Meanwhile back in the base, Miko and Raf's Chess game was about to come to an end since Miko had lost a lot of her pawns. All that she had left were her Knight, Rook, Bishop and King and Queen and Raf only needed a few more moves to win by checkmate.
"I can't believe I'm losing at the most boring game in history." Miko groaned as she was trying to think of a strategy.
"I gotta say, Raf, I'm impressed. I didn't know you played Chess that well." Jack said as he kept the scoreboard with Bolty jolting a marker in his jaws.
"I learn a bit with my big sister." Raf said as he was checking which pawn to move.
"Was your sister an ex Chess champion?" Miko asked curiously but Raf just shook his head.
"Nah, she was once part of a Chess Club back when she went to school." Raf said.
"Personally I prefer a Rock Club." Miko said before she moved her Bishop to try and block one of Raf's pawns.
"There." Miko said only for Raf to get rid of Miko's Bishop and leave her with few options.
"Oh, tough decision here." Jack said with a snicker and caused Miko to let out a groan at Jack after that.
"Sorry." He quickly apologized.
"Let's see here." Miko mutters and starts thinking of a plan to win the game.
When she comes up with one, she moves her Rook, only to lose right after she moved it. The only pawn she had left was the Queen and she had only one chance to get rid of one of Raf's pawns.
However, that would also give him a chance to move and block her king. Since that was the only choice she had, she was about to do it when suddenly the comm-links started ringing.
"What? Oh, it's just the comm-links." Miko asked in surprise before realizing it was the comm links.
"Optimus to base, do you read me?" It was Optimus and Raf used his laptop to answer.
"We hear you, Optimus. What's up?" Raf asked.
"Rafael, I need you to open a ground bridge now." Optimus said as his tone held urgency in it.
"I'm on it." Raf said and started to use the coordinates the others used to the Harbinger to open up the ground bridge.
"Sounds like something serious is going on." Miko said as she was having a feeling that something was about to happen.
"No kidding. I'm starting to get worried." Jack said as he gripped the railing.
Raf was done with uploading the coordinates before he activated the ground bridge so that Optimus and the others could return to base.
"Ground bridge activated and waiting for you and the others." Raf said and he knew that Optimus nodded.
"Understood." Optimus said.
After activating the ground bridge Optimus and the others had returned with Emily and Fowler on Optimus' servo but Agent Fowler doesn't look too good.
"Oh dear. I'm starting to regret this." Fowler groaned before stopping himself from throwing up.
"Optimus, maybe you should put us down before Fowler let's go of his stuff." Emily said before she looked up to him as he nodded.
"Of course." Optimus said before putting his servo down as both Emily and Fowler got off and got back on the floor.
"Ah... now that's better." Fowler sighs as his stomach settles down again.
"So did you guys find anything?" Jack asked.
"We did." Emily said as her voice held unease in it. What she and the others discovered back at the Harbinger was too shocking.
"So what was it? Come on, tell us." Miko said as she wanted to know what they found.
"First things first, where is Cliffjumper?" Emily asked as she didn't see the mech that stayed behind.
"I think he went for a walk around the base." Raf said as he remembered Cliffjumper telling them that to clear his mind.
"I'll go look for him. I'll bring him right up." Smokescreen said before he hurried off to find Cliffjumper.
"Are you guys okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Miko asked in concern as she saw the worry, panic and shock in their optics and eyes.
"Believe me. You have no idea." Emily said as she leaned against Optimus' pede with her arms crossed.
"What did you find?" Jack asked in concern.
"A long hidden Decepticon secret. One that I still have a hard time believing." Emily said with a grave tone.
"You and me both." Bulkhead agreed with her.
Meanwhile in the corridors of the base, Cliffjumper was walking around as he was thinking a lot about some past stuff and how he was really worried for Arcee. The last time he was this worried was a very long time ago. The past memory started flashing through his mind as if it only just happened yesterday and it happened back on Cybertron.
Flashback starts;
Cliffjumper was waiting for both Arcee and Tailgate who went out without him knowing. Cliffjumper paced around and was extremely worried about not knowing whether Arcee and Tailgate are still alive or not.
"Where are they?" Cliffjumper questioned before turning around just as the door to the control room opened as Arcee and Tailgate came in after returning from their 'small expedition'.
"Well, that was useful. We found some Energon and all of the sudden it disappeared." Arcee said with her arms crossed.
"Talk about a total bummer." Tailgate agreed just as Cliffjumper approached them.
"Do you guys care to explain where you were all this time?" Cliffjumper asked them sternly.
"Take it easy, Cliff." Tailgate said as he raised his servos in defense.
"You guys know better than to go out like that. Are you forgetting that the Decepticons are outside hunting us? And that our orders are to avoid getting captured?" Cliffjumper said as he narrowed his optics slightly as Arcee could feel that an argument was about to rise.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we remember. And if it helps you feel better, we thought we had found some Energon. But it turned out to be nothing. So just do me a favor, brother, and stay out of it. This is none of your business." Tailgate said with a slight irritation in his voice.
"What goes around here is my business. We are part of the same squadron." Cliffjumper told him.
"Just because we're part of the same team, it doesn't mean you need to think of yourself as our leader." Tailgate retorted.
"I never said I was your leader. But I'm the one that has to keep things in check and that includes keeping you in check." Cliffjumper said as he clenched his fists.
"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. You don't get to boss me around." Tailgate said with a glare.
"Calm down, you guys." Arcee said as she tried to calm down but Tailgate cut her off.
"No, Arcee, CliffJumper should hear this. I'm tired of him thinking he can lead us. You're not a leader, you're not a Prime." Tailgate argued.
"Is that so? Well let me tell you something, mister. I'm sick and tired of you thinking that this is some sort of game to you. For Primus' sake, open your optics, brother. This is a war, people get killed every day as the war goes on." Cliffjumper argued back as they glared at each other.
"You think that staying here is gonna help us win this war? The only way to win a victory is to attack the Cons right here and now with all we have." Tailgate said as Cliffjumper was trying not to explode and yell at him.
"You see this is your problem. You never think things through. If you wanna get yourself killed or worse, that's fine by me. But don't you dare drag Arcee along." Cliffjumper said as Tailgate scoffed.
"Oh, so this is what this is all about huh? You're jealous. Jealous that I'm a better warrior than you are." Tailgate scoffed at him.
"That's what you think. And you know what? I'm done dealing with you. We just received orders. Prepare to move out soon." Cliffjumper said before glaring at the last sentence as Tailgate rolled his optics.
"Whatever." He muttered before leaving the control room and leaving a pissed off Cliffjumper and a concerned and worried Arcee.
Not wanting to get lectured about what he said from the femme, Cliffjumper started checking the computer to see if there's anything out of the ordinary.
"You're proud of what you did?" Arcee asked softly as Cliffjumper sighed and glanced at her.
"If you're about to lecture me, please do us both a favor and don't." Cliffjumper muttered.
"I seem to recall that you and I talked about this." Arcee sighed as she approached him.
"About what?" Cliffjumper asked as she put a servo on her hips and gave him a look.
"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what." Arcee said slightly with a stern tone.
"Oh please we're not going to talk about it again, are we?" Cliffjumper asked with a small sigh.
"It looks like it. Cliff, I have told you a dozen times that you don't need to be worried about me. I can handle myself. We both made the promise to leave out our..." Arcee said before trailing off at the end. This caused Cliffjumper's expression to soften knowing what she meant.
"Yeah... I know..." Cliffjumper said softly as he gently took her servo in his.
"I know it has been hard. But one day we'll get over this war. You'll see." Cliffjumper said with a small and warm smile which she couldn't help but return.
"Stop that." Arcee said with a small laugh as he blinked in confusion but the smile didn't disappear.
"Stop what?" He asked.
"Those eyes. We talked about it... it's not the right time." Arcee said as Cliffjumper let out a small laugh.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Cliffjumper said as Arcee punched his shoulder plate playfully.
"I'm gonna go see Tailgate and prepare for the mission." Arcee said as he nodded.
"Right." He said as Arcee left the control room to prepare for the mission.
That memory reminded Cliffjumper of a time where he got used to being worried for Arcee. At the same moment he was deep in his thoughts before a voice called for his name which made him come back to reality.
Flashback ends;
"Cliffjumper!" Smokescreen exclaimed once he found him as he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Smokescreen in surprise.
"Rookie? When did you get back?" Cliffjumper asked in confusion.
"Just a few moments ago. There's no time to chat. You have to come with me now." Smokescreen told him as Cliffjumper sensed that it was something serious.
"Take it easy, Smokescreen. What's going on? Did you find something in the Harbinger?" Cliffjumper asked as Smokescreen nodded.
"You'll know it when you get there. Hurry up, the others are waiting for us." Smokescreen said as he started to run back to the main room with Cliffjumper following.
Meanwhile back in the control room, the whole Team was waiting for CliffJumper to come back with Smokescreen. After a few minutes, the two came in as Smokescreen pants slightly.
"We're here." Smokescreen said as Cliffjumper saw the urgency in everyone's optics and eyes.
"What's going on, guys?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Cliffjumper, thank goodness you're here. Did you talk with Arcee?" Emily asked as he nodded but was still confused.
"I did a few minutes back." He said as Optimus grew worried as he turned to the three kids that stayed behind with Cliffjumper.
"Have any of you heard about her after that?" He asked but they shook their heads.
"No. Is everything okay?" Jack asked worriedly.
"Things are a bit alarming. We found the information we were looking for." Ratchet told them as Emily stepped up.
"I've downloaded the info. So everyone here can see it." Emily said as Raf approached her.
"Here use my laptop." Raf offered as she smiled and accepted it.
She connected her holo-computer to Raf's laptop which was connected to the main computer of the base as she started to type on it.
"We found out that the one inside the Stasis Cell was an Autobot." Emily said without looking up from what she was doing.
"A bot?" Miko asked in confusion.
"No way. Do you guys know who?" Jack asked in disbelief as Optimus nodded.
"I'm afraid so." Optimus said gravely.
"Look at the screen." Emily said as she pointed to the screen as she showed them some kind of scrambled image.
"Uh, what are we looking at?" Miko asked in confusion but Raf recognized it immediately.
"It's an encrypted photo." Raf said.
"But now it's getting unscrambled." Agent Fowler said as the encrypted picture started to descramble itself and reveal what or who it truly is much to Cliffjumper and three kids' shock.
"Wait a minute. That's..." Miko said in shock. So shocked that she trailed off.
"It can't be..." Raf said in shock.
"Am I seeing things?" Jack asked as he rubbed his eyes but the image was true.
"By the Allspark... This is impossible... There's now way it's true... It has to be fake!" Cliffjumper exclaimed as he stared at the picture in shock and disbelief.
"I've checked the data three times already. Believe it or not, it's real." Emily said as she looked at them.
"Cliffjumper, I can understand your concern but right now we must take care of this situation at once." Optimus said as Cliffjumper tried to process what he just saw. It can't be... He died in front of Arcee. How could he still be alive?
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go to where Arcee is to give her a hand." Bulkhead said.
"I'm afraid it won't be possible. According to our scanners, the area's level of cold is growing." Ratchet told them as he checked the area Arcee is at and saw the temperature drastically dropping.
"A snowstorm?" Fowler asked as he nodded.
"Precisely. By the time we reach the factory, our body will be frozen and we will die in an instant." Ratchet said as Cliffjumper grew worried.
"So what do we do? We sit here and do nothing?" Cliffjumper questioned.
"For now, all we can do is hope that Arcee takes all sorts of precautions." Optimus said. He too wants to go to where Arcee is and help her but it's risky.
"But, Optimus, we have to go help her." Smokescreen said.
"Trust me, Smokescreen. I too want to help our comrade. But we must stand back until the storm clears out." Optimus told him.
"That could take a long time. Let's go now while it's still weak." Wheeljack said.
"Haven't you heard what I said? The cold temperatures of this storm will kill us in a matter of seconds." Ratchet said sternly.
"There must be something we can do." Jack said as he started to pace around.
"Maybe we could contact Arcee." Raf suggested as Emily let out a hum. That may not be a bad idea.
"Hmm, well, considering the storm is a bit weak. She might answer our call." Emily said as she agreed with Raf.
"And maybe we can use her current location to get inside the factory, avoiding the storm." Jack said.
"Let's see if what you say is true." Ratchet said before turning on the comm link to try and get in contact with Arcee.
"Arcee, this is Ratchet. Do you read me?" Ratchet asked.
Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was jumping up to the upper levels to try and catch Airachnid before she escaped.
"You can't hide, Airachnid!" Arcee exclaimed as she finally reached the upper levels and Airachnid's evil laughter could be heard in the whole area.
"Hahahahaha. Me, run away? Oh dear, Arcee, you should already know how much I enjoy a good hunt. Have I ever told you about my previous hunt? The fun, the pleasure of entering inside the mind of your prey, cutting down all of his options. It makes you feel so powerful. And when the moment is right, you take down your prey with a deadly blow." Airachnid told her as Arcee kept looking around with her arm blades ready as she gritted her dentas. She can't let Airachnid get to her head.
"I'm not your prey." Arcee sneered heatedly as she heard a hum somewhere.
"Is that right? Tell me, who's the hunter and hunted? You or me? In every hunt, there's the hunter that stays hidden in the shadows and the prey that's being hunted." Airachnid said as Arcee scoffed at this.
"If you think this is gonna scare me, I've got news for you, Airachnid. I'm not scared." Arcee said before turning to where she heard pedes steps coming towards her.
Airachnid soon walks out of her hiding place with a sinister
"You will soon." Airachnid hissed before starting to launch her webbings at Arcee.
Arcee quickly transforms and starts driving to where Airachnid is while avoiding the web fluids being shot at her. To get some distance from her, Airachnid jumped and used her spider mode to climb up the wall and that way she would be saved from any attacks that Arcee might try to use on her. From that safe distance, Airachnid could shoot all the web fluid she wanted to try and trap her prey.
"You're gonna have to do better if you wanna catch me." Arcee taunted.
"The prey tries to stand tall. Without realizing that her failure is at hand." Airachnid said in riddles.
"I'll show you what a prey is capable of." Arcee growled just as her comm link turned on and Ratchet's voice was heard.
"Arcee..." But the communication was a bit scrambled due to the raising storm
"Do you read me..." Ratchet tried again as Arcee tried to answer as best she could.
"Ratchet, now is not the right time." Arcee said.
"-Arcee, you... to listen to me. The one who was... in the Stasis Cell is-" Ratchet tried to explain but the interference and coming storm is scrambling the comm links.
This new found information made Arcee lower her guard slightly by accident but was still dodging Airachnid.
"Who? Ratchet, do you read me?" Arcee asked as she needed to know who it was in the Stasis Cell.
Back at the base, everyone was getting worried since the comm link was getting cut off.
"Arcee, do you hear me? We found out who was locked inside the Stasis Cell." Ratchet said but there seemed to be a battle going on with the small occasional static.
Cliffjumper pushed Ratchet away from the controls so he could warn her about the danger she was in.
"Arcee, this is Cliffjumper. You gotta listen to me." Cliffjumper told her urgently while ignoring the 'You are so getting a wrench to the helm for that' look from Ratchet.
Back in Siberia, Arcee was still driving to try and avoid getting caught by Airachnid's web fluid while trying to talk to her friends.
"Cliffjumper? I can't read you. What did you say?" Arcee said as she wasn't able to hear what he tried to say and all that was in the comm link was static.
The same was for Cliffjumper back at the base as he tried to contact her.
"Arcee? Arcee?" Cliffjumper asked but there was no reply.
"Cliffjumper, have you lost your processor?" Ratchet questioned with a stern look but Optimus stopped a potential argument.
"There's no time for this bickering. Do we still have her coordinates?" Optimus said before asking Ratchet who shook his head sadly.
"No, the storm in her current location is scrambling her position." Ratchet told them as Cliffjumper was getting extremely worried.
"Can't you try and triangulate her?" He asked desperately.
"I'm afraid that right now is impossible. For now, Arcee will have to handle this on her own." Ratchet said grimly and caused everyone to be shocked by this and one thing went through their minds and professors.
Be careful, Arcee...
Meanwhile back in Siberia, Arcee was still driving and making it hard for her nemesis to catch her.
"You can't run away forever, Arcee. Sooner or later you shall fall into my web." Airachnid said.
"We'll see about that, Airachnid." Arcee sneered while thinking of a way to reach Airachnid and gain altitude.
Suddenly she found a way that led up close to where Airachnid was. She took the road leading up and then she made the jump while transforming.
"I got you now!" Arcee exclaimed to the surprise Airachnid.
With the impulse of the jump, Arcee punches Airachnid so hard that she falls from the wall and back on the floor on her front. Arcee soon landed on the floor and started aiming her guns at Airachnid who was trying to get back up.
"If I were you, I would consider giving up." Arcee told her but tensed when Airachnid just smirked at her. That's not a good sign.
"If I were you, I would watch my back a little bit more." Airachnid said which confused Arcee.
"Huh? Ahhhhhhhhh!" Arcee questioned but didn't get an answer as she let out a pained and surprised cry.
Arcee was hit pretty hard from behind out of nowhere and the one who hit her, sent her flying and hit the wall pretty hard. After that hit, she lay down on the floor motionless as her vision was a bit clouded and she could barely see who hit her as they stood beside Airachnid.
"Don't worry, my dear. When you wake up, you shall receive a great surprise from me and I'll make sure it will be the last thing you ever see." Airachnid hissed at her with deadly pleasure.
"Airachnid... you..." Arcee said with much strain as she struggled to get back up but didn't have enough strength left and after a few moments, she blacked out unaware that she'll get a nasty surprise later.
AN: Oh no! Arcee is knocked down and the others have no way of reaching her on time! What will happen to our favorite Autobot Femme?! Find out in the next chapter!