The Intergalactic Highway

OOP wrote: Crouching low to the ground, Rattrap strafed some of the TransMetal spider's cyber venom shots and finally stood up, lifting Rhinox's chain gun out in front of him with both hands. "Say hello to my 'lil friend!" he shouted back at Tarantulas, immediately pulling the trigger and firing off several rounds of bullets toward him. It mercilessly shook Rattrap's arms and he had no idea how Big Green was always so accurate with it but he tried maintaining his aim and keeping his balance.

"Stick to guns your own size, vermin, Hehahahaha!" Tarantulas mocked, ducking to the side to evade his inaccurate shots, chuckling at the sight of such a frail maximal trying to wield a weapon meant for someone several times his height and weight.

Blackrosefencer wrote: Gun shots. Hearing the shots towards Tarantulas sobered Arachnitron immediately. The future played out in Arachnitron's mind in seconds and without Tarantulas, her future would be grim at best. Not only would she be targeted without him around to repair the Inhibitor Chip and keep the Maximal programming at bay, but she would be lost without his guidance. She needed him.

"TARANTULAS!" she cried out fearfully. Pushing past her own pain, she climbed up over the rocks she had been using as cover, but Rattrap had disappeared for a moment. She raced across the battlefield to see how Tarantulas fared after taking the shots from Rhinox' chain gun weapon.

Before she could reach Tarantulas, Rattrap appeared again armed with his rat tail turned sword. She noticed one of the other Predacons flying above and firing at the rat. Even though she knew he'd be taken care of, she didn't care. She had no idea what he had done to Tarantulas. He may have missed for all she knew, but she didn't care. She was angry that he had fired at Tarantulas at all. She turned towards Rattrap with an icy glare. Without a moment's hesitation, she raised her cybervenom launcher and fired at him hoping to hit him square in the chest. She didn't speak a word, she just sent him a look of intense anger as an explanation for her actions in exchange for what he had done to Tarantulas.

Before Tarantulas even had a chance to return fire on the rat, his newest pawn, Arachnitron, had done it for him.

"The concern is appreciated my dear, but the rat couldn't hit the broadside of Omega Supreme" Tarantulas explained, pleased by her fanatical devotion to him, or perhaps how well he'd brainwashed her into believing he was her only hope of maintaining her flimsy sanity.

He'd heard her screaming "no no not again!" earlier, though given the scene playing out before them he had no time to question her, though he'd have to be mindful of any changes in her behavior, last thing he needed at a critical moment like this was for his new tool to go full maximal or predacon on him. For now he'd keep an eye on her while focusing on the task at hand, firing more of his missiles & cybervenom shots to bombard the wounded maximal's where they lay, beaten and broken.

OOP wrote: Those words from Megatron... Anger filled up in his new chest. These were his friends, his family, that his nemesis was about to kill so joyfully. What was wrong with Megatron? How could he do this? Primal's sharp teeth ground together in fury. No more time to wait. He had enough. This was it. His Maximals needed his help before it was too late. ...He hoped he wasn't too late...

BOOM!

A loud explosion erupted from the side of the Axalon and before the smoke could clear, Optimus holstered his gun and stood there in the new opening with confidence and defiance. His orange optics quickly surveyed his injured Maximals before scanning over the Predacons, recognizing most, with or without TransMetal upgrades, while discovering a rather new, big guy. Now, what was something he always said so that they could recognize him and turn all of their attention to him? Ah yes...

"Well, that's just prime!" Optimus Primal called out in a deep and confident voice, looking straight into Megatron's optics and adding a smug smile to his infamous quote, purposely antagonizing the tyrant. Just when Megatron thought he got rid of him for good in the most cowardly action, there was no way the Predacon leader could resist his return from the dead. And as predictable as Megatron was, Optimus was prepared for him to order all of his minions to unload their firepower solely onto him even though he was only one Maximal clearly outnumbered and outgunned. While he waited for them to attack, he familiarized himself with the readings and settings that his internal computer was sending him. An alternative vehicle mode with flight? Excellent. The clubs on his back were also personal "auto-guns"? Excellent. Primal could handle this, yessss.

His fun interrupted for the moment, Tarantulas turned his attention away from executing maximals to look up at the explosion overhead...Only to behold a sight that should not be possible, a sight that made his mech fluid run cold and his uni-eye widen in fear, a gasp of shock being all he could say in response to this sudden madness.

It was Optimus Primal, he knew that self-righteous voice anywhere, but he was dead! He'd witnessed the maximal leader die in the transwarp explosion with his own optics, he'd sabotaged the stasis pod's controls personally, there was literally NO WAY he could have escaped a blast that size, he should have been vaporized instantly and his extinguished spark sent screaming to the Pit! And yet here he was, alive and fully intact, worse than that, he'd evolved into a transmetal the same as he, so there was no telling what manner of new weapons and abilities the big ape had at his disposal. In the back of his mind he recalled how Primal's own namesake, Optimus Prime, had returned from the dead to save the Autobots from the Hate Plague centuries ago, despite having been struck down by the original Megatron himself...A tale he'd always felt maximal scholars had embellished to glorify their ancient leader more than he already had been, and yet here Primal was, repeating his ancestor's legendary feat and acting nonchalant about it.

Had he done the same as Tarantulas? Downloaded his mind into another's body until his own could be repaired? Unlikely given the ape's mindset and the manner of his demise, but what other explanation was there besides the impossible? Had the Matrix itself given him back to the maximals? Was he an immortal mutant like Starscream? Had Primus himself played a hand in this untimely resurrection?...Nonsense, Primal was no avenging Prime of myth and legend, he was merely a maximal who'd cheated fate somehow, and would not do so again! Despite these thoughts of reassurance, Tarantulas did not yet open fire on the undead maximal, for he, like every other predacon present, was still stunned into silence and trying to accept the reality of their greatest enemy returning to punish them all right at the very moment of their greatest victory.


OOC: I'll post for Terrorsaur tomorrow gang, hopefully WorpeX will have posted for Airazor by then :3

WorpeX wrote: "Well, that got his attention." Airazor said to herself sarcastically. Her opponent came rushing towards her faster than she ever saw him go in her entire life. Holding her ground, the falcon kept firing her barrage of machine gun fire at him. It wasn't until too late that she realized that Terrorsaur was not going to stop. Instead, he slammed into her like a freight train - knocking Airazor out cold. She had no recollection of anything her opponent had said or done between that time and when she finally hit the ground

THUMP

Landing on her back, her optics immediate sprang back to life. All they could see was 2 missles streaking towards her location. Acting quickly, Airazor lifted her arm and shot off one of her own missiles towards them and luckily was able to detonate it before she was obliterated by Terrorsaur's. Sighing with relief, she attempted to stand back up and find her assailant... but found herself unable to move. Pain began to rush through her body like a tidal wave. The beating she had been given while offline was already taking its toll. Her back felt as if it was on fire and if her stomach had a hole in it, she would not be surprised. "Ughhh..." She groaned, tasting mech fluid in her own mouth.

"...Comes the dawn..."



Turning her head away from the sky, she could see that she had fallen only a few feet away from the rest of the maximals. They were all in sorry shape, yet the predicons were still there in full force. How could it end like this? She thought. The Maximal's devoted their lives to preserving this sacred world... and it was all for nothing. The Predicon's would wipe out all life forms as if it were a game. Nature's delicate balance would be destroyed. The world would become Megatron's playground. All of its Energon reserves would then be used towards defeating Cybertron. It was all because the Maximal's had failed. How could it end like this?

"RAWK! That's right Airfailure! I'm Terrorsaur, KING OF THE AIR! No beats me in my element, NO ONE! HAHAHAHA!" Terrorsaur laughed maniacally, enjoying every precious moment of his former rival's misery as she lay beaten and broken mere inches from her comrades, soon to die together in glorious agony.

It didn't matter that she had survived his last attack, she was finished and she knew it, the maximals were beaten and the predacons had won the Beast Wars once and for all! The only way this moment could have been any better is if he himself were leading the predacons to victory instead of that lugnut Megatron, but he supposed a pred couldn't have everything he wanted in life...At least not yet, the day was still young after all. But first things first, time to send Airazor to meet her autobot ancestors back in the Matrix.

Terrorsaur's eyes gleamed with energy as he prepared to burn her alive with his optic lasers, a sadistic grinning etched across his face, proud that his handsome smile would be the last thing this maximal ever saw in this world.

"Keep yer eye on the birdie!" Terrorsaur jeered one last time before...

Phoenix wrote:
Optimus Primal wrote:"Well, that's just prime!"



Hearing that voice stopped her in her tracks, causing her to slowly lower the sword again while turning towards the origin of the voice.

The appearance might have changed, yet there was little doubt who the robot standing there was.

"Primal!," Megatron roared, immediately renewing his focus on destruction with a newfound determination.

It had to be! But how..?

Well, the how did not really matter right now. Optimus' unexpected return might cause him to live up to his predessessor's name, but Megatron had no desire to let his enemy's return fuel a sensation of hope in the remaining Maximals.

Noooo... Optimus, provided this upstart indeed was the true bearer of the name, would not live long enough to enjoy his precious Maximals' glee upon seeing him return.

"Predacons.. Destroy him!," Megatron ordered while gesturing at the newcomer, completely ignoring the remaining Maximals.

(ooc: I thought the intent was to have Ironclaw clean house inside while Primal takes care of things outside?

Great posts, guys!)

Terrorsaur looked up sharply like everyone else at the sound of the explosion from the Axalon, expecting anyone else other than...HIM!

"Rawk?!" Terrorsaur squawked in fright and confusion, the laser energy fading from his eyes as Megatron himself identified this new maximal as Optimus Primal himself, a maximal who's remains should have been decorating space right about now instead of looking bigger and badder than ever as yet another newborn transmetal.

How could this happen? Everything was going so well! They were winning! HE WAS WINNING! How dare this ghost or goblin or freak of nature appear out of nowhere and interrupt his crowning moment of triumph? SLAG HIM!

"Primal, so kind of you to come back just so we can slag you all over again! RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed, trying to sound as confident as he'd been feeling all day rather than scared out of his wits, gladly following Megatron's orders for once as he fired as many missiles as he possibly could at Primal, determined to blow him back into outer space one way or the other.

((I think I shouldn't wait any longer. X.X))

"Release her!"

"Hey! Let her go you overgrown furball!"

Starshadow's gaze turned to the direction of where the voices were coming from. She was about to say something but chaingun bullets shot her back, causing her to loosen her grip on Whitegrazer. The next thing was Whitegrazer's palm strike, letting her neck go because of her arm joint.

"I don't fear death. What greater way to be at life's end than around my comrades, my family? It would be an honor for such valiant warriors and... valiant friends."

Though Whitegrazer's words brought Starshadow's painful memories of her past, that was not going to stop her for giving her a death with her last time of seeing the sunrise. It was her time for her divine execution and she accepted...to die with her dyind comrades! Starshadow looked up was about to deliver the killing blow until a certain Maximal came into the picture.

"Well, that's just prime!"

I can't be..Optimus, can it?! But he was dead! Starshadow snarled and held Mortem with her other hand since the arm she used to hold the equinebot was damaged with a few of her fingers twitching slightly due to the voltage of the current. Screw this slag... she thought with a growl and took a few steps back. "Starshadow to Cecaelia, do you read me?"

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

((I'll just continue from what Mystrea posted for Ironclaw except for his environment mistake thingy so that the RP can go on smoothly.))

Cecaelia was caught off guard when she heard missles were fired. Her tentacles quickly came forward and acted as shields. Smoke shrouded over her, this was a big mistake for ruining her tentacles. The external layers were burnt and torn, showing damaged silver cables with flickering ember lights and sparks emitting from it. The octofemme roared, switching her gattling cannon from gattling mode to buster mode and blasted a large ember colored beam at the Maximal.

"Starshadow to Cecaelia, do you read me?"

"I'M A LITTLE TIED UP NOW! SOME SLAGBAG RUINED MY PAINTJOB!" she snarled in the comlinks and ran towards the battlefield.

A sigh could be heard from the comlinks, "anyway, the big monkey's back if you have heard the explosion. Don't let your guard down. Who are you even fighting with? Most of the Maximals are outside, beaten and look like metal scraps and I assume you are too since I can see where you are by just looking at your beautiful light show."

"SOME BIG GUY! HE'S SO DEAD!"

Starshadow thought for a moment. The only big sized maximals she knew were Optimus, Rhinox, Dinobot and Orcariner. So who was she fighting with..? Ironclaw. He should not be a problem to Cecaelia. She is a big girl after all.

Just like he had ordered his troops to show no mercy, Megatron lead them forward true to his words. The Maximals would receive no benevolence this day. This sunrise would mark the final chapter in their miserable lives.

He fired round after round at the helpless Maximals, no longer bothering to shoot at any specific target. They were all destined to die after all. The tyrant had no intention of halting his assault until every single one of their sparks had been extinguished in the swiftest and most brutal way possible. Upon carrying out this act, Megatron was taking great satisfaction in watching his foes' defiance and willingness to fight against impossible odds change into desperation and then hopelessness within a short few moments. A less ruthless leader might say that their enemies had fought valiantly, but not Megatron. All was progressing as it should be. The Maximals were fools to have set out to try to interfere with his plans in the first place and now they were paying the price. First he had taken out their leader, then forced them out of their base, and now only a few pests remained to be exterminated.

Albeit his own Predacons had not gone without injuries, it were the Maximals who were taking the blunt of the damage. It would all be over very soon. The constant noises created by explosions, shooting firearms, and the dying whimpers of his enemies, all melded together to form a symphony of sorts. Now this was his idea of perfection.

An explosion caught Megatron's attention amidst countless others. It seemed to come from the Axalon itself. A quick glance revealed that a hole was now present in the wall of the ship and in front of it an unknown robot held his ground.

Did the Maximals have members that had not yet been accounted for?

Megatron temporarily seized his attack, staring at the newcomer who seemed strangely familiar even though he was certain he had never laid optics on him before.

How dare he?


Upon seeing that Arachnitron was joining the fray against Rattrap, Nemesis' face lit up in a smile as she gave the female arachnid a chance to finish the job. Nemesis had not forgotten about her initial short, but very much so significant, meeting with the spider. Her optics looked a little different, the color seemingly off, but the transmetalized avian paid it no heed after seeing Arachnitron's true intent to harm her former comrades. Perhaps she could still use her at some point in the future, but for right now she was just another helping hand in this battle. It was indeed refreshing to see the tormented female find her own in this world.

Some random shots almost grazed her but were not close enough to do any actual damage, yet Nemesis decided to move.

With a nod to acknowledge the actions of the other femme, Nemesis landed on the ground below. She wanted to get up close and personal with the remaining Maximals as she terminated them, so her swords seemed a much better weapon of choice. She had to do this intimately, making sure they knew how they would die while making the event swift.

Holding Optimus' sword in one hand and the sai in her other, she moved in from the side so that she could cut off any chance the Maximals might have at attempting escape. Taking note of Whitegrazer, finding it fitting to end one of Optimus' closest friends' life by his own sword, she raised the sword arm and moved in for the kill.

Optimus Primal wrote:"Well, that's just prime!"

Hearing that voice stopped her in her tracks, causing her to slowly lower the sword again while turning towards the origin of the voice.

The appearance might have changed, yet there was little doubt who the robot standing there was.

"Primal!," Megatron roared, immediately renewing his focus on destruction with a newfound determination.

It had to be! But how..?

Well, the how did not really matter right now. Optimus' unexpected return might cause him to live up to his predessessor's name, but Megatron had no desire to let his enemy's return fuel a sensation of hope in the remaining Maximals.

Noooo... Optimus, provided this upstart indeed was the true bearer of the name, would not live long enough to enjoy his precious Maximals' glee upon seeing him return.

"Predacons.. Destroy him!," Megatron ordered while gesturing at the newcomer, completely ignoring the remaining Maximals.

(ooc: I thought the intent was to have Ironclaw clean house inside while Primal takes care of things outside?

Great posts, guys!)

"It won't be a dogfight Featherhead, IT'LL BE A MASSACRE! RRRRAAAAAWWWWWK!"

"Well, that got his attention." Airazor said to herself sarcastically. Her opponent came rushing towards her faster than she ever saw him go in her entire life. Holding her ground, the falcon kept firing her barrage of machine gun fire at him. It wasn't until too late that she realized that Terrorsaur was not going to stop. Instead, he slammed into her like a freight train - knocking Airazor out cold. She had no recollection of anything her opponent had said or done between that time and when she finally hit the ground

THUMP

Landing on her back, her optics immediate sprang back to life. All they could see was 2 missles streaking towards her location. Acting quickly, Airazor lifted her arm and shot off one of her own missiles towards them and luckily was able to detonate it before she was obliterated by Terrorsaur's. Sighing with relief, she attempted to stand back up and find her assailant... but found herself unable to move. Pain began to rush through her body like a tidal wave. The beating she had been given while offline was already taking its toll. Her back felt as if it was on fire and if her stomach had a hole in it, she would not be surprised. "Ughhh..." She groaned, tasting mech fluid in her own mouth.

"...Comes the dawn..."

Turning her head away from the sky, she could see that she had fallen only a few feet away from the rest of the maximals. They were all in sorry shape, yet the predicons were still there in full force. How could it end like this? She thought. The Maximal's devoted their lives to preserving this sacred world... and it was all for nothing. The Predicon's would wipe out all life forms as if it were a game. Nature's delicate balance would be destroyed. The world would become Megatron's playground. All of its Energon reserves would then be used towards defeating Cybertron. It was all because the Maximal's had failed. How could it end like this?

---

"Predacons!," "Show no mercy! Destroy them; now!"

Manterror had retreated back towards his comrades. Somehow still alive. He was quite pleased that his allies were able to completely overwhelm the Maximal's without his help. They would likely be destroyed ALREADY if Manterror had actually tried to fight. Ha! Still, it didn't matter. They would die now.

Looking towards the broken and beaten Maximals, Manterror spun up his claw blades and walked towards them. It was time for them all to die!!!

---

"Well, that's just prime!"

What? The voice of their deceased leader rang into Airazor's skull as if it were completely real. This can't be! Her mind raced for answers, but it wasn't until she saw the large form descend down upon her like an angel from heaven, did she believe it was true. Their leader had returned. And he was a transmetal too! Maybe there was hope after all...

Feeling a sudden surge of energy and confidence, Airazor was finally able to lift herself off of the ground. When she got to her feet she stood facing the full predicon force. Yet, she felt no fear. She was behind Optimus now. Primal could handle this.

---

"Predacons.. Destroy him!,"

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!" Manterror burst into laughter and began to fire wildly at Optimus Primal.

(Butthole? *LOL* We cut a hole in the side of the ship. Either way, Ironclaw shouldn't be far from the battle. Sorry, I had those two leave because Aurora overkilled the return of Sentinel, so rather then being shot to pieces by the security system, they left.

Also, considering the phonetag going on, you and Star can choose what you want to do Mystrea. )



Umbra stopped his climbing as he looked down, noticing Cecaelia in a fight against a Maximal that seemed in rather good shape compared to most the others outside. He looked towards the other Predacons as they seemed to be attacking a figure that shot a hole in the side of the Axalon, raising an optic ridge. Coming out of the woodwork aren't they? Hm.. Well orders are orders.. he muttered to himself, though even he found it pointless to try to get back inside the Axalon to take it over, if someone was that good at taking back the security system that fast, there's no way he'd be able to take the system back in the limited time span. But there was one still running around trying to attack them..

Resupply and find the hacker..

he turned facing towards the Axalon, then activated his jumpjet launching from the rock he'd been climbing, over to the side of the Axalon, using his tentacles to grip onto the haul as he landed. Swinging into the hole in the ship, he landed inside once again, then took cover against a wall.

A sudden spray of gunfire came from down the hall towards the area he had landed, then stopped as Sentinel's ceiling gun started looking for a target again.

Umbra's tentacles coiled around as his body took on a disguise, this time that of Cheetor. He looked over his hands, then put out his right arm extending it into the hall and waving it, the gun didn't react.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he then walked out into the hall muttering to himself I'm getting too old for this.. .. if I remembered how old I was? In his pursuit of greed, he still didn't put alot of thought in some of his damaged and missing memory banks, even now he was once again following his greedy intentions. Why was he in a Maximal stasis pod? Was he on the run, did they hire him? Well.. if they did, why did they refuse his services when offered later? Whitegrazer even seemed to know him. Perhaps, he'd need to look into if the Axalon had any information on himself..

But for now he had to focus..

Hmm, it would appear that this battle is going in Megatron's favor. Sonar thought.

"Predacons!," "Show no mercy! Destroy them; now!"

Sonar smirked, he wanted to see Megatron and the other Predacons finish the Maximals off before taking out Saber.

BOOM!

What in the name of Primus?! The bat thought startled by the sudden explosion.

Sonar continued to circle the battle field, he wanted to know what had caused that explosion.

"Well, that's just prime!"

Sonar's bottom jaw dropped when he heard then saw Optimus, then chuckled softly. Knowing that he would have to kill Saber another time.

"It would appear that you get to live to see another day, my sweet." Sonar said softly, making sure to stay in the sun so he wouldn't be spotted.

Wintersong continued to block what shots she could, but even she wasn't so certain her new jagged, looking blades would withstand much more firepower that the Predacons were sending out. Really it seemed like everything they had ever done was for nothing and even in their darkest hour they were slowly losing hope. But even among the chaos the white tigress had met Arachnitron's gaze, shock coming to her expression when seeing her mouthed apology which she never would have expected from the widow and for a moment she was almost certain maybe her former friend understood she hadn't truly meant what she said. They were words she could never take back and despite her own apology the feline femme hadn't thought she'd realize that. But her optics furrowed with seeing her suddenly attack Rattrap with trying to defend Tarantulas. This act actually made her furious towards the transmetal spider, wondering if he had somehow only brainwashed Arachnitron to be one of his lackies. He wasn't exactly above doing it that had become clear but it pained her to think Tarantulas might be seen as the only answer and that's why she might be loyal to him too.

Growling softly Wintersong tore her gaze away when suddenly hearing an explosion behind them, have worried that one of the Predacons were still inside only to stare in shock in seeing Primal himself! "No way..."Wintersong murmured, wondering if they were just seeing things but his famous words were not hard to miss and a grin broke out behind her battle mask. "I think we just got our miracles guys."She said with deep relief, but she quickly turned her attention back to their foes just in case they began firing upon them. And if they did the transmetal tigress grunted as she pushed herself up, wincing from her sore body and her injured leg which sent out sparks now and again but she lifted her swords up in a ready position if it meant having to once again helping to take down the Predacons.

Though Onyx wasn’t exactly afraid of Megatron he was cautious in where he stepped from now on, especially after he had already questioned the tyrant once before. But it was likely he might be reprimanded later for not really taking part in this senseless attempt of slaughter upon their enemies to which the black stallion wish he could do something. What different would it make though? Most of the Predacons were behind the t-rex so going against him wouldn’t exactly be the wisest of choices on his part so for now he could only stand back and watch helplessly.

Surprisingly, the bulky mech had noticed Arachnitron seeming to pause for a bit wondering what could be on her mind that would make her do so. Did she perhaps have some similar doubts to the slaughter? That would be surprising considering how loyal she seemed to Tarantulas…which seemed to shine through pretty quickly as she began to strike down Rattrap who was doing his best to try and endure the hits he was taking. Sighing slightly he kept his distance for the time being, not quite knowing what to do in this situation as he had already decided to keep away but that didn’t mean he might end up a target by one of his fellow Predacons. That was when the explosion from the Axalon suddenly snapped him from his thoughts.

Even Onyx couldn’t help staring in shock at seeing the sight of the newly upgraded and revived Primal. How did anyone survive a transwarp explosion like that?! His jaw dropped slightly as he couldn’t believe what was going on not to mention what could very well turn the battle in the favor of the Maximals once more.

======================================

Like the others Silverstreak could only do what she could to avoid the continuous wave of fire coming their way, even having to duck away from Inferno’s flames. She really hoped the Predacons would just hurry up already or somehow they could come up with some way to turn this fight around which was looking impossible the longer this fight with on. Her ears actually went back in dismay as the Predacons were practically looming over them, moving in like the predators they were to finish the job upon their prey. Unfortunately she had only a small amount of throwing knives she could use and even if she used the last of them there was likely no way it’d do much. No different than when she had tried with Steelclaw earlier who she had spotted among the force in front of them.

An explosion from behind made her cover her head slightly before glancing back towards the Axalon hull in confusion, wondering if a stray shot from Tantrum or Megatron had blown into the ship itself. They were the only ones on the field packing that kind of firepower. That was until the familiar voice of Optimus came from the hole, despite the fact she hadn’t known him much his voice wasn’t hard to miss. “Optimus is back!” She said with shock and excitement, feeling her hope return almost immediately before she took what she had left of her throwing knives and sending them towards the stunned Predacons or those now focusing upon the revived Maximal Commander.

(( OOC: OMG, Tarantulas is so cruel! You’re a little TOO good with him, Dark Spark. As well as Terrorsaur. LoL I love it.

FYI, Optimus hasn’t left the Axalon yet; I never said he did. He’s still standing in the spot inside the ship where he blew the hole open which is above the ground. So, WorpeX, if you still want Airazor behind him, she’ll be inside the corridor with him, and that’s fine with me because he’ll protect her, so I’m just giving you and others some clarification on his location.

Also jumping ahead just a tad in this when it comes to the Preds’ cease fire. I didn’t see a point breaking up my post just for every Predacon to acknowledge that they stopped firing at Optimus so he could then have his chance to fire back at them.. If any of them want to try and inflict damage upon him, then have them follow him. XD ))

BIC:

"Optimus!"

"I think we just got our miracles guys."

“Optimus is back!”

Primal heard Whitegrazer’s voice first and longed to be at her side. He had felt her pain and exhaustion, clearly in disarray though she’d fight as best as she could to help the others who may have been worse off than she was despite her condition and the abuse her body had already taken. Beyond that, however, he felt her joy and happiness and it fueled him positively. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t look at his Maximals at all even if they called out to him, he simply kept his optics attached on to Megatron since he wanted his and all of the Predacons’ focus entirely on him.

"Primal!"

Studying Megatron’s reaction, Optimus’s smile only grew a little bigger to entice the Predacon’s emotions to overreact and take control, and to acknowledge that his presumption was correct; his greatest adversary was back, and with an upgrade. The Predacons had no idea what he was capable of now, but to be fair, Optimus didn’t know their new abilities either. The best way to find out was to test them in battle. But the battle was not to be done here at the Axalon where there was already so much damage, fear and injured Maximals. No, Primal’s plan was to draw these Predacons away, using himself as bait, so that his comrades could regroup and find protection. He was fully charged, uninjured and had full ammunition unlike most of his opponents. Among the Predacons he saw Arachnitron was still in their ranks, and close to Tarantulas’s side who apparently survived the wrath of Inferno’s flames before Primal had even left the planet. Interesting. Manterror and Inferno were there, of course, as crazy as ever with their weapons and simple minds of destruction to all. He assumed the TransMetal fliers were Terrorsaur and Nemesis; as if they needed any more power going to their heads. Speaking of Nemesis, he had noticed she was holding one of his old swords that he had given to Aurora. Stolen property? He’d have to try and return it to its rightful owner if the opportunity should arise. As for this large fellow, well, he’d have to wait and see where his intelligence laid and firepower. But who or what was that that just made an explosion in front of the behemoth’s face and fell to the ground? He didn’t know but he hoped the little bot was all right.

"Predacons.. Destroy him!,"

Predictable, the Maximal Commander thought, and it didn’t take long for some of his misguided troops to follow his order. But Optimus wasn’t going to make it that easy for them.

"Primal, so kind of you to come back just so we can slag you all over again! RAWK!

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

Almost all at once, a thunderous barrage of firepower descended upon Optimus as he stood in the opening he created, and now with Airazor behind him, but since he was expecting this, he had quickly turned and grabbed the blast shield he had leaning against the wall of the corridor and held it before him as it covered his entire upper body as well as the falcon’s crouching behind him, one foot planted farther back as he braced for the impacts. He could feel the heat of the blasts with his arms, hands and face through the shield as it absorbed the intensity and blocked all of it from hitting them. Some shots flew by past his sides and over his head only to hit the wall and floor. His nose picked up the scents of smoke, heated metal and desperation. Pounding after pounding but he didn’t budge. Like a mountain, it appeared he couldn’t be moved or taken down. Primal waited patiently for them to stop firing before their guns and barrels overheated to see if he was still standing before he dropped the shield, letting it clang loudly against the floor, and glaring at his opponents’ despicable attempt at trying to defeat him again. Not a single scratch on him. If he could look invincible, beginning with resurrection, maybe, just maybe, it would make Megatron think twice about how powerful he thought he was.

“MY turn!” Primal proclaimed deeply but loud and clear, his smile gone with seriousness in its wake, and activated his personal “auto-guns”. The armored pack on his back along with this shoulder plates lifted up over his head and locked into place over his chest. He put his hands behind his shoulder plates which were now acting as shields for them, and targeted the first line of Predacons with a holographic crosshair that appeared between his duel clubs, beginning with Megatron, the biggest one ((Tantrum)), Manterror, Tarantulas and Arachnitron and began firing. With as much power that his clubs-turned-guns were producing, as if they were one of the Axalon’s turrets, he had to keep one foot back farther than the other again to keep himself stabilized. And even then both of his feet were slowly sliding backwards across the metal flooring after every consecutive shot. Once those three scattered, then he swept across toward Inferno, Nemesis, Starshadow and Terrorsaur. He even fired a few shots at Onyx and Steelclaw, but intentionally missed them. Whether his shots were direct hits or not on the others, he wasn’t too worried about it because all Optimus really wanted to do was break them up, instill fear into them, and make them retreat.

Just in case that wasn’t enough for some of them, like Megatron and Terrorsaur who never knew when to quit, Primal deactivated his miniature gun turret that automatically settled back onto his back and turned to his fellow aerial Maximal to say, “Airazor, make sure the base is safe for the others to return and fend off any Predacons who linger in our territory.” Without explaining his plan or telling her where he was going, he quickly hopped into his vehicle mode, immediately hovering above the floor he had been standing on. A vibrant blue and very shiny gorilla was clearly his beast form now with not a single piece or patch of fur, and with bright pink optics in contrast to his metallic blue face. His vehicle mode was that of some sort of hover board, which he had to admit was a little tricky at first but he was determined to give it a test flight despite being pursued by very dangerous Predacons who likely already knew how to use their new vehicular alterations and desperately wanted to kill him. Again. His hip-holstered gun was now the thruster for his acceleration and deceleration, the engines making the hovering even capable were located underneath it and steering was all up to his balance and movement of his body, arms, and legs which were attached the board. For a tight departure from the Axalon, he grabbed the side of the board with one of his hands and pulled it up until he got to the altitude and direction he wanted to head in - away from the Maximal base - releasing his hand and leveling out with the outraged Predacons in tow. He hoped some of them would follow, especially Megatron, so they’d finally leave his crew alone and forget about them, giving them an opportunity to find cover and help those who may have been consumed by stasis lock.

“Rattrap,” Optimus radioed to him while flying off and getting accustomed to his new body. “As far as I know, Sentinel’s defenses are back to normal thanks to Aurora, but it had damaged her and Silverbolt in the process. Both are in the CR chambers. Get everyone else inside for manual repairs as soon as Airazor deems it safe. I’ll be back. Optimus out.”

-----

Despite Inferno’s attempt to burn them alive, Rattrap had noticed how close Nemesis was getting to Whitegrazer and feared for her life. He saw the sword she was holding with her sai in her other hand, seemingly ready to finish the mare off for good with the last thing that remained of their fallen leader. How fitting. Slagging Predacons. He was ready to grab the Predacon’s ankle with his tail whip so that he could yank it and try to pull her off her feet but a loud explosion interrupted all of them; although Starshadow seemed preoccupied with something else on her mind. Or in her mind? Or was she communicating with Cecaelia? At any rate, it came from the Axalon…

"Well, that's just prime!"

Impossible… Optimus was dead. They all saw it. They all heard the computer say so. That couldn’t be him. It was just a trick. …Wasn’t it? If that was really him, maybe they’d actually live to see another day after this brutal massacre that Megatron had been enjoying so much. Judging by that t-rex’s reaction, who seemed just as surprised as everyone else who knew that Primal had been dead for certain, it really was their fearless leader. He just couldn’t fathom how. But who cared! He was back!

"Optimus!"

“Yes…” Rhinox sputtered with a raspy but somehow optimistic voice, “It worked…” He smiled at Whitegrazer, hope finally returning to what was dwindling in fear and chaos, filling his entire being with joy and gratefulness. Everything will be all right now, he thought. Now the Predacons could see what the Maximals were capable of and how much they always tended to underestimate them. They had found a way to bring the dead back to life. Well, for at least this one time. Friends they had lost beforehand were too late to resurrect. Still, much of this was nothing short of a miracle. He didn’t know if his machine would’ve actually worked, and Whitegrazer had had a difficult time getting him back. He still had no idea what either of them had went through but perhaps that would be shared later on.

Hearing the mare and the rhinoceros, Rattrap had a feeling both of them knew about this but failed to let anyone else in on their secret. Sure, they probably had their reasons, but they could’ve let him know! This was astonishing! They brought the monkey back! But was he the same as before besides his TransMetal upgrade? Had his personality or core conscience been changed at all? Did he still have all of his memories? …And then he left. Optimus left. Wait, where was he going?! Maybe it was an attempt to lead Megatron away before he could take anymore lives from this team of remarkably brave Maximals who were in fact facing death.

“Rattrap,” “As far as I know, Sentinel’s defenses are back to normal thanks to Aurora, but it had damaged her and Silverbolt in the process. Both are in the CR chambers. Get everyone else inside for manual repairs as soon as Airazor deems it safe. I’ll be back. Optimus out.”

Yep. Still seemed like the same fearless leader that the rodent remembered. Rattrap couldn’t help but smile at the situation, and hearing Primal’s voice over his comm. link again. “Copy that, Boss Monkey,” he returned as he struggled to get to his feet with his wounds and the transmission was ended. He was saddened to hear Aurora's condition; no wonder he hadn't heard from her. But at least Optimus had found her and rescued her. Boy, if she only knew! But what had she been doing with that Silverbolt guy? He was a Predacon! Sort of. Technically...? Was he the one who had actually hurt Aurora or was it really Sentinel under the Homewrecker virus? What kind of lies could he have told Primal? And how could Optimus just offer him use one of their repair chambers when more of their own Maximals clearly needed it sooner than a silly Predacon wannabe did? It wasn't that long ago when the wolf/eagle Fuzor had snatched him up and dropped him over a canyon! The fall could've severely injured him if Cheetor hadn't caught him in time. He still wasn't sure if that been on purpose or an attempt to hide his lie from Megatron. If it ain't the felines tryin' ta kill me, it's the canines! he thought. Apparently their leader still had that "flaw" of trusting too much. Whatever really happened to both of them, they'd find out soon enough after their repairs, so right now he focused on Nemesis and Starshadow.

((OOC: Hey OOP, last thing Rattrap remembers, wasn't Silverbolt a Predacon who dropped him into a ravine? I'm not sure he was aware that he and Aurora were working together specifically. I thought he might have a little more ¿Qué pasó? reaction. Or a "Dat featherheaded mutt tried to drop me!" kinda thing. ))

Tantrum was knocked off his feet and driven to his knees by the force of the blast from Stag's demolition charge; his electro-sword sent flying through the air out of his grasp. Tantrum grunted. Even for a gargantuan bot of his size and armor, those demolition charges pack quite a wallop. Tantrum got back to his feet just in time to see the side of the Axalon get blown out. As the smoke cleared, he saw a new target present himself. A pristine new Maximal ready to be pumped full of holes.

"Predacons.. Destroy him!," ordered the Predacon leader.

Tantrum fired a punishing volley in Optimus's direction with his 40mm gatling until his weapon locked back on an empty chamber, having expended all of his available ammunition. As the Predacon fire diminished, he was disappointed to he the Maximal had cowardly taken refuge behind a blast shield. "Hey, dat is not fair! Come out here so I can shoot you better!" he jeered.

Optimus returned fire, his shots impacting Tantrum, jarring and staggering the giant, driving him backwards. As the Maximal turned to fire at other Predacons, Tantrum shook off the damage, blast marks from Optimus's barrage visible on the titan's armor. Tantrum was getting irritated. As the Maximal took to the air to flee, Tantrum fired a hasty volley of solid slug from his railguns at the retreating Maximal. Part of Tantrum's volley missed Optimus by a wide margin and blasted forcefully into the Axalon. Unfortunately for Tantrum, in his haste to shoot at the fleeing Maximal, he neglected to deploy his outriggers for stabilization and the force of the railgun sent him hurtling backwards on his skidplate.

"I'm not done with you yet. I'm coming for you!" he yelled after Optimus as he transformed into his vehicle mode and gave pursuit from the ground.

As Ironclaw charged forward he could see that his weapons fire was doing minor damage to her make shift shield. A shield which was comprised of her own tenticals, curiours. He kept moving but to his dismay the female Predacon lowered her defenses and brought up her weapon of choice. She had taken aim and opened fire. The gun released a beam of energy which came straight for him. Instanly he decided to maneuver out of thw way, hoping that it would miss him. As his cannons folded back into his forearms he sadly not quick enough. As he attempted to swing his body to the side but the beam caught his shoulder. In addition to causing damage to the armour, it made him stagger as he ran at her. Then he rushed her. Ironclaw swung one arm up in an arc, making the back of his hand make contact with the barrel of her gun. He hoped it would knock off her aim so he could close in and deal some damage. His second hand thrusted forward, fingers spread wide aiming right for her chest. Being able to grab her bodily, he again lifted her from the ground. His eyes locked with hers as he pushed on. After some distance, he had build enough momentum and the rage inside him had reached such a level that he cried out in anger and slammed the female into the rocky surface at his feet. Ironclaw had not noticed the sun setting in front of him at first, nor the two factions battling around him. Sudden rapid cannon shots flew over his head, causing him to blink and flintch. This was followed by a bot flying over them. Ironclaw stood up straight, fists balled, chest borad showing the emblem marked on his chests. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3999 Optimus... The thought flooded his processing system. It made him completely forget his previous engagement so he stepped right over her. However, Predacon signatures had lit up his HUD. They were in his way. 'Alright, who's next he thought witha grimace on his face.

(Haven't left much open Star, happy to edit tho)

(( OOC: Sorry for the minor inaccuracy, Warwulf; it was late and a last minute addition to my post. It's edited now. If you still don't like it, too bad!

at your video link, Dark Spark! Priceless. ))

Making his way through the halls disguised as Cheetor still, Umbra made his way into the Armory, using the blueprints he downloaded earlier. Sliding the door open, he found the armory was.. slightly ransacked. As he walked inside, he examined noticing most the explosives were already taken, but a few were still left.

I'll take what I can get.. he said to himself, picking up six demo charges and hiding them away. Looking over the shelves, he also noticed a flashlight, as well as a few magazines. He picked up the flashlight, it wasn't waterproof, but it'd still be useful since he didn't have any advanced sensory systems. Looking through the magazines, he didn't find any that fit his Gauss rifle. He made a dental click of Che.. to himself in disappointment.

He then started looking through the blueprints on his internal hud. Hm.. Hacker must be where a terminal is.. one was in the medical bay.. the bridge.. sentinel's core.. wait.. CR chamber room? Guess I could look into that..

He pondered activating his comlink to ask Cecaelia about her status, but decided it was probably best to leave her be for now. She'd probably be fine being a transmetal after all, so she'd at least be more durable then he was.

Exiting the room, he then made his way towards the Medical bay.

When things had seemed so bleak Frilla was almost certain they would be goners, even with attacking Megatron and the Predacons they were still stronger in their firepower and she didn't think she would last much longer. Though the loud explosion made the frilled lizard jump slightly and looking back, wondering what more could be coming their way until a new Maximal seemed to be standing in what was now a large hole in the hull of the Axalon. At first she was quite shocked to see and hear the others say it was Primal, really she was confused on how it was possible he was even online after the transwarp explosion. Well at this point they'd probably find out later, for now her attention quickly turned back towards the Predacon armada in front of them who were now in sheer stunned silence at the return of Primal before attacking him. That didn't take much.

Putting her weapon away Frilla had never felt so relieved in her life, especially when her and her comrades had escaped death albeit still seriously damaged but to have avoided total slaughter was the greatest feeling in the universe right now. "Optimus has perfect timing," She said as she finally relaxed a bit but winced as a few sparks came from her wounds which were of course in severe pain but for the time being she didn't care. But at the same time she hoped Optimus would be alright with all the Predacons chasing him down, even with the new impressive firepower of his own who knew what they could do now with a titanic bot on their side and most being transmetalized like them.

Feralnight too couldn't believe her optics, seeing a newly upgraded Primal right in front of her and the others before he began showing an impressive new amount of firepower and willingness to take their foes on alone. But at this point the fuzor wondered if they would have much ammo after expending just about all of it on trying to slaughter the Maximals that had remained, that or their weapons were likely to overheat. Regardless it seemed the battle was back in their favor for the time being. One thing Feralnight would be looking forward to though was a long stasis nap and recovering from these extensive wounds. It looked like everyone was about now but they didn't even know if that was all the Predacons who had participated in the attempt of killing them which made the wolf/raven fuzor wonder if they really shoulder be relaxing.

Suddenly the angry cry just a little ways away made Feralnight turn, tilting her head curiously. "I don't think Optimus was the only one who's online guys."She said, sniffing the air slightly, using her keen sense of smell to make out any scents discovered one that had not been among them during the fight and recognizing the scent a bit but between the burnt metal, wires, spilled energon and mech fluids, it almost was hard to make out completely but it definitely smelled like the badger who she recalled hadn't been among them but in the CR chamber last she heard. "In fact it might be Ironclaw." She stated, though didn't seem completely sure and neither did she really want to find out with how angry he sounded.

“Yes…” Rhinox sputtered with a raspy but somehow optimistic voice, “It worked…” He smiled at Whitegrazer, hope finally returning to what was dwindling in fear and chaos, filling his entire being with joy and gratefulness.]

She saw Rhinox's smile and shared in it. Glad to see the Maximal Rhino with his hopes as high as Optimus could fly.

Whitegrazer watched as Optimus flew away, driving the Predacons back towards the way of their ship. She looked around to see the extent of the damage the Predacons caused when her spark lit up like the flame of a candle amongst the darkness. It was painful, aching her entire chestplate. The beats of her spark began to throb against the metal, pounding for release. Maybe her spark got damaged and she didn't notice? There seemed to be no apparent damage near her spark chamber. Though she was confused at such a sudden pain, she didn't feel worse or go offline. It was somehow familiar.

...his hand reached out, stabbing through her spark chamber to her spark. The pain was intolerable, burning through her soul like fire. Fingers remained at the center drilling into her being before everything turned black as the night.

She held onto her spark, gripping it.

"Don't you remember this feeling? A feeling from long ago? Hm. It has been awhile since you have felt this, hasn't it? You have been deafened by the mechanisms inside you that it has made you forget the swirls of energy you carry."

TyCross?

"Don't fight it. Close your optics. Let it burn through you.

She closed her optics. Her spark was still pulsing rapidly from her joy of Optimus's return. The burning sensation run down her body, numbing the physical pain.

"Focus on your spark. Reach out. Cast aside your own senses and just listen. Let it guide you. Now, try it. There is someone near you. Is it a friend or enemy? Who are they? What is their intent? Use your spark and tell me!

There was someone near her? She couldn't hear anyone. All the Predacons were being taking care of. She focused on her spark.

Beat...

Beat...

She was just hearing the beats of her own spark. The burning sensation riled up again.

Beat...

Little bugs maneuvered around a frame...

Wait. She saw it.

They were small with spiky legs that could stab the frame they crawled all over. Hollow screams erupted as the bugs wielded metal against metal, circuits sparking, and energon draining. Hands scratched against them, screaming laughter.

"Who is it?"

She opened her one optic and said loud enough for the person to hear her, "Nemesis." Her body turned to face the black-winged Predacon, raising Optimus's sword towards her. Whitegrazer grabbed the blade of the sword. Flashes of Optimus using the sword to defend himself and others, Aurora stabbing the sword into Nemesis, and the smirk Nemesis wore as she aimed the sword at her. Their presence overwhelmed the sensations inside her spark.

"I knew you could do it, Whitegrazer. Some day, it may all come back to you.

"This doesn't belong to you." She said with a calm and gentle demeanor. Her hands moved towards the handle to pull the sword outta of her hands to give it to it's rightful owner. She didn't look away at the Predacon. She wasn't looking at Nemesis's optics, but the very soul of the Predacon. The image of the bugs and the violence inside the female... it was nostagic.

((OOC: Ooooooooooooooo!!! I enjoyed writing this post. ))