Song: Battleborn – Five Finger Death Punch

Megatron sat with Arcee as she had her head in her servos tired. Bolt and Moonhunter were equally conflicted about the situation.

"I think she's just trying to prove a point though this is a bad way of doing it."

"No, really?" Arcee scowled.

The Vehicon shrugged, "I'm just saying. The Matriarch is calculative; she's not going to do something if she wasn't confident."

"Maybe that's her problem," Megatron interrupted. "She's far more overconfident in her plans than previously because the former ideas she had never failed...so why would she think otherwise now? You can only be right for so long. Eventually, something is going to be off in her calculations and against an enemy she doesn't know much about, that could mean disaster."

Bolt gestured dramatically, "Well, it's not like we can talk to her about it as you've seen. You should have heard the ass-chewing I got when she figured out it was me."

"What gave it away?" Megatron laughed.

"...I forgot to hide the rock vipers. She knew instantly who I was when she saw them. Speaking of, I've got their terrarium ready and they certainly like it enough to where they aren't hissing as much, especially their basking light."

Arcee swayed her head sarcastically, "At least some of us are enjoying this hell, I guess."

"Chaar is hard to get used to, the management is the harshest thing on this deserted planet but if you can survive that, you can survive just about anything."

Soundwave approached them silently and looked between each bot curiously. The first to truly notice him was Megatron who simply shook his head to let the spymaster know it was quite an upsetting situation they were in. The dark purple mech pointed at Arcee and gestured. While Arcee herself didn't see it, the others did, and the warlord was the first to speak.

"Arcee, Soundwave wants to have a word with you."

The blue femme looked up with lack of emotion as Soundwave pointed behind him. She read it immediately as he was waiting for her to follow. She refrained from rolling her optics and got down from her seat on Shockwave's lab table while Megatron continued half-sitting, half-leaning against it with his arms crossed. He watched her leave with a shred of pity under the circumstances they had found themselves among.

Arcee followed Soundwave out of the laboratory, passing a few Cons who she could tell resented her for being an Autobot and the only person who technically stood between them and the safety of their home. No doubt The Matriarch made it known of her intentions which might usurp the peace if done incorrectly. Even they didn't want to fight anymore, just to be left alone in their exile. She wanted to fix this, but she didn't know how.

They went across the base, the first time she had ever laid optics on the actual landing pad of the Nemesis up close that was now used as a training ground as its missing ship remained unaccounted for. She didn't know if they knew it was still on Cybertron and that they could take the ship back at any point in time. Then again, The Matriarch made it clear contact with Cybertron was limited as rightfully so. The various buildings that had been constructed to make it a city were still having upgrades on them. It was like watching a clone of Kaon emerge from the void itself. Decepticon engineering never failed.

"Ay, if it isn't the queen herself!" Both her and Soundwave paused seeing the Constructicons walk towards them with pleasant grins plastered on their faces. "We can recognize that beautiful curvy blue chassis anywhere."

"Guys, filter," she laughed. "We've talked about hitting on people."

Scrapper chuckled low, "Aw, we're just having a laugh. Can't make a joke without breaking a few barriers. You know we mean well."

"I do. I don't think anyone else does though. Keep the comments at bay before you get yourselves into trouble."

"Listen to her," Mixmaster sang, "look, dollface, we are entrepreneurs of exquisite bots and elegant fighters."

Arcee hid a grimace. "I...don't think you know what half those words mean. Nice try, boys, but a girl loves a more gentlemanly demeanor, not a brash cowboy with his head up his tailpipe."

Mixmaster grew embarrassed as the other Constructicons howled in laughter at him being called out. Two of them even high fived her cackling their afts off, some slipped onto their knees from laughing a bit too hard.

She gave them a thumbs up and said, "Keep up the devastation, guys!"

Soundwave waited for her to catch up as the laughter from the Constructicons failed to cease, echoing across the base like hyenas. She was led into a solitary building, a small arena of sorts and quickly grew uncertain. She paused under the archway as Soundwave took his place at the far end and turned to face her. When she refused to move, he gestured to her.

"I am not taking another step until you tell me what this is about."

Soundwave peered to the side and Arcee saw two Decepicons hanging out overhead. The triple changer cackled with his ghostly black-plated face, demonic red eyes, red fangs and pointed glossa making him look like a monster in waiting. Then it shifted to a calm faint blue face with the left optic forcefully pushed back to appear smaller and two scars across it running from the brow to the cheek. From what she knew of the injury, it was given by an Insecticon. The optic was lodged into the processor and unable to be removed without permanent damage. Arguably, the injury was what caused the insanity of his three personalities...or at least that was the theory. The other theory was the experiments he subjected himself to drove him insane, the same fate as The Matriarch, and she recalled Megatron did say there was more than just one commander that took the trials for the super soldier program.

The other Decepticon was a massive purple and teal bomber, recognizable with his nine optics with one directly dead center of his helm. The other eight sat four to each side among his animal-like helm shape. Faint fangs were hidden in the large maw of the mech and only appeared when he was furious. The slit pupils in each made him scarier up close than at her distance but she knew never to doubt the Kaon Krusher for one second.

"Blitzwing, Lugnut, haven't seen either of you since Iacon," she said, standing her ground knowing Blitzwing could get a little out of hand when he perceived weakness. "A lot of faces I can't decide are good to see or deserve to be punched."

Blitzwing merely smirked at the jab. "As usual, Arcee, you always had the best insults. I, for one, am a huge fan."

"Why am I here? What do you two want?"

Lugnut growled, "The Matriarch told us you're visiting so why not meet you in person again. After all, you are the one who helped defeat Megatron and humiliated us at Iacon with that scout."

"Autobot leader now," she smiled. "But I don't see why Soundwave of all people would be in on your revenge. Do you really hate me that much?"

"Hate is a...strong word," Blitzwing purred. "I'd rather say we find the absurdity a bit ridiculous that a small bot like you could have bested us, but Lugnut and I have come to terms with it in a way, so we offer you something better. If you can fight Soundwave and stay in the arena for five minutes unscathed, we'll give you a prize. You fight, we'll help Shockwave and you realign Chaar with Cybertron. Deal?"

Arcee wasn't buying it entirely and asked, "And if I lose?"

Blitzwing exchanged looks with Lugnut who made a sneer. He peered down at her smugly. "I suppose we will just have to take what we deserve then. Who wouldn't want to spend some time with you? Make a good impression for us; we've been dying for a good battle."

"Jackasses," she muttered as Soundwave stood tensely. "I guess I do agree with one thing they said though, Soundwave. I've been longing to fight you too."

Arcee brought out her double-bladed sword, whipping it around to rest ready at her side. The Decepticon waited for her first move, a tactic he always did. She had seen some of his gladiatorial battles and he was ruthless. Megatron was the only one to ever defeat him. Although she didn't see herself filling those shoes, she could perhaps last long enough to win by keeping out of reach. Granted, Soundwave probably knew her tactics too.

"Let's dance."

She shot forward, a mistake usually for one against the likes of Soundwave but instead of heading straight for him, she banked left and tried to hit him from the side. He spun from her reach and deflected a swipe of her blade. Shooting out his tentacles, he went to subdue her. Arcee fled backwards, suddenly throwing her swords to fly at him. He turned to the side, the blades passing him by with mere inches to spare. It boomeranged off the far wall before embedding itself into the floor.

With no weapon, Soundwave ran to get closer, but she led him on a chase across the arena, rolling out of the way of the persistent cables that struck the ground after her. She juked him upon his last strike, twirling backwards and stepped directly onto one of them, nearly crushing the feelers. She had never seen the cables retreat so fast, but the second cable suddenly whipped and shot her off her pedes. The ground didn't feel too good, and she quickly moved as he descended upon her.

With three minutes to go, she spotted her double-bladed sword lying in wait and she started hatching a new plan even though she had no choice but to move back again to counter Soundwave's persistence in taking her down.

"I never knew you to tango, Soundwave. Here I thought you had two left feet."

The comment merely made Soundwave walk a bit faster, swiping at her until she made the motion to jump which he prepared for, only for her to instead bolt and slide under him. She saw him track her but not fast enough to stop her. Swinging upright as he turned around, out of sheer luck, she struck his visor with a punch. He staggered back surprised, and she made a small motion in taunting before sprinting for her weapon. Two minutes left and the mech was seething from his rigid posture.

Blitzwing looked excited enough to bring out his crazy persona. Arcee ignored the animalistic glossa slithering it out to lick his red fangs as he cheered. Even Lugnut seemed somewhat more impressed than previously, folding his arms with a hint of a smile. She hoped they were enjoying the show because they would be next on her hit list.

She sprinted twirling the sword, clashing with Soundwave repeatedly but being mindful of his cables that occasionally came out to play. Using her speed boost, she dodged a particularly nasty maneuver that would have floored her in seconds, and Soundwave took little time to strike again when she was caught off guard. It was always close, and she didn't like that. He was never one to carry weapons on hand even in battle, using his tactical mind instead to tip the scales in his favor. That made him far deadlier than even Cyclonus.

However, her luck ran out when she stepped to his right and he snagged her winglet. Forcing her over his head, he slammed her down and she bounced a few times with a groan. She could hear the two Decepticons above wincing from her impact as more bots gathered to watch the fight. Shaking off the hit, she got up and gestured aggressively.

"Is that the best you can do?!"

It was a poor choice of words as Soundwave rushed her. He caught one arm but she twisted out of his grip and used him as a stepladder to swing her weapon down. Of course, he didn't stay still and wrapped a servo around her neck, pinning her to the ground as her weapon was discarded. She snarled at him as he began to squeeze. In a last-ditch effort, she headbutted him and twisted upright and grabbed her sword in one motion. She used his brief stun to swipe one leg out from under him to force him to kneel and had the blade right at his neck when the clock beeped. Arcee froze and Soundwave stared at her unmoving. Had this been a battle to the death, she either would have beheaded him or he would have played one of his gambit strategies to overpower her at the very same second. She was relieved it didn't come to either.

Blitzwing shifted back to his regular personality, clapping as others expressed similar amazement. "I never thought I would see you come so close to defeating Soundwave of all people. In reality, your hesitance would have cost you your life...but a deal is a deal."

Arcee put her weapon away and offered a servo but Soundwave stood up on his own, merely tipping his head in acknowledgement of the accomplishment. She then redirected her attention to the triple changer. "What was that meant to prove again?"

"That you are as worthy of an opponent as they say. It was one thing to beat us but Megatron and Soundwave are entirely different subjects altogether."

"I never beat Megatron in a fight though," she said confused.

"No, but you managed to throw him across an entire platform, did you not? Every Decepticon heard about that...mainly because of Breakdown and Knockout's gossip about it some time before Breakdown's passing but that's beside the point. You are quite a sensation. I guess what they say is true: size doesn't always matter. I just wanted to see it for myself. You have my respect."

Lugnut nodded, "As promised, we'll see what we can do to help. Shockwave wants to realign us with Cybertron and we would like the ability to go home without complications. After all, we're still war criminals if you think about it."

Arcee shrugged, "Technically, we're all war criminals. You think anything I did honored the terms of battle too? We were all trying to win. Rules don't work when lives are on the line. Anything goes and that's how we played it."

"Well, at least someone sees it our way," the big bruiser sighed. He reached behind him before throwing something down. Arcee caught it and looked it over curiously. "It's a fitting for your blades, will help you cut through even the toughest of armor."

He hit his chest for emphasis and Arcee grinned, "Thanks, guys."

Blitzwing had his own smile. "You should have been a Decepticon. You'd be perfect over on our side. Never once did I think you were an Autobot even when I fought you. Maybe it's my delusions getting to me, can't tell."

The queen attached the modded blades to her sword and swung back to rest parallel to her spine. "If you can believe it, you're not the first person to say that."

Before she walked off, the tan and purple mech said, "Optimus was extremely lucky to have you on his side, I hope he knows that. The war would have been quite different without you there to be his lieutenant."

She muttered to herself, "Not quite."

Had she not joined the Autobots, some missions wouldn't have worked in the Autobots' favor and certainly some crucial assassinations wouldn't have occurred. But Optimus was very persistent as was Bumblebee and many others. She didn't believe the war would have changed too much without her or on the Decepticon side because she wasn't always there in the war's game-changer moments. Without Optimus or Bumblebee, there was a huge chance something would change. Her? She feared at most she may have become like Airachnid and that scared her more than anything.

On a funnier note, she grew a small smirk upon remembering a time that a few of her sisters found some of the Decepticons handsome. They gossiped and joked among themselves even as Autobots about it. She had no doubts her sisters would change sides mainly for the gun show and had Megatron gotten wise to that little secret...maybe she and the girls wouldn't have stuck with the Autobots. Then again, Megatron had never been the type of mech to weaponize looks over weapons. The other Decepticons? Who knows.

Wandering back towards Shockwave's laboratory, she took a moment to see Chaar's Decepticon home as it really was. The Decepticons themselves worked endlessly to make the giant self-proclaimed city into a comfortable environment. A few even had pets like small Predacons, per Shockwave's creativity she assumed, and younger Mallibi. Direfang eggs were currently being hosted by a grounder who probably had raided a nest. What the Decepticons did with the eggs she didn't want to know.

Soundwave passed her like nothing happened, instead going to Ramjet and Slipstream near a stall and seemingly relaying a message which both bots nodded at. In her distraction, she nearly bumped into another Seeker but was surprised to see Sunstorm who merely grinned.

"Easy, Arcee," he said kindly.

She didn't expect it from the likes of him as he was known to be arrogant and a suck-up. Then again, he was being awfully nice about someone almost slamming into him. She kept a weary optic on the mech. "Sorry, just got caught up looking around the base. Never thought I would set foot here in my lifetime, at least not on equal terms."

Sunstorm gestured around him. "Chaar has had its history of aggression, that's no secret, but it's an oasis to us. As long as you don't piss off Starscream, I don't think the rest of us are going to mind an Autobot here."

"Starscream? I'm more scared of The Matriarch than I ever was of him. Sure, he'll kill you but he boasts too much for his own good then strikes. He never changes. The Matriarch can suddenly target you and then you just got to hope she doesn't track you down. Her pattern is never the same in her methods of madness. I'd rather face Starscream than her. In fact, I'd like to see Starscream try and get me kicked off this base."

Sunstorm was unable to find a comeback for that except a small "ah" and a few Decepticons nearby snickering. After a minute, he finally said, "You seem to be one tough femme-"

"I try."

"-and how about I offer you something more direct then? Starscream is untouchable in the sky, that's why he was considered the greatest Seeker of all time and became the commander of our sub-faction before joining the Decepticons as well as when we merged with them. However, on the ground, he was vulnerable, never a straight shot. He couldn't target good running for his life aside from using cheap tricks and stupid strategies that only worked on bots unfamiliar with him. So, how about you show me if you can do better."

Arcee narrowed her optics. "What's the catch?"

Sunstorm merely grinned, "Do you know why they call me Sunstorm to begin with?"

She shook her head and he clicked his missiles and turrets on his arms into place cockily. "Don't mean to brag but I'm one of the most brutal fighters in the sky. You've probably heard of my work. Gamma Supreme's fall from grace? The raid on Iacon's sky towers that crippled it from airborne threats? The epic death of Sky Garry? Dai Atlas' bane? Any of those ringing bells?"

He was arrogant, sometimes even a narcissist...but damn. She recognized all but Gamma Supreme as she had never familiarized herself with the Supremes other than Omega Supreme, the Titan of Iacon. The events in question were widely known though Dai Atlas' fight and death never revealed the doer, only that it nearly took out half of Moon Base One. Now she knew who it was and nodded her head just to get him to talk.

"I have a power nicknamed the Heat Seeker, basically my blasts don't miss except by those who have the skills to outflank said blasts. Obviously, not many people have done so. My ability not only makes missing improbable but the results deadlier. What was a mere missile can become a miniature bomb if I utilize it as such. Problem is...I require exposure to the sun's direct rays to harness enough energy to make these devastating blasts. To prove my stories, and you can research this for yourself, all those battles were done during the daytime. My privately weaponized ability caused so much damage, I have vaporized even the proudest of warriors."

"Okay..." she started, looking to the side briefly, "what's this got to do with me?"

Sunstorm's bravado stalled and he twitched his lips in disarray. "I'm dying. Pharma says something about my power that is siphoning energy from my spark from the years of abusing it since I was a youngling. I want to give it away to someone who can use it...and someone who won't blow everyone sky high in the process of managing it."

Any humor Arcee had died and she immediately asked, "Why not give it to someone like Slipstream, Starscream, or one of your friends?"

"Slipstream already has an ability that if merged with mine can kill herself and everyone else...like I warned against. And Starscream? You think I'm stupid enough to give it to Starscream of all bots?"

"No," she answered quickly. "Just a question. But why me, especially if it's killing you? Won't it kill me eventually?"

"Pharma said it won't affect others like you because I was born with it, you weren't. It's engrained with my spark directly whereas it'll just be an upgrade to you. The ability won't be as powerful as I can make it, but it will be powerful enough to possibly damage a bot the size of a Supreme in one shot, that's for sure. I want someone who can beat me in a weapon race, someone who I can trust to take the best shots when it counts. I've heard of your legacy the same as everyone on Cybertron knows who Megatron is. If you don't beat me, I'll move on to someone else I can trust, but if you do..."

"Name it, I'll be there," the queen stated.

Sunstorm grinned along with his peers as he escorted her to an open area within the boundaries of the base. "This is our target practice area, upgraded it a few years ago. If you can destroy more targets than me, I'll give you my power without a fuss. I need an excellent marksman to be entrusted with it."

Arcee prepared her arm blasters and that was all the confirmation Sunstorm needed to signal her peers to activate the course. She was a bit surprised that her targets were flying autonomous drones and not living things given the Decepticons' history of despising a lot of lifeforms.

"Ready, go!" A Seeker on the side lines yelled.

Arcee aimed for the farther out ones that hovered still, shooting two down but while she did that, Sunstorm didn't fire his weapons at all. She grew suspicious until a glow from his chest spread throughout his body and empowered his missiles. His optics glowed an abnormal orange instead of the usual red. Then he fired.

The missile aimed for one drone that was moving but as soon as it hit, a loud blast caused a shockwave that wiped out several drones next to the targeted one in a mere second. The flames were the same bright orange as him, nearly the same shade as Earth's sun. To keep up, Arcee quickly shot down five more, optics raking the area for any easy targets and what required a bit more skill to take down in such a time frame.

Sunstorm's energy died and he targeted the other drones the same way as Arcee. However, Arcee started picking up the pace as her mind calculated the drones' movements and the proper time to take the shots. She gained three hits on him. Pharma and a few other Decepticons watched in awe at the showdown and her determination to win. Then Sunstorm's energy gathered again. She was baffled that for a sun so far away, it could supply the Seeker with enough energy to blow up everything in his path if he so desired. He fired again and not only caught up with her score but surpassed it by five drones. Now she understood how winning against him was impossible.

One of the Seekers to her right signaled there was only a minute or so left to get ahead. Arcee gave it all she got. Sunstorm wasn't as fast as her though he did take out twice as many with a single shot with his missiles. But then she noticed as she caught up, he no longer activated his power and when he tried, his optics flickered and he had to pause. A new theory sprang forward that he had reserved the power for some time. Now, he was out of juice. Perfect.

At the last ten seconds, Arcee was tied with him. They both shot in unison twice for two more but the third time...Sunstorm missed. She didn't.

"Time!"

Arcee crouched down for a second to savor her remaining energy as her blasters powered down with a hiss. Sunstorm panted, a servo flexing right over his chest as he shook his head a bit downtrodden. But he stayed a good sport despite the noticeable frown on his faceplates. He reached into his chest cavity and pulled out a device that looked like an orb designed to mimic the sun. He winced but handed it to Pharma as the doctor approached Arcee.

"As promised," Sunstorm muttered as he turned to sit down.

Arcee attached the core into her chest and linking it with the cables that led to her weapons with the help of Pharma. When she returned to Sunstorm, he was sitting unusually relieved for one who just lost his only power. She was hesitant to ask but finally did.

"What happened?"

The Seeker gestured lazily off to the side. "My power needs the sun's rays. I had enough stored for two shots but Chaar's takes a while to let me charge it. The pain is a bit unbearable too. I can't use it like I used to."

"Why come forth now? Why a change of spark other than dying? There's another reason you're doing this. I can tell."

Sunstorm huffed, "Because...I'm done being the prick I was. Several months ago, I was diagnosed and at first, I was still jackass Sunstorm, the 'almighty tyrant of the skies' as they used to call me. The Decepticons, I mean. I sat under Chaar's sun at the corner of our borders and stayed there charging until I slowly realized up until now, I didn't do anything other than destroy. It was what I was good at...the only thing I was good at. It dawned on me just how terrible a life that really was. I served the Decepticons and all they got was a rebel commander who could only cause mayhem and death everywhere he went. We're cruel, sure, but not heartless. All I did was win battles, and no one ever liked me in the end with my pompous pride. You think I got a welcoming committee killing Dai Atlas or Sky Garry? I took out half the areas I found them in defeating them, killing more people nearby than necessary."

Arcee said nothing to ruin the moment as he wasn't lying. She let him vent because he needed to.

He sighed, almost placing his head in his servos but refrained and held back tears. "I'm dying and the only thing I did was hurt people even before the war. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner; all things considered. Before I go, I don't want my last action in this universe to be destruction. I want to do something good for once; I want to be better but I know nothing I do is going to make what I have done forgivable. Call it death guilt but I just want to go out helping someone...for once in my life, I don't want to be an asshole."

"I'll make sure I don't misuse your ability. It's in good hands," she whispered as she took his servo. His claws carefully clasped over her servo and she saw his expression become sincere.

"I know it is. Thank you."

Pharma moved in and began talking with Sunstorm to get him to calm down after nodding to Arcee. Arcee felt bad leaving him with Pharma but even though the medic also had a long history of sadistic medical experiments, he was responsible to care for his Decepticons' wellbeing better than anyone else, especially her.

It was not lost on her how some of the Decepticons were beginning to feel their age or had complications post-war. The humans thought Cybertronians like her were nigh invulnerable, that they could live forever. No one lived forever. A few Decepticons she passed even appeared like they were going to lose body parts one day from previous damages. It made her wonder what Megatron and Optimus would eventually come down with from their stressful past. What would she develop the older she got?

"Steelback!" A gravelly voice called out. "Steelback!"

Arcee paused when she saw an unexpected bot. Lockdown staying here was news to her. She always assumed he was a loner but given less money was made through bounties no longer relevant, he probably had no choice but to come to Chaar. The green and black mech looked a bit nervous, sad even. It was a far cry from the normal bravado the bounty hunter had as far as she heard from the stories Ratchet and Bulkhead used to tell her. He was looking for something and she couldn't tell what.

"Excuse me," she said, "is something wrong?"

Lockdown briefly showed a scowl upon seeing her but it immediately died when he looked yonder among the other Decepticons. He was far too preoccupied to start a fight it seemed. "I'm just looking for my wonderward, Steelback. I raised him since he was a puppy. He's been my loyal guard dog ever since, but I can't seem to find him anywhere. I wouldn't expect an Autobot like you to care."

"Do you know where he was last?"

"Nowhere you should know about."

Arcee scoffed, "Fine, you don't want any help, Steelback might just stay lost or maybe a direfang got ahold of him. I don't condone good animals to death unless necessary but can't do anything for your pet, I guess."

Lockdown furrowed his brows, a few of the spikes along his neck rising with the plates they were attached to in agitation. He finally rolled his optics and said, "I was outside the base to the west. There are caves there and I lost him when we got chased by a sand-dweller. I assumed he went back to the base because that's usually where he goes to await me as I've trained him to do. But he never showed up. I checked the area but the caves are too narrow for me to go in. If he's there, he's not responding to me. I refuse to fear the worst but if you're so willing to help, why don't you go out there and try to find him for me? You're small enough, babe. You can probably get into those caverns easily."

"Don't call me 'babe' and I'll see what I can do," Arcee sneered.

"Nobility is everything to you Autobots, isn't it?" Lockdown taunted as she turned away.

It sounded to her like he didn't have any confidence in her. Well, she aimed to please when it counted, and that's what she planned to do. While she made her way to the base's gates, she got a call from Megatron.

"Arcee, is everything going well? The Matriarch paid us a visit and she's livid."

"What else is new? I'm just getting to know the place, first time visitor, remember?"

The warlord chuckled, "Indeed."

"Is there anything else on the planet besides this base?"

"Unfortunately, Chaar was once a thriving oasis long before we took over. What truly happened to it...I cannot say but a few remnants of its past live through its remaining species. There are ruins quite some miles away but you won't find anything of interest over there. We deal with what we have. I heard The Matriarch even plans on expanding to the west to mine a huge Energon stockpile located just a few weeks ago. More room for everyone."

Arcee smirked, "She wants to make a legacy before the inevitable. I understand. I'm currently trying to help Lockdown retrieve his wonderward and then I'll be back."

"Be careful, especially around Lockdown. He's notorious for pulling dastardly tricks," he growled.

"Yeah, I wouldn't expect less from Decepticons. No offense."

"Point taken, my dear."

A Decepticon nodded at her, letting her go outside the base and she ran towards the east. While she ran, she yelled out, "Steelback! Come here, boy! Steelback!"

She didn't expect the wonderward to answer to her but if it at least gave off a sign where it was, she could coax it to follow. Suddenly, a loud howl echoed among the desert though it sounded a bit muffled like it was underground...or was underground. She immediately searched for the caves Lockdown spoke of despite there could be dangerous creatures among them. She found her entrance, nearly running past it as it was half concealed by an overhanging rock.

"Now I know what you mean, Lockdown."

The space was small, tiny enough for the likes of a wonderward and herself to barely fit through but not so much for anyone larger. Sometimes, she praised her small size. Crawling through, she shivered as her backside rubbed against the ceiling. It was damp from condensation of the Energon that grew within and she encountered the hot spot of crystals once the cave got deeper and allowed her to stand. To her shock, there was a bubbling pool of Energon as well. Chaar didn't appear like it would have an active molten strip beneath it yet it somehow did. But she wasn't brave enough to go jumping into the liquid as tempting as it looked because if she assumed wrong, she wasn't desiring to be a melted puddle.

A howl rumbled the stalactites above and Arcee was cautious going forward, watching them in case they fell. She didn't want to be impaled either. It was definitely a wonderward she was hearing. No creature was louder.

"Steelback!"

It went quiet again and she ran deeper into the underground. Turning a corner, she nearly screamed seeing the remains of a Mallibi half-eaten and face down in its crusted blood. She had forgotten that wonderwards were predators of Mallibi. It was the circle of life and not too friendly of a cycle at that. She didn't think the wonderward was down here that long to start hunting but given Lockdown never mentioned the time frame of how long Steelback had been missing, that raised some questions.

She covered her audio receptors upon hearing the loud canine up close as a wonderward appeared on the rockface ledge just next to another pool of boiling Energon. The crystals almost made its armor look a dark blue though it was overall a grey tint as far as she could tell. Red optics glared down at her curiously but ready to attack if she tried anything.

"Steelback?"

The wonderward perked up a little, confirming it was Lockdown's pet. It hopped down from its position and wagged its tail until another howl rocked the caverns. It was then Arcee realized it wasn't alone as it flinched back and tucked its tail between its legs. Then out from the shadows, a second wonderward appeared. More tan in color, the orange-bio light canine snarled at them. It appeared they had both trespassed in another's territory. The wonderward that sought Steelback growled and drew closer, not before Arcee pulled out her ricochet ray in warning. The mutt paused before narrowing its optics at her with deadly intentions. Steelback stood by her side with more confidence.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," she mumbled.

The aggressive wonderward snarled again, optics bright and teeth bared completely. She quickly noted with a quick glance up there were a few stalactites hanging above the dominant creature. She aimed up while keeping eye contact with it to not give it an opportunity to attack and fired. The bullet bounced off the ceiling to the ground then up again startling both wonderwards but a sudden cracking noise alerted her to back away. The vicious wonderward saw its window and crept closer while Steelback remained behind her. It failed to note the breaking stalactites were above it in its blind rage. Arcee didn't pity when two of the spears came down right as it looked up. With a brief howl of startlement then a whimper, the wonderward was crushed.

"And that's how you make pancakes, or so I've been told," Arcee laughed to Steelback who began wagging its tail happily now that it was no longer pursued by a hostile peer. She gestured to it with a smile. "Let's get you back home to Lockdown. He's missing you an awful lot."

Steelback gave a soft, playful howl, standing on his hind legs in excitement before prancing a little as he followed her out of the caverns. The surface was somewhat darker as the distant sun set and the nebula's colors seemed to grow more than previously seen. A faint purple also began to appear from a nebula that just couldn't be viewed in the daytime. The harmony of orange-yellow and purple blended graciously among the star-lit sky. Even Steelback glanced up at it with a rumble. But as pretty as it was, there grew an immediate concern. Many predators seemed to sleep during the day to enjoy the sunlight like the direfangs and sand-dwellers. That meant they were fully awake and hunting now.

"Follow me, boy," she said with some urgency.

They sprinted back west towards the far base and notable light show it produced against an otherwise dark planet. As the walls of the base drew closer, so did something else.

"Whoa!" Arcee shouted when a sand-dweller breached the dirt with fangs abundant and lunged at them.

She slid to the side while Steelback sprinted around it. The snake went nose first into the rock and forced itself down before a trail of it began uprooting towards Arcee. She growled and ran for her life trying to draw it away from Steelback. It breached again like a dolphin but growled and whipped its tail to slap her. Faceplanting, the queen scowled but quickly realized her vulnerability and moved backwards in fear.

Just then, the wonderward jumped between the sand-dweller and her, ears flattened against its skull. The snake responded by baring its own fangs again but this time, Steelback didn't flee. Around the wonderward's neck, energy pulsed and Arcee remembered that it could unleash a devastating howl if it wanted and that appeared what it was going to do. Other wonderwards were immune but sand-dwellers?

Grinning, she cut off her audio completely to protect them right as Steelback's optics glowed abnormally bright and it bowed its head. She could only see the attack and that was perfectly fine with her. A booming shout, one she knew was massive by the vibrations she felt in the ground, made the sand-dweller spasm drastically. Blood suddenly popped in a stream from the side of its head as its audio ruptured from the intake pressure. On mute, the audio receptors ceased function so no intake to damage but live, the receptors could blow like bombs under a deadly frequency. Blood even began dripping from the edge of the sand-dweller's mouth as it presumably squealed. The wonderward was going strong until finally, its optics dimmed back to normal and it closed its mouth still with a vicious snarl. The sand-dweller looked like it was having a seizure until it stumbled away then finally dived into the ground.

Once she knew it was safe, Arcee turned her audio receptors back on with a grimace. "Remind me not to piss you off!"

Steelback peered at her wagging its tail and panting. She then heard voices in the distance. The Decepticons had been alerted. She doubted they could have ignored such a sound if they tried. Arcee took Steelback to the gates of the base as a party of Cons met them once it opened. They were surprised to see her and the wonderward as she shrugged proudly. Then she saw Lockdown running at them.

"Steelback!"

The wonderward made another happy sound and ran up to its owner, jumping up and down as Lockdown tried to pet it. Steelback, of course, didn't make it easy as it whimpered and tried to lay on its back on his pedes. Once he got the hound calm and got away from the persistent glossa trying to lick him, he went to Arcee and she could tell she had exceeded his expectations by a great margin.

Lockdown smiled, "I can't tell you how grateful I am. You're alright in my book, Arcee. Anything you need, I'll repay you without any arguments or demands."

"Steelback protected me from a sand-dweller, maybe the same one that separated you two," Arcee said. "He's a good boy, through and through."

The bounty hunter looked between her and the wonderward sitting and leaning against his leg as he stroked its head. "Yes, he is. And here, I won't be needing this now that I have my partner back."

She was handed a Radiant Core and stashed it without fail in her subspace. "Thanks."

"Come on, boy, let's get some rest." Steelback walked beside Lockdown back towards his ship parked just on a ramp near the gate but not before giving Arcee a grateful low howl and nearly smiling as much as its mouth allowed such an emotion.

As they left, Megatron and Bolt approached her with equal glee when the latter said, "Nice to know Lockdown has a spark after all. Guess some Cybertronians love pets more than people. Sad that he will forever be alone-"

Arcee gave a deadpanned sneer, "You like trophies more than people. What does that make you?"

Megatron replied for him in amusement. "A psychopath."

"You can make fun of me all you want. You two aren't the perfect socialites either. How many people did each of you murder again?"

"You kept the head of Megatronus Prime for Primus' sake!"

"He doesn't need it anymore," Bolt shrugged.

"And the Precursor Robot's?" Arcee frowned.

"Doesn't need it either. Besides, the Robot wasn't even sentient so that hardly counts."

The warlord shook his head, "That isn't a difference and you're digging yourself a hole here. You might want to stop where you are."

Arcee massaged her temples before gesturing to Bolt. "Alright, moving on please, is The Matriarch rethinking anything yet? Any leads? Any support from Shockwave or the other Decepticons?"

Bolt sighed, "She's not going to move forward with any plans, especially not after the Metal Heads were discovered invading that transport. She has her priorities and opening a link from Chaar to Cybertron is not one of them right now. You're just going to have to wait. If the Metal Heads make their move, prove to her you are responsible enough to handle and I think you might have a shot at changing her mind."

"Is she really going to wait until her populace's lives are on the line before she reconsiders?!"

"In fairness, I would have done the same thing," Megatron said, "and everyone can tell you that."

Shockwave and Soundwave came up from behind before addressing them, primarily Megatron. "The Matriarch wishes to speak to you. She says it's urgent."

The grey mech peered a bit off to the side in thought before nodding. "Very well then. Arcee, just try to keep the peace. Both of you. I'll see what she wants and try and reason with her as best as I can."

The Vehicon scoffed, "Of course, she would call him and not you. He's the previous Decepticon leader, probably trusts him more than she can throw you...which is quite far I'd imagine."

"Thanks, Bolt," she scowled.

Just then, her commlink went off. "Arcee, I have something of importance to talk to you about."

"Now is not a good time, Silos," she whispered even though she knew Bolt could hear her. As long as it stayed between them, there were less risks.

Silos' sultry baritone rang through her audios. "Oh, but I beg to differ. Word from the homeland: the Metal Head Leader is on the move. Their army is growing impatient. On a lighter note, I overheard the strangest thing today. A few Cybertronians on patrol from those ghastly ruins out among the planet were speaking ill of their leader. One of them sounded to me like they were planning on upstaging this 'Matriarch' Decepticon. A group of ten soldiers in the wasteland seem to be running their own show. I don't know if that means anything to you."

"Someone's planning to overthrow The Matriarch? A-are you sure?"

Bolt's posture grew rigid as Silos replied humorously, "Ah, well, unless my hearing is slowly fading, that's the peak of the news I know. Maybe I did hear them wrong but they mentioned being in disagreement with their leader too and were loading some choice weapons up on a transport, if you want to ensure someone's dead that is. Up to you if you want to do something. I personally could care less about that...but I assume you aren't trying to hurt this Matriarch, so maybe it is in the best interest of everyone to intervene."

Arcee snarled, "I will. But let me ask you this, what did the Metal Heads want with that cargo vessel?"

"Destroy the supply lines, cripple the enemy. I would assume you would know that by now, assassin."

Cutting off the transmission, she shook her head in disbelief as Bolt came to her side. "So? We have a possible mutiny?"

"Possible, but not unavoidable," she said.

"What do you need to do?"

"I think it'll be best if we keep this to ourselves. The Matriarch already has enough to deal with among other issues, personal and public. I need you to cover me and I'll hunt down the traitors. When the time is right, we'll tell her."

She noticed Bolt was not feeling the same way about the information but he reluctantly agreed anyway. "Do what you must. Just be aware of any consequences that may come because Megatron and I can't protect you from everyone here."

The warning wasn't taken lightly. She knew he was perfectly reasonable in stating it. Chaar was Decepticon territory, so she would be treated as one in every aspect. "I know."

Bolt watched as she ran out of the base in search for the conspiring traitors. She didn't really have a plan but knew Silos could give her some insight on the location of them.

"Silos, talk to me. Where are they at now?"

The Metal Head captain could almost be heard rolling his eyes at the question and she wanted to call him out on the fact that she didn't know where the ruins were to begin with, but he gave her what she wanted anyways.

"They are still near those ruins, isolated, desperate, and alone. I'll send you the coordinates and meet you when you get rid of the pesky bots. And do hurry, they seem to be sniffing around near my ship. I don't need any unwanted visitors or else there may be a few dead bodies lying around by the time you get here. But I don't want to spoil your fun."

The queen smirked at the remark. Classic, melodramatic Silos.

The Matriarch slammed her fists on her throne. "Goddammit, you idiots are going to be the death of me!"

Shockwave merely muttered her name in warning. She sent him a fiery look as her servos clenched tightly together and her back hunched, her spine panels rigid as a sawblade. A few Decepticons didn't seem to want to argue the words, a bit startled by her sudden 360. Megatron looked awkward on the side lines and felt bad when some Decepticons looked his way expecting him to intervene. What scared him was he had nearly been the same as The Matriarch at one point. He could do nothing. As the soldiers dipped out of the room, that left Megatron with an estranged Matriarch and Shockwave and Soundwave as his only support.

The Matriarch took a moment to gather her thoughts, and the warlord remained patient to keep her tame. "Sometimes, I just want to, MMPH, STRANGLE THEM!"

"As we know," Shockwave said, "but violence can't solve everything."

"Bet," she retorted now with a more playful demeanor. It was good to finally hear The Matriarch they regularly dealt with before come to light.

"What seems to be the problem that I needed to be called here?"

The Matriarch didn't like to sugarcoat things. "Arcee."

Megatron grew suspicious as he asked, "What about her?"

"Your little minx of a warrior queen doesn't know when to quit, and I don't…like…that. She means well but I don't need an Autobot telling my Decepticons what to do. She rules Cybertron, not Chaar. This is my domain."

"Someone complained?"

"Although I hate Starscream's guts, he does have a good point. Why should I entrust the fate of this world to her or you for that matter? You don't have anything I want, you left the Decepticons, and your prideful endeavor? Pathetic. How many times do I have to tell you? I don't care about-"

Megatron shook his head briefly before snapping, "Then why do insist on reminding us? You don't care, so why bring it up?"

For once, The Matriarch went quiet.

"I think...you do care," the warlord growled, "but I wonder why? If you're anything like me, you're afraid that Arcee is going to show the Decepticons something you can't provide them and that you will lose them. You're afraid that in comparison, you aren't a good leader. You don't want to be proven wrong and be shown up above all."

The glares between them nearly hurt from the deathly silence. The Matriarch took a second before gripping her throne chair's arms, scratching them but then let them go as she tilted her head in an unhinged manner. Restraint was not common to see but it was appreciated as he had no intentions on fighting her. Then, she suddenly clapped back with an abnormally calm voice.

"By Arcee...or...Optimus?" The large Vehicon hissed. That summoned a bubble in his throat as she continued. "There are a lot of things we do have in common, aren't there? Tell me, my Lord, can a spark still break when it's vanquished? Can a ruler still rule when the rules change? We can tell the tales, can't we? Granted, there seems to be two different perspectives and relationships about these parallels but it's just the same sad, pitiful memories we convinced ourselves were threats when the reality was, we are rageful, disgruntled leaders who couldn't get what they wanted. Together, the criminal mind of...a monster! Imagine that!"

Her rant wasn't consistent, blabber of several different subjects blended into a poor point, but the thing that frightened him was he knew exactly what she meant. The others were a bit confused because they didn't know the madness of a tyrant even if they were on the same side as one. The Matriarch was insane because of his mistake, but she was hardly the only Decepticon leader who was considered a raving mad nightmare, the same petty insults and cruelty he himself was familiar with. Megatron understood the rabble, and it bothered him so.

"I made my choices, Matriarch, I've grown past them."

"But we all know the truth. So, maybe I do care. Maybe I don't want Arcee to beat me at my own game, but what leader wouldn't? You asked me why I bring it up, so I'll tell you. Between you and me, a Decepticon's pride is as swift as our wrath. I can't do anything worthwhile if everyone wants to leave."

Megatron slowly realized her concerns as she muttered something to herself before getting nudged by Shockwave. "You aren't afraid of losing them to Arcee, are you? You're afraid of being alone. If the Decepticons reunite with Cybertron, they wouldn't want to remain on this planet and that would leave Chaar empty. You feel like an abomination...so you think you would be barred from being able to step foot on a world you were merely regarded as cloned fodder. They can merge back with society, but you can't."

The Matriarch tapped the chair arm, body tense before breaking eye contact with him. When she said nothing, the warlord sighed, "You don't have to be afraid."

"When I was...made, it was so hard to understand how I existed," she said in a low tone. "You see, the universe doesn't like the unexplainable, doesn't like change. A monstrosity like myself in the populace. A scandal. I know what I am. I know the Decepticons listen to me, treat me as one of their own but there's a huge difference in people accepting you because you are alive against people accepting you because you are created. The words are similar, true, but they will never mean the same thing and neither will the treatment of such. We can pretend all we want that acceptance of any kind is valid but the cold, harsh truth of the matter is you and I will always be monsters even if people have pushed it out of their minds to see a better version of you. You can forgive attitudes and actions; you can't forgive what made us and what we became in our darkest moments."

Megatron then replied, "If you want to believe that, then sit there and suffer but don't drag anyone else down in the meantime. If you truly cared about the Decepticons, you would consider what makes them happy and what they want over your own perception of things. Everyone cares about you, more than you know, because you are an effective leader despite your wrath...but you just keep pushing them away the same as I used to. How about that truth?"

Without another word, Megatron quickly turned around and left. The Matriarch stared at him but didn't respond, peering off to the side after a minute before flexing her servo uncertain.

Using Silos' guidance, Arcee tracked the traitors near what looked to be an old temple or some type of colosseum. So, Chaar did have a former populace after all. The ruins were barely acknowledgeable as the desert rocks and dirt had tainted the mysterious materials that were used to erect them. They looked corroded, dying, and vacant of color other than the same darkness as the rocks around it. Maybe that was intentional but she doubted there wouldn't be a speck of a different color on it previously.

Beside them, a ship full of Decepticons loaded cargo. Arcee grinned a little. It felt like old times spying on the Decepticons and waiting for the right moment to strike. When she was an assassin, there was a never-ending rush to it. She ducked behind a rockface as she overheard them.

"The Matriarch expects this shipment pronto!"

One of the Cons growled, "If she wants it so bad, she can come help us."

"Yeah, but try getting any leader to get their hands roughed up when it isn't required. Not possible unless it involves blood and domination. Even Megatron wouldn't do the simplest of chores. He saw it as not his problem, so who do you think got stuck cleaning up the Nemesis or this base for that matter?"

A dark cherry red Decepticon snarled, "That low-class troop should have never become the leader. I'd rather have Starscream than her."

"I wouldn't mind Slipstream or Cyclonus...but I think we should make it one of us. We could run the planet easy, the faction even more so and Cons like Soundwave aren't obligated to The Matriarch as they were with Megatron so nobody will miss her."

All the Cons boasted new smirks as they loaded the cargo and Arcee frowned. So, they did have an issue with The Matriarch because she was a drone that skyrocketed to power when no one else had the gall at the time to take the leadership over. Who knew what was in that cargo. Bombs? Guns? Spiked Energon? They could very well be on their way to hurt her and as much as Arcee didn't like The Matriarch sometimes, she refused to let others perform a coup on the Vehicon.

Arcee brought out her ricochet ray and aimed at one of the ten targets. An assassin never missed. That was one of the many rules she remembered. Don't let them run, always have backup plans for confrontation, and do anything to finish the target off as quick as possible. She had a few runners in her day; she hit them from afar and made sure they stayed down. This was no different and ten targets was decent but not the most she had ever dealt with on the job. She aligned her shot at the head of one and saw a window to get three-in-one while at least two bots were passing the one overlooking the loading. It had to be quick; it had to perfect. Like clockwork, they nearly realigned and she just had to take the chance which felt right. Right as two others stepped to overlap, she fired.

The blast ripped through three helms, Energon gushing as it bounced off a rock and pierced the side the of the transport. Knowing the rest of the bots were alerted, she sprinted at them and fired fast. She nailed two more but the remaining five ducked behind various rocks and the transport itself to evade her. She snuck around the ship quietly like a predator stalking. She crept around the front of the transport to see one femme looking away from her with a second mech beside her. That's when Arcee struck without a word.

Arm blades at the ready, the queen impaled the femme right in the neck and ripped her blade out to twirl over the mech, slicing his head clean off. Three more bots remained and one spotted her as she climbed up the transport. She ran across its roof and jumped down towards the end onto the bot firing at her, sending her blades through their side before uppercutting and impaling the head through the chin.

The last two bots were worried; she could sense their fear. Arcee listened close for any giveaway to their location as she hid beside one body that fell into a ditch in the landscape. Suddenly, she heard a beep within her processor and saw in her hud an indicator for Sunstorm's Heat Seeker ability. Apparently, she had gathered enough light to do a minimum blast that could be like throwing a Rozarian blood grenade. That wasn't great but it was better than nothing. It made her wonder how fast and devastating a sunny day on Earth would make the ability.

Switching to her blasters, she drew the little solar power she had collected towards her weapons and felt the warmth coil and twist down her arms. It was very odd seeing light trailing like spider webs from her chest to her guns before disappearing as her blaster muzzle glowed bright yellow instead of blue. She had two shots at most, one for each traitor.

She heard the gunfire and the blasts hitting close to her location but off a few feet. Peeking barely around the rock, she saw one of the Cons stand. Big mistake. She leapt up and fired. Her blaster built up massive amounts of energy quickly that a large boom rumbled from it upon ejection. The blast hit the Decepticon in the chest...and everything went blinding. Light was all she could see for a few seconds until the body of the deceased mech collapsed on the ground with a sizable hole where the spark once was. The rest of the chassis was burnt with eerie damages to the arms and face, making the victim look unrecognizable. The ground under him was heavily scarred as well with armor shrapnel embedded in the dirt. She was frozen in place staring at the carnage until she heard screaming.

It was painful. The sound was ear-splitting and Arcee was hesitant to go looking for the bot in case it was merely a ruse. But then the Decepticon stumbled out and she saw what she had done. The blast had sent parts of his associate flying and impaling him in the optic, neck, and chassis. Energon dripped everywhere like rain beneath him as he squirmed in agony. Half his left side was severely disfigured from the blast's radius as well. The mech was suffering.

He cried out, unable to hold back his screams from the pain as he rolled onto his back barely surviving the strain. Arcee kept her blaster trained on him but she felt guilty of what she had done. Getting a closer look at the wounds, she was surprised if anything that he was still alive. She stood over him, crouching over his abdomen with the blaster right under his chin. Trying to ignore the tears rolling down his cheeks and blood splattering from coughing fits, she decided to interrogate him.

"You were planning on dethroning The Matriarch. Why?"

The mech whined but then said in a forced voice, "W-We weren't planning on a-a-actually going th-through with it. We talk...it wasn't p-planned. Please! Oh Primus...please."

His servos shakily flexed as he made a noiseless gape of the mouth before clenching his mouth shut. He was unsure of what to do among his reeling processor, unable to withstand the pain. She felt even worse now that she knew they weren't going to go after The Matriarch's leadership at all. But now what was she supposed to do? Go to The Matriarch and apologize for the misunderstanding. Then again, she could lie because if these ten bots were the only ones in on the remarks, she could cover it up as a coup halted. Still, the guilt would haunt her.

Before Arcee could speak to the mech anymore, a sword went through the bot's neck and she nearly jumped back startled as the sword of Silos sat still with her reflection now facing her. She stared up at the ex-Rozarian who didn't look as pleased as she expected someone of his nature would be. Standing up quickly, she pointed at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I can ask the same thing," he sneered, forcing the sword out from the ground and placing it on his backside with its twin. "You hesitated and left yourself vulnerable. He could have killed you in your position. A rookie error."

Arcee said flabbergasted at his audacity, "He was dying! He was in no position to harm me!"

"Says you."

"And by the way, he said they weren't planning overthrowing Matriarch! I just killed ten people for no reason!"

Silos scoffed and folded his arms, "I know what I heard. How can I tell if it's sarcasm if they talked about it so much? All I was doing was helping. How can you blame me for that?"

"By listening in more on the conversation!"

"You didn't do that either! I saw you go after them the moment you heard they dislike the Decepticon leader! Now, how can you make your case when you have done the exact same hypocritical mistake as I have?! Selective hearing and impatience are two different things that can guarantee the same results! I would know; I was a judge for a portion of my life before serving Kronos' Royal Guard. I used to put away people for similar reasons."

Arcee frowned, "So, you have history as a guard and a judge now? Cop and prosecutor? I bet that made your bust streak very good and helped the locals put away unfavorable neighbors really easy."

She expected Silos to get angry but instead he smirked, "Maybe it did. You'd love to hear about the raids and the beatings of the unfortunate who were stupid enough to disturb the peace akin to a Decepticon's irrational past as much as the next pristine Autobot, wouldn't you? Too bad what you hear about and what truly happened are a bit of a far cry from each other, not to say I hadn't gone against Kronos' orders a few times to get those who I knew were guilty but couldn't be taken in because of laws. That would be lying, but don't think for a second that I did my job simply to terrorize people."

She still glared at him. "Isn't that what you did when you changed sides to go with Tigressa?"

The Metal Head gritted his fangs uneasily before rolling his eyes. "'I will always do what's right no matter what stands in my way.' Words mean things, more than you know. That has been my motto for years even back then. I've done terrible things, including now, but never insult my past. I did what I had to do even under someone who didn't see things exactly as I did. So, when I tell you I know what I heard, don't detest me for doing what I thought was right. I contacted you, didn't I? Had you gone by your own advice, you would have learned that and corrected me before killing them yet here you are."

Arcee sighed when she knew he was right and rubbed her forehead before letting her servo fall lifelessly to slap against her thigh. "So, Mr. Judge, what should I do?"

Silos grinned a little at the name and gestured, "Just do what you believe is right. After all, I do believe this Matriarch will have far more on her mind than a few soldiers missing. What's the worst she can do?"

"Uh, you think I'm one tough lady? Try her."

Silos grew a weird expression she couldn't place, "We'll see then."

AN: Pharma has his work cut out for him. The trouble with war is there are a lot of scars, mentally more so than physically often times, and one of the franchise's greatest flaws is that it never really shows the aftermath of just how bad it can be. The reason I had Arcee touring the base like this was to get a glimpse of the real mindsets behind a few of the Decepticons you don't normally see unless there are in attack mode. Also, someone pointed out Captain Silos being a little more active and that being very unusual. He may be retired but he's not helpless...