Darksteel

Player Information
*Name/Alias: Jayde
*Your Journal: mordoriannazgul
*Age: 26
*Contact Information: e-mail: Jaydepuff@aol.com; aim: Jaydepuff; plurk: Greywolf360
*Characters already in the game: Fracas (OCC), Barricade (CRAU), Strelok (Canon)

Character Information
*Character Name: Darksteel
*Character Canon: Transformers: Prime
*Age: Young, for a Cybertronian; only a few months at most probably, but he is physically and mentally an adult (mostly)
*Race: Cybertronian, specifically of the Predacon variety
*Timeline/Pull Point: The end of Predacons Rising, after Predaking announces the Predacons are going to settle a score with Starscream

*History: Predacons Rising on TFWiki and Darksteel’s Entry on TFWiki, but for thoroughness…

The main action of much of Transformers: Prime (besides the McGuffins Hunts of Season 2 but we do not speak of those) is an effort in restoring the home planet of the Cybertronians, shockingly named Cybertron. By the time Darksteel enters into the picture, Cybertron has been brought back to life (ironically) through the joint efforts of the Autobots and their enemies, the Decepticons. Darksteel, in fact, is born on Cybertron and knows nothing of Earth.

Actually, ‘born’ is a strong word. He was not so much created in the same way as normal Cybertronians as he was cloned by a scientist named Shockwave, from the CNA (Cyber Nucleic Acid, basically Cybertronian DNA) of a long-dead Predacon. Predacons were the earliest inhabitants of Cybertron, analogous in some ways to Earth’s dinosaurs… except that they are dragons and other mythical creatures and they all breathe fire. They are pretty bad customers and fighting them is generally a bad idea unless you’re another Predacon. Thankfully, the lot of them, including Darksteel’s original self, died in a time called the Cataclysm – basically like the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. Shockwave was able to take the bones left by these huge beasts and clone new versions of them. Based on his general attitude (explained further in Personality), and a comment that Shockwave makes about having to move his experiments frequently to stay ahead of the Autobots, it’s being assumed that Darksteel was made some time after his constant companion Skylynx.

His life was not the easiest. He and Skylynx were often sent in search of supplies or the bones of other Predacons, and when they weren’t, Starscream treated them the way a bad pet owner treats their dogs. It hardly got any better when they encountered their first Autobots, Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen, and fought them. Darksteel fought Smokescreen and the only reason the Autobot escaped was because of a McGuffin left over from season 2; beyond that, the Predacons were able to return to Shockwave’s current base empty-handed but victorious. Starscream did not see it the same way and jabbed the pair with what was basically a cattle prod while berating them.

Sometime after that, they found a Predacon burial ground, that the original Predacon clone Predaking had previously been guarding. They didn’t have much time to dig up any of the bones, though, between getting into a tussle over one. Also, Unicron the God of Chaos and Lord of the Undead showed up and started grandstanding and making speeches. Skylynx and Darksteel were not impressed, and attacked Unicron… and got their tails handed to them. Unicron then raised the whole graveyard from the dead to try to kill Cybertron (the physical form of Primus, God of Law and Life) again. What a jerk. By that point, Starscream had run screaming for the hills and Shockwave had gotten the tar beat out of him by dragon zombies. Luckily Predaking arrived, just in time to be outraged by undead Predacons and to get into a fight with the younger Predacons, who didn’t exactly respect his leadership. It was all good after Predaking bested them, though.

Following Shockwave’s advisement that they should save their planet instead of picking fights with each other the Predacons united more solidly, and actually helped the Autobots in saving the planet. The three of them took on the entirety of Unicron’s army of undead Terrorcons, staving them off just long enough to allow Optimus Prime to defeat the dark god and save the planet (again). After that the Predacons and Autobots parted ways… mostly so that Darksteel and Skylynx would have the opportunity to exact a little justice against their tormentor Starscream.
*Personality: Darksteel doesn’t let much get him down. He tends to find the humor in everything, from beating up other bots to getting into tussles with Skylynx. This is part of what makes him seem a little younger than Skylynx in the film. He comes off as naïve and enjoys life even if he Starscream frequently treats he and his fellow Predacon terribly. He’s often the one to make a first strike against opponents, eager to prove himself – or to at least have a little fun. He’s also the one most likely to behave flippantly about threats (proclaiming the Autobots to be “weak” ) or to tease and play with his companions. He often acts as the wise guy to Skylynx’s straight man, making light of an otherwise heavy situation.

That doesn’t mean he’s incapable of serious moments, of course. He can understand the seriousness of a situation and tone down his humor. Darksteel even acts a little bit like an adult after Predaking shows up and takes control of the Predacons. With this fellow clones, he even almost sacrifices his life for the sake of Cybertron. He’s also a loyal kind of bot. He was designed for it, really; Shockwave needed a way to keep Predacons from turning and biting the hand that feeds, as it were. That was part of why he never fought back against Starscream until Predaking came along, and is probably part of the reason that he and Skylynx were never seen apart. The other reason why he never left his fellow’s side was probably much simpler: there was no one else like him around, so no one else could truly understand him. With Predaking’s presence in his life he now has bots he can attach to that are worth attaching to, forming a small family unit.

Darksteel is younger than Skylynx, but beyond that he’s just plain young - he’s probably not more than a few months old. The audience knows that time has passed since Cybertron’s restoration, but not how much. However, given that no other Cybertronians have arrived and construction is ongoing, it’s probably only been a few months. Given his age, there’s a lot he doesn’t know about and has yet to learn. He knows very little of even his own home planet and Cybertronians, and he has never had contact with any organic species at all. Once he realizes that he’s not supposed to get into fights (or, humiliatingly, is bested in fights) he might make more of an effort to investigate and try to understand these things he’s never encountered before. And maybe even learn a little history, if anyone can make him sit down and pay attention for long enough.
*Powers/Abilities: Alternate Mode - As with other Cybertronians, Darksteel is capable of transforming himself into another mode. Some transform into cars, or jets, or even tanks… but those are modern Cybertronians. Darksteel is a Predacon, descended of a much more ancient line. All Predacons have an alternate form that is a beast of mythic proportions (though we’re still waiting on the giant robot unicorn). Skylynx and Predaking both turn into dragons, but Darksteel is the odd one out. He turns into an ursagryph: a subset of gryphons that have bear parts in place of the usual lion bits. Even with this drastic difference, he’s still almost as tall as Skylynx in his beast form.
Flight - A subset of his Alternate Mode. Darksteel is capable of flight when in his beast mode, and can presumably sustain it for long distances. Assuming that he has similar wingpower to Skylynx, he’s also capable of carrying others while he’s flying, so long as they aren’t climbing on his wings.
Fire Breath- Another ability that’s a subset of his Alternate Mode. In beast mode, Darksteel is capable of breathing fire. It’s hot enough to at least scorch metal, and hold back stubborn hordes of dragon robot zombies.

Warrior- Darksteel was made to be a fighter, whether it was naturally like his ancient ancestors or manufactured by Shockwave during the cloning process. He’s only ever seen really fighting in beast mode during the film, and presumably hasn’t fought much in robot mode. His beast form is far stronger, giving him access to a beak and sharp talons in addition to his fire breath. Even so, he’d hardly be a slouch in robot mode. He’s tough, shaking off fights against Autobots, Predaking, zombies, and even a god without so much as skipping a beat. His fighting style is crude but effective, slashing and snapping and – when a target is otherwise out of range – breathing fire on his opponents. He’s young and has a long way to go to refine his ability, but he’s likely to get there.
*Inventory: Just his bad self!
*Starting Polarity: I honestly couldn’t say, and so I leave it in the hands of you wonderful mods!

If AU, how does your character differ from canon?:

Writing Samples
*First Person Sample: Skylynx? Are you here, Skylynx?

[The sound of one claw tapping on the Link comes through before the video flicks on, showing bright yellow optics and a lean face crowned with horns. Those optics blink a couple times as the owner of the Link leans back slightly.]

I am trying to find my brethren, Skylynx. He is silver and blue, with red accents, and is about my height. [He pauses, snickering.] But he is not nearly as pretty as I am.

If you have seen him in his other form, I am sure you know. Tell him that Darksteel wishes to find him.
*Third Person Sample: Darksteel had wandered up to the highest tower of Darkmount to catch a little nap. It was the right time of day to sit out there; the sun struck the tower just right for him to spread his wings out and enjoy the warm light on his wings. Even if Predaking and Skylynx weren’t there, he did enjoy it. It was quiet and peaceful. He flopped down onto the stones, spreading his wings out and laying his head on his large paws. A perfect afternoon, more or less.

However when he woke up, it was most certainly not a perfect afternoon. In fact it wasn’t even Darkmount. It was… where was it? He folded his wings back up and slowly stood, looking around. If this was Cybertron, he didn’t recognize it. It was rockier than he had seen before, even when Shockwave and Starscream sent him on long flights for bones. It didn’t even smell right. He cast his gaze up and even the sky was wrong. Well. Time to get down to the bottom of this. If someone had moved him out here, he would find them.

And then drop them off a cliff.

Maybe he should try to find his kin first, though. He looked around for the highest outcropping he could find, giving his wings a strong beat to get off the ground. The flight was quick but purposeful; he wanted to get high enough to send some kind of signal that they could maybe see, if they were around. He bent his head up, as perpendicular with the ground as he could, and let fire explode in a trail out of his mouth and into the sky. If even one of them was around, they would hopefully see the bright beacon in the dark. But he had to wait and see.

He continued until he ran out of breath, after which he lowered his head. Now for the hard part. Darksteel sat back on his haunches, folding his wings tight against his back, and looked out over the area.

Skylynx or Predaking had to show up. They had to.

He wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was completely alone.

Final Notes: I apologize for him not being purple. However, he might be 50-feet-tall, if that makes up for it.