A/N: I've only been gone a week or two and yet if feels longer than that. I regret to inform you that Terra Breaker and Pheromone are being put in indefinite hiatus. I hate to leave things undone, but I don't know where to go with them right now. I will try and update Child's Play at another time. This story was inspired by the bio of an upcoming figure as part of the Cyberverse lineup. I am simply going off this character's bio and nothing else. She may or may not be featured in Prime, and if she does, this is what I think should happen.

Transformers Prime: FlameWar

Chapter 1

She has waited for so many centuries, traversed so many planets, and survived so many disasters all because of her desire for vengeance. She would not stop until she found it; only then would she allow herself entrance into the Well of AllSparks or the Pits. Wherever she would end up, she would go knowing she'd exacted her righteous vengeance upon her target. She could remember the day all too well, right down to what her internal chronometer had recorded at the time. That was the day it all changed for her, the day she lost what was most dear.

All thanks to that wretched Autobot; they all thought themselves righteous crusaders, protecting all worlds from them. They thought them to be the greatest evil in the galaxy, but there were far worse; there always were. Under the guidance of the prophet, chosen by their collective deity, they fought for what they perceived as freedom, justice, and truth. Lies; freedom was the greatest lie of all time, its promise of joy and prosperity nothing but delusion. True freedom could only be attained through subjection by another.

At that is why they joined with their Lord and Master, the promise of true freedom for all and total annihilation for the Autobots. She had slain a great many in her time, but every time she fought, every time she cut one down, all she saw was the face of her tormentor. That malfunction of a femme thought herself the only one to suffer greatly from this conflict; how wrong she was. She believed herself the only to have seen a loved on perish as the hands of the enemy; they had all seen it, more times than could be counted. In her case, the femme was the one responsible for her torment; and she would pay.

She had watched from the shadows, studying her every maneuver, her every form, her every stance; her every weakness. She had watched the femme obsessively as she hunted down her own target; the spider. Yes, the spider was the sole cause for the femme's actions that brought her to commit the crimes she would pay for. It wouldn't be long before the spider crawled away, never to be heard from again until recently. When she'd heard of her return, she laughed, knowing how short lived it would be.

She would find some way to scurry away again or the Master would simply crush her under his heel. Either way, it was inevitable, but she couldn't care less so long as she didn't take what was rightfully hers. And there were times were it seemed like a reality; but the deity she had lost faith in seemed to smile upon her as distraction after distraction managed to keep the femme from her rightful termination by the wrong hands. Still, it sickened her when to see her comrades show such relief that she still functioned. She'd taken all she held dear and they treated her so warmly.

Still, it was to be expected from those wretched Autobots and how they treated their own like they were Primus sent. Their arrogance knew no bounds, but they would be eradicated soon enough by the Master's might. All she was focused on was exacting vengeance upon the object her ire; the Autobot femme: Arcee. Thinking that name was enough for her energon to boil to dangerous points of heat. She'd sent a message to any mech who dared to use that name ever so lightly around her by ripping out voice boxes (a trick she learned from the Master).

Watching Arcee, she knew how to hurt in a manner that would be almost as painful as the trauma she'd suffered. She had seen how Arcee cared for her "partners"; the loss of her first was what triggered her eventual crime in the first place. She had watched how she began to grow closer to the one they called "Cliffjumper". He was as brash and arrogant as any Autobot she'd ever encountered; a perfect fit for the femme. She had planned so many way to see him ended, each more painful than the last. He would serve as the veil her fury would shine through.

But the victory of taking her beloved partner was stolen by that wretched Seeker, another scavenger who eventually separated himself from the clan. He thought that by leaving one side, neither would notice him trying to feed off their scraps. How wrong he was; they all shared a deep hatred of the Seeker, wanting nothing more than to end him themselves. He would pay for his role in delaying her plans for vengeance. Once again, Primus seemed to have smiled upon her that day because Arcee immediately found another.

This new "partner" was a native to this world, where sentient mechanical life was uncommon. His reaction was to be expected, yet still somewhat amusing. She began to watch him; his home, his place of menial labor, and his place of higher education. As her plan was set back in motion, it was quickly sent back into hiatus when the boy severed all ties with the Autobots. Yet again, Primus seemed to be looking out for here; more of this "miracles" and she might start believing again.

Arcee had followed the boy all morning, wanting him to stay with her despite the clear and present danger. He had agreed and like that, her plan was in motion again. She would hurt Arcee through this boy who designated himself her new partner. The title awarded him a special place in her spark, one reserved only for her partners. She treated him with a certain amount of affection she did not show to any others, even her precious leader.

He was also to blame for her crimes, letting her run off into battle and granting her with his trust as he made her his second to command. If she were so insubordinate, the Master would do more than simply scold her. Just another reason to despise Arcee and let her plan fold out soon.

FlameWar

Deep within the confines of the Autobot base, Arcee stood in front of the femme who had caused her so much pain. Who had tried to cause her family so much pain, a perpetual snarl on her face. Airachnid was frozen in time thanks the stasis pod currently holding her captive. It was the only reason she was still functioning and why justice had not been served. Every metallic fiber of her being told to simply destroy the pod and end her right now.

But with each passing day, she found those thought fading to be replaced by something else. It that was recurring more and more frequently as she spent each day with the thought's source. Her partner, and human charge: Jack Darby. He'd slowly edged his way into her spark, earning her attempts at affection that she never showed to anyone. Even with her leader, Optimus Prime, it was hard to lay out such emotions for others to see.

Of the three Autobots guardians currently at base, she took the least amount of interest in her charge, treating him like another mission. Never had she thought the boy would be so admirable, considering his age. Still, she became more and more fascinated by his culture each day she spent with him. Jack was brave, quick thinking, strong in more than physical ways, and had all of the qualities that made Orion Pax into the Prime she knew and admired. He would tell her otherwise whenever she brought it up, but the similarities were there.

When their Prime had lost his memories and joined the Decepticons, Arcee tried the hardest to get him back, even boarding the enemy warship itself. Her stay was short as Soundwave quickly dispatched her into the Artic. When a way to restore Optimus' memory had been found, she was both excited at the thought and worried for the one who carried all the responsibility of it all; Jack. Having been entrusted with the Key to Vector Sigma by the Prime himself, Jack braved the war-torn Cybertron to recover the Matrix energy. Once again, Arcee threw herself in harm's way to ensure the mission's success, distracting Megatron while Jack restored her leader's memories.

Their mission a success, they returned to base, allowing themselves a brief reprieve from battle to celebrate their monumental victory. Since that event, Jack had changed, becoming bolder and more confident in who he was. The object of her thoughts entered the room, his blue eyes shining up at her, despite the close proximity to the creature that had nearly killed him and his mother. He smiled, "Everything okay?"

"Fine," she returned his smile. "Just thinking about some things. How's everything up front?"

"Same," he replied. "Miko and Raf are watching television. Bulkhead and 'Bee are on patrol. Optimus is locked away in his office. And Ratchet is being… Ratchet." The femme gave small laugh at her partner jab the Chief Medical Officer. Another privilege being her partner granted him, seeing another side of her no one else was allowed to. She led him out of the room, still uneasy about letting Airachnid near him. He watched her with slight worry, "Are you sure everything's okay, Arcee?"

"I am Jack," she replied, hoping he wouldn't attempt to see past her walls this time. She normally didn't mind it, intrigued by how easily he could read others like they were data pads. But for now, she wanted her privacy and tried to convey that to him through his gift. The look on his face told her he wanted to protest, but would relent for now. They entered the command center, watching the ones they considered family go about their routines.

Miko and Raf were watching something on television, a matured version of what humans called "cartoons". Bulkhead and Bumblebee had just returned from patrol and were reporting to Ratchet whatever findings they came across. The medic typed their report into the system, ready to be processed when needed. Optimus was still nowhere in sight, no doubt in his private quarters working on something important. Realizing there wasn't much to be done here, Arcee looked towards her charge, "You wanna head to the old ghost town?"

He smiled, nodding while grabbing his helmet; he was always happy to visit the abandoned town, especially when his mother was out of town for the time being. He loved her and missed her a lot, but the times when she was gone granted Jack freedom to do as he pleased, a privilege he never abused. Except this time, as her absence would allow the two partners to stay in the town for the night. Neither was sure why they were so excited about going there, but the mystery of their reason only increased their intrigue. Arcee shifted into her vehicle form, her engine humming softly as Jack climbed on and steadied himself.

Grasping her handle bars, that was all the sign she needed to drive out of the base, being met by the open sky and desert terrain. Driving onto the road, the two partners rode in complete, relaxed, silence. Arcee disengaged control of her vehicle mode so Jack could take the wheel. It was something she started doing recently to show him how much she trusted him. In the beginning of their growing friendship, Arcee reserved the right to drive herself to their destinations.

It was the last vestige of privacy she had thanks to Jack's gift for reading her emotions; the only way for her to maintain a distance from the boy. By withholding something like that from him, she had told him he hadn't earned her trust completely, a challenge he vigorously accepted. As they grew closer and closer, she opened more of her spark to him, her independent driving the only wall she had left. She had thought long and hard about her eventual decision to start letting him actually drive her. Jack knew what this meant.

She was opening herself up to him completely; a variation of saying she trusted him with her life. He had earned her respect, trust, and slight affection. She was ready to start relying on him more, look to him for comfort and hopefully be sought out for comfort when something plagued his mind. She was ready to finally move on from letting vengeance consume her life and jeopardize her comrades.

She was just ready.

FlameWar

She had been alerted right away that the two of them had left the confines of the base, wherever it may lie. She immediately departed to track them, her plan patience having thinned into nonexistence. At last, she would have vengeance on the accursed Autobot. At last, every waking moment of anger and hatred would be unleashed. At last, she would make Arcee suffer; the way she had suffered all these years.

FlameWar

A/N: Transformers Prime and all related characters and franchise are owned by Hasbro. I hope you all enjoyed. This is NOT a Jack/Arcee story. It's more like how they are portrayed in the show or even how I describe them in my short story "Moments". It will also focus on Jack's struggle for survival when he taken captive by our antagonist. Next time: As Jack and Arcee relax in their small getaway, a new enemy arrives, seeking vengeance on Arcee.