Author's Notes: Schedule? WHAT SCHEDULE? Time has no meaning, and I don't care because I finally got this chapter done! Holy crap I couldn't even tell you all why this final battle scene took so fragging long but at this point does it really matter? Here it is! Rejoice with me, flaws and all, and I am sure it has many as I am editing it on a road trip and have shoddy wifi at best! But again who cares?! Not me! Final battle is done! Also, I am sure everyone will notice that this chapter is insanely long. Longest one I think in the whole story. 36 glorious pages of final fight goodness. It's all for you, the equally as glorious readers. All of my love and respect goes out to you. Your kind words, favs, and support make it all worth it. So please, as always, leave a comment, share your thoughts as this is the FINAL BATTLE, and of course, enjoy!


Location: Battlefield outside of Iacon City

Bumblebee

With skipping engines and broken pieces raining down, the closest Decepticon ship inbound for Iacon turned upward just before impact. It skimmed over the skyline, scarcely avoiding the tallest buildings as it continued south. Then the next ship once locked on for the Kaon Capital shifted in a similar way, changing course, and sailing over the land into the distance.

Relief flooded Bumblebee's Spark. "They did it!" Grimlock and the others had deactivated the explosive engines, and as a bonus, kept the ships from crashing all together.

Smokescreen blew by in vehicle form, his celebratory, "Woooo!" audible even over his roaring engine. He did a few screeching doughnuts before adding, "One less thing to worry about! Now whoever finds Arachnid first gets bragging rights for saving Cybertron twice!"

"No." Bumblebee huffed before Smokescreen could spin off. "Once Arachnid is contained, we check on Soundwave's team's condition."

'Fair enough.' Wheeljack added via Commlink. He was busy across the battlefield launching grenades into the Insecticon swarm before they could swoop down on the remaining Elite Guard. 'When the CONS are worried about Chief Spooks, then we should be too I guess.'

'Um, guys, why isn't the last ship going away too?' Asked Bulkhead over their chatter.

Bumblebee glanced skyward. The final Decepticon ship was still screaming from the heavens. There was not a rotor twitch or engine burst compelling it to crash elsewhere. This was the ship marked to land right on top of them.

"Well scrap." Arcee vented.

Bumblebee pressed a finger to his auditory, though didn't look away from the flaming ball of death hurling towards them as he did so. "Hey Grimlock, buddy? How are things going on the last ship? Hello?"

Crackles in their communication added to the ominous silence. Then the chuckle of Swoop came through. 'Sorry, the boss is busy hurling some oversized cargo from the port hole he made.'

"What is going on?" Bumblebee asked tensely.

'Arachnid bugged the ships, no pun intended!' Swoop reported. He didn't have time to laugh at his own joke. Some shenanigans happening before him on the ship drew a string of curses out of him.

"How many Insecticons did she have up there?" Bumblebee asked.

Swoop let out a laugh. 'You wish it were the big bugs! Nah, try infected PREDACONS. And they are everywhere!'

Arcee's expression in Bumblebee's line of sight was only tired. "Because why not?"

Smokescreen burst from his transformation, somehow still managing to be astonished at anything at this point. "How had Arachnid organized all that? How much free time did she have before this fight?!"

'Ah scrap, here are more…' Swoops worried voice interrupted. 'Gotta go, I'm gettin' back to the Boss near the engine room. I'd move out of the way down there, incase we can't get this scrap under control. So far, it ain't lookin' good.' His Comm cut. Bumblebee didn't reestablish the connection. He didn't want to further distract him and possible doom everything. Instead, he scanned the groups of Kaon cavalry bots in the field. Many had finally noticed the crashing ship not rerouting course like the two before it. Bots had moved from the intended spot it would impact, waiting to watch it crash from what they thought was a safe distance.

"We need to start Ground Bridging everyone out." Arcee snapped. "If Shockwave can't deactivate the engine, a few kliks away won't be any safer then ground zero."

"We don't have everyone's Comm Frequency…" Bumblebee pointed out.

"Arachnid wants us to evacuate."

Bumblebee spun around, prompted by the jovial voice. The rounded chassis of MacCadam came jogging up to them. Despite the crashing bomb hovering over their helms, MacCadam had his usual smile present. Unicron's prison container was also still tucked under his servo. "With us all gone, she will have a clear shot to run for Iacon uninterrupted. And to Smokescreen's question before, regarding how Arachnid contained the infected Predacons? Stasis was how they remained quiet and unable to be tracked by Predaking by sent… the poor Con's she used as bait to draw them into those pods." He shuttered, trying to shake off the terrible concept only he could see.

"Do you see Grimlock and the others succeeding ?" Bumblebee asked hopefully.

"It will be a very simple choice for those on the ship to make!" He said. Bumblebee's borrowed assurance didn't last long as MacCadam's expression dropped into a pursed frown. "Of course, fate is a little fickle with what I'm seeing. Really, it IS an easy choice, but whether they take it is a different beast all together."

"How so?" Arcee asked.

"I see pathways." MacCadam explained while starting to draw a line in the rust with the tip of his ped. The rudimentary image conveyed a line that branched outward in all directions. Bumblebee wasn't the only one shifting nervously, glancing the drawing on the ground and the glowing sky. Was this the best time for MacCadam to explain this? "All the different options we could make, from the very likely to the absurd." He gave the ship a thoughtful look as it drew ever closer to impact. He was also the only one not instinctively backing up. "I'm sorry. Usually I'm more precise, but with all this dark Energon around, my visions are a tad foggy… But even with that being the case, I think I see two distinct options our Grimlock could take. Both are equally as likely to happen. Our team will successfully disarm the explosive engine and bridge away in time, leaving the ship to crash harmlessly," he hesitated in what Bumblebee could only consider a comedic fashion as the ship roared down. "But only if Grimlock decides not to kill Shockwave when his shield is gone."

The moment drug on into a foreboding swirl of wide optics, all aimed at MacCadam's pondering faceplates.

"So we're dead then?" Arcee determined thoughtfully.

It was too late either way. The ship screamed down, chunks of flaming debris raining onto the battlefield. The ship finally crashed. The ground trembled out in a shock wave that toppled everybot not ready.

But there was no secondary blast. No explosive reaction of devastating proportion that rendered the plating from Bumblebee's mesh. He relaxed, even as the ship cracked in two and smaller Energon pipes blew. The definite confirmation was the smile MacCadam wore.

"Primus." Wheeljack said as he and Bulkhead pulled up next to their group. He stood from his transformation and gawked at the fiery wreckage in true astonishment. "There is no way Grimlock chose to be the bigger bot and didn't kill Shockwave if he had the chance." He further elaborated.

As the shock of that realization wore off, Bumblebee was overcome with the uncontrollable urge to cheer. He pressed a digit to his Commlink. "Good job guys! We never doubted you!" The last bit was a lie, but they didn't have to know that. "And Grimlock! We heard about what you did. That is-"

'Don't fragging remind me.' Grimlock's sour voice came through. 'It's already bad enough I could only take off Shockwave's arm and not his helm. But it still ended up saving his damn life. You're gonna make me regret doing anything.'

Before Bumblebee could question what on Cybertron he was talking about another chatter linked in. The other members of Grimlock's gang, still stationed on the Peaceful Tyranny and awaiting command. They had been witness to everything said. 'What did you say, Boss?!' Snarl hissed. 'You bit off Shockwave's arm and I missed it?'

'Bah! Yell at me about it later.' Grimlock grumbled. 'We have a bigger problem. Team Prime, give us a klik to get over there. Shots'll explain it better then I can.'

A Groundbridge burst open before them. Predaking and Grimlock raced from the other side of the vortex, followed closely there after by Swoop and Sharpshot.

The smallest bot amongst their party turned to Bumblebee and wasted no time with the promised explanation. "We've traced Arachnid, thanks to one of Shockwave's most recent inventions." Sharpshot paused and motioned to the device Grimlock clutched under his servo. "She was close, but she doubled back just before the ship crashed."

"Yo Shots," Grimlock interrupted. "Tried tracking the Spider, but then the damn thing started beeping again." He handed the device to Sharpshot, who tinkered with it until it was silent.

Bumblebee took quick note of the darkening expression creasing Predaking's features in real time. "We have concluded a more disturbing reason behind her erratic movements." He snatched the device from Grimlock, anger rattling it in his claws. "Her location moved from the last ship itself, while we had still been on board."

"Someone had to be sneaking around activating those stasis pods ahead of us." Sharpshot added, the notion making them shutter uncomfortably.

"The coward must have jumped out before impact, as we did." Predaking snarled. "We failed to spot her while on board."

"Don't beat yourself up for that." Arcee offered with a shrug. "She's slippery. I could count out how often she slipped right under my olfactory sense but if I did, we would be here all day."

"I'm still confused." Bulkhead admitted while crossing his servos. "She was on the ship to spring those traps. But then she would have been caught up in the blast too, right?"

"I thought we had already established she was fragging nuts?" Smokescreen said.

"It's more than that." Sharpshot explained. "This is her last shot. Releasing those Predacons is part of her final plan. If she had failed on the ship, there would have been no point to continue, other than taking us all down with her."

"But, you guys stopped her final plan, right?" Bumblebee hoped.

"No." Predaking snarled. He pointed to the sky. The trail of smoke from the final crashed ship lingered, revealing its path to the ground. "We only could cure two of the fifteen Predacon's on that ship. The others we had to throw overboard so we could complete our mission. They are still lingering in a state of delirium. But according to this device my creator has given us, Arachnid returned to the location in the sky we had thrown my infected people. Now, she is doubling back towards our current location."

It took Bumblebee a minute to catch up. Arachnid was headed towards them as they spoke, after going to where the infected Predacons were. But she couldn't control the Predacon's like she could the Insecticons. But… He stiffened. "She's going to lure them here, towards us."

The shadows appeared against the clear sky. Predaking snarled, tossing the locator beacon device back to Grimlock. "In the confines of a ship's corridors, our size is worthless. But here in the open sky, my infected brothers will have a much greater advantage. Only my own warriors can hold them back."

"And if you all get bit too?" Bulkhead asked wearily.

"Have you ever dealt with so many of your infected kind before?" Bumblebee went on to ask.

"No." Predaking admitted. "But now is not the time to waver in our resolve. They are not here to aid Arachnid. They are here to feed." He burst into his beast form and took to the sky, his primal screech ripping the attention of his followers from around their perimeter.

"So, if King's group can't stop them, they will start picking off everyone in the open?!" Smokescreen asked in horror.

"Or," MacCadam intoned. Bumblebee was not at all settled by the worried look he wore. "They will sniff out a bot that has a compressed frame full of enough Energon to satisfy. Namely, me." He gave the sky a grumpy stair. "Which Arachnid is betting on, seeing as I have what she wants." He gave Unicron's vessel a shake.

"You could give it to one of us." Bumblebee offered.

MacCadam shook his helm, accented with a tired vent. "They are waiting for that." He pointed to the swirling Insecticons above, just out of blaster range. "They will overwhelm anybot other than myself. And if I retreat into a Ground Bridge, the Predacons will devour countless bots instead. It is best if they remain focused on me. It is the only pathway I see buying us the most time, until back up arrives."

"Back up?" Bumblebee echoed.

The Predacon's screeched, and all optics flew upward. They were growing closer, and a small helicopter broke away from their beating wings. Despite Arachnid changing course, the Predacons were locked on.

MacCadam clasped Bumblebee on the back and smiled. "Let's get shaking! Best not think about how bad the odds are this time around!"

'Oh, I can only imagine.' Arachnid's voice interrupted their collective chatter. Bumblebee frowned, drawing his weapons along with his team.

Bumblebee saw Grimlock grimace as he studied the locator, trying to decipher the glyphs that would unveil Arachnid's location. Sharpshot held out a hand to him. "Let me." Grimlock surrendered the device, and Sharpshot readjusted it again from Grimlock's tampering.

"Yeah, best if ya keep that." Grimlock vented.

"She's not moving anymore." Sharpshot explained, and sounded just a little confused.

"Where are you sculking, Arachnid?" Arcee hissed out loud and into her Comm. "You're more cowardly then normal. Is that the dark Energon or is this just the new you?"

'My dear Arcee.' Arachnid cooed. 'Who said anything about hiding? I just wanted to make sure I had the best seat in the house… Turn around loves.' Arachnid cooed.

Arcee was the first to whip about face, blades ready. All that was behind them was the down Peaceful Tyranny a mile or so away. Another trick? No surprise there. But then Bumblebee caught movement on top of Tarn's crashed ship. He focused his optics, clearing away the fuzziness as he zoomed in. It was her. Arachnid sat poised on one of the ship's cracked engine boosters, offering their group a wave of mock friendliness. 'Long time no see, team Prime. Or should it be Primeless now, considering…'

"We clear to shoot her down?" Wheeljack growled.

Bumblebee only nodded. "It's a trap. No one get close, but if anyone gets a clear shot, take it."

"I'll take the locator and catch her off guard from the sky." Sharpshot offered. "Not like I'll need the locator… looks like she's done hiding. You Bots keep her distracted until my unit catches up."

"I have a few good ideas." Arcee growled. She transformed and peeled off towards the ship even before Sharpshot took to the sky.

Sharpshot transformed and blasted straight up, looking to evade Arachnid noticing them sneak up on her. Grimlock watched the small jet vanish with a noticeable glint of worry. "Better keep your damn distance too, kid." He mumbled worriedly.

"They'll be fine, as long as Arachnid does not get her hands on them." MacCadam specified.

Grimlock, along with the other Dinobots whirled around to gaze darkly at the thoughtful bar owner. "What in the Pit's is that supposed to mean?" Grimlock demanded.

"Grim, we gotta go." Bumblebee pushed. With a final growl of apprehension, Grimlock and his team rushed after Arcee and the others.

They rolled to a stop before the smoldering wreckage of the Peaceful Tyranny. Bumblebee was thankful to see Arcee showing restraint. She was scanning the area for any obvious traps laid by their target. There didn't appear to be any, but that didn't mean much considering who they were dealing with.

Arcee didn't rush up into their target's infectious range, and instead kept herself busy with glaring up at Arachnid. The infected Ex Con remained perched on the ship's booster over them.

"I was hoping to squeeze in a chat before we got down to business." Arachnid said from her seat. "How have my favorite Autobots been since we so tragically parted ways on Earth?"

Arcee answered with her blasters. The blue energy shots flew at Arachnid, one managing to burst open her shoulder. The black oozing wound appeared not to faze her. "You'll have to come up here and hit me up close and personal if you want to have the attacks bother me."

"And get bit? No thanks." Bulkhead growled.

Arachnid shrugged again despite her one ruined shoulder. "Suit yourself. We can all just wait here for those pesky Predacons to arrive to rip your big round friend apart." She invited, motioning towards MacCadam. She appeared most interested in him, or rather the container he held under his arm.

"I can get her!" Arcee snarled between them.

"She wants us to get close, because she'll have the advantage with the virus!" Bumblebee retorted harshly. "Unless we can sneak up, we need to find a more direct approach." He tried not to glance the sky when making that comment. Sharpshot up would arrive any moment to catch her off guard. There was a good chance they could end this before the Predacons even arrived.

"Or just throw caution to the wind and not worry about getting bit." Arachnid offered, gaining the team's collective glare. She only chuckled. The action caused her ravaged chassis to shutter. "I do wonder what you claim to see, MacCadam. I've never been much for superstitions, but I am dying to know what the fickle fates have in store for you band of rebels. As for me? I take destiny into my own hands. My future involves me devouring Unicron's power once I get to Earth… Arcee, I meant to ask, are you still partners with Jack? How is he these days? I'll make sure to catch up with him and his mother personally when I get to Earth." Her bravado vanished as the gunfire rained down on her.

Sharpshot had appeared like a phantom. Arachnid startled up at the sky, catching three blasts from the attacking Vehicon.

"There's our little Con!" Swoop cheered.

"Move in!" Bumblebee said, taking the attack as their sign to advance.

Arachnid did look taken off guard, jumping down into a crevice of smoldering broken ship parts.

'Her coordinates are moving to the left most booster!' Sharpshot reported over the Comm, still armed with her exact location.

"We got her!" Grimlock said with a grin, storming towards the reported location.

The screech of incoming Insecticons pulled their collective focus. The remainder of Arachnid's personal army was coming to her defense. As Sharpshot continued to rain down fire onto Arachnid's fleeing shadow, their team members broke off to keep the flying Insecticons at bay.

Bumblebee remained shielded behind a broken hull, managing to catch Arachnid as she fled with a blast. She stumbled, hissing, trying to throw herself into the shadows. Sharpshot's direct fire from above gave away her position this time, and Bumblebee moved in again. She almost escaped through a hole leading into the ship itself, but Grimlock landed hard in her way, smiling evilly down at her as she scrambled backwards. "Cornering her in a maze of a literal shipwreck. Not a bad way to end a fight that's dragged on to damn long." He offered to Bumblebee as they gave chase.

Bumblebee offered him a sideways smile and made sure Grimlock caught him rolling his optics. Whatever brought it all to a close, he didn't much care how or where they ended it.

Arcee and Sharpshot's combined firepower blasted Arachnid when she tried to drill herself underground. Swoop and Sharpshot roamed the air, keeping her from escaping by transforming. She could only run, twitching movements made worse as the ship's wreckage walled her in from all angles.

'She's hit a dead end!' Sharpshot cheered. 'She can't burrow through the ship's hull fast enough. Just circle around the final-'

The shot from behind said portion of wall blasted upward and collided into Sharpshot's wing. Bumblebee's intakes hitched as the flames ingulfed their side, forcing them into a spiral destined for the ground.

"Shots!" Grimlock yelled out. He broke away from Bumblebee and MacCadam racing forward in a frantic attempt to break their fall. Even Swoop didn't make it in time. Sharpshot had managed to brace their descent somewhat but still crashed somewhere amongst the wreckage around them.

Bumblebee rushed forward after Grimlock, his own mind racing. "Follow the smoke trail to Sharpshot but still keep an optic out for Arachnid! She'll be using this moment to escape."

'We're almost there.' Wheeljack reported. 'It wasn't to far to fall… They should still be alive.'

"Kid! Sound off if you're not dead!" Grimlock snapped. He kicked over a large beam as he searched, his other two Dinobots digging through the ruble.

MacCadam gasped an intake, sudden realization hitting him in real time. "We need to find them, before she does."

Bumblebee stopped his search to look at MacCadam. "What?"

Then he saw Arcee's chassis go ridged. Her scanning optics turning from the search to point both blasters forward. Her blasters stalled before she could fire.

Bumblebee spun around to where she was aimed, and his Spark sank.

Arachnid was half hidden in the shadows of the ship, utilizing Sharpshot as a shield from their blasters. Sharpshot was alive, but gravely injured from Arachnid's direct hit and the crash landing.

"I was wondering how I was losing this little game of tag," Arachnid huffed from behind Sharpshot's shoulder. In her clutches, aside from Sharpshot, was the locator they were using to pinpoint her life signal. "I thought you Autobots were above cheating…" She dropped the device on the ground and crushed it under her ped.

Bumblebee glared at her from behind his blasters, the others mirroring his same position. Grimlock and the Dinobots snarled, but hesitated to get any closer. The tension dragged on, neither party daring to move. Arachnid went from looking cagy, to being confused as they failed to fire. She glanced Sharpshot in her clutches, then she let out a sarcastic scoff when it finally clicked. "Really? Humans are one thing, but a Vehicon? When have you Bots ever held your fire with them? I've seen you blast through masses of these clones without a blink of an optic." Arachnid said, giving a pained laugh over Sharpshot's shoulder. "And here I thought Bots and Con's could sink no lower."

Grimlock and the Dinobots stopped just short, growling as Arachnid pushed her glowing palms to Sharpshot's helm. "This one was only going to serve me as a mesh shield, but I can improvise. How about a trade? You can have the clone back for Unicron's Canister." Arachnid offered.

"Don't do it." Sharpshot managed to croak. They glanced the buzzing blasters, poised to shoot but not willing to fire. "What are you all waiting for? Take her out."

"Not with you in the way, kid." Grimlock said sternly.

Sharpshot winced away from Arachnid's building blaster charge. "Last chance." Arachnid warned. She scanned the glaring optics around her, landing her focus on MacCadam. "It's all down to you big boy. What'll it be?"

MacCadam frowned. With slow mechanical movements he held out Unicron's Vessel with a stone-cold expression. Still hiding behind Sharpshot and a deranged smile, Arachnid reached out a hand for it. Bumblebee saw MacCadam hesitate, giving the slightest glance over Arachnid's left shoulder.

In that very spot, a Groundbridge burst open.

Arachnid whirled around just in time for the dark plated stealth plane to bash into her. It flung her forward and threw Sharpshot from her grasp and into a heap.

"Soundwave?" Bumblebee realized.

Soundwave's ariel form dove, then spiked upward hard. The momentum threw the stunned Arachnid into the ground. He transformed, landing hard in a crotch over her as she groaned.

"That's one way to make an entrance there chief!" Wheeljack laughed.

Soundwave didn't acknowledge him, instead remaining focused on his target.

Bumblebee stated towards their Decepticon ally with a triumphant grin. He had survived Tarn's ambush, and he was willing to bet this was MacCadam's backup he foresaw. As he approached from behind, he saw Soundwave up close, and his expression dropped. Soundwave was hurt, badly. Bumblebee had no idea how he had even managed to fly to their location in such a condition. And then he saw the Decepticon leader's faceplate.

A Energon thirsty look that promised death. His glare matching the darkest moments of Megatron's campaign all focused onto a single raging point centered on Arachnid's Spark. He appeared to remain standing from sheer spite alone.

Arachnid jumped up into a defensive crouch. Thanks to the virus, pain was a secondary concern to her. She took in Soundwave's frame, mouth plates twisting up into an amused grin. "So, you actually did it, Soundwave? You managed to best Tarn?"

Soundwave didn't answer in any recognizable way. It was as if he opted to go mute again. He stood from his landing, mindful of his damaged peds. "And my my, you have looked better." Arachnid tisked. "And you're here alone. I see Tarn's defeat came at the cost of a good chunk of your army. I knew Tarn would be a good distraction for you. Oh no, Soundwave, did Tarn get your little birdy too? Is that why you're so sullen?"

Bumblebee zeroed in on Soundwave's chest. She was right. Soundwave' ever loyal minicon was absent. A pit of dread formed in his tanks as he pieced Soundwave's long absence together. And now Arachnid was digging hard for a reaction.

Soundwave gave her no satisfaction with a reply or even twitch of his thin optic ridges.

"Soundwave?" Bumblebee asked carefully. He too, received no answer. He wasn't curtain he was even heard.

Soundwave started forward without any warning. Both blade servos ready, data cables sparking with electricity, and only murder left on his face plates.


Soundwave

He hurled Arachnid across the scorched filed, trying to calculate the best course of dismemberment for her. The Autobots were saying something behind him. He didn't waste the last bits of energy he had trying to find out what they wanted.

Arachnid caught her fall, retreating backwards as fast as she could as he advanced. "I'm just impressed your still standing, Soundwave." Arachnid said, all her extra appendages working fast to get her away from him. She stopped, hissing as her mouth plates shifted unnaturally. Her infected half came to her defense, fanged proboscis launching to latch into his naked cables. He rolled to evade, blades swirling to sever the new appendage before she could retract it.

His cut didn't make it all the way through, but it did damage.

She withdrew the appendage, splattering herself with her own infected Energon. "What's this? You're not using portals to warp me away? Are you actually fighting fair?"

His silent advance was all the response he intended to give her. She smiled, servos out as he closed in on her position. "Well, that's a shame, because I'm done fighting fair."

A blow hit him in the back strut hard. The Insecticon's scream ringing in his auditories betrayed the identity of his attacker. He transformed his blaster and fired over his shoulder, blind luck dislodging him from the graspers that clawed at him. The Insecticon screeched, fanged proboscis lunging for him again.

A blaring horn snatched the Insecticon's focus upward, just in time for a green vehicle to collide into its center. The Autobot Bulkhead smashed the Insecticon away. Wheeljack's own vehicle mode hit an incline and barreling into its faceplates. Before the Insecticon could refocus its infectious fangs on them, the distinctive blasters of Bumblebee pushed it farther away.

A blue bot was yanking at Soundwave's arm, trying to get him to stand. The size disparity between them wasn't helping her. He finally stopped being dead weight and utilized Arcee's help to get to his peds. Scanning their environment, he found Arachnid was nowhere to be seen.

"She's been doing that scrap to me this whole time." Arcee assured him bitterly. He had to strain to hear it though, as everything still had a constant ring.

Bumblebee hurried past them and over to Sharpshot with what looked to be his last patch kit. Grimlock was holding a firm enough pressure on Sharpshot's injury the much smaller bot was visibly wincing. "Why did no one fragging fire? Did you seriously almost trade away Unicron to save me?" they growled.

"Hey," Grimlock said. "You Cons are always saying we Autobots are soft. We have to keep that reputation up somehow."

Bumblebee had to push hard to get Grimlock to notice him trying to muscle in to help. The Dinobot leader huffed but did relinquish his post next to Sharpshot so Bumblebee could render first aid.

Sharpshot noticed Soundwave as he limped over, and they gave him a weak salute. "What about you, my Lord? Why bother saving a Trooper?"

Still numb from losing his chance at decapitating Arachnid, Soundwave only offered a weak shrug. "I do not intent to leave another bot behind."

"As great as your timing to save Sharpshot was, what were you doing in the Pits of Kaon this whole time?" Smokescreen demanded only a little indigently.

Soundwave didn't linger on that question. If he stopped to think about it, he would collapse and not have the strength to get back up. He forced the topic past Smokescreen's inquiry, no matter how suspicious it would appear. "I have a plan to stop the Predacons and snuff Arachnid, but it time limited." He turned to face the Peaceful Tyranny's still smoldering wreckage across the field. The sight of the ship brought more pain in his Spark he had to snuff with additional rage. Grieving could come later.

"Feel like sharing it champ?" Arcee probed. He realized he must have been silent for a while. The other Autobots had dispatched the Insecticon and crowed him in the time it took him to come back out of his musing.

He faced the only bot amongst them he did not know personally. The rounded chassis bot perked up with a grin, Unicron's vessel shoved under his servo. "MacCadam. But you already figured that." The bot said.

Soundwave nodded. The bot Bumblebee insisted knew everything despite it defying logic. The one who somehow knew of his connection to Rhea.

"I can buy enough time while you get what you need for your plan." MacCadam promised before Soundwave had a chance to say anything. "You'll get back just as the first Predacons arrive. And I agree with your plan. Trust me, I can take it."

"Um, context please?" Smokescreen gripped.

Soundwave's optics narrowed at MacCadam. He had more to ask, but now was hardly the time.

"I need to get to the Peaceful Tyranny." Soundwave finally conceded. "There are two tools on board I can use against Arachnid. While I retrieve them, you all must keep Arachnid from gaining Unicron's vessel until I return."

MacCadam gave him a playful wink. Then his chassis burst into a massive form made of interlocking gears, flaming pipes and an overall logic defying spectacle. The archaic monstrosity that was once MacCadam rolled off, carrying Unicrons vessel with him.

"What will you have me do, my Lord?" Sharpshot tried to say without displaying any obvious signs of pain from the ground.

Grimlock laughed loudly at the comment. "You ain't doing nothin' Shots! I'd like to see you try with me standing in your way."

"There is nothing you can do in your condition." Soundwave said simply.

"Please, Master!" Sharpshot started to protest.

Soundwave jolted to a standstill just as he started to walk away. The way Sharpshot pleaded, it hit to close to how Laserbeak had begged to stay by him. Soundwave still had his connection to Laserbeak and Rhea severed. He still sensed Laserbeak's Spark. Weak, but alive. Rhea was with him. Soundwave could make it up to his minicon for leaving him in such a state when this was all done.

Once again, he forced the guilt down. Back in the present, Soundwave considered the silent pleading behind the Vehicon leader's visor. That need to feel useful when faced with sudden powerlessness. "Recover. I will need you functional at the end of this fight." It was all he could offer, but it appeared to pacify the Trooper Leader.

Soundwave started forward towards an opening in the Peaceful Tyranny's hull. Soon enough he heard ped steps trot behind him. "I've got your back." Bumblebee promised. "Glare all you want, but you look like your about to fall over any second."

He was ready to insist he didn't need help. But an uneven span of ground almost landed him flat on his face plates again, if not for the Autobot catching him before the impact. The yellow bot offered him an innocent smile. The was short lived, and he helped him limp along towards the ship in relative silence. But ever the nosy Autobot, Bumblebee asked, "You defeated Tarn, but something else is wrong. What's going on?"

Soundwave didn't answer him. He assumed news of Megatron's permanent termination would be cause for Autobot celebration. He wasn't strong enough to handle that.

Their parties split. Bumblebee's group left after MacCadam to defend him, the shadows of Predacon's appearing on the horizon. Grimlock scooped Sharpshot up and followed close behind with Swoop and Sludge lagging along.

Bumblebee heaved the ship's bay doors open. They left the chaos of the battle outside, instead delving into the bowels of Tarn's ship. The ships alarms were still shrieking, even after it had been crashed for a while. Going by the amount of unconscious or dead soldiers lining the gangways, Grimlock and Predaking's teams made quick work of security. Soundwave scanned the faceplates of the fallen, trying to pick out the bot he was looking for. So far, nothing.

The doors to the Bridge had been bowled over. Soundwave hurried despite his limp, catching the lumbering bots still there off guard.

"Bumblebee and Chief Creepy?" the Dinobot Snarl said in ligament surprise. He and his partner Slag were guarding a cluster of Tarn's crew, all restrained and huddled next to the toppled door. The group that surrendered. Soundwave stopped to examine the grim expressions of Tarn's blind followers. Many were unconscious, namely Tesarus and Kaon. Those two seemed to be gripping to the slimmest thread of life. Most still conscious refused to look him in the optics. Save for one, who staired daggers through him. Incidentally, it was the bot he was looking for.

The small Minicon Nickel glared at him from her place amongst her crew and a single growling Cyberfox. The Dinobots hadn't restrained Nickel, probably due to her size and lack of weapons. That wasn't true, she was armed like the rest of the crew, but the helm strong chassis augmented Autobots couldn't know that. But she hadn't used said weapon in her defense yet. There was a chance it had been destroyed or confiscated. He pushed past the guarding Dinobots and came to kneel before the Minicon. "Where is the recording?"

The Cyberfox by her side snarled despite the makeshift muzzle it was fitted with. It yanked against its chain locked to the ground, trying to defend her.

Nickel placed a reassuring pat on the beast's helm, not flinching away from Soundwave in the slightest. "Frag you. Where's Tarn?" she demanded.

"The recording." Soundwave repeated.

She sneered. "Couldn't handle him could ya? Are you gonna try and use it against him? Tough scrap, dumb aft. Tarn's immune to his own fragging voice attack! When Lord Megatron find's out what you did, he and Tarn'll rip you apart piece by piece until there isn't even enough for the Scraplets to pick at! You two face plated, deserting, organic loving waste of cyber matter!"

"Tarn is dead." Soundwave said.

Nickel's voice box hitched mid curse. He read her expression carefully. He saw himself completely in her. The same denial, the same grief. But nothing could be helped by mincing words. "I terminated him myself, right after Tarn extinguished Megatron's Spark."

What remained of the Peaceful Tyranny's Bridge crew fell deathly silent. Even the Autobot presence did not contribute beyond confused gaping stairs.

Nickel's once ferocious expression shifted. Her optics were wide with a hanging jaw hinge matching disbelief. "What, Lord Megatron, was," she failed to complete a single cohesive thought.

"Megatron came to confirm what Arachnid convinced your Tarn to disbelieve. I rule over the Decepticons. Tarn did not except that. He killed his men, abandoned you all here to Arachnid's whim. Then he killed Megatron. I avenged Megatron by taking Tarn's helm. I will finish what I started and take Arachnid's as well. For that I need Tarn's recorded voice. Where is it?"

"Um…" Snarl interrupted, cutting through the tension with his dumbfounded voice. "You lookin' for some sort of recording device? I took this from the little one here when we first came bustin' in- hey!" Soundwave snatched the device from his grasp the moment he presented it. He moved to the Bridge control panel as fast as his limited body allowed him. He couldn't look at Nickel any longer. Her grief threatened to reignite his own.

"I never said you could have it!" Snarl snapped.

"L-let it go, Snarl." Bumblebee said, careful. With a pained shutter Soundwave unfurled both data cables. One had broken a segment in the Kaon fight. He forced through the pain and connected into the Peaceful Tyranny's mainframe.

The sound of small knee joints hitting the metal floor rang out. He was sure it was Nickel, but he still didn't look at her. Beyond his shared comradery, their mutual anguish, some darker part of him was glad Tarn's loyal servant was devastated by the news. Anyone who could share in his misery was bound to make his own lesser by comparison. He wasn't used to that kind of emotion. It was pointless… He had no idea how to react to his own inner turmoil. Did he blame Tarn's crew? Blaming somebot for Megatron's death other than Tarn was pointless. Tarn was dead. He shouldn't feel anything anymore.

"Did he say the big guy is dead?" Slag pointed out. "Is that why Sounders seems totally out of it? Should we worry about him snapping? I could knock him out while his back is turned and shove him in a storage closet until this is all done."

"Guys." Bumblebee snapped, more discreetly than Slag had been.

Behind him, Nickel cried. It was a startling sound that shut up the Autobot and challenged the ship's alarms for focus. She screamed for Tarn. She wept for Megatron. Her Spark sounded ready to split in two, her loyalties divided cruelty in half.

Soundwave tried to remained focused on the screen before him. So far he was failing, doing nothing but stair at his own reflection in the glass. Tarn's loyal crew. He hated them, he pitied them. He wanted to cry with them. Soundwave was just as lost. But he didn't stop to comfort Nickel. He wouldn't even know how. Instead, he poured himself back into his task. He linked into the Peaceful Tyranny's Spacebridge systems and started the process of linking it into his own drives. As it synched with his systems, he switched gears, not giving his mind time to process his twisted inner pain. He reactivated his Commlink and spoke on the open chatter.

'Decepticons, report in.'

'Master Soundwave!' A band of voices cheered over the chatter.

'Thank the All Spark!'

'We thought the worst.'

'Indeed.' Blitzwing intoned. 'Ve thought Tarn had repurposed your helm into a very vacky hat.'

'I also saw skinny Silver flying towards your location with Jetfire.' Slipstream added. He assumed she was talking about Starscream. 'If so, and if he lived, can you let him know I found the perfect bloke to cash in my single revenge punch?'

'I didn't have the chance to tell you, Master…' Sharpshot's voice came through over the other ridiculous banter. 'We thwarted Arachnid's plots to use the three previously deactivated Decepticon ships in the upper atmosphere, my liege. The infected Predacon headed our way were hidden on board.'

'They're after the big scary gear guy.' Slipstream's muscle bot Ramjet added. 'He's the biggest bot on the field, so the juiciest Energon prize for the infected… He's also running with the fragging Destroyer's prison container like this is a game of Cube from the Pits.'

'Eh. This is why I hate sports.' Slipstream vented.

'The Autobots are gonna get crushed if they try and stop them Predacons alone.' Ramjet informed the group.

'But if ve get in the vay, then ve'll get crushed. Vitch vould you prefer?' Blitzwing reminded.

'The cure is our best bet.' Soundwave said. 'Sharpshot. Are you recovered enough to move?'

'I am my Lord!' They insisted very eagerly. 'I will do anything you ask of me, once I convince Grimlock to put me down.'

'Good. Return to the Bunkers and have Shockwave mass produce as much of the cure as he can. He will insist it needs further testing. Inform him I am ordering this as a field test.'

'Um, that may be a problem, my Lord.' Sharpshot said. Their tone alone made Soundwave have to repress a groan in preparation for whatever excuse was coming. 'Commander Shockwave was badly injured in the raid to take down the three Decepticon ships. I don't know if he will be able to do much.'

'Could another scientist?' Slipstream wondered. There was a beat of curious silence, prompting her to elaborate. 'There is an old Seeker scientist from Vos named Autoclave. He worked with Dark Energon before he jumped sides to the Autobots. I know where the old guy is, since he is one of the last bots in the universe who Starscream likes. I kept an optic on the guy's location just incase I ever needed to blackmail old Silver. Autoclave should know enough to understand Shockwave's notes, or at least assist in making it.'

'Didn't Shockwave remove Autoclave's voice box a long time ago?' Ramjet reminded the group reluctantly.

Another beat of silence, and then Slipstream started to snicker. 'Oh yeah… Karma is really kicking our afts recently, ain't it?'

'Slipstream and Ramjet. Request Autoclave's help regardless.' Soundwave ordered, preparing a Groundbridge for them when he received both sets of coordinates. 'Explain what is at stake and promise whatever he wants from the Decepticons as compensation. If he refuses, take him anyway, but I know this bot. He will agree, even if he must work alongside Shockwave.'

Slipstream sent Autoclave's coordinates, and Soundwave opened a bridge for them to teleport to him. 'Comm for a Bridge back to the Bunkers when you have him and return with the cure, preferably in something long range and weaponized.'

Slipstream continued to laugh, 'Oh this should be deliciously awkward.'

'The Predacons are upon us on the battlefield, my Lord!' Blitzwing yelped.

Right on time, the system on the screen before Soundwave finished downloading. 'You all have your orders. I am moving in to end this fight.' He informed his team assuredly. The damaged system's Spacebridge burst open with only some coaxing. It still worked.

"Why's he need their Spacebridge?" Snarl asked of Bumblebee and not Soundwave. They must have caught on he was not in the mood to answer every idiotic question that popped into their processors. "He's got the Renegade's, right? Why have two different Bridges?"

"Showing off?" Slag offered.

"It's time to move." Soundwave informed Bumblebee, readying the next set of Bridge coordinates for them to utilize.

"What will you do with us when this is over, 'Lord' Soundwave?" Nickel asked.

Soundwave paused. Her words were acidic, but her tone was that of utter defeat. He gave in and turned to see she was crouched amongst the others, one hand still on the Cyberfox, and another pressed to Tesarus's bleeding helm. "What are we to you? Are we traitors, or just Cons?"

Soundwave studied her, still low to the floor amongst her own. She looked ready to defend her remaining crew from him with her small chassis and anger alone.

Her words carried a certain degree of irony. The great warriors of Megatron, Tarn's army, the destroyer of traitors, were now the greatest traitors of them all. In truth, he had no idea. Beyond killing Arachnid, he hadn't planned further than that.

"I don't know." He admitted. It felt like a weak response, but it was truly all he had left to give.

"Soundwave." Bumblebee again. He turned from Nickel and saw the Autobot was apprehensive as always. "Are you ok?"

How to respond? Many lies came to his lip plates fast enough. But was there much to be gained by lying? He really didn't know how to feel. He felt empty, but murderous. He wanted to find some secluded pit deep below the crust of their world and scream until his voice box shorted out. He wanted to go find Rhea and Laserbeak, hold them and just break down. He wanted to fly off into the void in search of Megatron, knowing full well he was beyond finding.

But under that despair, there was a murderous intention he had never quite felt before. He felt the fire that once drove Megatron to madness now kindling in his own Spark. The Autobots knew it, he was sure. He didn't have a visor to shield his true intentions. He wondered if the war would start again, their continued alliance dying with Arachnid. "No," he said at last. He couldn't conjure emotion to emphasize the statement. "I am far from ok, Autobot."

"Bad sign." Snarl huffed.

Soundwave opened another portal leading into the battlefield. "Come. Let's finish this."

Bumblebee hesitated only a moment, assuring the two Dinobots with a glance before hurrying after him into the green vortex. "So, a recording of Tarn's non-lethal voice and two Groundbridges… I assume it's all part of the idea you have?"

Before Bumblebee could needlessly question him further, he rushed through, finally able to leave Tarn's crew behind. Not under the oppressive atmosphere of Tarn's ship, he felt some of his tension lift. It was a short-lived peace.

They emerged from the portal just as two Predacons clashed in the sky. Predaking fought to restrain the infected beast. Two others of Predaking's army flew to join the midair brawl. Even with Predaking's superior numbers, the infected Predacons were evasive, doing everything in their power to slip by and get to MacCadam.

"That's going to be a problem." Bumblebee observed.

Soundwave's focus flited between the arial chase and the remaining Insecticons buzzing Bumblebee's team as they attempted to defend MacCadam.

An infected Predacon dove towards MacCadam, fangs poised to strike. Hidden ready in the swarm was the tell tail sound of rotating helicopter blades. Arachnid was ready to swoop in and steal Unicron's vessel.

Soundwave burst open a Groundbridge in this diving Predacon's path. It vanished from the battlefield before it could hit MacCadam broadside. He had sent it into one of the prison cells in the Decepticon bunkers. He hoped the reinforced cell would be enough to withstand the beasts onslaught. As most other issues he had looming, it could be dealt with at a later time.

"Haven't seen your Groundbridge trick in a while." Bumblebee snickered.

Soundwave didn't bother glancing his way while opening another one in the path of a second Predacon. "I've learned from personal experience, the trick's effectiveness wains." He admitted.

"Arachnid is also well aware of it. She and her swarm are unlikely to fall for it."

More Predacons who broke beyond Predaking's hoard dove for MacCadam. Soundwave burst open a portal in their path. This time, every airborne beast scattered before momentum threw them through. Even infected, they had gotten wise to the trick. It was time to try the final fail safe. He managed to tap into the odd frequency of Predaking's comm. 'When a final Groundbridge opens, you and your people will fall back.' He ordered simply. He didn't have time to explain, or they would be overwhelmed.

'They are catching up to MacCadam!' Bulkhead warned over their comms. 'We could really use that plan if you got one!' He added, addressing Soundwave this time.

He yanked out Nickel's recording of Tarn's voice and hooked into it. The device sparked as he hacked into it's settings, dialing it as high as it's frequency could handle before shorting the device itself.

Soundwave tested his shoulder joints. Everything popped in protest. He didn't have the strength left for what he needed to achieve.

MacCadam swerved hard to evade the slashing claws from the sky. Predaking and his forces were too far to overwhelmed, and one infected beast finally hit its mark. A long snouted Predacon rammed MacCadam hard, uprooting him from his path and sending his massive body into a violent wobble. Another hit brought him down.

Unicron's Canister flew from the chaos and out of MacCadam's grip. It rolled into a ditch, ignored by the hoard of beasts overwhelming MacCadam.

Bumblebee was calling out MacCadam's name as the Predacons tried to pry off the thick plating to get to his Energon.

An unknown frequency pinged in Soundwave's auditory. He had a feeling as to who it belonged. 'Now would be a good time.' MacCadam said. 'Don't worry about me. Remember, I can take it.'

Soundwave threw the device to Bumblebee in a weak underhanded toss before he could rush to MacCadam's aid. "Throw this as hard as you can when I tell you to."

Bumblebee mirrored bewilderment after stumbling to catch it. "It's beeping… Is this activated, what am I throwing it-"

"Now!" Soundwave shouted.

Bumblebee reared back and launched the device. Soundwave ripped open a portal in the recording's path when it reached terminal villosity. Over the swarm high in the air, he opened the other half of the portal. The small recorder flew down onto the infected Predacons. Predaking heeded his warning and threw himself to the ground with his followers to get out of range, leaving only MacCadam and the infected in the middle of its radius.

MacCadam rolled out of his transformation and caught the device. He held it up as the hoard if beasts came down on him, his smile clear and reassuring towards Bumblebee.

A burst of static white noise pulsed in a shock wave out from the recorder. Even far from the sound's radius, Soundwave felt the pain in his Spark and helm. But he was still standing.

The same could not be said for the infected Predacons. Those not screeching stalled in the air fell in limp tumbling circles, crashing into the rusted ground one by one. The Predacons around MacCadam crumbled. MacCadam dropped the device and collapsed amongst his unconscious attackers.

"MacCadam!" Bumblebee yelled.

Soundwave stopped him. "The tone wasn't fatal, and we still have our mission!"

A single Insecticon swooped in, snatching Unicron's Canister from the ground, and buzzing off towards the Iacon Capital. It wasn't unopposed for long. The Autobot forces on the ground assaulted it with gunfire. Others of its kind absorbed the hits, forming ranks around it. There was still no sign of Arachnid.

Then Soundwave caught the Insecticon moving strangely. It slowed midair, focus turning inward. It's sharp claws scratched at the top of the container. Soundwave's Spark sank and he took aim himself. "It's trying to release Unicron!" he warned anyone within auditory shot before opening fire. The air became chilled, a feeling of foreboding creeping through Soundwave's pipes. It reminded him of the raw, drowning feeling that came when he would stand next to the hoard of Dark Energon once housed in the vaults of the Nemesis. Weather Arachnid got the vessel or not, if that prison canister opened, they would have a much larger problem.

A bombardment of arial blasts stopped the Insecticon from springing the destructive force within. Two jets blazed across the sky, scattering the remaining bugs in all directions.

"Starscream and Jetfire?" Bumblebee asserted in disbelief.

"I get Jetfire making a heroic entrance, but what's Screamer doing here?" Bulkhead asked, equally as puzzled.

Soundwave tracked Starscream across the sky. He opened their Comm channel, assuming the Seeker would have something triumphant to say. He was uncharacteristically quiet. Suddenly, all he could conceive was the sight of Starscream, clutching Megatron's Sparkless form in despair. Soundwave stiffened, forcing himself to remain in the present.

In Starscream's defense, Soundwave said to the Autobots, "It seems, Starscream is here because he had a score of his own to settle."

With a final blast, Starscream shot the Insecticon from the sky. Unicron's prison vessel went crashing down, vanishing out of sight amongst the piles of debris. Then his Commlink did come on.

'Starscream.' Soundwave started, though didn't know how else to continue.

'Just shut up and finish this.' Starscream said back coldly, having swallowed down his own grief for the moment.

Every bot in the area made a break for the region where Unicron's vessel crashed landed. As long as one of them retrieved it before Arachnid reappeared, they would be victorious. Soundwave lost sight of Bumblebee, or any of the Autobots. He stumbled, trying hard to remain upright and scanning the field.

The slight flux of energy made his optical scanners jolt. He had found the canister first. Limping closer, he saw by some miracle it hadn't opened. Not all the way. The top portion rattled, purple light creeping through the small seem.

Though he stood so close to Unicron's nearly opened cage, the feeling of dread had faded. Arachnid wasn't in sight. He bent over to pick up the canister, excited to toss it into the deepest vault he could find.

Let her have it.

He froze, outreached hand not quite touching the glass of Unicron's prison.

Let me devour her. She wants my power so badly. Let it destroy her. I will consume her, screaming.

He had forgotten how to move, staring stupefied at the purple light. He knew it was staring back, glaring, piercing through his mind and Spark.

"You're still sealed away." Soundwave told the voice in his mind.

Unicron whispered back.

Twist the final seal and that will be no more. I will devour your enemy, devour the Earth.

He shook his helm. It was the most movement he could manage after he had forced his own joints to freeze. Each time his optics dimmed; his hand was closer to that final seal on the canister.

Earth was Rhea's home. The place she loved.

It is the place that keeps you from possessing her completely.

He grit his denta. His outstretched hand was cold, demanding action of some sort.

It is the place she will choose over you. The planet she will perish on as a weak, insignificant human. Your last minicon will not survive this day. Your human will die and rot away into nothing. Then you will have nothing. You will linger on in empty misery until the darkness of the Universe matches the lost hope in your Spark. That is what your so-called creator wants from you. To suffer and die. Take what you want! Rule the Decepticons more brutally then Megatron! Let me devour Earth, so your human has nothing left but you! Claim what is yours. Destroy anything that gets in your way.

Soundwave came to, his hand rested on the container's top. He could feel the creature under his fingers, vast and full of a devouring hate he couldn't ever hope to comprehend. It terrified and allured him.

There are no more Primes to stand in your way. In MY way. Free me, Soundwave.

He clenched his fist against the metal. His mind felt stuck in an ancient primordial tar. It would be simple enough to let him sink in.

"I'll take my chances." He managed to whisper. He went to tighten the seals back into place.

Pain struck his core, thousands of screams echoing away.

'FOOL! There will always be others. More will come to release me. No prison can hold me forever!'

The voice shrank to a near murmur as Soundwave closed the vessel. He leaned against it as his inverted knee joints threatened to give out as his foggy mind slowly came back to him. "Actually, I can think of one prison that may be up to the task." He vented.

With a great amount of effort, he pulled the canister onto his shoulder. 'I have Unicron's vessel.' Soundwave said into the open chatter. 'Rendezvous at my coordinates. I have an idea of securing it out of reach of Arachnid. But it requires strength I no longer have-'

Pain exploded in his back. A blaster had hit dead in between his shoulder joints, flinging him forward. Unicron's vessel crashed in front of him, the only thing he could see clearly.

"Thanks for picking it up for me darling." Arachnid chuckled. He blinked fast, trying to stop the world from spinning. Arachnid's light ped steps sidestepped him, just out of reach. He thrashed anyway, trying to slash her legs out from under her.

Arachnid tutted. "Really, no one ever look's DOWN when keeping an optic out for me. As if we forget I am equally good at digging as I am flying." she picked up Unicron's vessel. Even through blurry sight, he made out her shrug. "Oh well. Live and learn… well, maybe not in your case." Her palm blaster took aim, pointblank between his optics. She grinned. "Nowhere else to portal away to?"

In leu of a snappy response, he activated the Renegade's and the Peaceful Tyranny's space bridge systems and opened both between them.

The feeling was horrifically nostalgic. The unnatural gravity yanked at him instantly. Drawing him into the gaping maw of the Flux Space known by the humans as the Shadow Zone. He dug his fingers into the ground, deploying his one undamaged data cable to further anchor him in place. He was already slipping. He didn't have any strength left in reserve.

But Arachnid was even less prepared. Her murderous intentions vanished in favor of saving herself and Unicron's container. The latter was a massive burden. She could probably escape the pull of the two crossing Bridges if she let it go. She transformed into her eight-legged form, digging every limb into the plating below her so she could keep a grasp on Unicron's container.

Soundwave's trembling limbs started to slip. He tried to ignore the flash of white-hot pain as he forced his damaged data cable to circle a heavy piece of debris. Claws dug into the same cable. His mind momentarily stalled from the pain. He came to with Arachnid far to close, still holding herself in their dimension with his data cable as the lifeline. Her eight legs clutched Unicron's vessel. She glared at him through the gale. She seemed ready to drag him down with her if she could not escape.

His joints popped. The sections of his data cables sending screaming heat up his nervous system. Something in his face must have scared her, because when he returned her stair, her own expression fell. If she really wanted him to go down with her, then so be it.

He let go.

Arachnid's gasp hitched in her voice box, the ground vanishing from under them. The wild fighting portals snatched them in their gravity.

"Gotcha!"

Soundwave was jerked to a stop midair, again used as a rope in a tug of war. The force almost dislodged his thin appendage at his midsection, making every pain receptor in the region scream in agony. Despite it, he managed to make out the yellow faceplates of the Autobot Bumblebee. He had Soundwave secured to him from under his shoulder joints, strength left to at least hold on for a little longer. "Arcee, now!" Bumblebee shouted beyond the gale.

A blue flash hurled towards them. Arcee came out of her small vehicle form, blades raised high over her helm. She was using the violent gravity to hurl herself straight at Arachnid. She slashed down with a shout, severing Arachnid's servo at the elbow joint and freeing Soundwave from her grasp.

The dueling portal's gravity snatched Arcee, dragging her towards the rip in spacetime after Arachnid. No longer blinded with pain, Soundwave calculated fast. He watched Arachnid, still clutching to Unicron, struggle to grab onto anything. Just as the canister clutched in her eight spider legs vanished into the secondary dimension, he slammed both portals shut.

The two vortexes ripped themselves apart, swallowing Unicron's prison and severing all of Arachnid's limbs with it. Even numbed from the Dark Energon virus, Arachnid gasped. Without the Shadow Zone's pull, she crashed to the ground. Her chassis and mind struggling to catch up to the massive amount of damage she endured, she didn't register the falling wreckage until it was far too late. Arachnid was buried by rock, ground platting, and anything else the portals once rendered airborne.

Arcee caught herself when gravity returned to normal. She landed on her peds, just shy of where the portals had been. She stood slow, gaping back at Soundwave and Bumblebee in a wordless gaze of shock. Soundwave could appreciate her shock. He had cut that a little to close, even for his tastes. But as the two-wheeler tended to do, she recovered quickly. Arcee shifted her blue gaze down to behold the pile of rubble that had buried Arachnid alive. From the cracks between the rubble, Arachnids infected Energon dripped out and pool around the pile.

Then for reasons that were beyond Soundwave's understanding, Bumblebee laughed. Soundwave had to reposition half his chassis to take in Bumblebee's smirk. "MacCadam was right. That was a good idea."

"The humans actually concocted it." Soundwave huffed. He leaned heavier into the Autobot as he felt his peds start to shake. "I am proof of how well the strategy works."

"Then we can thank them." Arcee shuffled over to them both. Without being invited to, she took Soundwave by the other shoulder. "Just this time, don't let Rhea open it up again."

Retracting his data cables with a wince, Soundwave managed a humorless chuckle. "All that is that other dimension now is Unicron. I do believe Rhea will refrain this time."

Arcee glanced over at the rubble pile that leaked Arachnid's bodily fluid. "And why didn't you let it swallow her too?"

"Simple." Soundwave said while attempting a shrug. "As I was able too while imprisoned in that dimension, she may have been able to send a distress beacon from the Shadow Zone and received help. She would also have continued access to Unicron's container. Plus, if the portal stayed open any longer, it risked sucking you in with her." He informed Arcee.

"A second more I could have taken her helm off." Arcee complained.

"Well by all means, you are welcome to go dig up her corpse and shoot it if that will make up for my lacking participation in your personal revenge plot." He offered.

'Hope you're all done chatting.' Grimlock's snarling voice came over the collective Comm. 'The infected Predacon's Con Chief Sounders knocked out are starting to come too. Oh, and of course there still ain't any sign of the cure we was promised.'

"The work's never done." Bumblebee vented while maintaining his smile.

"Get me to my team." Soundwave requested. "I will inquire how much longer until the cure is available."

A burst of rubble and blaster fire erupted behind them. Arcee gasped as something smashed into her from behind. She lurched forward from under Shoulder's shoulder, ripping away her support. Without it, he and Bumblebee smashed down.

Soundwave struggled to push himself upright. A dripping mass grappled Arcee. It was what remained of Arachnid. Her one remaining servo grasped Arcee around her neck. Slicking the once blue bot under her with black viscus Energon. Her optics now completely black, the Dark Energon thirst twisting her mouth plates unnaturally as she tried with what energy she had left to sink her fangs into Arcee's neck cables. The screeching she made somehow managed to form tangible words. "It was mine! It would have been my greatest trophy! You stole it from me!"

Just how they fell, Soundwave was closer than Bumblebee was, and so he reached the scuffle first. He didn't have enough strength to pry Arachnid from Arcee. In a split-second decision, he used his superior size as dead weight and crashed into Arachnid before her proboscis could bite into the Autobot's proto mesh.

Now he was the one who grappled her. He heard Bumblebee behind him, even over the struggle, helping Arcee to her peds. Then they were both shouting at Soundwave to get off so they could get a clear shot. He pushed back and met resistance. Arachnid maintained her grip. He heard Arcee's blades come out, once again going to cut the infected bot off him. But Arachnid shoved away his shaking servos that held her back and lurched forward before Arcee could strike.

A hot sting flushed in his neck cables. Just in the plateless portion between his helm and torso. He winced against Arachnid's fangs as they sunk deeper into his proto mesh. He felt the cold draw of Energon sucked directly from a main artery. And he felt the presence of something even colder enter his system through the bite.

A hail of blaster fire hit Arachnid in the back. It loosened her grasp, her fangs slipping from his neck. Soundwave summoned the last iota of strength he had, got his peds under her and kicked her off. He shuffled to his knee joints, taking in his attacker as she writhed. Even almost completely limbless, Arachnid still crawled towards him. Dark Energon and spite driving her forward. Blaster fire sent her sprawling farther back. He recognized it as the two wheeler's weapons.

Even keeling, a wave of dizziness threatened his already shaky balance systems. His vision turned blurry, darkening around the edges. Blinking his optics wasn't helping. In fact, it seemed to be making it worse.

Two sets of hands came to stabilize him. Bumblebee and Arcee appeared in his sights, both giving him a very worried look. They were eyeing his wound. "Why did you take that hit for me?" Arcee demanded to know.

Even with help, Soundwave stumbled. His vision was going dark. What little Energon left in his tanks threatened to purge. "It seemed, a good idea at the time." Soundwave managed to say.

"You choose NOW to start joking?" Arcee hissed.

"We need to find a stasis pod." Bumblebee told them both. "The virus is going to take over any second."

Arachnid hissed a laugh from her crumpled heap. Soundwave glanced up tiredly. Arachnid chackled as the Autobots fixed her with a glare. "Now the Decepticons are down two leaders!" She pushed herself to a somewhat upright position with her last limb. She clearly wanted a better vantage point to watch Soundwave turn. "At the very least, I can have this after you devastated my plans. If it doesn't snuff out your Spark, then maybe you'll bite the Autobots for me. Which of your new allies will it be to blast your helm off when it takes you over? Comradery goes away when you become contagious!" She was almost doubled over with laughter. Even still she kept her focus glued onto Soundwave' matt expression, waiting gleefully for his mind to vanish.

Her laughter hitched. Her black optics blinked, widening somewhat. She shifted from uncertainty to shock. Then to pure agony. Pain consumed her features in moments. Through her overworking fans and gargled intakes, she clawed at her throat with a desperation she hadn't had even while battling for Unicron's container. Finally.

Soundwave closed his optics. The spinning started to fade. The dizziness settled to something he could handle. He looked back down to the writhing creature on the ground. Arachnid managed a pitiful sound before she purged Dark Energon onto the ground.

Many others had arrived at last. The Dinobots, the rest of Bumblebee's team and many of his own Decepticons stopped amongst the rubble to take in the scene. Starscream transformed and landed, followed by Jetfire. They caught each other's gaze, but Starscream was fast to drop the connection. He was still blank. A hard to read shell with boiling emotion just under the surface. He was acting as if proximity to Soundwave, or anyone close to Megatron's old regime would release those carefully compartmentalized feelings.

Soundwave was surprised by the sizable amount of damage Starscream had allowed himself to sustain. Silver finish scratched to the Pits and every specialized missile used up. Seeing the normally posh Starscream beaten and among those who fought to the end was surprising.

Instead of glancing Soundwave again, the Decepticon's Ex Second in Command stood glaring down at Arachnid in pure disgust. He wasn't the only one to do so. Everybot took in the once near unstoppable enemy now seizing on the ground. The most obviously confused was Arachnid herself as she continued to cough up the dark viscus substance.

"I suppose we could all use context." Soundwave volunteered from the silence. Arachnid's black optic's found him, a hint of her normal purple color coming through. Interestingly enough, the Dinobots appeared the only ones to recognize what was going on.

Now with so many optics focused on him, Soundwave was able to break away from Bumblebee and Arcee to stand somewhat more dignified on his own. "After my faction regained the underground bunkers bellow Slaughter City, I had Shockwave synthesize an antidote for the virus. Though rudimentary, what he created ended up being more than just a cure for the infected. It is also an immunization for those not yet bitten. As a very useful side effect of the concoction, if an immunized bot is bitten by an infected, they are not only protected from catching the virus, but the infected will then receive the immunized immune nanites through their Energon. Simply put, the cure will spread to them." Soundwave tapped the bite wound on his neck, and made sure Arachnid saw him do it. He paused his explanation, giving Arachnid a moment of silent contemplation to piece it together. Her optics, now clearer and returning to their normal color, widened with realization. It appeared she finally caught on. "Against Shockwave's recommendation, and my better judgment, I opted to immunize myself while the cure was still in its first testing phase. Despite the risks, I suppose it was the right call."

It was the first time he was able to shift out of active battle and address the Autobots more directly. "I am sorry it took me so long to arrive. I was held up in the Pits of Kaon dealing with a lunatic."

"Nothing vrong vith being fashionably late, my lord." Blitzwing offered with a grin.

A Groundbridge opened next to them which Soundwave saw was originating from the Decepticon Bunkers. Slipstream and Ramjet jumped through carrying crates. A third Seeker, not wearing the Decepticon emblem, arrived behind them with similar cargo.

The sight of this final bot made Starscream stammer out from his miserable stupor. "Autoclave! What in the Pits are you doing here?"

Before the mute bot could place down his crate and fumble with his word vocalizer, Slipstream pushed her way in front of them to smile at Starscream. "That would be my doing, Silver. We needed a scientist to work with Shockwave. Yes, that Shockwave. You know, the one you hate. I have been stalking Autoclave here, because aside from yourself, you don't have many weaknesses. I thought it was good info to hang onto."

Starscream clicked his agape jaw hinge shut to stair daggers at Slipstream. "You absolute, conniving little worm!"

She dropped the crate before the Autobot Wreckers, all without breaking her smiling gaze from Starscream. "Takes one to know one, Commander."

Autoclave placed a reassuring hand on Starscream's shoulder to defuse the tension and keep a fist fight from breaking out. Starscream glanced the older bot, then vented. "It's, been a long day."

The portal shifted, and a larger than average form shuffled through. A Predacon Soundwave didn't recognize arrived after Slipstream and the others. They were burdened with what appeared to be the lingering effects of the previously cured virus. Despite the hinderance, they lugged far more crates then the first group could carry.

Atop the beast's back was a familiar faceplate, whom Grimlock recognized right away and felt the need to loudly proclaim, "Shots! You're alive despite all odds!"

Sharpshot slowly slid off the Predacon's back, then leaned somewhat into them for support as their wound still looked to fresh to contend with. They gave the beast a grateful nod for the ride before addressing Grimlock. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Grimlock crossed his servos at the comment as if it were obvious. "Come on, you know. When do you little troopers ever get through these types of brawls?"

Sharpshot just groaned.

Grimlock gave the sickly Predacon a glance. "And how'd you get this one to give you a lift? They look worse than you do Shots."

"The one you healed on the ship before it crashed and burned, right?" Swoop said before Sharpshot could. "Knew I recognized this one… But I don't see any of the other ones bothering to help right after being cured."

"She volunteered." Slipstream answered with a shrug. "When Sharpshot insisted on helping, she pushed her way in to help too. She can't fight, but still offered to do most of the heavy lifting. Gotta admire that dedication."

"What is all this anyway?" Wheeljack asked, fishing around in one of the crates and pulling out the first of many grenades.

"Anti-infected Predacon bombs!" Slipstream announced. "Just activate and toss, small little injectors filled with the cure will shoot out in all directions with exciting explosive power!"

Wheeljack look down at the explosives, and then started to laugh. "Some things you Cons do right."

The Predacon that arrived with Sharpshot huffed. She rose her helm up and called out into the sky. Fighting the last few infected beasts, Predaking glanced down towards her call. He and his people who had avoided getting bitten flew down, snatching clawfuls of grenades before swooping back into the sky.

"Hey, don't take all the fun!" Wheeljack griped. He grabbed a crate and transformed to give chase from the ground.

"The ones near MacCadam need to be cured before they wake up and bite him!" Bumblebee shouted after him.

"My Unite can get the cure there faster." Sharpshot offered.

The Predacon who arrived with them huffed, startling Sharpshot when she pressed her snout into their wing, then again into the weld marks on their side. "Oh, yeah, I'm ok… Thanks for asking." Seeming unconvinced, the Predacon lifted the massive crate in her jaws. Though she appeared hesitant to leave Sharpshot, she did soon follow Predaking to head for her unconscious brethren.

Grimlock chuckled, him and his team snatching some of the weaponized cure for themselves. He gave Sharpshot a friendly shove that knocked them nearly off their peds as he walked by. "Looks like you got yourself an admirer." Sharpshot gave a nervous chuckle, far to flustered to respond in a meaningful way.

When the Dinobots followed Wheeljack, Sharpshot retrieved an injector prefilled with the cure from one of the crates and hurried it to Soundwave. "I've received word you got bitten, my Lord. I know you've already been immunized, but Shockwave suggested a second dose just to be safe."

"You heard correct. Though I did not clear you to return to the battle field after your own injury-" Soundwave was interrupted when Sharpshot jabbed him in the arm with the injector before he could further stall. Just as it did when he first injected himself, said 'cure' sent what felt like fire through his systems. The alure of unconsciousness was tempting, but Soundwave stuffed that down too. He managed to bite back most of a pained reaction, and only gave Sharpshot a look of glaring annoyance. "A warning next time, if it is at all possible."

He was sure Sharpshot was giving him an invisible smile. "I will note it for next time, my Lord."

"You guys really came through for us." Bumblebee said.

Starscream, still hovering around Autoclave as he handed out the modified grenades, snorted indignantly. "They're getting sentimental again."

"I suppose, it was a team effort." Soundwave offered.

"Ew." Starscream groaned. Autoclave's silent laugh betrayed his amusement at Starscream's reaction.

"Just one last order of business." Arcee muttered. Arachnid was her whole focus.

Their shared enemy was far from the threat she had been for so long. The virus has been the only thing keeping her alive despite her injuries. But now it was gone, and the pain of her many wounds had her laid out, unable to move in her defense. Her optics were on the sky, watching her last few Insecticons get hit with modified grenades. They fell, coming out from her and the dark Energon's control. "It would have been…" she whispered, shuttering in pain. "My greatest trophy."

"So, who gets to have the final blow?" Arcee growled. She was obviously ignoring the worried look Bumblebee had fixed on her. She glanced Soundwave's way with a humorless grin. "I'd offer to servo wrestle you for it, but you look like your about to fall over with a rough breeze. It hardly seems fair."

Soundwave considered Arachnid on the ground, twitching in a pool of her dark and blue Energon.

"You may indulge whatever vengeance you need." He said. He tried to tap the well of hate he had been fending off since Tarn had undone his whole world. It had kept him going for the last section of this fight. It appeared what little he had left him. Now he was just numb.

He caught Arcee still looking to him. "I don't want Megatron, or Ravage, to have to see her in the All Spark for the rest of eternity. If I had a clearer helm while fighting Tarn, I would have felt similarly. But I can't control you. If her Spark will bring you peace, that is your right."

Arcee glared down at Arachnid. She appeared to have slipped into stasis lock, the last thing her chassis could do to keep her alive. Arcee's buzzing gun dimmed, then shifted away. "I'm not a damn fool. It won't bring me any peace. And if I can't have peace, why should she get any in the All Spark?"

Bumblebee placed a gentle hand around Arcee. "I'm proud of you."

"Please shut up, Bee." She grumbled, though didn't pull away from his grasp. "Also, if a Con doesn't kill someone and I do, well, what does that say about me?"

"That life is more complicated than two different viewpoints?" Bumblebee offered.

"Sounds like something Optimus would say." Arcee snickered.

This was hardly his moment, so Soundwave went to step away. There was still more to do, even with the battle won. He had to report to his crew on the Renegade. Thunderblast, Demolisher, and Cobber, who fought alongside him against Tarn. He didn't know much of their current condition after they parted ways at the Pits of Kaon. He still heard Clobber's quiet sobs over Megatron's death in the back of his mind.

Laserbeak. Worry for his small alley swarmed him. He had cut off their connection when his Minicon needed him most. It had been required. He couldn't concentrate on surviving if Laserbeak was in his auditory weeping for him. But now that the battle was won, and his mind was catching up to reality… Soundwave needed to go to him and Rhea.

Rhea was the only saving grace in the darkness before him. She had been a safe place to send Laserbeak, so Soundwave didn't need to worry. He knew she was still at the ready for his voice to come through their connection in her ear. Right now, she was waiting for him to come home.

He took a step, and it was the last he had in him. He collapsed, not even his servos having enough reserve to break his fall.

"Easy, Soundwave!" The Autobots were on him again. He didn't have the strength to push them off this time.

"Really, get yourself together." Starscream snapped. He sauntered over and waved the Autobots away so he could yank at Soundwave to stand. "Whether I like it or not, you're the face of the Decepticons. At least pretend to have the same strength Megatron did."

"And you have that?" Arcee quipped.

As Starscream snapped right back at her, Sharpshot appeared on Soundwave's other side.

"We need to get you to a doctor, my Lord." Sharpshot insisted. They said this while still grasping their recently patched wound. The Trooper was hardly one to talk.

"As long as we do so subtly." Starscream continued to gripe. "We don't need more seeing Decepticon leadership reduced to this."

"Nothing wrong with asking for help." Bumblebee offered with a shrug.

"And that may be in our near future!" Smokescreen announced, loud enough to grab everybots attention in the general area. "A small Autobot battalion is headed this way."

Soundwave rose his helm, mirrored by every Decepticon that surrounded him. The Elite Guard rookie was right. A sizable force was driving fast towards them. They had visible supplies and vehicles for medical transport. But they also had armed soldiers. Staying to accept any help was risky.

Wheeljack let out a disgusted scoff as the Autobot backup moved in. "Where have these clowns been the whole fragging fight?"

Soundwave caught Bumblebee offering an assuring glance before he went to meet his allies the rest of the way. Soundwave and his remaining team remained where they were, stiff and awaiting to see where this would go.

"We got a lot of Bots that need medical!" Bumblebee shouted to those on the large vehicles as they rolled to a stop. "Those from Kaon already started, but we're running out of supplies."

Many trucks carried on past him, much to Bumblebee's clear confusion. The small army came to circle Soundwave and his remaining team. Sharpshot struggled to stand up straight with the help of their remaining trooper unit. Soundwave wasn't able to fake it anymore. Without Starscream to support him he would collapse. He felt Starscream's venomous glare fixed on the main vehicle as it rolled to a stop before them. Soldiers marched out and formed ranks around them.

"Who's private army?" Starscream hissed.

"What's going on?" Bumblebee demanded, jogging back towards them.

On a hunch, Soundwave attempted to open a Groundbridge back to the Renegade. He was met with immediate interference. All Groundbridges were being scrambled. He assumed the culprits were these newcomers.

A single bot limped off the vehicle before Bumblebee had time to inquire more. It was all the information Soundwave needed. He vented deep as Decimus took in Arachnid's near Sparkless chassis on the ground, from a safe distance of course.

"HOW is that fool still alive?" Starscream demanded between them quietly.

Soundwave was too tired to share his vitriol. "I didn't bother to remember him, after Megatron passed." Soundwave answered truthfully. Just the mere mention of Megatron's fate made Starscream flinch, but in the same moment he was recovered and glaring again. "When we left the Pits, Decimus must have commed for help. These look to be what remain of his and the New Council's soldiers."

"Hm." Decimus ex-vented, taking a cautious step towards Arachnid's form. "She's dealt with. Good."

"Senator." One of his guards spoke to grab away his focus. "We have blocked Incoming and outgoing Groundbridge frequencies, and the Decepticon leader is wounded beyond the ability to fight."

Decimus did perk up at that news. Soon enough he found Soundwaves gaze and glared. "Even BETTER news."

"Decimus!" Bumblebee bashed his way through Decimus's small army's uniform line of soldiers to stand angrily in his path. One of the soldiers' guns came up, but Bumblebee ignored the silent threat. "What are you doing here? This is the last place to make some sort of point!"

Decimus scoffed at him. The ex-senator seemed beyond able to hide his distain any longer. "I am not here by choice, let me assure you! After I received a Bridge back to the Iacon Capital from the clutches of those!" he jabbed an accusing digit Soundwave's way. "I was quickly expunged from the New Council!"

A not so stifled snicker from Smokescreen made Decimus spin around to refocus his deadly glare. The other Autobots had pushed their way into the spat right behind Bumblebee, though Decimus looked not at all concerned, well protected by his army on both sides.

"So again, why are you here whining to us?" Arcee snarled.

"Trust me, the visit will be brief!" Decimus sneered. He walked a few paces towards Soundwave, and the Decepticons flinched. "I was informed, that my previous station may be negotiated for, if I see to the termination of the last of Cybertron's threats personally. And of course, I need to track down Sigil, who these scoundrels still have locked away in some Con torture facility no doubt."

"You're kidding." Bumblebee snarled. "After everything that has happened, the New Council is still stuck on this?"

"Do calm your boosters." Decimus groaned. "The New Council has decided to make many gracious exceptions to their previous rule. Those Autobots deemed traitors from past deeds have had their cases reopened and shall be reviewed in a new merciful light. Even some lower Decepticon servant class bots will be spared execution. They will instead be funneled back into manual usefulness." His optics narrowed at Soundwave. "But as for Decepticon higher command, there will be no exceptions. I'm afraid this Autobot and Con alliance's usefulness has run its course. I am here to tie up this final loose end, and then I intend to take a very long holiday and forget everything that has happened to me in the past few cycles."

"They aren't a threat to Cybertron unless you do this!" Smokescreen spat.

Decimus only rolled his optics. "That is hardly your decision to make, soldier. But in a way, I agree. They won't be much threat. Especially after their true leader Megatron has finally gone to the Pits for good. Primus knows if there has been anything good to come of this cycle it was witnessing THAT. By Primus's grace, he and that lunatic Tarn finally managed to kill each other."

Soundwave felt the jab in his Spark all over again. He also felt the confused optics of his fellow Cons all on him. He felt their burning gaze shift from Decimus to him. The closest stare was from Sharpshot directly by his side. Soundwave couldn't look at any of his beaten and shocked supporters. He was sure that was confirmation for them enough.

Starscream was shaking under his wing. Megatron's second in command's faceplates a mix of murderous, grief, and self-loathing. He could feel the collective Sparks of his wounded soldiers break in the face of the small Autobot army staring them down. Maybe that was the purpose Decimus mentioned Megatron's demise. Most of Soundwave's crew were wounded beyond helpfulness by Tarn. Those that remained with him now had fought hoards of Insecticons, Predacons, and infected. They were wounded, betrayed, and surrounded by a new force, and now learned the Decepticon cause himself, Megatron, was no more. They had no fight left in them.

"Our Lord came back for us." Sharpshot said purposely. Soundwave glanced to them. Beyond their visor, he could sense some semblance of hope still in the smaller Con. Grief in the form of denial perhaps.

"He did." Soundwave agreed, breaking his gloomy silence to affirm Sharpshot's theory out loud. Whatever Megatron's true motives, he had returned to set things right.

"Tarn was hardly my choice for a resource to exploit, but Sigil was insistent to at least track him down…" Decimus grumbled. "But I guess I can't argue with results. It all worked out in the end."

"What, did you just say?" Starscream demanded.

Decimus glared at him. He seemed hesitant to answer, but Soundwave was ready to call that bluff. Decimus was the type to brag in the face of victory. After an exaggerated optic roll, he elaborated. "When Soundwave here declared himself the new leader of the Decepticons, Sigil tracked the Peaceful Tyranny's frequency in deep space. If all else failed to eradicate Con supporters, Sigil intended to manipulate Tarn into slaughtering all those who took Megatron's place, as usurpers. Then we would take care of Tarn in some other way. But it had never gotten that far. Arachnid had caused her upheaval long before that plan was considered… and I assume through Sigil's logs Arachnid was able to find and contact Tarn. Again, it all worked out in our favor, so no harm done." He whirled around to wave off a few of his supporters, ordering them to locate Unicron's Canister and return it to the Iacon vaults for him to win more favor with his Council peers. He did not appreciate the weight of everything he had just revealed. Soundwave was too numb, he decided being surprised at this point would be foolish. Of course, Sigil and Decimus would be behind Tarn showing up on Cybertron.

"None of it had to happen?" Starscream whispered to himself. He wasn't talking to Decimus. He wasn't even talking to Soundwave. His red stare was focused unblinking on the ground. "They brought Tarn here. Megatron, didn't have to die." He seemed to have gone away, beyond what Soundwave could talk him back from. He doubted he could even if he tried. Starscream's own murderous mind was spinning, possibly plotting to try and take at least Decimus down before he was incinerated by Autobot gunfire.

"It is time to restore order." Decimus vented. He offered Soundwave a look of mock sympathy. "Order. Something you always struggled to accept, am I right, Soundwave? Stricken from the Senate for your traitorous ideals. You should have stayed as my personal spy. It would have done you good in the end. I suppose I gave you too much credit… I guess you weren't as clever as I thought you were." He motioned to his soldiers. The closest flank shifted blasters from subspace and aimed at them.

Wincing against their wounds, Sharpshot pulled their weapon out and pointed back defiantly. The others did the same despite being grossly outnumbered. Soundwave remained glaring at Decimus. If this was how it had to be, then defiance would be their end, just as it had been their beginning.

A yellow chassis jumped in Soundwave's line of sight, startling him from his focus. The Autobot soldier's blasters stalled, and Soundwave saw Decimus's smug air burn into confusion.

Bumblebee stood directly in the line of fire, shielding Soundwave and those around him.

"What in Primus's name do you think you're doing?" Decimus demanded.

Screeching wheels startled the standoff. Arcee landed in a crouch, standing in the way from another angle to protect the small Decepticon huddle. Other colorful chassis's rushed in front of buzzing blasters. Both wreckers and the Elite Guard rookie stood sentinel, servos crossed and glaring outward.

Decimus's soldiers were confused. Their uncertainty soon shifted to fearfulness. The ground shook, and three massive forms shadowed Soundwave's group. He gazed up and saw Grimlock's intimidating beast mode crouched behind Sharpshot and their team. Sludge and Swoop stood in the way of the soldiers at the back of the group. The Dinobots snarled, and many of Decimus's men flinched back.

Decimus stood dumbfounded. He gazed at Bumblebee and the others, for once in his life rendered speechless.

"Sir…" one of Decimus's soldiers muttered.

Decimus came out of his shock and looked to who was addressing him. Instantly he startled.

Soundwave turned up his own gaze. So deep in despair, he hadn't noticed the other forms move in. Countless bots surrounded them on all sides. Those from Kaon. Autobots, Decepticons and those of no sides at all glared at Decimus's forces, now feeble in comparison to the numbers that had arrived in Soundwave and his follower's defense.

Even Starscream stood in silent disbelief, taking in the sheer numbers that stood in the way of Decimus's goal. The ground trembled, and Decimus gasped an intake, he and many of his men stumbling backwards.

Predaking had arrived, looming just over Grimlock. Another Predacon, still in beast form, landed growling and crouched in front of Sharpshot. The recently cured one the trooper leader had gone out of their way to save. They now seemed ready to return the favor. In the shadow of the same Predacon was a confident smiling bot. MacCadam, no longer unconscious, but still somewhat uneasy on his peds, caught Soundwave's gaze. He gave him a single, knowing nod, as if this were all part of the plan.

Something pulled at Soundwave's Spark, but it wasn't grief. Much like Decimus, he was speechless, but the reasons for being so were very different. He could only stair at Bumblebee's back, the defiance of a world standing behind him.

One by one, Decimus's soldiers lowered their guns.

"W-What have you done?!" Decimus finally stammered. "This is the death of the Autobot cause, do you not see that? You have undone everything we have fought for! Four million years! All of our sacrifices, thrown away for these monsters!" he let out a whimper when he turned to retreat to the vehicle he arrived in, and saw he had no clear path to it through the hoard of bots and beasts. His soldiers had backed away. He stood alone, and he had just realized it. "E-E-Everything Optimus Prime worked for, what he died for!" He cried, spinning around himself desperately, trapped with the walls closing in. "You've destroyed it all!"

Bumblebee thawed at last. He gazed around at the faceplates that had gathered. His hard demeanor towards Decimus softened, and he cracked a smile. "Nah. I think this is exactly what Optimus had wanted."

Soundwave dug deep. He pulled the last bit of strength he had in reserve and used it to stand on his own. Starscream gave him a questioning look but didn't follow as he stumbled forward.

He limped through the momentous weight of silence that surrounded them and arrived by Bumblebee. "You, are sure?"

Bumblebee rewarded his efforts with that annoying happy go lucky smile. "Duh. I'd feel stupid if we took this all back now."

Soundwave considered the Autobot and the answer he gave somehow both sincere and joking. He offered Bumblebee a grateful nod.

Then he turned to Decimus.

The ex-Senator flinched back so hard he almost fell backwards. Soundwave approached him; his expression cold but determined. He didn't pull out any weapons. Not that he had any energy to do so even if he wanted to. Decimus could not retreat any further, a line of glaring faceplates in his way. His private soldiers were long gone, and no Autobot stood in his defense.

Soundwave stopped just before him. "It seems you and what is left of the New Council were grossly mistaken. You do not decide when this alliance between factions is done. That is for us to determine."

He received no reply of any kind beyond a terrified stair. Soundwave narrowed his own optics. "You deserve much worse." He informed the corrupted creature as he trembled. Soundwave felt his shoulders relaxing. He flited a glance to Bumblebee and the other Autobots, and then to his own followers. "But I have grown." With a clearer helm, he faced Decimus again, who looked somewhat hopeful for the first time since the world had turned on him.

Soundwave clenched his fist and rammed a hard left hook into Decimus's faceplates. It was hardly his refined style, but it was among the most satisfying punches he had ever let loose.

Decimus was sent sprawling into the ground, knocked out cold. "I have grown, but not by that much." Soundwave specified to the unconscious bot. He turned back to Bumblebee and offered another nod. "Come. There is still much to do."