"How I despise this planet," Starscream growled. "From a scorching desert to to a freezing wasteland."

Dreadwing scowled as he flew through the air alongside Starscream and his troops. While he had to agree with Starscream, it didn't mean he found the Seeker's complaining less annoying. Though he was well aware that Starscream was just as cunning and ruthless as any Decepticon he had come across. It left him wary and watchful. Why Megatron had decided to send Starscream with Dreadwing was anyone's guess, but it was not his place to ask.

Didn't mean he had to like it.

"This planet is dysfunctional," Starscream continued, his voice reaching a pitch as a blast of cold air swept past. "It has way too many out of balanced climate changes."

At this point, Dreadwing had tuned Starscream out and instead focused on the flight path below. The land didn't change much; just the same white landscape of thick snow and ice.

He never really got the chance to enjoy a casual flight. Flying always involved scouting or a battle, never any relaxing for the joy of doing what Seekers were born to do. It was times like this when through the fog of his tragic war memories, that he would be reminded of his time on Cybertron, flying by the tall, shimmering buildings and then the dark slums of Kaon. Always at his side was his other half, his twin who shared half of his spark.

The pain through his torn spark snapped him out his his thoughts, and he violently pushed them aside with a quiet snarl. His brother was gone, one with the Allspark and finally at peace. But he was gone, struck down by those Autobots who they were know trying to inadvertently save. He was awoken so soon and killed so quickly while under the command of…

"Why couldn't Lord Megatron just bridge us to the exact coordinates? I feel as if he is wrongfully punishing us."

Starscream.

Dreadwing's frame shook with fury at the sudden image of his brother under the command of that lying, treacherous, no good-

"Let it go," a voice suddenly said.

Dreadwing gave a silent start, immediately recognizing the voice of his guardian. "Not now," he grumbled. "I am busy."

"Busy dwelling on your pain and anger?"

"I am not angry," he retorted. "I have accepted what is and what will never be."

"Yet you can not help but dwell on his memories with honor and pride before pushing those thoughts away," Vector Prime said. "Prima was much the same way. In such a short time, we lost our sister and Megatronus. It was a blow to all of us who remained and trust was an issue. Prima responded with suspicion and a closed off presence when we needed him the most."

"I said not now," he snarled.

"Your spark will rot from the inside if you allow all this anger and hurt to consume you," Vector said, his voice persistent. But that was all he said, and Dreadwing was grateful for the silence. Megatron had informed him that the Primes would be restricting their contact with their charges, yet so far, Vector Prime seemed to stay in contact with Dreadwing, always the persistent one.

Much like Skyquake.

He had felt it when his brother had emerged from stasis, when he was awake and alive, when he had first engaged in combat. He had felt his brother's pain when the Autobots had torn him apart, sending him crashing to the ground. A blast of shattered pain had filled him, filled both twins as they shared each other's pain and horror. Dreadwing had witnessed death many times throughout his time in the war, but the death of his brother, a death he could only feel, had shattered him like nothing else. He had felt Skyquake's spark slowly flicker out as he became one with the Allspark. It had been a pain like no other as a part of Dreadwing's spark died with his twin.

And there had been nothing he could do to help his brother, or comfort him as he perished.

Suddenly, the altitude was too much, and Dreadwing longed to feel the solid ground beneath his pedes.

"Transform," he ordered, diving down. Snow scattered around him the moment he landed. He blinked his optics, looking around the white world that glittered with ice. "We will continue on from here."

"What? We're walking? That seems absurd!" Starscream exclaimed.

"It will be easier to track the relic," Dreadwing said, turning to glare at the smaller seeker. "As we are much closer to its location."

Starscream grumbled. "Well then, hurry up," he snapped, striding past Dreadwing. "I can already feel my wing tips freezing over."

Dreadwing narrowed his optics but refrained from making a comment, as he was well aware that it would start up another tirade of complaints that he did not want to deal with.

As Dreadwing had predicted, it did not take long for them to reach the reported sight of the relic.

"We have arrived at the coordinates," he announced as he trudged up the small incline of snow, the tracker in his servo blinking to confirm his announcement.

But his optics showed him nothing. Only a gaping hole in the ice where the relic should have been.

"The relic," he said softly in disbelief. "It has been taken."

Starscream huffed. "Well what a surprise," he growled haughtily, sending a spark of annoyance through Dreadwing. He did not wish to hear this traitor speak anymore than he already had to.

"Search the area!" Dreadwing ordered. His first thoughts were that the Autobots had gotten to the location first. If so, what had they taken? What weapon was now in the Fallen's possession that could cost countless Decepticon lives and doom their efforts to ridding themselves of the Primes looking over their shoulders?

"Ah," Starscream said suddenly. "Very interesting." He pointed up ahead. "Vehicle tracks."

"Autobots," Dreadwing snarled, his servos clenching. So he had been right. They had lost a deadly weapon to the enemy.

"Perhaps," Starscream said thoughtfully. "Though I've never known them to plant flags over their victories."

Dreadwing looked up, noticing the small orange flags that blew in the wind, their bright, orange color standing out in the white landscape. Her frowned. Odd, but who would…

He trailed off at the sound of an engine approaching. He looked up to see the familiar form of a semi truck driving forward. His spark clenched when he realized who it was.

"The Fallen," Vector Prime said suddenly, appearing beside his charge. "Run," he hissed. "You are no match for him."

"He might have the relic," Dreadwing said, stepping forward.

"Which will make him all the more dangerous!" Vector Prime protested. "It is my duty to protect you and I will not see you throw your life away."

"It is my duty to the Decepticon cause to retrieve the relic to the best of my abilities," he replied, his voice grim and determined.

"Reconsider what you are about to do," Vector said, his blue optics flickering around. Dreadwing knew the Prime would not risk having the Fallen sense his presence by staying around. Pretty soon, he would have to leave or be exposed.

"Optimus Prime!" Starscream declared suddenly, a sneer of confidence in his voice. "How nice of you to show up. And at the right time as well."

"Starscream," the Fallen said, his dark optics narrowing. Dreadwing stiffened. So, the Fallen knew their names and who they were, but that was to be expected. How much influence did he have over the Autobots? How much did he know?

"Hand over the relic, and we will see if the odds will tip in your favor," the Fallen said.

Dreadwing frowned. So, he did not have it?

Starscream let out a laugh. "Really? Because the last time I checked, we have you outnumbered six to one. Not to mention...the power of the Requiem Blaster on our side."

It did not go unnoticed how the Fallen's optics widened. Dreadwing resisted the urge to stare at Starscream at the lie he had just told. Deceptive as ever. Best to play along.

"Now," Starscream continued casually. "I would kindly ask you to step aside or risk the full power of the ancient relic!"

"Where is it?" the Fallen hissed suddenly. Dreadwing inwardly winced. Of course he would call them out on the absence of the mythical weapon.

But Starscream's smirk only grew with glee. "Powering up," he said simply. "Decepticons! Fire!"

Dreadwing bit back his order to retreat, dodging out of the way of the Fallen's blaster fire. He growled, taking out his cannon before firing at the Fallen who was charging at them with brute strength. Even from a distance, Dreadwing could see the anger in his sickly yellow optics. Attacking the Fallen was filled with nothing but dread, but Dreadwing pushed that aside. They had him outnumbered as Starscream had said and there was nothing to suggest that their enemy had the upper hand.

Until now.

He did not know how, but the Fallen evaded the blaster bolts coming his way, shooting one trooper dead in the process without looking back. The way his large body moved was with such speed and strength that no normal Cybertronian his size could posses. And then, he was charging forward, his optics set on Dreadwing who was at the front line.

Dreadwing barely had time to pull out his sword, bringing it up to block the sword that the Fallen wielded. The Fallen quickly pulled back before launching into an aggressive attack, his sword nothing but a blur of sharp metal. Dreadwing was thrust into the defense mode, doing all he could to keep up with the attacks and stay alive. He tried to push back and gain some ground and advantage in the fight, but the Fallen just slashed forward with his sword, sending Dreadwing stumbling back. A trooper charged forward, firing everything he had. But the Fallen just took one shot at the trooper, shooting out the trooper's spark.

Dreadwing took that moment to fall back. He was not foolish; he knew when to retreat and regroup and he would not waste the trooper's sacrifice. He needed to gather his bearings and quickly analyze the situation. He scrambled back, bringing up his sword when he regained his senses. He noted that Starscream remained in the back, firing his weapons at the Fallen in vain.

Dreadwing narrowed his optics, coming to a swift and possibly rash decision. Unsheathing his sword, he charged forward, using brute strength on the surprised Prime. The brunt of his weight caused the Fallen to fall back when he body slammed into him, pushing the Prime off the edge of the snowy cliff.

The impact jarred Dreadwing's senses, but only for a moment and he was back up and away from the Fallen. Transforming was a good option at the moment, but there was also the likely threat that the Fallen would try to shoot him out of the sky when Optimus would most likely not commit such a dishonorable act.

This was not Optimus. This was not the adversary he had grudgingly come to respect. This was not the warrior who fought with honor. This was an ancient being who was far more skilled than Dreadwing could ever hope to be. And right now, he was pummeling Dreadwing into the ice and snow.


"Help him!" Vector Prime ordered.

Liege Maximo just stared at him. "And risk my own charge in the process?"

"If you will not," Vector Prime growled, looming over the smaller Prime. "Then I will have to intervene."

"Then intervene," Liege Maximo said calmly.

Vector Prime snarled, grabbing his brother roughly. "Listen to me," he hissed. "If my charge dies, I will make sure yours follows quickly, condemning us both back to the Well, and you do not want to be stuck with me when I am in such a state of rage and grief over the loss of my charge."

Liege Maximo's expression did not change, except for the flicker in his optics. A look of fear. Good, let him be afraid of the Time Keeper.

Liege Maximo narrowed his dark optics. "Excellent intervention." He looked back at Starscream. "Go for the shoulders. He will not be expecting that. Then get out of there and do not look back."

"What?" the seeker demanded. "You'll have me fight the Fallen?"

"I'll have you save your companion's life and yours in the process," Liege maximo said simply. "Quickly now, it does not sound like Dreadwing has a lot of time."


Dreadwing winced in pain when he felt a blaster shot hit his shoulder. Maybe risking a transformation was a good idea. After all, staying to put up a fight would most certainly get him killed.

He stumbled back, readying himself. But he knew that the chance he would get at a getaway was slim. But it was a chance he would take.

Something fell from off the cliff and latched onto the Fallen's shoulders. It took Dreadwing less than a moment to realize that the 'something' was Starscream. He launched into the air, transforming and shooting upwards, well aware that Starscream's sudden act of valor would only last for less than a moment.

He swiftly turned, firing at the Fallen, giving Starscream the time he needed to turn and transform, joining Dreadwing and the two troopers in the air.

"You almost shot me!" Starscream exclaimed.

"An oversight," Dreadwing said, flying off in the distance. "We will need to find a locate the relic before the Fallen does."

"Well, while you were off battling the Fallen," Starscream started. "I did some poking around with the tracker. There is another energy source not too far off from here. We should be able to beat the Fallen to the location and get out of there with the relic before he even arrives."

Dreadwing had to agree and followed Starscream. He had no intentions of battling the Fallen once more. He had barely made it out there alive. The hate and power behind the once mighty Prime was a terrifying sight to behold.


"Well," Starscream huffed. "This was not entirely unexpected. Humans; should have known they had something to do with the relic missing."

"We cannot proceed as we would normally do so," Dreadwing said, standing up from where he had been kneeling in the snow. "We will have to be subtle in our approach."

"Which will take valuable time," Starscream pointed out. "Not too mention the relic is most certainly heavily guarded."

"Then it is a good thing we have comrades in high places," Dreadwing said, reaching for his comm link.

"What can Soundwave do to help us?" Starscream demanded.

"More than you think," Dreadwing snapped back.

"We can handle this on our own," he quipped. "We have everything under control."

Dreadwing narrowed his optics. "Yes, I could tell when you mentioned to the Fallen that we had the Requiem Blaster. A weapon that used to personally belong to him when he was a Prime."

"So?" Starscream huffed. "If it was his weapon, then he would know how dangerous it is. Or was. Maybe he would have been a bit more cautious in facing us, and it had been the first brilliant plan that popped into my mind on the spot."

"Well he obviously took it a bit too personally," he snapped.

Starscream scowled. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you would be in such a bad mood when I saved your life."

Dreadwing frowned, but had to accept the fact that Starscream was right. "And I thank you for that, but-"

"Well you are welcome," Starscream said quickly with a wave of his servos. "It was not too hard of a feat to pull off." He paused, his helm cocked to the side as if he was listening to something. "You told me to jump onto his shoulders!"

Dreadwing blinked. "I did not-"

"Not you," the smaller seeker snapped. He huffed. "Well, all you told me was that he would not be expecting it. You didn't say how I was to do it. No, I did not scream like a femme! How dare you suggest such a thing!"

"He really needs to stop taking everything so personally," Vector Prime commented. Dreadwing could only sigh.

Meanwhile, the two surviving troopers could only stare at the two seekers who seemed to be speaking to nothing but thin air. Though they had tried to grow accustomed to the idea of having invisible dead Primes around on the warship, it never ceased to be strange to them. Especially when one trooper panicked when they had thought Megatron had called them 'Lady Prime.'


Soundwave had received the request from Dreadwing, and within moments, the profiles of Commander Spears and General Suchcliff were pulled up and ready for use. He allowed himself a small smirk. Won't Starscream and Dreadwing be pleased with their holoform names. Though the request had been odd until Dreadwing had explained the situation, though it was no less unexpected.

Megatron strode forward, his servos folded behind his back. "Soundwave," he greeted. "Is your Prime with you?"

Soundwave shook his helm, completing his work in the process. Micronus had been strangely silent and had been vacant from his side. Not that he was complaining. His guardian was a constant thorn in his side, and Soundwave did not get offended easily. But the Prime had been testing his patience.

Megatron nodded. "Good." He then gestured with his head to the location Megatron had provided him with. "Open a ground bridge to these coordinates."

Soundwave did so without question, wondering if this had anything to do with what Megatron had been signaling to him about.

"Walk with me," Megatron said, striding through the ground bridge without any more explanation.

Huh. So it did.

Soundwave followed his master through the ground bridge where he found himself in a wide and empty field. The land around him was flat with no buildings or trees in sight. He thought it strange that this part of earth remained untouched, since humans seemed so determined on building their cities and businesses on whatever green land was available. The long grass barely reached Soundwave's knees, which would no doubt have hidden a human from sight. A slight breeze blew by, making the grass sway almost as if in a dance. He stood motionless as he took all of this in, waiting for Megatron to speak.

"I have a job for you," he started, turning to look at Soundwave. "A job that must, if possible, remain undetected from the Primes."

Soundwave was well aware that 'if possible' meant nothing when it came to having a conversation with Megatron. If he wanted something done in a specific way, then it was getting done that way. But Soundwave was well aware that doing anything on the Nemesis undetected would be next to impossible with one Prime possessing the warship.

He relayed that last bit of concern to Megatron.

"I am well aware that there is a risk of Prima discovering our motives," Megatron said, surprising him. "But at this point, I could care less. I am tired of these Primes pulling the strings and interfering in our war. The only way to get rid of them is to save Optimus. The Primes will handle the Fallen from there."

"Assignment?" Soundwave asked, wondering what task Megatron would have him perform.

"I want you to look into the Thirteen Primes, preferably the Thirteenth Prime. Their history, their legends, their legacy. Everything. Leave nothing out before giving it a thorough examination and report your findings directly to me and only me." He hesitated, but only briefly. "Secondly, I want you to look into a...deliverance. One involving spirits." He looked at Soundwave once more. "Anything that might aid us in our current situation. Be your research from the humans or Cybertronian, I don't care. At this point, answers are answers regardless of their sources." His gaze intensified. "Am I clear? I do not want any Primes interfering with this."

Soundwave gave a stiff nod.

Megatron straightened up, the setting sun casting shadows on his frame and giving him a dark and foreboding look as his red optics sparked. "Good. Remember, Soundwave, we are Decepticons. What we do matters very little to the Primes. We have but one goal in mind, and it has nothing to do for the glory of thirteen dead ancient beings."

Soundwave allowed a small smirk to grow on his hidden face. He wore the Decepticon symbol proudly, serving Megatron for the greater good of their faction. The Primes did not have their best interests, that much was clear.

To hear his leader say such words took him back to the day that sealed his fate, the day he committed himself to the Decepticon cause. He knew where he stood. As did Megatron.


"We're good to go," Dreadwing said, standing up. "Soundwave has everything ready and in place for us."

Starscream huffed. "Very well, let's get this over with. I never thought that I would have any use for my holoform." He shuddered. "Becoming one of...them!"

"You will survive," Dreadwing said, not looking back as he made his way toward the human base, the wind howling behind them like an unforeseen omen.