Well, Airazor wasn't wrong. And her calling him out on it almost made him turn red. Instead, as he had caught her insincere glare, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth in return. There was no doubt about it; Rattrap had some great friends here. Had he met them back on Cybertron under completely different circumstances, and as a different Maximal than he was now, he probably wouldn't have anything to do with them. He had to admit that he was glad these guys and gals were in his life despite the way they were trying to survive against Megatron and his goons.“Honestly Rattrap, you should make it a habit to read our reports more.”
Good feelings gone. Wintersong had single-handedly dampened his mood with the remark under her breath. He didn't understand what she was going through because he hadn't experienced the Vok like she and Optimus had. He didn't mean to upset her, but let's be honest, most things that came out of Rattrap's mouth were insulting and offensive. He did care, though, he just didn't know the right way to show it other than stating the obvious and making blunt remarks about her actions. Rattrap frowned at her and her progressively changing body. Optimus had noticed it too, right? Was he doing anything about it? Couldn't he help her? After her lashing out in a very feral-like manner a couple weeks ago, nearly thrashing him after his electrocution before turning her attention to Spineback, he didn't feel entirely safe around her. And the way she was acting now continued to reinforce his concerns.“You try having a secondary being taking over your being, see how you feel.”
All Rattrap was hearing were excuses and denials. Maybe she wasn't letting Optimus help her. Or maybe he couldn't. Whatever was going on with her though - possession by an alien race and such as she just described - it needed to be addressed or else she was going to compromise this mission or the next one or the one after, and possibly get herself or someone seriously injured. It wasn't his place to say so at that moment, but he was going to have to express his concerns to their fearless leader soon. This wasn't something that could wait much longer or resolve itself, at least not without doing something to Wintersong. She was probably frightened too. No one would blame the tigress. But they couldn't ignore what was happening to her. It was clearly affecting her.“And I didn’t want to wake anyone up so late.”
-----
Granted, it was difficult to accept this "new" Zodiac so casually. After everything it was hard to imagine that this was the same bot who had tried to kill pretty much everyone, including Optimus. But Rhinox had to give his friend credit since what they were doing with the shape shifter seemed to be working. ...As long as he couldn't remember who he really was. That would be the ultimate test in the end. Once he could recall everything, would he back to who he was forged to be? Or will have all of their efforts to influence him more positively stick?"I would be more than happy to,"
"Sorry," the rhinoceros apologized after he removed the bracelets. Truth be told, Rhinox was surprised that Zodiac hadn't even bothered to tamper with them. He didn't even ask questions about them even though he was clearly the only one who were such devices among the crew. The engineer then went about his business while entrusting Zodiac to do his work. Having not heard anything from their new comrade out in the field, he could only assume that his transmission wasn't reaching him. As he tried making adjustments and waited for the calibrations to render, he pulled up the data he had recorded from Primal's spark and started studying it on a separate monitor. The Maximals would have reached their destination by now, so all Rhinox could do was wait to hear anything from them or until they returned to the Axalon."Uhm.. I don't suppose you can deactivate these?," "Thanks.."
"Good job, Zodiac," he commended him without looking at him or even double-checking his work through the computer system. "Thank you.""Self diagnostics are running. We should have a comprehensive report ready within a few minutes. The shields and auto guns will be operational again in a moment as well,"
It took a moment for Rhinox to pull his attention away from his data analysis before finally looking over at what Zodiac was talking about. He gave a frown since the others probably should have taken that weapon with them to use against Nemesis if they needed to. On the other hand, if anything happened with Zodiac who might have attacked Rhinox, at least he had it available to him to defend himself with. But he really didn't think he needed it. He watched Zodiac quietly and curiously as his crimson optics studied his intensity toward the weapon. He almost prepared himself to stand up and be on the defensive while he witnessed the dragon's hand beginning to glow as his fingertips touched the rifle. Zodiac didn't seem to understand what was happening given his panicked appearance and quick withdrawal, but the larger Maximal knew exactly what was going on, and his optic sensors enlarged slightly as the scene unfolded. His nanobots were starting to activate now."What's this?,"
"It's alright," Rhinox remained calm as he stood up from his chair and walked over to him. How was he going to explain this to him? How much had Optimus told him already, and what hasn't he told him yet? The Chief Medical officer found himself in quite a predicament, but at least Zodiac seemed genuinely distraught or terrified by what had just happened, so he still didn't remember everything. It must have been quite an odd experience then."I'm sorry, I..,"
As their optics met each other, Zodiac's pleading now more than ever, Rhinox played it cool to avoid anymore panic and potential accidents. "There's nothing wrong with you, Zodiac," he told him truthfully as his voice and serenity suggested that he knew what had just occurred there. They obviously couldn't hide this from him forever, so Rhinox thought it would be better to make it a positive experience instead of a fearful or negative one that might make matters more confusing for the shape shifter or worse for the Maximals in the long run if they kept hiding and denying everything. With everyone else out of the base, and no distractions while they waited for the others to return from their mission, it seemed like a good time to work with him about his nanotech. "You have a gift. We weren't sure if and when it might've surfaced again, but it seems to have reawakened now. Go ahead and touch the rifle again. Slowly," he encouraged him softly in his deep voice while he stood beside him as influential support. "Tell me what you see and what you're feeling. Take your time, and just let go of it if it becomes overwhelming." This could be an opportune time for him to gain more knowledge about how the nanobots worked. Of course, this was one step closer to Zodiac finding out about his other "gift"; shape-shifting and disguising himself as others. But... one step at a time."I think there's something wrong with me..,"
-----
“I can see why Rattrap complained so much about this flying thing, it feels...unnerving to be so high.”
The Maximal leader overheard Tigatron and Dinobot's conversation and made mental notes without offering a comment. Primal had been in aviation for almost as long as he could remember, so flying and heights had never bothered him. It was interesting to hear others' perspectives on it from those who seldom or never flew. Well, it wouldn't be long now until they reached their destination, so hopefully Tigatron would hang in there.“This is a piece of oil cake compared to riding with the rodent, none of that bumpy riding slag that throws off my aim.”
Optimus had spared a glance toward the flying cheetah and his comment. He had hoped they would have arrived much sooner than the Predacons, but that was not the case. And Cheetor seemed a little too eager to face their enemy again. Fortunately, there were plenty of other Maximals to watch his back even though Primal couldn't help but wonder if the younger Maximal would remain focused or let his anger and aggression get the better of him. He wasn't entirely sure if Cheetor knew what he was asking for if he was going to start giving the Predacons more trouble. Their retaliation might be more than he can chew, and that was one thing the Maximal leader was afraid of. Dinobot may be able to handle himself because of his experience and knowledge as a soldier. Cheetor wasn't helpless, but he was still young and unprepared, as far as Optimus was concerned. He still had a lot to learn.“Thought this arrival was a little too quiet."
“Then again, maybe not.”
Primal had nodded to them both before their carriers began breaking away from the group.“Be safe.”
The youngest cat of their outfit had flown off too quickly for Optimus to reply just as he was about to split away from his team of fliers as well. Watch your back, Cheetor, he thought in a serious tone.“See you soon.”
"In that case, let's give them a parting gift, and show them the way out," Primal sent a grin across his shiny, blue face to Airazor. Confident, but not cocky, he was ready to rumble while he relied on his Maximals to take care of the new arrival and the other Predacons that were showing up judging by the gun fire that was erupting far below them toward the stasis pod's location. What Nexus had disclosed in his journal for Optimus was still fresh in his mind as well, and he kept those meaningful words close to his spark as encouragement. His mentor had faith in him, his Maximals have faith in him, and he wasn't going to let any of them down. It was a driving force for him. For a moment, he wondered if Aurora was going to appear at this battle. Was she alright? He hadn't felt anything return from his spark's prior escapade, but maybe he just didn't do it right. It was discouraging, but he was far from losing hope. She had to be alive, that much he was certain. Although if Tarantulas had done anything to her, death might have been a far better welcoming rather than suffering through whatever torment he might have been inflicting upon her and her innocent soul. He really didn't want to think about that... She was okay. She was alive.“Always have a welcome committee ready don’t they.”
After the last battles they had with the Predacons, and then losing Aurora for such an extended time, moral was a little low among his ranks, so, it was vital that they pulled through this confrontation together, in one piece, as the victors with their new comrade and their confidence restored in their abilities to defeat their foes. Optimus knew this, and it was that determination that he was going to use to maintain his endurance and opportunistic nature.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Inferno laughed over Terrorsaur as they flew straight at their enemy and fired more shots at both of them.“We’re just here to soften you Maximals up! I hear roasted falcon and charbroiled gorilla are quite tasty!”
"You better be willing to work for this meal, Predacons, because we aren't serving ourselves up on a silver platter," the flying ape threw back at them. He tilted his body on his board to dodge Terrorsaur's laser blasts and then swung one of his clubs to ricochet Inferno's fiery blast right back in his direction.
Narrowing his red optics, Inferno strafed his own ammunition and dropped several feet in the air before coming to a hover and looking up at Optimus and Airazor with pure hatred. How he loathed them, all of the Maximals, but particularly their commanding officer, which wasn't uncommon for any Predacon. Except for the traitors Dinobot, Frilla and Blackarachnia. As Primal drew closer to him, he adjusted his large weapon's gunfire to the flamethrower and suddenly lifted the barrel upward to spray the Maximal with its intense fire. "Charbroiled gorilla sounds good to me!" he jeered in agreement to Terrorsaur's menu announcement since he was so certain that he was burning the leader to a crisp now. "I prefer mine well-done!"
Optimus had no intention of stopping because of the fire in front of him. Instead, he used it to his advantage since the widely splayed flames pouring out of the large barrel were blocking most of Inferno's view, and he flew straight through it. For a moment, it hurt. It definitely singed his armor a little as he crossed his thick forearms with his clubs in front of him to block it from damaging his chest and face and collided into the hovering ant's chest with the front of his hover board.
The red Predacon gasped just as he saw the ape's figure appear through his flames. An exasperation of pain escaped his mouth when the front of his board plowed into him and knocked him backwards at a downward angle. The whiplash caused him to disengage his engine while his internal computer desperately tried to keep him conscious.
It wouldn't have mattered, however, now that Optimus was controlling their destination. Keeping his thrust on full and spotting a small clearing in the trees, he drove Inferno into the ground, cutting his engine just before he could injure himself which allowed Inferno to fall the rest of the way on his own and Optimus automatically maximizing to his robot mode landing on his feet. "I think it's safe to say that he lost his appetite," he nearly smirked to himself while he had exchanged his clubs for his plasma blaster from his hip. He targeted Inferno just in case he wasn't quite down. After all, he had pretty tough armor considering his beast mode.
The pyro laid there in a heap on the ground, twitching a little as his processor struggled to awaken him. He wouldn't be down for good, but it would buy Primal and his Maximals some time with one less Predacon buzzing around.
Primal performed a quick survey from his position with what he could observe visually and on his sensors. No Megatron yet as far as he could tell. Interesting. Rampage was there as his internal scanner picked up the hostility with his weapon in his vehicle mode. And Spineback, although he was unaware of her TransMetal upgrade since she was disguised in the trees of the rich and humid rain forest. Quickstrike, Waspinator, and the new Predacon. Tigerhawk was injured, and as much as Optimus wanted to help him, he couldn't leave Airazor alone with Terrorsaur. Not that she wasn't capable of handling herself, but now that he was a TransMetal, his firepower and armor were much stronger and more durable than hers. She still may have been faster than him though. But since that had yet to be determined, he'd rather be safe and offer her some assistance. "Tigerhawk, do you copy?" he tried hailing the large Fuzor.
"Tigatron," Primal then relayed to him over his comm. link, "see to Tigerhawk," without realizing that the new Maximal was already on hand to assist. Tigerhawk, who was not just an advantage to their team with his flight, was also a heavy hitter with gunfire, and they needed his help, especially with Rampage and the new Predacon just arriving.
"Cheetor, status report on the protoform," Optimus asked over radio transmission and then added, "We'll try drawing the Predacons away," he implied about himself and Airazor. Maneuverability for flight in his robot mode was limited, but it retained his most powerful ammunition, so he returned his attention to the sky once more toward Airazor and Terrorsaur. ...And Nemesis, it would seem. Optimus saw her arrive and fire at Airazor's mini missiles who was now outnumbered in the air. The Decepticon-turned-Predacon had survived Megatron's wrath after all, assuming she had been punished for any wrong doing, but he had hoped his nanogel sample would have been enough to ease the tyrant's rage. She probably wanted to avoid Primal. The feeling was mutual at this point, but it might make Rattrap uneasy if he saw her. Regardless, he'd have to intervene and even out these odds. Lifting his backpack over his head and shoulders, it rested in front of him and he aimed his mini plasma turrets upward at Nemesis first. He fired several shots to distract her as the kickback of their force almost made his stable footing slide backwards before making Waspinator his next target and firing several more in his direction in order to get him off of the Maximals he was firing at.
Meanwhile, Wintersong had kept up with Rattrap and his reptile passenger, but she had been very quiet during their journey. Too quiet. In fact, it was an eerie silence. When he slowed down and crawled to a stop, that was when she suddenly took off to help the others who had landed just up ahead to reach their new comrade before the Predacons could.
The dragster rat frowned a little and turned his head to look back at Frilla as she got off of him and readied herself for battle while he lifted his wheels in order to drop his silver paws on to the ground and feel the earth underneath them.“Apparently not.”
The contagious deviousness in her grin made Rattrap offer a toothy smile that bared his sharp teeth which couldn't really be helped in his TransMetal beast mode. Frilla was right in that they should use the terrain to their advantage, and it didn't take her long to act on her ambition. By now, he had no concerns of her switching sides and returning to the Predacons, much like Dinobot. She had made her notions and feelings quite clear about her former comrades. The courageous and fearless way that she and Chopper Face often engaged their old "friends" was actually quite admirable to watch. He didn't think he could do that if he was in their shoes. Snap outta it, RT, he told himself, we got Preds ta fend off.“Might as well drop a surprise on them. Our size in a forest this thick...we’re in our element.”
Watching her leap effortlessly into the thick canopy and quickly climb up the trees, the Spy maximized to his robot mode and wielded his trusty gun. While waiting for her observational report, he kept an eye on their surroundings as well as he could considering all of the brush and foliage. Luckily, if there had been anyone approaching them, the Preds were too cumbersome and careless to be stealthy, and their footsteps alone would alert his audio sensors. There were a couple voices in another direction just outside of the forest's perimeter that soon caught his attention though with his sensitive hearing, and he looked toward them, but they were too far away to notice him standing there.“I’ll go high, you take low.”
“Hopefully we’re not too late for the excitement.”
He recognized Quickstrike's voice, but the other one must have belonged to the new guy Optimus had told them about. Rattrap's grip on his gun tightened but he remained still and silent while he watched the Fuzor's green venom light up through the trees as he fired it off in his typically loud fashion of arrival to a fight. There was more rustling through the forest around them, and he thought he spotted some chimpanzees and birds scampering away through the trees probably frightened and feeling threatened by the commotion that was interrupting their previously peaceful habitat.“Never too late to slag some yellow-bellied Maximals.”
Lifting his head to look up at Frilla above him, he whispered up to her, "I think yer own toxic spit is gettin' to ya, Frillz. If he doesn't wanna fight, don't encourage 'im!" he suggested somewhat jokingly... but not really. He didn't want to make them his targets considering how unstoppable the crab was. Then again, they couldn't just leave him there to ambush one of their own with his artillery. Frilla leaped off through the treetops anyway and started to engage Rampage with her scrambler weapon. Hopefully it would be effective on him.“Rattrap I spotted Rampage hidden on the perimeter, I’m going in to distract him.”
Rattrap started to follow her from the ground with quiet footsteps as he used the other animals' noises during their rush to evacuate the area to disguise his own movements until he spotted the vehicle that the new Pred and Quickstrike had arrived in. He crouched down and surveyed the immediate area before he sneaked closer to it with extreme caution and stealth. Opening his forearm compartment on the arm that wasn't holding his gun, one of his demo charges was revealed and his flicked his elbow to pop it out and catch it in that same hand. Activating the timer on the explosive, he stayed low as he jogged to the vehicle and magnetically slapped the charge on to it before retreating back toward the forest. "Dis oughtta stir things up," he said quietly to himself hoping to alleviate some of the pressure that his Maximal friends were probably feeling at the pod's location several yards away.
Three... two... one... KABOOM!
A fiery explosion could be seen from the air with a small plume of smoke rising, metal shrapnel and burnt, disfigured chunks of the Predacon transport scattered everywhere.
"Maximals, report!" Optimus immediately sent over all of his crew's frequencies after the explosion erupted and shook the forest floor.
"Dat was me. Everythin's under control, fearless leader," Rattrap was quick to reply over everyone's comm. links so the ape wouldn't worry. "De Preds are gonna have ta Uber themselves back to their base once we kick their skid-plates outta here."
Primal raised a brow at his demolition expert's words that seemed to suggest that he was fairing pretty well during this confrontation, all things considered. Or he was just putting on a show to keep everyone else from worrying about him. Whatever Rattrap was talking about, he could only assume that he had destroyed one of the Predacons' transportation vehicles, either for fun or for a distraction, but probably the latter given the rodent's current emotional state over recent circumstances.
-----
So close. Megatron was so very close to wielding the other half of his spark and squeezing it so tightly to watch him drown in his own pain just to remind him who he was talking to. But Rampage drifted away and headed for the battle that was yonder in the rain forest, to which he didn't want to slow him down so they could stop the Maximals and steal the protoform. So blatant with his threats, he mused darkly with some aggravation since Rampage didn't even bother to disguise his distaste and eagerness to kill him. Mind your words, Rampage, or you shall suffer greatly for as long as I so choose. The bitterness smothered his thoughts that fulfilled his mind along with a scowl. Perhaps he would pay him that reminder after all during the most opportune time to humiliate him in front of the Maximals.“Envy? Bah! The dragon would have done us all a favor if he had succeeded tearing you to pieces.” “But seeming as he’s otherwise obsolete I guess I will have to finish the job one day myself.”
Aurora's demeanor seemed to offend Megatron who was clearly failing at intimidating her. This was not the same Maximal he remembered, which was quite peculiar to him. Seeing her shrug and fold her arms, he felt slightly less threatened but narrowed his optics anyway. And while he lowered his tail cannon from targeting her, it remained charged with that soft, purple glow and low hum.
My, my, he thought toward her careless and cocky attitude. He held back a scoff that would have been intended to mock her size and strength compared to his since he wasn't dumb enough to test this "new Aurora" and underestimate her abilities. Of course he could crush her to a pulp; he didn't need to prove that to anyone. He did, however, need proof that she wasn't a Maximal spy before he could depart his base and leave it open to sabotage."Please don't bore me to sleep with any lectures," "I know who you are, I simply don't care. Try to hurt me if you like, but I assure you it will be a decision you'll come to regret."
And there it was. Tarantulas. How typical of him to be crawling around on the ceilings of the Darksyde. Ever sneaking and prying, the sniveling worm. As much as the spider was hardly welcomed at Predacon HQ these days, Megatron hadn't taken any measures to deliberately keep him out. The tyrant's most valuable possessions were always on his person now, tucked away in his subspace. Not to mention that Tarantulas was probably more than capable of averting any precautions the Predacons might have used to keep him out, so what was the point? Well, maybe Terrabite could change that, but for the time being it wasn't as important to Megatron."Hehehehe,"
"Assistant, or pet?" the dictator tried taunting the tarantula with the correction who was now standing in robot mode after having dropped from the ceiling the way spiders always tended to do directly on people or dangling right in front of their faces. It almost made him shudder, but arachnids were not something worth fearing in his optics. Tarantulas was creepy and psychotic... in a dangerous way. In any case, he was clearly proud of his new project, and Megatron couldn't help but wonder what her purpose was. Why go to the trouble? What was her value to him? And how did he manage to acquire her? When did he acquire her? Was he aware of the enormous target that he had put on his back by abducting one of the Maximals' own kind? Maybe that could actually work in Megatron's favor. There were so many questions that he would have liked answered if only for his own benefit and curiosity, but they would have to wait. Plus, he didn't want to come off as desperate or concerned with the likes of Tarantulas. Should Megatron really care what he was up to? Yes, but he couldn't linger on it now. He had a stasis pod to retrieve with his troops. "It would seem you haven't learned from Terrorsaur's incompetent mistake with his 'lieutenant'," he referred to the time when Rattrap had joined their ranks only to recover the Maximal decoder that they had been using to their advantage all because he had duped Terrorsaur into thinking he was a "free agent", "nor my misfortune with Rhinox," he added, which was probably a better comparison considering Aurora was acting a lot like the engineer had when he had been reprogrammed as a Predacon. He finally deactivated his weapon when he felt safe enough to do so and to ease the tension between the three of them. After all, he couldn't afford to be wounded before he ventured out to face the Maximals. "Then again, you must possess the calculative intellect and skills to create a much more successful subject," he merely presumed and continued to deliberately refer to the former Maximal Fuzor as an object instead of a Cybertronian while underhandedly offering a fake compliment to the spider to purposely arouse his ego in an attempt to distract him since he would no doubt rebuttal with an insulting comeback of his own. "I trust you are aware of the recent stasis pod activation. Why not tag along with your 'assistant' and put her to good use?" Megatron asked Tarantulas rhetorically with a slightly mischievous grin to entice him. Would she remain loyal when she'd see and interact with her former faction? Judging by the way she was acting as soon as Tarantulas arrived, it was like she was under his spell or absolute control. If only he could make all of his Predacons respond to him in such a manner. Total devotion and no betrayals."I see you've met my new assistant,"
Transforming to his beast mode, the purple and copper t-rex excused himself with, "I must be on my way," and turned around before activating his twin turbine engines flying his way through the base toward one of the exits with haste. He had been delayed long enough which put him in a sour mood, along with the revelation Tarantulas had just given him about Aurora with the both of them snooping around his stolen and broken vessel that was partially consumed by lava.
I want him to join the rest soon (hopefully in my next post) and help fight off the Preds. Maybe she can help him escape Inferno without making her intentions obvious to the ant...? 
))