The Intergalactic Highway

Ironclaw could see how the death of another Maximal was effecting everyone. But it wasn't that it was a Maximal, it was a member of the team dying. He hadn't been here and didn't know this Valkyrie, but saw the others did. Ironclaw then noticed how it affected Wintersong, she looked distressed, at braking point almost. He made the conclusion that if he didn't feel that affected then he'd help others who were. This wasn't his best decision, he was never that good with other bots.

Before he went to find Saberfang he went over to Wintersong. He placed his hand on her back and tried to look at her face. With her head in her hands he then knelt down beside her on one knee and turned her seat towards him. He looked up in her eyes and smiled a bit. "Hey whiskers, stay strong" he said putting his hand her knee an giving it a little shake. She had already given him a hand twice, he wanted to return it.

((*beats writer's block*I've had a serious case of it lately))

Feralnight had jumped slightly when Optimus showed how upset he was over the loss of Valkyrie, not exactly expecting him to react in that way and leave part of the console damaged. Shifting her wings slightly she listened to the others, a little lost of what to really say in reaction to anything and when orders were given she turned back to the cameras, looking at the image of what was left of Valkyrie and in wonder like the others of why she would have done such a thing. She was also certainly feeling grief since the other flier had been one of the first Maximals she had met when crashing on the planet, around the same time Blackarachnia had arrived and it was saddening to see her go but the fuzor recalled she had been acting oddly in the days before and hardly had been on missions, which from what she had heard was a little unusual for Valkyrie.

But she pushed the thoughts aside for the time being and began to go through the images once more, a bit more slower now to allow Rattrap to see anything her or Aurora could have missed at the time. "I'm really beginning to wonder if any of these Predacons have some decency for life,"She finally said having been silent since a little before she had gotten to the Darkside earlier and was likely voicing some of the thoughts of the other Maximals.

Also not knowing what to say or how to react Frilla decide to take Optimus' order and stayed put, deciding to use it as a chance to maybe work on the virus he had asked for earlier, though she wondered if it was worth it now knowing Glowstick was gone. She felt some grief for the squid's death but really couldn't find herself feeling any for Valkyrie since she had encountered the flier once during trying to retrieve Feralnight's pod when she had been with the Predacons, in fact if her memory was correct it had been maybe shortly after she had been found by them again. But if the grief did show on her face Frilla wasn't about to tell her teammates that the grief was towards the loss of Valkyrie, it was saddening but with hardly knowing her there wasn't much reaction towards the loss.

Taking out the disk she had been using with working on the concept for a shield earlier the frilled lizard turned to the monitor as she sat down, slipping the disk into a nearby slot and waited for a few moments before the information popped up as a bunch of numbers before showing the image of a basic circular object, something the femme was still kind of playing with. 'Maybe some idea will come to mind,'She thought as she began to type on the keyboard with rather quick fingers that made small clicks as she typed, manipulating the circular object into different shapes and designs for some idea.

Upon seeing Optimus' reaction to Valkyrie's body, Rhinox took a step forward. He was about to place a hand on his leader's shoulder, but refrained from doing so at the last second. Primal was emotionally volatile at the moment. The senior officer's optics lowered to the floor and Optimus appeared to struggle with words as his own thoughts were thrown into chaos. Rhinox pitied his leader for the turmoil that poisoned his mind every time someone was hurt or killed in action. The rhinoceros also felt pain, as did everyone else, but with Optimus there was something more that came with each casualty. The Maximal leader viewed each of them as his responsibility. With each loss, there came a burden and it was such a burden that could not be removed by comfort or time. Rhinox had never felt so helpless before.

Conversation took place. Rattrap was now accessing the Sentinel cameras in order to get footage of the incident. Yes, incident was the right word to describe the matter. There was no accident, for it appeared that Valkyrie entered the brig on her own accord. She did hold the proper rank, but Rhinox could not find himself to blame the deceased Maximal for what had transpired. Her processor was not in the right place, and he himself knew that there was something changing inside of her. He would have taken precautions regarding her security clearance, except that she had never displayed any behavior short of being responsible and morally upright.

"Rhinox, you're with me; we'll cover the brig."

Rhinox nodded without saying a word. Whatever needed to be done will be done. In a way, he was relieved that Optimus selected him to accompany the leader to the scene of Valkyrie's death. Not only would he be able to inspect the brig first hand, but he would also be in a position to keep an eye on Optimus. Obviously, Rhinox trusted his friend above all the rest, but none of them were perfect. In a time of distress and need, Rhinox had to make sure that he would be there for Optimus just as the latter had been aided him in the past. He had to make sure his leader would continued to stand tall, to continue leading the Maximals back on the line they were walking before.


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


"It's done."

Orcariner finally looked over at Tigatron and held up the lid to the coffin. He gave a weak smile as he checked his work one more time. The orca could not remember the last time he had invested so much time and effort into constructing something that was not meant for warfare. Setting the cover aside, he returned his gaze to Icebreaker's lifeless body. Scooping the smaller Maximal into his arms, Orcariner found himself shocked at its lack of resistance. This was the first time he had laid hands on his friend after receiving news of his death. For some reason, Icebreaker suddenly appeared to be so fragile. The smaller Maximal's head turned to the side, giving into the affects of gravity as the giant picked him up. Wanting to speed up the process, Orcariner quickened his pace and set the penguin in the newly-made coffin.

"Hope you find something fun to do on the other side, buddy, but save some of it for me."

Closing the lid shut, the titan succumbed to his emotions and collapsed to his knees. Bending his head over the coffin, Orcariner allowed all of his memories of his best friend take over his mind.

(Well since Wildfire is away, I'll take Megatron until she returns since everybody else's plate is full. )

Walking into the bridge of the Darksyde, Megatron glanced over the crew as they assembled with a narrow gaze, but did not speak in a frustrated tone just yet.

Cecaelia wrote:"Glowstick-kuuuuuuuuuunnn~"

His face looked towards Cecaelia Do not bring up that upstart's name Cephalopod..Or you will suffer as he did.

Looking over the rest of the group again, he then started his questioning. Now.. I will get to the point..which one of you can tell me how a Maximal spy got into our ship without any of MY Predacon forces being able to stop him, and further more escape with possible Predacon secrets?! Explain yourselves at once! he fiercely demanded raising his left hand in a balled fist as he spoke.

(( OOC: Thanks again, NK!

Sorry to have made some Maximals jump with OP's reaction with Val's death. He can only "hide" his outrage and self-disappointment for so long. Such a sad day for the Maxis.

By the way, Mystrea, since Night-Hunter most likely won't be on to post any time soon, you can just have Ironclaw sneak a peek into her quarters and make sure she's sleeping okay. I'd say after everything she's been through, she very likely could have slept through all the alarms and whatnot.

Poor Airazor. Makes me feel really bad for her. I gotta get Tigatron to her stat! ...After he helps Orcariner. Very well written, WorpeX. ))

After having stepped out of the command center and down the corridor a little, Optimus stopped in his tracks when he felt Whitegrazer's attempt to comfort his spark. For a short moment, he placed his hand over his chest and dimmed his optics, but suddenly there was more fury and frustration that flooded him entirely, overriding and refusing her warmer and more peaceful energy, essentially but unintentionally building a wall that blocked her, so to speak. It certainly was not anger toward the white mare at all, but to himself for letting another Maximal down who had been seeking his help. Much of his lesser controlled outrage originated from his beast form that was a part of him even in robot mode. Just as quickly as he had felt Whitegrazer's reach, he had pushed it away, lowering his hand and illuminating his optics as he began walking again down the hall toward the brig with Rhinox. Right now, the Maximal leader was blinded by rage with which he was having difficulty coping with, and grief that he could not express at this time because he had to remain strong for his crew. ((OOC: Thought that might be a little different reaction for Whitegrazer to deal with, una. ))

But how were they all dealing with this? Especially the younger ones like Aurora and Cheetor. Cheetor, who was forced to become a soldier of war without a choice after their crash on this planet. And Aurora, who existed now with the help of Icebreaker through Nightmist's death and Nemesis' nanite technology. Nightmist and Icebreaker. Both gone now. And Valkyrie. Even Glowstick. SLAG THIS WAR! Primal cursed bitterly in his thoughts. He was losing his comrades right under his nose. And his Maximals were losing friends. Primus, how was Orcariner coping with the loss of Icebreaker? Optimus could only imagine that the orca must have felt ten times as worse as he was feeling right now. How was he supposed to do this? How was he supposed to get them home? I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS! he screamed inside. He wished he could sit down with all of them and offer them comforting words, some kind of wisdom to soothe their sorrow, some kind of optimism that would bring them new hope and promise that they wouldn't lose anyone else. As long as they were here, however, and Megatron was still roaming around seeking to conquer this planet with all of its raw energon, or Cybertron, or even the universe, Optimus had to continue to lead his crew through the small victories of stopping - or at least prolonging - Megatron's ambitions. There was no other choice. They had to fight this war. This was it.

So lost in his own thoughts, Primal hadn't even noticed Rhinox's footsteps right behind him during their entire stroll to the brig until they came upon the scene with red lights still flashing and doors left open. The Maximal Commander was brought back to the present and reality. Pausing only for a moment just outside of the Axalon's brig, even though Sonar was still securely sealed in his cell, Optimus stepped in and walked to the cell that had once held the former Decepticon and was now harboring an almost unrecognizable heap of Valkyrie's body. In case of possibly getting contaminated by whatever might have been left on Val's body from Nemesis, Primal took the necessary precaution of remaining a few feet away from her body so as not to come in contact with her, but crouched down for a closer examination. His dark red optics wavered over her mangled shell while he tried to keep himself together. She was a good Maximal. Tough and intelligent, hence the rank she had acquired. How could this have happened?

"It's my fault, Rhinox," the leader finally uttered in a soft voice that was on the verge of trembling, never actually looking at his old friend. "She needed help... an answer to whatever was happening inside of her. If I hadn't pushed it off..." Optimus shook his head under his own disappointment. Why did she come here? Why did she disobey my orders? "We'll... We'll need to quarantine her body until you have the time to examine it." I'm so sorry, Valkyrie. I'm so sorry. Slowly standing back up, his optics scanned the cell, taking in the damage and what had been left on the floor by both females from their altercation. The camera had been untouched it seemed, so they must have recorded the entire ordeal unless Valkyrie had shut it off before she entered. But it didn't seem like she had taken any security measures at all, except for locking the cell after she came in. Also, it felt warmer than it should have in order to keep Nemesis's nanites functioning slowly. Had she turned up the temperature? If so, why? If not, then who did? Stepping back to get out of Rhinox's way, Primal shifted his gaze at the cell door and walked over to it for a closer look. Leaning over, his optics studied the thick steel that had been "eaten" away and had also disengaged the lock. It didn't appear as though any nanites were left, but he kept himself from touching it anyway. He was amazed at the destruction they were capable of so quickly.

-----

Without really realizing that it had been emanating from Whitegrazer, there was a calmness shadowing Rattrap that enabled him to cope better with everything at this point and focus on his duty. "So, Val came in on 'er own accord, after wandering around some of the corridors alone, an' then she stopped in front of the brig's entrance for a while before entering," Rattrap began as he rewound the footage over and over from cameras set up outside of the brig, to the brig's security cameras inside, as well as the one from Nemesis's cell, attempting to soak up every detail and piece it together. "Doesn't seem like anythin' was out of the ordinary, though. Too bad we don't got audio with this. Can anybody read lips?" he asked, half jokingly to anyone who was listening. "They talked, had a little scuffle, talked again, and then Nemesis went berzerk. Not once, but twice." Narrowing his optics thoughtfully on that tidbit. "Like she couldn't control herself... But now she's in trouble. How does she escape without the Maximal security code to unlock her cell? She takes Val's blade and deliberately inflicts herself with a serious wound to her wrist. And then she pressed it against the door to kill two birds with one stone; she uses her nanites to open the door and heal her wrist." Clever, he thought. But extremely painful. "All dis agony for a desperate escape." The rat shook his head in disbelief. And then something clicked. "Wait a sec. How was her freakish nano tech able to work so effectively? The temperature should've been too cold for 'em ta produce as fast as they were..." Studying the brig footage again and the controls, Valkyrie hadn't touched anything with the temperature. How...? Puzzled, Rattrap sat back in his chair at the console that was between Feralnight and Aurora, and folded his arms across his chest. Glancing at Feral's monitors, he watched Optimus and Rhinox on the brig's video feed for a moment. "Somethin' just ain't addin' up."

-----

"It's done."

Watching Orcariner examine his finished lid for the coffin, Tigatron returned the same small smile to him. The much larger Maximal had certainly done a tramendous job with everything despite the circumstances. Optimus was right to see certain potential in Orcariner, but Tigatron feared his greatest test would be how he handles Icebreaker's death and whether not he seeks justice or revenge on the one who killed him.

"Hope you find something fun to do on the other side, buddy, but save some of it for me."

The orca appeared to be in the right mind-set... on the outside. How he was really feeling on the inside was being heavily disguised, the white tiger presumed. Even though the alarms had sounded, indicating an intruder, Tigatron had opted to remain with Orcariner who didn't seem like he would have budged for anything unless the Predacon had mistakingly entered the infirmary and found him or herself in even bigger trouble than they would have wanted considering the mood the largest Maximal was in.

As Orcariner took great care picking up Icebreaker's lifeless body and placing it in his coffin, Tigatron hurried to the whale's side as soon as he fell to his knees and gently laid his hand on the orca's forearm. The white cat in robot mode was silent for a long time, letting his taller friend mourn in peace. Although he was greatly concerned for Airazor's well being and what had been going on with the security breach, he couldn't just leave Orcariner alone, especially while there was an intruder roaming around. Until things seemed to get quiet was when Tigatron finally spoke.

"I'm certain you and Icebreaker will be reunited once more, Orcariner. But until then, you must be strong and fight on in his memory that can never be forgotten. Let him be your strength and guidance." Softly patting his forearm a couple times, Tigatron released it and stepped back. "Come. There is no more for us to do here that can't be done while helping the others who may require our assistance," he said encouragingly to try and motivate the killer whale to take that first step and leave Icebreaker - or rather just his body - behind in order to move on and help his other friends. If he required more inspiration, he might just remind him of the other two bots who held the answers he sought for earlier that he could not deliver.

(ooc: Great post, OOP! Very touching indeed.)

Sending their leader a concerned look as he slammed his fist into the console, nearly shattering it, Aurora made a quick glance towards the others present but did not say anything. She knew all too well that Primal tended to bear the weight of leadership not on his shoulders, but around his neck, and at times this would cause problems since the primate always put his Maximals first before his own well being. It was an admirable but equally self-destructive part of his character.

Aurora slid out of the chair to allow the more experienced Rattrap to gain access to the computer terminal while she stood behind him and waited. She hadn't exactly known Valkyrie very well so terrible as her apparent demise appeared to be, the fuzor had been able to put her own feelings aside for now. For the past while she'd been doing her best not to let this awful day get to her and tried to put the traumatic ordeal of what had happened with Icebreaker to the back of her mind. As she had recovered the film from the events leading up to Valkyrie's death, she'd deliberately tried to avoid looking at it as much as possible to try to keep everything at a distance.While standing close to Rattrap she still avoided looking at the video, merely listening to what the rat was saying.

Yet her attempt at eluding herself was about to come to an abrupt end..

Rattrap wrote:"Wait a sec. How was her freakish nano tech able to work so effectively? The temperature should've been too cold for 'em ta produce as fast as they were..."

It took a couple of seconds for Aurora to piece everything together, but as the truth dawned on her, she felt like part of her died alongside Valkyrie.

Her botanical experiment..

In the midst of all the fighting, the sudden death of Icebreaker, and the mess that followed, Aurora had entirely forgotten all about it. She had been planning to stop the experiment quite a while ago, yet had not, which could account for the temperature regulation to fail..

The serious, saddened look on her face returned once more and she glanced around to see who was there. Ironclaw had already walked off, and only Rattrap was in her immediate area. It felt like her body was trembling, yet she was standing perfectly still as if frozen in her tracks. Gradually she forced herself to look at Rattrap, wanting to blurt out what she assumed had happened, but not a word was coming out of her mouth. In a state of denial and utter guilt, she suddenly stormed off to her room.

"...Airazor?" How are you seeing the world right now? Do you get as scared as I do? Do you know why you're crying, and I do I have any chance of fixing the reason?

The falcon didn't respond at first. Instead, she wiped away her tears and tried to calm herself down. She had been found by one of the "younger" maximal's, although, the whole concept of age seemed to allude her. She hadn't been considered part of the youth like Cheetor and Aurora yet she felt as if they had lived more than she had. All Airazor knew was on this planet and while she likely had a past life on the Cybertron that everyone keeps referring to, her memory circuits had been damaged and there was no way for her to know what she was then. Only now. Cheetor on the other hand remembered his whole life. Perhaps he born after she, but he knew what it was like to be a child and to grow up. To her, she was only a few months old, yet, she looked and was treated as older then Cheetor. It made no sense to her and there was no one that could help her with understanding her past... so she said nothing.

After looking upwards at the other bot in front of her, she felt a little bit better. While she was a bit embarrassed that someone had found her, it didn't bother her as much as she originally thought it would. Perhaps all she needed was someone to talk to, but she never felt like talking. "I'll be alright, just tired is all." She finally spoke to him although it was mostly a lie. She wanted to tell him everything, from the very beginning about how she didn't know who she was to her fear of losing those she cared about and how scared this whole war made her but most of all, about how life was simply too fragile. But she didn't. All she could say was one final word. "Thanks."

(ooc: I like your interpretation of Air Razor, Worpex. Truthfully I couldn't stand this character in the beast wars show since I felt she had so little depth to her so it's very refreshing to see new sides of her.

Just wanted to point out a new thread I made after reading your post, however: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3839 because I would love some input on this by everyone.)

Blackrosefencer wrote: She looked away again. Tell him about the rage? She had never told anyone about it. Although the Predacon scientists were, of course, privy to the information given the fact they witnessed it first hand. But he had a point. He couldn't help her fully if she didn't tell him everything.

Without looking at Tarantulas, Arachnitron answered slowly and sullenly: "At times, the competing personalities tend to overload some of my systems. The body becomes a blank frame for a few minutes while the core computer resets itself. When that happens, I can neither see nor hear. I become mute and my core consciousness shuts down. But many of my motor functions do not shut down such as walking, running....and shooting. Herein lies the glitch."

She recalled her escape of the Predacon research facility on Cybertron. The Hybrid had been in control for a short time and had just learned that the experiment was to be shut down. She was scheduled to have her spark extracted later that day. The next thing she knew, she was standing outside of the research facility watching it burn slowly. She knew it had been "the rage" that had taken control. She referred to it as such because she often associated it with feelings of uncontrollable anger or even fear. But she knew, in truth, it didn't really have anything to do with emotions. It was a glitch in her processors....nothing more. Still, it seemed like a fitting name.

"We are dragging her in two different directions and she doesn't know who to trust anymore." the Maximal programming reasoned.

"It's all your fault! You're the one filling her head with all your Maximal slag!"

It was true. Arachnitron didn't know where to turn. Having part of both factions within her made it easy to see both sides of an argument. There never seemed to be a right or wrong answer. She longed to see the world in either black or white...instead of in shades of grey. This constant confusion was beginning to take its toll on the young bot. She was beginning to feel lost; torn between two sides. She was desperate for someone to help her make sense of all this, but the Maximal had erred on the side of caution when it came to seeking help. Instead of agreeing to any sort of modifications or programming alteration, she was content to allow the Maximals to help by offering her sanctuary and friendship. The Predacon's solution had been to lash out and pick fights. Neither solution had been effective. Arachnitron could feel her psychosis growing worse.

The constant bickering between the Maximal and Predacon programming didn't help either. She wore a pained expression as the Preadacon programming decided the time for talk was over. She was determined to do things her way. Arachnitron turned her gaze back to Tarantulas. She winced and doubled over, but she tried hard not to cry out.

"Help me," she gasped desperately. "I'll do anything."

"I see, so essentially when this rage effect takes over you become a blank slate, albeit one who can continue to move about and attack others without a consciousness to guide it. You slip into a...Self-Defense mode, or a Beserker if you will" Tarantulas replied, truly fascinated by this latest revelation, now understanding all too well how the scientists who'd created Arachnitron had been so brutally dispatched...The Tripredacus Council had suspected either a Maximal black ops team or a rival Predacon faction of being the culprits behind the lab's destruction at the time, now he knew better.

He himself had been one of many investigators the Council had put in charge of ascertaining who to blame for what happened, but no matter how many leads they had followed, no matter how many bots they had tortured or bribed for information, nothing had ever turned up, so the case had been closed, a cover story cooked up, and the experiments conducted all labeled classified. How ironic, Arachnitron's creators may have been careless fools, but they'd still managed to give life to an unusual and unique cybertronian capable of dangerous but impressive feats...He'd have to watch himself around this one at all times, clearly the Predacon aspect of her psyche was far from being the most deadly of Arachnitron's many selves. However, for now he appeared to have finally acquired the wayward female's trust, and she genuinely seemed desperate to any kind of relief to her inner turmoil he could give her...And the distress she exhibited as she fell to her knees and begged for his aid was the energon icing on the blood cake.

Blackrosefencer wrote: Her optics flashed red as the Predacon regained control. She reached out and grabbed onto one of Tarantulas' arms. Her expression was filled with anger and hatred. "Stay away from the Hybrid," she commanded darkly. But her presence was short lived.

Almost as soon as she had regained control, the Hybrid was back again whimpering in pain. "Please," she begged again sobbing. "I can't take it anymore! I want them out of my head!"

However, the pleasure he derived from her pain was short lived as the Arachnitron's predacon self resurfaced and seized him by the arm!

"UNHAND ME DEMON!" Tarantulas hissed in rage and surprise, torn between the knowledge he needed Arachnitron to escape this planet and his immediate need to defend himself from bodily harm, almost resorting to riddling her with bullets until just as suddenly as the Predacon had emerged, she was once again suppressed by the much more manageable hybrid.

Calming himself down as best he could after that experience, Tarantulas forced his voice back to a more soothing tone as he said "Sssshhhh, there there my dear, everything is going to be alright, nothing has transpired here that can't be fixed or endangers our alliance. We can still make it through this together, but the sooner I access your core and implant the chip, the better off we'll both be, clearly your other selves disagree with the obvious benefits mental stability would provide in your life."

Tarantulas made a mental note to dismantle this witch should she snap like that again, he had enough trouble with one widow in his life, he didn't need one with 4 different conflicting personalities on top of everything else.

He placed one pincer reassuringly on her shoulder and inquired "Are you ready?"



OOC: Hi, I'm back from the anime convention, sorry for the long wait for the post, took me a while to get motivated after the incredible weekend I had. Hope all of you are doing well, happy to be back

((OOC: Ooooooooooo! Love the reaction, OOP. It gives me a chance to write what that does to Whitegrazer. Ouch. ))

After having stepped out of the command center and down the corridor a little, Optimus stopped in his tracks when he felt Whitegrazer's attempt to comfort his spark. For a short moment, he placed his hand over his chest and dimmed his optics, but suddenly there was more fury and frustration that flooded him entirely, overriding and refusing her warmer and more peaceful energy, essentially but unintentionally building a wall that blocked her, so to speak. It certainly was not anger toward the white mare at all, but to himself for letting another Maximal down who had been seeking his help. Much of his lesser controlled outrage originated from his beast form that was a part of him even in robot mode. Just as quickly as he had felt Whitegrazer's reach, he had pushed it away, lowering his hand and illuminating his optics as he began walking again down the hall toward the brig with Rhinox. Right now, the Maximal leader was blinded by rage with which he was having difficulty coping with, and grief that he could not express at this time because he had to remain strong for his crew

The hand on her chest flinched in pain just like her spark did from Optimus' overwhelming anger and grief that threw an invisible wall down in the middle between him and her. It was a very...unpleasant feeling like a door shutting on her face with the wind blowing through her, whispering silence inside her audiory sensors. She was used to such actions before and a block wasn't as hurtful at all like a severed connection. Just left a temporary loneliness inside her spark, which she forced herself to push away in an act of selflessness as feeling lonely was irrelevant in a situation like this. There was no anger, sadness, or indifference inside her after she swallowed that little pang, only empathy remained of what Optimus was going through. Too much loss weighs on people even the most strong-willed and she knew more than anyone that in that pain, one must be given time to grieve and let it out yet must never venture alone. They were all together in this and everyone need each other to go on. Never would they be or should be alone. Her hand and forehead touched the bond between them, waiting for wall he put up to vanish if Optimus wanted to. She was still here, waiting calmly and patiently for Optimus to lift the block. Her spark cooing a song to anyone who can hear or feel it. Again, the lonely feeling returned for her soul to sing a song that was not being heard, in the darkness or...being squandered and crushed like in the past from several individuals she knew who have come and gone in her life, but it kept singing knowing that somewhere it would be heard to bring peace to others who reached for it. ((OOC: Just imagine Whitegrazer singing to a wall...alone ))

She didn't turn herself, but she was hearing what Rattrap and the others were saying. Part of her did want to know what the conversation between Nemesis and Valkyrie went, but with no audio, that would be difficult. Her optics gazed at nothing, but Aurora had ran past her to her room swiftly...frantically. There was something troubling in her dash.

"Aurora?"

She walked towards Aurora's room, wondering but treaded carefully as she reached Aurora's room and softly said her name to let her know someone was there, "Aurora."

Out of respect, she didn't enter inside the room. She stood at the entrance's left side, waiting to hear from Aurora.

((OOC: Blackrosefencer, Darkspark, is it okay for Blackarachnia to return or do I need to wait more? =D I just wanted to know before I have her return. And it is good to have you back, Darkspark! YAY!! ))

"It's my fault, Rhinox," ... "She needed help... an answer to whatever was happening inside of her. If I hadn't pushed it off..." "We'll... We'll need to quarantine her body until you have the time to examine it."

Rhinox silently stood by and stared at Optimus. He chose not to say anything until his friend finished letting everything out. There was no point in trying to force his leader to keep all of his emotions contained. Even the strongest of them all needed to vent every once and a while, and Rhinox was content with being the confidant. Optimus quickly resumed to his somewhat normal behavior when he veered off subject and spoke of sealing off the brig. The officer complied with the suggestion and walked to the entrance of the brig. Getting into the command module, he adjusted the clearance settings to only allow himself and Primal to enter and exit the brig. While he was at it, Rhinox re-activated the Sentinel defense program.

"The area is ours," he said, "and Sentinel is up again. Despite the truce at hand, we can't afford to have anything of this sort happen again."

Walking back towards Nemesis' cell, he tapped the back of his knuckle on Sonar's cell with the fullest confidence that the Predacon would not even be able to hear it.

"Can't afford to let this one out either."

He looked down at Valkyrie's body. The mess would be a memory that would never fade. Still, Rhinox could not afford to waver in his composition. Not when there was someone else here who needed something strong to hold onto. Primal seemed to have calmed a little from his initial reaction, but the rhinoceros still took the precaution of choosing his next words wisely. Regardless of whatever grace was needed to approach the mourning Maximal, Rhinox knew he had to voice his statement with the utmost of honesty.

"Her death wasn't your fault," he said.

His optics still locked onto the corpse before him. Knowing the emotional risk that came with his words, he continued to press on with his consolation.

"It was hers."

Now he looked at Optimus face to face. His leader needed to hear this right here and right now. Rhinox feared for Optimus' mental stability in the wake of so much death. He needed an anchor in his life right now, and the officer was going to give it to him.

"You may be the captain of this ship, and you may technically hold responsibility for our actions in the court of law. That does not, however, acquit any of us from the accountability accompanied with our decisions. Valkyrie was a smart Maximal and she has the experience to back her rank up. She knew what she was doing when she walked in here, regardless of whatever condition she had. When was the last time we put her in the field? It's been at least a year from what I can remember; probably more if you look it up. We did take precautions with her well-being. We did educate her on the rules of the team. What happened here was a result of Valkyrie's decision and hers alone.

You, on the other hand, were not here when this happened. None of us were. Think about it. What would you have done if you knew she walked into the brig? Abandon the mission in the field and fly back here? You still would have been too late to save her, and Ironclaw and the others would have been more exposed to risk of injury without your help."

Rhinox paused to let his words sink in. He knew it would not be easy for his friend to hear this speech, and right now Rhinox himself thought it was a pretty poor form of consolation for a grieving Maximal. Still, this was something Primal had to hear even if he did not want to.

"Optimus," he continued, "You and I have known each other longer than anyone else in this universe has. I would never tell you this if I didn't believe it with my fullest convictions. Optimus, you have to accept the fact that you cannot control our fates. You can't always be around to save every single individual when they find the slightest hint of trouble. To believe you're capable of doing so is to give into your pride. The only absolute power we have is the one that allows us to teach. Pass your wisdom to others, and then let them do what they can with that knowledge. We've given Valkyrie everything we could've. We have to accept the fact that her death was out of our control at the time. Let this incident teach us its lessons, learn from them, and grow from the experience in order to prevent this from happening again."


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Hearing Tigatron's advice, Orcariner lifted his head from the coffin. Pulling himself to his feet, the giant looked up and nodded. There actually was something he needed to do, something that was forgotten in all of his grief. The orca's eyes narrowed with cold fury. He still needed to find out who killed Icebreaker. A newly lit passion for vengeance burned within his spark. It provided much-welcomed fuel to drive Orcariner back on his feet and back into the war.

"You're right," he said to Tigatron, "Let's go to the bridge. Everyone seems to be congregated over there."

Except Optimus and Rhinox are in the brig.

Both optics widened.

"Nemesis was the escapee..."

Sonar was still in his cell, but it appeared both of his superiors were inspecting the cell that once occupied Nemesis. Not that he was paying much attention in the first place, but Orcariner came to the conclusion that the reason he did not immediately notice any Predacon movements on his radar was due to her breaking out in beast mode. She was, after all, small enough to fly down the ship's corridors. On the other hand, it also seemed that the Maximals had taken a new prisoner: Starshadow. Yet, the Predacon feline was on the bridge with the others.

"Let's meet up with everybody and find out what happened."


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In the face of Megatron's outrage, Scorponok took several steps back. Terrorsaur, however, was the first to jump forth and excuse himself from any responsibility of Ironclaw's appearance.

"Megatron," the pterodactyl squawked, "I was on in-door patrol duty so there was no way I could have known the furball was in our territory. I was kinda the first one to find him, though, and I did sound the alarm. I did what I could!"

Scorponok rolled his eyes in disgust. Of course, the red flyer would do his best to make him appear as innocent of blame as possible. Crawling up to the furious Predacon leader, the 1st Lieutenant spoke up.

"My lord," he said, "I believe the one in charge of surveillance duty was Onyx. If anyone is to blame, it is him!"

There, a name was called out and a scapegoat was created. Technically, everyone was to blame for their inability to capture the slow badger. However, as long as the Predacons were able to focus solely on one individual, the rest were to be spared of Megatron's wrath.

When Ironclaw came over to her side Wintersong at first didn't think much of it until he got her attention by turning her chair so they were face to face, a little surprised by it but managed a brief smile at the badger. "I will Ironclaw, just been a long day." She said, trying to sound assuring to the badger but she wasn't sure it'd be that convincing since she was grieving like the others. It was still a lot to take in for the loses they suffered that day, and it could have been more if things had gotten nasty at the Predacon base, which luckily they hadn't and even now the white tigress wasn't sure her distraction against Megatron had really been that significant but she hadn't wanted the risk of seeing Optimus,Aurora, and Ironclaw possibly hurt then. But then again it had seemed that way and it might have just been her own stupid mistake, again.

Though briefly Wintersong glanced towards the others side, hearing a little of what Rattrap said though hadn't exactly listen and wondered what caused Aurora to storm off like she had. Ears going back the femme sighed again,"Staying strong is never easy here."She added when giving a final glance to Ironclaw before looking away once more without really knowing what more she could say on the matter.

((OOC: Okay! I will have Blackarachnia just spy on those two. And, I also wanted to mention this: Awesome post, Alak! Go Rhinox! ))

Ironclaw listened to Wintersong and realised that she was just trying to reassure, she didn't sound that convinced herself. It was understandable, there had been quite a few losses since he had been here. It was affecting everyone worse than he thought. He then noticed Aurora leave in quite a hurry, she had gotten so upset. Ironclaw felt slightly guilty, maybe if he had stayed with her she may have not have had to leave like that. His foolish pride and awkwardness was getting in the way and stopped him actually connecting with Aurora. However he knew that Wintersong was now just as important to him in a different way. He took her hands, stood up and pulled her out of the chair. Ironclaw turned Wintersong's face and looked down at her. "If we stick together, we can get through it." he said letting her go.
Ironclaw then slowly moved passed her and went to Saberfang's quarters.

OOC: Welcome back Darspark! Hope you had fun!

BIC:

UNHAND ME DEMON!

Tarantulas snarled at Arachnitron in response to the Predacon regaining control. Her optics widened in surprise at his tone. She moaned in agony. The Predacon programming would not lay down without a fight.

When Tarantulas realized that she was, indeed, the Hybrid once again. He approached her much more gently.

Sssshhhh, there there my dear, everything is going to be alright, nothing has transpired here that can't be fixed or endangers our alliance. We can still make it through this together, but the sooner I access your core and implant the chip, the better off we'll both be, clearly your other selves disagree with the obvious benefits mental stability would provide in your life."

It was true what he said. Her alters must be happy being unstable and psychotic. The Maximal was almost always paranoid and the Predacon was angry and hateful. She was destructive and she bullied the others into submission. The Hybrid was forced to endure all of this and say nothing. Well, not anymore! She narrowed her optics in a sudden wave of determination and she stood up, shakily, but feeling more confident. She would put an end to this here and now. She was in control; not the others! Though the pain still weighed heavy on her body, she felt a surge of hope that an end to this torment was on its way.

"Please, Hybrid....try to see reason. He's manipulating you into doing what he says. He won't actually help you! He'll enslave you!" the Maximal programming insisted.

"Enslave me as you have done?" The Hybrid challenged coldly. This halted the Maximal's protests.

The Predacon was livid. "HYBRID! I have damaged this body once! I will do it again! Do as I say or feel my wrath!"

"You don't scare me. Do what you want, but you won't stop him. Damage me and he'll implant the chip while I'm in stasis lock. He tolerates you even less than I do."

The Predacon programming fell silent. The Maximal programming, too, said nothing more. There was nothing more they could say. Both of them acknowledged that the Hybrid was lost to them, influenced by Tarantulas and his empty promises. She placed some misguided trust in him in her desperation to lift the constant veil of confusion that was ever hanging over her. The Maximal understood this and would forgive her in the end. She knew that she and the Predacon programming were to blame for all of this. They had made her resent them. They were constantly competing for the Hybrid's allegiance. They never once stopped to think about what she had to say. Usually when the Hybrid was in control, the Maximal or Predacon personalities would speak to her inside of her mind controlling her actions. She couldn't imagine the damage their constant quarreling must have caused. That was the only explanation she could come up with for the Hybrid's rapid psychological deterioration. The Maximal sighed in defeat.

The Predacon was angry that she hadn't thought of this little trick first. Imagine, to be rid of the other two personalities and have the body all to herself! She couldn't believe that the Hybrid had pulled this off! She cleverly manipulated the Predacon programming into believing that she couldn't contain the Maximal and needed to switch places. She saw now that the Hybrid had been planning this all along. She played coy for a while to convince the other spider of her naivety, but, in truth, she was just waiting out the moment when she could be in complete control of the body!

And perhaps part of that was true. The Hybrid had already decided she would accept Tarantulas' offer before he even told her what it was, but she didn't want to seem too eager so she stalled for a bit. And perhaps she also knew that in agreeing to this she was giving up her freedom to act on her own and would have to do the spider's bidding for a while before he really did help her for real. But, right now, she had two masters controlling her thoughts and actions....and once Tarantulas implanted the chip, she would have one less master to please. But her thoughts would be her own. That was what was most attractive about this new plan. Her thoughts would finally be her own.

Tarantulas placed one of his pincers on her shoulder interrupting her thoughts.

Are you ready?

Arachnitron hesitated for a moment wondering what she would do if this didn't work as he said it would. Who knows what the Predacon would do to her if, after Tarantulas' tampering, she was still present. But she put her concerns aside. She had to do this or she would be at the mercy of her conflicting personalities for the rest of her life.

"Yes," she finally answered much more calmly than she had been before. "I'm looking forward to being rid of them." Her voice was thick with hatred and disdain for her alter egos. It certainly must have sounded like the Predacon speaking for a moment, but her green optics revealed otherwise.

She was ready. She was ready to start a new life; one without her multiple personalities.