(ooc: Joint post is too long to post! I'll have to split it in two..)
"How considerate of you,"
Despite everything, Zodiac still maintained that cocky and egotistical attitude, as if nothing so far had bothered him, not even being recaptured and restrained. Optimus was beginning to think that maybe he had been built without a "humility" or "modest" chip. Or perhaps such qualities had even been extracted from him during all of the experiments that had been performed on him. In any case, Primal planned to keep up his overly confident conduct as well. May the best bot win.
"Don't mistake my desire for freedom as ungratefulness,"
The leader responded with a huff through his nose as he purposely exhaled loud enough for Zodiac to hear, almost like a smirk. Then he licked the scar across his mouth. Optimus was a little surprised with the renegade's cooperation so far, unbeknownst to him the deal Whitegrazer had made with Zodiac and where she had gone. He was certain he still had some tricks up his sleeves so Optimus remained diligent and on guard despite his calmer and cooler composure since the last time they were with each other at the snowy volcano.
"It wouldn't have been the first time you underestimated someone," "I figured I had nothing to lose by trying.
"True. But at least I'm a quick learner. After all, I can't afford to make the same mistakes over and over. ...There's too much at stake," he ended more thoughtfully than he had begun.
"I hope your powers of persuasions have evolved a bit from the torture you put me through last time we attempted to have this talk,"
"I'm not proud of what I did to you," Primal admitted with sincerity.
"I do regret it...," he added as they began walking down the corridor toward the brig.
"I was not myself... But I've had a change of spark, because if you can take as much pain as I endured under Megatron's callousness, or as much torture from the nanobot technology that was forced upon you and still find the strength in refusing to talk, then there's no point in resulting to more agony. No, I remembered most of my crew members are scientists, some of the best, and we've taken an entirely different approach to this situation that won't require any inflicted anguish or instruments of brutality at all."
His voice maintained that confident tone but he withheld any smile or smirk that would normally accommodate such an explanation, especially toward the likes of Zodiac. It seemed to be an endless battle of outwitting and outsmarting each other. Is this what it had all come down to? Just the two of them? If Optimus was one of the last ones, if not THE last one, for Zodiac to execute for being involved in his torment and creation, the Maximal Commander and his crew had proven to be quite the road block and adversary to the former shape shifter since no one else had succeeded in stopping him. But it was still mournful to think about Nexus Prime's demise and how Zodiac disguised himself as Primal.
Meanwhile, in the laboratory...
"I'll be there in a nanoclick,"
...Rhinox patiently waited for Aurora's arrival while he prepared the serum.
"Okay, let's do this,"
Glancing at the young Fuzor, Big Green nodded, and said,
"I've already started the upload but the data might require some organizing and compiling to understand what we might have gathered."
Aurora nodded and made her way over to the computer where the data was compiling, showing up as codes on the screen as it did. The fuzor cast a quick glance at it as she started to realize just how massive this file transfer was going to be. Whatever was at that alien site, it was emitting some highly complex signals that would take some time to decipher. Perhaps they'd be better off enlisting some help, someone with intimate knowledge of the aliens and how they operated. Alas Aurora had to admit that she came to a loss as far as the Vok were concerned. They were so unique, so very different, that it was very difficult to wrap her mind around it all. She honestly didn't understand half of the things they were responsible for. Only that they tended to leave a lasting impression in those lives they had touched. Like Optimus.
Her thoughts drifted briefly to the wall in Optimus' chamber, now intricately decorated with symbols none of them could read. Or could they? Whitegrazer shared a past with these beings, so why hadn't she been able to translate at least some of the symbols? Unless, of course, she simply didn't want to.. That those symbols somehow had a dangerous message in them.. something Whitegrazer wanted to spare them all from.
The fuzor unknowingly brushed away the lock of white fur that always seemed to fall down into her face as she pondered this possibility for a moment before returning her attention to Rhinox.
"It doesn't help that we have such limited understanding of the Vok language and culture. But according to these readings, something at that alien site is creating a lot of energy. But it's too early to tell what it is, exactly."
She paused, only to smile briefly, encouragingly, at her larger companion.
"It might be time to upgrade our computer systems soon to better be able to run compilations like this in the future."
Despite of his confident words, Zodiac's emotional state was in a little bit of turmoil. Fortunately he managed to hide it well as he walked, as best as he was able to with his ankles shackled together, only occasionally stumbling a bit before managing to catch himself a few times. At least Primal had the patience to let him walk on his own accord, unlike the trips he'd made with the guards back at the facility. If he didn't have the strength to walk properly after a session, they generally would simply haul him along at their own pace. So at least he wasn't that bad off, granted the situation could have been much better still.
He wondered about the white female, if she would truly go to the alien site like he had told her to.. and like she had promised. It seemed like a foolish idea to trust him that much, but then again.. She had a certain naivety about her that both frustrated him and delighted him at the same time. As things were, however, she seemed like his best option to get out of this predicament.
Then he pondered about the Vok emissary that Whitegrazer had told him was on his way. Was this creature in Maximal disguise truly after him and the items he'd stolen from the Vok? What would the Vok do when or if they found him? Certainly it couldn't be worse than what he'd already experienced.. No, that wasn't true. It could. It could be far worse indeed. There were simply no limits to how far the Vok were willing to go.
Finally he thought about the Maximals and Predacons on this planet who wanted him dead. Megatron would no doubt love to crush his spark if he could, and although Ironclaw seemed to have backed off for now Zodiac was certain that wasn't a permanent response. Rattrap, Landslide, even his former partner Nemesis were less than fond of him and would surely not object to him meeting his end. And of all beings, it was Optimus who stood between all of them and him. The irony of it all wasn't lost on Zodiac.
Primal seemed to slow down his pace for a moment while taking in the words the renegade had told him. He then spoke of how he'd learned from his mistakes. Zodiac shook his head at that. His foe might believe that but he had yet to see just how far this went.
"Nexus once said something very similar..," Zodiac muttered as he turned his gaze away.
"And look where it got him."
"I'm not proud of what I did to you,"
Of course not. But you did it anyway, Zodiac almost snapped back but he held his words at the last possible moment. For now.
"I do regret it...,"
Zodiac tilted his head as he briefly glanced at Primal and then past him, down the corridor to where the brig was.
"I was not myself... But I've had a change of spark, because if you can take as much pain as I endured under Megatron's callousness, or as much torture from the nanobot technology that was forced upon you and still find the strength in refusing to talk, then there's no point in resulting to more agony. No, I remembered most of my crew members are scientists, some of the best, and we've taken an entirely different approach to this situation that won't require any inflicted anguish or instruments of brutality at all."
And for the first time since they'd started this walk, Zodiac suddenly stopped in his tracks. In fact he stopped so quickly, his shackled legs almost tripped him. And then his gaze met Primal's again, trying to read his face. Those weren't empty promises.. So what was Primal up to now? Zodiac was familiar with torture. He'd endured it many.. many.. times. Yet Optimus' promise to use other methods puzzled him immensely. Was he truly going to try to persuade him to be honest out of the goodness of his spark? That could be amusing for sure.
Rhinox raised his crimson red optics in Aurora'a direction again, observing the puzzlement on her face.
"It doesn't help that we have such limited understanding of the Vok language and culture. But according to these readings, something at that alien site is creating a lot of energy. But it's too early to tell what it is, exactly."
He raised a golden brow in curiosity.
"I wonder what it could be. We didn't physically see anything there," he pondered out loud, now wondering just how dangerous the site could be if there was an invisible force.
"It might be time to upgrade our computer systems soon to better be able to run compilations like this in the future."
"How so?" Rhinox asked as he walked over to her and observed the amount of data that had been uploading. His optics enlarged a little at the slow progress.
"I see. So you're saying that I haven't been doing my best keeping up with our computer system and its speed. Well, I can take a hint," he said, pretending to be insulted and hurt by her implication. He gave her a smile to let her know he wasn't being serious even though she was right. "I wasn't expecting it to be such massive files of input." Although his face and head still ached from Zodiac's earlier attack, he was ready to help Optimus with Zodiac, so he grabbed the serum and held the syringe up to the light to thoughtfully examine the liquid inside.
"Maybe Whitegrazer or Blackarachnia can help decipher the data. Or even Zodiac, but Optimus may want to keep him in the dark about our findings."
With every stumble Zodiac made, Primal's hand immediately went to his hip for his gun, grabbing the handle but never having to pull it off of his leg. He couldn't just assume that the black bot was innocently tripping over the energy bonds with no other ill intentions behind it. But, yes, Optimus was quite patient with his pace and never pushed, shoved or dragged him.
"Nexus once said something very similar..," "And look where it got him."
At first, Optimus was taken aback by his hurtful words before he felt sorrowful for Nexus once more, and then inevitably angry. But he failed to show any of these emotions as he walked along side of Zodiac. He refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was getting to him because that's what he wanted, and all he had were his manipulative words. Just because Nexus failed, even though he was tricked, didn't mean Optimus was going to. He already made it this far, far past all of Zodiac's other tricks.
"I think the same could be said for you. You've lost your ability to shape shift and heal on your own," he said to him as if he had stabbed Zodiac with a knife and slowly twisted the blade.
"Because you couldn't stop yourself, someone else had to. Did you ever think it would be me?"
As they approached the brig, Optimus gave the accurate and extensive clearance measures to access it and the door opened.
"Just because we can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there. Sometimes we just have to look in a different direction," Aurora pointed out, once again sounding wise beyond her years. It was a peculiar trait of hers, one she had perhaps inherited from Nightmist. Of course Aurora had no clue about the similarities since Nightmist had perished before the fuzor came online.
She studied the data that was slowly compiling before pointing out a few strategic points where there seemed to be a bit more energy being redirected.
"I think these might be defensive weapon systems," she mused,
"Meant to protect this place. But protect it from what? Surely this site was here long before the Axalon and Darksyde ever crashed on this planet."
She paused, turning to look at Rhinox as he defended his work on the computer systems. Fortunately his smile proved he was only joking and hadn't actually taken offense to her words.
"You know what I mean..," she said after briefly sticking her tongue out.
"This alien technology is well beyond anything the Cybertronians have mastered thus far. " Taking a moment to reflect on Rhinox' thoughts on how some of the others could potentially help, Aurora scratched her head a bit before answering.
"So our choices are a former Vok who hasn't been in contact with them for.. who knows how long.. a sneaky spider.. and someone who tried to kill us all? Yeah.. I think my choice goes with Whitegrazer. Any idea where she's at? Still talking to Optimus?"
Zodiac sent a few passing glances at Optimus, curious to see if his words had hit a nerve. Well, deep down he knew the answer. He knew quite well that Optimus had looked up to Nexus like a father figure and that the aging fool had shared similar feelings towards his young apprentice. It had been quite obvious to anyone who had worked with the two, who had seen how Nexus attempted to protect his protege and to a surprising degree had been successful. It had been obvious in the looks Primal had sent
Nexus Prime after he had arrived on Earth, as well as the way he sought advice and guidance from him, in the way he was willing to put all his Maximals at risk to expose one of them while following Nexus' advice.. but most of all it had been obvious in the way Primal's expression had changed when he finally realized that it hadn't been the long lost admiral that had arrived but instead someone vastly different.
Remembering that look of utter shock and betrayal on Primal's face, it hadn't been unlike the way Nexus looked when he thought Primal had betrayed him. But whereas Primal had responded with anger, Nexus had done nothing of the sort. He'd merely tried, and failed, at reasoning with his former pupil's clone. A desperate act, ultimately futile, but it had proved just how unwilling the admiral had been to ever harm his
son.
And Zodiac hated him even more for it.
But surprisingly Primal's face was set in stone, not revealing anything about the turmoil he undoubtedly was experiencing. How disappointing.
Instead he was about to retaliate, further proving that he was no longer
that weakling that Zodiac knew him as before.
"I think the same could be said for you. You've lost your ability to shape shift and heal on your own,"
He tried. Oh how he tried not to let those spiteful words get to him. But the wound was still too fresh, too raw. Zodiac made a slight grimace and looked away, instead focusing his gaze on the floor as they passed through the familiar door of the brig. The first time the renegade had been here, he'd been disguised as Primal himself. It was only a few weeks ago but still felt like an eternity now.
"Not my finest hour, I admit," the former shapeshifter finally admitted, his voice strained from holding back the words he truly wished to tell his foe.
"Because you couldn't stop yourself, someone else had to. Did you ever think it would be me?"
Zodiac slowly shook his head. He truly hadn't even considered this outcome. Not now. Not ever.
"Just because we can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there. Sometimes we just have to look in a different direction,"
Rhinox stopped what he was doing and looked at Aurora, impressed by her words and understanding things of a bigger picture. Another small smile appeared on his face and nodded.
"That's true. We'll have to go back and investigate some more, but we'll have to be extremely cautious."
"I think these might be defensive weapon systems," "Meant to protect this place. But protect it from what? Surely this site was here long before the Axalon and Darksyde ever crashed on this planet."
The engineer sighed and slightly shook his head.
"Not what, who. We just seem to find more questions that lead to more questions instead of answers. But I believe this whole conundrum goes much farther and deeper than we know. And if they are defensive weapons, then we're going to have to be even more careful." He scratched the back of his head for a moment as he looked at the screen to see what she was talking about.
"You know what I mean..," "This alien technology is well beyond anything the Cybertronians have mastered thus far."
Rhinox thoughtfully caressed his wide chin with his free hand.
"Sounds like a challenge."
"So our choices are a former Vok who hasn't been in contact with them for.. who knows how long.. a sneaky spider.. and someone who tried to kill us all? Yeah.. I think my choice goes with Whitegrazer. Any idea where she's at? Still talking to Optimus?"
Big Green gave a chuckle.
"The more we have working on deciphering this, the better chances we have of learning and interpreting it correctly and quickly. As for Whitegrazer, I don't think she's with Optimus right now since he's escorting Zodiac to the brig. Try her comm. link. I need to get myself and this serum over there pronto." Patting her shoulder gently, Rhinox walked out of the lab and left Aurora there to assess the rest of the data.
Optimus took notice of Zodiac's reaction to his words. He could have smirked or laughed, anything to shame him further, but he did none of those. He was just satisfied to know that the renegade wasn't as stoic and incapable of being hurt by words as he previous thought.
"Not my finest hour, I admit,"
"Your 'finest hours' are likely to be someone else's worst nightmares," the Maximal leader retorted as he lead Zodiac to a chair in a cell, motioning him to sit. Seeing him shake his head to his question made Optimus realize the same thing; he would have never expected to come this far with Zodiac. Yet here they were.
"Have a seat," he told him.
Zodiac allowed himself to smile ever so slightly at Primal's remark about his past experiences, finding at least a small sense of amusement in the remark.
"Kind of goes with the job," Zodiac replied as they arrived at the cell. Stopping to glance inside, taking note of how barren his new assigned
home was, the smile faded quickly enough. It had a bunk to rest on and a couple of chair brought there for the occasion. The renegade hesitated for a moment, taking in every inch of the cell with his optics before even setting foot inside.
"Cozy..," he eventually remarked sarcastically. Had his arms and legs not been shackled, he would probably have darted right then and there. What was taking Whitegrazer so long??
Slowly he stepped inside, his wings dragging on the floor as he did.
"Have a seat,"
Optimus sounded a bit impatient. That by itself certainly didn't bother the renegade in the least and he made no attempt to move for a few nanoclicks while he finished scanning his surroundings, looking for weaknesses in the structure and possible ways to escape. He wasn't even trying to hide his intent to do so and was quite bluntly ignoring Primal's request until he saw it fit to abide by it.
I know you don't want to be there, Zodiac. Just don't make it harder on yourself. Remember the deal... I haven't forgotten what I promised you.
Whitegrazer's sudden response after having remained quiet for so long almost startled him a bit initially.
Yes yes.. I'll stay out of trouble, he assured her via their link.
I have as much to lose as anyone else, perhaps even more..
He was very careful with selecting the words he used to reassure her, knowing she seemed to pick up on his lies easily enough. It was frustrating that she could hold that kind of power over him. But for how long remained to be seen..
I'm at the site, Zodiac.
Finally!
Zodiac could barely contain his relief to hear the last message, and only then did he sit down in the chair like Primal had requested. After all.. now he had something to bargain with. The life of Primal's love and confidant.
"Kind of goes with the job,"
While that was true, Optimus also meant all of the innocent lives he took and the murders he continued to perform after his escape, leaving a trail of fluids and empty shells that all lead to him.
"Cozy..,"
"Could be worse," Primal told him bluntly.
"You could be melting in lava at the bottom of the volcano, or imprisoned by the Vok, or dying at the hands of Megatron and Nemesis." He watched Zodiac take in his surroundings, no doubt looking for any means and of escape and hesitating to sit down, which was probably just trying his patience. Good luck with that.
When Zodiac finally sat down in the chair, as though he had been waiting for something, Optimus stood in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and licked the scar over his lips.
"You get one chance to be honest. Waste the opportunity and my hand will be forced."
It was then when Rhinox entered the brig and approached the cell with Optimus and Zodiac inside, hiding the syringe behind his back for now.
"That's true. We'll have to go back and investigate some more, but we'll have to be extremely cautious."
"Perhaps we can use drones for the initial encounter," Aurora suggested, already busy analyzing more of the data stream. It was most fascinating, really, even though she couldn't understand exactly what she was looking at just yet. But much like Rhinox, she was a scientist by spark. The prospect of exploration was quite the thrill for her.
"Not what, who. We just seem to find more questions that lead to more questions instead of answers. But I believe this whole conundrum goes much farther and deeper than we know. And if they are defensive weapons, then we're going to have to be even more careful."
The fuzor looked up from the data stream for a moment, a bit confused by Rhinox' words. How could they be talking about a
who when dealing with an ancient alien culture and their structures? How did these aliens even know to put so much effort into their structures on what to them should have seemed like a primitive world?
"It's only an assumption about those things being weapons.. Based on their locations and their energy requirement. They're definitely powered on," she corrected herself. Where was this site getting power from, she wondered silently, and how long had it been active like this? And most importantly.. what was its intended purpose??
"Sounds like a challenge."
Aurora smiled at that remark, a bright, hopeful, and genuine smile. There was so much more to Rhinox than just the boring lab tech many of their fellow Maximals saw him as.
"The more we have working on deciphering this, the better chances we have of learning and interpreting it correctly and quickly. As for Whitegrazer, I don't think she's with Optimus right now since he's escorting Zodiac to the brig. Try her comm. link. I need to get myself and this serum over there pronto."
The fuzor nodded as she picked up a data pad and stepped away from the computer.
"Okay, I'll try to get a hold of her," she promised as Rhinox left the room.
"Could be worse. You could be melting in lava at the bottom of the volcano, or imprisoned by the Vok, or dying at the hands of Megatron and Nemesis."
"I could also be enjoying some extra strong energon in a bar while being waited on by a beautiful waitress," came the response. Oh the joys of a free life had mostly been nothing but stories the former shapeshifter had heard from his guards. Yes, he realized there were far worse fates that could be awaiting him. In fact he was still trying to avoid several of them.
He leaned forward in the chair, folding his cuffed hands in his lap as he spoke. Approaching footsteps alerted him that they were no longer alone, but it was hardly a surprise when Rhinox appeared in the doorway. Zodiac glanced over at the bulkier male, a slight gleam in his optics as he noted the other male had still not been repaired for his facial injuries. He wanted to make a snippy remark about them but decided to keep a low profile. For now. They'd learn his cards soon enough.
"You get one chance to be honest. Waste the opportunity and my hand will be forced."
Tilting his head a bit, the renegade shrugged and spread his hands apart as far as the cuffs would allow in a gesture of innocence.
"Very well. So what is it you so desperately want to know, hmm? How can I enlighten you and satisfy your curiosity?"
His words, innocent as they might have seemed, were dripping with contempt, almost sounding challenging.
"I could also be enjoying some extra strong energon in a bar while being waited on by a beautiful waitress,"
"You could have been, instead you chose to track me down and waste your time, letting your personal vendetta get the better of you," Optimus said bluntly. He glanced at Rhinox over his shoulder as he entered and gave a dismissive wave with his hand, motioning him to wait.
Rhinox complied and stood there quietly, observing.
"Very well. So what is it you so desperately want to know, hmm? How can I enlighten you and satisfy your curiosity?"
Where to start. Optimus had so many questions but probably not a lot of time. Rattrap hadn't checked in lately about their progress with Tigerhawk, which left him a little concerned.
"Besides my involvement in your experiments, is there another reason why you resent me? Is there something else that fuels your hatred toward me?" Whitegrazer had indicated once about Zodiac envying his relationship with Nexus, a father-son relationship he never had. Primal presumed she gathered this truthfully and accurately from Zodiac through her connection to him, after all he had no reason not to believe her, other than her background being of Vok now that he knew about that as well, so his answer should be interesting if he gives an answer at all.
"You could have been, instead you chose to track me down and waste your time, letting your personal vendetta get the better of you,"
"Vendetta.."
Zodiac repeated the word as if sampling it, finding it to be quite the simple description for a much more complex history. Although Primal's words held truth to them. The renegade had taken a gamble to come here to this planet, but unfortunately it turned out the hand he was playing hadn't been enough. And he had lost more than he had ever imagined he could because of it. Still.. he was alive.. a prisoner perhaps but still alive.. And if there was one thing he couldn't do, it was to allow himself to give up. Perhaps he wouldn't be able to deal with these Maximals himself, but with any luck he could at least get his powers back and get away from this place before the aliens came to deal with the Maximals as they would surely do to him if they were to catch him again.
"I suppose you're right," Zodiac finally said after a lengthy pause while staring blankly in front of him before he settled his gaze on Primal once more.
"Is that what you want to hear? Or should I add some pleading to my response?"
The corner of his mouth twitched a bit, as if he was about send Primal a grimace. But he stopped himself as he saw Rhinox ready to enter the room. Why was he there anyway? It was true the green and brown Maximal threw a mean punch, but Optimus had made it clear he had no intention of using physical punishment to keep the former shapeshifter in line. Thus making Rhinox' appearance a bit of a mystery.. And surely nothing to worry about. So for now Zodiac kept up his defiance, hoping to wear Primal down while still maintaining what little he had left of his own dignity.
"Besides my involvement in your experiments, is there another reason why you resent me? Is there something else that fuels your hatred toward me?"
The trace of a smile disappeared before Primal even had a chance to finish his sentence. For no matter how much the renegade thought he was prepared for any question the Maximal could throw at him, the one that he asked hit too close for comfort. Zodiac cocked his head ever so slightly, pondering how to respond to a question he couldn't fully answer himself even. Couldn't.. or wouldn't.. Sometimes the lines between the two got a little blurred, especially for someone who'd spent his life pretending to be someone else.
He
hated Primal.. Right now almost more than usual. Much like he had wished him dead whenever Nexus Prime stood by him, always protecting his protege, always respecting him and placing great trust in him.. And value. It was a life most foreign to the renegade, a life he'd never even dared to imagine having. Yet Primal's question irked him. Much more so than it should have. But Zodiac had always told himself that he was better, more deserving of greatness. After all his technology outmatched anything the Maximals had at their disposal. Even Optimus.
After staring at the other male for close to a nanoclick, the renegade finally sighed.
"Isn't that enough?"
Just then Aurora's transmission patched through to the intercom system in the brig.
"Sorry to bother you, but I'm getting a little worried. I tried to contact Whitegrazer but I can't get through to her. She's not at the Axalon. In fact we can't pick up her signal anywhere!"
And just then Zodiac's poker face cracked as he was unable to hold back the mischievous grin any longer.
"Vendetta.."
The TransMetal gorilla in robot mode remained patient with his adversary while he seemed thoughtful with the word. Simplistic and vague or not, he didn't care how he described his history and current predicament, and he hoped his carelessness for it and unwilling to give it any credit would irk him.
"I suppose you're right," "Is that what you want to hear? Or should I add some pleading to my response?"
"I don't need to be convinced of your mistakes, or to know if I was right or wrong," Primal told him as he cupped his hands behind his back and motioned Rhinox to approach them with a hand signal and without looking at him. He kept his blank expression on Zodiac.
Noticing his friend's signal, Rhinox walked over to them and came up behind Optimus as he passed the syringe into his hands where Zodiac couldn't see. It didn't matter if he knew they were up to something, he just couldn't see what. As Primal took the serum while still keeping his hands behind him, Rhinox stepped around his leader and walked over to Zodiac and around the chair he was sitting in so that he was standing behind the hybrid but facing Optimus.
"Isn't that enough?"
"Wrong answer," Primal simply replied and nodded to Rhinox.
The engineer grabbed Zodiac's upper arms and pulled him backwards against the back of the chair to keep him from jumping off and trapping his wings so he couldn't spread them.
"You might feel a little sting," Optimus warned Zodiac as if he was a child receiving his first shot. He took out the syringe and wasted no time of jabbing it into his upper leg on top of his thigh, immediately injecting the truth serum and then pulling the needle-like instrument out of his armor.
"We'll give it a few moments to work," he said, staring at Zodiac as he stepped out of his leg's reach in case he would try to kick him.
Rhinox, meanwhile kept his tight grip on him, ignoring his own throbbing face.
"Sorry to bother you, but I'm getting a little worried. I tried to contact Whitegrazer but I can't get through to her. She's not at the Axalon. In fact we can't pick up her signal anywhere!"
Upon hearing Aurora's concerns, Optimus gave Rhinox a quizzical look but the rhinoceros only shrugged slightly, unsure of where Whitegrazer could be. Understanding his old friend's expression, Primal's orange optics lowered to Zodiac's devious grin, as if he knew something. And it was probably something that he wasn't going to like. But what could he have possibly done while Optimus was holding him as his prisoner this whole time?
"I'll try to contact her, Aurora," he sent her over his comm. link.
"Whitegrazer, what is your current location?" he demanded from the mare while he searched for her through their bond. But her presence was distant and he couldn't pin point her position like she could with others.
"Zodiac, you seem like you're about to burst with information that you'd enjoy throwing in my face. Why don't you share it with us?" the Maximal Commander dared him, not that he would have a choice now anyway.
"I don't need to be convinced of your mistakes, or to know if I was right or wrong,"
Mistake? Zodiac shook his head ever so briefly at the accusing tone. The plan had been sound, at least initially. His mistake had been to let his guard down, and not to rid himself of someone he had failed to see as a real threat to his operation. But his original intent for coming here was no mistake. And now Optimus was trying to break his spirit, as was generally the first step of an interrogation. Zodiac would know.. he'd been through enough of them.
"Of course not. You're the great Optimus Primal after all, and you've never made mistakes."
Try as he might to make his bitter and sarcastic words throw Primal off, the outcome was quite different than what he'd been hoping for. The Maximal leader's expression remained strangely blank, impossible to read, which was unusual for someone normally so fueled by emotions. Clearly Primal had learned from their earlier encounters.
He turned his head as Optimus started moving, his hands folded behind his back as he walked. The renegade followed the movements with his optics, his suspicions only growing as Rhinox came closer as well.
"Wrong answer,"
The renegade was about to shrug but the approaching Maximals gave him the sense that something was seriously wrong. He twisted as far as he could in the chair to see what they were doing. Taking note of how Rhinox was now moving in behind him, Zodiac's senses remained on high alert. He made one futile attempt to stand up, only for the chief mechanic to grab him by the arms and pulling him back against the chair.
By this point, the transmetal dragon was getting more than a little unsettled. He slammed his head back in an attempt to knock Rhinox away but then froze as Optimus approached him.. while holding something in his hand.
"You might feel a little sting,"
What? They were honestly going to try to drug him again? How many times were they going to try this? And for that sake, what was the purpose of putting him to sleep now? They wouldn't get any of the answers they craved if he wasn't awake to give them!
Primal pierced his armor with the injector, causing Zodiac to jerk to move away. But with Rhinox pinning him to the chair, he couldn't get very far. He grimaced a bit as the content of the syringe was emptied into him. It burned a little, but not nearly as badly as the last time Primal had injected something into him.. back when he'd lost control of his powers. The renegade let out a sigh, allowing his tense muscles to relax a bit as Primal stepped back. Oddly enough he didn't feel sleepy, just.. calmer. Had they just given him a mild sedative?
"We'll give it a few moments to work,"
"This game is getting old, Primal..," Zodiac said, curious what they were hoping to achieve.
Fortunately the little fuzor's message cheered him up quite a bit, bringing about a grin once more as she delivered the message that Whitegrazer had vanished. Oh this was going to be fun.
"I'll try to contact her, Aurora,"
"I hope you have better luck than I've been having," the fuzor responded, the concern obvious in her voice.
Optimus then turned his attention to Zodiac, taking note of the grin on his face.
"Zodiac, you seem like you're about to burst with information that you'd enjoy throwing in my face. Why don't you share it with us?"
Oh please.. Did the fool honestly think he would break so easily, without as much as a few mind games? If so the Maximal commander was sorely mistaken.
What makes you think I know where to find your telepathic friend?, Zodiac thought as he formulated the words in his head.
"
It's quite funny, really. Your friend has wandered off to the alien site, not realizing the trouble she's walking into. Oh and don't bother trying to contact her. The communication won't work now that she's inside."
Wait..what?!
"Of course not. You're the great Optimus Primal after all, and you've never made mistakes."
"I'm not talking about me," Primal nearly chuckled at Zodiac and his attempt to turn this interrogation around and make Optimus pity himself.
"I am far from perfect," he freely admitted without much emotion.
He could see the smugness still clinging to the former shape shifter until the commanding officer had brought forth the syringe. But even then Zodiac was still underestimating their abilities and their plan to get what Optimus wanted.
"This game is getting old, Primal..,
"Trust me, Zodiac, this is no game." He watched him jump a little in a futile attempt to escape but Rhinox did good holding him down and keeping him in control. There weren't many bots who could defy the rhinoceros' brute strength.
"I hope you have better luck than I've been having,"
A small frown of concern crossed Primal's face after Aurora said that. After all, why would Whitegrazer ignore Aurora but not Optimus? He had a feeling she was going to ignore him, too. Perhaps "ignore" was the wrong word, though...
"She might be out of range, Aurora," he presumed. It wouldn't be the first time the Empath, or rather the Vok, had run off on her own. Wait a cycle... The Vok. Could she have...? No, she wouldn't have without saying something. Primal's thoughts were quickly interrupted by Zodiac's next response that even surprised himself. A brief moment of realizing that the serum was working showed on the Maximal's face with Rhinox also giving a nod of acknowledgement to Optimus.
"It's quite funny, really. Your friend has wandered off to the alien site, not realizing the trouble she's walking into. Oh and don't bother trying to contact her. The communication won't work now that she's inside."
Optimus quickly cleansed his face to a blank expression again, other than a small tug of a smile at the corner of his mouth. Licking his scar he came to the realization of how much danger Whitegrazer might be getting herself into.
"What did you tell her?" he demanded from the black dragon with an aggravated and serious tone, unaware of the grave situation.
Whitegrazer, are you at the alien site? Can you hear me? Whitegrazer, answer me!" he tried reaching out to her through their connection despite Zodiac saying that she could no longer be contacted.
Zodiac's grin slowly faded and he turned his gaze away as the words he had just spoken repeated in his mind. Why had he just told them that? What had they injected him with?
"I'm not talking about me,"
The half-breed nodded slowly, thinking to himself. Well, tried to anyway. For some reason his thoughts felt heavy.. like his mind was clogged up, and he felt compelled to verbalize those thoughts.
"You still don't get it, do you? It's always been about you. Or do you honestly believe this all happened by chance? That it was an accident you were selected to lead the Axalon's mission? That the Vok targeted you?"
Realizing he'd spoken the words, albeit quietly, Zodiac moved his forehead against his cuffed hands. This had to stop..
That drug.. it hadn't been a sedative.. but some sort of truth serum. Just great..
"Trust me, Zodiac, this is no game."
"I'm starting to see that now," Zodiac responded, no longer able to filter his words like he normally did such a good job of.
"She might be out of range, Aurora,"
The fuzor was no fool. And since Whitegrazer had revealed her true heritage to her and Rhinox, she questioned exactly where the white mare would go. But she didn't say anything more about it, not until she had exhausted her options of locating the missing female. But unfortunately she was getting close to that point.
Zodiac finally glanced over at Primal without moving his hands away from his forehead when the Commander addressed him again.
"What did you tell her?"
"I told her the truth.. Well.. the only truth I could to make her go there. You see.. the alien site is very much so active. And it hosts possibilities and dangers far worse than anything your feeble mind can comprehend or have experienced thus far."
He rubbed his forehead briefly with his shackled hands, trying to clear his mind enough to stop himself from talking.
Rhinox had loosened his grip on Zodiac enough to allow him to move a little more freely with his arms and restrained wrists. But he remained behind him.
"You still don't get it, do you? It's always been about you. Or do you honestly believe this all happened by chance? That it was an accident you were selected to lead the Axalon's mission? That the Vok targeted you?"
Both Optimus and Rhinox looked at each other because what Zodiac just said only confirmed even more of their suspicions. But they still didn't understand why. Why them? Why Optimus? If he was a threat, then why was he one to anybody? He left Cybertron young, inexperienced and naive; there wasn't much to label him as a threat. Why send him away on a doomed mission to a trap back in time on prehistoric Earth? And why put all of his Maximals in danger? It was incomprehensible.
"I've had my suspicions the longer we're stranded here, but perhaps you'd like to enlighten me. Why me? Why was my crew put in jeopardy? Were they just considered collateral damage?" That would have angered him deeply.
"I'm starting to see that now," "I told her the truth.. Well.. the only truth I could to make her go there. You see.. the alien site is very much so active. And it hosts possibilities and dangers far worse than anything your feeble mind can comprehend or have experienced thus far."
One thing Optimus didn't consider about this truth serum is the words Zodiac would use to describe how he really felt about the Maximal standing before him. Nevertheless, he didn't let them get to him.
"What kind of possibilities and dangers?" he asked him demandingly.
Zodiac shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake the serum out of his head. But it was useless, his thoughts remained clouded and for the world to hear. And it certainly didn't make matters better that the large buffoon was still standing right behind him, his hands wrapped around Zodiac's forearms and preventing him from moving his arms much even if he had loosened his grip a bit.
Annoyed, Zodiac glanced behind him to send Rhinox a warning glare.
"Let.. go." It was no request. In fact he sounded quite annoyed right about now, and rightfully so. He was certainly not having the time of his life at this very moment.
"I've had my suspicions the longer we're stranded here, but perhaps you'd like to enlighten me. Why me? Why was my crew put in jeopardy? Were they just considered collateral damage?"
"They picked you because they knew it would get to Nexus if they did.. They needed someone who could keep Nexus in line as his popularity grew to the point where he was starting to pose a threat to them," Zodiac responded most unwillingly.
"He had started drifting away from the policies the Elders set forth.. He wanted a change.. They couldn't allow him to disrupt their claim to power."
The renegade shifted uncomfortably in the chair as he continued, unable to fight the effects of the serum.
"Your crew means nothing to them. You've made yourself a family consisting of misfits and others deemed unworthy or not trustworthy enough to work for the Elders.."
He paused as he lowered his gaze to a point on the floor in front of him, finding himself wishing he could sink through the floor. Of course Primal wasn't going to let this go.
"What kind of possibilities and dangers?"
"It should hardly come as a surprise to you that the alien site is another weapon.. Only this one is much more powerful than the one in the volcano. The Vok took notice of that little fiasco, rest assured."
"Wintersong, this is Optimus. Landslide is on his way to assist Rattrap, so I need you to intercept Whitegrazer back at the alien site and delay her intentions, whatever they may be. She's not responding to our transmissions. Please be careful. If it's activated... It could be extremely dangerous," he sent the tigress with concern in his voice.
"Let.. go."
"No," Rhinox told Zodiac.
"You're fine if you sit still and relax."
"They picked you because they knew it would get to Nexus if they did.. They needed someone who could keep Nexus in line as his popularity grew to the point where he was starting to pose a threat to them," "He had started drifting away from the policies the Elders set forth.. He wanted a change.. They couldn't allow him to disrupt their claim to power."
Primal's gaze lowered thoughtfully for a moment before returning his attention to Zodiac.
"You allegedly disguised yourself as me and murdered Nexus despite his 'uprising' against the Council. Was that personal for what he did to you, or was it the Council's wishes using you to be rid of him?" he inquired. It was a touchy subject for Optimus, of course, but he needed to know, and he wanted to be informed. They couldn't do much from where they were stranded on Earth in the past, but they could do all the thinking and pondering they wanted in search of answers.
"Your crew means nothing to them. You've made yourself a family consisting of misfits and others deemed unworthy or not trustworthy enough to work for the Elders.."
The leader's orange optics narrowed into a glare, he balled his fists, and licked the scar across his mouth. His breathing increased but he quickly tried cooling his systems because working him up over hurtful and untrue words was exactly what Zodiac wanted to do.
"Whether that's your opinion, the Elders', or others', you were all wrong about them," he said calmly, standing by his crew.
"It should hardly come as a surprise to you that the alien site is another weapon.. Only this one is much more powerful than the one in the volcano. The Vok took notice of that little fiasco, rest assured."
"No thanks to you," Optimus added.
"I guess we're about to find out what's in store for all of us." Not that he was looking forward to it. It terrified him because the Vok were so powerful, mysterious, and merciless. But, like most commanding officers, he hid his fear quite well. However, he was deeply concerned for Whitegrazer's wellbeing and possibly Wintersong'a since he had just sent her to interfere.
"So, the technology for your nanobots was derived from the Vok. Are you also a target for them? A loose end that needs to be tied?"
Zodiac only made the occasional jerks with his arms in an effort to see if Rhinox had released his grip enough that he'd be able to pull them free, but he didn't really fight back as much as he probably could have. Instead he chose to conserve his energy, waiting for an opportunity to fight back. Which wasn't really much of an option in the position he was in now.. pinned against the back of the chair with his arms bent in a raised position that at least allowed him to rest his forehead against them. At least this prevented them from getting a good look at his face. It was the only shelter he had right now since his words were betraying him, the only thing preventing his innermost thoughts and emotions from being on full display.
Oh how he hated Primal right now. Not that he had ever harbored any favorable feelings for the Maximal, but with as much as they had taken from him.. his powers.. crew.. dignity.. freedom.. at least he had been able to keep his secrets until now. And when they took that away too, leaving him utterly exposed, his growing resentment and hate was really all that was left.
"No," "You're fine if you sit still and relax."
Tensing up a bit upon hearing the mechanic's words, Zodiac huffed out his response.
"What are you so afraid of? I'm already in restraints and locked up in the brig. Although it's flattering you think of me as a threat still, this is hardly comfortable."
As Primal started talking again, Zodiac's optics drifted to his general direction again and he sat a little straighter in the chair.
"You allegedly disguised yourself as me and murdered Nexus despite his 'uprising' against the Council. Was that personal for what he did to you, or was it the Council's wishes using you to be rid of him?"
"Which council?," Zodiac responded after letting out a low, humorless chuckle.
"Nexus was not short of enemies, whether they were made on the battlefield or with politics. The Maximal Council of Elders weren't fond of him, that much is true, but despite his growing popularity they didn't dare to attack him openly. It would have launched a war between the followers of Nexus Prime and the Council's own people had they done that. Fortunately the Tripredacus Council weren't as cowardly.."
He paused ever so slightly, hesitating a bit due to the nature of the secrets he was exposing to his enemy. Of course he didn't have a choice in the matter, as the truth serum compelled him to answer truthfully.
"But no.. The Tripredacus Council felt that Nexus would have been more valuable to them alive." His voice quieted substantially and he lowered his gaze to the floor again before he finally added;
"It was personal.."
"Whether that's your opinion, the Elders', or others', you were all wrong about them,"
Zodiac remained quiet for a short while before he finally shrugged.
"Am I? Although I must admit that I am a bit surprised you haven't lead them into oblivion yet but given time I'm sure the rest of them will follow the example of those you've already lost.."
He slowly raised his gaze again, turning his piercing optics to Optimus once more.
"Nightmist.. Valkyrie.. Icebreaker.. not to mention the ones that have disappeared, their whereabouts unknown."
A trace of a smile forming on his face as he revealed that he had memorized Primal's roster while preparing for this mission.
"Do you honestly think you can save them? That you can spare them from the dangers that await them? The Predacons, the Vok, internal conflict among the Maximals themselves.." He fell silent for a moment, his smile widening ever so slightly.
"Project X..?"
He left the words dangling in the air for a moment. Perhaps he wasn't able to lie, but that didn't mean he couldn't use the truth to hurt his foe.
"No thanks to you,"
"I never proclaimed to be innocent," came the abrupt response,
"And clearly you've been keeping harmful secrets as well."
"I guess we're about to find out what's in store for all of us."
His smile faded soon after Primal said those words, the severity of the situation coming back to the renegade. Primal was right about one thing.. The vok would certainly not spare the renegade.. or any of them.
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I'm fine with just a little residual. Irritating but nothing serious. I think I must have caught something from the store. I should feel better tomorrow. I will have a post for you all tomorrow. Again, sorry for the delay.