The Intergalactic Highway

((OOC: I will post for BA now. ))

Blackarachnia watched as Megatron responded to the Maximals. She hid her face. The Maximals had the disks?! Dinobot actually gave them to the Maximals. She would have thought the former Predacon would have been more hesitant to do such a maneuver. They must be desperate for their leader back. If Megatron got the disks back, Megatron would have no more use for her. She will not just be as expendable. Not to mention, what Tarantulas may plan to do if Megatron had them.

Spineback was coming. Hmmm, she had to be careful. The Maximals couldn't be that crazy to give Megatron the disks. She shouldn't do anything reckless. But just to be sure, she better kept herself close to their prisoner. After all, if they did try to give the disks, Megatron may have nothing to give them if... something happened to their precious leader. Of course, Inferno was watching him. She may have to be sneaky. She loved sneaky. She will just have to wait and see how the negotiations went.

Then she will make a move. But for now, she would play coy. She joined inside and decided to help in Spineback's medical work, smirking at Optimus, "Hello again. Don't worry, we are here to make sure you stop leaking over the place." Nothing she was doing was cosmetic, but she don't try to stop some leakage areas. And she wasn't gentle about it. She pulled something tighter than she should, "Aww, it's just a sting." She eyed a small wound made by one fo her kicks. That would be a perfect area to slip in cybervenom if she needed to.

((OOC: I hope this post is all right. If not, then I will edit it. ))

Whitegrazer did not answer his question right away so he looked back at Nemesis who had a moment of shock on her face before her sword came slicing through the air ready to impale his face. Fortunately, he did see it coming and he leaned back so it barely missed his face and then dug into his shoulder. It merely irritated him and he scowled back at her. His stare off with Nemesis was cut short when he felt a twisting pain in his free arm the honey badger screwed his face up for a split second and growled with pain and frustration. He let of the Predacon and as Whitegrazer disabled him for a brief moment. Ironclaw was about to blow a fuse. His mind could not accept that she had the audacity to touch him, he was about to explode into a fit of rage when he just stood up straight. He had purged the anger from his system and had a cool and confident demeanour about him. The renewed soldier had an off putting expression as if he was looking through Nemesis. The following movements were quick and decisive. Reaching out with his large hand he gripped Nemesis' shoulder to turn her around. Once she was unexpectedly manoeuvred round he slammed the palm of his hand into her chest, sending her into the hallway wall then to the floor. He glanced at her prone body for a moment, maybe she wouldn't continually underestimate as much.

Ironclaw's head snapped round to asses his next target. She seemed off, weak at the knees. He cared not for that or that she was a Maximal. His arm swept down and around coming into contact with the whites mares lower half, taking her legs out. In one swift move he brought his arm back up and lunged his hand at Whitegrazer's head, pinning her head against the wall. Drawing closer to her, pushing the side of her head into the wall, he looked into her eye as his hand held her in place. "You dare not touch me again" he warned her, she wasn't fully aware of who what he was. When he was done with her he let go and walked away.

Ironclaw had no business to touch Nemesis when she wasn't posing any threat. The only reason Whitegrazer had used that locking maneuver was to spare any mechfluid from spilling on the floor. It was a split decision choice. If it were any other person, she would have talked him out of it, but the fact that it was Nemesis, a bot known to react to such actions towards her with violence. Nemesis would had cut off Ironclaw's arm, and she was glad that by forcing Ironclaw to release Nemesis, it would cease any more confrontations. She thought that would be the end of it along with her explanation.

Phoenix wrote:Wait..""Come with,"

She watched as Nemesis struggled to ask for her help in this matter dealing with Darkwind. At first, Nemesis seemed unrelenting to any idea of help. Nemesis had almost pulled the sword on her, but soon, Nemesis seemed conflicted. Her expression... like a person struggling to swallow. Was it pride? Was Nemesis actually realizing that she may need someone to help her and it left her vulnerable?

How could she stay now?

"Landslide, I apologize," she smiled at the beetle, "but I changed my mind. I'm going with Nemesis. I know it is against what everyone has been telling me. I understand that, but it is different now." Nemesis was already making her way to the bridge, "She wants me to come. That must have been hard for her to do. I-"

Despite saving Ironclaw a trip down to the CR chamber, Ironclaw didn't seem to take it that way. It was like something took over him. She felt that dark aura rising in strength from Ironclaw. It was something unknown. When Ironclaw attacked Nemesis, something she hoped to prevent, she ran towards to put herself in between Ironclaw and Nemesis to take Ironclaw's palm strike that landed on her chest. The strike was like a hammar. Her legs buckling. All this time of feeling Optimus' pain, she was like she had pointed out to herself earlier weakened. She hoped Ironclaw had enough, but he took advantage of her weakened state: his arm swept down, hitting her lower half before she could fully recover from taking the hit meant for Nemesis. She went down on her knees. He had grabbed her head with his hand and slammed her head against the wall, pinning it there to deliver a message:

"You dare not touch me again

She took some slow, deep breaths to regain the wind that had been kicked out from her, rubbing the side of her head. Thank goodness Optimus cut the connection. She would have felt terrible to have subject him to that. Ironclaw didn't seem to know about that detail and she wondered, as he was walking away, would he have cared?

"Maybe I shouldn't had done that."

"Nemesis would have cut his arm off and maybe, for good measure, his head. It was either watch as things escalate into a galore of spilling mechfluid or a few bumps on the noggin that would heal in no time. You weighed the options and took action. Maybe twisting his wrist made him furious, so what? He's a big boy. And the fact he repaid the save by using that arm to attack you. Heh. Also, didn't you tell me before that it was better if you took the hit than for someone else to?"

"I guess I did."

"Don't second guess yourself, Whitegrazer. "

"Better he fight a battle with me and win intact than lose a battle with Nemesis in pieces."

"That's the spirit."

What was going on with Ironclaw?

She must figure it out, but not now, she must follow Nemesis outside. Rattrap was busy talking to Predacons, so she walked towards Landslide and smiled warmly towards him. Despite what has transpired, she put it behind her, "I still wouldn't mind Ironclaw and Cheetor as backup, but I wish for them to stay put. If things get too hairy, I have no doubt Rattrap would send them. But first, Nemesis and I will do our best to have the Predacons reveal themselves. Hopefully, there would be no trouble. After all, I'm sure Megatron doesn't want anyone to ruin his chances in gaining back the disks. It may just be a back and forth of words. Nothing more."

She remained optimistic. She must do whatever it took to make sure this plan worked. She hoped the Predacons were talkative sorts, "I don't mean to turn you into a messenger boy, Landslide. Would you tell Rattrap how deeply sorry I am, and tell him that I just couldn't say no." She didn't want to say it was Nemesis who changed her mind and asked for her help. If Landslide wanted to, that was his choice.

She took the lift, leaving the Axalon and out of the safety of the Sentinel's shields. She looked back where the roof hatch was before she walked a few steps forward. She zoomed her optics at the jungle that began to form ahead. She kept herself in plain sight yet close to the Axalon's sensors, so if they came, her comrades would know. Whoever was here for her or for whatever, they must have spotted her now.

"I hope this doesn't end in any shredding of fluid. "

She sat down in a meditated stance. Non-threatening and inviting. "If any of you wish to join me, I wouldn't mind."

Megatron's tighter grip forced Optimus to try and pound his face harder and faster, releasing a primitive grunt with each throw. His own rage helped him ignore the pain, that was until the TransMetal fossil threw him into the cell's bars, hitting his head which knocked him out of his lust for hunger and violent fury. Then he felt himself being dragged along the floor on his back, suddenly lifted into the air and then immediately thrown back down. It felt like it happened a few times but he lost track after the second one when it nearly rendered him unconscious. Primal laid there in silence without movement except for some involuntary twitching in his legs from the severe damage Megatron had caused; sparks, severed wires and fluid escaped his armor where the t-rex's teeth had sunk in and eventually torn even larger holes from all of the violent movements. Finally, the carnivore let go, and despite the immense pain, he tried to stay awake. His entire body ached, throbbed, felt weak, crippled. It was tempting to cave in by this point and succumb to stasis lock or even expiration, but the ape fought it as much as he could. For his Maximals. He knew they still wanted to rescue him. The least he could do was hold on. Whitegrazer "told" him Aurora found a cure, they were ready to fight, they would be coming for him.

As Primal laid there in a daze, the pressure of Megatron's feet and the rest of his body's weight standing on top of his already weakened chest suddenly brought him to attention and he instinctively tried grabbing his ankles to pull him off, or shove him off considering he had already lost the use of one hand so he had to improvise with his forearm. Pinned on the floor, he felt his frame creaking and bending, unable to support the Predacon's weight for long. It came close to cracking his spark chamber. Very close. He could feel it being squeezed, being strained. Of course, all of that anguish seemed to subside when Megatron suddenly decided to chomp down on his good hand and rip it apart with his dagger-like teeth. Optimus couldn't really cry out in agony anymore. He wanted to, but all that was left in him was some growling and groaning. It was pointless trying to pull his hand away considering the angle of those sharp spears in his adversary's mouth, so he attempted to pound his nose repeatedly with his other forearm and elbow until felt his entire hand removed. Silently throwing his head back, it clearly caused him a great deal of pain. As if he hadn't been able to breathe, he coughed and gasped in rapid breaths which were ignored over the sound of Megatron's roar.

The completely defenseless Maximal Commander laid there, his head turned to the side and his good optic dark while he refused to look at the monster on top of him, as he felt pieces and fluid of his demolished hand drip onto his face as his opponent held it over him in defeat. Only when he felt him move did Optimus look up with his one functioning orange optic sensor to see what he was doing. It turned out Megatron was ready to finally finish him, whether he really intended to or not. It didn't seem that he was in control. But prepared himself for the end as he watched his large mouth come inches away from his head. Fearlessly staring into the dark depths of Megatron's mouth and down his throat, he exhaled one more time and closed his optic again expecting the worst that would finally end his suffering.

But it never came.

"Tarantulas to Megatron, the maximals have contacted us and wish to speak with you, they have threatened to destroy the golden disks if you do not comply."

The spider's voice had interrupted Megatron, bringing him back to a more "normal" state of self control. Optimus couldn't believe it. He was certain he was finished but now there was a gleam of hope. A very, very small, slit-like gleam of hope. His Maximals' timing was impeccable.

"Megatron, terrorize!"

There was a large gasp for air when his heavy opponent finally got off of him and reverted back to his robot mode. It was as if an entire ship that had been crushing him was now lifted. Primal couldn't feel what was left of his hands, and he didn't feel much in his legs either. He simply laid there on his back clinging to life. What cowards these Predacons were, not even giving him a fair fight. He was not humiliated as often they told him he was, possibly trying to justify their own selfish and poor conduct toward him. The nanobots were still again, the glowing on his chest gone. Now was the time to reserve as much as power as he possibly could. He had inflicted so much damage that transforming to beast mode would not have been a wise decision. Whatever was still managing to stay intact would probably fall off. His frame and armor was so severely bent out of shape that any conversions would probably blow off larger pieces or pinch and snap more and make matters worse for him.

"I shall be with you shortly, and keep alert for intruders should this be another one of their famous distractions. Megatron out" "We truly do bring out the worst in each other, don't we Primal? Don't go anywhere, I shall return shortly,"

The Maximal couldn't really listen or think coherently. Megatron's voice and footsteps sounded distant with an echo added to them while he laid helplessly on the floor and his enemy exited the brig. Swallowing, he turned his head to the side again, resting but feeling cold. Not just physically but emotionally and mentally as well. Cold and emotionless. So much pain and numbness.

"Hello again. Don't worry, we are here to make sure you stop leaking over the place."

Blackarachnia's voice was heartless and careless. Primal didn't bother acknowledging either of them as she and Spineback tended to his wounds. Even though their movements of his limbs and patchwork of poking and jabbing hurt very much, he didn't flinch or groan. He laid there as if they didn't even exist right now. His thoughts drifted to Whitegrazer, Aurora, Rhinox, Cheetor, Dinobot, and all of his Maximals. He missed them terribly. He didn't know how he had made it this far. As much as he wanted to cry nothing leaked from his optic as if it, or he, was incapable of doing so now. DANGER: Stasis lock imminent. Critical loss of energon. It is imperative that repairs are sought for immediately, his internal computer urged him.

"Aww, it's just a sting."

He still remained motionless despite the widow's aggression with his injuries. Blackarachnia didn't have to be so cruel and terrible about it, but she was. Had he not been through enough already?! It angered him inside, a quiet, deep anger, with an involuntary thought of strangling her in his beast mode which would give him hands again. Would he have let her go or crush her skinny neck? Before all of this, a thought like that would never have crossed his mind, even after his first death. But now there was something darker and less tolerant brewing within. He was having a difficult time finding calmness and using any meditation that Whitegrazer had taught him. Maybe it was just because of how fresh everything still was to him; the torturing, the brutality, the lack of a conscience and remorse. Maybe he just couldn't concentrate because of his mutilated body, although he couldn't feel some of it by now, paralyzed as he was, so there was less distraction when it came to the pain. Maybe it was the nanite gel. Maybe it was the virus, or a combination of all the above.

-----

((OOC:

Whitegrazer, Ironclaw, Cheetor, you guys get ready to head out just in case

This happened in my last post with Rattrap's part, sooooo, yeah, Ironclaw and Cheetor should be accompanying Whitegrazer now. ))

"Dirty garbage gulper, no one surpasses...Ack!"

Rattrap smirked at Terrorsaur's reaction but was disappointed when the eight-legged freak cut him off.

"Such poor manners, all you had to do was ask, rodent. A moment if you please."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed sarcastically about simply asking for what he wanted. Slimy spider. He waited somewhat patiently for the Preds to get their act together, no doubt Tarantulas having to interrupt Megatron's play date with Optimus. He hoped he wasn't too late contacting them.

"Greetings Rattrap, to what do I owe this welcome but unexpected call?"

Unexpected my foot! thought the rat when Megatron's ugly mug finally appeared on the monitor. How did he manage to act and look so smug after all of the torturing Whitegrazer claimed he had been doing to their fearless leader? That must have been Rattrap's conscience asking that, something most Predacons lacked. The ones who thrived on hurting and murdering others, taking lives especially those of innocents. "I know you know we got 'your' precious golden disks," he emphasized on the ownership since at least one of them wasn't his. "And you probably want dem back, right? Before anybody comes knockin' on our doors, I propose an exchange," he said, getting straight to the point. "You give us back Optimus and Nexus alive, and we'll return the disks without a single scratch on 'em. If either of 'em are offered to us dead, and any of your minions attack us, den we destroy the disks and nobody gets ta study their advantages. What say you?"

Rattrap's attention subtly drifted to another monitor that alerted him of Nemesis's movements around the base, as well as Whitegrazer's signature showing up on the external perimeter scanners now. Megatron wouldn't have known what he was looking at but maybe it would caution him that they were already expecting Predacon company and if they attacked, then he could say bye-bye to the disks.

-----

"Yet, Maximal. Yet is the key word. She may not have killed anyone of you at the moment, but it will happen. It's only a matter of time, "Yes, you're trying to save her, while I'm trying to kill her."

The Maximal engineer looked at Sonar with impatience and dissatisfaction toward his words.

"Ah, yes. They are so busy with their own agendas to worry about little old me."

Wasn't that every Predacon? Except for Inferno, of course. Sonar's care-free remark almost sickened Rhinox. But he shouldn't have been surprised. Under Megatron's iron fist, that's simply how the Predacon ranks operated.

"I know.. It's just so difficult with everything that's going on,"

Rhinox frowned a little as he took in the whirl of emotions he noticed in Aurora's optics, then placed a comforting hand on her shoulder for a moment before she filled another syringe and placed it within Sonar's reach.

"They say you're a scientist, so I assume you're capable of injecting yourself,"

"Oh, don't worry, I can manage."

Big Green watched with caution, the Fuzor's tone quite understandable after all that had happened thanks to Sonar's own satisfactions and irresponsibility. She probably didn't feel that the bat deserved the cure and should suffer longer with the awful virus, but Rhinox simply couldn't risk anyone else getting infected, and he was not the type to hold grudges. Hopefully Sonar learned his lesson this time.

"I'd rather she didn't go out there at all..,"

"I know," the rhinoceros agreed, following her gaze to the window on the door. "She'll be all right," he tried assuring her. "Keep those syringes on you and Landslide. Optimus will likely need the cure as soon as possible if he'll be operating well enough to accept it."

Hearing the commotion right in the corridor, Rhinox glared in a puzzled way and looked at Sonar, saying, "Stay put and let the antidote do its work." Then he turned away, leaving Sonar strapped to the cot since he was still their prisoner, and headed out of the medical bay, leaving the door open so he could still hear Aurora and if the Predacon tried anything.

"What the slag is going on out here?" he asked Landslide when the others had already started to scatter by the time he showed up, concerned and annoyed at the ruckus.

OOC: since all my preds are in one room at the moment, figured I'd keep things simple this week. Though I may alter my post for Tarantulas...Given the events in the cave, as well as the decision to keep the psychic link between him and BA, I dunno if Una would want Tarantulas to be able to reach her mind over long distances like he could in "Coming of the Fuzors" or if he now has to be in close proximity to her to do that from now on. I may change my post depending on which idea Una prefers, couldn't decide whether Big T should try to tap into her head while still in Meg's throne room or track her down himself in person.

What ya think Una? Which works best for you? sorry to put ya on the spot XD

OOP wrote: Unexpected my foot! thought the rat when Megatron's ugly mug finally appeared on the monitor. How did he manage to act and look so smug after all of the torturing Whitegrazer claimed he had been doing to their fearless leader? That must have been Rattrap's conscience asking that, something most Predacons lacked. The ones who thrived on hurting and murdering others, taking lives especially those of innocents. "I know you know we got 'your' precious golden disks," he emphasized on the ownership since at least one of them wasn't his. "And you probably want dem back, right? Before anybody comes knockin' on our doors, I propose an exchange," he said, getting straight to the point. "You give us back Optimus and Nexus alive, and we'll return the disks without a single scratch on 'em. If either of 'em are offered to us dead, and any of your minions attack us, den we destroy the disks and nobody gets ta study their advantages. What say you?"

Rattrap's attention subtly drifted to another monitor that alerted him of Nemesis's movements around the base, as well as Whitegrazer's signature showing up on the external perimeter scanners now. Megatron wouldn't have known what he was looking at but maybe it would caution him that they were already expecting Predacon company and if they attacked, then he could say bye-bye to the disks.

Tapping his fingers together as he leaned back in his throne and feigned surprise at Rattrap's words "You know that I know that you have MY golden disks? Well well well, I suppose Dinobot truly has lost what tiny sliver of predacon pride he had left if he gave up such valuable prizes to the likes of you willingly after all this time, instead of doing the smart thing and keeping them for himself...Or did you have to take them from him by force? Hahaha! Amusing speculations aside, you offer an exchange, yesss? Hhhhmmm, interesting proposal. I would of course like to see both disks to know they are in fact still intact, PERFECTLY intact, and that you haven't destroyed or damaged them out of spite. I also request, oh pardon me, what I thinking? I INSIST that you purge all data on the disks from your own systems and make it visible to me here and now, information tends to lose its value if both sides have it after all. Otherwise, I'll kill both Nexus and Primal right now, march on your home, slag everyone, and proceed onward to conquer all of known space with or without the disks, bitter though their loss would be I confess."

Megatron wanted those disks, they still held much potential for his plans and opportunities to influence the future in more ways than one, but he would not pass up the chance to finish Primal once and for all over damaged goods or counterfeits, or if the maximals held knowledge that could counter anything he cooked up using the disks. He also would not allow a mere rodent to take control over the situation, Rattrap was a maximal, he was a predacon, it went without saying which of them would break first at the prospect of losing what the other wanted. Megatron could always devise new ways of conquering Cybertron and destroying his enemies, there was only one Optimus Primal, the maximals could not hope to replace him. Rattrap's request for Nexus seemed to imply that he did not know Nexus was actually an imposter just yet, surprising given the supposed link between Primal and his maximals ruined Zodiac's performance earlier...So either they had not made the connection yet or were playing dumb, either way, he WOULD remain in control of this situation one way or the other, and if he could recover the disks and destroy Primal at the same time, well, that was even better.

Tarantulas had to confess, Megatron was handling the situation well, the tyrant squashing the vermin's attempt to seize control of the situation, again showcasing how feeble the maximals truly were without their stronger willed leader to guide them, the best they could do was desperately vie for his release. However, if Megatron recovered the disks before him things could become difficult for him, it was after all his mission to prevent Megatron's rise to power and use the disks for the council's benefit rather than for the renegade...Best he could do now was bide his time and wait for a chance to either slag Megatron or steal the disks from him later. Blackarachnia's mind still harbored a closed off area, one which may hold secrets that would render the disks expendable to him after all...He may have to attempt another mind probe of her psyche sooner than he had originally planned in that case, assuming he could still reach her mind from this distance.

With that thought in mind, Tarantulas pretended to be quietly observing the conversation between Megatron and the maximals, same as everyone else, in reality he reached out with his mind to tap into Blackarachnia's, seeing through her eyes, resisting the temptation to chuckle aloud at the sight of Primal's mangled form as the widow played nursemaid...Or was she?

"Playing nursemaid to a monkey now are we my dear?" Tarantulas jeered telepathically, delighted that the incident in the cave hadn't weakened his hold over her, at least at this distance, he would have to experiment later to see just how far they could be from one another before the link weakened, with any luck it was as strong as before, and if not...Well, better to find out sooner rather than later, preferably without her knowing his limits.

For now, he entertained himself further by creating a psychic image of a nurse costume for Blackarachnia to wear, invisible to everyone but herself as he toyed with her optics.

Terrorsaur meanwhile was watching everything going on with rapt attention, curious about how things would turn out, while secretly betting he could handle the situation better than Megatron, eager to put that filthy rat in his place personally.

He reached into a nearby CR tank and pulled Waspinator up and said "Wake up bug brain, you're missing the good parts!" before turning his own attention back to the action.

(Well, that escalated quickly. I was working on posting a response last night before Una and OOP popped in, but being swamped with computer work it took me a bit longer then planned. Not really sure how to respond to what was going on, initially I was going to have Landslide taze Ironclaw for attacking and threatening Whitegrazer.. because that sort of thing would lead you into the brig normally. 0_o)

Landslide observed the confrontation between the three, with Nemesis attempting to attack Ironclaw after being provoked by the young badger, only to have Whitegrazer interfere and take the hit for Nemesis from Ironclaw, followed by the badger seeming to threaten the mare.. Landslide's optics narrowed under the slits of his visor as he raised his right arm, about to extend and shock Ironclaw in the back for his actions as he then heard Rhinox swing the medical bay door open.

Rhinox wrote:"What the slag is going on out here?"

Landslide glanced towards Rhinox as he brought his right arm down Trouble,but we'll have ta take care of it later.. The lad seems a bit too wound up..Flaking out perhaps..Seen some cases of it after the great wars.. but never in the younger generation.. I need to head out, we'll have to discuss this later with Optimus. he gave a nod to Rhinox, then walked away towards the hanger.

Landslide didn't feel comfortable using the front lift of the ship due to his size and weight, mostly due to elevators having a weight limit. The flight hatch also wasn't much of an option as the amount of thrust needed to get the beetle into the air was enough to throw the center command table over and possibly cause a few fires on the way out, a weakness from his beast mode, as the Atlas beetle was so heavy that even though it could fly,it couldn't produce enough lift with it's wings to get it off the ground, using forward momentum from falling off trees like an airplane uses a runway to get into the air..

Heading out through the cargobay, he drew his heavy tower shield from his back with his left arm and lowered his landing gear on the back of his stocky legs to the ground, his massive insect wings unfolding as the two nacelles on his back altered their position and swiveled pointing the four energon rocket thrusters just behind him. His engines started up with a roar blowing up a cloud of dust as he rolled on his wheels much like an airplane would, raising just above the cliffs edge as he climbed in altitude. While Landslide didn't much use his wings compared to his thrusters, using them combined allowed him to fly more efficiently in the air and fly longer then if he was just flying with his thrusters.

Climbing high into the air, he then started to circle the perimeter. He sent a text based message to Rattrap,as Landslide assumed Rattrap was still busy with his call "Whitegrazer went with Nemesis, she says she's sorry. Knew this would of happened. Flying above scanning the area for threats now.Call me when you need me to pick up Aurora and the others."


Cheetor made his way through the lift, exiting outside he looked towards Whitegrazer raising an optic ridge as she seemed to be meditating. Walking towards her he spoke up in a confused voice Uh..Are you sure this is the right time for this sort of thing?


__________________________________________________

As Umbra made his way with the Predacon group, he came to a stop outside of Maximal sensors and transformed to his robot mode. His body's color scheme taking on a camoflague of the environment around him he made his way towards a boulder standing behind it as his tentacles coiled around it, seeming to blend in with it's shape, color, and texture. Drawing his scoped Gauss rifle from his back, he surveyed the area sending a radio signal to Night Terror No guard for the rear that I can tell.. Target sighted ahead, portside from the bow.. She's meditating.. as usual. Cheetor is near by.. Hm? He paused for a moment as he noticed a shadow sweep across the ground, then looked up raising his rifle Seems the whale.. no.. The Maximals have a new flier.. Someone almost as big as Dirge from my estimation. Either way, it would seem they are prepared for an attack.. but I don't think they've detected us yet. I'll need to move in a bit closer.. I'll make the shot on Whitegrazer if you wish.

Umbra transformed to his beast mode as he observed the circling motion of the maximal flying in the air, while Landslide had his back facing towards Umbra's general area, he slithered ahead for cover, moving silently among the debris as his camouflage changed to keep up with the color and texture of the ground and foliage with a faint heat trail on the ground that Night Terror would be able to detect. As he closed in, it seemed Cheetor was distracted by Whitegrazer, while she had her optics closed, leaving him a fine opportunity to move without being detected.

Stopping by a fallen jungle tree, Umbra transformed to his robot mode laying prone on the ground alongside the log as the majority of his tentacles flattened out over his body,his exterior taking on the appearance of moss,dirt,and a few branches, while his limbs broke up his silhouette. He now drew his rifle, wrapping one of his tentacles around it to camouflage the rifle's barrel from the distance to blend in with the dirt and foliage, his scope partially exposed.

Taking sight on Whitegrazer again, Umbra zoomed in his rifle's scope and adjusted the sight for windage, then activated his comlink as he spoke softly In position, on your mark.

____________________________

Terrorsaur wrote:"Wake up bug brain, you're missing the good parts!"

As Terrorsaur lifted Waspinator up, his body could be seen still being reassembled by mechanical arms raised from the CR tank's fluids as Waspinator woke up in a scream of terror with a loud buzzing sound coming from parts being welded back together, Waspinator being completely unaware of his surroundings at the moment.

A few moments later Quickstrike's CR tank platform started to rise, he looked a bit groggy as he then looked towards Waspinator and Terrorsaur with wide optics seeming to lean back What in tarnation?!

(ooc: Wow.. People are reading some stuff in my previous post that I didn't realize was there. Like who Nem was aiming her sword at, and even that she left the base before she did. And did Whitegrazer just take the blows meant for Nemesis? Does that mean she wasn't hit? I'm so confused.. I'll just make the best of it.)

Nemesis had barely started walking away when she felt a looming presence and then a large hand grabbing hold of her shoulder. Her optics narrowing, she immediately grabbed for her sword again as the oversized badger yanked her around, no longer caring what these foolish Maximals would say if she put this moron out of his misery. In fact.. she'd be doing them a favor from what she could tell, as the towering giant was out of control and had a lousy disposition that far surpassed even her own. She stared back at him, flipping her sword with her free hand while her other one instinctively moved up to grab Ironclaw by the wrist that he was using to hold onto her. She saw his other hand curl into a fist, preparing herself as the Maximal brought his clenched fist closer.. There was no time to intercept the blow or to deflect it with her sword, all she could do was brace herself..

Her optics dimmed, a reflex as she knew the impact would be hard, her body tensed.. But when she had still not been hit a moment later, her optics flickered back online again, only to see the other female, Whitegrazer, having jumped in between the two of them and had taken the brunt of the hit. Surprise overwhelmed her, so much so that she didn't even move out of the way when the force of the blow sent Whitegrazer crashing into her, causing Nemesis to slam into the wall before dropping to the floor. She barely caught herself, looking up with an expression of vivid surprise from her prone position on the ground. The other female was now the target of Ironclaw's rage, and he certainly let his displeasure known as he kept pounding on her. Nemesis shook her head and neatly pushed herself back onto her feet, again fighting the urge to take the opportunity to plant a bullet between the raging Maximal's optics. But given the fact that the moron was quickly digging his own hole by acting out like this against his fellow Maximals, and perhaps her in particular, she found a certain irony in letting the Maximals deal with him.

Yet she did nothing to stop his trashing of the other female, merely waiting in silence until Whitegrazer had gotten up and joined her. Together the two of them made their way to the exits, Whitegrazer went down the lift like she had been asked while the avian female took the roof hatch. This way she would hopefully not be noticed since she was certain Darkwind was watching the entrance. Behind them she heard Rhinox leaving the lab, demanding to know what had just happened.

Aurora did nothing to hide her distrust of the Predacon scientist even as he located the syringe and injected himself with the cure. Infected or not, he was dangerous and had caused harm to her friends, so she wasn't about to let go of that suspicion towards him just because he appeared to be compliant for the time being. Every word that had come out of his mouth regarding Saber had been venom meant to trigger them, making his shell programming as a Predacon abundantly clear.

"She'll be all right," he tried assuring her. "Keep those syringes on you and Landslide. Optimus will likely need the cure as soon as possible if he'll be operating well enough to accept it."

The small fuzor sighed, not sharing Rhinox' confidence in the outcome. Not after everything she'd been through. But fortunately Whitegrazer seemed determined to stay...

A quick glance out the small window shattered her thoughts in a split second, as Whitegrazer and Nemesis were nowhere to be seen. Rhinox had already gone into the hallway to check things out, but Aurora's fuel pump skipped a beat as the realization that Whitegrazer had done what everyone had told her not to do and gone.. out there. Outside. Where those crazy Preds were!

Aurora muttered something incoherent to nobody in particular as she grabbed the remaining antidotes and darted out the door, right past Rhinox and the others. She only stopped for a brief moment to hand the antidotes over to Landslide, not even taking the time to explain herself, as she continued rushing down the hallway towards the exit. The giant beetle was on the move as well, his large size forcing him down a different path to get outside. The ermine paid it no heed, her thoughts focused on Whitegrazer. She was their target, why would she put herself out in the open?

Seeing the lift up ahead, Aurora got on it as quickly as she could. She then didn't even wait for it to lower to the ground before tossing herself off the platform and letting herself glide down towards the ground. Close to the base, only a short distance away, she saw her target sitting on the ground in a meditating stance. The white mare appeared to be all right for now, so it looked like she wasn't too late after all. No.. They'd be okay, they'd free Optimus, heal him, and everything would be back to normal. She was just overreacting, maybe the Predacons didn't even mean any harm, maybe..

"Whitegrazer!," she shouted as she landed on the ground, rushing over to the other female. The calmness that filled the air around the other white femme felt like it could be touched, allowing Aurora to relax a little more.

"We should probably not be out in the open like this," the smaller female exclaimed as she reached the other, casting a concerned glance out at the surrounding terrain. Everything seemed so quiet, no movement detectable aside from Landslide's hovering above them. It all looked so.. normal..

Aurora turned back to Whitegrazer, extending her arm as a gesture that it was time to go.

"Come on. Let's go save Optim.."


A sharp sudden pain in the center of her chest interrupted her, the unexpected force enough to send her flat onto her back. Aurora yelped in shock and pain, her arm shooting up to her chest, almost as if expecting a dent in the armor. Instead her fingers poked through the sharp edges of a gaping hole, the pulsating light of her spark clearly visible through the opening. The fuzor gasped, her optics flickering as pure panic began to spread within. The bullet had embedded itself into her spark, causing it to fade. Her frantic optics darted over to Whitegrazer, pure desperation visible in her eyes. In fact her optics emitted a range of emotions at that time, including confusion, pain, and the realization that a shot that penetrated her spark was as good as a death sentence. Gone was the hope, the peacefulness she had just felt, now all she felt was fear, dread, an increasing.. tiredness.

Darkwind smiled slightly to himself as he watched the smaller of the two white females go down through the scope of his sniper rifle. Now let's see the empath continue to assist Optimus, now that she'd be forced to face her own demons.

((O_O what the heck!! I liked Aurora!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)))

"Stay put and let the antidote do its work."

Sonar rolled his eyes. Funny, where am I possibly going to go?

The bat waited for another episode to rear it's ugly head but he went limp on the cot in relief in knowing the cure was genuine.

Kid's, quite the scientist. He thought with grudging respect. Now, I just need to get out of here.

He looked down at his right arm then looked up just as the young femme left the med bay. Smirking, one of his arm blades and slowly started to cut through his bindings, every now and again he'd look up just to be sure no one was coming. He smirked when the strapped snapped, freeing his arm. He did the same with the other and it wasn't long until he was free and he planned on staying that way.

He waited until the young Maximal had left the med bay before quietly following after her, he paused and narrowed his optics when he saw Rhinox, his back was to him. He could help but smirk, this was just to perfect.

"Oh, nurse." He didn't give the large Maximal a chance to turn around before firing a sonic blast.

((OOC: I hope posting this now is all right. If not, I will edit it, but here it is: Part one of some emotional drama. There would be more. Don't worry, DarkSpark, I will post for BA soon. ))

NaitoKage wrote:Uh..Are you sure this is the right time for this sort of thing?

She smiled up at the young Maximal cheetah, "It is always the right time to meditate."

Phoenix wrote:"Whitegrazer!,""We should probably not be out in the open like this,"

"Aurora?" She shouldn't be out here. It's be too dangerous for her. Though, she had faith the negotiations would probably pause the Predacons' attack. But they always have to be cautious.

"Come on. Let's go save Optim.."

She gave Aurora a warm smile, reaching towards the young one when...

Her entire world crumbled.

Optics itched, scratching from the stringing fur and slivers of armor. She didn't bother to wipe them off, her optics were too fixated on Aurora's downed form etched with the same horror, desperation, and fear as the little one gave back to her. Optics too afraid to gaze at the source of Aurora's distress. She forced herself to look anyway, which made her mouth opened, but she was too in shock. Too horrified to even make a sound.

The sight of the bullet lodged into Aurora's beautiful, pulsating spark was a sight she was far too familiar with. Back in the war, she was forced to watched as many young Maximals died beside her. So many just born out of the protoform stage, not having a chance to experience life as they were too busy getting ready to put their lives on the line. Not knowing if they would be able to live the next solar cycle. Her now-decreased Commander, Warspark, had never enjoyed breaking in rookies. He had very little patience for rookies, and because of her mentoring nature, despite the fact she wasn't the compassionate and merciful she was now, she was thrust into preparing the rookies into battle. She taught them, getting too close to them. No matter how cold she was, their deaths under her training and lead led her to many horrible megacycles taking back their dead bodies tore apart by gunfire or missiles to base. But the worse of all, just like Aurora's situation, she had found barely alive young Maximals. Their sparks wounded with a bullet or heavy shrapnel, slowly killing them. When they were too low on medical supplies, they were forced to give those with the most priority the medical treatments, which were the superiors. So she was forced to mercy kill them. Because, that was what rookies were: cannon fodder.

She went on all fours, covering up the little one if those Predacons dared to fire again. She lifted her hands to have them hover over the little one's spark. They were shaking, her optics were leaking. Her own spark pulsating madly against her chest. Everything seemed to slow down between Aurora, her, and the rest. She wasn't the same person she was back then. She embraced her compassionate, empathetic nature. She wouldn't dare do such things ever again.

Her hands were still quaking in a wave of past sins and uncertainty, though.

Aurora... The little one always hated her over-protective nature. Despite the fact that she acknowledged it and tried to give the young one space, she still watched over her. She never knew of why she acted the way she did. It was because of those she had killed, even the Predacon protoforms she felt empathy towards. It was because of the fact she never had a chance to know Nightmist, a Maximal medic who saved her life back in when she first woke up from her pod. It was because of that fact she wanted Aurora to survive this war, to see the beauty of Cybertron. It may not be a perfect world, but no world was. But her knowledge, her experiences deserved to be shared. She deserved life.

Sparks needed delicate hands. Her hands were still over Aurora's spark, trembling still from the shock of the unexpected attack. An attack she thought would have been towards her. Not Aurora. Had she been wrong in her information that she was the target? Was the fact that they knew way beforehand and tricked her? But there... there was no reason for Aurora's struggle to remain alive? What purpose was her death to them? Just another dead Maximal for them?!

No.

No.

She closed her optics for moment before she laid one hand underneath one of Aurora's, squeezing it gently before she opened her optics and stared at Aurora, "Aurora... keep your optics on mine. Listen to my voice, okay?" She nodded at the little one, "I need you to not close them, you hear me? Don't. Please."

The idea of moving Aurora was an option she was willing to do, but she hesitated. Aurora looked so broken. Like a porcelain doll. Like a broken butterfly. She didn't want to do anything that would inflict more pain into the little one. The only thing she could do was to have Aurora remain with her, to keep her thinking about other things rather than the fact of her injury.

"You are strong, Aurora. I have always known that. Now, be strong. Fight. I won't let you die here. Not here." She caressed her hand and smiled warmly, "We need to get the bullet out, but it would be too dangerous to do it. You can do this, Aurora. I need you to keep yourself awake and to remain calm." She took deep breaths, "Follow my breathing. I know it is hard, but you must. Don't shut your optics. Keep focused on me. Focus on me. " Her lip trembled a bit at the end.

Whitegrazer wrote:"It is always the right time to meditate."

Cheetor looked puzzled at Whitegrazer as she spoke. Uh.. I think we're a sitting-

Aurora wrote: "Whitegrazer!,""We should probably not be out in the open like this,"

Cheetor turned looking at Aurora as she came over. He was surprised What are you-

Aurora wrote:"Come on. Let's go save Optim.."

Cheetor's optics widened as Aurora suddenly fell to the ground from the gunshot, heard way off into the distance.

Cheetor turned his attention towards the direction fired looking for the sniper with his arms drawn together ready to fire.

From the sky Landslide observed the situation, descending down towards the trio he grabbed Cheetor with his right arm, then turned slamming his shield down into the ground behind Whitegrazer as it released two pylons into the ground to keep it as a firm cover, then set Cheetor down behind the shield now acting much like a Crossbowmen's pavise.

Whitegrazer wrote:"Aurora... keep your optics on mine. Listen to my voice, okay?" "You are strong, Aurora. I have always known that. Now, be strong. Fight. I won't let you die here. Not here." "We need to get the bullet out, but it would be too dangerous to do it. You can do this, Aurora. I need you to keep yourself awake and to remain calm.""Follow my breathing. I know it is hard, but you must. Don't shut your optics. Keep focused on me. Focus on me. "

Landslide's optics looked down towards the scene with sad optics, curling the end of the container on his back as he kneeled down onto one knee. His left hand's clawed finger tips opening revealing a few multitools including a tiny mechanical arm with a claw and flashlight on it as he reached towards Aurora, his hand becoming hesitant as he inspected the wound more clearly ... This is bad.. I'll.. see what I can do.. Cheetor, get me Rhinox and get some support. Keep an eye out for Preds too!

Cheetor activated his comlink Cheetor to Rhinox, this is code red! Aurora's down! Landslide's here but.. it's.. her spark..

___________________________________________________

Umbra watched the event through the lens of his scope, perfectly still as he watched the scene unfold. A Sniper rifle.. Zodiac's handy work no doubt.. Attack the child and make the mother grieve.. the Ninja thought to himself. While it was effective at rendering Whitegrazer useless, it'd of been more clean to simply shoot Whitegrazer instead, though perhaps that was what was left of Umbra's own Maximal sentiment, but he never liked the idea of attacking the young and always tried to make his strikes as clean as possible, since he took no pleasure in watching the suffering of others.. it was inefficient and usually left many Predacons open to a Maximal retaliation..

As he watched them come together, Umbra observed the new large maximal. His size and armor plating were more suited as a construction vehicle then a combat unit, but even then he wasn't sure he'd be able to shoot through the arthropod as his Gauss rifle simply didn't have the power to punch through heavy armor.

(( OOC: I was going to wait for Blackarachnia but I have time now to work on a post so I'm going to take advantage of it. Not sure where Blackrose is again; we're going to need Dinobot unless I just have Rattrap have possession of the one disk and knowledge of the other's location. ))

"Aurora!" Primal suddenly hollered in the silence of his cell besides the noises Blackarachnia was making while she was painfully adjusting and repairing leaks on his crudely damaged body. Despite having "severed" the link earlier, a powerful wave of fear and desperation from Whitegrazer smashed the barrier he had put in place and he felt a tremendous quake from the equine Empath. Something terrible had just happened to Aurora. For the first time ever, he saw darkness emitting from the mare. Did it involve Darkwind who had left not long ago with some other Predacons? Very likely. Whitegrazer's sudden horror and anxiety for Aurora's well being was very unusual for her which told him that whatever had just occurred was very serious. Optimus could sense that she was trying to remain calm, trying to help the young Fuzor, but she was unnaturally unsteady and in need of help. There was sorrow and sobbing. This was very unusual to have Whitegrazer breaking down the way he felt it. He wanted to be there. He wanted to stop it. He wanted to help. Events from her past were pulling her back; guilt, disposition, nurturing, tough decisions, it was quite confusing. Where was TyCross? He didn't feel him.

Unfortunately, just as the Maximal Commander in ruins was accepting Whitegrazer's emotional pain, everything that Megatron had put him through could now be felt by the Empath. Crippled legs, shredded hands that weren't hands anymore, banged and beaten face with only one functioning optic left, swollen, punctures, torn wires all over his body, critical loss of energon and other fluids, his armor and paint in shambles. Mental and emotional instability. Everything flooded to her and her to him, crashing into each other like a giant tsunami.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Optimus suddenly bellowed in blind fury and swung his long arms outward accidentally shoving Blackarachnia and pounding them on the floor where they then rested. So much torment and misery was taking a toll. He needed to be with his Maximals but there was nothing he could do but lay there in a pool of his own fluid, pieces of his body scattered everywhere on the floor. Did the widow really find this appealing? Did she really find pleasure with his torture? At this point, he didn't give a slag. Primal was fed up with these Predacons. He ground his crooked teeth in anger despite how much pain his mouth was in until he started coughing up some fluid and experiencing labored breathing.

Whitegrazer... he reached out and sent her their green meadow as an attempt to help her concentrate with Aurora before he started slipping away again fading in and out.

-----

"You know that I know that you have MY golden disks? Well well well, I suppose Dinobot truly has lost what tiny sliver of predacon pride he had left if he gave up such valuable prizes to the likes of you willingly after all this time, instead of doing the smart thing and keeping them for himself...Or did you have to take them from him by force? Hahaha!

Yeah, sure, YOU'RE disks, Rattrap rolled his eyes. This guy was so annoying. So cocky. He thought he already won the Beast Wars since the beginning. And everyone thought Rattrap was bad? Hah! The thought of digitally drawing a mustache, glasses and accentuated eyebrows on Megatron's face crossed his mind but he remained focused. After all, the ape's life was on the line. Too bad Dinobot was missing out on what his "glorious" former leader was saying about him.

Amusing speculations aside, you offer an exchange, yesss? Hhhhmmm, interesting proposal. I would of course like to see both disks to know they are in fact still intact, PERFECTLY intact, and that you haven't destroyed or damaged them out of spite.I also request, oh pardon me, what I thinking? I INSIST that you purge all data on the disks from your own systems and make it visible to me here and now, information tends to lose its value if both sides have it after all. Otherwise, I'll kill both Nexus and Primal right now, march on your home, slag everyone, and proceed onward to conquer all of known space with or without the disks, bitter though their loss would be I confess."

That request was to be expected, and Rattrap had no problem with it, but they only had one of the disks on hand and he didn't want Megatron to know that just yet. "Fine. But we also want proof dat Optimus an' Nexus are still alive and will remain dat way when we meet for the exchange." Sure they could rely on Whitegrazer's bond to let them know about Optimus, but he wasn't sure that Megatron knew about that. Besides, they still wanted Nexus back to answer for his actions, so he might as well ask for both of them. Although, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see the condition Optimus was probably in. "And speakin' o' which, we'll be meetin' in neutral territory. And that ain't negotiable."

"Whitegrazer went with Nemesis, she says she's sorry. Knew this would of happened. Flying above scanning the area for threats now.Call me when you need me to pick up Aurora and the others."

Are you kiddin' me? thought Rattrap, annoyed when he received Cheetor's text message. Didn't anybody listen to him? No! Nobody did! What if it was a trick? If Darkwind wasn't alone, they could be walking right into a trap! Rattrap knew all too well about these techniques. Why didn't anyone listen to him? He glanced at the monitor that was tracking all of the signatures outside now that were in range. Why the heck were Aurora and Landslide out there? He grumbled to himself in irritation.

At least for the moment, he could show Megatron that they had in fact never tampered with the disks and never downloaded anything into their computer system from either of them. He went ahead and did that for the evil Predacon and waited for his satisfied response on the matter.

-----

Trouble,but we'll have ta take care of it later.. The lad seems a bit too wound up..Flaking out perhaps..Seen some cases of it after the great wars.. but never in the younger generation.. I need to head out, we'll have to discuss this later with Optimus.

Rhinox looked up at Landslide, puzzled and annoyed, and watched him head down the corridor along with Aurora who suddenly dashed out of the medical bay and hurried up to catch the beetle. But if he and her were out here, who was watching Sonar?

"Oh, nurse."

Hearing that familiar voice right behind him, like a ghost whispering in his audio sensor above his shoulder, Rhinox was just turning his head when he felt a violent shove by an air mass. In such close range, it blew Rhinox off of his feet and into the wall behind him, knocking him unconscious. Some thank you.

Cheetor to Rhinox, this is code red! Aurora's down! Landslide's here but.. it's.. her spark..

The rhinoceros failed to answer, surrounded by darkness as he laid on the floor against the wall.

-----

Noticing the Maximals converging on one spot outside, Rattrap grew suspicious. Muting his microphone with his conversation with Megatron, he activated a couple of the Axalon's external cameras and focused them on Whitegrazer's position but with everyone crowding her he couldn't tell what was going on even with zooming in. Landslide had just landed and he seemed to be setting up a barrier or a shield. What the heck...?

"Cheetor, report," he demanded, unaware of Rhinox's situation and Sonar getting loose.

(( OOC: Is starshadow still around? I don't want to keep Banshee excluded unless she doesn't have time to post. ))

DarkSpark wrote:"Playing nursemaid to a monkey now are we my dear?"

Blackarachnia tightened another energon line when Tarantulas' voice entered into her mind like a whisper, a fly going through her auditory sensors. She looked at the nursemaid's outfit with a sniff of disgust. So humilating. She made the note that ever since the incident between them in that cave Tarantulas had been more hesitant and less frequent with his little psychic taunts. It made her wonder if he wasn't in the mood or if he didn't know how strong the link was between them. Based on the fact that she had less nightmares and mazes surfacing into her dreams, the link was weakened.

Only to make him well enough for another round of torment? she said with a coy face and winked. She didn't actually care if he knew the true reason she was helping with Optimus medical treatment.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Aurora!"

Blackarachnia jumped, flinching as she attempted to seal a piece of armor. Aurora? That puny, Maximal rodent? Oh what was happening? And she was missing all the fun? But how would he know? Oh... was it the Maximal he was feeding information from? Well, whoever it was, they were having issues. She tried to hide the smirk on her face, "Oh, what's going on? Do tell?" She had her hand undernearth her chin willingly to hear details of the horror he was feeling.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The overgrown monkey blew a gasket. She was hit hard against the walls of the cell, flown by Optimus' arms. Her vision went blurry for a moment before she shook her head, growling at the Maximal leader who was pounding the floor, "Whatever is going on, it would be the last thing you will ever know, Maximal!" She had her cybervenom ready for the Maximal leader who was now laying helplessly on the ground.

((OOC: Okay! Got alot to catch up!))

Banshee was already prepared for combat and flew outside and high up to the skies hiding in the clouds slightly further away from Cheetor just to make sure that the Predacons are not trying to ambush her fellow Maximals but she had a bad feeling about it. Maybe it takes a longer time for them to reach to the neutral grounds. But what if-
BANG! Her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a gun shot not far from her Banshee flew back to check on her teammates while still hiding in the clouds. The bat femme used her echolocation ability with a stronger frequency to locate them and found Aurora and Whitegrazer down. It was indeed an ambush. Those..beasts! Following the direction where she heard the gun shot while flying slightly below the clouds and found 3 unknown predacons "camping" around, one of them was equipped with a sniper rifle.

Wait, calm down. Don't let your anger cloud your judgement... she told herself that. Currently this terrain is wide and open with little place to use stealth. Her only friends on her side are the clouds. Well, talking about clouding of judgement! Banshee made a sharp turn and glided down. As she was closing in behind the sniper, she threw her throwing knives then soared up to the clouds then opened her radio to her teammates, "Sniper at 12 o' clock! Take cover, get Aurora to safety! I'll distract them!"

((OOC: Okay here is my post. There was a lot that I missed, so let me know if I missed anything. Sorry again for the delay.))

Megatron said: "You'll have to excuse me Nightterror, I was otherwise occupied for some time, the maximals have contacted our base and supposedly know about the disks Dinobot has been hoarding to himself. You and your team will not take action against them until I've had a chance to ascertain what they want, and can judge whether they would truly be foolish enough to destroy the artifacts. Understood?"

Umbra said:No guard for the rear that I can tell.. Target sighted ahead, portside from the bow.. She's meditating.. as usual. Cheetor is near by.. Hm? He paused for a moment as he noticed a shadow sweep across the ground, then looked up raising his rifle Seems the whale.. no.. The Maximals have a new flier.. Someone almost as big as Dirge from my estimation. Either way, it would seem they are prepared for an attack.. but I don't think they've detected us yet. I'll need to move in a bit closer.. I'll make the shot on Whitegrazer if you wish.

Night Terror listened to his orders. It seemed his initial plan to frame the traitor may not work out. The Maximals were moving quicker than he expected. Megatron was right to tell him to stand down. Any engagement would jeopardize the negotiations. He observed the Maximal base from a far. Using his enhanced left optic he got an excellent view of their targets. The team was already in position. This would have been glorious.

He tapped on his comm and was just about to say "Stand down" when he heard the sniper rifle ring out. He quickly looked back at the Maximals gathered out side. One of them was down, but it was not his target. If he remembered correctly it was their young recruit, Aurora. This created an opportunity to take out the target and get out quickly, but this was not good. Not a clean kill. The kill was not necessary. He shook his head and drew his rapier. His sensors alerted him to the flyer soaring down at them. A disscussion for later. It is too late to call off the attack now.

"Night Terror to Umbra. Take the shot! Dirge, incoming flyer take the Maximal out and cover our retreat if necessary!" he said then closed the comm link.

He rubbed his head platting, trying to think. What would he to say to Megatron. Once the renegade found out Night Terror would pay either way. So the best course of action would be...

"My Lord, I regret to inform you that the attack has already commenced. We are currently in the process of eliminating our target. Night Terror then braced himself for what was certain to be a very loud response.

Sonar smirked as the rhino was knocked unconscious, before heading to the lift he walked over to the maximal and knelt down.

"As much as I enjoyed my stay here, I have to go. Oh, and one more thing, Saber is mine and I will destroy her."

Standing up, he headed for the lift, ad it lowered, he fired a few sonic blasts at a couple computer consoles just be a jerk.


He didn't wait for the lift to finish it's cycle, the second he saw day light he jumped the lift and bolted for the cliff, he only caught a glimpse of a downed Maximal before jumping off in a fancy dive.

"Beast Mode!" He shouted, he gave a soft grunt as his wings hit a sudden up draft that carried him away from his captors.