(( OOC: If Tantrum is heading in Megatron's direction, me thinks Rattrap and Cheetor will be high-tailing it out of there very soon.
They should anyway and return to base and regroup with the rest of the Maximals, while Megatron should round up his Preds and begin their decent on the Axalon as Whitegrazer goes starchasing. Just a direction and timing to think about for everyone.
))
"Rattrap, I hate to say it," "but the dog is 100% out to get me. I'd try to close the distance and bring the fight to some awkward kind of stalemate and say something and figure him out and all that stuff, because I'm still not sure what his story is, but, uh... the flying dinosaur's getting close, too--" "and he's not gonna let anything like that happen. Maybe it's time we bailed."
"Dis was probably a lost cause since the beginning," Rattrap replied to Cheetor over their transmission even though he still had doubts about the wolf/eagle Fuzor. Did the rodent really want to agree and give up or was he just being a coward? No, it was the right thing to do. The cat was right. They were way outnumbered and overpowered.
"No sense gettin' ourselves kil-" Silence. His link was abruptly severed.
A sharp pain was felt on his upper back which caused the dragster-like rodent to swerve uncontrollably and flip on his side, rolling sideways several times from the speed he was traveling at and the power of Steelclaw's shot. Little rocks and dust kicked up all over the place from his tumbling until he finally came to a stop by some boulders. Rattrap's vehicle mode automatically deactivated and he laid there motionless on his TransMetal beast mode stomach, a couple of sparks bouncing out of his fresh, deep wound and one of his rear wheels still spinning with a wobble on his back before it finally locked into place.
"Oy..." he groaned, wiggling his shiny toes and gently lifting his linked tail as he slowly came to.
"Lucky shot... Just ain't my day," he muttered, covered in scratches and dirt now.
-----
"While Tigatron and I were carrying the blank pod back here, Aurora somehow snuck away. It wasn't until I felt her pain and lingering sense of fear and overwhelming rivers of other emotions that I realized she was gone. I raced there, following her soul's calls, when I saw her injured body along with that of Nemesis."
Listening to Whitegrazer's explanation while he worked, Rhinox tried visualizing and piecing together Aurora's actions or what made her do what she did. What exactly had transpired? How did she injure Nemesis so badly on her own? This intrigued the rhinoceros. He was fully aware of the opportunist Aurora was, who had learned a lot of tricks thanks to Rattrap and Whitegrazer, but he still wanted to hear the whole scenario. He may have to wait until Aurora was done with her repairs.
Fumbling a little with his damaged fingers and hands, the partially blackened Maximal grumbled at himself and the pain he briefly felt when he pinched his fingers with the cover he hinged together to the machine. The majority of the smoke and smell of gun fire had since wafted out of the command center through the still-opened roof hatch above their heads but the place was still an utter mess.
"Maybe Aurora saw her and ran towards her to try and fight her herself to protect us. The only reason I believe why she would do that.I can't confirm Nemesis's status. I left her there. Aurora's injuries were very severe. My main focus was on her."
Rhinox's red optics shifted to Whitegrazer for a moment, studying that tiny bit of doubt he heard in her voice and saw in her optic sensors.
"I'm certain Nemesis will make her own recovery," he told the mare. She certainly had the capability of doing so with her fascinating nanotech.
"Had you hung around any longer, you could have risked injury to yourself or an ambush. Besides, I'm not so sure she would have shown you the same compassion or appreciated it from you." He wondered then what Nemesis might have revealed to Aurora. They were lucky things hadn't gone worse... Aurora was so brave.
"Since Aurora is recovering, if I'm not needed here, I will go myself and make sure of Nemesis."
"You're needed here," said the robust, green and brown Maximal as a matter of fact. He turned for a moment to type in some commands on the console he had his secret machine rigged up to, and suddenly there was power to it as a low hum could be heard.
"I need you here," Rhinox corrected himself. Turning around to face the tall, white female, he approached her and lowered his voice so no one else in close proximity could hear.
"I don't suppose your connection with Optimus still exists after death," he said softly, almost as a question rather than a statement.
"If not, this device should help you. I need you to find his spark, Whitegrazer, and bring it back. You'll use your core-conscience in this machine which should take you into the farthest depths of the Matrix while there is still a window of opportunity opened. The machine will be attached to the blank protoform you and Tigatron retrieved. If my calculations are correct, and you're successful... and with a lot of luck, we just might be able to bring Optimus back from his untimely demise. However, it's going to be extremely risky," he emphasized.
"If you're gone too long, you will be lost as well. I won't be able to bring you back. But I think the connection you two share will make it easier and quicker for both of you to find each other. Do you understand what I'm trying to do? Are you comfortable performing this mission? It will require steady hands and unwavering concentration; both of which make you more than qualified."
-----
"What does Rhinox need this stasis pod for exactly?"
"He hasn't said," Tigatron answered Saber-Fang honestly as they carried the pod out of the hangar and into a corridor.
"He hasn't exactly had the time to explain or take questions, but I imagine he has an idea of some sort or wants to help someone some how." Who, he did not know, or even how. Rhinox always knew what he was doing, though, and as curious as the white tiger was, he didn't want to interfer or distract the
Axalon's engineer from his work with questions that he did not understand.
"How have you been, Saber-Fang?" Tigatron asked in a casual manner seeing as he hadn't seen her a long while.
))
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Aurora and Ironclaw are currently occupying the CR chambers near the bridge. She could probably use the one in the Nomad in the Axalon's hangar, though, if you want. In any case, a Predacon attack on the Maximal base is inevitable and will happen very soon. Any and all functioning Maximals will need to be present to help fight off the Preds before Optimus comes back to rub Megatron's failure in his face.