"Other Visits"

[Wintersong]

Spineless? Was that the best the rodent could come up with? Spineback was...less than impressed by the rodent's comeback, rolling her optics slightly as she kept firing back towards the two Maximals until neither side was making much of an accurate shot due to their range. Oh how she wanted to meet the Maximals head on and beat them to a pulp with her Tail lance, and relish in the fact that she could send one of the Autobot descendants to meet their maker in the Well of Allsparks. Unfortunately, such a thing would not happen that day much to her disappointment.

"Of course, my liege." Spineback responded before switching off her transmission hearing Megatron's less-than-pleased tone with their current progress. It was to be expected since they had been partly unsuccessful with their current mission. "We'll have another chance at their hides Waspinator." The saurian femme assured him as she eyed the bug's damaged armor but had to admire the durability of the Transmetal armor he had and judging from the fact he was able to still keep pace with her the injury was not too damaging to affect his mobility. "If you can, transform and let's get moving. Fly ahead if you must." Spineback told him growling as she transformed to her beast form before beginning to make her way towards the coordinates the pod was detected figuring some of the fellow Predacons would converge there long before they got there.

Wintersong kept up her fire power, not wanting to risk the Predacons having an opening the charge forward if they gave some slack. But she was slightly distracted when Optimus tried to relay his message, scrambled partly by the jamming towers but clear enough for a designation of their new arrival and by then the Predacons attacking them were far enough away the Transmetal tigress stopped as well. "Something tells me this isn't the last we've seen of them today." She said towards the rat as she transformed to her vehicle mode, activating the boosters on her side to keep pace with the hot rod mode Rattrap had.

But she did show slight amusement in her expression at the new comer's name, Tigerhawk. "Hey if this goes as planned Rattrap looks like you'll be leading the Cat Squad if this guy's name is anything to go by." She joked, seeming to be in a bit of more jovial mood than earlier where she hadn't spoken much. But the thrill of combat seemed to bring back her better mood.

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

It didn't take long for someone to respond to his communication frequency, making Tigerhawk a little more relieved to know there were others out there. "Pleasure to meet you Optimus Primal, and welcoming to hear someone is out there." Tigerhawk responded, flapping his wings lazily to keep hovering in the spot and was even more relieved to get a confirmation that the ship's main crew seemed to be doing well. Least, that's what he was assuming. "As for being injured, no I'm fine. Shaken from a rough tumble my pod took down a valley side but other than that in one piece." Tigerhawk confirmed, briefly glancing to where his pod had started and ended up, recalling his first moments of activation could have been much more smoother.

Though the arrival of Nemesis surprised him, causing the slightly old mech to turn to the avian female with the shock showing in his expression. Help had come far faster than he anticipated! "At least something on the hunk of junk worked." Tigerhawk grumbled, giving a slight glance of annoyance back down at his pod where the mechanism to open the pod had at some point been damaged, causing the malfunction that brought about his unpleasant way of actually getting out. But he quickly turned his gaze back to Nemesis, transforming to his robotic mode for the first time in months since he was put into the pod. "I'll admit, I'm amazed at how quickly help came. I was just talking to Optimus Primal about help being on the way just a few kilks ago." Tigerhawk said, his voice gruff but kind, blissfully unaware of the current matters of the conflict going on. Then again, what reasons did he have to be concerned about conflict at all? Far as Tigerhawk knew this was meant to be an exploration trip, far from the matters of conflict currently plaguing their home which meant his usual nature to be cautious was relatively low.

Moving closer to the avian femme Tigerhawk held out a hand of greeting towards her, "And seeming as I informally introduced myself, what is your name my feathered friend?" Tigerhawk inquired curiously.

[NaitoKage]

"Umbra, what is your status?,"

Umbra made his way into the Predacon base, activating his comlink Just arrived my lord. I'll be with you in a moment. he then said, making his way to the bridge, Umbra then set Tarantulas down on the ground. I've returned with Tarnatulas. I managed to get some information on his computer about an alien site, it seems he was prepping to do something with it.. though I couldn't decrypt the files enough to understand, but he should be awaking soon so I'll begin prep to interrogate him if you wish.

Tarantulas's spider optics flicker on, standing on his eight legs, he wobbles, then falls over, a bit of drool seen dripping from his fangs. Wha.. were' am I? he says in a slurred speech. Umbra looks at Tarantulas rubbing the back of his own neck Seems he's still a bit sedated from my poison.

___________________________

Landslide stopped as he heard Optimus speaking, then turned looking towards the hanger door with narrowed optics.

"Ironclaw...," "I need you to remain calm." "Zodiac survived his fall and they're bringing him in. Now." "I remind you that there is information I need from him that could help us."

If it wasn't for the supposed information they needed, Landslide probably would of drawn his sword just at the sight of Zodiac. The damage he'd caused to the Maximals was far and above anything the other Predacons could muster, and even in his weakened state the beetle didn't trust he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeves.

"A welcome back present, Primal?," "You're too kind."

Landslide looks towards Optimus If yer keeping that thing here, I'm turnin off the Axalon's wireless network. Outside of communications, the computers will be cut off from radio signals. We can't risk having him take over Sentinel again. Landslide turned back towards the console.

________________________________________

"The ne... arrival is on-line a... has identified himself as Tigerhawk. Again, proceed ...th caution. Be on alert ... Predacons."

"You got dat Cheetor?"

Cheetor raised his paw responding back on the radio Copy that Rattrap.

Cheetor continued on course, his after burner kicking in as he broke the sound barrier with a loud boom heard from the sky, making his way towards Tigerhawk's location.

"We'll have another chance at their hides Waspinator." "If you can, transform and let's get moving. Fly ahead if you must."

Waspinator looked towards Spineback, then gave a nod. His wings started to flutter as he took to the air, seeming to fly a bit awkwardly for a moment as one of his wings seemed to be stuck, a spark and snap noise heard coming from the wing as it started to flap right he flipped in mid air transforming to his wasp mode, then vehicle mode taking off into the sky.

Making it a bit higher into the air, Waspinator activated his afterburner, a second loud thunderous boom heard in the sky as he broke through the sound barrier, following in Cheetor's wake in an attempt to catch up with the smaller transmetal cheetah. Once he was in range he'd be able to fire on him.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw was still very much lost in thought, staring at the floor as he contemplated what his next move would be. With his objecive accomplished and no way of getting back to Cybertron he felt... Empty. It didn't help that Optimus was trying to sway him and that a part of him may have fallen for that white tigress. Or something like that, he wasn't quite sure.

The badger remained unfocused until Primal had stopped speaking and someone was stood in front of him. Someone. Something. All the information had come together at the same time and a conclusion had been cultivated. Ironclaw closed his optics and said in a low tone "Zodiac".

Ironclaw's optics shot up to see his objective still living and within his reach. This was it. He got to his feet and sprinted across the hanger bay, moving at top speed. He looked like a raging beast eager to claim his next victim. He would finally be able to finish the mission once and for all. Not to be beaten to it by some second rate Maximal. No one here could stop him. As the raged badger approached, he knocked Optimus aside with ease and grabbed Zodiac by the throat. Lifting him off his feet with ease, he stared at the shapeshifter. He was damaged and weak but he cared not for that. This wasn't about pride or honour, this was about the mission, about peace in their time. Drawing his clawed hand, he plunged it into Zodiac's chest and ripped his spark from him and extinguishing it.

Ironclaw finally opened his optics and was staring at his hands. He was still sat on that crate, still being quiet at the back of the hanger. Wait. What? How did that..? The badger quickly the situation without giving to much away. He hadn't moved from this very spot and he certain did not slay Zodiac. Yet it felt so real. Staring intently at his palms it felt as if he had done it. Nothing had happened and everyone was as they were but the fact that it didn't actually happen wasn't the most surprising thing to badger. It was how he felt. No satisfaction, no sense of finally accomplishing his mission. There was just emptiness. Perhaps killing Zodiac would not yield the closure he wanted so badly. He of course blamed Optimus for getting him there but none the less he was there.

After a moment of contemplation, Ironclaw felt like all optics were on him and they were waiting on him do something. So he did as compelled. Rising to his feet he fixed his attention and marched towards Optimus and Zodiac. He stopped when he reach Optimus' side and looked at Zodiac with a unwavering glance. The not so shapeshifter looked pathetic, unworthy of his time. The badger huffed and changed his attention to the gorilla. He gave him a powerful stare as if to say 'I'm doing you a big favour'. And that was it. Vow broken. Ironclaw then left the group, thinking it best if he wasn't present for rest of Zodiac's apprehension. Instead he headed for the bridge.

[una]

It felt strange, he admitted via their mental link, like I was no longer in control of my own mind, body or actions.

Whitegrazer contemplated what Zodiac said. It sounds like someone or something took a hold of you. But if that was true, who or what? She didn't exactly feel another presence inside of him. She would have. So... something must have triggered something. I know you experienced some pain, but do you remember anything unusual? A presence? Compulsion? Anything?

Perhaps you caused me to act out that way when you forced this mental link upon me despite your promise not to do so. Maybe you secretly want to see me hang just like the rest of them.

I'm sorry. I don't make it a habit to go back on my word. She sighed inwardly at Zodiac' accusation. You know that isn't true. When you attacked, it happened so suddenly. No one knew what to think of it, and I knew that... you wouldn't have attacked us like that. Not in the state you were in. I had to act fast, especially at how close to the Axalon we were. If the others had jumped in before whatever had gripped you faded, it could have been disastrous for you. I'm disgusted with my action, but by reconnecting our link, I found out the truth. The truth that you weren't attacking us by your own will.

Did it excuse her action? No.

Then help me by closing down the connection again, he demanded, You promised to leave me be..

I won't excuse what I did, and I'm sorry, after what has just happened, it might be best if I keep the link open. If that happens again, maybe I can figure out what or who triggered such an involuntary action.

Zodiac wouldn't like it. She didn't it either, but it was the only way to protect him.

As for being honest with Optimus.. Do I detect a lack of trust?, he asked her sarcastically. You helped them drag me back here against my will, and yet ask me not to reveal your secrets so that you can keep your little love affair alive?

Whitegrazer just shake her head at Zodiac's response to her suggestion.

You attacked Rhinox and Aurora when you could have hid or ran away if you didn't want to be caught. After all, they were at that site to study, not actively searching for you. They responded accordingly, knowing that Optimus would have wanted you brought back here, so he can get some answers that he thought were lost when we thought you died back at the volcano. Some part of me wants Optimus to at least get that much, and Zodiac, I know you don't think you want it, but you need our help. And we are willing. If the Predacons had found him, they would have killed him. Being put in a make-shift prison and interrogated wasn't a better option, she would admit if she were in Zodiac' shoes, but at least, he would be alive. But she had to correct Zodiac on one thing. This isn't just about my feelings and relationship with Optimus. I admit some part of me wishes he doesn't get involved with such info, but there is more. My power is being used by people who don't understand it. They don't understand what they are dealing with. They think they can manipulate and control with their limited views of science masked by their own ignorance or pleasures, benign or malicious. I gave that power to them in a moment of weakness and arrogance. I can't allow it to spread anymore than it has, and hurt more people. Like him. Nemesis. Who know how many others she wasn't aware of?

She looked at Rhinox and Aurora. They would be all right. The High Council protected minds such as theirs, especially the eager ones. Despite what he told them, the High Council saw them as useful. Someone like her? Her usefulness had been finished long ago. they were just... unwilling to terminate her back then.

It will protect you as well.

"A welcome back present, Primal?," the renegade said, trying to seem confident and strong but on the inside he felt like his entire world had crumbled down around him, "You're too kind."

"It will be okay, Zodiac." Whitegrazer tried to reassure the former shapehifter. Remember the deal. I am willing to help you regain what you lost if... you promise to not bring harm to anyone.

Ironclaw was there... on top of a crate. For a moment, she thought that Ironclaw might try or say something. Anything. But he was, surprisingly, silent and didn't try to hurt Zodiac... at all. Did Optimus... get through to him?

She then gazed at Optimus. A lot of thoughts swirled inside her mind. Some which she blocked from Optimus... to protect him. Thinking about what Zodiac said and what she told him back. That there was more to her reasons to keep it quiet, but that other part of her wondered. One thought entered her mind. A thought shut off from both of those who she was linked toward. I don't deserve your love or compassion.

The next ords she spoke, though, were open to Optimus as it was directed towards him, I hope you do get the answers you seek from him.

((OOC: I will have Blackarachnia's response tomorrow. ))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: That was a great and refreshing post, Mystrea!

Wintersong has graciously taken Terrorsaur off of my hands, but I will continue to play Inferno. ))

If yer keeping that thing here, I'm turnin off the Axalon's wireless network. Outside of communications, the computers will be cut off from radio signals. We can't risk having him take over Sentinel again.

"We've installed precautions and better defenses to prevent hackers from infiltrating Sentinel's programming since then, but go ahead, Landslide," Optimus agreed, as he assumed "that thing" the beetle was referring to was Zodiac.

"Pleasure to meet you Optimus Primal, and welcoming to hear someone is out there." "As for being injured, no I'm fine. Shaken from a rough tumble my pod took down a valley side but other than that in one piece."

"I'm glad to hear it," Primal responded to Tigerhawk with some relief for his sake. At least he could defend himself if needed. "But I must warn you that there are also Predacons about, and they have likely picked up your communication as well as your location, so be careful who you are approached by before my team arrives. Their names are Rattrap, Wintersong and Cheetor." Which were quite friendly names for the most part unlike the majority of the Predacons', if one knew the difference between the factions, and also by their appearances.

Rhinox, having watched Zodiac shake his head at Whitegrazer's question, was not so easily convinced by him not knowing what overcame him. After all, he was a master at lying and manipulation. He had glanced back over his shoulder when he heard the renegade shuffling around, and was taken aback to see him actually stand up despite the damage he had done to his leg. Well, he was certain he wouldn't be able to run or attack anyone in his condition, but nevertheless, the engineer still remained diligently cautious, especially now that they were in Primal's view and close proximity. Even though Zodiac appeared to be defeated and vulnerable, he could still have a trick up his sleeve with the intent on harming their leader. As they pulled up to the hangar's entrance, the hybrid was quick to get off the transport and approach Optimus who was holding two pairs of energy bonds, but Rhinox climbed off the vehicle and told the young Fuzor for only her audio receptors to hear, "Grab your equipment and take it to the laboratory immediately. I'll join you as soon as I can." He then followed Zodiac just in case he had it in his mind to try something. For a moment, his red optics locked with Primal's before he went astray to Ironclaw who was lurking nearby in the hangar. He watched them closely as he stood near Zodiac, just behind his left side as a subtle way of keeping himself between the dragon and the badger.

"A welcome back present, Primal?," "You're too kind."

Optimus actually gave Zodiac a small smile, as if he found his comment slightly humorous, but it just as quickly faded when he looked past the tall bot and noticed Rhinox's heavily wounded face as well Aurora's injuries. For a moment, his orange optics also landed on Whitegrazer who seemed awfully distracted but he couldn't find out anything about with their link since she was blocking him from that part of knowing. Assuming the engineer's and the chief biologist's pain was all to do with Zodiac, he finally returned his gaze to the renegade's and licked the scar across his mouth. Primal was stoic as he stood there, examining the black bot's body that was obviously suffering with critical damage, and yet he continued to play the best-of-the-best egotistical attitude, trying to stand there before the commanding officer as if he felt noting and was certain Primal would bring him no harm, as if he still had control over everything. Fortunately, the Maximal leader was stronger now, no longer plagued by the negative whispers that were deteriorating his mind and soul. He hadn't forgotten what Zodiac said before he fell, and even in that moment standing before him his mind replayed those fateful events of that day at the volcano, hearing himself holler after the shapeshifter as he fell unconsciously into the lava. Or so it had seemed. How had he survived that plummet? Why did he come back and get himself caught? Was it intentional? Did he think he stood a better chance seeking refuge with the Maximals despite how much he always put them down? Or did this all have something to do with new alien site? Although Optimus had his questions, he refused to show any surprise to seeing him still alive which would give Zodiac the satisfaction of having control or simply being spiteful. He suppressed all of the emotions that erupted inside of him, and they were a great many. I will be strong. I can't let him under my paint. I can do this, he assured himself. Right at this moment, he needed to use his strengths to his advantage and play the better bot against his opponent who never ceased to appear so smug and all-knowing. After all, all Zodiac had at this point was his hurtful and manipulative words which were designed to tear Primal down emotionally and mentally. If he could take that confidence away from Zodiac, he might be able to finally get him to experience humility and remorse.

"I hope you don't mind, I didn't bother wasting my time wrapping them," he finally said to Zodiac, calm and firm. He grew silent when Ironclaw approached them. He turned his head to see him, but otherwise he didn't move. Primal actually found some comfort with the look on Zodiac's face when the badger made himself known and walked over to them. It was clear that in that moment the renegade knew just how fragile his life was when he didn't have his abilities and how easily it could have been ended once and for all. His very badly wounded knee almost gave out on him, but still Optimus didn't bother moving to catch him or help him. Fortunately, he had caught himself and remained on his feet. Oddly enough, Ironclaw held his tongue, but he did shoot Optimus a stare that suggested he should be grateful for what he was about to do. And what he did was remain calm like he had asked and simply turned away from them to exit the hangar. Not a word or a punch or a bullet to the one he had been ordered to terminate by the High Council. Yes, the gorilla was grateful, aware of what he had just done and could very well be court-marshaled for it, and so he returned his attention to the dragon. "If you value your life, Zodiac, you will cooperate because Ironclaw won't be deterred by my words again," he warned him. "Hands," Primal demanded him to hold them out together as he cuffed the rogue's wrists with one of the energy bonds.

Rhinox stepped around and grabbed the hybrid's forearm tightly as if to keep him from making any wrong moves - or falling over - while Optimus knelt down in front of him and added the other pair of bonds to Zodiac's ankles, giving him minimum movement with his legs so he could at least walk slowly. Well, sort of, since one of his legs was nearly snapped into two.

"Here's what I can offer you, Zodiac, that will help prolong your existence on this planet," Primal began as he stood back up and and faced him without the fear he once held toward the shapeshifter for what he was capable of. "I will allow you to be repaired in one of my CR chambers, and in exchange you will answer my questions," the Maximal Commander told him. As anxious as he was to find out what had happened to Aurora, Rhinox and Whitegrazer, and about the alien site that everyone seemed to know about but him, he contained his enthusiasm and desire to know those answers while he waited for Zodiac to either accept or deny what may save his life. When Rhinox released his grip on the renegade's forearm, Optimus gabbed his upper arm and carefully pulled him with him as he lead him to the large repair chamber that was located in the hangar.

I hope you do get the answers you seek from him.

The leader wasn't quite sure how to read what Whitegrazer had sent him. Was she being sincere in that she truly wanted him to get what he sought? Or was it more of a forewarning about going too far to get it? I plan to, he told her with confidence. And in the back of his mind was his concern for this Tigerhawk fellow, who "coincidentally" was activated around the same time that nasty but very quick head ache had struck him. Unbeknownst to him, it had also hit Zodiac, much harder even, and had made him lose control and lash out at Rhinox and Aurora until Whitegrazer was able to stop him.

-----

"Something tells me this isn't the last we've seen of them today."

"I gotta agree with you on dat," Rattrap told the tigress.

"Hey if this goes as planned Rattrap looks like you'll be leading the Cat Squad if this guy's name is anything to go by."

"Oh lucky me! A rat surrounded by cats! It's my wildest dream come true!" he sarcastically teased as he sped along across the ground, a cloud of dust kicked up into the air in the wake of his wheels that slowly settled with the help of the planet's gravity. He continued his trek with Wintersong in hopes of catching up with Cheetor soon and reaching Tigerhawk before the Preds did.

[Phoenix]

"Of course, my liege."

"See to it that it's done," the tyrant responded before ending the transmission, dispensing entirely with the pleasantries for now.

Truthfully Megatron had his doubts about the capabilities of his crew. And for good reason. Their track record in the past, notably when he had not been in the field to supervise them, was less than stellar. But as things were, he had other concerns to devote his attention to. The Maximals could wait, as could potential new recruits although he would prefer to get them under his command as not to give Optimus any advantages. But more importantly than the normal business was preparing for the inevitable return of the aliens. Ever since that foolish upstart had caused the signal to shoot up into the sky, no doubt alerting the Vok of the Cybertronians' continued existence and presence on this planet. And judging by their old track record, Megatron had no doubt they would make an appearance soon.

But this time Megatron would be prepared.

The aliens possessed technology far more advanced than anything available to either faction back on Cybertron. And the tyrant certainly planned to share in that technological advantage. Alas he couldn't trust many of his underlings with such an important assignment. Most were either too stupid or too keen on their own self-preservation and not loyal enough to him for that. So he had sent Deathroll, his new subcommander who had proven himself a valuable asset in many ways, in his own place while he devoted his time to uncovering the aliens' secrets using the information on his golden disk to do so.

Just arrived my lord. I'll be with you in a moment. he then said, making his way to the bridge, Umbra then set Tarantulas down on the ground. I've returned with Tarnatulas. I managed to get some information on his computer about an alien site, it seems he was prepping to do something with it.. though I couldn't decrypt the files enough to understand, but he should be awaking soon so I'll begin prep to interrogate him if you wish.

"Excellent work, Umbra!," Megatron commended. Umbra had indeed proved to be a valuable asset to him. If he could only trust Umbra to be as loyal to his cause as he was to his paycheck, he would likely have promoted the cephalopod already.

Seems he's still a bit sedated from my poison.

"I'm looking forward to finding what information you can get from our friend. Keep me updated on any changes," came the tyrant's response, not really caring one way or the other about Tarantulas' suffering. He only wanted answers and he suspected the spider knew far more than he'd been letting on.

A signal from the remaining jamming towers alerted him that the Maximals were leaving, their signals fading away in the direction of the newly activated pod. It would take Spineback and Waspinator a while to catch up. But Nemesis should already be in the vicinity of the pod.


"Be on alert. Those Maximal scum Rattrap, Cheetor and Wintersong are heading your way," he transmitted on a private channel to Nemesis.

"At least something on the hunk of junk worked."

Nemesis smiled, trying to make it as genuine as possible. If she could lure the new arrival away prior to any other Maximals arriving, that would certainly be a quicker and better option. Not quite as much fun, perhaps, but judging by Megatron's transmission just now she was short on time.

"I'll admit, I'm amazed at how quickly help came. I was just talking to Optimus Primal about help being on the way just a few kilks ago."

So he already contacted Optimus. In other words this particular recruit was already aware of his Maximal heritage. That complicated matters a little bit but it was certainly nothing the likes of Tarantulas couldn't fix with some reprogramming.. and knowing the spider she was sure some torture would be involved. It was still too soon to tell just how devoted this guy was to the Maximals.

"I happened to be in the area," Nemesis explained, keeping up the sweet approach. She then transformed to her robot form as well, glancing at her transmetal avian wings as she did. "I often patrol this region and your pod's emergency signal caught my attention."

The explanation seemed plausible enough.

He reached out his hand for a formal introduction. The female hesitated for but a moment before returning the gesture.

"And seeming as I informally introduced myself, what is your name my feathered friend?"

Of course the male would ask. Well.. Given her name didn't exactly match those generally used by Maximals, Nemesis thought quickly to come up with a more Maximal sounding name. Her choice fell on the female who had been rarely seen due to her tendency of travelling this planet. They were both given avian forms, but other than that they really couldn't be more different.

"My name is AirRazor," she told him while shaking his hand. "If you follow me, I'll take you back to base so that you may meet the others."

Meanwhile..

"Grab your equipment and take it to the laboratory immediately. I'll join you as soon as I can."

Aurora didn't have to be asked twice. As much as she wanted to see the confrontation between Optimus and Zodiac take place, she didn't really want to be there in case things turned gory when Ironclaw took notice of their new guest. And she was well aware that nothing and nobody could persuade Ironclaw to let up if he had his mind set on something.

"Okay, I'll get everything stored away safely," she told the larger mech as she started gathering her stuff up and bringing it upstairs. Everyone else seemed too preoccupied to take much notice anyway. She actually had to make a couple of trips to get all her stuff to the lab, but she eventually managed. She then proceeded to put everything back in place and wait.

It sounds like someone or something took a hold of you.

Zodiac didn't respond to her musings about what would have caused him to act out the way he did. It still felt a bit surreal to him. He remembered it, sort of, but more like it had been a dream. The memories were blurry at best, like he hadn't really been there to experience them but rather had seen everything happen through someone else. It was an unique yet not entirely unfamiliar experience that held a certain unwanted familiarity to it. He had a slight suspicion it was related to his experiences with the Vok but there was no proof of such. Thus far the Vok hadn't done anything to reveal they were aware of the signal that had shot off into space. And if they had indeed targeted him, that made no sense either. He was not in any shape to fight on their behalf. As things were, he could barely even stand on his feet!

I know you experienced some pain, but do you remember anything unusual? A presence? Compulsion? Anything?

I heard whispers, he told her after struggling to remember more clearly, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

The last part was a bit of a lie. He had recognized the whispers as being similar if not identical to the communication used by the Vok. But he really didn't wish to discuss it, not with her, not with any of them. Yes, she knew of his nanomachines originating from Vok technology. But she was still unaware of the rest of it. And he wanted to keep it that way.

I'm sorry. I don't make it a habit to go back on my word. You know that isn't true. When you attacked, it happened so suddenly. No one knew what to think of it, and I knew that... you wouldn't have attacked us like that. Not in the state you were in. I had to act fast, especially at how close to the Axalon we were. If the others had jumped in before whatever had gripped you faded, it could have been disastrous for you. I'm disgusted with my action, but by reconnecting our link, I found out the truth. The truth that you weren't attacking us by your own will.

Maybe he did? Perhaps some part of his subconsciousness had caused him to attack those that he perceived as his enemies due to some desperate desire to remain free. Zodiac had spent so much of his life in captivity, it really wasn't something he cared to repeat again.

So why not release the link now? We both know Primal isn't going to physically let me go so I'll pose no further threat to the Maximals.


He wished he knew how the connection had broken the first time so that he could force it to do the same again. But he had not been awake for it.

I won't excuse what I did, and I'm sorry, after what has just happened, it might be best if I keep the link open. If that happens again, maybe I can figure out what or who triggered such an involuntary action.

The renegade got his response and he sighed inwardly at her decision to keep the connection active. Protesting further would be a mute point.

Landslide spoke up next, drawing the former shapeshifter's attention.

If yer keeping that thing here, I'm turnin off the Axalon's wireless network. Outside of communications, the computers will be cut off from radio signals. We can't risk having him take over Sentinel again.

Zodiac's optics followed the giant beetle's movements, finding a certain amusement in the overly cautious nature of the insect. Albeit it was true the renegade had gained control over Sentinel before, the process had been far more complicated than merely hacking using the wireless network. Even if such a feat could be accomplished, which he honestly doubted, it would require a lot of hacking skills, equipment, and time to boot. When Zodiac had done it before, he had come prepared by bringing the trojan horse program on a chip so that he could easily, quickly, and undetectable upload it to the mainframe. Of course the Maximals may not have realized exactly what he did.

The voice in his head returned after a brief pause.

You attacked Rhinox and Aurora when you could have hid or ran away if you didn't want to be caught. After all, they were at that site to study, not actively searching for you. They responded accordingly, knowing that Optimus would have wanted you brought back here, so he can get some answers that he thought were lost when we thought you died back at the volcano. Some part of me wants Optimus to at least get that much, and Zodiac, I know you don't think you want it, but you need our help. And we are willing. This isn't just about my feelings and relationship with Optimus. I admit some part of me wishes he doesn't get involved with such info, but there is more. My power is being used by people who don't understand it. They don't understand what they are dealing with. They think they can manipulate and control with their limited views of science masked by their own ignorance or pleasures, benign or malicious. I gave that power to them in a moment of weakness and arrogance. I can't allow it to spread anymore than it has, and hurt more people.

His optics narrowed as he looked at her, annoyed by her small tirade of accusations and assumptions. It wasn't as if he'd planned for the Maximals to show up where and when they did, at the alien site while he was investigating it, trying to find a way to get the nanomachines operational again. How had they known to come there in the first place?

I was there first, he told her accusingly. I did what I felt was necessary to try to get the repairs I desperately needed.. That I still do.

Briefly there was silence before he continued.

And I wanted to keep them away from the site, he then grudgingly admitted. A lot of good that did him now. The little fuzor had seemed like a perfectly reasonable target, even in his wounded state. His mistake had come from underestimating how far Rhinox had been willing to go.

The female denied that her feelings for Optimus as involved in any of this. But the male didn't believe her for even an instant. Feelings were responsible for a majority of conflicts, wars, and decisions to act on something. His own emotions had almost enabled him to wipe out the Maximals, had this very same female not foiled his plans. Although he didn't pursue the matter further just yet, the look he sent the female was all-telling of how he felt about it.

It will protect you as well.

That remains to be seen.., he told her in return.

We both know what your contributions were used for. Not that I'm ungrateful. They were able to create technology unheard of in Cybertronian history thanks to the samples they obtained from you, if that is truly what happened. And don't you worry.. I have no intention of sharing that technology. And I likely couldn't even if i wanted to, since only a select few were able to benefit from it.

Another pause.

Believe me. They tried. A majority of the test subjects died horrific deaths when their sparks proved incompatible with the nanomachines.


He briefly shook his head as he looked away from the female now that Primal was addressing him again.

"I hope you don't mind, I didn't bother wasting my time wrapping them,"

"It will be okay, Zodiac."

Primal's words were firm, determined, and in a sense unforgiving. He seemed much more secure of himself and his role than Zodiac remembered from when he knew Nexus' protege. They had gone down very different paths since then. The female's voice was quite the opposite, daring to hope and offering a chance at forgiveness. How could this woman possibly have been Vok? She acted nothing like them. But why would she lie about something that could so easily get her imprisoned, experimented on, or even killed? The hybrid was puzzled.

He had caught the vague smile on Optimus' face prior to the Maximal commander seeing the injuries on his crew. Damages done by the renegade, even if he had not been in control at the time. Of course the rhinoceros had more than retaliated.

Zodiac attempted to return the slight smile, but it certainly didn't look genuine and probably seemed more like a grimace than a smile. And he dropped the attempt altogether when Ironclaw suddenly got up and approached them. The renegade tensed, remembering all too clearly how the representative of the Council had ripped Dirge's spark straight out of its chamber. As the vivid memory of watching the spark get extinguished in Ironclaw's hand played through his mind, his fists inadvertently moved in front of his own chest as if he'd stand a chance to defend himself.

It will be okay, Zodiac.


Whitegrazer's words replayed in his mind and for the first time, he really did want to believe her. He desperately wanted to. Because despite everything that happened and all that he had lost, Zodiac still had no desire to die. And certainly not like this, as a pathetic shell of his former self, about to have his spark ripped out and crushed. He took a slight step back, almost losing his balance again as he did.

Ironclaw stopped in front of him, staring at him quite dispassionately for a brief moment. Zodiac didn't return his gaze, didn't want to see. None of the others seemed able or even willing to interfere.

So this was it then? After everything he'd been through, all that he had seen and done.. and he would die like this.

But the blow to his chest, the one with enough force to rip through his armor and tear through his internal mechanics, didn't come. Instead Ironclaw briefly turned to Optimus before walking away. Zodiac's mouth dropped ever so slightly open in surprise before he quickly closed it again after drawing a breath. His gaze lowering to the floor, his tense muscles slowly relaxing.

"If you value your life, Zodiac, you will cooperate because Ironclaw won't be deterred by my words again,"

The renegade nodded without lifting his gaze, hanging his head low in quiet submission.

"Yes sir," he eventually responded, a lot more meekly than before, never having expected he'd address Primal by such a title. It felt a bit humiliating to say it, but it had dawned on him that his life truly was in Primal's hands. And he was certainly in no shape to object to it right now.

"Hands,"

The renegade offered no protests, instead he simply held up his hands in front of him and waited patiently while Optimus placed the cuffs around his wrists and tightened them. As the Maximal let go of his arms, the hybrid briefly tugged at the cuffs, more so because they were uncomfortably tight than anything else. He stopped the moment Rhinox placed his hand around his arm.

It would appear that Optimus wasn't done yet, however, since he immediately followed up by placing the other bonds around Zodiac's ankles. While doing so he pushed the makeshift immobilizer on the renegade's leg up a bit, causing his captive to shift his weight slightly more onto his other leg. But at no point did he make any threatening moves. The shackles keeping his legs together had a little more give to them, enough to let him at least shuffle along the floor if not make any make any speedy movements.

As Primal stood up again, the hybrid finally raised his gaze to meet the other male's. It was very much so a different facial expression than the cocky attitude that he had displayed a few weeks prior, in fact for the first time the former shapeshifter looked truly defeated. He was also exhausted, wounded, and a little frightened. Even if he'd never admit to the last point.

"Here's what I can offer you, Zodiac, that will help prolong your existence on this planet,"

"I will allow you to be repaired in one of my CR chambers, and in exchange you will answer my questions,"

Zodiac nodded, very much so agreeable to anything that did not result in him getting killed. Not now. Not like this.

"As you wish, I'll give you any information you want," he said when the Maximal was done laying out his terms. Of course this newfound compliance was likely to disappear as soon as he was repaired and more comfortable again. He briefly glanced in Whitegrazer's direction as Optimus grabbed hold of his upper arms and tugged him along, his wounded leg causing him to limp with each small step allowed by his shackled legs. Oh how he hated the sound they made as he tried to follow Primal's pace, as if adding insult to his present predicament. To further add to his walk of shame, his wings were hanging limply down and dragging behind him. One of them was visibly broken at a joint, both bore burn marks from his time near the lava, and he honestly both looked and felt like a shadow of his old self.

Primal lead him to a nearby CR chamber and Zodiac somewhat grudgingly entered it. He had never actually been in one before, never having needed one given his unique abilities, so the prospect was an evil necessity unfortunately. Once inside he let himself slide down to the floor, moving his cuffed hands up to his face to rest his forehead against them. The chamber doors then closed, sealing him inside, leaving him alone to rest if at least for a short while.

As the scanners started up so the repairs could begin, it was possible to see Zodiac's unique internal structures on the monitor on the chamber. His vitals remained stable, but the scans revealed the dormant nanomachines within and all the pathways they used to move around his body when they were active. The technology was unknown to the chamber so it focused its attention on the external injuries and the recently dislocated knee, anatomical structures it recognized.

Aurora's ears perked up as Ironclaw passed by on his way to the bridge. She had been watching the scene unfold in the hangar by tapping into the surveillance system so she knew about how Ironclaw had decided to spare his target. But what she wasn't sure about was why he did that.

Curious to find out, she rushed out of the lab to follow him.

"Ironclaw, wait up!," she called after him, surprised by how quickly the larger Maximal was able to move. She finally caught up with him inside the bridge. Panting slightly from having been running, she approached Ironclaw slowly.

"What happened?," she asked in her sweetly voice.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw felt much more at ease when he reached the bridge, no one was there especially the shapeshifter. The decision was made now, there was no turning back and he would have to face the music at some point. There would have to be a long conversation between him and Optimus. That was if they ever left this hostile planet. He badger stood behind one of the seats and placed his hands upon the head rest. He sighed heavily and squeezed... His mind had been put through a lot recently. He was worried he couldn't function as efficiently as he had done before. While he was worrying he heard Aurora call after him.

By the time he turned around she was there stood in front of him. With those big optics and sweet demeanour. Despite he wouldn't coddle her or pretend that there was an endless amount of hope they could rely on. The badger was going to dismiss her but he stopped and looked at her closely. Against his better judgement he approached the little one. He looked down at her and placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head to the side in order to see her damage. He was gentle... Enough. "I'm not sure" he responded to her question then turned away. For the first time he really couldn't look someone in the optics and just hold the room. He knew that some vile sentemental moment had happened between which would never of come to pass under normal circumstances. His thoughts betrayed him, again. Unable to take action he simple stood there facing away from her.

[una]

((OOC: I'm not happy with my post, but hopefully, I didn't miss anything. Seem to be doing that lately. I really got to learn to write faster. ))

"I don't know," he answered her truthfully, "But we'll find out soon enough."

Blackarachnia wondered if those Maximals find anything besides a hiding former shapeshifter...

But it seemed like the Maximals were too busy trying to figure out what caused Zodiac to attack them. Pity. She wondered if she should take the time to go to that site herself. though, she doubt the Maximal would just allow her to go and inspect that site for herself. They would be too busy with this whole business between Optimus and Zodiac, so maybe she could slip off while they were preoccupied? Or she could offer herself to go and give backup for the others going to rescue their pod? Hmmm.... She smirked... inwardly, of course. As she walked, she had noticed the younger Maximal, Aurora, was giving her a suspicious glance. Wary of her intentions. Part of Blackarachnia enjoyed it a bit. Made it seem like she was still a threat to them, but the fact it came from the little... wesesal? Wasn't that much of a comfort. She avoided and ignored the little one that Maximals seem to be overprotective towards because of two reasons: one was if she harmed her, she knew they would be circling around her and make her fee the full force of those machineguns again or worse the rat' trigger-happy finger, and the second reason was... she couldn't stand.... kids or.... anything adorable.

She went back to where she was originally, studying the alien drawings and symbols, as the others went to the hangar bay. As she looked upon the symbols again, the one with the half-robotic half-skull face, why did it looked familiar?

I heard whispers, he told her after struggling to remember more clearly, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Whispers? Whitegrazer asked. Whispers... She was beginning to understand what was going on. Zodiac's second statement, though. Because of the link, she had a better chance in gauging Zodiac's emotional and mental state., and with that, she knew Zodiac was withholding something from her. Though, she didn't push. She already knew. I remember a time... when they used to talk to me.

That was... until they became silent. Abandoning her, leaving her on Cybertron. She remembered her screaming at them to talk to her, wondering why they cut her off. Waste of breath. Never in her life had she been so alone and vulnerable, especially after losing most of her abilities.

So why not release the link now? We both know Primal isn't going to physically let me go so I'll pose no further threat to the Maximals.

She couldn't as she explained to him. She couldn't allow what happened to happen again without anyone knowing. Though Zodiac had a point about him being in bonds now. There were factors that needed to be considered.

I was there first, he told her accusingly. I did what I felt was necessary to try to get the repairs I desperately needed.. That I still do.

So you were there to try and find some information, something that would help you regain your powers? She already made the guess of that fact. She sympathized with Zodiac's situation, but he was going to learn the same hard fact that she had. They won't allow their technology to help you. Believe me, I tried when I first and desperately tried to regain mine own abilities. Nothing worked. I understand the frustration. But you are going to learn the same lesson I did.

And I wanted to keep them away from the site,

Whitegrazer gave a small sigh with a smile. My fault. I'm the one who sent Rhinox and Aurora there in the first place. Zodiac would probably wonder how she knew where to sent Rhinox and Aurora. She wondered if Zodiac was aware of another presence during their link. A shadow, observing, listening. TyCross was always watching, always lstening. He might not make his presence known, but she knew he was there.

That remains to be seen.., he told her in return. We both know what your contributions were used for. Not that I'm ungrateful. They were able to create technology unheard of in Cybertronian history thanks to the samples they obtained from you, if that is truly what happened. And don't you worry.. I have no intention of sharing that technology. And I likely couldn't even if i wanted to, since only a select few were able to benefit from it.

How many Cybertronians died because of these experiments? Because someone thought they could manipulate and control powers they knew nothing about. Thought they knew they could duplicate it. One would have been too many, but she knew it wasn't just one person who died. There were many, and probably many more. All because she chose to come here. All because she thought she could help lead a species, whose Great War had devastated countless worlds including the ones they were currently, to more... peaceful solution. So arrogant.

Believe me. They tried. A majority of the test subjects died horrific deaths when their sparks proved incompatible with the nanomachines.

She shook her head at such madness. The madness she created.

Maybe everyone would have done better... if she hadn't interfered.

Though, she was glad that Zodiac was willingly to keep quite about such information. Except now... she was beginning to change her mind. As she watched Zodiac being taken away to the CR chamber, which she was glad he chose to do this peacefully and took the offer, saw the glance he gave her as they were taking him to the CR Chamber, she hoped Zodiac wouldn;t have any more episodes from those.... whispers. Though, what triggered them seemed to have escaped her. She must go to the bridge and see for herself.

Aurora had already went to put the equipment away. She trusted Rhinox and Aurora, so she wasn't worried now. Maybe she should trust Optimus.... She sighed to herself. The conversation would have to be spoke in the link.

I plan to

She stared at the CR Chamber Zodiac was placed in, thinking about what she told Zodiac. Placed her hand on it before she turned to Optimus, asking softly. "Did...anything happen while Rhinox, Aurora, and I were gone?" Maybe nothing did, but she wanted to know.

As she gazed at Optimus, her mind and heart began to tell her different things. Her mind was against telling him and her heart was shouting at her to tell him. Rhinox and Aurora were adamant about it. Especially Rhinox, and Rhinox was Optimus' friend, who knew him longer than she did. She must trust her comrades. And Optimus. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. She just didn't trust herself. She had watched Optimus during the moments when they arrived. He seemed to determined to get answers, part of her still wondered how, but from what she felt from the link, he was taking this better than he would have two weeks ago. None of those whispers entered his mind. She was proud... Proud that Optimus was making progress. Not to mention, no doubt, Optimus must have talk to Ironclaw and was able to reason with him, despite the fact she knew Ironclaw must be feeling conflicted and confused. It gave her hope, and might have been the reassurance she needed. Even though, she was... still uncertain.

"Optimus..." she hesitated for a second. No, no, no secrets. No lies. It would take some time for Zodiac to be ready to talk. "May I speak with you in private?"

[Wintersong]

WIntersong's ears flicked slightly when hearing the second sonic boom shortly after the first, which no doubt had been Cheetor and now possibly the Transmetal wasp. That wasn't a good sign and she deep down hoped Cheetor could evade the bug long enough for them to catch up. "Hey look at the bright side, we'll have your back and give you a chance to sneak in to set off some demos on the Preds." Wintersong said with a wink towards the rat, figuring a little banter might help them remain a little at ease and not become too worried.

And it was actually a welcoming distraction. The Transmetal tigress didn't really want her mind to linger on talks of earlier, especially when it came to the bager. She still cared deeply for Ironclaw, despite a part of her spark saying she shouldn't, especially not after hearing everything but she couldn't entirely bring herself to hate nor want to rid of the badger for the lies. But it did bring quite a few questions to mind, something her processor had been occasionally going back and forth to until the events of today which seemed like were not going to end any time soon. "But in all seriousness Rattrap, do you think this newly awakened bot is on our side?" Wintersong asked, wondering what Rattrap's thoughts were.

Spineback in the meantime watched as Waspinator took off, vaguely wondering if the bug would get there in one piece since he had the tendency to be blasted to pieces and reassembled many, many times, even with his stronger Transmetal form. She almost wondered if he needed a medical berth designated only for him since there where he seemed to end up more so than any others, even Terrorsaur himself.

Shaking her head at such thoughts Spineback focused on her pace, knowing her form was far slower than most others, especially since she had no vehicle form anymore since coming there and no benefits of the Transmetal bodies. Though she briefly wondered if this awakened protoform truly was worth the risk, especially from the sounds of the transmission Nemesis patched in. The bot sounded somewhat old yet nice, sickeningly so. Or they were naive to what was truly going on right now which could maybe work to their advantage. The femme couldn't help giving a toothy grin at the prospect of stealing a Maximal from under their enemies and bolstering their ranks, a thought that urged her to press her larger form to go at full speed.

Only problem was, Spineback's form wasn't built for speed on land but in water it might have been a much different story.

----------

It would only be a matter of time before he reached the location, to get the newly awakened protoform in their grasp if Nemesis hadn't already. Terrorsaur was excited at the prospect of adding more to their ranks of course, another recruit would b useful in getting rid of the annoying Maximals once and for all, but that was hardly why he was excited. No, the Transmetal pterodactyl was giddy to be doing something other than sitting around base, dealing with the blindly loyal Deathroll or having Megatron breathing down his neck waiting for his next scheme to come up in his attempts to usurp Megatron's throne.

Maybe with this recruit he probably could gain an ally, but normally most of the crew were loyal to Megatron to a fault, such as the processor damaged devoted Inferno behind him, or had their own agendas much like himself. So, Terrorsaur had become cautious and agonizingly being patient for a new opportunity, feigning a more agreeable attitude towards his leader. "Nearly there." Terrorsaur said mainly to himself, grinning manically as he could feel that he was also closer to making some unfortunate Maximal his next victim.

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

Hearing names of the expected help Tigerhawk couldn't help being somewhat confused, even more so when Optimus warned him of Predacons lurking. Did this mean there was conflict where he had previously expected none? If this were the case, Tigerhawk was realizing his mistake he had made. Optimus had received his transmission from most likely the Axalon which meant the Predacons most likely did as well, making the fuzor's spark sink at his rookie move and leading him to not immediately answer the Transmetal gorilla.

He had let his guard down too soon without assuming something, even being more cautious than before. It made him a little weary on the inside to think that Airazor as she identified herself as might actually be an enemy instead of a friend! "Pleasure to meet you as well then, Airazor." Tigerhawk said with a smile, for now keeping up his calm and welcoming demeanor. He didn't want to give away the possibility that he was being suspicious of Airazor since it was not a name Optimus had just mentioned, making him wonder if it was by chance she was out here without Primal knowing or she was faking her identity, something he had happen in the past. But her mention of returning to the base seemed to be throwing away his wanting to try and figure out more of the truth.

It seemed he would maybe have to be subtle or trying to be subtle in revealing he knew something was up, his years back in the Police Force and Special Operations beginning to sink in. "Of course, I'm eager to rejoin the others." Tigerhawk admitted before adding, "But wouldn't it be better to wait for your teammates to rendezvous with us first? It seems they aren't aware of you being here at the moment, and Primus only knows what could be lurking out there on this planet. Dangers always seem to be hidden behind the veil of paradise." Tigerhawk indicated, gesturing to the jungle nearby though he was carefully trying to stall, testing her reactions and hopefully find the truth. It may not have been utterly subtle but it was better than not trying.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Okay, I'll get everything stored away safely,"

While Optimus dealt with Zodiac, he had glanced at Aurora as she diligently hurried back and forth with her equipment, getting a quick but closer look at her injuries. She had acquired some serious dents and scratches, and the bent armor around her neck that almost looked like a hand print suggested that someone had tried strangling her or something to that effect. It angered him but he remained calm until he would find out what had transpired out there.

Rhinox had also watched Aurora while he assisted Optimus with Zodiac and the CR chamber that Ironclaw had damaged a little bit. He was just glad that nothing more serious had happened to her even though what did occur would probably continue to give her nightmares despite how she always managed to pull through the unfortunate events that she had been a part of. When she was finished with grabbing her gear, she hadn't returned, nor had Ironclaw, so now was the time to deal with the hybrid. For a moment, his red optics thoughtfully glanced at Whitegrazer.

"Yes sir,"

The former shapeshifter's words didn't seem to startle Primal as odd as they sounded coming out of his mouth. 'Yes, sir?' He doubted he meant them. Zodiac was only cooperating to get the repairs he needed before his body would shut down. But that was fine. Optimus granted him some mercy to show he was capable of it despite how callous Zodiac had been to all of them. Besides, he needed him functioning fairly well for the truth serum when he'd get around to interrogating him.

"As you wish, I'll give you any information you want,"

"I know you will," Optimus told Zodiac defiantly, full of confidence in a colder tone. One would think the leader wouldn't put any trust in to the renegade who enjoyed manipulating and lying to them ever since he had arrived, but he had a trick up his sleeve this time; an advantage over Zodiac. As long as it worked. Zodiac wouldn't have a clue about it, so he'd probably continue with his charade of cooperation. He was well aware that Zodiac wouldn't talk otherwise, and if he did, it could very well just be lies. Placing the reluctant and critically injured dragon into the CR, who seemed a little hesitant about it, Primal watched his vulnerable body lower to the floor, his wrists and ankles cuffed to keep him from getting into trouble, until the door closed and sealed the trouble maker inside. He then turned his attention to the screen with Zodiac's vital signs and information of his repair progress, observing the odder of the readings due to his nanotech. As intriguing as they were, he pressed some commands on the monitor which ordered the computer to save his unique readings so the Maximal could review them later and get a deeper look into his internals and repair processes as well as compare them to the records he once he knew and assisted with back on Cybertron so many years ago. He also applied a limit to his regeneration that would alert Optimus when he was not fully repaired but healed enough. Then he finally turned to Rhinox and Whitegrazer, stepping away from the large chamber while peering at the mare's hand that lingered on it.

"Did...anything happen while Rhinox, Aurora, and I were gone?"

Now that Zodiac was busy and not part of their conversation, the cold demeanor that Primal had just shown suddenly melted back to his warmer, more compassionate self as he was surrounded by his Maximals. He raised a curious brow at the Empath's questions as if she was already aware of the new comer. "Yes," he answered Whitegrazer. "A stasis pods was activated. The protoform identified himself as Tigerhawk, although that name doesn't register with the Axalon's original roster. He established contact with me, but I fear he had opened his communication to all transmissions that could pick it up, which includes the Predacons. I've sent Rattrap's team to retrieve him, and I ordered them to be careful because of my suspicions. It could be nothing... Or it could be something," he further explained. "Before Tigerhawk had made contact, I suffered another head ache. It wasn't as painful as the one earlier this morning, but it was just as familiar."

"Do you think he has something to do with the Vok?" Rhinox inquired.

"It's possible, but I don't know for sure. After all, how could they confiscate one of our own protoforms? Or is it one they could have planted here? He sounded friendly enough, but I certainly hope it isn't a trap." Speaking of traps, he was just about inquire the alien site they were apparently investigating without his knowledge until Whitegrazer spoke up.

"Optimus..." "May I speak with you in private?"

"In a moment," he assured her before looking at the engineer again, visually examining his head trauma with concern. "Rhinox, what happened out there? Why was I not alerted about this new alien site sooner?"

Big Green couldn't help but glance in Whitegrazer's direction before his optics locked with their leader's again. Not accusingly at her, but there might have been a hint of uncertainty, followed by more of a reminder to her that she needed to tell Optimus and that he was giving her the opportunity to do it, which inevitably made him lie a tiny bit to his oldest and dearest friend by purposely leaving out certain facts and specifics. With his cut brow, the dry blood under his nose and missing tooth, he answered carefully, "Megatron's jamming towers out in that region prohibited us to inform you about the site, which was suggested to us to try out Aurora's scanning device. While we were setting up, Zodiac had appeared taking us unaware and took Aurora hostage, demanding that we return here and find a way to reactivate his nanobots. I refused, of course, and we had a scuffle which ended briefly by me knocking his lights out but not before he had managed to leave a mark around her neck. On our way back to the base, something happened to Zodiac that suddenly gave him the strength and agility to knock Aurora off of her feet and attack me. We wrestled, this being the result," he motioned to his aching face and throbbing arm, "and him almost losing part of his leg. It was odd, Optimus, because he seemed emotionless, almost detached from himself. For all of the perfect impersonations he was once able to do, this actually appeared uncharacteristic of him, especially with his weakened and wounded body. Physically, he couldn't have had the energy to take me on, but he did and he put up a good fight. We were concerned it might happen again, but with those energy bonds you put on him, he should be pretty well restrained."

Primal grew thoughtful, a little worried about this news and wondered if he should assign Ironclaw to guard the renegade. But since Zodiac could barely walk and couldn't fly, for the mean time he should be fine. "Could him acting out like that be some how related to Tigerhawk's appearance or perhaps the new site? If all of these recent events today involve the Vok, we may be facing more than mere coincidences."

That was an interesting thought, but Rhinox wouldn't know too much about any such relations working together like that, if, in fact, they were all tied to one another. Who would probably know about such things? Whitegrazer. But the Chief Medical Officer refrained himself from looking in her direction and simply shrugged lightly.

"Did you gather any data from Aurora's device?"

"We...," he hesitated, choosing his words wisely, "have yet to review any data we may have acquired."

"Alright. Get on that as soon you can. The more we find out about that the Vok, the better prepared we can be." Primal started to turn to Whitegrazer before Rhinox spoke up again, stopping him and returning his gaze to the engineer.

"I also have something else to discuss with you, Optimus, when we have the time to sit down. About why we might be here in the first place," he hinted at their previous discussions.

The leader nodded and excused his friend, who glanced at both of them before he turned and exited the hangar, heading for the lab.

Glancing at the CR and then to Landslide's back across the room at his work bench, Optimus placed his hand on Whitegrazer's lower back and gently pushed her forward as a way to tell her to walk with him and his faint limp out of the hangar and toward his quarters for privacy and security. "I should see to Ironclaw and make sure he's alright," he told her on their way down the corridors, just thinking out loud. "It couldn't have been easy for him to tarnish the oath he took, not knowing what punishments he may very well be dealt with if we ever return to Cybertron. Although, it was my doing, and I would take the responsibility of him disobeying the High Council."

"Rattrap, status report," the TransMetal gorilla asked for over his comm. link.

"Hey, fearless leader, yer comin' in a bit clearer now since I reprogrammed and sabotaged some of dose towers," the rodent smirked as he drove along, talking loud enough over his engine for the monkey to hear. "Uh, no word yet. I sent Cheetor ahead ta Tigerhawk's location while me an' Winter were dealin' with Spineback and Waspinator. He should be dere by now. We're in pursuit."

"Copy. Keep me posted."

"You got it, big guy," the rat responded and ended the transmission.

Stepping into his quarters, the door closed behind them and Primal turned around to face Whitegrazer while all of his drawings and etchings of symbols and pictographs surrounded them on the walls and the floor. "Are you alright, Whitegrazer?" He had been feeling a great deal of uncertainty from her all morning. "What is it you wanted to discuss?"

Reaching the lab, Rhinox spotted Aurora's equipment that she had kept together in an area of the room but he didn't see her. Maybe she had gone to the bridge or went to look for the badger. So he walked over to her stuff and started hooking things up to upload the information and review it, hoping Whitegrazer was going to be honest with Optimus.

(( OOC: I hope I didn't move too quickly for you, una. ))

-----

"Hey look at the bright side, we'll have your back and give you a chance to sneak in to set off some demos on the Preds."

Rattrap's little, silver ears had momentarily tilted forward upon hearing those sonic booms as well, but he didn't worry too much. He could only go so fast on the ground in his vehicle mode, but he hoped Cheetor would arrive there before the Predacons. "Well, you know how I love snoopin' around, but dat still ain't enough incentive ta make me feel better," he taunted the tigress.

"But in all seriousness Rattrap, do you think this newly awakened bot is on our side?"

"I hope so. With a name like 'Tigerhawk', he sounds like he might be a flier, and we can always use more fliers. And more crew members. So let's hope he is." He glanced over at Wintersong with his green eyes before looking forward and seeing the jungle on the horizon.

(( OOC: That's all the time I have for now. ))

[NaitoKage]

(Just to note if I'm too slow, it's because I've been busy building the addition for my garage. Grading the soil and repairing the foundation has taken alot of my time even with using a loader. Should go a little easier next week when the foundation is poured. Well.. normally for me putting up walls is alot easier then digging and screwing around with concrete. )

"We've installed precautions and better defenses to prevent hackers from infiltrating Sentinel's programming since then, but go ahead, Landslide,"

Even so, Landslide didn't trust these new defenses. Turning off the wireless signals from Sentinel, Landslide turned and observed as Zodiac was cuffed and lead off to a CR chamber.

The maximal beetle then resumed researching information on modern engine design.

_______________________________________

"Excellent work, Umbra!," "I'm looking forward to finding what information you can get from our friend. Keep me updated on any changes,"

Umbra gave a polite bow to Megatron, then grabbed Tarantulas, dragging him away, Tarantulas's optics widening looking at Umbra, too weak and helpless to do anything at the moment.

_______________________________

As Cheetor flew, he noticed a shine in his peripheral vision. Tilting his head back, Cheetor saw Waspinator in the distance starting to catch up Don't you know when to quit?! Cheetor said, though Waspinator was too far away to hear. Cheetor then made an evasive manuver, flying down as Waspinator started to open fire on him.
Waspinator started to follow Cheetor's movements, getting closer as Cheetor had to slow down to evade Waspinator's fire. As Waspinator flew in, Cheetor transformed in mid air drawing and swinging his tail whip with the hooked end slamming into Waspinator's wing like a war pick as waspinator passed him by.
Waspinator let out a scream as his wing section tore apart, then started to spiral out of control, transforming to robot mode he fluttered his broken wings, but to no avail he soon slammed into the side of a mountain leaving a hole in the shape of his body.

Still falling in the air, Cheetor transformed to his beast mode and popped out his cyber thrust wings, flying towards Tigerhawk's location, the sound of his jets heard coming closer to Tigerhawk and Nemesis's location. Cheetor then tilted his head noticing Terrorsaur in the distance flying in at high speed Not again.. I might have to ask Rhinox about a flight upgrade.. Cheetor muttered to himself, as fighting in the sky was rather difficult for the transmetal cat.

[Phoenix]

Aurora stopped and waited as Ironclaw took notice of her and eventually approached her. She didn't move as he took her chin and moved her head a bit for her, other than wincing slightly as the badger stretched her neck a bit to get a closer look at the many dents and cuts given to her by the former shapeshifter. As long as she didn't turn her head too much, she really didn't notice the damages much.

"I'm not sure"

Ironclaw let her go and turned away. His voice sounded distant, a bit conflicted perhaps, a fact that only strengthened Aurora's resolve. It had dawned on her that she didn't know Ironclaw very well, not nearly as intimately as Wintersong did, and that was okay. The fuzor was curious, however, as was her nature. That curiosity had led her to both great achievements and to seemingly endless amounts of trouble. But despite the badger's somewhat different approaches to things, he was still a Maximal. And he had saved her life, even if she might not have agreed with his methods at the time.

"Perhaps Maximal nature runs deeper than many of us believed?," she suggested, smiling just a tad wider than before. Although Ironclaw hadn't exactly been known for showing mercy in the past, she wondered if Optimus' leadership was in a sense influencing him.

"Look, Ironclaw, it really doesn't matter why you chose to spare him. It doesn't even matter if he's worth showing mercy to.. What does matter is that you've just proved to Optimus and to the rest of us that despite whatever mission you were given when you came here, you are still one of us. A Maximal. Honoring Optimus' request and sparing someone like Zodiac "


She pondered going further, but she didn't really know much about the High Council that Ironclaw had shown such devotion to. After all she'd never been to Cybertron so she had never gotten to see the Council's actions affecting her comrades' home planet. And she didn't want to accidentally offend Ironclaw by saying the wrong thing..

"Pleasure to meet you as well then, Airazor."

Nemesis smiled, doing her best to keep the smile authentic despite how badly a part of her just wanted to knock this fellow out and drag him back to the Darksyde. But Tigerhawk was a rather sizable Maximal so she would rather do it the simple way if she could. Hopefully the other Predacons would catch up soon. Of course chances were high that the Maximals would arrive first, so first of all she needed to lure the soon-to-be newest Predacon recruit away from here. Far enough away that the Maximals couldn't find him.

Unfortunately this Maximal was in no hurry to depart this place. And even though they were high in the air, they were still very much so out in the open. Was he stalling?

"Of course, I'm eager to rejoin the others." Tigerhawk admitted before adding, "But wouldn't it be better to wait for your teammates to rendezvous with us first? It seems they aren't aware of you being here at the moment, and Primus only knows what could be lurking out there on this planet. Dangers always seem to be hidden behind the veil of paradise."

He was. And his concerns was certainly not unwarranted. However she really didn't have time to address them at length right now.

"You're right," she said, "This beautiful world does harbor many unseen dangers. And some of them may very well be on their way right now."

She pointed to an area in the distance, in reality far away from the direction the Maximals would have to be coming from if they were travelling from the jamming towers as she had been told.

"Rattrap, Cheetor and Wintersong are waiting for us in that direction. If you are an as capable flyer as I believe you to be, we can meet up with them in only a few nanoclicks."

As soon as the new Maximal agreed to come with, she'd message the approaching Predacons to intercept at that location.

Zodiac sat perfectly still in the CR chamber, resting his forehead against his cuffed arms while the machine worked tirelessly on repairing his injuries. The sensation was strange to say the least given that this was the first time he'd actually been inside one of these chambers. There had simply been no need for it when he was able to make repairs far more quickly and efficiently himself than the technology allowed the machine to do. As much of a technological breakthrough it had been when the first CR chambers had been developed, they weren't nearly as flawless as his own nanomachines were. Indeed, Optimus still had a noticeable limp of one leg and a scar on his face that the machine hadn't been able to repair. So the renegade wasn't quite sure what to expect from this. But it certainly was better than the alternative.

As he sat there, wishing the machine would at least sever his restraints while making repairs to his mangled knee and multiple other injuries he had sustained from the battle a couple weeks prior to those he got today while fighting with the Maximal, he soon discovered the chamber was perfectly capable of making the repairs he needed without freeing him in the process.

Oh well.. At least he was starting to feel a bit better, stronger, more like himself as the machine worked to reconnect wires and improving functionality. The process was slow though, much slower than he had been able to heal himself, so he could certainly understand why so many chose to sleep and recharge while the repairs were ongoing. Truthfully he didn't want to do that, however, as he already felt vulnerable and humiliated. After all, he was surrounded by Maximals he had attempted to destroy. And they hated him for it and his deceit. So he didn't exactly trust them not to seek revenge now that he was vulnerable and conveniently in restraints inside a locked CR chamber.

But more importantly.. He didn't want to sleep because of the recurring nightmares he got whenever he allowed himself to rest. Horrific memories of what they had done to him.. and what he had done to others. When he closed his optics he could still hear the screams quite vividly.

No.. He needed to concentrate on coming up with a plan. In not very long Primal was going to come marching in, demanding that the hybrid tell him everything. Despite what Zodiac told the Maximal leader earlier, he certainly had no intention of being honest with his enemy. He may be a captive, but he still had the ability to manipulate. To deceive. To lie.

Whispers?

The female's voice repeated in his mind and Zodiac slowly lowered his cuffed hands as he looked up at the small window in the tank. Nobody there. He was alone, well, aside from the voice in his head that he'd almost come to think of as his conscience in a way. She was unwanted, constantly spoiling his fun with her warnings and attempts to guide him. Yet oddly enough she was starting to feel very familiar in a way.

But the renegade hadn't responded to her before, not with everything that was going on at the time. In fact he wasn't sure he should even answer her now. After all he'd already said too much. She knew what he had been referring to, he was sure of it.

The whispers.. He hadn't heard them for a long time. And back then they hadn't had that effect on him. It was frustrating and perhaps a little frightening to know that even now they could have such influence on him. Yet it had been for such a short time. Why? Had he not been the intended target? Had they merely activated something within him by accident?

They're gone now, he assured her, wondering why he was even bothering to do so. Perhaps it was because he realized the female was now his best option to influence Primal, to persuade him to go easy on him.

So you were there to try and find some information, something that would help you regain your powers? They won't allow their technology to help you. Believe me, I tried when I first and desperately tried to regain mine own abilities. Nothing worked. I understand the frustration. But you are going to learn the same lesson I did.

He smiled ever so slightly at the conviction in her words. She firmly believed what she said to be the truth and perhaps in a way it was.. or at least so the Vok had intended. But thus far the female had failed to ask him how he even knew about these alien sites and how to activate the weapons and machines within. Fortunately.

Desperation forces us to seek out solutions we'd normally never go for, he told her while attempting to bend his partially repaired knee a few times. It still hurt so he quickly stopped.

But you're right. Nothing at that site would have amounted to anything.

He was lying, or at the very least withholding a big part of the truth from her. This site wasn't merely a weapon, not in the sense the other one at the volcano had been. No, this one actually contained great potential to alter the course of history. Or at the least his history. Why should he care what happened to these other Maximals and Predacons.. and her.. when he could potentially regain not only what he lost but achieve much more than that. He needed to get back there, alone, as soon as he was strong enough to finish what he had started there.

Of course he'd have to get himself out of his present predicament first. And to do that he couldn't give up, he mustn't let them break his spirit.. break him.

My fault. I'm the one who sent Rhinox and Aurora there in the first place.

Somehow he wasn't surprised by her reveal. Of course it complicated the situation a great deal now that the Maximals not only knew he was still alive and had captured him, but also were aware of the alien site. Still.. There had to be a way to distract them. And keep the female from learning too much. Perhaps there was a way to deal with both problems at the same time?

So you're to blame for my oh so great day, he told her with a grimace while leaning against the back of the CR chamber. It's all right. I've been on the run for a long time.. Perhaps if I own up to the things I've done, I can start a new path.

He sounded so genuine, so serious, almost remorseful.

"I know you will,"

Optimus' words had sounded far more confident than the former shapeshifter was used to. But his newfound belief in himself and his leadership abilities wouldn't change anything. The future of his Maximals had already been set. But if the renegade wasn't to become part of that inevitable outcome, he needed to get back to the alien site. So he'd play along, tell Primal what he thought he wanted to hear, without giving him the details that could potentially harm the renegade's plans of course. There were overly cautious and worrisome leaders and there were cocky ones without the knowledge and experience to back up their attitude. Both would fail.

Still.. there was something in Primal's voice that made the renegade hesitate a bit. As if he, usually the master planner and manipulator, didn't have all the information. Was Primal merely trying to beat him at his own game? Or was there an actual reason behind his newfound confidence?

[una]

((OOC: Whitegrazer's for now. BA will come up shortly with some..... shocking developments. Not telling!))

They're gone now,

Whitegrazer simply nodded. I will see if I could find what triggered the involuntary action. She could feel Zodiac's emotions during the time he entered inside the CR Chamber. She still felt the vulnerability and frustration of being surrounding by people who could kill him if they wished, which she tried to reassure the former shapeshifter. Ironclaw, I believe, has been reasoned with. You saw him. He could have, but he didn't attack you. And Ironclaw isn't, wasn't the type to care with Optimus and the rest of us felt.

Desperation forces us to seek out solutions we'd normally never go for,

But you're right. Nothing at that site would have amounted to anything.

She sensed Zodiac was holding something back. Something is at that site. Something.... big. Powerful. Devastating. I had hoped Rhinox, Aurora, and I would have found something, but if it is something type of weapon, I don't think the Vok would make it so easy to find.

Ever since TyCross gave her those coordinates, some part of her felt unease. Restless. Like she was waiting for something, and yet, she had no idea what or who she was waiting for. And TyCross, like usual, wasn't talking.

So you're to blame for my oh so great day, he told her with a grimace while leaning against the back of the CR chamber. It's all right. I've been on the run for a long time.. Perhaps if I own up to the things I've done, I can start a new path.

Whitegrazer smiled through the link, expressing warmth and understanding towards Zodiac. There was something sincere in his words, and she wanted to reassured the former shapeshifter.

I had to the do the same thing, and it wasn't easy, believe me. I felt the same way you felt when you came here. Vulnerable. Frustrated. Eager to find a way out. Away from those I... held contempt towards. But I realized, after a while, I had made mistakes. Did horrible things. I accepted it. Did my hardest to try and understand why I did what I did, so that I didn't make the same choices. It was difficult, but if you truly want to change, to walk a different path, you will find a way.

"Yes," he answered Whitegrazer. "A stasis pods was activated. The protoform identified himself as Tigerhawk, although that name doesn't register with the Axalon's original roster. He established contact with me, but I fear he had opened his communication to all transmissions that could pick it up, which includes the Predacons. I've sent Rattrap's team to retrieve him, and I ordered them to be careful because of my suspicions. It could be nothing... Or it could be something," he further explained. "Before Tigerhawk had made contact, I suffered another head ache. It wasn't as painful as the one earlier this morning, but it was just as familiar."

"A stasis pod?" Whitegrazer contemplated and spoke quietly, "I wonder if that had something to do with it..."

From what Optimus was implying, the pod seemed to have come from nowhere, and now, all of a sudden, it activated. What made her believe even more that maybe the aliens might have something to do with what happened to Zodiac was the fact that Optimus told her about the headaches. Also, those drawings Rhinox and Aurora discussed back in the medbay. It was like Optimus was getting images, riddles to solve. She placed a gentle hand over Optimus' forehead, caressing down her palm to his cheek.

She wondered. Was a part of her... subconscious trying to tell Optimus something that maybe she forgotten? Still, if it was her, subconsciously or not, she disliked that she inadvertently caused such an annoyance toward him.

"Do you think he has something to do with the Vok?

"It's possible, but I don't know for sure. After all, how could they confiscate one of our own protoforms? Or is it one they could have planted here? He sounded friendly enough, but I certainly hope it isn't a trap."

"When he arrives here, maybe we can ask him. It might be he doesn't know anything." Whitegrazer wondered if Tigerhawk did know anything. He probably was just a innocent person just thrown up towards them... for what? She didn't know.

"In a moment," he assured her before looking at the engineer again, visually examining his head trauma with concern. "Rhinox, what happened out there? Why was I not alerted about this new alien site sooner?"

"Megatron's jamming towers out in that region prohibited us to inform you about the site, which was suggested to us to try out Aurora's scanning device. While we were setting up, Zodiac had appeared taking us unaware and took Aurora hostage, demanding that we return here and find a way to reactivate his nanobots. I refused, of course, and we had a scuffle which ended briefly by me knocking his lights out but not before he had managed to leave a mark around her neck. On our way back to the base, something happened to Zodiac that suddenly gave him the strength and agility to knock Aurora off of her feet and attack me. We wrestled, this being the result," he motioned to his aching face and throbbing arm, "and him almost losing part of his leg. It was odd, Optimus, because he seemed emotionless, almost detached from himself. For all of the perfect impersonations he was once able to do, this actually appeared uncharacteristic of him, especially with his weakened and wounded body. Physically, he couldn't have had the energy to take me on, but he did and he put up a good fight. We were concerned it might happen again, but with those energy bonds you put on him, he should be pretty well restrained."

Whitegrazer realized how much she was putting on Rhinox. Examining the Maximal rhinocerous' injuries once more, making her cringe and hope her cormade gets into a CR Chamber soon. She never meant to have him lie for her. But if he had given her the chance, it might not have been necessary. he appreciated Rhinox's actions, even though she despised herself for forcing Rhinox to lie to someone who had been his friend for a long time. Optimus and Rhinox had this unbreakable bond of trust, and it pained her to have Rhinox take advantage of that for her.

She met Rhinox's uncertain glance with appreciation yet regret over what she forced him to do.

"Could him acting out like that be some how related to Tigerhawk's appearance or perhaps the new site? If all of these recent events today involve the Vok, we may be facing more than mere coincidences."

"Optimus... I'm beginning to think that maybe your headaches and Zodiac's sudden and involuntary attack might have a connection. If this is truly the aliens' doing, I fear...." Whitegrazer didn't know what the Vok planned, but she felt it may be bigger than the Planet Buster. "I fear that maybe the aliens are preparing for something. Maybe those symbols are... trying to tell us something. A warning... or maybe even a key? I don't know, but all I know is... I get the feeling. Like we are all standing on a ticking time bomb, and I don't know what or how or when... but I fear this time, the Vok aren't going to pay us the courtesy and tell us their intent."

Did you gather any data from Aurora's device?"

"We...," he hesitated, choosing his words wisely, "have yet to review any data we may have acquired."

"Alright. Get on that as soon you can. The more we find out about that the Vok, the better prepared we can be."

"Actually," Whitegrazer addressed to both, "That is something, or at least, partly, what I wish to discuss with you, Optimus." It was her way of letting Rhinox know that she planned on telling Optimus everything.

"I also have something else to discuss with you, Optimus, when we have the time to sit down. About why we might be here in the first place,"

Before Rhinox exited, Whitegrazer stepped forward and placed a hand on the bulky Maximal's shoulder. Squeezed it gently with a smile towards him before letting him go.

"I should see to Ironclaw and make sure he's alright," he told her on their way down the corridors, just thinking out loud. "It couldn't have been easy for him to tarnish the oath he took, not knowing what punishments he may very well be dealt with if we ever return to Cybertron. Although, it was my doing, and I would take the responsibility of him disobeying the High Council."

Whitegrazer smiled at Optimus as she walked with the same pace as Optimus towards his quarters, "I'm glad you were able to get through to him. Part of me was worried about how Ironclaw would take Zodiac's survival and being here, but I see that feeling was unwarranted. I understand about how the High Council would feel about this, but I believe we may be able to convince the High Council of our choice to keep Zodiac alive. Ironclaw is one of us. Despite everything that has happened, I hoped to save him any way that I can from the High Council's disapproval."

"Are you alright, Whitegrazer?" "What is it you wanted to discuss?"

Once Whitegrazer stepped inside Optimus' quarters, looking at the drawings, especially at the half-Cybertronian half-Vok face staring at her like mirror reflection, she seemed hesitant. Not knowing how to start. Especially when he asked about how she was feeling. To tell the truth, she didn't know how to answer that.

Still staring at the images, she tilted her head abit, "Some of this symbols... I wonder if there are other sites. If so, I didn't realize how many they had here."

TyCross spoke to me this morning during my meditation. Whitegrazer said inside their link. Optimus might be confused by her talking about two different thing. I know this is awkward, but I wish to keep what I'm telling you through the link. It might be a bit paranoid of me. Hmmm... hopefully, not like Rattrap though. She chuckled a bit, trying to lighten teh mood, but maybe it was just a feeble attempt to help ease herself into this.

He was the one who gave the cooridnates. The coordinate I gave to Rhinox and Aurora. He wanted to show me something. I didn't know what. All he said... was I needed to go there. Alone. But I didn't. I thought.... maybe... Aurora's invention could pick something up. Hopefully, once we review it, it may give us some information.

She was talking around it, but she wanted to do this slowly and gently.

[Wintersong]

Tigerhawk turned his gaze to where Nemesis pointed, realizing he hadn't exactly asked Primal where his troops were coming from either. Perhaps he was assuming too much with this Airazor and allowing some of his old suspicions to creep back in and affect his judgements, which wouldn't have been the first time either. "Well..." He began to answer, about to tell her to lead the way before a sonic boom caught his attention.

Snapping his gaze towards the direction of it, the tiger/hawk fuzor squinted his optics slightly catching the glistening of metal in the distance that indicated someone was heading their way. Whether they were Maximal or Predacon he couldn't tell, but a part of him needed to find out. If this bot was a Predacon they likely would be followed and attacked if they were hostile, something he wanted to avoid. "Seems our journey will have to take a small detour. Whoever made that sonic boom is heading our way swiftly, and without a vehicle mode such as yourself I'd slow us down." Tigerhawk told her as considered his options of having his weapons ready or not but decided to just first seek out who was approaching.

"Wait here if you wish Airazor, but I'd rather be certain this is your comrade or not, and if it is they can come with." Tigerhawk told her as he flapped his wings and flew in the direction Cheetor seemed to be coming from with a part of him actually wanting to get a true confirmation to everything. He had already thrown himself into danger at this rate he was throwing caution to the wind to get down to the truth.

---------

Terrorsaur narrowed his optics as he saw movement in the distance, optic sensors focusing in on the flying Transmetal cheetah who he thought would have been taken care of by now from Waspinator. Yet, here was the flying metal flea bag now, seeming to kick up his boosters into high speeds which made the Transmetal pterodactyl roll his optics with realizing his usual partner was probably slagged by the cat. 'Figures.' Terrosaur thought to himself in irritation, "Always should send the superior flier in to handle a nuisance." He grumbled to himself as he kicked his own afterburners into high gear.

At this rate, the flier cared little if he was about to leave Inferno behind in his wake, they had one Maximal to take care of and soon, the valley jungle beginning to come into view as it was. "SQUAAK! Time to send you back where you belong Maximal!" Terrorsaur crowed, his eyes glowing green before he began firing his eye lasers towards Cheetor in the hopes of knocking the annoying cat from the skies.

In the distance, Spineback could see the jungle getting closer and closer in her sights. And from above she could hear the roar of the engines from the fliers, likely Terrorsaur and Inferno sent to give aid and another one going off to what she could assume to be Cheetor's. But with three engines only sounding it made the warrior-turned-medic pause briefly, trying to listen for another pair of what should have been Waspinator. Hearing nothing of the sort she continued to run, sighing softly at the prospect of yet again having to find the Transmetal wasp and fixing whatever had happened. "Someone keep an optic out for Waspinator, we may have to retrieve him once this is over." Spineback commed to those in the area, including the wasp in the case he might still be awake.

But that was probably hoping for too much at this rate.

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

Seeing the jungle on the horizon, Wintersong couldn't help becoming tense again, mainly in anticipation for trouble. Tigerhawk wasn't entirely the one she was concerned of more than the Predacons who could be there. If there were more Cheetor would be outnumbered as it was with the current Predacons but add one more he would be a sitting duck until they got there which wouldn't be long. But that's all it took to make the difference of remaining unscathed or not. "Guess we're about to find out." She said to him, ears going back slightly as she followed the rat rod.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I'm glad you were able to get through to him. Part of me was worried about how Ironclaw would take Zodiac's survival and being here, but I see that feeling was unwarranted. I understand about how the High Council would feel about this, but I believe we may be able to convince the High Council of our choice to keep Zodiac alive. Ironclaw is one of us. Despite everything that has happened, I hoped to save him any way that I can from the High Council's disapproval."

The maximized gorilla shook his head, and said, "I highly doubt that. I have a feeling their reaction to all of this will be one of heavy consequences, and they will discipline Ironclaw, Zodiac and myself no matter how hard any of us try to persuade them. Having said that, I'm grateful for your help, Whitegrazer, and I will fight to defend my entire crew to spare them anymore hardships and unfair justice. After all, none of this was their fault. They never had a choice participating in this war; a war that was probably intentionally started by...," Primal stopped himself short before he'd regret anything he might say out loud as his voice grew angrier by the end of his little speech.

"A stasis pod?" "I wonder if that had something to do with it..."

To do with what? was what Optimus was going to ask, but when Whitegrazer put her hand to his head, he seemed to automatically lean his forehead into her palm and close his optics. He took in the moment of peace and serenity, absorbing her tranquility and forgetting his question altogether. When her hand traced down the side of his face to his cheek, he opened his optics to gaze into hers and sighed quietly.

"When he arrives here, maybe we can ask him. It might be he doesn't know anything."

The leader nodded in agreement. Whether Tigerhawk knew anything at all, or would even lie about it if he was Vok, they had nothing to lose for just asking. He hoped he'd get word of his retrieval soon without any Predacon interference.

"Optimus... I'm beginning to think that maybe your headaches and Zodiac's sudden and involuntary attack might have a connection. If this is truly the aliens' doing, I fear...." "I fear that maybe the aliens are preparing for something. Maybe those symbols are... trying to tell us something. A warning... or maybe even a key? I don't know, but all I know is... I get the feeling. Like we are all standing on a ticking time bomb, and I don't know what or how or when... but I fear this time, the Vok aren't going to pay us the courtesy and tell us their intent."

The mare's words weren't very comforting, but at least they were honest. Still, he sensed a hint of something that she wasn't telling him. "I agree," Primal said as he broke away from the Empath and limped over to one of the walls with his cave drawings covering it, examining them again, slowly and intensely tracing one with his index finger while he licked the scar over his mouth. "Unfortunately, we don't have the knowledge to decipher these, if in fact they can be helpful to us. Blackarachnia is working on the research with what little data Dinobot was able to download from the alien disk before we returned it to Megatron, but I'm afraid she won't get far, or not far enough, before they return. So, we'll just have to deal with them as we have in the past. Although I'm hoping Aurora's new scanner will be able to detect any alien activity prior to their arrival or at least notify us as quickly as possible when a new site develops so we can be the first on the scene to secure it before the Predacons show up." It wasn't much of a plan but it was better than nothing and being completely unprepared. Could Megatron be learning a lot more from the disk if he was able to decipher any of it? He did not doubt his adversary's intelligence and abilities.

"Actually," "That is something, or at least, partly, what I wish to discuss with you, Optimus." "Some of this symbols... I wonder if there are other sites. If so, I didn't realize how many they had here."

He watched her study another section of the language and moved closer to her to stand beside her. "It could just be some incoherent or insignificant gibberish for all we know. There was so much in my mind that I couldn't get it out fast enough." He shook his head slightly in disappointment or frustration as he crossed his arms over his chest.

TyCross spoke to me this morning during my meditation.

Now Whitegrazer had his attention again as he turned to face her. So, TyCross was still in communication with her. And it sounded as though this was something very important, especially since she was no longer speaking aloud but instead through their bond.

I know this is awkward, but I wish to keep what I'm telling you through the link. It might be a bit paranoid of me. Hmmm... hopefully, not like Rattrap though.

At this point, after everything we've been through, I'll take anything into consideration, Optimus told her. After all, sometimes Rattrap's paranoia pays off. What is it, Whitegrazer?

He was the one who gave the cooridnates. The coordinate I gave to Rhinox and Aurora. He wanted to show me something. I didn't know what. All he said... was I needed to go there. Alone. But I didn't. I thought.... maybe... Aurora's invention could pick something up. Hopefully, once we review it, it may give us some information.

He appeared puzzle by her words in the beginning but later relaxed. How would TyCross know where to go? Was it because of Zodiac or because of the Vok? It couldn't have been a blind guess or a coincidence. Even though you put Aurora and Rhinox in harm's way, I wouldn't have wanted you to go alone in the first place. Why didn't you tell me about these coordinates? he asked her with a little bit of desperation, unable to understand why she hadn't. All of you could have been better prepared, even if you didn't know what you were looking for. Primal wasn't pointing fingers nor was he angry - what was done was done and at least they had returned alive - but he was a little disappointed with her secrecy. Hopefully Aurora's machine will be able to tell us more then, he smiled lightly at her and reached up with his hand to rub her upper arm a couple times as a gesture of comfort. But was this all she wanted to say? Was this what she wanted to discuss in their link rather than speaking out loud about it? It was hardly a surprise. While his optics searched hers, he felt through their connection that there was something more pressing on her mind. Is there something else...? he inquired.

-----

Meanwhile, in the lab, Rhinox recalled the look Whitegrazer had passed on to him and her hand squeezing his shoulder. He took her actions as a way of assuring him that she was going to tell Optimus everything, so now he felt inclined to keeping the data Aurora's device may have acquired at the alien site. Hooking it up to the computer, he immediately began the upload, and while it did its thing, he moved over to another table to get the truth serum ready. He coped with this aching face, the pain slowly subsiding as time went on. Glancing at a shiny wall nearby, he could see the injuries on his face and finally realized why Aurora had looked so horrified after he received them from Zodiac. He was quite a mess. So he took a couple minutes to clean up, wiping off the dry blood under his nose, cleaning up his cut brow and wiping off the dirt and loose paint that was torn off of his face with the scrapes and dents. It was the best he could do for now without doing any official repairs. Then he got right back to work.

-----

"Someone keep an optic out for Waspinator, we may have to retrieve him once this is over."

"YOU will retrieve him!" Inferno corrected Spineback. "You do not have the authority to give me orders, doctor!" Of course, if the ant were to get blown to pieces, then he would wish someone would pick him up and return his body parts to the base for repairs. But Inferno was not one to share any empathy. It simply wasn't in his programming. All he knew was pleasing Megatron, who was his only Queen, and burning every Maximal he came across.

As he flew not too far behind Terrorsaur, he noticed two more opponents inbound in the distance. "Ah, more filthy Maximals wish to meet their fiery deaths! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" he laughed as he pulled out his large gun.

"SQUAAK! Time to send you back where you belong Maximal!"

"Nemesis and Spineback will take care of the newcomer. You and I will deal with these three," Inferno commanded as he veered off of his original flight path, without bothering to hear any objections from his partner who went ahead and engaged Cheetor, while Inferno headed for Rattrap and Wintersong. As he got closer, he started firing at them below. From this distance, his shots wouldn't be very accurate, but they would be enough to distract them and pressure them to slow their speed so they don't interfere with their prize.

"Guess we're about to find out."

"I guess so. You know how I love facin' uncertain death every day," Rattrap commented sarcastically. "Whoa!" he shouted as he suddenly veered left to dodge one of Inferno's blasts that hammered the ground at his two o'clock. Narrowing his green optics as he continued driving, he looked up to see the annoying flying ant. "Great. Dey're probably just tryin' ta slow us down. Keep pushin' forward!" he encouraged the tigress. "We gotta get ta Tigerhawk an' Cheetor!" The rat sped up, keeping his eye on the pyro as he continued to fire more shots down at them.