His armour was refitted and protoform quickly dried under the beat of the sun overhead, but nothing could have eased Optimus' nerves as he slipped towards the clearing where Bumblebee would be waiting. Airachnid followed, though not closely. Optimus didn't blame her when she seemed to disappear into the safety of the ferns behind him, and almost wished he could join her and just slip away into the wild, where the Matrix was just a trinket and the war was just a bad dream from a distant past.
But Primus had given him enough mercy for now, by resurrecting his sparkmate. Optimus still had his duties to fill, and his legend to live up to. Even though the Autobots would surely be doubting it now, certainly as much as he was.
But Bumblebee didn't notice him standing at the edge of the clearing at first, too focused on the sparkling swatting at the digit that dipped up and down in front of her, occasionally poking her helm and making her burst into giggles. Scorpia was getting bigger, the size of one of Bee's lower servos now, but the scout didn't seem to mind the heavier weight as he held her. And likewise, Scorpia was just happy to have something to grab onto with a warm spark beating against her.
Optimus didn't announce himself, too entranced by Scorpia's joy and smiling to himself at the scout's gentler side coming out in full with her. But then Bumblebee looked up, and he would have jumped in shock if Scorpia's weight wasn't holding him to the ground.
"Optimus!"His optics clicked and whirred wildly as they stared at the Prime coming closer, and Scorpia chirped loudly when she saw Optimus. "Ratchet... thought it was a good idea to send someone over. Tell you about what's happening at the base and stuff..."
"I can only imagine the chaotic state I must have left everyone in. I apologise for my selfishness, Bumblebee." Optimus decided not to point out that it was Airachnid that sent them both back to the safety of the island, not with all that had happened in just one night.
But Bumblebee was surprisingly understanding, especially for a bot of his age, his optics a soft accusation-free glow even when they weren't on the squirming sparkling in his servos. "It's no problem, Optimus. We all figured... some circumstances mean we need to sort ourselves out for a while. Ratchet said it at least, we all just nodded."The scout laughed in a flurry of beeps, but they were hollow sounds that seemed forcefully implanted there, not grown naturally from his spark. Optimus guessed it was the sound of a mech trying to stay friendly in the midst of a leader who'd dissolved all the trust he'd managed to build up in just one decision, but if that was the case Bee would have done a better job of covering it up. No, this was the unease of a mech struggling to accept something, and Optimus recognised it painfully well. When Bee spoke again, it was with great effort as if his broken vocaliser had finally decided to give up.
"Anyway... Primus, how do I say this..." He kept his helm bowed, especially when Optimus stepped closer with his furrowed, seeking expression. "What you said on the Nemesis, about... about Airachnid. It looks like... you were right. Sometime last night, uh... Elita's spark signal came back online out of nowhere. And it pointed right here." Bumblebee laughed as he said it aloud, as if it was a joke he was dredging up from his memory banks and not a twist so cruel, so unexpected that not even Unicron could have put it in place.
At least it saved Optimus the job of having to prove it, when he was the only one who could see every moment spent with his love locked away in Airachnid's spark."I see."
That was all he could think to say, and all he was willing to. If Bumblebee was wanting to ask any further, he seemed to sense it would be a wasted he gently repositioned Scorpia in his servos, still avoiding Optimus' optics. "So, uh, where is... Airachnid, I mean Elita, I mean..."
Before the rustle and snap of leaves behind the Prime announced Airachnid's arrival, he felt the anchor of her spark nearby as it approached and settled by his side. "Bumblebee," she greeted, neither warm nor cold, no indication of whether or not she'd been eavesdropping. By contrast, Bee stood like a stag in headlights, staring at this infamous femme that was the exalted Elita One this whole time and trying to decide if he should be kneeling before her or not. His shock, the realisation finally becoming concrete in his processor, took some nanoklicks to pass and he had to shake his helm to snap himself out of it. He took small, nervous steps forwards and held out Scorpia.
"I kept her warm for you," he said quietly, not quite looking at her as she went to take her daughter back. Even the sparkling went still at her chestplates, blinking big optics up at her mother who must have seemed like a completely different femme now. But Airachnid still guarded her with the same determination, soothed her with the same soft hisses. The only thing that changed was the warmth from her spark as it wreathed around the sparkling, for it was brighter than ever, so much that Optimus and perhaps even Bumblebee could feel it.
She looked down at her sparkling, cradling her, before making to leave again."I'm sure you have business to attend to, Optimus. I'll still be here when you've finished it." Though it hurt him to watch her go, Optimus knew better than to follow. Under that warm glow was a torrent of confusion, lingering denial and overwhelming sadness that he knew he couldn't get rid of no matter what he told her. Just as he had to be alone with his team, she had to be alone with the truth and whatever else she'd hidden from him in their bond.
Bumblebee also watched her leave, as if expecting her to suddenly dissolve into the Elita from holotapes and legends if he stared for long enough, and only Optimus' patient gaze on him made him give up trying.
"How are Bulkhead and Arcee?" the Prime asked, rightfully anxious of the answer that Bee gave after a low whistle.
"At first there were a lot of questions and... things I'd rather not repeat, but Bulkhead's taking it surprisingly well. I've never been able to tell with him, though. Arcee on the other servo... she took it about as well as you'd expect. Still hasn't come out of her quarters."
Optimus screened his optics and sighed. "I was a fool to try and deceive her for so long. "
"Hey, I'm kind of impressed you managed to keep it up until now. I tried stealing her buffer pad once, the same day she burst into my quarters in middle of the night just to get it back." Bumblebee blipped a laugh at the memory, though his mirth disappeared when he saw Optimus' face as hard as ever."Not, uh... that that's the same thing, but-"
"I appreciate the sentiment, Bumblebee," Prime said gently, placing a hand on the scout's shoulder. "But right now, all that will help is a chance to be alone with Arcee and my team, to explain myself properly."
"Right. Sure. I'll... get the Ground Bridge called in."
The portal snapped in place a few nanoklicks later, but Bumblebee held onto the hand on his shoulder before Optimus could step towards it.
"Optimus, can I ask..." The hand gave a small squeeze in approval. "Is she gonna come back to base at some point? Aira... Elita, I mean?" His tone didn't say whether or not he was looking forward to it. It was only uncertain, as to be expected with any Decepticon badge being allowed into their only safe haven.
Optimus gave himself a long moment to think before answering. "That will be her decision. I will not force her into an environment where she does not feel welcome."
Bumblebee blinked, looking from the Prime's hand to his face like both were turning to rust before his optics. "But she's... she's Elita One! I mean, she's practically our leader as much as you are!"
Optimus let his hand drop, again choosing his words with surgical precision. "...She was Elita One. A long time ago. But we cannot expect her to be the femme we remember. It may be that the life of an Autobot simply does not suit her anymore."
Bumblebee's expression darkened. "You mean... a life without torturing bots for fun?"
If Optimus had still been holding his shoulder, he would have left a deep dent in the plating from how his digits curled into fists, just for a split nanoklick. As quickly as flare of anger faded, his voice remained brittle. "Though I understand your concern, I will ask that you do not speak of my sparkmate that way, Bumblebee."
The scout stepped back with fluttering door wings as Optimus approached the waiting Ground Bridge, mumbling. "Right... sorry."
xx
Even if the Ground Bridge wasn't so thoroughly destroyed, no one was allowed on or off the Nemesis. Vehicons managed to lose themselves in repairing the damage to the corridors, scrubbing away plasma residue and welding over bullet holes, helms down and visors dull in every effort to make themselves blend into the hull.
The officers, all herded into the Command Center and cowering on the bridge, weren't nearly so lucky.
"Of all the monumental mistakes to make, the myriad of ways that you could fail at something so simple, HOW DID YOU LET A WRETCHED TRAITOR LIKE AIRACHNID ESCAPE ALIVE?!" Megatron's fury was enough to swell the chamber with scalding air, vibrating through the ship's bulkhead and sweeping across all the mechs gathered before him. Dreadwing was the only one spared, standing sentinel behind the warlord with accusing optics narrow and claws twitching on the handle of his cannon. No one would be trying to escape unless they were really so eager for an instant death.
"I should have known from the beginning that she would have bewitched one of you into helping her, one of my very own officers..." Megatron paced before them like a caged bull, almost scraping each mech with his claws as they twitched and sliced at the air. Then he stopped before Knockout, almost gouging his chestplates with a talon as he jabbed it at him, making him flinch violently away with a whimper.
"You, Knockout; who's to say you didn't know she was carrying this whole time? That even you were too weak to sacrifice a measly newspark for the good of the Decepticons?" Even if Knockout had the wits to defend himself, Megatron had lost interest in his cowering before he could try. His gaze flowed like molten magma to the mech beside the medic, twice his size but trembling just as much.
"And you, Breakdown, the one who had spark pangs for her the entire time she infested my ship. Your betrayal would be so obvious that only you would be dumb enough to go through with it!" His optic struggled to stay open, so much that he almost wished both both of them had been ripped out just so he wouldn't need to see the depth of Megatron's rage scarred deep into every plane of his faceplate. Yet even when it cooled dangerously in front of Starscream and his pinned wings, the effect was somehow even more terrifying.
"Starscream... do I even need a reason to have your wings wrenched off and melted into scrap?" The warlord wrenched himself around, as if the sight of his disgraced officers disgusted him, while Soundwave at Starscream's side was all but forgotten.
"In the early days of the war, I would have had every one of you under a Cortical Psychic Patch for the slightest hint of betrayal," he informed them all. "So count yourselves very fortunate that I am impatient, and merciful. And that it is clear enough who the traitor among you is..." Only now did he focus on the Communications Chief, who refused to even shiver or incline his visor in the red light scanning over him. His frame gave nothing away, every cable and gear made of stone, yet Megatron grinned as if he had Optimus' corpse spread out before his peds.
"Soundwave. Just how much have you been hiding from me behind that mask...?" If Megatron was expecting an answer, some kind of confession, he didn't get one. All he got was confused yet relieved glances from the other officers, all of them so much less loyal than the one under the guillotine. Even Dreadwing wasn't quite sure what was happening, not when Soundwave was the only Decepticon he didn't constantly suspect of plotting murders.
"Well, I will pry the secrets out of you if I must," Megatron continued, leaning close enough that his denta filled the reflection of Soundwave's visor. "And I will leave you more of a husk than you already are." He straightened, claws behind his back, and gave an iron-cold order to the mechs still trying to numb their nodes to the fear filling them."Knockout, Breakdown, prove to me that you both still deserve to live and take Soundwave to the med bay. Restrain him if you must and prepare the Cortical Psychic Patch."
Both mechs had three optics wide, but only Knockout was brave enough to voice his confusion. "But... what about the Iacon database, my lord?"
Megatron's grin somehow became sharper, the denta within becoming daggers. "Well, we don't need all of Soundwave to decode the rest of it." He didn't even look as his servo snapped out, claws carving into the drone hanging off Soundwave's shoulders and roughly yanking him away from the safety of his crevice, claws around his frantic wings so he couldn't even fly away. It was so fast that Soundwave didn't have time to deploy his cables, and Laserbeak's screech was cut off by the intensifying pressure of the grip holding him. Megatron clutched the bird like a dead Scraplet, careless and brutal, and even though he stayed silent Soundwave's horror was etched into his stance.
"I'd suggest going peacefully, Soundwave, lest something tragic happen to your little pet," Megatron suggested, turning Laserbeak's frail chirps of panic into low whines of pain and fear as his grip became crushing. "If you are innocent, you have nothing to fear."
And just like that, the slinking shadow of the Decepticons became as powerless as a newborn, one with a beloved toy dangling just out of reach. Whether or not he was guilty, he could do nothing as Knockout and Breakdown lead him out of the Command Center, nothing but look back and watch his only friend struggle and cut himself on the vice of razors all around him, and Megatron's optics glowing like he'd already won the war.
The door closed, leaving only three mechs and one defeated drone in the room, though Starscream was trying his best to escape by sneaking along the bridge holding them over the chasm of empty computer stations.
"I am not finished with you, Starscream," Megatron snarled, each word like a hook in the Seeker's wings that hauled him back before the warlord's glare. "Your only bargaining chip for my approval is nowhere to be seen, so you have five nanoklicks to convince me not to turn your worthless frame into a ship anchor."
Though Dreadwing stayed silent through the whole display, seeing Starscream almost leaking himself made him stifle a chuckle. "I-I-I had more to give than just the Autobot, my lord! I swear, please, just... let me show you-" The Seeker reached into his subspace, claws scrabbling desperately on something very familiar to Dreadwing.
"The Apex Armour?" Megatron said, after Starscream placed the collapsed relic at his peds. "The very same you took from Dreadwing's grasp?" It was clear he wasn't impressed, and Dreadwing almost hoped this would finally be the day Starscream was sent to the Pit.
But as always, he had an ace on hand. "N-Not only that, my liege! Here, I have another relic! There I was, along the treacherous ocean, hunting ceaselessly for weapons to finally defeat the Autobots, when I find this waiting, practically begging to be taken!"
The strange rod he held up, golden with jagged ridges and slightly tarnished, looked like useless decoration to Dreadwing, but the reflection in Megatron's optics was bright as he took it in his free hand, the other still squeezed tight around Laserbeak. He studied it, turning it this way and that, dragging a talon along the ridges, before nodding once.
"That will do, Starscream. You are excused."
The Seeker's trembling stopped, his optics creased in suspicion, and Dreadwing shared his confusion. But Starscream took the dismissal and ran with it, literally running away from Megatron while he was distracted as fast as his heels would let him.
Dreadwing, meanwhile, coughed once into his hand. "My lord, forgive me, but I am... confused."
Megatron looked up from the peculiar relic. "Oh?"
"You demand that Airachnid be tracked down and killed for her defection, yet you pardon Starscream despite his own desertion and the numerous past attempts to usurp you. I do not understand why you would forgive one yet forsake the other."
Megatron smiled, likely expecting the question to come to him at some point, and held up the object so Dreadwing could see the dull gold finish and teeth lining its length. "This relic is more important than all those we have combined, Dreadwing. The fact that we have it tilts the scales of war so far in our favour that no matter what the Autobots do, they will not stop us. Not as long as we have it."
Dreadwing had never heard of anything so powerful, not even items forged by Solus Prime herself. That wasn't what he was wondering about, though. "But Starscream does not know that," he pointed out, and Megatron gave a quiet laugh to himself as he shook his helm.
"No. He doesn't." Megatron's claws tightened around the relic, mirroring the grip around Laserbeak who'd all but given up struggling. '"Do you really want to know why Airachnid's death is so important to me, Dreadwing?"
"As your second in command, it would be helpful to know," the Seeker answered uncertainly. Megatron made to move past him, leaning into his audios to speak quietly.
"I will only say this. Breakdown was not the father of her dead child."
Then he was passed, setting himself at the master control console, throwing Laserbeak's dented body down and hooking him into the databanks, completely ignoring anything else. Dreadwing wasn't quite sure what to make of the new information, not at first. It meant he was wrong when he voiced his concerns to Megatron, that he knew who the sire was all along...
And the only way that was possible was also the only way his actions made any sense, every one up to now. Like everyone else he left the Command Center, suddenly uncomfortable with being near his leader.
