(( OOC: My apologies for such a late reply, guys. Been kinda crazy here and unmotivated. But I'm getting back into the groove now, so bear with me while I try catching up here. Let me know if I miss anything or have errors because there is a LOT for me to cover and I'm still confused on which pods are whose and which have fallen where.
Oh, are any of these pods the blank one that Rhinox and Whitegrazer will need? I was going to "operate" that pod part myself but I'm so lost right now. I can't decide on what teams to make because I don't know which pods are where and which Preds are going to them. Kind of wanted Rattrap to face Megatron like in the show, especially since he's the temporary leader now, and I'm sure Megatron would love to crush his confidence and his spark.
))
Rattrap noticed Aurora's movements as she picked up their former leader's swords and dashed out of the brige in her beast mode, and was about to call to her to come back since he had already asked Feralnight for the Predacons' whereabouts but perhaps it was a good idea to have someone check out the corridors just in case Feral couldn't get the camera video feed. He just didn't want her to go alone when there could be at least three of them on the loose and possibly hostile after the way they had just treated them; like common thugs. If the Maximals were lucky, maybe they'd just happily escape the base as soon as possible and not bother with any attacks since they would still be greatly outnumbered in unfamiliar territory.
"Wintersong, hurry after Aurora, would ya? And give 'er some back-up in case she runs inta trouble," the newly refurbished demolition expert asked of the shiny tigress. It wasn't that he felt the ermine needed looking after, it was just really, really unwise to go looking alone for foes who were very good at being stealthy and sneaky, especially when their ship's systems were on the fritz.
"Hey, guys," "Whoa," "I guess I'm not the only one who got a new shell."
After all the commotion with Cheetor's horrible test flight around the bridge and crashing just as badly as Rattrap had earlier, the TransMetal rodent looked at Orcariner with a grin, relieved to finally see him in a different energy. Something about him seemed... new, besides his body's upgrade. It was his attitude. There seemed to be more confidence in himself now, a newly found purpose in life or motivation or inspiration. If only Optimus could see him now, he would be proud.
"Really good to see ya back, Big O," he said looking up at him and taking in his blades on his back wondering what his vehicle mode was and his new color scheme. Could he actually participate more out of the water now? Because that would be really helpful. And if he could move quicker when in beast mode, then jackpot!
"Maybe we should tinker with the new toys outside."
Got that right, 'Grazer! thought the rat.
"Well a flying cat is something you don't see every day,"
"You! New girl!" Rattrap suddenly pointed at Silverstreak when she spoke up for the first time.
"What was yer name? Silver something er other..." He started snapping his fingers as if the motions would help him recall.
"Silverstreak!" Answering his own question seemed to boost his ego if only for a second.
"If you got skills, specific functions, qualifications, we need 'em. I know it's probably been a lot to take in since you got here, and I wish I could let everybody sit back and relax but we still got things to do."
"Umm..." "Give me a nanoclick"
"On it Rattrap,"
While waiting for Airazor and Feralnight, the Spy-turned-Commander heard Rhinox's CR chamber beep, notifying them that his repair cycle was over, so he hurried over and opened the door.
Groggy, his red optics adjusting on the lighting and focusing as the door opened, Rhinox slowly stood up and stared at... this small, shiny, metal-covered bot before him.
"Uh," he stammered, uncertain as to who this was and what happened, but the little guy showed a lot of similar resemblances to his short friend.
"Rattrap...?"
"Hey, Big Green," RT greeted him with a smile and giving him some space.
"You okay?"
"What...? What happened to you?" Rhinox inquired, pointing at his body.
"Oh! You like it? It's kind of a new look. Heh."
Studying him for a moment, the engineer suddenly turned on to a more serious note. After the vision he had, he had to know. He had to ask.
"Where's Optimus?"
Rattrap's playful, more cheerful demeanor suddenly took a nose dive at his friend's question, and he bowed his head in sorrow as he answered quietly.
"Gone... Transwarp explosion..."
It was as Rhinox had feared. His oldest friend, their commanding officer, had been killed. He couldn't even imagine how the moral of the crew had fallen to now. For many of them, Optimus was their best hope, their beacon of light, their fearless leader, their only "weapon" to stop Megatron. This team would not be the same without him. And then he recalled the voice he heard earlier during his repairs. Primal's voice. He wasn't dreaming about that, it was real. Could there be any possibility of...? He couldn't know for sure right now, but clearly gears were beginning to suddenly speed up in his head. An idea had hatched, but Rhinox needed the details first.
"Ugh," he groaned in a slight state of depression.
"Tell me what happened. All of it," he demanded as he stepped out of the CR and turned to face the others in the bridge. His optics enlarged for a moment seeing all the ones who had changed, those who hadn't like himself, and their newest addition.
Rattrap moved aside to let Rhinox exit the chamber, and as he did so, he glanced at Ironclaw's status before looking back at his much more robust ally, speaking softly to Rhinox.
"Well, long story short, we confiscated one of our own stasis pods from Blackarachnia, Tarantulas, Arachnitron and Starshadow, who were all hopin' ta use it to get off the planet before the alien weapon was gonna blow us up. ...Still ain't sure why Inferno was here, too, but he took care of Tarantulas. Heh. Blackarachnia was supposed ta change the pod's commands ta Optimus's so he could fly it up there and kick the Voks' skidplates. We had rigged up a demo charge to the transwarp cell that the spiders brought with 'em and Optimus flew up dere but he was supposed ta have time to eject and fly back to Earth," he said without realizing the correct name he had just given to the planet as if they all had known it was Earth all along.
"Den Blackarachnia starts wiggin' out, telling us Optimus has no hopes of surviving like she knew why he wasn't escaping the pod, 'Grazer mumbled something about Megatron and I still have no idea what she was talkin' about, and... And he never got out in time. He took out the weapon but it caused some kinda transwarp wave, a quantum surge," he corrected himself,
"and it gave some of us dese new bodies." Rattrap shrugged.
"We locked the Preds up in the brig before the explosion but since our systems an' power have been down and fluctuating, we're tryin' ta find out if they've escaped or not."
The larger green and brown Maximal nodded, eventually stroking his chin thoughtfully while Rattrap told him what happened. Two points peaked his interest; Blackarachnia "wigging out" as Rattrap so colorfully mentioned - why, and what exactly did she say or do that obviously freaked Rattrap out -, and Whitegrazer saying something about Megatron when clearly the Predacon leader was no where near the alien weapon, Optimus, or even the
Axalon. Certainly sounded like odd occurances and Rhinox wanted to seek deeper explanations on them. Their Commander's death was not a suicide, it sounded like murder. Something went wrong that someone had control over. And what had been Inferno's involvement in the operation? He was far too loyal to Megatron to be making any deals with the arachnids. So many mysteries and little explanations. Rhinox stood there quietly for a moment before moving closer to the others in the command center, positioning himself near Whitegrazer. He made no notion of assuming command despite his rank over Rattrap. Instead, he was focusing on something else. He would have questions for Whitegrazer; he knew about her connection with Optimus. She must have seen or felt something that no other Maximal could have. She must have known what happened to him up there. If he could pull off this crazy and miraculous idea of his, then she would play a key role in it as well.
"3 pods in sector 7 and one in sector 11. We better move quick, i'm sure megs is looking at this too!"
"It seems they're still around the brig trying to get Tarantulas now guys, I'd suggest we be quick unless they slip away."
"Wait, Feralnight. Aurora and Wintersong are already after 'em. We gotta make these pods our priority. They've fallen all over the planet, most of 'em likely ta be damaged. We gotta get 'em before the Preds do," Rattrap explained, following Rhinox and walking back over to the group.
"You guys wanna test drive your new abilities? Here's our chance."
(( OOC: I'll leave it there until I get some clarification on the pods. Sorry for losing track on those. It's also getting late, so I need to wrap this up so I can finally go to bed at decent hour this week.
))
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Geez.. it really IS you. I know we were good buddies and all Optimus, but you didn't have to follow after me so soon.
"Icebreaker?" While Optimus was overjoyed to "see" the penguin again, some sorrow also surfaced, but he quickly tried pushing it back. "I don't believe it. Aurora and Orcariner have been torn apart ever since we lost you, moreso than the rest." Sadness suddenly crept back on him remembering how he swore she wouldn't lose anymore friends. But here he was. He wanted to say what a lost cause it might all have been, but that was only weakness and depression speaking. He refused to give in to those emotions. He had faith in his Maximals. They were going to manage without him. They had to. They didn't need him to survive, they just needed each other.
"First, let's introduce each other fully."
Caught up in Icebreaker's presence, Primal had almost forgotten that there was someone else with them until he interrupted them. Who was this guy...? Then everything suddenly went white, and this spark began manifesting an image... a face? His optics glowed brightly as his facial features took shape and formed a head then his entire body. By Primus...
"Don't worry, I'm not a devil. Though, many people believed I was in one lifetime."
Optimus wasn't quite sure how he did that, but he was more focused on something else anyway, besides his menacing appearance. "You're the one Whitegrazer seeks so often..." he said bluntly. It was more of a statement than a question. This guy already knew who Optimus was, so it was time he identified himself if he truly sought official introductions. There was a feeling, or at least a previous feeling he had felt when he was alive that he suddenly recalled. The mental image he saw of Whitegrazer. The voice he had heard with it. Was this seemingly frightening being... her master...?Optimus was not very intimidated by his appearance. After all, he was already dead, so what else could he lose? And if this guy was here, he must have made good of his life or something. However it worked, he didn't fully understand. He just wanted to know who this guy was and why he was looking for him.
)