Author's Notes: I am so proud of myself for actually meeting my two week dead line this time around! Hopefully, I can keep up this momentum! Nothing crazy to report on my end. Just have a blast reading, comment and let me know you liked it!

Flash back to the recent past

Date: April, 25 2020

Arcee

She slapped the data pad onto the long table with a huff. She hadn't even had time to buff out her armor after the bar scrap, but hey, not like she was trying to impress anybot here. If her fellow Autobots as a whole hadn't figured out she was rough around the edges on a normal day then she couldn't help them.

"That's my completed report," she said sharply to all those present. Of course, Magnus wasn't among them. He had higher governmental matters to attend to, but she was already putting in a request to reverse that. She needed someone on her side in this. "Yes, the document has been scanned for Decepticon viruses by the archivists. And also yes, I was already checked over for wires. Both are clean after I skipped out of Kaon. I present all my findings from this grating task you forced me to take on. You're welcome."

Amongst her company in the secured room on the top floor of Iacon's information tower were ten of her fellow Autobots. One or two amongst them were lower ranking government reps like her. The rest were held in higher standing. Not like Decimus before them or the old Council, (which was ironically enough called the New Council at the time) but all holding equal and accountable power. To better consolidate power so it wasn't corrupted, the Autobot faction had split up their government into so many fractions it was honestly hard to keep track of them all. A branch considered higher than another could not push forward a law or decision without all the other lower branches voting on it first.

All Arcee knew was every decision took forever to arrive at any conclusion. Bumblebee thought it was the fairest means of government. She, like a few other note worthy Autobots, thought it was a scrap system that took way to damn long. Did she only think that because this branch committee handling Autobot Ethics had voted (forced) her personally to oversee every one of Rhea's Cyberformation tests? Did every one of these attempts basically kill her inside because she already knew what the committee was going to decide on, so it was pointless to put any sort of hope into the Decepticon project for her human friends? Absolutely. But here she was regardless, the biggest sucker in the room. At least she had not kept her feelings about it secret in the slightest.

The Ethic's Committee's head bot, Outlook, leaned forward. Before even looking at the report, he was focused on Arcee. "I heard what happened during your last investigation. Are you alright?"

Arcee made a face. Well, at least they cared about her physical wellbeing, considering they didn't give a scrap about her mental welfare. "What, the shoot out in front of Maccadam's bar? I've survived worse. It was not even a brawl." She blew off.

Onlook nodded, seeming pacified. He placed the data pad into a sunken section of the table. It locked into place and a projection of her scrolling words appeared on both sides of those present. He studied them in excruciating detail before speaking again. "What the Decepticons have accomplished is in fact… interesting. At least on a theoretical standpoint."

"It is an abomination against the natural order," snapped another bot, Freegail was her name. "But then again, when has that ever stopped the Decepticons? The poor organic creature has no idea what's going on. When Soundwave grows board of her and tosses her away to jump to the next of his hyper fixations to fill the void left by Megatron's presence, we will no doubt be left to care for the Cyberformed Earthling."

"The research supplemented by the neutrally aligned scientist Autoclave is remarkable though," intoned another. Arcee had stopped paying attention to all their names, so she had dubbed this guy Devil's Advocate, DA for short. Considering that was the stance he was always taking. The role was probably assigned to him at the start of this fun little club of nerds all rambling on about ethics. Arcee could only imagine the wild times. "Autoclave has mapped the Sparks of organic life, or at least a choice few. That was assumed theoretical up until this point."

"Autoclave never determined where these organic sparks go after termination," said another. Arcee had named this one Argumentative in her head. "For all we or anybot knows, they just fizzle out in space."

"Or they go to their own version of the All Spark," DA pointed out.

Argumentative scoffed at the concept and waved him off.

"Organic Sparks or none, does that really matter in this instance?" Freegail growled. "This organic lifeform in question still would not comprehend all that she is being transformed into. It is cruel and devastating to the Earth Sub intelligence and Wildlife conservation program."

Technically, Freegail was on Earth's side, but the comment still left Arcee sour, "Just to be clear, the 'organic lifeform' in question has a name. I'm pretty sure I mentioned it a good few times in the document."

Freegail nodded, "I am aware of the Organic's personal designation, but I was more focused on the human species as a whole at this moment. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. As the Solar Cycles go on, and Primus willing, the war remains only a bad memory and not a fate of our future, human and other organic lifeforms will become more popular amongst the general Cybertronian population. Mostly as pets or novelty pieces. But also, disgustingly, as objects of romantic infatuation, as this organic is for the Decepticon Lord. It will be our jobs to assure none of that comes to pass here in the Northern sector, and we will stomp out as much as we are able in the South, within the parameters of the Treaty of course."

"I guess I still don't understand the fundamentals of this concept…" hummed another bot, rather out of nowhere. Arcee had long since dubbed this bot Idiot. Because no matter what the frag they were talking about, or how much she explained it, he always 'didn't understand enough.' What was still unclear for him? How many times did she need to ram her fist into this bot's helm until the context of this conversation clicked into place?

For once, Arcee and Freegail seemed to agree on something. Freegail beat Arcee to the punchline, turning in her chair to glare at Idiot. "What isn't there to get? Now that we have deemed organic Cyberformation is possible, the Decepticons are going to start abducting humans and other Earth born natives on a large scale to convert them into our species! After we are done consulting on this topic, we need to involve the Earth Based Observations Committee to better monitor the planet for suspicious Decepticon activity."

Jetfire was on that Committee Freegail mentioned, so at least someone with basic reasoning skills would be joining in on this convoluted project.

"So, what is the actual consensus here?" Arcee demanded of the bickering bots. The disjointed murmurs paused, all looking to her coldly. What, did they expect her to just leave after slapping down her data pad at the beginning? "We all didn't think Cyberformation was possible. We were proven wrong. Abducting humans and other organics against their will is in the 'bad' camp. That is pretty obvious to anybot with a working neronet. What about Rhea personally? What are we doing about her situation? When will we be granting some form of individual consideration for her case?"

Onlook again leaned forward, his expression pursed downward with sympathy, "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do for this one human. She is under the constant surveillance and control of the Decepticon Lord Soundwave. And our findings presented to the higher committees was already denied on the grounds any attempts to confiscate this human from Soundwave's custody would result in Decepticon retaliation and potential risk to the Treaty's standing. But we are far from granting any sort of consideration towards the Cyberformation process as a whole."

"But it's going to happen regardless of what we say here," Arcee pointed out. "We already determined the Cons'll do whatever they damn well please. And considering the process is possible, then we need to switch gears and decide how to sift through organics who want to go through the procedure willingly, like Rhea, and those who are being forced."

"We determined it is an afront to nature," Freegail reminded the room. "There will be nothing 'allowed' to happen no matter what any individual organic thinks they want. And who knows what kind of damage would befall our population and the All Spark if it were to happen on a large scale."

Arcee turned to her personally, and at risk of sounding like Idiot, she asked, "Sorry, what are you saying?"

Freegail swiped away the projection of Arcee's report and instead brought up a diagram of their planet. A few taps on the screen sliced the diagram in half, and the core of Cybertron shone bright on the hologram. "Optimus Prime retrieved the All Spark from the void of space, then he sacrificed himself to restore it to our world so our once endangered species scattered to the stars could rebuild anew."

Arcee crossed her arms, "Um, yeah, I am well aware, I was there when Optimus did that. What's your point?"

"The reforging cycle designed by Primus Himself," Freegail vented, "we are forged from the Well, and when we die, we return to the Well. If a Spark chooses to remain there with Primus in the All Spark, they may do so, or they may return to life in a new form. What will become of this cycle if non Cybertronian Sparks are potentially added into the equation? Will it do nothing? Will they fizzle out in space like they may already? Or, would they go to the All Spark and be recycled into the Well? That could damage it, or at the very least, jeopardize the purity of our recovering race. How would we tell these Cyberformed organics apart from us? There are too many unknown factors to consider it."

Arcee blinked at Freegail in shock. Then she took in a few of the others nodding along in agreement. "I'm sorry, what in the Pits are you implying?" she growled.

Onlook held out a hand, "Arcee, this is all just theoretical consideration-"

Arcee stepped on his words with a snarl, "There's nothing 'theoretical' about what she just said! Humans aren't lower life forms compared to us! I know a bunch of humans personally and I have for years! That's the same sentiment the Old Council AND the old New Council had for the Decepticons, that they were less than we are!"

"And that was wrong," Freegail agreed, maybe in an attempt to pacify her, "Decepticons are not less Cybertronian than we are. We know that now. They have the exact same thoughts and abilities as we do, though they chose to waste it on their chosen side, that is still their right to do so. I am not talking about Decepticon rights, I am talking about other races categorized as sub intelligent. Not yet advanced enough to reach beyond their own worlds without our technological intervention or held back by the biological nature of their organic origins. Case in point, Earth."

"You decided to use Optimus' name in this stupid debate," Arcee hissed through grit denta, "Then I'll throw some of his wisdom back at you. 'Free will is the right of ALL sentient beings.' He didn't say that was dependent on their current level of tech or political opinions regarding space travel. No matter what! Plus, our level of tech we use is only because we swiped it from the Quintesson! What does that make us since we didn't create any of it!"

"I agree, at least regarding Optimus Prime's statement on free will," Freegail repeated, "Our free will, not other life forms we have not studied in scrutinizing detail to determine otherwise. For all we know, humans are not truly sentient but can mimic similar traits to assure their survival against much more powerful threats to their continued existence. As for your argument regarding our appropriation of Quintesson technology, it could be debated since the Quintesson were the creations of Quintus Prime, one of our ancestors, the technology they produced is our own."

"I would not know enough on the subject to speak intelligently," Idiot decided to add for no damn reason.

Arcee ignored him, because Freegail was too tempting a target for her rage. Arcee couldn't decide if she wanted to carry on shouting or deck her, "You all voted to put me on this damn spy mission, a mission we all know I hated because of how close I am to the situation! Why even bother debating it, or sending me out there to watch it, if we were always going to come back to the same fragging conclusion? No Cyberformation, or any variation either way, no matter what, under any circumstances! After all this, I don't know if it's morally right or wrong. I thought this was about us not wanting to force our way of life on other worlds, not because I think Rhea or my human ward Jack would somehow 'sully' the purity of my race! The frag is that even about?"

"I didn't mean to offend," Freegail insisted, "I understand how endearing organics can be. While off world during the war, I had a pet alien I found on-"

"Don't even finish that sentence," Arcee spat, "Because Jack isn't a 'pet'. None of the humans are! They're the same as us just in a smaller form!"

Freegail shrugged, "Fully sentient when they live for such a small amount of time? I don't think we could conclude that here. I would recommend a new committee should form to determine that. Study the race closely over the next five hundred or six hundred solar cycles… or at least over the next few naturally passing human generations."

"We can send that higher up through an official inquiry," Onlook said, "but for now, we can determine the concept of Cyberformation at this moment will be deemed a banned practice in all Autobot cities and off world Autobot controlled colonies. And we will work diligently and within our abilities to assure the practice does not spread out of control amongst the Decepticon factions."

Date: March 15th 2021

Arcee

The silence following her confession was deafening. She couldn't look anyone in the optics, so she instead hyper focused on Ratchet's continued work on her hands. He seemed determined to do the same, blue gaze fixed on his work. She was worried about the old bot's reaction most of all. It still didn't seem that long ago they lost Optimus due to his sacrifice, and she couldn't help but feel like she had spit on the Prime's grave. But it was how she felt. She was absolutely disgusted with how things within the Autobot faction were going.

"No," Smokescreen broke the silence. His affect was flat, but that didn't last long. "NO! Cee, you can't leave the Autobots! I know things aren't great right now but… We'll find a way around it!"

"A way around Cyberforming the kids, or Cee switching sides?" Bulkhead asked. She didn't have the guts to glance up to see if he was attempting to lighten the mood, or if he was serious. She pretended it was the first option. Bulkhead being serious was never a good thing.

"So, should we work out how we'll handle fights if this goes down?" Wheeljack asked, legitimately curious. "Say the war blows up again… I'm fine to shoot to maim and not kill if you're good with it."

"We aren't going there," Bumblebee growled at him, "Not even hypothetical."

"How serious are you about this, Cee?" Bulkhead asked apprehensively.

She maintained her hands as still as possible as she offered a half-Sparked shrug. "Probably not too much… I hate myself for it. After everything the Cons have done. What they have done to me and those I love personally. I don't even believe in most of the crazy scrap they do. But, they aren't standing still like we are."

"Yeah, because they blaze through anything in their way to get what they want!" Smokescreen reminded them.

"And they have something I want," Arcee huffed.

The door of Ratchet's once semiprivate research room rolled open, and their red and sporty friend Knock Out was standing in the entrance, striking a dramatic pose. "I heard news we were in desperate need for an emergency finish repair! Luckily for you clumsy, dent and scratch prone idiots, your genius friend Knock Out is here to help!"

Arcee finally glanced up, and it almost made her laugh when she saw every single bot in the room respond to his theatrics with a burning glare. Everyone, save for Ratchet. He was still glued to his work.

Knock Out scanned the mix of angry expressions, scoffed, then walked in despite it. "Nope. I don't care if this is bad timing. I am not going to be standing on that stage in two cycles with someone who looks like that." And he aimed a general wave over Arcee's whole person.

"You probably won't have to," Arcee assured him, "The second this whole scrap gets out, I'll be booted off the Memorial roster, and the team."

It was alarming how fast Bumblebee crossed the room. He knelt to be right in front of her without being in Ratchet's way. He must have forgotten she may still be toxic to the touch, because he grasped her by one shoulder and could practically pierce her with his gaze and field. "That will happen over my dead body! You were there right alongside Optimus when it mattered most, so you are going to be on that stage!"

"Um, context would be appreciated for newcomers," Knock Out said, mildly curious.

If only to break away from Bumblebee's intensity, Arcee turned to Knock Out. "I'm considering jumping teams. Nothing set in stone yet, but… It's on my mind."

Knock Out rolled his optics, "Always so dramatic with your lot. The way everybot in here was acting I assumed the planet just died again."

"Ok, I got an idea gang," Smokescreen said pushing himself off the wall and back into the conversation. "Arcee, it has just got to be the stress. All you need is some time off, and your helm'll be back in the game, no doubt!"

"I already had this convo with her," Jazz finally felt like chipping in, "This is more then going on a carefree getaway."

Smokescreen fell back into exasperation, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Jazz shrugged, "Oh, I talked about this with her too…"

Arcee vented, but felt a bit of her normal sarcasm was in order in this instance, "Everyone definitely needs to hear this. I'd say it's one of Jazz's more incoherent plots."

Jazz smiled wide, taking her sarcastic jab as a green light to carry on, "Dig this. She does what she plans on doin' anyway, cuz this is Cee, and not even Unicron could change her mind when it's set. After she becomes Con, I'll kill Soundwave, cuz the backstabbing jerk started all this. Then, after the war is back on, we go into Kaon and bring our girl and her Cyberformed humans back with us, whether they wanna go or not. Problem solved."

Bumblebee whirled around on him. "Jazz, this is not the time for jokes!"

"I wasn't jokin'," Jazz assured them all with a shrug. "Because if Cee is on the other side of any fight, I ain't taking the chance of her getting shot by one of us."

"But taking her as a prisoner of war is better?" Bulkhead snarled.

"I am open to suggestions to make the strategy more leak proof," Jazz said.

"Have you talked to Jack about this?" Bumblebee asked as he tuned out the nonhelpful commentary from the other side of the room.

It was exactly what Arcee didn't want to think about. She pulled her aura back into herself. "I'm scared to ask. Because, depending on what he says, it will decide what I'll do. If he wants to stay human until the end, then I'll let this whole thing go. But, if he would want to go through with it, with changing, then I would fight to the death for him too, no matter what. Same with all the kids. So, like a coward, I have put off asking him. I don't want to do this, I don't want to leave you all. But I am absolutely disgusted with what I heard from our side, what they said about Rhea, how they feel about all humans… I just feel trapped."

"This is my fault."

Arcee jolted out of her little pity party. It was the first time Ratchet had said anything since her confession. And as she feared, the hurt on his older face was Spark breaking. He remained focused on his task of fixing her hands, which appeared basically done. Now, he was checking every inch of her digits and palms with obsessive detail, all to avoid looking up at her. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Arcee… I failed you in Optimus' stead. I made a promise to him, I would watch over you all. I failed him, and I failed you spectacularly."

"No," Arcee said, or at least she tried to. It came out as a whimper, and the rest of her explanation to assure her old friend sort of crumbled in her voice box when he looked up at her. His optics welled with excess lubricant, a very rare show of Cybertronian sorrow. She was locked in his tearful gaze. Like her whole body was struck by lightning, and every system couldn't decide whether to seize violently on the ground or freeze and shut down.

He took his hand from her own and placed his work hardened palm on the side of her faceplate. "Yes, this is my fault. Because when they were voting on members to work in the higher government branches, they wanted me to be part of the Ethics Committee. More than be part of it, the votes deemed I would be the head of that committee branch. But I was tired from the war. I felt like it wasn't my time to give my opinion over anything anymore. I turned it down. Multiple times, I turned it down. Primus I was wrong. I could have stopped all of this, before it even started. I could- I…" he finally dropped his hand from her face, stood, then started trudging from the room.

If it weren't for Bumblebee's grasp on her shoulder, she would have stumbled after him. She still attempted it, reaching out as the door opened, "Ratchet, please wait!"

He didn't stop, but he mumbled over his shoulder, "I repaired all the damage and decontaminated all the poisoned Energon still present when you arrived. You avoided long term damage to your dexterity… Rest for the next few days, and no Transforming in the meantime, give the new alloy time to integrate… come back if you have any lasting pain."

The door shut, and Arcee felt like collapsing to the floor. Instead, she looked down at Ratchet's handywork. Her fingers all moved exactly as she wanted them to, though they were still numb from the anesthetic. Her hands were perfect, like nothing ever happened. It was little consolation. After seeing what she did to Ratchet, she wished Onslaught's corrosive Energon had melted her into a metal soup in those Kaon tunnels.

"We'll talk to him," Bumblebee promised her. "And while you're healing, please call Jack and tell him how you feel and what you're struggling with. Whatever he says, tell us, and we'll go from there, whatever form that takes."

"Alright, enough emotional blubbering, everyone out!" Knock Out huffed. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, especially so when he started physically shoving Smokescreen towards the door first, "I came all this way because I intended to fix damaged outer plating. I won't look like a fool on stage next to what looks like riffraff a scraplet dragged in. I don't waste trips, so I do not intend to leave without fixing it! Unless Arcee, you want to start stripping off all your armor with a million pairs of optics in the room?"

She wasn't keen on that idea. Of course, all of everyone here had seen her worse, she was sure. But Knock Out was insistent. He even pulled out the big guns by waving his own medical clearance to dismiss them all. Arcee gave the group a nod of approval, and that was what finally moved them.

Bumblebee pointed at her as he was ushered out, his optics serious beyond words, "We have your back, no matter what. I promise we'll figure this out-"

Knock Out pressed the override to shut the door, almost trapping Bumblebee's pointing arm if he hadn't yanked it out of the way, "Yes, yes, very sentimental," he said to the now locked door.

He kicked Ratchet's stool over to be in front of her and adjusted it to his size before seating himself. New plates of metal lay unpainted on the table where he had unpacked and arranged them. Arcee said nothing, no complaint or anything like it as he looked her over. She didn't have any strength left to protest. She could only sit like a lump, slouching on the table. She felt lower than the deepest pit. "Ug, what a mess you made of yourself," Knock Out grumbled, as if she had put him out personally. "Luckily, you are under the care of a genius, so it is all fixable. You are welcome, in advanced."

She forced a single nod. The lack of arguing voices after so long was disturbing. After Knock Out's initial blustering, only the sound of his work echoed in the small room. She didn't move, letting him do whatever, she didn't care. She felt hollow. This would be how it would feel if she changed sides. Her team would be far away, and not just in the next room over.

"So," Knock Out hummed thoughtfully after a while, "You thinking about trying the Cons on for size?"

She would shrug, if it weren't for him actively replacing the outer damaged layer of her shoulder plating. "I have no idea. You heard the gist of it. It's just scrap going on you wouldn't care about… Human stuff."

"Ah, this is about the humans not being allowed to upgrade into a more fitting metal shell?" he guessed correctly.

She finally snapped out of her malaise long enough to turn to him in shock. "How-"

He flashed her a dreadfully perfect smile, "What? I can admit I find the little flesh bags endearing, at least some of the time. What do you suppose I do when I am not here or on Velocitron? Earth has very appealing streets for racing, and car shows galore. Plus, I am a socialite at Spark. I have made many connections on Earth, of the non Cybertronian variety. In fact, the ban on organic Cyberformation was the main reason for my own consideration to realign with the Decepticons. There are a few to many humans that are far to good at fine detail work I do not intend to lose to the passage of time."

Arcee was too busy being stunned into gob smacked silence to respond to anything he had confessed, so he took the time to carry on talking, "But that being said, I already have a good ped hold into the Cons world. Starscream would take me back in a flash, no questions asked, and I can always play Soundwave and Sharpshot if I am pitiful enough… But I would worry about you. You have nothing on that side, no allies, no familiar territories and certainly no shared ideals. Save for this one, admittedly large issue, it doesn't seem like something you truly want to do."

"I have no idea what I want," she whispered. And it wasn't a lie. She was lost.

Knock Out hummed again. He paused his work to activate the wall monitor to reflect their images. He had done a remarkable job fixing the damage to her outer appearance, all in so little time. New silver metal was shaped and welded to her frame. He was done buffing out every dent and scratch recent battles had left her with. He was halfway through color matching her blue finish, loading it into a handheld dispenser, "Take it from me, a bot who jumped sides," he said, retaining a very careful optic on his detailed work, "When the feeling in your Spark hits you to jump ship, there isn't any apprehension. You know it when it hits. In fact, I didn't have a second thought the moment it became a reality."

He finished her paint job, sealed it, then stood back to admire his work. "Perfection! There was no doubt, I'm sure. But what artful master would I be if I left off the final details?" He retrieved two small Decepticon insignias, holding them over her back wings where her usual Autobot markings lived. "Would you like to upgrade what you have for a new look?"

She stared at her own reflection for a long time, open mouthed and almost shaking. She looked exactly the same, save for those two foreign markings Knock Out held over her sigils. She felt sick.

She shook her helm quickly, "For now, I want to keep what I have." She managed to mutter.

Knock Out shrugged, unfazed either way. He put back the Decepticon emblems and went to polish those already welded onto her. She was putting off making a decision, but for now, she was relieved.

Date: March 15th 2021

Rhea

Shawn was pawing through his paperwork, and her own notes. They sat at the coffee shop that became their go to place. But this time, they had company, some more hidden than others.

Jack and Raf were seated at the table, on either side of Rhea as a matter of fact. They also had Cody's detailed report regarding his odd, semi paranormal interaction with the trapped Megatronus. She wondered, much as Cody had at the time, why Megatronus had not just visited her or Raf in their dreams. But for some convoluted reason, Megatronus said it had to be Cody. Whatever worked, she guessed.

Megatronus had given more information regarding how to set him free. Currently, that was still off the table. There was the real risk he was making up the urgent threat to get them to do what he wanted. But what he said regarding Steeljaw and the Staff, and more importantly, the whereabouts of the still missing ship the Lost Light, was very interesting.

"With enough bots and my soldiers, we could confine Megatronus once freed," Shawn offered as he re-read over Cody's report. "Of course, we need to find the Lost Light first, to get that Staff… It's good to hear they are still able to be found."

"Megatronus did say they are being hunted," Jack reminded Shawn. "So, like always, we're racing against the clock."

Shawn gave him an awkward smile, "Very true. I try to convince myself it keeps things exciting, if only for my own sanity."

"The bots are just totally against it," Raf said with a grumble, "I get the guy is called the 'Fallen' but I mean, how tough could one bot be? At least get him in a head lock and have him tell us where all the other missing ships are if he knows."

Shawn pursed his lips, "I'll have to have a word with the Autobot leadership, and one of the Decepticon Lords after the Memorial. I can be pretty convincing when I need to be. I think it would be prudent to at least attempt to release Megatronus, risks be damned. It feels important enough."

Rhea glanced over Shawn's shoulder as he continued to scan over their papers. She caught the gaze of a black and gray haired 'man' serenely reading in the corner and not touching the beverage he ordered. Unbeknownst to Shawn, one of the Con Lords now already knew. Soundwave was disguised in his Holoform, as he had been rather insistent to be in on the conversation, even if it was merely as a listener.

She was also absolutely amazed by how naturally he blended in. She could only assume he had pulled some sort of stunt she shuttered to know the details regarding. As of right now, she didn't. All she knew, was he had asked her a favor, and that was not to follow him into the simulation for one instance. There was something he had to try on his own.

They spoke to Maccadam the day before, finding out how little he knew about what Onslaught had wanted from him. Maccadam also, very stubbornly, refused to move into any protective custody. Soundwave didn't force him, only informing him nosy Autobots may not be in the vicinity to help him, and next time, there may be more threats coming for him and his abilities. Maccadam seemed fine with those odds.

Then, they returned to the search. Or at least, Rhea did. That was when Soundwave logged into the simulation alone, and remained there for hours. He was in for so long, she was starting to get seriously worried about him. She even considered breaking her promise and logging in to check on him. But she held back and let him do whatever he had intended to. In the meantime, Rhea and Laserbeak flew over the city alongside Sharpshot and Silverwing, privately swapping guesses as to what in the hell Soundwave was up to.

But in the present, after he finally returned to the waking world and joined her on this catch-up meeting with Shawn, she thought she could guess what that 'something' was. The AI populated world the Simulation had was usually turned off when they went in together, creating a perfect little paradise for the two anti-social nerds. Another reason it was normally desolate, was because Soundwave had struggled so terribly being surrounded by crowds of humans the first time.

He had most likely turned the AI populated world on and practiced being amongst people. She was proud of him, but really, she was a little jealous of how quickly he picked it up. In just one day, she would never be able to spot him out of a crowd of humans if she didn't already know what his holoform looked like. It was the same way he looked in the sim. Still just as handsome.

She let herself go down a mental tangent and forced herself back on track. She decided to put that aside for later.

They caught eyes again, and Soundwave gave her a flirtatious little smirk. She then heard Laserbeak groan in her ear. She tried desperately not to laugh and got back to work.

"Alright, we'll shelf Megatronus for now, until after the Memorial," Shawn said with a stretch. "What about this Onslaught guy? I've heard bits and pieces through the Autobots, but sounds like they don't know much more than me."

That was Rhea's cue. Everyone turned to her. "They sent a little bit of an update to the Autobots, because getting these two factions to willingly swap info is one of the most painful experiences of my life," she grumbled. "But, to give you the short version, Onslaught is medically stable, he even made it through the night. We searched every corner of every Decepticon city, thanks to a very wide team effort that is still on going. So far, nothing at all has been found.

"We also know Onslaught isn't working alone. He mentioned others, and the group that recovered him spotted one of them. They were disguised as a human woman, though I can't imagine why they went with that. I'm the only human usually tromping around Kaon, and we haven't seen any sign of her since. Clobber also said she seemingly activated the device on Onslaught to try and kill him when he was spilling too much." She found the sketched picture of the woman in their paperwork pile and pushed it towards Shawn, "Sorry for the low-quality police sketch. All the surveillance systems couldn't make her out, so we had Clobber describe her to Miko so she could draw her."

Raf snickered out loud, "As it turns out, Miko going to art school worked out."

Despite their laughter, Shawn's brow knitted downward as he examined the picture. "Hm," he finally mumbled, and Rhea worried his blood pressure must be rising due to all the coffee, because his ears were flushing again. "Odd she looks human… Hope she isn't hiding out here on Earth. That would be problematic. Just in case, we'll run this pic across the Concurrence and the USA's government face recognition software. See if we get any hits."

"Interesting you have a creepy government program on hand for every occasion," Raf snickered.

Shawn finally cracked a smile, "Endless money does the trick every time!" he shot gunned the last of his coffee and stood. "I'll get on it. Keep me in the loop guys. We'll have this all sorted hopefully, by the end of this month. At least the Memorial won't be hanging over us all after this." He shook both men's hands in parting. Then he went for a handshake with Rhea, or at least an attempted one. He stopped short, almost considered a side hug, thought better of it, then ended up just offering an awkward wave before almost running out.

"That was painful to watch," Jack observed. "You gotta let the poor guy down eventually."

"He still hasn't said anything about romantic feelings," Rhea said in her own defense. "I do not intend to open up that can of worms unless he does first."

The quiet man in the corner of the café clicked his book shut and came to sit in Shawn's place. "Megatronus being released from his prison is an absolute last resort," Soundwave's human persona said. He placed his untouched beverage before Rhea so she could have it. "Shawn may be confident in our combined abilities to confine him, but I am not. Megatronus is one of the original Primes. Their power was unmatched, if the relics they left behind are anything to go by. We are still unable to retrieve the relic on Prion due to the power of that item's force field."

"Really?" Jack asked, "Even bot and human military ganging up on him? I mean, I know we're short, but we can pack a punch when it comes down to it."

"I will discuss it again with the other Lords," Soundwave finally conceded. "And we will consult with the Autobots when we have reached a decision."

"So, you are ok with the whole Onslaught details getting back to them to, right?" Raf asked, "Because you got to know, we're gonna share it."

Soundwave shrugged, "I don't see why not. It is a continued secret only because of Starscream's stubbornness. He wishes to gain something from the Autobot side as compensation, but I don't believe we have the time for that. Sharpshot and I were going to outvote him this afternoon regardless."

Raf rose his hand, "I can always volunteer as a hostage again, if that helps expedite the process."

"I doubt we shall need your services in this same regard," Soundwave assured him. "But thank you for the offer. It should not take long to convince Starscream of anything in our best interest. I have spent the better part of four million years on the same ship as him. Learning the inner workings of his mind was my first priority at the time."

Jack cracked a smile, "Dare I ask, what did you learn in all that time?"

The human variant of Soundwave pursed his lips, focus landing on some irritation point in the distant past only he could see. "To much, and at the same time, not nearly enough to put up with it beyond small doses. Thankfully, the Nemesis was spacious."

'He is still far more pleasant company over the Autobot fool Jazz,' Laserbeak offered in their shared ear, and Raf's phone, which buzzed with the same comment via text.

Raf glanced the phone, then snickered.

'A swarm of scraplets would be better company then Jazz.' Soundwave pointed out between the three of them.

Jack popped his lips to make an obvious sound, "Wish I had a secret com device, guess I'll just be the only jack ass not in on the joke…"

'Well, the first half of Jacks designation would suggest a correlation,' Laserbeak pointed out.

"It's just banter," Raf promised Jack, again trying hard not to laugh at the text. "We're discussing what or who is worse than spending time with a swarm of scraplets."

"Nothing for me then," Jack said with a huff. "It's been over eleven years and that whole scraplet attack on the first base still gives me nightmares."

Soundwave looked confused, and Rhea could only imagine. Raf filled them in, "It's nothing, all the Bot's survived it, obviously. But long story short, the first week we meet the Autobots on Earth, they found a massive artifact in the Arctic and brought it back to base to thaw. It was full of scraplets, and you can imagine the wild times."

Soundwave's avatar blinked, his eyebrows rising in legitimate surprise. "The relic they found, that was a container for a large quantity of scraplets… Was it this?"

Raf's phone buzzed, and he clicked the numberless link. He jolted with recognition, prompting Jack to look at the image and do the same. "T-that's it exactly! But way less beat up, where did you…"

Soundwave shook his head, in total disbelief and even leaned back in his chair at the round table, "The plot had been so simple, to think they actually fell for it? How? Why would they not check it before Bridging it back to their base?" he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, his practiced human expression practically dripping disappointment.

Laserbeak was stuck in a near endless fit of trilling laughter, not even able to speak. On Raf's text chain with the minicon, it only stated 'Hahaha!'

"Wait," Jack said, "We thought it was a Decepticon trap, but that was you guys? Like, Megatron and you and Starscream personally?!"

Soundwave sighed again, already sounding utterly defeated, "The fifty scraplet pods sent into space had been such a pointless side project on Starscream's to do list, and only because he thought they would be successful in dismantling Autobot space outposts who were in desperate need of supplies. You are telling me that the Team Prime fell for one of these traps? That was what almost took Optimus Prime's lead unit out? Primus, I don't know who I am more embarrassed for, the late Prime, or my own late Lord for not being able to snuff out the same Autobots that drug an obvious trap into their most important base…"

Jack was just slack jawed, and Rhea was in the same position as Raf. She couldn't decide if she should try and defuse this potential argument, or laugh along like Laserbeak.

Soundwave beat them all to the punch, and he regained his composure so he could again address Jack, now with not as much obvious judgment, "Thankfully, the war is passed, so there is hopefully, no animosity from either side regarding weapons of warfare that were deployed… I hope all Autobots have been properly educated to recognize traps that have been left over from the war. There are still forty-nine of those pods unaccounted for… I implore your faction to be more careful before dragging whatever they find back into the confines of their bases."

Jack scowled, though to his credit, he only grit his teeth and nodded in agreement. "I'll pass that along, thanks," he said, the last word a suppressed hiss.

Raf patted Jack on the back, and going by his forced grin, even he appeared to appreciate the irony. "So, maybe talk of the upcoming celebration will lighten things up? We all good on that front, despite the poison blooded Cons skulking around?"

"Indeed," Soundwave hummed thoughtfully, "Places for human representation is complete, and security is assured, on our side at least. The Memorial Gardens have been scanned and triple checked for any potential bombs or hiding places these interlopers could be hiding. But of course, I don't believe the Memorial is their target. I intend to have a unit stationed around Maccadam's location. He appears to be one of their targets, along with any large information centers. I assume the Autobots will have a similar response that reflects our own."

'As long as the Autobots do not drag in any obvious scraplet traps into the party,' Laserbeak chuckled between barley contained laughter, 'There are still forty-nine still out there… and I know they cannot help their curiosity, but I can think of no better way to dampen the mood.'

Raf's phone buzzed, carrying that same sentiment. Raf glanced it, then slammed the screen down on the table before Jack could see it. He then fully hid his head in his arms to suppress his laughter. His trembling shoulders betrayed him. Jack scowled.

Rhea snorted, looking at Soundwave who only shook his head and sighed.

Rhea's commlink pinged from a message coming from Cybertron, and Soundwave's own would of course do the same. His features turned blank as he read them. Before she could even activate her message, his lighthearted air turned cold. "What is it?" she demanded. The others among them quickly sobered as well.

He glanced at her seriously, "We will contact the Autobots once I return to Cybertron. We will request one of their representatives to warp into Kaon. The Prisoner Onslaught has woken up."

Date: Present day, September 30th 2021 3:00 a.m.

Steven

The strange message staired back at him, mocking him as it refused to elaborate beyond its initial threat:

'She is safe, but you are not.'

Steven was dumb struck, gawking at his phone screen for probably too long until Ben spoke over his shoulder, "Well… damn, that doesn't sound good."

It was a very appropriate sentiment, and it forced Steven's brain back into working order. He quickly typed into the message app, demanding the mysterious sender currently using Rhea's phone exactly what they were talking about. Why was he in danger? From what? Who were they and, again, where was Rhea? He sent the long string of questions, then waited. And waited. There was no answer.

Ben snorted indignantly, "They drop a bomb like that and then stop texting? Rude."

Again, that was an understatement. Steven jolted with a sudden realization and rushed around the table to get to Rhea's laptop. He logged in, and Ben was once more hovering over his shoulder, so he explained his frantic actions as he typed in the passcode, "Rhea's phone is linked to her computer. If it is on, then I can track it." He opened the corresponding program and started the process to track her phone. He waited, almost trembling as he watched the loading screen inch along in its progress…

Mobile Device is not responding.

He slammed his fist into the table. "The phone is off!" He flipped over a nearby kitchen chair, momentarily forgetting he had a witness to his outburst.

"There's got to be another way to track it, even if it's off," Ben prompted, unfazed by Steven's childish antics. Steven forced himself to take a deep breath, calm down, and think. Anger was not going to get him anywhere. It was odd Ben was so invested in the business of what was essentially a stranger. But again, Ben's random comment did get him thinking.

Steven wiped his face with both hands, trying to banish the last remnants of anger and exhaustion, "There is another way to track her phone. Every time a phone is used, its signal bounces off the nearest cell tower available. I can see the phones' general location in relation to the tower it used."

Ben brightened, "Great! How do you do that?"

Steven frowned, the reality of what he proposed dawning on him, "That will be… harder. I need to get back to base and log into our information network."

Ben rose a brow, "So, is that a legal activity?"

"Absolutely not." Steven assured him. But he was far beyond going by the rules to find Rhea. He had done everything correctly up until this point. He had searched the area daily, he put up posters, he had allowed the base police and local authorities to search for her. It was his turn now. But he was supposed to be on forced vacation, at least for another few days. If he was seen wandering in the base, it would draw to much attention.

He glanced Ben.

"I may need your help with this next activity, despite it's illegal nature."

Ben pursed his mouth to the side, contemplating the offer, and maybe all he could lose if they were caught. He was already under an official investigation for desertion, utilizing public phone records and cell tower data without authorization would not reflect well on his already shaky record. But he still ended up smiling. "Just tell me what to do, and I got your back."

Steven nodded nervously, quickly compiling a plot that would get them through this insanity legally unscathed. "You won't have to do anything, other then being a convincing prop."

Date: March 15th 2021, late day on Cybertron

Soundwave

Rhea was metal again, and thankfully, agreed to remain outside the containment bubble set up around their bound and confined patient in the North tower's main medical ward. Laserbeak remained attached to her back plating, just to assure her safety. Even though the room was sealed and her distance far from the potential contamination risk, Soundwave was thankful she had another layer of protection between herself and their bound prisoner. Rhea and Laserbeak were at the far wall behind the transparent containment wall, outwardly and mentally silent, just to make sure Soundwave could concentrate.

The strange and damaged Cybertronian was dazed, but indeed awake. His red optics darted about the room, blinking blearily and trying to track the bots buzzing around him. Soundwave was among his other Decepticon Lords, waiting just outside of the containment area. Their interrogation would start the moment the doctors within gave the go ahead.

Shockwave was among those within the containment area, busy typing away and hooking new wires into their patient/prisoner. He was the main reason Onslaught even woke up, and so quickly.

"Inject 3.7 metrons of charged adrenalized isotope," he ordered to one of the many doctors now under his command. He glanced an unblinking optic over his shoulder to the three Lords, "The Energon transfusions have done well to stabilize the subject, and this last round of infusions should return him to his full senses."

"Remarkable work as always," Soundwave praised in a similar flat effect. Shockwave was not one to need affirmation, but it felt inappropriate to say nothing. It wasn't something he would usually think about… He may be spending too much time 'practicing' being human in the simulation.

The door behind the ward opened, and three more bots entered. Thunderblast and Clobber arrived, walking in step and sandwiching the Autobot Bumblebee between them. "We asked the Autobots for a rep, and they send this yellow baby face plated one," Thunderblast announced to the room, thumb jabbing at Bumblebee, "So you know the Bot's are taking our request extra serious."

Bumblebee brushed that off, coming to a stop a few paces from Soundwave and the others. "Um, hi your Lords. Lordships. Guys… What is with the summons?"

Arcee and another Autobot had been at the scene the day before, so Soundwave assumed he was already filled in and was now playing dumb. He played along just to avoid conflict, "We captured one of the poisoned Energon Cybertronians. He was gravely injured, but he has been stabilized. We reached out as a gesture of good faith, and so your faction could have some input regarding the information we may extract."

Bumblebee did a decent enough job pretending to be surprised, "Wow! Good work nabbing one alive! And, um, thanks for the invite. I assume we aren't going to torture the poor guy right out the gate… right?"

Starscream huffed, "That will be determined by his cooperation."

"Eh?" the bot bolted down to the table managed to say, his voice box damaged but seemingly not beyond Shockwave's repair, even after decapitation. Shockwave nodded to Soundwave and the others, and they entered the containment field. Bumblebee awkwardly followed alongside Thunderblast and Clobber, taking his place sort of behind Soundwave and Sharpshot. Soundwave noted that was a good place for him. Thunderblast's jab at the Autobot had been accurate, he was far from the most intimidating sight.

Clarity did return to the strange looking bot's optics. He finally gazed, with his optics only, at the three looking Decepticon Lords on each side of his berth. He still couldn't move, and the panic in his slight helm trembling let Soundwave know Onslaught came to that same realization. Then the angled metal of his face turned downward, "Aw crap," he finally settled on saying.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Sharpshot said coldly. "It is because of our mercy you have awoken at all."

"But," Starscream hissed, picking up right where Sharpshot let off, "That mercy is already limited in quantity. It is also dependent on your agreeing to tell us everything you know. Otherwise," he smirked evilly, "You wear a Decepticon badge. If your alliance is true, I am sure you have an idea."

"I ain't dead," Onslaught stated the obvious.

Starscream scowled, his carefully worded threat going unheard, or, unnoticed. "Again, thanks to us! But if you wish to retain ahold of your miserable life-"

"How the hell did ya manage that?" Onslaught interrupted, and his optics betrayed total shock, "Ya got that thing off me? How didn't my head plop off?"

Soundwave assumed Onslaught was referring to the medical device once securing his helm in place. The one that came undone when he began sharing what he knew in the tunnels.

"For all intents and purposes, it did." Shockwave said. Onslaught managed to twitch his helm to better glance at the scientist. "If an explanation of your survival will expedite the interrogation, I shall explain," with a wave of his hand a series of medical charts appeared over Onslaught so he could see it without moving. "We studied the device once affixed to your neck cable supports in tandem with your abnormal anatomy. Such an injury would have been deemed fatal if not for the device, but simultaneously, the device did not allow natural healing to occur. As I assume you know, you have suffered a total severing of your outer, inner and most central spinal strut and the connections in your main nervous and cranial networks. The collar once affixed to you was holding those connections together, but also inhibiting your natural healing abilities, assuring your decapitation would recommence if it were ever removed."

Onslaught blinked. Soundwave remained silent and had to suppress his frustration. He could tell the odd bot had gleaned none of that.

"Say what now?" Onslaught said, just as Soundwave assumed.

"Your helm would have fallen off if we hadn't stopped it," Sharpshot simply explained, far more patient than Soundwave or Starscream, the latter of whom just scoffed and rolled his optics.

"I have fused your spinal strut into it's proper alignment," Shockwave continued, still unfazed by the glazed expression of his patient, "And in addition, reconnected all salvageable Energon lines and connections. Without the inhibitor you were outfitted with, your chassis should begin the healing process to the best of its abilities. Your continued life is assured, but any future restoration of your movement or finer dexterity is determinant on many factors."

"Uuuuhhh…" Onslaught said, jaw hinge hanging.

Again, Sharpshot came to his rescue, "your body was put back together as best as it could be. The damage that collar was keeping open should start fixing itself on its own. But, the damage was so bad you may never move again, at least not as well as you did. Any movement is a best-case scenario."

"Oh," Onslaught said, and that was all he contributed. He was oddly staring at Shockwave, a glint of familiarity in his odd optics.

Undeterred by the stupefied looks he was getting, Shockwave continued, "But the percentage at which you will have full restored movement is statistically almost zero. That is before calculating the disintegration effect of your corrosive Energon." Shockwave pointed to a nearby machine. It was hard at work, having to be cleaned every so often by a mesh protected doctor to keep it from corrupting. The many tubes ran from under Onslaught's remaining armor, up into the machine, then back through a new series of tubes that fed back into Onslaught's body. The Energon returning to him was no longer a sickly blackish green, but rather a more muted pigment of aqua.

"This machine's main function is to purify whatever impurity is present within your system," Shockwave went on explaining at his normal pace, not slowing down for the bewildered listener. "Our attempts have not been fully successful, but they have proven to be at least a temporary treatment to slow the degeneration of your body. We are introducing miniscule amounts of our own Energon into your system, hoping it will counteract the effects of your own. But due to its toxic, self-devouring nature, any healing your body manages to obtain will be stunted at best."

"Your own Energon is eating away at you from the inside," Sharpshot said grimly. "But I assume, you already figured that out."

"Yeah… Sort of an easy give away," Onslaught huffed, still focused on Shockwave. Then realization struck him hard, "that's where I heard your way of talkin'! You sound just like Shockwave did!"

Shockwave didn't hesitate, "My designation is Shockwave."

Onslaught seemed to attempt a helm shake, but he gave up after a few failed attempts. "Nah, OUR Shockwave! You must be this places Shockwave! Optimus ripped our Shockwave in two though… Real shame, he woulda come in handy bout now."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Bumblebee demanded. He stepped forward, even when Starscream glared at his outburst. "Optimus Prime did what?"

Onslaught strained to see what new bot was talking. He spotted Bumblebee and twitched. Was it irritation, or fear he had in his optics? Soundwave couldn't tell, this bot had no magnetic field to read. "Yellow one? You're Bee then. Just my luck, this place'll have one of them too," Bumblebee didn't have time to unpack that, because Onslaught found Clobber in the background of the ward. Recognition again, but for a whole different reason, "You're the one… the one who kept my head from rolling. You and…" Clobber winced as he tried to look around the room. He was confused again, "Where did that Autobot go? The blue one?"

"Come again?" Starscream demanded. But he was ignored. Onslaught was fully focused on Clobber. His expression fell downward again. He almost looked angry. "Why was she helpin' me?"

"Um…" Clobber managed to whimper meekly. Everyone was now looking at her. "I mean, you were dying, and we had to do something…"

"Nah! I get that crap! You're a Con too so you would do somethin'. I'm askin' why the Autobot was helpin' me? That's not what they do! The Autobot who cut off my head didn't stop to put it back on. Quincy did that."

"An Autobot was the one to originally decapitate you?" Sharpshot pieced together, much to Bumblebee's shock.

"Yeah… that's what they do, that's what we do. Try and kill each other!" Onslaught growled, "Same with the boys. They all got whacked by Autobots. Damn human lovin' freaks jumped us. Man, and right after we just got out of prison…"

Soundwave finally spoke, weighing all the information they had gleaned so far just from the bot's rambling, "Where you are from, the Autobot's and Decepticons are still waring?"

Onslaught now looked at him, an expression so laxed it was like he assumed Soundwave lost his mind, "This place, ya don't?"

"No, we are eleven solar cycles post war," Bumblebee insisted. "We restored Cybertron, and we live in peace. Well, mostly… But regardless, where are you from? We can figure this out and maybe even help you if you tell us everything."

"I'm from Cybertron, obviously," Onslaught snorted. But he backtracked, squinting his optics as he thought. Thinking appeared to be a strain. "Well, then we headed to Earth. Stayed there for a bit. Them damn human pests gathered us up with the Autobot's help… Ha, jokes on them though, the humans turned on all Transformers, Con or Bot, didn't matter!"

"You keep inferring to a 'we'." Soundwave pointed out. He decided Onslaughts original train of thought was going nowhere. "We know there are more of your kind. Where on Cybertron are they hiding?"

Onslaught pursed his lip plates. Perhaps he realized he had been intentionally leaking everything just from his rambling. "You Con's here are workin' with the Autobots… What did the Prime do to ya to make that happen? I ain't talkin' no more."

"Oh, you will," Starscream hissed as he flexed his claws.

"I don't get what you mean every time you mention Optimus," Bumblebee interrupted, which clearly annoyed Starscream. He had been building up an intimidation strategy. It had been a mistake inviting the Autobots, he was letting emotion get in the way of the interrogation. "Optimus is alive where you live?"

Onslaught couldn't move, but his helm managed to shutter all on its own. "Man, I don't know! I wasn't even alive where I was when it all went to hell! I woulda been torn to pieces if it were Optimus though… damn guy is a savage last I saw him."

"He wasn't like that." Bumblebee said sternly.

Onslaught scoffed, "Yeah, maybe here, but our guy was. Really lost it towards the end… I assume he's probably worse now, like everyone else back home… Man, why the hell I still talkin'? Quit askin' me stuff!"

"Permission to ask a question?" Clobber squeaked.

The room again all turned to her. Soundwave nodded, and she wandered closer. Onslaught was glaring at her, but he seemed at least a little conflicted when they were closer. "Um, for what it's worth, I'm glad you made it… I get wherever you come from is super different than here. It sounds bad. But, I was thinking, if you helped us, we could help you, and maybe even help where you came from."

His lip plates twitched. Clobber wandered closer, making Thunderblast tense. Clobber hesitated, but she did settle a newly healed hand on his shoulder, after assuring there was none of his Energon leaking there. "In the tunnels, you said you needed help."

"You knocked me into a damn wall, I didn't know what I was sayin'." Onslaught blew off.

"But you meant it," Clobber insisted. "And I may not know much about what is going on, but I saved you, and it would be kind of a wasted effort to just let you die after that. Your Energon ate away at the lining of my hands, so I would really not want to waste the effort," She shyly turned to face those behind her, "And, if he is cut off from most of his body, I assume torture won't be the most effective means of extracting info-" she slapped the arm she had once been comforting, hard enough to shake the berth he was on "Did ya feel that?"

"Not even almost," Onslaught grumbled, and true to his word, he didn't even flinch.

Clobber smiled, "Great, so we can't torture you into helping us, but you can help us help you!"

Onslaught growled, trying his best to turn his helm away from her. She pranced around the table to make sure he could still see her, "You also said whoever you were working for was probably lying to you. And then some strange human woman appeared and made your helm almost come off, that was the one who is making you do all this, right?"

His optics flinched, again with recognition when she mentioned the human woman in the Decepticon tunnels. "So, I would say you were right. You can't trust her, whoever she is, and your friends can't either, or she'll try and kill them too. What do you say? Deal between Decepticons? Even if we are Decepticons from different places?"

His scowl deepened. But finally, he vented long and hard, "fine."

Clobber brightened, "great! We'll start with something easy. What exactly are you all here to do?"

Onslaught groaned, "I don't know! Quincy just told me to get that psychic bot and bring him to her. Get this, get that, like I'm a damn fetch bot! Others did the same, but they are scrap metal now. Walked right into a nest of damn metal monsters."

"The Predacons?" Clobber guessed, "Yeah, you can't really try and sneak up on Predaking like that."

"I don't know nothing helpful," Onslaught vented, "Only told to do stuff. Quincy said it would let her bring Megatron back. I did whatever she said."

"Then who would know more?" Soundwave inquired evenly.

Onslaught thought hard again. "Everyone who's left I figure… Nitro Zeus was prolly our go to leader."

"And where is he hiding on Cybertron?" Soundwave again prodded.

Onslaught hesitated, again, a little confused. "they're not, or wait… what day is, like, before that big party you lot are gonna have?"

Bumblebee started, "The Memorial? It's tomorrow."

"Then nah, the guys'll not be on Cybertron right now. After we nabbed the psychic bot, we was supposed to head to Earth."

Bumblebee was not the only one to react in horror to that revelation. Rhea shot up from against the far wall. Though she was worried, she didn't interrupt, but Soundwave felt her inner panic through the Bond and knew they had little time. "And what were you going to accomplish there?"

Onslaught smiled, "Blow stuff up. Didn't matter what. Quincy told us to just make a scene."

"To what end?" he asked.

"No clue. We just sort of did whatever Quincy told us to. She said she could revive Megatron like she revived us, and not like we could say no. She could break us apart whenever she wanted."

Clobber jumped back into the conversation, "And if we remove those collars around your friends, they will lose their helms too?"

"Or their torsos, whatever it's holdin' together." He explained, in a much softer inflection, mostly because it was Clobber who was asking him. "But, you could stop that from happenin', like you stopped it for me?"

"If the others have information we require, then yes." Soundwave promised. "But first, explain who this 'Quincy' is."

"Sorry, that's not her real name. It's what we boys call her behind her back. Quintessa is what she said it was. There are others like her here too. She tried to explain once, towards the beginning. There are like, copies of our world, or we are copies of other worlds. No idea. I wasn't listening. I was just happy to have a head attached to my shoulders again."

"Quintessa," Bumblebee said nervously, "That name's dangerously close to the Quintesson."

Onslaught attempted a nod, "Yeah, that sounds familiar. But back home, something in our world, it got like, real dark…" he paused, and again, Soundwave could not feel any type of Aura coming from him. But the twinge of fear he saw on their prisoner's face was plain enough to see. "It was in the sky… the Energon in us turned, the people, humans too, it all twisted up into this messed up version of itself and just kept twisting…

"Quincy said we didn't have to know what was causing it, only she could fix it, if she had us to help her. Then she brought us here, through some crazy Space bridge with lots of wavy shapes and crap. We met up with some of her friends, like you said, Quintesson was what they called themselves. And other bots from other copies of our world. Some left with us to head for Cybertron, some stayed in space to hunt for ships with other Transformers from this copy. No clue what they was looking for in those ships, but again, I don't get most of what's going on."

"The missing ships," Bumblebee vented hard as realization dawned on him. He looked between Soundwave and the others, "The communication scramble, it all has to be connected." He looked back to Onslaught, "What else?"

"Eh, that's about it… She told us to stay hidden here, start lookin' for things, bots, places. Most of us got blown up. Others died from the Energon already in us. Mo's real bad, but it's cuz he's smallest. I think we're the last of us, just me and the boys… if we just had Megatron back, it'll all be good again… But she aint bringing him back, she ain't gonna fix any of it."

"Where on Earth will your associates attack?" Soundwave demanded.

Onslaught hummed as he thought harder, "She said, attack some place on Earth that's busy, a place with loads of people. What the hell did she say it was called… Oh, right! Hey, is your New York here a real busy place like the New York back home?"