"Bad Spark"

[una]

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long with this post, guys. Just haven't been feeling well. ))

"I should have picked skunk as my alternative mode..,"

Blackarachnia just smirked at Aurora's reaction to her move, and it didn't leave when she heard what the young ermine muttered, "Well,
if you were skunk, then you wouldn't have anyone worrying about you getting captured. The Predacons have learned from that messy business with the virus that made Rhinox...well... you know."

"It will take time," she admitted, "You did work closely with Tarantulas, the creepiest of all the Predacons. Even more so than the purple tooth fairy even."

"And he was in your head for a while,"

"I think we can all agree to never allow a spider an inch or they will take it all," she snapped her pinchers. Since Tarantulas wasn't in her head anymore, the thought of killing him never left her mind. If she ever saw him again, she will kill him, and she meant it.

Blackarachnia didn't say anything about the whole trust issue. After all, she didn't expect them to do, but it seems many of them wanted to trust us. It was so unnerving. She wondered how Nemesis coped with all of this. It was down right insulting yet such an unusual situation that she couldn't help but be agaped with it.

Oh, for pit's sake, if she turned Maximal and smiled and laughed with these goofballs, maybe she should have Megatron kill her out of mercy. If he ever did those sorts of things.

"Aurora and Blackarachnia, where are you two?"

Blackrachnia hit her com-link to response, "I'm closeby. I was just talking to your little friend, or was as she seems to have gone out of sight." Man, that ermine was fast. "What's going on?"

"Rhinox and Whitegrazer, be advised," he called to them over his comm. link. "Keep your distance from Starshadow. You could get infected by her through her fluids."

"Copy that, Optimus,"

Whitegrazer didn't know how her Vok side would react to such a intersting virus, but she wasn't going to try it. Especially, since she had Tarantulas' virus still running through her veins. Still dormant.

((OOC: Hey, OOP, is Optimus just talking to Rhinox here or both him and Whitegrazer? If so, I will delete this. ))

"Rhinox, flash grenades are coming your way via a drone. You and Whitegrazer can use them against Starshadow. The parasite inside of her goes by the name Visia, and she will seek dark places for cover. We need to get her out of the Axalon until we can figure out if there's anything we can do to help Starshadow,"

"Protoform X is going to follow her,"

"Let him. As contagious and unpredictable as Starshadow is at this moment, we can't keep her here. She's too much of a risk to the rest of us, and we don't currently have a cure in our possession to protect ourselves. X may very well help defend us against the Predacons."

"Predacons?," Whitegrazer asked, hearing what Optimus just told them. Were they coming here? Was Megatron that desperate to have a X on his side? Well, it made sense, but Megatron didn't seem to understand what he would gained. Or Megatron did and made plans for it. This was Megatron, of course, he had some thing up his sleeve.

Good thing she was repaired. She must do what she could to help her friends. Maybe if she could persuade X and Starshadow to help them, that would give them extra firepower. Though, it could also cause problems since X and Starshadow were unpredictable. She had to try, though. Any help would be appreciated.

Part of her wanted to establish the link with Optimus, but then she hesitated again, holding the area where her spark would be. She just wasn't ready yet, and it pained her.

Try not to be in the same room as her when using these.

Whitegrazer smiled at the drone as she picked up the flash grenades, holding a couple to Rhinox. She hoped they didn't have to use any of these. A curiousity peeked abit about the drones. Optimus probably knew, but right now, she was curious. After all, a drone was a drone, and she couldn't feel anything from it. "You use Glowstick's voice, but you not him. So who are you?"

"Away from you, you lousy creep.."

"Aw, you can do better than that, my dear," X laughed, holding her enough to keep his little kitten in his grasp but not too hard to cause any harm. He brought harm to everything in his hands, and he hoped to avoid that with Nightstar.

"Really? First you left me to die in burning Omicron, got me blinded and almost completely melted into a pile of slag with your stupid plan, brought me here to these MAXIMALS, the ones I have been fighting for years and now you want me to accept HER as one of us?!"

"Oh, my dear, you know I wasn't thinking clearly during Omicron," X soothed. It was true. When he and Nightstar finally did their escape, it wasn't enough that they escaped their tormentors and their lab, but to escape the colonists above. He had hoped for compassion, but the colonists only showed them fear and contempt. Freaks of nature. Born out of sick curiosity and twisted ambition. A playground for sadists and bullies. He realized that even in the above world, people like him had nothing. Rage boiled inside of him. He regretted his actions, but he couldn't control the instincts borned into him by those scientists. They created their monster, and now, he was just fulfilling his duty. Feeling pain, and giving it in return. "Maybe I should have none better than to trust them, but they can be useful when they want to be."

X couldn't help but be happy when Nightstar showed some jealousy at Whitegrazer. "Ooooooo, is that jealousy I feel from you? Is that what it takes to draw you out? Oh my dear, maybe I should do that more often."


Whitegrazer noticed Rhinox's quizzically glanced towards her, "He wants me to kill him." She told him, wanting to explain. "I felt it when I communicated with his spark. He is drawn to my power, and he wants me to use it on him. I'm not going to." Her power is for healing, not destruction. She refused.

"Follow them!" Rhinox told the equine. "Rattrap, man the controls on the bridge. Open the doorway closest to their route and let them out."

Whitegrazer nodded and chased after both X and Starshadow.

"ENOUGH!" she discharged electricity out of her body, just enough for him to release her and she looked at him with bared fangs, "I'm tired of wasting my time with this nonsense. You either listen and come with me quietly or you can stay here to wreck havoc for all I care! I won't let Megatron have his chance to grab hold of me...Not now, not today! And with your slagging attitude, you'll get us both captured and forced to do his will!"

"Ouch!" He shouted in pain and surprise, but his expression twisted in joy. He bowed at his companion. "Forgive my dear, I will need a good punishment after this is all over." For now, X submitted to her will. For now. Only for NightStar. He spoke towards her with a calm whisper. "I know this Megatron is after us. I will not allow him to get us, and I know the Maximals would protect us if we asked because they are suuuuuch good people." He said with sarcasm like his companion did earlier. "If we play our cards right, we will be able to show them all the horrors we been through. I sense something approaching, but I needed to know something from this Optimus. Also, from her. That's why I'm staying as long as I have." He referred to Whitegrazer. He wanted to see for himself, and he wanted to experience it too. "I know I did badly at Omicron, but this time is different. I won't allow either side to capture us again."


Whitegrazer stood her ground as she kept her distance between X and Starshadow, "The Predacons are coming. I know you two don't want to be in Megatron's hands. If you two help us defeat them, we will make sure they don't have you."

X looked back, "And if we do help you defeat them? What then?"

"If you wish to go, then you can go. Though, wouldn't be advantageous to have a base and defenses? Megatron isn't the giving up sort as Starshadow would probably tell you."

X just smiled, "You are trying to keep us here, aren't you?" He just shook his head. "You are either fearless or stupid." X knew she didn't fear him, but he did sense her apprehension towards him. Oh, he didn't blame her for that. He had learned a long time ago to accept strangers' kindness, only to release them from the pain of living. Yes, maybe she did want a release for her pain. He would gladly give it to her, only if she didn't release him first. Though, it didn't seem she was willing. A shame.

[starshadow]

((OOC: Gonna make Star do more stuff since I have tons of work to do.))

"Ooooooo, is that jealousy I feel from you? Is that what it takes to draw you out? Oh my dear, maybe I should do that more often."

Starshadow sighed with dimmed narrowed optics. Apparently she could not hide her own feelings without him knowing.

"Forgive my dear, I will need a good punishment after this is all over."

She frowned at him. Even though if she "punished" him, he would have loved the pain which some bots are into. Starshadow raised an optic ridge with an uninterested look.

"I know this Megatron is after us. I will not allow him to get us, and I know the Maximals would protect us if we asked because they are suuuuuch good people.""If we play our cards right, we will be able to show them all the horrors we been through. I sense something approaching, but I needed to know something from this Optimus. Also, from her. That's why I'm staying as long as I have."

Her ears flattened. Why should they waste their time on a bunch of nobodys when they can terrorize the whole of Cybertron? It became clear that they have different goals.

"I know I did badly at Omicron, but this time is different. I won't allow either side to capture us again."

Starshadow's expression softened when he admitted his mistake. Then again, there is a possibility of being a prisoner of war. Megatron is relentless and Optimus would not let her run around freely. She sighed and looked towards Whitegrazer.

"The Predacons are coming. I know you two don't want to be in Megatron's hands. If you two help us defeat them, we will make sure they don't have you."

"And if we do help you defeat them? What then?"

"If you wish to go, then you can go. Though, wouldn't be advantageous to have a base and defenses? Megatron isn't the giving up sort as Starshadow would probably tell you."

The catbot turned to X with a concerned look. Whitegrazer was right. Megatron would not give up until he has what he wants or until he is unable to.

"If he does capture us again. It's best that you be cruel to me like when we first met in the cell....for your own safety. He would take advantage of our special relationship if he knew," she walked off down the hallways leading back to the hangar, meeting up with Optimus, "Since you want me to get out so bad, I'll hold them off but it comes with a price. 3 cubes of mech fluid and a crate full of energon cubes if I take them down one by one. I mean...I have single handedly defeated most of the Predacon crew and broke out of my cell a few times. Reminds me, I should get a stamp card for that. Repair yourself while you can," and with that, she opened the hangar doors and drew her gun, walking outside.

The sunlight made her growl a little. Thankfully she was not out in space where she could burn quickly from direct exposure to UV light. She snuck around using the boulders for cover, drawing out her gun and peeked over it. So far, none of them has appeared yet but they should be arriving soon. Landslide and Cheetor has the skies covered. As a gentle breeze blew by, her ears perked up as she picked up Quickstrike and Umbra's scent.

"They're here..." she muttered to herself, her gun charging up.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Sorry for delay. Spent some time with the 20 year old cat before we had to put her down, in addition to the usual work/family stuff..)

"Agreed. It would not be far-fetched to assume that Primal knows I will be making a move for Protoform X again, so it matters not if they are warned of our approach," explained Megatron. "You will fly ahead of us and deliver them that warning. Terrorsaur will conveniently attack you from behind before he and Inferno begin slaughtering their auto-guns and cliffs. Umbra and Quickstrike will take care of Landslide. The attack will come so quickly that Optimus won't think twice about your intentions. And if you act injured, he will send his field medic to assist you. Take her hostage, and predictably Primal or Whitegrazer will come to her aid assuming neither or one will already be preoccupied with Blackarachnia and Tarantulas."

Nemesis remained silent, merely flying alongside Megatron as he laid out the details of his plan. His idea sounded fair enough, albeit Nemesis was smart enough to realize exactly why she was the one chosen for this assignment. And truthfully she wished he hadn't done so. It wasn't that she overly cared for the majority of Maximals. Optimus was another matter, however, since she had not forgotten how he had showed her kindness even when things were bleak between the two.

The avian female was not accustomed to being treated like an individual, like her life held meaning beyond what her creators intended to use her for. It had been a long road for her, no doubt, one filled with dangers, glimpses of hope, and even death. She had matured since her time being held as a slave. Probably more so than Zodiac, who had originated in that dreadful place alongside her.

But every so often small fractions of who she was back then would surface, leaving her doubting herself and feeling less valued than her peers. She may have known now that wasn't the case, but it was difficult to shake that sentimentality altogether. And the few who treated her like an equal, well, it was hard to forget the emotional bond that formed with those individuals.

Still.. She didn't reveal her inner doubts to those around her, especially not Megatron. She was, after all, a Predacon.. Of Decepticon descent. So she had little choice but to obey their own code of honor.

"And what would you have me do with Primal as he comes to the little one's aid?," she asked as Megatron finished explaining his plan. Capturing Aurora wouldn't be a problem.

After Megatron finished, she took the lead as he had commanded. She heard some of the other Predacons grumble about it but paid it little heed. She was, after all, a higher ranking officer.

Of course she wasn't worried about Terrorsaur actually causing harm to her, given how her technology could easily heal anything her fellow flyer could dish out. Feigning injury could be a bit more complicated, since she had no control over the nanomachines and couldn't simply tell them to delay healing her. That was a huge advantage her brother, Zodiac, had over her. But he hadn't been seen since he made his escape from the alien site. More than likely he had left this planet behind. He hadn't exactly made friends here, after all, so remaining would prove dangerous to the rogue.

One day.. Perhaps one day he would return and she'd be able to dissect him to learn the secrets of how he could so easily control those same nanomachines within him.

"Aurora an..hnia.. are ..two?"

Thanks to the upgrades Aurora had made to her wagon's movement abilities, it now functioned not unlike Primal's hoverboard, so she had actually covered a substantial distance when Primal's broken transmission buzzed through. Why was it so broken up? She might be some distance from the base but that really shouldn't affect the signal this way.. Unless, of course, something else was interfering with it..ll

Aurora stopped and looked around. She was literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by hills, a forest, with a looming mountain up ahead. The sun was still up and wouldn't set for a while still.

There was nothing that looked even remotely out of place here. Still, the broken up transmission felt strange..

"Optimus, can you repeat that please?," she radioed back, hoping this was only a temporary glitch. All of a sudden she was starting to feel very much so alone and almost a bit vulnerable out here, making her doubt her decision to come out here by herself. Especially without telling anyone.

She waited for a moment for a reply before she started digging through her equipment in the wagon. After flipping the switch on the main sensor, she disappointingly realized that it, too, was malfunctioning. Repeating the motion resulted in just more of the same, even her wrist mounted computer was having difficulties.

What was going on??

It seemed as if something in this place was disrupting electronic equipment. And the trip back to base was a long one. With a sigh, Aurora glanced up at the mountain ahead of her. Maybe she could get a radio signal out if she climbed higher up in the terrain?

As she scanned the mountainside, her optics settled on something dark protruding through the otherwise grey rock. She narrowed her optics trying to see better, only to realize it was a cave.

Sure, caves were naturally occurring on this planet, dug out of the hard rock by the forces of nature eroding the otherwise solid surface away. But something told her this one required some additional investigation.

After a final glance back in the direction of the Axalon, the fuzor sighed and moved up the hill towards the cave.

She halted when outside of it, again taking in her surroundings. The vegetation around the opening seemed sparse, almost as if it had been cleared away. But why? And by whom? Could whatever was disrupting her electronics be originating from here? Could she turn it off somehow if so? Could it be a trap?

The questions just kept buzzing about in her head. No, who would know to set a trap for her up here? She hadn't told anyone where she was going.. More than likely she had stumbled upon the lair of someone who didn't want to be found.

Although the uneasiness within her was growing, part of her wanting little more than to run back home, she was also curious to find out more. Would a little peek inside really be so bad? At least it would give her something more concrete to report back to Primal when she made her return, since he would no doubt he angry when he discovered she had left when Rhinox ordered her to stay behind.

She hesitated for another moment before making her decision to go inside the cave. With hesitant steps, she sneaked inside, trying to make as little noise as possible. There was a bit of a breeze as she first entered but then nothing.. Just darkness and the faint sound of her feet kicking against pebbles on the ground. Then soft moss, then solid rock.. Not a sound to be heard, however.

The cave turned out to be considerably larger and longer on the inside than she had predicted. So large, in fact, that she soon had no light at all. Sighing again, Aurora grabbed a flashlight from her wagon. She had, after all, prepared for anything. Well, almost anything.. As the case turned out to be when she fumbled to turn on the light in the pitch darkness of the cave. After a moment it lit up, just in time for Aurora to catch a glance at something white and furry with florescent wings that lunged an arm arm out at her, hitting the side of her head and neck.

Aurora slammed down onto the ground in an instant from the powerful blow, and again everything went dark..

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: NK: Well, we need Preds for fun battles! I'll probably keep most of them short and focus more on Megatron.

I didn't even realize I was playing seven characters, una. I'm okay with them for now, thank you. I wasn't complaining, I just wanted everyone to understand why I might miss some things from their posts because I'm jumping all over the place while I write mine. Also, Optimus was speaking to both Rhinox and Whitegrazer, so you're good. Sorry I didn't make that clearer.

Sorry for your loss, Phoenix. That's very sad, but that's a really good age for a cat to reach. I'm intrigued with what's going on with Aurora right now... Maybe I can use this to my advantage and change things up since everyone is anticipating the Predacons' intentions already.

Since Umbra and Quickstrike are already there, I'm going to have the others catch up. ))

Try not to be in the same room as her when using these.

"Take those, Whitegrazer," Rhinox told her as the drone swooped in and offered the flash-bang grenades.

"He wants me to kill him."

The engineer nearly stopped in his tracks when she said that. Was she certain...? Was that her talking or the Vok or the virus?

"I felt it when I communicated with his spark. He is drawn to my power, and he wants me to use it on him. I'm not going to."

"That's good to hear," Rhinox said with relief. "He shouldn't try to tempt you or guilt with such a... 'request', for lack of a better term." Rhinox shook his head. Would it be humane? Someone who actually wanted to end their life because they would live forever or were tormented by so much pain for every second of every day that it was simply unbearable. Would it be humane or ethical to do that for them? Of course she wouldn't, and neither would Rhinox or Optimus. It was intriguing to learn that X could feel such power from her spark like that, but it must bother him greatly that he couldn't touch it or wield it himself, and that it was something so close within his reach but so far away.

"The Predacons are coming. I know you two don't want to be in Megatron's hands. If you two help us defeat them, we will make sure they don't have you."

"And if we do help you defeat them? What then?"

"If you wish to go, then you can go.

Rhinox opened his mouth for a rebuttal, but Whitegrazer quickly continued with an incentive for them.

Though, wouldn't be advantageous to have a base and defenses? Megatron isn't the giving up sort as Starshadow would probably tell you."

"You are trying to keep us here, aren't you?" "You are either fearless or stupid."

The chief medical officer glared at X knowing he probably meant the latter.

"If he does capture us again. It's best that you be cruel to me like when we first met in the cell....for your own safety. He would take advantage of our special relationship if he knew,"

Starshadow was likely correct with that assumption. Rhinox watched her walk away toward the hangar, leaving him, Whitegrazer, and the drone there in the corridor with X.

Understood, rerouting more drones to the area.

Primal glanced at the drone with a nod, watching it revert back to purple.

"Optimu... ca... ...peat that ...ease?,"

"Aurora? Aurora, do you copy? What is your current location?" Optimus asked her after he quickly attempted to decipher her transmission over his comm. link, but with all of the interference he feared she was out of range. Where was she? What was she doing? As he stood just outside of the Axalon by its hangar, he looked around again holding the rifle in his hands before he decided to contact Rhinox on the matter. "Rhinox, where's Aurora? I thought you told her to remain inside of the base."

Perplexed by his friend's question while he ran with Whitegrazer through the corridors after X and Starshadow, he answered with some exhaustion, "I did. She wanted to test some of her equipment in the field. Why? Isn't she responding?"

"She attempted to but there's too much interference." Growing concerned, Primal decided to turn to Rattrap about it since Rhinox was busy. "Rattrap, can you locate Aurora's signature?"

"Just a sec, big banana," the rodent replied from the command center as his optics scanned over the sensors for any Maximal signatures beyond the base's perimeter. Besides Cheetor and Landslide floating around and their fearless leader who was motionless outside, he spotted the Fuzor's signature as it "blipped" away from the Axalon just before it went out of range and he lost it off of the map. "She was headin' northwest, Optimus, but I lost 'er. She's outta range. What de heck is she doin'?"

Primal sighed in a quiet growl and shook his head. Disregarding Rattrap's question, he demanded instead, "Give me her last known coordinates."

The rodent did so and asked, "You, uh, want me ta track 'er down?" He had the nose for tracking after all.

"No, I'll search for her. I need you to keep your attention on the scanners." While Rattrap could probably find her easily, a flier would be much quicker covering more ground. He just hoped he had enough time to find her before Megatron showed up. Heading back into the hangar with his slight, permanent limp, he stopped when Starshadow suddenly showed up and approached him. He grew tense for a moment, preparing himself for a confrontation, but it never came. Glancing past her for a moment, his orange optics searched for X and the others whom he thought were following her.

"Since you want me to get out so bad, I'll hold them off but it comes with a price.

Optimus raised a brow and kept his distance from her. "It's not personal, Starshadow. I would grant you refuge from Megatron if your life was in jeopardy, but right now I can't risk my crew being infected by Visia," he clarified for her.

3 cubes of mech fluid and a crate full of energon cubes if I take them down one by one. I mean...I have single handedly defeated most of the Predacon crew and broke out of my cell a few times. Reminds me, I should get a stamp card for that. Repair yourself while you can,"

"We'll discuss your terms later," he said when she walked past him and exited the hangar. Her arrogance toward the Predacons worried him that it would blind her, and she might make a mistake in battle. But with so much happening before the inevitable battle even began, he allowed her to hunt if she so desired; at least she would be out of his vessel. Without wasting anymore time, Primal hurried to the armory and grabbed one of his spare guns, attaching it to his hip.

"I'm closeby. I was just talking to your little friend, or was as she seems to have gone out of sight." "What's going on?"

Blackarachnia was just with Aurora? Optimus wouldn't have been surprised if she scared her off or simply made it too comfortable for the younger Maximal to hang around her, whether it was done intentionally or not. "The Predacons are on their way," he repeated his message to the black widow quite bluntly in a serious tone. "Prepare yourself for battle."

"I still ain't seein' any Preds on our sensors, Fearless leader," Rattrap reported to the blue monkey as he shrugged. "You sure you trust dat drone's intel?"

"Yes. Just stay alert and keep the others informed. I'll be back as quickly as I can," Optimus answered as he returned to the hangar, put the rifle in his subspace and converted to his vehicle mode. Turning to the drone that hovered near him, he instructed it, "Stay here and assist my crew. Or follow Starshadow." It didn't matter to him as long as it didn't bother following him. He then blasted off on his hoverboard toward Aurora's location, desperate to make it a quick errand.

"Hey, guys," Rattrap called to all of the current Axalon crew members, "Optimus is searchin' for Aurora who vanished from our scanners amidst dis 'alleged' battle he insists is gonna happen soon, so you know, keep yer sensors on full alert."

As the Predacon troops advanced, Megatron suddenly slowed his speed and lowered his altitude, trying to be less conspicuous in the air when he saw Landslide and Cheetor. And then he saw Optimus fly off in a hurry. Interesting... Where was he going? "Stay on course, Predacons," the flying t-rex radioed to all of them before he veered off breaking away from the group, taking a much wider angle around the Axalon to follow Primal without being detected or seen.

"Where's he going?" Terrorsaur asked when he glanced over his shoulder to see their commander suddenly abandon them when they were so close to their target now.

"It doesn't matter. The Royalty told us to stay the course! And that's exactly what we'll do," Inferno insisted.

Terrorsaur rolled his optics and shook his head as he grew very tired of the brown-nosing from this foolish insect. He eventually left his side to pursue Nemesis as planned.

Somethings up.. They're on alert.. it's almost like they know we're coming.

"What?! How's that even possible?" the Predacon Fuzor asked Umbra, not that the squid could possibly know the answer to it. But it did disappoint him. He was looking forward to surprising the flee-bitten Maximals.

We'll head to the top of that cliff face, there's a boulder for cover. When he isn't looking, just fire on him.

"Huh?" the scorpion/cobra muttered until he finally caught on as to what Umbra was doing by disguising him with his camouflage and looking up at the cliff he was referring to. "Oh, right." He moved with him in his beast mode looking through the space between his tentacles so he could see where they were going.

Optimus stopped to hover in the air when he reached the coordinates where Aurora's signature was last detected. He glanced around at the terrain below waiting to see or hear anything that would lead him to her. "Aurora, do you copy?" he called over his comm. link.

Megatron kept his distance far from Primal so as not to be noticed, waiting patiently and quietly to find out what was going on here. Had Protoform X escaped? Was there alien activity here? It was very peculiar. Why would he risk venturing out on his own like this?

[NaitoKage]

(I know. )

"You use Glowstick's voice, but you not him. So who are you?"

The drone glanced at Whitegrazer I have selected Ghost as a name. All will be relieved in time Whitegrazer. the drone then changed colors back to purple.

"Since you want me to get out so bad, I'll hold them off but it comes with a price.

"It's not personal, Starshadow. I would grant you refuge from Megatron if your life was in jeopardy, but right now I can't risk my crew being infected by Visia,"

3 cubes of mech fluid and a crate full of energon cubes if I take them down one by one. I mean...I have single handedly defeated most of the Predacon crew and broke out of my cell a few times. Reminds me, I should get a stamp card for that. Repair yourself while you can,"

"We'll discuss your terms later,"

"Stay here and assist my crew. Or follow Starshadow."

the drone turned blue and gave a nod Understood.

the Drone then floated near Rattrap, looking at the bridge display, the other two drones start to work on repairing the broken drone Starshadow electricuted earlier.

________________________

"What?! How's that even possible?""Oh, right."

Moving up the cliff face, Umbra observed the flight path of Landslide and Cheetor, then noticed Primal fly away in another direction quickly. Primal just flew off as fast as he could somewhere. Something really is going on. We'll just have to take advantage of that.. Move behind that boulder and start getting ready. I'll jump out and blind the beetle. Umbra then said.

Once reaching the boulder, Umbra slid off Quickstrike, heading down the cliffside and transforming to robot mode, his thrusters engaged as he launched into the air drawing the pellet blaster.

Landslide stopped as he suddenly noticed movement on his right side What the?! he then pointed his right arm out as his lightning laser started to extend. Umbra pointed his pellet blaster at Landslide rapidly firing ink shots. Landslided raised his arm right arm to block, while also raising his shield, some of the paint striking across his face Ah! What is this?! Paint?! Landslide then said, trying to wipe it off his face.

Cheetor turned as heard Landslide shout, flying at Umbra. Umbra looked at Cheetor flying at him, then cut his thrust pointing his back thruster down as he dropped, just in time for Cheetor to fly by him. Too fast Cheetor! Umbra shouted with a grin, then spreading out his tentacles cut his thrust and redirected all of them to fly back upward, Cheetor making hard banking turn to fly back at Umbra. Umbra activated his radio to Quickstrike Do it now!

Cheetor then flew into Umbra, forcing him to the ground with a wild cat like roar.

[una]

((OOC: Oh, I know, OOP, I'm just saying that if you get overwhelmed, I will be willing to take a character off your hands.

@Phoenix: Sorry to hear about that.


Just to let everyone know if you don't, I posted my redo of Whitegrazer's profile. ))

"The Predacons are on their way," he repeated his message to the black widow quite bluntly in a serious tone. "Prepare yourself for battle."

"Understood," Blackrachnia said, still curious as to why the Predacons were coming here and wondering what was going on. If this was their way of not trusting with any information, she will just have to find out herself.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Take those, Whitegrazer,"

"Thank you," she said, taking the flash grenades.

I have selected Ghost as a name. All will be relieved in time Whitegrazer. the drone then changed colors back to purple.

Ghost? Wait a minute. Umbra said something about a person named Ghost when discussing Starshadow. Was he actually here? Small world, after all. She was intrigued by the drone's response, but now, she neede dto focus on the task at hand. Save that for later.

"That's good to hear," Rhinox said with relief. "He shouldn't try to tempt you or guilt with such a... 'request', for lack of a better term."

"You didn't really think I was actually going to, were you?" Whitegrazer smiled, but then it dropped. "I fear that is what he is trying to do. X, similar to me in a way, can feel the emotions of others. Though he seems to drive on fear and pain, he can also pick up other emotions and see through us in a way that helps him get of bearing of who we are. He can feel from me how I wish to help him, and to him, that translate to a termination of his life. And if he doesn't get what he wants.... he reacted aggressively."

She wondered though if it would be the right thing to do. But she couldn't believe that is the answer. There had to be another answer.

"If he does capture us again. It's best that you be cruel to me like when we first met in the cell....for your own safety. He would take advantage of our special relationship if he knew,"

X's expression darkened, closing his fist, "Not if I rip out his still-pulsing spark and feast upon it."

"Megatron isn't someone you should underestimate, X," Whitegrazer warned him. "Trust us. We did before and suffered for it greatly, and since we are unaware of what and how he plans to gain you on his side, I suggest you to remain cautious and keep yourself in check. Maybe not for your sake, but for the sake of your companion."

X smiled, but he wasn't taking her warning seriously. After all, why should he be afraid of a purple dinosaur? From what he saw back in the forest where he awaken, he was easily handled. "If he wants me so bad, why doesn't he face me?" X pouted before letting out a belly laugh, waving dismissively at Whitegrazer.

She could only shake her head. "You are an immortal who seemed to a death wish, and yet, thrives on the pain of others. You should know better now that how being an immortal could have dangerous and tortuous side effects."

"Well then," X leaned forward, staring deep into Whitegrazer's yellow optics. "I'm just going to have to kill them all.
And I was so looking forward to play with my food."

X followed his companion as did Whitegrazer and Rhinox.

"Aurora? Aurora, do you copy? What is your current location?" Optimus asked her after he quickly attempted to decipher her transmission over his comm. link, but with all of the interference he feared she was out of range. Where was she? What was she doing? As he stood just outside of the Axalon by its hangar, he looked around again holding the rifle in his hands before he decided to contact Rhinox on the matter. "Rhinox, where's Aurora? I thought you told her to remain inside of the base."

"I did. She wanted to test some of her equipment in the field. Why? Isn't she responding?"

"What?" She didn't realize Aurora wasn't in the Axalon. She had thought the little one would be in the medical lab, working on a cure for her virus or one of her numerous projects she wished to engaged in. "Don't tell me she is outside." Whitegrazer looked at Rhinox then at Optimus. She was, wasn't she? Predacons were heading their way, and she was outside, defenseless and alone? There needed to be a rule that no one went outside alone, especially Aurora.

"She attempted to but there's too much interference." Growing concerned, Primal decided to turn to Rattrap about it since Rhinox was busy. "Rattrap, can you locate Aurora's signature?"

Just a sec, big banana," the rodent replied from the command center as his optics scanned over the sensors for any Maximal signatures beyond the base's perimeter. Besides Cheetor and Landslide floating around and their fearless leader who was motionless outside, he spotted the Fuzor's signature as it "blipped" away from the Axalon just before it went out of range and he lost it off of the map. "She was headin' northwest, Optimus, but I lost 'er. She's outta range. What de heck is she doin'?"

"Give me her last known coordinates."

She wanted to go, but she could see in Optimus' optics that she knew the answer to that. After all, it seemed she was the only one here who seemed to keep X contained in a way. He might want her to remain close by, and keep an eye on X and Starshadow, which she understood and would do to the best of her ability. Yet, she feared for Aurora's life. Or maybe that was just her guilt setting in? After all, despite how she promised to protect Aurora, it seemed she had in a couple of occasions disappointed the little one by either almost getting her killed or her deception about who and what she really was. She owed Aurora a debt, and couldn't seem to repay it. She closed her optics. I have to have faith that Aurora is all right. She has survived a lot, and has grown stronger for it. I trust in Optimus to find her and keep her safe. I have to focus on making sure X and Starshadow don't get into Megatron's clutches.

X remained silent throughout the little conversation about this Aurora. He looked towards the outside. He sensed apprehension, the calm before a storm of roaring blasters, screaming, tearing and ripping out sheets of metal, and the clanging sound of metal upon metal. Sniffing the air, he could almost taste the smoldering holes, leaking energon, and the bloodlust. He grinned. He looked forward to this coming battle. He looked at his companion. I'm going to make sure these Predacons know my fear and pain. X slipped outside, trying to not gain anyone's attention, since they were all too focused on preparing and their missing teammate. He transformed into his beast mode and hid in the bushes, eagerly waiting for the so-called Predacons.

Whitegrazer noticed him slipping out. But she didn't interfere. If X did anything, pulled anything, she would stop him herself.

"Optimus," Whitegrazer gazed. "Be safe, and watch your back."

"They're here..."

Whitegrazer took a deep breath and headed towards the armory. She decided to take one of the shields in the compartment for her protection as well as helping any of her comrades for one being a sitting duck in the open field around the Axalon, and grabbed a few stun and smoke grenades along with the flash grenades inside her chest compartment.

Then she proceeded to go outside, hearing a commotion where Landslide and Cheetor were. They were in trouble. She needed to help them. She raced outside, and saw Umbra getting tackled by Cheetor.

Do it now!

Whitegrazer was about to stun the half-scoripon, half-snake Predacon when Blackarachnia placed a hand on her shoulder. "I will handle him." The black widow winked at her.

"Well, well,Blackarachnia walked towards Quickstrike, giving him a sultry look. "It's been awhile, my handsome cowboy. Come to save me from these miserable maximals?" She placed her palm on her forehead.


Tarantulas was farther away in his beast form, watching the black widow's little ploy. He hoped that Quickstrike wasn't going to fall for it.



((OOC: I will allow Whitegrazer to keep her electricity powers until I'm sure my new profile has been improved. I hope this is okay, and I also hope my post is as well. I hope I got everything. ))

[Phoenix]

(ooc: I actually find Whitegrazer's electricity powers interesting, especially considering her connection to my characters who have electricity as their weakness.. Although I agree it seems a bit odd for her to have those powers.)

"Auro..rora ..copy? Wha.. ation?"

Primal's response had been just as broken up as the first transmission. If anything it was actually getting worse the higher up the fuzor got, or perhaps that was all in her imagination. The only thing she knew for sure was that something odd was going on here. Something that was more than likely linked to that peculiar signal she had picked up while back at the Axalon, a signal that had drawn her in this direction in the first place. It had been short lived, but all of her equipment that was tuned in to the alien frequencies had picked up on it. And the only thing she could tell for sure was the general direction it had come from..

"Hold on, Optimus, I'll try to find a better signal," she had told the Maximal leader via com link, unsure how much of that he would even be able to get.

Was she scared as she entered the mysterious cave? Perhaps a little.. But curiosity would always be her downfall. She knew Primal wasn't going to be happy with her for even being out here, so she at least wanted something more than 'I thought I picked up an alien signal' to explain herself with. Now that she thought about it, heading out here by herself sounded dumber by the minute.. But she was too close to turn around now.

The cave was dark and gloomy with the rocky walls glistening from water seeping down through the cracks, forming small ponds on the ground. Then.. darkness. Complete and utter darkness. That's when Aurora had searched for a flashlight so that she could at least see where she was stepping, as the thought of accidentally stepping over a cliff edge was less than tempting.

The only sounds she could hear was from her own footsteps.. or were they? There was a faint echo inside the cave that made it difficult to be sure. Yet somehow it felt as if she wasn't alone. Again she blamed an overactive imagination, or at least that's what she hoped was the case.

Alas her conflicting emotions about even being here and growing fears made her fumble a great deal before she finally managed to figure out how to turn on the flashlight. It was strikingly much easier to do so when not trapped in complete darkness, when of course a flashlight wasn't needed as badly as it was now. But after a couple of attempts her fingers finally managed to flick the device on and she quickly moved the beam of light from the pebbles on the rocky floor in front of her to the seemingly endless cave in front of her, before she turned around and caught a glimpse of .. something... All she could really see was the white fur of the arm that moved quickly toward her face.

She barely had time to process the visual impression before the fist made impact with her face, sending both Aurora and the flashlight crashing onto the hard ground with a thud. She groaned and attempted to lift her head, only to feel the pressure of what felt like a foot stomp against the mid of her upper back and forcing her down against the dirt yet again. And then everything went silent, the fuzor losing consciousness.

Nemesis stayed on course in front of the Predacon army, simply waiting for the shots to start coming at her. Yet oddly enough the other Predacons hesitated, or perhaps were otherwise distracted.. She soon enough realized that Megatron had left them for another agenda.

Uhm.. Okay then..

"Stay on course, Predacons,"

Well, wasn't that peculiar.. She wondered what could have pulled their leader's attention away from the task he had been so set on. But he had given his orders.

"Terrorsaur, you know what to do, I trust," she told the pteradactyl via a private link. She wasn't exactly looking forward to this, no matter how much she knew there was no way the other Predacons could really cause harm to her. But the pain that comes from being shot out of the sky was very much so real regardless.

"Aurora, do you copy?"

The fuzor stirred from her position sprawled out on the ground. Now that Primal was closer, the signal had also improved significantly. The ground felt wet, cold, and downright uncomfortable. And in her present state, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. What felt like minutes could easily have been hours, she really couldn't tell.

Her arms trembled a bit as she tried to push herself up, unsuccessfully, her head aching and throbbing as if someone had decided to play ball with it. She couldn't move, couldn't scream, couldn't even think straight. Everything just felt blurry, as if her mind was in a thick fog. Again she attempted to call out for help, from Optimus, from.. anybody! She just wanted away from here, from this nightmarish place, and.. whatever or whoever was here.

"Optimus..?," Aurora's voice called out into the darkness.

[starshadow]

As Umbra showed up, launching hinself in mid air to engage Landslide and Cheetor, Starshadow stealthily made her way through the boulders and came to a stop behind the last one. At this point she was questioning her morality. Fight as a Predacon she should be or embrace her Maximal half once again? It was a a tough internal conflict she had been dealing for years even though she kept giving herself various reasons why she should hate Maximals more than Predacons.

Watching Cheetor pin Umbra down, she narrowed her optics. If it were her, he would have retaliated with his tentacles. Something was up and she had to be quick. Noticing, Landslide blinded by some ink and Quickstrike all by himself with Blackarachnia trying to flirt her way through. She rolled her optics and fired a high charged bolt at Quickstrike because she was such a greedy b**** to steal a "kill" for the sake of efficiency. She does not care if Blackarachnia would have a problem with it because right now, taking the Preds or anybody who capture X and her, down hard and fast is the main priority of the day. Though they would see her a traitor but what choice does she have. Her loyalty lies in Hellfang.

Starshadow leapt over the boulder and activated her thrusters, kicking Cheetor off Umbra since it is unsafe for a kitten like him to play with venomous chew toys like the octopus and also since he was in her way. The black catbot straddled on him and leaned down face-to-face, purring as she held his wrists down with her electrified hands, licking his lips, "I was beginning to wonder when you'll show up for our promised date my dear, dark and sweet Umbra~ Did you wear FEAR as your new scent? It just so...exhilarating~"


((OOC: UGH! SO MUCH ARTING TO DO...))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: That's a great update on her profile, una! I'll add a response to it later while I focus on a post here so as not to hold up the game. ))

Primal just flew off as fast as he could somewhere. Something really is going on. We'll just have to take advantage of that..

Quickstrike glanced about in his Fuzor beast mode to try and see what Umbra was talking about, but he couldn't spot the shiny, flying monkey. He could take that slagging Maximal down if Megatron would just give him the chance! But he never did.

Move behind that boulder and start getting ready. I'll jump out and blind the beetle.

The small Predacon did as the squid said and scurried over to the boulder using it for cover. Once he got off of him, Quickstrike terrorized and pulled out the rocket launcher, targeting Landslide's nacelles as he peeked around the large rock despite how awkward it was for him to hold such a large weapon. It wouldn't take long for the Axalon's long-range sensors to pick them up, so they basically only had one shot at this to do it right.

What the?! Ah! What is this?! Paint?!

Do it now!

While Umbra had the biggest Maximal distracted, the Fuzor took his time with his aim to make sure his first shot would count. He should have been well hidden behind the boulder until his gun fire would give him away. This is so much easier with these stupid Maximals already outside! he joyfully jeered in his mind and pulled the trigger, sending a rocket straight for one of Landslide's exhaust ports. Then he took another shot for the other engine and port.

"Well, well, "It's been awhile, my handsome cowboy.

"Sugar-bot?" said Quickstrike as he was taken aback at how quickly Blackarachnia arrived to find him. Did he still have feelings for her? No, not really. Seeing her hanging out with Maximal scum was a real turn-off. She was considered a traitor now, and Megatron wanted her head. He slowly lowered the launcher and shifted it in his arms to hold it in his beast mode's legs.

Come to save me from these miserable maximals?"

"If by 'savin' you' you mean puttin' ya outta yer misery, then yeah!" the Southern-drawn Fuzor chuckled while he raised his cobra arm and fired his TransMetal venom at her. Beyond the black widow, he noticed Starshadow or rather who he presumed was her, fire something very flashy toward him, so he dived to the side to avoid it but inevitably ended up rolling down the cliff in a less than dignified manner, much less graceful than Umbra had been by sliding down it just minutes earlier. Eventually Quickstrike came to a stop quite dizzy as he sat up and grabbed for what he thought he saw were two rocket launchers when there was really only one.

"Terrorsaur, you know what to do, I trust,"

"If you're ready," he responded in his raspy voice. He accelerated his speed in his TransMetal robot mode to start catching up to Nemesis leaving Inferno behind. Glancing further ahead toward the Axalon, there was already some action happening which must have been Umbra and Quickstrike, so most of the Maximals were outside.

"Optimus," "Be safe, and watch your back."

Primal's gaze lingered with Whitegrazer's before he nodded and blasted off. It was risky to fly off alone knowing full well that the Predacons were on their way, but he had to find Aurora. If she got herself in trouble, he couldn't just leave her to fend for herself. As he hovered quietly in mid-air, his pink optics frantically searched his surroundings, looking for any place that might have triggered her curiosity or her equipment. Then he spotted it, a cave not too far away. Optimus lowered his altitude and flew straight for it willing to bet that she had gone to check it out.

Megatron continued following from a distance, surmising that his long-time nemesis was searching for someone, but who?

"Optimus..?,"

"Aurora?!" he called to her when he heard her voice echoing to the entrance of the dark hole. He transformed to robot mode and landed, grabbing his gun and walking into the darkness with his limp. His vision shifted to see in infra-red to find her white form amidst the seemingly empty void along with her "wagon" carrying her equipment and her flashlight on the ground. "Aurora!" Primal said when he found her and hurried to her side. She looked a little beat up but otherwise she didn't appear to have sustained any fatal or serious injuries. Kneeling beside her, he asked his chief biologist, "What were you thinking coming out here alone and failing to inform anyone of your whereabouts?" He shook his head disapprovingly, but now was not the time to reprimand her for her careless actions. "Come on, we have to go. The Axalon is under attack, or will be shortly." Optimus gently scooped Aurora into his arms - although her weight felt different but he didn't think much of it considering he was in a hurry - and carried her to the exit where there was more daylight to examine her. He himself still looked pretty slagged from the energon storm earlier and his encounters with Terrorsaur and Megatron having only performed patchwork on himself but he seemed to ignore his own appearance and focused his attention entirely on his youngest Maximal. "What happened?" he inquired as he carefully set her back down on the ground outside of the cave. "Are you alright?"

Megatron, meanwhile, had landed in his beast mode some distance away and waited patiently to see what was going on here. He found it to be very peculiar as Optimus Primal cautiously entered the cave. He didn't have to wait long to witness him emerge with that ermine Maximal in his arms. This was not what he was expecting at all... What exactly was going on here...? "How predictable. Optimus appears to have sacrificed his repairs for his Maximals'," he thought out loud to himself as his pink optics zoomed in to notice his adversary's still burnt and scratched armor, as well as his temporary "band-aids". "Ah, just another advantage in my favor," he sighed happily with a toothy grin in his beast mode. And if Aurora was here, then there was no need for his Predacon fliers to waste their time or ammunition. "Nemesis, converge on these coordinates at once," he instructed her, sending her the location of the cave. "And confront Optimus Primal," he quickly added. "Inferno and Terrorsaur, focus your firepower on Protoform X, Starshadow and the rest of the Maximals once you've destroyed their auto-guns. Divide them and conquer!" he ordered them.

"I wish he would make up his mind!" Terrorsaur complained to Nemesis. As fun as it would have been to shoot her down, he was going to get even more joy out of attacking the lousy Maximals and making them run.

"As you command, Royalty!" Inferno obeyed without any whining and blasted his engine to approach the Maximal base quicker, wielding his large weapon and readying himself for combat.

"ALERT: Predacons detected in the vicinity," Sentinel announced.

"Heads up, guys! It looks like Optimus was right! Preds are startin' ta pop up everywhere! Fliers are inbound!" Rattrap warned the other Maximals, and Blackarachnia, over the ship's transmissions from the command center. He glanced over his shoulder at the drone hovering near him and shuddered. "Do you mind? Yer breathin' down my neck. Can't you do anythin' useful?" he asked it.

"You didn't really think I was actually going to, were you?" "I fear that is what he is trying to do. X, similar to me in a way, can feel the emotions of others. Though he seems to drive on fear and pain, he can also pick up other emotions and see through us in a way that helps him get of bearing of who we are. He can feel from me how I wish to help him, and to him, that translate to a termination of his life. And if he doesn't get what he wants.... he reacted aggressively."

Good to know, thought Rhinox.

"Not if I rip out his still-pulsing spark and feast upon it."

"Megatron isn't someone you should underestimate, X," "Trust us. We did before and suffered for it greatly, and since we are unaware of what and how he plans to gain you on his side, I suggest you to remain cautious and keep yourself in check. Maybe not for your sake, but for the sake of your companion."

"If he wants me so bad, why doesn't he face me?"

"That's not his style," the engineer broke into their conversation. "Megatron is cunning and strategic."

"You are an immortal who seemed to a death wish, and yet, thrives on the pain of others. You should know better now that how being an immortal could have dangerous and tortuous side effects."

"Well then," "I'm just going to have to kill them all. And I was so looking forward to play with my food."

Rhinox glanced from X to Whitegrazer with some concern in his crimson optics. He didn't seem interested in listening to them or heeding their advice from their personal experience simply because he felt he was immortal. This ego of his would be his downfall, just like it often was with Megatron. He followed the group outside and observed the skirmishes that had begun with the Predacons attacking. Handing the tranquilizer gun to Whitegrazer and hearing Rattrap's confirmation of the ambush, Rhinox took out one of his chain guns and ran off toward Landslide to aid him as he watched two rockets blast off in his direction.

Spotting Rhinox, Terrorsaur dive-bombed him and blasted at the ground around his feet with his optic lasers to keep him from reaching Landslide. Then he swooped upward to fly back around.

Big Green stopped and lifted his large, heavy weapon to target Terrorsaur, firing at him as he flew off while bullet shells scattered about on the ground. Unfortunately, his shots missed.

[NaitoKage]

Cheetor was taken by surprise was he was suddenly knocked from Umbra Whoa! Hey! he shouted in protest, then cut his thrust and landed on his feet with a growl, then transformed to robot mode.

Umbra slammed into the dirt with a soft bounce, then looked up at Starshadow.

"I was beginning to wonder when you'll show up for our promised date my dear, dark and sweet Umbra~ Did you wear FEAR as your new scent? It just so...exhilarating~"

Umbra cringed being licked, steam starting to come off the octopus skin on his forearms from her electricity Ug.. more like Takoyaki scent.. Umbra muttered.

Cheetor looked at the two with a raised optic ridge Do you two need a room or something? I think X might get jealous of this love triangle.

Umbra growled activating his back jet launching up into the air, his leg jets then kicked in as he spun throwing Starshadow off, then landed on the ground rubbing his wrists Ug.. don't even joke about that. Umbra then said, one of his lower tentacles sweeps across the ground picking up the pellet blaster he was using before, grabbing it with his robot hand he switched it to acid rounds and pointed it at Starshadow So you're working with the Maximals now huh?

Cheetor brings his arms together pointing them at Umbra Drop it!

_____________

Landslide was taken by surprise as the rocket hit his nacelle on his right side, a loud burst heard as the engines exploded. AAGH!! Landslide shouted, his other nacelle trying to counter and adjust for his fall, but being unable to see, he tumbled in the air, the second rocket missing as he spun and crashed into the ground.

Landslide took a deep breath trying to remain calm, but his patients had been worn thin. His cargobay on his back opened at the top as a mechanical arm extended, his right arm raising with his electro laser sliding away, he reached up blindly grasping a squirt bottle, spraying brakeclean on his face, then wiped it off the visor over his optics. tossing the bottle back in the cargobay. Pushing himself up with his shield and arms, Landslide shook his head, then looked towards Quickstrike's direction. Landslide growled with all four of his optics lighting up, his horn guns swung down pointing towards Quickstrike, the guns starting to spin up, then let loose a dual stream of minigun fire at Quickstrike's general area with moving his torso in a left and right motion, literally hosing him with bullets.

__________

"ALERT: Predacons detected in the vicinity,"

"Heads up, guys! It looks like Optimus was right! Preds are startin' ta pop up everywhere! Fliers are inbound!" "Do you mind? Yer breathin' down my neck. Can't you do anythin' useful?"

The drone looked towards Rattrap, pondering the inquiry for a moment. ... Perhaps. I was originally built as a combat AI... but not all the parameters were finished, nor are these drones more useful for anything other then repairs and a glorified security network. the drone then floats over to one of the joysticks on the computer, his tentacles splitting up and coiling around it while joystick. Aim Assist online.. the drone then starts to remotely operate one of the Autoguns on the Axalon, firing on Inferno.

[una]

"Sugar-bot?"

"If by 'savin' you' you mean puttin' ya outta yer misery, then yeah!"

Blackarachnia smirked as Quickstrike raised his cobra head to fill her up with poison. Tsk. Tsk. She ducked, rolled her optics and pulled out her weapon. "Sorry, my dark cowboy, I'm not in the mood for your poison." Though, sadly, as she squeezed her trigger, Starshadow had interfered, causing Quickstrike to dive to side and roll down a hill.

Blackarachnia glared at Starshadow for stealing her target, but it seemed that freakish cat loved to do just that, watching the crazy feline tackle Cheetor in order to play with Umbra. She just shook her head as she peered over towards Quickstrike, who had rolled down the cliff. She chuckled and slide down the cliff in a more graceful manner than Quickstrike did. As he went to grab the rocket launcher, watching him fumbling around, must have gotten a little dizzy from his careless, how stupid and cute at the same time, she stomped at the rocket launcher to keep Quickstrike from lifting it up, "Oooooh, is this my present? You really shouldn't have."

"Heads up, guys! It looks like Optimus was right! Preds are startin' ta pop up everywhere! Fliers are inbound!"

Blackarachnia heard the rodent's message, wondering what the slag the Predacons hoped to accomplish by an attack.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Whitegrazer thanked Rhinox for the tranquilizer gun. It might not be as powerful, but it could slow down a few Predacons to give her friends a chance to get out of a bad situation or to get a critical hit. She still worried about Optimus and Aurora. Especially since Optimus still hadn't fully healed, and now with the Predacons were attacking, she began to wonder if she should open the link between her and Optimus. So she could talk to him, make sure he is all right as well as Aurora. Still hesitant, it hasn't been that long since the Metal Hunter Incident. Though, she wondered what would happen if she did open her link. What if, because of the time the Vok possessed and used her own ability to establish a link between the Megatron and some Predacons, she could open a link to them now. It should still be active. Sometimes, unwanted, temporary connections dissipated after a few days of unused. She could reach out, and put a stop to a few. Last resort? Or maybe just do it in order to stop the battle faster?

Those questions lingered at her for a time. But she had to focus.

"Heads up, guys! It looks like Optimus was right! Preds are startin' ta pop up everywhere! Fliers are inbound!"

Whitegrazer thought of a strategy against the flyers. Rhinox was already firing his chainguns at Terrorsaur to cover Landslide. She raced into the forest area, and climbed a tree to gain more attitude as she knelt, both feet steady on thick branches. She aimed her gun at Terrorsaur and fired a couple of tranquilizer darts at the flying pterodactyl, hoping that he was too distracted by Rhinox and Landslide to notice her.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

X watched the battle, especially at his companion. Good, my dear, tear that eight-legged octopus into pieces make him regret the day he crossed you.

It had been awhile since he had been in a conflict. Of course, it wasn't really a side vs side battle. More like a big monster against 300,000 colonists, and then a monster vs. a revengeful hunter. Oh, the adrenaline rush. He closed his optics for a moment to just feel the emotions around this little battle. HE could feel the flowing of angry and malice, the stench of ink and smolder, agony of shots and missiles, and the overwhelming worry over those who cared about the fates of others. He felt that illuminating from the white mare. Aww, such touching sentiment.

A part of him wanted to just sit back and absorb this river of emotions. To grab and seize it into his memory, but what fun would that be if he weren't a willing participant? He did say he was going to bring fear and pain towards those who wish to trap him. Why should he allow these Maximals to take that away from him? Maybe this would draw Megatron to him?

X walked out of the bushes and transformed. He let himself get in the wide, open field, begging for someone to take a chance and fire at him.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tarantulas peeked over the cliff, watching Blackarachnia stomp at the rocket launcher and talking to Quickstrike. Still in his beast mode, he jumped and landed on Blackarachnia's back. "Surprise!"

"Tarantulas!" The attack caused hr to lift her feet from the launcher. She danced around. Hands fumbled to try and get the desicpiable spider off her back.

He laughed and took a bite out of her neck. Blackarachnia screamed in pain, but her hand was able to reach and throw the spider off her back. e counched off the ground and transformed into his robot mode.

"I haven't forgotten about your little trick back at the Darksyde. I know you were able to download Megatron's backup datatracks. You are going to give them to me."

Blackarachnina held her neck for a moment. At least, he didn't poison her. She aimed her weapon at him. "If you want it, you going to have to crack open my processor from my cold, grey corpse!" She fired.

He dodged with a flip, "Good, I wouldn't have it any other way."

[starshadow]

Do you two need a room or something? I think X might get jealous of this love triangle.

Starshadow looked at the young cheetah with furrowed optic ridges and quickly lost her balance as Umbra activated his thrusters, throwing her off him. Fortunately like most cats, she landed on her feet, noticing him changing his ammo to acid rounds.

So you're working with the Maximals now huh?

"My loyalty is to myself and don't you ever dare to group me as one of them," Starshadow growled. She could see that he does not want her anywhere near him. Though she was slightly worried how good his marksmanship was but still...a risk has to be taken. The catbot ran to the side and fired her gun at him. She came to a stop when Landslide nearly crushed her with his weight after crash landing. Dust clouds and small rocks flew, almost blinding her view, "you big stupid lug! you almost killed me!" she snarled and punched his leg with her electrified fist. Though it was painful since his armor was dense. Wincing in pain, she focused on Umbra again and held up her gun.


((OOC: I haz to sleep....this is what I can post for now.))

[Phoenix]

"If you're ready,"

Well.. wasn't it considerate of Terrorsaur to even contemplate her feelings on all of this.

Although he did pose a most relevant question. Was she ready? Not exactly. She still quite vividly remembered the last time she got blasted out of the sky and it wasn't something she looked forward to. It wouldn't kill her, no, not even cause serious harm.. or likely any harm at all when the nanomachines had fixed her up.

But only a fool or someone truly desperate willingly sought out pain like that. Was she either of those? Perhaps.. She wasn't blindly loyal to the tyrant like the ant was, but she did seek to maintain her position as a high ranking member of the Predacons. And Megatron had showed others what happened to those who went against his wishes. Terrorsaur himself had recently almost been deactivated by the tyrant, only surviving because Nemesis herself had persuaded Megatron he could still be useful.

"Go ahea..," she started, only to get interrupted by Megatron's voice.

"Nemesis, converge on these coordinates at once,"

The avian female sighed, partially from relief but also some slight irritation with how inconsistent and erratic their leader could be at times. He truly was an opportunist at spark, with the flaws and strengths such a disposition held.

"Hold up.. Guess the situation has changed somewhat," she then quickly notified Terrorsaur to make sure he didn't follow up on her previous message.

"On my way," she then responded to Megatron as she converted from her more agile transmetal bird form to the faster vehicle jet mode and activated her boosters to reach Megatron's coordinates more quickly.

Meanwhile Aurora had remained mostly unconscious, only briefly waking up as she felt the pressure of someone partly sitting on her while they were doing.. something.. Her mind was too foggy to fully realize what her attacker was taking from her until a short while later when she finally started coming to.

Her entire body ached, but especially the neck region where her attacker had hit her and then.. What did they do to her exactly? She didn't feel truly hurt, or at least not more so, but something still seemed.. different.. And something warm and moist felt like it was dripping down her temple. It stopped soon enough, but not before leaving a trail of fluid down her face and in her fur.

What the..?

Her self-diagnostics finally set in to shed some light on the matter. The fluid had been her own mech fluid, but worse still.. Much to Aurora's horror she came to the conclusion that her attacker had removed her identification chip. The very item that allowed her to receive and transmit messages, that allowed the others to pick up her energy signature, that..

No!

Without that chip she wouldn't be able to contact the others, and her attacker could now easily pretend to be her not only in appearance but with her signature as well.

She had to stop them.. Had to get up.. But her body wasn't listening to her mind's frantic attempt to coax her back up.

This really wasn't happening..!

A familiar voice echoed through the cave, calling her name. Even in her dazed mind, Aurora recognized the voice as belonging to Optimus. He was here to rescue her!

She tried to call out, to move, to grab Primal's attention any way she could. But apparently her attacker had done more than simply taken her chip. She couldn't move, and her cries for help remained silent whispers, not even audible beyond a feet or so away.

So she waited.. Waited and hoped Optimus would find her regardless. But as the minutes dragged on, it became blatantly obvious that wasn't going to be the case. And so the horror became even more real.

Was this hellish dark cave going to be her tomb..?

Only a short distance away but still well out of sight of the fuzor, her clone lay still on the ground close to the wagon and the fallen flashlight. The clone called out for Primal, grabbing his attention.

"Aurora!"

The other Aurora stirred and moaned, green optics flickering on as Primal got close and knelt beside her. She spat out some dirt and moved one hand to swipe a white lock of fur from her face.

"Optimus..," Aurora said weakly.

"What were you thinking coming out here alone and failing to inform anyone of your whereabouts?"

"I'm sorry..," the seemingly frightened young voice started, "I didn't mean to.. cause problems.." She paused, lifting her head to gaze up at Optimus with apologetic green optics.

"Come on, we have to go. The Axalon is under attack, or will be shortly."

The fuzor cringed a bit as Primal proceeded to lift her up, signalling she was in pain. Indeed, she felt heavier than Aurora normally would, but fortunately Primal was one of the stronger Maximals and in the excitement he didn't seem to take notice.

"Attack..?," the fuzor repeated, "Are the Vok back?"

Her voice seemed to tremble a bit, as if she found the idea of the aliens returning to be most distressing. She stared at Primal, taking note of the concern written on his face. Oh how he cared for his Maximals..

"Oh..," the little fuzor added, as if realizing what the leader had meant, "You mean the Predacons.."

Her voice trailed off and she remained silent while Primal maneuvered out of the cave with her cradled in his arms.

As they emerged from the darkness of the cave, she finally got a good look at how messed up Optimus truly looked from his earlier battle. Her optics widened upon seeing that and a faint gasp escaped her, her mouth partially opening as if she was about to ask him what happened.

But Primal was the first one to speak when they reached the outside and he gently let her down to the ground.

"What happened?" "Are you alright?"

The fuzor quickly lowered her gaze to the ground, as if suddenly remembering how badly she had messed up. Fortunately Primal had already started scolding her about that or the clone wouldn't have known for certain that the fuzor had disobeyed a direct order when she came here.

"Something hit me in the cave.. Not sure if it was a falling rock or if someone attacked me," the fuzor explained. "I couldn't see.."

After kicking some dirt away with one of her feet, her gaze slowly went up to meet Primal's again. She tilted her head a bit as she spoke, her furry ears flattening and she looked a mixture of saddened, embarrassed, and apologetic for having caused so much trouble on what seemed to be a wild goose chase. "I'll be okay, I think, but can I please get my equipment before we head back to base? I don't want to risk losing my research."

Meanwhile Nemesis was approaching Megatron's location, whereas she promptly transformed to her avian mode again for a more silent approach. Megatron himself was nowhere in sight, but that was hardly a surprise given the secret nature of his agenda.

"And confront Optimus Primal,"

Primal..? What was the Maximal leader doing out here by himself?

It didn't take long for her sharp birdseye vision to notice the two Maximals standing in front of the cave below. "Very well," she told Megatron via comlink before swooping down towards the Maximals.

She waited until the last moment to transform to robot form, only flapping her wings to break her rapid descent a couple of times before landing with a thud only a short distance away from Primal and the little fuzor.

Deciding it best to follow Megatron's earlier command to gain Primal's trust, the avian female didn't pull out her weapons and merely folded her wings behind her back as she started walking calmly towards the Maximals before the dust from her abrupt landing even had a chance to settle. "Optimus," she started, raising her hands slightly in front of her to show she wasn't armed, while trying to decide on what the best approach was here. All in all a direct approach seemed like the best option for now.

"We need to talk."

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

... Perhaps. I was originally built as a combat AI... but not all the parameters were finished, nor are these drones more useful for anything other then repairs and a glorified security network.

Rattrap blinked at the drone and then glared at it, sarcastically saying, "Oh, great."

Aim Assist online..

Watching the drone hover over to the controls, he felt slightly better about it helping with their auto-guns. "Don't be shootin' any of my friends, drone!" the rodent warned it, still unwilling to trust the small, floating robot.

Inferno laughed as he swooped in and spun his large gun in his hand before targeting the external auto-gun that was targeting him now and firing repeatedly at it while also changing his position as quickly as his engine would allow to throw off the drone's aim who was controlling it inside the Axalon. "Maximal fools! Your colony's weapons are no match for me!" he laughed again. Then he flew off to target another turret system, firing at it and destroying it.

"Where's de Raid?!" Rattrap asked rhetorically, glaring at Inferno on the screen. "I hate it when we get an ant infestation! Sentinel, all auto-guns on-line! Target dat lousy Predacon flier!"

"Affirmative," the computer responded, activating the remaining auto-guns and targeting Inferno.

Coming back around, Terrorsaur dive-bombed another turret system from behind and blew it to scrap with his optic lasers, laughing as he headed toward Landslide next who had just lost his aviation as planned and was now preoccupied with Quickstike.

"Oooooh, is this my present? You really shouldn't have."

Just as the Fuzor had reached for the rocket launcher, Blackarachnia stepped on it and held it down under her weight. Quickstrike looked up and glared at her as he pretended to spit on her vile foot. "The only thing I wanna give ya is a whole lotta pain and sufferin'!" He was about to retaliate when he saw Tarantulas finally enter the fray and immediately distract her.

"Surprise!"

"Tarantulas!"

Quickstrike smiled, if one could call it that considering his mouth didn't open or stretch much, and yanked the launcher away from her when Tarantulas jumped onto her back and forced her to move to in order to maintain her balance and try to get him off of her. He got to his feet and ran off with the large weapon away from their scuffle but stopped to watch Landslide "crash". His shots were successful? YEHAW! However, that obviously made the big Maximal very angry. Suddenly there were shots raining down on him in almost every direction. "Look out now!" he cried out and dived behind a boulder that was barely bigger than him as some of Landslide's shots grazed his shoulders and legs. He crouched down and pulled his legs up to his chest as the bullets whizzed by and chipped away at his only cover. At that moment he was trapped.

Seeing his comrade under fire, Terrorsaur flew down at a high speed and shot at one of Landslide's guns with a steady stream of lasers from his optics as he flew by and then propelled himself upward.

Quickstrike took the opportunity to peek around the boulder and fire another rocket at one of Landslide's knees, but now he was low on ammunition.

Hovering up high in the sky, Terrorsaur took a moment to assess the battle below with a bird's eye view. Out of the corner of his optic, he noticed something moving in the tree tops nearby. Or was it someone? Someone white? Squinting as his optics zoomed in, he saw the barrel of a gun aiming at him! Hearing the gun shots and spun around to use his wing blades to deflect the ammo. The darts pinged into his TransMetal armor and ricocheted off into random directions. Squawking angrily, Terrorsaur threw out his fists and flew toward Whitegrazer quickly. "Well, if it isn't Primal's girlfriend!" he taunted the hideous equine in robot mode. "Hey, if a tree falls onto a Maximal and nobody's around to hear it scream in agony, does it still make a sound?" He laughed as he intentionally referred to Maximals, including herself, as inanimate objects and fired his lasers at the tree's trunk she was perched in to make it fall almost effortlessly. "TIMBER!" he cheered.

Inferno left the range of the auto-guns as he flew down below the belly of the Maximal ship and started firing at the cliffs with his rockets that it was settled on to shake the ship up and make the Maximals panic. Rock shrapnel sprayed in every direction while huge chunks fell into the water fall.

"Dat's it!" Rattrap said with the entire ship trembling from the quakes of the explosions as he wielded his gun, fed up, and exited the command center on the lift leaving the drone as the only one occupying the bridge. The Spy only lowered himself part way as he knelt down on it, enough to target Inferno while still giving himself some cover with the platform. He took his aim and fired at the pyro Predacon.

The rat's gun fire shot off two of his beast mode's legs causing him to gasp and turn around. "You! Prepare to buuuurrrrrn in the flames of my inferno, rodent!" He spun his weapon in his hand again as it loaded another rocket, and he fired it at the little Maximal. The loud, fiery explosion engulfed the platform with flames and painful heat as Inferno flew off up over the Axalon and landed on its roof.

Rattrap ducked and covered his head in his arms as he laid down on the lift and felt the entire platform shake while it absorbed the direct hit. "Dese slaggin' Preds are hittin' us hard," he muttered with some concern.

"Whitegrazer, look out!" Rhinox called to her as he saw Terrorsaur fire his optic lasers at her. Running toward them, he targeted the Predacon again and fired at him.

This time several of the engineer's bullets hit Terrorsaur's limbs and wings but it wasn't enough to knock him out of the sky. He was tougher than that and having too much fun to let that slow him down. So, Terrorsaur turned around and dive-bombed into Rhinox with his feet colliding with his shoulder, knocking him down. Landing, he fired his lasers at his hand, forcing him to drop his gun. Then he grabbed one of his wing blades and thrust it at the Maximal.

With his survival mode kicking in, after falling to the ground and dropping his large gun, Rhinox caught the blade in both of his large hands before it could penetrate his broad chest. So, he twisted it in Terrorsaur's arms causing the Predacon to tumble over his own feet since he refused to let go. Grabbing his chain gun of doom, Rhinox got bakck to his feet and fired it relentlessly at his opponent.

Squawking from the onslaught, Terrorsaur held up his wing blade to block the rest of the bullets and then blasted off back to the sky.

"Whitegrazer!" Rhinox called to her as his weapon stopped firing and gradually stopped spinning, smoking from the heat and exhaust of the rapid firing.

"On my way,"

"Excellent," Megatron said to himself while he observed Primal and Aurora from afar.

"Optimus..," "I'm sorry..," "I didn't mean to.. cause problems.."

Any anger that could have been noticed in Primal's eyes was quickly replaced with concern instead as Aurora peered upward at him with her bright, sorrowful optics.

"Attack..?," "Are the Vok back?"

For a second, Optimus thought it was odd that she would assume it was the Vok first before the Predacons, but since she was out here with her alien-detecting equipment, he figured that was the most recent threat on her mind. Besides, she was obviously hit fairly hard by someone or something, and that might have affected her internal circuitry. Whatever the case, he shook his head in response and gently laid a hand on her shoulder when she trembled a little to give her some assurance. She was safe now. Then he moved his hand to rest on her chin, carefully wiping the dirt off around the corner of her mouth with his thumb that she had spit out like a father would to his daughter.

"Oh..," "You mean the Predacons.."

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Something hit me in the cave.. Not sure if it was a falling rock or if someone attacked me," "I couldn't see."

The leader frowned and glanced back over his shoulder into the blackness behind him to make sure no one was coming out to attack them. But he saw and heard no one and nothing.

"I'll be okay, I think, but can I please get my equipment before we head back to base? I don't want to risk losing my research."

Just as she had said that, Primal heard the gun fire not too far from their location back at the Axalon. "No," he told her. "We don't have time. And if anyone is still in there, we can't risk being ambushed. The others need us right now."

"Very well,"

Megatron maintained a blank expression as he watched Nemesis approach the Maximals outside of the cave. This was too good to be true. These were the two Maximals he wanted in restraints for his plan, separated from the rest. Now, if only the others were succeeding in their mission and would be capable of injuring Protoform X as well so he wouldn't be able to struggle so much when the time would arise to execute his goal.

"Nemesis," Optimus said as he noticed her fly toward them. The wounded Commander instinctively and protectively put himself between her and Aurora, his injured Maximal, just before the Predacon landed near them as the puffs of wind from her wings blew into them while she descended. How did she know they were there...? The thought made him suspiciously glance around for anyone else who might have been following them but he didn't see anyone. Perhaps she had spotted him leaving the Axalon earlier in this direction. He gripped his gun in his hand just in case.

"Optimus,"

With her giving the notion that she came in peace, he kept his weapon at his side but watched her closely.

"We need to talk."

"I don't have time to talk. My crew is under attack," he told her firmly as he stood tall in his wrecked body, licking the scar across his mouth, trying to physically appear stronger than he was in his weakened state.

[NaitoKage]

"Don't be shootin' any of my friends, drone!"

I don't benefit from doing that. the drone retorted, then watched as the autogun was destroyed.

"Where's de Raid?!" "I hate it when we get an ant infestation! Sentinel, all auto-guns on-line! Target dat lousy Predacon flier!"

the drone watched as Rattrap left, without anything left to do, the drone simply hovered in the bridge, the other three drones flying to it after finishing repairs on the damaged drone. They'll probably be needing that CR chamber repaired.. he said to himself, the four then headed off to the hanger, working on repairing the damaged CR chamber.

_____________________

"My loyalty is to myself and don't you ever dare to group me as one of them,"

Umbra simply observed her, the octopus eye on his leg observing Cheetor from the other direction. As she ran to the side, Cheetor raised his arm gun. Reactively Umbra's siphon shifted position as he started to fall backwards, his siphon and leg jets activating to propel him backwards in the air as Cheetor and Starshadow both fired at his position. Cutting his thrusters, two of Umbra's tentacles reached for the ground as he flipped, seen held up by them while holding the pellet blaster with both hands, then firing off three shots quick at Starshadow's legs.

Cheetor re-aimed and fired on Umbra in quick succession, Umbra's body suddenly jerking sideways of the shots with assistance from his siphon thruster, he then started to release a smokescreen.

Cheetor started to back up holding his arms aimed at the smoke, pointing around Come on out Tentacle's, theres no point in Hid- the smoke started to clear, Cheetor's face seeming a bit shocked as he noticed Umbra had disappeared. ing..? Where'd he go?!


Umbra kneeled behind a boulder, his camouflage active with his pellet blaster held ready. He'd have to pick them off one by one he thought to himself, reaching into his leg he pulled out a democharge and set the timer on it.
_____________

you big stupid lug! you almost killed me!"

Landslide blinked at being hit in the leg, though the only part that hurt was the charge she gave to her punch, the impact seeming to do more damage to herself then to him.

"Look out now!"

Landslide started to stop firing at Quickstrike's cover, one of his shoulder guns being blasted off from Terrorsaur, but didn't bother trying to look at him due to his breakneck speed. Noticing Quickstrike peek out from behind cover with the rocket launcher, Landslide swung his shield infront of himself blocking the rocket, a large dent and burn mark seen on the shield.

Landslide reached from his back drawing his chainsword and started it up You got guts lad.. Let me see them! his remaining back nacelle's two rockets kicked in as his landing gear flipped out, he then started to charge at Quickstrike with his shield up, then hit the brakes on his right leg coming to a hard turn as he slammed the chainsword into the boulder, cutting it in half.