Cat and Mouse

A Transformers: Prime fanfic by CyberKia and haloangel21

(12/7/2013) Halo: Hello, all! Here is my second co-written story, this time with CyberKia. I asked her if she wanted to co-write and she agreed!

If you spot any mistakes in the writing below, please let CyberKia or myself know, so we can fix it :) Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

She was running for her dear life. But at every turn and corner, the devil appeared. It was endless with no way out. She'd considered activating her blasters to put a hole or two in the ceiling that would give her an idea of where exactly she was.

But that was the problem. She had no clue of what was surrounding her, hiding behind the shadows, just waiting for a perfect moment to strike.

"Ar…Arcee..."

That voice! It couldn't be…! She took off running in the direction, praying it wasn't just herself hearing whispers of those lost earlier in the war. Among them, that one voice was too familiar. Just too familiar. She couldn't tell who it was, or if she was close to it or far away. All her mind kept telling her was to keep going. She needed to find out for herself.

After running for what seemed to be a long time, she stopped. "Can you hear me?" she asked, hoping the voice would return, "Hello?"

"Arcee? That you?"

She whipped around, ion blasters at ready, which then lowered as her jaw dropped. Who stood before her…was Tailgate. Looking clean as ever, as if the murder had never happened. Surely…it wasn't a dream? With a swoosh and a click, her blaster shifted back into her servo. For a few moments of silence, they stood a few feet apart, not knowing what to say or do.

He was smiling at her, arms wide open to welcome her into a hug.

She was fearful. A part of her wanted to embrace him and the other wanted to shrink back because it had been so long. Too long. Then for whatever reason, she had that strange sensation in her feet that told her to run towards him.

Instead, she sprinted.

"Oof!" She had tackled him to the ground, never letting go of him. The war had collected him too early and she didn't have her chance to say goodbye. "Arcee?" Tailgate asked worriedly, catching her crying fresh tears onto his armor. Crying. Huh. That was new. She never broke down in front of him before.

"You're back."

"Huh?"

"You're back. You're back. You're back, you're back, you're back." She sobbed, clutching his waist harder than the first time.

"Er…Uh, yes? I'm back?" He chuckled uneasily.

"Don't scare me like that again!" She growled after a spark beat, punching him in the arm.

"Ow!" Whatever it was, Arcee, I'm sorry!" He defended himself, rubbing the sore spot where she hit him. Then she sighed.

"Sorry. It's just that…since the day Airachnid killed you and Starscream to Cliffjumper, I…I went through a really rough time," she explained. "The pain hasn't faded away completely."

"Oh…" He said quietly. "In that case then, I'm really sorry."

She smiled sadly. "It's not your fault. Airachnid did this to you…and me." She shuddered. "I tried to save you, Tailgate. Really, I did. But she didn't believe me. She thought the attack coordinates were real." She started to cry again.

"Well," he began, wiping away the tears, "What matters now is that I'm here." He hugged her as best as she could. Arcee sighed in relief, feeling that old warmth coming back. It felt so good. Primus, she had missed this.

"…Tailgate?"

"Yeah?"

"Is…is this all real? Or is it just a dream?" She wondered.

His optic ridges drew together in a frown. "What do you mean?"

"In real life, you died. I'm not even sure if I'm in a dream or not, seeing how you're still alive…somehow." Arcee shrugged. He answered her as he opened his mouth, but his voice never came out. Instead, it was Airachnid's.

"Of course it's all a dream. Otherwise, Tailgate wouldn't be here." Arcee leapt back in shock, only to struggle as she felt something latch itself onto her wrists. Where had they come from? She didn't recall seeing them. "If I were you, I'd behave." Airachnid's voice returned to her, taunting her evilly.

Arcee struggled even more, but found her strength against the cufflinks waning as she tried to force. She locked eyes with Tailgate, who stood there, unmoving. "Help me…please!" She begged.

"Oh, he'll help…by my hand," the figure of the spider-con had revealed herself, her black and gold accented armor giving off an eerily glow in the light. To prove her point to the royal blue femme, she raised a leg splicer and struck.

She cringed the first time it hit his chest hard. No. It couldn't be doing this again! She had to watch her former partner die again! "No. Please!" She wailed, but Airachnid ignored her as she continued to stab the mech repeatedly.

"Any last words, Autobot?" Airachnid chuckled. He was silent. He didn't move or talk. Not even groan in pain. "No? Very well then." She lifted the spider leg into the air once more and took the plunge. Arcee's optics brightened in horror as she screamed,

"TAILGATE!"

Tailgate!

Tailgate!

Tailgate!

Tailgate!

"Tailgate! No…!" She whimpered, her frame shaking violently.

[Arcee! Wake up!] Bumblebee bent down closer, placing his servos on her shoulders and gently shook her. [Arcee?]

"Tailgate!" She made a last shout before jolting out of her nightmare; beads of lubricants forming on her faceplates; her breaths vented out harshly.

[Cee?]

She turned to find Bumblebee looking on worriedly at her. Oh no…

[You okay?] He asked.

"I-I-I…" It took her several moments for Arcee to finally calm down and once she did, she wiped the extra lubricants off her brow. "Y-yeah, Bee. I'm fine," she answered, shaking with fear. She gave herself another minute to compose herself. She didn't want the Scout to be scared for her. Nor her other team mates. "What is it?"

[Ratchet says a mine full of energon's just been uncovered and Optimus and Bulkhead are waiting for you to accompany them.] He replied, though, still naturally concerned for the blue femme. He didn't notice that her spark had practically did a small flip at the name Optimus. However, she ignored it.

For some strange reason, it had been doing that since hers and the Autobot leader's stranding in the Arctic. She sighed. Get a grip of yourself, Arcee. Primes don't do parties, don't do relationships, nothing, she told herself. That's it.

[Cee?]

Turning her attention back to the Scout, she let her head droop down as she wiped more sweat off her face. "I'm fine. Honestly. Just dizzy, that's all. Go tell Optimus I'll be out in a minute." She requested and in a minute, he was gone. She made out his racing yellow form sprinting down the hallway towards the main hub through her door. She couldn't help but to laugh a little. Now he was an excited little sparkling, finally having his turn going on the big boy rides at an amusement park.

As if the war hadn't happened in the first place.

Her cheerfulness was quickly replaced by her sadness. She lifted her gaze towards the ceiling, as if she was looking at the stars, "I miss you, Tailgate. Cliffjumper." She mused quietly. "I promise I will not let a partner meet the same fate as you two did. I swear it on my spark." She clenched her hands into small fists. "I swear it."

[Cee? You ready?] Bumblebee returned to her doorway.

A small smile broke her faceplates as she lifted herself off the berth and stopped besides him. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's punch some Decepticon butt!"

[Yeah!] He enthusiastically agreed as he clenched his fists, holding them up in the air, like he had won the running marathon. She chuckled and rolled her eyes. Now he really was a sparkling. Not that she minded. And the two of them walked towards the main bay for the mission briefing.

Well? I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. :) More will be revealed along the way.

CyberKia will do the next chappie. Thanks for reading~!

-Halo