The Intergalactic Highway

(( OOC: Great posts, everyone! I hope this isn't rushed too much. ))

"Should.. I go to retrieve her?,"

"No," Optimus immediately told Aurora. "I've sent Wintersong. Can your equipment pick up any abnormal activity this far away from the site? If so, keep an eye on it and report to me with anything that appears out of the ordinary." His voice was firm. Not necessarily angry and certainly not toward the Chief Biologist, but rather disappointed and frustrated toward Whitegrazer's actions. Why did the mare have to do this now? Because she knew he would be distracted with Zodiac?

"Believe what you will," "But wasn't getting rid of X your preliminary mission that fateful day you were called on to follow Megatron? Or were you merely taking the Council's failed pet project out for a little stroll?"

"It was secondary to our primary objective, which was to explore solar systems and planets that we had never visited before. Only when we might have happened upon a completely desolate and uninhabited planet was I supposed to drop off X. Until then, he was to remain in stasis lock on board this vessel," Primal corrected the renegade.

"You have no idea of how close your ship came to being attacked for its cargo, do you? Despite the Council fearing what they had created.. what you helped them create.. many others sought after it. Our spies within the organization were able to obtain the information and a crew had been sent to intercept the Axalon while you were still in Cybertronian airspace."

This... he had not known about, and the slight softness in his stone-chiseled face along with the glance to his friend standing behind Zodiac proved that he was a little taken aback by the information. Rhinox had returned the glance followed by a slight frown. "Naive as I was at the time, I'm certain the Elders would have taken advantage of such a scenario and they would have expected that to happen. Either way, they would've gotten what they wanted. And they did." Optimus shook his head disapprovingly. Did he even feel like returning to Cybertron at that point? What would be waiting for him if he did?

"Then you went to intercept Megatron.. and we lost track of your position. That's when they decided to send me after Nexus Prime.. "

"Perhaps the one thing they didn't predict in their plan was us traveling back in time," Primal mused thoughtfully, licking his scar across his mouth. He grew quiet when Zodiac mentioned them sending him after Nexus. Visions and memories of his mentor and teacher, as well as his voice, breached his mind and his gaze lowered for a moment, processing it again that he was in fact dead some time ago. Lost forever. "They certainly didn't waste any time. I'm assuming it didn't take you long after we disappeared to disguise yourself as me and murder Nexus," he said, fishing for a boasting comment that the former shape shifter probably wouldn't be able to hold back so Optimus could build a time line after he departed Cybertron.

"Unfortunately,"

The leader ignored his mutter, not caring for what he said.

"Pity. Could have been fun,"

Optimus gave him a brief and sarcastic smile.

"The rest of the evidence burned with Nexus' ship,"

The Maximal Commander shook his head with disappointment and narrowed his orange optics at him. "Now that is a pity." What a waste, thanks to this vigilante bent on killing everyone.

"I barely ever sleep because the horrors come back to me then,"

"I can relate," Primal agreed softly, and added, "The Vok plagues us both." Would it be for an eternity? How can such beings leave ever lasting imprints on them like that?

"When I regained my senses enough to plot an escape, I collected as much of their weapons as I could physically carry with me. Part of the bomb I brought to the Axalon contained alien technology.. Not as strong as the weapon they unleashed on Outpost 62 but the effects would have been similar.." "I also brought another golden disc with me. It contains information on the alien bases of this world."

Primal's optics enlarged, astonished.

"Like the one Megatron acquired?" Rhinox asked.

"Where is it, Zodiac? What do you know from it?" demanded Optimus before he got distracted by Whitegrazer's communication through his and her bond.

Optimus.... It's all right.

No, it isn't, Whitegrazer, he told her sternly.

It's too late. I'm at the alien site, but there won;t be any trouble. I'm still recognized as a Vok, so the site is benign and quite peaceful. If any Cybertronian steps foot on it, it will. Please don;t send yourself or anyone here. Please tell them to turn back now.

How can you know that your presence won't trigger any traps or detectors?! Just because you're a Vok? he argued. I can't. I won't. I can't let you be there alone, Whitegrazer.

It isn't what Zodiac has told me. I wanted to do this. This is my chance to be the one who faces them and whatever weapon of mass destruction they plan to use to destroy this planet just destroy us. I shouldn't had let you go inside that pod. I should have stopped you, and took your place.

That was my decision, and only a flier could have evaded the blast the way it was supposed to happen before I was locked inside the slagging pod! he reminded her. Vok or not, I still wouldn't have allowed you to take my place because I won't order anyone to do something I'm not willing to do myself!

At least, I would have taken responsibility rather than refuse to acknowledge who I am and will always be. It's time I took that responsibility. No more running. It's time I faced them. Face to face. I don't know what is going to happen. I'm not a fortune teller.

Optimus shook his head at Whitegrazer with disapproval. You owe them and yourself nothing! Not in this manner, Whitegrazer. I need you here! he pleaded.

Whitegrazer, we don't have all day. Tic Tok Tic Tok.

He could feel a familiar voice on the other side of his connection with the mare as he forced his bond to expand, whether or not Whitegrazer knew that was possible. Optimus didn't but he made it happen anyway. It was TyCross on the other end. And he started to grow furious with his words, as if he was pressuring Whitegrazer to make this decision that could have been considered suicide.

I... I don't want to cause you any more pain, Optimus. You been through enough pain and loss.

I can handle it as long as you're here with me! he told her. The only thing that can break me now is losing you...

Please. If... something does happen, Primus know I will try my best to save you and everyone, including myself, but if it isn't possible to save myself, then don't... grieve. I caused you... The planet of Cybertron much pain just for taking a physical form. If I knew... I will have never come here in the first place. But I can;t turn back the clock. I can only try and rectify my mistakes. If the price I have to pay is to save your life and everyone else's, then I will pay it. I know you understand because if you were in my place, you will do the same thing.

You can't blame yourself, Whitegrazer. Please, don't do this. You don't have to. There is nothing for you to fix or to prove! I'm begging you.

Whitegrazer!

Primal grew angrier with TyCross' impatience, his spark racing faster.

Optimus! Tell Wintersong to go back! I can't reach her with my com-link. Hurry! Hurry before her com-link goes down too!

She's there to stop you because I won't reach you in time! the leader told her, hoping it would delay Whitegrazer or make her change her mind so as not to get Wintersong involved.

You aren't going anywhere. Not this time, Whitegrazer. Not this time.

Primal felt a pressure on his wrist through the connection as though someone took a hold of it and looked at it while he stood in front of Zodiac and Rhinox. The engineer kept his grip on Zodiac but watched Optimus curiously.

Release me, TyCross. If I don't, the site will activate.

Let her. It doesn't matter. We have everything we need.

Why? What do you mean? What are you doing, TyCross? You...

Optimus could feel the turmoil between Whitegrazer and TyCross, exploding with desperation and emotions from the mare. Just as she could feel herself being torn apart, Primal could visualize it against his will in all its horror. He reached for her but the distance was too far. Infuriated, his spark exploded and he suddenly and unknowingly blew down barriers within his bond to Whitegrazer as hurricane-force winds and ominous clouds rolled over their green meadow, stripping the grass bare. He vividly felt her and TyCross of course, but there was also another presence nearby, someone familiar but he didn't seem to notice or care who it was. STAY OUT OF THIS, TYCROSS! Optimus screamed at him, a scream that Zodiac - the other presence he felt - could now hear and feel as well through the connection.

They pay for their interference. You will pay for your insolence and recklessness.

The Maximal leader gagged and coughed just as Whitegrazer's neck was gripped and squeezed so violently. He almost fell to a knee as he saw those mysterious floating skull-like faces again invading his mind along with some of those random symbols but caught himself, gingerly wrapping his hand around his neck as the pain passed quicker for him than it probably did for Whitegrazer. He felt her fear, and maybe even betrayal. Whitegrazer!

"Optimus!" Rhinox called to his friend with much concern as he watched him nearly double over, but he remained behind Zodiac instead of racing to his side.

Hearing Rhinox's voice, Primal held his palm up toward him as a gesture that he was alright and to stay where he was. "We... We have to get there. Now," he said as he caught his breath and stood up straight again.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Whitegrazer... is in trouble. Something's wrong. We have to get there before the Predacons do," he answered Rhinox desperately. Then he opened his comm. link to his demolition expert again. "Rattrap, status report. Have you rescued Tigerhawk yet?"

Comin' as fast I can lad, hold on!

For a moment, Rattrap thought about Landslide tossing all of the junk out of his cargo hold to lighten his load so he could fly faster but in reality he knew they'd have to be patient and stand their ground until he arrived. Fortunately, it didn't take the beetle as long as he had initially thought.

Er.. Right. I'll handle Cheetor, you keep Inferno busy.

Nodding to Ladnslide, Rattrap addressed Optimus. "Hey, Boss Monkey. 'Slider just showed up and he's assistin' Cheetor. I gotta take down Inferno but I think Tigerhawk made quite an impression on Nemesis," he reported with a grin as he had moved away from the TransMetal cheetah and beetle and at the same time had lost track of Tigerhawk and Wintersong. After hearing some explosions and machine gun fire in the air, there was suddenly a lot of commotion like something crashing nearby and a yelp from the rodent. Rattrap had to jump out of the way of Nemesis' body which had come crashing down from the sky, full of holes in her wings and wounds all over her body. "Nemesis is down. ...Fer now," he added quickly, noticing her nano tech immediately going to work and her head lifting with a great deal of pain.

"Run inta some turbulence up dere?" Rattrap smirked at her. Then he turned around and dragged his feet simultaneously along the ground in a backwards motion while staying in one place to kick dirt on her face as if he was burying her like a dog who had just relieved himself and was covering his droppings before she fell unconscious. Sure, he could have blown her to pieces with some of his demo charges, but he thought better and let her be. He quickly sprinted off to face Inferno, targeting the tall Predacon in the sky and firing a few shots to keep him away from Landslide and Cheetor.

"Rattrap, Tigerhawk is heading your way on foot. But I have to leave to the alien site, for whatever reason Whitegrazer went there alone and Optimus wants me to make sure she's not doing something stupid, as hard as that is to believe. I'll see you guys back at base."

"Be careful, Winter," the Maximal Spy told her, understanding why Optimus wanted her to intercept Whitegrazer and whatever her intentions at the site were. So dangerous. And it explained the urgency in the ape's voice.

"Wintersong's off to the alien site," he finally continued to Primal. "I think we got dis situation under control. Spineback is off somewhere probably collectin' Waspinator's and Terrorsaur's body parts. Nemesis is out cold."

"Wrap it up and have Landslide return here with Cheetor for repairs, but the rest of your team will rendezvous with us at the alien site," Optimus ordered Rattrap.

"Eh... You got it, Fearless leader," he returned with some reluctance to be any where near another alien site. He fired more shots at Inferno, targeting his chest and large gun as they closed in on each other.

"Inferno we need to fall back! The Maximals have us outgunned, Nemesis is down and I still have these two lugnuts out cold, especially Waspinator. Get your skid plate out of there and get Nemesis."

Inferno's mouth opened in retaliation to Spineback giving him orders yet again while Rattrap's shots whizzed by his body as he flew toward the smelly rat, but he was unable to object before she said more.

"I know you don't want to give up in the name of our Royalty, but we're all about to meet the Pit if we don't fall back."

"The Royalty will not accept another failure!" the pyro reminded her before considering their predicament and how they had lost this mission and the newcomer. Finally agreeing with her, however, he said, "This is on you since you made the call, doctor," putting the responsibility on Spineback since she insisted on barking the orders. Sending one more farewell rocket at Rattrap below, Inferno veered off of his path and banked toward Nemesis' location. Landing with a thud next to her unconscious body, he put his weapon away and struggled to lift her over his shoulder, muttering incoherently under his breath about lugging her body around and pathetically failing this mission. Now they would have to suffer their Queen's wrath once they returned. He was not looking forward to that. With a displeased wail of discomfort, he ignited his propeller and engine at full blast in order to lift himself with Nemesis into the air, escaping Rattrap's firepower and flying toward Spineback's position to regroup.

Rattrap strafed and dodged Inferno's last rocket as it exploded into the ground and watched him gather Nemesis, flying off. "De Preds are retreating," he confirmed to the rest of his team and noticed Tigerhawk approaching him in his beast mode. "Landslide, Optimus wants you ta return to de Axalon with Cheetor and get 'im the repairs he needs. How is he?" he thought to ask. "Me and Tigerhawk have ta follow Wintersong to the Vok site."

Watching the new Fuzor approach him, the rodent remained cautious like Optimus had warned them to be earlier. But to be honest, Tigerhawk just looked like another TransMetal Fuzor. Sure, he could be threatening with his large stature and weapons, but otherwise his colors and beast mode combinations suggested he was a Maximal. "You alright?" Rattrap asked him, noticing some of his injuries.

After hearing their team's success in retrieving Tigerhawk, Optimus turned his attention back to Zodiac. "Let's go." He nodded to Rhinox to release the hybrid and grabbed one of his arms, yanking him out of the chair and up on to his feet with his wrists and ankles still bound by the energy bonds.

"You're taking him with? Is that really a good idea, Optimus?" Rhinox inquired.

"Probably not. But he might be able to help us. It's too risky to keep him here." Still holding onto Zodiac's arm, he pulled the black bot with him as Primal limped out of the brig, his mind stuck on Whitegrazer. "There's no time to waste," he reiterated to his friend.

Rhinox hesitated for a moment before following them.

"Aurora, you and Blackarachnia meet us outside," Optimus told her over his comm. link unaware that the black widow had been long gone.

"What if this is exactly what Zodiac wants us to do?" the engineer asked as if the renegade wasn't right there to speak for himself.

"He fears the Vok as much as we do. If we can get rid of them together, then we'll be helping each other out. Isn't that right, Zodiac?"

Rattrap wrote: "De Preds are retreating," "Landslide, Optimus wants you ta return to de Axalon with Cheetor and get 'im the repairs he needs. How is he?" "Me and Tigerhawk have ta follow Wintersong to the Vok site."

Landslide stands up, turning around as his back opens, mechanical arms and his extra insect legs move lifting Cheetor up and into his back cargobay. Looks worse then it is lad,just needs a spin in the CR chamber. he responded, Landslide then closed his back and transformed to his vehicle mode, hovering into the air, then flies off towards the Axalon Becareful out there. he then said on the radio.

"Nemesis I've retrieved our two other fliers. Do you require further assistance?"

"Nemesis?"

Nemesis didn't respond to Spineback's hail, in fact she was barely even conscious enough to register her name being mentioned. Her entire body ached, most her armor dented and scratched from the harsh impact with the ground. She felt dizzy, disoriented, and barely even able to register her surroundings. Fortunately her nanomachines were still very much so operational and were rapidly repairing the wounds she had sustained from being shot before moving on to the rest of her minor injuries.

Still.. it hurt.

Had she been a little more oriented to what was taking place around her, her pride would no doubt have been hurting just as much as the rest of her. Especially when her head cleared up enough to realize who the smaller male standing close to her was.

"Run inta some turbulence up dere?"

The vermin.. Of course it had to be the vermin..

But she had no energy to respond right now even if she had heard at least a majority of the insult he threw her way. It hardly mattered.. Words couldn't hurt her.. not unless she let them.

Some sand sprayed her in the face but she barely took notice, her systems barely keeping her awake since the pain had a bit of a numbing effect when it was all over like this. Her visible and open wounds were almost all healed up and while she was barely conscious, but with a little rest she'd be back to normal. Her optics dimmed as she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she came to again only a few moments later, she found herself laying in a most undignified heap over the crazy ant's shoulder. She groaned ever so slightly, rubbing her still pounding head that she had no doubt suffered some trauma to during the crash. But thanks to the advanced technology within her, that headache, too, was about to dissipate.

"Let me down..," she told the ant in a quiet but firm voice. "We're not.. retreating.. can't.. yet.."

She was probably not in the best shape to fly right now, but it didn't take her long to perk up enough to squirm her way free from the ant's less than gentle grip. She spread her wings and flew alongside him as she looked around, taking note of how the Maximals had already cleared out. Had she been unconscious for that long?

"Did they retreat back to base already?," she wondered, mostly to herself but she did say the words out loud despite her companion not being much of a conversationalist. Activating her radar to track their movements, it didn't take her long to realize the Maximals were splitting up. Only a few were heading in the direction of the Axalon, the rest..

"Where are they going?," she asked Inferno without expecting a response. They were heading in the direction of Megatron's jamming towers.. but why? What could possibly be left for them there?

"Get the wounded back to base," she told Spineback via comlink. "There's something going on near the jamming towers the Maximals sabotaged earlier. I'm heading there to investigate. Inform Megatron when you get back to base," she continued, not exactly feeling like being the one to get yelled at for this utter failure that this recovery mission had been. She then turned her attention back to Inferno. "Do you need repairs?," she inquired the ant. Her own injuries had mysteriously faded away in the short time since the fall. She pondered bringing the ant along to .. whatever was going on.. But she feared he might draw too much attention.. and slow her down. So she'd leave it up to him whether he wanted to join Megatron for the larger attack party after getting any repairs he needed or follow her there directly.

"You should return to our lord Megatron," she told Inferno next, fairly certain he wouldn't have the cognitive capabilities to understand her suggestion. "You belong at his side as he makes his grand entrance. Go."

She didn't wait for a response, instead she merely transformed to her avian form and sped off towards the mysterious site.

"No,"

Optimus' response came as abruptly as it was determined. Aurora bit her lip briefly as she waited for him to explain his decisions.

"I've sent Wintersong. Can your equipment pick up any abnormal activity this far away from the site? If so, keep an eye on it and report to me with anything that appears out of the ordinary."

The fuzor shook her head, although she was alone in the lab for now. "There's a range limit on the equipment," she went on to explain, "So no.. Not by itself. However I could potentially tap into Sentinel's systems to expand that range a bit. It won't be able to tell you exactly what's going on there but we should be able to detect any massive and sudden changes at the site. Mind you.. we're still not quite sure what that place is. "

She'd started typing the orders into the computer before Primal even gave her his response. This situation could potentially be very dangerous for Whitegrazer.. And Aurora would certainly not let anything happen to her.

Zodiac tilted his head a bit, watching Primal struggle to remain calm. Whatever news he had just received it couldn't be great.. Well, for him anyway.

"It was secondary to our primary objective, which was to explore solar systems and planets that we had never visited before. Only when we might have happened upon a completely desolate and uninhabited planet was I supposed to drop off X. Until then, he was to remain in stasis lock on board this vessel,"

The hybrid smiled ever so slightly, a brief lived grin but one none the less.

"And that somehow changes the parameters of your mission? You didn't even tell your crew about your cargo, did you? A cargo that could so easily have killed everyone aboard if it had gotten out of its containment unit."


He didn't believe Primal had, or Zodiac would no doubt have seen evidence of such in the computer system or heard something from one of the Maximals during his time with them as Nexus Prime.

His words sounded confident enough, but secretly he wondered what lengths the Council would go to in order to cover up some of their other.. mistakes. Specifically himself. He might not have been created at the order of the Maximal Council, but from what he had learned since discussing this with Whitegrazer, it had been their intention to create ..something.. using the Vok technology they extracted from her. Only to have their plans ruined when the sample was stolen and modified to perfection by their enemies. So in some odd way, the Maximal Council had been responsible for his own creation. Yet they remained unaware of his existence, aside from perhaps rumors here and there, until that fateful day when Nexus caught him in the act of infiltrating the Maximal hierarchy..

Despite his slight head movements, the rest of him remained still. There was no point in trying to break Rhinox' grip right now, he realized. His mind had really started to clear back up, a most welcome development. Still he felt the effects of the truth serum inside him, prompting his painfully truthful responses.

Primal's reaction to the revelation that the Axalon has almost been hijacked for its secret cargo did not go unnoticed by the renegade. Of course that was only part of it, so hopefully the Maximal wouldn't press him too hard for more information.

"Naive as I was at the time, I'm certain the Elders would have taken advantage of such a scenario and they would have expected that to happen. Either way, they would've gotten what they wanted. And they did."

"Well.. Almost," Zodiac said as he turned his gaze upon Primal again. "I doubt they counted on you surviving long enough to figure out the truth. And now that you know, I can't help being a bit curious what you will do with the information."

Maintaining his gaze for a bit longer, Zodiac finally looked away with a sigh. Indeed, he was a bit curious. It wasn't that he had any great concern for X or anything, but it was more of a question relating to his own sense of self-preservation.

Now that Optimus knew.. and worse yet actually had the renegade in his possession.. what would he do if they were to ever return to Cybertron? No.. not if. Zodiac was starting to realize just how determined Primal could be. The correct word was when they returned to Cybertron.

"And with me..," he added, a lot more quietly, unable to keep his innermost thoughts private right now.

"I'm sure the Council would have a field day if you presented me to them. Of course I have no doubt they would simply skip the trial and go straight for the execution. They sent Ironclaw to do the job, after all."


Despite the serious nature of his predicament, Zodiac remained calm. At least physically. Although he may not have considered the prospect of dying up until a couple of weeks ago, at the volcano when he lost his powers, it was a subject he had gone over in his mind quite frequently since then. Not that it changed his overwhelming desire to get out of this alive at all.

"Perhaps the one thing they didn't predict in their plan was us traveling back in time,"

Zodiac lifted his head a bit upon hearing that rhetorical comment. "Could anyone have predicted that?," he wondered. Well.. he supposed Megatron could have. After all he did make the arrangements and set off a series of events that had ended up with them on this planet in the past. And fortunately, or unfortunately as things had turned out, for Zodiac he had access to a similar device.. and the information needed to use it. The golden disk didn't only have the locations of some alien outposts written on it, it had a large amount of other information. Of course he hadn't had time or the abilities to try to decipher them all. Far from it.

"They certainly didn't waste any time. I'm assuming it didn't take you long after we disappeared to disguise yourself as me and murder Nexus,"

The hybrid shook his head briefly, torn between the desire to lie, to insult, to rip Primal's spark from his chest, to the compelling sense he had to tell him the truth.

"If only it had been that simple.. But Nexus proved to be a difficult target to bring down. He only surrounded himself with his most trusted troops and after you disappeared, he didn't stay in one place for long."

He paused, remembering..

"I once told you that Nexus was searching for you.. Desperately so. It was quite uncharacteristic of the old geezer to act that way, but for you.. he would have gone to the very end of the universe if he could. "


A glare followed, his trapped hands clenching into fists.

"We followed in his tracks for quite a while before we finally located him on a distant planet in the quadrant. I pretended to have been sent by the Council, hoping he'd come along willingly. But he refused. He insisted he had a valid lead to find you. After realizing we couldn't reason with him, we killed off his men and imprisoned him. We tried to break him, to make him give up his secrets.. Cryotek even came to partake in the interrogation himself, leaving Nexus blindfolded for the event.. No matter what tortures we put him through,he couldn't be persuaded to betray his beloved Maximals."

His optics narrowed.

"Or betray you. "

A sigh followed.

"When Cryotek eventually left, he wanted to use Nexus as a leverage against the Maximal Council. The old man's spirit was unbreakable, he said, well.."

His voice quieted substantially.

"I proved him wrong.."


He went silent for up to a minute after saying those words, honestly surprised Primal was able to keep his cool as well as he did.

"Now that is a pity."

Zodiac shrugged but remained quiet.

"I can relate," Primal agreed softly, and added, "The Vok plagues us both."

"They value no life, as I'm sure you've realized by now. Curiosity drives them, but their sense of superiority compels them to treat the rest of us like dirt."


He told them about the alien disk. How long would this truth serum stay in his system??

"Like the one Megatron acquired?"

"Similar appearance. I haven't gotten a chance to study Megatron's disk so I'm not sure what information it holds."

"Where is it, Zodiac? What do you know from it?"

"I.. buried it..," the hybrid grudgingly admitted, "At the alien site."

The other part of Primal's question was a lot more difficult to answer.

"There's so much information on the disk that it would take me days to explain it all to you. But what's important right now is that I do know that the alien site is dangerous.. And if you don't get to her soon, she'll die. No doubt accidentally activating the entirety of the alien site in the process. "


He was about to continue but a sudden, unexpected presence filled his mind. The suddenness of the intrusion caused Zodiac to clench his optics shut as he again rested his head against his arms, grimacing slightly.

There was a voice.. female.. soft, tender, caring.. He recognized her immediately. But someone else was there too, so engaged in what he was doing that his presence smashed through the barriers the female had set in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Zodiac jerked slightly as he shifted his weight uncomfortably in the chair, the other male trying to coax her to do something.. This male was unfamiliar to him, yet somehow he felt.. dangerous.. Like he certainly did not care if all of them perished, the renegade included, as long as Whitegrazer did his bidding.

STAY OUT OF THIS, TYCROSS!

TyCross..? Hearing Primal's frantic words echo in his mind was a bit unnerving at best. He could only assume this TyCross was the other male he sensed. Confused, Zodiac looked over at Optimus.

Yes, he had set up her when he sent her there, but he did so save himself. But now it was evident someone else was involved as well. Just how many voices did the female have in her head?? He only had hers .. until now.. and that had been more than enough to give him frequent headaches.

Just like Primal, Zodiac, too, felt an uncomfortable pressure against his neck. But it wasn't as strong for him since Whitegrazer had been in direct communication with Primal at the time this took place. Again he tugged at his arms, wanting.. no .. needing to get up from the chair.

"We... We have to get there. Now,"

After Primal was finally done coughing and hacking, and only a lingering sense of pending doom remained in his mind, Zodiac's optics had not drifted from the Maximal commander. He wanted answers almost as badly as he wanted to get out of here.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Whitegrazer... is in trouble. Something's wrong. We have to get there before the Predacons do,"

"Let's go."

Finally Primal gave the signal and the engineer let go of Zodiac's arms. The renegade immediately stretched his shoulders while lowering the arms, trying to get more comfortable, but the transmetal monkey wasted no time before grabbing him by one of said arms and hauling him out of the chair. Zodiac swayed for a brief moment before he regained his balance, his legs and arms both still shackled, and the look he sent Primal was one of disbelief.

Was he actually planning to..?

"You're taking him with? Is that really a good idea, Optimus?"

"Probably not. But he might be able to help us. It's too risky to keep him here."

He was..

He was!

The power love had on these Maximals was astounding, truly.. Primal was so prepared to just rush into certain death, and he was even bringing the former shapeshifter along for the ride! Optimus tugged at him, forcing him to come along as quickly as his legs could move.

"What if this is exactly what Zodiac wants us to do?"

Zodiac nearly stumbled as he tried to twist to send Rhinox an exasperated look but fortunately he was quick to recover, even now.

Yeah right, he wanted to tell the green and brown bulky Maximal. Despite his earlier plan to return there, he did not want to go there as a prisoner.. The aliens were evidently not in a good mood and Whitegrazer was about to serve as their sacrifice. Perhaps after their thirst for vengeance had been quenched a bit, it would be a bit safer to go there. But he didn't get a chance to object to Rhinox' assumption, as he was interrupted by Primal's words instead.

"He fears the Vok as much as we do. If we can get rid of them together, then we'll be helping each other out. Isn't that right, Zodiac?"

Taking the opportunity to straighten out a bit, Zodiac glanced between the two before answering. "I wish I had known about this reckless and self-destructive side of you sooner, Optimus.. I rather prefer it to your normal boring demeanor."

He gave a slight grimace as he spoke the words, but they were indeed true. But finally he nodded in agreement. "I do know them better than you do.. and you have the resources available to you that I no longer have. Seems like an equitable trade."

Although meant to sound sarcastic, his words actually came out as somewhat.. encouraging. It was dangerous, sure, but at least it was an opportunity to change fate.. to avoid the inevitable.

"Aurora, you and Blackarachnia meet us outside,"

"Will do, Optimus," Aurora replied. "But I don't think BlacArachnia is still at the base. Sentinel just alerted me she left a while ago."

Wintersong found herself getting closer and closer to the alien site, by now within the range of the jamming towers that effectively prevented someone from calling her back which meant she was on her own from here on out. But already she was recognizing the environment, indicating she was coming to the site but so far she didn't see Whitegrazer anywhere above it making the Transmetal tigress frown slightly with concern.

She could smell Whitegrazer having been here, still was since the scent was fresh. By the time she reached the edge of the valley in which the site was, she began hearing Whitegrazer yelling out to her to turn back before being abruptly interrupted. Had something gone on? "Maximize!" WIntersong growled as she jumped and transformed on her way down to the site knowing she was taking a risk. In previous encounters their presence had triggered traps, the one having a lasting impression in her mind certainly being the maze. All that water...Shaking her head slightly Wintersong drew one of her swords as she saw the equine femme, a look of fury on her face that she couldn't help wondering was her not listening. "Whitegrazer I'm not here to just turn back." Wintersong told her, stepping forward as she eyed the site for a moment, half expecting a cannon or something to suddenly turn it's attention towards her. But she couldn't stop, not now. "I came to get you from here. You know as well as I do this site isn't safe, it's a death trap waiting to be triggered." She pointed out.

Though that's when she paused, realizing with the other femme being here the site should have been triggered already. "We need to leave this site 'Grazer, something isn't right." Wintersong pressed, holding out a hand towards her hoping the mare would listen not realizing it was her presence that would be triggering the site instead.

----------------------

Tigerhawk peered through the trees as he heard an explosion, hoping Rattrap and the others were alright as he picked up his pace to meet them. But a few moments later he came through the trees and found himself coming across the three Maximals, watching curiously as Landslide pulled Cheetor into his form and deep down hoping his fellow cat was alright. The fall had been a nasty one and he had been unable to help him which he hated. "I've had my better days, but then again they do say the first date can end quite badly." Tigerhawk said, glancing at his wings and cringing again mainly from realizing it might be longer than he thought for them to become flight ready. "Unfortunately, it'll take time for my self-repair systems to work on the damage long enough for my wing mechanisms to prove functional." He admitted.

Though, one thing the Fuzor couldn't help noticing is that Rattrap seemed a little cautious, maybe even weary when he approached. Was it his uncertainty of his allegiance or something else? "I'll admit though, when I awoke from my pod the last thing I expected was to be smack in the middle of a conflict." He said with a frown but tried to push this negative thought aside. "But something tells me we're not following our teammates back to the Axalon." He stated, seeming as Landslide was already heading to base with Cheetor and the fact Rattrap and him would be remaining.

-------------------

Spineback sighed and shook her head, finding no reason to keep arguing with the ant since he seemed bent on not listening. And to only add further insult just as she saw Inferno coming to regroup she noticed Nemesis seeming to begin moving, likely recovering from the use of her nano-machines that had remarkable healing abilities that she couldn't help admiring. But she did observe them from her stand point, seeming to watch their exchange but not making out what the avian female was saying.

"Seriously." Spineback muttered under her breathe when hearing Nemesis, wondering sometimes if her fellow femme was testing her luck far too often but could understand why she would want to know what was going on. It just seemed bad timing considering most of their skid plates had been whipped in more ways than one. "Hear you loud and clear. But I'd recommend not testing the full capabilities of those healing abilities of yours Nemesis, if those Maximals are going to that site something tells me it won't just be them again." Spineback pointed out knowing the Predacons had proven themselves incredibly resilient and able to take quite a bit of punishment but they seemed to lack knowing when to retreat when needed at times. Spineback wouldn't have said otherwise if the odds didn't seem tipped in their favor.

Setting down the Transmetal wasp, Spineback shifted to her beast form before hauling the two onto her back and starting her trek towards the Darksyde but not caring to wait to see if Inferno decided to join them. But since the trek would take a little time she figured it was better to inform Megatron ahead of time rather than waiting, "Heading back to base now Lord Megatron, the mission was a failure and I had to call a retreat due to extensive loss in our numbers. I'm dragging Terrorsaur and Waspinator in for repairs while Nemesis pursues the Maximals. Some of them seem to be retreating to base and others seem interested in the area near the jamming towers, for what reason is unknown." Spineback reported in, an edge of bitterness at the failure evident but she was prepared to take full responsibility. "Me and possibly Inferno will be awaiting further orders."

((OOC: I'm so sorry for taking so long. Life is becoming chaotic and stressful. Can'tt seem to get my head in gear. Riddled with indecision. Yuck. I ill have a pot for BA soon. Just wanted to get Whitegrazer's out of the way. ))

How can you know that your presence won't trigger any traps or detectors?! Just because you're a Vok?

It hasn't done anything, which proves that my heritage is protecting me. But Cybteronians won't.

I can't. I won't. I can't let you be there alone, Whitegrazer.

No, you have to. I should have done this sooner.

That was my decision, and only a flier could have evaded the blast the way it was supposed to happen before I was locked inside the slagging pod! he reminded her. Vok or not, I still wouldn't have allowed you to take my place because I won't order anyone to do something I'm not willing to do myself!

Not in my optics. It doesn't matter if you or anyone were a flier. No one should have gone up, except me. I let you. I should had knocked you out and took your place. I realized that now. Part of her reminisced about the olden days where she wasn't so... what was the word? So easy to allow such a thing to occur? In her quest to be better than what she was, did she go too far? This isn't just regretting a decision I made in the past. It is more than that. I... I would have survived. You didn't. We got lucky. Without Rhinox, I won't have be able to do what you witnessed. The Vok already believe me to be a selfish being. This... this has just entered the list, a list they will no doubt use against me.

You owe them and yourself nothing! Not in this manner, Whitegrazer. I need you here!

I... I am a selfish being. Optimus wasn't taking this well. It hurts her. But as Optimus' voice turned pleading, hers remained calm.

I can handle it as long as you're here with me! he told her. The only thing that can break me now is losing you...

Oh, Optimus, you aren't weak. Don't think too little of yourself. You aren't unbreakable, but once was broken can be fixed and will heal in time.

Whitegrazer didn't plan on dying. Like Optimus thought when he went into the pod. She was going to make sure the Vok listened to her this time. They weren't going to interfere anymore.

You can't blame yourself, Whitegrazer. Please, don't do this. You don't have to. There is nothing for you to fix or to prove! I'm begging you.

It's not blame, Optimus. It's responsibility. One I have hidden from for far too long. I know it wasn;t entirely my fault, but now, it is my time to step up and deal with it.

She's there to stop you because I won't reach you in time!

"Whitegrazer I'm not here to just turn back." Wintersong told her, stepping forward as she eyed the site for a moment, half expecting a cannon or something to suddenly turn it's attention towards her. But she couldn't stop, not now. "I came to get you from here. You know as well as I do this site isn't safe, it's a death trap waiting to be triggered." She pointed out.

"Wintersong, stay where you are. Don't come any closer!" Whitegrazer put her hands, forward and open. TyCross was still clinging on to her, dragging her back. Her feet stepped back.

"We need to leave this site 'Grazer, something isn't right."

"Don't!" she yelled at Wintersong.

STAY OUT OF THIS, TYCROSS!

Whitegrazer!

As Wintersong got closer, there was an eerie silence. A slight rustling came from the middle of the valley. Inside her soul, she could hear the glass of the barrier break as Optimus' pain and intense fury broke through. The green meadow came into her sights, except there was no grass. Glass littered the ground and melted into the soil. Slipping easily just as she let those around her slipped easily through her own defenses. Grab her heart. Her soul. TyCross. The Vok. Even Zodiac.

She felt used. Slapped in the face.

She thought.... Getting out of Cybertron, she wouldn't be manipulated. Yet, here she was, manipulated. Again. Trusts broken. Felt Optimus' turmoil of reaching out towards her, feeling her sense of fear and betrayal. TyCross' hands still wrapped around her throat.

Now, I understand. You weren't here to train me. You were here to tame me. Observe me. Lead me here, so I could face their judgement.

Did you expect anything different from me? You let sentiment cloud your judgment. Now, look at what you have done. You hurt others. You hurt others.... by caring. Look at Optimus. Look around. They are willing to follow you to destruction. I'm surprised that little weasel isn't here.You were right. You are a selfish being. It would have been be better if you just slap them off. Killed them. But no, you tried to be a good girl. Did you expect their opinions to change? Fool. You are a fool.

Whitegrazer looked through her connections towards Optimus, I'm sorry for hurting you.... all of you.

Through their connection, after she gave TyCross a slab to the knee and pushed him away, she embraced Optimus. Then she turned her attention to Zodiac, and in a moment she knew Zodiac won't understand, she embraced him as well. You don't understand now, but some day you will. I hope you can experience more than you had. There is more to life than that. Stay with them.

She stepped away from the two.

Broke off the connection. She had to save them the pain, and she must fight this alone. She wasn't sacrificing herself. No, she was fighting. Fighting for herself. For them. Even... even for certain Predacons.

Rustling was coming from all sides. She awoke to see vines heading towards Wintersong.

"Wintersong!"

Giving out her jutes, she cut the vines. More were coming. And some were heading towards her.

She made her choice.

"And that somehow changes the parameters of your mission? You didn't even tell your crew about your cargo, did you?

He was classified information, Optimus wanted to say but kept his thoughts to himself since his "excuses" didn't matter to Zodiac. His “excuses“ were irrelevant and he knew he‘d have to reveal the truth that he was a part of yet another experiment under the High Council to the rest of his crew sooner or later. Some how keeping it a secret longer and longer seemed to make it harder and worse for him to tell them. It was a need-to-know basis... he thought, trying to convince himself of the justification to his dark secret.

A cargo that could so easily have killed everyone aboard if it had gotten out of its containment unit."

"Which was probably another scenario that the High Council counted on if all else failed," he said calmly and without surprise.

"Well.. Almost," "I doubt they counted on you surviving long enough to figure out the truth. And now that you know, I can't help being a bit curious what you will do with the information."

Was Nexus Prime the only one who didn't doubt Primal's success and competence? "There's a lot to process," he admitted to Zodiac but had no intention of satisfying the renegade's curiosity with any elaborate plans or ideas, if he even could impress him which he doubted. Even so, impressing a murderer like Zodiac was not on his list of things to do. "At this point in time there's nothing I can do," he said with a faint implication that he did have ideas but he clearly wasn't going to share them. Now was not the time especially since he didn't have a way off of Earth to return to Cybertron in order to implement anything.

"And with me..,"

Optimus glanced at him while picking up the uncertainty or concern in his voice. What would he do with Zodiac if he were able to return him to Cybertron? He did not know. Turn him in for his crimes? Turn him in for certain death? Despite everything could Primal really live with himself by turning over a criminal only to let him be executed? He might as well drive a stake through his spark with his own hands. But Zodiac killed Nexus... And he tried killing him and his entire crew. There had to be consequences for his actions.

"I'm sure the Council would have a field day if you presented me to them. Of course I have no doubt they would simply skip the trial and go straight for the execution. They sent Ironclaw to do the job, after all."

"You may be right," the Maximal agreed thoughtfully but didn't offer an alternative ending. After all, Zodiac more than likely still wanted to kill Optimus.

"Could anyone have predicted that?,"

"If anyone else was involved with assisting Megatron stealing the golden disk," he brought up. "Was it an idea Megatron formed himself? Or was he originally carrying it out for someone else and then took advantage of the situation for his own ambitions?" Primal asked rhetorically, thinking out loud.

"If only it had been that simple.. But Nexus proved to be a difficult target to bring down. He only surrounded himself with his most trusted troops and after you disappeared, he didn't stay in one place for long." "I once told you that Nexus was searching for you.. Desperately so. It was quite uncharacteristic of the old geezer to act that way, but for you.. he would have gone to the very end of the universe if he could."

Primal closed his optics for a moment in an attempt to hold back his emotions as he imagined Zodiac's portrayal of what happened. Now learning all of the effort that Nexus had put into searching for the young Optimus only to meet his demise by someone who was disguised as his protege was quite heart breaking. He missed him so much. If anyone could have saved Optimus and his Axalon crew, it would have been Nexus Prime. But now he had no one with the status of an Admiral to stand with him against the Elders. No one to push back and support him. He was on his own... if he ever returned to Cybertron.

"We followed in his tracks for quite a while before we finally located him on a distant planet in the quadrant. I pretended to have been sent by the Council, hoping he'd come along willingly. But he refused. He insisted he had a valid lead to find you. After realizing we couldn't reason with him, we killed off his men and imprisoned him. We tried to break him, to make him give up his secrets.. Cryotek even came to partake in the interrogation himself, leaving Nexus blindfolded for the event.. No matter what tortures we put him through, he couldn't be persuaded to betray his beloved Maximals." "Or betray you." "When Cryotek eventually left, he wanted to use Nexus as a leverage against the Maximal Council. The old man's spirit was unbreakable, he said, well.." "I proved him wrong.."

He couldn't help but ball his fist and squeeze tighter on Zodiac's arm as he listened. He tried very hard to hold back any tears that were attempting to leak from his orange optic sensors. It was difficult for Optimus not to picture the torture and pain that Nexus had been put through... because of Optimus... And difficult for him not to empathize after the anguish Megatron had put him through which had left scars. What had they done to Nexus in his final hours? His only consolation was that he felt that he had been as strong as Nexus had when it came to withholding information under the worse and most intense conditions of an abusive interrogation. What was the lead? he asked himself. How close was Nexus to finding me and my crew? I'll never know... Primal's grip loosened on Zodiac as he composed himself again, remembering not to let the hybrid's words get to him and make him so emotional. It was important to keep up his appearance of being cold and untouched by his manipulation. "You've spent a lot of time with Cryotek?" he asked Zodiac since he mentioned his name a couple times. "He was quite an influential and wanted crime lord," he added.

"They value no life, as I'm sure you've realized by now. Curiosity drives them, but their sense of superiority compels them to treat the rest of us like dirt."

The Commander actually felt calmer talking about the Vok again instead of what happened to Nexus since the subject was so personal to him.

"Similar appearance. I haven't gotten a chance to study Megatron's disk so I'm not sure what information it holds."

"Surely even under the highest security measures, someone with your skills and unique abilities could have easily obtained the disks and researched them for yourself," Optimus said with a little mockery and disappointment behind his words.

"I.. buried it..," "At the alien site."

"Then it's a good thing you're coming along," said Primal as he limped down the corridor with him and Rhinox in tow as if he expected Zodiac to dig it up for them and retrieve its information.

"There's so much information on the disk that it would take me days to explain it all to you. But what's important right now is that I do know that the alien site is dangerous.. And if you don't get to her soon, she'll die. No doubt accidentally activating the entirety of the alien site in the process."

“I’m certain you couldn’t care less about her life, you’re just concerned about your own survival,” he said coldly.

"I wish I had known about this reckless and self-destructive side of you sooner, Optimus.. I rather prefer it to your normal boring demeanor."

"So you would rather want me to sit back and allow Megatron to confiscate the Vok site thus letting him to procure whatever dangerous weapons it might have to offer and slaughter us all? That's not how we've survived for this long. I thought you knew everything about me, Zodiac," he smiled a little mischievously, giving the scar across his mouth a quick lick. "I'm always on the front lines in the face of danger. That‘s where I belong in this war. And since you came to interfere, you will have to deal with the Vok as well." He could tell Zodiac wanted nothing to do with this - holding on to him as he nearly tripped when Primal said he was bringing him with - now that the site was out of his hands and Whitegrazer was likely to activate it and trigger the aliens to make their move, but they needed his help whatever he could offer since he did know them better than any of them except for the mare who had pretended to be an Empath.

Could Zodiac regain his abilities if Optimus took him there and exposed him to the opportunity? Yes. In a way, he wanted him to because babysitting him and protecting him from the Predacons was a quite a full-time job that none of his Maximals had the time to do. On the other hand, he would be an unstoppable threat again to his crew and himself since they didn’t have any more of that “virus” that Aurora had developed to shut his alien nanotech down. Maybe, just maybe, working together to stop the aliens this time, allowing him to re-acquire his self-regeneration and shape-shifting, and whatever Whitegrazer may have been able to persuade him with her words would be enough to spare their lives and go their separate ways.

"I do know them better than you do.. and you have the resources available to you that I no longer have. Seems like an equitable trade."

"Of course it's never that simple with you or Megatron," Optimus commented. He was well aware how dangerous this whole event could be. And if the Predacons got involved, then it could make matters even worse. Knowing that Zodiac had no weapons to defend himself with, Primal handed the renegade off to Rhinox, who took him by the arm, and then proceeded to the armory to grab a spare weapon for him. "Hold him for a moment."

The engineer nodded in compliance, making sure to keep the renegade from entering the room full of weapons.

Looking around in the armory, Primal sought for something that Zodiac could use without literally stabbing him or any of his Maximals in the back, or shooting them relentlessly and causing serious injury. So no blades or guns or explosives. Something that he could use in both offense and defense but was blunt enough not to pierce armor. His orange optics settled upon a pair of his own clubs. Good enough, he thought as he grabbed one and put it in his subspace before he stepped back out of the room and secured it, rejoining the rhinoceros and the dragon. "Onward," he told them, taking Zodiac's arm again as Rhinox released him and walking down the corridor to the hangar.

"Will do, Optimus," "But I don't think BlacArachnia is still at the base. Sentinel just alerted me she left a while ago."

Puzzled by this report from Aurora, he sighed quietly and shook his head lightly. So be it. Wherever the black widow had gone off to, possibly the alien site where she wouldn't be able to be reached via comm. link, maybe she would return. Or not. He couldn't chase her down now, but he did hope she wasn't putting herself into harm's way. After all, it was highly likely that Megatron still wanted to punish her for her betrayal.

Stopping at the large entrance to the outdoors, Optimus said to his old friend, "Rhinox, stay here and use Aurora's device to keep an eye on the alien activity. See what you can do to enhance the range and capture any useful data." Not that he doubted the Fuzor's abilities with her own equipment, but he needed someone to remain at the Axalon who was familiar with with it to keep tabs on any happenings while they were gone.

"There's a range limit on the equipment," "So no.. Not by itself. However I could potentially tap into Sentinel's systems to expand that range a bit. It won't be able to tell you exactly what's going on there but we should be able to detect any massive and sudden changes at the site. Mind you.. we're still not quite sure what that place is."

"Alright. If there's a small portable device that you could use at the site, then bring it along. Rhinox will remain here to see what he can do with Sentinel and hopefully establish a wireless transponder with a boost from your mobile equipment to increase the range while we're out there," he explained to Aurora.

"Be careful, Optimus," Rhinox told him with soft and slightly weary optics.

The leader nodded. "Landslide should be arriving with Cheetor soon. Keep the base on high alert. We'll call for reinforcements if we need you guys. Until then, I don't want the Axalon unoccupied or unguarded in case the Predacons or the Vok gain the upper hand."

"Understood," the chief medical officer replied.

Primal tugged on Zodiac's arm, luring him further outside away from the broken ship. "Keep up your good behavior and I'll release you from the energy bonds once we arrive at the site if there's trouble awaiting us," he promised him. As they waited for Aurora to join them, Optimus let go of Zodiac and converted to his vehicle mode, hovering a couple feet off of the ground so Aurora could hop on.

It hasn't done anything, which proves that my heritage is protecting me. But Cybteronians won't.

To Optimus it proved nothing. It could just be delayed, or waiting for another trigger. How could Whitegrazer be so certain?

No, you have to. I should have done this sooner.

I'm coming, he told her firmly. She couldn't stop him. And if Wintersong was in danger as well now, then he had to help her, too.

Not in my optics. It doesn't matter if you or anyone were a flier. No one should have gone up, except me. I let you. I should had knocked you out and took your place. I realized that now.

He shook his head disagreeing. She should have knocked him out? Who was this, and what happened to the mare he had come to love?

This isn't just regretting a decision I made in the past. It is more than that. I... I would have survived. You didn't. We got lucky. Without Rhinox, I won't have be able to do what you witnessed. The Vok already believe me to be a selfish being. This... this has just entered the list, a list they will no doubt use against me. I... I am a selfish being.

You are anything but selfish, Whitegrazer. Foolish perhaps but definitely not selfish. It doesn't matter what the Vok think. If they had exiled you so long ago, why go back to them now? Just because the opportunity has presented itself? What would happen if it wasn't any of us stranded here and a completely different crew was in our place? What could you possibly say or do to make the Vok turn away from destroying us and the planet that they so desperately want to do?! I don't understand! We need to deal with them together as we always have. All of us need to stick together!

Oh, Optimus, you aren't weak. Don't think too little of yourself. You aren't unbreakable, but once was broken can be fixed and will heal in time.

You may be right... But it will take much longer and be much more difficult without you here... Truthfully though, no, he would be broken for a very long time if he lost her. But since he didn't want to be a doom-sayer or assume that she was facing her own death by doing this because they didn't know for certain, clearly being pushed behind by TyCross, he told her what she wanted to hear.

It's not blame, Optimus. It's responsibility. One I have hidden from for far too long. I know it wasn;t entirely my fault, but now, it is my time to step up and deal with it.

He shook his head again and lowered it. There is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise... He grew silent when he heard her speak to TyCross.

Now, I understand. You weren't here to train me. You were here to tame me. Observe me. Lead me here, so I could face their judgement.

Did you expect anything different from me? You let sentiment cloud your judgment. Now, look at what you have done. You hurt others. You hurt others.... by caring. Look at Optimus. Look around. They are willing to follow you to destruction. I'm surprised that little weasel isn't here.You were right. You are a selfish being. It would have been be better if you just slap them off. Killed them. But no, you tried to be a good girl. Did you expect their opinions to change? Fool. You are a fool.

Little weasel? He didn't know who he was referring to. But the rest of his words angered him deeply. NO, TyCross! We care about each other so we stick together to survive! We have each others' backs! To not care would be selfish and callous! Why do you speak such hurtful words trying to manipulate her?!

I'm sorry for hurting you.... all of you.

Whitegrazer, please, you have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing! Maybe you could have told me about your Vok heritage sooner but I can overlook that because this isn't worth it. Don't do this. Don't listen to TyCross. You- He immediately stopped talking when she embraced him, and he filled up with sorrow, concern and terror.

You donlt understand now, but some day will you. I hope you can experience more than you had. There is more to life than that.

Who else was she talking to? And he finally felt him more clearly; it was Zodiac. Now he could hear and feel him, too, through Whitegrazer? And then he realized what he had done through his emotions and desperation, expanding the connection to all of them. He had no idea how he managed to pull it off but soon it wouldn't matter.

Then there was nothing. All of it was gone. She was gone, and Zodiac and TyCross. What had happened? Whitegrazer? he called for her. WHITEGRAZER?! PLEASE! Silence. No meadow. No voices or feelings. Did something happen at the site? Or had she simply cut him off?

"Wintersong, do you copy? Wintersong?" Primal sent her, but there was only static like Whitegrazer had said there would be because of the jamming towers that Rattrap's team hadn't been able to finish reprogramming and sabotaging. No, no, no!

"Hurry, Aurora! We have to go!" he said desperately over his comm. link, glancing at Zodiac to see if he had heard and felt the same things he did. As soon as the Fuzor would jump onto his hoverboard, he would blast off making sure Zodiac would remain by his side during the fight.

-----

"I've had my better days, but then again they do say the first date can end quite badly."

"Trust me, Tigerhawk, you don't want that to've been yer first date," Rattrap smirked a little and then shuddered at the thought of anyone dating Nemesis.

"Unfortunately, it'll take time for my self-repair systems to work on the damage long enough for my wing mechanisms to prove functional."

"Well, we got some time ta make it to our destination since we're both grounded," he assured him.

"I'll admit though, when I awoke from my pod the last thing I expected was to be smack in the middle of a conflict."

"Yeah, uh, it's a long story," the Spy said reluctantly, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "We've been here for a few years now in dis war, still pickin' up our stasis pods and any survivors after we crashed, and battling Megatron and his goons. But you did good back dere considerin' everything. So, you know, welcome ta Earth."

"But something tells me we're not following our teammates back to the Axalon."

"No, we got new orders. We gotta go to the alien site and secure it before the Preds show up. Got any more questions, ask 'em on the way." With that, Rattrap transformed to his dragster mode, revved his engine and then started driving off in the same direction Wintersong had gone but kept a good pace for Tigerhawk to keep up with him.

-----

"Let me down..," "We're not.. retreating.. can't.. yet.."

"Relax," Inferno told Nemesis. He tried holding her still but her determination helped her wiggle out of his grasp and he gave up keeping her draped over his shoulder.

"Did they retreat back to base already?,"

"Who? The Maximals?" he asked for clarification on her vague question, after all she could have been talking about Spineback and the other two failures known as Terrorsaur and Waspinator.

"Where are they going?," "Get the wounded back to base," "There's something going on near the jamming towers the Maximals sabotaged earlier. I'm heading there to investigate. Inform Megatron when you get back to base,"

Inferno quietly looked around below, visually searching for the Maximals while Nemesis barked orders to Spineback.

"Do you need repairs?,"

"No. Unlike you, I managed to remain unscathed during battle... for the most part." His back still ached from the tigress' attack but otherwise he was fine.

"You should return to our lord Megatron,"

"What?! I-" he started to object but Nemesis interrupted him.

"You belong at his side as he makes his grand entrance. Go."

Grumbling under his breath, Inferno knew he couldn't disobey Nemesis' orders, and her words were quite persuasive after all. She was right. He belonged at the Royalty's side. "Very well," he said and then veered off toward Spineback's direction and lowered his altitude, landing beside her.

"I will take Terrorsaur," he said with some irritation to lift some of the weight off of her travel since he didn't want them taking any long to return to base which would make Megatron even angrier. Pulling the TransMetal into his arms, he then blasted off into the air again to take his comrade's damaged body back to the Darksyde for repairs.

(all right.. Now that the election is over and we're over the worst of the shock, it's time to start working on my post.. Sorry for the delay.)

"Relax,"

Easy for him to say.. He wasn't the one being carried off by a disillusioned ant who thought they were all part of a colony. No, Nemesis most certainly was not going to relax.

"Who? The Maximals?"

The avian female gave the ant an exasperated stare, wondering how this oaf could even find his way home. Granted.. she was a bit disoriented when she first came to her senses again, but it should have been obvious that the Maximals were their target. But she refrained from making too big an issue of it, given the intellectual challenges the ant faced on a daily basis.

"Yes.. The Maximals," she clarified.

"No. Unlike you, I managed to remain unscathed during battle... for the most part."

Her attention shot back to the ant immediately, her optics narrowing.

"Isn't that fortunate," she responded, her tone somewhat sour.

"What?! I-"

She merely settled his indecision with a persuasive look and a nod. Truthfully she only wanted to send Inferno to ease the blow with Megatron, at least until she'd been able to find anything substantial at the location the Maximals were heading to. Whatever was there had to be important. And a gut feeling was telling her that Megatron would want to get his claws into it.

"You are his most loyal and trusted servant, the one he'd be willing to trust with his life and I know you will do anything to keep our... queen.. safe. Thus I'm entrusting you with this most important of missions," she told the ant, trying to persuade him further.

"Very well,"

Her attempt appeared to have worked and Inferno soon left her side.

Good.

"Hear you loud and clear. But I'd recommend not testing the full capabilities of those healing abilities of yours Nemesis, if those Maximals are going to that site something tells me it won't just be them again."

Nemesis chuckled slightly at Spineback's warning. Surely the other Decepticon-Turned-Predacon female was the one underestimating the avian female's powers. And now that Zodic was dead, there was nobody else with even remotely similar abilities to her own. Of course she remained blissfully unaware of where her nanotechnology had originated from and the connection she therefor shared with Whitegrazer.. and the Vok.

"I'll be careful," the commanding officer reassured the other female. "But our chances of success there will certainly improve greatly if you and Inferno can bring Megatron sooner rather than later. You are correct that we don't know what we're getting into. "

The newly appointed commander wasted no time with pursuing the Maximals. Fortunately for Nemesis, she was faster than the Maximals so she had no real difficulty catching up to them despite the head start they had gotten. Of course she played it safe and stayed high up in the air so that she could follow at a safe distance without being spotted.

Only when she saw Wintersong enter the strange alien site that had remained hidden even as they had placed the jamming towers nearby, did the avian female descend and make a quiet landing. Now on foot, she followed the tigress through the peculiar structure. It was strange there.. certainly had an alien feel to it.. and there was this eeriness there despite the unusual calmness and apparent solitude. Mysterious. Appealing. Yet unsettling as well. Like the place hadn't been touched for centuries.

Nemesis entered the structure very carefully, not wanting to alert the Maximals or whoever else might be lurking in the shadows that she was there. She could hear the distant noises of the Maximals talking. They hadn't heard her. Still.. it felt as if she was being watched by .. someone.. or something.. An unknown entity. And from time to time she caught something movement in the corner of her optics but whenever she'd look that way, there was nothing there. Was it the breeze causing the local plant life to move?

She pressed on.

"Which was probably another scenario that the High Council counted on if all else failed,"

Zodiac shrugged. "Anything to keep their secrets safe." It was true that the Council had been known to use some methods cruel enough to match anything the Predacons would do. But it was all Zodiac had ever known so he never really thought much of it. And given his own dislike for the Maximal Elders, it almost felt like a relief to be able to share these thoughts with someone.. even if that someone was Primal.

"There's a lot to process,"

There was. And there was a lot more if Primal decided to push the matter further.

"At this point in time there's nothing I can do,"

The former shapeshifter tilted his head as he stretched his wings a bit before folding them in so that they dangled on the floor. Primal was looking at him, peering into his very soul or at least trying to. It was only then that Zodiac realized his voice had given away the uncertainty he felt about the prospect of being turned into the Elders. Those foolish old Maximals.. yet he knew they had no quarrels with taking him apart to learn how he operated before killing him. There was no doubt in his mind that they wouldn't hesitate to do that. And it left him very uncomfortable.

"You may be right,"

He had committed atrocious crimes against the Council of Elders. He had killed their most trusted generals to get close to them, and he would have killed them too if he had been given the chance to do so. That memory of how Nexus Prime had come for him that day was still vividly clear in his mind. It had marked the beginning of his horrible experience with the Maximals, and the beginning of his hatred of Nexus and Optimus. It was doubtful that the Council would make a similar attempt again. Not now. And the fact they sent one of their agents to hunt him down was proof of that.

"Nexus always admired your resilience," the renegade admitted. What had been obvious to anyone around them, always seemed to escape Optimus' attention. Perhaps Primal could still be persuaded to take the high road, thus sparing the renegade's life if he was still their prisoner when they returned to Cybertron. He was certain that would happen.. some day. Unless, of course, the aliens got to them all first. And that was starting to look like a more likely outcome.

"If anyone else was involved with assisting Megatron stealing the golden disk," he brought up. "Was it an idea Megatron formed himself? Or was he originally carrying it out for someone else and then took advantage of the situation for his own ambitions?"

Zodiac hesitated.

"That question you would have to ask Megatron himself. I know he worked for Cryotek for a time but I had never met him in person back then. Cryotek seemed .. almost fond of him.. Rather like Nexus was of you. But Cryotek wasn't foolish enough to trust his pupil.. for good reasons as it turned out."


Primal's grip on his arm tightened as he went into some details about Nexus' final moments. Not quite to the point where it started hurting, but close to it. Zodiac paused, waiting for Primal to constrain himself.. Finally he did.

"You've spent a lot of time with Cryotek?" he asked Zodiac since he mentioned his name a couple times. "He was quite an influential and wanted crime lord,"

"I wouldn't say a lot of time," the dragon said, no longer bothering to fight the effects of the truth serum. "Cryotek was one of the individuals in charge of my creation.. of turning me into what I am.. was.."

Glancing down at his own armor, he added, "He stopped by to inspect the progress from time to time.. He was the one that decided a dragon was a fitting alternative mode for me. But he never stayed for the more intense portions of the experiment. Whether he had places to be or if he simply couldn't stomach it, they never told me.."

His voice drifted off at the end and he shook his head as if to clear the memories from his mind.

"Surely even under the highest security measures, someone with your skills and unique abilities could have easily obtained the disks and researched them for yourself,"

"I didn't need his disks at the time," Zodiac countered, almost sounding a bit offended by what the Maximal was insinuating. "They could wait.. Lest you forget that I planned to have the Predacons succumb to the hate virus. Afterwards, when they were all dead by their own crazed hands, I could have simply taken whatever I pleased from the Darksyde."

Optimus went on to inquire more about the disk in Zodiac's possession and against all better judgement the renegade shared the information with him. This truth serum was certainly potent.. and most inconvenient.

"Then it's a good thing you're coming along,"

Zodiac grimaced at that but followed along as best he could or he would end up flat on his face.

"Be careful what you wish for.. Those disks contain much more than simply information, as Megatron has yet to realize. They can unlock secrets beyond your wildest imagination, and terrors to freeze your spark."

Yes, it was an odd description. But it was nevertheless true. Those disks contained the power to activate more dangerous alien weapons than the one found in the volcano.

“I’m certain you couldn’t care less about her life, you’re just concerned about your own survival,”

Zodiac almost halted upon hearing that. A few weeks ago, when the connection was fresh, the renegade had wanted nothing more than to get the female out of his head.. and destroy her for daring to enter his mind in the first place. As time went on, he'd become more familiar with her presence.. And he'd also learned that pain was shared through the link. Yes, he missed the freedom.. but oddly enough she had become the only familiar voice he had now that his crew was dead. Did he care? He didn't think he did.. but he'd be lying to himself if he tried to claim she hadn't had an impact on him.

"So you would rather want me to sit back and allow Megatron to confiscate the Vok site thus letting him to procure whatever dangerous weapons it might have to offer and slaughter us all? That's not how we've survived for this long. I thought you knew everything about me, Zodiac,"

"That is not what I was implying," the hybrid replied as he was pulled along by the arm. Did he need to remind the Maximal that he was indeed incapable of lying right now? So whatever he told him, held truth to it.

"I'm always on the front lines in the face of danger. That‘s where I belong in this war. And since you came to interfere, you will have to deal with the Vok as well."

Yeah right.. Looking forward to that.


"Not exactly looking forward to seeing what the Vok are up to this time," the renegade admitted. "I've been trying to stay two steps ahead of them for a long time. Going to their sites is okay as long as you know what you're getting into. You, unfortunately, have no idea. Whatever dealings you've had with them has been limited to interaction on this planet. I've physically come into contact with them.. seen their facilities.. operated their weapons.. and had them wipe my memories only to replace my mind with their own twisted creation.."

They stopped by the armory, causing Zodiac to give Primal a quizzical look. He was already aware of the arsenal Primal carried on his person.. so why were they here? Was Optimus actually thinking of giving him weapons..?

"Of course it's never that simple with you or Megatron,"

"Wouldn't your life be boring if we weren't spicing it up a bit for you?," Zodiac mocked back.

"Hold him for a moment."

Zodiac didn't move when Rhinox grabbed him instead but his gaze followed Primal as he went inside.

"I prefer something powerful. Got any rocket launchers to spare?," he called after him, of course not expecting him to actually bring anything bigger than a small and weak welding torch back outside. However Primal emerged again quickly enough, but alas didn't appear to be carrying anything additional. Of course that was not to say he wasn't merely hiding whatever it was on his person or in his possession otherwise.

"Onward,"

Zodiac shrugged, although looked a bit disappointed for a brief moment. "Well.. I suppose nothing is better than the last gift you granted me," he quipped as they started moving again, indicating his cuffed wrists and ankles.

Once outside they were joined by the puny winged weasel. Zodiac had never understood why Primal felt the need to keep her in his crew, much less treat her like a daughter. She wasn't ferocious at all and aside from spending a lot of time in the lab, she seemed pretty useless in the battlefield. Yes, he suspected she had something to do with his own misfortune as of late, but really.. in a fight she would no doubt only get in the way. Surprisingly, though, Primal ordered his old and dear friend to stay behind.. yet the pathetic fuzor was coming along?

"Alright. If there's a small portable device that you could use at the site, then bring it along. Rhinox will remain here to see what he can do with Sentinel and hopefully establish a wireless transponder with a boost from your mobile equipment to increase the range while we're out there,"

"I do have something that might work.. It's a prototype, but should function much the same as the larger ones," Aurora replied as she strapped the probe onto her back and followed them outside. A bit further up ahead she could see Primal, Rhinox.. and Zodiac? Ugh. She ignored Zodiac altogether and could only hope Primal knew what he was doing. But she wasn't going to give the renegade who tried to kill them all as much as a chance to bother her.. or threaten her. Not again.

"Keep up your good behavior and I'll release you from the energy bonds once we arrive at the site if there's trouble awaiting us,"

"That would certainly be appreciated as I potentially follow you into oblivion," Zodiac responded with a grimace. Of course if he'd be forced to use his fists in a fight, that might come up a bit short against all the weapons the Vok had at their disposal. But the fresh air felt nice and somehow he felt his head clearing up a bit more still.

Suddenly he found himself back at the alien site, in the presence of three others. The white female approached him.

You don't understand now, but some day you will. I hope you can experience more than you had. There is more to life than that. Stay with them.

Zodiac's face was a picture of confusion.. and he looked rather uncomfortable as she embraced him, much like a mother to a son, via their mental link. Within their mind meld he wasn't chained, but her abrupt gesture left him unable to move as if frozen. Oddly he didn't really pull away from her either, instead he just stared at her well after she stepped back. His facial features in reality reflected the look from the link, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably until she had let go.

It felt like she was saying farewell. And he had no idea how to respond to that. He was certainly not going to be all mopey about it like Optimus was, yet part of him felt a certain.. emptiness.. from her decision to .. what was she doing anyway? Where would she go?

.. Was she actually going to return to where the Vok were?

His gaze drifted from Optimus to the strange other male he'd gotten to know as TyCross. Who was this guy anyway? And why was he so determined to bring Whitegrazer along?

Where are you going?, he finally asked when he managed to gather his thoughts enough to do so.

Then.. there was darkness.. The connection lost, apparently due to the female cutting him off. Immediately getting pulled back to reality, Zodiac found himself staring at Optimus. He knew the other male knew more than he let on, but obviously he wasn't going to share it.

Wintersong still couldn't understand Whitegrazer's warnings, a look of confusion showing in her optics since her lower face was still covered by her face mask, hiding half her expression. "Whitegrazer what..." The transmetal tigress froze when she heard rustling, it was distant but the quietness and calmness of the valley made her edgy, causing her to turn on the spot to look around, expecting yet again the sign of the unusual contraptions the alien sites tended to be littered with or the off chance a Predacon was lurking. Unknowingly to her though, Nemesis had followed and was nearby.

The noise stopped as soon as it began, making Wintersong briefly wonder if she was hearing things, or just being paranoid due to the site's origin. Trying to shake off the eerie feeling, the tigress turned back towards Whitegrazer finding her seemingly distracted by something and took a step towards the equine. Her sudden warning though made Wintersong freeze mid-step, whipping her head back to look for signs of an enemy but instead found something much more unexpected: vines seeming to have a mind of their own coming right for her and possibly her fellow maximal. "So not happening." Wintersong said, growling as she swung her sword, cutting through some of the vines that made a grab for her ankle and grabbing her other sword to cut at more vines, backing up as she did so. "Okay Whitegrazer this isn't funny anymore, we got to get our skid plates out of here! Pronto!" Wintersong said in a far more urgent tone, briefly glancing to the Empath.

But that split second distraction was all that took for one vine to snag her right wrist, causing the transmetal feline to turn her attention back to the attacking plants, cutting the vine but not being fast enough to stop others from ensnaring around her ankles and left wrist, the grip tighter than the first try and causing her to drop her sword that clattered to the ground. She tried in vain to slice through the alien vegetation, but each time she got through some of it, a few more vines coiled around her form until the other sword followed the first. "Whitegrazer!" Wintersong tried to call out, turning her head to either side to try and find the mare, hoping she could get away rather than fight. She had that much sense right?

Wintersong on the other hand wasn't going to be so lucky. She twisted her body in any direction she could, yanked at the thick vines binding her form, but nothing broke their punishing grip as she was dragged away and separated from her teammate, growling and cursing as she continued to fight. It was all she could think to do until she saw where the vines were taking her which was a nearby flower, slightly smaller than the one Whitegrazer had approached, but big enough to hold a Cybertronian of her size causing her optics to widen as she was pulled right to the flower. "This can't be happening...." Was all Wintersong could get out before she was pulled into the middle of the flower, the petals wrapping around her to form a cocoon and seeming to be alive as the very vines that attacked the two femmes.

It seemed the tigress's time had finally ended after all as the flower seemed to retract into the ground, a brief flash coming from it to seemingly put it's victim in stasis and disappear into the ground...

-------------

"Luckily I already know how to hold my own in a fight." Tigerhawk remarked, now being thankful for his past days as a police officer and his days in Special Operations that seemed to help him not only avoid making a fatal decision of going with Nemesis but allowing him to hold off against her long enough before his own damaged wings failed him. Though he couldn't argue that he'd never consider dating an enemy, it was more of a joke than anything.

But seeming as they were in a hurry Tigerhawk decided to save the questions for now, waiting for Rattrap to transform before he began following alongside the rat who set a pace he could keep up with. Though Rattrap's "welcome to Earth" greeting intrigued and surprised him just as much as knowing how long he had been in his stasis pod and that they were in something of a war. He just didn't realize how isolated they truly were at the moment. Still, of all places to end up Earth was certainly something he had not expected but it did offer maybe a chance to see different organic life up close and personal should time allow. Though that time wouldn't be for a while obviously. "I can save the rest of my questions for later Rattrap, it seems our situation is far more urgent than satisfying my curiosity." Tigerhawk told him, willing to wait for a better time to know more of the situation.

But there was one thing that he couldn't help asking, "And what exactly do you mean alien site? There are other strange lifeforms on this planet aside from us?" The fuzor asked, knowing they could be considered alien to the natives there. But if the Cybertronians weren't considered "alien" in this context, what exactly was it that Rattrap spoke of?

------------------

'Or maybe don't become full of yourself over a unique ability.' Spineback thought to herself, finding Nemesis' confidence both uplifting for team morale but also perhaps a liability. Or was it better called smugness? Whatever one wanted to call it, the saurian femme couldn't help mentally shaking her head since there was no amount of warning she could give to any of her fellow Predacons. Most times it fell on deaf audios anyway.

Continuing her trek however, Spineback heard the familiar sound of Inferno's thrusters causing her to stop for the moment with seeing the ant was indeed accompanying her after all. "How kind of you." She thanked him, her tone sarcastic and dry since at the moment she was less than thrilled with the ant and his bull-headedness. Though she would have pointed out Waspinator might have been easier for him to carry she decided to let him take the fallen pterodactyl, before continuing to follow him from the ground. But she already could access that Terrorsaur could probably join them quickly in battle compared to Waspinator, his damage seeming to be far more extensive than the treacherous flier.
((So yes, Winter is not being shot into space but this will mark her last physical appearance in Season 2, with bits and pieces here and there of what she will be feeling mentally from the Vok. And her being ensnared in the flower is on purpose, a little hint of mine to something I hope will be fun and different later on. ))

I'm coming,

Optimus was just as stubborn as she was. She couldn't help but smile, but that smile changed to concern then contemplation of what she needed to do.

You are anything but selfish, Whitegrazer. Foolish perhaps but definitely not selfish. It doesn't matter what the Vok think. If they had exiled you so long ago, why go back to them now? Just because the opportunity has presented itself? What would happen if it wasn't any of us stranded here and a completely different crew was in our place? What could you possibly say or do to make the Vok turn away from destroying us and the planet that they so desperately want to do?! I don't understand! We need to deal with them together as we always have. All of us need to stick together!

Because... Because they need to know what they are doing is wrong. That they are letting their arrogance and single-mindedness cloud their judgement, forgetting themselves. I learned that lesson back on Cybertron. It's time they learn it too. It's time for me to confront them. They had abandoned me, ignored me for so long. I will not be ignored by them. And I will not stand back and let anyone else to take my place. Whitegrazer shook her head. e can talk about what ifs.... but it doesn't matter. We are here. We are. No one else. We are the only ones who can stop them. No, I have to stop them. I can;t put anymore people at risk.

But since Wintersong was coming, someone else was all ready at risk.

You may be right... But it will take much longer and be much more difficult without you here...

She had felt Optimus' emotions through the link as he spoke. No, she didn't want Optimus or anyone to be broke by her actions. She wasn't going to let the Vok get anyway with this. She will not die.

There is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise...

I'm stubborn as a horse, Optimus. She smiled, despite a tear rolling down her cheek. She didn't ant to do no harm or cause any heartbreak, but she was a natural for doing that towards those closest to her.

NO, TyCross! We care about each other so we stick together to survive! We have each others' backs! To not care would be selfish and callous! Why do you speak such hurtful words trying to manipulate her?!

This is none of your business, descendant of Prime. TyCross had growled while he still had his grip on Whitegrazer, but he lost it after her surprise attack, releasing his grip.

Whitegrazer, please, you have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing! Maybe you could have told me about your Vok heritage sooner but I can overlook that because this isn't worth it. Don't do this. Don't listen to TyCross. You-

Yeah, she did, for a lot of things. TyCross might had manipulated her, but she choose to go because of the reasons she stated towards Optimus. She didn't say anything more yet she made sure, before she went Zodiac, to shower all the love and care she felt toward him to him. Despite all the terror, sorrow, and concern, she wanted to reassure him. Reassure him that she was going to try her best and save them. That this was something she needed to do.

I will not allow them to succeed. I promise.

Where are you going?,

You know where... To where the Vok live. At Nexus Zero.She felt the stiffness and uncomfortable feeling Zodiac radiated to her as she embraced him. Through all of his life of torture, horrific experimentation, and constant abuse, he never experienced such a warmth. Such physical contact that was meant to comfort and show affection, not to hurt.

Wish me luck.

"So not happening." Wintersong said, growling as she swung her sword, cutting through some of the vines that made a grab for her ankle and grabbing her other sword to cut at more vines, backing up as she did so. "Okay Whitegrazer this isn't funny anymore, we got to get our skid plates out of here! Pronto!"

After she broke off the connection between Zodiac and Optimus, she turned her attention towards Wintersong and one of her Jutes cut one of the vines that almost grabbed Wintersong's foot. One of the vines was actually coming for her torso and she used her own hand to cut it before it wrapped around her. But one of the vines wrapped around her legs, knocking her to the grassy floor. Vines seemed to have a mind of their own. The vines around her leg had the trength to left her entire form in the air and throw her back down three times, forcing her to drop one of her Jutes.

"Get out of here! Wintersong, you need to- Wintersong!"

"Whitegrazer!" Wintersong tried to call out, turning her head to either side to try and find the mare, hoping she could get away rather than fight. She had that much sense right? "This can't be happening...."

Whitegrazer tried to cut the vines on her leg. The vines had reached up to her knees, squeezed her like a snake. As she was cutting the vines, she watched in horror as Wintersong's body was encompassed by a flower, her entire body encased in a cocoon-like form.

Don't fight it, Whitegrazer!

She used all her strength to cut the rest of the vines off her. About three thick vines raised up to attack when they exploded. Pieces nicked her as she coughed and rushed to get back in a standing position. She wondered what or who caused the explosion, looking up to see a familiar black widow. When did Blackarachnia get here?

Can you cut her out of that?

Whitegrazer looked upon Wintersong's cocoon prison. She grabbed the Jute she lost and held it up to maybe cut through the cocoon. When the blade hit the cocoon, the blade just bounced back. Didn't even dent it. Placing her hand upon the cocoon, she shook her head. I'm so sorry, Wintersong.

There it came. A burning fury erupted. She raced toward the metal golden flower stem and touched it. A powerful urge of energon flowed through her entire body. She grimaced, but she remained where she stood. The energon just kept flooded inside her. Pounding her entire systems. Spark raced, pounded against her chest almost ready to burst out.

Then she felt it. Her feet lifting off the ground. All she could see was blue and loud humming noise overcame everything. A sensation of her body slowly, one piece at a time, stretched up and upwards towards her destination. She smiled.

It's time for you guys to finally listen to me.

Blackarachnia watched, covering her eyes at the blinding light. Watched something from the sky hit the stem, almsot reminded her of what the alien's signals looked like,covering Whitegrazer with a blue light. The white mare herself was glowing blue. She watched the white mare be sucked up and shot out to space.

The blue light was gone, so was Whitegrazer. Blackarachnia examined the site and stared at Wintersong. "Yikes, glad it wasn't me."

"Anything to keep their secrets safe."

"Exactly," Primal agreed with Zodiac. "Anything." And it angered him.

"Nexus always admired your resilience,"

Optimus had looked to the renegade's words before his gaze thoughtfully lowered. After the details he had already revealed to him about how Nexus Prime was hunted and ultimately met his demise by Zodiac's hands, the exploration captain wasn't sure he wanted to hear anymore of it whether it was positive or negative. This feeling of learning too much of something so horrible - his very father-figure being stripped away from him in the shapeshifter's point of view - was likely what he had been warned about by Whitegrazer.

"That question you would have to ask Megatron himself. I know he worked for Cryotek for a time but I had never met him in person back then. Cryotek seemed .. almost fond of him.. Rather like Nexus was of you. But Cryotek wasn't foolish enough to trust his pupil.. for good reasons as it turned out." "I wouldn't say a lot of time," "Cryotek was one of the individuals in charge of my creation.. of turning me into what I am.. was.." "He stopped by to inspect the progress from time to time.. He was the one that decided a dragon was a fitting alternative mode for me. But he never stayed for the more intense portions of the experiment. Whether he had places to be or if he simply couldn't stomach it, they never told me.."

Megatron and Cryotek in cahoots? It wasn't surprising but it sure was terrifying. If Cryotek could see Megatron now with all of his power in his TransMetal form... Maybe the best thing to come out of them being stranded on Earth was that it kept the two mastermind criminals apart from each other. When Zodiac mentioned Cryotek having a hand in his developmental stages it intrigued Primal. But again, it seemed Zodiac was denied the same relationship with Cryotek like the one Optimus had with Nexus, if the renegade even desired such a thing. Instead, Zodiac was just tossed around like an experimental beach ball. Did he ever have close friendships or anyone to look up to or to lean on? If not, that would have been a very lonely life. But maybe after everything, that was the way he wanted it because he couldn't or wouldn't trust anyone with his deepest inner thoughts and feelings. Optimus had all of that as Nexus' privileged student and Zodiac had none of it. "And you hold no ill will toward him?" he asked curiously.

"I didn't need his disks at the time," "They could wait.. Lest you forget that I planned to have the Predacons succumb to the hate virus. Afterwards, when they were all dead by their own crazed hands, I could have simply taken whatever I pleased from the Darksyde."

The Maximal nodded gently, trying to recall what he could when Zodiac unleashed that awful virus. While infected, Optimus spent most of his time at the Darksyde, tortured and barely clinging to life let alone keeping himself aware of the events that took place. The whole time he was fooled by Zodiac portraying his teacher, and then learning about Aurora being shot when he could do nothing about it only for them to find out the link between himself and Whitegrazer. So much pain and anguish... Oh he remembered that, but there were some blank spaces missing from his memory. On the bright side, if one should be found, his Maximals once again proved their value, determination and intelligence by reversing the virus and saving them all. ((OOC: If I'm recalling that correctly...))

"Be careful what you wish for.. Those disks contain much more than simply information, as Megatron has yet to realize. They can unlock secrets beyond your wildest imagination, and terrors to freeze your spark."

Optimus stared into Zodiac's optics, considering his warning. Even if they didn't or couldn't research and understand the information on the disks, he'd at least want them out of Megatron's possession.

"Not exactly looking forward to seeing what the Vok are up to this time,"

"That makes two of us, but we have no choice," he said, almost accusingly since it was Zodiac who activated the weapon at the volcano which alerted the Vok that there was still activity on the planet they thought they had annihilated along with all of its inhabitants.

"I've been trying to stay two steps ahead of them for a long time. Going to their sites is okay as long as you know what you're getting into. You, unfortunately, have no idea. Whatever dealings you've had with them has been limited to interaction on this planet. I've physically come into contact with them.. seen their facilities.. operated their weapons.. and had them wipe my memories only to replace my mind with their own twisted creation.."

He was right. Optimus knew next to nothing about these strange and powerful aliens. His encounters were painful and intrusive but limited despite them always targeting him, and he had yet to face them in person. Zodiac and Whitegrazer knew much more... They were both far more experienced in dealing with them. What was Primal doing? What would he do once he arrived at the new site? He didn't know... But that was also part of his reputation, being opportunistic and improvisational. "You could share with us a lot more about them so we can better handle these altercations," he suggested.

"Wouldn't your life be boring if we weren't spicing it up a bit for you?,"

"I could do without, but since we're here with nothing else better to do, you might as well keep me on my toes," he responded to his mockery.

"I prefer something powerful. Got any rocket launchers to spare?,"

For the first few moments after Zodiac's pitiful attempt of acquiring something so powerful Primal just gave him a meaningless smile. Then he simply said, "I wouldn't trust you with a rock."

"Well.. I suppose nothing is better than the last gift you granted me,"

Optimus had ignored his comment and glanced at Aurora as she joined them, keeping himself between them so she could feel somewhat safer or at least protected by a barrier of someone she trusted.

"I do have something that might work.. It's a prototype, but should function much the same as the larger ones,"

He glanced at the prototype strapped to her back and gave her a satisfied and proud expression.

"That would certainly be appreciated as I potentially follow you into oblivion,"

It was the first time Primal had chuckled in a while considering the circumstances and how everything felt like it was falling apart again. "I appreciate your confidence in my abilities," he returned sarcastically knowing full well that he had no desire to even go to this site in the first place and his unwillingness to help them.

This is none of your business, descendant of Prime.

It is every bit of my business! Primal had hollered at TyCross. I am her commanding officer! She follows my orders, not yours! he argued in some desperate attempt to keep Whitegrazer from being his puppet. He had felt the release from the mare's neck when TyCross let go before she severed the link, relieved that she was fighting for her own right and decision to do what she was going to and not by his demands.

Because... Because they need to know what they are doing is wrong. That they are letting their arrogance and single-mindedness cloud their judgement, forgetting themselves. I learned that lesson back on Cybertron. It's time they learn it too. It's time for me to confront them. They had abandoned me, ignored me for so long. I will not be ignored by them. And I will not stand back and let anyone else to take my place. Whitegrazer shook her head. e can talk about what ifs.... but it doesn't matter. We are here. We are. No one else. We are the only ones who can stop them. No, I have to stop them. I can;t put anymore people at risk.

We are all at risk all the time, he had reminded her softly. It wasn't her fault or her responsibility but he understood why she felt what she had to do.

I'm stubborn as a horse, Optimus.

He failed to return the smile she gave him even though he got the pun, but he reached out to her to gently wipe her tear away with his thumb.

I will not allow them to succeed. I promise.

He wanted to believe her so much... And he realized that he had to. He had to have faith in her because she always had faith in him. If she truly believed that she could make a difference and stop or speak with the aliens to save all of them, then he had to let her go. He didn't want to but there was nothing he could do to stop her. She had made her decision. All he could do now was what he did best; hold his crew together and lead them through this ordeal. I know... I trust you, Whitegrazer. Be careful... He felt her love and kindness again as he absorbed it like a sponge, almost desperately, but he had finally and reluctantly let go.

Where are you going?,

He heard Zodiac ask Whitegrazer through their interconnected link, which was odd at first, but he didn't interrupt because he, too, wanted to know specifically where she was going.

You know where... To where the Vok live. At Nexus Zero. Wish me luck.

As if it took the snap of a finger, she was gone from both of them, the link was dissolved. And Optimus observed Zodiac curiously to see his reaction toward her peaceful yet foreign affection. It was very likely nothing he had ever felt before, and it wasn't exactly something he could give to Zodiac, at least not in the same physical manner. Even so, he had a feeling Zodiac would never forgive Primal for what he did and never accept his kindness no matter how much he could offer it to him. Whitegrazer may very well be the only one to get through to Zodiac and expose him to feelings and experiences he might not have ever known before. However, Zodiac still couldn't be trusted. Right now, he was still under the influence of the truth serum, but once it would wear off, he would likely be back to his old, manipulative ways again.

In any case, where was Nexus Zero? Optimus had never even heard of it. Was it a real name or a nick name? Where was it located in the vast universe? She had known so much and had never shared any of it until recently. He was beginning to realize that she might actually have more in common with Zodiac than she did with Primal. Primal, who had no previous connections, or influences, or knowledge of the Vok until he arrived on this world and was now thrown into the mix as his mind was invaded by them. How incredible it was that these three would eventually come together like they had and their greatest commonality was working together to defeat the Vok. However, the one unpredictable cog that might throw them off was Megatron and whatever he understood about the alien technology.

As soon as Aurora had clambered onto the gorilla's hoverboard, he grabbed Zodiac's arm and took off to the sky lifting the renegade up with them to make sure he'd follow and start flapping his wings before he released him and let him fly on his own. From their distance, they could see the blue beam shooting down from space, straight through the atmosphere and upon the coordinates of the alien site where Whitegrazer and Wintersong were at. His worst fear was that something was triggered after all and it had just struck them. Optimus found it difficult to imagine the horrors he might find once they arrived... He tried shaking it off but it was hard to ignore. NO! he screamed at himself for not being there. "We might be too late," he pointed out but refused to give up. Instead, he accelerated faster through the air.

"Rhinox, try to lock onto that energy signal that just penetrated the atmosphere and touched down at the alien site!" he ordered.

"I'm on it, Optimus. I'll do what I can," the engineer assured him as he stationed himself in the command center and immediately got to work on the long range scanners, incorporating Aurora's work with Sentinel and her equipment. He could visually see the beam on the radar but extracting any information on it would be the tricky part.

-----

"Luckily I already know how to hold my own in a fight."

"Yeah, I noticed," Rattrap replied, giving Tigerhawk a toothy grin from the side.

"I can save the rest of my questions for later Rattrap, it seems our situation is far more urgent than satisfying my curiosity."

The TransMetal rat blinked his bright green eyes and shrugged as if to say, "Suit yourself." But he actually thought this new guy held some wisdom. He wanted to like him but he still wasn't entirely sure who he was and if he had anything to do with the Vok whether he knew himself if he did or not.

"And what exactly do you mean alien site? There are other strange lifeforms on this planet aside from us?"

He actually had a good point. This whole time the Maximals didn't really consider themselves as the aliens even though they were natives from Cybertron. "Uh, yeah, funnily enough. I mean, of course we're aliens to the inhabitants of this planet," he tried to pretend as though he already thought of themselves as such, "but there are other aliens called the Vok, who as far as I'm concerned ain't Cybertronian. Dey kinda think they're the landlords of Earth apparently, and dey got a beef with us and wanna kills us even if dat means destroyin' the whole planet, which dey almost succeeded in doin' once already. Dey've been a thorn in our sides ever since we showed up." There was disgust toward the Vok and disapproval in his voice. "Personally, I'm gettin' tired of 'em but dere's nothin' we can do but ta try an' keep 'em from killin' us."

"Whoa!" he suddenly pointed out as they could see the beam from space shooting down not too far in front of them since he and Tigerhawk were much closer to the site than Optimus and his "team" was. "That ain't good."

"Wintersong, do you read me? Wintersong? Do you copy?" he tried hailing her over his comml. link but there was no response except static. "Slaggin' Preds and dey're slaggin' jamming towers!" the dragster cursed in frustration.

Rattrap soon pulled up to the site that was now quiet with the new Fuzor and immediately maximized to his robot mode. No one was there except for Blackarachnia and a strange looking cocoon thing that, unbeknownst to him, held Wintersong. "What the slag happened, she-spider?" he demanded to know. "What was the beam? Where're Wintersong and Whitegrazer?!" Of course it didn't take him long to start accusing her of having something to do with their disappearance or the very Vok-like beam.

-----

"Isn't that fortunate,"

The flying fire ant had smiled proudly at himself despite Nemesis's jealous sourness.

"You are his most loyal and trusted servant, the one he'd be willing to trust with his life and I know you will do anything to keep our... queen.. safe. Thus I'm entrusting you with this most important of missions,"

Her words held truth and accuracy. Inferno was the best unit Megatron had under his command as far as he was concerned. He was courageous and trigger-happy with his weapons, the perfect soldier for protection of his Queen and to slaughter their foes, the Maximals. It didn't take much to convince him, so, as pleased as he was with her explanation, he made haste to return to his colony.

"How kind of you."

Inferno had scoffed at Spineback's sarcastic remark. He didn't waste any time returning to the Darksyde without her and Waspinator as he landed with Terrorsaur in his arms and entered the ship. "Royalty, forgive me," he said as he knelt before Lord Megatron, still cradling the TransMetal 'dactyl's damaged body. "We have failed you again." He bowed his head in shame and awaited his Queen's wrath should it come. He hoped it wouldn't since he still thought himself as a valuable asset, especially now that the Maximals were chasing something that the Predacons should likely take a great interest in. Well, according to Nemesis, anyway. "The Maximals are converging on the location around our jamming towers," he proceeded to inform him before Spineback was able to. "Nemesis thinks it might be of some sort of significance." He stopped talking to allow Megatron to punish him and give him orders.

Nemesis treaded carefully as she made her way around the alien site. Of course she still wasn't quite sure what this place was, but the atmosphere here was.. strange. Peaceful to the point of being dangerous, and even though she hadn't seen anyone as of yet she certainly didn't feel as if she was alone. No. Instead there was a lingering sensation that every step she took was being watched, and like the very walls of this place could simply come to life and gobble her up. There was no wind and still the vegetation appeared to be moving.

It was as if this whole place was..

"Whitegrazer!"

A scream interrupted her thoughts, echoing off the walls only a short distance away. And then it faded away, as suddenly as it had appeared. Nemesis halted for a brief moment before she hurried towards where the sound had originated, doing so much against her better judgement.

Haunted..

She emerged around the corner, just in time to see a giant plant finish engulfing Wintersong as if placing her in a cocoon. The avian female's optics widened upon seeing this and she kept her distance, not wanting to succumb to whatever was happening to the Maximals. Whitegrazer was there also, desperately cutting away at the plant that had just enveloped her friend, her back turned to Nemesis.

The Predacon took a step back as she watched the white mare get hit by what appeared to be a surge, only for Nemesis to glance away for a moment since the vegetation seemed to be coming alive all over. A few of the vines grabbed for her ankles, leaving the avian female little choice but to slice through them with her sword. And just then.. they stopped moving. Unconvinced it had been due to her own attack, Nemesis' optics darted over to where Whitegrazer and the cocooned Wintersong had been mere moments before.. Only to find that they had both disappeared!

Struggling to compose herself for a moment, the newly appointed commander attempted to contact Megatron to relay news of what she had just seen. But all she got in return was static. Whether the jamming towers nearby were messing up her communication equipment or if it was this place that did it, Nemesis couldn't tell..

It was only then that she noticed the other remaining female, BlackArachnia, looking as baffled as Nemesis herself must have.

"Royalty, forgive me,"

Megatron swiveled around in his chair, initially staring down his former first lieutenant before his optics settled on the unconscious form of Terrorsaur cradled in the ant's arms. A frown formed on the tyrant's face and the look he sent them was quite dispassionate, but being the wise ruler he was he allowed his minion to speak before passing judgement. Although thus far what he was seeing far from impressed him..

"We have failed you again."

"You don't say..," Megatron muttered under his breath. Well, he had come to expect as much from this group of buffoons.. Still he gestured for the ant to continue.

"The Maximals are converging on the location around our jamming towers,"

His interest now peaked, Megatron sat up straighter in his chair. He gathered that his Predacons had been unsuccessful in retrieving the fallen pod, but from what Inferno was trying to explain to him the Maximals hadn't retreated to the Axalon but instead were now snooping around the site near the jamming towers. Somehow the tyrant doubted the towers themselves would be that interesting to them, as they had already sabotaged a few. Those towers had really been there to test them but he hadn't gotten the opportunity to fully equip them yet.

"Why?," the tyrant asked, not really expecting the ant to be able to give a satisfactory answer.

"Nemesis thinks it might be of some sort of significance."

"And I presume that is where the commander is now?," Megatron mused as he traced the contours of his chin with his finger. After considering what little information he had for a moment, he attempted to contact Nemesis. But all he got in return was the same static she had gotten as well.

"Very well," the tyrant then grumbled, "Allow Terrorsaur to get repaired. Then return immediately. We're going to crash the Maximals' party, yessssss.."

"Exactly," "Anything."

Zodiac watched Optimus' face as he seemed to drift off for a nanoclick or two. Pity he couldn't read his mind so he knew what he was thinking right about now.

"And you hold no ill will toward him?"

The former shapeshifter shrugged briefly. "Cryotek gave me the greatest gift at his disposal whereas Megatron got only words."

Yet there was no pride notable in his own words as he explained. Part of him had come to terms with Cryotek's decision a long time ago. And as much as Cryotek had tried to shape Megatron, and ultimately failed at it, it was obvious to the renegade why he had been chosen to be the host for the nanomachines. Yes, initially he, as a test subject, had been considered disposable. But as time went on and he had proven capable of being a host and even excelled at it, he had proved them all wrong.

Inevitably their conversation strayed back to the aliens and what awaited them at the site. Zodiac was both anxious and excited at the same time, since going there could provide him with the opportunity to get what he so desperately craved.. But it could also end up killing him alongside Primal. And that would be unacceptable.

"That makes two of us, but we have no choice,"

Zodiac sent him a brief grimace. He was well aware that he had alerted the aliens and inadvertently activated this alien site in the process. But he honestly hadn't planned on losing his powers and getting trapped here.

"You could share with us a lot more about them so we can better handle these altercations,"

"I could..," Zodiac admitted, "But in due time. Unless, of course, you want to waste even more time getting to your friends."

"I could do without, but since we're here with nothing else better to do, you might as well keep me on my toes,"

The renegade gave him a smile in return, showing his amusement with this response. "My favorite hobby, as it turns out."

Indeed. He was really starting to feel more like himself again. The urge to tell all his darkest secrets wasn't as pronounced anymore. But he decided the best approach would be to keep Primal in the dark about this, since right now he needed his trust.. well, whatever trust he could get.

As it turned out, however, Optimus didn't appreciate his little quip about the rocket launcher. He hadn't been serious about it, of course, he knew there was no way Primal would ever grant him such a gift.

"I wouldn't trust you with a rock."

Ouch..

Zodiac feigned a hurt look as best he could. "So much for a sense of adventure," he muttered in response.

"I appreciate your confidence in my abilities,"

"Well, you have done a fine job of it so far, I admit. Despite everything you had going against you when you set out on this mission, most of your Maximals remain alive and at your side. " He let the emphasis on the 'most' linger for a second.

You know where... To where the Vok live. At Nexus Zero.

Whitegrazer's words had felt so genuine and so determined, it had felt like they cut him when she uttered them. Of course he had known, deep down he really had, but hearing her voice tell him through their link was .. peculiar. Nexus Zero.. Nobody ever returned from Nexus Zero. He had almost told her that, almost, but she shattered the link before he got a chance to. And thus leaving him and Primal alone, like orphans in a sense, trying to adjust to the abrupt change.

They were outside. The little fuzor joined them while Primal set up his board and waited, if a bit impatiently, for her.

"We might be too late,"

Aurora shook her head, refusing to believe it. "Don't say that, Optimus. We can still get to them in time. That is, of course, if the extra luggage doesn't slow you down," she told him, a certain resentment in her voice as she nodded to the chained dragon standing next to them.

"Coming from the one who has wings that won't even fly," Zodiac responded with a glare.

The fuzor stuck her tongue out at the dragon as she climbed onto the board and held on for dear life since Optimus was capable of a lot more speed than she was used to. Zodiac, on the other hand, was about to step away from them when Primal gripped his arm before taking off. This left Zodiac with little choice but to spread his wings and fly or he would get slammed against the side of the speeding board. It didn't take him long to stabilize himself and he then fired his thrusters so he wouldn't fall behind, having no intention of letting Primal use him as a kite. Eventually, however, the Maximal commander let him go to fly on his own accord.

Up ahead the alien site was becoming visible, but at the same time the beam of light that had been so clearly visible they could see it from a far distance away was now starting to fade from view.

You made your choice, Whitegrazer.., Zodiac thought to himself now that her endless chatter had silenced in his mind, but I do appreciate the opportunity to set things right again. Thank you.. for your sacrifice.

((Sorry for some delay guys, had to take a few days to let my mind relax from school because I had no writing muse at all for this past week. But after playing a game and finally having a little bit of time off of school work I'm rearing to go at last!))

Tigerhawk raised a metal brow towards the rat as he pretended to know they were of alien origin themselves, but the fuzor wasn't convinced in the least though didn't exactly call the rat out on it. He could poke fun at his fellow Maximal for that later. Nevertheless, the tiger/hawk fuzor listened closely to what Rattrap answered for his inquiry, finding it astonishing such beings lived and would destroy an entire planet full of life just to rid of the Cybertronians. Were they really that big of a threat to these Vok? Had they wronged them somehow in the past and they just didn't know? So many questions, so few answers. Though, Tigerhawk began to suspect that the Axalon crew was no close to knowing more about them than he could already begin asking about himself.

Before he could ask something else, Tigerhawk's optics immediately went towards where Rattrap was looking, his optics widening as he saw the blue light descending towards the site. "By the Allspark, that's right where our comrades are!" Tigerhawk said with deep concern, picking up the pace a bit until they reached the site where someone else was also there. This was another femme, an insect in origin and seeming to be as shocked as they were.

Still, Tigerhawk didn't immediately transform but rather moved closer to the edge of the valley below seeing signs of vegetation that he figured were not of Earth origin but rather the Vok. Perhaps they were no doubt attempting to start over with what they had destroyed. "Rattrap, now hardly seems the time to be throwing around accusations." Tigerhawk told him, trying to calm the Transmetal rodent as he gave a low growl and transformed to his robot mode, briefly checking the progress on his wings which were gradually getting to where they could be usable, but still it would take a bit more time. "She seems as shocked as we are."

--------------

Spineback did indeed make it to base at a later time than Inferno, not yet bothering to transform out of her beast form as she came into the Darksyde, following the familiar voices of Inferno and Megatron, coming towards the end of Inferno's report about the jamming towers. "I hope you kindly don't forget why we had to call a retreat insect. At the time our numbers were down to you and myself, almost just myself if that tigress and vermin had decided to double team you instead." Spineback remarked as she came in, stepping forward to join the ant seeing Megatron was obviously peaked about the sudden interest in the area of their jamming towers by their enemy.

But she didn't say anything further as she let her eyes give a quick once over of both Waspinator and Terrorsaur, mentally calculating their stay in the CR tanks which she finished as she heard Megatron order to get moving. "I'll accompany you from the land my Liege. But Terrorsaur can join us later if you wish it, just in case we end up in a prolonged conflict with the Maximals again, his damage isn't as severe as Waspinator's." Spineback reported, sounding certain in her calculations on their damage as she too went to deposit the rather unlucky Transmetal wasp into the other CR tank before rejoining her Commander and Inferno, ready to get moving again. She already had one Maximal on her list of victims that day and she was quite looking forward to adding more names to that list.

((OOC: I'm going to post for BA, at least. I will have something for Whitegrazer tomorrow hopefully. I hope every one has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Well, I guess it is Thanksgiving now, so Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you all stay safe and have fun! ))

Blackarachnia had been wondering if it would be safe for her to jump down and investigate the site. During the moment when the white mare was being sucked up into space, she had noticed more vegetation suddenly flying up and down. Made her wonder if she wasn't the only one here, besides the cocooned Wintersong, of course. She was about to make a move when she heard a familiar rodent wheeling behind her, making her turn around and rolled her optics.

"What the slag happened, she-spider?" he demanded to know. "What was the beam? Where're Wintersong and Whitegrazer?!"

"Rattrap, now hardly seems the time to be throwing around accusations." Tigerhawk told him, trying to calm the Transmetal rodent as he gave a low growl and transformed to his robot mode, briefly checking the progress on his wings which were gradually getting to where they could be usable, but still it would take a bit more time. "She seems as shocked as we are."

"Well, hello to you too, rodent. Blackarachnia acted nonchalant towards the rodent's accusing tone. Took a slight glance at the new Maximal beside Rattrap.Strange-looking one at that. Though, she decided to smile and sway her hips innocently, You should listen to your new friend.... uhm... Gave the newest member to the Maximals a chance to identify himself to her before she explained what occurred moments ago "You just missed it. That crazy mare was frozen for a while and struggling toward that metal flower over there. Wintersong came and Whitegrazer warned her, and then vines began to attack them both. I tried to help, but Wintersong was soon engulfed into the cocoon. Whitegrazer went to the metal flower to push the stem, causing that huge blue energy beam you probably saw as you made your way here. It sucked up the white mare and she vanished."

Looking back at the site, she stared back at the overgrowth of foliage further into the valley. The site's different now. Ugh! I feel a chill up my spine for just standing here. I don't know if it safe to jump down there yet...."

She heard sounds of more people approaching. From what she could tell, it looked like Optimus, the little weasel, .... Zodiac? This was going to be interesting. Wondered how the shapeshifter pulled that off.

________________________________________________________

It is every bit of my business! Primal had hollered at TyCross. I am her commanding officer! She follows my orders, not yours!

TyCross had laughed shortly at the Maximal ape, Really? You think she is under your orders? Your power? Want to control her? Under your fingertips? Ah! Now, I understand. Well, I didn't think you had in you. I guess... having a Vok in your power would give you a powerful edge against the Predacons? HAHAHA!! The High Council thought that too!

TyCross... Whitegrazer warned him. She didn't appreciate TyCross' little tirade. Optimus wasn't them. Optimus didn't think like that, and she didn't enjoy TyCross' mind game towards them.

We are all at risk all the time,

Megatron... The Predacons. I know. I get it. But the aliens.... The aliens are above. At least, with the Predacons, you are on equal footing. The aliens are ominicent, Optimus. Their power is infinite, but it isn't just that... She had to help him understand, and maybe her little hints might help him.... if she fails.... or worse. The Vok see the universe differently, Optimus. Compared to them, we think in smaller terms than they do. We are ants. Small. We see planets and people. They see the universe, whole galaxies. Detached. And yet, single-minded in doing hat they believe is the greater good for the hole universe and other realities.

I know... I trust you, Whitegrazer. Be careful...

Whitegrazer smiled, Thank you. That's all I ask.

That was the truth. She just wanted Optimus and the others to trust her to make things right.

She won't let them down.

She won't.

Darkness. The last thing she felt as she was pulled upwards into space was the overload of energon surging through her body. And it took a lot before her systems shut down into stasis lock. Of course, her systems had a little help. The truth was that Whitegrazer didn't want to go into stasis lock. Using her entire force of will, which was something she had an overabundance of mixed in with stubbornness, she fought to remain conscious throughout the lightning fast trip. She wanted to keep herself awake. Face her former people head on, so she could get down to business. First on her priority list was to get them to stop whatever and however they planned on destroying the Earth just to get to the Cybertronians. Second, maybe she could finally find out the reason they exiled her on Cybertron. But stasis lock was activated, due to TyCross' interference. She knew he had done it. She had seen a image of his inside her body with a click noise following after it. Part of her hoped she wasn't making a mistake for doing this. Optimus didn't want her to do this in fear that they would not listen to her and just eliminate her along with them. Optimus made a good point. They had ignored her. Like the time with the Optimus' clone, her attempt to try and reason and understand the clone was met with aggression. Then back at the Bunaglow, as Rattrap called it, she was electrocuted without hesitation. Now, she was here. Back at Nexus Zero. She knew she was. She might be unconscious, but her abilities weren't.

Reaching out through her spark, she felt an overwhelming sense of power. Real power. Not like the superficial power that politicians thought they had or military general. The awesome power of knowledge of any single planet, every single species, their cultures, their histories, past, present, future, and even their own multiple universities. Alternate timelines. Dimensions. Power to create energon with quickness of thought. Power to destroy with similar gesto along with the single-minded purpose and ruthlessness. Ah... She was beginning to recollect. They had no sense of "morals", as physical beings called it, but that didn't mean they lack them. Nor physical desires. They looked above those shallow things. She didn't, though. She wondered if any of them pulled her stunt. But she remembered. No, she was different. Different. They warned her against this course of action. Disapproved yet allowed her to go. Watched. Whispered. Until the incident back at Gul Prime, where they severed the connection between her and them.

Ah! Something stabbed through her chest cavity, her spark! Pain surged through her entire body. Ah! Another one. And another one! What? What were they doing? Killing her? No... No, she would have been dead already. They were..... Flashes of tentacles inside her chest, wrapped around her spark. Searching. Memories flooded her vision. Her tribunal with the High Council. Exile. The image of her covering her face, on her knees, around dozens of corpses. Another with her hand squeezing the throat of a Maximal scientist getting too close to sensitive areas. Powerful punches of Predacon brutes against her body. Gunfire, lasers, stasis wands electrocuting her with Predacon interrogators, slaps, screams, explosions, pain. agony, torture, horror, terror, and a burning fury and angry at all. Burn it! Burn them all! How dare they! Kill them. Let them die. They deserved it. How much pain did they do? Towards the universe? Galaxy? No. They didn't. Arrogance. Hate. Optimus. Aurora. Love. Mercy. Another kind of pain. Weak. Complacent. Did she forget what she really was? Who she really was? Nemesis. Equal. Zodiac.... Child. Her fault. Mistake. Need to recify. Need to undo.

Must.... Must destroy.

Earth needs to be redone.

No. No.

No! It doesn't!

WAKE UP!!!

Her optics shot up to see the cosmic dust and the sight of the floating skulls of green and purple eyes with their entails stabbed through her physical form.

Don't fight us. Don't make it harder on yourself. TyCross? Yellow eyes. Floating skull. You have forgotten. But you haven't. Are you more comfortable with this? Or this? TyCross turned into a bright light then returned to his black and purple, spiky Cybertronian form. Tank's nose back his back. You are more comfortable with this. I understand. Really, I do, but disguises are always a self-portait. Don;t you agree, Whitegrazer? Or should I call you by your real name?

I like Whitegrazer. That other name has been lost since you all abandoned me. And no, TyCross, I will not stop fighting. Not until you all realize that you killing those Cybertronians below won't fix your problem. Can't keep destroying planets because of this. It's unethical. She looked at the Other two, who still had their tentacles stabbed through her chest. Still wondering if they were listening to her. What do you do to Wintersong? She is in a cocoon-like state? Is she alive?

(( OOC: Wintersong, I forgot to ask this before, but is the cocoon that Wintersong is in above ground or is it buried underground? For some reason I'm under the impression that it was visible, and if it is, then the Maximals will either have to move it to the Axalon or keep someone there to make sure nothing happens to her. If I'm wrong and it's underground, please correct me and I'll edit my post accordingly. ))

Really? You think she is under your orders? Your power? Want to control her? Under your fingertips? Ah! Now, I understand. Well, I didn't think you had in you. I guess... having a Vok in your power would give you a powerful edge against the Predacons? HAHAHA!! The High Council thought that too!

TyCross's words had been infuriating and insulting to Optimus as he recalled them during his flight with Aurora and Zodiac. Of course Whitegrazer was to follow his orders. Despite her origin not being of Maximal, he was her commanding officer. Not for control or for power. Was TyCross serious about that accusation? If so, then he knew nothing about Optimus. Maybe he was projecting his own ambitions onto Primal to justify him using Whitegrazer as a puppet. Maybe it was TyCross who wanted control over her and to have her do his bidding. Now, what Whitegrazer's "master" said last was a little intriguing because it seemed to correspond with what Zodiac had already confessed. Still, there was little he could do about any of it while being stuck on Earth in the past.

Megatron... The Predacons. I know. I get it. But the aliens.... The aliens are above. At least, with the Predacons, you are on equal footing. The aliens are ominicent, Optimus. Their power is infinite, but it isn't just that... The Vok see the universe differently, Optimus. Compared to them, we think in smaller terms than they do. We are ants. Small. We see planets and people. They see the universe, whole galaxies. Detached. And yet, single-minded in doing hat they believe is the greater good for the hole universe and other realities.

He was quite aware of his own ignorance toward the Vok, but he was learning and his mind was expanding with every encounter with them. However, the aliens still had the upper hand and the advantage of their own advanced technology and travel. What Whitegrazer described about them came as no surprise to Optimus, but it did concern him as to how they were going to continue evading their destruction and battling the Predacons at the same time. How much longer could they keep doing this if they were so insignificant to this mysterious species?

Thank you. That's all I ask.

The mare's words lingered for a little bit in the leader's mind long after she had severed the link. He no longer felt her presence near or far. He didn't think she was dead, it wasn't a feeling full of traumatic separation, but she was definitely gone. Gone to Nexus Zero wherever that was. Optimus no longer felt the warmth and positive energy radiating from her and their bond. There was no meadow for his mind to retreat to, there were no emotions or thoughts from Zodiac. It was a very empty and lonely void now after having been with her for so long. I hope she knows what she's doing, he thought sorrowfully. He just wanted her to come back to him safe and sound, and he wanted her to stop blaming herself for everything that had happened thus far. Not all of it was her fault as she claimed it to be.

"Cryotek gave me the greatest gift at his disposal whereas Megatron got only words."

The renegade's voice recaptured Primal's attention, drawing him back to the reality that they all had to face. He glanced over at the dragon thoughtfully as he took in his words about Cryotek. So, even though the criminal played a part in Zodiac's suffering, he didn't seem to be on his death wish list like he and Nexus Prime were. He didn't quite understand that except for the reasoning of Zodiac being envious or jealous of his and Nexus's relationship. But could that really provide enough drive behind his motivation?

"I could..," "But in due time. Unless, of course, you want to waste even more time getting to your friends."

The TransMetal gorilla turned his gaze away from Zodiac to look forward, doubting that Zodiac would share any of that information unless he was under more that truth serum. Optimus seemed stuck in a rut where he could never get everything he wanted. Every situation presented to Primal was either only one thing or the other, never both. So he could either waste time trying to get more information from him, or forget it and race to save his comrades. Of course the choice was easy, he would never sacrifice someone's life simply for valuable information, so he accelerated his speed of flight as he felt Aurora gripping tightly onto his board.

"My favorite hobby, as it turns out."

Primal was certain Zodiac would really just prefer ripping his spark out than to keep playing these games. Him and Megatron both. He did notice that the shape shifter's responses were growing shorter and were less revealing in detail, but he couldn't know for sure if there just wasn't anything to delve into or if the serum was beginning to wear off since he knew it wouldn't last forever.

"So much for a sense of adventure,"

"Be careful what you wish for," he retorted.

"Well, you have done a fine job of it so far, I admit. Despite everything you had going against you when you set out on this mission, most of your Maximals remain alive and at your side."

At first, Zodiac's compliment was almost welcoming and almost sounded genuine, but then it quickly took a nose-dive, and Primal's blue face fell somber and mournful from his hurtful but accurate words without looking at him. His mind painfully played the faces and deaths of those he lost under his leadership as he grew silent in remembering them.

"Don't say that, Optimus. We can still get to them in time. That is, of course, if the extra luggage doesn't slow you down,"

Optimus lowered his gaze to look upon Aurora on his hover board and follow her gesture to Zodiac who then proceeded to retaliate with:

"Coming from the one who has wings that won't even fly,"

After the Fuzor stuck out her tongue at the hybrid, Primal said firmly, "That's enough, both of you. We're nearly there." And he looked ahead as a motion for them to do the same and prepare themselves...

Meanwhile, at the alien site:

"By the Allspark, that's right where our comrades are!"

Yeah, unfortunately, Rattrap had thought at Tigerhawk's observation. Always our luck.

"Well, hello to you too, rodent.

"Rattrap, now hardly seems the time to be throwing around accusations."

"Actually, Tigerhawk, it's the perfect time fer accusations. Ya see, I don't trust Predacons and I don't trust spiders! And seein' as in de past how she's tried ta activate and steal alien weapons before, it's no surprise ta me dat she's standin' here unscathed but BOTH of my friends are missin'!" he explained to the new, naive Maximal while he yielded his gun and targeted Blackarachnia.

"She seems as shocked as we are."

"Yeah, probably because she just missed her opportunity of confiscating alien tech," he told Tigerhawk before talking to the black widow.

"You got some splainin' ta do, legs," the rodent said threateningly, but his index finger merely hovered over his gun's trigger. "What're you doin' here anyway?"

You should listen to your new friend.... uhm... "You just missed it. That crazy mare was frozen for a while and struggling toward that metal flower over there. Wintersong came and Whitegrazer warned her, and then vines began to attack them both. I tried to help, but Wintersong was soon engulfed into the cocoon. Whitegrazer went to the metal flower to push the stem, causing that huge blue energy beam you probably saw as you made your way here. It sucked up the white mare and she vanished."

Rattrap's optics followed her words from the metal flower, to the sliced vines that laid about on the ground in pieces and back to the cocoon before he finally lowered his weapon and frowned. Quickly, he went to the cocoon and examined it, looking for a way to help his friend inside. "Wintersong?" he called for her, unaware if she could hear him or speak or if she was even conscious. He was hesitant to touch the shell so he decided against it and simply walked all the way around it in search of any openings or weak spots. Nothing. She looked to be perfectly encased.

The site's different now. Ugh! I feel a chill up my spine for just standing here. I don't know if it safe to jump down there yet...."

"Nobody's moving or touchin' nothing," he told Blackarachnia and Tigerhawk. "We don't wanna activate anythin' else." He looked upward in the direction from where the beam came from only to see nothing but blue sky. Whitegrazer was long gone, and since he wasn't sure if she was killed or just transported, there was sadness and hopelessness evident on his face. Had they just lost two of their comrades? A familiar sound approaching them from the sky in the Axalon's direction made Rattrap look over to it and he immediately recognized Optimus carrying Aurora on his board and Zodiac flying beside them. Great. He just had to bring him along, didn't he? Well, this should be interesting.

Lowering his altitude at the Vok's new site, Primal's optics had scanned the area in search of the equine and the white tigress but as he feared, he didn't see them. He was too late. He did spot Nemesis below as her color stood out but oddly didn't make a mention of her; he simply took note of her position as he hovered a couple feet off of the ground a good distance away from Nemesis to allow Aurora to hop off before he maximized to robot mode and watched Zodiac in case he tried to escape or start trouble, or if Nemesis decided to attack him. Taking in the mess of the vines and the other unusual objects around them, Optimus looked at the three standing before him expecting answers even though Rattrap's expression pretty much said it all.

"Tigerhawk, dis is Optimus. Optimus, Tigerhawk," the Maximal Spy formerly introduced them.

Considering the circumstances, Primal didn't bother with a handshake. It wasn't meant to be rude, he was just desperate and impatient to know what had transpired and where two of his Maximals were. So instead, he said, "Tigerhawk, I'm glad to see you're alright, but I'm sorry you've been thrown into this mess of a war for survival," the deep scar quite evident across his mouth. Tigerhawk, although obviously having suffered some damage, looked impressive and probably heavily armed. He was large and clearly had the ability of flight, which was an advantage they needed more of compared to all of the fliers the Predacons had. Was he of Vok origin at all, though? Physically he didn't appear to be, then again, neither had Whitegrazer. He simply looked to be another TransMetal Fuzor; a tiger and some kind of bird. And his friendly voice seemed to match his calm demeanor and poise. Clearly he hadn't harmed Rattrap in any way either, so why had Optimus suffered such an awful headache with visions of their alien enemy when the new Fuzor had been activated in his stasis pod? Perhaps it only had to do with this alien site or even Whitegrazer. "Forgive me for my lack of pleasantries, but we don't have much time here," he told Tigerhawk. As much as he would love to get to know him, as he did with all of his Maximals, it would have to wait.

"Aurora, take your equipment and scan the area. See if you can acquire any readings on this site. The towers might jam your wireless single, but if you can still record anything, then we can at least take it back to the base to review it," Optimus told the Chief Biologist.

"Whitegrazer is gone?" he then asked Rattrap.

"Yeah. Accordin' ta Blackarachnia, some vines were attackin' her an' Winter, and dat beam sucked 'er up inta space." But something told Rattrap that Optimus was already aware of the mare's disappearance, no doubt by their bond.

The Maximal Commander nodded, hoping she was still alive and knew what she was doing and would succeed where he couldn't. "What of Wintersong?"

"Stuck in dis cocoon," Rattrap motioned to it. "I didn't try ta get 'er out in case it's a trap or a reaction would hurt her," he explained. "Well, assumin' it hasn't harmed her already..." he added softly, frowning at it with her helplessly trapped inside.

Primal walked over to the cocoon with his permanent limp and stood in front of it. He reached out to touch it with both his index and middle finger tips but hesitated like Rattrap had, slowly retracting his arm and frowning. "I'm so sorry, Wintersong," he said quietly but still audible to those nearby. "This was my fault... I should have listened to Whitegrazer." He shook his head in his own disappointment for putting the tigress in this situation. Was she alive? He couldn't tell. But he knew first hand how terrifying and invasive the aliens could be, and he never wanted any of them to experience what he had in the past, especially since there seemed to be some lingering aftermath in his mind that might stick with him for the rest of his spark's lifespan.

"Rattrap, start securing a perimeter and finish taking down the rest of the towers nearby," the commanding officer ordered him.

"You don't want me ta reprogram 'em and use deir own scheme against them?" he inquired.

"No. We're not going to have time for that," he told the demolition expert. "Since Nemesis is nearby, I have to assume that she already reported what happened here to Megatron who isn't going to waste any time getting here to stop us," he said loud enough for everyone to hear so they would watch their backs for her. "Just take them down. Quickly."

"You got it," the short Maximal nodded and and glanced around for Nemesis before reverted to his vehicle mode and drove off to the closest tower that hadn't been dealt with yet.

Turning around, Optimus faced Blackarachnia. But instead of questioning her why she had left the Axalon without telling anyone considering how she was Number One on Megatron's prosecution list, he simply asked her, "You witnessed the whole thing?" Why hadn't she been targeted? Not that he would have wanted her to be harmed; of course not. But if she was in the vicinity as well, then why was she spared and Wintersong wasn't?

-----

"You don't say..,"

Inferno had grimaced slightly at the obvious disappointment in his Queen's voice.

"And I presume that is where the commander is now?,"

"Yes," the ant answered him promptly.

"Very well," "Allow Terrorsaur to get repaired. Then return immediately. We're going to crash the Maximals' party, yessssss.."

"As you command, Royalty," Inferno said with great relief since Megatron was going to spare his life after all, and he respectfully bowed his head to him before standing up with Terrorsaur in his arms.

"I hope you kindly don't forget why we had to call a retreat insect. At the time our numbers were down to you and myself, almost just myself if that tigress and vermin had decided to double team you instead."

The pyro glared at Spineback, baring his sharp teeth a little bit. "Had it been up to me, I'd have attacked them with their backs to us as they retreated to the towers!" he argued. Of course, it was easy for him to say that now, but he was simply trying to put the blame on Nemesis for their team's failure to acquire or even kill Tigerhawk.

"I'll accompany you from the land my Liege. But Terrorsaur can join us later if you wish it, just in case we end up in a prolonged conflict with the Maximals again, his damage isn't as severe as Waspinator's."

After Spineback had said that, Inferno just as quickly carried off Terrorsaur to the CR tanks as she did with Waspinator. Placing his fellow ambitious aerial attacker in one of the tanks, he followed the female Predacon back to Megatron, ready to fly off by his Queen's side to interfere with those Maximals once more and defeat them. Surely they would succeed this time with their fearless leader in charge.