LoC Second Dawn: Log 12

The howl of Seeker class thrusters echoed through the skeleton of Helex, the
sound reverberating off the ruin and the refuse.

Cirrus dove under an arch that had once been a building, then flipped up and
landed upon it.

Looking up into the acidic rain, he felt grateful for the field generator he'd
loaned from Transtechs Research lab.

Below him was where, if the Son of Starscream he'd met had been truthful, he
could find Dreadnought.

It was a twisted wreck of a building, looking less like a true structure than a
gapping wound in the city. Twisted spires of acid washed steel stabbed at the
sky like fingers clawing the heavens and here-and-there was the evidence of
passage but few people. It took a moment but soon Cirrus could recognize the
place for wat it was an arena.

At the Eastern edge of the arena was a massive skull, the head of what was
once a guardian hollowed out and affixed to the wall, and in it lay the lord of
the Pride, Dreadnought.

Cirrus jumped down, his gravitic suite letting him land safely. After a
moments consideration, he walked the way.

He wanted to be seen, not flaunting it.

At the edges of his perceptions Cirrus could see them, beasts shadowing him,
prowling as they watched the intruder approach,low growls competing with
the sound of falling rain before a thin howl cut the night. Ahead of him
bounded a wolf like transformer of pearl armoing as two monstrous beasts
pulled from the shadows before him. They looked poinsed to strike when a
low rumble rolled through the arena.

"I know that scent," growled Dread as he rose from where he was curled,
Cirrus would be attackers halting ashe rose from where he lay.

He gave them a significant glance in turn. Just enough to know he saw them.

His panoramic vision allowed him to keep an optic on them all.

Dreadnought sprang from his perch, acid rain sheeting from his platnum cloak
as the liger landed a few paces before Cirrus. Slowly padding through the
puddles between them, the beast spoke, "what brings you from the states to
me Cirrus?"

"Megatrons back. I need to know what you know - Your mastery of shatter
points. Crystolocution." Cirrus said evenly. If the huge skull was anything
new, he did a good job hiding the fact.

The liger laughed, a deep murderous thing as the feline smiled. "Do you think
I am in the habit of teaching just anyone the arts I have mastered?"

Cirrus shook his head. "I'm not asking for a hand out. I know I'll have to work
for it."

The liger nods, slowly starting to circle Cirrus, appraising him as a student or
victim impossible to say. "And what would you do IF I taight you? Mmm,
would you challange this 'Megatron'? Do you think you would win?"

"I'll do what I think I should do. Like i always have." He tilted his head
slightly, the optic band getting the best angle. "Maybe I'll kill him. Maybe I'll
leave that to Lutrex."

"Lutrex? Has the acid gotten to your logic-processors?" scoffs the liger as he
continues his circling. "Do YOU believe Lutrex has the mettle to face anyone
bearing the mantle Megatron?"

This time he did look at Dreadnought. "I saw him go toe to toe with the mech
himself."

At this the liger paused, faltering mid-stride. Though others may have
forgotten he served for a long time in the Autobot military and recalled well
the unsure child that was Lutrex. He honestly had a hard time aligning those
memories with the power one would need to face a Megatron. "So the
autobots have some spine after all..."

"He'll need to sharpen his teeth some, but it wouldn't surprise me. He's
practically a Prime now." He looked up and around a moment. "Might want to
invest in some radio gear."

Dread growled like something bitter had caught in his throat. "I fought long in
the state-wars, brought many enemies to the scrap-heap and it amounted to
nothing. I distanced myself on purpose, their weakness disgusted me. If
Megatron has returned than maybe he'll be the catalyst this planet has always
needed."

"Lutrex wanted your help. He knows your both sick of the 'Cons."


Dreadnought stopped, his sunburst-yellowoptics locking wwith Cirrus own as
a quizzical expression crosses his face, "but does he want me doing what I do
the way I do it."

With his ttail the liger gestured at the Giuardian skull behind him, "do you
remember that Cirrus?"

Cirrus eyed the skull a moment. "From our only mission out here? With the
human ship?"

Dreadnought shook his head, "before you enlistment.." the liger sighed
seeming to become almost wistful as heturned to the skull.

"That thing strode at the head of an army of the damned, the states alighed for
a moment, to kill it and they could do almost nothing before it."

Cirrus listened, silent, watching both the storyteller and the object.

"I crawled inside it Cirrus, I dug through its' armor and ate it's heart." Dread
looked to the seeker. "You come to me asking I teach you murder and say you
MIGHT kill. I raise monsters Cirrus. Would you become a monsters, would
you for Lutrex?"

"I never commit to a kill before I find the mech." Cirrus said. "I've murdered
my way across Polyhex, leaving carved corpses in my wake and fear in the
sparks of those who knew they were next."

"I know what to do with the dark thing in this spark." He tapped his chest, just
over the core casing.

The liger was silent for a long moment, just the sound of rain and the distant
roll of thunder with the occasional spattering of gunfire. But Dreadnought did
not move, his optics locked on Cirrus, scrutinizing, measuring assessing.

Cirrus answered the gaze. His posture was solid, unworried... and optic band
clearly aware of the others in Dreadnoughts band.

With a roar the beast transformed, jaw unhinging as it split to form the mechs
feet, allowing Dread to rise into his robot mode. Casting aside his cape he
snarled, "show me this darkness."

"Bare servo?" Cirrus asked. Not surprise, not shock. Just clarification.

Dreadnought nods, acid rain washing down his armor as his optics narrow.
"Pain is the begining."

Cirrus sharply lunged forward, no warning. He blurred to the right, aiming a
kick to Dreadnoughts throat.

One of the warriors four arms slid forward, his forearm blunting the attack as
he pressed forward as well his opposite hand stabbing forward in a knife-edge
aimed at the seekers abdomen.

Cirrus twisted on the back heel as the kick was blocked, rotating his body
swiftly and to the right, the hand scraping past the torso.

Braced, Cirrus drove a fist into Dreadnoughts exposed torso.

Cirrus fist landed, driving into Dreadnoughts' torso but the beast only smiled,
a hand locking around Cirrus forearm before the mech could draw it away.
Dread was well aware of his weakness and knew people would always try to
capitalize on them. He dragged the seeked off balance by stepping backwards

pulling the seeker with him Dread aimed a kick at Cirrus inner calf to sweep
him from his feet.

Cirrus moved with the step, his hand gripping tighter as one bracing point.

Then he jumped over the foot and slammed a foot into Dreadnoughts chin.

Dreadnought rolled with the kick, still holdiong Cirrus hand he rotated his
shoulders to come around behind the seeker and drive an elbow into Cirrus
lower back.

Cirrus let his feet go out from under him - and slid. Going under and between
Dreadnoughts legs, he aimed a swift kick to the back of one knee.

Dreadnought released Cirrus arm, his leg snapping up out of reach of Cirrus
kick as he collapsed into his liger mode before descending on the prone seeker
with all four claws.

Cirrus rolled to the side, ignoring the bubbling sizzle as the little active acid in
the ground ate at his armor.

He sized up the beast mode, its structure, how it worked. He'd need to use it
against Dreadnought now.

Dread prowled forward, a low growl seeming to shake the air even as his
heavy footfalls shook the ground. His limbs seemed to tense, prrepared to
pounce and rake as his beast instincts must have told him. His jaws lunged
forward, but only his jaws, the beast mode head shooting forward

as he reconfigured again, as he spraing into a kick aimed for the seekers torso.

Cirrus ducked forward, taking hold of the leg/head, and twisting as he snapped
a kick to the side of Dreadnoughts knee - To force his stance wide enough for
him to fall.

Dread twisted as Cirrus brought him down, Two of his arms snaking out too
snare Cirrus leg as it withdrew from striking him in the knee. Pulling the
Seeker in closerthe gang boss launched punches with both of his free fists, one
hand aime4d at Cirrus abdomen, the other at his face.

Cirrus took the punches - He reached up and twisted at the joint where
Dreadnoughts tail met the rest of him.

Then he jabbed a knuckle-stab to the joint of the shoulder pinning him.

Dread growled, acknowledging the pain of Cirrus strikes before smilling.
With his lowest right hand he twosted the ankle and leg he was holding, with
the higher right arm he aimed a knife edge jab at the hip of the leg he held.
With his lower left hand he pushed forward to grasp the seekers right wrist
and

the higher of the left arm sent a punch to Cirrus shoulderall as his tail stabbed
forward like a scorpions stinger for the seekers throat.

Distantly, Cirrus decided to amend his estimates of Dreadnoughts pain
threshold. Also, that was stupid.

Cirrus did the only thing he could as the barbed instrument lashed out: He
curled his body inward, and used his free hand to reach forward and hook the
digits into the optic cavity.

He stabbed with as much strength as his hand could muster at the
plexiglass/microcam constructs.

Dread leaned into Cirrus thrust even has his fists and claws rained onto the
Seeker. Twisting to deflect the seekers full press, the beast still lost an optic,
with a howl of rage and, was that joy? Curled as he was though Cirrus had
little defence for the gangers claws, as Dread simply tightened his grip and
used his greater strength to drive his jagged finger tips into Cirrus armoring.

Cirrus' hand left the optic - Let him keep it. With a cry more bestial than
painful, he drove a knife-palm into Dreadnoughts exposed torso and began to
try tearing the components out.

Dreadnought smiled ramming his own knife edge hop into Cirrus shoulder
even as the seeker drove a hand into his own torso, poised as the seeker was to
simply begin gutting him. Then with a twist he sent a raking pulse of P and S
waves washing through the seeker, though he could easily generate enough to
shatter the mechanism he kept it to just enough to painfully stun the warrior.
With a heave he disentabgled himself from the seeker and left him upon the
muddied earth.
"THAT is what I needed to see."

Cirrus forced himself through the pain, his head stinging worse than he'd felt
in a long time. And resisting seemed to worsen it.

He rose swiftly, optics flickering a moment.

"Pain, is the begining," repeated Dreadnought.

"What comes after pain?" Cirrus asked.

Dread colllapsed into his beast mode, nodding to one of the onlookers, a feline
of a sort, he allowed the fem to retrieve his cloak but did not don it. "Turn off
that crutch you use to shield you and I'll show you."

So saying the liger turned and began to stride back towards his perch.

The rainbow patter atop Cirrus stopped and he winced as he felt the rain bite
into the unresisting plating.

He followed, almost wishing he had a jaw to clench as it needled incessently,
the relative shield of a raised forearm doing very little to help.

Though he never looked back the liger nodded as though he already knew
what Cirrus had done. Helex was nothing but pain, it was always first, then
came mastery of that pain and everything else. But Cirrus would learmn,
Dread was certain, but he wasn't certain it would be enough.

Before them, beneath the skull was a simple doorway, past which was
everything Cirrus would need to understand...