FicWad

He walked about the ship in almost a trance, trying to put his thoughts in order. He had just come back from the debriefing with Silas, and the Director was lucky that he had not really in the same room as Jack. He had made the mistake of asking the Prime if he had put his relationship with Arcee behind him, but the pain he felt from their separation was still raw and being questioned like that had felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed it until there was nothing but mushy paste left. Jack still couldn't believe that Arcee wouldn't even hear him out.

He thought back to all the times during the twilight years that he and the femme had talked about the loss of her partners and her need to avenge their deaths. Earlier in their partnership she had jumped at the chance at killing the ones who were responsible, and yet he felt that he was finally getting through to her after she captured Airachnid and then not even attempting to finish her off when she was in stasis at the silo. She even let Starscream live when she had the opportunity, and stopped her team mates when they were in similar situations.

She had looked like someone who had finally put the past behind her, but yet she could not give him the benefit of the doubt when he told her he was working with MECH. He could understand her reasons, such as what they put himself and his mother through and the numerous other times they tried to kill the bots for their tech.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not notice someone was following him.

"Jack" a female voice called to him. The Prime ignored it and continued to walk down the corridor until he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes widened and a rage came over him as he spun around and grabbed the person by the throat and pinned them to the wall. He was so full of rage that could not see who it was.

"Ja..ck, its….me, Airachnid."

Jack just stared at the femme, not even acknowledging her, which earned him a punch to the face as he was forced back against the wall by the impact and fell on his ass. He shook his head as the punch had snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see Airachnid standing over him, her face was looking back sternly.

"Jack, if I hadn't heard what had happened down there, I would tear you in two for that." she answered, trying to keep her rising anger in check. Jack just looked up at her suddenly feeling very guilty and embarrassed.

"I'm sorry..." he then looked back down at the floor, feeling defeated.

"...I just…I"

Airachnid's expression changed as she looked at the fallen Prime, his world had just been shattered mere hours earlier by the woman he loved. And yet she felt that there was more to his pain than that, and that she knew what he was feeling. Jack looked up to see her hold out a hand to him, her expression was gentle and sympathetic. He took her hand and she helped him back to his feet, before looking around to see if anyone had witnessed their exchange. Satisfied that no one was around she motioned Jack into the nearest room.

"Come on, lets talk in here." she said.

They entered the room and sat on the chairs there facing each other. Jack just looked at the femme, still not used to this new Airachnid, unsure whether she had told him the truth earlier.

"I am sorry for what happened between you and Arcee, I understand what your feeling right now."

Jack 's expression changed from confusion to unbelieving.

"No offence Airachnid, but I find it hard to believe that you of all people could understand."

The femme looked at Jack, trying to hide the hurt she felt from his comment and failing, so she looked away at the wall.

"Jack, like I said earlier I'm.." Jack cut her off before she could finish.

"Your not the same Airachnid I know, are you going to explain that one to me anytime soon." he answered trying to change the subject. She just looked back at him, before sighing in defeat.

"Alright, like I said I am not the same Airachnid you remember. It all kind of changed when my spark was transferred to this pretender body." she replied a she gestured to her form.

"How did you get a pretender body, in fact how did you even escape the silo all those years ago."

Airachnid looked away as she remembered that day.

"It was in the final days of the war, when Megatron found out the location of your base and launched an all out attack. He sent in Dreadwing and a battalion of Vehicons as the Nemesis fired on the mountain. You were all so busy either evacuating the base or fighting, that you hadn't noticed when the mountain started to cave in, one of the boulders damaged the stasis pod I was in. I managed to get out and found myself trapped in the room by the cave in..." she said as she remembered those events.

"...But I easily drilled my way out and back up to the surface. Once there, I realised that I did not have enough energon to last in a fight, especially against the Autobots and Decepticons. So I fled, but not before seeing Prime use the Star saber to bring down the Nemesis."

Jack remembered that day too, the bots had no idea how Megatron managed to find their base, but thankfully their ranks had been increased with Smokescreen, who had matured a lot under Prime's and Arcee's guidance. Then there were the Dinobots, Jack had thought that the Wreckers were the experts at destruction.

Well no one had told that to Grimlock and his team, and when you see a bunch of robotic dinosaurs charging through an entire army of vehicons, you then had a new appreciation for their style of fighting. Luckily before the battle Optimus had managed to repair the Star saber with the Matrix of leadership and the Forge of Solus Prime that Smokescreen and Arcee managed to steal back from the Nemesis. Seeing the Prime wield the saber and bring down Megatron's flagship was a sight that he would never forget.

"So how did you get the pretender body, I'm guessing you stole it since neither side liked you very much." Jack asked, trying to make the last part not sound so nasty.

"Yes I did, I saw where things were heading with the energon problem before anyone else and so broke into one of the Decepticon auxiliary bases that Megatron had scattered around the planet. I found an unused pretender and transferred my own spark into it."

Jack looked at her in shock.

"You did it all by yourself, I'm no expert, but I was under the impression that it was something that needed the assistance of others, since it is a very delicate and dangerous procedure. Considering that it has you removing your own spark." he replied as he remembered the day he watched Arcee go through the procedure.

Airachnid found a slight smile appear on her face at Jack's sudden concern for her.

"Yes I did and it wasn't a painless procedure by any means, I am guessing that's how I ended up being myself again and not how you would remember me." she replied sheepishly.

She then stood up and looked out of the window, which was quite large. They must have been in the port observation room, the view was quite stunning. Had to give MECH credit when it came to ship building. Jack stood up and joined her by the window.

"So now I am up to speed on how you gained that body, what do you mean by not being the Airachnid I remember?" he asked gently. The femme crossed her arms, looking a little uncomfortable with the situation.

"Well what I….ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!" Airachnid screamed as she held her head in her hands and fell to her knees in pain. Jack stood and watched in shock before taking action and grabbing hold of the femme.

"Airachnid, what is wrong?" he pleaded as she fell unconscious in his arms. He frantically tapped at his com link.

"Prime to Chakwas, medical emergency in port observation room."

In the Medical Bay, Airachnid was lying unconscious on the bed as Chakwas was running scans on her with her holo-tool while Jack was standing at the side, looking down at the helpless femme with concern. He was confused though with why he was showing concern for her in the first place, after all this was the femme that tried to kill him twice and his friends on several occasions. But she was acting like a completely different person since he met her again and that did throw him for a loop.

"How is she Doctor?"

Chakwas completed her scans and turned to the Prime.

"Well, it seems that she had a reaction to her internal subspace receiver having a powerful signal transmitted to it. The signal was meant for a cybertronian's original body. The pretender bodies can not process that kind of power, so it shut her down into stasis."

Jack looked down at Airachnid's peaceful looking form and found it hard to believe that the femme would be capable of such a look.

"So is she alright?"

The Doctor used her holo-tool and brought the former Decepticon out of stasis, before walking back to her station.

"Ask her yourself, she should be coming around any moment now."

Airachnid opened her eyes, the purple vibrancy of them glowed for a moment as they looked around the room before stopping on the Prime looking down to her.

"You okay?" he asked in a gentle, concerned tone. She looked back a little confused before sitting up and facing him.

"I think so, I haven't had that happen to me for a long time."

Airachnid moved a little to the side to let Jack sit next to her and to her surprise he did.

"When was the last time it happened?"

The femme looked ahead as Jack watched her intently.

"The last time was millennia ago by your time frame. My first days as a Decepticon during the early days of the war." she replied stoically.

"What happened?" Jack asked. Airachnid got off the table and turned to him, her face remaining stoic.

"I can't tell you now, but if you come with me then I will tell you everything." she answered honestly.

"What ,why?" the Prime asked back, suddenly confused, and not for the first time with this femme.

"Because I know where the signal originated from…Cybertron."

Jack's eyes widened.

"Cybertron, are you sure?"

Airachnid nodded in return.

"Will you come with me Jack, I will need your help?" she looked to him.

"Why me, what do you expect to find there?" he asked still confused by this whole situation.

The femme looked out the medical bay's window to the crew walking past, she then looked back to the Prime.

"Jack, I don't know what I will find there, but I don't want to do it alone."

Jack looked into the femmes eyes, she was looking at him almost pleading. The Prime nodded to her, her posture and face looking relieved.

"I'll get Hotrod to set course for Cybertron immediately and I'll have one of the others join us."

The femme looked at him in shock.

"No, we have to go in a shuttle. Just you and me." she replied. Jack thought about arguing his point but then consigned himself to defeat and nodded back to her.

"Okay, I'll leave Miranda in charge and we will take the shuttle. Meet me down there in thirty minutes." he replied in a calm manner as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Airachnid nodded as she felt somewhat better and walked out of the medical bay, Jack then turned around to see Chakwas smiling at him.

"What?" he asked back, unsure to why the doctor was smiling. She merely shrugged.

"Oh, nothing really. It's just that I have been observing her while she has been on board. The young lady seems to have a lot of issues preying on her mind, and I believe that having you help her will do a lot to ease whatever burdens she has been carrying."

Jack dwelled on her words before nodding back to her.

"I hope so too Doctor, because I need everyone at hundred percent, considering we still have the Quintessons to deal with." he replied before leaving the room.

PRIME EFFECT 2

The Defiant floated in the blackness of space as its shuttle bay door opened, allowing shuttle one to fly out and away from the ship before the space bridge next to them activated and it flew into it's giant green vortex. Only seconds past before the shuttle exited the connected space bridge to be greeted by the sight of the devastated planet of Cybertron. Airachnid looked at her dead home world and Jack looked over to see sadness and guilt in her face.

"It has been a very long time since I laid eyes on Cybertron." she said, gaining Jack's full attention as he piloted the shuttle.

"Was this you before the other you took over?" he asked, hoping he phrased the question right despite what little information she had given him. She nodded before continuing, letting the memories flood her mind as she thought back.

"It was during the early days of the war, I was with my spark mate Esmeral. We were among the first cybertronians to join the Autobots after Megatron started the war by attacking Crystal City. Esmeral always said that Megatron would be trouble." she remembered fondly. Jack raised an eyebrow to that last comment.

"She?, Esmeral was a femme?" he asked surprised. Airachnid replied by giving him a stern look.

"And, what's wrong with that?" she answered, annoyed with the human Prime's ignorance.

"Nothing, nothing at all, just did didn't expect that." he replied suddenly finding himself embarrassed. A smirk grew on the femme's face. She found the sight of Jack squirming under her gaze quite humorous. When she was satisfied that he wouldn't interrupt anymore she carried on. She thought back to that day in Crystal City all those eons ago.

'As she moved among the large crystalline structures, now visually tarnished by the damage caused during the last attack. Airachnid took cover behind a large pile of rubble, she looked back to see her partner, her spark mate following the same path she had taken. The femme had a white and red colour scheme and bright green optics.

"Esmeral over here now." Airachnid said, trying to keep the volume down as she heard a large rumbling in the distance. The femme got in close to her partner as the rumbling got even closer.

"Well Air, seems like this patrol isn't going to be as uneventful as you thought." Esmeral said with a smirk. It was a smirk that always warmed Airachnid's spark.

"Ok, you were right, but I don't fancy the odds that are approaching us." she replied hesitantly as she peeked over the rubble to see a large Decepticon force entering the area. She then got back down and looked at her partner.

"I think we should double back and get back to base and report to Hauler that more Con forces have entered the city's northern side." she said before Esmeral stroked the femme's face with her servo.

"And then we may be able to get some downtime together Air." she replied in a gentle and loving tone. Airachnid smiled back, enjoying the touch and feeling it brought to her spark.

"Well first things first."

Esmeral nodded and the two started to slowly head back the way they had come, making sure not to make any noise as the enemy force was nearly on top of them. Airachnid then noticed the first enemy soldiers appearing over the rubble pile that they were just at and before any of them could spot the two femmes, she grabbed Esmeral by the hand and pulled her into an alleyway. They both hid behind a damaged cargo container, Airachnid holding Esmeral close to her. They stayed there very quiet for what appeared to be the longest time as the Decepticon force marched past them.

The force was made up of Vehicons mainly, basic soldier models. These were cybertronians who had their sparks transferred into these protoforms. The cons say that they volunteered but there is a belief among the Autobots that Megatron has cybertronians rounded up and reprogrammed. The very thought sickened Airachnid as she watched the last of the Decepticons leave their sight, waiting just long enough to hear their marching faintly in the distance. The two femmes then stood up and headed further down the alleyway ,hoping that they wouldn't come across any more trouble.

"Come on, we can cut through here and then go three streets down to reach the EZ." Airachnid said as the two came out into another street to be greeted by a group of Cybertronians. From the look of them, they were seekers. The one on the right had a black and purple colour scheme, while the one on the left was blue. But the one in the centre was silver with red trimmings.

"Now what do we have here my friends, but two little Autobots who have lost their way." he answered slyly, an sinister grin on his face.

Both femmes trained their weapons on the seekers, who in turn raised their own.

"I think they want to fight us Commander." the blue con said as Starscream continued to grin.

"I can see that Thundercracker, but befo…." he was cut off by Airachnid and Esmeral firing at them as the seekers suddenly transformed into jet modes and evaded the femmes fire.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp, keep them occupied." Starscream ordered as he flew away. Both Seekers veered around and fired down on the bots as they ran for cover.

"Watch out for the one that is up itself, I think he will be back." Airachnid said as her partner went back to back with her, continuing to fire on the other two.

"That's Starscream, I heard that is his favourite manoeuvre."

Then Airachnid spotted the silver cybertronian jet flying just outside of their firing range, moving in and out of the crystal buildings.

"I've got him, okay we'll ignore him until he is right on us." she said confidently.

Esmeral smiled back at her.

"He wont know what hit him." she replied as both femmes turned their attention on the others.

Starscream flew round and spotted the bots and noticed them battling his team mates.

'Ha, I knew they would fall for it.' he thought as he veered back round and started his attack run on the pair.

Airachnid could feel that the seeker was nearing and just as he powered up his weapons, ready to take the shot.

"Now!" she cried out as both femmes turned and fired at Starscream, making several direct hits. He could no longer keep control as he spiralled down and crash landed just feet from them. Thundercracker and Skywarp saw this and flew down and transformed next to him.

"Starscream, you okay." Skywarp asked as Thundercracker kept firing at the bots.

"Just get me out of here you fools." the commander screeched as his team mate helped him up.

Esmeral then rolled to the left and fired a perfect shot, damaging Thundercracker's weapon.

"Going somewhere boys?" she asked coyly as she and Airachnid had them dead to rights.

The three seekers raised their hands, surrendering to the Autobot femmes.

"I think we should call this in Esmeral." Airachnid said smirking at their new prisoners.

Esmeral smiled back before activating her com link, while keeping her weapon trained on the seekers.

"Commander Hauler, this is patrol 30.…Arrrgggh" she cried out as she was shot in the back.

"Esmeral!" Airachnid called back in shock before being hit in the back too, her body falling to the ground and the last thing her optics saw before going into stasis was Esmeral's unconscious form lying next to her. Starscream and the others looked up to where the shots had come from and saw a purple and light blue seeker staring down at them, smirking devilishly.

"Well I guess it just goes to show that you three do need a femme's touch every now and again."

Starscream suddenly feeling confident pushed his team mates aside and stepped forward to greet her.

"Slipstream, that worked out just like I had planned. Well done, your service to me will not be forgotten." he said as the Skywarp and Thundercracker looked at each other confused. Slipstream jumped down from her perch and rolled her optics at the commander.

"What ever you say Scream. Now what do you want done with these stinking bots?" she said as the four of them surrounded the downed femmes. The commander looked down at them and smiled.

"I think we have should deliver these two to Lord Megatron as a gift." he said slyly.

"What to make up for your failed attack on the Autobot base earlier." she replied dryly. Starscream turned at her angrily.

"That wasn't my fault, blame remains solely with the Combaticons." he then waved her off as he started marching away.

"Pick them up and follow me to the dropship."

They merely shrugged before picking up the unconscious prisoners and following their leader.

When Airachnid came too, she found that her hands were bound and she was on her knees. She looked around at her surroundings. The room was darkly lit, with dark purple neon lighting around the room. She also saw a number of vehicons standing to attention. She then instantly looked to her right to find Esmeral in similar bindings.

"Hey Air, when I said I wanted some downtime with you, this wasn't what I had in mind." she coyly said, before she was kicked in the back.

"Silence Autobot scum." Starscream ordered from behind them.

"Do you not know who you are kneeling before."

Both femmes then looked up to see Megatron, Lord of the Decepticons standing before them. His blood red optics glaring down at them before looking back at Starscream.

"What is the meaning of this Starscream." he spat, making the commander squirm under his gaze. "Do you bring me Autobot prisoners just to make up for your defeat at Crystal City."

The Con looked back at him shocked and appalled.

"My Lord, you know I am only here to serve you, but it was the comb.." he was cut off by the Decepticon Lord.

"Spare me your prattle, Onslaught has already returned from the mission and brought me Hauler's head as a trophy."

Airachnid and Esmeral felt their sparks sink at the revelation. Starscream fearing for his safety suddenly, tried to get Megatron's attention elsewhere.

"Lord Megatron, I thought you may want to torture these two Autobots for whatever secrets they hold."

The Con leader just looked away disinterested.

"I have enough on my plate right now with Zeta Prime's continued resistance, to be bothered with such a lowly task." he then looked away for a moment before a dark smile crossed his face.

"I think they would be much better suited in Shockwave's care, don't you." he said glaring down at the seeker, making Starscream visibly shake.

"Of course my Lord." he replied hesitantly. Soundwave then walked up and joined Megatron where he stood, the lord acknowledging him.

"Well take them to Shockwave then, now get out of my sight."

Starscream bowed awkwardly before gesturing to two vehicons who lifted the prisoners to their feet and escorted them out of the chamber.'

Airachnid was brought out of her memories by Jack who placed a hand on her shoulder in support when he noticed that she had gone quiet all of a sudden.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gently, she then nodded and looked out of the window to see that they were now flying between the damaged and derelict buildings that littered Cybertron's surface.

"Yeah, just bad memories." she replied softly as she closed her optics briefly. Jack wanted to say something but felt it might be better to keep quiet about what she had told him, for now anyway. He looked back ahead as the scanner on his controls beeped.

"Looks like we are closing on the source of the signal." he said as Airachnid's expression turned stoic and she checked her weapons.

"Good, because I want to know who would call me back here."

After leaving the shuttle with their breathers on, the two stood before a dark tower that Airachnid recognised instantly.

"That's Shockwave's research facility."

Jack looked over to her in surprise.

"Shockwave, do you think it was him that signalled you?"

The femme shook her head in disagreement.

"No, he died during the battle on Earth. It couldn't be him." she answered, a little unsurely. Jack then equipped his mattock rifle and gestured to the former con.

"Well I guess we will find out soon enough, let's move."

Airachnid nodded and the two entered the facility.

They had been searching through the facility's titan sized rooms for what felt like forever and yet had found nothing, but damaged eons old equipment. But then they entered one room that was larger than the others and Airachnid's eyes widened a little, gaining Jack's attention as he saw that she knew this particular room.

"Airachnid what is it?" he asked as she just stood and looked around.

"This was the room where….." she stopped talking when she saw a cybertronian body lying on the floor. It looked like it had been there forever, but then Jack heard the femme whimper as tears ran down her face as she ran over to the body before falling to her knees and crying over it. Jack walked over quietly and placed his hand on her shoulder sympathetically. He felt her shiver under his hand as she cried, but then he was suddenly surprised when he felt her hand on top of his. He then bent down to her level.

"Is this…" he asked before she cut him off.

"Yes…. this is Esmeral." she nodded in return as tears continued to flow from her eyes. Jack looked at the bot's body. If he was to make a guess It looked like it was torn apart by an Insecticon, he then looked back to the femme.

"I'm very sorry Airachnid." Jack said in sympathetic tone as she continued to hold his hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you Jack." she replied gently as she looked up into his eyes, her own still welled up with tears yet to be shed. Jack knew he would be walking a minefield by asking this next question, but he knew that it was the only way to help her through this.

"What happened here Airachnid?" he asked, gaining a look from her that he could not read.

"If you don't want to, I'll understand." he said while she continued to stare, before she suddenly sighed and looked back at her spark mate's body.

"No, I want… I have to tell you Jack, to lay it out in front of me." she replied as she wiped her face clean of the tear stains. She then let her memories over flow her again.

'Airachnid and Esmeral were escorted into the large room, which held many berths in an almost vertical position. There was also numerous tables that had many monstrous looking blades and devices on them. The vehicons then tied the femmes to their own individual berths as a large Decepticon entered the room. His colour scheme was dark purple and his left arm was a massive cannon. But the thing that caught the bot's real attention was the one solitary optic he had, which glowed a blood red as he looked at them.

"I see Lord Megatron has given me more test subjects." he then pointed over to the corpses lying in a pile in the corner of the room.

"You see the others didn't survive but I have high hopes that you will, considering that I have learned from the mistakes I made earlier." he added before one of the vehicons decided to speak up.

"Sir, it was Commander Starscream who delivered these two to you." he said in a confident manner. Shockwave just looked back at him.

"So it was Megatron then, leave us alone ST3V3. I would like to be alone with my guests."

The two soldiers left the room as the scientist walked over to one of the tables and picked up a device. He then walked over to Airachnid and looked her up and down.

"Well you are an interesting one aren't you, I know exactly what upgrades I will make for you. After I re-educate you of course." he said as he moved the device closer to her face.

"Leave her alone you one eyed freak." Esmeral spat at him as she struggled against her bindings. He looked over at her, his emotions unreadable due to the one optic that made up his face.

"Stay silent, you'll have your turn soon enough."

Airachnid tried to move but found that her bindings were just too strong as she caught view of a screen behind Shockwave, showing a strange creature with two little arms, a long tail and a large head with strong sharp teeth. Shockwave noticed her attention was elsewhere and looked to see what she was looking at.

"Ah I see you have found my little hobby. I have found the most interesting planet recently with one of my probes. It has the most diverse number of creatures on it. I thought that perhaps if I could harness their power and give it to our troops. It would give Lord Megatron an even greater advantage over the Autobots, but sadly I have yet to find a suitable test subject for that particular creature design."

He then shifted through the images of various alien creatures until he came across one that made Airachnid look away in revulsion.

"Ah, I see you like this one. I have to say it is very striking and I believe it would fit you perfectly. Why don't we begin." he said sinisterly as the last thing Airachnid saw was the image on the screen of an eight legged creature before everything went black as he placed her in stasis.

Over the next few cycles, Airachnid felt agonising pain as Shockwave experimented on and ripped apart her body, only to add new body parts and upgrades to it. She couldn't see anything due to him deactivating her optics, but she could hear Esmeral's pleas and cries of defiance.

"I swear to the all-spark, I will kill you if you…" she was cut off by a large smack to the face.

"I said silence, cant you see I am working here. You would be in on the fun too, if you were compatible with any of my designs that is." he said before continuing his work on Airachnid's body, the pain recurring as she felt his tools violating her inner workings.

After another cycle, he stopped and chuckled to himself as Esmeral gasped.

"I have to say I really do a satisfactory job. Now only one last thing to do."

Airachnid then felt something sharp pierce the back of her head as suddenly all her thoughts were dulled and pushed away. She found that she could no longer move her own body, it was as if she was being locked out of her own systems. All she could do was listen as she heard Esmeral's whimpers as she watched helplessly.

Suddenly Airachnid's optics came on-line and she looked around the room before coming to a stop in front of Shockwave.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked stoically.

"Yes you are Shockwave, lead scientist to Lord Megatron." she answered.

"And who is he to you?" he said, his optic staring at her.

"He is my master, I live to serve the Decepticon cause." she answered unwavering. Shockwave nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good, it seems the reprogramming has worked, but we should test it on…."

He looked back at Esmeral and if he could smile he would have, as he unlocked the restraints on Airachnid's berth allowing her to step down from it. He then pointed over to the Autobot.

"Airachnid, I want you to kill, no... rip apart that Autobot scum."

An evil smile grew on the femme's face as she looked at Esmeral.

"It would be my pleasure." she answered as she walked over to the femme who just looked at her spark-mate in utter confusion.

"Airachnid it is me Esmeral, don't you remember?" she pleaded, gaining a momentary pause from her lover. Shockwave noticed this and readied his weapon just in case. Esmeral looked at her spark mate, at the confused look on her face before it changed back to the evil grin she bore before. The new Decepticon shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you Autobot slag." she answered as she grabbed the bot by the throat, released her restraints and threw Esmeral to the floor in the middle of the room. The bot tried to get up only for her hand to be pinned down by a strange, horrible looking appendage that had appeared from behind Airachnid's back. She then looked up in horror, her optics widened fully as 3 more appendages grew out of her back and readied themselves to strike.

"Airachnid, you have to remember who you are. Please, I love you!" Esmeral pleaded as she looked the femme in the optics. But the con just shook her head.

"I am flattered really, but you are not my type." she answered coldly before launching the other appendages at the bots chest, clawing it open and spilling energon everywhere. As Araichnid sliced and clawed her way through the bots inner workings, Esmeral had a look of utter defeat on her face as she reached up with her right hand, trying to reach her lost lover's face before her optics went dark and her hand fell to the ground.

Airachnid stood before the shredded corpse of the bot and smiled. Shockwave stood beside her.

"Very impressive Airachnid, Lord Megatron will be most pleased." he answered as the spider-bot stood looking down at the mess she had made. But inside her mind a voice screamed out, a voice that no longer had control of her own body. The voice was filled with guilt, sadness and anger.

"ESMERAL!" she screamed into the darkness that surrounded her.'

Jack looked at Airachnid, his eyes completely wide and his mouth hung open in shock of what she had just told him, a single tear slid down his cheek. Everything he knew about her was completely wrong.

"I' am so sorry Arachnid, I had no idea, god all the things that you've…" he found himself completely lost in thought at all the evil deeds that she had done, but now knowing that it wasn't really her. "You remember everything."

Airachnid slowly nodded.

"Yes, I remember ever spark I destroyed, every life that I hunted down and killed, simply for the pleasure of killing."

She then looked directly at Jack.

"I also remember torturing Arcee and killing Tailgate. I spent everyday screaming at the sights I saw, hoping that if I tried hard enough that I might finally be able to break free and gain control of myself." she replied as the tears starting flowing freely again.

"But it never happened." she said as she looked at Esmeral's face, frozen in the same defeated expression that had been seared into her mind.

"Then I remember coming across you. And I cheered when you defeated me with Arcee. The first one who managed to defend themselves and not become one of my victims. And then you did it again when I tried to kill you and your mother. But apart from those two moments, everything else was a nightmare that would never stop."

She then looked down to the ground and took a deep breath before carrying on.

"The only solace I found was when Arcee managed to trap me in a stasis chamber. I was still burdened with the memories of everything that I saw myself destroy, but I was comforted by the fact that I wouldn't hurt anyone else."

Jack took one of Airachnid's hands in his own. She looked up to see him looking back at her, forgiveness in his eyes.

"None of this is your fault, you are a victim of the Decepticons, just as much as Arcee was. You carried this guilt on your shoulders for too long. Let me help you, because…" Jack trailed off as he looked away and thought about his own demons. Arachnid noticed this and placed a finger on his chin and brought his eyes back to her.

"Jack, thank you. I never thought that anyone would ever be able to forgive me for what I have done. But you can't help me, because unlike me your guilt is misplaced."

Jack just watched her as she started to gain control over her emotions.

"I read about what happened on Virmire. It wasn't your fault what happened to your friends and you shouldn't feel guilty for being brought back to life either."

Jack pondered on her words, but then decided to counter argue her point.

"The same goes for you." he replied gaining a look of confusion from the femme.

"When you transferred your spark into your pretender body, you regained control of your life. Don't you think Esmeral would want you to make the most of it. Because I seriously doubt that she holds any grievance against you, because she loved you all the way till the very end." he replied as he held both of her hands in his gently. She looked down at them before nodding.

"Your saying that I can find redemption?" she asked hesitantly. Jack looked at her, his face remaining calm.

"I know after everything you have told me that you don't need to think like that, but if it helps then yes. You have already started by helping me. Focus on that, on helping people. And maybe one day you will be able to forgive yourself."

Airachnid started to calm down as she looked down on Esmeral's still form.

"I love you Esmeral." she said quietly.

"Well isn't this a touching scene!" a voice spoke aloud, making both Jack and Arachnid turn their heads in the direction it had come from. They both looked towards a doorway, nothing but darkness inside apart from one solitary red light. They both readied their weapons as the light moved closer towards them until a figure that towered over them stepped out from the shadows.

"It can't be" Airachnid muttered as Jack looked over to her.

"Airachnid…" he said before Shockwave cut him off as he stood before them.

"So you have returned. When I sent that signal, I was hoping that some of my children would be drawn home, but I never expected you. Aside from the Constructicons,Combaticons and other experiments that I do not wish to divulge at this time, you are my most successful experiment. An Autobot turned Decepticon assassin."

He then looked down at the former con.

"Though I see that you like the rest of our people have taken to the sub-par pretender bodies. They were never meant for extended use and not worthy of our greatness." he said before extending an arm to her.

"Come to me and I will give you a new body. One worthy of a Decepticon such as yourself."

Airachnid kept her weapon trained on him as she took a step back and shook her head, as Shockwave started to walk towards her.

"No I will not, and I am an Autobot." she replied defiantly as Jack stood beside her.

"You heard the femme Shockwave, your reprogramming no longer has a hold over her." Jack answered, gaining the Con's attention.

"And who in the Allspark are you?" he spat back, before focusing his vision on the Autobot crest on the Human's chest plate.

"Do you think I care what a Human thinks, Prime..." he spat as he raised his cannon at the pair.

"...She will join me in my mission."

The two looked at him confused.

"What mission would that be, because if you hadn't noticed the war has been over for nearly two decades." Jack replied sarcastically. Shockwave just looked down at them both, again his expression unreadable.

"My mission was given to me by Lord Megatron himself. He recognised the futile nature of our race's survival due to the diminishing energon supply. So after Knockout successfully figured out what the substance that enhanced your medic's abilities was." he said as Jack's eyes widened.

"Synthetic energon!" he said, making Shockwave nod in agreement.

"Wait a minute, that event was a good couple of years before the war ended, why did it take so long for Knockout to realise what it was?" Jack asked curiously.

"It pains me to say it but Knockout is not much of a scientist, not compared to myself or your Autobot medic." Shockwave replied.

"Anyway, I was ordered to return here and research the synthergon. But it took too long to figure out the complete formula."

Arachnid then nudged Jack's shoulder, gaining his attention while Shockwave continued to speak.

"You see his optic, notice the green hue that is mixed in with its blood red."

Jack looked up and noticed it too. The green was in the outer edges of his eye and glowing strongly.

"Your using the synthergon as it is. Don't you realise how dangerous that is?" Jack said surprised by the Scientist's lack of caution. Shockwave raised his fist and clenched it.

"What danger, I have never felt as strong as I do now. And this is a strength I want to share with all Cybertronians. With this power I can bring about the future that Megatron himself dreamed of seeing. The galaxy in the grip of the Decepticons, reborn!"

Jack's face became stoic as he aimed for Con's optic.

"I'll send you to the pit first Shockwave." The Prime warned as Airachnid copied his stance, waiting for Shockwave to make his move.

"Very well Prime, lets see what you have got." he answered back as he fired his cannon, causing the two to dive out of the way in opposite directions. Jack rolled into the dive, finishing in a kneeling position as he then fired a burst of bullets right at the Con's optic, but they bounced right off harmlessly.

"Nice attempt Prime, but that trick will not work twice. Not since the Autobot slag, Arcee did it before."

Jack gritted his teeth at that comment as Shockwave turned his attention to Airachnid who was firing at him from behind cover. He fired his cannon at her spot, the impact sending her sprawling onto the ground several feet away. He then caught sight of Jack charging at him with his energy blade and fired at the ground just in front of the Prime, the blast it caused sending him into the wall and left him lying on the ground.

"Is this the best you have got, because I am not impressed." Shockwave said as he turned back to the femme who was still recovering from his last attack. He aimed his weapon at her as Jack lifted his head to see her trying to get up.

"It is such a shame you became this pitiful excuse of a femme Airachnid, you were capable of being so much more."

He then charged his weapon as Jack pulled himself to his feet, everything felt like it was in slow motion as he ran over to her. Just as Shockwave fired a bolt of energy at the femme, she in return closed her eyes and waited for her imminent death.

"No!" Jack shouted as he stood in between her and the incoming energy. The blast hit Jack and the room filled with a blinding light, then there was silence. Shockwave looked down at the ground where Jack stood and saw nothing but smoke and dust that the blast had caused. But when it settled, the Con's optic brightened in shock at what he saw.

"Impossible!" he exclaimed as Airachnid opened her eyes, they widened at the sight in front of her. She saw Jack standing in front of her with his right arm held out with a circular energy shield emanating from his fore arm. Arachnid gasped as she recognised it.

"The skyboom shield."

Shockwave then noticed the Prime's left hand, where his energy blade was, but it had now changed too. The blade was much longer and looked exactly like the star blade Optimus Prime wields. Jack and Arachnid both looked at it as a smirk grew on the Prime's face. The blade started to glow as he lifted it above his head. Shockwave charged his cannon again as the Prime ran towards the titan, then swung the blade around and around before letting loose an energy wave that knocked the Con off his feet and into the synthergon tanks behind him.

The liquid from the damaged tanks covered Shockwave as he began to pick himself up from busted tanks, his optic then narrowed at the sight of Arachnid aiming her gun at the exposed synthergon. She smiled as she fired one shot which caused the liquid to explode, engulfing Shockwave in a fireball which expanded out at Arachnid and Jack. The Prime grabbed her and pulled her close, causing her to gasp in surprise as he brought up skyboom shield in front of them.

The blast hitting it and passing round them harmlessly, they could both feel the heat of the fireball around them as it burned for several seconds before dissipating. When it ended, Jack collapsed to his knees, his breathing became heavy as Airachnid knelt beside him.

"Jack, are you alright?" she asked, not even attempting to hide the concern in her voice. Jack looked at her while panting heavily.

"It takes a lot out of you when using the saber like that." he panted as she smiled back at him. She then did something that Jack did not expect, she leaned in close and pressed her lips to his gently for a second before parting. Jack looked back at her surprised.

"Thank you Jack?" she said gently before getting to her feet and walking over to the giant burnt out corpse that was once Shockwave. His head had fallen away from his body and the blood red optic was flickering before she aimed her gun at it and fired a burst of bullets into it, deactivating it for good.

"That was for Esmeral, you piece of scrap." she answered as she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see that Jack had recovered.

"You going to be alright Arachnid?" he asked. She answered him by putting her arms around his torso and hugging him.

"I'd like to leave now." she said softly into his ear.

He looked at her sympathetically.

"You sure, I would understand if you wanted to stay a little longer." he said in an understanding and gentle tone. The femme shook her head slightly as a single tear running down her cheek.

"No, I have said my goodbyes Jack. There is nothing here for me now..." she said sadly, as she let go of Jack and looked at him, a sad smile on her face.

"...but thank you for understanding." she replied as the two of them turned and headed for the exit. She then stopped and took one more look at the corpse of her spark mate, before walking out of the room, Jack at her side.