"More Than Meets The Eye: Part III"

[una]

((OOC: Merry Christmas, Darkspark! And to everyone else! I hope everyone has a safe and joyful holiday! ))

"Hang on," "I did it!"

Blackarachnia heard the Maximal rat's exclamation along with the systems fully coming online. She got herself out from underneath the console. And because of the rat's attitude, she growled and threw a wench at his head. There seemed to be silence in the air. Must be that the battle was over outside, and the Maximals and herself win by a tiny metal sliver.

"I believe it was a team effort,"

"Dirge is dead. It would seem Ironclaw took his life,"

"What?!"

"Uh... Dat ain't gonna go over well with the boss monkey."

Blackarachnia stood up and laid against the console with her legs crossed and shrugged her shoulders, "Well, why not? After all, he was trying to kill you all anyway. One less person to deal with."

She wondered how the Maximals expected to win this war by not killing. Were they expecting someone like Megatron to just give up or Tarantulas or even someone like Inferno or even some thugs like Terrorsaur or Waspinator to let them arrest them? Many of her Predacon comrades would rather die than be arrested, imprisoned.


____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Tough talk like that won't bring Nexus back Primal, or make up for what HE did!"

"You will burn Primal, mark my words, in the Royalty's name, you will ALL BURN!!!"

Whitegrazer had watched the two Predacon flyers fly away back to their base defeated. She was glad to see that this battle was finally done. Using her ice gun, she did her best to put out some of the fires Inferno left them with. Once she was satisfied with them, she looked towards Optimus. Her expression was relief that he was all right despite the circumstances, but also, regret at the fact he had to do more fighting in his condition. Yet, she took comfort in knowing that Optimus seemed to be fighting away those voices he has been hearing ever since. She was optimistic, and yet, she was still going to make sure kept steady. Though, she had to smile warmly. Feeling the same relief as well as it seems love Optimus felt when Ironclaw, Aurora, Landslide, and herself came to his rescue. He didn't think they were just going to let him have all the fun, did he?

"I'm glad they are gone.... for now, it seems." She looked back to see Ironclaw and Aurora. She smiled at them. Then back towards Optimus.

She wondered for a moment if she should say what she saw inside Zodiac's mind. The only reasons she didn't want to was not complicate things already. Yet, she needed to tell him. Some part of her felt that Optimus felt guilty over what happened in Outpost 62. Confused. Wanting to really know what really happened. Should she really keep her mouth closed?

No, she needed to tell him. At least, some of it.

"Optimus, what happened back at Outpost 62, Zodiac wasn't responsible."

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw felt no pressure to answer Aurora, definitely not at that moment. He split away from her as the battle continued, even Whitegrazer had joined the fray. However before the badger could engage the enemy, things had began settle. The Predacon flyers seemed a bit battered and probably realised they were outnumbered. But they could not leave with out some sort of verbal parting gift. Ironclaw kept a straight face as he was not phased by the inane babble. As the Predacons retreated he approached Optimus and Whitegrazer, deciding not return her smile.

"No it wasn't... Not completely anyway." Ironclaw cut in the conversation, knowing a lot more than Whitegrazer was aware.

[Phoenix]

The dragon landed with a roar at his destination, immediately transforming to his robot form as he walked the last short distance. The wind was howling, violently tugging at his large wings, and it was almost chillier than he remembered from his last visit to this place. Not many animals or plants could survive in the rough climate on this mountain, only the hardier ones were able to cling to life much less thrive here. The aliens had chosen wisely, he thought to himself as he forced his way through the piles of snow that was continuously being whipped around by the strong winds.

At least he didn't have to worry about anyone tracking his steps in the snow. His tracks were getting faded out by the constant barrage of wind and snow within a few seconds of him passing by.

In many ways the harsh weather mirrored his mood at the moment; grim and unforgiving. He had been counting on Dirge to remain by his side, ever the silent protector. What Dirge lacked in conversational skills and intellect, he more than made up for in brute power and loyalty. In addition Dirge had undergone extensive upgrades, much like himself, making him more valuable than a majority of the pitiful soldiers he found most of the Maximals and Predacons alike to be.

Well.. his comrade's demise would not be in vain. The badger would suffer, they all would. His vendetta against Primal had always been personal, but he hadn't really cared about the other Maximals. To him they were no more than fodder, a means by which to make his true target suffer. That of course had changed. His targets had increased. As had his desire to inflict suffering.

Images of the dead and dying at Outpost 62 flashed through his mind. As did an overwhelming sense of awe, the same way he had felt when he had first realized what immense force had wiped the entire outpost from existence. As it turned out the aliens had left similar weapons on other worlds. Earth was no exception. The weapon that had caused so much destruction on this planet, the very one that Primal had sacrificed himself to stop, was but one of the weapons hidden here. But while that weapon had been hidden in plain sight, merely disguised as a secondary moon, others were more discretely hidden underground.

Zodiac made his way past the wall of snow, rocks, and hardy vegetation to find himself inside a large cave. He'd been here before, back when he was making his plans to arrive on the planet disguised as Nexus. This time he planned to venture deeper, through the cave and long tunnels leading down towards the very mantle of the Earth. The machines down there were tapping into the mantle itself for power. He started making his way down the tunnels.

Nemesis merely lingered in the background as Megatron continued his tirade of welcomes to his newest recruit, arms crossed as she eyed the beast a bit suspiciously. At first the large figure didn't say much, instead he responded with grunts and growls for the most part, leaving the avian female pondering if the creature's mind had been damaged by either the initial crash, his long sleep, or Megatron's experimentation. She had never envisioned the Predacon commander to be a man of science, preferring to leave that sort of thing to Tarantulas. In that sense Megatron had surprised her a bit. Of course the fact that he was now trying to make himself not only the savior of his kind, but portraying himself as a god of sorts while doing it, didn't surprise her at all. There were times she wondered if she remained the only sane Decep.. Predacon on this planet.

"FILTHY FLESHLINGS! YOU DARE USE MY LORD'S NAME SO CASUALLY? LEARN YOUR PLACE!!!"

Well.. That answered that question at least.

The raging beast came charging towards Megatron and herself, causing Nemesis to flip backwards to avoid getting caught in the toothy trap that was the attacker's mouth. Immediately upon landing, she flipped again to the right side. She might not have been made with the brute strength or firepower of a lot of the others, but she made up for it with her agility and speed.

The second flip was followed by a roll, allowing her to maneuver around the crazed newly formed Predacon. As she did, she also pulled out her sword. Igniting the flames of the blade, she whirled the sword around in her hand a few times while constantly moving so she could not easily be pinned down.

"Calm yourself, brother," she warned the new Predacon, "I would rather not have to put you down again so soon after we went through the trouble of reviving you."

She stopped swirling the sword for a moment, hoping to be able to reason with him. But she would only give him one chance before attacking.

Holding the sword in one hand, part of the shaft was visible, showing some of the intricate Decepticon symbols she had carved into it.

Aurora caught a glimpse of Whitegrazer smiling at her and Ironclaw. She didn't return the smile, not this time. On the inside she was simply too torn up by what had just happened, by the overwhelming sensation that she didn't know Ironclaw at all. She was disappointed, honestly, most mostly in her own sense of judgement. She really had not expected the badger to be so focused on killing someone that he would crush their spark without as much as an afterthought.

And just then Ironclaw decided to join Whitegrazer and Optimus, leaving Aurora by herself. The fur on the back of her neck felt like it was about to stand on end as Ironclaw approached the still somewhat unstable Optimus. The fuzor didn't know if she trusted those two together, not anymore. Ears perking up, her curiosity getting the better of her, she moved a little closer so that she could overhear their conversation.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Oooph!"

Terrorsaur happened to be a little more agile than Optimus had anticipated, firing at his back just as soon as he had reclaimed himself after he had been tossed over the Maximal. Fortunately, the "backpack" on Primal's back took all of the blow, but the force of his leaser beam eyes pushed him a knee forward, the Commander maintaining his balance but still focusing on Inferno as he shot him.

"RRRAGGGHH!"

Then the ant continued to fire, but his over-eager aim was sloppy and most of his fiery balls whizzed past Optimus. Whitegrazer was also blocking a lot of their firepower now with the blast shield she had brought with her.

"Says the dumb ape who spared the shapeshifter who slagged and replaced his mentor"

"You must be frightened that he'll target you next," Primal spat at Terrorsaur's hurtful words. "You wouldn't stand a chance against Zodiac!"

"Tough talk like that won't bring Nexus back Primal, or make up for what HE did!"

"Raaaarrrgh!" Optimus fired his gun relentlessly at Terrorsaur. What did he know?! Zodiac said Nexus was still alive, but then again, how could Optimus trust his words? He certainly didn't trust Terrorsaur's either. Why did everyone have to play mind games with him?! Why couldn't they leave him alone?!

"You will burn Primal, mark my words, in the Royalty's name, you will ALL BURN!!!"

Primal stopped his gun fire and watched the two fliers retreat while his Maximals converged on his position. "I've already died once in a fiery explosion, cowards! Don't forget that it saved your miserable lives!" he angrily hollered back at Inferno and Terrorsaur as he watched them fly off, holstering his gun at his hip. The commanding officer was left burnt, scratched, dented, with a couple laser blasts on his body courtesy of the cocky TransMetal 'dactyl. Hopefully he and his Maximals could have some peace and quiet now, as well as time for repairs and getting their ship back together in one piece.

"I'm glad they are gone.... for now, it seems."

He glanced at Whitegrazer when she said that and then he looked to Ironclaw dragging Dirge's body with him and Aurora who was a little further back but looked to be alright.

"Optimus, what happened back at Outpost 62, Zodiac wasn't responsible."

The leader's gaze shifted briefly back to the mare again. He wanted to know what she was talking about, but he was far more worried about the badger's killing, and his enemy's whereabouts who wasn't present. "Megatron and Nemesis were absent during this attack. Their presence would have been far more effective. I'm concerned that he's up to something that has taken precedence over attempting our termination," Optimus pointed out to everyone nearby.

"No it wasn't... Not completely anyway."

What could Ironclaw possibly know about it? Whitegrazer would make sense since Zodiac might have told her something when she and Rhinox were left alone with him before his escape, but Ironclaw had been M.I.A. ever since they had accused him of the fake Nexus's wrong-doings. Dismissing both of their knowing-more-than-Optimus-despite-him-being-there-when-it-happened knowledge of Outpost 62, he approached Ironclaw with his slight limp that couldn't be repaired properly thanks to Megatron's brutality, licked the scar across his lips and glared at Ironclaw. "Care to explain this?" he bluntly asked him, demanding an explanation as he gestured to Dirge's lifeless carcass.

"Well, why not? After all, he was trying to kill you all anyway. One less person to deal with."

Rattrap merely shook his head. He would have explained it to her in harsher, sarcastic words, but Rhinox took point by saying with more empathy, "You can say that because it wasn't your life that was taken. Have a little more compassion," he suggested. What Ironclaw did was wrong. The situation could have been handled differently. Now, he wasn't sure how well Optimus was going to handle the circumstances. Rhinox turned away from the hole, as the other Maximals outside gathered around their leader, to grab some equipment and materials and began working on the Axalon's repairs while Rattrap made sure that the electronics, shields and power supply were working properly.

"Has Tarantulas made any attempts to invade your mind again?" the chief engineer asked the black widow while he worked.

[NaitoKage]

(Merry christmas everyone! )

Landslide hovered in the air watching with his borrowed rifle as Inferno and Terrorsaur flew off into the distance, looking towards the others gathering around Optimus he gave a nod, then turned flying towards the Axalon. From the air.. the ship looked devastated. Damaged guns.. holes and a gash along the bridge almost to the center of the ship, likely messing with some of the internal supports of the sidewalls. Landslide let out a heavy sigh as he flew down, entering a hole in the side of the ship.

Well, that was rough.. I'm gonna patch myself up a little n' start doing repairs to the haul. We might run low on resources though.. Zodiac showed up on that one ship, do any of you know if his cohorts came on that ship or another? Might need to do some "shopping" fer parts.

Landslide then looked to the torn metal on holes in the ship, rubbing his chin. It's a bit crude.. but a trick we used ta do to defend against seeker's back in the day was using slated armor panels.. If I can scrounge or mine enough metal I should be able to set up a cage around the bridge and vital areas atleast. If the shields go down, it'll reduce the damage from explosives and plasma blasts by 50%. Think Optimus would be fine with that? Landslide then turned looking over to Rhinox and Rattrap.

[una]

"You must be frightened that he'll target you next," Primal spat at Terrorsaur's hurtful words. "You wouldn't stand a chance against Zodiac!"

"Raaaarrrgh!"

"I've already died once in a fiery explosion, cowards! Don't forget that it saved your miserable lives!"

Whitegrazer's face was full of sorrow as she watched Optimus' shouting exchange between Terrorsaur and Inferno and himself. Image of Nexus Prime came to her mind. They know nothing about what transpired, Optimus. I believe Zodiac was telling the truth that Nexus may yet be alive. She had a feeling that Nexus might yet be alive. After all, why tell them he was alive? If Zodiac was planning on kill them all anyway. She gazed at Optimus, remembering those last few moments before he went up on the stasis pod to blow up the alien's weapon. Remember the moment when he struggled, trying to break free and then... the sharp, echoing ache that still laid within him as well as her spark. Scars still burn within. No matter what they think or feel, I and the rest of your crew would always remember and be forever grateful, despite the sacrifice forced upon you. But you returned to us. They lost their victory.

"Megatron and Nemesis were absent during this attack. Their presence would have been far more effective. I'm concerned that he's up to something that has taken precedence over attempting our termination,"

She nodded, "Yes, I have noticed that too. Some part of me hopes that maybe he was just hiding himself as he strengthens." Also, Nemesis. She wondered what Nemesis was doing since she was now exonerated. She wondered if Nemesis didn't come because of what has happened between her stay with the Maximals or was it because Megatron needed her for something. "No doubt, he probably has something up his sleeve. And between us and Zodiac, maybe he believes that we would take care of Zodiac for him since this battle was unsuccessful. "

She nodded once more, "Only time will tell."

"No it wasn't... Not completely anyway."

Whitegrazer was surprised by what Ironclaw said. Did he...? Did he know about Outpost 62 as well? She wondered what he had to say about it. She noticed Aurora was keeping herself distant. But Whitegrazer waved at her to come towards her, giving her an warm expression. Aurora didn't need to distance herself for the conversation... or was she trying to distance herself from Ironclaw and... Dirge's dead body. If that was the case, then she didn't have to. Whitegrazer understood.

Her head started pounding for a second. White static filled her vision for a moment. Then a flash of a image of Zodiac heading into some type of cave.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

You can say that because it wasn't your life that was taken. Have a little more compassion,"

Blackarachnia shook her head at such... nonsense. Compassion? What? She knew she wasn't going to give compassion to a person who has wronged her. If the Maximals want to make niceties towards those who hurt them, fine, but she wasn't, "It's either you or them."

"Has Tarantulas made any attempts to invade your mind again?"

She shook her head, "No. He has been really quiet." She narrowed her eyes, "I don't like it."

Well, that was rough.. I'm gonna patch myself up a little n' start doing repairs to the haul. We might run low on resources though.. Zodiac showed up on that one ship, do any of you know if his cohorts came on that ship or another? Might need to do some "shopping" fer parts.

Blackarachnia's eyes twinkled a bit. She would love to go scavenging for some parts. To help the Maximals, of course. But most important of all, she would love to take some materials for herself. She always did love to twinker, and if she could take some supplies for herself, without any watchful eyes, she could build certain things to prepare her when her time came. Or better yet, something to take the rest of Tarantulas' presence off of her core processor.

"Oh field trip, I volunteer." She put her pincher in the air.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: For the record, I picture Deathroll being the same size as Rampage & Depthcharge, to give you guys a sense of how big he actually is. Hope everyone had a Happy Holiday

Phoenix wrote: Well.. That answered that question at least.

The raging beast came charging towards Megatron and herself, causing Nemesis to flip backwards to avoid getting caught in the toothy trap that was the attacker's mouth. Immediately upon landing, she flipped again to the right side. She might not have been made with the brute strength or firepower of a lot of the others, but she made up for it with her agility and speed.

The second flip was followed by a roll, allowing her to maneuver around the crazed newly formed Predacon. As she did, she also pulled out her sword. Igniting the flames of the blade, she whirled the sword around in her hand a few times while constantly moving so she could not easily be pinned down.

"Calm yourself, brother," she warned the new Predacon, "I would rather not have to put you down again so soon after we went through the trouble of reviving you."

She stopped swirling the sword for a moment, hoping to be able to reason with him. But she would only give him one chance before attacking.

Holding the sword in one hand, part of the shaft was visible, showing some of the intricate Decepticon symbols she had carved into it.

The giant gator hissed and growled in frustration as Megatron and Nemesis evaded him, Megatron activating his skates and rolling backwards out of the reach of his jaws, pleased by his new warrior's aggressiveness, but not so much by being referred to as a mere "fleshling," beast mode or not there could be no mistaking him for one of those disgusting little meatbags.

"No fleshling could be my sister, stranger, and as for my revival, it would have come sooner or later, with or without your meddling, decepticons do not die as easily as your kind does!" the gator snarled, hissing at the flames from her sword, but his eyes narrowed in confusion as he noticed the intricate decepticon symbols on her blade...But it couldn't be a decepticon weapon, it was too small...

"She speaks the truth, soldier, we are not what you think we are, but rather descendants of the same family line, the decepticons" Megatron replied calmly and confidently, smiling like he had done when he recruited Quickstrike and Silverbolt, playing the good cop once more as he said "Beast Mode!" and entered into his tyrannosaurus form, revealing that he was indeed a cybertronian.

"Impossible! I can smell the organic tissue on your superstructures, not even the lowliest of primitives have actual flesh integrated into their components!" the gator replied in a mix of disbelief and denial, his tail tip spinning as he smacked the floor angrily, both shaking and tearing its surface as he did.

"Technology has come a long way since you were last online, and if you can sense that we are biomechanical, surely you must realize that you are the same now as well?" Megatron pointed out, still courteously but this time with a bit more edge to his voice, displeased that his soldier dared to look down upon him, his savior, rather than showing the proper respect.

"I...Smell..." the gator began to say as he realized that, one, he never had such advanced olfactory abilities before, and two, that he COULD in fact smell the same scent of flesh mixed with metal on his own body.

"What have you done to me...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!" the gator said in a mix of cold rage and horror, looking himself over to see that he now resembled some sort of reptile, tail and all, his host replying "I rescued you from your swampy tomb, I granted you a new and improved body that will allow you to survive on a wild planet that would have otherwise spelt your doom, AND I am very patiently explaining all of this to you despite how you mistook me and my colleague here for lower lifeforms. All and all, I think you owe me a tad bit more gratitude, soldier."

"Gratitude...GRATITUDE?! WHO THE PIT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" the gator roared at the tyrannosaurus, its girth enough to make it an actual threat despite being lower to the ground.

The tyrannosaur smiled, baring his white shiny teeth as he roared "Megatron, TERRORIZE!" and returned to his robot mode, still smiling at the utterly stunned alligator...Until the belly dragger began to laugh!

"Megatron? MEGATRON? YOU?! I've met minicons who could better pass for Lord Megatron than you!" the gator gloated, his outrage over his mutation taking a backseat to his mirth over what he perceived to be delusions on his host's part, his laughter echoing across the Darksyde's hull...Until a sudden bolt of purple plasma shocked him into silence, the gator hissing from the sting of the unexpected attack, but otherwise unhurt.

"You should mind your superiors, soldier, you'll live to serve longer that way" Megatron replied, ice in his voice and his face a mask of the hardest stone.

"Superiors? I've said it before and I'll say it again, I only serve Lord Megatron!" the gator retorted, snapping at the pretender to his master's throne.

"And indeed you shall, once MEGATRON has taught you your place! Now transform and face your leader's judgement!" Megatron challenged, deciding that showing the insolent decepticon his place would have a stronger effect than mere words, though there was still more to his plan than simply beating him into submission like a whipped dog, he wanted an acolyte, not a frightened pet.

"With pleasure pretender!" the gator replied as he attempted to transform, but found himself unable to for reasons that confounded and enraged him.

"Try, terrorize" Megatron suggested smugly, the gator now remembering what the dinosaur had said earlier and copying him as he said "Deathroll, TERRORIZE!"

The transmetal alligator then transformed from an oversized wetland predator to a powerfully built predacon warrior, optics burning bright and three fingered claws clenched and ready to fight.

"Well soldier? We haven't got all solar cycle, come, come feel the wrath of Megatron!" Megatron said, unperturbed by how much taller the alligator was then him now, the warrior dwarfing both himself, Primal, & Rhinox, far larger than the average predacon or maximal, which was fine by him since that had been his intent from the start with his machine, to granted his new warrior the biggest, strongest body he could provide.

"The only one who shall feel Lord Megatron's wrath is YOU pretender, when I drag your beaten remains back to him to answer for using his name for your own purposes! Even Commander Starscream has yet to sink that low!" Deathroll proclaimed as he charged, his heavy armor shaking the ground beneath their feet as he rushed Megatron like a wrecking ball on legs.

"WE WILL SEE!" Megatron growled as he met Deathroll's charge, unflinching, the force of the two powerful mechs colliding making the air and the very walls of the Darksyde itself tremble!

"DO NOT INTERVENE NEMESIS! He's mine" Megatron commanded, the shorter predacon holding his ground despite the size and girth of the larger mech bearing down on him, surprising Deathroll as they grappled hand to hand.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw had left both Aurora and Dirge's body behind as he engaged in conversation with both Optimus and Whitegrazer. He had of course interjected during the topic of Outpost 62, something he was well aware of and many more were which may be a surprise to his present company. He knew his words would draw attention to himself so he stood firm. His resolve would prevail over this difficult time that they all faced. Change was on the horizon. The faces turned towards him, a mix of confusion and suspicion covered them whilst Optimus approached him. With a scowl on his face, Optimus gestured to Dirge's dead body and asked him to explain. The badger looked down at the smaller bot, it was interesting that neither were intimidated by each other, it would make for an compelling interaction. Ironclaw didn't take his optics off Optimus when he gestured, he did not think Dirge's death was that significant.

"I know this must seem confusing to you all but I am not who you think I am. When I came here something happened to me, I don't know if it was passing through the anomaly or the crash, neither planned of which were planned, but my internal systems went into safe mode. It secures need-to-know information if I were to be captured by the enemy. With that a facade is created to make me appear less of a prize. Recent events, may it be my time in stasis lock or the electrical surge but I have been restored." He paused for a second waiting for that to sink in but also knowing that there was much more. "It looks like was just in time too" he added turning his head slightly towards Dirge's remains.

"I was sent by the high council to neutralise two threats and they just so happen to be here" Ironclaw stopped to raise his right hand and opened up his palm. His palm displayed two holographic images, one of Nemesis and one of Zodiac in his true form. "They are fiendish experiments which have gone wrong and need to be stopped before they cause anymore harm. I've been trained for this and I have tangled with their type before. I will do what is necessary." The hologram disappeared and the badger lower his hand.

Ironclaw pushed past the gorilla and stood in front of Whitegrazer with a cold blank stare. He'd noticed a particular reaction she was having, she had been in contact with Zodiac. "I remember everything" he simply said as he looked down at her. "The high council doesn't take kindly to fraternising with the enemy." A file appeared on Ironclaw's HUD titled 'Whitegrazer: dossier'. He did not open it, that was something for a later date. She was dangerous, but not so much to him, his mind was closed to her.

Ironclaw turned away from Whitegrazer and announced. "I'm part of a new mission set by the high council"

[Phoenix]

(ooc:

I assume you meant 'frozen in an asteroid'? Maybe the council didn't know if she was alive or not? They knew she was created and she is dangerous so...

What NK is referring to happened in OC episode 3. Nemesis initially arrived on Earth in her Decepticon form, offline and frozen as she'd been drifting through space for a while like that before getting sucked through the anomaly. After reactivating on Earth, she only gained her beast wars form after the nanomachines absorbed one of the existing Maximals and converted her so she would survive on this planet.)

"No fleshling could be my sister, stranger, and as for my revival, it would have come sooner or later, with or without your meddling, decepticons do not die as easily as your kind does!"

Nemesis narrowed her optics as the new recruit compared them to fleshlings again, having to fight the urge she felt to merely carve her mark into the new Predacon's armor with her sword. Only the fact that Megatron insisted on talking this matter through with the former Decepticon prevented her from letting her predatory instincts take over, and she grudgingly took a step back as Megatron continued reasoning with the other mech.

Well.. At least he was right about the resilience of Decepticons.. She had survived traumas very few others would be capable of due to the technological advancements that had been made when they fused the nanomachines with her own circuitry. It was strange to imagine that the process that had nearly killed her during its infancy, had ended up saving her life countless times after.

"She speaks the truth, soldier, we are not what you think we are, but rather descendants of the same family line, the decepticons"

"Impossible! I can smell the organic tissue on your superstructures, not even the lowliest of primitives have actual flesh integrated into their components!"

She scowled at the new Predacon, again having to force restraint of herself so she wouldn't simply drive him through with the sword. His words stung her pride, as she had longed back to a time when she was purely Decepticon in nature ever since her involuntary change to this form. But unlike the new Predacon, her transformation had not been due to an experiment on Megatron's behalf. Instead it had been her own nanomachines that had adapted the new technology, fusing it with her own when they had caused her to consume the lifeless body of the Maximal bird. She had not emerged from a pod only to be reprogrammed by Megatron or Tarantulas. In fact she didn't even have to use their silly transformation code to change her form.

"What have you done to me...WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

"Enabled you to survive," Nemesis cut in briefly. Granted she knew exactly how the newly reactivated mech felt, as it had taken her a long time to come to terms with the change as well. And she still had hope that some day she'd be able to reverse the change and return to her true form..

"Megatron? MEGATRON? YOU?! I've met minions who could better pass for Lord Megatron than you!"

Part of her was almost a little jealous that this new Decepticon-turned-Predacon had been able to serve the original Megatron. Alas, she had never gotten the chance to. The original Megatron had died long before she was even activated. Still.. She grew up on the legends, which had probably gotten a tad exaggerated as they were passed down through the generations. And here they were, on the planet known as Earth, a planet that had become the focal point of the battle between Autobots and Decepticons and later their descendants as well. This Predacon who had taken the name Megatron out of what she presumed was respect for the original legend, and surely partially also due to the fact the name carried such importance, had confirmed her suspicions when he asked her to track down some of the fallen Decepticons. Of course this all meant that her namesake, the mighty destroyer Nemesis that she had received her own name after, was hidden on this planet somewhere too. And more importantly.. The original Megatron and his crew were here as well, currently in their long slumber. It was an exciting prospect indeed, one that yielded endless possibilities to change the future.

Megatron seemed determined to teach the larger new Predacon a lesson and the two were already about to dig into each other. Nemesis was almost a bit disappointed by this, having looked forward to test the newbie's mantle herself.

"DO NOT INTERVENE NEMESIS! He's mine"

The avian female merely nodded, deactivating the flames on her sword as she put it away and stepped back to give the two more space to fight it out.

Aurora saw Whitegrazer wave her over and ever so slowly the small fuzor started inching her way closer. The conversation they were having seemed to be rather intense. No wonder, she thought, as Ironclaw had just killed someone in cold blood. She imagined Optimus was less than happy about that fact, yet Optimus himself had been somewhat unstable lately as well. She had tried to look the other way when the commander had turned to torturing their prisoner, and had felt more than a little disturbed when he even appeared to enjoy doing so. Still she hoped that was merely a reaction to all the stress the monkey had been put through lately. Surely he would never turn to murder, not like Ironclaw..

Still.. Something would have to be done about the shapeshifter who was yet again on the loose. Otherwise she feared they had only seen the beginning of his rage, of his plan for vengeance.

As she got closer, her ears perked up again to try to hear what the others were talking about. In fact Ironclaw was doing most of the talking, much more so than was normal for him. Was he explaining his actions?

I've been trained for this and I have tangled with their type before. I will do what is necessary."

"You mean you are here to kill them," Aurora added when she was close enough for them to hear her. It had not been a question. She honestly wasn't sure how she felt about it. Yes, the two Predacons in question posed a threat. And had this happened a mere few months before, she might even have agreed with Ironclaw. But after seeing Dirge die right in front of her, she had felt something in her Maximal programming telling her that it was not okay to kill someone. Perhaps it was due to her own near death experience at the hand of the shapeshifter not long ago, but she no longer felt the urge to see anyone pay the ultimate price. She had seen the aftermath of too many deaths, felt the torment threatening to crush her spark when desperately trying to save a loved one, and now she had just seen an enemy's spark get extinguished right before her eyes without feeling that the grief in her spark lessened for it.

Zodiac made his way further into the long network of tunnels and caverns, only briefly slowing down when he reached the lava pit in one of the lower level chambers. This chamber was partially lit up by the faint glow of the lava, but he could also see the outer parts of the final cave from here. This is where Dirge would have met up with him had he not met his demise at the hands of that Maximal.. or whatever he was. Zodiac suspected there was more to the story than he had been lead to believe during his initial meeting with the badger, as very few Maximals would have been capable of taking down someone like Dirge. They simply didn't have the conscience to kill someone in cold mech fluid.

Of course he did not share their convictions. He was not a Maximal nor was he weak willed like them. The badger was different too. But that hardly mattered now. Ironclaw was going to die along the rest of them. Fast and brutally.. painful.. And then he might very well do the same to the Predacons seeing Megatron had sent his goons after him. The shapeshifter resembled them by appearance, even by marking, but he did not consider himself one of them. Not these Predacons, lead by a common criminal.

He made his way across the lava pit and stepped into the final chamber. This one was lit up, powered by the very mantel of the Earth itself. The aliens had been wise, indeed, hiding their darkest secrets where nobody would even think about looking.

There was a control panel located centrally in the room, surrounded by large machines. They had not been used, at least not for a long time, but due to the solitude of this place the machines might as well have been brand new. He knew the machines would take a while to power on but when they were ready to be used, it would only take a few nanoclicks to evaporate the Maximals from existance. They would never expect the very ground to melt underneath them, provided the massive earthquakes wouldn't destroy them first. To Zodiac it hardly mattered. His initial plan had failed so now he'd been forced to turn to the alien technology, a technology he had first become aware of at Outpost 62. Of course that had not been his first encounter with the vastly advanced alien tech. As he had later found out, his nanomachines were the result of such experiments.

The console hummed slightly as he traced his fingers across the smooth surface, the nanomachines rushing to his fingertips at his command.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: at DarkSpark ))

They know nothing about what transpired, Optimus. I believe Zodiac was telling the truth that Nexus may yet be alive.

Does it really matter?! Primal told Whitegrazer angrily without meaning to. She was only trying to help but right now he had a million things buzzing around inside of his head. There's nothing I can do about it while we're stranded here on this planet!

Scars still burn within. No matter what they think or feel, I and the rest of your crew would always remember and be forever grateful, despite the sacrifice forced upon you. But you returned to us. They lost their victory.

It really wasn't about that. Optimus wasn't one to hold grudges or boast about saving the planet, but just to remind those two egotistical, trigger-happy imbeciles, who would have died without his sacrifice, he hoped his words would have hit a nerve with them. Well, maybe Megatron will have a few choice things to say or do to them for them failing their mission yet again. Either way, it was out of his hands. He had his crew to be grateful for, and reality to come to grips with. He hadn't even thought of the green meadow or any meditation for quite some time now.

"Yes, I have noticed that too. Some part of me hopes that maybe he was just hiding himself as he strengthens." "No doubt, he probably has something up his sleeve. And between us and Zodiac, maybe he believes that we would take care of Zodiac for him since this battle was unsuccessful." "Only time will tell."

"The only scenario that Megatron would presume is Zodiac escaping and killing all of us because I'm incapable of stopping him," Optimus explained to the mare. "Time is always against us," he added somewhat calmly as his gaze shifted back to Ironclaw.

"I know this must seem confusing to you all but I am not who you think I am. When I came here something happened to me, I don't know if it was passing through the anomaly or the crash, neither planned of which were planned, but my internal systems went into safe mode. It secures need-to-know information if I were to be captured by the enemy. With that a facade is created to make me appear less of a prize. Recent events, may it be my time in stasis lock or the electrical surge but I have been restored."

So, basically, amnesia. Alright, Optimus could understand that. It wasn't uncommon. However, it was still unclear to him as to what triggered Ironclaw to suddenly remember everything and who he was. What exactly did the badger's miraculous revelation mean to the rest of them?

"It looks like was just in time too"

There was a quizzical expression on Primal's scarred face following the badger's gaze to Dirge's empty shell. Was he implying that they should be grateful for him murdering Dirge? That he made the right decision to take a life? The commanding officer was still waiting for a clear and precise explanation about this, his patience wearing thin.

"I was sent by the high council to neutralize two threats and they just so happen to be here" "They are fiendish experiments which have gone wrong and need to be stopped before they cause anymore harm. I've been trained for this and I have tangled with their type before. I will do what is necessary."

"You mean you are here to kill them,"

The Maximal leader watched Aurora approach them with uneasiness, and agreed with her conclusion. There was a bellow of short laughter toward Ironclaw that briefly escaped Optimus. "They just so happen to be here? JUST SO HAPPEN?! I'm sorry, I'm a little confused and vexed. My crew and I were ordered to follow Megatron who stole the golden disk with the Darksyde. This took place years ago now. We ended up here on prehistoric Earth, prior to the Great War, and prior to Zodiac showing up. As far as I'm aware, no one on Cybertron knows where and when we are ever since we crash landed," he emphasized. "We had no knowledge of Nemesis' frozen presence until she was awakened. But you're saying now that the High Council sent you here to kill both her and Zodiac? And Dirge, too, I'm assuming since I'm noticing a common denominator between the three of them. Ironclaw, you were here long before Zodiac and Dirge even showed up. Had they never graced us with their presence, what were you going to do with yourself and your mission considering how unlikely it is that we're ever going to make it back home any time soon? And what about the Vok? A few months ago, we wouldn't even be standing here right now if we hadn't stopped their moon-sized weapon from blowing up the entire planet! So I'm not convinced that any of this a 'coincidence'. Call me crazy, but I'm sensing a conspiracy, and it seems to be pointing in your direction as well as the Elders'." Optimus, scorched and full of dents and scratches, growled at the badger when he pushed past him, as rudely as ever, and approached Whitegrazer. Could he have also known about Protoform X, another mistake created by the Council? It didn't seem like he did. Perhaps that truly was the Axalon's own secret between Primal, Rhinox and Banshee. Another "need-to-know" mission as Ironclaw so delicately put his own.

"I remember everything" "The high council doesn't take kindly to fraternizing with the enemy."

"The High Council can answer to me if they have a problem with how my crew conducts themselves," Optimus defended Whitegrazer as he purposely shoved his body in between Ironclaw's and the Empath's.

"I'm part of a new mission set by the high council"

"Ironclaw, your mission is either obsolete given the fact that circumstances have changed since it was assigned to you, or you will no longer have any rank within my crew," Optimus warned him, threatening to exile him. "I won't tolerate anyone under my leadership willing to take lives because the corrupt High Council hired you to do so, who can't fix their own mistakes and clearly enjoy making them someone else's problem. Zodiac is on his own, but you will not kill Nemesis," he said, glaring up at him. Nemesis, whom he had gotten to know just a little bit, was not as evil as she presented herself to be even though she unintentionally took Nightmist's life, and Valkyrie's... He had long since forgiven her. He could sense redemption with her, like Whitegrazer could and consistently bothered her about. She wasn't a monster, and she wasn't out to kill everyone, unlike Zodiac. Although, it was neither of their faults for who or what they were, Zodiac was the one taking advantage of his technology that was granted to him because of the Council's decision to try and make him their own weapon. It was so twisted! Considering all of that, if Ironclaw truly believed he could take them both down, then he should be able to take Megatron, too, thus ending the Beast Wars. How simple.

-----

"It's either you or them."

"I never thought I'd say dis, Big Green, but she's gotta point," Rattrap commented.

"And yet we're still functioning," Rhinox pointed out without looking at either of them while he worked, disagreeing with Blackarachnia.

Some of us... thought the rat, with some sadness.

"No. He has been really quiet." "I don't like it."

"I do," Rattrap smirked lightly. "After all, we don't need anymore crazy action here. We've had enough the past few days to last us fer weeks."

This time, the engineer was more agreeable with the black widow. He didn't like how quiet Tarantulas was either but at least he wasn't putting any pressure on his "host," so to speak.

Well, that was rough.. I'm gonna patch myself up a little n' start doing repairs to the haul. We might run low on resources though.. Zodiac showed up on that one ship, do any of you know if his cohorts came on that ship or another? Might need to do some "shopping" fer parts.

The short Spy smiled briefly at Landslide, happy to see him show up despite his extensive injuries. "The Akira was conveniently destroyed. But Dirge an' Night Terror showed up later on their own ship. I ain't sure what happened to that one but it landed not too far from 'ere."

It's a bit crude.. but a trick we used ta do to defend against seeker's back in the day was using slated armor panels.. If I can scrounge or mine enough metal I should be able to set up a cage around the bridge and vital areas atleast. If the shields go down, it'll reduce the damage from explosives and plasma blasts by 50%. Think Optimus would be fine with that?

Rhinox nodded to the beetle's question. "I think so. Anything to help reinforce our ship's exterior would be beneficial. That's very resourceful, Landslide. Hopefully things will remain calm around here long enough that we won't have to call upon you for back-up."

"Oh field trip, I volunteer."

Both Rattrap and Rhinox stopped their work to look at her with her yellow and black pincer raised in the air. "Well, if Landslide is comfortable having your company, then I see no harm in your helping him," the rhinoceros said. "But he'll have to detain you if Tarantulas gains control over you again."

"What makes you think she isn't just gonna shoot 'Slider in de back and run off back to de Preds?"

"Rattrap," Rhinox sighed toward his paranoia, "first of all, none of her weapons can penetrate his heavily armored back. Secondly, if any of those Predacons saw her here today, then she has already been written off by them, so where else would she go? Thirdly, I haven't had the opportunity to help her be rid of Tarantulas. So I think it's safe to say that it works in her favor if she behaves and trusts us to help her and we trust her. Besides, she's probably tired of being cooped up in here with all of us. It's a lot for someone to take in." Of course, he meant that Rattrap was a lot to tolerate but he didn't specify that out loud.

[NaitoKage]

"The Akira was conveniently destroyed. But Dirge an' Night Terror showed up later on their own ship. I ain't sure what happened to that one but it landed not too far from 'ere."

Landslide gave a nod I see.. Well, no matter how the Akira was destroyed, it should of still left Cybertronian metals.. I can probably rig a method fer collecting the scrap efficiently, least we could do is melt it down and alloy it perhaps. But fer now, seems like our best bet is the other ship. Depending on the size, I might just be able to drag it here.

"I think so. Anything to help reinforce our ship's exterior would be beneficial. That's very resourceful, Landslide. Hopefully things will remain calm around here long enough that we won't have to call upon you for back-up."

Landslide gave a nod Well, I don't exactly plan to rush out unless the ship is safe enough fer it.

"Oh field trip, I volunteer."

"Well, if Landslide is comfortable having your company, then I see no harm in your helping him," "But he'll have to detain you if Tarantulas gains control over you again."

"What makes you think she isn't just gonna shoot 'Slider in de back and run off back to de Preds?"

"Rattrap," "first of all, none of her weapons can penetrate his heavily armored back. Secondly, if any of those Predacons saw her here today, then she has already been written off by them, so where else would she go? Thirdly, I haven't had the opportunity to help her be rid of Tarantulas. So I think it's safe to say that it works in her favor if she behaves and trusts us to help her and we trust her. Besides, she's probably tired of being cooped up in here with all of us. It's a lot for someone to take in."

The large beetle sat down bringing up one of his insect legs forward, starting to open the twisted metal on his damaged nacelle to look at one of the rocket engines inside. He turned slightly and pulled out an air hose, blowing some of the fire retardant foam out from it out the hole in the side of the ship. She's already shot me in the back with Cybervenom n' I didn't feel it lad,front's not gonna do much either.. So I ain't worried. Hrm.. this engine's shot. Glad I only need two fer flight..

He moved back the nacelle, then looked towards Blackarachnia. If you want to come along I got no problems with it. If you start to wig out, I'll just tie you up n' throw ya in the back.. Might be a bit different fer a spider to be on the receiving' end of that. Landslide's faceplate slid back as he gave a smirk, then started to work on repairs to his side, completely oblivious that Spiders tie each other up either to eat and/or mate. I'm not taking you in that shape though, gather yer legs n' we'll see about patching you up. with her spider legs damaged, her beast mode would be useless, which her functional beast mode might come in handy since she was small and her webbing could be used to collect parts like a bag or use some of her webbing to tie down pieces too big for Landslide to carry normally.
___________

Meanwhile at the Predacon base, Umbra raised his head up as he heard noise of Megatron and Deathroll's struggle. Huh.. Nemesis and Megatron are being rather.. loud. Well.. that's not really my business.. he then said, finishing up repairs on the console. From the time spent, most the repairs around the bridge had been finished.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Last post before the New Years weekend gang, see ya again next week, and Happy New Year!

P.S. thanks OOP, I try , and Naito, AWESOME post, Umbra is so used to weird stuff going down at Pred Central even the sound of transmetals clashing doesn't set off any alarms for him anymore lol.

Phoenix wrote: Part of her was almost a little jealous that this new Decepticon-turned-Predacon had been able to serve the original Megatron. Alas, she had never gotten the chance to. The original Megatron had died long before she was even activated. Still.. She grew up on the legends, which had probably gotten a tad exaggerated as they were passed down through the generations. And here they were, on the planet known as Earth, a planet that had become the focal point of the battle between Autobots and Decepticons and later their descendants as well. This Predacon who had taken the name Megatron out of what she presumed was respect for the original legend, and surely partially also due to the fact the name carried such importance, had confirmed her suspicions when he asked her to track down some of the fallen Decepticons. Of course this all meant that her namesake, the mighty destroyer Nemesis that she had received her own name after, was hidden on this planet somewhere too. And more importantly.. The original Megatron and his crew were here as well, currently in their long slumber. It was an exciting prospect indeed, one that yielded endless possibilities to change the future.

Megatron seemed determined to teach the larger new Predacon a lesson and the two were already about to dig into each other. Nemesis was almost a bit disappointed by this, having looked forward to test the newbie's mantle herself.

"DO NOT INTERVENE NEMESIS! He's mine"


The avian female merely nodded, deactivating the flames on her sword as she put it away and stepped back to give the two more space to fight it out.

Megatron had no time to dwell on how this struggle was doing considerable harm to the interior of this particular lab, the impact of the two beast warriors alone had shaken the floors and walls around them, all that mattered now was that he beat some respect into his latest recruit and made him understand that the only Megatron left for him to serve now was himself, his rightful heir in both name and purpose! The tyrant digging in his taloned feet to keep his ground even as the larger Deathroll tried to push him back.

Death roll meanwhile was vexed that someone smaller than him was doing so well, the Decepticon titan having expected the pretender using his lord's name to quite frankly crumple under his superior size and strength, and yet somehow he was holding his ground and he in turn found it difficult to hold his own ground, let alone grapple this deceptively powerful "predacon," to the ground so he could crush him under foot. Sure, it was not unheard of for there to be short but physically powerful Cybertronians out there, but not quite like this, and as former miner turned gladiator turned soldier, Deathroll's strength was far from common, plus his heavy armor often added a little more weight to his physical blows as well. While he had yet to earn a place within the true Megatron's inner circle, there was always competition among the ranks and he had won more fights than he had lost, earning himself a place amongst the crewmen of the Nemesis, the personal flagship of Megatron himself...He had to return to him as soon as possible, but doing that was beginning to seem more difficult than expected between fighting in his unfamiliar new form & the unnatural strength of his opponent.

"Mahaha, is this all that you have to offer soldier? Perhaps reviving you was a waste of time after all" Megatron gloated as he began to push Deathroll back instead, which shocked the decepticon but not as much as his words angered him.

"The only waste of time here is you and your meaningless blather, pretender!" Deathroll snarled as his tail tip spun to life once more in response to his anger, lashing out at Megatron to attack him from the sides, the sudden attack forcing Megatron back with enough force to leave marks on the floor as he skid to a halt, stopping himself with his claws and cutlass, but nursing what Deathroll imagined to be a nasty gash across his torso.

"You disappoint me now pretender, I wound have thought anyone with the ball bearings to impersonate Megatron, poorly I might add, would put up a better fight" Deathroll bragged, cracking his knuckles as he approached the wounded Megatron, only for the tyrant to reply "You thought right" as his shoulder guns activated and shot the surprised gator square in the chest, knocking him down onto his back.

"Hhhmmm, it was a good call on my part to melt your original frame down to create your new form, decepticon alloys apparently go well together with transmetal technology, otherwise you'd have a gaping hole in your spark chamber right now, yyyyyyeeeesssss" Megatron said, his tone sounding honestly pleased by how Deathroll had taken shots that would have taken down most cybertronians, as Deathroll eyed the mere scratches that adorned his opponent's chest plate in place of the gaping wound he had expected to see.

"You melted my...You won't leave this room alive!" Deathroll proclaimed, trying to keep his cool but finding that rather difficult with this latest revelation, the decepticon wishing to grind his enemy underfoot with the tank treads of his original form's vehicle mode, and fortunately for him, his new form seemed to oblige as he transformed not into his gator mode, but instead a drill tank!

"You learn fast Deathroll, that will be most helpful to me" Megatron gloated, though appearing more wary now that Deathroll had instinctively changed into his vehicular mode, a formidable looking one at that.

"I'll HELP you to an early grave!" Deathroll grumbled as he treaded forward, his drill tip spinning menacingly, Megatron preparing to evade, only for Deathroll to unexpectedly sprout a pair of guns on his back which blasted the roof, causing debris to fall down upon the tyrant, seemingly pinning him to the floor.

"Gggrrr...You learn VERY fast..." Megatron growled as he struggled to break free, as Deathroll slowly advanced, the decepticon relishing the thought of impaling the pretender and then running over his remains with his armored tank treads.

[starshadow]

While the predacons are busy in their own squabbles, Starshadow was picking up irreparable burnt parts from the battles in the base. Cursing her crew mates under her breath, she threw another set of scrap in the cart, "I didn't sign up for this slag. Picking up worthless garbage like a desperate beggar. I'm programmed for more than this!" the femme dusted her arms and heaved a sigh. Could the day get any worse other than being the ship's maid? Umbra does not seem to be keeping an eye on her like a creep, so may be it was her chance to get as far away from him as possible! The cat bot slowly sneaked away from the cart, making her way to the entrance. The predacons are too busy dealing with their own business. Maybe things are turning in to her favor.

((OOC: I'm too lost with Banban so I tried making a post for Star.))

[una]

"I never thought I'd say dis, Big Green, but she's gotta point,"

Blackarachnia crossed her arms. She expected the Maximal rat to agree with her. After all, as much as she experienced and witnessed from the stinky rat, he was always more than willing to shoot her and her former Predacon comrades. He was more pragmatic. Distrustful. Heh. She wondered what he would think if she implied to him he would fit in well with the Predacons.

"And yet we're still functioning,"

Maximals were persistent, weren't they? She glanced over the damages the Maximals suffered from, remembering the close calls from Zodiac and the Predacons outside. "Yeah, by the nano of a click. Is this everyday for you all"

"The Akira was conveniently destroyed. But Dirge an' Night Terror showed up later on their own ship. I ain't sure what happened to that one but it landed not too far from 'ere."

"Well, if Landslide is comfortable having your company, then I see no harm in your helping him," the rhinoceros said. "But he'll have to detain you if Tarantulas gains control over you again."

"What makes you think she isn't just gonna shoot 'Slider in de back and run off back to de Preds?"

Rattrap," Rhinox sighed toward his paranoia, "first of all, none of her weapons can penetrate his heavily armored back. Secondly, if any of those Predacons saw her here today, then she has already been written off by them, so where else would she go? Thirdly, I haven't had the opportunity to help her be rid of Tarantulas. So I think it's safe to say that it works in her favor if she behaves and trusts us to help her and we trust her. Besides, she's probably tired of being cooped up in here with all of us. It's a lot for someone to take in."

Blackarachnia kinda felt insulted by the Rhino's list of her plight and damages she has sustained. The fact that now the Predacons saw her as a traitor fit well within her plans, and yet, it made her angry that she had to run to the Maximals. She wasn't going to be shouting 'Maximize' anytime soon or ever. She saw herself as a Predacon. A Predacon to the core. That was what Tarantulas created her to be. It wasn't by choice, but it was by choice that she decided to study, learn, and become what it meant to be a Predacon. Despite the disadvantage of being a former Maximal stasis pod and gaining mistrust for just being Tarantulas' creation. A former life that had been erased, making this life now the only one she knew. Part of her had wondered what kind of Maximal she was. But those thoughts quickly dissipated, reminding herself she was who she is now and not before.

And now, here she was. Forced to be with the people she was supposed to be with from the very beginning.

She's already shot me in the back with Cybervenom n' I didn't feel it lad,front's not gonna do much either.. So I ain't worried. Hrm.. this engine's shot. Glad I only need two fer flight..

If you want to come along I got no problems with it. If you start to wig out, I'll just tie you up n' throw ya in the back.. Might be a bit different fer a spider to be on the receiving' end of that. Landslide's faceplate slid back as he gave a smirk, then started to work on repairs to his side, completely oblivious that Spiders tie each other up either to eat and/or mate. I'm not taking you in that shape though, gather yer legs n' we'll see about patching you up.

Blackarachnia stared at Landslide for a moment, wondering if the giant Maximal knew the slight implication of what he just said to her. Remembering all those times with Tarantulas. Though, Tarantulas never liked the fact she dictated rather than listened. She wondered for a moment, giving the giant Maximal and once over, before she let out a short laugh and then gave playful seductive look towards the Maximal, "Really? Just to let you know it is usually me who does the tying up." She winked and followed the Maximal.

Rubbing one of her arms, studying the self-made tears she made to her little spider legs, she needed to remind herself why she was here and why she remained here. All she needed to do was watch herself and watch what those Predacons do especially Megatron and Tarantulas. She needed to keep her optics open as she used the Maximals for shelter, keeping her safe as she created her escape plan, as well as in a way protection. She always told herself she would survive this war, and if there is one thing she was good at, it was surviving.


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Does it really matter?! Primal told Whitegrazer angrily without meaning to. She was only trying to help but right now he had a million things buzzing around inside of his head. There's nothing I can do about it while we're stranded here on this planet!

No, you have point there. Whitegrazer really wished Optimus and they knew the whereabouts of Nexus Prime. She believed what Zodiac said, but there was also something else. A feeling. A feeling of reassurance. But could she get Optimus to believe? She sighed inwardly, wondering when all these twists and turns of people's own past coming at them full throttle just slowed down. Yet, Zodiac, Outpost 62, Dirge, Night Terror, the nanomachines, and the revelation that the... They were part of this. No, this was her fault. Not directly, but indirectly.

"The only scenario that Megatron would presume is Zodiac escaping and killing all of us because I'm incapable of stopping him," Optimus explained to the mare. "Time is always against us,"

"Well, we have and will prove that presumption false." Whitegrazer said to Optimus calmly, yet she disagreed with his second statement. But her gaze looked up to the sky. Her optics almost seeming to gaze far away. No, she didn't think time was against them. They just needed to use the time wisely. They still could bring everything back to balance or at least, somewhat normal. She hoped.

"I know this must seem confusing to you all but I am not who you think I am. When I came here something happened to me, I don't know if it was passing through the anomaly or the crash, neither planned of which were planned, but my internal systems went into safe mode. It secures need-to-know information if I were to be captured by the enemy. With that a facade is created to make me appear less of a prize. Recent events, may it be my time in stasis lock or the electrical surge but I have been restored." He paused for a second waiting for that to sink in but also knowing that there was much more. "It looks like was just in time too" he added turning his head slightly towards Dirge's remains.

Whitegrazer took her gaze away from the sky and stared at Ironclaw. She was trying to make sense of what he was explaining. She did remember sense some sort of self-revelation coming from the Maximal badger. Was that why she felt the darkness back several months ago? Was the darkness just him trying to remember why he was here with them? She then gazed at Dirge's remains. Her optics were saddened to the fact that Death had taken another soul.

"I was sent by the high council to neutralise two threats and they just so happen to be here" Ironclaw stopped to raise his right hand and opened up his palm. His palm displayed two holographic images, one of Nemesis and one of Zodiac in his true form. "They are fiendish experiments which have gone wrong and need to be stopped before they cause anymore harm. I've been trained for this and I have tangled with their type before. I will do what is necessary."

Sent by the High Council? So they had their hands in this as well? She wondered how much the High Council of Maximal Elders knew about the experiments. But she knew that answer all too well. The fact that Ironclaw was sent to neutralize Nemesis and Zodiac. Neutralize. She shook her head at the word. She no doubt that they were aware of how difficult a task that would be, and by how Ironclaw handled situations, neutralizing wasn't the word she would be using.

"You mean you are here to kill them,"

It would seem Aurora came to the same conclusion she did. Whitegrazer looked at Ironclaw, "Nemesis and Zodiac are both survivors of horrific experiments they didn't wish nor asked to partake in. I have no doubt of that. Yes, they are dangerous, but they both are hurt. And Nemesis has shown mercy in certain cases. Zodiac may be a bit difficult, but I do believe there is hope for them." She looked at Dirge's remains. "I still believe."

"They just so happen to be here? JUST SO HAPPEN?! I'm sorry, I'm a little confused and vexed. My crew and I were ordered to follow Megatron who stole the golden disk with the Darksyde. This took place years ago now. We ended up here on prehistoric Earth, prior to the Great War, and prior to Zodiac showing up. As far as I'm aware, no one on Cybertron knows where and when we are ever since we crash landed," he emphasized. "We had no knowledge of Nemesis' frozen presence until she was awakened. But you're saying now that the High Council sent you here to kill both her and Zodiac? And Dirge, too, I'm assuming since I'm noticing a common denominator between the three of them. Ironclaw, you were here long before Zodiac and Dirge even showed up. Had they never graced us with their presence, what were you going to do with yourself and your mission considering how unlikely it is that we're ever going to make it back home any time soon? And what about the Vok? A few months ago, we wouldn't even be standing here right now if we hadn't stopped their moon-sized weapon from blowing up the entire planet! So I'm not convinced that any of this a 'coincidence'. Call me crazy, but I'm sensing a conspiracy, and it seems to be pointing in your direction as well as the Elders'."

Whitegrazer gazed at Optimus, understanding his anger at this entire situation, but all this seemed to have become clear to her now. A bit more. "If what Ironclaw said is true, the High Council may have known or were aware of the experiments. They probably kept an close optic on them, and yet, they choose not to interfere until they deemed it necessary or vital to their own survival. They may have calculated Nemesis' trajectory. But still Zodiac would been a bit difficult unless they took in account that Zodiac might have been going after you, Optimus." Whitegrazer shook her head. If her speculation was true, then adding to what Optimus just said, Whitegrazer began to feel like they, including the Predacons, were pawns in someone else game or worse... What if the High Council were aware of Megatron's plans. What if... What if it wasn't just a coincidence that the Axalon and its crew were launched at the same time as the Darksyde made its way with the Maximal's important artifact. If that were true, then all these people here. All those who been through experiments or participated in them... were placed here... for battle... For death?

"I agree, Optimus. These can't just be coincidences. " Whitegrazer didn't know what to think. Not yet anyway. She needed time to assess such events, so that she could search the truth. But as she thought about it, her soul shook to its very core.

She stared back towards Ironclaw, watching as he came closer to her. Why did she get the feeling that Ironclaw saw her as a threat? No, why did she get the feeling that the High Council saw her as one? Was.... was that why they agreed to let her go on this exploration mission without hassle or objection like she previously thought?

"I remember everything" he simply said as he looked down at her. "The high council doesn't take kindly to fraternising with the enemy."

"The High Council can answer to me if they have a problem with how my crew conducts themselves,"

"Ironclaw, your mission is either obsolete given the fact that circumstances have changed since it was assigned to you, or you will no longer have any rank within my crew," Optimus warned him, threatening to exile him. "I won't tolerate anyone under my leadership willing to take lives because the corrupt High Council hired you to do so, who can't fix their own mistakes and clearly enjoy making them someone else's problem. Zodiac is on his own, but you will not kill Nemesis,"

"We should all strive to do what is right." Whitegrazer said simply. There was no accusation in her voice. Only compassion. "Don't kill when you can wound. Don't wound when you can subdue. Don't subdue when you can pacify."

Her left arm burned like hot lava was poured on it. She blocked her connection with Optimus, shielding him from pain. She gripped her arm, flinching a bit. The silver portion of her arm brightened with an border of blue. Zodiac's nanomachines. She gripped her head when it pounded. White static again filled her vision. There was a sea of red, yellow and orange. Hot stream.

"Zodiac, where are you? What are you doing?" She said it outloud and concerned.

Little did she know... Unaware. Her words echoed within the nanomachines through her spark within connection opened within Zodiac.

[Phoenix]

Aurora approached the others, albeit a bit slowly.. She still wasn't entirely sure what to make of all of this. Having just found out that Ironclaw was not whom he'd pretended to be, but instead was an agent sent on behalf of the council.. She really didn't know how she felt about it, honestly, given the fact she had never been to Cybertron and had never seen the council's actions in person. But if they had truly sent a mercenary to do their dirty work, there was a high likelihood that she wouldn't approve of the council and their methods.

Optimus was staring Ironclaw down, and suddenly he erupted into a laugh. Aurora's optics drifted to Whitegrazer, wondering if she understood this rather peculiar gesture better than the fuzor did.

"They just so happen to be here? JUST SO HAPPEN?! I'm sorry, I'm a little confused and vexed. My crew and I were ordered to follow Megatron who stole the golden disk with the Darksyde. This took place years ago now. We ended up here on prehistoric Earth, prior to the Great War, and prior to Zodiac showing up. As far as I'm aware, no one on Cybertron knows where and when we are ever since we crash landed," he emphasized. "We had no knowledge of Nemesis' frozen presence until she was awakened. But you're saying now that the High Council sent you here to kill both her and Zodiac? And Dirge, too, I'm assuming since I'm noticing a common denominator between the three of them. Ironclaw, you were here long before Zodiac and Dirge even showed up. Had they never graced us with their presence, what were you going to do with yourself and your mission considering how unlikely it is that we're ever going to make it back home any time soon? And what about the Vok? A few months ago, we wouldn't even be standing here right now if we hadn't stopped their moon-sized weapon from blowing up the entire planet! So I'm not convinced that any of this a 'coincidence'. Call me crazy, but I'm sensing a conspiracy, and it seems to be pointing in your direction as well as the Elders'."

Well.. Optimus' words at least partially answered her question. And raised a whole lot of new ones in the process. The fuzor couldn't imagine why the socalled Maximal council would send someone here to tidy up their former mistakes, yet not even attempt to rescue the Maximals currently trapped here. If they were truly willing to do that, then their actions were little more than despicable in nature.

Ironclaw continued his attempt to explain, but it was obvious he was not getting the reaction from Optimus that he was hoping for. If anything the look on Optimus' face was turning more sour with each word that was coming out of the badger's mouth. Aurora felt uneasy about it all, enough so to make her seek shelter behind Whitegrazer in case the two males weren't done squabbling. Both Optimus and Ironclaw were considerably bigger than her, so she didn't especially feel like getting trapped underneath either of them if their words should turn to violence any time soon. Hopefully it wouldn't but..

"Ironclaw, your mission is either obsolete given the fact that circumstances have changed since it was assigned to you, or you will no longer have any rank within my crew," Optimus warned him, threatening to exile him. "I won't tolerate anyone under my leadership willing to take lives because the corrupt High Council hired you to do so, who can't fix their own mistakes and clearly enjoy making them someone else's problem. Zodiac is on his own, but you will not kill Nemesis,"

Now that wasn't what she was expecting Optimus to say. Truly his patience must have been stretched so thin by Ironclaw's past actions and attitude that he wanted nothing more than to end it. But to defend a Predacon against Ironclaw's attacks was unexpected. And helped restore some of her faith in Optimus in the process.

Of course she had no clue how Ironclaw would respond to such a threat. Recent experiences seemed to suggest he wouldn't approve of Optimus' words.. not in the least. Hopefully he would have enough common sense to realize he was walking a very thin line.

"Nemesis and Zodiac are both survivors of horrific experiments they didn't wish nor asked to partake in. I have no doubt of that. Yes, they are dangerous, but they both are hurt. And Nemesis has shown mercy in certain cases. Zodiac may be a bit difficult, but I do believe there is hope for them."

Aurora avoided glancing back at Dirge's still form, still wishing she had not had to see that. But what was even worse was the fact that the moment Ironclaw took Dirge's life, no matter how menacing the one eyed giant had been, he had shown himself to be something other than a Maximal.. Someone other than the person she had considered to be a friend. Yes, Ironclaw had been behaving peculiar for months now.. His temper and fondness of bickering had caused a number of uncomfortable situations. But none had been as serious as this. He had taken a life, one he strictly didn't have to take, and showed no signs of remorse after the fact. Which left the fuzor wondering just how many other lives the badger had taken in the past. And in a sense he may not be any better than the foes he killed.

The fuzor pondered the mare's wisdom for a moment. She wondered how the two, with their similar background, could have turned out so differently.. yet at the same time so much alike. What horrors had they been subjected to in order to become who they were today.. And what deeds so horrifying had they done to draw the attention of the Maximal High Council? Was Ironclaw the only bounty hunter out there looking for them?

"Don't kill when you can wound. Don't wound when you can subdue. Don't subdue when you can pacify."

Pacify.. But how.. Aurora's optics briefly lit up, an idea starting to form. Perhaps there was a way to subdue Zodiac after all.

"Zodiac, where are you? What are you doing?"

Whitegrazer's sudden question, her voice distant and concerned, abruptly interrupted Aurora's thoughts. She looked up at the taller female with confusion.

Zodiac..

The voice caught the shapeshifter off guard, causing him to look around to make sure he had not been followed. Nobody. He was alone, surrounded by the alien machines, but by himself nevertheless. The voice was faded, blurred as if it had been a dream, yet he recognized it as belonging to the white mare. Why would he be thinking about her now?

He looked around a final time before he was truly satisfied that he hadn't been followed, then turned his attention back to the console. The alien symbols seemed to light up as he traced his fingers across them, as if they acknowledged his presence. It was rather alluring, actually, and felt more than a little empowering to know that he had such a powerful weapon at his disposal. His hand stopped as he reached a hole shaped like a key of sorts, his fingers gently caressing the edges of it. He figured it was part of an override for the machines, a way to start them up after their long slumber. The original key was nowhere in sight, as was to be expected given how long this room had been vacant. But that was hardly a problem for someone able to change his shape.

Where are you? What are you doing?


Again Whitegrazer's voice cut into his mind, a little clearer this time. The few words obscured his own thoughts for a moment before it started dawning on him that she was actually communicating with him, much like he had been so certain she was doing with Optimus.

The realization was immediately followed by a splitting headache, worse than anything he could remember having experienced in the past. Zodiac grabbed his head, letting out a low chuckle as he sank to the floor next to the console. It was hardly an amused laugh, instead he was laughing about the absurdity of having to listen to the talkative female even as he was in the process of killing them all.. and he was hundreds of miles away from them!

As the laughter died down, he spoke up, not sure if she could hear him or not.

"Fate is a cruel mistress indeed..," he said, the headache still pounding within, "Leave me be, Maximal, for you will not see me again."

He spoke the truth as far as he was concerned. Of course he neglected to share the tiny little detail of why they wouldn't see him again.

Meanwhile Nemesis had retreated to the far edge of the room, keeping a little distance between herself and the two raging transmetals. Of course she wasn't so far away that she wouldn't be able to intervene should Megatron give the word to do so, but seeing he had ordered her to not interfere in their battle, she trusted Megatron to ask for assistance should he require it. As such she left them alone, even as Deathroll appeared to be taking the upper hand.