Arcee tried to make sense of where up and down were, but she soon realized that it did not matter. The ground would still meet her if she fell, and the beasts would still be a threat to both her and Moonracer. It was a matter of what would kill her first: the ground below, or the beasts above.
She went flying through the air as she was tossed upward, and the breath left her as she soared in the sky, weightless for a brief moment. Just as she fell once more, the beast caught her legs, and Arcee found herself dangling upside down. In that moment, she lost all sense of direction as her helm swam with sudden dizziness. She could faintly hear Moonracer's startled screams as the wind filled her audio receptors. But the sound that was the loudest was the beat of the beast's wings as it flew through the air.
She arched upward sharply, her arm blades lashing out. The sudden movement caused her vision to be disoriented greatly, but her blades finally slashed at something. Something wet flew over her faceplates, and the scream of the beast indicated that she had indeed been successful in her attack.
But it was a poor attack with no plan at all. Arcee realized that the exact moment the predacon dropped her. She did not even have time to scream before something else caught her out of the air. She gasped when the other beast had apparently caught her, holding her in one claw while securing Moonracer in the other.
Both femmes locked optics with each other for a brief moment before Arcee lost sight of Moonracer as the predacon dropped her. This time, Arcee did scream, only to be cut off when the first beast caught her pede. It was like some kind of game between the two creatures. A game that made no sense. Would she and Moonracer be shredded to bits in mere moments?
The beast let out a triumphant roar, until blaster fire aimed in its direction cut it off. Turning sharply, the beast turned to face the new attacker, and Arcee's possible savior. Her first thought was that Moonracer had possibly been able to shot at the other beast, but she quickly found out that the blaster fire came in a different direction.
The beast let out a roar before fire spewed from its mouth toward the shooter. Arcee's optics widened in terror as memories flashed before her.
"Beasts, fire," he gasped. "Screams...death."
"Where is he?" she had demanded, her voice laced with desperation at that time.
"Bumblebee...is gone."
Then, in that moment when the acid rain had touched her helm in the valley filled with many bodies, she had been filled with despair.
Now, she was filled with rage as fury consumed her very being.
These were the creatures, the beasts of fire and death that had taken Bumblebee away from her. They were responsible!
"Where is he?" she screamed in fury as she lashed out. Arching once more, she dug her blades into the claws of the beast. "Give him back!" She did not cease her attack on the claw that held her captive, and she only held on when the beast tried to let her go. Launching herself upward, she grabbed onto the metal spikes, her right servo transforming into a blaster and aiming at the golden optics of the beast.
The creature screamed when the blaster fire pelted its optics. It tried to dislodge her with violent shakes, and Arcee held on, her optics reflecting cold steel as she continued her attacks.
"Give him back to me!" she screamed, her blade digging into its side.
Her only response was a scream that was filled with rage and pain as the beast tried to shake her off as he fell from the air. The wind in his wings caught him, and he ceased falling. But Arcee lost her hold, and she plummeted to the ground.
Blasters forming into servos once more, Arcee rolled upon impact with the cliff the beast had been flying over. She absorbed the impact as she rolled, optics squeezed shut tight for a moment. She leapt to her pedes, optics focusing on the fighting going on.
She immediately saw Moonracer who was way up in the sky, but that was all she could make out. Optics wide with horror at what could happen to the other femme, Arcee started racing toward the edge of the cliff. "Moonracer!"
Fire pelted from the sky prevented her from going any further. She came to a hasty halt and tried to scramble back, arms thrown up to protect herself. Yet despite all the chaos around her, her audio receptors still picked up the faint sound of someone calling her name.
Something collided into her, and she fell back with a startled shout. The small being who was now hovering over her protectively was both a shock, and a welcome arrival.
"Don't worry!" Frenzy chirped, optics surveying the skies as his blasters were out in front of him. "Daddy is here!"
Arcee looked up sharply in response, a small smile appearing on her mouth as she watched the drone that was unmistakably Soundwave engaged with the beasts in the air. Soundwave faced them without pause, his attacks relentless and fierce.
"Arcee!" a voice screamed, catching her attention.
She scrambled to her pedes quickly, looking for the sound of the voice. She spotted Ark, who was running towards her quickly, sniper rifle aimed and ready. A red mech followed closely behind her, though he seemed hesitant yet eager.
"Ark!" Arcee shouted as she ran towards her with Frenzy following quickly. She blinked when she realized the mech with Ark was Knock Out. "Why would you bring Knock Out with you? How did you-?"
"Frenzy contacted Soundwave," Ark said in a rush, placing herself protectively in front of Arcee. "Here, arm yourself," Ark ordered, passing ammunition to Arcee who quickly accepted it. The dark femme's optics narrowed as she took aim at the one beast trying to escape.
"He's got Moonracer!" Arcee shouted as she was traped to watch her friend being carried away.
"I know," Ark said grimly, sniper rifle following the beast, ready to shoot.
"Wait!" Arcee shouted, pushing Ark aside quickly. "You might hit her!"
"If I don't do anything, she will be dead," Ark stated sharply.
"Might I suggest we make a hasty retreat?" Knock Out snapped. "We got what we came for, and the longer we stay, the more danger my paint job is in."
"I am not leaving without Moonracer," Arcee snapped, breaking into a run and ignoring the startled shouts she left behind. She grabbed a startled Frenzy, hefting him over her shoulder. "Contact Daddy and tell him I have a job for him," she snapped to Frenzy. "I need an explosive groundbridge."
Frenzy's mouth was open in shock. "A...but we haven't done that in-"
"Tell him now!" Arcee shouted, dropping him and transforming into her vehicle form. She drove off as quickly as she could, the ground becoming dust with the speed she traveled. She did not stop until the edge of the cliff was near her. Stopping, she transformed once more, surveying her surroundings quickly.
"Um, I told Daddy about the groundbridge," Frenzy said through the comm link. "But I-"
"Good," Arcee said, shutting him off. Looking upward where she saw Soundwave, she let out a deep breath, hoping her hastily formed plan would save Moonracer, rather then kill her. She had only ever performed an explosive ground bridge twice in her lifetime with Soundwave, both for different reasons. She hoped nothing had changed with the dangerous technique.
With those thoughts in mind, she grimly activated the bomb and threw it with as much strength she possessed.
The bomb sailed upward, straight and true.
She activated her comm link when she saw the Decepticon break off from his attack with the beast. "Soundwave! Ground bridge now!"
Soundwave transformed mid flight in response, twisting his body in ways she had only rarely seen him do before. Left servo outstretched, a ground bridge opened to swallow the bomb. As Soundwave fell from such a height, he stretched out his right servo and activated a second ground bridge. The second bridge opened right above the beast carrying Moonracer, the bomb falling through.
The sky shook as the bomb exploded with such force. The beast shrieked as fire rained down on it and it fell from the sky. Arcee's smile of triumph was short lived when the predacon Soundwave had previously been keeping busy turned its attention on her.
She barely had time to scramble back before fire pelted the fragile cliff she had been standing on. She let out a startled shout as the ground crumbled beneath her. She scrambled against the rocks and dirt, latching onto anything firm and stable. She let out a breath when her servos finally found something to hold onto, and her deadly descent to the treacherous ground below was halted for a brief moment.
"Oh Primus," she muttered in fear, sparking pumping. She could feel her grip loosening and she focused her gaze upward, refusing to look down.
But as she looked up, she saw the beast fall from the sky from the effects of the bomb, Moonracer falling with it. In that moment, she feared more for Moonracer then she did for her own life at that moment.
"Soundwave, no!" she shouted when she noticed Soundwave flying toward her. He was still in the air, and he was close enough to hear her. "Soundwave, save Moonracer!"
But Soundwave did not alter his direction. He was still flying toward her. With every second, Moonracer's doom was immanent, and Arcee's grip loosened even more.
"Soundwave save the femme!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the canyon. "Save the femme!" Her voice grew desperate. "Please!"
To her immense shock and relief, Soundwave turned off sharply, heading right toward Moonracer. Arcee did not even have the opportunity to let out a breath of relief as the dirt beneath her servos crumbled, and she lost her hold.
She refused to scream. To do so would bring Soundwave right back to her. He would chose to save her over Moonracer. She knew it.
But that did not stop the terrified gasp wrenching out of her mouth. The ground was racing to embrace her, she could feel the air wrap around her, eager to pull her down to her quick death.
Yet the claws of doom snatched her away first. This time, she did scream as the remaining beast grabbed her. She looked up in horror, realizing that death would come after her in many forms.
When he had received word from Frenzy that Arcee was in danger, he had not hesitated to act. The ground bridge had been opened in seconds, and he was rushing through it with the intent to kill.
How the predacons were found out, or why they were making themselves known, did not matter to him. What mattered was that Arcee was in the claws of one of those beasts, and he would not let her remain in danger any longer.
His attacks had been quick and sure. He only had one thought in mind: To punish those beasts for even thinking of harming the sparkling who had not shied away from his damaged face. These predacons, the ones that were meant to remain a secret, dared to harm Arcee.
Primus, Megatron was going to have a field day with this.
But Megatron was the least of his worries. Something else the warlord would be amused to hear.
But at the moment, it was that young femme who was dangling at the edge of the cliff, holding on for dear life, that was his worries.
Yet she threw away her own life, ordering him to instead save the other femme.
"Soundwave, save the femme! Please!"
He had obeyed, only because he thought he could make it back to Arcee. He had flown toward Moonracer, activating a ground bridge before transforming into the air and falling in his mech form so as to have a better vantage point. He focused his masked gaze on Arcee just in time to see her fall, but his ground bridge was open beneath her and ready to catch her.
But the predacon had snatched her away.
Rage had filled him, it consumed him just as the fire that was now washing over him. Yet multiple priorities were at the forefront of his mind as his armor shifted and burned with the predacon fire he was now a victim of. In just a matter of seconds, multiple actions were committed.
Moonracer was ground bridged to safety, he was sure of it.
He had located Ark and the doctor, ground bridging them both to a safe location just as the cliffs they were on crumbled into dust under the fierce attack of the predacons.
Finally, he focused on Arcee's life signature, ignoring his pain as he always did. The green vortex of a portal opened up, swallowing him whole and ending the pain of the fire for a blissful moment.
Predaking had flown ahead, leaving Bumblebee and Smokescreen still in sight, but falling behind.
Bumblebee huffed, feeling his wings trembled. Aside from hovering, he had not really flown this far. Or far at all. He had thought this would have been a great opportunity for him to speak with Smokescreen without being watched, but the device on their necks and the effort it took to fly prevented them from even sharing pleasantries.
"This flight will kill me!" Smokescreen gasped, though he pushed on, trying to follow Predaking.
Bumblebee did not answer, though he wanted to. But the focus on the flight took too much effort out of him. Instead, he just nodded, but even that caused him to waiver in mid air. He gulped, trying not to think of the height he was traveling. How was it that he had been teasing Smokescreen about his fear of heights, and here he was plagued with the same fear now?
Sounds of blaster fire and roars filled with pain and fury filled his enhanced hearing. He glanced up to see not too far in the distance fire and the streaks of blue blaster bolts. Bumblebee's spark hammered with concern while questions filled him. What had Skylynx and Darksteel gotten themselves into?
Also, another much more important question: Could Bumblebee and Smokescreen fake a 'capture' and allow the Autobots and Decepticons to find them? Perhaps whoever was confronting Skylynx and Darksteel could 'capture' a 'careless' Bee and Smokes, and they would be rescued. It would solve their problems, though that would mean leaving Firestar behind.
"Whatever happens, do not hesitate to escape. Forget about what you leave behind. Escape when you can."
He shook his helm. Could he do it? Could he knowingly leave a comrade behind? If he and Smokescreen did escape, that would leave Firestar behind to face the consequences. The cruelest of punishments and ways of death would be inflicted on her.
His resolve grew stronger. No, he would not leave her behind. Just as he would not leave Smokescreen behind. They were all escaping, just as they were all in this. He had told Firestar that he had her back, and he meant it. That meant he would come back for her.
"Fools!"
Bumblebee and Smokescreen came to a halt, flapping madly in the air when Predaking's roar startled them. But Bumblebee realized that the roar was not directed at them, but rather, at the two predacons flying toward them with such speed. Bumblebee noticed with dread the small figure in Darksteel's claws.
Another victim. One more to be brutally tortured and transformed.
But it also meant another ally for them.
The three older predacons flew sharply upward, vanishing into the clouds. Bumblebee and Smokescreen hastily followed, both desperate not to get lost.
Though would that be a bad thing? He would have to remember that strategy when he patrolled with Smokescreen and Firestar. The three of them could use that to their advantage.
Cliffs covered by thick fog and smoke from the dormant lava hidden in the mountains offered them the best cover, but Bumblebee wondered why they chose to stop here for the moment rather then head back to base. But his aching wings were eager for rest the minute his clawed pedes touched the ground.
He was by no means out of shape as a mech. But as a predacon, he was in need of some practice. It was obvious that the same applied to Smokescreen, who collapsed in the ashy ground, chassis heaving.
"Let her go!"
Both Bumblebee and Smokescreen looked sharply at Predaking, who was towering over Skylynx and Darksteel, the later who's clawed pedes held the small Cybertronian in place.
Darksteel bristled. "No! She attacked and saw us-"
"As did many others! We were not to be seen, to leave no witnesses! You should have killed everyone there! Are you aware of what you have compromised?" Predaking roared. "You fools! Do you realize what you have done?"
Darksteel scoffed. "Well, I was not about to let her go after what she did to Skylynx's optic!"
Predaking growled, armor trembling with barely concealed rage.
"And we make quick work of the faceless mech," Darksteel continued. "After catching the other one from the sky, he tried to chase after us." He chuckled. "We taught him a lesson he might not recover from."
Bumblebee's interest was aroused. Faceless mech? Could they mean…?
"Is that so?" Predaking asked after a lengthy moment of silence.
"Everyone else is buried beneath the mountain," Skylynx grumbled and Bumblebee noticed how heavily his optic was damaged.
Predaking seemed somewhat appeased, but there was still a bite in his tone. "You were still foolish and will answer for your carelessness."
Darksteel chuckled, claws flexing as the Cybertronian he held captive let out a yell. "No loose ends," he purred, releasing the Cybertronian who leaped forward, seizing the chance to escape. The blue femme unsheathed her blades, familiar blue optics that were so fierce that it caught Bumblebee by surprise. In that moment, she turned that cold gaze on him, and his spark nearly stopped.
"No survivors," Darksteel said, fire building within his chassis.
"Wait!" Bumblebee screamed, flying towards her with urgency. "Arcee!"