No Rest For The Wicked

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Phoenix, correct me if I get any of Zodiac's past incorrect. I can't remember everything at this point. And I'm moving fast with Optimus in this post. I hope it's okay. ))

"Was Optimus overseeing this other individual's experimentation as well?,"

"No," Rhinox answered. "At least, not that I know of. And even with you, he was only a pencil-pusher, as they say. You know, someone who logs the events and procedures, and keeps the papers organized. acquires signatures and such." Zodiac's ease and calmness made it difficult to tell if he was just playing along and had in fact regained his memories, or if he was still being genuine. But as their conversation went on, the engineer grew certain that it was still the latter.

"I think I'd like to meet this other individual at some point if at all possible,"

This time the Maximal didn't respond to that comment. It would no doubt happen soon enough, and right now, he didn't see any need to dive into Nemesis. Judging by the faint smile full of curiosity and thoughtfulness, Rhinox had a feeling that if he went on about her being there on the planet, then Zodiac might feel compelled to run off and find her. And then what? Disaster if he accidentally ran into Megatron. So, for now, he decided not to volunteer anymore information about her.

"So the old geezers picked me to do their experimentation on. That's quaint,"

Because he had "certain qualities" that no one else had who could survive such an ordeal. But Big Green couldn't, or wouldn't, explain that part just yet. Again, he didn't comment further on that. The renegade kept the conversation flowing anyway. If only the other Maximals could see how different Zodiac really was. Not that they should let their guard down, but they could at least ease up on their glares and cold shoulders toward him.

"I understand..," "And I apologize for asking so many questions. But more importantly I wish to thank you for actually talking to me and telling me all this. I do appreciate it more than you can imagine."

"What else are we going to do while we wait for them to come back?" he asked rhetorically. "Might as well talk." He offered a light smile on his green face. "And you're welcome," he added warmly. "If I woke up with no remembrance of who I was, I'd want to know, too." The shape shifter's words appeared to be full of authenticity, which was both remarkable and comforting. If Optimus could see the progress he had made so far, he might be convinced that they were indeed making great progress with Zodiac.

"I find it incredible Optimus could bring himself to forgive and even try to help me given the severity of my actions,"

"Perhaps he feels that his actions outweighed or even began the chain of events that have taken place, so he's compelled to take full responsibility of the consequences. In many ways, he's not like most leaders, Zodiac." Not that the dragon would remember any others at the moment, anyway. Forgiving, selfless, merciful, compassionate, humble, trusting. Some took advantage of those qualities Optimus had and used them against him. But they were still his greatest strengths that always prevailed. Rhinox hoped since Zodiac was recognizing them in the Maximal Commander that he might recognize some of them in himself as well.

"Interesting choice. Making living weapons out of their own citizens."

Was Zodiac a citizen of Cybertron? Considering his heritage was partially derived from the Vok, Rhinox had no way of knowing how accurate that statement or presumption was. He didn't know where the shape shifter's spark had been born, or any of his childhood. Where he had lived, played, and learned as a sparkling before being evolved and influenced by others. "We've come to realize how callous their ideas and actions have been. Too much apathy and not enough empathy," he commented softly as his thoughtful gaze shifted away from Zodiac's for a moment, and sort of sharing the renegade's dread toward them. Who knew what Cybertron was like now, or rather... in the future? Maybe it hadn't changed at all yet but was still on a crash coarse for Predacon rebellion.

"But shouldn't I have had the same rights as the others on this Cybertron.. our home world as you put it..?," "These Elders sound like horrible leaders. I don't understand why their socalled people didn't rebel against them,"

"Unfortunately, as what happens with most individuals who gain too much power, they become corrupted and start making unethical decisions to benefit themselves instead of the ones they're supposed to represent and take care of." Rhinox shook his head lightly with the disappointment. "Some began to rise against their tyranny," he informed Zodiac and his correct assertion on the matter. "For quite some time, they had been planning and scheming, it seemed. There were protests, riots, and crime was on the rise. It's how we ended up here, stranded, with no way home and no way to communicate with Cybertron." Although he was deliberately straying away from mentioning Cryotek and his gang, Rhinox suddenly felt like he might have said too much right then. It could easily lead into Megatron and the Predacons, the golden disk, and the whole conspiracy theory that he and Optimus were certain wasn't far off from the High Council's true intentions.

"A weapon against whom?"

How could the Chief medical officer answer that without mentioning the Predacons? "That was initially deemed as classified information, but I believe... from their own people. The dangerous and extreme Cybertronians who were building armies to retaliate." There. That sounded good for the time being.

"I apologize for my outburst, it was uncalled for..," "This is all just a lot to take in. Admittedly I don't quite understand how they were planning to use me, but it seems unreasonable of me to expect you to be able to answer all my questions about it. You didn't take part in it, after all."

"It's alright, Zodiac," he tried to politely dismiss his apology that Rhinox thought was unnecessary, albeit a welcomed remorseful personality trait that was nearly nonexistent with the pre-amnesiac dragon. "It's true that I can't answer all of them, but you will understand more on your own once your memory starts coming back and you learn more about your abilities."

"The burden of leadership really changes a bot, I reckon," "Since I can't imagine our Optimus partaking in such heinous experiments."

The engineer nodded at the shape shifter. "It does. Particularly in Optimus's case since we're his very first crew under his command. And most of them felt the same way. It was one of the skeletons in his closet that you threw out into the open. Like I said, he's not exactly proud of it. It will always remain as a part of his past, but what he has learned from it shapes who he is today, and he wants to help those who are in similar situations. He wants to end the experiments for good. And if he can do so, hold those accountable for years and years of their immoral actions."

"Well, if you ever need a test subject I apparently have some experience with that,"

A touch of humor? Interesting. Not that it was a laughing matter, but if Zodiac felt like he could find some comic relief using himself as the willing participant, then Rhinox thought that was a huge break-through with him. The more serious, robust Maximal gave a short and uncomfortable chuckle since he thought it was difficult to find it funny, but he didn't want to be rude either with his joke. "Well, maybe just strictly for research purposes, but it certainly wouldn't involve any suffering, or anything done against your will."

Having observed Zodiac's reaction to his hand slightly shifting its form before returning back to normal, Rhinox wanted to assure him that it was, again, quite usual when it came to what he was capable of, and that he wasn't hallucinating. But the instances seemed to be accelerating more now, as if they had awoken something inside of the dragon even though he hadn't regained his memories yet. "I saw your hand just now even though you weren't holding anything to trigger it," Rhinox told him, still calm. "It's okay to be startled or afraid, but try not to worry. It's a part of you, another one of your skills. But we won't get into that at the moment. There's still a lot more to discuss."

"I'll be careful," "I certainly don't want to rearrange anyone the way I did the weapon."

The large Maximal almost repeated his uncomfortable and short-lived chuckle again while he recalled the times Zodiac had used his unique nanotech to eat and rearrange weapons and others' armor, but he withheld it and nodded at him, trusting his word on that. For now.

"I.. I'm not sure," "I think I remembered.. something.. But it was short lived and didn't really seem familiar."

Despite his dismissive hand to him, the renegade's reaction that nearly appeared painful suggested otherwise, but maybe he just wasn't certain of himself. Rhinox was willing to bet, though, that something had triggered his data tracks that had been infected by the spider's virus, and Zodiac was beginning to recall some memories. Possibly jumbled and sporadic at the time, according to the medic's past research on the subject, but returning nonetheless. "It's probably better if they don't come back all at once. I'm sure it would be a lot to process and cope with. Just breathe and take your time," he recommended. "If they become too overwhelming, I can give you a mild sedative to help calm you," he kindly offered him.

"This other individual Primal oversaw the experimentation on, was it the same bot you mentioned earlier? The one with similar abilities to my own?,"

"No, he's a bit different, and he was created for a different purpose. Optimus wasn't the only one involved in that one either. So was I," Rhinox confessed. "Although Optimus was the primary science engineer and developed this individual's spark's abilities, I was the lesser scientist in which my tasks included those that Optimus handled during your tests and experiments. Still, I have my regrets and remorse about it as well, no matter how 'minor' my participation was." He frowned and bowed his head for a moment in shame. How "ironic" that all of these individuals were now residing with them on Earth. Their pasts had caught up to them, and now they and the other Maximals were paying for them.

"I see..," "I don't suppose you'll be willing to tell me who it was. Or if there were more than one?"

It would probably make it easier for Optimus if Rhinox told him, but was it really his place to do so? What if his memories came flooding back before the others returned to the base and Zodiac might not care by that point? "There were many," Rhinox reluctantly said to him. "You were targeting everyone who was involved in your development. Everyone," he reiterated to establish the scale of his brutality and determination. "Even a Prime. Nexus Prime. He was a decorated war hero and an Admiral in charge of your experiment. Optimus was his apprentice. When you told him you had killed Nexus... it devastated him." Of course, he left out the part that Zodiac had disguised himself as Primal when he took the Admiral's life.

-----

”Big Bot, Airazor, Tigerhawk, we could use some air support, double time. If you can spare it.”

Optimus heard Cheetor's plea for reinforcements over his comm. link, as well as the gun fire from the main battle a little distance away from the three where the TransMetal gorilla in robot mode couldn't see what was going on or who was involved, but he couldn't respond under his distress with Inferno nearly choking him out. Until he could escape his own problem, he hoped that Airazor and Tigerhawk could lend him a hand.

“I’ll be there soon as I can Cheetor, I’m otherwise engaged.”

Or just Airazor, it would seem. He didn't like his Maximals being scattered about as much as it sounded like they were. They needed to regroup and force the Predacons to retreat, himself included.

‘I’m still fighting Optimus, don’t worry.’

Wintersong. She had heard his angry bellow to the Vok who were trying to possess her and control her actions. He was somewhat relieved but still concerned for her well being considering how she appeared the last time he saw her. He could feel the turmoil brewing inside of the tigress. It wasn't good. She was obviously hiding a lot of it, and he had no doubt that she was trying to deal with it all on her own despite their last conversations on the matter.

Our last projects were contaminated by you and your kin. Optimus Primal, you will not interfere with this one, an eerie, alien whisper warned the Maximal leader in Unicron's voice as it invaded his mind, possibly to emphasize the power they had unveiled with their fake moon when they had actually "shown" themselves to Optimus and spoke to him for the first time before trying to blow up the entire planet with their genocide ambition. He cringed from the headache it produced and closed his optics.

"Unless you want me to shove that flamethrower down your throat and pull the trigger, you better watch your mouth,"

Inferno glared at her from behind Primal until he remembered that his glorious and powerful weapon wasn't on him or near him. It had landed some distance away when the Maximal forced him to crash. He almost gasped and started to look around for it with his optics even though there were too many tall ferns and too much brush to visually locate it from where they were standing. Where is it? he wondered, almost panicking.

"You don't have to remind me,"

Nemesis's kick to his face knocked Optimus out of his somewhat "otherworldly" mentality, snapping his head to one side, and the pain it caused actually felt kinder than what the Vok had recently sent him. Dazed, though, he coughed for more oxygen when her attack forced Inferno to loosen his arms again around his throat and shoulder.

However, the ant managed to catch himself when he wasn't ready for his comrade's attack and held on to the leader with his hands on his shoulders so he wouldn't fall over.

Defiant as always, Primal's gaze slowly lifted, but his orange optics only had a moment to connect with Nemesis's before her knee was driven into his abdomen and he doubled-over onto the ground landing on his chest once he fell out of Inferno's grasp. Finally. He pretended to lay there as if he was unconscious while he assessed his options... and his throbbing stomach and face.

"That's more like it," Inferno told the female with a light, mean cackle at Primal's expense. "Guard him while I retrieve my weapon," he demanded and started to walk away from the two to search for it.

Taking a peek without moving the rest of his body as he laid there to see where Inferno was going, Optimus took the opportunity to sit up, wield his gun from his hip before Nemesis could grab it, and fired a few shots at Inferno's upper back, thrust engine, and the back of his knees.

After being directly hit from behind, Inferno cried out and fell to the ground on his hands and knees, confused and flustered and feeling the pain especially in his knees where his joints were weaker. He tried standing up but his legs throbbed and nearly buckled altogether. He didn't know what happened. Someone shot him from behind like a coward? Was it Nemesis or the Maximal?!

Although Primal hadn't forgotten the female avian near him, the Maximals' commanding officer focused his anger on the ant and stood up. He proceeded to walk over to him with his limp while exchanging his blaster for one of his maces. He slammed his weapon down once onto the back of Inferno's head watching his body collapse to the ground to make sure he was down and out for a good while but certainly not wounded enough to reach stasis lock. And with the Predacon's flight being damaged, his mobility would be limited as well. This would be enough to keep Inferno out of the way until the battle was over, which was all he wanted. Plus, the ant would have no recollection if Nemesis had stepped in to stop Optimus or not. With no one else around them, the maximized gorilla turned around to look at Nemesis as he hesitated to place the club back where it was meant to be stored. He might need it to defend himself if she was going to fight him. He didn't want that, and there was no one around to witness anything if she opted to let him just walk away from this. Some scrapes from her foot impaling his already scarred face, and a dent into his abs from her knee, he stood there quietly with the physical evidence that there was at least a dispute before his potential escape from her and Inferno should he encounter Megatron.

“No you won’t, you wouldn’t keep her alive this long if she wasn’t worth something.” “Tarantulas risked too much to drag her away so close to our base a couple weeks ago, suggests you obviously need Aurora for something.”

Megatron scoffed at Cheetor. "If you are presuming that I hold a single ounce of consideration for this individual's life, then you are sadly mistaken. I had nothing to do with her abduction. Hence, she holds no value to my ambitions whether she lives or dies," he explained, falling for Cheetor's deliberate diversion with talking and buying time. He actually missed Primal's diplomatic dribble when it came to these stand-offs. He'd rather deal with the ape than this adolescent feline. But he mustn't complain since he purposely had his nemesis tied up else where. It was interesting, however, to see how Cheetor had changed his approach on the matter. Megatron was almost certain that he would have lashed out physically with his anger instead of angling an attempt for dissuading him with talk. No one, not even Megatron, knew Tarantulas's motives with this situation pertaining to Aurora, so the tyrant was actually speaking the truth for once of how little importance she was to him.

“And these bozos won’t leave even if you did surrender. They’d still blast us in the back, whether you complied or not.”

"Finally, a correct assumption from someone attempting to assert some leadership in this disaster," Megatron mocked the Maximals while he stood there confident that the Predacons had already won this battle.

"I surrender. Just please stop hurting these Maximals"

'Please stop hurting these Maximals?' Those words didn't even compute with the warlord. He simply smiled at the medic while he tried to hide the deviousness behind it and prepared himself to begin slaughtering them while taking the new recruit with him and leading his Predacons to victory!

“That does it!”

It worked! The giant crab dropped Frilla! Rattrap grinned to their success as he saw his friend make her escape, but now he needed to- "Whoa!" The rodent was suddenly flung off of Rampage's back and into some tall brush nearby when the Pred transformed. Instinctively, his wheels had automatically lifted and lowered his silver paws, although it didn't matter since he had landed on his back with the end of his tail smacking him on his face. Ow. But he and Frilla weren't entirely out of danger yet.

“Thanks Rattrap...I owe...you one.”

"Don't mention it," he told her as he rolled over onto his stomach and glued his green eyes onto Rampage who proceeded to fire off rockets in every direction out of rage.

“How about I just take all of you to the Pit with me? I hear it’s nice there.”

Someone had to do something to stop him before he hurt any of the Maximals, and Tigerhawk probably needed support. He and Frilla could help him as soon as they deal with the maniac in front of them. Rattrap readied himself...

Narrowing his optic sensors at the commotion while some of the Maximals started taking cover, Megatron growled and observed as Rampage's rockets exploded in spontaneous locations. Judging by the angles that they were falling from, the crab still hadn't obeyed his earlier orders to get closer to the main battle. This infuriated the t-rex, as well as the random artillery which he feared might strike him despite the trees covering them in that location. The explosions were deafening and easily shattered trees sending debris in every direction. That fool! Opening a radio transmission to the TransMetal cannibal, he hollered, "Blast you, Rampage! I ordered you to advance on the Maximals! How dare you defy me!" Holding his tail cannon in front of him to block the shrapnel as well from anyone who might try to steal it, Megatron took out the other half of the crustacean's spark and squeezed it mercilessly in its vice with the raw energon spikes piercing it and causing the anguish it would take to stop Rampage with his incompetent attack!

“Heads up Maximals, Rampage is on a rampage, missiles incoming!”

Hearing Frilla's warning, Primal's stoic face softened to concern and his attention immediately darted to the battle surrounding the stasis pod while he started to hear the rockets screeching through air quickly followed by loud explosions throughout the rain forest. Optimus converted back to his flight mode and blasted off on his hover board. He skillfully weaved through the trees as quickly as he could, some of the branches scratching against his arms and shoulders in the tighter areas. With the club still in his hand, he entered the fray near Tigatron and Cheetor who had just taken cover from an incoming rocket that was headed right for them. Hovering and placing himself between it and his Maximals, the blue and silver gorilla swung his club at the crab's ammunition which ricocheted it upward and eventually landed somewhere else with a distant explosion. Although he didn't seem to make it obvious, he quickly surveyed the nearby occupants of the area with his internal scanners; the new Maximal who resembled someone he remembered very well back on Cybertron despite the adaption of a beast mode that had changed all of their appearances to an extent - and especially those who were affected by the transwarp explosion and were now TransMetals and almost unrecognizable like Optimus - there was also Megatron, Cheetor, Tigatron, Wintersong, Quickstrike, Dinobot and... Spineback? How her appearance had been upgraded to a TransMetal was quite mysterious and troubling to him. Time enough for that later. Aurora was here too! Thank the Matrix, she was alive. A tidal wave of relief washed over him, although little did he and the others know that she had been tampered with. In any case, she was a little further away from them near Tarantulas. Granted, Rampage's random rockets had everyone scattering and running for cover, one of them exploding dangerously close to the new Maximal which crudely threw him into his own stasis pod, but they were about to stop falling considering Megatron's hold on the king crab. Primal cut the power to his hover board, maximized to his robot mode before his feet landed on the ground and faced Megatron. He took notice of his damaged shoulder and kept it mind in case he needed to use it to his advantage. "Enough, Megatron! You're too late! The protoform has already emerged as a Maximal!"

"Cheetor, Wintersong, assist Dinobot with Aurora, Tarantulas and Spineback. Tigatron, see to our new comrade, and subdue Quickstrike! Airazor, Tigerhawk, Rattrap, and Frilla, report!" Optimus called over his comm. link while he stood ready to engage Megatron.

Then the Predacon leader saw Optimus arrive. And he glared at him with such hatred and disgust. He looked a little beat up, but otherwise healthy. Could Inferno and Nemesis not achieve the simplest tasks?! Putting Rampage's spark away in his subspace, Megatron targeted his Maximal counterpart with his tail plasma cannon and charged it. "Yes, I am quite aware of that, Primal. However, if I can't have him, then I shan't allow you to gain another member in your ranks!" he angrily rebutted the opposing leader and suddenly went to fire his cannon at the new Maximal who probably wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time considering he had just been knocked about.

Primal lunged at the Predacon rogue and swung his club to knock Megatron's weapon off of its target, causing his plasma blast to zip upward through the canopy, sheering leaves and branches and completely missing the new medic. Grabbing his gun from his hip, he fired one shot at his opponent's injured shoulder.

Upon its impact, the blast knocked Megatron back a few footsteps before he regained his balance and looked at his worsened shoulder, growling in his throat from the pain and the sparking that occurred. Because of that blasted cat, Primal was obviously taking advantage of his noticeable injury which inevitably infuriated the t-rex. Baring his teeth, he fired his plasma cannon at Optimus without putting as much effort into his targeting like he should have as his rage got the better of him.

[Wintersong]

While the battles had been raging around him, Terrorsaur took his sweet time getting his bearings. His entire back still ached, but his systems had finally caught up with the external trauma, enabling him to move at last. But he reverted to beast mode once again, making note to better protect his thrusters since that was serving against him as the battles waged on the longer they were on this dirtball of a planet.

Grunting softly, the transmetal pterodactyl took to the skies, moving from his location towards where he heard further confrontation going on. From here he could hear Megatron’s bellow, seeing the tyrant had been shifting his tactics since his arrival. A part of Terrorsaur took joy in seeing his plans not go according to what he wanted, but he knew better than to linger to watch from a distance, turning his attention towards Tigatron, Tigerhawk, and Chen, diving towards them as he fired his eye lasers.

Airazor began to perform evasive maneuvers as Waspinator’s shots came towards her, weaving left and right or barrel rolling. Many of the shots still came dangerously close, graving her feathers and causing a burning smell to reach her olfactory sensors. The downside to this aerial fight was that Waspinator had distance weaponry he could use, giving him something of an advantage against the falcon. But, she had to keep his attention, to lessen the number of Predacons at the main battle.

The sudden explosions in the distance however had the falcon whipping her head around, now worried to who had shot that arsenal. A few fresh faces had joined the Predacon ranks since her and Tigatron has returned so there was no telling if her friends might be in danger. Unfortunately, the brief concern distracted the falcon, one of the wasp’s shots making its mark as it struck her right wing causing her to let out a pained cry. Her wing joint was damaged, causing her to start falling towards the ground, grunting as she crashed through some branches and landed hard onto the ground.

Groaning, the flier transformed to robot mode, her feathers falling from the damaged area and her wing smoldering from the strike. At the moment she pushed herself to a kneeling position, Optimus’ voice came through, “Out of the sky over here, Waspinator caught me.” Though pained was etched in her voice as she spoke, the falcon still reached back to grab her Claw Gun, “I’ll regroup when I can, is everyone else alright?” She asked, referring to the explosions she had heard.

“I took the opportunity, that’s all that matters.” Cheetor retorted softly towards the older feline, slightly annoyed at his scolding. He knew Tigatron was concerned and the actions he had taken were reckless, but he had to hinder Megatron somehow. Or at least take his attention off Chen for a time to draw him away and avoid the chimp giving himself up. Chances were they likely would rid of him anyway, or shoot the Maximals in the back and forcibly change the older mech’s core programming. He couldn’t allow it.

Casting a quick glance towards Tigatron, the young cheetah silently asked him to trust his judgement, just this once. He knew many questioned his choices due to his youth and inexperience, but Cheetor wasn’t going to get anywhere with everyone continuing to hold his hand as it were. So, he was trying a different approach, willing to call out Megaton about Aurora being there and his potentially need for her. But, the tyrant seemed uninterested in calling him out. No, this only earned the tyrant’s ire and monologue how it was all for Tarantulas’ needs, which only confirmed the spider was likely plotting something separate from Megatron as normal and served the purpose of distracting the Predacon leader. “Then her purpose is working against you.” Cheetor reasoned, wondering what Tarantulas’ end goal was with the young ermine, but was taken aback by Megatron mentioning Cheetor attempting to take leadership. It wasn’t exactly his intention, but if it meant giving time to come up with another approach...

Though his glare shifted towards Tarantulas when he shot Aurora, putting her further at risk and making him growl softly under his breath. But his glare quickly turned to surprise when Chen still made an attempt to comply with surrendering despite Cheetor’s warnings. He went to open his mouth to protest yet again, but was cut off when Tigatron warned them to duck, knocking the younger feline aside in the process.

Spineback watched the struggles unfold further, her free hand at the ready to grab the appropriate weapon should the remaining Maximals make a move. Though she briefly side-eyed Tarantulas, seeing his handling of the young femme fuzor yet seeming to whisper something to her. She couldn’t hear what he had to say only that there was something to his so called hostage. Or, perhaps the spider was trying to creep out the young Maximal as he tended to with his victims. Not that Spineback had much of a chance to linger on it as hell broke loose once more.

First, she yelled as Dinobot thrust his spinning sword through a weak point in her armor, causing the sword to become embedded through her abdomen and unaware of the previous case she had just lost. Little time was given to her to react when Tigatron suddenly yelled out for everyone to duck, and the former Decepticon reacted by diving towards the nearest cover but still thrown off by the sudden impact of the crab’s rockets. Dirt, rocks, and sprinters of trees struck her armor, but the most she was aware of was the throbbing pain in her side. “Blasted traitor.” She growled venomously, wincing as she moved to one knee, snapping the sword blade in half to remove from her form before pressing a hand over the wound as she stood.

A quick examination of her surroundings told her the Maximals had likewise been affected by the shockwaves, but not enough to stop them. By then, Optimus had somehow recovered and returned to aid his Maximals, dishing out orders that caused her to ignore the painful stab wound and draw her tail lance, “Please do Maximals, I will enjoy skewering you like your ancestors.” Spineback snarled.

To be honest, Wintersong was surprised of all people to try the diplomatic approach it was Cheetor. He had become as equally as aggressive and impulsive as Dinobot lately at his own accord and she didn’t know if his words would force the tyrant to settle or immediately act on his threat. Nothing was helped when Tarantulas added insult to injury, wounding her shoulder and causing Wintersong to nearly react. Her aggression was hanging there on the surface, ready to be released and hearing the Vok voice urge her on.

But, she refrained.

The last thing Wintersong wanted to do was risk Aurora’s life or Chen’s, the latter still taking the risk the Predacons would stop for a moment. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” She mumbled, voice having a slight echo of an otherworldly being to it. But no sooner had she said this did the warnings come out from Frilla and Tigatron, but not in time enough before the white tigress found herself blasted back due to her close proximity to the medic.

Though Wintersong has been knocked off her feet, Cheetor was surprised to find him and Tigatron hadn’t been blown to oblivion. Glancing up, the young cheetah gave a relieved sigh at seeing the transmetal ape, “Nice save Big Bot.” Getting to his feet, the transmetal feline nodded, sprinting past the two commanders to give Dinobot some aid, firing his head gun as Spineback still stood ready to fight herself, blocking some of the on-coming attacks. But Wintersong took a few moments longer to move, growling slightly as she found herself coming around once again.

She was really getting sick of being shot out of no where. Grunting slightly, the tigress forced herself to her feet, optics zooming in on the spider feeling the fury from the Vok at his presence. ‘Our target is clear.’ She heard them say in her mind, a rare moment she agreed with them, ‘Fine, have your fun, then I’ll find a way to slip away when this is over.’ She responded, reluctantly giving full control the Vok presence as they retrieved her weapons nearby and sprinting over to help the metal cheetah, firing a barrage of shots focused on the spider.

Tigerhawk watched the drone disappear back into the trees. But, by the time he could chance following it Terrabite was already making his next attack the first grenade exploding a few feet from where he had been hovering. The shockwave was enough to knock the large fuzor back and the second one soon followed, nearly causing Tigerhawk to lose altitude and meet a similar fate as Airazor.

But, the fuzor manages to regain his bearings, flapping his wings hard as he grazed the tops of the trees and shaking his head slightly from the slight daze. He was really beginning to hate his rain forest, or any forest for that matter. ‘This is why I don’t fight in enclosed areas.’ The mech thought with irritation, glancing around with his heat vision again only finding the invisible trail the crocodile mech left behind. Of course, he was heading for the main battle. The sudden sound of missiles though caused Tigerhawk to turn his gaze towards the clearing, eyes widening as he saw smoke rising from where Rampage’s rockets had landed. Keeping Terrabite distracted would have to wait, the fuzor changing course towards the clearing.

Optimus’ voice soon came through, making him relieved that the others may yet be alright, “On my way now sir, but so is this new Predacon. Keep your optics peeled.” He reported as he flew to the clearing, arriving as the others were regaining themselves. But his attention was drawn towards Quickstrike, the smaller fuzor seeming getting himself free of an unfortunate predicament, “Just stay down little mech, it will save you some trouble.” Tigerhawk had raised his arm, activating his Electrical Cannons and firing a single shot to stun the cobra/scorpion hybrid so he could turn his full attention to the battle.

Rampage’s fury became zeroed in on the rodent and lizard once more, green optics narrowed in hunger and rage, “You two are next.” All around him Rampage could feel the rage and pain, taking delight in the chaos going on...until the voice he was steadily hating the most came through his coms.

He went to spat back at the tyrant only to feel an agonizing squeeze to his spark piece, causing him to howl in pain and fall to his knees as he grasped his chest. Surges of energy sparked across his frame, his rocket launcher now useless at his feet. Blast that saurian! If not for the likes of Zodiac or Megatron, he would have torn this world asunder and have his own freedom. But no, he remained the disobedient super-soldier Megatron needed for an advantage. As soon as it began the pain ebbed away, the squeezing feeling vanishing but leaving him shaking and falling to his hands and knees, “How does it feel not to have complete control Megatron? Sucks doesn’t it?” The king crab cackled insanely over the com channel, still showing defiance even after that agonizing experience.

[Phoenix]

"No," Rhinox answered. "At least, not that I know of. And even with you, he was only a pencil-pusher, as they say. You know, someone who logs the events and procedures, and keeps the papers organized. acquires signatures and such."

Zodiac fell silent for a moment as he took in every bit of information Rhinox had given him. Granted he still craved to know more, but the engineer had certainly provided more information in the short time he had been overseeing the amnesiac renegade than Primal or any of the rest had done in the last few weeks. So Optimus had only been involved behind the scenes, or at least that's what the bulkier male was claiming. And still Zodiac had apparently targeted him, doing everything in his power to make the Maximal leader suffer before the deed.

There had to be more to their relationship than that.. Something that had triggered a personal vendetta, or had the now seemingly calm dragon been a lot more of a lose cannon? The gears were churning as he slowly, but surely, started piecing together the mystery that was his life.

"What else are we going to do while we wait for them to come back?"

True.. Well, he supposed they could always raid Rattrap's not-so-secret private liquor stash, but as of late the rat hadn't quite acted like the hot head he had first witnessed during his initial few days here after waking up. So it was less amusing to poke fun at the rodent now that he just seemed so .. depressed.. And as such didn't respond to provocation the way Zodiac wanted. Yes, from time to time that mischievous nature of his did show itself, but for the most part he had seemed withdrawn and mostly complacent with their wishes.

"Might as well talk."

"You're a lot more forgiving than a majority of the Maximals," Zodiac observed. "Most of them avoid me like the plague, like they're expecting me to turn on them without notice. I.. ," he started before trailing off for a moment, his gaze drifting to the floor. "I must have left a terrible impression on all of them. Not that I blame them based on what you've told me so far, I just.. It's really hard to wrap my mind around how I was capable of doing those things. Especially if I was working alone."

Of course he hadn't been working entirely alone, at least not at first. He'd arrived on this planet with a couple of companions who came with him after he murdered Nexus Prime. But since he couldn't remember any of this, he could only make his assumptions based on the evidence he was presented with. So as far as he was concerned, he'd been working alone then much like he was alone most of the time now. Aside from the select few who didn't seem to hate him as much.

"And you're welcome," he added warmly. "If I woke up with no remembrance of who I was, I'd want to know, too."

True.. It would be in the nature of any sentient being to want to know these things, to want to understand who they were, and why they did what they did. "You're a very kind and forgiving individual, Rhinox. I'll be sure to remember this conversation no matter what the future brings, even if or when I do regain my memories," he told the other male as genuinely as he was capable of but without meeting his gaze just yet. His thoughts were too far gone right now, drifting away in the chaos that made up his mind right now. Thoughts, glimpses of memories, emotions.. It was all a conflicting chaos at this moment.

He sighed while twiddling his thumbs for a moment before returning his quizzical optics to Rhinox again. "I didn't lose my memories as a result of crashing during a flight, did I?," he suddenly asked, growing suspicious his memories had disappeared due to some sort of foul play. It just all seemed too convenient, especially now that he more or less knew why most of the Maximals despised him so.

"Perhaps he feels that his actions outweighed or even began the chain of events that have taken place, so he's compelled to take full responsibility of the consequences. In many ways, he's not like most leaders, Zodiac."

The renegade shrugged his shoulders ever so slightly upon hearing the rhinoceros' comment. Although he'd seen first hand what a beloved and respected leader Primal was to the Maximals, it was difficult to compare him to any other leader figures since.. well.. Zodiac couldn't come up with a single one as things were. Surely he had some experience with other forms of leadership, but whatever those experiences had been like it was all a blank to him now.

"Yet I get the impression he never desired the role he was given.. Seems Optimus tried a few different career options before he ended up in charge of this crew." Scientist, explorer, 'paper pusher' as Rhinox had so adequately described it as. All those things were a far cry from the commander role he had ended up taking. Who had influenced the commander to go in that direction anyway?

"We've come to realize how callous their ideas and actions have been. Too much apathy and not enough empathy,"

So why not just dispose of these rulers that were clearly not fit to run Cybertron, Zodiac wondered curiously. It seemed like the simplest, most plausible solution to a lot of their issues. Of course as things were the Maximals weren't located on Cybertron anymore, instead they had been brought to this world by Optimus.. Who promptly crashed their ship and only method of transportation off this planet. Since Zodiac didn't know the story of what had happened, he couldn't relate to any of the events that had taken place. So it was only natural he would jump to conclusions. Although he knew better than to make such accusations to Rhinox, who clearly thought the world of Optimus and his leadership skills.

"Sounds like you need to take up arms against these individuals when you make it back," he muttered in a quieter voice since he wasn't exactly expecting Rhinox, an engineer and medic of profession, to consider the more violent solution.

"Unfortunately, as what happens with most individuals who gain too much power, they become corrupted and start making unethical decisions to benefit themselves instead of the ones they're supposed to represent and take care of."

Zodiac had taken a seat as Rhinox proceeded to explain in greater detail what had happened, using his arms to support his head while taking a moment to digest the information he'd been given. It didn't come as any surprise that power tended to corrupt even the most trusted of individuals. Surely the Maximals on Cybertron must have had faith in the Elders to begin with, or this rise to power of theirs would never have happened. A fact that only made Primal's own ascent to power all the more interesting and unique. An incorruptible spark surrounded by those who had already been corrupted. Had they feared Optimus for this reason?

"Some began to rise against their tyranny,"

His fingers started lacing into each other as the tension of the story grew, Zodiac listening to the older bot with great interest. It all seemed so foreign to him though and none of this really seemed to trigger any memories. Surely he would have some from their socalled home world..?

"For quite some time, they had been planning and scheming, it seemed. There were protests, riots, and crime was on the rise. It's how we ended up here, stranded, with no way home and no way to communicate with Cybertron."

And just like that Rhinox had inadvertently answered Zodiac's question about how they ended up on this planet.. So they had taken the ship to use it as an escape vessel? No, that just didn't seem like Primal's way..

"Did you intend to populate this planet with inhabitants from Cybertron? Like a means of escape should the situation back 'home' get worse?" Zodiac asked with an almost childlike innocence, "Surely there's more to the crew than what I've encountered thus far.. The others went to rescue one in this fallen pod, right?" Clearly he had been paying attention to the events that had been taking place since he woke up, ever trying to fill in the missing pieces of his memory.

"That was initially deemed as classified information, but I believe... from their own people. The dangerous and extreme Cybertronians who were building armies to retaliate."

So that had been the intention behind his peculiar abilities? To fight the Cybertronian rebels? Zodiac's head lowered a bit, sinking down behind his hands so Rhinox couldn't see his expressions as easily. That seemed like a lot of effort to go through for a few rebels.. After all there were only two of them with similar skills so it must have been a difficult process to implement. And painful. He could feel it in his spark that it had caused him tremendous amounts of pain.. And Optimus had something to do with it? It just seemed so unlike him..

A few glimpses of the horrors he had witnessed flashed through his mind. Mangled bodies, twisted from unbearable suffering. Some burnt to the point they could barely be recognized as a bot anymore. The sensation of a drill or perhaps a saw cutting through his armor, gloved hands roaming about within. The smell of mech fluid, the sound of dying screams.. Guards shouting. Being forced to the ground on his hands and knees. The lash of a whip.. More screams.. Were they his own?

Zodiac couldn't help but wincing as the influx of memories just kept increasing. They were all brief, overwhelming in intensity and they all felt familiar so he knew he hadn't been imagining them. Then.. they seemed to slam into whatever mental block had been placed on him which caused them to fade into the background a bit more. The renegade slowly let out a breath, not having realized he'd been holding it, and then let down his shoulders while also uncovering his face.

"It hurts..," he started explaining when he was clear minded enough to do so. He then quickly added, "It hurts when I try to remember," leaving out the fact he was actually having some limited success in those attempts. His memories thus far were painful, yes, but they were also his own. His own private inferno.

"It's alright, Zodiac,"

Was it though? He'd been created as a weapon, and had used his talents against those who had made him. But those memories.. surely Primal wouldn't have used such brutal methods. He couldn't have.. That level of torture went against everything he knew about the Maximal code of conduct.

Drawing a slight sigh of relief when his recently tense muscles relaxed a bit more again, Zodiac begrudgingly admitted, "It feels like whenever my memories try to resurface, there's something stopping them.. A block of sorts. Something happened to me or was done to me to cause it." He glanced over at Rhinox, not expecting the engineer to be able to tell him what was causing this.

"It does. Particularly in Optimus's case since we're his very first crew under his command. And most of them felt the same way. It was one of the skeletons in his closet that you threw out into the open. Like I said, he's not exactly proud of it. It will always remain as a part of his past, but what he has learned from it shapes who he is today, and he wants to help those who are in similar situations. He wants to end the experiments for good. And if he can do so, hold those accountable for years and years of their immoral actions."

"You don't have to be a weapon anymore."

The clarity of the soft spoken female voice startled him and for a moment he glanced around the room to make sure the two of them were still alone. Upon realizing they were, he tried to ignore the voice as best he could even though the words kept repeating in his mind. It was highly distracting and both welcome and unwelcome at the same time. There was a familiarity about the voice too.. A softness of a caring spirit. Of course he had no idea who the individual that had spoken the words was or what his relationship was to them, but it felt reassuring and soothing nevertheless.

Ugh..

Rubbing his temple as if that would help him clear his mind, he slowly returned his gaze and attention to the rhinoceros. "I'd like to help with bringing them to justice if I can," he confirmed.

"Well, maybe just strictly for research purposes, but it certainly wouldn't involve any suffering, or anything done against your will."

Zodiac's attempt at lighten the mood amidst all this talk about torturous experiments provoked a slight chuckle out of the bulkier male. The renegade had only been halfway sincere in his offer, since the thought of being on the receiving end of any experiments was a bit sickening. Yet part of him was a little intrigued by the prospect of learning more about himself too, although a part of him couldn't shake the feeling that the engineer was holding back some vital information still. But he left it at that, only offering a slight reassuring smile.

"I saw your hand just now even though you weren't holding anything to trigger it," Rhinox told him, still calm. "It's okay to be startled or afraid, but try not to worry. It's a part of you, another one of your skills. But we won't get into that at the moment. There's still a lot more to discuss."

"I seem to have a rather unique skill set," Zodiac agreed, still looking at his hand with a mixture of confusion, interest, and distress. When he was alone, he'd have to see what lengths his abilities stretched to. "But you're right, we have plenty of time to work on that later." But not too much later..

"It's probably better if they don't come back all at once. I'm sure it would be a lot to process and cope with. Just breathe and take your time," he recommended. "If they become too overwhelming, I can give you a mild sedative to help calm you," he kindly offered him.

Would they come back though? From time to time, as much as he desired to know his past, these flashes of memories both excited and terrified him. Whatever secrets had been hidden from him, his past contained a lot of violence. As much was evident from the glimpses he had gotten. Whatever had been done to make him lose his memories, someone sure had gone through enough trouble to assure the effects would last. Even so, his own mind seemed determined to unlock those secrets again, raging an internal war against the unknown entity that was preventing him from remembering.

"Yeah.. You're probably right. It's frustrating not being able to recall anything, but from what you've told me thus far there are aspects of my life I feel could complicate my presence here even more if I could remember them." His words seemed genuine enough, although if this was truly how he felt about the matter remained undetermined.

"I'll be sure to let you know if I need to take you up on the offer of those sedatives though," he added with the faintest of smiles. Of course, he didn't really entertain the idea. His mind might resemble a war zone right now, but the thought of not being in control was worse. He could handle whatever truth was about to be revealed to him.. he hoped.

"No, he's a bit different, and he was created for a different purpose. Optimus wasn't the only one involved in that one either. So was I,"

Zodiac's optics narrowed for a moment as he looked over at the engineer, taking a moment to mull over the other male's confession. But they soon returned to a more neutral expression as he simply couldn't imagine Rhinox partaking in the torments he had clearly been put through based on the few memories that had resurfaced so far. It just wasn't in the engineer's nature to use such brutal force, so the renegade couldn't help pondering if someone else had overseen his experimentation as well. Yet much like the memories that had started resurfacing, he chose to keep such thoughts private.

"What is my purpose anyway?," the younger male pondered out loud. "Surely I wasn't meant to be a living garbage recycling machine..," he then added with some sarcasm. And what of this other bot the engineer had mentioned? Where was he now?

"Although Optimus was the primary science engineer and developed this individual's spark's abilities, I was the lesser scientist in which my tasks included those that Optimus handled during your tests and experiments. Still, I have my regrets and remorse about it as well, no matter how 'minor' my participation was."

Minor role.. Yet Zodiac had tried to extract revenge with such intensity. There must have been genuine hatred there, otherwise why would he have gone to such lengths to not only murder Optimus but his team as well. Rhinox had told him as much.. Although the hatred that must have driven him once had obviously dissipated since then, Zodiac couldn't help wonder how that all came about. Clearly the engineer was withholding some vital information, but the dragon didn't pursue it. Instead his expression remained neutral as not to make the other male aware of how he was feeling and thinking.

"Sounds like you were both misguided by these leader figures of yours.. But I can understand why you left that world behind for this place. It seems less complicated here.. even if I haven't been allowed to leave the base to explore this world on my own," he added with a slight grimace.

"There were many,"

The news that he had been responsible for many deaths didn't cause nearly the emotional turmoil it probably should have in the dragon. His violent past came as no surprise based on the memories he had regained thus far. Still, keeping up appearances as a repentant sinner his facial expression immediately changed to a more saddened one as he seemed to take in the serious allegations of what despicable actions he'd been capable of. It all came surprisingly easy to him.

"You were targeting everyone who was involved in your development. Everyone,"

"I.. I don't know what to say," he confessed after a lengthy pause where his optics had yet again drifted away from the engineer's like he found it difficult to face him after learning such facts about himself. "I'd claim insanity, but since I can't remember any of it I really don't know what my mindset was at the time." He sighed, a deep, sorrowful sigh filled with regret.

"No apologies could ever begin to make up for.." He paused, a splitting headache hitting him like crashing into a mountain range. And following were a number of new memories forcing their way through the barrier.

"I just don't know if you're capable of being honest. But perhaps this will motivate you."

It was Optimus' voice.. and he sounded quite vexed. Zodiac remembered the two of them facing off against each other, although he was trapped in a cage or something at the time. He could even feel the electrical surge that followed, causing him to twitch somewhat uncomfortably even now. When had this taken place?

"What? Worried I sent the old guy to meet his maker?"

The words were his own.. He recognized them. Yet his voice.. His voice was different. In fact he sounded just like Primal. What was going on?? Who was he referencing?

A moment later the memory started fading into the background again as Rhinox continued. Zodiac shook his head to clear it.

"Even a Prime. Nexus Prime. He was a decorated war hero and an Admiral in charge of your experiment. Optimus was his apprentice. When you told him you had killed Nexus... it devastated him."

Nexus Prime.. There was a certain familiarity to that name. An importance of sorts, like he had influenced Zodiac's life a great deal. The name held some inspiration to it, also power, but also a sense of childish jealousy and even regret. He knew this individual quite intimately in a sense, like he had gained access to his innermost thoughts and feelings somehow. Yet there was also a sense of finality present in the name as well, like it had represented the end of something and the beginning of something else. Perhaps the latter was due to the fact he had killed him, this war hero as Rhinox described him as, and apparently used the fact to torment Primal.

"Nexus Prime..," the changeling repeated as if saying the name would somehow make all those memories return. Oddly enough he could visualize the admiral in his mind, remembering his visual appearance down to the last detail. In fact, he was almost certain that was the individual he had seen in the hologram Optimus had been watching when he entered his office. So it was true. He had murdered Primal's mentor as part of this one person crusade against the Maximals responsible for his experimentation as Rhinox had put it. But he shook it off before responding to the engineer. "Sorry, none of this seems familiar," he lied with as much conviction as he could muster without losing that look of shameful sorrow on his face. "But no matter what I did, do you think there's a chance I can ever be judged for who I am now rather than what terrible acts I did back then..?"

Had Inferno been shorter, Nemesis might have missed his glare from his position behind Primal. But since that was not the case and the ant did indeed tower somewhat over the Maximal, his anger over her comment was on full display. Of course, she hadn't been entirely honest in her threat since that would have been somewhat counterproductive, yet she was quickly growing tired of the other Predacons questioning her motives and more importantly.. her loyalty. It presented a very delicate.. and dangerous.. situation for her. And Inferno, perhaps more than anyone, was likely to run to Megatron with any suspicions he might have about her. So remaining diligent and keeping up a tough persona around him could potentially be vital to her survival.

On the other hand, Nemesis also took offense in all those accusations that she had softened and preferred the company of certain Maximals. While there was some truth to the rumors, she was still proud of her heritage and believed in Megatron's ambitions. For the most part anyway. But she didn't view herself as a monster with no other goals in life than to spread misery and suffering. Sure, she'd killed plenty of Maximals and even a few Predacons in battle, but never out of pure blood lust. Well, mostly anyway. Despite her own violent past she tended to fight her darker instincts, the ones that told her to murder mercilessly much like the crab was doing. Optimus had seen through her tough act and knew of the vulnerability hidden underneath. And though he was likely angry with her for the actions she had taken, he still seemed to accept, respect, and trust her in a way few others ever had. Much to her surprise, her response had been mutual.

Her feelings for the Maximal commander had certainly complicated her position quite a bit, but since she couldn't risk her life by proving the rumors true she had little choice but to do as Megatron had commanded. Or at least pretend to while in view of the others. So she didn't take any pleasure in hurting Primal like she was now, even though it wasn't severe. Perhaps it would have been easier if he had fought back, but despite the odds growing against him he did not. Instead he seemed to focus his rage on the fire ant instead.

"That's more like it,"

Nemesis would have rolled her optics if she didn't have to watch her movements so carefully. "Don't get cocky," she hissed at the ant as a warning. But her earlier reminder to the ant that his large and intimidating weapon wasn't within his reach seemed to have directed his attention there, which at least got the ant to separate from the ape so he could fetch it.

"Guard him while I retrieve my weapon,"

Not that Nemesis minded the ant barking out orders at her, no, she didn't share the ego of so many of her fellow Predacons after all. But before she even had a chance to grab Primal's weapon, he had managed to snag it from underneath her. Perhaps some subconscious part of her wanted him to since she hadn't exactly been hurrying to grab it as quickly as she was capable of, either way she responded by halting in her tracks and even backing up a step or two. Optimus sent her a look, but he quickly turned his attention to the more immediate threat. And a moment later he had planted a few shots in the ant's more vulnerable spots. Nemesis took another step back, raising her arms up ever so slightly to try to lower his guard should he target her next. But oddly enough he did no such thing, instead his focus seemed to be almost entirely on the wounded ant. A quick glance around proved the others were preoccupied elsewhere, allowing Nemesis to ease up a bit. But she still grabbed for her own weapon when the commander's back was turned to her, finding that her hands were fumbling more than normal when grabbing it.

What was she going to do anyway? Shoot Optimus in the back? It might score her a few points with Megatron for a short time, sure, but knowing the tyrant such gratitude wasn't likely to last. And it certainly wasn't worth the guilt she'd have to live with if she did that. While it was true Primal wasn't likely to ever forgive her for what she had done to Rattrap and that the friendship they once had could likely never be as strong as it once had been, she just couldn't let it end like this. Besides.. Inferno was already knocked out and there were no other witnesses present.

With a sigh, Nemesis shook her head briefly at Primal before lowering her gaze to the ground along with her weapon as well. "Go," she told him in a quiet voice. Leave this place, Optimus.., she added as a mental afterthought. Would Megatron be disappointed in her ineptitude to take out the Maximal leader? Of course. But she was already formulating a plan in her head involving the excuse of having been knocked out by a concealed taser the Maximal commander had surprised her with. And just as Optimus took to the sky on his hoverboard, Nemesis clutched her abdomen tightly and dropped to her knees in the dirt.

Tarantulas' cackle echoed through the area as he watched with a sense of glee as his hostage struggled to keep herself in a semi-upright position. Of course he hadn't terminally wounded her, but it was still amusing to him to not only inflict pain but also see the reactions he would get for it. He had achieved his goal of gaining the Maximals' attention, in fact he seemed to be at the center of their attention. And he reveled in it.

Aurora made a groaning noise as her arms started giving out and threatened to send her crashing face down into the dirt. Not one to waste the opportunity, Tarantulas promptly placed his foot on the ermine's backside and pressed down on it thus sending her sprawling onto the ground. "You have your ultimatum, Maximals.. Surrender or the little runt dies. Hehehe. And I wouldn't waste too much time contemplating it since I am getting rather.. hungry," he then called out to them with a vicious grin. And for a moment his crazed optics turned on the juvenile Maximal cheetah who had once almost ended up as the spider's dinner.

Only making the situation even sweeter was the fact that he was clearly showing off to Megatron, showing the buffoon of a leader who should truly be feared and respected. And soon he would have everything he desired, since the Maximals' reactions were so predictable.

Aurora squirmed under the spider's weight, obviously in a fair amount of pain. She was adding a bit more to her performance than what was truly necessary, for added effect so that she could tug even more tightly on her former comrades' spark strings. To her surprise, however, it was the new recruit, who appeared to be a young chimp without any visible weapons as far as the fuzor could see, who first called out his surrender.

"I surrender. Just please stop hurting these Maximals"

Oh hurt they would.. So much more so than what they were at the moment. Tarantulas had given her very specific instructions to follow when the Maximals brought her back to their base, believing they had saved her. With any luck the other target the spider wanted to secure for himself was still alive and still held there. She supposed she'd find out soon enough.

Missiles were exploding over their heads, the maniac crab doing what he did best and wrecking havoc. But none of them seemed to be aimed directly at the spider or his hostage so neither one of them were overly phased by them. From her position on the ground she could only barely make out the ape she used to care so deeply for as he emerged to challenge Megatron. She probably wouldn't have been able to see him at all if the two of them hadn't been standing uphill from the others, partially obscured by the tall grass and other vegetation. Just to make sure she had his attention as well, she did call out for him with desperation in her voice.

"Optimus..!! I'm here, please help me!!"


The spider grinned smugly to himself now that all the key players were starting to gather in the same location. Of course, unlike Megatron, the spider would prefer if Primal survived this encounter. He just wanted to see the sorrow on his face when his beloved fuzor would betray him. Oh it would be most delicious to witness!

Just then a series of shots started raining down around Tarantulas, some of them only barely avoiding the whimpering fuzor laying flat on the ground. The spider quickly withdrew his leg from on top of his hostage, taking a step back to try to get out of the line of fire. Still a couple of the shots hit their mark, ramming the mad scientist in the abdomen and chest and effectively knocking him down with a pained squeal. Aurora cast a concerned glance back at her new leader, but she resisted the urge to rush to his aid and remained where she was. After all, Tarantulas had prepared for this outcome and the fuzor knew it..

Laying in the grass, barely visible through the tall straws, Tarantulas writhed in agony for a moment as the shots that had pierced his armor seemingly immobilized him. But unbeknownst to his attackers, he did have an advantage.. Pulling out the taser he had brought with him, he grunted slightly in pain as he pressed it against his abdomen and activated it. The electric surge quickly activated the nanogel he had coated himself with, producing a faster than normal repair cycle as the gel did what it had been created for.. And effectively healed his wounds. Still, the spider remained still, pretending to be knocked out as to give the Maximal further incentive to come get their reward..

[New Moon]

Waspinator followed Airazor’s erratic movements the best he could. His jet mode served well to keep pace with the falcon and her tricky maneuvers, making his shots a little easier to aim, though not by much. He had to get a lock-on to her soon and skeddadle back to the main battle before he got an audio full from Megatron or Nemesis.

And there was his chance. Her attention was drawn towards the explosions behind them giving Waspinator the chance he needed to fire the bull’s eye, watching with glee as the falcon went crashing into the ground. Though a part of him also wondered who had let off that arsenal, mentally noting to himself to get the details later. Circling around the area a few times before transforming to robot mode, the wasp had his Stinger Gun ready as he intended to finish the job Terrorsaur could not, firing into the trees below to force the downed falcon to have to fight for her escape, “Waspinator got bird-bot right where he wants her.” He cackled slightly.

Cheetor’s silent plea for Tigatron to trust him made the white tiger still skeptical. More so, the older feline was concerned to what action the young cheetah would take given his short temper and reckless behavior as of late, slowly standing as he watched the exchange. Much to his surprise, Cheetor didn’t go rushing in to physically assault Megatron.

No, this time he altered his approach. Tense as he glanced between the tyrant and Cheetor, Tigatron shifted himself closer towards his Gut Gun, waiting for an opportunity to attack if necessary. One of them likely would have to take action if Megatron wasn’t talked down. But the more he observed, the more the older mech realized both Cheetor and Chen were trying to keep Megatron talking, diverting a chance for them to reclaim some control and the Maximals to collect themselves. But the opportunity to act was quickly cut the moment Rampage’s missiles began landing around them, forcing Tigatron to hit the deck along with Cheetor, expecting to be blown to pieces...until the sound of the missile coming towards the two felines colliding with something else caused the white tiger to open his optics. It was Optimus! “Agreed, excellent timing.” Tigatron said with relief.

But with more of their comrades joining the main battle, Tigatron was a little more hopeful things could take a change for the better. “On it!” The white tiger got to his feet as Cheetor separated with Wintersong to handle some of the other Predacons, sprint over to Chen as he grabbed his gun along the way. Just as he went to aim for the trapped fuzor his job was taken care of thanks to the timely arrival of Tigerhawk. Nodding his thanks, Tigatron turned his full attention to checking Chen’s condition, “Took quite the hit. Can you move?” Though no sooner had he said this did Tigatron duck as a few of Terrorsaur’s eye lasers nearly grazed them.

Growling softly, Tigatron raised his weapon and began firing towards the transmetal flier, moving to block Chen from further damage.

Frilla could only hope she had warned the Maximals on the main battlefield in time, her optics never leaving the angered crab. The cannibal was in quite the state, and her and Rattrap were likely needed elsewhere to help their friends. But given her own exterior and some partial internal damage, she wasn’t transforming any time soon so she would have to make due with her beast mode weaponry and skills despite the pain radiating from her abdomen every time she moved.

Before either her or the rodent could consider making a move however, Rampage was soon crying in agony, the frilled lizard watching with surprise and confusion as a surge seemed to strike. He even grasped for his chest just over spark chamber, making her wonder if this was somehow related to how Megatron kept the rumored immortal soldier in line. If this were a very different individual, she likely would have felt sorry for such a horrendous existence. But this was the cannibalistic crab, and there was no amount of suffering that could change his ways. Given that he was otherwise incapacitated, Frilla skirted around Rampage as he collapsed to his hands and knees, coming to rejoin the rodent while their foe was otherwise distracted, “Guess old Megs gave us the opportunity we need, let’s go![/b]” Frilla told him, hissing in pain as she turned herself towards the battle.

By then, the missiles had gone off and both Optimus and Tigerhawk has rejoined the fray, and no doubt the mysterious new Predacon wasn’t far behind. And there were no signs of Nemesis, Inferno, Waspinator, and Terrorsaur, for the moment. But they likely would be back soon enough. “Me and Rattrap are just on the edge of the trees Optimus, we’re coming to you.” Frilla reported, glancing back at her friend to see if he would follow before hurrying to regroup.

When the missiles had finally come to an end, Dinobot pushed himself up and found cover behind some to the nearby trees. He needed a moment to compose himself, helm still throbbing and taking in the present situation. Optimus and Tigerhawk had made themselves known to the main battle, and Terrorsaur was back on the prowl. But it was clear the Predacon medic was still in fighting shape, eyeing the two felines that dashed to come give him aide and give Aurora a chance to escape, maybe.

But his attention went to the case Spineback had had in her possession, examining for a brief moment before stowing it into his own subspace. He would ha e to examine further when he got back to base, quite curious to the contents within. Perhaps some Predacon research? Codes? Anything that could play in their favor. Finding his second wind, Dinobot left his cover, sprinting back to rejoin the battle and scooping up his rotary shield along the way, “Move while you can ermine! You won’t get another opening unless they retreat.” Dinobot commed to Aurora, unaware of the tampering and torture she had gone through. Far as he was concerned, his old comrades had made a mistake bringing their captive here. Instead, he charged up his optic lasers, firing a constant stream towards Spineback and Tarantulas, giving the two transmetal felines some much needed help and to hopefully give Aurora the distraction she needed to slip away.

Quickstrike gulped as he fired his concentrated venom blast, wincing as he heard the tree explode but freeing him from his temporary prison, “Haha!” The fuzor jumped to his head, pieces of the tree falling from his form as he stood, “No keepin’ this cowboy down!” But mere moments after these words left his mouth, Quickstrike let out a pained yelp as Tigerhawk electrocuted him, causing the fuzor to groan before collapsing to the ground in a stunned heap. All the cowboy mech could do was glare in rage at the larger fuzor who had seemed to come out of no where.

Terrabite had arrived to the clearing just shortly before his current opponent had. But, he didn’t jump right into the battle, linger near the edges of the trees as he took in the battle, watching as the two sides clashed once again after a seeming brief pause due to Rampage’s random targets.

With no clear target in mind, Terrabite decided to focus on the large fuzor once more and the two smallest Maximals. Transforming to robot mode and taking out his Bomb Blaster once more, the former Tripedicus agent stepped from the trees, targeting the fuzor who had been a pain in his tail to fire a grenade before turning to target Rattrap and Frilla, firing another towards the two to knock them off course from getting to their leader. Only two more left, have to use my ammo sparingly., the mech thought, trying not to resort to his flak grenades with having so many in close proximity from the Predacons.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I don't know what's going on with FF, so I'm going to post. ))

"You're a lot more forgiving than a majority of the Maximals," "Most of them avoid me like the plague, like they're expecting me to turn on them without notice. I.. ," "I must have left a terrible impression on all of them. Not that I blame them based on what you've told me so far, I just.. It's really hard to wrap my mind around how I was capable of doing those things. Especially if I was working alone."

"Some of us have asked for forgiveness before, so we can empathize with your situation to am extent," Rhinox explained to the dragon speaking from experience. "You seemed to've developed a friendship with Tigerhawk," he commented upon his own observations. Perhaps even a mentor of sorts, which was good. Tigerhawk was a very reliable and kind Maximal. Big R didn't bother expanding on Zodiac's last statement, though. The engineer had shared plenty of information already, and despite how well Zodiac was taking all of it, a bot could only handle so much all at once. Either the shape shifter had really changed now, or he was putting on an act and had already regained his memories.

"You're a very kind and forgiving individual, Rhinox. I'll be sure to remember this conversation no matter what the future brings, even if or when I do regain my memories,"

Rhinox lifted his gold brows as he was taken aback by the renegade's words for a moment. "Uh, thanks," he finally said. "I've been around," he then admitted, "and once a bot reaches a certain age, they begin to reflect on their past actions. After all of the knowledge and wisdom they've gained, they understand that life's too short to hold on to grudges, hatred and anger. Doing that'll only destroy a bot inside. Even if the other doesn't deserve forgiveness, one needs to forgive them for themselves so they can move on and let it go, no matter how traumatic it might be. It's not easy sometimes. It involves a lot of patience and humility." He studied Zodiac who seemed to be avoiding eye contact at the moment. He wasn't sure why, but he decided not to pry and let the dragon alone with his thoughts. Maybe there were more memories gradually resurfacing.

"I didn't lose my memories as a result of crashing during a flight, did I?,"

How did the Chief Medical officer get stuck in this situation? He had to open his big mouth, and now Zodiac was beginning to piece everything together. He was intelligent, of course, that much was for certain. The Maximals couldn't keep up this charade forever, but was now the right time to be honest with him? To tell him about the Predacons? Reluctant to answer, Rhinox was quiet for a moment while he hesitated making up his mind. "No," he finally said. "It wasn't because of a crash. It was a virus that you had been injected with. An unknown substance that I have very little knowledge on about its affects and the duration of its longevity."

"Yet I get the impression he never desired the role he was given.. Seems Optimus tried a few different career options before he ended up in charge of this crew."

"Not necessarily. It was always a dream of his to peacefully explore the universe with his own crew of scientists, but he had to climb the ranks and receive the recognition in order to obtain such status so quickly. However, how we ended up stranded here on this planet wasn't our original destination. We had orders from the High Council to deviate from our trajectory in order to stop someone. ...Someone who was causing an uprising and building an army. He stole a ship equipped with transwarp technology and a very valuable artifact. So, we gave chase... and we ended up here in a war for survival. While Optimus was trained to be a Captain of an exploration crew, he was not trained for war. Most of us weren't. We've had to adapt in order to survive. So in a way, yes, Optimus didn't want this. He was forced into it, but I think he has out shun all expectations, and he has grown into the commanding officer that he was always meant to be."

"Sounds like you need to take up arms against these individuals when you make it back,"

"If it comes to that, but we'll try to the more diplomatic approach first," he commented. "Chances are we'd be met with the retaliation to try and deter us, but we won't be not so easily dissuaded after everything we've been through now. What we'll need is evidence to build our case, a plan to execute, a back-up plan in case things go awry, and a way home. To challenge the Elders could be considered treason. Arrests could be made, and Primus knows what else could happen to silence those who oppose them. It'd be a very dangerous accusation." But Optimus was ready to confront them. He had already faced death. He had been fighting Megatron for a couple years now, as well as the Vok. The Maximal leader's determination was nearly unstoppable now. And most of his crew, if not all of them, would stand behind him every step of the way. Rhinox was sure of that, himself included.

"Did you intend to populate this planet with inhabitants from Cybertron? Like a means of escape should the situation back 'home' get worse?"

"Not really. It could be considered a safe-haven, but you see, we're a long way into the past... We time-traveled here. Not intentionally, it was due to the other ship that we had been ordered to follow. The future of this planet is very important and shouldn't be tampered with. So to have anyone here who shouldn't be could be very detrimental," Rhinox explained as if Zodiac probably wasn't confused enough already by all of it.

"Surely there's more to the crew than what I've encountered thus far.. The others went to rescue one in this fallen pod, right?"

"Before we crash landed here, Optimus deployed all of our stasis pods that many of the rest of our crew were occupying in case we didn't survive. They had been stuck in the planet's orbit ever since until they were brought down by a surge and forced to crash to the planet's surface anyway. Now, it's a matter of finding the survivors who'd be scattered all over this world - if they manage to be activated or found unharmed inside of their pods - most of it containing water, so it's likely that we've lost some to the crushing depths of the oceans here," he said solemnly with some sadness. As the shape shifter grew quiet, Rhinox watched him. He appeared uncomfortable for a few moments, holding his breath and releasing it as his shoulder relaxed. He was about to ask if he was alright until he spoke up.

"It hurts..," "It hurts when I try to remember,"

The rhinoceros in robot mode frowned at the shape shifter. "I'm sorry. You've been through a lot, Zodiac."

"It feels like whenever my memories try to resurface, there's something stopping them.. A block of sorts. Something happened to me or was done to me to cause it."

"I can only assume that it's the virus. I wish I could do more to help you with it, but it's too intricate and unpredictable. I could do more harm than good if I try to tamper with it or develop an antidote. Optimus didn't want to risk that, so we're letting it run its course as long as it doesn't start deteriorating your internal systems or your spark." Again, Zodiac fell silent and was now rubbing both temples on the side of his head. Rhinox felt bad, and even a little inferior to Tarantulas's science. He may have been able to bring Optimus back from the dead, but he struggled against the spider's ingenious abilities and intellect. In fact, Aurora was better at countering his schemes than he was. He missed her dearly. How would she be taking Zodiac's presence there, though? Probably not too keenly.

"I'd like to help with bringing them to justice if I can,"

"If you're serious about that, Zodiac, I think your experiences and story would be extremely beneficial to Optimus's cause to stop what the Elders are doing," Rhinox said very sincerely, "so that no one else will have to go through what you did, and we could possibly change the direction that Cybertron has been heading toward." The direction of destruction and oppression. "Your advocacy could very well have a greater impact on changing things than Optimus could do alone," he tried enticing him.

"I seem to have a rather unique skill set,"

If only he knew... But he would soon enough. Rhinox just hoped that he would be kinder to the Maximals with it than he was when he first arrived there.

"But you're right, we have plenty of time to work on that later."

Maybe. If all of Zodiac's recent groaning and fidgeting was an indication of returning memories, then their time may be limited.

"Yeah.. You're probably right. It's frustrating not being able to recall anything, but from what you've told me thus far there are aspects of my life I feel could complicate my presence here even more if I could remember them."

"It might. It'll be up to you on how you wish to handle it." Rhinox had every confidence in Zodiac that he could be a better bot even if all of his memories came back to him. He had to make the choices, though, and understand the consequences.

"I'll be sure to let you know if I need to take you up on the offer of those sedatives though,"

The robust Maximal gave him a nod. Hopefully he wouldn't be ashamed to ask for them, after all, as near as he could tell, the turmoil inside of his data tracks was quite agonizing at times. That alone could drive Zodiac mad. After having confessed to him about his own involvement pertaining to X, he saw Zodiac's optics glare at him before settling. He couldn't know what the shape shifter had just thought of him at that second. A monster perhaps? A hypocrite? A liar? His expression almost made Rhinox uneasy, but he kept his cool while he took a seat at the console he had been occupying earlier when he was investigating the readings from Primal's spark that they had tested on earlier that morning.

"What is my purpose anyway?," "Surely I wasn't meant to be a living garbage recycling machine..,"

"At the moment, here on this planet, it's whatever you want it to be. You are your own bot, Zodiac. You aren't being used as a weapon or as an experiment here. And if we ever make it back to Cybertron, perhaps your purpose would be to continue helping us make it a better home for everyone. One's reason for living isn't set in stone. It can change like mine has, and Optimus's, and pretty much anyone who isn't a mindless drone." He smiled lightly for a moment.

"Sounds like you were both misguided by these leader figures of yours.. But I can understand why you left that world behind for this place. It seems less complicated here.. even if I haven't been allowed to leave the base to explore this world on my own,"

"We were," he admitted once more. "But we were also naive, and we ignored our moral compasses. Anyway, this planet is much different from Cybertron. You'll get to see it soon enough," he assured him. And he really did want Zodiac to go out and enjoy the beauty of Earth. It was a unique planet, and right now, before the Great War and humanity, it was quite peaceful and quiet.

"I.. I don't know what to say," "I'd claim insanity, but since I can't remember any of it I really don't know what my mindset was at the time." "No apologies could ever begin to make up for.."

"I think once you remember more about what happened to you, then you'll understand why you acted the way you did. It doesn't make it right, mind you, but more of it will make sense to you. And while a simple apology may not rectify what you did, what you do now from here on out will truly define who you are. You see, Zodiac, once you know better, you should do better. And you have the opportunity to do that, to find redemption. Just like Optimus has," he encouraged him and used the Maximal leader as a point of reference since he seemed to hold him in high regard. "Not a lot of bots get that chance." He stopped talking when the renegade appeared to be very distracted again and watched him with concern, waiting to help him if he needed it.

"Nexus Prime..," "Sorry, none of this seems familiar,"

Rhinox looked puzzled for a moment after the period of silence. "Are you sure? It seemed like you might've remembered something," he tried to get him to talk about it.

"But no matter what I did, do you think there's a chance I can ever be judged for who I am now rather than what terrible acts I did back then..?"

"Yes, I think so. But that'll depend on your behavior and choices. You didn't exactly have the most positive role models to follow, or the greatest experiences in life, so we're trying to give you something more and a different perspective."

-----

"Go,"

Optimus had appreciated Nemesis not attacking him and delaying him further to assist his Maximals. It would seem that their mutual respect for one another wasn't as tarnished as either of them might have presumed after what she had done to Rattrap a couple weeks ago. The rodent would have a different opinion on the matter, of course, but Primal was more capable of practicing forgiveness and understanding that she could have very well gone further with her actions and killed Rattrap. Nemesis wasn't as cruel as Megatron. Not intentionally, anyway. She had proven that time and time again. She was merciful and reasonable. Megatron, Inferno, Terrorsaur and many of the other Predacons were hell-bent on destruction, murder and mayhem. In conclusion, Optimus wasn't willing to treat her like them. He gave her a faint nod before he had taken off to aid his crew.

"You have your ultimatum, Maximals.. Surrender or the little runt dies. Hehehe. And I wouldn't waste too much time contemplating it since I am getting rather.. hungry,"

“Then her purpose is working against you.”

The TransMetal cheetah actually had a point there. Whatever Tarantulas's intentions were with Aurora despite his recent claims and threatening to resort to cannibalism, they may very well be used against Megatron whatever the spider's end game was. But it wasn't like Megatron hadn't considered that already. The cunning, Predacon tyrant could just as easily find out the information he wanted in due time. For the time being, he didn't feel threatened by the mad scientist's scheme since he seemed to be more interested with manipulating the Maximals. Just minutes prior to arriving to the battle, Megatron had witnessed Aurora acting entirely faithful and loyal to Tarantulas. Complete devotion. She had clearly been reprogrammed. And now he was beating her up with the intention of using her as a hostage or giving her up? Just like that? No, not after everything Tarantulas went through to obtain her and change her. The Predacon leader already knew more about the situation than Cheetor did, but just in case he could gain his own advantage out of it, he decided to let Tarantulas succeed in his game to see the results. It appeared that the ermine Maximal Fuzor would be acting as his own personal spy. But to gain what? For what purpose? To allow the spider to gain easy access to the Axalon? For information?

“You two are next.”

Rattrap was ready to drive out of there as fast as he could when Rampage turned his sights on to him and Frilla. However, the small Spy froze and almost trembled in the terror as flashes of his own near-death experience haunted him in that moment. But he soon witnessed the nightmarish Predacon crumble in anguish as his body surged and his voice gargled.

“Guess old Megs gave us the opportunity we need, let’s go!

"You don't gotta tell me twice, sista!" he exclaimed to her, urging her to hop on his back as he swapped his paws for his wheels and revved his engine.

“Me and Rattrap are just on the edge of the trees Optimus, we’re coming to you.”

Rattrap left it up to Frilla to answer their fearless leader's hail while he did the driving, dodging trees and roots while speeding toward the main battle. The ride was bit bumpier this time than it was earlier considering that their priority was to escape Rampage's wrath as quickly as possible and converge on the stasis pod's location. A swift glance upward and he didn't notice Tigerhawk anymore in the vicinity. Nor did he see the new Predacon. They must've moved on toward the fray as well, he could only assume anyway.

"Acknowledged," Primal responded to the frilled lizard, relieved to hear that she and Rattrap were still functional and on their way to regroup with the rest. He thought he could hear the Spy's dragster-like engine not too far away now and gradually getting louder upon their approach.

“Out of the sky over here, Waspinator caught me.”

Airazor! Optimus could distinguish the pain in her voice. She was injured. And alone. That wouldn't do.

“I’ll regroup when I can, is everyone else alright?”

"As near as I can tell," Primal answered her while the others, who were out of sight elsewhere in the rain forest or beyond its perimeter in the large clearing, were starting to respond and fall in. "I'm sending you back-up." His voice indicated that he wasn't willing to engage in a debate about it.

“On my way now sir, but so is this new Predacon. Keep your optics peeled.”

"Copy that. Tigerhawk, get to Airazor. She's wounded and grounded after her encounter with Waspinator," he ordered the large Fuzor with some urgency in his tone. Quickstrike wasn't as great a threat at the moment as the falcon's well-being was now that Tigerhawk had taken him down and saved Tigatron the hassle of dealing with the short-tempered Predacon. However, if Waspinator was still functional, then he would probably want his revenge on the female raptor for all the times she had shot him out of the sky, or at least to prove to Megatron the value of his seemingly meek existence.

“How does it feel not to have complete control Megatron? Sucks doesn’t it?”

Megatron had scoffed over his transmission with the crab. "Lest you forget the control I have over your very life, Rampage!" he hatefully dug into him before he had to return his attention to his opponent. After all, no one had control over Megatron. NO ONE!

“Nice save Big Bot.”

Optimus didn't bother commenting in the middle of their battle, but he would have said the same to Cheetor when he wisely called for reinforcements and kept Megatron distracted instead of challenging him. He'd have to share his positive words with the young cat later. Right now, he concentrated on strafing Megatron's plasma shot and then returned fire with his own gun before taking cover behind a tree.

“Agreed, excellent timing.” “On it!”

The Maximal leader nodded at Tigatron while he provided cover fire for him and kept Megatron distracted. It also gave the white tiger the opportunity to assess the new Maximal's injuries until Terrorsaur showed up and started to attack. Primus, weren't these Predacons exhausted yet? While Tigatron seemed to be holding his own against the TransMetal 'dactyl, Optimus remained focused on his nemesis. Peering around the trunk, he fired a couple more shots at the tyrant and then pulled back behind his cover when Megatron retaliated with his tail cannon.

‘Our target is clear.’

The Vok's voice was almost as clear as day to Primal even though it was speaking to Wintersong, likely from their close proximity to each other. Although he wanted to stop them from gaining control over her, he couldn't afford to be distracted by it. She was still holding up, and with any luck, their involvement might actually help them thwart the Predacons, not that he wanted to support them with exploiting her at all. Optimus was only one bot, and he couldn't help everyone all at once during his own engagement. As his and Megatron's firepower heated up between one another, both of them took notice of the depletion of their ammunition, which was about to force them to change their tactics.

Growing tired of his opponent constantly hiding behind the tree like a coward, Megatron focused his shoulder guns a few feet above the base of the trunk and annihilated it within seconds in its weakened spots from his prior plasma shots. Bark and shards of timber and splinters blew off of it, and with a couple loud snaps, the tree trunk twisted and broke, toppling over in the Maximal Commander's direction while its branches swiped a few other trees in its path, even nearing Terrorsaur's position if not hitting him. Megatron didn't care, he wanted to end this battle that had gone on long enough now!

"Optimus..!! I'm here, please help me!!"

Over the gunfire surrounding him, it was Aurora's cry for help that alerted Primal of her vulnerability, wounds and with Tarantulas standing on top of her before he was blown off of the young Fuzor and fell onto his back. Unable to bear one of his Maximals pleading with so much helplessness, he had turned his attention away from Megatron who capitalized on his misjudgment. The tree came crashing down rather quickly after the barrage of firepower, and despite Optimus's efforts to avoid it by leaping to the side, the wide trunk caught one of his legs and snagged him. His body slammed onto the ground and his weapons fell out of his reach. Gasping to himself as he realized the predicament that he was in, he turned his body over as far as he could with his ankle and foot trapped under the fallen tree to find Megatron approaching him with a hateful glare in his optics. Rolling back over, Optimus desperately reached for his gun, stretching his sore arm and maroon, pudgy fingers as far as he could, but his weapon was just inches out of his reach. Megatron's footsteps came closer and closer, shaking the ground and crunching twigs and ferns underneath his weight. If there was one thing that Primal and his Maximals were good at, it was improvisation. Rolling back over, his searching optics noticed some thick vines that had been pulled down with the tree by one end while the other end was still hung up on another tree nearby. Grabbing one of the vines, he swung it enough with the right timing to lasso it around Megatron's leg as his foot was in mid-step. He yanked it as hard as he could, and it tightened around the Predacon's ankle. With a gruff pull, Optimus managed to knock his adversary off balance and watched his whole body twist around as he became ensnared before the vine snapped due to his weight and the tyrant landed on his back with a hard thump.

The Predacon leader couldn't believe what had just happened. It was so quick that he never had the opportunity to use his weapons, and before he knew it, he was almost unconscious on the ground, dazed from the whiplash with his damaged shoulder absorbing much of his plunder as it sent shock waves of pain to his processor and forced him to cringe.

With Megatron down, Optimus wasted no time sitting up, planting his hands under the tree that was pinning his leg and started to lift it with all his might. Fortunately, the beast mode he had chosen at the beginning of the Beast Wars was one of the strongest mammals on land, and combined with his TransMetal upgrade while in robot mode he almost made the weight challenge look easy; unlike Quickstrike who had struggled with his entrapment and had to resort to nearly shooting himself in order to free himself. Clenching his jaws and releasing a deep growl, Primal gave one more heave and slowly elevated the tree high enough to pull his leg out from underneath it before he released it to the ground. Then he grabbed his weapons and got to his feet immediately turning to see Megatron's status and targeting him with his gun. As much as he wanted to reach Aurora, Cheetor, Dinobot and Wintersong were already engaged with Tarantulas and Spineback. "Cheetor!" he called to him, "Help Aurora!" If Optimus could force the Predacons to retreat, then it would benefit all of the Maximals. But there was a delay in his tactic when he thought he noticed a familiar bluish glow on Tarantulas's body while the arachnid laid there seemingly unconscious in the thick ferns. It couldn't be... Had the Predacons already figured out Aurora's nanogel concoction and applied it to each other? From the minuscule sample that he had given Nemesis? If that was the case, then he was going to regret his actions in doing so. Although, the spider was the only one who appeared to be using it, and since he had been holding Aurora captive for two weeks, he must have extracted some of her secrets out of her. If it had been applied to Megatron himself, he would have used it to repair his shoulder some time ago, but he hadn't. So, Optimus concluded that the sample was only limited to Tarantulas. Would Megatron have given it to him though? Would he have trusted him with such a beneficial asset to use in battle? Surely, Spineback, who was far more loyal to Megatron than Tarantulas, would have been capable of recreating the nanogel given enough time. Instead, she was now a TransMetal, and Tarantulas was now glowing around his wound. As much as it puzzled him, he couldn't afford to devote more time figuring it out in the midst of battle. Primal turned his attention back to Megatron who was beginning to come around again...

Upon noticing the new Predacon reptile who had deliberately put himself in their path it seemed along with a welcoming grenade, Rattrap told his frilled lizard friend, "We got company! And he ain't pretty. Hold on, Frilla!" and switched his steering to start drifting across the dirt in the area with sparse greenery, but he made sure that he didn't lose his passenger while doing so. Drifting gave them a wider radius around the grenade's explosion without having to stop or drastically change their course in order to avoid it, but it was a little tricky and bumpy given the terrain and the fiery detonation with debris spraying in every direction, some of it pinging off of Rattrap's face and rear wheel hub caps; one of which that still had the shards of debris buried in it from that new guy's grenade earlier when the rodent had shielded himself from it. Straightening out his steering, his green eyes narrowed at the large Pred as he slowed down his speed and rolled to a stop facing him with his engine still running. "You wanna try spittin' on his legs, if I can get us close enough to 'im?" he quietly asked Frilla while revving his engine a few times as if he was taunting the new baddie.

[Wintersong]

((Well, I gave my notice. I’m going to go ahead and post since I’ve waited long enough...

Also, OOP or Phoenix let me know if you want me to change Spineback’s retreat order. Since things seem to be winding down I thought that seemed a good place but I can take that out if needed. ))

The falcon stuck close to the nearest tree trunk, wincing as some branches snapped from Waspinator’s random shots and landed on her or grazed her, scratching up her frame. The transmetal wasp was having way too much fun with trying to shoot her or possibly terminate her. Given the number of times she had shot the insect down she could imagine he was savoring his moment of victory and preventing her from making an escape without risking harm or exposing herself on the ground.

But this cover wouldn’t hold forever.

Aiming her Claw Gun through an opening in the canopy, the falcon fired a few return shots before pressing back against the tree. “That’s a relief.” Airazor was relieved to know her friends were still holding up despite the rockets that had targeted them, but now if only she could regroup with them. But Optimus seemed to read her thoughts as he made it clear reinforcements were coming, something she wasn’t about to argue, “Hopefully they get here soon.” The femme responded, grunting in pain as one of Waspinator’s shots grazed her arm, causing her to maneuver around the tree to avoid further shots. ‘Help is very much appreciated.’ She thought, deciding to keep herself quiet from then on to avoid drawing Waspinator’s attention and to hold out until her help could reach them.

Spineback held her ground against the advancing felines, having her shield up and drawing her Drill Lance since her Plasma Cannon was already low on ammo. Stepping forward to meet their foes, the Predacon medic worried little for Tarantulas and his hostage, taking the more direct approach with swinging her lance at the two and taking some of their combined firepower. It stung each time as their shots pelted her armor, but she took the punishment. Her goal was to keep them at bay, keeping their attention as long as possible while they figured out their next move.

But from the corner of her optics she could see Megatron was still otherwise engaged with Optimus and the rest of the Predacons seemed busy elsewhere. They couldn’t keep this up for long however, all too aware everyone’s ammo and energy was waning the longer they drug this out. And in speaking of ammo...

The burning pain of Dinobot’s eye lasers caused Spineback to snarl, attention drawn back to the raptor who refused to stay down! “You are beginning to try my patience raptor.” She snarled, dodging his optic lasers as she activated her Drill Lance and swung it towards the former Predacon aiming to send him flying. Though her attention was once more drawn towards the battle with the commanders, optics widening when seeing Megatron at Optimus’ mercy and the rest of their nearby forces just about depleted, especially with Tarantulas seemingly out and Quickstrike unsurprisingly taken out of the battle. They couldn’t keep this up. “Predacons, converge back to the pod, grab any of our wounded along the way. We’re done here.” Spineback commed their forces, abandoning her efforts with Tarantulas and the soon-to-be saved ermine and turning to trying to ensure her leader didn’t end up in worse condition, “Enough Maximal, you’ve won this round.” Spineback spoke up towards Primal as she made her way towards them, for now placing her lance away, “For now.”

As much as the former Decepticon hated to bypass the chain of command, there was no signs of Nemesis close by or that she was still functioning, and Megatron seemed worse for wear. So, she was making a strategic call and would take the consequences later.

Dinobot’s timely arrival gave Cheetor the chance he needed.

Spineback was distracted and Tarantulas appeared to be down for the count, now was his chance. And he certainly didn’t need further prompting, immediately turning his full attention to rush to Aurora, “Already doing so Big Bot!” The young feline answered, sliding to the seemingly helpless fuzor’s side feeling his spark boil with rage at the sight of her beaten and pained appearance. If only he could personally tear that arachnid apart himself! But, Cheetor refrained and forced away his growing anger as his worry took over instead. “I gotcha Aurora, we’ll have you home and healed in no time.” The young mech assured her with a tired smile, gingerly scooping her up in his arms and trying not to jar her around too much.

With all things considered, at least she was alive. Cheetor still had the occasional nightmare of recalling nearly being in the same position as her, but rather than a hostage he was nearly the spider’s next meal. He inwardly shuddered at the thought and was thankful they had a chance to save Aurora at all from the twisted spider. “I got her, she’s in good hands now.” Cheetor confirmed over coms, jogging carefully back to rejoin their friends with the young female held close to avoid further harm coming to her.

Like Cheetor, Wintersong stood her ground against Spineback despite her attempts to keep them back. But she was more focused on Tarantulas most of the time, just keeping enough of an eye on the medic to avoid her attacks. She couldn’t help a slight smirk come to her face when watching the spider fall, now she just had to get this other Predacon off their tail...

Their answer came in the form of Dinobot, the transmetal tigress briefly looking away from the injured Tarantulas long enough to miss the nanogel he had used to repair himself. She was being sure the former Decepticon was distracted before making her next move, separating from Cheetor as he went to get Aurora and putting her full focus back on the seemingly defenseless spider in the tall grass. Vulnerable and easy prey. They wouldn’t have another opportunity like this, the tigress no longer hesitating as she transformed to her beast mode leapt right onto the downed mad scientist. “Now your twisted spark is history arachnid!” Her echoed voice growled, raising her claws, ready to strike a final blow.

Terrorsaur cackled as he forced Tigerhawk to fly towards the side to avoid his optic blasts and had Tigatron on the defensive. It wasn’t much, but it kept some of the more deadly warriors of the Maximals distracted. Though he too had to dodge the shots fired back by Tigatron, diving away for a brief moment to get a better angle. Though as he did, the transmetal flier heard the distinctive cracking of wood, whipping his head towards a shadow being cast by one of the trees Megatron had made short work of.

Squawking with shock, the flier barely veered towards the side to avoid the falling tree feeling some of the branches smack his wing like several small whips, causing him to hiss in pain. “Watch where you’re aiming grape face!” He squawked furiously, not quite paying attention to what had happened with his leader but losing his targets entirely. So much for taking care of the Maximals.

Much to his great annoyance, their medic was the next one calling a command, one well out of her range of command. With a grumble, the flier reluctantly backed off, turning to make a grab for Quickstrike who was at the present stunned from Tigerhawk’s earlier attack.

Between Terrorsaur’s optic lasers and Terrabite stealing a chance to fire one of his grenades, Tigerhawk was forced to fly higher to avoid their attacks, finding himself having to go out of reach of giving proper aid once again. Though, he mentally told himself he was fortunate to have improved with his flight abilities. Restricted to the ground he likely wouldn’t have been nearly as fortunate. ‘I may have to rethink my form if we return to Cybertron.’ The fuzor mused to himself, scanning the area once again to find Terrabite seemed to have his hands full with Rattrap and Frilla, relieved to see the two still up and functional.

But no sooner had he recovered from the dual attack did Optimus’ next orders come through. Airazor was down? The large fuzor raised his gaze from the ground towards the skies, scanning them until he spotted the metal wasp off in the distance and the occasional return fire from Airazor. “Hang tight Airazor! I’m on my way!” Tigerhawk commed as he rushed next to help the pinned down falcon, firing off his Electric Cannons as he got closer. “Better make it quick, running out of tree cover.” Airazor responded, trying to keep calm but the pain evident in her voice.

Rampage ‘s murderous gaze focused on Rattrap for a brief moment before Megatron had squeezed his spark. The crippling fear he sensed was enough to draw the cannibalistic crab’s attention, finding the pain and fear delightful to his insatiable spark. But his focus was broken the moment Megatron used that infuriating device, punishing the seemingly immortal mech and bringing him to his knees long enough his prey used their chance to escape and for the time being Rampage’s fury quelled as he turned his attention to getting his systems back to normal.

The threat of who was in control though only caused Rampage to cackle with amusement, “What you have is a bargaining chip, not control. Not completely.” The king crab threw back with a sneer, “Its your deterrent to simply prevent me from ripping out your own wretched spark and eating it before your optics.” He taunted with a growl, making it evident he held no respect towards the tyrant, or need to listen and that he regarded Megatron with no fear as others might. In fact, he once more didn’t hide his implying that the t-rex feared him instead, something Rampage reveled in.

Grunting slightly, the massive mech finally forced himself to his feet, hailing the command of his superiors at last to converge on the battle.

[Phoenix]

"Some of us have asked for forgiveness before, so we can empathize with your situation to am extent,"

Forgiveness.. Such a loaded word, yet so frail with its innocence. Although the young dragon was certainly capable of using the word and acting like a repentant sinner, a lot of it was caused by the belief he could gain some benefit or other from doing it. Without his memories, he could definitely play the part of someone innocent.. Yet it was becoming abundantly clear he was anything but. His past actions had been heinous in nature at best, at worst.. well..

Rhinox had been far more detailed in his description of the events that had taken place than anyone else. And the renegade appreciated it as it helped him piece together the puzzle that was his life, his curious mind grasping onto every word the engineer told him about his past. Of course he didn't pry needlessly much as he didn't want to risk the bulkier male shutting down the flow of information, instead he waited patiently as best he could.

"Did you ever try to murder everyone for some sense of vendetta?," he then asked rhetorically, although he obviously wasn't expecting the other male to confirm such an outrageous claim.

"You seemed to've developed a friendship with Tigerhawk,"

The engineer's statement was a bit puzzling to the renegade. Yes, Tigerhawk was one of few who was willing to offer him the time of day and in a sense it was certainly appreciated as well. Heh. Appreciated.. It was a word he wasn't too accustomed to and almost felt a bit foreign to him. And Tigerhawk was indeed a unique individual. Devoted, caring, strong.. and perhaps a little naive. He was a good teacher though, and had shown his willingness to be a guide to someone who had very few to turn to. Zodiac did enjoy his company so perhaps when the others had returned and settled down, he could spend a little more time with the large fuzor.

"I.. guess. Tigerhawk is more tolerant than most. And he doesn't judge me the way the others do," the renegade responded with his own observations. "He's trying to help me..," he continued before pausing, drawing in his breath as he did while glancing over at the other male. Rhinox seemed to be taking it all in stride, his demeanor calm and collected as always. The renegade drew a silent sigh of relief at the fact the engineer didn't seem too concerned about the possibility of his memories returning at this time.

"Uh, thanks, I've been around," he then admitted, "and once a bot reaches a certain age, they begin to reflect on their past actions. After all of the knowledge and wisdom they've gained, they understand that life's too short to hold on to grudges, hatred and anger. Doing that'll only destroy a bot inside. Even if the other doesn't deserve forgiveness, one needs to forgive them for themselves so they can move on and let it go, no matter how traumatic it might be. It's not easy sometimes. It involves a lot of patience and humility."

A certain age? How old was Rhinox anyway? He was clearly older than the renegade, but there were far older bots out there too. Or at least so the dragon presumed since he couldn't exactly remember any of them. Although.. that hologram Optimus had been watching had been of a aging Cybertronian, perhaps even this Nexus Prime the engineer had been kind enough to tell him about due to the relationship he had with the Maximal commander.

Patience.. The dragon thought he was relatively patient, at least compared to most. He didn't really push for information even though he was craving it, instead he took his time and would sometimes guide the conversation in a more.. profitable.. direction. Humility, though, was a concept he was still learning.

"You might very well just have explained how Optimus so readily accepted me, perhaps even forgave me, despite the severity of my.. misdeeds. I'm not blind to the things I've done. And I'm most certainly grateful for the opportunities I've been given," he assured the other male, braving an ever so slight smile to go with his words. Reassurance to lower the other's guard, perhaps, but there was certainly a hint of truth behind the words as well. For all intents and purposes, Zodiac looked and sounded the part of a repentant sinner. Yet the words came a lot more easily to him than he cared to admit, as if it was yet another scenario he had prepared for.

"I'm most fortunate to have you as my guide as I walk this uneasy path to reclaim my past and use it to shape a better future," he added before the faint smile grew into a bit of an embarrassed grin. "Ugh, that sounded downright corny, but hopefully you can understand what I'm saying." Indeed, it was puzzling to him where he had picked up on such phrases. He seemed to have a knack for different speech patterns.

"No,"

And just like that the renegade's suspicions were verified. Why would they have lied to him though? Was it to protect him.. or themselves? And just like that the grin faded.

"It wasn't because of a crash. It was a virus that you had been injected with. An unknown substance that I have very little knowledge on about its affects and the duration of its longevity."

A virus.. What kind of virus? Surely it wouldn't cause permanent issues.. Who would have done something like that to him though? And why?

Still, despite all the questions that immediately started running through his mind, the renegade remained calm.

"I see.. So tell me, was this part of my punishment?," he asked of the other male, wondering if the virus had been given to him to subdue his worst instincts. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, there was a slightly accusing tone in his voice. "A way to make me more complacent perhaps? Less likely to turn on the Maximals again?"


These thoughts were quickly followed by a sigh and a brief shake of the head. "Of course you didn't.. I'm sorry, it's just all a little overwhelming," he then excused himself. He'd ask more questions, but Rhinox had already confirmed he knew very little about the virus and its implications. So that was just something Zodiac would have to explore on his own when he could find the opportunity to do so. If a virus was responsible for his memory problems, then removing it should make everything come back to him.. right?

Rhinox proceeded to tell him about how the Maximals had ended up on this planet after chasing after another individual who had stolen a ship with some advanced technology to get here. And again Zodiac's interest grew and he listened intently without interrupting the other male, taking in every word. It certainly sounded like their home world of Cybertron had its issues, basically getting overrun by shady individuals with often criminal intent. Clearly he, too, had a sorted past like this, but it seemed unlikely he was the bot Rhinox had been describing. Yes, some things seemed oddly familiar to him. The theft of a ship for one. He could almost visualize himself at the helm of a vessel, but the rest of the engineer's story didn't bring back any memories.

One word Rhinox used seemed a bit.. off.. though. He had described their situation here as a war for survival. A war.. against whom? The individual who was building an army seemed the logical choice, but it almost seemed like there had to be more to it. And if they had followed this individual here and were now in a war against him and his 'army', could this somehow be related to the condition the renegade had ended up in?

A sudden pain, sharp and stabbing in its consistency, suddenly overwhelmed the renegade and caused him to grasp for the source of the pain on his abdomen.. only to feel his intact armor instead of any holes. Grunting as the pain subsided, Zodiac took an unsteady step backwards while still clutching his stomach region. Confused, his optics drifted from his intact armor to the other male. "Was I involved with these criminals? Were they involved in what happened to me..?," he asked as the pain subsided again. It would make sense if he had.. Perhaps it could explain the virus within him, or at the very least these rather painful memories that briefly emerged and completely overwhelmed him with their intensity. Yet scary as the memory.. or fragment of one anyway.. had been, he recovered rather quickly.

"If it comes to that, but we'll try to the more diplomatic approach first," he commented. "Chances are we'd be met with the retaliation to try and deter us, but we won't be not so easily dissuaded after everything we've been through now. What we'll need is evidence to build our case, a plan to execute, a back-up plan in case things go awry, and a way home. To challenge the Elders could be considered treason. Arrests could be made, and Primus knows what else could happen to silence those who oppose them. It'd be a very dangerous accusation."

Taking the reasonable words of wisdom to spark, Zodiac quickly decided not to pursue the matter any further. At least not right now. He still felt a slight pain in his abdomen although it was fortunately fading quickly. "Something tells me I wouldn't be welcomed with open arms if I should ever return home," the renegade muttered. Home was perhaps not the most accurate way of describing their planet though since he really didn't have many memories or emotional attachments to the place. "I wasn't on good terms with the Council either, I imagine."

"Not really. It could be considered a safe-haven, but you see, we're a long way into the past... We time-traveled here. Not intentionally, it was due to the other ship that we had been ordered to follow. The future of this planet is very important and shouldn't be tampered with. So to have anyone here who shouldn't be could be very detrimental,"

Time travel? Ugh, this was getting very complicated.. So not only were they on an alien world, but they were fighting an enemy force here, and they were stuck in the past.. The overwhelming amount of information was starting to give Zodiac a bit of a headache.


"I take it the other ship is unable to leave just like the Axalon is?," he asked albeit it was mostly a rhetorical question. The information overload and his by now frequent episodes of flashes of memory starting to return was making it difficult to concentrate. He remained silent as Rhinox proceeded to explain what happened to the remaining pods. As disturbing as it was for the engineer to imagine his comrades lost forever, Zodiac didn't know them so he didn't feel the same sense of loss.

"I'm sorry. You've been through a lot, Zodiac."

He had. But at least he wasn't alone.

"As have all of you," the renegade reminded the engineer. And it didn't seem like they were going to get much of a rest period for some time still. Well, at least now he knew what he needed to focus on when he got a chance.

"I can only assume that it's the virus. I wish I could do more to help you with it, but it's too intricate and unpredictable. I could do more harm than good if I try to tamper with it or develop an antidote. Optimus didn't want to risk that, so we're letting it run its course as long as it doesn't start deteriorating your internal systems or your spark."

Would it ever truly 'run its course' though? His self diagnostics couldn't even detect it and he seemed unable to separate the invading force of the virus from his own systems. But soon..

"Who would benefit from giving me this virus?," he mumbled out loud in a low voice. Clearly the cogs were turning.

"If you're serious about that, Zodiac, I think your experiences and story would be extremely beneficial to Optimus's cause to stop what the Elders are doing," "so that no one else will have to go through what you did, and we could possibly change the direction that Cybertron has been heading toward." "Your advocacy could very well have a greater impact on changing things than Optimus could do alone,"

"I hope someone's willing to listen.. As things are, I can't shake this feeling that I made some enemies on Cybertron as well as here.."

"It might. It'll be up to you on how you wish to handle it."

Rhinox almost seemed to be developing a sense of trust in the renegade, a fact the dragon was more than willing to exploit. After all, he needed allies. And as far as he was concerned, Rhinox had potential. He was intelligent, strong, and seemed to wield some pretty powerful weapons.

"I hope.. I hope you'll be willing to help guide me. From the sound of it, I've made some questionable decisions in the past. But I'd like to put all that behind me and focus on a better future." He sounded so sincere, so.. desperate. It was pathetic in a sense.. but hopefully effective.

"At the moment, here on this planet, it's whatever you want it to be. You are your own bot, Zodiac. You aren't being used as a weapon or as an experiment here. And if we ever make it back to Cybertron, perhaps your purpose would be to continue helping us make it a better home for everyone. One's reason for living isn't set in stone. It can change like mine has, and Optimus's, and pretty much anyone who isn't a mindless drone."

Well.. the words were promising. And helped to fuel that growing sense of purpose within him. It was clear the engineer was attempting to push the renegade down a different path than what he had taken in the past, but Zodiac didn't mind. After all he had been manipulating the rhinoceros to an extent as well in order to obtain more information about himself and his past, likely more than the bulkier male had intended to give out. And certainly more than what Optimus wanted him to know.

"But we were also naive, and we ignored our moral compasses. Anyway, this planet is much different from Cybertron. You'll get to see it soon enough,"

"Will you allow me to take a look outside or do I have to wait for Optimus to return for that?," the younger male inquired with some eagerness. He'd been stuck inside the Axalon for the last couple of weeks after all and would love to see the outside and stretch his wings a bit.

"I think once you remember more about what happened to you, then you'll understand why you acted the way you did. It doesn't make it right, mind you, but more of it will make sense to you. And while a simple apology may not rectify what you did, what you do now from here on out will truly define who you are. You see, Zodiac, once you know better, you should do better. And you have the opportunity to do that, to find redemption. Just like Optimus has," "Not a lot of bots get that chance."

"Truth be told I both dread and look forward to the day, if ever, my memories return. It's hard to have to face your own mistakes and short-comings..," he admitted. But it was even harder not knowing who he was or what he was capable of..

"Are you sure? It seemed like you might've remembered something,"

Although he had remembered a few things, it seemed more beneficial for him to keep such knowledge to himself for now. After all Rhinox, as much as the renegade respected him now, was close friends with Optimus and would no doubt feel an obligation to notify him of any such developments.. Which could restrict the renegade's movements some.

"I think I was about to," Zodiac sighed, "But this.. virus.. or whatever it is.. is still very much so active within me. Maybe I will remember, but right now I'm not having much luck in that department."

It sounded convincing enough. He hoped.

"Yes, I think so. But that'll depend on your behavior and choices. You didn't exactly have the most positive role models to follow, or the greatest experiences in life, so we're trying to give you something more and a different perspective."

"I had role models?," the renegade chuckled briefly. "Sounds more like nightmares to me. I seem to have them quite frequently when I try to rest by the way. I wake up in a terrified state, but I can never remember what happens in my dreams. I only know how they affect me," he added. "But I do appreciate this second chance you're giving me, more than you realize."

Indeed..

Nemesis lay as still as she could on the ground while clutching her abdomen as she waited for Optimus to depart. Fortunately the Maximal leader didn't linger long, so when he was out of sight she quickly made her 'recovery'. Well, not too quickly, just in case they were being watched. After what had happened a couple of weeks prior, when Waspinator had been lurking in the shadows and promptly reported on her suspicious activity to their commander, the avian female was taking all the necessary precautions.

As she got back on her feet again, remaining somewhat hunched over as if she was in pain, it appeared she was alone. No sign of anyone, if not counting the unconscious ant on the ground a short distance away. Nemesis would have preferred to just leave him there, finding the fire ant quite obnoxious and unpredictably insane, but unfortunately she still needed him to put in a good word for her to the tyrant they both served. So she staggered over to him, wincing a bit as she stood over him just in case he was actually awake.

"Get up," she told him as she nudged him with her foot. "Primal got away.. We have to pursue.."

She sighed as she looked from the still form of the ant who really did appear to be unconscious to the area that everyone else seemed to have retreated to. What was going on over there anyway? There were a few random shots, some shouting, but she was too far away to really make out any of the details.

“Move while you can ermine! You won’t get another opening unless they retreat.”

Dinobot's voice carried quite well through their surroundings, despite the fact there was shouting and random shots still going off. Aurora glanced over in his direction, tears streaking down her face like she was truly fearing for her life. It was all an act, of course, as her instructions were to do whatever it took to persuade the Maximals she was in mortal danger. The once-Predacon-turned-traitor raptor didn't see her wounds which were quite authentic indeed. And of course the blast wounds hurt a great deal, but she genuinely didn't care about that. Her master had bigger fish to catch, as the saying went, and he was convinced his prize was still alive.. no doubt kept under lock and key at the Axalon. The virus should still be working, making him an easy target when Aurora had located him. Afterwards they would both return to Tarantulas to continue doing his bidding. Like it should be.

"I.. can't..!," she called back to the raptor, making a feeble attempt to get up before her wounded shoulder sent her crashing back down again. She sounded so scared.. It was a performance her master would surely be proud of.

Just a few feet away, Tarantulas was almost starting to enjoy himself as he lay there in the grass, seemingly injured, although any true injuries he had sustained had quickly been repaired by the nanogel he had applied to himself. If was a nifty concoction, one Tarantulas wished he could have taken credit for.. Bah, who was he kidding? Of course he intended to take full credit for its creation no matter if it was the little fuzor who had first come up with the idea or not. While the nanogel was proving useful, it wasn't nearly as interesting to him as the technology he would obtain as soon as his assistant brought her objective back to their lair. Zodiac's nanotechnology was an entirely new level of intriguing to him, the scientist within him itching with glee over the prospect of claiming such a prize for himself.

The very thought of studying such advanced technology was irresistible to him and with unlimited access to it he could.. and would.. easily dispose of the fool Megatron and his group of misfits. The Maximals were of less concern, although he'd likely destroy them as well simply because he wanted no witnesses to what had transpired when he resumed his original plans.

He remained still in the grass, however, as the faint blue glow resided for as long as his repairs were being done. The gel was helpful, indeed, but it wasn't nearly as potent as the healing factor he had noticed in the likes of Nemesis and Zodiac. So it took a few moments, but he had time..

In the meanwhile Cheetor had made his way over to Aurora's location where he promptly, and gently, scooped her up into his arms. The little fuzor whimpered slightly as he did, yet she allowed herself to relax a bit more now that it was obvious the Maximals were taking the bait. Just like Tarantulas had assured her they would.

“I gotcha Aurora, we’ll have you home and healed in no time.”

"Thank you.. Cheetor," Aurora responded weakly as she forced a slight, grateful, smile at him. "I want.. away from.. here.. Please.. Take me home," she whispered, urging the young cheetah on, and then closed her optics.. In doing so she fortunately missed Wintersong's own assault on Tarantulas or she likely would have given herself away by jumping to his defense.

“I got her, she’s in good hands now.”

Cheetor was jogging with her cradled in his arms, his movements surprisingly gentle considering his track record. Aurora allowed herself to relax some for a little while, something she rarely got to do nor did she really care to do while serving the spider's every whim. When they brought her back to the Axalon, she'd be busy again..

“Now your twisted spark is history arachnid!”

Tarantulas' own rest period was so crudely interrupted when he felt a heavy force pounce on top of him, prompting him to growl his discontent back at his attacker.

"Bah, Maximal imbecile!," he snapped back, quickly revealing he wasn't nearly as injured as he had pretended to be as his leg weapons all snapped into position and targeted her. He also quickly brought his leg up to kick her in the abdomen to force her off him before she could actually sink those fangs into him. "Your impudence will cost you.. And I'm still hungry," he mocked her as his weapons proceeded to fire.

“Predacons, converge back to the pod, grab any of our wounded along the way. We’re done here.”

Spineback's call to regroup provided a most welcome distraction for Nemesis as she made one final attempt to wake the ant up. Although she did find it odd it was the female medic who made the call and not Megatron himself, leaving the avian female a bit concerned something had happened to their leader. Despite it all, despite all the threats, physical, verbal and emotional abuse, the tyrant was still their leader and she respected him as such. Perhaps she didn't always agree with everything he demanded of them, but his overall goals still held true.

"Inferno is down," she called the other female back as she attempted to move the larger and heavier ant. "I'm recovering from my own injuries but still not quite there.. Could use some assistance."

[Wildfire94]

((Okay, going to have to hold off with Quickfix for the moment and bring him in closer to when the Predacons leave the battle since not quite sure how to incorporate him at the moment. I may also bring in a second Predacon at some point since they seem to be hurting for numbers, if you guys are alright with that.

For now, here's something for Onyx.))

Onyx grunted slightly as his began to move, systems rebooting after a long two-week rest. Optics flickering a few times before coming online fully and his blurred vision focusing, the black stallion groggily tried to make sense of his surroundings. But his memories were fuzzy, head feeling in a haze while everything slowly caught up to his awakened state.

But, the thing he was aware of most was the ache in his body and feeling metal beneath him rather than dirt and rocks.

Wait, metal? Finally snapping out of his brief haze, Onyx sat upright with a start, realizing only then that he was back at the Axalon rather than the forested area they had discovered the last pod. Just as quickly, those memories returned, recalling he had dug himself out of a rocky prison and confronted the fire ant who had been intending to finish Rattrap. From there, he recalled nothing. Perhaps knocked out when he was busy with handling Inferno. Though as his mind caught up with the moment, he also became aware the ship was strangely quiet. Where was everyone? And how long had he been out? Maybe when he found someone else his predicament would become far more clear.

Slowly getting to his feet, the equine slowly stretched out his sore body and tight joints, feeling like he was just coming out of one of the many illegal fighting rings he use to be involved with. No doubt from being crushed by the rocks. "That's going to feel amazing for a while." He grumbled slightly, straightening himself before heading to the door of his quarters and stepping outside once the door opened, taking a moment to pause and listen. The ship certainly seemed to be lacking in much activity, enough he could only make out two distinct voices one of which he recognized as Rhinox. But the other was only vaguely familiar. Curious and with little else to go on, Onyx made his way down the hall towards the bridge spotting the rhinoceros and the young dragon, Zodiac was his name if he remembered correctly. But wasn't he an enemy the last he remembered? What was he doing here?

Though feeling awkward to cut into their deep conversation, Onyx figured it wouldn't be long before they were aware of his presence, if they weren't already given his heavy foot falls, and cleared his throat to announce his arrival, "Apologies for butting in, but I figured I would see where everyone was.[/b]" Onyx spoke, standing in the doorway and looking to still be fully awakening from his two-week slumber, "What exactly did I miss?" He asked, casting a curious glance towards the young dragon then back to Rhinox.

[New Moon]

((Welcome back Wildfire!

Also, sorry to hear you leave FF. But, if you change your mind I added a part with Tigatron for Chen.))

Up until this point Waspinator’s shots had been random.

Though he knew the general vicinity that Airazor had fallen, he didn’t know exactly where she was thanks to the thick canopy hiding her. Occasions he would catch flashes of movement below, but not enough to be certain of her location. Well, until the falcon tried to fire back at Waspinator, barely missing him but giving away where she was. Laughing with giddiness, the transmetal wasp shifted to hover over the tree Airazor appeared to be the closest to, firing through the branches towards her. Even if his shots missed sooner or later he would wear down the cover she had, looking forward to the long awaited revenge for all the times she had shot him down.

His fun was cut short however as a few electrical blasts came whizzing by, and one hitting his arm he held his weapon in, causing it to spark and go numb. Scowling, Waspinator quickly pulled back to avoid further shots from the large fuzor, “Slagging cat! Waspinator will-” His sentence was stopped abruptly as Spineback’s voice reached out to all the Predacons causing him to hover and mentally debate the matter. But if it was Spineback calling the order that didn’t bode well that their two superior officers might be down. “Waspinator finish flying cat and bird-bot another time.” Furious his revenge was cut short, Waspinator transformed and decided to heed the order.

She couldn’t escape...Dinobot had hoped the damage she had sustained from Tarantulas hadn’t been too serious or crippling, but from her tone the extent of the damage seemed clear. But, he wasn’t near enough to truly aid her, not with Spineback in the way. So, he would have to hope distracting her would give Wintersong or Cheetor enough time to slip by and get the ermine fuzor. Ugh! He really was going soft to worry so much.

Mentally pushing this aside, the raptor kept up his assault until Spineback turned back towards him. Whether his allies had gotten the chance to go he didn’t know, finding himself being smacked away by the medic’s tail lance, snarling as the studded weapon tore through a couple layers of armor in the process and slamming into a tree nearby. The force was enough to send small twigs and leaves falling, Dinobot groaning slightly as his body only ached more than ever. He was in for a long repair cycle that was for sure.

Hissing as he moved, the warrior forced himself to stand lifting his gaze back towards where the two felines had been, finding Cheetor snagging Aurora while he could, Wintersong tangling with the apparently not-so-defeated Tarantulas, and Spineback rushing to stop Optimus from harming Megatron further. How anyone remained loyal to the imbecile tyrant was beyond him.

The white tiger kept up his defense against Terrorsaur, keeping the transmetal flier at bay. His main priority was to ensure the next Maximal’s safety, even if that meant making himself a shield as a result. But his ammunition wouldn’t last forever, the tiger occasionally checking the energy levels. It was getting lower the longer he continued this bout with the Predacon, meaning he would have to take a risk here at some point.

As luck would have it, Megatron’s overzealous need to quit literally crush his opponent came with the best timing. One of the trees intended for Optimus nearly came crashing down on his opponent, watching Terrorsaur have to veer away towards the side. It was his chance. “Time to move while he’s distracted.” Tigatron turned back to Chen, lowering enough to put the medic’s arm over his shoulders and lifting him so he could lean on him for support as they walked towards where the others were gathering. As they arrived, the older feline spotted Aurora with Cheetor, and heard the sound of Spineback calling for a retreat,

About time this battle was ending.

Meanwhile, Quickstrike could only lay where he had been stunned, only able to listen to the fighting going on around him. And eventually an order given, but not by Megatron. Quick strike wasn’t sure what had happened to his leader, only that it appeared Optimus had vested him once again. ‘Awww man, not this yellow-bellied varment.’ The small fuzor thought with disdain as Terrorsaur lowered down to grab him.

Frilla hopped right back onto Rattrap’s back, being careful to hold on as he raced over roots and through some of the shrubbery, causing to lean her head down at times. Though she glanced back every so often, making sure Rampage really wasn’t following them. The crab was as tough as he looked, and even with punishment to his spark she didn’t know how long that would keep him down. Thankfully, it seemed enough for them to get some much needed distance.

But, they were figuratively not out of the woods yet as Terrabite made himself known.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Frilla muttered, briefly magnetizing herself to the rodent so she didn’t go flying from the shift in speed. Debris from the detonation caused Frilla to squint her optics as it pelted her armor, shaking her head slightly before focusing back on their target who followed their path closely as Rattrap maneuvered to avoid it. “You bet.” She assured him quietly, internally switching her normal ink for her acidic ink instead.

Terrabite regarded his previous foe for a moment, watching as Tigerhawk was called upon for support elsewhere. Oh well, he still had the two smaller Maximals, shifting his attention towards them and watching with mild glee as Rattrap avoided the radius aside from the debris. Admittedly, he didn’t quite mind his grenade missing, only given another challenge to shake off all the rust of his skills. “I commend you for your tenacity Maximal, been a while since I have had a good challenge.” Terrabite praised, tone somewhat condenscending as he prepared one of his remaining two grenades.

With a toothy grin, the crocodile Predacon stepped forward, raising his free hand and motioning for Rattrap and Frilla to come at him, “Well, come on then, I don’t have all day.” He growled menacingly, his time to handle the Maximals being limited when Spineback called a retreat.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: The waiting period is three days, as stated in the rules. However, I'm willing to accommodate anyone who's too busy to post within that time frame as long as they let us know, which did not happen after four days. No communication at all. I used to track people down to find out if we should continue without them or wait; I'm done doing that. And too often have we wasted time waiting for people to post who vanished entirely without saying a word. It's the players' jobs to let us know, if they can, whether in the game here or through a PM what's going on. I feel that I've been patient enough with this issue in the past.

Since there has been nothing to suggest otherwise, I'm going to assume that FF has indeed quit the RPG, but we can still use the stasis pod. I'd like to make it a blank protoform for future use. It can be for anyone who might be interested in introducing a new character. If not, I'll reserve it for myself. If FF decides to rejoin, we can scrap the idea and keep Chen. Either way, we're moving on. ))

"Did you ever try to murder everyone for some sense of vendetta?,"

Rhinox fell speechless for a short time, merely blinking at Zodiac and his question. Had he? Even when he had been reprogrammed as a Predacon? Not really. He turned all the Preds against each other and injured a few of them, but he didn't recall having the urge to kill them. Nor did he have any infliction to do so after the ordeal for what they had done. To maintain the consistency of not mentioning the Predacons by their faction, the engineer felt he was being honest when he simply answered, "No."

"I.. guess. Tigerhawk is more tolerant than most. And he doesn't judge me the way the others do," "He's trying to help me..,"

The large Maximal nodded with a light smile. "Although Tigerhawk is a fairly recent addition to our crew, he didn't experience much interaction with you while you trying to terminate all of us. But I see this as a good thing since it keeps his opinion about you more objective. The energy between you two seems to be positive and constructive."

"You might very well just have explained how Optimus so readily accepted me, perhaps even forgave me, despite the severity of my.. misdeeds. I'm not blind to the things I've done. And I'm most certainly grateful for the opportunities I've been given,"

Perhaps he did. And even though Zodiac's words rang some truth behind them, Rhinox had to remind himself who he was dealing with here and should tread carefully. Even if someone had lost their memories, their personality might not have been completely wiped out. Meaning the shape shifter could very well still have the tendencies to manipulate and lie. Rhinox wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt considering how consistent the amnesiac dragon's actions and words have been for quite some time now, but he was good at what he did despite how negative and troublesome it was for those on the receiving end.

"I'm most fortunate to have you as my guide as I walk this uneasy path to reclaim my past and use it to shape a better future," "Ugh, that sounded downright corny, but hopefully you can understand what I'm saying."

The Chief Medic chuckled lightly with him before he said, "I do, Zodiac. We're all in this together, one way or another." Admittedly, he wasn't quite sure how he felt about the recognition of being his "guide". After all, if there were things Rhinox had already said which triggered some memories, he would be to blame for whatever might happen later. He would have to take responsibility. If Zodiac relied on him too much, and Rhinox would happen to let him down, he might take it out on him. Anything was possible. But he still hoped that he was being honest. After learning about all of this, Zodiac was surprisingly calm other than the occasional head ache and grimace, which was one reason why the rhinoceros was beginning to grow a little skeptical with his reactions and words and how much of it was real at this point as opposed to leading him on.

"I see.. So tell me, was this part of my punishment?," "A way to make me more complacent perhaps? Less likely to turn on the Maximals again?"

Rhinox appeared to take immediate offense to those questions and crudely responded with, "Of course not!" before taking a breath and cooling down his demeanor back to where it was. "That's not how we operate. Optimus would never allow that," he reminded Zodiac. "Besides, you were already shifting your focus from us to someone else. You were changing prior to this happenstance. The virus was injected into you by the other faction we're stranded with here. Another scientist, to be a little more specific. Which is why I'm having such a difficult time tracking it in your systems and developing a solution to cure you of it."

"Of course you didn't.. I'm sorry, it's just all a little overwhelming,"

Both of them seemed to relax after the accusation, and Rhinox observed him for a few moments in silence until the shape shifter nearly doubled over in pain and moved his hands to his abdomen. The green and brown scientist was ready to interject and help him as he frowned and opened his mouth. "What's wrong?!" he asked watching the black bot step backwards.

"Was I involved with these criminals? Were they involved in what happened to me..?,"

"I don't have the answers to that," he said cautiously and would have rather wanted to talk about what was suddenly ailing him until his body relaxed when it eventually subsided.

"Something tells me I wouldn't be welcomed with open arms if I should ever return home," "I wasn't on good terms with the Council either, I imagine."

"I don't imagine any of us would be, especially Optimus," Rhinox tried consoling him with a likely similar fate for the entire Axalon crew. "But without a way to even leave this planet, it'll be some time before we can return to Cybertron," he commented as if to say that they had plenty of time to prepare for such a confrontation... if they ever got the chance.

"I take it the other ship is unable to leave just like the Axalon is?,"

"Correct. In fact, it's in worse condition than our base."

"As have all of you,"

The engineer nodded a little in reflection. Quite true, even if Zodiac didn't know the half of it.

"Who would benefit from giving me this virus?,"

"I'm more concerned with why. If it wasn't meant to kill you, then why burden you with memory loss?" Rhinox took a moment to thoughtfully stroke his chin while he deliberately avoided giving him a name to the concoction's chemist. "Although, at the time it had been administered, I think it was just meant to subdue you so you could be captured." But he wasn't entirely sure of Tarantulas's true intentions, including whatever he had planned with Aurora. ...If her existence was still useful to him...

"I hope someone's willing to listen.. As things are, I can't shake this feeling that I made some enemies on Cybertron as well as here.."

"While your actions were intentional, ours were not, but I feel as though we'll be treated the same anyway," he pointed out with a shrug. "The important thing is that we can do it together. The more numbers we have to stand up to the injustices the better."

"I hope.. I hope you'll be willing to help guide me. From the sound of it, I've made some questionable decisions in the past. But I'd like to put all that behind me and focus on a better future."

"I'll do my best, Zodiac, as long as you do yours, too. You've made the declaration, and I'm going to hold you to it," he seemed to proclaim lightheartedly while making a point at the same time. Time would tell how serious Zodiac was, or how effective the Maximals' positive treatment toward him will have had on him. Rhinox wasn't willing to bet all of his chips on it right now, though. As his memories would gradual return, they would find out just how much they influenced him or not.

"Will you allow me to take a look outside or do I have to wait for Optimus to return for that?,"

"That's Optimus's call," the robust Maximal told him straight up. "It's not a punishment, Zodiac, it's for your own safety. Your life depends on your discretion; quite literally."

"Truth be told I both dread and look forward to the day, if ever, my memories return. It's hard to have to face your own mistakes and short-comings..,"

Rhinox gave a soft but audible sigh to that. "If it's any consolation, you'll have us to support you every step of the way," he assured him.

"I think I was about to," "But this.. virus.. or whatever it is.. is still very much so active within me. Maybe I will remember, but right now I'm not having much luck in that department."

He could only take his word on that. "I could try to run some diagnostics on you again in search of any progression on it, both the virus and your memories," the medic casually offered.

"I had role models?," "Sounds more like nightmares to me. I seem to have them quite frequently when I try to rest by the way. I wake up in a terrified state, but I can never remember what happens in my dreams. I only know how they affect me," "But I do appreciate this second chance you're giving me, more than you realize."

"It's possible they may get worse. Maybe they're meant to occur as a side effect of this virus so it tires you and keeps your body exhausted with minimum sleep and more fatigue while you're awake. Again, I can probably give you something to help alleviate them, but you may grow reliant on it, and that could end up being just as detrimental to your well being as the nightmares," Rhinox explained.

"Apologies for butting in, but I figured I would see where everyone was." "What exactly did I miss?"

The Maximal grew weary when he started to hear the foot steps down the corridor approaching them. He almost grabbed one of his chain guns, and was on the verge of motioning Zodiac to get back, but Sentinel wasn't reporting any intruders, so he hesitated to react. His jaw nearly hit the metal floor of the command center when he saw who it was. "Onyx!" The ebony equine had basically been in a coma since his last altercation with the Predacons, severely crushed by boulders and smaller rocks, and most of the Maximals returning injured or captured as hostages. It seemed like ages ago. "How're ya feeling?" he inquired immediately before addressing the horse's question. "Everyone ran off to rescue a stasis pod. They've been gone for quite some time, so they should be back soon. As for Zodiac here, long story short, he's been injected with a virus which has debilitated his memories and special skills, so we're keeping him under observation and house arrest until we can get some clarity on its affects and come up with an anti-virus to help him."

-----

“Already doing so Big Bot!”

Excellent. Cheetor had proven to be quite reliable that day. And he knew that Aurora was in the cheetah's capable hands.

“Hopefully they get here soon.”

The commanding officer hoped that Tigerhawk wouldn't be delayed either so he could reach Airazor sooner rather than later. It might not matter, though, considering that the battle seemed to be in the beginning stages of dying down.

“I got her, she’s in good hands now.”

Cheetor's update on acquiring the youngest member of their crew offered the gorilla a great deal of relief. While those two were safe, Dinobot was still struggling against Spineback, and Rattrap hadn't arrived yet with Frilla.

“Watch where you’re aiming grape face!”

"Next time, I'll clip your wings permanently and rip your beak off, if you continue your infernal complaining and disrespect toward me, Terrorsaur!" Megatron warned him against his name-calling while he continued to deal with Primal.

“What you have is a bargaining chip, not control. Not completely.” “Its your deterrent to simply prevent me from ripping out your own wretched spark and eating it before your optics.”

"What ever you need to say in order to convince yourself of your current situation is of little concern to me, Rampage. The truth of the matter is that I do indeed control your very life," the tyrant snapped back at the crap over their transmission. Shall I give him another reminder? he pondered before his thoughts were interrupted by his qualm with the Maximal leader.

"Get up,"

Inferno stirred a little bit as his optic sensors flickered, and he grumbled quietly while his systems were rebooting.

"Primal got away.. We have to pursue.."

"You... You... let him... escape?" he forced his raspy voice through his sharp teeth. It wasn't an accusation, he merely figured she had been too inferior to stop him, putting the blame on her instead of himself when he was just as much at fault. The Royalty will not be pleased! he desperately thought with a blazing headache. He tried to move, but his internal computer advised him from doing so at the moment as his body felt numb.

Optimus Primal stood tall near Megatron who was still laying on the ground. He kept his gun in his hand aimed on his nemesis who was coming to and realizing the predicament he was in.

Megatron growled, baring his teeth in sheer anger, before making an attempt to gain the upper hand.

But Primal was quicker and fired a shot directly into Megatron's shoulder that had already been suffering some severe damage.

The tyrant gave a short cry of pain even though he tried to subdue it through his clenched jaws. How he loathed this Maximal buffoon! He would pay dearly for these actions and making him look like a fool! He made another movement but was immediately met with retaliation once more.

Optimus fired another shot, but this time it was deliberately aimed at the ground beside his adversary's head. It wouldn't injure him physically; only his pride and ego.

Megatron saw the flash of ammunition from the ape's weapon, and he could feel the heat from the blast as it struck too close to his head for comfort, even as he instinctively turned his face away from it. Debris blew up in all directions albeit in a small radius given the gunfire's size and angle it was shot from, some of it pinging off of Megatron's armor.

"Had enough yet, Megatron?" the Maximal leader asked him, mostly rhetorically since he was certain he'd have a trick up his sleeve. He wasn't expecting Spineback's interference, though. And judging by Megatron's expression which jumped from seething rage to being taken back, neither was he.

“Predacons, converge back to the pod, grab any of our wounded along the way. We’re done here.”

How dare she! the t-rex thought angrily and bitterly while laying there at Primal's "mercy". Even though Spineback's assessment was probably correct given the injured Predacons and low ammunition, what logic could have possibly possessed her to overstep his leadership and call for a retreat?!

“Enough Maximal, you’ve won this round.” “For now.”

Maintaining his target on the dictator, Optimus only needed to turn his head a little to see the wounded TransMetal reptile approaching them and storing her lance away. He watched her carefully and kept his sensors on full for any hostiles lurking for an ambush, especially since Nemesis was still out there somewhere, as well as Rampage, and the new Predacon. But it had appeared that they were starting to retreat per her order. The Maximal stepped back away from Megatron to give him and Spineback more room, but he didn't let down his guard. "The stasis pod stays with us," he claimed firmly.

Megatron, with his tail cannon no longer charged, pushed through the pain as he sat up and slowly got to his feet after Primal backed off. He had a death glare on Spineback, but it didn't last long when he winced as he reverted to his beast mode and briefly reminded himself how valuable her skills were. "Victory may be yours in this minor defeat, Primal, but as you can see, we are excelling in other areas," he spoke with one of his t-rex claws pointing at the spinosaurus's TransMetal upgrade even though Megatron himself didn't know how she had achieved such a feat. But Optimus didn't need to know that. All he needed to be was greatly concerned about the Predacons' secrets and goings on at the Darksyde.

"Sounds like you need to worry more about addressing the insubordination within your ranks," Primal taunted his Predacon counterpart.

If Megatron's beast mode's eyes could fire lasers from them, they would pierce straight through the ape's armor with the glare he was sending him at that moment. "Beware of future encounters," he threatened him before turning and walking away, stomping his feet through the rain forest. "Predacons, return to base," his voice rumbled over their comm. links. "And don't forget our fallen comrades," he added begrudgingly.

"Inferno is down," "I'm recovering from my own injuries but still not quite there.. Could use some assistance."

"Ah...," the pyro grumbled again with some agony. "Give me... a moment...," he assured Nemesis. Sure enough, the numbness began subsiding although the head ache didn't with the large dent on his head from the Maximal's club. Regardless, the tough ant slowly started to push himself up off of the ground enough to give his body some room as he returned to his fire ant beast mode.

Optimus watched them retreat cautiously and only lowered his weapon when they were just out of his sight, for now dismissing Megatron's threat. "Maximals, the Predacons are retreating. Regroup," his voice rang out for those near and those far over radio transmission. "Tigatron, stay with the pod." Making his way over to Dinobot with his permanent limp in robot mode, his orange optics took in the soldier's injuries with a light frown. "You fought well despite Spineback's upgrade, Dinobot," he commended him. "You better transform to beast mode to begin your repairs," he highly recommended. "I'll need a report on her new weapons, strengths and weaknesses later."

Some commotion from Tarantulas and Wintersong had caught his attention then. Primal could feel the feral energy emitting from the TransMetal tigress, and he was worried that she might go too far against her will, if the Vok were in control of her. But the spider scientist proved to have more fight in him that he had let on once had self-repaired with the help of the nano-gel. With his guns firing at Wintersong, Optimus hurried to her aid and to catch Tarantulas unawares as he started to fire his gun at him from his left, blindsiding him with warning shots in an effort to force him to retreat. And as it grew a little quieter in the immediate area from the lack of gunfire, Rattrap's loud motor could be heard not too far away.

“Now your twisted spark is history arachnid!”

No, Wintersong! Optimus called to her through their alien-related link. We might need him to cure Zodiac, and if there's anything wrong with Aurora! After all, they couldn't just assume that Tarantulas was handing over the ermine/butterfly Fuzor unscathed. It just didn't seem worth his while or beneficial, even if he had merely used her to get the nano-gel. Spending two weeks with Tarantulas could do serious and possibly irreversible damage to anyone's mentality and body. They would have to run tests on Aurora to make sure she was alright, and if there were any inconsistencies or hidden viruses, they might need his help to remove them. The possibilities were almost endless with the mad scientist.

“You gotta be kidding me.”

Rattrap had heard Frilla's comment but didn't respond while he focused on his driving and the grenade. He felt her body magnetize to his so she wouldn't fly off which was a neat trick of her's. Dinobot had never done that, but then again it was Dinobot. And he was probably too big for it to really make a difference considering how Rattrap drove.

“You bet.”

The rat dragster loudly revved his engine again as he readied himself for their attack, Frilla's voice adding more confidence to it than he really had. But he wasn't going to give up.

“I commend you for your tenacity Maximal, been a while since I have had a good challenge.”

Ugh. "I don't need yer filthy 'compliments', Preda-scum," the mouthy Maximal called to him, revving his engine again.

“Well, come on then, I don’t have all day.”

Neither did he and his passenger after hearing the Boss Monkey's voice over their comm. links telling them that the Preds were retreating and it was time to regroup. It didn't seem like this big guy was budging though. Rattrap spun out with his rear wheels before he released his front ones and raced toward the croc-like Pred at full speed, aiming to go in between the their opponent's legs but ready to swerve at the last second if he needed to. Aiming was up to Frilla and her projectile, corrosive saliva. The Predacon would never know what hit him until it was too late!

[Wintersong]

Airazor kept herself ducked down slightly against the tree as Waspinator continued to blast her cover. He would have to give up toying with her sooner or later, no doubt his ammo dwindling. The insect was persistent, she could give him that which also made him all the more troublesome at times. Despite his meager existence, he was still resilient and always seemed to bounce back quickly.

Much to her relief however the shots soon stopped, Airazor picking up on the sound of someone else shooting at the transmetal wasp, “About time.” She said to herself with relief.

Above the canopy, Tigerhawk kept up the heavy fire towards the Predacon wasp, more so aiming to force him to break away from his attack. Though, the fuzor noted one of his shots had struck the insect at some point, forcing him to have to retreat some distance. At least he got the metal insect to stop his attack on the falcon. But Tigerhawk didn’t stop firing until Waspinator seemed to think better of his predicament and finally retreated, allowing the fuzor a chance to move between him and the wounded femme.

Hovering for a little longer, Tigerhawk waited until he was sure Waspinator wouldn’t return before lowering below the trees, “Someone call for back-up?” The large mech inquired, causing Airazor to give a pain smile, “More or less. Far more troublesome now with all the transmetal Predacons running around.” Airazor remarked, stowing away her weapon under her wing that wasn’t damage, wincing a little from the movement. “Let’s get back to the others.” Hooking an arm around her waist as Airazor hook her arm around his shoulders, Tigerhawk carefully took flight and headed back towards the pod’s crash site.

It took everything for Spineback not to launch herself at Optimus upon seeing his continued attack on Megatron. His already damaged shoulder would take quite sometime to fix, even with a quick dip in the CR tanks. But she refrained from doing so. Instead, she went for the diplomatic tactic the Maximals seemed so found of, physically revolted to do so. How did they do this all the time? It was rather sickening, but if she wanted to avoid her leader having his head literally blown off, she would take the risk, including that of any punishment Megatron deemed necessary.

Even with his death glare, she didn’t waver where she was, steadily watching the two commanders as Nemesis reported needing some aid, “Hang tight Nemesis, I’ll come get him soon.” Spineback responded, wondering what Primal had done to take out the ant this time. But she watched closely until Megatron was back on his feet, only relaxing a little when he transformed and indicated her new upgrade standing a little straighter to show that despite her injuries she still stood strong and proud of her accomplishment. “Maybe you should worry about your own troops Maximal, before you lose more of them.” Spineback countered before she turned away with Megatron and reverted to beast mode.

Sniffing the air, the spinosaurus followed the scent of Inferno and Nemesis, making good on her word to retrieve the downed ant, only to find him transforming upon arrival. “Long as you can walk Inferno, if not I will carry you back. We don’t need you making your injuries worse.” The medic told him firmly before turning her gaze towards Nemesis, “And you? Can you transform Nemesis, or do you require a lift back?” An assessment with her sight indicated Nemesis had gone through a bit of a rough time, especially her hunched over appearance. But given her nanotech, she didn’t know if the avian would need physical repairs, only time to recover enough to fly.

Terrorsaur growled under his breath, “One of these days Megatron.” Irked at the tyrant once again, the transmetal pterodactyl just wanted to fire one of his missiles at the downed t-rex when he was at the mercy of Primal. Pit, if he fired one now maybe both would be taken out finally leaving them with few options but to scramble to help their leaders. He loathed Megatron and his followers to no end, and getting rid of him wasn’t as likely as it had once been earlier on in the Beast Wars.

If only he had still had that energon mountain...

Grumbling, the ‘dactyl complied with the order to retreat, dragging Quickstrike from the ground and heading for their medic who had gone to check on others. “Here’s a patient for you doctor.” He spoke mockingly but squawked when Spineback turned to snap at him with her jaws, causing him to fly back abruptly to avoid them. “Watch your tone before I surgically rearrange your beast mode.” The medic growled, her back spines folding down to create flat surface of which Terrorsaur quickly dropped Quickstrike unceremoniously. The quicker he could move away the better.

“Don’t worry Aurora, we’ll get you out of here soon.” Cheetor assured her once he arrived to the pod where Tigatron and some of the others were returning to. He hoped Rattrap would soon follow knowing the rodent was worried sick about the young femme. The two had a close relationship so he could only imagine how he would react, maybe even help lift his depressed slump had been in lately. “Know Rattrap has been dying to see you again. I haven’t seen him obsess over finding anything or anyone in a long time.” Cheetor added, hoping to put her mind at further ease.

But his attention went towards the activity winding down around them, hoping the others could finish what remained of the Predacon forces around them. They were retreating, so why couldn’t they just call it quits already?

Wintersong’s optics widened when Tarantulas’ weapons aimed for her and revealed himself not to be as down as she had thought. How could that be? She was certain her and Cheetor combined should have at least hindered his movements to some degree. Yet, the spider was moving around as if he had never been hit at all.

Growling as she was kicked off, landing on her feet a short distance away the Vok-possessed feline glared back towards Tarantulas as she turned back towards him. Hissing as some of his bullets struck her armor, the transmetal tigress ran for the nearest cover as the spider’s shots tore the ground up behind and around her, some still grazing her frame as she went and dove behind the nearest tree. ‘This was a bad idea.’

‘We can still kill him. He will be a threat to both of us.’ The Vok presence growled.

‘We can get him another day!’ Wintersong protested, their mental turmoil returning.

‘No! We do away with him now!!’

The fury of the Vok presence was enough to make Wintersong mentally recoil, causing a pained snarl from her physical being as they took full control once more. But just as the skull-faced aliens had taken possession, Optimus’ voice next broke through causing them to freeze and listen intently causing Wintersong’s own presence to struggle once more. ‘I know, I know, Optimus. But...I can’t keep them contained, their will is weakening my hold.” She responded across their shared link, barely forcing her will over the alien presence, “You want us Tarantulas? Come and get it!” The combined presence taunted, Wintersong’s voice overlaid with that of the Vok. Even if she couldn’t maintain full control, she just needed enough to distract the spider for the blue ape and slip away once that was accomplished.

Making a “Come on” motion with her paw, the tigress urged the transmetal arachnid to chase her before whipping around and charging into the forest.

Rampage merely gave an eerie, dark chuckle at Megatron’s response, “Yet, I can still get under your armor.” The insane crab taunted, indicating his snappish tone. Whether he was truly just annoying the t-rex or simply unnerving him Rampage didn’t know, but it was amusing to him in his own twisted way. The Predacon Commander put up a brave front, he would say that much but even he could tell there was some hint of unease Megatron had around him from time to time.

Though that wasn’t to say Rampage didn’t regard Megatron with some begrudging caution. His show of force a couple weeks prior more than told him that the tyrant was greatly ambitious and dangerous in his own right. So, perhaps it wasn’t just the king crab who had a little insanity. Nevertheless, Rampage made his way to regroup with the other Predacons, transforming to beast mode to follow.

[Phoenix]

Ever since he first regained consciousness a couple of weeks prior, Zodiac had often displayed an innocence reminiscent of a child. Sure, he displayed knowledge and skills that proved he had a past.. and that his often childlike behaviors and outlook on the world around him were often linked to that past he couldn't remember. Well, for the most part anyway. He was starting to have a few memories emerge, although he kept the extent concealed from the Maximals he surrounded himself with.

"No."

The rhinoceros' response only went to prove what Zodiac had suspected all along. That his story was unique and he truly was separated from the Maximals around him. Clearly he didn't share many life experiences with them, as evidenced by Rhinox' admission.

Letting out a sigh and twiddling his thumbs a bit, the renegade then gave a slight nod. "It certainly is a strange revelation to me to be made aware of my apparently violent past when I can't remember any of it. Not a face, not a voice, nothing..," he responded with emphasis on the loss of his memories. He very much so looked the part of the repentant sinner, the expressions on his face changing swiftly based on how he could obtain the desired responses from Rhinox. While the engineer was not one to be trifled with, he was also one of the more powerful Maximals as well as Primal's friend and confidant.. And his second in command. Rhinox was also well liked and respected among the other Maximals, so keeping in his good graces could certainly be worthwhile.

And on a subconscious level, Zodiac knew this.

He studied the bulkier engineer as he took time to consider his answer before refuting any possibility he could have done what the renegade had, taking on a more saddened expression when the engineer revealed they didn't share such a history. Not that he had expected the answer to be any different. Rhinox was almost infuriatingly honest in his approaches towards anyone, whereas in some regards the young dragon was his polar opposite. Ever manipulative, searching for some way to benefit himself.

"Although Tigerhawk is a fairly recent addition to our crew, he didn't experience much interaction with you while you trying to terminate all of us. But I see this as a good thing since it keeps his opinion about you more objective. The energy between you two seems to be positive and constructive."

Zodiac, too, found Tigerhawk to be something of a kindred spirit of sorts in this otherwise mostly hostile environment. Somehow he found himself seeking out companionship in a way that lead him to believe he had often been lonely in his past life. So the few times someone seemed to care for him, he did tend to latch onto them. Apparently he was quite a contradiction in terms.. Someone who thrived focusing mainly on himself, yet had a certain sense of childish desperation to his search of approval. Although he didn't know Tigerhawk too well thus far, he did plan to change that when the tall fuzor returned.

"Perhaps.. It's certainly nice to have someone like Tigerhawk.. and yourself.. to look up to and to guide me.," he said with a certain gratitude and anticipation in his voice. His voice then trailed off a bit as he lowered his gaze.

"And perhaps in due time the others will follow your example and give me a chance as well."

He sounded so broken, like a beaten child looking for hope and approval. Daring to sneak a glance at the engineer from underneath those unruly dreadlocks, Zodiac truthfully didn't feel quite as bad about his situation as he was letting on. But he found it quite easy to lie, or at least exaggerate the truth, as to provoke a desired response. If he could persuade Rhinox he had truly changed, then perhaps Optimus could be persuaded as well. And that would allow him a lot more freedom than what he currently had.

Besides.. he wasn't blind. He had taken notice of how resentful most of the Maximals were towards these others that Rhinox would soon describe to him in greater detail. The renegade may not know what name this rebel group went by, but the anger a majority of the Maximals felt towards them was so intense.. so thick it could almost be cut into with a knife. It was a sense of anger he himself could relate to, and that he certainly wasn't above using for his own gain.

"I do, Zodiac. We're all in this together, one way or another.

Rhinox chuckle filled the room for a moment, encouraging the renegade to join in however briefly. "I do appreciate this talk of ours," the dragon added in earnest as their little show of appreciation of how silly some parts of their discussion had sounded died down. "And I promise you.. I'll do better in the future. I may not have been part of this crew originally, but I'm starting to feel like there's hope for the future. A sense of family if I can be so bold as to describe it that way."

Well.. he might still be the black sheep of said family, but there was a growing feeling within him that there were ways he could prove himself. Although perhaps not in the ways Rhinox anticipated.

"Of course not!"

Rhinox seemed offended by the renegade's almost casual pondering of his future role within their group. Zodiac merely tilted his head and listened as the rhinoceros continued.

"That's not how we operate. Optimus would never allow that,"

Wouldn't he though? There were times the renegade wondered.. Of course he'd never speak out loud about those doubts, much like he couldn't verbalize the ever growing selection of memories that kept breaking through the barrier.

"I've decided to give you a name that I think fits you quite well. Zodiac. It shall be your designation from now on."

The old bot's voice appeared in his head again, as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. At that moment the renegade could remember every feature on the aging officer's armor, down to the last scar. There was a certain frailty to the old guy, yet he was stoic as few. Zodiac remembered him with both a sense of respect, dread, and by the Pit .. there was even a sense of longing thrown into the mix. He had known this individual quite well, and he had watched with a sense of jealousy and growing hostility as the admiral had groomed Optimus in his own image. Primal had looked different then.. Vastly different. But he knew it was him in his memories based on the way he spoke and carried himself.

"I'm.. honored, sir."

His own voice. So young and eager to please.

"You will report to Optimus during the rescue mission at the colony. "

What colony? What mission was this? When was it? Could this have been during the time he was being held captive like Rhinox had described?

Then.. the image in his head just shattered, only to be replaced by another, much more grim one, where he had run a sword through the old admiral's spark. He remembered stepping back, watching as the mech fluid oozed out of the gaping wound, only for his gaze to drift to his own arms that were still holding the bloody weapon. His arms weren't his own.. They looked like they belonged to someone else.. To Optimus as he had been then. The renegade glanced at the floor, catching his own blurry reflection in a shard of shattered glass. It was Optimus' face staring back.

What was going on..?! Why had he looked like Optimus in this particular memory? It was like the perfect disguise, perhaps he had used it to get close to the old warrior.. Or even to use his pupil's appearance to hurt him one final time. Was this part of his powers that the engineer just kept saying he would find out about later..?

Gasping out loud, Zodiac quickly brought his hands up to his head as if he could squeeze the pounding headache he had developed out of himself. If this was indeed caused by a virus, he clearly was not intended to remember his past but certain events in his life just had too much of an impact on him to keep them locked away.

Meanwhile Rhinox continued explaining, at least until he took notice of how Zodiac was reacting to the influx of information.

"Besides, you were already shifting your focus from us to someone else. You were changing prior to this happenstance. The virus was injected into you by the other faction we're stranded with here. Another scientist, to be a little more specific. Which is why I'm having such a difficult time tracking it in your systems and developing a solution to cure you of it."

Ugh.. That virus would have to go.. He'd have to figure out a way to rid himself of this nuisance and finally break down the block that was keeping his memories from fully emerging.. And was causing him so much discomfort every time any of them did.And then he'd have to figure out what to do about this other scientist so he couldn't do this to him again.. Never again.

Slowly but surely the headache seemed to ease up and Zodiac's grimace eased up as it did. Finally his optics returned to Rhinox and he could only offer a sheepish apologetic look for his reaction.

"I'm sorry.. The headaches seem to be getting a bit worse.. ," he started. "When we're finished here, may I return to my quarters and rest a bit? I'm sure my lack of sleep as of late isn't helping.."

Still, he didn't want to arouse suspicion or seem rude by excusing himself at this very moment so he would stay for a while longer. Perhaps the engineer would still be able to shed some more light on a few other things he wondered about.

"This other scientist.. what does he want from me? Is he still a threat?," Zodiac wondered out loud. Ugh.. Scientists. Something about the thought of them made his armor feel like it was crawling.

"Thank you for trying to help me though. I'm positive you'll find a solution soon."

"What's wrong?!"

Everything.. But he couldn't talk about it, not right now. If he did, his newfound freedom would likely come to a premature end.

"Is there a chance the virus will fade on its own, you think..? "

"I don't have the answers to that,"

Maybe not. But the engineer had unwittingly provided Zodiac with more information than he probably planned to. Hopefully he'd be able to piece the missing pieces together himself when he got the opportunity to do so.

"I don't imagine any of us would be, especially Optimus,"

Ah yes. Optimus who had been given his own vessel and crew to go off on a mission that ended up being sidelined to track down this vigilante group. It made sense he wouldn't be welcomed back should they ever return.. Yet the renegade felt his own return to Cybertron would likely be met with even more hostility given his past actions.

"I'd still like to help any way I can when or if the time to return home comes," Zodiac offered. Of course he likely would take a more direct approach should he ever get the chance to face off against the council of elders, even if his solution would likely be a bit underhanded.

"Correct. In fact, it's in worse condition than our base."

So it should be possible to take out the enemy base then.. Would Primal ever agree to it though? It seemed doubtful at best..

"I'm more concerned with why. If it wasn't meant to kill you, then why burden you with memory loss?"

Something told the renegade that he had made a bit of a name for himself.. He had been experimented on from what Rhinox had told him, and his abilities certainly seemed to go beyond mere absorption and duplication of metallic components.

"Although, at the time it had been administered, I think it was just meant to subdue you so you could be captured."

Zodiac shrugged. "I suppose we could knock on the enemy ship's door and ask?," he responded, half jokingly, albeit he was starting to entertain the thought of taking this struggle to the other team.

"While your actions were intentional, ours were not, but I feel as though we'll be treated the same anyway. The important thing is that we can do it together. The more numbers we have to stand up to the injustices the better."

"You're right," the dragon admitted. "I just need to be patient and it'll all work out in the end, I'm sure. After all, I got some crafty bots leading the way."


And with the right incentive, he was certain the Maximals' motivation could be improved greatly. The cogs were turning, even if he had no real plan forming yet.

"I'll do my best, Zodiac, as long as you do yours, too. You've made the declaration, and I'm going to hold you to it,"

"I sincerely hope so," the renegade replied, sounding most genuine as he did. Indeed, if he could only influence Rhinox enough he would surely be a powerful and useful ally to have in this ongoing conflict with the other crew that clearly needed a swift, and likely brutal, solution. Zodiac had no intention of giving them the opportunity to strike him down again.

"That's Optimus's call," "It's not a punishment, Zodiac, it's for your own safety. Your life depends on your discretion; quite literally."

"So they're still after me," the renegade concluded, yet again proving how quickly he picked up on the little details Rhinox was leaving out. Whether they wanted to get him for his abilities or for something he had done to the other team seemed insignificant at this time. Either way they were a threat to him and unlike the Maximals' philosophy that hiding was the best solution, Zodiac felt a more direct approach to rid himself of the threat at its source would be more effective. But this, too, he kept to himself.

"I understand and I'll obey the restrictions Primal imposed on me," he then added humbly for some extra reassurance.

"If it's any consolation, you'll have us to support you every step of the way,"

Zodiac smiled ever so slightly upon hearing that, as if he found relief in such a promise.

"Your words are most kind.. And appreciated. I hope I can live up to your expectations of me."

"I could try to run some diagnostics on you again in search of any progression on it, both the virus and your memories,"

Eh.. No. Somehow the renegade was convinced the truth would only hurt him, even if he no longer held any grudges towards the Maximals like he must have in the past. The last thing he needed, however, was to give them additional reasons not to trust him.

"Maybe.. But I would like to rest for a while before we get into that," Zodiac requested, subtly stalling but without making his own hesitance too obvious. Although it did feel a bit awkward to be talking about needing rest after he had just admitted to the nightmares that hounded him.

"It's possible they may get worse. Maybe they're meant to occur as a side effect of this virus so it tires you and keeps your body exhausted with minimum sleep and more fatigue while you're awake. Again, I can probably give you something to help alleviate them, but you may grow reliant on it, and that could end up being just as detrimental to your well being as the nightmares,"

Again.. no. As tempting as getting some actual restful sleep was, he needed to keep his wits and senses about him and not succumb to sedatives. He may have verbalized the need to rest on more than one occasion, but he truthfully needed an excuse to be left alone for a little while so he could do his own experiments. It would be far easier to rest properly when the burden of not remembering had been lifted off his shoulders.

"If they do get worse, I will certainly let you know right away. But for the time being, I would like to at least try to rest on my own before using drugs to help."


The sound of approaching footsteps alerted them they were no longer alone. Zodiac quickly stepped away from the doorway, not sure who.. or what.. he expected would step through the opening since the others were still away from the base. And though he had certainly grown more comfortable around the Maximals and had even somewhat befriended a couple of them, he still didn't remember much of his past and could as such not truly distinguish friend from foe yet.

"Apologies for butting in, but I figured I would see where everyone was." "What exactly did I miss?"

"Onyx!"

The newcomer was clearly a welcome sight for sore optics based on Rhinox' happy reaction. Zodiac peered out with some curiosity from behind the bulkier male, although he technically was a head taller than him so he could have looked over his shoulder. He studied the other male intently, but not threateningly, sizing him up as a potential new ally.

"Everyone ran off to rescue a stasis pod. They've been gone for quite some time, so they should be back soon. As for Zodiac here, long story short, he's been injected with a virus which has debilitated his memories and special skills, so we're keeping him under observation and house arrest until we can get some clarity on its affects and come up with an anti-virus to help him."

"You'll have to forgive me if she share some history, Onyx, for I can't remember anything or anyone from my past," Zodiac confirmed Rhinox' explanation without moving from his spot behind the engineer. Everything the bulkier male had told the newcomer was true, after all, even if Zodiac had no intention of remaining under 'house arrest' for much longer. Still, for now he would play the obedience game.

"You... You... let him... escape?"

Nemesis sent the ant a scowling glare upon hearing his accusations. Although they were in fact true, she certainly wasn't going to admit to it. "Like you were any more helpful after he took you out. He then turned his attention to me and had a taser weapon that effectively knocked my system out," she responded angrily. Might as well get the excuse to stick before Megatron got wind of this.. provided he was still functional. It did strike her as odd that it had been Spineback who had called for a retreat.

She got her answer mere moments later when Megatron's weary voice chimed through their com links.

"Predacons, return to base,"

Ugh.. He certainly sounded like someone had put him through the ringer. So likely his mood was going to be terrible for a while until the tyrant was done moping over his defeat and moved on to other, grander ventures.

Glancing down at the still recovering ant, Nemesis let out a sigh when the tyrant made sure to reinforce that they had to bring their wounded with them. A part of her really just wanted to leave the ant where he was, since he was both large and heavy and frankly quite obnoxious while still able to talk. Perhaps she would have preferred him to truly get knocked out.

Yet the ant had other plans, it would seem, and although he was quite obviously in pain she could see him make an effort to pull himself together and transform to his oversized ant form.

"Give me... a moment...,"

"You've had enough time to rest," she told him back quite blatantly before she, too, started moving away while still clutching her abdomen as if she was in pain as well.

Well.. At least Optimus seemed to have escaped death yet again. How the monkey managed to remain alive was one of life's great mysteries..

“Hang tight Nemesis, I’ll come get him soon.”

"That may not be necessary after all," the avian reported back. "He seems to be coming to again, although we've both seen better days."

It didn't take more than a moment for Spineback to make an appearance to survey the situation. Nemesis made sure to keep up the act, pretending to be forcing herself to straighten out as not to show weakness in front of the rest of the Predacon crew. She did so with a grimace as if the act was indeed causing her pain.

“And you? Can you transform Nemesis, or do you require a lift back?”

Stretching out her wings and allowing them to flap a couple of times, the avian then shook her head.

"Save your strength for someone who truly needs it. My nanomachines are starting to kick back online so I'll be able to catch up soon enough."


Fortunately Terrorsaur showed up with Quickstrike and provided a most welcome distraction so Nemesis could avoid the bombardment of questions for now. As much as she hated the final resting place of the Darksyde, she really didn't feel like lingering around here for much longer.

“Don’t worry Aurora, we’ll get you out of here soon.”

The fuzor had allowed herself to relax in the cheetah's arms, thus far blissfully unaware of the fact her new leader was under attack. She likely wouldn't have been able to keep herself from rushing to his defense had she known, but as things were everything seemed to be going according to the spider's plan.

"I can't wait to be home again.. Tarantulas is hardly a gracious host," she muttered in a highly convincing tone of voice. Her green optics then perked up and her gaze shifted to Cheetor's face, an exhausted smile appearing on her own face as she continued.

"Thank you so much for getting me out of there. I've .. been dreaming of returning to the Maximals ever since that frightful day he.. abducted me."

“Know Rattrap has been dying to see you again. I haven’t seen him obsess over finding anything or anyone in a long time.”

Rattrap.. Ah yes, Aurora could certainly understand how he would have felt lost without her. Of course the sentiment wasn't really returned right now, since her objective was clear. Besides.. the rat smelled. If she was going to do one thing for him during this mission it would be to stop him from dumpster diving so much.

"I've missed him too..," the little female responded weakly, her smile softening a bit. "All of you.. so much. Of course, I'll need some much needed rest when we get back, but then I promise everything will be back to normal."


Empty promises.. But she didn't care. The Maximals were all sentimental fools who would only care about her safe return.

Off in the distance and getting closer by the nanoclick, she could see the shape of Rattrap as well as a few others. Her optics focused mainly on him, though, and she made an effort to lift her arm enough to wave to him.

Tarantulas cackled with glee as his shots pummeled Wintersong's armor. Of course she looked a bit different than the last time he had seen her, some odd details like the color of her optics , but since he hadn't been aware of her extended hibernation in the Vok plant he paid it little heed. All he wanted now was to make her suffer for daring to attack him, so his shots kept firing even as she pulled back a short distance.

“You want us Tarantulas? Come and get it!”

Right around the same time Megatron called for a retreat, which Tarantulas really didn't care much about. The tyrant wasn't his leader after all, and whereas the purple faced t-rex had lost this battle, the genius spider's plan was actually working. Of course the female tigress' interference was a bit of a nuisance, but really.. that's all it was. She didn't pose a threat to him, not now, so her mocking words did little to entice the spider into action. Instead he let out a mocking laugh again and followed up with another barrage of shots.

"Do you take me for a fool?," he called after her as she started speeding away. Her attempt at distracting him was quite obvious since there really was only one reason as to why she'd want to lure him into the forest alone. Oh no, he wasn't falling for it.

Of course another set of shots heading his way would distract him from playing any further mind games with the fleeing tigress. This time, it was Primal himself who had decided to join the fray. Annoyed, and slightly concerned by the close proximity of where the shots were landing, Tarantulas decided his best approach would be to retreat alongside the Predacons. Once at his lair he could wait for an update from his assistant in the comfort of his sanctuary.

Growling as one shot strafed his arm, the spider hurriedly made his escape as well.

[Wildfire94]

Given Rhinox’s and Zodiac’s tense reactions at first, Onyx could figure they had expected trouble approaching. Given recent events, he couldn’t blame them. The Predacons were admittedly becoming more aggressive and more willing to take risks, something that had been apparent before. But now they were becoming exceptionally ruthless in their methods as of late.

No wonder the Tripedicus Council had been so leery of the recent Predacon interference.

“Sorry for startling you two, guess I should have commed someone ahead of time.” Onyx apologized as he came fully into the room, glancing around the room seeing signs that it once again been in a state of long repairs. “Sore to be honest. Feel like I stepped out of a boxing match with Omega Supreme, don’t highly recommend being near mountain sides when the Predacons and explosives are involved.” The black equine answered, cracking and rubbing his neck slightly, “Primus knows I’m going to need some serious alignments when we get back home.” He grumbled softly, somewhat more irritated than anything else he had allowed himself to be taken out so easily.

Nevertheless, the turncoat listened to Rhinox’s explanation, optics widening a bit in surprise, “Another stasis pod? Popping up outta no where again.” He commented, before his gaze shifted to the young dragon as Rhinox further explained about why Zodiac was there. Well, sounded a lot like the work of the spiders...well, Tarantulas in this case.

He did notice the bands upon Zodiac’s wrists then, no doubt to keep him from doing anything that might compromise his memory or allow him to uncover something that he didn’t need to should said memory return. “Something tells those special skills are still around then huh. Practically second nature no doubt.” Onyx observed before waving a hand dismissively, “Eh, not really kid. Been caught in the crossfire and all that jazz, nothing I wouldn’t expect so don’t sweat it. Been down that revenge road to some extent so can’t exactly judge.” He told him, not seeming all that worried for the dragon’s past behavior. After all, before he joined the Axalon he had been all for tearing down anything the Maximals were involved in, even willing to kill in some capacity to get a point across. “But take it from me Zodiac, you truly want to change who you are, memories or none, you won’t find any better place than the Axalon crew.”

Onyx’s words had never been so genuine in his life, which even surprised him as he spoke, resting a hand on the young dragon’s shoulder, “They opened my optics to a few things, maybe they could do the same for you.”

[New Moon]

((Sorry if this is a bit shorter than it should be. Just been a long, frustrating couple of weeks that long story short involves my former best friend and ex-sister-in-law, but don’t really want to go into full details. Me and my son have been sick, then this issue came up so have been trying to help my brother with some matters so this isn’t my best post right now.))

Waspinator arrived back towards where the main battle had taken place, scanning the area as he arrived. Off to one side he spotted Nemesis and Inferno, both looking worse for wear and Spineback tending to them with Terrorsaur approaching with a paralyzed Quickstrike. Then there was Terrabite finishing his battle with Frilla and Rattrap, Rampage regrouping with the rest of them, and Megatron seeming to be recovering from his showdown with Optimus. Well, at least the Predacon commander was still awake.

Then there was Tarantulas nearby who was taken out by the tigress and Optimus. Certainly wasn’t their day today.

With the battle slowly dying down, Dinobot made his way towards the pod to regroup with the other Maximals, body aching from every movement. His frame had seen better days, head dented and chest and abdomen slightly torn up from his battle with Spineback, small trails of energon falling from some of the scratches. “Just as annoying as any Transmetal upgrade.” Dinobot growled softly as he glanced towards Primal, wincing slightly as he reverted to beast mode.

Though, the raptor said nothing yet about what he had found in his battle with Spineback. He wanted to personally examine the contents of the case himself before he gave it to Rhinox or anyone else. Given the medic’s upgrade and how closely she had kept it, the former Predacon could imagine it must have held some importance. Perhaps the very substance that made her upgrade remotely possible now that he thought about it. If so..,”Hmm.” The raptor tapped his chin in thought as he approached the pod where Tigatron was presently guarding.

The white tiger nodded in understanding at the Maximal commander as he stayed by the pod. Though he doubted any of the Predacons would make another move against them to get the pod he kept his guard up, watching them regroup and retreat while the Maximals gathered towards the pod as well. Much to his relief, Aurora was among them.

“Aurora, it’s good to see you again.” Tigatron greeted towards her, smiling at seeing the young ermine but frowning in seeing she needed some medical attention, only able to imagine the sort of torture and horror Tarantulas put her through the past couple of weeks. Dinobot too turned his attention towards the ermine and Cheetor, quietly relieved to see the two youngest Maximals were safe and sound since he hadn’t been able to be certain due to Spineback’s brutal attack. By then, Tigerhawk and Airazor were also joining them causing the green and white mech to show deep concern for the falcon.

Being carried by Terrorsaur, Quickstrike struggled to get his body to respond only barely getting a finger to twitch. His paralysis would take time to pass much to his annoyance, but it wasn’t helped with Terrorsaur’s stupidity either as he provoked Spineback, grunted as he was unceremoniously dropped upon the medic’s back. Oh when ah git unparalyzed tha’ yellow-bellied coward is gonna get it!, He thought furiously, wanting to tear the flying Predacon apart the moment he could move.

Terrabite growled slightly as he prepared for his next attack, preparing for his next grenade...until he heard the next order from Megatron himself. He was rather surprised to hear Megatron call at all given it seemed he had been down from before. But given this was the second order for a retreat, the crocodile was beginning to rethink his taunting to the two small Maximals and was almost about to change his strategy, but not in time.

Frilla grinned slightly as she heard Rattrap’s revving, preparing herself for the speed that would come next. She kept herself magnetized to the rodent so she wasn’t thrown off line Dinobot likely would have been, preparing an acidic ink shot as Rattrap took off towards the large Predacon who seemed to have become otherwise distracted. Perfect! Leaning her head back, Frilla fired a few quick ink shots when they came near the new Predacon, the ink splattering across in smaller areas but mostly centered around his legs causing Terrabite to snarl and try to step around them, one of the shots splattering along his hip and lower side. “Haha! Bull’s eye! Great driving Rattrap!” Frilla called over his engine.

She whipped her head back, making sure they had Terrabite finally backing down and giving them a chance to return to the others. “That should send him packing, hopefully we can regroup now in peace.”

Meanwhile, Terrabite hissed in pain as the ink ate away at the top layer of his armor, forcing him to stow away his weapon and transform to beast mode to help ease the pain. “Note to self, no underestimating the small fries.” He muttered to himself, turning to jog after the others as he felt the stinging in his legs.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Wildfire, Zodiac isn't wearing the bracelets at the moment, but thanks for reminding me about them! XD

No worries, New Moon. Hopefully things will settle down for you soon. ))

"It certainly is a strange revelation to me to be made aware of my apparently violent past when I can't remember any of it. Not a face, not a voice, nothing..,"

Rhinox frowned a little as he tried to empathize with the renegade. "I know it must be confusing. Perhaps even a bit contradicting." Did Zodiac really trust everything he was telling him? Not that any of it wasn't true, but it certainly was a lot for someone to take in when they couldn't remember anything about their past or who they were. Was he simply accepting all of it? Granted, he had his questions here and there, but they were mostly for clarification. It wasn't like he was outright questioning the engineer's honesty. Then again, he supposed he didn't have a reason not to trust Rhinox. Aside from the way the other Maximals treated him, out-casting him like he was a Predacon or that they were the Predacons, it was a wonder he didn't think that they were this "other faction" and were tricking him this entire time.

"Perhaps.. It's certainly nice to have someone like Tigerhawk.. and yourself.. to look up to and to guide me.,"

"Well, it's good to have you with us despite the circumstances. We get to see a part of your personality that I don't believe anyone else ever has. At least not to this extent. I think you've surprised all of us so far, Zodiac. Even if the others haven't shown it," he added with a soft smile to him.

"And perhaps in due time the others will follow your example and give me a chance as well."

"They'll come around eventually, especially if you keep up your good behavior," he explained as he tried consoling Zodiac's dampened voice. "But try not to worry so much about their approval. Just work on your own improvements, and they'll follow. You've already been earning respect from Tigerhawk, myself and Optimus."

"I do appreciate this talk of ours,"

There was something in the shape shifter's voice, albeit incredibly subtle, that made Rhinox think that all of this talking was only to benefit himself for some future purpose or ambition. Maybe it was just his tone, or the particular words he used, or it was just the medic's own paranoia that he had somehow developed by spending too much time around Rattrap and his constant accusations. He tried not reading into it too much, after all, it could have been completely innocent and genuine.

"And I promise you.. I'll do better in the future. I may not have been part of this crew originally, but I'm starting to feel like there's hope for the future. A sense of family if I can be so bold as to describe it that way."

Family. That word used to describe their crew had been said before on a few occasions. Had Zodiac heard it from someone else and was capitalizing on it to show his authenticity on the subject and convince Rhinox how much he had changed or was trying to change? Was he just manipulating Rhinox's emotions? This was silly. Rhinox shouldn't have been thinking so negatively about it. Was it his instinct reaching out to him though? A warning? He tried shaking it off, doubting himself. It was just... "Family" was a big word because of the meaning behind it, especially when it had been used among this tightly knit crew who indeed felt like a family and often acted as such, and now being uttered by someone who still felt exiled or excluded. His gut tugged at him again like a child trying to get an adult's attention by weakly pulling on their pants. Rhinox shooed it away.

After he had corrected the dragon about his accusation toward the Maximals using the virus on him, he watched his optics grow increasingly distant as though he was completely lost in his own thoughts. "Zodiac...?" But he failed to get a reaction from him which inevitably worried the large Maximal. That is until a loud gasp nearly made Rhinox jump and Zodiac suddenly lifted his hands up to his head in what seemed like in pure agony. He frowned once more and reached a hand out to him before slowly lowering it when he began to speak.

"I'm sorry.. The headaches seem to be getting a bit worse.. ,"

Rhinox ended up growing deeply concerned now. And instead of considering that it might be the memory restoration causing it, he thought it could be the virus.

"When we're finished here, may I return to my quarters and rest a bit? I'm sure my lack of sleep as of late isn't helping.."

"Of course," the second-in-command Maximal allowed. It may been easier on Zodiac if he was around less people, but he still worried about his condition and isolating himself.

"This other scientist.. what does he want from me? Is he still a threat?,"

"I would imagine the technology that gives you your special skills," the green and brown bot surmised. "And, yes, he's still a threat."

"Thank you for trying to help me though. I'm positive you'll find a solution soon."

Everyone always seemed to have more confidence in Rhinox's abilities than he did himself. He was the designated "miracle worker" of the group, after all. It was quite possible that he could find a cure, but how long would it take? Especially without Aurora's assistance. All he could do was offer a faint and somewhat reassuring smile to the black dragon in an attempt to put his mind at ease, at least on that subject.

"Is there a chance the virus will fade on its own, you think..?"

"That's a possibility. But judging by your anguish and head aches, I'm a bit concerned of its progression in your system and how deep it's rooted itself." He tried not to sound so doom-and-gloom, but Rhinox was usually the more honest and less subtle one among the Axalon crew. When it came to medicine, he took it quite seriously.

"I'd still like to help any way I can when or if the time to return home comes,"

The engineer nodded with appreciation, but only time would tell if Zodiac would keep his word along with his new found desire to be so helpful on such a personal topic for him.

"I suppose we could knock on the enemy ship's door and ask?,"

Rhinox lifted his brows at him. Was he being serious? "I would highly discourage that notion."

"You're right," "I just need to be patient and it'll all work out in the end, I'm sure. After all, I got some crafty bots leading the way."

The Maximal medic's smile was a little brighter that time. "Patience is a virtue, as they say. And I agree, I think it'll all work out eventually." For the better, he hoped.

"I sincerely hope so,"

Rhinox gave him one, firm nod.

"So they're still after me," "I understand and I'll obey the restrictions Primal imposed on me,"

"Yes. And that would be wise," he highly recommended.

"Your words are most kind.. And appreciated. I hope I can live up to your expectations of me."

So do I and Optimus, he thought.

"Maybe.. But I would like to rest for a while before we get into that,"

"Alright," Rhinox agreed.

"If they do get worse, I will certainly let you know right away. But for the time being, I would like to at least try to rest on my own before using drugs to help."

"I understand. Just don't be ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help. We're all suffering in this war and fighting our own personal battles to a degree. No one comes out of it unscathed, but it helps to have someone to lean on or listen."

“Sorry for startling you two, guess I should have commed someone ahead of time.”

The shape shifter appeared more startled than Rhinox, but the rhinoceros made sure to maintain the serenity of the room with his calmer demeanor. With a wave of his large hand, he quietly dismissed the equine's apology as he waved it off a little.

“Sore to be honest. Feel like I stepped out of a boxing match with Omega Supreme, don’t highly recommend being near mountain sides when the Predacons and explosives are involved.”

The engineer chuckled at his comment about being in a boxing match with Omega Supreme, but then he nodded at the end of the statement. "As would I," he commented lightheartedly. "But I'm glad you're on the mend, Onyx. It took a lot of repair cycles in the CR and my own manual labor to ensure any permanent damage would be minimal." Not that Rhinox was looking for gratitude or anything in return; he was merely explaining how critical the horse's health was in when he was returned to the Axalon. It wasn't a pretty sight. And neither was anything else that had happened afterward when the Predacons had attacked their base.

“Primus knows I’m going to need some serious alignments when we get back home.”

If we ever get back home, he thought bleakly.

“Another stasis pod? Popping up outta no where again.”

Rhinox nodded. "Once in a while they activate, if they've survived the fall from orbit. But with most of the planet covered in water, we've probably lost several to the crushing depths of the oceans," he reminded Onyx.

“Something tells those special skills are still around then huh. Practically second nature no doubt.”

"They're gradually coming back to him," he commented as he noticed the other Maximal's gaze observe the bracelets that had been set on the console. Rhinox grabbed them and handed them back to Zodiac.

"Put these back on, Zodiac," he casually instructed him. Since they were made out of material that his nanotech couldn't eat or absorb, they would remain fairly secure on his wrists.

"You'll have to forgive me if she share some history, Onyx, for I can't remember anything or anyone from my past,"

“Eh, not really kid. Been caught in the crossfire and all that jazz, nothing I wouldn’t expect so don’t sweat it. Been down that revenge road to some extent so can’t exactly judge.”

With an additional pair of optics to keep an eye on Zodiac, Rhinox went back to his console and began studying the readings and data from the strange anomaly with their leader's spark while he listened to the ebony equine settle in with the amnesiac dragon. He seemed to be taking his presence in good stride which should help Zodiac ease a little more into the group. And truth be told, Onyx was a welcomed presence there to help deviate Zodiac from his constant inquisitiveness. Rhinox started to wonder if he had shared too much information too soon.

“But take it from me Zodiac, you truly want to change who you are, memories or none, you won’t find any better place than the Axalon crew.” “They opened my optics to a few things, maybe they could do the same for you.”

A small smile crept onto Rhinox's green face while he focused on the monitor and appreciated Onyx's words and honesty. If only Optimus could see what an impact he has made on so many lives already in his "recent" career changes from a scientist, to an exploration captain and now a commander in a war. It was quite a feat to accomplish, especially when he had never been trained for it and lacked the experience for such an unsuspecting endeavor. It truly showed his character.

-----

“Yet, I can still get under your armor.”

A deep, almost inaudible roar rumbled in Megatron's throat with disgust and anger toward the crab after he ended their transmission. Had he bitten off more than he could chew with forcefully enlisting the giant crustacean to his band of criminals and psychopaths? Perhaps time will tell, but for now, he thought not. After all, he had the other half of his spark to keep him in check, and it would remain that way for as long as he saw fit. Rampage may have been indestructible, but he had never dealt with the mentality and intelligence like Megatron's. No one would see what was coming until it was too late. Well, too late for any Maximals, anyway. He just needed a little more time to put his chess pieces into place before he'd make his move. Then everyone would see just who they were dealing with and how immensely powerful and unstoppable he was! If he even cared about Cryotek, he might think he'd be proud of him, but for this endeavor, it was Megatron and Megatron alone. Cryotek would only have to hold up his end on Cybertron with the aftermath. ...But now Megatron was getting ahead of himself and his imagination. When it came to Rampage, he was merely a pawn like the others. His life was insignificant and no one would bother to remember him after Megatron's greatest achievement that would change time and history. So he couldn't let him get to him too much. It wasn't worth it.

“Maybe you should worry about your own troops Maximal, before you lose more of them.”

While a smirk had appeared on Megatron's long, purple mouth, his back having already been toward his enemy who couldn't see his face, Optimus instead glared at Spineback's hurtful words and maintained a stoic appearance until she had turned about and walked off with the TransMetal t-rex. Only then had the Maximal leader's face softened significantly as a frown settled on his scarred mouth and his head lowered slightly in a bit of sorrow as he remembered the faces of the crew members and friends he had lost under his command, as well as his mentor Nexus Prime whose journal he had been absorbing like a sponge earlier that morning. A moment of silence was all he could offer those lost souls before he was pulled back to the present since the day was far from over. He glanced at Tigatron for a moment who had nodded to his order of remaining by the pod before he moved on to Wintersong.

‘I know, I know, Optimus. But...I can’t keep them contained, their will is weakening my hold.”

“You want us Tarantulas? Come and get it!”

Primus. And that was why Primal felt that he had to intervene with Wintersong's confrontation with Tarantulas. For whatever reason, the Vok were going to take this too far, and he couldn't allow that, especially not while using her body as their own personal vessel! Making his attack on the TransMetal spider with the ammunition in his gun almost depleted, Tarantulas finally seemed to back off and retreat with the rest of the Predacons.

"Do you take me for a fool?,"

Optimus stopped firing and holstered his gun to his hip after the spider sped off. Then he turned to Wintersong, or rather the "Vok" and narrowed his orange optics at "them". "You need to remove yourselves from Wintersong immediately," he told them threateningly with his optics taking in her progressively changing body. "I won't allow you to torment her or exploit her for your own personal gain. Do you understand me?!" How he could stop them from doing so, he didn't have a clue, but he had to stand up for her and support her. He couldn't just sit by and watch what she was enduring when he knew first hand how painful the aliens' tactics and possessions were. It was torture. And it never seemed to leave.

“Just as annoying as any Transmetal upgrade.”

Primal had looked over Dinobot's wounds with a frown, especially his bleeding energon. But once he reverted to his raptor beast mode, he felt a little easier about the matter. At least now his internal repairs would begin. As for the case he had been carrying, as inquisitive as Optimus was bout it, he didn't bother asking questions at that time. Now, what were Frilla and Rattrap up to? He was about to reach out to them via his comm. link when he heard their voices with the new Predacon and the Spy's loud engine.

“Haha! Bull’s eye! Great driving Rattrap!”

"Wooo! Great spittin', Frillz!" Rattrap returned to his friend. "He never even saw it comin'!" he laughed a bit at the croc's expense. "I can tell you've been practicin'," he joked with her after he had steered them around the injured Predacon's legs with a sharp turn and sped off toward the gathering Maximals.

"Don't let dat get infected, lizard butt!" Rattrap hollered at the most recent Predacon addition without bothering to look back at him. Of course, his recommendation was without any real care toward him. He hoped it would get worse before it got better since he had a long trek to get back to the Darksyde. Rattrap left the rear view to his reliable passenger while he focused on what was ahead of them; trees, roots and ferns.

“That should send him packing, hopefully we can regroup now in peace.”

"We ain't gonna hang around ta find out," the rat declared. "Let's get de heck outta here!" He slowed his speed down when he hit the thicker foliage and got closer to the Maximals who were regrouping. And that was when he spotted someone with Cheetor and Tigatron near the pod. It couldn't be. Could it? His bright, green eyes enlarged. "Aurora?" he muttered at first when he saw her waving weakly at him. "Aurora!" Nearly driving into Cheetor, Rattrap skidded to a stop to let Frilla off before he maximized to his robot mode and came to the Fuzor's side.

"Aurora, are you alright?! I mean, you look like slag, and you wreak of Tarantulas, but yer alive! What did they do to you? Are you sure yer okay?" Rattrap took a breath to calm down a little and look over her injuries. She was really beat up. She looked so fragile in Cheetor's arms.

Returning to the pod as the rest of his Maximals surrounded it, Optimus was also relieved to see their youngest member still alert and safe in the cheetah's arms. He had a feeling, though, that whatever she had been through in Tarantulas's clutches, she may never be quite the same. It was usually the case when most of them had been subjected to the torment and callousness of the Predacons, including Primal. Although it was mostly physical for him with the scar across his face and his limp in robot mode. The Vok, on the other hand, continued to plague his mind. In any case, whatever Aurora had been through, hopefully she would be able to rise above it and overcome any fears or trauma from her experience. Little did he or any of them know just how deep it went for her. Frilla looked as though she would require a lot of time in the CR, and the Maximal leader frowned a little at the serious injuries she had sustained.

Then Tigerhawk and Airazor caught his attention as they flew in together and landed next to everyone else. Airazor was a bit beat up, but otherwise she was still conscious and seemed to be in good spirit, which was good and very much like herself. With Rattrap looming over Aurora and nearly smothering her, Optimus moved to the pod to assess its status as he gently laid a hand on it while his mind started to formulate tasks for those who could handle them on their way back to the base. His presence essentially relieved Tigatron of his duty to guard the stasis pod and allow him to tend to Airazor whom Primal was certain he wanted to be by her side.

-----

"Like you were any more helpful after he took you out. He then turned his attention to me and had a taser weapon that effectively knocked my system out,"

"Bah!" Inferno spatted at Nemesis to dismiss her excuse. Her weakness with electrocution was something she should rectify now that the Maximals kept using it against her. It was too easy! He practically ignored the obvious anguish she was in while he dealt with his own; a couple of his legs wounded and a throbbing head ache, along with a damaged abdomen and hind end that hindered his flight in robot mode. So, being in beast mode seemed like the best option, and it would start his repairs.

"You've had enough time to rest,"

The giant, red ant glared at her intolerance and his chattered his mandibles aggressively while Nemesis turned away holding her stomach. He settled down a little when their Queen, Spineback, Terrorsaur and Quickstrike approached them.

“Long as you can walk Inferno, if not I will carry you back. We don’t need you making your injuries worse.”

Inferno's antennas twitched lightly at the TransMetal medic's appearance, as though he was taking in her new body through scent. He held no ill will toward her, especially since she had repaired their leader so well from their last encounter with the Maximals. And she wasn't trying to take his place in the packing order. He was slouching a little in his beast mode until the Royalty arrived, and he suddenly perked up so he didn't appear so weak in front of him, unlike Nemesis. "I can walk," he assured Spineback. And he could, but it would be a little painful, and he would have to adjust his balance and weight in order not to use certain legs.

“Here’s a patient for you doctor.”

“Watch your tone before I surgically rearrange your beast mode.”

Megatron stopped in his tracks to assess his Predacons' injuries as they regrouped around Nemesis and Inferno, a bit of a distance away from the Maximals, with Terrorsaur swooping by to drop off the Fuzor for Spineback. Tarantulas, Rampage and Terrabite were surprisingly bringing up the rear, but his tail swayed back and forth calmly as he appeared not to be disturbed by their company. He glanced at Inferno and then took in his Sub-Commander's trauma as she appeared to be doubled over. "What happened? How did Primal manage to escape the both of you?" he demanded to know with emphasis since he had deemed that to be the turning point of what should have been a successful battle when everything suddenly went wrong. As for Spineback's TransMetalization, he would address that with her soon enough, unless someone else was going to bring it up first.

The pyro didn't bother saying a word. Nemesis had been in charge, and the Royalty was addressing her, so he left the explanation up to the black bird. And also because he couldn't remember everything that happened since he had been knocked out cold.