1. Chapter 1 by Sheba
No Business like Sheol Business
(Prisoner of Destiny series)
Ramjet was walking behind Dirge in one of the corridors in Decepticon Undersea Headquarters. A small slip of paper floated down from somewhere on Dirge's frame, catching Ramjet's optic. He bent down to pick it up to examine it. It was a ticket, and it was printed with 'The Autobots Vs. The Animaliens'.
"You still have this, Dirge?" Ramjet wondered.
The dark blue and black conehead stopped and turned. "What?"
Ramjet handed the ticket back to Dirge. "This."
Dirge took the ticket, gazing at it a moment before stowing it in subspace. "Oh, yeah, my souvenir from Monacus."
Ramjet rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Dirge, that's given me an idea."
******
"Astrotrain! Take Ramjet and Dirge to Monacus. It's time to collect our share of the energon," Megatron ordered, as the two coneheads entered the Control Room. Astrotrain nodded, and the three headed for the docking tower and got on the elevator. Once the tower had raised itself high above the waves and the jawlike ramp had extended, Astrotrain transformed, and Ramjet and Dirge got on board just before the shuttle took off.
"Astrotrain, can you make a little detour to Sheba's cave before we go?" Ramjet wondered.
"What for?" Astrotrain wanted to know.
"I think it would be nice to have her come along with us," Ramjet replied, sounding as innocent as possible, "I don't think she's been to deep space before."
"Oh, alright," Astrotrain agreed.
******
Sheba was napping in the sun in front of the entrance to her burrow when she heard the sound of shuttle engines. She was surprised to see Astrotrain park himself practically right in front of her.
Ramjet exited the shuttle and walked up to her. "Want to come for a ride?" he asked, "I don't think you've been to deep space before, have you?"
"No, I haven't," Sheba said, "Sure, why not. Hold on for a second, though." She converted to her bipedal form in a flash, went inside her cave, and returned carrying a small stack of energon cubes.
"Where did you get those?" Ramjet wanted to know.
"Oh, I've been trying to make my own energon now and then," Sheba replied, "It's probably a good idea to bring some along in case Astrotrain needs refuelling." She carried them right into Astrotrain, setting them down in a corner and securing them before converting to her robotic form and claiming a chair.
"Well at least SOMEONE around here is considerate," Astrotrain commented, before taking off.
******
The trip was mostly uneventful, though occasionally they passed by some gorgeous nebula once they left the Sol system. Sheba found herself napping after a while, waking occasionally to stare out the window. Eventually, she saw a large asteroid that Astrotrain was headed for. There were lights evident, looking like a distant city on Earth. Astrotrain landed on a large empty plain not far from the city itself. Surrounding the plain were strange, pitted rock formations that resembled pillars.
Sheba converted to her quadruped form and stepped out of Astrotrain, her metallic tail swishing a bit. "Hmm, there's a breathable atmosphere here," she realized, converting to her organic form in a flash. Once she and the two coneheads had exited, Astrotrain transformed.
"Good thing you brought that energon," Astrotrain said, "Usually nobody thinks to bring me any extra, and I have to sit out here waiting."
"That's no fun," Sheba told him sympathetically.
Upon entering the city, Sheba realized the place was filled with casinos. "Awww, you guys brought me to Space Vegas," she said, "That reminds me, I've always wanted to visit Las Vegas. I guess this is good enough, though."
A strange, reptilian-porcine alien was standing on a corner, making a sales pitch for tickets to something called Lord Gyconi's Pit of Destruction. Sheba was intrigued, but Ramjet shook his head. "We won't need to buy tickets for that," he said, "Come on." He led the group to an area that seemed seedier than the casino strip. Finally they stopped near a building shaped like a football stadium. "If this is going to work, I'm going to need you to wait here," Ramjet said to Sheba.
"Uh, okay," Sheba said, as she lay down, curling her tail around her.
"I'll stay with her, just in case," Astrotrain stated. He sat down beside Sheba and began stroking her.
"Good. We'll be right back," Ramjet said. He and Dirge headed into the building.
******
"We're here to collect Megatron's share of the energon," Ramjet told Lord Gyconi.
"Oh, yes, of course," Lord Gyconi said, a little too nervously for Ramjet's liking, "But it will be best to wait until after tonight's entertainment. This is one of our busiest nights."
"Good," Ramjet replied, "I would hate to have to tell Megatron that you were holding out on him. Speaking of tonight's fights, I am going to need four tickets. Two for us, and two for some friends of ours."
"They're yours," Lord Gyconi replied, "Take them with my compliments."
******
"That was quick," Astrotrain remarked, as Ramjet and Dirge returned with the tickets. He sounded a bit disappointed that they hadn't taken longer. Sheba had been purring steadily.
"Well, let's get going," Dirge said, "The crowd is going to get here any minute, and I want a good seat."
The group entered the Pit of Destruction without incident, and the seating was such that it wasn't difficult for a quadruped to sit at least reasonably comfortably.
"Oh, I almost forgot, you're going to need this," Ramjet said, handing Sheba a small bag. "There are ten energon chips in there. Don't eat them."
"Okay," Sheba said, taking the bag and holding it in her mouth.
There was a sizable crowd in the building now, and one strange looking alien made an announcement that Sheba wasn't quite paying attention to. Then the announcer said something about accepting challenges against the Animaliens, for ten energon chips.
Ramjet nudged Sheba. "That's your cue. Go and make the challenge. I'm sure you can mop the floor with those Animaliens. You'll make an easy 100 energon chips."
"Ohhhhh. Alright," Sheba said, dropping the bag out of her mouth and placing a paw over it, "I'LL TAKE THAT CHALLENGE!" She then retrieved the bag of energon chips, holding it in her jaws, as she made her way down to the pit.
"We have our first challenger of the evening!" the announcer replied, taking the chips and counting them, paying no mind to the kitty drool on the outside of the bag itself. He led Sheba to a gate that opened into the center of the arena. She walked in, and the gate closed behind her. Directly opposite, another barred gate opened. A hideous orange reptilian with a long, heavy tail snarled as it approached. It was bipedal, and wore some semblance of armor. It did not speak.
The crowd cheered and bets were placed on the Animaliens – with the notable exception of the three Decepticons in attendance. Given the odds that were being placed on her, Sheba figured none of them had encountered an Organic Transformer before.
The beast lunged at Sheba, and she ducked to the side, slashing at its unprotected calf as it missed her. It roared in pain, and redirected itself to charge again. Suddenly its tail came around, and Sheba had to leap high in the air to avoid the blow. On the way down, she lashed out with her claws, though she only struck the armor on the Animalien's shoulder that time. It damaged the armor somewhat, but did not harm the beast itself. It retaliated by throwing a punch at her, knocking her back.
"Hm, those things are pretty tough," she murmured to herself as she picked herself up, "Can't underestimate it." She cast Scan on it. "Ooooh, lots of hit points, lots of vitality. Possible weakness to ice. Hm, I wonder if they allow magic." The blow by the monster hadn't damaged her very much, so she figured on holding out on using magic as long as possible, and instead figured on focusing on using physical attacks. After all, she had something to prove. Perhaps it was best not to use Magic here unless absolutely necessary.
The beast charged again, and this time Sheba flopped onto her back just as the monster came within a few feet of her. She tripped it with her tail, and it ended up falling on her—which was just what she wanted. All four sets of claws dug in to the beast's hide, and Sheba sank her fangs into its neck.
The Animalien howled in pain, as Sheba's claws dug in. Its arms were pinned to its sides, and the feline's hind claws were tearing its midsection to ribbons. The roaring soon became a gurgling choking sound, as the flying puma's powerful jaws tightened around its throat. Soon it was too weak to resist, and Sheba rolled, pitching the defeated Animalien off to the side. It did not get up.
"THE CHALLENGER HAS PREVAILED!" the announcer shouted.
The crowd was in awe. Few had ever beaten the savage gladiator beasts. None had guessed that the flying feline was a match for the creatures, either. It was all the sweeter for Ramjet and the others, who raked in the winnings with smirks on their face plates. Sheba was given her winnings of 100 energon chips, which she carried in a bag that dangled from her jaws. The crowd found itself cheering as Sheba went to her seat, despite so many losing their bets.
"Good job," Ramjet said, giving Sheba a pat on the head.
"That was fun," Sheba told him.
******
"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Megatron shouted.
"B-but, Megatron, it would be easy energon," Swindle whined.
"Sheba is Starscream's Guardian, not a plaything to be used for whatever get-rich-quick scheme your perverse processor can dream up," Megatron growled, "So put any idea of you taking her to Monacus to win energon out of your mind, now!"
Swindle sighed. "Oh, alright," he conceded.
******
Lord Gyconi was checking his energon vaults when the matches started, hence why he was not making the announcements at the start. Nor had he been there to see Sheba take out an Animalien and win 100 energon chips.
One of his employees had gone down to the vault to inform him, since it had been so surprising. "My Lord, there was a strange winged feline in the crowd. She took the Animalien challenge, and won easily."
"Is that so?" Lord Gyconi said, "Where is that creature now? I should like to meet her."
"Still in the audience, watching the matches," the underling replied.
Gyconi reset the lock on the vault and headed up to his booth in the arena. His employee accompanied him. Gazing out over the crowd, the loan shark soon spotted the flying puma, and also noticed something else. "She's sitting with the Decepticons," he realized aloud.
"Yes, sir, she came in with them," the employee informed him.
"How very interesting," Lord Gyconi mused. He left his private owner's box and headed into the stands, making his way to where the Decepticons and their feline companion were sitting.
Sheba and the others had been watching a pair of Animaliens practically tear apart a pair of robots. The robots in question were not Autobots, or even Decepticons, for that matter. It was a foregone conclusion that the Animaliens won.
"Wow, that was brutal," Sheba remarked.
It was then that there was a pause between fights, and Lord Gyconi came right up to them. "I had to meet the one who bested my Animaliens in person," he said, extending a hand towards Sheba, "I am Lord Gyconi, the proprietor of this arena. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"
Sheba extended a paw, allowing the rotund alien to grasp and shake as if it were a hand, although his hand was dwarfed by her massive paw. "The name's Sheba," she said.
Lord Gyconi's eyes widened a bit as he felt the incredible strength of the feline's grip. "You must be very strong," he said, "Are these Decepticons your friends?"
"Yeah," Sheba replied.
"Yes, she's with us," Ramjet confirmed. He gazed at Gyconi with suspicion. That bloated fish-face was up to something, he was certain of it. However, he said nothing, for the moment.
"I wonder if I might interest you in an offer?" Lord Gyconi added, "I would like to see challengers pitted against you, in the same manner as with the Animaliens, but with a prize of a thousand energon chips instead if they last 60 seconds in the ring with you. If you win, the thousand energon chips are yours."
Sheba gazed at Lord Gyconi with her piercing feline stare. "Interesting proposition," she said, "But everybody already saw what I did to the Animaliens, so surely they'd be a bit reluctant to take me on, wouldn't they?"
Lord Gyconi laughed. "For a prize of a thousand energon chips, many would sell their very souls." He paused. "But, to make it interesting, perhaps let the first challenger last 60 seconds?"
The flying feline rubbed her chin with a paw thoughtfully, staring up at the ceiling.
"I don't like this. He's up to something," Dirge whispered to Ramjet.
"Sheba can take care of herself," Ramjet assured him.
"Yeah, but still," Dirge replied.
"So, what do you say?" Lord Gyconi wondered, "Do we have a deal?"
Sheba glanced up at Ramjet.
"It's up to you," Ramjet replied.
"Okay, sure, why not," Sheba said, "This ought to be fun."
"Excellent. Right this way," Lord Gyconi said.
"Not so fast," Ramjet said, "One of us is going with her."
"Alright, then, which one?" Lord Gyconi asked.
"I'll do it," Dirge said.
Ramjet leaned in to whisper to Dirge as Lord Gyconi led Sheba down to the pits. "Make sure there's no funny stuff. Megatron will be furious if anything happens to her."
Dirge nodded wordlessly and followed Sheba and Lord Gyconi.
******
Down in the pit area, Lord Gyconi showed Dirge and Sheba to the gate into the arena. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some announcements to make," he said, "I expect we'll have a few swift takers in no time."
When Lord Gyconi left, Dirge bent down to whisper to Sheba. "I think you'd better let me borrow a Guardian force and some magic," he said, in as low a voice as he could manage, "Just in case Gyconi tries to double-cross us."
"That might not be a bad idea," Sheba said, "Especially if anyone tries using a status effect on me that manages to get through. Alright, you can take Tonberry King and some Dispel, Esuna, and Curaga, but that's it. Don't be summoning unless it's an emergency, ok?"
Dirge nodded, and the Guardian Force and spells were transferred.
******
Back in his owner's box, Gyconi got ready for the next event. "And now, we're going to have something special for you tonight," he began, "The creature that defeated the Animalien earlier will now accept challenges for 10 energon chips each. If you can last for 60 seconds against her, you win a thousand energon chips."
A tough-looking blue bipedal humanoid took the challenge, paying his ten energon chips and going into the arena in through the Challenger's Gate. Sheba sized up her opponent through the bars of the other gate. The blue alien wasn't as large as an Animalien, meaning it was quite possible Sheba could make short work of him long before the time was up. However, letting him last the required length of time would prove more profitable. The gate opened, allowing her to enter the pit. Her wings were flared out a bit at her sides, and her tail lashed the air. Dirge watched through the entryway after the gate closed behind her.
"And…BEGIN!" Lord Gyconi shouted.
The blue humanoid circled, trying to find an opening or vulnerability in his opponent.
Sheba turned with his circling, avoiding exposing her flank. Suddenly he lunged, and Sheba sent him flying backwards with a single blow from her paw. The humanoid grunted and slowly got up, continuing the tactic of circling. Sheba kept an eye on the time clock. She allowed her opponent to see an opening to attack, and he lunged, grabbing at her hind leg. She easily shook him off with a kick, sending him rolling. This continued for the duration of the allotted endurance time, and while the blue humanoid was able to stand, he was quite battered for his trouble. He was relieved to collect his winnings of a thousand energon chips.
The next competitor was a green reptilian humanoid that was about half her size. There was something about him that Sheba didn't like, something very suspicious. The moment the match started, Sheba charged, seizing her opponent and latching her jaws onto the back of the reptilian's neck. She shook her opponent violently a few times, and then tossed him aside like a rag doll. He stirred slightly, but didn't get up. Sheba was declared the victor.
Up in the stands, Ramjet and Astrotrain were watching with bemused interest as competitor after competitor failed to last the full 60 seconds. Most matches were over in less than ten, now.
After about nine more matches, Sheba was allowed back into the inner area beyond the gate, for a break. "Soooo thirsty," she said, panting.
"You have done well," Lord Gyconi said, as he entered the area. He turned to one of his employees. "Get her some water, now." The employee exited, and returned moments later with a sizable bowl of water. The thirsty feline began lapping at it immediately. Soon she had finished every drop.
"Ahh, much better," Sheba said. She lay down and let Dirge stroke her.
After a fifteen minute break, the matches resumed, though there were no more challenges from the audience. Instead, she was pitted against various unthinking beasts. However, halfway through the first match, Sheba began to feel strange. Her conscious mind slipped from her, and her eyes began glowing red. If she'd had time to figure out what was going on, she'd have realized she was succumbing to something akin to the Berserk status effect. Her next opponent was some sort of giant crustacean, and in her blind rage she completely destroyed it in five seconds.
Astrotrain noticed the sudden change in Sheba's behavior. "I don't like this. Something's wrong," he said to Ramjet.
"She doesn't seem to be in any danger yet," Ramjet said, shrugging.
Dirge had also noticed, but wasn't sure whether it was an effect that Sheba had induced in herself, or whether it had come from an outside influence.
Opponent after opponent was shredded by Sheba's fangs and claws, and then, the final match of the night was upon them. Gyconi ordered his employees to give Sheba some more water in preparation.
"And now, the final match for tonight. The upstart champion, Sheba, against three Animaliens, all at once," Gyconi announced, "I'm sure this will be an interesting match. I say the Animaliens won't last two minutes against her!"
Sheba was let back into the pit, and the Animaliens entered opposite her. She growled savagely at them, her eyes still glowing bright red.
The crowd, impressed thus far with the new Champion's fighting skill, began betting on her in earnest. Astrotrain wanted to bet a considerable sum on her, but Ramjet shook his head. "This doesn't smell right," he said, "Hold off."
"If you say so," Astrotrain said.
When the match began, Sheba immediately sent an Animalien flying with one swipe of her right paw. The other two jumped on her, attempting to pummel her into submission, but were swiftly thrown off. The betting intensified, and Sheba managed to nip one Animalien rather severely on the tail. However, suddenly something began sapping her strength. She tried batting one, but it grabbed her by the foreleg and hurled her into the wall. She was slow to get up afterwards, and when the three monsters converged on her, she could barely hold them off as she snapped at them. One of them lashed her with its tail, knocking her to the ground. The second one picked her up and threw her across the pit. She struggled to rise, but suddenly she collapsed in exhaustion.
"She LOST?!" Dirge exclaimed in protest.
"I can't believe it!" Astrotrain shouted.
Ramjet crossed his arms disapprovingly. "I bet this was his plan all along. Somehow Gyconi threw the match."
"I thought Dirge was supposed to be watching to make sure there wasn't any treachery," Astrotrain said.
"Whatever they did, they did it right under his nosecone," Ramjet stated, "Let's go down there and find out what happened."
******
Lord Gyconi went down to the area under the stands, where his employees had taken Sheba after her lost match. Dirge was waiting there, and he stroked Sheba softly while she recovered.
Astrotrain and Ramjet arrived. "Now, I think it's time we took the energon and went home," Ramjet said. He nodded at Dirge, who moved to pick Sheba up.
Suddenly a stun blast hit Dirge, and he collapsed. Several of Gyconi's employees surrounded Astrotrain and Ramjet, holding them at laser blaster-point.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Ramjet demanded.
"I've decided to keep her," Lord Gyconi stated, "She's magnificent! With her, the sky's the limit on my profits!"
"You can't do that!" Ramjet retorted.
Dirge started to come to, groaning. Realizing that they'd been double-crossed, he quickly cast Esuna on Sheba. That lifted whatever status effects were lingering on her. She stood up and looked around, seemingly bewildered. Then she saw the weapons pointed at her and the others. She knew what she had to do.
"DIAMOND DUST!" she shouted, as green-and-red orbs arose circling around her, before spinning off in all directions. She and the three Decepticons vanished, and four narrow white energy beams spiralled towards a focal point on the ground in front of Lord Gyconi and his henchmen. A large chunk of ice erupted from that point, which encased the Guardian Force Shiva. The Ice Queen opened her eyes, and shattered the ice that contained her with a roll of her shoulders. A ball of white-and-blue tinged energy began forming in her right hand, and as she drew it backwards it radiated blue and yellow beams as it grew. She then threw the energy ball forward with both hands, and Lord Gyconi and his employees soon found themselves covered in ice. The ice shattered, knocking all the henchmen out and leaving Gyconi's health hanging by a thread. Sheba and the Decepticons subsequently reappeared.
"You dirty double-crosser!" Astrotrain snarled, as he reached down and grabbed Lord Gyconi by the back of his shirt and dangling him high in the air, "I should slag you for that right now!"
"Please! Don't!" Lord Gyconi begged.
"Let him live. Megatron will have far worse in store for him when he finds out," Ramjet said ominously.
"No, please! Don't tell Megatron! I promise I won't do it again! I'll give you all the energon in my vault—every last chip I possess-if you pretend that this never happened!" Lord Gyconi pleaded.
"Not interested," Ramjet said, as he turned on his heel-thruster to walk out.
"Please! I'll triple the amount of energon I send to the Decepticons!" Gyconi said, complete and utter desperation evident in his voice.
"Very good, Lord Gyconi," Ramjet said, "And remember, if you don't make good on your promise, Megatron will find out." He turned around. "Now, let's get that energon."
Astrotrain put Gyconi down, and allowed him to lead the group to the energon vault. Sheba helped the two Coneheads and Astrotrain clear the entire vault of energon. There was so much, that Astrotrain converted to train mode so they could load it onto him right there. He transformed back to Robot mode afterwards.
As the group turned to leave the Pit of Destruction, Dirge glanced back at Lord Gyconi. "Death comes to anyone who messes with Sheba," he said pointedly.
******
The group made their way through the streets of Sheol, on the way back to the open area where Astrotrain could have plenty of room to transform to space shuttle mode and take off.
"Hold it right there! Stick 'em up! I know you got energon, and I want it!" a high-pitched, almost squealy voice piped up.
Sheba and the others turned to see a tan, cloven-hoofed, scaly rotund creature that looked like it was a mix of wild boar and snake or some other reptilian. It was pointing a weapon at them.
Sheba snorted in derision before casting a spell. "STOP!" she shouted, as a circle of wavy green energy and several whitish-blue orbs rose up around her. A silvery clock face appeared above the creature's head, and the clock hands moved almost one hour's worth of time ahead before it shattered. The alien was now unable to move. For good measure, Sheba cast a Fira spell on it, as further deterrent. "Cmon, let's get out of here," she said.
******
The flying puma and the two coneheads boarded Astrotrain and got settled as the space shuttle took off.
"You were supposed to be keeping an eye out," Ramjet said to Dirge pointedly.
"I was," Dirge said, "They didn't inject her with anything. I didn't see them do anything suspicious. Unless…" his voice trailed off.
"Unless what?" Ramjet wanted to know.
"Well, they did give her some water, twice," Dirge said, "But I don't see how—."
Sheba facepawed. "OF COURSE! They drugged the water!" she realized, "There's a lot of substances that don't have any odor or taste that can screw me up. I'm guessing they put something into the water that mimics the Berserk status effect. Good thing I had the presence of mind to give Dirge some Esuna spells, or that could have ended very differently. Speaking of which, I should take back that Guardian Force now."
Dirge didn't resist when the Tonberry King emerged and was absorbed into Sheba.
"Soooo, what happens in Space Vegas stays in Space Vegas?" Sheba wondered, grinning, "I have to say, that was a brilliant blackmail ploy there, Ramjet."
"I just hope it continues to work," the white and red conehead replied with a sigh.
******
Meanwhile, back at Decepticon Headquarters, Sheba's absence had not gone unnoticed. Starscream was frantic. He'd searched half the globe looking for her, and Megatron was also worried, though he tried not to let it show.
"I don't understand why she'd take off like this without telling anyone," Starscream said, "For this long, I mean."
The Docking Tower suddenly raised, indicating there were one or more Decepticons outside that were coming in for a landing. Eventually the elevator came back down, and when the door opened, Astrotrain, Ramjet, Dirge, and Sheba stepped out into the room.
"Sheba! You're back!" Starscream exclaimed.
"Megatron, I'm pleased to report we have procured an extra-large shipment of energon from Monacus," Astrotrain stated.
Megatron turned towards them, his face contorted with rage. "YOU TOOK SHEBA TO MONACUS?!" he roared.
Astrotrain and the others were taken aback, the shock evident on their faces.
"You have no idea how much trouble you're in right now, do you?" Megatron growled, "Considering I had just forbidden Swindle to do the very same thing."
"N-no, we honestly thought you wouldn't mind," Ramjet stammered.
"Did you?" Megatron snorted, "I find that hard to believe. After all, not one of you bothered to mention it before you left."
Astrotrain looked at Ramjet incredulously. "You mean you DIDN'T get permission from Megatron to bring Sheba along?!"
Ramjet gulped.
"Uh-oh," Dirge moaned.
"Astrotrain, Ramjet, Dirge, as soon as the energon is unloaded, you three are confined to quarters until further notice. And, the next time you hatch what you think is a brilliant scheme, remember to get permisson from me first. Is that CLEAR?!" Megatron snapped.
The three chastised mechs groaned and headed for the energon storage room to unload their haul of energon. "Gee, thanks a lot," Astrotrain snarled sarcastically at Ramjet.
"I didn't think he'd overreact like this," Ramjet retorted.
"OVERREACT?!" Megatron was livid. "You have no idea the trouble you could have caused. Something could have very easily happened to Sheba, something the three of you could very well be unequipped to handle. You were fortunate this time. Consider this a warning. DO NOT take Sheba outside this solar system without my permission. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Megatron," the three mumbled apologetically, before continuing to the energon storage room.
"Did you have to be so rough on them?" Sheba wanted to know.
"Absolutely," Megatron told her, in a sterner voice than he intended, "Without Starscream nearby, as a Guardian you have more vulnerabilities. There are those who may take advantage of that. And without knowing it, you could have placed Astrotrain and the others in danger, as well. They must learn how serious this is, but I hope you will understand. Please, don't go anywhere outside the solar system without informing me first." He bent down to stroke her, to reassure her that his anger at Astrotrain and the Coneheads was out of concern. She allowed it, and Starscream, who'd been standing there waiting for Megatron to finish his tirade, also approached and began petting Sheba as well.
"Yes, and you really should have let me know where you were going," Starscream interjected, "You had me worried."
"What did you do, search half the globe looking for me?" Sheba wondered, as she nuzzled him.
"As a matter of fact-"
******
The tan reptilian-porcine alien on Monacus began speaking into a communication device. "Hey, yeah, it's me. I remember you told me to let you know if I saw any giant flying felines that use Magic. Well, I saw one, here, on Monacus! …..No, it's not here now, but I think Lord Gyconi may know where it went."
THE END?!