Song: Hard to Kill – Beth Crowley

Arcee followed Shockwave in search for The Matriarch who had stormed off. The Vehicons Bolt got in contact with mentioned her departure towards the citadel but that offered her little comfort. The Decepticons outside could only point and shrug in the direction of their leader. She saw in the distance The Matriarch pushing anyone in her way out of it including Blitzwing whom she moved with little effort. Running after the Decepticon leader, she tried calling out her name but not even a turn of the head was the response to a desperate cry.

"Matriarch! Matriarch!" Arcee had to move past a few people but politely apologized, "Move, please! Sorry! Matriarch! Bit of an emergency! Need to get through!"

The citadel loomed its harsh shadow by the unfiltered sun as Arcee outpaced Shockwave, who got sidetracked, into the building and ran towards The Matriarch's throne room. No one dared to stop her or if they wanted to, they weren't fast enough to try.

"Matriarch! Matri-!" She stopped when she saw the large Vehicon far from her chair but instead near a desk with noticeable claw marks in it. "Matriarch, please, I can expla-!"

"Explain?! Explain what? That-That-That you come here as our enemy and yet, everyone seems to see you as this valiant savior?" The Matriarch started stomping towards her, making Arcee flinch back scared. "You killed my men, you brought the Metal Heads here in your so-called crusade, and despite the audacity of your actions, you are infallible...kind of defeats the purpose of the Decepticons who are so used to punishing each other for such screw ups but they would see to it that you...are...untouched-well, excuse me, princess, but life isn't that way now, is it?! And yet, here you are! A deemed hero for all the masses to praise with-all-the-answers-to-our-problems!"

Her rant backed Arcee into a corner and she was far too stunned to defend herself when The Matriarch was towering over her like a demon possessed. The red optic visor haunted even the shadows she cast with malice never thought to be witnessed before. Arcee was terrified.

"I slaved to make this empire survivable; I could do it without you before and I can do it without you now. We lived without Megatron for some time, not out of stupidity, right? And the Metal Heads?! Notice how unlike the other worlds as you've mentioned, we didn't really struggle a whole lot, did we? As war machines, we know what we're doing! We were bred in our hells to do it forever as long as our sparks beat! And no Autobot is going to take that hard work from us no matter what!"

A long, vicious pause was between them Arcee could hear the larger femme's vents straining from overheating as Arcee was stopped by an arm blocking her path. It was like facing down Megatron on the space bridge when she was with Jack to restore Optimus' memories. She could see what Megatron meant about her picking fights on anything she deemed a threat to her rule. But there were plenty of flaws in her logic and that was proof The Matriarch's rage was consuming her mind.

Finally having enough, Arcee scolded her back, "I'm the problem, huh? Not you? You once told me you didn't care, that you didn't need help, and yet…here you are. So enraged because you think someone is stealing your glory, showing you up, and thinking that your role is being dismissed. The Decepticons can't function with a leader who won't listen to them about their concerns about you! Why do you think they are so heartbroken by your rage, not scared?! Heartbroken! And you would notice that if you were paying attention! But you're not! They are surviving under you, but you aren't surviving as a person when you push everyone away who wants to help you!"

"You don't know me!"

Shaking her head in disbelief, she nearly got into The Matriarch's face and decided to test Optimus' theory. "Alright, fine, you want the truth?! Here it is! Yes, I did all that stupid hero crap to make you look bad, steal your throne, and turn everyone against you! Are you fine with that?! Is that what you want to hear?!"

The Matriarch snarled and pushed her arm off the wall that crowded Arcee from moving. "You're so full of shit, Arcee! It's not even funny now! I'm perfectly capable-!"

Arcee then said, "No, you're not! You're just a scared brute, too afraid of your own mortality…and you're scaring everyone else too. People love you; I care for you just like Megatron, Shockwave, and so many others. But when are you going to realize that?! When you're dead?! When you are nothing but a mindless monster and the only person who might be there in the end with you is Shockwave who must watch his own sparkmate get put down whom he couldn't enjoy the remainder of her time with because she was a bitch?! Yeah, sounds like you have everything worked out around here, you fucking idiot!"

The Matriarch grew tense again, wanting to snap back but someone changed. She raised her servo to point at her, but the words weren't there. She tried again, now unsure almost. The rage staggered to a simmer. For once, her head bowed, and her servo loosely brushed the edge of her cheek. She looked defeated in her posture. She reached the edge of her throne steps and sat there with her faceplate resting on the backs of her servos intertwined, arms perched by the knees. She made not a single noise, not a sigh of frustration or a scrape of heel against the floor. The dead silence almost made Arcee think she was offline.

Arcee didn't know what to do. She approached with caution unsure if The Matriarch had suddenly just kicked the bucket or was resting, maybe neither. She wasn't aiming to be truly harsh, but it was what The Matriarch needed to hear. When she stood in front of the larger femme who was nearly as tall as her sitting alone, she could hear the vents among the chassis coughing. The Matriarch's system pressure may have gone too high, and she was having a spark attack though she was a bit too tame for the convulsions such a thing usually brought.

"Matriarch?" The purple chassis expanded roughly with a slight shiver in the deflation. Arcee almost put a servo on her helm but refrained not knowing whether she would be attacked or not. She grew insistent in her voice, "Matriarch."

"What do you want?" A deep, shaken voice muttered.

"Are you okay? Do you need...would you like me to get Shockwave over here? Megatron or-or Soundwave?"

"What do you think?" The hiss was less aggressive than normal but still held an edge. Then she continued, "To let them see in my weakest moment that I'm slowly deteriorating and scared and angry? I don't think so. I'd rather die than let them see that, and maybe I finally will."

"You don't mean that-"

"You have no concept of living in a constant hell. You have no idea what it's like," she snarled, her head shooting up, "to feel your mind shatter and be pieced together like a cheap puzzle. My ends are bent, my picture fades in the mirror and all I feel is the urge to kill everyone. It-it started off as an experiment; we were chosen because we were the best, me and a few others. We did as we were told. It wouldn't hurt, he said. The first lie I ever knew. I don't know what went wrong but I wanted their blood, my peers' blood. I kept killing, hunting, and breaking people. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I would blackout sometimes and wake up standing to see a battlefield of corpses all because of me. And then it only got worse.

"My wrath was growing. As the years went by, something wasn't right. I wasn't holding back even against my own troops. I didn't recognize them as anything but problems when I wanted blood, and I murdered them. Shouting matches, breaking bodies, my system pressure going insane were just one thing after the other. And that's when we...I realized what the experiments did. They destroyed my processor, and the progress was gradual. I can still pull back with Shockwave's instruction but sometimes, I can't."

Arcee took a second to understand the information conveyed before saying, "That's why you don't want help. You're afraid of letting people get close to you and suddenly hurting them. You're afraid of...hurting me?"

The Matriarch laughed a bit to herself more so as she replied, "You make it sound noble. I'm not that selfless. I'm not afraid of hurting you, especially if you deserve it. I'm afraid that I'll kill you out of the blue when I get a hold of you. I don't want to kill as many people as I boast but it's all that occurs in my mind like a broken track over and over."

"And Shockwave?"

"When I stopped seeing friend from foe recently, when I killed Bonecrusher and Thunderblast, I snapped at Shockwave...I almost went after him but managed to gain control again. That was the most scared I have ever been seeing him move away from me like that, like I was a monster. That's when I knew what was happening was not a long phase, not something I could have reprogrammed. I was dying internally and one day, I'll be a mindless brute and I'll have to be stopped. That's the plan Shockwave has for me. We talked about it and agreed that when it happens, I'll be put offline, and he insisted that he would follow me instead of moving on. I feel a little guilty about that, but you know how he doesn't like to stray from plans."

Arcee cracked a smile but dropped it just as quick. "He told me he was going with you because there is nothing left for him. He's done everything he could think of, done a lot for the Decepticons as well as before that when he was a senator. Loving you was the only thing left for him to do, and you're the only bot he fell for because you're just like him and he's just like you."

"Broken inside? Heh, he was never good with wording, too awkward but that's why I liked him when I first met him. The intelligent but stupid scientist. If that's what he wishes, I don't think even I can stop him if I tried. He never gave up pursuing me, did you know that?"

The queen shook her head. Shockwave never seemed like the bot who would be attracted to brutal fighters or someone who could kick his ass yet The Matriarch was the perfect opposite to him.

"We met when he arrived on the Nemesis after Megatron destroyed your base. I stayed mostly with training troops so that's why you rarely saw me, not enough for you to learn my name at least. He hated me," she chuckled. "My unruly behavior under Megatron irked him so that he started wondering why I was like this. His obsession in taming me became his undoing because no one ever defied him like I did. In a way, he taught me how to trust someone other than myself and I taught him how to let go. Then, of course, this diagnosis occurred and ever since, I just shut everyone away afraid of what I could do with no one capable of stopping me. Shockwave helps me, and I thought that's all I needed was him to carry on but..."

"But now you have doubts," Arcee finished. "I'm not afraid to get hurt, Matriarch. I've gotten hurt more than you think, I've hurt people too, maybe not to your degree but I have my demons. Trust me, this queen was no princess growing up and that humbled me a lot from others who got to live without hardships. Dancer, slave, whatever you wish to call me, that held plenty of pain most people never saw because all they looked at was a girl with a body. They never saw the mind behind the pretty face."

The Matriarch seemed to soften her posture, relaxed and stable. Arcee gently took her servo into her own and watched the claws slowly cover the digits afraid of damaging her. She waited a few minutes before speaking again to give the Vehicon a moment of peace.

"I know you hate when I bring it up, but I will say what I originally came to Chaar to do one last time and I will hold your answer as final no matter what. No more convincing you, no more pressure from me. The reason I came was to simply have Chaar and Cybertron reunited. I wanted what I thought was best. But I see now my best might not be best for everyone. Do what you feel is right. I won't hold anything you want against you. I would just like to hear it from you one last time, and then I'll leave Chaar and you in peace."

The Decepticon leader remained silent in thought. Arcee knew how hard the decision was. Cyclonus made it very clear it could be harmful to merge entirely but she also knew some of the Decepticons yearned to go home. Still, she wasn't the ruler of the planet therefore she had no jurisdiction.

"I will do it," The Matriarch suddenly said.

"W-What?" The answer was faster than she anticipated and also not what she thought it was going to be given the other femme's past determination to keep Chaar separate.

The Vehicon scoffed amused, "I said I will let it happen, you idiot."

She ignored the jab, believing she did earn it for her attitude earlier. "What changed your mind?"

"You were right yesterday. I may not like it, but my Decepticons should be happy over my own desires and if I'm going out anyway, whatever entails we will manage. We are Decepticons. We survive...just don't make me regret it, princess."

The playful tone made Arcee grin like mad and they both started breaking down laughing. Just then, Shockwave burst into the room and stopped in his tracks at the unusual sound. The Matriarch stood up at the same time, chest expanding with soft breathing as her sparkmate approached. She started to gesture to apologize for her behavior but there was still a confliction Arcee saw. The Matriarch wasn't used to such a remark if she wasn't wrong. The brief glance towards Arcee made the blue femme nod in assurance.

Shockwave calmly whispered, "Matriarch, are you...?"

"I...I'm sorry for the drama I caused. I've been running from my other emotions, always focusing on the anger I felt for a while thinking that I was right when all I was doing was hurting everyone around me like always. I didn't mean...I didn't want to be a burden to you-"

"A burden how? Matriarch, the point of a relationship is to find solutions together even if there aren't any. You're going to hurt people, but that will never make you a bad person. Everyone here knows you are trying, and they will face whatever is thrown their way; all they ask is for the chance to help you make the Decepticon empire even better than it already is. How is that a burden when instead, I see it more like an opportunity to welcome and manage change?"

He then pressed the tip of his helm against hers which she nearly purred at. Arcee didn't dare interrupt the exchange, proudly watching them reconcile.

"So, you made the agreement finally?" Shockwave asked.

The Matriarch still kept her humor but was quick to snap, "Boy, you really wanted me to make amends with Cybertron too, huh? Scheming bastards."

The scientist defended himself with a small quip. "It's...not a bad idea and as your second-in-command, isn't it my duty to recommend some advice?"

She shook her head in pleasant disbelief. "Alright, I'll take your advice. If anything backfires, I will kill both of you."

Arcee grimaced, "Please don't."

"I'm joking. It's not going to be for quite some time when I lose my mind so no harm, no foul."

"That...doesn't make me feel any better about it," the queen stated uncomfortably.

The Matriarch responded, "Welcome to my world."

"More like welcome to mine," Shockwave interrupted with an amused tone, giving his sparkmate a small tilt of the helm accompanied by his audial fins moving to the side which both femmes merely shrugged at.

The rock vipers raised their heads to stare at their new owner in a mixture of intrigue and warning. The two up high on the tank ledges flickered their tongues while the third on a warming rock just sat there bobbing slightly with locked optics.

"They aren't as bad as they were earlier," Bolt said confidently with his servos on his hips.

"Then explain why your servo's bleeding," Sunstorm sneered.

The cyberbiologist lifted his right servo and dangled it, leaving a blue handprint on his hip armor and his servo dripping with a few puncture marks on his palm and the backside. He stared at it before shrugging, "It's just a scratch."

Slipstream covered Nighthawk's optics even though the youngling peered over her servo easily and supported a look of horror. Starscream and Blackout were neutral slash concerned about how the Vehicon wasn't reacting like a normally sane person would upon being struck thrice by angered vipers.

"That is not a scratch-!"

"It depends on how you look at it-"

"-that is you bleeding out and-dude, you're going to have to have Pharma look at that! It's infected!"

"It's not infected-!"

"It is! It-it totally is!"

"You're being ridiculous! It's not that bad!"

When Megatron passed moving a box full of tools and placing it on a table nearby, Sunstorm immediately took to asking, "Megatron, is that bad or not?"

The warlord peered at the wound and narrowed his optics watching it drip. After a moment of silence, he looked into Bolt's optic visor in all seriousness. "I think you should get that looked at."

Bolt waved their concerns and Sunstorm's smugness with a scoff, "Fuck you guys!"

Arcee, The Matriarch, and Shockwave all walked in to see the commotion of the Seekers trying to gang up on Bolt to drag him to Pharma as his servo shifted from matte black to something darker. Arcee exchanged looks between the two beside her before letting The Matriarch step in who immediately yelled, "ENOUGH!"

The Decepticons all looked towards her guilty despite not doing anything bad. She stomped up to Bolt who dared to not move before she roughly grabbed his servo and squeezed around the puncture wounds. His small cry of discomfort had her peer back up at him disappointed.

"Oh, did that hurt? I would let you kill yourself by not treating it soon but I'm feeling a bit lenient today. So, either you go see Pharma or I amputate it here and now. Your choice but just know you are not dying today. Is that clear?" The Decepticon leader hissed. When Bolt barely moved, she grew impatient again and tensed, nearly crushing his servo in her own. "I said...GO GET YOURSELF MEDICAL ATTENTION!"

Bolt flinched back and scurried out of the lab towards Pharma's medbay next to it. The Matriarch had a proud stance but when she looked at Arcee, the blue femme had a servo on her chest wincing. Shockwave said nothing. Tilting her helm deadpanned at the weary expression of her fellow leader and lack of response of her sparkmate, The Matriarch gestured openly almost asking silently what she did wrong.

Arcee quickly retorted, "You did...better. Definitely room for improvement but a good start. Less shouting maybe?"

"Now you're asking too much, Autobot."

Arcee looked at Shockwave but to her surprise, the scientist couldn't do anything but say, "Time and patience is one's greatest ally."

Megatron smiled between the three. "How goes things?"

"The Matriarch here has agreed to reunite Chaar and Cybertron's trade and travel," Arcee said. "We're good."

The scarred Vehicon huffed, "I'll get you a treaty for our agreement while we wait for the snake charmer to get fixed up. Wait here. Starscream! You're helping me! Get off your aft and do something useful like finding my data pads please!"

The Seeker in question gave a miserable sigh as he was trailed by The Matriarch to a different section of the lab. Megatron gave Arcee a thumbs up as Moonhunter behind him yowled pleasantly. The rock vipers in the tank reacted to the sound and stared down at the Nitrotiger next with their tongues flickering again.

"Arcee," Shockwave immediately asked, "while we're waiting, why don't you help me with a few things as well? Megatron, you are more than welcome to join us."

The couple acknowledged the invitation and followed him as he activated a ground bridge back to his chambers in the citadel, the incubation room where the Drillers were resting. The grubs perked up upon sensing their master and gave clicking, bug-like noises as Shockwave reached into the tank to grab one.

"Although I miss Doomsday and the relationship we had, I believe you were right to kill her in the end. As much as I myself don't like it, nothing can last forever. I had to think when Cybertron was slowly rebuilding itself 'how would Doomsday fit into the new world?' All she knew was to kill others and obey me, but it is far easier than you think for those types of commands to get jumbled with the wrong gestures and wording. I think I ingrained violence into her pattern of living too deep; the results of a new Cybertron living with her would have been disastrous."

The grub he held coiled around his right arm and rested its head upon his servo. Having small barbs made it look defenseless but while Shockwave stroked its back, the panels of its body shivered and revealed briefly more barbs hidden beneath. Seeing the scientist act so gentle with it was endearing in its own way.

"Would you like to feed them? They had their nap and every time they wake, they desire food again. In the other room, there's a crate of scraplets. Please bring them to me."

As he lowered the grub back into the tank, Megatron and Arcee got a glimpse of Shockwave's stockpile of Driller food. Cyber-bugs, defanged scraplets and a few species from Chaar were sitting in captive tanks. As much as Arcee found distaste in such creatures being raised to be eaten by another, it was the way of life and Driller grubs needed all the nutrients and Energon they could get. She knew one day the room would no longer house such prey but by then, the Drillers would be targeting something bigger to satisfy their hunger, and she already pitied whatever they were going to go after.

Megatron grabbed a crate of scraplets that tried to hiss at him with their rotating jaws only to have no teeth seen whatsoever, only the gears within the sides of the mouth turning uselessly. Bringing the crate to Shockwave, he opened them and noticed they couldn't fly anymore either.

Shockwave saw his brief confusion and replied, "I made sure all basis of escape and harm were nullified. Maybe when the Drillers grow older will I let the scraplets move around more."

He grabbed one of the scraplets by the head and handed it to Arcee. She took it hesitantly as he gestured at the tank. Peering down at the creature, it made a mouthing motion of biting though no damage could be done if it tried. All the Drillers were awake now upon hearing the scraplets' noises. Some were even poking near the top space of the tank trying to search for their prey.

"All you have to do is drop them in and they will take care of the rest. Try not to put your servo in close. While hungry, they can have some difficulties distinguishing prey from the hand that feeds them. It is not their fault, just their eagerness drowns out their young ability to see master from prey."

"Sounds like you have a lot more experience with losing body parts with things like this than you let on," Arcee mocked.

Shockwave bit back in monotone, "How else did I learn about Driller eating habits without a few accidents? Doomsday was hardly a calm eater when she was excited...as a few bites to the servo can attest. I still have the scars."

He extended his only servo and Arcee saw the corner of the palm had healed scuff marks that used to be deep. Invisible to the naked eye at most angles, the same as the fusion scar of his upper arm and the cannon he now supported. Faint but not nonexistent. One of the knuckles had a darker edge where it appeared a tooth or something else just as sharp had punctured the sensitive joint just beneath it. It hid its scar well. He was right; no point in blaming a Driller grub excited for its meal for the accidents that followed during feeding times.

Arcee hovered the squirming scraplet over the tank and watched the Drillers, despite the lack of optics, stare directly at her servo quietly like they were mesmerized. Only the scraplet made is whirring sounds. When she released it, the scraplet didn't even touch the soil. At least two Driller grubs viciously snagged it mid-fall and flailed, a nasty crunching sound and Energon splatter followed. She couldn't even describe the cries the poor little monster made. It made her pity the thing even though scraplets were a pest. The several other grubs got bits and pieces but the two hogging their prey refused to uncool to share.

"Brutal, I know, but I have no alternative. Then again, why would a scraplet's life matter to you yet you've killed many if not more Decepticons?" Shockwave mused.

Arcee said slightly stunned, "I was just not expecting it. I don't care for the scraplets…but that's unsettling."

Megatron laughed, "Imagine when they get as big as me how dangerous they will be."

"I would rather not."

Megatron took a scraplet and tossed it into the death tank, watching with merely a raised brow as a grub made an aggressive squeal and whipped around from its position to snag and crush the creature with no room for escape. They placed four more in, the only survivor a scraplet running around the tank with part of its abdomen ripped out and a slow crawling grub after it knowing it would either succumb to its injuries or it would catch it.

In the bots' distraction, Shockwave placed a Radiant Core and a data pad on the edge of the tank, drawing their attention from the feeding frenzy. Arcee took the Radiant Core while Megatron handled the data pad bewildered.

Megatron held up the data pad. "What is this?"

"Bolt's request for cyberbiology texts of Chaar. He said he lost his copy beforehand. I was going to hand it to him but then he got bitten three times in a row trying to handle his new pets," answered Shockwave with a tired tone.

Arcee shook her head with a scowl. "We are not taking those rock vipers across the galaxy with us. Can you watch over them just until we get everything straightened out with the other worlds?"

"I can."

"Good, one less thing to worry about."

Arcee examined the grub closer to her when Shockwave suddenly said, "I would never think the day would come where I would appreciate a former Autobot's help, for everything you have accomplished and for perhaps saving The Matriarch from a spiral downward even among her current state. With Cybertron united with Chaar and the ability to go back to the planet indefinitely, we can focus our efforts into working on her health now that the main complaint of the Decepticons has been fixed. It will certainly lower her stress level and allow me to investigate non-violative ways to counter the progress of her failing psyche. I know I can't stop it entirely, but I wish to at least try something that will extend our time peacefully together if possible, something that won't hurt and won't have any repercussions."

She touched his arm and he peered at her with a dim optic as she simply said, "I believe you will find something. Just remember to spend most of your time with her, not the experiments. She needs you."

Shockwave began to nod slowly, audial fins twitching before he grew more confident. "That is most logical. I will. Thank you, Arcee."

She smiled at him, genuine comfort to be around him surged through her like never before and she would have never believed herself that she would trust the likes of Shockwave. As she relished this newfound feeling, they watched the Driller grubs consume their prey before leaving once they had enough, and Shockwave needed to get back to work.

Walking through the base, prepared to see it for one last time before departure, they peered at the content Decepticons. Between the Metal Head attack and now, the Decepticons had gone from decently happy to very proud. The Constructicons and many others were conversing far more than what she had seen before. Several skull gems were being traded with interesting stories...some exaggerated while others remained on point. The difference between Autobots and Decepticons was now fixed on a single humorous factor: the latter didn't leave out the darker details of their victories. Given it was against an enemy they all shared, it was fine but very colorful as Arcee noticed overhearing a few of them. They spotted Bolt who had Moonhunter with him and a fixed-up servo with patchwork. Arcee let out a loud whistle which caught his attention as well as several others.

"Bolt!"

The Vehicon came running towards them then slowed with an open arm gesture. "What up, bitches?!"

Megatron swiftly sneered as a warning, but Arcee ignored the shrewd nickname by handing over the data pad from Shockwave. "A present fit for a cyberbiologist. Top that."

He gasped out loud in excitement. "You didn't! Yes!"

"Don't lose this copy. I doubt Shockwave will be pleased if you do."

"Shockwave can suck it...I don't actually mean that, but I do. Besides, he'll give me another if I ask politely. Worse comes to worst, I can always bribe him by-"

"Bolt," Arcee interrupted with annoyance and disappointment, "don't do anything you'll regret, or you won't come back a second time. Got it?"

He gripped the data pad close to his chest like a child scolded. "Point understood, Master."

Megatron tried his best not to laugh as Moonhunter looked between them bewildered. Arcee rolled her optics before addressing them both. "As soon as The Matriarch gives us the signed consensual form, we're going home but I would like to-"

Her commlink went off like mad and she grew fearful, looking towards Megatron right beside her. When she then peered at Bolt, the other mech knew immediately what to do. He waved Megatron to follow him, but the warlord refused and grew irked at the sudden persistence.

"Can I have a moment, Megatron?" Arcee asked kindly.

"For what? I doubt whatever you have to say is not already known. Why the secrecy? Are we not partners in this?" He growled.

"It's a little more complicated than that. Some people just, um, don't like to be overheard by others when they contact you. Would you like it if our private conversations when we're separate were to be heard by Optimus or others?"

The warlord grew even more suspicious. "That is different. You are talking to someone you shouldn't be. Why else would your weird behavior always come up on every world we've been in so far? Who did you meet on Velocitron?"

The commlink continued to go off until she bounced it in irritation before scolding him back. "Why can't I have some friends who I don't have to share with you?! I'm sorry, was that an unspoken rule that I have to tell you who I befriended along the way when we got together? I feel like I'm missing something?"

"Uh oh, sire and carrier are arguing," Bolt sang to Moonhunter with a bland tip of the helm. He then jumped in when he saw Megatron's expression turn bitter. "Megatron, I don't know who it is either, but they haven't disrupted anything so far, so why don't we step back, huh?"

Megatron still glared at Arcee when the commlink sounded again but forced himself to calm down. He replied somewhat aggressively, "Fine, just do what you have to do then."

She booted the call again. Arcee said back as they walked off, "You make it sound like I'm cheating on you. As if anyone else could replace you? Come on, be reasonable."

All she got was a small throwaway wave by her sparkmate as Bolt dragged Megatron by his arm from delving further into a hole among the situation. Once they were a fair distance away with the Vehicon seemingly telling his former leader off, Arcee answered the third blaring signal.

"What is it?!"

Silos didn't sound too pleased, but she didn't care. "If I didn't know any better, you're trying to avoid me. What? Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you did and now Megatron thinks I'm seeing someone behind his back!"

"Huh, that's a rare accusation for me. I'm usually too busy to be fooling around with other people's mates let alone being framed for doing so. Last time I ever did that was several years ago on Andellor with a stunning-"

She whined, "You are not helping, Silos. What do you want now? The schematics?"

The Metal Head's voice perked up immediately. "Why, yes actually. Although I usually send someone to collect, I would rather not in this case primarily because Decepticons are a lot more trigger-happy than the people I normally meet. So, rendezvous with me out in the wastelands near the south caverns, and do tell your sparkmate to let off some steam. Just suggest he thinks of you, hahahahahahaha!"

Arcee wanted to roll her eyes, but she didn't know what she expected from someone so devious besides the obvious. Why she thought he wouldn't take the chance to be obscene was on her.

She cut transmission and without uttering a single word to Megatron or Bolt walked out the base's boundaries. The south caverns weren't as far out compared to most other areas on Chaar and even they weren't incredibly far against the entire percentage of the planet unexplored. The rainbow Energon patches comprised of all natural variants were passed by even though the ditches they could be found in lit up the usually dark landscape, and it contributed to the curiosity of what the rest of the world held.

When she finally reached the caverns, Silos was hunkered on top of his ship with his tail curled across his arms and legs in a loaf sitting position. He grimaced peering up at the dim nebula that could be seen during the day. His neck and head pressed inward on his body and he looked like a house cat seething in harsh judgement. His ears were pressed against his helmet.

"Not having a good time, huh?" Arcee grinned.

The captain looked down her with a crooked sneer, his eyes slanted with disdain and a dark yellow glow, but he kept some of his humor regardless. "Just peachy…though I would like to get off this cold cesspool of Cybertron's shadow soon if you don't mind."

Arcee pondered, "It's not cold."

He released an arm from his curled-up form and pointed at his skin. It was only then that she realized he registered temperatures different than she did. What she barely felt as cold, it was quite a chill to him. The direct arctic temperatures of Earth could level her kind exposed to it for too long compared to the cold of vacant space, so he was susceptible to immediate frostbite without the proper defenses under certain environments. He probably could withstand far more than a human, but his reptilian nature still contained a downside overall.

This time she did roll her optics…and rightfully, the Metal Head called her out on it. "Do I mock you for having to rely on armor to protect you when most organic species you deem inferior can naturally survive without it? No? Mmhmm, poor choice of words for a mind I thought was more intelligent than the pests that pollute this planet."

"Lot of words there, buddy."

Silos frowned at her but brushed it off with a huff as she climbed up to sit beside him and dangled her legs over the edge, swinging them playfully. He looked back up at the wavering nebula, ears perking slightly.

"So, the schematics? Did your mediocre new friends help you or did you get it on your own?" Silos asked.

She pulled the item in question out of her subspace and raised a brow. "And it matters why? I got you it as always as your personal delivery girl. When do I get paid, boss?"

Silos chuckled, "Your services are well appreciated. The reward will come soon, just a matter of preparing it. One thing you should know about me is I always repay the loyal unless you have something else you want in particular?"

She paused and blushed, "I was only joking considering you said I owe you for…well, Tigressa's death. I wouldn't think you'd repay me at all."

"I've grown to forgive you more," he said in an unknown tone, his accent deeper than usual. "Who knows? I might just give you an opportunity of a lifetime to show your true self for everyone to see as I do now."

Arcee heard the tone shift to an undistinguishable emotion. He sounded proud and she couldn't help but smile back at him. "You think I'm that good?"

He made a brief snort and held his grin. Then he said, "Oh, undoubtedly so. Cybertron will see soon enough your power against the Metal Head legion and together, we will be there to witness the triumph of redemption as our enemies fall. To see it firsthand by someone other than I will be quite fitting. I don't care about being praised myself. I just want to see them die, our mistakes rectified after being subjected to torment and humiliation. Together we stand, divided they will fall."

Arcee was impressed by the words the ex-Rozarian said. He was a philosopher in his spare time, Arcee was sure of that. "You sound so confident. When the Autobots were against the Decepticons, we didn't have that. At most, we assumed we were going to die so we fought like we were. Optimus and Megatron, the leaders of each, fought their hardest yet still couldn't kill each other in the end."

"A battle of two soldiers may not define a world filled with war entire but the outcome between them can change its future. We are the future, Arcee, unstoppable and unclear because no one can stop who they don't understand."

Arcee nodded and Silos undid himself from his loaf position to give an animalistic stretch with rear and tail scrunching upward with his arms pawing the roof first then his legs extending as far as they could go as he puffed out his chest and held himself up to keep balance. Standing up and brushing himself off, he brought his clawed hands together and cracked them upward, showing off his muscles with the stretching of skin against his heavy-set body structure. He smirked as he found her staring at him unsure but intrigued.

Silos remarked humorously, "Evolved from animals as did most other organic species. Made do with what I was given. What did you expect?"

Arcee said nothing and shrugged to play off getting caught out of her curiosity. He took the schematics with an amused smirk, enjoying the embarrassment like fine wine. She eventually muttered, "Shut up."

"I wasn't laughing until now," he cackled, flinching away when she gave a punch against his abdomen, the only place she could reach sitting. His demeanor changed to a frivolous warning, "Ah, watch it."

"Get out of here, Silos, before I tip off the Decepticons of an intruder on Chaar," she laughed, shaking her head stubbornly.

The Metal Head snickered before snapping his claws together. "Oh, and one more thing. I don't know why they want to take it out, but Junkion is on their hit list, presumably because it is rumored to have a very large oil reserve amid the crumbled planet's stockpile of junk. Best to get rid of them just in case they try to steal it for their own nefarious purposes. Oil is useful to more than just you, you know."

"And do you know the Metal Head Leader has been using your link to target me as well?" Arcee said, suddenly growing unfriendly.

"Of course," he replied casually, "why do you think I suggest it in the first place? They bring out their forces to ambush you and you stop them. How else can a victory be secured if there's no one to fight?"

She wasn't pleased by the answer but sighed, "Alright then, we'll play the game of war and I hope the Metal Head Leader knows that before my job is done uniting the other worlds, I plan on killing them. I'll end their reign once and for all, so they won't harm anyone ever again or die trying."

Silos smirked, "Good, I'm counting on it."

"We'll miss you. It was an honor to have you back, Lord Megatron," Lugnut said.

The warlord waved off the compliment. "Please, you don't have to praise me anymore."

Blitzwing responded, "True, but can't help but give respect to the mech who liberated us...well, me at least."

Soundwave nodded, giving a pat of reassurance to Bolt's arm when the Vehicon gave a pleased gesture. Shockwave pet Moonhunter's belly before leaving him alone to address the two former Decepticons. "We are all going to miss the old times, but I actually prefer you as you are now. It is quite the honor indeed, and promise you'll keep surprising people with the humility you have accumulated."

Megatron smirked as a few of the others laughed. "Always the comedian, Shockwave. I'll admit I like what I have become. It feels refreshing not fighting for my own person conquests and with a reason beyond selfishness. It's like-"

"-we are giving back what we took?" Bolt finished. "It's starting anew with a greater purpose."

The triple changer shifted to his crazy personality with a cackle. "You sound even crazier than me! Hahahahahahahaha! But we do what we feel is most welcoming, like I welcome those monsters into my-!"

"The point Blitzwing is trying to make is: your help in securing our world, albeit small and barely considered one, means more than you realize," Lugnut stated. "We're proud of you, both of you. I've never served under anyone finer. Good luck out there."

The others agreed and gave their praise. A handshake and a brief last-minute side hug was given to Soundwave by Megatron who whispered, "Thanks for being my friend even after everything I put you through."

The spymaster peered at him before tilting his head in consideration. Megatron let go of his arm as he saluted and walked away. Lugnut and Blitzwing had their own styles of departure with the bomber nearly toppling him trying to replicate the same hug and Blitzwing bowing in both his normal and crazy forms though his hotheaded personality came out when his partner walked into him. The last to leave was Shockwave.

"I hope you find all your answers and we'll be here awaiting a visit or two with Arcee. Give her my thanks too."

When Shockwave finally left, the two felt whole and stood there with newfound comfort. Just then, The Matriarch walked past Megatron and Bolt without realizing and walked backwards once she noticed. Moonhunter she ignored on the table. Pointing with the data pad with her signed consent of a treaty, she made the quick comment, "What happened to Annoyance Number 2?"

Bolt looked up from his rock viper tank as he fed them and laid an elbow on the table with a scoff, "We're an annoyance to you? Wait, who's Annoyance Number 1?"

All the Decepticon leader did was place a servo on her hip which made her fellow Vehicon grow offended.

"What did I do to earn that title?!"

"Am I Annoyance Number 3?" Megatron muttered.

"No, you're just Megatron to me," she said before addressing Bolt, "and although Arcee did get on my nerves, I didn't have to baby her on how not to bleed out everywhere!"

"So, I'm considered more annoying because of that?! What type of system are you using to measure this bogus chart? That's lame!"

The Matriarch nearly leaned over him to emphasize their difference in height while growling, "My planet, my opinion."

With Bolt forced to lean back and almost face-to-face touching with his superior, he gave his response in a meek voice. "Got it."

When she moved away, he realized too soon that he was leaning too far and couldn't regain balance before falling. Megatron just watched the exchange amused until he was handed the data pad with all the specs for the treaty.

"I don't mean to be rude but I have to look into the damage those Metal beasts caused in their short-lived invasion. Give this to Arcee and tell her we're even...and don't do anything else stupid here. I already have enough idiots roaming about who test my nerves. Some peace and quiet, if you don't mind."

The warlord nodded smugly, "Message will be relayed without failure."

"Good. Take care, you two, and the cat, I suppose. And Bolt, get your aft off my floor."

The cyberbiologist used the nearest table to help himself up with a grunt as The Matriarch left them. He growled, "Moonhunter is lounging on a table and she says 'get your aft off my floor.' On your floor…how about I stick my-"

"Okay, enough," Megatron said.

Moonhunter lazily lied on the table still barely moving amid all the banter which Bolt glared at the Nitrotiger deadpanned for zero reaction to his predicament. He was about to say something…

"Don't start with Moonhunter either."

Bolt slouched in place posed against the table keeping him from falling again.

"Yeah, don't harass my baby!" Arcee's voice startled him, and he flopped back down to the ground with a medium-sounding thud. He peered up to see her with her fists on her hips and a grin. Moonhunter shot up with a yawn and the queen left him to stay down there to pet her Nitrotiger.

He huffed, "Why must you all torment me so?"

"Because it is funny," laughed Arcee. "So, where's the Matriarch?"

Megatron merely gave her the data pad with The Matriarch's signature. The wordless gesture had Arcee suspicious he still wasn't happy from the previous fight they had but she ignored it in favor of skimming over the details. Unlike the other worlds, she knew The Matriarch would be extremely picky to keep her Decepticons from harm against any former Autobots that might be seeking revenge.

"So, we're good to go?"

Bolt nodded as he got back on his pedes entirely. "Yep! We are all set and ready to go back to Cybertron when you are."

"Then let's say our goodbyes and blow this joint," she smirked.

Megatron finally smiled back, "The sooner, the better."

Arcee watched him closely as he walked by her with an alarming neutral expression. It threw her off greatly. But she couldn't resist the urge to know what Megatron was thinking.

"Don't you trust me?" Seeing him pause in the quiet lab and almost seemingly peering around like he was lost or looking for something, Arcee walked up to him regardless of if there could be consequences. "What is it that upsets you so?"

The blood-red optics of the mech met hers and his brows furrowed with a mixture of emotions she couldn't read because they seemed entangled. He sneered, "Do you really wish to know? This secrecy of yours, you leaving under suspicious circumstances, and the lies I sense through our sparkbond. The question should be: do you not trust me? What is so mysterious that I can't know, shouldn't know? That's all I ask. I don't care about what it is or if it's the worst thing imaginable. I just want to know. Why is that so hard, Arcee?"

Bolt butted in, "Some secrets are best left as secrets, Megatron, sometimes for the greater good."

"This doesn't concern you, Bolt! Arcee? Tell me. What does it entail worth risking my life for?"

Arcee rubbed her neck and licked her lips trying to figure out a way to come clean without jeopardizing Silos' deal with her. Even if the Metal Head was on better terms with her, there was no guarantee he would be lenient in the long run.

"It...it has to do with the Metal Heads," she finally blurted out. Megatron's peeved grimace was not something she wanted to dwell on for too long. "I...I...um, I met someone who..."

"Yes?"

"I met someone who knows..." Arcee hissed before giving up. What Silos didn't know wouldn't hurt him but, in her mind, she never agreed that she had to tell Megatron it was one of their own. She sighed, "Alright, the truth is I met an informant on the Metal Head legion on Velocitron. That bellbat I chased accidentally led to an encounter with him and when he gathered hints of the monsters I was on the tail of, he knew about them, said he traveled to Velocitron to escape them when...they destroyed his own world. He found my pursuit noble and has been helping me ever since but only wants to talk to me. I thought about letting you and Bolt in on the secret from the beginning, but I didn't want to think any less of me for getting help."

Megatron was silent, possibly the most conflicted he had ever looked but she couldn't tell whether it was a solicitous conflict or a malicious one. "So…that's how you knew the Metal Heads were tracking you. He had past experiences with them, and you didn't think that information would have been useful to know?! If you asked me to pretend I didn't know, I would have obliged but this is not how you create trust."

He waved a digit at her. "I'm more disappointed than anything, Arcee, very much so."

"I'm sorry-"

When Megatron sneered before making an expression of disbelief then a defeated sigh, he shook his head and closed his optics. "I'm…damn, I want to trust you, but I don't know after this. If I ask you to promise never to lie to me again like this, will you even uphold that like when I asked on Velocitron? And Caminus? Is this going to be a regular thing?!"

"Technically, don't you have secrets still too? You don't see me prodding you about-"

"Not remotely the same thing. My secrets are of my past, not my present actions. You say you kept it away from me to protect me, but you fail to realize keeping secrets can be just as dangerous. I'll allow this to pass as long as I am occasionally informed of some tip-offs but if you wish to keep a majority of that knowledge, I won't hold it against you. Just be weary of what exactly you hold back and what you reveal to us."

Arcee bowed her head in her own disappointment as Megatron approached. A tip of his index claw tilted her head to make her look at him and his brief sadness.

"I don't want to invade your privacy but at the same time, I cannot ignore what could be a link to crucial information. Please, I don't want to be your enemy. Just let me be a part of your plan as partners. I'll keep the secret, but I want to help you as best I can though it will only be as hard as you make it. So, can you trust me?"

Her brows sank in self-pity at her own rashness but as long as Silos wasn't revealed, she could still not risk their safety. She had to be right in that regard. She would prove she could still keep the balance but knew Megatron was right too. Keeping him out of the loop entirely was hurting him. She refused to hurt him anymore. Silos was just going to have to get over that.

Lamely, she rested her helm crest against his thigh before she felt a servo on her back. "Tell me I'm an idiot like The Matriarch."

"Okay," Bolt said bluntly, "you're an idiot."

The ex-Decepticon leader shot him a side glance and he shrugged in response.

"She asked."

Megatron picked her up and sat her on his shoulder. "Arcee, we function the best as a team. I don't mean to get on your case but in this grueling time, we need to stick together. Informant or not, you are the queen, just have to make sure you make the decisions that benefit everyone. I'll stand by you to the end, just as I promised all this time since the isle."

She slowly grew back her smile and readjusted to perch on his shoulder instead. "No more secrets."

"Finally, now I don't feel so bad about my part," the Vehicon muttered.

Snarling, the warlord wasn't entirely surprised. "You knew too?!"

"I caught her speaking to him, yes. I didn't tell you because it was her choice above all…and I didn't want to get punched."

Megatron moaned and pinched the ridge of his nose plate. "You are both idiots, but I have to live with you so whatever stupidity brings, I guess."

Bolt pointed at him with a scoff, "Your terms of endearment might just melt my spark one day."

Arcee laughed, "I think we can all say we've made stupid decisions at this point."

"Some more than others…" Megatron chastised, peering at Bolt, "…like keeping the head of Megatronus Prime?"

Bolt gestured wildly, "He doesn't need it now, does he?! As if that's the worst thing between all of us, Mr. I-Drank-The-Blood-Of-A-God-Of-Chaos-To-Be-Indestructible, fucking sociopath!"

They all went silent for a second before bursting out laughing, unable to stay mad at each other any longer. Among their rabble, Moonhunter awoke with his tongue out ever so slightly with dazed optics. Seeing the three choking on their humor, the Nitrotiger groaned and went back to sleep.

"So," Megatron started, clapping his servos together enthusiastically, "I say it's time to say our goodbyes and pay our friends back on Cybertron a visit. Unlike the others, Chaar has the coordinates to Cybertron. We don't need to wait."

"Sounds like a plan."

Haywire and Scythe waiting for the command to activate the space bridge and bring their team back from Chaar. Grimlock and Predaking were snoozing by each other with Bumblebee resting on top of both sideways lulled by their breathing like a massage chair.

"I would think they would have contacted us by now," the green mech said.

Haywire peered at his sparkmate with interest. "You think they can't handle the Decepticons' territory?"

"No, I think they can but if something happened with the Metal Heads and The Matriarch wasn't prepared-"

"Are you kidding me? That femme has optics in the back of her head! If something were to get the jump on her, she'll make a ruckus before she goes down, assuming she does at all! Megatron's greatest monster…a mere clone, that's still scary to me."

"Should we try contacting them?" Scythe asked, diverting the topic back to the matter at hand.

Haywire paused before shaking his head. "Knowing Arcee, she's probably not in the mood to be bothered right now, assuming The Matriarch is driving her up a wall if not already."

They began walking across the crater of the Space Bridge Nexus with Moon Base One and Moon Base Two visible in the sky. Their friends were either recharging or working in their respective jobs aside from Bumblebee and the two beasts. Speaking of whom, Haywire sneered amused seeing Bee now sunk into the bend of both leaders' clashing backsides. He sat at a very odd angle. Grimlock was lying on his side while Predaking was curled inward with his wing covering his face.

"Remember when we were enemies? Seeing something like that would have been unbelievable, laughable maybe if a bot were to come up to you and say three different faction leaders would be friends."

"Well, look at us," Scythe added, "an ex-Decepticon spy and an Autobot supervising assistant. Megatron and Arcee? A murderous Decepticon leader and an Autobot lieutenant. I heard even Bumblebee has a thing for the former Decepticon medic, Knockout. When we put aside our differences, that's when it's the easiest to realize there aren't many to begin with. We aren't all the same; we never will be but that's what makes everyone so special...like you."

Haywire grinned, "You've been saving that line for a while, huh? What did you think about me when you first saw me?"

The other mech gestured to the side, "Prideful, assured, but loyal. I'll admit I didn't like you at first but watching you with Arcee made me appreciate you a lot more. Then all that effort to not just get her back but rescue me and our friends, well, that was unusual, and I fell."

"Sounds like what Megatron went through with Arcee."

"Yeah..." he chuckled, "we Decepticons have a huge thing for Autobots willing to fight for us. We seem to fall hard."

They had their laughs echoing across the silent area. Suddenly, the boom of the space bridge reactivating on its own had the two almost screaming as the portal awoke mere feet behind them. Predaking and Grimlock shot up, leaving Bumblebee airborne briefly before hitting the ground on his backside.

The Space Bridge Nexus pulsed with its combined beams from each bridge and a low hiss emerged as their energies rippled, a sign someone or something was coming through. At the same time, the Allspark appeared beside the two, scaring them some more and it turned orange sheepishly with the sinking of its rings.

"Sorry."

Haywire nearly scolded it until Arcee jumped out of the portal with the signed data pad in hand. "Miss me?"

As Megatron, Bolt, and Moonhunter followed, Haywire grew relieved as he was handed it. "You did it! Phew, I almost thought The Matriarch killed you. You didn't keep in touch at all this time."

Megatron merely said, "We had it all under control. The Decepticons were more than eager to stop the invasion and we got...sidetracked quite a few times."

Scythe smiled, "The most important thing is everything looks good so far and your victory is astounding."

Bumblebee pushed past Grimlock who transformed into robot mode and yawned, "Agreed..."

"Were you taking a nap? Aw, Bumblebee," cooed Arcee, "remember when you were younger and Optimus used to send us pictures of you tired from scouting-"

"Arcee, why?" Bee sighed flushed.

Bolt whispered to Megatron, "I'd love to see those."

"No one gets to see them!...Anyways, how did it go?"

Predaking snickered resulting in Bee punching his thigh roughly.

Arcee rolled her optics but kept her smirk. "Well, no more Metal Heads. This time, they didn't last too long in their invasion. I think Chaar was a test of a new strategy, but it failed quite badly. They seemed less engaged and were sending all the swarms through portals instead of using tactics like sending troops into the cities beneath the occupants' noses."

Scythe hummed, "Yes, but Chaar doesn't have cities. It is remote with a Decepticon fortress. No monster would be able to hide in the area without detection because they don't have to monitor the entire planet with a huge populace, instead only their surroundings and the base itself. Can't sabotage what you can't touch, and I would know that from experience."

"Those monsters sound like they're saving up the heavy destroyers of their kind for something bigger now that Velocitron and Caminus is no longer in their sights. But that also leaves four other worlds they may target. If this isn't personal, what is their endgame?" Bumblebee mused.

The warlord and the Predacon looked at each other before the former commented, "Destruction, of course. To win a war, one must be victorious. No one really has set rules of how it gets done just as long as it tips in their favor. Countless battles between us can vouch for that line of thinking and just because we secured three worlds so far doesn't mean any of them are truly safe. When it comes to the extremities of the ones who want to destroy because they can, anything is possible, and they won't stop until you kill them, or they kill you. As a learning virus, the Metal Heads don't have to worry about injuries slowing them down, energy to replenish their bodies, or effective tactics to win. They only need to keep pushing until all of us can no longer push back, like mindless animals."

Everyone pondered on it and the more they knew Megatron's description of them rang true for such a merciless species, the more frightened a few of them became. The Metal Heads would keep trying until they were either dead or dying. All their victories thus far were nothing but hollow achievements withstanding the waves.

As Arcee noted most of all, Silos said there was a planet filled with virus-stricken monsters from previous populaces across the galaxy and egg-born, the hive itself growing every minute they stood there. If she knew where the hive was, she would try and nuke the planet, but the creatures were technologically advanced too. The virus was like its deceased creator, a living entity that could evolve not just physically but, in a sense, mentally.

The Allspark peered at its company and finally said, "Not all is lost. Something will always survive destruction no matter how many hits it takes. A war is only as good as its opponents. Be better than them. And I sense the darkest rage can be contained, perhaps by its own manipulations. A piercing presence but pride destroys more than mere weapons. It will face the justice it deserves by only one who knows it."

Bolt would have blinked confused if he could. "What?"

A deadpanned Allspark replied, "Your enemy may die."

At the same time, Arcee said, "It means we might kill them."

"Oh, why didn't you say that in the first place?"

This time, it was the Allspark's turn to give an exaggerated huff, shaking side to side with the slow spin of its rings to everyone's humor.

The Matriarch looked over the weapon inventory reports submitted by Onslaught for a project she was manning that she wanted him to oversee. Humming to herself as her sparkmate massaged her right shoulder and held her steady with his arm cannon partially wrapped around her waist, he nuzzled her as she dragged a claw over one section of the data.

"Is something wrong, Matriarch?" The scientist purred leaning against her, "Did someone make a mistake?"

She swiftly shook her head but sounded confused more than anything. "Maybe I'm misreading this but it says we have the right number of physical weapons in his warehouse, but the count is saying we have only fifteen of sixteen new prototype blueprints accounted for. He probably misplaced it. It's one of the ion cannons, the big one."

Shockwave paused in his actions and went around her to look at the count and trace all the inventory. One of the items indeed was not marked as present. "The star cannon? Quite a big weapon to lose. Either Onslaught is holding it hostage or perhaps it was stolen."

The two Decepticons looked at each other before The Matriarch slowly dragged her helm away in disbelief. Then, a burst of rage hit her like a train. He flinched back when sudden emphasis and her fists pounding the table to oblivion caught him off guard.

"THAT TWO-FACED, NO-GOOD, AUTOBOT DUMBASS BITCH STOLE MY PLANS?!"

Shockwave was skeptical as his audial fins twitched in thought. That wasn't Arcee's style, and she had nothing to gain from it. When he called Soundwave over, he commanded the mech to show him Onslaught's warehouse footage. To their stunned silence, Nighthawk and Arcee both took the schematics. Still, something felt off to the scientist though he immediately heard The Matriarch's fists tense with a crack, optic visor a deadly glow of red.

"Perhaps not all is what it seems. We will confront Arcee when the time is right."

"CONFRONT HER NOW! I'LL CRUSH THAT LITTLE FEMME'S SPARK IN MY BARE HANDS!"

Shockwave was just about to speak when the table broke from the damage inflicted. All three awkwardly looked at it before The Matriarch clutched her head, then dragged his claws across her face plate with an irate, animalistic snarl.

"We will...deal with her later once we get the base back into shape from the Metal Heads' attacks. Soundwave and I will do some digging and figure out what she needed it for and if she took it back to Cybertron with her. For now, keep calm."

She answered his demands with a growl, optic visor staring deep into his singular optic with hatred daring for him to stop her. "Fine! But if I see her before you talk to her, Energon will litter her precious Crystal City and I'll destroy everyone in it who tries to save her!...Even Megatron himself."

AN: Oh, Arcee, you just pummeled a hornet's nest. I like making Transformers curse. It's funny than pretending they wouldn't do it. Granted, they aren't speaking English in any of these scenes so they are using their own curses that translate to all this, but I can't write a fic all in Cybertronian now, can I?