"More Than Meets The Eye: Part II"

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Happy birthday!!)

"You're lying."

For a brief moment everything went quiet and everyone's optics seemed to deviate over to Nexus and Nemesis. The conviction was quite apparent in her voice, a high level of distrust present in her words. Still Nexus merely stared back at her, not revealing any emotion at all. Before long the awkward silence died down and the Maximals present returned to their duties. Landslide was making measurements of Nexus' wounds and was busy preparing a temporary fix using some spare metal plating he apparently kept around in cases like these, whereas Whitegrazer insisted on keeping up damage control.

The aging admiral's single functional optic still lingered on the Decepticon-turned-Predacon, but he refrained from speaking. At present it would likely do more damage than good if he had anyway. Nemesis' piercing optics remained locked with his, however, and he found himself wondering how she knew. As far as he knew he hadn't done anything to incriminate himself badly enough to arouse suspicions like that.

Fortunately it seemed the Maximal scientist wasn't persuaded by Nemesis' outburst either.

"Explain yourself, Nemesis,"

The female didn't budge from her position between the door and Nexus Prime, her focus remaining on the admiral even as she answered.

"Obviously he's not telling the truth. If he truly had done everything to stop Optimus from being beaten, he would have been in the same state that Optimus is in now. Or worse. If he had attempted to get between Megatron and his prey, there would have been no reason for Megatron to hold back his rage."


She knew that fact all too well, having gotten to sample that rage herself. Thanks to Darkwind.. or whoever he was. It was the reason she was here, surrounded by Maximals.

Nexus tilted his head a bit upon realizing that Nemesis had absolutely no proof of his deception, only a vague suspicion based on her own experiences with the tyrant. He was about to answer her accusations when heavy foot steps caught his attention.

The avian female had been standing with her back to the doorway and as such she did not see the transmetal badger enter. She heard the stomping, sure enough, but given the fact she was surrounded by peace loving Maximals she wasn't too alarmed by them. Having more of them show up to tend to their wounded leader was hardly a surprise.

Her inattentiveness was used against her when she was suddenly pushed, rather brutally, aside with enough force to send her smashing into the wall. She barely even had enough time to bring her arms up to protect herself from the impact. Still she managed to remain standing, her hands supporting her against the wall as she quickly regained her footing.

Nexus on the other hand watched with growing interest as the avian female whirled on her attacker, only to see who it was that had barged in and demanded to know if Optimus would live.

Nemesis snarled as she eyed her target, immediately recognizing him as the overly rude and temperamental Maximal she'd had the displeasure of running into a few times before. Why they even kept this troublemaker around was beyond her.

"I warned you before..," she hissed, her sai already in hand as she lunged herself forward, fully intending to separate the fool's head from his body. As she got closer, she dropped down to ground level and positioned herself, angling her leg so that she could sweep Ironclaw's out from beneath him and thus make his throat an easier target once he was incapacitated on the floor. Her leg impacted right at the level of the back of Ironclaw's knee, intentionally going for the joints since it was unlikely the bulky male would be able to carry his weight then.

"Nemesis, may I ask your assistance in helping me close these wounds?"

Whitegrazer's voice, ever caring and concerned, managed to catch her attention just as she prepared to plunge her weapon into the badger's throat, causing her to hesitate for just long enough to give the male a chance to move. The avian female's optics narrowed as she whirled on the other femme, furious at the distraction.

"I would be doing you all a favor," she hissed, sai still lodged in her hand as she pointed towards Ironclaw, "That creature is no Maximal!"

Nexus, on the other hand, looked on with a heightened interest. That blundering oaf of a Maximal could actually prove useful.. Provided these two didn't kill each other off just yet.

"Easy now," he encouraged Nemesis and Ironclaw alike, "Hasn't there been enough bloodshed this day?"

"Nexus, did you by any chance see the shapeshifter, Darkwind?"

The aging warrior looked at the speaking female, a rather surprised look on his face. The female's question not only proved that the Maximals were aware of the presence of a shape shifter but also that Nemesis had told them about her encounter with Darkwind.. Very well, he'd just have to make sure that they didn't come to suspect Nexus of such deceit. And what better way to do that than to direct their attention onto someone else..

"Did you say shapeshifter?," he inquired, sounding more than a bit surprised and doubtful.

[Night-Hunter]

"Well, you seemed coherent enough... I'm going to give you the cure, ok?"

She gave him a small nod then watched him approached, she gave an inward snort of amusment. The young cat was approaching her like she was an feral injured beast. Which seemed fitting considering her condition.

Her ears went back when he took out a needle, she forced herself to remain still as he injected her with the cure.

"I'm not sure how long it'll take but you still better soon."

Saber gave the cat a small nod. "Thank you, Cheetor."

She then turned her attention back to Banshee as the bat continued talking. It was obvious that she knew nothing about her secret and Saber planned on keeping it that way.

"If you're still bothered by some of your personal issues, I could set up an appointment for you in my office."

Saber's ears went back again and she bared her teeth and growled softly in annoyance.

"My personal issues are none of your concerns, Banshee. I will speak to no one but Rhinox and Optimus about my issues as I trust them and have known them longer. It is thier council I will seek and finally listen to."

She rose to her paws and headed toward the lift then paused and looked at Banshee. "It's nothing to do with you, Banshee. I just don't trust bats, they are... scheming rats... With wings."

[starshadow]

"My personal issues are none of your concerns, Banshee. I will speak to no one but Rhinox and Optimus about my issues as I trust them and have known them longer. It is thier council I will seek and finally listen to. It's nothing to do with you, Banshee. I just don't trust bats, they are... scheming rats... With wings."

Oh so this General is a species-ist? That is something new coming from her. Banshee made a mental note and narrowed her pastel yellow optics at Saber as she followed her to the lift, rejoining her fellow comrades, feeling slightly offended from her words. But at least the cure has been administered and she is no longer a danger to the others.

"We're back. If you need anything else, I'll be in my office," and with that, she walked to her quarters, only to find claw marks and mech fluid stains accompanied with its horrible stench. Something definitely happened in the Axalon while she was gone. She sighed and went to get a bucket of water and a rag cloth in the storage room and started cleaning the horrible mess.

[Mystrea]

That was not th answer Ironclaw was expecting, in fact he was expecting just a yes or a no. He would obviously prefer that he live but what would be the consequences of it, would he be the same ape. Only time would tell. As he was looking at Optimus he heard Nemesis mutter something behind him. Before he could react in time he took a blow to the back of his legs causing him to fall forwards. Luckily he was able to catch himself before he hit the deck and react quite rapidly. The bagder span round to see her holding a blade but being distracted, her mistake. He rushed her, firstly by taking hold of her wrist which was connected to the holding the weapon, Ironclaw then brought his thorarm up to her neck. Combined this with forcing her against the wall, she was pinned for now. His hand squeezed and pulled her arm away to try and get her to drop it. This all happened quickly followed by him asking "You think me just some simple brute? I'm here because Im here for a reason. I could tear you limb from limb and then have the satisfaction of doing it again." Assuming her healing skills were that good.

[una]

"I'm sure you have done more than enough, Whitegrazer. You know how grateful Optimus is for everything you do. He's grateful for all of us. It looks like Aurora's cure for the virus is working nicely on him, too. It might slow down his system processing considering it takes energy to boost the antidote's affect but that's minor compared to everything else he has gone through."

Whitegrazer smiled, grateful for Rhinox's words. Hearing Aurora's name again, it reminded her that she needed to visit the young one and see how she was holding up. It had been a long time since she had seen her, and she needed to apologize and ask the little one for forgiveness. After all, it was she who put her in that situation. She should had known better than to think Aurora wouldn't follow her. Her spark pinged with the shame and guilt for the young one's suffering.

She looked at Optimus, closing her optics. Hang in there, Optimus. She knew he couldn't hear her and feel anything now, but still, she wanted to keep talking to him.

"Explain yourself, Nemesis,"

"Obviously he's not telling the truth. If he truly had done everything to stop Optimus from being beaten, he would have been in the same state that Optimus is in now. Or worse. If he had attempted to get between Megatron and his prey, there would have been no reason for Megatron to hold back his rage."

Nemesis had an interesting point. Nexus' wounds weren't as severe as Optimus, and if Nexus was with Megatron during the time the spiders were having their fun, Megatron would have given him a beatdown. If Nexus truly was he who says he is, Megatron would have gladly used Nexus to diminish Optimus' spirit. As she sat and thought about it, with Nexus, Megatron had a sadistic opportunity to have Optimus watch as he tortured him. She was grateful he didn't, but part of her was growing ever so suspicious as to why. In all her experiences, that was done to her if she was caught along with a comrade. Predacons would had took turns in viciously attacking as they demanded the other to tell them what they want or be responsible for the other's suffering. Now, it wasn't unheard of for interrogators to separate them, telling them the other one was dead or talking. But if memory served her, that tactic was after they tried the other, and if memory served her even further, Nexus was never mentioned nor heard of. Optimus had been worried about him, yes. But Nexus' name and presence was silent among the Predacons. That was suspicious.

"I warned you before..,"

"I would be doing you all a favor," she hissed, sai still lodged in her hand as she pointed towards Ironclaw, "That creature is no Maximal!"

"You think me just some simple brute? I'm here because Im here for a reason. I could tear you limb from limb and then have the satisfaction of doing it again."

Whitegrazer was shook her head and stood up. She couldn't do anything, especially with Ironclaw. She would try, but she didn't want him to react violently towards her and screw up with Rhinox's care on Optimus. The only thing she could do was talk to him and get him to see reason. She closed her optics and opened softly as the tone of her voice was, "This is a place of healing, not violence. I suggest you cease your attack, Ironclaw. It was under Optimus' orders that she was allowed to be here. You don't like it, that's fine, but that still doesn't change the fact that she is here. And your actions towards Nemesis so far are undermining Optimus' wishes." She walked around the table Nexus laid on, but she still kept distance, "We are vulnerable now, especially with Megatron having both of the disks. The only thing we have now is each other, and Nemesis is a part of that. Two of our beloved comrades have been through a tremendous ordeal for us. I don't want their sacrifices to be in vain, do you?"

"Did you say shapeshifter?,

She looked at Nexus as he asked her, "Yes, did you see him or any clues that might help us find out who he is?" She wanted to hear what he has to say.

[Wildfire94]

Onyx eyed Rattrap for a long few moments, taking in everything he said before crossing his arms and closing his optics to think for a few more long moments. It probably would have felt like forever before the equine would finally speak, optics still shut. "You are right rodent, I am and always will be a Predacon, but I left Megatron's fold because I don't agree with his methods of gaining complete superiority over Cybertron." The black mech said before opening his optics, looking towards Rattrap behind his visor. "I want equality for my faction, not continue to be treated as a second class citizen by the likes of the Maximal faction or just it's governments alone. But I gave up such things as what Megatron is doing now years ago." He told him firmly.

Standing Onyx was doubting of staying in the same room as the rat, finding he likely wouldn't be there without ending up with an even further heated argument, and right now he wasn't in the mood to argue over their ideals and different thoughts without resorting to drawing weapons and causing even more damage among the Maximals, something of which he doubted they needed right now. "Look, I am genuinely sorry for what happened to the ermine and maybe me and Silverstreak being here could have changed something, but knowing this team all of you have proven to be more resilient then Megatron has given you credit for. I have confidence that she'll pull through." Onyx said politely as he shifted to beast mode and began to leave the bridge, "And much as I don't like it either Rattrap, I'm here to stay until we get home." He added as he passed, heading off towards the medical bay to see for himself what had gone on, wondering how bad the damage was.

It didn't take him long either to arrive, hearing what sounded like tense voices inside causing him to come into the doorway with a curious look until he noticed Ironclaw holding Nemesis pinned and his fellow equine trying to calm the situation. "And here I thought you guys were peaceful." He commented as he transformed, wincing a bit since his side still was sore.

Silverstreak watched their exchange of words, tensing her body to get up if she had to in order to separate the mechs if things got too heated, something of which they didn't need right now. If what Rattrap said was true then having them fighting among themselves would prove to only make things worse then they already were, so she was hoping somehow they'd settle their differences until Optimus and Nexus improved. Luckily, she could relax once Onyx left and she finally looked back at Rattrap, having noticed of his suspicious tone, "Question him? Do you think he might be that shapeshifter?" She inquired, wanting to know more of this suspicion, sometimes which had proved right in the past. But if Nexus was this shapeshifter would he really try and cause havoc there while surrounded by nearly the entire team of Maximals?

[Wintersong]

"I'll take my chances spider, wasting more time will only make this worse." Spineback responded coldly, making no move to hide her disdain towards the spider nor her mistrust of the scientist, which she wanted to retort back to but Megatron's yell was more then enough to keep her quiet from doing so. Maybe another day. For now her attentions were turned towards the data Tarantulas had collected and she quickly began to shift through the data, her optics shifting back and forth as she read, having never come across such a thing before in her life. She was a medic but she was no miracle worker nor hardly anything of what you'd call a professional. Armor wounds and such were no problem to her, but something like this...it would be her first real encounter with a virus that attacked the system and trigger hallucinations.

She even ignored Tarantulas's half mocking tone, her optic ridges furrowing as she tried to think of anything that could change the effects. "Is there a way to sample this thing and alter the cells to maybe work as an antibody?" She finally stated, her tone serious as her mind tried to work, shaking it a few times as she began to feel something was off. At first she thought her mind was just not fully recovered from getting knocked out by Starshadow, something she was highly regretting,as she thought she saw energon and mech fluid splattered everywhere but a quick shake of the head a few blinks of her optics caused the scene to disappear. She hoped it was just that or her mind was already being affected. If so, they would have to work fast as she tried to force her mind to remain focus on the task at hand.

If anything, she hoped maybe Tarantulas, with all his own expertise in science, might be able to pull something up of her suggestion, if not Night Terror would likely be their only hope for a cure. And a little interrogation didn't sound bad right now, knowing she had to vent her inner anger at herself for failing to be let out somehow.

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

Watching as Rattrap and Onyx nearly got into a heated argument over what had occurred, and the black stallion mech even being there the tigress was poised to step in if things got out of hand. Much like Silverstreak, she thought going at each other's throats was the last thing they needed right now and someone having to be carried to the med bay was likely not something Rhinox and the others wanted to see when they already had two badly damaged mechs lying in the room to be repaired right about now.

Sighing she shook her head slightly, "I'm going to go see how things are too." She told them, seeing she likely wasn't needed in the bridge as she saw Banshee return which meant Cheetor and Saber Fang weren't far behind, which meant everyone was back safe and sound for now which was a relief. Turning then she began heading off down the hall towards the medical bay, deep in thought of what all had occurred that day.

[Phoenix]

Nemesis had made the mistake of letting the white female Maximal distract her for long enough for Ironclaw to make his move. For someone as big and bulky as he was, he was able to move surprisingly fast. It didn't help that emotions were running high in the medical bay, which was getting more crowded by the minute. Accusations and distrust were lingering with such intensity that they could almost be felt.

And the avian female was growing frustrated by the lack of progress made. Sure enough the rescue party had brought Optimus and Nexus back, but by doing so they had given away her best chance at getting back into Megatron's good.. or shall we say better graces. Without the golden disks, she'd have to come up with another peace offering. And then there was the issue of Darkwind.. A traitor and a manipulating liar, someone that held a grudge big enough to level the planet. He would of course have to be dealt with soon too.

A sudden shove quickly brought her back to the more urgent situation at hand.. The hot-tempered badger snatched up her arm and jerked it rather violently, painfully, while pushing her up against the wall with his forearm against her throat. The female made a gasping sound as the choke hold on her throat tightened, narrowing her red optics at the male as he spoke.

"You think me just some simple brute? I'm here because Im here for a reason. I could tear you limb from limb and then have the satisfaction of doing it again."

Struggling a bit against his grip without wasting too much energy doing so, Nemesis glared back at him. "And I thank you for proving me right," she retorted back at him, still clutching onto the sai with her pinned arm.

She was not afraid of him. Pain was hardly an unknown entity to her. And with so much metal in her immediate surroundings it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to heal up again should he make reality out of his threat. "A true Maximal does not follow this path of destruction you're on. Instead they vow to take the high road, holding themselves above such barbarity."


Her voice sounded almost accusing now. "Hiding behind that Maximal symbol, like a coward. You must be proud of yourself," she taunted, squirming a bit more as his grip on her throat seemed to tighten and the pull on her arm was getting close to being unbearable.

She wasn't bulky or even terribly strong, nor did she have very durable armor. Instead she had been designed to be agile, swift and graceful, and that design had passed on to her Predacon form. In addition the increasing sense of claustrophobia tore at her, threatening to cause her to lose control, convinced her that she needed to break the male's grip immediately. So she reacted the only way she knew how. By bringing her leg up and across the male's neck, hooking her knee joint around his throat so that she could pry him away from her. She pulled the leg back with as much force as she could muster, feeling the force threaten to crush the male's throat should he resist moving back.

Nexus feigned disinterest in the squabble between the two transmetals, appearing to have grown tired of their antics. Underneath the mask, however, he was intrigued by this turn of events. Ironclaw seemed like an almost perfect candidate to take the blame for his own misdeeds, someone to shift the responsibility onto, someone the majority of Maximals weren't too fond of and wouldn't be surprised if turned out to be this stranger.. this shapeshifter.

"Yes, did you see him or any clues that might help us find out who he is?"

The aging admiral slowly shook his head then brought a hand back to his neck as if the movement was hurting him. "My apologies, miss, but I do not recall having met this Darkwind you speak of. But if he truly is able to change his form, then I may not even have realized it if I did meet him."

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Obviously he's not telling the truth. If he truly had done everything to stop Optimus from being beaten, he would have been in the same state that Optimus is in now. Or worse. If he had attempted to get between Megatron and his prey, there would have been no reason for Megatron to hold back his rage."

Rhinox remained thoughtful of her accusation toward Nexus Prime while he worked diligently on the Maximal leader. There was no way of truly knowing what happened at the Darksyde unless you had been present the entire time of their torturous interrogations. Right now, only Optimus and Nexus could offer up such information, but since Optimus was clinging to life, all they had left to rely on was the Admiral.

"I warned you before..," "I would be doing you all a favor," "That creature is no Maximal!"

The engineer had to admit that Ironclaw was far more aggressive than most Maximals. He didn't know why. Of course, his courage was unquestionable but more often than not, his short temper and brute strength put others' lives in danger quite often. However, it was interesting hearing those words come from Nemesis, someone who actually killed others and often intimidated them. He didn't think of her as a monster, though. Like Optimus, he understood a little more now how others could easily misunderstand Nemesis and her intentions and grudges. Some of her murders may very well have been uncontrollable, although most didn't see it that way, and it didn't make it acceptable but it was more the fault of the ones who made her who she was with the nanotech and what experiments they put her through.

"Easy now," "Hasn't there been enough bloodshed this day?"

Rhinox grumbled under his breath without looking at anyone, agreeing with Nexus but growing intolerable of the current circumstances quickly escalating ever since the badger had stormed in.

"You think me just some simple brute? I'm here because Im here for a reason. I could tear you limb from limb and then have the satisfaction of doing it again."

Rhinox had his strength as well, but he never went around shoving others to the side or threatening them with his bare hands and gatling guns. Optimus was also strong, both physically and with fire power, but he, too, knew when to use it and when not to. Neither of them ever bullied the others around like Ironclaw seemed to enjoy doing.

"And I thank you for proving me right," "A true Maximal does not follow this path of destruction you're on. Instead they vow to take the high road, holding themselves above such barbarity." "Hiding behind that Maximal symbol, like a coward. You must be proud of yourself,"

Well, some Maximals did. Big Green was even more surprised, or perhaps impressed, to hear Nemesis say all of that, explaining that even she knew what some Maximals - like most of the ones here - tried practicing, but he didn't interrupt. He simply continued working on repairing Primal as well as he could despite the horrible distractions.

"This is a place of healing, not violence. I suggest you cease your attack, Ironclaw. It was under Optimus' orders that she was allowed to be here. You don't like it, that's fine, but that still doesn't change the fact that she is here. And your actions towards Nemesis so far are undermining Optimus' wishes." "We are vulnerable now, especially with Megatron having both of the disks. The only thing we have now is each other, and Nemesis is a part of that. Two of our beloved comrades have been through a tremendous ordeal for us. I don't want their sacrifices to be in vain, do you?"

"ENOUGH!" bellowed Rhinox who finally paused on his work with tools in his hands and looked up at the badger and the female Predacon. Whitegrazer's words were perfect and meant well, but her subtly didn't seem to get through while Nemesis continued defending herself from Ironclaw's attack. "Can you not see how delicate and life-threatening this situation is?! Leave her be, Ironclaw, and stand down! NOW!" His tone was clear that he was fed up with Ironclaw's antics at the moment. It was difficult enough for him to perform such surgery on someone most of them in the room genuinely cared about without having this climax of violence in a confined area that Landslide was already filling up with his large body; but at least he was doing something to help. The rhinoceros was tempted to kick everyone out but there were some who wanted to visit their commanding officer and pray for him, and some who had yet to meet the legendary Nexus Prime. He didn't mind all of the bodies, it was the aggression that Ironclaw unnecessarily brought to the healing room that was distracting him and making everyone uneasy. Glancing at Onyx and Wintersong as they entered the room, his large, crimson optics shifted to the ape's vitals. He was still hanging in there, but no real improvements yet, so Rhinox continued connecting wires and joints in his legs.

-----

"You are right rodent, I am and always will be a Predacon, but I left Megatron's fold because I don't agree with his methods of gaining complete superiority over Cybertron." "I want equality for my faction, not continue to be treated as a second class citizen by the likes of the Maximal faction or just it's governments alone. But I gave up such things as what Megatron is doing now years ago."

Rattrap folded his arms over his still damaged chest and narrowed one optic at Onyx and his words with more curiosity instead of skepticism. They seemed authentic but the rodent was known to not trust any new Predacons until they had proven themselves, and usually it took more than once.

"Look, I am genuinely sorry for what happened to the ermine and maybe me and Silverstreak being here could have changed something, but knowing this team all of you have proven to be more resilient then Megatron has given you credit for. I have confidence that she'll pull through." "And much as I don't like it either Rattrap, I'm here to stay until we get home."

He lowered his arms, taken aback by the stallion's words if only for a moment, and watched him leave the command center. Sighing, he looked to Silverstreak.

"Question him? Do you think he might be that shapeshifter?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Seems likely ta me but I can't be sure. Whoever it is can do a pretty mean disguise of Optimus down ta every little detail. We have a camera footage of the fake ape entering the brig, handing the virus ta Sonar and letting him escape to spread said virus. He also copied Nemesis and made it seem like she was in an' outta our base freely, which is what got her inta trouble with Megatron. Whoever it is, it could be anyone now. But all o' dis started happenin' when Nexus, Night Terror and Dirge arrived, the two new Preds me, Whitegrazer, and Aurora witnessed Nexus talking so calmly to when they landed 'ere not far from our base. ...But Optimus seems so sure of Nexus bein' himself, it's possible it could be somebody else."

"We're back. If you need anything else, I'll be in my office,"

Blinking, Rattrap's optics followed Banshee who left the room as quickly as she had arrived. Maybe she just needed some rest. Did that also mean that she and Cheetor were successful in curing Saber-Fang of the virus?

"I'm going to go see how things are too."

Watching Wintersong leave now, he sat down at a console and sighed. "I know how ta clear a room, eh, foxy?" he asked Silverstreak half-jokingly. He wanted to tell them to give Rhinox some space since he was dealing with a lot in the infirmary as it was, but he wanted them to see just how merciless and cruel Megatron was and that Optimus was always willing to go to the Pit and back for all of them to ensure their survival.

"Cheetor, what's your sitch with Saber?" he asked over his comm. link.

[NaitoKage]

(Hm.. Don't remember some of that stuff from before.. guess that's what happens when you do a post half awake.. Editing a few things to make sense.)

"Thank you, Cheetor."

Cheetor gave a simple nod.

"My personal issues are none of your concerns, Banshee. I will speak to no one but Rhinox and Optimus about my issues as I trust them and have known them longer. It is their council I will seek and finally listen to." "It's nothing to do with you, Banshee. I just don't trust bats, they are... scheming rats... With wings."

Cheetor frowned listening to Saberfang, but it couldn't be helped. She had some major trust issues, things of which Cheetor didn't even begin to know. He then followed the others inside.

"We're back. If you need anything else, I'll be in my office,"

"Cheetor, what's your sitch with Saber?"

Cheetor looked towards Silverstreak and waved Hey Streak He then looked at Rattrap Saber's been given the cure, so all clear.

_____________________________
Landslide overheard the conversation as he focused on cutting out the parts

"I warned you before..,""I would be doing you all a favor,""That creature is no Maximal!"

"You think me just some simple brute? I'm here because Im here for a reason. I could tear you limb from limb and then have the satisfaction of doing it again."

"And I thank you for proving me right," "A true Maximal does not follow this path of destruction you're on. Instead they vow to take the high road, holding themselves above such barbarity.""Hiding behind that Maximal symbol, like a coward. You must be proud of yourself,"

"This is a place of healing, not violence. I suggest you cease your attack, Ironclaw. It was under Optimus' orders that she was allowed to be here. You don't like it, that's fine, but that still doesn't change the fact that she is here. And your actions towards Nemesis so far are undermining Optimus' wishes."

"And here I thought you guys were peaceful."

Landslide looked up from his work with a sigh Lad.. I am about 3 nanoseconds from tazering you two idiots. Break it up and take it outside.
Landslide then turned and focused back on Nexus, pulling out a small pistol like device he placed it to Nexus and fired a beam along the wounded area's edge. Alright, this Nullray should numb the area, I'm going to grind off the paint and apply the patches.
Pulling out a small grinding wheel, Landslide then started grinding lightly along the edge of Nexus's back wounds, with the paint removed he then placed the patch plates into the wounds and changed the head of his plasma cutter to an arc welder stinger, attaching a clamp to Nexus and loading a rod into the welder, he ran it over the unpainted area sparking an bright arc, then started to slowly weld the patch plates in, some flux smoke seen rising with blinding flashes as he welded. After finishing up, he gave the welds a light tap as the flux shell fell off like a metallic scab. It may take a bit for them to cool but just come back and I'll grind em' flush for ya, otherwise yer ready for the Cr chamber.
Cleaning up his equipment, he turned to Rhinox Alright, now I can help you with Optimus.. I'm no surgeon but I can do structural and fabrication work.
_____________________________________
Walking into the Darksyde, Umbra made his way towards the new Brig, his optic ridge raised as he noticed one of the holding cells damaged. Picking up some of the energy shackles he restrained Night Terror and tossed him into the empty cell, then activated the field door.
Activating his comlink Umbra sent a message to Megatron Lord Megatron, I have detained the prisoner as you requested. However.. it seems I am suffering.. hallucinations? I believe Night Terror may be infectious through epidermal contact..
_______________________________

"We're on a kitten hunt Quickstrike, sober up and get going or else Waspinator and I will kick Starshadow's "keister" before you!" "Hey Quickstrike, you wanna prove how tough you are? Go ahead, take the lead"

Quickstrike looked towards Terrorsaur raising an optic ridge Uh.. Yeah sure.. Hey.. Did you guys remodel er somethin? This place seems awfully.. pink. Quickstrike said looking around as he made his way down the halls head of the two fliers. He scratched his head with one his arms How are we supposed ta find er' anyway?

[DarkSpark]

OOC: An energon goodie to whoever can guess who Megatron is hallucinating next XD

Wintersong wrote: "I'll take my chances spider, wasting more time will only make this worse." Spineback responded coldly, making no move to hide her disdain towards the spider nor her mistrust of the scientist, which she wanted to retort back to but Megatron's yell was more then enough to keep her quiet from doing so. Maybe another day. For now her attentions were turned towards the data Tarantulas had collected and she quickly began to shift through the data, her optics shifting back and forth as she read, having never come across such a thing before in her life. She was a medic but she was no miracle worker nor hardly anything of what you'd call a professional. Armor wounds and such were no problem to her, but something like this...it would be her first real encounter with a virus that attacked the system and trigger hallucinations.

She even ignored Tarantulas's half mocking tone, her optic ridges furrowing as she tried to think of anything that could change the effects. "Is there a way to sample this thing and alter the cells to maybe work as an antibody?" She finally stated, her tone serious as her mind tried to work, shaking it a few times as she began to feel something was off. At first she thought her mind was just not fully recovered from getting knocked out by Starshadow, something she was highly regretting,as she thought she saw energon and mech fluid splattered everywhere but a quick shake of the head a few blinks of her optics caused the scene to disappear. She hoped it was just that or her mind was already being affected. If so, they would have to work fast as she tried to force her mind to remain focus on the task at hand.

If anything, she hoped maybe Tarantulas, with all his own expertise in science, might be able to pull something up of her suggestion, if not Night Terror would likely be their only hope for a cure. And a little interrogation didn't sound bad right now, knowing she had to vent her inner anger at herself for failing to be let out somehow.

"Hhhhmmmm" Tarantulas considered, rubbing his chin in deep thought before answering "Possibly, a small sample of Megatron's mech fluid would certainly be easy enough to acquire and study, and naturally your suggestion is the obvious first step...But I wouldn't hedge all my bets on it just yet, if this virus were that easy to counteract I doubt Night Terror would have bothered weaponizing it in the first place" Tarantulas explained with cold, hard logic.

"Are you saying you're not clever enough to devise an antidote, spider?" Megatron weezed, managing a smug smile despite his ailment, believing that challenging the spider's precious intellect would compel him to work harder than any feigned loyalty he had for him.

Tarantulas' optics narrowed at what Megatron said as he retorted "Of course not Megatron, I'm merely stating the fact that if biological weapons like this virus were easily remedied than no one would bother using them in warfare to begin with, the very concept behind such means of attack is that cures and antidotes to them must be hard to come by or else it renders them obsolete. It is highly unlikely that our humble vessel and its limited resources contains stacks of bottles labeled "Plague Be Gone" stored away in our cargo bay or medical supplies, if an antidote does exist I would have to concoct it from scratch, which will take time we may simply not have."

"Then I suggest you get started, Tarantulas, because believe you me, I'm not ready to give up just yet, nnnnnooooo, and if hope truly is lost and I am fated to join the Matrix early after all...." Megatron began to say as he then reach out with sudden vigor despite his sickly state and grabbed Tarantulas by the throat and said "You had better believe I shall take you down with me, yyyyyyesssssss."

"Understood, Megatron" Tarantulas gasped out before the tyrant released him, the spider rushing to acquire a needle, half tempted to inject him with something nasty but uncertain if he could get away with it without Megatron or the others noticing, so instead he dutifully, though perhaps not gently, extracted a mech fluid sample from his "leader" as instructed and set to work studying it under the ship's scanner, hoping he could synthesize a cure if Blackarachnia failed to find it at the maximal base.

NaitoKage wrote: Walking into the Darksyde, Umbra made his way towards the new Brig, his optic ridge raised as he noticed one of the holding cells damaged. Picking up some of the energy shackles he restrained Night Terror and tossed him into the empty cell, then activated the field door.
Activating his comlink Umbra sent a message to Megatron Lord Megatron, I have detained the prisoner as you requested. However.. it seems I am suffering.. hallucinations? I believe Night Terror may be infectious through epidermal contact..

"Wonderful news" Megatron growled back at Umbra, turning to his loyal servant Inferno before he could leave and said "Change of plans Subcommander, remain here for the time being."

Since Umbra was already down there and more mentally disciplined than Inferno, Megatron decided it wasn't worth it to risk infecting him as well, or dragging Night Terror back to the throne room just yet instead of keeping him somewhere secure and isolated.

"Umbra, it comes to my attention that the traitor may know the cure to this ailment, extract the information from him by any means necessary. Tarantulas and Spineback are currently pursuing other avenues for a solution to this crisis, but until they come up with something that turncoat is our only lead. You may interrogate him where you are or take him to another location if you feel Dirge may interfere despite his restraints, so long as the traitor remains secured and isolated from the rest of the ship. I trust you to give it your best efforts, keep me posted on your progress. Megatron out" the tyrant ordered, fighting to keep a straight head despite the continuing deterioration of his condition, knowing he had to remain strong or else these fools would ruin everything one way or the other, as they often did without his careful supervision.

"Oh yes, because of course the Predacons simply could not survive with out your wisdom to guide them, no one else is suited to rule but one bearing the suffix "tron" in their name" spoke a loud, mocking voice that seemed to echo throughout the ship itself, followed by loud, thunderous impacts against the roof of his vessel, as if something huge was trying to break in!

"Spineback...Security station, is anyone outside?" Megatron inquired, asking as casually as possible so as not to show weakness to the new recruit, knowing in his head that nothing was really there but the voice affected him nontheless, and the tremors caused by what he suspected was the source of the voice felt disturbingly real, indicating either the hallucinations were getting worse or that something really was outside trying to rip open his ship like a sardine can.

NaitoKage wrote: Quickstrike looked towards Terrorsaur raising an optic ridge Uh.. Yeah sure.. Hey.. Did you guys remodel er somethin? This place seems awfully.. pink. Quickstrike said looking around as he made his way down the halls head of the two fliers. He scratched his head with one his arms How are we supposed ta find er' anyway?

"Yeah Quickstrike, Megatron had the place remodeled recently, don't you like the new curtains and wallpaper?" Terrorsaur joked, stifling his laughter at the fuzor's expense.

"Oh, I'm sure she won't slip past you Quickstrike, you're far too fast on the draw for the likes of her to get the better of you" Terrorsaur quietly lied, waiting a few more kliks to see if Quickstrike would be struck down by gunfire or if the coast was truly clear after all, motioning at Waspinator to have his weapons ready in case their quarry appeared after all.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw continued to apply force even as she struggled. His grip on her wrist ever so dangerous twisting and pulling as she tried to stare him out. He was so focussed on Nemesis a that point he was almost blocking out everyone else, he could not hear what they were saying. The badger would never have gone as far as causing permanent damage, despite his threat. He knew Nemesis was full of it, believing she could take on whoever or whatever came her way. He demanded to be the difference. She she spoke of his morality and following the Maximal ideal. He scoffed, amused by her attempt to get him to react further. She spoke of virtues and doing the right thing when really she had no idea how to do that herself. But then she said something he did not expect. Hiding? Coward? Ironclaw was about to reach when she brought her leg up. There were pretty much trying to choke each other out. The badger was confident he could win with his superior strength but not underestimating her flexibility. After a tense moment between the two, Ironclaw finally heard the word 'Enough' carry over the audience which had now appeared. Rhinox was right, they'd had enough . The giant soldier too Nemesis away from the wall, suspending her for a moment then finally he slammed her on the ground causing them both to let go. Still leaned over, staring at Nemesis crumpled form he said "I have made no false claims thus far" Leaving her in a pile on the floor, he stepped over her making his way to exit the med-bay.

"Your existence here is not guaranteed" the badger said, towering over Onyx. Though the statement was aimed at both Predacons. The only reason they did at this moment was because that fool made play she was a leader around here. That would change. Unfortunately for Ironclaw the last person he expected to see turned up. He side stepped around Wintersong like a child having a tantrum and made for the nearest hallway to escape trying to look the least bit effected.

[starshadow]

((OOC: Hmm...Since Quickstrike's hallucinating, wouldn't Terrorsaur be hallucinating too since he touched him? o.o and my guess...Night Terror?))

Starshadow rolled her optics listening to Terrorsaur and his yabbering. Clearly if she gave away her position by shooting down any of those three mechs in the vents, she would have a greater disadvantage. Though she could just keep silent and pretend she was not around but that would not get her anywhere since they would not be splitting up if they moved on. Starshadow crawled slowly and silently as possible but as she took her third step, a low metallic creak was produced.

"SLAG!" she bolted for the vent's opening kicking the cover open hard with it flying towards Quickstrike and fired her cybervenom blaster three times at Waspinator before facing towards Terrorsaur, "hello sweetheart," she smiled as her jaws splits slowly, "miss me?"

((BOSS FIGHT! Well..not really.. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDsWPo4ONpo))

[una]

"A true Maximal does not follow this path of destruction you're on. Instead they vow to take the high road, holding themselves above such barbarity."

"Hiding behind that Maximal symbol, like a coward. You must be proud of yourself,"

A true Maximal. Whitegrazer was quite taken aback, but not less proud, of Nemesis' words. Watching Ironclaw, contantly, provoke Nemesis despite his knowledge of Nemesis' behavior, threatening her (as well as threatening his own comrade), and causing havoc and violatile behaviors to run rampant every time he entered the room made her disappointed, saddened at such conduct.

"ENOUGH!" "Can you not see how delicate and life-threatening this situation is?! Leave her be, Ironclaw, and stand down! NOW!"

She was disappointed that Rhinox had to intervene. But what should she had expected? Ironclaw wasn't listening to her. She couldn't allow that. He had to listen to those he worked with over his anger and aggression. Maybe she was responsible for that. She needed to amend that.

"And here I thought you guys were peaceful."

Whitegrazer hadn't seen Onyx for awhile. She was glad to see him recovering well. She gave an apologetic smile towards the fellow horse transformer.

Watching as Ironclaw left from his temper tantrum, she knew she had to do something. As of now, though, she needed to take care of this shapeshifter first. And she needed Nemesis' help in order to accomplish it. She walked over to Nemesis and offered her hand to help her, "I apologize for the actions of my comrade, Nemesis, but the words you spoke towards him were very true. Hopefully, those words would sink in and make him better person before his actions cause anymore harm towards those he seeks to help." She glanced at Onyx, "Both of your existence here are very welcomed."

"My apologies, miss, but I do not recall having met this Darkwind you speak of. But if he truly is able to change his form, then I may not even have realized it if I did meet him."

That was strange, though, because if Nexus was with Megatron when the spiders tortured Optimus, he must have seen or heard something, especially when the shapeshifter took the form of Aurora. She left it alone as Landslide seemed to relieve Nexus. He was able to go to a CR Chamber now.

It may take a bit for them to cool but just come back and I'll grind em' flush for ya, otherwise yer ready for the Cr chamber.

"If you permit me, Nexus, may I offer my company to escort you to a CR Chamber?" She smiled towards the Admiral before she looked at Rhinox and Landslide, smiling, "I believe Nemesis and I should let you two work. " She glanced at Optimus for a moment then towards Rhinox as he was working. She would know when Optimus was back online. Hopefully, she would get all this mess with the shapeshifter sorted out, so all she had to worry about was helping Optimus deal with what he went through. Though, it wasn't going to be just her. She knew Rhinox and the others would too. Yet, she had one thing on her mind that she was uncertain about a bit. Optimus... in his condition... she hoped she wouldn't have trouble discussing that he not take command until he was fully healed. Not just physical either, mentally. Optimus would understand, depending on how he is feeling. No matter what she will do she must to safeguard the well-being of her family. And with the added addition of Banshee, they will survive this.

[Phoenix]

Lad.. I am about 3 nanoseconds from tazering you two idiots. Break it up and take it outside.

Nemesis paid the threat of the bulky Maximal bug no heed, as she was way too preoccupied at the moment.

Rhinox' voice however..

"ENOUGH!"

The normally calm engineer's voice cut through their bickering as if he was addressing a group of misbehaving children, causing Nemesis to direct her attention his way if only for a brief moment. Still she kept her leg wrapped tightly around Ironclaw's throat, refusing to give the enraged Maximal an upper edge. Even Nexus raised an optic ridge at the booming voice. It was a welcome distraction, however, as Landslide continued his work on the admiral and was now grinding paint off his plating. His nanotechnology, the living machines making up a large portion of his interior, were fortunately hidden well beneath the surface layers the Maximal had been working on.

"Can you not see how delicate and life-threatening this situation is?! Leave her be, Ironclaw, and stand down! NOW!"

The admiral's single functioning optic drifted from the two squabbling transmetals to Optimus, still unconscious and motionless on the operating table as Rhinox tried to stabilize him. Nexus' face took on a much more grim and saddened appearance as he watched the engineer take on the almost impossible task of piecing his friend and leader back together, his voice carrying a great burden as he spoke up after a pause.

"Rhinox is correct. If you must settle your differences, do it elsewhere. This is a place of healing. And your bickering will not help Optimus on his path to recovery," he said, addressing the two transmetals without taking his single eye off the severely damaged form of the monkey.

It may take a bit for them to cool but just come back and I'll grind em' flush for ya, otherwise yer ready for the Cr chamber.

The admiral nodded in agreement to that statement, scooting himself over to the edge of the examination table. Before he could get up, however, the two transmetals were at it again.

Nemesis' optics flashed dangerously as Ironclaw withdraw, pulling her away from the wall before slamming her hard against the floor below. The back of her head slamming against the hard surface left her feeling disoriented for a moment and she grimaced from the pain.

"I have made no false claims thus far"

His voice came across blurred at first until her head started clearing, everything coming back into focus relatively quickly. She glared back at him but didn't say anything as he walked away. Such arrogance really was unheard of among Maximal forces, making Ironclaw a dangerously unpredictable element that would have to be taken care of.

The white female, whom she'd come to know as Whitegrazer, came over to her and offered a hand and some words of encouragement. Nemesis didn't hear them, however, she was too focused on the departing arrogant male. A deep feeling of pure hatred flooding her senses.

"If you permit me, Nexus, may I offer my company to escort you to a CR Chamber?"

Nexus nodded, offering the barest trace of a smile on his still damaged face. "I would appreciate that," he responded as he pushed himself off the examination table and proceeded towards the door. Meanwhile Nemesis was unable to hold back any longer, her hand grabbing for her sai as she leaped back to her feet and rushed after Ironclaw. He had been a pain in her side for too long and she would take no more of it. She could hear his foot steps walking away and he wasn't exactly hurrying about it either so it would only take her a few moments to catch up and put an end to this. She raised her arm, readying herself to plant her weapon through the back of his neck. So emerged was she that she could almost smell the mech fluid oozing from the gashing wound, almost feel the warm substance running over her hand as she twisted the sai to cause more damage..

So determined was she that barely even noticed the fingers that wrapped themselves around her raised wrist until they yanked her arm down, sai still clutched between her fingers.

Infuriated she whirled on the one that had dared to interfere, and she was almost surprised to be staring into the stern face of Nexus.

"Leave him," the admiral told her in his usual unfaltering voice.

"I will not!," she hissed back, yanking her arm to get him to release her, but his grip was too strong. She waited impatiently for him to release her for a moment before pulling away again, with the end result that he twisted her wrist painfully to the point where she had no other option than to drop her weapon. As the sai went clattering to the floor, the avian female contemplated bringing her knee up into the old admiral's abdomen to get him to let go of her. But after a brief consideration, she merely sighed instead.

"Why did you interfere, old man? You've seen first hand just how much damage that one is capable of."


Her voice was filled with insolence and certainly did not hold much respect for the reputable descendant of Prime.

His answer was quieter than normal, but still carried enough weight to demand respect.

"I have. But I believe this is one of those times where you need to look beneath the surface for the answers you seek," he told her, finally releasing her arm as he spoke. She opened her mouth to protest the rather illusive response, then looked off into the distance where Ironclaw had disappeared. Nexus didn't say anything further either, instead he just continued on his way to the CR chamber.