"Acknowledged. Drone sequence activated," the female voice repeated as a nearby monitor hanging from the ceiling dropped down lower over his tank and turned on. At the same time, a small, wireless-controlled, flying robot - similar to Scorponok's cyber bees - ejected from beneath one of the Darksyde's wings and flew off to give the Predacon leader an aerial view of the ship's perimeter thanks to a camera that had been installed on it. The drone was fairly quiet in its flight as it did its pre-programmed route.
Inside the Predacon base, Megatron observed everything on the monitor from the drone's perspective. His optics scanned the terrain closely with patience while the worst wound in his abdomen was almost done healing.
"I'm sorry, I'm sure that soft of thing has a waiting list. You will have to get in line."
Rattrap had given himself a dull, sarcastic laugh inside his head against their comments. Even though they were probably right, he didn't want to give either of them the satisfaction."Evidently it must be a long line. And even my patience has its limits,"
Although he hadn't shown it on the outside, he was surprised that she was playing along with the bluff. She could just as easily screw it up for them without a single care, but she didn't. Maybe it was just because of her new-found hope of escaping this planet with the Viper, but she still needed their help to get it done."I don't know why that white mare of yours is so adamant of us bringing him alive."
"You would think after what he has done, she wouldn't care nor mind what we do to him. I know, if put into that position, what I would do." "Sometimes, I think you Maximals must enjoy pain and suffering. I mean, if this your thing, you could do it in other ways."
Rattrap knew why Whitegrazer would have wanted to speak with him if that motive of theirs had been entirely true, but it was only their cover-up story. And he wasn't going to bother disclosing any of her plans with Zodiac assuming she had any in the first place. ...But knowing her, yeah, she probably did. Would Optimus allow it? He didn't know. So, he had decided not to comment further on the matter, at least not until it might be necessary to further convince Zodiac of Primal's alleged death. Did he fail on the emotional end of the stick? Maybe a little, but Rattrap was known to hide his emotions, and if it had actually happened, Blackarachnia probably couldn't have cared less, so of course she carried on as her normal, creepy, negative-attitude self."Ah yes, that white mare of yours is quite flawed in her reasoning,"
Whoa. OUR field of work? the rat's thoughts automatically interrupted. Get real. He refused to compare any similarities to the shape-shifting murderer."It's always so black and white to you, isn't it? I suppose it's easier in our field of work to view the world in black and white,
The Maximal had rolled his optics at the pretender's "elite" wisdom. Even though he was right, it wasn't a subject Rattrap cared to indulge in at the moment, and especially not with the likes of him. That, and he was still trying to shake off that eerie smile Zodiac had just given him with Aurora's disguise before he became so serious in his tone.when in truth there are so many more nuances. You want to know the real difference between Maximals and Predacons? The latter doesn't try nearly so hard to hide their indiscretions."
"Jee, thanks for yer sympathy," he responded sarcastically. "Actually, rats are survivors," Rattrap had retorted with a snide tone. Out of the two of them, if one was going to survive this war, it was going to be the rat, not the renegade."That all sounds most unfortunate for you," "But I'm sure you'll still land on your feet.. oh wait, that's what cats do. What is it rats do again? Oh yeah.. They serve as food for those higher on the food chain."
At least Nemesis's answer to Terrorsaur had confirmed the intruders' whereabouts even though he soon found himself laying on the floor outside of his room after Rattrap had essentially tasered him or electrocuted him. That slagging vermin! Wait til I get my cross hairs on him, he thought angrily as he slowly came to..."You have some uninvited house guests,"
Meanwhile, further away from the TransMetal's 'dactyl's quarters, Rattrap relayed an update to his leader with a quiet voice. "We've been had. We're tryin' ta find an escape but we got alotta Preds ta deal with in here. We might need a distraction. Also, Zodiac thinks you an' Megatron are dead, so we've been playin' along with it. I ain't sure about Megs, but we haven't seen 'im since we got here. Whatever Zodiac did to 'im, he was in really bad shape. Over," he ended his communication. Keeping it a one way transmission, like a baby monitor, left Optimus undetected, but not for long.
"I gotta do everythin'," Rattrap complained to himself aloud. Leaving where Quickstrike laid unconscious on the floor, Rattrap made his way back toward Blackarachnia and Zodiac, preparing himself for more battle."Not yet, we have to deal with a little birdie first,"
Rattrap's report was rather interesting. As much as he wanted further details on how his Spy was aware of Megatron's condition in the first place, it would have to wait. Could his nemesis really be deceased? Could they be on the brink of winning this war? Optimus knew better than to blindly assume that Megatron could be defeated that easily. Zodiac often retreated before witnessing his targets perish, which was always a foolish mistake, but it was one Optimus was going to take advantage of. With this information, he could catch him off guard.
"There we have it. Just as I surmised," Megatron said to himself with too much ego as he caught a glimpse of the blue and silver gorilla on his territory while the drone silently passed by above in an altitude too high to notice with audio and optic sensors. "Optimus Primal himself. Hm... Might he be seeking Zodiac for justice if that ermine Fuzor of his didn't survive earlier?" The narcissist gently stroked his chin. It was possible that Rattrap and the traitor, Blackarachnia, had tracked the shape shifter down some how to the Darksyde in order to retrieve him and return him to the Axalon's brig to answer for his crime. Some ideas developed in his devious mind with one in particular that he might like to execute.
"Repair cycle complete," the computer announced in the room.
"Finally," Megatron scoffed at it as he stood up and stepped out of the cryo bath. Peering down to his abdomen, he now had two memorable scars to live with in this TransMetal body; one from Optimus stabbing him with his own energon blade, and the other from that manipulative shape shifter. He growled lightly to himself in disgust and irritation but it quickly passed. He had business to attend to before anyone would catch wind of his absence. Quietly, he exited the room and headed in the opposite direction of where everyone else had congregated to per Nemesis's prior commands before making haste to sneak out of his own base and meet up with his long time "friend".
Both of the fliers groaned as their systems started to reboot and divert their power. "That rodent... often has too many tricks! You shouldn't have taken your eyes off him!" Inferno accused Terrorsaur.
"It could have been a trap, Bug breath!" he argued as they both stood up. "How was I to know who was in my room?"
With his gun in hand, Rattrap was about to turn the corner until he heard the two beginning to squabble, so he decided to wait and listen. They couldn't actually be as dumb as he thought they were, could they?
"It doesn't matter! You knew where the rat was, and you should have finished him off when you had the chance! Instead you let him escape!"
"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing! You aren't in command here!"
"Neither are you! But at least I follow orders!"
"That's because you're a fool who can't think for himself! Not to mention that your programming has been miss-wired ever since Tarantulas touched your stasis pod."
"You know nothing about loyalty!"
"At least I know the difference between our leader and a Queen..."
"Ah! You've betrayed the Royalty before, and you'll do it again! Traitor," Inferno accused Terrorsaur while aiming his weapon at him.
Terrorsaur just as quickly charged his optic lasers ready to blast the ant's legs off. All of them.
I really should just let 'em slag each other, thought the rodent as he remained hidden around the corner. Buuuut we don't got time for that, he decided as he stretched his arm out and narrowed his target through the opening of Terrorsaur's quarters' doors, firing at Nemesis's back to get her attention off of Blackarachnia and Zodiac.
"Ah! The Maximal rodent!" Inferno proclaimed as he removed his attention from his comrade and spun his weapon in his hand before returning fire at the Maximal Spy's arm and gun that were seen sticking out from behind the corner of the intersecting corridors.
"He's mine!" Terrorsaur turned and fired his optic lasers at Rattrap's weapon.
But the rodent was quicker with pulling his limb and gun out of harm's way just in time. Rattrap could feel the heat from their gun fire in such close proximity, and he could smell the smoldering metal. Knowing they'd start chasing him again, he bolted down the hallway with both fliers in hot pursuit.
Sneaking up on Primal, Megatron came around a boulder nearby and approached the Maximal leader.
As expected, Optimus suddenly grabbed both of his clubs from his back and stood in a defensive position as soon as he spotted the tyrant advancing toward him. Well, he certainly wasn't dead. He could have maximized, but he didn't want to give away his position to the ship's scanners. And the only thing that stopped him from using his hoverboard to evacuate was that Megatron wasn't armed. Then... that same flash of the mysterious, alien orb suddenly passed through his mind again uncontrollably. What was it? He didn't know. And he didn't make the connection that it had appeared in his head just as Megatron had arrived.
"Please, Primal, there is no need for hostility. I come in peace, yesss." The taller bot stopped a few feet away from the Maximal ape, and didn't appear to be posing as a threat. He could feel and even see a different presence about Optimus. His confidence in his own abilities as a commanding officer was greater, and his sense of awareness was keener. Something about him was different since the last time he saw him earlier. If his Fuzor had died, he doubted he would have been this... enlightened, for lack of a batter word to describe it. So she must have survived.
How did he spot him? What did he want? Optimus couldn't help but be on full alert. This could all be a rouse with an ambush waiting to jump him. His pink optics narrowed clearly in disbelief of Megatron's true intentions to this confrontation as he remained on guard with his weapons gripped tightly in his hands.
"And I come bearing a proposal," Megatron added as he kept his hands up to his shoulders with their palms facing the gorilla.
Primal's face relaxed a little more toward curiosity. "So, propose," he said firmly and impatiently. Although he lowered his clubs against his better judgement, he did not holster them to his back.
Megatron raised a brow with some disgust in his expression as if Optimus had meant it in the sense of a marital proposal even though he clearly hadn't. But the tyrant's mind worked in mysterious ways some times. Then he quickly shook his head to be rid of the awful thought before lowering his own hands and continuing. "I'm certain you have heard of the ancient proverb, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'."
Optimus grew thoughtful for a moment before answering as he realized where Megatron was heading with the idea. "You're suggesting a partnership." It was a statement, not a question.
"Precisely," the Predacon said with a slight grin to one side of his mouth. But it was obvious by his adversary's very cautious and unconvinced expression that he would have to be a bit more persuasive in order to have his tactic come to fruition. "I realize my actions in the past have been ruthless, and my cooperation has been uncompromising-"
"You think?" Optimus suddenly jumped in for a quip. "You expect me to listen to your deceitful words and actually take them into consideration after everything that's happened? The battles, the thefts of artifacts and protoforms, the murders including my own?"
Megatron's upper lip curled for a moment since he absolutely hated to be interrupted, but he supposed the opposing leader's observations held some merit to them. "Just... hear me out, if you wouldn't mind. After all, I have come this far to greet you unarmed and alone."
The TransMetal gorilla remained vigilant but decided to listen after the t-rex had made a valid point. He allowed him to continue.
"The way I see it, we have a common grievance that has been interfering with our daily lives ever since he arrived. Perhaps we can utilize a collaboration and find a way to finally... apprehend him," he had hesitated momentarily to think of the right word to use in order to skew his true ambitions from the overly compassionate Maximal before him. Megatron wanted to kill Zodiac, of course, but he knew that Optimus would never help him take a life. If he could just get him to work with him to take him down or keep him distracted, then Megatron could take advantage and present an opening to kidnap the shape shifter or just destroy him on the spot should the opportunity arise in his favor. If they could work together this one time, then they would be a stronger force against the dangerous and unpredictable renegade that Primal had foolishly help create so many years ago. Surely, that guilt continued to weigh on his shoulders, and the Predacon was more than willing to exploit it.
Taking a moment to evaluate their situation, his eyes subtly drifted downward from Megatron's optics to his stomach and he took in his scars. He recognized his, but the other one had been a deeper, larger wound. Who could have gotten close enough to him to even do that much damage? And was it related to what Rattrap had seen? He locked his eyes back onto Megatron's as he asked, "How can I be sure that you aren't just using me as a pawn to kill him?"
So typical of Primal. "He has stolen Rampage's spark from me," the Predacon was surprisingly honest with, "and I want it back."
"Rampage?" He renamed him? Interesting. ...And fitting.
"Formerly known as Protoform X," he clarified.
"Zodiac stole half of the spark that you stole from 'Rampage', and you want it returned to you and not its rightful owner," Optimus thought out loud to make sure he was understanding the absurdity of it correctly.
"Well, let's face it, Optimus, I gained better control over your menace with it in my hands than you and the Maximal Elders ever did," he explained with a slight smirk of overconfidence.
For a moment, Primal's eyes slipped away as if he was rolling them, but he tried not to be so obvious about it. Megatron hadn't even asked him why he was out there. Did he already know something he didn't? Were Rattrap and Blackarachnia okay? Perhaps he could negotiate their safe escape to judge how serious and willing Megatron was with cooperating. It was possible that Optimus actually knew more about this Zodiac situation than he did; the Viper, and the journal. And he'd like to keep it that way for as long as he could. Although for this tactic of Megatron's to be successful, they would have to work closely together which eventually would lead to the unveiling of the Viper with the obvious assumption that Megatron would gladly want to steal it. And if he managed to do that, then they would have to stop him. But they could deal with that when the time would come, IF it were to happen at all.
This was a rare instance in which Optimus might actually be a step ahead of his eternal adversary, however, he couldn't allow that to make him underestimate old Megs. Their motives may have been different, but they both wanted something from the shape shifter, and it only seemed logical that they join forces in order to stop him once and for all. Primal didn't forget their last truce, but the Maximals had benefited from it to an extent as well, and they'll do so again this time if need be. Was this cease fire with Megatron and his goons going to be risky? Of course. But it would be even riskier for all of them if they didn't stop Zodiac's onslaught. He didn't have to remind himself that the shape shifter had nearly killed Aurora just to acquire her I.D. chip. It was interesting what little information Megatron sought after Optimus's desire to infiltrate his base. Maybe he merely assumed that he was after Zodiac to arrest him. Or maybe he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe he just didn't care what Optimus wanted out of it.
"So, a cease fire between our factions to focus on bringing Zodiac down together," the Maximal established as his hands gently fidgeted with the handles of his clubs that hung at his sides.
"Yes, more or less."
Not wanting to appear desperate or throw his caution to the wind, Primal hesitated on his answer for the Predacon before him. He couldn't base it on emotion or selfishness, he had to be objective, and he had weigh the possible consequences. With all of them standing against Zodiac, and possibly Rampage, they could certainly over throw them. He was certain of that. This would be a plan that the pretender would not expect. But could their troops actually cooperate with each other to master such a feat? And what would be at stake? What might they sacrifice? Time would tell once Optimus would see the turning points of which Megatron will likely take advantage of. "Zodiac thinks you and I are dead, which could come in handy later," he brought up.
"Indeed, it could," the Predacon agreed, although he wasn't quite sure why the pretender thought Primal had expired, but there wasn't much time for explanations. No wonder the ape hadn't invaded his base yet to assist his rodent, the treacherous spider, and Zodiac; he was keeping a low profile. As much as he was trying to disguise his patience as it started to wear thin waiting for Primal's acceptance, he politely held out his hand to him for a shake on their truce.
Optimus glanced at his enemy's extended hand knowing that once he shook it, there was no turning back. Holstering his clubs on his back, he went forth and clasped Megatron's hand in a strong but not overbearing shake while their optics never wavered from each other's. The Predacon offered him a grin of satisfaction but Optimus failed to return the expression. "Now, to start this endeavor with a show of good faith, you'll let Rattrap, Blackarachnia and Zodiac go unharmed." Stick to the plan, he reminded himself. They needed Zodiac to willingly show them the way to the Viper. If he was caught too soon, then he'll likely never tell them where it is. Optimus wasn't even sure that its location or recorded trajectory would have been logged in Nexus's journal, so they couldn't rely on that once it was in the rightful hands.
"And Zodiac?" Megatron repeated with some skepticism. "If he is trapped inside of my base, it would be easier to ensnare him where he stands."
"True. But if he's working with Rampage, wouldn't you like to know where he sent him and why?" Optimus asked. "We both know Zodiac always has alternative motives. If we allow him to slip away now, then we can follow him to his rendezvous with Rampage where all of our troops can then converge on them."
Megatron still squinted a quizzical optic down at the TransMetal gorilla. He should know better than to try to pull a fast one me, he thought with some bitterness. However, his adversary brought up a good point. "Very well. We'll do it your way," he obliged. "Computer, cease scanners on radio communication," he instructed the Darksyde's intelligence so that Optimus could maintain his radio transmissions to his comrades behind enemy lines without being detected.
"Acknowledged."
"Remember, we don't want him to find out we're alive just yet," he addressed the Predacon leader with a cautious but subtle hand gesture.
"I have a handle on it, Primal," he said with a dismissive wave at him since he had not forgotten that detail. So, instead of risking verbal communication with Nemesis who might be close enough to Zodiac to pick up Megatron's voice over her comm. link, he sent her an encrypted text message that couldn't be intervened by anyone else who might have been snooping around in their transmissions: -Incoming message- Nemesis, another approach to Zodiac's apprehension has come to my attention. Let all of them escape, but do not make it obvious. I will explain later. -End message- [Sender Signature Confirmed as Megatron]
"Rattrap, get ready to bail," Optimus told him.
"Not without de she-spider and the terrible Aurora impersonator," he returned to his leader unbeknownst of his new partnership with the Predacon dictator.
"It's under control. Trust me."
"Under control? What's under control? And did you just blow yer cover?!" the rat pointed out.
"Rattrap!" he yelled into his comm. link sternly.
"All right, all right! Whatever you say!" the short Maximal finally complied with the two morons on his tail.
-Incoming message- Blackarachnia, if Zodiac has offered to take you with him, then accept it, Optimus sent her via a text message. We need the location of the Viper. We'll be right behind you. -End message-