Arcee drove happily on the road, for once since a long time, she felt a little bit of home even if she wasn't on Cybertron. She had missed the air on her decals. It felt like how she remembered it. Arcee recalled her moments with Jack and the rest of his friends just enjoying a leisurely drive on the asphalt right under the scorching sun.
It would've been better with the rest of team Prime, Bumblebee would really loved it the most, he was the one who was always gushing about Earth culture. One thing for sure, he loved cowboy movies and sometimes she would join him whenever he caught some movies at the drive-in cinema in their free time. Arcee would've liked it if they would do it again, just spend time with the Autobots she would come to call as her family. The only issue with that was Optimus' sacrifice. Sometimes she just wished that there was another way and he would be here to help her.
If he was, then maybe he wouldn't be on this planet, maybe he'd find a way to help Megatron's lieutenants. Arcee quickly put those thoughts aside, he isn't here, it was just her, Smokescreen and the two 'Cons. She will deal with the DJD and throw Starscream behind bars. That's her main goal, though she is still trying to believe that there was a way to even put Shockwave in a cell, sadly he claimed that it was impossible. So she'll have to watch out.
After driving through the forest and entering their current base of operation, Arcee had come to a surprise that she never would've expected. The airfield was cleared out of any old and broken planes, replaced with weapons and ammo crates. Inside the hangar, Arcee could see through the open doors that Shockwave was moving around some boxes. Not only that, there was some furniture inside. A table with some strange gizmos that Arcee couldn't really name, and a berth for medical reasons.
Smokescreen was also inside helping Shockwave with moving boxes. Arcee transformed into her bot form and scanned the area for the resident seeker, it was there she found Starscream speaking with a Decepticon just next to the ammo crates. Her eyes widened as she recognized who the 'Con was, Swindle of the Combaticons.
"Excuse me, where did you come from?" Both mechs stopped their conversation to face the femme.
Swindle smiled. "Arcee!" The grounder gleefully greeted her. "You certainly have changed since the last time I saw you."
"I thought you died when Bruticus stepped on a landmine." Arcee said.
Swindle chuckled. "Ah yeah, I remember that! But I managed to recover from the blast thanks to my good pal Starscream here. Anyways, I should be going, our transaction is over and I would like to start selling these trading cards now. If you need me Starscream, I'll be in Pluto." With one last farewell, the right leg of Bruticus switched to his alt mode and drove off into the treeline.
Once he was gone Arcee turned to face the seeker. "Transaction? Please tell me you bought us a ship. Or better yet, something to call for help."
Starscream scoffed. "Sadly, Swindle doesn't sell ships, he did have a long range communication device. But he had told me that we are too far from Cybertron or any other settlements to even contact anyone. We have no way off the planet, or any way to call for help."
"What about his ship?"
"Swindle would not allow us anywhere near his ship, so I doubt we can make use of it."
"Maybe we can steal it." She suggested.
"And ruin the relationship with our only ally? I would rather call Megatron for help."
"Fine. Did you at least have some proper tools to liquify energon crystals?" Arcee hoped for it.
"Of course, and luckily, we didn't need to trade our energon for these."
"What'd you do for it? Not like you have Shanix lying around."
"I have Shanix, Swindle and I had made a deal, I did him a favor and he gave us all these for free." Starscream turned to leave. "Now if you excuse me, I have a flight to catch." The seeker flipped into the air and transformed into his jet form, before Arcee could even protest, he shot towards the sky quicker than she could blink.
"Hey Arcee!" She turned to see Smokescreen walking over to her. "I got you something!" He said excitedly as he presented the massive weapon to the femme.
She stared at it, and quickly recognized the weapon knowing who it belonged to. "Where did you get this?"
"I bought it from Swindle, said it belonged to-"
"Hound, he was an Autobot from the war. But he died a long time ago, so where did Swindle get his gun?"
"Who knows, he mentioned that he trades weapons on a daily basis, so maybe he got it from some shady Decepticon." Smokescreen guessed.
"Right, I'll take that answer." Arcee sighed. "At least we aren't defenseless."
Arcee took the weapon off Smokescreen's servos and examined it closely. The weapon was indeed Hound's, she had seen the exact same gun tear through countless Decepticons like butter. Hound wasn't as famous as Jazz or Prowl, but he was still as dangerous as them with a number of dead 'Cons under his name. And now, this weapon is back in Autobot hands.
She smirked as she gave the gun a little spin, it whirred to life after such a long time. Arcee would whisper, "Welcome home, Hound."
Prowl and Bumblebee waited for the elevator to stop, both bots had some trouble entering the city of Vos, but in the end the Winglord had allowed them. It was a good thing too since at least twenty seekers were just about to blast them both for entering their borders. Now here they are, on their way to meet the Winglord of Vos.
The only issue was that this city was populated by Decepticons only. Worst, the Winglord was one of the first generation of Decepticons to ever exist. He was there when it all started, he was there when Megatron rose to power. Even worse, he served under Starscream. Seekers during the war were quite loyal to Starscream, and because of that, the Decepticons gained air superiority.
Even after the war and the restoration of Cybertron, Starscream was still considered a hero in the city of Vos. They said the reason the Winglord was even in power was that Starscream allowed it. Merely a rumor, but so many seekers believed it.
The elevator pinged as it reached its destination, the two Autobots prepared themselves to meet the leader of Vos. Once the doors parted, they came to find a throne room in the highest tower in Vos. But no one was on it, both mechs scanned the room looking for the Winglord. When their eyes landed on the large window that overlooked the city, they found the ruler standing there. A seeker who resembled Starscream was standing quietly by the window, he paid no mind on the guests. His blue body was as still as a statue.
"Winglord Thundercracker." Prowl called for the seeker's attention as he and Bumblebee stepped out of the elevator.
Thundercracker turned with an uninterested look in his eyes. "What do you Autobots need?" Unlike Starscream or Skywarp, Thundercracker didn't slouch. He stood taller than the two seekers in his trine, and unlike them, he had no claws.
"You know why." Prowl glowered at the 'Con.
"And you yourself know why." Thundercracker glared back at the Autobot as he walked towards his throne.
"So you know about the break in?" Bumblebee questioned.
The seeker sighed. "Yes, I do. But I have no interest in your problem."
"At least over a hundred missing Decepticons are reported this week. And one of them is Slipstream."
"So?" Thundercracker asked as if it didn't concern him.
"Aren't you a bit concerned about that?"
Thundercracker scoffed. "She's missing, which is fine by me. As long as he takes only a few, then the rest of my people will be safe."
"He? Who is 'he'?" Prowl narrowed his optics.
"Don't play dumb Prowl, you Autobots know who I am talking about." Thundercracker spoke with bitterness in his voice as he sat down on his throne. "He is also the reason why Vos is in lock down."
"You think locking down the city is enough to keep the DJD out?"
"Then I would have been a fool... No," He sighed. "He was here."
The two mechs froze upon the discovery. None of the Autobots had ever encountered the infamous DJD. The 'Cons were always chattering about them in the Decepticon private frequency. Optimus thought it was just propaganda to keep the 'Cons in check. But a mech named Jazz had the worst luck that earned the bot a front row seat to one of the DJD's shows while scouting in enemy territory. During the debriefing, Jazz was clearly disturbed yet he showed no emotion as he recalled his findings to the rest of the Autobots.
But Prowl and Optimus knew how he truly felt. It was that day the Autobots learned of the truth and many Autobots would suffer under their hands for merely being in the wrong place.
"Were you on the list?" Prowl's expression darkened.
"Yes..." Thundercracker was hesitant, but he admitted to it. "I was, and so are most of the seekers in Vos. And they would have shred me into nothing, yet he didn't. Instead he asked me to denounce the council and cut our ties with the rest of Cybertron. And that is why you two are here."
"But why?" A simple question coming from Bumblebee.
"It was either that, or I along with the citizens of Vos would suffer. And you know what I chose."
"I see. That would be all, thank you for your time." Bumblebee turned on his heel to leave, followed by Prowl.
Thundercracker said nothing, he watched them carefully as they entered the elevator. The two bots stared back at him as the door closed. And once he was alone, he let out a heavy sigh.
"You did good, Thundercracker." Tarn's voice filled the room. From behind the throne itself, Vos had taken a step out of his hiding place. In his hands was a datapad with Tarn on the line.
"Are you satisfied?" He scowled at the leader of the DJD.
"Yes, but there are still more things to do. I will require your best seekers to return with Vos back to my ship, preferably those who are faster than any plane or jet on Cybertron."
"As you wish... Will you uphold your end of the deal?"
"I will give you Starscream's head, undamaged. I promise you that." Tarn scoffed. "A funeral for the greatest coward in the universe. I don't understand you seekers."
"It's... It's all that I'm asking."
"Be careful Thundercracker, showing such weakness is not very Decepticon of you. Out." With that, the screen went black. The room was silent once more with only Vos and the Winglord.
Thundercracker sighed once more as he wrapped his hand over his head, seemingly having an inner conflict within his own mind.
His engine roared as he soared through the sky, everything was just a blur to Starscream as he cut through the air faster than the small number of land vehicles below him. He laughed at them for being bound to the ground, unlike him. He felt so in tune with the clouds, he was in his true element.
Faster he went, the blurrier his surroundings got. Feeling a little courageous, he decided to fly much closer to the ground. He flew over the street and countless cars started honking in fear as he zoomed past them. He relished the thought of causing pathetic little humans to quiver in fear as he streaked through the highway. But then he caught something in the corner of his optic.
A trail of rainbow on the side of the road, and it was going the same speed as him. "R-rainbow?" He stuttered.
Upon closer look, he noticed that at the front of this multicolored streak was some sort of human. Not just that, but a human girl!
Starscream was baffled at the speed this human was going, not only that, she was as fast as him. He didn't like the idea of being beaten by a mere human, so Starscream added more thrust earning him an increase of speed. But then the rainbow simply followed suit, if his face was not inside his jet mode then he would be scowling right now.
He decided that it would be better to fly towards the nearby forest and dared this girl to follow. And much to his surprise, she did. The girl had hopped over the road to avoid any oncoming traffic and left Starscream baffled. She followed him to the forest and she was just getting faster. And before they even knew, the two racers entered the forest.
He expected the girl to slam into a tree or something, but she showed great reaction time. She dodged the trees as if they weren't an obstacle, but more of a short hindrance to her daily life. As for Starscream, he was making tight turns and good choices. A seeker with a talent like his was not deterred by this race through a forest.
"Woah, you are awesome!" The girl complimented his skills.
He would've smirked, but he had a human to humiliate. Or so he thought. No matter what he did, how many trees he dodged, or how many cool tricks he performed. The girl still persisted. Tree after tree, she was still in the race. It wasn't about out speeding the other anymore, it was simply a competition to see who would crash and burn.
But as Starscream twisted and turned around an obstacle, he lost sight of his opponent. He could not see or even locate the human girl, and he wanted to believe that he had won, sadly there was a strange feeling in his tank that tells him otherwise. It was then when he felt a few knocks on the canopy of his cockpit. There he saw a girl who is blue, she stared right into him with curiosity as the girl held on to his vents tightly.
"Hey, you should stop!" She advised him.
"Get off you worm!" He screeched at the human. "If you don't do as I say, then I am not responsible for what will become of you!"
Starscream decided to give this human a little ride, if she can stomach it. He gave her time to let go, but yet she held on. He started climbing up towards the clear blue sky.
"Hey, wait a second!" Her words fell on muted audio.
He climbed even higher, humming a little tune as he watched the human clung tighter to him. Soon enough her hands would slip off, and then splat, a gross human mess. But as he ascended, she showed no fear, her mouth was moving, screaming. But he could not hear her voice. He kept going and going. Somehow, she was not affected by the thinning of the oxygen around her, she was still breathing normally like she wasn't close to the top of the highest mountain.
He would've reached the ozone but then he simply came to a stop. The human girl sighed in relief, but then she gasped as the jet tilted over. The aircraft started falling towards the earth, his descent grew faster as he straightened himself. Even so, the girl wouldn't let go. With the rate he was going, it was bound to happen. But something in his mind started screaming at him, it was telling him not to go through with it. He tried to silence the voice, but it only grew louder.
And before he could slam into the ground, he turned just in time. He aimed himself towards the forest once again and just as he entered his air brakes were opened. Amazingly, the girl was still on him like a sword through the chest. And when he had control with his speed, he transformed to his bot form and finally flung the girl off of him. Before she could go splat on a tree, the seeker quickly caught her in his servo.
The girl didn't know what happened, for a moment she was just racing with a jet, then it tried to kill her. And now, she was in a daze. She would've thought she'd hit a tree but something had caught her. When she finally recovered, she would come face to face with a red eyed monster made of metal. Her eyes widened, she let out a gasp.
"Rainbow..." The monster hissed as he looked at her.
"Y-you..." She couldn't really think of any words to say. She was still comprehending the situation.
"Primus, you are just harsh on the optics. Just looking at all those colors is hurting me!"
"Who... what are you!?"
The giant chuckled in a creepy way, a shiver ran down her spine. Even the grin he wore was disturbing, and ignoring the fact it was not the same race as her, his grin was just inhuman in every way possible.
"I am lord Starscream, leader of the Decepticons!" He boomed with pride, he introduced himself in a way that just radiated with power and grace. "And who might you be my little human? Such speed and resilience, I am curious of your origins little girl."
"I'm Rainbow Dash!" She had no choice but to introduce herself to the imposing leader of the so-called Decepticons.
"Rainbow Dash?" He repeated, his brow cocked up. Then he chuckled. "I remember a seeker with such a name."
"W-well she sounds awesome, would love to meet her." Dash spoke, the fear in her voice was apparent. She had faced many trials, but Starscream was something new to her.
"Oh, it would certainly be interesting. She was arrogant, stubborn, and always competitive. Prideful even. Really grinds my gears whenever another seeker in my regime would come straight to me just to complain about her dangerous stunts." Rainbow Dash froze, those were the things people would say when they would describe her back in the day. He wasn't joking or lying about someone with the same name, this universe is truly small indeed. "Though she was eager to please just so she could be a part of my elite army of seekers. She was an excellent flyer, the best in her trine. Tell me, little human, are you the same as her?"
She sat there, in his palm. Frozen and unsure of what really is happening. Who was this machine and why is there someone with her name? It was as if he really did meet her at a different point of his life. So with no way to bring out the words in her mind, she just nodded to his question.
"I see," He chuckled. "this just reminds me of the days back in the war. How I would debrief every single one of my seekers. And it would've been great to meet Rainbow Dash again, she was always so fun and daring. Sadly..." His face transformed from a smiling demon to one that scowled. He glared at Dash with fiery hatred. "Sadly, that femme betrayed the Decepticons over a failure of a seeker, a fragging Autotrash of all things. She especially betrayed me. She misplaced her loyalty, so I had personally crushed her spark myself."
Then he started grinning again, how that scowl shifted had paralyzed Dash. His hand started to close around Dash, she gasped as it wrapped her in a hold. The air was being pushed out of her. She was so caught up in a web of fear, that she choked in the wrong moment, she drilled herself not to freeze in times like these, but yet here she was in a giant's hand.
"And right now... I'm feeling a bit nostalgic."
She would've done something, anything to save her life, but the grip on her loosened. And soon enough she was released onto the ground. She gasped and inhaled, she quickly filled up her lungs with air.
"Consider this a warning, I am no Autobot, if you ever tell anyone of my existence then I will not hesitate next time. There is no power on this planet that could stop me, so I would advise that you keep your fleshy lips sealed. Remember that I felt merciful, remember why you are alive to see the sun rise again. And I would certainly regret extinguishing your life, you are very promising, Rainbow Dash. Even if you are a human filth."
Dash couldn't say anything, he quickly transformed into a jet, and before she knew it, he was gone. Now she was alone in this forest, still registering what had transpired just now. She pulled herself together to stare off to the direction he had fled to. The sky. Something about his story had struck in a way that she could only wonder what happened. Question after question, she wanted to know more about this Starscream. But she feared that if she delved into it further, she might just meet her demise.
And yet, behind all that, and past the whole attempted murder, Rainbow Dash felt motivated. She silently dared him to come back, just so she could speak her mind. She has the power, she has friends. And they'll hear her story.
Next time, she won't stutter.