Author's note: This story is separate from the 'Dimensional Warp' series that I've been doing, which is on hiatus for you loyal readers (it will resume soon.) I do not own Transformers.
It has been a very long war against the two alien races, the Autobots and the Decepticons, from the planet Cybertron as they fought their battle on Earth. Both sides were hunting down ancient relics made from ancient Cybertronians, but not all relics came from Cybertron. One of these ancient devices was known as the Primal Drive, an ancient device made by a spiritual alien race known as the Vok. The Decepticon scientist known as Shockwave has found this device and used it to create the race known as the Dinobots and Insecticons on Cybertron before it became lost to the ages. The ancient Prime known as Alpha-Trion sent it to Earth in hopes of it never being discovered again. Unfortunately, the Seeker known as Starscream has found it and he has brought it to the Decepticon warlord, Megatron. Megatron gave the device to Knockout to test it on a test subject. An Autobot was needed to test it to show the device's true power, so the Decepticons went out to find an Autobot test subject. They found the Autobot team known as Team Prime, and after a long battle, they captured the female known as Arcee. The perfect test subject was discovered, and now, was the next step: experimentation.
Arcee's arms were bound to the shackles as she hung above the floor. She had been beaten into submission, and she just stared at the floor, her optics glazed. She heard some heavy pede-steps as Megatron stepped in, followed by Knockout. The Warlord placed a sharp digit beneath her chin as he tilted her helm towards him. He gave off a toothy smile as he looked towards Knockout and said "Test the Primal Drive on her. She's ready." Knockout brought out the Primal Drive, and then pressed on a few areas with his digits. Both Megatron and Knockout left the room immediately, as the Primal Drive began spinning around as it gained momentum, glowing a bright red. Fear shot through Arcee's energon lines, as she felt strange as the Primal Drive began doing its function…
The Autobots were worried about Arcee on how she's been missing for months. Jack wasn't the same the day his partner disappeared, and as a result, he stopped coming to the base. Optimus was decoding some more of the Iacon database when the sensors began blaring that the Decepticon Warship was heading for a crash landing towards the Cascade Mountains. Optimus was silent, before he said, "What in Primus' name happened?"
Megatron was in a pool of his own energon when the Autobots boarded his ship. He looked up at them and whispered hoarsely "Help me" before he blacked out. With caution, Ratchet checked his wounds, and found them to be made by…something. Ratchet checked his pulse, then looked up at Optimus and said "Whatever did this to him, it placed him in critical condition. He needs some major medical help, or he'll offline within the megacycle." Optimus sighed; he can't believe what did this to Megatron nearly offlined him.
Arcee was running through the forest on all fours. What the Primal Drive has done to her was to awaken the beast within her. Never in her whole live has she ever felt so free as she took in the scents and sounds of the wild. Her winglets had evolved into full wings (with a thin membrane), while her armor had grown tougher and spinier than before. Her digits were longer and sharper (full claws they were by now,) and her entire size was a full twenty-six feet in height (when standing on her hind legs.) Her dentals were now sharp, and her helm had grown some additional horns (making her slightly look like Liege Maximo, but more feminine in appearance.) Her optics were still the same blue, but they were more acute to her surroundings (like the eyesight of a nocturnal eagle.) Arcee had grown a tail as well {it looked somewhat like Predaking's, but without the spines or the forked tail. Rather, it had three fins (one where the tail started at her back, a second in the middle of the tail, and a long one at the end of her tail.) The fins were composed of a flexible solar-absorbent membrane where the lines in between would glow with energon. Instead of being Predaking's colors, the tail was blue (like her body armor) with silver beneath it, and some pink highlights.} She continued to run to her desired destination: Jasper, Nevada.
Jack was lying on his bed as he wept into his pillow. He missed Arcee so much over the last few months, and it felt as if his own mother had died. The Decepticons had no right to take away Arcee from his life, and he vowed that if he were able to, he'd destroy them. His heart pained just as much as he saw his guardian dragged away from the battlefield to the spacebridge that led to the Nemesis, but no matter how much time has passed, he still saw the frightened look on Arcee every time that he closed his eyes.
There was a knock on the door, followed by a feminine voice asking, "Jack, do you want to talk about Arcee's disappearance?" Jack was silent for a moment, then said "No mom, I just want to be left alone." June Darby just stared at the door for a while longer, then left. Jack stayed silent as he stared with one eye out the window at the moon shining in the night sky. The night looked just like the very same night that MECH took his mother away from him, but Arcee was there to help him rescue her from Airachnid. Now, she was gone, and who knows what the Decepticons did to her.
A low growl was heard in the distance, and Jack lifted his head up from his pillow. Whatever it was, it sounded metallic and sad. The next time he heard the sound, it sounded a lot closer than before. Slight vibrations shook the house before he realized that the shakings were in fact gigantic footsteps of something huge. A deep low growl was heard before a large claw tore off the roof of his house! A large mechanical monster was staring down at Jack as beads of drool came out of the creature's mouth. Jack's body turned to ice as pure terror raced through his systems as he stared at death in the face.
June ran though the house when she heard the roof being torn off followed by an ear-piercing scream. "JACK!" screamed June Darby as she ran to her son's room, but she found him gone, with large claw marks being the only indication where Jack's bed once was. "JACK!" cried June as she fell down on her knees and wept.
Jack woke up several hours later, only to find himself in a cave. He looked around and saw a number of salvaged junk littering the cave. Weird thought Jack as he got off his mattress and began walking out of the cave. He almost reached the entrance when a gigantic claw blocked his exit. Terrified, Jack looked up to find a large mechanical monster blocking his exit. Strangely, the creature lowered its head and began licking Jack. It let off a low feminine growl before it picked up Jack by the shirt with its teeth and took him back into the cave. The creature gently placed Jack on his bed mattress before it rested its own body on the floor next to his bed. Jack looked up into the creature's eyes, and it stared back at Jack. For a few moments, Jack could only move his mouth as he tried to form words before he said "Arcee?" She looked sadly at Jack as a tear formed in her optic.
Agent Fowler was called on to the scene as he surveyed the damage that the large transformer had done to the landscape. He was reluctant to work with Megatron, but the former warlord was reduced to an experimental project for the U.S. government. Knockout and a few other Decepticons were in the Autobot medical bay, but once they were fully healed, they would be handed over to the U.S. government for some observation. Fowler was amazed to hear that the entire warship and the remaining Decepticon army were reduced to scrap metal from just Arcee. The agent had received orders from his superiors to put Arcee down, despite the amount of protesting and arguing that Fowler gave back. The Autobots and Fowler were both surprised to hear that Arcee was still online, but to say that they were furious at the Decepticons was an understatement. The Decepticons were planning on turning her into a war machine, but their plan backfired as she destroyed them. Fowler knew that if Arcee were ever found, she would be blown to oblivion.
Weeks had passed since Arcee attacked Jasper, and neither the Autobots nor the government was able to locate her. She was proving to be quite an expert at stealth, with the femme being at least two steps ahead of her hunters. The Autobots were worried about Jack, and as each day passed, the chance of finding him alive decreased. June wouldn't stop crying, and Optimus became worried for her. Since Arcee destroyed her home, June had been taken to live with the Autobots. Optimus was frequently seen with June around the base, but nobody took notice of the relationship that the Prime was sharing with the human. Miko was playing her guitar sadly (or seen lying still on the couch), Raf would just sit for hours, Bumblebee would walk with his door wings lowered while dragging his pedes, and Bulkhead would leave the base for days at a time. Smokescreen would frequently go off with Bulkhead to be with Wheeljack, which only left Ratchet. Ratchet was studying the Primal Drive as he ran countless scans over the object as he tried to learn of its secrets.
Ratchet sighed; he was no closer to revealing any of the Primal Drive's secrets than the first day that he began studying the ancient device. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he offlined his optics as he tried to think. He tried every possible angle, but the only method that he hadn't tried was with a test subject to activate the Primal Drive.
Miles away, Jack was resting his head against Arcee's armor plating on her stomach as he felt the warmth of the warm metal give him a soothing heat to his body. Ever since her transformation, Arcee was even less talkative than before, but that wasn't the weirdest part. The weirdest part was that Arcee thought that Jack was her son. During the last few weeks, Arcee was feeding Jack with what she hunted (whether it was deer or fish or some sort of berry.) When she first brought back Jack, Arcee tried breastfeeding him, but quickly found out that he wouldn't wean on her.
The femme yawned and stretched as she onlined for the day. She saw that Jack was resting against her stomach plating, and it warmed her spark to see her "sparkling" resting against her. She remembered how difficult it was for Jack to understand that she was his "mother," and she wanted to take care of him. At first, Jack refused to even be near her, but with patience he began to submit to her.
With one claw, Arcee gently stroked Jack awake. Jack groaned, then rolled over to his side as he mumbled "Five more minutes, mom." Arcee smiled as she made a clicking sound as she continued to stroke Jack. Jack's eyes snapped opened as his head shot up and stared back at Arcee. She made the same clicking sound again, and then gently stroked Jack's head. Jack panicked for a second, and then relaxed. He knew that Arcee would never harm him, even after her mutation. "Hey Arcee, how's it going?" asked Jack as he began rubbing her stomach. She chirped happily in response as she began stomping her leg. Jack smirked as he continued to rub her stomach. Her tail wagged excitedly from the left to right in a very blurred manner as she chirped.
A sonic boom caught their attention as both Arcee and Jack looked up at the sky. A massive ship that was strangely in the shape of the Nemesis came flying down through the atmosphere. Arcee's wings and some of her movable spines pricked up in anger and fear as her optics narrowed as she let off a harsh snarl. Before he knew it, Jack was in Arcee's claw as she headed for her cave. He was placed on his torn-up bed as Arcee nuzzled her "sparkling" as she said "Stay…here. Mother…investigate" before she turned around and ran out of the cave. Jack just stared at the entrance as he said "Arcee, please be careful."
With great leaping strides, Arcee ran with the grace of a deer to the crash site of the spaceship. She slowed down as she got closer, before coming to a stop. She peered down at the ship from the camouflage of the trees as she waited. A large purple mech with one red optic walked out of the ship and looked around. Arcee's spines bristled as she let off a low snarl. A sudden roar caught her attention as she looked up and saw a dragon-like creature on top of the ship. Sure the creature was dangerous-looking, but then again, wasn't she?
Shockwave was looking around when he suddenly noticed Arcee hiding in the trees. He had no idea what it was, but it looked like one of his ancient Predacon projects. Proceeding with caution, Shockwave snuck up to the femme and watched her. He quickly noted that the femme was staring at Predaking, and that there was something familiar about her. It wasn't that this creature being one of his creations, no, this was not a Predacon that he was familiar with. As he tried to remember where he saw this creature, the femme let off a loud screech that caught Predaking's attention. The Predacon swooped down to her, and let off a growl. What happened next shocked Shockwave. The creature began letting off a series of clicking sounds and began acting submissive to Predaking. This caught the Predacon's interest, and Predaking began letting off a series of clicks and strange growls as he took off from the ground and began flying in circles. The femme extended her own wings as well, and followed Predaking as they both flew off into the sky. Shockwave watched as the two fly around in graceful patterns before flying off into the distance. He stood there for several moments, then headed back to his ship. He wanted to track where Predaking was flying off to with that creature. Illogical. Out of all my Predacon clones, none of them were recorded to survive, but Predaking has found himself a femme Predacon, if she is even one. Her biological appearance doesn't match any known Predacon or even Maximal specimens, but she still exists. Just what was that creature thought Shockwave.
Hours later, Predaking nuzzled his head against Arcee. The femme let off a deep purr as she smiled in content. Shockwave had informed him that he would be meeting his old pack on Earth, but he didn't tell him that there was a femme in heat just for him. The moon lit up the valley before the two as the two mates watched from their cliff watchtower. The evergreens were illuminated by moonlight as the two listened to the sounds of nature. "Arcee" said Predaking. "Yes, what is it, my love?" asked Arcee. "Just, what are you? I've never met a creature as beautiful as you before. I know that you're a femme and you smell like a…Maximal (he shuddered as he said that part) but, I've never met a Maximal that looked quite like you. You're more beautiful than any Predacon femme, and more intelligent than any other femme that I've been with. Before I make you my femme, I wish to know just what you are" said Predaking. Arcee was silent for a moment, then pushed herself up and looked at Predaking and said "In truth, I was an Autobot. I remember the Decepticons doing something to me, and they've awakened my inner beast. I remember being afraid of becoming what I now am, but now…" as she fell silent and looked out at the night sky, before she continued "I couldn't consider myself being more blessed than being like this. I can now hear, see, smell, and feel things like I couldn't understand before. I never knew how beautiful a night sky could be, nor what it was like to fly on my own two wings, nor even smell the scents of the Earth. I have been reborn after what the Decepticons did to me, but…I now can't remember what my life was like before I became like this. I only remember that I had a sparkling named Jack, but that's about it. I can't remember my fellow allies, or the other sparklings that played with my sparkling, or anything regarding my old home. But…" as she looked at Predaking "I don't feel so alone now that we're mates. I still have my sparkling, but as much as I love him, he still can't satisfy my hunger for a mate. I'm so happy that I've met you" as Arcee nuzzled her helm against Predaking's neck. The dragon smiled, and then pulled Arcee until her back was pressing against his stomach as he lowered his head and began licking her face.
Morning came, and Arcee yawned and stretched herself awake. Predaking was still sleeping, and he still had his two claws wrapped around Arcee. Arcee let off a few clicking sounds followed by a screech, as Predaking groggily got up from his slumber. "What is it, my femme?" yawned Predaking. "I need to find my sparkling. He hasn't eaten since you arrived here, and he's probably starving now" said Arcee. "Your sparkling?" yawned Predaking. The Predacon thought for a moment, then he said, "He won't be a threat to our future litter, will he?" Arcee shook her head, and then said, "No, he won't. He needs me to hunt for him, so I doubt that he's capable of harming our future offspring." Predaking nodded, and then the two stretched their wings and flew off in the direction of Arcee's cave. The Predacon was curious on how Arcee's sparkling looked like.
Jack was looking around the forest for some berries or something to eat. He was used to Arcee hunting for him, but lately, she'd been trying to teach him to hunt. So far, he was still struggling to find berries. He stopped when he saw a large stag just grazing slightly to the right of him. He sighed. Arcee would be able to easily kill that thing for him, but…how was he going to do it? Slumping his shoulders in defeat, Jack turned around and went in search of some berries.
Arcee had landed just outside her cave as Predaking landed behind her. Crouching on all fours, Arcee began calling out with a series of whistles, clicks, and chirps as she searched the cave, but her sparkling wasn't home. Sniffing the ground, Arcee began to follow the freshest scent and continued to sniff until she found her sparkling trying to catch a fish. It was a feeble attempt, and her sparkling kept on shouting in anger as he kept on missing his meal. She shook her helm, then walked up to the stream and placed her two pointer digits into the water. She waited, and when a fish swam between them, she tossed the fish into the air and onto dry land. She clicked in response and stared at her sparkling. "You want me to try that, right?" asked Jack as Arcee nodded. He sighed, then placed both hands in the water and waited for a fish to swim by.
It took several hours, but Jack managed to get the hang of what he was supposed to do. He missed several dozen times, but he managed to catch about three fish on his own. The two walked back with Jack's supper, but the boy stopped when he saw Predaking sleeping outside of Arcee's cave. Arcee let off a screech, and Predaking yawned himself awake. He blinked a few times, and saw the little sparkling hiding behind his mother's leg. She looked down at Jack and said "Jack, this is your new sire." "My WHAT?" shouted Jack in shock as he looked from Arcee to Predaking. Predaking lowered his head and sniffed Jack. "He smells delicious" said Predaking. "I was teaching him how to fish, my love. He is not your dinner," said Arcee. Arcee walked into the cave, with Jack following her closely and with Predaking behind them.
Jack made himself a fire (with some help from Arcee,) and began eating the fish once it was cooked enough. Arcee was on her back as Predaking towered over her and licked her horns and faceplates. She reached out witha claw and stroked Predaking's neck. Jack frowned as he watched his partner become intimate with a metallic dragon. He really didn't want that thing to be his new father. From time to time, Predaking would stroke Arcee's midsection with a claw rather gently, and Arcee would stroke that claw with one of her own. He knew that something was up, but he didn't know what.
Author's note; part 2: Arcee can't really remember anything (one of the side effects of the Primal Drive.) And yes, Arcee does think that Jack is her sparkling.