"Other Visits"

[Phoenix]

"Yes,"

Megatron tapped his fingers impatiently against the console, waiting for the ant to finish up his report. While the ant's loyalty was without question and his tendency to worship the ground his leader walked on was commendable, his subject still left something to be desired in the way of intelligent conversation. And as things were, Megatron was sensing an opportunity was about to arise at this alien site.. One he certainly wasn't going to let the Maximals take advantage of.

"As you command, Royalty,"

The tyrant gave a dismissive nod but his attention was soon drawn to another of his troops that had returned.

"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."

Shaking his head at the apparent incompetence of his troops to even complete the simplest of tasks like retrieving a new Maximal pod, still.. it was clear that their newest foe had proven himself worthy in the battlefield. Which only meant his agonizing death would have to come sooner rather than later.

"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."

"See to it that they get repaired. We are up against something far more valuable than a mere Maximal pod here," Megatron responded as he finally stood up. Indeed. Any time the aliens were involved, and judging by the signal his monitor had just shown emerging from the site they most certainly were, the stakes were obviously going to be much higher.. But as were the rewards.

"Had it been up to me, I'd have attacked them with their backs to us as they retreated to the towers!"

Megatron raised his hand to silence the ant before he went into another tirade of blame. "Rest assured the responsible party for this fiasco will be dealt with, Inferno, but all in due time. Has Nemesis reported back?"

He walked as he spoke, leading his crew out of the base.

Nemesis remained out of sight, well, to all but the two that came approaching from above. She could hear their voices, even though she was too far away to really make out what they were talking about. Not that she cared too much at this very moment. Instead her gaze fell upon the spot where Whitegrazer had stood only a short time before, and Wintersong had now been engulfed by that peculiar plant that was certainly not of this world. Despite there being no wind, she could have sworn that the plants were still moving a bit.. as if they were whispering together.. plotting.. It was an eerie feeling that left the avian female feeling a bit.. strange.

It took her a short while to realize the whispering she was hearing, was actually coming from within her. She didn't understand what they were saying or even if they were warning her, but there was a definite sensation of another presence.. No. Multiple of them. Thousands. Grabbing her stomach, she felt as if they were moving inside her.

The nanomachines..

They were the ones whispering and moving as if enthralled by this place.

Nemesis took a step backwards and looked up at the sky above, just in time to see Optimus, Aurora, with Zodiac in tow approaching.

Zodiac...?!

What was going on here??

Despite her initial urge being to attack the traitor as soon as she saw him, she decided against it. There were a number of Maximals in the area and thus far no other Predacons in sight. So she decided to hold off until a better opportunity came about.

Primal had remained silent for much of their trip to the alien site, which was both a pleasant surprise and a nuisance to the renegade. Part of him had been hoping the Maximal would reveal more of what he was going through right now, curious to see how frightened the Maximal must be of the prospect of losing two of his crew.. One of which was closer to him than probably anyone. Although he still didn't quite understand the relationship between the white mare and Primal, his own shared experiences with the female had made it a little clearer.

"Be careful what you wish for,"

Zodiac glanced over at the other male on the hoverboard, a hint of amusement present in his optics as he replied.

"Was that a threat? I thought we were past this point by now. Lest you forget that you need me if you're going to have as much of a chance to save your comrades."


He smiled briefly, a somewhat solemn smile a far stretch from that wicked grin Primal must have gotten used to by now. In fact as they approached the alien site, he seemed to shift his position a bit as if trying to get comfortable. The little fuzor, of course, didn't waste the opportunity to let her dislike for the renegade who had caused them so much trouble be known.

"That's enough, both of you. We're nearly there."

Aurora looked a bit taken aback by the firm tone in Primal's voice, but she soon enough complied and settled down on the front of the hoverboard as they prepared to descend and then land. Zodiac, on the other hand, chuckled slightly despite the growing discomfort in his abdomen. He too could hear the internal whispers, mumbling in a strange language, but unlike Nemesis he understood the cause. He had heard them before when he had briefly visited this site and they were by no means anywhere near as threatening and overwhelming as the whispers he had heard shortly before he went berserk earlier. No.. These were different, brought on by the nanomachines within him. They weren't moving, no, but something about the alien site was causing them to react.. even though they remained otherwise still.

Zodiac noticed Nemesis lurking on the ground below as they made their approach. The female was seemingly alone, perhaps even drawn there by the same alien signature that both enticed and frightened him so all at once. She didn't appear hostile at the moment so he chose to ignore her for now.

"We should hurry," Zodiac told Primal in a low voice as not to draw attention now that others were nearby, "Since Nemesis is here, Megatron is no doubt not far behind. "

Aurora gave a snort at that but refrained from commenting. Barely. There was no doubt in her mind that Zodiac would gladly give them up to save his own hide from Megatron when the tyrant arrived. But there was no time to argue the fact right now. They had arrived, and so had Rattrap, BlackArachnia and a new fuzor she didn't recognize apparently. The ermine jumped down from the board, giving Rattrap a smile before her expression turned neutral again.

"Tigerhawk, dis is Optimus. Optimus, Tigerhawk,"

Zodiac flapped his wings a few times to straighten himself out and came in for a landing a few paces behind Primal and the others. He was still in chains so his approach hadn't been as graceful as it normally would have been, but the renegade was well beyond caring about that sort of triviality by now. Instead he sent a suspicious glance at Tigerhawk, figuring he had to be the one that emerged from the pod that had caused his own earlier blackout. Or at least the timing seemed awfully convenient.

Yet standing here, this.. Tigerhawk.. didn't really look like a Vok emissary. Fuzors were generally considered imperfect, a strange combination of two other forms, and didn't seem like the ideal choice for the Vok to make. Nor did he particularly act like someone the Vok would send to destroy them, he seemed much too... calm.. for that.

"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.

"Sure..," Aurora said reluctantly, eyeing the new Maximal briefly before starting to gather her equipment. She wasn't quite sure what to make of all of this either. As she passed by the new fuzor recruit, she passed him a smile and a polite nod, although she did little to hide her weariness.

"Yeah. Accordin' ta Blackarachnia, some vines were attackin' her an' Winter, and dat beam sucked 'er up inta space."

Zodiac remained quiet as Optimus got report from his troops, merely taking the opportunity to scan his surroundings. The last time he'd been here, he'd barely been able to stand on his feet. But at least he'd been free.. The game play had changed a bit since then, but now that they were here the renegade had hopes that his bad luck was about to change..

"You can still undo the process," Zodiac suddenly remarked, his voice more quiet than he strictly had to be. "If you let me show you how.."

[Wintersong]

((Sorry it was vague OOP, but yes it is above ground and the Maximals can touch the cocoon and take it back to the ship. Whether they find that on their own or Whitegrazer will somehow reveal that is up to you guys. Either way I have something fun planned for later when she breaks out from it. ))

The purple eyed Vok looked at the traitor to their kind, the one who seemed to insist she was Cybertronian now, one of them, a part of their enemies. Her compassion and care for these creatures obviously disgusted and confounded them, viewing her as the strange one, different. Their only concern was the One and that was how it should have been, it was their purpose to ensure planets and galaxies followed an evolutionary path they felt was necessary. Rarely would they ever have such trouble or interference, which was why Earth had drawn their attention from other projects they would have going on. And now one of their own, one they had abandoned so long ago, seemed there to appeal to them.

'We've dealt with the interference of the Cybertronians for long enough, it was time we started taking action.' The Vok with purple eyes spoke, it's tone emotionless, remorseless, answering in an almost matter-of-fact way. Still, Whitegrazer's concern for her so called friends continued. 'The female is alive, removed as needed.' Once again the answer was simple, the Vok's tentacles still stabbing into her form, peering into her very core, her memories, seemingly to partly trying to understand what was so important of sparing these lifeforms below. 'And you know as well as we do, Whitegrazer, morals and ethics are below our concerns, minute, unnecessary. The Cybertronians have tainted what we have started, destroyed and ravaged what has been and what should come." Still, the Vok seemed...curious, wondering why she fought, continued to press for them to not do something they had done countless times before.

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

Tigerhawk observed the valley once more for a bit until he heard Blackarachnia speaking, turning to look at her as she shifted her hips innocently but merely watched her as she spoke but seemed to pause briefly, "Tigerhawk." He said to her before she continued and listened to what happened. It still left him amazed and shocked that these Vok seemed to have no qualms in kidnapping and possibly offlining the Cybertronians, his red optics staring down at the cocoon of which she spoke.

Yet again though, his attention was brought back to the two as he could see why Rattrap would be quick to accuse the widow of possibly leaving the two Maximals to their fate but glancing at the site a few times already he held some doubt she could gain anything from this place. "Be as that may Rattrap, can we really afford to knock her into stasis lock or assume that is her attention this time? At the moment, I see no such technology unless she were to dig her way through dirt, rock, and roots." Tigerhawk pointed out, trying to be optimistic and give Blackarachnia the benefit of the doubt, despite having some weariness himself due to her obvious Predacon insignia. He wasn't trying to prejudice but his encounters with the Predacons so far had proven to be less than friendly.

Before he could suggest using his thermal vision to perhaps look, Tigerhawk turned as he heard others approaching, seeing Optimus, Aurora, and Zodiac, the latter he assumed to be a prisoner judging by the energy bonds currently around him. But formalities would have to wait as Tigerhawk gave a quick nod, "It would not be the first time I've been thrown into unexpected conflict Optimus." He assured him. "But pleasantries can wait, what we're dealing with is of far greater importance." He agreed, letting Optimus and Rattrap speak as he looked curiously towards the other two, one being a young fuzor like himself and the other was reptilian, a dragon from human legends if he remembered correctly. So many different bots he had to know, and with a short amount of time at that considering the circumstances.

But he gave Aurora a quick smile in return as she passed by him, yet he didn't fail to notice something else in her politeness...weariness, just like Rattrap. And their prisoner, his optics weren't just glaring for hatred of a Maximal but suspicion. It made Tigerhawk feel a little uneasy himself, mainly because he was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion of why they were weary. But he only gave Zodiac a brief look in response, wondering if this mech could really undo what had been done, yet there was doubt. He didn't exactly trust prisoners, though it probably came from his past experiences of finding prisoners less than trustworthy in his opinion.

Turning away, the fuzor took a moment to examine the site a bit more with his optics but a part of him couldn't shake the looks his fellow Maximals gave, wondering if his pod's activation had somehow not been activated by the environment or on it's own as he believed. Now it left the question of how he would be able to help the crew in their crisis if they believed he was just as much of an enemy to them as the Vok was?

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

Once they began walking out of the base, Spineback briefly began going over strategies in her head, wondering if she should make use of the rest of her missiles since she already had used two that day. They would back a punch and probably send the Maximals, or some of them, scrambling for cover and allow Inferno and Megatron to make a strike and Nemesis as well if she was waiting to do so. Or she could go the lighter route in using her Plasma Shooter instead, give cover for those who would fight up close. Decisions, decisions.

But the soldier turned medic was brought from her train of thought as Megatron inquired about Nemesis, "No, not yet sir. We haven't heard from her since leaving the site of the pod." Spineback responded, glancing off in the distance of where they were fixing to head. "Do you think this site will have something worth while my Liege?" She couldn't help asking, her tone genuinely curious since this would be her first real interaction with the alien site since joining the Predacons.

[una]

'We've dealt with the interference of the Cybertronians for long enough, it was time we started taking action.'

You could have resolved this in a different way. Whitegrazer grunted abit as the Vok continued to search through her memory banks. Life continued to flash before her optics. You had the power to. But you incited more violence and destruction. The same violence and destruction you... They were seeing one of her battles. Actually, an ambush. False data, leading the mall unit and herself surrounded by brutes. Blinded by flash bombs. Gunfire. Smoke. Sirens. Screams from both sides. Smell of smoldered metal around her. A Predacon opponent dashed through the fog towards her right side. Wasn't in a mental state to use her abilities, so she had to catch the black and yellow Predacon warrior's sword with her hand. ...condemned them of doing.

'The female is alive, removed as needed.' Once again the answer was simple, the Vok's tentacles still stabbing into her form, peering into her very core, her memories, seemingly to partly trying to understand what was so important of sparing these lifeforms below. 'And you know as well as we do, Whitegrazer, morals and ethics are below our concerns, minute, unnecessary. The Cybertronians have tainted what we have started, destroyed and ravaged what has been and what should come."

She was glad that Wintersong was all right, and yet, there had to be a reason they put her inside that cocoon. And it wasn't going to just turn her into a butterfly. Hoped whatever they would do to her would be painless.... What was she talking about? It won't be painless. Let her go. Release her from teh cocoon. She meants you no harm and wasn't aware of where she was. She was just following orders to follow me. It was my fault, not hers.She shook her head at the Vok's remark about morals and ethics. That's not true. Didn't we once held ourselves to such similar morality? After all, remember what we used to be? It was their Matrix held by one of their greatest leader that saved us. Remember? We are indebted to them. Those people below didn't realize that they were walking into an experiment. You sent the probe and investigated them, finding out that they were Cybertronians. You reacted in an aggressive manner ever since.

So you remember? But that is irrelevant now. We have shown more mercy than we could have. After all, we did allow the descendant of Prime to be warned. Despite how our gratitude was met with condescension and misuse. We have no debt with them now, and you don't either. Nor are we indebted to you.

So you will destroy the planet just to get to them? What about the inhabitants down below? Are they irrelevant as well? Was I irrelevant when you abandoned me to them? Her eyes glowed white and her voice almost reached the same booming volume as the others around her.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tigerhawk

That name seemed fitting as she examined the new Maximal in front of her. At least, he wasn't stinky and too naive to be paranoid like the rat.

"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'!"

Blackarachnia narrowed her optics, "Ummmmmm.... yes.... Yes, I'm responsible for what happened to your friends. I was standing here overlooking the alien site and compelled that white mare and the female feline to get attacked by vines with the force of my mind! I also casted a spell and had the aliens sent the horsey up to space!" Blackarachnia poked her head with a goofy expression before she rolled her optics out of exasperation. Rattrap wasn't going to believe her no matter what she said or did, so she just gave out a little huff. She explained herself. Not her fault he didn't believe.

"Wintersong?"

"What are you doing?! Are you stupid or something?! She yelled, watching the rat enter the site to check on the state of his friend. Though, despite her shaking her head, the rat did prove what she wondered all along. The site seemed to be deactivated. For now, at least. Something told her it wouldn;t be for long and she needed to figure what the aliens are trying to protect, so she she could get a hold of it. Whatever it was.

She decided to jump inside, despite Rattrap ordering her to stand where she was. Like she was going to listen to him. As Rattrap looked over the cocoon, she went towards the golden metal stem the white mare touched before she was shot up to space. Optimus and the others had caught up with them and was talking to Rattrap. She observed the conversation. Mostly nothing she didn't already know and important.

Studying the stem, scratching her chin, something must have compelled her to touch it. That horse was acting all weird. what was she saying? That white mare was always weird and freaky.

"You witnessed the whole thing?"

"Yeah, I did." It was a simple answer, and she knew, judging by the ape's expression, he was wondering why she didn't jump down or help and why she wasn't bothered by the site. The white mare was acting all weird and seemed to be fighting some invisible ghost or something. When Wintersong came, the site immidately attacked her with those vines you see around here. I didn't jump down because if I did, I would have been attacked a well. She grabbed one of the cut vines. "What happened happened fast. Vines overwhelmed her and encased in that. I tried to save Whitegrazer, but she ran towards this golden stem and touched it. Her body was getting hit with massive amounts of energon and that blue light from space surrounded her and then... She made a pop noise as she pointed upwards.

All I want to know is... Why didn't the vines attack her until Wintersong came to the scene? She asked the Maximal leader. Wondered if he would tell her, confirm her suspicions. After all, the leader had a connection with the white mare and they were close, so it stood to reason he would know. Question was if he would tell her. "She acted like someone was talking to her. Was it the aliens?"

A loud crack threw her attention towards the middle of the alien site. Cracks, small ones, formed around a few random spots as a hard earthquake nearly throwing her off her feet and on to to her behind. Nearly. The earthquake ended as quickly as it came.

"What was that?"

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Was that a threat? I thought we were past this point by now. Lest you forget that you need me if you're going to have as much of a chance to save your comrades."

Primal had turned to Zodiac with slightly exasperated annoyance as he corrected him, "I wasn't talking about me. I was talking about the Vok." A comment which would probably wipe that grin off of the pretender's face but Optimus didn't stare long enough to care whether it did or not.

"We should hurry," "Since Nemesis is here, Megatron is no doubt not far behind."

The Maximal leader heard him, already well aware of their limited time having this site to themselves, but he didn't seem to acknowledge his "warning" if that's what it was really meant to be and not some attempt to make him hurry only to make mistakes. Instead, Optimus remained focused on Blackarachnia and Wintersong as he glanced at Aurora who got to work.

"Be as that may Rattrap, can we really afford to knock her into stasis lock or assume that is her attention this time? At the moment, I see no such technology unless she were to dig her way through dirt, rock, and roots."

"Ummmmmm.... yes.... Yes, I'm responsible for what happened to your friends. I was standing here overlooking the alien site and compelled that white mare and the female feline to get attacked by vines with the force of my mind! I also casted a spell and had the aliens sent the horsey up to space!" "What are you doing?! Are you stupid or something?!"

Can we? Yes. Yes, we can, Rattrap had thought, reverting back to Tigerhawk's rather logical words even if he hated to admit it, but still rolled his optics at the she-spider's. It'd be one less psycho Predacon running amok on dis planet. Ignoring the rest of her voice, the rodent had been busy pulling out a demolition charge and attached it to the base of the tower with a wireless signal for a remote detonation. Then he transformed back to his vehicle mode and drove off to the next jamming tower, minding his surroundings.

"Yeah, I did." The white mare was acting all weird and seemed to be fighting some invisible ghost or something. When Wintersong came, the site immidately attacked her with those vines you see around here. I didn't jump down because if I did, I would have been attacked a well. "What happened happened fast. Vines overwhelmed her and encased in that. I tried to save Whitegrazer, but she ran towards this golden stem and touched it. Her body was getting hit with massive amounts of energon and that blue light from space surrounded her and then...

Following Blackarachnia's story, Optimus looked around at the area as she explained what had transpired. He knelt down on one knee and picked up a chunk of a vine to examine it closer in his hand. It looked like a normal piece of plant but it was certainly out of place in this particular region. Then his attention was drawn to the gold stem nearby and he looked upward, sighing. Whitegrazer was gone, physically and disconnected from their bond, and Wintersong was encased in the cocoon. What else could they do? Touch the stem to see what would happen next? He was surprised their very presence hadn't triggered any more traps or energy beams. Had the site really required one of Vok origin to activate it "safely"?

All I want to know is... Why didn't the vines attack her until Wintersong came to the scene? "She acted like someone was talking to her. Was it the aliens?"

His orange optics finally returned to Blackarachnia and he stood up turning once again to face the cocoon. Slowly, Primal placed the palm of his hand over it to feel its texture and try to determine what it was made out of, hoping he wouldn't activate anything else. So far it was still quiet. "And I want to know what you were doing out here, but I doubt I'll get the whole truth," he told her, playing the opponent in her own game, purposely withholding information. At least for now. Even though she hadn't been causing any trouble yet despite her freedom within the Axalon, and she was cooperative most of the time, this recent stunt she pulled running off to this site left him with some doubts about her character. Was she still seeking power? Was she still being selfish? He would have liked an explanation but now wasn't the time to worry about it.

"No one touches that," Optimus told everyone with a firm tone as he stood up and licked the scar over his mouth, pointing at the stem Blackarachnia had said zapped Whitegrazer.

"It would not be the first time I've been thrown into unexpected conflict Optimus." "But pleasantries can wait, what we're dealing with is of far greater importance."

Primal nodded to Tigerhawk as he limped by him. He sounded wise and experienced but he still didn't recognize his name; it simply wasn't on the ship's roster. Intriguing as that was, it merely told Optimus to remain vigilant around the large Fuzor. They still had no idea what they were in for with this alien site other than the possible weapon that it might present according to Zodiac, so they also couldn't know if there was anything Tigerhawk might be up to, whether he was even aware of it himself or not. For the time being, he seemed innocent and friendly enough.

"You can still undo the process," "If you let me show you how.."

The Commander looked to Zodiac and limped over to him, standing very close to his side as his wrists and ankles remained cuffed in the energy bonds but facing the opposite way with his back momentarily to everyone else, and spoke quietly toward the hybrid's audio receptor so no one else, especially Blackarachnia, could hear what he was about to say. "Where's the alien disk?" he inquired, obviously ignoring what the shape shifter had just said. Not that he wanted him to retrieve it right then and there since it might have been safe where it was. After all, he certainly didn't want Megatron getting his hands on another one. Suddenly, Primal found himself trying to maintain his balance as the ground trembled beneath his feet. It wasn't a feeling he cared for after everything that happened at the volcano. He was not fond of these earthquakes. Out of habit, he found himself searching for Whitegrazer's presence but she wasn't there. It was still so odd to him to be so... empty.

"What was that?"

Immediately Optimus looked around to see if everyone was alright and assessed the cracks that had appeared spontaneously with the shaking ground. "Aurora?" he looked to her for any possible answers or readings that her scanner might have picked up.

-----

"See to it that they get repaired. We are up against something far more valuable than a mere Maximal pod here,"

The red ant could sense the excitement and eagerness in the Queen's voice. He still had no idea what he was talking about or any clue as to what could be so valuable, but it didn't matter so long as it would eventually be in the rightful hands of their mighty Megatron.

"Rest assured the responsible party for this fiasco will be dealt with, Inferno, but all in due time. Has Nemesis reported back?"

"No," he answered the Royalty as he walked beside him. "But the Maximals might be interfering with our communications since we were unable to repair the jamming towers that they infiltrated. Or they were destroyed." Of course, he hadn't thought that the site Nemesis was following the Maximals to might also be causing the interference.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Apologies for not jumping on posting but.. to be honest .. my heart just isn't quite in it right now. And I'm very distracted. )

"No, not yet sir. We haven't heard from her since leaving the site of the pod."

The tyrant did not appear overly concerned for the well-being of his underlings one way or another, even someone he recently appointed as his second in command. Nemesis could be useful, yes, but she was by no means irreplaceable. Nor was he very surprised by the fact the commander had seemingly vanished, due to the very location she was at. The aliens weren't exactly subtle in their approach, but nor were they careless. The biggest surprise in all of this was that their base had been hidden so close to where Megatron had chosen to test his own jamming towers.

"No," he answered the Royalty as he walked beside him. "But the Maximals might be interfering with our communications since we were unable to repair the jamming towers that they infiltrated. Or they were destroyed."

The leader raised his hand to halt the ant before he went any further.

"The jamming towers isn't a concern right now." It was true. They had merely been there to test the technology for later. "But taking over the alien site is. I trust you are both combat ready?"

"Do you think this site will have something worth while my Liege?"

"Worthwhile.."

Megatron repeated her word as if it held great significance.

"The aliens would not have gone to such lengths to conceal it if it wasn't important, noooo," he then responded as he continued to lead his troops to their destination. In the far distance he had seen the sudden appearance of a beam of light, obviously indicating that the alien site and all the secrets contained therein was active. And he certainly couldn't let the Maximals get them.

Meanwhile Aurora did her best to set up the equipment despite all the distracting elements around her. Their new recruit, Tigerhawk, seemed like a good enough guy. But with everything that had happened lately, the little fuzor had a rough time trying to put her suspicions aside and merely focus on her work. Perhaps it was the unwanted company that Optimus had decided to drag along that was causing it, she couldn't really be sure.

"No one touches that,"

Yeah.. there was no chance of the little fuzor touching any of those things. Yet this place, whatever it was, seemed calm now. She could only imagine what had transpired here when Whitegrazer supposedly was beamed up into space.. and Wintersong consumed by the plant. Or at least that's what the female spider had told them.

"Why is it so calm here now..?," Aurora pondered, mostly to herself. If this alien site could just devour all of them due to their intrusion, why wasn't it doing so right now? Her optics briefly fell upon Zodiac, someone who had this alien technology within himself. Was his presence here keeping the site quiet..? The fuzor shook her head and continued with her work.

She had just finished setting up the equipment when a deep rumble from underground left the very ground they were standing on shaking. It was a brief but nevertheless disturbing development. Aurora glanced over at the others.

"What was that?"

"Aurora?"

Shaking her head, she turned back to her equipment. "The gear didn't have the chance to boot up properly before the tremors appeared. So unless it happens again, I can't get an accurate reading."

Not one of whatever caused the very ground to shake anyway. But some of the readings she was getting from the alien site itself were .. interesting.. Indicating something very powerful in this very location.

Zodiac remained quiet and still while Optimus turned his attention to his troops. He only moved when the Maximal commander turned his attention back to him and approached him.

"Where's the alien disk?"

"Safe," Zodiac replied in as low a voice as Primal had been speaking with.

"I buried it not far from here," he then continued before taking a step away with his shackled legs. "I'll give it to you.. even show you how to use it to save your friends.. if you let me go after."

His voice remained quiet to keep their conversation private, but his wings were hanging flat against his backside and dragging on the floor. He looked around, almost a bit nervously, as if expecting their very surroundings to attack.

[una]

((OOC: Posting for BA, for now. Has anyone else been having problems with the site? The last few days I couldn"t even login or doing anything because my computer kept getting me the message that the site reset or lost connection, despite the fact my internet was connected and other websites were working. Also, just wanted to ask this: is everyone just busy dealing with the holidays or is the episode lacking? If it is, I'm willing to hear any ideas to make it better. ))

"And I want to know what you were doing out here, but I doubt I'll get the whole truth,"

"Well, I was at the bridge, you know, trying to decipher the symbols scattered around your room." Blackarachnia stared at the last spot Whitegrazer was before disappearing into space. "I saw her going pass me towards the platform, looking like she was heading back to the site. Also, her face.... She remembered that look of determination, anger, the white mare's fist clenched like she was going to battle. Also, the structure of her face.... it almost looked like the one Optimus drew.

"No one touches that,"

Blackarachnia looked at the golden metal stem, scratching her chin. Not that she was thinking about touching it, as she didn't want to go into unknown terriotory. Who knows if Whitegrazer truly was where there aliens were? They could have overloaded her systems to stasis lock and threw her across space, floating like Starcream's spark. She thought about the science of it all. These aliens came up with some weird inventions, and the idea of a flower being able to take someone into space, well, not before overloading their systems with energon, was on the list of weird.

"Why is it so calm here now..?,"

"Like the calm before the storm." she muttered under her breath.

Looking back at the area Whitegrazer disappeared again.... Thing were getting interesting.

"The gear didn't have the chance to boot up properly before the tremors appeared. So unless it happens again, I can't get an accurate reading."

"Something tells me you little gizmo is going to have multiple opportunities," Blackarachnia looked at the little weasel then back at the small cracks. Not that many, but still, it proved something was going on below them.

Maybe she should keep herself closeby the cliffs, so she could grapple away easily and fast if the site decides to cave in on itself or something comes up to destroy them. Just as her thoughts pondered, another tremor quaked. She did her best to remain standing. More cracks formed around them. Just like the last one, the powerful tremor ended as quickly as it started. She had counted the seconds... 1...2...3..5..8....10. 10 seconds.

Part of her was feeling paranoid, Not only were they open and exposed with no cover, but if her former comrade decided to attack, they had the perfect vantage point. Not to mention, the one they already knew waiting and watching them.

[Wintersong]

((Sorry for slowness, but this weekend was busy since it was my brother's birthday and we spent some time running around. Next two weeks might be like this since it is the holidays, which means lots of baking, end of the year for my younger siblings, and I'm working on some things for hopefully getting into my school's Criminology Master's program.))

'You ask us to forgive and show mercy to the Cybertronians. We gave them a final chance to avoid the site using that pod, they refused to acknowledge your warnings and one of their own paid the price. So long as she is within that cocoon she now belongs to us, her mind, her spark, her very being is no longer her own.' The Vok with purple eyes spoke, making it clear the last chance the Maximals and Predacons had faced was now wasted and lost, their power used in a minor way to ensure the site wasn't found or at the very least Whitegrazer was brought before them.

Of course, only part of that plan worked and now they were having to leave their trap to hopefully do it's work and finish what the rest had not been able to accomplish. They had to be rid of the contamination, of the damage done otherwise their plans would be for not. "Still you persist. Life can be made anew, and life has been reset countless times before until the course was set on a path we found favorable. The presence of the Maximals and Predacons has become damaging to that vision and we must be rid of them. Ethics, morals, we have forgone these to ensure detachment, to ensure we did not make the same mistakes you have clearly shown no restraint for making.' Her tone was changing, becoming more like it use to be, and no doubt her powers would return to just a similar level but not for the sake for helping them or seeing the truth before her.

No, she would use them for the sake of the Maximals she now called family. But why? What made them so special? 'What is so...relevant of this group of Cybertronians you seem insistent they remain? They would be no different from that of the past and the countless worlds ravaged by their previous war. They cannot be trusted, yet...you continue to waste your time and energy to save them.'

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

The texture of the plant seemed no different from any other, smooth to the touch and seemingly delicate to the touch. A powerful pull could almost seem to break the petals which encased the transmetal feline, yet as Whitegrazer's previous attack had proven the petals were far more resilient than they appeared, almost like a thick rubber of which things would bounce off of without a scratch to the surface. The plant being alien couldn't be a better description.

Nearby Tigerhawk had remained silent as he tried to analyze the strange fauna. He was no stranger to studying plant life from other worlds due to his handful of years as a geologist, one of the things he studied among many others. But these...these were something else, something as if alive if something was triggered at the right moment much like when prey wandered into the area of a predator. And maybe that was what the Maximals and Predacons were becoming; they were merely prey moving cautiously around expecting the plants to attack them and possibly consume or kidnap them like they did with Whitegrazer and Wintersong. Such a thought made the tiger/hawk fuzor shudder with fear at such thoughts before pushing them to the back of his processor.

But he turned back to the others when he heard Optimus mention in not touching anything. None of them probably would after all they had heard, much less seeing the beam of light shooting upwards into space. Tigerhawk turned his gaze to the sky at that moment when he pondered his exceptionally short time there on the new planet and that things had gotten rather grim within that time. It was one thing after another and now he was left not only with a small throbbing in his body from his battle with Nemesis earlier but also having a cloud of unease and doubt over his head.

A sudden tremor snapped Tigerhawk to reality once more, causing the fuzor to stumble and flare out his wings by reflex to keep himself from falling. Not that he had to as the tremor stopped just as quickly as he started, causing him to glance around at the ground in utter surprise. Was that a natural earthquake or something from an alien device that could not see? The large mech glanced up, finding no one had fallen or been harmed but as he did he did catch the sight of cracks forming in the ground, small and maybe hair-line that weren't of grave concern...yet. "Doesn't seem wise to continue standing here." Tigerhawk muttered to himself but soon another tremor struck, causing him to flap his wings to hover in place as more cracks formed and possibly expanding those that had formed already.

"Perhaps there is a device beneath us as Blackarachnia suspected." Tigerhawk said to them, blinking his optics once as he activated his thermal imaging, the others becoming outlines of red and yellow in his sight before he glanced down at the ground once more to examine for a sign of a heat signature to give a tall tale sign of a device being in use. Did Vok devices even have heat? Or was there something else happening that was a coincidence?

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

"Hm, I can see why you find them to of use to us then. They seem to be...gracious to make their presence known to us. Or the Maximals were humble enough to lead us right to them." Spineback observed as she looked forward, having watched the blue light shooting upwards and wondered if it was yet another signal, a beacon to drag the Vok here. Well, would they actually come here? If they did what exactly would they be looking for, much less expect from them? They had shown to have power beyond what any other beings had that they had faced and it made her have awe and fear towards these aliens, possibly shared with most of her comrades save the most unhinged, such as Inferno who knew no fear.

But she gave a confident nod towards Megatron's inquiry, feeling ever fiber of her being radiating with the excitement of a battle to come. "Always ready Lord Megatron." 'And actually maybe having a proper vantage point this time.' Spineback thought to herself, flexing the claws on her dinosaur hands as her eyes showed a fiery lust for battle. It had been a little while since Spineback had properly taken part in a skirmish with the Maximals and she was eager to let loose at last.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: una, you're kind of in control of the episode since you're playing the Vok (Wintersong as well, but I think she's following your lead) and have Whitegrazer negotiating with them. I don't think anyone (besides perhaps Wintersong) has any idea what the earthquake is about and what's supposed to happen at the site if we're not exactly following the show's script, so it's not like I can make decisions with Optimus and help move things along if I can't visualize what's happening or what direction you're trying to take us in. I think eventually the ship is supposed to show up? We also wait about a week to a week and a half between your posts every time. So I think those are the only reasons that this episode is progressing so slowly. It's all in your hands.

On a side note, no one was supposed to overhear Optimus and Zodiac's conversation about the other alien disk; they were speaking too quietly next to each other. ))

[una]

((OOC: I edited my post, OOP. I will try and have my Whitegrazer's post tonight. If not, I will have it tomorrow. Also, Wintersong and I are cooking something up, so hopefully, it will encourage people post and help gather ideas for you all. And when it happens, we will explain what we plan to happen and everyone to jump in from there. Like I said before.

Edit: There has been a change in plan. Wintersong and I have decided to do a joint post ))

[Phoenix]

(Ok.. just so you know Friday is my only chance to post for almost a week..)

[una]

((OOC: Wintersong and I decided to do a a joint post because we thought it better than regular posting. Especially for what we want to happen. I'm sorry for it being slow, but I did post for BA. Phoenix, you can have Nemesis or Megatron and the others to get there at the site and discuss or attack the Maximals, if you like, if that was what you were going for. It's all right. That wouldn't hurt anything we have planned. Go on ahead. Or if you like I can edit my BA post and add more to it. ))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I'm assuming I should be waiting for the joint post, but I don't know how long that's going to take you guys, so I'm just going to go ahead and write something up while I have time tonight. ))

"Why is it so calm here now..?,"

Aurora's observation grabbed Primal's attention who looked at her and recognized her gaze drifting to the dark bot standing next to him. Perhaps she was considering an interesting possibility. Maybe Zodiac wasn't being completely dishonest about sending Whitegrazer here to study the site since she was of Vok origin and wouldn't activate any traps or weapons. Maybe Zodiac was having the same effect to it. But if so, what was that earthquake about? Him touching the cocoon that Wintersong was trapped inside of, or was it something else entirely? Something bigger...?

"The gear didn't have the chance to boot up properly before the tremors appeared. So unless it happens again, I can't get an accurate reading."

Slag, he thought, disappointed and frustrated with their situation. Primus, he felt so empty inside without Whitegrazer being around. Optimus never really thought about how his life was before she had established that bond between them until now. He was whole back on Cybertron but she added another parallel to the meaning of his existence. It was indescribable really. But he was missing her dearly at that moment despite her Vok confession. He had to look past it, or rather accept it, and see her for who she was ever since they landed here. ...Assuming she would return to him... He told himself to remain strong and concentrate on the situation at hand because he couldn't allow her disappearance across the galaxy or the universe to distract him.

"Safe," "I buried it not far from here," "I'll give it to you.. even show you how to use it to save your friends.. if you let me go after."

The Maximal leader suspiciously narrowed an optic at the renegade. "It's never that easy," he said to him quietly, knowing full well how empty or deceitful his word could be. "How do I know you won't use it against us and doom us all? You were pretty intent on that ambition back at the volcano," he reminded him. As much as he wanted that second disk, Optimus knew he had to be careful. And he didn't know if that truth serum had worn off yet; there was no way to tell until Zodiac might slip up on something. What if the disk was actually miles away, and if he cut him loose, he could just flee and use it as he wished, possibly summoning more alien weapons.

"Well, I was at the bridge, you know, trying to decipher the symbols scattered around your room." "I saw her going pass me towards the platform, looking like she was heading back to the site. Also, her face...

Primal turned to look at the black widow as she offered her short explanation, which sounded honest enough but was still a bit vague. "I do appreciate your help studying those symbols, Blackarachnia, but you of all people should know that you shouldn't go rushing out to an alien site that will also demand Megatron's presence." He chose to keep Whitegrazer's history private from her, for now, which would explain her communication with the aliens like the spider had already assumed. Fortunately, they had enough distractions to divert their attention away from that topic.

"Something tells me you little gizmo is going to have multiple opportunities,"

As another quake shook the ground beneath them, Optimus grew a little more uneasy, especially when he watched the cracks expand around their feet where a lot of their weight rested.

"Perhaps there is a device beneath us as Blackarachnia suspected."

"Everyone, back away from here," Primal instructed them, motioning them with his hand stretched out to retreat toward the sturdier ground behind them that wasn't being affected too much by the tremors, or at least wasn't cracking so it appeared to be more stable. "Be mindful of Nemesis's presence," he told them. Then he turned to Zodiac, knelt down, and deactivated the energy bonds around his ankles before rising and deactivating the ones around his wrists as well, then storing them in his subspace. He refrained from handing him the spare club he grabbed before they left, however, at least until there might be a valid threat that was going to attack them and Zodiac would need to defend himself.

But Optimus didn't follow his crew. Instead, he limped back to the encased TransMetal tigress and asked the new Fuzor, "Tigerhawk, can you help me lift Wintersong in this shell and carry her to safer ground?"

Rattrap was far enough away to not even feel the earthquakes as he diligently planted his charges on the remaining towers in the general area and set up a perimeter in the direction the Predacons would likely arrive in if they were coming from the Darksyde. But now he was on his way back to regroup with the others...

-----

"The jamming towers isn't a concern right now." "But taking over the alien site is. I trust you are both combat ready?"

Inferno was about to reply to his Queen vocally that he was ready, but he reminded himself of the hand that Megatron raised to silence him, so he simply nodded in fear of agitating him any further thus resulting in any physical punishment. It was best to avoid that if he could.

"Worthwhile.." "The aliens would not have gone to such lengths to conceal it if it wasn't important, noooo,"

"Hm, I can see why you find them to of use to us then. They seem to be...gracious to make their presence known to us. Or the Maximals were humble enough to lead us right to them." "Always ready Lord Megatron."

The pyro remained quiet as Megatron and Spineback spoke but he also stayed by the tyrant's side as they moved out, ever loyal to their mighty leader.

[una]

((OOC: No, no one has to wait for our joint post. The only thing Wintersong and I would like is if people stayed at or close to the site for what we are doing to work. So everyone post away! ))

[Phoenix]

"Something tells me you little gizmo is going to have multiple opportunities,"

Aurora cast a glance at the female spider, seemingly a bit unsure whether to take her words as a warning or a threat. It wasn't that the Maximals hadn't taken in Predacons before and some of them had transitioned quite well into the Maximal ranks, but the spider always seemed to be running with her own agenda. So it was difficult to develop the trust needed to take the spider's words at face value.

"I sort of hope that won't be the case..," Aurora muttered as way of response, genuinely more than a bit concerned that these tremors were caused by something far more dangerous than a mere natural occurrence.

"Perhaps there is a device beneath us as Blackarachnia suspected."

Those were the exact words the fuzor didn't want to hear. The last time they had dealt with alien technology, their base had nearly been brought down by a stream of lava. And the last time the aliens themselves paid them a visit, they had lost Optimus..

But the continued trembling of the ground and the cracks that were starting to form as a result, made it all too clear that something was about to happen. Aurora looked back at the readings her machine was picking up. They were still inconclusive but they did indicate that something large was moving beneath them.

"Hm, I can see why you find them to of use to us then. They seem to be...gracious to make their presence known to us. Or the Maximals were humble enough to lead us right to them."

Megatron gave Spineback a toothy grin as they made their approach towards the alien site. "The Maximals will not get in our way as they'll be too preoccupied with trying to stop the aliens from causing more harm. With any luck they won't even realize we are going to steal the alien weapon until it's too late, yessss.."

"Always ready Lord Megatron." '

Wise response, Megatron mulled to himself without verbalizing it. Indeed. The Decepticon-turned-Predacon had proven more valuable than most of his recruits. Perhaps due to her Deceticon lineage, since the tyrant had experienced some success when using Decepticons in his ranks.

The alien site was emerging ahead of them and Megatron immediately took note of the Maximals as well Nemesis lurking nearby.

"Keep low to the ground," he told his flying troops, "We wouldn't want to spoil the Maximals' surprise, nooo.."

Nemesis nodded politely as Megatron made his presence known. "My lord," she told him with a slight smile, "I'm pleased you are able to join us. Unfortunately a few Maximals are trying to interfere.. along with an old friend of ours."

"It's never that easy,"

Zodiac shrugged at Primal's hesitation.

"If it had been easy, we wouldn't even be in this situation. The way I see it, neither one of us has much of a choice. We may not like each other, but right now we are each others' best chance at getting out of this alive."

"How do I know you won't use it against us and doom us all? You were pretty intent on that ambition back at the volcano,"

The dragon inclined his head a bit, breaking eye contact.

"I was.. But the situation has changed since then. I've come to realize how misguided my actions were and how I failed to see beyond my hatred and desire for vengeance.."

He sounded hesitant, a far stretch from as confident as he had appeared a few weeks prior.

"There's something down there.. It's headed this way," Aurora said in a low voice just loudly enough for them to hear her.

The ground shook again.. Whatever was causing it, seemed to be getting closer since the tremors happened more frequently now.

"Everyone, back away from here,"

Aurora immediately grabbed her equipment and did as ordered, giving a sigh of relief that Primal didn't insist on staying in a location that seemed so unstable. Zodiac moved a few feet as well before Primal turned towards him again, then surprisingly knelt down and removed his leg shackles. The renegade tilted his head, saying nothing as Primal then proceeded to untie his wrists as well. He then wasted no time with getting to a safe distance.

Once they reached the rocky ground Primal had pointed out, Zodiac made sure to stay near the Maximal commander as he whispered only for him to hear.

"We need to hurry.. We can still stop this before it turns into a massacre. Yes, I'm aware you're hesitant about trusting me, but keep in mind I'm in the same situation you're in right now. "

[una]

((OOC: Joint post is still being worked on. Sorry for the delay. For now, I'll post for Blackarachnia! ))

"I do appreciate your help studying those symbols, Blackarachnia, but you of all people should know that you shouldn't go rushing out to an alien site that will also demand Megatron's presence."

Blackarachnia still didn't... want to be a team player. She never was one back on the Darksyde, and why does Optimus or any other Maximal think otherwise, "I can take care of myself. I'm no damsel in distress. Besides, Megatron would probably be more interested in what's here than claiming revenge. At least, I hope so. It's not like she had anything to worry about. Though, that wasn't true. She just didn't want to think about. Yet, she rather face Megatron's brute force than Tarantulas' perverse way of dealing with enemies. No, Megatron could tear her apart and it would still be better than Tarantulas' slowly eating her up like the rats, deers, and other prey animals around the planet or him using her for his experiments. Her mind, body, and soul twisted into something only that sick spider could imagaine up for his treacherous former "companion".

Staring at Optimus for a moment, she noticed he said nothing about what she discussed about Whitegrazer. As if, he didn't want to give something away. Oh? He didn't trust her? Good. At least, he wasn't going to make it easy for her. She would just have to find out herself. "Have you gotten any more images or... whatever you experienced here? Maybe some that are particular about this site? Does any of this look familiar or anything?"

"Perhaps there is a device beneath us as Blackarachnia suspected."

"Everyone, back away from here," Primal instructed them, motioning them with his hand stretched out to retreat toward the sturdier ground behind them that wasn't being affected too much by the tremors, or at least wasn't cracking so it appeared to be more stable. "Be mindful of Nemesis's presence,"

"If there is something below here, maybe we should have that Maximal beetle or somewhere dig it up? Before it... I don't know... destroys us?" She asked, though probably whatever it was down below wasn't going to be something they could carry in their hands. Or maybe it was? The aliens were very inventive.

Blackarachnia took out her weapon and looked at the area she once saw Nemesis. It was odd that Megatron or any other Predacons weren't here yet. Either Megatron was too preoccupied in his own delusions of grandeur or wasn't interested, which was hardly likely.

She noticed Zodiac whispering to Optimus. Optimus seemed to be listening. What were they talking about? She hated not knowing.

Looking back at Nemesis' location, she made a decision of her own with a grin. "I'm going to scout higher ground. If Megatron is making his approach, like I believe he is, it might be wise to see who he has with him and maybe even delay his approach?"