"More Than Meets The Eye: Part II"

[una]

Uh.. Now what?

Blackarachnia was in deep thought and was disappointed and gave a playful pout towards Quickstrike, "I guess we won't be slagging any Maximals, thanks to those newbies. " She then stroke Quickstrike's chin and smiled, "Though, I'm glad I had some company."

She started descending down. A bit peeved that she couldn't get those disks and probably soon Tarantulas would awaken. But then... Starshadow. Whatever was going on with her.... Hmmm, maybe she could use it towards her advantage. If she could keep Quickstrike as an ally and Starshadow, she might still have an opportunity to score wins in her favor. This is going to take a bit of cunning on her part.

"We better return before they do. Also, we should keep ourselves away from Megatron. We don't want to catch a cold, do we?"

_________________________________________________________________________

"Do as the maximal says Dirge, if you value your foolish master's life"

"Umbra, kill Night Terror if Dirge does not comply with my wishes"

Whether it be her words or Megatron's, she was just glad that the Predacon ceased his attack. She noticed Landslide's expression earlier as she was looking around. He looked at her like she was not thinking correctly. Or maybe she wanted to try and reason before attacking? Wasn't that the Maximal way? Was that idea so foreign now? So much has happened. So much that could have been prevented. Especially towards her comrades'. She placed her raised arm back, limply. She felt Optimus' mental, physical, and emotional pain. The images of Aurora's state were still in her rattled core processor. The expression on her face was solemn, but she couldn't hide her sadness over the events. And there was still one matter left she needed to attend to. She looked at Nexus. How much more pain did this crew have to endure? How much more did they have to sacrifice for the sins of past that her own comrades and herself could have stopped? She wasn't beating herself of her mistakes. No. But she couldn't forget that she was partially responsible. She would do her best to make it up to her comrades, her friends, her family. Her people.

"Whitegrazer," "Take Optimus ta Landslide immediately."

She just nodded and took Optimus in her arms. Finally, Optimus was coming back to them after so many delays. They weren't too different in height, but he was bit bulkier due to his Transmetal form. It was awkward, but she didn't care. She smiled through her sad optics. Whitegrazer carried Optimus, holding him gently as she could. She didn't want to hurt him. Just the close sight of all the injuries, as she was walking towards Landslide, she had to keep herself from tearing up. She was in control of her emotions usually but she was having a hard time. Maybe it was because of what she felt here. Experiencing Optimus' torture was like reliving dark times of what she did in the war and what was done to her. It was something she prepared herself for when she had returned to Cybertron after the war. She knew time and time again certain things can trigger such memories. And now, some did trigger and she hated it. She had to be in control. She MUST be in control for everyone, those she cares about and even towards her enemies. She just needed to meditate, that was all. It has been rough for everyone. And she would, when she made sure everyone was all right first. Optimus, Aurora, and even Nemesis, especially. Optimus needed to get to a CR chamber immediately.

She placed Optimus inside Landslide, gently, making sure she didn't accidentally cause any harm or worsening any of his injuries with carelessness. She kept a grip on his hand. Optimus, as always, I am here. Don't worry, I will do my best to take care of some of these wounds before you reach the Axalon. She didn't know if he heard her or not, but no matter, she hoped he knew. Landslide had helpful medical equipment. She should be able to use it to help ease Optimus. She hooked up some spare energon and tried herself to give him better first aid than which ever Predacon did this job, who probably was just doing what would keep him alive, not get better. She made sure Nexus was given similar treatment. After all, he been through so... much.... Oh.

((OOC: Sorry for taking so long for this post, guys. I had a very rough couple of days and also, my internet is being finicky. I hope the post is okay. ))

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: Sorry for the wait everyone. Like I explained, my dad was in the hospital last week.....we had to call the ambulance for him and then they admitted him for some observation and tests. They still don't know what he had, but at least he's at home now and doing a million times better. I had hoped to post last week, but I was so exhausted. I barely had 3 hours of sleep Sunday into Monday. I was seriously still catching up on sleep at the end of the week. Guess I'm getting too old for anything less than 6 hours...

BIC:

Despite what Arachnitron viewed as a quite logical suggestion, Megatron slapped her aside sending her to the ground with a sharp thud.

"You will stay put and not add to this chaos! I WILL HAVE ORDER!"

Arachnitron turned towards Megatron and responded through clenched teeth, "Yes Megatron." But as soon as he had turned his head, she bared her fangs and hissed at him under her breath.

Megatron walked off continuing to shout commands:

"CEASEFIRE! ALL OF YOU! CEASEFIRE! ALL PREDACONS STAND DOWN NOW OR ELSE FACE MY JUDGEMENT! I, MEGATRON, COMMAND IT!"

"You too maximals! You ceasefire as well and I will honor our original agreement and hand you Primal in exchange for the last disk! And then depart immediately from this wretched place to return home and inflict punishment upon those responsible for this...This...This...BAD COMEDY"

Arachnitron and the others froze in shock more than terror. Megatron wanted the attack to stop? Tarantulas was right...the old fool wasn't fit to command. Arachnitron shook her head at the tyrant's stupidity. He could have had BOTH golden disks and still been able to hold on to Primal if he had just let her do what she had suggested. And it would have been so easy to get the information from the disks that way too. She would have to come up with something else. She didn't really have any ideas. At this point, attempting to do anything more regarding the disks could further invoke Megatron's wrath. She would have to seek Tarantulas' advice, but she didn't want to be over heard so she slunk down behind the nearest boulder and sent him a text message through their comm links.

"TEXT MESSAGE FROM ARACHNITRON TO TARANTULAS: GOLDEN DISKS TOO WELL GUARDED. NEED ANOTHER PLAN."

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

Inferno froze in horror when Megatron roared for the fighting to stop.

"I think for once we can all honestly agree we just want to get this over with and go home already, so what do you say maximals? I shall send Terrorsaur over with Primal and you can send Whitegrazer over with the disk. He knows better than to cross me as my new recruits have and she cares for the damn ape too much to risk his spark further than the badger already has, agreed?"

Inferno holstered his weapon. Instinctively he knew it was not the time to explain himself, instead he stood rigidly at attention and turned towards his commander.

"I apologize, Royalty. I will cease fire immediately."

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

Wait

Rattrap fidgeted out of Dinobot's grasp. Dinobot snarled.

"Suit yourself," he mumbled. But Dinobot noticed what made Rattrap pull away. He was surprised to see that Megatron was trying to gain control of his troops. He ordered everyone to cease fire and told everyone that he would honor their original agreement.

"You don't honestly believe that?" Dinobot suggested to Rattrap, but Rattrap responded to the tyrant's request keeping the golden disk hidden for the time being.

"I know better than ta risk someone else's life whose 'secret' you know.... So I'll hand over the disk as was originally planned," "And since dis whole shenanigan of deception of yers didn't work out, you're gonna hand over Optimus first. As was originally discussed," he glared at the Predacon overlord.

Dinobot was glad to see Rattrap at least showing a small amount of good sense. Dinobot turned his gaze to Megatron to hear his next words.

""No. We do this at the same time, your side struck first mammal, so you cannot take the moral high-ground anymore than I can. We do this at the same time and both go home, you bring me the disk and I'll personally give you the ape, even trade. Terrorsaur, bring me Primal."

"Hmmm....interesting.... Dinobot thought to himself.

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

Arachnintron heard Megatron's proposal and thought perhaps she could take advantage of the opportunity to get just a small amount of knowledge about the disks for Tarantulas. Something was better than nothing. She used her skills in stealth to remain hidden behind the boulders on the outskirts of the battle field. Her plan was to hide behind the rocks close enough to witness the exchange. Just to lay her optics on the golden disks for a few moments...just to see the disk itself....would be enough to give Tarantulas something to work with. She hoped there was some sort of writing on the disks. Something. Anything. Just enough to give them somewhere to start.

But as she inched closer to Megatron, the new recruit, Night Terror, rushed over to him and jabbed something into his leg. Arachnitron hesitated to get a good look at what Night Terror had done, but her view was obstructed. Almost immediately though, she sensed a change in Megatron. He appeared disoriented which was odd for the Predacon commander. He mumbled to himself almost as if he was responding to someone only he could see which was also uncharacteristic. She remembered Optimus' odd behavior at the Darksyde and wondered if whatever was happening to Megatron was the same thing that had been going on with Optimus. She might have to alert Tarantulas to the odd behavior.

Arachnitron looked away from the tyrant to more closely examine a figure at the opposite end of the battlefield which seemed to appear out of nowhere. Still hidden behind the rocks, she was sure he hadn't seen her, so she didn't dare move to witness the exchange. She instead kept her gaze fixed on the figure. He was tall and slender and imposing. He didn't move towards the others. He just stood and stared as the exchange took place.

"It's him...he's back..." the Maximal programming whispered inside of Arachnitron's head.

But it couldn't be, could it? Arachnitron couldn't really see his face from where she was. No one really seemed to notice him since he was so far removed from the battle itself and everyone else was so fixated on the hostage exchange.

"He's dead....he died in the fire...." The Hybrid reminded the Maximal. She spoke her words out loud, but in a hushed whisper.

"YOU FOOL!" roared the Predacon programming. "I told you to go back into the rubble to check! Now, you've killed us all!!!"

Arachnitron was too shocked to comment....

(OOC: What's interesting is the virus made Arachnitron pretty much return to her pre-inhibitor chip self....hearing things and responding to internal stimuli is all normal for Arachnitron....the hallucinations not as much, but still...makes it harder to identify that she is indeed infected since she was like this before...)

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

Dinobot watched everything occur silently. He, like Rattrap, noticed the vial and assumed the new Predacon, Night Terror, had given Megatron the virus. Did that mean that Night Terror was the shape shifter and they had wrongly accused Nexus Prime? Dinobot was suddenly starting to doubt his initial accusations.

Megatron approached Rattrap and Dinobot. Dinobot readied his eye lasers just in case, but the exchange went down without a hitch. Optimus was back with the Maximals as was Nexus Prime and the two disks were, unfortunately, returned to the Predacons. Dinobot shut off his lasers and sent a concerned glance towards Rattrap. Being so close to Megatron, and touching Optimus who had touched Megatron, had that caused Rattrap to be infected too? Not that he cared about Rattrap, but if Rattrap had been infected just by being so close to Megatron then there was a pretty good chance Dinobot would be infected too. Dinobot wondered if there been any other Predacons infected? If so, then things were about to get very interesting.... he almost wished he were still a Predacon just to witness the chaos for himself....

[DarkSpark]

OOC: sorry if this is short guys, but again, trying to get this done before the next snow storm hits or my back decides to give out on me again, but so far I seem to be doing good (back wise, there's still more snow out in my yard than even the abominable snowman would know what to do with lol)

Una wrote:
She just nodded and took Optimus in her arms. Finally, Optimus was coming back to them after so many delays. They weren't too different in height, but he was bit bulkier due to his Transmetal form. It was awkward, but she didn't care. She smiled through her sad optics. Whitegrazer carried Optimus, holding him gently as she could. She didn't want to hurt him. Just the close sight of all the injuries, as she was walking towards Landslide, she had to keep herself from tearing up. She was in control of her emotions usually but she was having a hard time. Maybe it was because of what she felt here. Experiencing Optimus' torture was like reliving dark times of what she did in the war and what was done to her. It was something she prepared herself for when she had returned to Cybertron after the war. She knew time and time again certain things can trigger such memories. And now, some did trigger and she hated it. She had to be in control. She MUST be in control for everyone, those she cares about and even towards her enemies. She just needed to meditate, that was all. It has been rough for everyone. And she would, when she made sure everyone was all right first. Optimus, Aurora, and even Nemesis, especially. Optimus needed to get to a CR chamber immediately.

She placed Optimus inside Landslide, gently, making sure she didn't accidentally cause any harm or worsening any of his injuries with carelessness. She kept a grip on his hand. Optimus, as always, I am here. Don't worry, I will do my best to take care of some of these wounds before you reach the Axalon. She didn't know if he heard her or not, but no matter, she hoped he knew. Landslide had helpful medical equipment. She should be able to use it to help ease Optimus. She hooked up some spare energon and tried herself to give him better first aid than which ever Predacon did this job, who probably was just doing what would keep him alive, not get better. She made sure Nexus was given similar treatment. After all, he been through so... much.... Oh.

Megatron allowed Whitegrazer to take Primal, resisting the urge to shoot them both, something he had been looking forward to profusely all day, and would have seen to fruition if his incompetent minions didn't ruin everything as they always seemed to do.

"Good help is truly hard to find, Little Tyrant, that much we can agree on. I could recommend a few good subordinates...Though they might be wasted on you, you who allow your greatest enemy to live when the chance to finish him was within your grasp, and his consort too no less. If it had been me, I'd have..." Galvatron ranted, continuing their internal dialogue, Megatron's face twisting into one of utter contempt as he spat back "The advice of the dead and the mad do not interest me, so keep silent!"

Galvatron's optics widened a bit at this outburst, then narrowed into slits as he replied "You risk Galvatron's wrath again youngster? Brave...Foolish...But brave..."

OOP wrote: Rattrap remained calm and confident. "Whitegrazer," he motioned the mare to step forward and take Optimus while he stepped up to Megatron and slowly handed the disk to him while his index finger lingered on his trigger with his gun in his opposite hand. Ironclaw probably would have made carrying Optimus less awkward but since the badger was damaged and had completely thrown caution to the wind earlier, he didn't want the same thing to happen again, not when they were so very close to finally accomplishing this endeavor. "Take Optimus ta Landslide immediately."

Primal heard Megatron and Rattrap's voices, and Whitegrazer and Ironclaw earlier but didn't understand what had been said. He felt like it was almost over, but maybe that was just his systems on the verge of shutting down. Nexus crossed his mind. Where was he? Was he alright?

Megatron eagerly but gently took the last disk from Rattrap's grasp and immediately deposited it in his personal subspace pocket with its twin, not wishing to risk any harm coming to it given all the betrayals he had endured today and his deteriorating condition.

"Predacons, we got what we came for, return to base! Umbra, carry the traitor back with you, and keep him under sedation" Megatron ordered, forcing himself to sound as focused and awake as possible despite the situation, fighting back visions of Galvatron's phantom was no easy task.

"Pft, well this was a bust, come on Wasp, lets blow this joint" Terrorsaur said to his insectoid comrade, knowing the acquirement of the disks was a great victory for the predacons but at the same time feeling more than disappointed that they didn't get to kill any maximals as planned.

"Race ya back bug boy! Heheheheheh!" Terrorsaur challenged as he shifted into jet mode and took off like a rocket into the sky.

"Everything will be alright...I have the disks, the keys to ultimate power and glory, I can kill Primal any time with Zodiac planted in their base, and whatever madness has been unleashed upon me, I will cleanse myself of it! FOR I AM MEGATRON!" the predacon leader told himself, only to be reminded he wasn't alone in his thoughts by the words "So was I once."

Megatron turned around sharply to stare at the stern faced visage of Galvatron, activating his jets so he could rise up to face him at eye level, the decepticon giant adding "Don't forget that Little Tyrant, I did, and some might say that cost me in the long run."

"....I will not make that mistake" Megatron retorted as he turned around to blast off into the open sky back to his own domain, a flight of predacons on his left and right flanks, the parting words of the mad war hero Galvatron echoing after him despite his attempts to drown it out, "See to it that you don't, or I'll have to remind you."

Megatron growled to himself as he continued on his way home, too concerned by these hauntings to savor the great victory he had achieved today despite everything going against him, so he opened a comm to Spineback back at base and said "Spineback! I am returning, ready a cell for Dirge and Night Terror, they are both traitors awaiting my judgement. Also, ready your medical expertise, I believe Night Terror may have exposed me to a hallucinogen of somesort, I require treatment. Megatron out."

Arachnitron wrote: "TEXT MESSAGE FROM ARACHNITRON TO TARANTULAS: GOLDEN DISKS TOO WELL GUARDED. NEED ANOTHER PLAN."

Meanwhile, back at the base, Tarantulas finally emerged from the CR Tank, fully healed from his injuries at the hands of Blackarachnia, the transmetal spider eager for payback against her, but before he could exact his vengeance, he instead received a text from Arachnitron, and replied "Tell me what happened out there, the witch attacked me and ran off, could be anywhere now. Keep an eye out for them or an opportunity to take the disks, but otherwise do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself. We'll figure something out."

With that said, Tarantulas reached out with his mind and quickly located Blackarachnia, pleased to see that she hadn't managed to destroy the disks or take them for herself, but annoyed she was running loose with the fuzor Quickstrike in tow.

"Miss me my dear?" Tarantulas inquired ghoulishly within the confines of BA's mind, conjuring up a dark realm with his leering spider eyes looming over her like stars in the sky in the abysse he had created for her, the eyes glowing ominously as shivers of pain ran up and down her spine like electricity, the beginnings of his intended payback on her.

[Wildfire94]

Both Silverstreak and Onyx listened as Rhinox explained the situation, the entire thing making them surprised. Indeed, much had passed since the two had for the most part been completely absent, primarily from stasis lock but Silverstreak hadn't been out as long as the stallion nearby who seemed to be letting everything sink in all at once. It was not uncommon for one Predacon to frame another, usually a revenge tactic among their ranks so it wasn't too surprising but at the same time he wondered if this bot that had framed Nemesis had a connection to her. Unfortunately, he wouldn't know since he had been out much of the time and hadn't been around for the conversation.

Looking towards the avian female, he raised an optic ridge at her own greeting. So the Predacons believed him dead? Maybe it was better that way, until he was back on his feet and charging into the battle field against the comrades he thought he could trust but ultimately that had not been the case. "Far from dead Nemesis, but close enough." He told her, knowing a long stasis, really a coma of sorts, couldn't be too far off from being dead and he was lucky he wasn't. Megatron's power was something else and he got the blunt end of it, making him cringe inside to recall the memory of the blast striking his side, making him subconsciously rub his side with one hand. Though his optics had briefly gone to the ankle band she had on, observing that it likely was serving as a way to prevent her escaping or doing something wrong and it made him wonder if the Maximals had kept tabs on him as well.

"Me? I've been in a similar boat as the equine over there, and after waking up decided to keep an eye on him, considering how new he still is." Silverstreak said, recalling that he had never changed his transformation code, or likely had not gotten that chance. But now that they weren't doing anything would he? "Guess I don't blame you and your friends if they become suspicious. Cheetor gave me a chance and I took it, better here then dealing with a leader such as Megatron. He can't even keep his troops under control, and after so many times of treachery he'd take a hint." Onyx said as he reclined back slightly with a light shrug while giving a side glance towards Nemesis, "But I wouldn't say I'm going to be completely welcomed by everyone." He added, knowing it had to be a different situation with the former Decepticon right now. "And I'm fairing fine so far Rhinox, just unsteady after a coma." He assured him.

Silverstreak had to admit, she had her doubts about the mech too. So far, she had seen the Predacons hated the likes of the Maximals and for some to join them or seek refuge was rather new to her, making her wonder if her perception of Predacons had been greatly misjudged as many Maximals had back on Cybertron.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: My car battery is kaput because it's been too cold below zero and it's old, so since I can't make it to work today, I might as well make my post.

I'm glad your back is hanging in there, DarkSpark. Take it easy with the shoveling.

That's going to be rather interesting with Arachnitron, Blackrose. Looking forward to that chaos, the poor thing. ))

Being moved from the dark, cold clutches of Megatron to the warm, compassionate hands of Whitegrazer was like night and day. Even though Primal's deteriorating condition was barely comprehending his surroundings, there was a significant difference to in his awareness. Through the white mare's touch, he could suddenly feel all of the Maximals present, and their faces flashed through his mind; her's, Rattrap, Dinobot, Ironclaw, Landslide, Wintersong, Cheetor, Banshee and Nexus. It almost melted his pain away to know that they were all there. Despite how gentle Whitegrazer was trying to be, her hand caressing what was left of one of his hands, Optimus shuddered a little. A single tear escaped his one working optic sensor, but it wasn't from the anguish, it was from the overwhelming emotion he was feeling from them, and especially Whitegrazer, who came to aid him and Nexus and bring them back home. Looking at the mare with his blurry vision and impaired depth perception, he didn't need to physically see the hurricane of emotions in her optics as she carried him to know that she was trying to be strong and hold back the tidal wave of sobbing. He attempted to reach his handless arm to her face, but it barely moved. "Shhh..." he tried comforting her with a weak voice instead.

Optimus, as always, I am here. Don't worry, I will do my best to take care of some of these wounds before you reach the Axalon.

Things were dark and quiet for a moment. At least, it felt like a moment. He couldn't tell. When he came around again, he had just been placed into Landslide's cargo compartment, Whitegrazer reaching out to him through their bond awakening him just enough to know he and Nexus were safe. Finally safe. He knew his Maximals would never give up. They did their best. They lost the golden disks, which may have been a huge tactical disadvantage for them, but that never stopped them from succeeding before. Optimus laid there, remaining still while Whitegrazer went on to hook up some energon, but it wouldn't be enough before he would slip away. "WARNING: Systems are compromised. Repairs are imperative. Stasis lock commencing," his computer announced. And just like that, his beaten and tortured body went limp and his single functioning orange optic faded to blackness. Finally, rest and no pain.

"Predacons, we got what we came for, return to base! Umbra, carry the traitor back with you, and keep him under sedation"

Rattrap took a deep breath of relief as he watched the Predacons retreat. He didn't know, nor did he care, about Night Terror's and Dirge's fates for what they did. All he cared about was that he and the Maximals made it through alive and that they had Optimus and Nexus where they belonged. Good luck dealin' with dat virus, he thought bitterly. As much as he wanted to boast about having an antidote for it, he knew better than make them be the targets again of an attack just so the Preds could steal the cure from them. They couldn't afford that while Nexus and Optimus were out of commission. If the Preds got desperate and couldn't figure out a cure on their own, then maybe they could rub it in their faces. Maybe. Putting his gun away, he hurried over to see Nexus and Optimus on closer inspection with Landslide and Whitegrazer. He was silent while his gaze studied their almost unrecognizable bodies. Shaking his head with disgust and anger, the rodent stepped back to address all of them by saying, "Everybody back ta base. Whitegrazer and Landslide, Optimus is gonna need Rhinox's expertise before he sees a CR. Nexus, yer gonna need a CR, whether you want to or not."

Walking over to Ironclaw, who was obviously injured but not too badly, the much smaller TransMetal said to him, "You jumped the gun, you know, and put everybody's lives at risk." He paused before adding, "But you also saved us from an ambush. And you got the cure ta Optimus before it might've been too late or done permanent damage, so I guess no harm no foul." It was his subtle way of saying the badger did a "good job". He never thought the day would come that he would admit that or give him any kind of praise for his actions considering his past behavior had been below par.

Rattrap was eager to get back to the Axalon and see how Aurora was doing, and make sure that Nemesis had been behaving. So he reverted to his vehicle mode and started driving until he spotted Cheetor and Banshee. "Hey, you two. Thanks fer joinin' the party, but it just got cancelled. We're headin' back ta base. Come on," he said in his dragster mode and gently accelerated to continue driving off to their destination.

"Rattrap ta base. We got the monkey and the old guy, an' we're on our way back now. Big Green, Optimus is gonna need a lot of work," he warned him.

-----

"Indeed. You seem to be holding up well too.. For a dead guy."

"Far from dead Nemesis, but close enough."

Rhinox watched the conversation between Onyx and Nemesis closely, sensing some tension. And why wouldn't there be? Onyx left the Predacons to join the Maximals because of Megatron's dictatorship. And even though he hadn't proven himself yet, he was almost automatically granted trust within their ranks. The difference between him and Nemesis's "house arrest" was that Onyx made the choice to willingly join them and meant to stay and betray Megatron despite it possibly costing his life and making himself a huge target, while Nemesis was simply seeking refuge and at this moment had no intention of becoming one of them.

"Me? I've been in a similar boat as the equine over there, and after waking up decided to keep an eye on him, considering how new he still is."

The rhinoceros nodded to Silverstreak with understanding. If anyone had anymore to say about it, that would be Optimus's place, not his.

"Guess I don't blame you and your friends if they become suspicious. Cheetor gave me a chance and I took it, better here then dealing with a leader such as Megatron. He can't even keep his troops under control, and after so many times of treachery he'd take a hint." "But I wouldn't say I'm going to be completely welcomed by everyone."

Rhinox thought of Rattrap. He'd probably be the one with the issue on the matter, as he always was. Like Dinobot and Frilla, for instance. He'd get over it eventually, though.

"And I'm fairing fine so far Rhinox, just unsteady after a coma."

"All right. Well, take your time adjusting," he suggested to Onyx. "If you haven't already, change your activation code and Silverstreak can enter your information into our database." He was interrupted by Rattrap's incoming call.

"Rattrap ta base. We got the monkey and the old guy, an' we're on our way back now. Big Green, Optimus is gonna need a lot of work,"

"Copy that," the engineer responded. He frowned wondering just how bad their leader and his teacher were before he got up and looked at the others. "Silverstreak, man the transmissions and monitors, and give some training to Onyx on our systems. Nemesis, either stay here or come with me." He just wanted someone to keep an eye on her while he was going to busy. But the others would be back soon anyway. "I'm going to the medical bay to make preparations," Rhinox explained before he exited the command center and made a pit stop at the CR Aurora was occupying to check up on her condition. It appeared she was no longer critical and was on the mend, but he was still a little concerned about that nanogel that had been applied to her as well as to Optimus. From there, he moved on to the infirmary.

[NaitoKage]

(Just to note:

Spineback has been MIA for the rest of the episode, since Wintersong is busy. She mentioned this awhile back, so I thought I'd bring it up since Dark spark posted about it.

As for the snow, you may want to look into a snowblower if you have a bad back, they do have light electric ones these days which are fine for small driveways.)

"I guess we won't be slagging any Maximals, thanks to those newbies. " "Though, I'm glad I had some company.""We better return before they do. Also, we should keep ourselves away from Megatron. We don't want to catch a cold, do we?"

Quickstrike gave a strange laugh, then followed Blackarachnia back to the Predacon base.

____________________________________________________________

"Predacons, we got what we came for, return to base! Umbra, carry the traitor back with you, and keep him under sedation"

"Pft, well this was a bust, come on Wasp, lets blow this joint"

"Race ya back bug boy! Heheheheheh!"

Waspinator got up shaking his head, then flew after Terrorsaur No fair!


Umbra stared down at Night Terror with a disturbingly calm face as he spun his blade 180 degrees, then sheathed it away in it's scabbard. As you command my Liege.
Umbra then raised and turned his empty hand, closing it into a fist, then raised two fingers which seemed to be holding a poison tipped spike. It was a simple slide of hand trick. He then gave a backhand swing throwing the spike into Night Terror's neck.

Umbra glanced around for Arachnitron, as her thread would be useful for restraining Night Terror had he woke up, but she seemed to be gone already. The Ninja shook his head and extended one of his tentacles coiling it around Night Terror, lifting him from the ground and starting to walk away. As he walked, a strange black and white animated swirling pattern started to creep along the skin of his tentacle in contact with Night Terror.

At the edge of the peripheral vision of his octopus eyes, he could detect an abnormablity, flickering lights rising from the ground. He turned his head looking behind him for a moment, not detecting anything with his optics. A bit confused, he shrugged a Malfunction perhaps? he said to himself, he did require some minor repairs, but perhaps more then he thought..

__________________________________________________

"WARNING: Systems are compromised. Repairs are imperative. Stasis lock commencing,"

Landslide tilted his head glancing back at Optimus as he seemed to go offline, the mechanical arms inside his container moved grabbing onto Optimus to keep him from sliding around or fall over, the partions of his cargo section closed as he removed his wing shell from his back.

"Everybody back ta base. Whitegrazer and Landslide, Optimus is gonna need Rhinox's expertise before he sees a CR. Nexus, yer gonna need a CR, whether you want to or not."

Aye, I hear ya. Landslide responded as he walked over to Nexus Prime, extending the claws from his shield, he then turned and set it on the ground. He lifted up Nexus Prime and set him down inside of the shield and started to strap him down to it with racheting tiedowns. There.. that should keep you safe.

Landslide glanced over as Rattrap talked to Ironclaw, then smirked a little You did good out there lad.

The old beetle then plugged his sword into his chest as he transformed to his beast mode, lowering his head horn under the shield, his upper horns moved down latching into points on either side of the shield, he then raised his head lifting Nexus Prime and the Shield with hardly any effort at all. Transforming to his vehicle mode, he rolled on his landing gear to get some distance from the others, then fired up his engines flying vertically into the air. Adjusting his heading, he started to fly in the direction of the Maximal base, his Nacelle's turning and moving lower as his insect wings extended to provide extra lift and reduce his fuel consumption.

"Hey, you two. Thanks fer joinin' the party, but it just got cancelled. We're headin' back ta base. Come on,"

"Rattrap ta base. We got the monkey and the old guy, an' we're on our way back now. Big Green, Optimus is gonna need a lot of work,"

Cheetor looked towards Rattrap and gave a nod. Got it. We'll escort Landslide back to base.

Cheetor then flew into the air, swiftly catching up to Landslide and flying along his side. Hey uh.. Slide'.. Are they gonna be alright?

The beetle responded without looking at Cheetor, as he had enough to deal with flying while having a patient strapped to his head Aye.. we'll do our best. Say.. yer new friend is a Doctor right? Perhaps she could look over Nexus Prime on the way?

Cheetor shook his head I don't think she's that kind of Doctor..

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw was slowly making his way through the Maximal ranks when Rattrap came right up to him. For a moment he did pause to look at the rat as he began to speak to him. The badger merely stared at him blankly as he seemed to praise him. It didn't mean much coming from Rattrap. It wasn't that Ironclaw disliked him, in fact he sensed that he shared some veiws but he wasn't the one to lead them. He was just caught in the situation. Who would say no to taking command when asked? The badger knew that he had done the right thing despite certain bots being indecisive and squeamish. There was always risk and that was a necessary risk. He would take his time to get to base, give his beast mode time to complete internal repairs. Lumbering down on all fours, he transformed and made his way.

[Night-Hunter]

((OOC: Sorry for my absence, a lot of stuff happened on my end.))

Head hanging low, Saber-Fang limped towards the Axalon, she had originally tended to jump off a roaring waterfall into the jagged rocks below but when she had reached her destination, she couldn't do it, she couldn't end it that way, it was... cowardly. She had just stood there, just watching until she had reverted back into her beast form and headed back to the ship.

No more secrets. She had told herself. They have a right to know. Then... I'll let them decide my fate...

She stopped when she knew she was in range of the ships scanners, she wouldn't go any closer, not while she was still infected with what ever had been unleashed within the ship, she didn't want to infect the others.

[starshadow]

((Guys, I'll be away for 3 days starting from today to some "boot camp" I hate. Here's mein post~))

"Hey, you two. Thanks fer joinin' the party, but it just got cancelled. We're headin' back ta base. Come on,"

Banshee nodded and transformed into her beast mode, flapping her wings after Cheetor and Landslide. Well finally it was over. Maybe after fixing Optimus, she could have a few words with him, especially about Starshadow and the issue of a certain pod he and her are responsible of.

Hey uh.. Slide'.. Are they gonna be alright?

Aye.. we'll do our best. Say.. yer new friend is a Doctor right? Perhaps she could look over Nexus Prime on the way?

I don't think she's that kind of Doctor..

Banshee chuckled at that and spoke, "He's right Landslide. I am or was a psychologist who have seen almost all kinds of insanity. I'm sorry I can't be of any help to tend to Optimus injuries.." Now that she thought of it, what good can a psychologist do in a war? Probably nothing. Maybe she could pick up some basic skills from the medics after speaking to Optimus.

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

As Starshadow was walking out of the storage room with some small energon cubes, in her arms she heard a certain spider talking to himself.

"Tell me what happened out there, the witch attacked me and ran off, could be anywhere now. Keep an eye out for them or an opportunity to take the disks, but otherwise do not draw unnecessary attention to yourself. We'll figure something out." "Miss me my dear?"

Well that's perfect. So not everyone left the base. Though she had a gut feeling that the others would return soon, so she set the cubes down, kept four of them in her subspace just incase and drank the rest before going back to the vents to find her way out of the Darksyde before Tarantulas realizes that she has been out of her brig and that would mean informing Grapeface and thus, fighting the whole lot of Predacons.

[DarkSpark]

OOC: Hey guys, found some time in the day to post something, lemme know if I missed anything. I didn't say much for Rants just yet because Una hasn't posted yet, but will get to him more next time. For now, enjoying more of "Megatron's conversations with Galvatron, or himself I suppose" XD


After having flown for what seemed like forever, haunted by images of decepticons past, Megatron finally spotted his base of operations, The Darksyde, and while the ship remained the wreck it had been since crashing to earth oh so long ago, it was still good to see his "home" again.

"This is your base of operations? Pitiful, even my holdings on Charr had more gravitas than this hovel" Galvatron's specter said, his face wrinkling in disapproval of the Predacon base.

"The dead don't get to have opinions" Megatron growled inwardly, finding it harder and harder to remind himself that he was speaking with a figment within his own mind rather than an actual being, it would not do for his troops to see him talking to himself, he had to remain strong, even now.

"HAH! I win Wasp, in your bug face! RAWK!" Terrorsaur crowed as he reached the base before Waspinator, transforming to robot mode as he came in for a landing, pretending as though there was a crowd cheering his name, like he was a star athlete who'd just won it all.

"Fools" Megatron grimaced, shaking his head in disapproval, too preoccupied with his current plight to care about scolding them for their stupidity, so long as they didn't get between him and the medical area.

Megatron contacted Umbra on the comm and said "Umbra, see to it that our traitorous recruit is properly restrained, and bring him to me once he awakens, an interrogation before his execution is in order I believe, yessssss. As for his underling, restrain him and put him in the brig with Starshadow as well, Quickstrike can watch them both until I decide what to do with the big lug."

He then opened a comm to the Predacon base itself and said "I have returned with the prizes in hand, ready the medical equipment, I may require treatment...I'm sure I can count on all of you on my loyal staff to see to your lord's speedy recovery, yyyessss?"

"But of course Mighty Megatron, whatever would we do without you?" Tarantulas replied back, secretly hoping whatever ailed him was fatal so he could pilfer the disks off his corpse, while also cursing Megatron's timing for having returned whilst he was in the midst of punishing Blackarachnia.

"Best to put the possibilities out of your mind, spider, Megatron out" the tyrant said curtly as he made his landing, turning to Inferno and ordering "Go on ahead and "assist" Tarantulas in readying the medical bay for me Inferno, I know I can trust you have my best interests at spark."

With that, Megatron began the painful journey on foot to the medical area by himself, not wanting to alert the others just yet that he was hurting. He had a bad feeling this wasn't something a CR Chamber could fix easily, and did not want to make himself a target for every would be usurper in the ranks.

"You are wise to be cautious Little Tyrant, why, I remember this one time my own second in command Cyclonus tried to admit me to a planetary Insane Asylum! Can you believe that? I showed him the error of his ways afterwards of course but it was still a most unpleasant experience...I did get to murder a living planet though, THAT almost made the ordeal worthwhile, ahahahahaha!" Galvatron jested, Megatron counting his blessings that the phantom was too large to fit inside his base and thus would soon be out of hearing range.

"Don't count on it Little Tyrant! You cannot avoid me forever in your little hut! You can't escape, ahaha, Galvatron!" the ghost called after him, his laughter echoing through the halls.

"I wouldn't say searching for a way to purge you from my processor is the same as avoiding you Figment, if anything its confronting you. But all the same, enjoy your psychotic rants for now, while it lasts" Megatron retorted as he stomped towards the bridge in beast mode, kicking aside anything stupid or unlucky enough to be in his way.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: Phew.. First I worked like a crazy person last week and then last night I came down with a stomach bug.. Awesome. )

Nexus Prime lifted his head ever so slightly, watching with his single functional optic as Whitegrazer oh so gently carried the barely conscious Optimus over to the oversized bug, apparently planning on having him carry their weakened leader back to base. His face remained neutral as he watched on in silence, only briefly allowing his optics to wander over to Megatron and the retreating Predacons. Night Terror's timing had perhaps not been the most ideal, but the shapeshifter had faith in his virus' ability to neutralize the Predacon commander. Just give it a little more time to work and the all-mighty tyrant would be reduced to a whimpering shadow of his former self. In that sense he felt no immediate need to assist his comrade, nor would he had Night Terror failed in his attempt to infect the tyrant. The adviser was capable of handling himself, certainly with Dirge there to protect him.

Optimus, on the other hand, was barely holding on. His hands had been ripped to shreds during his confrontation with the tyrant, and numerous wounds visible all over his body witnessing of the encounter. As the white mare carried him, softly cradling him in her arms, he seemed to drift off into unconsciousness. Nexus' single cracked optic brightened a little upon seeing this, fearing for a brief moment that his own chance at getting revenge had been ripped from him. But as Whitegrazer lay Optimus to rest within Landslide's storage compartment, the wounded warrior caught a glimpse of his spark still pulsating, if a little weaker than normal, thorugh one of the many deep lacerations present on his chest. Fortunately it was only stasis.. Nexus drew a sigh of relief upon seeing that, knowing he would still get his chance to properly punish the Maximal for what he'd done.

The rodent's voice caught his attention next, forcing his gaze away from Optimus.

"Everybody back ta base. Whitegrazer and Landslide, Optimus is gonna need Rhinox's expertise before he sees a CR. Nexus, yer gonna need a CR, whether you want to or not."

A slight chuckle escaped the wounded warrior, not having expected to be heading down this path again. Well.. It was less of a concern now that he could easily assume control over their systems, so the admiral decided not to fight the rodent on the topic for now.

"Perhaps.. I can.. make .. an exception.. this.. one.. time," he responded after a brief pause.

Indeed, he did look a dire mess, a fact he was most proud of. Had he been less experienced at his job, he would not have been able to fake injuries with such detail. Of course the rat's tendency to push him was getting tedious at best, so it would probably be for the best if the rat was taken out sooner rather than later. He made a mental note of this just as Landslide made his way over to him. A few moments later he was being lifted up, surprisingly gently, and placed inside the bug's shield for the trip back.

There.. that should keep you safe.

"Much ...," he paused to cough, as if speaking was causing him pain, ".. appreciated."

The words sounded genuine, the concerned look he sent to where Optimus had been placed just before even more so.

"Stay .. with us.. Optimus," he then encouraged the younger leader, unsure if the Maximal commander would even be able to hear him, "It's .. not.. your time.. just yet."

"Far from dead Nemesis, but close enough."

The avian female's optics locked with the equine traitor as he uttered those words, a trace of a grin forming on her face.

"Give it time, Maximal," she told him, tilting her head a bit as her smile grew a little wider. Her thoughts drifted to Megatron and how delivering this turncoat to him could earn her a place among the Predacon ranks once more, before the realization of why she was her in the first place hit her with an overwhelming force. Was she truly any better? It was true that Onyx had left their ranks by choice whereas she'd been forced out, but the end result had been the same. They had both ended up seeking out the Maximals, even if he was treated like one of them and she was not.

"If you haven't already, change your activation code and Silverstreak can enter your information into our database."

Maximize.. The word left a sour taste in her mouth, honestly, and it wasn't a word she could ever imagine herself using. Then again she had always refrained from using the Predacon activation code as well, finding such things useless. She might look like a Predacon, but in her mind she would always be a Decepticon.

Nemesis, either stay here or come with me."

Ever the watcher.. But the Maximal scientist had always been careful, she'd gathered that from the first time she met him back when she first arrived on this planet. She had taken him hostage then, threatened him with his own weapon. He did not seem to hold that against her.

"I'm going to the medical bay to make preparations,"

Preparations.. So their mission had been successful then. And Optimus and the old guy were still alive. Perhaps they had learned something during their stay that could prove useful..

"I'll come," she told the rhino as she followed him out.

(ooc : Ps.. very interesting to see how Arachnitron is responding to the virus. Looking forward to seeing where this is going.)

[NaitoKage]

( Restrain Dirge? Man, Umbra must be getting paid great for all these jobs. *LOL* )

"Umbra, see to it that our traitorous recruit is properly restrained, and bring him to me once he awakens, an interrogation before his execution is in order I believe, yessssss. As for his underling, restrain him and put him in the brig with Starshadow as well, Quickstrike can watch them both until I decide what to do with the big lug."

Umbra heard on the radio as he carried Night Terror, pulling the spike that he used to knock him out from his neck and tossing it to the side. He then looked back at Dirge Well, you heard him. So here are your options.. Either come quietly, and I'll see what I can do to keep Night Terror alive since we've already lost too many soldiers.. Or, you can do it the hardway. Either way.. I get paid.. though times like this make me wish I'd been a Spider.. he said aloud, as having to kidnap maximals, restrain Starshadow, Night Terror, and now Dirge? It'd been so much easier if he had webbing built in..But he couldn't let his thoughts be distracted, One of his tentacles shifted revealing one of his tucked away swords, his hand near but not on the handle if he needed to perform a quick draw in defense.

As he observed Dirge he noticed the area seem to lose it's color into a black and white effect, his camouflage swirling and displaying colors much like an visualizer from a music player. In the distance, the lights became more visible to him, each one a pulsing blue or green, each one.. a spark. He raised an optic ridge Well..this is new. he muttered to himself. The virus had started to infect the multiple processing cores of his body, as Umbra's body contained alot of processing power spread like a supercomputer to different nodes to control his advanced camouflage,his multiple multi segmented limbs,hundreds of suction cups, and basic life processes.


Quickstrike snuck into the Darksyde, careful to avoid being noticed. He made his way back to his station, then looked at the screen noticing Starshadow had escaped. .. Slag.

"HAH! I win Wasp, in your bug face! RAWK!"

Waspinator huffed Hmph! Wazzpinator win next time!
________________________________________

"He's right Landslide. I am or was a psychologist who have seen almost all kinds of insanity. I'm sorry I can't be of any help to tend to Optimus injuries.."

Landslide responded Ah, er.. Sorry fer the misunderstandin' ma'am.

As they made their way into Maximal airspace, Landslide smelled a familar smell bellow. Looking down with his optics and trying not to move his head too much, he noticed Saber fang on the ground bellow just outside the Axalon's sensor range.

Hrm.. I think we may still have a patient fer you Doctor.. Cheetor, get on my back fer a minute would ya lad?

Cheetor looked puzzled as he flew just above Landslide, transforming he landed grabbing onto Landslide's horns so as not to slide off Whoa.. this is kinda Dangerous Slide'!

Landslide's backside then opened, one of the mechanical arms raising holding a syringe. Cheetor grabbed the syringe and the arm retracted back inside, Landslide's back closing again. I'm pressed fer time lad, so I'm going to have you two do it if you can. Saber Fang is down there and still infected. But be careful, in her state she could flip out an' you know how dangerous that is.

Cheetor gave a nod, then looked towards Banshee Come on. Just make sure to keep flying to stay out of her range incase she turns into the beast.

Cheetor then hopped off Landslide's back and transformed to his vehicle mode, he then activated his comlink Cheetor to Rattrap. We found Saber outside the base. Landslide is moving on ahead with Optimus and Nexus, Banshee and I are going to see if we can help Saberfang, but if it gets too risky we'll pull out.

Cheetor then flew down, circling Saberfang in the air Hey! Hey Saber! Are you okay?! We got a cure!


As Landslide headed on his way, he activated his comlink Landslide to Rhinox, coming in for a landing by the cargobay. I'll meet ya in the medical bay.

As he came near the Axalon, he slowed his speed and headed for the back of the ship, his Nacelles turning with his wings folding as he went into a hover and descended to the ground, the thrust from the rocket engines blowing up dust as he came for a landing. Setting the shield carrying Nexus down carefully, he then rolled back on his wheels and transformed to his robot mode. Undoing the straps holding Nexus in place,he picking him up and carried him through the Cargobay to the Medical bay.

[Night-Hunter]

Saber's ears twitched when she heard the sound of thrusters. She looked up and saw the mangled body of Cheetor, which wasn't at all possible for a dead body.

"Hey! Hey, Saber! Are you ok?! We got a cure!"

She shook her head and looked back at the young Maximal and saw that he was no longer a mangled, bloody mess.

"I'm ok as I can be, Cheetor! Keep your distance, I'd rather not infect you with what ever I have."

[una]

"Miss me my dear?"

As Blackarachnia and her ally made their way back to base, coming out of the hidden tunnel, she felt Tarantulas digging into her mind. Slaggit! He was back online. Couldn't he have just perished? Even though that wasn't her intent, she really had hoped that he would. She felt a burning, prickling pain against her spine and she let out of yelp of pain, holding her head.

"Save your vengeance for later, Tarantulas, unless you want to feel Megatron's wrath." She gritted her the words, fighting through the pain. Part of her didn't want to expose the fact that Megatron was infected with a virus, but if Tarantulas did, what would happen to her? She couldn't take that risk. "Megatron's been infected with some kind of virus, and unless you want to be, meet me at the lab so we can make an antidote."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Shhh..."

"WARNING: Systems are compromised. Repairs are imperative. Stasis lock commencing,

Whitegrazer felt the flashes of faces of their comrades through Optimus. She didn't want her thoughts to burden his rest, but she heard his attempt to comfort her. So much... so much emotions through them all. Not just Optimus' and hers but everyone's. Their pain. Their sorrow. Their frustration and anger. Relief. Retribution. Just as Optimus shuddered, she did too. Though hers was more of a shudder of emotional pain than Optimus' both physical and emotional pain. Optimus' optics, or what was left of them, dimmed. She watched as he went into stasis lock. At least... at least, he wasn't feeling any more pain now, and hopefully soon, he would wake up with his whole body patched up and as good as new. She kissed his forehead, still keeping an eye on him and smiled.

"Stay .. with us.. Optimus," he then encouraged the younger leader, unsure if the Maximal commander would even be able to hear him, "It's .. not.. your time.. just yet."

She kept a hand on Optimus' forehead as she heard Nexus' encouraging words. Her mind went back to the green meadow, restoring what she could. To cleanse the negative emotions away. To clear her mind as she smoothed out the cracks, putting the still lit fires out. She commanded the grey skies to go away and for the sun and the blue to re-emerge. She cleared the area, planting the seeds and grass to grow. Her mind was becoming more clearer. She could feel it too. She let out a sigh of relief. This green meadow was, in some ways, her safe haven, especially in times such as these. It was her own creation, her own power that kept it the way it was. She had total control over it. It was place that a long time ago she had wished she had saved it. This was her way of doing that. Though, the pain she had felt from Optimus. It was still there. Laid bare for her to see... as a reminder of what happened. She couldn't erase that, and she knew it probably might reopen. But that was okay. She will just replant again. She didn't know if Optimus was getting some of this cleansing. She still had her connection with him. Part of her wondered if she should temporary disconnect from him. Just to allow him to rest with no more of her emotions and presence to distract his repair cycle. Though, she kept the connection as she was cleansing. She wanted him to subconsciously be aware of her healing. Hopefully, this healing was helping him as it was helping her.

She looked at Nexus, smiling warmly at the old admiral, "He is strong. He will survive. As will you."

She had transformed into her beast form, watching Landslide lifted off in front of her before she started galloping. She needed to tread lightly. There was a struggle between what she knew and what she felt. Even if she did, what if... if this shapeshifter was planning something else? He had to have an endgame, right? He had those Predacons give that virus. He had to be him. She knew it had to be him, but... she needed definitive proof. She wanted to be wrong, though. For Optimus' sake.

TyCross' face flashed before her eyes, "Keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer. I'm here to help you, Whitegrazer."

As they reached the Axalon, noticing Saberfang but it looked like Cheetor and Banshee were handling that, she helped in gathering Optimus through the hangar side, travelling to the medical bay, carrying Optimus in her arms as no doubt Landslide was making his way to put Nexus in the same area. She entered the infirmary and as gently as she could, laid Optimus on the table. She looked at Rhinox and Nemesis, who was behind him, entering the room, "I offer my assistance, Rhinox. Is there any thing I could do to help you?"

She glanced at Nemesis. She needed a plan and needed Nemesis' help. She needed to contemplate this.

[starshadow]

((OOC: I wish I could have my own herd of cats. ))

Banshee smiled and nodded at Landslide as he apologized then blinked when Cheetor was holding onto Lanslide's horns. Such a odd sight but slightly amusing in a sense.

Come on. Just make sure to keep flying to stay out of her range incase she turns into the beast.

"The beast?" she inquired as she glided down beside the Insecticon Maximal. General Saber Fang looked fine when she boarded the Axalon and her files never stated any abnormalities about her, but that brief statement gave her a rough idea. Again bots with mutations...When will the experience of running into those ever end? She shook her head and followed Cheetor down and landed on her feet a few meters away infront of Saber, folding her wings like a cape.

"Hey! Hey, Saber! Are you ok?! We got a cure!"

"I'm ok as I can be, Cheetor! Keep your distance, I'd rather not infect you with what ever I have."

"I believe we haven't met General. My name is Xychona or rather Banshee. I was your fellow crew member back on Cybertron and I do regret that we didn't get to know each other. Ma'am, I'm a Psychologist and I'm here to help you," she positioned herself into a defensive stance just incase her illusions came back but she had to be quick before she hallucinates again, "What you are experiencing now is fear-based hallucination. Those things you see, hear, or feel are from the virus attacking your internal systems. If you hear something that's not Maximal-like, it's not real. Now listen to what I'm saying, take a few deep breaths ma'am. Breathe slowly."

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While Starshadow was crawling in the vents, she stopped when she heard more voices but they were slightly faint like echoes. Did I make a wrong turn again..? she thought and frowned and leaned her back against the vent walls to listen.

"Umbra, see to it that our traitorous recruit is properly restrained, and bring him to me once he awakens, an interrogation before his execution is in order I believe, yessssss. As for his underling, restrain him and put him in the brig with Starshadow as well, Quickstrike can watch them both until I decide what to do with the big lug."

Well that can't be good... she rolled her optics at that but wait, if she could hear Megatron, her current location would be near his position. SLAG! And if Umbra finds out if she has been out of her cell, there's no telling what kind of doom she would face. Since Megajerk is busy barking orders, Starshadow carefully continue to crawl through the vents, making as little noise as she can. Makes her wish she had fur and paw paddings at this crucial time.