The Intergalactic Highway

((Sad to see you go DarkSpark, but as Una said real life does come first. Nevertheless, I hope things go well for you in the coming future and it's been nice playing with ya while it lasted. ))

Since the Quantum Surge, it seemed to take weeks or months before a pod would activate, either by chance of the systems needing time to reboot or something in the nearby environment disturbing it, jolting the pod's systems to activate. Some pods were fortunate enough to contain an intact protoform awaiting to be molded into a shape that was befitting the environment while others were shorted out with a no longer functional occupant which left the pod no better than a dud. But this was not such a random case, not this time.

A mysterious force was at work with this pod, seeming to trigger a spark of life in the pod itself which had been lying dormant, lost to sight and mind since it's crash which had left a scar in the ground before ending up wedged into a crevasse of the valley wall. "Systems online, damage detected." The dull, robotic voice spoke up as the form scanner having enough room in which to fold out and pop up, sending out the transparent yellow light to scan around the area for fitting life forms, albeit with one of the handful of times the scanner itself was affected by damage, whether from the crash or the surge wasn't quite clear. As if by chance though the scanner didn't take long to scan a now familiar sight in this jungle, a large male white tiger that happened to be within range and a passing rarity in nature, an albino red hawk soaring overhead, looking for it's next meal.

"Scanning complete." The robotic voice spoke, the scanner folding back into the compartment beneath the manual controls before the two animal forms flickered on the screen, all sorts of data of each flashing along with it but adapting the two forms into one integrative state, beginning to molding process of the form within. And the mysterious force that had awakened the pod where seemingly nothing else might came from the Vok themselves. They could have done so much more; they could have given this bot the power to regenerate like Nemesis or Zodiac, to feel the emotions of others like Whitegrazer, to give them the power over the very elements, the very weather if they had so wanted to...alas they had no such plans. For as the being inside took shape the activated pod had sent out a working signal to both bases indicating it's location and unknowingly seeming to add onto the chaos plaguing both sides.

Within, a pair of green optics blinked and flickered to life, peering at the clear dome top of his pod through a bird-shaped mask covering the top part of the tiger head. "Hmm..." A gruff, growling voice spoke from the awakened bot, feeling an odd sense of change in his form that felt trapped, confined to an all too small of space now where before it had been decently comfortable. "Open the hatch." The newly awakened Tigerhawk spoke up, the computer giving a sound of error. "Unable to open, hatch has been damaged in the crash." Came the response, causing a sigh to be leave the elder mech. "Wonderful." He mumbled, going for a more direct tactic as he began shaking and moving his form, trying to hit the top of the pod to break it but not getting the best angle as it caused the pod to rock back and forth, scrapping away some of the rocks keeping him there until he felt it give way, causing Tigerhawk to freeze. "That's...not a good sign."

Just as those words escaped his mouth, Tigerhawk was digging his form's new claws into the metal beneath him as the pod slid from the crevasse after so many months of being there only for the rocks that kept his pod from going further into the valley to come loose and send him flying from the valley side and crashing onto the steep incline, seemingly intact as it slid down with the fuzor inside. Hitting a rock jutting out along the way Tigerhawk found his pod flipping a few times, the force enough to crack the glass before it stopped onto a rocky platform of sorts, the pod finally stopping on it's side before falling onto the bottom once more. It's occupant groaned before throwing all his weight upwards to shatter the cracked covering, allowing him to spread his gray accented white wings, before pulling his disoriented Transmetal form out and flopping onto his stomach on the rocky surface, trying to allow the world to stop spinning before his very optics.

((And just for s*** and giggles, I figured I'd give a nod to the powers he once had. Thought some of you might get a kick out of that.))

(

DarkSpark wrote:OOC: Hi everyone, I truly regret having to do this, but I think the time has come for me to leave the game

Sorry to see ya go, but real life does come first. You can always come back when you want when things are less hectic though. Oddly enough I did find a page that has links to the Metal heroes videos, so I'll PM that to you. )

(Will post in this space later today.)

NaitoKage wrote:(

DarkSpark wrote:OOC: Hi everyone, I truly regret having to do this, but I think the time has come for me to leave the game

Sorry to see ya go, but real life does come first. You can always come back when you want when things are less hectic though. Oddly enough I did find a page that has links to the Metal heroes videos, so I'll PM that to you. )

(Will post in this space later today.)

OOC: I will seriously consider returning if & when things quiet down for me, but for now I just gotta take something off my plate of things to do during the week. Don't wanna make any promises, but I really appreciate the offer, thanks everyone, I'll miss you guys "returns to real life"

((OOC: Finally! I got this post done. I wished I did better with it, though, but this post was just hard for me to get written for some odd reason. Maybe just regular old writers' block. I hope I got everything. I'm so sleepy now. ))

"No, I don't believe you're responsible for their actions toward him," Rhinox admitted now, believing the mare. "That's an entirely separate circumstance that I believe is also no coincidence."

Whitegrazer had wondered herself why the Vok seemed so interested in Optimus. Maybe it wasn't interest per se, but he had been the only one who had directly talked with them. Especially after last time. She tried to see if she could remember something as to reason why the Vok took the time to warn him, so he could warn them about their intent to destroy them. Was it because they didn't believe to be necessary, believing their deaths were inevitable? Or was it their way of showing some type of mercy or respect despite their single-minded decision? Also, it made her wonder.... and realized she too had an interest. she wondered if... their reasoning might have affected her subconsciously. Optimus initiated the relationship, though. She smiled, remembering that moment in his office. It took her by surprise she admitted, but she wanted it too. She had... grew to admire and love the Maximal leader. She just didn't want to impose on his responsibilities, and she remembered TyCross's disapproval. And he still did disapprove. But when he asked, and wished for their relationship to grow closer, she couldn't say no. Like she told herself, she wanted it. That closeness.

"It's alright, Whitegrazer. Thank you for being honest with us. We shouldn't have 'attacked' you the way we did with our accusations. Perhaps the rest of your story should be reserved for Optimus, if you so choose. For now, you've given us enough clarification."

Whitegrazer held no anger or resentment towards Rhinox or Aurora's distrust and questions towards her. She smiled at Rhinox and Aurora, "You two had every right in wanting answers, especially with how suspicious I was acting towards you two. After the past two weeks, it is understandable. If I were your shoes, I would have probably done the same thing. I just hope that for the faith and trust you to have in me, that I don't disappoint you."

"I think the majority of us believe in that, Whitegrazer. Only time will tell if any of this will actually help us in the end. Until then, you are still part of this team and we still care about you, too," he assured her. "Optimus will understand. It will come as a shock at first, I'm certain, but he will eventually look beyond his emotions and see what's before him. He'll consider all that we've been through together and what truly matters for the entire crew. So don't be afraid to tell him. Don't underestimate him."

"As I do you. " Whitegrazer kept her smile. She did care about Rhinox and Aurora. Everyone on the Axalon, including Ironclaw. She didn't want whatever the aliens plan to do to succeed, and maybe this time, they could have the advantage. The upper hand. So that no one had to do what Optimus had to do last time. About Optimus, though. Part of her still hesitated, but she will take what Rhinox said into account. "I will think about it. Just give me some time."

"Why would you pick these Maximals of all creatures you could have adapted to?,"

She stared at Zodiac. Wondered if she should answer that question now. After all, as she was an alien, she could have picked Predacon or remained a neutral party. She choose the Maximals for a reason. She believed in their ideals, even if she disagreed with some of their race.

"Well, Zodiac, maybe I will tell you... later." She wanted to keep Zodiac guessing for awhile longer.

"And still the Maximal council is considered the heroes,"

"Everyone believes themselves to be the heroes in their own stories. The world isn't so black and white. I'm sure the High Council themselves believe what they are doing is in the best interest of their people. Of course, the same can be said about the Tripredicus Council and the Predacons. It's up to the people to stand up and tell them when they have gone too far or cross too far away from the line. After all, what are rulers without people to rule?" Whitegrazer walked over to Zodiac, who seemed to be standing up. "Both sides have done horrible things. No one can forget that. Maybe some day, all of us can acknowledge that. Maybe someday, we can trust each other or at least, build some mutual understanding. All it takes is a step, no matter how small."

"Fate is like predicting the future. It's impossible to do so because it hasn't happened yet and there are too many variables in every decision we make in order seal anyone's fate," Rhinox chimed in. "No one and nothing has control over the future, but you do have control over your choices in the present that will lead you to more paths that will straighten or split later down the road."

"Zodiac, I agree with Rhinox's words." Whitegrazer looked down at Aurora, wearing a warm smile, before she looked back at Zodiac, "There is still hope for you, Zodiac. I would like to help you. Also, I want to ask you... do you wish for me to re-open our link? I can, but only, only, if you want to."

At first, she wanted to keep the connection closed, but if her connection could help Zodiac, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She held out her hand towards Zodiac.


Blackarachnia's optics scanned through lots and lots of data from the aliens and from what the Maximals had, which, angrily, wasn't much. Not like their computers were as detailed as Tarantulas' or Megatron's. She had to add her knowledge, and hoped for the best as the Maximal's computer continued to run an analysis on Optimus' weird alien drawings. She yawned and stretched her legs up, laying them on the seat beside her when she heard the beeps.

"Ah!" She readjusted herself and looked up at the map. A pod has been activated. After all this time? "Optimus,I think you should come to the bridge. A pod ha just been activated in Sector 4. Coordinates 7-5-6." From what she could tell, that area was a jungle.

Three Maximals and... one Predacon? Ooooo do they have a prisoner for them to put in the brig? "Sentinel, identify the four incoming signatures."

"Signatures identifiy as Rhinox, Whitegrazer, Aurora, and... Zodiac."

Zodiac? the shapeshifter? She thought he was dead."I thought you guys said he fell in the lava and burnt into a crisp?

(Joint post bellow)
( Also wondering, was Tigerhawk supposed to be detected by the Axalon's sensors from waking up or not yet?)

Rattrap wrote:"No Preds yet, eh?""De next tower is a bit further off in de middle o' no where. Not exactly the best place ta get caught up in a tower,"

Cheetor gave a nod looking towards Rattrap Yeah, no sign of anyone.

Rattrap wrote: "Why don't you guys hang back a little bit from this one in case the Preds show up. Find a shady spot so you can surprise 'em and attack."

Cheetor gave a nod, hiding behind some rocks.


Waspinator continued on stopping by the tower, then looked towards Spineback as she spoke up.

Spineback wrote: "Hmm, they don't appear to have been messed with beyond changing the program."

Waspinator gave a nod starting to fly away towards the next tower. As he made his way, he suddenly heard the explosion of the tower Spineback was on. Eh?! Waspinator said to himself in surprise, turning looking back at the smoke coming from the tower. He then started to fly back cautiously to investigate.

Cheetor activated his comlink sending a call to Rattrap Cheetor to Rattrap, Predacons arrived like you said. Spineback is down from the trap and Waspinator might head your way.

As Waspinator came closer and heard Spineback call his name, Cheetor suddenly popped out from behind his rock hiding spot with his arms brought together, then fired off a blast into Waspinator's side AH! Waspinator shouted as the blast hit his side, taking the hit rather well as he then transformed to his robot mode, his toxic stinger mounted to his right arm, then strafes swiftly to the side as Cheetor fires another blast at him, then Waspinator starts opening fire rapidly on Cheetor as he starts to run, moving behind another boulder for cover.

____________________________________________

"His cargo? Alright.." Umbra removed Tarantulas from his back, observing one of the devices he was carrying on his back. Picking one up he looked it over carefully " I'm not really sure what these are.. some sort of scanner perhaps? I'll see if I can find more later my lord. Umbra out." Umbra put the device back with the others, then put Tarantulas onto his back, running along after Starshadow, he activated his comlink sending a call to her "Hey, Megatron wants us to investigate Tarantulas's lair if we can find it. Can't figure out what these devices he made are either.."
Starshadow came to a stop when the tracks led her to a cave. Bingo! His new lair was right infront of her. She walked inside, ignoring Umbra on the radio, looking at her surroundings with glowing energon on the cave walls. What she found was a computer, a web and a lab table with various chemicals and tools. Now all she needs is a pushcart.
Umbra continued on, following the tracks and Starshadow's foot prints, he then activated his radio again "Just to let you know, his lair could be trapped heavily.. you might want to be careful."

"I wouldn't know until I triggered it... " Starshadow found a pushcart and started packing Tarantulas' chemicals and tools in it. Maybe she could make the spider do her bidding once he comes crawling to her demanding his supplies to be returned, "if anything happens, I can count on you to rescue me~"
What did I just say?! She thought.

Coming to the entrance of the cave, Umbra set Tarantulas down and poked his wound once again with the poison blade applying another dose, he then responded to Star "If anything happens, you'll probably be poisoned or blown up. "

Starshadow rolled her optics at that, "Just...wait outside until I find something," Oh yes, she was going to make him wait while she escape through hiding in the darkness. She got what she came here for. The catbot had loaded up everything she needed and pushed the cart deeper inside the cave. There has to be another secret entrance leading outside and with any luck, disrupting her collar's signal.

Umbra lifted Tarantulas back onto his back, then made his way into the lair. He carefully looked around the room for any missteps, though he assumed the most trapped device was probably the computer. Noticing Starshadow not in the general area, he tried radioing her "I see your skipping off somewhere.. are you sure you want to do that?"

Starshadow sighed and the glowing areas on her body shined brighter, pushing the cart a little faster, hoping that the signal would be disrupted in time. Then she came to a stop when she saw a split road. Starshadow took a sniff and followed the faint scent of fresh air, picking up the pace.

As Starhshadow began to run, the cart suddenly stopped as a transparent web suddenly became visible sticking to the cart.

Umbra slid down his sonar visor, his camouflage matching the dark stone around him as he walked further into the cave. Moving further into the cave, a thin transparent webline along the ground suddenly makes contact with the cart causing the line to be tripped. a noise is then heard as a boulder comes slamming down on top of the cart.

Starshadow raised an optic ridge and pushed again but the cart would not budge. Whatever was infront of her needs to be removed. She stepped forward to check on what was blocking her way and got herself stuck in the web."GAH!" she struggled for a little bit and discharged some electricity to burned the web before moving on with her loot.


Umbra looked up with a slight smirk as he heard her scream, his visor displaying the sound coming from one of the forking directions in the cave. He continued walking, carefully looking around for traps as he went.

Starshadow was steaming with anger. Now with the supplies destroyed she activated her thrusters, flying through the multiple paths. Maybe it was a bad idea finding another entrance, especially when Umbra would not listen to anything she says.

Moving through the multiple paths, for a bit nothing seems to happen, but as Starshadow moved through the cave swiftly, she suddenly slammed into another web blindly.
Umbra looked around raising an optic ridge under his visor, hearing Starshadow's thrusters echo in the cave "Did she find a way out or is she just panicking?" he said to himself.
Starshadow once again burned the web. Since she was going to run into more webs and Umbra was getting closer, she walked calmly, pointing the electroblade infront of her to light the way better.

Using her electroblade as a torch, the light from the blade reflected on the surfaces of the cave, as well as revealing multiple webbed corridors, transparent lines, and even some spiked floor traps infront of her had she stepped blindly.

Umbra turned his head looking towards Tarantulas to make sure he was still unconscious. Coming to a stop, he shook his head, then started to turn back. There was no point in becoming lost in this cavern, and it indeed was rather heavily trapped. He turned on his comlink "If that's how your going to play, your not going to ever want to leave here.." Umbra said, then started to broadcast the collar's signal. Starshadow's collar beeped for a moment, then stopped as Umbra went back further through the cave, the dense rock and iron deposits blocking the signal.

A virus? He badger almost found that hard to believe. The scientist back on Cybertron had spent a great amount of time on weaponry which could counter these beasts which were... The "created". They had failed to come up with anything other than his own turret mode and gauntlet which used electricity and that only temporarily weakened them. Removing their abilities was something entirely different. If the High council got wind of this it would be used for their own agenda. Ironclaw made a mental note to speak to Aurora about this even though he wasn't quite sure about her.

For a moment the badger went very cagey when Optimus mentioned information. There was a lot of information that Optimus was not aware. Hidden from him due to his idealistic stance on just about everything. The High council knew what the ape was like and chose to keep him in the dark. Ironclaw understood this however, in this place, the secrets they kept on led to disaster. He almost said that it was classified but he felt too far gone for that.

"Most of my life Primal" he said pacing a bit. "I swore an oath, an oath not given up lightly." he sighed, it would bring a great shame upon him. Ironclaw didn't who or what to fight, feeling lost and without clarity of thought. He might not ever be able to go back to Cybertron. Sitting down on some crates, he pondered in silence.

(ooc: Well.. let's all keep our fingers crossed that DS will be back. In the meanwhile we'll probably have Megs take more of a backstage position.)

"Don't give him the satisfaction of his poisonous words, Aurora," Rhinox told the young Fuzor as he watched their exchange. "He's not worth your time."

Aurora lowered her gaze to the ground upon hearing Rhinox' advice, knowing that he was absolutely right. The renegade was merely goading her to get a reaction and she couldn't.. wouldn't.. let him succeed. "A pity we didn't disable his tongue as well," she muttered as she took a step closer to Rhinox, finding the larger male a good safety net to have around.

Zodiac sent them all in turn a glare. "You drag me back here to talk but when I do, you want me to shut up?"

"You know, there can be a fine line between abuse and self defense, and he'd sooner trust my words against yours."

The renegade raised his hands up in front of him in a submissive defensive gesture, not really wanting to pick a fight with Rhinox in the state the former shapeshifter was presently in. The rhinoceros had already proven his willingness to resort to violence when pushed far enough. Zodiac's still aching jaw was evidence enough of that.

"Point taken," the renegade responded, seemingly compliant.. for now.

He paused as he returned his gaze to the Axalon, that dreaded place he'd made such an effort to destroy. And yet somehow it was still standing, a little worse for wear perhaps due to all the repairs they had to make after Dirge's attack and then the alien weapon he had used against them. Still that wouldn't matter for long, for the aliens would surely make a move against them as soon as they noticed the signal. In fact he was a little surprised they hadn't made their presence known yet.

"So the High Council has worked with them,"

Aurora peeked over at Rhinox, a little confused by the politics involved in all of this. Since she had never been to Cybertron, the High Council or Maximal Elders or whatever else they were going by meant little to her. All she really knew of them was that they ruled Cybertron, seemingly with an iron fist.

Zodiac, on the other hand, had a hard time holding back a displeased sigh of contempt as soon as the Council was named. He had been brought up to believe they were the ultimate enemy and that everything they represented had to be torn down. Those had been his primary orders, but he foolishly had decided to take out how own personal revenge instead. And it had cost him dearly.

"Surely that doesn't surprise you," he muttered, his voice a little quieter than before.

The fuzor grew silent as Whitegrazer explained how her powers and unique technology had been taken advantage of, in order to create a Cybertronian hybrid. Finally the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall in place, explaining where Zodiac's advanced technology had come from. And quite frankly it made the fuzor feel a little sick to the stomach. It was a lot to take in for sure, but most if not all of her initial anger towards Whitegrazer for lying to them or at the very least concealing the truth was starting to fade away. She believed the other female was honest about never having intended to hurt them, and despite it all the fuzor still cared a great deal about the other female's well-being. She might not have originated on Cybertron but instead somewhere very different, somewhere.. unimaginable.. and quite frankly a bit provocative.. But that honestly wasn't important in the grand scheme of things.

She knew in her spark that Whitegrazer was very much so on their side. Whatever she had done with the Vok in the past, none of that was more important than where she was today. And now she was a Maximal, through and through. She was one of them.

"You two had every right in wanting answers, especially with how suspicious I was acting towards you two. After the past two weeks, it is understandable. If I were your shoes, I would have probably done the same thing. I just hope that for the faith and trust you to have in me, that I don't disappoint you."

Aurora looked to Whitegrazer and smiled ever so slightly, a reassuring and forgiving smile to let her know that it was okay. Hopefully the other female wouldn't hesitate long before telling Optimus all this, since Aurora knew this was a tough secret to keep. Sooner or later she was bound to say something that would clue their leader in on it.

"I will think about it. Just give me some time."

"Not too long," Aurora urged, not liking having to keep secrets from Optimus. It just didn't seem right. "But I'm sure Optimus will understand when you tell him about all of this. You're closer to him than anyone so I know he won't judge you for it."

Zodiac made a fake gagging notion at the sentimental goop these Maximals were coming up with but he refrained from commenting.

"My exile... has nothing to do with here. My exile.... I'm sorry. I can't say anymore."

"It's alright, Whitegrazer. Thank you for being honest with us. We shouldn't have 'attacked' you the way we did with our accusations. Perhaps the rest of your story should be reserved for Optimus, if you so choose. For now, you've given us enough clarification."

Zodiac was rather curious about what the taller of the two white females could have done to deserve exile from the Vok. It was true he had some interaction with the Vok as well and that they hadn't exactly parted on good terms, but that was because he had taken something of theirs for himself, never having been content with merely existing among them. They had hesitantly trusted him, as far as trust went where they were concerned, and he repaid them with treachery. As was his nature. But he had never truly been one of them, they only considered him a pawn. A half-breed. A failed experiment they hadn't initiated. They had tolerated his presence merely because his technology was of their making and even so they had tried to make him more compliant to their cause. And failed.

But the renegade didn't pursue the matter. Not now. Not yet. In due time he'd find out what she did, he was sure.

"Well, Zodiac, maybe I will tell you... later."

The renegade eyed her in return, not sure if there would even be a later opportunity for her to share these little moments of wisdom.. or lack thereof.. The Vok were generally not known to leave important matters unaddressed for long. Not now that they knew the planetbuster had failed at destroying their enemies. And surely they could put the pieces together and figure out he was involved since he had used one of their secret weapons to extract his revenge.

"Heroes,"

The captive dragon took note of the other male repeating his words, letting them dwell on the silence for a bit. There was evidently a change in the air, a change in attitude towards the Maximal Council who seemingly could do no wrong in the optics of Maximals everywhere. If nothing else came of this encounter, at least he could persuade them to turn on their leaders back home. Maybe. Provided Ironclaw didn't get in the way given his stubborn and blind devotion to someone who clearly did not have Cybertron's best interest at spark. Not all of Cybertron.

"Everyone believes themselves to be the heroes in their own stories. The world isn't so black and white. I'm sure the High Council themselves believe what they are doing is in the best interest of their people. Of course, the same can be said about the Tripredicus Council and the Predacons. It's up to the people to stand up and tell them when they have gone too far or cross too far away from the line. After all, what are rulers without people to rule? Both sides have done horrible things. No one can forget that. Maybe some day, all of us can acknowledge that. Maybe someday, we can trust each other or at least, build some mutual understanding. All it takes is a step, no matter how small."

The female did raise a valid point although Zodiac wouldn't go so far as to have considered himself the hero. The very term left a bit of a bad taste in his mouth. He worked mainly in the shadows, following the orders of others and carrying them out when it suited him. Having been created in an act of desperation to avoid a fate his kin considered worse than death, he had no trouble making difficult decisions and sacrifices when he had to.

He avoided her gaze as she approached, not wanting her to notice how uncomfortable he felt. And it was about to get worse when they got inside the base. Yet somehow he had a feeling the female already knew.

"Trust is a powerful word," he finally said after a long moment of silence. There weren't many individuals he had ever trusted. The few that he did were dead, killed on this planet by those very individuals they had come here to destroy.

"Fate is like predicting the future. It's impossible to do so because it hasn't happened yet and there are too many variables in every decision we make in order seal anyone's fate," Rhinox chimed in. "No one and nothing has control over the future, but you do have control over your choices in the present that will lead you to more paths that will straighten or split later down the road."

Zodiac didn't respond, not really having anything to say to elaborate on what the rhinoceros had said. Regardless of what the Maximal believed, the reality of the situation was that the past couldn't be changed. And a result of that past, Ironclaw was now inside the Axalon. And the renegade doubted any of the Maximals would be able to prevent him from merely attacking his unarmed and vulnerable foe. Zodiac would no doubt have done the same if the situation was reversed. Of course now that he was on the receiving end, he stood to lose so much more. Not because of Ironclaw, but rather because the Maximals were going to keep him a prisoner in the one place the aliens would surely come looking.

And when they found him, he stood to face far more serious consequences than he had thus far.

"Zodiac, I agree with Rhinox's words."

No surprise there. She might be of Vok heritage but she had clearly chosen these Maximals for a reason. And until she told him why that was, if she ever did, he could only presume she agreed with their ideals and compassionate nature. Well, for some of them anyway. Much like the Predacons, not all Maximals were alike. Ironclaw being one extreme while Optimus was another.

"There is still hope for you, Zodiac. I would like to help you. Also, I want to ask you... do you wish for me to re-open our link? I can, but only, only, if you want to."

Finally Zodiac looked over at her, his iridescent dark optics settling on hers.

"You're kidding, right?," he asked her after a brief pause. "I finally got you out of my head, my thoughts my own again, and you think I will even consider welcoming you back?"

He snorted at her offer, dismissing it further with a wave of his hand.

"Let's go, Zodiac,"

It would appear his last few moments of relative freedom were about to come to an end. Yet the renegade hesitated, his legs remained firmly planted on the ground as he refused to budge. Something didn't feel.. right. And he was starting to develop a headache.

Aurora watched on for a moment or two, briefly wondering why Zodiac grabbed his head while forming a pained grimace on his face. A second later the renegade fell to his knees, clutching his head as he curled up into a ball on the ground.

"What the..?," she started, unsure what to do. What was going on?!

After their captive hadn't moved for several more seconds, Aurora finally dared to approach him. What was the worst that could happen anyway? He was seriously wounded, unarmed, and surrounded by Maximals. "Zodiac..?," she asked, her voice softer than it had been while addressing the renegade before.

No response.

She took a step closer, remaining at arm's length from the motionless figure. The male was almost completely covered by his large, black wings, his only movement caused by the breaths he was taking. Growing more uneasy still, Aurora turned to Whitegrazer hoping the female would have a suggestion.

That's when the blow came. A swift, unpredictable movement of the arm slammed into the fuzor, the blow powerful enough to send her crashing hard into Rhinox. Aurora whimpered from the impact, which left her with multiple dents and scrapes and most of her body throbbing from the pain of two impacts in rapid succession, before she dropped down to the unforgiving hard surface of the ground.

Zodiac stood up straight, his face with a strangely blank expression and his body seemingly a lot stronger than his wounds should have allowed. In a sense it was as if he was a completely different individual, certainly a lot more menacing than he had been mere moments before. Eyeing his opponents, he made the decision to take out the one he considered to be the greater threat of the two first. So he immediately went for Rhinox' weapons with a surprising burst of speed, grabbing for them both simultaneously while his foes were still distracted by the sudden development.

(( OOC: Yes, that's fine, Wintersong. And great joint post, Winter and una! It's a bit mysterious since you hardly mentioned any names and I'm mostly lost as to the Vok are referring to, but well done. And a great entrance for Tigerhawk as well. If anyone is interested in picking up Megatron, Terrorsaur and Inferno, then feel free to do so. It would be greatly appreciated. I don't have the time to add more characters to my list. As much as I'd love to play Megs, I think it would be very difficult for me to control two commanding officers who lead so many other characters. ))

"Most of my life Primal"

Ironclaw seemed to maintain his vagueness even with the simplest of questions to which Optimus merely wanted to get to know him better. However, if the badger was sworn to secrecy, then he doubted he'd ever get him to have a casual and personal conversation, even if it was off the record. It was admirable, and Primal respected that, but it offered him nothing except that the more robust and slightly taller bot was quite experienced and skilled at what he did. The leader wondered if Ironclaw knew anything beyond his killing and extreme loyalty to the Elders. It was true that Optimus certainly didn't, he was still young after all, and he was sure he had been purposely left in shadows about many other doings and secrets behind those closed doors of the Council.

"I swore an oath, an oath not given up lightly."

"An oath that might have benefited someone else and not the greater good of Cybertron," he calmly commented, almost thoughtfully to himself while he watched Ironclaw pace until he sat down on some crates. He appeared a little anxious, perhaps lost with his purpose now that he was stranded here with the rest of them and his targets were destroyed. What kind of a life was that? It reminded Optimus of some of Megatron's most loyal servants over there at the Darksyde, like Scorponok, Inferno and Deathroll. What would they do without their "Queen"? Primal was at a loss for words at the moment. He had already offered the badger to help them, almost pleadingly, and he felt that no matter what he said, Ironclaw might disregard him and stick to his oath. And what had that oath included? Death to those who betrayed the Council, those who were their "property" like Nemesis and Zodiac? Did that include Optimus and his crew?

Instead of badgering Ironclaw further who fell silent in his own thoughts, or boring him with any more lectures, Optimus relaxed a little and turned away. Then, there was a wink of pain his head again that made him close his eyes; a flash from something that was very distant from Earth but also right there. With a deep huff to exhale the temporary headache, he didn't know what exactly caused it, but he might soon find out...

"Optimus, I think you should come to the bridge. A pod has just been activated in Sector 4. Coordinates 7-5-6."

A pod?! he thought with great anticipation and eagerness to rescue whoever had been activated. But then he thought about it some more. A pod... What he felt from his head was more of alien in nature, like what he had dealt with earlier that morning that woke him up and caused him to write and draw all over his quarters. "On my way," he returned to Blackarachnia and left Ironclaw in the hangar with Landslide, jogging through the corridors with his faint limp and made his way to the bridge.

Upon arriving, his orange optics were first drawn to the black widow and the monitor in front of her showing all of her scans from his quarters and comparing them to what little comprehensible information Dinobot had been able to download from the alien disk before they were forced to return it to Megatron. Stepping closer to her, he observed the signature from the pod and made note of the territory.

"Rattrap, abort your mission and converge on coordinates 7-5-6 in Sector 4. A stasis pod has just been activated there. Use extreme caution. Do you copy?" Optimus sent through the Axalon's communication.

"Rattrap, abort your mission ... converge on coordinates ...-6 in Sector 4. A ... pod ... been activated there. ... extreme caution. Do you copy?"

Although the reprogrammed jamming stations were helping, communication was still sketchy since Rattrap, Cheetor and Wintersong hadn't reached all of them yet and they were now further away from Base. Still, it was better than nothing. "Can you repeat dose coordinates?" Rattrap returned to their fearless leader as he finished up the tower he was working on.

"Seven-five-six," Optimus resent.

"Copy dat. Eh, use extreme caution?" he questioned.

"Yes," he reiterated.

"What about ... alien site?"

"What alien site?" Primal asked, suddenly concerned and a bit bewildered. Did he miss something? Well, there was no time now to discuss it. They had to get to the pod before the Predacons would. "Leave it. It can wait," he decided.

"Copy," Rattrap ended with a shrug. "Guess nobody told 'im yet," he concluded to himself, hearing the hint of irritation in Primal's voice, assuming Rhinox's team hadn't reached the Axalon yet. Were they okay? Was Zodiac up to no good again?

"I thought you guys said he fell in the lava and burnt into a crisp?

Puzzled by Blackarachnia's words, uncertain as to what she was talking about, Primal spotted the inbound signatures on the screen nearby and read the identities staring at the last one; Zodiac. Zodiac...? That's... That's not possible. He stared at it for what seemed like an eternity, confused as his spark felt like it suddenly jumped into his throat. "Sentinel," Optimus choked a little on his words in disbelief, licking the scar across his mouth, "re-scan those signatures."

"Acknowledged. Scanning complete. Signatures identified as units Rhinox, Whitegrazer, Aurora, Zodiac."

"...Statuses...," he asked of the computer system too softly for it to understand, practically in a whisper.

"Unable to comply. Please repeat."

"What are their statuses?" Primal demanded more firmly and loudly.

"Unit Rhinox: functioning at 100%. Unit Whitegrazer: functioning at 100%. Unit Aurora: functioning at 100%. Unit Zodiac: functioning at 40%."

So, not only was he still alive and not even in stasis lock, but he was some how functioning well enough to have been wandering around and using every other basic operating system he had with his processor. He had a slight sigh of relief knowing his Maximals were alright after Sentinel's disclosure, but how did they come across Zodiac? Or did he come across them? Where was he? How did he survive? "Impossible," he muttered as he continued to stare at the screen, lost for any explanation. He sure was facing that a lot lately, though; incredible improbabilities. "I saw him... fall..." There was suddenly so much to contemplate. Had Zodiac meant what he said that almost lead Primal to believe that despite everything he could be redeemed? Was Zodiac at their mercy and protection? Had he regained his abilities in order survive his plummet into the lava? Had he taken his three Maximals as hostage? How was Ironclaw going to react to this development since it meant that his mission was renewed? He couldn't allow him to kill him. Optimus needed to question him. He needed that truth serum to make him speak honestly. The desire for needing to know hit the leader full frontal all over again. Angry, sad, relieved, curious, and a little bit of fear were all swirling inside of him, but on the outside, he simply continued to stare at the blinking blips on the monitor, uncertain as to how to even confront the renegade this time...

"Rhinox... Bring him in through the hangar," Primal ordered from his comm. link.

-----

"You two had every right in wanting answers, especially with how suspicious I was acting towards you two. After the past two weeks, it is understandable. If I were your shoes, I would have probably done the same thing. I just hope that for the faith and trust you to have in me, that I don't disappoint you."

Disappointment was not something Rhinox was caring about too much of at that point, since they were about to bring Zodiac inside there was much more on his mind now as there probably was on everyone's minds.

"As I do you."

The engineer gave Whitegrazer a small smile.

"I will think about it. Just give me some time."

"Not too long," "But I'm sure Optimus will understand when you tell him about all of this. You're closer to him than anyone so I know he won't judge you for it."

Rhinox agreed with Aurora. What was there to think? He needed to know, and soon. But Rhinox didn't push the matter any further. Not right now, anyway.

"A pity we didn't disable his tongue as well,"

Aurora managed to make Rhinox smirk with her comment, imagining Zodiac without a tongue so his cruel and sarcastic comments would be silenced. "That can be arranged. ...After he talks to Optimus," he said, slightly teasing.

"You drag me back here to talk but when I do, you want me to shut up?"

"First of all, it's not us who want to talk to you, just Optimus. Secondly, it's one thing to converse in peace, it's entirely another to make threatening gestures," Rhinox told Zodiac.

"Point taken,"

The engineer narrowed his red optics at the hybrid for a moment, skeptical of his words despite agreeing to cooperate.

"Surely that doesn't surprise you,"

"Not at all. Not anymore. It merely confirms my growing suspicions," he told the other male present.

"Everyone believes themselves to be the heroes in their own stories. The world isn't so black and white. I'm sure the High Council themselves believe what they are doing is in the best interest of their people. Of course, the same can be said about the Tripredicus Council and the Predacons. It's up to the people to stand up and tell them when they have gone too far or cross too far away from the line. After all, what are rulers without people to rule?" "Both sides have done horrible things. No one can forget that. Maybe some day, all of us can acknowledge that. Maybe someday, we can trust each other or at least, build some mutual understanding. All it takes is a step, no matter how small."

Whitegrazer was right about that.

"Trust is a powerful word,"

It wasn't so much the word itself to Rhinox, but the meaning and the actions that one had to maintain in order to earn that word's meaning and make it more valuable than just a term that was so loosely used when it should be held in higher regard.

"Zodiac, I agree with Rhinox's words." "There is still hope for you, Zodiac. I would like to help you. Also, I want to ask you... do you wish for me to re-open our link? I can, but only, only, if you want to."

Rhinox was beginning to wonder if Whitegrazer was on the verge of insanity. She still shared a link with Optimus, so would she really risk putting both of them into her head again since her previous communication with Zodiac was terminated? He didn't think it was a good idea, but she would know what she could handle. Some how, though, he doubted Zodiac would want her in his head again.

"You're kidding, right?," "I finally got you out of my head, my thoughts my own again, and you think I will even consider welcoming you back?"

And there it was, Zodiac's inevitable refusal. Now, was she going to honor it? She might as well since they still had the truth serum they could use on him.

"Rhinox... Bring him in through the hangar,"

Primal's voice, full of uncertainty and unsteadiness, came through on his comm. link. It actually made him swallow a little bit. He must have known who they had in their possession because of the base's scanners picking up their signatures since they were in range. "As you wish," Rhinox complied. While the renegade hesitated to move after Rhinox told him to, he was just about to give him a nudge when Zodiac held his hand to his head, watching his face twist a little bit in pain. Now what was his problem? "Zodiac, enough with the games and the delays," Rhinox told him impatiently. But he stepped back when the black bot collapsed to his knees.

"What the..?,"

"Zodiac?" the engineer called his name to get to him to focus or speak, while holding his palm up to Aurora, signaling her to stay back. "Stay on the transport, Aurora." Their prisoner remained still on the ground and either unable or unwilling to tell them what was wrong. Was it just a trick?

"Zodiac..?,"

Aurora ignored Rhinox and moved closer to the unpredictable bot seemingly dealing with some kind of anguish. Was his body succumbing to his injuries? Zodiac kept very still, hunched over on his knees with his large, wounded black wings draped over him. They couldn't see his face or arms and legs which made him dangerous now, for any action he might make would come with no warning simply because they couldn't see anything under his wings that were acting like curtains. And that's precisely what happened next. As soon as Aurora turned away to look to Whitegrazer for an answer on his odd behavior, Zodiac suddenly hammered his arm into the smallest Maximal, completely knocking her off her feet and into Rhinox's lower abdomen and legs. He quickly knelt down to assess her wounds and pull her away from Zodiac, frowning in concern for her well being before growing angry at their enemy and pulling out one of his chain guns of doom. But before he could even stand up and fire upon him, Zodiac's face null of any expressions like chiseled rock, the hybrid lunged at Rhinox for his weapon. The heavy Maximal only had enough time to swing his gun away from his fast reach while trying to maintain his balance with his other arm so he wouldn't fall over on to Aurora. Zodiac's force caused him to drop his big gun which skidded across the ground away from them. But he didn't let him off that that easy. Rhinox, still kneeling on the ground, crossed his arms out in front of his chest and used his feet and legs to push himself upward into the former shapeshifter's stomach with as much force and weight that he could muster from that position.

-----

"Quite a master piece. Who knew you were the artistic type Rattrap."

"Thank you," Rattrap had bowed to Wintersong and then put the tips of his fingers to his mouth, teasingly adding a kissing noise which was immediately followed by pulling his hand away toward the sky, as if he was giving a blessing to his artwork of sabotage.

"Will do, just try to become target practice."

"Hah," the rodent chuckled while he worked.

Yeah, no sign of anyone.

"Alright. We got new orders, guys" Rattrap began but was cut off when he heard an explosion not too far from them and saw the smoke rising on the horizon. It sounded like it was one of his booby-traps, and he couldn't help but grin in a devious way.

Cheetor to Rattrap, Predacons arrived like you said. Spineback is down from the trap and Waspinator might head your way.

"Serves 'er right," he smirked over their transmission. "Alright, thanks, kid," he said as he hurried to pack up his tools. Soon after, he heard the gun fire between Cheetor and Waspinator and ran off in their direction to help his fellow teammate.

"Stay where you are, Winter, in case more Preds show up or Spineback attacks, you'd still have the element of surprise," the Spy told the tigress. Running toward Cheetor's position, he pulled out his gun and opened fire on the TransMetal wasp.

"Beat it, bug!" he yelled up at him without letting up on his gunfire.

"We gotta go check out a pod dat was just activated in Sector 4 per Optimus' orders," Rattrap told Cheetor. "Coordinates are 7-5-6. You go since yer faster, an' me and Winter will catch up. But be careful! Optimus warned ta take extreme precautions." Then he began giving the flying cat some cover fire. "Now!"

"Not too long," Aurora urged, not liking having to keep secrets from Optimus. It just didn't seem right. "But I'm sure Optimus will understand when you tell him about all of this. You're closer to him than anyone so I know he won't judge you for it."

Whitegrazer just smiled at the little one. She understood Rhinox and Aurora's persistence in having her talk to Optimus, but a part of her hesitated. Hesitated because of Optimus' dealings with the aliens. The probe... The clone... Those painful intensive scans back in the bunaglow... Even though it wasn't the aliens who sent Optimus to his "death" inside the Planet Buster, if the aliens didn't try to destroy them, that wouldn't had happened. She wasn't going to assume how Optimus would react, but she knew she had to treat it a delicate as she could. Especially since Optimus would found out that Zodiac was alive.

"Trust is a powerful word,"

"Yes, and it would be difficult for all parties involved, but not impossible. It would just take time, if we work at it." Though what she said about the Maximal and Predacon situation was true, it was no doubt even more true to the situation with Zodiac and the others. Rhinox and Aurora proved that much, but their anger and distrust was understandable due to Zodiac's own actions. If Zodiac was willing for change and if her guidance over him was successful, maybe those feelings from the other Maximal might dissipate. There was a chance for forgiveness and trust on both sides. But she knew that what she was hoping for has yet to be started. The fate of Zodiac and what he choose to be is still up in the air. Though she wishes for Zodiac to have that chance, if he choose to continue despite it all, then... what happens would be Zodiac's own doing. And her failure.

"You're kidding, right?," he asked her after a brief pause. "I finally got you out of my head, my thoughts my own again, and you think I will even consider welcoming you back?"

"Despite how our connection came into fruition, the connection did help us in understanding each other." She saw Rhinox's disapproval of such a thing. But like last time, she would create a barrier between her connection toward Zodiac and Optimus, so they wouldn't interact. "But if you don't wish it, then I will honor your decision."

It was then she felt an overwhelming flood of intense emotions coming from her connection with Optimus. Like Rhinox, she realized their close proximity would have alerted anyone on the bridge of their approach. Sentinel no doubt scanned and relied their information to the computers. She closed her optics, as she reached out towards him with warmth, trying to comfort his thoughts. It came as a shock to me as well. I thought he had perished but he had not.

Opening her optics, suddenly, Zodiac seemed to stop and grunt in pain. Aurora was getting too close. Her thoughts were the same a Rhinox's, thinking that Zodiac's injuries were paining him. Aurora looked at her then, without warning, Zodiac's arm hit Aurora a loud smack of metal against metal. She watched Aurora thrown like a ragdoll towards Rhinox. "Aurora!"

Zodiac stared at Rhinox and her with a blank expression on his face. "Zodiac?" His eyes looked at her then at Rhinox. He lunged at and attacked Rhinox! Why was he doing this? Was he frightened by the aspect of being a prisoner with people who he saw as enemies and might gain retribution toward him? Did his nanomachines reactivate and healed his enough to actually have the strength to attack them. It all happened so fast, but she needed to do something fast. This could ruin any chance for him. If the others came out, which would be the action she deduce since using the autobuns might harm them along with Zodiac, they would attack full force on Zodiac. What if Ironclaw....

Whitegrazer realized what she had to do. She must end this without anyone getting hurt, including Zodiac as well. There was only one way to do it, but she didn't like it.

"I'm sorry, Zodiac... There is no other way." She closed her optics, preparing herself, calming herself to help in her mental ability to create the ame barrier as before between Optimus and Zodiac, and focused on Zodiac. Her hand reached out just as their connection reestablished with no fight, as Zodiac was too busy fighting Rhinox to notice. Zodiac... You must cease. She sensed...confusion. Something with Zodiac... What was wrong? Zodiac... why did you attack us?

Her thoughts wondered. When Zodiac was thinking about who to attack first, he didn't attack her. But Rhinox. She looked at Aurora who was still down and whimpred. Her spark ached for the little one, but Aurora would be all right. If she couldn't get Zodiac to stop, she would have to think of something else. something before the others interfered in attempt to help them.

Megatron leaned back in his chair, dispassionately eyeing the cluttered desk in front of him. His underlings had wisely left to do his bidding, leaving him by himself.. Well, aside from the secretary drone who was frantically working on cleaning up and organizing after the master's meeting. Not that Megatron minded the solitude, oh nooo, he thrived in it in fact. It gave him a chance to gather his thoughts and work on his plans. And despite some interruptions from those pesky Maximals, most of his hard work was starting to pay off. Nemesis had located another potential ally in the form of another Decepticon, Deathroll was proving quite useful in creating a distraction for the Maximals by putting up those jamming towers, and Umbra and that troublesome she-cat had just brought Tarantulas back to the Darksyde and were now investigating his secret lair.

Indeed. If it wasn't for the situation with the Vok signal alerting the aliens of the Cybertronian's continued existence, the tyrant would have allowed himself some personal time in the tub with his favorite rubber ducky. Alas that would have to wait.

A signal from a couple of the jamming towers alerted him that the Maximals were succeeding in their attempt to sabotage him, a fact that extracted a frown from the Predacon lord and ultimate commander. Where were his troops?! The initial rage over the slackers at his command being too slow with getting there quickly gave way to a genuine curiosity when the Maximals suddenly departed the area, leaving the remaining jamming towers intact. But why did they leave?

He got his answer moments later when the computer gave the notification that a stasis pod had activated in neutral territory between the two bases.

"Predacons, halt whatever you are doing and retrieve the pod and its content from coordinates 7-5-6!," the tyrant demanded of his troops. This protoform would not fall into Maximal hands, nooo!

"That can be arranged. ...After he talks to Optimus,"

Aurora smiled at Rhinox' response but perhaps more so at the grimace their captive sent them after hearing their ongoing joke. Personally the fuzor wasn't entirely sure why Optimus was so keen on talking to this guy again after everything he had done, specifically targeting the Maximal leader and all. The smaller of the females was more inclined to just lock him up and throw away the key, but she did realize that was sadly not an option. It wasn't how Maximals operated, no matter how much their foes might deserve it.

"Maybe we should let Optimus know we're here," the fuzor mused since they were now well out of the jamming tower's range. It was only fair to give their leader a chance to prepare himself, provided Sentinel hadn't already let them all know they were inbound.

"First of all, it's not us who want to talk to you, just Optimus. Secondly, it's one thing to converse in peace, it's entirely another to make threatening gestures,"

Zodiac put on a face of perfect innocence. "Even if I did such a thing, they would only have been simple gestures. I'm hardly in a position to make genuine threats." He raised his hands up a bit defensively in front of himself as he spoke before settling into a submissive pose.

"Not at all. Not anymore. It merely confirms my growing suspicions,"

"Suspicions regarding the Maximal Elders?," Aurora chipped in, having missed some of the conversation between Zodiac and Rhinox moments before. She really didn't know what to think of this Maximal High Council. Who were they anyway? How had they come into power? And if Zodiac and Rhinox were right about them, or at least from what she could decipher from their conversation, the Council's corruption spread further than any of them could have imagined.

Zodiac shook his head, not feeling like clarifying something that should be so blatantly obvious.

Aurora glanced over at Whitegrazer again, taking in that bewildering smile the white mare often had on her face. If anything, Aurora was even more confused of what fueled that endless optimism and caring personality now that she knew Whitegrazer originated within the Vok collective. Or at the very least had lived among them for some of her life. How she had become Cybertronian in nature was still a mystery but her very nature was so different from the otherwise coldhearted and vindictive alien encounters the fuzor had experienced so far. She just couldn't wrap her mind around how Whitegrazer could be one of them..

"Yes, and it would be difficult for all parties involved, but not impossible. It would just take time, if we work at it."

Zodiac responded with a shrug of the shoulders, ignoring the dull ache radiating from the shoulder that had been damaged during the battle two weeks prior. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had been when the wound was still fresh, but it certainly was noticeable still.

"Despite how our connection came into fruition, the connection did help us in understanding each other." She saw Rhinox's disapproval of such a thing. But like last time, she would create a barrier between her connection toward Zodiac and Optimus, so they wouldn't interact. "But if you don't wish it, then I will honor your decision."

He finally met her gaze when she spoke those words. Truth be told he understood her even less now than before that connection had formed and he briefly wondered why Optimus seemed to relish from remaining permanently linked to the female when he had hated it so. Well, at least it was in the past now.

"I would appreciate that," he told her, placing the emphasis on the word showing the emotional impact such a gesture would have on him. He didn't sound grateful, humble or any of the sort. Aurora wasn't sure the renegade was capable of that.

The sudden overwhelming headache quickly brought him to his knees and for a moment he wondered if it was somehow her doing. It seemed familiar, though, and for a moment he thought he heard whispers in a strange language.. A unique, foreign, yet strangely familiar language. He recognized it from an era long gone, a time he spent in the service of someone he had dreaded ever since.

"Stay on the transport, Aurora."

The fuzor heard Rhinox' warning but right now the former shapeshifter seemed to be no threat so she allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. And soon came to regret that decision as she found herself laying in a heap on the ground, softly whimpering from the sudden attack. She wasn't seriously injured, thank goodness, but it still hurt quite a lot.

He grabbed his head, clutching it tightly as if he could squeeze their presence out. But it was to no avail. The whispers just kept getting louder, soon making an overwhelming amount of noise in his head. The renegade let out a faint groan, his wings covering him like a protective sheath and sheltering him from the peering optics of the Maximals. Yet he was barely aware of them anymore, the voices in his head starting a process he couldn't resist. He was barely even aware of himself as he stood up and made his initial lunge against the other male, deeming him the most dangerous of the Maximals present and thus the one he'd have to rid himself of the fastest.

His target used his own mass as a weapon as he brought his fists up against the hybrid's stomach. Yet somehow the impact didn't have the same effect it normally would, the renegade apparently oblivious to the pain that was inflicted upon him right now. He stopped his initial attack, instead slamming both hands down against the center of Rhinox' spine to try to knock him off balance.

Rhinox, taken aback by his maneuver failing to slow Zodiac's attack down let alone stop it, released a gasp and twisted his body at the last moment before his opponent's hands could connect with his back. Instead, his arm took the brunt of his blow and he grumbled under his breath as his body was slammed to the ground on his side. How did Zodiac suddenly have so much strength and immunity to pain? The larger Maximal reached for the renegade's ankle to grab it pull it as hard as he could in order to knock Zodiac down.

The renegade was moving back to put a little distance between himself and his target when Rhinox suddenly grabbed for his leg, latching on and nearly knocking him off balance in the process. Zodiac responded by using his free leg to kick his foe as hard as he could, a well placed kick to the face, before the strain on his leg became too much to keep himself balanced. He crashed down on his back with a growl before using his free leg to kick the other male again in an attempt to free up his ankle.

By the time Rhinox saw what was coming, which was the bottom of Zodiac's foot, it was too late. It slammed into his face, snapping his head back and rolling his heavy body on to his back, causing him to release his ankle before the next kick could make contact. It nearly rendered him unconscious. His vision blurry, he desperately tried to correct it while he heard Zodiac fall to the ground, causing a vibration that the engineer could feel under his back. Moving his jaw around, Rhinox sat up and spit out a tooth on to the dirt, ignoring the pain that covered his face. While Zodiac was down, the rhinoceros moved as quickly as he could on his knees to grab for Zodiac's arms, planning to put him in a pin that would render him immobile. He'd sooner use his large gun but he didn't want to draw Zodiac's attention to it again when he could just as easily use it against all of them and shoot them down.

His expression still strangely neutral, the renegade was about to push himself back up when Rhinox' arms came reaching for his own. The Maximal looked a mess already, his face showing for the blunt force trauma he had just experienced. Yet that fact only seemed to encourage the hybrid to continue.

As soon as Rhinox' fingers wrapped around his wrist, the renegade sat up and slammed his head roughly agains the other male's already battered face. Immediately following that, he twisted his body so that his legs wrapped around the Maximal's waistline as he attempted to pull him off center and back down to the ground.

"So much for your cooperation," Rhinox told Zodiac with some disappointment and irritation in his deep voice as he gripped his wrists.

He was about move around to his back side when the black bot slammed his head into Rhinox's, adding even more injuries to his recently wounded face. The engineer almost blacked out again, feeling dizzied and closer to fainting this time. His upper body wobbled and nearly fell over until Zodiac wrapped his legs around him, pulling his large frame down to the ground again. He laid there dazed with his processor struggling to keep him conscious, and his face pounding from the two direct hits. Rhinox slowly reached up toward one of Zodiac's knees as if feeling around for it or something that might be nearby. However, it was his knee he was searching for that was wrapped around his waist, and so he immediately grabbed it tightly with both of his large hands, pinching it and then attempted to twist it so quickly to try and snap it out of place with the intent to inflict pain and some immobility.

Zodiac merely stared back at Rhinox, that same blank look he had been having throughout their entire encounter. It was a vastly different look from the normally much more expressive and far more talkative renegade they had known thus far. His foe's words meant nothing to the hybrid, certainly not in the state of mind he was right now.

Yet as he prepared to inflict even more pain on his opponent, something slowed him down.. distracted him. It was another voice, feminine, soft and tender, yet very much so determined to end what was going on.

Zodiac... You must cease.

He hesitated, not sure where the voice had come from. But something in him felt compelled to stop, even if he couldn't quite gather his thoughts enough to fully comprehend it.

His delay gave Rhinox the time he needed to grab his knee and twist it. So hard in fact that the joint dislodged, immediately causing the renegade to release his grip and grab for where the intense pain suddenly radiated from. He groaned and slammed back to the ground, his leg now twisted and rotated at an angle that rendered it effectively useless.

The female's voice returned, a bit louder this time, demanding to know why he had attacked them. Whether it was that or the fierce pain from his dislocated joint, he couldn't tell, but at that time he suddenly felt all the pain he had blocked out earlier. It hit him like a brick wall, causing him to scream out. "What the Pit!," he hollered, having regained his own thoughts.. his own mind.. but with no idea what had just transpired.

Rhinox almost loosened his grip on his opponent's knee as he took notice of that same neutral expression on his face. It puzzled the rhinoceros. Why was he acting like this? What was with that stony face? Something was definitely off about Zodiac but until he calmed down, Rhinox wasn't going to let up on him in their scuffle for fear of him hurting Aurora or Whitegrazer next. After all, Zodiac was tall and fast, quite the opposite of Rhinox's physique. If he couldn't stop him, he wasn't sure that Whitegrazer could. Then again, she seemed to be full of surprises and secrets.

Fortunately, his attack on Zodiac's knee made a difference, although he wasn't so sure it was him alone that made the renegade snap out of his "stupor". Zodiac's entire personality and more normal mannerisms returned all at once, as well as the pain he had endured through all of his injuries thus far. The sudden change made Rhinox blink and let go of his knee while Zodiac pulled away from him and laid on his back, crying out like Rhinox had never heard him do before, coping with the barrage of agony. The Maximal had sat up slowly to avoid being disorientated from the rough blows to his head and moved backwards away from Zodiac, putting himself out of his reach.

Zodiac used his elbows to try to move himself backwards a bit as well although he quickly stopped when the pain in his knee joint only intensified from every little movement. What had just happened?? It honestly felt like a fog had cleared from his mind and he was able to think straight again rather than merely acting on instincts alone, but unfortunately waking up from this dream.. or whatever it was.. did not yield any results he wanted.

His hands clutched his wounded knee, feeling a bit numb as they did, and he lay there for a short while before finally turning his attention to Rhinox. From the looks of the other male, he'd been the one he had been brawling with. Zodiac stared at him for a few nanoclicks, almost saying something a few times but the words got stuck in his throat each time. Finally he got them out. "What.. did I do?," he asked.

Rhinox glanced up at Whitegrazer before looking back to Zodiac and temporarily placing his right hand over his throbbing forehead. "You don't remember?" he asked suspiciously. He studied him for a moment, waiting for him to come forward about him pretending to be so "forgetful" and "innocent", but his demeanor didn't waver. So the engineer continued with his answer. "You pushed Aurora right off of her feet into me and then you attacked me."

Rhinox kept a glare on him until he carefully got to his feet and walked over to pick up his weapon. He held it at his side for now as a precaution instead of immediately putting it away. "How do you not recall?" he demanded from him more calmly.

The renegade lowered his gaze as Rhinox proceeded to explain what had just occurred and that resulted in his now dislocated knee. As the Maximal finished, Zodiac still didn't quite know what had caused his sudden change in behavior.
"I.. don't know.. what came over me," he said as earnestly as he could. It was mostly true. Mostly. Although the sensation had been somewhat familiar. Still, his past experiences had not come quite as out of nowhere as it did this time.

"I don't know," he repeated.

Meanwhile Aurora had managed to get back on her feet, her hand now covering her mouth as she stared at the two males in shock. She didn't say anything, but Rhinox' injuries made her cringe.

"Well, that explains everything, doesn't it?" Rhinox asked both rhetorically and sarcastically, looking down at Zodiac on the ground. He then put his heavy gun away and stared at the hybrid for a moment, the rhino's robot mode face full of dents and scratches, with a tiny stream of fluid bleeding from his nose down to his mouth which was now missing a tooth and a cut over the left side of his gold brow.

"Now we're going to have to carry you back to the Axalon...," he said, a little annoyed since just walking back would have been more ideal, but at least they had the transport to help. "If this was some kind of pathetic attempt to escape the inevitable, then you failed, and you will face Optimus."

"Do you know?" he inquired Whitegrazer, who seemed to have an idea about what had just transpired judging by her expression.

Zodiac sighed when hearing Rhinox' words, but he didn't protest other than making a pained grimace when they picked him up and moved him back to the transport. He could still hear the white mare's thoughts in his mind, although oddly enough he didn't mind it as much right now. Part of him had almost expected her to reopen the link so it seemed almost inevitable.

For the duration of their short trip back to the Axalon he remained almost uncharacteristically quiet.

(ooc: Part of this is a joint post between OOP and myself.)

((Forewarning on my part, I will likely be extremely slow the next week and a half. Got four different tests going on by next...Thursday I believe, which means I got to get my butt in gear with studying. Sorry this might slow things a bit.))

Wintersong looked off in the distance as she heard the explosion, one of Rattrap's booby traps making their mark which caused the feline to grin slightly. It was about time they got one of the Predacons off guard, especially after all the crap they had been going through so it was kinda nice to return the favor. But before she could consider joining in helping Cheetor Rattrap was down from the tower he had been working on, causing her to pout slightly when he told her to be the surprise, "Awww! And I was hoping to kick some Predacon skid plate." She said with feigned sadness, but nevertheless settled back down in her spot to remain hidden from sight.

As for Spineback, the sound of gunfire had her growling softly, seeing that the Maximals were still around after all but had been lying in wait. And they had lost a tower no less, which she figured wouldn't exactly settle well with Megatron later when they reported back.

Shaking her head, Spineback got to her feet while shaking off what remained of her dizziness, activating her Plasma Shooter that popped up from her arm and hurrying to give some back up to the wasp, "You'll pay for that trap little rodent," Spineback growled, firing towards the transmetal rat with all the firepower she could muster from her weapon showing her frustration for the situation and angered at herself for not being far more careful when it came to this crew. The Maximals were certainly not a bunch to be underestimated much like their annoying ancestors but they were equally worth destroying as a result which Spineback would take great pleasure in doing to vaporize them once and for all.

Yet, it seemed a third was there as Wintersong started to get a little impatient, seeing the second Predacon arriving from her position. But she still heard Rattrap enough to know he likely would need that back up before she jumped to her feet and fired her four mini-missiles towards the two Predacons, mainly hoping to force them back while she moved to help Rattrap and retrieving her gun once more.

Spineback though saw the mini-missiles long enough to bring up her arm shield, grunting as she felt them explode and caused her to stumble slightly but catching herself quicker than the last explosion. Just as she was about ready to retaliate though the femme paused, keeping her shield up to take any more hits while absorbing most of the energy blasts that struck it, hearing Megatron's bellow over their communications. "As you wish my Liege." Spineback responded before turning her gaze to Waspinator, "Waspinator we need to pull back ASAP!" She called to him beginning to step back as she fired her Plasma Shooter towards them once more but hadn't yet ended the transmission to Megatron. "Sir, we also have a problem. The Maximal filth Rattrap rigged some of the towers to explode from motion detection. We've lost one tower but I can assume a few of the others could meet a similar fate." She reported.

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

Once the world stopped spinning before his optics, Tigerhawk finally hauled himself to his feet. He had to take a few moments to process what had just happened, much less why he wasn't in the Axalon anymore. Turning to look at where his pod had fallen from he could see the crevasse it had been wedged into, a strange place for it to be that was for sure but following it's path he soon took in the valley before him revealing a rather lush, organic jungle. Seeing the jungle though his green optics widened in awe, finding it a sight welcoming from the metallic world of home and offering something for his newest expertise. Well, growing expertise that is.

Though he could stand there and admire all the plants and animals within this valley, Tigerhawk allowed himself only a few minutes to do so before he turned his attentions back to the real problem: finding the other crew members of this wayward voyage. It still bothered him he was no longer on the ship, much less by it. And where were the other members anyway? Still in their pods? Puzzled at his predicament and not knowing entirely what was going on in recent months, Tigerhawk knew he would have to leave this beautiful spot to seek out his answers much less figure out what planet they had even landed on.

Spreading his metallic wings, Tigerhawk gave them a few flaps to test them before pushing off the ground, his new wings being odd and foreign to him as he took to the skies but not being unwelcoming. It allowed him a far great view of his surroundings, gave a new exhilaration he had not felt before since he had always been ground-based in forms and now he could see why the fliers he sometimes had worked with seemed to love flying so much. "Alright, this should seem high enough. Maybe I can get a communication out." Tigerhawk said to himself, having gone above the valley and seeing the environment spread out further from there, waiting to be discovered and examined. "This is Tigerhawk to anyone who can hear me, I have awakened from my pod and am seeking any other Cybertronian life. If anyone can hear this please respond." Tigerhawk said over what frequencies he could figure might be available there, not realizing just how vulnerable he truly was making himself.

Then again, why would he have to be? Certainly the violence and tension of home was long gone...right?

Rattrap wrote:"Beat it, bug!"

Spineback wrote:"You'll pay for that trap little rodent,"

Waspinator was suddenly struck in the side by Rattrap, the shots jarring him but surprisingly bouncing off his heavy transmetal armor.

Rattrap wrote:"We gotta go check out a pod dat was just activated in Sector 4 per Optimus' orders," "Coordinates are 7-5-6. You go since yer faster, an' me and Winter will catch up. But be careful! Optimus warned ta take extreme precautions." "Now!"

Cheetor gave a simple nod transforming to his cheetah vehicle mode, then launched off into the sky as fast as possible in the direction of the coordinates.

Megatron wrote:"Predacons, halt whatever you are doing and retrieve the pod and its content from coordinates 7-5-6!,"

Spineback wrote:"Waspinator we need to pull back ASAP!"

Waspinator turned to retaliate against Rattrap, then suddenly got struck in the back by Wintersong's micro missiles, spinning out of control he slammed into the ground, then got up slowly with smoke coming off his back Bzzz.. Wazzpinator agree! Waspinator then starts to run along next to Spineback, firing back at the Maximals as they attempt to get away.

__________________________________________________
( Joint post. )

Umbra made his way back through the cave, stopping by Tarantulas's computer. He set Tarantulas down once again, pulling out his poison short sword and giving Tarantulas another dose of poison to keep him sedated, then put the sword away. Now lets see what you were working on.. Umbra said to himself, pulling out a small device and pulled a wire out from it plugging it into the computer, then started the device. After a few moments, the password login disappeared displaying the computer's desktop. Umbra then started to explore the computer for information. Luckily since you probably set this up hastily, your security isn't up to it's usual par yet.. Umbra said to himself.

Starshadow had been pacing back and forth, she couldn't stay here forever. And so it finally dawned on her that Umbra has won this time, again...

Alright you win, now turn it off... she radioed him.
Umbra gave a smirk, turning the collar's signal off Glad to see you made a smart choice. I'm accessing Tarantulas's computer.. looks like he found an alien site and was planning to do something with it.. Umbra responded on the radio.
Starshadow slowly made her way out of Tarantulas' lair, having an energon cube in her hand. Something told her that she should check it out. Probably to learn some new technology and the such. Should we investigate it? she asked and took a gulp from her cube.
Not while carrying Tarantulas. I can only keep him asleep so long. We'll head back to base and find out more from the Arachnid himself. Umbra pulled the device out of the computer, then picked up Tarantulas, making his way out of the lair towards the Predacon base.

Can't we just leave his skidplate here..? Starshadow pouted.
Umbra shaked his head No. Megatron's orders, we have to take him back.
Starshadow's ears went back. The octopus was such a lap dog. She took another gulp and tossed the empty cube away, look, I have a limited energy supply. If you're not going to make it a one way trip, I won't have enough to investigate the alien site just because you choose to send this science garbage back to your owner! AND I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DEAL WITH YOUR SLAG! she yelled at him, her body was already emitting sparks of electricity.

Umbra rolled his optics Then just refuel on the go. What exactly DO you expect to do about the alien site anyway? I've read the reports, if you can't deal with Tarantulas's traps.. which clearly you can't from all the burnt webbing on your body, you'll just get slaughtered by the alien traps. So cool your jets. We might not even get asked to investigate.

With that said, Starshadow's patience just ended. She let out a snarl and discharged some electricity like a tesla coil.
Cancel the dinner, you suck at dates... she activated her jets and flew off, you can take him back yourself!
Umbra shook his head, heading back towards the Predacon base.

"On my way,"

Blackarachnia contemplated the fact that she might be helping the Maximals gain another being in their favor. After all, the only reason she was here was to get her revenge and get Tarantulas out of her head. But she realized she would have to just gather enough information on the newbie, so if the time came for her to leave and the Maximals got in the way, she wanted to know she had an advantage. She glanced to see Optimus, who she could tell still suffered from a slight limp, enter the bridge.

He was exchanging words with Rattrap about the coordinates. Most of it wasn't interesting until...

"What alien site?" Primal asked, suddenly concerned and a bit bewildered. Did he miss something? Well, there was no time now to discuss it. They had to get to the pod before the Predacons would. "Leave it. It can wait,"

"Another alien site, where?" Blackarachnia was curious. Maybe the alien site could help in her interpreting those drawings. Though, it seemed the Maximals were having a few problems in extracting the pod. Maybe they needed a little help. Of course, part of her wanted to go and see the alien site. She wondered how it was discovered. She knew that Rhinox, Aurora, and Whitegrazer went outside for something. she really didn't know the nature of their outing. But she wondered. Did they find Zodiac at the... alien site. Hmmmm.

"Sentinel," Optimus choked a little on his words in disbelief, licking the scar across his mouth, "re-scan those signatures."

Acknowledged. Scanning complete. Signatures identified as units Rhinox, Whitegrazer, Aurora, Zodiac."

"...Statuses...,"

Unable to comply. Please repeat."

"What are their statuses?"

Blackarachnia noticed Optimus' tone towards the computer. For where she sat, they seemed to be all right. After all, if something bad did happen, at least one of the Maximals would have called.

"Unit Rhinox: functioning at 100%. Unit Whitegrazer: functioning at 100%. Unit Aurora: functioning at 100%. Unit Zodiac: functioning at 40%."

"Impossible," he muttered as he continued to stare at the screen, lost for any explanation. He sure was facing that a lot lately, though; incredible improbabilities. "I saw him... fall..."

Even Blackarachnia wondered how that shapeshifter survived. It was then she noticed that something was going on outside as she watched the Predacon signature converge on one of the Maximal signatures. "Looks like something is going on out there." Looks like Zodiac attacked two of the Maximals out there. "They might need a hand out there." Though uncharacteristic of herself, which was correct, she just wanted to stretch her legs and do something outside. It was close to the Axalon, so she wasn't worried about anything.

She jumped up and raced towards the platform, letting her lower down to halfway before he just jumped off herself. When she came towards the small group and Zodiac, she noticed Whitegrazer was behind the rest with her optics closed in extreme concentration. Aurora was struggling to get up. Must have been the one Zodiac thrown. Rhinox looked like he been through a tumble. Zodiac looked despondent... defeated. Aw. The fight was already over. Dang, she was looking for some action. Oh well. She should have expected a such.

She had her weapon out, but it was dangling on her side. "Looks like you guys didn't need me."

"I would appreciate that,"

Whitegrazer didn't like the fact that she had gone back on her word, but if she hadn't, she might not have discovered the reason for Zodiac's sudden attack. But she wondered what actually caused such a thing.

"Do you know?"

"Zodiac... is telling the truth. He doesn't know. It wasn't his choice," she said towards Rhinox and looked over his injuries. Aurora cringed. She was used to seeing injuries, so the only thing she expressed was solemn and shake her head. The fight between Zodiac and Rhinox was heer display of brutality that was unwarranted, but it wasn't Zodiac' fault... something must have compelled him. But what? It was odd. She noticed Zodiac's blank expression when he stared at her and Rhinox after he knocked Aurora around. Like he was picking which one to attack, so in a subconscious way, there was a method inside that blind attack. Like an animal attacking on instinct, not reason. "When I re-opened our link, I felt agony." Of course, that was obvious when Zodiac was down on his knees holding his head. "Then... when he was fighting you, Rhinox, I felt nothing. After my plead for him to stop, he seemed disoriented. Confused. Like something... took a hold of him. I wonder what caused that pain to occur." She looked at Zodiac, wondering but not accusingly. "Do you have any idea, Zodiac, of what compelled you to attack?"

She might not get a response from him. Zodiac didn't know, and if he did, it might take a few moments before he could actually give an answer. All of this just came completely out of nowhere. Though, there was one thing that felt familiar. The agony Zodiac felt. It was similar to the same pain she felt from Nemesis when they battled in front of the Axalon awhile back. But Zodiac's nanomachines still dormant. She felt it, but the pain was the same. Was it...a sign? A warning? A message? Or was she just being a bit paranoid? That pain was odd, though.

Something was going on.

Whitegrazer came to Aurora's side. Poor girl was thrown pretty hard, but the young one was standing on her two feet now. Aurora was tougher than she appeared to be. Though, it didn't stop people like her from making sure the little one was all right. She tried to not be so overprotective, but a part of her couldn'tt help but be horrified and almost defensive. Yet, she controlled herself. Despite the fact, she actually wanted to carry the little one in her arms. Aurora wouldn't like that, though, and Whitegrazer herself understood that feeling all too well.

When Blackarachnia arrived, Whitegrazer just nodded, "Everything is under control here."

She helped Rhinox carry Zodiac back to the transport. Zodiac still seemed confusion by what happened. Hopefully, there would be an anser to that. As they headed towards Axalon, Blackarachnia was in front of them, but she entered the platform next to the bridge. They were headed to the hangar bay entrance because of their transport. Whitegrazer kept a close eye on Rhinox, Aurora, and Zodiac. Especially on Rhinox. He was a bulky Maximal, but that surprise attack seemed to have thrown him for a loop. Looking at Aurora' invention, she remembered that Rhinox and Aurora, one or both of them, had to erase what they scanned from her and Zodiac, but she didn't worry. She trusted Rhinox and Aurora. That was in the back of her mind now, even though she really wanted that erased quickly. Rhinox and Aurora probably would want her to talk to Optimu, but she would waited. After Optimus had a talk with Zodiac.

Zodiac... I ask you to be honest with Optimus. I know you don't want to, but it may be the best thing for you. Whitegrazer then realized that there is one subject that Zodiac needed to be cautious with. Except for where the nano technology came from. I'll help you in any shape I can.

((OOC: That wasn't long, una! *headdesk* It looked long. ))

"Another alien site, where?"

Optimus had merely glanced at Blackarachnia, unaware of the location himself, but also curious about her obvious interest in it and what she would do she with it if she could do anything. "I don't know," he answered her truthfully, "But we'll find out soon enough."

"Looks like something is going on out there." "They might need a hand out there."

Watching the signatures on the monitor, the leader had almost jumped out to help as well but he hesitated while the black widow left and headed outside.

It came as a shock to me as well. I thought he had perished but he had not.

Primal didn't respond to Whitegrazer. He still didn't know what to say or what to think, but he tried to keep himself calm. Whatever was taking place outside that was causing them to delay, he finally saw the signatures moving again toward the hangar like he had asked. And down there was where Ironclaw was still waiting. He felt he had better say something to him before he saw Zodiac for himself and might overreact and finish what he started. This was another chance for Optimus to find the answers he thought he had lost forever and he was not going to lose it again. Just as he was about to leave the command center, there was a small alert on the transmission console. Pressing a button to allow the frequency to come through, curious as to who it might be, he heard an unfamiliar male's voice on the other end.

"This is Tigerhawk to anyone who can hear me, I have awakened from my pod and am seeking any other Cybertronian life. If anyone can hear this please respond."

Tigerhawk? The name didn't register with him, and he was sure it wasn't on his Axalon crew's roster, but he must have been from the recently activated stasis pod that he had sent Rattrap to rescue. "Tigerhawk, my name is Optimus Primal. Help is on the way, so just remain where you are." His voice probably sounded too friendly to be considered a Predacon or some other bad entity.

Then he relayed this information to Rattrap's team, opening a channel to all of their communication links. "The new arrival is on-line and has identified himself as Tigerhawk. Again, proceed with caution. Be on alert for Predacons."

Patching his frequency through to his comm. link so he could continue speaking with him, Optimus left the bridge and headed back to the hangar. "Are you injured?" he asked Tigerhawk.

Returning to the hangar after grabbing two energy bonds on the way, Primal was quiet as he walked with his limp to the opened door and stood there looking outside. How to break it the badger that Zodiac was still alive... He had just told him he had perished. Now he looked even more of a fool than he previously did to Ironclaw. But it was what it was; he couldn't change the circumstances. "Ironclaw...," he began softly, still looking to the outdoors. "I need you to remain calm." He slowly turned his head to look at him over his shoulder as he grasped the bonds in his hands in front of his abdomen. "Zodiac survived his fall and they're bringing him in. Now." His voice was steady and firm, maintaining his leadership role and staying objective as he kept his emotions in check. "I remind you that there is information I need from him that could help us." He looked back outside again as the others approached with the renegade and their transport vehicle, all of them looking a little beat up, more so Zodiac, and Whitegrazer as the exception. Optimus took a deep breath...

"Looks like you guys didn't need me."

"Everything is under control here."

Rhinox was surprised to see Blackarachnia coming out to assist them, if in fact that was her intention, half expecting Optimus to join them instead. But he didn't question her motives since his head was aching and throbbing too much to care about any other matters beyond returning Zodiac safely to the Axalon, especially after this little display that he had put on and tried to deliberately hurt them. However, he disagreed with Whitegrazer's words to the widow. Under control? Not a few moments ago. And he seriously doubted that was the case now even if she was controlling Zodiac or invading his mind.

"Zodiac... is telling the truth. He doesn't know. It wasn't his choice," "When I re-opened our link, I felt agony." "Then... when he was fighting you, Rhinox, I felt nothing. After my plead for him to stop, he seemed disoriented. Confused. Like something... took a hold of him. I wonder what caused that pain to occur."

The engineer looked to Whitegrazer, studying her for a moment and gave a nod as Zodiac finally started to calm down and act more like himself even though that really wasn't any more pleasant but at least he was much quieter and still after they had moved him back onto the transport. They finally continued on their stroll toward the hangar of their broken vessel. He assumed Whitegrazer's words were honest and highly doubted that just because both of them had some kind of connection to the Vok that didn't mean they were working together. Of course not; how silly of Rhinox to even conjure up a notion like that. He couldn't allow himself to be as paranoid as Rattrap, even if that sometimes saved the rodent's life. It also didn't hurt to be a skeptic so that he was always on his toes, unlike Optimus who simply trusted too much too often. Now, how was the rest of this going to unfold?

"Do you have any idea, Zodiac, of what compelled you to attack?"

While the mare questioned the renegade, Rhinox gingerly rubbed his jaws and felt spot with his tongue where his tooth had been knocked out. Then he gently touched the cut on his brow and sighed quietly to himself. Judging by the other females' reactions he must have looked worse than he felt.

"Suspicions regarding the Maximal Elders?,"

"Yes," Rhinox told Aurora as they steered the transport around some of the rougher terrain and headed for the open door of the hangar where there could see their commanding officer standing just inside of it holding two pairs of energy bonds no doubt for Zodiac's wrists and ankles. "I need to converse with Optimus about it first." It might have been a matter that would go over her head, but maybe it was also something else worth teaching the young Fuzor; that not everything was as it seemed, that there were always darker secrets behind closed doors, and those with a lot of power could quite literally do whatever they wanted and get away with it. Just not right now.

-----

"The ne... arrival is on-line a... has identified himself as Tigerhawk. Again, proceed ...th caution. Be on alert ... Predacons."

"Copy," Rattrap acknowledged. "You got dat Cheetor?" he asked him over the radio who had already taken off to help the newcomer.

"Awww! And I was hoping to kick some Predacon skid plate."

"You'll get yer chance, Winter," he smirked at her enthusiasm to take the Preds down while he continued firing at Waspinator so Cheetor could escape unscathed.

"You'll pay for that trap little rodent,"

"Well, why don't you cry about it, Spineless?" Rattrap sarcastically suggested to Spineback while her sudden gun fire in the area almost caught him off guard since he had been focusing on the wasp. He leaped behind some boulders for cover while the two Preds started converging on him until Wintersong's mini-missiles pierced through the air and hit their targets. As he started to notice the two Preds moving back away from them, Rattrap continued to keep the pressure on them until they were far enough away to make them harder targets to hit.

"Okay, Winter, that's far enough, eh? Let's hurry up and help Cheetor before the rest of de Preds crash our party!" With that, he reverted to his vehicle mode, revved his engine as fire spewed out of his tail pipes, and drove off toward the coordinates of Tigerhawk's location.

-----

Terrorsaur had rubbed his throat lightly to cope with the pain he received after Deathroll had nearly snapped his head right off in his defending of Megatron and against the 'dactyl's sour words toward their rogue leader. He glared at the bigger bot as he laid off and backed away from Terrorsaur so he could get off of the console and sit back down.

"Predacons, halt whatever you are doing and retrieve the pod and its content from coordinates 7-5-6!,"

"RAWK! With pleasure, mighty Megatron!" Terrorsaur falsely professed, anxious to get away from Deathroll and get out to blast some Maximals to pieces. With his speed and agility in his TransMetal body, he wasted no time blasting out of the Darksyde and pursuing this unknown protoform, whom Spineback and Waspinator should be even closer to.

"As you command, my Queen!" Inferno happily announced and immediately followed Terrorsaur, exiting their base in flight and headed toward the coordinates.

(( OOC: My posts with Terry and Inferno (who I'm not sure where he was left off at) will usually be brief. I don't have a lot of time to spend on them but we do need Preds, so this is what I can offer for now. ))

"RAWK! With pleasure, mighty Megatron!"

Megatron frowned ever so slightly upon receiving confirmation that Terrorsaur was heading to retrieve the new pod and his new Predacon. The voice of the pterodactyl annoyed him so, an ever present reminder of how treacherous certain members of his own team were. Of course Terrorsaur had never been a threat, not by a long shot, but Megatron still longed for the day when he could simply rid himself of the nuisance permanently.

He could but hope that Terrorsaur would refrain from messing up again or that his more loyal troops would keep his traitorous tendencies from resurfacing. But at least for the time being, Terrorsaur seemed to remember the lesson that was forced upon him the last time the flying dinosaur stepped out of line.

"As you command, my Queen!"

Ah yesss, the ever loyal ant. In so many ways, Inferno represented the opposite of Terrorsaur. Although Megatron appreciated the ant's undying loyalty to him, he so wished the insect could refrain from calling him by that title. Alas the simple-minded minion lacked the intellectual properties to correct certain aspects of his faulty programming.

The tyrant shook his head briefly, wondering if he'd ever be able to get the ant to address him by his proper title. He was Megatron, leader of the Predacons and the one who would conquer Cybertron and bring the foolish Maximal council to their knees! He couldn't return to Cybertron and have one of his officers refer to him as 'Queen'! Demoting Inferno had not changed anything, unfortunately, but sooner or later he would get around to having the ant's vocabulary reprogrammed so he would never be able to call his leader by that most hated of titles again.

"Very well," he told his troops via com-link, "Return here with the new recruit. Destroy any Maximal resistance."

"I'm en route also," Nemesis suddenly chimed in, "Approaching target location."

"You have your orders, Commander," the tyrant replied, hoping that at least one of his underlings would have able to pull this off. Megatron then returned his attention to his work.

"Sir, we also have a problem. The Maximal filth Rattrap rigged some of the towers to explode from motion detection. We've lost one tower but I can assume a few of the others could meet a similar fate."

It didn't take long before Spineback reported in. Megatron growled, hating to lose a tower but all in all they were less important. The process could be duplicated, after all. "Leave the towers for now. We'll deal with that after we get the new recruit brought in!"

He then tapped his fingers impatiently on the control panel in front of him. "Umbra, what is your status?," he then demanded, not having heard back from one of his best operatives for while.

Nemesis tilted herself sideways, angling herself ever so slightly as her target location came into view. She was fortunate enough to be a quick flyer, able to match and mostly outdo any of the others, so it hadn't taken her very long to get there. Down below she caught sight of the new Cybertronian. He seemed to be fuzor of sorts, a mixture of a tiger and a hawk. So he was another flyer. Good. The avian part of the newly emerged protoform was not unlike her own, if a different color.

She watched from a distance as the fuzor took to the air, finding his flight pattern less than graceful but then again.. flight was a skill that needed to be mastered.

"This is Tigerhawk to anyone who can hear me, I have awakened from my pod and am seeking any other Cybertronian life. If anyone can hear this please respond."

The fuzor foolishly opened his channel to anyone who might be listening. Nemesis took note and forwarded the information to the other incoming Predacons before responding verbally to this.. Tigerhawk.

"Don't be alarmed, Tigerhawk," she told him, keeping her voice calm and civil for the time being. If she could persuade him to come along without bloodshed, that would be preferable of course. "But I picked up your pod's distress signal so I came to investigate." She transformed to her robot form as she spoke, keeping her weapons stored for now.

"Looks like you guys didn't need me."

Aurora sent the female spider a suspicious glance as she came out of the Axalon, supposedly to help them out against the former shapeshifter. Whereas Optimus was perhaps overly forgiving and wanted to trust anyone who would seemingly listen to him, Aurora had a little harder time letting go of all the bad things BlackArachnia had done to them in the past before suddenly deciding to join them. It wasn't that Aurora hadn't seen former Predacons change and become valuable members of the Maximal team, in fact she was well aware of how Frilla and Dinobot used to work for Megatron, but they had both joined the Maximal side before the fuzor even came online so she really hadn't known them back when they were enemies. BlackArachnia, on the other hand, seemed more of a loose cannon, someone more likely to only only care about saving her own skin.

Yet here she was, coming to help them?

The fuzor quickly looked away, not wanting the female spider to notice her staring at her.

"Zodiac... is telling the truth. He doesn't know. It wasn't his choice,"

Zodiac watched them from his spot on the transport, but he kept silent for the time being. In fact he hadn't said a word since he had snapped back to reality when his knee had gotten forcefully dislocated and he had not been able to explain what happened to make him lose control. Right now he was busy attempting to stabilize his leg, using random items he found in the transport to create an immobilizer so he could at least stand up. The results were.. less than satisfying, but then again he had never had to create such contraptions before. Being able to instantly heal any injury had its perks and right now he certainly missed his powers. In addition the transport didn't contain many supplies he could use for this purpose.

But at the very least his attempts offered a most welcome distraction, something to temporarily take his mind off the pain. The sun was starting to set, the last warm rays of its magnificent light felt warm and inviting against his armor. Zodiac couldn't help turning his head in that direction, taking in the sight and wondering if he'd ever be able to see another sunset on this.. or any other world for that sake.. after they brought him inside the Axalon. He was perfectly aware of what awaited him inside, that the one who had been sent to kill him was there, and that Optimus would likely never let him go even if he could prevent the Council's operative from slaying him at first sight.

He tightened the makeshift immobilizer a bit, having had to twist his knee cap back into place and letting out a pained groan as he did, his pain clearly visible from the grimace he involuntarily made. The female, formerly a Vok agent herself, was defending him. Yet he said nothing, pretended not to listen to them talk about him, hoping they would leave him alone for as long as possible.

Her defense of him didn't matter. His injuries didn't matter. His reasons for attacking them didn't matter. None of it did. He was well aware of the vow the agents of the council took and that there was nothing that could be done to persuade Ironclaw otherwise. Yet the renegade was severely wounded, far too much so to stand a chance against a fully functional opponent. Not without his powers.

He sighed.

"When I re-opened our link, I felt agony."

Agony.. It had honestly felt like a dream, and the memory was now foggy to him.

He felt her inside his head, her presence soft.. gentle.. caring.. And unwanted. Having her roam inside his head, he felt exposed.. vulnerable in a way he could never get used to. He had lived through countless tortures and pain was certainly not a foreign concept to him. He had survived the tortures, the extensive training and testing, the brainwashing. But even when he had been at his lowest, alone in a cage, hungry and desperate, at least his mind had been his own. Right now he didn't even have that.

As the daylight gave way to twilight, he turned his iridescent gaze on the taller of the two females. He was disappointed she had gone back on her word to keep their mental link closed, and would probably have been angrier about it had his situation not seemed so hopeless right now. Of course those feelings could easily change.

"Then... when he was fighting you, Rhinox, I felt nothing. After my plead for him to stop, he seemed disoriented. Confused. Like something... took a hold of him. I wonder what caused that pain to occur."

Zodiac wasn't sure either, but the sensation had seemed familiar. In a frightening way. It had felt like their influence, the Vok, the ones he had been running from. But he couldn't quite understand how that could be.

"Do you have any idea, Zodiac, of what compelled you to attack?"

He shook his head, not wanting to verbally lie since she would no doubt call him out on it. Besides.. he didn't know for sure, he just had an inkling of a suspicion.

It felt strange, he admitted via their mental link, like I was no longer in control of my own mind, body or actions.

His optics then narrowed a bit at her.

Perhaps you caused me to act out that way when you forced this mental link upon me despite your promise not to do so. Maybe you secretly want to see me hang just like the rest of them.


His thoughts sounded bitter, angry, yet deep down he knew she wouldn't have done that. She might have reestablished their connection against his will but she would never have let him attack her comrades. For a Vok she was very much so different than the rest. An individual, one that cared deeply for her adopted kin. That in itself was a bit of a contradiction in terms.

Zodiac... I ask you to be honest with Optimus. I know you don't want to, but it may be the best thing for you. Whitegrazer then realized that there is one subject that Zodiac needed to be cautious with. Except for where the nano technology came from. I'll help you in any shape I can.

Then help me by closing down the connection again, he demanded, You promised to leave me be..


He shifted his weight uncomfortably, finally pressing himself up against the back of the transport so that he could stand up. There was no way he could escape on foot, but he'd be damned if he would lay there sprawled out on the floor of the transport now that they were coming within view of the occupants of the Axalon. His leg ached, hurt, and he struggled against the desire to just crash back down to the floor again. But with some effort and pure determination, he did manage to stand up. The immobilizer worked, somewhat, helping him stabilize his leg.

As for being honest with Optimus.. Do I detect a lack of trust?, he asked her sarcastically. You helped them drag me back here against my will, and yet ask me not to reveal your secrets so that you can keep your little love affair alive?

He snorted at that. Yet he had no real desire to admit to being a hybrid, a mixture of Cybertronian and Vok technologies, and he certainly didn't feel like telling Primal anything at all.

They pulled up to the hangar bay door and Zodiac stumbled off the transport, trying to keep his weight on his good leg with some limited success. His other leg throbbed with every movement he made, and the immobilizer threatened to give out a couple of times as he took a few shaky steps. Still, he remained standing, slowly making his way up the ramp to the inside.

He saw a familiar shape standing at the top of the ramp. Optimus. Zodiac sent him a scowl before casting his glance down at the ground. Primal looked strangely composed, very much like a leader figure against the background of his ship. Nexus Prime had always believed his beloved protege would become a leader one day, but Zodiac had refused to consider him one. He was much too weak, fragile, and pathetically soft for that. The changeling had managed to bring the Maximal down with a few select words, carefully chosen and perfectly timed for added effect. Perhaps he could do it again? His ability to speak seemed to be the last advantage he had. Besides that is why they had brought him here, wasn't it? To learn what he knew. Primal needed to be careful or he could very well get more than he bargained for.

Despite those last words he had uttered to him when he had been reaching for Primal's hand, as a last desperate attempt to keep from falling to his certain death, he still hated the Maximal before him. Hated him for what he was, what he had become, and how Nexus had always treated him like a son. Zodiac had never received such compassion, instead he had always been a tool of destruction, someone to be used to further someone else's goals. Whether his past experiences were a blessing or a curse remained to be seen.

Zodiac looked his foe over as he got closer. Primal was holding some bonds in his hands, not even bothering to keep them hidden from view. His intent was fairly obvious.

"A welcome back present, Primal?," the renegade said, trying to seem confident and strong but on the inside he felt like his entire world had crumbled down around him, "You're too kind."

He considered making a jest about declining the gift, or better yet telling Primal where he could shove his generosity. But the look of determination on the Maximal leader's face made him reconsider. Surely this day couldn't get any worse..

As he looked past Primal at the taller, bulkier figure looming in the background, the renegade got his answer. It could. He froze, merely staring at Ironclaw, while his knee almost buckled on him again. He winced slightly from the pain but still managed to catch himself at the last possible moment.