Arcee and the Cyber Worlds

by Tigressa101

The Queen of Cybertron returns. Months after taking back the throne and retrieving the Allspark as promised, Arcee finds her next adventure outside the world she is most familiar with. She becomes bent on a mission to restore Cybertron's relations with the Cyber Worlds, the other Transformer planets, but can she do it? Sequel to Arcee and the Isle of the Allspark

32. Deep Diving

Song: Sinners - Lauren Aquilina

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"So, here's the signal and here's the fluxes of energy coming off it," Haywire said as he pointed at the screen. As soon as Arcee got a look at the readings, the signal glitched and vanished. "And then it does that."

Bolt played with the Radiant Cores Arcee had put down from her travels in Kanjis, twirling them on the table humming, "Sounds like a corrupted beacon."

"Except it's not a beacon. It's technology, active as any computer, but it only comes on when in use. Normally, we have a sequence of our sparks that can be detected or a frequency our systems give off that can be read by anyone with the proper equipment. There's no life detected among these energies. We think it's techno-organic shielding, a natural barrier and the Metal Heads…"

"…Are a techno-organic lifeform because the virus is made of Tigressa's blood and CNA. They are practically invisible to the scanners," Arcee frowned. "Just like their world of origin of all techno-organic breeds."

"It's not good to not be able to track these things properly," Scythe said, "but the fact of the matter is there's nothing we can do right now. If we send anyone out there and we don't know how many there are, it could lead to complete disaster. We'll monitor it for the time being while you continue exploring. If anything changes, we'll be in touch."

Megatron then asked, "Speaking of which, where to next, Princess?"

Given the nickname only came out if he was in a teasing mood or annoyed, Arcee could guess he was eager to get the ball rolling on the last two worlds they needed to visit. She replied, "Aquatron."

A collective sigh went throughout the room and even though she was one of the few who didn't get to go aside from taking on Quintessa, she knew more than anything everyone hated that planet with utmost passion. Granted, their history with Quintesson rule was the rockiest relationship with a planet they ever had but if the Quintessons were driven out by their escapades, the Aquatronians themselves may not be so bad. The bias of the world had to be treaded lightly. Anything to shift blame against a species enslaved by the common oppressors for letting them take control could backfire greatly. They didn't even deserve the blame to begin with, but Cybertronian bias was deeply ingrained, never to forgive or forget. Unfortunately, that was what Arcee was trying to fix.

"We go there, figure out who the leader is, and just try to work with them. It won't be that bad. I promise."

"Last I heard, the leader was a Sharkticon. What was the bastard's name, Megatron? Tyrannicon?" Bolt mused.

"I…don't think he was the leader…I don't know. I don't remember who was in charge of Aquatron. They tried to pass it to me, got a whole new look but the perks weren't worth it. So, I gave it up," the warlord stated.

Arcee scoffed, "Of course. You always wanted to win your way and you wouldn't let even the giving of divine power take away your choice on how you wanted to obtain it. You have probably the worst self-induced sabotage I have ever witnessed some create for themselves out of sheer stubbornness. Like, do you realize how many times you could have won against Optimus?"

"It haunts me how brash I was, thank you for the reminder but funnily enough, I probably would do it again if given the chance. Sometimes as appealing as power is, even in my most destructive days did I want to win by my more than just claiming power itself. You should have seen me after I built Darkmount on Earth. It got boring after a little while. All that power just to see a few fleshings flee, didn't have the same feeling as hunting by my wits and keen senses," he replied.

Optimus said, "Regardless of the circumstances, find the Aquatron leader and see if they have become more willing than their predecessors to reunite with us in peace. If that isn't an option, we will consider other means of building a decent relationship with them. For now, at least help them in case the Metal Heads have begun their unruly invasion of the planet."

Arcee nodded, "We'll take care of it, Optimus."

"Like we always do," Bolt mumbled, leaning back on his chair.

"For the time being, I suggest you three and our resident Nitrotiger friend get some rest. You may need it."

The bots simultaneously acknowledged this and retreated from Nova Point to their temporary chambers in the building. Bolt was out like a light from all the drinking, and Arcee planted herself in an awkward but comfortable position with Moonhunter pressing against her back. Megatron was mostly on the berth and his low rumbles made Arcee smile. It had been a while since she had heard his snores. They rested for at least eight hours, and it took Haywire to wake them up.

The knocking was irritating and none of them budged at first. At some point in the rest, Bolt had outstretched himself on Megatron's leg and Arcee was between the warlord and the wall. Moonhunter lay content on top of chest of the large mech moving with the breathing pushing said chest outward and then going back down with the exhales through strained vents.

Haywire busted in and looked at the scene with pursed lips and a raised brow. "Well, you seemed to have your work cut out for you. Alright, everybody up! Come on, come on!"

Arcee hissed, "Touch me and you die."

"As if I'm scared of you," he grinned back. He noticed Megatron hadn't responded at all and rubbed his servos together. With all his strength, he pulled Megatron to try and get him to fall off the berth. Moonhunter scattered upon being disturbed. Instead of falling, the warlord awoke and grabbed his servo mid-pull with a growl.

"Don't you dare," Megatron said with emphasis, flashing his fangs in warning.

Haywire let go of him quickly and played innocent. "I would do no such thing."

Nearly kicking the mech as he swung his legs around and accidentally flooring Bolt with a yelp from the latter, Megatron got up and stretched. The Vehicon shot up a bit dazed and tried to walk only to faceplant tired. Arcee was the least disturbed and got up not long after.

"We're up, Haywire. Just go, give us a second. We'll meet you at the Nexus soon enough."

"Not fast enough to me," he huffed.

Arcee had to monitor Bolt as the Vehicon kept dozing off. "Drink too much Kanjian high grade there?"

His incoherent mumbling made her laugh. After doing a few exercises to make sure she was up to speed, she escorted a slowly waking Bolt to transport him to the Space Bridge Nexus where Perceptor, Optimus, and Predaking were awaiting them. Megatron took his own way, soaring through Cybertron's skies to take his jet mode out for a whirl. When they met up, Perceptor was quick to activate the space bridge, the portal opening with a fierce rumble.

"That should take you to Aquatica. Since Hydronix as well as many other cities have been confirmed to no longer hold Quintessons, the populace is building them back up. The only city that never fell was Aquatica because it was a military city. They had the capability to defend against the Quintessons but the means to bring those same defenses to the other cities was where the problems occurred. They couldn't get the equipment needed in the falling cities at the time. I checked with a mech named Aquarius just to make absolute sure the Quintessons were gone, it took me a while to get a hold of the guy, and he assured me they were. He seems like a nice person. He told me Aquatica is suffering from unknown infestations while half the populace has left to tend to their desecrated cities to repair them. The leader has been a femme named Marina for the past several years though he seemed a bit hesitant to tell me that."

"Marina is a pretty name," Arcee said.

Perceptor ignored her and added, "Aquarius has requested you meet him first before anything. I asked why and he wouldn't say why, just that Marina is unavailable right now."

"If that isn't suspicious…" Megatron said.

"Just try to maintain the peace and all will work out in the end," Optimus retorted.

The team gathered and prepared their minds and bodies for everything Aquatron could potentially throw at them. Running into the portal, Arcee didn't know what to expect of the Aquatronian race. Were they sea monsters? Were they like the Quintessons? She had no clue until she popped out of the portal onto a metal dock. All four Cybertronian natives paused at the sight as the portal behind them closed.

The city of Aquatica was like Hyrdonix, a specialized city on the water kept up by deep drilled pillars that went to the bottom of the darkest depths. It was a handmade city and one that seemed made to last. The highest points in the city were spaceports with banners between the supports weaving the pillars above ground together and lowest areas were the docks where ships meant for sea travel could anchor. A noticeable change was the way people traveled. Triple-changing crafts that could switch between boats and space vessels skated across the water carrying not only Aquatronians but the abandoned Quintesson technology they overhauled from remains left behind. They gave the citizens credit for adapting to their enemies in payback for the torment.

The Aquatronians themselves, to their surprise, were none other than Cybertronian-like bots but with fins in various places. Most looked as though they transformed into either sea monsters or sea craft, possibly both. Many of them commonly had fins along their arms and legs but a few had turbines and fans somewhere on their person which indicated their alt mode was a vehicle. Their optics almost looked as though they had a watery texture to the protective glass and their pupils, the optics' true lighting, had various patterns to them depending on the bot. Some had horizontal oval pupils while others were more unique in design with diamond shapes and even wavy shapes within their optics.

Although they came in most all colors, the extremely rare colors were red, pink and orange spectrums as well as bright, vibrant schemes in general. Given Aquatron was home to more than just another few cybernetic beings, warm colors could attract potential predators whereas colder colors were less visible in the water or against the blue skies and deep blue ocean surface as far as the eye could see. There were a few yellow and white colors but if a predator was looking up in the ocean and saw the sun, those two colors would blend good during the day as well.

Aquatron had a single sun much like Earth, but the atmosphere reflected it as a white purple almost and upon its dusk, it became prominently purple. As far as any of them knew, there were no suns that were purple, which led to a different idea of just how it was possible. Earth had nitrogen and oxygen which turned a yellow star into whitish yellow and orange red in the evenings; Aquatron seemed to have high amounts of argon, some oxygen and a few other abundant gases in the atmosphere to make the sun appear like that. It was presumed that it was a blue-white supergiant star, and it just happened that the mixture of gases and the density of the atmosphere scattered the light into a different hue than it should be. It was nevertheless beautiful.

Arcee gazed at the rounded architecture like jellyfish heads attached to buildings. The glass that made up the parts of the infrastructure was like the optics of the Aquatronians with a near watery appearance but unlike the optics, the glass's textures seemed to slowly move. Aquatron was full of spiraling platforms and bubbly designs to enhance their proud heritage as warriors of the ocean. It was apparent they did take some technology from the Quintessons as several new sections of the city were floating above the original layout with hovering energy conductors placed beneath handcrafted platforms. Some construction work was still being done but considering how long the Quintessons reigned, the damage was still abundant.

As the Cybertronians walked the pristine, white metal streets of interwoven platforms and hearing the waves rippling below them in a distant echo, they couldn't help but admire the city's unusual design. It was a far cry from the Quintesson base and the formerly vacant Hydronix that suffered the loss of its residents. They were the only ones to pause when they heard the faint bellow of one of the predators breaching in the ocean, but the Aquatronians were less aware of it as it was an everyday thing.

"Excuse me, are you Queen Arcee?" A mech asked.

They all peered towards their left to see a blue mech with a light green gradient on his abdomen and legs with fins on his head and backside. He had the indication of hidden webbed spines among his arms and hip plating, but they weren't as distinguished. Two sets of fangs were in his smile and from what Arcee could gather peering at other Aquatronians, all bots on the planet had a few sharp teeth. It was just how they evolved among a world that was full of danger.

Arcee quickly nodded, "Yes, I hail from-"

"From Cybertron. Your friend, Perceptor was it, contacted Marina and I, mentioned you might know about the unusual problems we've been having. Forgive my manners, I am Aquarius. I assume he told you about our little problem. At first, we thought the Quintessons were trying to use bugs to infiltrate the city, but I've never seen any Quintesson with weird yellow ovals."

"Metal Heads, scourge of the galaxy just as much as the Quintessons, but at least you can talk to Quintessons," Megatron sneered.

"That bad, huh? Well, Marina wouldn't want any harm to her people, not after all we've been through previously," he said.

Bolt spoke impatiently, "And Marina couldn't bother to see us because...?"

Aquarius grew hesitant and huffed, "I don't think I owe you an answer but if it matters that much to you, Marina is hurt, yes, physically. She can't run a planet in her condition right now and there are things that have to be done in a certain timeframe."

"We meant no disrespect...Bolt," Arcee hissed at the Vehicon before resuming talking with Aquarius, "but we will need to talk with her eventually. It's quite important."

"Look, I know you mean well but if you want to talk to her, you're going to have to prove to me you can be trusted around her in her delicate state. If you can investigate this infestation and find the source, I'll reconsider and bring you to Marina. She's been my associate for years, so I'm not going to risk anything even if you were the nicest bots in the galaxy."

"We understand," Megatron nodded. "We'll take care of the Metal Heads."

Aquarius was thankful. "Good, that puts some work off my chest so I can focus on the other things I need to finish. Meet me in the Hydratoll Complex in the northern part of the city when you're done. If everything works out, I'll have Marina's duties taken care of before midnight completing the day and then you can meet her. See you then."

The bots acknowledged his leave while Moonhunter stared at the Aquatronians giving his weird looks. They had never seen any type of feline species before.

"So, we have a heading. How do we clean an infestation though? I doubt we have a watchtower with heat in it here," Bolt said.

"Like the scraplets , hunt and destroy. It'll get rid of the numbers quicker than you think," the queen replied.

As they traversed the city to examine where the infestation was occurring the most, Arcee smiled as she saw the beautiful fountains and waterways Aquatica had and how the city utilized the ocean in ways never seen before but similar idea to Caminus' reliance on piping to and from their core. The city had infinite power with wheels poking out of the groundwork of pools and aqueducts using ocean currents hidden below to turn them. As they passed a small pool with a wheel turning behind it and mechanical vegetation growing around the border, they heard a boisterous croak.

Bolt immediately grew frenzied upon looking down and snarled, "Oh no, not you little monsters again!"

Three garden leapers stared at him, their optics hovering above the water unfazed by his outburst. One croaked with an elongated noise like it was taunting him. He gripped his servos into fists, optic visor a burning red.

"Out of everything that lives on this planet, I swear you are despicable…"

"What did the leapers do to you?"

"They know what they did," he growled.

Sensing his aggression, the garden leapers lowered slightly before making big jumps out of their pool. Springing out, one landed on Bolt's head while the other two scattered. Bolt winced as the leapers quickly joined its peers by kicking off his head and hopping around out of reach of the bots. The locals were amused more than upset by the disturbance as they had been accustomed to the mischievous cybernetic amphibians but when the leapers started bouncing into the marketplace with fish and other seafood, then everyone started growing concerned. Several bots were trying and failing to catch the fast hoppers. As wet as they were, leapers had an easy time slipping out of their grasps.

"Well, guess we're frog hunters now," Arcee scoffed.

"Why? It's not our fault they decided to go haywire," the warlord frowned.

"Yeah, but if we walk away, it would be worse. We'd look like complete jackasses. Do you want a repeat of Kanjis where we nearly got arrested?"

"That was because they couldn't let go of a grudge of a past mistake, not technically our fault to begin with," the Vehicon clarified.

Arcee gestured at the loose animals. "Come on, get into Aquatron's good graces for once!"

Megatron rolled his optics while Bolt made a boisterous sigh to himself. "Alright. Garden leapers are fast and agile little bastards. The best way to capture them is not to hold them but to use the weight of your body to prevent them from slipping out of your grasp...assuming you actually get a chance to use that method."

Arcee eyed one of the leapers trying to eat something in the corner of a stall, a bug-like creature and grew concerned. "You guys get the other two, I'll handle the hungry one."

Bolt sprinted at his target with fury, shouting at it like he was going to kill it. Megatron was more amused with his, catching the leg of it with excellent reflexes and earning praise from the Aquatronian sellers with Moonhunter just watching the chaos unfold by sitting still. Arcee, however, was much more cautious as the leaper tried its hardest to eat whatever was lurking in the stall. The deep green and blue faded femme running the stand cried out, but the direction of her attention was not at the leaper itself. Arcee tried to grab the small creature, but it was persistent, striking the bug with its glossa several times in less than three seconds. She never realized the garden leaper's tongue had barbs capable of striking down potential predators as well as prey. By the time she managed to manhandle the leaper into submission, ignoring its annoyance at her, she saw what it was trying to eat.

Caught in between the stall's crevices, a Metal beetle bug oozed purple blood with its skull gem located on its back. It hissed at her, indicating it was still alive, and Arcee's only response was to bring out her double-bladed sword and crush it.

"Gross," she whispered. The leaper made a small whine, and she gazed down at it blandly. "Don't be mad at me for spoiling your lunch. It wasn't good for you anyways…too much junk."

The leaper made low, small croak as she stood up to check on the sales bot. "That bug, have you seen anything like it before?"

The femme grimaced, "Those nasty little things have been consuming our food and supplies for almost a week! They just showed up and destroyed everything they could get their grubby little feelers on like viautilus piranhas! I think this is that horrid beast, Quintessa, who's trying to scare us…and it's starting to work. We've even had well-trained fishers suddenly go missing!"

As Arcee kept a firm grip on the leaper that started growing accustomed to her hold, she asked confused, "What happened to all the Quintessons?"

"Oh right, you are not from here, are you? Cybertronian? I thought you would know."

"Unfortunately, I wasn't a part of that adventure. I would like to know more...what's your name?"

"My name's Wavecrash."

Arcee threw up her eyebrows. "A lot of sea-based names, I like it. So, how did Marina become the leader?"

"Well, Marina has been Aquatron's leader since we finally got the upper hand against those squid-faced demons with your species' help when they lured them here. Most of us had retreated to our underwater bunker not far from here, the Riptide Basin. Turns out even though the Quintessons were aquatic, they weren't immune to being dependent on air. I'm trailing a bit off, but Marina was one of the few who were in the clutches of the Quintessons and escaped. With Tyrannicon a washed-out menace with the invasive Sharkticon species and our former leader killed, she stepped up and took charge. With little to no support, the Quintessons slowly dwindled, all except their obsessed leader."

"Quintessa…"

"Oh, once she lost her way, she stayed in Hydronix ever since trying to terrorize us with nothing better to do. Except this last year or so. She just…stopped. Marina sent out troops and gave the all-clear to move back and fix the city, and we assumed the Quintessons left finally. And then Marina got injured just recently the same time as these insects appeared. An attack left her mutilated."

Arcee paused curiously before asking, "Marina was attacked?"

Wavecrash sighed, "Yes, but it was when she was alone. No one saw it but the outcome was...horrific. She's doing as best she can to continue but without the ability to see, she's not going to fare well out here where if you're not careful, you can plummet into the water and get eaten by less controllable species like Leviathans, the less-evolved Sharkticons, and more predatory creatures from the depths. The only bots safe from them are the Cleaners who mine our Energon on the bottom of the ocean in the shallow depths. I mean it's better than getting eaten in the deep depths where there's the Tyranquentors but still."

Marina was blinded in a recent attack. That explained why Aquarius was skeptical about bringing them to her. She was vulnerable, couldn't defend herself without guidance, maybe not even. The Metal Heads were getting bolder now aiming for the leaders of their enemies directly. It was a clever tactic, but the scars would remain for Marina herself. From what she knew about optics per Ratchet's advice, optics were vital and damaging them could lead to irreversible outcomes depending. Some optics would be salvaged or merely replaced. Those like Blitzwing had to live with their permanent injuries because the surgeries required to fix their optics had a huge mortality rate. She couldn't imagine what Marina's damage was or if it was even repairable.

"I got it," Arcee said uncomfortably. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe we can pinpoint more of these incidents and stop them before they become regular occurrences."

Wavecrash chuckled, "Absolutely. I know it doesn't mean much but if you ever stop by again when not needing to squash bugs or catch leapers, I'll hook you up with some good deals. It was nice to meet you...?"

"Arcee, sorry," the queen said.

"Arcee then. Good luck!"

She left the market stall and placed the garden leaper with Megatron who still held his angry squealing leaper by the leg. He took hers confused as she asked, "Where's Bolt?"

"Um, he's still trying to find his, I suppose. Can you hurry and retrieve that last stupid frog? These things are annoying," he winced as Arcee's leaper started making long squeals the same as its friend.

Arcee took off to find Bolt, navigating through the crowds of Aquatronians. Some of them had tails which hit her off course to her chagrin. She called out a few times for her cyberbiologist only to pass a fountain and backtrack to see the Vehicon sitting in the water upset as multiple leapers now sat on him victorious. The croaked out of tune mocking his existence as she approached him.

"Did the leapers win this round, you think?"

Bolt tilted his head upwards to look at her before scoffing, "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Is it that obvious?"

His sarcasm earned him a smile and she reached down to help him up, gently swatting the garden leapers off him to retreat into their watering holes. She laughed, "I don't suppose you want to study them a bit longer while you have them so close?"

"I had enough experience with these little monsters to get a good idea what they are and what they do. They exist...TO ANNOY ME," he hissed. The leapers all faced him, blinking at random times when one made a loud croak. He was about to flip out on it when Arcee pulled him away.

"Okay, that's enough harassment of the garden leapers for today."

She dragged him back to Megatron and the latter saw they didn't have the third one. Huffing, Megatron tossed the two leapers into the nearest body of water, a pool near the market, to release them finally. The two leapers croaked rather angrily but dipped beneath the surface with a small splash to be left alone.

"Good news is we have a lead on what the infestation is: Metal Head bugs. Beetles so far."

"Insects on a water planet and no natural land. We keep thinking these Metal Heads are smart, but I think they are morons, to be completely honest," Bolt said.

"We can confirm at least they are here, but I learned from Wavecrash that there may be worse things in the water than in the city. And Marina isn't just hurt; she's blind. Apparently, someone or something took out her optics and none of her medical staff has yet to repair them, assuming they can do it at all."

Megatron grunted unsure. "That is not good. The optic sensors are very hard to replace."

Arcee pondered among a small pause, "If there's just a solid thickness between the ocean and the surface city, the bugs wouldn't be able to hide in any underground spaces, so that means they are somewhere on city level. The marketplace has no large buildings yet there were Metal bugs found around there. Maybe the nest is in a small structure. It would have to be something the hive would need to protect themselves. I think the Metal Beetles are nonvenomous, so they aren't much of a threat...just an inconvenience."

Bolt pointed at one building, a bit far from the market and not in the way of the heaviest foot traffic. It was at the edge of a dock, but its doorways collapsed from previous damage of an attempted Quintesson invasion. "Maybe a place where the common Aquatronian can't get into currently?"

She grinned, "And that's why we make a great team."

Megatron mused, "Sure, Bolt's the brains, you're the brass, and I'm the guy who gets to kick the scrap out of everyone occasionally with the brawn. Our basics are pretty much covered."

All three locked optics and each smiled wickedly before turning their sights on the abandoned docking house. Running over there, Arcee bowed and gestured to the door which Megatron eyed and rolled his shoulders in preparation. One punch sent the metal caving, the second made it fly into the farthest wall and Arcee was the first to enter, blasters at the ready. They instantly heard the faint clattering of multiple tiny legs and insectoid chattering.

Moonhunter stalked close, sniffing the ground with a low growl. He aimed towards a corner, pressing his nose further in before hissing. Bolt was mindful of the ready weapons and went close from the side before smacking a piece of loose metal out. Several Metal Beetles scattered as Bolt shook his servos in disgust.

"Elgh, vermin. And how exactly are we meant to terminate all of them? We don't know if they have other nests or tunnels to which they can escape us from like cockroaches, just less environment friendly."

The queen frowned, "What is the most efficient thing against a bug, Bolt?"

"What?"

Arcee waved her blaster tauntingly before using the saved up solar energy to make it volatile as per the Heat Seeker ability. Bolt looked at her, looked at the blaster and then realized what she had planned.

"Ooohhh, um, I guess the building's old anyways. It won't be missed." As Arcee placed the muzzle into the hole cockily, Bolt grew concerned and whispered, "I don't want to tug your boat here but maybe we shouldn't-"

Arcee failed to hear him and pulled the trigger to the surprise of the mechs. The blast erupted into all pipes and crawl spaces in could reach but it also backfired heavily. All four Cybertronian natives were sent skyward screaming as the building erupted. Their cries followed them all the way until they fell back somewhere within the city with a trail of smoke. Arcee hit the lip of a building and rolled onto a banner, bouncing and scrambling to catch herself before falling to the ground unceremoniously. Arcee groaned but slowly laughed as it didn't cause any damage to herself this time around like with the Metal Baskilisk. She did note the pipes across the city fired inferno geysers from the constricted heat.

Once the geysers made of flames died down, she coughed, "Too close for comfort on that one..."

Bolt, who was caught a piece of a building and dangled from it not far from her yelled out, "You think?!"

Moonhunter fell into one of the water fountains and swam to the ledge yowling in fear and Megatron managed to transform before he hit the ground, jettisoning around the city a few times trying to locate his sparkmate. As Arcee sat up with a splitting headache from the close call and misjudgment, she was suddenly pelted by raining bodies of dead Metal bugs. They clanged against any surface they hit as fried as an organic animal struck by lightning. The infestation must have been in the pipes, and she had just smoked the little cretins in the ultimate way. Granted, the landing hurt but with everyone alive and well to a degree, except the bugs, her efforts had paid off.

Bolt dropped down and used a banner on the side of another building to make it to ground level, brushing off debris as the old boathouse collapsed and slipped off into the ocean. He scoffed, "Talk about a wakeup call. You're damn lucky you didn't kill us."

"Heat of the moment?"

"And you've been an assassin for how long?" Bolt bit back.

Arcee snapped, "I never said I was the smartest person alive, especially wanting to get everything done before, you know, it gets worse."

Megatron swooped down and transformed, "Do you think you got all of them?"

"I think I got a grand majority if not the entire nest. We can do a quick sweep of the city to see if they are gone and if we find more..."

"Maybe don't try blowing ourselves up in the process?"

"Eh...yeah," she said in a sheepish tone.

As dusk turned to night, Aquatron's sky was like Earth's with the stars not too distinguished but visible and the faint streak of Orion's Arm in the Milky Way could be seen towards the west. The lights of the city didn't mask the stars as Earth carbon emissions emulating from their cities did. It seems Aquatron didn't have to rely on power much as the water-toned grooved and rounded windows gave off their own lighting, a vibrant blue.

Searching at night for the bugs and making sure they didn't damage anything else, they found there were plenty more bug carcasses strewn about. Some of the Aquatronians took them and began fishing with them while those like garden leapers came out of their fountains to feed. While Arcee was checking the areas near the docks with Moonhunter, she froze as she saw fins in the water. One of them breached and it was immediately recognized as a Leviathan. They were feeding on the floating corpses of the bugs as snacks. Moonhunter growled but kept low out of sight.

Suddenly, a different breed of creature broke the surface and snagged several Metal bugs in a single gulp. A Leviacon, a whale-like bot, breached and swallowed their prey, scaring off the smaller Leviathans from the area with a deep rumble. Levicons and Leviathans must have not been good neighbors because as soon as the mermaid-like Leviathans fled, their queen was coming up farther out. The larger spinal fins of the Leviathan Queen circled around with smaller fins trailing it before it aimed at the Leviacon that splashed on top of the water, blowing air from its top vent hole. The Leviacon didn't seem threatened or at least wasn't aware of the looming danger but given what Arcee had witnessed of the Leviathan Queens' attitudes, they were vicious. Frightening their hive was a death sentence.

As soon as the Leviacon swam around still breached, its optics grew wide as one of the largest Leviathan Queens Arcee had seen jumped with fangs and claws at the ready. It had to be at least three hundred meters if not bigger, and the monster sank the Leviacon, a large creature themself, with ease. The purple and blue tinted Leviathan Queen snarled and came crashing down. Water was splashed everywhere as the two creatures tangled. When light blue Energon appeared, Arcee knew it was over. Even as the Leviacon breached again trying to flee, the entire Leviathan hive started ripping chunks. The queen was most enraged, tail swiping up a storm in pursuit. Arcee had to turn away once the cries of the Leviacon were too much to bear. Even her Nitrotiger was unnerved by the sounds of tearing parts.

"Quite brutal, aren't they?" Aqaurius appeared beside her holding several datapads in his arms. "Did you know, the Leviathans and Leviacons are the biggest fusses about territory? One of them can speak to us, the other can't but their rivalry is always interesting to see."

"Why are they like that?"

"Leviathans are naturally predators while Leviacons are bots like you and I who evolved to prefer their whale forms more than their robot modes. The names came from two different people, and one forgot we already named the Leviacons so that was confusing for a while. Someone had the theory the two species were related but it never went anywhere. They just don't like each other. Arguably, the Leviathans had been proven to exist long before most of us ever did, including the Leviacons, so the sudden appearance of the Leviacons made the Leviathans quite enraged starting a quarrel that has lasted ever since."

Arcee smirked, "Sounds like a rivalry alright."

Aquarius nodded, "And that Leviathan Queen, she's notorious for hogging this part of the sea. She rules over it and won't let any fishers out to catch around certain times. We thought she was the one behind the disappearances but if she was, she takes down the watercraft with them. The boats have been found without their crews. That's not her style."

"Strange, and the Leviacons are friendly?"

"Most are, yes. They usually help us, especially with the transportation of Energon in the depths mined by the Cleaners. We have lost a few of them to Tyranquentors who ventured farther from the deep trenches than they were supposed to but rarely are they attacked aside from by Leviathans."

"Tyranquentors?" Arcee questioned. "I heard a bot in the market area talk about one. What exactly are they?"

Aquarius grimaced, "Giant monsters. Very few people have ever seen them. Put it this way, a Leviathan Queen like that would be a light meal to a Tyranquentor, not even half its size. They are only found in the deep depths, pitch black waters where they blend in. You wouldn't know you were eaten by one until it was too late, it's assumed. No one ventures down there, and no one should. It's best to not go looking for those things. I remember when we were first invaded, we managed to trick a whole ship of Quintessons to go down there and meet our 'leader.' The ship never came back."

"That's scary..."

"Well, yes, every planet has a danger to it that is best not found. The scariest part about going into the deep depths is you can't see it, but it can see you."

The blue femme gulped, "Thanks for the nightmare."

Aquarius grew saddened, "Ah, didn't mean to unnerve you that much. It's fine though, they really target larger creatures, not bots like us. One diver, Irongill, who went exploring down there for a few years saw ten of them, that's how we learned about them. He sent us recorded footage and they seemed disinteresting in him. He said their rumbles shook his base a few times. It's the supply ships and other vessels the Tyranquentors would target thinking they were swimming prey. Stationary things they could care less about. As massive as they are, escaping one is quite hard. They have excellent sight and his base had to be lit up constantly to even gleam them."

Changing the subject, Arcee pointed at the data pads. "Going somewhere to deliver them?"

"Yes, one of Marina's duties...speaking of which, I heard that massive explosion. Was that you?"

"Sorry," she muttered.

"It's okay considering those pipes below the city are actually old Quintesson constructs. We don't need such things. You did us an undisclosed favor. We've been thinking about getting rid of them for years. I take it the bugs are gone?"

Arcee nodded, "Fried."

"Good," he grinned, "listen while I've got your attention, maybe you wouldn't mind doing something else for me? The Riptide Basin, the underwater stronghold in a nearby trench, is expecting me to take a new form of medicine back to Marina. Since you got done with the infestation faster than I thought, maybe you could go down there and pick it up for me?"

"I can do that, sure...no Tyranquentors...right?"

The Aquatronian laughed, "No, no Tyranquentors in the shallow depths. They don't like to dwell too close to the light. All our underwater vessels are equipped with a noise modulator to sound like certain predators, and the metal has been coated with a scent that the Leviathans don't like. The captain of my transport, Polarity, is a dear friend. I wouldn't trust anyone else other than her to ensure you travel safely. She's on the 19th dock near the cafés. I'll make sure to alert her to your arrival."

Arcee watched him leave, keeping a tight grip on the data pads he needed to get to specific destinations though he struggled over a lip when he almost dropped one. She had to hand it to the mech; he was helping Marina through a tough time like a champ. Hopefully, Aquarius would get a good break after a while juggling all these duties.

"Hey, boys, who wants to go underwater with me?"

"Um, I guess...what about the Leviathans?" Bolt asked unenthusiastically.

"They aren't a problem. Aquarius just needs someone to retrieve something for Marina. We'll be taking a vessel designed for the ocean with protection."

Megatron mused, "I suppose that's not bad. As long as we aren't eaten, I'm perfectly fine with it."

"Good, meet me over at the docks near the cafés," she said.

The Vehicon gasped, "They have a café here?! Sweet!"

"Maybe we'll stop by and get something but let's get this done first." Arcee then spoke to Moonhunter once she ended the transmission. "Ready to go exploring in the ocean?"

The Nitrotiger looked at her curiously, tail swaying. He followed her as she transformed into her motorcycle mode and sped towards the cafés along the seaport. They were mostly bars with exotic Energon and seafood specialties served. She was tempted to try the cooked fish even though she didn't know if her body could convert anything like that to energy or if she could, she didn't know if it was healthy for her spark and other systems. When she saw Bolt walking out of one with a blue and black-swirling Energon mixture, she frowned.

"Did I not say we were going to get something later?!"

"I couldn't resist! There are many items on the menu I really want to try. Speaking of, un momento." Arcee rolled her optics and facepalm as he used a straw to take a sip. He hummed, "That...is unusual. It kind of has like a tart taste to it but refined. The aftertaste though is funky, wow. You want to try it?"

She wanted to refuse but her curiosity got the better of her and she got a good mouthful of the liquid. "Oh wow. Oh wow! That's-"

"Yeah, see? It's weird but I like it."

"I can see what you mean about the aftertaste. If you aren't prepared for it, it floors you," she winced. "That'll keep you awake for a couple days. I didn't need to sleep anyways."

The Vehicon snickered, "Uh huh, now we just need to try the others!"

"No...please don't."

Megatron walked up to them from around a building's corner upon spotting them, becoming mildly confused and pointed at the drink once he saw the unusual coloring. "What is that?"

"The café has this drink that tastes like a wakeup call. It's great," Bolt said.

Arcee scowled and gestured, "Okay, we need to get going. Aquarius needs us to go to Riptide Basin just off the city's shore underwater and give Marina the medicine they've made. Easy in and out."

"Okay...isn't a basin the formation of a valley-like groove in a mountain? I don't think the terminology would apply to trenches underwater..."

"You want to talk about geological naming with the Aquatronians, go for it. I'm getting on the ship that'll take us down there with or without you two," she argued.

As she moved towards the 19th dock, Bolt huffed, "Just a question!"

Polarity, a white and grey femme who had dolphin-like features, ordered her crew to lower the cargo into the drop bay before becoming alerted of Arcee and others. She eyed the Cybertronian oddly and asked, "Aquarius mentioned I need to take a few authorized visitors to Riptide Basin to get a package, wasn't expecting you guys. I'm Captain Polarity and this vessel is Waterbrook. I've fought Leviathans in it, took out Quintessons, and it has survived over fifty torpedoes. I built it from scratch, so I assure you, no trip beneath the waves is safer than with me."

"You make a compelling delivery," Bolt said, "I trust you completely."

Arcee smiled, "It's very nice of you to be doing this."

"Ah, no problem. Now, hop on and let's give you a proper tour of our home world."

Polarity fired up the vessel as it detached from its dock. Its fins and thrusters realigned to prepare for submersion. The cockpit and where they were seated had glass ceiling and underneath so they could see out into the open. The Waterbrook gave a hiss, releasing trapped air in its heating vents before the thrusters ignited once it was backed out of the way of the docks. The ship gained speed on the water and to their left, the city was flying past them until Polarity pulled back a lever and the ship started to sink. Bubbles briefly covered the view as they went down. She pressed a few buttons, one that made a barely audible hum.

"That's the noise conductor, keeps most unwanted visitors from trying to attack as they think the ship is now like a Leviathan in motion. It isn't loud to us but to them, the vibrations emit a warning sound. It doesn't bother them otherwise," the captain said.

As the bubbles dispersed to give them a clear view, Arcee's optics widened seeing Aquatron in a vast new perspective. Even Moonhunter made a clicking sound in excitement watching the sight unfold. Beneath the surface of Aquatron's ocean, many creatures great and small swam undisturbed. Cyber-fish and sharks with various patterns of bio lights among their smooth ribbed metal exterior casually navigated the water. A deep rumble of a Leviacon was heard and Arcee peered below to see two Leviacons swimming in tandem, going under the ship and then curving upward to breach. One of them activated a type of booster on its person and sprinted up to jump out of the water. Although the bots only saw the impact coming down, the ruffled water and bubbles still held a magnificent sight.

Going deeper, jellyfish as big as the ship itself surrounded by smaller species floated with little movement aside from the natural reflex of their heads pushing to propel them forward. The large ones had striped patterns of bio lights pulsing with each movement as the mechanical tentacles swayed calmly in the ocean current. The oral arms, six per jellyfish head, moved more on their own, curling and feeling occasionally outward for any lingering prey they could entangle. Their arms were also lit up compared to their heads and tentacles.

"Those are tendrillarfish. Their arms are stronger than most metal and they could very easily rip this ship apart, forcing the arms into any cracks and crevices and puffing them up to cause tension. Fortunately, they don't like working for their meals. Anything that gets caught is what they eat. Avoid the tentacles and you've got nothing to worry about."

A hiss and the sudden shadow overhead made everyone peer up with unease. For the first time ever, Arcee gazed up at a Leviathan Queen swimming with her hive without them being hostile. It wasn't the same Leviathan Queen as the one she witnessed attack a Leviacon as it has a greenish hue instead, but it still was imposing. The regular sized Leviathans swam past the windows and the cockpits with a few of them making little twirls and some even peered into the vessel. Looking into the optics of a beautiful red Leviathan, she managed to see all the scars and chips around the eyes from creatures and possibly other Leviathans who tried to take its optics out in battle. The Leviathan's vented neck blew bubbles as it slowly opened and closed its mouth repeatedly. It eventually dived under as the Leviathan Queen made a roar only partially muffled by the water's density. The massive queen twisted around and headed in a different direction.

"Amazing," Arcee grinned.

"Undoubtedly," Megatron said with a stunned expression.

Finally, the Riptide Basin came into view as its lights slowly faded into a distinguishable radiance. The small valley of a trench indeed looked like a basin as it wasn't steep enough. The base had schools of fish swimming around it and nesting below its station a coral bed. As the Waterbrook descended more to align with a docking tunnel with three security doors to prevent the place from flooding, Arcee could see it was glass on the top as well with many different types of Aquatronians walking inside visible from the ship.

Suddenly, the ship was rocked off course and gave off several warning beeps to Polarity's surprise. "What the-?! All crew, report! What's going on out there?! Anyone have a visual?!"

Moonhunter hid underneath Arcee's seat as an unknown rumble echoed. Just then, one of the crew members commed back. "I don't know what they are, but they look like squids! They are trying to break into the side of the ship!"

"Quintessons?" Polarity asked paranoid and angered.

"No...they are...something else. Yellow glowing bulbs on their heads or a very unusual Quintesson!"

Arcee blurted out, "Metal Heads!"

The femme in the front frowned with confusion until another hit made her pound the dashboard with her fist. "Damn! Well, if you know what they are, I suggest you get on those turrets and start shooting them down! I will not stand for any monsters trying to damage my ship and getting away with it!"

"On it," the Cybertronian queen called out without a second thought. Megatron followed her as she had the crewmates point her in the direction of the turrets. She got into the cockpit before pausing as the Aquatronian tech was quite different from what she was used to. One of the crewmembers noticed this and ran to her side to give her a quick crash course while Megatron settled into his turret.

"Red button activates and deactivates the turret. When activated, it'll push you up to the roof onto a rail system where you can move around the ship's exterior. Move with levers on both sides in which direction of the rail you want to go press these two to move your sight up and down. The turret's firing mechanism is next to the levers, the blue buttons. Either one works so you have a free servo to navigate. Got it so far?"

"Got it," she nodded.

As the crewmember left the chamber, she activated the turret. It ascended as he described until it was locked securely on the track. She nearly screamed from the jumpscare of a jellyfish-squid hybrid Metal Head appearing from the side. It raised its tendrils, showing off its visible beak and screeched. Its four optics narrowed at her as several more twirled into view.

Arcee grimaced before snarling, "Alright then, it's a party. Let's dance!"

Aiming at them without hesitance, Arcee was laughing as the turret had rapid fire bullets cutting through the water like it was nothing. The Metal Squids scattered to outflank the blasts. She hollered in delight as she spun around chasing one. As soon as it made the mistake of pausing, she shot it. Singular blasts didn't do as much damage as she would have liked but multiple in a single second? The organic matter was shredded like paper while the metal shook off only a few rounds before finally breaking. Instead of popping out, the skull gem on the Metal Squid detached and sank slower than that of the body. Watching it lightly bounce off the side of the ship and sink to the ocean floor had her grinning like mad.

Megatron was on his own turret on a separate track and Arcee passed him to go under. The rail clamps adjusted around the globe she was in to keep her steady while transitioning to be on top of her turret instead of upside down. Quite a few Metal Squids were striking the underside trying to find a weak point. She shot at each one, going between them to weaken their armor before eventually killing one and moving on to the others that were hurt and bleeding.

"Whoo-hoo! Get them, Arcee!" Bolt said on the commlink. "Polarity says just keep at it until she can convince Riptide Basin for some extra firepower."

The Metal Squids hissed as some were dispatched from the constant fire. Moving around the ship on the rail tracks gave her all 360 degrees of coverage to chase the persistent monsters down. Why Metal Heads were this deep in, she didn't know. Unless Riptide Basin had something they needed, it was quite useless to try and attack the underwater citadel.

To Arcee's shock, Silos' voice came through. "Arcee, I've just gotten wind of an infection nearby. It hasn't spread to any other lifeform, but I suggest if you want to keep that lifeboat of yours afloat, you might want to focus on the biggest danger to the ship other than those Squids."

"What has been infected?!"

"Giant...um fish bot? I'm not even certain of what it is, but it's bigger than that ship."

"And how do you know I'm in a ship again?"

"Do I always have to explain to you how anything works? Get rid of the infected or I might have to look for someone else to do my chores. Good hunting."

Arcee wasted no time alerting the others. "Megatron, Bolt, we have an infected monster somewhere nearby! Alert Polarity and keep an eye out for anything big and scary!"

Megatron huffed, "That doesn't exactly narrow it down much all things considered. Anything more specific?"

"A giant fish?"

"...As if that helps!"

Polarity was turning the ship as Arcee was firing into a group of Metal Squids. Killing seven of them as they charged the vessel, Arcee brought them down going between each and not letting the turret go off for a second. They sank with their skull gems trailing after their corpses. The last of the Squids were shot down after lengthy maneuvering to snipe them just right. The ones too far out to get a straight shot at were finally hit by missiles from the Riptide Basin. Arcee let go of the button to fire and leaned back in her chair laughing.

"Calamari is on me, boys."

Before she could get a response, the Waterbrook was suddenly hit off course and went tumbling a meter or so until Polarity got control of her vessel. It hovered near the dock to the citadel. Preparing her turret again, Arcee peered around carefully as everything went silent.

Polarity shouted, "By the creators almighty!"

Arcee didn't know what she meant until a streak of yellow and orange with tainted purple zipped past her section. The femme froze up, not daring to fire as she saw a Leviathan Queen...but she had green blood across her front and the outline of her veins was a nasty purple. Four yellow optics...and a cluster of skull gems on her head crest all but confirmed the worst. A Leviathan Queen was infected with the virus and from all the blood, Arcee feared the queen may have eaten her own hive like an animal with rabies would attack anyone or anything it came across. The Leviathan Queen floated to be upright and gave a loud roar, jaws open as wide as they could go coated with bloody slime.

Arcee knew the turrets wouldn't do jack shit against the armor of a Leviathan Queen. Instead, Arcee retreated by deactivating the turret, letting it slide automatically back to its position and quickly fled into the ship towards the cockpit as Polarity stared horrified.

"Nammu, the great guardian...what has become of you," she muttered.

"Queen Nammu?"

"She is a resident of the Basin, lives just below the cliffs with her hive. They've never caused any trouble before, never had an issue with transport traffic and would guard us from exterior entities but...where is her hive? What is that purple stuff on her?"

Arcee groaned, "Bad news is she's infected hence the weird purple coloring. Worse news, I think that green blood on her is the hive."

Polarity was mortified as Queen Nammu tossed her head, twitching and panting like she was possessed. The virus was trying its hardest to take control. Being such a big creature, it took some time to scour the entire body's blood system. The captain made the ultimate decision to reverse back into the docking lane and immediately forced everyone to evacuate the vessel as Queen Nammu whipped around it a frenzy trying to figure out her own dilemma.

Arcee didn't want to see the Riptide Basin in a frantic lockdown. After getting through the four locked doors, they all ran down the long hall towards the main station. Moonhunter yowled in concern, but it wasn't like Arcee knew exactly what the cat was trying to convey. While the ceiling was a thick, sturdy glass, the platforms of the whole building all converged into a spiraling center room with easy access to all the levels. Everyone was running up and down the spiraled ramps into the battle rooms. Heavily armed weapons rooms and four of which lying on each end of the base had giant cannons awaiting to be reactivated from a presumably long slumber.

Polarity tapped Arcee's shoulder and pointed her to one of the massive cannons. "Listen, I need to go make sure my friends down yonder are alright. If your aim is as great as on those turrets, these cannons will be as easy as oil-crust pie. Don't try and kill her though, just try to drive her off. Unfortunately, legally we aren't supposed to fire upon Nammu. She's one of the oldest living Leviathan Queens and is globally protected...but if she's infected and doesn't stop, we...might have to kill her."

"Trust me, Polarity, the Metal Head virus isn't reversible once it has infected a host. She'll kill anything that moves now. Everyone in the world is in danger."

The white and grey femme didn't like hearing that, but she gave a defeated sigh. "Then do what you need to do, and I'll try and cover for you if you are questioned."

As she left, Arcee tapped Megatron's shoulder to get his attention and ran after her. She approached the cannon's cockpit noting how large it was. It had similar if not identical controls to that of the turret, just more buttons on the dashboard for things a mere ship's rapid gun can't do.

A femme above yelled out, "Are you getting in there?"

"Yes," the queen answered back.

"Okay, good luck!"

Bolt climbed a ladder to the control station on the side of the room and activated the screens to get an insight just where the maddened Leviathan Queen had gone. Arcee jumped into the cannon and gave a thumbs up which he mirrored as he got some of the Basin's crew to help him get everything he needed up and running. Megatron and Moonhunter joined him. The large cannon's cockpit jolted slightly upon moving as the muzzle of the gun unfolded as it ascended. Gears grinded to get it up into a secure atrium before sealing its underside and releasing the top glass doors, letting water flood the isolated chamber. Arcee's cockpit was pushed on a railing system until it reached halfway up into the top center of the weapon. She pressed the buttons on the sides like the turret to see if it fired. It did, but the blasts were slower though she could tell it would explode a Metal Squid point blank. Hopefully, it was powerful enough to deal with a Leviathan Queen. As the three other cannons rose into place, Arcee considered it game on.

Queen Nammu gave a bloodthirsty, pained roared. The vibrations shook even the cockpit somewhat. Arcee held her ground and sneered. Suddenly, the giant mutated creature sprinted. Swimming forward with all its skull gems glowing with its sun yellow and orange-scaled metal now an ugly brownish purple, it aimed for the glass roofing, striking it with its entire body. The glass didn't budge but it also couldn't take too many hits like that. Arcee knew she only had a certain amount of time to kill the Leviathan Queen before she broke through the building.

Each blast, the cannon recoiled a little with a clicking sound to indicate its reloading of energy. She hit Nammu a few times, but some shots missed flying out into the open ocean where she hoped there was no ulterior damage done wherever it hit or what it hit. The other cannons followed her lead as Nammu's mouth suddenly lit up. In her infected state, it seemed the Metal Leviathan Queen now had the ability of summoning energy blasts of her own. Several heat-seeking balls of corrupted purple energy flew through the water and Arcee had to redirect her attention to them to prevent herself from getting hit. When her shots countered the corrupted energy, a small explosion in the water sent bubbles upward but did nothing else thankfully aside from rocking the weapon a little.

"Wow, what a cranky old lady! You're doing awesome, Arcee!" Bolt exclaimed

Arcee continued her assault and finally broke part of the shoulder armor before one blast severed the arm entirely. The Leviathan Queen grew angrier, flailing before swooping down to latch onto one of the cannons. This made it easier for her to hit the monster as the vicious queen wasn't moving around a lot anymore. Careful not to hit her peer manning the other weapon, Arcee fired towards Nammu's back fins and her neck while she clawed at the cannon, snapping her jaws towards the cockpit. Multiple shots from the other three cannons finally broke the spinal plating and the Leviathan Queen retreated for a second around the trench. She then came back with a vengeance, firing more blasts of energy to counter the cannons in retaliation.

Abruptly, the Leviathan Queen did an unusual maneuver and twirled in place before sending a miniature whirlpool of water like a disk hurling at one of the far cannons. It struck the weapon and the pump keeping it level broke, collapsing it facing the muzzle down. That left only three cannons able to defend against Nammu's fury.

"Rear bay cannon is down! I repeat, the rear bay cannon is not operational!" The cannon's pilot announced.

But, on the plus side, Nammu had a damaged spine and a missing arm. And with her movement, her chest was ripe for the shootout. Not hesitating a single second, she aimed at the armored underbelly and the hidden spark within. Her cannon's fire struck the chest plates as the other cannons took aim. Nammu covered herself only to have her servo struck and blown off. Furious, she rapidly swam around still firing back. With little to no protection on the chest, Arcee made it her goal to blast Nammu's underside into pieces.

"Aim for her spark!"

The two other cannon operators did as she suggested and swung around to chase Nammu. The Leviathan Queen hissed at the assault as chunks of her were being slowly chipped away. One blast finally knocked off a crucial piece exposing her spark, and she curled inward with a shriek. Furious, she aimed straight for another cannon and tackled it trying to rip it off its mount. As she struggled, Arcee and the other open cannon tracked her for any good shot. She was tearing viciously and frantically moving but after several strikes, she would back a second before trying again. Sparks could be seen in the cockpit from the dashboard staining to keep the systems online against her eagerness to kill.

Arcee watched this as the other cannon tried to fire without hurting his friend. She waited until the pattern was nearly identical. As soon as she had her opening, she grinned, "Long live the queen."

She fired. In a flash, the spark was struck, exploding with a pulse flying through the water and Nammu made a frightened screech, whipping her head back as her arm and tail grew shaky. Blood seeped out from her chest cavity as the armor had pushed out from the blast. She made another roar, slurred as she clung to the cannon with her remaining arm, but it wasn't enough. Slouching over with a gurgling noise, the Leviathan Queen Nammu was no more.

Arcee watched as the creature's body slipped off the cannon past the Basin's position and down below it, crashing with sediment flying on her slow impact. As the other pilots cheered, Arcee deactivated her cannon and went under. The water was drained before the bottom hatch released and let the weapon fold in onto itself in its resting position. Everyone hollered proudly as she was released from the cockpit and climbed down. Polarity ran to her and laughed.

"Remind me to call you if we have another invasion! Well done, sharpshooter!" Polarity complimented before pointing behind her, "The mechs in the labs are fixing to figure out how to break the news to Marina. And your medicine is out here. We thank you very much for jumping into duty. I know this wasn't part of the travel plans but hopefully, there won't be any more surprises."

"There always are."

The crewmembers of the Riptide Bain chuckled at that and Arcee was escorted into the main chamber where what appeared to be two blue and white medics held a package and made sure it was good and tightly wrapped.

"Take this to Marina, please," the elder medic said, adjusting his glasses. "It'll help heal the scars easier."

Arcee kept a neutral façade as to not appear concerned, but the thought was bothering her. She wanted to know more about this attack. Who would tear out someone's eyes and leave them in misery? She took the medicine and made a small bow. Bolt and Megatron then high five her delighted.

"You were awesome!" The Vehicon exclaimed.

Megatron mused, "I agree one hundred percent. That was some excellent shooting. I think though we need to get back to the surface before anything else sees fit to try hunting us."

Bolt scoffed, "Oh yeah, wouldn't want to face another infected Leviathan Queen and not have the means to defend ourselves with powerful weapons like these."

Polarity approached from behind, "Before we take off, perhaps I can offer this."

Arcee was handed a rapid-fire mod for her blasters like the turrets she had manned. She grew eager to test them eventually against enemies but for now, it was sufficient to see it sitting pretty on her. She attached them with Bolt's help and shifted from arm to blaster quickly just to see the extensions of her blasters open with the mods she gained previous up until now.

Polarity was praising them all the way back to the surface. As soon as the Waterbrook was checked out for damage and approved for takeoff, the captain didn't hesitate to give them a ride again. Seeing all the aquatic species still living life despite the disturbances was relaxing to see in an otherwise stressful time. Aquarius was there to meet them up on the docks and he looked extremely tired, smiling but wiped out. They knew he was finally taking them to see the leader of Aquatron herself.

Bringing Marina her medicine while being led by Aquarius was daunting primarily because Arcee didn't know what she should expect of the leader. Megatron, Bolt, and Moonhunter kept close as they were escorted into the Hydratoll Complex. He took her to Marina's office, a large apartment with several closed off areas that most likely held her berthroom and other personal chambers. Aquarius held up a servo for them to wait and knocked twice before entering a room.

"Marina, they're here."

A sudden crash startled them though Aquarius didn't seem worried, just empathetic.

"Aw, scrap," a feminine voice mumbled. "I'm coming. Give me a second."

As Marina started coming into view, Aquarius held out the nook of his arm for her to feel and take. Bringing her out, Arcee was a bit taken aback by her. Marina was dark blue with light blue gradients on her lower half and her chest with the tips of fins and her head crest a greenish blue instead. Curvy and fair, the lovely Marina was a heartthrob...but the only thing that was off-putting was her black holes for optics. They had been torn out brutally. Her faceplates, especially around the eye sockets, had to be reconstructed and although the damage didn't take away anything from her beauty, the edges of the sockets had clear scarring of where the metal was bent and mended when someone had to have dug into her head. Some specks of Energon blood remained, fresh from small breaks in the tensions of her eyes still blinking, but weren't noticeable until Arcee was blatantly searching for the detail.

Marina smiled in a clumsy fashion when she abruptly bumped into her desk when she failed to acknowledge Aquarius' small tug to try and get her out of the way of it. She laughed, "Oh, sorry, I, uh, I'm trying to memorize my office space. I've spent more time in my room than here. Heh heh, I hope I'm not scaring any of you."

"Oh, oh no, you are still very pretty," Arcee said without thinking twice, placing the medicine package on the table. Megatron and Bolt looked at her quizzically but the Vehicon then half-nodded in agreement upon thinking on the statement.

Marina purred, "I appreciate that, Arcee, is it? It's been quite a change, and my medics have told me that since the cabling that connects the optics to my processor was ripped out as well, they couldn't operate on me except to seal the broken ports. It's now officially a permanent part of my life. So, I'm trying to make the best of the situation. Aquarius, here, doesn't think I can handle my duties. Written, no, but verbal...I haven't lost my glossa yet, darling."

Aquarius laughed awkwardly and they couldn't figure out why until a wayward mech started to sneak out of Marina's berthroom. He apologized and left the bots even more confused much to Aquarius' distaste.

"I thought...we talked about the whole..."

Marina frowned, "I'm sorry, I'm supposed to change my ways because of an upgraded position? You didn't complain much when it was your turn."

As soon as Arcee got the memo, she bit her lip slightly surprised. She knew people had their pleasures in life; she was no stranger to it in her youth. To hear a leader admit this was interesting but when it happened to be one of the most gorgeous femmes in the galaxy, she couldn't blame Marina for using that to her advantage to have fun while it lasted. It could be seen as obscene and unnatural for a leader to do, but no one could dictate someone's life choices just because they don't do it themselves.

Aquarius looked at them and looked back at her. "I think that's not an appropriate thing to talk about right now."

Marina grinned, "Why? Are you ashamed? Honey, you only live once. I'm going to enjoy the little things with or without you. It's up to you whether you want to live in your own disappointment and misery because of a mere tryst or accept what happened did happen. I've got no shame in what I like. Why should I? Am I wrong?"

"No," Megatron immediately said before looking down at Arcee, "you're just how you should be. As long as you are happy, it shouldn't matter at all what you wish to do. It wouldn't be our business regardless."

Arcee smiled at that. Megatron was more than familiar with the victories in his gladiatorial days which led to similar encounters of willing partners-for-hire and being fully aware of Arcee's past as a dancer that technically left out the obscene details for the most part. They knew, and they understood. If Marina was promiscuous, that was her nature and just because they didn't act in that way didn't make her pride not valid. It was a part of her, and they were more than willing to accept it.

Although Marina couldn't see them, she moved her head slightly to acknowledge each of them with a kindly expression before sighing, "Thank you. I suppose no, it isn't an appropriate conversation. But you see, I don't really care about hiding my exploits. Maybe that's a bit of a downside to myself. I just really enjoy the company. I admit it did get in the way of my political life quite a few times but hey, if the people didn't want me as a leader, they have all the power in the world to kick me out. I'm not going to threaten them with a good time to keep my position. I mainly did it because at the time, there was no one and everyone saw me as this hero for sticking up for myself against the Quintessons."

"Given what we've encountered on the isle with those squid-faced freaks, it was very brave of you to stand up to them," the queen said.

"Speaking of which, I heard about what you did with these 'Metal Heads' as Aquarius has mentioned you called them? Seems like a brave thing yourself. In fact, for your services, maybe I could offer you this. It's not much but maybe you would have a better use for it."

Aquarius brought out a Radiant Core for Marina and handed it to Arcee who gladly accepted it. "I appreciate the gift."

The dark blue femme giggled, "Of course."

Arcee noted her expression changed to an unusual curiosity that said a little more than she was letting on. The Cybertronian immediately closed her optics and smiled, "You want to know some things about us, don't you, instead of giving me this?"

"Ah, um, well," Marina stuttered, "the...interest is certainly there but as unchaste as I am, I am not above consent first. Can you blame me?"

Arcee peered towards the ground before giving a blunt, "No, can't say I can blame you at all. Megatron is a good-looking mech."

The redirection had the warlord glaring at his sparkmate stunned with Bolt trying so hard not to break out in uncontrollable laughter. Marina perked up with a new emotion as she hummed, "Really?"

Aquarius, however, was noted to be quite jealous of the interaction, and Arcee knew it was time to quit joking around. She didn't want to make an enemy of him. Clearing her throat, she said, "Is there anything else you need us to do?"

"No, not off the top of my head. You've done excellent, and I can't thank you enough. One day I'll get back into the groove of things. I just need to start finding a new way to navigate in my condition. For now, I do hope you enjoy our stay on our construction zone of a world."

The bots nodded and started to leave as Marina pawed at her desk before slowly taking her seat once she figured out where it was. Aquarius was following them out until she suddenly changed her mind.

"Arcee, there might be something I want to talk to you about alone if you have a moment. Aquarius, leave us please."

The mechs heeded Marina's demands with Moonhunter trailing Megatron. Arcee was sealed in the office with only Marina and the latter's expression changed to slight sadness.

"You do know what it's like, don't you?"

Arcee paused, "Like what?"

"The...obscenities. I sensed in your tone that you knew about someone who had done it in the past."

"Myself, yes. It wasn't by choice though."

"Apologies, I didn't mean to bring up my life and make you uncomfortable. I should have stopped before I ridiculed Aquarius and all of that. I'm just so..."

"Confident?" Arcee mused, smiling, "I've been there, done that more than you think. My confidence comes from battle more so, and yes, we've both seemed to make those mistakes of boasting when we shouldn't be. But I'm actually happy for you."

That caught Marina's attention the most and she pondered, "Why?"

"Because you have the confidence for doing what you love. It's not easy in most societies that condemn such attitudes and preferences to come out proud of such a life, but you're just another mortal being like everyone else. Just because you're a leader doesn't mean you're excluded from experiencing the normality of pleasure in any form or interest. It's who you are. If people don't like it, they can suck it."

Chuckling at her own statement, Marina soon followed, leaning back against her chair. "Oh, I knew I liked you the moment I heard you! Platonically, at least. Just to avoid confusion. Ahaha, damn...do you...do you want to know a secret, something that I've never entrusted anyone with because of their bias against the whole behavior..."

Arcee sat across from her in another chair and shrugged, "Sure. It will not leave this room."

Marina huffed, "I wasn't always this confident. When I was younger, I found interest in everyone. Obviously, my long-term partner at the time didn't find my interests great. I was so caught up in what could be that I never realized how isolated I was making myself in the process. Everyone loved me, but they didn't love me, you know what I'm saying? They would be cruel, sometimes in audio length. I ignored it mostly, but their words slowly chipped away. I just kept going until right before the Quintessons attacked, I woke up beside one of my associates and I just sat there pondering what a disgrace I was. The feeling was so sudden and-and random that I was confused more than anything. Everyone saw me as this two-bit slut and for once, I felt disgusting. I was ashamed, but I couldn't figure out why it bothered me then. I cried thinking I was never going to amount to anybody other than deprived, useless Marina.

"When the Quintessons came, we were all scared, myself included. I was detained alone, still in this blockade of depression. It was misery in every aspect. And I sat there in my thoughts for quite a few years in that cell and slowly, I began to realize the cell I sat in was like the cage within. Here I was just letting the Quintessons trap me like an animal, belittling me, caring less if I lived or died in there and yet, the same thing had happened before. People used to call me names, mock me and all that. Same story, different scenarios and upon realizing this, I recognized that their envisioning of me was nothing more than sheer stupidity. Quintesson rules of their superiority was stupid. I shouldn't roll over for anyone, I shouldn't change what made me happy, and I shouldn't pretend what I was doing was wrong. So, I finally said enough."

She then laughed, "I, uh, I seduced one of the Quintessons which was hard because they were a bit stingy on the whole interfacing idea but like you said, we're all mortal. Time and patience are virtues. Skipping the fine details, I broke out and just grabbed the nearest weapon I could and went to work. By the time I got out, the Cybertronians that had visited were already leaving. I led the Aquatronians trapped within the Quintesson-controlled Hydronix and didn't give two damns whether they would listen or not. I just went on with or without them, but I was going to get out of that city no matter what it took.

"I gained a newfound confidence in myself, and I think they saw it too. Those who still tried to shame me found their words meant nothing to me, wouldn't stop me from doing what I wanted to do. When we got back here to Aquatica, we chased out any Quintessons that tried to follow, assuming the Leviathans didn't eat them while they were navigating those treacherous waters out there, and they promoted me to leader. At first, I was just the leader of Aquatica, then it was determined that Aquatron needed a functioning overall leader. Most people got over their bias knowing what I could do in battle when I put my mind to it, so they elected me. I've been Aquatron's leader ever since and the fun has never stopped. I'm quite proud of who I am, and I think everyone knows it because now the comments are quite seldom."

Arcee made an impressed expression, "I'll give credit to you on taking control like that. That's not an easy thing to do, making yourself the designated leader among the chaos and rallying everyone."

Marina gestured, "The thing I've noticed in most other species is the underdogs should always be the most feared. When everything turns into pure chaos, we underdogs are a bit more observant and can utilize the lesser-known skills we possess to our advantage. When everyone sees the cookie-cutter ideals of a leader in an individual, that person doesn't need to grow into any more skills because they already have the respect of the people. An obstacle comes up that they can't use what is expected of them, and they are helpless. I seized my chance. I don't regret a single second of it because it saved lives where other people couldn't. Not bad, huh?"

Arcee nodded profusely, "Indeed."

Marina felt up her table, drumming her digits on the metal. "I believe I've tortured you enough with those inappropriate stories. Let me know if you want anything and I'll make it happen."

"It's alright. To be honest, and don't tell my team, I'm kind of getting tired of the same, boring conversations I have with the normal citizens. Obscene it may be, it's a delight to hear in a way."

"You are my new favorite person, Arcee, I hope you know this."

"You can say it as many times as you like. I don't mind."

As Arcee began focusing on the missing optics in the expressive eye holes, her own humor faded.

"If I may, can I ask you about...the attack? I heard about it through Aquarius what happened. Do you remember anyone approaching you, what they looked like or anything? The Metal Heads being here as well as on other planets we visited means they are attacking important landmarks and people. They might be the culprit behind this."

Marina didn't seem bothered by the question. "I was alone in my study when I heard a noise. I thought a window had blown out from the storm. Aquarius is known to occasionally get hurricanes and huge waves with high winds. I went out to check and someone put something over my optics before pushing me down to the floor. I fought them the best I could. I felt a fleshy material of some sort along with metal. My first instinct was it was a Quintesson but they only had hands in their disguised forms which hid all organic matter. They had claws that trailed up to my face. As soon as whatever was blinding me was pushed up, all I saw was...glitching as everything grew painful like a million knives stabbing my face repeatedly. I could feel the claws sinking into my optics until the whole system became numb, but I still was screaming because the sides of my sockets weren't. Everything aside from the optics was pure agony, from the cabling connected to the processor being ripped to the scrapes and the edges of my sockets just being pulled relentlessly. I thought I was going to die; I kind of wished I did in that moment."

Arcee was silent as she described it. Her own optics started twitching just thinking about the brutality.

"Then they left me to crawl like a sparkling with tears and blood running down my face. The strangest thing was as they left, they said to me, 'If only you could see past your own foolishness.' Who says that to someone they abandoned in that horrifying situation?"

"I...I don't know," Arcee whispered, "but they will pay."

Marina grew back her smile "Well, we'll see what we can do. For now, I have a planet to run. Thank you for listening. Now, let's get you back to your friends then. I've held you captive longer than Aquarius likes. He won't admit that he always hates when I'm flirting with others and not him. He's a regular, just too greedy to admit he has an addiction to me. I don't mind but I like to have a variety, you know?"

Arcee blushed a little at that but didn't comment on it. Out of all the leaders, Marina was probably the most outgoing and it was the exact opposite of what Arcee used to be. Although she got better, especially being with Megatron, personalities like Marina's and Road Rage's clashed significantly with her own. But at least they both had a sense of humor about it.

The dark blue femme got up and moved around the table. Arcee realized she was looking to go outside with her and stood up to offer her arm. Marina wasn't much bigger than her, at least in most definitions, so it was easy to take her arm than it would be against those like The Matriarch, Mistress of Flame, and the giant King Kronos whom she didn't even reach the ankle of. Even his claws on his pedes were wider than her.

As Marina took her arm, she frowned in consideration upon accidentally brushing against Arcee's waist. Arcee thought she did something wrong on her end until the other femme said, "Huh, guess I need to step up my game one of these days. You seem like a very pretty femme yourself."

Arcee laughed, "Yeah, but I'm taken. Sorry."

"Lucky mech," she mused.

---

AN: I had to do someone for the Sin of Lust, so leader Marina is it. "But promiscuous people can't be good leaders!" Actually, they can when they separate work from sex, and minding who they sleep with is single. Being a homewrecker intentionally or not correcting it when found out is debatable in morality depending on who is seeking it and why. Also, a whoops on my part, I completely forgot there is a canon Aquarius in a few continuities...and he is not like this. Different Aquarius then. Different Aquarius...yeah. The one thing I didn't research was whether or not the name Aquarius was taken. My bad so to anyone who is familiar with the character reading this...sorry. Lol.