"Tangled Webs & Muddle"

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw's hadn reached out and clutched nothing as his oppnent drew her sword arm away. He looked back at her but she had already moved closer to him and slammed her knee into his abdomin causing him to grunt and take a step back. She had decided to get a lot closer where he may have an advantage. His arms came around and one of his hands grasping around her head when he felt pressure again on his abdomin. The transmetal badger looked down and saw her feet against him when she through him head first over her. He crashed into the ground behind and rolled a few times. Luckily he rolled onto his front so he was able to puch down and force himself up quickly getting ready for next attack. Though she stayed and activated a flame with engulfed her sword and caught his eye. Ironclaw then noticed that his fellow Maximals were retreating. His choices were laid out infront of him, stay here and fight or retreat. For a moment he looked away in deliberation. 'No.... that is what he would do..' he thought to himself. His head shot back up, fire in his eyes as he stared at the Predacon.

"I am no Prime.... Predacon. You will not find any mercy here. And you shall only die when I say so" Ironclaw finally proclaimed as he drew both of his wrist cannons and stood his ground.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"We'll be slagged if we go back!"

"So will they if we don't!" Rattrap debated with his personal airline pilot. But then it struck. A sudden burst of fire and heat hammered the falcon and the TransMetal rat who was released and left to fall in the same fashion she was. "Airazor!" was all he could yell when he saw her and her damage for a split second before tumbling through the air and then crashing on the ground stomach first with a low thud. Rattrap was still functional but unconscious. He was scorched with scratches and burnt paint all over his small beast mode body. He laid there not too far from Airazor on the ground with his short legs spread out to his sides, quiet and motionless.

(( OOC: He'll wake up in my next post before any Preds can get their hands on him.

Also, I love the gif with the mantis "typing"! XD ))

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(( OOC: N-H, I'm assuming you want Sonar taken into "custody" again. We never did get to have him and OP talk, did we? ))

"Dinobot to base," "It appears I have taken down the flying vermin. I will approach the Predacon to check his status. Should he be unconscious, shall I collect him so we can imprison him yet again?"

Rhinox took a moment to think about it before answering. Perhaps they could use Sonar's imprisonment to their advantage. Not necessarily against the Predacons because Megatron could probably care less about losing him, but more so for Optimus to finally find out what's going on between this bat and the former General and put an end to their secretive notions. Since Saber refused to talk about it, maybe Sonar will.

"Affirmative, Dinobot. Bring him in to the command center, and after that, I want you to head to the pod that Cheetor's team was investigating. It sounds like they need assistance," he said to the raptor via comm. link. "We'll take Sonar to the brig." Optimus knew none of this but he was certain he'd do the same.

(( OOC: I think I'll have Optimus back soon so he can fly off and help Rattrap's team as well. ))

[New Moon]

Frilla had gone silent for a bit as she could only listen to the others and what was going on, but raised an optic ridge when hearing that Sonar had gone down so easily thanks to DInobot. That surprised her a bit as she hadn't known Sonar to really go down quite that quickly before, nor allow himself to to be defeated by one of the Maximals like this so it must have been quite a hard hit to knock the rat with wings out. "Think that's got to be the quickest victory ever since we've been on this planet," Frilla said with a shake of her head, glancing towards the others with surprise as she waited to see Dinobot bring in her former teammate.

-----------------------

Feralnight braced herself the best she could from the impact as Terrorsaur hit the water, grunting as the impact jarred her body slightly and forcing her to try and grab onto...something. She could feel herself sinking slightly towards the deeper waters if Terrorsaur didn't let go but much to her relief he let go albeit painfully with her back being torn by his talons in the process. And if that wasn't bad enough it seemed the new Predacon femme wasn't exactly happy either and barely rolled out of the way to avoid the plasma spheres that had an exploding effect and barely avoiding being blown away yet again, something she was quickly growing tired of since it seemed to happen so often lately. "Swear, might as well have a sign that says 'explosion target here'."She muttered as she scrambled to her feet and out of the water, transforming to beast mode to allow her internal repairs to begin.

"Maybe Aerostriker, I'll have to check." Feralnight responded over her com-link back to him, realizing now her wing joints might have very well been damaged by those blasted talons of the transmetal pterodon. Spreading her wings the femme fuzor gave her wings a few tentative flaps, trying to lift herself off the ground but wincing as pain shot up her back causing her to do a quick diagnostics of her damage, and much to her dismay her internal computer confirmed the damage to the wing mechanisms. "That would be a negative, but I should be fine on foot for now. It'll take my internal repairs a little time to repair the damage enough to do so." She informed the transmetal flier before she folded her wings and quickly took off towards the trees, catching the scent of Silverstreak as well and quickly hurrying after the younger femme but seeing she seemed pretty dazed. "Silverstreak, are you alright? Or do you need a hand?"She asked with some concern.

((Sorry for not posting for a while everyone, but been a little hectic here. And lol nice GIF Worpex.))

[una]

((OOC: All right! Here is OOP and I's joint post between Optimus and Whitegrazer! Prepare yourselves! It's a long one! ))

"Probably not,"

Optimus's optics wandered around the room. She looked along with him to see what he was trying to found. Her master had this suspicious expression on his face. It was then she remembered that she had felt her master's presence lingering around Optimus during her search for him inside the Matrix. TyCross just sat there silently watching them from above. Her master never seemed forthcoming on details and ignored her questions when she asked what he had said to Optimus. Despite them being close, TyCross still was an engima. No matter what she knew about TyCross, there seemed to be more she didn't know. Or, at least, which she always tried to figure out, who he really was. That's the way he always wanted it.

He did promise her one day to show who he really was, but he hasn't fulfilled his promise yet.

Whitegrazer returned the same teasing smile as Optimus gazed at her once more.

"Well, are we going to fight or are you two going to stand there looking all oogly-eyed all day? Fight already! I want to see how long you can hold out!"

"I will make the first move."

She got into her fighting stance that she always got into in battle, wearing still the teasing smile. Watching as he transformed, she analyzed what move she should take. Based on what she did see, the transmetal forms had better armor and take a quite bit of hits, so she will have to be delicate in her moves. Starting with the basics was the best place to start.

Whitegrazer went forward with a simple palm strike to his chest area.

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"I will make the first move."

Nodding to Whitegrazer, Optimus drew one of his maces from his back with his left hand and flipped it up in the air before catching it by the handle with the same hand, awaiting her move while she got into position. His smile faded away while he concentrated.

As she came at him, Primal stepped forward and swung his mace in an upward motion at her arm that was striking with her palm in an attempt to deflect it. Immediately following his defense, he went to sweep his right foot at her left knee since most of his weight was already on his left foot.

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Her arm bent down from the mace's strike to her upper arm. Optimus's right foot came towards her left knee but before it hit its target, the right foot intersected it. The same arm that she used before came at him again, but instead of hitting his chest area, the palm went straight into his elbow joint to bend it. Her other palm came upon Optimus's chin to disorient him as the other arm worked its way to his mace, grabbing his wrist in a locking maneuver to force his hand out of reflex to drop it.

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Primal's sweeping foot came to a dead stop when Whitegrazer's leg blocked it. And upon seeing her hand try again, he went to intervene with his mace but her palm went straight into his elbow, bending his arm and almost hitting himself in the face with his own weapon. With the distraction of stopping that from happening, Optimus was caught off guard when her other palm suddenly came up and jabbed him in his chin, knocking his head back in a whiplash and causing him to exhale with a small grumble of pain.

While his systems quickly regained their orientation, his lower jaw sore from the blow, he felt the pressure on his wrist as the mare gripped it, trying to force him to drop his weapon. At first he was going to fight her but then decided to do just the opposite. Optimus released his mace in hopes that Whitegrazer was expecting a little more effort from him so that her second of surprise would be just enough to distract her and loosen her grip on his wrist. As soon as the weapon fell with a loud clang on the floor, he grabbed her arm that was holding his with his other hand and pivoted 180º on his feet so that his back was now facing her front and then immediately crouched down and pulled her arm forward, essentially trying to flip her over him and then release her.

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She didn't expect Optimus to let go of his weapon voluntarily. As she had let go of his wrist, he proceeded to turn his back towards her. Her optics went wide in shock yet her lips curled in a smile as her body went tumbling down to the ground headfirst. She rolled on her back and slid in a position where her legs pointed towards Optimus. The smile still on her face when she lifted her head off the ground to stare at Optimus with an impressed look.

TyCross had snickered and clapped like a little, eager child.

Rolling forward, she dived towards Optimus, but she knew Optimus was too smart to let her dive at him... unless he wanted to take the hit, which made her spark leap in anticipation. She rolled and stayed in a couch position like Optimus did earlier to sweep at his legs. After her sweep, she proceeded to use her other leg to kick him with her foot in the midsection followed by another palm strike to the chin.

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Optimus smiled down at Whitegrazer as she laid on the floor gazing up at him and picked up his mace, reattaching it to his back, allowing her to compose herself and make the next move. He stood there in an offensive position with his fists in front of him. Still sensing the presence of someone else there, he ignored it for now so as not to be easily distracted and lose his concentration. After all, doing that caused a great deal of pain on the battle field and he should be better focused by now after all of his battles and mistakes.

As she dived at him, Primal strafed to the side, but as quick and elegant as she was with her body movements, he wasn't prepared for her sweep kick. Pulling his feet out from underneath him, the Maximal leader fell to the floor but the palms of his hands hit first and stopped him from falling all the way, as if it looked like he got down to do push-ups. Pushing himself to his feet, he saw her other leg come at him and quickly caught her foot with his hands. Before she could try another strike at his chin which was still sore from her first upper cut, he twisted her leg with her foot and let it go. Then Optimus charged at her for a tackle, taking the defensive this time.

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She let another smile escape her when he caught her foot. Twisting it made her reflexes kick in to stay in her couch position. When Optimus let go of her foot, she rolled backward to see him come at her with a tackle. Part of her wanted to dodge.

TyCross was still giggling like a mischievous child, gazing at Optimus with a little smirk. He sensed that he sensed that he was there. He just didn't know who or what.

The other part won out. Optimus' entire weight crashed into her. Her whole body went tumbling backward, making her feel like a tumbleweed being blown by a harsh wind on a desert. Before she rolled into the boulder behind her, she allowed the force of the blow to help her in a standing upright position once more by having her hands touch the ground, then she propelled her legs up to gracefully placed down on the ground.

Looking at Optimus, she analyzed her last attacks as she got into a defensive position. Though her attacks were efficient, she realized that the only attack that really did the most damage was the one she gave to his chin. Maybe, despite the reinforced armor around his body, her best bet was to cooridnate her attacks towards either his head or legs? It seemed like it. She wondered if the others were like that? Was the transmetals form all the same or was it unique towards the individual? Many questions that would have to be answered later on when she does battle, but at least, she could test her endurance like she had intend in the first place. Already, she could still feel the pressure his tackle did to her. It echoed inside with a sting. Much more of a sting than his original form had. Hmmm... Very interesting.

Composing herself as best as she could--she was still alittle dizzy from the fall to the head and tumbling--, she walked forward with a calming stride. Her arms still in a defensive position towards Optimus. She came forward with a simple Jab Uppercut just to bring another round when her mind went back to several hours ago. When she was defending herself against Nemesis and the Predacon held Primal's sword against her.

"She spared me." Whitegrazer smiled brightly.

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Primal rolled once across the floor with Whitegrazer after he shoved his weight into her before stopping himself and getting to his feet while she continued to tumble a few more feet away from him. Watching her quick recovery, she was as graceful and effortless about it as a feather gently falling to the ground. How did she do that so well? And just like that, she was casually walking toward him again, ready for more.

Then, again, she tried another uppercut. Optimus tilted his upper body to the side as her hand narrowly missed while he brought up his arm to deflect her's. Taking a step back with one of his feet, he pulled back his other arm, balled his fist, and then threw it forward toward her abdomen. It wasn't at full force because Primal just wanted to see how much it a body like his would damage one like her's. If she could handle it, he would gradually add more power behind his blows. He pulled himself away from the mare when he noticed her expression that appeared to be somewhat distracted.

"She spared me."

"Who?" he asked, but then he thought about it for a moment. The only one she could be talking about. "Nemesis?"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Yes."

Whitegrazer grimaced as she felt the punch to the abdomen, but her expression told a different story. She looked at Optimus with the "I-know-you-are-holding-back expression. And Optimus knew full well the consequences of that.

"She could have," Whitegrazer used the force of the punch to propel her downward and her legs came down upon Optimus's head in a form of her thunderfall kick, "killed me. But she didn't." She continued her combo by striking the side of his head with her forearm to disorient him, "My spark came to life in the battlefield. All the pain I suffered in that battle caused one of the abilities I had lost because of the wound to came back to me in a single instant." Lowering herself, she sweeped her legs undernearth his and used the sole of her left foot to once again aim at the side of his head, "I saw what she looked like. Not from a physical sense, but spiritual. I saw her soul. It was familiar to me."

She stood upright, "I reached out to her, but she denied my hand."

"And yet, some of the words I told her must have reached her. I wonder... is she really contemplating my words? What is she feeling right now? No, I know what she is feeling. Confused. Frustrated. Angry." She glanced at Optimus curiously, "I can't assume anything, but from my past experience, if we meet again in battle, I have no doubt she will be eagerly waiting for that sword to be plunged into my spark chamber. I will just have to do my best to teach her serenity." Though, she wondered if Nemesis was out there right now in battle. Her emotions directed towards one of her friends. Her face expressed concerned towards the person in Nemesis's optics of fury.

Her smile turned gentle and warm as she gazed at Optimus. She had to let those thoughts disappear for a time. She will take that what it comes.
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"Yes."

Her answer was as intriguing as her expression after she took his punch to her stomach but showed no pain. Uh oh. Primal had a feeling that she was going to retaliate to an extreme. She knew. He could feel the excitement and energy from Whitegrazer's spark as she was about to release a combination of synchronized moves on him as a punishment for holding back.

"She could have," "killed me. But she didn't."

He was aware of that while he recalled Nemesis walking away from the mare with his old sword instead of using the opportunity to finish her off when he showed up. Optimus also remembered the condition that the female Predacon had left her in, and if the white equine had not been so close to the Axalon, Whitegrazer may very well have perished just from her injuries. The Maximal leader reached up to block his opponent's legs, and they took the brunt of the hit, but the force still pinched his neck and he felt the strain down his back as well as up the back of his head. He tried focusing on her words while she kept talking and attacking at the same time. Her soft and sweet voice that he was so grateful to hear because he was alive again.

"My spark came to life in the battlefield. All the pain I suffered in that battle caused one of the abilities I had lost because of the wound to came back to me in a single instant."

Having kept his arms up like a boxer, he shifted one to the side of his face to block her forearm which had hit pretty hard against his with her momentum behind it. What she was explaining sounded pretty significant, and at the same time he wondered what this was leading up to.

Suddenly, Optimus felt his legs kicked out from underneath him and he completely lost his footing in that free-fall feeling. As his hands instinctively braced for impact to try and stop his whole body from hitting the ground, there was a very hard and sharp pain to the side of his face and everything went black for a moment. Whitegrazer's foot connected with his head and it tossed him across the ground, rolling sideways a couple times before he stopped himself. His face throbbed from her kick.

"I saw what she looked like. Not from a physical sense, but spiritual. I saw her soul. It was familiar to me."

Familiar? In what way? he wondered as the muscular Maximal slowly got to his feet. He was dizzy for a moment until it wore off and his systems corrected themselves.

"And yet, some of the words I told her must have reached her. I wonder... is she really contemplating my words? What is she feeling right now? No, I know what she is feeling. Confused. Frustrated. Angry." "I can't assume anything, but from my past experience, if we meet again in battle, I have no doubt she will be eagerly waiting for that sword to be plunged into my spark chamber. I will just have to do my best to teach her serenity."

This truly interested the Commander. Was there a barrier Whitegrazer was able to break through with Nemesis in a way much different than the words he had exchanged with her himself when she was a prisoner in the Axalon's brig some time ago? "Have you ever had a moment when you realized you had bitten off more than you bargained for?" he asked her when his thoughts momentarily wandered to his darker days on Cybertron and his "scientific research." Optimus wanted to add his thoughts to Whitegrazer's words about Nemesis and what she was describing about her, but he remembered his promise to Decepticon-turned-Predacon and decided to continue keeping his word. "Don't underestimate her, Whitegrazer." Reaching back and pulling off his maces, he grasped each one in his hands before him and raced toward Whitegrazer. He added, "But don't assume she is a lost cause either. She has a conscience." Primal swung the mace in his left hand at her right side, whether it hit her arm or the side of her stomach it didn't matter; he was using a lot more force and speed now as she had with her combo. "I believe you may have got her thinking about her role in this war." Then he immediately followed with the mace in his right hand toward her chin for an upper cut. "She may have a dark and unfortunate past, but she's not as insane or murderous as everyone may think she is." After the mace attacks, he put all his weight on his left leg as he kicked up his right foot at her stomach. The old left hook, right hook, kick combo but with the power of a TransMetal upgrade.
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Whitegrazer was quite proud of what she had done as she could gaze into Optimus's optics, which now burned with the same energy she had awhile ago, "Yes, plenty of times, Optimus. Even now, no matter how mature and experience I am, I still make errors. There is always something to learn." Optimus had reached for his maces, but she didn't make a move to defend herself. This is what she had been waiting for, "No, I will never give up on her or anyone else like her. If I did, I would be betraying everything I believed in. That, to me, would be the greatest sin I will ever commit."

The mace crashed into the side of her stomach, cracking the exosketelon. The pieces stayed in place, but she had no doubt that if she moved, the pieces would fall, "People like her, Optimus. I have known all my life. They had been hurt and weakened. They feel violated and vulnerable. So they act out on those who hurt them, but most dangerous of all, they become to despise who they once were and go after those who are weak. To them, seeing such a weakness is a reminder of their own vulnerability and they are disgusted. They let their past control their actions and rule their lives." The mace hit against her chin, making her staggering backward, "In that moment she hesitated, Nemesis may think it differently, but I saw something. I saw something she had lost in all of those years she had suffered. It was small. Dim, but still leaked through. The past can never be erased nor can past actions be excused, but if a person is willing to change, we shouldn't deny the hand that needs our help nor should we give up on them if they refuse."

A punch hit her across the left and right side of her head. Her vision blurred. She felt the kick to her head. Her knees buckled, but she remained standing. No matter how painful it was, she was determined to remain on her feet, "We can forgive. But Optimus, can they?" The word "they" held more emphasis as her battered form stared at Optimus. Weakened physically yet inside the spark still burned. It sparked to life. Inside something was growing. "A person's worst enemy is his or herself. But there can be an enemy as great as that." She grabbed one of Optimus's fists that came at her. She twirled to him around as best as her last remaining strength could muster. Her chest bumped into his and her spark went grew even brighter, "Ones that we wear on our bodies and ones that we keep close to our sparks. It-"

Images of a red X came into her vision. A person strapped to a table. Screaming. Yelling. Guilt. Medical supplies crashing to the ground. Hands on head, rubbing. More screaming rung around. The creature danced around with two people holding one end of him down. Red X came into her mind again. The creature sealed into pod shipped into- why? why? WHY?

Her spark ached and whined, crashing against her chest plate like mad towards Optimus's own spark chamber. Crowds of people screaming at her. They pointed at her. Her body was craved without care in a flood of Predacon insignias. Some were bleeding. Some were rusted. The Maximal symbol that existed on her shoulder seemed like it was ripped from her by a cruel hand. She went on her knees. The Maximal symbol laid down on the dirty streets. She took it in her hands, quivering and crying. Why? Why? Why? Why so cruel?

As quickly as she saw these images, the quicker they disappeared. Her vision still blurred from the blows to the head. Her body was still close to Optimus. Her arms that were in a defensive position was now around him in an embrace like it was a reflex.

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"Yes, plenty of times, Optimus. Even now, no matter how mature and experience I am, I still make errors. There is always something to learn."

He couldn't agree more with her.

"No, I will never give up on her or anyone else like her. If I did, I would be betraying everything I believed in. That, to me, would be the greatest sin I will ever commit."

Optimus smiled lightly at Whitegrazer because he felt the same way about it, which was one reason why he often offered refuge for those who didn't believe in Megatron's ambitions or serving under such brutality and ego, allowing them to join under his command instead. Even if they didn't remain Maximals once they returned to Cybertron - IF they ever return home - and simply used him for his hospitality and compassion, at least he could say they were safe and they survived the war. Not all Predacons were bad and not all Maximals were good, but he strove to diminish those typical stereotypes between the two allegiances. After all, it didn't make them who they were.

"People like her, Optimus. I have known all my life. They had been hurt and weakened. They feel violated and vulnerable. So they act out on those who hurt them, but most dangerous of all, they become to despise who they once were and go after those who are weak. To them, seeing such a weakness is a reminder of their own vulnerability and they are disgusted. They let their past control their actions and rule their lives."

He had heard the damage he caused under his weapon as it crashed into her side and yet she didn't buckle. Primal hadn't even used his full strength and this was how fragile she was - physically - compared to a TransMetal. It wasn't exactly the best way to find out and he immediately regretted the attack. As her words filtered through his audio receptors, memories of X flashed in his mind. Another one in a similar situation as Nemesis and Arachnitron, a terrible experiment that should have never came to be who was pretty much indestructible. In many ways, his past influenced his decisions now, but he had tried turning it into a positive rather than a negative. He tried making up for his mistakes to redeem himself.

"In that moment she hesitated, Nemesis may think it differently, but I saw something. I saw something she had lost in all of those years she had suffered. It was small. Dim, but still leaked through. The past can never be erased nor can past actions be excused, but if a person is willing to change, we shouldn't deny the hand that needs our help nor should we give up on them if they refuse."

He had no doubt that there was hope with Nemesis, and certainly hope for Arachnitron, but when it came to Megatron, Optimus was certain he was a lost cause. The lack of remorse and the thirst to kill all of them for his own selfish needs was unfathomable and his pride would always get in the way. For a brief moment, he wondered what, if anything, she might see through that tyrant's barriers. What had he been through on Cybertron? What drove him to all of this? For that matter, what could she see in Primal's soul? It was such a unique gift that Whitegrazer had.

He watched her stagger after his hits and he stopped. What was he doing? Had he been blinded by fear or fury of her finding out something more about him? Why did he have to hide it from her? Although she didn't show it and was still standing on her feet, she was clearly in pain. Optimus never meant to go this far with their spar, but something about her made him push more.

"We can forgive. But Optimus, can they?"

Lowering his arms to his sides as she gazed upon him in her wounded state, he said softly and uncertainly, "I don't know..." Could his crew ever forgive him and what he used to be a part of? Would X hate what they did to him and hold it against them for the rest of his eternal life or empower his gift of invincibility?

"A person's worst enemy is his or herself. But there can be an enemy as great as that." "Ones that we wear on our bodies and ones that we keep close to our sparks. It-"

The Maximal leader was ready to take her next hit but she bumped into him and their chests met each other, their sparks pulling one another closer. The sensation was emotionally strong and the bond felt like two strong magnets that could not be pulled apart. However, when her train of thought was cut off, he assumed she must be feeling or seeing something. Was it coming from him? Could she sense his secret that he kept hidden away in a vault all this time? Was he just being paranoid? No, she saw something. He could feel her anxiety, much like what he had felt... where was it from before? In the Matrix. Yes, when TyCross did something to him. He couldn't remember what. Something about Whitegrazer. Visions of her? TyCross... He was there. That was the familiar presence he was picking up. But how...? Where?

Optimus suddenly felt Whitegrazer's arms wrap around him. He dropped his maces simultaneously and they clanged loudly on the floor as he returned her embrace and held her close. "Are you all right, Whitegrazer?" he asked her with concern in a gentle voice during their hug. He still avoided the topic of Protoform X since maybe she didn't know, but sooner or later everyone was going to find out because his stasis pod was out there somewhere just waiting to be discovered. What if Megatron got his hands on him first? What if it was one of the pods one of the Maximal teams had sought after today? What if he was ever activated again...?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whitegrazer was heavily breathing from the sudden burst from the connection they shared. The overwhelming burst of information as both of their sparks seemed to thrust upon each other something that was behind closed doors. Something they both kept inside for reasons of their own. She stood up as Optimus had released her from the embrace they shared and gazed at him. His expression full of guilt. It put her to shame that she hadn't controlled what occurred moments ago. She tried her best to regain her calm composure, "Optimus... I apologize."

It was something she hadn't felt in a very long time and she forgot how in intense situations, even those with a collected composure, could lose themselves to powerful emotions. But what can be seen can't be unseen and by the look on Optimus's face, she needed to reassure him and explain the intense aura around them, "When I was a young soldier back in the war, when the abilities I had were untamed and overwhelming, I used to peer inside people's souls... no...not just their souls, but things they kept close. Something they didn't feel comfortable sharing. In shame. Guilt. It wasn't until I saw how hurtful my speaking of such private matters was to others that I realized how my powers were very intimate and violating if I didn't learn discipline and control. Back then, I didn't get that for a very long time."

She walked towards Optimus to close the gap between them: to get close to him again and place a hand on his cheek, "Our connection is growing even strong than it was before. But what I saw here today... Isn't how I wished to witness it." She closed her optics before continuing, "I wanted to know more about you, but not like this. Not by seeing it with my abilities, but by your own will." She opened her optics and smiled at Optimus, "I promise to you that what I saw here today, I will not coerce it from you or ask of it from you. I will not pry you of details. And I know you will extend the same courtesy towards me." Her thumb caressed his cheek, "Maybe some day, we will be able to sit down and be ready to talk about what we saw of each other. When we are both ready to, of course. I'm sorry for any emotional turmoil I put you through."

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"Optimus... I apologize."

"No, there's no need to," he said calmly, and then bent down to pick up his twin maces and re-attached them to his back. Apparently it had gone both ways. But he wasn't sure what he saw about her. What did it mean? There was so much about Whitegrazer that he didn't know, just tiny hints and riddles that TyCross offered. It went both ways, however, because there were darker things about him that he simply didn't share with anyone. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to strike you so hard." She was definitely more beat up than he was and would not be fit for any battles on the field any time soon until she got repairs.

"When I was a young soldier back in the war, when the abilities I had were untamed and overwhelming, I used to peer inside people's souls... no...not just their souls, but things they kept close. Something they didn't feel comfortable sharing. In shame. Guilt. It wasn't until I saw how hurtful my speaking of such private matters was to others that I realized how my powers were very intimate and violating if I didn't learn discipline and control. Back then, I didn't get that for a very long time."

Standing there, processing the information, he looked curiously to her. He knew she meant well, and what she did was meant to happen and just a mistake. It certainly wasn't a bad thing what she could do, and since she had learned not to gossip about such secrets, to Optimus it was still a gift she had. It wasn't like she could ignore it or block it, especially in such intense situations.

"Our connection is growing even strong than it was before. But what I saw here today... Isn't how I wished to witness it."

His orange optics closed for a moment as he felt her hand on his cheek and listened to her soft voice. He winced just a tiny bit from his sore jaw and the side of his head where she had kicked him. Reaching up, he took her hand from his cheek into both of his hands, holding it to his chest, and pulled her closer. "It's not how I wanted you find out either," he agreed somberly, studying her face as she closed her optics. "It's something I don't want to take part in ever again and regret that I did in the first place."

"I wanted to know more about you, but not like this. Not by seeing it with my abilities, but by your own will." "I promise to you that what I saw here today, I will not coerce it from you or ask of it from you. I will not pry you of details. And I know you will extend the same courtesy towards me." "Maybe some day, we will be able to sit down and be ready to talk about what we saw of each other. When we are both ready to, of course. I'm sorry for any emotional turmoil I put you through."

Primal shook his head and said with a small smile, "It's all right. After all, it's something I will have to face again. Soon, I fear. And explain it to everyone. I don't know if I will be forgiven or trusted, but it's a burden and I'll have to confront it." His gaze shifted back and forth between her eyes, thinking and absorbing the moment. "Every one of us have our pasts and secrets. Unless it puts another in harm's way, I do not question it or pry. Whenever you're ready, pull me aside. My door is always open for you and everyone. Until then, all I have are fragments of TyCross's injections and what you've shown me." He chuckled lightly, incapable of piecing it all together but it didn't matter. He'd rather hear it all from her when she would feel the time was right. "I trust you, Whitegrazer. And no matter what, we will always have each other, our bond, and nothing will be able to break it." Leaning in to her, his lips met her's and he kissed her sweetly.

"I will tell you. Soon," Optimus promised. Why wait? She knew some of it already. But because he should get back on duty, he thought this was the best place to end their sparring match. "I had better report to the bridge and find out what has been happening with the teams. And you better get repairs." His left hand very gently settled on the cracked armor on the side of her chest, feeling her pain with her from the close proximity of their sparks, and wishing he could heal it with a simple wave of his hand. Of course, that was not the case, and she would likely need a CR.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The red X still lingered in her mind just like the soft kiss he had given her, "All right. I will go get myself repaired. Thank you for your understanding, Optimus, and trust." She watched as he had walked out of the simulation, but before he left, she spoke out with smile, "And again, thank you for the sparring match. Now, I have some assurance that those, like myself, who aren't Transmetals still have a chance in the battlefield." Despite what had happened, she did learn a great deal about the Transmetal forms. At least, she knew how to combat them. She would just have to increase her endurance, especially when she entered into a long, brutal battle with them.

When Optimus left, she stood for a moment still. Her spark was still burning inside her, glowing brightly. Looking up towards TyCross, who was now clapping, she gave him a stern look, "You knew that would happen, didn't you?"

TyCross laughed, "Yes, yes, I did. You let your powers lay dormant for some time. They are weakening. That battle with Nemesis sparked something within you and it is growing. Your powers are resurfacing again. Slowly but still as powerful as ever. You wanted to spar with Optimus anyway. You got what you wanted. So did I. I got to see a brutal fight and you learned something from your fearless leader. By not talking, but using your power! Talking is overrrated! "

Whitegrazer shook her head, and her spark sank with the idea of her master's manipulative actions, "You promised that you wouldn't do that again."

"Old habits die hard. I'm not a nice bot. You know that."

"It was an invasion of his privacy. It is uncivilized and a violation of a sentient being's rights."

"The lives of the many are more important than the rights of a few."

"That statement doesn't match the context of this situation."

TyCross did a raspberry at her like a child not listening to a parent. Though, in her case, it was vice versa. "Maybe. Maybe not. But it is something I think you have forgotten. Cybertronian society, laws, nicties, or whatever your small-minded people call it. You forget to think big. Big! You think little!"

"Don't use insults, TyCross."

TyCross waved his hands in the air, "Don't you see?! I bought you here for a reason? A greater purpose! You limit yourself, Whitegrazer. Everything you think you can't do, you can. You just let the others get in the way of it. The rules of this world are meaningless! I bought you here for a reason."

"You told me that you wanted me to see something, explaining who you are and as you put it, my raison d'etre."

"You have seen my true form, but did you figure it out? Nope. Think, Whitegrazer, think! And get yourself a CR chamber before your whole torso falls off again. My goodness! Every time I see you lately, you are hurt. Get out of here! We will talk later!" TyCross was about to disappear.

"Wait! What did you do to Optimus?"

"Nothing! It was something innocent. Though, next time, maybe I should change my form to something that would be less dangerous. Maybe yours? No, I can't get your impression right. Too bad. It would had been hilarious! Oh well! Bye!"

"But-" She sighed.

A lingering aura still hung in the air. It may be awhile before she came here again. Maybe as she was getting herself repaired, she could mediate about what just happened.

She exited.

[Alak]

((OOC: Holy longpostbatman! Good job with the collaboration!))

BIC

Orcariner closed yet another video log and scrolled down to click the next one. He found it hard to believe that more time had passed since Icebreaker's death than he had realized. Either that, or perhaps so much has happened in the past month that those events seemed to have occurred an eternity ago. The giant Maximal continued pressing his finger against the fast-forward button, skimming all of the images that flew by on the hologram. Part of him wondered if it was really worth putting this much effort into finding out who killed his best friend.

Do I really need the closure?

He had already moved on from that moment, or so he thought until Optimus brought up Icebreaker's name. Orcariner put himself through a lot of dark thoughts, and rose above that horrible moment. He was a rejuvenated Maximal now, and he even had the shiny new body to prove it. Still, curiosity was a powerful force of nature. Closing the screen, Orcariner found himself automatically moving on to the next day's video log. This time, he snapped to attention and straightened up. Maximals were frantically moving on screen, and Orcariner instantly knew that this was the day that the Predacons had invaded the Axalon using the heavily modified Leviathan ship.

"Yes!" he softly cheered as he finally found the correct file.

Orcariner adjusted the forwarding speed on the video player so that it would slow down just enough for him to not miss the exact moment of Icebreaker's death. It did not take very long for him to see his friend appear on screen. Immediately hitting the play button, the orca's optics widened and his spark began to pulsate at a more intense rate. It was very strange to see his deceased friend on screen. The only images he had seen since that day were just the memories of their adventures ingrained in his mind.

Sounds like your boss is calling.. Maybe you should listen. Tell you what.. I'll trade you this slightly damaged bat for the lizardgirl.. But the Spider has to make the choice for herself as to where she wants to go.. Nemesis isn't on the table to bargain. Clocks ticking..

The penguin appeared to be holding Sonar hostage. He was speaking to a Predacon facing away from the camera, but there was a strong sense of familiarity that Orcariner could not immediately identify.

"Look, pal, how do you suppose-"*BLAM*

The sound of the shot made Orcariner jolt in his seat. It was so sudden and he was shocked by its abruptness. Icebreaker's head was shattered from the point-blank shot, having only minor pieces remaining as the body slumped to the ground. The orca continued to stare at the holographic screen without blinking. He knew that his friend was shot in the head, but he had never actually seen the footage of it. It was terrifying. Orcariner had been shot at so many times, and he had even witnessed other Maximals such as Optimus endure firepower from the enemy. Yet, this was different. Icebreaker was not as bulky or durable as the giant sentry. Seeing his head fall apart so easily was absolutely mortifying, and it was a cold reminder that some of Orcariner's teammates were rather fragile. The Predacon pumped his shotgun and proceeded to fire upon Wintersong, but Orcariner hit the pause button. Rewinding the video again, he watched and listened very closely to the footage.

"Look, pal, how do you suppose-"*BLAM*

Pause. Rewind.

"Look, pal, how do you suppose-"*BLAM*

Pause. Rewind.

"Look, pal, how do you suppose-"*BLAM*

Orcariner's optics narrowed, "I know that voice."

Pause. Rewind.

"Look, pal, how do you suppose-"*BLAM*

He allowed the video feed to keep playing this time. The voice was definitely belonging to someone he knew, but Orcariner could not figure out why he was drawing a blank. Was it because the Predacon's back was facing the camera? Was it because Orcariner could not rely on his scanners to automatically identify people's names for him?

"Alright, we're heading out."

"Steelclaw, Snow Trix, Sonar, I'm giving you two choices. Surrender or retreat. You're outnumbered and surrounded. And your transport is pulling out."

Orcariner's jaw dropped. He could not believe it.

"We were just leaving, but we'd better go unhindered- you may assume too little of us. It might surprise you, but I've wanted to ride one of these elevators for the longest time."

He watched the screen as Steelclaw exited the Axalon's bridge with Snow Trix and Sonar close behind. Of all of the possible suspects Orcariner had in mind, Steelclaw was the very last Predacon he would have even fathomed to have taken a life. The orca turned off the video screen and stood up from his desk. There was no way he could stay seated now.

"How... why... he wouldn't..."

Steelclaw was the one who fought side-by-side with Orcariner down in the Vok Labyrinth. He was the one who saved the big guy's life, especially in that final battle against the orca's clone. Had it not been for the Beast Wars, he would have even considered Steelclaw to be his friend and brother-in-arms. The confused giant tried so hard to push out the very idea that this Predacon could have been responsible for such a cold-blooded murder. Yet, there was the evidence sitting on his desk. It was Steelclaw who pulled the trigger and he had even attempted to kill Wintersong, too. Not to mention the fact that he left the Maximal ship without a look of regret on his face.

An emotional force swelled in Orcariner's spark. It was a terrible rage that overtook him, but not one of battle-lust. It was purely a craving for vengeance. Grinding his teeth, the giant slammed his fist into the hangar bay's wall, leaving a sizable dent in the thick sheet of metal.

I'm going to kill him.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: figured it was time to squeeze in the beginning of Big T's psychic threat to BA during Tangled Webs, one of his creepier moments

Una wrote: Her little two front legs hugged together as she let her eyes flutter at the fuzor, "Oh! I'm all right now!" Her voice changed into a woman who had been saved by her prince, "Thanks to you, Quickstrike." She fluttered her eyes alittle more for encouragement as Quickstrike was fixing her cart for her. When he wasn't looking, she went back to rolling her optics and her expression went back to a frown, looking out to see Tarantulas and Arachnitron still on the move. She gazed back at Quickstrike, who was still busy putting her stuff back up there, and smiled deviously. He was dumb as rocks like a wild cowboy, but he had his uses.

As he finished loading her stuff, she came to him and had one of her front legs graze against his chin, luring the Predacon even more under her little web of manipulative seduction, "You are a life saver. Now, we should catch up with others." Her voice sounded preppy and let her optics gaze at Quickstrike once again.

Tarantulas, deciding Blackarachnia had not suffered enough humiliation for one day, or perhaps not liking the idea of her becoming too cozy with the clueless Quickstrike, seeing all too well that she was trying to seduce witness fuzor as she had once done him, Tarantulas sent a psychic wave of pain through her system to remind her she was and would remain on a short leash.

"What a gullible fool he is" Tarantulas telepathically mused inside BA's head, delighting in her confusion and fear as he sense of freedom vanished in an instant, "Forgotten our mental cyber link she spider? Well I haven't."

Blackrose wrote:
Arachnitron flashed Blackarachnia a smug smile before turning away to head back towards Tarantulas and the site of the refueling station. She surprised herself actually. She suddenly didn't feel like herself.

Eventually, she did catch up to Tarantulas and he murmured something to her as they continued forward.

"That was sneaky and underhanded by dear...Well done"



She grinned pleased with herself and pleased that Tarantulas had been pleased as well. Perhaps she had more of the Predacon within her than she initially thought.

"Don't mind me for a minute or two my dear, just reminding my slave where she stands in our new arachnid pecking order" Tarantulas assured his assistant, the energon cavern finally within sight of the two spiders.

Wildfire94 wrote: Cheetor knew Rhinox was right but for now he turned off his com-link, trying focus on rescuing Feralnight and SIlverstreak and backing up Aerostriker the best he could alongside his unexpected ally. But with seeing the transmetal bird's strike on Megatron that sent the Predacon leader flying some feet away and finally seeing Feralnight free of Terrorsaur Cheetor saw it was now or never, "All Maximals retreat at once! We're too out numbered and this protoform has made her allegiance clear, let's move out now...AAGH!" Cheetor barely avoided a strike from Megatron's fusion cannon, seeing the tyrant was becoming incredibly angry and his fire power was maxed out to it's fullest, which meant they had to move fast! But first there was the matter of helping the injured equine getting free of the ninja Umbra. "Hang on Onyx, I got you!" He called, ducking a shot from Spineback as he began firing upon the octopus, moving close as he could within the shallows but not enough it would affect his systems.

Onyx meanwhile found himself struggling against Umbra, quite surprised at how strong this mech really was with the tentacles he had and his Friction Rifle would prove useless as it had dropped when he was caught in the "jaws" of the crocodile and was being dragged towards the murky waters. "This is nothing personal Umbra but I cannot follow a leader such the likes of Megatron, and if that means having to cut you down to size I will." The black mech stated as his swords ejected again from his wrists and he began slashing at the tentacles dragging him down into the water as Cheetor was firing upon his soon to be former teammate. Though even if he held high respect for Umbra in the short time he worked with the cyber ninja for now he had to view the mimic octopus as an enemy, finding that for now his place would be with the Maximals until he would return to Cybertron.

Both mechs for now began workig to try and get Onyx free, striking or shooting upon the aquatic Predacon in hopes he might get the message to let go.

For Silverstreak the shot from Megatron had sent her flying slightly, hitting a tree in a similar fashion to Feralnight which left her in pain and her shoulders punctured by Megatron's shots. She groaned slightly as she eventually began to stand, though turned when she heard the sound of trees beginning to fall and yelped as she ducked, barely missing being a target for Cecaelia's careless shots and forcing the young vixen to quickly duck to the right to avoid the collapsing tree and making her shake her head, "Never met such a ditzy Predacon before." She muttered but growled as she was blasted off her feet by Spineback's next round of shots, sending her flying into the brush behind her and landing hard enough it knocked the wind out of her. For now the entire world seemed to spin around her, faintly hearing Cheetor's yell that they needed to retreat but found her body not responding to her dazed state.

A few moments past though that she finally could bring herself to move, shifting back to beast mode and stumbling a bit at first as she moved to make her retreat until finally making her run for it.

"Spineback! The octopus is one of our own, give him backup against the feline and the traitorous horse! The little birdy is MINE" Megatron commanded, hovering in midair as he recharged his fusion cannon, firing a barrage of shoulder cannon fire at the maximal flyer in the mean time.

Naitokage wrote:
Stag then suddenly spoke up Evade!

A sudden burst of thrust came from his shoulder, side, and leg as he evaded Megatron's fusion blast. He then started to climb in altitude flying straight towards Megatron, before pulling off in a strafing arc to Megatron's left as his head guns flipped down firing a few rapid bursts of laser fire at the tyrant's upper body and side (Firepower:6), it wouldn't penetrate, but it was likely to irritate him further.

After the attack, he flew backwards swiftly above the destroyed trees piled from Cecaelia's beam attack. Using the situational data from Stag, Aerostriker became aware of Feralnight's attack on Terrorsaur,having likely damaged her, as well as Cheetor still being functional. He activated his comlink on Feralnight's frequency Feralnight, can you still fly? he then asked, keeping his optics on Megatron, starting his system's lock ons for his micro missiles, but not firing them yet.

At the corner of his optic on his hud, his fuel gauge continued to drop. Just from his evasive maneuvers, flight, and firing the charge shot he was going down to 65% fuel.

Meanwhile Stag activated his comlink Situational assessment, Silverstreak what is your vital status, do you require evac?

Annoyed but unharmed by Aerostriker's pitiful excuses for firepower, and noticing that he was beginning to slow down somewhat after all that fancy flying, Megatron retorted "I'd worry less about your friends and more about yourself, yesss!"

With a sudden burst of speed uncharacteristic of the predacon tyrant until his recent upgrade granted him jet engines, something the flyer couldn't have been aware of just yet, Megatron crash tackled the maximal, bringing the two of them crashing down to the swamp below, water and muck erupting all around them.

Emerging from the waters like an angry sea monster, Megatron lifted the dazed Aerostriker up by the neck, his fusion cannon created steam from the heat making contact with the water.

"First rule of combat, never underestimate your opponent, a lesson you've learned too little too late" Megatron gloated, releasing his grip only to slap the maximal across the face with his cannon, sending him flying head over heels before finally releasing a fully charged fusion blast straight at him, being careful to toss the maximal in the opposite direction from his own troops.


Meanwhile, Terrorsaur finally emerged from the swamp, somewhat battered and scorched from the explosion and the rough landing, but still functional, but looking rather miserable and miffed.

"Rotten little runt! I'll...Well, well, well, look who joined the party" Terrorsaur mused, forgetting Feralnight and instead taking in the sight of Cheetor's struggles against Spineback and Umbra.

"That kitten's well overdue for a good slagging, RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed as he jetted after Cheetor, eye beams firing in quick bursts at the cat's unprotected back as he fought alongside the traitor Onyx.

[Phoenix]

"I am no Prime.... Predacon. You will not find any mercy here. And you shall only die when I say so"

Nemesis had been approaching, almost casually, with the flaming sword firmly gripped in one hand, when the male's words caused her to slow down for a moment. Tilting her head, a faint smile traceable on her lips, she managed to suppress the burst of laughter that was forcing its way out. Barely.

"How unfortunate for you..," she retaliated in a matter-of-fact tone, "..given the uncanny ability anyone carrying the name Prime has to return from the dead."

The smile broadened a bit as she watched him draw his cannons, yet she did not appear nervous at all.

"You think those are going to save you? My oh my, you must be new to this game."


Her voice held a mocking tilt to it, her entire demeanor making it blatantly clear she was certainly not foreign to the concept of killing someone. Indeed, during the short time she had been on this planet she was responsible for several Maximal deaths. A few more would hardly make any difference to her hands soiled with their mech fluid and her already blackened soul. Yet tempting as it was to use the old tactics of holding his team members' deaths against him, to tease and torment him like she had done to others, she decided against it. This particular Maximal did not strike her as the caring type so she doubted he would be bothered by such sentimentality.

"You speak of not giving mercy when it's in fact you who should be on his knees, begging for it," she reminded, skillfully swirling the flaming sword in her hand, "Your friends have already retreated, deserting you to your fate. Thus they cannot help you.. and none of them will to hear your dying screams of agony."

She shifted her gaze from the flaming sword to her opponent, still standing his ground only a short distance away. Either this Maximal was too foolhardy or simply too stubborn to make a run for it. It hardly mattered.


In a sudden move she leaped forward, the flaming sword coming crashing down against Ironclaw's extended wrists in a move that would surely cut his arms off unless he withdrew swiftly.

[Warwulf]

"Yeah, it is, 'Bolt! He's a Pred! He's made his choice! If dere's a time to convince him otherwise, it ain't now," RT explained over a comm. link transmission with Silverbolt, annoyed that everyone except Airazor was ignoring his orders. "We ain't here for a battle that ain't worth fightin'. And we got no communication with the base to call for back-up, so we're leavin'! Hug yer new mantis friend there good-bye and get yer feathered butt outta here!"

Just in case it wasn't clear before, "Retreat NOW! Dat's an order!" he demanded over all of the Maximals' comm. links.

Silverbolt hated to admit it, but the battle was lost. The new arrival was already willingly in the enemy's clutches and his comrades were disengaging from the combat. Reluctantly, the bitter reality set in... his first official mission with the Maximals was a failure... and he had failed his comrades. Had he somehow blundered? Was there something to be done differently? These were all thoughts and feelings that could be processed later back at base. Silverbolt shook his head. "Beast mode," he muttered dejectedly.

One of Silverbolts wing missles hit Manterror straight in the chest and he fell backwards from the impact. The mantis lay on his back, slighly dazed. He hasn't been expecting the fuzor to do that move! Slowly, he got back up to his feet again. His chest had a huge black hole in the middle of it. "So you want to fight dirty, huh?" He said to Silverbolt. His body was just barely keeping him sustained, one more hit and he would be down for good. Still, he pressed on!! In a frisbee like motion, he moved his body so to launch a saw blade towards Silverbolt from both claws. His blades launched towards his victim at full speed and hoped to end this battle once and for all!!

Silverbolt took to the air to fall back with his fellow Maximals. As he lifted off, he just managed to glimpse Manterror launching a pair of saw blades at him. With a couple mighty flaps of the wings, Silverbolt was able to gain some extra altitude and almost clear the saw blades; one of the saw blades just grazing him as they passed, dislodging a spray of fur and feathers. Silverbolt banked and gave a half-hearted salute to Manterror.

"I'm afraid I have to take my leave of you," he called down to Manterror. "Perhaps some other time."

With that, he climbed up and away from his adversary and into the fog bank. He could still make out the hazy outline of the terrain, but it's details were lost to him. After a moment of flying, Silverbolt decided to check in Rattrap to see where he should reconviene with the others. "Silverbolt to Rattrap, I'm on my way. What is our rally point?" He asked over the comm. Then, after a beat with no response. "Rattrap?" He did not think it like Rattrap not to respond, especially given the heated radio chatter earlier. Silverbolt thought it best to go investigate.

Silverbolt banked sharply to the right and descended below the fog. Airazor was laden with Rattrap's additional weight. I should have seen them by now.

As he came towards a clearing in the distance, a small speck caught his optics. As he came about, he could see Airazor laid out in the clearing amid a flurry of feathers. "Airazor!" he remarked aloud. "Rattrap!" he followed as he spied his other fallen comrade. He descended to the clearing below and landed beside Rattrap, the closer of the pair. Silverbolt approached, still in beast mode. His snout, inches away from Rattrap's face, took a few sniffs to assess his fellow Maximal's situation... and instantly regretted it.

"Ugh, by the Matrix!" he exclaimed covering his nose, as the intense aroma overwhelmed his olfactory circuits. With a not-so-gentle shove with his paw, he nudged Rattrap with his paw.

[una]

"What a gullible fool he is" Tarantulas telepathically mused inside BA's head, delighting in her confusion and fear as he sense of freedom vanished in an instant, "Forgotten our mental cyber link she spider? Well I haven't."

Her head began pounding with a vengeance. Her front two legs held her head as Tarantulas tried to dominate her mind, cracking the whip. It didn't matter if he knew her game, but she couldn't stand that he was still in her head. No, no, she hasn't forgotten, "Tarantulas." She growled under her breath, demanding her to release her now. He talked big when he was actually doing the same thing she was. Talking about gullible fools! He was right next to one too! She didn't miss Arachnitron little smirk towards her. Oh ho ho ho! The little widow should be worried about her own mind too, especially with Tarantulas. "You should watch your back, Tarantulas." She bit back at him.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whitegrazer had taken a CR chamber close to the holonet. She really didn't want to go to bridge's one since she really was a mess with the injury on her side. As she entered, the chamber's door closed and darkness sat in. It was best that she also used this moment to clear her mind, thinking about what had just occurred between Optimus and her. After all, it wasn't just her seeing what laid within Optimus. He saw hers as well. But Optimus... he didn't seem to quite understand what he had saw. She chuckled. That went the same with her and she promised to tell him when she was ready. She really wasn't ready yet. Not that she didn't trust Optimus. No. Definitely not that. It was a fear she she didn't like to express. Well, she really didn't want to meditate on that yet.

She attempted to see if she getting a clearer perspective on what she saw with Optimus. That red X appeared. Screaming. People running. A bot on the table. Ah! Her spark expressed pain. No. Nothing came to her. Too little data, which was weird. She should have saw it all. Not pieces or vague information. That didn't make sense. Unless...

"It was only second hand. He wasn't there. Whatever it is he feels guilty about, it wasn't something he was directly involved."

Should she research it? Gather more detail? What did that red X mean? Maybe there was something in the database on the Axalon like she did about Steelclaw's friend. Hmmm.

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: Happy thanksgiving (to those of you who celebrate) and happy Hanukkah as well (to those of you who celebrate)!

@OOP: It would have been so much easier if you went with your original idea of sending Dinobot to Rattrap's group. I've actually been following that line of the story since my character is a part of it. I have no idea what's been going on with the Spineback pod rescue.

BIC:

"Affirmative, Dinobot. Bring him in to the command center, and after that, I want you to head to the pod that Cheetor's team was investigating. It sounds like they need assistance," he said to the raptor via comm. link. "We'll take Sonar to the brig." Optimus knew none of this but he was certain he'd do the same.

"Affirmative," Dinobot responded. He hefted Sonar over his shoulder and carried him into the command center for Rhinox to lock up.

Then, he headed on his way to aide Cheetor and the others.

"Dinobot to Cheetor. I am on my way to your location to provide backup." Dinobot said over his comms.

When he arrived there, he waited in the brush along side the action to get an idea of what was going on. He noticed that Terrorsaur had been battling Aerostriker and Feralnight, but had suddenly turned his sights onto Cheetor. Cheetor appeared to not notice as he had doubled back to help.....who? Onyx??! The black stallion Predacon? The others seemed to be attempting to regroup and retreat. He noticed Silverstreak down and she seemed a bit dazed.

He turned back to Cheetor. At the moment, Umbra, the new protoform and Terrorsaur all had their sights on him. He didn't have time to question Cheetor's judgement in going after the equine. He emerged from the bushes shield in hand and turned towards Terrorsaur.

"It seems I've arrived just in time!" Dinobot remarked before shooting his eye lasers in Terrorsaur's direction.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"All right. I will go get myself repaired. Thank you for your understanding, Optimus, and trust."

She had better, thought Optimus, knowing how Whitegrazer often pushed herself to the limit and refused repairs at times. What had happened still lingered with him, as well as his sore jaw as he rubbed it gingerly with his hand. While he didn't quite understand what he had seen of her, it still felt traumatic and horrifying. And then there was what she got from him... Something he didn't want anyone to know about. At least not yet. But it was inevitable. Someone was bound to stumble across the stasis pod and he'd have to explain the danger. He hoped it wouldn't be Megatron but only time would tell. They couldn't possibly know where it had fallen after the Vok forced every pod out of Earth's orbit. As Primal walked to the bridge, he could feel Whitegrazer communicating with someone. Most likely TyCross judging by how bright her spark felt and then suddenly sank. After a few moments, she seemed calmer and her spark's repetition slowed down and relaxed. He hoped that meant she had gotten herself to a CR and was resting after such an intense sparring match.

An internal alarm of a couple beeps alerted Optimus of an activation to a certain file he had locked away from the ship's computer. Someone had accessed the footage he desperately kept from curious eyes. Footage that shouldn't be seen over and over because of its brutality and gruesome truth. Had it been Orcariner? It was likely him since Primal foolishly blurted out that message from Icebreaker. Fool! he called himself. But would the orca have subjected himself to such torture to find the truth? The Maximal Commander would have told him eventually when he thought the time was right and the whale could handle the emotional outburst that was bound to tag along with it. Where was he? He hoped he'd find him in the commander center as he entered, but no, he was absent.

"Think that's got to be the quickest victory ever since we've been on this planet,"

If only every battle was that easy, Rhinox thought somberly to Frilla's comment.

"Where's Orcariner?" Optimus asked them with a little concern as he walked up to Aurora and stood beside her. He managed a small smile to her despite the current happenings.

"Haven't seen him, Optimus. I wasn't aware he had finished repairs," the engineer replied.

Disappointed with the answer, Primal figured he'd find him soon enough, and hoped he wouldn't do anything without rational thinking first. "Status report on the teams recovering the pods."

"The Predacons reached the pod in sector Zeta three-three-five first. Cheetor reported heavy combat and that Megatron had acquired the protoform as a Predacon."

Could it have been X...? With such little detail on the matter, Primal tried assuming it wasn't him but another Predacon they had been transporting in the Axalon. ...Assuming the Preds hadn't tampered with its programming. Before anything else could be said, Dinobot entered the bridge and handed a beat up Sonar to Rhinox and then promptly left.

"Our nuisance outside of the base that Dinobot subdued," Big Green explained to their leader as he held the bat in his arms and stood up. "I figured we might as well take him prisoner again and find out what's going on between him and Saber-Fang."

Optimus nodded thoughtfully as he studied the unconscious Predacon.

"I've sent Dinobot to aid Cheetor's team. As for Rattrap's, I haven't heard from them at all yet. The long distance and curvature of the planet makes communication impossible, however, I thought they would be finished and returning on their way by now. If that was the case, they would have reported in as soon as they were in range again." There was some worry in Rhinox's voice.

"All right. Take him to the brig and we'll try to establish a transmission to Rattrap," Primal said.

Nodding, Rhinox carried Sonar out of the room and off to the brig.

"Frilla, have we been able to updated our long-range communication for the ship?" ((OOC: I expect a no out of this if she answers. )) If there had been a way around it, surely Rhinox and/or she would have found it by now and tried communicating with Rattrap's team, but Optimus wanted to cover all corners of the matter and walked up to the radio console. Maybe the frilled lizard would have an idea. Using the moon was out of the question because it had set already. And there were no clouds in the sky right now. Before letting her answer, the leader attempted to open a transmission in case they might have been on their way back by now.

"Rattrap, this is Optimus, do you copy?" his voice carried. Nothing came back but static. "Rattrap? Wintersong? Anyone?" Static. The distance was still too great. So were they delayed because of a battle? It shouldn't have taken them this long.

(( OOC: I'm leaving my post off there to give everyone involved a chance to respond and catch up, and buying some time to wait and see what Wintersong and the Preds do at Buster's location before Optimus takes off. ))

-----

"Right behind you two Rattrap."

"Silverbolt to Rattrap, I'm on my way. What is our rally point?" "Rattrap?"

He recalled hearing Wintersong's voice but never even received Silverbolt's transmission because of the blast blowing him and Airazor right out of the sky.

"Ugh, by the Matrix!"

The TransMetal rat slowly opened his neon green eyes, groaning a little from the pain that seemed to be wrapped around his entire body. He cringed a little from the first thing he saw in his face being Silverbolt. Ugh, why him? Rubbing his aching head with one of his paws, Rattrap suddenly remembered what happened. Where was she? Was she okay? "Where's Airazor?!" he asked in a panic while he wobbled to his feet. Without waiting for an answer, he peered past the Fuzor in front of him and saw the falcon laying on the ground motionless. Was she in stasis? Just unconscious?

"Do somethin' right today, 'Bolt, and go help Airazor," he told the bird-dog. "Find out if she's okay." Judging by the looks of her, though, she looked like she was out cold and heavily damaged. Rattrap guessed they might be carrying her back. How he wished they could contact the Axalon and request back-up, but the distance was too great. They were on their own unless someone back at base would assume they'd need help by now. It wasn't looking good for them.

Maximizing to his robot mode, Rattrap looked in the direction where Wintersong was approaching them from. Good. The only one he didn't see rendezvousing with their group was Ironclaw. No surprise. He had been ignoring his orders all day. "Slagging badger," he cursed impatiently and angrily. "Get outta there, Ironclaw! Do you hear me?!" he called over his comm. link. If he didn't comply, Rattrap and Wintersong would have to go back and remove him. And risk being killed by the Predacons.

[NaitoKage]

( OOC:

NK, it's Wildfire not Wildride. The first time I saw you type that before many posts ago I didn't say anything because I thought it was just a typo, but this time I felt I should correct you.

It was a typo, Guess my I'm just getting more glitchy in my old age. Though oddly enough Wildride is a transformer name. Well, I best get to posting. )

"I'd worry less about your friends and more about yourself, yesss!"

Aerostriker was taken back, mostly at the fact something built like a slow tank could suddenly accelerate so quickly with a energon turbine. Being knocked into the water, there wasn't much Aerostriker could do, Megatron was twice his size and 10 times his weight. He grabbed Megatron's arm as the metal around his neck started to crumple.

"First rule of combat, never underestimate your opponent, a lesson you've learned too little too late"

Being released and smacked across the face, his head felt like it nearly came off from the blow, a spray of sparks and metal coming from the right side of his face as he was knocked back by Megatron.

As the following Fusion cannon blast came, Stag suddenly spoke up Evade!. In the instant, Stag's thruster, as well as Aerostriker's own reaction control system kicked in having a spray of thrust come from multiple points of his body as he launched out of the way of the blast, tumbling to the ground.

Getting up he swapped Stag into his left hand, holding the right side of his face, Aerostriker's face sparked from exposed internals, his visor broken across Ug..Well..You've certainly proved your point. Since you're so tough.. I wont have to hold back. he then lowered his right hand with a sneer.

He hopped back as he activated his foot rocket thrusters to gain some quick distance, then fired all six of his chest micro missiles towards Megatron. As the missiles closed in, they did something unexpected. They exploded in midair infront of the tyrant from the activation of their proximity fuse, a shower of fire and tungstun shrapnel tearing into his body from multiple directions as the explosion hit. (FIrepower:8 X 6)

Even with Aerostriker's own impressive speed, the energy of the explosion sent shrapnel toward him in the distance, though less energetic further from the epicenter, the pieces tore into and impaled into his frail armor as he started to drop in altitude towards the ground, a trail of smoke following.

_________________________________

As the massive explosion hit, Umbra turned distracted from Onyx now focused towards Megatron's direction, then in shock called out Lord Megatron!

____________________


As the arachnids moved through the desert, Quickstrike looked up towards the cavern in the distance, he looked around at the environment, mostly burnt or dead trees. This place looks like a dump.. just like home. he muttered to himself.

[Night-Hunter]

Sonar was dumped unceremoniously into the brig, where the sudden impact with cold hard floor roused the bat back to consciousness with a small groan.

"You treat all your guests this nice?" Sonar asked opening his optics, he had to blink a few times to clear his blurry vision.

((OOC: I can totally see Rhinox doing that. XD))

[DarkSpark]

OOC: My apologies if I missed anyone during my reply, if so lemme know and I'll correct it. At any rate, I watched the Walking Dead mid season finale last night, so I hope everyone gets my little inside joke in this post >;3

Una wrote: Her head began pounding with a vengeance. Her front two legs held her head as Tarantulas tried to dominate her mind, cracking the whip. It didn't matter if he knew her game, but she couldn't stand that he was still in her head. No, no, she hasn't forgotten, "Tarantulas." She growled under her breath, demanding her to release her now. He talked big when he was actually doing the same thing she was. Talking about gullible fools! He was right next to one too! She didn't miss Arachnitron little smirk towards her. Oh ho ho ho! The little widow should be worried about her own mind too, especially with Tarantulas. "You should watch your back, Tarantulas." She bit back at him.

"I always do, it is the reason why I own you and not the other way around. But fret not, I just wanted to give you a quick reminder, play whatever games you wish with him, but dare to cross me and you will suffer for your treachery" Tarantulas warned, creating a mental cyber image of himself driving up to her and putting his eight feet down to emphasize his point, towering over the smaller spider ominously before sending an even bigger wave of psychic pain through her mind, so much he doubt she'd be able to concentrate hard enough to support the weight of her cargo, his laughter at her expense echoing through her mind like an evil specter.

In the meantime, he and Arachnitron had reached the cavern entrance first, the place looming over them, dark and foreboding...Oddly inviting to the transmetal spider.

"Interesting" Tarantulas commented as he and Arachnitron made their way inside, soaking in the sight of natural, stable energon cubes growing out of the walls and how the cave widened up nicely as they came inside.

"Tarantulas, TERRORIZE!" the spider proclaimed as he went into robot mode, turned to Arachnitron and said "Begin setting up shop my dear, I just wish to investigate this mine a bit further to make sure its safe...You never know when Megatron is involved."

Blackrose wrote:
"Affirmative," Dinobot responded. He hefted Sonar over his shoulder and carried him into the command center for Rhinox to lock up.

Then, he headed on his way to aide Cheetor and the others.

"Dinobot to Cheetor. I am on my way to your location to provide backup." Dinobot said over his comms.

When he arrived there, he waited in the brush along side the action to get an idea of what was going on. He noticed that Terrorsaur had been battling Aerostriker and Feralnight, but had suddenly turned his sights onto Cheetor. Cheetor appeared to not notice as he had doubled back to help.....who? Onyx??! The black stallion Predacon? The others seemed to be attempting to regroup and retreat. He noticed Silverstreak down and she seemed a bit dazed.

He turned back to Cheetor. At the moment, Umbra, the new protoform and Terrorsaur all had their sights on him. He didn't have time to question Cheetor's judgement in going after the equine. He emerged from the bushes shield in hand and turned towards Terrorsaur.

"It seems I've arrived just in time!" Dinobot remarked before shooting his eye lasers in Terrorsaur's direction.

"RAWK!" Terrorsaur squawked in unwelcome surprise as Dinobot came out of nowhere and nearly shot him out of the sky with his lasers, forcing him to do a barrel roll to evade damage, and depriving him of the chance to skin the maximal kitten.

"You certainly have a knack for showing up where you're not wanted, traitor!" Terrorsaur spat, flying around to face Dinobot again, this time returning fire with his own optic beams as he added "Fossils like you belong in a museum collecting dust, THIS IS THE AGE OF TRANSMETALS!"

Naitokage wrote: Being released and smacked across the face, his head felt like it nearly came off from the blow, a spray of sparks and metal coming from the right side of his face as he was knocked back by Megatron.

As the following Fusion cannon blast came, Stag suddenly spoke up Evade!. In the instant, Stag's thruster, as well as Aerostriker's own reaction control system kicked in having a spray of thrust come from multiple points of his body as he launched out of the way of the blast, tumbling to the ground.

Getting up he swapped Stag into his left hand, holding the right side of his face, Aerostriker's face sparked from exposed internals, his visor broken across Ug..Well..You've certainly proved your point. Since you're so tough.. I wont have to hold back. he then lowered his right hand with a sneer.

He hopped back as he activated his foot rocket thrusters to gain some quick distance, then fired all six of his chest micro missiles towards Megatron. As the missiles closed in, they did something unexpected. They exploded in midair infront of the tyrant from the activation of their proximity fuse, a shower of fire and tungstun shrapnel tearing into his body from multiple directions as the explosion hit. (FIrepower:8 X 6)

Even with Aerostriker's own impressive speed, the energy of the explosion sent shrapnel toward him in the distance, though less energetic further from the epicenter, the pieces tore into and impaled into his frail armor as he started to drop in altitude towards the ground, a trail of smoke following.

_________________________________

As the massive explosion hit, Umbra turned distracted from Onyx now focused towards Megatron's direction, then in shock called out Lord Megatron!

Megatron growled in annoyance as the maximal flyer came to his senses & escaped being vaporized by his fusion blast, the tyrant already recharging his cannon to try again.

"As if!" Megatron hissed in fury as he saw the maximal's missiles approaching, preparing to shoot them down before they reached him, only for the missiles to detonate on their own early and send a barrage of shrapnel all around him and the foolish flyer instead.

"WRETCHED BIRD! ARRRGGGGGHHH!" Megatron roared in a mix of pain and hatred as he raised his fusion gun to shield his face from the slivers of metal assaulting his royal person, most of the shrapnel bouncing off his armored hide harmlessly but some sticking into it like needles, but one lucky shard actually embedding itself in his left optic!

Megatron's could hear Umbra calling out his name in the distance, not caring really if the tentacled merc actually feared for his leader's safety or merely worried he wouldn't be paid for his services if he went offline this day, all that mattered to Megatron was waiting out this attack, and ripping Aerostriker to pieces once it was over. When the smoke cleared, Megatron stood tall, his transmetal armor riddled with shards but otherwise his person remained unharmed...Except of course for the fact that he was now blind in one optic.

Without a word, Megatron reached for the shrapnel half buried in his eye socket and pulled it out, grunting from the pain and gritting his teeth in defiance as he crushed the shard with his bare hands, reducing it to dust before marching forward, searching for the maximal responsible for this insult, firing his fusion gun in the direction in which Aerostriker had fallen.

[Blackrosefencer]

Arachnitron had noticed Tarantulas fall behind her, almost as though he had to stop and take care of some business before returning to their task.

"Don't mind me for a minute or two my dear, just reminding my slave where she stands in our new arachnid pecking order" Tarantulas assured his assistant, the energon cavern finally within sight of the two spiders.

Arachnitron nodded in response when Tarantulas explained his sudden slower pace and headed on up ahead without him. Of course, given his new modifications, his slight respite didn't hold him up that much. Once he had sent some cyber torture in Blackarachnia's direction, he had caught up to her quite quickly. Frankly, Arachnitron preferred to look away anyway. It reminded her too much of her days locked up on Cybertron, but she wouldn't trade her new spot in the proverbial "pecking order" for a thing. It was refreshing to be just a tad bit higher up on the ladder.

Together, Tarantulas and Arachnitron entered the cave. Arachnitron gasped in surprise as she noticed the energon cubes that jutted out from the walls higher than anyone could even reach. Some of the cubes were so high, she doubted any of the fliers could ever reach them either. She had never seen so much natural, yet stable, energon in her life.

"Interesting" Tarantulas commented as he and Arachnitron made their way inside, soaking in the sight of natural, stable energon cubes growing out of the walls and how the cave widened up nicely as they came inside.

"Tarantulas, TERRORIZE!" the spider proclaimed as he went into robot mode, turned to Arachnitron and said "Begin setting up shop my dear, I just wish to investigate this mine a bit further to make sure its safe...You never know when Megatron is involved."

"Right away," she said. She headed a few paces into the cave still admiring the view of the energon in its natural form. There were no words to describe how awesome it was. Quietly and swiftly, Arachnitron began unloading her cart and setting up the supplies in their appropriate locations.

(OOC: Just as a side note.....isn't this about the time that Tarantulas turned off the signal that he had sent earlier in the episode? I'm pretty sure the Maximals didn't even notice the signal yet. I mean, I know we're not following the script exactly, but wasn't the Maximals how Tarantulas was able to pretend to blow up the refueling station, thus not only halting Megatron's work, but allowing Tarantulas to use the cave for a new lair?? So, it seems like it's kind of important.)

BIC:

Inferno watched as his shot hit the falcon Maximal and sent her flying backwards and landing with a sharp thud onto a pile of feathers. The Royalty would be pleased! Though he laughed and gloated after her fall, his pleasure quickly faded as he noticed the other Maximals retreating.

"Aww....leaving so soon?" he mocked chuckling as he noticed most of the Maximals scrambling away and sending a few poorly aimed rocket launcher blasts after them.

Inerno turned to the Maximal who was battling Nemesis. It was the badger. He was the only Maximal still fighting. He was obstinate in his attack against the female and Inferno was quite amused. Inferno was close enough to the other Maximals to hear them calling for him to retreat with them. Pleas that fell on deaf audio sensors as the badger continued to attack which amused Inferno even more!

"Slagging badger," Rattrap cursed impatiently and angrily. "Get outta there, Ironclaw! Do you hear me?!"

"Oh no! Please stay!" Inferno pleaded. "There is so much more fun to be had!"

Inferno laughed with glee and sent one more rocket launcher shot out into the battle....only this time he aimed...and sent it right for Ironclaw.

(OOC: I think I will wait for Dinobot's post for now and give Cheetor's character a chance to respond.)