The Allspark looked at the Endeavor and wanted to frown at its state. It realized very quickly at its own expense that it was responsible. "Ah, well, it's a fixer-upper..."

Megatron growled at it. "Yeah, now fix it."

"Megatron," Arcee growled. "He means that one of your tasks to the path of redemption is to fix this ship please."

The Allspark side eyed the hostile warlord by tilting its rings that stopped circling it but given all the hell it had put him through, the expression was justified on his part, and it let it slide.

Focusing on the ship, its rings rotated around at a normal pace. Abruptly, it glimmered and eleven sprites of energy appeared in front of it out of thin air in an upright circle rotating clockwise with the Predator's red gem spawning in the middle. Out of kicks, the Allspark played briefly with its orbs, making them circle in different patterns before changing them to take a star-like formation.

Their voices were a lot more prominent than before now that they were free of their confinement, parallel to the Allspark's former predicament. The Allspark seemed to be thinking as it made the fragments of itself dance around the Predator's gem in different shapes before it took its final shape as a circle again. The circle began moving around fast like when they rotated around the dagger and all eleven orbs flew into the ship.

Eleven ripples flew across the water of the marshland as the ship began to glow. Suddenly, the Endeavor was lifted as parts of it not seen in its crashed state reappeared and other parts went back into place. Pieces of the ship buried in the water flew up and reattached until a burst of light made the marshlands boom with enchanted vegetation while a hovering Endeavor sat fully functional awaiting a pilot.

Moonhunter hid behind Arcee's leg from watching his normally stable home start to float in air, something he wasn't accustomed to seeing for quite some time.

The fragments of energy flew back to rotate around the Allspark, orbited it a few times before all eleven sank into it. Reunited, the Allspark felt a surge of power and made a pleased cry before doing a floating backflip and spin at the end in glee.

"There, your ship is fixed. All communications are online. Thank you, Arcee, for restoring me to be whole again. It feels so good to be able to do things like this again."

"Each gem was a portion of yourself...no offense, but you put your gems in the most inconvenient places!" Arcee said.

"I may be all powerful, never said I thought everything through as you proved. Each gem had a mere sliver of my abilities. In my fear of learning the future, I wanted to protect myself so I split my emotions and thoughts into gems to create the shield around my tower, but by doing so I only made myself feel my darker impulses with no one to stop me. They tried to communicate with me through the blue sentries you saw, my voices of reason against the sentries I controlled. I ignored them thinking I was right. I just made my own prophecy come true...ironic, isn't it?"

Megatron huffed, "I'm still not the forgive and forget type, I hope you know that. You're going to owe me for this nightmare too."

The Allspark was about to argue but decided against it. "Fair enough."

Arcee clapped her servos together. "Okay, time to go home finally. Oh, and Allspark?"

"Hmm?"

"Knowing you have access to the Well of your own name, of course, can I ask if Bolt is there?"

The Allspark was slightly surprised then glowed orange in wonderment at the question. "I honestly never had anyone ask that of me before. I sense the one I originally directed the Predator after. This Bolt...I always assumed the Autobots and Decepticons treated them like cannon fodder. He is very lucky to have friends like you."

Arcee nodded, "Good, I owe him everything. We wouldn't have gotten far without him, you know. I at least wanted to know that he is in a better place."

"I know. I quite admire him for standing against my isle for the longest time. I brought a tyrant in each ecosystem to bring down their respective ships, but Xerophorus was the only one that couldn't kill them all. I don't blame him, of course. Bolt was far craftier than I thought."

Megatron laughed, "Yeah, he was a good friend, one of very few I ever had."

Arcee patted the warlord's black arm cannon tenderly.

"So, Arcee," the Allspark mused, "you survived my isle and my challenges, bested me impressively, and restored me. But now there lies just one last thing for you to do. Do what I failed to: take down the core of the corruption of Cybertron. I already owe you so much but if you can fix this, I will be indebted to you for eternity."

"Didn't we agree you already were?" She chuckled.

"Time to take back Cybertron? I wouldn't miss this for the world," Megatron said, giving Arcee a smile. "I'll stick by you until the end. I promised I would, didn't I?"

Arcee was pleased to hear Megatron intended to stay and the Allspark was giving her the okay to do what was necessary. It was time to face the last problem of her situation, and she was going to raise a storm to the bot who stole her throne.

"Let's do this...for Bolt."

Moonhunter yowled in agreement before letting Megatron pick him up and chuck him to the ramp. He scrambled up it to sit and wait for the others. Megatron threw Arcee and then jumped up himself. The Allspark merely floated up and collapsed its rings to squeeze through the doorframe as it sealed. Both bots took to the pilot's cabin and set course for Cybertron.

The engines roared to life pushing forward and Arcee howled in happiness as it jettisoned out of Earth's atmosphere. Seeing space in real time, not through a planetary point of view, made Arcee's spirit soar. Moonhunter was sitting in a chair on his hind legs with his back against it a bit stunned by the sudden momentum and shivered with a whimper. Arcee then noticed the space bridge that had been hidden behind the Moon for years, courtesy of Megatron during the war's final months on Earth, was still intact. But then it occurred to her that there was a problem.

"Uh, we don't have any Energon to power this thing, do we?" She asked.

Megatron growled in frustration towards the oversight. "No, we don't."

The Allspark then spoke, "Would you like to go an alternate route then?"

Both bots peered back at the Allspark confused until it started to glow and extended its power to cackle across the ship with light blue bio lights. A beam of light shot from their ship straight in front of them and a bluish white portal appeared.

"My own space bridge, so to speak."

"Convenient," Arcee muttered in astonishment.

Megatron went full speed ahead into it and with a roar, the portal let them through. Unlike a space and ground bridge, the Allspark's bridge warped the cosmos around it with nebulas and galaxies twisting and turning like they were in a wormhole. The force of gravity pushed all of them back into their seats while Megatron kept ahold of the steering. Arcee and Moonhunter were unsure if not slightly fearful; Megatron merely laughed like a madman as the ship was no longer in his control and the ride became bumpy.

Cybertron was suddenly visible, but it was swirling in mist at the end. The closer they got to it, the less mist there was and the more it became planet shaped like it should be.

"Brace yourselves!"

As soon as the tip of the Endeavor hit the boundary of the portal with Cybertron nearly taking up the windshield's entire view, a boom made them all flinch aside from the Allspark and instantly, Cybertron was right in front of them as a physical planet, not a warped image. Arcee gripped her chair's arms tightly in shock.

"That was fun but terrifying at the same time."

Megatron was equally a bit disheveled, though still mildly amused, and said, "I'd do that again. Can we do that again?"

The Allspark found some amusement in their reactions and simply replied, "You're welcome."

Cybertron seemed the same but that was the atmospheric point of view. Upon lowering down and heading towards Crystal City, they saw a notable change. There looked to be screens and advertisements declaring Rockrider and a mech known as Wrathzone as wanted fugitives. She didn't know who Wrathzone was but if he aided Rockrider into committing crimes against the city, that was enough to convict him of treason himself. Megatron seemed slightly more puzzled but by what was the question. They passed Cybertropolis and Iacon, both cities had similar ads and the people were holding rallies it seemed. What for neither bot could tell.

"We were gone, what, a few weeks and this is what we come back to? It's like they didn't miss you," Megatron sneered. Then they made it to Crystal City and the mech retracted his statement. "Oh, maybe they did?"

To Arcee's horror, Crystal City was damaged with buildings toppled by something large and her palace had one tower collapsed and plenty of construction work trying to repair it. The whole exterior between the gates and the city itself looked like a war happened.

"By Primus...Megatron, land in front. I'm going through the front gate even if it kills me."

"Your wish is my command. Remember, I'm coming with you."

The Allspark resonated with the same energy as Megatron. "As am I."

Moonhunter was still shaken by the ride and whimpered wanting off the ship more so than anything. When they landed in front of the entrance and lowered the ramp, Moonhunter was quick to exit before exhaustingly slouching on the metal ground of Cybertron, his long-lost home. Megatron was the second one off and breathed a sigh of relief on being back, even if he knew his freedom to enjoy it wouldn't last. A guard appeared to stop him with a growl.

"You are not authorized to land here! This palace is under lockdown! No visitors!"

"Do you know who I am?!" The warlord snarled back.

The guard paused and finally, it clicked. "Megatron?"

Megatron smirked but it died as quick as it came when several more silver guards appeared.

"You are under arrest for conspiracy of kidnapping the Queen of Cybertron and helping traitors to the crown."

He was furious upon hearing that. "You have got to be joking me! I helped her-!"

"Stand down now! That's an order!" Arcee shouted as she appeared behind Megatron.

Her loyal guards, who had been reinstated, gazed in shock at their queen who wasn't covered in her regal white armor but instead had all sorts of cuts, burns, and mediocre repairs done but there was no mistaking her glare and her overall height that she was not an imposter.

"B-but, my Queen, you were-"

She didn't even let the guard finish and angrily yelled, "Yeah, I was! Now, if you would be so kind, I'm going to kick someone's ass for this embarrassment, and it's either going to be you or the bot responsible for this mutiny! I'm not in the mood to be nice today, not anymore!"

The guards nodded and stepped aside to let her through. Megatron let her walk in front of him as the Allspark appeared. Everyone who saw it began to whisper, even onlookers from the city. It hovered and expanded its ring with a pleased cry before following Megatron. No one dared to even stop it unlike what they attempted to do with Megatron and Arcee.

With Moonhunter keeping pace with her, Megatron on her right and the Allspark keeping behind her, she pushed open the gate before slamming through the front doors. Workers who were in the midst of repairing the interior littered with misplaced rubble and cracked walls parted ways in surprise to see the queen walking fast down the halls. They didn't dare keep her out of pace and moved everything they could to let her through before she got to each. Walking past them quietly, Arcee refused to say anything on account of being focused as to why her palace was damaged. They understood her unsaid fury.

Kicking her throne room doors open as her entrance and prepared for anything on the other side, she exclaimed, "I'm back, motherfuckers! Anybody not miss me?!"

Megatron snickered at that while the Allspark was taken aback by the sudden profanity though justified as it was.

"Arcee?!"

The queen saw Haywire stare at her with a baffled frown before it switched to a giant smile. Shockwave and The Matriarch were just as stunned though whether they were pleased or not was hard to tell due to the lack of mouths and facial expressions.

Arcee met him halfway and they hugged with Haywire refusing to let go of her when she tried to retreat. "I can't believe you are here! You have no idea how screwed up everything's been with Rockrider and her brute!"

She frowned, "Rockrider?! I saw her on the screens and thought it was a mistake! That's who it was?!"

"Didn't you get my message?"

"Parts of it. The Allspark was jamming the signal enough where I only heard you saying I was needed back. What in Primus' name did she do?"

Haywire let go finally and shook his head. "It's been hell, Arcee. She had her own army and everything just waiting for you to let your guard down. She planned this from the moment you became queen. Before I could figure out a way to stop her, she sent me and Scythe to the stockades as well as Optimus and Bumblebee. We broke out and formed our own force with all the faction leaders. That's why the palace is a bit...scuffed. We sent the Sentinels and Combiners to lure her out. Then she captured Optimus, Bumblebee, Windblade, Scythe, and Perceptor and we don't know where she's hidden them, assuming any of them aside from Tyrus are still alive who we recently found deceased."

"Whoa," Arcee scowled, "whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on. Let me process this information. You mean to tell me she has Optimus prisoner and-and-and Bumblebee?! Windblade?! Scythe-and no one's found her yet?!"

Shockwave walked up to them and shook his head as well. "No, we've tried everything. We can't trace her whereabouts and we fear she may have already killed her prisoners. In fact, once we managed to secure the palace, we almost had to choose a new ruler, even if permanent, to keep Cybertron stable. Your timing could not have been more perfect."

Megatron locked eyes with The Matriarch and Shockwave, and they both stared back. "I take it you've been taking care of the Decepticons?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron, though most of the praise goes to The Matriarch. She's been the leader since you left."

Arcee snarled, "Guys, we can get to catching up later. Shockwave, do you know of the general location she might be in? Any city perhaps?"

"Rockrider has been mentioned to have property or a hideaway in Kaon since its revival. Why an Iaconian native would take residence in the Decepticon capitol is beyond me. We have Ultra Magnus and the Dinobots working with the citizens to search the city for her, but that's all we can do."

"Damn..."

Haywire looked her up and down and grimaced, "Arcee, what happened to you? Your armor looks horrible...and what's with the multi-spotted blue? You look like someone put you together with different pieces. And what's with the Nitrotiger?"

Arcee rolled her optics and sighed, "His name is Moonhunter and he's an angel."

Haywire looked down at the cat who growled annoyed. The red mech merely raised a brow in response.

"Long story short: we've done a lot on that isle. I fought Megatronus Prime and all that. Fun stuff. Anyway-"

"W-what? Megatronus?" Haywire stuttered as he snapped to attention, exchanging glances with the two Decepticons beside him.

"-we brought the Allspark and that's why we managed to return. I kicked the Allspark's ass in the Well, didn't die by the way, and now it's our friend and maybe, it might be able to do what you guys can't the same as what we dealt with on the isle with no working ship-quit gawking, Haywire. Any questions?"

Everyone was dead silent and Megatron simply crossed his arms and gave a slight nod to back her story as being true. Then the Allspark laughed in its ghostly voices.

"I can find them. No one can hide from me."

Haywire and Shockwave moved aside as the Allspark floated toward the throne, neither daring to argue or question it. Turning, it faced Arcee while hovering over the throne itself. It abruptly pulsed and its voices spoke in unison instead of with a slight echo.

"The one you seek lies among the past; a tower of destruction undisturbed with its fiery soul still burning bright-"

"No riddles! Not right now!" Arcee shouted angrily.

The Allspark seemed to growl at the disturbance. "Fine then, don't respect my mystic nature. I miss being theatrical. Thanks for ruining my vibe."

The Matriarch huffed, "Yeah, Arcee, look what you did."

Glaring at the Decepticon leader, Arcee sighed and gestured for the Allspark to continue impatiently.

"No."

"Wha...?! What do you mean 'no?!'" The queen asked irritably.

"I'm not going to tell you if you continue to be rude to me," said the Allspark blandly. "First Megatron and now you. Honestly, you wonder why I left?"

Megatron then said, "Arcee, just let it do its thing. I'm good with riddles. Continue, please."

Arcee rubbed her temples and sourly nodded in agreement to Megatron's comment.

The Allspark groaned, "As I was trying to say...your foe is in a familiar place, one none of you ever thought to look because of its history. Megatron knows where."

All optics were on Megatron as he frowned. Then he shrugged, "You realize that narrows it down very little. I know Kaon inside and out, too many places to be exact. Search every possible towering building there would take weeks, time which we don't have."

"Megatron," Arcee said deadpanned.

"What? There are plenty of buildings in Kaon that can match 'tower of destruction.' I weaponized that entire city during the war! Give me a minute to think here! It's been a while."

The Matriarch scoffed, "My god, you two are disasters. It's a wonder how you survived with each other this entire time."

"We became really...good friends actually," the blue femme said. "We still have our little rough spots, but I've taken a liking to him. Our similar strategic mindsets and different skills complement each other. In fact, I don't think I worked with anyone better...despite us being enemies previously."

Megatron paused amused at her deflection and jokingly shot a side glance towards her saying, "You like me?"

Arcee ate her words and brushed off the slip flushed. "Ah, uh, well, you're a-a very great partner."

"Uh-huh?" He smirked. He knew she was trying not to break character of the solitary queen despite their upgraded relationship.

Haywire had his own smile and Arcee quickly slapped the side of his arm upon seeing it which he then coughed to correct himself. "Ah, it's-it's not bad! From how long I've known you, it's good you're finally meeting someone like you...even if he's a bit more destructive and is a war criminal. Whatever. I'm supportive."

When Arcee tried to shush him, The Matriarch and Shockwave were snickering and the Allspark was equally amused.

"Come on, guys, don't-why do you have to be like this?!"

Megatron, on the other hand, had an epiphany. "Destructive...tower of destruction...I know where Rockrider is. Also, did you say she was with someone? Who?"

The question caught Haywire off guard as he tried to defend himself from Arcee's playful wrath from his mocking. "Oh, uh, it's a bodyguard named Wrathzone."

The warlord grew cold with his expression and Arcee became concerned. "Megatron, you know him?"

"Wrathzone? Unfortunately, I do, and I had hoped I misread those screens too. He was a gladiator briefly until he was fired."

The Matriarch leaned back stunned upon hearing that. "Gladiators can get fired? Many of them died as a part of their job. What would you have to do to get fired from a slavery gig that punishes and kills regardless?"

"By not playing by the rules," Megatron answered. "True, the Gladiatorial Pits were nothing but a death sentence and a theatre for many higher ups. It wasn't scripted or rigged on who was supposed to win or lose. You went in and fought the best you could to survive. However, there were a set of rules every gladiator knew to respect and one of them was to never resort to sabotaging opponents before a battle. Everyone fought as they were but also to their highest capabilities. You proved your metal by fighting the best and becoming the best."

"Wrathzone cheated?" Shockwave asked.

"Worse, Wrathzone convinced others to cheat. It's one thing to sabotage someone else yourself, it's completely different to manipulate others to cheat so if they're caught, they take the fall. Wrathzone, however, was a fool. I...caught him trying to convince my opponent to do so because I knew my opponent, Wildranger, from before our jobs as gladiators when we worked in the mines which Wrathzone was unaware of. When Wildranger tried to sabotage me then begged for my forgiveness, I knew this wasn't him doing it out of his own desire. He was a mech who always played fair until he was paid to do something. I reported Wrathzone as soon as I figured it out and, suffice to say, I'm the reason he was fired."

Haywire sighed, "From what I know of Wrathzone myself, he was a bodyguard for Alpha Trion, and I guess he decided to protect his former apprentice, Rockrider. I didn't know what he did prior."

"I heard that he took another position, don't think he ever forgave me though. I never saw him during the war in either faction. I assumed that he left Cybertron," Megatron said.

The Matriarch then spoke. "Yeah? He's been a thorn in our sides, and we think he's the main bot responsible for all the kidnappings of the leaders. Now that we know his full history, it certainly explains a lot."

Arcee frowned, "Regardless of what he was, the issue is he's part of the problem now. A gladiatorial background means he's way harder to take on than your average bot."

"You took on monsters and leaders even stronger than I," Megatron grinned. "If anything, you might be one of the few who can take him. Hell, you technically won against me before and he's practically the same size."

"Size matters not," the Allspark interjected. "And if it does, sometimes those who are larger fall the easiest. It is always a matter of leverage that determines the path of a fight, physical or mental. I entrust that you will find them, you have yet to prove me wrong philosophically. I will stay here with one of you to monitor the situation. If anything changes, I will come to you."

Haywire nodded, "The Allspark's right. Arcee and Megatron, you two are our best chance. I'll help the Allspark with whatever it needs. Shockwave and Matriarch will accompany you to Kaon to go where you think Rockrider might be hiding. The remaining leaders will meet with you in the city."

Megatron smirked, "Keeps getting more fun."

Arcee rolled her shoulders stubbornly, "That's fine by me. I want to meet Rockrider and Wrathzone up close and personal. I told her once in a debate a year before this anyone who messes with me usually doesn't live long. Guess she didn't take the hint to heart among her scheming."

Haywire bowed in respect. "I have all my confidence in you, my Queen. Now go! Be the leader Cybertron needs."

AN: Now, it's coming down to the moment you've all been waiting for. Our heroes vs the traitors. What will happen next? Oh, you must read to find out.