"More Than Meets The Eye: Part II"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC:

((OOC: Nothing to post for Banban. Moving on~))

No reaction to Rattrap and Rhinox telling everyone to leave the med bay and actually have your character walk out? Or is she just waiting for Landslide to move? They could at least gather in the command center to hear Optimus and Nexus. Rattrap doesn't care so long as no one causes trouble or goes and gets themselves killed.

Also, I'm going to bypass Blackrose here since she hasn't been around and just say that Dinobot gave him the coordinates for the second disk. I'd send Dinobot to go there and guard it but I have no idea if she's coming back but she'll likely fall behind again if/when she does. So to save anyone from relying on Dinobot for that mission, I'm going to keep him out of the picture for now. ))

"Really? Well, at least, you have sense."

In case these Predacons hadn't noticed, Primal wasn't like many Maximals on Cybertron. Granted, he learned the hard way about the real musings of the Elders and how oppression was making Predacons like Megatron rise from the shadows and react so violently and ruthlessly by being stranded on this planet for so long, but it might surprise most of them about his involvement with Protoform X's creation and that the unstoppable spark was brought here with the rest of them, still out there somewhere. Optimus tried to practice fairness and equality with both factions, but it was difficult when these Predacons' leader was bent on conquering the universe and using the same oppression on everyone else that the Elders had been using. An endless cycle perhaps. Maybe there was never meant to be peace and it would always be this way no matter who was in charge.

"Slavery."

That was an interesting opinion coming from someone who was once a Maximal protoform. Tarantulas had likely wiped her memory when he reprogrammed her so Blackarachnia would have no recollection of Cybertron or a previous life. All she could do was read the files about her home planet and listen to the stories - quite possibly inaccurate and embellished - from her fellow Predacons, told from their perspectives. ...Or maybe not so far off from truth after all. More recently he had been getting a better look into their world and how they perceived their lives and lack of freedom. Slavery. In a way, Optimus agreed with that. But even within her own Predacons and no apprehension or oppression from the Elders since they were not here with them, Blackarachnia was still a slave. Did she not see that, or was her answer really a hint at telling him what she was enduring now and that was all she knew?

You will soon be with us again, Optimus. What I said earlier... it is true. I am. I am responsible for what happened to Aurora. I was the intended target due to our link, but it was she... She will survive, but the pain she had suffered, it is because of my actions. I must atone for that. As well as everyone else's. Including yours. I know why I'm part of another war.

It won't be the same, he sent Whitegrazer. He felt her hand on his face but he couldn't move. He couldn't help but let his physical condition restrict his abilities in their connection. I've learned something here... and an ominous, dark shadow of anger and resentment briefly blew across their sunny meadow emerging from him. You needn't take the blame for my suffering or anyone else's, Whitegrazer. There are some things that couldn't have been prevented with or without your involvement or mine. All we can do is move forward... And do everything and anything we can to survive. Anything, he emphasized darkly and coldly.

"Silence, you laughable excuse of a soldier! How you achieved the rank of admiral, I will never know."

This was the first time Primal had seen one of the new Predacons as he escorted Nexus inside and gave him shove, resulting with the Admiral crashing to the floor. Optimus frowned, or tried to. One couldn't tell if he did or not because of his smashed face. This may have been the Predacon Rattrap told him about that Nexus was speaking to when they had landed here. After the older bot's coughing, he spoke again, and he still held a witty attitude for the insults.

"And.. such ignorance.. is why.. you shall never.. have such a title.. bestowed.. upon you."

Although he feared for his mentor's well being and injuries, the Maximal leader tried to maintain a lot of focus with his one optic and audio sensors on the new Predacon, taking in his voice, mannerisms, body, armor, joints, whatever he could to add to the Axalon's files later. ...If he ever made it back.

"Oh Optimus, Nexus, I do hate to disturb you two, I know you must be enjoying your alone time together profusely, but you have a call waiting, some buck toothed yokel wants a word with you. Speak up, he can hear you, though you may want to be quick, I fear your caller might be too cheap to afford a very lengthy discussion, nnnnoooo"

"Afraid to show.. your face.. Megatron? Surely .. you must be.. for sending.. your lackeys.. to do.. your dirty-work .. for you.."

Nexus Prime was just as how Optimus remembered him. He never gave in, never quit, ever the optimist, he never gave anyone special treatment no matter who they were, and he was very defiant. He was certain he had picked up a lot of the same qualities from his old teacher. However, Primal didn't care much for his antagonizing Megatron at this point. He really didn't need him coming in there again and beating them to death and losing his chance to speak with his Maximals. He was trying to survive this. Physically, he couldn't fight back anymore. Mentally, he was drained and weak and a bit of a wreck. But back to Megatron's announcement, his cruel description of their caller lead him to believe that it was Rattrap who, according to Whitegrazer earlier, had a plan and a cure and the disks. What could possibly go wrong? As for why he wouldn't be able to see Rattrap, perhaps there was a reason behind it, either on his Maximal's end or Megatron's who may not have wanted them to see what he had done to him and Nexus.

"Better make your words count."

The torn ape in robot mode glanced up at the black widow. Unlike Nexus, he wasn't going to waste his words badgering Megatron. Instead, he ignored him and focused on Rattrap.

"Rattrap... It's Optimus... Nexus... is with me. He was just... returned to his cell," as if that could have any significance to anything. Perhaps not yet but he was simply letting him know he hadn't seen him for quite some time. "We're alive... We're... hanging in there." His voice was weak and soft. It hurt to breathe and to move pretty much anything. "Is everyone... Is everyone alright? ...Aurora?" Whitegrazer had already informed him of her condition but since the Predacons were listening to their conversation, maybe Rattrap would catch on and take advantage of using a little white lie.

-----

Some sort of Nano machine gel for use in repairs.

Nano machine gel? And where had the nanobots used for it come from, Rattrap wondered. Was that the same glow he had seen on Optimus before he left? Who developed the gel, Aurora? He assumed it was her. As good an idea as it seemed to be a quick healer, he'd never want that stuff on him. What if it caused people to act like Nemesis? He shuddered at the thought. Had it even been tested, or was Optimus the first guinea pig? Aye.

"Maybe it doesn't seem helpful, but the emotional state and actions always show character. Like it or not, the shapeshifter showed more to us than he thinks. Also, I'm sure Nemesis has more details to give us," "The shapeshifter used Aurora because he knew of how much Optimus and I, all of us cared about her. Optimus... The shapeshifter pretended to be Aurora and when I relied to Optimus it wasn't her, that's when they suspected something. Though, he was trying to hide it from them. I don't think Megatron brought it. They have their proof now."

"You actually think Nemesis is gonna share anythin' with us?" the rodent asked Whitegrazer with his mic muted so the Preds couldn't hear anything. "Yeah, I guess they know now. Lucky fer us," he said sarcastically. "Nothin' we can do about it I guess. It is what it is." he added with some disappointment.

"Glad to hear all is well, I am all too happy to allow you a chance to speak with your friends, you have much to catch up on, I'm sure. Do keep in mind however the price of your long distance call shall be two, mint condition golden disks, onscreen, where I may see them, yyyessss."

Rattrap rolled his optics and glanced at Whitegrazer. They didn't have the second disk yet but hopefully Megatron wouldn't do anything rash since the rat had never explained why one was missing or that one missing at all. Rattrap would have to finagle his way around that part, hoping that the t-rex wouldn't catch on and start looking for it at the meeting ground before the Maximals showed up. Actually, maybe he should send a small group to the second disk's location now and retrieve it and keep it safe until everyone else shows up.

While Megatron motioned to someone else off-screen and Rattrap and Whitegrazer waited to hear their fellow comrades' voices, Rattrap sent a text message to Dinobot, Ironclaw, and Landslide that read, FROM RATTRAP: Dinobot, take Landslide and Ironclaw to coordinates NU-ZERO-ZERO-TWO-ONE now and secure the other golden disk that's hidden under a rock. It's neutral territory where we'll meet for the exchange. Don't draw any attention to yourselves. Landslide will keep possession of the disk until we arrive. Do NOT damage the disk! END TEXT He really hoped he cold trust them with that. He'd sooner send Rhinox but he had slim pickings with whom he could spare that wasn't already busy.

"Oh Optimus, Nexus, I do hate to disturb you two, I know you must be enjoying your alone time together profusely, but you have a call waiting, some buck toothed yokel wants a word with you. Speak up, he can hear you, though you may want to be quick, I fear your caller might be too cheap to afford a very lengthy discussion, nnnnoooo"

The Spy simply sneered at Megatron's rude words as he turned his mic back on. Why anyone would want to follow that mongrel was beyond his understanding. He ruled with an iron first, a pure dictator. Rattrap may have had his doubts about the monkey's leadership when they had crashed here, but after seeing the Predacons gravel at the tyrant's feet and the way he treated them, he sure was glad he was under Primal's command.

"Rattrap... It's Optimus... Nexus... is with me. He was just... returned to his cell," "We're alive... We're... hanging in there." "Is everyone... Is everyone alright? ...Aurora?"

The rodent listened very carefully to his Commander, even leaning in toward the speaker. He frowned as he could hear the pain in his voice. Well, he assumed it was him. It saddened him and his imagination was endless as to what the Preds had done to him. Rattrap looked at Whitegrazer for verification since she'd be able to sense if it was really Optimus speaking to them and not the shape-shifting Darkwind jerk. "Hey, Fearless leader," he said gently and as warmly as he could given his personality and the circumstances. It was really good to hear him, which caught Rattrap a little off guard. He assumed Optimus meant "everyone" as in all of the Maximals and Nemesis but they were still avoiding specifics so he continued to do so. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good," he said and then added with some worry, "Well, Aurora's in surgery and...," he paused for dramatic effect, "we're not sure she's gonna make it. I guess if we lose her, it's only fair ta lose a disk," he shrugged against the Predacons' unlawful and careless actions, hopefully adding a little thorn in Megatron's side. Of course, they were all figuring out why Aurora was shot and not Whitegrazer, but had Megatron given the order or had someone executed all of it on their own?

"You do what... you have to do," Optimus enforced to Rattrap. "No matter... the cost."

Rattrap knew what he meant since he had heard him say that before in relation to a dire situation and nodded a few times as he lowered his head for a moment even though Optimus couldn't see him. "Just hang in dere a little longer. We're gonna get ya back."

Besides a little cough and a soft groan of pain, Primal grew silent since he knew he also needed to speak with the Admiral. He laid there thinking about Aurora's condition and how well, if at all, that they were getting along with Nemesis or visa verse.

"Nexus?" Rattrap asked for him despite his suspicions. "How're they treatin' ya?"

-----

"Exhausted..,"

Rhinox nodded at Aurora as he took in her fatigue. Focused on her spark chamber and soldering and molding it back together to help strengthen it, he also didn't notice Nemesis standing at the entrance and watching them. Satisfied with his work, he finally pulled his hands and tools away from the Fuzor and moved the bright light that he had hanging over her, turning it off.

"I knew you could do it,"

Smiling back at her, he said, "Just like I knew you could find a cure. Piece of energon cake," as if it had really been that easy but he just made it look that way with all of his years of experience and practice. "Some day it will be second nature to you, too."

"Cheetor, thank you for your assistance," Big Green told him kindly.

"Whitegrazer.. is she okay? They didn't shoot her too, did they?"

Rhinox took a step back at her sudden jump, sitting up so quickly, and was about to answer her when another voice rang in. A rather unexpected one.

"There was no need to," "Make no mistake. That bullet hit its intended target." "Attacking you was merely the method he chose to reveal the connection between Primal and Whitegrazer. What you should be worrying about is how he plans to use this knowledge to his advantage. And rest assured.. he will. That's how he operates."

For a moment, the engineer looked as taken aback as Aurora did when his crimson optics landed on Nemesis and her words. The expression faded as he realized what she was explaining. "He will," he agreed, "But they'll be prepared for it. I doubt Megatron understands the complexity of such a bond if he hasn't had one himself. It's rather unique." Having an Empath on their team was a rarity.

"Aurora, I don't know if that nanogel is going to have any long-term effects, but you should get to a CR immediately to finish your repairs, get some rest, and regain the energon you lost," he told her as he stepped out of her way and held his hand out for her to grasp and help her down off the table. No doubt she was quite weakened from such a traumatic affair.

"Did you encounter Darkwind?" he asked Nemesis. "Did you learn more about him?"

[DarkSpark]

NaitoKage wrote: Waspinator looked up from his console Hehehe, Yeszz! he responded, then looked towards the console as he noticed Umbra coming in. Ninjabot bring back.. Va-Va-Vampire bot?! he shuddered in horror.

Walking into the ship, Umbra came to a stop near the gathering of others as he observed Megatron on call with the Maximals. He stayed out of view of the call camera as he made his way towards Terrorsaur What's the situation? he asked quietly.

"What?! Seriously?" Terrorsaur gasped as quietly as he could given the situation, but honestly not expecting to see her face again so soon, as Umbra approached them with the undead freak restrained in his tentacles.

Giving Umbra a look that seemed to say "shouldn't that be my question?" Terrorsaur nonetheless whispered "Megatron is negotiating with the maximals for the golden disks, you didn't miss much yet, the maxis are being all mushy and dragging things out longer than they have to be, as usual. What's up with your catch of the day?"

Night-Hunter wrote:
Sonar once more took to the sky, he smirked when he caught sight of the Predacon ship. His home away from home. He used a thermal to guide him closer to the downed ship. He folded his wings a few minutes later and went into a shallow dive, then transformed and landed on his feet. His wings folded around him like a cloak as he made his way into the ship, as he went deeper, he soon heard Megatron's voice and his spark quickened, he would have to tred carefully and choose his words wisely.

He took a calming breath before entering the main room and spotted Megatron and his followers. He even spotted the new guy from earlier, he decided to remain silent. He would let himself be known when the time was right.

Tarantulas did not fail to notice the arrival of Umbra, his prisoner Starshadow, or the long missing bat Sonar, but did not draw attention to them yet with the negotiations still underway. It was a predacon reunion! All they needed was Nemesis and every recent troublemaker would be under the same roof again.

"Keep an eye on our new arrivals, some of them might be trouble" Tarantulas whispered to Arachnitron, away from the audio sensors and view of Megatron and the maximals alike.

OOP wrote: The torn ape in robot mode glanced up at the black widow. Unlike Nexus, he wasn't going to waste his words badgering Megatron. Instead, he ignored him and focused on Rattrap.

"Rattrap... It's Optimus... Nexus... is with me. He was just... returned to his cell," as if that could have any significance to anything. Perhaps not yet but he was simply letting him know he hadn't seen him for quite some time. "We're alive... We're... hanging in there." His voice was weak and soft. It hurt to breathe and to move pretty much anything. "Is everyone... Is everyone alright? ...Aurora?" Whitegrazer had already informed him of her condition but since the Predacons were listening to their conversation, maybe Rattrap would catch on and take advantage of using a little white lie.

"Pathetic" Megatron thought to himself as his rival inquired about Aurora, the fool giving away once and for all the existence of the psychic link between him and the equine, there was literally no other way he could have known about Aurora's condition...In retrospect, Zodiac probably should have killed Whitegrazer and been done with it rather than the useless fuzor, if his suspicions had been that strong, but at least this confirmed everything.

That thought alone made Megatron smile, even if he was somewhat disappointed in how easily outfoxed his so-called arch-rival could be in what he fully intended to be their last battle of wits.

OOP wrote:
"You actually think Nemesis is gonna share anythin' with us?" the rodent asked Whitegrazer with his mic muted so the Preds couldn't hear anything. "Yeah, I guess they know now. Lucky fer us," he said sarcastically. "Nothin' we can do about it I guess. It is what it is." he added with some disappointment.

Rattrap rolled his optics and glanced at Whitegrazer. They didn't have the second disk yet but hopefully Megatron wouldn't do anything rash since the rat had never explained why one was missing or that one missing at all. Rattrap would have to finagle his way around that part, hoping that the t-rex wouldn't catch on and start looking for it at the meeting ground before the Maximals showed up. Actually, maybe he should send a small group to the second disk's location now and retrieve it and keep it safe until everyone else shows up.

While Megatron motioned to someone else off-screen and Rattrap and Whitegrazer waited to hear their fellow comrades' voices, Rattrap sent a text message to Cheetor, Ironclaw, and Landslide that read, FROM RATTRAP: Cheetor, take Landslide and Ironclaw to coordinates NU-ZERO-ZERO-TWO-ONE now and secure the other golden disk that's hidden under a rock. It's neutral territory where we will meet for the exchange. Don't draw any attention to yourselves. Landslide will keep possession of the disk until we arrive. Do NOT damage the disk! END TEXT He really hoped he cold trust them with that. He'd sooner send Rhinox but he had slim pickings with whom he could spare that wasn't already busy.

The rat muted the audio on their end for a moment, but Megatron could see the frustration and annoyance in his optics and on his face, clearly something was going on behind the scenes the maximals didn't want him to overhear, something he could relate to with everything that had been going wrong around his base as of late, but seeing as though these were his enemies trying to keep secrets from him, the tyrant was not about to feel any sympathy for them.

OOP wrote: The rodent listened very carefully to his Commander, even leaning in toward the speaker. He frowned as he could hear the pain in his voice. Well, he assumed it was him. It saddened him and his imagination was endless as to what the Preds had done to him. Rattrap looked at Whitegrazer for verification since she'd be able to sense if it was really Optimus speaking to them and not the shape-shifting Darkwind jerk. "Hey, Fearless leader," he said gently and as warmly as he could given his personality and the circumstances. It was really good to hear him, which caught Rattrap a little off guard. He assumed Optimus meant "everyone" as in all of the Maximals and Nemesis but they were still avoiding specifics so he continued to do so. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good," he said and then added with some worry, "Well, Aurora's in surgery and...," he paused for dramatic effect, "we're not sure she's gonna make it. I guess if we lose her, it's only fair ta lose a disk," he shrugged against the Predacons' unlawful and careless actions, hopefully adding a little thorn in Megatron's side. Of course, they were all figuring out why Aurora was shot and not Whitegrazer, but had Megatron given the order or had someone executed all of it on their own?
"

Megatron merely shrugged in response to Rattrap's "subtle" threat and replied "If you want to lose Primal as well, go right ahead, damage my property, see what so much as a single scratch to my disk costs you, vermin. I have two of your own in my care, I lose a disk, you lose your precious captain. I lose both disks, and you have the death of the greatest living hero your faction has yet to produce on your conscience as well. Could you really live with that burden? I think not, nnnnnooooo. So spare me the hollow threats and say what you want to say to your friends so we can get down to business, yesssss?"

OOP wrote: "You do what... you have to do," Optimus enforced to Rattrap. "No matter... the cost."

Rattrap knew what he meant since he had heard him say that before in relation to a dire situation and nodded a few times as he lowered his head for a moment even though Optimus couldn't see him. "Just hang in dere a little longer. We're gonna get ya back."

Besides a little cough and a soft groan of pain, Primal grew silent since he knew he also needed to speak with the Admiral. He laid there thinking about Aurora's condition and how well, if at all, that they were getting along with Nemesis or visa verse.

"Nexus?" Rattrap asked for him despite his suspicions. "How're they treatin' ya?

"Quoting Prime himself now are you? You do love playing the hero don't you Primal? Cheer up, not like there's anyone named "Hot Rod" on your crew to hurt your chances now is there?" Megatron jeered, the predacon bridge erupting in laughter, the untimely death of "great and powerful" Optimus Prime due to the incompetence of the autobot Hot Rod, who somehow went on to become a Prime himself, being a popular source of ridicule amongst predacon history buffs.


"Don't make promises you cannot keep rodent, you haven't even paid for this call yet" Megatron warned, his jovial tone hardening as he waited for so much as a glimpse of his golden disks, seriously pondering if he should show the maximals a live feed of the sorry state their leaders were in right now, give them something to think about as they dragged out this communication instead of getting to the point already.

[una]

((OOC: I will post for Blackarachnia later. ))

It won't be the same, he sent Whitegrazer.

Maybe, but that didn't mean the future has to be even darker. The Maximals and herself may not erase all the emotional scars those Predacons left, but they would do what they could to heal him, giving him the love and support he needs. To make sure those Predacons, especially Megatron and that shapeshifter, don't win.

You needn't take the blame for my suffering or anyone else's, Whitegrazer. There are some things that couldn't have been prevented with or without your involvement or mine. All we can do is move forward... And do everything and anything we can to survive. Anything, he emphasized darkly and coldly.

Optimus didn't know. But she knew Optimus would understand and hold nothing against her for her past if she did speak of it. Just as, despite her limited knowledge of his, she wouldn't hold anything. After all, they both were touched by their pasts. Even though, after several hundred stellar cycles, she is still trying to figure out hers. Questions still remained unanswered, but it was almost like she is missing something... important. Something... that she needed to see, experience, or know. As she caressed Optimus' face, she had noticed that dark shadow that flickered past her optics. It was a dark shadow she was all too familiar with, full with emotions that she experienced a long time ago. Ominous as it was, as she hoped to wash it away, she knew that there was nothing she could do properly at the moment. All she wanted to do was express her desire to keep going despite what has happened, "We will do what we must to protect and defend ourselves and those we love, Optimus."

"You actually think Nemesis is gonna share anythin' with us?" the rodent asked Whitegrazer with his mic muted so the Preds couldn't hear anything. "Yeah, I guess they know now. Lucky fer us," he said sarcastically. "Nothin' we can do about it I guess. It is what it is." he added with some disappointment.

She knew Rattrap still distrusted Nemesis, but she had faith in her, "I believe she will." Of course, if she was approached the right way.

"Rattrap... It's Optimus... Nexus... is with me. He was just... returned to his cell," "Is everyone... Is everyone alright? ...Aurora?"

She typed into her little computer to send Rattrap a typed message which read: That is Optimus. No question about it.

Rattrap and Optimus' attempts to "lie" made her question why they did that. They both knew, but she guessed let the Predacons underestimate them. Let them think they won... before they lose. She agreed with Rattrap's affirmation that they would get Optimus back and no Maximal lives would be harmed. Megatron's words and echoing laughter behind them as they made a mockery of past Autobot legends. And Optimus... She could only shake her head. Though, listing all the failures of Decepticons would be a good way to call them out, but it wasn't feasible or the right thing to do that now. They had to ignore Megatron's words. Only listen to what they must do in order to get those they care about home safely.

Now, it was Nexus' turn to speak. She wanted to hear it. She wanted to know. But deep down inside, she already knew that answer.

[NaitoKage]

"Thank you my lord. You, Quickstrike is it? Come. We need to escort our prisoner to the brig."

Quickstrike shrugged and followed Night Terror assisting in escorting.

"What?! Seriously?" "Megatron is negotiating with the maximals for the golden disks, you didn't miss much yet, the maxis are being all mushy and dragging things out longer than they have to be, as usual. What's up with your catch of the day?"

Umbra gave a nod as he listened to Terrorsaur, then glanced towards Starshadow I found her outside the Maximal territory in the woods while I was set up for sniping, she was in an argument with Sonar. I gave her a chance to talk.. she refused.. Took two charges of C4 to bring her in. Though I must admit, I'm not used to bringing in so many targets alive. Once Lord Megatron is done negotiating, I'll have to ask him what he wants done with her..

Umbra then pulled out his broken rifle, having the barrel pointed towards the ground and holding it by the stock You think the CR tank can fix this? Though I guess if not, I can always use the rounds like a senbon shuriken or something..

____________________________

"Cheetor, thank you for your assistance,"

Cheetor gave a nod towards Rhinox, then turned as he saw Nemesis walk in.

"There was no need to," "Make no mistake. That bullet hit its intended target." "Attacking you was merely the method he chose to reveal the connection between Primal and Whitegrazer. What you should be worrying about is how he plans to use this knowledge to his advantage. And rest assured.. he will. That's how he operates."

Cheetor's optics narrowed, just how twisted was the Predacon that they were up against?

_____________________________________________

FROM RATTRAP: Dinobot, take Landslide and Ironclaw to coordinates NU-ZERO-ZERO-TWO-ONE now and secure the other golden disk that's hidden under a rock. It's neutral territory where we will meet for the exchange. Don't draw any attention to yourselves. Landslide will keep possession of the disk until we arrive. Do NOT damage the disk! END TEXT

Landslide looked towards Banshee with a smile Try to take it easy miss. You probably haven't been situated yet,if Rhinox isn't too busy in the medical bay, you might want to go there an ask about assigning a quarters. I need to head out with the lads.

[starshadow]

Try to take it easy miss. You probably haven't been situated yet,if Rhinox isn't too busy in the medical bay, you might want to go there an ask about assigning a quarters. I need to head out with the lads.

"I have my own quarters," Banshee smiled back and placed a hand on his arm since she was too short, "Take care soldier. Once this is over, maybe we could chat over with some energon and snacks," a few seconds later, she realized that what she said unintendedly sounded like a date invitation, her optics widened from the realization of her dumb mistake. If she could blush, she would. The doctor cleared her throat before speaking again, "Umm...Good luck."

And with that, she walked away, standing somewhere near Rattrap, waiting on further orders.

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

Starshadow was already asleep during the trip back to the Darksyde due to exhaustion. The searing heat and the sound of voices woke her up from her sleep.

I found her outside the Maximal territory in the woods while I was set up for sniping, she was in an argument with Sonar. I gave her a chance to talk.. she refused.. Took two charges of C4 to bring her in. Though I must admit, I'm not used to bringing in so many targets alive. Once Lord Megatron is done negotiating, I'll have to ask him what he wants done with her..

The catbot just wanted to bite him so badly for what he did to her, binding her with his tentacles although it was not the first time she was bounded by those. Starshadow's muffled voice could be heard as she struggled from Umbra's grasp, giving the idea that she wants to be released but what was heard were angry "RAWR RAWR RAWRS!"

[Mystrea]

The crew had split into two, some went to the bridge and others stayed in the medical bay. Ironclaw saw no reason to stay in the medical bay so he joined the adults on the bridge and was present for the conversation between Rattrap and Megatron. He stayed out of Megatron's vision. While Ironclaw was aware of who the enemy leader was, Megatron had yet to meet the badger. He thought it best not to play his hand too soon, possibly have the element of surprise. Ironclaw's internal systems alerted him that he had received a message. He looked at the palm of his hands and saw the text message. He said nothing and left the bridge. As he made his way to the exit, Cheetor spoke to him then flew off to their destination. The badger wasn't going to prove himself with words, they'll all see. Realising that he was still having trouble with his third form, he transformed into his beast mode and slowly followed Cheetor.

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: Again, sorry for the wait....I should be able to keep up a bit better now that my class is winding down, but as I said, I can't guarantee that I won't disappear one more time to complete my final exam. But I will do my best to keep up with the posts better.

I took a few liberties here just to fill up some plot holes such as saying that Inferno knew to expect Night Terror and that Rattrap told Dinobot to monitor the comms.
If anything needs to be edited, let me know.

BIC:

Arachnitron was a bit taken aback when Megatron, out of the blue, asked to see what the scans she had been doing on Starshadow's mech fluid had shown. She couldn't imagine why he would possibly want to see the data now in the middle of negotiations with the Maximals.

Tarantulas slipped Arachnitron a disk he had been working on and gave her a knowing glance that she understood immediately. She slipped the disk into the data console quickly while Megatron's gaze was on Tarantulas.

"I think you'll be pleased with what we managed to dig up on our mysterious friend. Arachnitron, put the data we compiled on the viewing screen would you?"

Once she pulled up the information, she looked over at the screen interested to see what disk Tarantulas was showing to Megatron. She was intrigued to see that he apparently decided to show the nanobots to Megatron even though Arachnitron had prepared a fake sample already. Perhaps he figured telling Megatron about the nanotechnology would satisfy his curiosity and Tarantulas and Arachnitron could study Starshadow in peace without fear of Megatron continuing his search for information.

"My analysis of the mech fluid samples taken from Starshadow indeed prove that she is not merely an eccentric with an odd taste in upgrades, but is in fact a mutant, as evidenced by her unusual jaw structure and what appear to be "microbots" living in her mech fluid" Tarantulas explained, showing close ups of the microbots in question, though again the data was tampered with to hide their true nature.

Arachnitron listened intently curious to know more about Tarantulas' suspicions regarding the nanobots. To her untrained optics, the sample looked almost identical to the true sample. What had he seen that she hadn't? He was truly a brilliant scientist!

“......more likely Starshadow is the product of a similar experiment delving into the applications of nanotechnology, a far less successful one given the design of these microbots, as you can see they are fragmented, which is likely the cause of the subject's deformity, instead of shape-shifting or accelerated healing she gained an abnormal jaw structure. She could be a prototype I suppose, but she would have to be a VERY early model, the differences between her nanotech designs and Nemesis are too great" Tarantulas said, comparing the Starshadow samples with samples of Nemesis acquired during her earlier beating by Megatron, before adding "Studying samples taken from Zodiac may shed some light on this matter given he's the most advanced of the three, but I'd wager she's simply the result of a less competent scientist's dead end research."

At that point Arachnitron tuned them out. Hearing Starshadow talked about like a science experiment hit home. She, after all, was also a science experiment gone wrong. She had heard herself talked about in that way a number of times. Her thoughts drifted back to a time at the research facility on Cybertron when she overheard the researchers discussing her condition.

The Predacon, enraged, had been flipping the tables in the observation room and had lunged at the scientist overseeing her tests. He had a taser holstered on his hip which she had grabbed and used before he could even move. The guards acted quickly to subdue the Predacon programming, shackle her to the wall, and lock her in her cell.

" I thought you fixed the programming glitch!" A bot's voice demanded later. The Hybrid feined unconsciousness to listen to the operative and the scientists. This was a common occurrence. The scientists' compound received many visitors from the officials who ran the facility. They were interested in seeing the results of the experiments and more importantly they were intrigued to see the Hybrid, but they were dismayed when the Predacon personality emerged.

"It's true. For some time the subject had been more cooperative and docile. We thought perhaps the programming glitch had been corrected. But the more aggressive persona has resurfaced."

"And are there plans to correct this little mishap?"

"At this moment, we have analysts reviewing some data they've been collecting. And well....as my reports have described, the subject is highly intuitive and learns quickly. She also is, at times, manipulative. This has lead us to believe....but it is too early to tell....we believe she may have been attempting to deceive us."

The Hybrid could hear the anger in the operative's voice when he replied: "You have 30 solar cycles to report some improvements or I am shutting this program down...."

The voices of the operative and the scientists faded as they walked away from the cell....

"You did well my dear, we'll investigate Starshadow together more later"

Tarantulas' voice snapped Arachnitron back to reality. Her optics had flashed red for a brief moment as she remembered her life on Cybertron, but they returned to green a second or two later. She was, as usual, pleased to hear Tarantulas praise her work. She smiled to herself as she imagined the two of them studying Starshadow together. All thoughts about how similar Starshadow's situation was to her own disappeared from her mind as she pictured herself working along side Tarantulas.

Suddenly one of the new recruits showed up and pledged his devotion to Megatron. He even apologized for his failure earlier. Megatron kicked the bot in the face and sent him flying backwards. Most of the other Predacons chuckled at the plight of the new bot. But Arachnitron was more curious than amused. She had seen the new bots in the halls when they were brought in as prisoners. Now, he was pledging his allegiance to Megatron.

"There, all is forgiven, Night Terror. You will have opportunities to redeem yourself, but for now I think it a tad too soon for you to consider yourself my strategic officer, let alone advisor, nnnooooo. Prove yourself a loyal and competent soldier first and then we'll discuss ranks and titles, yessss"

Night Terror, as he was apparently called, left for another task at the behest of Megatron. Arachnitron returned to her usual monitor duties as the others on the bridge fiddled around getting negotiations set up with the Maximals. Tarantulas opened up a comm channel to Optimus and Nexus. And then, Megatron hailed the Maximals once again to resume their talks. They had wanted proof that Optimus and Nexus Prime were still alive.

As everyone was paying attention to the Maximals, in walked Umbra, Starshadow, and Sonar. Tarantulas turned to Arachnitron to whisper some new instructions.

"Keep an eye on our new arrivals, some of them might be trouble"

Arachnitron just nodded silently. Tarantulas returned to his work manning the comms for Megatron. Arachnitron kept an eye on Umbra, Starshadow and Sonar from the scanners where she was monitoring for Maximal activity outside of the base. So far the Maximals hadn't sent anyone to try to free Optimus and Nexus while Megatron was distracted, but it wouldn't be unheard of to use the negotiations as a distraction for a hostage rescue operation.

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

Inferno was quiet as Blackarachnia tended to her work repairing Optimus. He kept watch on the halls and he kept watch on Blackarachnia to be sure she didn't damage the prisoner. The Royalty had commanded that he not be harmed.

Megatron had radioed the ant to alert him of the arrival of Nexus Prime to the brig. Inferno waited in the halls for him to be returned to his cell so that the Maximals may speak to their comrades via an open comm link.

After some time, one of the newcomers finally arrived with the prisoner.

"We have been awaiting your arrival," Inferno announced. "Follow me."

Inferno led the newcomer and the prisoner into the brig and helped to secure him in his cell. He returned to his post guarding the prisoners, but listened in on the conversation between Optimus and the Maximals.

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

A whole mess of activity was going on at the Maximal base: Shots fired, negotiations with Megatron.....and the vermin at the center of it all barking out orders. Dinobot hated to have to follow his orders, but he had worked so hard to gain Optimus' respect to be entrusted with positions as unit leader on field missions that he wasn't going to risk losing that priveldge over his dislike of the hairy creature.

After things seemed to die down a bit, Rattrap stormed out of the room ordering Dinobot to remain on monitor duty and alert him in case Megatron checked back in. They had requested to hear from Optimus to buy a little time to retrieve the hidden golden disk, but before they were able to do so, they had been ambushed by the Predacons. And now it appears that someone had taken down the youngest of them all, Aurora. Dinobot shook his head regretful of Aurora's injuries, but he knew and understood the cost of war. War took lives. It was as simple as that, but they had an important job to do- rescuing Optimus- they couldn't let themselves be distracted.

It wasn't long before he heard the sound of raised voices in the hall....Ironclaw from the sound of it and some others, though they were not speaking so loudly so he couldn't identify them. They were arguing. Dinobot shook his head. Why anyone bothered with the badger was beyond him....the badger wasn't a soldier- he didn't understand how to follow orders or protocol. He didn't understand chain of command....and he didn't seem to understand what it meant to be a Maximal either. Ironclaw would have been more suited to life among the Predacons with his aggressive attitude. Not that Dinobot considered himself a Maximal....but he had lived among them for so long that he did understand their ways. He knew what it meant to be a Maximal even if he disagreed with their ideals. He had learned a lot living amongst his former enemies....one of them was tolerance. He knew how important it was to stop Megatron and his corruption- and doing so meant tolerating the Maximals and their different way of life.

Eventually, Rattrap's voice was heard shouting at the others. Dinobot snorted realizing that if it weren't for their common disdain of Ironclaw's attitude, he and Rattrap would be the ones arguing in the hall right now instead of Rattrap and the badger. Dinobot snarled. The young would-be warrior had brought out the best in Dinobot....he was, oddly enough, more agreeable and cooperative when working with Rattrap. Dinobot decided that he must make more of an effort to be ornery and disgruntled. He had a reputation to protect after all.

Suddenly, Megatron appeared on the screen to hail the Maximals. Dinobot sent word to Rattrap that the Predacons were calling and Rattrap was back on the bridge to deal with the tyrant. Dinobot stayed off screen and just listened to the exchange in silence knowing that if he dared open his mouth to speak to his former commander, he may say something that he and his comrades would pay for later. It was best to hold his tongue this time.

"Ah, neighbors! Glad to see you're still at home, I was worried something had gone amiss with your communications array when we were tragically cut off from each other earlier. I do hope nothing of importance was lost, I think maximals and predacons alike can all attest to how bitter that feeling can be, yyyesssss." 

"Yeah, uh, oh, so sorry about that. You know, technical difficulties and such. I think one of yer Preds hit an antenna on our ship. Uhhh, nope. The only thing we lost was yer ugly mug but nobody was complaining," the rodent casually shrugged, knowing full well what he was talking about. "Now, I wanna talk to both of 'em so I know dey're alive. And no funny business." 

Dinobot fought to hold his tongue again as the vermin addressed Megatron. Another thing he and Rattrap agreed upon.

"Glad to hear all is well, I am all too happy to allow you a chance to speak with your friends, you have much to catch up on, I'm sure. Do keep in mind however the price of your long distance call shall be two, mint condition golden disks, onscreen, where I may see them, yyyessss."

Dinobot looked over at Rattrap uneasily. Did they ever get the other disk? In all the commotion, had they forgotten about it?

"Rattrap... It's Optimus... Nexus... is with me. He was just... returned to his cell," as if that could have any significance to anything. Perhaps not yet but he was simply letting him know he hadn't seen him for quite some time. "We're alive... We're... hanging in there." His voice was weak and soft. It hurt to breathe and to move pretty much anything. "Is everyone... Is everyone alright? ...Aurora?" Whitegrazer had already informed him of her condition but since the Predacons were listening to their conversation, maybe Rattrap would catch on and take advantage of using a little white lie.

Dinobot strained to hear his commanders words. He was tired and weak...barely audible over the comms.

"Hey, Fearless leader," he said gently and as warmly as he could given his personality and the circumstances. It was really good to hear him, which caught Rattrap a little off guard. He assumed Optimus meant "everyone" as in all of the Maximals and Nemesis but they were still avoiding specifics so he continued to do so. "Yeah. Yeah, we're good,"he said and then added with some worry, "Well, Aurora's in surgery and...," he paused for dramatic effect, "we're not sure she's gonna make it. I guess if we lose her, it's only fair ta lose a disk,"

Dinobot was shocked at Rattrap's words. He had to hand it to the rodent- he could think on his feet! Suddenly, Dinobot noticed a text message that had come through his comm link.

FROM RATTRAP: Dinobot, take Landslide and Ironclaw to coordinates NU-ZERO-ZERO-TWO-ONE now and secure the other golden disk that's hidden under a rock. It's neutral territory where we'll meet for the exchange. Don't draw any attention to yourselves. Landslide will keep possession of the disk until we arrive. Do NOT damage the disk! END TEXT

So that was the answer to his question. They had yet to retrieve the other disk. Dinobot nodded his acknowledgement of Rattrap's message and since he was off screen, he snuck off quietly knowing his exiting the bridge wouldn't be seen by the Predacon commander. He noticed Ironclaw standing by the door frame and beckoned for him to follow. He walked off to meet up with Landslide leaving the other disk with Rattrap. As he walked, Dinobot's mind had wandered back to the golden disks. He wished he had thought to get the data off of the disk that was hidden in neutral territory, but he hadn't. Now he would never know if it held the answers to all of his questions about the universe. He could only hope that the data from one of the disks was enough to study. He hoped to uncover the disks' secrets, but with only one disk, he may not have all of the answers he needed.

[NaitoKage]

( If you want to hit the Retcon button that's fine by me, I was pondering how they'd find it when the details were "The disk is under a rock".. in an area surrounded by rocks. Though I guess if I had to I could always say they smelled the gold on the thing or something.. And admittedly having Cheetor lead did have me go "Oh no, we've gotten that desperate have we?" I'll just leave Cheetor at the Axalon then. Otherwise having two at the same time isn't much of a problem. )

"Take care soldier. Once this is over, maybe we could chat over with some energon and snacks,""Umm...Good luck."

Landslide blinked surprised, scratching his cheek Uh-yeah, thanks!

He then watched as Ironclaw went on ahead and shrugged walking out of the hanger, then transforming to his massive beetle mode and vehicle mode, his engines firing up spraying debris as he took off into the sky, his wings opening as his engine nacelles turned with the four rocket thruster's directed behind him, taking off into the direction of the coordinates given to him. Since he didn't have anyone riding on top, he could fly a bit more economically, not that he would mind an excuse for eating a few energon snacks on the way...

Soon he came to the destination, folding his wings and turning his nacelles as he started to hover down he made a turning maneuver viewing the surroundings before coming down to land on his six insect legs, the massive beetle then looked around at the surroundings, which seemed to be covered in rocks. He tilt his head Under a rock huh?.. It's like a screw in the bolt drawer.. he muttered to himself.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: This will likely be the shortest post I've ever made.. But I just got home from work and it's nearly 1 am and I have to be back at work by noon tomorrow.. )

"Nexus?" Rattrap asked for him despite his suspicions. "How're they treatin' ya?

Nexus lifted his head ever so slightly at the sound of the rodent addressing him, glancing briefly over at Optimus before responding. "Alive.. Can't.. complain.. about the.. service.. here.."

His voice sounded weak, drained, but certainly not defeated. For that the line of Primes were way too proud and Nexus was no exception.

[una]

((OOC: Sorry it is taking me so long with my Blackarachnia post. I been busy the last couple of days and another reason was I didn't know what to have her say. ))

Blackarachnia watched as Optimus fell silent with her words. Good because she was saying too much already. Though, she noticed before Rattrap spoke through the comms that Optimus seemed distracted. Like he was in a different place. That was eerie.

"Hey, Fearless leader," "Yeah. Yeah, we're good," he said and then added with some worry, "Well, Aurora's in surgery and...," he paused for dramatic effect, "we're not sure she's gonna make it. I guess if we lose her, it's only fair ta lose a disk,"

Did she miss something here? What happened while she was stopping the Maximal leader from bleeding on the nice floors she installed? Did the Predacons attack the Maximal base or something? Was Megatron trying to take the golden disks? Was she being careless for being here instead of near Megatron? It did explain why Optimus cried out that young brat's name earlier. After she was done here, she will make sure to update herself on what happened.

"You do what... you have to do," Optimus enforced to Rattrap. "No matter... the cost.""Just hang in dere a little longer. We're gonna get ya back.""Nexus?" "How're they treatin' ya?"

"Quoting Prime himself now are you? You do love playing the hero don't you Primal? Cheer up, not like there's anyone named "Hot Rod" on your crew to hurt your chances now is there?"

Unlike the other Predacons, she didn't join in Megatron's dark sense of humor. She never did. She just stood there with her arms crossed and placed her back against the wall close to Optimus to keep an eye on him. Keeping herself expressionless towards the Predacons in the room while secretly dreaming of siphoning the life out of her two greatest enemies here.

[Wintersong]

((Hope this post is okay guys.))

A lot had happened in the last few hours, Wintersong having stuck to the monitors and having little time to react to what all had occurred. But it seemed things were eventually under control and she remained where she was, watching for the chance of another unexpected attack and deep down hoping Aurora would make it through. Getting one's Spark shot was a horrific way to go, and most were lucky to even last long enough to get repairs or live. But the young ermine fuzor was in good hands now, that much Wintersong was sure of.

But now the white tigress only listened to the exchange, being out of sight of the video feed between Rattrap and Megatron, frowning when hearing Optimus. He had sounded better and it was rather hard not to go make the Predacons pay for what they had done to Optimus and Nexus. But, she knew better then to go running off and making a commotion. She knew where that had gotten her far too many times in the past, and she didn't quite want to think of another scenario that could be risky yet again. Being dragged under the ice cold waters of the Arctic and nearly thrown off a cliff into lava had been enough. And one of those times she had intentionally been trying to distract Megatron, but she was shocked by the strength the t-Rex had just with his tail alone.

Still, hopefully they could have a chance to save Optimus and Nexus, this negotiating being pain staking enough.

----------

Spineback was likewise present to watch the exchanges, quietly listening as she stood on a hoverboard nearby. The Golden Disks...now that was a tale she heard about but she had never known if the rumors were true about her former leader. Only the future would tell if Megatron would unlock the secrets of the disks and she was a little interested to see what they held. For now though she mused herself in listening to the on going negotiations before her.

Tilting her head slightly she didn't really find the joke funny, but she was musing over the Maximals and their predicament. Without those disks their leader and his friend would be goners, regardless if they tried making new offers. It just seemed unlikely Megatron would take anything aside from those disks and the Maximals certainly had to be desparate by now.

Though her attentions briefly went towards Umbra and the others as they arrived, making her wonder wha had occurred exactly.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Hey guys, I know OOP hasn't replied to my last post yet, but I figured I'd post early so I can take it easy this weekend & reply to whatever's cooked up later (or add on to what I already have here if ya guys rather, whichever ya think is best). Almost got my Christmas shopping done! Woot woot! "does a little dance"

Naitokage wrote: Umbra gave a nod as he listened to Terrorsaur, then glanced towards Starshadow I found her outside the Maximal territory in the woods while I was set up for sniping, she was in an argument with Sonar. I gave her a chance to talk.. she refused.. Took two charges of C4 to bring her in. Though I must admit, I'm not used to bringing in so many targets alive. Once Lord Megatron is done negotiating, I'll have to ask him what he wants done with her..

Umbra then pulled out his broken rifle, having the barrel pointed towards the ground and holding it by the stock You think the CR tank can fix this? Though I guess if not, I can always use the rounds like a senbon shuriken or something..

"Bah, pretty face or not, last thing we need is an undead parasite wandering the halls bleeding us dry, Maximals give us enough trouble already" Terrorsaur replied callously regarding Starshadow's potential fate, but almost laughed out loud when Umbra questioned him regarding the fate of his gun, something he was able to luckily stifle before it could disrupt the negotiations and potentially upset Megatron.

"Umbra, if the CR Tanks can put Waspinator back together no matter how many times he's blown apart, I somehow doubt it will fail to fix your gun. Seriously, the tanks are about the only things around here you can always trust not to let you down" Terrorsaur replied, being completely honest for once, since nearly everyone in the base was ultimately out for themselves, but the tanks would always heal you indiscriminately regardless of whether or not you were a Megatron devotee or not.

Starshadow wrote: The catbot just wanted to bite him so badly for what he did to her, binding her with his tentacles although it was not the first time she was bounded by those. Starshadow's muffled voice could be heard as she struggled from Umbra's grasp, giving the idea that she wants to be released but what was heard were angry "RAWR RAWR RAWRS!"

"Uh oh, sleeping beauty is waking up, might wanna knock her out again unless ya want Megatron to get mad at you for interrupting his "peace talks" over yonder" Terrorsaur warned, partly nervous about the vampire getting lose again, more nervous about Megatron looking their way with his trademark withering glare, but also trying very hard not to laugh at the sight of Starshadow squirming in Umbra's grasp, bond and gagged no less...It was an honestly satisfying sight after the embarrassment she had dealt him and Waspinator earlier today.

"Awwww, Starry Sweetie, you didn't need to get all dressed up for me" Terrorsaur snickered as quietly as he could, his inner bully shining through despite himself.

Tarantulas merely shook his head at the commotion that was threatening to brew up in the middle of this crucial moment and stayed out of it, trusting that they had enough commonsense to keep it down or else Megatron would start firing at them shortly.

Phoenix wrote:
Nexus lifted his head ever so slightly at the sound of the rodent addressing him, glancing briefly over at Optimus before responding. "Alive.. Can't.. complain.. about the.. service.. here.."

His voice sounded weak, drained, but certainly not defeated. For that the line of Primes were way too proud and Nexus was no exception.

"Sigh, you forget to put a mint under the guests' pillows once and all of a sudden your accommodations are no longer considered five stars quality" Megatron mused casually, pretending to admire his finger tips and act uninterested.

Never the less, Megatron still smirked at that remark, a cruel smile that would held double meanings unbeknownst to the maximals watching, who still had no idea of Nexus' true nature and allegiance, or at least if they did have their suspicions they had no solid proof yet and thus could not risk the "good admiral's" safety anymore than they could risk that of their own leader Primal. He loved having all the aces up his sleeves, the maximals always desperately trying to guess what he was thinking...He may actually miss their frightened looks of confusion when this was all over.

Megatron noticed a slight disturbance going on in the corner and glared at his minions out of the corner of his eye, taking note of the return of Starshadow and Sonar, motioning with a tilt of his head towards Spineback to see to the rabble and make sure they didn't interrupt the proceedings any further, trusting that a veteran like her would get his meaning.

[NaitoKage]

"Bah, pretty face or not, last thing we need is an undead parasite wandering the halls bleeding us dry, Maximals give us enough trouble already" "Umbra, if the CR Tanks can put Waspinator back together no matter how many times he's blown apart, I somehow doubt it will fail to fix your gun. Seriously, the tanks are about the only things around here you can always trust not to let you down"

Umbra gave a nod Hrm..you do pose a valid point there.

Umbra then looked towards star as he heard some angry cat sounds.

"Uh oh, sleeping beauty is waking up, might wanna knock her out again unless ya want Megatron to get mad at you for interrupting his "peace talks" over yonder"

Umbra raised an optic ridge hearing Terrorsaur, then looked towards Star with a sigh.

"Awwww, Starry Sweetie, you didn't need to get all dressed up for me"

Umbra shook his head, pulling the strangely large box magazine out of the rifle as he put the rifle away, then with his thumb slid out a thin long needle like round out of the magazine, the tip of the needle giving a eerie purple glow as he passed it to his right hand, his tentacle moving out of the way as he pressed the needle into the back of Starshadow's snow white neck, sliding it in a centimeter as the cyber poison started to pass into her system. You didn't want to speak before..you don't get the option to now.
After a bit he then pulled the needle out and tossed it much like a shuriken off towards the lava pit.

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC:

I edited my post to include the text message Rattrap wrote to Dinobot. Just to give Mystrea and NK a heads up- Dinobot is on his way to joining them.

I'm heading out to get some shopping and stuff done right now, but I'll be on later in the evening to have Dinobot actually arrive at the location with the others. Not sure if NK wants to edit the stuff about Cheetor out...... since he's not coming now...

[Phoenix]

"Just like I knew you could find a cure. Piece of energon cake,"

Aurora smiled softly at Rhinox, a smile that encompassed the massive relief she felt since it was becoming apparent that it wasn't her time to die just yet, yet also showed just how grateful she was for all the help and the tender care he'd provided while tending to her wounds. She still ached a bit, still felt weak.. and strangely hungry.. But for the most part she was doing okay.

"Some day it will be second nature to you, too."

Now that she doubted. Nobody would ever be able to come even close to Rhinox' skills, and certainly not her. Not that she didn't possess some skills in the field of science, but they certainly didn't even come close to that of Rhinox'. But maybe he could teach her some of his tricks of the trade in due time, sometime when she wasn't feeling so weak.. and they didn't have company.

Her optics drifted to Nemesis, still standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"He will," he agreed, "But they'll be prepared for it. I doubt Megatron understands the complexity of such a bond if he hasn't had one himself. It's rather unique."

"And you think that bond will save them? Or any of you?," Nemesis snuffed, not caring for the Maximal sentimentality. "Perhaps it's time for a reality check here, but let's face it.. Megatron has the upper hand. He's in control over Optimus and Nexus' fate. Handing over the golden disks isn't going to make him give up this advantage, he'll merely double cross you and you're then going to be left with nothing."

Aurora swallowed, once again being reminded of just serious the situation had gotten. Fortunately Rhinox chimed in as the voice of reason.

"Aurora, I don't know if that nanogel is going to have any long-term effects, but you should get to a CR immediately to finish your repairs, get some rest, and regain the energon you lost," he told her as he stepped out of her way and held his hand out for her to grasp and help her down off the table. No doubt she was quite weakened from such a traumatic affair.

She nodded, taking his hand as she softly, carefully, slid off the edge of the table and tested if her legs could hold up her weight. They could, if only barely. Slowly she moved over towards the door, her shaky legs revealing just how weak she still felt. Behind her Rhinox and Nemesis continued talking.

"Did you encounter Darkwind?" he asked Nemesis. "Did you learn more about him?"

The avian female tilted her head ever so slightly as she contemplated his question and how to respond.

"That's not his name," she finally said, "He never did tell anyone his real name. Instead he went by the alias Zodiac, a name he felt reflected his endless ambition and power." She left out the part about how they knew each other deliberately, still weary of sharing that part of her life story with anyone.