FicWad

Jack looked around as he found himself standing in a dark desolate forest, a soft but cold breeze blowing in between the trees. Brown leaves fell from above as Jack looks down to see that he is wearing his Prime armour. No sound can be heard except for whistling of the breeze as it makes him shiver from it's impact against his face. But then a sound of laughter can be heard just away from him, so Jack turns and walks in it's direction as he heads deeper into the forest.

Jack walks up to what looks like a park bench, only to find that it has been burnt to a cinder. He sees an object lying on it's seat and picks it up. It is the toy ship that he saw the little boy on Earth play with before he died. A feeling of guilt rises up in Jack as he looks down at the charred toy in his hands. Suddenly another sound of laughter brought the Prime out of his thoughts as he dropped the toy and started walking away and further into the darkness.

He then saw the boy cowering behind a tree, looking terrified. Jack walked over to the boy and held his hand out. The child looked up at the Prime, his face was stained by tears that he shed as he whimpered. He looked at Jack and saw that he did not mean him any harm, so the kid got up and started to walk over to him. But he then stopped suddenly as his attention was caught by a dark shadow appearing behind Jack. The boy's eyes widened in fear as he froze in place and looked past the Prime. Jack wondering what had frightened the child turned around but saw nothing but the forest behind him. He then looked back to see the kid running away, so Jack chased after him but everything seemed to slow down while he ran.

As he ran through the forest after the kid, he heard the roars of a Reaper coming from up ahead, but saw nothing but trees and the darkness that was behind them. He stopped when he lost track of the kid, looking around frantically as the sounds or a Reaper drew closer. He then looked to the floor and saw the same charred toy that he had dropped earlier. He picked it back up and felt a wetness to it, looking at his fingers he saw blood. The toy was covered in red blood and Jack dropped it back on to the ground in shock. He then again heard the kid's voice, but this time it a was scream. Jack ran in it's direction as fast as he could, yet still everything slowed down. He came to a clearing in the forest where the sky could be seen, only for it to be covered in storm clouds as rain started to fall on the area.

The rain drops felt cold and hard as they fell on the Prime while he scanned the area with his eyes. They then widened when he saw the child on his knees in the middle of the clearing. Jack immediately started running over to the kid, calling out to him yet no sound came out. The child looked up and saw the Prime approaching him with his hand out for the kid to take. But suddenly a black figure crawled up behind the kid, making Jack stop just a few meters away in shock. The black figure came into the light behind the kid and was revealed to be a husk, it's blue lifeless optics staring back coldly as it grabbed the kid firmly by both arms. Jack suddenly felt that he couldn't move as he helplessly watched as the Husk opened it's mouth, revealing jagged teeth and drool as it bit down hard on the kid's neck.

Blood ran freely as the kid just stared at Jack while the Husk continued to chew on his flesh. Then suddenly the Husk let go and the kid fell to his knees and looked to the ground as the skin around the wound changed from pale pink to grey and it spread all over the child's body as his hair began to fall out and tubes grew out of his skin. Jack took a step back as he watched in horror as the child got onto his feet and looked at the Prime. His face now devoid of the innocent humanity it had before, as it stared back with bright blue optics. Reaper roars could be heard all around Jack as the transformed child opened it's mouth and screamed the most unholy sound at the Prime. Then suddenly everything went black.

Jack opened his eyes to find himself in his bed. He sat up and looked around at the darkened surroundings of his quarters, the only light from the skylight above that showed the star field outside. The inter com activated and Arcee's voice came through, and it could not come soon enough for Jack after the nightmare he just had.

"Jack, you there partner?" she said as he rubbed his face with his hands and sighed.

"I'm here Arcee." he answered sheepishly. There was silence for a second before the femme spoke again.

"Jack, are you alright?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. Jack smiled at that, she could always read him perfectly.

"I'm okay, just didn't sleep to well." he lied, hoping that she couldn't pick up on it.

"Alright, but anyway I thought you should know, Bryce is waiting for you in the com room." she replied.

"Right, I will be right there." Jack replied as he got of bed.

Arcee was standing next to the control console with the hologram of Bryce while they waited for Jack to appear. The Prime then entered the room briskly as he stopped next to the femme.

"Sorry Admiral. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?" he said a little embarrassed. If Admiral Bryce was annoyed though, he didn't show it as he smirked and shook his head in response.

"Not at all Prime, I have spoken with Primarch Victus, good work on getting the support of the Turian Hierarchy, their engineers have already arrived to start work on the weapon. I also hear that you will have Urdnot Wrex on side too."

Jack nodded as he and Arcee looked at the Admiral.

"Yes, but we have to cure the Genophage first." Jack replied, gaining a surprised look from the older man.

"Really, well that would appear to be a tall order wouldn't it." he replied.

"Soundwave doesn't think so sir, he is confident that he can develop it and we are on our way to Tuchunka now." the Prime answered.

"That's good, I also heard what happened with the Council. Sounds like they are running scared."

Jack's expression turned serious as he nodded in return.

"Yes sir, it seems that they are in denial about the Reapers and just want to protect their own territories."

Bryce suddenly looked agitated and shook his head in response.

"They will regret that, we need to stand together against this threat. Only as a united front can we take the offensive against the Reapers. You said you are heading to Tuchunka correct?" he asked.

"That is right sir, why do you ask?" Jack replied curiously. The Admiral straightened his uniform before placing his hands behind his back.

"I don't want the Defiant taken off the mission to the Krogan Home world, but one of our deep space outposts has picked up a fragmented transmission from the planet Thrull over on the other side of the galaxy. It is from an Autobot, we can't tell who sent it exactly due to the fragmentation, but they did say that they had found signs of Reaper activity there. So I want you to check this out Prime, because if true this could be a bad omen that the Reapers are about to expand beyond Alliance space…and we are not even ready for it yet." he said with a serious expression and tone. Both Jack and Arcee nodded in return before the Prime saluted the Admiral.

"You can count on me Admiral." Jack replied.

"I know I can Prime, good luck. Bryce out." the older man finished before his hologram disappeared, leaving Jack and Arcee alone in the room.

"So you coming with me on this one partner?" Jack asked as he gave the femme a lop sided grin.

"You sure Jack, I mean who will command the ship if both of us are gone." she then looked down a little embarrassed.

"I mean if you still want me as your XO that is?" she said as she looked back up at the Prime, though all she saw was him smiling back at her as he sighed.

"Arcee, the job was always your's." he answered as he held out his hand to her. She smiled at him as she took his hand in her own and they shook. She then softly stroked his hand with her thumb before they let go.

"Thanks Jack, but still who will command the ship. Because I don't think we can leave it to Smokescreen or Bumblebee?"

Jack chuckled at the comment, making the femme chuckle too.

"Don't worry I will ask Garrus to keep an eye on things here while we are away." the Commander replied. Arcee started for the door, only to stop and look at Jack with a right hand on her hip.

"Okay, so what are we waiting for." she said with a smile. The Prime smiled back as he joined her.

"Grab your gear and meet me at shuttle one then." he replied before they both left the com room.

PRIME EFFECT 3

Shuttle one exited hyperspace as it drew near to the green and yellowish planet. Arcee ran a scan of the planet and the surrounding space as Jack piloted the shuttle to her left.

"No sign of any Reaper ships Jack, but I am getting life signs on the planet. But they are sporadic." she replied while looking down at the holo-screen in front of her. Then there was another blip on the screen.

"Hang on, scanners have just picked up an Autobot signal on the southern continent."

"Alright then, I will land us several clicks away from it's source. Taking us in." Jack replied as the shuttle entered the planet's atmosphere.

Once on the ground, Jack and Arcee (both armoured) left the shuttle in a clearing of the forest that covered most of the planet. They started to trek through the dense foliage as they neared the source of the Autobot signal.

"Jack, I am still not getting anything of note on the scanners." the femme stated as she looked at the map on her holo-tool. Jack kept his weapon ready as he took point and scanned the area around them with his eyes. But he still did not see anything other than trees and bushes.

"Maybe they are hiding from something." he replied, when suddenly Arcee stopped and her eyes widened as she stared at her holo-tool.

"uh…Jack, you know that signal that we were closing in on.."

Jack turned round and looked at the femme, noticing her expression.

"Yeah, what is it Arcee?" he replied as she looked back to him.

"It's just disappeared." the femme answered. Jack's face became stoic as he gestured to his partner.

"We should split up and search the area, I'll take this side." he said, gaining a nod from Arcee.

"I'll head this way then, be careful partner." she replied before they both split up and headed off in different directions.

Jack was now on his own as he slowly moved through the forest, keeping his weapon gripped firmly as he looked around him. Making sure not to miss a single detail, or else he might end up getting ambushed by whatever was on this planet. Though it was funny, Arcee had detected life signs on this planet. But apart from the trees and vegetation, they had not come across any wildlife at hoped his partner was having better luck than he was at this moment, when suddenly a branch snapped behind the Prime. Causing him to spin round and aim his weapon instinctively at what had made the noise, only to find that there was nothing there.

"Hi Jack." a very familiar voice said, making the Prime's eyes widen before he turned back. Once he had, the Commander saw a woman with short black hair and purple eyes smiling back at him.

"Airachnid." he replied in surprise, making her smile widen. She started to walk towards the Prime as he noticed that she was wearing her black armour and the femme even had the Autobot insignia on the center of her chest plate. He knew how proud having that made her feel but then as she closed the distance between the two of them, his mind suddenly came to a horrific conclusion. 'What's Arcee going to do when she sees Airachnid' he thought as the femme wrapped her arms around the Prime and embraced him.

"I hoped it would be you that came here after I sent off that transmission Jack." she said in a soft tone as Jack instinctively returned the embrace. The Commander though felt conflicted because, while he did care about the femme. It was actually Arcee that he wanted to be with and this reunion was about to become very awkward. He pulled back enough to look Airachnid in the eyes but not enough to break the embrace as she looked back at him.

"Airachnid, what are you doing here on this planet?" he asked, gaining a hurt expression from her.

"I missed you too Jack, so there's no time for catching up. Just straight down to business." she asked as her tone became slightly confrontational.

"It's not like that, but I didn't come here alone." he replied before they both felt another set of eyes on them. Jack and Airachnid looked to their right to see Arcee staring back, her azure blue eyes wide and her mouth agape.

"Jack…..who is that?" his partner managed before she saw the femme's purple eyes and expression as she stared back. Arcee's eyes narrowed as she recognised her arch enemy.

"Airachnid! What in the Allspark is she doing here?" she spat back before noticing how the two were holding each other. Jack and Airachnid then realised what they were doing and separated instantly as for the second time in a minute, Arcee's face became one of shocked confusion again.

"Why were you holding her like that Jack?" she said in almost a whisper as the shock of seeing the man she loved holding her hated nemesis took hold in her mind. Jack though suddenly feeling really guilty, found that he couldn't come up with a good explanation.

"Look Arcee, it's not what you think." he could only say while Airachnid herself kept quiet, the way she was looking at Arcee only confused the femme even more. Arcee looked at both of them when it suddenly dawned on her as her eyes widened again.

"You and her, Jack." she gasped before her expression became one of anger.

"How could you?" she spat back suddenly as she stared daggers at Jack who could not answer despite wanting too. After a few unbelievably long seconds passed as Arcee just stared at the two, she suddenly just turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

"Arcee!" Jack shouted back as he started to run after her, but then felt a hand grab his arm firmly. He looked back to see a stoic expression on Airachnid's face.

"Don't Jack, I'll go after her." she said, gaining a concerned look from the Prime.

"I don't think that's a good idea." he said as he tried to reason with her, but the femme shook her head in response.

"Maybe, but she will not listen to you either. Look, we didn't do anything wrong that night, because she left you remember. But she wont see it like that, so let me speak to her since I might be able to get through to her in the same way I did to you." she replied in stoic tone. Jack though still did not like the idea, but he didn't really have much of a choice. So he accepted defeat and nodded to Airachnid who gave him a slight smile.

"I will bring her back Jack. And then I will tell you two what I have found here, because I will need your help in stopping it." she said.

"Alright, I will wait here for the both of you to return, be careful." The Commander replied before the femme left the Prime, but not before taking one more look at him. She then turned and headed off in the same direction as his partner while Jack stood there in forest feeling like the world around him had collapsed.

PRIME EFFECT 3

Airachnid ran through the forest after Arcee, hoping once she had caught up that she could reason with the femme. Though that did seem highly unlikely, she still had to try. She followed the tracks that the bot had left and it took her into a glen as the ground sloped down to a stream that flowed through it's center. Airachnid looked along the ground for any more tracks or clues, but found none. She couldn't understand how Arcee had managed to lose her, the femme was a great scout, but she could not best the master hunter that Airachnid was.

She winced slightly at the thought of how she attained that particular skill set, the femme did not like remembering the eons that she was a reprogrammed murder for the Decepticons, but right now those skills would be the only way she would be able to find Jack's lover. As she closed her eyes and listened with her audio receptors for even the slightest sound that did not belong in that forest, she found her thoughts wandered between Arcee and her former lover Jack, well that might be exaggerating somewhat. They were only together one night, though it was a night that Airachnid would never forget. Jack had really surprised her during their time working together on the Defiant, and she not only gained a new respect for him, as a Prime and as man.

But also felt that she had developed an affinity for the Prime due to the to fact that both individuals had suffered from not only losing the ones they loved, but also feeling the pain and guilt of wrongs that were not really their own to bear. In Jack's case it was his death and resurrection, which had been overshadowed by the fact the his friends who had died had not been given the same fate as the Prime. For the femme, it had been murders and atrocities that she committed while under Shockwave's reprogramming, which had started with the sadistic killing of her spark mate Esmeral. But the Commander and former Con helped each other heal from their respective burdens and their friendship grew stronger because of it.

Airachnid was caught up so much in her own thoughts, that she didn't hear Arcee above her, balancing on one of the tree's thick branches. The femme's eyes narrowed as she looked down at her unsuspecting nemesis.

'What is she doing, Airachnid would never let me get the jump on her like this before. She must be up to something.' she thought as she watched Airachnid below her. But after a moment of observing the femme, Arcee's anger got the better of her and she dived at Airachnid, who then spun around only to be greeted by the rage filled femme who tackled her and sent them both tumbling down the glen and into the stream with a splash. Arcee got up first and went to kick her enemy to keep her down, but Airachnid managed to block and push the femme back before performing a backward roll, ending up in a defensive stance a little away from Arcee. The Autobot started daggers at her quarry.

"Airachnid, I knew you vicious, sparkless wretch. But really….were you just bored of the 'killing my partners' goal of your life, and decided to screw them instead…literally!" she spat as she deployed her arm blades and readied herself to pounce. Airachnid though kept a stoic expression on her face as she tried to reason with Arcee.

"I'm not here to fight, I'm here to talk." she said as she lowered arms in a gesture of surrender, this completely threw Arcee who just stared at her quarry for a long moment before shaking her head, and screaming at the femme as she charged at Airachnid. Arcee threw punches and kicks at her nemesis who blocked or evaded every last one before back flipping away to a safe distance.

"Fight me already." Arcee hissed as she ran at Airachnid again, who stopped another punch with her lower arm before pushing the femme back yet again.

"No, I don't want to fight you." Airachnid said calmly as the blue femme attacked again with a roundhouse kick that she ducked under and evaded.

"That's funny, because I want to rip your spark out for ruining my life yet again." Arcee spat back as she dived at her foe with an arm blade which cut past Airachnid's armour on her arm and caused her to wince as she was rolled out of the way and clutched at her wound, liquid seeping out of the gaps between her fingers as Arcee smiled back, satisfied that she drew first blood. But then something on her quarry's chest plate caught her attention, Arcee's eyes widened as she stared at the red Autobot insignia.

"Why the hell do you have that?" she asked angrily. "Was that a gift from Jack for being such a good whore!" she spat, before suddenly Airachnid's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth, as she finally snapped and lunged at the blue femme.

"You stupid, judgmental wretch!" she screamed at her as she threw a punch, which Arcee blocked easily. But then Airachnid threw another which connected with her enemy's face, knocking her back as the black haired femme continued to attack. Rage was now fueling the former Con now as she had had enough of Arcee. The blue femme found herself on the defensive as Airachnid attacked with a flurry of blows that she could not defend, but then she managed to grab her nemesis's arm and she pulled Airachnid over her shoulder and threw her to the ground with a thud as water splashed around them. Arcee then pinned her down to the ground and held her head in the water, hoping to drown her enemy.

Airachnid tried to get free but found that Arcee had the advantage and she wasn't going to lose it. After several moments Airachnid's body became still as Arcee stood up, satisfied that she had finally killed her long time foe, looking down at her stoically. But as she stare down at the body, her satisfaction was replaced by confusion. Why, she had finally beaten and ended the life of the one person who had wrought so much pain in her life, why wasn't she ecstatic about it.

She then turned to walk away when suddenly her legs were kicked out from under her, sending the blue femme on to the ground face first. Her anger boiled up again as she quickly recovered to see Airachnid staring daggers back at her while completely soaked. The two then charged at each other and grappled when they suddenly stopped as they heard weapons fire a ways from them, they then both had the same thought as everything they had been doing at that point seemed unimportant.

"Jack!" they both said in unison as let go of each other and bolted back out of the glen and towards where they had left the Prime.

The two femmes made it back to the area where Jack was but saw no sign of him anyway.

"Jack!" Airachnid called out as Arcee looked around until her eyes fell upon his weapon lying on the ground.

"No." she said softly before she bent down and picked up the rifle. Airachnid walked alongside her and looked down at the rifle as both suddenly felt very guilty. As the blue femme stayed quiet, the former Con decided to be more proactive as she started looking around the ground to find any tracks. Arcee noticed this and walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" she asked coldly. Airachnid did not even bother to look at the femme as she answered.

"I am looking for tracks, to give us the direction that 'they' took Jack." she replied.

"Who's 'they'?" she asked confused, Airachnid felt herself flinch as the blue femme's question got under her skin.

"'They are the reason I called for help on this planet. But unfortunately for Jack, you could not put the past behind you." she spat at Arcee who surprised her back by staring at her stoically.

"Look, I hate you. Nothing you will say or do will ever make me forget the past, but right now Jack is in trouble and it is our fault. So why don't we….'work' together to rescue him. Then afterwards we can finish this." she said as Airachnid looked back at her, surprised by Arcee's attitude change.

"You're still not listening Arcee, I don't want to fight you. But I agree that we need to find Jack, so I will help you." she said before noticing the trampled grass to the left of the pair.

"There, they took him that way. Back to their ship….the 'Tidal Wave'."

Arcee's eyes widened as that she remembered that name.

"The Star Seekers, but I heard they disappeared after attempting an attack on both the Ark and the Nemesis eons ago after we abandoned Cybertron."

"That's what I heard too, but it seems that they are now here, and worse they now have Reaper tech on board their ship." Airachnid replied. But before Arcee could speak again, she was cut off.

"It's getting dark, we should head off now, try to close as much distance as we can." Airachnid said as she equipped her weapon. Arcee grudgingly agreed and the two then ran further into the forest as they followed the tracks.

PRIME EFFECT 3

Jack came too to find himself hanging by his arms from the ceiling, his hands binded by energy rings that floated above his wrists. He looked around to see that his surroundings looked very old as the metal walls were showing signs of corrosion and decay. The only natural light was coming from a small hole in the ceiling that shown down into the center of the lowly lit room. The Prime struggled to free himself, only wince when the energy rings started to shock him in reaction to his movements. He then saw a single person walk into the room and look at him. The man was wearing a long ragged black coat with rusted orange armour under it, he was Caucasian and wore purple shades. He walked over to Jack and slapped his face with the back of his hand.

"So, ya awake." he smirked as the Commander spat out some blood.

'Damn that guy can hit hard.' he thought as the man turned and looked down the corridor that the room was connected to.

"Captain, ya guest is awake." he shouted before Jack started to hear a loud clang of metal, and then again and again as it drew closer. Suddenly another figure entered the room, and this guy was far different in appearance to the one that the Commander had just met. This one was in faded silver armour with a long dark blue coat over it, his shoulder pads had golden claws sticking our out of them each. He also had a metal peg leg in place of his right leg. (that would explain the loud metal clangs) He was also Caucasian, but looked to be in his mid-fifties as well as sporting a grey beard to go along with his red eyes. And it was the eyes that caught the Prime's attention.

'Pretender bodies….. are these guys Cybertronian?' he thought as the Captain walked over to him.

"Thank you Cannonball." he said before noticing the trickle of blood running down the Prime's chin.

"Cannonball, did you hit our guest?" he asked in a firm yet gentle voice. Cannonball walked up beside the Captain and nodded nervously, before he was sent flying by the Captain who flexed his hand afterwards as he looked down at his crewman.

"You don't lay a hand on our guest, otherwise we'll give him a bad impression." he said as his voice became firmer as he stared down at the cowering Cannonball.

"Of course Captain." he grovelled, making Jack smirk slightly as he remembered seeing Megatron and Starscream in similar situations, but they were dead now and he was stuck in this situation and despite the Captain's nice manner, the Prime knew that he was in danger still. The Captain turned round and face Jack.

"So anyway I was wonder…." he stopped as he spotted the Autobot insignia on Jack's chest plate and his eyes narrowed as they appeared to glow.

"Where did you get that armour?" he asked as his expression and posture took on a more aggressive manner. Jack though just attempted to shrug his shoulders as he hung there.

"Ebay, on a discount." he replied flatly. The Captain walked up to Jack so that they were only inches apart.

"My name is Thundertron and I do not like deceit, so I will ask again. Where did you get that armour from?" the Captain said again baring his teeth, which Jack noticed were sharpened into points.

"What does it matter to you?" Jack replied again just as flatly as before. Thundertron gritted his teeth as he stared daggers at the Prime.

"Because the people that that symbol belongs too destroyed my world, and I will have my revenge. And something tells me that you are affiliated with them, so tell me where I can find them or I will gut you." he threatened as he pulled a short blade out from his belt and held it at Jack, ready to strike. But the Commander wasn't about to give in that easily.

"I don't fear death if that's what your getting at. So go on, do your worst."

Thundertron smiled at the Prime's defiance.

"Very well." he answered as he stabbed Jack in the side, not deep enough to cause major damage, but enough that it hurt like hell. The Commander winced in response to the knife piercing his suit and the flesh beneath it. Thundertron then leaned in a spoke directly into Jack's ear as he pulled the knife out, causing Jack to grunt before showing the Prime the knife and his blood that covered it as it dripped off.

"I know that there are two females on this planet that were with you. If you tell me what I want to know, then I will spare them." he said before leaning back and observing Jack's expression. But Jack responded by spitting in the Captain's face which infuriated him and he reacted by stabbing the Prime again, who again winced, gritting his teeth this time. Thundertron then let go of the knife and left it buried in Jack's side as he turned to Cannonball.

"Make contact with Axor and Brimstone and tell them to bring the females to me now!" he commanded as Cannonball jumped to attention before activating his com link.

"And when you have contacted them, I want you to help me rip this armour off our guest, so that he can enjoy all of our hospitality." he ordered, but not before gesturing to the table to his left as Jack looked upon it and saw all sorts of knifes and blades.

"Let's get started shall we?" Thundertron said as he pulled the knife out and then stabbed the Prime again.

PRIME EFFECT 3

Night was falling on the two femmes as they continued to follow the tracks that Jack's captors had unknowingly left. Both hoped that they would find him before anything happened to him, but Airachnid also worried that Arcee might just attack her again, the moment that Jack was safe. As they ran between the trees, the blue femme was slightly behind her and yet Airachnid could feel the icy cold stare of her eyes on her back. After the fight that the two had had earlier, the femme had realised that this was going to be nigh impossible to do.

But she wasn't one to quit at the first hurdle. Arcee in the meantime could not keep her eyes off of her nemesis, the blue femme still could not figure out Airachnid's angle and why she was acting so out of character for her. But right now, Arcee had to concentrate on finding Jack. Yet she could not help but wonder what had gone on between him and the former Con. She suddenly had to stop all this wondering when Airachnid stopped ahead of them and gestured for her to do the same.

"What, what is it?" Arcee asked as the other femme bent down and looked at the ground, a worried expression on her face.

"The tracks stop right here." she answered as she stood back up and looked around them, but all she could see now was darkness creeping up on them from beyond the trees.

"Well what do we do now?" the blue femme asked.

Airachnid stayed quiet for a moment as she continued to stare out at the trees. Arcee stood beside her and looked around as her instincts kicked in.

"We're being watched aren't we." she said, earning a nod from the other femme.

"They have been following us for the last several miles. Get ready." Airachnid replied as she equipped her pistol, the blue femme held her SMG ready while deploying an arm blade with her free arm. They then went back to back as the two waited for the inevitable attack, which came instantly as gunfire filled the area, both femmes dived to the ground before returning fire as two figures could be seen just behind tree line. One was wearing purple armour with a black/yellow jacket over it and next to him was another who wore blue armour with a long silver coat over it. Both were firing at the two bots who looked at each other.

"I think it is time we went on the offensive." Arcee said over the gunfire.

"I couldn't agree more." Airachnid replied as they both fired at the enemies while getting up and rushing them.

As they kept firing on the femmes, both men suddenly had to take cover as their quarries started firing back, missing the two by mere inches as they hid behind the trees.

"Wow, these two have some fight in them, don't they Axor." the one in the black/yellow jacket said.

"They sure do Brimstone, I can't wait till we get them back to the Tidal wave. It sure has been a long time since we had some femme action." he chuckled as he winked back. But before they could return fire, both femmes were already on top of them as the two star seekers suddenly found them selves on their backs, while staring directly at their quarry looking down at them sternly.

"Wow, I am so hot for you two right now!" Brimstone said as he attempted to flirt with them. Arcee and Airachnid just looked at them.

"Sorry but your not our type." Airachnid replied dryly. But then both Star seekers just kept grinning at them, which confused both femmes.

"What are you grinning at?" Arcee said back to them. Axor just pointed to their right as a familiar roar echoed from that direction, before a massive beast like creature launched itself through the trees at the two who dived out of the way, narrowly missing it's massive claws as it tore up the trees around them. Arcee and Airachnid ended up on either side of the creature as the both got a good look at it.

"An Insecticon!" Arcee shouted, gaining it's attention as it roared and charged at her. It was about to hit her when an escrima stick hit it's face, making it yelp as Airachnid fired at it from the side. Arcee then took advantage of this and jumped at the creature and slashed across it's face with her arm blade before landing perfectly next to her foe. The Insecticon was still recovering and whimpering as the two femmes then realised that they had forgotten about the two seekers. They were then hit from behind by two energy beams that made knocked them both unconscious as their bodies fell to the floor, Brimstone and Axor walked up to them as the Insecticon stood on the other side and hissed at pair.

"Stay!" Axor commanded as the beast stopped and kept quiet, he then turned to Brimstone.

"Call Thundertron and tell him that we have the femmes and are on our way."

The other Star seekers nodded in return before activating his com link. He then heard a male voice wincing and grunting in pain, as what sounded like a knife cutting through flesh came through the com channel.

"What is it, I am very busy at this moment." Thundertron's voice boomed back.

"Captain, we have the femmes and are now on our way back." Brimstone replied.

"Excellent" the Star seeker leader said as the knife was heard piercing flesh again, earning another wince and grunt from their prisoner. Both men then picked the femmes and walked into the darkness of the forest, as the massive Insecticon followed them from behind.

Arcee woke up and was greeted by a terrible sight.

"Jack!" she gasped as she saw his half naked body hanging in front of her, blood running down from wounds that covered most of his torso. The femme tried to move but found that she was in a similar state, hanging from the ceiling with her hands bound by energy rings.

"Arcee, Jack's alive." Airachnid said gaining the blue femme's attention who saw that she was bound too.

"Of course he's alive" a deep voice spoke from their right as the femmes looked to see a man that both femmes recognised. He saw the looks on their faces and smiled at the fact that they knew him.

"It's good to know that after all these eons that I am still remembered….and feared." he gloated as Arcee looked back at Jack who was unconscious and still bleeding.

"What have you done to him?" she said, as Thundertron's grin widened as he heard the emotion in her voice. He left Airachnid and stood in front of Arcee.

"Well when he wouldn't answer my questions I had little choice but to take more enjoyable measures. I stabbed him, not deep enough to damage him internally, but enough that he would lose the red substance of his. And yet he would not yield, so I kept stabbing him until he passed out." He said while looking at the human, before he then sighed and looked back to Arcee.

"Am I going to have to do the same thing to you and your friend here."

Arcee cringed at that last part as he got closer to her and stroked her cheek with his fingers.

"If you tell me what I want to know, I will spare him and let you two live as my personal servants, it has been a very long time since my crew and I had the pleasure of entertaining a femme or two." he said as he looked her up and down in delight, making her cringe even more.

"Get fragged!" she spat back, gaining a chuckle from Airachnid which infuriated the Star seeker, who stomped over to the left of them and deactivated a energy shield there that revealed an object that made the femmes eyes widen as they looked upon a black artefact that pulsed with a blue energy that resembled flame.

"What are you doing with Reaper tech?" Arcee questioned again, but Thundertron shook his head in response.

"You need not worry about the trinket that I found on this planet, but of this instead." he spoke as he gestured at the large device to it's far left.

"Cortical psychic patch!" the blue femme muttered as Thundertron walked towards her again with one of it's cables.

"Yes, you see this wouldn't work on him over there because he is organic, but the two of you will be just fine." he replied as he placed headset that the cable was connected too onto Arcee's head, before doing the same to Airachnid. He then walked over to the controls and activated the machine, tiny spikes dug into the sides of the femmes heads as it made a connection to their minds. Both femmes winced due to the pain that the connection caused, but Thundertron just smiled.

"Let's begin shall we." he said as he enabled the device, both femmes eyes widened as they gasped and froze where they hung as data could be seen moving down the cable and into the main computer. Thundertron looked at the main screen as their memories played out in front of him. His grin was getting wider and wider with every memory he saw. But unbeknownst to the Captain, the cortical patch was also allowing both femmes to witness each others memories. And at this very moment Arcee herself was witnessing a truth that she would not have believed if she had heard it spoken aloud.

Once the show and tell was over, Thundertron removed the headsets from the femmes and grinned at both of them.

"Well this is certainly a joyous occasion. Not only do I now know what is going on out there in the galaxy, with this Reaper threat and what not. But also I now have something to bargain with….for real power in my hands."

Arcee though did not even acknowledge him, she just looked down at the ground while she replayed what she had seen through the patch. The femme looked over to Airachnid and the former Con instantly noticed a change in the way that Arcee was looking at her. It was like she now had an understanding as she watched the blue femme close her eyes and hang her head in shame. Airachnid sighed and looked back at the Captain.

"What are you talking about Thundertron?" she asked, trying to sound curious. He looked at her intrigued by her question.

"Isn't it obvious, these Reapers are very powerful. If I was to give them a gift, worm my way into their favour. Then not only would my crew and I survive this purge that they have planned for this galaxy, but also I would be able to witness the end of the Cybertronians once and for all." He then looked at the Reaper artefact.

"And this thing I have come to believe is some sort of communication device, so all I have to do is speak to them." he finished saying as he walked over to the black artefact and placed his hands on each side. He then looked into the surface of the object as the blue energy covered his hands and slowly grew up his arms.

"I am Thundertron and I ask for an audience with the Reapers." he said aloud, but nothing happened for a long moment. Suddenly a golden hologram of a Reaper appeared above the artefact and looked down at the Star seeker, this gained both Airachnid's and Arcee's attention, as Thundertron looked into the Reaper's six yellow eyes as they glowed fiercely.

"We are Harbinger, who dares to summon us here?"it replied, it's voice echoing through the room and down the corridor's of the ship. Brimstone, Axor and Cannonball looked up and started to walk back to the main room where the voice originated from.

Thundertron felt somewhat overwhelmed by the Reaper's presence, but carried on regardless.

"I wish to make a trade my dearest Harbinger." he said in an almost grovelling tone, though he tried to hide it.

"And what does a lower being such as yourself, believe to have that would even interest us?"

Thundertron pointed over to the unconscious form of Jack Darby as he hung from the ceiling.

"I offer Jackson Prime of course. As well as Arcee, she helped him end the life of Sovereign. And also Airachnid, who aided the Prime in the destruction of the Quintesson race."

Harbinger's eyes looked over at the femmes and then narrowed as they fell on the still form of the Commander, before looking back at the Captain.

"You have done well, keep them alive and await our arrival."

And then Harbinger's form faded to nothing and Thundertron stood back up and looked rather pleased with himself as he looked back at his prisoners.

"Well I have a guest to prepare for, so I will leave you to take this time to say your goodbyes." he smiled before leaving the room.

Arcee then looked over to Airachnid who was trying to free herself but still could not move due to the energy rings. The blue femme then watched as the former con closed her eyes and concentrated.

"What are you doing?" Arcee asked, gaining a annoyed stare back.

"I am trying to see if one of the abilities that Shockwave gave me is still available to me in this body." she replied before she cleared her mind and focused her thoughts on the Insecticon down on the lower levels of the Tidal Wave. The beast was just standing there in the large corridor when a strange ringing was caught in it's audio receptors, it growled before suddenly becoming docile as Airachnid's voice echoed in it's mind.

"Listen to my voice, obey my command." The giant creature suddenly purred, its mandibles shook in delight as it enjoyed the seductive and sensual presence of the femme in it's mind.

"Help us escape by destroying those who are our enemies. Go and do this for me….my soldier."

The Insecticon roared so loud before it started tearing the bulkheads apart as it stomped down the corridor towards its enemies.

PRIME EFFECT 3

In the ship's engine room both Brimstone and Axor were busy making repairs when suddenly the beast burst through the doors and attacked the pair.

"What the…" was all Axor could say before being sliced in half by the Insecticon in one swipe of it's razor sharp claws. The Star seeker's bottom half fell to the ground as it's blood like substance spilled over the floor. Brimstone could only watch in horror as his friend's torso was flung over to the other side of the room, fear taking control of him as he tried to run for the exit. But the beast grabbed a hold of the star seeker and looked at him for a moment. It then opened it's jaws and Brimstone screamed only to have it cut short as the Insecticon bit his head off and swallowed in one go before tossing his now headless body to the floor, where it flinched for several seconds before coming to a stop.

"Destroy the power core, my soldier."

The creature nodded and purred as it walked over to the core and pulled at the power cables, yanking them apart as the core shut down, silencing the engine room.

Back in the chamber the power went offline causing the energy rings that held the three prisoners up to disappear, Jack fell to the ground with a thud while Arcee and Airachnid landed on their feet. The former ran straight to the Prime's side while Airachnid looked at the pair and smiled, but she suddenly hid it back behind a stoic expression when the blue femme turned to her.

"We need to get Jack out of here fast, or…..he's not going to make it." she said as her voice filled with emotion while looking down at her Commander as he lied there, covered in his own blood.

"I'll have the Insecticon clear a path for us to one of the shuttle's that are here on the ship." Arachnid replied.

"How do you know there are shuttles here?" Arcee asked back curiously while applying medi-gel to Jack's wounds.

"From the Insecticon of course, but it's taking a lot to control it. Since Thundertron has been feeding it Synthergon."

Arcee looked back in shock.

"You mean synthetic energon?"

The former con nodded in return as she picked up jack's octagonal disc before walking over to the entrance.

"Yes, it is making it hard to keep it's thoughts on me, but I believe that I can control it long enough to make it count." she said as she opened the door. But as the door opened, a hand grabbed the femme's throat.

"Well looky here, ya got out!" Cannonball said before slamming Airachnid into the bulkhead. She tried to fight back, but found that her concentrating on the Insecticon was hampering her ability to fight as the Star seeker quickly subdued her with another slam against the wall. He then looked down at her body and grinned before leaning in close to her face.

"I think it's time I taught ya a lesson." he said as he reached up with his other hand for the femme's chest. Airachnid tried to free herself but her strength was nowhere to be found and she could not give up control of the Insecticon now, even with what was about to happen. Or else none of them would escape. But before Cannonball could do anymore, a sudden slice could be heard as his expression changed to that of complete shock as he stared at the femme in his hands. Airachnid looked down at his neck as line could be seen growing across it's width. His head then slid off and fell to the floor as Airachnid saw Arcee standing there with her arm blade deployed, now stained with the blood of the star seeker. The femme unequipped the melee weapon and looked at the former con with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked, which surprised Airachnid, but she nodded in return.

"Yes… thank you?" she replied, gaining a slight smile from the blue femme before she went back to Jack. Then both of them lifted the Prime up and carried him out of the room and down the corridor, following Airachnid's directions.

They had moved slowly down the corridors and Airachnid said that they were only one corner away from the shuttle bay. But as they turned the corner, they came face to face with Thundertron. His expression was one of pure rage as he unsheathed his sword and walked slowly toward the group.

"Did you think that it would be that easy, you will be given to Harbinger and I will see my reward. Now stand down or this will become most unpleasant for you."

Arcee looked over to Airachnid and saw that she was smiling and it dawned on the femme what was about to happen, so she smiled back at Thundertron.

"Well, that's nice of you but I think we will pass, no get the frag out of our way." she replied sternly. The femme's comment enraged the Star seeker who charged at the three, but before he could get any closer, the wall next to him broke apart as the Insecticon appeared in his way and roared at him. Airachnid smiled at the beast.

"Good boy…..now sick him."

The creature then charged at the Captain as he readied himself for it's attack, Arcee and Airachnid carried Jack into the shuttle bay as Thundertron dived out of the Insecticon's way before slicing at the creature's side, a large gash appearing where he hit it. The creature yelped before turning around and knocking him flying into a bulkhead. As their fight went on, the shuttle now carrying the three escapees suddenly took off and flew out of the bay and out of the ship as it lay on the planet's surface, surrounded by forest. The shuttle flew up and out of the atmosphere before jumping to hyperspace only moments before Harbinger appeared in orbit and started it's descent.

Meanwhile Thundertron had suddenly gained an advantage over the Insecticon, as it stopped and looked around confused. The Star seeker wasn't going to let this creature live any longer as he attacked and sliced off the right leg of the beast which screamed in pain as it lost it's balance and fell to the ground. Thundertron then sliced off the arm closest to him, synthergon spilling out of the wound as the creature yelped again. Then the Captain walked round to the front of the beast as it lied on the floor, unable to move properly. He then smiled as he raised the sword above his head and swung down hard, cleaving it's head from it's body.

He then stood there in silence for a moment as he breathed heavily and reveled in his victory over the Insecticon. But then everything started to shake as he felt a presence around him, so Thundertron hobbled out hull of the Tidal wave via the shuttle bay and was greeted by the overwhelming sight of Harbinger hovering above his ship. The Reaper cast a shadow that covered the immediate area, the captain looked up at the yellow eyes as they stared back coldly.

"Where is the Prime?" Harbinger's voice boomed, causing Thundertron to lose his composure slightly.

"My dearest Harbinger, I am ashamed to say that the Prime has managed to escape." he answered hesitantly. For a moment there was nothing but silence as the Captain looked up at the Reaper. But then he noticed a red light start glowing on the underside of the black behemoth, it didn't take long for him to realise what it was.

"You have failed….. and now you will die!" the Reaper answered as it's main weapon approached firing strength as Thundertron just stood there and waited for the inevitable to happen, knowing full well that he could do nothing to stop it.