"We've got a breach!Protect Sentinel!"
Those were her last orders to the Tracker Army before engaging those pesky cogged miners in battle. She had found them a great annoyance ever since she found them sticking their noses on hers and Sentinel's dealings with the Quintessons, but then they (and the sniveling cowards of the High Guard) had the audacity and foolishness to challenge them head-on with a stolen train of all things. She led her own squadron to take on the arriving forces, but soon found herself facing a force much more resilient than she expected once more miners came in armed with jetpacks and tools, all of them led by that one red and blue miner, unlike most others he wasn't immediately cut down by her deadly appendage attack once she got a hold on him and nearly crushed her to death on a collision with the tower and the train, but she was too nimble for that. Once she managed to capture the red miner's pink friend, she did battle with her but after a while was overwhelmed after she had most of her extra appendages torn away.
"Do not break her."
"Bring her to the broadcast station."
"We'll meet you there."
Did he say, 'not break her'? Was he insane? Or... What could they possibly plan to do to her? She had to admit for once she feared what would happen next, but she had no time to reflect on it as the female miner's assault continued until she lost most of her consciousness, her paint job ruined beyond repair and most of her body heavily dented. She put up no resistance as she was taken away by the miners to the control tower and then had her memories accessed and broadcast... Exposing Sentinel's true nature to Iacon.
"What truth? That I plucked the cogs from your newborn chests?"
"Forced you to mine so that I could pay off the Quintessons and live like a king?"
It was over. She and Sentinel were done for, even if the miners didn't tear them apart like a swarm of Sharkticons for it, they were not coming out well from this, they'd be imprisoned, humiliated, trialed if they were lucky, doomed to lose their status and be reduced to worse than peasants... But she had no time to see that through before she fell completely unconscious, nearly shut down from the damage and exhaustion she suffered. She could only hear the miners gloating before the fact.
"Pax, we did it."
Then everything went dark, for what seemed like an eternity she remained inactive, at least the pain went away when she was unconscious, a calming prospect if there ever was one in a bad spot like this. And then she woke up.
"Huh, where am I?"
She looked around to see herself in a cell, her arms tied up.
"Let me out of here! Trackers, free me!"
She called for help but not one bot came. She then quickly remembered everything up to this point.
"No, no, no, no, no. NO!"
Now it all made sense. Of course no help came to her, she had been exposed as a tyrannical fraud, a co-conspirator, a secret traitor, no one in Iacon would want her around anymore, beyond rotting in a cell as she was now.
"Ugh, when I get free I-"
"Airachnid." said a disappointed voice.
"You..." Airachnid tried to growl at her visitor but was silenced by her brief awe at what she saw... The Matrix of Leadership. It had returned after so long. But then the shock passed and turned to anger when she saw who was wielding it... The Miner. She never knew his name, but she could feel he was a new Prime. A real Prime... Not that she'll ever bow to him.
"You, traitor, I'll get you when I break free!"
"Please, calm down and listen, I want you to learn of a few things, important things."
"Where am I? What have you done with me!?"
"First thing, that was mostly Elita's doing on y'know, breaking parts of your weaponry."
She just hissed in response.
"And... You're under arrest for crimes against Iacon and its citizens, against Cybertron."
"You cannot arrest me, I am Sentinel Prime's right-hand, once we regain control, he will-"
"He won't do a thing; he can't help you anymore." Optimus felt a bit bad for what he was going to tell her next, but she had to know sooner or later.
"What? Why? Speak up now, miner."
"He's dead."
Airachnid went silent and began to think over... No, he couldn't be dead! Not like this!
"You're lying, show me where he is!" she demanded furiously, she wouldn't believe it coming from this miner's mouth.
Optimus was not lying but knew she wouldn't believe his words, not without proper evidence backing up his claims. Still, he attempted to speak the truth and see if that alone could suffice.
"I'm sorry, Airachnid but he's gone. I am not lying to you."
"Why should I believe you?"
Optimus sighed sadly as he pulled out a recording device and played the events for her to see. Airachnid was horrified when she saw the footage depicting D-16 beating her boss and then ripping him apart in front of all Iacon. She would normally keep her emotions in check, not let out anything beyond stoic apathy or sadistic pleasure at ripping her enemies apart... But to lose Sentinel hurt her, and with her broken ego she had no more ways to keep herself in check.
"NO! SIR!"
Optimus felt pity for her, he couldn't believe himself for it, but then again, Airachnid might've been truly evil but she was someone with feelings, with relationships even if she appeared to be a flatly evil monster, he couldn't be heartless enough to rejoice in her suffering, her hurt; it would be no better than her own streak of cruelty, especially when she was a shell of her former self at this point.
"My condolences, Airachnid. I see he meant a lot to you."
"Don't talk about him, you filthy miner. You are responsible for his death!"
"You are mistake, Airachnid. That was the work of D-16... Or as he calls himself now... Megatron. I had intended to save him, to make him face a proper trial."
"You brought him here, let him get close to Sentinel, don't act like you weren't complicit, miner."
"I am sorry my actions unwittingly brought his demise, but I assure you I had no intentions of executing him like Megatron did."
"Shut your dirty mouth, I don't want to hear you talk."
"Again, I apologize, and my condolences go to you for your loss."
Airachnid growled like an animal again, in anger.
"Be aware you'll be put on trial for your crimes against Iacon. For now you'll stay here while we work out the terms, I hope this can help you change at least."
"I won't ever change for you, or ever obey this system, miner."
"Name's Optimus Prime, if you hadn't heard it before."
"I don't care for any titles you have, you're a miner and that's all you'll ever be mildly good at." she almost spat at him.
"Very well, I see no amount of talk will change your mind on anything."
"Hear me out, miner. When I break free, I'll tear you and your little friends piece by piece. I will make your last moments be had in agony, you'll die in agony"
Optimus said no more, refusing to entertain Airachnid any further. And left for the outside of the prison. Once alone, Airachnid growled in both rage and sadness as she tried to break free of her cell.
"Graahh! Those miners." she said as she slammed her hands against the walls "Cost me." the bonds in her arms broke apart "Everything!" and then the walls began to bend.
Her chance was here. She continued to hit the walls, in hopes of breaking them and kept going, ignoring her body being mangled and damaged further, all her focus was on escaping and making it to a safe place to hide in.
"Graahhh!" a bigger struggle came in as she banged on the walls harder and harder until they finally came apart, her chance was had to flee, to run away from this idyllic hell and find somewhere to avoid whatever trial awaited her, she wasn't going to let anyone reduce her to some criminal, she was no criminal!... But as she ran fast and sneaked away from it all, a bigger doubt cast over her:
Where would she go?
She ran fast once she was free, avoiding being seen by Iacon's many now-cogged miners, she expertly avoided Optimus' forces getting at her and ran until she found the station for the "waste disposal" trains, most of them had been discontinued, but a few remained active enough to be used by anyone who wished to. She didn't think of where to go next, only where she didn't want to be in now. She worked the controls in the cabin and activated the machine, ready to leave Iacon City for the time being; the few Cybertronians there could only hear the machine being activated and rushing for the surface, none were able to stop it and soon it launched away, taking Airachnid to her supposed freedom.
"Come on, stupid piece of junk, take me away from here!"
The train went on quickly and soon it had escaped. Realizing she could be tracked down if she kept going normally, Airachnid smashed the train's controls and waited for it to be lower on the ground to jump out and make the rest of her aimless trip on foot. Once the deed had been done, she recomposed herself and looked around at the flourishing surface of Cybertron, shocked by the changes made by the return of the Energon rivers.
"So... He indeed found the Matrix. That can't be it!"
Soon enough she found a small cave around the rocky surfaces and hid in it. She looked around outside to see if no threat was around, she was too weak to properly fight like before and if she got caught she would be back on that prison cell. She had to find somewhere to go, her options were almost non-existent.
"Where to go? Where to go? Sentinel is dead and those miners will tear me apart if I show up my face again..."
She then remembered who she could go to. She wouldn't like it, she would likely get some real bad punishment for failing them but at this point it was that or being reduced to a mere nobody in Iacon. She activated her communication systems integrated in her and tried to contact hers and Sentinel's old bosses.
"Quintessons, I bring you a message. An important message."
Her message told them of her current status, the Energon situation, and what had happened to Sentinel while they were gone from their latest pickup of Energon payments. She knew they didn't care about hers or Sentinel's lives, but without their main contractors of Energon they would have a harder time getting it and would be sure to respond to it and demand answers, all she needed to get off the planet and escape. Though she didn't know recently the Quintessons had gotten the message from Optimus Prime to leave Cybertron alone or face his and the Autobots' fury. So for several days, of hiding and sustaining herself on any Energon she could take without being spotted by either the Decepticons or the occasional Autobot on the surface, she finally had her answer for getting away when a small Quintesson scout ship arrived, a few guards received her location and carried her inside the ship, she waited patiently before she was loaded in and the ship flew away from Cybertron. Once they had left the atmosphere, she looked back with some grief at her former home planet.
"Sentinel, sir, I will avenge you. I will finish what you started and erradicate those miners."
The Quintesson scout ship took her to Quintessa, their homeworld. Once at a landing pad, she was escorted through the pad and taken to a palace... Until she reached a courtroom with the High Commander and a Quintesson Judge. Both were speaking in their native language... Until Airachnid was finally presented to them. She coughed to get their attention and the Judge looked at her furiously, switching to its "Wrath" face and speaking her language.
"You. Cybertronian. What is your link with the recent messages?"
"Messages?"
"We got a signal telling us to not go after Cybertron anymore, you and Sentinel have so much to answer. Besides, where is he?"
She lowered her head and struggled to say her boss' fate.
"He's dead."
The Judge was unmoved and unfazed by the news. He merely was a bit calmed by at least knowing a bit of what happened, then his tentacles extended and grabbed Airachnid by her legs and throat.
"If he is dead, then who is in charge and why were we told to leave Cybertron alone?"
"I told you I am not involved much, but the one who runs the show now is called... Optimus... Ergh, Prime!" she said between struggles to move as the Judge squeezed her body parts with impunity, once she finished it dropped her and she continued talking normally. "He has the Matrix of Leadership, somehow! That miner... Has restored the Energon rivers."
"Which means, infinite power." said the Judge now changing to a 'happier' face.
"In that case you'll need my help to get at them. The new forces of the planet are not your allies, we can work together to bring them down and give you back the Energon. And I'll take over as the new leader, so I can keep our old deal going."
"Why should we trust in the one who failed to protect her leader?" the Judge was skeptical.
"You have to believe me, the miners cheated, they didn't win fairly, they lied and cheated all the way through with help from one of the Primes, who I helped kill! Besides, only I can help minimize the number of resources spent trying to get at them and their Energon. Unless you want to aimlessly attack, you need me."
"What say you, High Commander #12?" the Judge turned to its lesser Quintesson who made a few clicking noises and growls.
Hopefully she doesn't gets experimented on, or else Blackarachnia might come in.
"I know, just get on with it so we can get back at those... miners."
"Quit with that miner, thing, we're getting sick of it!" the Judge dismissed her before resuming whatever it was doing prior. "High Commander, take her to a place to recover, so we can reorganize and plan out our next move.
The creature roared and guided Airachnid to her next location, as she walked away she began to smirk despite what happened. She was confident this would work out and they would get revenge and reconquer Cybertron. She'd make sure to personally execute the four miners who brought her down and all who stood with them. For him, for Sentinel. She would honor his memory any way, even if it meant grinding Cybertron down to its last Transformer.
"They will soon know the pain I went through, Sir." she spoke almost delusionally as she envisioned Sentinel congratulating her on a good job. "You will be proud of what I have in store."
With that the two evils went on their way, readying themselves for a worsening and escalating war to come.
Hopefully she doesn't gets experimented on, or else Blackarachnia might come in.