"Tangled Webs & Muddle"

[Alak]

Orcariner continued to patrol from the skies. Not saying a word, the only sound that came from the orca was the loud rhythmic beating from his rotary blades. Part of him wanted to call it a day and go home, taking the easy way out and deem this mission as a false positive. It would also make him feel better since he knew that the longer he stayed around Whitegrazer, the more opportunities he would give her to lecture him about the wrongs of his mindset. However, the Maximal knew he had to fulfill the obligations of duty first. If the ship had detected a signal coming from this zone, then clearly there must be something to be discovered here. Orcariner just had to shove aside his personal issues and remain attentive towards the mission first and foremost.

Ejecting motion sensor device.

A small compartment hidden along his underbelly opened, releasing a metallic sphere that fell down towards the caverns. Hitting the earth, it bounced down the side of the mountain several times before falling into one of the openings. Orcariner continued to hover around, getting the feel of flight. This was his first time using his reconnaissance tools, so he had no idea how long to wait before it started working. About a second passed by before an alert appeared on his interface. The motion sensor was now emitting sonar waves throughout the caverns, revealing that the inside of the motion was rather large and filled with spiraling tunnels.

"Orcariner to team," he radioed, "I just placed a motion sensor device into once of the tunnels. It might take a while, but I'll be able to get a sonar-based map of whatever's inside of that mountain. I'll update you when it's complete."

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Why bother, little mouse?" "The day is won; the battle is done. Let's say we just leave it at that."

"You know, that's the first thing you said all day that actually made sense," Rattrap commented, slightly shaking his head before looking back at Airazor who struggled a little to move.

"I've felt better." "Yeah, I'm definitely going to need a lift"

Rattrap cringed into his shoulders for a moment as they watched the falcon do a face-plant into the ground in the wake of an attempted trial flight. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but put some of the blame of his and Airazor's injuries on Ironclaw. They could've escaped sooner had he not lingered behind to duke it out with the former Decepticreep. For now, he avoided voicing his thoughts on the matter.

"No worse for the wear, it would seem."

"Then allow me to help you there Airazor, I didn't take much damage in that fight."

Optimus remained quiet while he surveyed his Maximals and their injuries, glancing at Wintersong and Ironclaw as they approached. There was a lot on his mind that needed to be addressed with the badger and the Fuzor, but like the TransMetal rat, he held his tongue for a later time. He would have taken Airazor back himself, especially if her wounds had been life-threatening, but since Wintersong volunteered - and despite this team's failure in procedure and obeying orders - he decided to leave everything back in the rodent's hands. "Rattrap, lead your team back to Base for repairs. Silverbolt, you're with me." With that said, as short as it was and in a firm tone, Primal leaped into the air and reverted to his vehicle mode, hovering above the ground a moment before blasting off.

"Guess he's in a grumpy ape mood," said Rattrap when their leader was out of ear-shot. "Good luck, Prince Charming," he teased Silverbolt, still annoyed by his behavior from earlier.

"All right. Wintersong, you carry Airazor back. I need ta hop into beast mode before I fall apart. Let's see if we can get back ta the base without screwin' that up, too." Transforming to his rat form and moving his little legs around, Rattrap realized that it might be less painful if he used his wheels. So he lowered them and tested them with a slight roll back and forth on the grass. One of the rear wheels was a little loose and wobbly but it was better than waddling on his feet so he dealt with it. This way his body could still work on some internal repairs. He started to drive at a slow pace so the others could keep up without exhausting themselves. Well, mostly so Ironclaw wouldn't since Airazor had help.

-----

"Think some time in the CR chamber is what we need."

Nodding to them, Rhinox watched Silverstreak and Cheetor take their leave for the CR's. The sooner they were repaired, the sooner the chambers would be open for the next wave of injured, assuming Rattrap's team had also had a rough time in their mission. Not to mention the escapade Orcariner's team was on, who hadn't responded to Saber-Fang's call yet.

"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." "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."

"You may sit if you'd like, Onyx," the engineer offered. The black stallion's words seemed to hold honesty and authenticity to them, and was pretty much what he expected to hear. He was curious by one thing he said... "You had hoped things would be different when you heard Megatron had stolen the Disc? How so?" Rhinox inquired inquisitively. This was a chance for him to get to know Onyx a little better, psychologically and personality-wise, before Rattrap would find out that they had yet another Predacon in their ranks because once that happens, there won't be a moment of silence for a long while.

"Saber-Fang, try again," he asked of her.

[NaitoKage]

(Welp, Guess I'll get this part over with.

Wildfire: Do you want Onyx to be hunted by Umbra or should that be left for another episode? And yes.. I already have some ideas on how to get that done,even with Onyx inside the Maximal base. Either way, Megatron put a hit on Onyx. It's not something Umbra can ignore, specially due to his greedy nature. )

Noticing no response, Umbra shrugged looking towards the ledge of the rock formation,tying the bundle of damaged tentacles together, he put them under one arm, then walked towards the ledge. Looking at the other formations, he then did something no sane non-flying cybertronian would do. He jumped.

Spreading out his eight tentacles as they flattened and expanded, curling inward as they caught the air like a paraglider wing, he drifted towards another formation, his limbs moving straight back as he ran across the wall a short distance, then springed from the rock wall altering his direction as he curled his tentacles, gliding down towards Aerostriker's fallen body, as he came towards the ground, he activated his jump jet, discharging a controlled short burst of thrust to reduce his speed enough to prevent damage, the air pressure blowing the sand away from Aerostriker in a circular impression. while able to perform such a technique, he wasn't made to glide like Aurora or Frilla, he was still just in a controlled fall.

Walking near Aerostriker, he put the bundle of limbs away onto his back, one of his tentacles holding up his poisoned short sword as he cautiously examined the body. He leaned down tapping Aerostriker's head with the side of his blade. "Nothing huh? Guess he's in stasis lock.." he thought to himself, then moved and stabbed the tip of the blade into Aerostriker's torso. Without any movements still, it was safe to assume he wasn't playing dead.

Tilting the blade, he then ran it down and across Aerostriker's stomach, peeling away the exoskeleton to reveal the mechanics inside. The spark still pulsing in it's chamber. Ug.. looks like they patched you up with Waspinator's spare parts or something.. Well.. either way, you did pretty well all considering..but it seems it wasn't enough to keep yourself alive.. self sacrifice is also part of the maximal way... isn't it?

While Umbra wasn't a medic, he held a great understanding of the cybertronian anatomy.. He had to, to find the weakpoints to take down his targets. He wouldn't of minded setting up the unconscious maximal as a trap, to destroy another maximal that attempted to recover their fallen ally, he decided it would be better to keep the body mostly intact, as he didn't want to pick up pieces of Aerostriker all over the desert.

Sheathing his sword, he reached in pulling the spark out of Aerostriker, then raised it above his head May Primus have mercy on your spark.. he released the spark, allowing it to float off towards the sky, then brought his arm down bringing his hands together as he bowed towards the deceased Maximal.

Leaning up,his face twisted into a smirk. Well.. that takes care of one rabbit..and now I can set a trap for the other later..
_____________________________

The Axalon computer then suddenly spoke up, with some disturbing news. Unit Aerostriker, destroyed.

[Night-Hunter]

"Saber-Fang, try again."

Saber nodded before trying again. "Maximal base to Orcariner, status report," When all she recieved in reply was static, she turned to Rhinox. "All I'm getting is static."

It could be a number of things, but she didn't want to drop the gun and think something horrible went wrong with the Orca and his crew.

[Alak]

Still nothing appeared on his radar. The motion sensors were having no better luck, although the flying orca did pick up some significant traces of energon within the mountain. Tempted to flying down to inspect it himself, Orcariner was stopped when a burst of static hit his radio comm. He could hardly make out what was being said on the other end. Slightly rolling on his side as per instructions from Aerostriker's manual, the transmetal helicopter steered away from the mountain range and retreated to a point where he could make out whoever was speaking to him on the other end.

"Hello?" he asked, "Hello? Anybody read. This is Orcariner reporting in. Found no signs of life around here, but there is a mountain full of energon. It's interfering with my radar and comms, but if anyone is here, it's likely they don't want to be found. Going back to the LZ, expect me to be dark. Orcariner out."

He hoped that message made its way back to the Axalon, or to whoever was trying to hail his radio. Orcariner tried to fly lower in order to find Whitegrazer and Aurora. As soon as he descended in altitude, the Maximal found it a bit more difficult to maintain balance without his rotary blades hitting the rocks.

"Maximize!"

Transforming into his robot form, the giant fired up his thrusters and took off to where he last saw his teammates.

[Phoenix]

"Hmm?"

Aurora's furry head tilted a bit as she watched Whitegrazer intently, an uncomfortable sensation stirring within that she couldn't quite figure out. The white mare seemed distracted, her attention drawn between her companions and something.. or someone.. else.

"Yes, I'm okay."

The little ermine eased up a bit, even if that inkling of a doubt was still brewing within. Whitegrazer wouldn't keep secrets that could harm their mission.. And she certainly wasn't losing her mind. If anything the white mare had more reason than ever to feel content, now that Optimus was back and all, and life within the base had, for the most part, settled back into routine.

Just then a quiet beep caught her attention, notifying her of the results her computer had managed to assemble. She turned around, attempting to make it look like she was going to investigate something in the bushes, and tapped open the monitor.

The word 'classified' blinked in her face. Annoyed, she scrolled through what little the computer was able to tell her about this TyCross character, which truly wasn't much at all. She saw some details about him having ties with some criminal Predacon groups, causing her to make a note of investigating these groups in more detail when she had the time to do so. In private.

"No excuse."

Behind her Whitegrazer was talking to herself again, blurting out a response that made no sense whatsoever. Aurora swiftly closed her computer pad and sent a curious glance in Whitegrazer's direction, but she didn't say anything as the mare attempted to clean up her act.

"Oh! Well, how are you guys holding up?"

"So and so," Aurora responded, standing up on her hind legs and nodding in the direction of their larger male companion, "Not much going on here, but maybe Orcariner has found something?"

Just then, as if on cue, Orcariner's voice chimed in through their radios.

"Orcariner to team," he radioed, "I just placed a motion sensor device into once of the tunnels. It might take a while, but I'll be able to get a sonar-based map of whatever's inside of that mountain. I'll update you when it's complete."

Flattening the delicate butterfly wings against her backside, Aurora drew a deep sigh.

Caverns in a mountain.. Of course. Some place where her gliding and Orcariner's ability to fly would be useless. Hopefully the whale's sensors would pick something up.

She held her breath while waiting for a report.

"You've finished your mission rather quickly Lady Nemesis, though I'm surprised your in this Territory.."

Without responding, Nemesis slowed down her speed quite a bit upon getting spotted. Normally she would either hide her approach among the clouds and during night time missions she was virtually impossible to see, however it was still daytime and the sky barely had any clouds for her to conceal herself in. So even though her design allowed her to remain undetectable by radar, she still stood out clearly against the blue background. Which meant that Umbra had to be very close in order to physically see her.

She altered her course to circle the area, just in time to spot Umbra's form shimmering into sight for a brief moment. He did not seem to be heading in the direction of the Predacon base, which gave her an excuse not to return there right away. So she followed, taking advantage of her aerial form's superior long distance eyesight to keep track of the changeling's movements as he altered his appearance again and again to match his surroundings.

Her interest peaked as it appeared Umbra located what he was looking for. At the base of a tall rock formation, the still and seemingly offline body of that annoying Maximal canary could be seen. His vibrant colors dragged her attention to the shape and she studied the damage done to him from above. The last time she had seen him, he had been laying at the bottom of a river, just as severely damaged as he was now. In fact she was surprised to see him there, considering the injuries she had inflicted on him earlier.

As Umbra was busy finishing the hapless creature off, Nemesis transformed and quietly descended to the ground behind them.

"May Primus have mercy on your spark.."

"Mercy?," she inquired, letting her presence know as she walked closer to them, "Save those words for someone more deserving."

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Gonna continue conversation with Quickstrike while my fellow spiders catch up

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.

"Side with me against him Fuzor, and you'll have ample opportunity to prove how tough you are" Tarantulas promised the excitable but simple newcomer, boxing at the air in place for added emphasis.

If all went well, Tarantulas would have a new lair plus three arachnid minions to call upon against the forces of Megatron and the maximal alike, increasing his chances of carrying out his original mission successfully, maybe even better his odds of taking vengeance against the Vok should they return.

[NaitoKage]

(To.. catch up? I think they are probably waiting on this converstation to end, I don't think Arachnitron would want to talk to Quickstrike..ever, and Blackarachnia was looking for a distraction anyway. )

"Side with me against him Fuzor, and you'll have ample opportunity to prove how tough you are"

Quickstrike scratched his head with the fang on his snake arm while blinking, puzzled as he started to think it over. I will huh? Eh, that sounds good! Destruction is better then CONstruction heh heh heh.. if you get my drift.. his snake arm moving infront of him hissing, then he held it up as if trying to talk privately Still.. Megatron's pretty tough..

_______________________________________________

The eyes on Umbra's legs shifted as he heard Nemesis approach from behind, he then overheard her as he placed his sheathed sword away.

"Mercy?," Save those words for someone more deserving."

Umbra leaned down prying Stag from Aerostriker's hand, then scooped Aerostriker's corpse up throwing it over his shoulder So that was you I noticed in the sky.. You were high up, but the shine of your chrome gives away your position for miles.. especially to anyone with good optics.. As for mercy.. I suppose you could say it's an old habit.. it may sound strange, but I don't particularly feel joy for those I'm hired to take down.. but that wont stop me either.. My hands are far too stained to change that.

Umbra then turned towards Nemesis with his usual warm smile But, with this I will be getting paid. Oh, I suppose I could mention this to you.. Onyx just turned traitor during the battle, he managed to get away in the smoke screen this fellow produced in the swamp. Lord Megatron has put a hit on both their heads.. All considering, this flier did okay, but in the end seemed to have ran out of energy on his retreat. Lord Megatron is now recovering at the hands of our new recruit.. I believe her name is Spineback, she seems to be of.. a later generation, much like yourself..

Umbra then raises a tentacle to his chin scratching it as he thinks aloud With you here, the Maximals from your group will be arriving in time I imagine..And Onyx has surely taken refuge in the maximal base.. the odds of his destruction aren't much in favor at the moment..

[DarkSpark]

Naitokage wrote: Quickstrike scratched his head with the fang on his snake arm while blinking, puzzled as he started to think it over. I will huh? Eh, that sounds good! Destruction is better then CONstruction heh heh heh.. if you get my drift.. his snake arm moving infront of him hissing, then he held it up as if trying to talk privately Still.. Megatron's pretty tough..

"I see, you, fear him?" Tarantulas said nonchalantly, motioning with his hands as if to convey his thoughts, neither mocking the fuzor nor comforting him, merely stating it as though it were a fact, nothing more, nothing less...Which he knew would rile the cowboy's flimsy pride more than anything else.

If there was one thing Tarantulas knew for certain regarding Quickstrike thus far, it was that he was determined to prove himself the toughest Predacon of them all, even if it meant defying Megatron, a predacon who was indeed clearly stronger than him in every way. Quickstrike was an odd bot to say the least, his desire to prove his worth, or at least maintain his bravado in front of his peers, reminded him a little bit of Dinobot, though clearly the fuzor cared nothing for honor, only his rep and what others would think of him if he backed down from a fight. Best of all, the Quickstrike's crush on Blackarachnia, before an irritant, could now actually be used against him, for surely the "toughest pred in town" wouldn't want to appear weak or cowardly in front of his precious "Sugarbot."

[Wildfire94]

((Lol, just wanting to be sure NK. Not ready to have my stallion taken down yet. ))

"No thank you, I'm quite alright standing."Onyx assured Rhinox when he gestured he could sit if he wanted. But rubbed his chin as he thought back to his time before he came onto the Axalon ship, "Well I'll admit, like most Predacons back on Cybertron I didn't exactly start out in a peaceful manner to try and get ourselves to be on equal terms to the Maximals back home. I was in quite a few campaigns of destroying parts of cities or destroying buildings and property with renegade groups of Predacons now and again, although my career really started back in the Predacon Military Forces for a long time in my function." Onyx explained as he shrugged slightly, knowing this might not really surprise Rhinox and if it did it might surprise him more for the fact he was now wanting to try more peaceful solutions since all the more troublesome tactics hadn't exactly gone well in their favor.

He gave a chuckle then, "I'll admit, trying more peaceful tactics was only recent before I caught wind of what Megatron had done of stealing the Golden Disc artifact. So before the Axalon's departure I volunteered to become a protoform again in some hopes maybe I'd see this group and that hope came true. But as I said, not quite what I was hoping for now." He said, subconsciously rubbing the three scars across his face. It became a habit once in a while to trace them, being a reminder of the last battle he had in the illegal fighting circuits and the reason he decided to give up on such things. Although, his love for fighting hadn't exactly gone away despite his growing more peaceful nature in recent years. Guess it was kinda ironic when he wanted to have more peaceful approaches for the Predacons to be equals to the Maximals yet at the same time he still held some common tendencies of the Predacons.

[NaitoKage]

"I see, you, fear him?"

The sudden random sound of a chicken clucking is heard as Quickstrike lets out a gasp at the insult Wha.. There is nothing.. that crawls,walks,flies,or swims that I'm afraid of! Quickstrike points one of his scorpion legs at Tarantulas, then his hissing Snake arm as he then speaks up pulling his arm back Count me in! But if yer lyin' Spiderbot.. Yer's will be the first keister I dropkick!

Quickstrike then turns in a huff,walking away to get back to work on unloading supplies.

[una]

"So and so," Aurora responded, standing up on her hind legs and nodding in the direction of their larger male companion, "Not much going on here, but maybe Orcariner has found something?"

"So and so? Aurora... I apologize for my unusual behavior." She smiled, "Hopefully. I'm still wondering where that signal came from and who?"

With TyCross finally gone, she was able to concentrate better and seemed more like her old self, which was preferable as the looks Aurora was giving her made her feel very uneasy. She probably looked insane earlier. Wouldn't be the first time some of her own kind thought that way of her. Maybe she still felt bad about what happened between Optimus and herself. She should have had better focus to not allow her now growing abilities that once laid wounded beyond repair returning to her unexpectedly. She knew better. Knew better. Such a violation of privacy. She couldn't condone it. Never condone it.

But beating herself up about it won't make it go away. She wished to forget it. Forget it until Optimus deemed her trustworthy with such information.

There was a wind. An east wind blowing. Her head turned back.

Her spark churned.

"Orcariner to team," he radioed, "I just placed a motion sensor device into once of the tunnels. It might take a while, but I'll be able to get a sonar-based map of whatever's inside of that mountain. I'll update you when it's complete."

She shook her head to focus on what Orcariner was saying, replying with a soft yet firm tone, "All right, Orcariner. Aurora and I will stand by."

______________________________________________________________________________________________

While Tarantulas was speaking to Quickstrike, she walked out from the area. She was just mumbling to herself about what Tarantulas was planning on doing. She had her own plans about what she gained from Megatron's backup datatracks. She had all the cards. Megatron knew she did and was waiting for her to play her hand. Tarantulas was the one trying to cheat and look at it.

She will not tolerate peeking.

Her way had bought her back where they unloaded their equipment, "You can keep your plans to yourself, Tarantulas. When the time is right, that datatracks could mean--"

[DarkSpark]

OOC: I gotta admire the voice actor for Tarantulas, catching his mannerisms and tones and laughter in written form is hard lol. No worries Wintersong, I don't mind the wait, hope ya don't lose Meg's last response amongst the new posts lol.

Naitokage wrote: The sudden random sound of a chicken clucking is heard as Quickstrike lets out a gasp at the insult Wha.. There is nothing.. that crawls,walks,flies,or swims that I'm afraid of! Quickstrike points one of his scorpion legs at Tarantulas, then his hissing Snake arm as he then speaks up pulling his arm back Count me in! But if yer lyin' Spiderbot.. Yer's will be the first keister I dropkick!

Quickstrike then turns in a huff,walking away to get back to work on unloading supplies.

Turning away from the easily manipulated fuzor as he left his presence, Tarantulas clenched his fist as he threw back his head and cackled "Now there's nothing to stop me! HeheheheheHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

While Tarantulas was speaking to Quickstrike, she walked out from the area. She was just mumbling to herself about what Tarantulas was planning on doing. She had her own plans about what she gained from Megatron's backup datatracks. She had all the cards. Megatron knew she did and was waiting for her to play her hand. Tarantulas was the one trying to cheat and look at it.

She will not tolerate peeking.

Her way had bought her back where they unloaded their equipment, "You can keep your plans to yourself, Tarantulas. When the time is right, that datatracks could mean--"

After enjoying a good laugh, Tarantulas finally notices BA's absence, turning to Arachnitron and asking sharply "Where is the witch? We weren't done here yet!"

Stalking after her, Tarantulas caught her talking to herself much as he had been doing earlier, again reminding himself to do away with that bad habit, seeing as how it so easily betrayed treacherous thoughts, like BA was doing even as he interrupted her in deceptively non-threatening tone as he advanced towards her "Something on your mind?"

[Blackrosefencer]

(OOC: @ Darkspark.....were you going to have Megatron respond to Inferno's report or no?????)

Sorry, yesterday was busier than I expected....so here is the post that I meant to submit yesterday...

BIC:

Arachnitron listened intently knowing her place in this conversation was to pay attention to Tarantulas' plan and not interfere. She was interested to see how Blackarachnia would respond, but she knew the other she-spider had very little choice in the matter. If she resisted, Tarantulas would only use the psychic link he shared with her to make her do as Tarantulas commanded. Eventually, she'd be forced to comply.

"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!"

A cold shiver ran down Arachnitron's spine when Tarantulas spoke her name. He didn't often use it referring to her as "my dear" more often than not. Hearing him speak her name was.....she gave her head a quick shake. She had to focus on this conversation. She had already missed too much of it thinking about Tarantulas. She realized she had tuned out his voice and that of Blackarachnia and missed most of their bickering. When she came back to her senses, the fuzor sauntered into the room setting down some supplies.

(OOC: Couldn't let everyone forget about the creepy crush, now could I?! )

"I reckon I gotta do all the work around here or what?"

Tarantulas turned on his heel and before Arachnitron could blink he was already working his magic on the fuzor.

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

"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!"

"Side with me against him Fuzor, and you'll have ample opportunity to prove how tough you are" Tarantulas promised the excitable but simple newcomer, boxing at the air in place for added emphasis.

Quickstrike scratched his head with the fang on his snake arm while blinking, puzzled as he started to think it over. "I will huh? Eh, that sounds good! Destruction is better then CONstruction heh heh heh.. if you get my drift......Still.. Megatron's pretty tough.."

"I see, you, fear him?"

"Wha.. There is nothing.. that crawls,walks,flies,or swims that I'm afraid of! Count me in! But if yer lyin' Spiderbot.. Yer's will be the first keister I dropkick!"

Arachnitron faked a smile....she was still not sure she liked the idea of having the fuzor around. Yet, she was pretty impressed by Tarantulas' quick thinking. The fuzor seemed a simple enough creature to manipulate. She'd have to remember Tarantulas' little mind game if she ever needed something from Quickstrike (which she doubted she ever would).

Tarantulas' glee was short lived. He looked around and then turned to Arachnitron.

"Where is the witch? We weren't done here yet!"

Arachnitron was taken aback by his tone. She lowered her optics in shame. She had no idea where Blackarachnia had gone. She should have been watching the other widow to make sure she was staying out of trouble.

"She....seems to have walked off...." she mumbled head still lowered.

She followed after Tarantulas to find Blackarachnia had wandered away from the group and was, as Tarantulas had been earlier, talking to herself.

"Something on your mind?"

Tarantulas questioned her. Arachnitron returned to the task of listening to the exchange between the other two spiders, but vowed to pay closer attention to Blackarachnia.

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

Dinobot, recovering from his injuries from the battle, lumbered over in beast mode to the lift of the Axalon and rode it up to the bridge. He happened to arrive just as the others were questioning Onyx, the black stallion Predacon. He had seen Onyx run past him with Cheetor right at his heels. He wasn't surprised in the least that the horse had ended up at the Maximal base with the others. Dinobot blended into the background as he usually did to listen to the answer to Rhinox's question of what made Onyx change allegiance.

"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." "But 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."

Dinobot resisted the urge to snort a reply. Onyx was a fool to think he could return to Cybertron to the life he once knew before Megatron stole the golden disk. He, like Dinobot, may still consider himself a Predacon on the inside, but on the outside, he'd still be thought of as a Maximal. This thought crushed Dinobot who worked so hard to uphold his Predacon honor and abide by his training.

"Well I'll admit, like most Predacons back on Cybertron I didn't exactly start out in a peaceful manner to try and get ourselves to be on equal terms to the Maximals back home. I was in quite a few campaigns of destroying parts of cities or destroying buildings and property with renegade groups of Predacons now and again, although my career really started back in the Predacon Military Forces for a long time in my function."

"I'll admit, trying more peaceful tactics was only recent before I caught wind of what Megatron had done of stealing the Golden Disc artifact. So before the Axalon's departure I volunteered to become a protoform again in some hopes maybe I'd see this group and that hope came true. But as I said, not quite what I was hoping for now."

Dinobot listened silently, but inside, his mind was reeling. Onyx wasn't the first Predacon tricked into believing there could be peace between the two factions and he wouldn't be the last. But Dinobot knew the truth. There would never be peace. There were more Predacons like Megatron. Once Megatron was gone, another would resurface more brutal and more ruthless. And that is why he believed the Predacons would win....not just the war on Cybertron, but the war, here, on what he now knew was Earth. Now that the mysteries of the golden disk had been unraveled, Dinobot knew the truth. But what was he to do about this knowledge? That much, Dinobot, still had yet to figure out.

Suddenly, the computer interrupted his thoughts.

Unit Aerostriker, destroyed.

For the first time since his return to the Axalon, Dinobot looked around and took notice of the Maximals on the bridge. He had just assumed that all had made it to their destination. He had thought Aerostriker had been with Cheetor and the others. But it appeared that he was not. Another casualty at the hands of the Predacons. Peace. Ha! How wrong Onyx was about peace.

"RAWR!!!" Dinobot growled angrily and slammed his fist down on the table. "He should have let me provide cover fire as was my function!" Without so much as a backward glance, Dinobot stormed out of the room and headed for his quarters to be alone. There were too many emotions swirling around in the ex-Predacon's mind.

One by one the Maximals were being picked off. Dinobot pictured the Predacons marching through the Axalon with the Maximals begging for mercy at their feet. He felt helpless and alone. Losing so many allies was taking its toll on the old warrior. How much longer could he continue being on the losing side of the battlefield?

[DarkSpark]

OOC: sorry Blackrose, I had forgotten that Inferno had spoken to Megs, here's my post for him, still waiting for Wintersong's next post though. Lemme know if anything about my post doesn't work for you. Peace

Blackrose wrote: 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?

"Excellent work Subcommander, you've served me well, I look forward to meeting our new recruit back at base" Megatron replied back jovially while Spineback continued her repair work...Then a thought occurred to him which soured his mood somewhat.

"Subcommander, you say the maximals returned to their own base gravely injured...I trust that means you defeated them, correct?" inquired Megatron, still pleased that Inferno had accomplished his mission but annoyed by the prospect that even with the new recruit and the others backing him up Inferno had actually lost...And that he hadn't killed any of the maximals.