"More Than Meets The Eye: Part III"

[NaitoKage]

Landslide continued fire on Dirge, though the gatling gun's lower firepower seemed not to have enough penetration. Making his way closer to Dirge, he had managed to already break the shield and ram his fist into the Axalon. Dirge then suddenly turned aiming at Landslide, his thrusters shifted as he attempted evasive maneuvers,guns firing into the cluster of micro missiles as he started to fly backwards, but the speed of the surviving missiles was simply faster then he could fly or shoot down at such a close range.


With a heavy thud, Landslide crashed into the ground with a trail of smoke coming from one of his nacelles. His beetle optics flickered as he started to then get up, his heavily armored body showing cracks and pieces of plating missing,as well as one of the gatling guns on his horns broken off.
However even in this state,he was still well functional, though not surprising as the creature his beast mode was made from was known for falling hundreds of feet out of trees in competitive mating rituals, only to get back up and go again. Landslide's left nacelle sparked, showing a fire coming from one of the two rocket motors on that side, with a broken nozzle, a foam then started to spray out putting the fire out.

Landslide, battle mode.. he said to himself in a low angry voice, transforming to his robot mode with a strange insect hiss. From the command His faceplate slid up, drawing his shield and great chainsword from his back activating it, his landing gear lowering with his nacelles pointing behind him. Activating his three remaining thrusters,he rushed or "slid" across the ground surprisingly quick for his heavy body at Dirge. He altered his course from head on, to the left side of Dirge as he swung his chainsword along Dirge's leg with a loud metal grinding noise on contact as Landslide attempted to trip up the larger bot, his momentum sending him under the Axalon and start to change his direction to head back.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Sorry for the wait guys, my brother proposed to his girlfriend last weekend , so I was busy celebrating with them. Also its my vacation now, lots to do to prepare for Halloween

Naitokage wrote: Before Umbra had a chance to respond to Terrorsaur's inquiry, the CR tank started to raise it's platform, revealing the snow white panther's body resting on the grating. Umbra remained silent, observing Starshadow from above.

Starshadow woke up from stasis and felt sore from the earlier battles. So much for recovery... She do not know how she got into the CR tank. All she know was that Waspinator and Terrorsaur were infront of her and it could only mean one thing, deep trouble. The panther quickly rolled off and away from the CR tank and sprinted off.

"This again.." Umbra muttered as he watched Starshadow, as she attempted to escape. He activated the radio signal to Starshadow's collar, causing an overwhelming surge of pain to overcome her pain receptors, an effect like purple electricity seen discharging across her body. Umbra descended from the ceiling transforming to his robot mode, then made his way towards Starshadow "Not this time.. There will be no more running or hiding for you."

A surge of pain ran through the femme like electricity, causing her the fall and cry out in agony. A menacing red glare was shot at Umbra while Starshadow slowly catches her breath, "What did you do to me..?!"

"That is irrelevant at this time.. all you need to know is your life is in my hands. You have caused alot of trouble miss Shadow..You were going to be accepted back into the fold normally, but you kept attacking and destroying everything around you. You forced my hand, so now it would be wise for you to hold your fangs and stop running blindly for once.. Perhaps in time you could even earn your freedom, if you cooperate." Umbra stopped looking down at Starshadow unphased by her menacing glare, perhaps even too calm given the situation.

The other predacons in the room all watched as their resident vampire was tortured into submission by their resident ninja, Inferno looking invested and nodding in approval of the traitor's punishment while Terrorsaur had a face splitting smile stretched across his visage, trying and failing to hide it behind his talons, his stifled laughter becoming louder by the minute as he watched the freak who'd turned on all of them earlier suffer for her transgressions.

Naitokage wrote: Starshadow growled after hearing that and stood up. They will not keep her prisoned here. Not now, not ever. "You cannot keep me here forever!" she roared, rushing towards him on her fours with blue electricity dancing around her frame.

Umbra activated the collar again without flinching, causing a surge of crippling pain to rush through her body once again. "That remains to be seen. But if you'd prefer, I could end your life right now.. without even touching you. The choice is yours, based off your actions miss Shadow.. Not that you could get anywhere on your own." Umbra smirked slightly observing Starshadow.

"What do you mean...killing me without even touching me..?" she narrowed her optics. The situation was clearly not in her favor. The priority now is to find out what was causing the rush of pain every time Umbra wills it.
Umbra crossed his arms "Isn't it obvious? You're rigged with explosives. A simple shock or blast wont detonate them, but when triggered.. the explosion will be enough to leave nothing of you. "

Starshadow's optics widened. There are no ways to escape without getting herself in pieces. A lot of things were in her mind and not the happy ones.
Her blue optics dimmed, sighed in her ultimate defeat, "I yield..."

Umbra smiled in a disturbingly warm fashion, patting Starshadow's cheek. "Welcome to the Predacons miss Shadow. "

"Ahahahahaha! Umbra the Vampire Tamer! Priceless!" Terrorsaur cackled, amused to see the crazy bot put in her place at long last, and at the very bottom of the food chain no less, with so many "shackles" holding her back, she would no longer be a threat to anyone of her fellow predacons.

"For once we can agree on something Terrorsaur, Umbra has served the Royalty well this day. A fitting punishment for a drone that would turn her fangs against her master!" Inferno agreed, admiring the octopus' handiwork, wondering if it would be possible to outfit all the unfaithful drones within the Colony with such impressive safeguards.

"Well said Inferno, Umbra has indeed done well for me this day, yyyyyeeessssss" spoke Megatron himself as he emerged from the shadows with surprising stealth for a bot his size, the predacon ruler striding past both his loyal ant and his underhanded flyer, he himself imagining what it would be like to have similar restraints installed on all of the rogues in his midst instead of just this one oddity, shocking Terrorsaur once or twice a day for the laughs alone would be more than a little satisfying...Oh well, a tyrant can dream can't he?

Megatron circled Starshadow, eying her like a toothless old wildcat at the zoo, helpless and pitiful...Worse still, he didn't seem to look at her as a predacon anymore, but rather like an animal taking obedience lessons rather than a sentient being.

"So Umbra, how goes its education?" Megatron inquired casually as he stood by his side, no longer even looking at Starshadow, as though she were not even there in the room with them despite discussing her fate right in front of her, referring to her as "it" rather than she, again reinforcing the idea that she was a slave or at best a pet rather than a proud Predacon soldier in his army.

[una]

((OOC: I will post for Blackarachnia for now. Since I haven't posted for her in awhile as well as I planned on doing it earlier, but forgot. Last week was a nightmare. *shivers* ))

Outpost 62.

Blackarachnia checked her own memory banks to see if she had came across anything pertaining to this Outpost when she researched all she could about Cybertron, about her own side and the Maximals, on the Darksyde's databases. Nothing came to mind, but it intrigued her. Nothing that would help her in her predicament. It was more of the "learning more about her supposed allies" than anything else as well as how Zodiac got his powers. Though, she had to snickered at the idea of Maximals trying to reprogram or brainwash a Predacon to become their weapon instead of their enemies'. It was very Predacon in idealogy. To use your enemies weapons and point it back at them, learning and using such technology to their own advantage. It tickled her sides a bit, but she kept her mouth shut. She had heard Zodiac's painful screams from the torture Optimus was giving him. It reminded her of the several bullets hole he gave her eariler.

She learned the same thing she learned back at the Darksyde. Never make Megatron angry. Never make Optimus angry. Though, it didn't mean she didn't figure out ways to get out of trouble from both leaders. She was confident she could do it again, but she wasn't going to push her luck.

Her entire body trembled, vibrated amongst the Axalon's cold, steel floor. She kept herself still despite the violent tremors. She ordered her computer to get her a diagnostic on her status. If there was going to be a battle, she wanted in. Not really to help, but to actually get some deep frustration and aggression out of her system. If there were Predacons out there, she didn't want them to ruin anything she hoped to achieve. And if the white Maximal horsey was correct, they weren't anyone she was concerned with.

She wanted her weapons back. She felt... vulnerable. It was disgusting. Insulting. As well as being restrained like this Grr. She already felt like a prisoner in her head because of Tarantulas. She didn't want to be chained up, constrained here.

She got up and bent her knees as she laid forward. The only people left was Zodiac, Rhinox, and the horse. "Looks like you guys got some trouble. If you guys ask politely and give me my weapons back, I could help." She fluttered her optics at Rhinox and Whitegrazer innocently.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: una, Blackarachnia is just tied up and laying on the hovering dolly. She's not in a cage. ))

No, we don't. We have no courts, no judges, or any legal authority. But we can try to give those on a destructive path a chance. A hand. To turn away. We can only offer it them, Optimus. Open that door, but it is they that have to walk through it. If Zodiac takes it, then we will see where that road leads. If he doesn't, then we at least know that we tried.

While Whitegrazer's words were the right ones, honorable and just, it was exactly that kind of thinking and compassion that others had been taking advantage of Optimus thus far. Time and time again, and where had it gotten him or the others? No where. Either he was punished, insulted or tortured. Then again, the only positives that were a tiny gleam of hope were Dinobot, Aurora and Frilla. Did those "victories" and all the good deeds these Maximals had done triumph the lives he had lost? Were they actually a defense against Megatron and his Predacons at all?

That is right, Optimus. Optimus... Optimus, we are alive. Stay safe, Optimus.

It didn't feel like it. It felt like something was missing... Like someone was taking something from him. But she was right. They were all still there, they still had a chance...

"Right behind you,"

The blue and silver gorilla immediately adjusted his acceleration and balance with the added weight of Aurora as he blasted off with her into the air toward Dirge. They weren't alone, however. Zodiac's voice lingered in his mind, the shape shifter who brought back so many lost memories.

"You claim not to have taken a life, yet what you and Nexus did to me was even worse than that. So who are you to judge my actions as wrong?"

No. Physically, Optimus had not killed anyone. He vowed to never take a life. He didn't have to in order to defeat someone's cruelty and dictatorship. However, this shapeshifter was really pushing him to the edge.

"Something the matter, Optimus?,"

That condescending tone, smug face and egotistical chuckle haunted the Maximal leader as the pretender's words played over and over again in his head. Primal attempted to shake them off and focus on the matter at hand. He kept a relatively safe distance from Dirge while circling him before hovering in place in mid-air out of his physical reach. "Aurora, your crossbow," he suggested. "Target his joints!" He pointed at the back of Dirge's knees while keeping them steady high above the ground. They were running out of time, however, as they witnessed Dirge plow into the ship's shields and temporarily disrupt them, weakening them further.

"Shields at 45%!" Rattrap alerted Optimus, Aurora and Landslide who were engaging the powerful intruder. There was no more excess power left to divert, so every pound it took from Dirge's arms banging on the barrier took a toll and continued to decrease the shields. "Thirty, 20%! What're you guys doin' out dere?! You know we're bein' attacked right?!" the rodent panicked, watching the power levels fall dramatically. Before they knew it, the shields failed, leaving their ship susceptible to Dirge's attacks. Rattrap gasped and then glanced at the monitors to check on the status of the others such as the brig and Cheetor occupying one of the CR's.

NO! Optimus yelled in his head. "Auto-guns, on-line!" The few remaining left that were still functional from previous attacks whirled to life and targeted Dirge, firing repeatedly in his direction which gave assistance to Landslide's offense.

Kill or be killed, Optimus Primal!
Talk about how I plan to kill each of you in turn while the other Maximals watch."
"Something the matter, Optimus?"
An eye for an eye!
"You will.. beg for death.. when I'm through with you,"
"I gave him a name, did I tell you that?" "I named him Zodiac,"
Stay true to yourself, Optimus. He wants you to lose yourself. Keep in control of yourself.
"Threatened by you? The one who so pathetically used to cringe at the first sight of blood.. of death?"
"I'll explain it all to you soon,"

But Nexus never did. So many recollections now... Confusing... All the voices invading his mind. As much as he wanted to hang on to Whitegrazer's energy and positive words, they were all distracting him. Just then, a fiery blast caught Primal's attention which brought him back to the dangerous situation he and the ermine Fuzor were engaged in with Landslide. It was a shot fired from Dirge directed at Optimus and Aurora. With a quiet gasp, the metallic gorilla reached over and grabbed Aurora, pulling her off of his board and swinging her into the air to get her far away from him just before Dirge's shot exploded in the air and blew the Commander backwards. The sudden whiplash left him unconscious and he fell from the sky, splashing into the nearby lake causing his hover board to automatically revert to his beast mode and sank quickly. ((OOC: No, NK, not for Landslide to rescue. I seem to recall Ironclaw being left lurking in the waters... somewhere... And if not, I'm full prepared to get OP out of the lake myself. He's not damaged, just unconscious from the blast being in such close proximity.))

"Shields are down! I repeat, de shields're down!" Rattrap announced to every Maximal this time. Suddenly, there was a loud screeching sound on hull of the bridge that made the rat shudder, quickly followed by the whole front of the ship trembling. Power throughout the Axalon flickered. Daylight shot through the gaping hole that Dirge had penetrated with his hand. "No you don't, you creep!" he shouted at him and immediately drew his weapon. On the other side, he could hear the beetle's gunfire and the auto-guns blasting away at the invasive Predacon. Just as Rattrap was about to fire at Dirge's fist, he watched him pull it out, leaving some shards of his broken armor behind. He didn't think anything of it at first, but then the pieces started to move. "No! No, no, no, no!" The Spy started picking them off with his gun but each one took a few shots to stop considering their armor plating. Eventually, to slow them down, he resorted to firing in front of them or underneath them to knock them off of their creepy legs and designated paths, giving him time to interrupt others but enough to cover all of them by himself. There were too many to handle for one Maximal and soon some of them started picking at the consoles and wiring, shorting out connections and disrupting the power.

"It is your companions, isn't it?"

"Whatever makes you think that? I'm sure Optimus has no shortage of enemies,"

Rhinox remained diligent on their surroundings and especially on Zodiac. Dirge was most likely there to break out the shape shifter that Optimus had apparently helped developing. He could tell that Aurora seemed hesitant to join their leader out in the field, and he couldn't blame her. Optimus didn't exactly appear to be fit to lead at the moment, but he hoped they would be careful. As for Zodiac's remark, it wasn't inaccurate. Their leader had a growing list of bots who wanted him terminated; even aliens. And surely Primal was fully aware of that himself, but it never seemed to bother him. He carried on to assure the survival of his crew no matter the stakes and the odds amounting against them.

"Zodiac, I just have one question to ask you. Who do you see yourself as?"

Whitegrazer's steady gaze from Rhinox to the remote in his hand made the engineer give her a reassuring nod that he was going to be responsible with the power and patient toward her and Zodiac, although he had a feeling they wouldn't have much time to continue their discussion. Even the equine's question peaked the engineer's interest. What might Zodiac possibly answer with?

"What do you mean?,"

And just like that, Rhinox lost the suspense. Although, it was puzzling and curious to recognize Zodiac's incomprehension of the question. It seemed to have stumped him a little. Whitegrazer certainly had a unique way of handling touchy and hostile situations such as this one and it obviously made Zodiac uncomfortable from time to time.

"Looks like you guys got some trouble. If you guys ask politely and give me my weapons back, I could help."

Noticing the she-spider beginning to stir, whether or not she had really been sleeping the whole duration of the conversations in the brig, Rhinox watched her closely and considered her offer. It didn't matter now what she had learned about Optimus's past, it was what it was. What mattered now was the threat they were all under thanks to Dirge. Rhinox held his balance as the ship shook, hearing the sirens and glancing at the red flashing lights. He kept his grip secure on the remote in his hand. "It's not you I wouldn't trust, Blackarachnia, but Tarantulas if he were to take control of you again," the chief medical officer admitted and wanted to make clear to the female Predacon. It was true, they could use her help as they were short-handed. But would she really help them or help their attacker? "You must consider that once Dirge recognizes you assisting us, or even Zodiac here, there likely won't be a place for you in the Predacon ranks." He gave her a fair warning to think about.

"Shields are down! I repeat, de shields're down!"

As the ship rumbled and vibrated more, Rhinox looked concerned at Whitegrazer and drew one of his chain guns of doom. Hearing Rattrap's alarm, he turned a glare to Zodiac before looking back at Blackarachnia. The power flickered several times and he grew worried about Cheetor in the CR chamber as well their prisoner who was obviously looking forward to escaping the cage they had entrapped him in. "It may not be my best decision as of lately, but we're going to need more help." And with that, Rhinox handed the remote to Whitegrazer and went over to Blackarachnia, undoing her restraints and handing her her weapon while keeping his somewhat on her in case she - or Tarantulas - was orchestrating a trick.

[NaitoKage]

(OOC: Pretty sure Ironclaw isn't in the lake. As for saving.. Landslide's busy enough with Dirge, he's not going to notice Optimus falling into the water. )

Joint post again:

Starshadow hissed as Megatron joined in shortly after her surrender, circling around her like a vulture. The femme snapped in rage as the tyrant referred her to a term that is used for lowly beings. Snarling angrily, she pounced on Megatron with her blue optics flashing brightly in red.

Umbra gave a simple sigh as a surge of pain suddenly hit Starshadow, preventing her from attacking Megatron. "As you can see my lord, she will still require some work. She may be restrained, but it takes more then this to simply break a beast's fangs.. " Umbra glanced down towards Star "Now.. if you're done causing trouble.. in my clan we had a rule.. If you break something, you fix it yourself. If you screw up, you make amends.. So in this case, Starshadow.. We are going to assist Spineback in making repairs."
Starshadow just shot a murderous glare at him. So now what? They are one big "happy" family now? Unlikely. The cat let out an angry hiss of rebellion before spitting in Umbra's face.

Umbra's optics narrowed "Oh? Well.. it appears I have screwed up.. I'll be getting the mop shortly my lord.." Umbra activated his jump jet in a short burst to add more momentum as he kicked Starshadow across the room. Her collar then started to beep with the light in the center flashing with the beep as they became more rapid, obviously marking her impending doom.

Although Umbra launched a kick which sent her across the room, Starshadow blocked and braced for it with her forearms so it did not hurt much. The beeping sound made her panicked a little. The octopus did not lie about the bomb. She should remove the collar- No wait! That would be too easy, and what if the bomb explodes upon removal. Umbra had her cornered again. With her ultimate reluctance, the femme roared, "FINE!!" which echoed throughout the whole base.

The beeping suddenly stopped, Umbra walked towards Star "Very good.. Though do remember..I won't be so forgiving next time. Even Primus only forgives 3 times.." Umbra grabbed Star pulling her up to her feet. "Now, do you even have any skills with minor repairs?"

To which she replied with a lie with narrowed optics, "none whatsoever.."

"Great.. seems you'll be learning then." Umbra then lead Star off towards Spineback.

[starshadow]

((OOC: College took too much of my time.))

"Landslide, you and Banshee return to base. We're under attack again by Dirge,"

On it!

Banshee quickly took a sharp turn back to base while catching up with Landslide. Noticing a giant predacon, attempting to break in to the Axalon. Hopefully the protective barriers could hold him off long enough. A few missles zipped past her and Landslide was down, taking most of the brunt of them, "Landslide!" she called out, diving down towards him. A blow like that surely made the beetle retaliate in anger. The loud grinding sound Landslide made from his sword made Banshee cringe in pain, covering her ears due to her sensitive hearing. It was a good thing that Aurora and Optimus came to assist. The sooner they get over with it, the better.

"Everyone, cover your audios!", she shouted as loud as she could. The ghost bat was about to do her Banshee Cry.

[una]

((OOC: I highlighted Blackarachnia's word so there won't be confusion. ))

"You claim not to have taken a life, yet what you and Nexus did to me was even worse than that. So who are you to judge my actions as wrong?"

Violation of another sentient being's freedom was wrong. Despite what Zodiac went through, she could understood why he felt the way he did and still, believe his killing of the hostages and actions here are just as wrong. Zodiac could try to shut them up and say they had no right, but it showed him avoiding responsibility in an attempt to dangle Optimus' sins in front of his face. Wrong was wrong. Zodiac needed to understand that. Maybe someday... he would realize that on his own.

"I'd rather be a weapon than a victim,"

She understood. People who went through horrific ordeals had different coping mechanisms to deal with their pain. The idea of being a victim, being humiliated, used, and manipulated, some would want to run away and some would fight it, fight anyone who stood in their way of some misguided repentance and retribution. Some chose to accept what happened to them and move on. Zodiac went one step forward. Like she observed, he seemed to embraced what was done to him. Use it. Mold it to whatever he wanted. He... seemed to revel in it. Just like he seemed to revel in his destruction towards Optimus and everyone. Could she actually blame him for what he chose to do with his horror? No, she couldn't blame him.

But she didn't condone his attempted murder of Optimus and her comrades.

"Something the matter, Optimus?,"

I wish you were coming too.."

She.... She wanted to come. She wanted to come so badly. But she knew she would only be a liability because of her back injuries. She wanted to be here. She wanted to help Optimus. She wanted to see if she could try and build something good, but what if... Maybe she should had convinced Optimus to stay put. The only reason she hadn't try was so he could get some space. Away from Zodiac. A time to process what was said. Yet, how foolish she was to let him go like that. Out there in the field. He has been through a severe amount of trauma, she felt and experienced it with him, and she didn't protest. Part of her whispered to her, telling her she was doing the right thing. She was only one person, and like she said, her injuries would made her too vulnerable. Too easy a target. What about Aurora, though? Foolish. She should have told her to stay, but she thought with Aurora that maybe Optimus' instincts would kick in. She trusted Optimus. She trusted him to not do anything to put Aurora in jeopardy.

Despite the talking to herself about what decisions she made, she remained as calm and solemn as ever towards Rhinox and Zodiac. She trusted them all. With everyone together, they could all do this.

Those whispers from what has been said. She heard them again. Also, some sounded like... Nexus. Optimus felt overwhelmed. Then she felt fiery push. Hot. Burning. Now, she felt cold. Wet. Optimus... Optimus? Are you all right? She was worried. He was alive. She felt that much, but she felt this sinking feeling. Cold. Cold. Whitegrazer began to think that he must have gotten hit. There was no pain, though. Just a force. Water. He was in water. Where was Aurora? Where was she? She felt the pressure. So much so that she was at the green meadow again. She walked the green grass, hearing the rushing sound of water behind her. She looked back, but had no time to react as the water took a whole of her. She flailed around a bit. Her arms reached out. She searched. Searched. Until her hands hit something metal. She gently caressed it. It was familiar. It was Optimus. Optimus?

"Whatever makes you think that? I'm sure Optimus has no shortage of enemies,"

She shook her head. Zodiac. She knew it had to be either Night Terror or Dirge or both.

"What do you mean?,"

"I will rephrase it then. Who is Zodiac? Who is he? Who do you want to be?" She asked, looking directly at Zodiac. She really wanted to know who Zodiac viewed himself as.

"You said you rather be a weapon than a victim. No one ever wants to be a victim. To not show weakness towards their opponents. To show them that you won't be broken by them, but become stronger and better than ever before. To show them... To show yourself... You survived. " She lowered her optics. It was something she thought of as brave even. "I understand that." Then she stared back at him. Maybe that was teh reason he carried such contempt towards Nexus and Optimus. "You were taken, though. Taken by your enemy. You didn't have a choice in choosing whether or not to be involved in what gave you your shapeshifting abilities, but at least, you had the satisfaction of knowing that you conquered it. Yet, what those Maximals did to you...was on the same level. Except at least, back there, you found a way to have some control. No matter the justification those Maximals had, knowingly or unknowingly, they were taking that power away from you. "

Axalon struggled. Things were heating up. She could see the power going blinking on and off. Sounds of fire and tremendous banging. She could hear Rattrap's voice yelling down the hall. She didn't know what he was saying, but it was panicky. They were running out of time. If something didn't happen soon, Zodiac might get away, and they couldn't allow that. She couldn't allow it. Zodiac would just find a way to come after them again. He would have a more difficult time this time around, but it didn't mean it wouldn't be just as deadly and ruthless.

"Zodiac, you don't have to be a weapon anymore."

Whitegrazer saw slight movement coming from Blackarachnia. Was she coming to now? Or was she always awake and was just pretending, so she could eavesdrop on their conversation?

"It's not you I wouldn't trust, Blackarachnia, but Tarantulas if he were to take control of you again," the chief medical officer admitted and wanted to make clear to the female Predacon. It was true, they could use her help as they were short-handed. But would she really help them or help their attacker? "You must consider that once Dirge recognizes you assisting us, or even Zodiac here, there likely won't be a place for you in the Predacon ranks."

"Oh, don't worry, he hasn't tried to control me after I injected myself with my own cybervenom." She shivered at the fact she really almost killed herself just to rip Tarantulas out of her head. Though, the energon cube was ten times worse. Rhinox did have point. Helping Maximals weren't really going to give her points with her old comrades, but she really didn't care about what they THOUGHT. She knew what she was doing, and if it worked, she would be outta here. Maybe go pirate? "You don't worry your green head about that." She tilted her head and smiled.

"It may not be my best decision as of lately, but we're going to need more help."

"Let just say a favor for a favor." Blackarachnia rubbed her hands, checking and remembering some of her legs she tore off herself. Ugh. Hopefully, Rhinox didn't really think about what she said. She guessed a part of her was surprised that she woke up still here in the Axalon. Well, she wasn't going to dwell heavily on it, as she couldn't forget the reason she came here in the first place. "I will have my weapons then. And I will be on my way." ((OOC: I re-read the post before, but I still was confused as to if Rhinox has her weapon or that it is still laying on the bridge floor?) If not, I will edit accordingly. ))


Blackarachnia stumbled a bit, but she made her way to the bridge. Rattrap was shooting some little bugs, so she decided to fire her leg weapons, or the ones she didn't tear off at the little creepy things. There was one close by and she karate kicked it. Then continued firing.


Whitegrazer noticed the concern look Rhinox gave her as the Axalon continued to shake. She didn't want to tell him about what happened with Optimus. Not in front of Zodiac. She gave him the same look but then smiled, comforting Optimus' old friend. She closed her optics. Optimus, more help is on the way. Hang in there. She opened her optics once more and looked down on the remote in her hands that Rhinox gave to her when he released Blackarachnia from her restraints. Then she looked back at Zodiac, laying the remote at her side. She wasn't going to use it. But she couldn't allow him to escape here either. They must find a way to drive whoever was out there before it got that far. Hopefully, with Blackarachnia's help they could do that.

[DarkSpark]

NaitoKage wrote: Starshadow hissed as Megatron joined in shortly after her surrender, circling around her like a vulture. The femme snapped in rage as the tyrant referred her to a term that is used for lowly beings. Snarling angrily, she pounced on Megatron with her blue optics flashing brightly in red.

Umbra gave a simple sigh as a surge of pain suddenly hit Starshadow, preventing her from attacking Megatron. "As you can see my lord, she will still require some work. She may be restrained, but it takes more then this to simply break a beast's fangs.. " Umbra glanced down towards Star "Now.. if you're done causing trouble.. in my clan we had a rule.. If you break something, you fix it yourself. If you screw up, you make amends.. So in this case, Starshadow.. We are going to assist Spineback in making repairs."
Starshadow just shot a murderous glare at him. So now what? They are one big "happy" family now? Unlikely. The cat let out an angry hiss of rebellion before spitting in Umbra's face.

Starshadow had no idea how close she had come to having her head blown clear off her shoulders by Megatron's shoulder guns, the tyrant not even bothering to move to defend himself, but fortunately for her Umbra stopped her dead in her tracks before gunning her down became necessary.

'As you say Umbra, I don't expect it to change it's mannerisms over night, but I trust that your personal attention will one day soon mold our troublesome pet into a useful asset" Megatron said, smiling back at Starshadow's hateful glares, so fierce but utterly futile in her defiance.

NaitoKage wrote: Umbra's optics narrowed "Oh? Well.. it appears I have screwed up.. I'll be getting the mop shortly my lord.." Umbra activated his jump jet in a short burst to add more momentum as he kicked Starshadow across the room. Her collar then started to beep with the light in the center flashing with the beep as they became more rapid, obviously marking her impending doom.

Although Umbra launched a kick which sent her across the room, Starshadow blocked and braced for it with her forearms so it did not hurt much. The beeping sound made her panicked a little. The octopus did not lie about the bomb. She should remove the collar- No wait! That would be too easy, and what if the bomb explodes upon removal. Umbra had her cornered again. With her ultimate reluctance, the femme roared, "FINE!!" which echoed throughout the whole base.

The beeping suddenly stopped, Umbra walked towards Star "Very good.. Though do remember..I won't be so forgiving next time. Even Primus only forgives 3 times.." Umbra grabbed Star pulling her up to her feet. "Now, do you even have any skills with minor repairs?"

To which she replied with a lie with narrowed optics, "none whatsoever.."

"Great.. seems you'll be learning then." Umbra then lead Star off towards Spineback.

"Do what you must Umbra, just don't damage anything valuable, this command room is in shambles enough as it is" Megatron replied as he coldly and quietly observed Starshadow's obedience training, the angry feline helpless against the ninja's skill as he pushed her further and further back, the beeping in her collar intensifying the further she was pushed away.

"Hehehehahahahaha! Need some assistance Umbra? Wasp and I would be happy to help out!" Terrorsaur crowed, Megatron interjecting 'No doubt you would, but you won't, understood?"

"Yes Megatron" Terrorsaur agreed reluctantly, Inferno putting a hand on his shoulder and saying "Worry not Terrorsaur! There will be many more opportunities to serve the Royalty in the days to come! It does my spark good to see you show such devotion for once!"

With that Megatron could not help but laugh at both the pterosaur's expense and the ant's ignorance before turning his attention back to Umbra's taming of Starshadow, grinning in approval as the rebellious vampire finally submitted to Umbra's control over her, and thus his control over them all.

"Well done Umbra, your experiment has proven a success, continue your good work with it and I'm sure it shall only continue to improve in it's temperment, yyyyeeeessss" Megatron said in approval of Umbra's work, the predacon leader then turning to take his seat, which he was pleased to see had been repaired.

"I saw to your throne's reconstruction myself Royalty, does it please?" Inferno inquired, the ant looking both desperate for approval as well as beaming with pride over his work.

"It shall do Inferno, well done, you may return to your duties" Megatron stated simply, his slightest of compliments enough to light up Inferno's twisted visage with evil glee as he said "Thank you Royalty! As you command" before rushing to join the others in the repair work, dragging Waspinator and Terrorsaur along with him against their protests.

"Spineback, give me a long range scan, I'm curious to know what the maximals have been up to since things finally quieted down around here" Megatron ordered of his fellow saurian, as he himself brought his own computers back online.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: What can I say? I'm swamped with school and work right now. )

Aurora got to test her sailor legs while on Optimus' flying board and it wasn't exactly the most elegant sight. Still she managed to keep her balance, somehow, to the point where she almost felt comfortable. Almost. That is until they got close enough to Dirge to really take a good look at the giant insect that was pounding away at their shields.

By the matrix! He was much bigger than she'd imagined up close. And quite frankly he was rather scary looking,just.. different. He was covered in these weird scales and for a moment it almost looked as if they were moving. As she stood on the board she found herself hoping Dirge did not have the same technology within him that the shapeshifter did for that would be truly frightening. And then she almost felt a little sick to the stomach, a fact she attributed to Optimus' flying more so than the predacon attacker himself.

"Aurora, your crossbow," he suggested. "Target his joints!"

Right.. his joints.

"Got it," she responded, fighting down that increasing queasy feeling that was upsetting her stomach, while pulling out her crossbow. Dirge made for a big target, but the hoverboard wasn't exactly the steadiest of grounds to allow her to aim properly. Still she'd give it a try. She pulled out an arrow that contained an explosive arrowhead, silently thanking the deceased penguin for his scientific teachings. If it wasn't for his influence along with others like Rhinox she likely would never have gotten so much into the science of chemistry and biology, even though she always found it a bit peculiar that she had such a talent for it.

She took aim at Dirge's left knee joint and took the shot. But before the arrow even reached its target, Optimus made a sudden move that nearly knocked Aurora off her feet. She barely caught a glimpse of the approaching shot before she felt Optimus' strong arms grab a hold of her and then she went airborne.

"No!," she called out in terrified disbelief as Dirge's shot exploded near Optimus, sending the leader and his hoverboard alike plunging towards the ground. The heat and shockwave from the explosion then caught up with her, tearing at her fragile wings and even ripping them in some locations before she too went spiraling towards the ground. She yelped from the shock and the pain, frantically trying to control her descent by spreading her butterfly wings out like a parachute. Her attempts were only partially successful since the ripped wings weren't able to keep her afloat. Still it slowed her fall down a bit until she hit the ground with a pained shriek.

Dazed, aching, but still functional the ermine fuzor rolled over on her side to try to see where Optimus had landed. She couldn't see him.

"Optimus?!," she frantically called after him as she darted to her feet, ignoring the many cuts and abrasions she had gotten from hitting the ground. Her normally pure white fur was smudged from the hard impact as well. "Optimus is down!," she then radioed to Rattrap.. or anyone that happened to be at or near the bridge, "I don't have visuals anymore."

Zodiac glanced at the female spider who seemed to be waking up, not overly concerned by the fact she more than likely had overheard what they were talking about.

"Looks like you guys got some trouble. If you guys ask politely and give me my weapons back, I could help."

"You must consider that once Dirge recognizes you assisting us, or even Zodiac here, there likely won't be a place for you in the Predacon ranks."

He found himself smirking at the game the spider was playing, even now, knowing full well about her rather shady history among the Predacons. He had spent time with them since arriving on this planet, after all, even if a majority of his time had been devoted to setting the Maximals up for the fall. In that sense his goals had not changed even if his plans had gone a bit haywire.

"You better listen to him, BlackArachnia," the shapeshifter then said with a smile just as wicked as the ones Megatron shared from time to time. "Now that you're the obedient, loyal Maximal you were always meant to be." His teasing voice sounded almost jolly as he pushed all the right buttons, playing the female spider like he did all the rest.

The creaking sounds in the hull only got louder, more intense, as Dirge continued his attack. There was a brief electrical surge as the shields collapsed under the abuse and after that the shaking and banging seemed to increase tenfold. Zodiac's grin widened as his confidence grew and the realization that the Maximals wouldn't be able to stop Dirge in time. It was only a matter of nanoclicks before their generators failed, the only thing keeping him imprisoned still.

Some of the lights briefly flickered but still the forcefield containment remained intact.. for now.

"I will rephrase it then. Who is Zodiac? Who is he? Who do you want to be?"

The increasingly frustrating female was speaking to him again, asking him questions where the answers should be obvious to all of them by now. He shook his head briefly, a trace of amusement visible on his face. "The destroyer, the savior, the one leading the path for an evolution of our kind." The words came out so easily they almost sounded as if he'd been practicing them.. or that someone had told him these things over and over to improve his spirit in an otherwise bleak situation. It was something he would repeat to himself when things didn't go too well or when he was facing impossible odds. And part of it was also the same phrase he had carved into the pod that contained the bomb. The words Nemesis had translated to the Maximals a while ago now.

His optics locked with hers as if challenging her. "I could ask you the same question, for your path is a much more puzzling one. I think we're beyond the point of charades. So I find myself curious, wondering what the extent of your abilities are. You obviously have a connection of sorts with Optims where you're able to relay messages to him. It's the only way he could have known that I was not the fuzor. When you agonized over the pitiful creature's apparent death, he felt it. So I find myself wondering if this connection extends to anyone else as well. You obviously can't read my mind or you would have known I wasn't Nexus the moment I arrived but somehow you were able to detect my nanomachines."

He paused for a moment, merely staring at her.

"Are you an enhanced as well? Did they make alterations to you because you happen to have a mutation in your spark that allowed you to survive the ordeal?"


The base shook violently again, the lights flickering as if they were in their last moments of life. Zodiac only briefly glanced away before returning his gaze to the female.

"You said you rather be a weapon than a victim. No one ever wants to be a victim. To not show weakness towards their opponents. To show them that you won't be broken by them, but become stronger and better than ever before. To show them... To show yourself... You survived. " She lowered her optics. It was something she thought of as brave even. "I understand that." Then she stared back at him. Maybe that was teh reason he carried such contempt towards Nexus and Optimus. "You were taken, though. Taken by your enemy. You didn't have a choice in choosing whether or not to be involved in what gave you your shapeshifting abilities, but at least, you had the satisfaction of knowing that you conquered it. Yet, what those Maximals did to you...was on the same level. Except at least, back there, you found a way to have some control. No matter the justification those Maximals had, knowingly or unknowingly, they were taking that power away from you. "

"They took everything from me," he corrected her, stopping himself before saying anything more. It hadn't ended with Outpost 62. If anything the treatment he was given after returning home had been even worse. For the longest of time he thought he would never see the sky again. He had spent most of those years in solitude blaming Nexus, Optimus, and anyone else even remotely involved in his capture for what had happened, letting that hatred grow, develop, twist into something deeper.. more personal.

"Zodiac, you don't have to be a weapon anymore."

Weapon.. or victim. The choice was simple to the shapeshifter. Of course this female had no intention of dropping it.

"You fail to take one little detail into account. What if I enjoy being the weapon? Why would I want to give up who I am?"


Again the lights flickered and this time the fluctuating power even caused the forcefield to fade and reappear as well. Zodiac took notice.

"You see.. the answer to your question really isn't that complicated. I am the one who is going to succeed where Megatron has failed.. I'm going to destroy everything Optimus holds dear and then I'm going to destroy him. Nothing has changed aside from the means of how you all die. And since you Maximals are too weak to take advantage of someone's predicament, it's going to cost you all dearly."


His voice was calm, his demeanor collected. He meant every word. It was not a threat as much as it was a promise.

Meanwhile Nemesis kept searching, using the device Megatron had developed to track the signal from the abandoned Decepticon soldier.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I will rephrase it then. Who is Zodiac? Who is he? Who do you want to be?"

Quite an interesting and intriguing question, the engineer had to admit despite the danger they were all in at the moment with the base under attack. Hopefully the others were managing with Dirge.

"The destroyer, the savior, the one leading the path for an evolution of our kind."

Well, that answer couldn't have been more disturbing if the Vok had said it. Zodiac spoke it as he truly meant it and considered himself the next evolutionary Cybertronian. It was very troubling and disturbing. Rhinox presumed the only thing good about it was that this shape shifter and Megatron would likely never get along. Not for long, anyway. Both would have their own agenda. It would never work out. For a moment he wondered if Megatron ever felt threatened by this pretender and his extraordinary abilities. At any rate, this was quite the serious situation they were in. If they were to ever free Zodiac, he would certainly finish what he came there to do. They couldn't allow that.

"You fail to take one little detail into account. What if I enjoy being the weapon? Why would I want to give up who I am?" "You see.. the answer to your question really isn't that complicated. I am the one who is going to succeed where Megatron has failed.. I'm going to destroy everything Optimus holds dear and then I'm going to destroy him. Nothing has changed aside from the means of how you all die. And since you Maximals are too weak to take advantage of someone's predicament, it's going to cost you all dearly."

Rhinox studied the sincerity of his words and voice. He definitely took them seriously. This bot, whether he was sent there by someone or there on his own accord because of some personal vendetta with Optimus, was determined to take lives, their lives, and nothing was going to stop him. What could besides electrocution? This may have been one opponent that his dear friend Optimus was no match for. Now what? If Dirge - who was obviously capable of doing serious damage to their base of operations - was trying to break him free and no one stopped him soon to prevent Zodiac's escape, then what? The rhinoceros was finally started to get nervous. The lights continued to flicker, more frequently now and the entire ship shook and shook again.

"You better listen to him, BlackArachnia," "Now that you're the obedient, loyal Maximal you were always meant to be."

Rhinox wanted to roll his red optics at Zodiac but remained poised. While it would be fortunate and beneficial for the black widow to return where her protoform originated from, not necessarily "belonged", it wouldn't be forced upon her. Of course, Megatron's own ruthlessness may just push her away from him and the Predacons and keep her with the Maximals whether or not her allegiance was with them.

"Oh, don't worry, he hasn't tried to control me after I injected myself with my own cybervenom." "You don't worry your green head about that."

He was not entirely convinced and his raised golden brow probably showed it. Well, hopefully it will continue to keep Tarantulas subdued and quiet because he was not going to allow her - or him - to attack them again when their plates were already full.

"Shields are down! I repeat, de shields're down!"

Terrific. More bad news. Now their base was completely susceptible to Dirge's attacks!

"Let just say a favor for a favor." "I will have my weapons then. And I will be on my way."

Which favor was she referring to? He hadn't even had the chance to look into her head yet, so to speak. Perhaps she meant freeing her from her restraints and allowing her to help them. It didn't really matter, though. Rhinox never kept track. He just wanted her to behave and play nice since they couldn't afford anymore knives in their backs or ambushes. He really hoped he was doing the right thing. Having handed her her gun, he watched her dash out of the brig and out of the Axalon and back to the Darksyde for all he knew, but maybe, just maybe she had gone to aid Rattrap on the bridge. In preparation for whatever was going to happen next, Big Green wielded his twin chain guns of doom and aimed them at Zodiac. He refused to take his optics off of him.

Optimus... Optimus? Are you all right? Optimus?

"Optimus?!,"

"Everyone, cover your audios!"

Primal didn't respond to Whitegrazer's plea. Not yet. And he couldn't hear Aurora, nor Banshee's audio sensor-damaging cry. But the mare's muffled, distant voice and concern within their bond stirred him awake. A big air bubble escaped his blue mouth and immediately floated upward toward the surface. There was a pressure on top of him, a heavy liquid as he laid there on his back. His bright pink optics opened as he felt the slimy and rocky surface underneath him. Optimus realized he had landed in the lake near the Axalon and sank. It wasn't terribly deep where he was located, daylight was still shining through the depth of the water, so he grumbled and started to sit up, recollecting his thoughts. He was last in the air with Aurora, attacking Dirge who had broken through the shields. Aurora!

Optimus, more help is on the way. Hang in there.

I'm all right, Whitegrazer. I need to find Aurora! His energy toward the Empath was a little panicked but he kept himself composed as he stood up on the lake's floor on his short legs and pushed off of it to propel himself up to the surface.

"Optimus is down!," "I don't have visuals anymore."

"I'd love ta help ya, Aurora, but I got problems of my own right now!" Rattrap replied over the radio as he continued firing upon the scaly armored intruders that began infiltrating the circuitry and power adapters. As worried as he was about her and Optimus outside, he knew Landslide and Banshee were still out there, and Optimus could take care of himself. Admittedly he was curious to find out where their leader was but he didn't have the time or the opportunity to check while he fended off the nasty, invasive intruders. He almost screamed when he saw Blackarachnia suddenly appear and start attacking Dirge's creepy lice bots. "What de heck are you doin' here, she-spider?!" he asked her with sheer skepticism. It looked like she was trying to help but for all he knew, she'd turn around and shoot him in the back. Or Tarantulas would. Whoever! It didn't matter! She was a Predacon!

Breaking the surface of the water, Optimus kept himself afloat while frantically looking around for the younger Fuzor. Although his body wasn't water proof, he knew how to swim. He taught himself to considering the planet they had been stranded on was made up of mostly water. Wading vertically in the lake, the TransMetal gorilla turned himself toward his ship and Dirge since that was the last place he and Aurora had been before they were separated by the Predacon's explosive gunfire. Using his long arms to his advantage, he made haste with big strokes through the water toward where he presumed Aurora might be since he didn't see her in the air. It wasn't like she should be difficult to see; she was white, after all, she should stand out among the rocky and green terrain. Primal hoped she was all right. If anything were to happen to her... again... Involuntary visions of her injuries invaded his mind... and... and her possible death. No! Stop it! It almost made him stop swimming but he shook his head and pressed forward. "Aurora!" he called to her over his comm. link. "Are you all right? Do you copy?" With his systems a little foggy after being submerged in the water, they slowly reconfigured with her signature and he immediately followed it toward the shore, glancing over at Dirge every so often in case he spotted him. He appeared to be preoccupied with Landslide and Banshee.

Suddenly the Maximal base's power shut down. What was happening? Back-up generators kicked on but it was limited power for dim corridor and room lighting, while the rest was diverted to keep the CR chambers operational. Everything in the brig lost the energy to function properly, which left Rhinox and Whitegrazer vulnerable to Zodiac's wrath should he choose to unleash it. Unfortunately, Rhinox didn't think Whitegrazer could talk them out of this uncertain predicament. As the lighting in the room dimmed and blinked frequently, he stood with his feet apart planted on the floor and his arms straight out, his large green index fingers on the triggers of his big, heavy guns. He hesitated to fire waiting for Zodiac to make the first move. This could be it. This could be his and Whitegrazer's last breaths...

"We've lost power!" Rattrap alerted all of the Maximals in the area via their comm. links with a very panicked and frightened tone. The command center darkened except for the sparks and tiny fires from Dirge's parasites eating and chewing wires and circuit boards to the consoles, and the flickering from Blackarachnia's leg guns that fired off.

Optimus had just reached the shore and stood there looking at the vessel after hearing Rattrap's update. His expression was that of horror and uncertainty. "Banshee, assist Rattrap in the command center!" "Whitegrazer, report!"

[una]

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long with this long post. I hope I didn't forget anything. This post had me really thinking. I kept wondering if I should have Whitegrazer do this or not. So right now, if you guys would excuse me, I'm going to hide myself under a blanket. ))

"You better listen to him, BlackArachnia," "Now that you're the obedient, loyal Maximal you were always meant to be."

Blackarachnia didn't give a crap what Zodiac thought of her, but before she had moved her way to bridge, she turned around and gave a sneer to the shapeshifter, "You are very lucky, Zodiac. If I had that remote, you would be just a pile of fried ash." She turned around and swayed.

"The destroyer, the savior, the one leading the path for an evolution of our kind."

"So you believe yourself to be our future?" Whitegrazer asked curiously. It did seem that way for what she guessed by Zodiac's stance and his pride over his own abilities and plans. She had to admit he was unique. Never had there been a shapeshifter transformer like him. His skills were remarkable, and his abilities carried limited in weakness except for the electricity, of course. Though, Whitegrazer shook her head. If Zodiac believed he was the future of this race, he was solely mistaken. There was always going to be someone who will say the same thing. Something new. Something extraordinary. Horrific yet terrifying. There was always going to be someone better than the next. If Zodiac didn't believe that, it showed his arrogance. Also, how can anyone be the future of the Cybertron when they kept chasing their past?

"Those who are stuck in the past have no future."

And she believed that wholeheartedly. The past could be a lesson, but the past was the past. No one could change it. It is what it is. The future... Their future was to understand and grow from these experiences. To move on. And to make sure those same mistakes wouldn't be made again. It was Cybertron's problem. People from both sides, Maximal and Predacon, seemed to be so stuck in the past. Others so caught up in erasing it.

"I could ask you the same question, for your path is a much more puzzling one. I think we're beyond the point of charades. So I find myself curious, wondering what the extent of your abilities are. You obviously have a connection of sorts with Optims where you're able to relay messages to him. It's the only way he could have known that I was not the fuzor. When you agonized over the pitiful creature's apparent death, he felt it. So I find myself wondering if this connection extends to anyone else as well. You obviously can't read my mind or you would have known I wasn't Nexus the moment I arrived but somehow you were able to detect my nanomachines."

"Are you an enhanced as well? Did they make alterations to you because you happen to have a mutation in your spark that allowed you to survive the ordeal?"

She smiled at Zodiac. She knew what Zodiac was doing. And she wasn't going to fall for it. Though, even if she did explain, would he really comprehend them? Could he really comprehend her? "Zodiac, I am what I am. I survived by my own sheer force of will. I love for you to understand my abilities, but they aren't something you could comprehend. "

Her words weren't of arrogance. Her abilities weren't of the physical realm. They were deeper than little bots swarming her systems, and yet, there were similarities. Though, her abilities were more akin to Nemesis' than Zodiac's. While his were more tamed and controlled, Nemesis' were more wild and untamed. Her abilities were just like it. Wild. Unpredictable. Couldn't be controlled. Only dampened or block, but not be external things. Her abilities could be as gentle as a simple caress of a hand or wind or rough as a storm. Beautiful yet haunting. Harmless yet terrifying. Gives yet takes. Loves yet hurts. No one... knew. She smiled inwardly not even those closest to her. Even Optimus. She didn't want them to know, for good and protective reasons. Also, the scars still burned of the last time she opened those floodgates. Death knocked. The bell tolled. She wouldn't wish that on her own worst enemies. Especially not those she loved dearly.

Not again.

"They took everything from me,"

"I know, but here you are. You don't have to be tethered. You are free." Well, they did have him in a prison. But before this, he seemed like he was freed. Was it really him going for retribution? Was it really that he couldn't let go? "Unless... there is something else that keeps you from being totally free."

Hmm. She wondered. "Zodiac, you heard what Optimus had to say. He regretted what happened to you. He was a data-logger. A low-level worker. Young. Ignorant. Under the tutelage of someone he admired and respected, in that age, we all believe our mentors know better out of experience despite our own feelings. Does it excuse it?" She shook her head. "No. Optimus would have to live with his inaction. For not speaking out. But he is sorry. I know. It doesn't seem like much. No words could take away from what happened to you there. Nor would your course to kill everything he loves just to satisfy your taste of energon. You might revel in our destruction, but our deaths might give you more trouble in the long run."

I'm all right, Whitegrazer. I need to find Aurora!

Whitegrazer was glad, but she too wondered about Aurora. Hopefully, she was all right. She could feel Optimus' panicking as he looked for her. She did her best to soothe him. The water in the green meadow seemed to evaporate. Hopefully, that was a good sign. If there was anything wrong with Aurora, they would have heard it by now, especially with Rattrap in helm there. She knew how much Rattrap saw the little one and cared for the little one's well-being despite his tough guy attitude he always loved to portray towards the rest. Whitegrazer knew his tough guy attitude was just a shield to protect him from getting hurt. She knew Rattrap really cared. He might complain. Groan. Moan. Even say some prejudice and harsh statements that even make her wince sometimes, but she knew he had a heart.

She heard Rattrap's shout about the shields. Rhinox was getting nervous. She could tell it by his demeanor. There had to be something she could do to get Zodiac to stay. She just needed to figure out what.

"You fail to take one little detail into account. What if I enjoy being the weapon? Why would I want to give up who I am?"

"You see.. the answer to your question really isn't that complicated. I am the one who is going to succeed where Megatron has failed.. I'm going to destroy everything Optimus holds dear and then I'm going to destroy him. Nothing has changed aside from the means of how you all die. And since you Maximals are too weak to take advantage of someone's predicament, it's going to cost you all dearly."

"Do you? A weapon can be used and thrown away. Manipulated, and controlled. Replaced. Is that what you really want to be?"

She saw the fluctuation of Zodiac's prison. Things were not looking up. "Because that is what Megatron will do to you. He will use you. If he doesn't try to take vengeance for the incident first. " If the others didn't get Dirge or whoever, Zodiac would be free. She looked at the remote. She still wasn't using it, but if the shield dropped, she might not have a choice. She didn't want to imprison anyone, but she couldn't let Zodiac just go. He would try to kill them. Kill them all to hurt and revel in Optimus' suffering. Pawns in his game. She needed to find a way to convince him to stay.... or if not, figure out a reason why killing them won't be a good choice...

Wait. She had a idea. It was dangerous, though. She looked at Rhinox. He was getting nervous. She understood. Time was running out, and Zodiac showed no change in his directive of making Optimus suffer and killing them all. She would to appeal to him, make a proposition. A proposition he couldn't refuse. But was she willing to do this? What did she have to lose? She could lose Optimus, people she cared about. Optimus... he has been through enough already. This needed to end. Now.

"Zodiac, if you really want to fight Optimus, then fight him." She stared at Zodiac. She remained calm and solemn as ever. Her stance firm. "Do not waste your time with us. Challenge Optimus to a fight. If you are really better than him as you say, prove it. Prove that you are better. If you win, Optimus and we are at your mercy. If Optimus wins, you leave us alone... All of us, including Optimus." She looked at Rhinox then back at Zodiac, "Think about it. You get what you always wanted. If you win, of course. Or, you could do whatever it is you plan on doing. You could try to kill us and escape, if you that's what you want, but there would be no guarantees. At least, if you agree with what I'm proposing, you finally get the chance that was robbed from you back at Outpost 62. It is your choice, Zodiac. We can have the dual in front of the Axalon. No interference on both sides. Just you and Optimus."

Part of her wondered if she was doing the right thing here. If Zodiac agreed to this, which was a big "if", Zodiac would probably fight to the death with Optimus. Optimus wasn't in as great of a shape as Zodiac was. Did she really want to do this? Did she really want to put Optimus in jeopardy like this? He had been through so much. She kept telling herself that over and over again in her mind and spark. He had just been tortured. He had just been through horror all day and she was subjecting him to this? Life or death. But the other part of her told her this is better than the alternative. What if Zodiac escaped, severely injuring Rhinox and her or worse? To have him escape and plan another day. A looming threat with everything else, but this threat was more personal to Optimus. Maybe Optimus needed this. Maybe he needed a chance to prove himself again. There wasn't anything to prove for his crew and her, as she trusted and loved Optimus. As well as the others, but those whispers inside his mind. Those needed to be silence. This might be a fight, but it was going to be more than that. It was two Cybertronians, facing their pasts. Facing their demons. She believed in Optimus. Optimus was the better person because he would be fighting not just for himself, but for them.

And Zodiac, if he lost, maybe he would learn and understand what her words couldn't seem to get across. Words he threw and spat away.

The power went down. Time's up. Rhinox had his weapons ready. She remained where she stood. But this time... She blocked her connection between Optimus and her. Just in case Zodiac choose to attack her and injured her like he did last time. If he didn't take her choices, she didn't want anymore of her pain transferred towards Optimus. Also, She kept herself ready. She wasn't going to allow Rhinox to be injured. She might not be at full strength, but if she used her energy wisely and calculated perfectly, she could time a defensive attack if she needed to.

"So what do you choose?"

"Whitegrazer, report!"

She didn't respond. She waited for Zodiac's answer.

"What de heck are you doin' here, she-spider?!"

"Ummm.... Saving your slagging tailpipes." she growled at the stinking rat. "What do you think I am doing?" She kicked a few more of these creepy little things and made calculating shots with her machine gun legs. She didn't want to damage anything of value. The bridge was flickering on and off. The Axalon was being chewed and drained of it's power. She wondered if this was what the Maximals always have to put up with. Especially with this old rust bucket of a ship. If she wasn't so focused and full of pented up aggression, she might laugh, but right now, she didn't feel like laughing evilly.

When the power was getting worse, she made her way to a console. She smashed the buggy things, trying to find some way to get more power. The power went off completely, though. Great! She wouldn't care about this at all. She actually wouldn't, but she really didn't want that shapeshifter to leave. Was she doing this to save the Maximals? No, of course not. She needed to save her own butt. That shapeshifter was a slippery one, and she thought the Maximals were stupid in not killing him when they had the opportunity. Instead, they chatted about the past. Guilt. Despair. It was so pathetic, especially from a person who was supposed to be a leader. If it was Megatron, he would laugh. He would destroy. He would taunt and humilate the shapeshifter until the shapeshifter cracked. And if he didn't, Megatron would brilliantly congratulate him in his stamina while shooting his laser weapon straight at the shapeshifter's spark chamber.

She tried to find some way to get some power. The Cr chambers were start on. Who was using the CR Chambers? Oh! She looked at the schematic of one. Cheetor was inside. Oh, the little cat. "Yo! A rat I would eat if I was hungry! I'm going to try to divert some power from CR chambers to Zodiac's!"

[Mystrea]

(No deal Whitegrazer! )

Dirge observed as his the discharging of his weapon on both targets was successful. Optimus has been knocked back into the distance from the blast, the small female lay crumpled on the ground and the flying bug was grounded. As it should be, someone else would have not have made it as far as he has. The giant turned around to resume his rescue of his current master. The base was defenceless, they were no match for him or his master and they would leave here whether the Maximals tried to stop them or not.

He was about to reach into the hole he had created when he heard a noise fro his rear. It was a rumbling gravel like noise, as if something was kicking the earth as it traveled. He turned again only to see the giant beetle charging towards him with some sort of melee weapon. There was no time to analyse what it was because his attacker was within striking distance. And the strike came, hard and fast as it more up his leg and swung him round to face Landslide as he moved into another attack run. He did have the speed to his advantage, propelling himself at Dirge. Suddenly a deafening blast came from another direction. The Predacon's head swung and his audio receptors immediately switched off when he saw another female, the one producing the violent sound. While she was not chasing him an harm he had not noticed that Optimus had returned and had given the order for the base turrets to open fire. Not expecting the volley, the rounds hit Dirge, which makes a grunt in alien like fashion before turning round. He couldn't of timed it better. In his sights, Landslide as he was charging again. His living armour distributed itself to absorb the turret hits and in preparation to counter attack the big Maximal. Dirge dug his feet into the ground and reached out with his single hand. He managed to catch Landslide's arm as he swung the chain sword, he twisted it awkwardly to make swing the weapon against the Axalon, turning the hole he had made into a huge tear across the hull of the ship.

The brig was now completely exposed to the battle outside. Before the beetle could regain his balance Dirge shoved his cannon into his abdomen, pinning him against the ship and pushing him down wards. The giant Predacon did this right in front of the brig, so that they could see what he was about to do to their comrade. His large form casting a shadow over them all with his single red eye, watching, it could enfeeble all who came across its gaze.

[Phoenix]

"Aurora!" he called to her over his comm. link. "Are you all right? Do you copy?"

The initial transmission came through as static but slowly the words became clearer, even if they did cut in and out a few times. Optimus! He was okay!

The fuzor's ears perked up and she looked around, trying to see her commanding officer in the midst of the chaos. Dirge was still wrecking havoc and was now battling Banshee and Landslide. Unfortunately he seemed to be holding his own against the two smaller Maximals and for a brief moment Aurora caught herself staring in awe as the giant's armor seemed to be changing in front of her very eyes. She really didn't think she wanted to know what was going on so she quickly averted her optics.

"Yeah.. I hear you, Optimus, I'm all right," she responded while trying to avoid the giant Predacon's attention. Which wasn't easy to do given that her fur and wings really stood out against the terrain. Well, perhaps not quite as much as it usually would given how she was covered in dirt from the impact with the ground.

She stopped as she caught sight of someone moving by the water's edge, finding great relief in the fact Optimus didn't look too damaged. At least not on the outside. On the inside, however, she was fairly certain that their leader would have to undergo some extensive therapy to sort out the ordeal in his head. He was already showing signs of a mental breakdown being imminent, Aurora just didn't want that to progress any further..

After waving at Optimus to try to get his attention, she looked away towards the base where some loud noises were making her stomach turn. Dirge was causing some major damage to the base but he seemed to be focusing on a single part of the base now that the shields were down.

The brig..

It was then it dawned on Aurora that this Predacon invader would not stop before he had gotten what he came here to do. And if he succeeded in freeing Zodiac, all of the Maximals would be in serious trouble. Zodiac knew too much. He'd been among them, pretended to be their friend, he had access to Sentinel and their files. He knew exactly where to hit them to cause the most damage.

No.. Zodiac couldn't be allowed to escape. But keeping him where he was would surely doom their base since Dirge was relentless. Unless..

"Rattrap," she called back to the base, hoping the rodent was not harmed, "Is there any way we can transport the cage with Zodiac away from the base? Dirge will surely attempt to follow but he is slow so it shouldn't be too difficult to lose him."

"You are very lucky, Zodiac. If I had that remote, you would be just a pile of fried ash."

Zodiac grinned through her sneer, clearly finding the widow's anger amusing. Her threat, quite frankly, was pitiful and would ultimately be futile. He had to admire her spunk, however, but alas she had allied herself with the Maximals so she would simply have to die alongside them. Seemed fitting enough given her protoform being of Maximal origin.

"So you believe yourself to be our future?"

Her voice again. Ever the voice of reason, ever the one trying to soften angered spirits. Zodiac involuntarily rolled his optics when he turned to look at her again, the grin fading away as he did.

"Those who are stuck in the past have no future."

Again he disagreed with her assumptions. His past was a driving force for him, something that prompted him to move forward.. Gave him a motive.. and by doing so defined him. Ultimately his goals stretched well beyond the realms of the Maximals and Predacons occupying this planet, but he didn't feel like sharing such thoughts with the female. Not when there was so much at stake.

The ship shook once more, a loud noise heard from the opposite wall of the brig as Dirge continued to rain his punishment on the Maximals. Oh the thought of it brought the smile back to his face. He knew it wouldn't be long now. Dirge was rather simpleminded but that was part of what made him such a perfect soldier. He would never scheme against the one in charge nor would he ever dare to question his decisions. Instead he was a killing machine, someone who would serve death without any inhibitions or questions as to why. Dirge was a force to be reckoned with and he certainly was not disappointing the shapeshifter this very moment.

"Zodiac, I am what I am. I survived by my own sheer force of will. I love for you to understand my abilities, but they aren't something you could comprehend. "

Zodiac merely stared at her, the smile still not having left his features, as he pondered her words for a brief moment. For someone who gave so much of herself to those around her, she certainly was secretive. He wondered why. What secrets was she hiding? Did Optimus know? Somehow he got the impression even Optimus didn't know her entire story.

Her choice of words were interesting to him. She survived by her own sheer force of will.. Were her powers that debilitating that they almost destroyed her in the past? Or was there more to it that she wasn't sharing?

"Indeed.. While I'm sure your abilities would make for a fascinating topic of conversation, it would appear we are running short on time," the shapeshifter responded just as the ship shook again from the blunt force trauma that was being exerted on it. The wall leading to the outside hull was really taking a pounding, it seemed.

"I know, but here you are. You don't have to be tethered. You are free." Well, they did have him in a prison. But before this, he seemed like he was freed. Was it really him going for retribution? Was it really that he couldn't let go? "Unless... there is something else that keeps you from being totally free."

The changeling was just about point out the obviousness of him being anything but free at the moment, or at least for a few nanoclicks more, but the second part of her statement caught him off guard and he found himself merely staring at her again. This time his smile had vanished. There was no way she could possibly know anything further about him and his life. It was all speculations, had to be.

"Zodiac, you heard what Optimus had to say. He regretted what happened to you. He was a data-logger. A low-level worker. Young. Ignorant. Under the tutelage of someone he admired and respected, in that age, we all believe our mentors know better out of experience despite our own feelings. Does it excuse it?" She shook her head. "No. Optimus would have to live with his inaction. For not speaking out. But he is sorry. I know. It doesn't seem like much. No words could take away from what happened to you there. Nor would your course to kill everything he loves just to satisfy your taste of energon. You might revel in our destruction, but our deaths might give you more trouble in the long run."

"More trouble..," he mused, her choice of words again piqued his interest, "Again I'm not sure I follow your reasoning, my lady. How would your deaths give me any trouble at all?"

Again the lights flickered, threatening to give out at any moment. Dirge's attacks were getting ever louder, ever closer.

"Do you? A weapon can be used and thrown away. Manipulated, and controlled. Replaced. Is that what you really want to be?"

"Lest you forget the alternative isn't exactly much to brag about either," he responded, his nuisance level rising since it was becoming clear this female was not going to let it go.

"Because that is what Megatron will do to you. He will use you. If he doesn't try to take vengeance for the incident first. "

"Use me?"


This caused the shapeshifter to laugh. A wholesome yet daunting laughter. Within seconds the laughter stopped as abruptly as he had started.

"Whoever said I plan to let that renegade fool dictate my actions? I am not one of his Predacons to command nor would I ever want to be."

His tone turned colder.

"Do not insult me.. I bow to no one, certainly not Megatron."


He followed her movements with his optics, taking in the slight nervous fidgeting and the way she glanced down at the remote to his cage. She clearly did not wish to use it.

"Zodiac, if you really want to fight Optimus, then fight him." She stared at Zodiac. She remained calm and solemn as ever. Her stance firm. "Do not waste your time with us. Challenge Optimus to a fight. If you are really better than him as you say, prove it. Prove that you are better. If you win, Optimus and we are at your mercy. If Optimus wins, you leave us alone... All of us, including Optimus." She looked at Rhinox then back at Zodiac, "Think about it. You get what you always wanted. If you win, of course. Or, you could do whatever it is you plan on doing. You could try to kill us and escape, if you that's what you want, but there would be no guarantees. At least, if you agree with what I'm proposing, you finally get the chance that was robbed from you back at Outpost 62. It is your choice, Zodiac. We can have the dual in front of the Axalon. No interference on both sides. Just you and Optimus."

The male did not attempt to conceal the amusement in his voice as he spoke again, chuckling lightly at her words before he said anything himself.

"So you are willing to hand me Optimus' head on a platter? Did your beloved leader agree to these conditions? Somehow I wonder.."

Another violent series of bangs against the base resulted in the lights flickering again before suddenly shutting down altogether. The sound of all the electric appliances shutting down simultaneously was the sweetest noise the shapeshifter had heard for a long time. The electric wall that had kept him incarcerated disappeared as well, and so did the humming sound that had been bothering him since he woke up in this infernal contraption in the first place. The only source of light now was the dimmed emergency lights that flickered on as soon as the primary source of electricity shut off.

Zodiac's optics appeared to glimmer in the faint emergency light. He carefully reached out his hand to touch the part of the cage where the forcefield had been running a mere moment ago, fully prepared to yank his arm back should it turn out to become active again. Yet nothing happened. His hand merely passed through until he could wrap his fingers around the metal bars that were left behind. The bars felt so smooth, so cold and inviting.

"So what do you choose?"

She was stalling for time, that much had become obvious.

"What do I choose..," he repeated, watching as his hands suddenly started to glow as the nanomachines flocked there. A split second later the metal bar he was holding onto started shimmering as well, his other hand gripping another bar to speed up the process. In rapid succession the nanomachines stripped the metal off the bars, appearing to be melting them as they consumed the alloy and used it as fuel.

"What was it you said earlier?," the shapeshifter said, repeating the process with a third and fourth bar. He was perfectly calm, not even paying any attention to the weapons Rhinox was now pointing at him. As for the female and the remote in her possession, well, that didn't concern him much either. After all the electric grid they were tapping into to electrocute him via the water was no longer operational. It was knocked out along with the rest of the grid.

With a majority of the metallic bars now gone, he merely stepped out of his makeshift prison. The blue shimmer was spreading up his arm even as he walked, the nanomachines using the extra metal to form a shield to protect him. Meanwhile Dirge had left a large hole in the brig wall and was currently in the process of maiming one of the Maximals right outside, in clear view of them all. Zodiac smiled approvingly, his movements calm as he faced the two Maximals who remained inside. It was an eerie calmness, one that obviously was not going to last for long. He eyed them both in turn.

"I choose freedom."

[NaitoKage]

With the chaos on the battlefield, Landslide couldn't make out alot of the shouting that was happening around him. He watched as Banshee's scream had little to no effect on Dirge, then came in to charge with a overhand swing. To his own surprise however his arm was caught by the larger bot and swung up against the Axalon, his chainsword cutting a gash into the ship until it was deactivated, left impaled into the haul of the Axalon.

Landslide was smashed up against the Axalon, which in a sense cushioned the blow for him as his body was much heavier and harder then what the Axalon itself was made of, then knocked to the ground with Dirge's gun arm placed against his stomach. Landslide was a bit stunned, but shook it off looking up at Dirge with four red glowing optics. His left arm raised as his shield split open in two halves, then clamped against Dirge's gun arm just bellow the elbow with a loud crunch, then pulled Dirge forward with the gun to the side, digging his chest spike into the side of the gun and pressing his arm along it as he twisted the gun along his body to lock it in place.

Landslide's rear insect legs pushed him up slightly as his thrusters turned, then swung Dirge to the ground onto his back, Landslide landing with his left knee on Dirge's chest and the surprisingly unnatural amount of body weight against Dirge's chest, his right leg stomping onto Dirge's left arm with the toe claws digging into the forearm. You break it, you pay fer it.. But I ain't taking yer shanix lad. Landslide then pulled out his plasma cutter tool with his right arm, leaving his ground clamp connected to his body to conduct through his own armor, he ran the tool along Dirge's cannon arm slightly as it sparked, then a blinding light was seen coming from the tool as a jet of plasma started to pierce through Dirge's living armor like a hot knife through butter, starting to cut through part of the cannon while the large bug struggled, it probably wouldn't be long until Dirge broke free from Landslide's hold.

[NaitoKage]

(

OOC: before I post, can the Pred Base's long ranger scanners check out the maximal base from here or would they need drones or scouts to scope out what's happening over there? If not, I can find something else for Megs to occupy himself with lol

Going based from what I remember on the show, with the shield down the Predacon long range scanner should be able to detect some activity inside the ship. This also means Megatron would realize quickly that the Maximal's shield is down.. and with Dirge there, probably the cause. Sorry for the late response. Managed to post for Landslide, but Star's busy with 3D modeling for school and I've been dealing with fixing the horrors of Windows 8 on a laptop, so.. yeah.)

As you say Umbra, I don't expect it to change it's mannerisms over night, but I trust that your personal attention will one day soon mold our troublesome pet into a useful asset

"Hehehehahahahaha! Need some assistance Umbra? Wasp and I would be happy to help out!"

'No doubt you would, but you won't, understood?"

"Yes Megatron"

"Worry not Terrorsaur! There will be many more opportunities to serve the Royalty in the days to come! It does my spark good to see you show such devotion for once!"

Umbra gave a nod looking back towards the others I'll do my best. he then lead Star away, showing her how to use some tools and begin work on repairing the damaged consoles in a corner.

Waspinator cringed again watching as Starshadow left, then looked at Inferno with a raised optic ridge as he was dragged off with Terrorsaur to assist in repairs on the ship.