All Arcee could remember was falling, being pushed and Megatron staring down at her, not in malice but shock. If the warlord had done it, he would have been smiling with those fangs of his. He wasn't smiling. That was all she saw before the bluish green light of the portal overtook her sights briefly. Between destinations, she could see outlines of planets she was surpassing in strokes of light beyond the space bridge's outline. Then a white light overwhelmed her and she only saw grass and dirt.
She hit the ground and rolled, nearly faceplanting. She did over four rolls before sliding to a halt on her side, a clear impact mark in the soil and she groaned at the slight pain that followed. Groggily, she blinked with the portal still open in front of her. Get up, fool, before it closes! Her subconscious had a point and she tried to at least stand up but the hits she took weren't being kind to her body.
Then she got another surprise. Launched from the space bridge, Megatron's kicking and roaring form struggled in his cuffs to keep himself upright as he bounced once and flew straight into her. She had no time to react and was sent around again a few times before he settled on his front. She thankfully landed on his back instead of being crushed underneath him but the feeling was hardly good. Collapsing on him stunned, she could only stare in horror as the portal closed on them.
"I've said it once to Soundwave and I'll say it again to myself, I really hate Autobots," Megatron moaned.
Arcee didn't reply and slowly pushed herself off of Megatron's spine, popping one of her sore shoulders and climbing down. She almost stumbled trying walk again. Meanwhile, Megatron, still cuffed, had to craftily right himself into a sitting position and shook off the grass that clung in his armor crevices.
The femme looked where the portal once had been and then peered around her. They were in a field, little trees, some flowers. But in the distance, there were mountains toward the right, jungle towards the left, behind her was a beach line that transitioned between beautiful sandy beaches to rocky ones, and in the center dividing the mountains and jungles, there was a tower held up by its own steep mountain with what seemed to be waterfalls pouring down at its base. The tower looked Cybertronian but it was no Darkmount. At the top, there was a familiar light blue glow. The Allspark.
If that was where the Allspark resided, taking it back to Cybertron was another priority she could knock out as well. Reclaim her throne by returning the Allspark. Easy...
Abruptly, everything raced back to her almost sending her into a panic attack. "By Primus, I was betrayed! I-I was betrayed? I WAS BETRAYED! I mean I know I'm not the best leader, but was I really that bad?! Mutiny! Treason! Now I know what it's like having a Starscream on my team! No offense, Megatron, but goddamn, why a Starscream? Why was I betrayed?!"
As she ranted, Megatron just watched idly as she paced, getting everything off her chest, and he didn't know whether to be irritated or amused at it.
"And one last thing! Where are we?! Is this Earth?! Is this a foreign planet that looks like Earth?! Who knows?! I...can't take much more of this! ...I'm done," she sighed, ungracefully plopping herself onto the ground beside her worst enemy.
Megatron let the silence of her frustration continue for a few minutes before speaking his mind. "All I know is I was shoved through the portal just as much as you. I don't know who did it but when I get my servos on them, I'll break their neck."
"You know what, I wouldn't even stop you," Arcee huffed. "I absolutely would not stop you from killing them, assuming we find out who it is when we get back."
The warlord scowled, "We? No, femme, I am going back on my own. You can rendezvous with your human allies and get Optimus to help you out. I'll find my own way."
This made her stop pondering and gave him a foul look, "Excuse me, you're in cuffs and my prisoner! How are you going to get back on your own?"
"Just need to break them and I'll contact some Decepticons who are still loyal to me on the outer reach of Cybertron's authority. Not everyone bowed to your whim upon my fall, princess."
She shook her head, "Unbelievable. Stubborn as always...though you do have a point about contacting allies. I'm not a hundred percent sure this is Earth though."
Megatron began picking chunks of grass out of boredom and responded, "It is. I recall the coordinates were still on the so-called Isle of the Allspark as you creatively dubbed it. We're on Earth."
"Good," she said, ignoring some of his sarcasm. "I'll try to get a hold of Jack or Fowler. Stay here."
"As if I can really go anywhere?"
Arcee rolled her optics and activated her comm but each time she tried to contact the humans, a fuzzy static noise kept overtaking her system like something was jamming the signal. Frustrated, she tried contacting her friends on Cybertron. Nothing. Briefly, she looked back at the Allspark's citadel in the distance.
"Are you kidding me? The Allspark is signal-blocking me!"
Megatron had stood up during her attempts at calling for help and shrugged, "If the Allspark wanted to be left alone, don't you think it would have taken precautions to prevent anyone from 'rescuing' it including preventing cries for assistance? I was just thinking of that after I mentioned contacting my own Decepticons. The Allspark wouldn't make it easy for anybody on the island."
She slowly understood and said, "Maybe that's why I haven't heard from those ships I sent before. Either they are still here but the Allspark neutralized their transports or..."
"...They may have been victims of the island's defenses," Megatron finished. "If those rumors of the Allspark bringing life to this island not just from other places on Earth but from other planets is true, there's no telling what is here and what is capable of killing us."
"That's...not reassuring. So, you mean to tell me that we are trapped on an island without exterior help, no knowledge of what's on the island that may or may not have killed people, and we have no way to get home?" She grimaced, "Ooh nooo."
"Agreed," he smirked trying to relieve a little tension out of the situation. "Now, Arcee, if you would be so kind to remove these."
He held out his servos and she gave him a suspicious glare. He snarled low, "I don't have my fusion cannon and it's not like I can fly off since the prison system deemed it a good idea to remove my T-cog. And if I do attack you, it would be a waste of time and energy. I'll save my strength for the real enemies if you don't mind."
Arcee knew there was a small chance he could be lying but given the situation, she would rather play best frienemies with the enemy she knew than try to deal with an enemy she didn't know alone. Reluctantly, she punched in the manual code for the cuffs and they fell onto the ground.
Megatron clutched his wrists individually before nodding, "Appreciate it. Since I guess there is no choice but for us to work together to get off this island, I suggest we come up with a plan and at least find a place to keep out of the elements."
Arcee scoffed, "We'll find a place as soon as we get moving. If we head towards the Allspark's citadel, there's bound to be caves and other hideaways we can occupy on our journey. Out here, we're nothing but scrap."
He didn't argue as she took point and followed her.
"Just to be clear, when we get back, your sentence is still going to be looked over. You're still detained."
"Figured you would still keep that on your mind."
He could tell even as they left, she was bitter about the whole mutiny. If he didn't get to kill the one responsible for at least shoving him into the space bridge, he knew Arcee was probably going to kill them anyways. Granted, she wasn't a dictator as queen but there was going to be a slight bend to a few rules for that person when she got back.
As they traversed the fields, they saw some animals among the farther section of grassland, probably avoiding them in fear. Bison, cows, and mustangs were common Earth animals but large, fuming bull-like cybernetic life with reddish orange bio lights weren't. Kanjian Staghorns to be exact. They were said to be temperamental and territorial, impaling anything that got in their way. With four sets of horns and red pupil-less optics, they were behemoths compared to the organic cattle that surprisingly carried on right next to them as if they didn't notice each other.
There were also Velocitronian helio-horses that used the sun's energy to run up to speeds well over a hundred miles per hour. Their manes were high-heated metal frills that were hot enough to glow almost blue. The solar panels built into their exterior hide kept them energized and lively. There was even a foal between two of them that had an orange heated mane, not as powerful as its sire and carrier just yet.
However, while there was fauna of familiar structure, there also seemed to be abnormal like Dinobots. Several different species of Dinobot roamed the fields, much more massive than the helio-horses or Staghorns. Long-necked like Sludge, three-horns like Slag, raptors and more carnivorous-looking Dinobots were seen. Thankfully, they paid the two no mind.
It was often misinterpreted that life from other planets wouldn't get along, and yet organic and cybernetic life was living amongst each other content and thriving. Perhaps the Allspark naturally could make species get along or there just was no problems in general between the various species. It was a relaxing sight to see but it still didn't distract the femme from the concern of her home.
Arcee suddenly asked, "Megatron, how did you ever handle mutinies? Did you ever have a mutiny?"
The warlord laughed, "Oh, many times. It was mainly Starscream but I could handle him by putting him in his place. I never wanted to sink so low to have to hurt him physically to make him understand what he was doing was wrong. I tried talking to him the first time he pulled a coup, trying to get him to realize we needed to be united to win but he didn't acknowledge that. The next few times escalated to verbal assault, he refused to listen so my patience wavered until one day, I snapped and I've punished him by beating him ever since. The one that took me by surprise was Praxus. I thought he was loyal but he tried to lead a mutiny with his war vessel, Dreadnaught, against my very own, the esteemed Nemesis, which I know you are quite familiar with. The Nemesis destroyed him and the Dreadnaught. It scared Starscream enough to not mess with me for quite some time afterwards."
"I know this is a bad thing to ask, but what do you think I should do?" She pondered.
"Remember, what I think you should do and what you want to think you should do are entirely two different opinions," he said. "What I think you should do is execute them to show the people you will not tolerate treason against your throne. However, what I think you think you want to do is to place them on trial and let your citizens choose the punishment. If everyone respected you in your time as Queen, you'll be surprised how they will defend you and sometimes, they have their own ways of dealing with internal threats."
Arcee processed this information. Maybe an example needed to be given. It certainly wouldn't be out of place for a queen to do something like that. Maybe.
They were nearly halfway from their crash-landing arrival to the jungle border when suddenly, a roar rang out near the mountain area, echoing for what seemed to be a few miles. What was powerful enough to make that noise made shivers go down her spine. They weren't alone and what mechanical beasts awaited them was something she would rather not think on.
"Know any creatures from other cybernetic planets that the Allspark may have brought here?" Megatron calmly muttered.
"I know about some Velocitron predators but speed is their trick, not powerful roars as far as I know. The Chaar Wonderward maybe? Kanjian Jaggerstripe I heard of once? The legendary Cybertronian Apex Predator of complete myth? Numerous things it could be, but let's hope we don't get to find out."
The grasslands were tiring to tread on foot and both Arcee and Megatron were exhausted by the time they reached the jungle, a combination of walking several miles and the stress of the day were the main causes. Along the way, to Megatron's confusion, Arcee occasionally tore off some of the pristine white thick armor she had to wear as royalty and tossed it aside, showing her true blue and pink armor again.
She could feel optics on her and she sighed, "Never liked that stuffy outfit anyway. If I'm going to be here a while, I'm going to be at least a little comfortable and able to be more mobile in case the situation calls for it. It limited a lot of my speed and agility like you have no idea."
The only thing she kept was her crown.
They paused at the edge of the jungle and peered into the canopies and the terrain floor. There was no telling what lurked inside. The quickest way to the Allspark's citadel was through it. Arcee gave a glance back at Megatron who was, in turn, eyeing his surroundings with care.
"You ready for anything that happens?"
He snorted, "Would not be the first time something got the jump on me. I still came out alive. Come, we are losing daylight. The faster we get through this, the faster we go home."
Arcee nodded and let Megatron take the lead this time, treading behind him close. It was not the time to be picky of personal space and even Megatron knew that. Her sticking so close was better than keeping their distance and risking separation.
The jungle made its own noises from what was definitely Earth animal to sounds that neither of them could tell what they were. The haunting ambience was the creepiest thing Arcee could probably admit she's ever felt in her lifetime. Megatron didn't seem as spooked but she could tell he really wanted his weapons. He was tense and always on alert.
The femme was so preoccupied with her upper surroundings that she wasn't paying attention to the jungle floor and unceremoniously tripped on a tree root face first. She stayed on the ground for a good minute mumbling to herself before getting back up and seeing Megatron trying keep himself from laughing at her misfortune.
"Having a little trouble there, wise and graceful leader?" Megatron mocked.
She didn't hesitate to flip him the bird, something she had to give Jack credit for teaching her about. Thankfully, Megatron wasn't familiar with that response but he did lose his smile a little, more so due to being unsure than angry. She strutted past him with her helm up high, but she could still hear him resisting the urge to snicker.
"Shut up!"
"Normally, I would shoot anybody that says that to me."
"That's because not enough people have been saying it to you for the cue to stick."
"You're trying my patience, femme."
"You're being an aft, mech."
The bickering, for what it was worth, kind of helped them cope through the jungle. A few times, their argument was interrupted by distant movement by what appeared to be tigers and leopards of Earth wandering about but nothing to be truly concerned about. The argument went from bickering to insults to leadership skills and in all fairness, they both had some good points about one another.
"You are terrible at keeping your army under control to prevent mutinies," she scowled. "Don't sass me."
Megatron met her look with his own fierceness, "You have a horrible habit of not making peace with your past that sometimes affects your relations with your staff and citizens. At least I can handle mine."
"Handle?! You don't know how to make your troops equally happy to your own desires because you're always reliving your glory days. No wonder they want to mutiny in the first place! You have nothing to offer!"
"Oh, and look at you. When you can't offer anything, you can't keep your people in line because you are too nice when it comes to punishments, mainly because you fear ridicule from your citizens for being too harsh. That's a weakness, Arcee."
"Ha! As if! If I was like that, I wouldn't have any friends. But at least I have them! You have no friends except Soundwave because you are a bastard to most who try to befriend you!"
The warlord pursed his scarred mouth, "And yet, you can't keep many friends because you refuse to open up to people, resulting in them being pushed away and leaving you alone to bask in your self-pity of your failure to protect the ones you supposedly loved."
"Like you with Optimus?" She bit back.
That last one did hit some sore spots which broke their chatter into dead silence for a while.
It was Arcee who spoke first, "I didn't mean to go that far but do you not get why you're often unlikeable? Why everyone fears you? Why most of your Decepticons abandoned you when the war was over?"
"I know why!" He fumed, "I am perfectly content with Soundwave being my only friend, if you must know, and you're one to talk. It is a wonder how you have any of your Autobot friends to fall back on. At least I know what I am; you pretend you're the victim when in reality, you're just a lost, scared femme who can't handle her emotions. You're a fighter, one of the best, but only when you're confident and you're winning. You break so easily near the end when you lose and among anybody, that is a very costly flaw to have."
Arcee stopped walking and motioned to the jungle around them. "At least I have emotions! You lack all empathy and don't get me started on your high and mighty personality. You know what...how about this reality check? Instead of taking you back to Cybertron with me after I get the Allspark, I just leave you here and let you carry out your sentence on this forsaken island with all its deadly creatures?"
Megatron looked like he was about to snap at her but was level-headed enough to merely speak in a disappointed tone. "You wouldn't do that because that would be a cruel way to die, wouldn't it, Arcee? Defenseless leader of the Decepticons, abandoned to die on a mysterious island. Not a very Autobot-like move in their eyes.
"Look, we agreed to stick together because right now we both can die out here if we don't. Without me, you aren't going to last long. And without you, I may last longer due to my size and strength but not by much if what we think is out here really is. We can either keep fighting about this or we can work together without arguing at least until we are rescued and retrieve the Allspark. Once this dilemma is done, go ahead and point out my problems to your spark's content, be my guest but until then, let's put our hate for each other on hold and survive first."
Arcee still held the desire to press the issue but Megatron was right. This sudden predicament was far too volatile to be starting scrap with each other now, and on the first few hours of being on the island no less. She hoped it wasn't going to be a constant problem but they really weren't compatible much as she could see.
"Fine," she growled. "Let's just fix this and go home. We'll never have to deal with each other again. Agreed?"
"It's a deal," he stated coldly. "Now, your highness, we really should get going."
She stared at him but knew there was no other choice. His condescending tone on her title was beginning to bug her as well. It was a blow to her ego certainly, not something she would admit out loud. She didn't want to be reviled as a bitch but some points needed to be brought to his attention too. If this is what Optimus put up with on a timely basis, living with Megatron for the time being was going to be a hassle.
They made up for lost time by speed walking through the remainder of the jungle and to their relief, they came out of it near the Allspark's citadel, but there lied a new problem. As they approached the tower, the rocky high platform it sat on, its own mountain in fact, was far too steep. The walls of the mountain holding it were smooth and covered in slick plant life, preventing any ability to climb it. Megatron could throw her but it was too high for her to even reach the citadel's base structure. When the Allspark was believed to desire to be alone, it wasn't joking apparently.
"Well, that's not great," she huffed.
"If I could fly, it would be no problem but this...this is insane even for me," Megatron hummed low. "There has to be some way up there. Perhaps we should check the base of the mountain. Maybe there's an entrance to catacombs that leads upward?"
Arcee couldn't agree quick enough and began wandering to the left.
"Where are you going?"
She shrugged, "Around the mountain. What? I have to follow your lead the entire time?"
Megatron scoffed, "You're going to get yourself killed. At least give me a notice so I can follow. I don't care if you take charge."
"Fine, hurry up, cranky!"
He rolled his optics in growing disdain at her gall to nickname him.
They rounded the tall mountain, sometimes having to divert onto the rocky terrain with trees and plants growing between them nearby due to one side having a deep chasm they would rather not fall into. Upon reaching the peak of one of the rocky summits, they didn't hesitate to look out to see the jungle which they had come but also new territory that wasn't visible to them on ground level.
Beyond the jungle lied another field with watering holes and much more trees, willows and cherry blossoms and other foliage. A huge willow tree combined with an unusual goliath breed lied towards the edge of a cliffside the field dropped off of, then there was a forest of pine and redwoods following that to its right. Past the forest, there was a wide river in a canyon that divided the luscious green from the obsidian and lava wasteland from a volcano just near the shoreline. To their right, before the mountains, it was hard to tell but there seemed to be desert. After the mountain ranges, which were tall enough to have snow, there was a lake and swampland which weren't visible from their view in the field where they appeared.
"Is the Allspark taking a little of every environment on Earth and making its own collage of a world or did it make these environments to copy the natural setting of what many of its animals live in normally? How is it regulating the weather to keep all these environments secure?" Arcee questioned.
Megatron didn't seem to have an answer as he kept awfully quiet. But then he pointed at something near the edge of the willow field. "I know for sure that isn't a part of an environment. Look familiar?"
Arcee glared at the object in the distance and realized it was a Cybertronian vessel, specifically one she recognized as her Allspark retrieval task force.
"That's my ship!"
"Your ship?" Megatron frowned.
"One of the ones I sent! It's here but-but that means the crew is here too! We need to check it out, see if we can regroup with them!"
"Arcee, how long has it been since you sent them here?"
The question was piercing and she slowly lost her hope upon realizing what that meant. "I sent them...over two years ago. I contacted Fowler after a few months, he said he would investigate. He told me he couldn't locate the isle so I waited and waited, got busy and hoped that they would return but I guess not. I was going to have Fowler try again but then...you know."
The warlord sighed, "If they are still here, they must have been trapped here by the Allspark to live as the animals it carries or die. If they survived, I'm sure they would have built some sort of outpost to keep themselves safe from this place. I don't think they did survive."
"We can't know for sure until we go down there."
"If you wish. I personally think it's a bad idea. What if whatever wiped them out is in that ship? We could be walking into a trap."
Arcee rubbed her arms feeling a chill and shook her head, "We have to make some attempt, don't we? Before we go down there, did you spot any type of entrance yet?"
Megatron scowled, "If there is an entrance, I'm not seeing it."
"What now?"
"I guess we have no choice but to go to the ship," he groaned. "Stick behind me when we get close. I can take a lot more hits than you can but you have firepower that I don't currently."
She gave an odd glance at him before smirking, "After our fight, I wouldn't think you would risk your life to protect me."
"Technically, I'm not. It's the best strategy to winning against anything larger than us. Unless you want to go first, then by all means."
"And that sense of being a bastard has returned. Nice to know. You take point," the queen said.
Using the point of view that allowed them to identify the willow field, they quickly scaled down the rocky vegetative terrain as dusk began to hit. The light of the lessening sun made the rocks turn orange, something Arcee missed seeing in Nevada.
Between where they were and where the ship was, they had a sense of what the island was by the end. While they were kicking rocks a few times in frustration, part of a rock caused a chain reaction and soon, there were several boulders rolling down the slope which both of them watched expressionless. When the boulders began bouncing off the lower pools of water entering the willow field, some of them hit the ground hard enough to cause massive geysers to rupture until a small earthquake followed. Arcee wouldn't admit that she clung to Megatron's wrist tightly as they had to wait out the activity before continuing.
When they drew close to the border of the jungle on the field, Arcee found a few cute monkeys decided to swoop down and climb over her in curiosity. She was fine with it until a hulking four-armed Chaar Mallabi gorilla joined in almost crushing Arcee. The monkeys were hardly surprised and used the Mallabi to get a better look at their guests and the Mallabi itself was harmless, prodding her to see if she was okay. Megatron had to carefully remove Arcee from the gorilla's hold. She was partially fazed by it and the warlord took it upon himself to carry her.
Then in the distance, as Arcee recuperated, both witness a sudden explosion in the volcanic section of the island. It wasn't large but the plume of smoke meant it was indeed a very active volcano. A large flying shadow could be seen among the smoke circling the peak, waiting for it to die down so they could possible nest again in their home. Megatron was unsure about that one.
Large Kanjian monogoliath elephants among families of what seemed to be African elephants were shocking to see. The monogoliaths were sturdy with a bluish tint in their armor and a dark blue ridge over their trunks and spine. Their four eyes, black hollows with orange optics, were spaced enough to let them cover a lot of ground around them. Their tusks weren't just one whole spike like the elephants on Earth. They forked out midway and had extra smaller ridges poking out like the antlers on deer. They were also more curved like a mammoth. Various birds took advantage of the monogoliath's tusk structure as they roamed among the willows and wetlands, unbothered by even some of the predators Megatron and Arcee could see relaxing on the rocks.
"How many creatures are on this island? Did the Allspark have a stroke or something putting all these creatures together?" Arcee asked in boredom, skimming across protruding boulders.
Megatron smirked, "What was it you said? Something about the Allspark doing what it wants? If this is what it wants, I'm curious as to what else it can do. A shame I never witnessed it in battle under my control."
"I'd pity the Allspark for having to endure your hammy nature for centuries."
That earned her a glare and small push off the rocks she was leaping across by Megatron's servo. He snickered while she stumbled to ground level with an irritated huff.
They came near to the ship and noticed vines and moss had overtaken part of its bottom sunk in the marsh. It had been there for quite some time. The ship didn't seem operable but there was no telling what could be living inside.
Arcee placed a servo on the hull and shook her helm, "I had hoped that they would make it back. I couldn't have known the Allspark was that desperate to be left alone."
Megatron was about to answer when a feline roar rang out behind them and upon finding it too close for comfort, the warlord immediately placed himself between Arcee and the creature.
The purple and illuminant pink jaguar-like robot was almost Megatron's length and both ears were forced back against its head indicating its ferocity. Whether they had trespassed into its territory by accident or it was on the hunt was not certain but one thing was for sure, they were in danger. Megatron made sure to flash his claws and bare his teeth before giving his own roar in warning. The jaguar creature took it as a challenge and stalked forward.
Arcee brought out her weapons as it charged. She was about to shoot as Megatron prepared to tackle it when a loud screech of speakers hit their audial receptors like a freight train. They both cringed but the worst off was the jaguar who cringed and yowled for its senses being bombarded. As soon as it had the strength to, it fled and the noise faded.
Both Megatron and Arcee exchanged looks before realizing the noise came from the damaged ship. The side access to the vessel suddenly opened and footsteps came down the ramp into the murky water. The silhouette of the figure boasted at least one of their own.
"Wow, had I not seen the cameras in time, you two would have been dead. Caminus nightpaws. Nasty nocturnal hunters, they are. I read about them while rebuilding the Iacon Hall of Records under the one called Bulkhead's command."
The figure, once in full view, turned out to be a Vehicon soldier adorned with what appeared to be a toolbelt and other nifty gadgets and weapons on his back and sides. He opened his arms in a mocking gesture.
"Welcome to the Isle of the Allspark. My name is Bolt."
AN: The isle was fun to design with all its environments. I personally have a favorite portion of it and you'll eventually figure out which one it is later on. Vehicons are also great characters to expand upon. I was initially going to have either Perceptor or Shockwave here but I decided to give the role to Bolt instead.