"More Than Meets The Eye: Part I"

[NaitoKage]

(I've mentioned to Star this, but I could bring it up. If you don't want Optimus to be the vector, you can have Star spread the virus. She's a hungry vampire that is going to probably end up in the brig.. so not like access would be difficult.. after which, I'm sure she'd go insane and attack half the ship in a frenzy.)

As the ship started to move towards Waspinator and Terrorsaur, Waspinator broke off towards the right side of the ship, a few shots hitting him as he strafed out of the way, coming up to the side of the gun and punching his toxic stinger into it,then started to fire cybervenom blasts inside the gun assembly while pulling the stinger out to cause it to explode.


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Umbra observed the scene between Starshadow and Banshee, followed by Banshee stabbing Star in the back, only to see Star electrocute Banshee in the process. He seemed unphased to the violence, though raised an optic ridge as Star let out a scream, her face splitting in half at the lower jaw.. like something seen in the Predator movies. (Or Transformers Prime.)

Seeing banshee swiftly detained, Umbra smiled putting away his rifle and sword, then picked up Cheetor walking over to Tarantulas and taking a set of the bonds from him Thank you lieutenant. Hopefully there should be no further distractions today. I'll take care of Cheetor, may I ask you and your associates take care of Starshadow? I imagine her actions will have her sent to the brig for insubordination.. though something has always seemed.. off about her..Be careful.

Umbra then gave a polite nod, binding up Cheetor, then removing his tail and throwing the feline onto his shoulder carrying him as Umbra followed Inferno, activating his comlink Lord Megatron, the maximals have been recaptured, disarmed, and bound. They have sustained minor damage but nothing life threatening or visible without an internal inspection. However they have damaged the cages they were in.. Should we take them to the bridge? I believe that way they wont be able to escape under the eye of multiple crew members while being held at gunpoint.

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In the cargobay of the Axalon, the CR chamber doors started to open. Having laid dormant while being repaired, it took a moment for Landslide's systems to boot back up. His optics flickering for a few seconds before powering up, he then slowly lurched up from his sitting position. He glanced down towards his leg, which seemed to be working properly now. Raising his hand up to his face rubbing it, he then looked towards Orcariner's work station, noticing one of the cameras out on the large screen, he then looked towards one of the cameras on the bridge seeing a image of Orcariner laying face down through a wall he collapsed.

Landslide gave a moan of frustration Ug..givin' me more work lad? Well.. lets see where the bruiser is that did that to ya.. Landslide looked around the cameras, seeing no Predacons detected other then Sonar. He blinked, then activated his comlink Landslide to Rhinox, repairs finished.. I'm lookin' at Orcariner's work station.. is there somethin' goin on? The bridge looks like a warzone..

Landslide then walked towards a box as his right arm opened up, exposing his grenade launcher, the side of the launcher opening as a cylinder twisted out and dropped the spent shells into the box, then started to load some tranquilizer shells into the launcher, then flipped the cylinder back in, retracting his launcher back into his arm. If something was in the base, he could use the tranquilizer shells safely inside the ship compared to his normal limpet grenades. Eventually he might need to look into some other shells as well.
(Just to note, I added the tranquilizer shells to Landslide's profile since they'll probably be used alot for non-lethal stuff, like when used to capture Saberfang.)

[DarkSpark]

OOC: here's my post guys, if I missed anything or overlooked anyone, let me know, bit hectic at home at the moment with babysitting my aunt's dogs again, working swifting approaching, and needing to create a new OC for an online interactive comic I subscribe to because my old one was killed off the other day XD. BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Naitokage wrote: Quickstrike nodded turning on the scanners, he then made a loud glup Uh.. Boss.. Darkwind can't be found on the scanners.. ?

Megatron scowl deepened as he anger continued to boil, right optic twitching at the impertinence of a new recruit of all bots going AWOL on him so soon as he simply said "Of course he's not...Nnnnnoooo..."

One did not envy Quickstrike for being the only pred left on the bridge in the company of a tyrant who was literally three steps away from "going Galvatron" on the first living thing that dared to piss him off and was dumb enough to be within arms reach of him. However, Megatron's rage would find a new subject to be directed towards soon enough as he observed on the security cameras the outcome of the struggle between his crew, the escaped maximals, and the insubordinate Starshadow.

Megatron had transcended anger at this point and rolled his optics in irritation as he watched Starshadow's jaws split open unnaturally and sighed "And now I suppose this is the part where you turn out to be a Quintesson spy who survived Galvatron's Purge, hmm, Quickstrike?"

Starshadow wrote:
Banshee saw the incoming cybervenom and kept her arm blades then crouched to avoid it.

Starshadow snarled at Blackarachnia as her optics turned red and, deactivated her blades and pulled out her gun, firing it at her, "STAY OUT OF IT!" Clearly she was not in the mood to deal with her comrades. The situation got her more excited in a negative way, she had a sudden urge to kill everything. As the next wave of cybervenom shots were flying right towards them, Starshadow then dropped her gun, charged up her hands with electricity and fired as many bolts as possible to destroy them but two of them brushed through her shoulder and left arm.

It was a good opportunity to pass for Banshee to hurt the cat bot or better, kill her, so she drew her arm blades once again and rammed through them at the white panther's lower back which made her scream in pain. As Starshadow screamed, parts of her lower jaw split up and opened, giving her a mutant look. Her mech fluid did not looked normal either, the color of it was not the color of cybertronian mech fluid. "I'm surprised that they didn't kill you sooner than they should! You're nothing but a freak of nature! An outsider! A REAL TRAITOR TO CYBERTRON ITSELF!" Banshee twisted the blade, making Starshadow scream louder.

"It's true that I've...commited treason, murder and other list of things...but I'm doing it...for a very good reason!" and with that Starshadow grab hold of the protruding blades out of her and sent a high voltage of electricity to shock the bat to unconciousness, "I hate bats..." the catbot pulled herself off the blades and went down on her knees, bleeding profusely while Banshee was on the floor behind her.

Tarantulas watched in awe and genuine scientific interest as Starshadow's lower jaw split open, a characteristic she had never displayed before, and while cybertronians with split jaws or mandibles such as Waspinator were far from unheard of, it did not look like a natural feature of Starshadow's anatomy. More obviously abnormal was the mech fluid, if you could call it that, that she oozed onto the floor...

"Fascinating...Though I'd advise no one to make contact with those fluids until we know exactly whats wrong with our fine feline friend here...Or what she actually is for that matter" Tarantulas advised those gathered, trusting all but the most foolish of them, namely Inferno, to take the hint.

Blackrose wrote: Starshadow fell to the floor as did Banshee. Arachnitron knelt down over the unconscious Maximal and used her webbing to bind the bat's hands and feet.

"The Royalty will be pleased that you helped apprehend the prisoners," Inferno said to the spiders as he, first, disarmed the prisoner, and then, picked up the prisoner to return her to her cell. He followed Umbra to the brig where they would lock up the prisoners once again.

Arachnitron watched Inferno and Umbra leave the hall and turned to Tarantulas. "What do we do with Starshadow?" Arachnitron asked.

"Oh will he really? Well the Royalty's praise would certainly complete my day, Inferno" Tarantulas replied sarcastically, doubting the dumb bug would understand his true meaning as he told Arachnitron "Bind her with webbing, arms, legs, the works...And especially over that wound, anything to keep it from leaking all over the ship, again, do not touch the substance until we know what's wrong with her, she could be diseased"

As he said this, he observed as the spilled fluids began to dissolve...Now his interest truly was peaked. He would have to extract a sample from her later and run an analysis on it, preserve it somehow, perhaps through freezing...Though for now, containment and quarantine was more important, especially since they did not know exactly what was wrong with her, only that she was abnormal, even on a ship crewed by transmetals and fuzors.

Naitokage wrote: Umbra observed the scene between Starshadow and Banshee, followed by Banshee stabbing Star in the back, only to see Star electrocute Banshee in the process. He seemed unphased to the violence, though raised an optic ridge as Star let out a scream, her face splitting in half at the lower jaw.. like something seen in the Predator movies. (Or Transformers Prime.)

Seeing banshee swiftly detained, Umbra smiled putting away his rifle and sword, then picked up Cheetor walking over to Tarantulas and taking a set of the bonds from him Thank you lieutenant. Hopefully there should be no further distractions today. I'll take care of Cheetor, may I ask you and your associates take care of Starshadow? I imagine her actions will have her sent to the brig for insubordination.. though something has always seemed.. off about her..Be careful.

Umbra then gave a polite nod, binding up Cheetor, then removing his tail and throwing the feline onto his shoulder carrying him as Umbra followed Inferno, activating his comlink Lord Megatron, the maximals have been recaptured, disarmed, and bound. They have sustained minor damage but nothing life threatening or visible without an internal inspection. However they have damaged the cages they were in.. Should we take them to the bridge? I believe that way they wont be able to escape under the eye of multiple crew members while being held at gunpoint.

"There's always something "off" about the members of this crew, but your advice is wise none the less Umbra" Tarantulas agreed.

Meanwhile, Megatron responded "At this point in the game I'll take no more chances, we'll save the new brig for our "guests of honor" when they arrive, assuming Miss Archnia has finished her work, so yes Umbra, bring the prisoners to me so they can be disarmed, treated, and watched over by COMPETENT optics. Arachnitron, carry Starshadow to the bridge as well, carefully, Primus knows what she's leaking all over my ship. She has much explaining to do, and even MORE to atone for, Yyyyessss. As for you Tarantulas, return to the lab and construct more power bonds, I won't risk another escape attempt and I want Starshadow restrained securely until we get to the bottom of her...Ailment, shall we say? We all on the same page now? Yesss? Good, then do it!"

With that, Megatron terminated the com link and returned to his throne, silently fuming over everything that had transpired all at once and so soon before his carefully orchestrated victory, as if destiny itself was fighting against him, throwing every conceivable wrench into his plans possible no matter how outlandish or unbelievable! NO! He was Megatron and it was his destiny to conquer and rule, no sick twist of fate would impede him in his goals, he didn't care if an entire graveyard of skeletons came marching out of every single closet on his ship, he would force the wheels of fate to turn in the direction HE WANTED, even if he had to beat every single last one of his disloyal, scheming, cutthroat cronies into submission to do it! Until they finally knew and fully understand once and for all, NOT TO CROSS HIM.

"Well, that's that I suppose, good luck my dear" Tarantulas bid Arachnitron as he switched to spidercycle mode and raced off back to the lab to do as he was told, something he found distasteful, but at the same time necessary given Megatron's mood, which he could sense even over the coms was being pushed past the breaking point, and he had no intention of suffering the same sad fate as Glowstick before his own plans came to fruition.

Admiral Grim wrote: Night Terror smiled to himself as he watched the flyers scatter from the missiles launched by his minion. He steered his ship to face the enemy flyers.

Night Terror fired at the one that seemed to be leading the attack. All around him, consoles were sparking from the damage already. The shields were already severely damaged.

"Dirge keep up the fire on the flyers. We need to-" Night Terror was cut off as his ship rocked as more missiles slammed in to the shields.

"No!" he screamed in rage as the shields finally collapsed.

He did not have many options, the enemy had better maneuverability than he did in this ship. When in doubt, attack.

Night Terror fired the ships weapons at the enemy Predacons and speed his ship straight towards them.

"Hehehehehe! We've got him on the ropes now boys! Wasp, Buster! Take out the defenses, I'll take out the engines! LETS BUST OPEN THIS CAN! RRRRRAWWWK!" Terrorsaur cheered triumphantly as he bobbed and weaved around the enemy fire, the taste of impending victory spurring him onward, blasting away at the ship's engines with his eye beams as he drew closer and closer, before hacking away at said engines as he flew by with his twin blades, putting some distance between himself and the ship before turning back to admire his handiwork.

"I do believe I've outdid myself this time, hehehe, even Megajerk himself will have to acknowledge my skills on this! Soon they'll all see me for who I truly am, TERRORSAUR, KING OF THE AIR! RAWK!"

With that proud proclamation, he flew after the damaged enemy ship from behind, firing twin missiles at it this time to inflict even more damage on the cut up engines.

[una]

((OOC: I have been agonizing on a short story I'm been trying (trying is the key word here ) to write. Of course, I finally was able to get myself to write at least a few hundred words before I let myself free to do anything on this RP. I have no idea how babysitting dogs are. I babysat cats before. What kind of dogs are they, Darkspark?))

She was proud of Nemesis. The Decepticon-turned-Predacon raven showed the best restrain of the most Maximals around here. It showed that Nemesis was not allowing her fight or flight instincts to overrode reasoning. It was remarkable and she couldn't help but approve. She hoped the Maximals took this into consideration as well and she hoped when she returned with Cheetor and Banshee, they all played nice.

"Not until you rid everyone of their hallucinations first,"

Yes, yes, of course, they must deal with this virus first, "Right. Understood," she nodded in acknowledgement. They needed to have everyone at their best game to help in gaining Optimus and Nexus back. She hoped Cheetor and Banshee were all right. To lose two to gain two, though? They should be gaining all four back.

But they will. They will all be safe and sound. No one was going to die. It may be a rough time, but they could do it.

Whitegrazer kneeled down beside Aurora and looked at her with understanding of the little one's pain. The idea of Optimus being inside Predacon hands was... intolerable, but Optimus was doing the right thing even if it might not seem like it. If she was in Optimus's shoes, she would have done it too. She respected Optimus's choice. Knowing that two of their own were all ready there was already intolerable. She placed a comforting hand on the young one's shoulder, "Aurora, I know how hard this is. It would be rough, but the only thing you can do is to follow Optimus's instruction and cure this virus that is plaguing our friends. As I will do my duty to make sure our friends come back here safely and that the Predacons don't try anything." She softly lowered her voice, "Don't worry. I will make sure Optimus and Nexus are okay. I will do it to the best of my ability. I promise." She tapped her spark. She will be there for Optimus.

She got up, patting her shoulder, and smiled at Aurora. Well, this was it. It was time to get to work. All the emotions she was feeling right now. She must push aside yet use them to fuel her determination and will to help them all.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blackarachnia was miffed at the Predacon feline, "Hey, watch your-" she saw the split opened horror of Starshadow's mutated form and backed off a bit. It was something that you would see in a horror film or nightmares Tarantulas sent her through their link. She didn't wanted to be reminded of what horrors she experienced due to that creep.That made her decisions quite easy. She allowed herself to help in binding her down with webbing. It was better to make it triple. Starshadow or whatever she was would be unable to try anything funny. She was so tempted to web her mouth. Just to not see that split jaw thingy she did. Tarantulas seemed to be heading back to the lab.

From what she could see, there wasn't anything here for her unless Umbra needed an extra..hand? Also, the fluid on the ground. Despite her early disgust and disturbed reaction, she, like Tarantulas, was interested in it. But not now. Her attention was elsewhere. Not the hostages nor Starshadow. She had something MORE IMPORTANT to do. Since nothing else was here for her to do, she walked off towards her own room. If Megatron wanted her, he could just bellow like a drama queen as always.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: The two dogs I'm looking after are a Rat Terrier (very loving dog but VERY hyper and likes to bark at anything passing by, & REFUSES to be left outside alone for long, will bark until you bring him in XD) and a Pug (she's an old gal but she's the alpha dog between the two of them, & will bark when its dinner time, or thinks its dinner time...A pug barking/howling is a strange but hilarious sound lol). They're sweet dogs, but a handful XD

Oh, in regards to the game, Tarantulas was already ordered to head back to the lab to make more power bonds by Megatron, so he's not around anymore for BA to talk to, just Arachnitron & everyone else heading to the bridge.

[una]

((OOC: Awwwwww so cute!

Oh! Thanks for telling me that. OOPS! I will edit my post then.

Edited! ))

[Phoenix]

"I'm so sorry, Aurora. But I have to do this,"

Aurora's green optics flickered as Optimus said those words, her face looking lost as if someone had just ripped her hope from her and crushed it, and for a moment her gaze fell on the ground.

"No, you don't," she persisted, her voice a little quieter, flustered, disappointed, and almost a little angry perhaps. "Megatron will kill you first chance he gets, and then he will come after the rest of us to finish the job he started earlier.. When we're in shambles, just like before. Please don't do this! We'll figure out some other way, we'll.. storm their base,... something!"


Trailing off as her voice started choking up, Aurora looked up at Optimus again, steeling herself as best she could for the inevitable refusal she already knew he was going to give her, while attempting to pin him in pace with her optics. After the last time, there was no way she could bring herself to let him go. Last time she watched him die, it broke her.. if she had to witness it again, it felt as if it would kill her.

What good would getting Cheetor and this Banshee back do if Megatron would just mow them all down in the end? Yes, Rattrap was a capable leader, he had proven that much, but for his many strengths he was not Optimus! This plan just sounded like pure insanity to the little fuzor and she simply couldn't fathom how Optimus could even consider this approach.

"Aurora, I know how hard this is. It would be rough, but the only thing you can do is to follow Optimus's instruction and cure this virus that is plaguing our friends. As I will do my duty to make sure our friends come back here safely and that the Predacons don't try anything." She softly lowered her voice, "Don't worry. I will make sure Optimus and Nexus are okay. I will do it to the best of my ability. I promise."

Aurora was so focused on Optimus that she didn't even notice as Whitegrazer came up to her and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder, causing Aurora to relax ever so slightly. The white mare had a strange ability to calm even the fiercest of arguments down with a mere touch or a few carefully selected words. The ermine fuzor would have none of it, not this time, brushing Whitegrazer's hand off her shoulder with a single move of her arm.

"No, he does not have to go! It's way too dangerous," she argued, the fur on her neck almost standing on end. But her arguments fell on deaf ears as Optimus had already turned his attention to Rattrap and was now giving him the instructions needed to pull this insane plan of theirs off. Again Aurora looked down at the ground, her hands curling into fists. After a few moments of standing there like that, she sighed and glanced over at Ironclaw. It had been a while since she last saw him, in fact she hadn't really talked to him since he got changed into a transmetal. It wasn't that she held a grudge or anything against the male badger, but she didn't exactly agree with this ongoing quest of his to settle every score with violence and never follow the rules laid out by Optimus and the other Maximals. Infact, despite his earlier display when he pointed the weapon at the winged Predacon, this was the calmest she had seen the male for a while.

And this time part of her could even relate to the badger's rage.

"Come on, Ironclaw, we got our orders..," she muttered as she trotted back towards the base, only stopping briefly to glance back at Optimus, pleading with him with her eyes to no avail.

"These were Megatron's terms. You and I for them. And we must be unarmed."

Nexus paused for a moment, his shoulder cannons suddenly emerging from their hiding spots. "I suppose I could disable them," the old warrior said thoughtfully. Surely the Predacon commander would take some precautions this time and not just take them on their word. Although going into enemy territory unarmed did seem a bit reckless, even to him.

"I appreciate your bravery and nobility, Nexus, but if we don't hold our end of the bargain, then we're putting their lives in grave danger, and I can't risk that."

The admiral nodded, the cannons suddenly sparkling a bit before a steady cloud of smoke began to rise from the same location. "There. I overloaded the circuits so the weapons are disabled now. If the Predacons scan us upon arrival, they should be able to detect that." He did not have to look at Optimus to feel his grateful optics and perhaps a hint of a smile.

Meanwhile Nemesis watched the scene unfold, unable to hide a slight smirk as Optimus started yelling at the oversized badger. The smirk grew a little wider as Primal made a comment about babysitting her, and she almost sounded a little coy as she threw in her opinion on that idea.

"Hopefully he's done his homework because he failed miserably last time he attempted to babysit me." She didn't fear the badger's wrath, in fact she didn't fear any of the Maximals. Holding back from dealing that final blow was in their nature, unlike Megatron, and as long as Optimus was on her side, the rest of them had little choice in the matter. Besides.. from the sound of it, the Maximals were going to be busy planning a rescue attempt.. as well as battling some sort of hallucinogen? Nemesis had caught Sonar's name during the discussion, but she wasn't quite sure what he had to do with anything. Well, whatever was going on, she had a feeling she'd find out soon enough.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Phoenix and I were working on a joint post late last night. We were both eventually falling asleep, so I'll just post what we accomplished and go from there. ))

"Right. Understood,"

Rattrap was still at a loss for words. He had glared at Ironclaw when he pushed Whitegrazer out of his way, and although she seemed to brush it off, Optimus clearly disapproved and the rodent saw a moment of fury in the ape's eyes. Bewildered by the entire situation, the Spy simply nodded with the mare in agreement and acknowledging Primal's orders.

"Aurora, I know how hard this is. It would be rough, but the only thing you can do is to follow Optimus's instruction and cure this virus that is plaguing our friends. As I will do my duty to make sure our friends come back here safely and that the Predacons don't try anything." "Don't worry. I will make sure Optimus and Nexus are okay. I will do it to the best of my ability. I promise."

Whitegrazer's words sounded confident and hopeful enough to Rattrap but they seemed transparent to Aurora and he frowned at her reaction. They were well aware of her connection with Optimus through their sparks but they would still need to develop a plan in order to get him and Nexus out of the Darksyde safely. Other than finding out who this Darkwind person was, that was probably going to be the most difficult mission to accomplish, and he didn't care to be the one in charge to make it happen. He had no idea how all of this was going to work if it could at all. Most of it depended on Megatron not killing them immediately, but Rattrap assumed that if he did, he would notify them and gloat all about it in order to strike fear in their processors and crash them.

"No, you don't,"

Primal's expression grew sorrowful at Aurora and her unsteady voice that was about to fall apart. He knew how she was feeling and it crushed him inside.

"Megatron will kill you first chance he gets, and then he will come after the rest of us to finish the job he started earlier.. When we're in shambles, just like before. Please don't do this! We'll figure out some other way, we'll.. storm their base,... something!"

"I don't believe he will," Optimus told the Fuzor but failed to explain why because he did not want to fill her head with unimaginable images and horrible imaginations. Last time had been too easy for Megatron to watch him fly into the Vok's weapon and explode. He couldn't touch him from where he was. This time, Megatron could make him suffer by his own hands for a long time, break him down and wear him out. Brutal interrogations to get information and threats to emotionally shatter him. This time, the pain and abuse would linger. And although it would be quicker to just make the suffering end abruptly the way it had before, it would be the coward's way out because Primal knew he'd have to hold on as long as he could to give his Maximals time to rescue him and Nexus. "This is the only way to ensure that Cheetor's and Banshee's lives are spared," he debated with Aurora, but those optics of her's that were so full of despair, anger, sadness and uncertainty gripped his spark and squeezed it. He didn't want her to suffer anymore or be upset but this was the way it had to be. After all, he wasn't dead yet. Where was her faith?

"No, he does not have to go! It's way too dangerous,"

Looking down at her with her pleading expression and voice in regards to Whitegrazer's words, it seemed as though she was already giving up hope. At this point, she sounded more angry than anything and Optimus was saddened to see her so. Aurora was right, though. It was incredibly dangerous of him and Nexus to do this, and he knew what the consequences might be, but he had hope that something would interfere and turn things in a favorable motion for the Maximals. He always hoped. It was what had gotten him and his crew this far through so much.

"Come on, Ironclaw, we got our orders..,"

Optimus had reached out to Aurora with his hand just as she had turned away and started to jog off toward the base. Slowly, he lowered his arm as she left him there somewhat coldly, offering him nothing for a good-bye save for a pause in her steps and a glance back at him where his lost and emotionally pained optics met her's in silence before she continued on.

Watching all of this, Rattrap could see that Primal was searching for more but what could he really expect? The odds were in Megatron’s favor and it was highly unlikely that he and Nexus were going to survive this. "She's just angry and upset," he said, breaking the quietness around them. "We'll look after 'er. She'll be okay," he tried assuring their leader, but carefully shot a warning glance to Nemesis afterward as if to tell her to stay away from the young Fuzor or else. Carrying his own gun as well the monkey's clubs, Rattrap turned and walked away a little bit before stopping and turning around to watch them in the sunrise, giving the rest of them privacy and waiting for Ironclaw and Nemesis to follow.

The Maximal Commander nodded lightly to the rat's somewhat comforting words before turning to Whitegrazer. As the nanites continued to diligently work on containing the virus within him, he was no longer contagious, not that he knew he that he was in the first place, and without thinking much of it, he walked up to the white mare and pulled her close to him, kissing her softly and then wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. "I know you'll take care of them," he whispered in her audio sensors. "Guide them and protect them. Bring us home because we are not going to give up. It doesn't end here." Optimus looked deeply into her optics with a firm and serious expression before pulling away and walking over to Nexus.

"I suppose I could disable them," "There. I overloaded the circuits so the weapons are disabled now. If the Predacons scan us upon arrival, they should be able to detect that."

Observing the sparks and smoke, Optimus was satisfied with the Admiral disarming himself and agreed that it would be enough to suit Megatron's conditions.

"Hopefully he's done his homework because he failed miserably last time he attempted to babysit me."

"Someone in your position, Nemesis, would be wise to hold their tongue. I may be able to keep the peace between my Maximals and your presence while I'm around but for the duration of my absence, I'll have no control over their conduct," Primal warned her. "And if you harm any of them while they reluctantly assist you with your current predicament, then you will end up in the same place under the same conditions in which we found you." Frozen underwater and in stasis lock. Pulling out the taser again, he gave himself one more jolt with a little more voltage to the part of his chest that looked almost normal except for the blue glow that suddenly grew brighter. He cringed at the feeling of the sharp electricity as it shocked him and fled throughout his body in a matter of seconds, along with the slithery and crawling feeling of the nanobots. Optimus then handed the taser to Whitegrazer before returning to Nexus Prime's side, ready to depart.

"Someone in your position, Nemesis, would be wise to hold their tongue. I may be able to keep the peace between my Maximals and your presence while I'm around but for the duration of my absence, I'll have no control over their conduct,"

Nemesis tilted her head, unable to hold back a slight smile at that last statement. The scenario she had just witnessed only proved to her that Primal was not only willing to listen, but that he was actually fully intent on giving her the benefit of the doubt. Although she, too, had doubts about this plan of his to simply hand himself over to Megatron, but she wasn't about to throw her life away to oppose it. Her reason for being here was to take down Darkwind and reclaim her spot within the Predacon ranks and she would do what it took to achieve that. Even if it meant tolerating these sentimental fools for a while.

"And if you harm any of them while they reluctantly assist you with your current predicament, then you will end up in the same place under the same conditions in which we found you."

Nemesis tried, she really did, and failed miserably at hiding her growing amusement. Having regained some of her confidence, and along with it the attitude, she felt much more at ease even if she was in Maximal territory. Opening her mouth to respond, she was distracted by Optimus zapping himself with a taser. Intrigued, she eyed him for a long moment. She didn't know exactly what he was trying to achieve by zapping himself, but her answer came quickly enough when the affected area started to glow. Optics widening a bit, she now knew for sure that she hadn't been imagining seeing the change earlier.

"Oh come now, Optimus," she said after a brief pause, "You, if anyone, should be able to appreciate how difficult it is to harm someone with the gift of regeneration." She gave a quick nod of recognition to the familiar bluish glow on his armor. He didn't have to say it, she already knew.

As the glow faded back to normal, she finally tore her optics away. "But you need not worry, for I have no reason to harm your precious Maximals. That is unless they attack me first, of course, since I will defend myself naturally. And you cannot hold me responsible.."

Her statement was cut short as strong fingers suddenly wrapped themselves around her throat, squeezing it tightly. Immediately shutting her mouth and shifting her focus to the old warrior she'd come to know as Nexus, she let out a half-choked gasp as the admiral lifted her up with a single arm. Feet dangling off the ground, Nemesis tensed, memories of Megatron's abuse still all-too-clear in her mind.

Nexus' optics were narrowed, seemingly not affected by the effort of holding her restrained in such a position, merely holding her like that for a few more seconds until dread once again had inserted itself as Nemesis' dominant emotion. Unsure of what the Maximal planned on doing, Nemesis' self-preservation set in and she immediately grabbed for her sai. Such a gesture was welcomed with a rough impact with the ground, her sai gripping arm held in a steel grip by the larger male while his foot pressed her down against the dirt.

"If I may suggest you take Optimus' suggestion to heart and stay on your best behavior, this will go by so much more smoothly." His voice was calm, but not without holding a certain edge to it. There was little doubt that he could easily snap her arm from this angle should she try anything, and his tone revealed doing so was certainly an option. Nemesis decided not to test this theory, merely letting the sai drop to the ground and remain still.

Primal saw her snark smiles, which were not helping her in anyway, and he began to realize how little he truly trusted her and how likely she was just using them to her advantage. If he wanted to, he could care less about the whole situation as she failed to take it seriously. Fortunately, Rattrap had enough paranoia to watch her carefully and question everything she would do, say, and facially express. There was a part of him, however, that feared for their lives. Couldn't this all just be a bad dream?

"Oh come now, Optimus," "You, if anyone, should be able to appreciate how difficult it is to harm someone with the gift of regeneration."

"Difficult but not impossible. Regeneration does not deem one invincible," the Commander said as a matter of fact. "I, however, have been through death and brought back to life." Which didn't take the ability of regeneration, just a really intelligent and resourceful scientist, some unique equipment, and a special bond that was unbreakable even beyond the Matrix. This time his gaze didn't follow hers to the bluish glow, he just watched her optics widen and recognize what was going on. Dead, alive, and now held the same regeneration ability as her own? He left that information up to her own conclusion, attempting to make her second guess his abilities.

"But you need not worry, for I have no reason to harm your precious Maximals. That is unless they attack me first, of course, since I will defend myself naturally. And you cannot hold me responsible.."

"If I may suggest you take Optimus' suggestion to heart and stay on your best behavior, this will go by so much more smoothly."

Optimus folded his arms across his chest as he watched Nexus take it upon himself to put Nemesis in her place, her sai falling from her hand with a thud to the ground. He made no motion to stop him or tell him to back down, he simply stood there with a blank expression and asked her, "It's a shame we can't all get along. It would make everything so much easier for everyone. Is there anything else you'd like to add? More condescending insults and smirks perhaps? Whatever my Maximals may do to you, you can rely on your regeneration to aid you instead of your weapons, since you enjoy boasting so highly of it."

-----

Rhinox, ever so cautious about the unpredictable and infected Sonar, hesitated to make his final move when he watched the bat's optics widen in suspense or terror. And then, as if he were possessed by another being, the Predacon's head appeared to be knocked violently to the left by an invisible force and fell limp laying on the floor. Feeling dizzy again, the engineer used the wall as assistance to lower himself to the metal floor beside Sonar and examine him.

"Ah," "If only Sonar were always that cooperative."

As much as Big Green agreed with Dinobot, he was actually concerned for the bat's well-being. Checking his vitals, Sonar was alive with his processor still functioning but he was unconscious and he didn't know how long it would last. Frowning lightly, the robust Maximal carefully lifted their enemy into his arms and tried keeping his balance as he stood up and his surroundings fluctuated and looked warped.

"Lead the way,"

"I've got this, Dinobot," Rhinox said now that things were made a lot easier for him aside from the whole hallucination business. "Go ahead and return to the bridge. We don't need anymore surprises or problems today." With that, the scientist carrying the other scientist headed toward the medical bay with a million things running through his head. Or trying to. Optimus and Nexus were about to turn themselves over to the Predacons and he didn't know if they'd ever get them back. On the bright side, Cheetor and Banshee would be returned to them, but with one relief of their safety and survival, another was replaced with fear of losing their commanding officer yet again... And this time it would be for good. Not to mention also losing the legendary Nexus Prime who had taught Optimus so much long ago on Cybertron and would've been such a valuable asset to them in this war against Megatron. There was still the matter of this hallucinogen, and with Sonar K.O.ed, it was going to take them even longer to figure out a cure, if it could be cured at all. Rhinox could sure use Aurora's help with it and he hoped she was doing all right and would return to the base soon to begin helping him.

Reaching the med bay without incident, the large Maximal laid Sonar down on his back onto a medical bed and used its straps to tie down his wrists, ankles and waist so that he couldn't hurt himself or others. Rhinox had trouble simply hooking up a few sensors to him as his vision played tricks on him; it was like trying to thread a needle and his hands kept missing their targets. Once he finally had them attached in the proper places, he turned on a monitor to watch his vitals and anything else unusual that might come up. For now, that was all he needed to do with the bat.

Landslide to Rhinox, repairs finished.. I'm lookin' at Orcariner's work station.. is there somethin' goin on? The bridge looks like a warzone..

Landslide? Thank Primus, another individual's help they could use who was not yet plagued by this virus. "There's a lot going on," Rhinox told him with a slight tone of urgency over their transmission as he moved about in the infirmary looking for tools and syringes and setting up other machines and testing mechanisms. "Sonar escaped the brig and released some kind of awful hallucinogen that a few of us have been exposed to," he paused as he gathered things in his arms and turned to walk only to trip over a stray wire on the floor, dumping everything in his arms across the floor. Grumbling on his hands and knees, he started to pick everything up and continued talking to Landslide. "Optimus, Orcariner, Saber-Fang, Sonar and myself have been infected but we've apprehended Sonar. Until I know what we're dealing with, I highly recommend that you stay away from us in case it's contagious." Getting back to his feet, he carried the medical and scientific instruments to a table and laid them down on it and started to segregate them, making sure nothing was broken or damaged in his clumsy fall. Continuing again, Rhinox said, "Saber-Fang is running loose outside; we lost track of her. Megatron has captured Cheetor and Banshee, and Optimus has agreed to exchange himself and Nexus for their return. He recently took off to find out about a Maximal distress signal nearby but I haven't been given any updates on that yet. That's all I know at the moment. So things are a bit messy and chaotic right now."

(( OOC: N-H, Sonar can break those restraints if he has the will and strength to do it. Just FYI so you don't think I had him chained to the bed permanently without your permission. ))

[NaitoKage]

(Hm.. Sonar has a strength and courage of 7. So he could probably break light restraints without too much trouble. )

"There's a lot going on,""Sonar escaped the brig and released some kind of awful hallucinogen that a few of us have been exposed to," "Optimus, Orcariner, Saber-Fang, Sonar and myself have been infected but we've apprehended Sonar. Until I know what we're dealing with, I highly recommend that you stay away from us in case it's contagious."

Landslide raised his optic ridge listening to Rhinox speak, he retracted his grenade launcher in his arm, then sat down pulling out a watermelon starting to chew into it like an apple. Sounds like you lads have been havin' some party while I was out. The old beetle finished the melon rather quickly, then spoke again Aye.. I might be venom and nanomachine resistant.. but I don't think I can resist contagions. Wouldn't chance it either.. Bad enough Orcariner smashed through a wall, I'd probably eat the bloody ship.

"Saber-Fang is running loose outside; we lost track of her. Megatron has captured Cheetor and Banshee, and Optimus has agreed to exchange himself and Nexus for their return. He recently took off to find out about a Maximal distress signal nearby but I haven't been given any updates on that yet. That's all I know at the moment. So things are a bit messy and chaotic right now."

Poor lass, seems to be goin' through alot. An' now Cheets is in trouble? Ug.. Alright, I'll call Optimus an' see what's going on. Maybe if he doesn't need me I'll track down Fangs and bring her back.. after I fashion some 20 foot tongs. He gave a light chuckle, and stood up.

Landslide then called in to Optimus I hear yer in a bit of a pickle Commander, might you been needing some assistance? he said, moving towards his work station with the spent shells, sitting down and pulling them out of the box and started cleaning the spent casings, then pulled out his calipers taking some measurements to make sure they were still within tolerances. Or should I head out and find Fangs?
Setting the shells down on the table, he started inserting a primer, energon charge, and wadding into each shell.
______________________________________________
Umbra walked into the bridge, setting Cheetor down on the metal floor. He nodded to Megatron, then drew his rifle pointing it towards Cheetor, but kept his finger off the trigger. Delivered as requested my Lord.

[una]

"No, he does not have to go! It's way too dangerous, "

"Come on, Ironclaw, we got our orders..,"

She's just angry and upset," he said, breaking the quietness around them. "We'll look after 'er. She'll be okay,"

Whitegrazer watched with sadness as Aurora walked off. Was she so distraught by the others' death that she has now resigned Optimus to the same fate? Was that what this war was doing to them? She had done quick glances of everyone outside. Would it come to this? Would they lose themselves? Would the same fate that befell her old comrades befall them? No. No. She won't allow this. Aurora was young and what this child witnessed was something she shouldn't have to, but yet, the child was here and she had taken upon herself to help Aurora. That hasn't changed. This crew still had a chance. Everyone had a chance. So did Optimus. Aurora needed to believe that despite what has and will happen in the future.

Hopefully, as the young one worked on the solution for the hallucinogen, she would keep her mind focus and have the time to clear her mind, thinking about why Optimus had to do what needed to be done.

"I know you'll take care of them," he whispered in her audio sensors. "Guide them and protect them. Bring us home because we are not going to give up. It doesn't end here." Optimus looked deeply into her optics with a firm and serious expression before pulling away and walking over to Nexus.

Optimus pulled her close into an embrace after he kissed her. She closed her optics for a bit as she wrapped her arms around him. It was going to be rough. Her body, her soul prepared itself for the roller coaster of pain she knew she would be feeling and experiencing, transferring towards Optimus. The Predacons would maliciously enjoy every ounce of revenge, cruelty, and misguided justice on Optimus and Nexus. No doubt they would use any excuse to toy with them. To see such barbaric actions hurt her, but to feel it, it was like cutting into a healed wound, ripping it from the seams and letting all the fluid of emotion burst out. She shifted her arms upward and pulled Optimus even closer to her. No, they would survive. She would make sure of that. For Optimus. For Nexus. For Aurora and the rest of her friends.

When he looked deeply into her optics, her hands came up to his face softly, her thumbs gently rubbing his cheeks as she smiled warmly at him. A smile of hope and strength towards him and herself, "I never give up. We won't give up." Yes, she will make sure her friends don't let the past cloud the future. She would help in making sure everyone remained safe, healthy, and guided through this short dark patch.

They would all need to pull themselves together for when Optimus and Nexus return. Because they may need the support of their loved ones to overcome the ordeals they would be facing shortly.

"Someone in your position, Nemesis, would be wise to hold their tongue. I may be able to keep the peace between my Maximals and your presence while I'm around but for the duration of my absence, I'll have no control over their conduct," Primal warned her. "And if you harm any of them while they reluctantly assist you with your current predicament, then you will end up in the same place under the same conditions in which we found you." Frozen underwater and in stasis lock. Pulling out the taser again, he gave himself one more jolt with a little more voltage to the part of his chest that looked almost normal except for the blue glow that suddenly grew brighter. He cringed at the feeling of the sharp electricity as it shocked him and fled throughout his body in a matter of seconds, along with the slithery and crawling feeling of the nanobots. Optimus then handed the taser to Whitegrazer before returning to Nexus Prime's side, ready to depart.

She cringed alongside Optimus, feeling the sharp pain and shiver in her spark, as he tried to keep the virus and those nanobots on task. She felt those nanobots crawling. It was an unnerving feeling. Optimus gave her the taser. Watching the conversation between Nemesis and Optimus, she was disappointed by how Nemesis was taking this. Optimus was correct. Nemesis should be careful in her words and actions. Taking advantage of their compassion just to rub it in the faces of those who wanted but couldn't lay a hand on her was foolish and asking for trouble. Nemesis should be counting her blessings as if they were any other bots, they would have blackmailed her. After all, after so many run ins, they figured out her weak point. If they chose to, they could have easily told her that if she tried anything, they would give Megatron the information of her destruction, feeding her to the wolves. But they wouldn't going to do that. Because they were better than that. If anyone tried, she would have argued against it for one reason of giving such information may lose an ally and the fact of giving Megatron any information while he would have their leader may looked upon in distaste.

Nemesis was getting compassion and mercy. What she chose to do with it was her choice. But such choices could have heavy consequences.

Whitegrazer looked at the taser in her hand. She would with heavy reluctance use this if Nemesis caused any trouble that may led to someone harmed, herself or another Maximal.

But hoping she wouldn't have to. She had made her choice and a promise to Nemesis during their last battle. She wanted to guide the female and help her with her inner demons. When she returned with Cheetor and Banshee, she would gladly take responsibility for Nemesis. Optimus did tell her to guide and take care of them. Nemesis was part of the group now.

In Whitegrazer's optics, Nemesis was under her wing now.

I will place Nemesis under my optic and care.

[Night-Hunter]

As Sonar slowly regained consciousness, he sent out a wave of sound. And too his surprise he wasn't in the brig but in the Maximal's medical bay. Another wave of sound told him that he wasn't alone, Rhinox and another Maximal he didn't know was with him.

He growled softly when he remembered what happened. How embarrassing!

"I am going to kill him." He stated as he opened his optics.

[Blackrosefencer]

( OOC: NH, not that it changes your post all that much...just for future reference: Dinobot was sent away so Rhinox and Sonar are alone in the medical bay. And that rhymed.

(I've mentioned to Star this, but I could bring it up. If you don't want Optimus to be the vector, you can have Star spread the virus. She's a hungry vampire that is going to probably end up in the brig.. so not like access would be difficult.. after which, I'm sure she'd go insane and attack half the ship in a frenzy.)

Arachnitron could also spread the virus since more than likely, she or Tarantulas would have to touch Optimus in order to restrain him and contract the virus that way. Either character would work though since they're both basically insane already; the Preds wouldn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. That would make the virus easier to spread if that's the route other Predacon players want to take. If DS wants Tarantulas to get it, for example, he could very easily contract it returning Arachnitron to his lair under the assumption that her inhibitor chip were malfunctioning again. )

BIC:

"I've got this, Dinobot," "Go ahead and return to the bridge. We don't need anymore surprises or problems today."

Dinobot snarled in response. He did not approve of Rhinox leaving by himself to handle the flying rat. But Rhinox had a good point. As far as he knew, Dinobot was the only one not infected at the base. So he was the only one capable of watching the scanners for any approaching hostiles...at least, he was the only one capable of watching the scanners and seeing what was really there. And if Sonar tried to escape, Rhinox was the only one, of the two of them, who was able to apprehend him. And should the virus worsen before other non-infected Maximals arrive? Once the virus worsened and Rhinox could no longer work on a cure....Dinobot might need to take over for him....or at least, Dinobot might need to at least be not hallucinating to relay the story to the others. The others would need to know what was going on...if they didn't already. For that reason and that reason alone, Dinobot knew Rhinox couldn't risk infecting him. It would be dangerous for the others to return to a crew who might by that time become violent with no explanation as to why or how. Dinobot hoped he hadn't already become infected by being in the same area as the others.

"Fine," he replied. "But let it be known that I am returning to the bridge under protest. I suspect this may be one of Sonar's tricks. Radio me if you need further assistance."

Dinobot turned around and headed back to the bridge to watch the scanners and monitor communications.
-------------------------------------------------------------
(OOC: Have been a little lax with the crushing on Tarantulas....I should remedy that....)

BIC:

Thank you lieutenant. Hopefully there should be no further distractions today. I'll take care of Cheetor, may I ask you and your associates take care of Starshadow? I imagine her actions will have her sent to the brig for insubordination.. though something has always seemed.. off about her..Be careful.

"There's always something "off" about the members of this crew, but your advice is wise none the less Umbra" Tarantulas agreed.
"Bind her with webbing, arms, legs, the works...And especially over that wound, anything to keep it from leaking all over the ship, again, do not touch the substance until we know what's wrong with her, she could be diseased"

Arachnitron did as Tarantulas requested being especially careful not to touch Starshadow's mech fluid and to cover up the wound to prevent it from leaking more of the strange substance. She wasn't the only one that noticed Starshadow's oddities. Blackarachnia seemed disgusted; at least, at first. Tarantulas, of course, would be interested in learning more about her. She could see the interest in his optics. He even referred to it as "fascinating." Arachnitron hoped that it was just some sort of disease. That was odd, but otherwise uninteresting. Once the disease were cured, Tarantulas wouldn't pay any more attention to Starshadow. Once the disease were cured, she wouldn't be "fascinating" any longer.

"You're right. It's probably just a disease. I'm sure you can cure it," Arachnitron agreed as she used her webbing to bind Starshadow's hands and feet. Blackarachnia, surprisingly enough, knelt down to help secure their third prisoner.

Meanwhile, Megatron's voice boomed over the comms.

"At this point in the game I'll take no more chances, we'll save the new brig for our "guests of honor" when they arrive, assuming Miss Archnia has finished her work, so yes Umbra, bring the prisoners to me so they can be disarmed, treated, and watched over by COMPETENT optics. Arachnitron, carry Starshadow to the bridge as well, carefully, Primus knows what she's leaking all over my ship. She has much explaining to do, and even MORE to atone for, Yyyyessss. As for you Tarantulas, return to the lab and construct more power bonds, I won't risk another escape attempt and I want Starshadow restrained securely until we get to the bottom of her...Ailment, shall we say? We all on the same page now? Yesss? Good, then do it!"

Arachnitron groaned inwardly when she heard that she and Tarantulas had been assigned to separate tasks.

"Well, that's that I suppose, good luck my dear"

"No! Wait! What----" Arachnitron started to protest. But it was too late. Tarantulas had already sped off to the lab to begin preparing more power bonds. Arachnitron sighed. She had never been in Megatron's presence without Tarantulas before. He usually prompted her with what to say to avoid suspicion. She would have to say as little as possible in front of the Tyrant.

Reluctantly, she lifted the now bound panther and followed Umbra and Inferno to the bridge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh will he really? Well the Royalty's praise would certainly complete my day, Inferno"

Tarantulas' words pleased the red ant; and of course, he completely missed the sarcasm in his voice when he said them.

"As well it should, Tarantulas. You and the other spiders have done well,"

Inferno continued to carry his prisoner away and Umbra followed him out of the hallway where they had cornered the escaping Maximals. Umbra took a moment to radio the Colony's Queen and inform of him of their success.

"Megatron, the maximals have been recaptured, disarmed, and bound. They have sustained minor damage but nothing life threatening or visible without an internal inspection. However they have damaged the cages they were in.. Should we take them to the bridge? I believe that way they wont be able to escape under the eye of multiple crew members while being held at gunpoint."

"At this point in the game I'll take no more chances, we'll save the new brig for our "guests of honor" when they arrive, assuming Miss Archnia has finished her work, so yes Umbra, bring the prisoners to me so they can be disarmed, treated, and watched over by COMPETENT optics. Arachnitron, carry Starshadow to the bridge as well, carefully, Primus knows what she's leaking all over my ship. She has much explaining to do, and even MORE to atone for, Yyyyessss. As for you Tarantulas, return to the lab and construct more power bonds, I won't risk another escape attempt and I want Starshadow restrained securely until we get to the bottom of her...Ailment, shall we say? We all on the same page now? Yesss? Good, then do it!"

"Yes, My Queen!" Inferno said over the comms. "We are on our way!"

He carried his charge to the bridge with Umbra following behind him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once they had gotten to the bridge, Inferno stopped in front of Megatron with his prisoner still over his shoulders as he offered a salute of respect for his Queen. Arachnitron trailed her comrades by a few paces, but once she arrived, she placed Starshadow on the floor next to Cheetor and stood next to Umbra as he announced their presence to Megatron.

Delivered as requested my Lord.

Arachnitron followed Umbra's example and pulled her energon pistol out of its holster and aimed it at Starshadow as she lay on the floor at Arachnitron's feet.

Inferno placed his own prisoner on the ground and took a step back to stand next to the small she-spider. "Royalty," Inferno began. "You should know, Arachnitron and the other spiders have served the Colony well. It is because of them that we were able to bind and secure the prisoners and return them to you so quickly."

Arachnitron kept her attention on Starshadow and wished that the ant would keep his mouth shut. She neither needed nor wanted Megatron's praise and attention. She wished to just exist....neither recognized for accomplishments nor punished for incompetence....just there. Nothing of great importance. She saved her best work for Tarantulas.

She didn't know what to say or do in response so she kept her attention on Starshadow not meeting anyone's gaze. She hoped no one could she her optics narrowed in annoyance at the ant's groveling. She suddenly wished she too had a psychic link with Tarantulas. Then, he might speak to her when they were apart like he did with Blackarachnia. She desperately needed his guidance....and a witty response or two wouldn't hurt either.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Sorry if my Terry & Rants posts are a bit short this week guys, just not much to comment on for them yet

Tarantulas' speed had him back in the lab in no time, where he then proceeded to construct several additional power bonds, just to be on the safe side given all the chaos breaking out and Megatron's increasingly unreasonable demands. However, he tried to go through his work as quickly as he could without compromising the quality, for he honestly wanted to examine the anomaly that was Starshadow. Was she a freak of nature? A mutant? Or merely infected with some disease? Were there benefits to her condition or was it completely undesirable?

"So many questions, so little time, hehehehehahahahaha!" Tarantulas cackled wildly as he completed a second power bond and began work on a third.

Naitokage wrote:
Umbra walked into the bridge, setting Cheetor down on the metal floor. He nodded to Megatron, then drew his rifle pointing it towards Cheetor, but kept his finger off the trigger. Delivered as requested my Lord.

"Good work Umbra, at least something has gone right today" Megatron said, calming somewhat but not by much, adding "Keep them restrained and unarmed but heal whatever damage they've suffered, I don't want to give Primal any leeway to weasel out of our agreement. A repeat of the "ceasefire" incident is to be avoided at all costs, too many unwanted variables have tried to impede my impending victory already, I shall not risk another!"

A pity the mercenary could not be fully trusted, competent though he was, he'd make a fine 2nd in command if his loyalty was genuine rather than bought through credits.

Blackrose wrote: Arachnitron followed Umbra's example and pulled her energon pistol out of its holster and aimed it at Starshadow as she lay on the floor at Arachnitron's feet.

Inferno placed his own prisoner on the ground and took a step back to stand next to the small she-spider. "Royalty," Inferno began. "You should know, Arachnitron and the other spiders have served the Colony well. It is because of them that we were able to bind and secure the prisoners and return them to you so quickly."

"Yes, catching and restraining one wayward freak makes up for every attempt to undermine my authority over the course of this entire war, yyyessss" Megatron wanted to spit back at his dimwitted underling, but instead he replied "Duly noted Subcommander, good to know some of my underlings still know their place. Well done, spider."

Megatron gritted his teeth as he looked down on the latest addition to his growing list of turncoats, Starshadow, who apparently was either a mutant freak or had brought some kind of contagion into his base...Sigh, why couldn't these fools wait until AFTER the maximals were dead before pulling this nonsense? Though he supposed that would require them to possess a level of competence they simply lacked.

"Arachnitron, take a sample of that mess she had oozing out of her earlier and put it under the ship's scanners, we need to identify whatever the hell she is or what ails her before it becomes an issue rather than an annoyance. DO NOT let the fluids make contact with your shell, not until we know what the slag it is" Megatron ordered, picking the spider because of her background as Tarantulas' assistant, as well as because she was the most expendable if the worst happened, he already had two spiders, losing a third would not keep him up at night.

"Tarantulas! Blackarachnia! Accelerate your efforts on your projects, I want an update shortly" Megatron bellowed over the coms, wanting everything to be ready for when Primal and Nexus arrived, as well as a means by which to restrain Starshadow more securely once she woke up.

"Arachnitron, once you've taken the sample, pile more webbing on to this freak for good measure, no more escapes this evening. Then, Subcommander, you may have the honor of waking her up, we have MUCH to discuss her and I, Yyyyessss" Megatron instructed, cracking his mechanical knuckles to emphasize his intent.

Elsewhere, Terrorsaur and his team continued their assault on the enemy ship, Terrorsaur attacking the second engine via another fly by, cutting into them with his blades before pulling up and blasting them from above with his eye beams.

"Hehehehehehah! Ah, its good to be a predacon! RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed, watching as the battle played out as he desired, looking forward to disposing of the crew inside the ship.

"Hey strangers! Come out and ppppplllllaaaaayyy!" Terrorsaur taunted as he fired two missiles into the ship's already damaged engines, awaiting the explosion he was confident would follow.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Well.. Been having some problems with getting a reply in lately.. First off it was my work weekend but I wrote up a post Sunday night after work, only to lose it as I attempted to post it. Grr.. Come Monday.. Tried again, and then we have a random power outage. Awesome. So here's for try#3!)

Nemesis carefully tested the hold Nexus had on her by attempting to stand up, only to stop abruptly as the grip tightened to the point of pain. Annoyed she resigned to the fact that she wasn't going anywhere at the moment, unwilling to subjugate herself to the pain of dislocating her arm in an effort to break free. Sure, she'd heal from any injuries within seconds, but alas the pain she felt would be very much so real. Since she was not in any danger at the moment, she merely sighed at the predicament and waited rather impatiently for the old warrior to loosen his grip. His sudden move had caught her off guard, for sure, and the point he was trying to make was all too clear..

"Difficult but not impossible. Regeneration does not deem one invincible," the Commander said as a matter of fact. "I, however, have been through death and brought back to life."

Daring a glance over at Optimus, the winged female looked at him as he continued.

"It's a shame we can't all get along. It would make everything so much easier for everyone. Is there anything else you'd like to add? More condescending insults and smirks perhaps? Whatever my Maximals may do to you, you can rely on your regeneration to aid you instead of your weapons, since you enjoy boasting so highly of it."

"It would seem we have a couple things in common then."

She paused, her optics flickering a bit in remembrance of waking up strapped to a operating table. It was true their experiences of death had been rather different, Optimus had died in an explosion when he'd been unable to escape his doomed vessel and ha stayed gone for some time before somehow getting reincarnated in a new body. Nemesis had barely even glimpsed the other side before the new technology they implanted in her kicked in, pulling her back with a twitch and a gasp. She had not been completely at rest ever since, the slight tingling of the nanomachines moving about within her forever a reminder of past actions and the consequences thereof. And now, somehow, Optimus had that same technology as well, albeit probably in much more limited quantities. Judging by the fact he kept zapping himself to create the bluish glow, she could only assume the nanites he did have were in a form of stasis and needed to be aroused to activate.

"They don't protect you from pain, you know," she added, a bit more quietly, as a response to Optimus' rather hurtful comment. "And I'd be careful if I were you. There are side effects of such technology that you may not appreciate..," she added, her voice barely loud enough for Optimus to hear her. Granted the quantity of the nanites would probably limit those side effects in Primal's case. Deciding to change the subject, she shifted her gaze up at the aging admiral, who'd remained strangely quiet throughout this conversation thus far.

"Are you going to let me go or what?"

Nexus smiled ever so slightly, releasing her arm which she promptly withdrew out of his immediate reach as she stood up. Now facing both of them, Nemesis crossed her arms as well.

"Just see to it that you behave."


"I won't harm your precious Maximals," she assured them, looking from one to the other. "But I can guarantee you that Megatron will not hold back. And you are walking right into it. Surely you realize how crazy this plan of yours is."

The warning extracted a heartfelt chuckle from the old warrior.

"I didn't know you cared," he said as the chuckle died down, turning his attention to Optimus again.

"We better get going. Once your decision reaches the other Maximals, they may not be as easily persuaded that this is indeed the right path to take."

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I never give up. We won't give up."

Whitegrazer's words and last gentle touch to his face would revisit him again in time. Optimus could never forget the feeling of her hand, or her arms around him, or her voice. Their connection together would hopefully shine just a fracture of this sunrise's light on his darkest hours in confinement. He didn't want to leave her, Aurora, Rattrap, Orcariner, Dinobot and all of them. Not again. As much as it pained them for him to be doing this, it hurt him, too, though it was easier for him to disguise it despite the unknown that he faced. His decision wasn't for them or even him, it was for Cheetor and Banshee, and he hoped the others could understand what he and Nexus were doing and that it was not in vein.

I hear yer in a bit of a pickle Commander, might you been needing some assistance? Or should I head out and find Fangs?

It was good to hear Landslide's voice again over his comm. link. Optimus could only assume that he had been done with his repairs, which was a relief and perfect timing. "I'll need your assistance, Landslide. I want you and Whitegrazer to wait outside of the Predacons' territory near the Darksyde's boundaries to pick up Cheetor and another Maximal named Banshee. Make sure they are not harmed or followed. Then immediately take them back to the Axalon." He hated the thought of the Predacons leaving them there alone with no one to greet them and take them home. And as long as the mare and the beetle didn't trespass or risk any ambushes, they shouldn't be breaching any verbal conditions set forth by Megatron.

"It would seem we have a couple things in common then."

Primal could think of two, although one was just temporary. He hoped. He noticed Nemesis fall silent and her optics seemed distant as if she had drifted off to a memory of long ago. It was a shame how she kept everything to herself, locked up in a volt that no one could crack open. Except for what Optimus had learned from her and told no one, as true to his word as he was, there wasn't much any of them knew about her past, or her likes or dislikes, or hobbies unless her recreational activities included maiming Maximals and killing those who annoyed her accidentally or not. Optimus just couldn't help his curiosity on such things about others but none of this probably mattered anyway because she was not the type to sit down at a table for tea and scones and converse on every day life, sharing opinions and ideas and emotions.

"They don't protect you from pain, you know,"

The Maximal Commander merely shrugged. Pain was the least of his worries, not to mention that he had been put through the mill many a time since the beginning of this putrid and senseless war. Was there an agony he hadn't coped with yet? Maybe he'd find out at the Darksyde. In any case, he never expected these nanobots to absorb any pain. What doesn't kill you only makes your stronger, he wanted to chant at her but refrained himself. She had probably been through a lot more in her lifetime than he had and that would've been disrespectful of him to say such a thing. ...Not that she offered him much respect in return.

"And I'd be careful if I were you. There are side effects of such technology that you may not appreciate..,"

"That's the point of being a scientist," Optimus told her casually. Would she actually have offered any help with this? Well, it was too late to find out. "Trial and error. Research. Sometimes you have to experiment on yourself." Not to mention that this nanogel on him had not been his choice but he certainly wasn't going to bring that up, and he certainly wasn't going to let her know who created it and applied it to him. Primal thought highly of Aurora's intelligence, especially in the lab; she was right up there with Rhinox and Rattrap. And he was not going to make her a target.

"Are you going to let me go or what?"

"Just see to it that you behave."

Primal lowered his arms as he watched Nexus release the Predacon female who took back her arm with haste and got to her feet with a lot less attitude and smugness.

"I won't harm your precious Maximals,"

You had better not, he thought darkly, disliking the label she added in there for purposeful mockery.

"But I can guarantee you that Megatron will not hold back. And you are walking right into it. Surely you realize how crazy this plan of yours is."

"I didn't know you cared,"

"Crazy often works favorably for me. It's... unpredictable and uncharacteristic." A very, very faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he mentally looked back at the stunts he and his Maximals had pulled in the past to stop Megatron and his Predacons. "I'm quite aware of the position I will be in with Megatron. I would be a fool not to know him well enough by now," he hinted. Optimus knew his enemy's strengths and weaknesses and how to take advantage of them and manipulate them in ways to make things more difficult for his adversary, even if it would cost himself some lashings. "Whatever he does to me will not matter so long as my Maximals are returned. You needn't concern yourself for my well-being, Nemesis. Or Nexus Prime's. You haven't before and it would be unwise to begin now when there won't be anything to worry about soon." It was unclear as to what he meant by that. And she probably didn't understand self-sacrifice or selflessness because no one had done or shown anything remotely similar to those for her. Maybe one day.

"We better get going. Once your decision reaches the other Maximals, they may not be as easily persuaded that this is indeed the right path to take."

Glancing at Nexus, Optimus jumped into the air and transformed to his vehicle mode. His bright optics gave one more look to Ironclaw, Nemesis, Whitegrazer and Rattrap not far off on the sideline before he turned around and flew off in the Darksyde's direction at a low altitude to stay closer with the Admiral who was restricted to the ground. Already he could feel his bond with Whitegrazer pulling him back to her but he pressed on and flew forward without slowing down.

Watching their fearless leader look back at them one more time, Rattrap sent him a troubled expression, his eyes full of worry for him and wondering if they'd ever see him and Nexus again. And if the rest of them would survive Nemesis being under the same roof. There was a tremendous amount of responsibility left in the Spy's hands now, and it terrified him. Rubbing his chest that was still damaged from yesterday, he shifted the ape's clubs in his arm as he cradled them awkwardly and made sure to keep his own gun in his other hand just in case Nemesis would try anything. "Everybody inside de base. We got a lotta work ahead of us," he finally said to those who were lingering. "Whitegrazer, grab Landslide and get on your way ta pick up Spots and dat Banshee femme. Try ta determine a location where the Preds might drop 'em off; I'm assumin' they'll at least be directed toward us. And remember, don't try anything dat'll risk their lives."

-----

Sounds like you lads have been havin' some party while I was out.

"Yeah. It's been a real hoot so far," Rhinox said sarcastically to Landslide.

Aye.. I might be venom and nanomachine resistant.. but I don't think I can resist contagions. Wouldn't chance it either.. Bad enough Orcariner smashed through a wall, I'd probably eat the bloody ship.

Okay, the engineer couldn't help but let a light chuckle escape at the beetle's last comment. Then he grew serious again. "Orcariner has planted himself in Rattrap's quarters doing his best to deal with his own hallucinations, so he shouldn't be a bother to anyone. For now," he explained. "Just make sure you don't come in contact with the rest of us who are infected."

Poor lass, seems to be goin' through alot.

"Well, we'd know more if she'd open up to us, but Optimus has been unsuccessful with that since the first day we landed here," Rhinox said with a heavy sigh as he rearranged his equipment and cleaned up some stations for him to work at.

An' now Cheets is in trouble? Ug.. Alright, I'll call Optimus an' see what's going on. Maybe if he doesn't need me I'll track down Fangs and bring her back.. after I fashion some 20 foot tongs.

"All right, Landslide," Big Green ended their radio transmission and then suddenly turned around to face Sonar.

"I am going to kill him."

"Kill who? The only one in trouble here is you, Sonar," Rhinox emphasized, deliberately implying that this was all his fault in hopes that the bat knew more than they did and would tell him something out of frustration. "Do you know where you are?" he asked, making sure the Predacon wasn't still hallucinating while he spoke with him. The science engineer walked up to Sonar's bedside, almost falling from dizziness for a brief moment, and looked down at him, towering over him like a brick wall.

(( OOC: I'm going to end this topic here and begin Part Two. Everyone, just pick up there where you left off here. ))