Author's Note: Chapter warning: rape is discussed lightly in relation to how it would be considered from a Cybertronian point of view.

PSA Time: Seriously folks, whenever I see "Please update soon" in a review or comment, it murders my muses pretty thoroughly. That's the one review or comment that every author abhors when they're already struggling through their blocks. It's frustrating enough to not have the muse to write; reading a review or comment that is literally only those three words is damned infuriating. Seriously. Don't do it. Leave kudos, tell me something you liked about a chapter or an arc, but NEVER tell me "update soon" unless you're damned well paying me enough to write for a living and not as a hobby. I get that you liked what you read and you want to read more of it, but I've been writing this monster since 2012. It's not an easy fic to write on any level. PSA over.

Welcome to the "official" start to the next Arc! There are still many questions that have yet to be answered. Such as, "You said there were fourteen Sparklings, but have only named twelve. Where are the other two?" and "There's still more Matrixes missing, aren't there?" and "What really happened to Cybertron?" and "Will Soundwave actually be a Prime?" and "What will peace look like in this universe?" and "What about Age of Extintion?" and "What's the deal with Frenzy and Barricade?" and "What happened to Dylan?"

We might be able to get to some of the rest of those in this arc. Ready to find out?

.o.

Megatron sat by Barricade, both under "observation" by several groups. Barricade had removed his Decepticon insignias, leaving them on the ground at his pedes while casually talking with Sam and Lennox. They would occasionally throw a comment to Megatron, who would respond with a sassy comment or surprised laughter at their casual disregard of his "dangerousness level."

Soundwave was escorted back to their location by one of the Cybertronian medics, one of Ratchet's fledged protégés. He had not yet decided if he wanted to take up the mantle of a Prime, and Sam understood that hesitation. He, himself, had experienced it. Soundwave may take several decades to feel ready. Until that point, Optimus would continue to hold onto the relic. The former-Con was standing silently behind Megatron, optics half-powered as he processed the latest round of questioning by the humans.

Mearing came marching over very shortly after Soundwave had settled in a parade rest, her face thunderous. It had been two long weeks since Chicago started crumbling, and she had to handle Washington DC on top of everything else. Opening her mouth to demand answers, she was completely sidetracked by Terratron sidling up beside her, keeping pace and greeting her with a welcoming rumble. "Charlotte, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Lord Protector Terratron," she replied, attempting not to be distracted from her goal of clawing answers from the metal aliens. Again.

"I have been assigned by Optimus Prime to perform as your liaison to the Cybertronian Embassy, my dear. We are offering you the position to become co-head of liaising with myself to lead a small team that will consist of like-minded representatives both species."

That stopped her cold, and she turned to look up at the ancient being. "Cybertronian . . . Embassy?" She looked like she wanted to argue, but then sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "Goddamnit, I need something stronger than caffeine to deal with lot of you. Fine. You and I will talk, and I'm going to demand answers from you instead of Optimus as to why they aren't chained up!"

"Mmm, actually, I can answer that," Barricade called over with a grin, sensor-wing nubs transformed enough to pinpoint her location. "Because it's not a secret anymore."

She turned to stare at the (former?) Decepticon. "What's not a secret anymore?"

"Well, tons of shit, but I'll give you the relevant information first. We've been moles. Megs only recently after shit hit the fan and we took care of it so now he's back to being my idiot Uncle. I've been an embedded mole since I was freshly into my Adult frame, reporting directly to the Autobot Intel Heads. Recently, I was named Lord Protector for a young Prime."

Mearing frowned at the loose speech but wasn't going to question it. You know, at least not question it yet. "Wait. How many Primes are there?"

Sam chuckled. "There's a lot of us. Currently, there's eight active Primes that we know of out of a possible total of thirteen."

"You're human."

"Mostly, but I'll wait to get into that when we don't have more pressing information to impart to you," he agreed with a grin. Once again, Mearing was struck with how different this Sam was from the Sam she met who had been trying to be part of the civilian crew of NEST since early in his Senior year of college. Something was clearly different, less confused, more, well more. He didn't hesitate to continue. "Among those Primes are myself and one other human. I was essential to helping stabilize Megatron while we had experts cleaning and restoring his coding and programming. There's some insidious shit that happens when nonconsensual behavioral modifications are made to corrupt a Cybertronian's core coding."

"In short, I was brainwashed," the large silver mech replied. "With selective amnesia, some form of a condition close to what you humans call 'Stockholm Syndrome,' and had the individual responsible for my rape continuing to gaslight me into making the war so much more damaging than it already had been."

"Rape?" Mearing struggled to get a deep breath in. "That . . . Does that imply that your species has sexual relations? Of a sort?"

"That's off-topic from the situation, but yes, we have quite satisfying sex lives, though they are worlds apart from what humans would consider sexual relations," Terratron replied swiftly and with no little humor dancing around his face and form. "But let's consider that term a little more broadly than human-centric penetrative sex, shall we? How about 'nonconsensual and violent actions dealt to an individual against their stated and explicit will' for starters."

Mearing didn't argue with the definition. It was certainly accurate. Rape wasn't simply sexual assault, after all. It wasn't "simply" anything aside from violence against an undeserving victim. So she nodded. "How do I know that they're telling the truth and that you're not still insane?"

"Sanity is overrated," Bumblebee huffed as he settled his top half on Barricade's lap in a controlled collapse. "So is consciousness. Soundwave might have a better ability to show the differences if he's up to it. Guard me, Cade?"

Barricade huffed, gently stroking his mate's strong back between doorwings. "With my every Sparkpulse, beloved."

"Good." And the Explorer Prime slipped into an exhausted recharge with a handful of clicks.

Mearing felt like her head was about to explode. "Bumblebee talks?!"

"Not much left to hide, as they said," Lennox finally spoke up, face relaxed and kind as he watched the PDA. Those kids would be all right. "Bumblebee is a Prime, and Barricade is his Lord Protector. They're also lovers, and have been combat training partners for pretty much their entire lives from what I've heard."

"Dance partners, too," Sam added on with a grin. He looked up at the considerably less-stealthy approach of his Brother. "Optimus. Talks went well?"

"Mm." The big lug, still missing an arm, was on half-duty and not allowed to strain his systems. "Megatron, you will have to be very public in your assistance, just as we surmised."

"Relegated to janitorial duties, brother?"

"I'm sure it's nothing new to you, considering your former troops."

Barking a laugh, the spiked helm tipped back to watch Optimus' approach. He reached his arm up to give him a handhold down, since his balance was still very off from not having an entire arm attached. Soundwave moved to assist, giving Optimus a solid frame to lean back against so his hydraulics could cycle and reset. "Mearing just found out that we have sex."

"Wait, you two have had sex?!"

"I'm surprised it took that long for you to suspect something," Optimus chuckled, though not unkindly. "I'm not attracted in that manner to Megatron, nor is he to me. Though, jilted lovers was one rumor of the war starting at one point."

"Yeah. Power couple, right there," Sam sassed with a grin. "Elita and Flamewar would toss fits if you two started without them; I've been chatting with both and they're a lot more open about polyamory than I think that anyone realized."

Both sets of optics paled and the old friends inched further away from each other, clearly repulsed by the idea of being intimate with their co-leader. Lennox coughed to try to cover his laugh, but got a glare from Megatron that set him off entirely. "No! No, oh God, that mental image will never leave me now. Ugh! Sam!"

But the shocks for Mearing didn't stop there.

A lithe-but-large flier dropped from the sky to land impeccably in the empty space where Optimus had walked in through, bowing ceremoniously before approaching. "Primes, Protectorates."

"AllSpark Protectorate," Optimus and Megatron murmured warmly in unison.

"Kiiiiiid," Barricade teased, reaching a hand up for a fistbump. "Oh. Fuck. Ratchet slipped me one of the good neural patches, didn't he? Fuck." He ran a hand over his mouth as if to stop himself from saying anything else. It was clear that Barricade had just realized he had been babbling earlier. It made more sense that his chattiness was due to being on some mind-altering treatments for his pain.

Faustus laughed, tenor voice not seeming to match with his sheer size. He turned and nodded to Mearing. "Director. It's good to meet you in person. Lord Protector Faustus, in the service of the AllSpark and under the mentorship of the Lord Protectors Terratron, Megatron, and Prowl."

"Prowl? No, wait, leave that one for later." She shook her head and sized the newcomer up. This mech seemed so much more new, almost human even. His behaviors didn't have as many of the alien tics that still lingered around the older Autobots that she had known, and it was absolutely fantastic to be able to read body-language that was familiar to her. "How long have you been on Earth? And how are you the AllSpark Protectorate if the AllSpark was destroyed?"

"Well, Megatron wasn't destroyed with it after all," Faustus replied, taking a seat and catching up on the conversation that had already taken place. It was time to really bring Mearing in. She had done everything she could to protect as many lives as possible, and she was a good liaison to have on their side. "It changed him. And it changed its own form to better interact with our peoples."

"That's a pretty good non-answer," she admitted with a sly grin.

"You can thank Jazz for that tutelage."

"Jazz who died in Mission City?"

"Well. Temporarily."

The deep voice was out of nowhere, until she looked to her left. What had been a clear alleyway now held no fewer than five Cybertronians. The smallest of whom was striding forward. "Jazz. One o' the Primes, now. Pleasure ta finally meet ya, Director. You've met my son, then?" he indicated Barricade.

"You sent your son into enemy lines as a deep mole?"

Jazz's visor flashed and his mouth twisted in a grimace. "Kid sent hisself. Prowl'n'I had no choice but to support him. He was the best choice for the mission, an' we needed someone. War, Mearing. There're no easy decisions." Shaking his helm, he looked to Optimus. "She checks out. Finished the hack, found the information I needed. I'll back her application for Cybertronian citizenship and asylum."

"Samuel."

The young man smiled and turned to a woman he was glad to finally show his rank to. Pulling off his sweater, he lifted the side of his shirt with his left hand, showing the bottom-most edges of the AllSpark tattoo that traced over scarred ribs. Holding his right hand open, he called the Matrix out. Within moments, the skin was clear of markings, save for where his skin was slightly-lighter, almost like the color of an old burn that wouldn't tan anymore.

The Matrix rested in his hand, and Mearing made a noise of astonishment. "Huh. Well, things are starting to make a hell of a lot more sense now that you're actually telling us these things. This would have been good intel to know, but I understand why you kept it from us." She watched as Sam returned the Matrix to its place along his skin in AllSpark glyphs. She had been around the largest form of the AllSpark when it was still in Hoover Dam.

"So, Soundwave was named as a Prime. Is he one of your eight?" She settled down on a bench made from the rubble for humans to sit on.

"Negative," Soundwave replied for himself. "Continuing assessment for suitability."

"You're perfectly suitable," Barricade replied with a grunt. "Hell, you're probably one of the best for this bullshit."

"You swear like a human when you're high on neural patches," Sam teased. Barricade let his head fall back with a groan and Sam looked up at the tall, usually-quiet mech. :Is it because we haven't revealed your Protectorate?:

:Affirmative. This is an unfair situation. The fate of another Cybertronian depends upon my willingness to take up or discard the Matrix that calls for me.:

:I know. It's not a fair system.:

:Change it.:

Sam blinked. Change it? Change what had been . . . well, actually, that made a hell of a lot of sense. "Faustus. Contact the Protectorate-elect and summon them to me." He sent a series of concepts to his young Lord Protector, who sent along a formal message request for attendance at their location. Turning to Optimus and Megatron, Sam added, "Soundwave has suggested a change to protocol and custom. While he is the Prime-elect, he wishes his Protectorate-elect to also make the choice out of their free will."

"This is commendable," Optimus murmured, nodding once. "We shall have to see how this situation unfolds for us to decide how to change and adjust our customs to a new era. I approve of this change in tradition."

Charlotte frowned. "There's a hierarchy even among the Primes."

"Mmhm," Carly added, walking up and holding her arm out for Laserbeak to land upon. He truly adored this human female, and was more than happy to spend time around her to help show the world that some of the former Decepticons were willing to break down the old stereotypes and to get themselves dirty with rescue missions and rebuilding. The young woman kissed Sam gently in greeting before smiling warmly. "But personal relationships and certain military positions makes things a little messy at times. So the authority of the Primes shifts depending entirely on the situation."

"For example," Lennox took up the reins while Carly brought Laserbeak to his Carrier, "Optimus is the leader. Plain and simple. We defer to his judgement since he's had the most experience both in peace and war. But if it's a situation having to do with something more esoteric and metaphysical, Sam's the Prime we go to. If it has to do with healing, it's Ratchet. If it's intel, Jazz. And so on."

"You keep saying 'we,' Colonel."

Will grinned. "I'm the other human Prime. If it's NEST-related, I am the authority."

Son of a bitch, of course. Mearing now understood why the Autobots didn't question Lennox when he made snap decisions in the field. He had earned their respect on many levels. "And what about when you're no longer NEST, or if NEST doesn't exist anymore?"

"Then I work with Ironhide as my Lord Protector and we do as he's done for eons; we'll train the stupid out of as many recruits as we can."

"Ironhide died."

"Did he?" Prowl asked with a grin, flicking his doorwings. "We've proven how difficult we are to kill."

"Should we worry about Starscream coming back to life?"

"Not for a decade or so," Sam replied, sending the AllSpark Matrix back to onto his skin. "And not as Starscream as he was when he died. I personally escorted his Spark to the Door."

"On another plane of existence."

"Yep."

"And you can guarantee that he'll stay there?"

"He might want to come back sooner than his Spark is ready, but that timing will rely heavily upon how long his trine-mates can stall him and help heal him before he returns. Even then, there's the chance that they may want to reincarnate completely fresh, rather than return with all the memories of their most-recent mortal lives."

"So reincarnation is the rule, rather than the 'one life to live' belief."

"Somewhat." Sam pursed his lips, thinking. "Humans . . . we're a little messier. It's not as clear-cut for us. But we're really getting off-topic, here."

"Reporting as requested, AllSpark Prime."

Sam chuckled, turning to the individual. "General Flamewar."

Soundwave couldn't move. Because if he could have chosen his Protectorate, he never would have expected her.

.o.

Author's Note: The muse is back, loves. Going to get nice and weird as we go through this final arc of TWDTH! I'm in the process of writing the next chapter already. I'm sure you will absolutely adore it.

Song is: "Strange Young World" by Rånya feat. Hidden Citizens