Song: Inside the Fire - Disturbed
Arcee, what have you done?
Megatron, Bolt, Moonhunter, and Arcee all raced to Iacon. Their worry outweighed their previous objective. Haywire sounded painful, heartbroken, and distrustful. She didn't know what she did, but she needed to find out and correct any mistake she made. The Allspark had already teleported before they left its garden.
In the distance after taking a ground bridge to the outskirts of Iacon, they ran towards the Space Bridge Nexus. The first person she saw among it was King Kronos with his giant stature, and he had already caught sight of her, optics narrowed with Phantasmos near Marina looking distraught. Then she saw more leaders including Max and Lennox who had specialized masks covering their noses and mouths to breathe with, their normal attire mostly unchanged as Cybertron's atmosphere held no danger to human bodies aside from the lack of oxygen. Kia growled at her, standing beside Max as he merely stood there with an aggressive posture, hand dangerously close to his weapons on his hips.
Why was King Kronos here? Why were any of them here? Haywire and Scythe weren't happy, Grimlock was staring perplexed at many of them. Marina, the Mistress of Flame, Wreck-Gar, and Override were stunned and angry. When Arcee stopped short of them, all she received was harsh glares. Their associates like Aquarius, Seacore, Road Rage, Blurr, and Windblade along with others were equally distrustful. Seeing Wreck-Gar and Road Rage unsure really hit her hard as they were both normally bubbly people. They looked stunned. The Allspark was silent, merely watching the reactions of the leaders like it expected something to come from their appearance, and it did.
Bolt wandered behind Arcee until he spotted Victorion and gestured at her happily while the Combiner didn't share his enthusiasm. "Hey baby-!"
A swift palm crushed him hard enough to cause a dent in the ground but not harm him. She lifted her servo, and Bolt held his head groggily.
"I take it you're angry-?"
Another brief crushing had him seeing stars. Victorion rumbled as she resumed her prideful stance as steam blew from her nasal plating with optics narrowed.
He slurred, "You have...a very good point. Your argument is understood. Why is there three of you?"
"What's wrong? Are-Are the Metal Heads assaulting you again?" Arcee forced out. Their expressions only grew darker to her confusion. Neither Bolt nor Megatron could back her up as they were uncomfortable with the stares. Then a portal opened.
"YOU IDIOT!"
A dead Metal Head's corpse was violently thrown from the vortex. Arcee ducked and watched its parts break off upon hitting the ground and bouncing a few times. It looked twisted where it came to rest. Stomping out of the portal, The Matriarch was escorted with several Vehicons, two of whom she shoved out of her way to approach Arcee. Shockwave walked through behind her but this time, he did nothing to stop her from taking out her fury on others.
The Matriarch practically assaulted her with the words, "YOU TRAITOROUS FUCKING BITCH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Max and Lennox looked at each other lost as they didn't understand Cybertronian. The other bots quickly took their presence into account though Wreck-Gar already held access to the language from his TV and waved politely to acknowledge them. Haywire quickly sent those that didn't know Earth's languages copied files so the two wouldn't be left out. Although the words felt heavier against their tongues, they adapted easily. King Kronos was careful upon moving around as he knew his footsteps would feel like an earthquake to the likes of the humans. The Matriarch got the notification and she changed her language just out of spite.
"I HOPE YOUR FUCKING HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
Arcee scoffed, looking back at Megatron and Bolt as she changed to English as well. "Me?! What did I do?!"
Windblade cut in snarling, "We trusted you and you stole from us?! You were supposed to be our friend! You used us for your own gain!"
"No, no, no, you don't understand! I had no choice! I-!"
The Matriarch growled, "So, you admit you did it?! Oh, Arcee, you have no fucking idea how pleasant it's going to be snapping that pretty neck of yours!"
Max boldly stepped between the two despite both femmes dwarfed him. "Wait, hang on! Arcee, what the hell happened?! You draw these creatures to our world that threatened our way of life, and then you do all this?! You told me I should step up! You lectured me about being a good person and just when I finally had a new sense of what I could be in my world beside a thief, you mean to tell me you're a bigger hypocrite than me?! I should have never wasted my time saving those people, and I should have never saved you! All that talk of being a hero, doing the right thing! You couldn't even hold up your end; you are just like everyone else! Worse, you're just like me! You were supposed to be the better of us!"
"You lied to us!" Aquarius cried.
"Imbecile," The Matriarch hissed, clutching her servos into fists. "I should have never helped you take your throne back. You can never trust an Autobot..."
As the other leaders began yelling at her, Arcee backed away. They knew she had stolen from them for Silos, but they didn't know the whole truth. "I-I can explain! Please!"
Override scolded, "Explain what? That you would go behind our backs like this?! I trusted you; I gave you the faith of our home even though we knew Cybertron was to blame for our civil war! All those sacrifices and you used them for your own gain!"
"Arcee," Phantasmos whimpered as he approached with less hostile intent, "why did you do this?! We thought if we opened our old wounds to help you understand why the Metal Heads came to be, why they are what they are, what Tigressa did...that it would repair our relationship with Cybertron and we could live in harmony. We wanted to be friends with you again, we wanted to defeat our shared enemy together but you threw that away so you could steal from us? So you could go under our noses and hurt us? Our trauma wasn't for you to take advantage of."
Arcee shook her head as the youngling looked miserable, almost on the verge of tears. "No, it-it isn't what you think. I was forced to. I owed the Metal Head-"
"A Metal Head..." King Kronos' deep baritone rang out despite it was supposed to be a whisper. His brows furrowed in disbelief. "You've been in contact with...a Metal Head? Arcee..."
His emphasis made Arcee freeze. Although the others didn't know who that was, they knew his reaction to it wasn't good, making them even more distrusting of the Cybertronian queen.
"Look, please listen to me! He found out we killed Tigressa in defense and said that the active Metal Head Leader had assembled the whole legion to take out everyone related or in association with us because of me. He promised that if I supplied him with payment for the abrupt unsettling of the hive, for Tigressa's death, he would give me information on how to defeat them. He helped me destroy the commanders; he isn't on their side! I wanted to help everyone that I...was willing to steal from you to ensure your safety."
The silence was horrible as everyone stared at her. Road Rage was the first to say anything as even The Matriarch was dumbfounded. She looked defeated. "You sided with a Metal Head? Is that why you have that necklace?"
Arcee frowned until she remembered she had it on. It certainly didn't put the conversation into her favor. She looked like a traitor wearing it.
Bolt tried to defend her. "No, he isn't on their side. He said so himself...at least that's what he said...to me."
"And you believed him?" The Mistress of Flame chastised, "You mean to tell me, to tell us that you're the reason the Metal Heads have interrupted our lives? You wanted to be a savior so bad that you just wouldn't leave something alone that you didn't understand and helped one of them? Are you serious?"
Haywire stepped forward with Perceptor and the other Cybertronians behind him as he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose plate. "Arcee, I don't know what you were thinking. I don't know why this has occurred or why the Allspark couldn't tell us, but you messed up. And I can't stand by your side on this."
Megatron growled, "She saved those worlds!"
Marina argued back, "Saved us? Maybe individually but had you not pushed them, where would some of us be now do you think?"
It was immediately known what the Aquatronian leader meant. Had Arcee not interfered in the beginning on Velocitron, would Marina still have her optics? Would the Kanjians be at peace not having to be plagued with past memories? Would Wreck-Gar have stayed oblivious, which kept him safe and secure despite not moving on from Nancy? Would Earth not have suffered through another risk of alien invasion?
"What?" Arcee then asked furiously. "What should I have done? Let you all die? Let Tigressa kill me on that isle?! Most of you have never dealt with these monsters before. The only ones who would have survived are the Kanjians because the Metal Heads were created by Tigressa! I couldn't stand by and do nothing while they hunted you! I couldn't-"
"Maybe you should have," Max suddenly said harshly. Lennox seemed very neutral, but she could tell he was more than prepared to take his side over hers.
That answer made her pause, the others considerate of it thinking on whether or not he was right. Maybe Arcee shouldn't have gotten involved. Predaking and Grimlock didn't back her up, Shockwave had his head turned away, Blurr crossed his arms and shook his head frustrated, and Seacore looked unsure.
Shockwave then added, "We shared with you our experiences, our lives and with it, our knowledge. You abused it; how are we supposed to take your word for anything now? I want to trust you, but even I can't find the logic in this."
The mumbling between the leaders and their associates was heartbreaking to Arcee to think they believed the same thing. Those she had befriended along the way were all distant because of a mistake she chose to make.
King Kronos was looking away with his optics closed. His bright greyish white optics were dim as they opened after a minute and said, "Arcee, I am very disappointed in you."
Arcee peered back at Megatron and Bolt again but this time, they didn't know what to do and a small flicker of shame appeared on her sparkmate's features. Moonhunter's ears collapsed like he didn't want anything to do with her at the moment. They trusted her too, and she let them down. Who was to blame except her? But then her mind began to reel about Silos' role in all of this.
She suddenly remembered an odd sentence or two Silos once said. I might just give you an opportunity of a lifetime to show your true self for everyone to see as I do now...Tigressa's memory will live on as will her accomplishments in her lifecycle...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.
As she recalled more, slowly it dawned on her. Silos wasn't referring to her victory or working together to defeat the Metal Heads...he was referring to himself and the Metal Heads. People don't change, their relationships evolve.
A traitor of the past condemns the traitor of the present but will not stop the traitor of the future.
Silos was a traitor when he abandoned his post to Kronos. He then "betrayed" the Metal Heads when he left them the first time. Now, he betrayed the only person that kept him from killing everyone...
"Me," she gasped as her optics grew wide.
I've got nearly everything I need to make our dreams come true…all thanks to you. Now, don't pat yourself on the back just yet...Then, once I get it, all our problems will be gone...The Metal Head Leader will destroy you now that they know you so well…You were right, all those empty threats and no one to assure them but you gave me what I wanted just the same. I will watch as you make your stand on Cybertron, taking your glory as normal, but just be prepared for anything. I'll still get what I want no matter the outcome.
No. It couldn't be him. He helped her...make a fool of herself. He set her up! He had planned this from the beginning. Malismar was a cover. Why would someone with no association with Tigressa suddenly take over the whole operation with no motive? Silos had motive; she had killed Tigressa. Why help defeat the commanders? Why sabotage other enemies? Why would Silos do anything other than kill her?
She realized Megatron was calling her name, and she was just staring like an idiot. The only face of comfort she had was a flicker of energy from the Allspark. It knew and now that she knew, it was time to find out the whole truth.
All she could mutter was, "Stay here. I'm going to go find him."
To everyone's confusion, Arcee fled the scene with Haywire and Scythe equally stunned by the sudden leave. The only person who didn't call out to her, didn't question her directly was King Kronos who instead began to look to the side in thought trying to figure out what got Arcee spooked aside from the truth...unless there was a truth untold. When he saw the Allspark, his curiosity rose, and he hummed to himself.
Arcee, on the other hand, kept running as she furiously tried contacting Silos. "Answer me, damn it, I know you can hear me! Silos! Pick up, you two-toned slimy serpent!"
The call was picked up but all she heard was laughter, darker in nature. "Miss me?"
"Where are you?!" The queen demanded.
"I'm here," Silos hissed.
Before she could ask what he meant, coordinates were supplied to her. Looking them over, she was surprised to see they were at the ruins of Typhoon Base, the remnants of Shockwave's Driller's carnage. Doomsday's bloody feast. She had a ground bridge active and ran into it without breaking her stride.
The decent sized ruins, with parts long gone and others embedded in the Cybertronian plains, were terrible to see up close as she slowed down. The last time she had ever seen it was not long after Doomsday tore it apart with many of her allies gone. The blood had been all fresh, the infrastructure freshly scattered. Now, it was rusted over with the only thing that looked new was a figure on one of the last remaining floor platforms.
Silos.
The Metal Head had his back turned to her, tail ever-so-swaying in thought. Rarely did Silos ever have his back present and she could only gaze uneasily at the two large swords decorating the holsters strapped to it. His spine abnormally raised. He seemed to have his eyes closed, deep breathing prominent.
She approached him, just stopping short of the raised platform as the sun was near the horizon. The wind was the only thing she could hear.
"You lied to me, Silos! After everything, me believing you changed and your help, it was just a cover?!" Arcee yelled.
The Metal Head merely grunted for a second before opening his slit-pupil eyes that adjusted to Cybertron's dawn. "You finally came around, took you long enough. I'm quite surprised."
"You said you betrayed your kind, helping me kill the commanders was proof of that! I don't get it, so explain to me, you coward, just why-"
"Why this all happened? Why you wanted it to be true so bad that you would do those horrible things, Arcee?" Silos chuckled. "Oh, so many questions, but you've always known the answer to them. I'll enlighten you though just as I have before. You deserve it for being such a good sport."
He snapped his claws together and Arcee shuffled back as hundreds of Metal Heads crawled out from behind the view of the platform. More spawned in through portals until they surrounded her. She had her blasters ready but none of them attacked. They only hissed. All types she had encountered before, aside from the commanders, roared and growled. She wandered in a circle, eyeing the masses as Silos laughed.
"You were a great asset, so noble. But all good things have to come to an end. So predictable. So typical of a hero. It's funny really how you were so desperate to get things right, you would let your guard down. You helped us and didn't even know it. How poetic."
Arcee had the epiphany she never wanted to believe. "You...you really are the...the Metal Head Leader. I trusted you."
"I merely won your trust so you would do what I ordered you to do. Tell me, Arcee, do you really think I would get rid of a few of my commanders without having far more backups at my disposal? A thousand commanders exist in the legion and there's over five million Metal Heads remaining...and growing." He then turned around with an eerie grin. "I wanted you to win. If I didn't help you, it would be a bit harder to get everything that I needed for my weapon. Granted, I could have done it on my own but where's the entertainment? It was so funny watching Mourningstar get arrested. Now, I have no competition and that works just fine for me."
Arcee was flabbergasted at what he said. "That's why you sent me to break Mourningstar's crime ring. You didn't care about the people; you just wanted control over the market!"
"And don't forget the Mistress' niece too. Decadence was such a lovely customer that I gave her that hammer-wielding bitch's niece as payment. She always hated the Mistress but didn't have the means to get to the family...until I supplied her with the location. In return, I got what I wanted: all the access to the planet's core I desired to find the materials for my plan and raiding those warehouses was so convenient. Caminus metal, strong and durable but flexible. Oh, and let's not forget The Matriarch, the proud but vicious ruler of the Decepticons. How was it facing her wrath when she lost that convoy? I tried to make things simple, but you kind of screwed that one up, let's be honest," Silos said, walking closer.
"N-no, I-"
"Then that Junkion fool loved shiny things so much, it was like taking the Peace Core from a baby. Let's not forget my old employer, Prometheus Kronos. How did he learn of Tigressa's demise, Arcee? Quite a bad setback that was, wasn't it? Marina...well, she wouldn't leave things alone, always perceptive of the world around her so I figured she didn't need to see what I was doing, tampering with her rule and having you kill the beloved Queen Nammu. And that human pirate, Max, was it? Bringing his guard down to trust those around him finally only for you to open the perfect opportunity to let the Metal Heads take from Earth and especially New Zealand where he hoards more than just treasure, I assure you. You made a fool of him, proving his little theories right by being just like him. He kept that Dark Core from me once he stumbled onto my frequency, not that he knew I was stealing it for the Metal Head cause, of course.
"And funnier yet, you betrayed them, but you pretend this isn't all your fault?! Who let me take their prized possessions? Who gave me the ultimate weapon to destroy you all in the first place? There's only one person to blame! You! Poor Arcee, so caught up with playing savior that you couldn't even recognize a mere bluff. I had no way of destroying Cybertron...until now. You provided me with all the instruments necessary to bring all this into fruition. By giving me the cores and the schematics, you helped build your own planet's demise."
Arcee was far too stunned to make an argument, but she tried. "You set me up the moment you knew I killed Tigressa...or was it exactly when I killed Tigressa? You planned this before, and I was a fool to think you had changed. You never defected."
"Of course, I like what I do." Silos sneered, "Well done, my little detective. Case solved. When I left Tigressa's command, I knew it wouldn't last. I cared about her enough to end my previous life as Kronos' captain of the guard which was perfectly fine. So, I came back right before we were separated again. While she was gone, I led the army on many worlds, conquering life and ensuring complete annihilation. Then she died...by your hand. Sensing her last breaths and reading the Metal Heads' frantic calls describing a Cybertronian warrior...I swore to kill you if it was the last thing I do, but when you were oh so desperate to reunite the worlds your kind had left to rot out of pride, I saw an opportunity to not just get revenge on you but destroy you heathens entirely. When I succeed, nobody in this galaxy will care that you are gone, and I'll be hailed as a champion to all the species your warmongering kind have wronged before I spread the virus on their worthless planets too. You merely delayed the inevitable with your heroism."
"Cybertron survived greater attempts of death, you won't win!" Arcee gestured angrily as the hordes of Metal Heads surrounding her snarled as Silos stopped in front of her. She was tempted to shoot him, but he probably anticipated it, waiting for her to give him an excuse to kill her.
Silos rolled his eyes. "Cybertron has always been a powerful planet, and no one was ever stupid enough to face it. Then the end of the treaty between you and the other cybernetic worlds happened. Without their support, Cybertron was left alone. With all the in-fighting, Cybertron was left vulnerable. You have been so caught up with yourselves that you failed to remember you were a threat...but now you aren't. You have no idea how many worlds longed for this opportunity to wipe your planet off the face of the galaxy. All you Cybertronians are to everyone else are monsters, no different from the same creatures and pit spawns you convinced yourselves were the true enemies when you couldn't even look yourself in the mirror."
She shook her head, "You're wrong!"
"Am I?" Silos growled, "Why was it easy for the other worlds to hate you then? Hmm? Why do you think it was so simple to blame you when I was always there puppeteering this plan from the beginning? Even Kronos knew my tactics because he worked with me, fought me and yet...he's so disappointed in you. The answer is right there, Arcee, and you know it."
The queen paused and stared as the words sunk in. Cybertron was never a victim in its own torment, it was the instigator, and it never stopped itself from spreading its conflictions onto others like Earth and Velocitron that had gone through such hell because of stupid, prideful Cybertronians engulfed in their own war rather than paying attention to the other species and planets around them. Though the Metal Heads were a foreign entity, their attack was the product of the murder of Tigressa, another war created by the results of a Cybertronian.
Then she slowly frowned, "How did you know what King Kronos said?"
Her answer as always was a tap on his skull gem on his chest with a raised brow following. There were no Metal Heads around her at that time but...the necklace! She peered down and palmed the decorative jewelry. Dead Metal Heads didn't mean the skull gems were necessarily dead. That's how the Metal Head Leader knew her every move through Silos because he was the leader, and after she got the necklace when he knew he was losing her, that's how he kept track of everything else. She had been a fool.
Silos chuckled before gesturing behind him. On cue, Optimus and Bumblebee, who looked rather beaten and bloody, were secured via stasis cuffs and mouth cover plates. This was the second time she had seen them captured by her own enemies rather than Megatron and the Decepticons, and it didn't comprehend just how dangerous Silos and Rockrider were upon achieving this. Optimus was always seen idolized and hard to fight against other bots but put in a personal vendetta and someone with completely different skill sets compared to him, he could be overpowered.
"Some of your familiars for you to say goodbye to. You see, I won't kill you. I intend to save you for last while I take away everything you love first. If you happen to die before then, well, it will be unfortunate to say the least. And for insurance, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are going to stay with me. Hope you can keep track of your other friends. Oh, wait, what friends again?" Silos sneered.
A booming sound echoed from the ruins of Typhoon Base as the wind kicked up. Arcee watched in horror as a giant vessel, larger than Silos' ship, with the same cannon from Onslaught's schematics rose to hover above the remains. The cores were somewhere among the cannon, providing the power to destroy cities and at maximum, Cybertron itself. And behind it, the Rift Ring hovered active for the larger commanders to hop through. Spheres and loose material orbited it, and it was then Arcee realized she had also given Silos the means to transport his ship and his entire legion to worlds by helping him find Tigressa's lost bridging system.
Silos walked back up onto the platform, tail now whipping in excitement and malicious intent. He shouted among the masses of Metal Heads as more exited the portals. "Cybertron will finally fall as the legacy of Tigressa will live on, and we will crush our enemies one planet at a time afterwards! Hahahahahahaha!"
Arcee had to leave, run or do something as Bumblebee struggled against his bonds as he was dragged into a portal. She had no idea what they were trying to say and heavy guilt set into her spark. She still had a few more bridges she could spawn on the device Haywire provided, she just needed a chance to use it.
Suddenly, another bot was tossed out in the place of Optimus and Bumblebee, far worse off than either of them. A red mech, an alligator-like bot, whimpered as Silos took them by the back of the neck to drag them up near Arcee.
"Recognize him?" Silos asked with faux innocence, forcing the mech's head to move side to side with a terrible grin.
She couldn't speak but she could shake her head. Silos took it as an answer before breaking the mouth plate off the mech.
"Please! You got what you wanted! Let me go!"
"Silence. Don't be rude to the lady. Introduce yourself," he snarled, pacing behind them.
The mech saw Arcee was disturbed as well but complied, nearly in tears. "My name...is Malismar. I'm...I'm a friend of King Kronos and I just want to go home."
Arcee whispered, "Silos."
"Oh, now, Malismar, do tell her how much of a help you've been."
"I was...approached by Tigressa and she offered me a deal, knew I had the rare materials for her bridges and the coordinates to rich-energy planets. I didn't take it, and this monster trapped me, made me do horrible things and I'm sor-!"
A sword abruptly shot through their chest, forcing the spark chamber to poke through the armor from the force as Malismar's body shuttered before dying. He collapsed unceremoniously onto the platform while Silos stood over him, pulling out his sword and swinging it to lightly sit on his palm with a feral smirk.
He clicked his tongue. "A pity poor Malismar never got to tell his dear best friend about that faithful encounter. It would have saved Kanjis plenty of trouble the first time. He never betrayed Kronos willingly, and his disappearance was so satisfying. Tigressa loved to play with her victims as I did. We kept him alive to torture and learn a few little details about the other worlds only he knew from his travels upon studying to become a person of law. Combined with my previous legal job as a judge, it paid off quite well getting a permit for that shop of mine on Velocitron without anyone knowing and spying on the planet there to plan accordingly. I would have done it among Caminus too, but you came at just the right time."
"Yeah?" Arcee scowled, "Nice to know I was so helpful. When I get out of this little intervention, I'll kill you, and I'm taking that weapon down with you. That's a promise."
Silos growled amused, "I look forward to seeing you try. Now, sit back and enjoy the show. Höra-quân, estla v'ke ńa helis amã-fu'rõta entiësti õvollok mien'ï!"
Thousands of roars echoed in tandem across the plains leading to Typhoon Base and grew louder as they focused on their leader and the massive weapon aboard Silos' new ship. While Silos had his back turned and the other Metal Heads weren't looking directly at her, she instantly form-shifted and activated a ground bridge above her. Captain Silos whipped around upon hearing it as did the Metal Heads as she crouched and jumped into it.
He glared as the portal disappeared as quickly as it came. "Rrrgghhh-aaaahhh! Run away, coward! It doesn't matter now; she will see her world burn one way or another! Ve'hä Nové!"
The Metal Heads growled as portals with bigger creatures opened, their deep rumbles shaking the ground the others ran across towards Iacon.
"I can't believe Arcee let this happen," Haywire said with his face in his servos. He turned to Scythe blinking, "What are we going to do? We can't fix this, I don't think."
Scythe looked at the leaders talking and sighed low. "I don't know."
"Well, you two better figure out what to do," The Matriarch threatened. "My system pressure is at its highest sane level. If it goes any higher, I'll murder each and every one of you!...Except the techno-organic kid, I'll spare you because I tolerate you...and Shockwave."
Phantasmos half-shrugged, half-raised a brow at the unusual comment, looking around unsure of how to respond. Shockwave huffed before saying to the larger youngling, "You get used to it."
The red Cybertronian gestured, "No, I don't know what to do. I had no idea this was even going on. Arcee always does things for the greater good. I never would have guessed she would do something like this!"
Bolt shook his head. "I only found out after pestering her. We both did..."
Predaking snarled, "But you didn't do anything to stop it?! Why?! I don't want to be enemies with other worlds!"
"She said she was convinced he would help, that-that he was betraying the Metal Heads and upon seeing that his information was correct, we just let her do what she wanted," Megatron said. "I knew there was something amiss, but I didn't want to ruin what we had."
Moonhunter watched the conversation next to Kia who both sat beside Seacore as the latter said, "Regardless, you should have at least tried to tell us something."
"Yeah, this was uncalled for," Blurr replied, "I mean, you guys were great. You helped us a lot but that doesn't excuse anything. Our Energon Core is gone, a power supply that can boost a weapon to a mass destructive level! That's not something you steal for a Metal Head!"
Marina frowned, "There's got to be something we're missing. This doesn't seem right just blaming Arcee though."
Most of them didn't share her sedimental feeling, instead rolling their eyes or scoffing low to one another.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I want to go back to Caminus to make sure those monsters never come back. In fact, the only place that hasn't seen them is here on Cybertron," Windblade countered.
"Yeah, those monsters can invade this ill-gotten planet any second and we're just standing around. I say we book it out, let Cybertron deal with its own misery because of its stupid leader," The Matriarch snarled. "Can't believe I trusted that traitor! I even helped save her throne from a coup and this is what I get for my troubles?! Fuck her!"
Max sat on Marina's shoulder and snapped back, "Shut up."
"I will squish you, fleshling."
"I've killed beings like you before. I'm not a typical human you can bully. Don't try it lest you want your processor splattered on the floor."
The large Vehicon stubbornly growled at him, and he flipped her off. Before she could whack him off Marina like a bug, Override got between them. The Matriarch nearly pushed the Velocitronian out of the way, but the smaller femme immediately scolded her.
"Touch me, and I will break every piece of framework in your body," Override challenged.
"Doubtful, dollface," The Matriarch scoffed.
Wreck-gar held Lennox before frowning, "A pity, I will miss her."
Both femmes looked at him before the Vehicon pointed at Override, who shot her a glare, as she asked, "Who? Her?"
The Junkion leader shook his head, "No, Arcee. She was funny. I feel bad."
The Colonel raised a brow, "Feel bad for a thief? I guess I can't say much given my country has been known to be too lenient to crime sometimes."
Max rolled his eyes and said, "Your government acts like the United States makes up the entirety of Earth. In my opinion, the U.S. is one of few countries that imprisons the wrong type of people. You commit a heinous crime anywhere else in the world, you die."
"We have more freedom than half of the other countries combined-"
"And boy has that worked out for you," he mocked.
Marina peered in the direction of Max's position. "As I heard once, 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings.'"
The pirate gave her a soft sneer of remorse, not that she could see it. "That's the same thing Arcee told me, made me change my mind in helping her."
King Kronos pondered on the outside of the building leaning against the exterior wall as he was too big to fit inside but kept close the large, open windows. Victorion stood by him also peeking in not wanting to disassemble near someone naturally bigger than them out of uncertainty which the king understood.
"Here's the thing we can all agree with, except the trash heap over here, Arcee has forfeited any chance at redemption at this point. She lied to us, she stole from us, and now we are sitting on Cybertron waiting for her to return, assuming she hasn't abandoned us! Hell, maybe she's smart and going to find the Metal Head Leader! That'll solve half our problems regardless of if she dies or not! I say we take it to the bastard ourselves. Who needs her?"
Road Rage sweetly replied, "Well, like Marina said, maybe we're overlooking something. If she was so bad, why would she risk her lives for us? Put herself in immediate danger? I've heard of setups before and nearly dying is not what a person with betrayal on their mind does."
"Yes, they do!" The Matriarch argued, "I've seen our spies in action willing to fake death itself to do what was necessary! If you're smart, you fool the enemy by taking advantage of their perceptions of how a reformed or newly recruited spy should act and compare it to how they do act. You play against the normal clichés, no one will suspect a thing. Common Decepticon logic! So, I stand by what I said. Arcee is a traitorous liar!"
Phantasmos looked towards his father wincing at the conversation until he saw a sudden epiphany hit the king. Kronos slowly opened his optics back up when his mind reeled. "Arcee wasn't lying though."
All the leaders and their associates peered at him with most holding expressions of confusion. The Mistress of Flame glanced at Aquarius before the latter asked, "What do you mean?"
King Kronos muttered, "We were the fools."
"Don't blame us, tall and mighty, we didn't do shit!" The large Vehicon said.
"Not like that. Arcee was right; she was tricked into helping the Metal Heads by someone who wanted her to believe he had changed. I knew something was wrong when I saw the Precursor Spark was gone because very few knew the conditions needed to get into the vault."
Max furrowed his brows, "How so?"
"One of them is dead, Tigressa...my eldest daughter, and the other two who know are my sparkmate and...Captain Silos. He defected to the Metal Heads, killing my friends and many others. He was loyal to her to the end. He wouldn't have backed away from her legacy because he had nothing to lose anymore until he found out about Arcee killing Tigressa. He's been playing her the entire time as an act of revenge. I know my former Captain of the Guard and if he is a master psychologist when he wants something, he would research how Arcee interacts with others and play to her beliefs and assurances. That's how the Metal Heads knew when to attack, what to take and where to mislead her while Silos gained her trust by convincing her to do tasks for him in exchange for information on how to destroy the small portion of Metal Heads released like test battles. While he sent her on errands, he was redirecting the army to counter and 'helping' her along the way to appear like he was a traitor of the Metal Heads when he is, in fact, the current Metal Head Leader. I knew Malismar couldn't have been it. It made no sense."
"Wow," Wreck-gar stated bluntly before cheerily saying, "you're a good storyteller!"
The Mistress of Flame huffed, "Even if that was true, what she did was wrong."
"Yes, it was. But that's what Silos wants us to only focus on. He wanted to turn us against her by making it seem the items she took were important to us. They were just loose remnants of the past, trinkets at most, but not what made our world important. By having the Metal Heads attack at certain periods of time after she arrived in each of our worlds, he set her up to appear as a hero. Her pride and trust grew but ours vanished when there seemed to be no one else to blame except her. Silos has played everyone here, everyone on our respective planets, and now he aims to take us out as we are divided...and I think I know just where he's going to start his true assault which is why we can't leave."
Shockwave's audial fins pressed back as Windblade and Blurr equally gasped. Even the stoic Mistress of Flame grew unnerved. The mutters in the room from all the various beings held mixed reactions to the realization.
Phantasmos grew worried most of all. "Silos is a swordsman, well-trained to take on bots even of our caliber! Arcee won't stand a chance against him! What are we going to do? What are any of them going to do, sire?!"
"Hush, little one," Kronos whispered gently before speaking more confidently, "you and I have fought the Metal Heads before, they have too, and we will do it again. Although Arcee has made a huge mistake, I refuse to leave Cybertron and her at the mercy of monsters just the same as she refused to let the Metal Heads take our worlds by standing at our sides."
With a reptilian purr, the massive Ridgeback dragon stuck his head through to nuzzle his youngest offspring. His white optics dilated lovingly as the small dragon youngling rubbed against him like a cat, tail wagging.
Watching the exchange, Max frowned though not in anger as he was reminded of his three sisters who he swore to protect. If his actions left them in trouble by turning a blind eye to the monsters that could come back, he would never forgive himself. He finally sighed dramatically, "Alright, any god in existence, damn me to the depths with this crap. I'll help too."
The Matriarch laughed, "You? A mere human can't fight-"
"Either I kill the Metal Heads, or I do everything in my power to kill you. Your choice. Personally, I don't really give a damn as long as I spill blood."
Shockwave was a bit surprised to see The Matriarch clam up for a second. Although they were still peeved, they wouldn't let Cybertron fall because of one person's error. The others agreed out of the goodness of their sparks. The last person to have no reply was The Matriarch and she threw up her arms after everyone stared her way.
She gestured annoyed, "Fine, we'll save Cybertron...again. But let's do it quickly before I change my mind!"
Marina nodded as Wreck-gar shrugged, "I've got nothing better to do."
Road Rage jumped up and down pleased. Colonel Lennox peered awkwardly among the crowd.
Seacore pointed at him. "What's wrong there, human?"
The man coughed, "I've, um, never had to fight on a foreign world before. Human weapons aren't made for aliens of this magnitude, especially not one human against an army."
"Well, he's useless," The Matriarch said off the bat.
Max hopped from bot to bot before landing on Wreck-gar's open palm, placing his clawed metal gauntlets onto the other man's shoulder pads. "It's more like needing to be cautious on when to take your shot. Maybe you should go back to Earth, Lennox. You'll be safe there."
"I can't leave you behind," he answered immediately.
The pirate knew he meant "on an alien world" but the other implications also brought a smile to his face. He was thankful it was covered by a metal breathing mask as he briefly peered to the side. "We might die-"
"And you of all people should know, Malachi 'Maximilian' Jacova, we're soldiers. We fight to live."
Max huffed, "You always were stubborn to the end."
Lennox laughed a little. "I promise it won't be a habit if we make out alive. I'll hang back if you need me to, but I won't leave you here alone."
"Or you can hang out with me," Perceptor said walking in. Wreck-gar handed over the Colonel, and the red and black mech grinned, "I need someone to watch my back while I make a few preparations. Think you're up to the job, soldier?"
The Colonel stood up and saluted, "Yes, sir."
"Mostly because I wouldn't want your sparkmate to worry," the scientist grinned.
Max and Lennox froze deciphering what he meant before both gestured and shook their heads nearly in sync. "No, no, we're not a-a thing. No."
"We're not a mated pair. We're...co-workers."
Perceptor kept his smile to both humans' embarrassment with Max pulling his tricorn hat down enough to cover his eyes and mask the blush while Lennox was pacing in the servo of the mech coughing.
Megatron pushed off the wall from leaning on it after seeing them talk. "So, what's the plan? We just fight the Metal Heads, destroy the commander as usual until we figure out how to get to Silos?"
King Kronos shook his head. "The Elite Heads won't be in charge this time. Knowing him, if he's been playing Arcee, he's getting ready for a deadly attack, one that he will be present in. The Elites will just be a cover to buy him time for whatever he wants to achieve. Cybertron won't be able to withstand that many Elites, especially not the ones like Bowsinks. Tigressa only made a few of them but they were devastating to the unfamiliar."
Override tapped her chin, "I heard Optimus is quite the planner. Where's he?"
"Missing in action, so is Bumblebee," Perceptor said saddened. "Haywire, I think the Metal Heads have them because their signals are dampened. They are alive but..."
"Oh no," Bolt muttered. Kronos and a few others were aware of what that could mean.
"Guess with Arcee gone, that makes you in charge, Megatron," Shockwave said. "It is, after all, your word as co-leader of Cybertron."
Megatron normally didn't mind leadership, having done it for years and taking power when he couldn't get it. Now, he wasn't as confident as he was. Being put in the spotlight for a situation most foul made him unsure of how to go about this. But what was the difference really? He pushed his doubts to the side and began walking among the group.
"Alert everyone you can on Cybertron. If the Metal Heads are going to hit hard, their first instinct will go here to Iacon, our planet's capital. Take out the capital, it cripples us a lot, at least in my experience having taken this city twice it does. See if we can get any assistance from the outside, any Decepticons from Chaar, anybody we can spare. I'm not demanding this; I understand if you aren't comfortable in supplying reinforcements, but I can at least ask."
"A bit of a far cry from the Megatron I remember," The Matriarch mused, crossing her arms, "but I'll see if I can get the crew back together for you."
"Thank you. I don't know if this will be our final stand, but I appreciate each and every one of you and-"
Alarms started blaring as screams were heard. Portals of Metal Heads were storming in, this time with the unique variants of the commanders present. Metal Mammoths and Toksilisus were eyesores on the horizon. Metal Baskilisks and Tyrants were both creeping around getting a good view of the layout of the city. Just then, in the far distance, two Bowsinks were rumbling with their smokestacks bursting with heavy fumes as their sets of four red eyes narrowed. Each step shook a huge radius of ground.
The regular Metal Heads maneuvered through the giant footsteps of the Bowsinks and outpaced some of the commanders with devious intent. Fangs bared, skull gems glowing, and claws scraping as they went as fast as possible to get to their destination to uphold terror and kill everyone as they were instructed.
Grimlock muttered, "We go out swinging."
"Yeah...we're dead," Blurr chuckled a bit too much as Seacore gave him a deadpan side glance. Kia made a considerate low whine before Road Rage patted the back of her head uncertain.
Max looked at his automatic handguns and grunted, "I don't think I have enough ammo for this."
Right as Megatron was looking out of the window, a portal opened inside the room and Arcee jumped through in her Kanjian form. She panted and huffed, rubbed her optics threatening to leak tears. He got off the sill and ran to her.
"Arcee, where did you go?! What happened?!"
His only answer was a few sniffles before she pressed her forehead against his left thigh. "I-I'm sorry. I just wanted...I thought I could be..."
"Shh, shh, hey, don't cry. It's okay. We have everything under control-" Bolt said, coming up beside Megatron to comfort her.
"No, we don't!" Aquarius nearly yelled, "Metal Head armies are coming down on us and you want us to pretend it's okay?!"
The Vehicon growled, "I'm trying not to be a dick for once! Thank you, Captain Obvious!"
The warlord kneeled as everyone tried to multitask listening to them while contacting their own people. "What happened, Arcee?"
The blue femme fought the remaining tears. "I confronted Silos...and you were right. People don't change. He's the Metal Head Leader and he has Optimus and Bumblebee and had I just listened, none of this would have happened! I killed everyone and he has this weapon that I don't know what to do about! I escaped but I left them...I left behind Optimus and-and-and Bumblebee...I'm a terrible queen!"
Her whimpers made most of the leaders grow distraught while some like The Matriarch and the Mistress of Flame were less sympathetic though they were more neutral on the matter if anything.
"No, Arcee," the grey mech said calmly, "you did what you thought was right. You tried to make everyone happy. That says a lot more than what I've done for people. If we always made good decisions, none of us would have learned anything, I especially. It is what we do to fix those mistakes that matter the most. It doesn't matter if I'm right even when I made a fit about it; it's understanding what went wrong and doing what's right in the end that defines our greatest moments, a chance I never got to do until I met you."
"What am I supposed to do?! I screwed them over, I gave our biggest enemy the means to eviscerate us, and now all that I did means nothing! I never listen! I always want to be right and do everything I can to ensure people's safety that I don't think about the repercussions! I never do! I hurt them, I hurt my own home, and now everyone is going to die because of me!"
"Then stop worrying about what you have done," the warlord said. "Focus on what matters most right now. That will tell you what you need to do."
"Exactly," the Allspark's voice came through. It spawned in the middle of the room. Arcee peered up at it teary-eyed, a sight that broke Megatron's spark as well as the Allspark itself. "You made bad choices, but it is not the end unless you give up. I blame myself more so."
"What?" That response stunned everyone, especially Arcee. "Y-You didn't just hand over a weapon to someone wanting to kill you."
The Allspark shook itself, its rings slowing considerably. "I should have told you from the beginning that Ceros Silos was the monster behind the mask, but I was so afraid of telling you as I believed fate would send something worse after you that I never thought it would arguably get worse the more I withheld the truth from you. An all-seeing entity such as I have made more mistakes than any of you have. We just never learn, do we?"
Arcee frowned, "You mean, you think the more enemies we defeat, especially if we're warned ahead of time, the universe will just gradually send something worse after us? Everything has been trying to kill us since we existed. The Cybertronian Predator, ourselves, the Primes too, and now Metal Heads. I think by now we would be used to being in danger."
"Yes, but I didn't want to risk anything worse for us. But I see now with my power, some things should be defied and altered. And now I offer an alternative. You may have made a mistake very dear to all here, but every mistake can be fixed. The results might not be what you want, might not be what everyone will forgive, but I would imagine that it would set the example straight that no one gets away with making a fool out of the great uncatchable, untamable, indestructibleArcee."
When she heard that, Arcee paused as she quickly reviewed both Megatron's and the Allspark's words carefully. They were right; nothing was going to be fixed unless she made it so. It was her error, but it was also her responsibility. She owed everyone that much. Like she said to Silos, she was going to kill him for what he's done. That is a promise she intended to keep or die doing so. And if she didn't give up, there was a chance she would make good on that promise.
The Allspark seemed to sense her recognizing and accepting the problem as its colors resumed a normal blue and Dagger Prima began to glow in response. Her brows furrowed as her tears ceased, rubbing the remnants off with a scowl.
"No, no one does," she said. "Megatron, I think we're going to need to do some hunting first. Care to join me?"
"We don't have time for a scavenger hunt, Arcee."
"Never said it was. Silos humiliated me, so let's go humiliate his operations. Bolt, you're in charge until we get back. Moonhunter, stay here."
"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," The Matriarch scoffed, "who put you in charge? You abandoned us! You made this whole ordeal in the first place!"
Arcee nodded more confidently, "Yep, and now I'm going to bring hell. I messed up and I'm going to fix it starting with what he stole from you. I'm not asking for forgiveness; I'm just asking you to buy me a little time. Keep the battlefield warm for me because I'm coming back, and I'm going to kill that motherfucker. Anybody got a problem with that?"
Phantasmos and Wreck-gar were smiling at that while Haywire and Scythe slowly came around to understanding what she was going to do and reluctantly backed off. When Arcee was pissed, regardless right or wrong, someone was going to die. Everyone was too stunned by the comment to answer while also piecing together her declaration of returning their stolen items. Before a question regarding it could be asked if any, she activated the coordinates to her destination. Throwing her skull gem necklace on the table, she ran into it with Megatron who shrugged. That left the group to stare where the portal disappeared.
"Did you get anything she said?" Blurr asked.
Lennox grinned, "Yeah, Arcee's going to kick Silos' ass."
Marina giggled, "Wrong or not, you have to admit she has style in her methods of heroics."
"I'm still not forgiving her regardless until I get my stuff back," The Matriarch huffed. The glares she got made her immediately defensive. "What?! You mean to tell me you guys are just going to forgive and forget what she's done?!"
Phantasmos shook his head, "No, but I'm going to let her do her thing to make up for it. Unless you want to stop her."
Predaking and Grimlock transformed into their beast modes and leapt out the windows past Victorion who joined them, itching to get her servos a hold of the nasty Bowsinks that could certainly see her just as much as she could see them. Both beast leaders called out to their faction that was nearby, hearing the echoing roars as confirmation of their acknowledgement.
"You heard the queen. Take care of the Metal Heads and we'll see about getting Cybertron's main defenses online." Perceptor and Lennox left with Haywire to secure Iacon's Fortress Maximus and the Hall of Records, preparing to send the city into full defense mode.
King Kronos seemed more calculating before suddenly jumping down from the roof he had perched on, shaking the ground and standing tall with his wings expanded slightly. He said something in Kanjian and space bridges began opening alongside him. The others realized what he was doing, and each began to agree to summoning their own reinforcements as Megatron had asked. Kronos' children and his guards stormed through the portals, only pausing a second when they saw what they were about to go up against.
"That's not good," Entity said flabbergasted.
"No shit," Electrohyena scolded as she began climbing the nearest building to summon storm clouds higher up near the atmosphere.
As more portals opened, Aquatronians, Velocitronians and even Camiens came through while Cybertronian citizens quickly grew alert to what was happening. They were skeptical of their new visitors but wanting to rather work with them than the legion of monsters stalking closer to Iacon, they prepared their weapons. When the Decepticons of Chaar commanded by the ravenous Blitzwing and Lugnut appeared, the masses really began to engage. The reason for appearing when called was mutual, as the leaders themselves understood. Arcee had helped them defeat the Metal Heads on their worlds. It was only fair to provide the support where needed despite the anger towards the theft. An interjection was not a high priority against the survival of a planet.
Bulkhead, Ratchet, Smokescreen and Wheeljack were with Ultra Magnus when he spawned near Nova Point watching the monsters getting closer. Seeing their new associates prepared to fight shocked them but given what they had experienced before, it wasn't too big of a surprise. Instead, they cocked their weapons accordingly.
Spirit quivered near a few Velocitronians who looked at the Kanjian confused, but he stayed facing the army approaching despite his heightened fear of the conflict. He froze when he felt a servo on his leg and saw a Velocitron femme trying to comfort him. He gave a weak smile. In other areas surrounding the city, the Aquatronians got along well with the Camiens and Kanjians, a surprise to both species. Cybertronians were in tune with the Camiens the easiest while the Kanjians they were vastly curious about having little to no techno-organic species among them.
The leaders, each with their own group, brought out their weapons. The only one who had no support was Max as humans wouldn't do well on a battlefield as such. He was alright with that as he had his sword in one hand and one of his guns in the other. Kia roared and shook with distaste as saliva dripped from her jaws.
The Metal Heads growled as they drew near. Yellow eyes gleaming for any prey that dare stand in their way. To see all the bots standing there antagonized them so. At the end of their link, Captain Silos could sense their anger and ambition. He could sense the bots just as much as the Metal Heads could. With a cruel grin, his eyes and skull gems flared with a hiss. The monsters quickened their pace.
AN: The final battle is afoot. Yes, some of you guessed correctly that Silos was the Metal Head leader. I tried to make it anonymous but also drop hints he definitely had a major role as an antagonist. Alas, he is the big bad. Malismar was actually going to be the big bad when I first conceived this story to show how much influence Tigressa had in her twisted ideals but I decided to give Captain Silos the limelight since he was always the tritagonist in my original works. So, he gets his spot as one of my favorite villains I have written for.