Jack was casually sipping from his energon cube, speaking with Dreadwing in the quiet of his room, when Megatrons voice rung out behind them. Dreadwing placed down the gun he was polishing to answer him, and Jack relinquished his cube. There went his afternoon.

"My brother and I are your beck and call, Lord Megatron." Greeted Dreadwing, who respectfully bowed. He did the same without hesitation.

"I have a task for you two, the kind of which I would normally reserve for myself." Said Megatron, and peeked up from his bow. "Seeing that Skyquake is among us again, I am certain that the two of you shall suffice. That is, if you wish to prove your continued loyalty."

At this, Jack felt himself puffing up slightly and standing a little stranger, all while combating the urge to rebuke Megatron for his doubt in his loyalties. Part of him fought for the ridiculous claim that he would ever betray his 'One true master', and the other that he never had any loyalty to him to begin with. Fortunately for him, he managed to beat down the wave of emotions, managing to answer the warlord in a clear, even tone.

"I shall complete any task I am given Master."

"See to it that you do. I would suggest that neither of you undertake this mission lightly, as Airachnid is quite dangerous, especially when corner."

"I...do not understand. Airachnid is first lieutenant." Jack stated, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"She will be missed." Megatron replied simply. "And depending on who manages to terminate her, I shall reward by allowing him to replace Airachnid."

Dreadwing perked up, intrigued now. He had a light in his optics- one for opportunity. "It shall be as you say Lord Megatron. Skyquake and I shall depart immediately." He answered before Jack could get another word in. Megatron, whom Jack knew would be satisfied by the answer, then logged off. Jack was left to recollect his thoughts, mind wandering over the possibilities. The last time he interacted with Airachnid, he nearly lost his head, even after he managed to blow up her ship. This time, he wasn't going to give her the chance to come that close again.

Mostly, he thought of Arcee, and how she would hate if she weren't the one to kill Airachnid in the end. He felt that she would forgive him though, if he managed the job before her.

~Later~

"Are you ready Skyquake?" Dreadwing asked him, to which Jack shook his head. He could never be ready for what was to come.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's overkill on Megatrons part to dispatch two of his most proficient warriors for one unconfirmed energon source?" Asked Airachnid, walking ahead of the seeker twins on a rocky path in the middle of a large forest.

"It is because Lord Megatron knows that will finish this swiftly and efficiently." Said Jack, narrowing his optics at the femme. She had already seen the through the ruse of this being a scouting mission, though that was hardly difficult to discover. Airachnid may have been many things, but stupid was not one of them.

"I was referring to Dreadwing and myself." She continued, ignoring the angry look she was given, placing a hand on her chest in a reference to herself. "Didn't you have your spark snuffed by that Autobot scout? Talk about pathetic."

Faster than an eye could blink, Jack went for the sword on his back, only to be stopped by a hand nearly identical to his, in all but color. Dreadwing forced his hand down, much to his chagrin. Airachnid was grinning at the pair.

"Control your temper brother." Scolded his blue counterpart, releasing him only when he stopped struggling. "Megatron will be most displeased with us if we are to fail." He added, seeing the anger that still resided in their, casting a sidelong glance at the spider femme. Reluctantly, Jack allowed his hand to fall to his side, while Airachnid held a smug grin toward his way before turning her back to the pair.

And that was when he decided to strike, regardless of what Dreadwing thought, or how a part of him screamed that it was a dishonorable act to attack an opponent with their back to them. His sword slid free with a metallic hiss, swinging upward with his full might. He was not disappointed when the clang of metal was heard moments later, one of Airachnids spider limbs having been sliced off in the attack, the sound intensely gratifying to his audio receptors. The femme, however, had jumped back before Jack could get in a killing blow. Her reaction was just as swift, webbing shooting from her wrists. While Jack managed to roll out of the way, Dreadwing had not, becoming pinned against a large tree as Airachnid fled, utterly helpless and unable to move. Jack set off to chase her-

"Skyquake, don't!" Dreadwing shouted after him, causing Jack to skid to a stop. "Do not be a fool!"

And while Jack hated to admit it, Dreadwing was right. Airachnid loved her games, and this one could very well be the end of him, if he weren't careful. Though nothing would satisfy him more than the sight of sparkless body, going in alone would have been a deadly mistake. His first encounter with her and Arcee were proof enough of that.

With an irritable growl, he turned back, freeing Dreadwing from his sticky prison with a few strokes from his sword. The mech made a disgusted face as he pulled off the white webs, which resisted his attempts to remove it from his fingers. Jack would have smiled, if it weren't for the situation at hand. Dreadwing gave him a dirty look.

"Skyquake, we are supposed to work together!" The mech shouted at him, throwing his hand down. "We were to wait for the right moment! Because of your rash actions, we lost any advantage we had!"

"We never had an advantage." Jack replied, his scowl matching Dreadwings own. "She already knew that we had orders to terminate her. Airachnid is not a fool like Starscream. That's why I took a chance struck while her back was turned. She would not have expected that from either of us."

Dreadwing, disturbed by his brothers uncharacteristic dishonorable actions, felt an uneasy sting in the back of his mind. Even if Skyquakes words had truth, never would he had believed that Skyquake would turn on his ethics like this. Something...something wasn't right with Skyquake. Something he intended to figure out.

Now however, the faced a dilemma; how to proceed after Airachnid.

"We must go after Airachnid. Megatron's order were to-"

"I know what he said, and I intend to see them through, but charging in blindly as I almost did would be foolhardy." Jack responded, looking off in the direction that Airachnid had fled. "Was Airachnid not an expert in capturing Autobots? She has managed to detain even Arcee with little effort. A feat dozens of troopers have proven time and again that they can't accomplish."

"We are different from the drones." Dreadwing responded. "Together, Airachnid stands no chance against our combined might. Provided that we fight as one." He emphasized, optics narrowing on the end. Jack sighed, seeing as his 'brother' wasn't likely to get over that any time soon... "And I have an idea, if you're willing to do things my way this time."

"I'm listening..."

Airachnid was tending to her wound when she felt a stirring in the webbing she had made, smirking deviously when she realized that Skyquakes hotheaded nature had led him right into her trap, as she had expected. This would be quick.

Finding the seeker had been too easy- he stood out as a big green dot against the rocky walls where he was examining the webbing she had placed in the area. He removed his hand, an ever present scowl on his face as he wiped away the sticky residue on his plating, sword-arm clutching the hilt tightly. She hissed lightly, poised to strike while his back was turned to her.

Skyquake fell onto one knee when her blade sunk into his shoulder, and she silently commended him when he did not cry out in pain. She chuckled delightfully as he clawed at her with a hand, sword falling to the dirt with clang when she stabbed him again. The energon flowing down his backside was a lovely sight, her spark thrumming excitedly as more poured out with each wound she inflicted on Skyquake. She finally elicited a cry from him when the acid from her fangs dripped onto his plating. His death had to be painful and slow for attacking her with her guard down, costing her a leg...oh yes, Skyquake was going to pay.

Airachnid grunted when the mech suddenly rose to his feet, forcing her to jump off when he slammed his back against the rocky wall. She watched as Skyquake dug his fingers into rock to keep himself from sliding back down, smirking when he glared heatedly at her.

Skyquake eyed the blade mere feet from him, then back at her. The smirk grew as he made a dive for the weapon, intercepting his desperate attempt with her bladed limb, forcing him back with a pain filled hiss at the new gash running up his arm. This didn't deter the mech however, and he charged again, Airachnid ready to strike when he went for the blade.

Airachnid managed to hit him, but his hand wrenched up, grabbing her spidery leg in an unyielding grip. The pressure continued to build, the metal cracking under his hand as she struggled to pry herself away from Skyquake when a large hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her up and away from his body, held at a distance where her many legs did little good as she had no leverage. She felt the fingers squeeze, causing her to choke in his grip. Airachnid brought her knee up into his elbow, forcing Skyquake to release her when the arm fell to his side. She resumed her attack on the weakened Skyquake, ready to finish him off-

"Ugh!" Airachnid cried out when a blaster hit her squarely in the chest, sending Airachnid flying backward into her own webbing. She groaned softly, struggling to get herself up, catching flecks of blue in her vision.

"Retreat, Skyquake!" She heard another shout above them. Dreadwing...how had he escaped?! Unless...

Skyquake was smiling darkly at her now, swiftly transforming into his alt mode before flying into the open sky. Dreadwings hand extended out, his thumb hovering over a detonator.

Explosions rocked the ground when Dreadwing transformed, joining his brother in the sky to escape the radius of the many bombs, Airachnid anger filled scream cut off when she met her demise by their hands. Megatron would certainly be pleased. Dreadwing was going to say as much to Skyquake when he noticed that his brother wasn't focusing on the flight, the jet jerking in odd directions now and again before beginning to dip down dangerously.

He felt his spark seize in his chest when Skyquake began to spiral downward, fearing that he would die a second time, so soon after his resurrection when the jet just barely managed to pull out of the uncontrolled dive before transforming out of his alt, skidding harshly against the ground before coming to a stop. The soft groans coming from the mech was enough to relieve Dreadwing, proof that Skyquake had survived his fall. He rushed over to his twin.

"Skyquake!" He shouted in concern, grabbing at his shoulder with an urgent shake. A hiss emanated from the mech, who quickly jerked away from the touch, his body covered in metal burns and scraps. "Thank the Allspark." Dreadwing uttered softly.

Jack found it a struggle to move his arms when a hand helped him to his feet carefully when he found Dreadwing smiling at him. Optics shifting over to the smoldering wreckage of metal and stone. Their mission was complete.

"We...we should return and report to Megatron." He said to Dreadwing, a scratching sound in his voice. The mech nodded, careful of his wounds while a groundbridge was called in.