"Remember that thing about going to Predacon territory to trick them?"

"Yes?"

"Well, forget it."

Dinobot lets out a tired sigh, disappointed despite having expected it, as they watch the newcomer, Depth Charge, leave the volcano.

It has been interesting to see the new Maximal's arrival and interactions with the rest, for more reasons than one, but for now, he's more trouble than he's worth.

Not only is Depth Charge a third faction in the Beast Wars, in a sense, but those slagging scans of his, tuned to Protoform X's spark signature, have just foiled quite a lot of plans for the ghosts.

It took Starscream one flaring of his own spark for the newcomer's computer to reactivate and message him about 'Protoform X' still being operative, despite him not being anywhere close—or so they assume.

Nevertheless, it's too much coincidence.

"We'll run some more tests, see if my spark can really trigger his alarms, but until we know for sure it can't, we'll have to refrain from direct action against the Predacons." Starscream adds when he sees Dinobot's disappointed and helpless look, and the Raptor can only sigh and nod.

The last thing he wants, after all, is to endanger the Maximals instead of helping them.

And, knowing how Optimus feels about Depth Charge, it's safe to assume they would come to his aid if he got himself in trouble pursuing Protoform X… or what his scans tell him is Protoform X.

It's likely the Colonial won't be stupid, or angry, enough to rush headfirst into the heart of Predacon territory, but who knows?

"So, what can we do?" He asks after he decides to let the topic go, and the Decepticon hums to himself, looking around their surroundings absentmindedly.

"Go back to a secluded spot and have you keep practicing, though I suggest getting in the volcano so that you can feed from the heat instead of having me sustain you. That way, we'll reduce the chances of my spark triggering Depth Charge's alarms."

"Shouldn't we—"

"We can try later, it won't do to have him get distracted when he still has no knowledge about his surroundings. Let him roam around and get used to Earth and its inhabitants before we try to make him run around after fake leads." The Flier answers in half a grumble half a sigh, leaning back against thin air.

"You've been weird ever since we found out about Depth Charge." Dinobot lets out, and leaves it at that, observing.

Starscream scowls, but there isn't too much heat in the expression, which puzzles the Predacon even further.

Ever since they found out about the newcomer by means of seeing his ship crashing, and got to learn more about him through his interactions with the other Maximals and Rampage, the Seeker has been moodier than usual, amused and proud and agreeing one instant, and enraged and seething and closing his emotions up the next.

The Raptor knows better than to go poking around, especially when the issue regards Starscream's past, and since he has the feeling this is related to that, he avoids outright questioning the Flier, but he is curious.

And more than a bit confused and slightly worried, too.

After all, Starscream said he spent most of the last two centuries trapped in a Maximal lab, so why would he—

That's when it clicks.

"This isn't about Depth Charge. It's about Rampage."

The Decepticon tenses immediately, and Dinobot knows he has nailed it.

"Yes and no."

… Or maybe not.

"Both?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because they remind me of myself."

Silence.

"I… I don't understand…"

"Oh, but you do." Starscream answers with a humorless smile, tilting his head to meet Dinobot's gaze. "Far better than you may know, even."

The Predacon scowls.

"Will you quit your mysterious act and be forthcoming for once?"

"Perhaps, but I'm not feeling like it right now."

Dinobot throws his arms up and turns around, stomping back to the new Maximal base as he gives up on trying to get answers from the older ghost, ignoring the Flier's snickers.

Both Starscream and Dinobot snort in unison, practically seeing what Cheetor is thinking of while Rattrap scowls.

After all, the 'mouse in a ball' cat toy is more than an obvious conclusion in this situation, even before the Cheetah explains it.

The submarine is small but looks sturdy, so, after a bit more fussing, the Rodent finally agrees with a sigh.

They need Sentinel, after all.

And, as Optimus pointed out, the longer they have to stay around playing guard to the Ark and stasis-locked Autobots and Decepticons, the less chances they have of returning to Cybertron.

So, the ghosts need no more than exchange a look to silently decide they will join in the expedition.

There's an instant of panic when Silverbolt literally lets the submarine, with Rattrap inside, drop into the water from what Dinobot thinks is too high up, but it ends in nothing more than a scare, fortunately.

A moment later, though, they have more important things to worry about.

Namely, Starscream stopping the Predacon from diving right after the Vermin.

"Not so fast, Care Bear. Time for another lesson."

If he was wont to that kind of things, Dinobot would have groaned out loud. Since he is not, he merely gives his companion a deadpan look.

"Yes, I'm serious."

That is when he groans.

"Alright. What is it about and why is it important now?"

The Seeker smirks and merely points down, towards the deep blue waves rocking calmly under their pedes.

"The answer to both questions is the same. Water." Curiosity picked, the Predacon turns once more to his companion, who leans back against empty air without any bother. "As I'm sure you have noticed, different materials react differently to our presence and contact. Metal is an excellent conductor, and so we can phase through it without trouble, while lava is so highly energetic that it would be not recommended to try the same with it." And Dinobot grimaces, servos tingling faintly with the memory of their 'assault' to the Ark. "Wood is conductive to a degree, but infuse it with too much energy, or for long enough, and it will combust. Other life-forms behave the same way, but they can usually move away from us."

"Are you saying I could make Megatron burst into flames by merely grabbing an arm for long enough?" The younger ghost hurries to ask, his voice sounding almost excited, and the look the Decepticon gives him is both exasperated and amused.

"Taking into account transmetalized armor is far more resistant to energy, I doubt you'd manage to accomplish that before the Autobots woke up."

Dinobot deflates visibly with a soft growl, glaring at the river under them while the Seeker snickers.

"And what about water?" He finally asks, focused on the topic at hand once more after shaking off his hopes for a Tyrannosaurus BBQ.

"Water is much like air in its conductivity, at least when it concerns to us, as it can easily dissipate whatever energy we supercharge it with by simply scattering the charged molecules. To put it simply, as it is always moving, it never gets dangerously hot, at least not bodies as large as this one."

"So, why can't we just dive in?"

"Because it is harder to stay together in water than in air."

Confused, the Raptor turns to the Decepticon, but, instead of an answer, the older ghost merely descends towards the surface and gestures him to follow.

When they are almost literally standing on the surface, Starscream kneels down and puts a servo in the river.

As with all physical objects, the running water distorts it as soon as it is under, but, a nanoklik later, Dinobot sees that it isn't just the water.

The Flier's servo is literally stretching apart, slowly disassembling into streams of color, like wisps of smoke in the breeze.

When the Seeker takes the servo off, none of the dactyls are intact, worn down like the rocks after millennia of having the river run over them, instead of the mere seconds it has just been.

A flex of the mangled appendage, and the servo is whole once more.

"Imagine this, but with your whole 'body'. Due to its movement, water takes your energy away from you, slowly wearing your spark thin, unless you are me, that is. So, stay close and 'together', and tell me as soon as you feel yourself start to break apart. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Dinobot can only whisper, still staring at the now undamaged servo as if it was about to fall apart any moment. "Are you sure it is safe?"

Starscream laughs.

"Of course it is! I was showing you the worst case scenario, it won't be that extreme unless we decide to spend days underwater." And the Predacon relaxes, staring at the reflection-less surface under him. "At least, that never happened to me."

Eyes wide and spark skipping a beat, the Raptor looks up again—but Starscream has already dove under the waves.

Astonishment immediately turning to an angry snarl, Dinobot follows.

And, for the first time since the lava, he feels something other than the warmth of the sun, intense enough to distract him from the light fracturing in this underwater world.

Regardless of whatever the Decepticon said, the younger ghost is more than a little aware of the strong current, and how his strength is sapped as he tumbles around—

A servo closes around a forearm, and a swath of strength warms his body, pulling him together as if he'd just don a skin-tight waterproof suit, and, regardless of how useless such a gesture is after his deactivation, Dinobot quickly takes in a deep breath.

Starscream studies him closely as he pulls himself together, looking serious, but not even after the Predacon has managed to recover does he release him, instead dragging him along towards the moving beam of light that signals Rattrap's position.

"I'm better now." He finally manages to say, once he truly feels more composed than after his first dive, but the grip on his arm only tenses.

"Not buying it."

"Old Fossil—"

"No, Dinobot. I'm not losing you, least of all to pride."

It is the name, more than the admission, that vanquish any and all protests the Predacon had been preparing.

Never before has Starscream called him Dinobot, always using either denigrating or insulting nicknames, or employing his designation, using the pretense that the name of an Autobot squad is not befitting of a Decepticon descendant.

So, to hear it now…

The Seeker is serious, means what he said, and he wants the Raptor to know it.

Ergo, him using his 'name'.

And it works.

Dinobot doesn't ask again to be released.

Once they pull up next to the sub, though, Starscream's servo slowly lets go of his arm, even as he keeps a close optic on the Predacon.

The current pulls, the coldness of the waters tugs at him, but Dinobot stays unharmed this time, keeping the energy given to him wrapped tightly like the imaginary skin-tight waterproof suit he compared it to when he first felt it.

Obviously satisfied—and maybe a bit proud, but it's hard to say when the Decepticon turns away fast enough that he doesn't manage to properly identify that glint in red optics—Starscream nods.

Before frowning and, looking the most bewildered he has ever seen the 'invincible' Air Commander, turning to stare at the sub.

That's when Dinobot notices the music echoing from the inside.

"Is that…"

"Don't ask."

For once, Starscream obeys, nodding slowly, and it takes a really grand effort of will for the Predacon not to burst out laughing at his flabbergasted expression.

Trust Rattrap to unbalance even immortal and mighty Decepticon warriors.

Not that Dinobot himself isn't curious about the music, but, well. It is the Vermin they are dealing with, after all.

The sound cuts with the communication from Silverbolt just as they get to the wreckage, all, as the Maximal aptly puts it, in itty bitty—

Both the active mech and the ghosts gape for a moment, bacause there's what looks like the main body of the Axalon up ahead, damaged but not destroyed.

Flanking the sub, they enter the main corridor.

Fishes have begun to call it home already, and algae peek through holes on the 'floor', but, other than broken planks and cut cables—that look eerily like tendrils reaching for them—the ship is mostly intact, at least structurally.

One less thing to worry about.

And yet one less, because, when they finally reach the bowels of the vessel, the engine room and, beyond it, the cortex, they see the computers are undamaged.

So is the Sentinel module.

Sure, there'll be water damage, but that'd be an easy fix for Rhinox.

As Rattrap deploys the capsule's mechanical arm, Dinobot turns to Starscream, relieved both for the Maximals' luck and the ghosts' own soon-to-be-over underwater excursion—and finds the Seeker as tense as if in a battlefield, staring through the large whole in the hull.

The Predacon's calm immediately vanishes.

"What is it?"

"X."

"No way it could be this easy." Rattrap whispers, audible in the spark-stopping silence that has just dawned on the ghosts, and, startled, Dinobot turns to the Maximal.

Of course, the active mech hasn't heard them, but talk about timely words.

And, just then, an eel-like creature bursts from an unhinged pannel, startling the three of them into attack positions, in the deactivated's case, or into flinching away, in the Rodent's.

Only Rattrap laughs it off.

"Stay close to the sub!" Starscream orders, drifting away, and Dinobot opens his mouth to retort— "I'll try to attract Depth Charge, you keep an optic on the mouse. If something happens while I'm gone… Well, I'm sure you can work out how to pull energy from water currents."

And, with those last words and a smirk, the Decepticon vanishes.

The pull on his spark to follow, to stay close to the only thing still kepping him alight is still there, but not compelling, unlike those times the older ghost literally pulled him around.

It only means he feels the quick drainage of power instead of a tug,

Calling forth old memories—a still observer and tense gazelles, lava burning and burning and burning, time sirling all around and ripping everything apart with the energy of a universe breaking down—and new lessons, Dinobot concentrates on the push and pull of the water around him, on the tiny amounts of friction against things smaller than any optics can see, and tries to keep it all close, reinforcing the barrier that keeps him from losing himself in his very power source.

It helps when Rattrap starts moving the sub again, as he puts a servo on it to make sure he isn't displaced due to his current weakness or the currents, and starts leeching some of the power the Rodent's manually producing.

Out of the ship they go, with the Predacon only now noticing the tiny alarm display in the craft's screen—

It's like a star.

Big, powerful, hot beyond measure.

If he was an utter moron, or delirious, he would have called the presence Starscream.

As it is, though, he knows it's Rampage even before the monster catches the sub in one large pincer to stare right into Rattrap's terrified faceplate.

The experiment laughs, squeezing the craft slowly, breaking it—

Dinobot snarls, pulls as much of himself as he can spare, and buries his claws in the pincer's joint.

It should have snapped, cabling or metal, because, while not much, there was enough energy in the hit for at least that, but, instead, the crab releases the pressure and—

Looks around.

As those poisonous green eyes slide over his invisible form—because he can't see him, no way, he's a ghost—Dinobot can't help but shiver, pressing closer to the sub as he loses all feeling below his waist.

"Come out, come out. Time to play." The monster hisses, pulling the craft closer in a clear or else move.

"You wanna play, creep? Try me."

And Depth Charge shoots, allowing Rattrap to slip out of Rampage's weakened grip, but also dislodging the warrior.

Fortunately, Starscream's there to catch him and pull him together again.

"Everything alright here?" The Seeker asks, not releasing the Predacon even as they follow the sub back into the ship while the manta ray goes distract the crab.

"I… No, nothing is right. Rampage felt me." He answers, crossing his arms against his chest plate as soon as he's allowed.

"What?!" The Flier shrieks, and, instinctively, the Raptor moves back.

"You heard me! He caught Rattrap, and I tried to disable the joint, but it was in vain! Not only did it not work, but Rampage started looking around, looking for me." He explains with a hiss, disturbed, and the Decepticon turns to snarl at the opening in the hull, as if daring the experiment to come through it.

Rattrap curses next to them, and, with the Seeker distracted, Dinobot turns.

The clamps still hold the Sentinel module tight.

With a sigh, and once more making use of the battery that is Starscream's spark, the Predacon reaches for the computer to give it some charge, as well as the orders to release the Maximals' hope for success.

He underestimates his own ability, apparently, because all the screens light up as soon as he thrusts a servo in the machinery.

"Oops."

"Seriously?" The Decepticon deadpans, and the warrior doesn't waste a moment to glare at him over a shoulder.

"What did you want me to do? Watch the Rodent break the arm of the submergible?"

"Signature detecting. Ejecting ."

The voice is distorted due to their being underwater, but they all here it as clear as day, and so, as one, all three present mechs, regardless of current functioning status, turn to gape at the disk slipping out of the machine.

Still in shock, the Raptor realizes he still has his servo in the computer, and so quickly takes it out.

"What. Did. You. Do." Starscream growls, and, after a flinch, the Predacon faces the enraged yet calculatedly calm Decepticon.

"I… may have downloaded my memories in the Axalon, in case they needed my knowledge after… you know."

Instead of answering, the Flier takes a deep breath—

Soft grinding attracts their attention, and, when they turn, they see a tiny compartment close at the bottom of the sub—and Rattrap picking up a disk with a solemn expression from where the 'box' would have opened to the interior of the sub.

The disk the computer ejected is missing.

"Let's see that's all they use it for." Starscream sighs, resigned, but Dinobot knows better.

Without a protoform, without a spark, consulting is all they could do with them.

So, he smiles, and watches with relief as the Rodent subspaces his tiny legacy and returns to the task of recovering Sentinel, made easier now that it consists merely of pushing a button and pulling the module out.

The ship trembles, all power going out, as the conflict between Rampage and Depth Charge moves closer, so, with the defense system finally in their grasp, all three rush away, managing to get out of the destroyed Axalon before, with a final jerk, the whole husk slips down into deeper waters.

Their ascense is uneventful, Starscream keeping watch in case the crab decided to make another attempt at catching the Rat, and so, soon enough, they're back on the surface to meet up with Silverbolt.

The first thing Dinobot does is shift into beast mode to shake the water—and the protective energy clinging to him—off.

And, yes, it isn't necessary to modify the projecting of his frame that his spark casts to do so, but he feels more comfortable that way.

Starscream doesn't mind, either way, still keeping an optic towards the depths as the Maximals argue about the quickness of their evacuation.

But it couldn't be that easy.

Soon as Silverbolt takes off, Waspinator, of all mechs, shoots him down.

So worried they'd been about X that they didn't even notice about the Predacons surrounding them.

When the suprisingly sturdy sub stops bouncing around, cracked and with the arm broken, but still whole, the Wasp takes the module and flies off, with Quickstrike approachig the downed Silverbolt to deliver the killing blow.

And Dinobot wishes he could split in two, because, one way or another, the Maximals lose—either Sentinel, or Silverbolt.

Fortunately, he doesn't need to.

"Starscream—"

"You won't be able to self-sustain out here." The Seeker cuts, scowling, before baring his claws with a threatening smirk. "So, lets dispose of the idiot first."

Lady Luck smiles on them today, though, because Rampage falls from the sky to crash-land of Quickstrike instead.

"There goes my fun."

Dinobot snorts, but knows better than to poke at the Decepticon.

Depth Charge rejoins them with an 'epic' entrance accomplished by walking out of the shoreline… and proceeds to argue with Silverbolt about priorities, about whether recovering Sentinel or killing Rampage are more important, and about what it means to be a Maximal.

And they can only watch until Rattrap shows up to separate them, because there's no way they can deal with the wasp that doesn't end with Sentinel broken in pieces on the ground after falling from the Predacons' grasp.

Silverbolt and Rattrap leave, Depth Charge following them soon after, once he realizes X escaped during the squabble and hears the echoes of shooting.

The ghosts observe from the beach.

"Shouldn't we…"

"No." Starscream answers, slumping tiredly. "There's not much we could do, anyway."

Shifting on his pedes and feeling the same exhaustion take hold of him, Dinobot agrees with a sigh.

Back at the base in the volcano, and feeling much better thanks to the lava heat fueling them once more, they realize what a big mistake it was.

From what they catch between arguments and insults, it looks like—

"No teamwork. Why am I not surprised." Starscream deadpans, perched on the broken ledge of what once was the ceiling of the Axalon's bridge, and the Predacon, leaning against the wall under him, snarls softly.

"If they don't put their act together, may I haunt them?" He asks, and, after a moment musing it, the Seeker hums affirmatively.

"Couldn't do any harm, if we do it properly?"

"We?"

It's not necessary.

"We need you, Maximal."

"I'll think about it. This crew sure needs something." Depth Charge answers, and, even though Rattrap scowls, the Colonial still shakes Primal's servo.

Oh, well.

Looks like it's back to wait and see again.

AN: Hello, everyone! Been way too long since I updated this, huh? Sorry about that.

If you've checked my profile, you'll have seen I'm updating all my fics with corrected versions grammar-wise, but I haven't yet gotten to this one, so, once more, my apologies for that. Nevertheless, inspiration struck, so here I am once more.

Also, if you find inconsistences about halfway through the chapter, that's because I wrote the first half ages ago, and the second is from just now. I've tried checking, but don't hesitate to tell me if something slipped by.

Now, about the chapter... We have plot! There's plot! Plot exists! *squee*

Things will get interesting at last... *insert evil laughter*

SilverRogue: Sorry about the late reply, and thanks a lot for the information on the voice actors in relation to their Care Bears characters. I added a note on the pertinent chapter (crediting you as the source, of course) to explain about the funny coincidence. I really hadn't known about the VA voicing them all when I wrote that jab, I swear XD

As for the 'just one review' thing, that's because I first posted the story in a now-deleted fic filled with ideas that I had no idea to continue, and so the reviews of up to the newest chapter (the last one) were left in that other fic :P Nevertheless, thanks a lot about the praise and the review!

Blaze Raptor: Thanks! I'm really glad you like it ^^

shan: Thank you! I hope you can forgive my lateness with the updates XP