No Rest For The Wicked

[New Moon]

“Keep your chin up Rattrap, we’re back in one piece and most of us have returned home, Aurora included. That is at least something.” Tigatron told him, trying to keep a positive attitude for the rodent who had seen so down on himself lately. Maybe he really was just worried given what had happened two weeks prior. They may have lost someone to the Vok today, a second time in fact, but they had at least gotten their youngest crew member back and the pod was securely in their grasp.

Overall, today could have been worse.

But once they approached the hanger, the white tiger focused on that as Airazor went to hold up her promise. Good, she could fly again. Smiling to himself in watching her take flight he turned his gaze forward again before transforming to robot mode, moving to help maneuver the pod inside the hanger where he saw Rhinox and Blackarachnia at first before Optimus too joined them. “And what does that mean for you Blackarachnia? Finally socializing with the rest of us?” Tigatron inquired with rare sarcasm, although mostly teasing towards the widow. However he became aware of another presence before the young dragon had spoke, turning his head as Zodiac spoke. Speaking of socializing.

“Yea, everything is fine. If Dinobot would stop trying to scratch his cheek every five minutes.” Frilla answered towards Rattrap as she held onto the raptor who gave an annoyed growl towards her. “If you don’t stop complaining little lizard, I’ll make you walk the rest of the distance yourself.” He retorted, causing Frilla to roll her optics as the Axalon came into view and the raptor forced himself to quicken his pace while trying to ignore the growing uncomfortable itching feeling.

Dinobot had felt the fire in his veins for the whole time on their trip back, having gradually been able to ignore the dull ache. But, that feeling had turned into irritation starting on his cheek and other spots gradually. It was difficult to ignore as he scratched at the spots along the way, slowing their progress. What had been in that vial? Had he guessed wrong or was it a reaction? Whatever the case, it was becoming irritating and it was difficult not to throw the smaller reptile of his back, trying to focus on getting to the ship. Before long, the two arrived to the hanger where most of the others had gathered where Dinobot paused outside and crouched down slightly to allow Frilla to get down.

As Frilla lowered down, she winced slightly from the movement. Though her self-repairs has helped with the pain slightly, she was still far from being anywhere near repaired. “Told you we’d make it.” Frilla spoke towards Rattrap with a faint smile, seeing others had joined them in the hanger, seeing Optimus, the otherwise missing Blackarachnia who she definitely didn’t trust, and it appeared Zodiac soon joined them. But, she didn’t intend to stick around, “I’ll be in one of the CR chambers in the bridge if you guys need me.”

With that, the transmetal lizard picked herself up and headed for the as it lowered down, carefully crawling onto the platform before it rose up again. Within the bridge she noticed Onyx and Cheetor were also there, “Onyx! Pleasant surprised to see you up and moving.” She greeted the previously unconscious equine, “And good to see you again Cheetor.” She greeted them before moving to the available CR chamber and stepping inside to begin some much needed repairs.

Dinobot meanwhile growled as he transformed to robot mode, the itching sensation more apparent now in this form. He had to try to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time to draw further attention to himself since Frilla had already reported his issue to the rodent much to his annoyance. So, he focused on who all was gathered around, glaring towards the widow and the young amnesiac dragon with disdain. “I see all our more recent rescues join us, how fitting.” He grumbled, reaching into his subspace to take out the black case.

—————————————————

Waspinator rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He did sometimes have a flair for dramatic entrances so kept his mandibles shut for this one. It seemed Megatron was still in a sour mood so he kept his mouth shut and merely did as told in taking up one side of Quickfix.

The transmetal wasp curiously listened to what the young Predacon had to say. He had to admit they could use another medical hand around there considering a majority of them ended up in the medical bay a lot, especially him.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"Well, definitely believe it."

Onyx's chuckle brought out a light smile on Primal's metallic, gorilla face, but it gradually vanished as he continued.

"I never really thought about much beyond being a soldier. But, once I get myself in decent shape I will take that into consideration."

"Just a suggestion," Optimus had returned wholeheartedly since he didn't mean that he had to find something else or a hobby to keep himself occupied. He didn't have to change, but the Maximal found it interesting that he had no other interests other than what he was already skilled at which was fighting.

"We'll be here."

The Maximal leader nodded to Onyx and Cheetor confident in their abilities to hold down the bridge and keep an eye on Aurora's repairs as well as the scanners. He was a little concerned about Frilla and Dinobot, the two most injured during the battle that morning. Why had they been lingering? Did the others lose track of them? Had the Predacons come back to attack Rattrap's team and captured them? Unnerving thoughts went through his already busy mind as he made his way to the hangar and entered to find Rhinox and Blackarachnia. He lifted himself upright again as he approached them.

"Optimus, Dinobot and Frilla should be arriving shortly."

Good, he thought with some relief. "Copy that, Onyx," he acknowledged his transmission over his comm. link.

"Around. Not all of us can stand your mushy feelings, Rhinox, and I'm not a girl who likes to still."

"Fair enough," the rhinoceros understood her point of view on the matter. He was going to warn her that if she kept sneaking off to who-knows-where without telling anyone, then someone more paranoid than her might start keeping an eye on her, but he decided to leave it at that. She was smart enough to cover her tracks, and while he was almost certain she wasn't getting herself into trouble, Rattrap would eventually find a way to start following her around without her even knowing. That's what he was good at, after all.

"Aurora? Seriously?"

Rhinox had lifted a curious brow at Blackarachnia's skepticism.

"I would be mindful of her being so easily released and brought home. Tarantulas is up to something."

Primal gave an exasperated sigh toward the she-spider's comment and the seriousness in her tone. "What else is new," he stated bluntly, although he didn't ignore her suspicions because he - and all of them - were well aware of Tarantulas's underhandedness and sneaky ambitions. "She seems to be alright despite some heavy damage."

The engineer nodded to his old friend when he showed up and joined him and the black widow. "I could run some diagnostics on her just to be sure," Rhinox offered.

"Wouldn't hurt," Optimus agreed. Not that he thought anything was off with their youngest Maximal, but just as a precaution, after "escaping" Tarantulas's sticky hands, it would be a good idea to scan her programming and make sure she was okay like Blackarachnia seemed to be insisting upon.

“And that’s my cue. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Rattrap watched Airazor take off for a moment while he continued leading the others into the hangar with the hovering pod hoping to hear good news when she would spot their two lizard companions loitering behind them in the distance.

"Welcome back," "I hope the mission was a success?,"

"More or less," Optimus politely acknowledged Zodiac's presence and afterward glanced at the motion of his hands that were rubbing his wrists because of the bracelets on them.

"The great heroes return home."

The Maximal Commander didn't comment or express any emotion toward Blackarachnia's words, unable to detect if she was mocking them or giving her somewhat snarky behavior at times, and instead started to fill Rhinox in on what had transpired that morning. "The pod is still functional, but it's a blank protoform."

"Might still be useful," Rhinox grew thoughtful for a moment. "We can return it to the stasis pod hold and keep it energized at minimum capacity in case it comes in handy like the last one did." He glanced at Optimus as he implied using it in order to bring him back from the dead.

Primal raised a blue brow at him with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, but it quickly faded. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in closer to his friend. "How much did you tell him, Rhinox?"

His deep red optics studied the gorilla's pink eyes for a short while before he finally answered in a whisper, "Not everything, don't worry. But he deserved to know a little more, Optimus. He was being too inquisitive, and I couldn't just ignore him. It might've angered him, and I couldn't risk that while all of you were gone. He's starting to go stir crazy being cooped up in the base all the time, so I occupied his mind with a little information. I mentioned the Predacons but not in great detail, and I left out specific names. I was careful, but I think some of his memories were beginning to return anyway. He denied it, but he started having headaches and appeared to be in a lot of spontaneous pain, so he wanted to rest for a while in his quarters. He looks to be in better shape now," he added as he glanced over in Zodiac's direction. "He also started to regain some of his shape-shifting abilities. I'm sure it'll take time before he masters his skills again. He was taken aback by it when it happened."

The gorilla looked concerned again, almost fearful, at what Rhinox was telling him since he had wanted to go much slower with explaining things to the shape shifter and leading him back into his special abilities, but what was done was done. For a moment, after taking in Zodiac's seemingly more pleasant behavior at that point, Primal's his gaze drifted to the floor, lost in thought before he proceeded with his update at a volume that only Blackarachnia and Rhinox could hear who were closest to him near the CR chamber that Tigerhawk was currently occupying. "I don't know how, but Spineback's body has been upgraded to a TransMetal without a transwarp explosion creating a quantum surge. And as successful as it seemed to be, they might be able to accomplish that feat with the others, which could potentially put us at a disadvantage. Tarantulas also seems to have acquired some of his own nano-gel. Maybe he procured the information from Aurora while she was in his possession," through torture or some others means, he didn't know and would've been horrified to hear what she endured, "but I'm unsure how he would've acquired a sample of nanobots to get it done, unless he had a stash of Zodiac's from some time ago or obtained some from Nemesis." He froze for a second as a thought suddenly occurred to him. Did Nemesis give Tarantulas the sample of my own nanogel that I had given her? She was supposed to give it to Megatron to reduce her inevitable punishment... Primus... Wait. Maybe it was better this way since it was unlikely that Tarantulas would share it with Megatron considering their on-going feud with each other, meaning the rest of the Predacons wouldn't have it either. Still, how could he have been so careless about all of it, just to help the "enemy" who had almost taken one of his Maximals' lives? Maybe Cheetor was right about the way he had been handling things lately...

"Both are unfortunate happenstances," Rhinox commented softly but couldn't offer anything more than that, at least not at that time. It appeared that they lost more than they gained that morning. They could probably get more information from Aurora about the nanogel, but as for the TransMetalization, he wasn't sure how Spineback or whoever tested it on her could have done that. That was rather puzzling even to a "miracle worker" like him. "I can't help but notice that Wintersong is missing," he cautiously brought up.

Optimus shook his head solemnly a couple times as he said, "She left on her own accord. The Voks' possession over her was becoming too much, and she didn't want to endanger us."

A frown appeared on the engineer's face. "I'm sorry, Optimus. I wish I could've done more for her, but without any extensive knowledge on these aliens, I've been unable to pinpoint the origin of their interference with her."

"It's not your fault, Rhinox. I let her down," he blamed himself.

"It's not yours either. Even if you had pushed them harder through your link, it could've made things worse for her. It could've made them more aggressive. But don't give up. Can you still communicate with her?"

The blue and silver primate nodded. "For now," until the Vok find a way to block that too, or damage both of us with it somehow, he added in thought, if they even could do that. He didn't know.

"Then at least that's something, which is better than nothing," he tried consoling his friend and placed a hand on the gorilla's shoulder for a moment as a means of comforting their tired and worrisome leader.

“Dinobot and Frilla are just about here.”

"'Bout time," he told Airazor when she flew back to the group although he was sincerely relieved that they were okay and on their way. "You guys wanna give us a hand or what?" Rattrap announced as he rolled into the large room on his wheels and released his tail from the pod that he was using to help haul it back with the others. He merely spared a glance at Zodiac before moving on since he immediately noticed him standing nearby.

Rhinox left Optimus and Blackarachnia to assist the others and examine the pod. He helped guide it to a temporary and safe place within the hangar and proceeded to open its control panel to deactivate the levitating feature that Optimus had previously turned on. The large pod gradually lowered to the floor as the thrusts disengaged. Then he began checking its vitals and energy readings.

Primal took the opportunity to check on Tigerhawk's progress with the console attached to his repair chamber. "I take it our accommodations for your quarters aren't meeting your satisfaction or needs?" he asked Blackarachnia as his way of letting her know that he had taken notice of her frequent departures and long absences lately. He was actually more concerned about her well being rather than thinking she might be in the midst of betraying them, stealing things, or hiding something since she was another target dead center on Megatron's radar.

“Keep your chin up Rattrap, we’re back in one piece and most of us have returned home, Aurora included. That is at least something.”

Rattrap looked to Tigatron and nodded at him in agreement, appreciating his words of encouragement. Sometimes he didn't understand the white tiger's way of thinking, but he had always respected him. However, they were now missing Wintersong. Could they never catch a break? Speaking of Aurora, though, he couldn't wait to see her when she was all done with her repairs. In the meantime, he went ahead and maximized to his robot mode and watched Rhinox work on the pod.

“And what does that mean for you Blackarachnia? Finally socializing with the rest of us?”

Optimus quietly glanced from Tigatron and back to Blackarachnia before he finished checking up on Tigerhawk's status.

“Yea, everything is fine. If Dinobot would stop trying to scratch his cheek every five minutes.”

Ew, Rattrap shuddered when a quick visual of the raptor scratching his rear end entered his mind. "Coulda done without dat detail, Frillz," he told her over the frequency between their comm. links, "but that's what happens when he wipes with poison oak," he added with a snicker despite how gross and inappropriate his comment was. And he was just glad that they were okay and hadn't run into any trouble. He still found Dinobot's behavior odd, though. He hated to think it, since he pretty much trusted the Predacon warrior now even if he pretended not to, but maybe he should keep an eye on him.

“Told you we’d make it.”

It didn't take long for both reptiles to catch up and join the rest of them currently occupying the hangar. "Sorry I ever doubted ya." Rattrap gave her a smile and a small wave, but Frilla hadn't opted to hang around long.

“I’ll be in one of the CR chambers in the bridge if you guys need me.”

Except for Wintersong, everyone was back and getting medical attention, if they required it. Optimus nodded to Frilla as she passed by and headed toward the command center.

“I see all our more recent rescues join us, how fitting.”

"Dinobot," Primal grabbed his attention to keep his skeptical gaze from lingering on Blackarachnia and Zodiac. He started to approach him in his beast mode as he eyed the black case that he retrieved from his subspace pocket. "What is that?" he inquired.

Rattrap folded his arms across his chest as Dinobot also caught his attention now. "No wonder yer itchin' so much, Chopper Face, dat thing wreaks of Predacon," he noted the heavy stench of Spineback that he was picking up with his sensitive sense of smell even in his robot mode. "Even more dan you usually do," he smirked. "Must be an allergic reaction," he then joked with Rhinox next to him.

But the engineer was hardly amused when he glanced from his work toward Rattrap's voice which was being projected in his direction at that moment and had prompted him to look. His optics shifted to the object that Dinobot had just revealed to the group, and he stopped his work on the stasis pod. "You could use some repairs as well, Dinobot," he also observed with the soldier. But all of the CR chambers were currently in use. The former Predacon would probably decline, but Rhinox was indirectly offering his assistance to manually help him with his injuries.

"Rattrap," Optimus urged him to ease up on the jokes and sarcasm.

Glancing at the boss monkey and taking the hint, he shifted his gaze back to Dinobot. "Is dat what you an' Frilla went back for?" the Spy asked more seriously since his "comedic timing" seemed to be off with everyone else. He was trying to be more like himself again, but the others were must have seen through his act, so he decided to offer a little insight as to why their reptilian teammates were late.

The Maximal Commander returned his focus on to Dinobot as he waited for an explanation.

-----

"Uh, yes...its quite a strange planet to get use to."

As opposed to Cybertron? Indeed, but Megatron hardly had the patience to listen to his excuses, and his bored expression on his dinosaur face may have been an indicator for it.

"My name is Quickfix sir, primarily a medic with skills as a hacker."

Another medic? Just how many of those did the Predacons need? Spineback was adequate in fulfilling that department. But then Quickfix mentioned his hacking abilities which seemed to grab Megatron's interest, along with his identification when he gave it a little more attention. "Quickfix? I recall that name from Cryotek's crew. And according to reputable sources, at your breaking point, you were labeled a traitor, thus ending up with the Maximals on the Axalon's roster." He narrowed his pink eyes at the utahraptor with obvious criticism and suspicion on the emphasis of certain words. "Rumors exposed your intentions of finding a 'new life'," he quoted with the use of his small, t-rex fingers, "among them. So tell me, why should I trust your existence within my ranks?" Quickfix could easily have been a Maximal spy, and Megatron was not convinced otherwise yet, hence his placement of Terrorsaur and Waspinator, as well as maintaining his distance in case this new "Predacon" chose to attack him.

“Look at the bright side Inferno, you’re not in a million pieces.”

"Blah! I wouldn't want to steal Waspinator's gig. Hah hah hah hah hah!" the red ant laughed at the wasp's expense while the doctor reattached his insect legs. He involuntarily flinched a couple times but otherwise remained relatively still for her. When she finished with those, he exercised them a few times each to make sure they were sturdy and operational. So far so good. Maybe this doctor was worthy for the Colony after all.

“With all things considered, you could be in far worse shape.

"No thanks to that coward of a Maximal, Optimus Primal, striking me from behind," Inferno grumbled irritably. What a cheap shot it was. Low even for him! But Nemesis had been no help either apparently. She was struck down just as easily! Or so she said. No one could know for sure since there were no other witnesses. Still, his gripe was with the gorilla more than it was with his own comrade.

So, be patient and you can cause all the pain and destruction you want.”

The pyromaniac sighed heavily as though he couldn't believe he had to endure this embarrassment and waste all this time when he should be by his Queen's side! Nevertheless, he had no choice but to allow Spineback to continue her work on him. Being in beast mode this whole time, he was already starting to feel better, but he still needed more repairs, particularly with his thorax. It did hurt to breathe and move every so often, so maybe it was better for him to listen to the medical officer. A tiny part of him wondered how she had changed her appearance, but he left those questions for the Royalty. Far be it for him to step on any toes when the t-rex was already in a sour mood.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong had been trekking along an unknown path since the battle had ended, following the subconscious direction at the back of her mind via the Vok influence. As much as she wanted to keep running, her energy levels were too low to continue a constant run or to use her vehicle mode, so she resorted to walking instead.

By now, she had left the rain forest like the Maximals and Predacons had with only a small time of rest at the edge of the trees before she had continued. Her body still ached from the battle, especially Megatron’s blast earlier followed by the unexpected explosion. But, her self-repair systems would slowly heal those wounds over time while she wandered alone with only the faint presence of the Vok to keep her company. “I hope you lot are happy.” She rumbled coldly, the sense of emptiness and loneliness having quickly returned when she abandoned her friends. Not that the Vok cared. They only had one purpose, one task, that was all that mattered.

“They would have been a distraction.” Came the echoing voice at the back of her processor.

“You slaggers are a distraction! I’m a Maximal, I should be with the Axalon crew!!” She snarled in protest.

“You are ours now Cybertronian! And you shall be ours until this task is complete!”

Before Wintersong could protest further she suddenly howled out as a searing, burning sensation struck her form, causing her to involuntarily to transform to robot mode, grabbing her upper arms. The pain hurt more than any of the spreading anomaly within her, a burning pain she had not felt since Cecelia had used her energy blade on her chest sometime ago. Such a sensation faintly leaked through the link she shared with Primal, more of a ghostly pain compared to what the transmetal tigress was feeling. It was quick but still painful, the sensation passing as quickly as it came and causing her to fall to her knees. She dreaded to look at what the Vok presence had done, slowly turning her head to peer at where her insignias were and gasped in horror; the Maximal symbols now glowed the same bright eerie green as the crack-like markings across her armor, and were now a warped hybrid of the skull-like faces of the Vok but retaining much of the Maximal design with a lower jaw and tendril marks around it.

“What have you done?!”

“Made our point.’ came a simple response, causing Wintersong to shake with rage and dread, realizing how quickly she was losing this battle of wills.

+++++++++++++++++

By the time the fuzor was nearly done in the CR chamber, he picked up on more and more voices outside in the hanger. It sounded like the ground unit had finally arrived and Optimus had joined them by then as well. The hanger was going to be crowded when Tigerhawk finished.

In fact, as the others began to go into an explanation of what had happened at the battle, the repair sequence had finished its work, opening with a soft hiss. Stepping out, Tigerhawk gave his mismatched body a long stretch, wings stretching out slightly before folding back at his side. Quite the gathering of Maximals that was for sure. So, to not take up more room, the large tiger/hawk fuzor stepped over towards the back of the hanger and transformed to robot mode while listening to the conversation going on, turning to face the others and offering a greeting smile towards Zodiac. He hadn’t heard the young dragon come in before.

Cheetor had to admit he was pretty surprised to hear Onyx had expressed no interest in anything else. He had come online as a soldier and that was all that seemed to be where his skills lied. The Predacons were certainly an odd bunch. Some had a one track mind, and others seemed interested in expanding their horizons. It was kind of fascinating to see to the young cheetah.

Turning to the console, Cheetor began typing once the monitor popped up, bringing up the crew manifest for reference purposes. “No problem.” The young cheetah though paused upon hearing the alert about Dinobot and Frilla, wondering what had kept them behind. Perhaps they would get answers in the hanger before the transmetal feline turned towards the equine, “Here, maybe this can give you some ideas. You seem to like working with your hands, so maybe that can narrow down some interests.” He explained, allowing the black equine to take a look before he turned to see who was coming up the lift a few minutes after the alert and spotting Frilla. She definitely had seen better days, “Hey Frilla.” He greeted but couldn’t hide his concern.

Rampage had done a real number on her frame.

Once the CR chamber had closed, his green optics shifted towards Aurora’s own chamber. He wondered how she was doing within, knowing her deep fear rarely had her inside the CR chambers, and count the recent trauma she must have gone through...He could only imagine what was on her mind right now.

When they had arrived to the ship’s hanger, Airazor had ignored the widow’s comment. Her snide remarks and less-than-favorable opinion towards the Maximals was nothing new nor worth getting worked up over after all this time. They would have to learn to live with such remarks and insults, the falcon merely rolling her eyes before she had taken flight to see where Dinobot and Frilla were coming from. It appeared by then Sentinel had likewise detected their presence just as she landed back to join the others.

By then, the pod was already being taken care of and the others who had been at the battle catching those who stayed behind up on what had occurred. Among the faces she noticed Zodiac as well, nodding slightly towards him in acknowledgement, “It went as well as can be expected.” She answered, currently remaining in beast mode for her self-repairs since the CR chambers would be for the more injured members of their mission today. “Never a dull moment around here for long.” She told the young mech. And her point was further proven when Dinobot spoke up towards Blackarachnia’s and Zodiac’s presence of which was normal for the dino.

But, attention soon went to the case he was carrying. That was what his ruse was about? A black case? Why hide going back for it? The falcon found it a little...odd the raptor would act so strangely about backtracking to find the object. Curious behavior even for the paranoid raptor.

++++++++++++++++

Terrorsaur raised an optic ridge as Quickfix introduced himself and his functions. A medic and a hacker? Interesting combination, but that seemed rather...suspicious that he seemed to be among the pods willingly. Maybe he had a good reason given he had been part of Cryotek’s fold. Had he been scared in seeking refuge among the explorers? Predacons could be ruthless after all, so he could only imagine the reasoning behind the raptor joining the crew. ‘Lets hope this kid can think quick on his feet, otherwise bye new recruit.’ He thought with a faint smirk.

But the transmetal flier raised an optic ridge at Megatron’s words. This kid had been part of Cryotek’s gang? No wonder he left, he was far too soft sparked for that sort of life. “Or he’s just too soft to hack that life.” Terrorsaur quipped, unable to see Quickfix as hacking the life of living on the edge. So a spy seemed out of the question. But then again, Rattrap had deceived him back a few year prior so he could be wrong...

“Well, well, the ant has humor after all.” Spineback gave a small chuckle at that, a twisted grin coming to her face plates. “But, you’re not wrong unfortunately.” Though amused, there was no hiding the annoyance Spineback held at the matter. Waspinator really did fall apart a little too easily, sparing no expense of having to repair him and send him to the CR tanks for further repairs. It was a vicious cycle and the wasp was lucky he was surprisingly resilient for one so...weak.

Still, the femme dinosaur listened as Inferno vented about the outcome of his confrontation with Optimus Primal. It indeed was a low blow, but at the same time that was partially the fire ant’s fault. He had left himself open and it appeared Nemesis had dropped her guard at some point which brought up some suspicions and questions once more. “Always keep your optic on your opponent Inferno, no matter the outcome. You can react faster to keep yourself from falling victim to a seemingly unguarded opponent, and it’s easier to inflict more pain on your victim once you get your weapon back.” She advised, hoping the ant might take her advice to spark. He was a good fighter and unpredictable already, having a little more common sense in battle could greatly improve his skills so long as he listened.

But, she imagined he might rebuff her words given how confident he was with his capabilities.

“Just a bit longer Inferno.” Spineback assured him as she worked. His self-repair systems had done a bit of work, giving her less time she needed to keep him there but the damage still required her to replace certain damaged parts, rewire, seal, and weld, ensuring each part of his form was in good condition. After a little time, she finally repaired and sealed the final damaged area of his thorax, stepping back to do a final visual of his form just in case. Yes, that would have to do. “Okay, give your legs a little test walk then transform, just need to make sure everything is in working order then you’re free to go.” She informed him.

[New Moon]

Once the matter of Dinobot and Frilla seemed handled, Onyx gave his attention towards the list Cheetor brought up. “Well, you aren’t wrong there. Suppose being an engineer could be an option.” After all, Rhinox seemed an excellent teacher in many regards given his interactions with Aurora. But she had taken a biological approach instead more than anything, but she was also quite the inventor too.

The black equine scratched his chin in thought as he looked over the list. Cartography, field research, engineer, the list went on, surprising the Predacon with the fact there was so much to an exploration crew. “Huh, I definitely don’t give exploration crews enough credit to their work, there is more functions here than I’ve seen with a Predacon battalion.” He commented before being drawn away from the screen at the sound of the lift. Shortly thereafter Frilla came into the bridge, nodding to her as he watched her head into the CR chamber next to Aurora’s. She seemed pretty beat up, a lot of the crew did.

But he too noticed Cheetor’s concerned expression, resting a hand on the young cheetah and grimacing from the uncomfortable stretch around his arm joint and shoulders. “They’ll be alright Cheetor, don’t worry so much.” Onyx assured him.

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

Well, there was the catch.

“That’s all they are, rumors.” Quickfix refuted. He should have expected something would get out or get exaggerated, and it appeared his hunch had been right. “Yes, I had second thoughts about being in Cryotek’s gang, not the Predacons themselves. It appears those rumors were greatly exaggerated, especially for someone like me who wasn’t even that high up within its ranks anyway.” The utahraptor hadn’t any reason to lie or be deceitful. He had been drawn through inflated expectations, naïveté he could admit that had made him question his own self-preservation instincts. “I made a jump to something I didn’t have the spark for thus my reason in considering leaving, but I had intended to return to my life as a medic.”

Terrorsaur took it upon himself to only add to what he said, albeit quite insulting causing the younger Predacon to give the flier a glare. “If I need a parrot to help back me up and echo my words, I would have asked for it.” Turning his gaze back towards Megatron he added, “But hard to get a job at a medical facility when you get a prison sentence. I didn’t exactly have many options, so I turned to a necessary evil to get somewhere and get back on my feet nothing more.”

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

Blackarachnia welcomed the timing of Optimus’ arrival and the return of the others before Rhinox could inquire further about her absences. She didn’t need all that attention on her right now, or at least holding off as much suspicion about her whereabouts as much as possible. Especially with her swiping supplies here and there.

But the widow glared towards the metal ape. “Lets hope you’re not too late to save your young friend this time. The kitten got lucky last time he was captured, I wonder if you can say the same for Aurora.” Blackarachnia this time didn’t hide her mocking tone nor hold back her annoyance. Turning her attention away from the two Maximals, she eyed the arriving team, noting the pod with interest at first before it faded. No, trying to obtain this pod would be too risky and draw too much attention towards her. So, she opted instead to watch Rhinox work with the controls. For research purposes of course.

But, she couldn’t do that for long before Optimus spoke towards her, remarking about her quarters accommodations. “They’re adequate. Like I told Rhinox, the mushy, kind, loving on this ship is stifling.” Blackarachnia answered simply, finally pulling her gaze away towards Optimus. “Plus having suspicious eyes on you all the time gets tiring.” Her gaze then went towards the paranoid rodent, who she had been fortunate enough had had his eyes on finding Aurora all this time.

She soon went quiet however, as Dinobot garnered some attention for some rather suspicious actions of his own. What do they expect? He’s a former Predacon, of course he’ll be suspicious., the widow thought to herself, but had to admit she was curious about the case and it’s contents. And why was the raptor so itchy?

[Phoenix]

Nemesis had always been something of a reclusive soul. She rarely allowed herself to grow attached to someone, in part due to the harsh lessons she had to learn early on in life about how easily others could turn should their agendas change. In fact, she could likely count the individuals she truly cared about on the digits of one hand, and even a some of those select few had ultimately turned on her in the end. Zodiac had been such an individual.. A part of Nemesis still remembered him clearly as the child locked up in the cell next to her own, the one who was always trying to lift her spirits when she saw no end to the torment and only found a single, permanent way out.

In some strange way the runt may have helped lift her spirit just enough to keep her from giving up entirely. Then again, even if the abuse had managed to take away her spirit to survive the ordeal, it would have been difficult to act on such desires given her extensive healing abilities. Still, a part of her would forever be grateful to the youth who simply wouldn't allow her to give up.. And then the day came when she had the opportunity to run. And she took it, leaving the younger male who had become like a brother to her behind. She did try to find him on a couple of occasions later on, but he had disappeared off the grid. Later she heard he died in what was described as a transwarp explosion, only for that to be proved wrong when he resurfaced on this planet. This.. Earth. And now he was her enemy, one who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice her for his own ploys to succeed.

Well.. At least he had been. His current status was unknown, after all. The last time she saw the dragon, he'd looked like he was dying in the aftermath of Megatron's onslaught and likely that's what ultimately happened. There was, of course, a slim chance he survived.. But if he did, he was likely locked up in the brig or something.. presuming the Maximals had repaired it by now. It certainly hadn't been in the best of shapes after the Predacons' attack on their base a couple of weeks prior. An attack Nemesis had planned out and executed, one might add, as tasked to her by the tyrant himself. Still, the avian female was well aware of what she had done to Primal and, by association, to Zodiac as well. War certainly was complicating things.. And still somehow managed to make them simpler. Primal certainly realized what she was capable of now and would keep his distance much like she'd be forced to keep hers.

Which all left her feeling very much.. alone.

Sure, she had maintained her position as the second in command of the Predacons, but she still kept her distance from most of them. With all of her gifts, her unique abilities and her intellect, she had a hard time fitting in with the rest of the crew. Much of her efforts went into trying to keep this ragtag team from destroying themselves, whether from pure stupidity, vulnerability, or excessive amounts of aggression. A few times she had saved the lives of her comrades as diverse as Terrorsaur and Megatron. She held no pride in such a fact, if anything her motivation was confusing even to her. She didn't enjoy war the way some of the others did, to her it was more of a necessary evil to improve their chances of survival. And while she certainly had killed others on several occasions, she rarely took joy in their deaths. Not even Zodiac's.. if that was indeed what had happened.

So now she merely roamed the hallways of the Darksyde rather aimlessly, not really wanting to return to her quarters and in no need of repairs like the others. She did plan on talking to Spineback at one point, in private, but the medical officer seemed otherwise preoccupied right now. Besides, Nemesis needed a bit of time to clear her head first. Yet she also liked to keep informed, hopefully without intruding. Not that she feared any of them, aside from Megatron himself and she had a decent amount of respect for a couple of others like the spider as well. For right now, however, she chose to keep an optic on what the others were up to, a curiosity that lead her to the bridge portion of the heavily damaged ship where she located Megatron conversing with a few of the others.. Including the new recruit who had conveniently disappeared since his first appearance. Somewhat intruiged by what the young medic had to say about it, Nemesis lingered near the doorway of the bridge, keeping a respectful distance without being so far away she couldn't hear them.

“Yes, I had second thoughts about being in Cryotek’s gang, not the Predacons themselves. It appears those rumors were greatly exaggerated, especially for someone like me who wasn’t even that high up within its ranks anyway.”

Cryotek.. Nemesis mostly knew of him by reputation. Yes, she had seen his face while making rounds at the facility they were kept at, but she'd never actually spoken to him in person. Perhaps that was a wasted opportunity, but at the time she had barely even known who he was. She did recall Zodiac having spoken of him from time to time, in a voice that always held a mixture of fear and admiration. But really, that was as far as her interaction with the warlord and gang leader went. And since Megatron hadn't exactly told her much about his past, she didn't know much about his relationship with the dragon warlord either.

From the looks of it, the young utahraptor hadn't exactly parted with his gang, as he put it, on good terms. Nemesis couldn't help the slight smile that appeared on her face as she kept watching them, remembering her own departure from said group quite well. She'd left several bodies in her wake that night, but again.. it had been necessary. The guards nor the scientists commanding them wouldn't have let her leave. And the few who dared to try to stop her suffered the consequences.

"Rumors exposed your intentions of finding a 'new life'," he quoted with the use of his small, t-rex fingers, "among them. So tell me, why should I trust your existence within my ranks?"

Megatron, too, seemed less than impressed. Not that he had no reason to be suspicious of this newcomer who conveniently had cut his ties with his former group, then found refuge with the Maximals, and now suddenly had appeared here attempting to ingratiate himself with the tyrant. Yet.. despite the obvious suspicions of the tyrant, there was.. potential here. Maybe not so much in the form of his medical expertise, given that role already being filled by the highly qualified Spineback, but perhaps more so by his other self-proclaimed attributes.. A hacker, especially one with knowledge of the Axalon and Maximals at large, might be able to gain access to their computer systems.. And could, perhaps, obtain some most helpful information that could be used to soothe Megatron's temper and ease his suspicions. Or better yet.. perhaps he could be able to obtain information on what the creepy spider was up to.

"Let's not be so hard on the kid," Nemesis then said from her position by the door. "He might just prove useful with a resume like that." Her smile widened a bit, her arms crossed as she took a step closer.

"Although there's one thing that I'm a bit curious about.. Why would you go to such efforts to get to us? Is this truly a case of extreme admiration towards our leader or is there more to it than you've let us know thus far?"


Meanwhile one of the CR chambers on the bridge gave the notification that the repairs on the occupant within was nearly complete. Around the same time Aurora stirred inside the chamber, having temporarily dosed off while the repairs were being done. But now that she was just about repaired and physically feeling much better, the chamber's efforts came to a halt and allowed her to return to the world of the awake.

The fuzor stretched out as best she could inside the chamber, which fortunately was large enough given her smaller size, feeling a bit groggy at first but quickly remembering her mission and what brought her here. A moment later the doors hissed open, allowing her to step outside.

Alas she wasn't alone nor was her intended target present. Yet keeping up with her instructions, the little fuzor smiled sweetly, gratefully, at Onyx and Cheetor who were the only ones present.. That she could see anyway. "Nice to see the both of you," she told them, letting her optics linger a bit on each of them in turn. She remembered clearly that Onyx had been laid out for a long time after the injuries he had sustained in a recent battle whereas Cheetor, of course, had been the one to carry her away from the battlefield much more recently. "Thank you..," she whispered to Cheetor as she came closer, showing her gratitude for what he had done for her.. And more importantly, given her the opportunity to complete her mission.

"Are you both.. okay?," she then questioned before looking around, almost a little confused there were so few of them here. Well, in a sense it was a blessing since she didn't exactly want everyone gushing over her, but the individual she was looking for wasn't there either. Where had they stashed Zodiac? She would, of course, need to get some alone time with him somehow as well so that she could .. persuade him to come along. Naturally Tarantulas had provided her with the means to do so, but she wouldn't be able to without locating him first.

"Where is everyone?," she pondered out loud, briefly wondering what she had missed during her short stint in the CR chamber. Of course, she wasn't about to ask about Zodiac specifically, since under normal circumstances he would be the last one on her mind.. Well, aside from when he was busy threatening all of them and causing havoc of course.

"More or less,"

Zodiac gave a respectful nod as Optimus acknowledged him, even though the Maximal leader didn't really engage him in conversation much. Not that it mattered now that the renegade had regained his memories. Already a plan of action was starting to develop in his mind, but for it to work he very much so needed to keep his former foe in the dark about his true intentions. He was well aware of Primal's distrust of him so he couldn't risk revealing the truth and thus put what freedom he did have at stake.

"Is there anything I can do to be of assistance..?," he then questioned innocently before Optimus turned his attention to his friend Rhinox, with whom he engaged in a conversation too quiet for Zodiac to overhear from where he was standing. Well, he could probably piece it together based on the random glances in his direction.. No doubt Rhinox was informing him of what had happened in his absence, which was.. not ideal, but not a big issue either. He had kept the truth from the rhinoceros as well so while the two of them may be suspicious from time to time, they had no real proof to indicate he wasn't being entirely honest with them.

And he intended to keep it that way.

In a way he did feel appreciative towards the rhinoceros for telling him as much as he did and in his own way prompting his memories to return, much in the same sense he felt similarly towards Primal himself now. It was a most peculiar change for the dragon who had been hellbent on his then foe's destruction upon first arriving on this world, only to have a change of spark now that he'd spent some time with the Maximals.. voluntarily or not. He owed Primal his life and had since come to realize there were far greater threats than someone he hated mostly out of jealousy and resentment. But alas he'd already experienced how little Primal was able to protect him when the greater threat decided to get rid of him. As a Predacon he understood all too well where Megatron's rage came from, since survival of the fittest was a common term for their kind.

Of course he was conflicted about all of it, from his fading loyalty towards Cryotek to his budding one towards Primal. Yet as much as he was developing a respect for the Maximal leader, he also felt the Maximals wouldn't be able to protect him if the Predacons were to try again. They weren't strong enough, their leader wasn't firm enough. Yes, a few of the Maximals wanted nothing more than to teach the Preds a valuable lesson, but Primal would never let that happen. He had his principles.. and Zodiac had his. And in many cases they were bound to clash..

“It went as well as can be expected.”

The Maximal version of his old sister in arms spoke up next, answering his earlier question about how things had gone during the mission. He didn't know her too well, but turned his gaze to meet hers with a friendly nod and a smile. She didn't seem like she harbored a grudge towards him like some of them did. He couldn't help but notice the glare from Dinobot as the former Predacon left on his own agenda. It was a chilling glare, but Zodiac was used to them by now. However, the raptor was carrying a black case with him.. Most peculiar. Zodiac would investigate but something told him Primal wouldn't allow him to roam freely like that, even if he had put the tracking devices back on his wrists.

"Everybody seems to have made it back in one piece," he noted in response before taking note of a couple of the Maximals not being there. "Almost everyone?," he then questioned, taking note of the mixed feelings among the crew.

“Never a dull moment around here for long.”

Indeed. And they were about to have a lot more excitement if the dragon had anything to say about it.. And he would, of that he was determined.

"I.. wouldn't really know," he replied a bit sheepishly, keeping up the pretense of still suffering from the amnesia.

It was then Zodiac's attention was pulled to the CR chamber which had now opened, exposing the large fuzor as he emerged from his repairs. The dragon's smile widened a bit as he excused himself and moved closer to where Tigerhawk was now standing. Unlike most of the others, the fuzor was always friendly towards him and didn't seem to judge him based on his past actions. The dragon appreciated that, finding the forming friendship to be a welcome one. He hadn't really had a friend since.. well.. a long time ago. Even the crew he arrived with he kept at a distance, never fully trusting them despite feeling some sense of belonging with them. Perhaps that was a result of his no doubt messed up upbringing. So finding someone who seemed to genuinely care was rare, leaving Zodiac tempted to explore the experience even if he could never be fully honest with even those he considered friends.

"Tigerhawk," the dragon spoke in a relieved voice as he approached the fuzor. "If you're not too busy, I could use a drink.. and a friend," he offered. "If Optimus will allow me to steal you away in a mentor role, that is," he then added, loudly enough for Primal to be able to overhear.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: So.. where did everyone go? I posted fairly early Sunday so 4 days ago, and still not anyone in sight.. Is everything okay? Please at least let us know.)

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I'll be working on my post tonight, but my Maximal characters are relying on Dinobot's response, so I'm also wondering where New Moon has gone. No word from her. I'll write what I can while we wait to hear something. Hopefully soon if everything is alright. ))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Well, I don't know where New Moon is, so I'll try to have a post up later tonight. I'm not sure yet what to do about Dinobot because I don't know what she was doing with the case's contents, but maybe we'll skip over that part until she returns and then she can reveal the brief case again or something. I'll try sending her a PM. ))

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Still nothing from New Moon (even though it looks like she posted for Wildfire's characters before Phoenix posted ???, so I'm a little confused there), and I apologize for my own tardiness. If your characters were interacting with her's, then feel free to move them on to something else. Hopefully she'll come back soon... Hopefully everyone else is still around...? ))

“They’re adequate. Like I told Rhinox, the mushy, kind, loving on this ship is stifling.” “Plus having suspicious eyes on you all the time gets tiring.”

The gorilla almost shrugged since there wasn't much he could do about anyone spying on her. As paranoid as she was was of them, surely she could relate to their paranoia of her. Still, she hadn't done anything yet that was distrustful or suspicious. He had no qualms about her seclusion, although it didn't exactly help earn the crew's trust or getting acquainted with her. "Be that as it may, sneaking off and failing to interact with everyone won't exactly avert those eyes. I realize our sensitivities with each other makes you uncomfortable, Blackarachnia, but it makes our bonds stronger both on and off the battle field," he hinted to her as something to think about. Not that he expected her to be someone she wasn't, or to even be more emotional, but as it stood, she was probably the last one on their team they would depend on to watch their backs simply because she was deliberately isolating herself and failing to earn their respect and trust. If she wasn't going to take the initiative, then it was time he started pairing her up with some of the others for some missions in order to push that much-needed interaction because eventually she was going to be more involved with battles against her former comrades, and things would inevitably get heated. She needed to know that she could depend on the Maximals to help her, even if she didn't want it, and they needed to know that they could depend on her.

“Lets hope you’re not too late to save your young friend this time. The kitten got lucky last time he was captured, I wonder if you can say the same for Aurora.”

Having just "lost" Wintersong, and with the addition of Spineback's words that had stung him more than he liked back at the battle in the rain forest, Optimus tried hard to suppress his anger toward Blackarachnia's tone. He bared his sharp teeth for a moment as if he was going to bite back with a sharp retort before his blue face relaxed while he searched for a more helpful alternative on the subject rather than primal emotion. She was right to be suspicious of Tarantulas, and she probably knew him better than any of the others, including Dinobot, so Optimus figured that he should heed her warnings instead of taking them too lightly. If she wanted to be useful among this crew, who probably gave her the cold shoulder more often than not and found it difficult to trust her, then he would need to include her more in their problems that could use her expertise for successful solutions. "I'm open to any suggestions," he then asked of the black widow, which almost sounded like putting her in charge of the situation. She might respond more positively to a notion like that.

"Is there anything I can do to be of assistance..?,"

Before Optimus could answer, Tigerhawk had emerged from their largest CR to observe and catch up on what was going on while Zodiac's attention seemed to be diverted to the others speaking to him. This gave Primal the opportunity to subtly duck behind the repair chamber for a moment, pretending to check a connection, with his back up against its exterior wall when he felt some rather painful sensations seemingly out of no where. It was like a phantom burning from within. Out of sight from everyone else and taking several deep breaths, he held a hand over his blue chest and focused on its origin as he closed his pink eyes. There were incoherent whispers from afar... from the Vok. And Wintersong's voice was there in the distance as well. He couldn't make out her words, though. What was happening to her? He hesitated to reach out to the tigress directly since it might inadvertently send more anguish his way. But what if she needed him, even if it was only to hear his voice? It may have been enough to help her in some way. Wintersong? he called to her through their unusual alien link, his voice evident of concern for her well being, signaling to her that he had just felt something dangerous emitting from her.

"Tigerhawk," "If you're not too busy, I could use a drink.. and a friend," "If Optimus will allow me to steal you away in a mentor role, that is,"

Composing himself to disguise what had just happened, Primal emerged from behind the chamber and looked over at Zodiac and Tigerhawk. He gave them a wave of approval from across the room. "The rest of you can get some rest. We'll reconvene in the command center later," he instructed the others. Then he walked over to Rhinox and the pod with the blank protoform inside of it. "Let's get this back to the stasis pod hold," Optimus told his friend while he grabbed one end of it.

Big Green nodded to his commanding officer and grabbed the opposite end with his large hands. Both of them lifted the pod effortlessly and started maneuvering it out of the hangar and down to the room on the lower deck.

Meanwhile, Rattrap went to close the hangar's large door and secure it before he headed toward the bridge anxious to see how Aurora was doing with her repairs. He pretty much ignored Zodiac when he walked by him, not necessarily on purpose, though, since his mind was focused elsewhere. Stepping quickly through the corridors, he arrived at the bridge and found Aurora, Cheetor and Onyx conversing. A smile immediately appeared on his face. "Aurora! Yer finished already? How're ya feelin'?" he asked her with perhaps too much excitement for everything she had gone through the past two weeks. But he couldn't help himself. He care for her a lot. At least he refrained from smothering her with a hug or standing directly in front of her face.

-----

“Or he’s just too soft to hack that life.”

The dictator almost smirked at Terrorsaur's comment. Almost. If he didn't despise him so much, he would have. But he did have a point. This new Predacon wasn't much to look at. He was quite the opposite of their other most recent recruit; Terrabite. However, looks can be deceiving, and the warlord wasn't going to be quick to dismiss what he might have been capable despite how much of a hard time he was giving him. He wanted to see how well he could think on his feet under verbal pressure. Terrorsaur, and evidently the eavesdropping Nemesis, didn't seem to be grasping that.

“That’s all they are, rumors.”

Megatron stood there with a blank expression, obviously unconvinced. Maybe they were rumors, maybe they weren't. His words held little value to the tyrant, but perhaps Quickfix was willing to elaborate.

“Yes, I had second thoughts about being in Cryotek’s gang, not the Predacons themselves. It appears those rumors were greatly exaggerated, especially for someone like me who wasn’t even that high up within its ranks anyway.” “I made a jump to something I didn’t have the spark for thus my reason in considering leaving, but I had intended to return to my life as a medic.”

His hardened and suspicious expression softened ever so slightly to one of curiosity and thoughtfulness while he listened to the raptor defend himself. "I see," he somewhat accepted to an extent. Normally it wasn't easy for a Predacon to confess such decisions, especially in front of one with a reputation like Megatron's, so he was beginning to believe him. Of course, time would tell just where this Cybertronian stood; loyal to the Predacons, or a spy from the Maximals.

“If I need a parrot to help back me up and echo my words, I would have asked for it.”

A smile appeared on his long face since he was amused by Quickfix's comment toward Terrorsaur who seemed to have every intention of being everyone's enemy. Such a fool. Megatron felt like he could almost trust anyone who didn't like Terrorsaur who was a conniving, backstabbing, power-hungry, treacherous Predacon. Had he not been as powerful and fast in the air as he was, Megatron would have scrapped him a long time ago.

“But hard to get a job at a medical facility when you get a prison sentence. I didn’t exactly have many options, so I turned to a necessary evil to get somewhere and get back on my feet nothing more.”

"An intriguing and creative way to manipulate the broken system on Cybertron. I can appreciate that," the Predacon leader commended him. "Fortunately, I aim to rectify that mess," he assured Quickfix and as well as himself to boost his own ego even further.

"Let's not be so hard on the kid," "He might just prove useful with a resume like that."

Megatron slowly turned his intimidating beast mode head in the former Decepticon's direction with narrowed eyes. "Mind your place, Nemesis," he warned about her speaking as though she was undermining or deliberately disagreeing with him in front of the new recruit. He would do with him as he pleased!

"Although there's one thing that I'm a bit curious about.. Why would you go to such efforts to get to us? Is this truly a case of extreme admiration towards our leader or is there more to it than you've let us know thus far?"

"Come now, my Second-in-Command," he deliberately addressed her both as a means to alert Quickfix about her rank and to point out to Nemesis again that he was in charge of this interrogation, not her. If she wanted to question their new recruit, she could do it on her own time. This was Megatron's show, and he hated to be interrupted. "We were mistaken to abandon him. There was a lot of distance for him to cover and to locate our territory on his own. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt and see where his loyalty lies, yes?" the tyrant now appeared to defend the utahraptor.

Then the purple and copper t-rex shifted his intimidating gaze back to Quickfix as he added, "Loyalty is very important, and I expect you to obey my orders as well as Nemesis'. Now, if there is nothing else, I will send you to our primary medical officer Spineback." Megatron still needed repairs, so he wanted to dismiss this conversation sooner rather than later.

"Nemesis, if you wouldn't mind escorting our new recruit to the infirmary," he addressed her rather politely now even if he wasn't being 100% content about it given her recent actions and interruptions that had been irritating him lately.

"Terrorsaur, Waspinator," the Predacon leader demanded their attention, "once the both of you, along with Quickstrike and Inferno, are finished with your repairs, I want you all to report to me for further instructions."

"Megatron to Spineback," he hailed the TransMetal spinosaurus through his comm. link, "I'm sending our new medic your way. Show him the ropes of our merry little establishment. You will be his superior medical officer."

“Well, well, the ant has humor after all.” “But, you’re not wrong unfortunately.”

Inferno remained neutral with her comments and her grinning. He certainly wasn't trying to surprise her or impress her or even make her laugh. He was just stating the obvious and finding his own humor about it. He was by no means a comedian, and he didn't thrive on feedback or criticism unless it came from the Royalty.

“Always keep your optic on your opponent Inferno, no matter the outcome. You can react faster to keep yourself from falling victim to a seemingly unguarded opponent, and it’s easier to inflict more pain on your victim once you get your weapon back.”

"I was the one who subdued the Maximal leader in the first place," he explained to the doctor, "but I needed to retrieve my weapon. Nemesis was supposed to keep him down while I searched for it, but Optimus Primal attacked me either before or after somehow overthrowing her. If anyone is to follow your advice, it should be Nemesis!" He sounded offended at first but quickly calmed himself down. "However, your words still ring truth, and I will take them under advisement." If it would make him more successful to their cause and protecting the colony, then the arsonist would certainly consider them.

“Just a bit longer Inferno.”

The large, red ant merely glanced at her as he laid there rather still while she continued her work to repair him. Removing some of his armor to reach deeper wounds, poking around inside with tools, stripping and replacing wires and whatnot, none of it seemed to affect him a great deal. After all, he had a high pain tolerance level. He was as patient and quiet about it than most of her patients were. As Spineback started to finish up, she replaced his armor and stepped back to give him some room while he watched her curiously. Was she finished? He hoped so so that he could get back to his duties.

“Okay, give your legs a little test walk then transform, just need to make sure everything is in working order then you’re free to go.”

Without hesitation, he nodded and climbed down from the medical berth as a good test for his legs putting his weight on them and maneuvering them individually. All of them seemed to be functioning normal; tight and strong. They felt good. Then he loudly told his internal computer, "Terrorize!" and his body shifted to robot mode without any aches or pains. "Impressive, doctor," he complimented her work. "Efficient and dependable. The colony and the Royalty are lucky to have you. My weapon?" he asked for it as he glanced around the infirmary.

[Phoenix]

(So... Three people all disappeared at the same time without a warning .. ? An update would be great..)