Song: Justified - Drea

After chatting with Silos, Arcee went back to the base where things seemed quiet. Moonhunter quickly stormed her, rubbing his head against her leg and walking beside her everywhere in the base afterwards. Bolt, however, was on edge.

"So, uh, how did it go?"

Arcee shook her head with a grimace. "Silos misinterpreted some of the conversation. He had the right idea, but they weren't brave enough to face The Matriarch in reality. Unfortunately, I killed them up until there was one left before finding out the truth. If she hears about this, I'm probably dead."

The Vehicon caressed his helm in disbelief. "Arcee, you didn't."

"I-It's okay though, we can still fix this. Not technically the worst thing I ever did, but I can see where it'll cause some problems. Look, we just go with the knowledge that there are Metal Heads on Chaar...somewhere...and that answers it completely. No risk of death. You with me so far?"

The Vehicon gestured around him, then pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards The Matriarch's tower where she had gotten wind that her sparkmate was meeting with the Decepticon leader. "And Megatron? What do we tell him? Your old pal, Silos, fucked up?"

"I don't know!" She exclaimed, "Silos has changed; he proved but he's not above error just the same as us. We will deal with it when we need to."

"Here we go again. Always with the suspicious behavior with him. You are way over your head, you know that?"

"What else am I supposed to do? Hmm? Bad things are going to happen anyways, and we will stop it. We haven't failed yet despite the odds. Besides, don't you find it a little suspicious the Metal Heads rarely appear here? Why? We, I mean as Cybertronians in general, are on our home turf. The other worlds they could divide us on because the leaders there didn't know us but here, the Metal Heads know I have some leeway. Silos is merely keeping watch so if they try to take out this base from under us, they don't get that chance. Call me crazy but we are doing good so far."

Bolt scoffed, "Okay, you're crazy and I'm a dead mech walking. Don't jinx yourself either, but...maybe you're right. Goddamn it all. If The Matriarch murders me, I'm haunting your ass until you meet me in the Well, then I'll kick it to kingdom come."

"Love you, Bolt," Arcee smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he grumbled. "And what makes me feel worse is that the feeling is very mutual."

Arcee laughed softly and reached down to pet Moonhunter when Shockwave suddenly approached her. She couldn't tell he was serious until he spoke.

"Arcee, we have a problem."

"Of course, nothing wants to run smoothly today. What do you got?"

The scientist huffed, "A sudden loss of power at my lab suggests an exterior threat. I've never had an issue with it since I built it, but something is wrong. Unusual pustules have been spotted just on the security wall and near the generators. These Metal Heads you spoke of previously, I think they are finally making their move. I need you to destroy all those growths outside of my lab before they permanently damage the power cells."

Arcee quickly grew serious and nodded, "I'll take care of it. Anyone you know with powerful cannons?"

"Sunstorm-"

"He's given up his powers to me and I can't seem to charge the ability fast enough here. Any gunships or others we can bring out?"

Shockwave thought for a moment before his audial fins perked up. "Perhaps there is. I used to have fusion cannons attached to the walls next to my laboratory before they fell dormant within the walls themselves. I can reactivate them, but I need time. I think Lugnut and Blitzwing are equally powerful enough to break the eggs if time isn't an option."

She grew a wide grin, "Then let's bring out the big boys."

Summoning Lugnut and Blitzwing was easier said than done. Although the two were never seen apart, they couldn't be found if they didn't want to be which surprised Arcee given Lugnut was not a mech she would think could sneak in and out of a base without being detected at least once. When she met up with Megatron and ran him through Shockwave's predicament, he immediately called Soundwave to try and find the two mechs she needed.

While he did so, The Matriarch walked down the steps from her citadel and peered around somewhat cautiously. Arcee could see she was unusually paranoid. She walked towards the other leader fearlessly which made The Matriarch slow down to meet her.

"The Metal Heads are getting ready to attack," she stated bluntly.

The Matriarch didn't seem angry or annoyed oddly, and she got her answer about the paranoia. "That explains a few things. I sensed Shockwave turn irate after he went back to his laboratory. I thought it was because of my stubbornness. If they dare step foot in my base, we'll be ready."

"Matriarch," Arcee then said, "I'm...sorry for butting in. I just want to be a good leader that I would do anything to help...even if you didn't want it-"

"Actually, I should be apologizing to you."

The comment had Arcee taken aback and she side-eyed the femme just in case she was hearing imaginary things. "You...would?"

"Maybe not this second," she laughed, deflating Arcee's optimism, "but I just might later depending on how things go. You don't wreck my base, you'll hear words no one will believe. You fail to do so, I'll be sure to give you a nice eulogy for your efforts."

Narrowing her optics, Arcee frowned, "You aren't a nice person."

"Is that so surprising? At least I don't pretend to like people. That makes me reliable and straightforward. I know what Megatron said to me, that I push everyone away, was meant to change my mind, but I'd rather be alone and a leader than be loved and treated as a friend. I have a job to do, and I don't need distractions. I can live with myself at the end of the day."

She knew she wasn't going to get far with any argument she may have wanted to start so Arcee merely sighed, "Trade one Decepticon leader for another, don't know what I expected. Thankfully, I'd rather have your honesty than risk backstabbing like some people do."

"Exactly," The Matriarch stated proudly.

"Shockwave spotted Metal Head eggs starting to grow along the laboratory exterior and the wall next to it. The Metal Heads are here. They've snuck in. I need Lugnut and Blitzwing to shoot down the eggs until Shockwave gets the cannons up and running. Do you know where they are?"

The Matriarch crossed her arms in thought, claws tapping against her arm until she snapped them as an indication she remembered. "Lugnut and Blitzwing were both sent out to check on my weapons cache that stopped reporting in. I'll call them back here and direct them to annihilate the eggs. Lugnut, Blitzwing, I need you two to head back to base. We have a more important matter to attend to."

Arcee froze up upon hearing their mission as the Decepticon leader called them. Instinctively, she flinched when The Matriarch heard of the state of the crew of the weapons transport.

"WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ARE ALL DEAD?! THOSE MOTHERF-NEVERMIND THE WEAPONS! JUST GET BACK HERE!" When she cut communications, The Matriarch clenched her fists in rage but forced herself to calm down by breathing rapidly through the vents on her chassis. "It's always something! Those monsters must have killed my crew! Stupid aliens! I don't need those weapons to defeat them! I'll do it myself!"

Arcee played dumb. "W-What happened?"

"I sent a crew to my cache in the ruins to retrieve more weapons and fuel for safekeeping and the Metal Heads must have murdered them! Those traitorous idiots couldn't even fight off some monsters! What's the point in training them if they can't do anything worthwhile to defend themselves?!"

"Traitorous? How do you know they were traitors?"

The Matriarch reluctantly nodded, "Yeah, those bastards talk about how the faction should have a 'real leader' all the time. It's no secret, so I gave the imbeciles the crappy jobs to amuse myself for their insolence...until now where they just got themselves killed. They talk a big game, but they were too afraid to face me. I only kept them around as a grunt staff. Damn, now I have to find new morons to pick on. I know there are a few in Starscream's command who hate my guts. Guess they are the new cleaning crew, heh heh."

So, The Matriarch knew the entire time. Arcee felt even worse now, nearly blue in the face realizing her mistake. Stick with the Metal Head story and everything should work out. A ground bridge roared open that caught Arcee off guard, The Matriarch not so much. Stepping out, Lugnut's optics contracted with a growl before ice-cold Blitzwing appeared behind him.

"Lugnut, there seems to be some intruders on Chaar and those bugs laid eggs. I need an exterminator outside the lab. Escort Arcee and fry them by any means necessary," she ordered.

Lugnut peered at Arcee who briefly nodded respectful before the mech grinned, "That can be done."

"Blitzwing, you'll be air support. If destroying those eggs lure them to us, we'll be able to take them out."

The angry personality of Blitzwing shifted front and center, yellow tinted visor over red optics and a missing tooth with a scar among the lip where it had been torn upon losing it. He pounded his fists together before yelling, "Those monsters will not take our base under my watch!"

"Although, there was something suspicious with those murders," Lugnut sneered.

The Matriarch tensed as she asked, "How so?"

"There was no consistency. Strikes of blades, an explosive detonation similar to Sunstorm's power, and three headshots...in a row. I doubt these 'Metal Heads' as I've heard Lord Me...Megatron refer to them as are that proficient in weaponry for such an animalistic species. Even Bolt told me in a conversation not too long ago that they prefer teeth and claws, up close and personal horrific deaths. This was not that setup."

The smooth baritone of Lugnut's, a long way from his more boisterous personality when he was younger under Megatron, resonated within Arcee as she shivered nervously. The Matriarch growing irritated and showing aggression again was not helping much...but she could never call her an idiot. When The Matriarch looked to the side in thought, Arcee had hoped she would pin someone like Starscream but slowly, she got the brunt of the glare. For once, it sounded more like restrained disappointment than actual anger.

"What did you do?"

"I don't-"

"You did," The Matriarch hissed with malicious humor as she stepped towards Arcee, right into her space with little regard for what Arcee was comfortable with. "'Three headshots in a row', 'strikes of blades'...oh, that sounds more like an assassin's handiwork than a monster's. Are we starting to connect the dots or do we need to hear more? Personally, I'd love to. So, indulge me, Queenie. What...did...you...do?"

There was no way to go around it, no way to deter The Matriarch from being nose-to-nose with her despite the faceplate structure only allowed her to stare into the optic visor glaring red. She finally sighed, "I overheard...a statement that they were planning on attacking you to take leadership and I didn't want you to have something else on your plate so I took care of it. Apparently, not as well as I should have."

"You think?! Why didn't you just come to me? I don't give a damn if they wanted to storm me! I can take them! You don't become leader by simply sitting in a corner; Megatron and I are some of the most powerful fighters in the faction. Trust me, overthrowing us is a chore and it takes far more than ten bots to do that, especially arrogant idiots with little coordination who can't keep their mouths shut!"

Arcee gestured madly, "I don't know what I was thinking! I want you to see that I want to, I don't know, be a friend or-or get along. We shouldn't be enemies, but I can't help you if you keep being an ass!"

"Like I told you, I don't need your help...but you might need mine." The Matriarch's voice got low as she stared up and past her. Confused, Arcee trailed the direction the larger femme was staring in and gasped.

Decepticons towards the south end backed away as clawed hands grasped the ledge of the walls. Hunched over the wall top, Metal Heads stared down hissing and roaring before jumping into the base itself.

The Matriarch suddenly yelled, "Decepticons, ambush! Rise up and destroy!"

A call to arms. Every Con who heard her grew defensive and immediately sought out the invaders as the Metal Heads began clashing with them. Vehicons were the quickest to join as per expected while the far more brutal hitters like Blackout and the Constructicons followed. Gunfire quickly erupted and the base turned into a warzone too fast for Arcee to react.

Then she was dragged back with a servo wrapped over her arm like a reprimanded sparkling by The Matriarch who growled, "I have my doubts you and Megatron are dumb enough to side with those freaks of nature, but I'm still pissed off enough to believe this is your fault. Now, you have an ultimatum. Either 'help' like you should, or I'll put a bullet in your head here and now. I have the resources and skills to face Cybertron again, especially with those newborn sparks not knowing shit about how dangerous we are. Rockrider's army was a complete joke. We can take them by surprise with ease like you wouldn't believe. You, however, can't afford any losses less you want retaliation on your hands from your own citizens. Figure out where you stand and do anything it takes to protect my planet. Is that clear?"

Arcee ripped her arm from the other's grip. She had the gall to retort, "I will, but I thought you didn't want my help?"

"Just do your job or stay out of my way. Maybe if you do help, I'll forgive that little screw up of yours. You owe me something for that, and I intend to get it one way or another. Not a moment before."

She was nearly pushed out of The Matriarch's path which left her with Lugnut and Blitzwing, the latter of whom switched to his unstable personality. The demonic, boa-like optics and mouth full of red fangs were solely focused on the Metal Heads. Arcee grew curious as to how this personality came to be as it even scared her. As long as she wasn't on the receiving end of the mech in this mode, she was just fine with him.

"I'm sorry if you guys don't want to aid me after-"

"What's in the past is done," Lugnut said quickly and unusually wisely. He had matured greatly since the beginning of the war as a supreme Megatron loyalist. "Right now, we need to get that infestation of yours down. We promised if you called on us, we would help you. Here we are."

He gave Arcee a rare smile and she grew confident again. "Let's rain some hell on these things."

"I think it'll be best if you come with me. Let Blitzwing do his thing without hurting you in the process" he chuckled before extending his arm down so Arcee could climb up to his shoulder. He transformed, flipping so Arcee had time to jump and land on the top of his cockpit. At the same time, the insane persona of Blitzwing gave a mad cackle, glossa teasing the ends of his teeth with a crooked grin and lubricant saliva dripping from his hunger for violence.

Megatron, Bolt, and Moonhunter gestured to her and Arcee gave two thumbs up which Megatron immediately understood that she had a plan. He gestured back a servo touching his brow before tilting towards her, a sign of "good luck."

The bomber then instructed, "Blitzwing, kill anything that touches our base. We'll destroy the eggs."

"Aye, aye, captain," the mad mech growled playfully.

Slamming his fists on the ground, Blitzwing gave a loud pitched roar before transforming and speeding away to air strike the Metal Heads. Lugnut made sure Arcee was secure on his cockpit hood and jettisoned towards the lab. The overhead view of the wall showed there were portals opened on the other side. Swarms of the monsters were coming through though Arcee kind of laughed when a few of them got snagged by the direfangs nearby for a quick meal. Their peers didn't seem to care as they scaled the walls effortlessly.

When they reached the laboratory, they circled to see where the infestation was. Sure enough, those eggs were sucking away power near the generators and their precious energy cells. A few patrolling Metal Heads had the potential to make things harder. If they bombarded the eggs, the Metal Heads might target anyone who responds to any damage taken to the laboratory, risking their lives.

"This is going to sound stupid, but I'll take out the ground forces then shoot the eggs in the area!"

Lugnut made an unusual noise of confusion. "Are you sure that's a good idea?! If I strike you by accident-"

"Consider it a debt repaid," she said without missing a beat to Lugnut's stunned silence.

He finally said, "By your lead then. But hurry!"

Arcee sneered then ran off his cockpit to skydive several meters before activating her gliding ability. She noticed as she descended, and Lugnut circled overhead still, there were multiple areas with eggs being placed and forming around the grounds below the lab's cliffside. If they hatched, they would unleash hell. She didn't know how much time she had.

"Shockwave, there's eggs everywhere!"

"You need to destroy them quickly. I'm holding the lab secure, but I can only do so for some time. We are holding our position. I don't know how long the doors can hold."

"On it!"

She dived again and rolled off the ground in her landing, shaking her winglets back in place to diffuse the energy wings. The Metal Heads nearest to her raised up and snarled. She brought out Dagger Prima this time and she knew the blade was happy to be out again when it gave a brief glow.

"Boys, I don't have time for your little raid. Meet Dagger Prima. She's a bitch...just like me," Arcee snickered. A Horaquan Grunt hissed with wide open jaws, giving her the incentive to show them who was boss. "That's a shame. I warned you."

Arcee sprinted at the cluster of Metal Heads and struck down the first one that hissed at her with the blade going directly into the back of its neck nearly decapitating it. She used the momentum of her swing to flip over it and counter a Goon with its staff. She pushed against the staff as the other Metal Heads circled to get behind her. Knowing they only needed a second to get her to fall off course from her plans entirely, she did the only thing she could do. Letting the Goon fall forward by sidestepping from their lock, the smaller Metal Heads behind her were crushed by their peer. She couldn't help but laugh at the creatures stuck beneath the larger monster struggling to free themselves, one with their claws raking against the rock to try and pull itself to safety and another's front was trapped leading to it to push on the side of the Goon's body with its feet.

Suddenly, a growl had her back in a defensive pose. A Centurion with its shield up aimed to slam it down on her head but she moved away. It rushed her in its arrogance, and she spun around it to impale its backside before ripping out the dagger to strike another Metal Head coming up from the left. With all the practice she had gotten on Velocitron and Caminus, fighting the Horaquan hellions was like performing the same dance repeatedly. It was starting to get easy remembering each monster's weakness.

In no time, Arcee killed the last creature in the section before signaling to Lugnut who got in close to the Metal Head eggs rattling on the wall of the laboratory. He hovered and brought out his turrets. The eggs popped like balloons from the powerful blasts though the walls did receive some damage in the process. The power to the lab seemed to boost from the parasites no longer feeding on its energy.

"There are three more egg clusters I spotted from above, two of which are below the cliffs," Lugnut said. "Some of those monsters seem to be armed with cannons, literally, not favorable to the likes of me."

Arcee gestured proudly, "I will take of it, no problem."

As she tracked down the second section with eggs on the wall beside the lab, she saw in the distance Megatron and Bolt helping the Decepticons run down the creatures before they could get far in the base. As long as they held their position, the Metal Heads weren't a threat. She didn't pause to assess the situation with the Metal Heads pacing near the eggs and jumped mid-run to send both pedes right into one of the Mantis that didn't see her in time.

Dagger Prima was switched out for her double-bladed sword, and she threw it at the chest of a Grunt before running up its body and taking the blade on the leap off it. She came down on another Grunt and impaled it through its mouth, down its throat, and through its backside before it tried to meet her part of the way to bite her. Three Mantis remained and hopped on the side of the building as well as the ground to make it hard for her to keep track of all of them.

Well, Arcee had a solution to that. Pulling out the ricochet ray with a cocky grin, she grew amused when one of the Mantis paused with a worried animalistic grunt. "Dodge this!"

She fired several bullets as she ducked behind the supports to the wall. Two of the Metal Heads tried to outmaneuver the blasts but were each sniped by the ricochet, skull gems leaving their bodies even before they hit the ground. The last one got wise and hid the same as her. Its raptorial tibia tapped on the wall paranoid and angered. When it stepped out, it grew shocked to see the muzzle of the gun inches from its face. All it got was a mere grunt of victory from the queen before its head was blown clean off, its alien cry was muted as quick as it started.

Lugnut navigated the small space between the lab and the wall and fired rapidly at the eggs that gave off their own little screeches as each one burst. He paused and shifted around to check if any were resting on the lab walls themselves. When it was determined he got all of them, he sped out of the space and resumed circling above.

Arcee ran to the edge of the cliff and spotted a large Metal Head with a cannon attached to its staff. It was accompanied by two Spyder Gunners, both equally devastating shots if one wasn't careful. Pursing her lips in thought, she quickly deduced the only way she would have a shot at taking them down was to get the drop on them. Backing away from the cliff, she paced a second before wordlessly shrugging when she came up with no other options. Maybe she was a bit crazy as Blitzwing but standing on the edge again and saluting blandly helped her cope with the stupidity of the action as she leaned forward to fall off. What Lugnut thought of that, if he saw it, she couldn't guess.

The Spyder Gunners had no clue of her presence as she twisted upright and had a pede out in her freefall. Slamming on the head of one of them, she shook off the impact when the body provided cushioning against the otherwise harmful fall that could have broken her ankles. She knew she crushed its skull and neck as it remained still after she lunged at the new Metal Head.

The remaining Metal Heads shot at her after getting over their surprise. Both had rapid-firing weapons, so Arcee had run up the side of the rock wall of the cliff to dodge the blasts. However, the Rapid Gunner, as she dubbed it, took a second to reload. A poor mistake against her. She used its brief pause to kick out its leg to make it kneel and struck its head, but the creature grabbed her arm and tossed her right into the firing line of the Spyder Gunner that cocked its arm blaster with a hiss.

Abruptly, a maddening laugh roared by, and the Metal Head was bombarded with missiles. Arcee had to crawl quickly between the bombs and the Rapid Gunner targeting her to hide behind a pole. Blitzwing flew past her battlefield still cackling before cutting his engines and doing an insane 180 back around. Twirling, he reignited his jets and sped at the remaining Gunner. Instead of blasting the Metal Head, he transformed.

His dark faceplates and red optics seemed to unnerve even the proud Metal Head before him before he roared like a beast. Arcee didn't want to admit how pleased she was to see the demonic persona out and about. Unlike her, Blitzwing could shrug off the Rapid Gunner's fire as he charged the creature, still grinning with fangs prominent. Being as big as he was, Arcee was surprised he didn't kill the Metal Head when he grabbed the latter and slammed it down with a loud crack of bone and metal. The creature was still alive and struggled to get up but the mad mech did the unexpected. Blitzwing clasped both sides of the creature's head and crushed it between his palms like pulp with another deranged cackle. The body fell back lifeless but Blitzwing maintained his servos together with a sinister gleam in his optics as the dark purple sludge dripped through his fingers. Then he turned to Arcee.

His crazy side she was unsure of as she didn't know whether he still resented her for previously humiliating him on Cybertron or not. Unlike the other personalities, this one had little restraint in expressing a grudge. Arcee tried not to wince as he grabbed her arm, coating it without care with the creature's blood. She was pulled up and had to look high to keep track of his red optics as she only came up to his abdomen. He crouched down with a weird sound as his glossa snaked out, then placed a rough kiss on her.

It took her three attempts to rip away from him but then she punched him right in the face though it hardly deterred his amusement. She yelled and spat, "You are an asshole, you know that?! Try that again and I'll cut that tongue out of your mouth! That's nasty."

"Oh, I just wanted to know what you tasted like," he snickered before changing to his blue-faced personality. "Apologies, we...I was in the heat of the moment. Bloodlust does things to me and that's the horniest of my three."

"I'll keep a mental note of that. I take it I turned you on when I fought you last time back home too. Boundaries. Teach it to your mentally-challenged pet demon side, won't you?" She grimaced the longer she stood there. "...Ew, what the hell did you eat? Did you bite something's head off? That's a weird taste."

Blitzwing grew a dark blush as he rubbed his neck, "I...wouldn't put it past me in that state, to be honest."

She glared disturbed at him. "You weren't even that personality for more than an hour?! Who died before you started fighting the Metal Heads?!"

The mech shrugged awkwardly, "It's a blur."

"That glossa is going to get you into trouble."

"Good or bad?"

Arcee sent him a deadpanned look before Lugnut swung around and aimed at the eggs. They were destroyed in no time, and she contacted Shockwave. "One more section has eggs and then we should have gotten all of them."

The scientist's voice sounded relieved, "Excellent, I have the barrier security weapons back online. That should put an end to the intrusion across the base."

On cue, weapons shifted out of the walls, one after the other and she followed the trail of their emergence to the distant Metal Heads trying to scale the base's borders. Gunfire erupted from them in that area, aiming for the portals as the bots heard the monsters' squeals upon being shot.

"Lugnut, you have a supersonic fusion bomb that can destroy anything, right? I think we should make those cretins go with a bang, but you must wait for our signal. Blitzwing, we're going to find ourselves some Metal Heads."

"Yes, Ma'am," Blitzwing smirked.

Lugnut chuckled, "I've waited some time to use the P.O.K.E."

"P.O.K.E.?" Arcee questioned before turning to Blitzwing.

"It's a fun name we came up with in our boredom."

Arcee just shook her head. The bots carefully treated around the laboratory's cliff base and rebounded right as they turned a corner, quickly shuffling back to only peek at the Metal Heads patrolling. The last of the eggs were glowing, indicating they were about to hatch. She gave Blitzwing the initiative to go and in return, he called Lugnut to do what he did best.

Lugnut's vehicle form swooped around and went skyward before he transformed and flipped to a punch position. Shifting his arm into a reactor bomb, the wind speed in the fall began charging it as he narrowed all his optics with a devious grin.

"We might want to take a couple steps back...just saying," Blitzwing said uneasily. Arcee quickly got his meaning and sprinted away with the mech in tow. They turned right as Lugnut's fist collided with the ground.

Although it wasn't his most powerful attack with the little energy stored from the descent, it was enough to cause a brief flash and shake the ground. A small plume of smoke and fire ruptured upward as pieces of Metal Head armor and other debris were flung Arcee's way. Blitzwing covered her with his back taking the brunt of the wind and dirt that was disturbed. When the effects of the blast died, they saw a small crater and Lugnut fist down in a pose. He slowly stood up merely with a few scuffs to his knee plates from the rough landing, but no other damage was seen. The Metal Heads and their eggs, however, were pulverized.

"Damn..." she stated quietly.

"Make sure you never piss him off; I have learned a few times as his partner to not do stupid things around him. Obviously, he doesn't power it enough to kill me like it can if charged twenty percent or higher, but the impact hurts really bad. I've only ever seen him charge it completely once...it killed everything in over a hundred-mile radius and decimated all the buildings around it. Nothing stood. I was in the air when that happened, a good thing too but the ground troops...highest kill count in a single battle, still has that record along with highest friendly fire casualty count."

They exchanged looks which Arcee threw up her eyebrows a little concerned when hearing that. "So, basically, he killed everyone?"

"...Basically, he killed everyone. Yes."

"Moral understood then. Shockwave, the last of the Metal head eggs are gone."

"Yes...I felt that explosion. I take it that was Lugnut. Good job and give some compliments to the walking bomb as well. I have a Radiant Core to give you if you wish to climb back up here."

Arcee sighed but started trekking back up the pathway to the laboratory regardless. "This is going to kill me one day."

The Matriarch grabbed the foolish Metal Head that dared to charge her and repeatedly bashed the creature into the ground until another appeared. She changed course and started using the dead body as a mace, shattering its armor against the stunned monster. She threw the body after one last hit then grabbed the collar of the second Horaquan before bashing its brains in.

Bolt and the other Vehicons followed her lead with the former taking out his axe and swinging into the head of a Metal Head. Just then, a Metal Rhyno and Ramhead stormed the battlefield. They were resistant to the blasts from several Decepticon weapons but Megatron rushed the Rhyno's side, pushing the creature into its peer to slide against the ground. It was quickly dispatched by Megatron's blade, then he shifted his weapon to pierce the backside of the other beast.

The Metal Head legion was being thinned out now that they had the support of the weapons but Megatron knew that didn't necessarily put them in the clear. There would always be danger as long as the beasts continued.

"You would think they'd be a bit smarter by now," Bolt said.

Megatron gestured to a Metal Head and Moonhunter ran at it, clawing and ripping at its body like a ravenous predator. "I suspect they might be doing this for a different purpose than to just invade worlds. Don't you find it a little weird, they always attack when tensions are up? It's like they are waiting on everything to go wrong."

"Maybe they are smarter than I give them credit for," the Vehicon muttered as he struck a Metal Head that slid in front of him. "But still not that smart."

Cyclonus and Blackout tag-teamed with the helicopter igniting his rotor blades on his arms to slice up any unfortunate prey caught among them. The purple mech took on a Centurion, dodging the shield until the monster leaned forward a bit too much and opened itself to be impaled through its skull gem. Cyclonus gave no mercy on the lack of speed on the Metal Head's part, swinging his sword upright in a formal stance as it collapsed dead.

A loud roar echoed across the base before shifting dirt and rock followed. Some of the Decepticons paused unsure as Megatron peered around for the origin of the noise. It was believed to be over the wall still, but it sounded big.

"Megatron!"

He turned to see Arcee, Blitzwing, and Lugnut running through the chaos and killing any Metal Heads that dared to target them. "How did it go? You heard that, right?"

"Yes, we just heard that," Arcee said. She then held up a Radiant Core. "Shockwave's gift to me. The Metal Head eggs are gone but whatever that was, it sounds mean, and I doubt it's just going to leave us alone."

The Matriarch punched a Metal Head right past them, huffing before staring them down. "Are we having a party or what?"

"We stopped the infestation," Arcee said with confidence.

"Great, I'll send you a prize. Now, princess, while you're here, help get these stragglers out of my base!"

Arcee wanted to roll her optics but the quick cracking noise of the Vehicon's fists tightening assured her that being any form of sarcastic right now would earn her a fight to the death even amidst the Metal Heads.

Just then, Slipstream and a young purple and black Seeker ran up to them, the former looking panicked. "Matriarch, you said you'd escort my daughter to the shelter! There are more creatures to the north of the base breaching the tunnels in the wall and I can't risk losing her in the chaos!"

The Matriarch growled, "I'm a little busy to be babysitting! Can't Starscream or one of your friends escort the kid?"

"They are the ones holding those monsters back up there."

Arcee stepped in instead. "What do you need done?"

Slipstream was aware of the Metal Heads getting close by those trying to hold them off and quickly gestured to the smaller femme behind her. "This is my daughter, Nighthawk. I need her to be taken to a shelter at the far end of the base beyond the tower. Even with the defenses we have, I can't monitor her and keep the Metal Heads at bay! If you could bring there, to her cousin, Draco, I would be most grateful. I need to stay here and help Starscream and the other Seekers."

Bolt sighed, "Unfortunately, we don't have the time-"

"I'll do it," interrupted Arcee. The Cons among her all sent her weird looks and she shrugged, "Someone must protect younglings while those brutes are wandering about. I'll be back before you know it!"

Megatron shook his head but reluctantly agreed. "Alright, but if anything happens-"

"I'll call in the calvary. I know, I know." She turned to Nighthawk who tilted her head a little at her. "Stick with me, kid. I'll get you to that safehouse."

Slipstream nodded to Nighthawk, and she hesitantly followed Arcee. "Be careful."

The group split off with most of Arcee's friends going back into battle. Arcee and Nighthawk moved away from the fight, watching for any abnormalities around them.

Direfangs hissed at each other angrily as a few sand-dwellers skimmed the planet's surface unconcerned of the escalating fight for territory. Opening their maws and showing off their hoods to make the other back down, their bio lights glowed bright in growing irritation.

The sound of a space bridge and a boom of ground broken into made both flinch and stare down the direction of the noise, pissed at the interruption. Even the sand-dwellers were not happy with a potential invader in their midst. A rock trail of upturned sediment moved across the surface like a bullet, circling a few of the snakes with an eerie snarl. The direfangs responded by instead hissing at the offender. They regretted their decision immediately.

The rock broke loose and all creatures in the area flinched and cowered as a shadow dwarfed them. A deep hiss and a yellow undertone glow presented a dark beast. Its shadow turned to its side among the fearful populace towards the walls of the base where constant light of gunfire was dancing among the stars. It opened its mouth with a roar, fangs larger than any of the creatures' present expressing distaste before it dived back into the ground. The snakes around it quickly hid once it left.

The trail of debris moved towards the fight, uncaring of any wonderwards or other creatures that got in its way. It was on a mission, and it intended to do what was instructed of it by any means necessary.

Seeing the Seekerling tense, she decided to try and diffuse the situation. She had to peer up at the younger femme who was already larger than her by three feet and assure her.

"Are you okay?"

Nighthawk finally spoke after a moment of silence. "I've never seen those creatures before. Are they really monsters?"

Arcee huffed a little. "They're...something like that but they're really only bullies who can bite. And they have nothing better to do than terrorize people."

The Seeker smiled slightly, still unsure about her and the whole background noise of gunfire and roars. Arcee could hardly blame her, but then her commlink went off.

"I see that Matriarch's base is under attack. A perfect time to perhaps get something for me."

"Not now, Silos," she said sternly.

"Oh, but this is a necessity. I have a client who is into the museum business, wants a replica of a Decepticon warship ion cannon. He doesn't care if it functions much less fires, only the base model. Unfortunately, I have slight difficulty in obtaining such a thing and judging by the aggression your new friends give off, I'd say it wouldn't be wise for me to get them. How about you instead?" Silos sang. She could almost hear the grin upon his face.

Arcee snarled, "Are you crazy?! I can't get that!"

"Tick tock, or else a might just let a few details slip that the Horaquan would want to know desperately. It's fun going back and forth between you and my former peers. I get what I want in the end regardless."

"Fine!" Arcee grimaced, "I'll see what I can do, you evil leech."

The ex-Rozarian snickered, "Don't flirt with me. It's so unbecoming of a queen to mix with a monster."

"Remind me why I put up with you..."

"I deliver. That says enough."

Silos cut his end before she could reply with an ego-bruising comeback but also thought it was good that he did because she was in the midst of a youngling. Slipstream would have clocked her upside the head if her baby came back asking the wrong questions.

"Who was that?" Nighthawk asked in a meek voice.

"That was a terrible friend who wants me to secure some documents here which I have no clue where they would be and frankly, I'm not going around a base searching for it. Putting you in danger is not on my never-ending list of things to do."

"What is it you seek?"

She treaded carefully with her words to not sound suspicious. "I need the schematics for a weapon...something that we can use to protect this base and possibly prepare for any future aggressors."

Nighthawk laughed, "That sounds like something you would find in Onslaught's warehouse."

"Onslaught?"

"Yeah, he's a weapons specialist! My carrier and I visit him from time to time when she gets upgrades. When I'm old enough, I'm going to be allowed to get my own weapons and upgrades. He has a bunch of blueprints lying around. I don't think he'll mind if you take one."

Arcee paused to collect her thoughts before asking, "Where might I find Onslaught?"

The Seekerling pointed at a warehouse that appeared operational and several bots running out of it towards the danger. Arcee knew she shouldn't involve NightHawk in this but the faster she appeased Silos, the easier he was to deal with. She ran towards Onslaught's warehouse with Nighthawk beside her. When they reached the building, they saw a bulky, green mech growling as he attached guns to his arm and cocked them into place with a dark grin. His red optics were blatantly ones of a killer.

Nighthawk tapped on Arcee's shoulder before saying, "I'll distract him and you can take anything from the table over there."

Arcee saw the table she meant covered in data pads and screens depicting weapons including, to her shock, the Nemesis' ion cannon schematics beside a different ion cannon for what appeared to be a fortress among other things. Nighthawk walked past her as she crouched in a blind spot and went to Onslaught humming.

"Hi, Onslaught, I need a weapon to fight those nasty creatures out there!"

Onslaught almost handed her a fusion blaster without looking until he backtracked and scowled, "Nighthawk, ain't you supposed to be with that smartass cousin of yours?! Go hide! The battlefield is no place for little ones!"

As Nighthawk made a pouting face, Arcee snuck behind the counter and made her way to the table. She kept an optic on the two between glances as the schematics.

"I can fight!" Nighthawk said.

The older mech rolled his optics. "Yeah, sure, you'd be a big help. Listen, kid, those things out there are not child-friendly. You go out there blindly shooting and they will target you. I don't want to know what they'll do you nor what your carrier will do to me if you get a single scratch on you. Go on!"

Arcee looked over the prints for null rays, cannons, blasters, and even shields. She determined an ion cannon's specs were the best option. They didn't say how to make them operational, only how to build one and that was all she needed. Stuffing the datapad with it in her subspace, she snuck back to the counter and waited for Nighthawk to make one last distraction.

"But I want one!"

"I ain't telling you again. You get going or I'll call your carrier here immediately."

Once Arcee got to the exterior, she whistled and pretended to be looking for the youngling. "Nighthawk!"

The younger femme perked up and scowled, "Some help you were, Onslaught."

The mech did nothing but grumble as they left. Arcee and Nighthawk shared brief laughter before the queen asked, "I'm surprised you let me do this. It means a lot."

"Well, it's mainly because I have a secret of my own," Nighthawk started, "but you can't tell my carrier."

Arcee shook her head, "Our secret."

"I've stolen weapons from him."

"Why would you do that?"

"Draco and I, we aren't as nice as we let on. I've stolen Energon and some of Shockwave's tools also. I can't help it! When my carrier says no, I just really want to do the opposite and when I see random things that catch my optic, I take them without knowing why really. Draco won't stop me...I think I have a problem."

She didn't say much other than, "It's not too bad. I think you just might be a kleptomaniac."

"Really?" Nighthawk said with newfound interest. Then she frowned, "Wait, what's a kelp-tow-maniac?"

"'Kleptomaniac,' means you have the urge to steal regardless of if you need what you take or not."

"Oh, that explains a few things. It sounds...bad though. Does it make me a bad person?" Nighthawk asked innocently.

Arcee smiled at her in reassurance, "Doing something that is looked down upon will never make you a bad person unless you wish to be. It's only a bad habit and with the proper training, you can turn it into something far more valuable than even what you steal. For instance, there are jobs that pay hired thieves to test security of objects, show others how to look out and stop more greedy individuals, and maybe the Decepticons have need for someone who might be able to rival Soundwave himself in stealth."

Nighthawk paused as she examined the information told. "I never thought of that."

"I'm bonded with a mass murder...does that make me evil to you?" The Seekerling shook her head and Arcee gestured openly, "There you go."

The Decepticons held back the army as some of the Metal Heads began to retreat. The bigger ones tried to keep the offense going but The Matriarch and her troops were determined to destroy them as she sliced a large Ramhead right in half with a battle cry.

Megatron pounded one into a pancake before swinging its corpse to knock down a Metal Flyer overhead attempting to divebomb him. "Is that all you got?!"

Slipstream turned quickly, rapidly firing along the way to hit anything in her vicinity and even blowing the brains out of a poor Metal Head that jumped at wrong time. Blitzwing, on the other hand, viciously switched between his three personalities to do the most damage. When far from an enemy, he retained his colder persona but up close, they faced his hotheaded rage. Then the most unfortunate of Metal Heads were suddenly chased down by the demon at random aiming to tear them apart with an ungodly bellow and grin.

As Lugnut covered Bolt and Moonhunter, a rumble made them all pause and look towards the ground. An unearthed trail of dirt coming from under the wall where the Metal Heads had breached crawled across the planet's surface with a groan. It stopped for only a few seconds before storming past the bots with little regard for them, toppling anyone who got in its way.

"What was that?! A sand-dweller?!" Bolt exclaimed.

The Matriarch growled, "No, sand-dwellers and direfangs don't run along the surface like that. They only breach and dive. They prefer the element of surprise. And whatever it is, it's heading your girl's way, Megatron."

The warlord tensed and made the executive decision to follow it much to the other Decepticons' shock. But Slipstream's optics widened as she put her servos to her mouth scared. "Nighthawk!"

As they approached the shelter among the distant chaos where the one called Draco seemed to be disobeying orders and staying outside the door awaiting them, Nighthawk said, "You're the best, Arcee! I hope you bash those no-good monsters to the ground!"

The blue and black Seeker, her cousin, waved her over. "Nighthawk, over here!"

From what Arcee could tell of the bot, he was nearly the same age but definitely had more of Starscream's looks compared to Nighthawk who was identical to Slipstream, just a different shade of purple. If she had to guess, Draco's father had to be Thundercracker if the cousins really were related. If not, the only other Seekers with similar color schemes were Bitstream and Nacelle. But the likelihood of that was nonexistent as neither were related to Starscream and both of them had been dead since Technahar.

"Where were you?! There are weird creatures roaming around and you're next to an Autobot?"

"She's cool!" Nighthawk argued proudly, "Lay off, Draco, don't make me summon Kiara!"

The name was unknown, no Decepticon she knew of had it.

"As if you'd be bold enough to call our mother over to a warzone," Draco hissed.

Arcee grew confused, "I thought Slipstream is your creator?"

The two went silent before Nighthawk shot her cousin a dark glare. The other Seekerling shrugged in his defense until the purple femme rolled her optics. "Can you keep another secret?"

The queen didn't respond this time but the silence was enough for Nighthawk to continue. "Years ago, Draco and I got separated on Cybertron near the end of the war. We were little. Draco found another bot to pal up with, Spike, and Alpha Trion had a trainee clerk by the name of Serpentine. While those horrible battles went on, we were frightened until we met a youngling like us. He looked strange compared to the models we were used to, kind like those Predacons from the history holopads. He took us to a world with the most amazing scenery! Everyone was nice!"

Draco sneered, "It was okay, but we met the king, a cool guy and we got to live in luxury as we had been adopted! Of course, we returned here when we learned our creators had survived, but I'd love to go back! Nighthawk, we need to go back soon!"

Arcee blinked unsure before she asked, "You have a way to go to and from Chaar and the other world? This world...do you remember the name of it?"

"Uhm...Kanto, Kanvas...Kan-Kanjis! Kanjis! It was a techno-organic world!" Nighthawk said with a squeal, "It's beautiful! You should go too!"

The same world Silos' Rozaria was neighbors with and some of the creatures she had encountered on the Isle of the Allspark before had come from. Given getting to the world required ground bridge coordinates, she was a bit surprised that they had access to a space bridge that no one else knew about.

"I'll write it down for my next vacation," she joked. "Why didn't you tell your creators about this?"

"If they knew, we can't sneak back to see all the friends we made, especially Phantasmos. I heard he just returned to his home world after isolation, so have his brothers and sisters! We've only been able to see the king and queen for some time."

That piqued her curiosity the most. "Why were they isolated?"

Draco shook his head and frowned, "They were banished more like. The king had no choice when his eldest daughter, Tigressa, showed signs of manipulation. He feared she would take revenge by setting his own children against him, so they went in a consented exile...that is until she disappeared. Now, they have nothing to worry about, and he welcomed them back."

The name made her freeze. Tigressa...Draco and Nighthawk were adopted by the creators of Tigressa, the monster who made the unholy virus that plagued worlds. That was not what she expected to hear, and she was about to ask more questions when an abrupt roar sounded underground. The density of the planet beneath them muffled it but it still caught her attention as something dangerous.

"Arcee," Megatron's voice came through, "something is chasing after you!"

In her bewilderment, Arcee quickly gestured for the kids to get near to the building as she backed towards them to watch for anything unusual. Dagger Prima flared up on her backside in warning. She tensed trying to find it among the otherwise calmer environment than beyond the area. When another sound seemed to indicate it was closer than she initially thought, Arcee summoned her blasters and kneeled trying to feel any vibrations to get a better idea where it was. Direfangs and sand-dwellers could tunnel but something seemed off. Then she felt a rumble growing fast with a trail of upturning rock and dirt appearing on the left and heading straight towards her. This was far too big to be those creatures...

"Hide!" Arcee screamed at the younglings.

Draco and Nighthawk obeyed without question as Arcee scurried back when the rock burst up and a giant serpent broke through, slamming onto the ground and twisting into a coiling pattern. The first thing they noticed was the blatant skull gem among its underbelly a few feet down from its throat. Armored far more than any snake species that inhabited the planet with bluish purple organic skin beneath, the serpent roared and showed off its massive mouth adored with two sets of long fangs while the rest were short but jagged. Barbs littered its spine and its four yellow eyes sat in a straight line horizontally on the head instead of stacked. They merged with yellow bio lit spots that went down the side of the body. It had a small crest of horns upon its head blending with the linear barbs going down its back.

The Metal snake saw her and narrowed all four eyes which she noticed had the faintest white slit pupils. It harbored hatred despite the fact that she had yet to antagonize it. That's when she knew the game had changed indefinitely. The Metal Head Leader wasn't trying to take over anymore; they were trying to kill her for killing Tigressa.

She ran backwards when it pursued her with a nasty hiss, an insight into its determination to eat her alive if she gave it the chance to do so. As long as it stayed away from the younglings, drawing its ire was the most reasonable thing she could think of. Arcee fired her weapons, the blasts doing little to damage the exterior armor and it started dodging her immediately, whipping across the ground with urgency unlike the last two commanders.

"Arcee," Silos said, "I sense there's a commander after you."

"No, really?!"

"I'm just trying to help. In all seriousness, the Baskilisk is the deadliest of the commanders in terms of kill rates as it is known as the Malicious Striker. To fight one as it, you must outwit it as physical attacks require a close radius to its person...and that's the last place you want to be. Perhaps the element of surprise would do you good."

Element of surprise? How was she supposed to get the element of surprise on something that was currently locked onto her?! Arcee hid around a corner as it struck the side of a building to catch her in its jaws. Following her, it eased through the smaller spaces normally most bots had trouble going into but at the same time, it forced itself through the tight ones, ripping metal without mercy in its rampage against her. She hid behind a discarded ship and instead brought out Dagger Prima. Hearing it break part of the buildings' walls once it got back out into the open, she gripped the dagger with a sneer.

The Metal Baskilisk raised its head, glossa briefly flickering out to sense the air for her. It moved back down to slither against the ground with another hiss. The snout of the serpent poked near the ship and when it was partially visible merely a few feet from Arcee, she shivered as it slowly opened its jaws with the fangs prominent against the base's purple lighting.

"Hey, Snake Head!"

Arcee froze as it quickly turned its head from next to her to peer up at the roof of the building overlooking both their positions. Draco stood with a pride Arcee recognized, the son of Thundercracker indeed. She grew panicked as the Baskilisk snarled, barbs rising with the intent to kill. But, to her surprise, Draco clapped his servos together once before slamming them on the ground. The shockwave caused the snake to grow motionless but it didn't go past the creature to affect Arcee.

"What did you do?! Just now, what was that?!"

Draco remained crouched, his chest pulsing before calling out, "I stopped time around the monster but you only have a minute! It was a gift from the king of Kanjis! If you want to strike, you better do it now!"

Arcee didn't need to be told twice. Using her speed boost, she jumped onto its back and climbed up its spine. When she reached its face, she shoved the blade into both eye sockets on the right side. The eyes burst and slowly its face scrunched up to show its pain.

"I can't hold it any longer!" Draco called.

She slid down the body of the Metal Head and sprinted away right as the time bubble burst and the Baskilisk grew aware again, shaking madly with a shriek as purple sludge oozed from the damage. Draco was quick to leave, saluting to Arcee for good luck as he looked drained from the use of the power, too young to fully master the ability yet. However, Arcee made a mistake as she stepped back from a distance. Her pede stepped on a lip in the ground and the edge crumbled. The Baskilisk quit its movements to glare at her with its remaining eyes. In its rising anger, it dived beneath the ground and a trail of rock exploded towards her like a torpedo.

Arcee was suddenly grabbed from above and she nearly struck Megatron who managed to catch the dagger and her servo in the nick of time. He responded a bit bewildered but realized the reaction was justified.

"Easy, I don't want to die today after everything I've gone through." Then he saw the snake's trail and hiked Arcee onto his shoulder. "I take it that's what we've been hearing?"

"Metal Baskilisk, don't let it near you. Now run!"

Like old times, Megatron navigated the area with Arcee perched on his shoulder scouting the movements of the Baskilisk following as she said, "We need a plan! Can't get near it so we need powerful weapons to take it down...like the wall of the base's cannons! Megatron, how fast can you climb?"

"Uh, probably thirty seconds with a good jump."

"Perfect. If it wants me so bad, it's going to have to get out of its comfort zone!"

Megatron jumped onto the roof of a building close to the base wall as the Baskilisk shot out, banging against the side before going after them. He got a running start and attached himself to the wall, sinking his claws to scale it as fast as he could. The Baskilisk snapped at him after leaping and was only a few inches short of catching his pede. It sank back onto the roof coiled but it refused to give up. Using some of the inner supports found along the wall, it twisted around to climb at a rapid pace to meet up with the Cybertronians.

Arcee leapt off Megatron's shoulder as he lifted himself up to the narrow top of the wall. The Baskilisk breached the wall ledge behind them though it refrained from jumping the gun once it saw the drop-off. Slowly, it readjusted to use the part of its body hanging over to tighten to keep itself stable. With a flicker of its tongue again, it aligned itself with the wall ledge and moved after them carefully.

"Next step?" Megatron asked, keeping himself between her and the pursuing commander.

Arcee grinned and activated her commlink, "Shockwave, talk to me."

"What do you require?"

"Can you control the cannons where I am?"

"Where are you?"

"Southeast of the base on the wall fighting one hell of a Horaquan!"

"I'll see what I can do. It will take a minute to take manual control of the weapons but I doubt you don't know how to stall," the scientist said with a hint of amusement.

Arcee glared back at the beast as it got closer. Dagger Prima hissed in response to its aggression. Megatron aimed his fusion cannon at it when it got within a hundred feet and started firing at its head. In retaliation, it lunged. Arcee pulled him back by his unequipped arm but almost stumbled off the edge. The Baskilisk rose with its mouth almost in a pseudo grin at the position the bots had put themselves in until Arcee brought out her blaster and noticed its damaged eye sockets were flesh on the inside and highly sensitive.

"Aim for the eyes!"

Megatron smirked and he targeted the intact ones. The Baskilisk swerved around the shots before striking again, missing the warlord's protruding arm. Arcee, however, shot right as it recoiled. The blaster hit the bloody tissue and the snake roared. Suddenly, it attempted to crush them by falling forward to slam on the edge. Megatron ran back guarding Arcee until they heard the cannons of the wall emerging. Arcee tapped on his arm excitedly and he had an equally devious expression.

The Metal Baskilisk shook off the hit but when it looked back where Arcee was standing, it found her no longer there. With a growl of confusion, it checked both ledges of the wall beside it as part of its body dangled off the side, coiling against the metal to keep itself steady. A whistled made it immediately turn...only to have the Decepticons' defensive cannon aimed right at its head. Arcee lounged on her side like a model with a cheeky grin and waved before snapping her fingers. On cue, the gun charged quickly with red energy and the noise made the monster frown with a stunned grunt, unable to react fast enough.

It was sent reeling back with a cry as blasts engulfed it and nearly on fire as it tried to move backwards. The damage taken resulted in the armor of the underbelly to be dislodged. Using the moment of advantage, Megatron ran to it from under the cannon's blind spot and jumped. He sent a fist right into the head of the Horaquan and it flailed until it lost its grip, tumbling down the side of the wall. It hit the base's interior, bouncing off two of the buildings before collapsing onto the ground with a high-pitched hiss.

"Oh, that's got to hurt!" Arcee snickered.

The two bots flew down near it. It was time to take back Chaar once and for all. Sprinting at the downed Baskilisk, Arcee stared it in the eyes as they made contact. The blade was swift and sure...and the last thing the Metal Head saw before going completely blind. It jolted upright, now a large gash across both eyes. With the monster blinded, she could finally do a full-scale assault on it.

It snapped in the direction where it heard her footsteps but Arcee countered by cutting it with the dagger's bloody edge. Growing desperate, it motioned between biting and slamming its body down to do anything to kill her. When it swept her off her feet by its whipping head, Megatron took over and sent his weapon deep into its organic skin near its neck. It bucked and writhed beyond rageful.

Arcee started growing tired. The monster could certainly take a beating even when blind and bleeding. What would kill it now if the cannons still didn't? She looked at Dagger Prima then sheathed it on her backside before bringing out her blasters. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never used the second wave of Sunstorm's power. There was a micro amount of energy left that could still do damage depending where it was used. With no direct solar energy, she really did have only one shot this time. Transferring the power to only one blaster, she watched the Baskilisk's pattern. In its stress and anguish, it was dipping its head every third swing or so. If she aimed from afar, there was no guarantee the miniature bomb she was going to use would kill it. If she got up close to its head though...

"Megatron, clear out!"

Arcee timed his reluctant leave with the charge of her blaster glowing as yellow as a sun. The Baskilisk corrected itself to go after her by her voice. Just as she wanted it too. Posing with the blaster near her chest defiantly, she cracked her neck while the Metal Head didn't slow down, determined to run her down even if it was the last thing it did. That's exactly what she intended it to be. Sprinting to meet it, she gave a shout and leapt at it in the same pose as Lugnut when he descended upon the Metal Heads prior. Right as they made contact, she punched forward and fired point blank into its mouth.

The explosion shook the ground. Arcee was sent skidding across the rock until her body couldn't roll anymore. Dizzily, she posted herself up on her servos and knees when she sensed the most unusual smell. The smell of burnt flesh. She managed to see the smoke rising from the Baskilisk's ruptured neck, and it took her a second to see it had no head. The body stayed upright for only a few more seconds before collapsing. The rest of it had small holes where its guts and blood were leaking from. The explosion must have sent the blast throughout, not just among the head causing the space within to implode from the pressure.

Then she felt her own blood. Energon leaked from small holes on her left arm, her blaster arm where close contact regrettably rebounded the blast. The rest of her chassis seemed okay but there was definite pain beginning to arise as her numbness to the situation died. Megatron came running to her side and nuzzled her to keep her calm as she winced, leaning back to sit on her calves as she held her arm.

Footfalls from several other bots were heard but she held her optics closed, fighting the immense agony. She won the battle but a price seemed inevitable for her actions. It was only a matter of time before one of her stunts backfired. Still, Arcee was glad it was over.

AN: I gave Draco a reference to Bayverse's Hot Rod because ironically, I designed Draco with time-based powers back in 2015, but I never got around to ever utilizing them. Like Draco, Nighthawk, Spike, and Serpentine, many of these OCs you're seeing now went onto the shelves for quite some time but for some reason, I felt like bringing them back with upgrades. Don't worry, you'll meet the other two, Spike and Serpentine, and no, it's not Spike Witwicky. Spike has a very...unfortunate name for a reason.