Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, The Owl House or their characters

Onboard the Nemesis, Starscream was currently making a monologging himself on the events that transpired in the abandoned Energon mine, while Soundwave stood in front of the air commander to record everything.

"I have been a fool. Made mistakes, monumental ones. I now realise that I was never destined to be a leader or even an equal partner. And, I'm at peace with that." Starscream explained. "I have gained a clear understanding of my place in this universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be. Starscream, second-in-command. Humble servant to Lord Megatron. Thank you for listening, Soundwave."

Soundwave stayed silent as usual while Starscream walked away towards the Nemesis' main deck. But when he arrived, he saw that Megatron was in the middle of a private conversation with Airachnid.

"Is this true?!" Megatron asked, sounding a bit agitated.

"Starscream never mentioned it." Airachnid answered.

"If he's up to his old tricks, I shall grind him into powder." Megatron scowled.

Starscream then cleared his throat, earning Megatron's attention.

"Starscream." Megatron greeted.

"Lord Megatron, please excuse Airachnid's impertinence." Starscream said, shooting a glare at the female Spider Con. "Now, what was it that I allegedly failed to mention?"

"The Harbinger." Megatron answered.

"Uh… what about it?" Starscream asked as he stuttered a little bit.

"Eons ago, a Decepticon transport crash-landed on this planet." Airachnid explained as an image of a Decepticon spaceship appeared on the main screen.

"Oh please, common knowledge." Starscream replied casually. "I scouted the crash site when we first arrived on Earth."

"Then I presume you recovered the experimental weapon prototype the Harbinger had been transporting?" Airachnid questioned, making Starscream feel uneasy.

"Where is the crash site?" Megatron asked.

"It was never logged into your ship's database." Airachnid told him.

"You failed to record the coordinates of a Decepticon transport?!" Megatron questioned Starscream with a mad expression.

"An oversight, master." Starscream assured, smiling nervously. "But I noted it's exact location."

"Then you can lead Airachnid there so that she may retrieve the prototype for me." Megatron replied before turning back to the main screen.

"My personal native guide. How delightful." Airachnid said with a sly smile, causing Starscream to grit his teeth in frustration.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile ontop of the Autobot base, Arcee was simply standing in place and looking out into the sunset without saying a word.

"Thought I'd find you up here." A voice said as Arcee turned around to see Cliffjumper approaching her.

"Hey, partner." Arcee greeted. "Heck of a view up here, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I can just barely see Luz's hometown from here." Cliffjumper said, pointing towards the distance. "Do you think there's a chance that the Sparks of our long-gone pals are watching us from the stars?"

"If they are, we could really use more Autobots on our team." Arcee replied. "It seems like everyday, another Decepticon arrives on the scene. Especially after that whole incident with Lockdown and the Dark Spark. We're outnumbered and outgunned."

"Sounds like a fair fight to me." Cliffjumper quipped with a small chuckle.

"Heheh. I knew you'd say that." Arcee admitted before her expression became a bit sad. "But if that's the world we live in, then so be it."

"Hey, we're definitely gonna beat those Cons and make a better world for all of us." Cliffjumper reassured, placing a hand on his partner's shoulder. "We've still got Luz and her buddies on our side. Their magic has helped us a lot."

"It's not gonna stay that way when they find a way back to the Boiling Isles." Arcee reminded.

"True." Cliffjumper said in agreement.

"And it's not just that. Before we even met the kids, you were close to almost getting taken offline by the Decepticons." Arcee said, feeling quite depressed on the inside. "I don't think I could forgive myself if I lost another partner."

"But I'm still alive, Cee. That's what you've got to be focusing on." Cliffjumper told her calmly.

"Right. I just want you to know that I haven't given up." Arcee replied with a frown. "I'm gonna find the Con that tried to take you from us."

"Look, Arcee, I get that you wanna get even with those Cons for trying to slag me. But, it's not the best idea." Cliffjumper said, seeing the tenseness on his partner's face. "You shouldn't go running after one Con who wanted kill me just for payback. It's not the Autobot way."

The red Autobot then walked away to take the giant lift back down to the main room, while Arcee sighed to herself.

"Right." She muttered.

(Linebreak)

In the middle of an open forest area that had a very cloudy sky, Starscream was descending slightly above the ground in his fighter jet form before transforming. The Decepticon air commander looked up to see Airachnid lowering from the sky in her helicopter form before she transformed and landed next to Starscream.

"Your chosen vehicle mode lacks thrust." Starscream said, sounding a bit insulting.

"Are you going to preen or are you going to guide?" Airachnid asked rhetorically.

"I will reveal the exact location of the Harbinger when you tell me exactly what we're looking for." Starscream replied.

"That information is need-to-know." Airachnid said in a simple tone. "And right now, you don't."

"Oh, you would do well to respect me, Airachnid. Before I joined Megatron, I was air commander of a squadron of Energon Seekers." Starscream told her firmly.

"On Cybertron. And how many eons ago was that?" Airachnid questioned.

"Well just recently, I was this close to vanquishing one of Optimus' fiercest warriors." Starscream said, trying to make himself sound mighty.

"But it doesn't sound like you actually snuffed that Autobot." Airachnid replied with a teasingly smirk.

"Perhaps, but he was left with many great injuries. I just wish I could've ended his existence without mercy." Starscream said.

"Oh, even Megatron showed you mercy when he planned to terminate you at the mine." Airachnid commented, much to Starscream's surprise.

"What?! He told you about that?!" Starscream asked shockingly.

"We talked." Airachnid answered.

"Bah. The wreckage lies just beneath where we stand." Starscream said with an annoyed scoff, turning away from the female Spider Con. "I will need to find a point of entry."

However, Airachnid simply used her spider legs to drill her way down to the Harbinger bellow, while Starscream turned around and looked down the hole.

"Showoff." Starscream said insultingly.

(Linebreak)

Inside the Harbinger, Airachnid crawled along the ceiling down the halls as Starscream followed behind her.

"Suit yourself. I conducted a thorough search of this husk years ago." Starscream bragged.

Airachnid then found a console and she leaped from the ceiling before activating it.

"What are you doing?" Starscream questioned.

"Accessing the cargo manifest." Airachnid said. "Or didn't you think to do that during your thorough search?"

"Idiot. The ship's systems haven't been activated for eons." Starscream replied with an annoyed scoff. "The Autobots could detect it's energy signature."

Airachnid just ignored him and kept typing on the console before schematics for the Harbinger appeared on screen.

"Ah, here it is. Section 23." Airachnid said in satisfaction.

(Linebreak)

At the Autobot base, Starscream's theory was proven right when Ratchet started to detect a signal on the main console.

"Optimus, our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile. But it's… ancient." Ratchet explained as Optimus walked towards the screen.

"The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet." Optimus said.

(Linebreak)

Airachnid was once against crawling down the Harbinger's halls with Starscream following. The female Spider Con then jumped down and made a left turn.

"Section 23 should be right about… here?" Airachnid said with a surprised expression as she soon saw that the path she went on led to a dead end. "The ship just ends. It must have broken in half during the crash."

"Hmm, or in the air. If you performed actual research, you would have learnt that an Autobot battalion shot the Harbinger out of the sky." Starscream sneered mockingly.

"How far away is the other half?" Airachnid questioned with a glare.

"I'm afraid that information is… need-to-know." Starscream answered.

Having just about enough of the air commander, Airachnid fired a web shot at him and caused Starscream to collapse to the ground with the webs binding him.

"What are you-?!" Starscream demanded.

"You're trying to make me look like a fool before Megatron! Have me return empty-handed while you locate that weapon yourself." Airachnid scowled.

"How dare you accuse me! You're nothing but a scavenger! An opportunist!" Starscream yelled.

"Aren't you one to talk." Airachnid retorted.

"Perhaps, but I've changed. Seen the error of my ways." Starscream said. "I live to serve Megatron, now."

"You won't live to serve anyone if you don't tell me where to find the rest of this ship. Now." Airachnid threatened.

"Ugh, a flew clicks north of here through a stone arch." Starscream answered. "Now release me."

But instead of doing as she was told, Airachnid simply crawled away from Starscream and deactivated her spider form.

"When I have the weapon in hand. That is if I can find my way back without my guide." Airachnid said smugly before walking away.

"This is not funny, Airachnid!" Starscream called out in anger. "Come back here right now and cut me loose! Airachnid, that is an order! I AM YOUR COMMANDING OFFICER!"

Airachnid simply chuckled as she kept on walking away. However, her attitude went to a surprised one when she saw the Autobots walking down the corridor in front of her before Arcee and Cliffjumper quickly noticed her.

"Over there!" Cliffjumper exclaimed.

"Airachnid!" Arcee said with a glare.

"Surrender." Optimus ordered.

Airachnid immediately changed into her spider form and began crawling away, causing Arcee to immediately chase after her as they both came across Starscream.

"Airachnid! You traitor!" Starscream shouted as the female Spider Con stopped in front of the stone wall and began drilling her way through it.

Arcee ran straight past him and began climbing through the hole that Airachnid made, while Optimus and Cliffjumper stopped behind her due to being too big.

"Arcee, wait!" Optimus called out.

"Don't go it alone, partner!" Cliffjumper protested.

Arcee soon arrived at the surface and pulled out her blaster before looking around for Airachnid, but couldn't see her anywhere. But then, the female Autobot began to feel the ground beneath her shaking and Arcee got blown away when Airachnid rose up from the ground.

"Arcee." Airachnid greeted with a giggle.

"I didn't peg you for re-signing with the Decepticons." Arcee commented before she brought out her wrist blades and charged at her nemesis.

"A temporary arrangement, Arcee." Airachnid replied. "You know I prefer working alone."

Arcee tried to strike Airachnid, but her nemesis easily avoided the attack and used one of her spider legs to grab Arcee's foot before slamming her to the other side. Arcee then jumped over Airachnid and charged at her again, only for the female Spider Con to then restrain her without any trouble.

"Speaking of, add anymore deceased partners to your growing list?" Airachnid asked tauntingly. "Or perhaps I could have a little bit of quality time with Cliffjumper?"

"Leave him out of this!" Arcee growled in anger.

"Why? Afraid that I'll take him from you, just like I did with Tailgate?" Airachnid questioned, smirking deviously.

"Airachnid!" Optimus called out as he was shown to have arrived from underground and charged at the duo. "Release her!"

Airachnid shoved Arcee away and transformed into her helicopter mode before flying off into the distance. Optimus tried to shoot her down, but Airachnid was too far away and he placed away his blaster before turning his attention to Arcee.

"Arcee, you know better than to engage the enemy alone." Optimus scolded.

"Not her. Not after what she did to Tailgate." Arcee replied with an mad scowl, having flashbacks of her first partner's death by Airachnid's hands. "She will pay."

"Revenge will not bring back those we have lost. Is that understood?" Optimus asked sternly, making Arcee turn away with her eyes closed.

"Move it!" Bulkhead ordered as he and the other Bots shoved Starscream towards them.

"And don't do anything stupid!" Wheeljack warned.

"No need to use force." Starscream replied before he was shoved onto his knees. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Hehe, is that right?" Cliffjumper asked with a chuckle.

"And what do you want in return, Screamy?" Jazz questioned, crossing his arms.

"I want to be… on your side." Starscream said pleadingly, looking up at Optimus as there was a moment of silence.

"You? On our side?" Wheeljack asked before he laughed out loud. "Yeah, right. And I've been playing Cube with Trypticon."

"You wouldn't betray the Decepticons." Arcee added.

"Wouldn't I? What have they done for me lately, besides humiliate me, spy on me and demote me?" Starscream asked, getting furious by the thoughts of it all. "Megatron tried to extinguish my Spark in cold blood. Then all but replace with that traitorous wretch, Airachnid. She abandoned me! Left for me scrap! So why not rat them out?"

Knowing that this needed to be discussed about, Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead and Cliffjumper walked away to talk alone while Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Jazz stood to guard Starscream.

"What do you guys think? Should we ditch him or bring him along?" Cliffjumper asked.

"He's not lying about Megatron trying to scrap him. I saw it with my own eyes." Arcee admitted.

"You're not saying you actually trust Starscream." Bulkhead said in disbelief.

"Trust him? Never. But this may be the one time our objectives align." Arcee told her team.

"You are right to be wary, Bulkhead. But I agree with Arcee." Optimus said.

"Well whatever Airachnid's after, it can't possibly be as bad as the Energon Harvester." Cliffjumper assured with a calm smile. "Right?"

(Linebreak)

Speaking of Airachnid, she was flying across a stoney badlands and soon came across a large stone arch that led her into a canyon. Making a quick right turn, Airachnid found the other half of the Harbinger laying on a large cliff.

Once she transformed and made her way inside the Harbinger, Airachnid found a small tube in the correct room and opened it up, finding what she was after.

"Be still, my beating Spark." Airachnid remarked before pulling out a spear-like weapon with three pointing edges in the end, making it emit some light-blue energy.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, the Autobots were driving their way to the stone arch as Optimus had his trailer connected to his vehicle form, carrying a special guest inside. Pretty soon, they all arrived at the arch and they pressed in their breaks before transforming into robot mode.

"What do you know?" Bulkhead asked, slightly surprised.

"Looks like Scream actually shot straight." Wheeljack admitted.

"Could still be a trap." Arcee said suspiciously.

"Airachnid is on the other side of that canyon, and she's a super deadly hunter with a nasty attitude." Cliffjumper replied. "That kinda sounds like a trap to me."

"Starscream's loyalty to Megatron has always been questionable." Optimus said as he approached his fellow Autobots. "If he has truly split from the Decepticons, our prisoner's knowledge of their agendas could make him a valuable ally."

"You don't mean permanently. As in keys to the base and everything?" Bulkhead questioned rhetorically.

"However, unlikely that scenario, every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption." Optimus explained.

"Even Bot killers? Even Airachnid?" Arcee asked, glaring darkly.

"Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace." Optimus replied.

"Optimus has a good point. Amity told me she used to be a snobby jerk in her school before Luz showed up in the Boiling Isles." Cliffjumper said, agreeing with his leader's point of view. "Now, the two of them are a nice couple and she's the cool Witch friend I got to make days ago."

"Yeah. Hunter was also bad as the Golden Guard before he learned what that evil Belos human wanted to do to all the people in the Boiling Isles." Bumblebee added.

"Well, we can't get everyone to change for the better. But all we can do is give it out all." Jazz commented.

Bulkhead walked up to the back of Optimus' trailer and opened the door to see Starscream laying in it, now restrained by two pairs of cuffs on his wrists and wings.

"Rise and shine, screamy." Bulkhead said before dragging Starscream out.

"We're here. Where's the ship?" Cliffjumper asked.

Starscream say himself up and dusted off some dirt on his shoulder before pointing towards the stone arch.

"It's through the arch, among the stones." Starscream said.

"Good guess is that the Eight-Legger is already there." Wheeljack told his teammates.

"Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, Jazz, you're with me." Optimus stated. "Arcee, remain with our prisoner."

The Autobot leader began to walk away, only for Arcee to rush up to him for an excuse.

"Optimus, please." Arcee said, making her leader turn around. "For Tailgate."

"Your desire to avenge Tailgate will only continue to cloud your judgment." Optimus replied before he walked off.

"Just wait here for us, Arcee. It's probably the best choice, right now." Cliffjumper said with a sigh.

He, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Jazz then followed Optimus into the stone arch, while Arcee lowered her head and turned to Starscream as the air commander was trying to get the cuffs off him.

"Is the clamp really necessary?" Starscream asked in complaint. "I promise not to fly away. It's really giving me a crick."

"I can shove you back in the trailer." Arcee replied with her hands on her hips, making Starscream groan.

(Linebreak)

Optimus, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Wheeljack and Jazz were making their way through the stone alley with their blasters ready in case they saw Airachnid.

"Be alert. Airachnid is known to attack from below ground." Optimus warned.

"Got it." Bulkhead replied nervously.

"Hey, Cliff? You and Arcee took on that creepy crawly when Luz's mom got kidnapped by M.E.C.H, right?" Jazz recalled. "What do we need to expect?"

"Really sticky webs, extra spider legs that gives her more walking power, and some deadly acid spit." Cliffjumper explained casually. "That's pretty much everything."

The Autobots then arrived at the Harbinger's second half and saw no signs of Airachnid, while the female Spider Con's shadow was shown hiding behind one of the large spikes. Optimus signalled the others to move ahead and they all did just that, but Airachnid crawled out of her hiding spot and aimed the weapon at Optimus, preparing to fire a beam at him. Fortunately, Jazz immediately spotted the female Spider Con.

"Prime, duck!" Jazz called out.

Optimus was able to hear him just in time to roll out of the way before he could get blasted by the weapon. He fired his blaster straight at Airachnid, who avoided the shots and crawled on the open platform.

"I got her!" Bulkhead stated before shooting at Airachnid.

However, Airachnid avoided the shot and used this opportunity to hit Bulkhead with a beam from the weapon, making him freeze up in his position.

"Bulk? Can you hear me, pal?" Wheeljack asked in concern, but his partner didn't say a thing.

"The Immobilizer. True to it's name." Airachnid remarked before firing another beam.

The Autobots quickly jumped back and took cover behind some separate rocks to keep themselves from getting frozen. Jazz peeked his head out of the side and knew he had a shot.

"Alright, here goes nothing!" Jazz said determinedly, pulling out both his blasters.

The Autobot Lieutenant rushed out of his cover and began shooting his blasters straight at Airachnid, who was barely able to avoid them as one of the shots ended up grazing her left arm. Once she got far away enough, Airachnid fired the Immobilizer beam at Jazz.

"Jazz, look out!" Bumblebee called out.

But it was too late as Jazz got hit by the Immobilizer's beam, making his whole body freeze up.

"Two down, four to go." Airachnid snickered, aiming the Immobilizer at her remaining targets.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, Arcee was impatiently pacing back and forth in front of Starscream.

"I'm not really so bad, you know?" Starscream told her. "Megatron, he's the evil one."

"Tell it to someone who cares." Arcee replied.

"Like whom? Airachnid?" Starscream questioned rhetorically. "What I wouldn't do to get my hands around her wretched throat."

"So we can agree on one thing." Arcee admitted.

"Oh, you have no idea. She showed up one day and the next thing you know, she's acting like she runs runs the place." Starscream explained in annoyance. "She whispered lies into Megatron's ear, manoeuvred to rob me of my rightful place!"

"Well, she terminated my partner." Arcee said, feeling mad from just the thought.

"What?! She's taking credit for trying to scrap him now, too?!" Starscream questioned shockingly. "That was my doing!"

"What?" Arcee asked, getting slightly suspicious about that last part. "You weren't there."

"Uh, of course I wasn't." Starscream replied with a nervous expression. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Who're you talking about?" Arcee demanded.

"No one. Who are you talking about?" Starscream asked, smiling worriedly.

"Tailgate." Arcee answered.

"Eh, who's Tailgate?" Starscream asked again.

It didn't take long for Arcee to realise exactly what Starscream was talking about, or rather what he tried to do many days ago.

"You're the one. You tried to extinguish Cliffjumper!" Arcee realised, glaring angrily at the air commander.

"Cliffjumper?!" Starscream repeated before Arcee prepared to strike him with her wrist blade. "No! No no no, you misunderstand. It wasn't like you think. I only sent to troops to apprehend him at that Energon crater. But the Energon inside was about to explode right ontop of him, so I tried to get him far away from the blast radius. I never intended to snuff out his Spark."

Not believing him for a second, Arcee kicked Starscream away and got right in front of him

"Okay! Okay, it was a mistake! I've made many, but I've changed!" Starscream said beggingly. "You wouldn't terminate a defenceless prisoner, would you?"

Arcee said nothing to him and kept glaring in hatred before pulling out a strange key and throwing it to the ground.

"What… What is that?" Starscream asked, confused.

"The key to your cuffs." Arcee answered.

"What for?" Starscream asked with a timid expression.

"If Cliff was standing here, he would've given you a fighting chance." Arcee said sternly.

"No, please! I don't want to!" Starscream pleaded. "What's past is part. I'm one of you, now."

Arcee then pulled out her blasters and aimed them directly at Starscream, who immediately cowered in terror.

"No! No!" Starscream shouted in fear.

"Take it!" Arcee ordered.

Starscream lowered down and picked up the key, but then he dropped it out of fear.

"You're pathetic." Arcee scowled, placing one of her blasters away and bending down to get the key.

However, Starscream began to chuckle darkly as this was a sign that he was just faking his cowardly attitude before baring his claws and swiping them at Arcee. The female Autobot's optics went wide as she felt a pain in the right side of her stomach and stepped back while a bunch of Energon began leaking out of her. Starscream used this opportunity to grab the key and unlock his wrist cuffs, while Arcee collapsed onto the ground with a painful groan.

"Something wrong, Arcee?" Starscream asked with a malicious smirk, preparing to attack again. "I thought you wanted a fight?"

(Linebreak)

At the same time, Optimus, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Wheeljack were firing their blasters at Airachnid while Bulkhead and Jazz were still frozen by the Immobilizer. As the others were busy avoiding the Immobilizer's ray, Wheeljack snuck behind Airachnid and brought out his swords.

"Here goes nothing." Wheeljack said to himself before charging straight at Airachnid and leaping into the air. "Heads up, web-head!"

Unfortunately, Airachnid quickly turned around and shot Wheeljack with the Immobilizer ray, making the swordsman Wrecker freeze up and crash next to Bulkhead.

"Nice try." Airachnid teased.

She then turned her attention to Optimus, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper and fired the Immobilizer at them, causing them all to immediately take cover. Optimus peeked out his cover to fire at Airachnid, only to see that the female Spider Con had disappeared as Bumblebee and Cliffjumper walked up to him. But then, Airachnid drilled out of the ground behind the Autobots.

"Freeze!" Airachnid said before firing the Immobilizer ray at Optimus, making him freeze up and shock both Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

"Big mistake, bug." Cliffjumper said with a glare.

He and Bumblebee fired their blasters at Airachnid, who quickly jumped onto a wall and fired another ray at them.

(Linebreak)

Arcee was currently clenching her side wound and using her other arm's wrist blade to block Starscream's claw attacks. The air commander laughed sinisterly as he rushed for another attack, only for Arcee to block it and kick him in the face. Starscream scowled in pain for a bit as he and Arcee began circling each other.

"You're just as hard to scrap as your partner. At least the one I tried to scrap." Starscream said with a smirk. "Was Tailgate any weaker than Cliffjumper?"

"Just… keep talking, Starscream." Arcee grunted weakly as she swiped her wrist blade at him.

(Linebreak)

Back with Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, they were forced to take cover behind a large boulder since Airachnid had frozen the rest of their teammates.

"I'm open to suggestions, Bee." Cliffjumper whispered.

"I'll think of one, Cliff." Bumblebee replied.

"Tell me, boys, do you think Megatron will enjoy his new trophies? He'll probably use the Wreckers here for target practice." Airachnid said as she approached Bulkhead and Wheeljack, pushing both of them to the ground before crawling next to Jazz. "Having one of the Autobots' top lieutenants on his warship would probably allow Megatron to gain a lot of Intel on how to properly defeat all of you. I just hope poor Jazz here doesn't get his mind erased in the process."

Once she was done with them, she crawled ontop of Optimus.

"But Prime is the true prize. Perhaps he'll adorn the prow of Megatron's warship." Airachnid said with a chuckle.

She aimed her hand blaster at Bumblebee and Cliffjumper and fired some shots, causing both Autobots to keep their backs on the boulder before they noticed some of the shots were hitting the cliff in front of them.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Cliffjumper asked, smirking confidently.

"I definitely am." Bumblebee answered.

"Music to my ears." Cliffjumper said.

Both of them aimed their blasters at the cliff and fired a bunch of shots, causing it to crumble in front of them and create a large dust cloud that prevented Airachnid from seeing them. A bunch of blaster shots were fired in Airachnid's way and the female Spider Con retaliated by aimlessly firing the Immobilizer ray into the dust cloud. When the dust settled away, Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were shown to have frozen in place, causing Airachnid to l chuckle victoriously.

"But you, bug, I suspect Megatron will simply dismantle you for spare parts." Airachnid told Bumblebee before turning her attention to Cliffjumper. "As for you, Cliffjumper, I'll make sure to keep you alive so that Arcee can have a front-row seat for when I permanently take you offline. It would be nice to see the same horror in her eyes for when I ended Tailgate."

The female Spider Con turned back to Optimus as she continued to chatter away, not knowing that Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were actually faking their frozen states as the red Autobot gave a silent wink to the yellow Scout, who made a shushing gesture in response.

"As a rogue, a scavenger, I should disappear into the night with this treasure. But using it to worm my way into Megatron's favour is too good an opportunity to pass. Wouldn't you say, Prime?" Airachnid asked the Autobot leader as Bumblebee and Cliffjumper slowly snuck up to her. "I mean with results like this, I could earn Megatron's eternal trust."

But then, Airachnid felt something tap on her shoulder and she turned around before she was immediately sucker-punched by Cliffjumper, causing her to let go of the Immobilizer. Bumblebee shot the Immobilizer with his blaster and made it shatter into pieces, which Airachnid saw once the pieces landed on the ground.

"You fools!" Airachnid scowled angrily before she transformed into her helicopter mode.

Bumblebee and Cliffjumper fired their blasters at the female Spider Con, but the shots had little effect and she immediately flew away from the area to return to the Nemesis.

"Bee, go check on Arcee." Cliffjumper instructed. "I'll help out the others and call Ratchet for a Ground Bridge."

Bumblebee nodded before he rushed off to Arcee's location, while Cliffjumper got to work gathering the other Bots and the shattered Immobilizer.

(Linebreak)

Arcee wasn't doing so well, at the moment. She was struck in the face by Starscream, kicked in the stomach and then elbowed straight onto the ground before getting kicked down the hill. Arcee groaned in pain as she was laying down, while Starscream slowly walked up to his weakened foe.

"You should have finished me when I was helpless to fight, just like I would have finished Cliffjumper were it not for his craftiness." Starscream said with a smirk. "Now, prepare to reunite with your old partner. But don't worry, I'll send Cliffjumper your regards."

"This…" Arcee whispered, making it sound very quiet.

"What's that? I can't hear your last words." Starscream admitted.

"This… is for… Cliffjumper!" Arcee shouted before she slashed Starscream in the face, leaving a nasty cut on his cheek.

She delivered two more powerful blows to his chest and face before shoving him down to the ground with his wrist blade pressed against his neck.

"Go on, do it." Starscream told her. "Megatron will only terminate me for treason if I dare return to the Decepticons. You may as well be the one to put me out of my misery."

"As if I needed convincing." Arcee replied while gritting her teeth in anger, raising her wrist blade up for the final blow.

"What?!" Starscream questioned in horror. "Wait, no!"

Just as Arcee was about to finish him for good, she then looked up at the top of the cliff to see Bumblebee staring down at them with disappointment and sadness in his eyes. When Arcee looked down to see how helpless Starscream was, she had no other choice but to put her blades away and get off him. However, her chest wound finally made her collapse and Bumblebee slid down the cliff before picking her up, while Starscream walked away from the scene.

(Linebreak)

Onboard the Nemesis, Airachnid had informed Megatron of everything that happened with her, but the Decepticon leader wasn't very happy.

"You left Starscream with the Autobots?!" Megatron asked angrily. "Do you have any notion of the consequences of your blunder?!"

"But, my lordship, it was Starscream's incompetence that costed us the Immobilizer." Airachnid protested.

"I don't care about some trinket!" Megatron yelled, getting in her face. "My second-in-command is a prisoner of the enemy! Which means all Decepticon intelligence could be at the fingertips of the Autobots!"

(Linebreak)

At the Autobot base, Ratchet had successfully managed to rebuild the Immobilizer as Optimus, Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Jazz were now unfrozen and began stretching themselves.

"The damage looked bad when Cliffjumper brought the pieces to me. But it was a snap to repair, allowing us to reverse it's effect on you." Ratchet explained. "You should regain your full-range of motion before long."

"That's good to hear, Doc." Wheeljack replied while twisting his left arm.

"And Arcee?" Optimus asked.

"How's she holding up, Ratchet?" Cliffjumper questioned with a concerned expression.

"She's rather resilient for a two-wheeler." Ratchet said.

The Bots looked towards Arcee, who was sitting in a medical table while clenching her side wound. Cliffjumper approached his partner and carefully sat next to her.

"How do you feel?" Cliffjumper asked, showing signs of sympathy.

"I… don't know." Arcee replied as she looked down.

"Look, you did the right thing in the end." Cliffjumper told her. "You've just got to take some time for yourself to heal up. That's the important thing."

"Cliffjumper is right. It is the external wounds which heal the quickest." Optimus added.

"I thought settling scours would allow me to move on. Instead, I chased away out hope of winning this war anytime soon." Arcee said in guilt.

"Nobody's blaming you for anything." Cliffjumper assured, placing an arm around his partner. "I get how you feel, Cee. I've lost a lot of friends during the war back on Cybertron. But I knew they wouldn't want me to go after the Cons that killed them for revenge. They'd want me to keep being strong. You'll be able to do that, too. I know it."

"Wisdom cannot be granted, Arcee. It must be earned." Optimus said softly. "Sometimes at a cost."

Arcee stayed silent as she began processing everything that has happened today, while Cliffjumper continued to comfort his partner the best he could.

(Linebreak)

Meanwhile, it was getting dark in the stoney area and Starscream was seen banging his wing cuffs against a large mountain before they were finally broken off. The air commander clenched his shoulder as he began making a new speech within his mind.

"I have been a fool. Made mistakes, monumental ones." Starscream thought. "But I have gained a clear understanding of my place in this universe. Of who I am… Starscream!"

Now that his thoughts were finally straightened out on what path he wanted to take, Starscream transformed into his Jet form and flew off into the distant sky to plan against all of his enemies.

"Aligned with no side! Servant to no one!" Starscream's thoughts declared.

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