|SCENE 1:| Sometime prior to "The Escape".

While her fellow Decepticons were busy searching high and low for their leader and SIC, a task she viewed as mundane, Airachnid put her focus elsewhere. Dreadwing was no Megatron. Without the supervision of her leader, it became easier for her to slip out of the base at any moment of her choosing.

She traveled under the cover of darkness to a specific set of coordinates. These little trips had become more frequent over the past few days since Megatron and Starscream's disappearance. It surprised her that none of her comrades had picked up on it.

The spider-like femme transformed upon reaching her destination and landed at the mouth of a cave. Not even five minutes later, the rumble of engines in the distance filled her audio receptors.

Crashing through the undergrowth came Nemesis, who was soon followed by Ratchet. The Prime transformed with a low whir and rose to his full height—several heads above Airachnid.

"This is the mine you spoke of, correct?" He inquired, his optics bright against his dark frame.

Airachnid nodded. "Megatron knows nothing of its existence. There are many fresh veins of energon in there."

"Excellent." Nemesis purred in content. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

"After you." Airachnid gestured to the mouth of the cave with her servo.

"You first, Decepticon." Ratchet gruffly replied. "You still have yet to convince me of your truthfulness."

Airachnid bowed her head. "Of course. I assure you that what I say is the truth." With that, she turned and entered the cave. Nemesis followed with an eager grin.

Upon entering the main chamber, one could definitely confirm the truth. Embedded in the rocky walls of the cave were dozens of glowing blue veins. Large crystals surged upward from the earth below, with clusters of smaller crystals surrounding their base. The entire cave sparkled.

"Energon in its purest state, ready for the taking. Just as I promised." Airachnid stated, turning to the Prime.

"I'm impressed. This shall help tremendously."

"And my reward?"

After receiving a look from Nemesis, Ratchet reluctantly handed her a small vial containing a bright green substance.

Airachnid took it in her servo and examined it. "What is this?"

"An experimental form of energon that heightens the user's strength and speed while enhancing the benefits of fuel consumption. Much better than normal energon." Nemesis explained gleefully, obviously proud of his creation. He didn't go into too much detail, though, not wanting to give her any sort of useful information in case this was a trick.

"It's still unstable, mind you." Ratchet warned, shooting a quick glare at the Prime.

Nemesis scoffed. "Yes, yes... I'm aware, Ratchet. Enough on that matter. Enjoy your reward! Your contribution to the Autobot cause is greatly appreciated." He grinned widely.

Airachnid stared at the vial in her servos, a small grin slowly twisting her features. This was exactly the kind of power she was looking for.

-End scene-

***

|SCENE 2:| Present day

"Sir, we've been tracking this thing for miles. It's shown no sign of stopping despite its injuries."

"These machines are tougher than I thought." The grey-haired man frowned, remaining stone-faced as he turned to address the soldier piloting the helicopter. "Fine then. If we can't take a sample directly from the source, we'll retrieve what was left behind. Take us down." He ordered.

The helicopter touched down in a small clearing, stirring up the grass with the wind from its rotors. Silas stepped out and approached a puddle of a blue-green substance. Its glow made it look like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. He crouched down, dipping his black glove into it and examining it.

A soldier approached him. "There's a trail of the substance, sir. Should we follow it?"

"No." Silas simply replied, still studying his glove. "They will show themselves again. In the meantime, we finally have something to help us understand more of their biology. Learning more about them is essential to the success of Project Chimera."

"And what of the other group? They are more hostile towards us than the original one."

Silas shook off his glove and stood up, supervising his soldiers as they gathered the glowing substance into containers. "No matter. They will provide what we need soon enough. Keep monitoring their activity levels. We will gather more samples when the opportunity presents itself."

"Yes, sir." The soldier nodded, hurrying over to help his comrades.

Silas folded his hands behind his back. He glanced in the direction that the silver titan had traveled, tempted to follow it. It would be an easy target since it was wounded, but he did not currently possess the means to capture it.

"Don't worry. Next time, I'll be prepared." He muttered, as if he were talking to it directly instead of himself.

With that, he returned to the helicopter, already formulating a plan in his sinister mind.

-End scene-