"When we love someone, we make it our business to protect them."  

~Donna Goddard, Waldmeer

>>·<<

Predaking stalked around the halls of the warship in search of his creator, silently fuming. Though he wished to second-guess himself and give Shockwave's judgement the benefit of the doubt, the fact that he had been lied to bounced around in his processor incessantly. Shockwave had lied about using Ripclaw's body to experiment with a human. As if the desecration had not been enough, they had deceived him as well. It made him wonder what other secrets they were hiding from him.

The creator's scent lead him to a laboratory, one he recognized well, opening the door to a surprised Knock Out, who practically ran out of his way as he approached the ever-calm Shockwave. His anger rippled from his frame in droves, and yet even that did not faze the Cybertronian.

"You lied to me!" He snarled, slamming his fist on a countertop. "You destroyed Ripclaw's body for the sake of a human experiment!"

Shockwave did not even flinch, having anticipated that one day Predaking would find out. He had to assume that Predaking had put two and two together himself and did not actually know the truth, venting slowly as he gazed at his creation.

"Ripclaw's clone was dying," Shockwave answered monotonously. "She was the runt of the pack, and nature was taking its course. I let her pass away quietly, as a mercy. June Darby was merely secondary to what had happened; had she not been present Ripclaw still would have succumbed to her underdeveloped spark."

"And yet June lives inside her!" Predaking hissed.

"I was able to make modifications to the failed spark and, using the Cataclysmic Theory, created a spark that was able to run on its own, without prompting from a supernatural force," the scientist explained, only the first part a complete lie. The rest was true.

Predaking looked away, his servos curling and uncurling. He was processing the information, picking apart every word in search a deception, a weak link which would indicate that he was still being taken for a fool. "Is it . . . possible that June could retain some of Ripclaw's memories? Similar to how my predecessor's lives within me?" The Predacon asked carefully.

"Perhaps, but I do not know for certain," that was all true. "But, to prove such a hypothesis her memory suppressors would require removement, and that is a risk we are not willing to take."

The Predacon's claws continued to flex in agitation, his back struts twitching. He was unsure what to believe; though Shockwave's explanations made sense, so had his previous ones, the lies. Was the scientist afraid that, should Predaking know the entire truth, he would kill him in his rage? To replace Ripclaw's persona with that of an organic creature was like a slap in the face, an insult the the Predacon kind, but if she had truly been dying . . . then he supposed he could not fully reject their scientific endeavor. All the same, though, it was morbid to think that her body was being used as a puppet for a lesser creature.

His rage calmed just a little, his plating flattening back down against his frame as he thought. This was all the more reason for him not to like "June," to see them as different and himself superior. Perhaps that was for the best.

A tool dropping ripped his focused gaze from the creator and landed on an unfamiliar mech, whose optics dimmed as the energon drained from his helm. He had clearly been sneaking around behind Predaking in hopes to escape his notice, afraid for his life. When the beast saw why, his chest became hot again.

"You have been sequestering an Autobot sympathizer from me?!" He roared, loudly, feeling utterly betrayed once more. "You have done nothing but lie to me! What other things have you told me that are untrue? What more deception have you concealed yourselves behind?"

Shockwave took a step back, immediately pinging Soundwave instructions. "Predaking, he is necessary for a project we are currently working toward - "

"No, no more!" Predaking snarled. "You have done nothing but lie to me! I will put an end to your deceit, once and for all!"

The beast transformed, his piercing screech shattering several samples of synthetic energon. Shockwave fell backward as the Predacon launched away from him, toward the screaming orange and white Autobot. He would make this creature - and the rest of the ship - pay for their crimes against him.

A Groundbridge portal opened beside him and a green blurr escaped from it, giving the king no time to react. Crashing into Predaking in a tangle of snarls and growls, June threw the larger creature acrossed the increasingly cramped space whilst Shockwave, Ratchet, and Knock Out oriented themselves behind her. She crouched, anticipating the mech's next attack, her tail swishing and preparing to redistribute her weight accordingly.

Predaking shook his helm to get rid of the disorientation, growling and snarling. "Bow to your king!"

June felt rather than smelled the command to submit, her tail curling in agitation as she bared her sharp denta, optics glowing brightly. Her claws dug into the lab floor, carving into it like soft butter - whatever that was - and giving her purchase should Predaking attempt to knock her down.

"You are no king," she roared, a battlecry, as Predaking charged toward her. She met him head-on, the pair rolling and slamming into tables, damaging equipment, and becoming stained in incomplete synthetic energon. The smaller femme had the advantage, darting and slipping through the smallest of cracks and crevices that he provided, her claws raking against his weak spots and causing energon to spill onto the ground. She twisted her lithe body around his own, a deadly emerald against amber.

Her advantage ended, however, when a clawed paw sent her crashing to the ground, pinning her and immobilizing her back legs. Despite her attempts to wiggle lose he resisted, growling and putting all of his weight on her frame. Where June had the advantage of being able to manipulate around in a small space, Predaking had size and strength against her. Armor began to crack and his chest glowed as he prepared to incinerate her.

"Predaking!" Megatron opened the door, his fusion canon completely warmed up, prepared to fire straight into the mech's processor. "Stand down, this instant, or be terminated!"

Predaking glared at the mech, his chest glowing bright. After all of the lies, the deception, the king of the Predacons could not just walk away. If he was not terminated here, the Decepticons would certainly have him terminated at a later date, and with nothing to show for it. 

At the very least, he would ride the world of this Ripclaw abomination, in honor of its namesake.

Megatron reacted as soon as he saw the decision in the mech's optics, firing a single, supercharged shot that went straight through his helm, destroying everything that had been the first successful cloning experiment. There was a long, drawn out pause, the dragon-former's fire extinguishing and his grip slackening on June before giving way completely, the femme kicking his corpse off of herself.

"June!" Ratchet started towards her, stopping when she immediately bristled and hissed, the fire of the fight still in her optics. He immediately put his servos up and took several copious steps back, the femme able to take out half of his body in one strong bite. His fear for his own spark outweighed his concern for her wellbeing, though he looked at her with the upmost concern, hoping she could sense it.

Megatron watched the scene with some amusement, though it displeased him how upset the Predacon was. "June," he coaxed, extending his servo, canon still warm due to the discharge.

Ratchet watched with both amazement and disgust as her armor lowered and she slinked to the silver titan, this time the mech taking her helm in both servos, petting her horns and the bottom of her chin. Her optics shuttered as she enjoyed the attention, tail relaxing and beginning to swish happily.

"Let me take a look at her," the Autobot insisted. "She could be injured."

"I believe Shockwave is more qualified for such a task than you, medic," Megatron immediately denied him, not deigning to look at the medic. "As she is his experiment." His claws twisted to stroke down her cheek, tracing the armor pieces there.

"I did not see any obvious signs of damage, save for her cracked armor," Shockwave noted, seemingly undisturbed by his off-lined creation on the floor. "A simple cosmetic fix that Knock Out is more than capable of handling."

Megatron's red optics focused on his medic. "See to it that her injuries are repaired." Finally, his red gaze settled on Ratchet. "As for you, Autobot, I suggest you continue your work on the synthetic energon. We have had enough delays; and I will tolerate no others."

Ratchet watched with pained, desperate optics as June obediently followed the warmonger out of the door, Knock Out slipping into step behind her. It hurt his spark to see such a proud woman reduced to a mere animal, and she seemed none the wiser about her predicament. 

Though he supposed, bitterly, that he could not be surprised. Her memories were gone, or at the very least kept under a tight lock and key. She could not even remember a time when she was not some sick Decepticon experiment.

Grimacing to himself, he continued to work. After the synthetic energon was complete, he would find a way to save June.

Or end her misery.