"Other Visits"

[una]

"Blackarachnia, do you copy? Are you receiving any communications?"

Blackarachnia's systems had started making repairs and purging the venom Tarantulas injected within her. When Rhinox's voice was heard within her comlink, Blackarachnia's systems were almost purged, but still she was having trouble getting herself up off the ground. She shook her head as her vision seemed blurry, trying to stand up. Her systems weren't doing so well. Her knees buckled, but her left hand slammed on a wall to keep herself from falling down again. She seemed ready to purge the rest of the venom out of her mouth!

"I hear ya, Rhinox," Blackarachnia said after she took a deep breath and then proceeded to slam a fist against the wall. "Tarantulas blindsided and poisoned me. My systems are still repairing. I don't know how long I was out." Green goo seemed to flood the floor around her, but it just reached to her feet. Nothing to drown in. It then occurred to her that, if communications were working, they should be able to communicate with the others. "I guess Tarantulas injected the virus. I wonder how the others are doing."

She slowly walked forward. She needed to see what was going on.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I did, you nanobot-infested freak!"

Whitegrazer kind of flinched at Rattrap's harsh words toward Nemesis due to the fact she was indirectly responsible for that.

"Uh, is that good or bad? And how do we get 'em outta you?"

"I... don't know." She wondered about that. The Metal Hunter's systems, thanks to Tarantulas' virus, were crashing down. Everything was being ripped and torn apart by the seams. Veins popped, splattering even more of that deadly green goo. There was supposed to be a teleportation device that would be able to send the Vok back to Nexus Zero, but the fact is... She had no time to do that. She only had time to either drive the Metal Hunter way or send the Vok home. She had made a decision. She was going to drive the Metal Hunter away.

Rattrap and Aurora probably didn't understand the implication of what Tarantulas talked about. Their faces were written in confusion and disbelief that they didn't seem to know what to believe. She wanted to explain it to them, but now wasn't the time. Megatron seemed a bit miffed at the fact that she was responsible for the Predacon's defeat, but it seemed he was more interested about Tarantulas than the revelation. Which a part of her was glad. She didn't want to be beat up by the Predacon tyrant. Now that she thought about it, Megatron must have been part of the war as well. Recalling some of her memories, she realized that his visage was familiar. An article about a Predacon general refusing to let go of his arms as instructed by the treaty and was forcibly stopped by the Tripredicus Council. Of course, that could have been any general. She was just making a guess.

"Tell us what you did, you psychopathic spider, or I'll blow your eight legs off one at a time,"

Tarantulas just glared for a second before smiling once more, "I thought it would be obvious. Just look around you."

"If you've got an antidote fer whatever you've infected dis place with, then you better fork it over! Whitegrazer's the best chance we have dealin' with these aliens! She might be one of 'em, but she's on our side,"

Tarantulas just shook his head sharply, "I'm afraid not, vermin. You don't really think I'm going to waste time with an antidote just to save a pesky Maximal? Or should I really call you a Maximal, hag?" Tarantulas just glared at Whitegrazer. "Besides, I don't want her to try and save her... people. It took me weeks to develop this virus, and I'm not going to let anyone stop it from running its course. With the alien gone, I ave no need for her anyway! Like I ever did in the first place. HA!"

"Whitegrazer? What it is? What did he do?"

Tarantulas just smirked, "She is feeling their death. Her death. Remember that feeling, Vok, because when that body of your starts to decay, it would be as slow and painful as what you are experiencing right now. Only it would be ten times worse and very, very excruciating." Tarantulas held his stomach as he laughed.

"We cannot die.

"Despite our actions, would you help us?

"You must because we will die. We will all die if you do nothing.

Whitegrazer sighed. She wasn't going to leave her people to die, and because of the fact that she was too infected, they all needed to figure out how to cure whatever Tarantulas injected them with. If they couldn't, they would all die. She too will die.

"No, I will not allow you all to die, but you put me and yourselves into this predicament. If you haven't, we might not have had this happen to us. There is what something I need you all to help me with."

"You want us to help you save your friends?"

"That isn't too much for you all, is it?"

"Nemesis, grab Inferno and evacuate at once!"

"Wait. On yer own? We ain't leavin' without you, Whitegrazer," the rodent told her. "Besides, we need help movin' the boss monkey. He's too heavy for us,"

Whitegrazer looked at Optimus. Rattrap had a point. Optimus was in stasis lock, due to her, and he needed to be carried out of here. She contemplated a course of action. Fast.

But then the Vok suddenly left her body, swimming around the top.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"We will move the Metal Hunter away from the Axalon."

"While we do this, you can help your friends leave before the Metal Hunter crumples."

"We will correct an error."

Tarantulas picked up and aimed his weapon, "Well, maybe I could take this opportunity to hasten your deaths!"

Before he could fire, or Whitegrazer to do something, a missile hit Tarantulas square in the side, blowing him to other side of the room.

Whitegrazer looked upon the entrance of the hallway to see Blackarachnia leaning against the wall. She looked horrible.

"That's for the blindside, legs!"

"Blackarachnia." Whitegrazer didn't realize the she-spider was here as well. Though, just like they didn't sense Tarantulas, it would make sene that the black widow's presence escaped her as well.

Tarantulas coughed, struggling to get up, "You.... witch! I will cut you to..." One of the Vok dashed towards Tarantulas. It's eyes burning with fire. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tarantulas screamed as he ran away as fast as his injured self could as te Vok with yellow optic pursued down the hallway.

Whitegrazer walked up to Optimus' unconscious body. She let her hand rest of his shoulder. "Let us get you away from this place." Despite her injuries, she gently picked Optimus up.

She turned to look up at the Vok. The Metal Hunter tipped to left hard, but she remained steady.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I hear ya, Rhinox,"

That was a relief. Finally some communication! But she sounded out-winded, so Rhinox wondered what was happening up there.

"Tarantulas blindsided and poisoned me. My systems are still repairing. I don't know how long I was out."

The Maximal engineer gave a grumble under his breath, angry about Tarantulas taking advantage of their plan though not surprised.

"I guess Tarantulas injected the virus. I wonder how the others are doing."

At least he did something helpful, even if it was for his own personal gain to take the aliens down. Of course, he didn't realize that the virus would also affect Whitegrazer.

"I... don't know."

"Terrific," Rattrap told Whitegrazer sarcastically.

"I thought it would be obvious. Just look around you."

"What we can see is obvious, but what yer real intentions are a bit more hidden, ya schemin' spider," Rattrap threw at Tarantulas, frustrated and angry.

"I'm afraid not, vermin. You don't really think I'm going to waste time with an antidote just to save a pesky Maximal? Or should I really call you a Maximal, hag?"

"Stop callin' her that!" the rodent yelled at the tarantula, keeping his aim on him, his index finger just itching to fire at him and blow his head off.

"Besides, I don't want her to try and save her... people. It took me weeks to develop this virus, and I'm not going to let anyone stop it from running its course. With the alien gone, I ave no need for her anyway! Like I ever did in the first place. HA!" "She is feeling their death. Her death. Remember that feeling, Vok, because when that body of your starts to decay, it would be as slow and painful as what you are experiencing right now. Only it would be ten times worse and very, very excruciating."

"You are one sick spider, eight-eyes!" He was just about to squeeze the trigger when he saw aliens in their strange, skull-like appearance emerge from Whitegrazer's twisted body.

"Wait! What are you doing?"
"We will move the Metal Hunter away from the Axalon."
"While we do this, you can help your friends leave before the Metal Hunter crumples."
"We will correct an error."

They were certainly odd creatures who looked more frail than the Cybertronians. These were the beings who had such incredibly power over them?

"Well, maybe I could take this opportunity to hasten your deaths!"

"Dat's it!" Rattrap proclaimed, fed up with Tarantulas's cruelty and insanity. But before he could fire on him, someone else's missile flew in out of now where and blasted him to the other side of the room. Surprised, the rodent looked back to its origin and found Blackarachnia standing there.

"That's for the blindside, legs!"

He wasn't sure if he should be happy or concerned to see her. Was she there to help or try to steal the alien tech herself even though the place was melting apart. Literally, melting. He stepped around in the goo, trying to shake it off of his feet, grossed out by the substance.

"You.... witch! I will cut you to..." "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Dat'll learn him," the rodent commented as he watched the Vok chase him down the corridor. Then he looked to Whitegrazer who some how managed to pick up their leader's heavy body in her terrible condition. "Take it easy, 'Grazer," he warned her. After all, Rattrap didn't want to have to haul two large bodies out of there. "Blackarachnia, we'll need your webbing to lower Optimus down to the base," he instructed the she-spider. Suddenly, though, the whole ship tipped to the side which caused Rattrap to lose his footing and start sliding on the floor. Reaching out with his free hand, he grabbed a hold of one of the electrical veins laying nearby that had since lost power and hadn't turned in to the goop yet. Trying not to panic, he returned his gun to his subspace and crawled across the sticky floor using the vein like a rope catch up to Whitegrazer, who surprisingly had maintained her balance.

"Rhinox to Optimus or Rattrap. Come in," he hailed them.

"Eh," Rattrap muttered when he heard his pal's voice on his comm. link without stopping with his climb toward the equine. "Hey, Big Green. A little late with the communication, don't ya think? We're workin' on our triumphant escape. Optimus is in stasis lock... The MetalHunter's fallin' apart. We're evacuatin' now."

"Understood," the rhinoceros frowned and quickly lowered the shields in case they needed to enter the Axalon immediately.

[una]

"Terrific,"

"What we can see is obvious, but what yer real intentions are a bit more hidden, ya schemin' spider,"

"Stop callin' her that!"

Whitegrazer was just as silent as the Vok were as she stared at the Metal Hunter, drowning in green goo and blaring blood red across the former's silver and clean surface. Was this their fate? Was this her fate? No. No. She refused to give up. As she stood there, holding onto Optimus for dear life, she watched as TyCross's true form roared and chased Tarantulas out of their sight.

Dat'll learn him,"

It didn't matter anymore. Tarantulas succeed in his objective.

"Take it easy, 'Grazer," he warned her. After all, Rattrap didn't want to have to haul two large bodies out of there. "Blackarachnia, we'll need your webbing to lower Optimus down to the base,"

"I'm fine," Whitegrazer told Rattrap, gripping Optimus' form gently. She looked at Optimus' unconscious face.

Blackarachnia nodded, "On it! Follow me! I will lead you guys to the exit!" The Metal Hunter tipped a bit, but Blackarachnia just transformed into her beast mode and used the walls to crawl to the hallway, looking back to see Rattrap following by one of the veins.

"You all must hurry to your base! We can't hold it much longer here!" The purple-eyed Vok spoke outloud.

Whitegrazer was hesitated to leave. After all, the Vok were her people. She couldn't just... But she had to. She followed Rattrap and Blackarachnia.


Tarantulas kept running all the way out. There was a hole that was big enough for him to jump out of. He jumped and screamed as he fell a few feet down, landing on a tree branch and hung there. He looked up at the Metal Hunter, shaking a fist!


Blackarachnia transformed and launched a webbing down to the Axalon's roof, "Go!"

Whitegrazer had Rattrap go there first. She adjusted Optimus to her left shoulder, using the rest of her arms and held him safely as she slid down.

Blackarachnia tied the webbing to a steady place, or as steady as can be temporary, and she joined them below. As they all safely came down, the Metal Hunter rose upwards and went straight towards the distance. As it went farther and farther away, it was going steadily down more and more until it left a smoking crater in the distance.

Whitegrazer stared at it. She knew the Vok were still alive. Something like that won;t killed them, but they probably were going to one of their sites to lay low. Where? She didn't know. Yet.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: So I had my baby girl. Long story short, after a very complicated pregnancy I ended up having to give birth without pain management.. Yeah, it did hurt. It hurt more than anything I have ever experienced my entire life. But now, every time I look at my little girl's precious face, I'd gladly do it all again in a heart beat!)

Aurora knelt down next to Optimus' still form, checking his vitals and drawing a silent sigh of relief as she confirmed he was still alive albeit unconscious.

" Yes, I am definitely me. The Vok.... They have grown silent."

And thank goodness for that.. The fuzor glanced briefly behind her, stil more than a little suspicious the Vok would still try something, but she refrained from verbally expressing those concerns. For now.

The creepy voice of Tarantulas certainly didn't make her feel any better. If at all possible, the scientist spider was even more unpredictable and potentially dangerous than the Vok. At least the Vok were genuine in their hatred for the Maximals and Predacons alike. The spider.. well.. it was impossible to tell what he was really up to, even if he had seemingly helped them just now. But at what cost, the fuzor wondered.

"We ain't gonna die."

Aurora could only hope Rattrap was right in his assumption. But at least the situation seemed to be better controlled than it had been. The Vok had gone silent, whether by choice or from the effects of whatever virus the spider had inflicted upon this place. Of course the fuzor didn't trust Tarantulas further than she could throw him. He would never have done something like this from the goodness of his own spark.. if he even had any in there.

"However, to be both an opportunist and a strategist," he interrupted himself with a light, and short, cocky chuckle, "that is how one becomes an even greater threat. Yesss."

Zodiac had smiled briefly at that statement. It was a bewildering smile, especially given the circumstances. Both the shapeshifter and the tyrant shared those particular traits. They had both gotten close to eliminating their enemies by tapping into those aspects of their personalities, yet in the end they had both been thwarted.

"Although your disguise is uncanny, anyone could acquire his physical dimensions and weapons from the data tracks. But you speak as though you had known Cryotek personally. I may settle for a conversation with you later."

"Indeed," the shapeshifter in Cryotek's form had responded. Given his own alternative mode, albeit his real appearance obviously differed from that of Cryotek, it was almost a bit suspicious that they had both selected dragon based alternative modes. Yet despite his own achievements, despite the loyalty and devotion he had shown to Cryotek during those early years of his own existence, the older dragon had never showed the shapeshifter the kind of devotion he had for Megatron. Whitegrazer had once asked him if he wanted to remain a weapon if he'd been given the choice. It had been a choice he never had. Zodiac had spent his life as a slave, a weapon of destruction to be wielded and then put away. Never as a protege or friend of his superiors. Since it was all he'd known, he'd not really questioned it much at the time. Not until he gained his freedom.

"I'm sure you would find the information rather intriguing."


It hadn't been a lie. If anything he wanted to give Megatron a reason not to hunt him down but instead reach out should their paths cross again in the future. Yes, he had attempted to kill the Predacons and Maximals alike, but the situation had changed somewhat now. And perhaps they had a common foe. Zodiac wanted to make sure he wouldn't stand alone in the future if that was truly the case.

But as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Zodiac slipped away with Megatron's disk in hand. No doubt the tyrant already had the information on it copied, but the shapeshifter did not want to leave empty handed. Hopefully he'd be able to steal back his own disk in time.

"I did, you nanobot-infested freak!"

Nemesis glared at the rat but did hold her fire when the immediate threat to Megatron had ended. It was time to get out of here now, as this place was creeping her out. Unfortunately Zodiac had seemingly escaped on his own, but she had no doubt she'd see him again at some point. And when that happened, she'd be ready..

"Nemesis, grab Inferno and evacuate at once!"

Apparently Megatron agreed. The avian female nodded and made her way to the downed fire-ant before transforming to her transmetal bird form and grabbing hold of the red male before taking flight.

Aurora as well prepared to leave, tagging along with the others as they evacuated the premises. Without the Vok controlling this place, it was quickly falling apart. Of course Tarantulas' virus no doubt had something to do with that.

[una]

((OOC: I'm glad that you and the baby are okay! You did it without any pain management? Dang. That must have been rough. ))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: *impersonating Scorponok* Phoenix back! Phoenix back! Congratulations, Phoenix!! And thanks for squeezing in a great post! ))

"Indeed," "I'm sure you would find the information rather intriguing."

Zodiac's words lingered in Megatron's memory as he flew off away from the Metal Hunter, damaged and cheated of yet another victory. As much as the shapeshifter displeased and aggravated him, he was still quite interested in speaking with him about Cryotek, and that other alien disk that "miraculously" showed up out of no where.

"I'm fine,"

"Sorry, 'Grazer, I don't buy it! Yer far from 'fine', sista!" Rattrap told her as he caught up to them and helped Aurora along with the steep tilt.

"On it! Follow me! I will lead you guys to the exit!"

Rattrap hurried after Blackarachnia who was actually following orders which surprised the rodent as she lead them to the exit. He couldn't wait to get out of there! He glanced behind himself to make sure Whitegrazer, carrying the ape, and Aurora were keeping up.

"You all must hurry to your base! We can't hold it much longer here!"

"Like we really wanna stick around with you for de after party!" Rattrap sarcastically hollered back at the Vok implying that they were going as fast as they could with the ship toppling all over the place.

"Go!"

Coming upon the exit, the Spy only hesitated a mere couple seconds as he glanced at the others and looked down to the Axalon, Blackarachnia's webbing swinging straight to the ground in the general vicinity of the lift that lead to the command center. Grabbing the cyber web with his hands as Whitegrazer motioned him to go first, Rattrap slid down it. "Geronimo!" He landed on his feet below and helped the others who came down after him.

It didn't take long for Rhinox to exit the base and greet them outside as the lift brought him down. He and Rattrap looked up and watched the alien vessel depart once everyone had evacuated. "Talk about your close encounters," he said in his deep voice.

"Yeah, with the third kind," added Rattrap.

Quickly, the chief medic went to Whitegrazer to assess her and Optimus's injuries. Well, he assumed it was Whitegrazer. She looked very different now, especially since most of her armor was gone and her body was shredded and torn. He was surprised that she was still standing. She looked in worse shape than Optimus was but he was the one in stasis lock? "What happened?" he asked the group. He took their leader from her arms and carefully set him on the ground, kneeling beside him for a closer examination, wiping off some of the green goo that he was covered in. "He's stable, he's just in stasis lock. But the both of you need to log some time in the repair chambers," he said, implying that it was non-negotiable.

"Eh, it's a long story, Rhinox. All you need ta know right now is that Tarantulas infected Whitegrazer with some kinda virus. Somethin' ta kill her and the Vok." He shook his head.

Looking up at them, the engineer frowned, and his gaze lingered on the equine studying her for a moment. "Did he mention an antidote?"

"He claimed he didn't bother producin' one 'cause he had every intention of killin' every alien dat was interfering with us."

"How much time do we have?"

Rattrap shrugged. "No idea. You gotta run some diagnostics or somethin'."

Rhinox frowned once more at the severity of the situation with Whitegrazer's grave risk to her well being. "And what happened to Optimus?"

"Well, he was electrocuted a few times. Thrown, shot at, hanged, you name it. But the Vok had a hold on all of us through 'Grazer's spark. It was like nothin' I ever felt before, Big Green."

"I think I felt it, too," he commented as he recalled an odd, unpleasant sensation with his spark when they had showed up in the Metal Hunter.

Rattrap nodded. "Dey were tryin' reach all of us through her and kill us. But when their control weakened, I remember feelin' something else. Or someone else. It was like a pure, white light, untouched by anybody else and untainted. Know what I mean? I think it came from Optimus..."

Rhinox raised his gold brows and grew curious, glancing at Whitegrazer as though he was seeking any additional comments from her.

"Anyway, I think it was too much fer him ta handle with the Vok and 'Grazer influencing his spark and then him doing whatever it was he did. Either he put himself inta stasis on purpose or it happened involuntarily."

The larger Maximal nodded thoughtfully and looked over at the young Fuzor and the black widow. "Aurora, Blackarachnia, are you two alright?" he asked them.

-----

Megatron slowed down his acceleration in his beast mode's flight so that Nemesis could regroup with him as she carried Inferno. He'd rather not be flying solo to be made an easy target for any possible alien ambushes. He growled under his breath with sheer disappointment of losing his disk to Zodiac, losing the ship, and being overthrown by the aliens as well as the Maximals. I was so close!

[una]

"Sorry, 'Grazer, I don't buy it! Yer far from 'fine', sista!"

Rattrap, or anyone else, didn't have to believe her when she said that. It have become a mantra for her to say, so they could focus on anyone else who needed help. After all, they all needed more help than she ever did or does. Since it has become known that she too is a Vok. And that would take everyone some time to adjust too. She wondered if there would be some distrust or a wavering in what she said to them. She couldn't blame them for that. She deserved it. she did lie about who she was. She had her reasons, but it was still a lie.

"He's stable, he's just in stasis lock. But the both of you need to log some time in the repair chambers,"

Whitegrazer knelt beside Optimus and across from Rhinox. She placed a hand on Optimus' forehead, relieved that he was stable. "He had been through a lot up there." She shook her head. "I will let Rattrap, Aurora, Blackarachnia, and anyone else get repaired before I." She was in pain, but she could handle this. Also, it was through her that the Vok inflicted pain on all of them. She remembered, witnessed any throw, any punch, and every orb thrown at her friends and people she had grown to respect. It was a promise she made to herself long ago that she wouldn't be used like that, and yet, despite everything, she broke that promise.

"Eh, it's a long story, Rhinox. All you need ta know right now is that Tarantulas infected Whitegrazer with some kinda virus. Somethin' ta kill her and the Vok."

"Did he mention an antidote?"

"He claimed he didn't bother producin' one 'cause he had every intention of killin' every alien dat was interfering with us."

Whitegrazer looked at her disfigured, skeleton-like reflection from a glass as Rhinox and Rattrap talked. Then she looked back at Optimus, "Tarantulas blames the Vok for a long of things. He didn't want a chance for any antidote to be stolen and used to help the Vok.

"How much time do we have?"

"No idea. You gotta run some diagnostics or somethin'."

"The symptoms might start soon, tomorrow, in a week, month, or maybe a year. I don't know. Tarantulas made sure to create a program with not set date. I'm just going to have to watch myself for the time being. Probably would need to make daily checkups, especially before I head out to the field." She didn;t really want her to start showing some unusual symptoms on the field. That would be disastrous for her loved ones and herself. "And when I start symptoms, I guess we will just handle it one step at time."

"And what happened to Optimus?"

"Well, he was electrocuted a few times. Thrown, shot at, hanged, you name it. But the Vok had a hold on all of us through 'Grazer's spark. It was like nothin' I ever felt before, Big Green."

Whitegrzer gazed up at Rhinox and Rattrap, "That was their plan for the beginning. If the Metal Hunter couldn't destroy the core without being detected, they were going to use my form and my abilities, combined with theirs, to kill everyone. They possessed my form and wanted to fight because they knew that with every shot and strike, my pain would increase my ability to form connections. By forming those connections, they would be able to grip everyone's spark and squeeze them until...." Flashes of what happened back at Gialar re-entered her mind. "The body couldn't take anymore."

"Dey were tryin' reach all of us through her and kill us. But when their control weakened, I remember feelin' something else. Or someone else. It was like a pure, white light, untouched by anybody else and untainted. Know what I mean? I think it came from Optimus..."

"Rattrap is correct. It came from Optimus." She smiled down at Optimus. Her hand caressed his cheek. "At first, I thought I did it, but I realized the source hadn't been from me. Such pureness and that warm, white light.... it couldn't be." She sighed, tilting her head slightly and still smiled at Optimus. "It felt really nice. I guess... there is someone else who is watching over you, Optimus."

"Aurora, Blackarachnia, are you two alright?"

"Some of the venom is still in my systems. The CR Chambers would take care of the rest of it." Blackarachnia heard what happened to Whitegrazer and the virus' wild nature. "I should have killed him. He's spider... like me, and I let him get the best of me. " This wasn't self-pity or an apology. It was a statement and a warning. The next time she crossed Tarantulas, she wasn't going to fool around anymore. She marked him for death. If they need him for the antidote, she would suggest they relied on their own skills. Tarantulas.... He was just too clever, cunning, and stubbornly sneaky.

Whitegrazer looked at Aurora. She wondered how the little one thought about all of this. She was quiet. Maybe she just needed more time to allow all this to sink in.

[Phoenix]

Aurora remained quiet as the group of Maximals traveled back to base. She seemed lost in thought, albeit occasionally she did glance over at Whitegrazer in particular. It wasn't necessarily that she was too bothered by the recent reveals made by the Vok-turned-Maximal female, well no, that wasn't entirely true.. Aurora just felt conflicted about it all. It seemed that every time she thought she had the white mare pegged down, some other revelation knocked everything she thought she knew to the ground and forced her to re-evaluate the situation all over again. And this most recent revelation had been the biggest one yet, so it would require some time for her to process everything that had happened.

Until then, Aurora really didn't know what to say. Of course she was happy Whitegrazer was alright. Well, relatively so, at least, since she looked like something out of a horror story.

This was all just so confusing. Had they just won against these Vok? Or were the Predacons the real victors in all of this? Tarantulas had been the one to come up with a solution, as hard as that fact was to swallow for someone like the fuzor. It almost seemed a bit too convenient that the spider didn't have ulterior motives in all of this. Of course he did. But she could only hope they weren't as lethal as the alternative had been.

And what of the Predacons? Had they gotten anything out of this? And the shapeshifter.. where did he go off to anyway?

The fuzor sighed as they continued on their way back to base. Rhinox had joined them, so at least that was a bit of a relief. But Aurora still didn't say much, instead merely greeted her larger friend with a nod and an acknowledging smile.

"Aurora, Blackarachnia, are you two alright?"

"Can't speak for the spider..," the fuzor finally said, breaking her self-imposed silence, "But it's been a long and pretty crazy day.. I'm okay though, I think.."

She let the words linger for a moment, not quite sure on how to elaborate on what she was feeling. Relieved, a bit shook up, disgusted, surprised, betrayed all fit the bill.. and so many other descriptive words along them. Yeah.. she was going to need a while to let this settle.

Meanwhile Nemesis had caught up with Megatron and the other Predacons. The tyrant had been kind enough to wait for her since she was carrying a heavy load. Perhaps he didn't feel like traveling the distance by himself, not that she could blame him for that after what just happened. And irritatingly enough, Zodiac had seemingly gotten away. Unscathed. And with Megatron's disk in his possession. She could only guess what he intended to do with it. Of course this likely also meant that they hadn't seen the last of the doublecrossing shapeshifter..