The Intergalactic Highway

Blackrosefencer wrote:"IF Darkwind is a shapeshifter....then perhaps this is NOT the real Nexus Prime. Megatron may not even be aware of Darkwind's abilities, but if he is allowing himself to be tortured to keep up appearances, then he is definitely good at what he does."

Whitegrazer shook her head sadly, "That is true. But we shall know the truth soon enough."

Blackrosefencer wrote:"Tell Optimus,""Tell Optimus, it was me. I stole the golden disks from the Predacons."

Dinobot? When did he ever have the time to do that? She wanted to ask, looking up at Dinobot. His optics were beaming conflicting emotions. Why? Why didn't he tell them that he had them? What did the golden disks have that he wanted so badly yet wanted no one on either side to actually know about? Maybe something he just didn't want no one to know. Something that pained him or maybe he was searching for something. But what that was only Dinobot could tell them. Yet, despite the news, she knew that they needed to go back to the task at hand.

She nodded, "Dinobot, you don't have to divulge if you wish. As a comrade and friend, I'm sure you had your reasons."

It was then she felt a stain on her spark. It wasn't like the one she felt when Optimus blew up, but more like the one when Optimus was in great emotional pain over the lost of a comrade. Except it wasn't the loss of a comrade, but the lost of energy and too much pain overriding his entire sensory input. It was too much. Too fast.

She held her spark, "I lost my connection with him." Before she closed her optics, she reassured them, "He isn't dead. The painful trauma he is experiencing was becoming too great. That is normal. I will try to regain my connection with him." Despite the fact she was saddened by the lost, she was determined to do what she could to regain it. It wasn't like last time when she lost the connection. She felt the explosion, ripping apart her entire emotional strength. This loss wasn't as traumatizing and she had faith that Optimus was alive. It may be difficult, but the only thing coming between reestablishing a connection was Optimus and herself. Optimus was too weakened to, so she must be the one to reestablish the bond.

Optimus... I know you are alive. Open up to me. Let me feel your presence.

Phoenix wrote:"I think I know how we can get Optimus back!," Aurora exclaimed, panting a bit from having run as fast as she could to get here sooner, "We can use a concentrated version of the fright virus to cause chaos at the Predacon base, allowing a few of us to slip in and get our guys back."

She turned to face Aurora like a gentle wind, opening her eyes and smiled at the young one, "That is a feasible option, Aurora, but if Predacons are infected, who knows how they will react to the surroundings around them? We don't want to put Optimus and Nexus in any unnecessary danger unless we go with what we discussed eariler about luring them out. The virus could be a last resort if things turn dangerous." She looked at Dinobot, Rattrap, and Nemesis. She noticed her optics twinkle a bit with the mention of the golden disks. It may not have been wise to ask the question in front of her, but right now, the disks may be their only bargaining chip, "Maybe it's our turn to set up an exchange." The others may disagree, though, "If we offer up something they want."

She let that idea sink in with everyone as she kept calling out to Optimus. Optimus...

Dangerous. I like it already. And don't worry about Optimus. Remember, you are not the only one with a link here if you can't.

((OOC: I missed TyCross. I had to enter him somewhere. XDDDD ))

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Blackrosefencer wrote:"There is nothing more to say, Blackarachnia. I think Optimus would agree. It's not worth wasting everyone's time." This time she turned to look at Optimus. Her voice remained cold, but devoid of anger. She had come to terms with what happened that day when the Predacons attacked the Maximal base. "Besides, Predacons are always wrong and Maximals are always right. That's the way it was on Cybertron and it's no different here. No matter what I say, even if it's right, you will refuse to believe it. You have this self-righteous, holier than thou attitude that prevents you from even contemplating that what I have to say could possibly be true. So why say anything at all? But I will say this much: I was always a Predacon in the Maximals optics even when I tried to be one of your crew. Before I had ever done anything that warranted mistrusting, I was mistrusted. Having a Predacon background is a stain you can't wash off when you're around a Maximal. No matter how hard you try to prove yourself. Your Predacon "allys" will see that soon enough and they'll turn around and come right back like I did. I'm not sorry that I've returned so don't get the wrong idea here. And I'm not upset about not being trusted either. No one has ever trusted me, so I was naive to think that someone finally had. I'm actually appreciative of the experience. It taught me the truth about the Maximals. Maximals are just as hateful, just as ruthless, just as deceptive, just as vile and manipulative as we Predacons are. The only difference is we'll do all of that to your face.""Now that that's over and done with...." she began, her voice sounding glad to be back to torturing. "....let's get back to work, shall we?"

Blackarachnia clapped, "Bravo, Arachnitron, bravo! " she turned to look at Optimus with a smirk, "So how did you like those words, Optimus? How does it feel to know that you failed. How does it feel that you just as terrible as we are!" She looked to see his expression and watched as he drifted to sleep, "Awww, so dull! He is sleeping." she said in a sing-song voice, but her face twisted in disgust. He was unconscious already.

Though, she wondered if they better give him a break, "I love to thrash him about some more, but I don't think Megatron would appreciate if we took his fun when he is through with that old fart."

Tarantulas tried to wake him up, she chuckled. A great idea popped into her mind. She didn't why she was doing this, but anything to mess with his mind was just so much fun. Also, that sassy monkey deserved every last inch of humiliation, "Did you enjoy your nap? Gorillas do sleep a long time, don't they? Oh well. We aren't done yet.

Darkness. Darker than the Darksyde, and yet, far more peaceful and welcoming. Was it still considered rest if his mind didn't know he had been knocked unconscious? Because his body and processor were struggling to re-calibrate his systems and cater to his physical injuries. As if no time had passed at all, Optimus suddenly felt his entire body jump from an electric shock which forced his internal computer to break boundaries and take short cuts to awaken him and keep him awake. A long, deep rumbling growl of pain escaped his painful mouth until the electrocution stopped. The sudden burst of energy brought his nanogel back to an active status and the side of his upper chest was clearly seen glowing a bluish glow while the tiny robots busily got to work on repairing his bent and crimped armor from the bonds. He could feel them rushing around inside and outside his body in that area, which was now looking almost brand new compared the rest of his beaten and squished body. Primal's face now had a long, wide scuff mark across it from under his left eye and over his mouth where Blackarachnia's foot had hammered it. It also widened his split lip a lot more as a tiny stream of fluid continued to dribble from it down the side of his face. Coughing a little, he laid there regaining his surroundings and remembering the situation he was in as all of the data from his processor poured in.

Optimus... I know you are alive. Open up to me. Let me feel your presence. Optimus...

Argh... Whitegrazer... He was slow to respond at first to her plea. He wasn't sure he should allow her connection back in, but then, ever so slightly, Primal opened up a sliver of their bond so that she knew he was conscious again. And it gradually grew bigger with or without his control while he became distracted. Optimus glanced around his cell as he laid there on the floor in search of Nexus but he hadn't returned yet. Nor had Megatron. He was still stuck with the arachnids so he assumed he hadn't been out cold for very long.

"She's quite right Primal, even your unexpected resurrection was no miracle, I've had time to figure out how you did it and I can assure you, neither your scientists nor a blank protoform will be able to save you and your maximals this time, only your cooperation.

"Jee... I'm flattered..." he said sarcastically to Tarantulas. Although, he was certain there was still a big piece missing out of the TransMetal's equation, which was his bond with Whitegrazer. Without her, he likely would have been lost.

I suggest you start giving us more than simply your name, rank, and occupation while you can still say something that can help your crew"

"Nothing I... say can... help them. But nor can... it help you," Optimus struggled between breaths and his throbbing face.

"Well spoken my dear, hehehahahahahahaha!" "Make things right Primal, tell us what we want to know" "Hhhmmm? What was that? Sorry Primal, you'll have to speak up, I can't hear you over the sound of your superstructure cracking" "Sleep well? Anything you want to get off your chest?"

"Bravo, Arachnitron, bravo! " "So how did you like those words, Optimus? How does it feel to know that you failed. How does it feel that you just as terrible as we are!"

Was just as terrible as them. Was, he emphasized to himself. He had been trying to redeem his horrible and unethical actions from his days on Cybertron. He believed he had been on the right track for a long time now ever since they landed here on Earth but Optimus supposed that one can never truly be forgiven for what he had helped creating. All he could do was forgive himself. The Maximal leader grew silent again at their taunting. He was not going to find mercy or any friends here, that was made pretty clear.

"Did you enjoy your nap? Gorillas do sleep a long time, don't they? Oh well. We aren't done yet.

"You won't... be getting anything... from me," Primal declared defiantly through his bent teeth, every movement of his lips making his cut sting. He was starting to feel stronger again thanks to the nanogel, however, it wasn't going to last. So long as it kept that hallucinogen inside of him quiet, he might be all right. He wasn't sure what the three spiders might think of about the illumination on the side of his chest that was slowly fading away now and leaving a perfectly healthy and shiny area in its wake, but perhaps it would delay them further with more whimsical questioning. In the mean time, he recalled the last thing he had asked Whitegrazer - who stole the golden disks - and searched her for an answer while he tried focusing again on the green meadow, calming his tight breathing and attempting to keep his mind sharp and looking for opportunities. He could hear voices in the corridor again; they sounded like Terrorsaur and Waspinator bantering with Inferno. If Terrorsaur saw that he was being held prisoner and unable to defend himself, he had no idea what might transpire. Likely a lot more verbal and physical abuse since that seemed to be these Predacons' "best" qualities.

-----

"Oh? One would think our esteemed leader would want to volunteer for that duty himself...."

"Uh, genius, I ain't de one with the nanonites, which is the whole reason for Landslide designin' dat gun," Rattrap told Dinobot.

"Keep pushing, scuzz ball, and you may very well be joining your kindred rodents underground."

"You gotta lighten up," Rattrap shook his head at Nemesis in shame. "How do you live with yourself?" It was obviously a rhetorical question; he didn't really want to know.

Aye.. tempting as that might be lad, I think I'll pass on cookin' the bird. Anyone you want carryin' this thing specifically or should I hold on to it?

Mmmmm, chicken, Rattrap thought for a second. "You hold on to it, Landslide. Any Pred would least suspect you to have a weapon like dat on ya."

"I'm glad I'm me and not an impostor."

"At last, you have found a skill to be proud of,"

"Present company excluded obviously,"

Rattrap's smile at Whitegrazer morphed into a glare at Dinobot and Nemesis. Oh, we're so clever with the insults! he sarcastically thought.

"I feel...." ".....violated...."

"You oughta be used to it, Lizard Lips," the rodent pointed out.

"Yet not too lazy to make my day an endless walk through the Inferno."

He grinned at the raptor's remark.

"After suffering the likes of you for this many solar-cycles, I could hardly be reproached for my actions if I had....in fact, I might even be rewarded!"

Rattrap couldn't hold back a laugh. "Pfff, yeah. Den what's stoppin' ya?" he rolled his optics.

"I don't know. Only Optimus knows Nexus more than any of us. Yet... he never told us about the pod that we found that came from his ship and when he talked to those Predacons," "If the pod was launched as he was entering the atmosphere, it may have been possible that his systems were too damaged to register it and the words he spoke weren't suspicious. There are possibly reasonable explanations to those incidents. From a perspective, Nexus Prime would be the most obvious suspect and he is Optimus' friend and a respected Admiral and Prime. It could all just be a coincidence. And since he is being tortured like Optimus..." "I do know this: we know of Nemesis' regenerative abilities. I have felt them firsthand. If this Darkwind has the abilities, If I concentrate, I may be able to find him. If such individual is close-" "Darkwind...if we find him, can be identified. I do agree with Dinobot that he might be in the Predacon since we haven't had such strange events like what happened with the virus."

The appointed Commander watched Whitegrazer's movements since they often gave a good indication to what was physically happening to Optimus. Observing her labored breathing earlier and stumbling about, and now her hand to her face, it seemed as though the Preds were putting him through the mill. Although that was no surprise. He was sure they were having a field day with him finally as their prisoner and unarmed. It wasn't fair and he knew they had to come up with a plan to rescue him fast and a cure for this nasty hallucinogen. Back to the matter at hand, Rattrap was glad they had at least two ways they might be able to identify this Darkwind shapeshifter guy. This was good.

"We must be cautious. Out of spite, they might try to eliminate Optimus and Nexus if we do a full scale attack. We lure out all we can like Dinobot said. We don't show our hand early. Let them come to us. Those who are sent to rescue them must be aware of the bonds they entrapped them with and also, of the barriers and... motion sensors."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've agreed on de bait idea, thought the vermin impatiently. But then he gave her a quizzical look as the mare offered more details about their leader's imprisonment. This shared information between the two was quite an advantage for them.

"I doubt that it's a coincidence that they landed here when they did..."

"We finally agree on somethin!" Rattrap joyfully announced.

"We may have to accept that Darkwind is a shapeshifter," "Of all the other possibilities, it is.....believe it or not....the most plausible explanation." "IF Darkwind is a shapeshifter....then perhaps this is NOT the real Nexus Prime. Megatron may not even be aware of Darkwind's abilities, but if he is allowing himself to be tortured to keep up appearances, then he is definitely good at what he does."

"That is true. But we shall know the truth soon enough."

This was getting to be some pretty crazy accusations and theories. Still, they were starting to make more sense than not, and Rattrap was finally beginning to take the situation more seriously.

"Rattrap, Optimus is being interrogated with an unusual question and I must ask," "Did anyone went into the Predacon base and acquired the golden disks?"

The Spy looked at the white mare perplexed. He shrugged, shaking his head, and said, "The disks? Not dat I know of." And then the most unlikely of them confessed to the crime.

"Tell Optimus,"

Rattrap's lower jaw started to drop to the floor...

"Tell Optimus, it was me. I stole the golden disks from the Predacons."

He was speechless. When did this happen?! And how the heck did Dinobutt pull it off?! While he grew suspicious, he kept that to himself and said, "Uh, ya think you mighta mentioned this a lot sooner so dis whole exchange coulda been avoided?" He was still in shock and disbelief. Why didn't he tell them and share the information on them? Did he want to selfishly keep them to himself? The Preds were torturing their fearless leader over the missing disks and Optimus honestly didn't know who stole them either? Their commanding officer was taking punishment for Dinobot's crime? Disappointed, Rattrap's surprise was quickly replaced by judgement. Once a Predacon, always a Predacon. Traitor! Somehow, he managed to keep his cool and refrain from accusing Dinobot out loud. After all, there might have been a slight bit of remorse and guilt that the over-grown iguana was feeling. He better be.

"Dinobot, you don't have to divulge if you wish. As a comrade and friend, I'm sure you had your reasons."

Angry at the fossil, Rattrap raised an annoyed brow at Whitegrazer's words. "Actually, yeah, he does," he disagreed with the mare. However, "...Just not right now. It ain't the time." As badly as Rattrap wanted to know why he took them, what he thought he might gain from them, where they were now, and why he didn't tell anyone else about them, he knew better than to dwell on the topic longer than it deserved at the moment. Right now, they needed to focus on what really mattered.

-----

"I appreciate that, I really do,"

Rhinox watched Aurora perform well in her duty. Well, as well he could under his circumstance. His vision was still playing tricks on him but it didn't seem as drastic as before.

"It's definitely a virus,"

The engineer recognized the concern in her optics and her intuitive motion to slightly move away from him and Sonar. It may have worried the little Fuzor, but to Rhinox, the hallucinogen being a virus was a positive thing. Viruses could be cured. Usually.

"It's devastatingly brilliant," "The work of an insanely mad genius."

The rhinoceros looked to the bat and slightly nodded in agreement. Even Sonar was uneasy about it.

"And I think I figured out why you guys are not as badly affected now as you were originally. The virus seems to be resting at the moment, a phase to conserve the energy they require to divide and multiply. So you may not be feeling too bad off right now, but this is only temporary. Sooner or later that thing is going to wake up again, probably even stronger than before." "And I have no idea how badly you'll be affected when the time comes.. In theory you may be stuck in that stage until your bodies shut down or the virus mutates into something else.."

"We'll handle it when the time comes. For now, we had better make the most of it."

"Unfortunately I don't know how to stop the virus, finding a cure will likely require a lot of testing."

"I believe we can find an antibiotic for this, Aurora," he said confidently to encourage her. "These situations always require testing. I volunteer myself should you need a live subject who's already infected." Rhinox said firmly in his deep voice but with calmness as well.

"I'm going to kill that slagger, if it's the last thing I do. He will pay for making a fool out of me."

"He may have been making a fool out of a lot of us if he can disguise himself," Rhinox pointed out. "You're not the only one."

"I think I have an idea!,"

Surprised with her actions that seemed to come out of no where after she was aimlessly staring off into the abyss, Rhinox blinked a couple times as Aurora hurried out, leaving him there with Sonar and Ironclaw.

"Well, by all means enlighten us with your brilliant idea."

The robust Maximal almost chuckled at Sonar's sarcastic remark, but he sighed and made sure he kept his grip on the bat's arm next to him just in case he would try anything while Aurora's reaction distracted them. "She'll be back. She's on the right track and doing the best she can," Rhinox said, proud of the young Maximal and happy for her excitement. He looked forward to her idea when she would return.

-----

"I think I know how we can get Optimus back!," "We can use a concentrated version of the fright virus to cause chaos at the Predacon base, allowing a few of us to slip in and get our guys back."

Everyone in the command center seemed to freeze when Aurora suddenly jumped in like a jack-in-the-box with a rather fascinating idea.

"That is a feasible option, Aurora, but if Predacons are infected, who knows how they will react to the surroundings around them? We don't want to put Optimus and Nexus in any unnecessary danger unless we go with what we discussed eariler about luring them out. The virus could be a last resort if things turn dangerous." "Maybe it's our turn to set up an exchange." "If we offer up something they want."

Rattrap sat there in thought, mulling over the suggestions that were being tossed around. "That's a heck of an idea, Aurora," he complimented her with a smile, imagining infecting Darkwind with his own virus. "I'm gonna take it inta consideration, but only if you find a cure first. Did ya find one yet? 'Cause if it's contagious, we won't wanna get infected if the Preds touch us during an attack. If you do find a way ta beat it, den we could have two bargaining chips; a cure and the disks," he explained. "It might be enough ta get Optimus back without a lotta hassle."

"I lost my connection with him." "He isn't dead. The painful trauma he is experiencing was becoming too great. That is normal. I will try to regain my connection with him."

The rat watched Whitegrazer place her hand over her spark and he grew worried until she explained what she was feeling with Optimus. He frowned with sadness before he started to grow angry and get back on track. "All right. Aurora, get me a cure and see if you can isolate any of the virus from some samples dat we can use on de Preds. Keep me posted on yer research, okay?"

"Dinobot, where are the disks? Are they safe? If we can trade 'em for Optimus, den I'll wanna keep dat option open."

"As for Darkwind, if he's been Optimus, then he might also be Nexus. But how anybody can mimic someone that well dat not even their devoted student can tell the difference is kind of a problem for us. Unless you can sniff 'em out or find out they got nanotech like Nemesis, it's gonna be tough for others to distinguish the guy. I wonder if dere's anythin' we can do ta permanently make the guy stand out no matter what form he's impersonating in case Landslide's homemade lightning gun misses him and he changes ta somebody else. It can probably be real easy for 'im to do that in a battle. Somethin' like a sensor, or a beacon, or an infrared glow that our optics can pick up."

(Just to note, Insects, some birds, and rats can see in the UV spectrum. )

Rattrap wrote:"As for Darkwind, if he's been Optimus, then he might also be Nexus. But how anybody can mimic someone that well dat not even their devoted student can tell the difference is kind of a problem for us. Unless you can sniff 'em out or find out they got nanotech like Nemesis, it's gonna be tough for others to distinguish the guy. I wonder if dere's anythin' we can do ta permanently make the guy stand out no matter what form he's impersonating in case Landslide's homemade lightning gun misses him and he changes ta somebody else. It can probably be real easy for 'im to do that in a battle. Somethin' like a sensor, or a beacon, or an infrared glow that our optics can pick up."

Landslide walked back in with a raised optic ridge I dunno about infrared lad, but.. I do have some UV dye.. We use it to inspect leaks in cooling systems like radiators n' such. Some of us can already see in the UV spectrum, but those who can't can just use a blacklight n' he'll glow. Hrm.. Tella ya what, give me a bit an I can put together some dye marker rounds n' mix em' with buckshot so he doesn't catch on. It wouldn't be hard ta equip all of this.

He then pulled out the grenade launcher, which surprisingly was something small enough that Rattrap or Aurora could operate. He then opened the chamber to the launcher revealing six shells inside, then pulled out the tranqualizer grenades. I can't use it with the lightnin' gun though.. Fingers are too big to pull the trigger. But I'm sure yer familiar with these aren't you lad? He closed the chamber and passed the grenade launcher to Rattrap.

Terrorsaur rolled his optics and spat back "Listen bug brain, Megatron said to put these newbs in power bonds and that this was the place to get them, so either stand aside and let us do our jobs or go get them for us. I, we, took down an enemy ship and captured their crew alive today, we don't have the patience for this slag"

Wazzpinator waved his finger Then Antbot can explain to Megatron why thezze prisonerzz aren't properly secured, leaving Antbot responzzible. he then said in a obnoxious tone.

"Eheheheh! Epic burn Wasp!"

Inferno scowled at the other flyers. Arachnitron had just told him that the Royalty expected the interrogation to continue uninterrupted. Now, Terrorsaur and Waspinator were telling him that the Royalty wanted the new prisoners to be wearing the new power bonds. How could he give out such conflicting orders?

One thing was certain, Inferno was not going to be responsible for the disappearance of two more prisoners.

"Fine, I'll have one of the spiders bring them out. Stay here," Inferno told the others.

"Inferno to Arachnitron," Inferno said over his comm link. "I request your presence in the hall. Bring the power bonds you and Tarantulas were working on."

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

Arachnitron was surprised that, when she was speaking, Optimus' optics were on her the whole time. She was frustrated, though, that he didn't speak to her...that he wasn't able to speak to her. She was annoyed that Blackarachnia and Tarantulas were there to witness all of this. To have Tarantulas see her in this moment of weakness was the most distressing of all.

The more she spoke, the more frustrated she became. Optimus just looked at her silently taking in every word she said to him. It was the perfect moment for all of this since he couldn't say anything back to her....he was in too much pain. So he couldn't interrupt her before she was finished speaking and never hear what she really needed to say to him. She wasn't sure what he was thinking though....if he was thinking anything at all.

In a way, Arachnitron's words hurt to say and think. She hated that the only Maximal who ever heard her say these things was Optimus when Optimus wasn't even there when she had been told to leave the Maximals. A part of her thought it was wrong to be so angry at him....probably the Maximal part of her. For all she knew, he might have been the only Maximal who actually did trust her and who actually did think she belonged with the Maximals.

No. Not the only one. She realized that there had been one other. She wasn't sure though because he was dead now. She had always thought that he didn't much care for her, but despite their previous disagreements, he was perhaps the only one who had been in the room that day that had been trying to protect her. While all the other Maximals had thought the worst of her actions and let her leave with the Predacons....only Icebreaker did anything after her perceived betrayal to fight against the Predacons. Perhaps he was the only one that realized the true nature of her actions. That she had only meant to go with the Predacons so that they might not hurt Frilla...a bot whom she had been bonding with only moments before the Predacons entered. She wanted so much to make a friend, but didn't know how. Now she felt like friends were something she couldn't have. It had been another so called "friend" who had been the one to say "Just go with them, Arachnitron." She thought Wintersong actually cared about her.

But after everything she had just said, Optimus still stared at her wordlessly. She didn't know what she wanted him to say....maybe she just wanted him to acknowledge that he believed her about what happened. But why would he? Why would he ever? Why would he believe her.....an orphan Predacon with three conflicting personalities....over his Maximals...his own kin?

Suddenly Tarantulas broke the silence with one of his manical, mad scientist laughs.

"Well spoken my dear, hehehahahahahahaha!" the mad spider cackled, relishing every moment of this interrogation session.

"Make things right Primal, tell us what we want to know" he added, even as the widows continued to "help" Primal make up his mind.

Though she was still feeling hurt, she turned to Tarantulas and smiled glad to have pleased him yet again. She had been worried about what he would think of her. She was surprised when Blackarachnia also spoke up.

"Bravo, Arachnitron, bravo! " she turned to look at Optimus with a smirk, "So how did you like those words, Optimus? How does it feel to know that you failed. How does it feel that you just as terrible as we are!"

That was about the time when Optimus had taken the last he could take. He slumped over unconscious.

"Awww, so dull! He is sleeping." Blackarachnia said in a sing-song voice, but her face twisted in disgust. He was unconscious already.

Arachnitron chuckled at the other widow's mocking tone. "Guess we were just too much for him," she joked back.

Though she was still wearing an expression that said she was delighted with the torment, Arachnitron was actually very conflicted about how she was supposed to feel about all of this. Optimus' pain was plain to see on his face even before he passed out. She had lived that same pain for mega-cycles on Cybertron and remembering that pain hurt......it made even her predacon programming distraught; though that personality would never admit to it. The memories were different for each personality....the Maximal remembered the fear she felt, the Predacon programming remembered the anger most of all and the Hybrid? The Hybrid remembered the pain. She was in constant pain during those days, but not just from the scientists' experimentation and torture, but also from the Predacon programming inside of her who was inflicting this same pain on her desperate to be the one and only programming inside the protoform.

The conflicting emotions was that small sliver of delight the Predacon programming felt torturing others. So technically....not only had Arachnitron felt this same torture, but she had also administered it. The Predacon programming had been responsible for her own "interrogation" sessions during her days at the orphanage and had often retaliated against the scientists. She had beaten many other Predacons senselessly and for no reason except that she could. So Arachnitron's own hands were sullied by this deed. So how could she feel bad about the torture done to her when she had done it to others?

Arachnitron's mind wandered. Who had actually been the personality in charge then? Was it the Predacon programming? The Maximal? The Hybrid? Who was in control before the experimentation? She shuddered to think that the Predacon personality may have been who she really was before the scientists' intervened.

Tarantulas' voice shook her from her thoughts.

"Hhhmm? Oh for spark's sake, enough ladies, I think you were a bit too much for him, hehehehaha" Tarantulas ordered, treating his victim's slip into stasis lock as a minor inconvenience as he snapped his fingers and an arachnoid drone emerged, scuttling towards Primal's prone form, pincers clicking as its master said "Clear!" before it zapped Primal with quick but powerful jolt of electricity.

Though, she wondered if they better give him a break, "I love to thrash him about some more, but I don't think Megatron would appreciate if we took his fun when he is through with that old fart."

Arachnitron was almost glad to hear Blackarachnia suggesting that they take it easy on the Maximal commander. She didn't want to kill Optimus. She didn't even really want revenge on Optimus.....but even though she said she wasn't, she was still angry. She wasn't sure why...perhaps she was angry that he had left her with the Maximals to tend to something else. If he had been there, they wouldn't have said the things they said. Would they?

"Blackarachnia's right," Arachnitron agreed. Her green optics looked a few obvious shades greener. "He can't tell us anything if he's dead or unconscious." she pointed out.

When Optimus woke, though, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia were back to their torture again.

"Did you enjoy your nap? Gorillas do sleep a long time, don't they? Oh well. We aren't done yet."

"Sleep well? Anything you want to get off your chest?" Tarantulas asked, feigning almost parental concern for Primal's well-being, even if on the inside he was still cackling like a mad bot.

Arachnitron wasn't sure what to say so she just watched on "guard duty" as she had promised Inferno. She didn't actually think the Maximal would do anything. He was hardly able to move at the moment.

"Jee... I'm flattered...Nothing I... say can... help them. But nor can... it help you......You won't... be getting anything... from me,"

Arachnitron rolled her bright green optics bored that they were getting nowhere. Optimus had finally spoken, but he offered them no codes. Suddenly, though, something caught Arachnitron's attention. A bright, bluish glow from Optimus' side. She stifled a gasp. It reminded her of the glow of Starshadow's mech fluid; although, it was a little different. Still, it could be useful to further understanding whatever it was that made Starshadow's mech fluid glow. Arachnitron also noticed that the exostructure underneath the glow appeared to be healed after the glow disappeared.

Arachnitron's optics dulled to the shade of green they normally were when the Hybrid was in control. She continued to focus her attention on Optimus' side intrigued as she remembered about the anomalies within Starshadow's mech fluid. She wished she could tell Tarantulas now about what she learned, but she couldn't do that with Blackarachnia around.

Arachnitron leaned in towards Tarantulas and whispered to him, "I have something you need to see later."

It was then that Inferno interrupted their interrogation.

"Inferno to Arachnitron,"

Arachnitron groaned. "I thought I told you no interruptions! Megatron's orders!" Arachnitron growled over the comm link to the ant. Her optics quickly switched to a bright red color in the heat of her anger towards the ant.

"I request your presence in the hall. Bring the power bonds you and Tarantulas were working on."

"Fine," she snapped. She grabbed a few sets of the extra power bonds and stormed out of room.

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

In the hall, Arachnitron handed the power bonds over to Inferno noting the presence of Terrorsaur and Waspinator.

"Here are your blasted power bonds." Arachnitron thrust them at the ant, her optics still continued to glow red.

"Megatron has ordered the prisoners be secured," Inferno explained. He stared into the widow's optics. Had they always been red?

"So....secure them!" Arachnitron responded. She turned on her heel to return to the interrogation, her optics returning to their usual Hybrid-green color.

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

Rattrap couldn't hold back a laugh. "Pfff, yeah. Den what's stoppin' ya?" he rolled his optics.

Rattrap's comment at Dinobot made him pause. What was stopping him? He had put up with enough of this rodent's quips and jabs at him and his Predacon heritage....why didn't he just leave? Dinobot only responded with a contemplative, "Hmmm,"

"We finally agree on somethin!" Rattrap joyfully announced.

Dinobot smirked at the rat. "We're making progress," he said. "Soon we may even agree on proper bathing habits."

Rattrap's reaction to Dinobot's confession was not that far from what he had expected of him. He was surprised there weren't more accusations flying around, but perhaps the rat was thinking these thoughts instead of voicing them.

"Uh, ya think you mighta mentioned this a lot sooner so dis whole exchange coulda been avoided?"

Dinobot snarled. "Of course," he answered sarcastically. "Next time I will be sure to read minds as well as you, vermin!" He had no way to know Megatron's prisoner exchange was an attempt to locate the golden disks! Megatron was always taking prisoners!

"Dinobot, you don't have to divulge if you wish. As a comrade and friend, I'm sure you had your reasons."

Dinobot glanced at the mare. "I had, of course, intended to speak to Rhinox and Optimus about the disks, but the opportunity did not yet arrive where we could discuss privately," he explained.

Angry at the fossil, Rattrap raised an annoyed brow at Whitegrazer's words. "Actually, yeah, he does," he disagreed with the mare. However, "...Just not right now. It ain't the time."

Dinobot looked at the rat, but said, "Again, we agree....I do not, however, have to divulge anything to you! I shall speak privately with Optimus on the matter."

This time he addressed the others. "I am deeply ashamed that my actions resulted in Optimus' imprisonment and subsequent torture. It was not my intention that he take the blame for what I have done," he assured his comrades. "As for my motives, I will say this much...it was purely to satisfy my own curiosity. I had no other plans for the disks then to study them," he explained. Not the entire story, but again, he need only explain himself in entirety to Optimus. He and he alone would determine his degree of guilt and the appropriate punishment.

Suddenly, in walked Aurora.

"I think I know how we can get Optimus back!," "We can use a concentrated version of the fright virus to cause chaos at the Predacon base, allowing a few of us to slip in and get our guys back."

"That is a feasible option, Aurora, but if Predacons are infected, who knows how they will react to the surroundings around them? We don't want to put Optimus and Nexus in any unnecessary danger unless we go with what we discussed eariler about luring them out. The virus could be a last resort if things turn dangerous." "Maybe it's our turn to set up an exchange." "If we offer up something they want."

Dinobot lowered his gaze. "I agree," he responded. "I shall do the honorable thing and return the stolen disks."

Then, Whitegrazer mentioned that she lost contact with Optimus. Dinobot tried not to show his concern for the commander...that would be very un-Predacon of him, but he really was angry that all of this was his fault.

"Dinobot, where are the disks? Are they safe? If we can trade 'em for Optimus, den I'll wanna keep dat option open."

"Yes, they are safe. One is hidden in my quarters. The other is buried in neutral territory."

"As for Darkwind, if he's been Optimus, then he might also be Nexus. But how anybody can mimic someone that well dat not even their devoted student can tell the difference is kind of a problem for us. Unless you can sniff 'em out or find out they got nanotech like Nemesis, it's gonna be tough for others to distinguish the guy. I wonder if dere's anythin' we can do ta permanently make the guy stand out no matter what form he's impersonating in case Landslide's homemade lightning gun misses him and he changes ta somebody else. It can probably be real easy for 'im to do that in a battle. Somethin' like a sensor, or a beacon, or an infrared glow that our optics can pick up."

I dunno about infrared lad, but.. I do have some UV dye.. We use it to inspect leaks in cooling systems like radiators n' such. Some of us can already see in the UV spectrum, but those who can't can just use a blacklight n' he'll glow. Hrm.. Tella ya what, give me a bit an I can put together some dye marker rounds n' mix em' with buckshot so he doesn't catch on. It wouldn't be hard ta equip all of this.

[/quote][/quote]

"Interesting idea," Dinobot said to Landslide. It certainly did appear that a plan was coming together.

OOC: *wipes sweat from brow* Woo! Sorry for the long post....lots to cover...I tried to split it up, but didn't have time to post last night like I hoped.....

"Then I shall have you to blame if your personal grudge provides the maximals with details about my base I'd rather they not have, especially with victory so near at hand"

Zodiac merely tilted his head, a bewildering smile on his face. He did not care to pursue this particular topic any further at the moment, so he was almost relieved when Megatron moved on even if it was with an insult.

"Hah! An army unto yourself are you? Well, I can at least relate to being short on patience, yesss, but still, how kind you are to allow the rest of us to partake in YOUR victory, after our own efforts have nearly brought the Beast Wars to a close"

That bewildering smile took a turn to a more amused one as he watched the tyrant boast about his own victory being at hand. The Predacon truly had no clue of what he had done. The shapeshifter had not yet told him of the other surprises he had left for the Maximals, but perhaps he should just let Megatron figure it all out for himself. Keeping some secrecy only benefited the dragon after all.

"Assuming I leave this world with the power I require to liberate Cybertron from both the Maximal Elders and the Tripredacus Council, I'm sure something could be arranged for you. Though commitment to such a favor would also depend on whether or not you serve me well and forgo anymore unwelcome surprises, quid pro quo?"

Unwelcome surprises.. Well, he supposed he could do that, for a time at least. But while they were on that topic, he supposed he should do something to aide his two crew members. Albeit he wasn't sure now was the right time just yet, given the rather fragile alliance he had just formed with the ruling Predacon on this planet. With Dirge at his side, he was certain that no harm would come to Night Terror. The larger bot didn't exactly have the brain power to match his considerable size, but he certainly had loyalty unseen among Predacons in general. Those two had served him well, even if they were a bit impulsive at times. He decided to speak up on their behalf.

"Speaking of which.. You recently captured a pair of Predacons that have served me from time to time. I ask that you show them some leniency, since they came here to assure my safety. Misguided as their concern may have been, I can assure you that they pose no threat to your Predacons or yourself."



Moments later the tyrant's face lit up, obviously enjoying the idea of tormenting that poor sappy Maximal to the fullest before letting him die. It was a personality trait the two of them shared.

"Zodiac, I just might learn to like you after all, yyyeessss...What a delightful thought, such delicious possibilities, a tad excessive maybe since you allegedly control Sentinel and all the information it contains therein, but crushing Primal's spirit for the sheer joy of it alone shouldn't be overlooked, nnnnooo. The question remains however, which maximal shall we use against Primal? It should be someone who would either be qualified to or simply stupid enough to attempt a rescue mission. One of the stealthier maximals such as Rattrap or Tigatron, or one of the younger, more foolhardy maximals such as Cheetor or Aurora would fit any of those categories. Though I suppose you could always don Nexus Prime's face again for convenience sake...By the way, whatever did become of the real Nexus Prime? Is Primal's mentor still out there or did he meet an untimely end by your hand?"

"Someone he cares a great deal for.. That white taller female is an option, Whitegrazer I believe her name is, but it doesn't quite seem like her to launch a rescue mission like this by herself..," Zodiac responded, drawing from the knowledge he had accumulated during his time among the Maximals. "I'd suggest the little fuzor. She's young, seems irresponsible at times, and she took it harder than most when Primal decided to sacrifice himself."

His smile grew a little wider, a little mischievous perhaps, as he thought about Primal's reaction to seeing the annoying little furry creature come to terms with what it truly meant to partake in a war..

"Uh, genius, I ain't de one with the nanonites, which is the whole reason for Landslide designin' dat gun,"

"You gotta lighten up," Rattrap shook his head at Nemesis in shame. "How do you live with yourself?" I

Quite easily, Nemesis thought, maintaining her glare at the rodent for a moment longer. That gun could be useful in a fight against Darkwind, but she was a little concerned what might happen should they use it on her. She'd have to find a counter for it, obviously, some way to deflect it or put it out of commission should it become necessary.

Nemesis merely stared at the Maximals present as they began debating what they should do with the golden disks. She hoped they wouldn't attempt to return them, for those disks were now the best option she had to regain Megatron's favor. Perhaps her only option.

"I lost my connection with him."

The avian female's gaze drifted to the other female present, for a moment wondering if that meant that Optimus had already met his end at Megatron's hands. It wouldn't surprise her in the least, given the tyrant's rash behavior in the past. When Megatron went into a rage, he certainly didn't stop to think before making his attack. Of course that idea was shot down swiftly enough when Whitegrazer clarified upon her earlier statement.

"He isn't dead. The painful trauma he is experiencing was becoming too great. That is normal. I will try to regain my connection with him."

Fascinating.. The other female's powers were confusing at best, but could perhaps prove to be a valuable tool should she indeed be stuck here for a while before she got her chance to acquire the disks for herself.

What would intrigue her even more, however, was the idea presented by the most unlikely of Maximals.. That annoying little fuzor who just came rushing in to interrupt them..

"We can use a concentrated version of the fright virus to cause chaos at the Predacon base, allowing a few of us to slip in and get our guys back."

"That is a feasible option, Aurora, but if Predacons are infected, who knows how they will react to the surroundings around them? We don't want to put Optimus and Nexus in any unnecessary danger unless we go with what we discussed eariler about luring them out. The virus could be a last resort if things turn dangerous."

"That's just it!," Aurora argued, "The virus is going to be debilitating for the Predacons, too much so for them to pose much of a threat to our guys. We'll work on a cure for ourselves, of course, but this could potentially give us the edge over the Predacons."

"That's a heck of an idea, Aurora," "I'm gonna take it inta consideration, but only if you find a cure first. Did ya find one yet? 'Cause if it's contagious, we won't wanna get infected if the Preds touch us during an attack. If you do find a way ta beat it, den we could have two bargaining chips; a cure and the disks," he explained. "It might be enough ta get Optimus back without a lotta hassle."

Aurora smiled from ear to ear as Rattrap complimented her on the idea. It wasn't often that the other Maximals had really taken her seriously, so it warmed her spark when it did happen.

"All right. Aurora, get me a cure and see if you can isolate any of the virus from some samples dat we can use on de Preds. Keep me posted on yer research, okay?"

"Of course. Rhinox and I will get working on an antiviral agent that can be used as a cure," she replied, taking Rhinox' earlier words of caution into consideration, "It shouldn't take too long now that we've started to figure out how this thing works."

((OOC: Great post, Phoenix! Since it has been four days after my last post, I will post Whitegrazer's response. I will post Blackarachnia's response towards Arachnitron and Tarantulas after Darkspark posts. Is that all right, guys? ))

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Uh, ya think you mighta mentioned this a lot sooner so dis whole exchange coulda been avoided?"

Blackrosefencer wrote:"I had, of course, intended to speak to Rhinox and Optimus about the disks, but the opportunity did not yet arrive where we could discuss privately,"

She understood that. There are just certain things or pieces of information that can only be trusted to certain people.

But Rattrap was angry at this revelation, which she expected.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Actually, yeah, he does," he disagreed with the mare. However, "...Just not right now. It ain't the time."

Blackrosefencer wrote:Again, we agree....I do not, however, have to divulge anything to you! I shall speak privately with Optimus on the matter." This time he addressed the others. "I am deeply ashamed that my actions resulted in Optimus' imprisonment and subsequent torture. It was not my intention that he take the blame for what I have done," he assured his comrades. "As for my motives, I will say this much...it was purely to satisfy my own curiosity. I had no other plans for the disks then to study them,"

"Dinobot, you couldn't have known about what will transpire today," she said calmly to the raptor. "It seemed Megatron was aiming for Optimus and Nexus personally anyway. Asking him about the disks was just a ploy to try and break him. I'm positive Optimus will forgive your actions." Optimus would.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"That's a heck of an idea, Aurora," he complimented her with a smile, imagining infecting Darkwind with his own virus. "I'm gonna take it inta consideration, but only if you find a cure first. Did ya find one yet? 'Cause if it's contagious, we won't wanna get infected if the Preds touch us during an attack. If you do find a way ta beat it, den we could have two bargaining chips; a cure and the disks," he explained. "It might be enough ta get Optimus back without a lotta hassle."

She had something she wanted to add when she felt her spark tug.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:Argh... Whitegrazer...

Her body shook like it had been struck with lightning. Whatever it was, it perked her awareness that maybe her concentration was working. Optimus... The bond was dim, but that was expected. It grew in passing moments. To just hear his voice bought her such relief. She relayed such relief towards the others, "I re-connected with Optimus." As she said those words, she looked at Aurora, still smiling with a hopeful expression of serenity. She turned her attention towards the feelings of throbbing and feeling the struggles of Optimus' breathing. He was doing better. That could be because the Predacons seemed to be just talking and nothing taxing on Optimus's physical self.

She saw the image she had seen during the emotional yet exhilarating sparring match they had that was interrupted by her connection showing her something that cut Optimus deeply yet something he wanted to remain a secret. She wondered why she saw that unless the Predacons were attacking his ideology. It felt similar from what she felt before she felt like someone stomped her face in. The throbbing she still felt from earlier.

She caressed her face,No, you are not terrible, Optimus. We all make mistakes, big or small. It is how we deal with them which shape us. You chose to make up for them, to never make the same mistake. It makes you the bigger bot.

Phoenix wrote:"That's just it!," Aurora argued, "The virus is going to be debilitating for the Predacons, too much so for them to pose much of a threat to our guys. We'll work on a cure for ourselves, of course, but this could potentially give us the edge over the Predacons."

"I have no doubt of it's effectiveness as I felt what Optimus has been though since he was infected by it," she was still caressing her cheek, looking a bit solemn with a hint of sadness in her tone of voice. She was hesitant to use the virus only due to what she felt with Optimus. The fright. Anger. The virus seemed to put the fear of the individual into overdrive. Using the virus was practical and easy, she understood that, but the idea of infected Predacons running around Primus knows doing what while her crew get Optimus and Nexus out. It could be potentially deadly and risk for those who are sent to rescue and Optimus and Nexus themselves.

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote: "All right. Aurora, get me a cure and see if you can isolate any of the virus from some samples dat we can use on de Preds. Keep me posted on yer research, okay?"

"Of course. Rhinox and I will get working on an antiviral agent that can be used as a cure," she replied, taking Rhinox' earlier words of caution into consideration, "It shouldn't take too long now that we've started to figure out how this thing works."

"Aurora, is there a way you can change the effect of the virus? Maybe instead of inducing fear, induce a state of stasis or paralysis for as much time as we need to get Optimus and Nexus out?" asking the ermine curiously. If they were going to use the virus, might as well change it if they could. Would they have enough time for that, though? They might not, but it was no harm in asking and/or trying, "I know there is such a thing as paralyzing fear, but maybe we use the same type of thing...except without the fear component? Can that be done or would it take too much time?"

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Dinobot, where are the disks? Are they safe? If we can trade 'em for Optimus, den I'll wanna keep dat option open."

Blackrosefencer wrote:"Yes, they are safe. One is hidden in my quarters. The other is buried in neutral territory."

"Which one is hidden in your quarters, Dinobot," she asked the raptor. If they had one inside the base, they maybe didn't have to bargain both of them. Then she realized that Megatron maybe would wanted them both, one for each disk. Despite the fact of two options, both had a risk. Some part of her wanted to ask Optimus, but no, he needed to focus on reducing the pain and conserve energy. The only thing she could do was offer up a suggestion of how to use such options and see how the others viewed it. But before she did, she glanced at Nemesis, "Nemesis, your opinion here would be greatly appreciated. We need to come up with a plan that gives you back your status amongst them, but also, gives you a chance to meet the bot who has wronged you greatly. Do you have any suggestions?"

Just hang in there, Optimus. Soon, we will get both of you back here to the Axalon. She imagined Optimus was beside her. One of her hands that rested on metal plating of the Axalon's floor caressed it, imagining his hand in hers.

*****************************************************

Banshee finally awoken from her rest in the CR Chamber and stepped out of it. As she looked around, she realized the ship she was standing on was the Axalon. Now with that covered, she needed answers right now. Banshee headed to the bridge to find new crew members whom she had never seen before other than the two who rescued her and her fellow inmate. Oh well...time to make her entrance. The bat femme folded her wing to make it look like a cape and cleared her throat before walking in.

"Sorry to interupt your discussion but as I've clearly been away for too long, I need some answer to keep myself...updated." she said with a dead serious look in her optics.

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

Starshadow was waking up only to find herself alone in the cage. The hunger was starting to get to her and the webs that restrained her movements were annoying her, but that could be fixed. Starshadow charged up her body with a high voltage of electricity to burn the webs and shortcircuit the powerbonds due to the voltage and stood up, dusting herself. At this rate, Megatron might want Tarantulas to dissect her or hack her datatracks to get his desired answers about what she was once he is done with whatever business he has. As a member of Hellfang, she would never allow that. The "thundercat" charged up her blade emitters to form her arm blades and sliced the bars.

"Rule number one, kitties like me don't like cramped spaces," she flew out of the cage and snuck to the bridge, finding Quickstrike the only one around. Purrfect~ Starshadow pulled her craziest smile of the month. He was fit for a light snack but that would have to wait until next week, or longer. Escaping the Darksyde is the top priority now. She snuck up to him and covered his mouthpiece to prevent him from screaming or shouting and gave him and electric punch on his back with a voltage high enough to knock him out for a minute or two before walking towards another computer, pressing a button to open the door to the path of freedom!

Starshadow quickly flew towards the entrace and here she was outsi- slag! Terrorsaur and Waspinator, the terrible duo with prisoners? Megatron could've told them she was a prisoner or not since he was so focused on Primal. Maybe they didn't know about it. The catbot decided to take the gamble to avoid any suspicions, "Er..Welcome back! I see you've brought "friends". Megatron is waiting inside."

OOC: Okay, here's my post guys, do let me know if I missed anyone or anything. I thought about having Terry tell Megs about Star's strange behavior, but I figured it would make more sense for Inferno to raise the alarm next post since he knows Starshadow is on thin ice with Megs right now instead.

P.S. I am totally gonna have Megs renovate the Predacon base when this episode is over, new brig, new security system, the works! You damn maxis and schemers are gonna have to WORK to break into & out of my poor base from now on! YYYYESSSS!

OOP wrote: Darkness. Darker than the Darksyde, and yet, far more peaceful and welcoming. Was it still considered rest if his mind didn't know he had been knocked unconscious? Because his body and processor were struggling to re-calibrate his systems and cater to his physical injuries. As if no time had passed at all, Optimus suddenly felt his entire body jump from an electric shock which forced his internal computer to break boundaries and take short cuts to awaken him and keep him awake. A long, deep rumbling growl of pain escaped his painful mouth until the electrocution stopped. The sudden burst of energy brought his nanogel back to an active status and the side of his upper chest was clearly seen glowing a bluish glow while the tiny robots busily got to work on repairing his bent and crimped armor from the bonds. He could feel them rushing around inside and outside his body in that area, which was now looking almost brand new compared the rest of his beaten and squished body. Primal's face now had a long, wide scuff mark across it from under his left eye and over his mouth where Blackarachnia's foot had hammered it. It also widened his split lip a lot more as a tiny stream of fluid continued to dribble from it down the side of his face. Coughing a little, he laid there regaining his surroundings and remembering the situation he was in as all of the data from his processor poured in.

The spider pred's unioptic widened in surprise and curiosity as he observed Primal's chest emanating some manner of strange light, more surprising still, was that the damaged area the light was coming from began to repair itself at an alarming rate, though the rest of the transmetal ape's body remained in less than ideal condition.

"Well now, isn't that an interesting sight?" Tarantulas thought to himself, pondering what this bizarre phenomenon could mean, possible theories and ideas for tests already percolating in his processor.

OOP wrote: "Jee... I'm flattered..." he said sarcastically to Tarantulas. Although, he was certain there was still a big piece missing out of the TransMetal's equation, which was his bond with Whitegrazer. Without her, he likely would have been lost.

"As you should be..." Tarantulas replied, eying him strangely, like a scientist might observe a lab animal or some new strain of bacteria...Oh, if only he had Optimus back at his lair, he could cut him open and test the limits and nature of the anomaly he had just seen at his leisure, but alas, it was only a daydream here in the heart of Megatron's base.

OOP wrote: "Nothing I... say can... help them. But nor can... it help you," Optimus struggled between breaths and his throbbing face.

"Are you sure Primal? If you think long and hard about it, I'm sure you will realize quite the opposite" Tarantulas said, thumb hovering over the remote dangerously, threatening to tighten the bonds again, something he was tempted to do anyway given his new-found scientific curiosity in Primal's "medical condition."

OOP wrote: "You won't... be getting anything... from me," Primal declared defiantly through his bent teeth, every movement of his lips making his cut sting. He was starting to feel stronger again thanks to the nanogel, however, it wasn't going to last. So long as it kept that hallucinogen inside of him quiet, he might be all right. He wasn't sure what the three spiders might think of about the illumination on the side of his chest that was slowly fading away now and leaving a perfectly healthy and shiny area in its wake, but perhaps it would delay them further with more whimsical questioning. In the mean time, he recalled the last thing he had asked Whitegrazer - who stole the golden disks - and searched her for an answer while he tried focusing again on the green meadow, calming his tight breathing and attempting to keep his mind sharp and looking for opportunities. He could hear voices in the corridor again; they sounded like Terrorsaur and Waspinator bantering with Inferno. If Terrorsaur saw that he was being held prisoner and unable to defend himself, he had no idea what might transpire. Likely a lot more verbal and physical abuse since that seemed to be these Predacons' "best" qualities.

"Incorrect Primal, I will have your misery" Tarantulas answered coldly, tightening the bonds, this time by three levels...This would be painful for Primal, very, VERY, painful...Most bots armor would buckle under this much pressure, but Primal's inherent toughness, transmetal nature, and whatever was going on with his chest, assured Tarantulas he could endure this level of strain, but chances were he'd wish he couldn't.

Blackrose wrote: Inferno scowled at the other flyers. Arachnitron had just told him that the Royalty expected the interrogation to continue uninterrupted. Now, Terrorsaur and Waspinator were telling him that the Royalty wanted the new prisoners to be wearing the new power bonds. How could he give out such conflicting orders?

One thing was certain, Inferno was not going to be responsible for the disappearance of two more prisoners.

"Fine, I'll have one of the spiders bring them out. Stay here," Inferno told the others.

"Inferno to Arachnitron," Inferno said over his comm link. "I request your presence in the hall. Bring the power bonds you and Tarantulas were working on."

Terrorsaur rolled his optics and said "Well its about time," fed up with the stupid ant's lack of cooperation and wanting to drop off his prisoners as soon as possible so he move on to something more interesting.

Blackrose wrote:
Arachnitron's optics dulled to the shade of green they normally were when the Hybrid was in control. She continued to focus her attention on Optimus' side intrigued as she remembered about the anomalies within Starshadow's mech fluid. She wished she could tell Tarantulas now about what she learned, but she couldn't do that with Blackarachnia around.

Arachnitron leaned in towards Tarantulas and whispered to him, "I have something you need to see later."

"That's fine dear" Tarantulas replied, too invested in his interrogation and observation of Primal to worry about anything else right now, though glad Arachnitron had the sense not to discuss anything vital in front of Blackarachnia or Primal.

Blackrose wrote: Arachnitron groaned. "I thought I told you no interruptions! Megatron's orders!" Arachnitron growled over the comm link to the ant. Her optics quickly switched to a bright red color in the heat of her anger towards the ant.

Annoyed by the interruption, Tarantulas looked away from Primal's suffering just long enough to witness the change in color of Arachnitron's optics from her neutral, controllable green to the fiery red hue of her predacon persona...Something which simply would not do in this delicate situation.

Blackrose wrote: "Fine," she snapped. She grabbed a few sets of the extra power bonds and stormed out of room.

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

In the hall, Arachnitron handed the power bonds over to Inferno noting the presence of Terrorsaur and Waspinator.

"Here are your blasted power bonds." Arachnitron thrust them at the ant, her optics still continued to glow red.

"Megatron has ordered the prisoners be secured," Inferno explained. He stared into the widow's optics. Had they always been red?

"So....secure them!" Arachnitron responded. She turned on her heel to return to the interrogation, her optics returning to their usual Hybrid-green color.

"Heheheheheheh, what's got into her exoskeleton?" Terrorsaur mused, laughing at the sight of the much smaller spider femme giving the towering Inferno an earful, the whole situation hilarious.

"Careful Inferno, or the little widow is gonna steal your "oh so important" title of subcommander right out from under you, eheheheh!" Terrorsaur mocked, taking the power bonds from Inferno, eager to place them on the prisoners, wondering if this is how the crooked cops Megatron and Cryotek used to payoff back on Cybertron felt.

Starshadow wrote: Starshadow quickly flew towards the entrace and here she was outsi- slag! Terrorsaur and Waspinator, the terrible duo with prisoners? Megatron could've told them she was a prisoner or not since he was so focused on Primal. Maybe they didn't know about it. The catbot decided to take the gamble to avoid any suspicions, "Er..Welcome back! I see you've brought "friends". Megatron is waiting inside."

Terrorsaur raised an eyebrow at Starshadow, the feline acting weirder than usual, like she was caught with her hand in the energon cube storage room or something.

"Yeah, he's with Umbra and a seriously slagged maximal right now...Whats up with you?" Terrorsaur inquired, confused by the behavior of the usually confident cat pred, who was rarely if ever this friendly or skittish.

Phoenix wrote: "Speaking of which.. You recently captured a pair of Predacons that have served me from time to time. I ask that you show them some leniency, since they came here to assure my safety. Misguided as their concern may have been, I can assure you that they pose no threat to your Predacons or yourself."

Megatron frowned at this, again annoyed by Zodiac's scheming, doubting even more that he could trust this drifter, and begrudgingly said "I suppose a pardon could be arranged, so long as they behave themselves and fall in line. Anything else you would like to get off your chest plate? More mystery minions? Planted any bombs? I meant what I said, no more unwelcome surprises from this point onward if you wish to continue doing business with me, my tolerance for treachery and infighting has dwindled sharply since the beginning of this war, so if there is anything else that could endanger our fledgling friendship, for lack of a better word, I suspect you level with me now or risk my wrath later."

Phoenix wrote: "Someone he cares a great deal for.. That white taller female is an option, Whitegrazer I believe her name is, but it doesn't quite seem like her to launch a rescue mission like this by herself..," Zodiac responded, drawing from the knowledge he had accumulated during his time among the Maximals. "I'd suggest the little fuzor. She's young, seems irresponsible at times, and she took it harder than most when Primal decided to sacrifice himself."

His smile grew a little wider, a little mischievous perhaps, as he thought about Primal's reaction to seeing the annoying little furry creature come to terms with what it truly meant to partake in a war..

"Indeed, there have been many rumors surrounding Primal and the equine as of late, I would have capitalized on their relationship sooner if I had known, but I agree the little fuzor being in harm's way would hurt him even more I suspect, yesssss" Megatron agreed, spirits lifted again as he activated the comms and announced to the crew "Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."


"What? Seriously?" Terrorsaur groaned in response to Megatron's announcement, disappointed that his captives were being cut loose so soon before he had a chance to brag about his accomplishment, or even put the bonds on them!

"Guess you losers are free to go. Ugh, what a buzzkill" Terrorsaur grumbled, storing the bonds away in his personal pocket dimension, just in case he needed them later, always a good idea to swipe something potentially useful if ya felt no one was gonna immediately miss it.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Tarantulas awaited Primal's reactions to his demands, and tortures, deciding he'd have to forcibly recover the data he needed from his datatrax if he didn't cooperate this time. His pain was exquisite, but he was on a deadline here if he wanted certain intel before Megatron returned to acquire it himself.

Primal hadn't quite understood what was going on with Arachnitron at this point. Her optics were green, which, if he remembered correctly, was supposed to mean that the Maximal programming was in control. And yet, her behavior was that of the Predacon's as she ruthlessly encouraged the others' actions and abuse, seemingly to enjoy his imprisonment as much as they were. He could only assume that she was either faking her personality right now or that Tarantulas really did find a way to diminish the Maximal side, leaving the Predacon programming as the dominate or perhaps the only programming left. To Optimus, that wasn't fair, and that was why it was so difficult for him to help her. His gaze hadn't lingered on Arachnitron long enough to notice any disappointment she might have shown when he failed to speak to her. There was a lot he could have said under different circumstances, but she didn't seem interested in listening right now when she agreed with her arachnid kin to continue interrogating him, feeding off of his misery and agony. Maybe it was because she didn't want to talk about it in front of the others, but it was difficult for him to speak anyway.

Optimus seemed puzzled at first as to what the spiders were staring at with surprised expressions until he recalled the nanogel and the glow it produced when electricity was applied to it. The tarantula's arachnoid that had shocked him awake was tempting for him to steal and use it for himself but he couldn't quite grab it with his hands forced to his sides. The Maximal rolled onto his back and tried transforming to his beast mode, thinking it might break the make-shift restraints or give him some relief to be in a form not as beaten as his robot mode, but the tight coiling of the energy bonds wouldn't allow it.

"I have something you need to see later."

Arachnitron had whispered something to Tarantulas that was inaudible to Optimus. He was curious to know their thoughts and even their intentions about his suddenly renewed area of armor on his side, anything that could get his mind off of the bonds and hopefully theirs as well. He had also noticed her optics changing subtly in different shades of green, something he had never seen before. What did that mean? If it meant anything at all.

"Inferno to Arachnitron,"

"I thought I told you no interruptions! Megatron's orders!"

"I request your presence in the hall. Bring the power bonds you and Tarantulas were working on."

"Fine,"

Then her optics flashed to red in response to Inferno's interruption. He watched her grab a couple pairs of the energy bonds and exit the area. The Commander was quite confused by this point when it came to Arachnitron's personalities. Primal had hoped there was still some of the Maximal side left in her but he wasn't so sure. Could he try bringing it out? Or would that just cause more grief for her if the other Predacons saw what was happening? He didn't want to endanger her.

Optimus... No, you are not terrible, Optimus. We all make mistakes, big or small. It is how we deal with them which shape us. You chose to make up for them, to never make the same mistake. It makes you the bigger bot.

He closed his orange optics for a moment, as if he could feel Whitegrazer's hand gently caressing his face. The pain was slowly beginning to subside except for his crooked teeth and the gash on his lip. I will still be paying for my mistake if he awakens, he thought to her with deliberate vagueness. She wouldn't know who yet that he was referring to and what exactly Primal's involvement was, or even how dangerous this unknown bot was but it clearly yet quietly weighed on his mind every day. And if X did survive his crashed pod, wherever it might be, and took more lives, Optimus wasn't sure how would be able to deal with it. It was quite similar to Arachnitron's situation. It was very conflicting. The safest thing to do would be to destroy what was harmful and merciless to others, but how could one just take away a life that had every right to live as they did despite their wrongs? He was their creation, it was their fault.

"As you should be..."

Didn't Tarantulas recognize sarcasm? It wasn't a compliment. Perhaps he was just taunting him. Optimus grumbled to himself while the spider eyed him. Who knows what the maniac scientist was thinking at that moment. He probably wanted to dissect him like a frog.

"Are you sure Primal? If you think long and hard about it, I'm sure you will realize quite the opposite"

His orange optics drifted to Tarantulas's thumb wavering over the dial on the remote. He swallowed in silence knowing the punishment he'll get again if he didn't co-operate. But he would not falter. All the pain he had been taking was not nearly as much as Nemesis, Arachnitron and X had been through, so he thought it cowardly and dishonorable to take any less and give in.

"Incorrect Primal, I will have your misery"

Well... Tarantulas was right, there was that. But Optimus wouldn't trade his misery for any information that would give the Predacons an advantage over his Maximals. Never. NEVER! The TransMetal spider's heartless tone suggested that the worst was about to come. And it did. As the energy bonds tightened unforgivingly, the Maximal leader choked a gasp and coughed, the tension bending everything inward. The weaker parts of his TransMetal armor and infrastructure were fracturing under the pressure, his paint cracking and peeling and flaking off onto the cold flood. Even his spark chamber was beginning to feel squeezed inside. Had they even used these bonds before? Was Tarantulas aware of their ability constricting too much and cracking someone's chamber? If it got to that point, it would surely throw Optimus into stasis lock. He tried fighting the coiling as he pushed outward with his arms and shoulders, after all, Primal's physical strength was greater than the three spiders' combined, but his fatigue and exhaustion reduced his effort. Crying out with a gagged pain, his mouth stretching open and pulling on his cut lip, his optics closed tightly and tears of anguish rolled down both sides of his head as he uncomfortably squirmed on his back.

Just hang in there, Optimus. Soon, we will get both of you back here to the Axalon.

He saw Whitegrazer for a split second. He tried focusing but he could barely breathe and remain coherent. The sounds of his body creaking, scraping and bending distracted his concentration. He cut off their connection before it grew too unbearable to control because he refused to share this kind of torture with her. She may have been through worse torment in her past but she didn't need to go through it again.

"Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."

Hearing Megatron's announcement, Primal was uncertain of Nexus's fate. Had he made a deal with Megatron for these Predacons? ...Did Nexus know the Predacons like Rattrap had implied earlier...? Was he even talking about the new Predacons as the "two newcomers"? He had to have been because he would never address two of his Maximals as "newcomers". Either way, Megatron's voice was a good distraction for the rest of the Predacons in this lava-digested vessel.

"Al..." He tried to say something but his voice was weak. His head felt warm and congested like someone who was holding their breath under a great deal of pressure and he involuntarily re-opened his connection with Whitegrazer as he lost his concentration for withholding it from her. "All right..." Optimus finally managed to say. "Sentinel... co..." He coughed and gasped for air. "Sentinel's codes." He swallowed and hesitated to elaborate on what he was about to share with them as if it needed any suspense, but all he was looking for was a distraction. He finally opened his optics that settled on Tarantulas with surprising calmness as he stammered, "Ha... Have you... ever... tried... Open-saysa-me?" It was false of course, but while Tarantulas would be thinking about that, Primal immediately shifted his gaze to Blackarachnia and painfully rolled on to his side again, igniting the thruster on one of his feet which spun his body on the floor, and his stretched out leg gave a quick sweep-kick to her ankles to knock her over. Deactivating the thrust ((assuming she fell to the floor)), he swung his leg over her abdomen and slammed it hard on to her stomach, as hard as he could given his current condition. Angrily, he lifted his leg to do it again to expel his pain and rage on her since Tarantulas was out of his reach.

(( OOC: Tarry is out of OP's cell, right? Otherwise, I'd have Optimus attack him instead of BA. XD ))

-----

I dunno about infrared lad, but.. I do have some UV dye.. We use it to inspect leaks in cooling systems like radiators n' such. Some of us can already see in the UV spectrum, but those who can't can just use a blacklight n' he'll glow.

"Dat'll work," Rattrap agreed with Landslide adding a snap of his fingers.

Hrm.. Tella ya what, give me a bit an I can put together some dye marker rounds n' mix em' with buckshot so he doesn't catch on. It wouldn't be hard ta equip all of this.

"Good. No, the hard part will be ta actually hit the right guy on target."

I can't use it with the lightnin' gun though.. Fingers are too big to pull the trigger. But I'm sure yer familiar with these aren't you lad?

"Sure am," he assured the large beetle as he took the grenade launcher from him and examined it for a moment to familiarize himself with it before putting it away in his subspace. "See what you can do with dat UV dye," Rattrap told Landslide with a nod of confidence to him. He was sure glad that this guy was on their side!

"That's just it!," "The virus is going to be debilitating for the Predacons, too much so for them to pose much of a threat to our guys. We'll work on a cure for ourselves, of course, but this could potentially give us the edge over the Predacons." "Of course. Rhinox and I will get working on an antiviral agent that can be used as a cure," "It shouldn't take too long now that we've started to figure out how this thing works."

"I have no doubt of it's effectiveness as I felt what Optimus has been though since he was infected by it," "Aurora, is there a way you can change the effect of the virus? Maybe instead of inducing fear, induce a state of stasis or paralysis for as much time as we need to get Optimus and Nexus out?" "I know there is such a thing as paralyzing fear, but maybe we use the same type of thing...except without the fear component? Can that be done or would it take too much time?"

"Well, you can sorta keep track of how much time we got, right 'Grazer? I mean, if ya know what's goin' on with Optimus, den we have a pretty good idea how much time we got left ta work with. By de way, Optimus was infected, too, but how's he copin' with the virus and the Preds? And what was dat glow on his chest he kept zappin' himself with?" Rattrap's questions were directed toward both Whitegrazer and Aurora.

"We're making progress," "Soon we may even agree on proper bathing habits."

"I don't think so, Dino," Rattrap smirked, disagreeing with him just to be annoying.

"Of course," "Next time I will be sure to read minds as well as you, vermin!"

Picking up Dinobot's sarcasm, the rat shook his head and explained, "No, I mean, we coulda traded the disks fer Cheetor and Banshee instead of Optimus an' Nexus since you already had 'em. At least it coulda been something for the boss monkey ta bargain with but he had nothin'." His tone was more sorrowful than accusing. It was what it was, after all.

"I had, of course, intended to speak to Rhinox and Optimus about the disks, but the opportunity did not yet arrive where we could discuss privately,"

Yeah, sure ya did, thought Rattrap.

"Again, we agree....I do not, however, have to divulge anything to you! I shall speak privately with Optimus on the matter."

If we ever get 'im back...

"I am deeply ashamed that my actions resulted in Optimus' imprisonment and subsequent torture. It was not my intention that he take the blame for what I have done,"

We can only take yer word for dat, Rattrap thought bitterly and then sighed. He wasn't sure if Dinobot was sincere with words or not. The only way he could imagine the raptor gaining access to the Darksyde in order to retrieve the disks was to become a Predacon again and prove his loyalty to Megatron.

"As for my motives, I will say this much...it was purely to satisfy my own curiosity. I had no other plans for the disks then to study them," "I agree," "I shall do the honorable thing and return the stolen disks."

The TransMetal rodent studied Dinobot closely. Paranoia told him there was more the dinosaur was hiding but it appeared as though he was genuinely ashamed and bothered by what had transpired so far.

"Yes, they are safe. One is hidden in my quarters. The other is buried in neutral territory."

At least he did something right and the disks were safe from the Predacons' hands.

"Dinobot, you couldn't have known about what will transpire today," "It seemed Megatron was aiming for Optimus and Nexus personally anyway. Asking him about the disks was just a ploy to try and break him. I'm positive Optimus will forgive your actions." "Which one is hidden in your quarters, Dinobot,"

Yeah, Optimus would. Why did he trust so much? Dinobot was a traitor to both allegiances now. Sometimes Rattrap just didn't understand their leader's forgiveness and compassion. "Of course he was aimin' for them! Without Optimus, dey think we can't stand on our own and we'll just fall apart. Dat won't be the case this time," he said defiantly.

"I re-connected with Optimus."

Well, that was a relief. He could only imagine what they were doing to him, but hopefully Aurora wasn't. Those slagging Predacons were gonna get what was coming to them! Rattrap had gone back to the video feed to look at some of the logs. "Huh," he said as he noticed something. "Sentinel's signatures logged Optimus out of the base with Orcariner while the 'fake' Optimus was here releasin' Sonar. ...Or vicar verse. I don't see any indication of Nexus leavin' until those new Preds showed up and he left with me, Aurora and Whitegrazer. Dis guy's tricky but ain't nothin' gettin' past dese espionage eyes."

"Sorry to interupt your discussion but as I've clearly been away for too long, I need some answer to keep myself...updated."

"Was Optimus sure about her?" he asked no one in particular on bridge when Banshee showed herself. "She don't look like a Maximal to me..." Rattrap said softly with some uncertainty as if she wasn't standing right there listening.

Then, he finally addressed her, saying, "Banshee, right? Optimus knew who you were so I'm gonna assume you belong with us. Uh, you can only get answers with questions," he pointed out since she failed to supply any. But he went on with the important things that she should know if she didn't already. "You're on de Axalon... or what's left of it. It's prehistoric Earth. I'm Rattrap, dis is Whitegrazer, Dinobot, Aurora, Landslide, and Nemesis here is a Pred but she allegedly got exiled by somebody who's tryin' ta frame her and mess with us. We think he might be a shapeshifter since he seems to have flawlessly disguised himself as Optimus, unleashed a hallucinogen virus dat infected some of us and our Predacon P.O.W. Sonar. So don't touch anybody who's infected 'cause it might be contagious." He paused a second before adding, "Uh, none of us are, o'course. We're workin' on a plan ta get back our fearless leader since he exchanged his life for your's and Cheetor's. Questions?"

OOP: @Optimus: Ho boy, am I ever glad I sent the widows and an arachnoid into Primal's cell instead of Rants personally. Ya see kids, this is why having minions to do your dirty work is always a good idea


P.S. poor Banshee, probably wishes she could just bamf after hearing Rattrap's explanation of the craziness that goes on around this planet XD

((OOC: Loving this! Sorry for taking so long on my Blackarachnia post, guys. I will try to make one tonight or tommorrow. Hopefully.

Edited: Here it is!))

DarkSpark wrote:"Well now, isn't that an interesting sight?"

Blackarachnia was interested in it too, seeing the glowing blue on his chest, "What's going on inside you, Optimus Primal?" She got closer to the binding ape and study it closely, "I wonder if Megatron wouldn't mind if I cut you open and see what's inside?" She smirked as her pincher dug into his bronze chest.

Blackrose wrote:"I have something you need to see later."

"That's fine dear" Tarantulas replied, too invested in his interrogation and observation of Primal to worry about anything else right now, though glad Arachnitron had the sense not to discuss anything vital in front of Blackarachnia or Primal.

She hid a slight scorn in her face. She felt insulted by Tarantulas and Arachnitron's little gossiping. Especially behind her back.

OOP wrote: "You won't... be getting anything... from me,"

"Incorrect Primal, I will have your misery" Tarantulas answered coldly, tightening the bonds, this time by three levels...This would be painful for Primal, very, VERY, painful...Most bots armor would buckle under this much pressure, but Primal's inherent toughness, transmetal nature, and whatever was going on with his chest, assured Tarantulas he could endure this level of strain, but chances were he'd wish he couldn't.

She shook her head. If she had a spark, she might actually feel bad for the monkey. But she was evil to the core. She didn't give a skidplate.

She whistled as the bonds seemed to try and break into Optimus' tough armor. Watched as he choked and screamed, struggling to escape the pain. There was no escape from it, "Keep fighting it, Maximal. You are just making this all-too-fun for us and all-too-harder on you. But that's fine. I like dumb, tough guys sometimes. It's amusing." She chuckled at the monkey. Giving him a kick to the side. She had a stake in this. Little did people know. Some part of her wanted the Maximal leader to die... just in case he knew about the golden disks. If Tarantulas got tempted, he might just going inside Optimus' mind to get it. But she knew the Maximal leader would never give up important information to them. He would just die anyway. Maybe when no one is looking, she could... extract his mind and do it herself?

She looked upon Optimus' state with a wicked smile when Inferno interrupted the session.

Blackrose wrote: Arachnitron groaned. "I thought I told you no interruptions! Megatron's orders!" Arachnitron growled over the comm link to the ant. Her optics quickly switched to a bright red color in the heat of her anger towards the ant.

Blackrose wrote: "Fine," she snapped. She grabbed a few sets of the extra power bonds and stormed out of room.

Blackarachnia watched with interested as Arachnitron's optics changed colors then smirked towards Tarantulas, "Hmmm, looks like your chip needs seem calibrations?" She didn't care for the monkey hearing her, " I wonder how long it would take before she turns on you? The hybrid of hers. Nor Predacon nor Maximal." She wondered why Tarantulas picked the Hybrid persona. Maybe because of some reason he is hiding from her. Maybe something that she could access through the psychic link he created. After all, she seemed to get a lot of flashes of Tarantulas' past life that she was intrigued by yet disgusted. Feelings of smallness and something untouchable, it was unnerving and she hated that feeling. Though, she wondered if Arachnitron knew... certain details. She wondered if she still will be on his side. Hmmm.

"If you-"

"Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."

She sneered at Megatron's voice. Who cares?

Al..." He tried to say something but his voice was weak. His head felt warm and congested like someone who was holding their breath under a great deal of pressure. "All right..." Optimus finally managed to say. "Sentinel... co..." He coughed and gasped for air. "Sentinel's codes."

Optimus was trying to say something so she went back to her false sugary sweet persona, "Spill it out, Optimus. If you give us the codes, I will fetch you a banana!"

"Ha... Have you... ever... tried... Open-saysa-me?"

Before she realized she was too close to do anything, Optimus had pulled some stunt she should have saw coming! He ignited his jet thrusters which made her step back. His robotic monkey foot sweeped her across the floor. She let out a shout of surprise, growling at her own stupidity. For a Maximal who had been tortured, he still carried a punch. Or maybe it was just the transmetal forms? They were still foreign to her and it was aggravating that she DIDN'T HAVE ONE! She tried to get up, but he swung his leg again and it landed right on her stomach.

She felt the wrath of the Maximal leader. She couldn't even breath, move, or do anything but scream in pain at the weight being pressed into her agile form.

((OOC: Hey, this might be my longest post for BA yet! ))

((OOC: Okay guys...the reason why I couldn't post last night (in case you people don't know where I'm from and you think it's weird that our timezone is different, I'm from Singapore) was because...I went to a local island resort to watch talented people doing stunts, shows and all. No it's not a circus. So anyways, after we're done watching, it seems my dad forgot to turn off his car's signals and its battery died FLAT. We couldn't start it up by pushing the car since it's auto and not manual Ihavenoideaaboutcarz and we don't do the wire thingy to start it up. My parents called up their buddies and bros but none of them had the cables to start up the car sooooo...my mom thought of my cousin's husband who owns a workshop and BAM! He brought his heavy duty idontknowwhatthehellit is but it's a power bank that could charge up phones, laptops and even our dead car. We got back home past midnight and I was really sleepy. That's all.

Hmm...I'm sure RT would've complained that why our Little Miss Psychologist was the original crew member~ "WHY DO WE EVEN HAVE A PRED ON BOARD OUR SHIP IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" LOL! I'll post when I get back home.

EDIT: HERE'S MAH POSTIE~))

Banshee's right ear twitched when she heard Rattrap expressing his doubts and raised an optic ridge.

"Banshee, right? Optimus knew who you were so I'm gonna assume you belong with us. Uh, you can only get answers with questions, You're on de Axalon... or what's left of it. It's prehistoric Earth. I'm Rattrap, dis is Whitegrazer, Dinobot, Aurora, Landslide, and Nemesis here is a Pred but she allegedly got exiled by somebody who's tryin' ta frame her and mess with us. We think he might be a shapeshifter since he seems to have flawlessly disguised himself as Optimus, unleashed a hallucinogen virus dat infected some of us and our Predacon P.O.W. Sonar. So don't touch anybody who's infected 'cause it might be contagious. Uh, none of us are, o'course. We're workin' on a plan ta get back our fearless leader since he exchanged his life for your's and Cheetor's. Questions?"

"Prisoner..of war?! Since when did the exploration expedition became a war?!" she was in disbelief. The reason she quit the army and her career as a special psychologist and sign up for an exploration mission was to get away from extreme violence, not get herself into another one! She sighed heavily and rubbed her temples, "well now..I think that will have to wait.. Now, let's have a brief introduction from me before we discuss about our rescue mission. I am Doctor Xychona but you can call me Banshee since that was a name given to me by my old colleagues. I'm a previous soldier of the Cybertronian Army, a qualified psychologist and a Predacon but a crew member of the Axalon," she opened her subspace and took out a datapad, containing a brief information of herself and gave it to Rattrap, "my absence will be explained later after we rescue Primal. If you have any objections about me being your colleague, save it for later. How do we get our leader back?"

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

As Terrorsaur was distracted, Starshadow quickly took off flying to the skies before Megatron realizes she escaped. Freedom at last! But she needs to recharge but how..? The catbot decided to fly towards the Maximal's base, intending to land near it and wait for a lone bot to be her prey.

((Not much to post for Star but...I'm gonna leave an open option if you guys want to use her to spread the virus. :I ))

Sonar ignored most of the conversation as he was focused on something else.

"He may have been making a fool out of a lot of us if he could disguise himself. You're not the only one."

Sonar gave a soft annoyed growl.

"She'll be back. She's on the right track under the best she can."

Sonar blinked and shook his head, he could feel another episode rising; a tremor before the main event.

"Rhinox... I know you don't trust me as far you can throw... Me..." He spark was racing as the lines between illusion and reality started to blur. "But... I ask that you let go of my arm as..."

Sonar sent out a wave of sound, it cleared his vision slightly but the illusion was coming back reguardless.

"I feel another episode coming... Not the main event, but it's still going to be pretty bad. Again, I ask," He shook his head again as he started shaking.

"Please let go... of my arm, I'd rather not claw out your optics due to some illusion. Not when I'm trying to help cure this..."

"Dinobot, you couldn't have known about what will transpire today," she said calmly to the raptor. "It seemed Megatron was aiming for Optimus and Nexus personally anyway. Asking him about the disks was just a ploy to try and break him. I'm positive Optimus will forgive your actions."

"Yes, they are safe. One is hidden in my quarters. The other is buried in neutral territory."

Nemesis merely listened as the Maximals, including the Predacon traitor Dinobot, discussed the fate of Optimus and the golden disks. Her interest especially peaked when Dinobot revealed the whereabouts of the two disks, one buried at an unknown location and the other safely stored away in the raptor's quarters. Conveniently close by, if she could just get these nosy Maximals off her back and disable that blasted ankle tracking device the rodent had gifted her. It wasn't that she cared that they realized she'd taken it after the fact, but she'd rather take a subtle approach to avoid too much unwanted attention.

Nearby Rattrap was conversing with that older Maximal, discussing the use of specific weapons and even UV dye against Darkwind. She certainly wasn't about to protest such methods, provided they worked. Of course she'd have to find a way to counter these approaches should they decide to use them against her as well given her similar infrastructure and to a certain extent abilities to those of Darkwind. Although Nemesis would never admit it to anyone, she was a bit jealous.. no.. frustrated.. that Darkwind was apparently able to do much more than she was even though they had the same technology within.

"I re-connected with Optimus."

Aurora sent Whitegrazer a curious look that quickly turned worried. At least their connection proved that Optimus was still alive and in decent enough shape to maintain it, but the fact that the white mare had lost said connection for a while didn't exactly boost her confidence in the Predacons' handling their leader gently.

"I have no doubt of it's effectiveness as I felt what Optimus has been though since he was infected by it,"

And still she was opposed to implementing what could actually help them.. Aurora drew a sigh, whereas Nemesis shifted almost uncomfortably where she stood. Repressed memories from her time as a test subject started fighting their way to the surface, numerous tests involving different substances that were injected into them to test their new capabilities. She remembered the screams of horror and pain coming from the other holding cells, followed by pathetic whimpers and finally.. silence. Nemesis had always having assumed that those were the individuals that had been deemed as failures, the ones where the nanotechnology had not survived long enough to rid their bodies of whatever they had been inflicted with. The avian female remembered a terribly headache, nausea, and a brief feeling of panic arose within before it all settled down. Images of herself, her younger self even though she still looked the same age, stuck inside a small space, unable to move, unable to escape, flashed through her mind. Again she shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, you can sorta keep track of how much time we got, right 'Grazer? I mean, if ya know what's goin' on with Optimus, den we have a pretty good idea how much time we got left ta work with. By de way, Optimus was infected, too, but how's he copin' with the virus and the Preds? And what was dat glow on his chest he kept zappin' himself with?"

Oh, Nemesis knew all too well what that familiar glow was. What she was a bit less clear on was how Optimus had gotten his hands on it, and what the long-term effects of the nanotech in his system would be? They were not designed for him so Nemesis did not believe they remained active, unless, of course, something prompted them to wake up.. Something like a sudden surge of energy.

Now it was Aurora's turn to look uncomfortable, obviously knowing all too well what had happened. "Just an experiment of mine," she said, attempting to sound reassuring, "I've been working on this healing gel to assist us on the battlefield and Optimus volunteered to be a test subject."

"Aurora, is there a way you can change the effect of the virus? Maybe instead of inducing fear, induce a state of stasis or paralysis for as much time as we need to get Optimus and Nexus out?"

The small ermine's ears perked up immediately, her optics widening in wonder at the possibilities she had not even considered until this moment. "I.. actually have no idea," she grudgingly admitted, "It's a possibility I certainly can't rule out, and a very intriguing idea to boot! There's so much we still don't know about this virus, so much we have yet to understand. We don't even know where it came from, for instance, did this Darkwind guy make it himself?"

"No."

Nemesis' gaze hit the floor as she spoke up.

"He didn't make it. What he did was improve on a technology that already existed, one that he himself had been exposed to. As a result of this exposure we are both immune to it."


Aurora's jaw dropped.

Of course! How could she have missed such an obvious solution? Their cure had been in their clutches all along! "I.. I think I need to confer with Rhinox. Nemesis, please meet us in the lab as soon as you can," Aurora stuttered out as she started backtracking her steps back to the lab.

Nemesis did not get a chance to reply before the hyper little ermine had vanished as abruptly as she had showed up, but her attention was swiftly drawn towards Whitegrazer revisiting her earlier conversation with Dinobot. And no sooner had her own thoughts started lingering around acquiring the disks for herself, did the white female propose, or at least that's what Nemesis assumed she was doing, an equally promising venture.

"Nemesis, your opinion here would be greatly appreciated. We need to come up with a plan that gives you back your status amongst them, but also, gives you a chance to meet the bot who has wronged you greatly. Do you have any suggestions?"

Was the other female reading her thoughts..? And why was she so keen on helping her after everything that had transpired between them..? Nemesis wasn't quite sure what to respond, however, knowing fully well that the others would object if they knew what her thoughts on the matter were. Fortunately Rattrap again pulled their attention to the computer screen with another revelation.

"Sentinel's signatures logged Optimus out of the base with Orcariner while the 'fake' Optimus was here releasin' Sonar. ...Or vicar verse. I don't see any indication of Nexus leavin' until those new Preds showed up and he left with me, Aurora and Whitegrazer. Dis guy's tricky but ain't nothin' gettin' past dese espionage eyes."

Well.. The overall consensus seemed to be that this Nexus Prime shared more with Darkwind than a mere fondness of arriving at inopportune times. Nemesis rather looked forward to the inevitable discussion when.. if.. the Maximals managed to get their leaders back.

"I suppose a pardon could be arranged, so long as they behave themselves and fall in line. Anything else you would like to get off your chest plate? More mystery minions? Planted any bombs? I meant what I said, no more unwelcome surprises from this point onward if you wish to continue doing business with me, my tolerance for treachery and infighting has dwindled sharply since the beginning of this war, so if there is anything else that could endanger our fledgling friendship, for lack of a better word, I suspect you level with me now or risk my wrath later."

Zodiac smiled, an authentic yet bewildering gesture. "My dear Megatron, why do you think I informed you about this issue?" He left it at that, briefly turning around to watch the monitor as the tyrant ordered his troops to release his companions. The Predacon commander's mood was ever changing, going from rage to something resembling content within moments of each other, sometimes he even appeared to be both upset and with a lifted spirit all at once. Zodiac made no mention of this erratic behavior, merely filing the knowledge away like he always did.

"Indeed, there have been many rumors surrounding Primal and the equine as of late, I would have capitalized on their relationship sooner if I had known, but I agree the little fuzor being in harm's way would hurt him even more I suspect, yesssss" Megatron agreed, spirits lifted again as he activated the comms and announced to the crew "Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."

Indeed. The shapeshifter placed his hands on the console and leaned forward a bit, lost in concentration for a moment as he accessed all the information he had gathered on the fuzor. She was considerably smaller than him, her frame petite and fragile compared to his much larger and intimidating presence. He closed his optics for a moment, allowing the nanites to take over. The changes occurred rapidly, his size shrinking down to the point he could no longer keep his hands comfortably on the console, then his trunk and limbs took on the daunting task of replacing his own scales with fur as white as snow, ears appearing to grow out of his head, and a tail extending from the fur now covering his head. As the tip of the tail turned black, his impressive dragon wings began the transformation as well, taking on the delicate appearance of butterfly wings, and finally his eyes opened again to reveal the bright green color.

The fuzor drew a sigh as she turned around to face Megatron again, he was now an exact replica of the Maximal. And yet visually perfect as he looked, his voice remained the deep, powerful pitch of Zodiac's when he first addressed his Predacon ally.

"What a strange choice for an alternative mode," Aurora commented in that same deep voice before that, too, started changing. "But I digress.. We do have important business to take care of after all. Now then.."

By now the voice was also an exact match to the real Aurora, bringing about a rather twisted grin on the fuzor's face as he admired his work.

"Let's twist that knife.."

"Heheheheheheh, what's got into her exoskeleton?" Terrorsaur mused, laughing at the sight of the much smaller spider femme giving the towering Inferno an earful, the whole situation hilarious.

Inferno wondered the same thing as Arachnitron disappeared back through the doors. In the hallway, as they attempted to apprehend Starshadow, Arachnitron had dutifully contributed to their capture of the trecherous female. She had been timid and respectful in Megatron's presence. He had thought she had turned over a new leaf since what had happened between them at the Axalon. He had thought he had been a positive influence in her behavior, but now, he wasn't so sure. He was disappointed to see her display such an uncooperative attitude towards pleasing the royalty.

"Careful Inferno, or the little widow is gonna steal your "oh so important" title of subcommander right out from under you, eheheheh!" Terrorsaur mocked, taking the power bonds from Inferno, eager to place them on the prisoners, wondering if this is how the crooked cops Megatron and Cryotek used to payoff back on Cybertron felt.

Inferno scowled at Terrorsaur. He was right....she had been very demanding earlier even before her optics became red. How exaclty did that happen anyway? She had even been so bold as to bring up his past failures. Was she behaving in such a way because Megatron was no longer watching and because she wanted to be subcommander instead of Inferno?

Just then Inferno heard a voice speak up.

"Er..Welcome back! I see you've brought "friends". Megatron is waiting inside.

"Yeah, he's with Umbra and a seriously slagged maximal right now...Whats up with you?" Terrorsaur inquired, confused by the behavior of the usually confident cat pred, who was rarely if ever this friendly or skittish.

"They are not new recruits," Inferno corrected turning towards the voice of....Starshadow?!?!!

Inferno gasped in surprise. "How did you escape?!" he blurted out. "Terrorsaur! Secure her with the power bonds! She is a Predacon prisoner!"

But before Terrorsaur reacted, Starshadow took off to the skies!

Inferno pulled out his rocket launcher and fired after Starshadow as she flew away from the Predacon base. Megatron's voice came over the comms.

"Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."

"What? Seriously?" Terrorsaur groaned in response to Megatron's announcement, disappointed that his captives were being cut loose so soon before he had a chance to brag about his accomplishment, or even put the bonds on them!

"Guess you losers are free to go. Ugh, what a buzzkill" Terrorsaur grumbled, storing the bonds away in his personal pocket dimension, just in case he needed them later, always a good idea to swipe something potentially useful if ya felt no one was gonna immediately miss it.

"Terrorsaur," Inferno interupted. "Starshadow mustn't be allowed to escape! You and Waspinator....and the new recuits must go after her!" Inferno said frantically! Oh....the Royalty would have his head!!

Inferno opened up a link to Megatron. "Royalty. I am sorry to interrupt," Inferno said over the comms respectfully. "I must alert you to the fact that Starshadow has escaped!"

Inferno anxiously waited for Megatron's response.

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

Arachnitron returned to the room listening to the interrogation continue. Her anger towards the insufferable insect dissapated for the moment. She couldn't stand that horrible bug! First, he got in the way of her and the other spiders escaping the planet before the planet buster weapon could destroy the others- Predacon and Maximal alike! She disliked the retched creature then, but even more so after his stunt on the bridge.

"Attention Predacons, I shall explain the details later, but you may consider the two newcomers pardoned, their bail has been paid so to speak, yeesssss."

Arachnitron's optics flashed red again. She sent a nasty glare towards the door. "If he calls me out there again I swear......" Arachnitron growled under her breath in Inferno's direction. She hesitated while she waited to see if Inferno would call her back to get the bonds from the all-of-a-sudden new recruits, but no one tried to connect with her over the comms.

With her optics back to their green color, Arachnitron walked back over to Optimus' cell and the other spiders. Optimus had regained consciousness and Arachnitron's Hybrid personality was again feeling conflicted as she looked on silently. She really had felt like Tarantulas was the only one who cared about her well being....but then why did she feel so sad looking on as they tortured Optimus? She recalled the day she arrived as they were outside the Maximal base together after she told him about her others. She hadn't known until later that Nemesis had witnessed the transformation and she then attacked her and Optimus. He was there for her when the Predacon personality, sensing another Predacon present, short circuited her systems damaging her internally and leaving her unable to transform. Optimus was badly injured, but he carried her back into the Maximal base to safety. Yet, how could he allow the others to turn their backs on her? How could he just disregard everything she said about what happened the day Icebreaker died? Why couldn't he trust her story to be true?

Optimus' voice startled Arachnitron out of her thoughts.

"Al..." "All right..." Optimus finally managed to say. "Sentinel... co..." He coughed and gasped for air. "Sentinel's codes." "Ha... Have you... ever... tried... Open-saysa-me?"

Arachnitron scowled at the Maximal's attempt at a joke. "Just tell us so we can end this!!" she shouted at him in her mind. Why couldn't he just cooperate?
Suddenly, Optimus moved and in one swift motion, swept Blackarachnia off her feet and slammed his leg down on top of her stomach. Arachnitron pulled her energon pistol out of her holster.

"Optimus! Stop!" she shouted at him aiming her pistol at the Maximal. She tried to sound forceful and demanding, but she knew her lack of confidence and her continued confusion made her voice quiver slightly. "Don't make me do this," she begged him silently. She was so torn between her conflicting feelings....she didn't want to hurt Optimus, but she wanted to please Tarantulas. How could both feelings be so strong? Her optics flashed different shades of green again matching her conflicting emotions. But the inhibitor chip still held strong. The Hybrid was still in control. Her Maximal and Predacon programming were both safely subdued thanks to the chip, but the ideals that matched the two different programmings were still pretty clear in her mind. The chip didn't block that. Nor did the chip seem to have any affect on the feelings that each personality was feeling right now. How could she still feel that compassion that was strictly Maximal... feel so much hatred which was strictly Predacon....and be so devoted to and interested in Tarantulas which was a feeling only held by the Hybrid programming....all at the same time?

Her head ached with all the conflicting emotions, but she had heard Blackarachnia's comment about the chip possibly failing....how she knew about the chip, though was beyond her...it was probably something they shared between each other with that fancy psychic link. She seethed with jealousy as she thought about what else they might be talking about with the psychic link. Arachnitron figured all optics in the room were on her. So she took a deep breath and spoke again. This time her optics came back to their usual Hybrid hue and her voice didn't falter. "Let me just make one thing clear," she began, her gaze didn't leave Optimus as she spoke. "I am technically the one on guard duty here," she admitted, though didn't mention that it was a position given to her after tricking Inferno into believing it was what Megatron wanted. "If I feel like I need to shoot you I will, but I will more than likely be punished for that so don't make me do it. You will let Blackarachnia up and then you will stand up nice and slow. No more of this funny stuff. Just answer Tarantulas' questions." She was still conflicted about what she was feeling, but she knew the other spiders were nervous that her chip was failing. She wanted to be sure they knew that the Hybrid was still in control of the body and that she would do what she needed to do. She didn't want to, but she didn't want them to think that she was getting soft or that she couldn't handle being around Optimus. More importantly, she didn't want to disappoint Tarantulas.

OOC: Sorry, still need more time on the Dinobot part.