"More Than Meets The Eye: Part III"

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Sorry for the delay guys, hope this will do for now.

NaitoKage wrote: Waspinator got out of his CR tank, annoyed at Deathroll by now. Waspinator then looked around noticing the base shaking. What the?

Meanwhile, Tarantulas continued on at the computer in the medical bay, leaning slightly out of the way as some things fell off a shelf. A visual display of the seismic activity over layed onto a map generated of the planet, as well as an abnormally high energy signature detected gathering in the distance away. Well well well.. Either the Maximals screwed up in a bad way, or they're back again.. Of all the times..

Tarantulas then exited the medical bay, heading to the bridge. He looked over at Nemesis I believe you were in-charge bird, so I imagine you might like to know this.. It would seem one of the Alien relics has come online. Tarantulas then stated, giving an emphasis on in charge, as he didn't care for these silly ranks Megatron gave his merry band of morons. Tarantulas then walked over to the bridge console, bringing up the visuals he found on the medical computer earlier for Nemesis to see. To paraphrase the Rat, we're all going to die.

"Not if I have anything to say about it Tarantulas, no" Megatron said as he emerged from the shadows onto the bridge, not the first time the saurian predacon had displayed surprising stealth despite his size, as he continued to say "Show me the coordinates of the quakes origin...THE FOOLS! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?!"

Megatron recognized the coordinates instantly as one of the alien sites he himself had discovered long ago in secret and left alone for good reason, and yet now apparently someone had found said site and was now activating its hidden weapon for their own purposes, an action which would have dire consequences for them all if he did not put a stop to it immediately! Deathroll and Inferno watched on, confused by Megatron's sudden shift in mood from calm and collected despite the crisis they now faced to enraged and unsettled, more so than even the most senior members of the Darksyde crew had seen him in a while, including those who were usually on his scrap list.

Pushing Tarantulas aside and addressing his second in command "Commander, what has Umbra reported? It is vital that I know whether the maximals are behind this or that renegade Zodiac."

Either or, it was still bad news for him and his forces, but he almost hoped it WAS Primal doing this because he knew that obnoxiously noble maximal had limits to how far he was willing to go to win the Beast Wars, whereas Zodiac was liable to show no such restraint...By the Pit this day was quickly going south despite its promising start, he might actually have to evacuate the Darksyde if the quakes got any stronger!

"What the slag is going on around here? I'm offline for a few cycles and the whole place falls ap...OW!" Terrorsaur began to say before being smacked in the back of the head by Deathroll, the transmetal gator giving him a look that said "be quiet or die," the pterodactyl reluctantly but wisely doing so.

"I have served the Royalty faithfully for as long as I can remember, and I have never seen him this way" Inferno said, the usually gleefully oblivious ant showing real concern, possibly even dread on his face...If the Royalty was frighte...er...Upset, what did that mean for the Colony? How grave was this threat exactly? And how could he help to stop it?

"Never a good sign when the coolest con in the room is worried" Deathroll replied to the ant, his decepticon military training helping him to keep calm, but it wasn't easy when clearly something bigger than minor seismic activity was now threatening them, and he had learned long ago that the only time it was appropriate to be nervous was when even your superior officers, the strongest amongst your forces, were uneasy, and while Megatron was doing a good job of maintaining his composure and taking charge of the crisis, he could sense the urgency in his voice.

Something bad was coming, something bigger than maximals or autobots, and he was likely gonna have to deal with it on his first day on the job as third in command and while still getting used to his bizarre new transmetal body. Hooray for him.

[una]

"Are ya sure? 'Cause you sounded a bit worried about it a second ago,"

"Do you or are you just projecting?" Blackarachnia smirked at the rat.

"Pfff. Former? Yeah right,"

"Very likely."

"Great, now we gotta deal with them, too?"

She narrowed her optics at the rat. She didn't really care about her comrades right about now. All she wanted to do was to save her own finish now, but later? Did she really want her comrades to end in that way? Well, maybe Megatron and Tarantulas. The others? Meh. But really, besides Megatron and Tarantulas, she really didn't want to be the one of the few Predacons left here. To be stuck on this planet with these Maximals? Blergh.

"Rattrap will be leading this mission, so everyone follows his orders."

"Me? Why not Optimus?"

"Because Optimus isn't fit to command right now, remember? But he can still offer fire power and flight capabilities. Not to mention he'll be able to get closer to Zodiac than any of us, with Whitegrazer as the only other exception."

The idea of following the rat's orders made her a bit uneasy, but Optimus was still the one she needed to led into the mountain. So no worries for her there.

"Spiders are always scheming," he said. "You better be careful with her as yer passenger, Optimus. She could just as easily pull out 'er weapon an' shoot you, paralyzin' you."

"I'll be fine," he assured him. "I'm sure she won't want to fall out of the sky at 10,000 feet."

"Don't worry, I will behave. Just don't shoot me in the back." She warned the rat. She looked at him. Remember what you said here. If you try to shoot me down, I will do just that to your leader.

Blackarachnia grabbed a pistol and went towards Optimus who was ready to fly and offered his hand out to her. She stared at it for second, but she didn't take it. It was going to take her awhile. She sat down in the back with her pistol held up. Partly, because she still remember what he did, and partly because always have to watch the back, so no one could pull any tricks on her.

"You know the way, right?"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________-

"What is this plan?,"

She put a gentle hand on Aurora's shoulder, "I have tried to reason with Zodiac several times. He seems adamant to just cause Optimus and the rest of us pain. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get through him. The only way I might be able to is if I showed Zodiac who he really is. Not what he thinks he is."

Are you referring to me.. or to yourself?,

You either needed to escape like Nemesis did or stay. You stayed. For your own survival. No one would blame you for that. But because of you staying, you forgot those which I listed. Especially, towards Nemesis? You left her with us when you tried to blow us up. Whitegrazer ignored Zodiac's little tidbits of her past. This wasn't about her. This was about him.

"Are you?" he asked Whitegrazer. "The way I see it, we're both compromised and we have no other choice. I can do this," he tried convincing her and as well as himself when she showed up on the bridge and their optics locked on to each other. Although, it would be easier with her guidance to help keep him focused and calm. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to have it, not while Zodiac invaded her mind. So he would have make do on his own. He would just have to recall some of her meditations as long as he had the time to collect his thoughts. "My healing can begin later... with your help."

She still didn't like this, stared into his optics and saw that he really wanted to do this, but if she couldn't do what she planned, Optimus was the only one in here to distract Zodiac. Now, that Ironclaw entered the equation. She might not be needed, but she was going to do what she said she would do. She wasn't giving up. At least, there were backup plans, yet she wished Optimus didn't have to do this. He shouldn't have too, but what he said was true. She sighed relenting, "I just wished our connection wasn't blocked. But I can't. Not with Zodiac and I's opened connection. Zodiac hasn't figure it out how it works, but I can't take that chance of him having access to your spark like that. It would be careless of me to do that to you. "

She nodded her head and smiled at Optimus. Yes, the healing. She was going to make sure after all this mess was over with that Optimus had a few mediatation sessions with her, "I'll hold you to that, Optimus."

Go. He'll need help. And we need these earthquakes to stop as soon as possible."

"I'll see you there, Whitegrazer,"

Whitegrazer gazed into Optimus' optics, seeing all sort of conflicting emotions. She understood that well, and not just with Optimus. Looking down, watched as Optimus took one of her hands, "You two be safe out there. Especially when you face Zodiac. Don't let him get inside your head. I will do my best to help you. The connection between Zodiac and I will get stronger once I'm closer to him. Hopefully, I could get him to stop. "

As his hand left hers, her hand closed and placed it close to her spark. She needed to stop Zodiac. Maybe if she did, maybe Optimus could then get a clear shot. All they have to do is maybe bring Zodiac back in the brig again. She really hadn't thought that far ahead, but she knew she must do her hardest to stop Zodiac before he can pull anything on her friends, on Optimus.

"The rest of you, get your things together and head out. Don't linger too far behind them, and be prepared for Predacon ambushes,"

She closed her optics, taking a few deep breaths. Once she was getting closer, the connection between her and Zodiac was going to grow. She would have to have to have complete concentration. Focus. Opening her optics, she stared at Rhinox and Aurora, smiling, "You took care of each other while we are gone, okay?"

[Phoenix]

Optimus and Blackarachnia just bee lined out of the Maximal base.

Nemesis listened to Umbra's brief report, pondering this turn of events. It was not like Optimus to abandon his ship and crew mates unless, of course, he had a very good reason for doing so. Like attempting to save their lives for instance. It was also peculiar that he was bringing BlackArachnia along with him instead of one of his Maximals.

"Are you able to find out where they are going? Or at least provide us with a direction so that we can monitor the situation?," she responded back to Umbra.

I believe you were in-charge bird, so I imagine you might like to know this.. It would seem one of the Alien relics has come online. To paraphrase the Rat, we're all going to die.

The newly appointed commander looked over at the data Tarantulas had collected. Suddenly it all started making a lot more sense. Alien weapons, the sudden onset of earthquakes that were shaking both the Axalon and the Darksyde, Primal and BlackArachnia leaving somewhere in a hurry.

"We need to send a team..," Nemesis muttered, mostly to herself, just as Megatron's made his appearance known.

"Not if I have anything to say about it Tarantulas, no" Megatron said as he emerged from the shadows onto the bridge, not the first time the saurian predacon had displayed surprising stealth despite his size, as he continued to say "Show me the coordinates of the quakes origin...THE FOOLS! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?!"

As the coordinates for the destination of origin for the earthquakes was triangulated on the computer monitor, Megatron's mood seemed to sour even more. And to make matters worse another aftershock hit their base at the same time, violently shaking the walls and threatening to bring the entire base down around them. Nemesis grabbed onto the console to maintain her balance, her optics darting from Megatron to the creaking walls of the already strained vessel, and finally to the rift that was starting to form in the floor where lava had started to pour in.

A moment later the quake stopped as abruptly as it had started, leaving them all shaken but alive. Nemesis let go of the console and straightened herself out again.

"Commander, what has Umbra reported? It is vital that I know whether the maximals are behind this or that renegade Zodiac."

"I do not believe Primal is responsible for this," Nemesis replied as she pointed to the triangulated spot of origin on the computer screen. "Umbra reports that Primal is headed there and he seemed to be in a hurry."

For now she left out the part about BlackArachnia being with Primal. Megatron was fuming already, there was no point in adding even more fuel to the fire right now. Of course BlackArachnia was about to need all her wits about her when Megatron found her working with the Maximals, for there was nothing Nemesis could do to protect the female spider anymore. She had remained there voluntarily and would have to suffer the consequences thereof when the Predacons caught up with her.

"Whatever is behind all this..," Nemesis continued, tapping the spot on the screen as she did, "..This is where we can find it."

"I have tried to reason with Zodiac several times. He seems adamant to just cause Optimus and the rest of us pain. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get through him. The only way I might be able to is if I showed Zodiac who he really is. Not what he thinks he is."

Aurora was no less confused by Whitegrazer's puzzling response. She wondered what Whitegrazer had seen through this mental link of theirs that would bring her to such a conclusion as everything she had seen of the shapeshifter painted him in a bad light. He was obviously highly intelligent, but also extremely vindictive, manipulative and downright evil with no concern for anyone else's well being. Or at least she hadn't seen him show any such concern. He had retreated when Dirge fell at the hands of Ironclaw, a Maximal.. or at least she thought that's what he was. It was hard to tell, honestly, given all the secrecy and mood swings the transmetal badger had shown lately.

Who he really is.. Whitegrazer's words repeated in Aurora's mind as they made their way to the outside where the Maximals were dividing into teams. On their way there, another strong earthquake hit the base with tremendous force. Aurora couldn't avoid falling onto her hands and knees, her fragile wings folding over her like a blanket as she covered her head to avoid any debris that could fall down due to the tremors. Fortunately their base was strong enough to withstand the force, if only barely, and as the quake subsided moments later Aurora brushed the messy lock of fur out of her face and slowly, carefully, pushed her way up to a standing position. "I hope you know what you're doing..," Aurora told Whitegrazer in a meek voice, really not sure how much more abuse their base.. their home.. could take. These quakes were getting stronger and Aurora couldn't shake the growing feeling that something else, something even worse, was coming.

They met up with Optimus and the others outside. Optimus was about to depart with BlackArachnia and Whitegrazer and the others would follow. Aurora felt.. uncertain about all of it, honestly. What if they didn't get there in time, what if they couldn't stop Zodiac from completing his plans..? What if it was an ambush?

Optimus and the female spider left first while the others prepared to follow them. Aurora watched the monkey take off and could only hope everything would work out. It had to.

"You took care of each other while we are gone, okay?"

Whitegrazer's concern for their well being was genuine, touching, and to a small extent it did help the fuzor relax a bit. "Only if you do the same," Aurora responded, glancing from Rhinox to Whitegrazer as she spoke. She couldn't survive losing any more close friends, she really couldn't. "And watch out for Optimus!," she added, knowing it was not the best idea for their psychologically compromised leader to rush into a situation such as this.

You either needed to escape like Nemesis did or stay. You stayed. For your own survival. No one would blame you for that. But because of you staying, you forgot those which I listed. Especially, towards Nemesis? You left her with us when you tried to blow us up.

Whitegrazer's condemning comment came at the worst possible time, distracting him as he made his attack on Ironclaw. A brief moment of distraction allowed the transmetal badger to headbutt him, sending the shapeshifter staggering backwards for a moment while grabbing his now pounding forehead. Before he had a chance to recover, Ironclaw had followed up with a powerful uppercut that came with enough force to split the shapeshifter's lip. But instead of the normal mech fluid that would appear had he been anyone else, the area immediately started glowing as his nanomachines effectively repaired the damage. Zodiac's optics narrowed at his attacker

I stayed out of my own free will!, the shapeshifter argued back to Whitegrazer. And what do I care about Nemesis or any of them for that sake?! His mental outburst seemed strained, his attention elsewhere. It was no little feat that he was even able to respond to her as he was indeed rather preoccupied right now, much more so than that he'd be able to dwell into her thoughts and try to figure out what she and the Maximals were up to. His free hand started glowing as the nanomachines rapidly changed the shape of his hand to form a spiked mace. He promptly used this mace to swing at Ironclaw, attempting to keep him preoccupied enough that the shapeshifter could grab a hold of him and let his nanomachines finish the job. He did not have time to deal with this bounty hunter or whatever Ironclaw was right now.

[DarkSpark]

Phoenix wrote: "I do not believe Primal is responsible for this," Nemesis replied as she pointed to the triangulated spot of origin on the computer screen. "Umbra reports that Primal is headed there and he seemed to be in a hurry."

For now she left out the part about BlackArachnia being with Primal. Megatron was fuming already, there was no point in adding even more fuel to the fire right now. Of course BlackArachnia was about to need all her wits about her when Megatron found her working with the Maximals, for there was nothing Nemesis could do to protect the female spider anymore. She had remained there voluntarily and would have to suffer the consequences thereof when the Predacons caught up with her.

"Whatever is behind all this..," Nemesis continued, tapping the spot on the screen as she did, "..This is where we can find it."

"I know what is behind this, and that is exactly the problem!" Megatron snarled, not angry at Nemesis but rather at how of all the bots on this planet, after he had hidden the alien device from everyone for so long, it had fallen into the hands of Zodiac, the insane shapeshifter had somehow stumbled across it and was now putting it to use!

"Then tell us what the slag is..." Terrorsaur began to say until this time Inferno clamped his hand over Terrorsaur's mouth to keep it shut, earning a nod of thanks from Deathroll as the pterodactyl glared at them venomously as they in turn patiently awaited orders from their leader as he took control of the crisis at hand.

He opened the comm to Umbra and ordered "Umbra, who does Primal have with him? Regardless, follow them and keep me posted, do not engage unless absolutely necessary, let the maximals do the dirty work and soften Zodiac up for us, no sense in letting the traitor know we're on to him, nnnnnooooo. I shall be arriving shortly with a team to assist you, but if you see an opportunity to disable the alien device beforehand while Zodiac is distracted with Primal and his pawns, take it. The device must not be allowed to remain functional, nor its location remain available to the maximals or Zodiac, better to bury them all alive with the Vok's secrets and be done with it, either way I'll be rid of several unwanted variables in my quest to a Predacon controlled Cybertron, yyyyyeeesssss."

If Megatron could not control the weapon of the Vok as he saw fit then no one else would benefit from its destructive might, nnnnoooo.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: una, just be careful with Blackarachnia sitting on the back of his hoverboard. His thruster is back there. XD ))

A slight frown appeared on the gorilla's blue face when he watched Blackarachnia decline his gesture to help her up onto his board.

Did you actually expect her to accept your hand? the voice laughed as they flew off. You shot her up and landed her in a CR! And rightly so, after all, she lent a foot to that scar on your face in your robot mode, AND she was infiltrating YOUR base. Why should you feel guilty for firing upon her? Your actions were justified, so stop being such a coward!

I'm not! I can forgive and forget... I don't hold grudges. Maybe she won't either. Someone has to take the first- Optimus was telling the manipulative whisper until the spider's voice interrupted him.

"You know the way, right?"

"Yes," he answered Blackarachnia over his shoulder as his internal navigation system was locked on to the coordinates. He increased his altitude along with his speed and tried to remain vigilant of any Predacon fliers by scanning with his pink optics below them and behind them every so often. So far it was quiet and they were alone in the sky.

"I just wished our connection wasn't blocked. But I can't. Not with Zodiac and I's opened connection. Zodiac hasn't figure it out how it works, but I can't take that chance of him having access to your spark like that. It would be careless of me to do that to you."

Was Whitegrazer underestimating him? Maybe he'd like to have a go with Zodiac through her connection to him. As unstable as he was, maybe he'd let his inner beast loose and manage to keep the shapeshifter distracted. But what would it do to the Empath? Perhaps it would be catastrophic... If it came down to it, he'd like to try. Until then, he was on his own with no help or encouragement from Whitegrazer. Just him and the voices.

"I'll hold you to that, Optimus."

His word was always good, as her own resonated in his memory. He very much looked forward to being himself again, he just didn't know how to do it on his own. He knew he needed help, he had already admitted that, it was just a matter of when they'd have more time to work on him and get it done. Primal didn't quite understand how these whispers had developed, and if it was more than just a mental instability. Maybe it was physical as well; some wires were crossed or his processor was damaged. He didn't know.

"You two be safe out there. Especially when you face Zodiac. Don't let him get inside your head. I will do my best to help you. The connection between Zodiac and I will get stronger once I'm closer to him. Hopefully, I could get him to stop."

Don't let him get inside my head, thought Optimus, repeating what Whitegrazer had said, remembering her optics gazing into his. Well, so many others were already inside his mind, what difference would one more make? No, he shouldn't think like that. It mattered. He had to trust Whitegrazer. The ones he had been dealing with already were enough to drive him crazy. Adding Zodiac might push him over the edge. Of course, that could help... Recalling the time Scorponok's cyber bee had the reverse effect on him and made him almost unstoppable was a negative turned into a positive in his favor. All he really needed to do was remember all the pain and suffering the shapeshifter had put his Maximals through so far. All the lies and deception. Pretending to be Nexus... How that angered him. And now Whitegrazer sharing his nanotech, and him almost killing her, almost killing ALL of them. Yes, Zodiac was going to get what was coming to him. I'll make sure of it, he thought bitterly.

Yes, feed off of that hatred and anger. It's what's going to keep us alive, Optimus.

Not yet. Now is not the time, he objected, taking a deep breath and trying to suppress the voice. When we get closer... When he's in our sight.

"Blackarachnia, I apologize for my conduct earlier. I... I haven't been myself," he stammered, trying to explain himself. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but Megatron... did something to me. We may very well run into him soon, and despite what happened earlier, I want you to know that I'll have your back. You may not hear that very often, and you have every right not to trust me, but we'll both need to rely on each other until our back-up arrives."

You sound like such a fool. She's probably in this just to get to the weapon herself.

She's not just some selfish maniac, you know, Optimus said in his mind.

Perhaps not, but she IS a Predacon.

Only in her programming. Her spark is that of Maximal origin. But allegiance doesn't matter! It doesn't define who one is.

Yes, it does. In this war it does.

No, it doesn't.

The way you think is quite absurd and troubling.

Me? Don't you mean we? Primal corrected the voice.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

-----

"Don't worry, I will behave. Just don't shoot me in the back."

Rattrap rolled his shoulders and eyes. As much as he'd love to just randomly shoot her in the back, he wouldn't without a substantial cause, like, say, shooting any of his friends in the back and taking the weapon for herself.

Well, that's one scheme she wouldn't want to get er' hands on lad.. Rheanium gas increases the yer density to a ridiculous amount. They stopped usin' it fer armor because it made some Maximals so heavy they couldn't move.. With the swarm gone, most wouldn't use it fer anything other then ballast or bullets.

"Well, in dat case...," he smirked until more tremors hit and he quickly tried maintaining his balance so he didn't fall over again.

Aye, she doesn't seem suicidal unless the other arachnid is in er' head.

"Yeah, well, dat's what kinda concerns me the most. Him and Megatron and Zodiac." Rattrap paused for a moment before adding, "We got a lotta problems, you know dat?" He followed everyone down to the hangar, taking the pistol that Landslide handed to him with his giant hand.

"You took care of each other while we are gone, okay?"

Rhinox nodded to the mare, keeping himself steady when another earthquake shook the base.

"Only if you do the same," "And watch out for Optimus!,"

The engineer agreed with Aurora and for a moment, he laid his large hand on her shoulder as he stood behind her and watched the others take their leave to possibly one of their most dangerous missions yet. Good luck, he wished them silently.

Landslide, vehicle mode! Alright, get on!

As soon as Rattrap climbed onto Landslide, he went to work on applying the pistol's power to the beetle's system.

"They'll be alright," Rhinox tried assuring Aurora. "In the mean time, we've got work to do."

(( OOC: That's all the time I have for now. It's midnight and I need to get to bed. ))

[una]

((OOC: OOPS!!! Maybe I should had Blackarachnia jump on him and ride him like Quickstrike rode on Inferno in Coming of the Fuzors. ))

"Blackarachnia, I apologize for my conduct earlier. I... I haven't been myself," he stammered, trying to explain himself. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but Megatron... did something to me. We may very well run into him soon, and despite what happened earlier, I want you to know that I'll have your back. You may not hear that very often, and you have every right not to trust me, but we'll both need to rely on each other until our back-up arrives."

Wait. He was actually apologizing? To her? Blackarachnia didn't know how to respond to that. Of course, he apologized, though. He was a Maximal. That's what they do. Predacons don't apologize for their actions. And she wasn't going to either. But she wasn't going to reveal to Optimus that she was disgusted by Megatron and Tarantulas' actions towards him. Yes, she did kick him when he was down, but at least, she wasn't rough as those two or worse, Tarantulas evading his mind that too. She, actually, empathized with that. Something she would do. Kick him. Shoot him. Punch him. Knock on the head. But invasion of that cailbur wasn't her. Except Tarantulas still had a grip on her mentally while Optimus' was temporary.

She realized she was a bit silent in front of Optimus. She still didn't know what to say. It was infuriating. So, she decided to keep her mind on the job. She looked behind, watching the landscape changed from the savannah to the desert to a slow tickle of snow.

"No sign of my former comrades, but they would be here." Blackarachnia grasped her crossbow, eyeing the skies. Looked behind. Saw no Predacons around. "Though, I don't know if they would attack us. They probably would watch and see what we are doing. If grapeface figures it out that Zodiac is behind this, he might just have them wait for an opportunity to try and grab the device while we have Zodiac distracted."

She didn't want Megatron to have that device. She wanted it.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"I hope you know what you're doing..,"

Whitegrazer prayed she did as well.

"Only if you do the same," Aurora responded, glancing from Rhinox to Whitegrazer as she spoke. She couldn't survive losing any more close friends, she really couldn't. "And watch out for Optimus!,"

"I will. I promise." Especially, watching out for Optimus. Feeling the earthquake, knowing that they didn't have much time, they needed to move. And now. She quickly made her way to Landslide. Taking a deep breath before she entered inside the Maximal beetle along with Rattrap. She looked back at Aurora and Rhinox. She was worried. Hopefully, the Predacons would be more interested in what they were doing then going in the Axalon. After all, the Axalon was beaten down hard due to the earlier battles and the earthquakes were cracking down on it's weight. It was too dangerous and too unstable.

I stayed out of my own free will!, the shapeshifter argued back to Whitegrazer. And what do I care about Nemesis or any of them for that sake?!

Yes, you did. And Nemesis left because she wanted to escape. Whitegrazer didn't believe that Zodiac's words. Maybe she could get some details about their relationship? She always felt like Zodiac and Nemesis had some sort of connection. Do you really don't care about Nemesis? She was there too. Did your burning rage towards Optimus and us blinded you to the fact that you almost killed someone who understands you, knew what it was like back there?

She sat down in her meditation position. Her face grimaced as she felt a pounding headache. Her mouth felt like it had been cut sharp by a powerful iron fist. Must be Ironclaw's attack at Zodiac. Her earlier statement must have distracted Zodiac. Maybe it was because of the mention of Nemesis?

She smiled at Rattrap and realized that maybe she should warn Rattrap and Landslide both, "Just a precaution, guys. As my connection grows between Zodiac and I, the connection will be stronger. Intense. You might see things or hear things from my own end that would be unusual. All I'm going to say is that you two don't worry about me. If that happens, I can handle it."

Took a couple more deep breaths. Concentrated. Focused on her connection between Zodiac and herself. Erased her concerns for the time being. Wiped away anything from her mind that would distract her. She needed to remain calm. Serene. The nanomachines that were still inside her seemed to be running around. Crawling. That's all they did.

[NaitoKage]

( You know, I was going to mention Blackarachnia sitting on Optimus with a thruster to her stomach/chest but figured no one would care. *LOL* Just have Blackarachnia sit on the front of the board like Rhinox did, if it can hold him, it can hold her easily. )

"Yeah, well, dat's what kinda concerns me the most. Him and Megatron and Zodiac." "We got a lotta problems, you know dat?"

Aye. Far too many problems have developed in a short length of time.. At the going rate, we wont be able to keep up.

"Just a precaution, guys. As my connection grows between Zodiac and I, the connection will be stronger. Intense. You might see things or hear things from my own end that would be unusual. All I'm going to say is that you two don't worry about me. If that happens, I can handle it."

Landslide's beetle optic raised a ridge listening to Whitegrazer Aye, but if yer head starts spinnin' around or starts attackin' Rattrap, I'm pullin' over and tying you up lass. Landslide's tailgate raised up with his elytra/wing shield raising and coming together as a roof over Rattrap and Whitegrazer to reduce some of the wind. His thrusters then started to power up as he rolled out of the hanger, then turned all the thrusters pointing down while attempting to balance the thrust from the three with the new smaller engine. As Landslide lifted into the air, he tilted slightly seeming to drift. Whoa whoa whoa! There we go! Sorry about that. He then started to balance out level while hovering straight up, his thrusters then angled and he flew off following Optimus who easily flew off into the distance.

_______________________________________________

"Umbra, who does Primal have with him? Regardless, follow them and keep me posted, do not engage unless absolutely necessary, let the maximals do the dirty work and soften Zodiac up for us, no sense in letting the traitor know we're on to him, nnnnnooooo. I shall be arriving shortly with a team to assist you, but if you see an opportunity to disable the alien device beforehand while Zodiac is distracted with Primal and his pawns, take it. The device must not be allowed to remain functional, nor its location remain available to the maximals or Zodiac, better to bury them all alive with the Vok's secrets and be done with it, either way I'll be rid of several unwanted variables in my quest to a Predacon controlled Cybertron, yyyyyeeesssss."

As you wish Lord Megatron. Umbra responded on radio and observed as Optimus started to head off with Blackarachnia, he then noticed Landslide soon after exiting the hanger, seeming to fly almost like he was drunk or stumbling in the air for a moment, then got his bearings and started to take off. Umbra's eyes zoomed in as he noticed some white visible from Landslide's backside, part of his cargo bay seemed to be open from the back, revealing Whitegrazer sitting in the back, probably due to the limit of his Cargobay's size and Whitegrazer's height.

As a heads up, Optimus isn't alone. He seems to be heading there with Blackarachnia, and that giant beetle Landslide has Whitegrazer on him, but i can't tell if any others.. he's almost like a troop carrier.

Umbra looked at the Maximal base's defenses, then started to slither between rocks as he moved out of range of detection of the Axalon. Transforming to robot mode, he started to run following Landslide, though the giant was starting to disappear into the distance. Umbra sighed and leaped up with his thrusters and spread his tentacles out expanding their webbing and altered his camo pattern to try to match the sky. As he flew through the air, he attempted to keep his distance to avoid being spotted, as he didn't know Landslide's sensor capabilities.

______________________________________

As Tarantulas overheard Umbra from Megatron's open com, he frowned hearing Blackarachnia was going with Optimus. That witch is up to something.. he thought to himself. It was bad enough she ran to the Maximals, but now the prospect of her messing around with Vok technology again, another desperate ploy for power. He would have to see to it that it blows up in her face, perhaps for the last time.

[DarkSpark]

NaitoKage wrote: As you wish Lord Megatron. Umbra responded on radio and observed as Optimus started to head off with Blackarachnia, he then noticed Landslide soon after exiting the hanger, seeming to fly almost like he was drunk or stumbling in the air for a moment, then got his bearings and started to take off. Umbra's eyes zoomed in as he noticed some white visible from Landslide's backside, part of his cargo bay seemed to be open from the back, revealing Whitegrazer sitting in the back, probably due to the limit of his Cargobay's size and Whitegrazer's height.

As a heads up, Optimus isn't alone. He seems to be heading there with Blackarachnia, and that giant beetle Landslide has Whitegrazer on him, but i can't tell if any others.. he's almost like a troop carrier.

Umbra looked at the Maximal base's defenses, then started to slither between rocks as he moved out of range of detection of the Axalon. Transforming to robot mode, he started to run following Landslide, though the giant was starting to disappear into the distance. Umbra sighed and leaped up with his thrusters and spread his tentacles out expanding their webbing and altered his camo pattern to try to match the sky. As he flew through the air, he attempted to keep his distance to avoid being spotted, as he didn't know Landslide's sensor capabilities.

"Blackarachnia...." Megatron growled with undisguised loathing in his voice, he hated the spiders more than any of his other troops, and right then at this moment, Blackarachnia was at the top of his most hated list, Tarantulas at least was still a Predacon, yet that wretched widow had dared to switch sides just as...Just as...Dinobot had done...This was unacceptable to say the least, no more of his predacons could be allowed to side with the maximal filth that sought to oppress all their kind just so they could cling to the rank and privilege their ancestors had left for them to greedily enjoy.

"Good work Umbra, Megatron out" was all the tyrant said in reply as he turned around to address the rest of his troops and said "Nemesis, Deathroll, Inferno, Terrorsaur, and Waspinator, you five will accompany me to the alien site. Deathroll, my sincerest condolences, but you will have to be airlifted by Waspinator, not the most dignified of transports I admit but time is of the essence and I don't think now would be the best time to test how fast you can burrow, nnnnnnooooooo. Tarantulas, against my better judgement you shall be in command of the Darksyde while I am away, which of course means that if my ship sinks into molten rock on your watch or I don't find you here manning your post when I return, there will be consequences, DIRE consequences, yyyyyyessssss. I doubt the maximals will attempt a raid during a crisis of this scale but one can never be too careful, I'm more worried about what may happen to our base if these quakes continue, so do whatever you can to secure the base and make sure that does not happen. You have your orders, Predacons, transform and rise up!"

Without another word Megatron switched into beast mode, activated his VTOL gear, and took off into the sky with his squad of flyers in tow, cruising through the air as fast as he could move and expecting them to do the same, for if they did not reach their destination in time to put an end to Zodiac's foolishness the Beast Wars could very well end without a victor on either side of the conflict at all!

"So...You gonna fill us in on what's going on yet, Milord?" Terrorsaur inquired, flying up beside the transmetal tyrant in his own beast mode, wanting answers as to what the slag he was leading them into, only for the tyrant to snap at him with his teeth in irritation, the predacon dinosaur NOT in the mood for him at all.

"The Royalty has given us our orders Terrorsaur, that's all we need to know!" Inferno scolded, flying in formation beside Nemesis, the new second in command, while Terrorsaur, as per usual, flew beside Waspinator, with Megatron in the middle of their five Pred formation.

"Judging by the rush we're in I suspect there's a little bit more to it than that bug breath!" Terrorsaur spat back, but still keeping a respectful distance from Megatron's teeth as he did so, only to forget that he was within striking distance of Deathroll's teeth as well as Waspinator carried him through the skies.

"If you have time to complain, then surely you must have time to lend Waspinator a hand Terrorsaur, for if I fall I shall gladly drag you down to the Pit with me" Deathroll growled as he snapped at the surprised pterodactyl, who reluctantly lent a clawed foot to ease Waspinator's burden, the decepticon turned predacon was quite heavy.

Despite finding Terrorsaur's mannerisms unpleasant, the transmetal gator also pondered what was on his leader's mind as he led them to battle, his first real battle in the Beast Wars.

OOC: I really wanted Deathroll to accompany them, but figured even with his high speed burrowing abilities it might be a stretch for him to be able to keep up with the flyers on their way to Zodiac's location. Besides, someone has to keep the DarkSyde afloat during all this chaos lol.

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw had managed to deliver two decent blows to Zodiac, making him stagger backward. His skills as a hunter, as an operative, as a combatant can be put to their use again. He stared intently at the mutant as his facial injuries healed themselves. The badger growled in satisfaction as he saw the self-healing up close and personal. But that wasn't he only marvel at hand. His enemy turned his hand into a mace and swung it at him. An ability that his nanomachines granted him, but, to no avail. Ironclaw instinctively leaned back, the mace missing his head by mere inches.

As the weapon swung back the transmetal badger reached out and stopped it dead. He clutched it hard in his hand and stepped slightly closer to the smaller bot. As their optics met, Ironclaw felt a strange sensation before he realised that the nanomachines were trying to consume him. He struggled for a moment as he was afflicted by what seemed like a virus. The bager's optics entensefied and the nanomachines began to slowly recede from his armour. Finally one of his hands broke free and shot up, clawed fingers spread apart. With a growl it fell upon Zodiac's throat and took hold. They both had tricks up their metaphorical sleeves. With a yell, Ironclaw grabbed Zodiac bodily and through him over his own shoulder and crashing to the ground. The unstable rock cracked around them from the impact and lava began to leak through. Clawed fingers were at the ready, bearing down on the chest region.

[Phoenix]

"I know what is behind this, and that is exactly the problem!"

Nemesis remained silent as Megatron made his outburst. Albeit she didn't say it, she also knew who was responsible. There was really only one individual with the motive and capability to make such a drastic move. And even though she believed the Maximals to be the primary targets, she was certain Zodiac wouldn't hesitate to take the Predacons down in the process. Night Terror was dead by Megatron's hand, after all. The avian female bore no sympathy for the deceased self-proclaimed wannabe leader nor his shapeshifting companion who was certainly about to suffer not only Primal's but also Megatron's wrath. The newly elected commander could but hope that she would get to be present when that time came.

Part of her had been genuinely hurt by how easily Zodiac had tossed her aside in his quest for vengeance. It wasn't that she didn't understand the desire to punish someone for the crimes they committed in the past. She would have jumped at the chance too. But what was irking her was the fact that Zodiac had deemed her as expendable as the Maximals he was trying to kill. Her. The one closest to being the shapeshifter's family. Obviously a lot had changed between them since they used to converse through the walls of their cells.

The female crossed her arms and watched in silence as Megatron and Umbra conversed about what was going on. The mention of BlackArachnia being with Primal certainly didn't help Megatron's mood any, a fact Nemesis shrugged off her shoulders. The spider had made her choice and obviously held no more loyalty towards her than she did Megatron or Tarantulas. So she had effectively chosen death. So be it.

"Nemesis, Deathroll, Inferno, Terrorsaur, and Waspinator, you five will accompany me to the alien site. Deathroll, my sincerest condolences, but you will have to be airlifted by Waspinator, not the most dignified of transports I admit but time is of the essence and I don't think now would be the best time to test how fast you can burrow, nnnnnnooooooo. Tarantulas, against my better judgement you shall be in command of the Darksyde while I am away, which of course means that if my ship sinks into molten rock on your watch or I don't find you here manning your post when I return, there will be consequences, DIRE consequences, yyyyyyessssss. I doubt the maximals will attempt a raid during a crisis of this scale but one can never be too careful, I'm more worried about what may happen to our base if these quakes continue, so do whatever you can to secure the base and make sure that does not happen. You have your orders, Predacons, transform and rise up!"

Nemesis' optics flashed as Megatron gave the order to head on out. Those were the most welcome words she had heard in a little while, almost as entertaining as as the hilarious sight of Terrorsaur and Waspinator trying to lift the much heavier new subcommander. Well, she could tease her fellow flyers about that later. For now she spread her wings out and allowed the transformation to her avian mode take place. As part of the upgrade she had received when she became a transmetal, she also had the capability of taking on an additional flight mode now. One that resembled her old Decepticon form a bit more and was indeed even faster. But despite her ability to speed off and leave the others in her wake, she held back enough to remain in formation.

"I will. I promise."

Whitegrazer's words warmed more than Aurora could have imagined. Four little words could really soothe someone when spoken at the right time.. by the right person. Whitegrazer had an uncanny ability to calm frayed nerves. Well, hopefully she'd be able to transfer some of that positive energy onto Optimus too. The fuzor was worried about him, honestly, and really wasn't convinced it was a good idea for him to go in the state he'd been in as of late. Most of his physical injuries may have been healed during his time in the chamber, but he still came across as far less mentally stable than normal.

But Aurora had to keep her faith in him. There was nothing that could possibly change his conviction anyway. Optimus not only wanted but needed to see this thing through to the end. For his own sanity's sake. Hopefully all would go well ..

She watched as Whitegrazer and Rattrap boarded Landslide's shell, inadvertently moving a little closer to Rhinox as they did. Part of her was really growing concerned.

After Landslide had taken off, Aurora turned to Rhinox. "What can I do to help?," she asked, hoping he'd have some task for her that would keep her mind preoccupied and thus she wouldn't be so likely to dwell on the situation they were all in.

Yes, you did. And Nemesis left because she wanted to escape.

Whitegrazer's observation annoyed him a great deal. Far more than he was willing to admit. Yes, Nemesis had escaped.. and in doing so she had left him facing endless hours of torture and even stricter security measures. The scientists had not taken it lightly when they lost one of their most successful test subjects. Who knows.. If given time, Nemesis could have evolved like he did. But instead she ran.. Deserted the project. Abandoned him to face his grueling fate alone.

Do you really don't care about Nemesis? She was there too. Did your burning rage towards Optimus and us blinded you to the fact that you almost killed someone who understands you, knew what it was like back there?

She did no better towards me!


Zodiac's outburst came across as quite harsh and vindictive, a long way from the calm and collected behavior he'd kept up while still pretending to be in perfect control. The shapeshifter's thoughts ran errant, his focus strained between the female voice in his head and the ongoing battle. And for some reason the voice seemed to be getting a little louder even though he didn't know why.

To his surprise the transmetal badger managed to evade his powerful swing with his maced arm, even grabbing for the mace as it made its return. Zodiac sneered with contempt, his other arm grabbing a hold of Ironclaw's shoulder. The nanomachines heeding his command immediately flocked to Ironclaw's armor, swarming across the metal while about to feast on him. Zodiac's sneer abruptly changed to a look of intent, a burning desire to reduce this Maximal that had obviously been hunting him to nothingness. The faster and more painful it happened, the better, so that Zodiac could return his attention to the machine. He could hear the gears grind as the machine picked up speed, nearing the end of the process. Only a short few nanoclicks to go before the Axalon and all its inhabitants face oblivion!

Then it happened. His nanomachines started retreating, despite his command to kill off his foe. For the first time they were not able to comply, instead they retreated back into Zodiac. The shapeshifter stared at what was happening, not quite sure what to make of it. Unfortunately he didn't have long to figure it out before Ironclaw grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder. They were the same height but Ironclaw was bulkier, possessing more mass to pull off such a move. Zodiac slammed hard on his back against the rocky surface of the floor, so hard in fact that it created a crack in the rock. And it hurt quite a bit, leaving him sprawled out with his dragon wings draped across the floor. Growling, the shapeshifter pushed up from the floor, just in time to see the lava starting to seep in through the crack. At the same time he heard the chime of the machine, alerting them that it was in the process of firing.

Gone was the grim look on the shapeshifter's face, the smugness and arrogance he'd become infamous for returning.

"You're too late!," he told the other male triumphantly, "I hope you said your goodbyes to your Maximal friends before you came here, for you will never see them again."

At the Axalon, everything went silent for a moment.. almost strangely so.. before a deafening rumbling sound could be heard from underground. The sound was accompanied by the worst tremors yet, powerful enough to start making the ground separate in some places. Hot steam started pouring out of those cracks, a faint glow coming from the deepest ones as smoldering hot lava began making its way up to the surface. Aurora yelped as the new developments knocked her over. It was as if the ground was threatening to swallow them right where they were!

[NaitoKage]

"Nemesis, Deathroll, Inferno, Terrorsaur, and Waspinator, you five will accompany me to the alien site. Deathroll, my sincerest condolences, but you will have to be airlifted by Waspinator, not the most dignified of transports I admit but time is of the essence and I don't think now would be the best time to test how fast you can burrow, nnnnnnooooooo. Tarantulas, against my better judgement you shall be in command of the Darksyde while I am away, which of course means that if my ship sinks into molten rock on your watch or I don't find you here manning your post when I return, there will be consequences, DIRE consequences, yyyyyyessssss. I doubt the maximals will attempt a raid during a crisis of this scale but one can never be too careful, I'm more worried about what may happen to our base if these quakes continue, so do whatever you can to secure the base and make sure that does not happen. You have your orders, Predacons, transform and rise up!"

Waspinator raised an optic ridge looking at Deathroll, then let out a sigh transforming to his huge wasp mode, flying up behind Deathroll Waspinator grasped onto him with all six legs, then with a slight buzz like grunt flew into the air, flying in formation with the other Predacons.

Tarantulas raised an optic ridge listening to Megatron, it'd sound like words of lunacy. As you command "Lord Megatron" Tarantulas rubbed his chin pondering for a moment. On the one hand, he could leave and finish up setting up his new base elsewhere.. Or he could attempt keeping the ship from falling deeper in the lava. Though the only course of action he could think of would involve cooling down the lava around the ship. Tarantulas sat down at the computer, starting to take down calculations on how much energy would have to be used if he could develop a machine fast enough to do such an act.. and weather or not the rapid cool down would simply cause the darksyde to shatter like glass.

"So...You gonna fill us in on what's going on yet, Milord?"

"The Royalty has given us our orders Terrorsaur, that's all we need to know!"

"Judging by the rush we're in I suspect there's a little bit more to it than that bug breath!"

"If you have time to complain, then surely you must have time to lend Waspinator a hand Terrorsaur, for if I fall I shall gladly drag you down to the Pit with me"

As Terrorsaur helped Waspinator with carrying Deathroll, he was able to increase his flight speed keeping up with the others surprisingly well. Does Terrorsaur really need to ask? Even Situation simple for Wazzpinator to understand. Creepybot haz alien object, we stop creepbot and earthquakezz. Wazzpinator then spend rest of day in CR tank again.. Wazpinator let out at sigh after that, realizing his life of endless pain and cliche events that reminded him of cartoons of his youth on cybertron.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"No sign of my former comrades, but they would be here."

Optimus glanced down at the widow in sitting in front of him when she finally broke the silence. Her observation made no mention of accepting his apology but that was to be expected; he certainly wasn't going to make a big deal about it. It didn't offend him but he still felt guilty. He couldn't blame her for hating him and now they were forced to fly together to such a dangerous location. Speaking of which, as they got closer, the air in their cruising altitude was getting much colder with the mountain range in sight. Fortunately, since Optimus was blue and silver in this mode, he blended in quite nicely with the sky and clouds, so it would take a very trained and experienced eye to spot him and Blackarachnia right now. "Hopefully we've had a head start," he commented.

"Though, I don't know if they would attack us. They probably would watch and see what we are doing. If grapeface figures it out that Zodiac is behind this, he might just have them wait for an opportunity to try and grab the device while we have Zodiac distracted."

"I agree," Primal declared, his pink optics continuing to scan the skies and the ground far below, keeping his responses short and on point. As long as she was being truthful, her insight to what Megatron might do in these situations was quite valuable and a great advantage for them. However, Megatron was also known for being unpredictable. Whether the Predacons were going to remain quiet and stealthy or not didn't convince Optimus not to watch his and the spider's backs since he preferred not being shot out of the sky like he recently experienced by Terrorsaur. At any rate, Optimus was also not as foolish as the Predacons may have assumed he was. He was fully aware that while Blackarachnia might be helping him now, she may also be helping herself. She could just as well be after this weapon, too. He hadn't forgotten about the last alien weapon that she had successfully confiscated and taken advantage of.

She can be quite sly, you know. We mustn't let her take control. We mustn't let her underestimate us, the whisper warned him.

I know. We're fine. I have it under control, Optimus replied.

Do you? I doubt that. In fact, I'm certain everything is out of your control. It could have been under your control if you had just killed Zodiac, but you failed to prevent all of this because you refuse to take a life. If you had just let me take control-

Give you control? Never! We may be in this together but I make the final call. Do you understand?

Sure, if you want to keep losing this war and letting your Maximals die, be my guest. Coward. This is all your fault after all. And Nexus Prime's.

Enough! Optimus yelled at the voice, releasing an agitated huff through his blue nose above the she-spider. Stay quiet and I'll let you know when we'll need you.

"Look. Ahead," he alerted the black widow with his right arm extended out above her and his index finger pointing at the plumes of steam and smoke rising from pockets and cracks in the ground surrounding their destination that the quakes were creating. Primal started to descend and reached back to grab one of his clubs in case there was anything he would need to defend them with while she held her cross-bow in her grasp. He kept his trajectory steady and straight, adjusting his balance with the wind and speed, soaring through the clouds of steam and even snowflakes that escaped the warmth and continued on their blustery journey. He progressively got them lower and lower as the mountain grew larger in front of them. "Where's the entrance?" he asked her, ready to circle the mountain.

-----

Aye. Far too many problems have developed in a short length of time.. At the going rate, we wont be able to keep up.

"I think we fell behind a long time ago," Rattrap muttered while he worked.

"Just a precaution, guys. As my connection grows between Zodiac and I, the connection will be stronger. Intense. You might see things or hear things from my own end that would be unusual. All I'm going to say is that you two don't worry about me. If that happens, I can handle it."

Aye, but if yer head starts spinnin' around or starts attackin' Rattrap, I'm pullin' over and tying you up lass.

"Don't worry, 'Slider. You open the door an' I'll just push her out," the rodent joked. "Seriously, 'Grazer, are you sure you'll be able ta handle it? Zodiac is obviously a psycho. If it starts gettin' outta hand, I don't wanna have ta sedate you." Suddenly, Rattrap lost his footing and fell backwards, rolling across the "floor" and hitting the other "wall" inside of Landslide's shell. "What de heck, Landslide! Are ya drunk or somethin'?!"

Whoa whoa whoa! There we go! Sorry about that.

"Yeah, sure you are..." Rattrap grumbled sarcastically as he got up when the flying beetle straightened out, rubbing the back of his head and going back to work.

"So what's 'Ironclaw doin', 'Grazer, besides gettin' himself killed? Do you know? What about dat shapeshiftin' weasel?"

-----

"What can I do to help?,"

Once the others had left, Rhinox looked down at the younger Maximal who had moved closer to him and said, "You can start by-" but was interrupted by the roughest quakes thus far. While Aurora fell down, Rhinox swung his arms in a circulation motion to try and maintain his balance but he failed and fell over as well with a loud thud on the hard, metal floor; fortunately not on top of the smaller Fuzor. Grumbling under his breath he slowly got back up to his feet and helped Aurora up as well. "As I was saying," he continued, annoyed, "You can start by securing fragile and important items on the shelves and tables. I want our exits free of debris and anything heavy that can fall over. Tighten straps and cords, use cargo nets for bigger items and anchor them to the floor and walls. I'm going to head outside and see how the ground is holding up where the Axalon is resting on with its stilts." With that, Rhinox immediately headed to the command center, picking up some tools and reinforcing poles on the way, to be lowered outside and inspect the area. He could smell the steam and saw it rising from newly formed crevasses. Some of the water was bubbling now in certain areas in the lake and below by the water fall from the heat of the lava deeper down. On the other side closer to the stern of their vessel, he could faintly see some of the orange glow from the rising lava reflecting off of the steam that was escaping and evaporating into the air. His mouth hanged open for a moment in disbelief before he hurried getting to work on reinforcing the stilts and inspecting the ground. Please hurry, guys, he thought with some panic.

[Mystrea]

The hunted was about to be extinguished when a certain noise sounded from behind Ironclaw, it resembled some sort of alert. He straightened up from looming over his prey and turned his gaze towards the alien machine which seemed to have been powering up to something significant, probably something bad. The badger hated this unknown technology, it would cause nothing but problems for his race. He would be done with it, never to to be seen again.

Ironclaw's attention was drawn back to Zodiac as he spouted his vindictive comments. The hunter turned around to see the smug face before him. As soon as he was done talking the badger brought his fist back and punched Zodiac in the chest. It was hard enough to send him flying into the cave wall. A little to o hard maybe. The impact sent a shock through the cave and its stability become even more compromised. Coupled with he machine going insane, he realised that he could not stay here for much longer. A large boulder fell from above and impacted the ground in front of Ironclaw. Lava was thrown up into the air around where the boulder had fallen. The badger desperately tried to get around it only get covered in the spray. The small lava spots burning his armour. Cracks then crawled there way by his feet and made him choose his own little rock island. He was slowly being separated from his target and the machine.

He would have to make a choice...

[una]

"Hopefully we've had a head start,"

She agreed. More for less bodies to get in her way of claiming the device for herself. Hopefully, she was able to. Since what she heard from the Maximals, one of their buddies was already in the mountain. If she was quick enough, maybe they could get there before the device was taken or worse, destroyed by being submerged in lava. She wanted her hands on this device. This could accelerate her plans and her time with the Maximals.

"I agree,"

She felt that huff of air. Looked back at Optimus. The expression on his face seemed like he was going to knock some heads in. She was all for seeing the Maximal ape go crazy on someone. Just not her.

"Look. Ahead," "Where's the entrance?"

Blackarachnia looked forward, seeing the mountain come into view. Ah! She forgot how magnificent it appeared... or maybe it is because of what lied inside that made it so appealing in her optics. Anyway, they were here, and she wanted to get inside as quickly as possible. "There are two entrances. Going around a couple of kilometers," Blackarachnia leaned over a bit. Where was it? She saw the snowy rock, "There! Let me down here."

She jumped. Immediately, transformed into beast mode. "There is a little crawling space to open it with. Get me a nanoclick." She climbed up on the mountain a few meters to the upper right of the snowy rock. Her little legs quickly dug through the deep snow to crawl inside the area. Dropped down the end and looked over to her left side, where Optimus was waiting for her. She could leave him there. It might take him a few nanoclicks before he realized what she pulled. Give her chance to go after Zodiac, but... since there was a Maximal already here...

She pulled the lever down. The snowy boulder rolled away for Optimus to enter.

She took a little bow towards the Maximal leader. "It won't take us long to-" This place looked different than she left. She could feel a slight rumble under her feet. There was a humming sound vibrating on the walls. Low yet when she placed her pincher, sliding across its surface as she walked ahead, feeling the quick vibrations. Hmm. Didn't sound good to her. Also, besides the roaring heat of lava ahead, there were sounds of metal against metal. Shouts of pain. Laughter.

"Looks like someone is having fun. We better hurry." She took out the pistol she got from the Axalon's hangar bay, and started making platforms for them to step on.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Aye, but if yer head starts spinnin' around or starts attackin' Rattrap, I'm pullin' over and tying you up lass.

"Don't worry, 'Slider. You open the door an' I'll just push her out,"

Whitegrazer put her hands forward and shook them with an amused expression on her face, "No, no, nothing like that." She placed her hands down and sighed, "More like... the intensity may get so high, that you two might feel things that aren't really your feelings. But it shouldn't be too bad. Just a little quiver. If my abilities were powerful as they were before, you would be, but since that is not the case, you two would be all right."

"Seriously, 'Grazer, are you sure you'll be able ta handle it? Zodiac is obviously a psycho. If it starts gettin' outta hand, I don't wanna have ta sedate you." Suddenly, Rattrap lost his footing and fell backwards, rolling across the "floor" and hitting the other "wall" inside of Landslide's shell. "What de heck, Landslide! Are ya drunk or somethin'?!"

"I'll be fine. There's really nothing we can do about it now. Like I said, I can't really disconnect from him unless I subject myself to a deep cleansing mediation for two solar cycles." Whitegrazer gripped her seat when Landslide sharply turned. More graceful than Rattrap's little tumble backwards. But he didn't seem injured just agitated.

Whoa whoa whoa! There we go! Sorry about that.

"So what's 'Ironclaw doin', 'Grazer, besides gettin' himself killed? Do you know? What about dat shapeshiftin' weasel?

"Ironclaw, he seems to be doing all right against Zodiac. But still, I hope Optimus and Blackarachnia get there in time to help him soon." She knew how often the tables turned.

And to answer Rattrap's other question...

She did no better towards me!

Nemesis had her own reasons for leaving. What did happen between you two? Remembering that Zodiac did target Nemesis first, making the Predacons believe that she betrayed them to the Maximals. Maybe there was a logical reason because of the nanomachines, but maybe there was something personal in there too. Do you hate her? Wished she didn't leave you behind? Maybe took you with her?

An image of Zodiac in a cell, small and dreary. Screams and shouts echoing around the cell's walls. Then another image of him talking to someone. It looked like Nemesis. Talking through the walls. Comforting. Then nothingness. Empty. She was gone. More images of Zodiac being in pain. Fear. Anger. Rage. Guards dragging him. Their electric batons bashing against his body. Her own fists clenched. Why did she leave him? Why? No one escaped. No one could escape. Poking. Prodding. Those darn nanomachines swimming around. Biting. Tearing. No other purpose. No way out!

Whitegrazer took a heavy breath, letting go, breathing trembled out. But her optics changed to concern. She felt those nanomachines. Her own throat, chest, and spark seizing up, aching and twisting. Nanomachines' claws and mouth opened ready for consumption. Ironclaw. Zodiac was going to devour Ironclaw! She felt the excitement. The thrill. Justice. Revenge! Revenge for Dirge! This slagging Maximal deserved to die. He deserved it! Just like the rest! The Predacons too! Night Terror! Rage. Anger. Bloodlust. Swimming in the emotions she felt through Zodiac, she called out through the connection between Her and Zodiac. She didn't want him to do this. Warning him. Don't. Do. It. Made a promise to not take control of his own actions. Optimus! Blackrachnia! Hurry now! Not wanting more. But....

The nanomachines didn't. They retreated.

Whitegrazer was just as shock as Zodiac was feeling. Why? Was it because of the previous time? When he tried to devour her? Made some part of him didn't want to because of what hers cost him? Sharing a link between Zodiac and her? Or maybe Zodiac was losing the thrill of the kill? She wondered.

As she kept taking deep breaths, focusing and centering herself, those conflicting emotions in Zodiac changed into awe and excitement once more. Arrogance. The pride inside him was increasing.

No. No, that wasn't good.

"You're too late!," he told the other male triumphantly, "I hope you said your goodbyes to your Maximal friends before you came here, for you will never see them again."

She could feel it. Sensed it. The device. It was on!

"Zodiac... He activated the device." Whitegrazer warned towards Landslide and Rattrap.

Dang it, Whitegrazer! If you just took the suggestion the little one gave you, you could have stop this from happening. But no! You did nothing! All because of some stupid morality. Are you allowing your sympathy to keep you from doing what is necressary? Your compassionate nature is weakening you, Whitegrazer. I'm very disappointed. I thought you weren't like them, but it seems I'm mistaken. You are tamed. Tainted.

TyCross, you aren't helping matters. It doesn't matter now, but there is still time.

You might not be as powerful as you were because of your injury, but you still could do so much. And you do nothing with it. Connections. Warmth. Pfffft! You're squandering your own abilities. Your own power. I'm tired of yoru games, Whitegrazer. You will do something soon or I will interfere. And you and your friends won;t like that.

I don't like being threatened, TyCross. Back. Off.

Whitegrazer pushed her mentor away from her mind. But he didn't like it.

There was an image of a burned up Axalon. Rhinox. Aurora. Burnt to a crisp. Horrific. Almost made her scream at TyCross. Predacon's base melted into nothingness. No one left. This wasn't happening. Stop it, TyCross. Stop it!

Remember that. Remember that image! Remember your feelings. Remember the fact that Optimus is there. You will do what you must. If not, then you failed them. I will not tolerate your weakness.

Whitegrazer shook her head, growled with a strong huff out of her nose.

She rubbed the fur on her head before she closed her optics. Deep breaths. Focus. Serenity. Breathing in and out, wiping away TyCross' little talk with her. She understood. She needed to stop Zodiac. She needed to get them time. Must focus on Zodiac and her connection. Must focus. The nanomachines inside her crawled towards her spark. Gathered around. Poked her. Prodded her. Focusing. What were they doing? There was an excruciating pain overwhelming her spark. Forcing her to grip her chest, almost made her slip off her seat.

Something was happening. She felt it. Memories of those Maximal doctors hovering over her, committing surgery on her. No, not doctors. They were scientists. They lied to her! Used her! They used her power to create them.

The nanomachines... What were they- Her optics turned white again, wide. A surge of awareness seeped through her. She could feel almost everything around her. Slowly, slowly, the feel of the trees. Landslide. Rattrap. Optimus. Blackarachnia. Ironclaw. Megatron. Nemesis. So many people. Too much. Too much. Information. Feelings swirling all around her. Needed to contain. Need to focus. It all took her by surprise! She never felt this since... Since...

The nanomachines.... They were trying to fix her injury!

((OOC: I hope this post is all right. So much I wanted to convey here. ))

[Phoenix]

Nemesis had her own reasons for leaving. What did happen between you two?


The whispers were getting stronger.. louder.. Now he could clearly make out her voice, even though he knew she was hundreds of miles away back at the Axalon. About to die..

Do you hate her? Wished she didn't leave you behind? Maybe took you with her?


She was still at the Axalon, right..? He still felt a sense of urgency through their shared mental link. A profound desire to help her friends, her precious Maximals, sickening as the notion was to him. But still there was a sense of.. hope.. present in her thoughts, and a determination he couldn't explain.

Did he hate Nemesis? Her question lingered in his head for a bit. Not as much as he hated Primal and now that annoying female. Or the transmetal badger that was now hunting him. But he certainly had felt betrayed when Nemesis abandoned him. He certainly had no reason to spare her from the fate he planned for the rest of them.

Still.. he refused to answer the female Maximal's inquiry, at least directly. Given that she seemed able to read at least certain of his thoughts, he had no doubts she'd be able to figure out what his feelings on the subject were. By now it hardly mattered. Within minutes on this planet they would be no more than a sore memory, and that buffoon of a soldier they had sent after him would soon follow as well.

Zodiac stared at Ironclaw with a hateful gaze. It was apparent that the transmetal badger was not whom he initially seemed to be, as he'd clearly been prepared for a confrontation with someone equipped with nanotechnology. Someone who obviously wanted the shapeshifter dead. He had no shortage of enemies that he had wronged at some point, but whoever sent Ironclaw had to have been aware of his abilities.. and also possess the resources and power required to counter it. Also, despite the apparent lack of compassion normally found in Maximals, Ironclaw also showed no allegiance to the Predacons or their cause. This fact limited the list of suspects of who could have sent the bounty hunter to only a few.. With the Maximal elders at the top of that list.

The shapeshifter made a silent vow to repay the favor when all of this was over. Unlike the other Predacons and Maximals on this planet, he was not trapped here. His nanomachines gave him the ability to leave this planet when he felt his work here was done provided, of course, that he could gather the resources he needed for the long trip off this world. And given the rich environment here and presence of more resources than most could fathom back on Cybertron, the shapeshifter had no doubts he would be able to harvest the resources he needed.

First off, of course, he'd have to take care of the nuisance they had sent for him. Ironclaw was coming for him again, his fists clenched and his mouth a thin line of contempt. Zodiac brought his arms up to block the incoming punch for his chest, a blow that was powerful enough to send him flying a short distance only to crash into the rocky wall with enough force to knock some of the rock loose upon impact. The shapeshifter shook his head to clear it, the many minor dents and scratches in his armor from the impact swiftly fading away. Forcing himself back to his feet, Zodiac's shoulder mounted dual fusion cannons emerged. Albeit he was mainly a specialist and spy, he had a number of weapons. Some were stolen from fallen enemies, some his nanomachines would modify to make more powerful.

The ground underneath his feet had been shaking a bit on and off. Zodiac had attributed it mostly to the weapon coming online but now those tremors were getting significantly stronger. A rift had opened in the rocky floor right by Ironclaw, lava emerging from the newly created opening splashed this foe and left his armor smoldering. Zodiac would have smiled at the sight had he not been so intent to finish his opponent off right then and there. His cannons took aim at the Maximal bounty hunter, taking but a nanoclick to lock onto their target. Zodiac did not bother giving any parting words. Instead he merely fired a steady stream from both fusion cannons, straight at Ironclaw's chest region.

He was about to fire a second burst when the ground suddenly shook violently again, worse than before and causing some debris to fall from the ceiling in the process. This was followed by a number of rocks that bombarded both of them on their way down. Zodiac dodged as many as he could, narrowingly escaping some of the larger boulders that were starting to rain down upon them. Deciding his surroundings were too unstable to remain, Zodiac merely glanced down at where his opponent had been standing. He could only see the large pile of rocks and the massive amount of dust they had released on their way down. Not seeing any movement or other signs of life, Zodiac decided to withdraw from the area. More rocks were pummeling down by the second, threatening to bring the whole cave down upon him. The shapeshifter had no intention of being here if that happened.

It hardly mattered at this point. The machine was already actively firing. And the rock slide posed little threat to it, at least not until after it had killed off the Maximals. Now he just wanted to get to a spot where he could watch the remainder of the scene unfold and should have of the Maximals have escaped in time, he would simply kill them off before they could retaliate. They would be grief struck and in shock, for sure, easy pickings for his sniper rifle.

Zodiac picked up his speed a bit as he made his way through the tunnels, the rumbling sounds behind him growing ever more intense as more and more rocks came crashing down. A fitting grave for that Maximal fool, for sure. His only regret was that he wouldn't get to marvel at his corpse before the entire structure came collapsing down upon him. Oh well..

"You can start by-"

Aurora gasped as Rhinox swayed with the tremors before his larger form also collapsed down onto the floor. The fuzor looked at him, making sure he was all right, as she struggled to regain her balance and get to her feet despite the violent shaking that seemed to be spreading throughout the entire ship. The Axalon was sturdy, for sure, but she really didn't know how much more abuse like this it could take. The larger mechanic was the first one to get back up and when he offered a hand, she willingly took it.

"Thanks..," she muttered, obviously more than a little shaken up by everything that was going on.

"As I was saying," he continued, annoyed, "You can start by securing fragile and important items on the shelves and tables. I want our exits free of debris and anything heavy that can fall over. Tighten straps and cords, use cargo nets for bigger items and anchor them to the floor and walls. I'm going to head outside and see how the ground is holding up where the Axalon is resting on with its stilts."

She really didn't want him to leave her alone, not right now. The Axalon seemed so close to collapsing in on itself, leaving Aurora feeling a little scared about the prospect of being left alone. And for some reason it felt warmer than usual in here, even though she couldn't quite figure out why just yet.

"Okay, I'll get right on it," she responded, if a bit hesitantly. If these violent quakes were to keep up much longer, there wouldn't be any ship left to protect. She almost shouted 'wait!' when Rhinox then disappeared down the corridor, but he was already out of sight by the time she realized she was standing as if frozen. Well, she might as well try to do as he said. Hoping that was the last of the quakes for a little while, the fuzor grabbed some rope and proceeded to tie down whatever she could find that might get damaged.

But phew.. it really was getting uncomfortably warm in here!

(ooc: Did DS already leave for his convention?)