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Blackarachnia was thoroughly lost, and maybe that should have bothered her more. But after wandering for hours she had found a gorgeous oasis in the middle of the jungle, and for some reason she couldn’t explain, it felt right for her to be here. Megatron and Tarantulas were far from her mind, those blasted Maximals all but forgotten. She had known her processor was scrambled and that she needed time to set it straight, and in the moment, running off into the wilderness had felt like the best choice.
Without finding the oasis, she would probably have still been wandering. As it was, she had stopped and climbed up a tree, sitting down to watch. There was nothing of note anywhere nearby, but over the cycles all kinds of animals had entered the clearing to drink, bathe and relax in the water.
First had been the birds, a flock of bright feathers landing all around the pond. She hadn’t taken time before then to see the native wildlife, and their careful ceremony was surprisingly entertaining to watch. From picking at each other’s feathers to flapping their wings in the water, to hunting for bugs and worms in the grass filling the area, these simple beings were far busier than her.
After the birds had left, next had come the mammals. First a group of monkeys, some sharing an uncanny resemblance to Optimus Primal, and then large carnivores akin to Cheetor. Some of the monkeys and Cheetor-lookalikes had even stayed in the clearing at the same time, only the small pond separating hunter and prey.
It was a well-chosen distraction for her, she thought. In all her hours up the tree she had seen no fights of any kind, not even a growl or a warning lunge. Unlike her fellow Predacons or the Maximals, everyone here seemed to share an understanding. Everyone, regardless of shape or origin, seemed to respect the serenity of this neutral place. At times, Blackarachnia wished to drop down and scare all of them away, to force this isolated pocket of nature to behave as she expected. Why she never did, she didn’t know.
The star orbiting this planet was high overhead when the monkeys finally left. The light scorched the water with its rays, chasing everything away into the shadows of the jungle. She would have to find her way back eventually, too, but for now the greenery and the birds’ chirping let her remain content. There was still enough time for her to rest, and maybe one of the animals would even provide her with an answer to her questions if she waited. Now wasn’t that a thought.
Draping herself along a branch, she let herself fall into a light stasis.
Far later she awoke to a sound, one from a stride too heavy to belong to an animal. As Blackarachnia listened to the steps steadily advancing in her direction, she absently noted that the leafy canopy above her branch hid the sky from view. The green had shaded to brown and orange while she had dozed, the blaze of the star already long gone.
She glanced down from her branch to where dusk was beginning to cast its shadows across the water, and to its side where the origin of the steps had emerged from the trees.
The one sitting by the water’s edge was a Cybertronian unlike any she had seen before. With an odd, incomplete form and no kibble to transform as far as she could see, they seemed more like a drone than a Maximal or Predacon. Nevertheless, their appearance this far from either the Predacon or Maximal bases meant this was no drone. Was there a third faction on this planet, one somehow unknown to her? It honestly wouldn’t be a surprise with how many secrets and plots had already come to light.
Looking closer at the form beneath, though, she had her doubts.
On her guard but curious, she slowly descended from her tree, careful to not make a sound. The strange Cybertronian stared into the water unawares, perhaps contemplating their strange form. If they were part of some unknown faction, their training had left a lot to be desired.
She snuck slowly towards them, ready to strike at the first sign of aggression. But right as she was readying to pounce, the Cybertronian spoke up, “Friend?”
She froze, the comment so abrupt as to break her guard. To her luck, instead of attacking, the stranger simply turned their face towards her and smiled.
Blackarachnia frowned, quickly stepping back to put distance between them. “I am no friend to Maximals, if that is what you are.” Could she take this Cybertronian as a hostage? If she brought a Maximal back to Megatron, she would be rewarded for sure, but… They were larger than her, and she couldn’t tell what type of weaponry they might have had. She also had no backup nor any way to get in contact with the others. If she could avoid a fight here, she concluded, that would be for the best.
While she tried to decide what to do, the stranger continued staring at her with that same steady smile on their face. It was as if they hadn’t heard her at all.
But when nothing more happened after several long moments, she waved her beastmode’s legs behind her, trying and failing to get a reaction. What was up with them?
She might as well be direct, then. “What are you?” After all, if they were going to attack, she figured they would have already done so. And if she miscalculated now, she could at least get some thrill out of the situation. Anything would have been better at this point than this eerie calm.
Slowly, the stranger turned back towards the water and reached down to touch its mirror surface. “Transmutate,” they answered then, staring now at the ripples caused by the movement of their servo.
So, they had a name. Blackarachnia tilted her helm and looked Transmutate up and down again. Indeed, they had no kibble nor even a full set of outer plating hiding their protoform.
She only had one idea that could explain this, and she had no way to be sure. However, judging by the mono-syllabic answers, combined with that incomplete appearance, she suspected this Cybertronian could have sustained damage to their stasis pod. If so, whether Transmutate was a Maximal or a Predacon might not even matter. It was possible that they were neither a threat nor an ally. If so, then…
She shrugged to herself, unseen by her only companion.
“I am Blackarachnia.”
Why she had bothered to introduce herself, she couldn’t say. It had to be something about this place. Maybe whatever glitch had befallen the animals here was affecting her, too. Above them, only the leaves of the trees moved in the wind now, providing a soft background melody to her musing.
Before long, Transmutate started swirling their servo back and forth through the water. Following the movement with her optics, Blackarachnia found herself falling back into her earlier daze. Maybe Transmutate could stay here or go somewhere else, far away from the battle of Predacon versus Maximal. It was futile to even entertain the possibility for herself, but for now there was no one telling her to move, either.
Earlier, every animal had escaped far away upon hearing Transmutate, of course. Even if the birds, the monkeys and the cheetor-lookalikes had gotten along here, Cybertronians would have been too strange for them to accept. It was only the two of them here.
After some time, she grew bored of watching Transmutate watch the water, but instead of turning and leaving she found herself walking forward and sitting down next to them. There were two green leaves floating towards the middle of the pond, stuck in each other’s orbit. Her spark constricted without warning at the sight.
Truly, what was wrong with her? It wasn’t like her to get sentimental, and especially not over some pathetic leaves.
“Hey, Transmutate,” she sunk her own servos in the water and sent a splash towards the leaves, “What should I do?”
If Transmutate was confused by the sudden question, they didn’t show it. They swirled the water back and forth a few more times and then raised their helm to look at those same two leaves, now drifting apart in the wake of Blackarachnia’s wave. It was hard to tell, but she guessed they were thinking through her question. It wasn’t like Transmutate had any context for what she was asking, but she wanted to hear something aside from her own thoughts. The longer they took to decide what to say, though, the more she wanted to interrupt. Still, she refrained. There was nothing to do here except wait.
Frankly, it took longer than she liked, but in the end Transmutate did turn to face her and give an answer. “Blackarachnia… Should be… Happy.” Their words were slow, with long pauses in between, and she didn’t find the thought especially nuanced. Regardless, they had been considerate enough to answer, so she found herself echoing them, “I should be happy, huh?”
If she had gotten any useful information from this interaction, it was that Transmutate had no idea of anything that was happening outside of this small oasis. She wondered if perhaps they had somehow awoken without any Predacons or Maximals noticing. It would’ve certainly explained some things. They had been very lucky, if so.
Having given their answer, Transmutate resumed tracing the water. After some more thinking, Blackarachnia had an inkling there was more to their answer. “Is that what you want? To be happy?” In the all-encompassing silence of the jungle, her words echoed loud in her audials.
She didn’t have to wonder long if she had guessed wrong. This time Transmutate’s answer came almost immediately, their smile widening as they asked, “Friend?” and looked directly at her.
Blackarachnia couldn’t stand that smile. It was far too sincere, enough so that she suspected Transmutate to be a Maximal after all. And if they were, the others wouldn’t be far behind. She had wasted enough time here already.
Right as she was about to get up to leave, though, her optics once again landed on those two leaves.
They had drifted apart upon her forcing them to, but had floated back together at some point since. As if they didn’t want to be apart. How ridiculous.
The forest felt empty now, as if all other life forms had left this small world to the two of them, even the trees fallen silent. She had left to be on her own, her spark and processor in disarray over what was right. Over what she wanted to be right. To be a Maximal or Predacon should have been an easy choice, her personality far better suited to stealthy plotting and ruthless power. But she couldn’t claim that was all she was, not anymore. Was she really going to return and act as if all was well? She glanced back at Transmutate, still calmly waiting for her answer.
Perhaps there was more nuance to Transmutate’s words than she had been willing to admit. She knew she was an excellent Predacon, but did it make her happy? Would being a Maximal be any easier? She certainly couldn’t be like Transmutate, but did she really only have two choices? And though Transmutate wanted happiness and so wished that for Blackarachnia as well, was that what she wanted for herself?
The truth of it was that she couldn’t tell, which was why she was here.
Night had fallen in full, those two leaves still chasing each other without break. She leaned back and turned her gaze up to the stars, watching as they gradually brightened up the sky. Some bird far away took flight into the darkness, the first sign of life in a long time. She would head back in the morning and decide what to do then. For now, she knew she was right where she wanted to be.
There was one more thing. No self-respecting Predacon would say they had friends, especially not among Maximals or… Or among strange unaffiliated Cybertronians. Transmutate was still waiting, though, that calm smile now oddly reassuring.
It wasn’t like anyone back at the base would know.
“Friend.”