"More Than Meets The Eye: Part I"

[NaitoKage]

"Why am I not surprised that incompetent cephalopod managed to get herself killed and cost me yet ANOTHER resource at the same time? Good riddance to bad rubbish then. Don't bother pursuing Nemesis, if my plan works out the maximals will soon be without their leaders and whatever the traitor was up to with them will be irrelevant. For better or worse I need all hands on deck to prevent to guarantee the success of this prisoner exchange, I cannot afford any distractions that could further weaken our security. Besides, you wouldn't be able to keep up with her speed anyway."

Umbra simply gave a nod, watching as Megatron slipped the faceplate away. Understood.

"I shall go after her, My Queen!"

Umbra then watched as Inferno chimed in, though Umbra said nothing. Other then some certain issues with how Inferno operated, Umbra didn't really have much concern from the insect. But he doubted Inferno's efforts could work against Nemesis..

"Do not bother Subcommander, alas, no one here left at base besides myself is fast enough to catch up with that traitor, not with Terrorsaur and Waspinator out in the field and currently preoccupied with the mystery ship. We cannot afford to waste time chasing after rogue elements when we have a prisoner exchange to see to, and no doubt the maximals will do what they always do in these situations, risk everything they have on the slim hope of rescuing a few expendable pawns. Granted, I hope to turn that instinct against them this time, but one must expect these fools to do both the irrational and the unexpected to save every piece they have on the board rather than sacrifice them for the greater good...Want to make yourself useful Inferno? Take Umbra and go check on the prisoners, make sure they're still secure, I don't need anymore surprises today."

Umbra smirked Maximals tend to play chess a bit differently.. after all, a pawn can become promoted to a Queen when it reaches enemy lines. But I think we'd best make sure that doesn't happen.. Umbra then looked towards Inferno Lets go, Sub commander.

It would seem he would have to try to obtain that video later, with the way things were now, he wouldn't be able to track down the target.
________________________

Quickstrike, Starshadow, remain on monitor duty for now and keep alert for signs of enemy approach, and keep the comms open in case the maximals reply to our demands. Tarantulas, as soon as Arachnitron is online again take her and go prepare a new custom prison cell for Primal and Nexus, I'm not entirely confident in our standard accommodations to contain the likes of them effectively. And as for Blackarachnia...Megatron to Blackarachnia, REPORT! Where are you?"

Sure thing boss. Quickstrike reponded, staying at the monitor.
He then looked at Starshadow as she sighed and spoke up

"looks like it's just you and me answering the phone calls and shooting down suicidal idiots..."

Quickstrike gave a smug look Well, least it wont be too boring with you here darlin'.
______________________________

"Let's go. I hope my little helpful thrusters could stay undamaged until we get back to-ugh!"
"I don't think we could take the shortcut if there's any... We'll need a safe place to briefly discuss our escape plan. Can you fly?"

Cheetor observed her wound on her chest, then looked up towards Banshee as he was still in his beast mode, his cyber thrust wings popped out of his sides Like the wind. Climb on!
________________________________

"Hey! Who's in charge here? Good idea though"

Waspinator shrugged Wazzpinator merely making suggezzztionzz, leader.

[starshadow]

Well, least it wont be too boring with you here darlin'.

Starshadow looked at the monitor and yawned ike a cat. There was nothing that could entertain her. Just looking at Quickstrike made her "stomach" rumble. She did not had a decent amount of mech fluid to drink for months, but she cannot let her hunter instincts take over her at the moment, so she stared at the monitor.

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

Like the wind. Climb on!

Good thing that her collegue could fly, otherwise she would have a hard time carrying him around. Banshee sat on Cheetor's back, folding her wings and took out her throwing knives, "I'll cover you if the Predacons opened fire on us.."

(Ehhh...sorry...nothing much to post.)

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Yo! Here's my post, wanted to get one in before the weekend. However, I'm waiting for a note from Phoenix, so I'll edit my post to include something for Terrorsaur later, sorry for the wait, but for now, enjoy Megs & Rant.

Naitokage wrote: Umbra smirked Maximals tend to play chess a bit differently.. after all, a pawn can become promoted to a Queen when it reaches enemy lines. But I think we'd best make sure that doesn't happen.. Umbra then looked towards Inferno Lets go, Sub commander.

It would seem he would have to try to obtain that video later, with the way things were now, he wouldn't be able to track down the target.

"Indeed" Megatron replied sarcastically, needing no explanation on how to play chess, and while he valued intelligence, he was not in the mood for witty banter, not when the outcome of the Beast Wars could very well be decided today.

As long as the mercenary did what he was paid to do, Megatron had no quarrel with him.

"However, I do suspect Primal's current consort would have some objection to awarding Nemesis such a title" Megatron added sarcastically, a little levity at Primal's expense improving his mood somewhat, as well as the idea of Whitegrazer's tears at the sight of what would be left of Primal once he was done with him, yesss.

Una wrote: Oh what's going on that was important enough to interrupt her thought processes, "What is it?" Her tone was snappy.

Megatron voice oozed with cold menace as he replied "Mind your tone spider, now is not a wise time to raise your voice at me. I'll be delighted to hear all about whatever you've been doing while all this time while the rest of us have been working to secure our ultimate victory, exposing a traitor, and responding to an invading Cybertronian ship, LATER, but for now, go assist Tarantulas and Arachnitron in the labs, IMMEDIATELY!"

Megatron had his doubts about whether he could trust those three together, but given the situation and what was at stake, he doubted they'd try to pull anything when his attention was on every predacon in this base to do their jobs and his tolerance for treachery was at its weakest. Besides, he would need their technical expertise to perfect a proper holding cell for the maximal leaders, one strong enough to hold them until they were no longer of any use to him.

Meanwhile, in the labs, Tarantulas and Arachnitron were already hard at work constructing the ideal shackles and prison for the likes of Primal and Nexus.

"Pass me that laser torch my dear" Tarantulas requested as he worked diligently on several makeshift power bonds, high tech restraints which he suspected, despite having to put them together on such short notice and using whatever materials he could scrounge up around the lab, would be able to restrain the maximal commander and the admiral.

"Megatron should have thought to upgrade our security measures a long time ago, as opposed to waiting til the last minute for a time critical crisis like this to emerge, far too many maximals has slipped out of this base since the Beast Wars began. Its embarrassing to dwell upon..." Tarantulas explained, his three fingered hands installing circuits and wires one after the other, putting these restraints together seemingly out of scratch.

Admiral Grim wrote: "Attention this is Night Terror, that was your first and only warning. Should anyone else approach my vessel, they shall be fired upon. I have no desire to destroy my fellow Predacons."

"Seriously? Bot sounds like an after school special...Definitely not the kind of talk I'd expect from a Tripredacus kill squad, unless predacon standards hit a new low while we were away" Terrorsaur grumbled, reluctantly deciding to call Megatron, not wanting to be blamed for this slag if it went south "Mission Leader Terrorsaur to Megatron, the mystery ship fired a warning shot and then its pilot warned us not to approach or else, even made a flowery speech about not wanting to destroy his fellow predacons. How should we respond?"

Back at the Pred base, Megatron rolled his optics at Terrorsaur's self-bestowed title, wondering how long it would be before he started calling himself a captain, or more amusingly, "Sub-Commander Terrorsaur," oh yes, Inferno would LOVE that.

Megatron answered "Terrorsaur, you've been part of my crew for a long time, for better or worse, so you should know by now the proper response to such a gracious warning. Slag them all and sort them out later, yesss."

"Ehehahaha! Suddenly I remember why I joined your crew in the first place Sir, orders received, Team Leader Terrorsaur out" the pterodactyl replied, for once agreeing with his tyrannical leader as he turned to his team and said "Boys, LETS TERRORIZE! RRRAAAWWWK!"

Taking to the skies with Waspinator and Buster, clutched between his talons, Terrorsaur activated his shoulder launchers and fired at the enemy ship's engines with several energy sig seeking missiles, before dropping Buster into the trees and instructing "New guy, here's your chance to prove you're useful, put that gun of yours to work while Waspinator and I soften the stranger's ship up, got it? Wuss out and Wasp and I will leave ya here for the Maxis, I hear Primal EATS prisoners, nom nom nom! Ehahahaha!"

Turning to Waspinator, Terrorsaur added "Just try not to get shot out of the sky too quickly this time, eh partner? I don't trust the mammal to watch my back if I catch my drift."

With that, Terrorsaur pulled upwards and turned around to continue his assault, this time following up with his eye beams, making sure not to give the enemy ship an easy flight pattern to follow so he'd be harder to hit. This time he targeted any visible gun turrets or weapons pods he could spot on the ship, hoping to weaken its defenses...Slag, being shot up by the Axalon's autoguns so many times had given Terrosaur an unconscious instinct to follow this sort of tactic, but he didn't like chocking up his strategic brilliance to how often they had failed to take that stupid wreck of a ship.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

"I know, Optimus. I wish that... as well. Perhaps I should have stayed in the wilds... Then maybe this could have been avoided..."

Primal stepped away from Orcariner and back into the corridor when he heard Saber-Fang talking again. What was she going on about?

"Y-you may have forgiven me, Optimus... But I can never... Forgive m-myself." "I-I can't do that, Optimus. Please don't ask me to do this..."

"Do what? All I want you to do is sit there and try to stay calm," he told her, unaware of her visions so her reaction baffled him. She started to tremble and then fell deathly silent. ...Maybe that was a good thing. He wished he could do more but whatever was making them all act this way with these crazy hallucinations was a bit of a mystery to him. The leader's gaze drifted to the unconscious bat and narrowed at him for what he had done. But since he was out cold, now there really wasn't anything Optimus could do.

"Heavystep..."

Rhinox looked curiously upon Saber when she said the name, or at least he assumed it was a name and not an observation of his weight when he walked. He cautiously knelt down beside the bat and the cat and examined them, or attempted to since his vision was all distorted and out of whack.

"We're on a field mission, Optimus, but we'll return to base very shortly," "Is everything all right? You sound a little strained."

"No," Primal returned sternly to the Admiral. "Nothing is all right." But then it sounded as though their transmission was breaking up. What could possibly be interfering with their radios? Frustrated, he asked, "Nexus?" and waited a moment in silence before repeating, "Nexus?!" Optimus grumbled with a heavy sigh. "Rattrap, do you copy? Status report," he ordered as he switched frequencies to find out what was going on out there.

"Go and establish communication with Megatron. I've got this covered," Rhinox told his friend as he avoided looking at him only because it would suddenly make him dizzy when everything in his line of sight would jump 500 yards away in a split second.

Agreeing with the scientist, the Maximal Commander moved into the command center and stood at the communications console. He couldn't make his enemy wait any long in fear of him harming his Maximals. In fact, he had probably made him wait long enough, but he hoped he wasn't too late. Plugging in a transmission to the Darksyde, he called, with some great reluctance although disguised with confidence and firmness, "Megatron, this is Optimus. Respond." The nanogel continued to squirm on him and inside of him, as odd as it felt, it also gave him comfort in knowing that it was helping fight against his hallucinations. he would have to try and make sure he sounded normal so Megatron wouldn't suspect anything.

-----

"Predacons. They must have been firing on their own to test their mettle and show what they could do. Similar to an insignation ritual except a more brutal version." "If Nexus is spotted..." "I have to stop him before they spot him."

Rattrap followed the mare's observations with his own optics and nodded in full agreement with her assessment. More slagging Predacons! Unbelievable. However, he went to grab her wrist to stop her from following the Admiral and giving away their position, but he was too late. Staying back with Aurora, he watched Whitegrazer's and Nexus Prime's exchange and suspiciously observed the ones who emerged from the ship. Unfortunately, their whispers were inaudible to him.

"Rattrap, do you copy? Status report,"

"Loud 'n clear, scrape ape," the rodent replied in a soft voice while he kept watching the others. "Hate ta break it to ya but it looks like we got more Predascum to deal with. Dis ship just brought in at least two more. And it looks like Nexus is foolish enough ta welcome them with open arms an' a fruit basket." He paused to listen to Nexus introduce himself but the Pred who seemed to be in charge failed to return the proper etiquette. Typical. He wanted to know who they were and what they were doing here on Earth. How coincidental that they showed up right after the Akira did...

-----

"Loud 'n clear, scrape ape," "Hate ta break it to ya but it looks like we got more Predascum to deal with. Dis ship just brought in at least two more. And it looks like Nexus is foolish enough ta welcome them with open arms an' a fruit basket."

Just as he thought. Why wasn't he having any trouble with Rattrap's transmission? Setting that aside for a moment, Primal's spark sank when the Spy mentioned two more Predacons. Suddenly, things were looking a little grim for the Maximals, and it weighed on him. "Do we know who they are?" he asked.

"Dat's a negative," Rattrap answered.

"Have your group return to base immediately," Primal emphasized. "But beware, some of us are experiencing an extreme case of hallucinations... Thanks to Sonar who is now out cold and may or may not hold the antidote."

"What?! How de heck did he get outta his cell?"

"You're going to find out as soon as you get back," Optimus forewarned the rat.

Figures, he thought. "Are you..., you know, seein' things?"

"I am infected. As are Rhinox, Orcariner, Saber-Fang and Sonar. It was some kind of gas he set off. How he got it, I haven't a clue. Now, enough chit chat. Get back here." He abruptly cut the transmission as he waited for Megatron.

Chit chat? Rattrap questioned awkwardly. It didn't quite sound like Optimus, and before he knew it, their communication had ended. How rude!

"Dat's a wrap, guys, we're leavin'. Now. Monkey's orders. We got probs back at de base," Rattrap informed them through their comm. links.

(( OOC: I'll be back to catch up this upcoming Monday night or Tuesday. ))

[Phoenix]

"Admiral Nexus Prime, this is a most intriguing honor."

Had it not been for the fact that Nexus Prime had been too well bred to snort in the presence of enemies, his double would have done so at this very moment. The arrival of his crew before his plans had been fully implemented did indeed complicate things and Night Terror's untimely display of respect for him in this form was disturbing. Before taking on the role of Nexus Prime, he had prepared for every scenario imaginable.. aside from perhaps this one. And knowing that the two of them were both aware of the truth but were being observed by others, severely limited their ability to communicate.

"I was unaware of any Maximal presence on this planet. So please forgive my trespassing."

Polite as his words were, the underlying tone revealed more than the bat had intended. Although Nexus was unable to read minds, his many undercover missions had taught him to interpret speech patterns and minor changes in body language well. Nexus was barely able to hold back a groan at the bat's persistence.

No.. He had to stay with the real Nexus' mindset in front of his allies, no matter how tempting it was to chew his crew out for exposing themselves like this. So Nexus merely sent the other male an all-knowing stare, confident the other male would have the common sense to go to the coordinates he transmitted when time issues permitted it.

"And here I thought I could have some polite conversation. We are, after all still at peace on Cybertron. I do not wish to start a war over such a minor misunderstanding. The outcome would indeed be...regrettable."

"Save your empty words, Predacon. I did not come here with the intention of fighting, merely to warn you that your presence here may be interpreted as a hostile gesture. Do with that warning as you will.."


He paused, glancing past Night Terror to his silent comrade before settling his gaze on something moving in the night sky above. A split second later the unmistakable sound of laser fire raining down on the ship's weapon systems broke the silence, causing Nexus' lip to curl up into something of a smile.. quite unfitting someone of his rank and stature. At the same time his communicator buzzed back to life.

"Dat's a wrap, guys, we're leavin'. Now. Monkey's orders. We got probs back at de base,"

"Well," Nexus said, briefly raising his hand up into something resembling a salute of sorts, "As much of a pleasure as it is to converse with you, I fear we must part ways. It looks like we both have more pressing matters to attend to."

He sent Night Terror one final glance before returning to the rest of the Maximals.

Aurora had been tugging on her lower lip, a quirky tendency she had developed when she was nervous, as she waited impatiently for a fight to break out between Nexus and the two unknown Predacons. Much to her surprise they had kept their encounter mostly civil, but she still drew a not-so-silent sigh of relief as she saw Nexus break away and coming towards them. Although Rattrap's warning that there was trouble brewing back at base was still processing in her head and she silently wondered what could be going on that required them to return so quickly. Part of her wasn't entirely sure she even wanted to find out, since whatever it was, it had to be serious.. Really serious. And just when things had started to seem more promising too..

Not saying a word, Aurora pulled out her magnetic hook again and waited for one of the others to transform.

Meanwhile Nemesis was in her transmetal hawk mode, taking advantage of the dark night sky as she flew quickly away from the Predacon base. Where she was going, she wasn't quite sure yet, her thoughts dwelling on everything that had transpired over the past few hours which had rendered her a fugitive in the end.. She still wasn't quite sure how all the pieces fit together, but knew that trouble had more than likely just begun. The person behind all of this wasn't about to stop now. The fact that she had underestimated Darkwind so completely left her with a sickening sensation in her gut.. as well as a bit of a headache. It was obvious that Darkwind had attempted to have Megatron dispose of her, but.. why? Who was he really? Their little squabble in the field earlier had proved that they shared a common history, but Nemesis could not remember having encountered him before.. And then there was that video clip that Megatron had played for her, showing her enter the Maximal base.. But how? Her nanotechnology was limited to self repairs.

Headache worsening, she decided to let the matter rest for a little while. To distract herself she looked down at the ground below, taking note of the fact that she was currently passing over a wooded area.. which looked strangely familiar. Then the flickering of the faint moon light bouncing off something metallic caught her eye, her curiosity forcing her to descend to investigate. She transformed and landed near a shallow river, the sound of the water rushing past an area rich with pebbles quite soothing to her. She was quite a ways from the base now and she was certain she had not been followed, so she allowed herself to relax a little bit again as she looked around.

Another flicker, located a short distance from her in the shallow water, pulled her towards it. The moonlight was faint, but the metal it was reflecting off was very bright.. and yellow. She immediately recognized it as a piece from that annoying Maximal bird.. What was his name again? Aerostriker..

Picking the piece up to investigate it a bit more closely, Nemesis' optics flashed with remembrance of her last encounter with the flying Maximal. As useless as that creature had been in life, perhaps he could still serve a purpose in death.. Nemesis stared at the metal in her hand for another few nanoclicks while an idea started forming in her head.

[una]

Whitegrazer had kept an eye on Nexus Prime and the other Predacons as they talked, but the only words she could hear clearly was from Nexus Prime. She watched and introductions seemed to be cordial and polite. The back of her comrade was only visible, but she noticed the facial expressions of the new Predacon. Something, something didn't feel right. Nothing felt right at all to her. Maybe, maybe she should talk to Optimus or Rhinox about this?

"Dat's a wrap, guys, we're leavin'. Now. Monkey's orders. We got probs back at de base," Rattrap informed them through their comm. links.

She whispered to herself. Problems? She quietly walked close to Rattrap, "What's happening? Is something wrong?" She hoped no one was hurt or worse. Many things could have happened while they were gone. But she could feel something wrong with Optimus. He was edgy. He was irritated. She closed her eyes, trying to calm his soul. Still wondering what was going on in the Axalon with Optimus and the others. She looked towards Aurora with a comforting pat on her shoulder before she noticed Rattrap's expression. You are suspicious too, aren't you? She may not always agree with Rattrap's paranoia and suspicion on anyone, but she knew her own naivety and willing to see good in people does blind her sometimes.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Megatron voice oozed with cold menace as he replied "Mind your tone spider, now is not a wise time to raise your voice at me. I'll be delighted to hear all about whatever you've been doing while all this time while the rest of us have been working to secure our ultimate victory, exposing a traitor, and responding to an invading Cybertronian ship, LATER, but for now, go assist Tarantulas and Arachnitron in the labs, IMMEDIATELY!"

She flinched when Megatron screamed into her auditory processors. At least, his voice wasn't in her head like Tarantulas, but really, she was really tempted to drop his voicebox. Though, despite her temptation to snark back at him, she rather not push Megatron farther. People like Megatron seemed to get deadlier when they are desparate or at their wit's end, "As you wish, Mighty Megatron."

She went to join Tarantulas and Arachnitron the stare she gave them when she entered the room was the glare of death before she went work. As Tarantulas and Arachnitron worked on the powers bond. Despite her failure with the scanner, she used the same tactic to try and makeshift a shield perimeter.

[Night-Hunter]

Saber could only stare at her old comrade, he had been the only one who knew about her secret, the only one beside Sonar she had confided in. And unlike Sonar he had actually tried to help her gain control over her darker side. A true friend and confidant.

He had truly believed that she could control it and she almost gotten the hang of it until the massacre on Colony Omicron.

She and Heavystep had been incharge of getting the the colonists to safety when the beast had unexpectedly surfaced...

"Control it, Saber-Fang! You are it's master, not the other way around!"

Saber started shaking, she didn't remember everything that happened. Only flashes of it but it was still enough to haunt her... She grabbed the side of her head again and started hyperventilating.

I-I have to get out of here! She thought as panic gripped her spark.

She jumped to her feet and bolted for the lift, she repeated pushed one of the buttons. She had to get out and get as far away from here! Away from the blood and carnage!

[Phoenix]

Nemesis flew silently through the night sky, enjoying the silence and solitude which gave her a much needed opportunity to think about all that had transpired and what approach to take. She had already made a decision on where to go next, but part of her was second guessing herself. Though what choice did she really have? She couldn't exactly show herself back at the Predacon base after what had transpired there. Megatron would have her in chains or perhaps even dead before even giving her a chance to explain. There was no such thing as a fair trial among Predacons, just like there hadn't been for the Decepticons that came before them. Suspicion of treason meant an automatic death sentence and usually not in a humane manner either. No.. Going back was simply not an option right now.. At least not until she'd figured out what exactly was going on and put a stop to it.

She wasn't exactly hurrying to her destination, instead she decided to conserve her energy. It was a lesson well learned from her former life as a fugitive, before joining the beast wars. But she was no longer that frightened teenager who has escaped experimentation and started a life on the run, no, this time she wouldn't make the same mistakes she had in the past.

Below her the wooden terrain began giving way to a more open area with a river running through it. Angling herself to follow the river upstream, the magnificent waterfall unveiling itself a short distance ahead, Nemesis slowed down her pace significantly. Resting by the waterfall was the all-too-familiar shape of the Maximal base, still covered in darkness for the time being but it wouldn't be for long with dawn fast approaching. Nemesis made sure she stayed just outside of their scanner's reach, finally descending a short distance above the waterfalls. She transformed and landed in a clearing, holding the bright yellow piece of metal she had recovered earlier in her hand. Among the mostly wrecked pieces of wire attached to it was what appeared to be a partially busted up communicator. But even if it was likely too damaged to transfer messages, it should still be able to transfer a single, simple signal..

It took no great effort to reconnect a few of the wires, causing the communicator to send out a short burst of emergency signals. She was close enough to the Maximal base for them to pick up the signals.. on a Maximal frequency. So it shouldn't take long before she had visitors. Removing herself out of sight, taking shelter in a nearby forested area, Nemesis waited..

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I have returned from Canada, eh! But I'm only going to post for Rhinox and Rattrap since Optimus (who will also pick up Nem's signal) is still waiting for Megs. Where the heck is everyone else this whole time? And, Blackrose, you can do what you like with Dinobot but things are moving along here... ))

After examining Sonar and making sure there was nothing fatally wrong with him, Rhinox turned to Saber-Fang who began to stir again while she grabbed the side of her head and trembled.

"Saber-Fang!" he called after her when the former General leaped to her feet and bolted for the lift. Standing up too quickly, Rhinox became terribly dizzy and light-headed. He took a step forward and nearly fell over as he lost his coordination and balance for a moment. His hand catching the wall, he pushed himself up straight and jogged after the female feline when he realized what she was heading for. Stomping into the command center, he went to tackle her but probably threw more weight at her than he had to; although judging by his distorted vision it had appeared to him that he needed to make a big jump in order to catch her in time when in reality there was only a few feet between them.

-----

Rattrap reverted to his beast mode and assumed Aurora was going to hitch a ride again, so he waited a moment for her to reattach her hook before he started to drive off, refusing to give these new Preds and the other Preds a chance to gang up on them and start a battle that he really wasn't in any shape to handle. He spoke quietly with Whitegrazer along the way.

"What's happening? Is something wrong?"

"You tell me," Rattrap said more rhetorically than actually looking for an answer but she could still give him something if she wanted, glancing up at the mare as he drove along side of her at a pace she could easily maintain with him and that Nexus could catch up to. After all, she was the one with that connection to the monkey's spark, so she should be feeling whatever he's going through. "Our fearless leader said Sonar unleashed some kinda hallucinogen and it's effected all of 'em at de base. He was talkin' kinda funny. We betta be careful approaching the place."

"Hey, you got a lotta nerve walkin' up to a Pred ship like dat and givin' us all away," the dragster rat confronted Nexus when he spoke louder for him behind them. Suspicion remained in the back of his mind but he pretended that everything was honky-dory in order to see his reaction and what he might comment with. "I mean, everybody else was aware of who was in charge 'ere," he added, implicating himself.

As they approached the Axalon at her stern, Rattrap slowed down his speed to a crawl before stopping completely and lifting his wheels so his feet were on the ground. Calmly waving his tail back and forth, he sniffed the air as his neon green eyes looked about in the darkness. The hangar bay door was closed and everything sounded quiet enough outside except for the crickets and the waterfall. The saturated air threw off his sense of smell from anyone who was hiding nearby in the shadows. "Optimus said it was a gas dat Sonar released, so hopefully it's been vented outta the ship by now," he said to his entire group. Maximizing, Rattrap pulled out his gun just in case, and gently rubbed his chest where his chest wound from Terrorsaur earlier was still slowly healing.

(( OOC: I'll stop there with Rattrap for others to catch up. ))

[Alak]

Again, Orcariner heard Optimus' voice echoing behind him, but this time around he paid no attention to it. The image of his deceased companion was beginning to overwhelm him, especially since he knew for certain that he had buried the body inside of a mountain long ago. Yet, here it was just lying in the middle of the jungle with wounds fresh as if Ice Sight had just died yesterday. There was a pain in the orca's spark just seeing his old friend in this state.

"Who brought you here?" he whispered.

Turning around, Orcariner looked for anyone else who may have been nearby. This could just be a trap design specifically to harm the giant Maximal. His mental processor was rushing to clear out the emotions in order to return to its analytical state. He needed to force himself to think like a soldier again. Somehow, Orcariner was teleported to the middle of this jungle. Somehow, his assailant was able to unearth the Ice Sight's body and lead Orcariner to stumble across it. The titan stood up and noticed that light was beginning to disappear. He also noted that the trees appeared taller than before now. Perhaps it was just his lack of attentiveness that he did not notice their looming presence before. Orcariner unsheathed his energo-sword and observed as his surroundings lit up with a blue light. He immediately regretted it.

"Primus..."

Looking down, Orcariner could see the dead bodies of Icebreaker, Nightmist, and Valkyrie. Fear quickly crept into his spark once more and he began to panic. The logical part of his mind continued to scream orders at him in order to keep him alert. The emotional part threatened to bring him to his knees. All of his friends who died in this war surrounded him. The mech fluid from their wounds were glistening off of the brilliant light emitted from his sword.

Calm down. This is an impossible scenario. You have to think this through.

"Who's doing this? Who would do this?"

Orcariner's breathing became accelerated. He struggled to string coherent thoughts together.

Look at the bodies.

Blinkly rapidly, he was reluctant to follow his logic circuits.

Look at the bodies!

There they all were: Ice Sight, Nightmist, Valkyrie, and Icebreaker. Orcariner stared emptily at their corpses, unsure of how to proceed.

Remember how they died.

Ice Sight was stabbed. Icebreaker was shot. Both Nightmist and Valkyrie were destroyed by Nemesis.

Exactly, why would Nightmist and Valkyrie's bodies be laying here if they were integrated. Very little remains of them in the real world.

"And Icebreaker was cremated," Orcariner said with realization, "This isn't real."

Even with that epiphany, the jungle and corpses continued to surround the Maximal sentry. He now knew that there was something in that corridor that inflicted him with this painful illusion. Unfortunately for him, simply knowing that this just was a false environment did not remove him from the nightmare itself. Orcariner was content with that. He sheathed his energo-sword and chose to sit down on the floor in darkness rather than continue to run about. Closing his optics, he placed his trust in his teammates knowing that they would eventually rescue him from this dark place.


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Hearing Terrorsaur bark orders at him, Buster aimed his automatic rifle and proceeded to hold down the trigger. The armor piercing rounds he used were meant to penetrate body armor. They were absolutely useless against this ship's hull.

"Put me down!" he yelled, "I need to set up my rocket launcher! This gun isn't gonna do anything to that ship!"

That was the logical explanation. Really, Buster just wanted to be back on his own two feet. He knew perfectly well that he required no set up procedure to utilize his heavy weaponry. Still, he was willing to lie through his teeth if that meant he would not have to be carried around by the Terrorsaur. That, and he was certain that they would both get shot down from the sky.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Moving things along a bit, sorry if I'm skipping ahead of anyone but the show must go on. I hope ya don't mind Tarantulas being his usual "charming self" this post Una, if not I can alter it. I hope you feel better soon Blackrose

OOP wrote: Agreeing with the scientist, the Maximal Commander moved into the command center and stood at the communications console. He couldn't make his enemy wait any long in fear of him harming his Maximals. In fact, he had probably made him wait long enough, but he hoped he wasn't too late. Plugging in a transmission to the Darksyde, he called, with some great reluctance although disguised with confidence and firmness, "Megatron, this is Optimus. Respond." The nanogel continued to squirm on him and inside of him, as odd as it felt, it also gave him comfort in knowing that it was helping fight against his hallucinations. he would have to try and make sure he sounded normal so Megatron wouldn't suspect anything.

"And someone find out where that brat Darkwind went off to! Assuming Nemesis didn't slag him when they were out in the field" Megatron bellowed, beginning to find the newcomer's absence suspicious but having no time to track him down himself with everything else going on...Just as the message he'd been waiting for finally came in.

"Open communications you fools!" Megatron snapped at Starshadow and Quickstrike, not caring which of them did it so long as it was done.

Megatron then composed himself and put on his most winning smile as he watched Primal's face appear on the monitor and said "Why Primal! What a welcome but unexpected surprise! What can I do for you my old friend?"

Megatron knew exactly what he was calling for of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't allow himself a little gloating at Primal's expense before they got down to business. He had him this time, him and all his wretched maximals. Predacon Victory was imminent, of this he was certain.

Alak wrote: Hearing Terrorsaur bark orders at him, Buster aimed his automatic rifle and proceeded to hold down the trigger. The armor piercing rounds he used were meant to penetrate body armor. They were absolutely useless against this ship's hull.

"Put me down!" he yelled, "I need to set up my rocket launcher! This gun isn't gonna do anything to that ship!"

That was the logical explanation. Really, Buster just wanted to be back on his own two feet. He knew perfectly well that he required no set up procedure to utilize his heavy weaponry. Still, he was willing to lie through his teeth if that meant he would not have to be carried around by the Terrorsaur. That, and he was certain that they would both get shot down from the sky.

"Suuurrre ya do newbie, whatever you say" Terrorsaur replied with a roll of his optics, dropping Buster to the ground as he swooped in low enough so that he wouldn't go splat, but high enough to give him a bit of scare.

"Yo Tantrum! Where the slag are you? We're gonna scrap the enemy ship without you if you don't pick up the pace!" Terrorsaur jeered into the commlink, hoping that would be enough incentive to hurry the brainless brute along already, his heavy artillery would certainly put the odds more in their favor, especially if the maximals decided to get involved for whatever reason.

"Waspinator! You like defense right? You target the weapons while I target the engines! This hunk of junk will be as helpless as a turtle on its back if it can't shoot or take off! RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed, diving in with his swords to slice up one of the engines, his blades cutting through the machinery nice and cleanly before he flew upwards again, turning around for another pass, strafing the second engine with his eye beams.

Una wrote:
She flinched when Megatron screamed into her auditory processors. At least, his voice wasn't in her head like Tarantulas, but really, she was really tempted to drop his voicebox. Though, despite her temptation to snark back at him, she rather not push Megatron farther. People like Megatron seemed to get deadlier when they are desparate or at their wit's end, "As you wish, Mighty Megatron."

She went to join Tarantulas and Arachnitron the stare she gave them when she entered the room was the glare of death before she went work. As Tarantulas and Arachnitron worked on the powers bond. Despite her failure with the scanner, she used the same tactic to try and makeshift a shield perimeter.

"There, all done, not bad on such short notice if I don't say so myself" Tarantulas gloated as he added the finishing touches to his makeshift power bonds, just in time to notice Blackarachnia's arrival and her "adorable" angry optics.

"Now all we need to do is test them, Megatron certainly won't be pleased if these little beauties short out while trying to restrain Primal and Nexus" Tarantulas said nonchalantly to Arachnitron, fiddling with the control he'd developed for the power bonds, the devices levitating off the floor and floating over to Blackarachnia, encircling her like a swarm of insects before activating, each bond connecting to the next via powerful strands of solid light that enclosed and constricted around the black widow, effectively trapping her.

"Tell me Blackarachnia, how does that feel? Too tight? Too loose?" Tarantulas inquired in a mock tone of scientific interest, fighting back the urge to laugh maniacally at the witch's expense.

Revenge was always sweet, no matter what some maximals might say.

[Night-Hunter]

Saber paused in her relentless pushing of the single button, her ears went back as she looked over her shoulder and cried out in fear when she saw Heavystep come flying at her.

In her haste to escape the large bloodied Maximal, she tripped over her own feet and shattered the glass in the lift and landed on her back inside of it. She winced upon hearing the large mech land on the control panel.

"I'm sorry, Heavystep. I never meant for any of this happen," Saber panted as she spotted the lifts control panel. "I'm going to do the one thing I should have done long ago. End it!" She slammed the control panel with her foot and the lift started going down.

She didn't wait for the lift to finish it's cycle, the moment she smelt fresh air she jumped off the plate form and transformed into her beast mode and took off running.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I just love Megs. Best villain ever. ))

But she could feel something wrong with Optimus. He was edgy. He was irritated. She closed her eyes, trying to calm his soul.

Optimus felt Whitegrazer reaching out for him, and he embraced it, absorbing it like a sponge. He could only imagine the conflicting emotions that she was receiving from him and how confusing it must have been. And then suddenly he involuntarily cut it off, like a flick of a switch to a light, when both Saber-Fang and Rhinox barged into the command center. Growling at them without meaning to since it was a such a primitive reaction to their ruckus, his attention was drawn to some hallucinations that were creeping up on him again, so his gaze fell upon nearby drawers and cabinets underneath the consoles. Primal frantically searched through them until he found something useful; a handheld taser, just like the one Rattrap had been carrying earlier. And where did he find it? At the console Rattrap usually occupied, of course. Why was he hoarding these? Setting it to a low stun setting, the leader held it against his side and shocked himself to give a boost to the nanites in the gel. Interestingly enough, what the voltage did to Nemesis's nano tech was the opposite effect on Optimus and the nanogel Aurora had used on him, and the frightening visions subsided. Then a beep from the communications alerted him of an incoming response, so he returned to the computer and straightened himself despite the dents, scratches, small cuts and dirt that was still embedded in the deeper indents and grooves of his armor from the battle at the Akira.

"Why Primal! What a welcome but unexpected surprise! What can I do for you my old friend?"

The Maximal Commander shot Megatron a scowl as his orange optics locked with his enemy's on the monitor. "Spare me your false pleasantries and condescending tone, Megatron," he said in a deep voice. "What are your conditions for the exchange of myself and Nexus with Cheetor and Banshee released unharmed?" He knew how the Predacon leader was feeling right now; proud of himself and practically giddy with glee over the unfortunate circumstance for the ape. He may have even thought that this would finally be his demise. Megatron knew how to manipulate Optimus with his Maximals; it had always been one of his greatest weaknesses, but it was also a strength in loyalty and integrity to his crew. It didn't even matter at this point that Dinobot and Ironclaw had allowed the Predacons to capture them. All that mattered to Primal now was getting them back safe and sound. And he had no other plan than to simply hand himself over. In the end, it was going to be a mistake on Megatron's part because Optimus knew his crew would do whatever it would take to get him back, even if he didn't want them to risk their lives for his. And they would prevail.

Dinobot had long since been in the CR for repairs, but Ironclaw had never returned. Not that Primal was aware of, anyway. He was concerned for the badger despite him disobeying orders to return to the base because he had no idea where he was by now. Although they had squabbles and disagreements, Optimus still cared for his well being. But while that churned in the back of his mind, waiting for Megatron's answer and more gloating, an emergency signal that seemed to be of Maximal origin alerted him next to the screen that the Predacon renegade was airing on with a flashing button and a beeping nose. Reaching over, Primal muted the alert but then hit a couple buttons on the console commanding the computer to bring up the signal's coordinates on a separate screen from the one Megatron was on. ...Odd. It wasn't too far from the Axalon's location. Since Rhinox was busy with Saber-Fang, and Orcariner was long lost in his own hallucinations, he would have to check out this distress signal himself. At least that meant keeping his unpleasant conversation with Megatron short. Hopefully Rattrap and his team would be arriving soon.

-----

Falling into the lift's control panel, Rhinox instinctively covered himself when he heard the shattering of glass. He got to his feet when he heard Saber's voice and looked at her with worry as she laid on her back and reached over to the controls.

"I'm sorry, Heavystep. I never meant for any of this happen," "I'm going to do the one thing I should have done long ago. End it!"

"I'm not Heavystep, Saber-Fang! It's Rhinox!" he called after her as the elevator started to lower her. He wanted to jump in after her to stop her, but his exaggerated fear of heights from the virus had him frozen in place. All he could do was watch the saber toothed tiger flee out of sight. No! She's getting away! Get down there and follow her! he angrily told himself but still he couldn't budge. As the lift finally reached the ground below, it looked like a 200 foot drop to the engineer, but he finally found the courage to push himself over the edge from the command center. Falling down the shaft, he landed with a loud thud on the platform outside with his feet and quickly looked around in the darkness. But the former general was already gone. He frowned, disappointed with himself for losing her while his red optics continued to anxiously search for her, desperate to see anything to help him, but nothing would. He feared for her life.

[una]

((OOC: LOL No that's fine Darkspark! Let's just have Tarantulas keep digging his grave.

@Blackrose: I'm glad you are feeling better. ))

"You tell me," "Our fearless leader said Sonar unleashed some kinda hallucinogen and it's effected all of 'em at de base. He was talkin' kinda funny. We betta be careful approaching the place."[/color]

Whitegrazer's ears perked up when he mentioned hallucinogen and quietly replied, "So, that's what I was feeling from Optimus." That would explain the negative emotions she felt for him. She did feel him respond to her calling to him and try to understand, trying to see if she could sooth what he felt, but as she was about to, he cut her off. Maybe something distracted him or maybe he wanted to be alone? Has happened before. And she knew when to give him space. With Rattrap telling her about the hallucinogen, it made her feel a bit uneasy with entering the base along with the others. She wondered if it was okay to return to base?

"Optimus said it was a gas dat Sonar released, so hopefully it's been vented outta the ship by now,"[/color] he said to his entire group. Maximizing, Rattrap pulled out his gun just in case, and gently rubbed his chest where his chest wound from Terrorsaur earlier was still slowly healing.

She was a bit wary, but if Rattrap thought it was all right, maybe it was. She was about to step on the lift when she felt the arrival of a familar presence. The presence she felt on the battlefield here when she tapped into her regaining ability. Seeing, feeling the crawling of tiny insects. Uncontrollable. Erratic.

She kept her optics outward, but she felt compelled to greet...her. She looked at Rattrap, Nexus, and Aurora, "Someone else is here." She walked off the lift and towards the presence, which was still a bit far.

((OOC: Phoenix, is it all right if Whitegrazer goes to meet Nemesis? If not, I can edit this post. It's all good. ))

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Now all we need to do is test them, Megatron certainly won't be pleased if these little beauties short out while trying to restrain Primal and Nexus"

Blackarachnia was busy trying to get a shield up when Tarantulas sicced the insects on her. She struggled to wave them off, but it was too late when the power bonds trapped her like a rat. With both her arms and feet, she tried to break them off her but they were like boa constrictors. Tight. She tripped and fell down on the floor with a growl. Humilated and embarrassed.

"Tell me Blackarachnia, how does that feel? Too tight? Too loose?"

She just stared at Tarantulas. Saying nothing.

[admiralgrim]

((OOC: Sorry about the delay guys.))

Night Terror turned towards the sound of weapons fire. The Predacons from earlier had returned. They had begun to fire upon the ship. The ships shields were holding for now.

Nexus wrote: "Well," Nexus said, briefly raising his hand up into something resembling a salute of sorts, "As much of a pleasure as it is to converse with you, I fear we must part ways. It looks like we both have more pressing matters to attend to."

He glared back towards Nexus. When this is over I may have to have a talk with him...

He fired his energy weapon from his left eye at the flyer that was leading the attack. Night Terror ran to the bay door of the ship. He had to get his ship in the air.

"Dirge, engage those Predacons! Protect the ship!

Night Terror rushed to the controls and began to power the ship. Some of the control panels were already sparking from the damage to the engines.

((OOC: I will post a bit more later.))