Song: Run Around – Blues Traveler

"So, tell me, Arcee...where did you go?" Bolt asked monotone.

Arcee shook her head, "It's not relav-"

"It is when the planet's life is at stake," he growled, "or did you forget about that being the whole purpose we're here? Your ability to glide makes you easy to track visually, even more so when in the presence of a strange ship did I see a Metal Head."

"You were following me?! What happened to trusting me?!"

Bolt immediately yelled back, "What happened to trusting us?! I would hate to know if our own queen was working with the enemy! You better start explaining and fast or I might have to make a choice today no matter how much I care about you!"

Arcee snarled and clenched her fists but let her anger go as she knew she was entirely in the wrong for keeping the whole situation a secret. "The Metal Heads have a traitor among them; he's been giving me intel ever since we came to Velocitron. I was so afraid to tell you because I'm scared. He knows what I did on the isle through some type of internal hive link they have, and he's holding me liable to pay the inconvenience back by helping him get a few things in exchange for valuable information on the Metal Heads' next move."

Bolt crossed his arms with a hiss, "And how exactly do you know this Metal Head isn't setting this all up?"

"He told me how to kill the commanders, and he's the one who's been relaying every move of the Metal Head Leader. He despises the current."

"And who pray tell is this traitor?"

Arcee sneered, "You already know his name."

The Vehicon paused for a second before his posture grew slack in surprise. "Captain Silos? The Rozarian that turned...?"

She nodded, "When he got separated from Tigressa, he grew disheartened. When he reunited with her, her ambitions changed, and he left the legion. Ever since then, he's just been touring the galaxy running a business away from it all. He arrived at Velocitron because he sensed something was wrong. Turns out there is a new leader, and he's not happy about it. He wants to end the virus for good. He thinks with Tigressa now confirmed gone, which he learned through his natural link the same day we killed her, those creatures shouldn't be active anymore."

"So, let me see if I have this correct? Silos is feeding you information in exchange for a few services, and he has zero problems with us destroying what his master and friend created?" Bolt asked. "Arcee, we have to tell-"

"NO!" The queen shouted. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Just because Silos is helping me doesn't mean he's a good person entirely. He made it clear that if anyone finds out about him, he can and will make me regret it. I don't want anyone getting hurt from his ire, let alone the Metal Heads being tipped off where I currently reside. They will either target me or Cybertron in my place. He made that explicitly known. You cannot tell Megatron or any of our friends. Please."

Bolt peered deep into her optics before stressfully sighing, "Being on the right side of things doesn't mean good after all, it seems. He gains something regardless while you're shanghaied into service. You realize this can go wrong if we aren't careful, right? I can keep your secret...but I don't like anything about it. And I'm still mad at you to a degree. You should have told u from the beginning. We would have understood."

"I don't like it too. Can I...admit something else to you? And it cannot leave this room either." Despite him already on edge, he nodded as she continued, "I stole the Energon Core and the fire crystals from the Mistress' abandoned testing facility. That's how Silos wants repayment. I've expressed to him the absurdity of it, but he doesn't care."

When she brought out one of the fire crystals, Bolt made a distressed sound. "Primus, Arcee! If anyone connects those thefts to you, we'll all be dead! W-what happened?!"

Arcee tried to calm him. "I know, I know, I know! But what am I supposed to do? I chased that bellbat to his shop by accident, met him, and he's not the best guy to work with but he knows quite a lot, being around for so long as he has. He's the only lead we have against the Metal Heads. I wish I could take it back...but I can't."

For over a minute, Bolt said nothing. He looked as if he was debating something, and Arcee couldn't tell if it was good or bad. Finally, he said, "Alright, you and I will be the only people who know this, and I will help you. But don't ask me to steal stuff; just let me know what you have to take to make this situation work in our favor. If we get caught though..."

"I'll own up to it. Saving the world, sacrifices are sometimes the hardest to make...even if you don't agree with them. If we don't have his help, we're just as screwed."

"Does he say what he uses these items you steal for?"

"He sells them to clients; he doesn't care who or what gets ahold of them. Make of that what you will."

Before Bolt could say anything else, a portal opened beneath Arcee and she screamed as she fell through in shock. When it disappeared, the Vehicon stared at the place where Arcee was just a few seconds ago. "Huh...now I get why she doesn't like the Allspark sometimes. What a conversation breaker."

Arcee, on the other hand, was less amused. She went through space through a transparent portal of energy. The galaxies and planets she passed, although beautiful, were loathed as she flew by them against her will. When she hit the "ground" on her front, she groaned face down. Hearing the whooshing noise of pure energy spawning, all she could do was mutter in her slacked position.

"The enemies of the universe are converging. As more events unfold, the world you know may succumb to chaos and with it, madness will prevail. The only thing that stands in the way of this is you."

"You know," she scowled as she got up shakily, "you and I need to talk about us meeting like this. Being dropped out of the sky…space…whatever tends to hurt a bit on impact. We as a species aren't indestructible like you."

The Allspark laughed, "I beg to differ. I have a favor to ask of you."

"Considering I'm stuck in a starry void, I assume I don't have much of a choice except take you up on that offer," she fussed, popping her back from the landing.

"In the midst of titans and traditions on a fire-fueled world, five relics of Primus lie waiting to come home. The core of the machine can take but not give and decimate the wayward souls who cross it. Forever changing, the minds of the many become the body of one as the impossible reforms into the imaginable. Death is inevitable, theuniverse shattered, if this blade so unyielding is unleashed but merciful can never be. The state of its power depends on the wielder's intentions as matter itself shiftswith each pulse, but it is not to be taken lightly. An enlightened edge impales its victims with endless knowledge but at a hefty price, a torment most painful."

"'Can take but not give?'" Arcee frowned, "What does that mean?! I'd rather not seek out this thing if that's the case. You can have that."

The Allspark turned purple with compassion, rotating its rings in around slowly, "It's one you are familiar with actually. The Spark Extractor, the original, is a monstrous weapon capable of taking a spark from a person's physical body and using it to empower itself. It was originally a gift to Solus Prime by Megatronus Prime himself, but she rejected it at first in fear of its deadly intent. Two copies of it existed, now one remains, but neither of them had the magnitude of destruction the real one has. The second relic is the Enigma of Combination, or the Infinite Combinatoric as some have come to call it, is a vessel of Nexus Prime's own powers. With its ever-changing size and appearance with the elements around it, it can merge any number of beings into one, mind and body, and that includes organic species...but the process for such species other than cybernetic types regardless of what they merge with is painful and irreversible. This was a precaution built in by Nexus Prime who was very paranoid about exterior species and harbored a bias against organics shared by most of his brethren."

Arcee smirked, "Sounds about right, knew more than just Megatronus had to paranoid. My money was on either Micronus or Liege Maximo more so."

"Megatronus Prime was...but that was a different type of paranoia involved with his mental state," the Allspark answered. "The third relic is a sinister creation, the Terminus Blade. Solus Prime created a weapon capable of shattering planets and even the realms within the universe itself. Its purpose was undefinable to all except her. Realizing it wasn't safe in the hands of the ones she loved, I was asked to hide it. I rigged a space bridge to send it in a random section of the galaxy only to find its signature here not long ago. Someone has retrieved it already but does not know its true potential. As long as it stays that way, no harm can be done. The fourth relic is a matter shifter, changing any solid object to a liquified version. The Liquefier is more of a science experiment created by Optimus Prime as Thirteen long before the sacrifice of his memories. However, it devastates anyone who is on its receiving end, melting them down with its pulse; a horrifying death to witness. The last relic is the Proton Spear, said that anyone who is touched by its edge will gain unlimited knowledge of the universe itself, but there lies a terrible cost. While your mind grows, your body weakens, your spark slowly drains as you are paralyzed by the influx of data. Those who have sought the secrets it knows, designed by Alpha Trion himself, have never revealed their findings...because they are practically comatose by the time they learn the answers to what they seek before dying to the blade's insatiable hunger. Their own knowledge is siphoned then trapped within the spear itself as it waits for its next victim."

Arcee was silent, staring at the giant orb of energy horrified as she processed all of that. The thing that got her the most was the Proton Spear...she had no incentive to even go near it let alone impale herself on it. She was fine with the knowledge she had. She finally had enough courage to ask, "Did no one think to remove it when it was draining their life force or...?"

"The Proton Spear has a countermeasure to prevent removal by anyone except who it imprints upon as the wielder. The knowledge earned feels like ecstasy, leaving you desiring more and forgetful of its danger. If you ever grow wise to its desires, it will be too late."

"So...'don't touch it' is what I'm getting from that. Anybody know where these questionably dangerous relics may be?" Arcee sneered, regretful of her prodding upon hearing that.

"Perhaps if you were to ask your new friends, a few of them might know a secret or two. But make haste as strange forces are at work and will not wait for you to stop them."

"Got it; another treasure hunt it is," she gestured smugly. "Anything else?"

The Allspark seemed to match her smugness in tone amused, "No."

She suddenly fell through the ground again and in seconds, she dropped from the ceiling of the suite right in front of Bolt and Megatron, the latter of whom jumped slightly. Moonhunter was spooked from a nap as she landed, and the portal above vanished. She paused crouching, peering around awkwardly before looking at them.

"I take it the Allspark says hello?" Bolt laughed.

"You can say that."

Megatron raised a brow between the two before clearing his throat. "If it's not too important, the Mistress wants to meet with you about something. When she couldn't get ahold of you, she went to me. I was merely downstairs enjoying the free maintenance we get, take advantage of it when you can, Arcee. We're not as young as we look."

Arcee smiled and said, "Well, it is. The Allspark wants the five relics located on Caminus returned to it. Hey, I thought the Spark Extractor we had on Earth was the real one? It said there were copies of it, but the real one is here. Why did no one ever mention that?"

"I didn't even know," Megatron muttered.

The Vehicon tapped his chin, "From what I can recollect about the Spark Extractor, it was either Megatronus or Micronus who created it. It was...a mistake, at least that's what one of them claimed. It was originally supposed to be a spark incubator, as in a way to preserve the spark from what Alpha Trion's notes said. Something went wrong during its creation and the result is...the stuff of nightmares to behold as we did on Cybertron when we fought you and the other Autobots. I was a good distance away but that was terrible to witness. Then again, I don't know, maybe Alpha Trion was joking about that. I can't tell."

That made the queen scowl, "Why are there so many relics that deadly? Primus, help us. Where do we start? The Allspark mentioned someone we know may have a clue on its whereabouts as well as the others."

"Start where needed," Bolt shrugged, "perhaps at the very top?"

It made sense. The Mistress of Flame would likely know where a relic or two was but if they assumed and were wrong, that had the potential to go south really quick. But the Allspark expected results and results it would get one way or another.

"Let's go get them then."

"Wait, but what about what we were talking about before-?"

Arcee quickly shot him down, "No relevance right now. We'll deal with it later."

She didn't like the immediate look Megatron gave her nor the slight sneer he gave Bolt, but the Vehicon respected her wish despite this, and she was quick to leave the suite with the bots and her Nitrotiger following. With a quick call to Windblade, they found out the Mistress of Flame had returned to the Tower of Obsidian. Summoning a pickup from a transport was humorous as several of them stopped to congratulate her and her team. Choosing one made her feel bad but none of the pilots took it as an insult. The ride down to Ember Basin's under-city was met with painful silence. She knew Megatron wanted to bring up the obvious elephant in the room but like she told Bolt, now wasn't the time.

After taking a transport, they found the Tower of Obsidian with its black infrastructure looked mysterious against the lit-up under-city. Security seemed to be tighter than before but upon seeing them, the bots didn't hesitate to nod and let them pass. They approached the lobby where all the floors they had visited previously were visible in the central gap. Markings on some of the railings suggested the Metal Heads did some damage to the interior in their hunt for the crystals. The Mistress was among a small interior garden with metal trees aligned in the middle of the lobby for decoration. Windblade was by her side.

"I take it something of urgency has come up for this meeting," the Mistress said as she raised a brow. She clutched her Forgehammer when she turned to face them. "What may I help you with?"

Arcee stepped forward with Moonhunter who went to Windblade to get some free pets. She asked, "What do you know of the Allspark?"

The Mistress of Flame grew intrigued, "That it is the lifeforce of Primus itself, born from their spark directly. What relevance is that?"

"The Allspark told me there are a few relics here on Caminus and the first one we need to find is the Spark Extractor," she answered. "It's an execution device. Ring any bells?"

The outburst made everyone pause, including the Mistress who slowly narrowed her optics. "What are you implying?"

Windblade was horrified as she echoed her leader as well. "Arcee, what do you mean?"

Arcee winced a little upon realizing that may have been the wrong thing to say but deep down, she wanted to know the truth behind the testing facility. "There was a facility I heard about here that tested weapons...against volunteers, at least I think they were. A few of the citizens here mentioned it in an offhand comment. If it was used for torture and no longer operational, could the relic be there?"

Outraged, the Mistress of Flame bit her tongue before hissing, "Perhaps you should have asked me first before listening to the lies of my opponents. I will not tolerate accusations here! I may be strict but I'm not heartless! The facility you talk about was not for torture, as you've kindly put it. It was a temporary medical facility. Those weren't experiments you heard about; those were treatments...at least the only form of treatment we knew of for Corrosion Disease. It was said to grow in pain the more it evolved across your body that restraints had to be put on patients to keep them from flailing about. A specialized medicine had to be injected in them to reduce the pain. It was terrible to witness, and I hated having to stand there and watch bots scream and cry for me to end their lives when I oversaw it. You have no idea how hard it is to hear someone would rather die by your hand than attempt to be saved."

Bolt used the blank pause after she finished explaining to ask, "Why was the facility shut down?"

The Mistress of Flame placed her forehead against part of her staff. "Once we narrowed down how it was affecting so many bots through botched Energon infusions, we fixed the issue. And once the treatments were no longer severe...I swear I could still hear their screams echoing those halls, so I made a plea with Parliament to move the facility to the middle of Pyrohex. I left that building down there to rot, unable to bring myself back to finish the job."

Now Arcee felt like an asshole, even more so than previously. Although, Windblade seemed surprised by the information still which made her realize the Mistress had it as a secret mission all this time, not for publicity. Then the Mistress shook her head.

"The Spark Extractor does exist here, but it was never used the way you thought. One of my predecessors found it and locked it away afraid of anyone using it for nefarious deeds. I know where it is, and I will take you to it if the Allspark commands it. But I ask you in return to never go around poking in any business of Caminus' ever again. Just because we keep things to ourselves doesn't mean we are evil. It just means we know who to disclose our private matters to. You had no right to pry."

"I apologize greatly, Mistress," Arcee said softly.

Windblade was less than pleased but she merely crossed her arms. "Anything else the Allspark asked for?"

"Yeah, something called a Terminus Blade-"

Bolt intervened, "Terminus Blade?! As in the planet-shattering blade Solus Prime regarded as her most horrific creation?! That thing was supposed to be destroyed! Solus Prime built it to annihilate Unicron but when it was tested, it demolished more than just a planet. It ended up eliminating an entire solar system! Primus protected them from the impact but couldn't save the system itself. It was deemed far too dangerous to be used so she was said to have melted it down. Why is it still here?!"

Megatron smirked, "Brushed up on your history, have you?"

"It's my job remember? Arcee, if that thing is here, the Allspark better start explaining because it's not meant to exist anymore," the purple mech stated strictly.

"The Allspark already answered that...it was the one who saved it from destruction by Solus Prime herself," the queen said sheepishly.

Watching Bolt grow rigid almost made her want to laugh but she knew that was a bad idea as the seriousness of the Terminus Blade's power was no laughing matter.

Windblade quickly said, "Bolt and I can look for it while you go with the Mistress of Flame. When we find its location, we'll call you."

Arcee nodded before gesturing to Megatron, "You want to go with me or them?"

The warlord scoffed, "I suppose we get to relic hunt just like old times, right?"

Once Windblade, Bolt, and Moonhunter left to research the Terminus Blade, the remaining three followed the Mistress to her own personal transport and left for the Parliament building in Ember Basin. It had been some time since she had seen it, and the Mistress seemed a little unnerved being there. Inside, there was a whole different situation. Senators and other types of congress bots were talking among the area and the Mistress held her staff like it was her life support.

Arcee raised a brow and asked, "Is it the politics...or the people here?"

"A mixture of both really," she whispered. "Nasty how politics can change people, and you'll find someone you thought you knew reveals their true colors in the heat of the conversation on the subject. Sad. But that's not what we're here for. The Spark Extractor is down in the basement hidden from prying optics."

As they trailed her, they got some looks from the Parliament members and Arcee could now understand what she meant. There was judgement in their optics, bland and unrivaled. Given the queen, nor her consort for that matter, was a part of the Way of Flame religion, she could tell that seemed to make them enemies in a way despite saving Caminus from the Metal Heads.

The basement of the Parliament building was drafty but as the elevator descended, Dagger Prima glowed and Arcee brought it out to examine it. The whispers were pained, almost yearning within the radius of the Spark Extractor. With the relic being notorious for sucking sparks out of bodies, she could only imagine the horror the dagger was perceiving as one of the vessels of the Allspark's conscience. When they reached the basement, Arcee refrained from scrunching up her noseplate at the state of it.

It was stained, with what though was the ultimate question that Arcee wasn't sure she wanted answered. The vaults were old, rusted even but she could see some of what they held through transparent windows. Older weapons discarded like ion cannons and hefty blasters sat there collecting dust while oddities like a cube-shaped item floated uselessly in its container.

"These vaults have a lot of weapons and artifacts from before my time. The Way of Flame forbade any weapons other than swords, hammers, and other handheld items. Well, we can't exactly get rid of them, especially the artifacts, so they came down here to rot in their own destructiveness. As you can imagine, half the populace forgot they even existed," the Mistress said.

The dagger pulsed, the whispers intensifying as the Mistress led them to one vault on the right side. She attempted to open it but found its locks had been rusted, unmovable. After her third attempt, they looked towards Megatron who eyed both of them.

"Neither of you can open it? You didn't even try, Arcee." Arcee merely shrugged before looking at the size of the vault and her arms. With a heavy sigh, Megatron cracked his knuckles and gestured for the femmes to get behind him. "I'm getting a little too old to be doing this, but I'll do it."

Grabbing the rails attached to it to pull open under normal circumstances, he made sure his grip was tight before pulling hard. The metal of the vault groaned as its locks slowly began to crack from the pressure. The vault door cried out with its metal rubbing against the ceiling frame it was integrated into. Megatron didn't stop and growled as a slight pain emitted from his shoulder, the previous injury he had on the isle from the first Metal Head Leader, Kor. He ignored it even when it became unbearable. Finally, with a loud bang and a jolt of the door itself, the vault busted open, and he threw the door onto the ground viciously. Snarling and breathing hard, he took a moment to relish his power still present but froze when Arcee jumped up to kiss him quickly on his cheek.

"Thank you. I owe you some high-grade after this," Arcee grinned. When she hopped down, he ghosted a servo over his cheek and smiled pleased by the praise.

In the vault hovering in its bay, Arcee grew quiet as she set optics on the Spark Extractor. A far cry from the one she had seen on Earth; it was more chrome than silver with a darker blue secondary coloring and aquamarine bio lights outlining its crevices. Spikier in appearance, it looked like something Megatronus Prime would have created without a doubt. She looked to the Mistress for permission and when the latter gave a nod of approval, she carefully took it off its pedestal. It was lighter than the clone, but Arcee had a feeling it was because it hadn't been used for eons whereas the cloned relic on Earth may have had victims right before its entrapment, a dreadful thought overall despite her team had the intention to use it against Megatron and the Nemesis crew. The more it consumes, the heavier its physical form, like a burden of the deeds it was used to carry out. Reflected well on Megatronus Prime's mindset.

The Mistress of Flame stared at it. "Such a monstrous vessel of death. I've heard stories about it, but one person told me it was created by Solus, not Megatronus. I guess now we know the truth behind it. Prism would be rolling in her grave with that information."

"Prism?"

"The nickname for the Mistress who preceded me. She was hellbent on destroying more than caring and once wanted to unleash that on our enemies. She believed it was Solus' gift to us, very delusional, so that's why her reign lasted the least amount of time out of all known Mistress of Flames previously. The Spark Extractor is yours. I'd rather see it out of the midst of future Mistress' servos than wait for one of them to grow just as psychotic and kill us. Keep in mind, Prism still has a few followers to this day and another reason I'm not exactly fond of this building is...justified more than you think."

When Arcee got the hint, she made a silent gasp before nodding and handing the relic to Megatron. The warlord hid it in his subspace for the time being. Just then, she got a notification from Bolt and so did Megatron.

"I think we know where the Terminus Blade is. The problem though, and you're going to love this, is it was spotted in Decadance's old hideout in Titans Crossing. It was held in Pyrohex under a mech named Hardburner who took it from a security vault in the northern sector. Hardburner disappeared a few hours before it was reported stolen until right before you went to save Helia from her. His body was, for the most part, unrecognizable at first. They only now made the identification public and in his retrieved memory files, Decadance stole it from his ship, and he pursued her. It ended...badly."

"With Decadance in prison, we can go there undisturbed. It's just a matter of finding it within that can take hours."

Bolt laughed, "Perhaps. Maybe if you were talk to Decadance, she can reveal its exact location instead. The Terminus Blade is said to be deep purple in color with pink lighting and symbols etched on it. When used, it supposedly ignites in pure energy."

"Talking to a psychopath doesn't always get good results."

"Better than nothing."

Arcee ended the communication before turning to the Mistress of Flame. "Where do you have Decadance?"

"We put her in the maximum penitentiary in Pyrohex. Why? Does the Terminus Blade have something to do with her?"

"We're about to find out," she replied.

The warm-colored femme nodded, "Fine, I'll send the guards the notice for you to meet with her. The longest a prisoner of her caliber can talk is about fifteen minutes so make it count. I'll stay here and, uh, find a way to give an excuse as to why the door is broken off its hinges."

The two Cybertronians snickered to one another as they left the basement. They ignored the looks they still received from the prejudiced Parliament members on the way out. The penitentiary in Pyrohex was nearly a thirty-minute travel by transport as it lay on the outskirts on the far east of the city. On the way there as they entered the city before shifting east, Megatron rolled his sore shoulder and scowled.

"Damn Kor and his freaky barbs for legs. Had this occurred earlier in my career, I would have been scrapped and sent to be dismembered probably. I hate getting older, Arcee."

"Don't we all," she muttered. "The penitentiary should be just up ahead. Let's pray Decadance got some sense knocked into her."

"With hits like yours, I'll be surprised if she's even fully operational again."

The penitentiary was not forgettable given the building had active turrets on it scouring the grounds for any unregistered guards. They glowed red upon seeing their ship but didn't fire as they landed, never looking away as guards approached the transport. Arcee and Megatron exited, carefully eyeing the turrets actively staring them down. For a planet that didn't like guns, it was surprising to see them in operation but then again, this was a prison for high end criminals they couldn't trust to keep to Caminus' melee weapon codes.

"The Mistress of Flame said you two were coming. Follow me and keep close or else our system might just accidentally mistake you as intruders," one guard said without missing a beat.

Arcee sneered while Megatron said nothing as they went in. The penitentiary had various sections for both insane and violent individuals. A smaller section held the sane but monstrous ones and a few of them whistled at both Cybertronians passing by. Arcee grew amused as half the catcallers were directed at Megatron who was growing irate.

"Now you know how I feel sometimes."

"That's...unfortunate," Megatron merely frowned, emphasizing that last word with strain. She knew he wanted to say more but his tone already hinted that unlike her, he didn't have as much resolve about it. The last thing they needed was him killing the prisoners regardless of if the guards would endorse it or not. They were escorted to a cell and a metallic purple-blue form stood in the corner like a scorned child.

"Decadance, you have visitors. Make something of yourself," the guard hissed, moving to the side to let them talk to her undisturbed.

Decadance glared at Arcee, somewhat surprised but it melted quickly into utter hatred. "So, what do I owe the...pleasure...of your demanding company? Hmm? You help the Mistress of Flame, a traitor to our world. Why should I care about anything you tell me next?"

Arcee became frustrated and snidely remarked, "Unless you want some broken parts, I suggest you offer me a little detail or two about that base of yours. What did you hide there?"

"Threatening to hurt me won't make me talk."

"How about I sweeten the favor, you tell me what you had in the base, and I might get your sentence reduced. I'm looking for a sword, purple in color. Anything like that in there?"

That seemed to intrigue Decadance enough to finally give her what she wanted. "Maybe, but maybe not as I recall it's utterly useless and I may have thrown it out. Honestly, I didn't think you would ask me about that. If that piece of junk will keep you away from me, it's probably still there. Hardburner lied out of his aft about its powers, couldn't even get it to slice him open when he threatened to call security on me and had to tear him apart by servo to get good results. Stupid sword couldn't make a single mark on the wall."

That puzzled Arcee for a moment until she realized that like the Forge of Solus Prime, the Terminus Blade probably couldn't activate unless it was wielded by a Prime. Given Optimus was the only remaining Prime alive, the sword couldn't harm anyone unless Optimus somehow decided within a few years to go berserk and kill everyone. Needless to say, the Allspark wouldn't give him the weapon if it was even possible to come to that. Going on a suicide run was one thing for the Allspark to try, allowing a deranged Optimus to use a deadly weapon of mass destruction, a Prime the Allspark knew was kind to it from the very beginning, was not on the doomsday agenda as far as she knew.

"Thanks, Decadance, just know you helped the Allspark retrieve a very important item. Put that on your community service record if they ever let you out," Arcee smirked.

The other femme grew silent as she processed the information before yelling, "Wait! What about my sentence?! You owe me!"

Arcee already had turned to leave and simply scoffed, "Maybe, but maybe not as you were the one who got yourself here in the first place. How can I trust you won't do it again? Have fun rotting in prison."

The echo was sweet as she heard Decadance give a stunned grunt. Megatron flashed a fanged grin at her in response to his sparkmate's words. They left her to wallow in her self-pity. He then stated to Arcee, "If I had this sword during our battles on Earth, there would have been no telling what I could have done to that planet and your team."

"If you had that sword, you would have killed us and yourself," mocked the queen.

Megatron wanted to argue but he realized she had a distinct point. In his previous arrogance, he would have ended up killing everyone including himself with such unfathomable power at his disposal. Primus would not have stepped in to save him from his own destruction.

They exited the penitentiary and left for Decadance's base in Titans Crossing. The bodies of the titans still lay undisturbed but seeing that it was Megatron's first time among them, Arcee noticed that he was more perplexed than anything. The titan graveyard was a mysterious place. Past the arched arms of two of the titans, Decadance's base awaited them. Arcee almost had to drag Megatron in when he stared again at the vast sizes of Caminus' former protectors.

Inside, it looked as though the security forces that swept the place held no regard for the actual crime scene, only favoring arresting the one responsible for the kidnapping of the Mistress of Flame's niece. Other than the broken cuffs removed from Decadance upon her arrest, the base was left alone. Granted, that proved they had a far better chance at finding the Terminus Blade than they thought, but it left a lot of questions about authority etiquette.

"Arcee, Dagger Prima is reacting to something."

The blue femme peered over her shoulder and indeed, the dagger was pulsing. The Terminus Blade was here, and it explained why it had glowed for a second in the vents when she was searching for Helia. This time ghostly whispers from somewhere other than where they were seemed to echo within the base. With Dagger Prima communicating with the relic somewhere in the building, it was only a matter of pinpointing where it was. The farther they went in, the more distinct the voices became. She rounded a corner in the storage area only to freeze up as did Megatron who followed her.

The warlord muttered under his breath, "What the...?"

Bodies of guards and pieces of unidentifiable victims were discarded like trash. When Groundlock mentioned Decadance was a bit deranged, he was understating it greatly. Arcee peered around with unease, feeling sorrow as she had to carefully step over the corpses looking for the Terminus Blade.

"And the security team who came here missed this?"

Megatron shrugged, "Maybe they didn't care. Titans Crossing are already a grave site, wouldn't matter to remove them from a base abandoned."

Arcee shook her head, "That's wrong. They should have at least taken the bodies back for identification if anything."

A purple glow rose from the corner of the area as the whispers seemed to grow in volume. Still respectful, Arcee quickly stepped over the pieces to see a blade discarded next to crates that smelled of death, something that unnerved her more. With the same written language of Dagger Prima inscribed on its edge, the sword was beautiful in such a disgusting place. It's silver blade overlayed by a violet coat of thin armor showed off Solus' craftsmanship well. She never missed a detail where it counted. Among other disregarded weapons that had dried blood, the Terminus Blade had no drop on it.

"I would have expected such a weapon to be responsible for this," Megatron said, raising a brow as he picked it up.

"I don't think it was made for fighting like swordplay. It's got a purpose and although as sharp as it looks, it's not meant to draw blood like our weapons do so in physical combat, it's useless but..."

"...in the realm of utmost power, it trumps all," he finished. "A damned blade made for a killer."

"Or a gift..." Arcee paused and looked at Megatron with newfound realization. Megatron frowned confused as she continued, "The Spark Extractor was made by Megatronus as a gift to Solus. It's said she was horrified by it, but then why would she create something equally as destructive? Unless she eventually accepted the Spark Extractor and wanted to give Megatronus something of equal value but when he started becoming unhinged, that's when she asked the Allspark to hide it. She didn't do it just to protect the universe, she did it to protect him from himself. The Allspark never said she lost her love for him, nor did it say the Terminus Blade was made solely for one purpose, just that its powers could be destructive in the wrong hands. And if Megatronus was having episodes of paranoia and violent tendencies, she knew it was only a matter of time before he got a hold of it and did something regrettable."

"Would have never thought of it like that. The more mysteries surrounding the Thirteen Primes start to unfold, the less I want to find out about their true intentions because it's getting weird how psychopathic they are," said Megatron as held the Terminus Blade away from him in slight discomfort.

Arcee then paged Bolt. "We have the Terminus Blade."

"Oh good. Windblade and I were just talking about you, by the way. Don't you think it's strange how the Allspark seems to be calling us...well, you more so...to hunt these relics yet doesn't bat an eye on this Horaquan threat?"

"It does care but its endgame I think is just as important. What if we fail to retrieve them while we're here and never get a chance at finding these relics again? If they go to the wrong people-"

"Yeah, yeah, ultimate doom and whatnot," the Vehicon said deadpanned. "Still, it's questionable to me. But if this will keep it from nagging us, I don't see the real harm. Is there any other relics we should investigate?"

The queen nodded to the side with a sigh, "The Enigma Combinatoric is next on the list."

"Sounds familiar. It may have gone by another name though. If what I'm thinking of is correct, the Combinatoric is what gave way to our current Combiners. The ability was passed down by Nexus Prime but technically, it was never stated whether the power was strictly given by encountering the relic or could be copied. Devastator's mechs were born with the ability so I guess one of their ancestors may have encountered it or they are related to Nexus Prime. It's quite unclear how it works in that regard."

"What does it look like, and do you know where I could find it? Any ideas?"

As Megatron placed the Terminus Blade carefully on his back, Bolt answered, "It is said that its first form was a rhombus shape, four panels attached to a middle piece mimicking a spark of sorts. It had red energy, but its real color was never said because it was always lit up. I'm thinking it may be a dark red or a brown color, but I can't say for sure. Where it would be, I have no idea."

She scowled in disappointment. Bolt heard and reassured her.

"It's not anything you have to blame on yourself or Caminus. I mean it would be like blaming Victorion for existing when in some people's opinions, she shouldn't at all. They think she's an abmination because she's the only Combiner here. It's just what they were handed in life, you know? But, hey, we can tell the Allspark we tried."

Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Victorion..."

"What was that?" Megatron asked.

"What about her?"

"You're right, Bolt, Victorion shouldn't exist...and yet, she does," Arcee said to herself. "If she's Caminus' only Combiner, how did she come to be in the first place?"

The Vehicon snarled at first, "That's not very nice-oh...I didn't think about that. Perhaps talking to the Combiner's counterparts might shed some light on this relic. Good thinking. Victorion's members are back in the Mistress' citadel at the core. We'll meet you there."

Arcee hung up and smirked at her sparkmate, "We have a heading."

They traveled back to Pyrohex before sending the transport through one of its tunnels on the surface which led to its under-city. Beneath that, the spacious core and its islands. The water looked so refreshing, Arcee was almost tempted to just take a break and go down to soak in it. But they had a timeframe of opportunity to find what they needed. Unfortunately, that meant no breaks.

It was like walking into Iacon's Hall of Records; after so many times of doing so, the guards and other civilians no longer questioned their entrance into the citadel. It made it so much easier to get to the Mistress of Flame's throne. Sure enough, the Combiners were all there chatting with Bolt, Moonhunter, and Windblade.

"Did we miss anything?" Megatron mused.

Bolt was near Pyra Magna, the commander of the Combiner counterparts, when he shrugged, "Nothing in particular you would like to hear about, that's for sure. Ask away to them."

Arcee approached the larger femme as the others crowded around them and asked, "Pyra, we're looking for a specific relic, one that you may know of. The Enigma Combinatoric or Infinite Combinatoric?"

The girls grew confused, most of whom gestured unsure. A bad start but Arcee decided to rephrase it.

"Let me ask you this instead: how did you learn to combine into Victorion? Did you interact with something unusual or what you thought wasn't anything but a misplaced item?"

Prya Magna glanced to the side in thought before her optics widened slightly. She peered at Arcee knowing the queen wanted an explanation. "They kept telling us we weren't meant to exist; we never listened in our pride still to this day. We were in battle, our forces strained, and we hid in an old research facility in Ember Basin. Our fellow Torchbearers, artifact hunters in their off-time, met us there and one of them managed to grab a weird rhombus-shaped rock or paperweight from the enemy outpost. It didn't look like much.

"As we were surrounded, the building was threatened to be blown up with us still inside. We couldn't get out. One blast sent Jumpstream backwards and I tried to catch her, but she fell onto the weird device...and then the next thing we knew, our bodies were one. We saw the building below us in ruins; we didn't even feel breaking through it as we were in shock. We thought we became a monster at first, but we felt each other's emotions, our unified minds together like a supercomputer. It was amazing!"

"What happened to that device?" Arcee pressed.

"It was given to Highwind, the master inventor. Where else would you put the most mysterious artifacts without worrying about them being used for the wrong reasons?" Pyra Magna stated.

Megatron gave a small gesture of respect. "Thank you."

Arcee did the same and looked at Bolt and Windblade. "Are you coming with us?"

The Vehicon looked between her and the Combiner individuals. Arcee got the message and smirked but Moonhunter quickly came to her side after multiple pets from the femmes.

Windblade crossed her arms amused before addressing Arcee. "I need to go back to talk with the Mistress of Flame. Happy hunting, Arcee."

Moonhunter trotted happily next to Arcee who coddled him by the ears as they walked out of the citadel.

"Why didn't we go to him in the first place? Of course, if it was a nifty invention, he would know!"

Megatron scoffed, "A hundred million people on the planet and the chances of him being the mad genius who has it would be slim."

Arcee grinned, "Mad enough to maybe know about the Liquefier and the Proton Spear? Two birds, one stone."

"Make that three and a boulder," laughed the warlord.

Highwind's island was as peaceful as the first time they stepped foot on it. To their glee, old Gizmo was perched on her landing pad with what appeared to be a few babies. Among them, Highwind was petting the smallest that gave him a playful chirp, slapping its tail on the platform.

"Gears, good boy. Rusty, no biting your sister."

As the Cybertronians landed, Highwind laughed as the baby crosswinds ducked behind him. He peered up at the ship and pointed a staff made of gears at the cockpit in recognition. Once Arcee and Megatron exited the vehicle, he stomped his staff on the ground.

"Heh heh, you two didn't get enough of me, did you? What can this old mech do for you?" Highwind asked proudly. "I hope those wings of yours have been treating you good."

Arcee smiled, "They worked wonderfully, especially against quite the enemies we had above. I don't know if you heard of that debacle."

Highwind sat on a bench he had installed by himself on the side of his home. One of the babies hid under it at his feet, its optics glowing in the shade as it sniffed around curious but afraid. He reassured it before saying, "Ah yes, those alien creatures. I heard of the battle and Astro Zenith awakening. About time that girl stretched her legs. Since her previous Cityspeaker retired long ago, she's never trusted anyone except Windblade."

Arcee frowned upon hearing that. "Left? Cityspeakers can retire?"

"Oh yes, although the ability itself doesn't technically fade. Usually, this happens when the burden of controlling titans becomes too much or it's just not the right field of expertise for them. You'll find there are many Cityspeakers here but only half of them have ever stayed in commission. Being the link of a titan takes a lot out of you just like any other job. It's not as fun as people may think."

Megatron shook his head solemnly, "Like...in Titans Crossing. All those titans..."

Highwind sighed, "Yes, a graveyard for the mighty fallen by irrationality, greed, and sometimes the unpredictability of war. You may find there are more than just the bodies of titans out there if you were to look hard enough. But that's all in the distant past. Your visit doesn't seem like one of a history lesson, young ones, so tell me, what do you seek?"

"We're wondering if...you know of a mysterious device that may have been given to you or you found? One that may have accidentally made Victorion into the Combiner we know and love currently? The Allspark needs it back," asked Arcee.

As the waterfalls behind Highwind's workshop roared on, the old Seeker pondered. "I have a lot of 'mysterious things' unfortunately. You would have to look in there yourself. If I do, I have no intention of keeping it if you need it. Besides, I could probably figure out how to make my own version if I want."

Highwind got up from his seat and went into his workshop with the two following him. His crosswings stayed outside though a few of the babies took the liberty to sleep outside on the windowsills as scrunched up little, metal puffballs. Moonhunter was growled at by Gizmo and was nearly eaten when he didn't move fast enough into the house. Arcee knew it was more along the lines of the crosswing protecting her brood than actual hunger.

"Feel free to move anything to look for what you desire. I've been meaning to clean up this mess for some time but in my isolation, I just never thought it a problem."

Arcee thanked him and went to work scouring the workshop for any sharp-shaped device lying about or other items of interest that may match the idea of the Liquefier and the Proton Spear. Moonhunter went about sniffing everything to his spark's content in the meantime. Dagger Prima hissed in her audio receptor as she drew near a shelf in shadow. The light it produced was enough to make out the objects. Most of it was nothing but knickknacks and unfinished projects Highwind was probably tinkering with. But then she passed something unusual that caught her optic.

Unlike the rest of the objects, the one she saw didn't look like an invention. A faded green and blue coloring, the remote-like item had a dead screen in the middle with two antennas. Faint wavy designs curved alongside its spiral handle. It looked alien, but the most significant part of it was a set of buttons. A symbol representing motion and the other seemed to look solid...

"Bolt, do you know what the Liquefier was by any chance?" Arcee asked suspiciously as she took it in her servos, dragging a digit carefully over one of the buttons to wipe away the residue of grinded powder that had built up in the workshop.

Bolt answered after a second of making a confused noise, "Moved on already, I see. The Liquefier was a device capable of turning solid matter into liquid regardless of density or molecular structure and vice versa. Alpha Trion wrote down that it was essentially the idea of the Thirteenth Prime...but he never specified what happened to it or if it was ever created. I don't know what it looks like entirely because the only known picture of it was a sketch on a data pad by an unknown artist. In fact, I didn't think it existed until now. Is that one of the relics the Allspark sent you to retrieve?"

Arcee pressed a small button on its side and the screen took a while to reboot. When it started showing off the same language as the Primes, she slowly grew wide eyed. "You better start believing, Bolt, because I think I'm holding it right now."

"That's impossible! How do you even know?!"

Pursing her lips, she looked at a bucket in the corner before announcing, "Hey, Highwind, do you care if I test this on the bucket?"

Somewhere in the shop, the inventor grunted, "I don't care, my dear. Anything you break, I can rebuild."

She aimed it at the bucket and pressed the button with the wavy markings on it. A beam shot out and the object glowed green for a brief second before it melted abruptly and bubbled onto the floor as a stringy liquid. Arcee had a Cheshire grin and her mouth open in a wide gasp at the same time before making a small noise of achievement. She looked over the device with childish glee.

"What happened? You didn't test it, did you?" Bolt scolded.

"I have the Liquefier, Bolt! Ha ha ha, this is so cool!"

Megatron appeared by her side and looked between her psychotic expression, the device she held and the mess on the floor with a raised brow. "That's not Highwind, right?"

Arcee's grin faltered as she slapped his abdomen at the joke, not that it affected him in the slightest. Bolt sighed on his end as Highwind came around the corner. When he saw what Arcee held, he laughed.

"Found my soup maker, eh?"

"Soup maker?" The warlord frowned.

"Yes, I've used that to make soup out of minerals and whatnot for years. I've tried things I've always wanted to eat since I was a youngling but never could. The results weren't bad at all. Is that one of the relics you seek?"

"Yes, sir, it is. The Liquefier. All we need now is the Combinatoric and the Proton Spear," she answered as she turned the device off and stored it in her subspace.

"This Combinatoric, sounds fancy," Highwind chuckled, "but anything specific to go on?"

Arcee nodded, "It's said to be rhombus-shaped initially, but it can change form, almost reddish brown with a bright red glow when active."

"That sounds like my tool holder."

Both Arcee and Megatron looked at each other in bland surprise before letting him escort them to it. In a smaller room with an old workbench and various tools, there in the corner of it was a dark red tool stand. Its lower half made for the foot of the stand, its center was a red glowing core and its top platform had tools randomly placed on it and hanging between the crevice of the panels. Once Arcee started focusing on it, the whispers became audible.

"I remember one of the Torchbearer's giving me it as a gift."

She blinked before turning to the older mech bewildered, "You mean to tell me you had this thing the entire time? Also, what about the whispering? Did that not make you believe it was something other than a tool holder?"

Highwind looked at her unmoving before giving a soft, "Oh. I thought the voices were just in my head."

Megatron grimaced, "What else did isolation do to you?"

"Can't say," he admitted. "It's only now my oddities are being pointed out. An old mech can't be an old mech anymore? You younglings and your superstitions."

Arcee didn't hesitate to grab the Combinatoric though was careful to place it in her subspace in fear of setting it off. She made sure his tools were properly put away elsewhere prior as that was the least she could do for stealing two items he cared about from him. All that remained was the Proton Spear, but she had a feeling it was not in the workshop as everything was inventions, not weapons. Then again, she couldn't assume.

"Alright, Highwind, do you know anything about a mythical spear? Any weapon like a spear that seemed unnatural?"

Highwind readjusted his goggles as he sat in his chair. "Eh, I once heard there was a blade of unknown magnitude in Titans Crossing-"

"Aside from that," she said a bit rushed.

"One of the farmers over yonder, Springrunner I believe her name was, contacted me and said she found a weapon buried in the valley some time ago. I don't really collect weapons anymore, so I told her to sell it. Don't know if she ever did but maybe she may know if it's what you seek."

Arcee pleasantly sighed, "Thank Primus. Thank you again, Highwind, we won't steal anything else. We promise."

Highwind laughed as he started tinkering with a circular device. "Go ahead, I have too much crap anyways. Be careful out there, my dear."

Moonhunter rushed by the bots to escape Gizmo's aggressive stares at him outside and went to the ship faster than they could. He pawed at the door and Arcee activated the ramp in pity before he scrambled up it with his tail between his legs. Gizmo swung her tail with a hiss watching him flee before giving a trill of laughter. Arcee merely smirked at the sight before shaking her head.

They took off for Springrunner's farm when Arcee got a notification from none other than the Allspark. "When you find all relics, meet me at the top of Firelight Island's tallest peak that overlooks the valley. We are thankful for your services."

"If you lose these again, I'm not helping you," she immediately scowled.

"Fair enough," the Allspark mused.

Megatron frowned, "Allspark?"

She made a cheap expression of disdain. "Allspark. If it's contacting us that means we're close to the last relic. It's on Springrunner's island which takes a lot of guesswork out of tracking it down."

"Arcee, Megatron, this is Grimlock," the Dinobot's voice came through the commlink next. "Optimus suggests you two need to get back as soon as possible. There's something you need to see here on Cybertron."

Both sparkmates looked at each before Megatron replied, "We're almost done, just have to get the Mistress of Flame to sign the treaty."

"Well, hurry. There's something unusual at the corner of our solar system and Perceptor wants to give you an update on the situation. We will await your return."

That wasn't good. If it was the Metal Heads trying to go after Cybertron, their world had the defenses but still had some weak spots the creatures could exploit. If it was another enemy, then they would just have to wait their turn or be killed. At the moment, she couldn't ask them to investigate without risking losing some of her friends which she wouldn't tolerate.

Firelight Island had the firetreaders all locked in their pens as they landed next to the farm. When they exited, they were immediately met with a gun pointed at them.

"No trespassing! How many times do I have to tell you vermin-!" Springrunner, in all her glory, looked malicious but it died when she recognized them. "Oh, hey guys! Didn't expect you to come back. Uh, sorry about the hostility. Some idiots from up top decided to try and steal my herd, so they got pumped full of blaster fire. Microdust has been helping me secure this island ever since."

"That's awful," Arcee huffed.

"Yeah, a shame, I don't like wasting bullets like that."

Megatron instantly snickered while Arcee merely grinned before changing the subject. "Springrunner, we're looking for some very special relics, but we seem to be short on time. A spear of sorts, glows, maybe whispers...any of that around here?"

The white and green femme tapped her cheek, "You know, I did find something of that description a few months ago. One of my firetreaders was going loopy around a puddle of water and I thought it had contracted a processor ailment, walked around the bend a little. I put it down after I couldn't get it to calm down and especially when it went crazy and tried biting the hell out of its pen mates. Then I got curious when I heard something odd coming from the same area. The rest of my herd wouldn't even go near it. Dug up a pretty blue spear and placed it in my shed ever since."

"Highwind mentioned you wanted to sell it?"

"Yes, when it started driving me a bit mad. You try getting some sleep when you start hearing voices all day. I tried to sell it; everyone was spooked by it, so I moved it farther into my shed and covered it up. If you want it, you can have it for free. Absolute nightmare it has been to keep around the place if you ask me. A lot of bad luck too."

Springrunner led them to her shed, a large barn more like with her lassos and other tools needed for keeping such big animals in line. As soon as Arcee stepped in, the whispers drew from Dagger Prima as it sought its counterpart. A secondary set of whispers came from far back and she smirked, much to the farmer's confusion.

The warlord caught the surprised look of the other femme and quickly said, "It's an Allspark thing."

"THE Allspark? Are you talking about that mysterious power Solus Prime called an equal? The so-called heart of Primus themself? That Allspark?" When he nodded, she was astounded, "By Solus' Forge..."

Arcee ignored them, walking deeper into the barn. She then whispered back, "You are going home today but I can't send you there if you don't show me where you are."

A vivid blue glow bled through the cloth covering it in an abandoned stall, and she was quick to grab it and rip it off. A symmetrical spear from tip to neck vibrated with the collective energy it produced among its bio lights. She couldn't tell if it was the energy alone or perhaps the fabled consciences of the knowledge it possessed over the years of wayward mistakes by mortals. She had no intention of testing it. Symbols decorated its blade the same as Dagger Prima and the Terminus Blade, all the same mixture of the language of the Primes and the Allspark's special dialect. If it was a fake, it was quite impressive.

She carefully fiddled with it until its handle compressed and shrunk it to a more manageable size. Placing it on her back, she gave Megatron and Springrunner two thumbs up cockily. "Let's go give the Allspark its presents, shall we?"

Springrunner grinned as they passed by. "Tell the Allspark I say hi! It was my favorite story growing up, never thought I'd be a part of its mission."

"Thank you, Springrunner!"

They raced back to their ship with Moonhunter awaiting them sleeping soundly on one of the chairs. The highest mountain on the island was just ahead but at the peak, they found no landing zone possible. Then Arcee got an idea.

"If you give me the Spark Extractor and Terminus Blade, I think I can just glide to the peak and give it to the Allspark instead. You can pick me up when the exchange is done. Is that okay with you?"

As Megatron brought the transport to hover slightly higher than the mountain itself, he simply waved her off encouraging her. He didn't hesitate to hand her the two relics. "Do what you need to do."

A swift kiss on the cheek had her blush and she went to the cargo bay doors. Once they opened, she ran and dived. She gave a laugh as the wind felt good against her face. Her winglets expanded as her energy wings lit up, and she soared around the peak waiting for a good angle to drop in on. Keeping her arms towards her body, she rode the air currents until she found her opening. Rolling upside down, she dived again and hit the peak servos extended the last second to catch the metal and slow herself down.

"A little rougher than I wanted but not tumbling down the side of the mountain so...I'll take it."

"And you did well," a ghostly voice said. In a burst of light, the Allspark appeared before her with its three rings rotating around it slowing to a decent speed. It seemed to flutter in place and the rings paused for a second to sway with it in its joy. "It brings me great peace to know the artifacts of my creator will be safe again."

Arcee threw each relic up, watching the Allspark's energy enlighten them as they began to orbit it. Once all five were among it, it had them rotate above it before disappearing. The queen gave a quick smile before frowning a little.

"Where do they go? I don't remember if you ever told me."

"They go back to Primus' core as pure energy but if ever needed, we can summon them back. Since their makers have long passed, there just isn't any purpose for them here in the land of the living. Given some of them are far too dangerous as well, we all agreed it was best to put them out of commission where they can't harm anyone again."

"What about Optimus? The Liquefier was his, wasn't it?" She asked.

The Allspark contemplated her question, giving a small hum. "It was but I did talk to him too which is why I seek it despite against its brethren, it's not as recognizable. We've done too much, Arcee, got too comfortable with our abilities that we created the artifacts you sought out of arrogance and greed. Most of them were mistakes, even Solus admits that. They shouldn't be here, not anymore or ever again even if they are a part of history."

"I...understand," she said.

Before the Allspark vanished, it said one last thing. "Remember, Arcee, at the end of the day, every relic of the Primes is nothing but a mere extension of them. Sometimes dwelling on an inaccurate, overpowered image of those so revered can do more damage than good. They were, after all, still mortal as were their ambitions hence why these relics should finally be laid to rest with them."

The Allspark did a flip before disappearing in a flash of light. It left Arcee on the mountain peak alone among her thoughts.

AN: What is a most damning secret of the Primes do you think? They believe themselves gods but they leave behind chaos and prove no less mistaken than the common Cybertronian. Maybe one day I'll see about bringing the Primes into a direct light...