Cyber Dreams A Ranma 1/2 and Beasties/Beast Machines Transformers Fusion written by Shaun Garin <><><> Cheese Lips.... <><><> Time Log 4 : A Dino’s Musings “The hell’s with old Dinobutt there?” Quickstrike asked, jabbing a hand to the Predicon who mused, meditating with his sword upright. “The hell should I know?” Scorpinok said, shrugging his shoulders. “You ask him.” “I’d rather eat cold slag than ask him that question. You ask him.” “No you.” “You.” “You!” “YOU!” “YOU!!!” “SHUT UP YOU FOOLS!” Dinobot snarled into their faces. The pair of moronic Predicons backed away as he returned to his meditation. Dinobot made one of his trademark snarls as he grabbed a dark brown cloak at his side.... and stopped, looking at it. The cloak was stained with ancient mud, the mud crusty, coating most of the surface of the brown ragged cloth. “So.... I have returned,” he mused, “But for what?” he asked himself. Taking up the cloak, he wrapped it around himself, revelling in the memories this had brought back. Sneaking up on the stupid camera gun, punching it’s lights out, he could remember everything in prime detail. The brown also brought back memories. Of Rhinox, and ultimately, of the rest of Maximals. The quickster Cheetor, Rattrap, the vile vermin he secretly called his friend. The galant leader, Optimus Prime, fighting for a world not of his own. The cool headed Rhinox. The passonate Silverbolt and his consort, the sneaky, underhanded Black Arachnia. Tigatron, the most engmatic one of them all with Airrazor, the one he loved and died with. He sighed and took off the cloak. Somehow, Decepticons did not have the same once proud legacy the Predicons had deemed to carry. The Megatron of the future was a power hungry insane fool who would lead his troops into the pits of hell if only to conqour hell itself. The gluttonous Tarantulas with his schemes, underhanded tricks and disgusting appitite was no better. The moronic duo of Quickstrike with his annoying Texan accent and the simplemindedness of Scorpinok. How he wished for the presence of the laughable Waspinator or even the blindly loyal Inferno. Even they would be more preferable to the disgusting trio he was brought back with. And yet.... the Maximals. Though small in number, not to mention really small in comparion to the gargantuan Optimus Prime of today, were a close knit group, but well open minded. Perhaps, they had what he was looking for. But how did they arrive in this era? Had some new twist of fate thrown them back to earth after returning to Cybertron? “What is my purpose?” he asked himself, standing and sheathing his sword. “Is it to live and die one time after another? Or is it something even much more than that..... a power that trancends time... a oriacle of fate which divides the warriors from the murderers? I must know.” With that, he stalked out of his room, out of his base, transformed and started to charge towards Nerima. <><><> “Has it been so long?” Dinobot mused to himself. He had taken a long trenchcoat, a scarf and fedora that hid his imposing size. The hands were not something he could hide on his own, so he stuffed them into the pockets of the coat. “Humans, though nowhere as nearly advanced in 2000 AD, have advanced through the help of the Autobots. Even here, in Tokyo, things have the hallmark of the Autobots.” Just then, a frizbee landed at his feet. Dinobot looked down at it and picked it up. “Hey mister!” a kid called. “Can you throw that back?” Dinobot tossed it gently as it sailed over to the kid who caught it. “Thanks!” he called back. “Even children seem happy here,” Dinobot said to himself. “But where does my existance begin and end?” After hours of mindlessly walking the streets of Nerima, Dinobot felt the pangs of hunger, something that while unnessasary, served as a warning that his energy level was decreasing. Pulling out a wad of cash given to him after helping a truck driver unload his truck, he walked into the nearest resturant... and stopped short. “Do my eyes decieve me?” he mummured. “Or is that the Vermin before me? No, merely a female copy of the Vermin. Though,” he snorted, “it will be good company for a while.” “Hello stranger,” Ukyou greeted from the grill. “Welcome to the Cyber Cafe. What would ya like to have sugar?” “Three of your delux specials,” Dinobot rumbled from beneath the high collar of the trenchcoat. “Uh huh, and would you like some photonic energy while you’re at it Pred?” she asked, pulling her gun that looked so much like Rattrap’s gun, Dinobot almost felt at home. The same facial expression on her red optics made him remember similar times when this had happened several times before. “I am not here to fight, merely to eat.” He dropped the wad of cash on the counter. “Use that, take it all. Just give food Vermin.” “Vermin!” The way she cocked her head and the angry expression made her look so much like Rattrap, Dinobot wondered who was conspiring against him to remind him of all these things. “Okay sugar, you’ll get your food as long as that cash is good.” “It is good enough,” Dinobot said, loosing his scarf that hid most of his face. “Here,” Ukyou said, dropping the food before him. Dinobot ate in silence for a while. Then, he asked without looking up, “I did not agree with the methods the had used for the battle.” He snarled in disgust. “A Battle must be an honorable one.” “Sheah right, like you Pred’s have got any honor.” Ukyou mocked as she finished prepping the table for the rest of the orders. “My honor is not the same as yours. While you go by the peaceful tenants of the Maximals, my honor is Predicon Honor. We thrive on battle, but when battle moves into slaughter, then....” His expression moved into a haunted look as he remembered the slaughter Megatron had ordered on the first humans. “It becomes nothing but an instrument of murder.” “Strange, a Pred saying he’s concerned about Honor.” “Do not mock me woman!” he snarled, pounding the table hard enough so that the countertop jumped. “We come from two different worlds, but I know battle.... and what they did to you... was not battle at all.” He snarled again and then snapped down the food. Then, grabbing the fedora from the counter, he dropped the rest of his money onto the table. “Here is a tip for exceptional quality food.” As Dinobot left, Ukyou scooped up the money and rang it into the register, all the while thinking about what Dinobot had said. <><><> “Hey Prichan.... can I ask you something?” Ranma nodded as he closed up the shop for the night. “Go ahead.” Ukyou shuffled a bit. “Dinobot came in today. He seemed a bit haunted by his actions that made me like this.” Ranma poured two cups of tea and sat Ukyou down, handing the cup to her. “Go on,” he said. “He seems... actually regretful that I had to be fused actually. He was talking about honor, glory, and I could see a pain through all of that.” Ukyou sipped her tea. “I don’t know, maybe I’m just over reacting.” “Even Preds can change,” Ranma said finally after a long pause. “Dinobot, if he were to switch sides, then yes, I would say he could.” “Okay, thanks Prichan, I just wanted to know.” <><><> Dinobot wandered the dence forest outside Nerima aimlessly. Many creatures indiginous to the forest scurried about as he looked around. It was dark, but soothing. Like a night for a hunt. “The forest is alive tonight, full of animals. And yet, not one of them seems to be alive in any way possible.” “Why do you doubt your sences?” a voice asked from the canopy of tree tops. “You don’t believe your existance?” came another. “He was always irrational at times,” this one, smark alecky tones in the voice. “SHOW YOURSELF!” Dinobot shouted to the heavens. “Tell us, why do you doubt your existance?” came another. “Is it because you are afraid?” this one, female, low toned. “A Warrior is not afraid of anything!” Dinobot shot a few blasts into the treetops, leaves falling down around him. “Or is it because you want to know what you are truely capable of?” The voice was right behind him. Dinobot grabbed his sword, spun.... and there stood a five meter tall ape, brown fur, strange metal rings along his body and a wise expression of peace. “Hello Dinobot, it’s been a long time.” “Optimus!” Dinobot exclaimed, dropping his sword. “He was always a bit thickheaded,” the smark aleck voice said, walking out of the bushes on all fours. This one, a long rodent with the same strange metal and flesh mix to it. “Hey Dinobutt.” “Cut it out Rattrap, it’s been a long time since he’s seen all of us.” A cheetah, long limbed with the same metal and flesh mix patterning it’s body. “So this is the famous Dinobot,” a voice came from above. Dinobot looked up and saw a Technoganic Bat hanging upside down, peering at him. “Not bad, for an old style.” “Shut up you.” A spider with very long legs walked out of the bushes with an eagle following beside her. “You were the same before getting reformatted.” “I do not understand,” Dinobot said, addressing Optimus. “What has happened to you?” Optimus chuckled. “This is the final evolution of Cybertron. Technoganics. A balance between organic and technology.” “And Transforming is a pain in the rear,” Rattrap said, walking up to him. “You have to learn how to Transform.” “Onboard computers are a thing of the past now actually,” Cheetor said, walking up to him and sitting down on his haunches. “You get used to it.” “I do not understand. I thought you all to be on Cybertron.” “We are. Try not to think about it Dinobot, it’s even far beyond what we can understand.” Silverbolt shook his head. “The fact is, is that we’re here now, and someone is giving you another chance.” “Another chance... to do what exactly?” “You have a choice. Stay as you are now... or be reformatted.” Optimus shrugged. “It is your choice. If you do take this choice, you can reformat the rest of the Maximals on earth. All metal or all organics is not a good thing Dinobot. Your mind can shatter, just like Megatron.” “What... happened?” Dinobot asked. “Megs went totally loopy,” Rattrap said. “He wanted to wipe all organics off the face of Cybertron when he found out that Cybertron has an organic core to it. It... wasn’t pretty at all.” “Optimus sacrified himself to stop Megatron. The reason he is here is still unknown to us.” Black Arachnia shrugged. “But as far as we can tell, somehow, we can speak to you now, tell you what has happened.” Silverbolt said. “I see.... and what of the Bat up there?” “My name is Nightscream.” “He was the first Cybertronian to discover the fossils of animals down in the depths of Cybertron’s core,” Optimus said. “Our time grows short, you must make a decision quickly.” “Wait! What of Rhinox?” “Rhinox... went a bit loopy as well,” Rattrap said, thinking of his old friend. “He’s rejoined the Matrix.” “I see... well, far be it from me to refuse such a gift. You have my permission.” <><><> “Where’s that no good snake skined lizard?” Quickstrike grumbled to himself. “He’s got watch tonight.” “I’m right here,” Dinobot said. “Finally. You know, you owe me big dinobutt! ERK!” Suddenly, Quickstrike was grabbed by the neck and hauled up to Dinobot’s face. The Raptor Transformer snarled. “I no longer answer to you,” he snarled. “Tell Tarantulas that he can get another lackey.” With that, the Raptor stalked away. <><><> “The lost Art of Transforming,” Dinobot said to himself. He looked reltively the same but a brown and green mix of cybernetics and organics. He perched atop a rock as he stared out into the night skies. “No mere transformation code may be used anymore. I must... feel the warrior with me to come out.” Dinobot divulged deep into his psyche and then, found what he was looking for. “I... am.... Transformed.” Energy played across his body as his body stood fully upright and finished his transformation. From the large metal robot stood a mix. He was about the size of a tall human, with long slender arms in brown and green. His patterning was much like a ninja’s outfit as his face took on a more organic caste, a metal bandana running down the nape of his neck. Dinobot opened his eyes and nodded in appreciation. “This.... I like.” He then cast a glance towards the city before him. “This city, is now my protectorate. Like a ninja, I stalk the shadows in search for the one who can answer the question I long for. What is my purpose being here? And why?” Dinobot then launched himself into the air with a tremendous bound as he sped off into the night. “I am a Warrior,” he uttered, revelling in his new sences. “I will find my purpose for existing.” Fins Chapter 4