A/N: Thanks for all of your support throughout this fic! Since my school was closed due to Hurricane Isaac, I can update this story.

Chapter 21

Arcee wasted no time in swiftly moving Jack from harm's way, hiding him behind a toppled tree in the confusion. Making sure he was safe, she drew out her wrist blades and turned to face FlameWar. The 'Con, still shrouded in the darkness glared furiously at her, her blasters charging for another attack. Charging forward, she dodged the blaster fire and tackled the femme, trapping her beneath. Punching her in the face multiple times, she pinned the femme's arms down.

"I'm here!" she screamed. "You wanted this, right? You've got me! Leave Jack out of this!"

"The only the boy will leave this conflict is through Death's embrace," FlameWar managed to reverse the position, punching the femme repeatedly. "Just! Like! My! Sister!" Slamming her fists into Arcee's face repeatedly, she almost lost sight of what she was after. Not bothering to check if the cause of her torment was subdued, she turned towards where she'd hidden the boy. Searching the area where she had aimed her blaster, she scanned for any sign of movement. The sun was setting, dimming the already dark forest.

She knew he would not run; his care for Arcee would be what led her to him. Catching movement, she blasted the target and moved to check. She found she'd only managed to kill some unidentified animal. Growling in frustration, she continued her search, just as Arcee charged her again. This time, she was prepared and answered her attack with a powerful spin kick.

The cobalt femme was sent flying backwards into a tree while FlameWar continued her search for the boy. She knew this was fate tempting her, teasing her with the opportunity of revenge at the cost of her original plan. She would not give in to temptation. She had a plan and she would execute it to last the detail. The darkness provided by the forest had turned against her and was now protecting the boy.

It made no difference. If the darkness had betrayed her, then there was no point in dwelling in it. She had made preparations for just such an occasion. Taking out a small device, she detonated the explosives. The darkness was washed away by the light of an untamable fire, yet still her form remained shrouded.

"You cannot escape boy!" she growled. "I know that you won't abandon your beloved partner! Show yourself and your death will be swift!" That would be the only comforting assurance she would grant Arcee, not unlike the cycles she spent trying to stave of death's embrace on her sister. Cycles seemed like vorns as she did all she could to save her sister's life, only to fail. She would not be as cruel and would grant the boy a merciful death, so long as he made this easy for himself. Once again, Arcee pounced her, blocking her counterstrike with one of her own.

The fire danced around them, rising like the cheers in the Pits of Kaon as they clashed, punch for punch, kick for kick. FlameWar had an answer for even Arcee's basic strikes, answering with her own, more powerful ones. She kneed her in the gut, slamming her elbow into her back, ending with her heel strut across Arcee's chin. Dragging across the ground, the blue femme spat out energon, glaring furiously at her opponent. Even with the fire surrounding them, she still appeared shrouded in darkness.

Was that the cost of revenge, the very kind she'd sought for eons against Airachnid and most recently, Starscream? Is that how others perceived her to be after Tailgate's death? The very thought of becoming such a creature made Arcee shiver. Jack had saved her spark in more ways than one. And she owed to him to keep him safe from this monster.

Standing on her pedes again, she took a stance, FlameWar mirroring her, and charged. With every one of the deranged femme's attacks, she had an answer of her own. Finally, she managed to pin her down again, "Stop this! Will killing Jack change anything? I've already seen my partner die in front of me! That's why I killed your sister! I was just like you!"

"NO!" FlameWar managed to shove Arcee off of her. "The gap between is greater than the distance between our planet and this one! Unlike you, I won't hesitate and spare you righteous vengeance!" She leaped towards Arcee, twirling in mid-air, her heel strut once again finding the femme's face. Managing to keep her stance, Arcee managed to drive her knees into the femme's chest. She could hear the cracks of the trees; it wouldn't be long before the entire forest came down on them if this didn't end soon.

But it didn't matter as long as Jack was safe!

FlameWar

Within the auxiliary Decepticon base, Jackson Darby managed to move quickly through the halls despite the damage done to his body. Every nerve of his body screamed in pain as he forced them to move beyond their limit. He knew Arcee wouldn't fight back until she thought he was gone, so he managed to make it back to the base in the hopes of finding something to use. The series of explosions he heard moments ago cause the knot in his stomach to tighten. He hoped Arcee would fight long enough for him to find something useful.

This was one of the many times he hated the large halls of Cybertronian bases, given how his size made them seem miles long. In reality, the path was probably no more than a few steps from a Cybertronian's point of view. He thought back to how long he'd been here and how many doors he heard open and close shut. Closing his eyes, he remembered each sound. First she would exit what was probably her room.

Then, the next opening would be heard as she entered the hall where his cell was located, stopping one last time. That would be the last open and close of a door before she would enter and begin torturing him. So the room where she probably kept the tools was close to his cell. Arriving at his cell, he looked over the area, trying to ignore the rapid beat of his heart. The beating was from exhaustion and worry.

His eyes landing on the door across the hall, further down, Jack headed straight for it, his body protesting with pain. Taking deep breaths, he managed to make to the door, which opened for him, revealing several different tools. No doubt this would be for torturing him later had the chance been given. Ignoring whatever thoughts he had of what she had in store for him, Jack entered the room in search of something that would help him aid Arcee. But all he saw were weapons used for torture, and none he would wish on his arch enemy.

Finally, he decided to grab the prod, the device shifting its mass to fit Jack's grip. Making sure the device worked, Jack proceeded to look for whatever passed as an energon fuel line. If there was one thing he was good for when it came to deranged Decepticon femmes, it was blowing up their homes.

FlameWar

Outside the base, Arcee and FlameWar continued their fearsome battle, trading blows and spilling each other's energon. The blue femme had managed to finally put her blades to use and cut FlameWar. The femme may have shrugged it off, but at least Arcee was making progress. Managing to drive her knee into the FlameWar's gut, Arcee managed to slash her back. Energon leaked from the wound as FlameWar merely glared like it was nothing.

"I don't want to fight you," Arcee panted. "You have every right to hate me for what I did. If you want my life, then you can take it! But leave Jack alone!"

"You still understand nothing," FlameWar spat bitterly. "The only way for you to truly experience the horror of your crime is for me to cut out the entrails of the boy right in front of your optics! Then, I'll rip out your Pit-spawned spark!"

"Then you leave me no choice," Arcee withdrew her blades and charged, blocking FlameWar's counter and landing several punches. Reeling back, FlameWar answered with several severe kicks to face, abdomen, and gut. The two femmes were evenly matched, meaning this battle could go on for eons without an end in sight. In the background, several trees were heard falling to the fire below. It wouldn't be long before the entire forest was consumed.

But Arcee couldn't focus on that now, she had to keep this femme away from Jack for as long as it took him to find a way to contact base. But the only way to do that would be for him to… Scrap! She should have known he wouldn't listen to her. He hardly ever did when her well-being was an issue. Now, Arcee had to hold FlameWar before she too realized Jack had gone back to the base.

Neither femme dared take their optics of one another, waiting for their opponent to slip up so they could attack. Forgoing their patience, the femmes were once again engaged in a deep brawl, punching and clawing at one another. Their armor was heavily scratched and damaged from the battle. Arcee didn't look forward to explaining that to Ratchet. They separated and were about to resume their battle when a large explosion filled the area.

Much to Arcee's horror, it had come from the direction of the auxiliary base. Optics widening, the energon in her ran cold, "Jack…"

"What?" FlameWar briefly glared at her opponent before turning her gaze back to where the explosion had come from. The human managed to do that? Impossible! But Arcee seemed to believe so, which left FlameWar with no other alternative. If the boy had indeed ended his own life, then she could care less about what fate thought of her.

Managing to tackle Arcee, she drove her fist through the femme's stomach, earning a cry of pain. Yanking her servo back, she watched with sick glee as energon dripped from the wound. She was about to finish the femme and finally bring eons of vengeance to an end when something caught her optic. To her shock, the boy stood before her, alive and well. "Impossible," she gasped.

Glancing down at herself, she couldn't help but reel back realizing what she'd done. Arcee recovered briefly and managed to make it back to Jack's side. FlameWar didn't notice, too horrified by the truth. Eons of planning and waiting had been wasted because she chose to believe what her optics saw. Nothing was ever as it seemed; she knew this best of all, but she still believed it.

"No," she spoke through gritted teeth. "No, no, no, no, no…"

"Jack!" Arcee managed to speak despite her wound. "I told you to run."

" I wasn't going to leave you," he argued. "Besides, it looks like I just save you. The energon vein is going to blow any minute. We need to get to base now!" Arcee nodded and contacted them for a ground-bridge. As they waited, Jack had another lapse in judgment and ran towards FlameWar, "You've got to come with us!"

"No, no, no…" she repeated as if it were a chant. Jack didn't register to her anymore; all that mattered was that she had ruined her chance at the perfect revenge.

"Jack!" Arcee called as the bridge appeared. One look from told the whole story as she rushed towards FlameWar, "Come on!" She made a grab for the femme, only for her to shove her away.

"Do not touch me!" she shrieked, all signs of sanity in her optics gone. "You will not stop me from killing the boy, then you!" Instinctively, Arcee moved to shield Jack when she saw FlameWar run towards the inferno.

"I will find the boy and bring him back so you can watch him die!" she yelled, deranged. Jack tried to follow her, making any attempt he could to reach her, but she was lost. Arcee grabbed her charge and pulled him through the ground-bridge, the vortex disappearing just as the energon vein ignited, blowing up.

FlameWar

It had been a few weeks since then. Fowler managed to get the fires under control with some help from the 'Bots. There was nothing in the wreckage suggesting FlameWar survived or perished. June had returned from her seminar, both livid and relieved at the sight of her son. She accosted Arcee with a glare for weeks. Arcee did nothing to stop it, knowing she deserved it despite Jack's protests.

She and Jack had hardly been afforded any time together since that night, with June wanting the two to be separated for a short time and Optimus insisting Arcee rest. The femme couldn't help but think of FlameWar when she was awake and in her nightmares. The similarities between them were too numerous to count, the only difference being Jack. He had saved her from the darkness that had consumed FlameWar all these years. She knew she had to speak with him, but waited until Ratchet cleared her for depature.

It would be another week before her injuries would heal completely and she was cleared to leave base, with Ratchet's usual warning about being careful. She and Jack went back to the old ghost town where it had all began. The silence between them was thick with awkwardness and uncertainty. The two partners had so much to say, yet no idea how to voice their thoughts. Finally, Arcee spoke, "Thank you."

Jack was unsurprisingly taken back by this comment, not at all expecting gratitude to be the first thing to pass through her lips. If anything, he should be the one thanking her for all she'd done to find him. But he allowed her to elaborate on her meaning, "Thank you for making sure I didn't end up like FlameWar, consumed by revenge."

"That wasn't me," he replied. "It was all you. It wouldn't have mattered what I did, you would have turned out the way you chose to."

"But you played a role and I don't want to hear otherwise," she replied, somewhat sternly, but the playful tone was evident. "So Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled warmly at her. "Partner." She kneeled down and pulled him into an embrace, the rarest form of emotion she would ever show to him. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the gesture with as much heart. He couldn't help the tears streaming down his face as he began to sob, Arcee rubbing his back gently.

FlameWar

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story. This weekend, I hope to publish the sequel to ShadowStrike Rising. It will focus on Miko going down her own journey to save Bulkhead after he left comatose thanks to Hardshell. Next Story: Darksider: The Prime Judgment (Special thanks to MeLeeSmasher for the title). 'Til then, Farewell.