The Intergalactic Highway

(ooc: Well.. I'm at a bit of a loss here.. My life is way too busy to keep up with it all. Pregnancy has left me with some serious health issues, work is hell, school is worse, life is non-existent..only consisting of making sure my kids stay alive and that their bellies are full and they are happy.. Between illness, no appetite, and frequent nausea and vomiting I'm in the situation that I'm actually LOSING weight while pregnant.. Go figures.. I so long for the days when I only had school to worry about. I never had more time available for other things than at that time. I also had something in mind for the Predacons, but with Whitegrazer and her multiple personalities dropping in I'm not sure how to work it out.

At any rate..)

Aurora glanced around as the ground beneath their feet kept shaking violently, the tremors suddenly increasing tenfold as the very surface began to crumble. The fuzor's mouth dropped open, her ears flattening against her head, and that unruly white lock of fur draping across her face as was so often the case at the most inopportune times. Not sure whether to believe her own optics, her gaze shifted over to Rattrap, only to let out a scream a moment later when the ground seemed to swallow the rodent whole.

At that moment, Aurora dropped the carriage holding her equipment, frantically looking around to see.. nobody. The rest of the Maximals had all scattered, or perhaps they too had disappeared into the ground. She didn't have long to ponder it, however, before the ground she stood on shattered as well. The wagon holding her equipment, being heavier than she was, fell first with the fuzor following a mere second later. There was no time to react, no time to holler for help, no time to do anything! Still, as she plunged through the depths she tried her best to halt her fall by spreading her thin butterfly wings and using them as a parachute. All the rocks that came crashing down at the same time made quick work of her act of desperation, hitting her and her wings alike and even piercing them a few times.

The impact against the hard floors in the underground chambers came a lot more abruptly than she hoped for, literally knocking the wind out of her as she slammed hard against the strange alien structure. Aurora whimpered and made one futile attempt at pushing herself up before she collapsed back onto the floor, succumbing to the pain and the stress of it all.

In those last few moments before she blacked out entirely, she noticed a familiar shape hovering in the center of the room. It was Whitegrazer, or at least she thought it was, due to the injuries the white mare had sustained to her face it wasn't quite obvious. Not until..

"R-r-r-r-r-ruuuuuun!"

Oh how badly the fuzor wanted to heed Whitegrazer's word at that exact moment, but her body ached too much from the injuries she'd sustained from the fall. And in the haze that filled her mind right now, her instincts were to run towards Whitegrazer rather than away.. To clamp onto her and make sure she wouldn't simply fade from their existence yet again.

But she couldn't.. Not now.

Finally Aurora's head fell back onto the floor, drifting off into unconsciousness. She only vaguely heard Primal's call for her before everything went completely dark.

"Aurora?" "Where are you and Rattrap?"

There was no response.

Meanwhile Megatron had fought his way past the army of alien vines that had been attacking them, leaving a carnage of plant life in his wake, as he lead his Predacons towards what seemed to be the epicenter of everything that had been going on. It couldn't be a coincidence that the traitorous former shapeshifter and Primal had left the others to head down to the underground chamber, nooo, so if anything could be recovered from this place of horrors it would be found there. He was sure of it. Besides the dome that now covered the alien site, preventing others from getting in, was also keeping him, the mighty Megatron, trapped here. And that was unforgivable. The aliens were going to learn whom they were dealing with here, as were all his foes.

His already grim outlook soured still as he stepped on the remnants of some vines, grinding it into the ground as he moved on. He signaled for his Predacons to remain quiet, wanting the chance to sneak up on his foes and take whatever they were hiding for himself. The determination to leave this place behind in ruins only got stronger as they got close enough to hear voices coming from within the room, prompting Megatron to hold up his hand to halt his team from proceeding any further.

Nemesis was wisely enough lingering a bit behind the rest. She wasn't nearly as sure that this was the best approach but she certainly knew better than to try to persuade Megatron otherwise. Still.. this place was simply humming with energy produced by the alien gadgets that surrounded them. Even she was not unaffected, her nanomachines having grown far more active than they normally would. They seemed.. uneasy.. The usual chaos now replaced with a solemn sense of.. doom. And with the dome that had now descended upon them all, sealing them inside this place, Nemesis' sense of claustrophobia was increasing as well. Still.. she managed to keep it under control.. for now.

"R-r-r-r-r-ruuuuuun!"

"I'm not leaving you,"

Megatron's until now grim appearance lit up into a toothy grin as he listened to his sappy foes inside the room without making his presence known. Oh, it delighted him to find his enemy in such a predicament, but even more so than that.. and the fact that it was evident his foe was in danger.. was the fact that the two of them were otherwise preoccupied. With any luck the same applied to the aliens as well. Leaving Megatron with ample opportunity to turn this disaster into an opportunity of victory. It was a chance the tyrant was certainly not going to let slip out of his grasp, noooo.

Gesturing to the Predacons to follow, Megatron slipped away.

"I've kept my word,"

Zodiac remained still even as Optimus started addressing him, as if expecting confirmation that what he believed about the shapeshifter's condition to be true. Yet Zodiac didn't respond, instead he spent those few moments conserving his energy and battling the intense burning sensation in his gut while his systems all rebooted at once. A quick check using his self-diagnostics systems, however, revealed that he was okay.. no.. better than okay.. All his systems were back to being operational, not just the audio-synthesizers he used to mimic voices. Yet he didn't want to reveal the truth just yet..

A moment later he was glad that he hadn't, since all of a sudden the surge in the room increased again and Whitegrazer appeared floating in mid air as if the very energy was carrying her. He only caught a glimpse of her from his present location and she certainly looked worse for wear, her face almost looking like part of it had burned off, but it was her voice that truly revealed just how dire her situation was.

His nanomachines started stirring as well as soon as she appeared, likely due to the massive surge in power present in the very room. Yet something didn't feel right.. There was an odd familiarity in the air, a rather frightening one at that.

Slowly Zodiac stirred before forcing himself up on his knees so that he could see what was going on a bit better.. see her .

"R-r-r-r-r-r-r,"

Fortunately Whitegrazer's link hadn't re-established itself upon her sudden return, but it really didn't have to. Zodiac already knew what she was about to say, he could sense it in his innermost circuits. They were here..

"Whitegrazer!"

"R-r-r-r-r-ruuuuuun!"

"I'm not leaving you,"

Ever so briefly Zodiac cast a glance over at Optimus, ever unwilling to give up on his loved ones. Even when it would surely cost him his life. Not Zodiac's though. The shapeshifter had every intention to heed Whitegrazer's warning this time. Yes, he was capable of amazing feats with his nanomachines now restored. But he knew fully well that even his powers couldn't outmatch a team of Vok. Their technology had created him, after all. And he had seen their capabilities up close before he escaped.

Slowly he forced himself up to his feet just as Primal dropped to his knees.

"Ours is disconnected as well."

Zodiac knew. He felt it. Normally he'd describe the sensation as blissfully welcome, but right now he was more concerned with putting some distance between himself and these aliens..

He stopped as he reached the doorway as he turned to Optimus. Why he said what he did, he couldn't tell.. But the words still flowed out of his mouth.

"There is nothing you can do at this point," he told the other male.

No....

Whitegrazer! He reached out to her before their link was abruptly severed again. He hadn't been aware that he had accidentally tried to reconnect them, but it was clear that either she wanted to keep it severed or someone else did, so he didn't try pushing back.

"Optimus, please, you need to-"

She appeared so... frail. Exhausted. And literally torn apart. Primal's gaze shuddered as he looked upon Whitegrazer. At least he was almost certain that it was her. Did seeing her and hearing her mean that she was still alive? Was she really there with them now or was this a projection? And who had put her through all of that pain and torture? He would have liked to have served some justice, but something even more bizarre happened, as if the mare was possessed and her optic sensors changed colors according to the different voices or personalities that were influencing her. Were the Vok using her body like they had used Unicron before as a means to communicate with them? As he listened, it was like they were having a conversation with themselves through her very being. What a callous and malicious violation. Judging by her eyes, there were at least three of them but he only recognized TyCross' personality. Primal's orange optics narrowed in a glare and he licked the scar across his lips, distracted by this scene instead of paying attention to Zodiac who was beginning to stir.

"I won't allow you to use me like this."
"She's blocking us."

Clearly the aliens, including TyCross, wanted to use Whitegrazer against them some how but she was fighting hard to prevent them from doing so. He wished there was something he could do to fight with her and stop this.

"You are interfering with my rights as a sentient being. You have violated my body and wish to use it against my will. It is YOUR interference that will not be tolerated. I never tolerate this from Maximals or Predacons nor will I tolerate it from my own people."
"The laws of beings with physical forms are irrelevant. Your wishes. Your feelings are irrelevant. You will comply!"
"No. You will have to kill me."
"Death is meaningless to us. Nor do we wish your destruction. Only obedience. You were always stubborn and rebellious towards our methods. After this is done, you will be confined to Nexus Zero and never be able to return. Ever."

No! thought Optimus, balling his fists. Were the Vok really this heartless? Did they never practice mercy or compassion?! How dare they control her like this and threaten the rest of them and the planet!

"Optimus- They-"
"Silence.
"They are trying to use my ability to establish bonds to destroy everyone. Don't try and establish our bond!"

"By Primus..." he muttered as he understood and tried comprehending the power and knowledge to succeed with that much manipulation. By using her ability, they could reach out to all of them. And then what? Make them self destruct? Make them hurt one another?

"She is stopping us from using it. She only established bonds with Optimus and Zodiac. The others can't hear or feel her strongly as those. Her power won't allow easy access to the others. But... Ah! Emotional bonds! We have just been thinking about her emotional attachments!
"Explain!"
"Don't you remember, Whitegrazer? How you were able to establish your bods during the war? We will do that!
"No, you won't."
"Optimus Primal! You should had listened to her.

Growling, Optimus stepped toward Whitegrazer's floating body and said, "Is that you TyCross? I think you'll find out that it is you who should have listened to her!" He put his body in a defensive position when "Whitegrazer" lunged at him, prepared to defend himself. Of course, he was a little hesitant since TyCross was using her body against her will and he would not have wanted to cause her anymore anguish than she had already endured.

"We need to weakened him."

Obviously there was some missing pieces of the conversation ((I'm assuming colored font without quotations means no one but Whitegrazer can hear what's being said?)), probably whatever the Vok wanted to keep hidden from him, and for some reason TyCross had a bone to pick with the Maximal leader. Optimus was beginning to think that Whitegrazer's beloved master was involved with this whole Vok business the whole time and was just using her to do his bidding. He watched "Whitegrazer" raise one of her fists, and he reacted by putting himself in a stance that would counter the attack like they had practiced in their sparring, but she seemed to remain in what little control she had left to keep him from harming him.

"Optimus! Run! Gather the others! Run!"

He defiantly stared upon her optics, looking into them in search of her. He should do as she said, he debated with himself, after all, she knew what was going on. She knew what they were planning. And so far, she was still alive because they intended on taking advantage of her. So he finally agreed and nodded. But before he turned away, he said with a confident voice, "You were right about one thing, TyCross. You should have weakened me when you had the chance." Toying with her master with a taunting smile tugging at the corner of his mouth intentionally trying to intimidate him so that his focus would remain on him instead of Whitegrazer or the others, Primal immediately turned away from the mare while Zodiac had managed to pull himself together and wasted no time getting to the other side of the large room. Part of him was glad he was alright... a very small part of of him. The rest of him couldn't help but wonder if he had just helped his most elusive and difficult adversary regain his incredible powers, briefly reminding him that he was the very bot who killed Nexus Prime and had tried to kill him and his entire crew. The Commander hurried away from Whitegrazer and the podium that holding the activated golden disk with his limp until he spotted Aurora's white body laying on the floor in a dimly lit area.

"Aurora!" he called to her but she didn't move. Jogging over to her, he knelt down beside her and quickly checked her vitals. Despite her injuries, likely sustained from the fall, she was okay. Unconscious but okay. A breath of relief escaped his mouth as he gently picked her up in his arms.

"There is nothing you can do at this point,"

Looking up at Zodiac, who had stopped at a doorway leading to a corridor, it occurred to him that even if he did regain the use of his shape shifting technology which would make him nearly invincible again, he was still intent on evacuating this possible death trap and probably wanted nothing to do with the Vok since there was a target on his back likely as big as the one on Whitegrazer's, especially if the aliens intended on using the link that was connected to both him and Primal. Either he was still terrified of the aliens' power and truly wanted to leave that place before they were killed, or he was leading Optimus to another trap. Either way, he couldn't risk his Maximals being secluded here and harmed in this structure that now appeared larger than it previously had. Standing up, he glanced over his shoulder at the alien disk he was about to leave behind, losing yet another advantage over Megatron, but it was not worth his comrades' lives. Not too far from them, he noticed something and limped toward it to inspect it...

Meanwhile, nearby, Inferno shook his head as he awoke, grumbling under his breath of his aching back and damaged propulsion engine that enabled his flight. As he sat up, he saw the unconscious rodent laying next to him, finding this to be the perfect opportunity to finally terminate the annoying Maximal. Grabbing his weapon, he targeted Rattrap's head at point blank with his finger on the trigger, beginning to say, "Farewe-" when he suddenly felt a sharp pain to his chin as his head snapped backwards, the force of the blow knocking his entire body away from the TransMetal rat. There stood Optimus, whose one swift kick knocked the fire ant out and away from his Spy while he held Aurora. Kneeling down on one knee, he picked up Rattrap and draped his limp body over his shoulder while he was able to carry the small Fuzor in his other arm with it wrapped around her waist as he stood up and limped toward Zodiac. "Let's get out of here," he said reluctantly as he entered the corridor in search of the exit even though Whitegrazer's survival still lingered in his mind. He had no idea where Megatron and Nemesis were by now. Still outside waiting for them? Or were they inside the structure since Inferno had made it inside? All he knew was that Megatron wasn't going to waste the opportunity of taking advantage of this alien device. There was obviously more to it than Zodiac had lead him to believe, and that thought appeared on his face with frustration and distaste when he glanced at the renegade.

((OOC: It's not indecision, well, not this time, but the fact I have a hard time processing information. Sometimes, it takes me a bit to understand what I just read and figure out how to respond. I hate that so much combined with the fact I'm such a sloooow writer, have the attention span of a goldenfish and have a hard time expressing myself. Ugh, makes it difficult and sometimes, I instinctively avoid it despite the fact I can't. So... My brain is hell. All the time. Everytime. ))

"Is that you TyCross? I think you'll find out that it is you who should have listened to her!"

"You both are stubborn fools." TyCross grunted as he struggled to used the fist that was still in the air. Whitegrazer wasn't letting him or the others move an inch to harm Optimus.

They wondered if it would be the same for the rest of the Maximal ones. What about the Predacons? Were they going to get a fight like the Maximals? The others contemplated the pieces of data they were absorbing from Whitegrazer, and she didn't enjoy their analyzation of her memories and emotions. Without context, how would they be able to understand what or how she felt those emotions and why those particular memories or people gave out those specific emotions?

You were right about one thing, TyCross. You should have weakened me when you had the chance."

Optimus was gathering everyone and heeded her pleads and warning. Now, he understood what was happening and what he needed to do. Good. It might buy them some time as well as bid her own. Whitegrazer, though, needed to figure out a way to force the Vok out of her body. While the Vok were seeing everything though her physical optics, auditory sensors, and touch sensors, Whitegrazer was inside her green meadow. Peaceful, yet she was caged like an animal and TyCross was holding the key while the others used her body. TyCross might have be able to do things, but it was the other Vok who were the masters. She wondered if TyCross enjoyed that.

"Aurora!"

Whitegrazer watched and heard Aurora dropped harshly into the Metal Hunter. Not to mention, all of her equipment she brought to the alien site to try and help Wintersong no doubt. The poor thing seemed to try and use her small wings to cushion her landing, but the wings weren't as tough as the others nor strong enough. Aurora looked like the wind had been punched out of her. TyCross and the other Vok were too busy with Optimus to acknowledge the little one, but they did give a quick glance towards her as the little one began to black out. "Smaller than others." "Younger than the others as well." "Her creation was the result of our power.... in a way. "Then she too must be terminated."

Whitegrazer didn't say anything. But they felt what she was feeling. A slight tremor overcame them. Whitegrazer's body quaked a bit. The other Vok and TyCross made a note of this.

"There is nothing you can do at this point,"

"ZODIAC!!!" The purple-eyed Vok boomed and pointed a finger at the one who not only betrayed them, used them for his own goals, but also, is one of those which were created due to Whitegrazer's incompetence. Using Whitegrazer's half-skeleton and half-Cybertronian facial structure, her optics were wide in fury and mouth scorned at the shapeshifter with grave prejudice. "We will make sure your death will be a swift but painful one. Interference. Treachery. Will. Not. Be. Tolerated. Or. Forgiven."

"Maybe we will insure his destruction first?"

"No! We must deal with Optimus first!"

"Your personal misgivings is getting in the way of our objective."

Whitegrazer grabbed the bar of her cage and rattled it. She could feel a deadly chill rise within her own form. The Vok were furious at Zodiac. Moreso than the others. To the point where she feared for Zodiac's life.

Whitegrazer's hand raised towards Zodiac, staring at the shapeshifter with the same look. The nanomachines were of the same origin yet primitive and inferior. Yet, Zodiac's link towards Whitegrazer made it easy for the other Vok to used their power. As they kept their hand outstretched, they growled with such ferociousness. "You used one of our charging stations. You are like us. Like Whitegrazer. But you are an inferior. Weak. "Whitegrazer should have put you down. Her compassion towards you is disgusting."

They gripped the nanomachines inside Zodiac's body, trying to gain control.

"Let's get out of here,"

"There is no escape. You can try, but we control this machine. You are incapable of understanding our technology and language."

"They will learn. Adapt." Whitegrazer spat at the Vok.

Whitegrazer broke one of the bars.

"TyCross, keep her from interfering!"

TyCross turned around and gripped Whitegrazer's wrist. "You are starting to annoy me, Whitegrazer. That you shouldn't do." Whitegrazer just remained silent as her other hand, open palm, smacked his face hard.

(ooc: Well.. it stopped snowing.. finally.. 17 inches of snow from this storm. Ridiculously they have kept schools closed across the state for the past two days so I've been stuck watching the kids. Yet they did nothing when we had a wind storm with 60-75 mph wind gusts that ripped roof tops off, knocked over semi trailers, and downed trees and power lines all over a mere week ago.. )

Zodiac watched as Optimus attempted to reason with the female, the one he treasured above anything despite now knowing her true nature. The hybrid saw as her optics changed colors, each cycle reflecting another personality now invading her body. But the moment she turned her gaze on him, he looked away. He knew all too well what was raging on within her just like he knew he might as well have a giant target painted on his own body with members of the vok present in the room.

No, he didn't consider Whitegrazer one of them.. Not really. Not anymore. As far as he was concerned, she had made her choice. And it wasn't to the Vok's benefit.

But that didn't change the fact there were vok present in this very room. And every instinct within him told him to evacuate while he still could.

"Is that you TyCross? I think you'll find out that it is you who should have listened to her!"

Zodiac didn't know the Vok by name so his optics merely glanced over at Primal's when he spoke. Why did the foolish Maximal insist on dragging this out? And better yet.. why was he, a hybrid between Cybertronian and Vok technology, waiting for him? Was it because part of him still wanted revenge against Primal for the indignities he had suffered? Or was it some strange realization that the two now had a common, much greater, enemy? Probably more of the latter now that he thought about it..

The Vok inhabiting Whitegrazer's body were arguing among themselves, their voices distinct in nature as their words escaped out of the female's mouth. Clearly his earlier observation of her optics changing color and the assumptions he had made were correct. As Primal ran off to save his comrades, Zodiac drew a deep breath. Clearly these vok were well aware of who he was and the history he shared with them. And surely they weren't about to just let those things slide.

"Smaller than others." "Younger than the others as well." "Her creation was the result of our power.... in a way. "Then she too must be terminated."

Fortunately for Aurora she was too far gone to really process what the different Vok were saying. But if she had really heard them, she would clearly have been highly disturbed by their words. As well as the fact that they were speaking through Whitegrazer. And while the Vok were not entirely incorrect in their assumption that she was a result of their technology, the remnants of such had faded from her almost immediately after coming online. It may have been in part due to leftover nanomachines that she had been created, but as of yet she was blissfully unaware of this fact. And those machines had spent all their power in order to restore her and had since simply faded out of existence. So she didn't possess any of the fantastic abilities often seen in those who had been exposed to Vok technology like that. Which was probably for the best all things considering..

The little fuzor let out a slight whimper as Optimus hurriedly, albeit as gingerly as he could, hoisted her up before setting course towards Rattrap. A small part of her could register that she was being carried, but she soon slipped back into unconsciousness.

Zodiac watched all this unfold, his sense of urgency increasing by the nanoclick and his patience was running thin. He addressed Optimus, urging him to come along while they still had the opportunity to escape. This, of course, caught the attention of the Vok inhabiting Whitegrazer's body.

"ZODIAC!!!"

Almost as a reflex Zodiac looked at the rather disturbing looking female who had just addressed him in a voice that almost sounded vaguely familiar.. Then again all the Vok looked the same to him so he wouldn't really have been able to tell if he knew this one at some point from his time with them even if he could see him clearly.

"We will make sure your death will be a swift but painful one. Interference. Treachery. Will. Not. Be. Tolerated. Or. Forgiven."

Perhaps it was his training to withstand torture during interrogations and to never show weakness towards his enemies, or perhaps it was some other aspect of Zodiac's sometimes mischievous personality traits shining through, but the Vok's words actually caused a smile to tug at his lips a little bit. It was almost a bit of a relief to know that they recognized him and wanted to make him pay for his past indiscretions rather than live in uncertainty.

"You expected loyalty when you took my sense of self? Using me as another of your weapons with no regards to what my wishes were?" The smile widened ever so slightly. "Your kind truly are delusional if you think others will not oppose you. Even one of your own opposes you at every chance they get," he added, indicating the body this Vok was now occupying.

As he spoke, he also took another step closer to the door, ready to leave in a hurry if the Vok actually planned to make good on his threats right away.

"Maybe we will insure his destruction first?"

"No! We must deal with Optimus first!"

Well then.. It certainly sounded like Primal had made an impression as well. Surprising, although it probably shouldn't be.. The Maximal did destroy their planet buster weapon, after all, and one of their kind had fallen for him.

"You used one of our charging stations. You are like us. Like Whitegrazer. But you are an inferior. Weak. "Whitegrazer should have put you down. Her compassion towards you is disgusting."

Zodiac tilted his head, barely avoiding the temptation of using his nanomachines to conjure a weapon and blast the Vok where they stood. Their words hitting him a bit harder than he would have liked.

Weak? Perhaps at one point in his life, but not now. Now he was far superior to the Cybertronians he once considered himself a member of. And in most ways he still did, as he had been reminded all too well about the vulnerabilities that came with being of Cybertronian origins when he had lost control over his nanomachines. He was determined to prove the Vok wrong. Although right now was probably not a good time.. No, he'd have to be more subtle in his approach. They were in control of whatever weapon was hiding in this place and attacking them head on was never an option.

"Some would be inclined to disagree," Zodiac spat back before his mind had a chance to stop the words from coming out of his mouth. "If you truly believe that your kind is the ultimate life form, then why so interested in studying those creatures you deem to be beneath you? Unless, of course, you feel threatened by them and what they might achieve some day."

His words were greeted with a painful tightness in his chest, his nanomachines stirring as if beckoned to do so by the aliens. The hybrid grimaced and took another step back towards the door, wanting to put some distance between them before the situation escalated out of control. Just then Primal made his return, two of his troops in his grip.

"Let's get out of here,"

Zodiac nodded and quickly followed suit as he crossed through the doorway while doing his best to calm his nanomachines down. Fortunately he hadn't been standing closer or the Vok might actually have been able to take control, which more than likely wouldn't have ended well for his Cybertronian self.

(( OOC: My goodness, una... ))

"You both are stubborn fools."

And you are obviously misguided and under the influence of the Vok, Primal thought bitterly toward TyCross.

"Smaller than others." "Younger than the others as well." "Her creation was the result of our power.... in a way. "Then she too must be terminated."

Did they not realize that they were blatantly speaking in front of all of them? Knowing they were talking about Aurora since she was the smallest and youngest of the Maximals, while Optimus had gone to pick her up, his jaws clenched and he ground his sharp teeth together in anger. They were NOT going to harm her! He was certain Whitegrazer would do everything in her power to make sure nothing would happen to Aurora, and he was going to do the same for all of them if he could. But right now he had to trust the mare who had deceived him all this time, so he heeded her words to evacuate the structure, after all he had no idea what it really was if it wasn't just a means of transportation like Zodiac had lead him to believe, and he could further assess the situation when safely outside with the rest of his Maximals.

"ZODIAC!!!"

The Maximal Commander nearly stopped in his tracks and looked at Zodiac when the voice coming from Whitegrazer hollered the renegade's name calling him out. Surely it must have made him quiver inside since he wanted nothing to do with the aliens but to run away from them. Her optics had flashed purple with her very pain-stricken and damaged face that made him want to show them what he was really capable of, but he managed to maintain his humility.

"We will make sure your death will be a swift but painful one. Interference. Treachery. Will. Not. Be. Tolerated. Or. Forgiven."

"You expected loyalty when you took my sense of self? Using me as another of your weapons with no regards to what my wishes were?" "Your kind truly are delusional if you think others will not oppose you. Even one of your own opposes you at every chance they get,"

Optimus nearly lowered his head in his own shame. Zodiac could have just as easily described what the High Council had ordered him and Nexus Prime to do to him. And he was right. When others are pushed too far under oppression, they will eventually rise up and demand change or take matters into their own hands. Whitegrazer, Zodiac and Nemesis had done that to their oppressors, and Optimus had planned on standing up against the Council whenever he might return to Cybertron.

"Maybe we will insure his destruction first?"
"No! We must deal with Optimus first!"
"Your personal misgivings is getting in the way of our objective."

Primal glanced at Zodiac again in a somewhat "seems we're stuck in the same boat" expression as the shape shifter took another step back toward the exit away from the Vok. Although he feared them and their abilities, Optimus had already been killed because of their moon-sized weapon, so he was not so afraid to stand up to them. Then again, their technology wasn't pumping through his body.

"You used one of our charging stations. You are like us. Like Whitegrazer. But you are an inferior. Weak. "Whitegrazer should have put you down. Her compassion towards you is disgusting."

"Some would be inclined to disagree," "If you truly believe that your kind is the ultimate life form, then why so interested in studying those creatures you deem to be beneath you? Unless, of course, you feel threatened by them and what they might achieve some day."

The Maximal's orange optics thoughtfully lingered on Zodiac for a moment. If he could ever get past what had been done to him and forgive those who had experimented on and tortured him, give up the life of hunting and prosecuting them in the name of justice or revenge, he could be a fine bot. He could be someone Optimus would want on his side to bring equality and fairness to those who have been oppressed.

"There is no escape. You can try, but we control this machine. You are incapable of understanding our technology and language."

"They will learn. Adapt."

"TyCross, keep her from interfering!"

Sending them a glare even though it was true that Optimus didn't understand most of their tech and language, Primal turned back to Zodiac and noticed him experiencing some anguish. He could only assume that the Vok were trying to override their own technology in him which must have been a painful and vulnerable experience even for him. Perhaps if he hadn't regenerated the nano bots and had kept them deactivated, they wouldn't be able to control them in his body. But it was too late for that. Stepping around him which he hoped would entice him to follow, not that Zodiac really needed any convincing at this point, Optimus hurried down the corridor with Aurora in his arm and Rattrap over his shoulder. Despite what the Vok said about there being no escape, he was more focused on finding the way out instead of worrying about Megatron and Nemesis or any other Predacons that might show up. Without wasting anymore time, Optimus limped toward what appeared to be the end of the corridor, blocked perhaps by a door that was closed, but like the rest of the structure, it almost looked like the walls. Was it simply a dead end? If it was a door, how would they be able to open it?

Carefully setting Aurora and Rattrap down, Primal tried the least violent approach first by placing the palms of his hands on the doorway and pushing, but it didn't budge. Licking the scar over his mouth, he tried pushing again, harder this time, putting more of his weight behind it. Nothing. It wasn't like there was a door knob or a lever but it did appear to have some kind of seam that suggested it could open and lead them elsewhere. As tempted as he was to grab his gun and fire at it, he thought against the action so as not to draw attention to themselves or to trigger any traps. Looking to Zodiac, who might be able to do something considering his alien technology, Optimus said, "I'm open to suggestions."

((OOC: @OOP: I really made that sound bad, didn't I? What I mean is sometimes the context of a sentence goes over my head and I can really read it the wrong way. Maybe process was the wrong wording for it. See? Trouble articulating myself there.

@Phoenix: Whoa. That's a lot of snow. And really? One lick of winds blowing that hard or a storm close to a hurricane in our state schools get closed for precaution.))

TyCross sneered at Whitegrazer's attempt to escape the cage the Vok sealed her in. Due to Whitegrazer's strike to his head, TyCross fall backward against the green grass. Whitegrazer escaped the cage and nailed TyCross to the ground with her knees against his legs and her arms holding down his body. "Get out of my body."

"You could have made it easy on yourself, but you wanted to do things the hard way."

TyCross's right arm slashed her face. Whitegrazer's body tumbled to the right side, holding her face, which now stung. She rubbed her face, standing up when TyCross gave her a hard kick to the midsection, forcing her to tumble backwards. The kick tore the wind from her servos and her optics were trying to regain focus. Her head spinning.

"You expected loyalty when you took my sense of self? Using me as another of your weapons with no regards to what my wishes were?" The smile widened ever so slightly. "Your kind truly are delusional if you think others will not oppose you. Even one of your own opposes you at every chance they get," he added, indicating the body this Vok was now occupying.

"You were nothing but a weapon.""You were created to be a weapon to be used. That wasn't our goal, that was theirs. WE have no use for you or any Cybertronian anymore." The purple-eyed Vok stared hard at Optimus. "How pathetic, Zodiac, you are delusional to think you could have defeated the Maximals and use the Predacons for your own ends. You failed in what you wished to achieve, due to the fact that you didn't expect someone like Whitegrazer to see through your disguises and here you are, having to use Optimus, the one who you sought to ruin in the first place, and the others for help. I wonder what you learned from such a lesson? Maybe you are the one still deluded?"

Whitegrazer's focus returned. She stared at TyCross and took advantage at his wavered attention. Her right foot hit the back of his knees, causing the black and purple Predacon to crumble. Whitegrazer gave him a kick to his back to make his fall forward, but she wasn't through. Her leg twisted around to catch him before he fell forward and crashed him forward backward towards the ground.

"We don't have to fight each other, TyCross. You helped me back on Cybertron. You didn't have to, but you did. Some part of you must understand why I am doing this, and why I fighting my own. I don't wish your destruction either. You are my people too, but I will not let you destroy them. If you push me, I will do whatever it takes to stop all of you."

"You lost the fire in your eyes, Whitegrazer. You don't have the stomach to kill us." TyCross rolled to his left, breathing in and out. "You could, if you were what you were before all this nonsense. It disgusts me that you softened yourself. It breaks us to see you lost to their ways. Breaks me to know that what you see of me is only what you could live to see. TyCross, your dark mentor with manipulative and selfish desires. The one who laughs evilly to the point of megalomania and sprouts black mentality like it was going out of style! HAHAHAHA! And yet, despite the way you see me, you love it."

"Love it?" Whitegrazer shook her head. "I don't love seeing you this way."

"Yes, you do. You could see me as anything or anyone, but yet you see me as this? What was his name? That Predacon General? Ah! Wraith. That's what his designation. Ho ho! You missed him! I know you did. He kept you on your toes back on the war. That's why you see me as him. He was everything you despised yet respected back then. The Maximals.... grew weary of it. Despite how much you change, you still hang around with such like Nemesis, Zodiac, and Umbra. You see? You love to hang around with darkness. You want to because you miss it. You miss that dark side of yours."

Whitegrazer sighed, "TyCross, you don't understand."

"Oh, I think I do. You miss being... a bad girl."

TyCross laughed and laughed like he couldn't contain himself. Then he stopped. His feet swept undernearth her own. Whitegrazer fall backwards, but caught herself, doing a back flip.

"I thought you didn't like binaries, TyCross? I'm not bad nor good. I'm just me."

"Yes, but you always hide yourself, Whitegrazer. You lived in masks. Whitegrazer is just another mask. I just want to see you lift it."

TyCross rushed over to her with a punch to the face. Whitegrazer blocked it and smacked her palm against his face again while grabbing his wrist to put him in a lock.

"Leave. Now."

"Not until we completed our objective."

Whitegrazer felt something. "Zodiac?"

TyCross took the distraction and bend over to place his knees upon her chest and threw her over.

"If you truly believe that your kind is the ultimate life form, then why so interested in studying those creatures you deem to be beneath you? Unless, of course, you feel threatened by them and what they might achieve some day."

"We have no interest in Cybertronian lifeforms. Our reasons are beyond your own. "Your kind can't begin to comprehend nor do wish your understanding. Cybertronians have always interfered in the course of life on other planets. We are repairing the damage your ancestor caused."

The Vok followed Zodiac, hovering towards him. The closer they got, the more powerful the presence, they could feel the quiver of his primitive nanotech and seized it with a iron fist. Their eyes brightened with a horrifying fury. To cause a great flame within his own systems, to cause enough pain to get the shapeshifter on his knees. They weren't going to kill him. No, they needed to have a bond with everyone in order to achieve what they planned. There was no use in killing individuals in their eyes. They must kill all the interlopers in one fatal swoop in order to complete their objective.

The more time they spent with the Cybertronians, the chance increased for the Maximals.... and Predacons, who the Vok seemed to be ignoring for the time being, a link would be created.

"I'm open to suggestions."

"None!""Your deaths are inevitable."

The Vok let Whitegrazer's feet touched the ground. Trapped. Nowhere to go but towards us. Optimus, we are aware of your feelings towards the Empath. You will not harm us. Not in this form." "Or maybe he will." "If he does, he might cause the phyical form to cease function. If he damages the body, he would only hurt her." "She won't allow him to stop. She won't care as long as we are stopped.""Optimus Primal, decendant of Optimus Prime, student of Nexus Prime, you are at a crossroads. We determine your fate now. As well as the fate of your friends and foes."

"You shouldn't have told them to run."

"Stop." Whitegrazer got up from the ground. What was going on?

Whitegrazer's hand raised. Her fist like a hammer came down upon Optimus.

"You were nothing but a weapon.""You were created to be a weapon to be used. That wasn't our goal, that was theirs. WE have no use for you or any Cybertronian anymore." The purple-eyed Vok stared hard at Optimus. "How pathetic, Zodiac, you are delusional to think you could have defeated the Maximals and use the Predacons for your own ends. You failed in what you wished to achieve, due to the fact that you didn't expect someone like Whitegrazer to see through your disguises and here you are, having to use Optimus, the one who you sought to ruin in the first place, and the others for help. I wonder what you learned from such a lesson? Maybe you are the one still deluded?"

For a brief moment, Zodiac's smile faltered. His face took on a more uncertain look, making it evident he hadn't expected the Vok to fire back with such accusations. Had his self-esteem really taken such a beating lately that he now could be taken off guard by words alone? No.. He wouldn't let them. He had come too far, and overcome too much, to simply surrender himself to them.. again. And so one corner of his mouth curved up into a bit of a smirk once more.

Although they were right, at least to a certain extent. Everything about him had been fine-tuned to be a weapon, to serve someone else's bidding. To infiltrate, assassinate, and destroy organizations from within. And to disorganize, disassemble, and cause chaos in his wake. He had been conditioned to keep his emotions in check, to enjoy what he was trained to do. A killer. A weapon.

Yet his own desires had emerged when he saw the opportunity to right a wrong that had been made against him. And in acting on those desires, he had broken away from those who created him. It was a new beginning, which had appeared to end abruptly when Primal had taken away his powers. Yet he had gotten them back, but still he hesitated to expose this fact. He wanted the reveal to matter, to keep everyone's guard down around him. He wanted to lay low until he had a chance to strike where it would hurt his enemies the most. And that chance would come.. hopefully soon.

A sense not being alone, of a presence briefly invading his mind, interrupted his thoughts for a brief moment. He instantly recognized it. It was her. The one he both fought against and almost welcomed when their link had been active. Mostly against though..

"Zodiac?"

The encounter was brief, as her blocking of their mental link re-established itself within a moment. What had prompted it, he wasn't sure.. Perhaps a lingering thought or an emotion caused it? Either way, she faded away again as soon as he registered her presence there.

Another set of voices drew his attention next. It was two of the Vok who were presently occupying Whitegrazer's body. As expected their words hardly held comfort or reassurance, instead they seemed to promise a future as bleak as the one Zodiac had once planned for the Maximals. Especially the one who was oddly enough now his only ally throughout all of this. Primal, although carrying two of the smaller Maximals on his team, remained at his side and even seemed to follow the renegade's lead from time to time. It was certainly an odd change..

"We have no interest in Cybertronian lifeforms. Our reasons are beyond your own. "Your kind can't begin to comprehend nor do wish your understanding. Cybertronians have always interfered in the course of life on other planets. We are repairing the damage your ancestor caused."

"And still at least one of you was allowed to live among Cybertronians..," Zodiac pointed out before rounding the corner. He still was not aware of exactly what TyCross' part had been in this game. Wisely enough Whitegrazer had kept that part of herself hidden from him.

"Yes, we have interfered with the lives of other species. But far less than you have when you've wiped entire life forms out to preserve your secrets." He wanted to keep them occupied, to stall for time, and his best weapon to do so right now came in the form of words.

Their use of the term ancestor was interesting though. Yes, Zodiac was well aware of the consequences of the war started by the Autobots and Decepticons. But as things were, they were currently stuck in the past.. millions of years before the giant robots were to awake to even begin their slaughter on this planet. While the Cybertronians relied on the availability of scientific devices or strange occurrences in nature to transport them back in time, the Vok clearly held no such limitations. They seemed to float through time and space as if the laws of physics didn't even apply to them. Zodiac's previous encounters with them had taken place in the future, millions of years from now and in another part of the galaxy entirely. Yet they were here now, on Earth in the past, and these particular Vok clearly knew him. Had they arranged for all of this somehow? Or had they returned to the past to deliberately change events that would take place in the future?

The Vok occupying Whitegrazer's body hovered closer, prompting Zodiac to sprint down the hallway outside the chamber with Optimus. His nanomachines seemed to resist him, almost burned him a little on the inside, but he ignored their odd behavior for now. At the moment escape was the most important factor to consider, and given his close proximity to the Vok he understood that they could have peculiar effects on him.

At the end of the corridor, he could see what appeared to be a massive door that had been clamped shut. He was fairly certain it had not been there before when he had first come here.. And now it would present an interesting obstacle before they could make their escape. Slowing down, Zodiac merely jogged the last bit until they reached what appeared to be the end of the corridor.

"I'm open to suggestions."

Zodiac merely stared at Primal for a moment, his mind frantically searching for a solution. He didn't really want to reveal his powers to the Maximal just yet, but now he wasn't sure if he had much of a choice in the matter.

"Perhaps we can pry it open? Or simply shoot it enough times to get through?," Zodiac commented, deciding to take the easiest, most obvious, approach first. It was at that time that the searing pain in his chest and abdomen suddenly overwhelmed him, swiftly causing his knees to buckle underneath him and forcing him down on the ground. His face twisted into a pained grimace, his hands extending down to prevent him from collapsing in a heap on the ground, leaving Zodiac helpless as he fought against the intense burning sensation within him as if his nanomachines had suddenly started to feast on his own circuits. With a painful groan, the shapeshifter lifted his head to see that the white mare was now standing close to them.

"None!""Your deaths are inevitable."

Despite the pain he registered how the Vok seemed to target Primal specifically now that they believed the renegade no longer posed a threat to them or their operations. And they would have been correct in their assumption, had it not been for the fact that their focus shifted onto the Maximal. And with that shift, Zodiac's overwhelming pain subsided as well, allowing him to move again.

Whitegrazer's fist came pummeling down on her Maximal companion, an act that was surely done completely against her will. Something seemed a bit.. off.. though.. It wasn't like the Vok to devote all their attention on killing one individual with blunt force trauma, albeit he could appreciate the irony of them using Whitegrazer as a tool to do it. Still.. he knew that wasn't their intention at all. They were trying to force something else to happen..

Optimus, we are aware of your feelings towards the Empath. You will not harm us. Not in this form."

The Vok were correct.. He could see it on Optimus' face. There was no way he would harm his beloved Whitegrazer even if he was being forced to do so to save his own life.. To save them all.

Zodiac's fists clenched tightly, his gaze dropping to the ground. At that moment he knew what he had to do..

Fortunately he was not bound by moral codes or a sense of loyalty or love like Optimus was.. The shapeshifter held no such reservations. And although his own feelings towards the female were conflicted, he was still more than willing to make the sacrifice if it would preserve his own life. Now that the Vok had seemingly forgotten about him, their attention solely on Primal and whatever they were hoping to accomplish there, Zodiac grabbed his chance. Conveniently Whitegrazer's backside was turned to him.

His hands forming into spikes, not unlike how he had impaled Whitegrazer the first time a few weeks prior, the shapeshifter suddenly stood up and stabbed his sharp weapons through the white mare's backside. He took a step closer, forcing the blades deeper into his victim, as they continued growing through her.

"You were nothing but a weapon.""You were created to be a weapon to be used. That wasn't our goal, that was theirs. WE have no use for you or any Cybertronian anymore." "How pathetic, Zodiac, you are delusional to think you could have defeated the Maximals and use the Predacons for your own ends. You failed in what you wished to achieve, due to the fact that you didn't expect someone like Whitegrazer to see through your disguises and here you are, having to use Optimus, the one who you sought to ruin in the first place, and the others for help. I wonder what you learned from such a lesson? Maybe you are the one still deluded?"

"We have no interest in Cybertronian lifeforms. Our reasons are beyond your own. "Your kind can't begin to comprehend nor do wish your understanding. Cybertronians have always interfered in the course of life on other planets. We are repairing the damage your ancestor caused."

"And still at least one of you was allowed to live among Cybertronians..," "Yes, we have interfered with the lives of other species. But far less than you have when you've wiped entire life forms out to preserve your secrets."

While Optimus tried ignoring their words to find a way out, Zodiac seemed to indulge in them. Did he hope gain some kind of knowledge or understanding from them? It had been pointless in Primal's case during every encounter. The Vok simply didn't seem interested in sparing their lives, the planet, or having any kind of casual conversation.

"Perhaps we can pry it open? Or simply shoot it enough times to get through?,"

When the renegade's attention finally returned to his question about getting the door open, Optimus shook his head at the idea of shooting it. "That may cause us more harm than good in a place like this," he warned him, basing his analysis off of previous alien structures and traps. He used his finger tips to trace around the outline of a possible doorway, looking for a softer edge to sink them in further for a better grip, but it wasn't like he was carrying a crow bar to pry it open. Nonetheless, he tried using his hands in the door jam and pulled back on it without any success.

It was then he heard a noise from Zodiac that made him look over at him seeing him suddenly on his knees in extreme pain. "Zodiac!" he called to him, now realizing he was the last one standing. But what had happened to him? Did it have something to do with this nanotech? Was it the Vok? Then he felt a pounding in his mind, and something squirming inside of him from the old wound under his arm on the side of his chest. As he held a hand to his temple to rub it with his two fingers, he glanced downward and saw his armor glowing blue in that area by his arm where Aurora had used that regeneration nanotech concoction, and then his gaze drifted upward to find Whitegrazer far too close for comfort. He could only deduce that in such a close proximity to them, the Vok were intentionally disrupting Zodiac's armor and probably unintentionally activating the once sleeping, thought-to-be-terminated nanobots on Primal's old injury as well. Seeing his armor glow even surprised him as he tried pushing the headache aside. Could they control them on him? He didn't think so, but some how there was an electric charge or some other means of the Vok being able to activate them through Whitegrazer. And if "they" were controlling Zodiac's nanotech, did that mean they had been reactivated by that station he jumped onto when Optimus turned it on with the disk?

"None!""Your deaths are inevitable."

Prima glared at "them", finding their response unhelpful and displeasing. He watched as Whitegrazer's feet were planted upon the floor. Although she had passed Zodiac who was desperately trying to keep himself from laying on the floor in agony, the Maximal leader kept himself between her and the smaller Maximals who were still unconscious. He stood before her, face to face with defiance and confidence, unafraid.

Trapped. Nowhere to go but towards us. Optimus, we are aware of your feelings towards the Empath. You will not harm us. Not in this form." "Or maybe he will." "If he does, he might cause the phyical form to cease function. If he damages the body, he would only hurt her." "She won't allow him to stop. She won't care as long as we are stopped."

There were ways to subdue her body by causing little to no injury; she and him had sparred enough together to gain the training needed for such maneuvers. How much could they really control, anyway? Besides, he was certain Whitegrazer was doing what she could to maintain some kind of control of her own being from within. He would rather not hurt her considering the horrible pain and wounds that were already covering her body, both of which angered him and made him sorrowful, but he would do what he could to stop "them".

"Optimus Primal, decendant of Optimus Prime, student of Nexus Prime, you are at a crossroads. We determine your fate now. As well as the fate of your friends and foes."

Those two names resonated deeply with Primal. Optimus Prime... An Autobot war hero, fearless and respected. And Nexus Prime, his mentor and father-figure who meant the world to him. While "they" focused on the gorilla in robot mode, he didn't even notice Zodiac getting to his feet and preparing himself to attack "them" from behind. "NO ONE has the power or the right to control my fate or anyone else's! Do you understand me?!" he coldly corrected "them" as he took a step closer toward Whitegrazer putting a foot of space between them now. He spoke deeper, threatening them with, "May I remind you that you and your weapons have failed every time, and the outcome of this confrontation will be no different as long as I stand here against you." Watching "them" raise her fist, he was ready to counter it when she suddenly stopped with exasperation. Perplexed by this, peering around her head, Optimus saw Zodiac now standing directly behind her holding his arms out in front of him. But he didn't have any weapons... What did he...? By the Matrix! In horror, he realized Zodiac had shape-shifted his hands into weapons and ran them through Whitegrazer's back! "NNNOOOOOOOOO!" Primal screamed, and in an emotional rage he moved quickly despite his limp to get around Whitegrazer and behind Zodiac, proceeding to grab his wings with the intent to yank him backwards - off of his feet if he had to - with all of his strength in order to get his spikes out of her already damaged body.

While all of this was going on, Rattrap was starting to slowly come around, grumbling under his breath as his vision slowly started coming into focus. He had no idea where he was or what was going on. Was someone leaning against him? Dazed, he looked over and saw someone white next to him. "Aurora...?" The commotion of what was going on nearby then stole his attention...

"And still at least one of you was allowed to live among Cybertronians..,"

"That was her choice. Not ours," The green eyed Vok growled. "We all knew the risk as she did, but she still went with her mission." "And now, our own power is being used against us. Despite how inferior it may be."

"Yes, we have interfered with the lives of other species. But far less than you have when you've wiped entire life forms out to preserve your secrets."

"Wiped out? We don't wipe out. We rebuild. Recreate. Those you saw destroyed will live again... with any knowledge of what happened to them."But we realize the error of such destruction. We shall never make the same mistake twice. Yet, you Cybertronians, are a different matter. You haven't change. Nor grown. We have analyzed her memories. Both sides plotting to destroy the other. Not so different than what happened in the Great War." No, much worse. Deceptions on both sides. Even your own people on either side kill each other, and yet point the finger at the other to incite violence. Experimentation on innocent life. Corrupting. Tormenting. Inexcusable.""She had acquired such a vast array of information of both sides. And yet, despite the fact that all sides are guilty, she seems... hopeful."

"But we don't."

The Vok held an emotionless expression as they attempted to seize Zodiac's nanomachines and bend them to their will. There was no malice towards their action. It was the logical course. They needed to do whatever it took to keep this technology from destroying them as well as eliminating the traces left of them. With no way to dodge them, the others were trapped to either submit or continue to fight. The Vok wished for them to continue the fight. They need to instigate them to battle them. They must...

"NO ONE has the power or the right to control my fate or anyone else's! Do you understand me?!"

"May I remind you that you and your weapons have failed every time, and the outcome of this confrontation will be no different as long as I stand here against you."

The Vok didn't respond to, as they viewed it, Optimus' emotional response. They were growing warily of the talk. The Vok didn;t come to talk. They came here to exact their mission. The purpose to why they took Whitegrazer' body in the first place. Taking too long, they needed to speed up the process.

Unaware of Zodiac' presence behind them, when Zodiac stabbed them, they, at first, didn't react. All they did was look down to see that something was sticking out.

Whitegrazer felt the pain of the stab. Held the area, going down to her knees. Pain made her relive the moment where she was confronting Zodiac, who at that time, disguised himself as Nexus Prime. She could still remember the numbing pain, the agony of people's faces as they looked down upon her, and yet, she was surprised and overwhelmed with joy when Nemesis and Umbra along with Aurora worked together to help her. She wondered if the Vok were seeing this as well. After all, it was HER body!

TyCross just watched her, "Whitegrazer, you all right?

"Concerned for me? Now?"

"I don't want you to die. Just to listen and let us do our job."

"Fooled me, TyCross."

"I told you that living with the Cybertronians would cause you pain, but nooo."

The Vok watched Optimus' reaction. They were still processing what happened. It was such a strange sensation to them. Physical pain... was unnerving. But they couldn't feel or understand it, so to the Vok, it was just Zodiac impaling them, being a nuisance. But Whitegrazer's body was oozing out energon. This couldn't continue. The Vok pushed Zodiac's arm slowly and steadily out of their body.

"You are only hurting her. Not us. We have no physical form."

That was true, and yet, they needed to watch out. If Whitegrazer's physical form gives out, they were then be forced out of her body. They couldn't allow that to happen, because they still needed Whitegrazer's abilities, so they needed to be cautious about sustain too many injuries. If they did, they could always use their Hunter. The charging stations would work on them as well.

While Optimus and Zodiac seemed to engaged, Optimus not taking too kindly to Zodiac' attack towards them, the Vok took the opportunity to dash towards them both. To knock them both off their feet, and if they didn't dodge their attack, the Vok gave a high kick to Optimus's face and then proceeded to grab Zodiac's arm to twist and use the weapon against him, driving it to his back.

"That was her choice. Not ours," The green eyed Vok growled. "We all knew the risk as she did, but she still went with her mission." "And now, our own power is being used against us. Despite how inferior it may be."

"Wiped out? We don't wipe out. We rebuild. Recreate. Those you saw destroyed will live again... with any knowledge of what happened to them."But we realize the error of such destruction. We shall never make the same mistake twice. Yet, you Cybertronians, are a different matter. You haven't change. Nor grown. We have analyzed her memories. Both sides plotting to destroy the other. Not so different than what happened in the Great War." No, much worse. Deceptions on both sides. Even your own people on either side kill each other, and yet point the finger at the other to incite violence. Experimentation on innocent life. Corrupting. Tormenting. Inexcusable.""She had acquired such a vast array of information of both sides. And yet, despite the fact that all sides are guilty, she seems... hopeful."
"But we don't."

The hybrid had responded with a mere exasperated look. He was perfectly capable of seeing how blindsided these aliens were. They truly seemed to believe that they were playing the role of some godly entity, willing and capable of leaving destruction to entire races in their wake, and then claimed they could and would merely undo the damage that had been done.

It was a lie. Possessing the power to recreate life didn't change the fact that those individuals who'd been there initially were gone forever. Not that he cared overly much about their loss, but he had seen the aftermath of such carnage in person. Yet he refrained from voicing his opinion.. for now. It was best if they didn't know what he was thinking at that time.

Besides.. he tried to keep his thought processes focused towards a single goal.. Escape. And to do that, he needed to keep calm and collected. Truth be told, he was genuinely afraid of what these aliens were capable of. They had done it to him before.. tormented him beyond any physical torture he'd ever had to endure, broken his spirit, broken.. him.. But he couldn't allow them to do that again. He had to remain on edge, had to keep them guessing, and had to keep fighting them by any means possible.

His attention turned to Primal after they had left the larger chamber, only to find the corridor blocked by thick doors designed to seal them in.

"That may cause us more harm than good in a place like this,"

Zodiac had shrugged briefly at Primal's rejection of his less than enthused suggestion. It wasn't as if the closed doors offered too much in the way of opposition to someone capable of turning themselves into a weapon.. or pretty much anything as long as it was of adequate size and with a metallic structure. Of course by doing so he would be revealing his returning nature to Primal when in truth he'd prefer to keep his hand secret.. for now. After all he could still turn this potential fiasco around and accomplish what he had initially set out to do.. although a small part of him was a bit hesitant about doing so after everything that had happened.

That preference to keep his secret hidden, of course, was about to take a drastic turn.

The aliens' decision to target him, or his nanomachines specifically, made short work of any such plans the hybrid may have concocted and quickly brought him to his knees in agony. Primal was quick to realize something was wrong, true, but the hybrid renegade only vaguely heard his name being called out as he struggled against the pain and the raging tiny machines within him.

Slowly the pain dissipated when the Vok turned their attention towards Primal instead of him, perhaps believing he wasn't a threat to them. It was a decision he was determined to prove to them was a mistake.

While everyone's attention was elsewhere, he made his move. A swift, brutal, and very much so deliberate move. He felt the armor of the female's backside bend and then crack as his sharp arm spikes stabbed through her, working their way through her intricate circuits with every intent to damage as many of them as he could. That mental link, the very same one he had despised so much yet eventually grew to rely on, flickered on and off a few times.. perhaps giving her some brief insight into his mindset at that time. Oddly enough he didn't derive the pleasure he usually did from doing something like this, but he certainly didn't regret his actions either.

"You are only hurting her. Not us. We have no physical form."

The Vok fought back, using their mental powers to try to force his weapon back out of Whitegrazer's body. The hybrid refused to give in, however, and turned to whatever willpower he could to keep his nanomachines from withdrawing.. from disobeying him. Yet a strange, twisted smile appeared as one of the Vok addressed him about what he was doing.

"Perhaps not," Zodiac replied tauntingly while a part of his upper arm seemed to bifurcate enough to twirl around Whitegrazer in a cold, deadly embrace. If the Vok were going to attempt to force him back, he would simply have to bring the female with him to assure she'd end up bleeding out in the end. "Yet you still need her physical form.. otherwise why go through the trouble of relocating into her? Surely a single host is a bit crowded for all of you.." While pulling Whitegrazer a bit closer to him, his sharp blades ventured a inch or two further inside.

In his opinion this truly was the best way to stop the vok in their tracks, at least temporarily, by denying them the physical form they required and whatever powers she was capable of granting them. The hybrid had been conditioned to keep any feelings he might harbor under control in order to get the mission done.. and the mission in this case was one of utmost importance. He was determined to survive this encounter, and taking out Whitegrazer seemed but a small sacrifice to make to accomplish just that.

"NNNOOOOOOOOO!"

Optimus' heartfelt scream of horror was enough to rouse Aurora at least partially out of her involuntary slumber. The little fuzor groaned as she stirred, certainly not aware of her surroundings just yet. But another voice was about to force her to wake up.

"Aurora...?"

"Mpph..," the fuzor whimpered, her hand instinctively moving up to her aching head. Her optics flickering on, she caught sight of Rattrap's optics focusing on her. "Did someone.. catch the license number.. of that transport?," she mumbled before the scenario that was unfolding demanded her attention. Aurora's optics suddenly widened upon seeing the obviously wounded Whitegrazer with Zodiac standing right behind her and Optimus.. what was going on??

Zodiac was busy pushing his weapon deeper still, determined to finish the job before anyone could interrupt him. In doing so, however, he paid little heed to other distractions in the area.. which included Primal. The Maximal commander, in his frantic rage, moved quickly around the pair currently engaged in a lethal altercation. The renegade didn't take notice before he felt the ape's hands grab onto his wings, just above the joints that attached the wings to his backside, and started hauling him backwards with all his might. For a moment the hybrid resisted, allowing his weapons to continue another inch before the force overwhelmed him. The tug on his wings pulled him off balance, sending him crashing onto his back on the floor after taking a staggering step backwards. His weapons, of course, followed along with the body they were connected to, exiting Whitegrazer's backside through the same holes they had made upon entry.

The hybrid quickly rolled over on his side and glared at Primal, a genuinely angry glare for what he had just done.

"You fool!," Zodiac started while pointing one of his still spiked hands at Whitegrazer's wounded form, "Can't you see that this is the only way?! The Vok have consumed her! That creature standing there isn't the Whitegrazer you know and love, she is nothing more than a tool for them to use against us! A vessel for them to use in this realm," he continued accusingly, obviously angered by Primal's interference. His voice calmed ever so slightly, however, before he added, "I would simply be putting her out of her misery."

It was then that Whitegrazer's bleeding form came charging towards them, possessed by forces allowing her to maintain her strength regardless of the physical condition she was in. Zodiac swiftly got to his feet, preparing himself, only to have the female grab his still bladed arm and attempt to twist it behind his back so that she could impale him with it. The hybrid's blades immediately retracted into hands, still the vok managed to slice briefly into his armor. Just enough to pierce the superficial layers of the armor, causing the hybrid to grimace a bit before suddenly ramming himself against Whitegrazer to push her away. It only took moments for his armor to regenerate, leaving the annoyed renegade with ample opportunity to generate a cannon not unlike the one Nexus Prime had been known to use, from his left shoulder.

"Inferior technology indeed," he muttered, his targeting mechanisms immediately picking up on Whitegrazer's signal.

"That was her choice. Not ours," The green eyed Vok growled. "We all knew the risk as she did, but she still went with her mission." "And now, our own power is being used against us. Despite how inferior it may be."

Perhaps they shouldn't have been so careless with their "almighty powers". Or perhaps they should have foreseen one of their own breaking away from their oppression, which happens under all dictatorships sooner or later. But the Cybertronians were the fools?

"Wiped out? We don't wipe out. We rebuild. Recreate. Those you saw destroyed will live again... with any knowledge of what happened to them."But we realize the error of such destruction. We shall never make the same mistake twice. Yet, you Cybertronians, are a different matter. You haven't change. Nor grown. We have analyzed her memories. Both sides plotting to destroy the other. Not so different than what happened in the Great War." No, much worse. Deceptions on both sides. Even your own people on either side kill each other, and yet point the finger at the other to incite violence. Experimentation on innocent life. Corrupting. Tormenting. Inexcusable.""She had acquired such a vast array of information of both sides. And yet, despite the fact that all sides are guilty, she seems... hopeful."

"But we don't."

At least they finally said something Optimus could agree with. However, wasn't the pot calling the kettle black here? Everything they just accused the Cybertronians of when it came to experimentation was exactly what the Vok were doing or had done as well; on innocent life, corruption, torment, violence. Just who did they think they were? Gods? And they were exempt from that hypocritical status? "Learning from your mistakes is taking responsibility and pledging to never repeat the same offenses again," he corrected them. "I've been involved with some unethical experiments, including Zodiac, which I will regret for the rest of my life, but I have vowed to never participate in such cruelty and torture again. And I will stop anyone else from carrying out these atrocities and the corrupted politics that come with them! Do you understand the difference? Not of all of us Cybertronians are in the same general category with which you've placed us in. What you're doing is still immoral!"

Primal released Zodiac's wings after his firm tug to pull him away from Whitegrazer's body, watching him crash onto the floor. Although the damage didn't seem to stop or slow down the possessed mare, he knew her body could only handle so much with or without the aliens and TyCross invading her mind. But what Zodiac was trying to do was unacceptable.

"You fool!," "Can't you see that this is the only way?! The Vok have consumed her! That creature standing there isn't the Whitegrazer you know and love, she is nothing more than a tool for them to use against us! A vessel for them to use in this realm," "I would simply be putting her out of her misery."

"She is still in there fighting!" Optimus hollered at the shapeshifter, refusing to believe that they had full control over her mind or had abolished her completely by this point. It was clear how frightened Zodiac was of them; he was desperate to be rid of them for good. And while it seemed like the easiest way to take her life just so that it would also allegedly take theirs, there was no guarantee of that. What if they had the means to force her to open the link and then possess him or Zodiac before her spark expired? No, he couldn't allow Zodiac to do this, even if she would have wanted it this way in order to stop the Vok. They had faced more difficult circumstances in the past and always found another way. Primal just needed more time to figure it out.

But at that moment, Whitegrazer had already recovered from the renegade's attack and charged at them both. Having been distracted by Zodiac's callous words, her kick connected with the leader's face which slammed him down hard onto the floor. Fortunately, the blow hadn't rendered him unconscious, but it sure did give him a nasty throb to the left side of his face, not to mention a dent and a scuff mark on his paint. Grinding his sharp teeth in pain and anger as he slowly pushed himself up so as not to draw attention to himself, he listened to them speak...

"You are only hurting her. Not us. We have no physical form."

"Perhaps not," "Yet you still need her physical form.. otherwise why go through the trouble of relocating into her? Surely a single host is a bit crowded for all of you.."

In theory, Optimus deduced that even though they were invading her mind like a parasite and controlling her body, they still needed her functioning. It wasn't like they could keep her alive if her spark simply couldn't handle the injuries that her body was sustaining. So why risk one of them - particularly Zodiac - killing her if they couldn't accomplish their mission of destroying all of them? In conclusion, instead of tearing her body apart like the shape shifter wanted so desperately to do, Primal wanted to simply knock her out. Getting to his feet, he pulled out from his subspace the spare club that he had grabbed before they left the Axalon, at the time with the intention to give it to Zodiac.

"Inferior technology indeed,"

While Zodiac was distracted by ramming himself into Whitegrazer's body as a temporary means to keep her at a distance, and then using his nano tech to create Nexus Prime's cannon, Primal took the opportunity to jog toward Zodiac and swing his club in one hand at the barrel of his newly made cannon in order to knock it off of its target before he could fire a shot aimed at the female Empath-turned-Vok. "Forgive me, Whitegrazer," he said without stopping or faltering in his motion, and in one smooth transition, Optimus spun all the way around, now grabbing the end of the club with both of his hands, and used as much momentum as he could, combined with his strength, to swing the club upward at Whitegrazer's chin in an attempt to uppercut her and knock her unconscious. It was a brutal maneuver, and he didn't want to do it, but it was better than killing her. And if it worked, it would buy them some time.

"Mpph..," "Did someone.. catch the license number.. of that transport?,"

"Eh?" Rattrap mumbled. "I got no idea where we are and how we got here," he said as he slowly sat up with an aching back. "But dere is somethin' definitely wrong with dat picture," he pointed out in the direction of the other two who appeared to be attacking Whitegrazer. What the?! Grabbing his gun, he suddenly stopped moving when he caught a whiff of some familiar scents who he didn't currently see present. Sniffing the air, he observed, "Smell dat? Predacons." Knowing for certain that the scents were of Megatron, Nemesis and Inferno, he looked around again, squinting toward the shadowy areas but he couldn't see anyone. "You okay?" he then asked Aurora.

((OOC: Oh, I have something cooked up. Or will have something cooked up. ))

Blackarachnia finally made it to the Axalon, after a very hallowing journey. Despite being in beast form, her body was slow to repairs. Body twitching and spurting sparks after few miles. Of course, the sparks did slowly stop, but still, she was severely weakened. Well, what did she expect from a weapon hit at close range?

Probably by now, Rhinox would have detected her signature. Of course, her signature would come across as Predacon, despite herself allying with the Maximal.

"Yo! Rhinox! We have a major problem,"Blackarachnia spoke through her comlink. ((OOC: Now, I don't know whether Blackarachnia has to wait for Rhinox to drop the shields or that they do automatically. I don't remember, so I'm just going to assume Rhinox is letting her in. )) She transformed, and immediately, she bent over, holding her large wound. In pain, trying to keep herself from falling to the ground, she dragged herself to the platform.

"A lot has happened," she began when she lost her balance, but she used the command console to keep her standing. "The others are trapped inside the alien site. I was outside the perimeter, watching the Predacons who entered the site. Tremors were spreading and cracking the alien site. At first, they were just small tremor, but the tremors got more and more intense. Then this swirling quicksand appeared. Vines tried to grab the others and pull them down into the quicksand. No doubt towards the ruins beneath the area. That was where Optimus and Zodiac were going the last time I saw them. I tried to help, but this is what I got for my troubles." She pointed towards her wound with a digusted face. "I didn't realize there was some invisible barrier blocking the entrance to the valley. That was the last thing I saw before I passed out.
I woke up to see the invisible barrier change to a silver color. I couldn't see inide anymore, so I don;t know what happened to them."

The aliens probably killed them all. Though, she didn't want to be pessimistic in front of the rhino with the big guns.

"We need to find a way to get through that barrier." She stood up straight and eyed the CR chamber. After...
After I get this wound-this wound...."

Blackarachnia collapsed.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

"Learning from your mistakes is taking responsibility and pledging to never repeat the same offenses again," he corrected them. "I've been involved with some unethical experiments, including Zodiac, which I will regret for the rest of my life, but I have vowed to never participate in such cruelty and torture again. And I will stop anyone else from carrying out these atrocities and the corrupted politics that come with them! Do you understand the difference? Not of all of us Cybertronians are in the same general category with which you've placed us in. What you're doing is still immoral!"

"We made a vow to never destroy this planet...again. "The green-eyed Vok replied back, leaving the implication of the fact that they had destroyed this planet over and over again. Even before the Cybertronians arrived. "She has convinced us of how unlogical it is for us to do it. There are other ways to eliminate that which threatens our purpose. "You Cybertronians are the problem. The planet shouldn't suffer your sins again. Or ours." "We care not for your "politics" or your "moral ideologies". Those are inconsequential to our goal. A goal which you physical beings threaten." "You have brought another war to this planet. Not unlike your ancestors. You people haven't learned. "

"That was her purpose. To learn, to find out why." We disagreed over how to do it. We wanted to allow you people to destroy yourselves. But she argued that the war would spread like last time. She gave you a chance, which we didn't feel you deserved." "We thought we didn't have to face your kind again. Optimus Prime showed us the light of our demons and reformatted us, and we gave your people what you wanted. To have your race not make the mistakes as the Autobots and Decepticons had." No Cybertronian realized it at the time, but it seemed no Maximal nor Predacon realized how their ancetors were able to cultivate their new forms. At least, the High Council kept their word. A secret to never unearth. Let these physical beings believe it was they who figured it out. "Still, you people insist upon destruction and deceit." "She allowed herself to be take in by impulses we outgrown centuries ago." "We are disgusted by your mere presence."

"Because it reminds you of what we were before. It is a mark of pain and failure."

The Vok looked down at Whitegrazer's chest area. Towards her spark chamber.

Whitegrazer, bleeding out, laid down upon the green meadow. TyCross sat down in a meditation stance. Saying nothing. When Zodiac had stabbed Whitegrazer, she could for a brief moment sense the emotions from Zodiac. As well as Optimus' despair at the action. Oh, Optimus, she wanted to at least let him know she was all right. But any act of weakness on her part could doom Optimus and the others she close to. Zodiac didn't feel like he was enjoying what he did to her, like he did the last time he stabbed her. Last time, he was anger at her for foiling his plan that would kill everyone just to spite Optimus. The action to stab her was to get in one more move, the last laugh, but yet, she still survived. Zodiac was fighting for his life. The aliens were going to kill him, not to mention everyone else. Also, she could feel his anger and hate towards her was lessened by her own actions. She had did nothing but try and reach out to him, helping him even though she shouldn't. But she did. She did because she was responsible for his creation. That Zodiac may have been an arrogant, ruthless murderer bent on revenge and retribution, but still yearn to be free from the shackles placed on him. There was still a chance for him to be rehabilitated. Maybe get some semblance of life.

"Perhaps not," Zodiac replied tauntingly while a part of his upper arm seemed to bifurcate enough to twirl around Whitegrazer in a cold, deadly embrace. If the Vok were going to attempt to force him back, he would simply have to bring the female with him to assure she'd end up bleeding out in the end. "Yet you still need her physical form.. otherwise why go through the trouble of relocating into her? Surely a single host is a bit crowded for all of you.."

"This body will serve its purpose." The Vok had no sense of what Zodiac meant by crowded. They were beings of energy. Their mere presence strengthened their own, not weakened it.

Whitegrazer's body was dripping a lot of mech fluid mixed with energon.

I'm dying...

"This body will not last. Zodiac hit a vital area. If we don't do something soon, we might lose her."

"She is still us even if she has changed. Let her live."

"There is a way. But it may be dangerous."

Do it.

"No, it is too risky."

"As risky as what she has brought upon us?"

Despite everything, I sense we can trust her. She didn't mean to give the technology. It wasn't her fault.

Her body transported back from the Predacon internment camp located at the far reaches of the planet Cybertron. Her body badly damaged by gunfire,
blades, and other weapons thrust upon her.Even half of her face seemed ripped away. Vocal processor smashed. Maximal doctors surrounded the bed she laid in. Unbeknownst to them, she was fully awaken. Her body too damaged to move or talk.

"Is she unconscious?"

"I surprised she survived so long."

"She isn't like us. We need to do the surgery quickly. All we need is a piece of her spark. That's it."

"What if she dies?"

"She won't. But if she did, the High Council has assured me that they prepared a contingecy plan. It would look like she died from her injuries, and since no one is aware of her true origins, it would be accurate."

"We better get started. If the real doctors come here, we will be disavowed."

"Yes, it seems so. "

"You fool!," Zodiac started while pointing one of his still spiked hands at Whitegrazer's wounded form, "Can't you see that this is the only way?! The Vok have consumed her! That creature standing there isn't the Whitegrazer you know and love, she is nothing more than a tool for them to use against us! A vessel for them to use in this realm," he continued accusingly, obviously angered by Primal's interference. His voice calmed ever so slightly, however, before he added, "I would simply be putting her out of her misery."

"The ends justify the means. Or is it fear... little one?" the green-eyed Vok caught itself from what it said. That was what Whitegrazer called the one known as Aurora time after time. The Vok were aware of Whitegrazer feelings towards Zodiac as well. Same capacity.
She didn't say it out loud in order for him to not take offense. "Unexpected. Who is little one?" "Nevermind."

"She is still in there fighting!"

The Vok were quite please that they were making some progress. Though, they didn't feel joy as the kick connected to Optimus's face. Their face emotionless, hiding away their disgust at such emotions invading their very beings.

"We have emotions. Why do you deny them? There is no shame."

Have you forgotten what we were?

What we used to be?

What we had done, due to our darker impulses?

We can't allow this to get in the way of our objective. This must be done.

"Inferior technology indeed,"

They heard the incoming footsteps, but only were able to see Zodiac before he rammed them down. Whitegrazer's body rolled down towards the dead end, leaving and smearing her own mech fluid and energon in the process. They sneered, grimaced, and roared at Zodiac and Optimus as they picked themselves off the ground and ran towards the two. Zodiac was aiming his makeshift weapon at them, but Optimus knocked it way off the target.

"Forgive me, Whitegrazer,"

Their optics widened as they felt the full force of Optimus's mace hit underneath their chin. Sent them flying up in the air, landing hard yet again on the ground. They roared, not at the pain, as they didn't feel it, but at the cost of time. Looking up at Optimus, for a moment, there was a brief smile. Where did it come from? It wasn't them.

"DOOOOOOOOO ITTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!" TyCross screamed at the others.

For a moment, there was silence. Whitegrazer's optic closed. A slight humming began within her. Soon, a blinding white light engulfed her entire form. The purely white form floated upward. It turned around like it was flipping Whitegrazer form back upright in the air.

Three apprendages came from either side.

As the white light dissipated, form placed into a meditation stance and legs crossed, Whitegrazer's taller form was still a mixture of pure white and silver. The half-skeleton and half-Cybertronian appearance was still there. The Vok rose up and placed the hips on her hips.

"We are your superior." their voice boomed. Their face remained emotionless as they closed their fists. The ground trembled hard. Hard enough for anyone to lose their footing. They opened their optics and flew right towards Optimus and Zodiac. One of each hands grabbing them. As they flew down the hallway, they made a grab for Rattrap and Aurora. As they reached the center area again, they threw the Maximals back down to the ground.

The Vok floated into the air. Nose sniffed the air.

"Predacons! Show yourself!"

"Computer, locate and track the source of that energy beam," Rhinox ordered Sentinel as he sat before a monitor in the command center of the Axalon that was giving him a live feed when the Vok site that everyone else had traveled to was being active.

"Affirmative," Sentinel complied. "Beam matches that of past alien technology encounters. Unable to pin point its origin."

Disappointed, the rhinoceros had then spotted something, or someone, inside of the beam that had shot into space. "Freeze image!" The video suddenly stopped in compliance. "Magnify," he told Sentinel, who zoomed in to the object that was being sucked into space. "Whitegrazer..." he said with great sorrow and bewilderment. But that was she wanted to happen, wasn't it? She wanted to face the aliens herself after all of this time, after everything they had put all of them through, especially Optimus. While he didn't know what she could accomplish by doing this, he didn't doubt her nobility to try and talk some sense into them or convince them to spare their lives. Optimus had done so as well in the past but it had proven to be unsuccessful. Since Whitegrazer was, indeed, of Vok origin, maybe she had a better chance in succeeding. But something told Rhinox that these aliens simply were not willing to compromise, whatever their reasons were for such violence and extinction.

As time went on, things continued to change at the Vok site, including a lot of "quake-like" activity. Another beam had eventually returned and a large, silver dome "grew" over the area that they had all been occupying. It was then when Rhinox could no longer communicate with any of the Maximals. "Optimus, this is Rhinox. Do you copy?" Static. "Rhinox to Optimus, come in," he tried again, but there was no response. Frowning, the engineer didn't know what to do now, or what to think of his comrades who were now trapped... or worse. And what about the Predacons? Surely, Megatron had made his way there by now to try and commandeer the situation. Now the site had turned into some kind of structure. Was it just a temporary building to capture them and do with them as the Vok pleased? Was it a weapon in disguise? A ship? The Axalon's sensors could only detect and deduce what little information it could acquire over the distance and unfamiliar data. Having someone return and report to him would be most beneficial before he'd abandon their base and put it in Sentinel's capable hands. But what would he be able to do once he got there?

"Yo! Rhinox! We have a major problem,"

"Blackarachnia?" he inquired in response over their transmission, a little surprised to hear her voice. Immediately, he lowered the shields and the platform for her to enter. She appeared heavily damaged.

"A lot has happened,"

"So I've noticed," he said as he got up and went to her side while she struggled to maintain her balance before holding herself up with the help of the main circular command console in the center of the room.

"The others are trapped inside the alien site. I was outside the perimeter, watching the Predacons who entered the site. Tremors were spreading and cracking the alien site. At first, they were just small tremor, but the tremors got more and more intense. Then this swirling quicksand appeared. Vines tried to grab the others and pull them down into the quicksand. No doubt towards the ruins beneath the area. That was where Optimus and Zodiac were going the last time I saw them. I tried to help, but this is what I got for my troubles." "I didn't realize there was some invisible barrier blocking the entrance to the valley. That was the last thing I saw before I passed out. I woke up to see the invisible barrier change to a silver color. I couldn't see inide anymore, so I don;t know what happened to them."

Frowning in despair with the news and her wounds, Rhinox nodded in acknowledgement. "Your report is helpful to me, Blackarachnia, since I'm unable to establish any communication with them out there. Unfortunately, this may be out of my league...," he added softly despite how everyone viewed him as a "miracle worker".

"We need to find a way to get through that barrier." After... After I get this wound-this wound...."

The rhinoceros gave a grunt as he caught her light and slender body in his arms before she could hit the hard, metal floor as she finally succumbed to her injuries. "Don't worry. I'll get you repaired," he assured the Predacon even though she couldn't hear him. Cradling her in his arms, he carried her to the repair chamber and carefully set her inside, closing the door and activating the repair cycle. Then he headed to the armory to gather different weapons and tools to try against the alien structure. Afterward, he returned to the bridge.

"Sentinel, keep shields active after my departure until Blackarachnia is done with repairs. Grant her permission for control over defenses until I or Optimus return using the detection of our energy signatures." This way, the black widow could use Sentinel to protect the base while everyone else was gone, but if she chose to stay instead of rejoining the others at the site and try to take control of their base to use it against them, she won't be able to once they return. ...If they return. This would also be a great opportunity for her to show them that they could trust her despite the freedom she already had to wander the base freely and alone even if Rattrap hated the idea of it.

"Acknowledged," the computer said with a friendly beep of confirmation. With that, Rhinox lowered himself on the platform outside. "Beast mode," he told his internal computer and transformed, quickly running off on all fours toward the alien site as fast as he could for his size and weight.

-----

Megatron, ever the observer of such hostile and intriguing situations, awaited quietly in the shadows to see how this would play out, watching his foolish adversary failing to maintain any security or progress. As desperate and eager as he was to gain control over such an impressive and clearly powerful structure, he was patient to learn the aliens' true intentions with this trap, although they had already made it quite clear before that they wanted to exterminate this planet and them along with it. "Ironic, isn't it?" he whispered quietly to Nemesis. "The Vok using Primal's, ugh, relationship with that equine against him," he said with both disgust for the love the Maximals had for each other but also for the envy of the aliens putting one of his long-time desires into action. And what was even more gratifying was them seemingly possessing her body, forcing Optimus and Zodiac to attack her. Perhaps a better course of action for him now would be to try an alliance with the aliens, at least until he could do his own bidding with their weapon. Hm... Primal. What a fool. He is no match for this alien species, he thought as he witnessed his foe struggle in the close-range combat, always unwilling to do what was necessary to stop them.

"We made a vow to never destroy this planet...again. " "She has convinced us of how unlogical it is for us to do it. There are other ways to eliminate that which threatens our purpose. "You Cybertronians are the problem. The planet shouldn't suffer your sins again. Or ours." "We care not for your "politics" or your "moral ideologies". Those are inconsequential to our goal. A goal which you physical beings threaten." "You have brought another war to this planet. Not unlike your ancestors. You people haven't learned. " "That was her purpose. To learn, to find out why." We disagreed over how to do it. We wanted to allow you people to destroy yourselves. But she argued that the war would spread like last time. She gave you a chance, which we didn't feel you deserved." "We thought we didn't have to face your kind again. Optimus Prime showed us the light of our demons and reformatted us, and we gave your people what you wanted. To have your race not make the mistakes as the Autobots and Decepticons had." "Still, you people insist upon destruction and deceit." "She allowed herself to be take in by impulses we outgrown centuries ago." "We are disgusted by your mere presence."

Optimus Prime was once involved with this mysterious race? Now this is getting interesting, Megatron mused thoughtfully. Unfortunately, everything else they said was basically describing his own scheming and desire to conquer the universe. So how could he convince them to work with him in order to spare his own life, assuming they already knew about his own ambitions? Optimus Prime... Of course. Then this is no coincidence that the Vok have been overseeing prehistoric Earth before the Autobots and Decepticons awaken from their frozen slumber. Perhaps they have a personal vendetta toward the "great leader" and wished to exterminate him themselves, Megatron tried calculating. Assuming my own predictions are correct, yesss, he referred to himself to the test he had yet to carry out to make sure he was correct in such a historical assessment. But do they have the same compunction toward my name sake...? If they wished to harm the original Megatron as well, then the TransMetal t-rex would have to interfere. He couldn't allow them to stop him from his ultimate goal by wiping out both the Autobots and Decepticons like they almost had with their moon-sized weapon.

"We are your superior."

The Predacon leader couldn't help but squint his optic sensors at the bright light as it engulfed the mare and illuminated the entire room, temporarily exposing his and Nemesis' position in the dark. The flooring shook so hard that he almost lost his balance, but he used a quick boost from his engines to hover for a moment until the trembling was over and then landed quietly back onto his feet.

"Predacons! Show yourself!"

He had hoped to have more time to ponder about this predicament, but as the aliens effortlessly tossed all of the Maximals to the center of the large, open room, they had already been aware of his presence and called him out on his lurking. Wherever Inferno was, he hoped he would remain quiet to see just how much these Vok could be aware of, and to offer a surprise in Megatron's favor if things got ugly. Growling under his breath, the power-hungry Predacon opted to show himself peacefully. For now. He was curious to see what they had to say to him, if anything. For all he knew, they might just want to dispose of him before he'd have a chance to retaliate to save his own hide from their onslaught. However, if that would have been the case, surely they would have resorted to force already to make him abandon his cover of darkness. But they hadn't.

Slowly and calmly, Megatron emerged from the shadows and approached the Maximals with the Vok hovering above them in mid-air. He held his tail gun tightly in his hand but kept it lowered to his side nonthreatening to them in case he would have to defend himself. "I am Megatron," he introduced himself with confidence and innocence, as if he had not played a part in any of these encounters with them. After all, every time one of their sites or traps was triggered, it was Optimus and his band of Maximals tripping them, and even that treacherous spider Blackarachnia who tried stealing that floating island for herself. Megatron had kept himself at a distance, strategically and intelligently. In any case, if Optimus could face them with such fearlessness, then so could he. "How may I... be of service?" the tyrant asked rather friendly, as if he was ready to accommodate them and join their cause. He even offered them a small bow - albeit fake but appearing genuine - to show his inferiority and respect of their power and ascension of a higher being. Of course, in his back pocket he still had the alien golden disk. Assuming they weren't aware of that, he may be able to use it to his advantage. On the other hand, he noticed that there was another disk in play now, sitting on that podium not too far away. Where had it come from? Who put it there? What kind of information and secrets did it hold? Answers to his questions would have to wait.

"Learning from your mistakes is taking responsibility and pledging to never repeat the same offenses again,"

Zodiac cast a quick glance back at Primal as he spoke those words, knowing full well that Optimus was guilty of the same crimes the Vok were.. if on a smaller, more individualized scale. He still hated Nexus and Optimus for their parts in his own torment, yet there was a certain satisfaction in hearing Primal apologize for his part in it. Not enough to erase history by any means, but a small sense of vindication nevertheless. Still.. that hardly mattered since Primal was doing everything in his power to prevent the shapeshifter from doing what needed to be done, including tugging roughly at the hybrid's large wings to try to force him away from Whitegrazer. For a short time both males held their ground, the renegade's blades piercing through Whitegrazer's backside. Mech fluid that had initially only been dripping had since started to pour out of the large gashes in her back that had only been widened by the female's struggles before she became too weak.

"I've been involved with some unethical experiments, including Zodiac, which I will regret for the rest of my life, but I have vowed to never participate in such cruelty and torture again. And I will stop anyone else from carrying out these atrocities and the corrupted politics that come with them! Do you understand the difference? Not of all of us Cybertronians are in the same general category with which you've placed us in. What you're doing is still immoral!"

Of course Zodiac held little regret for his own actions, having seen them as justified and necessary. He was, after all, not a Maximal by programming. In his core he would always be a Predacon, no matter how many times others had tried to take advantage of him by enforcing their own codes of justice and programming onto him. It had always failed, his creators had made sure of that. After all, they couldn't risk their own weapon being used against them.

Besides.. he'd never be able to accomplish anything if he allowed a nagging sense of guilt to penetrate his spark. His plans may not have worked out the way he wanted, but he was still alive and had every intention of staying that way. No matter the cost.

"She has convinced us of how unlogical it is for us to do it. There are other ways to eliminate that which threatens our purpose. "

His gaze fell to the ground, however, the moment Primal called the aliens out on their nonsense. It was a valid, but all too obviously futile effort. The Vok would never admit to a fault no matter how far they were pushed. They saw themselves as gods over other beings, never to be judged or questioned. Zodiac knew this all too well. Any attempts he had made to get them to admit to their faults had been little more than seeking information or delaying them.

Eventually it was Primal's effort that paid out, a final hard tug sending Zodiac to the ground. Growing ever more frustrated, the hybrid verbally expressed his displeasure with the other male's actions. Primal, however, wasn't listening to reason. Yet again letting his emotions get the better of his judgement.

"She is still in there fighting!"

"That..," Zodiac started, pointing angrily at the female who was still standing despite the massive injuries she had sustained, "..is not your beloved Whitegrazer! The sooner you come to terms with her loss, the better! They are using her to get to you, don't fool yourself into thinking they won't do everything in their power to use her against us!"

By now Whitegrazer had recovered enough to lunge her own attack, primarily focusing on Primal. Foolish mistake, as it gave Zodiac the opportunity he needed to keep her at a distance as well as create a weapon to finish the job.

His targeting systems immediately locked onto Whitegrazer's signal and he prepared to fire. What, exactly, her death would do to him due to that mental link he had fought so hard against for the past few weeks, he wasn't sure.. But hopefully it would be brief so that he could focus his efforts on getting away from this place before the Vok sent further reinforcements.

He felt the power surge through the weapon, concentrating in the barrel of the cannon that was now target-locked on the female's spark chamber. Zodiac didn't hesitate, he couldn't afford to. The Vok were simply too great of a threat and he wouldn't allow them to kill him or make him one of their slaves. Never again. Yet unlike earlier when there had been a trace of a smile visible on his face, there was nothing now. He was a killer, yes, and under normal circumstances he often derived some pleasure from taking the life of a foe.

Yet now there was nothing of the sort. Annoying as the female was, her presence had become familiar to him. It wasn't going to change his course of action, naturally, but in some strange way he almost felt a bit saddened by his decision to end her life to save his own.

Primal's club came down hard on his newly formed cannon, with enough force to knock his targeting system off and bending the barrel of the cannon ever so slightly. Zodiac grimaced, in part from pain since the cannon was indeed part of him but more so out of irritation over Primal's persistence.

"You're only prolonging her suffering!," the shapeshifter snapped, accusingly.

Whitegrazer had already recovered, although she certainly looked worse for wear. Mech fluid had formed a pool around the bottom of her feet and if she didn't get repairs soon, she would certainly bleed out. The renegade hoped this would happen sooner rather than later, given the threat that lurked inside that mangled body of hers.

"This body will serve its purpose."

Finally the Vok said something that made more sense than they probably intended. This area was littered with other Maximals and Predacons with far less damage done to them than the white mare, yet they still insisted on residing within her. Meaning there was something only she'd be able to grant them.. Memories? Compliance.. no.. Abilities?

Zodiac took a step back.

By now the repairs to his weapon had completed, but he didn't take the shot. The Vok's plan was starting to take form, and frankly the hybrid didn't want to be there for that. His sense of urgency to leave heightened further when the mare suddenly started hovering again, towards them this time.

(ooc: I have a hard time determining what parts the Vok are speaking out loud and what parts they are conversing inside.. Sometimes there's brackets, with or without italic text, sometimes colors.. )

"The ends justify the means. Or is it fear... little one?"

Zodiac had once again focused his weapon on Whitegrazer's hovering form while backing away when one of the Vok called him by such a peculiar name. Were they trying to be funny? No.. The Vok didn't have a sense of humor. Zodiac stood a head taller than Whitegrazer so 'little one' wasn't exactly an accurate description. His weapon was charging again..

But as he was about to fire, Whitegrazer's form started changing, taking on a more Vok appearance with certain cybertronian parts very much so still visible. Zodiac hesitated, only to get knocked over as the ground suddenly shook violently beneath his feet. And then.. something grabbed him, carrying him off towards the control chamber room again. For that moment his body felt as if it was frozen and he was unable to move, unable to talk, unable to scream.. just barely alert enough to register what was happening.

Aurora lifted her head slightly, looking more than a little confused as her green optics drifted from the rat to ..whatever was happening only a short distance away. Whitegrazer looked like a wreck, but she was actually there! Somehow still standing.. or.. hovering.. despite the massive injuries on her back, chest, and face. In fact her wounds looked very similar to something she'd seen before.. back when Zodiac had stabbed through her. The fuzor's optics narrowed at that. Had he.. again?

"I got no idea where we are and how we got here,"

Well.. the how they got here didn't matter as much as how they could get away from here.. with Whitegrazer in tow.

"But dere is somethin' definitely wrong with dat picture,"

"You think?," Aurora muttered as she started pushing herself up. Perhaps the best approach would be to merely sedate Zodiac and Whitegrazer, and haul them out of here.

"Smell dat? Predacons."

The fuzor sniffed the air but even though her sense of smell was keener than most, it was nothing compared to Rattrap's. So she was just going to trust his word on this.

"You okay?"

"I think so.. Nothing seems to be broken.. just a bit sore. You?," she responded as she sat in a kneeling position on the ground. She wasn't quite sure what to do right now, everything was just.. chaotic.

And they were about to get much worse.

The ground suddenly shook, forcing Aurora to grab a hold of it with her hands to avoid collapsing. And then something.. some mysterious force.. grabbed a hold of her. Taking her somewhere.

Nemesis had stuck close by to Megatron, finding a strange reassurance in his presence this one time. Normally she was a bit weary of hanging too close with the tyrant, finding his moodswings both unpredictable and sometimes rather unpleasant, but when it came to dealings with these aliens she felt he was a safer bet than most. After all, Megatron was both intelligent and ruthless, not afraid to do what needed to be done in any circumstance.

"Ironic, isn't it?" he whispered quietly to Nemesis. "The Vok using Primal's, ugh, relationship with that equine against him,"

"Indeed," she responded, keeping her voice low as not to demand the aliens' attention. "A pity they don't just finish her off in the process. I grow weary of this talk of theirs."

It was true. She'd much rather take action to assure the safety of the Predacons than deal with another drama involving the Maximals.

She soon noticed that Megatron was about to reveal himself to these aliens.. these Vok.. the very same who had tried to exterminate them all with their planetbuster weapon. Yet she remained vigil, lingering a bit more in the background while her leader attempted to negotiate with the Vok.

((OOC: I will post for Blackarachnia for now. I might roleplay as Tarantulas temporarily soon since I really do want him to pull something. Keeping it quiet, for now.

@Phoenix: Sorry if it is a bit confusing. I try to at least have the words in italics signify that being said inwardly.

@OOP: Great post you did with Megatron! About Depth Charge, maybe, if we don't have other players return. Hopefully, there will be. After all, he doesn;t come until season three.... unless we want him earlier. ))

"Your report is helpful to me, Blackarachnia, since I'm unable to establish any communication with them out there. Unfortunately, this may be out of my league...,"

"There has to be a way...Through the barrier...." Blackarachnia slurred a bit, still lying on the ground half conscious and unconscious. So this is what it feels like to get hit by your own weapon? Charming.

"Don't worry. I'll get you repaired," he assured the Predacon even though she couldn't hear him. Cradling her in his arms, he carried her to the repair chamber and carefully set her inside, closing the door and activating the repair cycle. Then he headed to the armory to gather different weapons and tools to try against the alien structure. Afterward, he returned to the bridge.

"Sentinel, keep shields active after my departure until Blackarachnia is done with repairs. Grant her permission for control over defenses until I or Optimus return using the detection of our energy signatures."

Normally, Blackarachnia wouldn't dare allow herself to be handle in such a manner by a Maximal, but she had no choice. Besides, she was no good to anyone in the state that she was in. A little time in the CR Chamber was all she needed. She was surprised to hear Rhinox granting her control over the defenses after he shut her inside the chamber. "These Maximals are crazy to trust me in their base. Alone." After she was repaired, with Rhinox and the other busy, she could be reading classified material, gaining intimate knowledge of their defenses and capabilities, or she could even invite some Predacons and play around, messing stuff up. It would be more fun if they did try and stop me. " Inwardly, she rolled her optics. Blackarachnia fell asleep and let the chamber continuing repairing her systems.