The Intergalactic Highway

"GO GO GO!"

"We're gone!" Rattrap said as he swerved around X and blew flames out of his exhaust pipes as he floored his acceleration, splattering the large menace with mud and moss from the forest floor in his wake. With Banshee riding on his back, he continued to dodge X's gun fire in his tank mode that followed them, weaving back and forth to throw off his aim as the rodent drove them toward Optimus and Whitegrazer to regroup with them.

"I'm fine. It would take more than that to knock me out."

Once Whitegrazer had slunk back, Optimus helped her sit up with his good arm. "After that energon storm, I think we're all less than fully functional," he commented. In our conditions, maybe it was a mistake to even try and subdue him, he thought, questioning his own judgement.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes," Primal fibbed a little. "I've had worse days," he then added, his torn shoulder sparking a little again.

"What's wrong, Umbra? Is there any I can do to help?" "What is happening to you?"

The Maximal leader had stood up when the equine did, looking to Umbra when she had inquired about his well being.

Star's Microbots got inside me. I don't think there's any helping that..

Primal's brows furrowed at the squid's answer. Starshadow had some kind of microbot technology as well? And she infected Umbra with them? Why? How? But the Predacon was gone after X before they could question him further.

"Don't run away from me! I only want to play! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Somethin' tells me you don't play nice!" Rattrap hollered back at him as he kept driving him and Banshee to safety with the big tank in hot pursuit, his firepower blasting off in every direction. "Man, outta all the exploration ships I coulda been assigned to, I get stuck on the only one escortin' an invincible psychopath!" he complained to Banshee.

Optimus exhaled a huff through his mouth when Whitegrazer had suddenly pushed him out of the way of one of X's random gun shots that blew by between them. Despite the permanent limp in his one leg, he maintained his balance and kept his attention on the action that was quickly approaching them.

"Optimus, we might yet still have a chance here. Let me try and communicate with X's spark. Maybe I can try and... calm him down."

I'll give you one chance, Whitegrazer, he allowed her, but if he continues to be too aggressive, then we'll be forced to defend ourselves by any means necessary. He remained by her side as they watched Rattrap carrying Banshee heading straight for them with X right behind them. Beyond X and closer to Umbra who seemed to be retreating with Starshadow, Optimus thought he saw something unusual... Some kind of blue light or an orb weaving through the swampy forest chasing the Predacons. Peculiar... He didn't quite understand what was going on with them, nor did he have the time to dwell on it. Primal was a bit fixated on Whitegrazer's newer energy-based abilities which could deflect live ammunition as she did so in that moment to keep X's rounds from harming them.

"Heads up! We got a hot plate o' crab legs on our tails!" the TransMetal rat shouted to the boss monkey and the Vok-turned-Cybertronian. He purposely snapped his trip wire with his mouth as they drove through it, but the explosives failed to ignite per him deactivating them earlier with his remote. Hitting his brakes, he slid sideways to their comrades, making muddy tracks with his wheels, before whipping around to face the tank. He waited a moment for Banshee to hop off before he maximized to his robot mode and drew his gun as well as the remote to detonate his charges.

"Hold your fire," Optimus ordered Banshee and Rattrap.

"Are you nuts?! We're gonna need all we got an' then some ta stop dis giant!" the rat argued.

"Just give Whitegrazer a moment to try and communicate with him!" Primal explained.

Even though Rattrap shook his head thinking it was a bad idea or not worthwhile, and aimed his weapon right at X to target him, he was reluctantly going to wait for his leader's command to open fire.

"Megatron!" Terrorsaur called to him as he saw him approaching in the overcast sky and joined him.

"Keep your voice down, you fool!" the tyrant scolded him, not that anyone could hear them where they were in the clouds. "Now, please enlighten me on the current situation."

"An energon storm slagged all of us, including the Maximals. We were scattered every where until everyone started closing in on the protoform," the TransMetal 'dactyl reported. "That protoform... He's a monster, Megatron, and very powerful. You're gonna have a difficult time convincing him to join us."

"My dear Terrorsaur, monsters do no exist. In this particular case, we are simply dealing with one of the Maximal Elders' failed experiments who merely needs my guidance and a little redirection with his aggression. As for his allegiance, we shall see. I have my methods of... coercion, yesss," he smirked deviously in his flying beast mode. "Where are the others?"

After raising a brow of curiosity at Megatron's comments and wondering what he had planned that made him so sure of himself, Terrorsaur said, "Tarantulas has been M.I.A. since the storm. Umbra was assisting the Maximals but took off after Starshadow before I retreated."

The TransMetal t-rex growled under his breath as he glared at Terrorsaur with his pink eyes. "And what of the Maximals?"

"Optimus and Whitegrazer are heavily damaged, but Rattrap and Banshee are getting around fairly well."

"Stay with me Terrorsaur. We'll observe from a distance before we make our move." With that Megatron descended to the forest, breaking through the canopy of trees and positioning himself close enough to watch what was happening with Protoform X, but far enough away to not be detected by anyone while he remained in his beast mode as he quietly landed. Terrorsaur followed him as instructed landing beside him and tucking his wings to his sides.

"Don't run away from me! I only want to play! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"Well it seems you have never played tag before!" she turned around and aimed for X's head and fired off her rifle, "you're it!" she yelled before holding onto Rattrap as he avoid the shots X delivered.

"Man, outta all the exploration ships I coulda been assigned to, I get stuck on the only one escortin' an invincible psychopath!"

"Rattrap, you're lucky that you're not trapped with an invisible psychopath, and I'm speaking from experience!" after they regrouped, Banshee got off Rattrap and stood beside Optimus. She reflected on her actions earlier. It was her fault that she jeopardized the mission, unintentionally of course. But hopefully things would turn out fine.

"Heads up! We got a hot plate o' crab legs on our tails!"

"Hold your fire,"

"Are you nuts?! We're gonna need all we got an' then some ta stop dis giant!"

"Just give Whitegrazer a moment to try and communicate with him!"

Banshee looked at Optimus and spoke, "communicate? He's mentally unsound! You can't reason with a psychopath like X! Acids and lasers don't work either as well it seems. The only option to get out alive is to render him unconcious with bombs to the head assuming Rattrap has some sticky democharges left."

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Get out of my head!

"Insolent assassin!" Visia sent another wave of pain in his mind angrily, attempting to force Umbra into submission again as he ran off with her host, "you dare to disrespect your new master of your fate!" she hissed, directing some of the microbots to his chest, starting the mutation from there, more veins forming on it and glows with cold sea green light.

"Now...while you're running. It's time I satisfy my curiosity about who you really are and anything for me to exploit.." she started attacking his mind again, attempting to access his memories.

((OOC: Yo NK, I rolled a 14. Chew on that! ))

( Rolled a 16. But that wont be necessary much longer. )

Visia wrote:"Insolent assassin!""you dare to disrespect your new master of your fate!"

Umbra remained silent as he calmed and focused his mind.

Visia wrote:"Now...while you're running. It's time I satisfy my curiosity about who you really are and anything for me to exploit.."

As Visia attempted to search his mind, she strangely only found darkness, then a sudden headache came to her mind as he resisted. You are the master of nothing. Umbra then said as he came to a stop, starting to regain control to his body. He dropped Star onto the ground, then looked up as he noticed a familiar sight floating infront of him.

You've become infected by her. Perhaps I have overestimated your strength. a staticy monotone voice said from a strange looking squid drone. The creature in the past that refeered to itself as "Ghost" and hired him before to fake Ceceila's death to get her out of the Predacons. Ug.. Yeah.. I screwed up. Guess I'll have to end it now huh?

The Squid drone's head then opened revealing a gun barrel pointing it at Umbra, it then fired off a rather large dart into Umbra's chest. with a loud "Crack" from inside the dart, it started to glow purple and drain a purple fluid into Umbra's chest. If you aren't too far gone this may help you, or it may destroy you. I can't allow more Netherzarians to spread, it goes against my programming.. the drone responded.

Umbra gripped his chest as the burning sensation became more intense, his red optics flickering back to purple, the green glow being over taken by a surprisingly brighter purple light shining from the fluid lines in his body. ARg! What did you do?!

The drone's gun retracts back into it's head, it then watched as Umbra collapsed onto his back on the ground. You've been injected with a concentrated chemicalluminescence that emits in the Ultra violet spectrum. Netherzarian biology is greatly harmed by ultra violet light.

Umbra coughs Injected with a Glowstick?.. his optics then flicked as he went into stasis lock, pools of green and purple glowing fluids seen coming from his wounds around him on the ground.

The drone simply observed for a moment, then turned towards Starshadow floating down, one of it's dangling tentacles extends with a small needle coming out, injecting it into one of her wounds, then starts to drain some of her mech fluid. Sample acquired. Commencing retreat. the drone pulled it's limbs into it's body floating vertically taking on an almost missile like shape, rocket thrust emitted from the bottom as the drone took off into the sky, then arced quickly disappearing into the distance.

"After that energon storm, I think we're all less than fully functional,"

"That is true," she said simply as Optimus helped her up. "We all just have to be cautious. And know our limits."

She looked at her non-existent right arm.

"Yes," Primal fibbed a little. "I've had worse days,"

"Are you taking a page from my book?" Whitegrazer smiled, hearing his fib and knowing how she usually fibbed herself when she was injured. She reached out gently towards his damaged shoulder, but she didn't touch it, not wanting to cause any more pain than he was already feeling.

Star's Microbots got inside me. I don't think there's any helping that..

Whitegrazer looked at Umbra with concern. Without knowing more about what Starshadow truly was as Netherzian as Umbra called her, and since she really wasn't a scientist, there was no way in this moment she could say or do anything to help Umbra in his predicament. Some part of her felt guilt for it, as she was the one who left Umbra vulnerable to such an attack. She was only trying to warn Umbra of X as well as knew how dangerous it would be to apprehend Starshadow while also dealing with X, who seemed to view her as a kindred spirit and seemed to take it really personally when Starshadow got hurt.

Another regenerator?!

She knew that too. Even she was taken back by the rapid healing. "It must be due to his immortal spark." Was it truly immortal, though? She was a Vok in Cybertronian form. Even if her body was destroyed, she would still be alive. Just in a Vok form rather than spark. She might be a Vok, but she wasn't immortal. She, others like her, were just difficult to kill.

But Umbra seemed to be hurting and the last thing she saw was him making a run towards Starshadow's body.

I'll give you one chance, Whitegrazer, he allowed her, but if he continues to be too aggressive, then we'll be forced to defend ourselves by any means necessary.

"communicate? He's mentally unsound! You can't reason with a psychopath like X! Acids and lasers don't work either as well it seems. The only option to get out alive is to render him unconcious with bombs to the head assuming Rattrap has some sticky democharges left."

I understand. I only want to do whatever I can to stop this before any more people get hurt."

Whitegrazer took a step forward and looked at everyone, "I will try my best to get X to stop him rampage. But to just to be safe, I want all you to give me and X a wide berth. Just in case, this goes sour. If it does, I don't want any of you to get hurt due to any carelessness on my part." She waved at them to move back. She had no misgivings about what she was about to do. X was dangerous in this state and she knew she must concentrate and watch his every move.

"Somethin' tells me you don't play nice!" Rattrap hollered back at him as he kept driving him and Banshee to safety with the big tank in hot pursuit, his firepower blasting off in every direction.

"Well it seems you have never played tag before!" she turned around and aimed for X's head and fired off her rifle, "you're it!"

X giggled like a child, chasing the rat and the bat. Banshee's shot towards his head and body slowed him down a bit as he shook off the blurry vision and re synced. But he continued to chase them down. They regrouped and seemed to be arguing about something. He slowed down and made his way towards them.

X, do you hear me?

He noticed that the white, half-skeletal and half-Cybertronian Maximal female step forward from the group, looking at him. He continued to walk forward.

Yes, I do. I hear you. Do you wish to stop me from killing your friends or loved ones?

The dark and gloomy forest surroundings changed into a green meadow with the sun shining down. He shook his head at first, wondering what was going on. The only person he can see now was Whitegrazer. The others were gone. Did they transport or... Ah! She was communicating through his spark! He is inside her spark! As she is in his! Oh goodie!

My offer from before still stands. I wish to help you, but you need to cease your destructive tendencies. I know not all of it is your doing, but you must listen to my voice and calm down.

But he was calm. Calmer than he even was before. Playing tag seemed to do that. Heh. Too bad, he couldn't tag them back!

You wish to end my pain?

He pulled out his minigun and aimed it inches at her face.

She didn't even flinch.

You are still not afraid of me? I still feel your hesitation. Your uncertainty. Are you commit?

I can't not heal all of your pain, X. Nor am I arrogant enough to believe it would go away from a snap of my fingers. I committed to help anyone who wishes for my guidance and serenity. Is it peace and redemption you seek, X? What is it that you seek?"

X smirked at her.

I think you know the answer to that question.


Whitegrazer saw flashes of X exiting out of the protoform pod. Anger. A burning, seething hatred. When you exit out of the pod, you didn't feel joy about it. Why? Are you angry because we awakened you accidentally or that we weren't on Cybertron?

When I first awakened, I was happy, but when I realized where I was, and what was going to happen to me, I felt fear. Scared like a little child.The green meadow warped into a small cell. It was filthy with stains of mechfluid littering the walls and loose body parts. X gripped one of the cold metal walls. His nails slowly dug into the cold metal of the wall and bore down. The sound of metal tearing and squeaking filled the air. Trapped. Metal batons stabbed his sides. Lasers scorched his body frame. Limbs tore apart and reappearing once more. I woke up into a nightmare. Can you feel it? X smiled at Whitegrazer.

She did. As X's body was hit and punched by batons, so was hers. She felt every smack, grimacing at the pain. Guards tore her limbs apart. One of the guards smacked her with her own arm, flipping her entire body down to the frozen concrete.

Pain was the friend that greeted me morning , noon, and night. Pain was the one who awoke me. Pain was the one that put me to sleep. Screams terrorized my dreams. He raced towards Whitegrazer and gripped her, shaking her. You understand, don't you? the pain.... The cell changed into a blackened crater. Bodies gripping their chests with faces laced in horror and shock littered all around them. You give. You take. But there is a side effect to all this pain and torment. Isn't there?

Whitegrazer stared at the corpses around their feet. The side effect is empathy, X. You realized the pain you caused others, and when that pain crosses you, you unerstand what you have done. You realized how wrong it was, and you feel guilt but a sense to take responsiblity and to know do such a thing again.

X's optic burned holes at her, letting her go. He stared at the bodies and then his right arm smacked her away.

She was knocked down into the dirt, rubbing her cheek yet still managed to pick herself up. She was a strong one.

He smiled at her, You don't understand, do you? Oh a pity. I hoped you would. After all, we carry a smiliar ability, and yet, yours is so...powerful and.... alluring. He shook his head. If you can't understand, then I will have to kill you.

Explain it to me then, X. Talk to me.

X folded his hands behind his back and loomed over her. The green meadow returned, but the clouds were forming. X seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. A ringing grew louder and louder to her auditory sensors, increasing to a white noise. She grimaced and tilted her head left and right, trying to fight off such a sudden occurrance.

You and I are similar in a way, and yet, there is one thing that separates you and I.

Flashes of burning corpses entered her mind. Images of X smacked down upon the floor, bleeding and writhing.

You take.

X, strapped on to a metal bed, being electrocuted. Whitegrazer herself strapped to a bed. Scientists hovering over her, taking a piece of her spark with cold expressionless faces.

And you take.

X's body being ripped apart by hands and weapons. Beaten into submission and left to rot, bleeding once more. His screams echoed the walls. Whitegrazer felt her own body being ripped apart as she remembered holding on to Optimus as he flew into the planet buster. She felt that burning hot seeped into the cracks of her form, feeling that flame ready to burst her body into a void of nothingness and regret. She remembered Zodiac's armor stabbing into her gut. Mechfluid oozing into puddles under her feet. X appeared into her own memory. He took a drop of the mechfluid on the floor and tasted it.

And you take some.

He swallowed with a pleasing grin.

The green meadow returned. Thunder boomed. Lightning stuck the ground.

But you see, after some much pain and torment, you... you get used to it. So used to it in fact that.... you welcome it. you embrace it.
You realize that this is your life.

It doesn't have to be.

But X ignored her. At first, I was angry. Or that what I thought when I took the lives of the colonists. But do you think I felt remorse for what I did? I do. I really do, but I still miss something very important. What am I missing? I can;t put my finger on it. Can you? Feel inside my spark. Tell me.
What am I missing?

Aurora's body left bleeding at her feet. Optimus, totured and scarred form, left right next to hers. Nemesis's scream in paining. Zodiac roaring.

What am I missing?"

The green meadow changed back into the dark, gloomy forest. X still aimed his weapon. He lowered it.

"I thank you. You made me realize what I am missing."

Whitegrazer stared at X, wondering what he meant.

Then he fired his weapon at the ground, laughing, as the bullets hit one of the explosives Rattrap hid. Both X and herself were caught in the heat of the explosion.

Whitegrazer's body was thrown a few meters and hit hard against a tree trunk. She was still conscious. Her auditory sensors rung. Her vision full of flames and blurriness. Her body burned and numbed. She tried to look around. Where was anyone? Tried to call out, but her processor choked and spat out smoke. She looked down at herself, and noticed her entire body was smothered in fires, sparks, and blackness. The only color was the color of her spark pulsing outside.

X's sihouette walked and loomed over her.

His hand reached over to grab hr spark.

"Your spark is so beautiful. So peaceful yet so monstrous also. Yes, you are a monster too just like me, but you are whole. I will regret what I do here for years to come. You made me feel it again. Like what I felt when I died. Goodbye, mother." His hand was inches towards her spark, but she grabbed his wrist and currents surged through X's body.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!"

"Rattrap, you're lucky that you're not trapped with an invisible psychopath, and I'm speaking from experience!"

"Eh? Doesn't that come with the job, doc?" Rattrap teased Banshee lightheartedly, referring to her practices of psychiatry.

"That is true," "We all just have to be cautious. And know our limits."

Sometimes Optimus couldn't afford to know his limits, but those were the times that he wasn't to give an order he wouldn't be willing to do himself. And those instances were rare.

"Are you taking a page from my book?"

Primal smiled briefly at her comment, but it just as quickly disappeared when he watched her reach for his shoulder. She hesitated to touch it, which he was grateful for because it was quite painful despite how much he appeared to be coping with it. However, he was far more concerned about her missing limb and the virus laying dormant inside of her. As well as their situation facing Protoform X.

"It must be due to his immortal spark."

"Yes, he can repair himself," the Maximal leader confirmed to Whitegrazer and the others. "But he can't do it as quickly as Nemesis and Zodiac can. He uses the energy from his spark. If he sustains enough damage, it'll slow him down and eventually stop him until his strength recuperates." Which was why Optimus wasn't too concerned with how much firepower they used on him. He knew they wouldn't kill him, but unfortunately they were going to have to put him through a lot of pain in order to get him to be submissive, even if it had to be involuntarily.

Suddenly, Rattrap wasn't so sure his demolition charges were going to do as much damage as he had hoped.

I understand. I only want to do whatever I can to stop this before any more people get hurt."

If Optimus had to be honest, he didn't think her attempt to reach his spark was going to work. But it was something that had never been tried with him before, so of course he was willing to see what kind of affect she might have on him. If any. And it didn't sound like Banshee agreed with it either...

"communicate? He's mentally unsound! You can't reason with a psychopath like X! Acids and lasers don't work either as well it seems. The only option to get out alive is to render him unconcious with bombs to the head assuming Rattrap has some sticky democharges left."

"He's still a Maximal," Primal reiterated to his team. "It's worth a shot to let Whitegrazer try. If it fails, then we have what we need to stop him."

"I will try my best to get X to stop him rampage. But to just to be safe, I want all you to give me and X a wide berth. Just in case, this goes sour. If it does, I don't want any of you to get hurt due to any carelessness on my part."

Rattrap was fine with that! He hastily backed up as she instructed while maintaining his target.

Their commander on the other hand hesitated to leave her side as he looked to her next to him. Eventually, though, he was the last one to do so and moved back with Rattrap and Banshee to give Whitegrazer her space.

From their safe distance, Megatron and Terrorsaur watched the Maximals speak with one another about handling the allegedly unstoppable protoform; Megatron growing more intrigued of course. But then they grew awfully quiet. He narrowed his beast mode's eyes at them as he tried deciphering what was different and why they were simply idling. ...Ah, but they weren't idle, were they? Nooo. The equine was using her abilities to speak with him through her mental telepathy or through her spark. He recalled that unpleasant feeling in the Metal Hunter when the aliens had possessed her and high-jacked her spark to reach the others, including himself. Hm... It was likely she was trying to establish some sort of stability within the protoform's outraged and overly aggressive spark, but Megatron had a feeling he was far too gone for that kind of "help"... a very long time ago. It didn't take long for things to escalate again after what ever had transpired psychically between the two.

"I thank you. You made me realize what I am missing."

With the others having no clue as to what he meant by that, they gasped when X started firing off his powerful weapon in every direction again, like a giddy child blowing bubbles. One stray shot hit one of Rattrap's explosives which ignited in close proximity to both X and Whitegrazer. Even the heat was reached to the others and made them turn and block their faces with their arms, which inevitably slowed their reaction time to assisting their heavily wounded comrade. "Whitegrazer!" both Optimus and Rattrap hollered to her, their optics frantically searching for her body that had lost track of her when they turned away. It wasn't long when X's large body lead them right to her, however. "Move in!" Optimus ordered Rattrap and Banshee as he jogged in his limp to approach X from behind.

"Your spark is so beautiful. So peaceful yet so monstrous also. Yes, you are a monster too just like me, but you are whole. I will regret what I do here for years to come. You made me feel it again. Like what I felt when I died. Goodbye, mother."

There was an electrical shock that seemed to be coming from Whitegrazer and flowed through X's body, though it seemed to have little effect on him. The good thing was that she was still functional and trying to defend herself, which she wasn't going to have to do alone now.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!"

"Hit him hard!" ordered Primal as he activated his mini-blasters on his back, lifting them over his head and firing them at X's back and his legs to get him away from Whitegrazer.

Beside Optimus stood Rattrap, firing his gun repeatedly at the giant.

"Use your sonic blasts, Banshee!" the Maximal Commander told her with desperation in his voice.

"He's still a Maximal,""It's worth a shot to let Whitegrazer try. If it fails, then we have what we need to stop him."

Banshee shook her head and looked towards the crab and the white horse while trying to aim at one of X's knees. Her optics widened when he ignited Rattrap's explosives, which made her cover herself with her wings, the stray shrapnels tearing through the thin membranes. When she looked back up, she found the equine heavily damaged and X was approaching her. The bat femme then rushed over to Whitegrazer.

"Your spark is so beautiful. So peaceful yet so monstrous also. Yes, you are a monster too just like me, but you are whole. I will regret what I do here for years to come. You made me feel it again. Like what I felt when I died. Goodbye, mother."

No. NO. NO!

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!"

"Use your sonic blasts, Banshee!"

"Hold my rifle!" she threw her rifle at Rattrap, "sonic blasts are not enough to throw him off but this will!" she leaped up, climbing onto X's back. Her face was just right behind his head, a good distance to distract him but risky for herself but if it means saving Whitegrazer's life, it is worth the risk. With that, she let out a sharp, audio piercing sonic scream with a frequency hopefully enough to incapacitate him. Just to make sure that he gets fully distracted, her right arm blade flipped down and locked into position. Banshee slammed it down with a hard chop to his shoulder then begins to move it like a saw. Although it was not a very Maximal move, she had to do what it takes to save a life.

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The green glows in the pool started to emit smoke and finally lost its luminiscence after quite sometime, blending in to the mechfluid's original color.

The cybervenom was starting to wear off on Starshadow. She could slowly move her arms around but she could not feel her legs. Umbra must be nearby since she felt him carry her off under the command of Visia no doubt. Then there was another voice. She could not make out what they were talking about since she was heavily damaged. Her body felt cold as her systems were not running at full capacity. Where could she go? There was no way she could get out alive alone and crippled. She crawled around like a crippled zombie, feeling things around and found a tree trunk, using it as support to pull herself up, leaning her back on it while groaning in pain. It was time to put personal feelings aside and actually get some help from...anyone. Just anyone for the sake of her survival. Starshadow took in a deep breath and let out a Netherzarian dying scream, hopefully it would get somebody's attention.

"Yes, he can repair himself," the Maximal leader confirmed to Whitegrazer and the others. "But he can't do it as quickly as Nemesis and Zodiac can. He uses the energy from his spark. If he sustains enough damage, it'll slow him down and eventually stop him until his strength recuperates."

Whitegrazer kept a note of that for later.


Fire trickled the trees around the area. Some trees and branches from others fell down due to the heat and stress, twigs evaporated, dirt and grass ignited the sparks of flames. Despite her weakened state, Whitegrazer kept a grip on X's wrist, sending out sparks of currents through his systems. X continued to enjoy her wave of agony she sent through him. She was too badly damaged to be any threat, but she shouldn;t fret. Her pain would end soon, a gift he loved to give. A gift that always escaped him. He was beginning to get used to the fact that his pain was neverending. That there would be no peace for him until the bell tolls for him, but it seems the bells grew silent around him. No one around here could kill him. No one. They didn't have the will nor the spark to do so, so it angers him once more that he was to stand and continue this road of pain and torment. His tortured, immortal spark pulsed with a vigor to see that all the bots around him suffered greatly. If they couldn't kill him, then to him, they are all just as good as dead.

"Hit him hard!"

Optimus' blasters plummeled his body. Rattrap's puny weapon added more scorched marks upon his body. X laughed harder and harder. Like this was going to do them any good. He heard the scream of a companion, feeling her pain and it made him as hot as the fires around him, "Nightstar!"

"Use your sonic blasts, Banshee!"

He growled, screaming Nightstar's name distracted him, as Banshee jumped upon his back and screamed into his auditory sensors. He shouted at the loud noise that nagged his sensors, making his vision go white. His other hand, which was free, grabbed banshee by the nab of her neck, "You do have a beautiful voice, but it will take more than that to bring me to my knees," and he threw her off of him, towards a tree.

Whitegrazer was losing some of her energy, but she would do as much as she could to slow X down. X gave her a hard kick to the face, making her lose her grip. He rubbed his wrist, staring at the others.

"Your fight against me is futile. I will rise and continue to rise again! Don't you see? By bringing me back to life, you have sealed yours as well!" X looked at Optimus when he spoke. "I had hoped that maybe... just maybe you or that white mare of yours could give me the release I need, but it seems you two don't. Neither of you do."

Whitegrazer shook her head, using her other arm to crawl upon the tree, using it as leverage to bring her to her feet. Her body sparked. Computer warned for her to go into stasis lock. But she refused. She must. She couldn't go to stasis lock and leave her friends to face this tormented soul alone. He might be a monster, but he was still a victim. And yet, they had no choice, didn't they?

X looked back at her, smirking, "You don't give up, do you? There is a thin line between persistence and stubbornness. Do you stand because you don't want to die? Or do you stand because you want to die? Heh!"

"I stand against you, X. We will stop you from causing anymore pain. It will stop here, if we must."

X smiled, "No, you won't. And that is sad. Though, I know it pains you, but you won't be the first."

Whitegrazer let out a current of electricity towards X, but X just rubbed it off. "HAHAHAHA! That tickles!

He smacked her back against the tree, and then proceeded towards Optimus and Rattrap. He took out his mini-gun and fired at them, "Aren't you going to try and do what she did, Optimus? Don't you want to save my soul to undo a wrong? Isn't that why am I here? Or do you wish to destroy me before he arrives? You know who I am talking about. He will come. He always comes. He never disappoints. Unlike you and the rest."

As he came closer to them, he stopped firing and held up his gun, making a move to swipe Rattrap away and to strike Optimus in his abdomen. "I'm going to make sure to lay you out as a welcome mat for him. He, just like the scientists, didn't like you very much, either. Does he?
HA HA HA! Too bad, he doesn't have friends here like on Starbase Rugby. His face when he saw them hung and cheering him on, well, in spirit anyway,
was priceless! That's all right! I will just make him pay for taking so long!"

"Hold my rifle!"

Out of the corner of his optic, Rattrap saw Banshee toss her rifle to him. It interrupted his assault on X but only for a moment as he caught her weapon and then started to fire both guns at X while she attacked him. He didn't think it was a wise move but she seemed headstrong about it.

"sonic blasts are not enough to throw him off but this will!"

"No, Banshee!" Primal tried stopping her, but she had already left the ground and landed on the larger bot. He didn't want anyone within his reach, and certainly not on top of him! They still weren't sure what he was capable of in his robot mode, or his beast mode for that matter. If someone got caught in those enormous claws of his, he could probably crush them like a vice. That was why Optimus had resorted to using long range weapons on him instead of close combat. Of course Whitegrazer was in grave danger! Did Banshee not realize how much that upset him and that he wanted to help her too? The equine's situation didn't only effect her. And as inspiring as the bat's courage was, it was also blinded by too much emotion. Now Banshee was going to pay for that as Primal watched X smack grab her and toss her away like a rag doll.

"

You do have a beautiful voice, but it will take more than that to bring me to my knees,"

Optimus gasped as Banshee was thrown and decided to halt his firepower. Rattrap did the same and hurried to Banshee's side to make sure she was alright, and to return her rifle to her. "Yer a bit of a loose cannon today, doc," he said with some disappointment. "Are you tryin' ta get both you an' 'Grazer killed?! We gotta be smarter about dis. I can only trust you an' Optimus for the best course of action because you guys know the most about dis freak. Rushin' in like dat ain't gonna help. He's obviously gotten more powerful and unstoppable now dat he's a TransMetal. He ain't like he was back on Cybertron," he explained to her in his own observations so far.

"Your fight against me is futile. I will rise and continue to rise again! Don't you see? By bringing me back to life, you have sealed yours as well!" "I had hoped that maybe... just maybe you or that white mare of yours could give me the release I need, but it seems you two don't. Neither of you do."

Retracting his mini-blasters to his back, Primal sent X a glare and licked the scar across his mouth.

"You don't give up, do you? There is a thin line between persistence and stubbornness. Do you stand because you don't want to die? Or do you stand because you want to die? Heh!"
"I stand against you, X. We will stop you from causing anymore pain. It will stop here, if we must."
"No, you won't. And that is sad. Though, I know it pains you, but you won't be the first." "HAHAHAHA! That tickles!

Following X's attention on Whitegrazer, Optimus watched her as she managed to stand back up and shook his head at her as a gesture to tell her to stop. She was too badly injured now and too exhausted. It was unnecessary to be pushing herself so hard.

When Protoform X turned around and started firing off his mini-gun, Rattrap ducked next to Banshee to avoid the shots, using one of his hubcaps to ricochet any bullets that could have struck him.

Growling through his sharp teeth as he witnessed X smack Whitegrazer against the tree trunk, Optimus grabbed one of his clubs from his back with his good arm and started deflecting X's shots right back in his direction, swinging with exceptional accuracy and strength as they zipped right back at him. However, as many bullets as there were for every second, one managed to graze the side of Primal's abdomen and another grazed his knee causing him to grit his teeth but nothing more.

"Aren't you going to try and do what she did, Optimus? Don't you want to save my soul to undo a wrong? Isn't that why am I here?

"The only soul that needs saving is my own," Primal confessed to X. And perhaps the Maximal Elders'. "The creation of your spark was my mistake, not yours." He tried keeping his attention on him, luring him away from the very wounded Whitegrazer.

Or do you wish to destroy me before he arrives? You know who I am talking about. He will come. He always comes. He never disappoints. Unlike you and the rest."

"He'll try to track you down, X, but you fail to realize where we are and when," Optimus pointed out to him knowing exactly who he was talking about. "He won't even know where to begin searching for you. And without the proper equipment on his transportation, he'll never reach you. So if I were you, I wouldn't count on it this time. You're stuck with me." It was true that despite his honesty a part of what he said was meant to disappoint the crab, but mostly he was just trying to keep his attention on him. He took a step back as X approached him, swinging his large weapon at Rattrap which knocked him off of his feet, and then swinging it at Primal who raised his club and blocked it from making contact to his body. Optimus stepped in as he enforced his strength and pushed back with his one good arm, defiantly glaring upward at his green optics with the larger bot looming over him.

"I'm going to make sure to lay you out as a welcome mat for him. He, just like the scientists, didn't like you very much, either. Does he?

The Maximal leader didn't allow his words to get to him. Unlike Depth Charge, Optimus didn't hold grudges, nor did he let his personal feelings toward his fellow Maximals cloud his judgement and leadership over such insignificant issues that could be addressed at a later time.

HA HA HA! Too bad, he doesn't have friends here like on Starbase Rugby. His face when he saw them hung and cheering him on, well, in spirit anyway, was priceless! That's all right! I will just make him pay for taking so long!"

"Do what you will to me, I deserve it. But I will achieve something that he was never able to because he wasn't a team player. I won't you allow to take any of my Maximals' sparks. You see, I'm known to be a thorn in the side to those who wish to do harm to my team. Just ask Megatron." He gave him a small smile before licking the scar again across his lips, confident that Banshee, Rattrap and Whitegrazer were going to be able to form a plan of attack. And if Protoform X knew anything about Megatron, surely it would make him rethink about the kind of Maximals he was up against who had survived all this time against his wrath and brilliance. On the other hand, maybe he had never heard of him. There was a lot X had missed since he had been placed into stasis lock.

Meanwhile, as Optimus kept him distracted, Rattrap pulled out his last two demolition charges that were magnetic. He tossed one to Banshee and gestured with his hands about approaching X with stealth, arming the charge to a ten second detonation, and applying it effortlessly as they were meant to be in a place where X wouldn't be able to reach it. He did the same to his and sneaked up behind the giant TransMetal...

Megatron and Terrorsaur continued watching, the tyrant pleased with X's firepower, endurance in battle, and his strength. He would be a very valuable asset to his Predacons indeed. He was simply waiting for the right moment to either attack the Maximals or let them do all of the work for him by inflicting enough damage to X in order for him to capitalize on it and make his move to ensure his allegiance to him. Such decisions and patience... Megatron had enough firepower and energy to knock all of the Maximals down by this point since they were all in bad shape, but he knew better than to rush into such dangerous confrontations. Well, the danger being X.

Banshee struggled in X's grasp and got thrown off, bracing the impact and fell onto the ground.

"Yer a bit of a loose cannon today, doc,""Are you tryin' ta get both you an' 'Grazer killed?! We gotta be smarter about dis. I can only trust you an' Optimus for the best course of action because you guys know the most about dis freak. Rushin' in like dat ain't gonna help. He's obviously gotten more powerful and unstoppable now dat he's a TransMetal. He ain't like he was back on Cybertron,"

"Destroying him wasn't my intention. It was merely trying to buy time..." she looked at X as he smacked her to the tree instead of killing her on the spot, "and it worked. Rattrap, I'm going to use the riskiest last resort so you better make it worth my effort by getting you and Optimus focus on Whitegrazer instead of trying to look out for me at the moment."

The bat femme stood up, keeping her rifle away and used the tree as a support, slowly walking towards X with the demo charge in her hand, her pastel yellow optics glowing brighter with determination. She had thrown everything possible to damage X or at least make him flinch for a good amount of time but nothing seems to work. If they cannot harm him physically, then she will do what was opposite of her profession.

"I'm going to make sure to lay you out as a welcome mat for him. He, just like the scientists, didn't like you very much, either. Does he?
HA HA HA! Too bad, he doesn't have friends here like on Starbase Rugby. His face when he saw them hung and cheering him on, well, in spirit anyway,
was priceless! That's all right! I will just make him pay for taking so long!"

Setting and placing the demo charge stealthily on X's back with Rattrap, she leapt to the side and fired a sonic blast at X's hand which was holding the minigun, knocking it off from his grasp.

"I assume you're fine abandoning her?" she looked at him with a twisted smile. With luck, he would buy what she was about to say, "Nightstar is out there alone blind and crippled with my dear friend Umbra. Do you see him around? I can tell you that he hates her more than I do. You can feel her pain , don't you? Her spark calls out to you in desperation, only to hear silence on your end. Such disappoinment she is feeling right now...I can feel it. She's no longer has that strong endurance or regeneration abilities after she downgraded. At any moment, I can give out a special scream of mine to signal her execution by Umbra," she chuckled darkly, taking a step back to try triggering his anger, "No...I'll just followtear her open myself and CRUSH HER SPARK RIGHT INFRONT OF YOUR OPTICS!" she laughed evily and took off running, "hurry up X! She's going to die soon! HAAHAHAHAHHAHA!!"

------------------

Meanwhile Starshadow stopped screaming and sighed in defeat. With her low energy levels, she finally slipped into stasis lock, accepting her fate to rust on this planet.

Whitegrazer leaned against the tree with her shoulder with her left hand covering her spark, keeping it safe. She saw Optimus' expression towards her, wanting for her to stay where she was, but she couldn't. She needed to stand. She had to. She coughed a bit smoke out of her vocal processor when X smacked her back against the tree. She just shook her head and took some easy breaths, trying to regain what little strength she had.

A Vok can't die.

We won't die.

Not by some twisted virus from our sworn enemies, and not by a experimental immortal psychopath created by imperfect beings.

You must survive.

So do they

"The only soul that needs saving is my own," Primal confessed to X. And perhaps the Maximal Elders'. "The creation of your spark was my mistake, not yours."

"It wasn't you who tortured me," X admitted, grinning as some of his bullets grazed Optimus. X left Whitegrazer alone with some hesitation of her death, but there was no doubt in his mind that she would die. By his hand, or by her own twisted stubbornness. "But it was you who brought me to life the first time. How does it feel to play God? Aren't you proud of the power you wield?"

"He'll try to track you down, X, but you fail to realize where we are and when," Optimus pointed out to him knowing exactly who he was talking about. "He won't even know where to begin searching for you. And without the proper equipment on his transportation, he'll never reach you. So if I were you, I wouldn't count on it this time. You're stuck with me."

X stopped, pondering what Optimus said, but he was undeterred by what the Maximal ape said. "You came here with transwarp technology,
right? I have no doubt in my mind that he will figure it out. After all, he is a clever and cunning individual, and with nothing to live for, but my destruction,
he would find a way." His smile grew wider. "I made sure of that a long time ago!" He laughed as Rattrap was thrown back by his heavy weapon, and laughed even harder as Optimus blocked his attempt to hit his abdomen. He looked upon in surprise at Optimus' force to push him back, but he just giggled like child as the bot glared up at him with his yellow optics.

"Do what you will to me, I deserve it. But I will achieve something that he was never able to because he wasn't a team player. I won't you allow to take any of my Maximals' sparks. You see, I'm known to be a thorn in the side to those who wish to do harm to my team. Just ask Megatron."

"You know what? That's exactly what he said at Omicron, at every planet he followed and chased me before Starbase Rugby. You should have seen him. His optics darkened with hate, with no more tears to shred. When a bot loses everything he holds dear, he is nothing but a former shell of himself. And what about a bot who had no life since the day he was born?" X tried to make another attempt to hit Optimus, but aimed the weapon;s hilt at his head. "Nothing. That's what."


Whitegrazer watched Rattrap placed the explosives being placed in a spot X couldn't reach. X seemed too distracted in his talk with Optimus to notice.

"I assume you're fine abandoning her?" she looked at him with a twisted smile. With luck, he would buy what she was about to say, "Nightstar is out there alone blind and crippled with my dear friend Umbra. Do you see him around? I can tell you that he hates her more than I do. You can feel her pain , don't you? Her spark calls out to you in desperation, only to hear silence on your end. Such disappoinment she is feeling right now...I can feel it. She's no longer has that strong endurance or regeneration abilities after she downgraded. At any moment, I can give out a special scream of mine to signal her execution by Umbra," she chuckled darkly, taking a step back to try triggering his anger, "No...I'll just followtear her open myself and CRUSH HER SPARK RIGHT INFRONT OF YOUR OPTICS!" she laughed evily and took off running, "hurry up X! She's going to die soon! HAAHAHAHAHHAHA!!"

Whitegazer didn't approve of Banshee's taunting, and warned her with a shake of her head, "Banshee... don't."


X froze, staring at Nightstar, seeing that she was still in severe pain. She needed to be cared for, but his itch! His itch! He must finish what he started. But his Nightstar. His Nightstar! He wanted her to join in the fun alongside him. Yes! Yes, he did feel her pain! HE felt everything! Everything! He could feel the stabbing pain in her legs, the writhing poison flowing through her systems, and the ringing of the bells! Oh! the ringing of the bells! Why don't they ring for him? WHY?!! WHY?!!! He glared at the bat, who was running away,"I will rip you apart bit by-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. He was thrown to the forest dirt by the burning force of the explosives on his back. He was taken aback. A big hole smoldered his entire backside. Smoking. He crawled to the left, tuning on his back and looked at Nightstar and reached for her, "Nightstar...."

The arm collapsed.

Whitegrazer took a step forward towards the downed giant. Was it over?


((OOC: Is it really? ))

"It wasn't you who tortured me," "But it was you who brought me to life the first time.

"My point exactly," Optimus told X.

How does it feel to play God? Aren't you proud of the power you wield?"

"I believe the same questions could be referred to you," Primal returned as he continued pushing against his huge gun with his club. "And no, I'm not the least bit proud of what I've done."

"You came here with transwarp technology, right? I have no doubt in my mind that he will figure it out. After all, he is a clever and cunning individual, and with nothing to live for, but my destruction, he would find a way."

It seemed X knew more about their stranded situation than Optimus had anticipated. But who had the time to explain it to him already? "It's not that simple," he told him.

"I made sure of that a long time ago!"

Unsure of what he meant by that, the Maximal leader gave him a glare, baring his sharp teeth.

"You know what? That's exactly what he said at Omicron, at every planet he followed and chased me before Starbase Rugby.

I doubt that, thought Optimus, since Depth Charge was already full of revenge by that point and secluding himself from anyone else's help.

You should have seen him. His optics darkened with hate, with no more tears to shred. When a bot loses everything he holds dear, he is nothing but a former shell of himself. And what about a bot who had no life since the day he was born? "Nothing. That's what."

"If you're referring to yourself, you had a life prior to the experimental procedure," he reminded his opponent. When X swung his heavy weapon down upon Primal again, he blocked once more with his club as he raised it above his head, but the momentum behind X's strike was far greater, causing one of the Maximal's legs to buckle and fall to a knee. Still, he continued to keep his pressure upward against it without using his injured arm.

"Destroying him wasn't my intention. It was merely trying to buy time..." "and it worked.

"Well, a little communication ta us about dat mighta been nice," Rattrap commented out of the side of his mouth.

Rattrap, I'm going to use the riskiest last resort so you better make it worth my effort by getting you and Optimus focus on Whitegrazer instead of trying to look out for me at the moment."

The Maximal Spy blinked at Banshee, concerned and uncertain as to what she was planning on doing. And he didn't like the fact that she doing her own thing without consulting with their leader. But could he stop her? It didn't look like it. A part of him wanted to see what she had planned, but fortunately she had at least followed him in planting the other demo charge onto X's back. He had moved away before she screamed her sonic blast at the larger bot's big weapon.

While her maneuver irritated Primal's audio receptors since he was in such close proximity, he was relieved that her blast successfully knocked X's weapon and pressure off of him.

"I assume you're fine abandoning her?"

Her who? Starshadow?

"Nightstar is out there alone blind and crippled with my dear friend Umbra. Do you see him around? I can tell you that he hates her more than I do. You can feel her pain , don't you? Her spark calls out to you in desperation, only to hear silence on your end.

Ooooh, now Rattrap was catching on to Banshee's approach; playing some psychological games with X.

Such disappoinment she is feeling right now...I can feel it. She's no longer has that strong endurance or regeneration abilities after she downgraded. At any moment, I can give out a special scream of mine to signal her execution by Umbra," "No...I'll just followtear her open myself and CRUSH HER SPARK RIGHT INFRONT OF YOUR OPTICS!" "hurry up X! She's going to die soon! HAAHAHAHAHHAHA!!"

"I will rip you apart bit by-"

Okay, he wasn't expecting Banshee to do that. Would X take the bait? Maybe it didn't matter. With him distracted, Rattrap covered his audios as the explosives attached to his back detonated. Primal did what he could to block most of the debris and fiery heat that blew at him as he remained close to the ground until it was over. Standing up, he returned the club to his back and glanced at his Maximals before he watched X turn himself over and reach toward Starshadow.

"Nightstar...."

Then Protoform X fell silent, but Optimus was not about to approach him and be tricked into thinking he was unconscious or too badly injured not to harm anyone. "Keep your distance," he ordered his team, his orange optics lingering on Whitegrazer a little longer than the others when he saw her step toward him.

Of course, he didn't get any arguments from Rattrap who stayed where he was with his gun still trained on the crab. "So what now?"

"I'll have to confirm with Rhinox on how to handle him," answered Primal. X was too heavy and they were all too badly wounded to carry or drag him back with them.

Seeing Protoform X collapse after the loud explosion, Megatron thoughtfully pursed his beast mode's lips while narrowing his eyes. "Well, I do believe it's time to make our entrance, Terrorsaur. Take point and incapacitate the Maximals, but leave Primal to me."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Taking to the air straight up through the trees, Terrorsaur flew over above the tree tops so he wouldn't be noticed toward the plume of smoke that was gradually dissipating into the fog from the explosives that blew up on X's backside. Reverting back to his robot mode, he dive-bombed onto the scene blasting his laser optics at Whitegrazer's already damaged chest before he even landed on his feet. Then he quickly looked at Rattrap and blasted his gun out of his hand, followed up with firing at his stomach. Grabbing one of his wide blades, he turned around and ran toward Banshee through the trees, firing his optics' laser beams at her.

Rattrap gasped when he saw Terrorsaur return after such a long absence and immediately fire upon Whitegrazer. Just as he was about to shoot the lousy Predacon, he ended up being quicker by shooting Rattrap's hand which made him release his gun and left him open for a shot to his stomach which blew him back, landing unconscious on the ground.

Growling with anger and frustration, Optimus was just about to activate his mini-blasters once more to fire upon Terrorsaur and stop him when a huge blast of purple-colored plasma hammered his side and knocked him over onto the ground. "You and your foolish Maximals never learn, do you?" Megatron chuckled as he emerged from the thick brush in his robot mode and approached both his nemesis and Protoform X, his tail gun in-hand. "My, my, what big claws you have," he grinned down at X as though he was impersonating Little Red Riding Hood, impressed with his power, TransMetal structure and his obvious beast mode. "I'm certainly intrigued with the history you two share together, Primal. I would have never thought you could be involved in creating such atrocities. Yet here we are as one by one they continue to come out of the woodwork and haunt you." The Predacon shook his head in a mockingly disappointed manner, relishing in the irony.

Groaning from the impact, Optimus laid on his side and looked up at Megatron. "Whatever you're planning, Megatron... it's not going to work. You... You can't stop him. You can't... control him..."

"Oh Primal, you often fail to think outside of the box," the Predacon tyrant smirked briefly before swinging the tip of his tail gun to upper cut the Maximal's chin and to make him roll over onto his back and then stepping on his injured arm that still sparked at the shoulder, pinning the maximized TransMetal ape to the ground with his weight crushing his arm.

Optimus felt some whiplash from the strike snapping his head backwards, but he cried out in pain when the heavy Predacon laid his foot with his sharp toes on his arm that was nearly falling off. It was too painful to wiggle it free. Actually, any move he made as he laid on the ground was felt through his shoulder as Megatron kept his arm secured. As he grew quiet with the deep breaths to cope with the agony, he watched Megatron charge his tail gun and lower the tip of it only inches away from Primal's face.

By doing this, Megatron used Optimus as leverage in case any of his Maximals wanted to try and retaliate or take control of the situation. He didn't worry about Rattrap since the Spy was clearly unconscious, but Whitegrazer and Banshee might not be so easily subdued by Terrorsaur's attacks, so this should refrain them from doing anything that would put their precious Commander's life in jeopardy.

Banshee stopped running as the democharges go off and watched X crawling towards the damaged panther bot with a cold look in her optics, her arm blade folding back in place, slowly making her way towards the giant crab.

"Keep your distance,"

"So what now?"

"I'll have to confirm with Rhinox on how to handle him,"

Banshee narrowed her optics and looked towards a motionless Starshadow and Umbra, "I suggest that we- look out!" Banshee jumped towards the nearest moss covered boulder for cover from his optic lasers. How could she be so careless not to realize that he was missing from the battlefield?! Growling at her mistake, she took out her battle rifle and ran out of her cover and started firing at Terrorsaur before letting out a sonic blast at him.

"My, my, what big claws you have,""I'm certainly intrigued with the history you two share together, Primal. I would have never thought you could be involved in creating such atrocities. Yet here we are as one by one they continue to come out of the woodwork and haunt you."

"Whatever you're planning, Megatron... it's not going to work. You... You can't stop him. You can't... control him..."

"Oh Primal, you often fail to think outside of the box,"

Banshee's face was filled with horror. How long has Megatron been waiting for them to be weakened by X?! A coward's tatic but a neccessary move to win. As Megatron pointed his tail cannon at Optimus, she finally spoke, "Megatron!" then approached him slowly.

"Surely you would not claim this as a sweet victory if you get to kill Optimus so easily..." she dropped her rifle and kicked it aside to show that she would not try anything rash this time, "how about this? If you let Optimus and the rest of the Maximals go, I am willing to exchange valuable information which includes locations of untouched energon reserves and things about your mangy house cat," she tapped a few buttons on her forearm and a holographic windows were projected, displaying video feeds about her life as a spy in Hellfang with Starshadow beside her as a recruit and a few dangerous looking Netherzarian weapon blueprints.

IN THE VIDEO FEED:

Nightstar: Have you ever wondered if equality between Maximals and Predacons will ever come true?

Banshee: Not really...I mean...History has divided us all. The High Council seems to control almost everything and as you know the Predacons are treated as second class citizens. I think it is beyond hope to think about future equality...

Nightstar: Well...That is why HellFang is born. Regardless being Maximal or Predacon, we fight for true peace. But to do that, all Maximal and Predacon political groups have to be completely destroyed.

Banshee: Are you sure violence is necessary?

Nightstar: It is unfortunately...If it brings my family closer without worry...without fear of having either side picking on you just because you have both Maximal and Predacon heritage.

Banshee: You're one of those "halflings"?

Nightstar: Yup. My father's a Predacon and my mother's a Maximal. My mother managed to register me as a Maximal to get the..first class citizen rights since everybody thought she was a single mom.

Banshee: I see...Tell me more about the...Netherzarians I've been hearing about.

Nightstar: I'd love to but that'll have to wait. I'm up for a mission. See you later for energon fellow recruit!

-END OF VIDEO FEED-

( Surprisingly most the episode is done, so Rampage may be down? )

Off in the distance, Landslide flew towards the coordinates Optimus's group was last known to be, as the amount of time the Maximals had last given radio communications back to base had been far too long. With signs of possible energon interference, Landslide had been sent off to act as search and rescue.

hrm.. lingering energon radiation in the air.. Somethin' musta went down here? Hope the lads are alright. Landslide said to himself, smelling the stink of detonated energon on the wind, such a waste for possibly good food the beetle though to himself.

A sudden flash and explosion was heard from the ground. Landslide tilted his head looking in the direction of the flash. They're still fightin? he said to himself, then zoomed in. While there were alot of trees in the area, the explosions seemed to have knocked down leaves and branches, making it easier for him to see the group on the ground. He then saw Terrorsaur raise up and come down, attacking the maximals, a huge purple flash then having him zoom in seeing Optimus being knocked down.

Landslide's beetle optics narrowed, he then opened his wings and cut the thrust to his nacelles. He hadn't been spotted by the Predacons as of yet, with their focus on the Maximals on the ground, they wouldn't see him coming before it was too late.

Altering his course, he lined himself up to Megatron's backside, though was quickly losing altitude from his great weight. Coming down near the trees, Landslide's wings pulled in and his nacelles rocket engines came to life and quickly gunned it to maximum throttle. He crashed through the trees, turning sideways in the air as he moved his head and horns like a giant claw crashing into Megatron's backside grabbing his torso with the horns and continued forward, slamming Megatron and himself through multiple tree trunks. Need a lift Predacon?!

"Keep your distance,"

Whitegrazer nodded, heeding Optimus' warning. X might have been injured, but she had no idea how long it would take for him to heal that big, smoldering hole on his back. It could takes minutes or hours. Hopefully, he would stay down long enough for them to get him back to the Axalon. Though, she wondered how they would be able to handle an immortal Cybertronian. They have dealt with some persistence and challenging characters before, but this one might be the biggest one of all.

"So what now?"

"I'll have to confirm with Rhinox on how to handle him,"

"Do we have any extra stasis pods that fit him?" Whitegrazer asked Optimus. Maybe they could put him into stasis temporarily until they could build find a way to deal with him.

She felt a sharp gush of wind,sying the exact same thing at the exact same time as Banshee did, "Look out!" and immediately, she fell to the ground and rolled to a nearby tree. Terrorsuar's optics lasers fired above her, and she felt the burning lavender lines almost nicked her as she rolled to safety. She was trying to stand up once more and peeked to see Terrosaur heading towards Banshee as Megatron entered the scene. She growled, her optics for a moment lit up white. The other Vok sensed her emotions.

"You and your foolish Maximals never learn, do you?" Megatron chuckled as he emerged from the thick brush in his robot mode and approached both his nemesis and Protoform X, his tail gun in-hand. "My, my, what big claws you have," he grinned down at X as though he was impersonating Little Red Riding Hood, impressed with his power, TransMetal structure and his obvious beast mode. "I'm certainly intrigued with the history you two share together, Primal. I would have never thought you could be involved in creating such atrocities. Yet here we are as one by one they continue to come out of the woodwork and haunt you."

"Whatever you're planning, Megatron... it's not going to work. You... You can't stop him. You can't... control him..."

"Oh Primal, you often fail to think outside of the box,"

"Optimus!" Whitegrazer shouted, watching as Megatron landed an uppercut and dig his foot's claws against Optimus' downed form. She kept her cool, but a part of her was boiling inside. "So you were waiting for us to injure X and take him for yourself? He isn't someone you can just intimidate and threaten, Megatron, but then again, since you seemed to gathered a lot of info from our conversations, I have no doubt in my mind that you have find a way to control him, haven't you?" She shook her head. "You can't control everyone, Megatron, and if X outsmarts you, you might have wished you allowed us to take him today."

She was in no shape to fight Megatron nor could she with him dolding down Optimus, but maybe, just, maybe, she could distract him long enough. Maybe put on a little show, get closer to him, and electrocute him enough to let Optimus go? Or maybe pretend to allow Megatron to have X and then electrocute him? Maybe that would be better since it may get Optimus away from Megatron.

"Megatron!"

Surely you would not claim this as a sweet victory if you get to kill Optimus so easily..." she dropped her rifle and kicked it aside to show that she would not try anything rash this time, "how about this? If you let Optimus and the rest of the Maximals go, I am willing to exchange valuable information which includes locations of untouched energon reserves and things about your mangy house cat,"

Whitegrazer didn't know if Megatron would even care about this. At least at the moment, but Whitegrazer couldn't help by listen intently to the video recording. It was Starshadow and Banshee talking to each other. She was aware of Banshee's past... or at least the fact that her being a counselor wasn't the only skill she had. So starshadow was half and half? A child born from both sides? She heard of some Cybertronians being grown that way. Though, many of them seemed to keep their heritage quiet and just pick one side to fit in. Being neutral on Cybertronian wasn't an option looked upon with friendliness on Cybertron.

Though, it remained to be seen if Megatron was interested in this. She felt another presence approaching. It was a huge yet a familiar one. Landslide? Great! If she could keep Megatron distracted.

"Megatron, let go of Optimus, and I promise we won't get in your way." Whitegrazer offered. "Though, I still warn you of the consequences of what you are about to do."

Need a lift Predacon?!

She ducked and dived on top of Optimus, just in case Megatron got a chance to fire. She looked behind to see Landslide and Megatron going through multiple trees. she looked at Optimus and got off him, knowing that he would want to go and help Landslide and suggested, "I can watch over X and Rattrap as well as keep an eye on Starshadow and Umbra, just in case they wake up." Though, she knew that Umbra might be helpful in helping them deal with X if he awakened faster than they were ready.

Terrorsaur blocked Banshee's shots with his wing blade and returned fire with his optic lasers as they ran toward each other. He was forced to duck and lay flat on the ground, however, when she released her sonic blast. He felt most of it skim over him while she dashed back to the others, but if it was a head start that she was looking for, then she got it. Snarling under his breath, he got to his feet and ran after her but stopped when she did as they approached the group surrounding Protoform X.

"Optimus!"

Hearing Whitegrazer's voice for concern, Primal frowned as he tried looking at her. It was his fault he let his guard down. After Terrorsaur had swooped in and injured his team, he allowed Megatron to capitalize on his mistake. His side was charred with a small gap in his armor near his lower abdomen, but it was a clean "cut", so to speak. It hadn't severed any wires and there were no leaks. Still, it hurt, as did his arm.

"So you were waiting for us to injure X and take him for yourself?

Megatron tapped the side of his head with his free hand's index finger and smiled at the one-armed, Maximal equine as if he was indicating his superior intellect, warmongering, and scheming foresight.

He isn't someone you can just intimidate and threaten, Megatron, but then again, since you seemed to gathered a lot of info from our conversations, I have no doubt in my mind that you have find a way to control him, haven't you?"

He simply grinned mischievously at Whitegrazer, unwilling to volunteer any information regarding his plan.

"You can't control everyone, Megatron, and if X outsmarts you, you might have wished you allowed us to take him today."

"On the contrary, Vok," he said, emphasizing his disgust for her alien origin. "If I have my way, I will be doing all of you a favor, yesss."

"Megatron!"

The Predacon's optics slid to Banshee as she emerged from escaping Terrorsaur's wrath while keep his weapon trained on Optimus.

"Surely you would not claim this as a sweet victory if you get to kill Optimus so easily..."

Charging his tail with even more power, the clamps on the tip nudged Primal's cheek, toying with his adversary and his Maximals. "I've already taken his life once in a spectacular manner that can not be topped. No matter how petty or minuscule the opportunity presents itself again, you can be sure that I will not waste it to be rid of him once and for all," he said with a slight tug of a smile at one corner of his mouth. He glanced at her rifle as she tossed it to the ground, but he was fully aware of her other, more powerful weapon.

Primal turned his head away from Megatron's weapon, sneering as it touched his face, feeling the heat and the energy that was charging within it. But he didn't panic as he trusted his crew. The pain was great, but he continued to cope as quietly as he could.

"Megatron, let go of Optimus, and I promise we won't get in your way." "Though, I still warn you of the consequences of what you are about to do."

The Predacon let out a brief, bellowing laugh. Then he looked back down at Primal, moving the tip of his tail plasma weapon under his chin, targeting his neck at point blank now while continuing to stand on his damaged arm, reminding the Maximals how desperate they should be feeling at that moment before they watch him kill their commanding officer right in front of them and then feed him to Protoform X. "My patience wears thin," he warned them, refusing to waste time on the important matter.

Optimus glared up at Megatron as best as he could as he stood above him forcing his weapon to lift his sore chin.

"how about this? If you let Optimus and the rest of the Maximals go, I am willing to exchange valuable information which includes locations of untouched energon reserves and things about your mangy house cat,"

"You expect me to believe that you've withheld these energon caches from Optimus, or that they actually exist? Your negotiation is less than favorable, Maximal, and hardly compares to the value of this life who is relying on you to save him," Megatron said unimpressed and seemingly uninterested in Starshadow's past. He knew what she was doing, though; distracting him and buying time. He was not a fool. His audio sensors were on full alert for any deplorable Maximal tricks they might try to pull on him. However, it seemed he didn't have a choice than to watch a recording she had between herself and Starshadow in which a couple things did stick out to Megatron, whether he'd admit it or not. He managed to watch it while maintaining a neutral and unreadable expression.

Nightstar: Well...That is why HellFang is born. Regardless being Maximal or Predacon, we fight for true peace. But to do that, all Maximal and Predacon political groups have to be completely destroyed.

Nightstar: Yup. My father's a Predacon and my mother's a Maximal. My mother managed to register me as a Maximal to get the..first class citizen rights since everybody thought she was a single mom.

Banshee: I see...Tell me more about the...Netherzarians I've been hearing about.

Perhaps the tyrant needed to have a little chat with Starshadow after all. But he mustn't allow himself to be thwarted by these insignificant pests. There was a sound approaching them from the air. Something big... Megatron turned around just in time to see Landslide, the largest of the Maximals, flying in and snapping trees along the way, and heading right for him. With a slight gasp, he lifted his weapon away from Primal and re-targeted it, managing to get a shot off toward the TransMetal beetle's head before he moved just enough to avoid any of his horns from penetrating his body. Instead, he got "tangled" up in them and was lifted straight off the ground and slammed into numerous tree trunks with his back.

Terrorsaur immediately took off on foot after Landslide and Megatron. The Predacons were outnumbered now, and he wasn't going to hang around the Maximals waiting to get slagged.

Need a lift Predacon?!

Megatron exhaled cries of pain with each impact until he finally mustered the sense to use his beast mode's finger's over his shoulders, firing them like mini-guns in Landslide's face and then immediately using a short, powerful burst of thrust from his engines to free himself from his horns. He couldn't escape the next tree, though, as his leg hit a branch hard and sent him somersaulting through the air, landing with a thud on the swampy forest floor. He laid there quietly while his systems rebooted and re-calibrated.

Optimus couldn't express how relieved and grateful he was to see Landslide make his entrance and plow straight into Megatron. He sat up slowly as he held his hand from his good arm over the black gash on his side. "His timing is impeccable," he commented to no one in particular.

"Do we have any extra stasis pods that fit him?"

The Maximal leader shook his head at Whitegrazer and answered, "No."

"I can watch over X and Rattrap as well as keep an eye on Starshadow and Umbra, just in case they wake up."

"I'm in no condition to continue battling," Optimus admitted as he got to his feet. As much as he wanted to assist Landslide, he was sure he would fair well enough against Megatron from his ambush. "And neither are you," he told Whitegrazer. "We need to retreat. Banshee, check on Rattrap." Although he had heard what she offered to Megatron, he would address it at a later time. For all he knew, she could have been bluffing about the energon, but what intrigued him more was the video feed everyone witnessed.

Rattrap, meanwhile, was beginning to gain consciousness. He groaned a little as he woke up and started shifting around on his back. "Wha... What happened...?" he asked with a scorched blast mark on his stomach.

"Landslide, regroup," Optimus called out to the beetle. "We need you to extract Protoform X... as well as a couple of us, and return to base."