Chapter 9
It was an elegant night out as Arcee sat on top of the hill Jack showed her about a week ago. She could see the starry sky glimmer down at her and the desert wind blowing past. It was a place where she could be alone, just her and her thoughts.
Arcee was too busy mourning for Jack that she didn't notice the man arrive and sneak around her. She couldn't think about anything else other than her human partner. Recently she realized that the feeling inside of her whenever he was around was love. At first she didn't believe herself, saying it was impossible for a Cybertronian to love a human. But sure enough, as time passed by and every minute, she grieved over the disappearance over her partner, she knew that Jack meant the world to her.
She loved him, with all her spark.
For a moment, her thoughts, memories, and emotions swarmed in her brain, like bees in a honeycomb. She could feel them and pick out anyone she wanted, she was truly deep inside of her mind.
Until she was disrupted by two words.
"Hello Arcee"
On instinct, Arcee quickly got up, activated her blasters and turned to her left. Leaning against the tree was Agent 000 wearing blue jeans along with a stylish brown sweater. Like before, his mask was covering his mouth and nose leaving his eyes that wandered the starry sky. Anger and desperation fled through Arcee as she aimed her blasters at the man's head. Agent 000 didn't even bother turning to look at her, either he didn't notice the blasters aimed or he didn't care.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast your head off right now" Arcee demanded, sill sniffling back tears from earlier.
"Relax female" Agent 000 responded, still leaning against the tree and gazing at the sky. "I'm not looking to fight anyone at this moment."
"Then why are you here?" the two-wheeler asked. She knew how dangerous Agent 000 can be and didn't want to take any chances. She saw him slice apart her friends, her family with no remorse. He's a monster with no heart.
"I am still asking myself that same question" the agent replied. He looked up at the moon and stared into the night's light. "After our last encounter, I started having many questions. Who are you? Who is Jack? But most importantly, who am I?"
Arcee stared at Agent 000 with disbelief. The person who tried to kill her mere hours ago is now standing next to her, talking as if this was a normal routine. She kept her blasters trailed on the man but did a quick scan to find that he was unarmed. Curious to see what he wants to say, she allowed him to continue.
"You see, I am a man of mystery. I do not remember my age, I do not remember my family, I do not even remember my own name. I woke up one day in an operation chair and was told that my alias is Agent 000. MECH told me I was once one of their soldiers, injured in battle and put in an operation called Operation 000; the injection of a MECH made chemical mixture that could possibly save my life. I believed them, and that was one of my mistakes."
"Never believe anything MECH says" Arcee stated, lowering her blasters. "They only care about themselves and will do anything to have their own way. Silas will even sacrifice his own soldiers to save his own skin."
Agent 000 nodded. "Silas, I had my suspicions the first time I met him. After the questions started to develop in my brain, I went to him for answers. I needed to know what my place in this universe is for. When I asked him these questions, he gave me untruthful answers." He clenched his hand into a tight fist. "It didn't take me too long to realize everything he was telling me was a lie. My back-story MECH told me was a lie, my personal information was a lie, even my name, Nicholas McLaren, is a lie."
Arcee took in what Agent 000 was telling her. He is a ruthless monster who doesn't know anything about himself. Everything he's been told has been a lie, just a way for MECH to use him. She looked at the agent and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
"I asked him about your friend Jack" he continued, getting the attention of the two-wheeler. "He said MECH kidnapped him and put him through the same operation I went through; Operation 000. He was the first test subject and apparently didn't make it out alive. I didn't believe one second of Silas' garbage so I decided to look into it myself. I went into MECH's data base and found information on the kid along with the Autobots, including you. May I say you are quite the little warrior; two hidden forearm blades that are retractable, two level 2 blasters, and high levels of agility, speed, and stealth."
Is he... complimenting me? Arcee asked herself. She was now focused on what Agent 000 was saying and was wanted to see what he found on Jack.
"As for Jack, my suspicions were correct when I found his profile. The data base said he was still alive but didn't give the exact location. I have yet to scout the entire MECH facility and I know that there are many others so I cannot tell you where he is."
Agent 000's words brought hope to Arcee. Her Jack was still alive and the agent sincerely looked as though he was telling the truth. They still needed to find him, but knowing Jack was alive somewhere restored her hope and courage.
"C-could you look for him in the MECH facility?" Arcee asked, not knowing what the man might say to respond.
Agent 000 turned to look at her, his dark purple eyes showing no signs of emotion whatsoever. "I will continue searching for him but I doubt I will find him. I've seen the prison cells so Silas must be keeping him somewhere else." He turned back to look at the moon and continued.
"When I researched myself, I found almost no information. My entire existence is a big question of who I am. All I know about myself are my skills, and my liking for spilled blood. MECH has done nothing for me since I've awoken and haven't told me anything of great value so far."
"So why work for them?" Arcee asked.
"For the joy of killing" he responded coldly. "I will continue working for them while I investigate on my own, but in time, MECH will no longer be of use to me and will face my wrath. They will become an enemy to me, just like you Autobots are. I do not believe in peace and happiness, or anything passive. Improvement comes from battles, wars, losses, and I intend to follow my thoughts."
Suddenly he was interrupted by a small sound on the side of Arcee's ear. The two-wheeler put two fingers up to her com-link and answered the call.
"Arcee, come in Arcee" came Ratchet's voice from the other side.
"I'm here Ratchet" she responded. "What do you need?"
"Optimus requires you to come back to base immediately. We have made some findings and we plan on attacking the MECH base as soon as possible."
"Copy that Ratchet, I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Arcee out." She said as she ended the transmission.
She turned to face Agent 000 who was now looking at her.
"I suppose this is where we go our separate ways" he said blankly. "Know this female, you are still my enemy and this talk has not changed anything. When we meet again, I will not hesitate to slice you open from the inside out, along with your fellow Autobots. Best of luck in finding Jack, however if our paths cross, be prepared to die."
With that, Agent 000 walked away. Arcee stood there silently, processing what happened. Agent 000 is still an enemy, but perhaps he is not the ruthless killer he sought out to be. Inside, he is a lost soul, trying to find his way back. He knows nothing else other than killing and that is what makes him dangerous.
Arcee waited until he was gone before transforming and heading off to the Omega One base. Her courage and faith has been restored and now, she will do anything to find Jack and save him.
...
It has been approximately a day since the Autobots encountered Agent 000, the team has spent the last 24 hours recovering from their wounds and recharging their strength. Currently, they stand in the command center along with their human allies, going over their plan of attack for when they infiltrate the MECH base.
Everyone's strength and energy has returned and they are all ready to fight. Each of them having their own reason for running into this battle but all of them have theme goal; find and rescue Jack and stop MECH from creating their super soldier substance.
Arcee stood next to Optimus as he spoke to the Autobots. She had a serious look and was ready to fight. After her secret talk she had with Agent 000, the mourning and emotionally unstable was no more. She was ready to do anything in her power to battle MECH and save Jack; nothing was going to stop her.
Ratchet had noticed Arcee's change in attitude when she returned. Before Optimus told Arcee about their findings, the medic had mentioned her different attitude.
"For every loss, a person will become stronger" was all the Prime had said.
Also in the room was Bumblebee; the scout had awoken from stasis much to Raf's delight. Although he sustained major damage in their fight against Agent 000, Ratchet had patched him up and the young Autobot was itching for a rematch. Earlier, Optimus had given him the rundown of what they had discovered as well as a strategy to take out Agent 000. After hearing the plan, Bumblebee immediately agreed. He wanted revenge against Agent 000 and was planning on giving it to him.
"... and that his how we will attack" Optimus concluded. "While it is a simple strategy, we must be quick and be successful. Once we locate Jack, we will contact Agent Fowler for his strike team is ready for dispatch. We must be very cautious when moving around; I will not allow any one of us to go through what happened during our last battle. If you encounter Agent 000, contact Rafael immediately so that Bumblebee and Wheeljack will know when to come in."
Optimus looked at the group of Autobots and saw their looks of determination on their faces. Unlike last time, they're judgements were not clouded by anger and hatred. They know what must be done, and they planned on coming out successful.
"Be careful Bulkhead!" Miko yelled from the raised platform.
"Don't worry Miko," the wrecker replied, "I'll be fine."
"You too Bee" Raf said to his Autobot guardian. "I know you won't be fighting right away but you still have to watch out."
The scout responded with happy beeps while thrusting his hand in the air.
"Watch each other's back and be on guard at all times" Optimus commanded while activating his faceplate.
"Autobots, roll out!"
...
Author's note: Hey guys, I'm really excited for the ending of this story. I think I have 2 more chapters left so be sure to follow along if you haven't already. This chapter is a bit short so I'll try to upload the next one later tonight. Also, currently reviews on are down which means I can't see them. Nonetheless, you should still send me a review, just I won't see them until they fix the issue. Surprise me I guess. :P
Other than that, hope your enjoying it and have a great day.