Arcee enjoyed her stay in Iacon, which had surprised her. She did not like moving around from place to place, but she had grown accustomed to it as travel became a regular thing in her life. Megatron did not like to leave her with anyone. Not even with Soundwave. So, as a youngling, she had been stuck going all over Cybertron with him.

She saw many things in her travels. She saw cities of great wealth and towns of great poverty. The land was still war torn and it was hard for her to imagine it being anything else. Megatron was no help in that matter, as he still held intense bitterness for his life in Kaon. Arcee had never truly heard about Megatron's life as a gladiator until she got older. She used to be so proud of Megatron for being 'a great warrior.' Now, she was disgusted and horrified with the facts and reality that life presented her with. She thanked Primus every day that Megatron was strong enough to crawl out of the Pits of Kaon. Though she knew others would not share her joy. But she could care less. He was her father in every way but energon. Speaking to him so formally nearly drove her mad and when she had been a youngling, she had slipped up and called out to him as her sire. Soundwave had taken her aside and calmly explained to her why she could not address him as such. She had not understood, but she listened and waited to act like Megatron's daughter behind closed doors.

She was used to the constant theories regarding the Decepticon Heir. At times, it irked her to say the least. Some of the most outlandish ones was if she was actually a mech. But it was fun in a way to see what others thought. But there were times when her annoyance would flare up when she heard some of the topics of conversation, including if it involved any scandal and false information about her and Megatron.

She let out a frustrated hiss as she glared at the datapad, wanting to smash it. This was insulting! How dare they even say such things! They had no proof of their wild theories!

"Woah," she heard a voice. "What's got you so upset?"

Arcee turned to face Bumblebee, her face softening a bit. But that quickly changed back to a scowl. "This," she huffed, crossing her arms as Bumblebee looked over the datapad. "Can you believe it?"

Bumblebee frowned as he read out loud what was written. "Drag Strip: the Heir of the Decepticons?" He blinked, looking stunned and slightly horrified. "Wh-what? What's their reasoning behind that?"

"I don't know!" Arcee exclaimed, snatching the data pad and pacing. "But it's insulting."

"It could be right," Bumblebee said, his voice on the verge of panic.

She scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Drag Strip has no back bone and is a disgrace to the Selection. She's been involved in more scandals than anyone. I'm surprised Megatron hasn't cut her off from the Selection."

Bumblebee blinked. "Well, he should, in my opinion. Maybe he hasn't because she's-"

"She is not the Heir," Arcee interrupted, looking away.

"How can you be so sure!" he exclaimed.

"Because I am sure," she said simply, striding down the stairs. "You'll see."

"Speaking of which," Bumblebee said, catching up to her. "What do you...um, what do you think about the Selection?"

At Arcee's confused look, he shrugged. "I mean, you asked me a while ago and it got me thinking about why you joined and why you're still in it."

Arcee frowned thoughtfully, looking upward. The question bothered her and she hoped it did not show on her face. She never gave it much thought, despite the fact that the Selection was a part of her life just as her arms and legs were. It had always been an act of duty, something she grew accustomed to knowing that it was what she had to do. Yes, the fact of being bonded to an Autobot mech she did not know bothered her and yes, she had argued with Megatron on it before.

It had never occurred to her about bringing peace. Well, maybe in the back of her mind it did. But it was not a constant reminder, a consolation of what was taken away from her. It was a major part of her life that had been ripped away from her when she was a sparkling. She had no say and no choice in the matter and to be honest, she was scared.

She was scared of what was coming, of what she was to do. She did her best to hide it well. It was another one of her masks that she wore. But alone in her berth room, in the dark, she would be reminded of what was to come.

She wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at the metal street they walked, a shadow looming over her. "I do not know," she confessed, her voice soft.

Bumblebee said nothing and she could not bring herself to look up into his bright presence, that warmth and hope that she failed to feel.

"You could always drop out," Bumblebee said.

A spark of anger grew in her. She did not have that freedom Bumblebee had. She could not just drop out just because she wanted to. Doing so would destroy everything Megatron had fought and sacrificed for.

He sacrificed you, a treacherous voice whispered, but she ignored it.

"Why don't you drop out?" she asked, her voice harsh.

Bumblebee blinked, perhaps surprised at her tone or at the question. She could not bring herself to care.

"Because...I'm playing my part to bring peace," he said quietly.

"But that's not your burden," Arcee said. "It doesn't matter if you drop out, or if everyone does. All that matters is that the two Heirs come together to make a bond. What happens to you and everyone else? You get stuck in a loveless bond because you felt like you were doing something important by sacrificing the most important decision in your life?" Like Megatron did to me, she thought. But she pushed past that little voice once more.

"Well you can thank Megatron for that," Bumblebee said, his optics sparking with anger that looked unnatural in his optics. "He started the war and he came up with this whole arrangement in the first place."

"First of all," Arcee said, stepping close. "Megatron started the war to rid Cybertron of the caste system and he created the arrangement in an effort to bring peace."

"He could have always surrendered if he had been able to swallow his pride!" Bumblebee retorted.

"And be treated as a war criminal?" Arcee demanded. "And have the Decepticons lose their territory and all that they fought for? What of Optimus? Why couldn't he surrender?"

"Because any attempts were met with bloodshed and death," Bumblebee argued. "Megatron would not listen to any attempts at peace!"

"Why does it always come down to Megatron?" Arcee exclaimed. "Optimus is just as guilty as he is!"

"Because Optimus was not the one to cut the bond between the two of them. Because Optimus was not the one to attack cities and destroy lives. Optimus did not believe in achieving peace through violence and he was not the one to declare purging Cybertron of the Old Guard by force." Bumblebee took a step forward. "So what caused Megatron to change all of the sudden?"

Me, Arcee thought silently. She had been his reason. She had been his drive to peace. That was what she had been told and she always believed it.

"The Decepticons were made up of the lowest caste systems; slaves, gladiators, beggars, the crippled. They had no help from the Council that Optimus followed," she said.

"Optimus did not follow the Council because it disbanded during the war."

"Only because Megatron was the reason for riding Cybertron of its corruption!"

At this point, they were shouting at each other and had drawn a bit of attention to themselves. Arcee jumped when she felt someone lightly touch her shoulder. She snapped her helm up to look into Ark's optics. "You are causing a scene," the other femme said. The tension in Arcee's body was gone instantly and by the time she glanced back, Bumblebee was gone.

She slumped against Ark, suddenly feeling tired and worn, her spark heavy with all that had been said.

"What'd you two get into? A lovers spat?"

Hot Rod suddenly found himself pinned against the wall with Bumblebee's servo at his throat. The yellow mech's blue optics sparked in anger and frustration, everything suddenly ticking him off from the weather to the noise.

He eased the pressure on Hot Rod's throat before releasing him. "Sorry," he muttered before leaving the room.

Why did this affect him so much? Was it because he desired the freedom that Arcee had? Was it because someone was wrongly accusing Optimus Prime, the mech who was a father to Bumblebee, and he just wanted to defend him?

He refused to acknowledge that what Arcee had said held some truth. Not after brooding about it for two hours did he at least go over what had been said did he reluctantly agree that she also had a point as well.

Guilt and despair overcame him as he hugged his knees to his chest as he sat at the edge of the open roof spot. He had found this place when he was a youngling and often came up here to hide and have some alone time. It was not until a few years later did he realize that he had not been the first to come up here. Optimus and Elita had often come up when they were Orion Pax and Ariel. It had been their way of escape as well. The Prime had laughed at the look of surprise on Bumblebee's face while Elite-One had commented on how cute he looked in his naive innocence.

The spot offered a view of the dark city below. The high towers blocked most of the light, casting shadows and giving off a mysterious feel that he enjoyed. But if he came up early enough, he could feel the nice rays of sun on his body when he would rest or read. The small platform was large enough for five Cybertronians to comfortably sit on, provided that they stayed away from the ledge. Optimus had voiced his opinion on putting up a railing for safety, but Bumblebee had stated that he liked the open ledge, as at some points, he could envision himself jumping off and flying away. Of course, he never told anyone that since such a phrase would raise some concern. Plus, he loved to dangle his legs over the edge and see how high up he really was.

But only a select few of his closest friends knew of this place. Other then that, this was all his own.

"Thought I might find you up here," a voice said.

He did not look up. "Moonracer," he said simply.

He heard her let out a sigh. "So what'd I do to tick you off?" She sat down right next to him, her legs dangling over the edge. Moonracer was not one to shy away from stuff like that. She and Bumblebee had brought Mirage up once and the mech had almost panicked when he saw how close Moonracer sat at the edge. The look on his face had nearly sent Bumblebee into fits of laughter. Mirage had almost become a mother hen, a fact that annoyed Moonracer, yet amused her.

"So how was your day?" Moonracer asked. He noted how nice and shiny her armor was, as if she had just buffed it.

He leaned back, letting out a breath. "Fine," he said. "The city was busy, the datapads interesting, the gossip boring." He paused for a moment, content with just sitting, though he tried to avoid certain unpleasant thoughts.

"Moonracer," he asked suddenly. "Can I ask you something personal?"

Moonracer tilted her helm. "Sure Bee. Though we've known eachother since we were sparklings. I don't know how personal you can get unless you're asking me to be your sparkmate."

That got a smirk from Bumblebee. It had been a common tease between the two of them because of a random comment Smokescreen had made about how close Bumblebeee and Moonracer were. They had often played 'family' together when they were younglings with Bumblebee and Moonracer being the parents of a headstrong, yet grumpy Smokescreen.

"If it's too personal, then you can always say no and I'll never ask again," he continued.

Moonracer raised an optic ridge. "Uh oh, maybe you are proposing to me." But she allowed him to continue.

"What's preventing you from dropping out of the Selection?"

Moonracer paused, pursing her lips. "I...honestly don't know," she confessed and Bumblebee stiffened up. The last time a femme had said that, it had ended in an argument.

"I actually…" Moonracer started, visibly struggling for words. "I've been thinking of...dropping out."

Bumblebee blinked. "You have?"

She shrugged, suddenly looking ashamed. "I...it's something I've been thinking about. But I've never really truly considered it."

Bumblebee opened his mouth, his mind a blur. But he took in a deep breath to calm himself down. "Can I ask why?"

She shrugged. "I...don't know that either...yet." She let out a frustrated sigh, looking up. "I'm so confused. I feel like I'm betraying the Autobots for even thinking this, yet I feel conflicted and-"

"Moony, you're not betraying the Autobots," Bumblebee interrupted. "The only bond that matters is the bond between the Autobot and Decepticon Heirs." He looked into her optics. "It is not a betrayal. Many others before you have dropped out."

Moonracer frowned, her shame fading away and it pained Bumblebee. How long had Moonracer felt this way? Had she stayed quiet out of fear of what others might think? Such a feeling was a powerful motivator but it hurt Bumblebee to think that one of his closest friends was afraid of him. He may not agree or understand, but that did not mean he would suddenly drop his friends because they did not see eye to eye.

"What about you?" Moonracer asked. "Why do you stay?"

Bumblebee's answer was sure and swift. "To do my part in bringing peace."

Moonracer placed a servo over Bumblebee's. "But it is not your burden."

"It is mine to share," he said, looking up to meet her optics. "And my decision."

She gave his servo a comforting squeeze. "You alright?" she asked.

Bumblebee looked back at the city below. "I will be," he said. "It was just a squabble with a friend."

"Well, resolve it fast and don't let it stew," Moonracer said. "And you better get ready for the get together-"

"That's today?" Bumblebee yelped suddenly, straightening up.

"Tonight," Moonracer confirmed. "I scratched my paint in a few places to come up here." Oh, so that's why she looked so nice.

She frowned. "You forgot?" Her optics widened. "Please tell me you didn't!"

"I'm dead," Bumblebee moaned, running out of the small opening to the ledge and jumping down in the small room. He ignored Moonracer's shout of "Bumblebee! That's like the most important event!"

He rushed out, running as if Unicron himself was chasing after him. He maybe had enough time to shine up his paint job and buff out any dents and make himself look presentable. Or decent at least. Oh Primus, Arcee would be there. Looks like he was going to see her a lot sooner than he thought.

His thoughts were cut off when someone grabbed him by the arm, causing him to yelp. "Thought you could escape, didn't you?" Ironhide huffed as he dragged Bumblebee down the hallway. "Think I still can't keep up with you lot? If I have to suffer, so do you, little prince."

"No, Hide," Bumblebee grunted as he struggled to regain his footing. "I was just rushing to my berth room to freshen up. Honest!"

"I'm sure you were," the older mech grunted.

Bumblebee ceased his struggling and resigned himself to his fate, dreading this evening already.