Transformers Prime

A/N: Okay, I added to the title name. This will be the second arc of the story. COBRA may or may not show up later. And Yes, I wanted an excuse to have Airachnid in the story. Don't like? Review anyway.

She grasped her forehead, the pain in her mind...processor...whatever, becoming too much. Forcing herself to look around despite the aches in her head, she saw only four dark corners. The room was barely lit, the only light coming from a slit in the only door. To her surprise, readings started flashing across her optics. Percentages, level readings, and the occasional command. Something about low ''Energon'' levels?

"Urg..." She breathed. It felt like she had never used her own mouth before. But yet she felt as though she did something before today. Blinking away the now dulling ache, she attempted to stand from her prone position.

"Where am I," she questioned to open air. She stepped forward, desperately feeling along the wall for some control or button to get out of the strange room. Was she a prisoner to something, someone? She reared her hand back, ready to punch the door in anger when something unexpected happened.

A sword unsheathed from under her forearm.

Jumping backwards in surprise, she slowly turned her right arm over, inspecting the strange protrusion. The blade was sharp and looked as though it could cut through strong metals. It's position on her arm was like that of a baton. She looked at the blade for several moments before deciding to try something. Thrusting the blade toward the door, she tore open a hole which she could comfortably traverse through. No sooner had she cut open the door that Klaxons sounded through the hallway.

Was this a prison? What had she been doing? She couldn't remember anything before waking up. She decided that she should hurry and get out of wherever...here was. Stumbling along the hallway, she ached to know why she couldn't remember anything. All she had to go by was a cobra image embedded into her chestplate. Ignoring it for the moment, she looked through the windows of the adjacent doors to see if their was an exit.

There were just strange devices lying in each of these rooms, some purpose she was unaware of. Except one.

Narrowing her optics at the window slit, she could see someone in there. Inside of a pod.

"You think it was Starscream? He got in here before."

Jumping at the sound of the voice, she was hard pressed to find a hiding spot. The dialogue was nearing where she stood, and she pressed her back against the door she was just looking at. With a whoosh, it gave way and opened quickly. After stumbling inside, the door quickly closed. Looking through the window, she could see a Red and White robot along with an impressively taller one. Both were rushing towards the room she just vacated. Deciding not to pay them any mind at the moment, she turned back to look at the pod.

Purple optics were frozen in some unreadable expression. Perhaps, shock or fear, she didn't know. Her presence cemented the thought in her mind that this was some sort of prison. Why else would she be held in there?

The femme walked over to the pod with the intent to free her. Maybe this other robot would be able to explain why she was here.

"Do you think it was Starscream?" Ratchet queried, running to the source of the Klaxon. Optimus followed behind with easy strides, not answering until they had neared the relic hall.

"I do not believe so. He would have no incentive to appear. And he still as of this moment does not know the base's location." Optimus looked at the doors and rested his eyes on the cybertronian sized hole in one of the doors.

"This is where the humans' drone was being held," Optimus observed, kneeling to better inspect the gash in the metal door.

"She has escaped from the room," Prime said stoically. He stood back up and examined the rest of the doors within the hall. The gash was made from the inside. There were no missing relics...

Optimus moved towards the space that Airachnid was confined in. Palming open the door on the electronic release, It's wall slid upwards and gave way, allowing Optimus toeasily examine the confines of the room.

"Airachnid is still in stasis...That's a relief," Ratchet commented with a resigned sigh. He rested his hand on the door's frame, idly surveying the room as Optimus stepped inside to look for any signs of recent occupation.

The taller mech slowly let his optics scan the whole room. There was no life signs except for the signal given off by the Stasis locked Airachnid. Narrowing his optics, he gazed one last time at the whole room, then turned to leave.

"Ratchet, most likely she has already left the confines of the base. We must locate her before the Decepticons," he said, now walking back towards the commons room. Ratchet narrowed his optics at Airachnid's pod before turning to leave as well.

From behind the pod, she steadily peeked her head from behind it to see 'Ratchet' just passing the doorframe back to where they had came from. Standing up quickly, she steeled herself and pressed a rather obvious panel on it's wall. Compressed atmosphere hissed from the slowly opening window of the pod, and it's occupant slowly began to fall towards the ground before bracing herself. The black/orange femme noticed that she had extra limbs protruding lazily from her back.

"Urggh..." the slightly taller spider-bot mumbled groggily. "That accursed Arcee," she continued, unaware of her unlikely rescuer's presence. "Fragging stasis pod..."

"Lady. I need your help. What is this place?"

Airachnid blinked her optics, as though unsettled by her presence. She slowly tilted her head in her direction, and in the blink of an eye, she had grasped Arcee's neck, a back limb pointed dangerously at one of her optics.

"You," Airachnid drawled dangerously. The limb glided closer to her optic.

but then she hesitated.

With a narrowed optic and a quizzical expression, Airachnid pulled back.

"You are not Arcee."

Was that her name? It sounded familiar. The shorter femme slowly massaged her neck, watching Airachnid warily. The spider-bot opened tore through the door without a second thought and kneeled down to examine the floor.

"Wait! You have to help me! I don't know where this place is."

Airachnid watched her with a shake of her head. Was she some neutral cybertronian? How did she even end up here? She wasn't callnig for anyone, so perhaps she was neither hostil or friendly.

"Well, I don't like to owe any one. Perhaps I do have to thank you for rescuing me," the decepticon said sarcastically. She then transformed into her spider mode, allowing her back limbs to be her main support.

"Once we're out, you're on your own. Do try to keep up."

With that, Airachnid drilled into the ground, reactivating the Klaxons. Without hesitation, Arcee's clone jumped into the impromptu tunnel created by the strange Decepticon.