before Predaking set his sights on the doorway. Without a word, he stepped past both Ripclaw and the Autobot and walked menacingly towards it. She frowned and quickly ran after Predaking. Ripclaw grabbed his arm, wrapping both of her own around it, and tugged gently to him to stop walking.
However, he wordlessly pulled his arm free from her grasp and continued his stride to the door.
“Wait, I want to go with you,” she plead and walked around to look Predaking directly face to face. “I want to hear what Megatron has to say for myself!”
“No.”
“Predaking, I–”
“NO!”
Ripclaw flinched at the tone in Predaking's voice. She backed away and kept her gaze low to the ground.
She heard Predaking's growls soften, despite his obvious anger.
“I did not get the chance to train you yet, Ripclaw.” His voice had softened again. Ripclaw felt one of his servos against her shoulder plate. “You have just recovered from what happened in the mine. And I do not wish to see you hurt again.”
Ripclaw silently nodded. She understood why...but she didn't want to let him go alone.
Hesitantly, she reached for Predaking's claw and slipped her digits in between his. Ripclaw squeezed her servo against his and took one last glance up at Predaking. When he said nothing and slowly moved to pull away, Ripclaw released his arm with no resistance. She watched him rush out of the room.
He was gone in a flash.
Ripclaw bowed her head again and turned her back to the flight deck's open doorway. She moved her attention back onto the Autobot. He had been watching them. Ripclaw scowled and approached him again. Her claws flexed into tight fists as she walked closer and closer.
“I hope you are telling the truth,” she hissed and scowled down at the Autobot. “But now I'm disappointed that killing you won't make me feel any better.”
The Autobot did not reply and eyed Ripclaw warily.
She studied him for a few moments. The Autobot was just as tall as the Vehicons and was just as short compared to her height.
“Predaking was going to let me end your life because I survived your Autobots' attack. I was the only one to survive,” Ripclaw stated bitterly as she circled around the Autobot. “I was looking forward to it.”
“And now...?” The Autobot's tone was extremely cautious. He did not make a single movement, but he did not look away from Ripclaw. Did he think that Ripclaw was still going to finish him off?
It was definitely a tempting thought, but knowing that the Autobots were not the only ones responsible left a sour taste.
“Megatron will not bother to hide the truth if he is confronted about it,” the Autobot stated and slowly limped a few steps closer. “His hubris knows no bounds. And now that he has a weapon that will destroy life on this planet? He will try to terminate any threat he perceives to his plan.”
“Predaking won't be defeated easily!” Ripclaw snapped back and growled again. She moved away from the Autobot and looked out at the stormy clouds in the distance. They were darker and more impending than before.
“In a fair fight, perhaps not,” the Autobot tried to reason. “But, I can guarantee that it would not be a fair fight. Not against someone like Megatron.”
Ripclaw's optics narrowed as she considered his words. Predaking spoke as if he was expecting a fight right before he left.
She inclined her head and huffed out.
Without a word, Ripclaw shifted to her Predacon mode and turned back around. She ignored the Autobot as she walked with a fast gait. He was the last concern on her mind now. She growled and quickly broke out into a dash, following Predaking's scent.
A single glance at the Autobot was the last she saw of him before she slipped back into the Nemesis.