Arcee left the noise of the party behind and followed after Bumblebee. The air around them descended into comfortable silence as they walked down the empty halls. She looked up at the large windows they passed that gave off a view of the city that was still awake at night.

She was happy, a weight lifted from her spark ever since she had apologized. Elita-One had been right in a way. Arcee was not willing to sacrifice her friendship with Bumblebee just because of her pride and hurt. Whether Elita knew it or not, the older femme had given Arcee great advice for her situation.

"It's just up here," Bumblebee said, breaking through her thoughts with his voice. She looked up with a small smile, quickening her pace as she followed him up the stairs.

She frowned as she looked around when they appeared to be in an abandoned part of the building. The rooms they entered looked simple and not at all fancy or elegant. This was a part of the building she had not seen. She had to wonder why. Aside from its simplicity, there was nothing truly odd or special about it.

Bumblebee led her into a backroom and up a steep flight of stairs. He then reached up and pushed at a trapdoor, light flooding into the dark space. Arcee blinked her optics for a moment, feeling Bumblebee's servo gently leading her. She carefully watched her step as she crawled through the trapdoor. The view she saw nearly took her breath away as she gazed around in wonder.

It was like a small terrace, though she doubted the space was ever designed for that purpose. There was no railing anywhere, but the buildings before her and the setting sun provided an almost enlightening feeling. She felt as if she could break away and fly at any moment. A thought, by itself, dangerous but exhilarating.

So caught up in her thoughts that she had stayed rooted to the spot she stood in. Bumblebee carefully placed his servos around her waist, guiding her out of the trapdoor. He quickly removed his servos, and she noted how firm and strong they had been.

"You're...not afraid of heights...are you?" Bumblebee asked hesitantly, his voice soft as he fiddled with an object in his servos.

Arcee let out a breathless laugh. "Primus, no. I relish it in fact. There's just something about being so high up that makes it...exhilarating!"

Bumblebee's smile was one of relief. "One might think you were part seeker," he commented, sitting down near the edge, his feet dangling.

After a moment, Arcee sat down right next to him. After the suffocating atmosphere she had just escaped, the fresh and open air was a welcome change. "Do you come here often?" she asked.

He nodded. "Often enough when I need a place to go. I mean, some others know about it because I bring them up here. But I'm usually the one who comes up here most of the time."

Arcee hummed thoughtfully. "It's a wonder the Heir doesn't know about this."

Bumblebee huffed, rolling his optics. "Yeah well, it might do him some good to come up here every once in awhile."

Arcee turned to fully face him, interested. "You know the Heir?"

"Sometimes, I think I do, and sometimes I'm sure I don't," came the answer. "Life throws a curveball and there are many different choices."

She nodded, turning back to the view below. The busy transports below hummed with energy and light and she soon found herself lost in the view of normalcy.

"The sunsets must be amazing up here," she commented.

Bumblebee nodded. "They are, and I am certain the sunrises are just as amazing. Though I've never been up here to see a sunrise before. My berth is much more comfortable at that time of day."

Arcee laughed. "When I was a youngling, I would drive my guardian crazy with my early risings. He never liked it much and I often found myself...occupied with someone else." Those times were often spent with Soundwave taking her from a disgruntled Megatron. The masked mech would often take her to the med bay where he would work. It was there she would often ask him about his 'booboos' and if she could 'make it better.' One time, she had even tried to play with Laserbeak who had done his best to annoy her.

Megatron would get up early. It was what he had to do in the morning that left him in a foul mood. Soundwave was always there to watch her when Megatron could not. She glanced and saw Bumblebee still fiddling with that strange object in his servos. "What is that?" she asked, pointing.

He held up the keycard. "A gift from my guardian," he answered with a smile. "It's an important relic in our family and he passed down to me." The blue keycard seemed to glow in his servos as he showed her it. "Giving it to me," he started. "I guess it was his way to show me his trust and how proud he was of what I was doing. It's offered me courage."

Much like how she felt when she was with Megatron. His words, even when he was not aware of it, brought her courage. It reminded her that she had it easy compared to what he went through.

"You asked me why I am in the Selection," she said suddenly, finding the right moment to speak. "It never occurred to me why I was in it. I just knew that I was in it and accepted it as that. It was the way things were and that was how it was going to stay." She paused, resting her chin on her knees as she hugged them to her chest. "I have a friend. He carries scars. Terrible scars that have destroyed his face and future. There are others like him, others who are damaged because of war and strife. I...want to do my part to bring peace, whether it is carrying a gun or going through with this treaty."

The silence between them was broken, yet still heavy as she found herself flooded with emotion and meaning. "But I know that we cannot compromise who we are and our way of living. Without that, there is nothing to come home to."

She closed her optics. "I used to go to him, my friend, at night when I was a youngling. He never wanted me to see his scars, not wanting to scare me. He was never ashamed of them when others saw it. But that changed when I was around."

"Because he loved you," Bumblebee said. "He did not want you to see, and he wanted to spare you from the horrors of war. He was trying to protect you in the only way he could. It's what you do to protect the ones you love."

She knew how they felt toward her, she always had. Though she had never put that feeling to words before. It was odd to place the word 'love' with those who were labeled war criminals. "And you?" she asked, tilting her helm, coming a bit closer. "You are doing this for the ones you love as well?"

He shrugged, looking down. "It wasn't like that at first," he confessed. "Not for a long while. But, as I got older, my perspective changed." He looked up, catching her optics. "It's easier to do things out of acts of love, right?"

She smiled, his words sinking deep and ringing in her spark. "Yes, I guess it is."

"Well, this was unexpected," Optimus Prime commented.

Megatron just hummed in agreement, not saying anything else. The two mechs watched from the tall, nearby building, giving them a perfect view of the two Cybertronians sitting on the ledge.

Of course, such a feat would not have been possible without the right equipment for allowing them to see the two at such a distance. Without the equipment, they would not have been able to spot Bumblebee and Arcee so carefully hidden away on the ledge.

A twinge of unease tugged at Megatron's spark, and he frowned, leaning against the pillar that supported him. Yes, he was now facing the truth that she would be gone, in the life of a different mech. She would do her part to bring peace and it had been he who had put her in such a position. A part of him hated for creating such a treaty, but he would try to remind himself that it was for her, to bring her peace.

He never thought it would be so hard to give her away. He knew it would be hard, he just never thought it would feel like an open wound.

"Has she asked you yet?" Optimus asked quietly.

"If you mean about love and about making a spark bond work? No, she hasn't."

Optimus frowned, choosing not to say anything.

"Has yours?" Megatron asked.

"Countless times."

Megatron huffed.

"Should I send Elita?" Optimus asked. "Perhaps Arcee would be more open when speaking with another femme."

"Arcee has never had a role model to follow," Megatron said. "Not in that department. She never saw a successful spark bond. I could give her everything within my reach, but I could not give her that."

"It looks as if she is doing quite well though," Optimus commented. "She has grown."

"She is not the little femme who would go racing down the halls, screaming her helm off," Megatron said softly. "Not anymore." Images of her running across the large, empty halls, her peals of laughter reaching his audio receptors; it would make him smile. He loved her laugh and she would only feel relaxed enough to laugh when he and a select few were around. As she had grown, her laughter changed, grew and matured. And he loved it. But there were times when he missed the innocence of youngling laughter.

"I noticed," Optimus said.

"She is a femme who knows how to kill with expertise," Megatron said proudly. "She knows the weak points and where to shoot."

That made Optimus grow silent. The Prime tilted his helm with a small frown before he sighed. "I should have known your parenting skills would lead up to that."

"Barricade also taught her how to gamble before she held a sword."

Optimus shot him a look. "You are trying to pull me into a 'my ship is bigger then your ship' conversation. Aren't you?"

"I am warning you of who your son is bonding with," Megatron said simply.

Silence fell between them as they stared back at the building Bumblebee and Arcee were at. Below the two younger Cybertronians was the building the festivities was being held at. Optimus and Megatron were content with being away from it all, staying in the silence.

"Do you think this," Megatron started, nodding in the direction of the building Bumblebee and Arcee were at. "Will drive a wedge between them?"

Optimus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Do you think that once they find out who they really are, distrust will grow between them?" he clarified.

Optimus tilted his helm back, thinking. "I think that, after they overcome their shock, that there will be questions. Many questions. Hopefully the friendship they have built is more important to them then anything else."

Megatron frowned. "Friendship?"

"I am not one to foolishly hope that anything but friendship has grown between them," Optimus said. "Maybe, with time, they can come to love one another as sparkmates. But romance built in such a situation; we would be so lucky for it to happen. I wish it wasn't so, but I know it would be near impossible for such a thing to take place. We are lucky they have clicked in such a way."

"You are supposed to be the dreamer out of the two of us, Prime," Megatron said.

"The dreams that I had were forced to face reality," he replied.

"Reality can be shaped by the hope you carry inside you," Megatron stated. "If you continue to carry it."

"Hope has taken many forms," Optimus answered. "In my case, it took the form of a certain yellow sparkling I found."

"Miracles, Prime," Megatron said softly. "Sentiment that I never dreamed I'd feel."

Nor had Optimus ever dreamed that he would be standing anywhere with Megatron, having a somewhat peaceful conversation. Nothing was the same, yet something was being built. Not mended, as too much had happened for anything to be returned to normal, to what they had. But something new was replacing the old. Of that much, he was sure of.

Arcee glanced back and he saw how torn she was. Her servos clenched, her pedes twitching while her optics shifted around.

"We don't have to go now, if you don't want to," he said, surprised at how soft his voice sounded. Maybe it was because he didn't want to disturb the silence. "The festivities will survive without us. No one will notice we're gone." At least, no one would notice Bumblebee was gone, as no one had labeled him the Heir.

Yet.

It suddenly occurred to him that he just might get in trouble for skipping out. Maybe he should have checked in with someone before he had dragged Arcee up here. Could he be getting her in trouble too?

She looked back at him with a small smile and in that instant, his doubts and worries ceased. "Thank you," she said, leaning back. "I know this is your secret base and-"

"Oh, it's not really," he said quickly. "Like I said, a few others know about this place. I'm just the one who visits it more often." He looked back at her, hating how his spark suddenly pulsed so differently. "You can come up here as many times as you'd like."

She ducked her helm. "Then you'll find me up here a lot. I just might kick you out."

He raised an optic ridge. "Oh really? There is plenty of room to share."

She chuckled, tilting her helm to where the pink shone in the fading light. In that moment, she glowed with a different aura around her.

"What?" she asked, and it was in that moment that he realized she had caught him starring.

"You look nice," he blurted out, face growing warm as the words came out before he knew that he was saying.

No, she looked more then nice. She looked stunning.

She seemed surprised, her optics blinking.

"You look like Elita," he said, ducking his helm.

"Because of the pink?" She scoffed. "Yeah, well, I'm going to change back to my normal color scheme once this is over with."

"It's a nice color on you," he said, finding his voice once again, daring to look back up at her, not knowing what he would see on her expression.

She tilted her helm, a warm light in her optics. He squirmed underneath her gaze. "What?" he asked quickly.

"Just wondering what color would look good on you too," she said simply.

He straightened up. "I'm thinking red."

"Oh Primus no," she moaned. "Red is way too popular now."

"Well then," he said with a smirk. "You'll be seeing me around very often, so you'll have plenty of time to decide what color suits me better than yellow."

Yellow seems to suit you just fine, she wanted to say. It was cheerful and bright, much like his personality. He was easy to spot and it was his color. It belonged to him and seemed to speak out and define who he was.

She looked back out to the city, where there were no worries and no responsibilities, though down below, she knew she would have to return to that soon enough.

But not now. She wasn't ready.

"Can we stay up here?" she asked in a small voice. "Just for a little longer?"

In that instant, Bumblebee wanted to put his arm around her, but he held back. "Yes," he answered. As long as you'd like, came the silent yet unspoken truth.

He found him.

Or at least, he thought he had.

That was the tricky part; finding the Heir. He would need to become more sure in his answer before he took any action. But at least for now, he had a solid theory. But it wouldn't do him any good if he had the wrong one.

Not only that, but there were other potential candidates; others could just as well be the Autobot Heir.

Finding the Decepticon Heir was difficult, more so then finding the Autobot Heir. Despite preaching trust, Megatron was still silent when it came to the matter of his Heir whenever anyone questioned him. Smart, indeed, but it threw a wrench in everything.

Optimus easily showed affection and warmth to everyone, but if one knew what to look for, it was not too difficult to see who he truly cared for.

"What have you completed so far?" he asked, stepping into the dark room. He kept his optics open and alert, servo twitching and ready to draw his weapon if needed.

"I have completed much during your absence," came the voice. "Including a suitable way of containing our would be 'gusts'." A figure emerged from the shadows, purple optics bright, her long servos trailing across the med bay. "Have you found a patient for me to test it on?"

"Not yet," he replied.

She pouted. "Pity. But why am I not surprised? It is, after all, your answer all the time."

"I want to be sure the Autobot I have found is the Heir before we take drastic measures," he answered. "Everything has to be in place. Megatron is watching me and Optimus does not trust me. I think the young Prime suspects my...actions during the war."

"Yet Megatron has not revealed your treachery to Optimus," she said lightly.

"No, because it was part of the agreement," he snapped. "But how long will that last? Will Megatron grow suspicious and decided to turn me over?" He shook his helm. "I would rather not take that chance."

She huffed. "Well, I have done my part, it is time you do yours."

"I only need to find the Heir," he replied. "It is the Heir who has what I need."

"The Key to Vector Sigma," she said, the name sounding more like a weapon in her mouth then a relic of knowledge. She tilted her helm, dark armor glinting on her large form. "And you expect him to just hand it over to you?"

"He is a young mech who has been sheltered from war and strife, he will not hold out against you."

She grinned a sharp smile. "It is true, is it not? However, there are compelling cases that the Autobot Heir is not a mech at all, but rather a femme, and the Decepticon is a mech."

"I have prepared myself for that," he answered. "The choices are limiting. We will find the Heir." He looked upward. "This treaty was doomed to fail from the start."

A low growl emerged from the tunnels, a slow, steady sound. He frowned. "Have you seen to your beast?"

The femme smiled, striding forward, the dark consuming to where he could hear her voice. "He has grown very...needy. He needs daily visits from his Queen."

She vanished into the tunnels, silence falling for a brief moment. And then the screaming, the roar of rage began. A bright light filled the tunnels before the fire was extinguished. The mech waited patiently until the femme emerged once more.

"He has a strong spirit," she said with a smile, brushing at her servos.

"You'd best learn to control your beast, Antagony," he growled. "Before he influences the others. We have worked too hard to have him break free and catch someone's attention."

Antagony huffed. "He is under my control," she said, waving a servo as dark energy flooded the room from the tips of her fingers. "There is nothing he can do." She smiled as she curled her servo into a fist, snuffing out the energy. "Just as the Heirs will be under my control, as you had promised."

He nodded, fighting back the uneasiness. Working alongside a sorceress was never part of the plan. But Antagony, her pets and Dirge were a useful asset. "As I have promised," he repeated.