The Intergalactic Highway

((OOC: Okie dokie. ))

"And I will be with you, Whitegrazer,"

The smile on her face brightened. When Optimus launches himself up there, she will make sure to strengthen the bond so she will be there. No matter what happens up there, pain and loss or truimphant return, she will experience it along with him. If Death claimed him, she will know he will go into the Matrix and have peace despite the sorrow of him not being in this existence. One day, she will be there to feel it once again.

"Thanks for your help."'

Blackarachnia just scoffed, "Better you than me." Maximals and their heroism... she is surprised they lasted this long with all their suicidal tendencies.

"No, Rattrap. Just worry about putting those four in the brig and deciding their fates later when this is all over," pointing to Starshadow, Arachnitron, Inferno and Tarantulas. "I would suggest hanging on to Blackarachnia just in case."

Blackarachnia had a look of disgust when Tigratron grabbed her and kept her in place. What's she going to do now? When this all ends, she will not be a Maximal prisoner. She will figure something out. Maybe when they were all distracted with their leader, she could slip past and escape.

"Whatever happens," Optimus picked up where he left off, "I want everyone to know what an honor and a privilege it has been serving with you." His red optics settled momentarily on each Maximal while he spoke, surveying them around the room. "I came into this situation... this war as a completely different bot, and each and every one of you have made me who I am today; better than I was before. I can't possibly tell you how much all of you mean to me, and how much your support and friendships have made me stronger and fight harder. I can only hope I have made a fraction of the same positive influence on you as you have on me."

"I have no idea how I ended up with such an extraordinary crew who have all come from different origins and different pasts. The best,"

Whitegrazer kept her optics on Optimus, the same sweet, warm smile she always had on her. Hopefully, not the last one Optimus would see from her. The speech touched her and she could tell everyone else as well.

"This way we can all go together."

Aurora had placed something inside Optimus' hands. She wondered what it was yet hearing her words, she had a peculiar idea of what it was. Keeping close to Aurora, she placed a hand over her chest, feeling its pulse, beat...she was getting ready.

Blackarachnia rolled her optics and let out a disgusted groan at the Maximal's sentiment, "Gah! Do Maximals always talk such slop?"

(Ooc: But this is AirRazor's moment of glory! Where she punches BA out, if my memory serves me right. If he's not interested I could always have Aurora tase her?)

((Gees, calm down everyone. Its only been ONE DAY since BA posted my cue (and 3 since someone finally responded to my Manterror post). I know you've all missed me, but please, don't replace me after my less then one day absence. ))

"Better you than me."

"Take care Optimus. Come back to us!" Airazor said, still rather dejected that she was not chosen to fly the ship. Optimus was the leader of the team and without him she felt lost. She simply did not feel comfortable taking orders from anyone else. Still, she knew that if the plan worked it would save the entire maximal team and the whole planet itself. Optimus would only be gone temporarily.

"Gah! Do Maximals always talk such slop?"

Without even thinking, Airazor turned to the spider and gave her a (badly need) punch to the face. She had wanted to do that for the last few minutes now and was glad that she finally had a good excuse. Perhaps it was because they were both fembots and she simply wasn't used to being around those of her own gender, but BA was the only bot that Airazor simply couldn't stand. Luckily, she was a Predicon and they didn't have to like each other!

---



The mantis saw Megatron aiming at the filthy maximals and stopped his pursuit. He jumped up in down with glee with the anticipation of the leader taking out his prey for him. "KILL THEM!! KILLL THEM WITH FIRE!!"

(( OOC: All right, all right. Everyone just simmer down. I mentioned WorpeX before just so he wasn't forgotten. It's all good now.

at Manterror. ))

While he had been speaking to every Maximal present, Optimus could see Aurora from the corner of his optic fidgeting with something but it didn't interrupt him. Noticing Orcariner's salute, he returned a solid and meaningful one to the large Maximal. Although he hadn't had the opportunity to speak with the orca about the loss of Icebreaker, Orcariner's dearest friend, he hoped he would be able to cope in the meantime and that he could possibly confide in someone else if he felt the need to do so. Maybe Rhinox or Whitegrazer... in case he didn't come back.

"We'll see you when you get back."

Optimus nodded and added a smile, hoping that after all this and his mourning for Icebreaker, the big guy would get involved with the team again. He had so much potential, he couldn't let this take him backwards. The rest of the Maximals were going to need him, whether or not Optimus would survive this.

It was then when he felt someone gently tugging on his hand and turning it over to place a small device in it. Looking down, Primal saw it was Aurora.

"This way we can all go together."

Gracefully rubbing his thumb over the little round data pad, he pressed a button that triggered it to shoot up a small holographic monitor-like screen that showed the Maximals' faces. Clever little Fuzor she was. And incredibly thoughtful. He didn't want to leave them. With his other hand, he wiped away a grateful and emotional tear, before kneeling down again and hugging the young female one more time. "Thank you, Aurora," he said in a soft voice. Releasing her but remaining there on one knee before her, he turned off the little device, temporarily putting it in subspace, as he reached behind him and drew both of his swords. As odd it may have seemed at first, it was all he had on him to give and Aurora didn't have many of her own weapons, not to mention he wasn't going to need them where he was going. Carefully handing the twin long, curved, sharp blades to Aurora, he said firmly with a light tone, "I'll be back for these," and smiled at her, trying to reestablish confidence in her that she wouldn't lose any more friends. And even if he didn't return, someone like Rattrap could reform the swords more to Aurora's size so she could always have them and use them to defend herself.

"You weren't there," "So don't tell me how it happened and don't tell me what I think and feel about what happened. I tried to do my part to keep your crew safe too. And what did I get in return? "Just take Arachnitron and leave." That's what the Predacons were told. Just because you don't like what you hear, doesn't mean it isn't true. Sometimes the truth is hard to swallow." "Just leave me alone,"

In the background, the Maximal leader could hear Arachnitron spitting back at Dinobot, but then she grew quiet and scurried away to a corner. From what he had been told, Arachnitron had run off to the forest and was then picked up by the Predacons while his Maximals had been preoccupied with the other Predacons inside the Axalon, himself included. There were too many injuries to chase her down and fight anyone who tried "kidnapping" her. To him, it sounded like there was some misscommunication or misunderstandings as to what happened on that day. It could have been that Arachnitron's personalities were too chaotic to remember correctly, or one was feeding the other one lies. Optimus just couldn't trust everything she was saying because of that, and he felt ashamed. He couldn't imagine how confusing everything must be to someone like her. He truly wished he could have helped her and all of her personalities. He never wanted to save just one and deminish the others because that wasn't right. More issues to address another day perhaps.

"Better you than me."

Now his attention was turned to Balckarachnia but Primal had nothing to really say to her. Did she really mean that? It didn't matter. He already said what he needed to. This had to be done and he was the one to do it. If it even saved her, it will have been worth it even if she didn't understand the sacrifice and the meaning behind it. However, what she said next was completely uncalled for.

"Gah! Do Maximals always talk such slop?"

Watching Airazor slug the black widow right in the face for that comment, Optimus had no objections to her actions. Sometimes you can only test bots so far before they snap. Some Predacons were really quite good at getting the kindest, most generous Maximals to break. Unfortunately. Was that a game to them?

Grinning widely at Airazor's punch, obviously satisified with it, Rattrap said, "My sentiments exactly."

Tigatron was not so fond of violence, but Blackarachnia had said one too many cruel things already in this dark time. He simply let go of the Predacon female's shoulders as she went limp after his beloved Airazor's fist made contact with her face. Ouch.

After all of that, Optimus knew it was time to get moving on with his task. Turning around, he climbed into the stasis pod and gave one more glance at everyone present and smiled to them. Everything is going to be all right, he assured them and himself in his mind as the base continued shaking from the destruction beyond its secured walls and shields, his crimson optics lingering on Whitegrazer. Laying down on his back, he adjusted his feet and shoulder armor to fit comfortably inside before the pod's door closed and latched shut. Above him, the roof of the stasis hold began opening, and the weapon's bright yellow beam suddenly poured into the room. The Maximal Commander squinted his optics as they attempted to adjust to the blinding light and closed his mouth plate. This was it. There was no turning back.

Rattrap looked up through the opening doors in the ceiling, trying to imagine himself in their leader's "shoes" right now. He was facing their greatest threat. This tiny stasis pod with this lonesome Maximal inside who would be flying up against this massive weapon of planetary destruction with only a transwarp cell turned into a bomb. He shook his head in disbelief and with little hope.

Tigatron watched on, his expression full of hope and strength for Optimus. He will succeed. He will come back. May the Matrix protect his spark.

As the pod slowly lifted from the floor and drifted upward, Optimus guided it through a narrow opening in the shields before that hole was closed and on its trajectory to fly right in the center of the weapon's beam of energy, feeling the immense heat from the outside. There wasn't much he could see around him before he got too high in altitude and piloting the pod to use it's boosters; some of the mountains he had become very familiar with that were now on fire from energon deposit explosions or half their size before they vanished from the narrow window of vision that the pod's hatch provided. Pulling Aurora's gift back out, he magnetically attached it the small, confined control panel in front of him, a little more to the left so it wouldn't be in the way but where he could also easily look at it. Pressing a couple buttons on the little device with his large fingers, he set it up as a smaller holographic screen and so that each of his Maximals' faces were shown as a slideshow. Under his mouth plate, he smiled at it before turning his attention back to his mission, pushing controls and buttons to regulate the pod's speed and guidance. So far, everything was working flawlessly to his commands.

Meanwhile, back in the Axalon after Optimus had departed and the roof was closed again, Rattrap took a deep breath and looked at all of them. "All right. Dinobot, get that trash to the brig," he ordered, pointing at Inferno and Tarantulas. "Airazor and Aurora, escort those two to the brig with Dinobot," the rat told them pointing at Starshadow and Arachnitron. "Tigatron, bring that eight-legged freak with us. And then everybody meet in the commander center as soon as you're done. We'll see if dere's some way we can get through the shields to see our fearless leader's progress."

(( OOC: I was going to have Wintersong, Feralnight and Frilla help with taking them to their cells but since they have been MIA, my options have been cut down drastically. Trying to work around that. Thank you for your co-operation! I'm really looking forward to the interaction between Megs and Optimus now. ))

Arachnitron wrote:You weren't there. So don't tell me how it happened and don't tell me what I think and feel about what happened. I tried to do my part to keep your crew safe too. And what did I get in return? "Just take Arachnitron and leave." That's what the Predacons were told. Just because you don't like what you hear, doesn't mean it isn't true. Sometimes the truth is hard to swallow.

Telling? His questions were pointed, but they were questions...

Well, no, he knew what his assumptions were, and why he had asked what he had. So his assertive nature had pushed him in an abrasive direction once again. He could live with that; he always lived with that.

But now that it came to it, he did note with keen interest that in response to his question of whether she had felt anything for Icebreaker when he'd died, she still hadn't claimed that she ever had. She was only convincing him more that his first guess was correct. And if he was right, then why not tell her what she felt! What you don't like to hear, indeed...

And no, Dinobot hadn't been there. What did that matter? If Arachnitron wished to speak of her own actions on the day that the Predacons had sought her out, then she may very well have had reason to commend herself--she might have been nothing short of heroic. But first of all, whether she cared for Icebreaker or not did not at all depend on whether she had been a hero then; it depended on whether or not she'd had the heroism afterwards to recognize another's sacrifice. And secondly, for all purposes aside from the question of whether Icebreaker's death had meant anything, Dinobot's anger was about now, where she'd decided to throw Icebreaker's death in the face of all the Maximals present, and where Arachnitron had left a path of injured Maximals in her attempt to...

Dinobot felt the growl beginning in the back of his vocal processor, but he cut it off quickly. What good would any of this do? He had said his piece already.

Arachnitron wrote:Just leave me alone.

Yes. That would be for the better.

Optimus Primal wrote:Whatever happens, I want everyone to know what an honor and a privilege it has been serving with you. I came into this situation... this war as a completely different bot, and each and every one of you have made me who I am today; better than I was before. I can't possibly tell you how much all of you mean to me, and how much your support and friendships have made me stronger and fight harder. I can only hope I have made a fraction of the same positive influence on you as you have on me. I have no idea how I ended up with such an extraordinary crew who have all come from different origins and different pasts. The best.

Cheetor wondered how Optimus had changed at all... Big Bot had always been the hero he was seeing now; from the first day they landed on this planet, Cheetor always knew in the back of his mind that his leader would be ready to sacrifice himself for his crew if he thought he needed to.

Sacrifice. He hoped not. This speech sounded a lot like a "just-in-case" final farewell. Dumbfounded, he shook his head just a little. And while Tigatron and Airazor and Rattrap said things that also sounded a lot like "just-in-case," and Aurora and Optimus exchanged things ("I'll be back for these:" then why give them? "Just in case"), Cheetor couldn't think of anything fitting for the situation.

Which was partly why, when Blackarachnia badmouthed them about what they were saying, he experienced a great sense of vindication at seeing Airazor sock her in the face.

...She still hasn't learned to dodge those, I guess...

Dinobot wouldn't say anything--actually for somewhat similar reasons. This was a mission for Optimus to carry out. That it posed a risk of death was no different than any other mission for a warrior. It was no different from any other day, for any other person, truly.

To remind Optimus, by giving him parting words, that there was indeed greater danger here, would not do well for the attitude he needed to go into the mission with.

Though... some part of him started to yearn against the idea of staying silent. Some horrible sentiment imbued in him by being surrounded by Maximals for an extended time, in all likelihood. Not that he was going to listen to it.

Cheetor and Dinobot gave their full attention to the pod as Optimus laid down, closed the lid over himself, commanded the ceiling open and then began his ascent. After what felt like a much longer time than it had truly been, the panels above them closed again and cut off Optimus from view.

Cheetor wondered if Rhinox had some way of... no, he was out cold.

Suddenly, a memory came to him, and he very nearly left Blackarachnia behind with Tigatron. No, he told himself, wait to see how Rattrap wants us to move out. He didn't have to wait long.

Rattrap wrote:All right. Dinobot, get that trash to the brig. Airazor and Aurora, escort those two to the brig with Dinobot. Tigatron, bring that eight-legged freak with us. And then everybody meet in the commander center as soon as you're done. We'll see if dere's some way we can get through the shields to see our fearless leader's progress.

Rattrap hadn't even finished the hiss on his "progress" before Cheetor spun around and dashed down the hall for the command center. "Way ahead of you, RT," he muttered excitedly to himself.

((OOC: Thanks for the compliment, Una!

OOP wrote:I'm posting tomorrow regardless. Blazemane hadn't posted for three weeks before his last one (I think he pointed this out himself)

Yeah--from the October 7 to October 29. Yeowch.

OOP wrote:and I'm not waiting that long (Sorry, Blaze)

That's definitely fine. I didn't want to hold things up, and I think I've more or less worked in this post with your moving ahead, anyways. Sorry for being so late these past few months, everyone.))

((OOC: It's about time Season 1's finishing real soon! )

Airazor and Aurora, escort those two to the brig with Dinobot.

The brig?! No! Not the brig! Starshadow snarled at Rattrap like her beast mode. She wasn't going to let herself spend her life in a cage again, not after she escaped one. The angry cat walked towards the mouse and grabbed his throat, lifting him up, looking at him with optics of a killer.

"You'll regret this you filthy maximal trash ball! You will regret it!" she screamed as she strangled him with her optics slowly turning silver. The urge to bite his head off was strong.

"Curse your leader to die in a horrible death!"

(Now for the waiting of season 2 ._. )

(ooc: I may have to split this post in half since Megatron has a rather important part coming up and we've been blessed with 70 degree weather today which is too nice to pass up on right before the cold NY winter.. But rest assured whatever I don't have time to post right now, will be coming asap!)

"Thank you, Aurora,"

Despite the severity of the situation, Aurora could not back a genuine, if a little worried, smile as she clung to Optimus with all her might. She wanted to believe everything was going to be fine. That they would be able to retire this night with the knowledge that they, as well as the planet, were safe. And that in the months to come all the suffering they had to endure would fade away into nothingness, leaving only peace and harmony among the team members. That this was that final, darkest, moment before dawn came and they would all awaken to find that the nightmare was over.

Yes, everything was going to be fine.

She did not even realize how much she wanted the comforting hug to last forever until Optimus let go so he could reach for something behind his back. With wide optics she watched as he pulled out his swords, which were almost as long as she was, and handed them to her. Her eyes almost sparkled as she took in what to her looked like magnificent craftsmanship, her jaw dropping in a surprised and honored awe. With shaky hands she carefully took hold of the sharp twin blades before giving the commander a confirming nod.

"I will keep them safe for your return, I promise."


Because he was going to return to them. He was Optimus, after all, and if anyone could pull this seemingly impossible feat off it would be him.

She took a step back, returning to her spot by Whitegrazer, as Optimus proceeded to climb into the pod. Moments later the device floated through the opening in the roof of the cargohold, into the bright beam of light emanating from the alien weapon in the sky above. Aurora covered behind Whitegrazer for a moment as the beam of light was rather intense. It didn't take long for the pod to maneuver outside so it wasn't more than a few moments before the opening started closing again. Aurora peered out from behind the larger female, trying to catch a last glimpse of the pod before the ceiling doors shut again.

As the pod disappeared from sight and the doors closed once more, the small fuzor looked down at the twin blades in her hands. A twinge of doubt crossed her mind as she did; He was coming back for them, right?

She snapped back to reality soon enough as Rattrap gave his first order as acting commander.

Rattrap wrote:"Airazor and Aurora, escort those two to the brig with Dinobot,"

The fuzor barely had time to put away the swords before the Predacon panther began snarling and moments later she had the rodent by the throat.

Aurora had already been pushed close to her breaking point by these Predacons so her response to this yet another hostile act was as imminent as it may have been reckless. She pulled out her taser and aimed it at the panicking feline. Given the fact that Starshadow was holding onto Rattrap, there was a high likelihood that the rodent would feel the sting as well. However, given the fact it would merely be transferred to him by going through Starshadow, he was much less likely to suffer any serious injuries from it. The taser was not a lethal weapon. The probable outcome would be that the electric shock would stun its victim, possibly causing some temporary paralysis. It would hurt, no doubt, but it wouldn't kill. Thus Aurora was not afraid to use it, even with Rattrap being held hostage.

"Enough!," Aurora shouted as she pulled the trigger, sending several powerful jolts of electricity through the crazed feline.

(ooc: Hey.. it beats blowing her up with a magnetic explosive. )

Manterror wrote:"KILL THEM!! KILLL THEM WITH FIRE!!"

A deep, frustrated growl was building up in the Predacon Commander's throat as he watched Manterror jump excitedly while the tiny earth creatures scurried to safety. Yet again proof of just how incompetent certain of his troops were. Megatron's initial instincts were to backhand the mantis where he stood and send him sprawling. Somehow he doubted the mantis would learn from such a response but at least it would make give Megatron some sense of satisfaction. Yet as fate would have it a much desired update to their predicament grabbed the commander's attention instead.

"Pod launch completed," sounded the soft, monotone voice of the computer, causing Megatron to resume his position at the terminal.

The image flickered briefly before showing the pod ascending from the Maximal base. Fortunately enough of their scanners remained intact to perform the needed calculations and a three dimensional image of the pod appeared on the screen. Megatron watched with increasing interest as the scan eliminated Tarantulas as a possible occupant, replacing him with another familiar shape.

"By the pit!," Megatron exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and glee.

"What a delicious turn of events! The command codes have been changed. The ship is being piloted by.."


"Optimus.."


Nemesis stared at the monitor from her secluded spot in the hangar bay. She had set up a link with the main console so that she could watch any new development from here rather than staying on the bridge. For what seemed like the longest time, nothing had happened yet now she found herself witnessing what should have been the end of Tarantulas but as it turned out Optimus had taken his place. The avian Predacon stared at the screen as a wide range of emotions started building up inside her; all of them melding together to an unstable mess causing havoc within her.

Her feelings for the Maximal commander was like a double edged sword. On one side he was the enemy, he had ordered her locked up in his brig, and worst of all he knew details about her past and her phobias. This made him a threat to her, making him a problem that needed solving. In that sense she was delighted to see him in the situation he was currently in.

Yet.. He had offered her respect and even comfort at a time she so desperately needed it, an occurrence so rare Nemesis could not even recall another instance of it happening.

Thus the situation left her feeling uneasy and torn, unsure of which outcome she would prefer at this point. So she merely watched in silence as the scenario unfolded.

(ooc: And so it begins.. )

OOC:

(Ooc: But this is AirRazor's moment of glory! Where she punches BA out, if my memory serves me right. If he's not interested I could always have Aurora tase her?)

@Pheonix: I actually completely forgot about that part......

((Gees, calm down everyone. Its only been ONE DAY since BA posted my cue (and 3 since someone finally responded to my Manterror post). I know you've all missed me, but please, don't replace me after my less then one day absence. ))

No thanks yous for your wonderful, thoughtful sister for telling you that you were about to be skipped over? I am so unappreciated.

@Starshadow: SERIOUSLY?! I WAS going to have Arachnitron scream wildly, threaten the Maximals that they were going to regret locking her up, and probably get shot in the process. It has suddenly become very unoriginal now. Guess I'll have to find some other way for her to respond..... but whatever will I do.....

(Ooc: But this is AirRazor's moment of glory! Where she punches BA out, if my memory serves me right. If he's not interested I could always have Aurora tase her?)

Guess Aurora got to use that taser after all.

Hey! What happened to BA's coffin line?!!?

Okay, I think I got all of that out of my system now.....here's a post....

BIC:

Optimus said his final good byes, closed up the lid on the stasis-pod-turned-alien-killing-machine, and then drifted up out of a roof hatch. As the hatch closed, it left Arachnitron with a pit in the bottom of her stomach. After all of this, she found a strong disdain for the Maximals....except for Optimus. If all went well, he would come back. Then, maybe she could convince him that she hadn't been lying. But if these had been his last moments, she had sent him to his grave feeling betrayed by her actions.

She watched the roof hatch close and suddenly wished she had apologized to him....not the Maximals in front of her, just to him....for coming here in her anger and getting bots caught up in the middle of it who weren't meant to feel her wrath. (OOC: I actually almost had her do that, but then decided it was too soon for that kind of growth...she has a lot of anger to work off yet and a lot more to learn before she can do that)

As for Dinobot, she felt him watch her and knew he probably had more to say, but he didn't. She asked him to leave her alone, and, miraculously, he had. He didn't believe anything she said, but she didn't care.

"Just go and ask one of your Maximal friends. I know you won't! You'll just keep on thinking I'm a liar and not even bother trying to find out the truth for yourself," she spat at him....well, she didn't really. She didn't say it out loud, but she wanted to say it. But that would have been completely pointless. She kept it to herself instead.

She hadn't denied or affirmed anything on purpose. It was easier to pretend to be cold and ruthless than to admit that Icebreaker's death had affected her. It was no coincidence that she glitched right after it happened. Icebreaker had saved her from Nemesis who attempted to take her away and he came after her when her Predacon programming ran off and got herself damaged in a fight with Manterror. She owed him a lot. She knew that if he had shot at the Predacons in the bridge, she would have gotten caught in the crossfire. So he didn't shoot. Maybe if he had, the Predacons wouldn't have killed him. She hated him for choosing not to shoot at the Preds even though she would have gotten hurt too. She hated him for being there and getting killed. She had been affected by Icebreaker's death, but the pit would freeze over before she would admit it.

Suddenly, Rattrap gave the order that snapped her out of her thoughts.

All right. Dinobot, get that trash to the brig. Airazor and Aurora, escort those two to the brig with Dinobot. Tigatron, bring that eight-legged freak with us. And then everybody meet in the command center as soon as you're done. We'll see if dere's some way we can get through the shields to see our fearless leader's progress.

Fear enveloped the small spider. She hated that feeling....but she knew it well. That overwhelming panic that often came just before the Maximal programming took over....except this time, the Maximal programming was kept at bay by the inhibitor chip. She was forced to feel it all for herself. The room swayed a bit as the feeling washed over her. It almost made her sick the terror that she felt at returning to a cell...and the Maximals were going to put her there...they didn't care about what her past had been like. She remembered all those times, waking up from one of her destructive fits, chained to the wall in her cell looking out through the bars of her cage unable to move or remember what had happened to cause her to be locked up.

"No...please...don't lock me up...." she begged, but she was suddenly stunned into silence as someone reacted faster than she.

Starshadow, who had been quiet for some time, pounced at Rattrap, grabbed his throat, lifted him up and continued to choke him.

"You'll regret this you filthy maximal trash ball! You will regret it!" she screamed as she strangled him with her optics slowly turning silver. The urge to bite his head off was strong.

"Curse your leader to die in a horrible death!"

And almost as quickly as Starshadow erupted, Aurora pulled out a taser, pulled the trigger and electrocuted the panther. She fell to the floor in a heap at Rattrap's feet.

Her optics widened and she stared at the ermine fuzor in horror. Her optics darted back and forth as she struggled to keep both Aurora and Airrazor in her sights. She was not going to end up in a heap at the Maximals' feet. She realized that now Starshadow was definitely going to end up in the cell she so hated. She could almost see the Maximals throwing her limp body into the cells in the brig. It reminded her of the many times she had been force-ably shoved into a cell after being severely beaten or had been taken back to her cell kicking and screaming. She didn't want to go back into a cell, but if she had to go, she wanted to go with dignity.

She knew she had to keep her fear and anxiety under control. She closed her optics and tried to calm herself. Taking a deep, shaky breath to try and ward off the panic, she flipped open one of her wrist compartments and pulled out an explosive. She turned it on and stuck it to her chest plate.

"Don't do anything," she said sternly. "Just listen. If you shoot me or touch me, this explosive goes off killing me and all of you....and if your leader is successful, it will be all for nothing because there won't be anyone here to come back to," Arachnitron told the Maximals trying to sound calm. "I will go with you peacefully," she told Aurora and Airrazor. "But DO NOT touch me! Especially you and that....thing!" she continued pointing at Aurora and her taser. "I've spent my whole life chained to a wall inside of a cage. If you had any compassion at all you wouldn't lock me up, but I know you have to follow your orders. I just want to walk there on my own. I'm not getting thrown or shoved into another cell. I will walk into the cell on my own or I die and you all die with me. Have I made myself clear?"

(( OOC:

No worries, Wintersong! We know you've been busy. I really miss you, New Moon and Wildfire, though. Saddening to have lost so many players at once. I hope Venatrix is still lurking as well.

OOC: Ehh.. nothing much to post here.

Just a wild guess here, but that MIGHT be because the player (me) whose character (Rattrap) was attacked hasn't even been given the chance to react at all and already the situation is resolved... So I'm going to do what I feel Rattrap would have done had I had the opportunity and then go from there because I feel this was a bit over the line toward god modding. Not sure why this is still happening at this point in the game... Also, FYI, Feralnight and Frilla were presumably still there with their weapons targeting Starshadow and Arachnitron as had been ordered by Optimus when they arrived to the stasis hold, so neither of them should have moved, especially with how outnumbered they are. ))

IC:

"Way ahead of you, RT,"

Blinking with a little bewilderment, Rattrap watched Cheetor suddenly sprint out. Whatever he's up to, I kinda wish everybody else was movin' as fast as him, he thought. Although he didn't quite mean to include the Predacons in that.

"You'll regret this you filthy maximal trash ball! You will regret it!" "Curse your leader to die in a horrible death!"

As soon as Starshadow laid her hands on him, the Spy drew his pistol and jammed the barrel onto her lower stomach while his other hand grabbed one of her wrists whose hand was now gripping around his neck. Rattrap felt his feet lift off the floor but he didn't struggle. He kept his gun point-blank on her and his hand latched onto her wrist, holding his body still, his index finger on the trigger ready to fire. Already feeling the pressure of leading this group in the darkest hour they've ever had and who knew for how long afterward, and knowing that their leader was unlikely to come back from this mission, Rattrap's emotions were beginning to run very high. In fact, with Star's last comment, his optics narrowed in anger, his grip squeezed tighter on her wrist, and his hand holding his weapon started to tremble ever so slightly from the amount of strength he was putting into his grasp from the rage inside. Just when he was about to fire at the panther, he noticed Aurora pull out her tazer below and fire at his attacker.

"Enough!,"

Dropping to the floor on his feet once Starshadow's hands released him from the electricution her body was absorbing, he immediately stepped back away from her, pointing his gun at her head just in case and rubbing his neck. It took Rattrap a moment to find what to say. "You should be thankful our leader is so merciful!" he shouted at Starshadow and Arachnitron. "But yer just a bunch of ungrateful traitors!" And an idea suddenly came to him as he lowered his hand from his neck. "You know what? If I had it my way, instead of lockin' you up in our brig, maybe we should just drop you off at da Darksyde and see how Megatron deals with yer betrayal! I wonder if your punishment would be anything like Glowtstick's," he hissed. "Even Optimus, who was probably the only one outta all of us, was truly sorry for what happened to that squid, and he was the one who organized the whole attack dat ended up killin' Icebreaker! Optimus never wanted anyone to die, but your leader couldn't care less! So don't you dare curse our commanding officer to death like that! You deserve worse dan a prison cell!" Rattrap finally grew quiet when Arachnitron broke in.

"No...please...don't lock me up...."

Keeping his weapon trained on Starshadow, far enough away from her reach, the master marksman looked at the other female spider as she spoke and pulled something out attaching it to her chest. WHAT NOW?! he screamed inside his head.

"Don't do anything," "Just listen. If you shoot me or touch me, this explosive goes off killing me and all of you....and if your leader is successful, it will be all for nothing because there won't be anyone here to come back to," "I will go with you peacefully," "But DO NOT touch me! Especially you and that....thing!" "I've spent my whole life chained to a wall inside of a cage. If you had any compassion at all you wouldn't lock me up, but I know you have to follow your orders. I just want to walk there on my own. I'm not getting thrown or shoved into another cell. I will walk into the cell on my own or I die and you all die with me. Have I made myself clear?"

"What do you Preds think we do with our prisoners?" Rattrap asked them rhetorically, dumbfounded by how dramatic these two were acting about being locked up. Then again, he had no idea what they had been through long before they came here. If Optimus knew some of Arachnitron's history, he never bothered to share it. "We don't torture anybody, and it ain't like we're gonna keep ya locked up forever!" He shook his head unable to understand Predacons at all. "We just want ya outta our way while our leader puts his own life on the line to save yers and dis whole slagging planet!" So ungrateful, he kept repeating to himself. "Besides, I told them to ESCORT you, didn't I? Nobody's gonna hurt ya as long as you don't make a wrong move. So take that explosive off yerself and hand over your weapons. Dis is as good as it's gonna get for you 'cause I ain't gonna let anyone blow up themselves or anybody else." His voice gradually fell calmer, clearly sick of this entire situation and sick of these Predacons. He couldn't wait to kick them out of their base and let Megatron deal with them.

"Whitegrazer, help Dinobot with that pile of junk," their temporary commander told her while pointing his thumb at Inferno's and Tarantulas's bodies, reconsidering his previous orders and the situation, making sure the two Preds who were still functional were overly outnumbered and wouldn't try anything stupid while on their way to the brig. Ridiculous, he thought with anger and frustration. What de heck did you leave me with, Boss Monkey? Rattrap slowly lowered his aim from Starshadow but kept his weapon handy just in case.

When things started to calm down again, Tigatron carefully grabbed Blackarachnia's arms and lifted her to her feet, ready to take her with them to the command center.

-----

"Nearly there," Optimus said outloud to himself after opening his mouthplate in the pod... or his coffin. "And no sign of any defense yet," he observed. So what did that tell him? This weapon was just an automation being driven on its own programming after activation, or being remotely controlled from somewhere else in the galaxy or the universe? That the Vok weren't really here? It boggled his mind a little but no time to dwell on those questions now. Nearing his ejection time, he had to remain focused. The ride wasn't exactly smooth even after he had exited the planet's atmosphere. This beam of energy was extremely powerful, beyond any power he had ever seen, and it shook his tiny capsule-like ship so he was constantly adjusting and steering to keep it on target. No doubt Megatron would sure like to get his hands on the aliens' technology. That thought was even more terrifying than the situation he was currently in. Speaking of which, he had kept his cool on the journey so far and hoped his Maximals were managing without him. Fear and anxiety were steadily beginning to rise in him now as he came closer to his objective. The timing would have to be just right. There was no room for failure or miscalculations.

Glancing at the little data device that Aurora had given him, Primal saw the little ermine's face there and smiled as her last words resonated in his mind, as well as her reaction when he handed her his swords:

"I will keep them safe for your return, I promise."

She would be all right. Aurora would survive and persevere, along with the rest of them. Even the Predacons. And Nemesis. If he doesn't make it through this, would she be happy to know her secrets died with him? He supposed it didn't really matter right now. When he gave his word, he always meant it, but he could understand if someone like her couldn't trust that or him in particular. And that was all right because he couldn't blame her for everything she had been through, nor could he blame Arachnitron. Even though he was not part of their experiments, he was still part of one that had been haunting him for a long time now. It was difficult to recognize and accept what he had done. His only hope was to be forgiven for it. Inhaling deeply, recalling some of Whitegrazer's meditation techniques, whom he already missed dearly, attempting to subdue the anxiety that was trying to creep up on him, Optimus went back to pushing buttons and keeping the pod regulated. This was going to work. He was nearly there...

((OOC: Took me awhile to get this post written up today. Couldn't decide what to do, but at least I got it! XDD ))

"Thank you, Aurora,"

"I'll be back for these,"

"I will keep them safe for your return, I promise."

She patted Aurora's head gently, knowing Aurora would hold on to those and keep them safe just to make sure Optimus would come back to them.

Without even thinking, Airazor turned to the spider and gave her a (badly need) punch to the face. She had wanted to do that for the last few minutes now and was glad that she finally had a good excuse. Perhaps it was because they were both fembots and she simply wasn't used to being around those of her own gender, but BA was the only bot that Airazor simply couldn't stand. Luckily, she was a Predicon and they didn't have to like each other!

Blackarachnia didn't expect any reaction from her statement and when Airazor's punch hit her square in the face, all she did was wear a dazed expression of shock before going down.

Whitegrazer looked back to see the commotion. Nothing was written on her face except disappointment. Though, she wondered about how Blackarachnia kept showing such disgust at all their sentimental speeches. Maybe some part of her liked it? That was an amusing thought, but Whitegrazer didn't know Blackarachnia so she wasn't sure.

Glancing back at Optimus, her hand still where her spark was, she just kept her warm, serene smile when he gazed at her before he went inside the pod. Aurora hide behind her as the alien's heat ray brightened the entire hangar. Watching as he went up, the connection between them held firm, she focused on it, keeping him there in her spark. Her spark pulsed, her optics kept looking up even when the doors slowly closed. Her attention didn't divert until Rattrap started giving out orders.

She listened for her name when Starshadow attacked, but Aurora reacted quickly, tasering the Predacon to unconsciousness.

"Don't do anything," she said sternly. "Just listen. If you shoot me or touch me, this explosive goes off killing me and all of you....and if your leader is successful, it will be all for nothing because there won't be anyone here to come back to," Arachnitron told the Maximals trying to sound calm. "I will go with you peacefully," she told Aurora and Airrazor. "But DO NOT touch me! Especially you and that....thing!" she continued pointing at Aurora and her taser. "I've spent my whole life chained to a wall inside of a cage. If you had any compassion at all you wouldn't lock me up, but I know you have to follow your orders. I just want to walk there on my own. I'm not getting thrown or shoved into another cell. I will walk into the cell on my own or I die and you all die with me. Have I made myself clear?"

What do you Preds think we do with our prisoners?" Rattrap asked them rhetorically, dumbfounded by how dramatic these two were acting about being locked up. Then again, he had no idea what they had been through long before they came here. If Optimus knew some of Arachnitron's history, he never bothered to share it. "We don't torture anybody, and it ain't like we're gonna keep ya locked up forever!" He shook his head unable to understand Predacons at all. "We just want ya outta our way while our leader puts his own life on the line to save yers and dis whole slagging planet!" So ungrateful, he kept repeating to himself. "Besides, I told them to ESCORT you, didn't I? Nobody's gonna hurt ya as long as you don't make a wrong move. So take that explosive off yerself and hand over your weapons. Dis is as good as it's gonna get for you 'cause I ain't gonna let anyone blow up themselves or anybody else."

Blackarachnia had awaken, shooking her head when Tigratron pulled at her. She growled, but didn't protest. She looked at Arachnitron who was wearing an explosive. She rolled her optics, "Arachnitron, put the explosive away." She gave a wink and smirked almost mirroring Tarantulas', "It's not over yet." She didn't care if the Maximals saw her.

They won't do anything to her except maybe punch her again. They were safe until the Maximal leader came back...or blew into pieces.

"Whitegrazer, help Dinobot with that pile of junk,"

She had looked at Arachnitron and Blackarachnia, hoping that Arachnitron listened to Blackarachnia suggestion before she nodded at Rattrap's orders and picked up Tarantulas' burnt corpse, looking over to see Dinobot. She lingered a glance to see Orcariner and just had to say it,
"Orcariner, I just wanted to say: my door is always open. If you want to talk." She knew Optimus wanted to speak with him and since he... couldn't, she wanted to let the bulky Maximal know that she was willingly to listen.

She followed Dinobot to the brig and placed Tarantulas in one of the cells, Then she looked at Tarantulas' corpse, expressing a frown, "Maybe we should be cremating his body...rather than locking it up." The Predacon wasn't in a very good condition, dead or...it could be a trick. Maybe he was just playing possum until he thought he could get away. No way to tell, but she thought thought he would have tried something before getting in here. Mayb the spider was dead.

Closing her optics for a moment, her spark pulsed softly. She could feel him...he was still okay, flying towards the weapon. She reached out towards him. Her arms wrapped formed an "X" over her chest, hugging him.

"I feel you...I told you...you won't be alone."

((OOC: Might edit it abit tomorrow. Too sleepy now. ))

(ooc: You pose a good question, BRF, truth be told I had forgotten all about that device. I was going by the canon story in the show, where Megs got furious because he could not monitor the progress due to the Maximal shields being at max capacity. Maybe the shields would prevent the device signals from reaching him as well?)

It only took a few moments for Megatron to establish the link to the pod currently bringing his enemy to his final destination. The alterations he had made to the transwarp cell provided an easy access to the controls of the vessel itself, allowing him to assume control over some of its functions.

A wide grin, much like that of a child anticipating the arrival of a wanted gift, had spread across his face as he prepared for the grand finale of his master plan. He was so close to winning now. The only thing remaining was to inform his opponent of his loss. But Megatron chose to wait for a little while longer before revealing himself to his unsuspecting foe, wishing to savor the moment of victory for when the vessel was too close to its destination for Optimus to be able to save himself.

"Now, my Predacon brethren," he told the others as an image showing Optimus Primal in the pod appeared on the screen, "You are about to witness the end of the beast wars!"

Aurora's excitement over finally having gotten to treat the aggressor much the same way they had been treating her family, quickly gave way to a sensation of horror as the panther collapsed in a heap at Rattrap's feet. Whereas Starshadow had attacked her friend moments before, she now lay helpless, unmoving aside from the occasional twitch caused by the electric surge passing through the circuitry. Aurora stared at her, shocked at the sudden change in development, slowly lowering the arm with the weapon to the ground.

This was not how that was supposed to have turned out..

Shame and regret quickly washed over her and she cast concerned looks from Rattrap, who appeared to have been able to hold his own against the attacker, to Whitegrazer, whose silent presence behind her made the guilt she was feeling even worse.

Was she.. was she dead?


Fear joined the other emotions, forcing Aurora's attention back to the twitching form on the ground. No.. She could see some movement. Barely.

I didn't mean to.. I'm sorry!


The words stuck in her mouth. Unable to get them out, she sent Rattrap an apologetic look, fully realizing she could have injured him as well with that stunt she just pulled. But Rattrap was busy asserting his authority as the acting commander, his voice filled with anger and disappointment as he shouted at the prisoners.

"You should be thankful our leader is so merciful!""But yer just a bunch of ungrateful traitors!" "You know what? If I had it my way, instead of lockin' you up in our brig, maybe we should just drop you off at da Darksyde and see how Megatron deals with yer betrayal! I wonder if your punishment would be anything like Glowtstick's,""Even Optimus, who was probably the only one outta all of us, was truly sorry for what happened to that squid, and he was the one who organized the whole attack dat ended up killin' Icebreaker! Optimus never wanted anyone to die, but your leader couldn't care less! So don't you dare curse our commanding officer to death like that! You deserve worse dan a prison cell!"

If at all possible, the mention of Icebreaker's death brought Aurora down even further. So much had happened in just a few short hours, she hadn't even had time to dwell on the penguin's death. The fact that they had several Predacons in the room was the only thing that kept her from letting the sad thoughts consume her.

A short distance away she could vaguely make out Arachnitron's voice albeit Aurora had a hard time processing the words for a moment.

Arachnitron wrote:"Don't do anything,""Just listen. If you shoot me or touch me, this explosive goes off killing me and all of you....and if your leader is successful, it will be all for nothing because there won't be anyone here to come back to," "I will go with you peacefully,"

As she finally started comprehending what was going on, the ermine fuzor slowly turned towards the arachnid. Both of her arms remained dangling at her sides; the taser pointing down at the floor.

A new threat was upon them now. The spider had attached some explosives to herself and threatened to kill them all. For a moment Aurora almost felt as if she deserved to be caught in the explosion given her recent actions, but then she realized that her friends, her family, would be engulfed by said explosion as well. Aurora glanced over at the other female, ever so briefly, before Arachnitron exclaimed;

"But DO NOT touch me! Especially you and that....thing!"

She averted her eyes again, realizing how what just transpired must have looked to the spider. Aurora did not aspire to solve problems with violence, that was not what those closest to her had been trying to imprint her with, yet this once she had chosen the route of brute force.. and this had been the result.

"I've spent my whole life chained to a wall inside of a cage. If you had any compassion at all you wouldn't lock me up, but I know you have to follow your orders. I just want to walk there on my own. I'm not getting thrown or shoved into another cell. I will walk into the cell on my own or I die and you all die with me. Have I made myself clear?"

Aurora did not respond with words. Instead she merely gave a silent nod. Fortunately Rattrap was taking charge of the situation..

Rattrap wrote:"What do you Preds think we do with our prisoners?" "We don't torture anybody, and it ain't like we're gonna keep ya locked up forever!""We just want ya outta our way while our leader puts his own life on the line to save yers and dis whole slagging planet!" "Besides, I told them to ESCORT you, didn't I? Nobody's gonna hurt ya as long as you don't make a wrong move. So take that explosive off yerself and hand over your weapons. Dis is as good as it's gonna get for you 'cause I ain't gonna let anyone blow up themselves or anybody else."

Following suit moments later, the other spider also attempted to talk Arachnitron down.

BlackArachnia wrote: "Arachnitron, put the explosive away."

Aurora drew a silent sigh of relief. Surely the arachnid would listen to her friend, if not the Maximals.

Then the follow-up comment came as an almost eerie reminder.

BlackArachnia wrote: "It's not over yet."

Worpex wrote: Without even thinking, Airazor turned to the spider and gave her a (badly need) punch to the face. She had wanted to do that for the last few minutes now and was glad that she finally had a good excuse. Perhaps it was because they were both fembots and she simply wasn't used to being around those of her own gender, but BA was the only bot that Airazor simply couldn't stand. Luckily, she was a Predicon and they didn't have to like each other!

"AAAAAAAIIII!" Tarantulas gasped as he watched the maximal falcon punch out his host body with one blow, suddenly grateful he hadn't been in control at the time so he didn't share her pain.

Still watching that fist come at him through BA's optics had still felt the same as if it had been his own, leave it to a maximal to take the fun out of watching Blackarachnia receive her just desserts for the drama she'd put him through.

"Wretched widow, I always knew that sharp tongue of hers would cut herself one of these days, just didn't think I'd be tagging along for the ride" Tarantulas mused to himself, torn between his amusement over BA's embarrassing KO and his concern over being in the body of an unconscious prisoner.

Blackrose wrote: "Don't do anything," she said sternly. "Just listen. If you shoot me or touch me, this explosive goes off killing me and all of you....and if your leader is successful, it will be all for nothing because there won't be anyone here to come back to," Arachnitron told the Maximals trying to sound calm. "I will go with you peacefully," she told Aurora and Airrazor. "But DO NOT touch me! Especially you and that....thing!" she continued pointing at Aurora and her taser. "I've spent my whole life chained to a wall inside of a cage. If you had any compassion at all you wouldn't lock me up, but I know you have to follow your orders. I just want to walk there on my own. I'm not getting thrown or shoved into another cell. I will walk into the cell on my own or I die and you all die with me. Have I made myself clear?"

"ARE ALL SHE SPIDERS MAD?!" Tarantulas shrieked in the mental nether realm in which he resided, not wanting to experience death a second time so soon after he'd barely avoided it.

"If she blows herself up now she'll not only destroy my body but Blackarachnia's as well, and there's no time or means by which for me to swap hosts. Either way, she'd doom us all before the alien weapon completes its work, ARRRGGH!" the mad spider fumed, furious that the one reliable pawn he had was suddenly proving herself to be more problematic than the backstabbing wench he was currently trapped in.

If only the bird hadn't knocked Blackarachnia out, he could have seized control and shot Arachnitron himself, or just reasoned with her, but given his mood and her stupidity he honestly felt more like slagging her. He now may have to take control of BA and give away his cover in order to stop this mess.

Una wrote: Blackarachnia had awaken, shooking her head when Tigratron pulled at her. She growled, but didn't protest. She looked at Arachnitron who was wearing an explosive. She rolled her optics, "Arachnitron, put the explosive away." She gave a wink and smirked almost mirroring Tarantulas', "It's not over yet." She didn't care if the Maximals saw her.

They won't do anything to her except maybe punch her again. They were safe until the Maximal leader came back...or blew into pieces.

"By the Pit, its about time one of them showed some sense!" Tarantulas sighed in relief, not having to risk exposing himself to take out Arachnitron, hoping that either Blackarachnia's words or one of the many maximal fools present would put a stop to this suicidal insanity before it went any further.

"Better not take any chances with this lunatic, I am after all, the only one she truly trusts" Tarantulas reasoned, seizing control of Blackarachnia long enough to flash her green possessed optics at Arachnitron and shake BA's head as if to say "Don't you dare" before releasing control back to the black widow, resisting the urge to shoot the troublemaker for endangering his life further.

Hopefully he'd soon be able to return to watching the flying ape perish in peace.

Una wrote: Whitegrazer nodded and picked up Tarantulas' burnt corpse, looking over to see Dinobot. She lingered a glance to see Orcariner and just had to say it,
"Orcariner, I just wanted to say: my door is always open. If you want to talk." She knew Optimus wanted to speak with him and since he... couldn't, she wanted to let the bulky Maximal know that she was willingly to listen.

"Maximal scum, you won't keep my body from me for long!" Tarantulas snarled inwardly, watching Whitegrazer carry his damaged form away, likely to the maximal brig for containment...Primus help her if she damaged his shell anymore than it already was, or worse, tried to dispose of it.

She would suffer for that DEARLY if she did, oh how she would suffer...


OOC: wooh! That took me a bit to get down lol, hope you all enjoy it, sorry if the last line is a bit creepier than normal, Tarantulas is a psychotic cannibalistic spider con after all, dark thoughts tend to be the norm for him lol. Been loving everyone else's posts! Can't wait til we reach season 2 and all the really crazy stuff goes down!

((OOC: at Tarantulas' comment especially since Whitegrazer thinks they should give him a cremation. Love your post, Darkspark ))

una wrote:((OOC: at Tarantulas' comment especially since Whitegrazer thinks they should give him a cremation. Love your post, Darkspark ))

OOC: thanks Una