Several kliks crawled by as she stood motionless at the entrance, trying to piece together what she was looking at. Optimus... was gone... but then... what was she looking at? Was this some strange figment of a recharge starved processor? Some new method of torture she was being subjected to? Eventually she forced her pedes to move, shuffling closer to the wreckage that resembled her former leader. Bright paint was dull and flaking, plating torn and mesh exposed, appearing brittle and corroded. How... could this be? Was it truly him?

Arcee lifted her servos. The tip of one digit grazed the front of his chassis, solid and real, and a floodgate of emotion swept over her. Sorrow, shame, anger all bubbled to life in the barren chasm that was her spark.

A small beeping filtered its way into her audials, and she looked to her left where a large monitor displayed his vitals. He was alive... barely, his condition precarious. Megatron had kept him here all this time, suspended in a near dead state... for what? Arcee hadn't thought the well of hatred she had for that mech could get any deeper. She'd been mistaken.

Panic gripped her. 'What do I do? What can I do? I feel so powerless... why show me this? Primus... why show me this when I'm not strong enough to save him?!'

The thought was followed by a wretched wave of self loathing.

'You are no hero. That part of you is gone. You let her perish.'

The two wheeler didn't bother trying to convince herself otherwise. Yet... it didn't change the truth of what needed to be done. She couldn't walk away from this place knowing he was here. She had to do something. She couldn't let fear hold her back. If she... could get help... bring them here... they could save him. She thought back to the moment she had lost him, the way he looked at her, pleading, hoping... He had placed his trust in her that day, and she was ashamed to think of how far she had let herself fall. So she needed to do this. For him.

'Even if it's the last thing I do,' she told herself with utter conviction, even while her slight wrists clattered in their bindings.

She pressed her servo more firmly against Optimus, wishing she could speak to him, let him know she would be back. Not that he could hear her in his current state. Her optics slid over him one final time before she forced herself to turn away and head back through the door, closing it behind her before taking a moment to steady her racing spark. She propped herself against the wall, feeling her frame shake. How she had remained standing during that encounter she couldn't be sure, but she knew she could not afford to delay. For now, she needed to act. It wouldn't be long before new soldiers came to guard their lord's precious secret, so lingering was not an option. She thought about the brief communication she'd overheard before arriving here, knowing that the lower levels would be her most likely shot at escape... even though they would be crawling with Decepticons. What kind of incident would warrant such drastic attentions?

'Is it a breach?' she wondered. She doubted human forces could muster such a response. So... it had to be. There was only one way to find out.

Venting hard, Arcee sprinted down the hall, pausing only to peer down the main corridor. Finding it empty, she made her way to the closest elevator, pressing the button and then hastily wedging herself into a small crevice to the side of it. When the lift reached her level and the doors slid open, she sagged in relief to find it empty. Hurrying inside, she selected the ground floor and glanced around the space, assessing the best way to hide herself until she was clear to exit. There would undoubtedly be soldiers and other staff boarding along the way, so she needed to remain hidden.

Spying the access panel, she sprang up and took hold of a ceiling beam with both servos. Then, with as much force as she could muster, swung herself up and kicked it open, her slight frame aching at the impact. Shaking off her discomfort, she pulled herself up and through the opening, quickly sliding the panel back in place while keeping it ajar so she could slip down again once she reached the bottom. The elevator began to descend, and she braced herself low. The next stop came quickly, and several soldiers filed into the space. She did everything she could to still her trembling, the fear of being caught nearly overwhelming. More than once she considered turning back, making her way back to her cell and acting like none of this had happened. If he found her... the things he was going to do...

Shaking her helm angrily, Arcee forced herself to hold onto the battered image of him. She had failed him in so many ways. Losing hope, letting herself be taken by despair, allowing herself to be gentled by that monster. Nothing she could do now would ever erase those failures, but she owed it to him to do this. Nothing else mattered now.

Finally the lift settled at the ground floor, and when the sounds of the soldiers faded away, she slid the panel aside and dropped gracefully to the floor. The alarms were still blaring, and all around there were shouts and the sounds of blaster fire.

Before she could move more than a few steps beyond the elevator, a group of Vehicons came into view, one of them catching sight of her. She froze.

"What are you doing here?! Get back to your-"

The order was cut off when the top half of his helm exploded, sheared wires spraying streams of energon across the wall beside him. His lifeless form crashed to the ground, startling her, and before anyone else could react a blur of grey and red barreled into the other two Cons, knocking one back while the other was impaled on a slim blade. A quick jerk tore it from his spark chamber, the final drone making a pitiful attempt to flee. He hadn't even made it fully upright before his own spark was skewered, blue puddling beneath him as he slid from the weapons keen edge.

Arcee glanced from the small pile of bodies to the one responsible, optics taking in an Autobot insignia before searching an unfamiliar face. He stepped toward her and she lifted her servos in defense, lip components parting to plead for him to help her... but nothing came out. No! She wore the Decepticon mark... he wouldn't know she was on his side.

Thankfully her restraints made him pause.

"Who are you?"

She shook her helm, gesturing to her voicebox.

Before the newcomer could ask any further questions, an explosion sent them both reeling, though he was able to recover and roll into a defensive stance. She was not so lucky, slamming into the floor with enough force to leave her stunned. Everything was ringing... shapes and colors blurring together. Through the cacophony of other sounds, she heard the Autobot give a muffled shout, and then a familiar green light emanated from somewhere above her prostrate form.

Arcee barely registered his servo as it slid under her, gruff voice muttering something she couldn't quite make out. The two wheeler felt herself being lifted, his jostling and the bright light only making her helm ache worse. After only a moment the light faded, along with the shouting and the shrill cry of the alarms. She closed her optics, trying to get everything to stop spinning. The hold she was in was firm, but not painful, and for a brief moment everything was still... until she heard her name.

"Arcee?"

Her optics shot open again, and she twisted so violently around that she nearly fell from the mech's arms. The spots faded from her vision, and the familiar countenance of an old friend came into view.

Ratchet stepped closer, tone colored with disbelief. "Is it really you?"