Across the Isle: Short Stories of Past and Present
Leap Frog
Croaking, never ending croaking, filled the marshlands at night with unnecessary noise. The monogoliaths and elephants casually peered in slight annoyance near the foreign ship where a group of Aquatronian garden leapers seemed to be making a ruckus. Off by one second each, one leaper after another "sang" in what they believed was harmony. More joined in until the group almost had nearly forty members crowded on logs and stable vegetation to socialize. It grew louder and louder...
Something large was thrown into the water and all the leapers scattered in a mass exodus. No less than a minute later, over three dozen sets of four green optics breached the murky water like green bulbs to stare in the direction of the intrusion, all as silent as a cemetery. An object akin to a hollow chair floated for a second before sinking into the marsh with an array of bubbles. The leapers shifted their eyes from the chair to the ship beyond it and an open door.
"Hey! Some of us are trying to work in peace here!" Bolt shouted angrily, wagging his fist at the smaller creatures.
All the leapers continued to stare at him quietly until finally, one made a single loud croak that reverberated like a taunt.
The Vehicon pointed at the one that made the noise, "I will blast you to kingdom come! One more noise out of any of you and I swear I will burn your little afts into charcoal!"
When none of them made another noise, he growled and pressed the button to shut the ship's doors, still glaring at them as said doors sealed with a hiss.
The leapers still remained quiet but the one that made the last sound hopped out of the water onto a sunken log and made a low rumble.
No less than an hour later, Bolt was tinkering with various supplies and Energon when he heard a small thump. It sounded barely like anything, probably an animal that just happened to tap against the ship. It was common. But then it sounded again...and again until he could pinpoint that the noise wasn't from something beside the ship, it was coming from something on top of the ship.
He climbed on a ladder to the top exit and opened the seal to the roof. He didn't see anything and the noise stopped. Upon leaving the ship and closing the door via signal, he stood there baffled at his surroundings until he heard a familiar, singular, long croak behind him. Turning, he was stunned to see an army of leapers on various places upon the ship's top area staring at him with the ring leader now on the closed exit hatch.
"You have got to be kidding me," Bolt muttered.
The leader of the leapers peered up at him, staring into his soul, and gave one last croak.
Infuriated by the creature, Bolt snapped, "That's it!"
He launched himself at the leaper to attempt to grab it but it hopped over him. He was forced to land on his knees when he didn't keep his balance. Looking back, he saw the leaper still staring as if mocking his slow reflexes against its own. Snarling, he stumbled to catch it and landed on his chest when it hopped away again. The other leapers merely moved their heads to watch Bolt chase their peer across the roof.
After five minutes, Bolt paused and was considering just blasting the damn thing as he wanted in the first place but then, he felt a weight on his shoulder. He saw on his right another leaper right in his face before it gave a croak too and hopped off.
"What is this?! Ganging up on me, are you?! We'll see who's laughing in the end!"
He tried to catch the second one when another hopped on his back and then landed in front of him with a rumble. Then more joined in as he tried to get at least one but with all the commotion, he was growing impatient and sloppy in his coordination. They kept hopping all over him and around him, all croaking to the point where he finally...gave up.
Plopping down to sit on the roof cross legged, he made a loud sigh and held his helm in his servos with his elbows on his knees. He was so tired that he didn't even hear them stop too until he felt one, and only one of them, land on his calf.
Lowering his servos, he then saw all the leapers circled around him, some tilting their heads and the one that came up to rest on his leg didn't make a sound. This time, to his bewilderment, the leaper made a different noise. It sounded more like a low squeal but amused yet calm. It made another rumble afterwards like it was waiting for him to say something.
"You want me to admit defeat, don't you?"
The leaper merely looked at him, its throat pulsing but silent.
"Alright, you win. There, I said it."
Suddenly, the leaper hopped onto his head and turned to look like a hat and gave several croaks before the other joined in with their mocking sounds. Bolt just sat there and took it. They finally decided to leave and headed to the roof's edge to leap back into the water, not before they all peered up at him from the water's surface. Then they disappeared beneath it.
The rest of the night was silent but, in the morning, well, the leapers were there to give him their victory chorus.
"I GET IT ALREADY!"
Queen for a Day
Arcee placed her thumbs together and moved her digits to make a framing gesture at the construction zone. "Looks just right. Excellent work!"
The Constructicon smiled and said, "Thank you, my Queen. Slowly but surely, we're setting up new homes and fueling stations for the people."
"And your efforts are greatly appreciated."
Haywire tapped Arcee's shoulder and she excused herself from the Constructicon team leader. The mech then said, "Time to split and deal with the representatives of Iacon. They need your approval for a new project."
"But it feels like I just got here!" She scoffed.
"Unfortunately, being queen means running around everywhere and making things right."
Arcee didn't argue with that but shook her head. She followed him back to the Crystal Palace and took her place among the throne with her white armor in place and her crown sitting upon her head. She looked as regal as a decorative painting, and she hated it.
As she listened to the mechs tell their request and offer certain dates and times that they wanted to accomplish their feats, she nodded and shook her head more than she could count that she almost forgot what she agreed on and what she didn't. Then she got a notice from Haywire yet again.
"You are needed for a speech at the War Memorial Museum's grand opening, remember?"
She nearly jumped out of her seat. "It's today?!"
Realizing her outburst and the small look her head guard, Scythe, and a few surprised expressions given by Iacon's representatives, she regained her composure awkwardly. A queen couldn't be too hasty or show extreme emotion where she could be seen by all. It was a dumb rule but it also made sense at the same time.
Haywire raised a brow, "Yes...did you really forget?"
"Um, too much to think about. Lead the way please. I think I just might lose my sense of direction at this point."
The red mech held back a soft smile and gestured for her to walk alongside him. The representatives parted to let her stride the silver-lined walkway that led to the hall doors. Scythe and two of his guards followed.
At the museum, she kept her speech minimal but respective, even when talking about the Decepticons. The crowd there made her nervous but she held on and continued. Since the end of the war, Cybertron was a bit mixed on perspectives but not all Autobots were peaceful and not all Decepticons were upset by the unification. In order to make Cybertron prosper again, they had to work together. She made sure to note this somewhat in her speech which gave her loud applause from former members of both factions. She held a smile as she cut the ribbon to the museum's entrance. But afterwards, she was stopped again.
"Pardon me, your Majesty, but you are needed at the docking bay of the city's space-ports."
She resisted giving a groan and held a forced smile but, of course, Haywire knew her dilemma and just gave her a knowing glance. She met with the dock workers who explained that they problem was that too many ships were trying to come in but there wasn't enough leaving. Her idea: build more ports. It was the only solution to keep up supplies and not lose any. They agreed.
Was that the end of her day? Hardly.
Next, there was meeting with a disgruntled Grimlock who wanted more territory than just the Underground to roam in with his team. She gave him the Sea of Rust that now had a new city and was being refurbished slowly but surely. Optimus wanted to check up on her. She gave him a hearty though pained grin and talked to him...longer than she should have before Haywire was nearly pushing her out the door to deal with the next task. Shockwave and his leader wanted to know if she was open to negotiations to increase civility and trade. She agreed because she knew how Shockwave was quite an asset and to lose his business would cause a downgrade for many things including peace with the Decepticons.
More things piled up and she scrambled to fix them or deal with them until finally, she collapsed onto her berth at the end of the day with one leg off and one arm propped upward like she was a mangled puppet.
Haywire walked into her private chambers knowing she might need Energon or other fuels with such a stressful job. "Having fun?"
"Mmmhdfpdggh..."
He frowned and went to her side before leaning to listen closer. "What was that?"
Arcee lifted her helm up and sighed, "This is killing me."
"Oh now, don't be like that, Arcee. The duties of a queen are difficult but I don't think anybody could have been better at the job than you, maybe not even Optimus."
Hearing her real name made her give a genuine smile at Haywire. In public, he always referred to her by her title. As a close friend and behind secluded doors, he always called her the true name she had since she could remember.
"Thanks for being there for me. I don't know what I would do without you."
"Probably go nuts and kill everyone, but I don't judge," he laughed, holding up his servos. "Do you need anything? Oil bath drawn? Some high grade? We have a masseuse on payroll who you never seem to use the services of."
Arcee readjusted her position and closed her optics. "Recharge would be a saving grace by now."
Haywire nodded and turned to leave. "Then I will make sure you aren't disturbed for some time. When you awake, I'll have your favorite iron core cakes, rust sticks and sweet Pink Energon sent to you."
She gleamed pleased by that and slowly drifted into recharge. Her few hours of peace felt like a blessing.
Cyberbiology
Bolt loved the outdoors...mostly...but regardless of the ups and downs, he had a good sense about it.
"Run, Bolt! Run!" His captain called out frantically.
The Vehicon sprinted as fast as his cloned self could go. He had to thank whoever the original Vehicon was because he narrowly avoided a large black and gold, Tyrannosaurus-like beast from biting his head off by outrunning it. He jumped onto the moving ship with several bots clutching his arms immediately and pulling him to safety. Panting, he watched as the creature roared at them as the cargo bay doors closed.
"Have a death sentence, do you?" His leader scowled.
Bolt panted, "Velocitronian Sawtooths are usually not awake during this time of day. They prefer dusk and nighttime where they can hunt unseen. I guess I may have gotten too close to a nest or something."
Plague, his leader, shook his head, "Well, we can't survey all these cybernetic species if we die. Watch your six next time or we might just leave you behind."
"Y-yes, sir."
Plague walked off and Bolt groaned before he was patted hard on the back by his chuckling teammate. "Still pissing off the commander I see. I think he's just afraid he'll lose a valuable member."
Bolt gave a brief laugh alongside his buddy, Piledriver. "Yeah, well, can't help but see life up close and personal."
"Hold onto your armor, Bolt, because we're going to Kanjis next, then Chaar, and finally, we're going to return to the dreaded and spooky Aquatron," Piledriver said in a fake ghostly voice. "Oooo!"
Bolt gave him a soft punch to the shoulder, "Shut up."
Sure enough, Kanjis was within sight in an hour via space bridge. Bolt and Piledriver were the first to set up a temporary camp with the Kanjian soldiers they hooked up with. The locals were all techno-organics and all friendly as long as they didn't defy certain rules. They agreed to give them a tour of a section of the wilderness to help expand Iacon's knowledge of the various cybernetic life across the galaxies. While Plague talked with the commander of the soldiers, the soldiers themselves guided Bolt and Piledriver along with the rest of the team.
Dragons, mermaids, hippogriffs, and unicorns of Earth were myths but here, Bolt saw just what may have inspired those myths in the first place. It was no secret cybernetic life had touched down on Earth long during its creation, some periods with humans already around definitely, but it was cool to see various creatures that could pass for such mythical monstrosities. Cybertron had its fair share too through Predacons and singlehorns. Any of them could have been the original myths.
He took note of some creatures, like webbed Opineli spider, that could glide from cliffs and trees. Trees that could move on their own, some of which were quickly warned to be highly aggressive and dangerous that no life survived among them.
Bolt was amazed to see Dinobots as powerful as Cybertron's roaming around. They were given the warning of the queen being somewhere nearby so it was best not to talk to the herd until the queen was talked to first. Klea Pakora was her name, a Kanjian phrase nicknamed to her meaning "the almighty" for her supposed untamable might.
"Remind me not to dance with her," Piledriver said.
"Assuming she doesn't tear you limb from limb first, you poor, naïve geeks," one soldier sneered. "She is so unstoppable that even our strong warriors fear her. King Kronos even holds her in high regard and he's one big dude himself."
Both Cybertronians looked at each other surprised before they continued on. By the end of the tour, Bolt had almost a hundred species of wildlife, most non-speaking, in his files. When he was shown the data pads with the most accurate information about all species known, including Kanjis citizen types, his excitement changed to slight annoyance, more like a small jealousy that they had way more information to give than they were allowing him to know.
Given he was an entrusted survey member, he would have let it go for the sake of the team but his Decepticon coding was nagging at him to steal it. They probably had thousands of copies, even in their schools. One missing wouldn't hurt them. So, naturally, he waited for them to be distracted and took the data pads silently.
Upon boarding his ship, he quickly made his way to his private study and placed the data pads with his ever-growing collection of knowledge. Sure, it was wrong, but he loved to read, loved to know about everything and anything. He already had "borrowed" from Earth, of course, Caminus, Junkion...though it was all hand written, Aquatron and a few other worlds. Chaar's species just had to be added. He would eventually give it back but, for now, they had a home with him.
"We'll arrive at Chaar in just two hours," the commander said.
Bolt was already beaming with joy.
Chaar was desolate but not lifeless. The Decepticon colony was home to the invasive Cybertronian Decepticons and the animals that had called the planet their home long before the Cons' arrival. Taking the information of noted species here was easy. He already contacted someone on the planet for a copy of the data. It paid to be on one faction occupying a planet, even if the war was over.
Piledriver chuckled, "I heard stories about this planet. Is it true Megatron lived here for a while?"
"Yes, he stayed here right before he took over half of Cybertron before the whole dead planet fiasco. This is where his madness kind of grew too, not to speak ill of my former leader, of course."
"You admired him, have to respect that."
Upon landing on Chaar, Bolt took in the rocky world. He missed being stationed here. It was fun until the war began picking up. A Decepticon he recognized as Cyclonus met up with him and handed him the data pads. Although the purple mech didn't talk much, he was very reliable.
Then he noticed a glimmer in the distance and ran to it. It didn't look like ordinary metal and it was poking out of the ground no bigger than a handle to...something. Reluctantly, he pulled it out of the ground and saw it was a blade. A dagger with inscriptions to an unknown language? He found it odd that he never noticed it before while he stayed here but maybe someone recently lost it. But it looked foreign even for cybernetic standards. He would have to research whether or not his instincts were true, but that was for another time.
Suddenly, he heard his name and placed the dagger in his subspace quickly. He ran to Piledriver who pointed to a rock bed and a pit.
Piledriver pointed to a nest of snake-like creatures, rock vipers, hissing at them from below, the only giveaway of their location was their glowing optics. "Cute, little things, aren't they?"
"Yeah, just don't let them bite you. Their venom will knock you out for a few days," Bolt said. "I kind of already know a lot about the wildlife here, not as much as I should but reading into any facts or notable behavior I missed won't hurt one bit."
Just then, Plague appeared beside them. "Sorry to do this to you, boys, but we just got a call from Cybertron. We need to go to Earth and help find the Allspark. Think of this as a chance to know more about Earth's species, never know what we'll find."
Piledriver nudged Bolt, "Ain't that awesome, Bolt? You and I touring Earth? Think we can meet some of those creatures they call 'rhinos?' I heard they're bruisers like I am."
The Vehicon laughed, "And just as arrogant probably."
He received a playful hit and they both made their way to the ship. He knew much about Earth that he could get away with studying on the Nemesis, but he was very giddy to see it unlimited. And he wouldn't be alone in his journey on the Endeavor...
Bolt awoke on his berth. The silence of the ship holding a calming nature to it, a rarity most of the time. He got up and moved to the command deck where he would find Plague giving orders every hour or so.
"Good morning, commander."
He stood beside Turmoil's chair, the pilot of the Endeavor, and scrolled through the camera feed, the co-pilot's, Clover's, job but he was out right now. Kliever's study was empty and clean, usually scattered with data pads but he organized them for her. The astronomy twins', Starbright and Cometflare's, research lab was always clean; they were sticklers about that. Several other crewmembers' studies were neat as Bolt saw to it they would always have a clean space to work, something they would have appreciated.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Excellent. Keep up the good work, fellas!"
Upon seeing the outside as well and determining nothing was wrong, he left the silent command deck and went past several chambers, several rooms and storage ports with only his footsteps heard echoing in the halls until he reached the cargo bay doors. Attached to a wall was the button to exit and a set of weapons prepared which he took just in case.
Opening the exit, he was subjected to Earth's endearing light and the sound of birds chirping. The door hit the water of the marshland, barely unsettling the water. A garden leaper already took up residence sitting on part of it. He took out a data pad and marked a check on a list he had prepared which included seeing the same garden leaper who liked to park right on the door to relax.
He watched as the monogoliaths roamed around unbothered and studied any interesting behaviors. They seemed to always test trees before taking any leaves off them oddly. Nightpaws slept hidden among the vegetation in the shade and bloodhawks flew throughout the skies looking for prey they could snatch up. He kept a close watch in case any went after him. It was his routine to do so.
"Never gets old, huh, Piledriver?"
He never received an answer, not that he expected one. The left vacant spot beside him he refused to litter with any of his research, always putting it on his right side. He pretended in his mind that Piledriver agreed, just the same as he pretended the crew of the Endeavor were still doing their jobs and research. It was enough for him to continue on marking his findings. No matter what, he was a cyberbiologist who would do his job until the very end.
All Hail Megatron
Megatron sat in his cell bored. He could hear the guards laughing at each other's jokes, not that they were actually funny to begin with. Among him, he could see a few of his fellow Decepticons like Starscream and, surprisingly, Lugnut. He hadn't seen the mech in eons since they got separated in the Aquatron incident. No doubt he stirred up some chaos upon returning to Cybertron after its rebirth. Classic Lugnut.
He rested his helm against wall as he crossed his arms waiting for something, anything to happen. One thing he disliked most was doing nothing for long periods of time. He could stand at attention on his main deck on the Nemesis but eventually, he would wander or go battle a willing sparring partner. He had chances to go into battle with the Autobots but he knew he couldn't do that all the time. Many times, he would just go berserk and hurt more than just them. Starscream was a victim of this rage.
It was pitiful how he was once a mighty warlord, feared but respected by all, even his enemies, but now he was just some prisoner. He expected some high-end solitude cell with multiple guards but he was placed in a common shielded cell instead. Technically, he couldn't complain because he could still talk to the other prisoners but still.
The guards didn't fear him, one of the few aspects he did miss on his part. They simply looked at him like was just a common criminal and that was hurtful to his pride. Every day, the same routine. The guards took him out, allowed him some downtime in the courtyard, gave him little Energon but enough to survive, and brought him back for the remainder of the day.
He couldn't fly anymore, otherwise he would have split the second he stepped outside. Thanks to Ratchet, he was nothing but a flightless bird in a cage without his T-cog to transform with. His weapons were gone too. His sword was a part of his arm under the cannon which he was sorely lacking. Now, he just had a tacky empty space on his arm with two pieces of metal sticking outward and a missing silver piece exposing the purple metal of his top forearm.
"Megatron."
The warlord opened his optics and peered unfazed at the guard.
"You are being moved to Crystal City for a new trial under Queen Arcee's watch in two days. You will be transferred out tomorrow. Hopefully, she sees reason and puts you out of your misery. And when you die, may Primus have mercy on your rotting soul," the guard smirked before walking away.
Megatron just glared at the guard in return speechless. He couldn't say anything without some sort of punishment, and they didn't play around in Trypticon Prison. Kudos to the warden for making sure the prison kept its cruel nature afloat even after all these years.
Legions of Decepticons had praised his name, many bots had fallen under his name, but no one seemed to care anymore about his name. That was a pretty far fall, even for him. Maybe it was time for him to go. There wasn't much left in his life anyways and dying certainly held a better charm than waiting for who knows how long in a small cell not even designed for someone of his stature.
He only had his memories to keep him occupied. The Nemesis was fun at times to be among, its residents just as humorous when they wanted to be. It made him miss those small moments where even Starscream wasn't being a pain in his aft for five minutes and actually made him laugh. Knockout had some good jabs too which, if aimed right, made his day. They were quite the broken family on the Nemesis; what he wouldn't give to see it once again.
But he was also anxious and those memories soon faded to a more troubling thought. He wouldn't ever see that again, and Arcee knew him well enough to sentence him to eternal damnation. The femme was quite vindictive when she wanted to be and he had no doubts she would get some level of revenge for what he did to many of her friends and family over the years. Her sisters were most notable, one of whom, Elita One, was indeed murdered by him personally when Optimus was revealed to have entrusted her with sensitive information.
As much as he shouldn't say it, murder was something he would miss too. He did like the feeling of ripping someone apart. Granted, he knew he was a psychopath since the very beginning as a miner, but he never acted on those traits until he could show them off as a gladiator. What fun that was in his prime.
No matter what he was considered now, no matter what Arcee's judgement, he would still be remembered in some shape or form. Call him a narcissist but it was hard to damn the great and powerful Megatron, even in death. And if he didn't die, well, he certainly would still enjoy the memory of it all when he was hailed Cybertron's greatest leader.
Haywire's Vacation
"So, you're sure you can handle everything?"
Arcee nodded, "I can do this on my own now that I have a good sense of what to do. And don't worry, I booked you a nice hotel in Harmonex. You have the directions I sent you, right?"
Haywire smiled, "Naturally. I thank you so much for this little relaxation."
"Ha, I'm next though. Running a planet takes a lot out of you, that's for sure. But enough about that, enjoy yourself, Haywire. And if you need anything, just give me a call."
The red mech bowed and entered an awaiting vessel. The captain was a good friend of his so arrangements were quite easy. On the way to Harmonex, he saw through his seated window the progression of repairs that much of Crystal City went through to remake it into a living utopia, almost. It was the third city rebuilt despite it had been abandoned even before the war but Arcee loved the city so it was given another chance. They flew over Iacon and Polyhex, both cities now thriving compared to the ruins they had become prior in the war. Kaon was spotted in the far distance beaming with light, still the Decepticon capitol of operations but now under a much more neutral rule which the citizens of Cybertron could work with. By the time they reached Harmonex, Haywire considered the tour of the skies part of his vacation to his own amusement.
Checking in to the hotel with friendly faces, he made it up to his luxury suite, all paid for by the queen herself. He was quite surprised knowing that she did this all for him before he left. He only expected a simple room but the fact that he had a personal bar was worth the upgrade, and he believed Arcee knew this. Getting a good recharge in his berth, he was excited for the following events.
The first thing he did was explore the city because Harmonex was, of course, the city of peace. All bots were welcome and no bot went home dissatisfied, so he heard. The towering decorative buildings with their ever-present lights shined among the evening sky. The fact that he was now walking among them as a citizen and not the queen's assistant was pleasing to him.
Harmonex had theatres, art galleries and various interactive booths of merchandise sales and souvenirs. He was quite fast to buy a few décor pieces for the palace for Arcee and a few for himself to enjoy. He then went to the theatre where they were showing a play about the war, kind of cheesy given the seriousness of the subject but the jokes were hysterical and accurate.
Next, he went to the large art gallery complex on the main street. Harmonex was known for its art, one of the largest known cities to express almost everything in some form of art as well. It was to be expected that they would return to such a magnificent expression even after the war. It was their lifeblood and history.
Paintings of old, far beyond his time were kept safe for thousands of years, now were shown in protective display cases for the world to see. He found a newer one, Surrounded, with what appeared to be thousands of red eyes in shadow and a single set of blue among grey in the middle a little demeaning since it was obvious what it represented but he technically couldn't say too much to someone's hand-made artwork.
He made his way back to the hotel to rest again. The next morning, he was out early. Harmonex had field lands filled with metal formations normally found nowhere else. It was never specified whether they were handmade or naturally formed over millions of years given their odd tree-like structure as well as being scattered among a large area too far apart to look natural, but he could be wrong. Walking among them in the early morning was refreshing.
Within the span of a few days, he couldn't tell how many places he had visited among Harmonex. They were all very beautiful features. But he still had almost five more days left and nothing to do. Maybe he should have paced himself a bit more. He was always an active mech, running around was his job even before serving Arcee. He was trained from a young age to get things done fast and efficiently. It had served him well but he was beginning to see the problem of it bleeding through more self-oriented activities. That was unfortunate.
For the next few days, he found himself anxious. He was supposed to be relaxing at a poolside on Harmonex' luxury hotel but he just couldn't sit still long nor did he really want to go into a pool despite only one other bot being there. He didn't like bots touching him for scheduled massages, finding the procedure just not comfortable.
Haywire found himself bored by the fifth day and just walking around the city finding nothing new. At least he was moving so he didn't feel confined. That's what he loved about his job as Arcee's assistant. He got to move almost all day anywhere he was needed and also anywhere he deemed was needed. It was fun to find new passages around the palace and maybe find new ways to traverse existing routes with unorthodox methods. Whatever kept him moving with a schedule to keep. He was, after all, a very punctual and tidy bot. Order was his thing since he could remember and he liked it.
Maybe that was the problem. But it was nice to try something new just to at least say he tried. Thinking on it, maybe it was time to cut his vacation short. Contacting his friend and captain of his transport, he smiled as he saw Harmonex shrink in the distance. He had done what he came for, now it was time to go back to his regularly scheduled programming. Call him a workaholic, he loved his job.
Upon arriving back in Crystal City after sleeping most of the way, he noticed the palace wasn't on fire or destroyed so that was a good sign. Entering the palace...
Arcee threw a mech against a wall before leaping off it and wrapping her legs around their neck to slam them unconscious onto the floor. Another mech came at her and she shifted on the floor to trip them. Standing over the other, she sent several hard punches straight to the faceplates until the mech was limp. Throwing him down with a grunt, her regal white armor looked tinted with the blue of Energon blood and Haywire stared at her.
Arcee noticed him and froze before pointing at the half-dead mechs on the floor. "They started it."
Haywire didn't even what to know why or how things got to this point so sighing, he simply said, "I'll have a cleanup crew and a medic here within a few minutes, my Queen."
Suddenly, Arcee smiled and part of her faceplate seemed to crack from an existing injury he failed to see.
Narrowing his optics, he said, "Make that two medics."
He was glad to be back...but maybe he should have stayed a bit longer in Harmonex.
AN: There's 5 interludes in this fic every 10 chapters, relaxing short stories featuring each characters encountered throughout. As many others are introduced, more characters will be given backstories or fun gimmicks to understand them a bit more.
Featured characters: Bolt, Arcee, Megatron, and Haywire.