"Tangled Webs & Muddle"

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC:

(Unless you want me to just randomly post details about installing steel I beams for a energon pumping station.., I have no problem with that, but I don't think it'd be interesting beyond some basic lessons in riveting and welding..*LOL*)

No, no....it's okay. I figured that was what you were doing with him. Just wanted to be sure before I posted for my character and possibly skipped over something you may have had planned.

Anyway, sorry for the wait Darkspark (and others). This week and last have been busy at work. We've been down a member of our department for months while she fills in elsewhere and then, last week, one of our other department members had to switch to part time hours so we were even more shorthanded. And then, just as those part time hours started, my other coworker got really really sick and had to call out for a few days. So that left me literally running the department by myself for a few days. Needless to say, I've been too tired to try and write anything. :-/

And most of this post was written earlier and I actually had made Inferno radio Megatron in the original post I wrote. Great minds think alike I guess!

BIC:

Tarantulas took Arachnitron by the arm and moved her off to the side so that he could take a step in between them. Arachnitron was seething with jealousy as he stepped closer to the other widow. She wanted to pull him back towards her, but she knew she would be chastised for being so bold as to try to control him. She didn't want to see Blackarachnia winning him over though. But Tarantulas' next words seemed to suggest that she wasn't winning him over at all and Arachnitron had nothing to fear....at least for the moment.

Don't confuse my motives with your daydreams Blackarachnia. At any rate, you're right about this place! It would make a perfect new lair...For all of us!"

Blackarachnia looked amused as she replied.

"Look, I know you are still upset about your old lair being destroyed by the big burn." She looked back towards where Quickstrike was still unloading alone when she heard Tarantulas' last words, which made her pause.

"What do you mean all of us?"

Arachnitron turned to Tarantulas for his response. He didn't really mean to include Blackarachnia and the fuzor in all of this! But she didn't want to question him right in front of Blackarachnia. Perhaps he was just including her because she had interrupted their conversation and he didn't want to alert her as to what they were really planning. Or at least, what she hoped they were planning. He hadn't actually explained it to her yet. She hoped it involved abandoning the predacons and working together as he had suggested before. He had plans that he was going to let Arachnitron help him with and they were going to keep working on the inhibitor chip too. Though, the new model he had installed after their last battle seemed to be holding up rather nicely so far. Both of her alternate personalities were still being held at bay and the Hybrid was back to being in complete and full control.

But she couldn't help but think back to the battle before. She was shocked that her Maximal programming had come forward before the Predacon programming. The Predacon programming had been so much stronger so how could the Maximal have gotten through the inhibitor chip's barrier before the Predacon?

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Inferno took a quick look behind him to make sure all the members that had been assigned to him as part of his team were responding to his orders. If he returned missing any one of his team, he'd be greatly disappointing his Queen. He watched as the new recruit hitched a ride with Manterror, Starshadow and Waspinator also followed orders before heading off to base (OOC: I figured I'd just throw Waspinator's name in there and have him follow us for the time being....). Nemesis, though, looked like she was up to something. She hesitated, but eventually, she too turned around and followed the others. It didn't really concern Inferno. That creature was always up to something and he didn't really care just as long as she returned to base with him and their mission had been successful.

"Megatron to Inferno, give me good news Subcommander, I'm sorely in the mood for it"

Megatron's voice came over Inferno's comm link. The mission had been a success for quite some time now, but the Maximals had been taking up all of his attention. Not to mention they seemed intent on trying to convince the new Predacon that he should leave them them. But now that he could confirm that their mission had been a success and the llama was intending to join the Predacons ranks, he could radio the Royalty and alert him that they were returning to base.

As he lifted off into the air following his team, he activated his comm link.

"Inferno to the Royalty," he began. He was not worthy to use the Royalty's actual name. No one was. "I have good news indeed! We have the new protoform. The Maximals put up a great fight, but they were unsuccessful at their attempts to get him for their side. We are all returning to base with our new Predacon and the Maximals are returning to their base gravely injured!" Inferno reported proudly which was all true, but he knew the Royalty would not be pleased that the Predacons had been the ones to retreat so he left that part out. He'd be displeased that the Maximals were not all dead so why make him even more upset?

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Little by little, the fog that hindered Dinobot's escape lifted and the sound of the Predacon's weapons fire seemed to cease. He was now in the middle of a small clearing and could see the direction in which he needed to go. He looked behind him. The fog was still obscuring his view of the Predacons, but he could still hear Megatron's booming voice which suggested that he was not far enough away from them to be out of danger completely. Dinobot picked up the pace sticking to areas with good cover in case he was followed.

He raced away from the throng of Predacons lumbering clumsily through the clearing towards a small wooded area and then into another clearing. The damage he took during the battle slowed him down quite a bit and eventually, he needed to stop to catch his breath. His breathing labored and sensors on high alert, he took a good look around the area for any signs of Predacon activity. As far as he could tell, he was not followed.

"Beast mode," Dinobot commanded his internal computers. "Begin internal repairs." The computers would help to heal his injuries on his walk back to base and if he was followed, he'd be in better shape to defend himself.

Dinobot took one last look behind him and sighed. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," he muttered to himself and then headed off in the direction of the Maximal base.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: No worries Blackrose, sorry you had such a rough work week to deal with, I know how that can be. And sorry if I didn't reply to Inferno before, I figured with both battles ending Megatron would want to touch base with everyone, will probably have his freak out session over the spiders soon, or wait til he gets back to base so he can soak in the tub with his true second in command, Rubber Ducky

Una wrote: "Look, I know you are still upset about your old lair being destroyed by the big burn." She looked back towards where Quickstrike was still unloading alone when she heard Tarantulas' last words, which made her pause.

"What do you mean all of us?"

Gesturing with his hands for added flair and emphasis as he explained his glorious vision for him and his fellow spiders, Tarantulas said "You, me, Arachnitron...And perhaps the fuzor as well. An Arachnid Quartet allied against Megatron and Maximals alike! With this much energon and the four of us working together, we could be a force to be reckoned with in the Beast Wars!"

Tarantulas now waited for Blackarachnia's reply, sensing some unease from Arachnitron but knowing she would back him no matter the outcome, and Quickstrike shouldn't be too hard to persuade if it came down to it.

[NaitoKage]

"Excellent, sometimes it truly is the little things in life that make it all worthwhile. Very well Umbra, show me your metal & bring to me the maximal bird...Preferably dead, as you say. Yesss."

Umbra observed as Megatron reacted to the arm, it was a bit unnerving, but predicted the trinket would atleast calm his temper tantrum.

Umbra folded his arm as he gave a bow towards Megatron As you command my lord.

Leaning up and turning to walk away, his tentacles started feeling around for movement under the water, recollecting parts of the limbs that were cut off by Onyx earlier. The idea of leaving parts of himself behind didn't sit well with the Octopus, as well as the extra time it would take to recreate four new tentacles.. the less time in the CR tank, the less vulnerable he would be, as he didn't trust this group to not attempt to make an attack out of jealousy for even the silliest of reasons..

"Oh, there shall be a bonus in it for you if you find the equine traitor as well Umbra, as an added incentive"

An old proverb states, while hunting two rabbits, one will return with none. But I shall see what I can do.. if not today.. well, I can always take up a sniping point outside the Maximal base.. doesn't matter how long the wait.. I'll put a rail between his optics the moment he steps off the lift. he responded in a disturbingly cold tone. It wasn't that he had a problem with Onyx, even after sustaining damage, he didn't care. Now that Onyx had changed sides, he was no longer of value alive to the octopus..

As he left the water walking onto the shore, he started taking into calculating his current direction, using the magnetic field the earth provided. While tracking a flying target is normally difficult, he already knew the direction the maximal had fled, as well as the direction of the Maximal base. Either way, he'd find them both..

His tentacles coiled tightly against his back with his damaged limbs, he then ran off in a typical "ninja sprint" with his arms held behind him while leaned forward.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: To be honest I think there should be a minimum stat requirement for all stats for the sake of fairness in the game. Things get very uneven when you have people dropping a stat all together so they can have very high stats in everything else. Might as well be stick& stone warriors if half the people have no firepower so they can boost their armor, strength and all that. Even if your character is mainly a hand-to-hand character, there's no harm in having a longer range weapon available in those events that it comes in handy. Personally I feel that there should be a minimum 3 requirement in all stats. In fact I had a debate about this with Warwulf when he wanted to give Tantrum an intelligence of 1, so the equivalent of a pet rock.

Effectiveness with a weapon is rarely controlled by a single stat. Larger, heavier swords like the broadwords require a higher strength stat to be handled effectively but the wielder still require a certain skill level for them. Blunt weapons likewise. Lighter, sharper swords may rely more on the character's speed and skill to handle, whereas how much damage a firearm does would likely depend on both the firepower, as in how lethal the weapon itself is, and skill since what good does a massively lethal weapon do if the wielder cannot hit anything? )

"Tarantulas."

A white, furry head with large pointy ears poked out between the bushes as Whitegrazer verbalized her suspicions. Aurora had converted to her beast mode for the time being, finding it easier to squeeze through the vegetation in this form. Upon hearing that name being uttered, the ermine's ears flattened.

Just great.. The spiders were among the creepiest of the Predacons, and here they were about to walk straight into their web.

She was just about to turn around again when Whitegrazer continued speaking, as if she was addressing someone.

"That is obvious, TyCross,"

TyCross..?


The name was unfamiliar to her, and given the fact there were nobody here for Whitegrazer to address by that name, Aurora could not help but feel a little concerned for the other female. Had her repairs not been thorough enough?

Standing up on her hind legs, Aurora used her paw to open a latch on her other arm to reveal a console. With her claws she carefully typed in the name TyCross, closing the console while the computer worked with gathering information on this unknown entity that seemed to be on Whitegrazer's mind, before fully revealing herself to the otherwise preoccupied female.

"Is everything okay?," she enquired.

(ooc: Would there be any records of TyCross anywhere? )

Meanwhile Nemesis had left the battle scene without saying a word, only briefly taking notice of the crazed mantis offering the rather shaky llama a ride back. Well.. better the mantis than her. That disgusting llamas spit was still clinging to her wing like glue, making her entertain the idea of stopping by the Maximal base to take a shower in the waterfalls nearby. Normally she didn't care much if she got a little dirty from her altercations, but the llamas present had been gross at best. That was another thing their dreaded Predacon base lacked.. Due to its unfortunate location on an active volcano, running water was a rare commodity, usually only Megatron himself was allowed to take a bath with water his troops had to fetch for him.

Well.. perhaps if she got back to base before Megatron did, she could at least get washed up.

Fortunately the spit did not interfere with her ability to fly, so she swiftly converted to her transmetalized beat form and picked up speed. Before long the familiar terrain of their base came into view.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Sorry for the delay, peeps. Twas a very busy weekend. ))

"Music to everyone's audios I'd say."

The TM rat couldn't agree more with the TM tigress.

"ughhh..." "I feel like I just flew into the middle of a firework display..."

"Well, you kinda did," Rattrap joked lightly as he knelt down beside the fallen falcon who was gaining consciousness. His joints creaked and groaned a little from his own injuries because of the fall. "How ya feelin'?" he asked her.

"That was really stupid and reckless of you Ironclaw, you know that?" "I don't know what your trying to prove 'Claw, but getting yourself nearly turned to scrap is not going to do you any good. It'll get you killed...trust me, I know." "But I'm glad your at least functional."

One reason why Optimus inquired about Ironclaw's health was if he would need assistance back to the base, but since he remained silent and Wintersong had stolen his attention, Primal stepped away and went to check on the other three. "What is the status on all of your injuries?" he asked Rattrap, Silverbolt and Airazor - whom he was relieved to see awake and functioning.

Looking up at their leader, Rattrap answered, "I'll be well enough on my wheels. Airazor might need a lift. What about you, Silverbutt?"

-----

"I'm sorry, Rhinox. Did you say something?"

The engineer was puzzled by Saber's distraction and little jump. What was on her mind? Was she all right? Was it her beast from within? Before he could say anything, they were alerted by the approaching signatures on the ship's scanners, and like Cheetor had reported earlier, there was one more addition to their group. This addition, however, was showing up as a Predacon. Rhinox made sure the defenses were deactivated so this bot wouldn't accidentally be harmed, assuming he wasn't here to harm them.

"Hey Rhinox, Saber-fang."

Out of common courtesy, the large, green Maximal stood up upon their arrival inside the Axalon. Just in case there was some kind of trick behind the Predacon's change-of-mind in this war, he was ready to pull out his chain guns and activate Sentinel. Keeping his cool, he realized their new addition was none other than Onyx. A small smile managed to tug at the corner of his mouth as if he had long expected this notion and his shoulders relaxed, also nodding to Cheetor and Silverstreak as they took their seats. He wasn't worried about Onyx pulling a fast one on them since he was incredibly outnumbered and actually appeared to be a little timid in their presence.

"So...I hope you Maximals don't mind a new teammate for a while."

"I should think not, but that's up to Optimus. Until he returns, have a seat, Onyx," Rhinox offered him after he changed his activation code. For the time being, he also wanted the black stallion to remain in his sight because he couldn't be certain that he wasn't here just to spy. Or to work with Sonar in some master plan even though he was still locked away in the brig. Surely Megatron knew about or suspected Onyx's disobedience towards his orders when asked to terminate the Maximals, so who was to say he wasn't using the stallion's emotions and mindset against them? "May I ask why the change of allegiance?" Although he had a pretty good assumption to his reason; the way Megatron treated his crew. But he would need to hear it from Onyx.

"The repair chambers are open if anyone needs them," the rhinoceros added as he sat back down in his seat, glancing at Cheetor and Silverstreak who both appeared to have taken some damage ((going off of memory here)). "And we'll need a debriefing on the new protoform that the Predacons acquired," whether the information was simply entered into the ship's data tracks, or explained later when their commanding officer would return.

And since most of Cheetor's team had returned, Rhinox said to the saber-toothed tiger, "Saber-Fang, contact Orcariner for a progress report on his team and their mission."

[Night-Hunter]

Saber again avoided eye contact with Rhinox as she felt his optics on her, thankfully his attention was drawn to the ships scanners revealing that the others were starting to return. They didn't have to wait long for them to enter the ship.

"Hey Rhinox, Saber-fang."

"So...I hope you Maximals don't mind a new teammate for a while."

Saber didn't react, she didn't want to get to know the Predacon turned Maximal. To the beast they were simply a target, the farher she kept her distance and remained aloof the less he would want to interact with her.

The saber tooth cat ignored most of the conversation, but kept her ears open just in case Rhinox needed something.

"Saber-Fang, contact Orcariner for a progress report on his team and their mission."

She gave the green Maximal a nod before activating the COMs again.

"Maximal Base to Orcariner. I repeat, Maximal Base to Orcariner. What is your status?"

[WorpeX]

"Well, you kinda did," Rattrap joked lightly as he knelt down beside the fallen falcon who was gaining consciousness. His joints creaked and groaned a little from his own injuries because of the fall. "How ya feelin'?" he asked her.

"I've felt better." She responded dryly. Her whole body still ached from the missile hit. Luckily, internal repairs started immediately after the collision and were able to get her back online. Still, she felt as if the repairs were far from completed.

"What is the status on all of your injuries?"

Airazor was already sick of answering this question. Wasn't there more important things to discuss then how she was feeling? Talking about herself always felt awkward and selfish to her. Most of the time, she kept those thoughts to herself without discussing them with others.

"I'll be well enough on my wheels. Airazor might need a lift. What about you, Silverbutt?"

Now that was a good question. Airazor hadn't even thought about flight since she awoke from stasis lock. Her wings had taken a big thrashing from inferno earlier, but perhaps she got lucky. The falcon extended her wingspan and quickly glanced over at them. They looked okay... she thought before she began to put them to work. Slowly, she beat her wings. She managed to lift her body off the ground a few inches before she came crashing back to the earth. Airazor landed face first into the ground. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to need a lift"

[Warwulf]

Only barely able to hold back a cringe at the awkwardness displayed by the heroic Maximal, Nemesis decided to toy with him a little before moving in for the kill.

"My apologies," she began, attempting to sound sincere, "I was merely attempting to hit close enough to get you to retreat, not actually hit you."

The almost caring sound of her own voice uttering such nonsense sickened her, but she stayed her course nevertheless and even managed an apologetic expression to back up her words. A few moments of conscientiousness to get the hound to lower his guard would make stabbing him in the back afterwards so much more gratifying. Provided Optimus, who had spent more time with her and thus could see through the guise, could only keep his attention on the others.

She holstered her firearm and took a step closer to Silverbolt, only to stop in her tracks at the sound of cannons charging up and firing. Unprepared and not knowing where the incoming fire was coming from, she swiftly wrapped her wings around herself and glanced around, her optics centering on Primal just as the first couple of shots impacted with the ground right next to her, whirling up a trail of dust as Primal sent the same greeting at her fellow Predacons. Behind Primal, damaged but somehow still functional, she noticed Ironclaw take a supporting role as well.

Well wasn't that just Prime.. as the resurrected Maximal had been known to say. It would seem these Maximals still had some fight in them. And from the looks of it, her own companions did not. One by one they ran off, running scared at the thought of facing the wrong end of Primal's cannons no doubt. In the midst of all the blasts Inferno's call for a retreat was almost drowned.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she cast one last glance at Silverbolt and then in Primal's general direction, before she too turned around to walk away.

Silverbolt had indeed briefly let his guard down as the former Deceptacon had intended. However, Optimus Primal's covering fire had prevented her from capitalizing on the situation. Unaware of the potential danger he had faced, he came down and landed on the ground not far from Airazor, sheathing his wing missiles as he did so.

Witnessing the exchange of stares between Silverbolt and Nemesis, not to mention 'Bolt's death wish wanting to battle the former 'Con mano-a-mano, Rattrap said while walking up to him beside their downed falcon friend, "I suppose you still wanna go after them." Like that'll ever happen.

Silverbolt considered their situation. While it's true that they weren't able to rescue their Lamoid comrades from the clutches of the Predacons, it seems as though he went along with them willingly -- much like Quick Strike. But they had survived and even driven the Predacons off. That was enough of a victory is his book. As Silverbolt looked over his comrades, he could see that many were in no shape to pursue hostilities.

"Why bother, little mouse?" he turned to Rattrap with a sigh and a slight grin. "The day is won; the battle is done. Let's say we just leave it at that."

One reason why Optimus inquired about Ironclaw's health was if he would need assistance back to the base, but since he remained silent and Wintersong had stolen his attention, Primal stepped away and went to check on the other three. "What is the status on all of your injuries?" he asked Rattrap, Silverbolt and Airazor - whom he was relieved to see awake and functioning.

Looking up at their leader, Rattrap answered, "I'll be well enough on my wheels. Airazor might need a lift. What about you, Silverbutt?"

Silverbolt flexed his wings and ran his hand over the deep gouges in his chestplate. Everything seemed to be functional. "No worse for the wear, it would seem."

[Wintersong]

"I certainly hope not. Tough bots aren't suppose to go be so easily taken down you know," Wintersong gave Ironclaw the smallest of smiles, pushing the flurry of emotions aside since it'd do no good in this situation. The honey badger seemed to be functioning and hopefully he would be able to make it back to base. Nodding towards the others she took her hand from his chest, "Come on Ironclaw, let's rejoin the others and get out of here, think this day had been quite the eventful one." She said before she turned to rejoin the others frowning when watching the Peregrine Falcon face plant back to the ground at that moment. But with now getting a good look at the others Wintersong realized she hadn't received much damage at all, mostly just puncture wounds from the bullets earlier but nothing as serious as the others.

Growling as she transformed back to beast mode she walked towards Airazor and crouched slightly, "Then allow me to help you there Airazor, I didn't take much damage in that fight." She offered, seeming as the other femme couldn't fly for the moment and glanced towards the others. Silverbolt and Rattrap were looking in rough shape too leading the transmetal tigress to feel a bit guilty that she hadn't done more in the fight except give cover fire but getting back in one piece rather than pieces was better than nothing.

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

"I'll do my best sir." Spineback said with a slight nod as she stepped closer, seeing the damage to his optic was enough he probably had to be suffering from blindness as she suspected. Good thing it seemed Megatron had high pain tolerance, otherwise this was not going to be easy and likely still wasn't with that short temper the tyrant had. Reaching back behind her the dino-femme took out a few tools she luckily had on her person, having been uncertain if she'd have them with being recently activated but seemed that uncertainty wasn't needed as she began going to work. "If you do feel pain Megatron, try to endure it if you can because this will most likely irritate that wound again, a lot." She warned him as she worked, reconnecting some of the circuitry and sensors within the optic and doing what she could with repairing the damage it got while at the same time she was alert still just in case there were any chances the Maximals had back up or any had stayed behind to try and catch the Predacons off guard.

Hopefully however, Terrorsaur had that covered. The transmetal pteradon didn't exactly strike the former Decepticon as being reliable, a common trait among the Predacons it seemed just as it was with their ancestors back in the Great War so she was quite mindful to keep her own senses and systems alert. After a bit though the Spinosaurus fixed the optical sensor to where Megatron could see normally, finding working on optics to not really be a major problem for her despite not exactly being the greatest medic there was. "There, that should allow you to see clearly, now for those jet engines." Lowering her hands from her new leader's optics she stepped around towards his back, observing the VTOL aircraft feature to his form making her quite surprised as she began going to work.

"This form is quite unusual Megatron,"Spineback commented as she began working about repairing what she could of the engines, including the turbines which seemed to have taken quite a bit of damage themselves. "Mostly I think it's unusual some of you are nearly entirely robotic for beast forms and vehicle modes while others are normal. What exactly has been going on here?" She inquired, having hoped to ask him this on the way but considering it'd take a little time to repair these engines she thought she might as well ask now.

[una]

"Is everything okay?,"

"Hmm?" She looked at Aurora with surprise at that question. As far as she could tell, she was perfectly alright, "Yes, I'm okay."

TyCross was lingering close to Aurora with interest, which Whitegrazer mentally told him to shoo away from her.

You won't found much on there, young one. The Maximal Elders love to keep secrets.

TyCross, that is impolite, hovering over her like that.

I'm dead!

"No excuse."

It was then Whitegrazer realized she said that out loud. Though she tried to keep her composure, it was obvious that she was abit flustered, "Oh! Well, how are you guys holding up?" She looked at both Aurora and Orcariner with a warm yet slightly nervous smile.

"TyCross, you are distracting me from my task. We will talk later. You are making me look crazy in front of my friends.

Guess what? You have always been crazy! I mean! What Maximal on Cybertron, in their right mind, would go into Predacon territory where any Maximal will be shoot dead on sight just to make peace? Many people back in the Academy thought you had a defect! Oh! And better yet, you brought a slagging apartment down there! How many times did we have to restructure that apartment because of Predacons trying to blow us up because you were nosy?!

Whitegrazer sighed lightly before she started giggling. Well, life wasn't dull, wasn't it?

TyCross started llaughing, "Nope! Not boring! Okay, I will leave you alone.

TyCross's form retreated from the recesses of her sight.

Nope, life wasn't dull.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

You, me, Arachnitron...And perhaps the fuzor as well. An Arachnid Quartet allied against Megatron and Maximals alike! With this much energon and the four of us working together, we could be a force to be reckoned with in the Beast Wars!"

Blackarachnia still kept her optics narrowed at Tarantulas, "You want me to side with you? Against Megatron? You are outta your mind, webs! You really think you can beat him? I would love to see you try and burn!" She laughed at Tarantulas, "Well, I'm not going to get myself killed or die for you!"

The three-pong knife that was inside her internal plates was so tempting for her to just reach, pull it out, and stab Tarantulas several times. No. Not the time yet. She wanted to see how far she could go with this before Tarantulas tried anything on her. Arachnitron was going to be a problem, but it doesn't matter. She wanted to rid herself of this crutch. The more time she spent near him, the more she grew furious and dangerous. He was a threat to her protection against Megatron's wrath. If she could get Tarantulas alone or make him chase her, she could enact her plan.

[NaitoKage]

As the spiders started to make a commotion, Quickstrike walked into the room setting down some I beams from his shoulder, then walked towards the group of spiders as he spoke up I reckon I gotta do all the work around here or what? he asked in an annoyed tone, having no idea what the three were squawking about.

____________________________

Walking along towards the estimated path of Aerostriker, occasionally Umbra would come to a stop, then placing his tentacles onto the ground raise himself in elevation as he surveyed the area. So far nothing, the bird could travel vast distances in seconds, something which frustrated Umbra a little. He could jump jet a short distance, but it had a time limit between each jump when using compressed air, though this was nearly not existent thrusting through water. This limit in mobility on the surface would be something he would eventually have to find a way around, if he was going to keep his viability to the Predacons.

Making his way further into Maximal Territory, his body seemed to shimmer as it shifted camouflage patterns unconsciously, adjusting to the dusty rocky terrain. Now out of the flats of the Savanna, all he could see was rock formations. Maybe I was a little too ambitious with this one.. he muttered to himself, moving towards one of the rock formations and hopping up while extending his tentacles and arms to grasp the rock face and scale it with relative ease.

One reaching the top, he once again surveyed the area, his optics narrow as he suddenly notices a twinkle on the ground. While to some, that may be nothing. But to a Octopus, sparkling things were distracting. Many cephalopods hunt specifically visually, with very acute vision, looking for the shine of a fish scale or shell.

His optics started to zoom in, as he saw the mangled gold shine. These Transmetals are hopeless at hiding.. Doesn't look like he landed there intentionally though.. As he walked towards the edge of the rock formation, he stopped looking up noticing another shine in the sky. Zooming in, came to a familiar looking avian shape. He activated his comlink You've finished your mission rather quickly Lady Nemesis, though I'm surprised your in this Territory..

His camouflage intentionally sheded for a moment, shifting to a neon green, before shifting back to a color pattern matching the rocks and sand around him.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: I was waiting for Blackrose but with Quickstrike on the move I should probably hurry this along XD. And no worries Una, we can still work out that plan we have for the spiders, just gotta deal with Quickstrike first (I always enjoyed this part of the episode, and still remember Quickstrike's big betrayal in season 3 & like to think this is where the seeds of their future "partnership" began...I mean really, who would have expected Quickstrike of all preds to be part of a power play like that when all he usually did was spout cowboy talk, flirt with BA, and pick fights?

Wintersong wrote:
"I'll do my best sir." Spineback said with a slight nod as she stepped closer, seeing the damage to his optic was enough he probably had to be suffering from blindness as she suspected. Good thing it seemed Megatron had high pain tolerance, otherwise this was not going to be easy and likely still wasn't with that short temper the tyrant had. Reaching back behind her the dino-femme took out a few tools she luckily had on her person, having been uncertain if she'd have them with being recently activated but seemed that uncertainty wasn't needed as she began going to work. "If you do feel pain Megatron, try to endure it if you can because this will most likely irritate that wound again, a lot." She warned him as she worked, reconnecting some of the circuitry and sensors within the optic and doing what she could with repairing the damage it got while at the same time she was alert still just in case there were any chances the Maximals had back up or any had stayed behind to try and catch the Predacons off guard.

Hopefully however, Terrorsaur had that covered. The transmetal pteradon didn't exactly strike the former Decepticon as being reliable, a common trait among the Predacons it seemed just as it was with their ancestors back in the Great War so she was quite mindful to keep her own senses and systems alert. After a bit though the Spinosaurus fixed the optical sensor to where Megatron could see normally, finding working on optics to not really be a major problem for her despite not exactly being the greatest medic there was. "There, that should allow you to see clearly, now for those jet engines." Lowering her hands from her new leader's optics she stepped around towards his back, observing the VTOL aircraft feature to his form making her quite surprised as she began going to work.

"This form is quite unusual Megatron,"Spineback commented as she began working about repairing what she could of the engines, including the turbines which seemed to have taken quite a bit of damage themselves. "Mostly I think it's unusual some of you are nearly entirely robotic for beast forms and vehicle modes while others are normal. What exactly has been going on here?" She inquired, having hoped to ask him this on the way but considering it'd take a little time to repair these engines she thought she might as well ask now.

"I expect only the best from those who serve me...Or the best they can possibly manage in spite of their deficiencies" Megatron replied, glaring at Caecelia once again, who'd been missing in action during the main conflict.

"Ah, yes, well done Doctor, you will be a welcome addition to our ranks" Megatron complimented, a rare instance indeed, but one could not argue with results, with his eye repaired this quickly flying back to base would be far easier.

As Spineback continued her repairs, and inquired about his new form, Megatron decided some small talk would be alright to pass the time, and at least his newest recruit appeared to be capable of intelligent conversation, a scarcity amongst his minions.

"The form possessed by me, Terrorsaur, and even Caecelia, is what we now refer to as Transmetal, an upgrade brought about by a transwarp wave which struck this planet recently. Most of us who were bathed in its radiation evolved into these new forms, augmenting our stats and providing us with new weapons and vehicular modes built into our beast forms. Energon Field buildup is also no longer an issue as far as we know, seeing as that most of the world's natural energon deposits have been converted into stable energon cubes. The wave is also what brought your stasis pod and many others down from orbit around this planet, the Beast Wars is a war of numbers, whoever has the most troops shall gain the greater advantage, hence why conflict over new recruits such as you tend to be quite fierce. Luckily, it seems all the newcomers saw the wisdom of joining our ranks this time, and if all goes well, the dead weight who turned his back on his predacon heritage will die shortly" Megatron explained, wondering if she'd be inquisitive enough to ask about the alien weapon which caused the transwarp wave, again judging her intelligence as well as her skill.


Up above Terrorsaur circled like a vulture, keeping a look out for possible danger, bored and annoyed that Megatron was spending time with the new femme while he had watch duty. His success in battle against Dinobot still filled him with pride however, and he was confident he would slay the traitor next time they met.

"Terrorsaur, King of the Air! That's me, hehehaha" Terrorsaur told himself, wishing Waspinator had been around to see how awesome he'd been.

Una wrote: Blackarachnia still kept her optics narrowed at Tarantulas, "You want me to side with you? Against Megatron? You are outta your mind, webs! You really think you can beat him? I would love to see you try and burn!" She laughed at Tarantulas, "Well, I'm not going to get myself killed or die for you!"

The three-pong knife that was inside her internal plates was so tempting for her to just reach, pull it out, and stab Tarantulas several times. No. Not the time yet. She wanted to see how far she could go with this before Tarantulas tried anything on her. Arachnitron was going to be a problem, but it doesn't matter. She wanted to rid herself of this crutch. The more time she spent near him, the more she grew furious and dangerous. He was a threat to her protection against Megatron's wrath. If she could get Tarantulas alone or make him chase her, she could enact her plan.

Tarantulas was tempted to backhand the ignorant she spider for speaking to him like that, but remained cool, knowing that despite her bravado, despite her refusal of his reasonable offer, she would do what he demanded of her, whether she liked it or not.

"Out of my mind? Of course, I'm inside yours, remember? So you really have no choice! I suggest you change your attitude, Witch, or perhaps I'll see to it that you really do die for me when the time comes. Sooner or later, its the only "choice" you really have left at this point. Accept your place and you may prosper, just not in the way you always deluded yourself into believing" Tarantulas spat back, his words as sharp as knives, taking back the olive branch he had so kindly offered and replacing it with a branch of thorns.

Naitokage wrote: As the spiders started to make a commotion, Quickstrike walked into the room setting down some I beams from his shoulder, then walked towards the group of spiders as he spoke up I reckon I gotta do all the work around here or what? he asked in an annoyed tone, having no idea what the three were squawking about.

Turning his attention to the fuzor as he arrived on the scene, Tarantulas smoothly inquired "Hhmm, tell me Quickstrike, how do you feel about Megatron?"

If he could get the fuzor on his side Blackarachnia would have no choice but to shut up and side with the majority, and he doubted she wanted anyone else to know of their link, it shamed her. Besides, he'd force her into silence to keep it secret with a simple thought, or even kill the fuzor to keep his mouth shut, though he didn't think it would come to that.

[Wildfire94]

"Think some time in the CR chamber is what we need."Silverstreak said when hearing Rhinox as Cheetor nodded his agreement. Compared to Onyx the two had taken a bit of damage during the encounter with the Predacons, the vixen femme especially thanks to most of Megatron's little deal of trying to help Feralnight and that hadn't exactly gone well in her favor. The two young bots once more stood before they headed towards the two CR chambers and stepped inside to begin the repairs and so they'd be available for later when the others returned if they needed it.

As for Onyx the pain he had taken earlier had generally gone away and mostly taken care of from his internal repairs, though the soreness of the battle still was there and likely would be for a little while. "I'm sure you already know why Rhinox. But the reason is mostly because I don't agree with Megatron's ways nor most of the Predacons, nor of how things are exactly taken care of for a crew ruled by an iron fist and tyranny. I've had hoped things would be different when I heard the rumors of Megatron's stealing of the Golden Disc but guess I was wrong." Onyx explained as he leaned against the wall and shook his head. "By the change is temporary until we return to Cybertron, or can even get back home. If this isn't to happen then I shall remain a Maximal throughout the remainder of this war until hopefully that grape faced poor excuse of a leader is taken down."He added as an emphasis the fact he still was loyal to the Predacons.

Even if the rest of the Maximals made a remark of his decision he wouldn't deny he still was a Predacon to his core but not in the same sense as the Predacon leader and a majority of the crew he ruled over. No doubt though Megatron would want him dead for this treachery. Of course, Onyx would have done this switch much sooner but he hadn't had the chance up until now but this would mean he'd have to prove to the Axalon crew he truly meant well and was there to give them aid. Although, when it would come to the frilled lizard Frilla and the now transmetal rat Rattrap that might be another story as he recalled the last time he encountered them in battle things hadn't exactly gone well.

[NaitoKage]

(Well, alot of characters had their moments. I doubt anyone expected Tarantulas to be a secret police LT under the predacon council. Or that Tarantulas made a undersea base with underwater transport that somehow lead to the Nemesis warship.. As for Quickstrike being quick, well.. it's in his name. }:) )

"Hhmm, tell me Quickstrike, how do you feel about Megatron?"

Quickstrike stopped when asked the question, then raised his cobra arm scratching the back of his head,higher level thinking being somewhat difficult to the fuzor. Boss bot? Well, he's done well leading us so far.. Infact my only complaint is not having enough kiesters to wail on regular like! he said while trashing his arms back and forth excitedly.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw caught Wintersong's small smile and could tell that it was a sign of affection for him. He could have easily scooped her off her feet and shown her what she meant to him. Allas it could not happen, the situation they were both in demanded that they keep their relationship subtle. It was generally how everyone else behaved and it can have a negative affect on a Maximal during a mission. Ironclaw also feared that Optimus would use her against him in some way, although he would never speak of it.
He then watched her leave his side and offer her assistance to Airazor. He admired how kind and helpful she was, something he seemed incapable of doing. She did that for him when they first met, she definitely deserved better. The soldier attempted to transform into beast form and with some pain and effort he managed it. The badger then made his way over to the rest of the group and kept to himself as he waited.