"OC Episode #5.5 Side Saga"

[Phoenix]

Nemesis transformed to her robot mode just before landing next to the partially buried escape pod. It appeared she was alone at the scene, at least for the time being, so the Decepticon-turned-Predacon immediately set to work.

She could only assume the escape pod was still occupied, since she saw no traces of foot prints leading away or even an entrance for that sake. Realizing the Maximals were no doubt closing in on the escape pod as well, Nemesis followed the burnt contours of the vessel to the part that had buried itself into the ground upon impact. While doing so she took note of the damage done to the pod during entry through this planet's atmosphere, as well as..

She stopped in her tracks, sniffing the air.

Smoke..

And sure enough, as she rounded the escape pod, she saw the smoke pouring out and a trail of fuel dripping from the damaged section of the small ship.

Now in a hurry if she was going to salvage anything from this escape pod, Nemesis proceeded to kick the dirt away from what she assumed had to be the escape hatch. Allthewhile silently cursing about her bad luck after crashing on this planet, her foot suddenly hit something hard and hollow.. Metal!

Nemesis grabbed a hold of the hatch and started pulling it with all her might, as the heat had already fused part of the hatch to the rest of the hull. She didn't have long before she'd have to abort, since the nanotechnology fused with her circuits would start to go haywire if exposed to very high temperatures. Her 'gift' could also be her curse in situations like that, even as a G1 she disliked extreme temperatures.

Suddenly the hatch flew open, sending Nemesis crashing onto the ground in the process.

[una]

Whitegrazer knew they were getting close.

MEGATRON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She went to a full stop; her spark pounding her chestplate hard. So hard it hurt, making her grimace. Closing her eyes, she attempted to slow her spark down, calming the sudden, overwhleming emotions of anger and despair. At first, she thought it was her emotions which made her confused as she didn't feel any of them. That was the answer though. The emotions weren't hers but the voice that screamed within her spark. A voice she knew.

I can't think about this now. I have a mission. When this is over... Even if it was over, what was she going to say? The only thing she knows is something was going to happen but what?

And she learned years ago to never assume...but wait. She knew nothing and she didn't want to screw anything up in wrong guesses. That would make matters worse.

But I can warn. That's all.

She shook her head and looked at Wintersong, "Sorry about that."

She was about to continue when she realized that they were there. The pod looked wrecked and part of it was partially buried which got her worried about the passenger, but she went into alert as she saw Nemesis.

"Wintersong, see if the passenger is okay. I will keep Nemesis off your back."

Whitegrazer maximized and quickly went into action since Nemesis was already on the ground, "Stay down, Nemesis." She got into a defensive position, standing over Nemesis.

_____________________________________________________________

Blackarachnia watched as Sonar flew away. Interesting.

She saw that the maximals were talking to Ironclaw and glanced back at Starshadow. She wondered if the Predacon wanted to follow Sonar or take her anger out n the Maximals.

She was just pondering.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong looked at the white mare with some concern when she seemed greatly distracted. This wasn't normal for Whitegrazer and the tigeress only could wonder if something was on the horse's mind though she only nodded after apologizing. Looking forward Wintersong quickly took off to where it looked like the escape hatch was trapped and it didn't seem they had long,"Maximize!" She growled and transformed quickly starting to move rocks and dirt, smelling the fire and smoke which was a dangerous sign and meaning whoever was inside didn't have much longer. Though Wintersong thought she heard someone trying on the other side as well,"Hold in there almost got you out!" She called to Arachnitron using her claws to dig out more rocks until she moved back, a small bit of smoke catching her by surprise.

She just hoped it wasn't too late and moved back again to make a larger place the bot inside could move out.

[Night-Hunter]

"GO AHEAD! TELL HIM EVERYTHING! I DON'T CARE WHAT THE OTHERS WOULD THINK!!"

Sonar chuckled before replying. "Oh I think you do. I don't thnk you want them to know about your past. Predacons have been known to... experiment on half breeds such as yourself."

The bat transformed into his robot form as he continued to stay in the clouds. "I managed to convince a Maximal to retire and that didn't take long, just how long to do you think it would take me to convince Megatron not to trust you? Are you willing to take that chance, Starshadow?" He asked looking at his claws

It doesn't matter to me either way. He thought before picking his teeth with his clawed pointer finger.

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: I have no idea what kind of fuel a Cybertronian would be using, but here we go....

Arachnitron moved as quickly as she could, but there was a lot of rubble to move. She used almost all eight of her spider legs to clear a path, but was beginning to tire quickly. The blaze from the fire was slowly starting to grow. It wouldn't be long until the whole thing would alight. And then another thought crossed Arachnitron's mind....the pod had been leaking fuel. And now it was on fire....that would probably not end well. She imagined that the pod would not only soon be engulfed in flames, but may also eventually explode!

"I really need to get out of here," she spoke out loud to herself. But she had made almost no headway with moving the rubble. The more she moved the rocks, the more they fell. They covered up the holes she had just cleared. And she was beginning to feel warm. The smoke was filling the escape pod fast and she could barely see even with eight eyes!

Then, all of a sudden she heard shouts from the other side of the rock wall.

"Hold in there almost got you out!"

Arachnitron froze. She had been lead to believe she was alone on this planet and actually would have preferred it. Now, she was suddenly faced with a problem. Who was on the other side? Were they robotic life forms like her? Or something else? Were they from Cybertron? If they were...were they friend or foe? Maximal or Predacon? At the moment, she had no idea what to expect from the voice on the other side. And she had no idea what she would do if it were a Maximal. In fact, she had no idea what she would do if it were a Predacon. She almost hoped that it was a Maximal, but at the same time, she was born and raised a Predacon. Were there enough Maximal traits in her genetic code for her to live as a Maximal? She didn't think there was. On the other hand, would the Maximal traits dillute her Predacon ones. Not only that, but it was the Predacons who tortured her, manipulated her genetic code, turned her into the freak she was. Could she still be a Predacon after that? And what of the experiments? Would they know about them and send the Predacon scientists to get her and finish what they started? Or was this all a test set up by those same scientists to see how she handled herself in the real world as opposed to locked away in the research facility? Was it safer to defect? Or was it safer to just run and hide forever?

Fear surged through her body once again. Her mind spun with confusion...or was it the heat and smoke that now wafted freely throughout the entire escape pod? She gagged on the fumes (OOC: Is that even possible?). Suddenly she realized...she had to take things one step at a time....so she did the only thing she could think of....

"HURRY!" she shouted to the voice, fear dripped off of every word. "I THINK IT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!"

[starshadow]

"Oh I think you do. I don't thnk you want them to know about your past. Predacons have been known to... experiment on half breeds such as yourself."

Starshadow growled at that.

"I managed to convince a Maximal to retire and that didn't take long, just how long to do you think it would take me to convince Megatron not to trust you? Are you willing to take that chance, Starshadow?"

"Saber was a coward! You should know Megatron always have a hard time trusting bots who sneaks around and disappears. You're just like Tarantulas, annnnddd....I'm willing to take that risk, SO COME OUT AND FIGHT ME! or are you a gutless wimp?" she knew each time she shouts in the comlinks, she would make the bat happier but what could she do? Her gun was in pieces on the day of Cecaelia's arrival and it was difficult to put the parts back together.

[Phoenix]

(ooc:

OOC: I have no idea what kind of fuel a Cybertronian would be using, but here we go....

Fuel cells to add to the drama. )

"Stay down, Nemesis."

Nemesis glanced up to find that the Maximals had arrived during the brief moment she'd gotten knocked over after pulling the escape hatch off its hinges. What explicit timing..

After a brief moment of laughing after hearing the Maximal's words, the Predacon responded. "Finders keepers.."


She then swung her leg out at Whitegrazer, attempting to knock her off her feet, before doing a swift roll , finishing off by jumping back on her feet. Her sword and sai were already ready in her hands, as she got into attack formation.

"How unfortunate for you and your little friend there that you had to show up. That vessel and its content is mine!"


She was just about to attack when another voice chimed in, from inside the escape pod. It would appear its occupant had survived the ordeal.. at least thus far.

"HURRY! I THINK IT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!"

Although it would be a shame to lose the pod, this turn of events could potentially make her day. Nemesis expected the Maximals to come to the survivor's aid, thus providing her with the perfect opportunity to strike.

Pretending to stand down and letting her arms dangle at her sides, Nemesis watched the two Maximals carefully to see how they would respond.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Blackrosefencer, I have been meaning to write up some quick summaries for each episode but have either forgotten or haven't had the time. But I agree that it would be very helpful for everyone, and I will try to get on that very soon. Sorry about that. ))

We're seeing it now, must of been coming in too hot to be detected by our radar. Cheetor,Feralnight, and Icebreaker are investigating the Starhopper crash nearby. I think it might be best if you investigate this escape pod with some of the fliers and figure out what is going on.

A Star Hopper? Primus, what was going on today?! "Understood, Rhinox. Optimus out." He hoped they would be able to recover that Hopper and it's passenger without much or any hassle from the Predacons.

"Airazor, this is Optimus. Converge on my position as quickly as possible," Primal called over his comm. link, sending her his coordinates. ((Assuming, WorpeX, that you'd like to play Airazor in this episode? If not, I'll edit.))

"Optimus Primal, maximize." The commander went from ape to robot, eager to catch up with Whitegrazer and Wintersong, hoping the escape pod had a safe landing. "Prime jets, on!" And Primal blasted off into the sky, flying quickly toward his destination.

-----

"Very funny rat and do you ever look at the positive side?"

"Heh. That was positive, Frills," Rattrap smirked.

"I just saw Icebreaker hastening to some unknown location. Have I missed notification of a mission?" "It appears I am very late," "How did we acquire you?"

"Nice to see your online Aurora, I'm Frilla."

Hearing Dinobot and realzing Frilla noticed a new face on deck, Rattrap turned around and looked at them, along with Icebreaker before he hurried off. This place was kind of crazy without the boss monkey around. Where was he, anyway?

"Nice to meet your acquaintance as well," "Both of you,"

"Hey, how's it goin'? I'm Rattrap," the rodent in robot mode smiled to Aurora.

"Oh, I just came online. In the lab. I'm still getting used to everything myself, so maybe Icebreaker can fill you in a bit when he returns."

Rattrap would've jumped in and explained it to Dinobot just to show how unobservant he could be sometimes but he felt that it wasn't his place, and he also didn't want to say the wrong thing. After all, he didn't know what Icebreaker had already told her, or didn't tell her.

[Wintersong]

Hearing the voice shot a warning of a possible explosion the tigeress decided to try a different approach,"Hold on I'll get you out!" Wintersong called grabbing her rifle and firing on a few rocks to make them easier to dig out then put her weapon back in her side compartment and began to move the rocks and debris with a more hasty speed. Finally she found an opening and clawed at the rocks a little more before moving aside, "Come on you shoulder be able to get out." She said hoping whoever was inside was alright and could get out quickly. "Whitegrazer move back! This pod will explode, as soon as this bot is out we have to move." She said looking over briefly to her comrade but ignoring Nemesis for now.

[Night-Hunter]

"Saber was a coward! You should know Megatron always have a hard time trusting bots who sneaks around and disappears. You're just like Tarantulas."

Sonar chuckled again before speaking. "Oh, you wound me, Starshadow. I am nothing like Tarantulas. Unlike him, I can be trusted."

annnnddd....I'm willing to take that risk, SO COME OUT AND FIGHT ME! or are you a gutless wimp?"

Starshadow's voice was starting to become annoying. "For your information, half-breed. I'm not a gutless wimp. Just know how to fight my battles and know when it's best to retreat, now get lost, your voice is starting to annoy me." He shut off his COM link to her and using the cloud cover flew off toward his new lair.

[starshadow]

"For your information, half-breed. I'm not a gutless wimp. Just know how to fight my battles and know when it's best to retreat, now get lost, your voice is starting to annoy me."

"DON'T LECTURE ME, PUP! I- HELLO?! HELLO?!" Starshadow stopped the chase and roared loudly with birds flying out of the trees. "If that's all you got to say, FINE! YOU'RE NOT WORTH MY SLAGGING TIME!! YOU HEAR ME SONAR?! YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A PAIN IN THE AFT!!"

The panther climbed on a tree and lay her belly on a trunk with her ears going back. "Sickening, irritating, slagging son of a bolt...he's not worth my time.."

[Blackrosefencer]

OOC: OOP, don't worry about it. Alak had something written up summarizing everything that happened. Well, not everything...just the important stuff.

"Hold on I'll get you out!"

Arachnitron heard the voice answer her pathetic outburst of fear. She suddenly cursed herself for being so ridiculous before. She probably could have gotten out just fine. In fact, the pod probably wouldn't even explode!

Suddenly, she heard shots fire and she flinched. "By the pit! Why am I so jumpy?!

The rocks sailed in all directions including a few that fell through the hole towards Arachnitron. Gracefully, still in beast mode, she jumped to the side as more rubble toppled into the hole. She clung expectantly to the ceiling of the escape pod.

Slowly, daylight and fresh air began to appear. It was working! The creatures on the other side were successfully digging her out!

"Come on you should be able to get out."

Without wasting another moment, Arachnitron skittered through the hole in the rubble. The flames now filled the entire pod and were starting to flicker outside of it as well. As she climbed out of the escape pod, Arachnitron took one look at Wintersong and Whitegrazer just to see what exactly it was that helped her out. She sighed inaudibly. She was glad to see fellow bots and not anything else....she had no idea what she was expecting, but couldn't imagine that she'd have gotten along well with alien life forms. In mid-skitter, she transformed, grabbed hold of Wintersong's wrist, and pulled on it urgently.

"I would get out of here....NOW!!" she exclaimed. Though she was a lot calmer than before, her voice still had a hint of panic. She raced off to the grass and looked back at the pod which was now completely engulfed in flames! Then she ran faster. She wasn't even sure if the two other bots had followed her or not she just kept running. She didn't stop until she heard the pod explode behind her.

When the sound of the explosion reverberated through the canyon, she stopped to catch her breath. Adrenaline had fueled her sprint from the pod, but now that she had stopped she suddenly realized how tired she was. She grabbed hold of a tree and leaned forward to steady her breathing.

[una]

After a brief moment of laughing after hearing the Maximal's words, the Predacon responded. "Finders keepers.."


She then swung her leg out at Whitegrazer, attempting to knock her off her feet, before doing a swift roll , finishing off by jumping back on her feet. Her sword and sai were already ready in her hands, as she got into attack formation.

"How unfortunate for you and your little friend there that you had to show up. That vessel and its content is mine!"


She was just about to attack when another voice chimed in, from inside the escape pod. It would appear its occupant had survived the ordeal.. at least thus far.

Whitegrazer did a backflip to avoid Nemesis' attempt to bring her down. Seeing the Predacon woman armed with her deadly sword and sai, she had taken out what Icebreaker had given her after the battle with the clone. After they all came back from the battles, she had ask Icebreaker to help her gain more of a edge in a battlefield so she would be more helpful in those situations when they ever happened again. She never wanted to be caught with her armor down again.

Her Juttes shone as she went into a stance. She only would used them for defense if Nemesis came at her.

"HURRY! I THINK IT'S ABOUT TO EXPLODE!!"

Although it would be a shame to lose the pod, this turn of events could potentially make her day. Nemesis expected the Maximals to come to the survivor's aid, thus providing her with the perfect opportunity to strike.

Pretending to stand down and letting her arms dangle at her sides, Nemesis watched the two Maximals carefully to see how they would respond.

She glanced at the Wintersong and the pod and then back at Nemesis. Despite Nemesis putting her arms down, the weapons were still drawn and Whitegrazer wasn't stupid but if Wintersong needed help, she will have to help.

Hearing the voice shot a warning of a possible explosion the tigeress decided to try a different approach,"Hold on I'll get you out!" Wintersong called grabbing her rifle and firing on a few rocks to make them easier to dig out then put her weapon back in her side compartment and began to move the rocks and debris with a more hasty speed. Finally she found an opening and clawed at the rocks a little more before moving aside, "Come on you shoulder be able to get out." She said hoping whoever was inside was alright and could get out quickly. "Whitegrazer move back! This pod will explode, as soon as this bot is out we have to move." She said looking over briefly to her comrade but ignoring Nemesis for now.

It looked like Wintersong was picking up the pace when she fired at the rocks.

Taking the warning seriously, she nodded at Wintersong.

"You better move if you don't want to get hit by the blast." she warned Nemesis, "Because what you are after is about to be blown to pieces." Nemesis could fly out of here unlike Wintersong and herself if she heeded the warning or another possiblity was that the female could watch and take the Maximals down as they are trying to recover which would be a very poor decision in Whitegrazer's eyes.

She just shook her head, "It's your choice..."

Hearing the passenger's panic, Whitegrazer put her Juttes back to get her hands free to help Wintersong get the passenger out but still kept a peek at Nemesis as they ran to get away from the explosion. The passenger got up ahead of them when she could feel the force of the explosion push her off her feet. She got up slowly and looked to see if Wintersong was all right.

"You okay, Wintersong?"

Where did the passenger go? She looked around to see the passenger lying against a tree. She could be injured from the landing the pod took earlier. They better take her to base to heal her.

[Wintersong]

When the passenger inside came out at first Wintersong thought it was Blackarachnia due to a similar form but it was someone else. Though when Arachnitron grabbed her wrist the tigeress nodded and quickly ran from the pod before it blew and looked over seeing they were safe but she wondered if Nemesis had escaped. Though she wasn't overly worried for the Decepticon turned Predacon."Yea I'm fine." Wintersong answered looking at Whitegrazer but she seemed unharmed as well so all three of them were lucky this time.

"Beast mode." Transforming Wintersong walked over to Arachnitron looking at her with concern,"Good thing we got here in time, if your in need of repairs we can take you back to the Axalon." She offered hoping the tired black widow would be alright.

[Blackrosefencer]

"Good thing we got here in time, if your in need of repairs we can take you back to the Axalon." She offered hoping the tired black widow would be alright.

Arachnitron's breathing steadied gradually. She did a mental check on all her systems before responding. She was pretty sure she was unharmed; just exhausted. During her life at the orphange, Arachnitron had been the smartest of the young Predacons, but that's really all she had going for her. She certainly could hold her own in a fight, but athletics were not her thing.

She let go of the tree and stood up straight. She stood only five feet tall, four red spider legs jutted out from each arm, most of her body was black with some joints painted purple. Her optics a bright green looked down at the ground in shame. She suddenly remembered the rush of feelings she felt beginning way back on Cybertron....none of them were worthy of a Predacon. She also suddenly felt timid....something else unworthy of a Predacon (or an ex-Predacon, Arachnitron still hadn't decided which she was)....she had never really spoken to another bot before unless she was being flippant with the scientists.

She tried to choose her words well, but couldn't help sounding defensive and a bit guilty at her embarrasing panic attack earlier.

"Uh....I think I'm okay. Just wasn't built for outrunning exploding escape pods."

Yeah, social situations were not her thing either....