"OC Episode #4"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Optimus,Frilla behind here!"

Optimus followed Wintersong, running straight for the boulder. Bounding right on to it, he used one hand to balance himself on top of the large rock while throwing his legs over it and pulling the rest of his body all the way over. His landing was not so graceful with a hard thud on his skidplate, but as long as he had cover from the fiery blast, that was the least of his worries. Crouching with Frilla and Wintersong, his back against the boulder that was between them and the explosion, he covered his head with his arms to protect it from any large or hot debris that went flying through air in all directions, not that much more could be done to injure his already badly damaged side of his face.

As things settled a little despite the raging flames, Primal got up and turned around to peer over the boulder at the depressingly damaged storage unit. All of that fuel... lost. Any hope of studying the nano technology that Nemesis left behind on Nightmist was gone. ...Or was it? There was something loud that had landed somewhere in the other direction among the trees. Optimus sighed at the sight, shaking his head to himself. Why were some Decepticons and Predacons like that? Was mindless destruction really programmed into their processors? Even if the Predacons would claim it as an advantage to destroy their enemy's supplies, it was not a route that Optimus would ever take to try and gain the upper hand in this war.

Frustration, anger, and a little helplessness swirled around inside the Maximal commander. He barely noticed the stench of fuel coming off of him that his fur and some joints had soaked up when he had fallen on his back inside the unit. Glancing around the area and the darkening sky, Nemesis was no where to be found. She must have flown off. Well, he could only hope so since the damage she caused couldn't have possibly been worse. "Are you two all right?" Primal asked Wintersong and Frilla in a surprisingly calm voice that may not have necessarily been a good sign, looking down at them with his one optic sensor that was brighter than the other cracked one. At that moment of his concern for their well-being, he seemed to ignore everything else.

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"Nemisis was here looking for something but she set the freezer on fire. Optimus was just trying to extinguish the flames and now the place and him are covered in fuel, it's going to blow."

Frowning, Tigatron's tail swayed more now, anxious and uneasy about the situation his fellow white cat was reporting. It wasn't long after that when he saw a fiery plume over the rocky hills, and felt a burst of air with a faint tremble in the ground from the enormous explosion. "Wintersong!" he cried out over his transmission. He eagerly glanced at Dinobot to see if he had taken any notice of what just happened. Tigatron wanted to take off and help the others, but he couldn't leave Dinobot alone in the growing darkness and he couldn't disobey Optimus' orders.

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"Shouldn't be too long before we get back," Rattrap said to Feralnight as while the Nomad cruised along. He relied mostly on their radar at this point in the nightfall.

"How's Fangs holdin' up, Icebreaker?" he called down to the penguin.

[NaitoKage]

(Geh, This is why I hate being spread too thin sometimes.. I sometimes overlook things)

Megatron looked towards Steelclaw Hrm.. Yess.. I believe it'd be best if you recover her, her rogue activity and obsession with Dinobot has been troublesome lately.. Bring her in, but don't scrap her yourself if you can avoid it.. I imagine the CR tank is going to be full again for a few days.. he then turned his head forward moving with the rest of the group to the Darksyde.

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Icebreaker shouted back up to Rattrap I'm getting some really weird readings, I think I'll need Rhinox to look over the data, but her repairs are done. Can you call ahead and see if Rhinox is back yet?

The penguin then started to turn off the CR tank, it promptly drained of fluid and the tank panels folded away, revealing Saberfang on the floor laying on her back. He walked towards her carefully speaking up in a soft tone Saber, we're almost to home, you can wake up now. He however kept some distance, he was warned of how she had some abnormality in her system which caused a mutation or transformation, he didn't wish to trigger a possible episode.

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Glowstick floated into the captains chair on the bridge of the ship, his body resting against the chair back while his limbs drapped the arms of the chair and around the floor. Well this has been a odd day at least..I guess you can have my old room on the Darksyde if you want Cecaelia, it already has a water tank for sleeping and the walls are aligned with sound cancelers for privacy.. You'll be needing the water tank though, the Darksyde isn't very.. climate controlled like the Leviathan is.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong let out a slight growl from some crashing into her before she ducked behind the boulder, covering her head from the explosion. Raising her head she nodded at Optimus and looked over the boulder, all the supplies that had been in the facility was more then likely burned to no use or destroyed completely. "We're alright Tigatron, but I can't say the same for the storage facility." She replied over her com-link and looked at Optimus again, "Optimus you can't help what just happened, we just got here a little too late."

[Night-Hunter]

Saber started to wake as the fluid started to drain.

Saber, we're almost to home, you can wake up now.

The formal general opens her optics and saw that Icebreaker was a few feet away from her, she understood why he was being like that.

"I'm not going to turn just like that, but I understand." She said siting up then getting to her feet.

She still felt a little light headed but other then that she felt normal well some what normal, she still had the blasted creature within her. The Maximals knew about the creature but they still didn't know the whole story between Sonar herself.

Sooner or later they're going to find out. She thought with a small sigh.

[starshadow]

Cecaelia's smile widened. "Arigato(thank you) Glowstick-san!"

Everything was going to be perfect for her first day of joining the predacon crew. "I'll will be expecting a tour after we get there."

[New Moon]

Frilla covered her head like the others, hearing the facility blow and some things landing in certain places not far from it. When it was okay to look Frilla peeked around, watching the flames that still remained, "Yea I'm fie." She replied to Optimus, finally looked at the gorilla but he seemed too calm even for a situation like this. It was probably very frustrating to the Maximal leader and she couldn't help feeling a bit sorry Optimus had to always deal with such things like this.

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Feralnight only nodded, "Just hope the others are safe is all." She said, wondering if they were too far from base still.

[NaitoKage]

Icebreaker nodded Sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful but there is very little known about your condition. The tests finished but other then some things which.. clearly shouldn't be there, I can't make heads or tails of what he injected you with.. Rhinox would be better at understanding it.

He watched as she stood up Though.. it makes me wonder why Sonar would do that, but then he's not a predacon I've had much experience with other then being at the end of my gun.. Oh well, If you feel any abnormalities.. nausea, blurred vision, headaches, or any other unusual symptoms just say so and I'll see what I can do about them.


(As for those wondering why Icebreaker doesn't understand the readouts, his intelligence is a 5 which is average and his skill is a 6, just slightly above average. So he's not exactly the best medic, but the Maximals will take what they can get. )

_______________________

Glowstick pondered for a moment as she mentioned tour Er.. I guess. The Darksyde isn't exactly as nice inside as this ship, but essentially it breaks down into a hanger, living quarters, dungeon,bridge,cr tanks and science faclility,an armory, and lava pits.. lots and lots of lava pits.. so many parts of the ship are.. rather dry and painful.. while being flooded with lava.. My old room was modified to deal with that, but I eventually just moved into this ship to get away from the stifling heat and stop hearing whining about my thick slime coat.

[starshadow]

L-LL-LAVA PITS?! How is her beautiful skin going to resist the intense heat?! If she ever fell into any of the lava pits, she would be a melted octopus. "Eheh..ehehehehe..then how did you guys avoid the pits if the base is flooded by nasty hot lava?" Cecaelia asked.

Lava pits..why does the base have to be in a hot dry place full of volcanoes, lava pits and unpleasant gases instead of a nice cool environment with clear and sparkling blue waters.

((OOC: Please bear with Cece for the next few episodes. Sometimes she's like that. ))

[Night-Hunter]

Sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful but there is very little known about your condition. The tests finished but other then some things which.. clearly shouldn't be there, I can't make heads or tails of what he injected you with.. Rhinox would be better at understanding it.

Saber narrowed her optics slightly, she too has no idea what was in the serum and that scared her more then death itself, she had to trust Sonar, she had no other choice.

"You did what you could and that's all that matters." She gently said.

Though.. it makes me wonder why Sonar would do that, but then he's not a predacon I've had much experience with other then being at the end of my gun.. Oh well, If you feel any abnormalities.. nausea, blurred vision, headaches, or any other unusual symptoms just say so and I'll see what I can do about them.

"Who knows what goes on in that twisted little head of his," She moved away from the CR tank before continuing. "Other then feeling a little light headed, I'm fine. I'll let you know if I do feel any thing strange."

She wanted to tell them every thing, just to let it out and get it off her chest. She just didn't want them to think she was a traitor to the Maximals, but in seeking the help of a Predacon instead of a Maximal made her a traitor to her own kind.

There is always a choice... but there are times where you have no choice at all. Saber thought.

[Blazemane]

Dinobot wasn't as fast as Venatrix, and the speed with which she spun around and re-attacked him was impressive, but he wasn't precisely given to being frozen in place either. He quickly moved to his side, and rather than catching the blade to his midsection, it cut along the front of his leg.

Now he was facing his opponent's side, and he quickly punched at the side of her face-plate. At the same time, he swung his sword for the hand in which Venatrix held her weapon, hoping to dislodge it.

From somewhere in the distance, Dinobot thought he heard a booming, and then Tigatron's shout confirmed his suspicions.

The warrior berated himself internally. Normally, he would be honor bound to accept a fair challenge, but he was in a war now, and it would remain a war every second- battling or not battling- that he remained on the planet. Now there was a threat at the Axalon, and he had not been there to counter it.

He could only hope that this match would end quickly.

* * *

Steelclaw threw Megatron a salute with his paw before turning around and looking for where he had seen Venatrix last. He soon found a few of her paw prints, and observing the scent on the ground, confirmed that he was indeed following her trail. Then he headed off in that direction.

[NaitoKage]

Icebreaker nodded to Saber Alright. he then walked up the ladder to return to the others.

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Glowstick shrugged Well.. I generally just fly everywhere, not much for walking anymore since.. my beast form can't move on the ground like yours can. But they fly around on hover boards in the areas filled with lava. I guess you can just do that, or stick to the ceiling.. though I imagine that must be scorching hot.. yeah, you'll wanna use the hover boards. Guess I'll have to build a new one to fill the quota for you non fliers.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Yea I'm fie."

"Optimus you can't help what just happened, we just got here a little too late."

Primal's gaze shifted from Frilla to Wintersong and what she said. This time that wasn't quite the cause of the leader's unusual demeanor in the current situation. To say the least, he was furious now. Furious that the Predacons could do these things without remorse. Without regret. It wasn't that long ago when they lost Nightmist, which took its toll on the whole crew. They recently lost the protoform now known as Inferno and the battle over him, and now, in the same day, Nemesis completely devastated their storage facility that held many crucial items to their survival on this planet. Thinking everything they had lost lately made Optimus subconsciously ball his hands into fists at his sides out of sheer anger. It may have looked like he wanted to punch something several times. What was he doing wrong? Was he too careless with the Predacons? Was he too merciful? Too tolerant? Not aggressive enough? ...What if Primal got mean? Ruthless. Unforgiving. What if he jumped out of character and began terrorizing the Predacons and blowing up their base? Give them a little bit of their own medicine. It would certainly throw them off guard, he assumed. If only he could do what Scorponok's cyber-bee had done to him before. Pure blind aggression. Fearless. Taking his power to the extreme. Take them down one by one and end the Beast Wars along with Megatron's agenda. End it. After all, a commander of the "good guys" can only be pushed so far past the brinking point by his enemies. Right?

But the more Optimus thought about this 180 of his, the more he realized that he would be no different from the Predacons. That wasn't what Maximals did. At least not his. Despite everything the Predacons had done to them so far, he couldn't do the same. They would eventually stop Megatron and his Predacons, Optimus had no doubt about that, but they would do it in a more civilized manner. Returning to the matter at hand, his tension seemed to relax, unballing his fists and looking at the destruction again, gathering his thoughts.

"Frilla, a large object landed in the tree line several yards from here." Optimus pointed in the direction where he had heard the loud thud. "Find out what it was. I fear it may be something we don't want laying around. Contact me when you've found it, and don't touch it." He suspected it was Nightmist's freezer that was keeping her isolated along with the nanos. That whole section was missing now from the facility. Primus.

"Wintersong, let's put out these flames and start cleaning up some of the larger debris," he told her. Most of the unprotected fuel had been ignited now, so any more explosions were unlikely. He would have to keep himself distanced a little from sparks and flames so that the fuel left on him wouldn't catch on fire, but otherwise the clean-up shouldn't be too hazardous. They just needed to be careful.

Optimus left the boulder and walked over to the Axalon's hangar. "Sentinel, stand down," he commanded.

"Acknowledged," the computer system complied and lowered the shields.

Opening the hangar door, Primal walked in and grabbed two large extinguishers in both hands that would suffocate the flames fairly easy according to their origins. Walking back to Wintersong, he handed one to her and then proceeded to what was burning left of the storage unit and began extinguishing the fires that were slowly beginning to die down on their own.

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"We're alright Tigatron, but I can't say the same for the storage facility."

Relief washed over the tiger upon hearing Wintersong's voice, but he could only imagine what they had lost in that explosion. "Do you require assistance?" he asked.

-----

I'm getting some really weird readings, I think I'll need Rhinox to look over the data, but her repairs are done.

While he wondered what kind of weird readings Icebreaker was talking about, Rattrap didn't get to question him when he threw in a plausible question.

Can you call ahead and see if Rhinox is back yet?

"Uh, yeah. Sure," the rat said. "Feralnight, care to call back ta Base and see if anybody's home?" Rattrap asked of her. At least he seemed to be in a lighter mood now. Although he was eavesdropping on the penguin's and the saber tooth's conversation below, he didn't comment on any of it. Better to not pry and avoid upsetting the feline. He glanced at Icebreaker when he climbed back up the ladder and rejoined them.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong watched Optimus, who seemed to be silent for a long time which wasn't really like him. Though she took note of his balled up fists and was surprised that the gorilla might be so furious, especially with all that had happened so recently. She couldn't blame him, war was rough ad it would be for months to come. Though luckily Optimus calmed and she nodded coming from behind the boulder, taking the other extinguisher and began to put out the flames. "No it's alright Tigatron, we can handle it. Luckily none of us are injured any further." She replied to her fellow tiger and continued to put out some of the fire.

Seeing Optimus so frustrated though made Wintersong feel guilty from earlier that day, now that she thought about it. She hadn't reported in the last few days like she promised and Primal was always worrying for them, "Uh Optimus I wanted to apologize for not reporting in before." She said working on putting out part of the larger flames, "Been thinking about the last mission in the Arctic still."

[New Moon]

Frilla watched Optimus for a moment, almost sure he would punch something with how frustrated he looked but he calmed not log after ad she relaxed again. "No problem Optimus." She headed towards the trees he had indicate, never noticing any items in particular falling only having run for cover as the others had. It was a bit difficult to see in the dark but after stepping around the tree trunks Frilla could make out an object lying among them, moving towards it yet didn't touch it. Peeking over the top she made sure it was indeed Nightmist's body.

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Feralnight nodded, "Sure I'll give it a go." Turning in her chair again she tried her com-link to the Axalon, hopig they got an answer, "This is Feralnight to the Axalon, anyone there?".

[Night-Hunter]

Alright.

She soon joined him on the bridge and sat down in the nearest chair without a word.

How much longer will I be able to keep this secret? She wondered with a small sigh.

"Uh, yeah. Sure," the rat said. "Feralnight, care to call back ta Base and see if anybody's home?"

"Sure I'll give it a go." "This is Feralnight to the Axalon, anyone there?"

She stared out the window, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She couldn't stop seeing Sonar, he was the only one who could make the serum. She also couldn't tell the Maximals what she had been doing, she was stuck between a rock and hard place and she had no idea what she was going to do.

I can't keep doing this, they have a right to know. Optimus has a right to know for he is my commander. She thought with slightly narrowed optics.