Promotional artwork: tigressa101/art/Arcee-and-the-Isle-of-the-Allspark-Cover-931607333

Bolt set the sludge-like blood of Metal Kor and the Titanotops horn under the tray of Metal Head skull gems they had brought prior in the display case. He then placed the sixth shield gem with its kin on the nearby shelves with a nod of approval. "Beautiful."

Megatron rotated his repaired shoulder, now hosting some ugly scars he groaned upon seeing and clasped his servos together behind his back. Arcee checked over her calico spotted armor, courtesy of Megatronus Prime, to see if anything new was on her she didn't notice. She smiled when there wasn't, which earned her a slight envious look from Megatron.

She caught the glance and addressed Megatron. "What? I didn't get anything this time. Not my fault I wasn't reckless."

"Reckless?" Megatron frowned, "That's what you call it when I save you?"

She put her arms up in a peeved, defensive gesture. "I'm...sorry? Are you really upset that I only got a few scratches? It's nothing I'm proud of. On top of that, I never really asked you to save me. Don't start anything, come on."

"I'm not-"

"What's the problem then? You know, you're looking at me like you want me to get hurt. If that is the case, then why did you save me from the Titanotops when you knew I was going to get hit?"

Megatron imploded and growled, "It's just I find it a bit stressful that I get injured, and you always get off scot-free. I understand we are both warriors but it's kind of driving me nuts here."

Arcee started to nod her head and bite her lower lip before it changed to shaking her head. "Alright, I'll put myself in the line of fire whether I live or die next time, how about that?"

"That's not what-!"

"Then what are you saying?!"

Bolt stepped between them and held out his servos to hover over their chests. "Alright, alright, you two need to stop! I don't know what brought this on but everyone in this room has had their share of near-death experiences and injuries. Yes, I had plenty even before you guys got to the isle in the first place."

Megatron closed his optics and tilted his helm to the side with a sigh. "I'm just...stressed about the pain. I'm always glad you're safe but, in a way, I wish we were equal in this and when you think about it, we aren't."

"Or ignore me and keep arguing. That's fine too," the Vehicon said sarcastically as he backed out with his servos tucked to his side. He pointed to them and turned to look down at Moonhunter. "You want to be the referee?"

Moonhunter merely laid his head on his spot on the floor, only glancing between the three with mild interest.

Arcee made a waving motion with her servos as she said, "But you fail to remember, Megatron, that I am physically smaller than you. I can't take as many hits! If I took as much as you can in my current state, I'd be dead. Like I said, it's usually by chance I don't get hurt because I'm either faster to recover my steps or as you have kindly pointed out, you have protected me. I can't thank you enough but at the same time, what am I supposed to do? I want to be on a team with you...and Bolt! But I'm not a tank. So, I don't know what to tell you."

Megatron peered around the room in thought, optics wandering in slight frustration. "I guess I'm asking too much. I'm just tired is all."

"Okay, well, sit out the next region of the isle. I will handle it the best I can then," she replied. "If I die, it'll happen."

"You know what? Now you're just sinking a knife into this," scoffed Megatron. "If you're going to mock me-"

"I'm not mocking you! Literally not mocking you! I'm just saying-!"

"You're not acting like an adult about it! I just told you-fine, forget I said anything! Just go finish what you have got to do without me. I need some time to get my thoughts together and deal with this recent hole in my shoulder, thank you very much."

Arcee blinked and gave a scowling smile, "Alright, be that way! I don't need this. I knew something was going to be a miss in this partnership. Same old Megatron, can't get his way so he gets angry."

Megatron was about to walk away when he turned on a dime, red optics glowing brighter. "Excuse me, Princess?!"

Bolt pushed him back to the warlord's slight annoyance, then the smaller mech pointed at Arcee. In a fury, he yelled, "That's it! You, little Miss Attitude, go outside now! And you, shut up and go to the main deck; I'm having a word with you whether you like it or not!"

Arcee tried to argue but he pointed again, almost getting in her face. "Did I fucking stutter?! My ship, my rules! Get the hell out!"

She was hesitant to obey, clutching her servos into fists but he had a head movement that said "try it" which was enough for her to see he wasn't joking. She left as instructed, and Bolt turned to Megatron who had yet to move. In his rage, he gave Megatron a push which almost earned him a punch too.

He replied quickly, "Yeah, take a swing. See what happens. I may not be as physically strong as you, but I know this ship front to rear, and there are plenty of things in reach at the moment that I can kill your sorry ass with. Get going."

As they went into the main deck, Arcee stormed out and paced in the marshland's murky water, uncaring that there were currently five garden leapers staring at her with their eyes barely above the surface not making a sound. The fireflies roamed past her without a care in the world. She didn't know how long she paced for but after roughly a hundred rounds of back-and-forth motions in a specific spot, she finally paused.

She should have expected something would eventually bug Megatron, but this wasn't what she thought it would be. What was she supposed to do? Paint a huge bullseye on her aft and wave it in front of everything that wanted to kill her? Perfect plan. She stroked part of her chin before bringing her servo to rub her optics as she tapped her pede against the marshland mud, holding back tears.

More frustrations were building the longer their dilemma went on and she herself was beginning to feel the stress of it. She didn't want to fight Megatron, and she knew it wasn't completely his fault that everything was becoming so much for him to handle. She didn't blame him for getting frustrated upon injury after injury, but she did want him to understand the logistics of why and why she couldn't afford the luxury of taking hits for someone else. If she was, she would have protected Megatron just as equally as he wanted. But she wasn't.

Steering him out of danger though was possible...and maybe she should have done that more. As Megatron pointed out, they were both adults so looking out for each other technically was not a guaranteed thing but highly recommended as a team, but they were ultimately responsible for themselves as well and should be more tactical regarding their own safety as individuals.

Arcee calmed herself, letting her chassis breath by opening her vents as wide as they could go to cool her engine. She clutched her arms, petting them a little as she watched the monogoliaths nearby with the elephants herd their young together for the night in case any predators foolishly tried to come around like the family they were. They protected one another; it was in their nature at least.

"Poor Arcee. Having trouble with your team?"A ghostly voice called out.

Arcee peered around high on alert trying to find which direction it was coming from. It was somewhere towards the Black Mountains in a thick tree line. She wanted to alert Megatron and Bolt, but she feared Megatron would start yelling at her, so she fought the urge to do so and walked toward the trees.

The voice said calmly. "I can help you forget all your troubles. I can make it all better."

She wasn't that gullible. Her first thought was it was the Allspark but something was nagging her that it wasn't. It was suspicious to say the least, but she knew if she turned around, whatever was calling her could jump her much easier. Slowly, she began to walk backwards towards the ship again, realizing her mistake.

"Don't you trust me?"

"No, not really," she hissed, activating her blasters.

Little did she notice the creeping shadows slithering across the water from every other direction in the late afternoon's lessening light. They slowly started to orbit her as she remained focused on the trees that shifted with a small breeze.

"Then I guess we'll just have to get acquainted with each other, won't we?"

She heard a hiss and peered down to see shadows consuming her legs. The voice wasn't trying to lure her into the marshland's woods; it was a distraction! She barely had time to let out a gasp when she suddenly fell through the water as she heard a low feminine voice follow her cackling. She was gone in an instant and the shadows dispersed as soon as they appeared, leaving her spot in the marshlands undisturbed except for a ripple on the water's surface.

A garden leaper's eyes moved about curiously at the sight before giving a loud croak.

Bolt pressed a button to slam the door shut as Megatron sat in a chair placing his elbow on the dashboard of the ship and his servo over his optics. "What the hell was that?! What in Primus' god-bearing name was that? Don't you lie to me; don't you even dare look me in my visor and tell me you didn't mean it."

Megatron lifted his servo off his optics and yelled back, "I don't know what got into me! It-it-it was a thought and instead of keeping my mouth shut, I put it out there!"

"Bullshit, Megatron!" The Vehicon scoffed loudly, sitting in the other chair and pointing at him from an angle. "You had that idea or something like it this entire time and only now, you're complaining! What happened? Like, what-what changed between me sending you into Roughridge to the stupidest moment I think I ever saw you pull just now? What made that just fly out?"

"I wanted to know why I'm always the one who takes the most damage. It's not fun for me to get my eye nearly clawed out, my arm nearly broken and the permanent claw marks I have on it, and now my shoulder had a huge hole in it by being stepped on! I can take it, yes, but it isn't what I like to deal with. Arcee isn't getting hurt, but I'm the one who is every time!"

"Because you're protecting her by your own free will, you fucking moron! She has a point! What do you want her to do? Do you want her to get hurt? You think she's been on this wild ride like the rest of us scar-free? Let's see, she's nearly broken her ankle twice, she got clawed on her waist which could have torn her in half, she had severe burn marks from being held by Megatronus who had been in lava previous to that moment which almost threatened to put her in perma-stasis, and she's fallen from a good number of high places overcoming that fear of hers, some of which would have almost killed her had she screwed up her landings with or without help! So, yes, Megatron, she sounds like she's been having a grand old time!" Bolt answered.

"Here's the thing, you have had a terrible life up to, arguably, your big break as a warlord and the leader of the Decepticons. Arcee's had a terrible life until she became an assassin and a bodyguard. Surprise, surprise, I've had a shitty existence until the war ended because I was nothing but a foot soldier in your army, a number if anything. We all made the choices of what we have become from what we've done then, and it's with those choices that we have outcomes that we do. Arcee is alive because of you. You're alive because of Arcee. You chose to save her multiple times when you could have let her get hurt or get killed. Why did you save her?"

Megatron replied at first angrily, but it faded, "Because I didn't want her to get...hurt."

Bolt sat back in his chair, clutching his leg as it rested above his other. "There you go. You made a sacrifice every time you could to help her. Granted, she probably could have survived many of the situations where you stepped in just fine given, we both know she's a tough one, but you put yourself in that pain you're upset about because of your own actions. If it's such a bother, then don't. Getting mad at her though for not suffering the same as you won't solve a damn thing. Maybe you didn't consider that she is suffering the same as you, maybe worse."

"How so?" Megatron muttered.

Bolt shrugged, "She got dethroned. She lost everything in such a small timeframe. There's a lot riding on her to make things right. Physically, she's better off than you but mentally, you aren't seeing what she's thinking. You aren't able to look into her mind to know whether she's crying inside every second of her life. You can't assume anything because pain is universal but the experience of it is not.

"For example, I...cried in the barracks a few times on the Nemesis. Did you know that? I cried. But I had no tears to shed like you and Arcee can do, no optics to wipe at, no mouth to quiver and sob, or even a way to remotely show my feelings to anyone without having to vocally tell them what was happening to me. It was basically me making a weird sound the entire time with my processor doing loops trying to figure out what was wrong. No one knew; no one cared about Soldier Class Vehicon B-017.

"When I saw a number, really realized one day that I was just a number against the officers like Starscream, Dreadwing, Breakdown...I felt like I was dying inside every day of my miserable, warfront existence. I wanted so badly to be someone else that I would watch Earth, its life and see that every creature on the planet had a true purpose just to exist. I never had that luxury until now. And when the time came to help you two, I could have let you die on this isle weaponless, hungry, and damaged. I had all the power in the world with my life now under my own control that I could choose to help you or not. I chose to. Whatever consequences I may face because of it, I will because I chose to help you."

Megatron had his servo partially against his mouth while he had listened to Bolt, not even interrupting him once. Slowly, a knot built up in his throat and he found it hard to swallow. With the same shaking servo, he tried to cusp his optics to try and distract himself but then he started sniffling, a saddened frown forcing itself among his faceplates and twitching against his will.

Bolt cocked his head to the side unsure of what he was witnessing. "Are...are you crying?"

The question wasn't meant to be inconsiderate, but Megatron was quick to snap back in between broken up sobs. "Yes, I'm crying! What?! I can't admit when I screwed up o-or express anything other than anger?!"

"No! No, no! I just...didn't expect it. It's perfectly fine to do so," he reassured. "Very healthy, as a matter of fact to let it out."

Megatron brushed some of the lubricant leaking and felt it on his clawed digits like it was more precious than snowflakes in the summer. "I was a fool. I always hurt people, especially those closest to me. I want to help Arcee but I'm too old to be doing this; everything hurts, and I can't take it anymore. But I would still protect her even to the death. I would never abandon her, not after what she's done for me...or even you. I meant none of what I said to her or to you. I'm so sorry."

Bolt shook his head acknowledging him. "You don't need to apologize to me. I...I understand the stress of this whole situation and that there's always a breaking point. Admitting when you can't take the pressure is healthier than pretending you can hold all those hits mentally and physically inside. That's what ends up destroying a lot of people. They are too afraid to admit that they can't because they fear judgement or think that since they could do it before that it's expected of them to maintain it. You're only Cybertronian. We aren't indestructible, you know."

"I know. I've tried for so long to maintain my tough exterior but deep down, it was starting to take a toll on me. Everyone knew who I was, what I could do. They never saw anything less and I couldn't give them anything less. I wonder if Arcee ever thought about me like that too. I need to apologize to her, but I don't think she'll ever forgive me," Megatron said quietly.

"Hey, apologizing to her would win her over quick, I assure you. It's not every day one hears an apology from you, Megatron. That means something. Also, no offense, but if you keep this up, I'm going to start making weird noises here in a minute," Bolt cleared his throat while leaning over, waving a servo like it was a fan at his facial visor.

That made Megatron crack a smile, almost instinctively covering it but he instead patted his own chest to calm down. "Thanks Bolt, I needed that reality check."

Bolt swayed his head a little, "Yeah...you were being a bit of an ass. BUT we learn through our mistakes, and we will sometimes argue and piss each other off. It's an art at this point from us Decepticons. I think it's time I gave Arcee a similar talk before you apologize. So, when I'm ready, I'll call you over. Can't wait to get yelled at by the Queen of Cybertron herself. This will be fun too."

As Bolt left to talk to Arcee, Megatron rubbed his optics with a sniff. He admitted he had done many stupid things in his life, but this topped much of that. So much frustration in the pain and the forced journey they were making just to go home, it was like the war all over again. Megatron was sick of it. Bolt was right. His breaking point finally happened. He honestly didn't think it would, but it did, and he regretted it.

He examined the remainder of the tears that hit his servo as he gathered himself the best he could. It felt so foreign to see them and feel them run down his faceplates. He couldn't really remember the last time he cried. But a weight had been lifted off his chest from it and his head had a fuzzy prodding to it, a mixture between a relief he never experienced before and a slight headache. It felt good actually.

He suddenly heard Bolt run into the door before spamming the button to open it. He may have had no facial expression, but he looked fearful.

"Arcee's gone! I can't find her!"

Megatron was quick to stand and Moonhunter did too. He could see the cat perk up upon hearing his owner's name and the distress in Bolt's voice. He hoped that his argument with her didn't drive her away. He pushed back any remaining tears, determined to make things right again.

"Bolt, I need a favor if you're willing..."

The shadows whispered like they were alive. Arcee was falling through them like a corrupted ground bridge was pushing her down in an abyss. When she touched the darkest area of the vortex feet first, it suddenly opened in a blinding light, and she hit snow. On a slope, she bounced and slid down it uncontrollably until she came to a stop, face dragging in the snow. She collapsed with a grunt of annoyance.

Getting up, she saw both the Nightshade Desert and Crystal Lake from above. Then when she looked down, she immediately saw the undeniable fact that she was at Roughridge's highest peak. It was by sheer luck she didn't slide off a very distinct edge that would have made her free fall over a thousand feet to where she assumed might have been the location of the destroyed caverns, but it was hard to tell.

Suddenly, she heard the flapping of wings but as she turned to spot what was making the noise, a large figure swooped past her and rounded the peak. A metal dragon of blaring orange with black stripes, horns, and claws as well as a white underbelly circled her unfazed by the cold temperatures which Arcee was beginning to feel creep up into her systems. There was only one being she knew matched the description itself and the only one Kor had warned her was now on the isle: Tigressa.

The dragon landed just short of her with a maniacal laugh, stirring up snow and wind. Red eyes glared at her like a venomous sting. Tigressa transformed and hid her wings, building herself up back into her normal form of a brutish femme. Her tail gave off an annoyed wag as she roared. It echoed down the mountain, threatening to cause an avalanche.

Arcee backed away at the femme who was even larger than Predaking. This was not what she wanted to deal with today, not after her fight with Megatron.

"Arcee. And here I thought I was dealing with someone I might be worried about," Tigressa smirked, her black pupils narrowing to small slits as the light of the sun hit her directly.

"Don't get too confident," Arcee snapped, "they say I'm a handful."

"...Especially when cornered? You're not the first to say that and you won't be the last." Tigressa leaped up to claw at the peak to crouch on it like an imposing gargoyle. She then said, "You remind me of my youngest sister, Eclipse. Always with the attitude but had enough power to back it up, dare I say. But, I'm no fool to truly dismiss you. Smaller enemies are often the deadliest and if the Allspark is that desperate to hire me to get rid of you, well, that certainly confirms that."

Arcee scoffed, "What could the Allspark possibly offer you that makes it worth going after me for? I've done nothing to you!"

Tigressa, at first, merely looked at her but then a condescending grin with a humored laugh grew on her face. "Oh, but you have. My Metal Heads? My second-in-command? I seemed to have just lost an entire portion of commanders and I can't help but wonder why?"

The ferocious grin now baring jagged, sharp teeth at her was enough to make Arcee gulp nervously. She shrugged, "Well, uh, accidents happen?"

The same expression Tigressa wore suddenly dropped to a sarcastic neutral one with a raised brow. Obviously, she didn't like that answer. The lines attached to her mouth across her cheeks twitched far enough to get a glimpse that there were more teeth hidden, threatening to expand to rip her apart. Bad call.

"You know, Arcee, the Allspark was...very specific how it disliked you almost as if you had done so much more damage to it than even you realize."

Arcee noticed the skull gem on Tigressa's chest was glowing slightly brighter as she hopped down from the peak to the same level as Arcee, the snow jolting slightly from the unexpected weight. Casually, Tigressa approached her and continued.

"You want to know why the Allspark wanted me to kill you? It's very simple. You're a threat to its reign and it knows this well. It doesn't like annoyances, and neither do I. At first, this was merely an offer. It proposed to get me what I always wanted, my sire's head on a platter in exchange for a small favor. I would love to see the almighty King Kronos verse the indestructible Allspark, but then you stepped into my territory. One of my nests is destroyed, the acting leader of my army is gone, my Metal Heads on the isle are all but buried under this mountain, and now here stands before me the bot responsible for all of this. I'm reasonable until I'm not and that?Well, that is a little bit of a problem for me," the larger femme said, giving a faux smile.

With an agitated flick of the tail seen, Arcee knew Tigressa was going to kill her without any hesitation. There was no reasoning with someone who already planned to see her body in pieces scattered in the snow. Granted, she did destroy the Metal Head nest, so it was technically a fair response, but Arcee had no plans on dying today.

Of course, Arcee had to be brash and reply, "Yeah? Why don't you take it up with your deadbeat commander lying crushed under two billion tons of ice?"

That was the stick poke of regret. Tigressa changed from a taunting smile to a very prominent scowl, her red eyes with the horrid yellow irises beaming in rage. It seemed she was done talking to Arcee as nothing was said back. Instead, Arcee found Tigressa had her own way of showing her disagreement with such an insult.

Suddenly, the blue femme had to duck and hide behind a ledge of rock and snow as a blast of purple flame erupted from Tigressa's mouth. The wall of fire evaporated the snow just to the left of her and any of it untouched was quickly melting when it died down. Slowly, Arcee looked terrified at the water dripping from where there was once a hill of snow now vaporized and realized that it could have been her had she not moved.

Tigressa's clawed servo slammed into view just above her which made her jump as snow fell on her. She immediately ran as the larger femme rounded the corner with a growl. Like a predator in action, Tigressa chased her across the peak with the intent to maim or burn, whichever came first, and Arcee didn't want to know.

Aiming her blasters, Arcee fired upon Tigressa. The blasts, however, only seemed to aggravate the imposing tyrant. Each hit on the shoulder or chest jolted Tigressa slightly, making her rumble darkly but it was nowhere close to the firepower needed to stop her nor did it slow her down from running full speed at Arcee. Upon getting too close, Tigressa lunged at Arcee and she had no choice but to run forward under the techno-organic. It was a ballsy move, one that could have ended terribly had Tigressa countered her, but she slid through with luck that the other missed what would have been a painful swipe that would have knocked her off the mountain or worse.

Arcee regained footing after sliding under her and somersaulted upright as Tigressa roared and slammed her tail down on the snow to try and crush her leaving a flush of powder cascading down the cliffside and a heavy imprint on the ground. She was getting frustrated and Arcee could tell things were going to get only harder the longer she tried to dodge the rampaging tiger-dragon.

Sure enough, nothing prepared Arcee for Tigressa's next move. Her skull gem brightened and the shadows on the snow produced by mountain rocks defied all physics by breaking away from the objects they were supposed to be attached to. They creeped around Tigressa until she stomped her foot down directly on the swirling void. Climbing up her chassis, they embedded themselves in skull gem, turning it a wicked purple with yellow streaks dancing on its surface. Dark violet energy seeped through the cracks and crevices of her armor until she was nearly glowing with cybernetic lined tattoos.

Her optics shifted from red to purple as did her pupils, changing from their usual black, but the yellow irises remained as a haunting visual. Arcee was horrified as the lines across Tigressa's cheek attached to the edge of her mouth broke open, widening her jaws tenfold with a thin stretch of protoform buccal mucosa similar to that of an Earth-based reptile visible. They were so wide, she feared Tigressa could, and probably would, try to eat her. The serpentine hiss and the many sharp teeth were a fair indicator that it may have been hardly an exaggeration.

Tigressa laughed in a lower baritone than previously, "Afraid? And here I thought you had more fight in you. You are no stranger to the dark; you killed plenty of monsters before. Am I any different? Show me why the Allspark has forsaken you and I might give you a merciful death."

So, Tigressa wanted her to fight back. This wasn't a game of cat and mouse where the mouse got the better as Arcee proved many times before; this was a game of gladiator, and it was the last bot standing variant. To push her into giving her all, of course Tigressa would empower herself with the shadows she could manipulate to make it to where Arcee couldn't survive on anything less than her full offensive. That was a cruel tactic in war but also very risky as it could very well backfire on the instigator...not that it seemed to be a concern of Tigressa's apparently.

Arcee changed to her gatling gun and fired but found, to her dismay, the bullets were no longer even hitting the larger femme like the shadows were a shield of some sort. Not willing to give in, she traded it for the closest weapon she had that could break a shield if anything. Dagger Prima was immediately acknowledged by Tigressa with a snarl and a shake of her head, a sign that she knew the danger it posed.

Tigressa slammed her fists into the snow, sending a shadowed blast webbing through the ground at Arcee. The Cybertronian jumped over it as it exploded upon hitting the frosted rocks behind her. Furious, the tiger-dragon summoned energy into her fire breath and a blackened flame roared directly at Arcee instead of the purple one she had seen. This time the radius of it was wider, denser and unlike the previous flame, this one managed to scorch more than just snow and ice. The rock of the peak hidden by the floor of snow had a huge, upturned trail of missing chunks destroyed by the blast. There was practically nothing but a charred surface with most of the snow melted.

Arcee panted upon seeing its destruction up close and hiding was all she could do. However, she took note of a sudden shift in Tigressa's demeanor. It seemed as powerful as she was, it took a lot of energy to create such an unmatchable power. She almost seemed tired from it but only just. It probably wasn't a permanent response, which meant Arcee had little time to take advantage of her pause.

Sprinting at the tiger-dragon with a prominent battle cry, Arcee ran on the scorched ground like it was nothing. Ignoring the twisting shadows and the burning energy that cackled against her armor like needles prodding her, she jumped onto Tigressa's knee before leaping off it to do a round kick straight at her nose plating. Tigressa lurched back in shock at the move and backed away slightly.

"Argh! You miserable, little fool!" Tigressa sneered.

"A fool I might be but I'm not going to go down as one!" Arcee yelled, "You forget, Tigressa, I have nothing to lose which means I have zero problems taking you down with me!"

She sent several kicks to Tigressa's legs aiming for the joints. She managed to hit the back of the left knee joint which forced her enemy to kneel and bend over low enough where she could uppercut Tigressa's jaw twice before doing a backflip kick right in the jugular. It stunned the tiger-dragon and her head went back with a growl before she fell forward. Arcee side stepped to avoid being crushed as Tigressa landed on her front, snow scattering to the side from the force.

Arcee aimed next for her neck. With her down, she had the opportunity to end the monstrous femme once and for all. Perching next to the spiked spine that rattled in irritation, she raised Dagger Prima. But she didn't move fast enough, it seemed. Suddenly, she was thrown off balance by Tigressa bucking angrily, crawling backwards before acting like a bull and shaking like mad. Arcee had no choice but to hold onto the edge of the large white shoulder armor on the left arm as the tiger-dragon stood up.

Tigressa swung her right servo at her multiple times to get her off. As she did so, Dagger Prima started to glow and Arcee could hear the shadows growling as if it was warding them off. The needle prick feeling vanished, breaking the discomfort enough for her to concentrate easier. Then she timed an attack that was prepared to whack her like a fly and leapt up off the shoulder plating of the larger bot with Dagger Prima posed to inflict damage. Down past the servo she fell but not without one vicious swipe of the dagger along the way.

Arcee landed hard on the ground but nothing she was unfamiliar with which made it easy to recover from. At the same time, she heard a blood-curdling bellow as Dagger Prima hissed with its own influx of energy. She was startled abruptly when Tigressa's servo landed beside her severed completely to the mid-lower arm. She looked back up at Tigressa surprised as the latter clutched the cleaved limb. The shadows seemed to crack around the exposed wiring like it was blood. Real Energon blood dripped from it onto the ground to color it a dark blue, tainted from the use of her powers.

Purple shadow-infused optics grimaced but immediately sought out Arcee with undeniable rage. Without any hesitance, Tigressa backhanded the blue femme with her remaining servo, sending her streaking across the snow and leaving an impact trail in her wake. It was enough to send Arcee reeling, and she almost saw stars upon how hard of a hit it was. Arcee managed to shake off the dizziness only to find herself pinned by Tigressa's clawed pede. She gave out a cry as it pushed her deeper in the snow.

Tigressa looked between her severed servo and the Cybertronian before giving a snarl. "A feeble effort but a remarkable one at that, I'll admit. It's been quite some time since anyone has ever gotten the jump on me. However, a Cybertronian cannot defeat a Kanjian. If you Cybertronians weren't so arrogant and desperate to prove you are superior, you would have been able to recognize that."

Arcee frowned, "Pot to kettle? You don't sound humble either."

Suddenly, the shadows dancing across Tigressa's form slowly disappeared, her optics returning to the normal red and her voice toned back. "Perhaps not."

She reached behind her and pulled out a sword from the paneling of her encased wings, rotating it with skill. Grinning, she held it up to strike Arcee down with it, but she paused.

"I see your expression. There is something on your mind other than death. So, would you like to share? I promise I won't tell a soul, a living one anyway."

Arcee slowly shook her head, "What is it with the other planets that hate us so? First, Xerophorus says he wouldn't side with a Cybertronian if we were the last species in existence like he didn't trust us but never said why. Now, you're telling me we're despised by your race which we hardly knew existed except by those who already knew before the war and kept Kanjis a secret? Why does everyone hate Cybertronians so much?"

Tigressa's lowered her sword to her side, curiously twitching her cat-like ears as if unsure about the question. "You don't know? Oh, I see. Your elders never taught you about the past to blind you from the truth. No wonder your kind always repeats the exact same mistakes every other generation or so. Well, to put things as simple as I can, your kind is a cesspool of death to all who you befriend or oppose. It's like every generation seeks a problem and turns it into a living nightmare. Kanjians and Cybertronians were friends once but your paranoia over thinking that even though we had the power to overwhelm you meant we would turn against you consumed you and foolishly, your kind tried to invade us. We won obviously but the Primes couldn't take the defeat, so they covered it up and pretended we didn't even exist. And we aren't the first of the cybernetic worlds to be alienated by you.

"Velocitron was a Cybertronian colony long ago. It left Cybertron's command because the home world Cybertronians demanded more than Velocitron could give. Junkion wasn't Cybertronian but was friends with Cybertron too. They blocked you out when you tried to steal valuable resources from their crumbling world. Aquatron was originally an ulterior colony before being overrun by the Quintessons but they cut ties with Cybertron prior to their takeover after you tried to enforce laws that had nothing to do with their safety or peace. Chaar, Caminus, and many organic planets refused to trade with Cybertronians because you only saw them as inferior, insulting them like they were less. You see, your kind made themselves the enemy which is why a majority of the galaxy only sees you as monsters. You can't be trusted, you refuse aid, you insult anyone that isn't you, and, in the end, you wish for praise of your superiority that you don't even have."

Arcee's expression wasn't anger anymore; it was pain. Hearing that from not one but two different species was daunting. She knew she wasn't one of the people Tigressa was taking a jab at in that regard, but she was still a part of the culture that was responsible for the self-isolation and self-defamation of Cybertron. That was a wakeup call and a very stunning one at that. Nobody liked Cybertronians and they have done nothing to fix this universal thinking by reaching out to the other worlds or even apologizing. That was pitiful and Arcee made a mental note that she needed to do something when she got back on the throne, if she got back. Apologies were definitely a must...and she also needed to apologize to Megatron.

A sense of sorrow hit her on top of her other conflicting thoughts. She burned that bridge relatively quick, and she wouldn't get the chance to fix it, not with Tigressa still holding her down and observing the blade that was ready to impale her. She hoped Megatron would forgive her post-mortem. She had been a fool.

"Anything else you wish to ask? Seeing you contemplate your existence is quite funny, but I have other things I need to attend to. King Kronos is going to get one hell of a reunion and you won't be there to see it."

Arcee gave her a deadpanned look upon her thoughts being interrupted which such a blatantly rude comment. "Hey, I was having a moment here. Besides, why kill me if you say we Cybertronians are destructive? Knowing me, I'll probably accidentally kill myself in the near future. Also, it's a bit hypocritical of you to claim we're bad when you aren't representing your world in a good light right now."

Tigressa gave a genuine laugh, "That's because what I do doesn't define my planet. No one else on Kanjis is looking for blood willingly. The difference is your world is all about war and everyone is out to win; mine is only when people like me try to kill the king, which is very few, or they have to defend themselves. I do what I do because I simply can. It's fun and King Kronos has had enough time playing a god. Thought about repealing my actions once, didn't work for me."

Beyond Tigressa and above her, a ground bridge opened but its sound was muffled by the air currents on the peak of Roughridge. Arcee barely glanced at it before she realized just what that meant. She gave Tigressa a smile as the latter held up her sword again.

"You do what you do to win, just like us. Well, maybe you're right. We Cybertronians are just killing machines. You'd make a great Cybertronian," Arcee stated, making Tigressa eye her suspiciously. "But you failed to learn one tiny detail about me."

"Oh?" Tigressa sneered.

Glaring at her, the blue femme scoffed, "I'm not anything like them...but he is."

Frowning, the tiger-dragon tilted her head in confusion. Suddenly, she was forced forward like a sickening yowl and lifted her foot off Arcee, but the Autobot could only crawl backwards as Tigressa fell towards her.

Arcee lied flat with her optics closed when the shadow of the larger femme dwarfed her but upon noticing that she was not getting crushed after a brief few seconds, she opened them to see Tigressa had instinctively stopped by holding out her shaky arms, the one missing its servo instead stopped on its elbow. She was far too close for comfort, but something had changed. Looking at the latter's expression, Arcee was shocked to see a twitching horrified expression on her faceplates including the quivering lines across her cheeks where her mouth extended. Why she was making that expression was made clear when Arcee peered down between them.

Inches from her abdomen, a tip of a sword threatened to stab her, coated already in Tigressa's blood. Following it up to the exit wound, Arcee saw it go through the tiger-dragon's chest and the skull gem on it. It had been embedded somewhere in her spine and Arcee winced at the notion of such a brutal, fatal injury.

Tigressa breathed harshly as the corrupted blue and purple blood seeped out from the nasty impalement onto the snow and partially on Arcee who tried quickly to crawl away out of the claustrophobic space between them. She didn't even try to hurt her as Arcee turned to crouch just in front of her.

Arcee got a better view of the scene, and on Tigressa's backside holding the blade was Megatron who held his signature growling demeanor she always remembered every Autobot feared. That was the warlord everyone knew; that was the Megatron she knew, and she was so happy to see him with such aggression again.

Megatron ripped the sword out from the spine, earning another stressed roar from Tigressa. Leaping off her, he snarled, "Megatron is superior to all! And don't you ever forget that when you mess with one of mine!"

Tigressa slowly turned to growl at him before raising up despite the large hole in her chest. But then she stumbled as the skull gem started to fade in coloring and the faint light that was her spark the sword had barely caught the end of seemed to weaken. She wandered backwards trying to keep her dying consciousness alert.

"From one warlord to another, Tigressa," Megatron mused, "we're both going to the Pits for what we've done in our arrogance and cruelty. But you're going there first."

As she reached the edge of the peak before a long drop-off to the mountain side going to the base, she began losing her balance and Megatron sprinted right at her. She barely had time to even open her optics wide when he drove his sword back into her chest again at an upward angle. He impaled her through her collar and part of her throat before she stood still almost lifeless.

Attempting to cough out blood only for it to gush from the open wounds instead, she fell backwards as her optics dimmed. Both Megatron and Arcee watched as she fell thousands of feet before finally hitting a section of snow. She hit multiple rocks and left many indents among the white ground before she bounced off a jagged portion of rock so hard, it broke several of her parts and scattered them. Fragments of armor and whole parts like her full arm came to rest in pieces at the base of the mountain.

Arcee felt some remorse for Tigressa. As she had stated, Kanjians weren't as cruel as Cybertronians but the fact that she chose to be heartless among them whereas Arcee chose to be kind among her people was a bit of an ironic thing. Both species had the capability to produce good and bad people, it just was a matter of what the choice of each individual was among the common populace that defined who was noble or a monster. Tigressa wanted to be a monster and like all the others on this isle, she was destroyed by her own desire and lust for blood.

Arcee barely shivered now, the cold hardly fazing her after all that. She then peered at Megatron who put away a new set of grosse messer swords no doubt from Bolt's armory on the ship. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, whether he still hated her for her comments or not or was just relieved Tigressa was gone.

Megatron then smiled at her as she brushed at tears threatening to fall. She softly spoke, "I...I thought you wouldn't help me again...after what I said to you."

At first, he didn't do anything but without warning, Arcee was swept off her feet and pressed against his chest in a big hug. "All is forgiven. I shouldn't have said what I said either. I was just tired, but I should have never taken it out on you. Could you ever forgive me?"

"I already have."

"Is it because I saved you?" Megatron smirked.

Arcee sighed in amusement but also slight annoyance, "Don't ruin the moment here."

Hearing Megatron laugh at that before holding her chin in comfort made her forget all of it. There was a softness in his red optics that was making Arcee melt somewhat in his arms. She could hear the faint humming of his spark pleased by her being safe and happy.

A ground bridge appeared, this time on the ground and Bolt came running at them. "Ay! You're alive! Thank Primus! Oh, Tigressa didn't hurt you, did she?!...Also, whose servo is that?"

Arcee ran to Bolt as Megatron set her down and wrapped an arm around his neck to hug him too. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, Bolt! How did you know where I was? I thought I would never see you two again!"

"Well, you forget, I had access to your visual feed remember? You still had the permission on!" Bolt laughed, hugging her back.

Then Bolt slowly let go of her to hold her servos in his own. He kind of sounded a little sad though reassuring, "But we did hear what Tigressa said about Cybertron. I can tell by the tone and facial expressions whether or not she was lying and...w-well, she wasn't lying. Unfortunately, I am living proof of how Cybertronians really aren't what we preach. I was technically born in a lab overseen by a homicidal, egotistical maniac! No offense, Megatron."

The warlord put his servos up gracefully. "I deserve it at this point. I'll take it in stride."

"He cried, by the way, after your fight" Bolt said to Arcee. "Very emotional deep down, even surprised me."

Arcee gave a sincere gasp and then sent a raise of her brows toward Megatron slyly. "Really?"

Megatron's expression dropped at that and he gave Bolt a death glare. "Why?!"

The Vehicon huffed, "Because you almost punched me. Don't think I was going to let you off easy about that. I'm nice but I'm also very petty when it counts. I learned a lot on that warship, huh?"

The femme held one of Bolt's servos and gestured for Megatron to grab her other. When he did, she pulled them both down to her level and gave each a kiss on the cheek. "You two are adorable sometimes. Reckless certainly...annoyances at worst, but I love you both."

The two mechs looked at each other unsure about how to respond to the sudden kiss but they didn't interrupt her as she continued. "I cannot express that enough for what you have both done to help me. I really hope that nothing like this ever comes between us again, even as hard or as stressful as this is. If we stick together, we can get through this one final adventure...then I don't know about you two, but I'm retiring after this as just the Queen of Cybertron. No more missions or anything."

Bolt muttered, "Sounds like a plan to me. At least, I want a break or something."

Megatron nodded, "Yeah, I think my warmongering and all my adventures are through. I really would like to relax somewhere, get a massage or something."

Arcee looked between the two as a silence hit them. After a minute, she suddenly said, "So, anybody up for high grade Energon?"

AN: I started think about how Megatron would feel about being the muscle of the group and thought that could be a brief plot point to give Arcee and Megatron some understanding of each other. It helps that Tigressa was a character known for manipulating problems of others, sometimes using them against another in the old days when I first started writing. It was nice to finally bring her back into a fic as an enemy. I should bring her out more.

Featured monsters:

Tigressa (Kanjis)