Time Is But A Window

[New Moon]

Frilla took to the forest edge as Rattrap went a little deeper than her, carefully moving along the lower shrubbery. With her size she was able to squeeze into the smaller places, hissing as she knocked away some of the remaining little drones. They were everywhere it felt like! Finding one particularly stubborn drone trying to nip at her, the frilled lizard whipped her head around and fired a glob of ink at the arachoid, cementing it to a nearby rock, “That should keep you busy for a while.” She chuckled before focusing on the scents in the area. Definitely had been there for certain, perhaps stalking the area to await the fuzor.

Realistically, Tarantulas could have been waiting for hours before he likely would have gotten his new prey. Given the situation that day, Aurora could easily not have gone outside as any of them would. It just so happened she did and now was likely out of their reach, which was the most concerning part. Though she paused in finding a trail when Tigerhawk piped in about a trail and Rattrap confirming it shortly there after causing her to break away from where she had been to meet up with the rodent.

Tigatron had likewise been following a trail, resting his paws on a nearby tree as he sniffed around, catching a trace of the spider. He had been in ambush mode, awaiting for his unsuspecting prey. Letting out a low growl, the white tiger dropped down and turned his attention towards the coms. from the others, ears twitching slightly at the news. At least they were on the right track.

Turning though, the tiger spotted the shiny armor of his younger counterpart amid the thickly growing forest, “Little Cat! Come on. He called to him before galloping over to meet with the others, coming across a desperate Rattrap trying to dig through a colllapsed entrance, most likely caved in to prevent them from following. A quick observation from here told the tiger it could take time before they could get through that, even with a few of them working at the ground. Stepping closer, the white and green male placed a paw on Rattrap’s shoulder, “Rattrap, stop. That cave entrance is collapsed, even if we dug out the top, it could take us hours or days to dig out what’s beneath.” Tigatron told him, reluctant to stop their search, but they had a lead and knew where to start. “They’ll be far out of our reach by the time we dug through, if they aren’t already.” He pointed out, glancing over as Frilla lingered nearby and Dinobot made his way over.

The raptor, however, didn’t appear to want to hear about it, “Are you telling us to give up the search feline? Tarantulas may not hesitate to make her his next meal.” He pointed out cryptically as ever.

“He wouldn’t take that risk for a quick meal so close to the Axalon.” The white tiger countered sternly, “There has to be another reason. But digging at the dirt then the rock beneath...it will take time.”

Frilla watched the exchange between the two taller males before her gaze went to Rattrap, maximizing to her robot mode and kneeling beside him on one knee, “We’ll find her Rattrap. I’ll help you dig every day to open those tunnels if it means getting her back.” Frilla assured him, before opening her own com. line, “Optimus, the cave Tarantulas used is collapsed in.” She reported if he didn’t know already, “Not sure how long it would take us to open it back up, but...” The frilled lizard seemed to get a thought then, “But maybe we can use one of the spider’s little drones. I cemented one to a rock nearby that we could maybe use.”

Letting out an annoyed huff, Dinobot backed off the subject. Though he was not particularly close to Aurora, he was concerned for her safety, especially in the hands of Taratulas. Who knew what twisted experiments he was doing with her or intended for her to do. With her knowledge and skills, the possibilities could be endless and it was frustrating of being incapable of doing anything to help her.

——————————————

“Why Maximals believe that when you came strolling out of their base minutes later? Bird-bot just said you were hidden until Waspinator attacked, but wouldn’t they have no reason to lie to Waspinator if not aware of you?” Waspinator asked with a quizzical brow. That didn’t seem to add up in his mind, unless they expected her to have left shortly after the rest of the Predacons and found her after the fact. That seemed possible, but the wasp couldn’t be too certain of that. In fact, he was presenting how events went down when he went seeking her out, only able to guess she had been taken prisoner.

Now he was beginning to greatly regret risking anything for her, especially her questioning of his intelligence.

Scoffing slightly he crossed his arms then, “Waspinator not the one getting caught and inprisoned by Maximals now is he? Perhaps bird-lady not as skilled as she thinks.” He countered coldly, before shrugging slightly at her insults. “Not Waspinator’s problem. Bird-lady made the plan then made her own calls, hadn’t deviated from the original one she wouldn’t have to be caught up in the situation in the first place.” He returned casually, indicating her imprisonment was still her own fault and seeming to prove she wasn’t as tactical as she thought she was.

It was at that moment Megatron decided to step in, causing the wasp to become silent immediately and had to stop himself from smirking at Megatron somewhat calling her out on her comebacks. Because all in all, she was hardly one to be making the accusations towards him. At least he had tried, attempted to show some minuscule of loyalty towards his superiors compared to someone such as Terrorsaur or Tarantulas. It was less punishments and less chances of being blown to bits from both sides, something he already faced far too much from the Maximals for his liking. He got the dirty work and typical grunt tasks, but at least he was attempting to help and not overthrow anyone. Maybe for once the universe wouldn’t hate him and allow him more smaller victories.

As Megatron questioned Nemesis about Optimus’ confrontation before she had left, Waspinator snidely remarked, “Waspinator think bird-lady a sympathizer towards their enemies, or at least their leader.” Whether that was true or not Waspinator couldn’t be sure, but the transmetal wasp couldn’t help getting a final word in out of spite.

[Wintersong]

((I’ll have a post tonight guys, sorry for delays lately. Been extremely busy and had something personal come up this week that needed my attention.))

[Phoenix]

(ooc: It's okay. It's my work weekend anyway and my shifts usually take 13 hours each so with shifts two days in a row I won't be able to post this weekend as is. )

[Wintersong]

((Yea huge apology Phoenix, this week has just been rather rough personally, and I’ve been trying to get other things in order right now. Primarily been looking for a job until I return to school in the fall to pursue one final certification I need, so that’s been taking up some time.

For now here’s part of my post, working on the section for Wintersong next.))

The eerie emptiness felt both welcoming and gloomy. Wintersong could feel her anxiety lingering, her entire being telling her to bolt out as fast as possible, maybe help with the search outside. But, the white tigress forced it back, curiously watching Optimus approach the damaged drone in which case she became a little sheepish, “Sorry if it’s too damaged to be of use, I just sort of reacted with them swarming everywhere.” And boy were those little drones a pain!

“That regenerative stuff right? I remember it being mentioned when you guys were catching me up the last few days. Heh, that little femme has got the brains to give some of Cybertron’s biggest and brightest brainiacs to shame. Wintersong managed to muse slightly, still feeling some guilt for not paying better attention. She should have given the tension of the day, but their younger members had gone out on their own before without incident so the Vok infected femme had not thought twice of the dangers. “But I guess it was bound to happen, just perhaps not in such a way as this.” She sighed before her she turned her head to see Rhinox joining them.

Unsurprisingly, the rhinoceros seemed to pick up on the gloomy atmosphere himself, offering an almost positive perspective that still amazed the feline, “You may have to get in line, if Tarantulas has to answer to anyone it’ll be Rattrap first in line.” The tigress spoke before dropping down to all fours, “With you two and Whitegrazer close behind.” She added. Fortunately, the subject shifted towards Optimus’ injuries and for the first time getting a real look for herself as he maximized, only to move forward once the transmetal ape nearly collapsed just in case Rhinox needed additional help, which appeared not to be the case. Sighing with relief, the tigress peered at the Maximal Commander’s let and visibly cringed thinking about the pain he had to be in, “No offense Optimus, but I’ll take getting smacked by Megatron’s tail over those puncture wounds any day.” Shs of course referred to one time she had tried to take on Megatron head on herself once.

A foolish maneuver that had nearly sent her into a permenant lava bath as a result.

For now, she seemed content to listen to the two mechs speak of what led up to Optimus’ injury and the new Predacon arrival. Finally shifting to her robot mode, she winced from the soreness in her shoulder, examine the puncture wounds from Quickstrike’s fangs and lightly scrapping at the green liquid mixed with her dry energon before Rhinox’s inquiry made her pause for a moment. It was a similar inquiry Optimus had made a couple times that day and Whitegrazer as well. But, there was no lying to the large Maximal, not when it’s progression was evident and she had spilled most of the beans to Optimus anyway, “Aside from apparently becoming half plant it feels like? Doubting I’ll find any sense of normal again.” Turning her attention away from the dried fluids, she focused her different colored optics on the scientist, “Like I told Optimus on the way here Rhinox, it’s getting worse, faster even. My aggression is getting almost feral, about went for the kill against Spineback when she tried to finish Rattrap and snapped at him in irritation. Where I got these colorful new optics.” Crossing her arms, she continued, “Always got an alien voice at the back of my processor that I struggle to keep at bay, and got this crazy idea they can shape history the more subtle way. Guess they’re becoming big on evolution now.”

Despite Wintersong’s attempts to be nonchalant and her audible annoyance, there was no denying the underlying terror in her tone. Truth be told, she didn’t know the full extent of the plans the Vok has for Earth, only that they wanted change.

Hearing Rattrap confirming Tigerhawk’s findings, the transmetal cheetah finally backtracked to follow the others, “Right behind you Big Cat.” He assured him, dashing after the white tiger through the forest until they came upon where the others had narrowed their search. Immediately a mix of Tarantulas’ and Aurora’s scents filled his olfactory sensors, causing his ears to go back with anger once again.

As if they hadn’t gone through enough already that day.

Upon gathering with the others, Cheetor watched with concern as Rattrap dug at the collapsed ground, inching closer to see for himself how bad it was. But, he had to admit Tigatron might be right. Blackarachnia had led them through similar tunnels earlier to cut through to the Axalon and seeing the many winding tunnels running through near their base alone had made his head spin. “As much as I hate to say this Rattrap, Tigatron is right.” the young cheetah spoke, the words cutting deep to even his own spark, “Blackarachnia got me and Whitegrazer back to the Axalon using some of the tunnels they’ve made over the Beast Wars. If she hadn’t been leading the way we wouldn’t have know north from south, or up from down.” The young Maximal loathed to admit they had been too late, or even if they managed to dig through the top layer of the collapsed tunnel, the rest could take them hours to get through and by then Tarantulas and his fellow young Maximal would already be Primus knew where.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up.” Airazor told them firmly as she hovered nearby with Tigerhawk, “Sooner or later every spider comes out of their web, the same will be for that twisted arachnid. We find Tarantulas, we might find Aurora too.” She tried to encourage her teammates that this one lead wasn’t the ending. It was a start, but even the psychopathic killer arachnid couldn’t hide forever. He still had a need for Megatron’s services here and there, or he would venture out for his own twisted hunting of sorts.

One drawback for transmetals as well, they stood out against most backgrounds. Her keen sight had always been able to distinguish those of her mutated friends and enemies among those who had not been, making it all the easier to search for those distinctive metallic frames. “Besides, if we can reverse engineer that arachnoid then we increase our chances of finding and getting Aurora back”

Thd large fuzor however remained silent in this moment.

Tigerhawk wished he could offer more words of assurance or encouragement, that everything would work out for the better. But, there was no telling what the outcome would be, and everyone had said about everything that could be said in such a situation as this. He had honestly thought the tarantula had been down for the count after the missiles had struck him and nearly got Tigerhawk and the then unconscious Zodiac in the process, but as seemed to the spider’s MO he was amazingly resilient and persistent. And now they would be down one Maximal plus the amnesiac Zodiac they would have to help adjust to his “new” surroundings and that he was indeed one of them.

A task that would be easier said than done in the coming days. “We should consider getting back to base to regroup. We have our leads, the best thing we can do for Aurora is to remain diligent and use every possible avenue we can sniff out to get her back. But we won’t do her any favors if we’re all still damaged and recovering from today.” He finally spoke.

+++++++++++++++++

Spineback shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose at the continuous cycle of arguing between Waspinator and Nemesis. It was hard to say who was wrong and who was right, perhaps even both were right in their own perspectives and neither one would cave in nor compromise somewhere. As far as the veteran was becoming concerned they may never discover the full truth without the Maximals themselves confirming one of the other. Maybe even both sides. It was boiling down to who sounded more believable, and was slowly giving her a processor ache, pinching and rubbing the bridge of her nose in slight irritation.

It was also then that Spineback was aware Megatron had made a remark, finding his gaze briefly on her, “I’ll say.” She had to agree with Megatron on one thing, Nemesis was one to talk about doing something stupid and out of line when she herself had done exactly that during the mission. So who was she to make such a judgement against Waspinator for once?

But given that the two had encountered complications with the Maximals, especially Nemesis given that an experimental weapon had been involved, a quick scan of their health seemed to be in order. So, the Chief Medic straightened herself as she grabbed a scanner nearby, coming over to Nemesis to do a full body scan of her condition, tuning the instrument to also check her unique nanomachines before turning the scanner on Waspinator, “Quite frankly, I think you both were foolish and idiotic today.” She grumbled with irritation, “One of you decided to make an executive decision to alter our original plans without proper protocol or authorization, much less back-up,” Spineback’s stern, critical glare first went to Nemesis before shifting to Waspinator, “And the other decided to bombard the already heavily damaged ship at his own accord, no back-up yet again, and thinking he can play hero.” Stepping away to Megatron’s side, the saurian femme began looking over the results.

“You two are lucky you haven’t gotten a worse punishment beyond being interrogated.” She added with a huff, optics scanning the results. “Anyway, aside from slight energy depletion Waspinator actually has a clean bill of health than any of us, for once in his miserable function. But, your results do appear to back your claim Nemesis.” The older femme glanced towards Megatron then, “It appears that experimental weapon is likely Lord Megatron, her nanomachines aren’t operating at their optimum efficiency and some of her systems are still coming back to their full operations.”

Returning her gaze to the screen, Spineback rubbed her chin in thought, “That research on Rampage’s cells is seeming more and more necessary the more we learn about the weaknesses of these nanomachines. If it was designed for a more advanced user such as Zodiac, there’s no telling if it might cause similar concerns with our resident crab.”

[Phoenix]

Nemesis remained as calm and collected as she could despite the harsh questioning Megatron was putting her through. After all, she was being mostly truthful about the events that had taken place and that had prevented her from following through with the original plan. Mostly. Some details had to be changed, obviously, or she would no doubt stand to lose everything.. Or Megatron could potentially put her to the test by making unreasonable demands of her and provide him Primal's head on a platter.

That, of course, would be an impossible feat. Not only did Nemesis strangely enough care about the big ape, but as things were the Maximal commander was less than enthusiastic about her and their friendship as it were. After what she had done, she wasn't sure he would ever trust her again.

Perhaps that was for the best. Their unique relationship was a risk to her and the Predacons' operations, no doubt, and it was a small wonder Megatron had never questioned her about it before now. Well, at least he had never openly done so, likely since he had no reason to believe she was so conflicted about it all. Yet now the tension in the room could almost be seen with its intensity, and she could almost hear the gears grinding within Megatron's head as he started piecing the puzzle together.

"Be sure that it doesn't,"

The female nodded, somewhat grateful for the opportunity to explain herself that had now presented itself. Perhaps Megatron had drawn a few of the right conclusions after the last time he had doubts about her, when his doubts had certainly been made more physical in nature than now. Yet tense as the situation was, Nemesis felt relieved it seemed like the tyrant would be willing to solve this with words instead of fists and weapons.

"Do not lecture me about the Maximals' persistence! If anyone should have learned something from them today it would be you, Nemesis. I expect your incarcerations to cease after what transpired today. After all, we wouldn't want their tricks to insult someone of your intelligence,"

Oh how badly she wanted to argue the point with him, but the tone in his voice made her quickly decide to snap her mouth shut. It seemed like the wiser decision right now so she let his words linger for a moment as she pondered her own response.

Most of her interactions with the Maximals really had not been from a prisoner's standpoint. Although that was how the first seeds of her friendship with Optimus had been planted, how they had gotten to talk in private for the first time. An odd respect between them had formed from that interaction, from her exposing sides of herself she hadn't even shared with Megatron. Of course it would be foolish to tell him about her deepest, darkest secrets, as the tyrant would no doubt take advantage of her weak points and exploit her with them. Much like Primal had threatened to do to keep her calm, although a part of her doubted the Maximal would ever truly resort to such measures.

"Oh, I've learned my lesson about taking foolish chances," she replied earnestly. "This has been an experience I don't desire a repeat session of. But at least the plan ultimately succeeded and the traitor is dead," she then added, hoping to direct the uncomfortable attention away from herself. Yes, it was likely a better choice to avoid pursuing or arguing the facts with Megatron, especially since it almost seemed as if he was willing to let the matter go without too harsh repercussions.

"I did not,"

The tyrant's voice turned cold as ice again when she used the escaped hostages as a way to explain the events that had taken place, causing Nemesis to pause as she waited for the male leader to elaborate. All in all she was holding up fairly well, managing to keep a certain level of arrogance about her even though it had been dwindling only a few moments before.

"But you see, Nemesis, some of them found the time to recover from their wounds and arrive rather quickly at the battle field, which leaves very little time for them to have been searching for you and detaining you."

Perhaps.. And while it was true the turn of events had not been precisely the way she had described them, she wasn't about to admit to any of his accusations. After all this was all speculation on Megatron's part and admitting to any wrong doing would certainly not benefit her in any way.

The true purpose of her vague descriptions of the turn of events was really to make it seem like she had only remained a prisoner a far shorter period of time than had really been the case, which could help her disguise her actual motives. Granted, she had attempted to leave when Optimus had showed up.. and everything had just fallen apart from there.

If only she wasn't so weak..

"From what I saw, they weren't as wounded as they had appeared. Of course they could have had enough time to heal up prior to escaping," the female pointed out. There had clearly been enough time passed to heal from when the Maximals had been held captives to when they showed up at the Axalon.

"You nearly accused me of undermining their ability for diligence and perseverance, but may I remind you that where they lack in tactical manipulation and firepower, they excel in their creativeness and scientific discoveries. So, given your last encounter and how your capture came to be, perhaps it is you who should not be so quick to underestimate our enemy."

Nemesis could only offer a slight shrug of the shoulders as Megatron's observation was quite correct in this case. Yet there was little she could do about changing what had happened now. "A strike of luck on the Maximal's end. It won't happen again," she assured the tyrant. Of course this wouldn't have happened in the first place if Primal had been prevented from blocking her way out, but the avian female was very careful not to bring up the ape's name more than she had to.

"Well, you have made your case," "I do hope that you have learned from your mistake since we cannot afford any more misjudgments that would be detrimental to our cause."

The female let out an inward sigh of relief now that it appeared Megatron was indeed willing to drop the subject matter all-together and move on to new, grander schemes. Although she was somewhat annoyed that she hadn't as much as managed to bring something back to show for the ordeal, now that Tarantulas had the sample Primal had provided her with in his possession. The spider was not to be trusted and always ran his own agenda, so something told her it might have been better if Optimus hadn't made any offers at all..

"Duly noted," she said before continuing, "Your generous gesture will not be ignored. And I will prove myself to you again."

Her optics followed the leader's movements as he pointed out the scars that were now decorating his armor. Despite her many battles, she still didn't have any physical scarring to show for it. Just plenty of emotional ones. Her armor still looked virtually flawless, aside from the numbers etched into the underside of her wrist of course. And even they were barely visible.

"Let that be a constant reminder,"

In all truthfulness, the avian female didn't mind looking at scars. She'd gotten used to seeing soldiers covered in them, and sometimes with amputated limbs or other disfigurements. Optimus himself had a few scars decorating him as well. In a way she was almost a little jealous of how these other soldiers could carry their stories around on themselves like that, while she would forever appear as she was years ago. Well, in a transmetal form now but still recognizable.

She avoided staring too intently at it, knowing full well that the tyrant hated signs of imperfections. Perhaps not so much the physical ones, but yeah.. He wanted to be recognized and remembered for his greatness and victories, not his failures. But imperfect as he may have been, Megatron was still the one who was going to lead them to their eventual victory over their enemies. And allow them to give the Maximal elders the justice they deserved.

"I couldn't care less whether he did or not," the tyrant said bluntly and truthfully. "But you are correct. He was incapable of ascending to a greater cause because he lacked the vision and the intelligence of foresight. However, I no longer wish to waste my valuable time speaking of his ignorance and the damage he has done interfering with my plans,"

The avian second in command smiled ever so slightly and nodded with respect for Megatron's decision. She still harbored some lingering doubts about the state she'd seen Zodiac in before she departed the Axalon as well as the justification for putting him in such a state, but it was a better option to let Megatron turn his focus to the next step of his plan rather than dwell on what had been. It was unlikely Zodiac could have survived, yet a small part of her did regret her role in putting him in that situation to begin with.

Fortunately Megatron seemed disinterested in pursuing more details about exactly what had gone down when Zodiac was brought to the Axalon, which saved her from having to elaborate further on that particular subject. Her own emotions on the matter had differed drastically from the joy she had thought she'd feel when they first set out on this venture. As appeared to be the case with most of the occurrences today. Despite some success earlier that day, the last few hours had proven to be a bust as far as the avian female was concerned.

"We will just have to find a way to avoid or disassemble such an offensive neutralizer during any future encounters with them so that we may be graced by the continuation of your successful tactical maneuvers whenever you are left in command."

Megatrons words sounded most calculated, like they so often did. And it made her weary considering the verbal beat down she had received mere moments ago. Still, she tried not to let her insecurities show too much.

"As I'm sure some of our more talented engineering staff will be able to create," Nemesis responded with a glance in Spineback's general direction. She sure trusted the other female a lot more than she did the likes of Tarantulas.. Her impression was that the spiders always had an alternative agenda and she had seen little proof otherwise. Tarantulas and BlackArachnia alike had proven to be most unreliable, only out to defend their own cause whatever it might be.

But as luck would have it, or lack there of as seemed to be the case, the wasp had now decided to join them with a rather different story to tell. Nemesis narrowed her optics and crossed her arms as she eyed the insect, having to fight hard to keep that fire within her from snapping the moment the male spoke up against her.

“Why Maximals believe that when you came strolling out of their base minutes later? Bird-bot just said you were hidden until Waspinator attacked, but wouldn’t they have no reason to lie to Waspinator if not aware of you?”

"How should I know exactly what they told you?," the avian female snapped back, "Was I present at that time? No. They only became aware of my presence after you showed up, or so I presume due to the search parties that came looking for me at that time that were armed with whatever that weapon they used against me was. And I was escorted out of the Axalon fairly soon after that, just in time for you to draw the wrong conclusions it would seem," she continued with a hissing tone, clearly getting more irritated by the minute.

Ugh.. How did the others even stand this insect, she wondered. If at all possible he had become even more obnoxious after receiving his transmetal form.

“Waspinator not the one getting caught and inprisoned by Maximals now is he? Perhaps bird-lady not as skilled as she thinks.” He countered coldly, before shrugging slightly at her insults. “Not Waspinator’s problem. Bird-lady made the plan then made her own calls, hadn’t deviated from the original one she wouldn’t have to be caught up in the situation in the first place.

This was about as much as the black, silver and red bird of prey was willing to take from the insect. Although she was only about a foot taller than him, she used her height to her advantage and grabbed the nuisance by the throat only to force him up against the wall. Once there she held him in place with her arm against his throat and her other hand hovering dangerously close to her sai.

"You've become very arrogant as of late, wasp. Perhaps you need to re-learn a lesson about your place on the food chain," she growled at him while tightening her choke hold on him, really not caring who else was there to see the normally well controlled female who served as Megatron's second in command snap in such a manner. Of course there had been very little respect for the insect in the first place, but at least she had never actively disliked him before now. Yet if he insisted on playing this power struggle game with her, she would just have to fight back.

"My, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black,"

Megatron's words didn't do much to calm her down, but it was Spineback's response that held the most impact.

“Quite frankly, I think you both were foolish and idiotic today.”

The female's honesty, brutal in nature as it was, tugged at something within Nemesis' spark and resulted in her loosening her grip on the wasp ever so slightly.

“One of you decided to make an executive decision to alter our original plans without proper protocol or authorization, much less back-up,”“And the other decided to bombard the already heavily damaged ship at his own accord, no back-up yet again, and thinking he can play hero.”

The words held true.

After thinking about it for a moment, Nemesis sighed and released her grip on the wasp. As much as the avian hated to admit it, the other female was right. Nemesis should have left the moment Terrorsaur did. If she had, she wouldn't have run into Primal and none of this would have happened. Inclining her head once more, the second in command withdrew herself from the situation and, as if not fully trusting herself to behave, backed away several feet to increase the distance between the two of them.

“Waspinator think bird-lady a sympathizer towards their enemies, or at least their leader.”

Nemesis snorted at this statement as if it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. Of course Waspinator had no real reason to suspect that sort of foul play, since what little interaction between herself and Optimus he may have overheard had not exactly been on friendly terms. The wasp couldn't have known what had happened within the walls of the Axalon, so she knew he was just trying to get under her armor now. Annoyingly it was working, to an extent, but after her earlier outburst she fought even harder to keep her emotions in check.

"Oh I'm sure Primal enjoyed watching me fry the rodent against the shields. Lest not forget I've killed two of the Maximals under his command," she said, referencing the Maximal bird she had inadvertently killed upon being converted to a beast form after first arriving on this planet as well as Valkyrie. "You truly are delusional, aren't you, if you truly think there is anything there beyond hatred?," she then added while piercing the wasp with her optics. Not that she was overly proud of the things she had done, some of which hadn't been entirely voluntary either. But the truth would be entirely too costly for her if it should ever come out.

"My dear Nemesis, you should take pride in your accomplishments,"

Pride in her actions.. wasn't really something the avian did very often. She was frequently hesitant about her role, her responsibilities, her actions against others.. Had she deserved the position Megatron had granted her? Was it a mistake on her part to accept, given her rather divisive loyalty? Her spark and her programming didn't always agree on the best course of action, and she often felt a sense of remorse for what she had done.. And continued to do. Nemesis was very much so conflicted in nature, not really knowing what the right path for her in life was.

"I do take pride in them," the avian responded after a brief pause, "Of course the failures tend to hit a bit harder," she then admitted in a slightly quieter voice, referring to the fiasco involving herself remaining at the Axalon for longer than she should have.

But did she really? In a way perhaps..

"I certainly can not take all of the credit,"

"You are an inspiration to our cause," Nemesis praised back with a respectful nod. "Our guide towards a better future, our strong leader during these difficult times. It's your leadership that inspires us to aim higher."

Her words flowed out easily enough, and they held truth to them. At least to a point. It certainly was a relief to hear the tyrant speak like that to her after everything, as if he still held her in high regards compared to his normally lacking approach towards most of his troops.

"One should wonder, however, why Optimus would even ask such a question. For you see, I had already told him that I was not entirely responsible. If he confronted you about it, why would your involvement matter so much to him, and why would you bother lying? Primal would have been too forgiving to have punished you, and with their ship in shambles, they had no room or resources to spare to hold you there."

... Or not.

Nemesis felt her spark skip a beat upon hearing Megatron's tone change to a much more questioning one. So he did still have doubts about her and she would have to watch her steps very carefully for a while.

"I had no way of knowing the true extent of the damage at that time," Nemesis admitted. "It was an act of desperation on my part, since I wanted to return here without further delay."


It seemed hard for her to admit to an act of weakness like that and her voice quieted down immediately after speaking, merely standing there as Spineback approached with her medical devices. Fortunately the other female's examination was quick, and the results seemed to back up Nemesis' earlier claims.

“You two are lucky you haven’t gotten a worse punishment beyond being interrogated.” “Anyway, aside from slight energy depletion Waspinator actually has a clean bill of health than any of us, for once in his miserable function. But, your results do appear to back your claim Nemesis.” “It appears that experimental weapon is likely Lord Megatron, her nanomachines aren’t operating at their optimum efficiency and some of her systems are still coming back to their full operations.”

Nemesis gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to the medic's findings before her optics yet again drifted to their leader, trying to read his expression as best she could. Alas his face didn't really reveal anything at this time so it seemed she would have to wait for his ultimate decision.

"Yes, I deviated from the plan and suffered the consequences thereof. But I will be fully operational soon," she assured them both, completely ignoring the wasp at the present. "A bit sooner if I'm allowed to rest up," she added before finishing with; "I will, of course, submit to any corrective action you deem necessary, Lord Megatron."

Spineback's focus seemed to have shifted to her work on Rampage's own regenerative powers, which may not have been as swift or diverse as her own and Zodiac, but certainly held a few advantages of their own. It was enough to grab Nemesis' attention as well.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: I know we're pretty much wrapping up this episode with many of our characters already on "hiatus", so I'm going to try and have the new one started next Monday when I'll have off of work since I'll be away this weekend. Sorry for the delay on that. ))

“Rattrap, stop. That cave entrance is collapsed, even if we dug out the top, it could take us hours or days to dig out what’s beneath.” “They’ll be far out of our reach by the time we dug through, if they aren’t already.”

The smaller Maximal almost pulled his shoulder away from his wiser comrade, but he refrained from doing so out of the respect he held for Tigatron and merely stopped digging with his hands as he bowed his head in defeat.

“Are you telling us to give up the search feline? Tarantulas may not hesitate to make her his next meal.”

Interestingly enough, Dinobot seemed to disagree with the tiger, and upon hearing so, Rattrap was on the verge of verbally backing him up on it until Tigatron brought up another valid point, and Cheetor right on his heels.

“He wouldn’t take that risk for a quick meal so close to the Axalon.” “There has to be another reason. But digging at the dirt then the rock beneath...it will take time.”

“As much as I hate to say this Rattrap, Tigatron is right.”

The rat nodded sadly while on his knees toward both of the felines without looking at them. He had to remind himself that he wasn't the only one who cared deeply for their little biologist. All of them did. His emotions were getting the better of him, which wasn't necessarily going to help Aurora, while the others were being more objective about the dire situation.

“Blackarachnia got me and Whitegrazer back to the Axalon using some of the tunnels they’ve made over the Beast Wars. If she hadn’t been leading the way we wouldn’t have know north from south, or up from down.”

That inevitably gave Rattrap the idea to exploit Blackarachnia's knowledge of her ex-partner's tunnels even though he was fairly familiar with them as well. On the other hand, the she-spider might just know where the tarantula's lair was located. It was worth a shot anyway.

“We’ll find her Rattrap. I’ll help you dig every day to open those tunnels if it means getting her back.”

Turning his sorrowful gaze to Frilla as she knelt down beside him, he smiled faintly at her and nodded as he appreciated her encouragement and support.

“But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up.” “Sooner or later every spider comes out of their web, the same will be for that twisted arachnid. We find Tarantulas, we might find Aurora too.”

"If we ain't too late," Rattrap muttered almost inaudibly to the others around him.

“Besides, if we can reverse engineer that arachnoid then we increase our chances of finding and getting Aurora back”

"I doubt we'll recover anythin' from it. Dey're just mindless drones," the rodent reminded them as he wiped the dirt off of his hands and knees while he stood up and offered to help Frilla get to her feet as well with an extended hand. Of course, he was being his old, pessimistic self, which was a good thing, in a way, but also kind of depressing as if he wasn't even willing to give it a chance at prying into one of the mad scientist's robots. He would though. He would do anything to find Aurora and rescue her. It was simply a typhoon of emotions inside of him at that moment after everything he and they had endured. How was he supposed to rest or even sleep now knowing that the Maximal he saw as a niece was in the clutches of one of the most unpredictable, diabolical and insane Predacons?

“Optimus, the cave Tarantulas used is collapsed in.” “Not sure how long it would take us to open it back up, but...” “But maybe we can use one of the spider’s little drones. I cemented one to a rock nearby that we could maybe use.”

"Bring it in, Frilla," Optimus acknowledged her report. "But if you can find one that's still functioning, we might have a better chance recovering some kind of valuable data from it." Like most of them, he remained hopeful despite the same assumption that he and Rattrap were making about their limited abilities. Tarantulas enjoyed playing games though, so there was a slim chance that he might have deliberately planted something in them to either string the Maximals along or to use as a distraction.

“We should consider getting back to base to regroup. We have our leads, the best thing we can do for Aurora is to remain diligent and use every possible avenue we can sniff out to get her back. But we won’t do her any favors if we’re all still damaged and recovering from today.”

Rattrap almost couldn't bring himself to leave that spot as if he was willing to wait for Tarantulas to emerge from that same tunnel entrance at any time. But, again, Tigatron was right. There was nothing more they could do. Hang in there, Aurora, he thought. We're gonna get ya back. No matter what, we'll find ya and bring you home. I swear it.

“Sorry if it’s too damaged to be of use, I just sort of reacted with them swarming everywhere.”

"I would've had the same reaction, Wintersong," Primal assured her since there was no need for the apology. Those arachnoids were creepy and small enough to make anyone's armor crawl. No one liked them. And if there were a great many attacking someone all at once, they would do anything to keep them off of them. It entirely understandable. "They'll either have data that we can utilize, or they won't."

“That regenerative stuff right? I remember it being mentioned when you guys were catching me up the last few days. Heh, that little femme has got the brains to give some of Cybertron’s biggest and brightest brainiacs to shame.

Optimus nodded at the tigress while Rhinox briefly intervened with, "She'd even give me a run for my money," further complimenting Aurora's intelligence while he cleaned up his friend's leg. "And she's opportunistic. She might give Tarantulas more trouble than he can handle, and hopefully she'll find a way to escape if we can't find her first."

“But I guess it was bound to happen, just perhaps not in such a way as this.”

The Maximal leader sighed quietly to himself since he hated that this happened at all as he dropped his orange optics to Rhinox who was still fiddling with his severely damaged limb. He would give a wince every so often when their Chief Medic would poke, wipe and twist his leg despite his gentle touch.

“You may have to get in line, if Tarantulas has to answer to anyone it’ll be Rattrap first in line.” “With you two and Whitegrazer close behind.”

"Our priority will be finding Aurora and rescuing her," Optimus told the two Maximals who were present in the command center with him. Any repercussions to Tarantulas's actions was a distant second as far as he was concerned.

Rhinox simply gave a nod without looking up at Primal as he gingerly wiped off the rest of the dry and crusty fluid on his leader's leg before standing back up.

“No offense Optimus, but I’ll take getting smacked by Megatron’s tail over those puncture wounds any day.”

"Thanks, Rhinox," he offered his appreciation for his old friend's care. A corner of Primal's scarred mouth slightly lifted at Wintersong's comment. "That makes two of us." He grew more serious though as he added, "I believe Cheetor and Dinobot are right when it comes to the Predacons being significantly more desperate and ruthless in their methods as of lately. But I'm not so sure that the correct solution is to fight fire with fire." The Maximals had proven to be more creative and opportunistic at times, which was how they had survived for so long considering their lack of military experience against such a destructive and powerful band of Predacons. It wasn't just luck. And that was how Optimus intended on maintaining their success. But perhaps if they showed just a bit more aggression toward their enemy, it might throw the Predacons off. ...Or it might make them more desperate and try harder to terminate the Maximals. As it stood, Megatron obviously didn't think that the Maximals were too great a threat to him, otherwise he would be going that extra step and taking the time to kill as many of them as he could instead of taking them hostage or prisoner. Primal feared that if the Maximals started reacting more violently, then Megatron would stop taking the risks and start slaughtering them, which was something most, if not all, of his Maximals were willing to do against the Predacons. And Megatron knows that, so he would take advantage of it.

"Until the Predacons give us reason to, let's just focus on finding Aurora," Rhinox suggested before giving his attention to the TransMetal tigress.

“Aside from apparently becoming half plant it feels like? Doubting I’ll find any sense of normal again.”

Frowning, the Chief Medic made his way over to her and started visually examining her wounds from Quickstrike while she continued.

“Like I told Optimus on the way here Rhinox, it’s getting worse, faster even. My aggression is getting almost feral, about went for the kill against Spineback when she tried to finish Rattrap and snapped at him in irritation. Where I got these colorful new optics.” “Always got an alien voice at the back of my processor that I struggle to keep at bay, and got this crazy idea they can shape history the more subtle way. Guess they’re becoming big on evolution now.”

The rhinoceros gave a quick glance of uncertainty to Optimus, although it was unnoticeable to Wintersong given his position slightly behind her injured shoulder. There was a lot for them to handle now; Aurora's abduction, Wintersong's infection or possession, repairing their base, and dealing with the discussion on whether or not to evolve aggressively toward the Predacons' attacks. What she was describing to him left him completely unprepared and very concerned for her well-being, but he tried not to look overwhelmed or appear panicked for her sake. "I know you aren't fond of tight spaces, Wintersong, but feel free to use a repair chamber for your wounds and rest. Or your quarters."

"After this stunt that Tarantulas pulled, I don't want anyone venturing out there alone until we've cleared the area of any hostiles," Optimus broke in sending a hint to Wintersong not to roam around outside solo for the time being despite how much she hated being cooped up in the base. He offered her an alternative. "If you're up to it, you can continue the repairs on the auto-guns and the exterior of the base. In the mean time, we'll figure out a way to track down Aurora or Tarantulas."

"I wish we had more experience on how to handle these instances with the Vok," Rhinox sighed as he came around to face Wintersong and stand by the center console near where Optimus had set the arachnoid down. "Aside from you keeping us posted as frequently as you can, Wintersong, I'm afraid there isn't much else I can offer at the moment besides running a bunch of tests on you. You'll have to be extremely careful and communicative with us when you're feeling any changes such as a feral instinct. I certainly don't want to quarantine or isolate you since you still have some control. But the more information you relay to us, the better we can understand and try to help you. And maybe Whitegrazer can offer some insight or recommendations." Hopefully, considering she was a Vok.

Primal nodded at them in agreement before telling the rest of their team outside via his comm. link, "I hate to say it, gang, but dusk is upon us, and we're rapidly losing daylight. We need to regroup. Return to base." His voice held some reluctance, of course, given the circumstances and his youngest crew member was now M.I.A., but he still needed to do his job, and they still needed to refortify the Axalon. They could only hope that Aurora would be alright, and that Rhinox's presumptions with Tarantulas were correct.

-----

"Oh, I've learned my lesson about taking foolish chances," "This has been an experience I don't desire a repeat session of. But at least the plan ultimately succeeded and the traitor is dead,"

Has it now? Megatron found that his troops were far less likely to let such mistakes happen again when he was much more brutal with his punishments rather than the verbal lashing he had given Nemesis, so he wasn't entirely sure that she wouldn't slip up again. Time would tell. Time, and a very close eye on her. He remained silent as his optic sensors with their new lenses stared upon her quizzically.

"From what I saw, they weren't as wounded as they had appeared. Of course they could have had enough time to heal up prior to escaping,"

His optics narrowed once more. Correcting him yet again? Perhaps Nemesis needed a reminder about back-talking to her superior officer. He would have been more than happy to backhand her with his bare hand, but he refrained himself. It may have been wiser for him to let her believe that she could influence his decisions and think that he was too incompetent to refute them or question her further. Letting one think they could outwit him was what often led to their downfalls and true colors.

"A strike of luck on the Maximal's end. It won't happen again,"

A strike of luck? Again, he disagreed with her blame-game. "Luck...," Megatron seemed to spit on the word to show his disapproval, "or capitalizing on your mistake." If it was, indeed, a mistake. Without having proof, however, all he could really do was remain skeptical.

"Duly noted," "Your generous gesture will not be ignored. And I will prove myself to you again."

"Yes, you will," he reinforced but failed to elaborate on how and when. A time and opportunity of his choosing when she would least expect it.

"As I'm sure some of our more talented engineering staff will be able to create,"

The tyrant made no further comment on that particular matter.

“Why Maximals believe that when you came strolling out of their base minutes later? Bird-bot just said you were hidden until Waspinator attacked, but wouldn’t they have no reason to lie to Waspinator if not aware of you?”

"How should I know exactly what they told you?," "Was I present at that time? No. They only became aware of my presence after you showed up, or so I presume due to the search parties that came looking for me at that time that were armed with whatever that weapon they used against me was. And I was escorted out of the Axalon fairly soon after that, just in time for you to draw the wrong conclusions it would seem,"

“Waspinator not the one getting caught and inprisoned by Maximals now is he? Perhaps bird-lady not as skilled as she thinks.” “Not Waspinator’s problem. Bird-lady made the plan then made her own calls, hadn’t deviated from the original one she wouldn’t have to be caught up in the situation in the first place.

"You've become very arrogant as of late, wasp. Perhaps you need to re-learn a lesson about your place on the food chain,"

As interesting and intense as this dispute was getting, Megatron felt inclined to interject as Nemesis held Waspinator against the wall by his throat. Was she overreacting on purpose to hide something, or did she honestly feel backed into the corner and exhausted from constantly defending herself ever since she had returned to the Darksyde? It was difficult to tell. "That's quite enough, Nemesis," he ordered her to stand down and release the wasp, albeit his tone didn't suggest any urgency for her to do so. Had Waspinator struck a nerve with her? Or was she simply annoyed with him since it wasn't exactly a secret that he often irritated her and even himself at times? As entertaining as it would have been to watch them duke it out, Megatron didn't need any of his underlings beating each other up, especially when Waspinator would undoubtedly lose to someone like her who could regenerate her wounds even if she had a slight handicap from that new weapon that the Maximals had developed.

“I’ll say.”

Megatron merely smirked at Spineback agreeing with him. At least she was one of the few troops he felt that he could trust. To an extent. She was, after all, a former a Decepticon, and their medic. But even those two qualities didn't mean that she wasn't capable of betraying him. His own paranoia always kept him at a distance from everyone under his command, including Inferno.

“Quite frankly, I think you both were foolish and idiotic today.”

Their leader folded his arms across his scarred chest while he waited for Nemesis to comply as Spineback jumped back into the conversation.

“One of you decided to make an executive decision to alter our original plans without proper protocol or authorization, much less back-up,”“And the other decided to bombard the already heavily damaged ship at his own accord, no back-up yet again, and thinking he can play hero.”

Only then had the female avian released Waspinator and calm down.

“Waspinator think bird-lady a sympathizer towards their enemies, or at least their leader.”

That prompted a raised brow on Megatron whose gaze was immediately diverted to Nemesis so that he could witness her reaction.

"Oh I'm sure Primal enjoyed watching me fry the rodent against the shields.

True. Optimus would not have accepted that action done by Nemesis with open arms. "Did he perish?" he asked her.

Lest not forget I've killed two of the Maximals under his command," "You truly are delusional, aren't you, if you truly think there is anything there beyond hatred?,"

The TransMetal t-rex felt that she was almost trying too hard to persuade them to believe her. It wasn't like they had forgotten her past encounters with some of the Maximals. But there were more whom she had left alive than dead which suggested mercy and compassion, both of which were frowned upon in Megatron's ranks but welcomed within Primal's.

"I do take pride in them," "Of course the failures tend to hit a bit harder,"

"We must take them in stride, but do try to avoid blaming others for your success," he detoured back to his original point on the matter under the assumption that she had lied to Primal that it had been Megatron's idea and not her's.

"You are an inspiration to our cause," "Our guide towards a better future, our strong leader during these difficult times. It's your leadership that inspires us to aim higher."

"As genuine as your words may sound, Nemesis, flattery is unbecoming for you." Deep down, his ego wanted to submerge himself in the compliments, but he couldn't allow himself to be blindsided so easily by such adulation even if they were authentic.

"I had no way of knowing the true extent of the damage at that time," "It was an act of desperation on my part, since I wanted to return here without further delay."

That seemed plausible, but still inexcusable from his perspective. However, he laid off on revisiting the argument with her while Spineback took the initiative to grab her scanner and check on their energon and other health readings.

“You two are lucky you haven’t gotten a worse punishment beyond being interrogated.” “Anyway, aside from slight energy depletion Waspinator actually has a clean bill of health than any of us, for once in his miserable function. But, your results do appear to back your claim Nemesis.” “It appears that experimental weapon is likely Lord Megatron, her nanomachines aren’t operating at their optimum efficiency and some of her systems are still coming back to their full operations.”

Their commanding officer merely nodded in confirmation to Spineback. So, Nemesis's words held some truth after all, but he was still suspicious about the proof that she failed to return with her and the timing of everything in her explanation that didn't quite coordinate with Waspinator's.

"Yes, I deviated from the plan and suffered the consequences thereof. But I will be fully operational soon," "A bit sooner if I'm allowed to rest up," "I will, of course, submit to any corrective action you deem necessary, Lord Megatron."

Dropping his arms back to his sides, Megatron finally decided to adjourn their little meeting without addressing Nemesis's submissiveness in hopes of leaving her skeptical about it and keeping her walking on egg shells. "Leave me now," he dismissed them. "All of you. I have much to reflect on while I rest."

“That research on Rampage’s cells is seeming more and more necessary the more we learn about the weaknesses of these nanomachines. If it was designed for a more advanced user such as Zodiac, there’s no telling if it might cause similar concerns with our resident crab.”

"I believe his regenerative abilities are derived from his allegedly indestructible spark, whereas Nemesis's are from her nanotech. So, the probability of their new weapon having any effect on Rampage is nearly nonexistent," Megatron surmised. "Our only expert on the matter would be Primal himself, but instead of relying on him, I'm sure I can count on you for accurate and credible research," he left in her capable hands. The other half of Rampage's spark remained with him in his subspace pocket. He wasn't foolish enough to leave it in someone else's care so that the crustacean could attempt to steal it from them. It would not leave the dictator's sight ever again.

[Phoenix]

(OOP posted Tuesday night. Hope you all had a great Halloween, but any day now! )

[New Moon]

((Sorry posting today! This week has been hectic and haven’t had time to catch up, but will have something this afternoon my time.))

Lowering his paw from the rodent’s shoulder, Tigatron gave Rattrap some space while allowing the reality of the situation sink in. It was not one the white tiger wished for the rodent to accept, but this presently was the case.

There was a chance the youngest of the Maximals was no doubt alive, that much the white tiger felt was true. “Tarantulas is psychotic, but he isn’t a fool. A mind such as Aurora’s would serve his needs in some way, we can take some solace in knowing he needs her alive and gives us more time to track her down.” Tigatron tried to encourage, wishing there was more positive outcome to this day. But as it went, they never seemed that lucky for long. There was always something to rip away the happiness from under their feet when they had but the briefest of moments.

It really was difficult to see the rodent in this state.

The last thing Frilla would have expected to see from Rattrap was a lack of confidence and being desperate. In fact, all of what had happened today had been the last thing she would have envisioned when she returned to the Axalon from her long research trip. Frilla both felt out of place yet determined, wanting to do whatever she could for her friends after a long absence. Even if that meant giving Rattrap the benefit of the doubt that the psycho spider might not be so merciful to Aurora as Tigatron attempted to claim to be. So, she took his hand to stand back on her own two feet, managing a faint smile as his pessimism showed through. Even a tiny bit.

“Rattrap, don’t rule out a possible homing beacon.” She pointed out before turning her attention back to the coms., “No worries Optimus, I got one kicking and functioning.” She assured him before looking to the others, “Go on ahead, I’ll grab that little drone and be back in jiff.” Sprinting off back to where she had been searching before, Frilla briefly disappeared from sight, taking out her EDK Techvolt and shifting it to its lowest setting, finding the struggling, squirming bot still cemented to the rock, “Right where I left you.” Aiming her weapon she fired at the ink to harden it as she approached before yanking the drone free, keeping a firm grip on it.

Putting her weapon away, the frilled lizard turned back and jogged back out to catch up with her teammates.

Dinobot, to say the least, was rather skeptical they would find the ermine fuzor alive, and if she was undoubtedly wouldn’t be the same. He had spent enough time around the spider to know he always had multiple motives or a one-track mind. And most of those outcomes didn’t end well for the victim. Even if the ermine was of importance to a project or two, the raptor suspected sooner or later Aurora would outlived her usefulness and would fall victim as countless others had.

“Let us hope then your words ring true, otherwise all the enthusiasm in the universe could not save Aurora from the fate she’ll be fixing to face should she outlive any usefulness.” The raptor growled, being realistic or perhaps exaggerating, but nevertheless felt the Maximals he was stuck with sometimes were a little too hopeful. Thankfully, Tigerhawk’s suggestion of a regroup followed by Optimus’ order was enough to make him drop the subject entirely, sparing a brief glance towards the collapsed tunnel entrance before heading back towards the Axalon.

—————————————

Waspinator’s optics narrowed slightly, noting how irritable she seemed to be. Well, more than usual that was. Even if he got on her nerves, she normally could shrug it off with ease compared to most of the Predacons, yet here she was being quick to refute his claims, the timeline, and the events, where from his perspective that seemed highly unlikely. Far as he was concerned he was striking a little too close to home and he aggression was a response to not make her look weak.

Before he could point out this matter, he gagged and coughed slightly as Nemesis lost her cool, slamming him against the nearest wall and forcing him to bring a hand up against her arm trying to keep some leverage. But it was barely enough to keep her from cutting off all circulation to his vents, gritting his teeth as his free hand went for his Stinger Gun should she continue to press. Thankfully, Megatron decided to interject, albeit with no urgency to make Nemesis stop, followed by Spineback’s notorious brutal honesty.

As annoying as it was to hear those words, Waspinator was just grateful it forced Nemesis to release him.

Letting out a few coughs as he landed on his feet, the wasp rubbed his neck and growled slightly, “Bird-Lady more defensive than usual, maybe just too proud to admit she can be weak too.” Truthfully, the transmetal wasp wasn’t sure what the interaction had meant, a simple warning by Primal and Nemesis trying to defend herself or a mutual exchange of a relationship gone sour. Whatever it was, the wasp felt there was more to the exchange, but he couldn’t say for sure without proper evidence of such.

From there, the rest of the conversation seem much about confirming Nemesis’ words and taking pride in her achievements than anything. But, it appeared even the tyrant had his suspicions which the wasp could guess had to do with his testimony against Nemesis regardless. Even if she was able to put doubt to Waspinator’s own claims he could leave there knowing he had put some of the avian’s words and loyalty into question, especially with how defensive she was and how hard she was trying to persuade them the exchanges and whole situation were not what they seemed. Though, soon enough Megatron decided to dismiss them, seemingly growing tired of the argument as much as Spineback had.

“Yes sir.” Waspinator gave a grumbled response and small salute before shooting a cold glare once more towards the second-in-command and making his exit. At this point, the wasp felt he had every reason to question Nemesis’ loyalty deciding himself he would watch her closely and the moment she slipped up he would be there front and center to throw her previous claims back in her face.

[Wintersong]

“Well, he’s gotta be directing them somehow, a beacon, a signal. There’s usually something with these little drones.” Wintersong commented, moving back over to the damaged arachnoid, giving it a few small taps but drawing a hand away when it gave a few sparks. “Maybe not this one though.” Given the damage done, the white tigress was doubtful they could repair the drone, between puncturing it with her fangs and crushing it in her jaws, the thing was probably toast.

Though she looked back as Optimus mentioned Tarantulas’ fate being for a later time, causing her to shrug slightly, “Why not both? Two birds, one stone.” She pointed out. Well, if the situation would allow for such a thing.

The mention of becoming more aggressive thought caused Wintersong to raise a quizzical brow. Dinobot she could see suggesting such a thing, he was already an aggressive, underhanded fighter as it was but to hear Cheetor suggest it...that was something else. “I say we keep doing what we’ve been doing, way more fun to keep the enemy guessing. Adapt to survive, go with the flow, etc. as most out it.” She chimed in as she reclined against the round table in the middle of the bridge. “Stupid Preds don’t know what they’re complaining about half the tone far as I’m concerned.” She scoffed, seeming to be more annoyed than just about their constant attempts to rid of the Maximals. Admittedly, it did irk her to hear some of their complaints, to no longer be second-class citizens. She had seen Predacons live in as much, or more, luxury than some Maximals in her own function. A thought she quickly dropped for now as Rhinox approached her next.

Standing straight again, she allowed Rhinox to examine her wound as she relayed what information she could. Or was willing to give at the present. She considered Rhinox’s suggestion, not all too fond of being in the CR chamber any time soon, or her quarters but Optimus’ next order caused her to glance towards the transmetal ape, “I can’t make any promises about that one.” She muttered ignoring the Vok voice at the back of her mind, no doubt annoyed by the Maximal commander being an obstacle in their plans. “I’ll work on the roof for a little while. My wound isn’t serious and some of the others need the CR chamber more than I do right now, so it’ll help pass the time.” She told them, becoming thoughtful after, “But the Vok should come last. Finding Aurora and dealing with the Predacons are far more important right now.” She told the two mechs, partially diverting the attention off the advancing infection since sooner or later she had a feeling they would pick up that she was only telling half of the problem the Vok was causing.

Giving a final nod to the two, the transmetal feline made her way back onto the roof through the roof hatch, picking up where she had left off before Aurora’s abduction.

When all was said and done, there was little more they could do about the matter.

Cheetor had to share Tigatron’s thoughts in this moment. It seemed unlikely Tarantulas would go through all this trouble, especially to cover his tracks, to have Aurora as simply another morsel. He seemed more of an opportunist in his twisted games of hunting and this just didn’t seem his style as the young cheetah was all too aware of himself. He had been there when he went on his own once, still even had nightmares at times even thinking about the psycho arachnid lurking in the shadows.

“Think I would be more worried what he would have in store for us using that mind of hers.” Cheetor muttered, reluctantly turning away from the collapsed tunnel and began to follow the others back towards the Axalon. It was no easy feat leaving the tunnel entrance or their chances to chase down Aurora and Tarantulas, but Tigerhawk has also been right. They were all still battered and exhausted, being of little help the the little ermine in their state.

Once they were repaired and rested, Cheetor knew they would jump at the opportunity to investigate the tunnel entrance once again. Hopefully with Blackarachnia’s help.

Airazor could only imagine the emotions running through Rattrap’s processor in that moment. Aurora was their family, and the ermine has always been close to the rodent, somewhat mirroring how she looked to Rhinox in a way or Cheetor being like a brother to her. But, she stood by what she had said before, knowing even Tarantulas had his days he would have to return to the surface or seek out Megatron for one reason or another. With her keen sight and speed, she could give the twisted spider more than a run for his energon even with his motorcycle vehicle mode.

But with little that could be done, the falcon femme too decided to follow the others to regroup at the ship, Tigerhawk following alongside her.

+++++++++++++++++++

Spineback raises an optic ridge at Nemesis’ reaction towards Waspinator, having seen the avian annoyed with the insect before but never allowing it to get under armor. Perhaps her patience was thin from the long day and exhaustion was setting in, or maybe Waspinator was hitting a few nerves the avian didn’t want him to prove right. In a way it was fascinating and amusing to watch, especially with the attitude Waspinator had had as of late.

But the tension seemed to ebb away as quickly as it had started.

Between Megatron ordering Nemesis to release Waspinator, with no real urgency behind his words, and her pointing out both were at fault for what was presently transpiring the avian seemed to calm down somewhat. But, that didn’t seem to have deterred the wasp from getting a few final words in. Maybe it would have been better to let the two duke it out, cause them to tire out and shut up for a day or two. But Spineback held back any disappointment for the spectacle ending too soon, focusing on getting the proper medical results from both and confirming some of what Nemesis had said. Not all perhaps, but it did leave into question exactly what this was the Maximals had and what more problems they could make in the coming future.

Though she glanced up briefly at the mention of the rodent’s fate, knowing full well he still most likely functioned, “Probably still kicking given how stubborn he is not to die.” The medic grumbled, returning to the work table to place down her scanner as she listened to the final words spoken by Nemesis and Megatron who decided to dismiss them at last. Though before she would make her own exit, she turned back to Megatron to address their final topic, “Hmm, seems unlikely given the Axalon’s need to dump him where no life could be found. But, I can run some tests, see if his spark reacts the same way the nanomachines have been reacting to certain weaponry and elements lately.” She agreed as she placed her tools aside for cleaning for later. “But you said it yourself, for now we need some time to rest and recuperate.”

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Just FYI, the new episode - "No Rest For The Wicked" - is now open for posting! ))

[Phoenix]

Nemesis had lowered her gaze as she felt Megatron's prying optics threaten to pierce her very spark, thus making her worry the tyrant would be able to decipher the truth simply by looking at her. Not that it was likely to make much difference, given Megatron's propensity to dish out punishment whenever he felt it was warranted regardless of the process of a fair trial or anything like that. It simply wasn't the Predacon way to care about justice. And it shouldn't be her way either.

Yet here she was, finding herself second guessing her life choices. Yes, she had made mistakes. There was no doubt about that. But she sometimes wondered why she felt so torn between the two ideals that were simply worlds apart and completely incompatible. In Megatron she had found a leader with similar goals to her own, but it was in Optimus she had found that kindred spirit who harbored every bit of that compassion Nemesis hadn't even known she longed for. Compassion she could never find among the Predacons, since most of them were mainly concerned about climbing the ranks at any cost.

Oddly enough Nemesis had never had those desires. Or at least she thought she never did. Yet after Megatron had bestowed the title of second in command on her, she had worked hard to make herself seem worthy of such an honor. Even at the cost of the sense of compassion she often attempted to influence the others with in her own subtle ways. When Megatron was about to get shot at close range, she hadn't hesitated to take the bullet for him back at the volcanic mountain when they had made their first attempt on Zodiac's life. And she had again proved her loyalty when she pulled the dying tyrant to the repair chamber after he had gotten mortally wounded. She had even gone out of her way to protect other Predacons, such as Terrorsaur one time he went too far while testing Megatron's patience, and overall she had done what she could to keep her comrades not only safe but working as a well functioning unit.

Aside from now.. To her recollection this was the first time she had deliberately been willing to throw someone under the proverbial bus. And it was Waspinator who had been on the receiving end of her change in priorities.

A small part of her did feel somewhat guilty for her less than honorable actions, yet she certainly wasn't suicidal enough to tell Megatron the truth. So if the choice was between securing her own safety at the expense of the wasp's dignity and anger, well, the only option was quite evident then. And she couldn't do much about it other than stand her ground.

"Luck...,""or capitalizing on your mistake."

Nemesis responded with a slight shrug of the shoulders, trying her best to keep her inner turmoil in check.

"Either way, it was a lesson well learned," she assured him.

"Yes, you will,"

Oh, how she disliked the belittling tone in his voice when addressing her this way. Almost as much as she feared the repercussions he seemed to be implying. Or maybe she was just reading into it.. It truly was hard to tell given the tyrant's track record and at this point unreadable poker face. Whatever he was planning, he surely wasn't going to share it with her this time.

Of course the situation only intensified when Waspinator made his intentions clear, further prompting an aggressive response from the female.

"That's quite enough, Nemesis,"

Almost grudgingly, the female released her grip on the annoying wasp and allowed him to regain his footing again. Did this mean the dispute between the two of them was finished? No. Of course Nemesis herself was going to try to keep some distance to the wasp, but it was unlikely the insect would share this sentiment. Indeed, she had caught his movement earlier when he had grabbed for his weapon.

“Bird-Lady more defensive than usual, maybe just too proud to admit she can be weak too.”

"Perhaps. Or perhaps the bird-lady is just fed up with certain individuals going out of their way to cause trouble," Nemesis muttered in return with a barely audible voice.

"Did he perish?"

“Probably still kicking given how stubborn he is not to die.”

Obviously Nemesis was aware that Rattrap had been repaired and, at least physically, had made a recovery after their little encounter at the shields surrounding the Axalon. But this wasn't a topic she could share with the company present, so instead she let out a slight sigh. "I don't know. With any luck he succumbed to his injuries but I saw no proof of it or his survival while there," she said, bending the truth a bit but all things considering she sounded convincing enough.

"We must take them in stride, but do try to avoid blaming others for your success,"

She merely nodded to confirm she was taking his wisdom into consideration. Granted, it was difficult for someone like Nemesis to truly take pride in the terrible deeds she'd been guilty of. Oh, she was well aware that she was hardly the picture of innocence nor did she want or even pretend to be, but that didn't mean she felt proud about the actions she had taken. Or the kills she had made.

"As genuine as your words may sound, Nemesis, flattery is unbecoming for you."

Immediately dropping the praise as her leader had requested, Nemesis made a brief gesture that could resemble a salute of sorts. Whether or not it had been hardly seemed important at this point. Still she said nothing, the female having gone mostly silent after losing her temper with the insect earlier.

"Leave me now," he dismissed them. "All of you. I have much to reflect on while I rest."

Finally.. Nemesis had been hoping for those words for a while now, since she felt so uncomfortable and out of place being questioned the way she had been. Lying wasn't a trait she practiced very often, although it got a bit easier as the interrogation had continued. The avian's shoulders finally relaxed a bit and her wings retracted a bit as her sense of fight or flight calmed down. Only for one brief moment did she glance over at Waspinator, who had been glaring at her for most of the time he'd been there. Not that this bothered her much, given the good reason he had to be upset. Still.. this interrogation could have gone far worse than it did, and she was certain Waspinator would come around after she had pampered him a bit with some easy assignments for a while. She hoped. At any rate she'd have to lay low for a little while, especially around the tyrant himself.

"As you command," she told their leader and gave a respectful nod to both him and the female medic before leaving the room to let the two of them continue discussing whatever it was they were talking about when she had first entered.