Under the Sea: Rematch

[Sky-byte]

This thread takes place in Day 10 of the small plots timeline

It's a fish! It's a sub! No, it's Sky-Byte! Though technically he could be called a fish but let's not bother with technicalities right now.

Avoid this current, dip into another, Sky-Byte rolls beneath the waves and courses through the water in a rather whimsical manner. No, no mission today. This galavant into the sea is of his own choosing and for his own enjoyment. No bothersome jetlings or other vehicles to trouble him here. No brooding and arrogant black tankers to derail his thoughts and plans either.

Though, there is something more than just enjoyment as a reason for being here tickling away at Sky-Byte's processors. Oh Sky-Byte has more reason than just pleasure to be patrolling the waters. There's something rather slippery and infuriating that this shark is on the lookout for. It's something that slipped his grip and delivered him an embarrassing pounding the last time he was in the region not too terribly long ago.

Squid. They're like jellyfish--and Sky-Byte detests jellyfish. Who's master of the seas? Certainly not some undersized giant squid. Oh no, Sky-byte will definitely make sure of that.

[Claw Jaw]

For the past few weeks, Claw Jaw has been exploring. Oh, he's heard bits and pieces of what has happened over the radio waves, however for the most part he has kept silent and to himself. And it shows, what was once brilliant chrome is now scarred, damaged and dulled. However, parts of the metallic squid still reflect light towards the surface, giving him a somewhat noticeable approach in the water.

Now, however, he is making his way back to the Autobot HQ, giving a quick once-over check to various parts of the ocean. However, something stops him in his movement this time. He sees something. Something large. Something that brings up a primal, predatory instinct deep within his processor.

Whatever the thing above him is, Claw Jaw chooses to sink lower to the bottom, to observe its path. The squid becomes motionless, spreading his tentacles out along the furthest patches of ground to give himself a grip against it, if need be.

He will wait and see what this oddly familiar shape does first, then he will strike.

[Sky-byte]

There's nothing but blue as Sky-Byte looks ahead. Nothing but blue and the silty grey sand that lines the ocean floor beneath him. Sky-Byte snorts as he changes direction with a flick of his tail. This is all just a blasted waste of time. He snorts again, shaking his head to rid himself of the sun bouncing into his optics. Once more Sky-Byte changes direction, diving a little deeper, but still the shine persists. Just how hard does a shark have to work around here with---wait a minute. Sunlight usually doesn't reflect into one's optics from below on the ocean floor unless there's something shiny beneath. Last time Sky-Byte checked the ocean floor wasn't periodically lined with mirrors, there also aren't any freshly dead bodies beneath him this time to give off any creepy sheens.

So just what is this?

"Terrorize!" Now Sky-Byte hangs in the water in robot mode, it's a nifty animating trick really. The lights go on as Sky-Byte's optics now serve like a pair of headlights as he begins scouring the ocean floor.

[Claw Jaw]

Whatever Claw Jaw was watching seemed to notice him. Normally, he would care about this and head off elsewhere, to get his prey when it had forgotten about him. But this time was different.

It was that shark. The Predacon. Sky-Byte.

Like a bat out of hell, Claw Jaw bursts upwards towards Sky-Byte, blowing silt and sand away from the bottom. His goal is simple: he wants to test his reflexes. Which one of them will move out of the way first, the speeding squid, or the stationary shark...

[Sky-byte]

The first thing Sky-Byte sees is a great mushroom cloud of sediment whooshing up from the bottom of the ocean floor. A split second afterwards, it's the flash of sunlight bouncing off metal that catches his optics.

...what? But before Sky-Byte can wonder more, headlight optics do their trick and he can make out a form that sends a spike of irritation and anticipation shivering up his spinal array. That energy-sucking, no good, pipsqueak giant squid.

"So we meet again!" There's nothing but triumph in this mech's voice as Sky-Byte doesn't budge from his place at all, instead a bright purple glow begins to build at the center of his chest. "Tsunami Blast!" So, who's going to be moving out of the way first now, squid?

[Claw Jaw]

And once again, the shark alerts Claw Jaw to the oncoming attack by blurting out while he actually launches it. As soon as Sky-Byte starts yelling, Claw Jaw twists from his original path and heads underneath his opponent, before heading back up to try to get into melee range.

Claw Jaw doesn't bother talking. He'll let his fighting do the talking when he gets into range.

[Sky-byte]

It's not like he's doing this on purpose, this announcing attack thing. It's a programming problem! A dimension wide problem!

Sky-Byte grins as he tracks Claw Jaw's movements, twisting in the water with ease. "Shark bite!" This announcement might be a bit of a strange one as his next attack as nothing to do with his teeth. With a flurry of bubbles Sky-Byte's Anchor Arm ejects from his wrist, claws wide open and spinning wickedly towards the oncoming squid.

Claw Jaw's silence does make the fight a little disappointing though. Where's the trade of barbed comments and witty insults? How utterly primitive.

[Claw Jaw]

Whether or not he planned it, Claw Jaw is taken by surprise at the lack of shark biting as the anchor arm flies towards him.

However, Claw Jaw has seen an opportunity. Swiftly, he turns around in the water and spreads his tentacles to their full length from his body, making a wide net to catch this arm being launched towards him. And his sinister jaws snap open with a guttural "Let us see who can catch who" as he awaits the oncoming attack, planning to snap shut around it and begin the process of draining his foe dry.

[Sky-byte]

Oh no, squid you don't! Sky-Byte remembers what happened the last time he let himself get wrapped up in those puny tentacles. He gives a great heave to the Anchor Arm, pulling it back with a snap.

What does one do with a hurtling squid? Well, he does make for a rather tempting looking target..."Tsunami blast!" A purple laser pierces through the water straight at the oncoming Claw Jaw. Come now, tentacles, are you really going to keep going forward? Well, Sky-Byte has always liked the taste of calamari.

[Claw Jaw]

Having turned around to extend his tentacles, Claw Jaw finds himself in the perfect position to blast away from the oncoming projectile, before turning and speeding around Sky-Byte, keeping a somewhat large, circular orbit, just like a shark would do.

Claw Jaw has seen that he can't exactly get into melee range with the shark as of now. So let's see if he can't strike a nerve with him instead...

[Sky-byte]

'This is a ridiculously slippery squid...

There'd be a pulse twitching at Sky-Byte's forehead by now. Really, he should be making mince-meat out of this flobbery cephalopod! Who's the king of the ocean? Last time he checked, it certainly wasn't a squid. "So you're try to mock me now, don't you?" Sky-Byte growls, optics following Claw Jaw's taunting orbit. A few seconds and a couple hundred gallons of displaced water later, Sky-Byte hovers in beast mode, watching the squid for a few moments more before making his move.

Sky-Byte isn't zooming up towards Claw Jaw though, no. Within a second he reaches the ocean floor, but he won't stop there, oh no. Sky-Byte plows into the sand and begins coursing around, thrashing and churning as he begins his own orbit. Tons of sand goes flying upwards and within that murky cloud, Sky-Byte follows in a steadily tightening spiral, spreading his cover as he heads back up towards Claw Jaw. Navigating through this is all pish-posh compared to navigating through hard-packed dirt (or concrete, yow!).

What say you, squid? Sky-Byte may start losing his temper and his control if things keep not working though. 'Upstart, slippery, no good, evasive (and the adjectives go on until we get to our noun:) squid'

[Claw Jaw]

Claw Jaw keeps his circle going as Sky Bye goes down, however he remains at the same height, using his large eyes to watch what the shark is doing from his current orientation.

And he's somewhat confused as to what exactly the shark is trying. He isn't too sure if he can hunt by anything other than sight, which is a bit of a weakness for Claw Jaw, however he assumes he can't.

So, Claw Jaw does what seems natural to him: He rushes forward into the flurry of dirt and grit as it rises, hoping to charge into the unseen shark.

[Sky-byte]

The incoming blip makes Sky-Byte start a bit. He didn't exactly expect the squid to just charge in so quickly. What a beastie, then, isn't it?

...A tentacley, energy-draining beastie. Sky-Byte howls as Claw Jaw charges into him, twisting and spinning violently as he makes to bite at the long whipping tentacles. Things may be pea soup to the squid, but Sky-Byte can make things out perfectly fine--well, radarly fine--that is, as long as his radar continues to function. The blow dealt by Claw Jaw's run-in seems to be making things a bit fuzzy now...

Underwater beast grappling and biting match, ho!

[Claw Jaw]

Claw Jaw knew he was going to be in for a bad move from just ramming the shark, and it pays off by one of his big, energy draining arms being bitten into by the shark.

Unfortunately, one tends to forget about their ability to drain energy from opponents when they're in immense pain from being bitten. So Claw Jaw attempts to use a different tact. Though he can't see anything, he attempts to roughly guess where his enemy is, from where he got hit, and lunges, attempting to sink his jaws into the shark.