Song: Hard Sun – Eddie Vedder

Scythe set the coordinates for Caminus and as the Space Bridge Nexus recalculated its destination physically, Grimlock came up behind Arcee with Haywire. The latter then said, "Soon, we should think about getting you guys to Chaar. I heard The Matriarch is her own little tyrant over there and Shockwave's got his work cut out for him trying to keep her from killing people. Some successor of Megatron."

Megatron overheard this as he walked by and snorted, "You think getting rid of me makes anyone who has the Decepticons under their command any better? As long as it's not Starscream, I'm not too mad about it. I remember when some bots thought Starscream would manage the Decepticons better. I took a bet once and for a day, nothing went wrong. But his ego is worse than mine and it consumed him within three days, making him far worse than I was. Nothing was being scheduled right, everything was falling apart, way more infighting than usual, and no one cared about what he wanted. The Matriarch knows how to balance out the demands of the Decepticons against her own needs better than me, just more aggressive about it, but Starscream...he did more damage than anyone I left in charge temporarily because of his cowardice and greed. That's a bad combination for a leader."

"And yet, you weren't exactly a shining model of leadership either," Haywire rebutted.

"My problem was pride and greed...different combination, different results. I kept the Decepticons operational. You can't be an arrogant coward and be a leader. That's just not how it works. Now, The Matriarch is more wrath and pride. That's...questionable at times but she's done a great job keeping everyone together, so I'll give her that," Megatron said with a brief tilt of his helm.

Grimlock, in his beast mode, smirked, "I'm still surprised the Decepticons are a thing. I would have figured you guys would have torn each other apart by your isolation before the end of the war."

Haywire rolled his optics, "Back on the subject at hand, Chaar would be best to look at because the upset on Velocitron is getting me concerned. If this Metal Head menace spreads to the other worlds, that could be a disaster waiting to happen. Arcee, you and Megatron see if you can bring the Mistress of Flame some enlightenment on the situation and perhaps try to win her over in a treaty. Caminus is one of the best planets we can align with. Bolt will be here any minute with Moonhunter to join you."

"I'm here, don't worry," Bolt said to the right of them followed by Moonhunter and Optimus.

Optimus simply nodded, "Bolt and I were discussing the data he obtained on Velocitron and while you're away, I'll see about sorting it. Bumblebee and Grimlock will be your overall communication on Cybertron this time around and will check up on your progress from time to time. Haywire will be with me and Scythe trying to see if we can find answers on the Metal Heads and their current disposition. Windblade has been alerted to your arrival."

Arcee smiled, "Alright, that settles it. Help the Mistress of Flame and beat down any creatures that get in our way. Like old times, right, Megatron?"

The warlord matched her grin and snarled playfully, pounding his fists together. "Let's do this!"

Suddenly, there was a rumble from the Nexus and all their commlinks went off. Scythe said, "Space bridge locked onto Caminus. Ready when you are."

Arcee, Megatron, Bolt, and Moonhunter walked up to the domed portal to Caminus. The others wished them luck, and Arcee had a feeling they were going to need it. Without a moment's hesitance, she ran into the portal and the light gave way to a tunnel of shifting energy between the cosmos before finally, she landed on metal. The others followed and they paused as they looked at their surroundings once more while the bridge behind them closed.

While Velocitron had a reddish sky because of the atmosphere and its white supergiant sun, Caminus had a lavender sky with the bluish white dwarf sun and the gas giant it orbited obstructing at least half the sky. The gas giant itself had swirling patterns of orangish-yellow and blue schemed streaks that defined its clouds as well as brief little flashes of lightning visible from Caminus' view. They could only imagine how powerful the storms were on the large planet, would have put Earth's to shame most likely. Despite being daylight, the stars and some galaxies were seen quite well leaving Arcee to speculate the atmosphere density was enough to filter light but was transparent enough to see it regardless of the cycle.

On Caminus itself, vehicles were passing above them but there were layers of walkways and ports throughout the city they were in, and most flying vehicles were bots themselves, not transports. Below where they were, some of the many walking areas were stacked one on top of the other all the way to the planet's surface while above, each building seemed to have specialized balconies for landing in case the flying Camiens who didn't want to take the elevators or stairs had a faster route.

Caminus' surface also had pools of water and water fountains almost everywhere. The roads and walkways were all built with some decorative water placement, and it could be assumed the water was being pumped up from the center of the planet where Caminus' wildlife mostly existed. Past the defined surface of the planet, they could see there lay under-city extensions of the city emphasizing it was more than just layered above the surface. How far down it went, they couldn't tell.

"I feel a lot more out of place here than on Velocitron..." Bolt muttered.

Arcee noticed quickly that the majority of Camiens were fliers, not as much traffic on the ground as there was in the air. They suddenly heard a metallic, hawk-like baritone roar and saw a large metal bird with four wings, the front two moved differently from the rear two, and it seemed to be carrying a dead oil leech in its fanged jaws. A beautiful purple with glowing lavender bio lights, a perfect blend against the sky.

Bolt was quick to say, "Titan crosswing! Ain't it pretty?! Remember when you fought the oil leech on the isle? That's what they fear. That's why it didn't come up from the surface until after you killed the Predacon. Massive transporters crosswings are as well as distinct predators."

"Wow, didn't know we had an expert off Caminus," a voice said. They all turned before their faces lit up seeing an old friend.

"Windblade!" Arcee exclaimed.

The Seeker nearly jogged up to them just as excited. "Aaayyyy! I thought I saw a familiar bridge in the distance, nearly caused an air jam turning around to race down to you! So glad I get to see you and show you my home! It's cool, right?"

Megatron nodded, "It's beautiful. I'm kind of jealous."

"Don't be trying to take over now. Just kidding," Windblade teased. "Caminus certainly went through a lot of repairs when the first colonies came. Now, it's a haven. As you can see, we have water reused from our core without harming the ecosystem down there, and we still have our dear wildlife running around. The crosswings, as you seemed to love, are all trained. We have special farms that raise them and give them to good caretakers and companies that own several of them use them for either security or messengers. But don't worry, they are well taken care of. My carrier has a grumpy one we call Vex because the only bot he likes is my carrier."

"What city are we in?" Arcee asked.

"Ember Basin. It's one of the first cities that figured out how to use Caminus' water to create power. We had a lot of dwindling resources for millions of years but recently, we managed to turn it all around thanks to Ember's scientists and engineers. This is our capital now. It used to be Pyrohex, but...complications arose and the Forgefire Parliament just decided to not deal with its chaos anymore. Personally, I like it here way better but lately, we've been having some problems."

Arcee exchanged glances with Megatron and Bolt before raising a brow, "Like?"

Windblade's wings drooped a little. "Well, um, some people have been a bit aggressive lately, like attacking everyone who gets in their way because a huge string of robberies in the past month has left Ember Basin in trouble financially. I got a tip earlier today that in the Direflame District, there's word of an upcoming assault on Equinox Union, but something's fishy about it. If you wish, I think you could help me find out what's going on. I already have the city aware of it. Would you like to help me?"

Bolt shrugged, "I got nothing on the agenda aside from our main objective. Do you, Arcee?"

She sighed, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to put in a good deed. But Windblade, we really need to talk to the Mistress of Flame after this if we are to reunite Caminus and Cybertron."

"I understand. Help me with this and I'll get you an audience with the Mistress of Flame with no hassle."

They all agreed and Windblade led the way.

Through the city, Arcee saw a few crosswings with riders and cargo on them diving past them on the bridges between each walking area with their fanned tails glittering against the light. They let out their signature roars and headed towards a far distance with little to no buildings, most likely the farmlands of the planet. From the same direction, smaller, flying metal creatures landed on the thick wires supporting power between the buildings. They appeared like blue-green hummingbirds but with small claws at the end of their wings, twin tails and a cat frame reminiscent of a griffin from Earth lore. Their alluring pink and blue blended bio lights made them stand out among the city's natural lighting. Moonhunter growled a little at the sight of them, but Windblade only smirked.

"Those are Flutterwings, a lot of '–wing' animal names here. Most all our wildlife that flies is up at the surface or higher. Ground-based creatures are almost found exclusively at the center of Caminus. Then, of course, you have those that move in between surface and core like those pesky oil leeches."

They reached the Direflame District. Smokestacks for factories were abundant more so in the area with the city of Ember Basin sitting just on its outskirts. Moonhunter sniffed the air before yowling in concern.

Arcee pet him. "It's okay, buddy."

Windblade crossed her arms and sighed, "The Direflame District used to be the top manufacturing sector in the world until just recently. Layoffs because of lack of funds because of stolen property in mass. We don't know who's behind this but it's tanking the supply chain badly."

"What do these factories make?" Megatron asked.

"Well, building materials mostly. Extracted, pure cratanium and other strong, durable metals are turned into the infrastructure you see around you. It also supplies the materials for the power grid pumps and infrastructure around those to function properly. Without power, Caminus wouldn't have resources to use. Someone has been tampering with our supplies knowingly. I suspect it's an inside job because there's no way in a month all this could occur without direct access to the supply chain schematics. The materials stolen aren't random; they are all for specific machines, ships and buildings. That's not a coincidence, in my opinion."

Arcee furrowed her brows in thought. "No, that's not. You think they are going to hit here today?"

Windblade shrugged, "I don't know what to believe, all things considered. My job is to protect the Mistress of Flame and serve Caminus while also managing Cybertropolis. Not fun to do all three at once. In fact, I'm thinking about leaving Cybertropolis' command to someone else and coming back here to keep Caminus out of trouble like this. I mean I'll miss you guys, but this is my first home, you know?"

"If that's what you wish, I wouldn't blame you. We're a nightmare to befriend," Arcee smirked. Windblade chuckled a little as well before Arcee continued, "But I will ask this. Who would you like to replace you?"

The Seeker gestured with a scoff, "I don't know. Maybe Shockwave or Perceptor, someone like them with diplomatic capabilities. Both used to be or are Councilmembers, perfect for a city like Cybertropolis"

"I'll consider that-"

BOOM!

All four bots and the Nitrotiger turned on edge as a factory to their right had its roof cave in from the explosion. To their shock, five large figures each with four yellow eyes and signature skull gems jumped onto the remnants of the roof with bags of materials in their grasp. They were bipedal, almost appearing like a Horaquan version of a Seeker with webbed, torn wings and an imposing structure.

"Metal Heads!" The warlord growled, "Those monsters are here!"

"Now we know who's been stealing from your factories, Windblade. Let's kill these things before they go after civilians," Bolt stated, bringing out his axe and twirling it.

Windblade didn't question them for one second, bringing out her twin purple Energon blades in response. The Metal Heads twitched and narrowed their eyes upon spotting the Cybertronians and Camien glaring at them, fangs at the ready.

Arcee immediately took off with her ricochet ray, leaping into the air before firing on them. One of the creatures twirled around fluidly to avoid the bullets while another got struck twice but remained mobile. They angrily went to meet their pursuers head on, disregarding their stolen property. Unlike the Metal Runners in Red Run Canyon, these things didn't seem to mind heading towards potential death. When they all converged onto the same rooftop, all the bots had their weapons out.

Moonhunter went onto Megatron's shoulder and the mech extended his arm to let the Nitrotiger leap at the closest Metal Head. Clawing and tearing at delicate flesh between the armor, the cat gave no mercy to its enemy. He grew even more aggressive once Arcee joined him. She tripped the Metal Head and forced a pede on its throat. When it tried to growl at her, she placed the barrel of her weapon right in the middle of its eyes. Pulling the trigger, she smirked as its skull gem went flying up and she knew the bullet bounced up from the roof to embed itself in another part of its head.

"Growl at me?"

Megatron used his sword under his cannon to deflect oncoming claws. The Metal Head grabbed his arm to keep it still and hissed, tail whipping profusely but as strong as the Horaquan was, it had no idea who it was messing with. A quick headbutt stunned it and Megatron swung it around into another Metal Head aiming for Bolt.

Bolt and Windblade were beside one another as one of the creatures targeted him. This Metal Head ended up having a weapon to his surprise. It appeared stolen, not made of the typical metal the creature itself was made of. The axe and sword clashed, sparks bursting between them before Bolt set the handle sturdy on the ground and used his balance to swing himself around to give it a swift kick in the chest before rotating his axe impale it. The Metal Head whined profusely as the blade almost disappeared entirely into its body. It grew weak and sank to its knees before Bolt ripped it out and swung it around in a fast motion. The head of the Horaquan was tossed aside as its body fell forward lifeless, dark purple sludge oozing from its corpse.

Windblade crossed her blade defiantly to dare the Metal Head to come at her. It took the taunt but regretted it when her offense proved far too much. When it stopped one blade from aiming for its chest, it roared as the second flew straight into its abdomen. But it refused to kneel. The red and black femme was suddenly kicked aside but she corrected herself after a brief flip to slide still upright. Another Horaquan stood by the impaled one as the latter stared at her with utter hatred, touching the blade's handle like it had been stung.

"You think I need two swords to deal with you goons? Think again!" Windblade hissed back.

A third Metal Head landed just behind her but didn't get the chance to attack when Arcee kicked its head. "Don't forget me, lizard-breath!"

The pair of Horaquan grew aware of a sudden presence beside them. Only the Metal Head that was untouched was able to duck when Megatron ran his sword through the impaled one's neck, grabbing Windblade's sword in process as it fell over dead. Throwing it back to her as she ran towards the distracted Metal Head, she gave out a warrior cry and brought one of her purple blades down within the same second. The sound of a skull gem popping was the sweetest sound of all.

Arcee, however, resorted to punching and using old fighting techniques on the last monster stuck with her. It attempted to grab her, but she did a kick flip on its chest before doing a backflip kick on its jaw to push it away. When it stumbled back, Bolt immediately came down on it from behind with his axe going through its head with fury, splitting not just its skull but its skull gem in the process. Acid steam from the gem hissed out and the Vehicon twirled the axe to rest on his shoulder smugly.

"That's how we do it on Cybertron."

Arcee shook her head down at the Metal Head's corpse. "Spreading like the virus they are. No telling what lies on Caminus if there's more. Why were they intent on stealing building materials though? What would they build with it anyways? I don't see them needing a ship since they seem to be getting around quite well."

Megatron huffed, "If they are an intelligent species as we've seen, they are planning something devious, and we can guess all we want. We're just going to have to stop them as we go."

Windblade frowned, "The Mistress of Flame will need to know about this as soon as possible. Any threat to her planet, she's going to come down swinging no matter what."

Bolt picked up one of the bags discarded near the edge of the rooftop and shook it. A Radiant Core fell through a small rip and bounced twice before rolling to a stop. "And they are stealing cores too. Excellent."

When Arcee picked it up, she immediately offered it to Windblade but the Seeker declined. "Keep it. We stopped making blasters and other guns over a million years ago. We still have plenty of cores left which we were using for heaters and stuff like that but nothing of true value. You'd probably have better use for it."

"That only tells us the Metal Heads know about the cores as well. Can't imagine what they would use those for," the ex-Decepticon mocked sarcastically.

"This new Metal Head Leader is hitting hard to recoup what the legion lost in such a small amount of time," the queen said. "Windblade, where's the Mistress of Flame?"

"On Forge Island...beneath us. Caminus Core, being water, has several isles within and she decided to make one of them her citadel. She has a home up here too, but she spends most of her time below. I can take you there. The fastest way is via transport. Give me a second and I'll summon one."

They stayed on the roof until a medium-sized ship came close and lowered itself for them to dock. Windblade didn't even ask first whether it was the right transport or not, simply climbing in and moving aside the driver who didn't care about being relieved. As the Cybertronians climbed aboard and went to the available seats, the driver seemed to exchange whispers with Windblade before leaving the vessel entirely.

Bolt then asked, "Uh, what was that? Where's he going?"

Windblade laughed, "Transports are loan vehicles. No one specifically owns them. They are rotated between users all the time. He asked when I was done if I could drop it off for his brother if I had no use for it afterwards. I said sure, might take a while though."

"Why do the other planets have a better system of management than we do, Arcee?"

"I don't know but I'm taking notes, don't worry."

"Alright, everyone, to Caminus Core!" Windblade said as she activated the transport's engines. They lifted off the roof and headed back to the city.

Once they were high above within it, Arcee expected her just to continue driving forward...but that didn't happen. A sudden dive down to ground level had all four passengers frightened before she pulled up at the last second and navigated it to an overhead tunnel ledge that went vertically down. Right as they were over it, Windblade twisted the transport to swing down and away they went. The tunnel was lit up and ended in revealing the under-city of Caminus. Right out of the tunnel were floating rings that seemed to be markers for a pathway attached to the tunnel's path which Windblade followed. They abruptly dipped down, and it felt like another roller coaster ride as it took them past several rows of flying traffic and below the walkways before leveling out again.

"Fun, right?"

"Yeah, remind me when to laugh!" Bolt growled, clutching the edge of his seat with his claws leaving marks in the metal.

Megatron didn't say anything but when Arcee peered back at him, he looked slightly disturbed by Windblade's flying, preferring to do such stunts on his own but not at the mercy of another bot. When they dropped into a secondary tunnel per the guidance of the rings, she cracked a smile hearing him curse under his breath.

At the end of that tunnel was an extraordinary sight. The core of Caminus was water with several large islands visible on it. With the "sky" nearly a crystalline blue reflecting the water's movement like an ever-changing nebula and the tunnels of other sections of the under-city visible across it, it looked like they had stumbled upon a whole new world. The most of the smaller metal islands were hand-made but the way they were set up looked astonishing. There were no bustling cities, no traffic though there were visible free-flying bots going from island to island, and no clusters of buildings covering the horizon. There appeared to be a train system between the islands but that was it. It felt almost like she was back on Earth again.

"Whoa..." the Vehicon whispered. That was all Bolt could spit out. No snappy remark or anything chatty.

Towards the shore of some of the islands, hippo-like gorgegulpers, crococinders, and alligores were patrolling the beaches in peace. On the natural islands which were far larger than the hand-made, the metal terrain allowed mudboars and a type of kangaroo creature to navigate freely. The marsupial-esque animal left hot spots everywhere it stepped with orange bio lights standing out among the environments.

"Firetreaders. Simple predators really. There's a shepherd down here who has a whole crash of them she manages as well as several mudboar herds."

Geysers startled all of them as one ruptured just off the coast of the island as they passed by.

"Oh, and just so you know, the water isn't as deep as most oceans like Earth or Aquatron, also gives way to pressurized areas that cause geysers. We have a solid core beneath the water, and I think the deepest part is near Forge Island at 800 meters or so. There's not a lot of predators, and they usually go after different prey than us though not out of the realm of possibilities that they can attack us, keep in mind."

In the distance, a haunting building stood on a remote island. Fire was lit across its balconies and around its base. Several large pillars expanded behind it upward to the under-city cities and beyond while churning dams moved the water to create unlimited energy. Trains went under them from the island while a few went towards it like they were. If Arcee had to guess, that was Forge Island.

Windblade landed on the transport pad outside of the building and stood up with a slightly forced excitement. "Here we are! Hopefully, the Mistress of Flame will be...reasonable. She has a small issue with Cybertron, so to speak."

"You're telling us now?!" Arcee snapped.

"I know how eager you are to get Caminus back in agreement with Cybertron, so I kind of didn't want to dissuade you. It's okay though. I'll help you plead your case to her, just don't back sass her, Arcee."

"I make no promises."

The citadel reminded her and Megatron of Darkmount but wider than it was tall. As they went it, they were all acknowledging that the Mistress of Flame might have had a thing for fire...the halls had lit torches, the floor décor reminded them of a volcano and the ceiling had stained glass with embroidery of gold and fire color schemes.

"The Way of Flame, the oldest tradition celebrating Solus Prime's master of the forge, has been with us for as long as we can remember. The Mistress of Flame is a position assigned by the Parliament and stays until they die. As you can guess, that could be quite a long time before we get a new Mistress. The current has been here for over 20 million years. The last one before her was...a problematic leader."

One of the decorations in the hall leading to the Mistress' throne was of Solus Prime and Arcee immediately recognized the image from the Allspark's citadel on the isle. There, held in one hand, was the Forge of Solus and in the hand pointed down was Dagger Prima. At the same time, Dagger Prima began to glow on her back, and she reached to pat its grip knowing it missed its original creator quite a lot.

Her distraction ceased when the doors to the Mistress' throne opened and revealed an orange, red, and gold femme with her Forgehammer upright in her servo. Her yellow eyes seemed mystical, but Arcee swore there was an instant malicious nature to them upon seeing her and the others. Around her were none other than the members that made the Combiner Victorion. She had forgotten they had come back to Caminus with Windblade.

"Mistress of Flame, this is Queen Arcee, her consort, and her Head Archivist. She's here to make peace with you," Windblade said with a bow.

The Cybertronians bowed out of respect, aside from Moonhunter who only sat, but Arcee could sense Megatron was growing peeved by the Mistress' presence alone. If he didn't start anything, they should be decent to get their point across at least.

The Mistress of Flame merely scoffed, "To make peace? Cybertron has already sunk so low enough as it is. You think I want to make peace with a bunch of barbarians? Absurd."

Arcee tried to keep calm and replied, "We've changed. Windblade can attest to that. We just want to unite everyone we did wrong in the past to make a better future. Don't you want that too?"

"Nice little speech. I see the Arisen gave you some pointers. Look, my dear, we don't need Cybertron, especially not anymore now that we have stable resources."

Bolt leaned close to Windblade to whisper, "Who's the Arisen?"

The Seeker answered to the side, "The Mistress believes Optimus is not just the Thirteenth Prime but a god. Don't say anything; just go with it."

"But I ask you to consider all possibilities before making this judgement. I mean what do you have to lose? You gain a reformed ally and we can resume trade again, bring over things that weren't available to you and plus, we just confirmed there are dangerous creatures here. We've fought them before, but Caminus has not."

The Mistress of Flame grew concerned, "Creatures? What dangerous beings?!"

Windblade quickly defused the situation, standing between her leader and Arcee. "Metal Heads. Evil creatures from what I've learned so far. Whatever these things are, they're stealing from us and apparently, they tried to do this on Velocitron too."

"Arcee stopped them on Velocitron," Bolt added. "You can count on us, Mistress. Please."

"And how do I know you didn't bring those monsters here?!"

Megatron kept his growl to a minimum. "Because we killed their creator and their first leader. There seems to be a second one now and we don't know who it is, but I suspect if you don't want more of them to show up, you let us help Caminus as best we can before the Metal Heads become intent on killing people only."

In frustration, the Mistress of Flame stood and slammed the end of her Forgehammer down, closing her optics with a sigh. "It seems I may have no choice then, do I? I still don't trust any of you but if you really want to win me over, perhaps take some time to help a few of my citizens on the islands while Windblade and I discuss this issue and your proposal alone. Do what they need you to do, and I may consider different."

Without another word, the Mistress of Flame turned her back on them, her cape flowing behind her regally as she walked towards the door on the side. Windblade gave them an apologetic gesture before following her. That left the Cybertronians to their own devices. The Combiners said nothing but shrugged at the awkwardness.

"Okay, help the citizens of the islands...does that mean we get to take the trains?! Yay!" Bolt cheered, earning him a deadpanned glare from Megatron before the latter spoke.

"Of course, we are the errand bots. Sometimes, I think these worlds are a bit ungrateful of anything we do."

"We did ruin a lot of things for them in the past though, counterpoint," Arcee said as she gestured to the side. "We do this, we get the Mistress of Flame on our side. Better than doing nothing and getting no results."

Stormclash, one of the members of Victorion, suddenly interrupted, "I think we can help you. Across the way, there's a bot by the name of Springrunner, a shepherd by trade. She can use a hand on her property on Firelight Island. Then there's Microdust, who claims she is a so-called rival of Springrunner...but we all think she likes her deep down...who seems to always attract some of the more aggressive wildlife around the area. Maybe Highwind can have something for you to do. He's an engineer who manages the dams you've seen."

"Thank you," Megatron said, "that makes our search a bit easier. Well, what are we waiting for?"

Bolt didn't move to leave with the others when Arcee called him out on his sudden hesitance.

"Bolt, aren't you coming?"

Arcee instead found him watching the Combiners with interest as Rust Dust and Jumpstream seemed to wave him down. He then said, "On second thought, you three can go. I'll just hang around and see if there's anything I can get for the archives back home."

The smirk Arcee had as a few of the turquoise and red femmes came up to talk to him was nothing but pure amusement. They left him to brag about his ventures and his research, knowing the Combiners wouldn't do anything to harm him.

Moonhunter strutted by, leading the way out of the citadel to the exterior where the water moved delicately against the pier and the ship landing.

"You want to take the ship? Don't think Windblade would mind," the grey mech stated.

Arcee thought about it and as fun as the train ride sounded, they really needed to get going. She muttered, "Another day. Let's go."

The transport proved a bit shaky to navigate as the controls were different, but she was quick to figure them out. Moonhunter clung to the seat behind her with a small whine when she accidentally jolted backwards when she didn't want to. With a small apology, she headed towards Firelight Island. It was noticed upon landing at a designated pad that there were firetreaders around, running in all directions. A sudden holler got their attention.

A white and green highlighted femme sat upon the backside of a large horned beast. It looked like a mechanical version of a caribou but with bio lit blue stripes on its black armored underbelly sparking like they each were electrified. The bot they believed to be Springrunner used a lasso to catch one of the firetreaders and brought it back to a pen farther out. She went after them until only five remained but one of the firetreaders burned the lasso to which she stopped her mount and looked over her damaged rope with a sour expression.

Arcee, Megatron, and Moonhunter hopped off the platform and approached her, watching the firetreaders dart past them like frantic chickens much to Moonhunter's annoyance. The queen then laughed, "I take it they're playing nice?"

The Camien smiled back, "Yeah, they like to free roam when they aren't supposed to. The name is Springrunner. I own the island and manage the species that live on it. So, what can I help you with?"

"If you can believe it, we're trying to see if you need any help...per the Mistress of Flame's command. She won't reason with us Cybertronians until we prove to her we aren't our past, and we aren't if you're curious."

"I heard she loathes you guys quite a bit," the white femme said.

Megatron raised a brow. "Why?"

Springrunner leaned her crossed arms on top of her mount's head which earned her a snort from the animal. "From what I've heard about the whole ordeal is Caminus was relying on trade and supplies a hundred million years ago but Cybertron refused to help despite giving the colony that inhabited this planet the permission to move here. Words were said, laws became so restrictive that Caminus just quit talking to you. They cut off trade, resources, and Caminus just lived in its poverty rather than let Cybertron bully us into being a repressed planet. Half the world could tell you though it was a regrettable decision ever since and be more than willing to join up with you again...but the Mistress..."

"She needs convincing more than ever," Arcee sighed.

"I'll tell you what. If the Mistress needs our approval to convince her to change her mind, I can give you the edge you might need. I think it's a grand idea. Since I need to go back to get a new lasso and I think my thunderbuck is a bit tired, maybe you could do me a favor and wrangle up the rest of the firetreaders. Don't worry about being gentle. They may be small, but they are nearly invulnerable. Grab them, lead them, capture them, however you want to do it, just bring them to the pen and I'll get them sorted later. Fair enough?"

The firetreaders in question growled as Springrunner left with her thunderbuck to her stable in the far distance. Arcee cracked her knuckles before running after one, her small size in comparison to them made them more curious than wanting to flee. Using her speedster ability, she seized the neck of one before it grew suspicious and leapt onto its back. She laughed a little as she guided it to the pen, forcing it to slide to a stop as soon as the gate opened. The alarm noises the gate made kept the other firetreaders from leaving.

Megatron caught one when Arcee scared it towards him, picking it up over his shoulder with Moonhunter hissing at it. He tossed it over the gate instead, not wanting to wait as Arcee had another firetreader running past towards the pen.

"This is fun! Why can't we have these things on Cybertron?!"

"I think because you would scar them for life," the warlord sneered.

Arcee jumped off the third firetreader back in the pen and ran at the fourth one that seemed to have an attitude problem, snarling at her before dragging his hind claws to scrape against the ground. That was the sign of a beast getting ready to charge and Arcee sure hoped it did. As Megatron ran after the fifth firetreader, the other narrowed is optics at her before lunging. She wrapped her servos around its snout and forced its jaws closed. Clinging to its right side, she had to coax it to move forward while it repeatedly tried to fight her, its optics contracting upon being eye to eye with her.

"Don't give me that look. You did this to yourself when you escaped your pen."

Using all her strength, she kept her hold on it tight before slamming onto the ground and transferring the momentum to pull its head down and make it do a front flip into the pen. It gave an aggravated roar to which she only saluted in mockery.

Megatron cornered the last firetreader as its tail whipped, claws at the ready. He looked to the side as he heard footsteps approaching fast. Smirking, he said, "If you don't like me, you're going to hate her."

He crouched and leaned forward enough for Arcee to run up his back and leap right at the creature. She laughed as she pushed off from the side after swinging around to make it move. She aimed swift and true to the pen and dropped down to slide her pedes on the ground to make it stop just at the gate. The firetreader grew unnerved until she let it go the same time as Megatron ran up from behind, pushing over the gate and into the pen.

"Aw yeah! We make an excellent team, just like before," Arcee said happily, giving him a backward low-five as he chuckled.

Springrunner walked up to them with her own laugh, "You certainly do. I can't thank you enough. I'll be sure to let the Mistress of Flame know of your help. Microdust, my colleague on Dawn's Ridge up over those hills, may need you. I heard her mention a crococinder infestation. A little exterior help won't hurt her pride. I'll give her the heads up on the Mistress' demands and maybe she'll put in a good word for you too."

Heading out, Arcee flew the ship over the hills as directed, passing Springrunner's farm with its firetreaders and mudboars penned up. The small hills were the entrance to a valley which was protected by high ridges on the side. After a minute, they found a secondary farmland within but was covered in ponds. They landed and the first thing they witnessed was a crococinder hitting the ground with a whimper. Even Moonhunter stared flabbergasted at the sudden spectacle.

"Come on, you nasty cretins! I'll take your guts for garters!" A blue and black femme with purple optics yelled out while taking a defensive stance. "Who wants some; who wants it?!"

Several crococinders hissed at her and her wings shot straight down in anger, gesturing at one by slamming a fist into her palm threateningly. The crococinder that started the chain of noise shut up quickly.

"Uh, excuse me, do you need any help?" Arcee called out awkwardly.

The heads of the crococinders turned towards her and Microdust did the same, pursing her lips in annoyance at the disruption. "No."

Even as all the animals present narrowed their optics, Arcee still tried to ask, "Are you sure?"

The crococinders' heads turned back towards Microdust which she merely placed a servo on her hip and scowled, "I don't know, what do you think?"

"I think you're being very stubborn," Arcee said back.

"Oh really? I think you should think about not getting into people's business without asking."

"I did ask."

"That didn't sound like it to me."

As they bantered back and forth, the crococinders' heads moved between each bot wondering what they were looking at. Finally, Arcee snapped, "I said do you...want...HELP?!"

She suddenly kicked a crococinder and it flew back to hit a boulder, cracking it as it whimpered and slid down to the ground frozen in shock before collapsing. Microdust was stunned to say the least while Megatron peered down at Arcee with a grimace. Moonhunter just kept out of the fight at a distance, weary of both the crococinders and the mysterious pools.

"I didn't mean to do that, sorry," she apologized.

Most of the crococinders fled as soon as they saw that, but the few that remained went towards Arcee in revenge. She brought out her double-bladed sword as a warning to cease their aggression, but the animals weren't having it. To the left, a crococinder moved in with its jaws open wide until something abruptly burst out of the pond beside them. A gorgegulper blew excess water from its nostrils and clamped down on the crococinder's leg before dragging it under. Its two calves twitched their ears looking at all the commotion before following their mother down below.

Microdust smirked, "Did Springrunner forget to mention I raise gorgegulpers?"

"Yeah, she did," Arcee said flinching.

The four crococinders left lunged once they shook off the surprise. Arcee jumped over one before stomping on the head of the second. Megatron grabbed the tail of the crococinder she had pinned and rotated in a circle twice, releasing it fly into a pond far out of the way. Microdust bounced off the nearest crococinder before swinging it in rage at the one beside it. Both creatures tumbled a few yards before whimpering, scattering to parts unknown.

The last crococinder tried to snap at Arcee and she caught its mouth with a glare. "Try me."

It slowly came to the realization of its error and backed off before crawling away. Unfortunately, it didn't get far as a pond it passed ruptured with a burly gorgegulper snagging it by its head with a crunch and growled as they both went back into the pond.

"Ah, I love my babies," Microdust purred. "They're my security for my property. Those ponds are deeper than they look and connect with one another beneath us. This whole area is a lake, believe it or not. The land here is basically just a huge cover with holes, so watch where you step."

"Why do you raise gorgegulpers?!" Disturbed, the queen sent the femme a horrified expression.

Microdust paused for a second before making a small "meh" sound. "Some people up top like them as pets. Don't ask me why, I just sell them. There are a few companies that use their armor for specific things like upgrades. I personally love them as they are: animals. Some are shipped off to die for certain needs but a lot of them live quite a life down here. Did you know gorgegulpers were almost extinct once?"

Megatron shook his head and Arcee crossed her arms intrigued. "No. How would such a species go extinct with those attitudes?"

"It's true. When Caminus was first inhabited by our ancestors' colony, gorgegulpers were one of many seldom species here. They were dying out because lack of resources offered little to sustain breeding. We fixed that despite having little resources of our own. Now, well, there's far too many down here. Crococinders, alligores, flutterwings, crosswings and many more species began to thrive among us after we settled. Granted, most of them are bred to be domesticated or for other things, but my family and I make sure two-thirds of the animals go back to the wild. So does Springrunner if you ask her."

"Huh, I never thought that would be a problem seeing them now."

"Nobody would," Microdust admitted. She then held up a servo. "Listen, Springrunner told me about your dilemma with the Mistress before you got here. I'll put in a good word if you don't tell Springrunner that I maybe was in a little over my head and should have accepted your help. I don't want her to think I'm losing my touch. I'm stubborn like that. No hard feelings?"

Arcee shook her head, "None. Now we need to talk to Highwind. Do you know where he is?"

The blue and black femme snapped her fingers after a moment of thinking. "Highwind's the inventor, right, or the engineer...or both maybe? He lives secluded on a little isle north of here. You'll see his workshop and ship on the main mountain. Heard he's sweet but prefers his solitude a lot."

"Thanks," Megatron saluted casually.

He then whistled for Moonhunter to come and the Nitrotiger nearly flew across the field of pools as some started to bubble alert. A few gorgegulpers tried to catch the cat but missed and sank to where their optics were only visible among the water, ears twitching angrily.

When they were all onboard the transport again, they flew north away from Firelight Island and for a few minutes, there was nothing on the horizon. As Megatron navigated it this time, Arcee relaxed until she had a notification on her commlink from Silos.

"Excuse for one moment, Megatron," she said. Megatron looked back at her but said nothing as she went to a remote part of the ship, then she answered the call. "What do you need, Silos?"

"I can't contact my favorite Autobot and say hello?"

"Not when I'm in the middle of something. There are Metal Heads here on Caminus, but they're stealing weapon cores and building materials mostly used for vessels. Since Camiens don't use guns anymore, it's strange that the Metal Heads would seek them out, don't you think?"

Silos laughed, "Straight to the point as always. The Metal Heads are just as technologically advanced as your kind. What they seek to do with it is what they've always done. They desire to expand. The Metal Head Nest is greatly fortified and using such materials brings security to them. The weapon cores, well, are self-explanatory."

"Where's the Nest?" Arcee asked.

"Not within your range. It is on a remote planet in the center of my home galaxy. Tigressa found it long ago and made it a haven for her experiments. Ever since then, it has harbored the main legion, untouched for millions of years and no one has ever penetrated its defenses by accident or through intentional assaults. I haven't been there in years," he muttered.

She huffed as most of the information proved useless for her to go on. "Where are you?"

"On a building in Ember Basin getting a bite to eat around this place. The prices here for good Energon and other food are robbery. I like it; it gives me a better incentive to steal it. I saw you arrive over an hour ago but, of course, it's quite hard to greet you with them around. Meet me on the rooftop of the Grand Ember Eatery downtown when you get a chance. I have a task for you."

Silos cut transmission and Arcee stood there snarling at the audacity of him. She had more important things to do than cater to him. She went back up to the cockpit and sat with a notable scowl upon her face. Megatron raised a brow at the sudden anger.

"Everything alright?"

"Just stupid things as always."

"Who was it?"

Arcee had to pause and think of a name, then she lied, "Bumblebee. He contacted me and I got a little heated in explaining to him I didn't have the time to be talking. We really need to get going."

Megatron seemed a bit disappointed upon hearing that. "Oh, well, at least he's keeping in touch."

"Just drop it please," she said quickly. She didn't like to hear him with that tone but the sooner he dropped it, the better.

He didn't say anything else as they spotted the remote isle Microdust mentioned. No train systems ran to it but there was a landing pad and an old workshop on the top of the mountain. Waterfalls fell beneath it, pumped up the same way as the waterfalls on the surface emphasizing that this was the engineer's home. When they exited their transport, Moonhunter took one look at the exterior and the huge altitude they were at, seeing the giant drop between the platforms and the ground, and whimpered before going back into the ship. Arcee and Megatron merely glanced at his retreat. Arcee felt his fear; even she was a bit uncomfortable with the height. The ground below had a lake in the center of the island and a river running to the core's ocean.

The old workshop had gears moving trapped behind glass and decorative metal carvings to protect it. She couldn't guess how long the carvings themselves took to make, but it seemed about right for an engineering recluse to do in his endless spare time. Every inch of the door, windows, and junction boxes littered across the exterior were either hand-carved or painted with tiny details. Two water wheels were attached to the nearest waterfall beside the workshop with various contraptions connecting to it to supply power.

A roar startled them as a deep blue and gold crosswing whipped around the corner of the mountain to fly right at them. It suddenly halted its quick pace by opening its wings vertically, flapping them against its descent to land next to the workshop. Arcee recalled Windblade mentioning crosswings preferred being on the surface of the planet so why one was all the way down here was a mystery until she noticed it had packages and metal boxes strapped to it...

"Heh heh, good ol' Gizmo!"

An elderly Seeker with crooked wings and goggles perched on his head crest carefully dropped down from the back of the crosswing, patting the side of its neck which it responded with a purr. When he noticed the two bots near his workshop, he didn't lose his smile one bit.

"Hello, younglings, my name is Highwind, keeper of the core. It's rare I get visitors over here. How might I help you?"

Despite both Cybertronians had lived quite enough where that term couldn't apply to themselves against most of the bots they've seen, they took the nickname as a compliment, especially Megatron who didn't want to correct the older mech out of respect.

Arcee made a casual gesture. "We were sent by the Mistress of Flame. We...aren't Camiens and seek to unite our worlds together again but she's being..."

"A bitch?" Highwind said with a grin. The language was not expected and made both Cybertronians bewildered, but he continued. "I lived through seventeen Mistresses, my dear. She's not my favorite and can be very irrational, but she means well. If you're not from here, where do you reside?"

"Cybertron. I'm trying to fix past mistakes of our kind."

"As do we all. Come, let us talk in the workshop," he said.

The crosswing settled on its platform, looking out across the sea with a mere grunt and uncaring of the bots with its owner. Arcee and Megatron followed Highwind in and were astounded. Various machines stylized to Highwind's unique crafting skill and a lab that would make Shockwave jealous all resided within. Hand-made stained glass used the core's ocean light reflected off its under-city vast ceiling to make it glow. The rumble of the falls made the atmosphere seem peaceful despite the constant running of gears. The well-oiled machines didn't make much of a sound either.

"So, let me guess, the Mistress wants you to prove your worth by helping around here? She can't be bothered to do it herself, so she sends others to do it for her. Hmph, I remember when the eighth Mistress of Flame, preferred the name 'Blastfire', was in charge. She knew how to run a planet. Poor girl, assassinated during a speech because someone thought she was doing too well. The brute who replaced her was worse than the current. They say the good die young...I believe it now."

Arcee didn't want to poke around much in Caminus' politics, but she couldn't help but ask, "How did the current Mistress come into power?"

Highwind sat in his working chair and spat, "She was given it by the Forge Parliament after her predecessor was killed, good riddance to that one. The last one was looney, almost got us blown up by messing with our core. There's a conspiracy that someone was hired to kill her by Parliament, but it was never proven. Well, anyway, the current Mistress was assigned instead of voted in like normal because we needed a leader badly. She's not the worst but she's not popular among the public, don't repeat that please."

"Your word is safe with us," Megatron said, touching a hanging crystalline decorative piece with the tip of his claw and watching it sway curiously.

Highwind brought out a device from under his table and laughed, "If the Mistress wants proof of service, why not help me out with a new gadget of mine?"

"Sure?" Arcee said a bit worried.

"I can't fly anymore, can't transform either. My parts are obsolete and rebuilding them from scratch, heh, easier said than done unfortunately. That's why I have Gizmo and her brood that I have been training on and off to help me get supplies. They live on the other side of the mountain in a crevice between the falls which is where I came from when you first saw me. But I thought, why not give someone else the chance to roam the skies? Can either of you fly?"

The warlord nodded, "I can. She's a grounder though."

"Perfect!" Highwind smiled, "I think your winglets can hold the capabilities of gliding. I can't guarantee actual flight, but I know it will let you glide. Care to test it?"

"Uhhh, if I die..."

"I'll have Gizmo and your friend here monitor you, no need to worry."

He gestured for Arcee to turn around as he got out of his chair. With a brief nod from her, he gained her permission to open the panels of her back. Megatron stared in awe as Highwind attached the device, hooking it up to the base of the winglets where it began to pulse. Closing her up after a minute, he clapped enthusiastically.

"Now, activate the protocol that appears to you, and you should be able to show off your new ability."

Once she got the prompt, energy coursed through her winglets and transparent, blue bio-lit wings erupted from the winglets' armor edges. She moved each winglet separately, the ghostly energy that made up the wings moved in sync, and then she retracted them, turning them back to her simple winglets.

She grinned, "This is amazing!"

"Ah, yes, but I should warn it won't work in vehicle mode. Now, let's test it, shall we?"

They went back outside to the balcony of the workshop. The waterfalls roared beside them and underneath as Arcee looked over the edge. Highwind climbed onto Gizmo, and the creature turned to align itself for takeoff with Arcee. Megatron kneeled on her right side at the edge.

"Ready?"

Arcee didn't even know how she was supposed to respond to that, but she leaned too far forward and suddenly lost her balance. Gizmo and Megatron took after her.

"Arcee, now!" Megatron called out.

She was afraid but right as she activated the ability, she found herself airborne. Highwind proved right that she couldn't fly but she could indeed glide. She slowed down her consent to barely a decrease in altitude. The energy wings were outspread like she was a bird, and she stared at the ground below uncertain but delighted. The crosswing and Highwind glided beside her while Megatron transformed and followed her in his alt mode. She turned slowly to maneuver around and the crosswing gave a pleasant trill, occasionally looking at her like a mother watching over its young.

"See? The skies are yours!" Highwind cheered. "And as a gift for your participation, you can keep it!"

Megatron laughed, "Maybe you'll glide circles around me one day."

Arcee grinned like mad, enjoying the breeze over the island and the vast ocean beyond it. She then did a ballsy move and tucked her wings in to dive. A hundred feet from the ground, she pulled up and gained some altitude but remained far below the others. Finally, she disengaged the wings, reverting them back to her regular winglets, when she was a mere fifteen feet off the ground, landing swiftly and running a few feet. She paused to look at the lake and then the workshop high above.

The crosswing copied her but flapped its wings hard when landing, shaking to ruffle its metal armor. Highwind chuckled, "Eh heh heh, a natural born flier, you are."

Megatron transformed next to her as Arcee said, "Thank you. I don't know what to offer you-"

"No, no, my dear, thank you. I like showing off my inventions and I make sure they go to the right bots, and you were made for that. After all, I have no need of the ability anymore. Now, I'll see about contacting mean, old Mistress about giving you some leeway while you head back. Do you need a ride up to your ship?"

She was about to decline but saw the crosswing proudly raise its head before tilting it. The question should have been: when would she get the opportunity to ride one again?

Her decision was made when she screamed happily as the crosswing rose high and circled the mountain. She leaned against Megatron sitting behind her equally as giddy as they ascended with Highwind at the reins.

"And do you trust them?" The Mistress of Flame asked.

"Of course," Windblade said.

"Then tell me, these creatures you call the Metal Heads, why is it that they have appeared now right before the Cybertronians came? We never dealt with them ever and suddenly, we're in their strike zone? There's something suspicious about this Arcee...and Megatron, is it? You mean to tell me your friends with a mass murderer? He's the one who the Arisen fought against. That makes him far more untrustworthy."

The red and black femme scowled, "You don't know them like I do. Megatron's changed; we've seen it on Cybertron for ourselves. He's not-"

The Mistress of Flame twirled her staff before slamming the tip on the ground. "One reconciliation does not forgive a lifetime of death, destruction, and monstrosity. And Arcee, she's the sparkmate of her own enemy. That's a fall from grace if I ever heard one. That makes both a threat, and I refuse to yield my defense to threats."

She had nothing else to argue with as she knew the Mistress of Flame wouldn't listen.

"I find it unusual that you don't see the problem of all bots, Windblade. If Cybertron has changed, why did it replace greedy Councilmembers and prideful Primes with a tyrant traitor and two known war criminals from both factions? At least I don't have to worry about what the Councilmembers do because they are straightforward. What makes you think in realm of negotiations and Cybertronian arrogance that Megatron and Arcee are exempt from doing whatever it takes to get what they want...even if they must hurt us in the process?"

The question pierced Windblade's thoughts like a knife and she couldn't think of any way to counter it. She knew of both Autobots and Decepticons having a lot of problems among themselves as well as being willing to throw outsiders and defilers under the bus to get ahead. Arcee, as far as she knew, would never sink to that level, but she didn't know all Arcee's personality in personal quarters nor what she would do when specific options presented themselves. It was a hard call, but the Mistress of Flame had a point.

The Camien leader saw that she was getting through to Windblade and smirked, "Now you get it, don't you?"

AN: I based its sky view on a piece of artwork someone did for Caminus that depicted it next to a gas giant. I kind of like the idea of some worlds being moons of others more so than just their own planet. It kind of adds an alien aspect to it. The reason Caminus has water is because it was based on a theory I had. It also looks from artwork of Caminus that it has layers of cities kind of like Cybertron so I kept that too. Caminus used to be low on resources similar to Velocitron once they cut ties with Cybertron. However, I felt it was unfair that Cybertron had to be relied upon always to help them so I changed the narrative a little to show Caminus found a way to sustain itself after leaving Cybertron years later in much trial and error.