The Intergalactic Highway

((OOC: I leave things open-ended when I'm done with Steelclaw in this post, Phoenix; would you want Steelclaw to help Megatron out here as he fights Orcariner, or do you want to have Megatron do this fight alone?))

Waspinator wrote:Wazzpinator deliver Bearbot's gun as promised, now Wazzpinator enter the fray!

Steelclaw gave his comrade a thumbs up before lifting the minigun and confirming its power levels just to be sure. His interest was suddenly taken by Silverbolt's question--it appeared they were both wondering the same thing.

Then he winced.

Megatron wrote:Question my authority again and I will tear you limb from mismatched limb! I have no intention of showing mercy towards my enemies. Now do as I command and destroy them!

Well, he didn't need to be curious anymore. The Predacons were not accepting any Maximal surrender. That was a shame, really... certainly not the way he would have done it. But he was not in command. And there was no time to think about it or contest it right now. He was supposed to be engaging the enemy right about then.

Steelclaw starting jogging forward and got a small distance away from Megatron, but then he slowed. It was impossible not to see Orcariner flying in on Megatron's position, or even not to hear the ominous bass sound of him hitting the ground. Steelclaw's circuits shorted out for a nanoclick as he considered Orcariner's transmetal upgrade. This Maximal was the one who was already capable of winning hand-to-hand battles with massive Vok droids. Now he was even sturdier, more imposing, bigger.

* * *

Cheetor growled in frustration as Starshadow flew away from his effective range to take on Saber Fang; her swift retreat made his last few energy blasts shoot off into thin air. Before he could think of any better plan than chasing after her, he heard a brazen threat coming from behind him.

Inferno wrote:Hahaha! The royalty commands the destruction of all enemies of the colony and you get to be first!

Cheetor wheeled around with his hands already placed together and ready to fire, and he caught sight of Inferno just a split nanosecond before the Predacon's rockets began racing towards him. Reflexively, he fired once and managed to detonate the first rocket prematurely. The second flew straight into his left shoulder, and the explosion that followed rent his arm almost completely from his frame; it hung by a few wires and was torqued to face unnaturally outwards. Cheetor flew backwards, leaving a thick trail of smoke in his wake, and his HUD started telling him all sorts of bad news.

Gritting his teeth and thinking quickly, Cheetor leaned back up enough to reach into his subspace and retrieve one of the proximity mines. Then, in nearly the same motion, he manually activated the charge and threw it forcefully at Inferno. He berated himself as soon as the charge was in the air, realizing it should have gone off in his hands first. When it fell just short of Inferno two nanoclicks later and landed on the ground without any results, Cheetor decided that he had gotten lucky with a faulty trigger mechanism.

Cheetor switched gears quickly. Without another thought, his functional hand was suddenly aimed right at the charge and firing an energy blast at it.

Dinobot was still not quite finished with laying down his charges when Waspinator's shots hit him right in the back.

Waspinator wrote:HA! Wazzpinator got fancy new upgrade and traitor didn't! Wazzpinator superior,Dinobot inferior!

Dinobot stumbled forward, and, in a rage, finally decided to let the last few traps fall out of his hands onto the ground. Unholstering the heavy plasma cannon from his back, he started trading shots with his attacker, adding in his optic lasers whenever he needed to pump the cannon. "You still look like a worthless bug to me!"

Wintersong peeked over the boulder she had taken cover behind, seeing the battles raging around her and really trying to decide what her next move should be. Though she had noted of the fact more of the Predacons had arrived, making her hope sink that they could actually win this fight at all when fresh troops from their enemies were arriving and the Maximals were already having to engage the Predacons full force. "This is just not our day."She sighed before she stood up and began making her way around the rocks before she finally spotted one of the newer Preds, Silverbolt, making his way towards the battle field, not aware of his hesitation to join in the fray since so far none of the Predacons seemed to be holding back what they had now. Although she could have sworn she caught one by surprise just a little bit ago after firing one of her mini-missiles.

"Hold it right there wolf,"The femme growled as she came from the cover of the boulders, aiming her wrist launchers towards the fuzor and more then ready to blast him to pieces if she had to. Of course she didn't do so right off the bat like she might have in the past, knowing better now then to jump the gun. Least this time, it wasn't an exact guarantee she might now again at one point.

((Sorry this seems short but we got storms coming through and posting while the cable isn't out...again. ))

OOC: I was gonna wait to hear OOP's reply for Rattrap, but figured I should post for Terrorsaur now, will do the same for Tarantulas to Arachnitron once I hear from Blackrose in regards to the PM I sent her today. Hope the post for Terrorsaur is alright, I can alter it to have him simply shoot the micro missiles instead with his lasers if the action I had him take isn't okay.

Naitokage wrote: Aerostriker pulled up and banked to the left, Stag taking control of the turret on his rear aiming towards Nemesis in the distance and let out a quick burst of rapid laser fire in an attempt to keep her from pursuing too closely.

As he turned he noticed Terrorsaur attacking Rattrap in the distance.. with his exhaust. It was as if it was too good to be true to the small bird. His thermal sensor locked onto Terrorsaur's signature, then as he flew closer, fired off two Micro heat seeking missiles at the Predacon as he was distracted attacking Rattrap, then suddenly veered off in a quick arc pulling up higher into the air, a tactic often seen by natural Swift when they would attempt to intimidate or attack a larger target.

Terrorsaur laughed malevolently as he fired his eye beams towards where Rattrap's location, adding more fuel to the fire he'd created so to speak...But soon he picked up the energy signatures of two fast approaching maximal projectiles, forcing him to spin around and destroy both missiles with his eye beams before they could reach him.

"Slagging Maximal cheap shot, no one back stabs a predacon, we invented that trick!" Terrorsaur remarked as he fired two missiles of his own to chase after Aerostriker, each locked on to his maximal energy signature, then contacted Nemesis and said "Heads up Nemesis, I've sent two missiles after the maximal chicken you're chasing, make sure to avoid them."

"Now then, where was I? Oh yes, rat roasting" Terrorsaur joked to himself as he turned back to face Rattrap, eye beams charging in anticipation of blasting the rodent if he somehow managed to survive the flames.

Una wrote: Blackarachnia found a hidden compartment as she was feeling up the walls; she pushed the small indent and the small door slid down, releasing a few of contents on the floor. It seemed most of the stuff was just stuffed in like Megatron was in a big hurry to hide them from view. She could guess why. Grabbing the neck of a yellow duck, she squeezed it and it squeaked in a disgustingly, cute way. She threw it behind her and continued to go through the compartment.

As he neared his destination, the sound of maximal and predacon firepower resounding in the distance, Tarantulas contacted Blackarachnia via their new psychic link and demanded "Report witch, what have you discovered thus far?"

Blackrose wrote: "Oh wonderful," Arachnitron muttered sarcastically under her breath. Just what she needed.

Arachnitron did as Tarantulas suggested, holding tight onto the nape of Tarantulas' neck as he sped off towards the exit of the Darksyde. She gritted her teeth and didn't dare watch what she was sure was going to be a harrowing experience.

She could feel Tarantulas speeding through the woods towards the Maximal base skidding and sliding around every turn. Arachnitron grabbed Tarantulas tighter and tighter as he sped through the trees for fear she might fly off of the spider's back.

Eventually, she felt his speed slow. Figuring he must be nearing the Maximal base, she decided to look at the surroundings around her. They had, indeed, reached the Maximal base. She sighed in relief and gratefully climbed off of Tarantulas' back.

She looked around at what was happening already and then noticed Megatron, who Tarantulas had referred to earlier as "the tin tyrant." She wasn't sure exactly what she should do here....she could count on one hand the amount of times she had fought in a large battle like this. She turned her attention back to Tarantulas awaiting his instructions. He would tell her what she should do.

Not transforming into robot mode just yet, ignoring his minion for now, Tarantulas surveyed the battle unfolding before him, knowing he needed to keep up appearances for now but also trying to catch an opportunity to advance his own agenda...And he saw what he was looking for, Dinobot currently engaged with a predacon flyer.

Blazemane wrote: Waspinator wrote:HA! Wazzpinator got fancy new upgrade and traitor didn't! Wazzpinator superior,Dinobot inferior!



Dinobot stumbled forward, and, in a rage, finally decided to let the last few traps fall out of his hands onto the ground. Unholstering the heavy plasma cannon from his back, he started trading shots with his attacker, adding in his optic lasers whenever he needed to pump the cannon. "You still look like a worthless bug to me!"

"Waspinator? Of all the predacons to be upgraded...Hmph, I'll be impressed if his new form puts an end to his fragility" Tarantulas mused, watching the transmetalized wasp combat the one maximal he was most hoping to meet, the one who'd stolen the key to winning this war.

"Dinobot shall be our target, even if he doesn't have the golden disk on him we can extract the information out of him by any means necessary once we drag him away from prying eyes. However, assuming we end up having to face Megatron before we recover the disk, it would be for the best to let him continue to believe he has control of the situation. In that scenario, you are to pretend I've corrected your mysterious personality issues via a bit of reprogramming, no need for anyone else to know the complexities surrounding your true affliction. Megatron's taste in minions is predictable enough, loyal and stupid. The more you flaunt your intelligence, the closer he'll keep an optic on you, which is unavoidable in my profession but not in your case. You've seen how he treats the less intellectually inclined members of our ranks, they go virtually unnoticed unless there is menial labor to be done, and he rarely suspects them of being remotely capable of any serious treachery. Also, considering my past...Intentions...For Blackarachnia, Megatron wouldn't be surprised by the notion of me seeking the company of another, more agreeable She-Spider, we can use that to our advantage by deceiving him into thinking I've turned you into a ditzy but obedient assistant. The less threatening you appear, the less attention he'll pay to you, and thus the more helpful you'll be to me in the long run. I realize how bothersome this must sound, but do you think you can handle a bit of prolonged play acting my dear?" Tarantulas replied, turning to look at his new underling, expecting her to provide a demonstration of the performance she would have to put on for Megatron and the others should they end up having to deal with them before the golden disk could be recovered.


OOC: I altered my post for Terrorsaur, lemme know if its okay Naito

"Manterror, you're officially more useless than Scorponok, and he's dead!"

The Mantis didn't care at all about what Terrorsaur had to say. The guy could go slag himself. Instead, Manterror watched his blades fly towards the Orca and do... no damage at all. They did seem to startle him though! At this point in the battle, there wasn't many maximals left to really duke it out with it. Scanning the battlefield, he attempted to decide who to engage first. Aerostriker flew away. Inferno seemed to have Cheetor under control and there was no way in hell that he was going to fight Orcariner. The Mantis also had no intention of fighting on the ground. It seems as if his only option now was to infiltrate the maximal base!

Taking out his shield penetrator, which he had stolen the technology from the spiders, he used it to create a small hole in the shields. Then, he continued by activating his noise cancellation cloak. The evil mantis found the Hanger to be the best entrance possible. With an effortless motion, he glided towards the opening and ducked inside the Axalon. In no time at all, he was inside the base... and it seemed empty. With a big grin on his face, he let his feet touch the ground so he could walk the rest of the way. He wasn't entirely sure what to do next (its not like he even knew the layout of the base) but he figured he would run into someone eventually.

---

"Airazor Tigatron and Rhinox should still be inside, the rest of us are out in the middle of a battle with the Preds, and unfortunately we're swamped out here to come back inside. And Dinobot I only got a few more explosives on my end, I should be done in a few kilks."

Airazor remembered back to the second dream she had while in the CR Chamber. The predicon's had attacked the base in it as well. She recalled all the destruction which had occurred... it was oddly vivid. Rarely did she remember her dreams (she had no recollection of the first) but in this one, she specifically remembered many of her friends being shot down and killed right beside her. They called for her help but she couldn't save them. In the end of her nightmare, the maximal's were defeated...

"I wont let that happen." She said to herself, still locked inside the CR Chamber. They were fighting outside without her. She needed to find a way out so that she could help!! Desperately looking around for a weakness in the walls of the chamber, the falcon punched the metal siding. It didn't budge and it didn't seem as if it never would. Sighing with frustration, she continued to look around. Perhaps she would be forced to use her weapons...

CRASH!!!

Her attention suddenly diverted to the unknown noise outside of the chamber, Airazor stiffened up. She stopped making any noises and simply concentrated on listening. Footsteps. "Help! Whoever's outside there, i'm trapped in the CR Chamber!!" She yelled, hoping to get the strangers attention. It couldn't have been Wintersong or Dinobot, but perhaps Frilla came down to help? Or Tigatron?

---



After accidentally kicking over a metal barrel of some sort of unknown slag, Manterror's grin grew larger after he heard the desperate voice of a Maximal trapped inside their worthless CR Chamber. So THIS is why Megatron used liquid repair coolant over these machines. If they broke, you simply drowned instead of having to be trapped like a rat and... and then BEHEADED BY MANTERROR!!! In an attempt to not break his cover, Manterror tried desperately not to laugh. Instead he simply walked slowly towards his victim...

(( OOC: Welcome back, Wildfire!!

Plus, the benefit of this all being written is that we get to see Megatron's thoughts and reaction to the sweet taste of victory being so close and then having it taken away from him.

Agreed! Can't wait to read it. XD ))

"BACKSTABBING RAT! RAWK!"

"Waaah what?" Rattrap mocked Terrorsaur, though it was unlikely the upgraded featherless bird could hear him over the gun fire. Using Orcariner's Beacon system rather his own vision since it was mostly blocked by the armor shielding of the gun system, Rattrap continued firing at Terrorsaur until he was too close. Realizing that this was going to be a close encounter of the ugly kind, the acting Maximal Commander dived under more of the turret's armor that was surrounding it to avoid the chaos in Terrorsaur's wake as he flew by in a flash. The whole gun unit shook, and there was an immense change in pressure and heat for a brief moment until the Predacon flier vanished. Slag... the rodent thought, taken aback by the 'dactyl's new speed. Standing up, he examined the turret system quickly to make sure everything was still functioning properly. The battery pack was fine since it was encased in the rock below him. There was some red smoldering and smoke whisping off of the armor plating, and some small flames burning on the thinner parts of the armor, which he quickly patted out with his hand, but otherwise nothing looked terrible. "Anymore hits like that an' dis thing'll be melted into a puddle of liquid metal," Rattrap observed by himself.

"Eat my exhaust vermin!"

"No thanks! I'd sooner eat trash!" the small Maximal hollered back. He was certain if DInobot had been around, he'd have a witty comeback for that remark. As some of Terrorsaur's laser beams hammered the armor that was shielding Rattrap, scorching it and igniting more flames, he started to return fire until Aerostriker intervened and knocked the nasty Predacon off course, distracting him with his projectiles. Unfortunately, it didn't take Terry long to get back on track.

"Now then, where was I? Oh yes, rat roasting"

Seeing him focusing in his direction again, the TransMetal rat in robot mode began firing the Nomad's turrets again, bracing himself for another impact since he was a sitting duck. Well protected by the armor plating, but only for so long against Terrorsaur's weapons, Rattrap knew he'd have to bail if the extinct bird managed to do more damage to his new toy.

(( OOC: Be my guest, DarkSpark, since everyone seems to want the Maximals to lose so quickly. ))

-----

"Hey!" "don't you know what is 'ladies first?!"

"I believe you and I have two completely different definitions of the word 'lady'!" Rhinox grumbled at Cecaelia, keeping himself behind the heavily damaged center console as cover while she fired off her cannon and Whitegrazer luckily moved in on the fake Dinobot. Cece's and her new partner's abilities were quite interesting, he had to admit as a scientist. Too bad they all couldn't get along and share their stories.

Well, it would seem you also have some coordination and tricks..Most Impressive!

"Don't move!" "Or I'll..I'll..." "I'll chop you with this!"

Things grew quiet inside the bridge for a moment when CeCe stopped firing and Rhinox remained behind his cover listening. Peeking over it, he observed her peculiar behavior as well the new Pred's with his clever disguise. Fortunately, this moment of cease fire was the perfect opportunity.

Tigatron appeared to be out cold, laying flat on the ground and likely paralyzed by whatever the imposter had injected him with. The robust Maximal hoped it wasn't a lethal dose. But all of this chaos and destruction was beginning to anger Rhinox. With the white tiger temporarily out of danger and Whitegrazer skillfully able to keep herself from becoming his next hostage, the engineer commanded, "Sentinel, on-line!"

"INTRUDER ALERT," the base's internal intelligent computer system sounded, red lights still flashing in every room and corridor throughout the ship ever since the Predacons' first attack. Hidden guns in the command center's ceiling suddenly unfolded and dropped down. In seconds they locked on to both of the Predacons, tiny red lights blinking on each one to show they were armed and ready. Then the guns began firing at their targets, set to stun and to continue firing until the targets went down or the system was ordered by a Maximal with the access code to halt it.

"What's going on?!"

"Aurora, we're under a Predacon attack," Rhinox tried explaining calmly to her, relieved that she was back on-line, despite the circumstances after opening a communication link between them when he had barely heard her cry out from the other room. "Stay put until further notice. How's Ironclaw holding up?" he asked recalling what Whitegrazer had mentioned earlier about him, giving the ermine/butterfly Fuzor something to occupy her with while he, Whitegrazer and Sentinel attempted to deal with their enemy in the bridge.

"WARNING: Shields at 60%," the computer announced as an update. Everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Things did not seem to be going in the Maximals' favors at all.

((OOC: I was going to post today, but was busy. I should be able to post tomorrow. And wow, these battles are going fast.

Edit: I don't want Starshadow or NK waiting any longer. I don't like posting before going to bed, but I better get it out here. I will post for BA tomorrow. Promise. ))

With Tigatron released from the imposter's grasp, she would be able to deal with him. Before she could make a move, her spark shivered, feeling a sense of distress then a barely heard cried. Aurora... She jumped back, seeing the blade that came towards her stomach, but it nicked her, leaving a green thin line on her abdomen.

Well, it would seem you also have some coordination and tricks..Most Impressive!

She stared at Tigatron's body, seeing the green fluid dripping down from a wound on his back. Poison. "So have you."

It was a small amount, but she wasn't going to take a chance. She had been poisoned several times in her long life, and she knew if she didn't act quickly, she might be too exhausted. Putting her hands together, she closed her optics, feeling the rapid pulse of her spark and the energon pumping through her tubes. I must be as a gentle as the wind. Harmless like a butterfly. Then I will strike when the time is right. But I must provoke him first.

She knew by instinct and experience that she was going to have to get Umbra to try that knife at her one more time, so she extended her right arm, grasping his wrist to pull herself around to his backside along with his arm, making him stumble towards her. This stumble was all the momentum she needed to glide him to the ground, holding his bending his arm with her hand's hold on his wrist to lock it in place. With Umbra pinned down, she was able-

"Don't move!" she shouted at Whitegrazer, "Or I'll..I'll..."Where was that thing..? She felt a handle and pulled it out, pointing it at her."I'll chop you with this!" It looked like a running baton. Did the blade fell out? Awkward..

"You shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent, my dear."

Rhinox had activated Sentinel and watched as the guns fired on them. Now, the two Predacons were going to have to contend with the guns firing at them. This would make their jobs easier. Rhinox and her needed to get the Predacons out of the base now.

(Great post as usual Manterror But..wait.. if the shields are up.. how did Manterror get in? 0_o Guess I better get those down soon! )
(Edited at request of Whitegrazer for an attack that more fits her character.)

Whitegrazer wrote:"So have you."

Umbra was surprised as Whitegrazer came at him, grabbing his guarding arm to flip him. It was a diffusion technique using his own motion for the throw. As he landed on the floor, he felt his arm being bent and locked. He applied some force to his arm, to give it less flex to try to make the disguise more convincing, as normally it'd be kinda hard to put his body into a lock.

Cecaelia wrote:"Don't move!" she shouted at Whitegrazer, "Or I'll..I'll..."Where was that thing..? She felt a handle and pulled it out, pointing it at her."I'll chop you with this!" It looked like a running baton. Did the blade fell out? Awkward..

the fake dinobot's optics dimmed as he let out a sigh. His partner had just-

Whitegrazer wrote:"You shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent, my dear."

Rhinox wrote: "Sentinel, on-line!"

Sentinel wrote:"INTRUDER ALERT,"

Yep, she just made things harder for them, but it didn't matter at this point. He'd been forced to show his true form, and it's true power. Disguised, he could only use a fraction of his skills, weapons, or techniques.. but that was at the convenience of hiding. Fighting strength wasn't everything after all.

The fake Dinobot's body turned white with a surprised look, then opened his jaw, almost seeming like it was unhinged as he looked up vomiting out a thick black cloud of ink at Whitegrazer's face, the tentacles coiled around his body uncoiled as his disguise came free, his tentacles and hand grabbing onto whitegrazer to pull her into the path of the shots. Surprisingly they lifted her off his body from their sheer strength and reach, each limb slithering and constricting tightly around her extremity's including her neck and face.

The cold slimy feel of hundreds of suction cups over her body gripping like hundreds of tiny hands, though squirming with her movements as she was likely resisting even with the pain of the stun blasts. With six limbs on Whitegrazer, a seventh moved towards one of the computer chairs lifting it and using it as a shield from oncoming fire from the right side.

Leaning up slowly with his other arm, he reached up for one of the ceiling guns above him with a free tentacle, twisting the gun to face the other ceiling guns, turning it as it fired upon the other guns to take them out.

Rhinox wrote:"Aurora, we're under a Predacon attack," "Stay put until further notice. How's Ironclaw holding up?"

Sentinel wrote:WARNING: Shields at 60%,"

with the guns taken out, Umbra ripped the final gun from the ceiling looking towards Rhinox as his color scheme returned to it's normal gold and black,the Maximal insignia on his collar changing it's shape to a Predacon one. His eye on his left leg shifted watching Whitegrazer, while his right leg watched the hallway. Well.. I'm not so sure on coordination now.. but you did force me out of my disguise.. So I guess I should stop holding back as my way of honor and respect.

He smiled once again, going from the surprised look of earlier to eerily calm. I'm guessing this isn't a military vessel? Though Dinobot seems like a seasoned vet,Cheetor on the other hand is a little too hotblooded to be out of the Academy..Your defenses are also set on stun.. I dunno.. just too many puzzle pieces aren't fitting yet..But I guess it doesn't matter, I wont get paid until my mission is complete. he then asked and stated, dropping the broken gun and chair on the floor.

______________________

Waspinator was taken back as Dinobot made his attacks, he raised his arms for cover as the shots hit.

dinobot wrote:"You still look like a worthless bug to me!"

ARG! he shouted as he was knocked back, falling out of the air into the river bellow.

He flailed his arms desperately with a look of horror on his face as he was dragged out by the current. N-N-NOOOO!! Ha-Help! he shouted, while choking on the water, soon disappearing from the rush of water.

(And that takes out one Predacon, as after all OOP can't take out everyone without being in Berserker mode or so.)

__________________________

Aerostriker attempted to barrel roll out of the way of Nemesis's attack, but was struck in the wing as parts of golden and black metal sprayed off exposing internal circuitry with a small trail of smoke coming from the wound.

As he flew up ward, Stag spoke up as he detected the heat seeking missiles trailing behind the two. Missiles detected, use Afterburner, deploying countermeasures.

Aerostriker didn't respond, he just did as he was told, increasing speed as he pulled his wings back, while a small metal ball deployed from his backside. A Sonic boom exploded above the battlefield, followed by a bright flash as the flare grenade went off filling the night sky with light for a moment, before the heat seeking missiles closed in on the flare and exploded.

Aerostriker started to level off as he headed up towards the cloud line, slowing down he transformed to his robot mode with the setting moon seen behind him shining brightly off his reflective form Well, this is harder then I thought.. Any bright ideas?

Stag then spoke up Broadside and Itano circus attacks may be the best result to end this skirmish.. , Aerostriker hovered with his gun held ready. His left arm and shoulder ached, his inner right leg sparking with it's thruster offline. All or nothing huh? They say a man's job is 80% decision making... Everything else is just a bonus..Lets see if I get one tonight!


(Final battle ends at sunrise after all. And for those curious, a broadside is a naval tactic of firing all the ship's guns at once, while Itano circus is basically a swarm of missiles that fly in a strange manner at one target, named after one of the art directors from Macross. Tarantulus's missile attack can infact be considered a Itano circus attack. )

Onyx turned his attention towards the battlefield, seeing that chaos had long since broke out between the two sides making it somewhat difficult to decide who should be his target despite the fact he wasn't so keen to attack any of the Maximals rather then talk. Nonetheless he had to do something instead of standing there. Reaching back he grabbed his weapon he didn't use too often, his Friction Rifle which was rare from what he heard but had obtained it sometime ago during his Predacon military career and had kept it ever since, especially when he had found it quite useful in some spots. Considering this was an all out battle this seemed a perfect time to finally use it in the Beast Wars, especially when it could deal some damage if anyone moved. Certainly if they knew the weapon they knew it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.

But as the stallion made his way to a good point he could take aim he stumbled slightly when someone rather large landed behind, turning enough to see the rather large transmetalized orca behind him. He was really going to face Megatron? Even Onyx had to admit that was a gutsy and rather risky move to take, but from seeing their sizes from afar he thought the Maximal might have a good chance...maybe. But he wouldn't interfere since this was his, albeit now reluctantly, Commander so he turned his attentions back to the battle and raised his Friction Rifle, letting his eyes look over the battle field briefly before spotting Dinobot taking out one of his fellow Predacons which happened to be the not so lucky Waspinator. Poor bug really had it rough. "Here goes nothing."Onyx muttered to himself before firing a few shots from the rifle towards the raptor, only able to see if his shots would hit.

==================================

Silverstreak raised an optic ridge, little surprised Quickstrike would find what she said confusing but first she flipped out of the way of his cobra head, briefly getting a look out those golden fangs that would have punctured right through her thiner armor. A shudder went through her frame at the thought, wondering if he was packing venom as a true cobra or like the spiders that had infiltrated the Axalon earlier. "You do know a vixen is a female fox right? And besides I'm not that young."She remarked, before raising her arm to fire a few shots from her stun gun but was somewhat doubtful it could truly do much against a transmetal, especially since it might take a much higher power in the stun just to bring one of them down.

"Report witch, what have you discovered thus far?"

Tarantulas made her hit her head of the ceiling of the compartment she was still mowing through. She rubbed the spot and peaked behind her to see the pile of Megatron's junk she had callously thrown to the floor.

"Well, if you told me what I'm supposed to be looking for," she kicked the rubber ducky. "I wouldn't be taking this long!"

She rathered be shooting Maximals or tinkering with her own tech than going through Megatron's eccentricities. Feeling the empty hollow space, she was trying to find anything hidden. A panel or another space. Anything! Nope! Nothing. She was surprised at Megatron's lack of security on his stuff. Maybe it is because it is unimportant to him or he thought his pawns wouldn't care or touch the stuff. Well, she touched it all. She stuffed the stuff back inside with an uncaring swing or caution.

That pain in her head increased.

Rhinox wrote:"Aurora, we're under a Predacon attack,"
"Stay put until further notice. How's Ironclaw holding up?"

Aurora wasn't quite reassured by Rhinox' explanation. A Predacon attacking her had put her in the CR chamber in the first place, although at least that particular Predacon wouldn't cause any more trouble for them after Aurora had electrocuted her in that pond. The little fuzor wasn't quite sure how she felt about this fact, honestly. As a Maximal, she had been taught not to take a life unless truly necessary. At the time her life had been in danger so she had deemed the situation grave enough to warrant such an action yet now, standing in front of the CR chamber, fully healed, part of her felt a bit.. guilty.. in a way.

Could she possibly have handled the situation differently? If she hadn't been so curious, the confrontation would not have happened in the first place.. And now she had a life on her conscience. Did it really matter that it had been a Predacon fully intent on killing her..?

Aurora wasn't sure.

With a sigh, she shook the thought out of her mind, and turned her head towards Ironclaw. "Still unconscious," she replied to Rhinox, her voice a bit more sullen and quiet.

Terrorsaur wrote: "Heads up Nemesis, I've sent two missiles after the maximal chicken you're chasing, make sure to avoid them."

With a mild annoyance at having her high speed chase interrupted by incoming missiles, Nemesis cut her thrusters for a moment and merely glided through the air to assure that the missiles went for their intended target instead of her. This caused her to slow down enough for the missiles to pass her, only to get shot down before they reached their mark. Taking advantage of this brief distraction, Nemesis fired up her thrusters again, climbing rapidly while angling herself so that she could clip the Maximal's wing and grab him with her talons when she got close enough. Her black and red coloring made her difficult to see against the dark background, aided by her new form's stealth technology. This would hopefully let her make the climb unnoticed, or at least until it was too late.

Once her prey was in sight, she immediately fired off a series of electron bursts directly at her target.

"And I thank you for tenderizing my meat for me," she transmitted back to Terrorsaur on a secure channel, extending her claws as she did. She was getting very close now.

Megatron watched as the largest of the Maximals, usually seen as a relatively peaceful giant, emerged from the cloud of dust he whirled up upon landing and then lunged at him. Him! The mighty Megatron, leader of the Predacons, exterminator of the Maximal resistance, and soon to be ruler of Cybertron!

This Maximal fool had apparently taken it upon himself to sacrifice it all for his team, but attacking the Tyrant like this.. out here in the open, surrounded by Megatron's troops, would surely prove to be a grave error in judgement on his part. It was a bold move, but also a very stupid one, a fact that Megatron had every intention to take advantage of.

As the large sword came hurling towards him, Megatron fired up his thrusters and leaped to the side. It was not a very graceful move, his body still adjusting to the alterations done to it, but it provided enough force for the Predacon commander to put a little distance between himself and his attacker. And bought him a little time to retaliate as well.

"Tantrum and Steelclaw," the tyrant ordered confidently, "Destroy this behemoth!"

Indeed. Megatron was no fool. He intended to win at any cost and the sooner they could slay the Maximal defender, the sooner he could enjoy his victory.

Without waiting for his troops to respond, the Predacon leader raised his arm cannon and fired it at full force directly at the attacking Maximal. Large and powerful as his opponent was, his movements were also slowed, especially on land. When his Predacons attacked as well, their combined power would take him down easily enough.

"INTRUDER ALERT,"

"Oh. My-AHHHHHH!!!" Cecaelia took cover behind the center console until Umbra took out the guns with little effort.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off your opponent, my dear."

"SHUT UP! PONY!" she exclaimed. Her guess was that the Maximals are distracted by Umbra when he was talking. It was a short opportunity for the octopus girl to recover and figure out what happened to the blade. How can she fight with a stick?! A slagging short stick! Cecaelia noticed a small red button on the baton. Of course it is suppose to activate the weapon but what would it do?

Well.. I'm not so sure on coordination now.. but you did force me out of my disguise.. So I guess I should stop holding back as my way of honor and respect. I'm guessing this isn't a military vessel? Though Dinobot seems like a seasoned vet,Cheetor on the other hand is a little too hotblooded to be out of the Academy..Your defenses are also set on stun.. I dunno.. just too many puzzle pieces aren't fitting yet..But I guess it doesn't matter, I wont get paid until my mission is complete.

"UMBRA, GET DOWN!" she stood up and pressed the red button, the baton extended a little and released a large jet of flame which was blazing out of the end of it, making the femme laugh like a yandere.

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

Starshadow was absolutely pleased that she managed to cut the weapon in half. She charged up her right fist with electricity and gave a punch directly in Saber's face, "Oooooooh... Did I broke your toy gun? I'm sorry, I mean to do that." the thundercat smiled and batted her optics a few times, "hmmmm...should I kill you first? or batsy? Pft! I'll kill him later. Ladies first afterall.."

OOC: Here is a post for Inferno. A post will come for Arachnitron once I hear back from Darkspark. We are trying to work out some last minute details before I post what I wrote.

So, if Blazemane reads this post before I get the chance to put Arachnitron's part in, you might want to hold off on replying until I post for Arachnitron. I believe the two spiders are planning to target Dinobot......

BIC:

The spotted Maximal turned at the sound of Inferno's voice and shot down one of his rockets as it sailed towards him. Before Inferno could shout in outrage, he watched the second rocket fly right into the cheetah's left shoulder.

"Hahahahaha!!" Inferno laughed.

The cat flew backwards with the explosion and his arm hung precariously by only a few wires. The cheetah quickly grabbed something out of his subspace and threw it into the air. Once it landed, Inferno could see that it was a proximity mine and it had landed just a few short inches from Inferno's feet. The red ant dove out of the way behind the nearest rock to escape the impending explosion. But nothing happened.

Inferno didn't even have to look to know that the mine must have been a dud. It had landed close enough to his feet that it should have sensed that the Predacon was nearby and exploded at him.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Inferno laughed louder from behind the rock.

Inferno stood up from behind the rock to taunt the Maximal some more still laughing as he stood, but his laughter ended abruptly. Cheetor had fired a shot at the mine just as the ant stood up and peeked out from behind the rock.

The force of the explosion of the mine sent Inferno flying backwards. He landed with a thud and a roar of anger.

"You shall not get away with this, Maximal! Inferno declared from behind the rock. He stood up switching weapons as he did so.

"BUURRRNNN!!!!" he shouted manically sending flames from his flamethrower in Cheetor's direction.

Saber rolled her eyes at what sounded to her like baby talk and she just manage to avoid the electrified punch that was aimmed at her face.

"Hmm, should I kill you first or batsy? Pft! I'll kill him later, ladies first after all."

Anger stirred inside Saber and she didn't even know why, but something Starshadow had said struck a nerve.

She didn't even notice that the beast was stirring and was growing stronger by the second. It was only a matter of time before it clawed its way to the surface...

"Waspinator? Of all the predacons to be upgraded...Hmph, I'll be impressed if his new form puts an end to his
fragility"

Arachnitron turned her attention to the Predacon of which Tarantulas was speaking. He was buzzing around Dinobot firing at him and flaunting his new look. She hadn't seen him fight much, but he did have an unusual habit of speaking in the third person.

She looked back to Tarantulas waiting for his instructions.

"Dinobot shall be our target, even if he doesn't have the golden disk on him we can extract the information out of him by any means necessary once we drag him away from prying eyes. However, assuming we end up having to face Megatron before we recover the disk, it would be for the best to let him continue to believe he has control of the situation. In that scenario, you are to pretend I've corrected your mysterious personality issues via a bit of reprogramming, no need for anyone else to know the complexities surrounding your true affliction. Megatron's taste in minions is predictable enough, loyal and stupid. The more you flaunt your intelligence, the closer he'll keep an optic on you, which is unavoidable in my profession but not in your case. You've seen how he treats the less intellectually inclined members of our ranks, they go virtually unnoticed unless there is menial labor to be done, and he rarely suspects them of being remotely capable of any serious treachery."

Arachnitron listened closely to Tarantulas' instructions not surprised in the least that he intended to target Dinobot. But it had been quite a while since Dinobot had broken into the base and stolen the disks...plenty of time for him to hide the disks. What if he had destroyed them? What would Tarantulas do?

As for Tarantulas' advice on how to stay under the radar....Arachnitron was a little surprised that he had basically told her to play dumb. But she supposed it made sense. If she acted like a mindless drone, then Megatron would think her a loyal minion and wouldn't worry about what she might be really doing.

Tarantulas continued:

Also, considering my past...Intentions...For Blackarachnia, Megatron wouldn't be surprised by the notion of me seeking the company of another, more agreeable She-Spider, we can use that to our advantage by deceiving him into thinking I've turned you into a ditzy but obedient assistant. The less threatening you appear, the less attention he'll pay to you, and thus the more helpful you'll be to me in the long run. I realize how bothersome this must sound, but do you think you can handle a bit of prolonged play acting my dear?"

Intentions? What kind of intentions did he have for Blackarachnia? They seemed to genuinely loathe each other. Or did they?

Arachnitron forced herself to stop thinking about Blackarachnia when she noticed Tarantulas staring at her expectantly. He had just asked her a question; she probably should answer him.

"I think so," she answered a bit unsure if she really could. When she had radioed the Maximals to pretend to be hurt, she had been speaking to them through her comm link. Now, she'd have to be play acting face to face with someone else. That was a little intimidating for her. She had interacted with very few bots in her life.

She winced a bit as she realized that Tarantulas must be waiting for her to get into character, so to speak. Nothing like putting her on the spot to really make her nervous.

She wasn't sure exactly what to say or do. She wasn't even sure what "ditzy" meant! She looked over at Waspinator buzzing around shooting and shouting ridiculousness at Dinobot for inspiration.

HA! Wazzpinator got fancy new upgrade and traitor didn't! Wazzpinator superior,Dinobot inferior!

"Fine," she sighed. "How's this?"

Arachnitron took the piece of her beast mode that hung down her back like strands of human hair and twirled it around her finger as she said trying to sound like Waspinator had, "Arachnitron read you loud and clear! We go slag maxies now!"

She raised an eyebrow ridge and lowered her hand back to her side.

"Not even Waspinator would believe that. How about I just be mute around Megatron.....I think he'd find that more believable...." she muttered dejectedly.

OOC: Ugh. Hardest post ever. Writing a character acting uncharacteristically is harder than it sounds....mind boggling actually....not only is it out of character for her to be ditzy, but it's out of character for her to act out of character....that is like 100 times more mind boggling. Hope I did okay....

OOP wrote:
Seeing him focusing in his direction again, the TransMetal rat in robot mode began firing the Nomad's turrets again, bracing himself for another impact since he was a sitting duck. Well protected by the armor plating, but only for so long against Terrorsaur's weapons, Rattrap knew he'd have to bail if the extinct bird managed to do more damage to his new toy.

(( OOC: Be my guest, DarkSpark, since everyone seems to want the Maximals to lose so quickly. ))

-----

Terrorsaur smirked as he deftly avoided Rattraps turret fire, reveling in his new found speed and agility, the exhilaration of simply being too quick for the rodent's high powered ammo to hit. Even Waspinator hadn't been as quick as he was now back when he'd been possessed by Starscream. In between dodging bullets, Terrorsaur fired quick bursts of his optic beams, doing more and more damage to the Nomad's turrets bit by bit, weakening its armor.

"Ahahahaha! Where did you learn to shoot, Mousy? You couldn't hit the broadside of Omega Supreme's backside with aim like that!" Terrorsaur jeered, rubbing it in and enjoying every minute of it.

"Here, let me show you how its done" Terrorsaur said as he flew backwards to a respectful distance away and above the turret before firing a full powered blast of his optic lasers, raining down from on high like a bolt of lightning, and unfortunately for Rattrap, his turret was the lightning rod!

Phoenix wrote: "And I thank you for tenderizing my meat for me," she transmitted back to Terrorsaur on a secure channel, extending her claws as she did. She was getting very close now.

"My pleasure, I assure you" Terrorsaur replied to Nemesis as he waited to see the maximal burn, finally understanding why Inferno took so much delight from pyromania.

Una wrote: Tarantulas made her hit her head of the ceiling of the compartment she was still mowing through. She rubbed the spot and peaked behind her to see the pile of Megatron's junk she had callously thrown to the floor.

"Well, if you told me what I'm supposed to be looking for," she kicked the rubber ducky. "I wouldn't be taking this long!"

She rathered be shooting Maximals or tinkering with her own tech than going through Megatron's eccentricities. Feeling the empty hollow space, she was trying to find anything hidden. A panel or another space. Anything! Nope! Nothing. She was surprised at Megatron's lack of security on his stuff. Maybe it is because it is unimportant to him or he thought his pawns wouldn't care or touch the stuff. Well, she touched it all. She stuffed the stuff back inside with an uncaring swing or caution.

That pain in her head increased.

"FOOL! The golden disks! What else?! Megatron would have made a backup copy" Tarantulas hissed in fury, sending waves of pain through her mind as he seized control of her body and took a look around to see what she'd been up to, seeing things through her eyes as if they were his own, and honestly, they were.

First he spotted the incredible amount of inane junk and knickknacks she had pulled out of storage, things he honestly would not have predicted to find hidden away in Megatron's private stash of collectibles, things like a replica of Starscream's head and...A rubber ducky?

"...And people say I'm the strange one" Tarantulas murmured as he tried to get the image of Megatron playing with squeak toy while bathing out of his head, until his gaze finally fell upon what Blackarachnia should have been examining from the start, a somewhat damaged access panel behind which no doubt laid Megatron's private records.

"Ahhh...Continue your search there" Tarantulas instructed, releasing his hold over her for the time being.

Blackrose wrote: "Fine," she sighed. "How's this?"

Arachnitron took the piece of her beast mode that hung down her back like strands of human hair and twirled it around her finger as she said trying to sound like Waspinator had, "Arachnitron read you loud and clear! We go slag maxies now!"

She raised an eyebrow ridge and lowered her hand back to her side.

"Not even Waspinator would believe that. How about I just be mute around Megatron.....I think he'd find that more believable...." she muttered dejectedly.

OOC: Ugh. Hardest post ever. Writing a character acting uncharacteristically is harder than it sounds....mind boggling actually....not only is it out of character for her to be ditzy, but it's out of character for her to act out of character....that is like 100 times more mind boggling. Hope I did okay....

If Tarantulas were in robot mode he'd have slapped a hand to his face at that display, but decides he'd wasted enough time already and instead says "The use of body language was a good touch, but as for the rest...Never mind, we'll work on your act more later. If Megatron addresses you and you don't know how to improve your performance, just stick to yes or no answers. Now come, I have a maximal to see about a pair of golden disks."

With that said, he initiated his vehicular mode and drove under Arachnitron, carrying her off towards their chosen target, Dinobot, at top speed, kicking up a cloud of dust in his wake.

"Ready, aim, and fire while you're up there. Remember, we want him alive for questioning, or at least intact enough to access his data tracks" Tarantulas instructed Arachnitron as they neared their target.

OOC: Yo Blazemane, Blackrose and I just want ya to know we're still attacking Dinobot, but we'll wait to attempt to isolate him until we hear back from you via PM, like if ya wanna do any dialogue over the disks or something.