The Intergalactic Highway

First there was nothing. No movement, no signs of life, just some partially crushed limbs sprawled out from underneath the large tree. Then.. a twitch, a slight movement, some semblance of proof of the life still residing in the trapped spider's body. As the Predacons departed the scene, all of them apparently oblivious to his predicament, Tarantulas slowly started regaining enough of his senses to realize what his situation was.

With a grunt his transmetal frame started moving more, his strength returning to him bit by bit but it still wasn't enough to dislodge the tree that was keeping him trapped. Fortunately his remaining drones, mindless as they appeared to be, were more than eager to come to his rescue. Swiftly they swarmed around his still mostly limp form, using their bodies to force the tree off their master. It took a little time, but before long Tarantulas was freed from his prison and could once again stand up.

Sure, he had not escaped entirely unscathed from his ordeal. Among other things his armor was dented, some areas had small cracks in them, and he basically looked as if he had just gotten the beating of a lifetime. But the spider was resilient as few. He ached all over upon emerging, but still mustered the strength to take a few shaky steps before deciding it would be more beneficial if he continued letting his drones do the work for him. It appeared the Predacons and Maximals alike had abandoned him, but he saw this as a blessing more than a defeat. Sure, his prized possession had gone missing as well but Tarantulas wasn't one to waste too much time griping over what could have been when he still had so many plans set in motion. Wherever Zodiac was, if he was still alive, the spider would find him.

As would be the case for whoever had fired those missiles that ended up trapping him underneath that tree as well. And he would find out who was responsible and make them suffer.. Oh how they would suffer. As would Megatron, the Maximals, anyone who had ever stood in his way.

But for now his revenge would have to wait until after he had recovered from his injuries. And since his oh so caring Predacon brethren had already departed without him, he was going to have to make the journey back on his own. But he wouldn't return to the Darksyde, oh no, in fact he was going to return to one of his numerous lairs so he could rest up and get repaired there, without as much as informing the others he was still alive.

So he made his way over to the cart of equipment his drones had hauled to this location earlier, hauling himself aboard, and then let his drones drag his supplies as well as him back to his hideout. Where he could plan out his next move in peace.

At the Axalon the already heated situation in the infirmary was not showing any signs of calming down, despite Frilla's best efforts to prevent them from escalating further. Nemesis had taken notice of those efforts, but her own pride was preventing her from backing down when the rodent outright verbally attacked her.

Only a few moments before the frilled lizard had seemed to agree with her in some ways. Perhaps not in the kind of ways Nemesis truly wanted, but at least they had found some common ground of sorts in their little debate.

“Neither group is exactly devoid of that. The Maximal Elders and Tripedicus Council are not so different from one another, one side just happens to have more influence.”

"And you find this fair?," the avian female asked of the smaller one. "We'd be better off with a stronger leader, someone who isn't afraid of doing what needs to be done for the Predacons."


Like Megatron.

Right..?

Honestly Nemesis was a little unsure of her leader's future when they got back to Cybertron. Albeit she certainly agreed with the ideas he had pitched out to her so far, there was a small part of her that worried Cybertronian rule under such dictatorship would simply reverse the roles of the two major factions. And then the Maximals who remained would surely be looking to end it.

“Whether you come back to Cybertron or not Nemesis, even you should not rule out all possibilities.”

The avian shook her head at all these presumptions the smaller female was making. She'd survived thus far without living on Cybertron, why should she commit now? Obviously Cybertron had a huge role in their race's history, but it wasn't the only settlement out there. Far from it. Their home planet may indeed carry too much bad history to erase it all. Still they would have to start somewhere, to improve on what they were given. The fate thrust upon them simply because they belonged to one faction over another.

"There is a civil war coming to Cybertron," Nemesis said after a brief pause. "It may not be the home you remember when we return there."

As predicted the rodent remained on edge, still making threats as far as Nemesis was concerned.

"Why do you think yer still alive?"

The rat had barely been holding his anger in check thus far, albeit he did seem to calm down a tad as he reluctantly put his weapon away. Nemesis drew a silent sigh of relief as he did, since her nanomachines still weren't working.. Even though the rodent still remained unaware of this fact since he'd been too engulfed in his own anger issues. Not that she didn't understand why he felt the way he did..

"Because you find my charm irresistible?," Nemesis mocked back with a slightly teasing tone. "Don't try to threaten me, rodent, for you will come to regret it," she then added, her tone turning cold, as if to remind him how close he had come to joining the matrix.

“Maybe it would be in your best interest to shut up now Nemesis.”

Maybe. But her pride wouldn't let that happen. Not while this vermin was hacking away at her with his verbal assault. So Nemesis shot the other female an exasperated glare, silently warning her to back off. Even if Rattrap was to attack in her present state, she was fairly certain she would be able to defend herself.

But Rattrap's next words seemed to calm her down considerably, extracting a spark-felt sigh from the female Predacon second-in-command.

"Probably not," "But I ain't the one who's gotta understand, am I? Just Optimus."

Truer words had rarely been spoken. No matter how the bird of prey and the rat felt about each other, they shared at least one thing. A mutual respect and caring for the Maximal leader who had still not reported back since he went on his suicide mission.

And she both wished Primal was there and wished he stayed gone at the same time, since she both feared for his demise as well the aftermath of how he would react to her actions. Ugh, how she hated all these conflicting emotions.. Life used to be much less complicated than this.

"You're right," she finally said, a lot calmer than she had been only moments before. "You should probably check in with him," she continued, wishing for this very much so awkward encounter to end.

Aurora had kept a short distance for as long as Nemesis remained near Rattrap, not wanting to see another attack like the one she had witnessed earlier that day when Rattrap had been forced up against the shields. She remained close enough to be able to intervene, though, her hand lingering close to her weapon in the event she'd have to use it and one of her chemical concoctions against the Predacon bird. Fortunately it seemed like, at least for now, Nemesis was backing down.

"you Preds are always up ta somethin'. Obviously,"

"Primal could have just handed the traitor over and none of this would have had to happen," the avian countered, although it honestly more than likely would have resulted in an attack against the Axalon regardless. Predacons tended to enjoy wrecking havoc and inflicting pain upon their enemies, so a mere prisoner exchange wouldn't be fun enough to satisfy most of the troops. Simpler, yes, but not as fun.

"Just send him to the bridge. I can give him some work to do. Are you doing alright, Aurora?"

Oh Rhinox.. Ever the voice of reason. A calming presence when tension otherwise ran high. Aurora was happy to hear his voice, but she so wished he could have been there to work his magic on all of them.

"I'm feeling okay," she messaged back. "All fixed up and ready for duty." And to find out what was going on with Optimus.. And presumably the other Maximals as well, seeing how empty their base was right now. "Any word from Optimus?," she then asked of Rhinox, the concern evident in her voice. "And the others?"

Nemesis made the decision to follow Frilla out, not so much so because she was worried about getting shot again with the weapon but more so because she realized she wouldn't get anywhere in this rather unfriendly discussion with the rodent. Of course she did notice the way Frilla was clutching onto the rifle, but considering the effects the last time and that her nanomachines were still recovering from it, Nemesis didn't believe the weapon would do much damage to her now. Not until her nanomachines became operable again. And when they did she would be making a run for it to get out of this place before Optimus returned.. If he did.

The silence between the two females as they passed some distance between themselves and the infirmary was most welcome. Of course it wouldn't last, however, when the sudden sound of gunfire hitting the base echoed through its walls again. Nemesis stopped in her tracks and looked around, immediately wondering if Megatron had won the confrontation with Optimus and then strayed from his original plans to return here.

No.. The amount of firepower was nowhere near what it had been during the earlier attacks. This was an isolated attacker, and probably not a very bright one either based on the decision to launch a strike against the Axalon by themselves.

Turning her gaze to Frilla, Nemesis said; "I can probably persuade them to cease and desist. If you're so inclined." The only reason she could even imagine anyone attacking the Axalon for now would be her. And if they managed to confirm her whereabouts, that could lead to some very difficult questions to answer when she did meet up with Megatron.

The shooting appeared to stop, leaving Nemesis wondering what the attacker was doing. She hadn't heard any of the Maximal weapons fire back yet, so likely they were changing their strategy and perhaps even looking for a way in. The obvious choice of such would be the severely damaged brig, of course, so very subtly Nemesis changed her course to intercept since Frilla didn't really seem determined on where she was going yet.

"It's stuck in their programming ta cause trouble all the time,"

Aurora hugged Rattrap just a tiny bit tighter as all that worry she had felt when she saw him electrocuted against the shields left her systems. It felt so good just holding him again, especially since she hadn't been sure she would ever be able to.

"We're going to need a much bigger brig to hold them all..," the fuzor muttered while her arms were still wrapped around him. Although in all honesty she had no idea what they should do with the Predacons who were so intent on wrecking havoc on this beautiful world. Destroying them would be going against the Maximal code. Or at least the one enforced by Optimus himself. And some of the Predacons seemed beyond redemption even though a few had already defected to the Maximals and were now an intricate part of their team. Maybe a few more could still be persuaded..

This, of course, left her again thinking about Optimus and the Maximals who must have gone with him to retrieve Zodiac, as revealed by the Predacon bird. Why would he have done that..? Why risk everything after he specifically promised her he'd never do it again, and for the life of someone who had done nothing but cause trouble since the moment he arrived on this planet? Was this at all related to Zodiac's apparent relationship with Whitegrazer..?

"Come on. Let's see if we can help Rhinox,"

The fuzor agreed, grudgingly letting Rattrap go so that they could maneuver over to the brig now that Nemesis and Frilla had vacated the area.
They didn't get far, however, before the sound of gun fire hitting their base caught their attention. So they rushed to get to Rhinox since he'd obviously have a better idea of what was going on.

"Aurora, Rattrap,"

Aurora's face lit up again as she saw the gentle giant standing there, seemingly unharmed, although with a bunch of tools within his reach as always. "We came to help," she blurted out before another, and final, shot caused a rumbling sound through the walls.

"Care to join me? Our auto-guns are still off-line, and near as I can tell, it's only Waspinator attacking us. It's possible he knows that Nemesis is here, but we can't let her go right now, so we're gonna have to shoo this pesky bug away before he causes any more damage."

Only Waspinator? Pfft.. Was that guy overly obedient or just stupid to attack them by himself? Granted their base was still in shambled and their shields and automatic weapons didn't seem to be back online yet. But still..

"Of course, I'll get to work on the autoguns," she immediately confirmed as she made her way over to the console, grabbing some of the tools from the nearby table on her way. The more hands the better!

Some distance away Zodiac remained motionless as Tigerhawk did his best to protect him from the sudden nearby explosions, even going as far as to use his own body to shield him from harm. His vital signs through it all remained relatively stable, but he still didn't show any signs of life. Not yet.

“Now let’s really get you out of here kid.”

A slight pained grunt upon being moved again was the only signal to the fuzor that his cargo was still alive, his spark rate seemingly picking up a bit after an extended period of a slow, somewhat irregular rhythm. Meanwhile his internal repairs were ongoing, picking up in speed even, although the substance Tarantulas had injected him with earlier was still very much so coursing through him with every beat of his spark.

(( OOC: Not at all, New Moon! It sounds fun to add a little friction between them. ))

"Because you find my charm irresistible?,"

Rattrap could have hissed at Nemesis's incorrect and disgusting evaluation. He honestly could not see what his leader saw in her!

"Don't try to threaten me, rodent, for you will come to regret it,"

His prior response wasn't exactly a threat. She insulted Primal's faith in his troops who respected his wishes, and Rattrap merely pointed out how wrong she was about it. He wanted to snap back at her, but for once, he kept his opinions to himself except for a shake of his head at her.

"You're right," "You should probably check in with him,"

The rodent studied her calmer demeanor, and he was certain he felt a bit of genuine concern from her towards the monkey. Interesting. "I ain't worried about 'im," he tossed in, and he wasn't. By now, in this war, Optimus knew what he was doing, and he had most of the Maximals with him who packed quite a bit of firepower. "Are you?" he wanted her to verbally admit, but she was probably just phishing for information should Rattrap actually make contact with his leader so she could plan her escape or try to gain control over her fate.

"Primal could have just handed the traitor over and none of this would have had to happen,"

"Ya know, as much as I'd like ta agree with ya on dat, 'cause nobody likes that slaggin' shape shifter, Optimus is probably doin' the right thing, somethin' nobody else has done for Zodiac. Heck, you can probably relate to that. Am I right?" he asked her, not that he was expecting her to answer, but it showed her that he wasn't blind to the reasoning behind Primal's efforts to help those that were troubled or stuck being ruled by a dictator. She'd probably be too embarrassed to do so in front of them, but most of them were aware of the compassion Primal -as well as Whitegrazer- had shown Nemesis in the past. Harboring Nemesis, giving her shelter and protection at their base while they helped clear her name from Megatron's death wish list. What other Maximal would do that in Optimus's position? Probably not many, if any.

“Maybe it would be in your best interest to shut up now Nemesis.”

Yeah, Rattrap agreed with Frilla, and for de rest of the duration of yer stay here.

“Tricky maybe, but we’re not all out to be like Megatron.”

It was then that the rodent was quickly reminded again of what he had regrettably said to Frilla whom he had so foolishly soiled their friendship with in a matter of seconds with his over-the-top paranoia. She was right though. Like her and Dinobot, not every Predacon was as cold and cruel as Megajerk. Although that didn't change his opinion about Nemesis, which was who he was really only referring to with his comment about Preds always being up to something. But he had obviously already inserted his foot in his mouth to which he might be able to redeem himself for, and he felt bad about that.

“Well, we at least agree about that, Rattrap.”

Reading the resentment and apprehension in the lizard's optics, the vermin had averted his guilty gaze from her by lowering his head as she passed by with Nemesis and the two and left the infirmary with him and Aurora quickly following before taking their own route to meet up with Rhinox in the command center.

"I'm feeling okay," "All fixed up and ready for duty."

"That's great, Aurora," Rhinox had happily returned to his young and petite apprentice. "I'll need your assistance as well," he said in addition to putting Rattrap to work in order to keep him away from Nemesis and Frilla.

"Any word from Optimus?," "And the others?"

"Not yet," the engineer said a little somberly, and quickly added to console her, "But I'm sure we'll hear from them soon. Don't worry." Rhinox's own deep voice was confident and assuring since he had faith in the team's abilities and success. However, it had been a while since they heard anything from them, but that could have easily been because of the battle keeping everyone occupied and focused on helping each other. Meanwhile, the rest left at the base should be concentrating on the repairs and keeping Nemesis restrained and out of trouble.

"We're going to need a much bigger brig to hold them all..,"

"Well, if we just put 'em in stasis lock, we can use 'em ta occupy the stasis hold and strap 'em in with seat belts," Rattrap had joked with Aurora in their embrace obviously not caring much for their safety during transport, if they were ever to get their ship in the air again, which was unlikely, but it was an option nonetheless for storing their enemy instead of using the brig. His friendship with the Fuzor was almost an odd sensation for the rat. He never had anyone who looked up to him before the way she did, and now every decision he made and every word he uttered could very well influence her and "shape" her. Suddenly, he was thrown into this role model job that was almost out of his element. Rattrap was used to solitary life without anyone depending on him. He always looked out for himself and didn't bother helping or caring much for others. But the Beast Wars had changed all of that now. And it was Dinobot and Aurora who had the greatest affect on him. He had more responsibilities, he had to be a team player, and he would even put his life on the line to help them. Where had the selfish part of his survival skills gone?

“On it, see you all soon.”

For outside appearances, Optimus remained as physically strong as he could put on for the sake of his team, most of which who had endured a hard blow earlier that day when the Predacons had defeated them and caused them terrible injuries. He seemed to stand upright in his beast mode with little trouble despite his injuries as he watched Airazor disappear over the tree tops to escort Tigerhawk and make sure he didn't run into any more trouble, but the gorilla grew a little concerned when there was a small plume of smoke that rose over the forest's canopy in the distance where the falcon was heading and where the large Fuzor had flown off to with Zodiac. Not to mention Terrorsaur had emerged from that direction as well to regroup with the retreating Predacons. Once the two Maximal fliers would arrive at the Axalon, Rhinox would know what to do with the unconscious shape shifter whom Primal hoped would survive. He hoped this would have all been worth it even after all of the trouble Zodiac had caused them ever since his arrival to the planet disguised as his beloved mentor, Nexus Prime. Some of them would surely disagree with him, and rightly so, but Optimus was determined to try his best. And if he failed... well, then he would have to let Zodiac go.

“Glad to see you’re hanging in there, you had us worried.”

The Maximal leader gave Tigatron a glance, but his pink eyes had shown more concern for the others rather than himself. Primal's worse injury was his leg that Megatron had deeply sank his teeth into, but it only effected the lower half of his leg below the knee, which was folded up in his beast mode so he wasn't putting any weight on it for the time being, nor did it cause him to limp like it would have in his robot mode. His plunge in the river washed most of the fluid off of the leg that been trickling out of the punctured holes, but a little had done so again while he moved about with Tigatron toward the other Maximals. Optimus took in their wounds as he and the white tiger approached them. Despite their victory, their moods still seemed a little sour, and he could tell it wasn't just because of the damage they sustained.

“Well, it appears we accomplished what we came here for, at least.”

“Barely. We are fortunate that the Predacons bit off more than they could chew this day, I doubt we will always have such a lucky outcome.”

“Then perhaps we should start fighting fire with fire, as I have long since mentioned from the beginning.”

“For once, I second that notion Dinobot.” “The Preds want to keep pushing the boundaries, maybe we should start doing the same; quite frankly, I’m tired of them trashing our base and us.”

Although their words spoke the truth, and part of Optimus felt the same way, he hesitated to add his two cents while he considered that what he might say could potentially hinder everything Primal advocated for and tried to be a role model for the rest of them. The Predacons were growing more violent and ruthless, that was clear, but couldn't there be other ways to handle them without being so violent? He didn't want the aggression to corrupt their creative minds and tactics. It was too easy to resort to that kind of mentality and lose sight of what they stood for and stood against. Cheetor's comment was particularly discouraging to the blue ape since he thought he had been influencing him more positively than that. Influencing him, or raising him? Sometimes it was difficult to differentiate the two considering their bond in this war. On the other hand, could it be that Optimus was wrong about this? Was he being too lenient against Megatron and his Predacons? It just didn't feel right to him to react so aggressively. This time he had let his anger show when he fought his nemesis, and it obviously fueled him putting Megatron in his place, so to speak, but he wasn't exactly proud of it.

Strange, distant whispers invaded his mind again, and he turned his blue head in Wintersong's direction. She was moving sluggishly, but he hadn't been unaware of the dose of cyber venom that she had absorbed thanks to Quickstrike. Her optics were still a different color as well, and that troubled him. He wished she would talk to him, if only to keep him updated on the transitions she was experiencing or how ever it could be described because of the Vok. "All of you did well," he commended them as he changed the topic, for now. "Let's head back to base," he instructed them. He was certain they were done with the Predacon confrontations that day, except for Nemesis who, as far as he knew, was still at the Axalon. While the others talked among themselves about their future Predacon retaliation, Optimus started to make his way over to the TransMetal tigress who seemed to be standing there aimlessly in her beast mode as though she was in a stupor or a daze.

"Optimus to Rhinox," he opened his comm. link to their heavily damaged headquarters, "We have successfully retrieved Zodiac, although I fear he has been critically wounded, and some us have sustained further injuries. Tigerhawk and Airazor are on their way to you with him. The Predacons were forced to retreat, and the rest of us will be returning shortly. What is the status there?"

"Optimus," Rhinox answered him with great relief hearing how they managed to win this battle, and his crimson red optics shifted to Rattrap and Aurora for a moment. "Glad to hear it," he addressed his friend's news first. "All is well here, except Waspinator has just shown up, rattling our cage, so to speak. We'll deal with him," he assured the leader, "and hopefully get rid of him before you return. Sentinel is back up, but the shields need more time to regenerate. Nemesis is still in our custody, so perhaps that's why Waspinator has arrived," and hopefully not because of some other plan Megatron had in the works, "but if he knows she's here, then that won't bode well for a future conversation between her and Megatron," he pointed out.

"No, it won't," he agreed with his engineer. "Bring him down quickly, or keep her hidden," he suggested, recalling how easy it usually was to deter the wasp and even cause him to literally fall apart scattering his body parts everywhere for a long clean up. But bringing up the Decepticon-turned-Predacon's name again reminded Optimus of what Megatron had said about the attacks that day being her ideas and her organizing, assuming he had been referring to her. And it bothered him greatly. It was unclear if Waspinator did in fact know that Nemesis was at the Axalon, or if he was just assuming she was. Had Megatron sent him to check since she failed to show up for the battle? If Waspinator spotted her at the Maximal base and had the opportunity to report it to Megatron, then he would certainly grow suspicious of her and interrogate her... or worse. Primus, it was one thing after another. Since Optimus could reach the base over his comm. link, couldn't Megatron reach Nemesis? Had he tried? It was just more uncertainty for the ape. "Keep me posted."

"Alright. Copy that, Optimus," he ended their transmission as his gaze wandered from his two smaller friends to one of the functioning monitors that showed Waspinator's signature. With the Maximals located in the command center, the TransMetal wasp was heading for the easiest access point, the gaping hole in the brig. Rhinox immediately changed his plan of attack.

"Wintersong?" Primal said calmly to her to get her attention as he approached her on his knuckles before stopping a short distance from her and standing upright again. "Are you alright? Can I offer you a lift back to base?" She was heavy, yes, but he knew the limits of his vehicle mode. If he could carry Rhinox, then he could certainly carry her TransMetal body.

"Of course, I'll get to work on the autoguns,"

Rhinox nodded to Aurora and said to her and Rattrap, "He's heading for the brig. I'll meet him there head on," he volunteered. "Rattrap, take to the roof, and we'll corner him. If you get those auto-guns back on-line, Aurora, we could probably use the additional support. Let's move!" and the larger Maximal immediately exited the bridge and headed for the brig with his weapon drawn.

"Frilla, our attacker is Waspinator," Rhinox informed the frilled lizard via his comm. link as he moved through the base with his heavy foot steps echoing throughout the corridors. "He might be here for Nemesis, but we can't be sure. Keep her out of sight until Rattrap, Aurora and I deal with him." Approaching the brig, he entered the mess that had been left earlier and tried navigating around it as he targeted the Predacon.

"You must be lost, Waspinator," he made his presence known to him while he waited for Rattrap's signal to get into position. "The Predacons have long since retreated. Allow me to show you which direction they fled before I get angrier," he threatened him.

Rattrap, meanwhile, had split off from Aurora and climbed up through the roof hatch to start sneaking around outside on top of the ship closing in on the jet/wasp with his pistol drawn.

-----

“Finally noticed that yourself did you?”

"If I were in... your position, Rampage... I would choose my words... more wisely," Megatron threatened the crab who continuously enjoyed mocking the tyrant. And as things were, the t-rex was not in the mood for his snide remarks as his head pounded and bothered him terribly. All he would have to do to shut him up was squeeze his spark, thus proving who got more enjoyment taunting the other, and he was very tempted at this point to do so. The only thing barely holding Megatron back was wasting the energy and enduring the anguish it would cause to transform back to his robot mode.

"Waspinator... report!" Megatron demanded over his comm. link to the insect, the impatience and pain evident in his deep voice. "We are retreating... to the Darksyde," he bluntly hinted to the Predacon imbecile.

“Bit off more than you could chew today ant, you’ll definitely require extensive repair time.”

Inferno's body sparked and involuntarily twitched as Spineback talked to him and carried him back to the Darksyde. A faint grumble in his raspy voice escaped his mouth on his heavily damaged face.

“Beast mode.”

Megatron glanced to his side to see the new comer's beast mode, which was also a reptile to idolize but unfortunately not TransMetal. Well, beggars can't be choosers, he supposed. Although he was the aquatic type which did offer the Predacons an advantage. Rampage was as well, but he couldn't be trusted to follow through with orders much less anything else.

“The names Terrabite.” “I was planted here as a Predacon spy to work as a mechanical engineer for the Axalon, see what information I could gather about the Maximals. But...that clearly is no longer the case given what I’ve seen today.” “And that’s just the highly condensed version, I can give you more detail once we’re not out in the open.”

"I see... Terrabite. Planted here by whom? the Predacon leader mused a little suspiciously as the group moved along. The name was familiar, but he couldn't place him. "Then you... emerged from a stasis pod," he concluded not entirely impressed by the unfortunate circumstances of not being an active spy among his enemy's crew. "Is it... salvageable?"

“Weren’t you plastered all over the news across Cybertron a few decades back?”

"Ah, yes," Megatron recalled upon Spineback's accusation about the new Predacon, and continued speaking about what he remembered regardless of Terrabite's caution to speak more privately about himself. Considering they were out of ear shot from the Maximals, Megatron didn't see the harm of gaining a little more confirmation about this bot and his intentions before welcoming him into his happy, little band. "The 'Pax Cybertronia serial killer'... as you came to be known... among the tabloids." The TransMetal t-rex almost smirked, but mostly because he admired his ability to willfully take lives no matter what allegiance they belonged to because they supported the treaty. How very interesting that such a bot should fall into Megatron's ranks now. "Tell me, Terrabite... how can we be certain... that you are not a spy... for the Maximals? he inquired since the new Predacon had brought it up. Even though he looked like a Pred, and his history suggested that he was capable of such horrendous acts of violence like himself, Megatron found it very difficult to trust anyone who claimed to be a spy, whether past or present. And throwing Optimus Primal into the river was hardly proof since Rattrap had pulled the same stunt on them by shooting Primal down while he was under Terrorsaur's command pretending to be a Predacon so long ago. It wasn't like Terrabite finished him off or made sure that he had drowned.

“I wasn’t implying it was fair Nemesis, only that both of our factions are in horrible shape and one governing body isn’t at fault. Both are.” Frilla corrected, giving the avian an exasperated glance as she more than clearly implied Megatron would be more than worthy as a replacement for Cybertronian leadership. “Yea, because a leader that willingly kills his own men just because they aren’t up to his standards or don’t follow his point of view just screams perfect leader material.” She responded dryly, “I would keep your intentions to remain on your own when this all ends to yourself, Megatron won’t take kindly to it.” Frilla warned lightly.

The two had never worked together before she left the Predacons, so she certainly had no reason or inclination to feel a need to express concern for Nemesis’ safety. Today being a shining example she really shouldn’t have cared at all, but it wasn’t in Frilla’s nature to not try and do something. Whether the avian took her warning to spark would be entirely up to her in the coming future though.

Back in the infirmary though, Frilla could only sigh under her breath, silently cursing the pride Nemesis displayed in the face of Rattrap’s verbal attacks, which wasn’t helping anything. And unfortunately, Frilla was not Optimus, Rhinox, or Whitegrazer, she never was one to be a calming presence or breaking up a tense situation. She has always been use to doing her work and keeping out of things unless she was required to. But, Nemesis was pushing the envelope more and more as she questioned the intentions of Optimus and the rest of the team who had more than shown a fair bit of hospitality towards the Predacon female a number of times. Something that she seemed inclined to test far too much for their liking. Why do you think any of us do what we do when he asks bird brain, it’s called earned respect not forced, Frilla though kept this to herself, wondering when any Predacon would get it through their thick heads that it was Optimus’ ways and beliefs that lead them to have such faith in his actions to begin with.

Frilla has every reason to hold that faith to spark when he accepted her without real suspicion, being ever grateful for giving her a chance of redeeming her bad decision early on.

But, with the verbal conflict between the three of them finally over, the transmetal frilled lizard welcomed the silence that followed in the hall, mulling over the accusations Rattrap had given. Had her actions really made her appear unloyal to the Maximals? She hadn’t thought so, only trying to ensure Optimus’ orders were followed and no one made an action they would regret. Now, it appeared she would have to settle those thoughts as she listened to the explosions outside, optics shifting to Nemesis as she suggested persuading whoever it was attacking the base to stop. It would seem the best course of action...But before she could say a word, the echo of heavy footsteps and Rhinox coming in told her the others were already handling the situation, “I’ll do what I can Rhinox, but she’s inclined to offer to stop the situation herself.” And it was clear the decision was made for them, Frilla deciding she might have to reconsider her weapon choice, “Sorry Nem, I’m so inclined to put faith in my friends they can handle Waspinator themselves, and for your safety...” As she spoke, the frilled lizard switched the rifle for her EDK Techvolt instead, an electrical based weapon that would be far more effective against her and her nanomachinws that she aimed towards the avian but had the settings low so it wouldn’t do nearly as much harm as her Electro-Scrambler, “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to remain right where we are. If Waspinator discovers you’re here he could report this to Megatron and you will be in some deep slag if he doesn’t already suspect you gave up everything and butted into his plans.”

Though, that was to say if Nemesis hadn’t already worked that out for herself or had a plan to counter those suspicions no doubt the Predacons might have had considering the absence and the Maximals attacking them by now.

Upon scanning the opening, Waspinator seemed almost sure he wouldn’t be met with much or any resistance before it was too late. But he had barely lowered down towards the ground before Megatron’s irritated voice chimed, causing him to freeze where he was for the moment and realizing how in much a bad mood his leader was really in. Gulping slightly, the transmetal wasp reported in, “Waspinator hears Megatron loud and clear, but Waspinator investigating bird-bot’s disappearance, have suspicions where she might be.” Waspinator reported nervously, “Waspinator will only be a short time.” He tried to assure his leader.

No sooner had he said this though did Rhinox’s voice cause him to focus back on the brig, raising his Toxic Stinger in response and eyeing the Chain Guns presently held at the ready in Rhinox’s hands. He had many an unpleasant experience with being on the receiving end of those weapons, and even being transmetal they would do some damage. Cautiously, the transmetal wasp landed, keeping some distance between them, “Waspinator aware of retreat, but come here for different reason.” He spoke a bit more steadily, “Tell Waspinator whereabouts of bird-bot and will leave without further problems, rhino-bot and Waspinator have a deal?” The insect inquired.

———————————————————

Both Dinobot and Tigatron were slightly surprised by Cheetor’s agreement about a return of violence in response. It had up until this point been quite rare for the young cheetah to show such eagerness of retaliation, but given that he seemed to be maturing it wasn’t unlikely his attitude would change too. For Tigatron, it was rather concerning since he had never thought the young mech would be capable of being drawn to such a path. Him and Aurora has both been through some things and undoubtedly it would affect their views the longer the conflict continued but this was...unexpected for the white tiger. “Perhaps, but being more diligent and ready for anything is just as effective. We are not the Predacons Cheetor, never forget that.” Tigatron spoke, gently reminding Little Cat they always had other ways to handle this sort of behavior, something that Optimus appeared to mirror when he glanced towards the blue ape.

Optimus was his first mentor before Tigatron joined the Beast Wars so he could only imagine what thoughts were going through his head. But Dinobot’s scoff made him give the raptor a small glare, “There is only one way we’ll ever truly be rid of Megatron and his merry band of misfits, being peaceful all the time won’t solve everything.” The raptor retorted towards them, feeling one of the Maximals seemed to be getting the memo. And perhaps at times the rodent as well.

Admittedly, part of Dinobot spoke out in such a way due to worry and concern. It was almost...revolting yet satisfying to feel this sentimental emotions, being...compassionate in his own weird way. And for that Dinobot could only give a raspy grumble, “As much as you Maximals might dislike the thought, we may not have a choice but to show more force than we have. They will force our hand as they have today, because next time it could be one of our own under the grasp of the Predacons as before.” Dinobor referenced to the time Optimus had been held captive for a short time, fortunate enough to even be standing here with them once again, as seemed to be the cycle for the Maximal leader.

Though the older feline merely sighed, being quite against having things come to that, “I certainly hope you are wrong, both you and Cheetor.” He murmured, glancing towards the smoke billowing from the trees, yet another callous act of violence that was scarring this world for years to come. Shaking his head, he turned back to Optimus, watching as he approached Wintersong, wondering if this had to do with him speaking out her name as he was saving the Maximal leader from drowning. “We should get moving.” Tigatron finally spoke to which Dinobot nodded and the two began to make their way back to the Axalon.

“Ah, then you are familiar with who I am already, for the most part.” Terrabite had expected this might come up at some point, knowing some kept such news in their minds for many years after. A case such as his was too good to pass up from a media stand point and it also brought attention to just how some felt even within the inner circles of the Tripedicus agents. Although, he had gotten a lighter sentence than most might to avoid a scandal he suspected and now here he was facing a far more promising potential leader. Though, not short of suspicion which was again not unexpected. “I was planted here by the former war general, Magmatron. I am sure you are familiar with him no doubt.” The crocodile-like mech explained, having nothing to hide about his past since they seemed rather ready to hear everything, and possibly a good way to pass the time on their way back to the base. “I use to be a loyal follower of the Tripedicus Council back during the wars against the Maximals, when being a Predacon still meant something, when we were proud to call ourselves conquers. Now, I’m concerned a disgraced soldier and an insult to the Predacon name all because our so called governing body went soft.”

As Terrabite continued to speak, the new Predacon’s tone become more infuriated, intense, bordering on almost aggressively maniacal. Upon realizing how worked up he was getting, he turned his head away to cough for a second, clearing his throat before he continued, “Excuse my outburst, it still gets under my armor knowing we roll over for the Maximal scum. And believe what you want, I do not take the term spy willingly but act out of a need to have some semblance of knowing others want to see them fall once and for all.” Terrabite spoke, seeming rather empassioned about such a notion of toppling the Maximal regime. “Sure it is not news to you, but you are not the only Predacon assembling troops to rally behind your efforts, but you are the most spoken out, but correct me if I am wrong in that regard. I have had to show a great deal of restraint these past many years after my “rehabilitation” if you can call it that, which I showed today to get a feel for what the situation was.”

As Megatron, Spineback, and Terrabite began discussing more about who this Predacon feller was, the small fuzor began to eventually zone in and out. Some parts were interesting and others not quite so much to him especially since he himself was not from Cybertron. Or if he was, that old life was long forgotten and he felt no ties to the planet any longer as a result. Though, if he survived long enough in the coming war and they were capable of making it back he would willingly go just for the sake of the chaos it could bring under Megatron’s leadership. For now though, he was content to walk back to the Darksyde, giving a small yawn as the rest of them spoke.

(ooc: Great posts everyone!

Una, if you're lurking could you just let us know everything's okay? It's been a month and a half now.. We worry about you when you go missing out of the blue without saying anything.)

(( OOC: Wintersong...? I believe we're on day 3 after New Moon's post... ))

((Sorry guys, been a little debilitated this past week due to chronic migraines.

Edit: Never mind the last part, my mom and sister got to it.))

The surprised reactions from Tigatron and Dinobot weren’t unwarranted. Cheetor had always been the optimistic and eager young rookie among the crew until Aurora’s arrival, in which case he hadn’t been the only young bot around but certainly at times seemed the most reckless and childish. He had even been satisfied to give the Predacons a run for their energon by proving the Maximals weren’t willing to go as low as they were willing and often had tried to emulate Optimus himself. Like his mentor, he wanted peace and for this conflict to end and figured with time they could change the minds of the Predacons or being them to justice.

But now? Now, things had changed.

Cheetor had seen, heard, and been through enough with his fellow Maximals his views had been shaped in many different ways, some positive and others negative. In this moment, he felt it was time he really did start stepping up and taking a chance rather than hanging back or taking the “peaceful” way out of things. “I know we’re not Tigatron, but Dinobot has a point. We’ve let the Predacons walk all over us in this war and our ways aren’t going to cut it alone.” The young cheetah spoke firmly, standing by his decision that the Predacons deserved a taste of their own medicine. A quick glance at Optimus though did soften his demeanor slightly, seeing the disappointment and how crestfallen the transmetal ape was for his words and attitude. And all he could offer was an apologetic look towards Optimus, knowing everything the older mech had taught him seemed to be washed away in a single moment. In reality, Cheetor still held Optimus’ teachings to spark, but it was high time he started taking those lessons and his own experiences to begin making his own decisions. For now though, he decided to drop the subject as he took to the skies to head back to base.

Wintersong’s ears twitched as she heard someone approaching her, finally breaking her train of thought. The voice that followed finally made her glance up to find Optimus, seeing his deep concern for how spaced out she probably looked in this moment causing her to feel somewhat embarrassed. “Sorry Optimus, I’m fine, just after effects of cyber venom. For all his annoyance, Quickstrike packs quite a bit of punch.” She admitted, though she had a feeling that wasn’t entirely what the Maximal leader was suspecting to be a problem.

Sighing, the transmetal tigress transformed back to robot mode, figuring the short trip back would be a good time as ever to talk about some of what was happening, “Yea, I wouldn’t mind a lift back since it would give us a chance to start talking at least. I’ve been thinking since earlier about what Whitegrazer said and past experiences with the Vok...You were right, I can’t do this without talking to someone and who better than someone whose been through similar ordeals.”

Spineback briefly glanced back to check on Inferno when hearing his raspy voice, finding he was still out cold but appeared to be functional. That was a good sign, and no doubt he would make a swift recovery as usual. He was far too stubborn to give something up even in the state he was in

Once certain the ant wasn’t attempting to move in his rough state, she turned her attention back towards the conversation at hand, listening both to Megatron then Terrabite explain some of his life. She couldn’t helping giving an amused chuckle at the mention of once being a Tripedicus agent, “You worked for those bolts for brains? Are you kidding me? Their leadership was weak from the moment they took over in their attempts, and the Predacons were doomed to fail under their guidance.” There was nothing quite so humorous about the matter, but Spineback’s dispelasure towards the council of three Predacons was quite clear. “You and many more were blinded by their hollow promises Terrabite and you paid for it in full. Sometimes the hard lessons have to set in before you find the right path, hm.”

It was rare for Spineback to openly mock and question the leadership of those who counted as her superiors, but the Tripedicus Council was not one of them. She had wisely laid low during the course of that doomed conflict, made no easier with security being tightened on Decepticons who were granted amnesty and did not participate in the conflict that ultimately lead to the Pax Cybertronia. “Planted here or not, you’ve come to the right place. The type of leader the Predacons have needed stands right before you, granted you prove to be trustworthy of course.”

Though she turned her head to glance at Terrorsaur after hearing the faintest snort he quickly surppressed after. “You’re kidding right? You want another psychopathic killer among our ranks when we already got two of them running around, one of which barely listens to you as it is.” Terrorsaur pointed out as he flew a bit ahead to be near Megatron and the newcomer. “How do you intend to prove his loyalty this time? No reasonable Predacon is this open about who he is or was, even you wouldn’t be so stupid as to take his word as true.” The flier had more than had his fair share of Megatron not trusting words alone, as more than shown when Terrorsaur lies or plotted against the saurian.

But most of all, the transmetal flier wasn’t so keen having yet another psychotic Predacon roaming around who could snap at any moment given Terrabite’s brief break in sanity as he spoke. And maybe it was a part of him being particularly uneasy about what Terrabite’s victims were known for being killed for, which didn’t bode well for his tendency to scheme.

Rampage merely shrugged to himself as he took up the rear on the trek back to base, “Whatever you say.” It wasn’t a usual snide remark or mockery in his tone, but Rampage didn’t hide the disinterest in his voice to what was happening any longer. His interest had been peaked earlier by Megatron’s discovery, which had put the Predacon leader dangerously close in his crosshairs, and then the promise of two different sparks which had fallen through thanks to timing. Rampage held not interest in what Megatron promised anymore of that day except maybe what his future plans might entail.

As Tigerhawk and Airazor got a decent head start on their teammates, the two focused on keeping Zodiac from falling along the way and for signs of life. Surprisingly, Zodiac did indeed show signs of being alive, a groan leaving his unconscious form that made Tigerhawk nearly stop with surprise, “What do you know, kid survived all that.” The large fuzor said with relief as Airazor nodded, “So far, but if he survives this let’s hope he survives the angry Maximals that come after.” Airazor gently reminded as she hovered nearby once the mech took a moment to stop. A quick glance at her though did remind him Zodiac was only out of one danger and fixing to be in another, but they would have to worry about that later as for now turned his attention to test his wing that had been struck earlier.

Allowing Tigerhawk a moment, Airazor opened a com towards the Maximal leader and Rhinox, “Optimus, Rhinox, Zodiac is alive, barely but still signs of life. We should be arriving back to the Axalon shortly.” The falcon reported, watching as Tigerhawk finally took to the skies with her, circling a few times before he was satisfied he could maneuver. “Still numb but usable, so let’s go.” The tiger/hawk fuzor told her with some renewed energy which Airazor nodded at before they flew the rest of the way, making the trip slightly faster.

“I wasn’t implying it was fair Nemesis, only that both of our factions are in horrible shape and one governing body isn’t at fault. Both are.”

"There's only one governing body that holds any power right now," Nemesis corrected the frilled lizard's own correction. "And as long as they remain in power, the Predacons are stuck as second tier citizens. Until someone revolts, of course."

“Yea, because a leader that willingly kills his own men just because they aren’t up to his standards or don’t follow his point of view just screams perfect leader material.” She responded dryly, “I would keep your intentions to remain on your own when this all ends to yourself, Megatron won’t take kindly to it.”

While it was true not all of Megatron's actions sat just right with Nemesis, she hadn't actually been there to see the execution Frilla was referencing. Perhaps there had been more to it than any of them knew. If not it was certainly a bit problematic, but it didn't really do much to deter Nemesis' beliefs that they needed to unite under a single strong leader to make the changes they so desperately needed. If it turned out they needed to revise those plans somewhere down the line, well, that's exactly what they would have to do.

"Not that your concerns for my safety aren't appreciated, I would really worry more about your own skidplate if I were you. As you pointed out already, not all Predacons are forgiving in nature, and you have been labelled a traitor after all."

She made a slight sigh before continuing.

"Yes, I get that you advocate for someone like Primal. He is a good leader, I give you that, but he's also a Maximal and as such will not fight for our kin. Either out of principle or because he simply won't be allowed to by his own superiors. "


She sighed since it was becoming blatantly clear the two females weren't going to come to any agreement on this. If there truly had been two governing powers and if the Predacon council actually had any gumption to speak up, maybe it wouldn't have come to this. But as things were, both councils would have to be replaced. Although she wasn't oblivious to the problems that could arise from letting someone like Megatron be the catalyst for such a change in the power structure, he seemed like the lesser evil. Perhaps he could be reasoned with when the time came. Hopefully.

Nemesis paid little heed to the disapproving look the rodent gave her as she continued tormenting him as payback for his lack of respect earlier. His earlier outburst had left her a bit aggravated, only adding fuel to the annoyance she felt about herself for being careless enough to have gotten herself caught. Besides it was rather amusing to see if the rat would squirm, even though he seemed to have calmed himself considerably after Frilla persuaded him to lower his weapon.

Still.. She shouldn't have waited until she was the last Predacon left, she knew that approach was risky especially since she was the second in command of the Predacons, yet she felt it was her obligation to make sure the others made it out before she did. For the most part her reasoning had been sound. There weren't many Maximals who could have stopped her, and as far as she knew the one that could was otherwise preoccupied at the brig.

How mistaken she had been, that much was obvious now.

"I ain't worried about 'im,"

Perhaps you haven't quite understood the situation then.., Nemesis thought somewhat bitterly to herself. Primal had taken it upon himself to save the life of the one individual Megatron wanted dead more so than the monkey himself, so to her it seemed like a no-brainer that the Maximal leader was venturing into dangerous territory here.

"Are you?"

Yes. Yes, she was worried. Megatron would have no peeves against destroying Optimus as well to prevent him from interfering. If anything it would be an added bonus to the tyrant, one more reason to celebrate. Although Nemesis was partly starting to find some relief in knowing she wasn't there for the slaughter.

"I suppose seeing your commander getting blown up once wasn't enough to satisfy you," Nemesis muttered, the mockery she had showed Rattrap only moments before quickly fading. It truly was foolish of Primal to take it upon himself to risk everything for one individual, but perhaps even more so for his crew to have such undying devotion and faith in him. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew exactly what Megatron intended to do that made her so worried, or perhaps it was knowing the lengths Primal would go to stop him..

As well as the knowledge that if Primal did get himself killed or captured, that was going to leave her at the mercy of the other Maximals. An offer to trade against Primal for his life, which would surely cost her a lot more than she was willing to consider. Or perhaps it was that lingering ache from watching Primal die on the monitor the first time.

"Ya know, as much as I'd like ta agree with ya on dat, 'cause nobody likes that slaggin' shape shifter, Optimus is probably doin' the right thing, somethin' nobody else has done for Zodiac. Heck, you can probably relate to that. Am I right?"

The avian female's hands balled into fists, her arms almost trembling from the strain against the cuffs, as she took in the rodent's words. Who did this rat think he was anyway? What gave him the right to offer absolution to the one who had caused so much pain and chaos onto both their sides? And how dared he compare her experiences to that of Zodiac? She had never gone to the lengths the shape shifter had for such a childish desire for revenge, for..

It was the realization that she was partaking in Megatron's scheme to produce a very similar end result to that Zodiac had wanted to do that quickly made her anger soften. Her hands unclenched almost immediately and her gaze lowered to the floor as she let out a defeated sigh.

"You're.. right," she then said in a much quieter tone. Zodiac had spent much of his life being used as a scapegoat, so him lashing out shouldn't really have come as that big of a surprise. Although his methods could certainly have been improved upon, Nemesis had done everything in her power to avoid considering what the younger male had to endure.

"But consider this.. Even if Optimus does manage to save him, you Maximals would have to shelter him from then on. Megatron would never give up, so it won't be safe for Zodiac to roam free. Are you ready to take on such a responsibility.. and risk..?"


The small group disbanded, leaving Nemesis to wander the hallways with Frilla. She walked in silence for a short time, until the noise made by the lone attacker once more caused some disturbances at the Axalon. However at least it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been during the previous attack.

"That's great, Aurora," "I'll need your assistance as well,"

Aurora was happy to hear that, since frankly right now she needed something to keep her mind preoccupied. She was so often thinking about things, making plans and developing new ideas, or tinkering with one invention or another.. Resulting in her losing focus when those thoughts of her drifted off. And despite her usually happy-go-get attitude, she also carried around a great deal of worry.. Certainly now that so many of their team members had gone off.. somewhere.. to aid the individual who had almost killed them all a few months ago.

"Those Pred-heads just can't help themselves, can they?," the fuzor replied, addressing the recent attack and the damages left in its wake as well as their present house guest. Ugh, Primal really needed to stop taking in every stray off the street, or at the very least put a gag on them when he did so they wouldn't run their mouth so much.

"But I'm sure we'll hear from them soon. Don't worry."

"I can't help it," Aurora muttered with a hint of the growing frustration she was feeling. "Optimus promised me he'd stop taking these foolish risks, and then so blatantly disregards his words so that he can rush in to save those who don't even want to be saved." There was a hint of bitterness in her words.

Well, honestly she didn't really know what Zodiac wanted, since she hadn't spent much time around him. Truthfully she avoided him like the plague after he had made a couple of attempts at her life, so his motivation was somewhat vague to her. And irrelevant, really. She'd never forgive him no matter what.

And now Nemesis' words of warning were stuck in her head, since frankly they made as much sense as anything else that had happened lately. If Optimus succeeded, Zodiac would continue to be their responsibility.

"Well, if we just put 'em in stasis lock, we can use 'em ta occupy the stasis hold and strap 'em in with seat belts,"

Oh good ol' Rattrap. Always managing to infuse at least a semblance of humor into an otherwise very real problematic situation. Aurora had hugged the rodent a little tighter, genuinely happy he had recovered from his ordeal as well as he had.

"We should do the same to Zodiac. If he survives," the fuzor said half-jokingly, although she knew quite well that Optimus would never allow such solutions. As lovable as the big ape was, he was also extremely forgiving.

"Optimus,"

The relieved response when Rhinox got a confirmatory message from their commanding officer, revealing once and for all that he was not only all right but also returning to base, immediately pulled Aurora's attention to where Rhinox was standing. She let out an involuntary sigh of relief, which honestly they probably all did, her ears perking up as she tried to catch as much of Optimus' status report as possible.

Rhinox gave Optimus a quick update on their situation, but as much as Aurora wanted to intervene she refrained from doing so. For now. When Optimus returned, she'd be first in line for an audience. Even if it might not quite be the one the leader would want. After a hug, since those were pretty much mandatory, she would have to let him know how disappointed she was he'd ignore her words of caution.

"Guess their mission was a success," Aurora told Rattrap in private, "Thank Primus for that! Although I might just use some of my sticky goop to keep Optimus in one spot while I talk to him after he gets back here."

She sounded almost serious, but quickly quieted down when Rhinox addressed the two of them again.

"He's heading for the brig. I'll meet him there head on,"

Waspinator.. Was he just being stupid by attacking them again or overly obedient? Well, whatever caused him to do this, he was about to face off against some mighty painful weapons. And annoyed as the rhinoceros looked as well as Rattrap, who had truly been through the pit and back today, the transmetal insect had certainly picked the wrong crew to mess with.

"Rattrap, take to the roof, and we'll corner him. If you get those auto-guns back on-line, Aurora, we could probably use the additional support. Let's move!"

Aurora watched as the two males rushed off to corner their second unwanted visitor before she, too, hurried off to do what she could to help. Fortunately she didn't have to go very far since the autogun controls were located in the bridge. Of course there was some damage done to them after Nemesis and Terrorsaur paid them a visit earlier, but at first glance it didn't really look too badly. And all in all she could always hold off on the permanent fix and merely do a temporary one by essentially duct taping some of the wires back together until they had more time on their hands. Well, it was a little more complicated than that, of course, but shouldn't be too hard. So the fuzor got to work reconnecting the wires as quickly as she could while keeping a keen optic on the progress on the monitor.

Meanwhile, still in the corridors leading up to the brig, Nemesis stopped as Frilla pulled out her weapon to make it clear what her intentions were. The avian female grimaced a bit, sending a brief glare at the other female after eyeing her weapon first. Indeed, she remembered all too well how her entire system had malfunctioned the last time the frilled lizard had hit her with a weapon.

“Sorry Nem, I’m so inclined to put faith in my friends they can handle Waspinator themselves, and for your safety...”

The female in question shrugged her shoulders, trying to ignore the other female's warning. She knew Frilla didn't like violence, however she had no reason to doubt that she was serious about shooting her to prevent her from entering the brig.

"Have it your way," the avian replied as she stopped her movements completely and merely leaned against the wall while holding her cuffed hands clearly visible in front of her. "I was only offering to help," she then added, but her voice did little to hide the disappointment she was feeling right now even if her body language was straight on.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to remain right where we are. If Waspinator discovers you’re here he could report this to Megatron and you will be in some deep slag if he doesn’t already suspect you gave up everything and butted into his plans.”

Slowly the grimace on the avian's face dissipated to be replaced with an ever so slight grin. "How kind of you to care so much. I'll make sure to return the favor when you're the one faced with Megatron's wrath."

Of course she wasn't nearly as confident as she sounded at that moment. She did harbor some doubts due to Megatron's unruly and unpredictable nature. After all she had been on the receiving end of his beatings before and it wasn't something she cared to repeat. But with any luck Megatron would be in a better mood after having caused the renegade's demise, and with any luck she wouldn't return to the Darksyde completely empty-handed either. Primal had promised her a sample of .. whatever he had scraped off his armor after all.

But for the time being she would comply with their request.. or rather demand that she stay put while they deal with Waspinator. She could use a little more time to plan out her return to the Darksyde too, however much she had available before Primal returned. If he did, that is. Hopefully she'd hear something soon. And preferably she'd like to get out of here before Optimus got to talking to Rattrap about what had really gone down..

It burned.. His entire abdomen and chest felt like it was on fire, with the flames or at least the equivalent thereof spreading through his limbs all the way to his fingertips. As the young dragon started to regain at least some semblance of consciousness, this was all he initially felt. Any physical injuries he had sustained during this altercation with the Predacons were already mostly healed now that his nanomachines were operational again, but the content of the injection Tarantulas had given him was still very much so making their mark on him.

His optics flickering on, taking a moment to adjust to his surroundings, Zodiac looked around with a rather confused, and pained, expression on his face. The movements of his head were faint, slowed, and very much so forced, and although his vision was blurry at first it did start to clear up a bit.

He noticed movement around him.. A tiger and a falcon. But in his haze he couldn't place them, nor did he feel like he knew them. Where was he? What happened to him?

“What do you know, kid survived all that.”

The dragon's barely conscious form was too weak for him to fully comprehend what they were saying at first. In fact initially their voices sounded almost garbled to him, as if someone was trying to talk to him underwater. Who were they talking about..?

“So far, but if he survives this let’s hope he survives the angry Maximals that come after.”

Now the female's words came across as a little bit clearer, yet he still had no idea what was going on. It honestly felt as if he was floating outside his body, listening to these individuals discuss him from the outside. Maximals? Who were they? And for that sake, who was he?

He tried so hard, but he couldn't access the data banks that could answer these questions. Slowly, very weakly, he reached out for one of them. Or at least tried to, until his hand weakened too much and simply dropped limp to his side.

Oh how his insides burned..

Zodiac couldn't avoid grimacing in pain as he took to a fetal position while these bots carried him off to the Axalon, which was already within view and then came closer and closer. But the dragon couldn't focus on it, he really couldn't focus on anything other than the intense burning sensation inside. It genuinely felt like what he imagined death must feel like.. if death was indeed as cruel and painful as this. Yet still he was getting stronger by the moment, and slowly but surely the burning sensation started to fade.

In the meanwhile Tarantulas and his small armada of drones had arrived safely at one of his many lairs. Still weakened and wounded from his ordeal, the spider took some precautions as he carefully let the drones help him inside for the repairs he so desperately needed.

"I suppose seeing your commander getting blown up once wasn't enough to satisfy you,"

"Why I oughtta...!" Rattrap nearly pounced on their prisoner, but it took everything he had to keep himself composed and not attack the callous female Predacon since that was probably the exact reaction she wanted from him. "Maybe not," he then said and probably taking everyone else aback. "We did get dese pretty sweet TransMetal upgrades. Maybe we'd get somethin' more next time." But his sarcasm was drier than usual, and he obviously hadn't met what he said. "In case you've forgotten, dat wasn't his fault," he proceeded to remind her. "He never intended ta die up there. But, you know, we sure as heck wouldn't have seen you makin' any sacrifices like that. By the way, did ya ever thank him?" Lousy Predacons would've been dead a long time ago if Optimus hadn't done what he had. All of them would be gone. And Nemesis had the audacity to stand there and throw that painful day in his face so bluntly, actually implying that Rattrap would support or even enjoy seeing his leader get killed again.

"You're.. right,"

Well, well, well, ain't that a kicker. She finally admitted it.

"But consider this.. Even if Optimus does manage to save him, you Maximals would have to shelter him from then on. Megatron would never give up, so it won't be safe for Zodiac to roam free. Are you ready to take on such a responsibility.. and risk..?"

"Jeez, you make it sound like Megs is a Terminator," Rattrap smirked to the side as he referenced the sci-fi franchise that had been created by humans. "We all know dat even though he can hold grudges, sooner or later somethin' else is gonna grab his attention, and Zodiac will be peanuts ta him. Besides, Nemmy, we could just keep Zodiac sedated in stasis lock, and he won't even be a problem." The rodent tried to shrug it off, but her words were true, and he wasn't looking forward to playing babysitter for some murderous juvenile renegade. No way. That was waaay below his pay grade. How did Optimus plan on keeping Zodiac restrained once he returned with him? He guessed they'd all find out soon enough.

-----

“Perhaps, but being more diligent and ready for anything is just as effective. We are not the Predacons Cheetor, never forget that.”

“There is only one way we’ll ever truly be rid of Megatron and his merry band of misfits, being peaceful all the time won’t solve everything.” “As much as you Maximals might dislike the thought, we may not have a choice but to show more force than we have. They will force our hand as they have today, because next time it could be one of our own under the grasp of the Predacons as before.”

“I certainly hope you are wrong, both you and Cheetor.”

“I know we’re not Tigatron, but Dinobot has a point. We’ve let the Predacons walk all over us in this war and our ways aren’t going to cut it alone.”

"We'll discuss this later," Optimus finally intervened over his shoulder toward his group as his tone suggested that he wanted to hear them out as well as their suggestions on the matter, but right now he needed to focus on another predicament; Wintersong's physical state, and to help her back to base. He had caught Cheetor's apologetic glance to him even though it wasn't entirely necessary. Like every father or guardian, one day they have to let go of their child or student because they did eventually grow up and become their own bot. Optimus wasn't going to be able to hold a wing over Cheetor and Aurora forever to protect them and guide them. And Primal had to be more careful now not to push the cheetah away by being too overbearing or overprotective.

Well, more time for that later, he thought as the others began their trek back to the Axalon and the ape activated his hoverboard. He grumbled a little from the pain in his leg that also functioned as part of the board, but he breathed through it thanks to some of Whitegrazer's meditation tricks and motioned Wintersong to climb on the front of it.

“Sorry Optimus, I’m fine, just after effects of cyber venom. For all his annoyance, Quickstrike packs quite a bit of punch.”

The Maximal leader gave the tigress a nod in agreement. "When he's actually capable of hitting his mark," he said a bit lightheartedly at the Fuzor's expense while not suggesting that her efforts to avoid it weren't enough. His internal scanners did detect some venom coursing through her, so at least she was being honest about that, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was also using it as a disguise for the lingering trauma that her body was obviously going through because of the Vok. "Still, you managed to recover quicker than most who are subjected to it," Primal stated his earlier observation out loud as though he felt there was a little more to it than what she was letting on, especially since he felt or heard those alien whispers again.

“Yea, I wouldn’t mind a lift back since it would give us a chance to start talking at least.

Optimus adjusted the balance for her added weight as she climbed aboard before easing them both upward and igniting the thrust in his rear engine that also acted as his gun.

I’ve been thinking since earlier about what Whitegrazer said and past experiences with the Vok...You were right, I can’t do this without talking to someone and who better than someone whose been through similar ordeals.”

He was glad to hear that she was ready to talk about her abduction or seclusion; whatever the case had really been, assuming she could remember much about it. But at least she could talk him through the changes she had been enduring with her body lately. "It hasn't been easy," Primal admitted to Wintersong hoping that it would help her open up about her own experiences. "I continue to suffer from side affects from my past encounters with them. It will be a long road to recovery... if there ever is one. I'm truly sorry for what you must be going through. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Fortunately, with Whitegrazer's help, I've been able to cope with most of it considering how spontaneous it can be," he added with optimism for the infected tigress. "What can you tell me about your symptoms? And the voices?" inquired Optimus. "Aside from the illuminated anomaly on your breastplate, which has expanded, your optics have also changed color." There was some concern in his warm voice but no anxiety over it.

“Optimus, Rhinox, Zodiac is alive, barely but still signs of life. We should be arriving back to the Axalon shortly.”

"Copy that, Airazor," Primal acknowledged to the falcon relieved to hear that what ever had happened in the forest they had managed to escape with the shapeshifter and return to HQ. "We're on our way."

"Those Pred-heads just can't help themselves, can they?,"

"Ta say the least," Rattrap had commented to his fellow, petite comrade.

"I can't help it," "Optimus promised me he'd stop taking these foolish risks, and then so blatantly disregards his words so that he can rush in to save those who don't even want to be saved."

The green and brown engineer frowned at Aurora's explanation as to why she was a little more upset about their leader's escapade this time more than usual, so he offered her his thoughts. "Optimus was very confident in their success, Aurora. He wouldn't have rushed off so hastily if he didn't think the odds were in their favor. Most of the Preds were already low on ammunition, and a couple were already injured. Perhaps he didn't see it as great a risk."

"We should do the same to Zodiac. If he survives,"

"It's pretty much de only option left, ain't it?" the rodent snickered with the ermine/butterfly Fuzor.

"Guess their mission was a success," "Thank Primus for that! Although I might just use some of my sticky goop to keep Optimus in one spot while I talk to him after he gets back here."

Rattrap smiled at Aurora and gave her a thumbs up since he was just as happy to hear about them winning and coming back home until she mentioned that "sticky goop". "The same goop you used on me?" he playfully glared at her as he recalled dangling from the ceiling of his quarters and her laughing at him in the process. "Well... it'd be effective, I'll give you that."

“Optimus, Rhinox, Zodiac is alive, barely but still signs of life. We should be arriving back to the Axalon shortly.”

Rhinox, having also received Airazor's transmission, was happy to hear that, but he felt even more pressure now to get rid of this insect before they arrived since her team had probably dealt with enough for one day. The last thing they needed was another scuffle from a Predacon straggler. "Airazor, we're currently engaged with Waspinator. See if you guys can sneak into the base while we keep him occupied, and take Zodiac directly to the infirmary. We can't risk Waspinator attacking you and Zodiac," he explained over his comm. link before he bumped into the TransMetal wasp in the crumbled brig.

“Waspinator aware of retreat, but come here for different reason.

Watching the Predacon land and be mindful of his current situation with Rhinox's chain guns targeting him, the rhinoceros held his fire to give Waspinator the chance to explain himself since he hadn't started firing yet either, eyeing him closely and carefully while Rattrap got into position from above on the exterior of their base.

“Tell Waspinator whereabouts of bird-bot and will leave without further problems, rhino-bot and Waspinator have a deal?”

So, he did know that Nemesis was here or had been here. Maybe if Rhinox could think of a convincing bluff, they could avoid a fire fight altogether and send the insect on a wild goose chase. Giving him a small smile and seeing how uncomfortable his large guns made the Predacon, the engineer lowered one of his weapons while maintaining his target with the other and answered, "Fair enough, Waspinator. Assuming you're talking about Nemesis, you just missed her. She left about fifteen minutes ago after scrambling our scanners so we couldn't trace her signature. She's probably on her way to the Darksyde, so judging by my calculations, you'll be the last one to show up, and I don't think Megatron will take kindly to your tardiness." Hopefully that would suffice and scare him off.

Out of the corner of Rhinox's optic, he could see Rattrap's head popping in upside down along with his gun from the gaping hole in the brig behind Waspinator's position to see what was going on, but the robust Maximal scientist made no noticeable movement that would have triggered the Predacon to look behind him. He remained calm while he spoke to Waspinator which Rattrap took as a signal to hold his fire for the moment.

-----

“Ah, then you are familiar with who I am already, for the most part.”

"Quite," Megatron replied as they continued their walk, "Until you... vanished... from the headlines."

“I was planted here by the former war general, Magmatron. I am sure you are familiar with him no doubt.”

"Indeed." Magmatron. Interesting. But why plant a spy within an insignificant Maximal exploration crew that was potentially going to be lost in space? How much could Magmatron have possibly known about this elaborate plan? Or, perhaps, it was purely coincidence...

“I use to be a loyal follower of the Tripedicus Council back during the wars against the Maximals, when being a Predacon still meant something, when we were proud to call ourselves conquers. Now, I’m concerned a disgraced soldier and an insult to the Predacon name all because our so called governing body went soft.”

“You worked for those bolts for brains? Are you kidding me? Their leadership was weak from the moment they took over in their attempts, and the Predacons were doomed to fail under their guidance.” “You and many more were blinded by their hollow promises Terrabite and you paid for it in full. Sometimes the hard lessons have to set in before you find the right path, hm.”

Megatron grinned to himself as he enjoyed listening to Terrabite and Spineback badmouth the incompetent Council. It wouldn't have tolerated on Cybertron, but here on this planet, it was free-game with no consequences.

“Excuse my outburst, it still gets under my armor knowing we roll over for the Maximal scum. And believe what you want, I do not take the term spy willingly but act out of a need to have some semblance of knowing others want to see them fall once and for all.” “Sure it is not news to you, but you are not the only Predacon assembling troops to rally behind your efforts, but you are the most spoken out, but correct me if I am wrong in that regard. I have had to show a great deal of restraint these past many years after my “rehabilitation” if you can call it that, which I showed today to get a feel for what the situation was.”

"My so-called... 'outspoken efforts' were merely... a ploy to deflect any attention... from my true intentions," Megatron explained through his anguish that had been recently beaten into him but deliberately failed to go into detail since he wasn't sure yet that he could trust this Predacon or what he already knew. It wasn't that he hadn't meant what he said with which ever instances Terrabite was referring to, but he was the secretive type despite his past gloating, and it boosted his ego to hear about other Predacons following him in his footsteps. To know that there was indeed an uprising and that he wasn't alone only fueled his objective more and pushed him toward success. And what a triumph it will be, yesss.

“Planted here or not, you’ve come to the right place. The type of leader the Predacons have needed stands right before you, granted you prove to be trustworthy of course.”

Again Megatron couldn't help but smile to himself. Granted he was missing a few sharp teeth, but he smiled deviously nonetheless. Even if Spineback was just brown-nosing. But she was the type to stand with him; he could tell. Inferno as well. And Nemesis? Well, she had better have a good excuse for her absence, because even though she had saved his life after Zodiac's assassination attempt on him, he would be quick to reprimand her and demote her current rank.

“You’re kidding right? You want another psychopathic killer among our ranks when we already got two of them running around, one of which barely listens to you as it is.”

"I detect an incredible... amount of similarities there... with you, Terrorsaur. Do I not?" the TransMetal t-rex threw back at the hypocrite. "Do not question... my judgement! He is precisely... the temperament we need... to be rid of these Maximals... and to return our kin... back to where they belong... in this universe."

“How do you intend to prove his loyalty this time? No reasonable Predacon is this open about who he is or was, even you wouldn’t be so stupid as to take his word as true.”

Growling out of aggravation now, desperately wanting to strangle the 'dactyl for blatantly talking back at him especially in front of the new recruit, Megatron responded to the dinosaur flier with, "At this very moment... I have more reason to trust him... than I do you! I will decide on the manner... in which he proves his loyalty to me," he emphasized, "and you will accept it... like the subordinate Predacon... you are meant to be... under my ruling!"

“Whatever you say.

He heard Rampage's grumbling from the rear but opted not to respond to it. If he was disappointed about missing out on devouring any sparks that day, then that was his problem, not Megatron's. The Predacon dictator offered him two opportunities, and the way he saw it, the crab failed to act on them. Let him sulk about it if he chose to, Megatron had bigger things to contemplate than a sour Transformer among his troops. There would always be more opportunities. And he might have a bigger role for Rampage to play in the future.

As the group continued their stroll toward the lava pit where the Darksyde resided, the air got hotter and drier, and the terrain much rockier and with an ominous atmosphere. "There we are," he announced. "Home sweet home."

“Waspinator hears Megatron loud and clear, but Waspinator investigating bird-bot’s disappearance, have suspicions where she might be.” “Waspinator will only be a short time.”

Megatron refrained himself from threatening the wasp if he didn't obey his orders since, frankly, he wanted to know where Nemesis was as well. He wasn't detecting her signature at Predacon headquarters after all. Wherever Waspinator was, if given enough time, maybe he would find her. "Very well," he allowed. "Do it quickly!" he added very adamantly with little patience.

(( OOC: My apologies for rushing this and if some of it doesn't make sense. I will be too busy the next couple evenings to work on it, so, I wanted to get this done tonight. ))

By this point, the transmetal frilled lizard opted to leave the conversation about faction loyalty and their governing bodies at that. Neither of them were getting anywhere, agreeing only on a few things at best and conflicting in more ways than one. Frilla personally thought both views were right, that change was in fact needed, but not the way Nemesis and the rest of the Darksyde crew thought it should be handled.

Shaking her head, she said nothing further on the matter and neither did she remark further on the verbal match she continued to have with Rattrap. Part of her just began to slowly regret perhaps not letting the rodent do so in the first place, her attempts at defending Nemesis beginning to seem moot anymore. Why did most Predacons have to be so prideful and stubborn? Especially someone trying to side with them in the moment? She mentally just grumbled to herself, silently wishing of all the Predacons that had awakened or crash landed on the planet the Predacon has been Glowstick to have been captured. He had at least been easier to talk with and willing to negotiate, something other than argue.

Unfortunately, their leaving the medical bay to the halls down from most of the rest of the ship only made that decision even more difficult. “Your offer was noted, but save it in case bug boy does something stupid. Rhinox, Rattrap, and Aurora were already on it so just sit back and relax for a bit.” Frilla told her, keeping herself at the ready but remaining composed once more.

No sooner had she calmed down though did Nemesis feel the need to throw more fuel on the fire, already pushing her patience to the limits. “Little ol’ me labeled a traitor? You don’t say.” Frilla responded sarcastically, “You want to tell me something I don’t know Nemesis.” She muttered, listening down the halls for signs of problems, but so far had heard nothing. “And I’ll pay for my perceived “sins” against the Predacons one day, but not in the near future. If Megatron held any enthusiasm to have me and Dinobot eliminated, he wouldn’t have wasted an opportunity to get one of his enemies knocked out. But then again, you did fail to take out Dinobot so I suppose I may not be giving him enough credit.” Frilla pointed out, mind wandering to the container Optimus had given her earlier. “Be that as it may, if he’s so hellbent on punishing us, I figured you would have acted already and tried to take me out the moment Optimus was gone. Until you know what’s in the container, I would probably be greater leverage than a container full of an unknown substance. But, that’s just my two cents.”

Giving a soft sigh, she merely looked back at the avian female, “But, I suppose we’re fortunate you’re willing to listen to someone you respect too much.”

“Yes sir.” Waspinator gulped slightly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Megatron’s unpredictable anger. He wasn’t sure how the remainder of the mission had gone that day considering he had remained at the Darksyde, but from his leader’s tone he could guess not according to plan.

Focusing on Rhinox, Waspinator waited for the rhinoceros to answer him but being far more weary than that. He knew better than to lower his weapon, index fingers hovering close to the trigger in case he needed to act fast. When Rhinox did give his bluff, the transmetal insect was visible conflicted, wings twitching behind him in uncertainty. It was possible Nemesis could have lingered there for another purpose or had to hide out before she found the opportunity. Given her reputation, there were a few possibilities at hand. Plus, the scientist was right, if he kept the Predacon leader waiting for too long...

It definitely wasn’t Waspinator’s moment, being caught between a rock and a hard place. Giving an angry growl of frustration, he had no choice but to take the large Maximal’s words with a grain of salt. “Waspinator will check for himself then, but find rhino-bot lying he may have to watch his back next time for lies.” Waspinator threatened, but doubted it would be much of a threat. He had a rep after all for being less than reliable, comedic even in his attempts. With a soft huff, the transmetal insect reluctantly backed off, transforming to beast mode to take his leave.

—————————————

Tigatron still gave Cheetor a skeptical look, feeling he was jumping the gun on that assumption. There was always another way as far as he was concerned but he couldn’t force the younger feline to change his mind. Sooner or later he would start making these decisions for himself and have to decide what was best in the moment.

But, Optimus intervened into their conversation, making it clear it was time to move out. The Predacons by now we’re long gone and the white tiger began to trek back towards the base along with Dinobot. The raptor, however, still silently agreed with the cheetah meanwhile. They had done it by the Maximal code of maintaining something of a peaceful position and doing what they had to in order to defend themselves. But if they hoped to survive in the coming months the raptor felt it was time they started changing their tactics.

“They did not exactly take the publicity well. It drew too much attention that they can’t keep the Predacons in line per the treaty, so I was treated to a quiet tribunal at their expense. Lo and behold, rehabilitation then eventually ending up here trying to gather any intel on the Maximals that could be sued against the Macimal Council.” Terrabite explained. Recapping these events, they felt like only yesterday rather than over a period of several decades. And it put some things in perspective that no matter what the Predacons did, if actions did not fall under their view of subtle takeover dedicated Predacons like himself would suffer.

But he couldn’t help looking back at Spineback, both insulted and embarrassed all at once. He had gone through a period of feeling like the Predacons were in fact successful and could have done great things where the Decepticons had not. To say the least her insults still struck a bit of a nerve that he kept to himself.

“A lesson well learned, and hopefully got me on the proper path to helping our brethren regain their place in the universe.” He stated, wondering if the hyping up of Megatron would be worth it. Even if it wasn’t, this was really his only other option until they returned to Cybertron so he was going to have to make the most of his time and see where things went. In speaking of which, turning his head forward again his eyes were greeted with the sight of the Darksyde, a cruiser that had seen better days than it’s present condition. Add the blistering heat of the lava pools to it as well didn’t exactly give a warm welcome, so to speak. But he was use to that, though the heat would be another thing, already feeling some discomfort. “Not bad. Could use some work, but seems like home.” He spoke, turning back to Megatron, “I can do some repairs or modifications to the systems if you ever need them, my skills fall into the field of mechanical engineering so I could give this place some improvements. Or otherwise offer my services.” His cold gaze briefly narrowed at Terrorsaur, already having a feeling he might yet resort to old tricks against traitors...

Unfortunately, being back at the Darksyde quickly brought back the concern of Megatron’s wrath. Quickstrike was all too aware he had screwed up earlier in their mission, having let several prisoners get free alll due to his need to have a fight and prove he could handle the situation. Instead, he had once more come out looking incompetent, so when they arrived and transformed, the small fuzor was left feeling a little nervous, half hoping Megatron’s injured state and having the newcomer around would delay the inevitable punishment to come.

((Sorry for the wait, had a busy weekend this week so apologies if it is a bit rushed.))

Once Optimus had activated his hover board, albeit showing some pain when he did causing the tigress to briefly watch him closely for a moment, she finally climbed on to sit on the end of it. She had always found it strange to see someone as a passenger on the hover board, especially someone of Rhinox’s size but somehow Optimus always seemed to not mind the added weight. For her it was a first, holding on tight as Optimus lifted them both up, “I will never understand why anyone wouldn’t want to keep their feet on the ground.” She joked, much preferring to feel solid ground as opposed to nothing at all.

But she chuckled with amusement at the lighthearted reply by the ape, only able to give a small nod, “No kidding. Guess when he’s actually got motivation he’s trickier than we give him credit for.” But, it was more of a nuisance than anything. Considering Quickstrike’s slip up earlier in the day she couldn’t exactly blame him for trying harder than normal. No sooner had he said that though did the subject shift towards the subject she was most wanting to avoid, but she knew she couldn’t avoid this talk forever. As Optimus said, it seemed to be spreading more than she was expecting usually from resistance or moments of high emotion.

She gave a soft sigh, trying to figure out where to start as she listened to Optimus share a bit of his own experiences, wondering what exactly he was going through compared to her. “Whitegrazer did suggest meditation, but I don’t know if I would have the patience for that sort of thing.” Wintersong admitted, staring down at the passing ground below them, “The voices are an easy answer, I guess when I awoke a few days ago they left a part of their presence within my own, so now it’s like having a second voice at the back my mind. Somehow a part of their being is...infused within me or something of that nature, it’s hard to explain but it might be the cause. And add that weird link we have it would explain why you can hear them from time to time.” Wintersong explained the best she could, but even she seemed stumped by such a phenomenon. More so she was still uncertain about the link and how it had been created.

Then came the question that made Wintersong frown in thought, recalling Rattrap had also observed something similar. “Rattrap mentioned the changes optics earlier too before me and Tigatron brought him in for repairs.” The transmetal tigress admitted, “And to be honest that’s the most prominent symptom, whatever this marking that keeps spreading. I know when it does it’s slow and agonizing, like my insides are slowly being taken over and it appears to be what allows the Vok to be present.” She told him, “And I know I just...I find it difficult to keep my aggression in check more than ever, As of right now, that’s all I can give you.” Although, Wintersong did decide to hold back a couple other things such as blacking our briefly that day and unsure if that would be a common occurrence and the fact she felt a need to return to the site.

Cheetor was thankful for Optimus butting into the argument, well aware this topic would be one for the whole crew to decide upon. Given what had happened, it was no doubt they would likely discuss their next course of action or what to do in the coming future. Megatron has really let loose today, from using some of them as hostages to nearly killing Rattrap and tearing up their base more than they ever had done before.

Quite frankly, it was getting old really fast. The situation wasn’t helped by the fact Megatron seemed to be getting more and more allies that were best described as heavy hitters with his sneakiest of members slipping by in the chaos. It just made the young cheetah desire to do better in the coming future, noting to himself he had to be more responsible and diligent with his training. For now though, he kept on a straight shot path towards the Axalon, more than eager to see how the others were doing.

“Copy that, we’ll see what we can do.” Airazor answered, hoping the remainder of their returning teammates would return without further incident. It had been a rough day as it was and be last thing they needed was Waspinator only adding to everything else.

But the movement by Zodiac causes her to look with surprise, steering herself closer to the weakened dragon who seemed to be slowly coming around. Despite the beating he had taken, she was amazed he could move at all. “Tigerhawk, we’ll have to take the bridge entrance, it’s closer and farthest away from everything else on the ship.” To be honest, Airazor wasn’t entirely sure where Waspinator was and figured it was the quickest way they could take without avoiding further trouble as she guided Tigerhawk to fly low to increase their chances of avoiding detection.

Once the fuzor has landed, he allows Airazor to help Zodiac for a moment, the falcon moving one of the dragon mech’s arms over her shoulder and slowly urging him to move to his feet while also giving him some leverage. Growling as he transformed to robot mode, Tigerhawk took the opposite side to ease some of the weight off Airazor who was still smaller than Zodiac in terms of size and bulk, “Come on Zodiac, talk to us. You need to hold on a little longer.” Tigerhawk tried to encourage Zodiac to speak, clearly seeing he was in pain and weakened and hoped he might be able to give them some answers to what pain he might be dealing with or what could be done to help him. For now, they could only wait as the two Maximals moved to the lift that had lowered upon the sensors detecting their movement and stepping onto the platform to take them up.

Once inside the ship, they relaxed a bit more, Tigerhawk immediately taking notice of the shape the bridge was in, seeming somewhat better than when he had left but not by much. He also noticed the young fuzor had taken Rhinox’s place in repairs, “Good to see you up and moving, Aurora.” He greeted her as Airazor offered a quick nod to add to it, showing some signs of struggling with Zodiac’s weight as they moved through towards the hall leading towards the infirmary, They couldn’t stay long to chat unfortunately, both of the fliers moving quickly to get Zodiac in the medical room, laying him in the closest bed available.

+++++++++++++++++

Terrorsaur flinched as Megatron snapped at him, somewhat taken aback by bringing up concerns he figured the tyrant would actually be interested in being brought up. For once, he was trying to be somewhat genuine in his questioning of the claims Terrabite was making, but again Megatron had little interest in hearing his words. Grumbling in irritation he scoffed softly then, “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t try to bring some concern to the matter.” With that the transmetal flier backed off once more, remaining quiet for the rest of the way.

Spineback paid little mind to Terrorsaur’s outburst, having lost track how many times he was lucky not to be on the receiving end of Megatron’s wrath or pushing someone’s limits. Sometimes she wondered if the pterodactyl even had an off switch at all. Rolling her eyes, she put her attention back to Terrabite, noting he seemed embarrassed in his support in the past, no doubt caught up in the whirlwind of lies and empty promises given to him and may others. Then again, he probably had been young and inpressionable like many, finding their purpose in promising, grand plan that ultimately failed.

“Hmm, yes I suppose they wouldn’t want a scandal on their hands would they. Primus forbid they have more blood on their hands, but...” Spineback lightly shrugged her shoulders, “Strategically, your knowledge of the council could prove worthwhile should we all survive and make it to Cybertron. Inside knowledge could make them easier to knock them down a peg or several.” Such a thought seemed quite enticing actually, to make the traitors to their ancestors and the Predacons suffer for their cowardice and going soft. As for the upstart Magmatron...well, it was something of a pleasant thought to know others back home had the same general idea, to finally no longer allow a flimsy treaty from allowing them to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

If she were to ever finally cease to function due to age, she hoped her final days would be to see the conquering of the Maximals and what remained of the Autobots.

Once they arrived to the Darksyde, Spineback’s skepticism was put on the back burner as her thoughts switched from warrior to medic mode, “Home sweet home, and home sweet med bay for some of you.” She spoke up, turning her head towards Terrorsaur who she noted seemed to try and continue on inside, “Terrorsaur, take Inferno to the CR tanks, he could use a long soak.” She prompted, causing the transmetal flier to growl and reluctantly comply, “Whatever you say doctor.” He mumbled, still irritated from before as he flew over and roughly hauled the unconscious ant from her back and carried him inside, allowing her to transform to robot mode. “May have to worry about your offer for a later time Terrabite,” She spoke up after hearing his suggestion, her next immediate priority being Megatron who was the most battered aside from Inferno, “I recommend some time in the CR tanks as well sir, or I can repair you myself so you can continue speaking with our guest.” She recommended but gave Megatron to opt on what he wished to be done.

One of the Predacons however held little interest in joining them inside the ship. Rampage had come to a stop on the edge of the perimeter of the base, eyeing the lava pools with disdain since his beast mode made him ill fit to be around such heat for long periods of time. Plus, it also gave him an excuse to be away from the base as much as he wanted much preferring the oceans or water bodies over a place like this, especially rivers and lakes. Such areas gave him ample opportunity to ambush an unsuspecting creature or enemy, something of which he decided he was best suited for than sticking around there.

With a final huff in the direction of his so called team, the transmetal crab changed his route to a far more suitable environment than the Darksyde.

"Why I oughtta...!"

Nemesis raised an optic ridge and fought back the smirk that was threatening to emerge on her face. Yes, she realized that she'd committed some fairly atrocious acts towards the rat, but she still was too much of a Predacon to drop to her knees and grovel for forgiveness. By checking up on the rodent while he was in the repair chamber, she had tried to apologize in her own way, only to get attacked the moment he woke up.

And that was unacceptable, especially from someone so low on the food chain as Rattrap.

Oughtta.. what?, she almost challenged him. And she likely would have, had Rattrap next words not caught her by surprise.

"Maybe not,"

Hmm? What was the rodent blabbering about now?

"We did get dese pretty sweet TransMetal upgrades. Maybe we'd get somethin' more next time."

The female did little to hide how little she appreciated the rat's sarcastic remark, her red optics making a rolling one's eyes gesture before once again settling her gaze on the smaller male.

"Perhaps you should volunteer to be used as the sacrifice next time then. After all it's polite to share the burden," she told him half-jokingly. Or was she? Her own sarcasm might be a tad more difficult to detect.

"In case you've forgotten, dat wasn't his fault,"

"As far as I know the rest of the Maximals hold as much of the blame for what happened as he did, since he's always so eager to play the self sacrifice card to save the rest of you for reasons I cannot fathom..," she snapped back.

"He never intended ta die up there. But, you know, we sure as heck wouldn't have seen you makin' any sacrifices like that. By the way, did ya ever thank him?"

Did she thank him? Probably not.. Primal had made his miraculous return in the midst of the battle that had nearly wiped out the Maximals who were operating under this very rodent's command. So it hadn't exactly been an opportune time to sit down and chat with Optimus about his experiences. And frankly they hadn't really spent much time alone since.

"Nor you," she replied albeit a bit quieter than before, indicating the rat wouldn't have had the guts to throw down his life for the rest like Primal had. Would Nemesis have done it if she knew of the plan beforehand and that flying a pod into the alien weapon would cause its destruction? Maybe.. Part of her almost felt that she would at the very least consider it, but she couldn't really tell for sure since she hadn't been in a similar situation herself.

"Jeez, you make it sound like Megs is a Terminator,"

Now her expression changed to a puzzled one, since she didn't understand the rodent's reference to a human cultural event. Of course she knew of the impact humans ended up having on the war on Cybertron and between the two leading factions making up their race, but she didn't know their history that well.

But since she also didn't want to come across as ignorant of whatever it was the rat was referencing, she merely brushed the thought aside without addressing it.

"We all know dat even though he can hold grudges, sooner or later somethin' else is gonna grab his attention, and Zodiac will be peanuts ta him. Besides, Nemmy, we could just keep Zodiac sedated in stasis lock, and he won't even be a problem."

"Hope you have plenty of sedatives laying around if so, since he is capable of filtering foreign substances like that out much faster than he would without his technology," she then offered, although she highly doubted Primal would even want to keep anyone chemically sedated for longer than necessary. That just wasn't the Maximal leader's style, which honestly was yet another reason she respected him. Most others would simply take the easy way out..

--- ---- ---

"Ta say the least,"

The fuzor had shook her head, not because she disagreed with Rattrap's assessment in any way but rather because it was a shame it had been so easy for them to agree on this topic. Predacons were trouble, pure and simple, and it was quite the dangerous game Optimus was playing by not only agreeing to help the wayward faction from time to time but even go out of his way to keep certain individuals who identified as Predacons safe.

Like Nemesis.. Only a short time earlier this day the avian second-in-command had nearly killed Rattrap against the shields, yet Optimus was still willing to keep her safe from the other Predacons. Aurora tried to understand his reasoning for doing so, but honestly the memories were still too fresh to do that. If it had been up to her, Nemesis would have been shipped off to the Darksyde for Megatron to deal with, or perhaps tossed in the deepest darkest closet they could locate at the Axalon and then forgotten about.. for a time. Not forever, of course, since the fuzor may have been mad but she wasn't a monster either. Still, Optimus reasoning was his own and it wasn't likely he was going to share his innermost feelings on this.. or any.. topic.

"Optimus was very confident in their success, Aurora. He wouldn't have rushed off so hastily if he didn't think the odds were in their favor. Most of the Preds were already low on ammunition, and a couple were already injured. Perhaps he didn't see it as great a risk."

"But perhaps he should have," Aurora muttered in return, not satisfied with how easily Optimus was willing to risk it all for someone who had attempted to destroy them time and time again. "We almost got wiped out by the Predacons after Optimus was..," she started, pausing only because the very thought of that awful night when their leader had gotten himself killed was enough to choke her up and fill her optics with tears. "I just wish he could focus less on trying to solve everyone else's issues and more on just those who truly care about him."

She sounded genuinely a bit hurt, despite the fact both Rattrap and Rhinox had defended Optimus' actions. Just a little while ago he had promised her he would stop these heroics and she had believed him. Only for that belief to get shattered, again, by him rushing off to save someone who frankly didn't deserve to be saved in the fuzor's opinion.

Fortunately then the message that the mission had been a success reached the Axalon, allowing the fuzor to draw in a sigh of relief.

"The same goop you used on me?"

The fuzor shrugged her shoulders a bit while she continued working on the defense system just as the others were about to depart to meet up with Waspinator.. and hopefully kick his oversized striped 'keister' around a bit.

"It's either that or finding a big enough cluster of bananas to keep him eternally distracted," the fuzor said with a tad more humor in her voice. She was still disappointed he had lied, but obviously happy everything seemed to have gone well.

"Well... it'd be effective, I'll give you that."

"Well, he is a gorilla, isn't he? He should love dangling from the ceiling," she added with a bit of a grimace.

“Come on Zodiac, talk to us. You need to hold on a little longer.”

Zodiac made a retching sound as if he was about to throw up, but it didn't go further than a series of dry heaves. Although he did vaguely register that someone was talking to him, he kept drifting in and out of consciousness and wasn't able to fully decipher what had been said nor where he was. In fact he really had no clue where he was or who these bots surrounding him were, only registering that they were holding onto him to prevent him from collapsing onto the floor.

Albeit he tried to move, he really did, his legs felt weak and were constantly threatening to give out underneath him. His body barely able to keep from going limp, his mind a foggy mess. Some of his surroundings almost looked familiar during the short few moments he managed to keep his optics up and his senses awake enough to take in his environment, but he couldn't really tell for sure. Only that he felt weak and sick to his stomach, and confused.. Had this male just addressed him by a name? His name? What had he just called him?

Zodiac..

Yeah, that felt slightly familiar.. But that's all there was. Only a minuscule amount of familiarity, no real memories of anything in his life. Not even who he was. But he was at least aware enough to take note of these two seemingly attempting to help him, or at least that's what he hoped they were doing since he really didn't have the energy to fight them.

"What.. did you.. call me?," he whispered weakly to his benefactors before his body suddenly went limp as the additional strain of forcing himself to speak took so much out of him he temporarily lost consciousness again. And he would have dropped to the floor right then and there had the two of them not worked so hard to keep him up.

Only a matter of minutes had passed after Rattrap and Rhinox had left to deal with Waspinator, before AirRazor and Tigerhawk entered the bridge with the barely conscious Zodiac in tow. Aurora actually had to do a double take to fully comprehend who it was they had dragged in with them, since the black dragon with purple and silver details looked so very different in his present state. Instead of the normally arrogant and intimidating figure he usually portrayed, he seemed like a shadow of his old self who was now barely able to stand on his feet. Barely. Actually upon closer inspection he likely would collapse in a heap on the floor had he not been held up by the two Maximals who arrived with him. His optics flickered on a few times in an attempt to take in his surroundings, only to close again almost immediately as if he simply didn't have the strength or willpower to keep them open.

Yet physically he didn't seem to have any injuries that could explain his condition. Whatever the Predacons had done to him, his nanomachines had healed any physical evidence thereof. Still it was obvious something was very off, and for but a split nanoclick Aurora almost pitied him as he slumped over between the other two Maximals.

“Good to see you up and moving, Aurora.”

It was Tigerhawk who verbally greeted her while AirRazor acknowledged her via a nod. Aurora's mouth must have dropped open from watching the scene unfold as the two of them dragged the dragon between them to the infirmary. It all just felt so surreal.

"Yeah, you guys also..," she muttered as way of response, her optics following the dragon a bit longer than she felt comfortable with. "What happened?!," she then demanded to know, unsure whether she should continue working on the defense system or rush with them to try to do some manual repairs on their guest who didn't have any visible injuries yet still looked like he was ready to join the pit. Unsure how she could even help, she decided to leave it up to the expert.. namely Rhinox. Provided he could get rid of the pesky wasp in time.

Watching them disappear towards the medical bay, Aurora then opened a private channel to Rhinox. "Tigerhawk and AirRazor just brought Zodiac in, but he's in really bad shape, Rhinox. I don't know what's wrong, since I couldn't see any physical injuries on him, but he's definitely not doing great." No matter who the renegade was, what evil deeds he had committed, there was something about seeing him in this bad shape that left a bad taste in the fuzor's mouth. Of course she had no way of knowing what Tarantulas had injected him with and what kind of effect it had on the shapeshifter.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the Axalon, Nemesis remained as patient as she could while waiting for the smaller transmetal lizard to decide on what she wanted to do. Of course she could have mouthed off towards the other female like she had the rat only a short time before, but so far the other female may have expressed a difference in opinion but at least she had kept their discussion relatively civil all things considering. So Nemesis saw no reason to deliberately irk her on like she did the rodent.

“Your offer was noted, but save it in case bug boy does something stupid. Rhinox, Rattrap, and Aurora were already on it so just sit back and relax for a bit.”

The avian shrugged as way of response, well with her hands cuffed she didn't have full movement of her arms anyway. "Relax.. Interesting choice of words. And perhaps not the easiest thing to do in my situation," Nemesis reflected back before her attention was drawn to the box Frilla still held in her possession. "You know since Primal intends to release me anyway, why not just hurry things along a bit. I'll even take his little going-away present off your hands."

Not that she really expected the other female to agree, as Frilla seemed quite the obedient soldier now.

“Little ol’ me labeled a traitor? You don’t say.” “You want to tell me something I don’t know Nemesis.”

"Don't get your scales all ruffled up," the avian replied, "You're hardly the only one to have been given such a label. Even I received it before my previous visit here at the Axalon, although that little mistake has since been cleared up."

Of course that's as far as the similarities between their situations went. Frilla had willingly left the Predacons to join Optimus' team, whereas Nemesis had been forced out for a short while to save her own life after Zodiac had impersonated her and made her look like something she certainly was not.

“And I’ll pay for my perceived “sins” against the Predacons one day, but not in the near future. If Megatron held any enthusiasm to have me and Dinobot eliminated, he wouldn’t have wasted an opportunity to get one of his enemies knocked out. But then again, you did fail to take out Dinobot so I suppose I may not be giving him enough credit.”

Another shrug followed.

"You may not know how Megatron operates as well as you think," Nemesis then pointed out. "But you do have a point.. If either one of you had been viewed as a greater threat, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now," she added with the implication that Frilla and Dinobot would have been killed already. Like Nemesis herself may very well be if she didn't get to leave soon with a good excuse of her whereabouts these past few hours.

“Be that as it may, if he’s so hellbent on punishing us, I figured you would have acted already and tried to take me out the moment Optimus was gone. Until you know what’s in the container, I would probably be greater leverage than a container full of an unknown substance. But, that’s just my two cents.”

No shrug followed this time, instead Nemesis merely sighed as her gaze hit the floor for a moment. Yes, she kept up a bit of an attitude at all times, a shell to protect herself from the horrors she had seen and often partaken in. She tried not to let things get too close, not wanting to expose her innermost thoughts and feelings on most things.

Optimus.. had gotten too close. And she had confided in him at a rare moment of weakness.

"I'm not Megatron..," Nemesis said after a brief pause, sounding neither upset or disappointed. Yes, she may agree with a lot of the tyrant's plans, but she didn't necessarily agree with his methods to get them done. Although she had no doubt Megatron would love the chance to execute anyone who had ever betrayed him, Nemesis didn't see how that would benefit anyone really. And it certainly wouldn't improve her inevitable spark to spark discussion with Optimus.

“But, I suppose we’re fortunate you’re willing to listen to someone you respect too much.”

Willing to listen.. Yes, she certainly was. If she hadn't felt the way she did, she could have simply shot Primal on sight when she was making her attempted escape and none of this would ever have happened. And it was fortunate Megatron hadn't seen her hesitation when it came to firing at the Maximal leader, even though he had seen her bandage his wounds one time. But that event could be explained away as an attempt to keep the prisoners alive for whatever the tyrant had planned for them and so it had.

Respect and fear were basically two sides of the same coin.. right? Because part of her respected Megatron as well as feared him. Feared his capability of destruction, his brutality and his willingness and even eagerness to inflict pain. And oddly enough those feelings were mirrored a bit with Optimus, even though they were different. She respected Primal as well, cared for him in fact, but also found herself a bit afraid of his wrath when she knew she had wronged him. Fear of disappointing him, perhaps. It was a different type of fear, but still very much so real.

"I'm not..," she started to confess, only to be interrupted at the sound of approaching footsteps rounded the corner while heading towards the infirmary. Curiosity got the better of her at that moment and the avian female immediately followed the Maximals inside the room just in time to see them lump the unconscious form of the dragon onto a bed.

The sight that met her caused Nemesis to freeze in her tracks. Zodiac was not in his battle armor, so his scaled dreadlocks were draped across his face and dangling down his shoulders. His wings draped across the floor, having gathered dirt from wherever he had been as well as the trip back here. Also his armor, although free of dents and lacerations, likewise looked as if he had rolled around in the soil. He was shivering as if he was cold, letting out small gasps as if every movement hurt him somehow. He looked utterly pathetic, and frankly younger than she remembered.

At that moment Nemesis forgot all about what Zodiac had done to her, instead she just remembered the spirited youth who had tried his best to comfort her while they were both trapped in their cells. Seeing him like this, now, seemingly clinging to life despite having no visible injuries, left her feeling more than a little guilty about her part in his capture and whatever Megatron had done to him.

And it clearly showed on her face.

"Perhaps you should volunteer to be used as the sacrifice next time then. After all it's polite to share the burden,"

Rattrap had balled his fists with frustration toward Nemesis. She always had to have the last word, didn't she? Of course, Rattrap wasn't much different with his snide remarks and sarcasm. It felt more like a war for who wanted the last word instead of a war for survival. This Predacon was so annoying!

"As far as I know the rest of the Maximals hold as much of the blame for what happened as he did, since he's always so eager to play the self sacrifice card to save the rest of you for reasons I cannot fathom..,"

WHAT?! What was she even talking about?! The rat wanted to scream and curse at Nemesis, but somehow he managed to hold his tongue and give her the coldest of glares instead. Maybe she was just trying hide how she really felt, or she was just projecting her guilt on to him and the rest of the Maximals. He eventually shook his head and commented, "And I can't fathom why Optimus keeps protectin' yer hide." He really didn't get it. She was as much a problem to them as Zodiac was. He would take Predacons like Frilla and Dinobot over Nemesis any day!

"Nor you,"

Well, she was right about that. At least she would have been back when it had happened. Now? Rattrap would consider it if he was left in command. After all, he had Aurora to think about, and even Cheetor. He would do it for the younger generation on their team. But he wouldn't do it for Nemesis or any other Predacon residing at the Darksyde. No way. Of course, he wasn't about to explain any of that to her.

"Hope you have plenty of sedatives laying around if so, since he is capable of filtering foreign substances like that out much faster than he would without his technology,"

"You're forgettin' about the genuises we have in our crew," the Spy pointed out. "A little rewirin' here an' there, and poof! Zodiac's in stasis lock for a very long time, only requirin' a little bit of energon to sustain his spark while he sleeps in a coma. It ain't dat complicated." Sedatives? Pffff. That was short-term nonsense. Rattrap had been talking about long-term down time for the shape shifter that Rhinox could easily put into effect, thus keeping Zodiac out of everyone's hair for a good while. As luck would have it though, no one was going to expect what Tarantulas had done to him...

-----

"But perhaps he should have," "We almost got wiped out by the Predacons after Optimus was..," "I just wish he could focus less on trying to solve everyone else's issues and more on just those who truly care about him."

Aurora may have been wiser beyond her youth than most her age, but there were some things she didn't or couldn't understand just yet. Not until she could comprehend the bigger picture. She didn't know Cybertron because she hadn't lived there. She didn't entirely grasp the changes and advocacy that Optimus was trying to emulate while he had the opportunity to do so without being imprisoned or punished for his ideals since, while they were on Earth, there was no authority here to prosecute him for it. And Optimus, himself, was still figuring out who he was, in a sense. He was still trying to find that path in his journey of life under such hardship and stress. He was still learning, and he was still going to mistakes.

Maybe Rhinox wasn't fully understanding the Fuzor's perspective since he hadn't been present during her and Primal's private conversation earlier, so he could only conclude that the point she was trying to make could only really be solved between her and their commanding officer. Hopefully she wouldn't be too hard on him once he returned.

"It's either that or finding a big enough cluster of bananas to keep him eternally distracted,"

Rattrap had chuckled at Aurora's comment while he imagined the blue ape scarfing down a room full of bananas just to keep him occupied and out of trouble with banana peels scattered all over the place, even stuck on the walls as he tossed them over his shoulder to hastily start feasting on the next one.

"Well, he is a gorilla, isn't he? He should love dangling from the ceiling,"

Now, the rodent laughed out loud. Even after his nail-biting verbal dispute with Nemesis and his poor judgement toward Frilla, he still had enough positivism in him to enjoy a funny moment with his favorite Fuzor. "You know, Aurora, things would be pretty dull around here without you," he told her wholeheartedly.

“Copy that, we’ll see what we can do.”

The rhinoceros wanted to offer Airazor more details, but since he was facing Waspinator by that point, he didn't want the Predacon to know that others were arriving. Others who were likely injured and quite vulnerable to an attack. But she and Tigerhawk were smart. He was sure they would be able to figure out where to go and seek refuge inside the Axalon without drawing attention to themselves.

“Waspinator will check for himself then, but find rhino-bot lying he may have to watch his back next time for lies.”

Rhinox, although a force to be reckoned with when provoked, didn't take Waspinator's threat too lightly. Despite the Predacon's reputation for falling apart easily and getting scrapped most of the time, the engineer knew better than to underestimate him. Once in a while, Waspinator was able to get in some good shots sometimes, and now that he was a TransMetal, his ammunition could do some damage to Rhinox's standard armor. In any case, as the wasp seemed to be fooled by his words, and he had reverted to his beast mode and exited the Maximal base without much fuss. Thank Primus, because Rhinox didn't want to deal with anymore violence that day, or wreckage. Lowering his weapon and putting one of his chain guns away, he glanced at the destroyed brig around him before looking up at Rattrap.

"All clear, Big Green," the rodent reported from above while he leaned over the hole after Waspinator flew off.

Nodding, the larger Maximal said, "We might as well get back to work on the base's repairs," before Aurora had chimed in over his comm. link.

"Tigerhawk and AirRazor just brought Zodiac in, but he's in really bad shape, Rhinox. I don't know what's wrong, since I couldn't see any physical injuries on him, but he's definitely not doing great."

How bad could he be? Couldn't he just heal himself? It was just one thing after another... "I'll be right there," he responded to Aurora under the assumption that Airazor and Tigerhawk had taken Zodiac to the infirmary. Putting his other large gun away in his subspace, he gestured for Rattrap to come down and begin cleaning up the debris there in the brig. "Start clearing this up, Rattrap. We may need to make some space for Zodiac." Not all of the cells were lost to Megatron and Inferno's destruction, although the one specially designed to hold the shape shifter was pretty much slagged.

Sighing reluctantly toward the entire scenario, especially the thought of housing that trouble-maker under their roof again, Rattrap also put his weapon away before he stepped onto a sturdy piece of metal that leaned from the roof down to the floor of the brig and slid down on his feet almost crashing into his robust friend when he reached the bottom of it.

The Maximal's Chief Medic turned away from the demolition expert and immediately headed for the infirmary hoping that the clean-up duty would keep Rattrap out of trouble. Rhinox's foot steps could be heard echoing down the corridor as he made his way to rendezvous with everyone else, apparently. Entering the med bay, he had to squeeze his large frame past Nemesis, Frilla, Airazor and Tigerhawk to get to the cot that they had laid Zodiac on. He didn't seem to pay any mind to Nemesis being there; for now. Oddly enough, she looked more stunned about Zodiac's appearance and predicament than anyone else did. He was glad to see the two fliers too, especially Airazor who was still managing with her bum knee. At least their wounds weren't as mysterious or life-threatening as the shape shifter's symptoms appeared to be.

"Everyone stand back," Rhinox instructed them in his deep voice. "Waspinator has retreated," he informed those whom it concerned. "Give me some room." Putting his body between them and Zodiac, he quickly started analyzing the renegade both visually and gently checking specific areas of his body for his vital signs and any injuries that may have been hidden or internal. Zodiac's uncontrollable trembling suggested some kind of trauma or perhaps a very low temperature. It inevitably shook off a lot of the dirt that was covering his body which appeared far more vulnerable and fragile than Rhinox recalled. He looked different... And he looked like he was suffering quite a bit which Rhinox hated to observe.

He hooked him up to the monitor so he could see what was going on inside of his body to an extent. It was highly likely that most wanted nothing to do with Zodiac and would probably prefer that he died right then and there by whatever had caused him to be in this current state, but as a medic, it was Rhinox's duty to save the life of no matter who it was laying at Death's door in front of him. Maximal, Predacon, Vok, it didn't matter. The only exception he might make would be Megatron... Then he reached for a cart nearby with drawers that had a lot of tools and medical equipment and pulled it over to the bed for easier access.

"Talk to me, Zodiac," Rhinox encouraged him. "Tell me what's going on. What hurts?"

Glancing at Airazor, who had been the first to arrive on the scene with the Predacon showdown, he asked her, "What happened to him out there? Has he said anything to you?" as he feverishly worked to gain some kind of control or awareness over the dire situation. He was beginning to think that maybe he had some kind of lethal dose of cyber venom coursing through his body or perhaps some other virus.

"Shield regeneration at 80%," Sentinel informed Rhinox of its status over his comm. link. At least something was working in the engineer's favor that day.

-----

“I will never understand why anyone wouldn’t want to keep their feet on the ground.”

Optimus smiled lightly at Wintersong's opinion about flying. Noticing that she still had her sense of humor he took that as a good sign despite everything that was going on with her. Unlike Cheetor, who had loved it ever since he gained the ability of flight with his TransMetal upgrade, she didn't seem too keen on the experience, so, he tried to make it as smooth and enjoyable for her as possible despite the altitude he had lifted them up to in order to clear the tree tops. Her added weight wasn't much of a problem for him, however, with the speed he had used in order to reach Zodiac in time and then battling Megatron, he had used a great deal of energy, so, his acceleration on the way back to the base accompanied with his passenger was a bit slower than usual.

“No kidding. Guess when he’s actually got motivation he’s trickier than we give him credit for.”

Primal had to agree with her on that, and that they should never underestimate their enemy not matter who they were or how often they made mistakes. Then their private conversation in the sky turned more serious.

“Whitegrazer did suggest meditation, but I don’t know if I would have the patience for that sort of thing.”

"Well, you could try a few sessions and see how it goes," he suggested to her. "If it isn't the right fit, then we can look for an alternative option for you." It was true that Wintersong didn't seem to be one for the more peaceful and quiet approach. She might need to take a more aggressive outlet to release any tension that the Vok might be stressing her out with.

“The voices are an easy answer, I guess when I awoke a few days ago they left a part of their presence within my own, so now it’s like having a second voice at the back my mind.

"That's exactly what I've been experiencing since my first abduction by them at the Standing Stones," he confessed to her, and he was forever sorry that she was experiencing it now too. It felt like it happened eons ago, but the alien voices had been a curse or a burden on his mind or even his very spark for a very long time now. Was this something he should have asked Airazor about as well since she had been subjected to their cruel techniques inside of that dome-like structure that had nearly left her unconscious and immobile? "What do the voices say to you, Wintersong?" Optimus attempted to slip in ever so casually to establish some commonality between their alien torture so that she might answer without too much apprehension. "The Vok have their own language, but they will use ours so that we can understand them," he explained from his own encounters.

Somehow a part of their being is...infused within me or something of that nature, it’s hard to explain but it might be the cause. And add that weird link we have it would explain why you can hear them from time to time.”

Optimus grew thoughtful for a moment as the tigress continued to describe to the best of her ability what she was going through. The link was still a mystery to him as well, but it was definitely related to the aliens. It wasn't the same kind of link he had with Whitegrazer. How could they possibly run tests on something like that to figure it out? He wasn't sure.

“Rattrap mentioned the changes optics earlier too before me and Tigatron brought him in for repairs.” “And to be honest that’s the most prominent symptom, whatever this marking that keeps spreading. I know when it does it’s slow and agonizing, like my insides are slowly being taken over and it appears to be what allows the Vok to be present.”

Rattrap. How was he doing anyway? Was he okay? Had the CR chamber been able to fully repair him? And if so, was he able to keep his temper in check around Nemesis? And speaking of her, was Frilla handling that situation well enough? He had a feeling he was going to have a lot to catch up on when he arrived at their base, including Zodiac's condition and trying to persuade his crew not to harm him. Focusing back on Wintersong, the strange anomaly on her was a bit more concerning to him once she mentioned how painful it was sometimes and that it might be associated with the Vok interfering with her very being. He didn't like the idea of that at all.

“And I know I just...I find it difficult to keep my aggression in check more than ever, As of right now, that’s all I can give you.”

He frowned, although she couldn't see him doing so unless she looked over her shoulder since she was sitting on the front of his hoverboard. He hated this. He hated to see what she was dealing with, and he hated it even more how helpless he felt that he couldn't do much to help her. Her situation could be far worse than they realized. What if the Vok could take over her body completely and do something to harm herself or others? What if she was just a "vehicle" for them to use as they pleased for their own agenda? Anything seemed possible with them. Their power was limitless and out of the Maximals' reach and comprehension. "Our best assets to figure any of this out are Whitegrazer's connection with them, and Rhinox running some tests on you, if you'll allow him. Maybe we can find some answers," even if they hadn't really found any with just Optimus after all the rigorous testing Rhinox had performed on him over the years. But maybe there was something different in Wintersong. They had to at least try. They had to remain optimistic.

As for her aggression he might have to wait until he witnessed it happening before passing any kind of judgement on it or what to do keep her or the other Maximals safe. "Could they be tapping into your emotions, or taking advantage of your beast mode's instincts?" he inquired trying to narrow down where the aggression might have been originating from. He started to lower his altitude as the heavily damaged Axalon and its waterfall came into their view on the horizon. Cheetor wasn't too far ahead of them either as Primal had taken notice not long after they had departed the neutral territory where the battle had taken place. In the back of his mind, thoughts lingered about the new Predacon who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Who was he? Where had he come from? And how much trouble was he going to cause him and his Maximals?

-----

“Yes sir.”

Incompetent bug, the tyrant thought without much care for the TransMetal wasp.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t try to bring some concern to the matter.”

Megatron did not need any advice or backtalk from the likes of Terrorsaur. He was so aggravated with him at that moment that the only thing stopping him from wringing his neck was the fatigue that was creeping up on him and his lack of energy.

“They did not exactly take the publicity well. It drew too much attention that they can’t keep the Predacons in line per the treaty, so I was treated to a quiet tribunal at their expense. Lo and behold, rehabilitation then eventually ending up here trying to gather any intel on the Maximals that could be sued against the Macimal Council.”

Interesting. If the Maximal Elders could see Primal and his misfit Maximals now, they would cull them all to keep them silenced.

“Hmm, yes I suppose they wouldn’t want a scandal on their hands would they. Primus forbid they have more blood on their hands, but...” “Strategically, your knowledge of the council could prove worthwhile should we all survive and make it to Cybertron. Inside knowledge could make them easier to knock them down a peg or several.”

"Spineback makes... a valid point," Megatron continued to struggle a little speaking through his anguish. Although his plan was to get rid of the Council entirely. "However, said knowledge... is useless in this war. Pray that you can... offer a more suitable skill, Terrabite."

“A lesson well learned, and hopefully got me on the proper path to helping our brethren regain their place in the universe.”

"We shall see... how your new life here... may help determine... the future of the Predacons," Megatron told Terrabite with some anticipation behind his ominous voice.

“Not bad. Could use some work, but seems like home.”

It was one step shy from being as terrible as the Pit, as far as Megatron was concerned. Was Terrabite being honest or just agreeing with him to please his new commanding officer? Lucky for the new recruit, the t-rex was too exhausted to really care.

“I can do some repairs or modifications to the systems if you ever need them, my skills fall into the field of mechanical engineering so I could give this place some improvements. Or otherwise offer my services.”

"Yesss," Megatron concurred. "That would be... most beneficial... if we can... spare the parts." He was serious, of course. It was going to be very beneficial for the Predacons to have those set of skills on their team considering how flaky and treacherous Tarantulas was and could no longer be trusted or considered reliable. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of equipment or parts left to use due to the ship's deterioration sitting in the lava pit for such a long period of time that hadn't already fallen off and melted into the liquid magma after it had crashed there and from the tremors that the alien's planet buster weapon caused when they were erupting all of the raw energon deposits. But perhaps there was some creativity and resourcefulness with this new Predacon that he could bring to their ranks.

Noticing Rampage wandering away from the group as they approached the Darksyde, the tyrant narrowed his pink eyes and shifted his attention to the scorpion/cobra Fuzor who had been oddly quiet the entire walk back and hadn't sustained as much damage from the battle, or at least nothing that his beast mode couldn't heal eventually. "Quickstrike," he called to him before lowering his voice even though the crab was too far away to eavesdrop. "Follow Rampage. Make sure that... he is... on his best behavior." Then his tone grew significantly darker and colder since he hadn't forgotten Quickstrike's failure guarding the Maximals earlier that day and letting them escape, as he added with emphasis, "Do not disappoint me." Offering him this one opportunity for redemption, he had better not waste it. And some say Megatron wasn't merciful? What nonsense.

“Home sweet home, and home sweet med bay for some of you.” “Terrorsaur, take Inferno to the CR tanks, he could use a long soak.”

“Whatever you say doctor.”

The Predacon warlord watched their medic handle the injured and offer some direction. And, of course, Terrorsaur had to throw in another derogatory comment.

A gargled grumble came from Inferno while he was exchanged between Spineback and Terrorsaur and carried inside to one of their CR tanks.

“May have to worry about your offer for a later time Terrabite,” “I recommend some time in the CR tanks as well sir, or I can repair you myself so you can continue speaking with our guest.”

Megatron gave it a moment's thought before deciding, "And with you, Spineback... As I recall, there was a matter... you wished to discuss with me. Let us all converse... during my repairs." Even though his head was still pounding like a jackhammer, he would have liked nothing more than to just get off of his feet and lay back for some much needed rest. There was still the matter of Nemesis as well... Where was she? Why wasn't she responding to his radio transmissions? Had Waspinator found her yet or not? It bothered him greatly when he had little control over his troops who tended to disappear, like Tarantulas and Rampage. At least with the TransMetal crustacean he could still make him bend to his will with the other half of his spark no matter the distance between them.

The Predacon leader entered the stolen and broken battle ship and headed for their infirmary per Spineback's recommendation, placing himself on one of the cots that was shaped more like a recliner for his comfort and a throne-like appearance.

((Okay here is my response! Again, extremely sorry! Just have had a lot going on personally and it’s had my attention lately.))

Waspinator finally buzzed away from the Axalon, giving a final glare over his shoulder as he did still feeling skeptical at Rhinox’s claims. The Maximals had a bad habit of attempting to lead him astray in the past, some of which admittedly was already his fault in some instances. But this time, his gut told him he should have risked the encounter.

And a few years of experience for being delayed also taught him to take other risks to appease his leader.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the wasp turned his attention ahead of him, all too aware of how much ground he had to cover. A fifteen minute start could have more than given the avian female a head start, or maybe she was hiding anywhere between the Axalon and the Darksyde to avoid any Maximals returning from what could be assumed was the failed mission to eliminate Zodiac. Or had they succeeded in one thing and were interrupted in their celebration by the Maximals? He figured he would be finding out soon enough, but for now his concern was with finding Nemesis, quickening his pace to scan the land below and the skies.

———————————————

“I’m well aware of both Nemesis.” Frilla pointed out, having been more than aware she had been labeled a traitor, despite not agreeing with such a label. Given the fact she could still technically call herself a Predacon but not share Megatron’s views. “You don’t have to state the obvious. But I still don’t agree I’m deserving of the label, neither is Dinobot. He’s still more Predacon at his core than I could ever be.” The frilled lizard pointed out in return, somewhat curious to Nemesis’ view on the raptor. He had been a turncoat since the start of the Beast Wars but his tactics and methods still suggested he had not completely let go of most of the Predacon stereotypes.

The only major difference was Dinobot’s sense of honor the others so despised.

It was her turn to shrug however, shifting on her feet as she listened down the hallways, “Okay, maybe not my best choice of words. Just don’t get your feathers all ruffled yourself, I can trust my friends to handle a situation.” She addressed in referrencing her choice of telling her to relax. “And not my fault you decided to hang back. I’ll let you free the moment I know the status of the situation with the others or Zodiac.” Frilla dismisses immediately, remaining steadfast that she wasn’t releasing the avian any time soon. She merely scoffed then at the mention of not knowing Megatron well enough. “You’re right, I might not, and quite frankly I don’t care to. But I know him well enough he doesn’t care for leaving loose ends either. Sooner or later, he’ll want all who have wronged him out of the way.” Frilla figured Nemesis could agree on that much. She had never been quite close to the tyrant or in his inner circle, but some old fashioned observation and experience had more than told her the t-rex and his crew preferred not to leave loose ends behind.

But, there was a long pause between them yet again, allowing the transmittal a moment to consider their options. She likely couldn’t keep Nemesis here as ordered, somewhat pitying the wrath she would have to face if she didn’r Leave soon. Granted, Frilla could have been like Rattrap or Aurora and cared less about the trouble Nemesis would surely endure, but for some reason she just couldn’t bring herself to. The data analyst just didn’t have it in her nature to be quite so ruthless and heartless to allow it. Though the silence as soon broken by Nemesis’ words, causing Frilla to give her a look in response. Surprisingly, she was uncertain of whether to be skeptical or give her the benefit of the doubt. “Perhaps not completely, but neither are you any less similar in nature. Just as none of us are Optimus.” Frilla finally responded, not quite believing her yet neither was she saying she was in fact like the tyrant either.

Raising an optic ridge as Nemesis seemed about to confess something, her curiosity quickly went away following the sounds of rushed footsteps nearby. This time, Frilla followed Nemesis due to all the commotion more than the need to keep an optic on her. But the sight she found has her optics widening in shock, seeing the once proud shapeshifter now a trembling mess on the nearby medical bed, and a quick scan of the room only showed that Tigerhawk and Airazor had thus far returned. Turning her gaze to Nemesis, the reaction and expression the avian had was far from what the frilled lizard would have expected, finding the same shock she had and...some guilt. She had to admit, she would have expected Nemesis to be relieved or smirking with triumph at her friend-turned-enemy finally in a state of vulnerability, but it seemed quite the opposite. Perhaps she really wasn’t like Megatron after all.

Looking back at the scene before her though, stepping back as Rhinox squeezed his way through, Frilla considered the situation for a few moments before grabbing Nemesis’ arm, giving it a light squeeze to get her attention. “Come with me.” She told her more than asked, tone firm but sympathetic at the same time, gently tugging and leading the Predacon female down the hall without waiting for her to protest if she offered any. Frilla this time had a definite destination in mind, leading Nemesis close to the hanger before finally turning to her, keeping her weapon ready but undoing each of the bonds and dropping them at their feet. “I think we’ve waited long enough. I said if we knew the status of Zodiac then I would release you.” Of course, what she was doing was highly against Optimus’ orders and she knew full well she would get heat for it. “Take this and get going, you should have time to catch up to Waspinator.” The transmetal lizard took it the container, placing it within Nemesis’ hands as she spoke, “I’m not expecting gratitude or anything Nemesis, but whatever they did to Zodiac...well, it’s more than enough to convince me you’ve stayed long enough.”

But as she stepped back to allow Nemesis to take her leave, she added, “And differing as our views are, at least take my warnings about Megatron into consideration Nemesis. You might be surprised what he or any of those under him are capable of.” She warned one final time.

In the distance, both Tigatron and Dinobot could see the Axalon ahead, their signals likewise popping up on the ship’s systems that were functional. But it was as they were approaching that the sight of Waspinator caused them to pause briefly, exchanging a glance of confusion and worry, “You don’t think...?” Tigatron began before the raptor shook his head, “Waspinator wouldn’t be that reckless. And if he was, Rhinox can handle himself if the need arises.” Dinobot acknowledge, causing the white tiger to only nod, having to hope that the others were safe and had handled the situation with Washington without further complications.

Moving towards the lift, which lowered as they approached, the two stepped onto the platform, transforming as they rose up into the once heavily damaged bridge. Though still a wreck, it seemed in somewhat better shape than when Dinobit had initially been there, sniffing the air a moment as the scent of someone familiar quickly caught his attention, much less who now stood in the room looking worried about something. “Resilient as ever, ermine.” Dinobot remarked to announce their presence, the faintest if smiles showing on his face plate before he became serious once more, “What of the vermin? Has there been any updates on his status?” He growled in his usual tone, trying to come off as nonchalant about the rodent, but there was no hiding the edge of concern in his voice.

Not that he would openly admit of how worried he was about Rattrap, otherwise he would never hear the end of it.

Tigatron shook his head at Dinobot’s gruff attitude as they stepped off the platform, observing the repairs that had been done and what still needed attention. “As Dinobot said, it’s good to see you on your feet again Aurora, Cheetor should be arriving any time now as well.” Tigatron greeted in a far kinder tone, moving towards the damaged consoles as he too awaited to hear the news on Rattrap. “I don’t suppose you would mind a little bit of a hand here?” He inquired, willing to offer his helped where he could for the moment.

———————————————

Quickstrike stood at attention as Megatron addresses him, forcing himself not to shake with fear from his dark tone. He knew that tone, and he knew well enough not to test the tyrant’s patience anymore than he already had. Nodding vigorously, the small fuzor gave a quick salute with his scorpion leg hand, “Ya can count on me this time boss, ah won’t let the yellow-bellies crustacean outta my sights!” He assured him as confidently as he could sound in the face of the fury he saw reflected in the mech’s pink optics.

With that said, the cowboy talking mech was quick to rush after the transmetal crab, shifting to beast mode to tail him from some distance. Once more, Quickstrike has wisely withheld his words on the fact his shiny, transmetal frame hardly made him fit for stealth and sneaking but for his own safety, he kept that to himself.

Terrabite was all too aware such a point might be brought up, only able to nod his head in acknowledgement, “Should the time come, I will do what I can to help you against the Tripedicus Council. But I do warn, it will not be that simple.” The crocodilian mech warned them. He could easily acknowledge Megatron had the charisma, power, and attitude to easily overtake the council if he wanted to, but many more were still quite loyal to their cause and plans, which could prove to be trouble in the future. But, that would be a concern for another day.

Upon the arrival to the Darksyde, Megatron did acknowledge what Terrabite was already seeing; the ship was in shambles and would take months to repair even with the right equipment and materials. And would have faired better if not around a lava pit. Somehow though, he still saw potential in maintaining it to some extent, giving a light shrug of his scaly shoulders, “It is doable sir. So long as your primary systems remain intact that is all I am concerned for. I know a few tricks here and there that could help, maybe I can even salvage some parts from my pod depending on what your needs are for it.” The former agent of course was referring to Megatron’s earlier inquiry if it was intact. Depending on the needs the tyrant had planned, the pod could be stripped and scrapped for spare parts and equipment alone...aside from its tracker.

Seeing that his fate yet might be in question, Terrabite decided he could make the most of his stay, “Terrorize.” Transforming to robot mode, the tall Predacon held up his arm to release his sparrow-like drone, which remained perched as it awaited further orders, “Full perimeter scan, inside and out.” After he gave his orders, Terrabite deployed the little drone before following the two saurians inside the base, curiously glancing around seeing at one point the cruiser could have held more than enough potential for whatever purpose the Darksyde crew had held for it. “I suppose my other skill set lies in demolitions seeming as we are on the subject of what else I am capable of. I use to help the Predacon militia in softening up barricades and Maximal defenses during the earlier parts of our conflicts. I tend to get a little...explosive happy when in the mood.” Terrabite couldn’t help the fanged grin, recalling those memories quite fondly more than he should have. “For what that is worth of course.” He stated as they arrived to the medical bay.

((Also, safe to assume for now I will be taking Tigatron and Dinobot permanently unless I hear otherwise from Una if she comes back. Hopefully she does. But I guess this brings the question up if we know what’s going to happen with Dinobot? Is he planned to die as in Code of Hero or do we want to try an alternative for Season 3 that results in TM2 Dinobot?))

((Ooookay, finally got my reply finished! I am also skipping Rampage for now since he’ll be wandering about like he did in the show.))

Airazor wanted to catch the small fuzor up on what had occurred, but with Zodiac barely able to keep himself conscious they didn’t have much time to do so. “We’ll catch you up soon Aurora, I promise.” The falcon promised, having a feeling Tigerhawk wanted to do the same, but at the moment they had to get the young dragon some place to rest for the time being.

Though both fliers were surprised when Zodiac inquired to what he had just been called, Tigerhawk exchanging a concerned glance with Airazor, “For once, I seriously hope he’s bluffing.” “As hard as it might be to believe, I doubt it.” Airazor agreed grimly, recalling what she had seen play out before her earlier in the fight. For now, she didn’t question the problem the shapeshifter could be facing as they got the now unconscious Zodiac to a nearby cot, lying him down in time to ensure he didn’t risk collapsing.

By then, they already had a couple of spectators to which Tigerhawk was surprised to see Nemesis still remained. His optics even narrowed somewhat despite Frilla being there to keep an optic on her, ready to make a remark at first before stopping himself. The avian female seemed to stop in her tracks in the doorway rather than continue to advance further, carefully examining her demeanor and expression, finding she seemed shocked and...guilty? That was a first since they had initially met, “He’s alive but barely conscious. I hope this attack was worth the sight you see Nemesis because you don’t exactly look triumphant now.” The large male pointed out, indicating the lack of her usual smugness especially someone she seemed to have a great deal of dislike towards.

However, further talk seemed cut short as Rhinox made his appearance shortly thereafter, causing him and Airazor to step back to give the rhinoceros mech some room. Airazor didn’t need further prompting though to bring up what happened considering she had arrived well before the rest of her comrades, “Megatron and Zodiac were going at it toe-to-toe when I arrived. Despite what happened in the brig, scales here still had a lot of fight left in him, nearly brought Megatron down himself using those nanomachines he’s so fond of using. Unfortunately, Megatron pulled out an electrified dagger, caught Zodiac off guard.” The falcon femme indicated his now healed abdomen, guessing by now his nanomachines were back online. “But in all the chaos, I saw Spineback shoot a couple of sedative darts to soften him up even more for the butcher show Megatron was intending to show off to the Predacons. But then Tarantulas decided to step in and stopped the whole thing, caused a brief squabble before he...” Airazor stopped then, seeming to have an idea what might be the cause.

“Tarantulas injected him with something before the battle! I don’t know what it was but Zodiac was down for the count after that and I dove in the moment Megatron started trying to mutilate his wing. And on the way back he hasn’t been himself.” She recalled then, but the injection site she doubted was obvious either considering all other physical harm had been healed up by now. “Maybe it has to do with that injection, he did seem pretty out of it during the last leg of the journey here, even asked what we addressed him as.” Tigerhawk chimed in.

Meanwhile a little ways behind Tigatron and Dinobot, Cheetor was arriving to the Axalon next but taking it slow due to his energy levels being low from all the running around and fighting he had done that day. He had only paused briefly when spotting Waspinator on his way back but the transmetal wasp seemed otherwise occupied to pay much attention to the flying cheetah. It did take a lot for the young Maximal not to take some pot shots at the Predacon, still feeling his anger from earlier lingering but decided against it.

His ammo was depleted enough as it was and he just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

Finally arriving, the young cheetah cane in for a landing near the lift, switching off his jets that folded back to his side as he walked forward onto the platform. With a pained hiss, the young cheetah transformed to robot mode as he was brought up into the ship, finding Tigatron and Dinobot there along with Aurora and stepping off as he held his once against bleeding abdomen, though only due to transforming suddenly in such a short time. “Hope Waspinator wasn’t too much trouble while we were gone, passed him on the way back here.” Cheetor spoke, his voice not quite so cheerful as before but he still expressed concern that the others might be harmed or not especially given that Aurora and Rattrap has been in the CR chambers when they left.

Which made him wonder if the rodent was also doing alright.

++++++++++++++++

“Hmm, I can give it a shot Optimus, but I’m not guaranteeing anything.” Wintersong spoke after taking a little time to think about it. She had never been one for mediation or a peaceful outlet, she would sooner tear up a tree trunk or stone to take out aggression than anything. “But if not, plenty of dead trees in the forest to use, my claws could always use a good sharpening.” Wintersong’s lighthearted tone was genuine for once, trying to make some light out of a dark situation she had found herself in. Still, she glanced back at Optimus, “Still, I’ll try anything at this point if it slows down this process.”

Though the transmittal tigress gave Optimus a look, the casualness not exactly so subtle as Optimus would like to think. Still, her gaze did express understanding, only able to imagine how tiresome and annoying the voices had to be-given the fact she was only back a few days and already their were invasive and irritating. “Subtle Optimus.” She lightly called him out, but nevertheless shrugged, “Most times they communicate in their language, which I still don’t understand but when they do talk it’s for my hard headed ness and stubborn will not to bend to their wishes. Kinda irritates them.” She payed then, considering what she had yet to tell Optimus, but now didn’t seem like the best time. “Occasinally I’m brought back to their...home, a bright nebula of some kind when I’m asleep. All they seem to talk about is Earth and changing its course, like they have a secondary plan but I don’t entirely understand it myself.” She admitted, wishing she could offer more to the blue ape. “I just know the more I resist the more they try to take control.”

The talk of having to rely on Whitegrazer’s connection and possibly running further tests did somewhat make the tigress uneasy. She had turned her gaze ahead, seeing the Axalon getting closer and closer, the familiar sounds somewhat easing her worries about the Vok. So long as she was around those she cared about and was familiar with she had a feeling she could hold on for sometime before it became a concern...she hoped. “If Rhinox has the time, we can try and see what he can find. In the meantime, I’ll keep an optic on my behavior to try and help where I can.” Wintersong assured him, figuring it couldn’t hurt to have one of their most brilliant minds examine what might be something new. As they lowered closer to the ground and Wintersong dropped off the hover board when only a few feet remained, she stopped herself from being relieved to be on the ground as Optimus addressed the biggest issue she may very well face, “Both.” She confirmed with grim confidence. “I was willing to kill Spineback today Optimus for nearly hurting Rattrap then snapped at him after.” She spoke with genuine fear at the prospect of possibly going overboard.

And that was perhaps the second biggest fear Wintersong had, losing all sense of her self from the Vok. But, she merely shook her head, forcing something of a smile, “Still, I’m glad we got to talk Optimus, this helped more than I expected it to. But we should worry about the others, the issue of the Vok can wait another day.”

++++++++++++++++

Terrorsaur arrived to the two CR tanks, unceremoniously dropping the ant in one of them before hovering over the other and landing on the platform. Still seething from how today had turned out overall, the transmetal flier was left to his thoughts as he was lowered into the fluids to heal his wounds which weren’t quite so extensive but did need some attention. ‘One of these days Megatron, I’ll find a way to rid of you once and for all.’ He growled to himself, for now closing his optics to settle into recharge mode and let the tank do its work.

“As you wish.” Spineback spoke with a slight bow of her head heading inside ahead of the two mechs to get everything ready. Considering Terrabite’s mysterious appearance to the battle she figured he might still want to converse with the newcomer and she already suspected Terrorsaur would have taken up the second CR tank anyhow. For now though, she decided to put greater focus towards repairing her leader and pitching the idea she had about how to help such situations as his.

Arriving to the room, the spinosaurus began to go through the tools she would need, especially for Megatron’s head and neck wounds. The nanomachines had ate through the metal like it was nothing, and probably would require the most attention aside from the head trauma the tyrant had endured. She didn’t look up quite yet once the two entered, hearing them talking still but focusing on opening a small protected box on her work space before she came over with a small table to which she placed the box down so Megatron could see for himself. “Take a good look if you want to my liege, it’s a sample of our resident Maximal experiment’s energon. Well...the part that’s not mutagenic in nature.” She explained as she carefully examined his head injuries, multitasking for the time being and giving his neck a more thorough examination. “Given the nature of his ability to rapidly heal, I figured it was worth looking into to help faster recovery for extensive wounds, minus the concern for electricity hampering that.”

As Spineback examined the neck injury, she couldn’t help visibly cringe at the thought of those little machines eating away at her armor, only able to imagine what Megatron had felt, or might be feeling. “Did a real number on your neck didn’t he.” She stated more than asked, setting her examining tool down before getting to the real work of fixing the dents, gashes, and underlying areas of.

As the situation between the Maximal rat and the Predacon bird of prey grew ever more intense, both of them refusing to back down and each getting more aggravated by the other by the moment, Nemesis could see Frilla getting more uncomfortable by the minute. Yet the two verbal combatants were both too stubborn to be willing to step down, and frankly there were likely only a couple of individuals who could talk either of them down and none of them were currently present.

If anything, the rodent's enraged expression fueled Nemesis' desire to show him his place in the food chain. Until Rattrap protested back using the one individual they both seemed to have an attachment to, that is..

"And I can't fathom why Optimus keeps protectin' yer hide."

And just like that the avian's expression went from smug to a more somber one if a bit annoyed the rat would use Primal against her. Although, as much as it pained her to admit it to herself, he did have a point. Optimus most certainly did not have to protect her the way he had been, and he did possess more than enough information to use against her and could thus easily turn Megatron's opinions of his second in command. Yes, Nemesis had tried hard to earn Megatron's trust and respect. But like with all others, the tyrant still wouldn't fully trust her. And a part of her doubted he ever would.

Frankly he likely shouldn't. Nemesis may have been loyal to the Predacon cause, but she hadn't been able to shake whatever residual sense of morality she held within her. And as such, she often held back rather than crossing that final line. Sure, she was capable of violent acts and often had been. On occasion she had even taken lives and she had to live with that. But when it all came down to it, when faced with a situation where she had complete control over whether or not her enemies lived or died, she would freeze up. Call it a conscience, call it a deep-founded sense of morality, call it an inkling of concern for the well being of fellow Cybertronians.. Whatever it was, it was rooted so deep within Nemesis that it wasn't something she could simply shake off. No matter how much she'd like to at times.

Perhaps that was the root of this odd friendship the avian female had built with the Maximal leader after she had opened up and showed him a glimpse of who she really was underneath that tough facade she often put on. It was a side of her she never showed to anyone, not wanting them to know about her vulnerabilities. She'd been bred to be a survivor, a fighter, not a weakling with emotional attachments.

Yet she was. And nothing was going to change that.

"I could so easily have ended your miserable existence against the shields," Nemesis replied to Rattrap in a much more quiet voice. "Yet I chose to let you live. Surely that earns me some credit."

A sighed followed and the female brought her cuffed arms up to her forehead as if trying to rub out a brewing headache. "To be honest I don't know why Optimus always sees good in just about everyone. For someone in his leadership position, it's a very unusual trait."

"You're forgettin' about the genuises we have in our crew," the Spy pointed out. "A little rewirin' here an' there, and poof! Zodiac's in stasis lock for a very long time, only requirin' a little bit of energon to sustain his spark while he sleeps in a coma. It ain't dat complicated."

The female shook her head and smiled just ever so slightly, but it wasn't the same smug grin she so often put on. Perhaps it was the realization that Primal was returning so she needed to try to behave herself a bit better so she could leave this place, or perhaps it was her own conscience getting the better of her right now after Rattrap had so bluntly cut her off earlier. Whatever the reason, something in the rat's accusing words had caused her to back down.

"Go ahead. Poke your tools or better yet your hand inside Zodiac and see what happens when his nanomachines identifies you as a foreign substance," she challenged halfheartedly. Of course she knew the rodent wasn't dumb enough to actually try that. If he did, being shoved against the electric shields might just be the least of his trouble.

Fortunately Frilla decided to intervene, removing Nemesis from the scene before the debate could get heated again. For once the avian female complied, coming along quietly since despite hers and the other femme's differences the little frilled lizard was still less likely to throw her under the proverbial bus.

“You don’t have to state the obvious. But I still don’t agree I’m deserving of the label, neither is Dinobot. He’s still more Predacon at his core than I could ever be.”

Nemesis remained silent for a moment as the two wandered the hallways, making for quite the unusual pair at a Maximal base that had become almost too familiar for both of them. The avian female took a moment to reflect upon what the frilled lizard said about Dinobot, another Predacon turned Maximal who had been a Pred for a long time before making the decision to switch sides. And his motivation was honor. The avian female didn't really concern herself much with honor. Many of her actions had indeed been what most would consider dishonorable, yet she couldn't really care less about that. Her issue, as it were, was that she wasn't entirely devoid of compassion unlike certain of the other Predacons. She did feel remorse, even though she tried to act tough around the others.

"I've encountered many Maximals who are more Predacon at their core than you," Nemesis finally said with a light shrug of the shoulders.

“Okay, maybe not my best choice of words. Just don’t get your feathers all ruffled yourself, I can trust my friends to handle a situation.”

Handle it? If she was referring to Waspinator, there was little doubt the Maximals could handle him. Even the most pathetic of them should be able to take the bug out with ease. But with all his flaws, Waspinator was one of the more loyal Predacons. He didn't really desire conquest or power, at least he was never open about such things, but he would no doubt report back to Megatron. And if she didn't make it back to the Darksyde soon, she was going to be in a world of pain..

“And not my fault you decided to hang back. I’ll let you free the moment I know the status of the situation with the others or Zodiac.”

Well.. It would appear she had made the right decision by remaining close to the frilled lizard. While most of the other Maximals wouldn't have hesitated to throw Nemesis into the deepest, darkest dungeon they could find, had their base not sustained such severe damages, Frilla was much more forgiving in nature. And it was starting to become clear to the avian why the other female had deserted the Predacons.

"I would appreciate that," Nemesis concurred, "It would certainly alleviate some problems for all parties involved." Still, her pride prevented her from begging or seeming too desperate, even though she was starting to feel a little anxious about what Megatron would say about her absence. Hopefully he'd be in a good mood after getting to torture and possibly kill Zodiac.

“You’re right, I might not, and quite frankly I don’t care to. But I know him well enough he doesn’t care for leaving loose ends either. Sooner or later, he’ll want all who have wronged him out of the way.”

This much was true. The only reason Megatron had directed his attention to Zodiac instead of Optimus and whoever else he considered to be a nuisance, was the fact that the shapeshifter had made himself a genuine threat that needed to be disposed of. Quickly and painfully. Megatron's words from while Nemesis was dragging him from his quarters to the repair chambers had specifically instructed her the tyrant wanted the renegade located and subsequently killed.

"Just stay out of his way," the avian warned the other female. "Don't give him a reason to shift his focus onto you."

“Perhaps not completely, but neither are you any less similar in nature. Just as none of us are Optimus.”

The avian wasn't quite sure whether to feel insulted or honored for such a comparison. Obviously her methods had left a mark, leaving her with a bit of a reputation. Yet she didn't think she could compare to the tyrant in any way. He lacked the compassion that so often prevented Nemesis from making the final kill, so even though both of them could be ruthless at times it was for different reasons. Nemesis didn't resort to torture for the enjoyment of it, instead it was purely out of practical reasons. Such as assuring her rank within the Predacons as their second in command under Megatron, or while trying to impress him enough to trust her. Yes, he had power over her and she knew it. But oddly enough, so did Optimus. So Nemesis was quite torn between her duties and her conflicting emotions.

Despite having both the urge to embrace and refute the lizard's claim, Nemesis said nothing. What was there to say anyway? Yes, she had committed some serious offenses this day.. and many times before as well. And there was nothing, absolutely nothing, she could say to persuade the other female she had done the only right thing. Well, as 'right' as she could without being branded a traitor like the rest of them.

There was quite the chaotic scene when Airazor and Tigerhawk brought the wounded shapeshifter inside. Well, wounded was a relative term in this case, as he didn't have a single obvious physical wound. But from what Nemesis could see, he looked lost and pathetic. The large rhinoceros wasted no time before joining them as well, forcing his way by Nemesis so he could assess the situation.

The first one to address her being there was Tigerhawk, who took the time to look her over enough to realize she wasn't exactly overwhelmed with joy upon seeing her former friend turned enemy on what almost looked like his deathbed.

“He’s alive but barely conscious. I hope this attack was worth the sight you see Nemesis because you don’t exactly look triumphant now.”

Worth it? No, it really hadn't been. And her troubles had honestly just started, since Megatron would no doubt be less than pleased when she returned so late. And Primal was likely still quite upset with her as well. Indeed, she had made some enemies today..

Not quite knowing what to respond, Nemesis merely held out her cuffed arms as to prove a point to the tall fuzor. "I didn't plan for any of this," she said in a quiet voice, attempting to sound sincere albeit she wasn't being entirely honest. "Is he going to die?," she then asked to nobody in particular of the group of Maximals who had gathered around Zodiac. But the avian female did nothing to stop them, no attempt to gloat. Instead she just remained where she was, as if frozen in her tracks, until she felt a gentle tug on her arm. It was Frilla again, urging her to come outside with her.

Nemesis obliged her request despite not finding out what had happened, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the young dragon before leaving the room. The smaller female then lead the taller one to the hanger before addressing her again.

“I think we’ve waited long enough. I said if we knew the status of Zodiac then I would release you.”

The frilled lizard now had the avian's full attention, even though she had to force herself to focus since her thoughts were threatening to run wild. With Zodiac having arrived, Primal would surely follow suit very shortly. And that was a confrontation the avian wasn't quite ready to go through just yet. Yes, at least some of her was relieved Optimus had clearly succeeded in his mission, it also meant that Megatron had failed and would no doubt be in a lousy mood. But hopefully the monkey would be too preoccupied to start asking her too many questions.. Of course she had no idea Megatron had sold her out in that regards.

Nemesis waited in silence, as patiently as she could, while Frilla released her from the bonds. Yes, she took note of the other female holding onto the weapon, but the avian didn't make any threatening moves at all. In fact the only thing she did was rub her wrists a bit and finally bend them now that she had control over her arms again. Inwardly, though, she sighed in relief.

"I appreciate this..," she told the smaller female, well knowing the lizard was going against her orders as well. Yet she didn't plan to make this departure any more drawn out than it had to be. "Feel free to tell Optimus I ambushed you or something if it can get you out of trouble."

“Take this and get going, you should have time to catch up to Waspinator.”

Oh, Waspinator wasn't the one Nemesis was concerned about. But she took the container without creating a scene, still not entirely sure what she would tell the tyrant when she got back. Hopefully something would come to her on the way, and whatever Optimus had placed in the small box should help redirect some of the tyrant's anger. She hoped.

"Thank you..," the avian said quietly as she took the few paces over to the ramp leading to the outside. The two females at finally come to some sort of understanding, and at least it had become evident they both shared at least one trait in common.. A sense of compassion for others, even though Frilla's was strong to the point she could be considered a pacifist.

“I’m not expecting gratitude or anything Nemesis, but whatever they did to Zodiac...well, it’s more than enough to convince me you’ve stayed long enough.”

"Certainly longer than I planned on," Nemesis agreed with a hint of a grateful smile on her face. "Hopefully the next time we see each other, it will be in better circumstances," she then added as she took a step onto the ramp that was now lowering. From the looks of it, she was actually going to be able to depart without having to listen to any more Maximal lectures. And for that she was eternally grateful.

“And differing as our views are, at least take my warnings about Megatron into consideration Nemesis. You might be surprised what he or any of those under him are capable of.”

Oh, she knew.. Or at least she thought she did. The tyrant had surprised her before, though, and yes a part of her did fear him still for his unpredictable anger issues. But she was still devoted to the cause Megatron represented. Optimus.. as kind and gentle as he was, he just didn't seem like he'd be able to follow through with his promises the way Megatron was determined to do. Where was the monkey anyway? She had assumed the other Maximals starting to arrive meant that Primal would be showing up too, but thus far there was no sight of him. Could she have been wrong? Did something happen at the battlefield that the other Maximals weren't aware of yet? Or was he still on his way, just taking a little longer than normal? Hopefully it was the latter, and hopefully he would take a little longer still so she could be long gone before he showed up.

"Not sure if you've noticed or not, but I'm not that easy to kill," Nemesis mumbled as she finally turned around with her attention now drifting to the freedom outside. It felt so nice to be free of the cuffs, and the fresh breeze that hit her face as soon as she took a few steps towards her newfound freedom, the sensation was almost a bit overwhelming.

Aurora had been working quite diligently on the weapon system repairs and was actually making some progress when the other Maximals started arriving. She had smiled at them in turn, grateful to see them here, even though the sight of the unconscious dragon had been a little unsettling. Somehow she just hadn't envisioned that he could be hurt like that, so it all seemed so strange to her. Especially since there weren't any visual injuries that she could see in the few moments it took them to transfer the renegade to the infirmary. As much as she would have enjoyed their company and perhaps even assistance right about now, she did understand the urgency.

“We’ll catch you up soon Aurora, I promise.”

"I'll hold you to that," the fuzor replied, although she wasn't sure if they had heard her since they were in such a rush to get to the infirmary. Meanwhile Zodiac still remained in a weakened and barely conscious state, perhaps even completely knocked out. It was hard to tell without a thorough examination.

As the others left her behind, she kept on working. Most of the autoguns were operational again now, just in case the Preds decided they hadn't had enough yet. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case, though, since after these repairs there was still so much left to do around the base before they could all take a well deserved rest. For one there was that giant hole in the brig that needed patching, of course they could always fend off invaders by keeping the shields active but that was rather draining on their energy supply.

Although she was not unaccustomed to working alone, it did leave her feeling a bit.. lonely .. to be by herself. She was good at repairs, sure, but still she wasn't the expert Rhinox was. This ship was his baby, after all, and he knew every little detail of the weapon system down to the smallest microchip. So to help pass the time, her mind started wandering.

"You know, Aurora, things would be pretty dull around here without you," she repeated Rattrap's words to her earlier when she had made the rodent laugh with her jokes at Primal's expense. Well, sometimes a little humor was all they had to spare to keep them from focusing too much on all the negative aspects of this war. And when she and Rattrap were in the same room, those quips were frequent and hard to miss. Even now that the rodent was busy elsewhere, the fuzor still smiled a bit at remembering the rat's reaction and his responses.

Now that the autoguns were fully operational again, Aurora continued her work on the shields. She'd sort of been dreading it after having witnessed Rattrap getting fried on them, secretly wondering if there was a way to prevent that situation from ever coming up again. But she didn't have much time to contemplate it before Dinobot, Cheetor and Tigatron made their way through the bridge as well on their way to meet up with the others. The fuzor drew a sigh of relief upon seeing them arrive.

“Resilient as ever, ermine.”

Resilient? Oddly she didn't feel resilient at all, even though she had just come out of the cryo chamber not long ago. "Well, I was getting bored in there. We need to start including a library in the CR, I think," the fuzor said with a hint of humor. Although she wasn't entirely joking about wanting to read some.

“As Dinobot said, it’s good to see you on your feet again Aurora, Cheetor should be arriving any time now as well.”

Tigatron was the next to speak up, just as Cheetor made his presence known as well. Aurora smiled at each of them in turn. Honestly she would have run up to give them hugs had her hands not been holding spare parts and tools.

"I'm glad to see the mission was a success," she replied, although a little hesitant about how successful they had truly been. Zodiac did look quite the mess after all.

“Hope Waspinator wasn’t too much trouble while we were gone, passed him on the way back here."

Phew! Although he looked a little beat up, at least Cheetor had made it there in one piece. Aurora smiled at him as well, grateful beyond words for this fact. "Can you never go anywhere without returning looking like you got stuck in a trash compactor?," the fuzor commented on the cheetah's appearance in a teasing tone. Well, he might look like a mess but he seemed to be doing okay overall. She hoped.

“I don’t suppose you would mind a little bit of a hand here?”

"It would sure be appreciated!," the fuzor responded while nodding to the tools scattered all across the table. "Sentinel could still use a bit of work."


Meanwhile Zodiac started stirring a bit when the bulkier rhinoceros joined them as well to check his injuries. Much like what Aurora had reported earlier, there weren't any physical signs of anything being wrong, but his body wide tremors and decreased consciousness would suggest otherwise. His two rescuers remained as well, trying their best to make him wake up but not having much luck either. It wasn't until Rhinox hooked him up to the monitor that Zodiac's optics flickered on, at least for a moment.

"Talk to me, Zodiac," Rhinox encouraged him. "Tell me what's going on. What hurts?"

The dragon grimaced a bit from the sudden influx of pain on his diagnostic receptors. While unconscious he had mostly been numb to the pain, but now that he was a bit more awake it all flooded him at once without giving him a chance for a reprieve, leaving him in a bit of agony. His entire abdomen felt like it was on fire, his spark racing faster than normal, and his head was pounding. And again he could make out that name the other one had called him only a short time before..

Zodiac.

It both felt familiar and foreign at the same time. But he still didn't know who they were talking about, whether they were addressing him or someone else.

"Mmph," he grunted as he moved ever so slightly while trying to distance himself from the burning sensation that was threatening to make him scream. He twitched uncomfortably on the cot they had provided him, before slamming his head back against the medical bed as a glimpse of.. something.. a memory perhaps.. flashed through his mind. The visual image of a bot he both knew and had never seen before holding an electric whip flashed through his mind and then it was gone. Zodiac couldn't help the reflexes that made him grab for the other male's arm, clutching his fingers tightly around it, before pressing his back into the bed once more and letting go. Slowly the pain, which seemed to come in waves, started to subside again, allowing him to unclench his jaw. He worked the jawline for a moment before suddenly sitting up on the cot with such speed and intent, he then looked around rather frantically as if trying to identify something familiar.

He drew a blank. There were several faces around him, but they all looked like strangers. And this place.. where was he? Not recognizing anyone, not even himself, his body still aching and his mind a blur, the dragon felt a surge of panic overwhelm him. Without notice he suddenly pushed at whoever was closer to him, jumping out of the cot and scrambling to his feet. He staggered for a few paces before his shaky legs couldn't sustain him anymore, promptly dropping him to the floor. The panicked young dragon them proceeded to crawl towards the nearest wall, pushing his backside up against it after putting as much distance between himself and these bots as his irrational mind and uncooperative body would allow. He then shook his head, attempting to block the constant visual stimuli of the well lit medical bay with his hands, his limbs still trembling.

"What do you want from me..?," he whimpered in horror, avoiding meeting their stares as best he could manage. "Who are you..?"