Author's Notes: Thank God in Heaven! I am on a roll with these updates! Hopefully I don't jinx it! XD Thank you all for the favs, follows and reviews! It means a lot to me. God Bless and enjoy reading!
Arcee's optics kept flickering over to observe KnockOut who was reluctantly hovering over a med bay table where Soundwave rested. The masked mech said nothing as the red doctor set to work patching him up, though KnockOut was very vocal about his displeasure.
"I should be the one getting a treatment," he huffed. "I cannot be seen in such a state! I have a reputation to uphold."
"It's a wonder you even survived the war," Moonracer muttered, speaking up for the first time. Arcee glanced over to Moonracer, who had her arms wrapped around herself in an almost self assuring embrace. In the dark med bay, she looked fragile, and Arcee had to wonder if she herself looked any different.
"Are you alright?" Arcee asked softly, her question directed at Moonracer. She was aware that everyone had been checked over for injuries, but Moonracer herself still seemed shaken up.
"I'm fine," Moonracer said curtly.
Arcee looked away, aware that her questions were not wanted. She could feel Ark's gaze on her, and she was aware that the other femme was preparing to ask questions.
But Arcee was faster.
"What did you and KnockOut find?" she asked quickly, looking at Ark who sat beside her in silence.
In response, Ark reached behind her to withdraw a datapad. The screen illuminated her face in a soft, green glow as she pulled up a list. "KnockOut and I were able to compile a list of possible leads to who may be responsible to the attack during the hunt."
Arcee blinked as she took the list. "How were you able to come to such conclusions?"
"We followed the money trail, the motives." Ark hesitated slightly. "Among other things."
"You might want to mark those who are connected to scientists," Arcee stated as she scrolled through the list.
"What were those creatures?" Moonracer demanded suddenly, catching everyones attention. "What were they?"
"The very ones who attacked the Selecteds during the hunt," Arcee answered, her voice grim. The words of that dead mech she had found on that fateful day came back to her.
Beasts. Fire. Screams. Death.
There was no doubt in her mind that those beasts, those predacons, were responsible for such death and destruction. They had leaped from the pages of history itself to terrorise the present. Somehow, Bumblebee was one of them. He was a prisoner, one who had tried to protect her. He had tried to escape, and she had done nothing and let him go.
But he had also tried to warn her.
She frowned thoughtfully, Bumblebee's current inscriptions coming to the forefront of her mind. There were three major points she needed to address, and she needed to make sense of it all.
"What does 'the Key of Primes' mean to you?" she asked, looking around the room.
Knock Out shrugged, disinterested. Ark frowned. "The Omega Keys?"
Arcee pursed her mouth. "Maybe," she admitted. Yet she glanced at Moonracer, an Autobot like Bumblebee who looked alert at the moment.
Moonracer caught Arcee staring, and neither femme broke their gaze. "It could mean many things," Moonracer admitted thoughtfully. "There are many relics that belonged to the Primes of old during the golden age of Cybertron. Most of those relics could have resembled keys."
"But what connection do they have with the Autobots?" Arcee pressed. At Moonracer's hesitant pause, Arcee continued. "This may very well be important to what I have discovered. We need to share all the information we have gathered to piece together a bigger picture. But we cannot do that if we withhold secrets."
Moonracer released a breath. "Fine. It is not like no one knows about this anyway." She shook her helm. "I could be wrong, but when I think of 'the Key of Primes,' I think of the Key to Vector Sigma. It is a key that unlocks the collective wisdom of the Primes."
Arcee went still. "What could one do with such a key?" she asked.
"Really Arcee?" KnockOut scoffed, glancing at her.
"Humor me," she snapped, glaring at him before focusing on Moonracer. "What could happen to the Key, if it were in the wrong company?"
Moonracer's frown deepened. "With the Key, one could locate Vector Sigma and gain all the knowledge a Prime alone should obtain. Secrets of toppling empires and planets would be in the servos of anyone who wielded the Key."
"Traditionally," Ark spoke up. "The Key was only passed down from a senior Prime to the younger as a sign of trust."
Which answered Arcee's next question. "Where is the Key now?"
"No one knows," Moonracer answered. "Optimus Prime could have it, as a Prime is never without it. Or he could have passed it down to the Autobot Heir."
The situation just grew graver. She had to broach her next question without seeming to obvious. Maybe the Key to Vector Sigma was not what Bumblebee had tried to warn her about, but she still had to search for it. "Where would the belongings of the deceased Selected members have gone to?"
"To their families," Moonracer answered, as if it were obvious.
Which meant, that if she was interpreting Bumblebee's message right, that Optimus and already had possession to the Key to Vector Sigma. As far as she knew, the Key was in good servos.
"What do any of you know about the cortical psychic patch?" she asked suddenly.
"Why are you asking these types of questions?" Moonracer demanded, optics narrowed.
Arcee barely resisted hissing in frustration. However, she could understand Moonracer's reason for asking. If she was in the femme's place, she would also demand answers. After all, none of this seemed to be going anywhere.
She released a breath, lowering her helm as her thoughts raced. She gathered her thoughts quickly. Revealing that Bumblebee was alive would lead to many questions she could not answer. She herself did not fully believe how she could word her explanation in a way that would not make her sound like a lunatic.
"I might a prisoner of the predacons during my brief capture," she said after a moment. "He warned me to 'Find the Key of the Primes' and to find the cortical psychic patch. He also warned me about a possible traitor."
Ark tilted her helm, interest sparking in her optics. "Who is the traitor?"
Arcee shook her helm. "He never finished his message." She nodded her helm to where Soundwave was watching her. "We were interrupted. However, I did get part of a message. Or, part of a name."
"What kind of name?" Ark inquired.
"S.E.N.T.I," Arcee answered.
KnockOut huffed. "Well, that should narrow it down."
"Considerably," Ark commented, folding her arms. Whereas KnockOut had sounded sarcastic, Ark had sounded thoughtful, and Arcee could see the femme already withdraw into her own mind, lost in thought as she analyzed everything.
"How can you even be sure that this 'prisoner' you met is trustworthy?" Moonracer demanded.
Arcee felt a pit of dread spread throughout her. This was the moment when everything would come crashing down. Different reactions would be displayed, demands for action would be heard. Yet, there would be uncertainty. But of this, Arcee was sure of; she could not keep this information from Moonracer. It affected her as much as it affected Arcee.
With a calm composure and a clear helm, Arcee looked Moonracer in the optic. "Because the prisoner I met was Bumblebee."
The cavern was silent as a sense of dread hovered over everyone. Smokescreen fiddled nervously with a rock that had fallen from the walls. Firestar twitched as the sound of the rock grated on her nerves.
Bumblebee half expected Antagony to come storming down the halls with eh knowledge of their dangerous secrets fresh on her mind. But the halls remained empty, void of any sound except for Smokescreens nervous twitching.
Firestar finally swatted the stone out of his claws. "Would you stop that?" she snapped. "You are getting on my nerves and making this worse!"
Smokescreen's only response was to huff and sit back. After a moment, he began to idly play with his tail while glaring Firestar as if he was daring her to make a comment.
"Can you even trust them?" Firestar asked, turning to regard Bumblebee.
He had told them everything that had happened between him and Predaking. Well, except for the revelation that he was the Heir. The less Smokescreen and Firestar knew about that truth, the better. It was one less thing for them to hold under torture. After Predaking had revealed that he had known about Bumblebee since Soundwave's arrival to rescue Arcee, he had made his demands clear: They were to work together to overthrow the witch and Sentinel. Predaking needed the numbers, and Bumblebee and his companions needed the protection. Both could be granted if a compromise was made. It seemed reasonable and simple, but Bumblebee had never trusted simple.
"I trust you two," he said finally, looking up at them. "And I do know that our options are limited. We need to get out of here, and we need to do it quickly."
"The fact that they left us to ourselves is surprising," Smokescreen huffed. He glanced down the halls, as if he was expecting Predaking to be lurking in the shadows. Smokescreen had not outright asked Bumblebee about the kiss he had seen, and Bumblebee was glad that he had not. Though he knew Smokescreen would demand answers later, though he had not seen too shocked.
"If Predaking hates Antagony and wants out, it may be best to work with the predacons temporarily," Firestar said.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Smokescreen stated. He glanced at Bumblebee. "What do you think Antagony will do when she has the cortical psychic patch?"
"Besides the obvious? She will use it to extract every bit of information from our helms, and find out who the Heir is," Bumblebee said.
"Um, that is the obvious," Smokescreen stated.
Firestar unfurled her wings, rising to her full predacon height. "Well, I am going to set out to extract some information from a certain predacon," she announced.
Both Bumblebee and Smokescreen blinked as they stared at her. "What are you hoping to gain from the predacons?"
"I just told you," she stated. "Information."
"They won't tell you anything," Bumblebee said firmly.
But Firestar's optics narrowed and her armor thrummed with anticipation. "They will for me. They will have no choice but to listen to what I have to say."
Smokescreen scoffed. "And why would that be?"
What Firestar said next sent Bumblebee reeling with shock at her sudden bold declaration. At first, he had not been so sure he had heard her correctly, but Smokescreens roar of surprise confirmed that he had indeed heard correctly.
"Because I am the Autobot Heir," she said with certainty.
Arcee was alone as she strode down the halls, her errand all too fresh in her mind. She had to admit, KnockOut was devious when it came to certain details. She just hoped that his little plan would work. She winced as she remembered Moonracer's reaction to the revelation of Bumblebee's presence. But Arcee pushed that thought and unpleasant memory away. She had other things to worry about, and an emotional femme could wait. When Bumblebee was back with them, then Arcee would allow herself to care. But right now, her detachment was all that was keeping her moving.
If she continued like this, she would end up much like the emotionless mech she was getting ready to meet.
With a deep breath, she strode into Shockwave's laboratory. There, hunched over his work, was the scientist himself. The darkness no longer held an illusion of control over her. Rather, she welcomed the dark as it allowed her to hide, to meld and become a part of it. She could use it.
She strode forward, and the slight twitch of Shockwave's helm was a clear indication that he was aware of her presence. Yet he still would not acknowledge her, he refused to address her in anyway.
Well, that would change.
"What can you tell me about the predacons?" she asked.
"Everything," came the simple answer.
She pulled up a chair, sitting down with ease. "Then we will be here for a while."
"I am unauthorized to discuss such matters of security with you," he stated, finally looking at her.
"Actually, I am now authorized by Megatron himself to be let in on this vast information," she said simply, unable to keep the hint of triumph from her voice as she slid the datapad over for Shockwave to look at. He did not even touch it. "The details are inside. Instead of telling me himself, Megatron had suggested I speak with an expert." This time, she smirked. "Your name was on the top of that list. In fact," she paused. "It was the only name on that list."
Shockwave was silent for a moment as he regarded the datapad in front of him. "Lord Megatron's orders are quite illogical."
"Yet they are his orders," Arcee responded. "What can you tell me about the predacons?"
The silence had stretched on for so long that Arcee feared that he had chosen not to answer. But finally, he spoke. "Project Predacon was set into motion during the highlight of the war," he stated. "By exploring the CNA of predacon bones, I had successfully been able to create clones of the predacons."
"Then why is it that Project Predacon was not used during the war?" she asked. By all accounts, it did not make sense. With the indestructible predacons on their side, the Decepticons would have certainly won the war.
"Our first lab was destroyed by a raid during the war by a team of Wreckers," he answered. "However, a few samples survived, including one test subject. I had managed to replicate my creation, yet they were displaying massive amounts of intelligence, and by the end of the war, Megatron had ordered for Project Predacon to be destroyed."
Arcee was silent. "And the test subjects?"
"They could not be destroyed so easily." Shockwave's tone did not change in the slightest, and it unnerved Arcee at how detached he seemed to be when talking about the clones in such a dismissive manner. "A plan was conducted," he continued. "To exterminate the remaining clones. But before further action could be taken, our base was attacked."
Arcee's optics narrowed. "Attacked by whom?"
"The very same who did not wish to see a mutual peace between Autobots and Decepticons," Shockwave said. "All the research that was conducted was either destroyed, or stolen. Nothing was left behind."
Arcee's breath hitched up. "The predacons that attacked the Selected mechs and femmes during the hunt, they were born and bred in your lab, were they not."
"They were," he stated. He looked at her. "My discoveries were never left unprotected. Whatever was stolen was but a small sliver of what I had found. I would never have been so careless as to leave sensitive documents behind. Before we were to launch the staged attack on the clones, I had erased my lab of sensitive information. However, one needs to only examine the CNA of the clones to gather enough information to make a discovery of their own."
Arcee swallowed, anticipation building up inside of her. "Could someone be transformed, or...changed into a predacon?"
"Tampering with creation is possible," he said. "But it is illogical to expect great results. Altering the biological chemistry of a Cybertronian could be done with the right information."
Arcee was silent for a moment, optics clouded over. Her servos clenched as she put together the pieces she had just received. So, it was possible that someone had tampered with Bumblebee, and maybe others, and turned them into predacons. The thought left her seething with anger, and she could not wait to sink her blades into whoever was responsible.
Her comm link came to life, nearly startling her. With a sigh, she answered the call. "Yes?"
"Find anything useful?" Ark asked.
"Very," Arcee answered, her optics flickering over to Shockwave who was regarding her. "I assume you have something of interest you would like to discuss."
"I do in fact," Ark agreed. "KnockOut and I continued our bit of research with the new information you have given us from your friend, and I do believe it has some interest to you."
Arcee's frown deepened. She was torn. On the one hand, she really needed to stay and continue her questioning with Shockwave, but she was also curious about what Ark and the others discovered. She shifted in her seat, but then remembered the other reason why she had come. Glancing at the datapad, an idea came to her. "I will meet you in five," she said. Ending the comm link, she looked back up. "Shockwave," she said suddenly. "By no means are we finished with our talk, but I have something I would like you to do." Taking the datapad back, she displayed a picture to him. "Lord Megatron provided me with this, and I would like for you to create a copy for me. An exact replica."
"What makes you think I am a welder?" he asked, though he did examine the image she had displayed.
"I have seen some of your...carefully crafted work," she said. "I have no doubt that you can manage this." She set the datapad down and slid out of her chair. "Thank you for your time, but I will be back to continue this discussion."
"Arcee," he said suddenly, and she froze at the sound of her name coming from him. She slowly turned to regard him and noticed how he seemed to be studying her with such intensity. "I would advise you to leave this matter alone. You do not know what you may find."
Images of Bumblebee smiling, laughing, dancing with her flashed through her mind. She remembered him and how he made her experience feelings she had never felt before. She wanted a life with him, and that had seemed impossible. Then she had found out that he was the Heir, her intended mate, on the day he was pronounced dead, and the hope within her shattered. Now, she had found out that he was alive, and that hope was reborn. A life with him was possible, it could happen. She just needed to ensure his survival.
She was not going to let a scientist tell her what to do and ruin that hope.
Yet all those retorts and arguments faded from her mouth when she caught sight of the delicate object nearly hidden on Shockwave's workstation. She had seen if before and could remember the conversation Bumblebee had with her so long ago about a friend of his receiving such small gifts as a sign of affection. It had seemed like a sweet gesture, one that held so much meaning. A fragile, small thing that might have gone unnoticed. Yet it was a bright piece of art that was so tenderly loved and created. It glittered and glowed in the dark, much like the ones in the gardens Bumblebee had taken her to.
"What if it were Red Alert who was amongst the dead?" she asked instead, looking at him. No emotion betrayed his features, and she did not need to see his thoughts to know how much such a question affected him. With barely another word, Arcee turned and left the room.