The Intergalactic Highway

(( OOC: This will be a combined episode of "Tangled Web" from the show and an OC episode; which would be a great opportunity for any new arrivals. Have at it! ))

Several days had passed since the Vok's failed attempt at decimating the planet that was revealed to be Earth in some kind of prehistoric period, and the Predacons' failed attempt of extinguishing the Maximals. Both ships have undergone repairs to their hulls, shields, and weapons. And their crews have healed from their wounds of the battle that was nearly their last. Debriefings and ship-logging had been accomplished and updated to the best of everyone's knowledge.

Optimus Primal was an early bird more often than not, and this morning was no different. Although he and his team of Maximals had fully recuperated from their fatigue and broken bodies, he often had trouble sleeping at night now more than he ever had before his death. Nightmares invaded his dreams frequently that would force him awake and wander alone down the quiet corridors of his broken vessel until his restless and inquisitive thoughts sought refuge in a dormant part of his mind. Nightmares of the Vok and their seemingly endless amount of power and distance and obliterating Earth's existence, taunting him to cling on to life when it wasn't worth it, to defend his Maximals' lives and the innocent inhabitants of this beautiful blue world. Nightmares of his encounter with Megatron during his final flight in the lonely stasis pod, among other gloomy and dark-handed situations where his foe was always one step ahead of him, or the Predacon tyrant had captured his beloved comrades and tortured them, allowing their screams to echo down long dark tunnels that seemed endless and Optimus could never reach them in time. Another one that haunted him was the stasis pod that had yet to be found marked with a giant "X" on it's lid. Had it survived the forced drop from orbit? Had its occupant been activated and was some where out there roaming the planet, his fate inevitably leading him to the Maximals and Predacons? Desperation and failure was enough anxiety to wake him up every time with a gasp of air or a tear escaping his optic depending on what had felt so realistic, only to realize that none of it had been real. Well, not real right then although some events had already transpired. Not all dreams were terrible, though. Many were peaceful and warm, surrounded by his crew who shared enjoyable times and smiles. Those were the ones he tried focusing on and avoided telling anyone about the horrors that dwelt deep down in his rem cycles.

The Maximal Commander was in the training room of the Axalon this morning, testing the skills and abilities with his TransMetal body in all three modes. In beast mode, it was odd not to have his toes anymore and having lost the ability to grip or grab things with his feet, or dangle upside down from a tree limb. He missed that. On the plus side, Primal now had a hover board at his disposal. Unfortunately, his gun was its thrust engine, so the only weapons he had in this mode besides his strength were his twin maces. However, he had discovered with Terrorsaur that these maces could ricochet lasers, bullets and other energy weapons. What he wanted to do was try and direct said firepower to his opponents, turning their weapons against them, so to speak.

With the guns set to a low stun, loud explosions and other noises erupting from the speakers in the nearly soundproof room, Optimus practiced with his new vehicle mode by flying around, maces in his hands, and swinging at every shot he could that was fired at him by the automated system. Some missed and others bounced right off the rounded, spiky ends of his handheld weapons, harmlessly absorbing into the walls, floor or ceiling and filtering the displaced energy. There were holographic images set up in random areas as targets, some moved and others remained stationary. The flying, blue and silver ape worked on his aim, endurance, agility and aerial acrobatics. Since the Predacons had been quiet, Primal intended on taking advantage of the "time off" and learning about his new body. As much as he would rather spend more time with Whitegrazer, he knew this training would be crucial and beneficial for the battles that were certain to occur in the near future.

The Maximal leader had also spent a great deal of time studying his crew's new blue prints for those who also acquired the TransMetal upgrade. Getting to know their new abilities was just as important as his own in order to determine which missions suited which Maximals the best to ensure a greater outcome. Pieces of what he experienced in the Matrix were still shadowy or missing completely in his memory. Every once in a while something would pop up and catch him off guard but they were merely shards of glass without much meaning until he could remember more.

(( OOC: There you go, una, in case you still wanted Whitegrazer to join for a little spar. I didn't forget! ))

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Meanwhile, Rhinox had awaken from his slumber and made his way to the command center after watering and tending to some of his plants in his quarters. At least that was something he and Aurora had in common. Horticulture intrigued him, especially on this planet since it was full of all kinds of plant life; trees, flowers, weeds, etc. unlike Cybertron. If he wasn't in his room or outside studying the plants, or wasting time sleeping in a CR chamber, the science engineer could usually be found on the main bridge of the ship, tweaking and calculating and researching. All of their computer consoles and automated weapons were running normally again since the Predacons' last attack, which admittedly was some time ago now and Rhinox knew a few of those Preds were too hot-headed to let go of what Optimus did to them after his resurrection. Another attack or battle was certainly on the horizon but this time the Maximals would be ready for it. Until then, Rhinox spent his time wisely conversing with Optimus about ideas, strategies, the Vok and whether or not they knew or just life in general, or reading no matter where he was, or assisting team members with their abilities or functions, always searching for improvement. Ever hoping.

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As for Rattrap? He was still sleeping in his messy quarters. Cleanliness wasn't as important to him after everything he and his teammates had been through so far, not that it had ever been a priority in his life. Especially since Optimus came back and made him remove his junk from his nice, fancy room. Pfff, leaders. They got it made. ...Okay, not really. He knew how hard it was to lead a group like this against a group of misfits like Megatron's. They would've lost had Optimus not been brought back. It was a frightening thought and it made Rattrap realize how much he always took for granted and how tough and vile Megajerk truly was. He was grateful to still be alive now as close a call as it was during their last stand, and he told himself to be a better team player and try not to be so negative all the time. But with sarcasm came negativity... That's just who he was and that was the way he was going to stay. But there were some things he could let up on once in a while. ...Except with Dinobot and their newest Maximal-turned-Predacon-turned-Maximal Fuzor Silverbolt, whom he still didn't quite trust yet.

He could hear someone pace the halls every now and then during the nights. He knew it was their fearless leader but he didn't know why he was so restless sometimes. Rattrap could only imagine it was the price to pay being resurrected the way Rhinox and Whitegrazer had done it, which still boggled his mind. Fortunately, the monkey had the mare to help cope with everything, as well as the rest of his crew. Maybe his restlessness went deeper than that, though. Maybe it was the secrets he held - he knew had some, every leader does - or the burden of leadership. Whatever the case, the TransMetal rat figured he'd try not to make things so difficult for Optimus and the others anymore. It was time to mature in this war because there was no other choice; there was no room for childish behavior. Now they all knew how murderous and dangerous Megatron could be and it was not something to ignore or underestimate.

Rattrap had somehow managed to lay himself on his back and wheels as he slept, his tail twitching once in a while in beast mode. Definitely too early to get up yet even though the sun had already risen over the horizon.

((One new dino coming up! Sure the Maximals are just going to be thrilled. ))

Days had gone by since the Planet Buster's destruction followed by the Quantum Surge, and days since the stasis pods had crashed to the prehistoric planet of Earth. Even now it seemed one pod was finally beginning to activate, the automated computer lighting up,"Stasis pod online, beginning DNA scanner sequence."The computer's voice spoke to no one in particular as the scanner folded out from a small compartment of the panel along the pod's side and activated the familiar yellow light to begin looking for a proper life form to scan. The pod had crash landed in what would one day become the northern part of Africa, currently a tropical, lush green swamp that could offer a great many many animals it could probably offer as a form but also one odd thing was that the pod had crashed into a rocky outcrop within the swamp which revealed the fossilized remains of a long dead creature. Most specifically a young carnivore that could have one day ruled the Creataceous period.

Today there were no living life forms, but the fossil served the purpose the scanner had been programmed to do, after a few turns and scanning the fossil that seemed the only form of 'life' around at this current time it finally folded back into the panel and the same computer voice spoke. "Scanning complete, beginning transformation sequence." Soon as the voice went quiet a glow came from inside the pod as the protoform within began to shape and take form. But the form it now had was far too big for the pod, causing the glass to crack before popping open, a scaly hand reaching out to grip the side before pushing up to reveal a now living specimen of the Spinosaurus, her scales ranging from dark brown to tan and some bits of black along the sail on her back and just under her long snout down to her neck. Indeed, in the eyes of most others she might seem like a very intimidating creature even if she was not transmetal. "Hmm, an organic planet..."The female spoke, observing her area with crimson colored eyes for a bit before she stepped out from the pod to step onto the grassy ground below.

Spineback, as she decided to choose this name due to her spined back dinosaur form, turned in place to take in the tropical landscape before sniffing the air. She could smell a variety of things, heard many things, and could see for miles of swamp. Whether she was the only transformer there she wasn't quite sure but for now she finally began to head off into the thick brush, leaving behind some foot prints and eventually coming across the large bodies of water that usually could be found within swamps. It was perhaps not the most clean water but Spineback was going on her instinct and it drove her to move closer into the water to which she did. But she was also careful, gently moving her feet forward in the muddy bottom until she found a spot where the waters got deep, making her tilt her head a bit in thought. "Time for a little test of this form."Spineback said to herself before carefully lowering herself into the water and finding herself right at home surprisingly.

The water was warm and Spineback enjoyed it for a moment before finally submerging herself fully into the water and not even visible from land. And one thing she was not aware of or even thought about was the fact her pod would surely be giving off a signal to both bases to alert them that her pod had come online.

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Back near the Axalon, Wintersong had for once stayed around the Axalon to get some rest after a night patrol and had finally relaxed after several days had gone by with no more signs of the Predacons at all. And it was one of the first times she wasn't letting her mind feel guilt from what she had said to Arachnitron, the widow she had befriended but had ultimately helped drive away with her jumping to conclusions but now it seemed things were settled between them to a neutral understanding of what had transpired back then. She just hoped though by some chance she would return, though this could be wishful thinking on the transmetal tigeress' part so she tried to not dwell on it for too long. Now her thoughts had recently been filled with working on learning more melee skills, especially the use of her new twin swords and further seeing what her form was capable of. So far she was becoming quite accustomed to her boosters and wheels, which she had been using on and off with her patrols and often her trekking in the woods that she often occupied from time to time since after the event of the Planet Buster. Luckily, much of the forest had survived with a little bit burned to a crisp but she hoped in time this would recover.

Today, she had gotten up early and had come outside to take a walk within the forest nearby, weaving her way in and out of the trees with ease and having to relearn to be stealthy once more since her new metal beast mode prevented much of that. Though on a plus side she did now have a stealth mode and thermo-scanners she could use at night or dark places. Despite the ups and downs of her transmetal form Wintersong was quite satisfied with her form and was glad at least things were beginning to become normal again while the crew had survived being turned to burning slag.

Though after sometime, having been walking since the sun had been coming over the horizon, the transmetal white tigress came to a stop beneath a large oak and sitting beneath it for a rest. "Well wonder what today will bring."She wondered to herself, looking towards the rising sun and deep down was watching a bit hopefully for a particular badger she hadn't seen just yet. But she was always keeping an optic out for him these days and that morning was no different though for the time being she was content to watch the sunrise and enjoy a little R and R.

((It's so hard to think of a post...))

Starshadow was just sitting on a hoverboard holding a discus like device close to her glowing chest. The device was given by Shroud, the first bot she ever loved and was closest to her, but that was before they broke up after a certain issue was created by Keres which caused that. She closed her optics and began remembering the most memorable memory as a special forces officer.

Flashback:
It was just another ordinary day of training with Keres. Nightstar's body was sore and aching from all the punching, slamming and kicking she took from her mentor. To her, Keres was just a nutcase to make her battle in a field with lots of active landmines lying around. At the end of the training, she made her run across the field while Keres detonated the mines. Nightstar was about to return to her quarters until she noticed that Shroud was waiting outside her door.

"Shroud? Is there something need to ask?" she asked.

"Well..Since it was just few days ago after your promotion..I thought I should give you this." he handed her a device with Hell-Fang's emblem engraved on it.

"Wow...I don't know what to say..I've never received a gift from an outsider before.."

"They don't?"

"They don't bother. I'm half predacon remember?" she pressed the button at the center of it and a video of their most memorable memories together was projected. Nightstar was touched by his thoughtfulness. Shroud just kept quiet about it and maintained his emotionless expression, he did not know what to say or what to do.

"Thank you Shroud. That was very sweet of you." she smiled and kissed his cheek which made him blush a little.



THE PRESENT:
Cecaelia was having a joyride on the hoverboard and accidently knocked onto Starshadow's board, making her snarl in anger. "Oops! Sorry! ...what are you looking at?"

"Nothing.."

"Oh...nothing..right.." Cecaelia snatched the disk with a tentacle and inspect it.

"GIVE THAT BACK!"

"Wow....looks a little rusty. Who gave this to you?"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

Cecaelia pressed the button out of curiousity and saw Shroud in it. "You still miss him, don't you..?" Starshadow could not help but growl at her while refusing to answer her question.

Saber didn't feel as stiff and sore as she did a few days ago, she never felt this stiff after changing back. She figured it was because she had fought the rivers fast current while changing back.

Perhaps a walk will help. With a soft grunt, she pushed herself off her berth and left her sleeping quarters.

She had no particular destination in mind but she soon found herself near the training room, she peaked inside and saw that Optimus was inside, no doubt trying out his new transmetal form.

As Silverbolt made his way through the corridors onboard the Axalon, he took a moment to reflect on his time with the Maximals. Over the past few days, he had somewhat settled into a routine with him new comrades. Maintenence, patrols, and the general humdrum of activity... he felt a certain sense of comfort and belonging. New faces had gradually become familiar figured in his daily activities. He never checked on Optimus's claim that he had always been one of them. Silverbolt FELT like a Maximal... and this is where he felt he belonged, whether he was Maximal or Predacon from the start. And it seems his comrades generally accepted his past as a former Predacon, albeit brief. Perhaps Dinobot had paved the way for him... or perhaps his comrades were generally open and accepting.

Except for one.

Silverbolt had brought his concerns and proposal to Optimus, who told him "Sounds like a fine idea, Silverbolt." Moving on with his commander's blessing, he made his way to Rattrap's quarter's. The passageway was dotted with small bullet holes that had not been placed on any sort of priority for repairs. Arriving at Rattrap's quarter's, he knocked sharply on the door.

OOC: Hope this first post for Tarantulas and Terrorsaur checks out alright, if Una and Blackrose don't like something I can easily edit it. Also, would any predacon players be interested in being "experimented on" by Tarantulas? I only have Terrorsaur as a subject now, but if you guys like I can edit the post to include more predacons who've come to be tested out by Tarantulas willingly for whatever reason, like whether they owe him something or wish to test out their new forms...Or Megatron assigned them to be his lab rats as punishment for failing to take the maximal base, etc . Just let me know and I can make whatever changes are needed to accommodate more people.


Deep within the Predacon base, Tarantulas was hard at work. It had been several days since the aftermath of the transwarp wave and the failed attack on the Maximal base...Several days since the predacon scientist had lost his beloved lair and been forced to set up shop within one of the Darksyde's on-board laboratories, with a little help from his minions, the servile Arachnitron and the bothersome Blackarachnia.

Tarantulas had taken the time to replace Arachnitron's inhibitor chip upon their return, the femme still living in fear of losing herself to the ever warring maximal and predacon personalities that resided within herself. The new chip was superior to the old one, which he had whipped together on the fly from a standard predacon programming chip to enlist her aid during his attempt to escape the planet. The chip had been far from perfect seeing as that he had not counted on keeping her around, only long enough for him to secure passage off earth, only now that wasn't an option anymore and he needed to put more effort into the second chip to guarantee her continued loyalty, as well as keep her other selves at bay, who would surely cause all manner of trouble if let loose. The new chip was custom made with alot more time and care put into its design, so it should last longer than the last prototype. Arachnitron's new-found devotion to him and desperation to stay in control of herself made her a useful pawn, and she was certainly more pleasant than his ill-fated creation, Blackarachnia.

Blackarachnia was still subject to his telepathic control over her, meaning she was less a minion and more a slave with a sharp tongue as far as he was concerned, one who with time would learn that talking back to him or harboring ambitions of her own would only lead to pain, a lesson he was only too happy to teach after all her past indiscretions. However, he was still worried about what she had done while left alone at base during the battle, he'd temporarily been cut off from her during her investigation of Megatron's datatracks and while she had insisted both to Megatron and himself that the files had been completely destroyed, he knew her better than that and suspected she had uncovered something valuable, information she'd only waste on one of her petty power plays if left in her hands. No matter, he'd force the truth out of her sooner or later, but for now, he had more pressing matters to attend to, namely his new research project on transmetals.

"Remind me again why I'm helping you with this slag science project?" Terrorsaur inquired for the umpteenth time in annoyance, rolling his optics in boredom as he watched the spiders go about their work, standing in some-sort of makeshift tank (think what Optimus stood inside of when Rhinox conducted his tests on him).

"Because Terrorsaur, it was I who carried YOU to the CR Tank after you collapsed from exhaustion on your way back to base. You agreed to be a test subject for my experiments on our new transmetal forms so that you wouldn't have to drag yourself to the CR Tank like your pathetic partner Waspinator. You owe me, and I collect what is owed me, now shut your beak for a second so we can commence the experiment" Tarantulas snapped back at the impertinent flyer as he typed away at a computer council, a strange machine that looks somewhat like a cannon lowering from the ceiling and aiming directly at Terrorsaur.

"What are you trying to pull legs? I didn't agree to be target practice!" Terrorsaur scoffed, fists clenched and eye beams charging in warning.

Terrorsaur HATED owing the spider anything, but he didn't want the eight legged creep sneaking up on him one evening and poisoning him, the arachnid held a grudge as fiercely as he did. Besides, Terrorsaur did have a somewhat morbid fascination with just how powerful his new, perfect form truly was, and an egghead like Tarantulas was just the one to help him prove his superiority once and for all.

"It is not an autogun needlenose, its an energon caster, I intend to ascertain how much energon buildup our new bodies can withstand. Arachnitron, are the power cells fully charged?" Tarantulas inquired of Arachnitron, having assigned her the task of being his lab assistant, while Blackarachnia on the other hand had been given the menial task of sprucing up the lab, an outdated mess of a place that had once belonged to Scorponok and was literally filled to the brim with his seemingly endless array of failed experiments and crackpot inventions.

He wanted all of Scorponok's defective junk out and all of what they managed to salvage from his ruined lair neatly organized and put away, there was a limit to how far he was willing to "rough it," so to speak.

Tarantulas HATED working inside the base, since Megatron had eyes and ears everywhere here and this lab was nowhere near as nice as his old lair, which he had custom made to be the perfect science facility, free from Megatron's influence and the petty squabbles of his fellow predacons...Could it be he was homesick?

The days that passed since the battle for the Maximals survival unnerved the badger. He hand not left his quarters much to socialize with the Maximals, in fact he hadn't said a word since he spoke to Wintersong on the battlefield. He let out a soft sigh as he thought about her, how majestic she was. The only force that could get him up an out of his current state.
Ironclaw hadn't taken part in the repairs of the Axalon despite Optimus' orders. They still had their differences and would not see eye to eye, he knew it would come to the boiling point. He knew that at some point they would have to face each other and resolve it, whether that was with words or fists. Ironclaw stood up and went to his door and then made his way to the bridge. He passed a few faces that he recognised and some that he didn't trust. He said nothing and stepped onto the lift and exited the Axalon. Ironclaw reverted to beast mode and headed towards the jungle area where Wintersong usually prowls.
On all fours he made his way through the jungle, he sensed that she was near. He decided to be playful with her and transformed into robot mode. His change was loud and violent, it disrupted the wild life around him. This was contradicting his intentions, he wanted to be stealthy and see if he was able to sneak up on Wintersong. The badger waded through the undergrowth, knowing that she might be aware of his presents.

She wondered with a smile how long it would take him to notice she was there?

The confrontation between Nemesis and herself laid fresh in her mind. Black wings spread out. Sais stabbed through her hands. Ripping. A blade staring through her spark. Images of little bugs crawling around her body. Sadistic laughter mixed with shouts of rage filled a void of blackness. So much torment and despair leaking from such an individual wasn't something she had felt for awhile. Despite the fact it occurred differently for, there was a shared pain. A mind in such a dark state. But there was still hope. Hope when she hesitated. The moment when she decided to spare her. No matter how tempting it would have been for her, she decided to not spill more energon on the ground. Mercy.

What was Nemesis doing now? Was she pondering what she had told her? She hoped her words were being put into consideration. And she wasn't lying when she told Nemesis her offer still stood.

But she wondered about her friends?

So much bad blood... but she couldn't allow petty vengeance or hatred to ruin anything or anyone.

Staring from afar, she looked at Optimus's appearance. She wanted to see how he was doing. She knew how it felt to die and return to life. Despite the fact that he had returned, he probably had many questions. Gaps that need filling. Also, the nightmares... Yes, she knew he had them. She felt it. Though, she didn't know what, but the feelings of them and that was enough. If Optimus wanted her to know such things, he would tell her in due time. She was patient and understood as it had took her awhile to understand what she saw and what happened when she crossed the other side the first time. She closed her optics, wanting to see Optimus like she saw Nemesis. Ever since then, her spark couldn't read anyone else, but not with the lack of trying. Every other attempt was... painful. It needed time to strengthen.

She stepped forward a bit looking at her body, which was fixed days ago by Aurora and partly, the CR chamber. The power of the transmetalized forms from what she felt from Megatron was powerful yet to her, it was familiar. That quantum surge from the alien's weapon... She wondered how the Vok felt about them using their technology. Also, she knew it was time that she announced her presence. After all, she needed to help her body adapt or get used to the powers of the transmetals since she wasn't transmetal herself.

Stepping forward, she used the connection between them. It was more like a gentle nudge to his spark.

"It might be better to test your abilities on a real bot. " She wore a gentle smile and raised her hand, waving it , "I volunteer."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Blackarachnia had a reason to be happy. At least, inwardly.

But she wasn't going to be stupid. She knew Megatron didn't believe her little story, blaming Dinobot for the damages of the console. After all, she would have been surprised at Megatron's lack of deduction if he did. It didn't really take a genius to figure out she was lying or maybe did something with it. She was a black widow. She wasn't to be trusted with such information. Tarantulas... she loved the look on his face when he had realized, she knew something he didn't and there was no way he could pry it from her. He could try, but if he knew her as he loved to declare, torture wasn't going to make her get it up. This piece of information was her safety net. Like it or not, Megatron had no reason to keep her alive nor Tarantulas, but she had something he needed. Megatron had a sufficient army at his disposal. Why keep around a treacherous spider? It wasn't like him to forgive or forget what all three spiders planned on doing: escaping the planet and leaving everyone to die by the hands of the aliens, which included him.

She took a short glance at Terrorsaur and Tarantulas before she returned to her work. The transmetal forms didn't look too bad. They were more durable and a bit of shiny to them. It spoke power and it made her look weak. Why didn't she get a transmetal form? Was the choosing random or was there a pattern? Maybe she could glance at Tarantulas's results when she had a chance. She needed to know what made these new forms tick if she had any hope of surviving a battle between any transmetal Maximals and Predacons.

Days after the Predacon attack Frilla was fully functional again and gotten back into her usual routine of further exploring the planet, or at least seeing what changes had occurred from the Planet Buster while also testing out her new transmetal form. So far she had been impressed with the new upgrades, especially when it helped her to move up surfaces she might have found difficult with her normal claws, her legs modified in both forms to have an enhanced jump with the loss of her previous speed on hind legs, and the glide mode she had served well to leap from place to place or move further. It had been tempting to even try leaping off the cliff to see how far she could possibly go but decided against it for now. Though one day she definitely would have to try it.

For now though she was heading back from one of her little exploration trips and leapt from a rock just above the ship, activating her glider wings from her legs that spread out like overlapping plates and controlling her direction with her body, head, and tail. And just like that she put her back legs out slightly to slide across the top of the ship and slow down with her front legs before retracting the wings once more. "Sentinal, flight hatch open."She commanded to which the hatch promptly retracted before she jumped down to land on the round table in the middle of the bridge and smiled when seeing the familiar face of Rhinox. "Morning Rhinox."She greeted him before jumping off the table, "Maximize."With a low hiss she transformed to robot mode took out a notepad like device before taking a seat at one of the consoles. She, like the others, was still somewhat getting use to her transmetal body but so far had found it fairly easy.

Though one thing that didn't change was the fact she was still the smallest Maximal, "You know think the one thing I'd like from this transmetal form was perhaps a growth spurt. But guess I can only keep dreaming."She said with a light hearted smile, knowing it was a wishful thinking. She had always been a small femme since she came online, but she had certainly gotten a bit smaller since she came out of the stasis pod earlier in the war.

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When it came to Feralnight she was just beginning to awaken, yawning widely and stretching herself like any wolf would while also flaring out her wings in a long stretch before she hopped down from her bed and shook herself a bit. "Definitely needed that,"She muttered, having taken up a long night patrol but could see it wasn't exactly that late in the morning so she doubted she could get scolded for sleeping in. But she shrugged her shoulders before heading to her door which slid back to allow her into the hall and heading towards the bridge. Though along her way there she heard the sound of a knock while coming around the corner, seeing her fellow wolf fuzor trying to get Rattrap's attention to which she shook her head as she was heading back, "Good luck trying to get him awake 'Bolt, Rattrap isn't exactly a morning person."She warned him as she was heading down the hall and wondering if Rattrap would even wake up to a simple knock.

The days seemed to fly by quickly for the black stallion, Onyx currently on monitor duty within the Darksyde's main bridge or what remained of it besides the floor. He stood upon one of the mobile platforms occasionally typing a few things to check different sectors of the territory despite rather being far from the downed ship at the moment, this was especially so when he had gotten a good scolding from a not so happy Megatron not so long ago. Luckily he didn't get his life ended or beat down like before the strange alien structure when he had opposed Megatron's actions of going against his "truce" many days before. Nonetheless, monitor duty was better then having to help Tarantulas, face humiliation in someway, or not even being there so he was currently content at the moment and it gave him time to reflect upon his thoughts.

Lately Onyx couldn't help beginning to doubt his initial loyalty to the tyrant, having always been loyal to the Predacon cause of gaining equal rights among the Maximals back on Cybertron. And yes he had to admit he hadn't done the greatest of things in his lifespan in the universe but they certainly hadn't been anything very horrific such as the slaughter Megatron had tried along with his teammates but there had been some occasions he had had to take the life of another Cybertronian. But those had been in battle, some even in the illegal fighting circuit, but never would he kill when an opponent was not able to continue fighting. And in the last few years he was really beginning to think a more peaceful approach might just be what they needed not this constant fighting that brought really nothing but trouble, even though peace never lasted forever many years of it was better then nothing. Right now though Onyx was beginning to weigh his options of what to do, staying to the Predacons or risk an attempt to join the Maximals. It was a difficult decision to make but the burly mech was beginning to think it might be the only option.

His train of thought though was soon interrupted as he heard an alert, Onyx lifting his head from just staring blankly at the keyboard and looking at the screen where it alerted of a pod being activated, one of many that had crash landed since the Quantum Surge. "Megatron sir, there has been a pod just activated in sector Zeta 335(which yes I'm just making up guys and hope your alright with this Wintersong), which seems to be a swampy tropical land."He informed him over the com-link system, wondering if he was even awake despite the morning hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silverstreak meanwhile had found a place beside the waterfall just a little ways from the base but still in plain sight to train for a bit. Though she could have used the training room she wanted to be some place where it was somewhat quiet, and the sound of the rushing water close by was strangely calming to the young cyberninja-in-training and had recalled many times when her sensai had always told her it was useful to find a place she felt comfortable to be able to focus and concentrate, regardless if it was training or meditating she had always found a place that she saw as quiet yet calming or serene. Though she was far from being a master cyberninja she knew with time and some patience, which she still had to work on, Silverstreak was sure she could one day accomplish her goal of becoming a true ninja in her own right and hoped if they got back to Cybertron she could show her sensai how far she had come despite having to stop her training because he was needed elsewhere.

Today Silverstreak was focused on working with her agility, flexibility, and use of her tonfas, which she often incorporated into many of her moves when it came to close combat or deflecting attacks. What made this a good thing though was the fact she didn't have to worry about energon build up since it seemed much of the energon had become stable and making for a chance for longer periods of training. Taking a slow deep breathe, Silverstreak had her optics closed and relying more on her other senses at the moment as she slowly shifted through her attack stances then some of her defense, going off memory alone and shifting her arms or footing when something felt off, feeling that they were not quite yet perfect. But after she was done with this and satisfied she had them down she soon began to go into shifting through different kicks, strikes, and punches and also practicing with striking at different angles with her tonfas. At the moment she also didn't mind if anyone ended up seeing her, everyone trained once in a while and if she was needed the young vixen was more then ready to go at any time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the days that had gone by without any attacks by the Preds Cheetor had taken up Rattrap's advice of having more practice with his jets, the first time having ended up crashing into the consoles in the main bridge and having not much luck with that after. But in recent days he had gradually been getting better and the young cheetah was quite confident that soon he could be an excellent flier and outshine some of the Pred fliers with no sweat! Course he might be getting a little big headed but Cheetor didn't seem to care, especially since he was more then eager to learn all of what he could really do in this new upgrade body and hopefully finally prove to the others, especially Optimus, that he wasn't just a kid anymore. This teenager minded feline was beginning to feel he had grown since their crash landing upon Prehistoric Earth and this upgrade to his body seemed just another step into his growing out of that little kid stage and more into the adult he saw himself as.

But with lack of the Predacons showing Cheetor was disappointed to a point of not being able to show off his new moves but at least this gave him time for those flying lessons. And what better way to do that? Patrol of course. This morning he was taking up his own patrol, flying about the Maximal territory at a cruising speed with his jets and continuing to keep an eye out for Predacons who could be trying to plan a sneak attack or were on the move close to their territory borders. Though it might be a good idea to eventually head back to the Axalon, knowing for a fact he had been out for a few hours since just after dawn and the others were likely awake. "Time for this cat to cruise on out of here, not like there's much going on around here anyway."Cheetor said to himself, giving a one last glance around before turning on his jets to maximum and heading back to base.

It was out of sheer bordem that drove Sonar out of his hidden jungle lair... It was also hunger but it wasn't a hunger related to food, it was a hunger to see Saber-Fang dead at his feet. However, with the Maximals around to thwart his intentions that would be a problem.

Blasted, Maximals. He thought with a growl.

He some how needed to get them out of the way so he could do as he pleased with the former General. He gave another another growl when nothing came to him.

Frag, screw it. I'll just have it make it up as I go.

He angled his wings and headed toward Maximal territory.

OOC: Hey everyone, phoenix has asked me to takeover as Megatron for a week or two, so hope ya enjoy my first post as him . I was gonna wait a little bit longer for Blackrose to reply as Arachnitron, but I figured with the stasis pod situation at hand that it made more sense to rally the pred troops and move forward to the main plot, hope that's okay.

Wildfire94 wrote:
His train of thought though was soon interrupted as he heard an alert, Onyx lifting his head from just staring blankly at the keyboard and looking at the screen where it alerted of a pod being activated, one of many that had crash landed since the Quantum Surge. "Megatron sir, there has been a pod just activated in sector Zeta 335(which yes I'm just making up guys and hope your alright with this Wintersong), which seems to be a swampy tropical land."He informed him over the com-link system, wondering if he was even awake despite the morning hours.

"Aww Yesssss, excellent find Onyx, how wonderful it is to see you being useful for once. Do try to make it a habit" Megatron answered, showcasing his ability to both compliment and insult his underlings at the same time, the transmetal tyrannosaur emerging from the shadows like a ghost, giving the equine little clue as to how long he'd actually been on the bridge with him, his stealth belying his size.

The dinosaur then stomped over to his throne, or at least what passed for one on this wreck of a ship, and roared "Megatron, terrorize!" before changing into his elegant yet menacing robot mode, taking his seat of power before announcing over the intercom himself "Attention all Predacons, report to the bridge immediately, there are opportunities to be exploited and work to be done. That goes double for spiders, pterodactyls, and erstwhile fuzors. Megatron out."

He was of course referring to those of his command with checkered pasts of betrayal on their records like Tarantulas, Blackarachnia, and Terrorsaur, as well as fuzors like Starshadow who'd been all over the place during the entire Vok incident. Megatron's patience with traitors and schemers and wild cards was growing thin, especially when coupled with his frustration over the results of the "final battle" against the maximals mere weeks ago and the unfathomable return of his nemesis, Optimus Primal. The original Megatron had not had to deal with such nuisances, traitors like Starscream had been a rarity rather than the norm, the majority of his troops sharing his vision and willing to live and die for his ambitions...He however often found himself starving for loyal troops with genuinely good heads on their shoulders rather than fools like the ill fated Scorponok or psychopaths like his favored enforcer Inferno. Alas, unlike Galvatron's legendary execution of Starscream, Megatron could not afford to vaporize everyone who crossed him on the spot given the limited numbers of predacons he had at his disposal, though at the same time he could not allow treason to go unpunished too often or else he'd appear weak, hence why Glockstick's demise had been necessary. Though Megatron reveled in his new-found power as a transmetal, easily now the strongest cybertronian on the planet, the Beast Wars were still largely a war of numbers, whoever had the most soldiers on their side would ultimately have the advantage, so even one stasis pod was too valuable to pass up, even in spite of his recent influx of new recruits.

"You stole one of my servants Primal, only fair I should return the favor, Yessss..." Megatron mused to himself, even as he also took into consideration who amongst his forces would be best suited to the task of recovering the new protoform, as well as who would handle the other two missions he had been planning for today before this welcome but unexpected development had been brought to his attention.

He had been planning on setting up both a refueling station in Grid Arachis and a jamming tower today...Fortunately, multitasking planning had always been a strong suit of his, and he had more than enough expendable pawns for each task, yesss.

Back in the lab, Tarantulas was about to commence his experiment on Terrorsaur just as Megatron's domineering voice echoed over the loudspeakers.

"Blast that tin plated tyrant! Doesn't he know I have better things to do with my time than run errands for him?" Tarantulas fumed, slamming his fist against the control council in irritation over his research project being interrupted, though reluctantly curious about whatever could be so important that Megatron would summon everyone of the Predacon forces to the bridge so suddenly.

"Saved by the yell, later wallcrawlers! RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed, changing to beast mode and flying out the door without so much as a second glance.

Terrorsaur never thought he'd be happy to hear Megatron's voice, but any excuse to get out of doing "favors" for the creepiest spider of them all was good enough for him. Perhaps Terrorsaur would have another chance to lead the predacon airforce into battle against the maximals and prove his superiority to the others...Another chance to scrap the maximals who stole his thunder last time.

"Terrorsaur never forgets a grudge maximals, EVER! RAWK!" as he navigated the corridors of the predacon base to the bridge, Megatron's throne room.

"Sigh...Come Arachnitron, it seems Megatron has yet another "brilliant" scheme to takeover the universe to amaze and astound us with...Or bore us to tears" Tarantulas scowled, changing to beast mode and rolling out on his wheels.

"Finish your task and join us shortly Blackarachnia, mustn't keep our leader waiting, hehehehahaha" Tarantulas cackled on his way out, not caring if the female got in trouble for being late, only taking pleasure in her continued secret servitude unto him.

OOC: Sorry for the wait. Every time I get on I get the infamous general error message. So far it's looking good so here's a post for Arachnitron and tomorrow I'll post for Inferno.

Wildfire, did you decide what you're doing about Dinobot yet?

BIC:

It was just a few days after the failed attempt to exterminate the Maximals. Arachnitron, in the middle of the battle, had felt the full effects of the degradation of the inhibitor chip Tarantulas installed before the aliens had tried to destroy the planet. It had only been a temporary measure and Arachnitron had known that when she agreed to let him install it. She, of course, did not know that he originally hadn't intended for it to be repaired at all because he had intended to leave her on the planet. To her, Tarantulas had proven that he was doing what he could to help her. This meant the world to the naive spider. For the first time, the Hybrid's wants and needs were being addressed instead of dismissed. The Maximals had chosen the Maximal programming and the Predacons would inevitably choose the Predacon programming, but Tarantulas chose the Hybrid. He wanted her in control of the body and no one else. That thought resonated deep within her....he wanted her....not the Predacon, not the Maximal....her. That thought fueled her in her most desperate times.

But deep down she knew that what she was doing was wrong. She just wasn't ready to admit it. Her desperate need to be free of her constant pain overruled her sense of right and wrong and her infatuation with Tarantulas kept her from thinking about anything but being in control so she could be with him. But deep down.....she knew that what Aurora had said was true. Aurora had been upset with the spider's actions and couldn't understand the desperation she had been feeling. The desperation that caused her to turn to Tarantulas for help.

"Yes. Tarantulas helped the personality currently in charge. But what of the other voices that he silenced? Do they not possess the same right to be heard as you do?"

That is what Aurora had said to her (ooc: which took FOREVER to find again....just sayin'....). And it was true. She didn't deny it now nor did she deny it when Aurora first said it. But she was angry that it took everyone so long to realize what exactly was the real issue when it came to dealing with her personality disorder. The Predacon couldn't be in control of the body because it was against what the Maximal and Hybrid wanted. If the Maximal were in control it'd be against what the Predacon and Hybrid wanted.....that meant that now that the Hybrid was in control, she was holding back the Maximal and Predacon from getting what they wanted.

But the fact that it had been said to HER made her angry. Why hadn't anyone thought of that BEFORE....back when the Maximal was in control of the body?? It was only when the Maximal was silenced that everyone all of a sudden became concerned about rights. The Maximals' self-righteous, holier-than-thou, “Maximals are right and anything not Maximal is wrong” attitude bothered her. And for that she was angry. And it was because of that anger that she was unable to address the truth....the truth that she was wrong to silence the voices of the Maximal and Predacon.

So for now, she didn't really take the time to acknowledge the...as they say...800 pound gorilla in the room: The fact that she complained about being silenced for as long as she existed and now she was doing the same to the others. But what Aurora said sat at the back of her mind like a seed planted in the ground. The seed is there, but you can't see it until it grows more and more. At the moment, the thought Aurora placed in her mind was just a newly planted seed buried deep under the soil of solar cycles worth of pain, torture, fear and anger. She let her anger drive her to continue on as a Predacon and fight the Maximals....and she let her fear of her alters drive her to continue to assist Tarantulas in exchange for his constant supervision of the inhibitor chip. She had no idea just how quickly seeds grow.

"Remind me again why I'm helping you with this slag science project?" Terrorsaur inquired.

"Because Terrorsaur, it was I who carried YOU to the CR Tank after you collapsed from exhaustion on your way back to base. You agreed to be a test subject for my experiments on our new transmetal forms so that you wouldn't have to drag yourself to the CR Tank like your pathetic partner Waspinator. You owe me, and I collect what is owed me, now shut your beak for a second so we can commence the experiment" Tarantulas snapped back.

Now that the inhibitor chip was functioning again, Arachnitron was able to focus on what was going on around her. It felt so good to be in complete control again. It had been terrifying to have the Maximal in partial control of the body. The significance of that experience was still a mystery to her, but for the moment she just enjoyed the fact that she could hear every word between Terrorsaur and Tarantulas and she could see them and she could focus on the important task Tarantulas had given her. One of assisting Tarantulas in the lab as he and Terrorsaur tested the new transmetal forms. She listened quietly to the two Predacons and their bickering as she awaited instructions from Tarantulas.

"What are you trying to pull legs? I didn't agree to be target practice!"

"It is not an autogun needlenose, its an energon caster, I intend to ascertain how much energon buildup our new bodies can withstand. Arachnitron, are the power cells fully charged?"

Arachnitron checked the power grid. “Yes, they're charged and we're ready to begin,” she told him. She then sent a mischievous grin towards Terrorsaur not able to resist the urge to tease the pterodactyl. “Target practice to commence at your command,” she said to Tarantulas. Now that the chip was repaired, Arachnitron's demeanor had changed drastically. She was much more focused and she was much less withdrawn.

Before Tarantulas could give her the command to turn on the energon caster and start collecting data, Megatron's voice came over the comms.

"Attention all Predacons, report to the bridge immediately, there are opportunities to be exploited and work to be done. That goes double for spiders, pterodactyls, and erstwhile fuzors. Megatron out."

Arachnitron rolled her optics at the part about going double for spiders.

"Sigh...Come Arachnitron, it seems Megatron has yet another "brilliant" scheme to take over the universe to amaze and astound us with...Or bore us to tears"

Probably the latter,” Arachnitron grumbled learning to dismiss Megatron as a bumbling fool and hate his interruptions as much as Tarantulas did. Arachnitron put aside her work and followed Tarantulas to the bridge.

A few days after the battle with the Maximals, Inferno found himself doing one of his favorite things....patrol duty. The red ant marched back and forth up and down the dirt path outside of the Colony. And he was thorough. He patrolled the South side of the Colony. Then, once he was sure that all was clear of any enemy invaders, he patrolled the North side of the Colony. Then, he patrolled the Eastern side. Then, the West. And then, just to be sure he hadn't missed any signs of intruders, he started over again.

To be completely honest, he was glad the battle with the Maximals ended the way it had. He had an inner lust for battle and the Maximals kept that need to fight filled.

He was patrolling the Southern side of the colony for the third time when he heard Megatron's voice come over the comms.

"Attention all Predacons, report to the bridge immediately, there are opportunities to be exploited and work to be done. That goes double for spiders, pterodactyls, and erstwhile fuzors. Megatron out."

Inferno froze in mid-pace.

"On my way, My Queen!" he radioed back.

Inferno turned tail and headed towards the bridge to see what the Royalty's next command would be.

When he reached the bridge, he threw Megatron his best, most respectful salute and greeted him with a loyal: "What is your command, Royalty!"

The first few hours after Primal's unexpected return had been chaotic, serving a severe blow to the Predacon egos and shattering that sense of invincibility that had built up since the Maximal leader's demise. Nemesis had left the battleground physically unwounded, likely the only Predacon to return to base without as much as a scratch to show for the ongoing battle, and had been silently lingering in the cargo bay as her comrades started making their way back.

She had not felt a pressing need to mingle, her mind still struggling to process what exactly had happened during her confrontation with the white mare. It was an encounter that had shaken her a bit, feeling a certain vulnerability as the Maximal had seemed to see through the layers she put up around herself down to her very core. But what bothered her most of all was the fact that when the time had come to make that final blow and put the poor creature out of her misery, Nemesis had found herself unable to do so. Instead she had merely left, allowing the other female to live, a fact that bothered the winged Predacon to no end.

Fortunately none of her fellow Predacons had seen what took place, or if they did they were at least smart enough not to bring it up. Nemesis had no answers to give anyway and dwelling on the questions only worsened her already bad mood.

Hours had turned into days and the moaning from that fiasco of an attack had ceased. The Predacons once again took up their prior engagements, life returning to normal at the Predacon base.

Before long their leader, who had taken the biggest blow of them all, ordered his troops to gather. Nemesis had been crouched down on her perch up by the ceiling of the command center when Megatron's voice disrupted her thoughts.

With a sigh she pushed herself off the edge, landing with a thud only a very short distance from the commander.

"You bellowed?," she inquired in her sweetest voice.

(ooc: This sinus infection is killing me.. Will post for Aurora tomorrow!)