"Tangled Webs & Muddle"

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: Good thinking with the coded transmission, Darkspark!!!

I would have had Arachnitron do something, but it was hard to know what to do since the arachnoids belong to Tarantulas and that seemed like the best way to notice the Maximals' presence.

Just to clarify: The Maximals are not actually in the cave, right?

BIC:

Arachnitron noticed one of the arachnoids skittering past Tarantulas who switched to some sort of live feed of the surrounding area and lashed out angrily at the unconscious Blackarachnia.

"You see what you made me do foolish widow? You distracted me from the big picture!" Tarantulas snarled as he whirled around, quickly spotted one of the hacked arachnoids watching them, and crushed it underfoot like the tracer he'd brought with him earlier.

Arachnitron flinched at his outburst. He crushed one of the arachnoids. She wasn't sure what he had seen that made him so angry!

"Grab the witch and carry her out of here, we have a maximal infestation that needs to be dealt with"

Oh, so that's what he had seen! Arachnitron hadn't known that his little arachnoids could alert him about things like that. She had never really known what they were for! What useful little creatures to have around. She'd have to find out what else they could do. Perhaps Tarantulas could teach her how to use them. She'd have to know these things if she was going to be his assistant.

Arachnitron nodded at Tarantulas. "Right behind you," she replied.

She lifted the unconscious she-spider, took a few shaky steps forward, nearly dropped Blackarachnia on her face, but then readjusted her grip and followed Tarantulas towards the opening of the cave. She picked up her energon pistol on the way out.

[Alak]

((OOC: Orcariner and Rhinox are already in the cave. I'm prettys sure that Aurora and Whitegrazer are also inside the cave.))

BIC:

Orcariner held up his sword, illuminating the dark caverns. The path was barely accommodating for his size, forcing him to lean forward and bend his knees just slightly. He activated his radio.

"Aurora. Whitegrazer. This is Orcariner, I've brought back-up. What's your status?"

He was really hoping that somehow the two femme bots managed to take out all of the Predacons here by themselves. It would make this mission go by a lot quicker and he would be able to get out of this mountain as soon as possible.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Hope this is okay, I don't remember who was near Quickstrike last so I'm just opening fire and beginning this final confrontation already. BTW, would it be better to go with the original plan of forcing the maximals out via gunfire or should Tarantulas feign insanity/desperation & fake blowing the mine to keep it out of maximal control or something? Sorry the post isn't better, Easter weekend and all, doing family stuff tonight & tomorrow. Happy Easter to everyone here who celebrates it, and a good weekend to everyone else who doesn't lol

Alak wrote:

BIC:

Orcariner held up his sword, illuminating the dark caverns. The path was barely accommodating for his size, forcing him to lean forward and bend his knees just slightly. He activated his radio.

"Aurora. Whitegrazer. This is Orcariner, I've brought back-up. What's your status?"

He was really hoping that somehow the two femme bots managed to take out all of the Predacons here by themselves. It would make this mission go by a lot quicker and he would be able to get out of this mountain as soon as possible.

Tarantulas led Arachnitron & the unconscious Blackarachnia out of the cave, drawing his gun and readying to fire on the first maximal he found, deciding he would need to fake the mine's destruction in order to prevent it from falling into Maximal hands. Fortunately, his arachnoids could self-destruct, a controlled explosion in just the right place would create the illusion of the mine's loss, while leaving the interior safe and reachable later when he had the time and was certain no one suspected its continued existence. He would not trust Blackarachnia inside this mine again, so she would be left out of the loop assuming he decided to let her live when this was over, as would Quickstrike, at least until he was certain he could trust the slow witted fuzor's commitment to Megatron's downfall. Only perhaps Arachnitron would know, but he could decide on that for certain later, now he had to salvage the stupid fuzor and lure the maximals out of the cave for his deception to work, and to prevent them from destroying the mine for real.

"We must force them out of the mine Arachnitron, this place is too valuable to leave in their hands, whether they deem to use it or destroy it" Tarantulas explained as he spotted the first maximals near where Quickstrike lay in stasis, firing without warning with his cyber venom blaster, even as he mentally ordered his arachnoids to hurry to the necessary strategic locations to pull off his plan.

[Blackrosefencer]

"We must force them out of the mine Arachnitron, this place is too valuable to leave in their hands, whether they deem to use it or destroy it" Tarantulas explained as he spotted the first maximals near where Quickstrike lay in stasis, firing without warning with his cyber venom blaster, even as he mentally ordered his arachnoids to hurry to the necessary strategic locations to pull off his plan.

Arachnitron nodded in agreement and raced after Tarantulas as quickly as she could while carrying Blackarachnia. Once they reached the location of the Maximals, she placed the unconscious widow in a safe place behind some of the cave's boulders. Tarantulas didn't give any kind of a warning to the Maximals to leave, he just started firing at them without even knowing where they were or how many there were total. He was determined to keep the mine for himself, but Arachnitron noticed Quickstrike unconscious at the entrance of the cave. So, it was just her and Tarantulas left standing against....who knows how many Maximals! How would they ever drive them out of the cave and win this battle?! Arachnitron raised her own cybervenom blaster and added her firepower to Tarantulas'.

Shaking her head at what seemed like impossible odds, Arachnitron couldn't help but ask to Tarantulas over the sound of their weapons fire, "Do you even have a plan?"

[Phoenix]

(ooc: I honestly have the biggest writer's block ever where this episode is concerned. With the other episode I have about a million ideas buzzing about my head but I'm coming up absolutely empty with this one.. )

"Aurora. Whitegrazer. This is Orcariner, I've brought back-up. What's your status?"

Aurora almost jumped when the orca's voice suddenly chimed in over the radio, causing her to look around rather nervously to make sure the noise had not just made the spiders aware of their presence in the cave. Fortunately all seemed quiet.. at least for now.

"We're further down in the caves, approaching the spiders' whereabouts," she transmitted back, keeping her voice so low that it was barely audible. They were too close to risk getting caught now. She stopped, glancing at the blinking notification light on her wrist mounted computer.

Flicking the screen on for a moment, she quickly realized that the hacked spider-bot had been destroyed. Which in turn meant that the spiders were aware of their presence. Glancing towards Whitegrazer, she sent the white mare a concerned look. "They know. We could be heading into a trap."

[una]

"Aurora. Whitegrazer. This is Orcariner, I've brought back-up. What's your status?"

"We're further down in the caves, approaching the spiders' whereabouts,"

"They know. We could be heading into a trap."

"Since Orcariner is here, our best bet is to draw the spiders outsi--" her whisper soon silenced by Tarantulas and Arachnitron's gunfire towards them. Whitegrazer kept herself inbetween the fire so Aurora wouldn't get hit. Her right arm was hit by one of Tarantulas's cyber venom blasts. It stiffened and numbed as she shook it, holding back the pain that venom strung inside. She scooped up Aurora with her left arm, keeping her shielded from the fire and ran as fast as she could towards the exit, "Sorry, I know you hate when I carry you like this, but we must be swift and I can keep you from harm this way." With too much energon and too little space, it wasn't wise to fight, but to flee back outside like she was going to suggest.

She dashed towards the sunny backdrop of the desert and warned the Maximal whale of their predicament, "Orcariner! We are coming out with the Predacons right behind us."

[Alak]

"Orcariner! We are coming out with the Predacons right behind us."

"Blast!" Orcariner exclaimed.

Turning to Rhinox, he motioned with his head towards the cave entrance.

"The Preds have found the others. They're being pushed out of the cave so let's go rendezvous with them there. We'll give the Predacons a welcome once they come outside."

That, and it would be nice to finally go someplace where Orcariner and Rhinox would not feel so confined due to their bulk.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Aurora. Whitegrazer. This is Orcariner, I've brought back-up. What's your status?"

While Orcariner attempted to contact their two comrades, Rhinox remained quiet and aware of their surroundings so that no one could sneak up behind them as they ventured further into the cave. His large friend in front of him blocked most of he light that his sword was producing. There was a response from what sounded like Aurora's voice but Rhinox couldn't make out what she said. It didn't matter so long as Orcariner could comprehend her.

Suddenly, there was gun fire echoing down the tunnel toward the two larger Maximals, followed by Whitegrazer's voice. Rhinox grip tightened on his chain gun.

"Orcariner! We are coming out with the Predacons right behind us."

"Blast!" "The Preds have found the others. They're being pushed out of the cave so let's go rendezvous with them there. We'll give the Predacons a welcome once they come outside."

Nodding in agreement, the rhinoceros hoped for the best for their two female friends to exit without harm and proceeded to hurry back out of the cave to where he and Orcariner had entered. Rhinox then turned to the right to hide on that side of the entrance way on the outside of the cave in anticipation of the Predacon followers. They still needed to be careful of not triggering any cave-ins, at least not until Whitegrazer and Aurora made it outside.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Giving Quickstrike a chance to wake up & rejoin gameplay, I'll carry him out if his player doesn't return by my next turn lol.

Blackrose wrote: Arachnitron nodded in agreement and raced after Tarantulas as quickly as she could while carrying Blackarachnia. Once they reached the location of the Maximals, she placed the unconscious widow in a safe place behind some of the cave's boulders. Tarantulas didn't give any kind of a warning to the Maximals to leave, he just started firing at them without even knowing where they were or how many there were total. He was determined to keep the mine for himself, but Arachnitron noticed Quickstrike unconscious at the entrance of the cave. So, it was just her and Tarantulas left standing against....who knows how many Maximals! How would they ever drive them out of the cave and win this battle?! Arachnitron raised her own cybervenom blaster and added her firepower to Tarantulas'.

Shaking her head at what seemed like impossible odds, Arachnitron couldn't help but ask to Tarantulas over the sound of their weapons fire, "Do you even have a plan?"

Not even looking back at her as Tarantulas continued to fire at the maximals, Tarantulas replied "I find your lack of faith disturbing my dear, I ALWAYS have a plan! Just don't always expect me to have time to explain it all beforehand in the middle of a fire fight! Keep shooting!"

He was pleased that they had managed to force the maximals out of the cave as planned, now he merely had to get himself and his...Ugh..."Team" out as well before he blew the entrance. Without turning his back to the maximals as they left the cave, continuing to fire at them to keep them at bay, he swiftly kicked Quickstrike in the side and said "WAKE UP FUZOR! The maximals our at our doorstep! We must fight to keep the cave at any cost!"

[NaitoKage]

"WAKE UP FUZOR! The maximals our at our doorstep! We must fight to keep the cave at any cost!"

Quickstrike came back online from the sudden kick, pushing some of the metal beams on his body off he rubbed his head Wha? huh? Maximals?! Quickstrike responded completely incoherent as he got up, wobbling a bit uneasily as he pointed his snakehead out and started firing cybervenom blasts in the maximal's direction, though far from the most accurate as he seemed to still be suffering from his injuries with double vision or quad vision I didn't know the maxi's made clones! They're everywhere! he shouted to himself.

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: As I explained, we only have computer now that my fiance's computer crashed. He needs the computer right now so I will post in this thread tomorrow.

[DarkSpark]

Naitokage wrote: Quickstrike came back online from the sudden kick, pushing some of the metal beams on his body off he rubbed his head Wha? huh? Maximals?! Quickstrike responded completely incoherent as he got up, wobbling a bit uneasily as he pointed his snakehead out and started firing cybervenom blasts in the maximal's direction, though far from the most accurate as he seemed to still be suffering from his injuries with double vision or quad vision I didn't know the maxi's made clones! They're everywhere! he shouted to himself.

Tarantulas rolled his unieye as he dragged the dizzy fuzor outside, supporting his cybervenom blasts with shots of his own as he shouted out "Keep fighting! We must keep the maximals away from the cavern at all costs!"

This part of the plan was risky and dangerous given Quickstrike's and Blackarachnia's current states, but they needed to make this look convincing or else he'd risk both sides returning to the cave to investigate later. The maximals needed to believe they wanted the cave desperately so they would in turn try to destroy it as best they could, but he would in turn blow the mine first before any real damage could be caused and the maximals would think themselves heroes as usual and they'd slink back to base to tell Megatron the bad news...And he could return later to claim what would be then all his!

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: Not sure if Una plans to have BA to join us again or not....if not, I can edit...

BIC:

In response to their gun fire, the Maximals raced out of the cave to get to better cover. For a brief moment, the battle was halted as the two conscious spiders remained in the cave. The short respite was long enough for the spiders to get their bearings on the situation and for Tarantulas to take a moment to shout back a response to her questioning about his plan.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing my dear, I ALWAYS have a plan! Just don't always expect me to have time to explain it all beforehand in the middle of a fire fight! Keep shooting!"

"Oh, of course!" Arachnitron responded quickly feeling ashamed at having doubted Tarantulas' strategy. "I should have known that," she added hastily.

Tarantulas turned to the unconscious Quickstrike and kicked him hard.

"WAKE UP FUZOR! The maximals our at our doorstep! We must fight to keep the cave at any cost!"

Quickstrike, looking bleary eyed and a bit unsteady, stood up and fired a few of his own cybervenom blasts at the retreating Maximals.

Tarantulas didn't waste any time. He pushed the fuzor towards the entrance of the cave, continued to shower the Maximals with cybervenom, and raced afted the enemy all at the same time.

"Keep fighting! We must keep the maximals away from the cavern at all costs!"

Knowing they needed the extra firepower, Arachnitron shook Blackarachnia roughly hoping to wake the other unconscious Predacon the same way Tarantulas had woken Quickstrike.

"Let's go, Blackarachnia! The cave is under attack!" she shouted at the other she-spider.

Arachnitron continued to fire her weapon after the Maximals and decided to drag Blackarachnia along with her as she followed Tarantulas and Quickstrike out of the cave. She hoped Blackarachnia would awaken soon!

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Oops, I just noticed Una did post here a while back.. )

"Since Orcariner is here, our best bet is to draw the spiders outsi--"

Aurora immediately flattened her ears, her eyes moving from the attacking Tarantulas to Whitegrazer who'd apparently been hit. She wanted to ask if the other female was okay but never got the chance before the taller femme suddenly grabbed her and started running.

A protest quickly fading on her tongue, Aurora did not exactly approve of Whitegrazer's methods but she couldn't argue with her reasoning.

"Sorry, I know you hate when I carry you like this, but we must be swift and I can keep you from harm this way."

"Just don't make a habit of it," the small ermine groaned, her hands fiddling with her bow as best she could considering the very bumpy ride and the limited movements this position allowed for.

[Alak]

Bursting from the cave and back out into the open desert. Orcariner turned to find both Whitegrazer and Aurora already outside.

"Everything alright?"

He shot a look back towards the caves.

"Do we know how far behind the Predacons are?"