The Intergalactic Highway

(( OOC: Part two to our season finale of the first season. Please continue right where you left off from part one. ))

IC:

The Maximal Commander could feel Aurora's grip suddenly tighten on him but it was nothing distracting. Leveling out at a fairly high altitude, Primal cut back his speed a little bit in an attempt to make it more comfortable for his new passenger. He certainly was not traveling nearly as fast as he was capable of. Save for his thrusters, up here there was only silence. His optics vigorously scanned below and all around them in the air in case of any hostiles. He could never be too careful. When everything seemed clear, Optimus glanced up over his shoulder at the ermine on his back and asked, "How are you holding up, Aurora?" His arms and fists stretched out before him helped maintain a steady course. Of course, with as much time as he has spent in the air either battling or just leisure flying, by this point in the war he was an expert. With or without a passenger. Personally, he loved the open sky and fresh air. Sure it had its dangers, but this beautiful planet was like a whole new world from this perspective. And sometimes he wished he could dive deep into the oceans. There was still an explorer inside him after all. With all of the data, video and photos that Orcariner and Icebreaker had acquired over time through their aquatic beast modes, the enormous bodies of water were truly mysterious and magnificent habitats, untouchable unless you had gills, an aquatic beast mode, or some type of small vessel that could travel under water. So much to discover and nearly no time to document it. Not while there was a war taking place, anyhow.

-----

Insulted by Ironclaw ignoring him, Rattrap stood up on his hind legs and folded his front legs over his brown, furry chest, his ears turned back in annoyance as he watched the badger approach Saber-Fang. For bootin' up cold, he thought. They didn't have time to chat. Talking and introductions could be done later when they got back. They had to get to the Darksyde before Megatron would come back after his and Primal's meeting. Was Rattrap the only one taking this mission seriously? Would Ironclaw be this easily distracted if he bumped into Blackarachnia inside the Pred base? The brown rat began tapping one of his hind feet, impatiently waiting for Airazor. Maybe if she came out and picked him up, it would give Ironclaw incentive to not be left behind and move out. No longer hearing Primal's thrusters in the sky, he was already long gone, which meant Rattrap's group was already late. For a moment, his beaty black eyes watched Feralnight turn and walk away toward the waterfall. He thought she would've walked Saber-Fang to the lift or something. He wanted to ask her if she was okay but now was not the time.

-----

"Hey!" "something I might actually know about. Hey, lemme through."

Tigatron smiled as he watched "Little Cat" slip by and take over.

"Think we should give Cheetor a chance, if not I'll show you what we can do."

Agreeing with Frilla, the taller white and green Maximal moved over and stood closer to Dinobot while he watched Cheetor. Glancing over at his fellow white tigress comrade, who had been unusually quiet this entire time, he asked, "Are you all right, Wintersong?" It felt as though something might have been bothering her, or just that something was weighing on her mind.

Saber watched as Feralnight walked toward the water fall but before she could follow another Maximal, one she didn't know walked up to her in his robot form.

He's quite handsome. She thought.

"Hi"

She couldn't help but smile as he held out his hand.

"Hi, back." She said sitting down and lifted her paw and gently wraps it around his hand and shakes it.

She soon sees Rattrap looking irritated. "I don't mean to be rude, but it seems Rattrap is waiting for you."

Ironclaw was taken a moment by Saber-Fang's smile and stood staring for a while. He turned and saw Rattrap was in fact waiting for him, however he was still waiting for Airazor so he had some time. He looked back at Saber-Fang and tightened his grip on her hand. "I have to infiltate the Darksyde" Ironclaw said almost showing off, although he's never had anything
to show off a about before.

((OOC: I don't know how many times I rewritten Whitegrazer's part to get it just right. I hope I got it right. >.< *crosses fingers* ))

If I may assume we are speaking of societal peace," he began, raising an optic ridge, and then lowering it. "...Peace a condition for a group of individuals in which they are able to live without fear because there is no violence brought upon them, and because they do not have to meet some extortionately proposed measure to ensure that violence is kept from them."

"And I must believe peace is achievable," he asserted. "Mustn't you?"

The way Steelclaw spoke those words like they were the truth gave her the realization that the black bear wanted peace, not war. Maybe he was fighting for the same thing that she was? She needed to keep this conversation going to see more of Steelclaw's views and ideas.

"I must believe it is achievable. If it wasn't, why fight for something that is impossible, but in my belief, nothing in this world is impossible. " She smiled at Steelclaw, lighting up her optics, "People only make it impossible because they don't believe or have their spark set on it. It's like forcing someone to learn a subject they have no interest in. If they don't have the spark, they will gradually be bored with hatred coming in when they have to pass it to move on."

"But what about peace within? It would be a contradiction if you fight for peace yet there is no peace inside yourself. It's hypocritical. I believe that peace must come from within oneself, one must feel it for themselves." Whitegrazer dimmed her optics again, pausing to collect her thoughts, "You say that societal peace can be achieved by people living without fear, but fear is an instinctive reaction towards something that we either admire or feel anxious towards like the unknown or things and people that are vastly different than we can understand. Though there are individuals who aren't as fearful as others, but there are the masses who fear something which they can't comprehend. Fear soon leads us to hate what makes us weak or doubt ourselves, which turns into violence and war to elimnate that fear. How do we elimnate fear itself if we want to achieve peace?"


_________________________________________________________________________________

"Hmmm...we could use the Leviathan as an escape ship but- no..."

They could but it would take more than weeks and from how desperate Tarantulas appeared, they didn't have that much of time. Blackarachnia thought a pod might be faster, but she will wait to see how this transaction went.

__________________________________________________________________________________

" The muzzle suits him." She walked over to him and playfully laid a hand on his torso. "All dressed up and no where to go,"

Tarantulas squirmed, speaking words that were muffled from the webbing. He was mad and made that very clear in his movements and how loud each muffle came out.

"I will kill them all! Those two black widows and that cat! I will kill them all slowly and painfully!"

Staring at Arachnitron, he noticed how quiet and contemplative she had become. Odd. He looked at Blackarachnia who noticed the same thing. He wondered if she thought the same thing as well. Well, he didn't know much about this widow like Blackarachnia, but maybe if he studied her more, he could use her to his advantage.

He felt sick to his stomach though. Being toyed with by these witches wasn't fun at all.

____________________________________________________________________________________

"My escape pod is small and damaged. Tarantulas probably has been planning this for quite a while and has some spare parts lying around that we can use to make the necessary adjustments. Maybe we can get him to help us and then ditch him just before we leave."

"Let's see then." Blackarachnia started looking through Tarantulas' stuff, sparing a look towards Arachnitron. She, like Tarantulas, nothing little to nothing of this new spider.

Tarantulas was again making a fuss. Maybe because of them going through his things. She just smirked as she grabbed a few things that would do nicely. She wasn't making a mess but actually cleaning the mess Tarantulas' lair was. She knew he hated that. So touchy.

Aurora shut her eyes for the last portion of the ascend to what Primal decided was a good cruising altitude. It wasn't due to being scared of heights she did this, but rather as a result of her white furry locks constantly getting into her eyes on the way up. As they reached the correct height and Optimus straightened out, apparently also slowing down a tad, the ermine opened her eyes once more.

The sight that met her was one to behold and she could not help but gasp in awe. This was the furthest up she'd ever been, and the view of the ground below was absolutely stunning. The massive trees she'd seen up close on her few ventures outside the base seemed so tiny now from her viewpoint far above. For a moment she forgot all about where they were going and even the sadness from earlier seemed like it had been the result of a bad dream and nothing more.

"How are you holding up, Aurora?"

"I'm on top of the world!," the young fuzor exclaimed as she let go of the commander's fur long enough to toss her hands in the air for a brief moment while holding on with her legs. The sensation of freedom she felt at the moment was quite exhilarating.

(ooc: Just an observation; Feral Night has been monitored by Megsie, and Ironclaw just announced that he was going on a mission to infiltrate the Predacon base to Saber who was standing right next to Feral Night.. so Megs could very well have blown their cover just now if he's still monitoring.)

Airazor chuckled at the comments from her friends. She found it amusing that Aurora would suggest that a Rat would eat a Falcon. Generally, it happened the other way around. While she preferred not to eat such delicacies, she knew that the rest of her kind didn't feel the same way. Following Iron Claw down the lift, she transformed into her beast form and stretched her wings out. It would be a long flight to the predicon base and she wanted to be sure that her wings were in proper working order. She had taken a few hits in the last battle without ever vising the CR chamber. Luckily though, everything appeared to be just fine.

"Want to hop on my back Rattrap or should I carry you in my Talons?" She asked, rather hoping he would suggest the Talons. It would be much easier for her... although perhaps a bit painful for him.

---

Manterror's huge claw rose above the tank of repair coolant as he finished his repairs. His whole body would soon follow suit until he was standing completely upright. "I LIVE!!!" He screamed before realizing that no one was around to hear him or care. hmmmm His thoughts soon turned into treachery as he noticed the empty room and computer terminal not far away. Perhaps he could steal some Information from Megatron... yess....

Activating his now rebuilt wings, he flew onto a hover board and drove himself over to the terminal. He soon encountered a huge road block however. The computer's display asked for a password... one that he conveniently knew! Raising his claw, he poked the first button on the keyboard and accidentally hit the surround 6 buttons at the same time. "Curse these huge claws!" He screamed again before slicing the keyboard into 3 pieces.

(ooc: Just an observation; Feral Night has been monitored by Megsie, and Ironclaw just announced that he was going on a mission to infiltrate the Predacon base to Saber who was standing right next to Feral Night.. so Megs could very well have blown their cover just now if he's still monitoring.)

((OOC: Feral Night walked over to the water fall before Ironclaw said that. And being close to a waterfall makes it hard to hear any thing.))

He's got quite a grip. She thought when he tightened his grip on her paw.

"I have to infiltate the Darksyde"

She rised an eye brow, he seemed to really proud of himself about his assignment. "Well, that's great," She commented. "You should get to it, then. I'm not going any where if that is what your worried about." She gave him a small smile.

(( OOC: Yay, Manterror is back! I love how you write him, WorpeX.

@ Phoenix: I don't think it should be a problem. For one thing, Feralnight just turned and walked away from the group toward the waterfall (where there's more noise to obscure her hearing); like N-H just mentioned. And for another, Megatron should be leaving the Darksyde very soon, if not now, to meet with Optimus on time, so his spying with Feralnight will be put on hold.

Where is Wildfire, anyway? I haven't seen him in a while. ))

BIC:

"I'm on top of the world!,"

Optimus chuckled softly at Aurora's reaction. He was glad this was somewhat of a theraputic experience for her, especially after losing someone who was probably the closest to her out of all the Maximals. But her company and being so far away high up in the sky where no one bothered him was also theraputic for the leader. Cruising at about 20,000 feet above sea level, he maintained a steady speed, conscious of reserving his energy since he had used quite a bit of it earlier that day. Everything from this altitude was pretty small down below, but he was used to the perspective and navigation. What it must have looked like in Aurora's eyes was probably pretty remarkable. "This magnificent organic planet is far different from Cybertron," he commented. "There is so much about this world that I will miss when we finally find a way home." Of course, to the younger Fuzor, this place probably was home to her.

-----

"I don't mean to be rude, but it seems Rattrap is waiting for you."

"Hey, Fangs," Rattrap finally greeted Saber-Fang with a friendly tone despite his impatience with the badger and falcon. He was glad to see her back safe and sound. Well, he assumed she was safe and sound. Had she found a way to "cure" the Beast? Who knew. In any case, with the recent loss of Icebreaker, her return was a good moral booster for all of them. "Good to see ya back."

"I have to infiltate the Darksyde"

"Well, that's great," "You should get to it, then. I'm not going any where if that is what your worried about."

Sighing and rolling his black beaty eyes at Ironclaw's boasting, Rattrap muttered sarcastically, "Yeah, let's tell everybody so by the time we get there, all the Preds will be waitin' outside with their torches an' pitch forks." It was his "nice" way of warning Ironclaw to hold his tongue about this delicate mission. And was he already over his infatuation with Aurora and moving on to Saber-Fang? The guy moved faster than Rattrap did, and he always considered himself an expert with the femmes. Inside, he laughed at himself for that. What once began as a Maximal exploration crew was now turning into the Maximal love boat. As a caring comrade, though he seldomly showed his softer side, Rattrap just wanted everyone focused right now. Rattrap outranked Saber-Fang, Airazor and Ironclaw, so he was expecting a little more co-operation. Even if they were waiting for Airazor, it would take Ironclaw longer to reach the Darksyde on foot than it would Airazor carrying Rattrap in the air, so he should get a head start. What Ironclaw was about to do was a very dangerous mission. A mission that Optimus entrusted him with. This would be a significant turning point for the Maximals in Megatron's discovery if the honey badger could pull it off.

"Want to hop on my back Rattrap or should I carry you in my Talons?"

Saved by the bird! Turning to Airazor, the brown rat answered, "Might as well drag me over by your feet, that way you can gimme a shoulder massage at the same time." He grinned. "Nothin' like flyin' first class!" Rattrap remained standing up on his hind feet so Airazor could pick him up easier, unfolding his front legs from his chest and lowering them to his sides.

"Let's hit it, guys! See ya when we get back, Saber," he waved one of his tiny front pink paws at the robust cat.

Ironclaw released his grip on Saber's paw and noticed her small smile and took it as a good sign. He could hear Rattrap behind him, he was listening to him but just wasn't acknowledging him. "See you later" he said transforming into beast mode and getting a head start on Rattrap and Airazor.

"Hey, Fangs," "Good to see ya back."

That sounded kinda strange coming from Rattrap but Saber couldn't help but smiled a little. "Its good to be back."

"Yeah, let's tell everybody so by the time we get there, all the Preds will be waitin' outside with their torches an' pitch forks."

The former general couldn't help but chuckle, but the rodent did have a point, even though she had no idea what Optimus' plan was, but it did involve The Darksyde.

"See you later"

She watched as Ironclaw took off, no doubt getting ahead start that he would need later.

Want to hop on my back Rattrap or should I carry you in my Talons?"

Airazor's voice caught her attention.

"Might as well drag me over by your feet, that way you can gimme a shoulder massage at the same time." He grinned. "Nothin' like flyin' first class!"

This should be interesting. She thought with a small smile.

"Let's hit it, guys! See ya when we get back, Saber,"

Saber nodded once, then rised one of her paw to return his wave. "Good luck on your mission."

((Sorry guys,been hectic at my place. Parents have been keeping me busy and of course, like many of you, school as well. But none the less Megs needs to meet Primal and Aurora.
On a side note I'm a girl. Thought it would help to clarify it.))

Little by little Megatron worked at the golden disk, rubbing his chin as he thought for sure he had found something in the symbols, but if his theory was correct there would have to be a way of using the Maximals to aid in the next part of his plans. Yet time had seemed to escape the Predacon leader as Megatron looked at the time, it had passed by so quickly and he was sure that Primal would be anxious to meet him and discuss what had occurred a few cycles ago, which the t-rex wouldn't be afraid to tell the punishment Glowstick had gotten. But he would have to play it out as tragic and make the Maximal believe he had lost a good asset, even though he was aware that he had but then again his underlings were merely pawns, expendable at his leisure.

Leaving his quarters Megatron headed down the hall, taking a shorter way to the hanger and coming outside as he walked past the Levianthan. Luckily none of the other Predacons were present which gave him the chance to leave without being questioned,"Beast mode."He ordered as he transformed, growling before taking off as earlier that day when he had met with Primal for the 'truce'. His destination of course would likely be neutral grounds, which was where Megatron headed towards and expected the gorilla to meet him there.

Steelclaw chuckled, almost good-naturedly, but out of a realization that their conversation had already hit a snag.

"No, see, now you're talking about inner peace. Societal peace is simple enough for us to agree on its basic tenets, even though it's incredibly hard to achieve. Inner peace is a bit more complicated.

"Look, professor... I don't know about... meditation, or... harnessing the flow of the universe, or being zen or whatever it is you seem to like to ponder. To me, inner peace has a ton to do with being able to live with who you are and what you find around you. Fear doesn't have nearly as much to do with inner peace as it does with a people's peace. You yourself speak of the fear of what one may admire. Surely you don't mean to tell me that a person who spends their time embracing that admiration has no inner peace.

"And what's really hypocrisy here, huh? To seek the benefit of others- to work for their peace- when you have none for yourself, as you are so thoroughly convinced; or to cling to your own inner peace when you see a group of people without it? I think there are a number of 'bots out there who can't be at peace until they are fighting for the peace of others. Where's the double standard in that?"

After this, he tilted his head, and looked to the ground in the distance, trying to find the right words to fit his curiosity. Finally he looked back to Whitegrazer.

"And... how'd we get to talkin' of this, anyways? What are you hoping to find?"

Ironclaw made his way to the Darksyde. Although he wasn't sure exactly where he was going, he had a rough idea. He started to doubt himself, he'd never done anything like this before. It was pointless showing off to Saber-Fang if he failed or worse, didn't come back.

Ironclaw had been travelling for a while and hadn't checked in with Airazor and Rattrap. The terrain had become desolate, not lively and colourful like it was by the Maximal base. He took a moment to study the ground around him, he had a feeling that this place reflected what it was like in the Predacon base. Ironclaw pressed on and saw the next part of his journey would take him some mountains.

(Una/Blaze may I mention Whitegrazer/ Steelclaw's meeting. Like have Ironclaw see it but not get involved? Unless its no where near him. Just thought it would be interesting.)

The catbot was getting annoyed with boredom, "ugh...call me if you need me..I'll be at the main bridge." and with that, she walked away to find the exit of Tarantulas' lair. The Maximals were still not taking any action after what the rescue party had done to their base.

After reaching the surface (the hidden entrance of Ranty's lair in The Web episode), she stretched herself and took a stroll back to the Darksyde while humming a tune to herself. She had to admit there was something strange in that new spider. She could pressure her in giving her answers since she's the type of bot that keeps everything to herself. Too...secretive. Maybe if she could manipulate her through talking, she may earn a temporary ally and later on kill her for the fun of it.

Snapping from her thoughts Wintersong looked at Tigatron with a nod,"Yea just think is all."She said managing a small smile, not really knowing what else to say to her fellow cat. Right now she wished she could take a long walk among the wilderness but didn't chance of disobeying an order this time.

Turning a bit more to them she watched as they worked with the shields,"How are you guys doing so far?"She asked cutiously.