Promotional Artwork: tigressa101/art/Arcee-and-the-Isle-of-the-Allspark-Cover-931607333
The Allspark was humiliated. Watching those bots take out the monstrous pyrobeak Predacon, a creature it had to bring back from the dead, all but made its energy cackle. This was not according to plan. It needed more, to teach those two not to mess with it. It needed something bigger, something that there was no way for them to beat...
But maybe...there was someone it could use to its advantage. Maybe there wasn't a creature of Cybertron that could defeat them but rather another Cybertronian that could. Yes, an old enemy they would never expect.
The Allspark went to a corner of its tower and used the vacant space it left to summon a portal made from ancient Cybertronian hieroglyphs, the language of the Primes. It was the most powerful entity in the universe, so it was about time it used its powers to its capacity. It dived into the vortex and appeared under a nightly sky with red and orange aurora borealis dancing among the stars and two visible nebulas. The mysterious planet's surface bore three different colors of lava in various regions with asphalt-black coloring of the ground. Long-trunked plant life grew here but many creatures that thrived in the unbearable heat roamed unaltered despite most of it being inaccessible. Most animals were predatory anyways. The planet had a sun, a blue giant, barely noticeable given the distance between them so the sky always remained night but powerful enough to create constant flares that gave the planet its auroras. Life found a way and this planet thrived despite so low of light conditions Earth certainly needed to survive. A dark planet for a dark traitor.
The Allspark rotated with an angelic chirp, sending a beam of light into the sky to summon him. The aurora converted to shades of blue, lighting up the purple lava found here like never before. Creatures that lived in the lava itself submerged in fear of the sudden blinding lights. When the Allspark cut off its power, the aurora still held its twisting blue. It looked good against the orange Inferno Nebula in the south and the aquamarine Sea Depth Nebula in the north. Hot and cold parallels adorably named.
The beating of wings caught its attention and every animal that didn't flee because of the light fled this time as a huge shadow glimmered overhead. Its owner circled before teleporting, appearing suddenly in a flash in front of the Allspark with a horrific roar. The Allspark was not worried. He wouldn't harm it, nor did he have the power to do so anyway.
"I seek your service, a repayment for your sins."
The four red optics narrowed, the elongated helm holding two sets of horns tilting ever so slightly as if to dare the Allspark to address him as a con for hire. An insult to him but a fair approach for one so damned. Sharp teeth bared, he roared at it, claws kneading into fists and spine spikes rattling in anger.
"Do you not want out of this prison you have made for yourself? In exchange for your service, an offer of forgiveness, your curse lifted."
His wings idly fell into a neutral position as he leaned forward, now curious of the offer given. The Allspark knew how much he wanted to go back to Cybertron, to live again as a free soul. It would promise that...if he did what it asked of him.
"What do you want done?" He responded with a guttural growl.
The Allspark mused, "Destroy the one called Arcee, the fallen queen of Cybertron. She is partnered with Megatron, the disgraced warlord who stoleyourname."
Orange bio lights ran throughout the hulking frame of the tyrant. Even the blue lights of the aurora couldn't overwhelm the colors of rage. With a booming bellow and bared sharp teeth, the monster that was once a worshipped Prime spread his wings in a vicious pose. The Allspark smiled inwardly.
Arcee and Megatron were distraught on what to do. Plus side, the oil leech Bolt nicknamed Shredder was no more. Downside, they now had a scrap dragon in their midst. She looked up to see the circling distiller dragons and she noticed they weren't happy. In fact, the more she looked, the more she realized they were afraid of the scrap dragon.
The said monstrosity lifted the remains of the oil leech and tore it in half. Various parts moved at different times to move the pieces of the prey down its throat before it began eating the second piece. As it did, both she and Megatron hid behind some brush.
"Bolt! We have another problem!"
"What? If that oil leech is tunneling, there's not much else I can suggest here!"
Arcee rolled her optics, "The leech is dead. There's a giant dragon eating it!"
"Dra-? No, no...no, no, no, please tell me you don't see what I think you see."
"Distillers orbiting it like it's the sun, there's a Junkion scrap dragon here! Wh-what could possibly make this situation any worse?"
Bolt scoffed in amusement, "You have no idea. Okay, let me find something. Junkion scrap dragons, from what I heard, are the only things Junkions like Wreck-Gar ever feared on their planet. There was a total of nine of them when they inhabited it. Distillers made great pets; the scrap dragons were a problem. It's not known how they reproduce as they are very solitary creatures, but they are hard to kill so you're dealing with something out of your force of power."
Megatron activated his cannon in preparation. "That's what they said about Predacons and look where one is now."
"Look, if that scrap dragon is there, it may have a nest in the canyon right where you are which means its underground. Those tunnels you saw earlier may have been the leech's or it's one of the paths to the scrap dragon's nest. I don't want to find out nor do I want you to investigate but since you seem to be about on top of the gem's energy signature, it seems clear that underground is where you need to go which means dealing with that thing."
"Follow it?"
"Carefully, it will kill you if it sees you anywhere near its nest. I'll see if I can read up on it to find any information you might need to save your life. Junkion is not a very big specialty of mine. Granted, most of these creatures thus far aren't ones I have really met until now. I'm finding information as I go."
A defeated sigh left Arcee. "As always, we need to kill it."
Megatron smirked, "You're up, my dear. Go slay it."
"You aren't helping me?"
"Your turn to kill it. I killed the Predacon and was about to kill the leech with your grenade. Your turn."
"We're keeping score now? Some knight in shining armor, you are," she said deadpanned.
Megatron chuckled at that as Arcee shook her head.
The scrap dragon finished eating the leech, its mixed parts clanking together as it readjusted itself on all fours. The distillers hovered overhead before the larger creature snapped at one of them and growled as if talking to it. Both bots watched this behavior, and the distillers seemed to whimper. For a leader, it didn't seem like it wanted the distillers happy under its command, seeing them more as slaves than mutual friends.
The dragon had been so preoccupied with its meal, it had lost track of them, but it merely grunted and turned around like it was nothing of concern. It went around the corner to a hole in the edge of the canyon. The distillers flew in first, then the scrap dragon squeezed through after them. Its tail disappeared as movement of dirt could be heard echoing.
Arcee went to the tunnel entrance as the dusk bled into night. She felt so small among it. Megatron popped up behind her, "Not scared, are you?"
"Megatron!" She hissed, "Don't do that!"
"I may have lied when I said it's your turn and all. I would never leave you to be on your own, give me some credit. Brash, yes. Heartless, not so much...at least not as much as I claim. I still have a few standards."
"Just...get in the cave...please."
"Yes, your majesty. I will slay the almighty dragon just for you."
"Seriously?" She sneered.
The tunnel was quiet for one used by dragons. They were careful to step on the way down; the air was denser and felt odd. They didn't make any noise that could alert the inhabitants. The tunnel curved and the faint sound of water above them told them they were right under the delta. If the gem wasn't down here, Arcee couldn't imagine how their visit to the underground would end being all for naught.
But then, light started to shine through. They weren't anywhere near the surface so it couldn't be daylight on top of it being night and the hue looked off. An interior source perhaps. When they came into view of the light, they also got a nasty surprise.
The tunnel ended on a ledge and the vast space between them, and the spiraling rock formations holding up the cave, was not walkable. Yellow Energon crystals grew in the crevices and littered the bottom of the abyss. The abyss itself was covered by dark smoke where only the light of the crystals could be made out enough to know that if they fell, it would probably be a painful way to die. Neither of them knew just how big the cave was but many distillers were flying around from all directions including from other entrances that probably led to other tunnels. How long it took to make this their home, neither bot could guess.
Nests were hidden well but one in particular was noticeable, stood out like a sore thumb more like. In a nest occupied by eggs, the Allspark's shield gem sat glowing with a warmth no doubt the eggs loved. A distiller landed by the nest and looked over its eggs with pride.
"This is a problem; this is definitely a problem," Megatron snarled.
"If the hive is here, where is the scrap dragon?"
A few distillers cooed and fluttered over the abyss when suddenly, the dragon in question roared and reached out to grab the little ones, dragging them down. Arcee felt sick hearing those dragons cry out as they were presumably eaten. She stared at the abyss, then at Megatron, then at the abyss again with a horrified expression. Megatron merely raised a brow at the event but did hold a slight grimace back. The other distillers quickly hid in the nests and any space they could take cover in.
"They are afraid of him."
"He?" Megatron mused.
"I'm naming him Salvage so when I kill him, he'll be nothing but spare parts for the baby distillers to use as hand-me-downs when they grow up," she laughed.
"Ooo, and here I thought I was the cruel one."
"Hush," she said. "Now, I think I have a plan. What do you notice about this cave?"
Megatron peered around. "Uh, rocks, rocks, and more rocks?"
Arcee nodded, "A start. Rock formations like pillars? Holding the delta up?"
When he realized what she meant, he broke into a huge grin. "Break the delta on top of Salvage. He'll be crushed...but what about the distillers? If we bring it all down, they lose their home and their young, not to mention the gem might be misplaced in all the madness."
"Simple, we isolate the reaction. I want you to get into a higher position and aim for this pillar on my left. That should only bring down part of it. If worse comes to worst, well, we might have to kill some distillers too."
"I'm sure you'll be heartbroken. But don't worry, I'll be sure to get you one when we return to Cybertron as a gift of my condolences," he teased.
All she did was gesture for him to get moving and he shrugged amused to her annoyance. He leapt across a small area of the abyss to the midsection of a large pillar. He was given immediate stares by the distillers lying there. He assumed as long as he didn't make himself threatening, they wouldn't do anything to hurt him. They trailed him visually, one snorting in confusion, as he made his way to a larger formation.
Arcee, on the other hand, was unsure of how to lure Salvage out. There were two ways she could do this: stealthy or loud. Stealthy would require her to coax the scrap dragon into believing something was wrong to her left and go there. Loud meant just doing whatever that could get it there no matter what. Personally, she was tired, and the loud route sounded easier...not to mention funnier in the long run.
Here went nothing. She cracked her neck then let out a whistle. The entire cave grew dead silent with thousands of glowing eyes pointing at her. Even Megatron, who was clinging to the pillar he was supposed to be on, was looking at her like she was crazy.
The abyss suddenly rumbled, the smoky waves crashing against the rock before the scrap dragon emerged headfirst. It grabbed onto the pillars on both sides, narrowly missing Megatron. Smoke fumed from its nostrils and its optics lit up like never before. Its wings stretched as wide as they could go, neck craned with its miscellaneous parts straining against one another.
Arcee had to wonder just where the Allspark got the idea to get such gruesome beasts. But she had to suck in her fear. Now was not the time to be squeamish, not this far in the game.
The scrap dragon roared; the cave's ceiling shook with pebbles falling in return. Well, that certainly meant Salvage's attention was on her. She reached for her katana and stared back. The dragon snorted before its throat began to pulse. Upon realizing what that meant, Arcee made a leap of faith to a rock formation, barely making it.
Fire spewed out of the dragon's mouth, lighting up the tunnel she had just come through brighter than the sun. She grimaced at the notion and proceeded to hide behind the target pillar. Salvage, however, had a different plan in mind. Instead of moving towards her to be under the pillar, the beast then whipped its head to Megatron, not fooled by the presence of merely one bot.
"Arcee!" He called out surprised.
The femme cursed under her breath before doing something as bold as she could. To protect Megatron, she made the most unthinkable move. Biting her lip, she sprinted with sword in hand and leapt onto the dragon's backside. Climbing the monster, she used its spine like a ladder. When she reached its head, she didn't hesitate to jump onto its snout and impale its optic.
The dragon made a sickening cry, backing away from the warlord and shaking its head like a mad bull. It tried to swipe her off with its claws, but she was faster. One downside to being a giant was being slower, which was exactly what Arcee anticipated.
"Megatron, see if you can get into position!"
Megatron nodded but found himself having trouble climbing the slicker rock of the upper pillar. He was a bit too bulky to climb. As Arcee kept the scrap dragon busy, he tried as many times as he could but kept sliding down. Abruptly, he felt himself being pushed up and froze, only to see five of the distillers pushing him upward. When he got to the top with a clear shot at the target pillar, the distillers flew around him happily.
"You hate your boss that bad, huh?" He said confused.
One of the little dragons twirled and cooed. Another snarled and snapped its jaws, not at Megatron but the scrap dragon.
"You said it."
The scrap dragon slammed its back into one formation and its head into another, tail whipping profusely. Yellow blood was already leaking down its cheek and neck, adding to its rage. Arcee held on despite this tantrum, watching every motion towards or away from a rock face to avoid being crushed. One particularly hard hit the dragon did to itself broke part of its barbs on the spine.
A sudden burst of untamable fury had the monster igniting flames at everything around it regardless dragon or bot. The pygmy distillers in hiding panicked and like a colony of bats, they scattered to the farthest edge of the cave. Arcee had to duck at the frantic flying to escape Salvage's wrath.
"That's how you want to play? Fine, let's have some more fun," she growled.
She crawled to the other side of its head and stabbed the second eye, blinding the dragon completely. She navigated to its snout as it shook its head again as violently as physically possible with a bellow. Once she was on its nose, it stopped. Narrowing its eyeless lids with yellow Energon pouring from the sockets, she knew it knew her scent but now there was nothing to do but follow her.
"Let's see you try and keep up, shall we?"
She leapt off it onto a rock platform below before running off toward the pillar she needed destroyed. As she predicted, Salvage followed roaring up a storm and spewing fire like mad. It hit part of its face against sturdy rock and jabbed its side turning to the right just before the pillar. It tried desperately to snap its jaws to catch her but she was too quick.
Megatron watched from afar and smiled with the distiller dragons doing nothing to stop him. He aimed his cannon at the pillar, closing one of his optics for accuracy. His digits flexed into a fist and gripped hard as soon as he aligned himself.
The blast flew right into the target, and the scrap dragon couldn't stop getting in the way of the falling column. It trapped its neck against the wall, and it struggled to free itself. Arcee stopped a fair way away as she saw the ceiling begin to crack in that area. The distillers took cover again and the scrap dragon tried to sense what was happening. Even if it couldn't see, it panicked by the noise.
The night sky became visible as part of the ceiling collapsed. Salvage was seen looking up as rocks came down on it. It stumbled against the weight being forced down, and the fear it felt was apparent on its face as one last large boulder came down onto its head.
Water poured in from the delta forming a waterfall into the chasm of yellow Energon. The smoke that had plagued it was slowly dissipating. The rest of the ceiling had a few cracks but remained stable and the water running down was small enough not to flood the entire cave for at least several months. It seemed the delta was still running its usual course sloping toward the ocean. They only caught the edge of it.
Slowly, the distiller dragons came out of hiding, staring down at the pile of rock that had flattened the scrap dragon. As soon as they saw that, one of them perked up and gave a shrill of happiness. Suddenly, the whole cave was swarming with prancing, flapping dragons. While Arcee certainly didn't want to be a killer to two beasts and an assisted murderer to another today, it was now worth the pain to see a species liberated from what both they and she knew was a forced symbiotic relationship and the unnatural food chain. That was a first for her.
Yellow Energon leaked from where the head of the scrap dragon was assumed to be. As gruesome as that was, Arcee couldn't help but find it relieving. She had seen Megatron survive a smaller boulder, heard Predaking survived one cave in easy too, and she had her fair share of hurt in the same cave in as Megatron. But these pieces of rock were ten times larger than any of those and mixed armor placed together like patchwork didn't seem to provide a stable defense against such things bots like her could deflect on a smaller scale.
Megatron climbed down and was letting the dragons zoom around him gleefully, laughing at their mischief. Arcee couldn't help but find the gesture endearing and smiled to herself. It was nice to see him helping others from similar tyranny that he once orchestrated in the Decepticons. Who knew a mech could change so much over a week.
"Megatron, see if you can get the gem. You're closer and I'm a bit stuck here."
Megatron saluted her, "Yes, ma'am."
"Also, excellent shot! And you didn't want to come down here."
"Don't patronize me now. You're on my good side so far."
Bolt scrolled through as many pages as he could about the Junkion scrap dragon. They weren't the easiest species in the universe to study apparently. Highly intelligent, bore less than ten litters of hatchlings their entire life cycle, and were some of the best hunters when they wanted to be according to documents discovered by a Cybertronian explorer when they went to Junkion that Bolt had a copy of. Not much else was known. Hopefully, Arcee can find out how to survive this one.
He owed much to the Autobot commonwealth and the Iacon archivists for letting him copy such information before he went travelling with his now deceased crew. Most Vehicons never got out of labor duties; he repaid his debt by researching other world's wildlife. He was quite pleased with his career.
The Nitrotiger, lounging on his weapon crafting table, gave a growling snore and his ear twitched as he slept. Bolt had come to like the beast, not that he still wanted him in the ship itself, but Arcee would kill him if he released Moonhunter into the wild with all the creatures running amuck as there were.
"Don't worry, Moonhunter, Mommy's coming back soon," he said softly. "I promise."
A beep on the monitor, however, stirred his thoughts and he immediately went to check to see if anyone was dead. The dangers of the island were nothing short of scary, even for him. He took it with a hint of dread every time his system alerted him to something. Not that he didn't have faith in Arcee or Megatron, but he wasn't unprepared for a notification that one of them may be dead either. So many aggressive species on this one island certainly was unnatural.
"Bolt, we found the gem and Salvage is slayed. He was guarding it in a nest. The distillers were kind enough to let us take it. Seems they didn't like their protector either. He's been eating some of them to terrorize the colony into submitting," Arcee said.
The Vehicon breathed a sigh of relief at hearing her voice. "Well, lack of food source and too high of demand for service, some creatures will do incredibly bad things to get what they want at the expense of others. That's not just a Cybertronian or human flaw, mind you. The animal kingdom has its fair share of horror and abuse. Also, you named a Junkion scrap dragon Salvage? I have to say I'm quite proud of you. Do you want to continue, or do you want to return to base?"
"If it's all the same to you," Megatron then spoke, "I at least want to rest from this eventful day."
"You're already tired, huh?"
"Says the femme who looks like she's about to faint."
"Hey!"
Bolt chuckled to himself and went to the control panel to activate the ground bridge. Before he brought down the lever, something caught his eye. The two gems they had were pulsing unusually in sync. Suddenly, the dashboard beeped again.
An energy surge in the ship? That made no sense. Bolt confusedly went to the bridge and saw, to his shock, all his instruments glitching out. This had never happened before. He would have assumed it was just the ship's servers going out as it was surrounded by marshy water but then the screens changed to black.
"What the-"
The screens lit up again all with the same image, a logo of what looked like a simplistic style of the Allspark.
"Do not tell me this motherf...oho no, hijack my ship?! Hell no, you ain't taking my vessel!"
Bolt ripped apart the lower paneling beneath the control console and began taking apart wires. He knew how to fix it but the important thing was making it useless for the time being so the Allspark would leave it alone.
He was about to pull the wiring out for the ground bridge but hesitated. If he cut off power, Arcee and Megatron might be stranded for hours depending on how long the Allspark had control. But someone made up his mind for him.
The controls of the ground bridge activated, sliding the lever down on its own. He was horrified as the ground bridge awoke but the coordinates on the receiving end began changing. He watched it glitch and show a planet he didn't even recognize. The Allspark was going to send them elsewhere if they went through the bridge. The bridge wasn't even able to go past the island!
But Bolt grew an idea. If he could piggyback on the signal, he might have enough juice in the ground bridge to rescue them from that planet. Granted once they returned, he assumed the power necessary to do such a thing again, even going to Cybertron, would be depleted. He would rather return them here than let them stay on a planet the Allspark might have set up a trap on.
He cracked his knuckles after he stood up, facing the ground bridge. "Alright, Allspark, game on."
AN: Guess who the first big bad is? First climax battle and the Allspark is not going to play nice.
Featured Monsters:
Salvage the Scrap Dragon (Junkion)