Song: Wicked Game - Ursine Vulpine
Marina pet her Leviathans, cradling their heads one by one as they made small noises of delight. Arcee had yet to return to Megatron and Bolt, assuming they were trying to understand the extent of the damage the Metal Heads caused. Aquarius was nowhere to be seen.
"So, you and Aquarius, huh?"
The Aquatronian leader tilted her head a little. "Yes. After I first met you, Aquarius was quite jealous of you as you stole my attraction. I don't even know what you look like, yet you have quite the personality. Megatron and Bolt too. When you left, he came back to me. We had a private talk and ended up in each other's arms once again."
The visual made Arcee frown but at least it wasn't in complete detail.
"Once you saved me, he admitted his feelings for me and despite my more promiscuous behavior, he loved me. At first, I was hesitant after... them...but the fact that he loves me because I'm me...it breaks your spark knowing how long someone has truly loved you and you didn't even know. Now, I did make a few things clear in the regard of my other activities with other bots. He says he's fine with it, that he wouldn't have me any other way. That's not something you find in everyday bots, accepting what you do and still loving you in the end."
Arcee slowly nodded, "If someone loves you, really loves you, your personality is what they should never doubt. It's different cheating on someone after being in a relationship like your previous boyfriend. Megatron and I have our rough spots, but we love each other. I've done some things I'm not proud of, not cheating, mind you, just some breaches of trust. I just want to help everyone no matter what and I've taken some terrible risks to ensure it."
Marina solemnly said, "The epitome of life is never to be perfect. If it was, every one of us would be burdened because no one is, and it would eventually kill us. As long as you are doing the right thing, I would think a few crimes are forgivable, just a matter of what you'll do once your judgement for them comes up. I've been judged, Arcee, as you can plainly see..."
Her eyeless sockets furrowed in sadness but understanding of her dilemma. Although, it was not so much a vice now. She seemed to have long forgiven the attacker despite Arcee wouldn't blame her if she did still harbor a grudge.
"No person deserves to be judged with having their eyes torn out," Arcee stated.
"Maybe not, but even if there was a way to reverse this, I think I'm fine with it. I think I've come to terms with many things easier without having to see them physically and in a way, it certainly takes the strife out of seeing chaos and pain almost every day. Do you know what it was like having to look at everyone miserable, tormented and tired after we broke free from the Quintesson rule? It was horrible. Their faces of anguish when we saw our cities just gone, few surviving like Hydronix and Aquatica were still heavily inflicted with loss. Aquatica was the only city never taken, but it had its scars far worse than you can see now. You have no idea how many times we've cried. Had I thought about ripping out my optics on my own back then, I think I would have. So, this is only an inconvenience now.
"I do miss seeing the stars though, especially knowing how much is out there we can only dream of. I couldn't count how many times I used to gaze up at them and think of just how insignificant our planet is to the billions upon billions that live on probably thinking the same thing. We're just a speck in the universe, but we think we're the most important people in it. Everyone thinks they are. I miss watching the sunsets, the vast oceans, and seeing my Leviathans," she said. "I do wish...no, never mind, it's-it's not worth it."
"You wish what?" Arcee pressed softly.
Marina huffed, "When I was attacked, they stole my optics. I never found them. No one ever did. I just wish I could know where that monster put them to give me some peace of mind that my eyesight might be gone but my optics can potentially be salvaged to help someone else in need of them."
That wasn't the wish Arcee thought Marina would want, but it was noble. That made her think. What would someone gain keeping the optics of a victim? Lockdown was infamous for keeping "trophies" of victims and bounties, often weapons ripped from their bodies or if they had mods of their own, rare abilities or other interesting parts, he was quick to acquire them to sell or to use himself. Optics were not a valuable item as most can be repaired easily. It was the connector ports to the exterior of the processor that couldn't be fixed like Marina had suffered from. That was permanent damage. Although...what were the chances the optics were still in her study? If they were discarded, those who found her may have not realized the optics were nearby in favor of tending to their leader.
"Your study where the attack happened, is that in the Hydratoll?"
The Aquatronian was confused by the question but nodded, "Yes? My study is attached to the personal chambers I have in the building. It's not my actual home, but I sometimes spend too much time there...anyways, if they are still there, nobody ever found them."
Arcee replied, "Allow me to look, maybe they were discarded somewhere in plain sight. Happens all the time."
"I would appreciate that. If they aren't, at least I can finally know. It's just been haunting me. I want closure for that night."
She acknowledged Marina's plight and said, "I'll see what I can do."
Arcee went to the Hydratoll Complex where dumped bodies of Metal Heads and baskets of skull gems dropped were piled up for transports preparing to get rid of them. Whether they were just going to toss them overboard for the predators of the ocean to feed on or simply research the monsters on their own terms was unknown to her. She knew the skull gems, if anything, would make quite the collection or even be turned into décor similar to Silos' hobby. Like the skull gem necklace she wore, they also made fine jewelry.
The Hydratoll Complex had some extensive damage within, especially up top where she had fought the Centurion knight. The centerpieces that made up the room towards her office and chambers were all destroyed. The cleaning crews of the building were working hard in taking out the purple sludge on the floors and other materials. A crane was outside lowering a new window into the now missing glass panel that she had pushed the Metal Head out of to its death.
"Poor fragger," laughed a femme on the crew. The body of one Horaquan being removed was impaled through the heart and all the Aquatronians could do was point and grin. Had it been anyone else, Arcee would have seen them as inconsiderate but given the Metal Heads barged in and got what they deserved, the pity wasn't found.
A deep blue and cyan crab-based mech approached Arcee with a small teal submersible femme and asked, "Can we help you? You can't be up here."
"I think you'll find I can. I'm just here to get something for Marina. You have a problem with that? Take it up with her."
The mech fumed, "Well, don't you have quite a mouth? I would think someone entrusted by Marina would have a better behavior unless you're another one of her commons. I take it you're doing this to get her to play with you."
Being compared to an occasional fling had Arcee narrowing her optics and pursing her lips. Like a youngling with a temper tantrum, she quickly socked the mech in the noseplate as the other femme backed away.
"I'm no one's plaything, dumbass. I'm doing this out of the little kindness in my spark. Get back to work or the next thing I'll break open is your head," she growled.
The cleaner was covering his nose with his palm and as soon as he removed it, he made a painful gasp as strings of Energon blood dripped down. His servo was caked in blood as was his noseplate, some of which got smeared accidentally on his cheeks and upper mouth. As it welled up down into his mouth, he ungraciously spit out a glob of blood into his servo and groaned. Arcee took that as her approval to go into Marina's office as no one else seemed brave enough to try and stop her.
The office had minimal harm to it aside from the door having some trouble closing on its own. The table Marina often sat at had been flipped on its side as a makeshift shield in case the Centurion did get through. Since the door's automatic systems had to be shut down from the inside, she could imagine the table mostly hid Marina as her guards were standing in front of it preventing the door from giving out.
Marina's study was one of the doors on the right next to her berthroom. It had a mini library and all the information of the Quintesson invasion including notes about Quintessa herself strewn across the desk. Marina was an excellent artist Arcee found out. The sketches of the Quintessons and Quintessa looked as close to the real beings as possible. Along the walls, there were other drawings she seemed to have done in her spare time as the acting head of Aquatron. Drawings of her Leviathans came as no surprise with one posed on a rock or dock structure looking out into the open ocean regally while other creatures were drawn in their natural habitats too. Then she saw some of the drawings of the people, one of whom she immediately recognized as Aquarius.
The sketch was done in a hurry but captured his likeness quite well. The outline of Aquarius' faceplates was smooth, barely nicked like Marina had had plenty of practice. For someone Arcee thought it had just been a one-night stand to the likes of the Aquatronian leader, Marina was far more interested in Aquarius than she had let on previously until she suddenly got together with him. Why would she lie about it? But then again, it wasn't Arcee's business in Marina's vast love life. The crush might have been revealed when he came to her aid that faithful night. Aquarius had always been her second-in-command so how long did she care about him?
Arcee grinned as there were quick sketches of younglings playing with leapers, one being held by a kid and looking so done. She laughed a little at the small observations Marina seemed to make in her pastime. Unfortunately, they were the only ones she was able to make last. Now, she wouldn't make another drawing again. Just then, one final drawing caught Arcee's attention. It was a different style than her freehand, more cartoonish but still identical to Marina herself with the optics slightly bigger like in typical Earth cartoons with a simpler style. Marina apparently had lovely turquoise optics once.
"That was my gift to her," Aquarius said. Arcee whipped around startled but he focused on the drawings more than her. Placing a servo up to take the picture down to look at it closer, he remarked, "I didn't know she would never be able to see it. When I helped her and rushed her to our medical center, I came back after they had to put her under to assess the situation and I saw all these drawings of hers. I have been here a million times and yet, I never looked up. While I waited for her to recover and to know what our medic suggested for treatment, I drew this. It's not as good as her drawings..."
"It's beautiful," Arcee assured him. Then she made a regrettable frown. "What happened that night?"
Aquarius sighed, "It was...my fault."
The queen was confused and becoming a bit hostile internally thinking he had set Marina up until he started to explain in full detail.
"I shouldn't have left her alone. We had a talk about her activities, and I was worried about her health, her image, and her mindset. She insisted it was not my problem what she wanted to do. I admit I overreacted out of jealousy. A part of me loved her even though I had only laid with her once whereas she sometimes had the same bots over multiple times. I wanted more but I was...afraid of losing my reputation as her secondary charge more than anything and now, I think I was afraid of losing her. That night, I was frustrated and arrogant. I wanted to be hers, but I ended up walking out with my tail between my legs like some adolescent shark pup, like a coward. It was humiliating. But I left without any fuss and went downstairs to one of the Complex's cafés to drink away my embarrassment.
"Then...I heard...a scream like no other. The guards heard it too but the moment I realized where it was coming from, I was shaken. I ran up the steps fast like you wouldn't believe calling out her name, and the next thing I saw upon entering was the window open and Marina covered in her own blood...and her beautiful eyes...they were gone. She was crying blood; she looked terrified, helpless, and-and I couldn't do anything except pull her close. I didn't know what to do. I sat there thinking, 'what have I done?' I left her..."
Arcee rubbed the side of her cheek trying to resist crying herself upon hearing the description. Imagining the confident Marina crying bloody murder and suddenly unable to see anything broke her spark into pieces. She tried her hardest not to think of the screams an injury like that could produce.
"And there was no one in the room you saw? No one jumping out the window or anything?"
Aquarius held back tears. "No one."
The answer certainly didn't provide answers she wanted but it was enough for her to understand just how vicious the Metal Heads were taking their invasion. If they couldn't get their planets or their current worst enemy, her, they were going to make everything terrible for everyone while going out. It was moments like that Arcee found disturbing such a species could torment others for the sake of their own amusement and determination. But...were the Decepticons at one point any different?
Shockwave mutilated many bots, Soundwave and Starscream tortured and killed, Megatron had the highest kill count of any living Cybertronian to date and that wasn't counting the Metal Heads currently, and many other Cons had their trickeries and devastating motives. Lockdown, Blackout, Slipstream, Strika, and Skyquake were all sadistic. Arachnid was infinitely worse than even them. And then there were Autobots like her. Blaming a Metal Head for such brutality was hypocritical, but she did her deeds with the intention of defending others, not for personal gain.
"Marina thinks her optics might still be in here. Did they ever clean this room other than removing the blood?"
"They said they cleaned everything. Right there is where her attack happened," he said as he pointed to Arcee's left just beside the desk. "She never went back in here ever since."
The stain was, of course, gone but the visual of Marina sitting in her own blood was hard to ignore as a possibility and if she was facing away from the window, that meant the attacker had only the strip of floor around and behind the desk to have dropped the optics. Arcee started looking around in every crack and crevice, behind furniture near the window and in lower shelves that had spaces big enough to hide objects the size of optics. She moved to behind the desk itself to check.
"I doubt her optics are in here."
Just as he said that, Arcee caught a very brief reflection of metal not like the desk's material. It only appeared for a split second as she walked by the desk looking at its open space for the user's legs. She retraced her steps backwards until it was visible. Beneath the small feet of the desk under the bottom drawer, there was a string-like piece barely visible from her point of view and could be easily missed. She got on her knees and bent over to look under the entire desk. To her shock, two round orbs with cabling attached and dried Energon sat untouched. The pieces of metal that dictated the appearance of the optic irises, often unique to everyone, were roughed up with a claw mark that had dragged across one of them. The other was facing away from her and seemed dented from the rough gripping when it was torn out of Marina's socket. She could confirm as she reached them, they were optics.
They were farther apart than they seemed, which implied to her thew were thrown under the desk. Dragging both out by the cables, Arcee was disgusted as she held them. Although the Energon was dry, the lubricants that allowed the optics to rotate without grinding against its padding within still existed on the back. It was not a kind feeling. Still, she moved the optics until they were side by side in her palm, gunmetal grey with a faint wavy design integrated in their structure instead of the turquoise she wished she could see assuming they ever worked again.
"Never say never, Aquarius."
He turned to her, mouth gaping wide as he then realized what she held. Arcee was in no way proud of her find but it answered their question. She solemnly gave up the optics to him. The mech could care less if remnants of lubricant got on his servos and shook his helm.
"The pain she must have felt...I don't think I could imagine what it's like to lose something you and I take for granted every day. Unable to see the things you love again..."
"Maybe Marina doesn't get to see what she loves but knowing she's loved is far more important to her. She's been hurt before by love. Falling for you...made her second guess herself." Suddenly, Arcee grew suspicious as she recollected a previous comment Marina made when they first met. "Wait a minute, Marina once told me she slept with someone and had an existential crisis. She started believing her behavior was wrong but that was before the Quintesson invasion. You became her second-in-command out of the blue and yet, you always loved her? Being with you...she fell in love again and she was afraid the freedom she made for herself would be in jeopardy. It wasn't her confidence she was losing; it was paranoia of falling for you despite everyone else she had been with up until you. You didn't have a one-night stand; you've been a common factor in her life long before. Why lie about that?"
Aquarius grew annoyed but looked to the side, "Her lover split, and she needed someone's shoulder to cry on for a little while. I knew her through her first boyfriend, we had been friends for years. When her boyfriend died of a deathly allergic reaction to iron oil, she had only me. I...I was only supposed to be her friend because we shared grief, but it went farther than that. She became heavily active, and I followed her in her escapades. I didn't care much at first about her using me like all the others to get over her trauma. It was fun and simple. Things got complicated when I realized she was falling for me because I was there most of the time.
"She didn't lay with as many people as you think but she did experiment. I was the one who she went to most often. And somewhere along the line, I fell in love with her. She found out and that's when her activities took a pause, and then the Quintessons invaded and she decided if it happens, it happens. If we don't get together, she can still do whatever she wants. We didn't know what to do at the time. We just thought it was a game but when we saw the signs, Marina was unsure, and I don't blame her. Now, I do want to be her sole partner, but I can't stop her from being herself. I don't want to stop her from having fun and doing what makes her happy. My only envy is that I wish to spend more time with her, but I don't know if I'm what she needs."
The words hit Arcee hard. Like with Seacore, whom she was beginning to suspect may have been from Aquatron as well, Aquarius was trying to compare himself with others for the sake of love. If she didn't know any better, Aquatronians were just emotional wrecks when it came to relationships. They had sparks full of love but had trouble materializing it.
"Is that really how you feel?" A meek voice said.
Both bots in the study froze and glanced out into the office to see Marina with one arm on the door edge and another over her spark. She wasn't looking at them directly. Aquarius rapidly peered around, getting in front of Arcee and stuttering, trying to find the proper words to say to his dear Marina.
"Marina! How-How much of that did you hear?! And how did you get up here on your own?!"
The head of Nympha poked in, sniffing the air with a light snarl. Arcee was quite surprised Marina managed to get a Leviathan to take her up to her office in the Hydratoll of all places. The timing was most inconvenient.
"As much as I appreciate you doing this, Arcee, I figured I should try and help you find my optics. It's not fair to make you search for them on your own, so I had Nympha escort me and then I heard you, Aquarius. I didn't mean to spy on you but...is this true?"
The mech gulped down the anxiety he rarely seemed to display only for Marina. "It is. I know you gave me a chance after I asked. I never told you why because I was afraid of not being the mech you need me to be. My petty jealousy is only because I want to be a part of your life more. I don't mind the others; I just want to have a chance to do more than just be your secondary."
Marina smiled, "I think I can fix that. If you'll be my eyes, I'll be your everything. I don't mind either. Although, what happened to the embarrassment before?"
Aquarius rubbed his neck with the unoccupied servo. "That was me being as ass more so. You started growing interested in Arcee and I just had a moment of bad intentions. I'm sorry, Arcee."
The queen raised her servos with a neutral expression. "I'm fine with it. As long as you two are happy, I won't tread into your lives any more than I need to."
"Even though you'd be more than welcome to," the Aquatronian leader laughed. "Isn't that right, Aquarius?"
Arcee blushed profusely as the mech considered his partner's idea this time. Coughing, she said, "W-Well, that will be, ahem, considered but for now, I think we should stick to the fact that we found your optics."
Marina's face dropped and she stepped forward, only stopping when her thigh bumped against the side of the desk. Even though she couldn't see her study, Arcee already knew how tense she was going back into the room where she lost her sight and having found her optics made the atmosphere of the room incredibly thick. As Nympha crawled through the rest of the office door becoming curious of the new scents, Marina extended her arm slowly with her palm open.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Aquarius asked.
"I can handle it," she reassured.
Arcee was skeptical as the optics were placed gently into Marina's servo. Both bots were attentive, watching every second to make sure she was fine as she claimed and prepared for anything. Marina scrunched her noseplate at feeling to semi-hard goo that had been sitting on it for all this time, but she didn't show any other reaction as she traced the outline of her sclera. She felt the dents and damaged areas.
"Is it repairable?"
Aquarius frowned, "What?"
"You heard me," she said with a stale tone. "Can my optics be fixed?"
Arcee was quick to answer, "The optics can be repaired, but I thought the medics said the connection to your processor was damaged? Even if they could, they can't give you back-"
"I don't want my sight back. I only want to know if the optics themselves can be fixed. I know the diagnosis. There's nothing they can do, yes, but like I said before, I want to give them to someone who can use them."
Arcee nodded but quickly said, "They can be fixed, yes."
Marina smiled a little before handing them back over to Aquarius who didn't take his eyes off her for a second. It was moments before the proud and collected Marina finally sniffled, peering towards the floor with her bottom lip trembling. As soon as he saw it, her second-in-command hugged her.
"You don't have to lie, Marina. We know you'll miss your sight. And it's a noble thing you're doing even if it's not completely by choice. You'll be okay, I promise," he whispered.
Watching the clear lubricant running down the edges of her eye sockets, her expression dim, floored Arcee. She knew what it was like to be prideful, to hide behind a façade of believing everything was alright when, in reality, it was not. Marina truly missed her eyesight; she was just trying to stay strong to not come off as needy and conflicted. The emotions she had kept inside weren't shameful to show and why she thought so Arcee couldn't guess. She had every right to want what was taken from her and to express that grief accordingly even if she was the leader. Marina was not an emotionless puppet and didn't deserve to have to pretend to be one.
Her forehead pressed against his chest and Aquarius kissed the top of her head before placing his cheek on it. Arcee stood awkwardly there unsure if she should comfort her too or let them be a couple for once.
Marina cried, "I don't know why they did it. Why would they take my optics? What did I do?"
"No, no, no, it's okay. It's going to be fine. You did nothing wrong. It's just some people are cruel; we've known that longer than we should have. It's not your fault."
Rubbing her eye sockets, her brows furrowed miserably. "I wish I could see both of you. I really do."
Arcee felt guilty that she had no clue what she looked like. Knowing she was about to do something that could turn regrettable in seconds, she approached Marina to Aquarius' uncertainty and gently took blue servos. She placed them on her face and watched Marina calm down out of sheer curiosity. She went still as the latter began scouting her faceplates, running digits on each side to map out the structure. Arcee refrained from giggling when Marina swept a thumb over her upper lip, pushing it to the side until she retracted it with a small apology. The Aquatronian went from crying to neutral to a vibrant smile as Arcee knew she was beginning to get a sense of what Arcee looked like.
"Do you see me?" Arcee asked in barely a whisper.
Marina swiftly nodded, her smile getting wider until she reached the optics Arcee supported. The question Marina asked in her post-crying sniffling breathing threw her off for a second. "What color...are they?"
"Blue with pink rims like my colors scheme."
"Sounds beautiful," she said, breathing out. "You look beautiful. I'm sorry about the tears, I just-"
"You don't need to apologize, Marina," Arcee assured her. "If this helps, I'm more than willing to let you know it's okay. Aquarius and I, we care about you. Whatever makes you happy, right?"
She frowned confused when Marina stroked her cheek before placing a quick kiss on it and then hugging her. Arcee was flustered completely, the darkest shades of blue washed over her faceplates.
"Marina...I'm all for your comfort but...maybe not that. We had this talk like twice and I know you like me; I like you to a degree...but there is a little thing about consent here I think we've skipped."
"I just wanted to do it once, couldn't resist the opportunity," she sighed. "I won't do it again after this. Sorry."
"Normally, I would have punched someone. I should have punched Blitzwing now that I think about it." Arcee blurted out, "You are so lucky you're cute..."
Marina pulled away with the largest grin imaginable despite the faint streaks of her tears staining her cheeks. "You think I'm cute?!"
The Cybertronian huffed, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I'm beginning to regret letting you get this far. Look, since I'm going to let it pass to ease your mind, I do need a favor. Two technically."
As the other leader wiped away the remaining lubricant tears, she nodded thoughtfully. "Sure, sure, anything. It's no problem at all."
"I need a written, signed treaty to take back with me so Perceptor, my head scientist and resident communicator at the moment, can get back with you to work out trade and all that fun stuff."
Aquarius smirked, "Reopening trade would definitely be beneficial. We haven't been connected to Cybertron since forever. Our space bridges have been offline for millions of years. But with the Cleaners back on duty on the ocean floor, I think we can get enough Energon to repower them. It'll be quite a sight to see the original world again. I've heard so much about it."
"As have I," Marina said, "and I would love to meet some of your friends. We Aquatronians have been isolated from every colony since we first split from our shared ancestors' rule. It would be grand, in my opinion, to finally see Cybertron...metaphorically speaking, of course."
"Excellent! And the second thing is more optional. You see, my friend, Bolt, is our chief cyberbiologist. He keeps records of every planet's wildlife to store in our Hall of Records. We've been updating it with copies from other worlds and we ask if you would be willing to part with a copy of your scripts as well."
"Oh, you mean like all the facts and such we've accumulated for our creatures? Absolutely. There's thousands of native species to Aquatron, many of which existed long before we ever colonized the planet. We haven't found everything but science marches on, right? I'll be sure to get to work getting both your requests with the help of Aquarius."
Marina then sniffled again, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate all you have done, probably for the umpteenth time of saying it. We've spent eons where no one helped us, not even against the Quintessons so for you to go out of your way to warn and protect us from the Metal Heads when you didn't have to if you didn't want to, that speaks more to us than anything. This is the last core I have."
As she was handed a Radiant Core, Arcee replied, "You're very welcome. Now, I think I left the boys alone for quite some time. I hope they haven't downed every flavor drink in those cafés of yours and caused a shortage. Those drinks are addicting."
"Aren't they?" Marina laughed, "Give me about an hour and we should have both the treaty and the cyberbiology scripts ready for you."
The queen gave her condolences and headed out, not before petting Nympha who had decided to rest in front of Marina's main office desk with grumbling snores. It made a small grunt, barely opening its optic at her. Once she left, the Leviathan made a deep-throated yawn and continued to sleep. She passed the same cleaning crew mech whom she broke the nose of and watched him go from arrogant in telling his peers what happened to nearly whimpering in place, fins drooping when she shot him a brief glare. Smug upon seeing his reaction, she left the Hydratoll Complex in search of the boys. She found them less than thirty minutes later...at a café.
Moonhunter was rested by Bolt's pedes as Arcee approached Megatron and frowned upon seeing him prepared to eat a seafood platter. She asked, "What are you doing?"
The warlord shrugged, "I just want to know what it tastes like."
"You realize we might not be able to digest that, right?" She then looked at Bolt. "And you didn't think to stop him from ordering this?"
"Sure, and get my digits bitten off for my troubles. You forget, I've been around Megatron longer than you've been together. If he wants something, he's going to get it. Those sharp teeth of his are not just for show. You piss him off and he can't use his servos, or you have a body part close for his jaws to reach, he's going to bite you. He's probably eaten a few servos in the past too. Didn't you bite off Bludgeon's servo or something?"
Megatron was about to eat a prawn-like crustacean before pausing. "I didn't bite off anyone's servo...I just ripped off Bludgeon's nose and upper mouth when he pinned my arms trying to overthrow me. It was the first time I ever heard him scream. He used to have a handsome face too, and they tried to reconstruct it only to botch what little they could salvage. Shame."
The fact that Megatron made a faux pitiful expression briefly before going back to eating part of his meal like he didn't just admit facial mutilation told Arcee all she needed to know about his opinion on the use of his teeth as a weapon. Imagining Megatron's face covered in blood holding parts of Bludgeon's faceplates between his fangs with a sinister look was typical Megatron, but then she thought back about Marina's predicament. It was ironic she settled to be mated to a mass murderer when Silos and the Metal Heads had skeletons under their wings too. Whoever had attacked Marina was just another monster, not as scary as those Arcee had been around currently who were nice but very deadly at a moment's notice.
"So, wait, did you eat his face, or did you spit it back out?" Bolt asked intrigued.
Arcee scowled, "Bolt, come on."
"What? It's a legitimate question."
Seeing her mate grow hesitant to respond made her grimace. That wasn't a good sign for a good answer. He gave a half-assed shrug and merely said, "Bad things happen to people who try and take my throne."
"That's not the answer-"
"I'm not obligated to answer it."
"So, you did eat it...?"
Megatron sent Bolt a deadpan stare, letting his servo fall loosely on the table next to the plate and emitted a low growl because he was unable to enjoy the seafood he barely had taken a bite out of.
"Guys, as interesting and horrifying as that story might be, I came here to tell you Marina is currently working on the treaty." She saw Bolt's servo go up to ask a question which she immediately knew. "And yes, she's getting the cyberbiology scripts for you."
Bolt pumped his arm in delight before holding up a pink Energon drink with purple syrup stripes. "Smoothie?"
Arcee gave a heavy sigh at their gluttony but took the offer, slurping it with a side eye. The taste was sweet, almost too much but it relaxed her quite a bit. Even though Bolt had no facial expression, him staring at her with his chin on both servos to taunt her made her frown.
"It's good...is that what you're waiting to hear?"
Bolt laughed, "You go zero to sixty in a single second even when you're in denial. And it is funny."
"Yeah," she said giving a faux smile, "keep laughing and I might just shove this drink down your throat."
"Okay, now you're hostile and that's bad for your health."
She rolled her optics and took another sip. When Bolt tried to take his drink back, she started drinking it faster. He nearly went over the entire table to rip it back from her as she laughed. Megatron had removed his plate of seafood so it didn't get knocked down off the table and grinned at the antics between the two.
"Hey, hey now, go buy your own!" As Bolt finally obtained his drink back, he snarled playfully, "You drank half of it?! You didn't even have it for a minute! You...ugh, Arcee, never mess with a Vehicon's drink. That crosses the line."
Arcee burst out laughing hard. "We blatantly murdered, stole from, and hurt people across our lives regardless of the situation and me drinking half of your five-credit drink is where the line ends?!"
"Yes! I can excuse murder and pillaging, but I draw the line at messing with my Star Crystal Energon Deluxe! Oh, I will get you back for it when you least expect it. I assure you."
"Sure," Arcee mused.
Suddenly, her commlink activated and a peeved Silos was on the other end. "Arcee, bring the water glass to me, the same alley, now."
"Why the rush, Silos?"
"I am so close to-! Er, I mean, we are so close to finishing Tigressa's reign once and for all. I'm just so excited to go to Earth next..." Silos muttered something she couldn't make out before continuing. "And it might be the, uh, most challenging world to protect. With so many individual people of power, I think getting them all to listen to your pleas...ahem, negotiations will be quite hard. Nevertheless, I need that water glass. We'll talk more when you get here."
That was...strange. Silos' behavior was becoming erratic. Ever since Junkion, his normal bravado had been melting into something else. It could be sensing the Metal Head Leader's growing frustration was causing his link to drive him insane with all the shared feelings. Impatience alone explained it too but why was he so impatient? He wasn't the one fighting alongside her, helping the planets and all that. Sure, he gave tidbits of advice, but he was never truly involved with the battles so far.
"Arcee?" Megatron asked, a sizable chunk of the seafood was gone, and she never heard him eat it.
She blinked and lied, "Just Silos being Silos. How was it?"
The warlord offered her a scallop-like creature with sauce mixed with its meat in the shell, and she hesitated to take a bite. He assured her with a smile and said, "It's not bad. A little unusual but tastes great. I heard humans have food like this too. I wonder if it tastes the same...hmm."
Arcee didn't like the smell at first but after a few seconds, she shrugged and tipped the shell to slip the meat and a good portion of sauce with it. It didn't seem like something a Cybertronian could eat. The scallop proved her wrong. She looked at Megatron amazed as he gestured for her to speak her opinion.
"That's actually good-"
"It's good, right? See? Appearances aren't everything. I'm not going to lie. I was skeptical too. I wouldn't have touched techno-organic meat before even if it was the last thing in our universe but now, I'm willing to try it. At least if the humans annoy me, I can now threaten to eat them and be able to back it up...somewhat."
Bolt huffed, wagging a digit, "See...now I think I'm convinced you did eat Bludgeon's-"
"I didn't eat his face!" Megatron almost yelled, pupils contracting to slivers with a predatory growl at the end as he banged his fists against the table.
Arcee noticed they were getting some weird looks from the passing Aquatronians and took that as her cue to leave the boys to make fools of themselves if they wished to. "I'm, uh, I'm going to see what Silos needs..."
As she left, the two were still bickering and the waitress they didn't see behind them had her expression drop to immense horror. She felt bad for the femme, but there was nothing she could do to stop them without getting yelled at herself. So, it wasn't her problem.
The alleyway Silos frequented was supposed to be vacant, but Arcee awkwardly made eye contact with a burgundy ray bot who stood still and dumbfounded halfway out of the shadows when she rounded the corner. They looked unsure and oddly nullified until she saw the protoform around their voice box had been slashed and Energon had spilled down their neck into the crevices of their chest. Suddenly, a thick-bladed sword pierced through the spark, expanding the chest plates as well as the abdomen forcefully. Arcee stared as the bot tumbled face first into the alleyway floor. Silos's yellow glowing eyes were all that stood.
The Metal Head rotated his blade casually before setting it on his shoulder as he moved forward out of the darkness. He sneered at the body before glancing up at Arcee. As if a murder hadn't just occurred, he was back to a prideful grin in no time.
"How nice of you to join me. Sorry about earlier but this was the client for that little gift you've brought me. They demanded I add a little something extra for having to wait and, well, unsatisfied customers, as you can see, get what they deserve. No patience, no problem. I run a tight business in areas like the underground markets, especially my home world Steel Market. If you don't like what you clearly asked for, there are no returns. Instead, for wasting my time, I take your life. Simple as can be."
"Wait, if that was the client then you don't need the water glass, right?"
Silos' grin faltered and he extended his unoccupied hand with now a far more sinister smile. "Oh, I never said that. I'll still have need of it for someone else willing to buy it."
Arcee frowned and pulled it out of her subspace only for her to hold it away from him. As soon as his smile dropped completely, she realized her mistake. He roughly grabbed her arm holding the water glass and easily dragged her like she weighed nothing to be hiked up against his sternum with his grip realigning instead among her waist to keep her off the ground and unable to run. Putting away his sword prior, he snatched his object of desire from her, still holding her close as he looked over his prize and hissed with his ears flattened. The femme tried to tug her arm away, but he responded with a low growl and taunted her with his long lizard-like tongue slithering out towards her as he bared his fangs. Leaning away from him disgusted, Arcee was almost prompted to cut off the slimy, organic appendage, but he retracted it with a dark chuckle almost as if he read her thoughts.
"You think you can stop now? Finally grow a conscience about committing feeble crimes?" Silos sneered again, putting the water glass into a pouch around his waist. Forcing her to be pressed higher against his chest and in range of his snout if he decided to finally bite her head off, he used his free claws to tease her chin. "I'm afraid that ship has sailed, my dear. You made this deal when you killed Tigressa, now bathe in your punishment and bare your faults to me."
Feeling so helpless towards him, Arcee scowled viciously at his assertiveness before finally having enough. One thing organics had a weakness for was their most sensitive organs. A blunt kick right below her had him tense with his pupils constricting to toothpicks before letting her go and giving out a mumbled plethora of curses as his tail coiled over his mouth and he pawed the underside of it in attempted comfort. His claws unfortunately breached his skin from the deep marks, and he bled with purple sludge streaks running down. He bowed his head a little, shaking it in disbelief as his tenseness died before shooting her a wicked glare. She hoped he wouldn't try again but to her dismay, he used his tail instead and covered her arms while forcing her to her knees. He snarled down at her, eyes as bright as the sunlight.
"Don't...you...dare...do...that...AGAIN." The edges of his lips trembled fiercely boasting the normally hidden, sharp molars in the back of his mouth.
Arcee growled back, "What the hell is your problem, Silos? You were warming up to me and suddenly, you're a jackass again?! Is this because I rejected you?! Grow up!"
Silos' brow muscles furrowed, "You really think that, don't you? I don't care that you rejected me. I care about you doing your job. You made your bed, now lay in it! You will get me what I seek next, the Dark Core on that pathetic planet called Earth."
When he partially stuck out his tongue mockingly as he pronounced Earth's name, Arcee grew livid. "You are so into your business than defeating the Metal Heads, you know that? What's more important? Saving the worlds so you can sell your products or selling things without a care as your buyers slowly die off. You idiot!"
The glare she got was nothing short of malicious but then it flipped to an unexpected grin and a small laugh. She found it stranger still how he was suddenly back on her side of the fight. "Oh, you little minx, you do bring up some good points there, I'll admit. Forgive my...aggression, it's been pent up for some time."
"You nearly broke my arm," she chastised as his tail let her go and went back to pat the ground calmly.
"I get a little rough. I'm sorry," he said, still grinning like it was a game to him. Arcee didn't find it as funny. Even Blitzwing's personalities didn't go between one another like that. "But I really do need that Dark Core. And it being all the way on Earth with no one to cherish it like the beautiful pinnacle of energy it is, that's just criminal...even to me."
Arcee held out her arms and closed her optics perplexed and enraged, "No, no, no, hang on, you just threatened me and now you expect me to help you with anything again?! What's wrong with you?!"
Silos collapsed into a sitting position and placed his hand on the ground in between his legs like a scorned puppy, now giving her a considerate look. "Arcee, there's just...so much you don't understand. You will eventually. Years as a Metal Head doesn't come without its vices even for the likes of Kor and me. Our madness is forever a part of who we are, and we've done terrible things. I can't just retract all my hidden emotions. With the Metal Head Leader growing ever stronger, we are all growing angrier, impatient, and desolate as our monstrous personalities slowly take over to yield to our leader's demands. You have no idea what it's like...to be a walking corpse."
Arcee became guilty of shaming him as he looked pitiful and regretful. Her theory was right. He was becoming unhinged by the antics of the Metal Head Leader. She swallowed her pride and accepted the not-so-grand apology the likes of the captain could come up with. Maybe she was being too defensive.
"Alright, I'll...I'll get you that Dark Core. Why do you need both that and the Energon Core though?" Arcee asked suspiciously.
"I may have lied to you a little," Silos muttered. He growled to himself before saying, "The Metal Head Leader...they are planning on taking the cores and using them in a projectile cannon. All developed by different scientists, all combined would form a devastating weapon capable of destroying an entire world or multiple worlds in this case."
She froze up and slowly came to a horrific conclusion. "Even if we defend these worlds, the Metal Head Leader plans on destroying them with the cores?"
"Yes. That's why I sent you. I needed the Energon Core once I heard they had found the Peace Core. The Dark Core is kept in a cove in the southern hemisphere of the Earth guarded by a thief who stole it from the scientists who created it. I need you to steal it back. Even without the Energon Core, the Peace Core and the Dark Core can still do unfathomable damage. The rest of the items I had you get, yes, they were for me to sell per our deal but the cores, if they fall into the wrong hands, will not bode well for any opponent of the wielders of their power."
The cores were ticking time bombs, almost literally, and it was up to her to get the last core before the Metal Head Leader did. She was reluctant at first but upon hearing his description of the damage, she believed him.
"I'll find it and bring it to you. Just please don't ever scare me like that again," she warned.
Captain Silos grinned, "I'll try. And I see you are wearing my necklace still. I appreciate the little faith you still have with me despite my terrible outbursts of strained sanity."
She shrugged, gripping it, "It's a reminder if anything."
"It's not easy being infected with a hostile parasite even if I can control myself more than others. In the meantime, I hope you know that you will be doing us a huge favor by retrieving it. The end is near to this encounter, and I will relish the day I am free of the monsters that took everything from me once and for all."
Arcee peered around unsure as she backed away before remarking, "Yeah...you do that. I'm going to see if I can get to Earth to retrieve it. Later."
She kept a keen eye on him but right as she turned the corner, his expression changed to an unknown type. But she didn't want to look at him again to see it. Instead, she went to go meet up with her teammates. The encounter was a headscratcher. Something was wrong but now, she wasn't sure if Silos was telling the complete truth, or the Metal Head Leader was abusing the virus link. It bugged her the entire way back to the café though she found Megatron, Bolt and Moonhunter were not there.
"Arcee!" Aquarius called out. It was faint but loud enough for her to pinpoint his location. He was standing with Bolt and Megatron as Marina scratched Moonhunter's head with a giggle. Running over to them, she stopped short of being by Marina's side.
"Wow, you guys got that done quick," the queen mused.
Marina gestured with a scoff, "Easy peasy with the world's best secondary!"
Aquarius smiled at that and handed her the signed treaty. "All our contact information is in it as well. I look forward to talking to this Perceptor."
"You say that now, accidentally cough an attitude and he'll give you a million reasons in one sitting why you're an asshole and reprimand you," Arcee replied offhandedly.
Megatron said without missing a beat, "Arcee, he only did that to you because you went out of your way sometimes to piss him off when you were younger. Optimus, Ultra Magnus, and I spoke with him, and we got on the subject of you. He's known you and your sisters since you were younglings."
"I have an excuse."
"Huh, yeah, I wonder what it is," the Vehicon said to the side.
Marina clapped her servos together delighted as Aquarius humorously rolled his optics. "Well, regardless of what may happen, I'm sure he's a nice mech. Oh, and for Bolt."
Aquarius handed Bolt the current cyberbiology data pads which the latter was quick to thank them and scrolled through with a newfound giddiness. "Tyranquentors...oh, so the one we encountered wasn't even the largest ever recorded..."
"I suppose we should prepare to head out now that everything's safe," Arcee said. "I hope those monsters never come back."
"If they do, we'll be ready this time. No matter what the universe throws at us, I think we can handle it," the Aquatronian mech said with confidence.
"Hey!" Polarity and Phycamirror suddenly ran up to them and the femme laughed, "Good, you're still here! I was hoping you hadn't left yet because we wanted to say goodbye. I can't thank any of you enough for what you've done. And saving me and my ship, that's awfully nice of you. I would have proudly gone under fighting that thing, but I think my brother here would have missed me more than anything."
She gave Phycamirror a nudge on the head after trapping him under her arms which he immediately pulled away from with a scowl. "Alright, don't get too sentimental now, sis."
"Admit it, you love me," she grinned.
"Yes, now don't get yourself killed anymore. You'll break my weary spark," he mocked.
Marina smiled sweetly until her Leviathan, Nympha shot up from the ocean and landed near Moonhunter. The Nitrotiger hissed but the Leviathan was not hostile, instead trying to sniff the unusual creature near its leader. Although Moonhunter was incredibly cautious and flinching with each move the Leviathan made, he slowly started to sniff back, tense as the larger fangs brushed alongside his spine. But Nympha wasn't hungry nor did it sense a reason to harm him. To Moonhunter's stunned response, it tapped its chin on his head twice before resting it on him. He was unable to move with the weight of the Leviathan's head on top of his and made an unsure yowl as Nympha merely blinked unfazed.
"Oh, she likes you, Moonhunter!" The cat didn't share the cute, fuzzy feelings of the others about its situation and flattened his ears with a defeated grunt as Nympha made a small purr. Marina then said, "Unfortunately, I can't let you take my dear Leviathan back to Cybertron with you. Does Cybertron have water?"
"We have Energon pools," Megatron shrugged.
Arcee sent a request to Perceptor to open a space bridge and within seconds, one appeared behind her. Moonhunter broke free from Nympha and ran towards the portal but peered back for a second to see the Leviathan tilt its head curiously. Moonhinter mimicked the gesture then sprinted in.
Bolt turned off his data pad and said, "Well, it was nice meeting all of you and I loved the drinks here. You guys have got to share those recipes. Pretty please?"
Marina laughed, "But if we share them with you, we'll never see you again."
"Fair point. Adios! See y'all whenever I get the chance because I am coming back no matter what!"
As soon as Bolt left, Arcee and Megatron waved off the group of Aquatronians. For Marina, she said, "Until we meet again, Marina! Oh, and I'm sorry about Queen Nammu."
"As sad as it is, it was a necessary sacrifice I'm afraid. She's beloved by all and will be remembered. Thank you for everything, Arcee," she answered, leaning against Aquarius who blushed and nuzzled her.
Behind Marina in the distance, Queen Amphitrite jumped out of the water with a roar before diving back underwater in an arch with a loud splash. Arcee grinned at that. Right as she was about to jump in, she quickly retracted to Megatron's confusion. "Wait, let's make this funny, shall we?"
He didn't understand what she was implying until she turned invisible. Grinning back at her, he went in first. Back on Cybertron, Megatron found Perceptor, Predaking, Bumblebee, and Optimus awaiting them with Bolt already chatting Grimlock's audios off, half of his babble the Dinobot leader barely understood. Bumblebee frowned upon only seeing him.
"Where's Arcee?"
"She's around," he mused.
Bumblebee glared unsure and slowly grew paranoid until the portal made its signature sound of something going through. Everyone was baffled searching for any answers. Suddenly, Bee was pushed forward and sent Perceptor who was closest to him a scowl.
The scientist quickly defended himself, "I swear on Primus' soul I didn't do anything."
The Autobot leader was about to dispute the claim when he was shoved again, this time with no one in close enough vicinity of him. Bewildered and freaked out, he tried glancing rapidly around him to catch the culprit only to almost smack face first into Arcee. He screamed out at her sudden appearance which had most of the others gawking at her ability while Megatron and Bolt snickered.
"Arcee?! Where did-how did you-w-what?!"
Arcee checked out her servos casually. "I was here the entire time, scaredy bot."
"No, you weren't!"
"Was too. Wasn't I, Megatron?"
The warlord chuckled, "She was."
Perceptor approached her amazed at the ability. "Invisibility? Where on Aquatron did you find a power like that? Mirage is the only known Cybertronian to have it, but Aquatronians?"
She explained, "The Metal Heads have new cloaking technology, thought they could get the best of me. But they never considered that their skull gems glow at night therefore they are partially identifiable even invisible whereas my lights don't leave a trace. During the day, they would have been hard to spot. Poor timing on their end."
"And you took this technology to use in your own advantage? Marvelous," Perceptor said amazed. "Also, interesting necklace. Leave it to you to wear the trophies from your enemies, Lockdown 2.0."
She lightly punched his shoulder, and he laughed in response.
Haywire was a little less than pleased, and Arcee frowned at his direct approach as he came up beside Optimus. "And yet, you still don't have a knack for calling in when you should be. Do you know how concerned we are when we don't hear anything from you? You could be dead, and we'd never know until someone finds your body, assuming at all!"
Arcee scoffed, "It's a bit hard to keep track of that and all the things we need to take care of. I'm sorry but give us a break here."
Her advisor growled and wagged a digit, "You have no idea...how much I care about you. If anything happened to you, it would tear me up. I mean, if you don't want to then I won't bug you about it anymore but remember, a little advice here and there doesn't hurt. It can really give a different perspective on enemies and situations alike. All we want to do is help you."
"I know this, but we get distracted easily. I can't focus if I have to talk to you guys while trying to figure out the problems within each of these worlds."
Scythe approached with a raised brow at his sparkmate's annoyance and Arcee's defense. He merely replied, "No one is blaming you for doing your job. You have no idea how many times I blew off Starscream when he wanted reports in from my days as a spy. I got my aft kicked a few times by his muscles-for-hire instead of facing me himself but still never obeyed him."
"You're encouraging her. Why are you encouraging her?" The red mech frowned, "You're supposed to support me on this."
"It would make me a hypocrite though. I don't like being a hypocrite even if it's the right thing to do."
"You are no help."
Optimus was more lenient and excused the behavior. "I think if you feel comfortable, you can decide to check up with us or not. I do agree a word or two occasionally wouldn't hurt just to know you are safe."
Arcee nodded, "Understood."
Haywire rolled his optics, "Of course, you'd listen to him but not your own advisor. What exactly am I being paid for then?"
Scythe passed him as he remarked, "To sit still and look pretty. What else?"
The look he received only made his grin grow. "The fact is, Scythe, even though we seem to draw closer to finishing this world protection scheme the Allspark has so graciously bestowed upon you three, things aren't going to be the same after this. You've been messing with multiple different planets to help them, and I can't shake the feeling something is going to go wrong."
Bolt scoffed, "Can't you just be proud of us for trying? We could have let the worlds die."
"I'm not saying I'm not proud of you. I'm just warning that with everything happening and the signals we've been tracking in our solar system, we need to be more cautious."
"All we have left is Earth, okay. That's the seventh planet and then we just watch out for ourselves after that," Arcee said. "We should be good. A few more days and we'll get everything settled."
Haywire was skeptical as was Bumblebee, but he reluctantly nodded. Arcee, however, hid her concern too. It was troubling to know that the monsters were making their way to Cybertron. Why make it so obvious of their approach though? Unless they didn't know Cybertron carried technology capable of reading their signals.
After a brief talk with Optimus once the Space Bridge Nexus was placed in rest mode for the time being, Arcee found none of the bots were sure of what to do about the supposed oncoming Metal Head threat. Fighting would be a given but then what? Unlike the other worlds that had recovered enough and had warning through their team, they only had speculation and the public would panic if they told them they were unsure of impending doom. For now, they would have to focus on Earth and then think of a way to stop the monsters from reaching Cybertron.
Arcee yawned as she followed everyone back to Nova Point to regroup properly. Placing the Radiant Cores she had received from Marina onto the table, she got a notable look from Perceptor. "How many is this now? Twenty-four of these radioactive cores and you're stockpiling them?"
"They are gifts; I'm not going to throw away gifts!"
"This is enough to make a bomb at this point, a very deadly one. Don't let Wheeljack get ahold of them."
Grimlock and Predaking both parked themselves to lean against the walls. The former pointed at his rival leader and said, "Or this one."
The Predacon shot him a glare. "As if I would use bombs over sheer strength and my scorching fire."
"No, you would use your fire, hit the cores, and then blow us up indirectly."
"You would do the same," Predaking argued.
That made Grimlock pause and then shrug as his fellow leader's expression grew deadpanned. Arcee giggled watching the exchange. Megatron and Bumblebee conversed quietly before Scythe suddenly spoke.
"Earth will be most difficult indeed." He scrolled through a data pad with all the information he could find on the small planet. "I don't know how you're going to get the approval of this world, but I think trade isn't an option here. They are too primitive to understand what they are getting into."
"Uh, excuse you," Bumblebee interrupted, "but three of those 'primitive' beings saved our afts more than once and beat Soundwave, took on Predaking, outwitted more than half the Cons on the Nemesis, and they weren't scared of anything. Maybe they don't have the best technology, but they have guts."
Arcee smiled upon thinking about Jack, Miko, and Raf. It would be nice to see them again. Fourteen years since they revived their planet and built it back from its ruins; fourteen years since Autobots, Decepticons, and neutral factions had returned from their isolation among the stars. Their population had doubled within three with the help of the Allspark using the souls from the Well to be reborn, and those who already had families of their own. Those born naturally were still sparklings and those born from the Well were souls of previous lives now walking among them. If only the kids could see Cybertron now...well, they probably weren't kids anymore. For fourteen years, they had been separated from their human friends.
She felt terrible leaving Jack and his mother, June, and never returning to even say hello. Miko thought the world of bots like her and Raf was just happy to make friends. Their family, though small, meant a lot. She wondered where they were now on Earth. Would they still be in Jasper, Nevada? Did Miko go back to Japan? Did Raf finally become a young scholar already in college before eighteen as he intended? And Jack...did he ever meet the right girl? Arcee bowed her head a little just thinking of how much she had missed in their lives. They brought a war to their world, saved them, and that was it. And it was the same now. Would she even go back to see Marina or Override?
"Arcee?" Predaking crouched near her. "I see that look. Those humans, the three children I've heard so much about, you miss them, don't you?"
"More than you know."
"It's a shame I never got to meet them properly. They sound wonderful, and yes, I do remember that girl, the one with the streaks in her hair who manned the Apex Armor. She stood up to Starscream like no other. It was impressive."
Arcee laughed to herself, "Ah, Miko, quite the troublemaker. You would have loved Raf though the most. He was a smart kid, very attentive and like you, all he wanted was to belong. He found where he belonged with Miko and Jack just the same as how you finally found a home with us. He loved history too. I think you would love Earth history as well, the origin of all those myths and fairy tales that were based on your ancestors."
"It certainly is piquing my interest. Maybe I'll be able to meet him one day."
Her expression dropped a bit and she muttered, "Yeah..."
Megatron exchanged glances with Optimus before saying, "Don't worry, Arcee, we'll see if we can find them. Maybe they will be more receptive to you only but if it makes you happy, I'll try and track them too."
Bolt nodded, "I will too. They are something special fighting an entire Decepticon army along with you. Not a lot of people can say they did and survived. And I bet there are even more humans out there that would gladly take up the mantle to help us...mostly you, all things considered, but still."
The reassurance brought back her smile permanently for the remainder of the evening. Maybe she would be able to see them again. She had to wonder though...how much Earth had changed in the past fourteen years?
Marina stumbled out of her room giggling, then gave a high-pitched bout of laughter as she was brought back into Aquarius' arms as he wiped off lubricant from the corners of his mouth.
"Are we really done yet?" Aquarius mused.
"I have to make a public appearance sometime. We'll finish our meeting later," she purred, poking the tip of his noseplate.
Just then, one of her guards came in, pausing a second when they thought they had walked in at a wrong time but was gestured by Aquarius to come forth. They cleared their throat and said, "There's an issue with the Garden of Tears. One of the water glasses is gone."
"What?" Aquarius snarled a bit too quickly and he nicked his lip with his set of fangs. He winced but still stared at the guard upset.
Marina frowned, "That's not right. The only person who's gone to the Garden of Tears that I know of is...Arcee. No, she-she wouldn't take that. I mean we can make another though it may take some time but-"
Her boyfriend was less than sympathetic. "If she took the water glass, that's a crime. I can't believe this. After all that...only to take something like she deserves payment."
"Well, let's not jump to conclusions. We don't even know if it is her first off. Secondly, we don't know the motive behind it. What if it was one of the others with her or-or a Metal Head got it?"
"Just one though? There's multiple water glasses and they only bothered to take one? That's personal. That's not a regular crime. Who else knew about it? In fact, how did she know about the water glasses in the first place? Something isn't adding up and I intend to find out why, Marina. This is serious. Those aren't just mere glass objects; those are relics from our ancestors, crafted by their very servos. That is punishable by even death to take from the Garden of Tears, you know that!"
Marina slowly shook her head skeptical. "No, I...I don't believe it was her or if it was, there must be something we're missing. You don't risk your life saving a world only to rob a single item from it."
Aquarius sighed, "There have been worse things done for cheap payouts, I assure you."
She didn't want to believe it, but Aquarius was right. How else did it explain the Garden of Tears suddenly being robbed and Arcee recently asking of it? But she still stood her ground on Arcee possibly not being at fault. There had to be something more, something they couldn't see.
"What do you wish to do, my Lady?"
Marina couldn't see their faces but knew they held strict expressions from a gut feeling. She sighed, "As soon as we can, we may need to have a talk with Arcee to see if we can get this cleared up."
"I can get the space bridges up and running within a few days. So, I guess we'll be visiting Cybertron a lot sooner than we thought," Aquarius said.
"How unfortunate..."
AN: Malismar might not be as docile as you think...but I liked writing Arcee and Silos' interaction, freshen up the drama. Last but not least, planet Earth. Now, there were several changes in Earth's chosen leader and you'll see why. There was just too many outliers to put a known character as it so I chose someone neutral...someone you may recognize from earlier fics of mine and for good reason.