The Devil's Advocate

Chapter 10

After Starscream's little deathwish surprise, Arcee wasn't quite sure what to expect in the belly of Megatron's stronghold, the heart of his war machine and the invincible symbol of just how much the Autobots were outmatched against the Decepticons, but Starscream charging helm first into it at least got the doors open as they sensed his frantic approach.

And on the bridge over the chasm of empty computer banks, Megatron was suspended in a mad lunge, like he was trying to swim through the air with his claws trying to slice through the frozen fabric of time and carved denta trying to bite something. Starscream had to skid to a stop before he ran right into the trap of talons and the glare of the plasma cannon mounted behind them, heels screeching into the floor as he flinched back from Megatron's grasp. Arcee would have been doubled over in laughter at the surreal sight, if it wasn't aimed right towards her with optics staring through her with a hatred that almost washed over her like lava, and if she wasn't painfully aware that their time limit was running out with every slowly increasing nanoklick.

Once Starscream toppled backwards and recovered from almost spearing himself before the fight even began, he shoved the outstretched servo aside and stared up at Megatron's rage-warped features. "It looks like he was expecting us... or someone."

Arcee kept back from the frozen warlord partly out of caution, and partly because she wasn't sure if she could be so near Starscream with her lips still tingling. "So what now?" she asked after clearing her vocaliser more times than should have been necessary.

Still standing in Megatron's shadow, Starscream seemed to be stone still in his own kind of frozen realm. Only his wings and claws moved, subtle twitches that only Arcee would have noticed even without red energon almost running out in their tanks. "I... I never thought I'd get this far," he said quietly, almost laughing that he'd proven himself so wrong, right in Megatron's snarling faceplate. And Arcee realised that for all his acid threats and grisly promises, he really had no idea of actually how to go about getting Megatron's spark out. Though she couldn't really fault him, and wasn't sure if she wanted to, since getting close enough to do anything was an achievement in of itself.

"Can't you just... tear through his chest armour or something?" she asked, half expecting the cavity behind it to just be a hollow space, or a core of dark energon.

Starscream scoffed those thoughts away, though the fists his claws curled into said how much he would have liked to do just that. "If it was as easy as that, he would have died from a stray bullet eons ago. No, the armour's too strong for my claws to get through and rockets are too unpredictable with red energon. But... your sword might work."

"Already on it." Arcee had missed the smooth swish of her blade sliding out her servo plating, nestled in between her blaster components and slicing through the light that caught its edge. She actually believed it could end Megatron's life. "I'd get out the way if I was you."

Starscream did the smartest thing he'd done all week and obliged, hanging backwards as Arcee took her stance and hefted her sword back. She had to take aim quickly, bring the blade down as straight as possible to cut through the seams of Megatron's armour, maybe even right through the panes of his spark chamber and the evil core inside it begging to be torn out...

But she didn't even get through the first layer of steel before time tore off its shackles. The resurgence of reality was so sudden, so jarring compared to the tranquility of time turned to ice that Arcee hardly dented the armour before her blade skidded harmlessly off the thrumming plates that crashed into her and slammed her backwards against the floor. Her helm screamed and all colours became a blind mess of pain, winglets spasming wildly, and something kicked into her side before falling sideways over her. Megatron recovered quickly from tripping up, turning the fall into a roll that ended with him kneeling and facing her. Confusion and sheer bewilderment was the only thing stopping him from turning where she lay groaning into a patch of charred metal and melted plating.