"More Than Meets The Eye: Part I"

[Phoenix]

Nemesis stood silently, unmoving, merely watching the Maximal as he stood between her and the cliff's edge, merely staring out over his little kingdom. Although he had always attempted to seem confident and in control around her, there was a certain calmness about him now that almost felt a bit.. unsettling. Perhaps it was the fact that Nemesis felt anything but calm at the moment, that she was in fact struggling a bit with holding her emotions in check. She'd been betrayed and had been accused of betrayal herself, she'd been attacked and wounded, chained up, she had been hunted when she made her escape. And out of lack of a better term for it, she'd been driven out of her home. Alone and without knowing who, exactly, she was up against, the avian female felt sickeningly exposed.


She was used to being alone, that she could deal with, but the uncertainty of being up against someone who obviously knew a lot about her whereas she'd been left in the dark, put her at a disadvantage. She needed an ally who would not hand her over to Megatron first chance they got, someone willing to listen, to help.. And she couldn't think of anyone who fit that description better than the male standing with his back to her at this very moment. After all.. That video strongly implicated that Darkwind, or whoever he really was, had gained access to the Maximal base as well.

Following his movements with keen optics as he picked up the little metallic remnant of his lost comrade and studied it, Nemesis remained silent, giving Optimus this moment to say goodbye. Aerostriker's body had never been recovered by those who cared for him, after all, his remains safely locked away at the Darksyde.

"I have come so far through this war with my simple crew of scientists and explorers,"

Her thoughts lingered on his words of reflection for a brief moment but she didn't say anything. And then..

"Why are you here, Nemesis?"

The inevitable question, one she both knew the answer to yet didn't at the same time. She wanted to say something, but the words caught in her throat. So she merely maintained her silent gaze as Optimus finally turned around. Noticing him wiping a tear away, she lowered her head slightly. Predacons didn't cry, at least never so that anyone could see it, so the fact that Optimus did puzzled her. Sentimental Maximal fools, she found herself thinking, yet part of her almost understood the need to mourn the loss of a loved one. Almost.

"I was hoping for a few moments of your time," she finally responded after a long pause, her eyes returning to meet his. The optics that met hers seemed so troubled, like a storm was raging behind that calm exterior, bringing about the realization in her that Optimus had demons of his own that he was fighting. Feeling a bit uneasy about it all, she was the one to break the silent stare.

Just then the loud thud of a tree crashing against the ground broke the awkward silence between the two, destroying the pretense of privacy. Immediately on high alert, Nemesis whirled to glare at the intruder, her hands clutching her weapons tightly.

"At ease, Ironclaw,"

She recognized the hotheaded badger immediately from their earlier brawl, a slight smirk creeping up on her face.

Back for round two? She wanted to ask him, to torment him, to remind him of the outcome of their earlier encounter, anything, if only to give herself a moment of satisfaction after the fiasco that had recently gone down at the Predacon base..

But she didn't. She held her tongue, realizing how little it would take to drive Optimus off at this point. And perhaps she was grasping at straws by coming here, but it really was the only option she had right now. Slowly she moved her hands off her weapons until she had them dangling next to her again, even though she did not take her suspicious stare off Ironclaw just yet.

"It's all right. She isn't here to harm us, are you Nemesis?"

Another familiar voice soon joined them. Nemesis recognized it as belonging to the very talkative female Maximal she had stupidly spared in a moment of weakness. And even after all this time, she still did not know why she had not put the pathetic creature out of her misery that day. The images of the white equine female laying on the ground, her chest cracked open and her spark glowing with the tip of a sword mere inches from extinguishing it forever, flashed in her mind, forcing Nemesis to look at the other female to assure herself that the images were not real.. not this time.

"If I was, you would not be standing here to ask me that question, now would you?," she responded somewhat matter-of-factly with a hint of irritation over the rather vast number of Maximals that were now arriving.

"Did all of you suddenly go brain-dead?" "She ain't here ta make friends,"

The annoying rat spoke up next, causing Nemesis to look down at the ground so the Maximals wouldn't see the flash of anger in her optics. To her surprise, however, the older warrior spoke up on her behalf.

"Let Optimus hear her out," Nexus intervened, "Then we can decide on a course of action after."

She avoided making eye contact with anyone as she walked over to the cliff, staring out over the cliff into the sunrise for a moment, before sitting down with her feet dangling over the edge. She waited for a moment for Optimus to join her before speaking.

"They have every right to be suspicious, I realize our past encounters haven't exactly ended on a good note. But I did not come here to harm anyone.."


She paused, feeling the eyes of the other Maximals upon her, causing her to shift uncomfortably. Attempting to block them out by staring into the sunrise, she decided to get to the point.

"I have reason to believe that your base was infiltrated by a new Predacon recruit."

[starshadow]

You're not very good with prisoners.. are you Commander?

Too late. The Predacons found out that they were trying to escape. Banshee held on to the flying cheetah tightly as he flew above the lava pits.

"We must return them to their cells! FOR THE ROYALTY!!!"

She had expected them to open fire. Banshee quickly let out a sonic cry of a unique frequency at the incoming missles, messing with the targeting systems. A good tatic but risky. The missles flew around in random directions, almost like it was trying to target the two multi-limbed mechs.

"Let's go while we still have a chance. Those missles will hit anyone of us if we do not leave now."

((OOC: Won't post for Star since there's nothing for her to do except waiting.))

[una]

Whitegrazer hear Optimus say her name like a little ripple, a whisper in her spark, smiled warmly in acknowledgement. She felt his spark pulsated a bit. She was worried about him still with what she saw through him, but also with the hallucinogen he was infected with. He seemed all right. She will do the best that she could to make sure he stayed all right.

"If I was, you would not be standing here to ask me that question, now would you?,"

"No," she smiled at Nemesis, "no, I wouldn't be." She hadn't seen Nemesis since the brutal battle close to the Axalon. She could feel Nemesis' irritation and conflicting emotions. Was it that she regretted not snuffing out her life when she had the chance back then? Or was it the idea that she had actually showed mercy to someone without knowing why? Whatever it is, she wanted to know the reasons why Nemesis was here.

Rattrap had his gun trained on Nemesis.

"Did all of you suddenly go brain-dead?" "She ain't here ta make friends,"

"We should give her a chance to speak," she lightly placed a hand on top of Rattrap's weapon.

"They have every right to be suspicious, I realize our past encounters haven't exactly ended on a good note. But I did not come here to harm anyone." "I have reason to believe that your base was infiltrated by a new Predacon recruit."

That was a very serious charge, but she believed Nemesis's words were genuine, "I believe you, but why are you telling us this?" Strange things have happened and all those images she was forced to see when she touched that pod and though meditation could be trying to tell her the same thing. Was that why she saw Nemesis in them? Oh... maybe there was another reason. Why would she tell them this? If this was a trap, why? Unless...something happened to Nemesis in the Predacon base.

Could she be...?

"What happened back at the Predacon base, Nemesis," Whitegrazer asked softly. Yet deep down, she knew the answer to the question, but she wanted to hear it from Nemesis, giving her chance to tell her story. She really wanted to take a step forward, but she chose not. She didn't want to do anything that Nemesis might take a defense towards, so she stood as she was. Nemesis seemed more comfortable towards Optimus then the others and her. So it may have been for the best for them all to keep their distance.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw was feeling anything but at ease. He was ready to engage the enemy when his so called 'leader' stepped in between them. What was the ape doing? Is his soft nature getting the better of him once again.... The badger's expression did not reveal his thoughts. Both his and Nemesis' eyes were now locked. She smirked at him. No one else had noticed. Ironclaw's eyes narrowed and he took a quick step forwards, barely acknowledging that Optimus was still in front of him. His hands were also by his side, palms facing her with his fingers spread apart showing off his claws. He wanted to tear her limb from limb and her healing abilities may even allow him the satisfaction of doing it again. Whitegrazer then appeared on the scene with others he hand not taken notice of. She tried to suggest that Nemesis didn't want to hurt anyone. It was too late for that, she needed to be locked up better yet they should kill her. They didn't have the facilities to inprision all of the Predacons, what was Optimus thinking? They had no idea if they would ever leave this planet. Nemesis then proceeded to threaten Whitetrazer. Ironclaw wasn't fond of her at all but he wouldn't allow the Predacon to threaten a Maximal. The imposing soldier growled and tried to move forward again with Optimus still blocking his path. This would probably be the only time when he could agree with Rattrap.

Just then, Ironclaw heard a voice he didn't recognise. However after a while it started to become familiar, a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. He looked over to him and shock came over his face. Ironclaw barged past Optimus and marched towards Nexus Prime. "What is he doing here?" the badger pointed right at him with an accusing finger. Normally Maximals would give great respect when in the presence of Primes but in this case he was underwhelmed by one and suspicious of the other. Something seemed wrong about Nexus, like a bad wound. He looked up and down him and wasn't impressed. Ironclaw's interest in Nemesis had dwindled until she had made her way to cliff edge and she mentioned that the base had been infiltrated. He looked over at her with a curious and surprised face. Then he made a glance at Whitegrazer because of what he had witnessed before. But finally his gaze fell back on Nexus Prime.

(ahh.. Whitegrazer you posted just before me.....)

( Though does it still work I guess?)

[Mystrea]

Dirge was staring into space when he heard the weapons fire just a short distance away. Night terror had said his bit with the Maximal and started to run back to the ship. He opened fire on the pathetic life forms which call themselves Predacons, this was followed by giving him the order. He lumbered round to bring them into his field of vision. His eye tracked all of the targets, it identified there weapons and their movement. He cocked his arm cannon and lifted it up, pointing in there direction. He fired, unleashing multiple missiles at the current enemy. The ship even started to take off, Night Terror must have been moving quickly. Dirge left the first volley to have its affect before firing again.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I was hoping for a few moments of your time,"

Primal's optics studied Nemesis's sensing something quite unfamiliar about her. She almost seemed... lost. Abandoned? Somewhat more vulnerable than he has ever known her to be? Something was troubling her, and for her to approach him like this, well, it must have been something pretty serious. And something she had wanted to discuss in private with him. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case although their conversation might have more substance to it without the interruptions. He lost eye contact with her when Ironclaw rudely pushed himself past Optimus and Nemesis to confront Nexus Prime.

"What is he doing here?"

He knew him? Personally or...? Everything was starting to get confusing for the ape and his mind swirled as all of them present were voicing their opinions and pointing fingers and showing paranoia. Except for Aurora. She seemed awfully quiet. He wanted to holler at everyone and tell them to shut up and back off but that would be the infection talking. He always appreciated them speaking their minds because sometimes he trusted too easily and was blinded by giving some second chances, or even thirds and fourths. Besides all of that, Cheetor and Banshee still weighed heavily on his mind, and what Megatron might have in store for him and Nexus. He growled under his breath in frustration. He had better not harm them, he thought bitterly.

"If I was, you would not be standing here to ask me that question, now would you?,"

"Did all of you suddenly go brain-dead?" "She ain't here ta make friends,"

"Let Optimus hear her out," "Then we can decide on a course of action after."

"No," "no, I wouldn't be."

The Commander's optics closed again, remembering that day quite well and finding Whitegrazer on the verge of death because of Nemesis... But she had also spared her her life. It had pained him a great deal and yet, he was still willing to listen to the Predacon. Whitegrazer had forgiven Nemesis for her actions and so had he. He wasn't entirely sure if she knew what forgiveness was... As Nemesis turned away from the group of accusing and biased Maximals - rightly so in many aspects - and sat down on the cliff where any one of them could have easily opened fire on her and pushed her off to say good riddance, Optimus was surprised that Rattrap was the only one holding a weapon to her and that the others had simply stood calmly where they were. Well, except for Ironclaw getting in the Admiral's face for whatever reason. He didn't bother to interrupt them since Nexus could hold his own, and it kept them off of his and the female's backs so they could talk a little more peacefully.

"Everyone, please, just give us a moment," Primal insisted as he put Aerostriker's piece of armor into his subspace and motioned to all of them with both of his hands to stay back and give them some space. He highly doubted that Nemesis was going to try anything with six Maximals surrounding her. So he followed her to the cliff and crouched down next to her on a knee giving them both enough personal space between them as they faced the sunrise.

"They have every right to be suspicious, I realize our past encounters haven't exactly ended on a good note. But I did not come here to harm anyone.."

"I trust you're telling the truth, Nemesis. And no one is going to harm you. But you still haven't answered my question," he said softly to her, trying to stay focused as the nanites scurried about on him and inside of him, the side of his chest just below his arm still illuminating a light bluish glow. She was probably used to the feeling by now having been implemented with the technology some eons ago by experiments that he himself was familiar with but it still made him a little uneasy... after all, they seemed to have a mind of their own. Whitegrazer was also helping him keep his bipolar emotions under control from the virus within him, and he tried to keep their connection open and secure but it was still breached at times when sudden anger or sorrow overcame him. At any rate, he didn't have much time to sit and chat.

"I have reason to believe that your base was infiltrated by a new Predacon recruit."

Puzzled by this accusation, Optimus thoughtfully studied Nemesis for some time as they sat there together. Her voice sounded honest and confident that she knew what she was talking about but Primal had a difficult time accepting it. He had been at the Axalon himself most of the day after the Akira mission, having only left briefly to offer back-up for Dinobot's team. And Rhinox made no mention of any intruders, even as the next ship - piloted by Predacons - had made its entry to the planet. Sonar was the only Predacon running amok in their base after his escape. "You must be mistaken, Nemesis. There has been no notification of any Predacons compromising our defenses or scanners," he told her with his voice that had returned to the compassion he was so well known for, as well as nonjudgmental. And he didn't think she was lying or building a trap for them, but it just didn't make sense to him. "Where did you get this information and the notion to seek me out about it?" asked Primal. "Surely you haven't come all this way by yourself just to warn me about a spy or a double agent in our midst and risk Megatron's wrath for your betrayal." Because they were all well aware of the punishment for double-crossing the Predacon t-rex with Glowstick's example. Of course, there was the matter of how Sonar escaped the Axalon brig in the first place. No one could have accessed his cell but himself. And how had the bat obtained that gaseous substance that was making them hallucinate? Maybe... Maybe Nemesis was right. Was it a Predacon in disguise? Had the Vok returned? As if he didn't already have enough to worry about, now there was this.

"We should give her a chance to speak," "I believe you, but why are you telling us this?" "What happened back at the Predacon base, Nemesis,"

Rattrap held an exaggerated expression of disbelief on his face as he watched all of this unfold. And he brushed Whitegrazer's hand off his gun with irritation. Unlike everybody else, he wasn't going to let his guard down. He was the only one there, besides maybe Ironclaw, who was keeping a level head and remembering all the slag Nemesis had put them through. No. NO! He was NOT going to lower his weapon! Lucky for Optimus, however, he stayed where he was and didn't bother moving closer to him and Nemesis. Him and Nemesis, sitting there on the ledge as if they were best friends, falling for her deceit and lies. The same Predacon who almost killed him earlier and looked pretty satisfied during her attempt!

"What is he doing here?"

His anger toward Nemesis was interrupted by Ironclaw suddenly approaching Nexus and walking in his line of aim on the Predacon. Aggravated, the rodent watched the badger with a glare and moved himself closer to Aurora as if to protect her from whatever he might stir up. "Take it easy, Ironclaw. He was just rescued earlier taday when his ship crashed. What's it to you?" he pretended to defend the old Admiral. He wasn't sure if the badger was just as suspicious about Nexus Prime as he was or if he was just being his usual impolite and disrespectful self. ...Not that Rattrap was any better... sometimes. But this might be interesting if he questioned the Admiral and made himself a target for Optimus. Optimus... How Rattrap wanted to trust him so badly with his judgement on Nexus. But he didn't have any proof to suggest otherwise, and he knew the boss monkey would want some with such an accusation; with all of the sacrifices Nexus made on the wars he waged and lives he lost. This was Primal's mentor, his teacher, his role model that had taught him almost everything he knew. For anyone to tell him that they suspected something about the Admiral, it would probably crush him, and possibly even force him into denial. For now, Rattrap would play along and do more of his poking around later, specifically when he'd get his hands on the surveillance tapes for the day. So, lucky for him Nexus wasn't on his priority list; at the moment it was Nemesis.

-----

"Rhinox? Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me, Orcariner," Rhinox said with enthusiasm. Although he didn't know how much the bigger bot was really comprehending, but he thought it best to keep their conversation calm and relaxed. Orcariner was smart to keep his optics closed so he couldn't see anything that might have been horrific to him; the engineer noticed this. He wasn't quite sure how Optimus was coping with it, except for him electrocuting himself multiple times, and how he would deal with Megatron, but for Rhinox, he knew what he had to do. He had to start working on a cure if it didn't eventually wear off by itself, and, like Dinobot suspected, to find out if it was contagious. But it was going to be very difficult to do on his own. He was going to need help.

"If that's really you. I can't understand what you're saying... not really anyhow. I think I'm hallucinating. I'm in a jungle island far from the Axalon. I'm surrounded by... by our deceased crew members."

Oh. Well then... That would explain his reactions earlier. Poor Orcariner. Rhinox know how hard those deaths had been on the whale the first time around, and now he was being forced to see them all over again? Slag this hallucinogenic that Sonar cursed them with! The gaseous effects had really taken Orcariner far out of his reality. That hadn't been the same case for Rhinox because he could still hear normally and process things correctly, it was just his vision and perspective and his fear of heights that were playing tricks on him. ...He hoped that didn't mean each individual infected would need their own specific antidote. As for Optimus, everyone he saw turned into the Vok and it made him act extremely aggressive and offensive.

"Hang in there, Orcariner. Yes, you're hallucinating. That's all it is. Everything you're experiencing isn't real, but keep your eyes closed. That's a really good idea if that's working for you. I'm going to try and figure out a cure for this so it stops plaguing us. Just stay put." Rhinox's words were slow and clear in case that would help the TransMetal orca understand anything he was saying. And then he slowly got to his feet and grabbed the wall to keep himself balanced, leading him out to the corridor and toward Dinobot and Sonar.

"Get up,"

"Everyone who is infected is experiencing a different side effect," Rhinox announced to the warrior as he approached him and the bat, still using the wall to hold him of straight. He watched Sonar scurry backwards on the floor, stricken by fear of Dinobot or whatever he was seeing and feeling. "I don't think Sonar knew what he was getting into or else he'd have avoided exposure. Perhaps we should take him to the medical bay instead. I may need his help figuring out how to end this. ...If it's at all possible talking to him. Orcariner can't seem to understand what I'm saying to him but he recognized my voice. Hopefully he'll stay put so he doesn't accidentally harm anyone or add anymore damages to the ship." He wanted to tell Dinobot to man the consoles on the bridge since no one else was occupying it, but it might unwise to leave the rhinoceros and the bat alone in the condition that they were both in.

[Phoenix]

Nexus had maintained a short distance from the others as the accusations and arguments for and against letting the avian Predacon explain herself, or even be allowed to live, were thrown back and forth. Personally he was more than a little curious to hear what the winged female had to say, especially since he was a little surprised to see her here. She should have been a heap of melted scrap metal at the Darksyde but he wasn't about to let that detail derail his plans.. or fun. No, the best course of action was to stay in character, not letting his own opinions shape his performance in any way or form, and he could simply deal with this nuisance later. So he remained lingering in the background, yet still close enough to catch what was being said.

"What is he doing here?"

Crossing his arms as the overly aggressive male came rushing towards him, Nexus raised an optic ridge in surprise by the sudden outburst and accusing tone. He didn't know this Maximal nor of any history between him and the real Nexus Prime, there had been nothing about this Ironclaw on the data logs he had checked while the Akira was in his possession. As Ironclaw got right in his face, a somewhat flabbergasted Nexus stood his ground.

"Excuse me?," he said, addressing the younger bot. "I don't think we've met.."

Aurora stayed even further back, more so than any of them, watching the avian female with narrowed, weary optics. She didn't trust Predacons, none of them, and perhaps especially not this one. Their previous encounter had raised some rather uncomfortable questions as well as given some even more unsettling answers, so Aurora kept her distance. Fortunately Rattrap took note of her presence and came to protect her, Aurora happily taking shelter behind him. "Man..," she whispered to Rattrap, not taking her eyes off Nemesis for even a nanoclick, "We just can't catch a break, can we?" It was a rather accurate statement, given how busy the past day had been, starting with the sudden arrival of the Akira almost exactly a day ago. They had not gotten a chance to rest and Aurora had a disconcerting feeling that this was only the beginning. Thus far she was blissfully unaware of the deal Optimus had made with Megatron since none of the others had wanted to tell her just yet.

Nemesis appeared oblivious to the fact that one of the Maximals had his weapon trained on her. She knew he wouldn't fire, not without Optimus' blessing and certainly not with with the Maximal commander so close to her.

"They have every right to be suspicious, I realize our past encounters haven't exactly ended on a good note. But I did not come here to harm anyone.."

"I believe you, but why are you telling us this?"

"I trust you're telling the truth, Nemesis. And no one is going to harm you. But you still haven't answered my question,"

Being harmed, at least physically, by the Maximals was the least of her worries right now. She could take a substantial amount of damage and even though it hurt just as much for her as it would anyone else, she always got back up on her feet. Indeed, she should have been dead a long time ago. Sighing, she let her wings wrap around her like a cape. Breaking her gaze away from the sunrise to settle her optics on Optimus once more, she could not help but notice the faint blue glow coming from a part of his chest. Earlier she had looked away when Primal electrocuted himself so she had not seen it before, however now the sight caused her optics to widen in surprise and recognition. It was a glow she was all too familiar with, having lived with it for most of her lifetime, but she couldn't fathom where Optimus would have gotten exposed to such technology. She almost asked, but decided to wait until a more opportune time when they weren't surrounded.

"I have reason to believe that your base was infiltrated by a new Predacon recruit."

Her own voice sounded foreign to her as she uttered the words, and for a brief moment everyone went silent and merely stared at her.

"What happened back at the Predacon base, Nemesis,"

As usual the white mare had an uncanny ability to read her emotions, but Nemesis kept her focus mainly on Optimus. The others would go with whatever he decided after all.

"You must be mistaken, Nemesis. There has been no notification of any Predacons compromising our defenses or scanners,"

She wasn't quite sure how to answer that without coming across as a liar, given her past track record with the Maximals. In fact she wasn't entirely sure of what had happened either.

"Where did you get this information and the notion to seek me out about it? Surely you haven't come all this way by yourself just to warn me about a spy or a double agent in our midst and risk Megatron's wrath for your betrayal."

"I already suffered that wrath," she told him quietly while glancing down at her fully healed wrists, "And somehow I doubt Megatron will welcome me back with anything but the barrel of his fusion cannon if he sees me again."

Moving one hand to trace a finger over her lower arms where Megatron had blasted her earlier, Nemesis continued.

"I'm not sure how he did it, but that new recruit I mentioned, Darkwind as he calls himself, has been anything but honest with Megatron about his intentions. Seeing me as a potential threat, he portrayed me as a traitor. He provided a video taken at the Maximal base and somehow altered me into the frame."

Pausing again, the avian female looked over at where Nexus was standing with Ironclaw right next to him, the aging warrior all-too-interested in their conversation at this point.

"He claimed he had stowed away on the Akira and ultimately caused it to crash."

[DarkSpark]

OOC: no post for Terrorsaur this time because I'm waiting for Alak and Naito to post for Waspinator and Buster for their combined assault on the ship, but plenty of Megs and Rants for ya guys...Damn, I feel dirty playing these evil bastards sometimes XD

Una wrote:
Looking into Tarantulas' optics, she kept the smile, "Soon, there might only be one. But as for right now, I don't think you want to touch me or do anything. IF you do, you might lose some....valuable information." She smiled seductively, "And that's information you are really want so badly, isn't it? Darling."

Then she looked at her powerbonds, before she chuckled, "Torturing me...Interrogating me...I dare you to do it. I wonder how Megatron would react if I die, not telling you anything. You would be the number one target for elimination. " She looked at Arachnitron with the same seductive smile, "You wouldn't be safe either, my dear. I would wondering how long you last being in the crosshairs of Megatron's wrath?"

"So I suggest you release me or I do something that may compromise...your security." She smirked.

Tarantulas stared long and hard at the black widow, silent, his thoughts a secret to everyone but himself...Then he started laughing. Loudly. Disturbingly.

"Hehehehehehehahahahahahaha! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tarantulas cackled, his laughter more terrifying than a fairytale witch or mad man put together, the sound of it oozing with evil and malevolent mirth, it just wasn't natural, even for a predacon.

"Sigh...Oh Blackarachnia, my poor deluded creation, such a way with words, too bad you almost always seem to waste it on empty threats and pitiful attempts to be frightening. But thank you, thank you for confirming my suspicions regarding the contents of your pretty little head, I'll be needing them soon enough, and no, I don't fear you doing anything to the "information," because its the ONLY ace you have up your sleeve anymore. You won't dare destroy it because without it there's nothing stopping me, or Megatron, from ripping you apart" Tarantulas explained, running a sharp talon down the side of her face, scratching it before adding "And you don't want that do you? Sooner or later someone will come for that intel, assuming the Golden Disk is never recovered, and you don't have the power to keep it to yourself forever, nor the support necessary to implement it on your own, and what's the point of hogging information to yourself that you'll never have the opportunity to use yourself? You're better off sharing it with those who DO have the means by which to use it. You are NOT a player in this game Blackarachnia, you're just another pawn on the board, the sooner you realize that, the better...Maybe you need a reminder?"

With that, Tarantulas tapped into their link for the first time since the cave and sent a tidal wave of pain through her mind, not enough to injure her critically, just enough to hurt her, and remind her that he still had power over her even now. With that, he deactivated the power bonds and said "Get back to work, Megatron will want that cage up and running soon. Really my dear, you need to better your work ethic. You wouldn't want to be "In the crosshairs of Megatron's wrath," would you? Come Arachnitron, let Blackarachnia return to her work, lets bring our finished project to Megatron, shall we?"

With that, Tarantulas levitated both sets of power bonds he'd constructed and walked out of the lab without a parting glance at Blackarachnia, confident she'd finish the job on the cage or face Megatron's wrath herself, knowing now was not the time to challenge him when the base was on high alert and the maximals were on the brink of destruction.

OOP wrote: "All right, Megatron," he finally said calmly and reluctantly, lifting his head to look at him eye to eye on the screen again. "We will accept your terms. But if Banshee and Cheetor are intentionally injured in any way, then we will retaliate with full force. And you would do better than to underestimate our power," the Maximal Commander warned him as his tone grew stronger and definitive. "We should arrive in 30 cycles." Plenty of time to take care of this Maximal in distress and then be on their way. ...To death... Or torture and then death... Optimus tried not to think about it. His Maximals will have to find out the cure for this virus on their own. Abruptly ending his transmission with Megatron, Primal heard someone moving about and approaching him. Without thinking, only reacting, he grabbed his gun from his hip with his free hand and targeted Dinobot's chest. It took him a couple moments before his glare and bared teeth relaxed and he lowered his weapon, holstering it back to its place before there were any accidents. He also stowed away the taser in his subspace.

Megatron hoped Primal had seen his triumphant grin before he terminated communications, the predacon tyrant throwing his head back and laughing heartily, satisfied by his complete and utter victory over his old rival. Only way it could have been better is if Primal had stuck around long enough for him to rub it in just a little bit longer, yesss, but no matter, the ape and his mentor's days were numbered and soon he'd have them both at his mercy, of which he had little, and once they were gone, this war would be won!

"MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Megatron laughed, his own wicked laughter rivaling Tarantulas' insane cackling, "At long last the Beast Wars are drawing to a close, yessss, once Primal and Nexus are in my grasp the maximals are finished! Everything goes according to my vision, and will continue to do so...As long as none of you screw this up."

Megatron said this with an accusing glare at every predacon present, as if he expected one of them to come clean with some obvious and avoidable mistake they had somehow managed to make at the last possible second despite his brilliant and flawless planning.

"No? Good, glad to see we're all on our A Game today, yesss. No mistakes will be tolerated, not this time, not so close to the finish line, nnnoooo. Inferno, Umbra, report! What are the status of the prisoners?" Megatron inquired of two his more reliable officers, which was saying much considering one was insane and the other a mercenary.

At the back of his mind he still wondered where Darkwind was, but he was insignificant compared to the prisoners for the moment, he needed them alive and intact for this prisoner exchange to work. Two useless maximal grunts for two maximal commanders, an easy exchange.

[NaitoKage]

Umbra raised an optic ridge observing as the munitions were attacked by Banshee with a sound attack, he turned his aim as he noticed the shots starting to come back, then opened fire causing them to explode in mid air.

Cheetor rushed on ahead making his way over the lava and into a hall on the other side of the ship.

Umbra sighed walking towards one of the hover lifts climbing onto it Well, lets go.. Don't use explosives inside the ship though.. you'll damage it further and more then likely make an escape route for them. Also.. Megatron wants them alive, remember that.

"No? Good, glad to see we're all on our A Game today, yesss. No mistakes will be tolerated, not this time, not so close to the finish line, nnnoooo. Inferno, Umbra, report! What are the status of the prisoners?"

Umbra responded while using the hover lift In pursuit.. But still alive for now. I know this may be much to ask, but neither Inferno or myself have capabilities for retraining the prisoners.. Could you send one of the Spiders over, after we've stripped searched the prisoners to prevent further escapes ofcourse.

___________________________________

As Waspinator was about to make a second run on the ship, his sensors suddenly showed multiple lockons from a wave of micro missiles fired from the ground. Eh? Oh no!!!

Confused, Waspinator activated his afterburner making a hard turn as he flew towards the mountains around the area, with the missiles in pursuit. Turning off his afterburner but flying at high speed, weaving through the vallies as some of the missiles went off course colliding into random rock structures, he flew into a box canyon, transforming to his beastmode at the last moment to pull up and back as the missiles collided with the wall.

Waspinator hovered HA! Wazzzpinator victorious! he shouted to himself, after which he noticed a small pebble come free from the side of a boulder, which promptly came down flattening the insect transform into the ground. Ouch..

[Alak]

((OOC: Just a quick post to keep the Pred assault moving. Orcariner isn't going anywhere so I'll hold off on him.))

Landing on the ground, Buster rolled forward to keep up with his momentum in order to save his joints from the impact. Pulling out his rocket launcher, the llama loaded a round into the tube and lit up the targeting laser. Checking the trajectory of Terrorsaur's missles, Buster went ahead and fired a rocket at the approximate location as to where his teammate's projectiles would hit. Not bothering to check to see if his shot was accurate, the furry Predacon quickly pulled out another rocket and proceeded to load it into the launcher. Simultaneously, he back-pedaled towards some cover.

If we get their attention, I sure don't want to be the first one shot at.

Terrorsaur was much brighter in appearance than he was, as was the vibrant Waspinator. Buster figured that he would just land his shots from afar while the enemy's attention was focused on the much more eccentric flyers. Raising his launcher once more, the llama released a second shot towards the alien ship.

[una]

Whitegrazer watched Ironclaw's actions towards Nexus, his expression towards Nemesis. Rattrap's irritation with the situation as he wiped her hand away, which she took a calmly and ignored it in contrast with what Nemesis was telling them. Though, she wondered if she should take approiate action and... motioned for them to leave as she did feel like Nemesis seemed less comfortable with all of them looming over her. She understood that, respected that. And if Optimus wanted, she would take the others and herself...away from here. For now, she placed herself as between the Maximals and where Optimus and Nemesis were sitting and talking as she could while also giving them a view to see, watching as Nemesis continued to be harmless.

"I'm not sure how he did it, but that new recruit I mentioned, Darkwind as he calls himself, has been anything but honest with Megatron about his intentions. Seeing me as a potential threat, he portrayed me as a traitor. He provided a video taken at the Maximal base and somehow altered me into the frame."

So the Predacon framed Nemesis? Why, of all people did this Predacon, choose Nemesis? Was because it was convenient? Predacons were opportunistic and despite if the person they choose did them wrong or not, if it gave them an advantage of sorts, they would do it. Yet, it was possible that this Darkwind choose Nemesis for a certain reason. But what was it? That was the question.

She wondered when Darkwind actually entered into this fray?

"He claimed he had stowed away on the Akira and ultimately caused it to crash."

He had caused the Akira to crash? How did he do that? Nexus Prime would have picked him up, wouldn't he? She turned her attention towards Nexus. She recalled when she met Nexus the first time and her being inside the Akira, but as far as she could tell, it was genuine. It did look liked it was attacked. She was trying to recall further what she she saw in the physical ship itself, but it was sketchy. She wished she took a better glance at the wounds. If the Predacon had stowed away, that could explain the pod they found. Everything seemed to piece together well. But if the Predacon attacked the ship and escaped, wouldn't he try and do his best to make sure Nexus was killed?

Though, she had a question she wanted to ask Nexus, "Does Darkwind sound familar to you, Nexus?" Maybe the Predacon was trying to assassinate Nexus? Maybe if Nexus knew him, whatever information he had would shred some light and maybe draw out this Predacon recruit?

As she waited for his response, she felt like tiny bugs were crawling around her. It felt so uncomfortable, unnerving, but she tried to wash away the feeling. But it came out her in full force. She felt like she was overwhelmed by them. Half of them were going everywhere, some healing, and some were...still. Her thoughts went back to Nemesis. As she now realized why she was here, did she wish for asylum here? Reminding what she had told Nemesis back at their last battle, she actually was please to see Nemesis coming to them. It took a lot of courage to come here. Though, she knew many of her comrades would rather shoot her than allow her inside, but Optimus and her understood.

Whitegrazer looked at Aurora with a mix of concern and curiosity. She had been quiet about the whole thing. She wanted to know how she felt about the whole situation.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Sigh...Oh Blackarachnia, my poor deluded creation, such a way with words, too bad you almost always seem to waste it on empty threats and pitiful attempts to be frightening. But thank you, thank you for confirming my suspicions regarding the contents of your pretty little head, I'll be needing them soon enough, and no, I don't fear you doing anything to the "information," because its the ONLY ace you have up your sleeve anymore. You won't dare destroy it because without it there's nothing stopping me, or Megatron, from ripping you apart" Tarantulas explained, running a sharp talon down the side of her face, scratching it before adding "And you don't want that do you? Sooner or later someone will come for that intel, assuming the Golden Disk is never recovered, and you don't have the power to keep it to yourself forever, nor the support necessary to implement it on your own, and what's the point of hogging information to yourself that you'll never have the opportunity to use yourself? You're better off sharing it with those who DO have the means by which to use it. You are NOT a player in this game Blackarachnia, you're just another pawn on the board, the sooner you realize that, the better...Maybe you need a reminder?"

As Tarantulas's talked, as his talon scratched her face, he did have a point. Self-preservation was the primary objective for every spider. It made her wondered if all she did have was empty threats towards Tarantulas and Megatron? If she said she was going to do whatever it took, why not go one step forward? Was she that pathetic not to realize that she may not be as ruthless or calculating like Megatron or Tarantulas? If her only way to win this game was to do something behind her programming? And she didn't do it? Megatron would see a weakness and call out how weak she was to try something of that caliber? Tarantulas, well, he would laugh at her and she would never escape the wrath of his taunts and ridicule.

She squirmed around her power bonds as his thoughts entered her processor with pain. She rolled around a bit before he let go and seemed satisfied by his work. Anything to show his power and impress his...slave.

With that, he deactivated the power bonds and said "Get back to work, Megatron will want that cage up and running soon. Really my dear, you need to better your work ethic. You wouldn't want to be "In the crosshairs of Megatron's wrath," would you? Come Arachnitron, let Blackarachnia return to her work, lets bring our finished project to Megatron, shall we?"

When he deactivated the power bonds, enjoying the humiliation and leaving her with work to do, she got right to it. Without a word.

[Blackrosefencer]

"Now now Arachnitron, we mustn't tease her too badly, after all, she's one of us! Spiders need to stick together, don't we Blackarachnia?" Tarantulas said as he knelt down and grasped her by the chin roughly with his sharp talons, forcing her to look at him straight in the eyes, "Don't we?"

Arachnitron turned a mischievous grin towards Blackarachnia. "Yes, spiders must stick together," Arachnitron agreed embracing the opportunity to help Tarantulas torment the other widow. "Blackarachnia obviously can see that. Can't you Blackarachnia?"

"Soon, there might only be one. But as for right now, I don't think you want to touch me or do anything. IF you do, you might lose some....valuable information."Blackarachnia smiled seductively, "And that's information you are really want so badly, isn't it? Darling."
Then she looked at her powerbonds, before she chuckled, "Torturing me...Interrogating me...I dare you to do it. I wonder how Megatron would react if I die, not telling you anything. You would be the number one target for elimination. " She looked at Arachnitron with the same seductive smile, "You wouldn't be safe either, my dear. I would wondering how long you last being in the crosshairs of Megatron's wrath?"

"So I suggest you release me or I do something that may compromise...your security." She smirked.

Arachnitron was surprised to hear the she-spider admit to having any kind of information. In the cave, she had been denying everything despite the mental bock she had put into place. Tarantulas and Arachnitron alike had reached the obvious conclusion that Blackarachnia had been hiding something even then. To hear her admit it, though, was not what Arachnitron expected. Why would she admit to it now? Before, Blackarachnia had been threatened and had actually considered killing herself and taking Tarantulas with her. What changed?

"Hehehehehehehahahahahahaha! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tarantulas cackled, his laughter more terrifying than a fairytale witch or mad man put together, the sound of it oozing with evil and malevolent mirth, it just wasn't natural, even for a predacon.

"Sigh...Oh Blackarachnia, my poor deluded creation, such a way with words, too bad you almost always seem to waste it on empty threats and pitiful attempts to be frightening. But thank you, thank you for confirming my suspicions regarding the contents of your pretty little head, I'll be needing them soon enough, and no, I don't fear you doing anything to the "information," because its the ONLY ace you have up your sleeve anymore. You won't dare destroy it because without it there's nothing stopping me, or Megatron, from ripping you apart" Tarantulas explained, running a sharp talon down the side of her face, scratching it before adding "And you don't want that do you? Sooner or later someone will come for that intel, assuming the Golden Disk is never recovered, and you don't have the power to keep it to yourself forever, nor the support necessary to implement it on your own, and what's the point of hogging information to yourself that you'll never have the opportunity to use yourself? You're better off sharing it with those who DO have the means by which to use it. You are NOT a player in this game Blackarachnia, you're just another pawn on the board, the sooner you realize that, the better...Maybe you need a reminder?"

Tarantulas was quick to call Blackarachnia's bluff, but Arachnitron wasn't so sure. They had made the mistake to call her bluff before and it resulted in Blackarachnia proving to Tarantulas that she was more of a player in the game than he gave her credit for. She had grabbed a hold of an energon cube and used it to show Tarantulas just how vulnerable he really was. When Tarantulas used the psychic link on Blackarachnia at the same time that she had held onto the energon cube, he had felt the pain as well as her. Arachnitron wouldn't dare question him in front of Blackarachnia, though, but she wondered if this was another one of those situations where they shouldn't underestimate Blackarachnia. Once they were alone again maybe she would ask him if he really thought Blackarachnia wouldn't do just what she said....or then again, maybe she wouldn't ask. She didn't want Tarantulas to think she questioned his actions.

On the other hand, her plan in the cave had been to convince Tarantulas to sever the link between them and he had not done so. So, didn't that mean her plan failed? Perhaps Blackarachnia was desperate for something else to use as leverage to get him to sever the link.

With that, Tarantulas tapped into their link for the first time since the cave and sent a tidal wave of pain through her mind, not enough to injure her critically, just enough to hurt her, and remind her that he still had power over her even now. With that, he deactivated the power bonds and said "Get back to work, Megatron will want that cage up and running soon. Really my dear, you need to better your work ethic. You wouldn't want to be "In the crosshairs of Megatron's wrath," would you? Come Arachnitron, let Blackarachnia return to her work, lets bring our finished project to Megatron, shall we?"

With that, Tarantulas levitated both sets of power bonds he'd constructed and walked out of the lab without a parting glance at Blackarachnia, confident she'd finish the job on the cage or face Megatron's wrath herself, knowing now was not the time to challenge him when the base was on high alert and the maximals were on the brink of destruction.

Arachnitron followed Tarantulas out of the lab to present their finished product to Megatron.

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

Dinobot was surprised to see Sonar's reaction to his presence in the hallway. He ordered the bat to get up hoping that the winged Predacon could be convinced to walk himself to the brig, but instead, Sonar scurried away from Dinobot. He remained on the floor and looked up at Dinobot in fear. He had never seen that look on Sonar's face before.

"Everyone who is infected is experiencing a different side effect," Rhinox announced to the warrior as he approached him and the bat, still using the wall to hold him of straight. He watched Sonar scurry backwards on the floor, stricken by fear of Dinobot or whatever he was seeing and feeling. "I don't think Sonar knew what he was getting into or else he'd have avoided exposure. Perhaps we should take him to the medical bay instead. I may need his help figuring out how to end this. ...If it's at all possible talking to him. Orcariner can't seem to understand what I'm saying to him but he recognized my voice. Hopefully he'll stay put so he doesn't accidentally harm anyone or add anymore damages to the ship."

Dinobot looked over at Rhinox as he approached him and explained the situation. "Everyone who is infected is experiencing a different side effect," Rhinox had said. Dinobot couldn't help but wonder what side effect the green Maximal was experiencing at the moment. He was holding on to the wall as though he thought he might fall if he let it go.

Dinobot did his best to resist the suggestion to attack the flying vermin now while he was weak and vulnerable. He'd make sure it was a fair fight, of course! More fair than a fight with a Predacon was likely to be in their normal state of mind. But Sonar was the one to infect the Maximals....he may know of an antivirus.

"I concur," he responded hastily. "Sonar may be our only hope to cure the virus. We should consider restraining him once he is in the medical bay." Dinobot suggested. "How did all of this happen and how do you recommend we transport the prisoner to the medical bay?"

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

In response to Inferno's attack on the escaping Maximals, one of them used a sound attack that turned the shots he had fired back towards him and Umbra. Umbra acted quickly and exploded them in mid air. The two prisoners escaped into a hallway on the other side of the ship. Umbra grabbed one of the hover lifts and sped off.

"Well, lets go.. Don't use explosives inside the ship though.. you'll damage it further and more then likely make an escape route for them. Also.. Megatron wants them alive, remember that."

"You do not command me! I am the sub-commander!" Inferno protested, but he followed suit and boarded his own hover craft to pursue the fleeing Maximals.

"Inferno, Umbra, report! What are the status of the prisoners?"

Inferno nearly toppled off of his hover board in surprise. The Royalty! He had wanted to wait until the prisoners were recaptured, but Umbra responded to Megatron's hail anyway.

"In pursuit.. But still alive for now. I know this may be much to ask, but neither Inferno or myself have capabilities for retraining the prisoners.. Could you send one of the Spiders over, after we've stripped searched the prisoners to prevent further escapes of course."

Inferno scowled at Umbra as he relayed the status report to the Royalty. "I apologize, my Queen!" Inferno said frantically to Megatron over the comm link. "Whoever brought the prisoners to the colony neglected to remove all of their weapons! It won't happen again!"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: at Megs. He's such a jerk. Can't wait for them to chat face to face.

I will be gone this weekend from Friday to Monday, so I'm squeezing this post in now since I may not have time tomorrow after work. ))

"Man..," "We just can't catch a break, can we?"

"Got dat right," Rattrap agreed with Aurora, his index finger still lingering on his gun's trigger that was still aiming at Nemesis. He thought of his mission earlier with the empty stasis pod that the ermine Fuzor wisely suggested might have come from the Akira, where Nemesis and Terrorsaur were adamant about killing him and the rest of his team. And the new Predacon ship that showed up not long after the Akira had. And then Sonar escaping somehow and releasing the hallucinogen that plagued a few of them. What else could possibly happen? They would find out soon enough.

Kneeling there beside Nemesis, Primal watched her wings wrap around her a bit, likely to shield herself from the prosecuting eyes behind her. He noticed her gaze fall down a little with her optics widening at something. As if he had almost forgotten what could have drawn her attention to the side of his upper chest, his orange optics followed her to the discovery. He wasn't sure what she thought of it but she obviously recognized that glow. He was surprised that she didn't start asking questions but there were more pressing matters at hand anyway.

Optimus glanced back over his shoulder at the others, keeping an eye on them, and grateful for Whitegrazer trying to keep the peace among the crowd. He knew how all of them were feeling about this, and there was a lot of confusion, but the only way to sort it out was to remain calm and listen to one another, even the lone Predacon.

"I already suffered that wrath," "And somehow I doubt Megatron will welcome me back with anything but the barrel of his fusion cannon if he sees me again."

The Commander considered her lucky. Lucky that Megatron didn't rip her spark out from her body. He was not so sure he'd share the same fate with his surrender. But it also meant that she would not be accepted back into the Predacon ranks. Not while there was some alleged evidence against her. So, was she seeking refuge with the Maximals? Or was this all a brilliant scheme of Megatron's for sending her out there with this elaborate story to get inside their base and wreak havoc, stealing information and sabotaging their systems? Optimus glanced down at her hand as it moved along her forearm. Of course, any damage she might have had had since repaired itself but he imagined that she was re-imagining the injuries Megatron had given her before she escaped the Darksyde. There was a small frown of disapproval that crossed the Maximal's face.

"I'm not sure how he did it, but that new recruit I mentioned, Darkwind as he calls himself, has been anything but honest with Megatron about his intentions. Seeing me as a potential threat, he portrayed me as a traitor. He provided a video taken at the Maximal base and somehow altered me into the frame."

Now pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. And Nemesis almost sounded innocent... almost hurt by what had transpired earlier. Primal's expression held disbelief and great concern as he studied her while she spoke. How could this Darkwind character have even obtained any footage from the Axalon, let alone footage showing Nemesis had been there too? How had he sneaked in to the ship unnoticed while there were still Maximals about? Unless it was a recording device he had on himself. Either way, Optimus had an idea to further investigate the matter. Whoever Darkwind was, he was expertly skilled in camouflage and espionage. And Optimus wasn't liking this one bit. He followed her gaze once again but this time it settled upon Nexus Prime, and he looked at him curiously before she continued.

"He claimed he had stowed away on the Akira and ultimately caused it to crash."

Nexus had made no mention of this at all and his quizzical look pried the Admiral for a moment. It wasn't in an accusing way, but rather a disappointing one. With his rush to his own quarters and refusing any CR's to help his repairs, the Admiral never filled him in on how his vessel was brought down in the first place and the possibility of a rogue agent of some sort causing some serious trouble. Was Nexus not aware of Darkwind's presence on the Akira? But he knew his vessel inside and out, every nook and cranny, every shadowed corner and air duct. He had to have known something. Was he not aware that a pod had been ejected from his ship? Was that pod carrying Darkwind, and by the time Rattrap's team discovered it, had he made his escape out of view? Well, these were all questions he could grill him with on the way to the Darksyde, whether his answers would actually help ease the uncertainty and fear of this elusive Darkwind fellow or not. Obviously things were turning in Primal's head now. And it was time to get everyone back in gear and figure out what was going on. The best Maximal for the job was Rattrap. Unfortunately, not many of his crew have had any rest or repairs for over a day and night now, including himself save for the patchwork nanogel that Aurora applied to him, and it didn't look like they'd be able to get any R&R anytime soon. He regretted that since he always tried to make sure they could catch their breaths after such a busy and treacherous day.

Primal could feel Whitegrazer's inquisitiveness as she listened to Nemesis. Her questions would be valuable to this investigation of Darkwind. Also, did Darkwind have any relation to the other Predacon ship that recently made landfall? Were they seeking him, or were they after Nexus? Or was their arrival completely coincidental? At least he and Rattrap agreed that it wasn't. One question after another, accusation after accusation. It was time for his Maximals to find some results since he had very little time to spare before his exchange. So Optimus finally stood up and turned to the rest of them, the upper part of his chest still glowing from his last shock. Was it him or did it feel like the effects of the hallucinogen were gradually subsiding more and more? He certainly hoped so. Maybe these nanobots weren't such a bad idea after all.

The Spy's bright red optics lingered on the bluish glow emitting from the ape's chest for a moment, wondering what the heck he got himself into, but he continued to hold his weapon steady on Nemesis's back, keeping Aurora safe from her.

"Everyone, return to Base. We don't want to loiter out here much longer and attract those Predacons to us," Optimus said as they could still hear the gun fire not too far in the distance. "We have a lot of questions that need answering and we can't do that unless we get underway and all of us pull together to start looking."

He began with the rat. "Rattrap, start with the surveillance video and find out how Sonar escaped. Maybe it has something to do with Darkwind. And see if you can find any footage of Nemesis entering or leaving our ship that would collaborate with what he showed to Megatron."

"Aurora, Rhinox will need your help finding an antidote for this hallucinogen. I fear Sonar's mentality may be too compromised to offer us anything."

"Ironclaw, I need to know Landslide's status on his repairs."

"What about her?" Rattrap said, nudging the barrel of his gun in the Predacon bird's direction.

Optimus hesitated to answer him knowing how negatively he would react. "If she's willing, Nemesis may seek refuge with us until we figure out how and why she was set up."

"You gotta be kiddin' me. Optimus, dere's no way we're gonna let her inside our ship like some kinda relative visiting us from outta town!" the rodent argued.

"There's no where else for her to go, Rattrap. And if she's telling the truth, then she might as well stick around and help us while we help her. It's a win-win situation."

"No, it's a win-lose. See, we got the tech and ship ta figure it out while she's lost her place, all on her own for all we know! I ain't lettin' her inside the Axalon puttin' all our lives in danger! Dis could all be a set-up!"

"Well, that's not your call to make," Primal said, throwing out the leader card on the table.

"Dis is ludicrous. You aren't thinkin' clearly, Optimus. It's that hallucinogen and that blue crud on your chest messing with yer logic circuits. She tried ta kill me yesterday and was enjoyin' every second of it!" Rattrap's hand holding his gun started to tremble with fury while his gaze repeatedly shifted back and forth from Primal to Nemesis. "Remember Nightmist and Valkyrie?" he threw out... but... he didn't mean to. Or did he? He was just trying to prove his point.

"Enough!" Primal finally raised his voice with a growl deep in his throat. He wasn't expecting Rattrap to say those names and use them against him and Nemesis. It hurt. "She's not going to harm anyone because there's too much at stake for all of our sake's! And even if she tries anything, she will be constantly surrounded and monitored by Maximals day in and day out. She'll have extremely limited access. I know the risks, and we'll take the proper precautions. I am far more concerned about Darkwind right now, and we could use her help finding him and clearing her name so she can return to the Darksyde. This won't be easy for her either, Rattrap. I'm just looking for a little cooperation here and giving her a chance."

The smaller Maximal shook his head in disgust and disappointment but he knew arguing with Optimus wouldn't get them anywhere. He could be pretty stubborn at times. When it came to trusting other bots, Optimus and Rattrap were polar opposites. He hated... no, loathed the idea of Nemesis being inside of their base. After everything she had put the Maximals through now their fearless leader was going to help her? "A chance for what? It's obvious she hates us and just wants ta use us."

"That feeling is probably mutual. Please understand," the Maximal Commander pleaded. "I don't have time for this, Rattrap."

"Make time! There ain't no where else you need ta be right now but here," the Spy objected.

Primal shook his head with a heavy sigh, reluctant to explain. His voice was firm but there was an unmistakable hint of sorrow and defeat woven inside. "Megatron has captured Cheetor and another Maximal; the one Dinobot's team sought after. Her name is Banshee." Labeling her a Maximal was just easier at this point, and he purposely avoided the blame-game because it would have been unprofessional and unnecessary. "I have agreed to exchange myself and Nexus for their safe release." He glanced at Nexus apologetically, although knowing him, the Admiral was probably looking forward to confronting the Predacons and giving them a hard time. "That's why I need to know Landslide's condition because I want him and Whitegrazer to rendezvous with them and make sure Megatron doesn't go back on his word. In the meantime, a cure needs to be found for this hallucinogen before anyone even thinks about coming to our aid, and you need to find out who Darkwind is and how he gets around so easily without being noticed. That's why I need everyone's cooperation." Ultimately, his and Nexus's lives depended on it. Even Nemesis's. If they wanted their fearless leader back, they would all have to work together efficiently, diligently and quickly.

Rattrap finally lowered his gun slowly as his mouth hanged open. Okay, now it couldn't possibly get any worse...

-----

"I concur," "Sonar may be our only hope to cure the virus. We should consider restraining him once he is in the medical bay." "How did all of this happen and how do you recommend we transport the prisoner to the medical bay?"

"We don't know how it happened," Rhinox answered Dinobot as he caught up to them. "Sonar had knocked out Saber-Fang somehow and then he was suddenly in the command center. I attempted to stop him from escaping and without harming Saber-Fang, we struggled, and then he threw this vile of some sort that exploded on the floor, and the gaseous liquid inside turned to vapor when it was exposed. That's how the hallucinogen got airborne. I don't know how Sonar escaped his cell but I'm certain Optimus will have everyone back here soon to regroup and find out what happened."

"As for Sonar's transportation, I don't want you to touch him in case this is contagious, so I'll handle it. Just follow me and make sure he doesn't do anything to seriously injure either of us," the engineer explained. Then he approached the bat carefully with his hands out, ready to grab him and pick him up off the floor.

[Night-Hunter]

Sonar's eyes widened when Rhinox approached him, but that wasn't what he saw much less heard. His tormentor was clearly bored from torturing at the moment and called his lacky to take him away.

"I'm finished with him for now, put him in the cell. Strap him down if you want."

His lacky grinned and chuckled before turning his attention to Sonar. Who approached before knocking him out with a wicked right hook. The punch knocked him out on impact.

To any on looker, Sonar's head snapped sharply to left for no reason at all then went limp and fell backwards unconscious.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: DAMN, this was a LONG post for me, XD. Any who, I won't be available Saturday because we'll be celebrating my dad's belated birthday, just a heads up.

Naitokage wrote: Umbra responded while using the hover lift In pursuit.. But still alive for now. I know this may be much to ask, but neither Inferno or myself have capabilities for retraining the prisoners.. Could you send one of the Spiders over, after we've stripped searched the prisoners to prevent further escapes ofcourse.

"THEY'VE ESCAPED?!" Megatron roared into the commlink, his mood changing for the worst, his euphoria and cautious optimism from before replaced by disbelief at the incompetence of his crew, the poor timing of this escape, and pure, simple, RAGE.

Blackrose wrote: Inferno scowled at Umbra as he relayed the status report to the Royalty. "I apologize, my Queen!" Inferno said frantically to Megatron over the comm link. "Whoever brought the prisoners to the colony neglected to remove all of their weapons! It won't happen again!"

"I don't care how it happened you fool! All that matters to me is that you recapture them immediately before my entire plan goes crashing down straight into the Pit!" he yelled back at the clueless insect, before, with great effort, suppressing his outrage long enough to add "The spiders will be on their way to assist you both shortly, DO NOT LOSE THEM, its all over if the prisoners escape the Darksyde and contact their friends before Primal and Nexus get here. Lethal force and serious damage is unacceptable, our "guests of honor" will be arriving in 30 cycles, any damage you inflict on our escapees must be minimal enough to be healed within that allotted time or else Primal may go back on his word. I shall take no chances on this one, no further mistakes can be made, if that is clear, DO AS I COMMAND AND RECAPTURE THOSE MAXIMALS!"

With that, Megatron terminated the communication and bellowed "Why is it so hard to keep two, ONLY TWO, poisoned maximals under lock and key on a Primus be Damned warship?! WHY?!"

He then grabbed the nearest hover platform and smashed it into the deck, viciously pounding it into scrap metal and wires with his bare hands, before angrily kicking it over the heads of Starshadow and Quickstrike, the mangled piece of machinery exploding spectacularly as it plummeted into the lava pits below.

Turning to face his likely frightened minions Megatron commanded with a scowl "GET ME THE SPIDERS ON THE COMMS, NOW!" and as they carried out his wishes yelled into the comm "TARANTULAS! ARACHNITRON! BLACKARACHNIA! ALL THREE OF YOU HAVE BETTER COMPLETED YOUR PROJECTS, IF SO, CONVERGE ON INFERNO'S AND UMBRA'S LOCATION AND HELP THEM RESTRAIN THOSE BLASTED MAXIMALS, AND DO IT RIGHT THIS TIME OR ELSE!"

"Yes, of course Megatron, we'll be on our way with the completed power bon..." Tarantulas began to reply back before Megatron cut him off without another word, the transmetal tyrant turning his furious gaze upon those gathered with him and said "Quickstrike, continue surveillance of the outside. Starshadow, track the maximal escapees on the computer and give me insitu reports on Inferno's and Umbra's progress in recapturing them, or lack thereof. Activate our internal security measures as well, but do not kill them, make sure everything is set to stun, injure, or capture those maximals. I won't leave this mess to those two fools alone."

Megatron was sorely tempted to aid in the chase, but for now felt he needed to be here and ready when Primal arrived, and make certain his two trigger happy "bridge bunnies" didn't kill his hostages before the exchange could be made or worse, give away to the outside that not all was well within his beloved base, but if the crisis continued to escalate he WOULD settle this matter himself personally, something he wished wasn't so often necessary.

Elsewhere, Tarantulas turned to Arachnitron and said "Well my dear, his "royal highness" beckons, we better not delay, not when he's like this, alas. Lets move!"

"Tarantulas to Umbra, Megatron has informed me of the crisis at hand, what is your position?" Tarantulas inquired of Umbra as he raced down the corridors of the Darksyde, choosing to deal with the professional merc rather than the so-called "Subcommander" of the predacons, just another deluded fool who'd been promoted to a position he did not deserve simply because he had more loyalty than brains...And of course, Tarantulas would NEVER forget how the ant had nearly killed him before the transwarp wave had struck, no, never.

Mystrea wrote: Dirge was staring into space when he heard the weapons fire just a short distance away. Night terror had said his bit with the Maximal and started to run back to the ship. He opened fire on the pathetic life forms which call themselves Predacons, this was followed by giving him the order. He lumbered round to bring them into his field of vision. His eye tracked all of the targets, it identified there weapons and their movement. He cocked his arm cannon and lifted it up, pointing in there direction. He fired, unleashing multiple missiles at the current enemy. The ship even started to take off, Night Terror must have been moving quickly. Dirge left the first volley to have its affect before firing again.

Terrorsaur cackled with glee as he watched his squad's combined firepower hammer away at the enemy vessel, expecting its shields to fall soon and leave the ship itself open to attack. However, he noticed the incoming enemy missiles in time to destroy several of them with his eye beams before they could reach him, firing back four missiles of his own down at the ground where the enemy fire had been coming from.

"Heads up gang, we have an enemy grounder, and he's packing heat!" Terrorsaur warned the rest of his team.

Naitokage wrote: As Waspinator was about to make a second run on the ship, his sensors suddenly showed multiple lockons from a wave of micro missiles fired from the ground. Eh? Oh no!!!

Confused, Waspinator activated his afterburner making a hard turn as he flew towards the mountains around the area, with the missiles in pursuit. Turning off his afterburner but flying at high speed, weaving through the vallies as some of the missiles went off course colliding into random rock structures, he flew into a box canyon, transforming to his beastmode at the last moment to pull up and back as the missiles collided with the wall.

Waspinator hovered HA! Wazzzpinator victorious! he shouted to himself, after which he noticed a small pebble come free from the side of a boulder, which promptly came down flattening the insect transform into the ground. Ouch..

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me..." Terrorsaur mumbled with a roll of his optics as he flew over to assist the crushed insect, treating the rescue of his comrade more like an annoying chore rather than a life or death situation...It happened so often and no matter how serious the injury appeared to be, the bug always recovered sooner or later, so it just didn't shock him anymore, more like disappointed him since now that Waspinator was one of the few but proud transmetals, chosen ones of the universe, he should be able to better avoid and withstand embarrassing "accidents" such as this instance...No matter, like it or not, Wasp was the closest ally he had on this wretched world and couldn't leave him for scrap.

Terrorsaur walked up to the boulder and simply blasted it to bits with his eye beams, picking up Waspinator from amidst the debris and dusting the dazed and battered bug off a bit before asking "You still functional, Bug Face? Come one, we gotta get back to work or else the new guy will steal all the glory for himself!"

With that said, Terrorsaur contacted Buster and said "Newbie, you're on your own for a few nanoclicks while I get Waspinator's head back on straight, keep pounding away at the shields with the heaviest ammo you've got til we're airborne again, and keep an eye out for the grunt on the ground, I shot a bunch of missiles at him but he could still be functional knowing our luck, and he's more likely to come after you next than us at the moment."