Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The early morning sunlight reflected off the tea cups on the small center table, giving the golden rims a beautiful glow. The chimes danced in the small breeze, filling the tense air with their calming tune.

In reality, the chimes really didn't do anything to make the atmosphere any more calm, but it was still a pretty song, Smokescreen liked to think.

Smokescreen was standing in the doorway to the main room from the patio, the four guests of honor sitting before him. He could hear the authorities speaking in hushed tones inside, but he tried his best to tune them out and focus on the task at hand.

Brutus, the tall, broad shouldered man sitting in the arm chair, yawned dramatically before he slumped a little further and clasped his hands across his chest. "What're we waitin' here for, pip squeak?" He asked, gesturing at Smokescreen with his chin. He reached down and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, offering one to the woman sitting next to him, who accepted with steady hands.

Smokescreen glanced over his shoulder, sending a prayer to Primus that Ultra Magnus would show himself soon so he didn't have to stall any more.

He could only say "Detective Magnus will be here soon, just be patient please" so many times before he lost his own patience or Brutus just got up and left, and frankly, Smokescreen wouldn't be able to stop him.

Smokescreen wasn't weak per say, but he wasn't as sturdily built as Brutus either. He was tall and skinny - but he was proud to say he did put some muscle on his bones as of late - with a fair complexion and freckles dotting nearly every inch of his nose and cheeks. His flaming red hair was his pride and joy, and he always styled it with it standing straight up in the air, adding an extra inch or two to his height. He was also attempting to grow a little stubble on his face, but his efforts so far had been fruitless.

Still, he didn't compare to Brutus. That much anger and that much muscle was not a combination he wanted to tangle with.

This case was not Smokescreen's favorite, far from it.

He kept a list, you see, of all his favorite cases, so he could look back on them and gain motivation from the times he and Ultra Magnus would sniff out the murderer in such a peculiar way. But Smokescreen mentally noted that this case would not be going on that list. He could gladly forget about this one.

This case was many things, but boring wasn't one of them.

The suspects gave them twists and turns and every corner, allowing Smokescreen the satisfaction of digging up an affair here or a credit card scam there. It was his favorite part of the job, watching the suspect crumble in front of them after they'd realized they'd been busted.

He and Ultra Magnus had their work cut out for them, that was for sure.

The case had opened six days ago, and it was a classic: well-respected lawyer Xula had been murdered while he and four members of his close circle were in his private country house, out on Cybertron's country side. He had been found by his daughter, killed by a gun shot that no one had heard.

There were four main suspects in this case: Xula's brother Brutus, his wife Lotus, his daughter Maybell, and Maybell's boyfriend Viker.

Each suspect had some sort of motive of their own, like Xula having an affair on Lotus that she sort of knew about for years, or how Maybell knew their family had no money but kept forcing her father to pay for her things and take out loans with less than acceptable people so she wouldn't tell her carrier about the affair Lotus already knew about.

Smokescreen was reminded why he was grateful his family didn't have much money, and didn't hate each other this much. 'Mo money, mo problems' as his grand sire always said.

Six days went by, and while progress was being made to find the killer, it seemed like it was never enough or too much in the wrong direction; red herrings popped up at every turn. Smokescreen had begun to think that they would never confirm the identity of the killer, and they would have to let the suspects - with the killer among them - walk free.

But in the middle of last night, Ultra Magnus got his MOT (moment of truth, duh) and called Smokescreen at the ungodly hour of three in the morning to tell him to gather all four suspects together for the dramatic reveal the following day, after he checked some evidence to confirm his suspicion.

"Detective Magnus had to gather the last piece of evidence from the scene of the crime." Smokescreen said, rocking back and forth on his heels and trying to make himself sound as calm and controlled as possible.

Brutus didn't seem to like the answer - he hadn't liked it the first ten times Smokescreen had said it either - but he said nothing about it and took a long drag of his cigarette instead.

"Well, he needs to hurry. We have a ship to catch to get to Caminus later today." Lotus took a drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke, seemingly unbothered by the fact that her husband's murder was about to be revealed.

If she was bothered by it, it didn't show on her face. Her darker skin was void of worry wrinkles and her hair and make up was done properly, as if this was a normal day. "Besides, we all know it to be Viker anyway." Lotus added accusingly.

Viker turned sharply around to face her, anger written all over his face. He was shorter and stockier than Smokescreen, with brown hair and a thick beard. He looked just as annoyed to sit and wait for Ultra Magnus as he was that Lotus was attempting to pin the blame on him again.

"I'm not the one who stood to gain millions from his death, am I Lotus?" Viker questioned, a sneer coming to his face. "Oh, that's right. He took you out of the will days before he died."

Lotus cast him an ugly glare before turning away, taking another breath of her cigarette. "There wasn't millions to give apparently, given he spent it all on his spoiled brat of a daughter."

Maybell said nothing, sniffing into her handkerchief.

There was movement inside, and by the time Smokescreen turned to see what was happening, Ultra Magnus was standing beside him, a grim look on his features, but Smokescreen could see the excitement twinkling in his eyes.

"Ah, good. You are all here as I requested." Ultra Magnus stepped down the three steps onto the patio, hands clasped behind his back, his back and shoulders straight as to not wrinkle his suit.

Ultra Magnus, Cybertron's best detective.

The man was tall, pale and in his late forties, as seen by brown hair that was starting to gray but always kept short and clean. He had piercing blue eyes and a small amount of stubble that he had let grow during the few days the case had been going. His most defining characteristics were his sharp jawline and straight shoulders, and how he carried himself like a professional at all times.

"I do hope I didn't keep you all waiting." Ultra Magnus grabbed the the cigarette's out of Lotus and Brutus's hands before extinguishing them in the nearby ashtray.

"Ay! What gives?" Brutus demanded, getting up from his chair.

"No smoking indoors. Surely you know this by now, Mr. Brutus." Ultra Magnus replied, his one hand still behind his back. Smokescreen tried to peer around to see what was in his hands, but the detective turned so he was unable to see.

"This ain't your house, don't tell me when and where to smoke."

"Yes, well." Ultra Magnus looked like he wanted to add something on the end of that sentence, but was physically stopping himself. "If you will have a seat, Mr. Brutus." Ultra Magnus glanced over his shoulder. "And if you could Smokescreen, go get Ironhide and Prowl and we may begin."

An eager smile came to Smokescreen's face as he turned and hollered for the two men. The police officers arrived a few moments later, handcuffs at the ready to arrest the murderer of Xula.

Once all the guests were seated, Ultra Magnus took his position a the front of them all, his own mini stage. Smokescreen tried not to fidget from his new spot against the wall behind Lotus.

"Ms. Maybell, would you walk me through the events leading up to your father's murder, please?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Maybell looked confused and Viker jumped to her defense. "Haven't we heard it enough?"

"Humor me."

Maybell sighed and nodded shakily, clearing her throat before she spoke. "It was a rainy morning, and Dad came down to breakfast at a little after nine o' clock. He got the sandwich Mom made for him, then he went back up stairs. It was quiet until Brutus came in the front door with the groceries.

I went upstairs to use the restroom and found Dad…dead…single shot to the head. I screamed and everyone came upstairs as quickly as possible." Maybell said, her voice shaking as she recalled the events of her father's death once again. Viker held her a little tighter and offered a quick kiss on the cheek.

"And to clarify, Viker and Lotus were all downstairs when you found Xula's body? And you couldn't have been upstairs for longer than two minutes, not nearly long enough to kill your own father." Ultra Magnus asked, and Maybell nodded. "And Brutus had been in town until he appeared in the kitchen moments before you all went upstairs, as evident by the recites we found in his car."

Brutus nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Why we reviewing all this anyway?"

Ultra Magnus's face remained difficult to read. "How did your brother die, Mr. Brutus?"

"Gun shot wound, killed himself or was killed by somebody else. We just said this." Brutus said defensively.

"The former. As we established on the first day, Xula couldn't have killed himself, he was right handed and he was shot on the left side of the head. Therefore, it was murder. But," Ultra Magnus pulled something out from behind his back. Smokescreen stared at it in surprise. "he didn't die of the gunshot wound at all."

Ultra Magnus was holding two evidence bags, one large and the other small. The contents of the bag included the breakfast sandwich Lotus had made for her husband that morning. The contents of the other bag was a little crumpled recite from a drug store in Kaon.

Lotus dropped her cigarette, her mouth open wide.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Brutus who tensed up, but Maybell.

"You both killed him, didn't you?" Ultra Magnus asked as tears started to form in Maybell's eyes; not from sadness over her father's death Smokescreen realized, but anger that she was caught.

"I…Viker, please believe me." Maybell turned to her boyfriend, who had released her from his hold and was staring at her in shock. He stood up and dashed over to where Brutus was sitting, who was also staring in disbelief at the two women sitting in front of him.

"Lotus, your motive was clear. He had been having an affair on you for quiet some time, not that you really cared, as you told us you were also having an affair on him. But the final straw for you was when he took you out of the will, cutting you out of any hopes of living a high end life from this moment on.

And you, Maybell, are the reason your mother got taken out of the will, because there was no money left." Ultra Magnus reasoned, and no one corrected him. "You work at the drug store listed here; you can easily get the drugs if you so wished. And you did."

"But..the gunshot wound?" Viker asked, not looking at Maybell.

"Xula was already dead when Maybell went upstairs, all she had to was place the silencer on the gun from her father's desk and make it look like suicide, then set the rest of the scene. She had the two minute alibi of using the restroom, making it clear that she would not have had enough time to kill her father."

Smokescreen watched Ironhide and Prowl step forward, their eyes holding the signature gleam of finally catching a killer. Lotus and Maybell didn't protest, they merely stood up and allowed their wrists to be cuffed as they were led away.

"Detective Magnus," Ultra Magnus turned to face Brutus and Viker, who were still in shock. "thank you for…finding my brother's killer." Viker didn't say thank you, but he nodded in agreement as he watched Maybell walk back into the main household.

The detective gave a small nod. "I'm sorry that it ended the way it did."

Smokescreen came up to stand beside the lead detective, his mouth breaking out into a large grin. "What do you say we head back to the Office, Ultra Magnus?"

"We must face the press first." Ultra Magnus said sullenly, clearly not excited to face the waves of cameras and eager reporters, desperate to hear what came of one of Cybertron's lead lawyers.

Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus gave their final condolences to Brutus and Viker before they followed the path Ironhide and Prowl had taken, and the moment they stepped out of the threshold, they were greeted by flashing lights and screaming voices.

"Look over here, Detective!"

"Smokescreen! Tell us the true story!"

"Is it true that his wife and daughter were behind it all?"

"Ultra Magnus, Smokescreen, right this way!"

"Detective Magnus, what if you were wrong? What if it wasn't Xula's wife and daughter who killed him?"

"I'm never wrong," were the only words Ultra Magnus said to the press before he walked passed.

Smokescreen put up a peace sign as a particularly bright camera managed to snap a picture of them, while Ultra Magnus's face remained downcast and sullen even after they got into their cab.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Look at this, Mags!" Smokescreen cried out, showing Ultra Magnus the front page paper from that day's news.

Ultra Magnus looked up from his book off the top of his glasses as Smokescreen plopped down on his arm chair in the corner of the office, the mail in his hands. Ultra Magnus recognized a few billing envelopes, as well as fan mail and likely a few requests for cases. Smokescreen was holding up the newspaper, and Ultra Magnus could see his own grim face as well as Smokescreen's smiling one as they stepped passed the press from the day before.

"How did they paint us this time?" Ultra Magnus asked, looking back down at his book, but he was still listening to Smokescreen.

Smokescreen cleared his throat. "'Detective Magnus and his trusty sidekick Smokestrike - Smokescreen, they get it wrong every time - have finally solved the murder of DA Xula's death, and have determined the killer to be not one, but two members of Xula's family. His daughter and wife wanted vengeance on Xula for his personal attacks on them, and they got their revenge through poison and a misplaced gunshot.'"

Smokescreen began to read the paper, flipping onto the backside once he reached that point. "They got most of the facts right, probably bribed Ironhide with free donuts from Maccadam's again."

"I thought Maccadam's was a bar; bar's do not make donuts."

"Obviously you haven't been into Maccadam's in a long time, Magnus, or you would have eaten half their bakery by now." Smokescreen replied without looking up. Ultra Magnus rolled his eyes and began to read his book again with earnest.

"Anything else of importance?"

"Water and electrical bills are due, a letter of thanks from Viker and Brutus, a thank you note from Hot Rod for helping with his case."

"Hot Rod's case was over six months ago."

"It's Hot Rod." Smokescreen lifted the papers off his lap as the office cat, Mr. Nessler hopped up onto his lap.

Mr. Nessler had appeared one day - and by appeared, that meant Smokescreen had started feeding him one too many times and the cat had followed him back to the office - and despite Ultra Magnus placing a strict 'no animal' policy in the office, he had gotten rid of that rule after he had grown attached to Mr. Nessler as well.

Iuris, the old mutt, lay asleep in the corner in a patch of sun, his belly turned up to the light and his large ears sprawled out on the rug. Iuris had been Smokescreen's, one of his last gifts from his parents from before they died in a tragic car accident when Smokescreen was fourteen. Iuris had been his companion and his rock the past six years, and Ultra Magnus had grown quite fond of him as well.

"Your magazine from Cookers Monthly is here,"

"It's not my subscription, you signed me up and have yet to cancel me."

"Well, I use the recipes more than you anyway." Smokescreen stopped flipping as his eyes came to rest on the last letter at the bottom of the pile. "Whoa, look at this fancy thing."

Ultra Magnus rose from his desk and walked over, expecting to see a new recipe sprawled out for Smokescreen to try, but he was greeted with something quite the opposite.

In his hands, Smokescreen held a small, perfectly shaped dark gray envelope with purple lining and the writing in the darkest black pen one could buy. The handwriting was incredibly neat, scribbling out the address for the Office in perfect cursive.

The return address in the upper left corner read an address Ultra Magnus had only ever seen in his dreams: Castle de Beauvoir.

Smokescreen flipped the letter over, where the purple lining extended to the edges of the envelope flap. There was a black seal holding it closed, the symbol of Castle de Beauvoir: a Hippogriff in flight with a blaze of fire behind it.

"Open it, Smokescreen," Ultra Magnus said, his voice catching in his throat as he realized how excited he was to see what was inside.

Smokescreen did just that, scrambling for the letter opener and cutting opening the back of the envelope just barely missing his index finger in the process. He didn't seem to notice as he whipped the letter out of its paper packaging, but he gave himself a paper cut as the edge sliced past his finger.

Smokescreen let out a small hiss of pain and handed Ultra Magnus the letter to read for himself, while he pushed Mr. Nessler off his lap so he could get a band aid for himself. "Well go on then, read it aloud."

Ultra Magnus opened the folded paper was greeted with the same beautiful handwriting that adored the front of the envelope. He read:

Dear Detective Magnus and Assistant Smokescreen,

I am writing to you today to humbly request your presence at my residence tomorrow evening for a Grand Ball. I have been following some of your most recent cases, and I am both inspired by your works and honored if you would accept this invitation.

Please arrive by the full moon so I know whether or not to save a place for you at the dining room table.

The address is on the envelope, and should you choose to attend, you will be greeted by my butler at the main entrance.

Most sincerely,

Megatron

Owner and Resident of Castle de Beauvoir

Ultra Magnus looked up from the writing of the letter and was greeted with Smokescreen's shocked face inches away from his own. There was an indescribable glee on his features, his freckles dancing on his face.

Smokescreen was clearly waiting for something, and Ultra Magnus sighed.

"We don't know if this is entirely real, Smokescreen. This could be a copycat or one of our released convicts in an attempt to seek revenge for putting them away, or someone who wishes to give us harm." Ultra Magnus desperately wanted to believe the letter was legit, but he knew better than to jump into situations without analyzing every possible angle.

"Well, first of all, that is the real seal of Castle de Beauvoir, it's been the same for generations." Smokescreen picked up Mr. Nessler and held the cat in his arms. "And besides, I think if someone was willing to impersonate Megatron of Castle de Beauvoir, they'd have more danger on their hands than we do when they get the ol' general on their tails."

It was true, Megatron was not a force one wanted to reckon with lightly. Ultra Magnus didn't know him personally, but he heard stories through the grapevine and knew people who knew people who knew him. He served in the Great War a few years back, rising to the ranks of General and Commander in Chief. He'd survived the War and returned to his Castle to live out his days, mostly in solitude.

Ultra Magnus lifted the letter so it was into the light, checking to make sure there was no hidden message or evidence it was meant for something other than a Ball invitation.

Ultra Magnus sighed, lowering the letter and forcing himself to look back up at Smokescreen. The eager young man was practically vibrating where he stood, waiting for Ultra Magnus to say the words.

"Fine, we may go."

The reaction was instantaneous, and Ultra Magnus allowed a tiny smile to come to his face as his assistant danced around the room.

"As long as you contact all the necessary parties to take care of the office, as well as Mr. Nessler and Iuris."

"I got it! No worries, boss!" Smokescreen exclaimed, almost tripping over his own two feet as he suddenly switched directions to call over help right then and there.

"You can also leave once you finish that, Smokescreen. You'll need time to pack and be prepared for when we leave tomorrow." Ultra Magnus rose to his feet and placed the letter in his back pocket.

"Thank you, sir!" Smokescreen gave a mock salute as he dialed in a few numbers. "Hi, Ironhide? Would you be willing to watch Iuris and Nessie for a few days?…Wait 'till I tell you where we're going!"

Ultra Magnus walked past the desks and towards the small table in the corner where the coffee pot was, as well as all the sugars and creams. He poured himself a mug of the heavenly liquid, before he added a single sugar and a single cream. He stirred it around a little, his mind lost in thought.

The opportunity to go to the Castle de Beauvoir - let alone as an honored guest - was so rare Ultra Magnus had never heard it happen before. He should be over the moon, he should be as excited as Smokescreen so obviously was, but something deep down in his gut was telling him there was something wrong with this whole thing.

Something very wrong.

He couldn't put his finger on to what, but there was a terrible aura hanging around the note sitting in his back pocket.

Maybe it was because Ultra Magnus couldn't remember the last time he'd attended a Ball, or any occasion that required him to dress up and relax at the same time. He got so little vacation as it was, so maybe it wasn't so much nerves as it was social anxiety.

"Detective, get over here! Prowl doesn't believe me and wants to hear it from you!"

Ultra Magnus sighed, picking up his coffee and walking back into the main room to pass on the good news.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And remember, Iuris needs to be taken out before he can go to sleep, otherwise he'll pee the bed or he'll have to go out at five in the morning, and that's no fun for anybody."

"Yeah, yeah kid I got it. Now hand over the donuts."

"Not until you promise to record all the times Mr. Nessler comes and goes! We're trying to figure out if he's got a girlfriend or something."

"You're just jealous you don't got a girlfriend, Smokes." Ironhide huffed and grabbed the donuts out of the younger boy's fingers. Smokescreen gave a mock pouty face before taking a bite of the donuts he'd saved for himself.

Ultra Magnus lifted up the last of the suitcases and placed it in the back of the car, before reaching up and slamming it shut. He stood up straight and turned to Prowl and Jazz on his right, who were looking at him with jealousy on their faces.

"You sure they don't allow plus-ones?" Jazz asked, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. Ultra Magnus could practically see the gleam in his eye through his visor.

"If you wish to come along, then you may talk to Megatron when we arrive at his castle." Ultra Magnus replied, his tone challenging.

Jazz shook his head, putting up his hands in mock surrender. "Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me man. You two have fun, and be safe out there, cool?"

Ultra Magnus reached out and shook both their hands, before he turned to Smokescreen.

"Come on, Smokescreen. Let's be on our way. We need to leave now if we have any hope of reaching the Castle before nightfall." Ultra Magnus insisted, getting in the driver's seat of the car.

"Oh, hey Mags, before you go." Ultra Magnus looked to his left as Prowl leaned down by the window. His expression was slightly grim, his mouth set in a thin line and his one good eye full of concern. "Make sure you don't drop your guard until you've scooped out all the other guests, assuming there are any."

Ultra Magnus nodded curtly. "I never let my guard down, and that's the first thing I plan to do when we get there. You know me."

"I do." Prowl grinned. "Be careful and be smart, okay? I don't think any of us could step up and fill your spot as Cybertron's greatest detective."

"You could try," Ultra Magnus bantered, and Prowl slapped the top of the car as he stepped back. Ultra Magnus started the car and waved to Ironhide, but the tall man didn't even notice his gesture he was too busy stuff his face with donuts.

Smokescreen climbed into the passenger seat, bouncing up and down excitedly. Ultra Magnus managed to resist the eye roll as he started the car. The engine roared to life, and the familiar hum of classic radio played on it.

Smokescreen turned and waved out the back of the window as Ultra Magnus merged into traffic and drove away.

"Bye guys! See you later!" Smokescreen waved until they rounded a corner and were out of sight before he sat down and faced forward again. "I promised Ironhide I would try to steal one of Megatron's drapes. Do you think he'd notice?"

Ultra Magnus allowed a smile to come to his face as he merged onto the highway to get out of town. "Something tells me he would, Smokescreen. But you are more than welcome to try, just know I won't come rescue you if you're held hostage."

They fell into easy conversation after that, pointing out new restaurants or talking about old cases as they drove out of town, onto the next adventure.

Chapter Text

Smokescreen didn't get out into the countryside much anymore, so it had been a long time since he'd seen its beauty and stillness. His window was open, allowing all of the peaceful scents of the breeze to flow into the car.

He'd grown up out here for the first few years of his life, living in the small village that he knew was just about an hour past the Castle, through the forest that lay behind it. He'd made some of his best friends there, and he really did love the hikes and swimming in lake trips he and his friends went on.

But after his parents died, he'd moved in with his grandparents in the city and he'd never been back. He'd wanted to, for a while. But he couldn't bring himself to sit down for a picnic in the same spot he and his parents had before they died.

But now, here he was, staring out the window and pointing out all the memories he'd made to Ultra Magnus, who was barely listening as he needed to 'focus on the road'.

"And that's where my buddy and I went ice skating when it got cold enough and the lake froze over." Smokescreen said, pointing to a rather large lake that had a large willow tree behind it. "Willow Lake. That tree was also fun to climb up in, see who could get the highest."

"That's very nice, Smokescreen." Ultra Magnus replied, his voice monotonous as he checked out the rear view mirror at the sun setting behind them. "Can you check the map, Smokescreen? Are we close? I do not wish to be out here at nightfall, and we should not keep Megatron waiting."

Smokescreen huffed, pulling out the map. "There aren't many big creatures out here on the moor, Mags. Just some deer and maybe the occasional coyote." Smokescreen traced his finger along the road they were taking, humming a tune to himself. "Stay straight for about two more miles, then it's up the hill and we're there."

Ultra Magnus let out a sigh of relief, taking one hand off the wheel to rest on his lap. "Good thing we won't keep Megatron waiting. First impressions are key, and I do not wish to give him a negative one of us."

Smokescreen blew a raspberry, a small laugh escaping him. "Megatron already got his first impression of us through the newspaper! He thinks we're cool! Do you know how few people Megatron thinks are cool? And I don't think showing up a few minutes late to his party will take that away."

"We wouldn't have to be a few minutes late if you hadn't needed to stop so many times."

"I had to go! And you wanted to stop too to look at the flowers on the side of the road."

"They were very pretty and very rare flowers."

They fell into silence after that, Smokescreen leaning against the window and Ultra Magnus driving on, the sun setting lower as they drove on.

Soon, they reached the hill that Smokescreen had described, passing by a small family of deer on their way up. Smokescreen tried to reach out the window to touch one, but Ultra Magnus intentionally swerved to the left a little so Smokescreen couldn't bother the deer anymore.

"Hey!" Smokescreen whined as they neared the top of the hill. "They were gonna be my new friends!"

Ultra Magnus resisted rolling his eyes and kept his eyes on the road ahead.

When they reached the top of the hill, the Castle de Beauvoir came into view.

The scenery surrounding the Castle was gorgeous, the pink hues from the sunset and the fading light from the sun itself, causing the stone to glow faintly. The stone glass windows shimmered in the light, reflecting the beautiful colors of blues, greens and reds. The Castle itself was made from stone and bricks, mostly a light brown color. The Castle was several hundred feet tall with a few obvious levels, as well as an observation tower at the top.

A large banner hung from the observation tower, the same as the seal on the letter they had received: the hippogriff and the flame behind it. The colors were black and purple, just as the envelope and letter.

"Wow," Smokescreen breathed out as Ultra Magnus drove closer. He could see the beautiful gardens surrounding the Castle's base, only adding to the Castle's beauty. "it's even cooler than I expected."

"Indeed," Ultra Magnus drove up to the main entrance, where a pair of golden doors were placed. A man was standing beside them, and approached the car as it parked.

Ultra Magnus assumed this was the butler; he fit the part. He was a middle aged man with white hair, a mustache, and was dressed in a fancy black suit with a purple bow tie. His face was kind and he offered a small smile when he drew closer. His brown eyes looked like they could deduce everything about you within the moment he saw you; it probably wasn't even on purpose half the time, but likely it came with the territory of being a butler.

"Good evening, gentlemen." The man said, his voice carrying an accent Ultra Magnus couldn't quite place. "My name is Steve, and I am the butler here at Castle de Beauvoir. Can I assume you are Detective Magnus and Mr. Smokescreen?"

Ultra Magnus nodded, trying to ignore how Smokescreen was practically shaking in his excitement. "Yes, that would be us. We are here by request from Lord Megatron for his Grand Ball?" Ultra Magnus discretely slapped Smokescreen's arm, and Smokescreen pulled the envelope out of his coat pocket, offering it to Steve.

Steve didn't take it, but he gave it a strange glance and looked back up to Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen.

"Ah yes," A look that appeared to be humor crossed Steve's face, hidden only by his professional facade. "are you referring to the Phantom Party?"

"Phantom Party? Is that what we're calling it?" Smokescreen asked. "I didn't know this was a costume party, I would have brought my best costume for the occasion."

Steve opened the door for Smokescreen, then walked around to Ultra Magnus's side and did the same. He made his way to the trunk to open it as he spoke, "Lord Megatron has dubbed the party the Phantom Party, since guests starting arriving with fake invitations for a Ball he was not prepared to host."

The familiar feeling of dread returned with a vengeance in Ultra Magnus's gut. He knew something was wrong with this whole thing, it was good to be true.

Smokescreen obviously felt the same, the glee gone from his face. "So…Megatronisn't impressed with our work?" Ultra Magnus allowed himself to roll his eyes at that.

Close but no cigar, Smokescreen.

"No, Lord Megatron is very impressed with your work, he reads up on every case you get in the paper. But he did not invite you; he did not invite anyone. But now he is simply throwing a party for fun." Steve explained, pulling the luggage out of the trunk. "You are not being forced to attend, if you wish to you leave you may. I will inform Lord Megatron of your decision."

Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen shared a glance over the car, their eyes equally large and confused. Smokescreen looked half between wailing out and screaming angrily, while Ultra Magnus likely had disappointment written all over his face

Ultra Magnus was never one to gloat his victories, but he was very close to doing it now, despite the disappointment hanging in the air. He knew there was something wrong with this whole thing, and while he had been looking forward to having a weekend away for a lovely Ball at this Castle no less, he wasn't willing to put their lives at risk or waste their time on something that wasn't really happening.

Smokescreen surprised them when he shrugged and said, "Whatever. We're already here, and I was promised fancy food and dancing."

Smokescreen turned on his heel and walked into the Castle, leaving a shocked Ultra Magnus beside the car.

Steve walked in front of them, holding open the large doors. "Glad you have decided to stay. After you, sirs."

Smokescreen walked in first, Ultra Magnus catching up quickly. Steve followed last, managing to balance all the suitcases without breaking a sweat. Ultra Magnus reached out to help, but Steve jerked his arms away, refusing the help.

"I am the butler, sir. This is my job. The staircase on the left will lead you up to your temporary quarters."

Smokescreen was standing in the center of the room, staring up at the ceiling. "Wow," he breathed out, beginning to spin in a circle just for the fun of it.

The inside of the Castle was just as beautiful as the outside, with paintings and decorations lining every wall. The floor were a detailed wooden pattern with red and gold slotted in. The high ceilings were gorgeous as well, windows on the top letting in the last of the sunlight, and Ultra Magnus could see a few stars dotting the sky.

There was a large sitting room on the left side of the main room, and on the right there was what appeared to be an office, though one door was closed and Ultra Magnus didn't want to intrude and enter inside. In front of them sat two large staircases leading up to the second floor, the stairs brown with a red carpet and the railing gold.

"The Castle was built nearly four hundred years ago by ancestors of Lord Megatron's family. It was originally used for meetings, Grand Balls, and weddings, and nobles from all planets across the galaxy would journey here." Steve began to explain as he gestured to the staircase. Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen began to walk up slowly, still drinking in the paintings and beauty of the Castle around them. "Ownership of the Castle has been passed down from generation to generation, though it has slowly become more exclusive."

"Where is Lord Megatron?" Ultra Magnus asked as they reached the top of the staircase. Steve gestured to the right, where there was a long hallway that was dimly lit.

"Last I saw, he was out in the yard playing polo with the first few guests. I would imagine he is now trying to get everything in order for the Ball." Steve replied, walking past the first few doors. Smokescreen could hear faint whispering from inside, and he figured the other guests were likely trying to sleep.

"He will be at breakfast tomorrow morning to properly welcome all the guests." Steve added, stopping in front of the last two doors in the hallway. "For you, Detective Magnus," he said, opening the door on the right. "and for you, Mr. Smokescreen." He opened the door for the younger man, gesturing inside.

Smokescreen grabbed his suitcase and hauled it the rest of the way inside, turning to say a farewell. "Thanks Steve!" He pulled a few coins out of his pocket, and Steve accepted with a nod. The butler gave a nod to Ultra Magnus before he turned and walked back out the way he came.

Smokescreen looked to Ultra Magnus now, a wide smile on his face. "This is so exciting!" He whispered, not wanting to wake the other guests. "Don't you think?" Smokescreen added once he noticed Ultra Magnus still looked guarded and confused.

Ultra Magnus sighed. "Something does not feel right to me, Smokescreen."

"What, the fact this wasn't supposed to be a real party? Come on now, that was just a misunderstanding. It's like we said before, no one would be stupid enough to impersonate Megatron, and we already know he's not mad about it."

Ultra Magnus leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms. "Regardless, I do not feel like we should entirely relax."

Smokescreen's smile softened. "That's why you're the best, Mags."

Ultra Magnus resisted the urge to smile. "Keep up your guard, we'll talk more after we meet the rest of the guests tomorrow morning."

Smokescreen gave a mock salute before he gave a final goodnight, turning and closing his bedroom door behind him. He looked around his room, already in love with it.

The room was large indeed, about the same size as their office space and kitchen combined. There was a large bed in the center of the room against the back wall, as well as a fireplace off to one side with a couch and reading chair. Two large windows on the wall by the fireplace would likely be a perfect view of the sunrise, but now they were dark and covered by their purple curtains.

Smokescreen explored a little more, venturing into the attached bathroom, where there was a shower and large bath, with plenty of warm, fluffy towels to be put to use.

Smokescreen sighed and turned out of the bathroom, tiredness beginning to pull at his bones. He was exhausted, he realized, after driving all that time with nothing but Ultra Magnus's brick wall of conversation skills to work with.

The red head gave himself a running start before he flew and landed on the bed, sinking in the mattress with a soft hum. His eyelids were already beginning to droop when he heard it.

A ferocious roar, drowned out by distance and the walls of the Castle, filled his ears. It was a horrible, shrill noise that caused him to be fully awake and alert. He sprang out of bed and ran to one of the windows, pulling back the shade and peering out in an attempt to see what was out there.

"Maybe Megatron's got a large dog or something," Smokescreen whispered to himself, trying to be rational and not immediently think monster.

Smokescreen's view of the outside included the back garden and the stables, and he could hear the horses making noise in their own terror. Their scared calls sounded nothing like the roar Smokescreen just heard, but he figured that was for the best.

If a horse had made that noise, they'd have more problems on their hands.

There was a second roar then, much quieter but still ferocious and terrifying. It came from the forest, Smokescreen deduced, looking out at the thousands of trees a ways past the Castle grounds.

"I have to talk to Magnus." Smokescreen decided, dashing away from the curtain and moving towards the doorway. He pulled open his door and made it all the way until his fist was raised to knock on Ultra Magnus's door before he paused to think.

"Maybe it's nothing," Smokescreen looked around and noticed no one else was out in the hallway; the doors were all closed and the hallway was scarily silent.

"Am I the only one who heard it?" Smokescreen thought out loud, dropping his fist back his side and letting his fingers slip down. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and turned back into his room, closing the door behind him.

He walked slowly back towards his bed, muttering to himself and trying to make deductions about what that noise could have been.

Ultimately, he didn't get very far in his thought process, because the moment Smokescreen's head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning, Mr. Smokescreen,"

Smokescreen's long and peaceful sleep was disturbed as the shades were pulled apart, sunlight plowing into the room like a rocket. The beams of warm light hit his face, but he groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillows over his head in an attempt to block them out.

"Five more minutes," Smokescreen pleaded weakly as he heard Steve opening the blinds of the second window. "oh, just gimme five more minutes, then I'll get up, I swear."

Steve walked over and stood beside Smokescreen, standing up straight with his hands tucked behind his back. "I apologize, but you do have to get out of bed now, sir, breakfast is ready and all the other guests are waiting for you downstairs. I also regret to tell you that Ultra Magnus doesn't seem very happy with you."

Smokescreen jerked awake at that, falling out of the bed in an attempt to get up even faster. Steve was waiting, his arms open and holding one end of a robe in both hands for Smokescreen to put on so he didn't look like a total bum going down to breakfast.

"What was Ultra Magnus like? Was he 'stone faced but talkative' mad or was he 'quiet but smiling' mad?"

"I suppose it was smiling and quiet, as you say. He is waiting in the hallway," Steve said, an edge of humor to his tone. He pushed out a pair of slippers for Smokescreen to put on, and the junior detective did just that.

"Oh, Ultra Magnus is gonna kill me!"

The red head didn't wait to see if Steve followed, but he dashed out the door and rammed straight into Ultra Magnus's chest, causing him to fall backwards onto his butt, while Ultra Magnus glared down at him with confused in his eyes.

"Uh, sorry?" Smokescreen chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "The bed was so comfy I couldn't help but sleep in a little later. We can't be that late, can we?"

"Late?" Ultra Magnus asked, genuine confusion in his tone. "Smokescreen, we're not late. We're still on time."

"What? But Steve said I was making us late."

"I told him to say that. I needed to be sure you were still ready to move at a moment's notice," Ultra Magnus replied, a smirk rising on his face before he turned and began to walk down the hall.

"It's too early for this," Smokescreen muttered, rising to his feet as Steve walked out behind him. The butler patted his shoulder, guiding him down the hall and after Ultra Magnus.

Smokescreen quickly forgot all about Ultra Magnus's prank, focusing on looking at the beautiful pieces of artwork on the wall. Some were of former owners of the Castle, while some were different pictures from different years the Castle had been around, showing the different garden types and colors on the observation tower.

They arrived to the dining room with about five minutes to spare, Steve informed them as he opened the bright doors leading inside. The dining room was just as fancy as the others, with a large fireplace on one side that was already lit and toasty, and a few doors on the other that lead to the kitchen.

The table in the center took up most of the room, stretching from one end to the other with plenty of elbow room for each guest. The table was made of a dark wood that almost looked red in the firelight, and the chairs had matching arm rests and backrest with white cushions.

It took Smokescreen a minute to notice some of the chairs were occupied by individuals Smokescreen had never met before. About half the chairs were left unoccupied, and Smokescreen felt a little more stupid for believing Steve when he'd said they'd been late.

Steve lead them to their seats, two next to each other at one end by the third empty at the head of the table, next to a man a little older than Smokescreen and across from two older men.

"Good morning," Ultra Magnus greeted to the man sitting next to them. He was a short, younger man with pale skin flaming red hair that rivaled Smokescreen's, though it looked dyed as compared to Smokescreen's natural red head. The man had high cheekbones and hazel eyes, with ears that almost had a point to them, like a mystical elf. Even from looking at the man for twenty seconds Ultra Magnus could tell he had very good fashion sense, and he cared about his appearance greatly. "I am -"

"Detective Magnus, I've heard a lot about you. My husband doesn't shut up whenever a new case of yours comes out in the paper." The man replied fondly, jerking his thumb at the man sitting on his right.

As if alerted by his 'husband' speaking about him, the man turned from his conversation, his eyes brightening as he recognized Ultra Magnus.

"Dreadwing! What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't aware that you were invited," Ultra Magnus stepped behind Knock Out and gave his long time friend a good handshake, which the man reciprocated.

"I wasn't aware that you were invited as well, we could have carpooled," Dreadwing joked, letting a laugh escape him.

Dreadwing was a tall and muscular darker skinned older man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was clean shaven, Ultra Magnus could tell he shaved recently based on the one day stubble on his cheeks. And despite it being as early as it was, Dreadwing was dressed nicely, with khakis and a nice white turtle neck shirt and a tan overcoat to match.

He likely picked up a solid fashion sense from his husband.

"I don't think you would have liked to carpool with us, we barely got here before sundown." Ultra Magnus joked, stepping back and sitting down in his seat. He directed his attention back to the red haired man sitting next to Dreadwing. "And you must be Knock Out then, I remember your name from the wedding invitation; sorry we were never able to make it, I recall a case came up that night."

Knock Out nodded, extending his hand for a quick greeting. "Ah yes, I remember Dreadwing insisted that we invited you, always said you were a good friend. After this you should come over for dinner sometime."

"Hey, K.O! I thought we were making progress, where's our invitation?" A man called from across the table. Smokescreen looked up and in the direction of the caller, and was met with a smirking face.

This man appeared older, with a few freckles and dark spots on his face as well as blue eyes. His tan skin had a few scars on his lips and forehead, but Smokescreen couldn't possibly tell from what from so far away. His high cheekbones on the other hand, were left undamaged, his jawline looking like it could cut like a knife. His hair was an eye-catcher, a mix of black and gray and a little bit of white.

He was holding hands with the man next to him, a taller and rounder darker skinned man with brown eyes and dark hair, as well as a bit of beard to match. His eyes were kind and there was a large smile on his face, and judging by the wrinkles on his forehead and eyes, he smiled a lot. He seemed sweet, but he also looked like he could easily snap Smokescreen in half if his partner said the word.

Smokescreen made a mental note to not get on their bad side.

"Now now, I've known you for about a day, while Dreadwing and Ultra Magnus go way back. Butter me up with some more stories and sweet talk and you'll get your invitation, Wheeljack. You too, Bulkhead." Knock Out replied, the smirk widening on Wheeljack's face.

"You're Ultra Magnus?" Bulkhead's voice was deep, not matching the excited tone in his voice. "It's an honor to meet you in person."

"I prefer Detective, if you don't mind." Ultra Magnus replied, and Smokescreen didn't miss the scowl on Wheeljack's face. "But it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Bulkhead."

Bulkhead beamed.

The door opened and another couple walked in, followed by an individual Smokescreen had seen in the papers before. His name was Shockwave, if Smokescreen remembered correctly, one of the highest paid scientists on Cybertron, and for good reason; considered to bee one of the brightest minds Cybertron had ever seen. Shockwave was a tall and muscular darker skinned man with one eye covered with an eye patch; an experiment gone wrong years ago. He had dark black hair and his cold expression was enough to give him the creeps.

The couple who walked in with him Smokescreen easily recognized: Ratchet, the Chief of Surgery at Cybertron's finest hospital and his husband, Optimus Prime, the former general of the greatest army on Cybertron

Ratchet was a short and stout older white man with white hair that still has some streaks of red in it. His hair was pulled back in a bun, but it looked like it could easily extend past his shoulders. He had green eyes and some stubble on his face, and wore glasses. He sat down across from Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus, Optimus sitting down beside him.

Optimus was a tall, dark skinned man with dark hair with a little bit of gray on the edges of it, as well as in his thick beard. He had kind brown eyes and a warm smile that makes Smokescreen instantly want to trust him. The junior detective noticed several scars up and down his arms, likely from the War.

"Detective Magnus, so good to see you again," Optimus greeted once he looked up and saw him across the table. "Mr. Smokescreen, a pleasure."

Smokescreen had never felt so honored in his life. Optimus Prime just acknowledged his existence.

"It is good to see you too, Optimus Prime. And you as well, Ratchet." Ultra Magnus replied, nodding at the doctor.

"I am truly surprised at this guest list." Ratchet said conversationally, gesturing to the other sitting at the table, and the still empty seats around it. "But I see no common ground, few similar social circles. Whoever 'invited us' really spread out the criteria."

Ultra Magnus perked up. "I was just thinking the same thing. Are you close with Lord Megatron?"

Optimus nodded. "We served together in the War, he is something of a brother to me now. But we haven't spoken in quite some time, which is why I am surprised we were invited."

"I performed cosmetic surgery on him last month, maybe that's why I'm here." Knock Out shrugged, laying his napkin out on his lap.

"You're a surgeon?" Smokescreen asked.

Knock Out shrugged, but he clearly liked the attention. "Yes I am. Graduated top of my class and work under Ratchet, actually."

Ratchet smiled slightly. "One of my finest attendings."

"Admit it, I'm better than Airachnid and you love me more."

Ratchet chuckled. "You're a plastics surgeon and she's cardiac; I can't compare you two equally."

Knock Out rolled his eyes. "Wrong answer, you love me more and I'm better than Airachnid."

Conversation stopped as the door opened again, revealing two intimidating figures. One Ultra Magnus recognized, the other he did not.

Megatron was the first one, tall and muscular with pale skin with brown eyes and what Smokescreen considered to be a 'smolder'. He was an older man with gray hair and a graying beard, but he still looked very fit and very scary. Smokescreen could see lots of scars on his face, likely from the War.

The other man was shorter than Megatron, but no less intimating. He had white hair and a long scar going down his face, with a few other pink scars on his face as well. His dark eyes and deep frown made Smokescreen want to run the other way or cower under the table.

Ultra Magnus couldn't describe it, but the atmosphere of the room darkened the moment the second man entered the room. No one's outward appearance changed; Wheeljack barely cast him a glance and the smirk remained on his face, while Bulkhead was still talking calmly to Dreadwing, the warm smile on his lips. Ratchet and Knock Out offered the man a small greeting before returning to their regular conversation.

Ultra Magnus couldn't put it into words, but something was wrong

Megatron remained standing, taking his place at the head of the table. "Welcome, honored guests. Despite not being invited, I am very glad you're here."

"Where's the rest of the gang?" Wheeljack asked, gesturing to the still empty tables.

"Anyone who is not already here has already informed me that they would be late, and will be coming later in the day." Megatron replied, folding his hands behind his back. He turned a little to address everyone sitting down at the table.

Megatron continued. "I know the circumstances surrounding this event are shaded and confusing, but I assure you that you will all get the week end away that you were promised, with a large and festive ball, with all the food you can eat and all the booze you could handle."

Murmurs of amusement filtered across the table, and Megatron clapped his hands trice. The doors to what Smokescreen had assumed was the kitchen opened, and a few chefs ran in, holding trays upon trays of breakfast food.

Smokescreen's eyes practically bulged out of his head when he saw all the delicious food being brought to the table, but he managed to restrain himself from taking anything until all the trays had been laid out.

What felt like hours passed by, breakfast carrying out smoothly. Casual conversation filtered between all the present guests, except for the mystery man, Ultra Magnus noticed.

He took a small bite of his Eggs Benedict and thought pensively about why the man was so reserved.

"Ultra Magnus."

The detective snapped to attention at the calling of his name, and he turned and saw Megatron looking at him expectantly.

"I was hoping you would join me after breakfast for a quick chat. I know you of all people, being a man who works in the conspiracy field for a living, is likely disturbed with the present circumstances." Megatron tilted his helm. "Am I wrong?"

Ultra Magnus shook his helm, his eyebrows raising a little. "No, you're actually very right. I would love to join you."

Megatron nodded approvingly. "Wonderful. Now eat up, and please don't be afraid to ask for seconds. My chefs are the best on Cybertron and they haven't had guests to cook for in quite some time."

Ultra Magnus smiled and looked back down to his food, and he could not help but agree. The food was indeed the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ultra Magnus watched Smokescreen eagerly following Knock Out and Wheeljack out out to the backyard to play polo, while Dreadwing and Bulkhead followed a much slower pace, in no rush to get to the outdoors. Optimus and Ratchet followed even farther behind, arms linked together and in deep conversation. Shockwave walked beside them, answering a few questions Ratchet asked and politely continuing conversation, though his attention was mostly on the notes in his hands.

The other man had disappeared a long time ago, without saying more than ten words to anybody.

"Oh Ultra Magnus," The detective turned and saw Megatron standing regally by the door, holding it open to leave. "are we going for that walk?"

Ultra Magnus nodded and quickly crossed the dining room towards Megatron, walking out the door and waiting for the man to come to his side and allowing him to lead their walk.

Megatron led them towards the main entry way where Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen had come in through last night. They walked out and turned right, walking towards the outdoor grounds of the Castle.

"Allow me to try and clear the situation," Megatron insisted, folding his hands behind his back. "I do not know /how/ the invitations got out, but I assure you they were not sent by me. I had been planning you all to attend a one day dinner, but not for several months from now and most definitely not a Grand Ball. But everyone who is here now is on that guest list. You, Starscream, Shockwave."

"Lord Starscream is coming? I thought you two did not get along."

"We don't. And do not call him Lord, it feeds his ego. But I am good friends with his husband, Soundwave. So that is how he is invited."

Ultra Magnus nodded and waited for Megatron to continue his explanation.

"As of now, I have no reason to suspect any danger while you are at my Castle. I have security every hour and no one gets in or out without my knowledge. My Castle is the safest place you could be." Megatron assured him. "You may do your own detective work as well, if you do not believe me."

"I will take your word for it," Ultra Magnus promised. "though I admit that 'relaxing' is not one my strong suits."

"I follow your cases, Detective. You complete your work in record time with record accuracy. If something was really afoot here, I have no doubts you would solve it."

There was a tone in Megatron's voice that was almost challenging, but Ultra Magnus ignored it in favor of his next question.

"Who is that man who joined us at dinner? He didn't seem very conversational and no one seemed to like him."

"Oh, Silas Bishop?" The word almost sounded forced on Megatron's tongue. "He is an old business friend of my father's, and quite a prominent member of Cybertron's innermost circles. I haven't spoken to him in quite some time, which is why he was on my list."

The pair rounded a corner around the Castle, rose bushes lining the brick walls. Megatron ran his hand across one, a pleasant smile on his face.

"No member of Cybertron's circles are very liked people. For example, Starscream. Which would explain why no one else likes him, but I do not expect that to ruin our fun. I've asked Silas to be nice, and I trust everyone else will too." Megatron explained calmly.

The answer was a good one, and cleared up several things in Ultra Magnus's head. Every part of him wanted to relax and enjoy this weekend without having to let his detective side run rapid and ruin the fun, but he couldn't help the sixth sense telling him something else was very wrong here.

Ultra Magnus's thoughts were interrupted by a fierce roar out in the woods, the same terrible wailing sound he'd heard last night.

"What in the Pit is that?" Ultra Magnus exclaimed, looking around to see if anything was around them. Megatron merely chuckled at the detective's confusion.

"Detective, please. There is nothing to fear. The village boys through the forest love to play tricks on the Castle workers. There's nothing out in the forest anyway except deer and a few coyotes." Megatron raised an eyebrow. "Rumor has it however that one of Shockwave's old labs is out there. Some say he never fully destroyed all of his projects."

Megatron turned around and began to walk away, a smirk on his lips. "I must return to the party planning I'm afraid. If you keep walking forward you'll reach the others in the backyard. Thank you for the talk, it was lovely."

Ultra Magnus stared after him in surprise, before a smile of defeat came to his lips.

He allowed himself a single chuckle before he turned and followed the wall of the Castle until it lead him to the backyard.

Chapter Text

Smokescreen had never really understood the need to have a conservatory; anything that could be held in one could be held in a different room and serve the exact same purpose: a green house could be detached and a ways away from the Castle in a place with better lighting (Smokescreen had already toured every inch of this Castle twice, he knew there was already a greenhouse, or a study or living room.

But just standing in the Conservatory now, and looking around at the glass walls, shielding from darkness of the outside while still offering a beautiful view of the moon and stars, Smokescreen understood the reason why a Conservatory might be a neat place to hang out in.

It was where they were hanging out now, all of the guests finally in attendance. Everyone was dressed up in fancy casual; khakis and casual dresses. Gentle music was being played in the background, a prelude to tomorrow night's festivities.

The last of the guest list had arrived a few hours ago, all with the same problem of attempting to figure out why they were invited to such a fancy place when they had little to no connection with the owner of the Castle, and had apparently never seen the other guests before in their lives.

Smokescreen had taken a quick liking to Arcee and her husband, Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper had walked - more like barged in, nearly knocking the doors off their hinges - in the back door no less, proclaiming a loud 'Yeehaw!' and immediently asking where the booze was kept. Arcee had walked in quietly after, rolling her eyes and greeting Megatron properly.

Arcee herself was slightly shorter than everyone else, about a head shorter than Wheeljack and Knock Out. She was a proud Latino woman with rich blue hair with a single streak of pink down the side that extended just past her shoulders. She had piercing brown eyes and what Smokescreen liked to call an RBF, with high cheekbones and a defined jawline.

Smokescreen had recognized her from the TV where he occasionally saw her gymnastics routine, and he also knew her to be a part time guard of Optimus Prime.

Cliffjumper, on the other hand, was a tall, broad shouldered man with red hair and clean shaven face. He had warm blue eyes and a kind smile with a booming laugh to match, practically shaking the floor whenever someone said anything remotely funny, but it was the type of contagious joy that made you want to laugh right along with.

He also looked like he could snap Smokescreen in half if he really wanted to, so Smokescreen decided he wasn't going to chance getting on his bad side.

The other newly arrived guests included Bumblebee, a law student at the University of Iacon, Airachnid, the cardio god at Ratchet's hospital, Starscream, of the most prominent members of Cybertron's inner circle right alongside Silas, and Starscream's husband, Soundwave, who had yet to say even a word since he arrived.

Smokescreen also liked Bumblebee a whole lot, given their closeness in age and interests. Optimus had also spoken highly of him, apparently they'd met when Optimus had taught a class or two at the University. Bumblebee was around medium height, darker skinned young man with black hair and frosted tips that were just growing out and bright blue eyes and dimples. Smokescreen described him as a typical college kid; a little too tired and a little awkward, but he was still kind and open to conversation.

Smokescreen would be lying if he said the kid wasn't cute either.

Smokescreen swirled around his virgin mimosa and smiled up at Bumblebee, who he was talking with now. Cliffjumper and Arcee were next to him, laughing about the joke Arcee had just told.

"I don't know babe, you've been slacking a little lately, I really think Bee here could take ya." Cliffjumper egged her on. Arcee rolled her eyes and took a sip of her own drink, and Bumblebee awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Just because I played rugby doesn't make me a tough guy," Bumblebee replied, but Smokescreen could pick up on the pride in his voice. "Besides, I haven't played in a long time either."

"But still, rugby? You need some balls for that sport," Cliffjumper joked, punching the kid lightly on the arm. "That reminds me." The man turned over his shoulder and looked around the crowd of other guests. "Oi, Dreadwing!"

The man looked up from where he was standing beside his husband, Ultra Magnus and Megatron also in their circle.

"This kid played rugby!" Cliffjumper called out, and Dreadwing raised his glass approvingly. Cliffjumper turned back to the others, wrapping an arm around Bumblebee's shoulders and pulling away. "He played too, back in his day; a second row if I remember right. He's gonna tell you he sucked, but he was the best in the game."

Bumblebee cast one last glance over his shoulder at Smokescreen as he was pulled away, and Smokescreen liked to think he didn't imagine the gleam in his eyes directed at him.

"So, what's your story?" Arcee asked sweetly, taking another sip of her drink.

"Well, it's a good one, see -"

Before Smokescreen could fully answer, Wheeljack walked over, a large glass of whiskey in his hand. He paused only for a moment to wrap his free arm around Arcee's waist, whispering in her ear, "The general is drunk." before he moved on and stood beside his husband.

Arcee didn't even spare him a glance, her eyes on Smokescreen the entire time.

Smokescreen looked around for a moment, trying to figure out what Wheeljack meant. Optimus, one of the generals there, was very obviously not drunk, holding a glass of water in his hand. Megatron was also sober; Smokescreen remembered him saying earlier that he wanted to stay sober in case any party emergencies needed his attention.

Come to mention it, no one was drunk.

Smokescreen turned away for a brief moment to analyze the other guests. Airachnid, Starscream, Soundwave, and Silas were all tightly gathered in their own circle, having what appeared to be a tense conversation.

Airachnid was every bit the calm and composed surgeon Smokescreen had heard her to be, her lips pressed in a thin line but her face bored and annoyed. She was also shorter, but only slightly taller than Arcee. Her hair was a mix of golden and dark black, a pattern that Smokescreen felt only she could pull off. Her eyes were a deep brown, mesmerizing and evil all at the same time. Her face was unreadable, appearing bored but incredibly interested at the same time.

Starscream, in all his regal glory, was tall and thin pale man with brown eyes that almost appeared red in certain lighting, high cheekbones and elegant stature. His hair was a light gray with a red streak up the center, and Smokescreen could only assume that cost a fortune to maintain to that degree of perfection.

Primus knew Starscream could afford it.

Smokescreen could only deduce so much about Smokescreen, given half his face was covered by a mask that went past his nose, leaving only his mouth and chin exposed. Smokescreen could see the muscular yet soft jawline on the pale face, matching the tall and thin body of the rest of the man. Smokescreen had tried to hold a conversation with him once already, with little success since the man hadn't responded.

Smokescreen turned back to Arcee just in time to watch the woman whisper the same thing Wheeljack had said to her to Ratchet, who hummed and kept walking.

This was starting to feel like an inside joke, but Smokescreen couldn't figure out what they were referencing and he started to hate it.

Arcee redirected her attention back to Smokescreen, a smirk on her lips. "You were saying?"

Smokescreen pointed a finger out from Arcee and the direction Ratchet had walked away to. "Is everything okay?"

Arcee gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"That. Right there. What Wheeljack said to you and what you said to Ratchet. Is everything okay?"

Arcee let out a small laugh and drank the last of her glass. "It's our bet that we made, a code if you will. Every time we say it, it means that we have to go talk to Optimus and try to get him to take a shot. So far no luck," Arcee gestured to Optimus who was still holding water. "if you wanna try, go right ahead. Fifty to the winner."

Smokescreen couldn't always tell when he was being lied to, but he did know the sound of a surprised tone when he heard it. Arcee hadn't been expecting him to ask about it, and maybe that story was the truth, maybe it wasn't, but either way Arcee sounded nervous to tell it.

He didn't get to put much more thought into it however, when the quietness of the Conservatory was disturbed.

The sound of shattering glass and screaming caused Smokescreen to turn abruptly, shocked and a little caught off guard.

It was Starscream who had dropped his glass, but judging by the crazed look in his eyes and the defensive stance he had taken up, the cup had likely been thrown to the ground rather than dropped.

The object of Starscream's anger was Silas, the man standing before him with his arms crossed and feet together, seemingly unbothered by the display of anger before him. Smokescreen could see his breathing was a little faster than normal, but it more likely had something to do with his anger than his fear.

Airachnid had taken a step away, her eyes a little wider than before, while Soundwave was standing in front of his husband, holding back the man from attacking Silas in the middle of the Conservatory.

The Conservatory had gone silent, the music stopped and all conversation ceased.

"How…dare you…" Starscream seethed out, his eyes glowing in his anger. His fists were curled and he looked about two seconds away from drawing back his fist and hitting Silas as hard as he could.

"I figured you needed a little reminder of your place, Screamer." Silas replied coolly, his voice deep in his anger towards his fellow Councilman. "I outrank you."

"You don't outrank squat, low-life. We all know how you got onto the Council." Starscream fired back, pushing Soundwave out of the way without breaking his gaze away from Silas.

"Like you're any better."

"Are you referring to what I think you are -"

"Gentlemen." Their lovely conversation was interrupted as Megatron pushed himself between the two of them, Silas taking a step back and Starscream straightening to his full height. "I thought we all agreed to a calm, relaxing weekend with no disorderly actions. This is most certainty crossing a few lines."

Silas scowled. "I was just about to retire, Megatron. I apologize for the outburst. Tell your servants I apologize for the mess as well."

"I've heard more apologetic words come out of your mouth in the past ten seconds than I have in my entire time knowing you." Starscream spat at Silas's back as the Councilman walked away, pushing open the Conservatory door and walking out without sparing anyone a glance. "Kiss-ass."

Dead silence followed were Silas left, all the guests's faces a mix of confusion and awkwardness. Shockwave rolled his good eye and approached Airachnid, offering her a tall glass of gin, which was graciously accepted. Bulkhead shared an awkward glance with Optimus, who seemed just as worried as the former.

Megatron huffed and followed Silas out of the Conservatory, barely sparing Starscream a glance as he angrily sauntered past.

An awkward silence remained as Starscream's short angry breaths were among the only sounds in the room. Soundwave leaned down and pressed his hand to the side of his husband's face, but it only helped minutely.

Starscream seemed to snap to attention then, taking in all the scared and confused eyes staring at him. "Quit staring!" Starscream demanded, his anger turned from fury to embarrassment quickly. "I threw the glass at the ground for Primus's sake, I could have thrown it at his head!"

"I wish you had," Smokescreen heard someone mutter, but he couldn't determine who. He didn't know the guests well enough yet.

The Councilman turned on his heel and began to strut towards the door, Soundwave following close behind.

"Wait, Starscream," Ultra Magnus called out, pushing past Arcee and his apprentice to catch up to the Councilman and his husband. The lithe man turned, his face set in a scowl as he looked up at the detective. "I wish to speak with you briefly."

Starscream raised an eyebrow but didn't push himself further out the door. "If you're going to ask me about what that was about, I promise you it wasn't anything serious. Silas simply brought up something I thought he'd forgotten."

"Mr. Starscream," Ultra Magnus knew he was treading on dangerous waters, both sets of eyes on him making him want to rethink his next words. He couldn't even see Soundwave's face, but he knew his expression was not pleasant. "do you have anything you wish to tell me about your relationship with Mr. Bishop?"

Starscream sneered before he reeled in his facial expression. "Detective Magnus, are you asking me as an on-duty detective?"

Ultra Magnus maintained eye contact. "I am not on duty, but if there is anything you wish to tell me about Mr. Bishop, you can tell me now."

Starscream seemed to hesitate for a moment. He looked back up at Ultra Magnus's face, his mouth set in a thin line. "If anything comes to mind, you'll be the first person I seek out, Detective. But I advise you do not ask Silas about our relationship, he will likely feed you lies."

Starscream turned on his heel once again, pushing open the door and walking out without another word, Soundwave once again matching his pace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ultra Magnus sighed, walking up to his door and pausing before he reached up to turn the handle and open the door.

It was getting harder and harder to ignore all the classic signs: one person excluded from the others based on his job or shared past with the other people present, there was still no lead on why all these other guests were all here, and little to no connection between all of them.

Ratchet knew Knock Out and Airachnid because they worked for him, while Optimus and Megatron knew each other from the War. Ultra Magnus knew Dreadwing through their shared history, and Starscream and Silas had a relationship, through obviously it was rough. The there were the people who had little to no connection to others, like Wheeljack and Bulkhead seemed alienated from everyone else, though they'd made friends quick, and Bumblebee's young face was a stark contrast to the others.

It was giving Ultra Magnus a headache, trying to figure out if any of this meant anything or if he was just looking too far into it, like he sometimes did.

There were many times he attempted to make mountains out of ant hills, but every time he had been right about his suspicions. He desperately wished, that for once, he would be wrong and the tense atmosphere that was starting to build around them would die soon enough.

His gut and his detective instinct was telling him he was right, that he should continue to dig deeper into the relationships and the drama that was happening, but all he wanted to do was relax and enjoy the weekend.

The Silas issue could wait. Right?

Ultra Magnus sighed again and reached up, turning the door handle and stepping inside the room, startled when he heard a small cry of surprise.

Ultra Magnus's heart leaped in his chest as he gripped onto the door handle and little tighter in an attempt to stabilize himself from falling backwards. He could feel his eyes going wide in surprise as he realized there were people in his room.

There were four people total: an older woman with dark black hair and blue eyes, a young teenage boy with strikingly similar features, a young girl with black hair brought back in a bun, and a younger boy who had spiky brown hair and red glasses.

Ultra Magnus felt slightly embarrassed as he realized they had been in the middle of cleaning his room, and he resisted looking at his hand still on the door handle, suspecting he would see a 'cleaning in progress' sign on it.

How embarrassing.

"I am so sorry, I did not realize you were here," Ultra Magnus stuttered out, straightening and raising his hands in defeat. "I'll leave you be."

"No, no, it's okay." Ultra Magnus paused in the doorway as he was called back, and he remained in the doorway. It was the older woman who had called out to him, gesturing to one of the seats by the fire that had no blankets or cleaning supplies on it. "Please sit down. We were almost finished."

The room was spotless, in much better condition than Ultra Magnus had left it in this morning. Not to say Ultra Magnus was a slob, but he didn't get the chance to make his bed properly or fix up the coffee table after he'd woken up.

"Well please, the least I can do is make you all a cup before you leave," Ultra Magnus offered, walking towards said coffee table to prepare them a warm cup of something. He realized it might be too late in the day for coffee, but there were little packets of hot chocolate that he would never use.

The children immediently perked up, looking back at the older woman for approval, bouncing where they stood. The woman hesitated, gripping the bed sheets in her hands a little tighter.

"We really shouldn't ask that of you, sir. We'd be overstepping, we are only supposed to be cleaning -"

"Oh come now, a little bit of hot chocolate never hurt anyone." Ultra Magnus's tone was open, a final offer. If she wanted them to leave, she could.

The older woman sighed and gave a small nod, and the three kids ran forward, eagerly waiting for the milk to heat up so they could enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, likely after a long, long day of work.

"My name's Miko." The young girl introduced herself.

"I'm Raf," the youngest boy said, adjusting his glasses on his face when they slipped down his nasal ridge.

"And I'm Jack," The last teen introduced, rubbing the back of his neck. He gestured back to the older woman, who was finishing up the cleaning. "and that's my mother, June Darby."

Ultra Magnus offered them all a warm smile. "I'm Ultra Magnus, I work as a detective in the city."

"We know." Miko said eagerly, her eyes glistening in the firelight. "We always read your cases in the paper with Lord Megatron. That one case where you figured out it was the wife and daughter was rad!"

Ultra Magnus's grin only deepened. "Definitely one of my finest cases, also one of my proudest moments." The kettle of milk gave a small hissing noise, announcing that the liquid was heated. Ultra Magnus poured a decent amount of milk in four cups, before emptying a hot chocolate packet into each one.

He carefully stirred each one until the cocoa and milk had blended together perfectly before passing it onto the eager recipient. Even June seemed excited as her cup was handed to her.

"So cool," Raf agreed as he took his steaming cup into his hands. He blew on the hot liquid for a moment before he tried to take a sip, quickly determining it was too hot.

The three children sat down by the fire, all holding their cups of coffee as they shared stories of their day. Ultra Magnus gestured to the air of chairs beside the fireplace, and June nodded, leading the way.

"So, you work for the Castle?" Ultra Magnus asked conversationally. June nodded and blew on her drink for a moment, holding eye contact with Ultra Magnus as she waited for him to continue. "How long?"

"All my life, really. My family has lived on the Castle grounds for generations, working for the heir to the throne as long as it's been around. It's less of a business arrangement and more of a family. I met my husband here, Jack was born here, I've raised them all here, Megatron is more than kind to all of us."

Ultra Magnus nodded, understanding what she meant. "Miko and Raf are not your own?" He realized he was likely asking some strange questions, but June seemed eager to talk about all of the little ones she claimed to be her own.

"No, they were dropped off at the Castle as children, and Megatron couldn't turn them away. They're practically mine, and little angels in their own way. But if you find a little special surprise in any of your bed sheets or pillows, it was Miko. She loves to play tricks."

Ultra Magnus chuckled. "Thank you for the warning." A calm silence followed after that, June's attention on the three children still sitting by the fire, drinking their hot cocoa and laughing together.

Ultra Magnus's thoughts were dragged back to the events that occurred earlier than night; the yelling and the breaking of glass, the look in Silas's eye as he glared at Starscream and the Councilman glared back. He sighed and decided to appease his detective side a little bit.

"Ms. June, are you aware of the events that happened at the Conservatory tonight?" June shook her head and Ultra Magnus took it as a sign to explain.

And he did, explaining how the evening started out as normal, with nice conversations and getting to know the newest guests better. He ended with Starscream and Silas's scene.

As he finished, a satisfied smirk settled on June's face as she took another sip of her cocoa.

"What do you think of it?" Ultra Magnus asked, and the woman scoffed.

"Starscream should have thrown his glass in Silas's face. Primus knows he can't possibly get any uglier." June rolled her eyes and scoffed again. "Out of all the guests I've ever served, I hate Silas the most. He's rude, he's messy, and he has a God complex to rival Primus himself. He needs a little glass to the face every now and then."

Ultra Magnus was a little taken back by the kind woman's hateful words. She, like nearly every other guest, was not fond of Silas in the slightest. The detective was beginning to wonder if he should advise Silas to just leave and avoid all the hate so he could actually enjoy his weekend away.

"So Silas deserved a little public humiliation?" Ultra Magnus egged on.

"He deserves much worse, but if public humiliation is all he gets, it's enough."

"Do you know why everyone else hates him?"

June scoffed. "Everyone has their reasons. Almost always justifiable reasons, too. I can't speak for everyone but I know he's got dirt on a lot of people, and that doesn't exactly bring out feelings of love towards another."

June sighed then and relaxed a little. "Detective Magnus, I know you must think less of me, given how much hate I'm expressing towards Silas, but just know I don't do it lightly I don't hate anyone unless they give me plenty of reason to, and he gives me many, many reasons."

Ultra Magnus nodded, taking this all into consideration. There were a lot of pieces to this puzzle, and only a few of them seemed to fit together in a way that was coherent and plausible.

Silas was a terrible person on multiple accounts; blackmail and the position he held in Cybertron's inner circle. He seemed to have more connection to everyone here than Megatron did with his own guests.

Ultra Magnus paused.

Was that the reason they were here?

Ultra Magnus rose from his seat, dashing over to pull a notebook and pencil out of his backpack. He heard June calling to him, but he couldn't let any of the details slip from his mind.

He began to write as quickly as the ideas came to mind: Silas could be link. Blackmail, strong connection with Megatron, could easily have forged the invitations. Why??

Ultra Magnus felt himself relax as he straightened and looked down at his notes. His detective side was definitely more relaxed now, having cracked the first step of this mystery.

"Silas is the key," Ultra Magnus whispered to himself, a satisfied feeling in his gut. "I'll confront him after the Ball tomorrow night."

"Detective Magnus?" Ultra Magnus turned and looked, seeing June and the three children looking at him with shocked expressions on their faces, as if they expected him to burst into flames or curl up in a ball and cry. "Everything alright?"

"Yes," Ultra Magnus answered honestly for the first time since he'd arrived. "yes, I do believe everything is quite alright."

Ultra Magnus gathered his composure as June nodded, signaling to the children to gather up the cleaning supplies. "Well, we'll allow you to retire for the night, then. Thank you for the hot chocolate."

The three children also shared their thanks, grabbing their own supplies and walking towards the door. June caught up with them, a smile on her face as she bid Ultra Magnus goodnight.

She reached down and took the 'Cleaning in Progress' sign off the door handle as she walked out.

Ultra Magnus sighed once they had disappeared, sitting down on the bed. He looked at the notes in his hand, another sigh escaping him, but this time it was more of a relieved sigh that he had taken the first step in figuring out why they were all there, and what might be in store for them.

The first step in every case was always the hardest, but now he'd done it.

Ultra Magnus leaned backwards, his eyes closing in a deep slumber moments after his head hit the still warm pillowcase.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And…bullseye."

Wheeljack released his grip on the bowstring and the arrow launched from the bow, sailing through the air with a small singing noise as it went. It landed with a shink on the yellow bullseye of the archery board.

"Wow! Three for three, Wheeljack!" Smokescreen exclaimed, pulling the arrow out of the target. He had been demoted to 'arrow fetcher' after it had been quickly determined he couldn't exactly use a bow and arrow very well (He'd nearly impaled Airachnid twice and almost took off Cliffjumper's head).

The older man chuckled and pulled a fourth arrow out his quiver, loading it into the string and pulling it back tight, all in one fluid motion. "Steady hands, kid, pretty useful in my line of work. And I took lessons as a youngling. My sire thought they would come in handy someday."

Wheeljack released the bow, sending the arrow straight into the center again, almost in the exact same spot as the last shot.

"Okay, okay, enough showing off." Arcee pushed the taller man out of the way, who moved out with a laugh and a dramatic bow, stepping aside for Arcee to take her turn. "Lemme show you how it's done."

Arcee drew her arm back, one eye closed as she zeroed in on the target before her. Smokescreen, Cliffjumper and Airachnid fell silent, waiting for her to fire.

She released after a moment, the arrow zipping through the air and landing beside Wheeljack's in the bullseye with a loud thunk.

"That's my girl!" Cliffjumper hollered, running over and wrapping his arms around his fiance, who laughed as she was lifted up into the air.

Airachnid walked over slower, patting Smokescreen on the back as she walked past. "Someone's watching you," She whispered, glancing up at the balcony above them.

Smokescreen followed her gaze and saw Bumblebee peering down at him, a drink in his hands. Smokescreen offered a sheepish wave, and Bumblebee waved back, a grin on his lips.

"Hey there," Smokescreen looked back down and saw Arcee gesturing him closer to her from her spot a ways away from the target. Wheeljack, Airachnid and Cliffjumper had wandered over to the target beside this one to get some extra practice.

Smokescreen followed her gesture, standing beside her as she reloaded the bow with a new arrow. "What's shakin', bacon?" Smokescreen asked as Arcee released the string. The arrow was a little off that time, hitting the ring just outside the center.

"You threw me off," Arcee said seriously, but Smokescreen saw the gleam of humor in her eyes at what he had said. "You never finished telling me your story last night."

Smokescreen realized then she was right; he'd been disrupted from telling Arcee about himself by a little…scene. He shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Not much about me, really. I only work with the best detective on Cybertron, which is actually a pretty great gig. I've seen a couple articles thinking that Magnus is a bad boss, but he's actually very understanding of when I need time off for certain things, like my parents' birthdays."

"Your must love your line of work, got good stories for the dinner table." Arcee commented, firing another arrow. It hit a little low, but nearly a bullseye.

"I'm sure they would like them, but they're both dead." Smokescreen remarked, looking down at his feet.

Arcee's grip loosened on the bow as she allowed her arms to relax. She waited until Smokescreen looked up and met her gaze before she spoke. "I'm sorry for you loss."

"Thanks," Smokescreen shrugged. "car accident, so at least they didn't feel anything. What about you, you tell your parents your gymnastics or bodyguard stories?"

Arcee smiled sadly. "I do when I visit their graves once a week. They're dead too; cancer and a job gone wrong."

Smokescreen sighed, straightening as they made eye contact again. There was a softness in Arcee's eyes that he had seen before, something akin to pity. But there was a deeper look to her, the small smile on her face giving it away: understanding.

Arcee shook herself off and turned back to the target, raising her arms and pulling back the bowstring. "Those can't be the only things about you, what else you got?"

Smokescreen chuckled. "That is it, really. Graduated high school and got an internship, and Magnus got hired by the corporate to try and figure out who murdered one of the employees. I helped him out with the case and the rest is history."

"Sounds like you got a pretty nice gig outta it." Arcee agreed, releasing the string and watching the arrow sail forward. She moved out of the way and gestured for Smokescreen to take her place.

It took quite a bit of convincing, but eventually Arcee promised to help Smokescreen this time around, in the hopes for better results. Smokescreen stepped forward and Arcee began to fix his stance and posture, and the younger man felt more confident already.

"So what about you? Only a gymnast star and bodyguard? Nothin' else there?" Smokescreen joked, and Arcee punched his arm.

"Yeah, been doin' gymnastics since I was about three and managed to make a career out of it, and I became a bodyguard after my mother died, wanted to make her proud."

"I bet she is." Smokescreen said sincerely. "And Cliffjumper?"

Arcee couldn't resist looking over her shoulder at the mention of her lover. "I met him at the Academy. We did not get along at first. He was…quite the conversationalist." Arcee's eyes filled with a fondness that could only be directed at a lover.

Smokescreen drew his arm back and waited for Arcee to turn around and make any necessary corrections to his form. While he waited, he too glanced over at Cliffjumper and the others, who were watching Airachnid take her shot at the target.

Airachnid let loose the arrow, and began to turn and walk away before she even saw if it hit the target or not. She whispered something to Cliffjumper, who turned and looked back to Wheeljack.

The two shared a strange look Smokescreen couldn't quite make out from this far away, but he saw Wheeljack nod, and the two turned on their heels and began to walk back towards the Castle, carrying their arrows and bow in their arms.

They walked past Smokescreen and Arcee with a nod and a kiss from Cliffjumper to his fiance, and kept going. Smokescreen followed their path until they had walked up the outdoor stairs, where Bumblebee and now Bulkhead and Knock Out were standing, drinks in hand. They all met up and began to talk in conversational tones before disappearing inside.

Overall, the thing wasn't too suspicious. But given that nothing at this Castle made a lick of sense, the abnormal was more normal than the normal.

It was giving Smokescreen a headache.

He was brought back to attention by Arcee before he could put much more thought into it, making a mental note to talk to Ultra Magnus about it later, see if he noticed anything strange.

"Come on Smokes, let's see it now." Arcee prompted, and Smokescreen let out a nervous chuckle before he let the arrow fly, his worries flying away with it.

Chapter Text

"Aw scrap." Smokescreen muttered to himself as he tried to tie the final knot on his bow tie. The silky fabric once again slipped out of his grasp, falling innocently down his collarbone. It remained there even after Smokescreen stared at it in the mirror, willing it to bend to his will and form a perfect bow. "Why does being fancy have to be so hard."

A crack of lightning sounded outside, followed by a booming clap of thunder that seemed to agree with Smokescreen's predicament.

Smokescreen had really debated showing up to the ball in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and he'd almost gotten away with it, except Ultra Magnus had caught him before he could reach the point of no return, demanding that he get changed immediently.

Smokescreen reluctantly did, trading in his gray sweats for an all black three piece suit, one of the nicest pieces of clothing he'd ever wear. His bow tie was a dark blue that matched his eyes nicely, picked out by the tailor back in the city. His shoes, currently sitting innocently under the mirror were a shiny black that reflected the light.

Knock Out had lent all of the guests a pocket watch if they so deserved, and just by looking at the gold chain sticking out of his pocket, Smokescreen knew it was worth at least a years' worth of rent. Knock Out was wealthy all right, but beyond not being afraid to show it off, he was also not afraid to share it.

Smokescreen only dreamed that he could reach the same level of wealth and kindness that he could loan out gold pocket watches if he so desired.

Smokescreen sucked in a deep breath, hyping himself as he began to try again. "Come on now, you're Smokescreen. Assistant to the greatest detective on Cybertron. You can tie a little bow tie."

Smokescreen's fingers worked delicately around the dark blue fabric, managing to get about three quarters of the way through the bow before his index finger slipped up and the bow tie once again fell from his fingers.

Smokescreen looked up at the ceiling and groaned, ripping the tie from around his neck and moving to grab the fake bow tie from his dresser that he'd brought along, knowing even then he wouldn't be able to get the tie tied in time.

"Hey, Smokes."

Smokescreen looked behind him in the mirror, surprised to see Bumblebee standing in the doorway, all dressed up for that night as well. Bumblebee's suit was similar to his, a fancy three piece black suit with shiny black shoes and a golden yellow tie to match the pocket watch in his breast pocket. His blue eyes were gleaming and there was a small smile on his face.

He'd likely been watching Smokescreen struggle for a while now.

"Uh, hey Bumblebee." Smokescreen replied, trying to stop the color from rising to his face. "Sorry if I'm holding up the dinner, I couldn't get my tie done."

Bumblebee chuckled. "No worries, Smokes. You still got time. You want me to help?"

Smokescreen's eyebrows went up a little in surprise. He initially wanted to refuse the help; he was a big boy, he could tie his own ties, thank you very much. But then he realized he couldn't tie his own ties.

He nodded, inviting Bumblebee further into his room and the man accepted.

Bumblebee walked over, taking the long blue fabric from where Smokescreen has thrown it on the dresser and moving to stand in front of the other man. He immediently set out to work, wrapping the tie around Smokescreen's neck and folding the fabric over to make the perfect bow tie.

Smokescreen couldn't help but notice a few things about Bumblebee then - how could someone blame him, Bumblebee was less than five feet away from him after all - like how he was just a hair shorter than Smokescreen even though he was wearing shoes and Smokescreen wasn't, or how he smelt like actual honey and smokey fire.

Smokescreen also noticed a large scar going across his neck, slightly exposed over the neck of his suit, but it looked like a story that shouldn't be asked about.

"It's a birthmark." Bumblebee broke the silence of the room after feeling Smokescreen's eyes on his neck through the mirror for a little too long. "I know it looks like a pretty bad ass scar, but it's just a birthmark. Not much to it."

"Oh," Smokescreen replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say from there. "and here I was thinking you were a secret agent or something, got it protecting Cybertron from other worldly invaders."

That got a laugh out of Bumblebee. "You're right, it's actually from wrestling a baby out of a shark's mouth."

Smokescreen laughed at his sarcastic reply. "I should have known someone has handsome as you was so heroic."

Bumblebee's smile softened. "Well, I don't know about heroic, but I do like the handsome part."

Their eyes met then, Bumblebee's fingers falling away from the now finished bow tie. The smaller man moved out of the way so Smokescreen could see the finished product; a perfect bow tie indeed.

"Thanks." Smokescreen said, meeting Bumblebee's gaze again with a warm smile.

"Don't you think I deserve a little more than that for helpin' you out?" Bumblebee asked, standing in front of Smokescreen again.

Smokescreen tilted his head to proclaim another sarcastic comment, but Bumblebee took advantage of his current position, rising up on his toes to press a kiss to Smokescreen's mouth. Smokescreen kissed back, happiness pooling in his gut that he hadn't imaged all those shared glances before.

The kiss was quick, Bumblebee pulling away before anything more could happen. Their eyes met again and Smokescreen felt himself smiling like an idiot, even after Bumblebee began pulling away.

"I'll see you down there?" Bumblebee asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Smokescreen nodded, still facing the mirror as he watched Bumblebee walk away. Just as Bumblebee reached the door, Smokescreen forced himself to turn and face him again, words spilling out of his mouth faster than he could stop them.

"Save a dance for me?" He asked, surprised at himself. He wasn't even sure he could dance, especially to whatever ballroom waltz Megatron would likely request at some point.

Bumblebee surprised him too, nodding and a kiddish gleam came to his eyes. "Of course I will."

Bumblebee left then, closing the door behind him.

Smokescreen turned back to face the mirror a few moments after he'd left, a childish grin on his face.

"Yes!" Smokescreen pumped his fist into the air, excitement and pride blooming in chest. "That's the man right there!" Smokescreen gave himself finger guns in the mirror, hyping himself up for just asking the cutest boy at the party for a dance.

"Wait 'til I tell Magnus! And he always says I can't get a date to anything." Smokescreen picked up his shoes off the floor and quickly threw them on. He fixed and styled his hair one last time in the mirror before he turned to leave, the smile still on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite what Ultra Magnus originally thought, the dinner before the Ball was not held in the same dining room as the previous meals, but in a different dining room even more grand and fancy than the last one.

This dining room was twice as large, with high ceilings and wooden beams adding taste and composure to it. There was an even larger fireplace that flickered and provided plenty of warmth. Above said fireplace was a small balcony for a little band to play, soothing tunes harmonizing over the dinner conversation.

The dinner table was beautiful carved - hand carved, as Megatron warned no one to damage it - with a rich dark brown coloring to it and matching chairs. Each table place was set with the finest china and utensils; Ultra Magnus couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this many forks at a single setting.

Each guest matched the royal feeling of the dining room, dressed in either the most beautiful dresses or the fanciest suits. Each of the men wore a bow tie that matched the color scheme of their personality: Cliffjumper wore a bright red, Bulkhead had a dark green and Starscream had a light gray. The women wore gorgeous dresses that went down to the floor, proper ballgowns. Arcee's was a beautiful blue while Airachnid's was golden with touches of black and purple.

Ultra Magnus's own tie was a lighter blue, matching his eyes and bringing out their natural hues. He was talking with Shockwave and Optimus, as they debated on which modern poet showed the most promise.

"I disagree, Optimus. Logically speaking Platis will rise above the others, given his extensive studies at Iacon and his tutors there. Surely you can understand his promise given you studied under Alpha Trion for several years." Shockwave argued, defending his new favorite poet.

"I can agree with you there, Shockwave. But Platis's works are repetitive and need a different angle. Swinspeare has that angle, which is why he has gone into play writing as well." Ultra Magnus stepped in, and Optimus nodded his agreement there.

"Platis was first in his class while Swinspeare was second. To Platis." Shockwave added, raising his eyebrow as he took a sip of his drink.

"You were second in your class to Airachnid if I remember right." Ultra Magnus allowed a smirk to come to his lips as Shockwave narrowed his eye.

"She cheated. I promise you she did." Shockwave defended himself.

"Regardless, I believe that you are both wrong. Olive is the best young poet there is." Optimus spoke up, and Shockwave and Ultra Magnus both gave him shocked looks.

"Optimus, you don't mean that."

"Surely you're joking."

Optimus took a sip of his drink and shrugged. "I happen to find her work fantastic. You only hate it because you know I am right."

Their debate was halted as Megatron tapped his drink with a fork, calling the attention of all the guests.

Megatron was standing by the doorway to the kitchen, which like the other dining room was connected off to the one side. There was a man standing beside him, a rounder darker skinned man with black hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in the classic cook's outfit, the white hat proudly sitting atop of his head.

"I would like to introduce Chef Fowler, the creator of the beloved feast we are about to enjoy." Megatron announced, and the guests loudly began to clap and cheer for Fowler, who accepted the praise with a wide grin.

"If you would all take your seats please, and I can present the appetizer." Fowler spoke loudly so everyone could hear him. All the guests complied quickly, moving to their seats and awaiting the announcement of their first course.

"I don't think I've ever had a dinner that had any courses except main and dessert." Ultra Magnus heard Smokescreen whisper to Bulkhead, who laughed his agreement.

The doors to the kitchen opened wide, several servants and cooks bursting through with plates of food in their hands. They walked up to two guests each, placing a steaming dish in front of them, as well as a small side of soup.

"For your appetizer, I present to you smoked salmon crayfish with a dill mouse, and a side gazpacho soup." Fowler announced after all the plates were placed down in front of the guests.

Megatron had moved away from Fowler then, taking his place at the head of the table. His glass was still raised and there was a smile on his face as he addressed his honored guests.

"I would like to propose a toast," All of the guests raised their glasses, waiting for Megatron to continue. "to all of you, and all the surprising events that happen in our lives."

"Cheers to that!" Wheeljack loudly shouted, Cliffjumper following it up with a loud 'Yee-haw!'

They all clinked glasses with the people next to them, before placing down their glasses and starting their appetizer.

Ultra Magnus looked around the table at all the smiling faces of the guests. Everyone seemed calm and happy now, eating the delicious food prepared for the and getting excited for the long night of dancing and drinking ahead. Even Silas seemed more relaxed then before, talking with Megatron and even adding to the conversation of the main table once or twice during the meal.

The rain continued to poor down outside, hitting the windows and only adding to the cozy feeling of the meal. It reminded Ultra Magnus of when he and his family would used to go to their cabin and it would rain all night long, adding to the fear of his father's ghost stories.

As the main course of pan fried duck with spiced orange and cranberry sauce was served, Ultra Magnus noticed that Silas wasn't where he had been placed at breakfast the other day, but in fact he was now seated on Megatron's right and Ultra Magnus's left.

Megatron and Magnus: the only two people who seemed to be able to tolerate Silas without throwing a glass at his head.

No one else seemed to notice or care for that matter, the conversation flowing easier than it had any other time.

"Ultra Magnus, this is delicious, we have to get invited out to fancy places more often." Smokescreen said as he dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "I don't think I'll be able to eat fast food ever again. Even MaccAdam's got nothin' on this place."

"Ol' MaccAdam? I remember him from school. Crazy fellow, even then." Fowler said, walking over and personally taking Smokescreen's plate out of his way. He turned and began to walk towards the kitchen, where Ultra Magnus saw June walking out of. "But I'm glad you like it, kid."

The two exchanged a quick kiss on the cheek for a greeting and June grabbed the plate away, turning back into the kitchen. Ultra Magnus remembered her telling him she had met her husband here.

"You'll have to talk to Megatron, see if he will have more dinner parties in the future." Fowler edged on his boss, who rolled his eyes and took a sip of his wine.

All of the guests joined in a series of encouragement, and Ultra Magnus didn't miss the smile on the man's lips that they liked his party so far, even if it hadn't been planned.

Dessert came later, a beautiful creme brulee that was so good Ultra Magnus wished he could lick his plate clean. The dessert was eaten with the background noise of the band still playing and conversation between all parties.

Ultra Magnus let out a laugh of his own as Ratchet cracked a joke about the younglings of the generation, and Smokescreen and Bumblebee's reaction was priceless indeed. Ultra Magnus knew he wasn't imagining the looks cast between the two young men, but he didn't say anything to his pupil as to not embarrass him in front of all the other guests.

Just after the last of the dessert dishes were cleared away, Megatron rose from his seat, and all the conversation went silent, most of the guests believing this would be the announcement to head out to the dance floor and begin the real party.

Megatron surprised them all when he stepped away from the table and walked over to Fowler. Miko jumped out of the kitchen as well, a serious look on her face which did not match the smiling one of last night when she and the others had been in Ultra Magnus's room.

Megatron pulled them both in close, muttering something to them. By now, all the guests had turned back to the others, giving Megatron a little bit of privacy.

Fowler's face looked as stern as Megatron's did, if the glances over the shoulder were anything to go by. Miko kept glancing back at the table, but she looked at a different person every time, her eyes betraying nothing.

The terrible feeling of something going on once again returned to Ultra Magnus's gut, stirring poorly with his wonderful dinner and the few hours he'd been without this terrible feeling. He hadn't missed it, quite frankly.

A few moments went by before Fowler and Miko were dismissed, returning to the kitchen with a phrase of farewell to their boss.

Megatron turned and walked back to the table, holding his head high and grabbing his wine glass off the table. Conversation once again ceased and waited for Megatron's announcement.

Megatron lifted his glass to Optimus, who sat at the opposite end of the table. "Optimus, if you would please follow Steve out of the dining room and to the dance hall, we may begin the proper dancing part of this Ball."

Cliffjumper let out a loud cheer and sprang up from his seat, Arcee standing up a little more reluctantly and rolling her eyes at her fiance yet again. The rest of the guests followed their lead, Steve opening the door and guiding them all out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While the music during dinner had been solely calm and instrumental, the music during the Ball was a mix of slow and the pop that many of them had been accustomed to in the city.

A dance circle had formed in the center of the floor, everyone on the outside cheering on Dreadwing as he showed off his impressive break dancing technique, spinning around on the floor with such grace despite the suit he was in.

There were a few on the outside who didn't like to dance; Shockwave, Megatron, Ultra Magnus, and Ratchet, sipping a drink and laughing as the others made fools of themselves dancing about like younglings.

It made Ultra Magnus smile to see all of the staff dancing along as well: the chefs and the cleaners for one, Ultra Magnus was happy to see. He figured that must have been what Megatron had talked to Fowler about, an invitation for his staff to join them on the dance floor for this amazing occasion.

Then there was Silas. Alone on the opposite side of the room, closest to the exit. He had a drink in his fist and his face was set in a scowl, watching the dancing through glassed eyes; not taking in a thing. His calm and relaxed demeanor from the dinner was gone like it had never been there in the first place.

Ultra Magnus debated whether or not to go make conversation, maybe he could catch the man off guard and ask him why he thought everyone hated him, but he realized it was a very public place and quite easy for Silas to get away if he so wished.

"Magnus, earth to Magnus," The detective turned back and saw Ratchet trying to get his attention, a small grin on his lips. "had too much to drink, have we?"

"Oh no, I'm doing fine," Ultra Magnus argued as there was a loud whooping coming from the dance circle. They all turned and saw Soundwave now in the center, doing a very good impression of the robot. "definitely not as far gone as they are."

Megatron laughed, though there was something anxious about it. "That is the point of a party, detective. This is their chance to forget all their troubles and let loose a little bit. Most of what you see is their happiness, not drunkeness."

Ultra Magnus shrugged as he watched Starscream shakily reach for another drink off a tray that walked by. "Yes, well. The alcohol certainty helps."

Megatron nodded and chuckled a little, before placing his drink down on the table near them. "If you would excuse me, gentlemen." The host of the party walked away after that, towards the main exit.

Just above the noise of the music, Ultra Magnus heard the opening of a door. He managed to look up in time and caught Silas slipping out the exit he'd been standing by, the creaking of the door closing behind him almost hidden by the music around him.

"Silas seems unwilling to let loose," Shockwave observed; he'd seen the man leave too. "It strikes me as a surprise he even showed up at all, instead of retreating right to his room."

"Optimus owes me ten, he stayed for thirty minutes, which is thirty more than Optimus bet." Ratchet added smugly.

"Do you two have a problem with Silas?" Ultra Magnus asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Problem? What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing really. It just seems that our connection here seems to be that everyone hates Silas, so I was wondering if either of you had a problem with him." Ultra Magnus shrugged nonchalantly. "You do not have to answer if it is personal, it's just my detective side acting up a little."

Shockwave and Ratchet exchanged a glance, Ratchet nibbling on his lips for a moment.

"He oversaw my projects at the lab for a while before he was promoted to Councilman. Coincidentally, most of my projects were terminated by the council soon after." Shockwave admitted after a few moments. "I could never confirm if he was responsible, so I have no direct quarrels with him. I knew the council hated most of my work anyway, but he supported it. He could have easily tried to defend me."

"He was a patient in my hospital, once, for an emergency and he requested Airachnid personally. But you know I can't say much more than that," Ratchet shrugged. "honestly before or after the day he came in I've never heard much about him."

Ultra Magnus nodded. At least their relationship with Silas remained open, even though it was shrouded with a little bit of mystery. Whether or not they were telling the truth and there were no hard feelings towards the man Ultra Magnus couldn't tell, but he decided it was a good place to drop the topic.

"Magnus!" The detective turned, surprised to see the dance circle calling him over. Smokescreen's flushed face was directed at him, a wide grin on his freckled cheeks. "Come dance!"

Ultra Magnus shook his head and held up his drink, but smiled back at the younger man. Smokescreen gave a pout, but did not push any farther.

Ultra Magnus sighed and realized that one dance couldn't hurt. He set his drink down on a table by the others and began to walk out to the dance floor.

"Oh shit!"

Ultra Magnus was hit from the side, some of the wind knocked out of him from the shock of it. The disheartening feeling of alcohol running down his nice suit cause Ultra Magnus to look down, unable to say anything as Wheeljack grabbed some napkins and began to rub away at Ultra Magnus's suit in an attempt to get some of the liquid out of the fabric before it ruined it.

"So sorry, Mags." Wheeljack slurred out, very obviously under the influence. "The kid wanted you ta dance, so I came over ta get ya, musta tripped over my own two feet." A little bit of Wheeljack's accent came out in his drunken stupor, but Ultra Magnus tried his best to ignore it.

"It's fine, Wheeljack." Ultra Magnus insisted, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. He knew he wasn't doing a very good job, but could anyone blame him?

"No, no, it's not. So sorry again." Wheeljack threw out the dirty napkins and grabbed a few more, wiping up whatever he could.

"Say, Wheeljack, what's your quarrel with Silas?"

The man's hands froze and he glared up at Ultra Magnus. "What?"

"Silas? You know -"

"I know who Silas is detective, why are you askin' me about him." It was phrased as a question, but it wasn't one.

Ultra Magnus realized he was treading on thin ice, if Wheeljack's glare was anything to go by. "No reason, forget I asked."

"Yeah, I will." Wheeljack handed the detective the last of the napkins and turned on his heel. "Sorry again, Magnus."

Ultra Magnus watched Wheeljack storm out of the dance hall, out the main entrance they came in. He sighed and looked down at his ruined suit, already ready for the screaming fit Rung (his dry cleaner and tailor) would throw him when he saw the state of his suit.

The thundering footsteps were barely heard above the booming music.

The main doors to the party were thrown open and slammed against the walls, the thud alerting everyone. Ultra Magnus turned in surprise, the music cutting short and the only sound the breathing of everyone trying to catch their breaths.

Bumblebee was standing in the doorway, his eyes wide as saucers and his face as pale as a ghost. His knees were buckling and he could barely stand; Smokescreen and Knock Out darted forward to offer support.

"Murder!" Bumblebee screamed before either man could reach him. "Oh it's awful! He's dead!"

"Who's dead?!"

"What are you saying, kid?"

Ratchet stepped past everyone and grabbed onto Bumblebee's shoulders, shaking him fiercely. "What did you just say?!"

"His body! In the hall! Come quick!" Bumblebee wailed, pulling himself out of Ratchet's grasp, pointing in the direction of the hallway. He motioned for everyone to follow him, his terrified face implanting itself in Ultra Magnus's memory.

Everyone followed Bumblebee as quickly as they could, turning right out of the ball and moving through a few hallways. They eventually ended up to the hallways just before the bedrooms, Ultra Magnus realized as they walked up a short staircase past a few familiar pictures.

After what felt like hours, Bumblebee stopped at one edge of the hallway, taking deep breaths and pointing around the corner.

"He's right there." Bumblebee whispered, sniffling and looking down at his shoes.

Shoes, Ultra Magnus noticed, that had blood on them.

He narrowed his eyes, making a mental note to interrogate Bumblebee first before the young man would have the chance to wash his shoes, possibly getting rid of evidence.

Ultra Magnus had honestly expected Bumblebee to have pulled a joke on them, that no one was really dead. Or maybe, in Bumblebee's own tipsy state, a drunken body passed out on the floor when he or she didn't make it to their bedroom before falling asleep.

"Well go on then," Ultra Magnus turned to look at who spoke, surprised to see Arcee glaring up at him. "go around!"

Ultra Magnus hesitated, doing a quick headcount.

He paused.

Everyone was there. Airachnid, Optimus, Bulkhead. Even the staff remembers who had attended the party, like Fowler or June or her children.

Everyone.

Even Megatron and Wheeljack, who had left early from the dancing where there.

They all had an alibi for this moment.

"Primus," Ultra Magnus breathed out, walking around the corner.

The beautiful carpets, formerly clean and perfect for tonight's party, were darkened with the dark red smear of blood. The blood matched the pattern of someone dragging the body, Ultra Magnus followed the path of the floor.

Without looking up, he continued to follow it along the side, making sure to not touch any of the evidence.

About halfway through the hall, lay the body of the victim. Multiple stab wounds piercing his body, his suit ruined by the holes and the dark red blood still bubbling or trickling out of the wounds. His eyes were open in pain and terror, the glassiness of death covering them.

Silas Bishop.

Was dead.

Chapter Text

Ultra Magnus finally managed to look away from Silas's body after Steve respectfully laid a blanket down over it, to cover it from the blank faces staring at him, horror still in their lively eyes.

Megatron was standing beside him, his arms crossed and leaning against the wall. His gaze was still fixed on Silas's form through the blanket, his eyes cold and clearly lost in thought. Ultra Magnus didn't bother him.

Smokescreen was off on the other side of the hall to get some privacy as he used one of Megatron's telephones to call Ironhide and the other officers back at the station to report the situation. His face was still visibly upset and he was making every effort to not look back at Silas on the floor.

Most of the others were huddled together by the corner they'd come around to find Silas, whispering among each other. Some faces looked saddened by this loss, like Ratchet and Dreadwing, while others looked almost relieved the wretched man was gone, like June and Bulkhead. There were a few faces Ultra Magnus couldn't read, like Optimus, whose face was controlled and giving nothing away as he held his husband close, and Soundwave, whose mouth barely twitched under the edge of his mask.

Ultra Magnus cast one more look to Silas, moving to kneel down beside the body. The man's cold hand was still peaking out the side of the blanket, his fingers curled outwards and beginning to loose their color.

Ultra Magnus raised his hand slowly and covered the dead man's hand, a small sign of respect for him. He leaned and a little closer, giving off the impression he was just doing his detective work and whispered, "I don't think many people care that you're dead, I think some people are even happy about it. But I promise you, I will solve your case. Justice will be served."

After he said he piece, he turned and saw Smokescreen trying to call him over, waving his hand dramatically. Ultra Magnus rolled his eyes but made his way over, loosening his tie a little bit.

Not like he needed to be fancy anymore, the party was ruined.

"What did Ironhide and Prowl say?" Ultra Magnus asked, hope in his tone. "Are they sending more officers to assist with the case? A forensic analyst perhaps?"

Smokescreen shook his head. "They won't be able to send anyone out for a few days. Apparently there was a pretty bad accident that wiped out half the city's power and water supplies, so they have to oversee that. They said they'll get people out as soon as they can, but they said they're confident we - I mean you, sir - can get it done."

Ultra Magnus smiled a little and wrapped his arm around Smokescreen's shoulders. "No Smokescreen, you were right. We will get this done."

Smokescreen beamed even after Ultra Magnus moved his hand. The older man crossed one arm over his chest and the other under his chin as he thought. "Let's retrace the night's events."

Smokescreen nodded, pulling a pad of paper and a pencil out of his pocket, ready to take notes. Before Smokescreen had joined him, Ultra Magnus had taken his own case notes from his crazed detective mind so no one - sometimes not even him - could read the writing, but Smokescreen's handwriting was much more legible, and he could follow along with the speed of Ultra Magnus's thought process.

"Everyone was together at dinner, and the guests almost seemed calmer around Silas, as if his presence didn't matter."

"Maybe they all knew he was going to die, so they were all excited to get rid of him."

"Smokescreen, be reasonable. The only person who knew Silas was going to die was the killer, and it has to be singular, there's only one type of stab wound from one weapon. It couldn't have been more than one person." Ultra Magnus hummed. "But anyway, they seemed calmer, most likely having to do with the fact it was the night of the ball, and they were relaxed overall."

"Maybe Fowler poisoned the food? A slow acting poison and then he came to stab him later to make it look like a different crime?"

Ultra Magnus nodded. "That could be a possibility. It is similar to our last case; we know it's plausible." Smokescreen scribbled down some more notes and waited for Ultra Magnus to continue the next part of the night.

"After dinner, we were all released to the dance floor, where nearly everyone could be seen at once. You were with most of the guests in the dance circle, were you not?"

Smokescreen made an awkward face. "Well yeah, I was. But I'll be honest, Ultra Magnus, sometimes I would look around and someone would be missing, like Knock Out was gone for a while before he was suddenly back, and Airachnid was barely ever there. I hadn't even noticed Bumblebee left the circle when he came in screaming that Silas was dead."

"Scrap." Ultra Magnus muttered. "This is good at bad news. The good news is we know that not everyone has an alibi for the murder, but the bad news is we don't know how long everyone was gone or if they even left the dance hall."

"Well you were out of the dance circle, what did you see?" Smokescreen pondered, tapping his pencil's eraser against his cheek. He nibbled on the wooden part, leaving teeth marks. It was something he did when he was nervous.

"Yes, Shockwave and Ratchet were with me until Wheeljack spilled his drink all over me." Ultra Magnus gestured to his clothes that were still smelling of alcohol. "Megatron and Wheeljack left out the main doors, the ones Bumblebee came in after he found Silas. Silas himself left the party after thirty minutes."

"You're sure on that time frame?" Smokescreen sounded like the pieces were falling into place. "Because thirty minutes was just after the DJ played my favorite song, and I know for sure Bumblebee and Cliffjumper were there with me then."

Ultra Magnus nodded before he sighed, closing his eyes for a minute. He turned to look back at the other guests, who were obviously still scared to leave the crime scene in case they were needed or accused of murder.

"We'll start interrogations in the morning, let them sleep this off."

"Or they won't, we'll see who's feeling guilty and can't sleep." Smokescreen smirked, and Ultra Magnus patted him on the back.

They began to walk back over towards the other guests, but before they were within earshot, Ultra Magnus stopped and put both his hands on Smokescreen's shoulders, forcing him to look up at him.

"Smokescreen, I know you and Bumblebee have some kind of thing," Smokescreen blushed furiously and Ultra Magnus continued. "but don't let it cloud your judgement. Bumblebee was the one who found the body, we can't count him out."

Smokescreen sighed, looking down. "I know, I know. I won't let it affect me."

Ultra Magnus let him go, letting him walk back over to the others and telling them they could leave. Bulkhead pulled Wheeljack under his arm and left first, his face a weird mix of concern and relief. Optimus and Ratchet followed quickly after them, and the other guests slowly made their way back down the hall and towards their room.

"Megatron," The host of the party looked up from his train of thought, his mouth set in a thin line and his eyes angry. "do you know of any doctors to conduct an autopsy? It would be unwise and unethical to allow the doctors you have as guests perform it."

Megatron nodded. "There's my personal doctor, yes. Highly credited, and if I pay him right he'll do a good job."

Ultra Magnus sighed appreciatively. "Thank you, that will be an incredible help in this case." Ultra Magnus paused, glancing back at Silas before Megatron once again. "Did Silas have any family or friends we should contact?"

Megatron thought for only a moment before he pushed himself off the wall and began to walk away. "His parents died in a mysterious accident after he was let onto the council, and his wife and son died in a different mysterious accident." The tall man paused, his shoulders slumping before he turned a corner. "Death has taken everything from Silas, but it finally came back for him."

"Any friends, then? Someone to take his belongings?"

Megatron let out a chuckle, but it was cold and devoid of love. "Think about who Silas was, detective. Do you really think he was the kind of person who had friends?"

Megatron said nothing more, he turned the corner and left Ultra Magnus alone beside the body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The coffee was still steaming hot, but Ultra Magnus took a sip of it anyway, ignoring the burning feeling down his throat. His coffee was prepared by himself; ever since Smokescreen suggested the poison he didn't trust any of the other food being made by someone other than himself. It was regular black coffee, with a single sugar packet and a small amount of caramel.

He always drank the same thing before interviews, to help him get in the proper mindset.

Smokescreen sat beside him, his little hot chocolate with peppermint sitting beside the coffee. Also Smokescreen's go-to for interviews. His trusty notepad and slightly chewed pencil were at the ready. Smokescreen's hair was also pulled back and gelled, something he only did for interviews.

There was a knock at the door, and Ultra Magnus sat a little straighter, fixing his tie to look perfect.

"Come in," He called out, and Airachnid stepped inside. "do have a seat."

Ultra Magnus gestured to the seat before them, and Airachnid walked confidentially forward, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She waited for Ultra Magnus or Smokescreen to ask the first question, her eyes giving nothing away.

"Smokescreen, put on the track please."

"Track?" Airachnid asked as Smokescreen got up to place the needle down on the record. "Don't you think listening to music is a little…unethical, detective?"

"It is a must, I'm afraid. We keep it low, don't let it affect you." Ultra Magnus insisted, and a knowing smirk rose on Airachnid's face.

"You sly dog." Airachnid slouched a little, leaning back and placing her arms on the armrests. "Go on then, ask away. I've got nothing to hide."

"It was brought to my attention that you and Silas had a bit of a rough history together, Doctor." Ultra Magnus began, Smokescreen ready to take notes.

"Yes, we did. As you know, I work for Ratchet at his hospital as a cardio surgeon. A Cardio God, as they call me. I was supposed to perform a pro-bono case, one that would pave the way in future medicine for children with heart defects.

However, some paperwork fell through and it could no longer be pro-bono, since the hospital couldn't afford it. So I put the child's name under my insurance and insisted we could do the surgery anyway."

"Insurance fraud?" Smokescreen scribbled down more notes. "Did you get caught?"

"Of course I did, Silas reported me to Ratchet." Airachnid replied. "It went to court, and that's when Silas kept bringing up false accusations of my past surgeries where I lost a patient, saying I was a ex-alcoholic who couldn't perform my surgeries without getting drunk, and it nearly cost me my licence."

"Were you? A recovering alcoholic?" Ultra Magnus asked softly. "I mean no offense."

Airachnid waved a hand, her eyes twinkling. "None taken. And I was not, but my father was. The only real evidence Silas could present for his disgusting case would be that I had the genes of an alcoholic, but the accusations that I get drunk before my surgeries was preposterous and false. It was close, but I managed to keep my license after the court case."

"That's good to hear. Do you know why Silas was so adamant that you loose your license?" Ultra Magnus asked next.

Airachnid shrugged. "He was a new councilman, trying to make some ground in the city. I had also attempted to save his mother after they were in a terrible accident, but I wasn't able to save her. He always seemed to hate me after that, even though his mother's damage was to severe to come back from."

"What accident were his parents in? Did you know?"

Airachnid pondered that, thinking back. "No, there was no investigation. I never figured it out and Silas said he didn't know either. The case was eventually dropped, and his wife and child died about a year later."

"What about that private surgery he requested you for?" Smokescreen was excited to ask the question, but he managed to keep himself controlled.

Airachnid rolled her eyes. "To threaten me of course. He tried to blackmail me with more false accusations, saying that I should loose my license anyway. He didn't have the power to take away my license, so I wasn't worried. I think he was losing it that day."

Ultra Magnus waited until Smokescreen had caught up to her before he asked the next question. "Do you - or did you - feel any lasting resentment towards Silas for how he almost ruined your career?"

"I did, for a while." Airachnid admitted. "Never enough to kill him for; I'm a doctor, for Primus's sake. My job is to save lives, not destroy them."

"As a cardio surgeon, you probably know the spots on the body that bleed the most," Smokescreen inferred. "make it a quick death, go back to the party."

Airachnid met his eager gaze with a calm and controlled one. "Like I said, I never felt so much resentment that I wanted to kill him. And besides, if I really was going to kill him, wouldn't the scene be much cleaner? As you said, I'm a surgeon. I know how to make the right cuts. Not that sloppy mess of a crime scene."

It was probably the most absurd and criminal denial Ultra Magnus ever heard, but it made sense.

"Do you have any suspicions of your own? Anyone we should pay special attention to?"

Airachnid's left eye twitched ever so slightly. "Knock Out." She said simply, and didn't elaborate.

"That's all for now, Airachnid thank you. If you would send the next guest in on your way out." The detective rose from his seat and shook her hand before she walked away, opening the door and calling out the next person.

It was Bulkhead who walked in the door, trying to look calm and collected when he was clearly nervous and struggling not to run out the door.

"Bulkhead, please have a seat. Would you like a donut or a breakfast scone?" Ultra Magnus offered, holding out a plate of goodies.

Bulkhead's nervousness seemed to vanish then, and he took two scones off the top, as well as a napkin and sat down in the assigned chair. He began to eat the first scone, eating it as if he was deliberately trying to say he wasn't guilty.

Smokescreen nodded to Ultra Magnus that he was ready, and Ultra Magnus leaned back in his seat.

"I have to say, I've never heard of you before this party, Bulkhead. How do you know Lord Megatron?" He began as Bulkhead chewed and swallowed his latest bite.

"Wheeljack knows Shockwave, who knows Megatron pretty well, and Wheeljack has talked to Megatron a few times before. I guess it was enough to score us an invitation." Bulkhead's shoulders slumped. "Even thought it turned out to be fake."

Ultra Magnus hummed his agreement. "Indeed. And what is it that you do for a living, Bulkhead?"

Bulkhead beamed. "I'm co-owner of Kup Construction, so I oversee the construction of buildings and assist with the interior design process." Bulkhead hesitated. "I was in college learning to be a geologist, but I had to drop out because I couldn't afford it."

Ultra Magnus nodded approvingly. "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. But it seems like you've made a good life for yourself in the years since."

Bulkhead nodded, but this time his face was sadder, full of sorrow. "I had a job, to try and get me through. I was an arena fighter and a pretty good one, not to toot my own horn. I was making more than enough to get me through all four years, but I had to leave my job." Bulkhead rolled his eyes and took another bite of his donut. "I suppose your next question is what I have against Silas?"

Smokescreen spoke this time. "We're getting there, yes. Why, is there something you want to say?"

Bulkhead's eyes narrowed. "Silas was the reason I quit my job. I dunno if you guys know anything about arena fighting, but it's not the cleanest business. I never got into it, but there was a lot of…illegal activity on the side."

"Such as?" Ultra Magnus leaned forward in his seat, pressing the tips of his fingers together.

"Drug deals, illegal weapons exchange, fake IDs, stuff like that." Bulkhead raised his hands. "Like I said before, I never got into it, but I knew it was happening, which I know was criminal of me, but they paid me extra to keep my mouth shut." The man's shoulders slumped. "Silas found out about it somehow, and he went to me 'cause he said he thought I would do the right thing. He blackmailed me to pay him so he wouldn't report it to the Council."

"Ah, blackmail." Smokescreen smirked before he caught himself. Bulkhead looked ashamed of what he'd done and how the pieces were falling together, but he'd seen many killers sit there and pout before them to try and throw them off the sent. Smokescreen dropped the smirk but continued his question. "Enough to kill over?"

Bulkhead's head shot up in surprise, his eyes wide as the plate in his hand. "No way! I would never. Silas dropped the blackmail after I left the arena and college, he didn't bother me after that. I held a grudge sure, but never enough to kill him!"

Ultra Magnus sat back in his seat, sitting up straight. "Do you have any thoughts of your own as to who did this?"

Bulkhead looked down, thinking as hard as he could. He looked up and met Ultra Magnus's gaze again. "I say you try Starscream. Something tells me he's got more on Silas than he let on."

"Thank you, Bulkhead, that will be all." Ultra Magnus rose and shook Bulkhead's hand, gesturing to the door. "Please send in the next guest on your way out."

Ultra Magnus remained standing as Bulkhead walked away, and Smokescreen glanced up at him. "We got a long day ahead of us, Mags." The younger man said glumly.

"That we do, Smokescreen. That we do." Ultra Magnus kept his straight face on as Optimus walked in the door. "Please have a seat, General."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I don't know who seemed more bored during our interviews," Wheeljack sighed, swirling his whiskey around in his glass before tipping it back and downing the contents. "us or the detective."

"You try sittin' there and listenin' to a dozen people complain about Silas," Cliffjumper chuckled, pouring himself a rather full glass of bourbon. "you'd get bored too."

"I really think that is the only thing we got in common." Wheeljack chuckled. "How much we hated that man."

An almost awkward silence filled the room then, everyone thinking back to the murder scene. Arcee shuffled closer to her fiance and Bumblebee sighed loudly before taking a sip of his juice.

It was very late into the night, and all of the guests - save for the detective and his sidekick - were sitting in the Conservatory sharing a few drinks after a long day of interrogations and heated glances from Ultra Magnus. They had a brief dinner before that, but no one really felt like eating and despite all of them hating Silas, the elephant was still very much in the room that the killer could have been sitting next to them, and strike them down next.

After Megatron had dismissed them for the night, it had been Ratchet of all people to remember that the Conservatory was one of the few places were a large storage of alcohol was made available to them, so they all eventually made their way in their, one by one to drink the problem away.

It was like Wheeljack had said: it was boring to sit there and talk about the past one did or didn't have with the murdered man. Everyone looked like all they wanted to do was leave and return to their cozy homes and forget any of this ever happened, but Ultra Magnus had requested that they all stay there to prevent the killer from escaping before they could be caught.

Knock Out had asked how they expected no one to sneak out the windows or just leave whenever Steve wasn't by the door, so Megatron increased security by all exits and doorways.

The killer hadn't been arrested yet, but they all felt like they were in prison.

"I know they didn't mean it, but those interview felt like personal attacks on everything we'd done. Like it was our fault for getting on Silas's bad side." Arcee commented. "They kept…digging for something."

"I agree," Dreadwing added. "but we have to understand that they're only trying to do their job. Like you said, they didn't mean to bring up bad memories, they just need to get a bigger picture as to who we are."

"If you're not the killer, you got nothin' to worry about." Wheeljack commented, taking another sip from his second drink. Bulkhead was rubbing his back in slow circles, his eyes distant as he was lost in thought.

"Silas nearly took away my license." Airachnid spat out, not caring if anyone commented on it.

There was a pause before Starscream spoke up. "He almost lost me my spot on the Council, the one that has been passed down in my family for centuries. He threatened to remove me with lies and blackmail."

"He blackmailed me too." Bulkhead spoke up, snapping back into the conversation. "For something I wasn't even a part of."

"My husband died in the same accident that killed his parents." Knock Out spoke up, and Dreadwing dove over to comfort the man. Knock Out glanced up appreciatively, kissing his cheek. "I'll take to my grave that he had something to do with it."

"You know," Bumblebee spoke up. All eyes turned to him as the young man swallowed hard before continuing. "I'm not saying I did it, but…thanks I guess, to whoever did. I never met the man, before this, but it almost sounds like he was better off dead."

Another silence followed, everyone sharing a glance, as if they expected the killer to reveal themselves right then and there. No such thing happened.

The silence was broken by Ratchet bursting out into a half drunken laugh, the drink in his hand nearly spilling from the cup. Optimus scooped the drink away and helped his husband sit up again, pulling him close as a half smile rose on his own lips.

"I don't know about him, but we sure are!" Ratchet laughed out, and a few other chuckles rose up from the crowd. None of them were real laughter, but some of the tension was beginning to dissipate.

"A toast, I'll say." Starscream lifted his glass and everyone else followed suit, lifting them towards the ceiling. "To Silas, and his unfortunate demise."

"Here here!" All the guests said together, downing their drinks.

They all began to talk freely then, laughing and clapping each other on the back.

Smokescreen watched from the door, entirely confused and understanding at the same time.

He knew why everyone was so relieved that the wretched councilman was dead; he sat in with all the guests for hours, he'd heard their issues by now. But he also knew justice had to be served, Silas was still a citizen of Cybertron, his murderer needed to be caught.

The thought dropped into his mind without him realizing it. 'What if his killer is never found? What if we just…let the guests leave?'

Smokescreen shook his head, but the thought stayed. He turned around and walked away from the door, knowing he and Magnus were the last people the other guests wanted to see.

He began to slowly walk away, the thought of letting this case go unsolved sitting in the back of his mind.

Chapter Text

Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen had been enjoying a nice, warm lunch of soup and sandwiches when Megatron had summoned them to greet the doctor which would be arriving soon. Ultra Magnus didn't really see the point in going all the way outside for the man considering he could walk in and greet them on the inside of the Castle, but he kept his own opinion to himself.

Megatron and Steve had led them outside to where they had pulled up with their cars when they had arrived almost five days ago now, already much longer than they originally planned. Ultra Magnus had looked out into the horizon and saw and heard no one, and Smokescreen looked equally confused himself.

Megatron stood very still, his hands pressed behind his back. His face was blank and even his eyes were controlled; giving him the perfect, respectable appearance. He said nothing to Ultra Magnus or Smokescreen, just merely stared ahead at the long road leading down to the Castle.

But even though there was a controlled air around him, Ultra Magnus could still sense he was not excited to see his doctor. He wasn't sure what kind of relationship they had or if Megatron even liked him at all, but he kept his mouth shut about it once again.

"So, uh," Smokescreen broke the silence, unable to stand it anymore. Ultra Magnus would have likely been able to bear the silence for several more hours, but Smokescreen always loved to hear himself - or anyone really - talking, just to get rid of the deafening sound of nothing. "you sure your doctor is coming?"

"Of course he is," Megatron replied. "the good doctor is always an hour late, no matter what. I've given up on expecting him to arrive on time and just accepted that eleven o' clock means noon."

Ultra Magnus hummed. "I'm assuming his reputation exceeds his flaws?"

"Everyone's does, detective. My doctor is no exception."

"And who is this good doctor of yours?" Ultra Magnus asked, realizing he hadn't even bothered to ask. He'd just assumed that Megatron could afford the best in the business, but it still would have made him feel better if he knew who was coming and then he could properly research them.

Megatron's left optic twitched ever so slightly, barely noticeable unless Ultra Magnus had been watching and waiting for Megatron to slip up his facade. "You're about to find out, detective. I think you'll find him to be the man you were looking for."

Steve appeared at Ultra Magnus's side as a fancy, new car pulled under the covering and beside them. The car was what Ultra Magnus could buy with about a years' pay, maybe more. He recognized the brand name and model, and confirmed it in his mind that this was the dream car Smokescreen had showed him in the magazine a few weeks back. It was truly beautiful, the engine making a perfect sound before it stopped.

The windows were tinted and Ultra Magnus was unable to see the specifics of the inside, but he could see two figures waiting for the door to open.

Steve rushed forward and opened the passenger side door, and out stepped a person Ultra Magnus was not expecting.

"Hot Rod?" Smokescreen shouted, shocked. His face broke out into a grin and he too rushed forward, wrapping his old friend in a big hug. Hot Rod look just as surprised to see the young detective, but his eager laugh matched Smokescreen's.

Hot Rod was about the same age as Smokescreen, for they were in the same class when they were in high school and had been friends ever since. Hot Rod matched Smokescreen's craziness and bold behavior, but unlike Smokescreen he was never hesitant to act out the crazy pranks either one of them proposed. Ultra Magnus had always figured this man was going to enter the police force or law enforcement of some kind like Smokescreen had; it surprised him that he was with Megatron's personal doctor now.

Hot Rod was a taller, lean man with flaming red hair that was a deeper color than Smokescreen's. He had piercing blue eyes and a smirk that drew the immediate attention of anyone he wanted. He was dressed in fancy casual, with khakis and a nice light blue polo that brought out his eyes even more. His skin was tanner than Ultra Magnus remembered, but Hot Rod was a sucker for the tanning beds in the city.

"What are you doing here?" Smokescreen asked next, setting his friend back down on the ground.

"Well, I gotta shadow a doctor in order to graduate university, and the good ol' Witch Doctor here was more than willing to help me out." Hot Rod lowered his voice and whispered to Smokescreen. "He doesn't get many helpers, 'cause he scares everyone away."

"Whoa, hang on, what happened to you being a cop?" Smokescreen asked, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I told you I could get you a spot with me and Mags."

Hot Rod looked genuinely sad too. "I know buddy, and I'm sorry. But given the family history and being a doctor, I have to uphold the reputation. Besides, being a neurosurgeon sounds like a lot of fun, don't ya think?"

Smokescreen smirked. "I guess you're right. But I wouldn't trust you pokin' around my brain for shit." They laughed and Megatron rolled his eyes as Steve ran around to the other side to open the driver door. "Say, who is your boss anyway?"

Hot Rod turned and gestured to the door as Steve opened it, and Ultra Magnus barely remembered to school his expression as the man stepped out. "My uncle."

Megatron's personal doctor was a little shorter than Ultra Magnus himself, but not by much. He had amber eyes that made any normal person want to shrink in on themselves and confess all their secrets. If anyone thought Megatron's gaze was hard-core, it had nothing on this man.

His hair was mostly white with a few streaks of red from the man's youth. He was dressed in a fancy suit, a golden watch on his wrist, peaking out from under his white lab coat. His mouth was set in a stern frown, but the edges of his lips turned up when he saw Ultra Magnus.

"Detective Magnus," His voice was as cold as Ultra Magnus remembered.

"Doctor Pharma." Ultra Magnus replied as Pharma took his bag from Steve without even sparing him a glance. "Good to see you again after all these years."

"Can't say the same, I probably could have gone a few more years without seeing your face." Pharma replied, offering Ultra Magnus a handshake anyway. "I think it has been fifteen years now since I last saw you. High School graduation, was it? You seem to have gotten a few additional wrinkles since then. Tough job, I see?"

"You two went to high school together? Why didn't I hear about that?" Smokescreen gasped and Ultra Magnus narrowed his eyes at the shorter man.

"I think Pharma's just upset that he graduated second in the class. Remind me, Pharma, who graduated first?"

Pharma sneered and said nothing else. The man approached Megatron, extending his hand out, which Megatron shook once firmly.

"My dearest Megatron, you call me for a job and I swear it gets more strange every time." Pharma jeered, dropping Megatron's hand. The owner of the Castle gestured to the doors, and Steve ran ahead and opened it for all of them. "Who did you kill this time?"

"It wasn't me," Megatron openly denied. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors so far."

"Of course I have, I have excellent sources." Pharma said, walking past Megatron and up the stairs, knowing where Megatron's infirmary was. Smokescreen chuckled as Hot Rod imitated him behind his back, but fought to keep his expression clear as Ultra Magnus set him a stern glare.

"All of these random guests showing up at your house unannounced, and then Silas Bishop of the Council is murdered. Can't say that I blame your guests, Megatron; he was an awful man inside and out."

"Takes one to know one." Ultra Magnus muttered quietly.

If Pharma heard him, he didn't say anything about it. He walked down the left hall until he came to stop in front of a door that was locked. On the top, on a silver name plate read 'Infirmary'. Ultra Magnus hadn't come by this room yet, but he supposed he really never had a reason before now.

"If you please, Steve." Pharma instructed, handing his bag to Hot Rod, who took it wordlessly. Steve stepped past them all and unlocked the door with a bronze key, then turning the handle and pushing the door open.

The Infirmary was pretty basic, all things considered. The walls were a creamish color with red accents and wooden flooring, and several tall shelves lined the wall, likely filled with medical supplies and medications. There were a few beds on the wall, IV units hanging almost innocently beside them.

In the center of the room sat a single bed, the occupant covered up with a thick white sheet.

Ultra Magnus didn't have to ask who that was.

Pharma approached the body and Hot Rod followed quickly behind, still holding the bag in his hands. The younger man pulled up a spare table and set down the bag on top of it, opening it up and beginning to take out all the contents of it.

There was the basic medical supplies, such as a scalpel and scissors and lap pads. Ultra Magnus narrowed his eyes and glanced at the perfectly usable materials around the room, but Megatron beat him to it.

"Doctor, we do this every time; there is plenty of effective equipment in the Infirmary already, you do not need to bring your own supplies." The Lord said, sounding bored.

Pharma didn't look up as Hot Rod placed a light onto his head, adjusting it to fight the older man's scalp. "And like I tell you, Megatron, I prefer my own tools. I work better with them."

There was a knock on the door and everyone turned to look, a little surprised that anyone would bother them at this time. Ratchet stood there, eyeing the body on the table, then Pharma, then Megatron.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I saw Doctor Pharma pull up and figured he was here to give an unbiased opinion with an autopsy. I just came by to see how things were going." Ratchet explained, his arms falling to his sides. Pharma raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"What? You hoping I don't uncover something that could incriminate you, dear Doctor?" Pharma jabbed, and Ratchet grumbled but didn't attack him back. "Like you said, I'm here for an unbiased opinion, but the fact that you 'wanted to check up' is a little suspicious to me. I suggest you leave."

Ratchet's eyes narrowed and he muttered something again, likely unkind towards the other doctor. His hands balled into fists at his side but he turned and left anyway, his footsteps echoing down the halls.

Pharma waited until Ratchet was completely gone before he addressed everyone else. "All of you; out. I can't work with all of you breathing down my neck."

Hot Rod gave Smokescreen an apologetic look and mouthed, "You don't wanna watch anyway" before he turned his attention back to getting Pharma ready.

"Doctor, when's the last time you performed an autopsy?" Ultra Magnus asked, keeping his feet firmly planted.

Pharma chuckled at first, the sound of his half crazed laughter nearly sending a chill down Ultra Magnus's back. "Honestly detective, your faith in me is truly appalling." Pharma slipped on one glove, then the other. "I had to perform several in medical school, and like to practice on cadavers when I need to practice a new technique. I assure you, you will get the perfect results you need."

Megatron put a hand on his shoulder and guided him out of the room, and Steve and Smokescreen followed close behind, shutting the door behind them to give Hot Rod and Pharma their privacy.

"How long does an autopsy usually take?" Smokescreen asked curiously.

"Depends. If Pharma takes his time, anywhere from an hour to three. If he's not, well, your results might not be what you like." Megatron replied. He waved off the two law enforcers and began to walk away, Steve following at his heels. "Let me know when the good doctor is finished so I can give him his payment. Until then, have fun waiting."

Ultra Magnus leaned against the wall and began to slowly sink down to the floor since there were no chairs around. "Smokescreen, why don't you get us some coffee and biscuits? We might be here a while."

Eager to have something to do with himself, Smokescreen dashed off to find something to eat.

The autopsy ended up taking two and a half hours. Ultra Magnus would check in every fifteen minutes just to see the progress, and nearly every time he would be pushed out of the room by Hot Rod, who looked almost more annoyed than the detective.

Pharma pushed open the door, a report in his hands. He looked tired but not exhausted, and there was a strange look on his face Ultra Magnus couldn't read.

He handed the report to Ultra Magnus and began to explain as the detective read. "Silas Bishop: cause of death was blood loss from multiple stab wounds from close range. The cuts are deep and personal, so it's hard to determine whether or not it was a man or woman who killed him, given the amount of force is unknown, but it was obviously a crime of passion. Silas had likely been facing the person, having a conversation with them when they struck, striking first to the chest, and when he fell down to the stomach and other regions of the chest.

No evidence of poison in his system, or any other intoxicant other than a small amount of alcohol mixed with his dinner in his stomach. There was not enough alcohol to make him even slightly tipsy, so he could have defended himself from the killer. There is no DNA evidence anywhere on his body, so either the killer cleaned him up or they were more likely wearing gloves."

"Cleaned him up? Was there any evidence of that?" Smokescreen asked, a little confused. "And what do you mean by cleaned? Like bleach or water; what do you mean?"

Pharma shrugged. "A simple damp cloth could have done the trick, but again it was more likely the killer was wearing gloves."

"What can you tell from the stab wounds other than the fact they were deep and personal? Were they the cuts of a skilled surgeon or of a more random civilian?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"The crazy thing is, it's both. The first cut was the craziest and the most sloppy, tearing a lot of muscle on the way in and out and my best guess the knife was in the first wound for an extended period of time. But the rest of the cuts were more controlled and skilled and quick." Pharma explained. "Perhaps the killer was more excited to stab Silas once and be done, but when Silas didn't die right away they struck again and again until he did."

Ultra Magnus nodded and hummed in agreement; that was a very logical assumption indeed. "Thank you, Pharma. You've been a major help in this case. Do you mind if I keep this report for future reference?"

Pharma nodded. "Go ahead, I have an extra copy anyway." He extended his hand and Ultra Magnus shook it, albeit a little hesitantly. "And there's no need to escort me to Megatron, I know where his office is."

Hot Rod uttered a quick goodbye with a hug to Smokescreen before he followed Pharma away.

"Oh, and Magnus," Ultra Magnus turned as Pharma called out to him. "you'll catch this guy."

Ultra Magnus was almost caught off guard by Pharma's words of encouragement, given that the last time the man had praised him was…never.

"Thank you. I plan to." Ultra Magnus replied. Pharma smirked and walked away, not another word exchanged between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Optimus walked carefully through the hallway, careful not to spill the tray of warm cookies and cup of milk on the side.

No one was having a good time lately; it was extremely hard to all things considered. But Ratchet had been under intense, self induced stress ever since he discovered it was Pharma performing the autopsy of Silas Bishop.

Pharma had been Ratchet's mentor back in the day, the Chief of Surgery before Ratchet had taken over. He and Ratchet had never fully gotten along, even at their best. Pharma was a cutthroat doctor that focused on the case and how it would make him look versus Ratchet caring a lot about the patient as a person rather than a disease.

When Pharma had announced he was stepping down to start his own practice, the board had unanimously elected Ratchet as his replacement, and Pharma had been so furious he'd almost come out of retirement. But Ratchet had stood his ground, despite all the threats Pharma had thrown at him.

Needless to say it made Ratchet a little upset that his former mentor had been in the Castle. He'd left hours ago now, bu Ratchet's blood pressure remained low and that was dangerous for him.

So Optimus had spoken to Fowler after dinner and asked if he had any special cookie recipes, and the cook assured him he had plenty. Optimus had snuck back into the kitchen a few minutes ago to find a full platter of some of the most delicious smelling cookies he'd ever have the honor of seeing, next to a tall glass of milk.

So here he was, walking back to their room, cookies and milk on one arm and a candle in his other hand, providing a little light in the dark hallway. The moonlight peaking through the windows and provided a little extra light, an almost eerie addition to the hallway.

Optimus had avoided the fastest way to his bedroom - since that was the hallway Silas had been found in - and was taking the long way around. He wasn't sure what time it was exactly, but he had seen on the kitchen clock it had been half past ten when he'd gotten the cookies, so he figured it had to be close to quarter to eleven now.

He hoped Ratchet wouldn't be asleep when he got back, he'd actually need to eat these cookies to help raise his blood pressure so he wouldn't be hurting later. Optimus had no issues waking Ratchet up at ungodly hours, but that didn't mean he'd like it.

There was the distant sound of footsteps, but Optimus ignored it, figuring someone was sleep walking or also sneaking out from the kitchen.

Optimus thought back to his interview with Ultra Magnus. He, like Dreadwing, was good old friends with the detective, even though they hadn't spoken in quite sometime. They'd grown up together and went to school together all the way through university, and Ultra Magnus had been a big voice of reason for Optimus when it came to the War and asking Ratchet out on their first date.

It had hurt to see Ultra Magnus use his detective face on him as he asked questions about his relationship with Silas, but he knew Ultra Magnus didn't play favorites and didn't hold back when it came to justice.

Not that Optimus wanted him to hold back, anyway. He had nothing to hide after all.

"I only hope this case can be closed, one way or another." Optimus muttered to himself as he turned a corner. "I am not in favor of the way that it is making everyone scared or distrusting of another. I fear that our good natured agreement of being glad Silas is dead will not last long."

Optimus must have been so lost in thought ht lost track of where his feet where, and didn't even notice until he'd stepped into a trip wire until he was falling and falling fast.

Optimus managed to stick out the candle and got it to land straight up, no risk of burning anything as he rolled onto his back, his many years of academy training to thank for that. He hit the hard ground on the side of the carpet, and his back ached where he landed. He took a moment to assess his damages: the milk and cookies had tumbled with him, the milk spilling all over his night shirt and the cookies crumbling on the floor beside his head.

Other than his sore back, stained shirt and slight headache, he was alright.

Optimus sat up and saw the trip wire still intact a few feet away, strung innocently from one wall of the hallway to the other. Optimus wasn't surprised he hadn't seen it, for it was almost invisible even against the candle and moonlight.

"Good Primus, what in the world -" Optimus rubbed his head and looked around, trying to see if anyone was around to see if their trap had worked. He knew Megatron wasn't responsible for this; he'd always said that he hated booby traps and felt they had no use except to injure himself.

Meaning someone had set this up on purpose. Likely the same person who killed Silas.

Optimus turned, still lying on the ground and reached back to grab the candle. His upper body brushed back onto the carpet and he jumped back, surprised when he felt something sharp against his chest.

Optimus felt around his shirt, and was relieved when he discovered he hadn't been cut. He turned his attention back to the carpet and for the first time noticed there was something under it.

Optimus pulled aside the carpet and his eyes widened his shock, and thanked Primus again for his expert General level skills.

Underneath the carpet was several dozen spikes, all about an inch long and about an inch apart. They were all incredibly sharp, and they could have easily pierced Optimus's chest had he landed on them like the trip wire had intended.

"Scrap," Optimus breathed out, reaching out again and grabbing the candle. He knew he would have the report this, he could only hope that someone could hear him.

"Help! I need help!" Optimus cried out as loud as he could, waving the candle around just in case that would help someone see him better too. "Anyone? Help!"

There was another pounding of footsteps and Optimus turned, thankful that someone had heard him, before his breath caught in his throat.

At the end of the hallway where he had come down before he'd tripped, stood a figure dressed in all black. Even from a distance Optimus could see that their face was covered with goggles and a mask. He couldn't tell if they were tall or skinny or who they were from a distance; the black clothing against the darkness of the hallway made it hard to figure out.

"Hey!" Optimus mistakenly called out, taking a step closer.

The step was all the killer needed before they bolted to their right, jumping straight through the glass of the window and onto the balcony. Optimus ran over as fast as he could, and managed to catch the killer jumping down another floor before they were out of sight.

"Damn it all," Optimus cursed, knowing it would only result in bad things if he dared to follow the killer. He knew the killer could just go back to their bedroom and Optimus would have no way of knowing who the killer was, but he still had the trap that was laid out for him.

Optimus began to walk back towards the trap and wondered for a moment if the trap was really meant for him, or someone else.

Optimus nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw people standing around the wire and the spikes on the floor, but he calmed down when he saw it was only Magnus, Smokescreen and Starscream.

"Good night, Optimus." Starscream said without looking up at him. "Did you manage to catch him?"

Optimus sighed and shook his head. "They escaped out the window before I could apprehend them. I was not able to tell who they were either, for they were wearing a mask and all black clothing."

Optimus paused. "How do you know I was chasing someone?" He asked, realizing Soundwave wasn't with his husband.

"We heard you shouting and then a window broke." Smokescreen was the one who spoke up.

"And if you're asking where Soundwave is, he's comforting your husband who believes you to be dead or seriously injured." Starscream lifted his eyes to the other man. "You can go check if you don't believe me, I believe a lot of the other guests will have flocked to his room as well."

Optimus narrowed his eyes and gave a single nod before turning his attention to Ultra Magnus. "I am assuming you would like my statement of tonight's events?"

Ultra Magnus gestured to Smokescreen, who rose from the floor and pulled out a notepad and chewed up pencil. "Yes please. In as much detail as you can."

"I went down to the kitchen at ten thirty to get some cookies and milk from Fowler for Ratchet since his blood pressure had been low all day. I was taking the long way back to the rooms because I did not want to walk back through Silas's hallway." Optimus explained. "I rounded the corner and tripped over the wire, but I managed to twist out of the way of the carpet, not knowing that would save my life.

I pulled back the carpet and discovered the spikes before I began to attempt to get anyone's attention. I saw the assailant standing at the edge of the hall, and before I could get to them, they bolted out the window."

Ultra Magnus nodded. "Was Fowler there when you got the cookies?"

Optimus thought back. "No, he was not. He left a key for me under a table and that's how I got in and out."

Ultra Magnus made a puzzled face. "I see. So that leaves Fowler mostly unaccounted for. Did you see anyone else on your way back to your room?"

"I heard footsteps a few minutes prior to this, but they were heading the other way. I could not give any specifics of the person was since they were so far away."

"Thank you, Optimus. You can go back to Ratchet now, we have no further questions." Ultra Magnus replied, and Optimus offered a brief nod of thanks before he walked past them all, his pace a little quicker as he walked away.

"Anything unusual about the spikes, Starscream?" Ultra Magnus asked, crouching down beside him.

"Not really, other than the fact that they're spikes in a hallway behind a trip wire." Ultra Magnus realized he could have phrased that question better, but didn't comment as Starscream continued. "They appear to be made of regular steel, pretty well manufactured as well." Starscream lifted a piece of the carpet and wrapped it around a single spike before pulling it to his face and smelling it. "No poison on them either, unless it's scentless."

"Thank you, Starscream. You can head back to your room too, if you wish."

Starscream rose to his feet with a nod of thanks. He walked a few paces away before he looked over his shoulder. "I'll take a head count and see if anyone comes in with injuries related to jumping out of a window."

Ultra Magnus nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Starscream."

Once Starscream had walked around the corner, Smokescreen slumped. "We've got more clues now, but they're almost useless because we still nowhere close to figuring out who done it."

Ultra Magnus could not help but agree. "We know the killer is bold enough to strike twice in such a short period of time, but while we know what their possible motive could be for killing Silas, we have got nothing for reasons to kill Optimus."

"I'm pretty sure Optimus is one of the most well liked people on Cybertron. He got an interview with the President about how great he is for crying out loud. Who would want to kill him?" Smokescreen thought out loud, his normal dramatic edge to it.

Ultra Magnus remembered that interview, how happy Optimus had been as he walked out of the limo with Ratchet on his arm as they walked into the Presidential building to talk with the leader of Cybertron. It had been televised, and it was one of the most watched programs of all time. Optimus truly was a well liked person.

"Perhaps the trap wasn't meant for Optimus, but someone else."

Smokescreen paused, lifting an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"Think about it, Smokescreen. Optimus only came down this hallway because he was too scared to walk the other way since it was where Silas's body was found. He heard footsteps going the other direction from the kitchen, maybe that was the person the killer wanted dead."

"And the killer was here after Optimus tripped the wire. Maybe they had been waiting here to make sure the person died after they fell on the spikes, but when they saw it was Optimus who sprung the trap they ran because it wasn't the right person." Smokescreen added, following along now. "We just gotta figure out who was going the other way and see if anyone could have a motive for killing them."

Ultra Magnus smiled, wrapping a comforting arm around Smokescreen as he led them back towards their room. "Indeed Smokescreen. Maybe our new clues are not so useless after all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The key please, Steve." Megatron's voice was uncharacteristic of him; sad and quiet. Usually, even when it was just the two of them, Megatron's voice would still be controlled yet loud and demanding, to show that while he respected and appreciated Steve, he was also his boss.

This was the voice, Steve recognized, as a man who needed a friend.

Steve picked the key off the ring and handed it to Megatron wordlessly. He took a step back and clasped his hands behind his back, waiting for Megatron to unlock the door.

Megatron lifted his hand, key in his fist and placed into the lock and turned, the opening of the lock making its tell tale shink.

He didn't open it however, and Steve could tell he was being looked at out of the corner of the Lord's eyes. He understood what this meant, and bowed his head respectfully, then he turned and walked away, leaving Megatron alone.

Megatron sighed, a piece of his hair falling onto his face before he reached up and pushed it away. He straightened while inhaling sharply, while telling himself over and over he could do this.

Without giving himself the opportunity to deny it, Megatron pushed open the door to the Infirmary.

The room was colder than Megatron remembered it being yesterday; perhaps Pharma had turned down the thermostat for better working conditions? It's not like that man had to pay the bills anyway.

It was however, as clean as Megatron remembered it being. The beds were all made nicely as if they were waiting for a patient to rest in them, their IV tubes clear and pristine. The tools on each table were lined up perfectly, down to the centimetre in every angle.

The table that held Silas was still in the center where Pharma and Hot Rod had done their work, and Pharma had respectfully covered Silas up again when he'd finished.

Closing the door softly behind him as if not to wake a sleeping child, Megatron took several slow steps forward, and before he realized it, he was standing beside Silas's body, both hands reaching up to pull back on the cloth.

Once again, he didn't given himself a chance to tell himself no, and he forced his hands down and gripped onto the sheet.

He paused as he noticed how cold the sheet was.

Megatron pulled back slowly, his eyes trained on Silas's closed ones the whole time.

The Lord of the Castle stood there for a long time, staring down at the dead man. He noticed absentmindedly the Y-shaped cut going down his stomach that Pharma had made, and the stab marks whose pink color had faded long ago.

Megatron turned away and grabbed a chair, pushing himself away from Silas until he was halfway between the wall and the center table.

"You were the first person I ever considered to be my friend, Silas. Even before Optimus or Soundwave." Megatron began, unsure of why exactly he was even talking. "You helped me through the War and several other memorable occasions." Megatron's voice filled with joy then, but it didn't show on his face.

"You are not the evil man everyone believes you to be." Megatron paused and made a face. "Never mind. You actually are; but you weren't born that way. I'm not sure what made you so ruthless and horrible, but if I could have removed it from your past I would have."

Megatron crossed his arms and looked away. "I have not shed a tear for you, and I don't plan to. You had many enemies Silas, your death was a long time coming. You and I both knew that one day your enemies would catch up with you, I just wish it hadn't been at my dinner party."

There were voices outside, and Megatron could make out the young detective Smokescreen and Steve having a conversation, likely about where Megatron himself was. Eventually the voices stopped and Megatron forced himself to look back up at Silas.

"Despite our past history, Silas, I do not want your murder to be solved." Megatron admitted. "Ultra Magnus, however, has vowed to you that he will, and there's just about nothing I can do to deter him from his mission. He knows what a terrible person you are and yet he still wants to bring you to justice. Justice that you do not deserve."

Megatron could feel the temperature of the room rising ever so slightly.

"The amount of killers in my Castle may have stayed the same, but at least the amount of evil has gone down. And I know I am no saint," Megatron couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of him preaching to a dead body all of its past wrong doings when he had plenty to show of his negative actions. "but I was never as bad as you."

Megatron rose to his feet and walked back over to Silas's table. He reached down and pulled the cloth back up, covering the body completely once again.

"Like I said before, I didn't kill you, and I envy the person who did, whoever they are." Megatron scoffed. "But I wish I had, many years ago when I had the chance. Do you know how many pain I could have saved people? And yet I chose our pathetic friendship over the right thing to do."

Memories played before his eyes of when he had stood before Silas in the man's office, gun raised and ready to shoot. Megatron opened his eyes and his scowl deepened.

"If it were up to me I would send everyone on their merry way and no one would mention this incident ever again. But despite being the owner of this Castle I seem to have no control of it anymore. That power belongs to Ultra Magnus." Megatron sneered.

He leaned down close to Silas's ear. "Rot in hell, old friend."

Megatron smirked to himself, feeling a small amount of his former self returning. He walked towards the door and opened it, slightly surprised to see Smokescreen sitting against the wall.

"Ah, Smokescreen. Just the man I was hoping to see." Megatron almost chuckled as he watched Smokescreen nearly jump out of his skin and stand in attention as fast as he could. His red hair was falling out of place now and his blue eyes were wide as saucers, but he was trying very hard to control his expression.

"Is your boss around? I have something I would like to confess."

Chapter Text

For quite possibly the first time in his life, Smokescreen was speechless.

He usually always had something to say in any situation, anything to fill an ugly silence.

But after what Megatron just confessed, his brain wasn't fully able to catch up to the words that he wanted to say.

It made him feel a little better than Ultra Magnus was equally dumbfounded, leaning against the armrest of his chair, his right hand perched beneath his chin and his other arm crossed over his chest. he was staring at Megatron like one would look at their enemy; focused and emotionless, as if he expected Megatron to lash out at any moment.

The owner of Castle de Beauvoir arched an eyebrow, looking between the detective and his assistant. He took a sip of the tea on his lap before taking a bite of the biscuit on the tray beside him.

"Would you like me to repeat it?" Megatron asked, amused. "I am truly surprised you did not see this coming."

Ultra Magnus frowned but gestured forward with his hand. "I had trusted your word when you told me you told me you were an honest man. But yes please, from the beginning."

Megatron didn't look offended by the side comment, but he made a 'tsk' noise with his tongue. He set the tea cup back on the table and adjusted his posture.

"The truth of this party is truly what was written on the cards: I meant to invite everyone together for a large Ball. There is no mystery writter who faked my penmanship or my seal, I wrote out each and every letter myself and personally placed them in the mailbox. There is no Phantom Party, this party was always meant to happen.

The only lie pertaining to this party is the lie I have asked everyone to keep from you two. There was always going to dancing and large, fancy meals, but there was to be more than that."

"Murder Is that the extra stuff you're talking 'bout?" Smokescreen interrupted, and Megatron cast him an annoyed glance.

"As you have likely already figured out, there is one common factor that links nearly all of the guests together: their hatred for Silas. There are people who feel indifferent to him, but they too have a purpose to serve. This party was to bring everyone together to talk out their issues with Silas and attempt to remedy them. The ones that didn't have a problem with him were to be mediators, to help keep the peace between everyone."

Megatron pulled a letter out of his pocket and handed it to Ultra Magnus. It was identical to the one Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen had received, the same purple paper, dark black ink and signature seal.

"This letter was delivered to Shockwave. He gave it back to Steve when he arrived, and he gave it to me. You can go ahead and read it, most of the letters are the same."

Smokescreen shuffled closer and peered over the detective's shoulder, his eyes following along the penmanship on the paper.

My dear friend Shockwave,

I am humbly requesting your presence at my residence for a bit of a problem-solving activity, if you are willing. I trust you remember Silas Bishop, the Councilman who advocated for your projects to not be destroyed when he took office.

I will need your help in assisting others to talk their problems out with Silas, for there are many people who have many issues with Silas and I cannot handle it all on my own.

I know I can count on you, old friend.

There will also be a Ball and meals together with the other guests, so be sure to dress nicely most days.

You friend,

Lord Megatron of Castle de Beauvoir

Ultra Magnus looked up and met Megatron's gaze, who was still as cool and confident as he'd always been even before he'd thrown out his biggest secret to the world.

"You do realize you have been lying to law enforcement, and that is a punishable offense?" Ultra Magnus asked plainly.

The Lord shrugged. "I have, but so has everyone else because I asked them not to tell you what the real point of this party was. It was for their protection as well as mine. Especially after Silas was murdered at the very party I wished him to be relieved of his burden of hatred."

"Why were we even invited if you just planned to lie to us the whole time?" Smokescreen demanded.

Megatron chuckled. "I must admit, it was an attempt at humor on my part. A little bit of foreshadowing, if you will. The two of you were invited as sort of a joke in the event that Silas was murdered and we wouldn't have had to both calling the police, for you would already be here." Megatron smirked devilishly. "The greatest detective in the world and his loyal sidekick. What need have I for anyone else?"

"So you invited us knowing things would go badly?" Ultra Magnus's face was still blank, his voice void of emotion.

Megatron's face remained equally blank as he replied. "I had a suspicious feeling it would. But I foolishly hoped that everyone would be able to keep themselves in check until the weekend was over."

"So let me get this straight, for my own peace of mind," Smokescreen said, reaching over and taking a bite of a donut that was beside his hot chocolate. "you meant to invite everyone here, so the invitations were real and everyone knew that, and you asked them not to tell us about that so we would think this party was an accident?"

"That's correct."

"And the point of this party was to try and get people to forgive Silas for all his wrongdoings, and the people here who didn't have issues with him were meant to be mediators?"

"Also correct, yes."

"And we're here as a joke in case anything bad happened, but something bad did happen, so your foreshadowing proved to be right?"

"Regrettably, yes."

"Why would you do this for Silas?" Ultra Magnus interjected, pushing off the armrest.

Megatron looked down at the floor for a moment before he looked back up and met Ultra Magnus's cold gaze with his own steely one. "He used to be my friend, until he destroyed himself. This had been my last effort to fix his life. And I ended it."

There was a pause then and Smokescreen felt very bad for Megatron.

The pause was over as Megatron stood up from his seat.

"So, are you going to arrest all of us now for throwing a forgiving party and forgetting to tell you?" The Lord asked, challenge in his tone.

Ultra Magnus met his gaze until he sighed and looked away.

"No."

"We're not?" Smokescreen whispered to him, shocked.

"No, we're not." Ultra Magnus said again, just as firmly as the first time he'd said it. "Megatron and the others may have invited us all here on a lie and most continue to lie to us, but they had the best intention at heart. The only person we're going to arrest and bring to justice is the killer of Silas Bishop."

"If I may, detective." Megatron's voice was velvety and confident. "Would it really be so wrong if you…didn't bring the killer to justice?"

Smokescreen sucked in a breath as he remembered thinking the exact same thing after he overheard the other guests talking and thanking the killer for ending Silas's miserable life, and he awkwardly realized he'd still forgotten to tell Magnus about that.

"I thought you were his friend, Megatron. Don't you wish him justice?" Ultra Magnus countered, but there was something different in his voice.

Megatron laughed at that, brief as it might have been, it was genuine. "Justice? For him? I tried to bring him penance and forgiveness as a last ditch effort to save him, I've done all I can for him. He can rot in hell for eternity now, I could care less."

Ultra Magnus's eye twitched.

There was another pause as Ultra Magnus sucked in a breath before exhaling, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We've got all we need, Lord Megatron. Thank you for confessing this to us." The detective said plainly.

The owner of the Castle raised an eyebrow before shrugging, reaching out and shaking both their hands before he turned on his heel and walked out of the doorway and into the hallway.

"Wow," Smokescreen feel backwards into the arm chair. "I was not expecting that at all."

Ultra Magnus sighed and flopped down beside Smokescreen into his own armchair. "Neither was I, my dear Smokescreen. Neither was I."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ballroom was exactly the same, beautifully lit and spotless, the light fixtures shining brightly in their own reflections and the paintings on the wall only adding to the beauty of the room.

The wine was as delicious as Starscream remembered it being, perhaps even better. The music was exactly the right volume; loud enough that Starscream could feel the beat in his heart but so loud he couldn't hear himself think.

Starscream was in the center of the dance circle, performing his absolute best dance moves (he would admit it, he was a really good dancer. He'd leaned from the best, after all).

Starscream was swinging his hips around and moving his feet in an expert way, and everyone on the outside of the circle was hyping him up, cheering loudly and encouraging him to dance harder. Even his husband, the normally emotionless, stoic man, had cracked a small smile that could be visible just beneath his mask.

Starscream pulled Knock Out into the circle and jumped to the outside once he was bored, and the redhead quickly took over with a gleam in his eyes, busting some surprisingly good dance moves. Dreadwing gave a loud whoop to encourage his husband and Knock Out responded in kind, pulling some dance moves Starscream had never seen before, but were impressive nonetheless.

After a while, Starscream got bored of the dancing and stepped outside the circle. He looked around, hoping to spot a worker walking around with the glasses of wine and champagne, but there were none around.

It managed to bring a smile to Starscream's face as he saw June and her kids dancing off to the side. He'd spoken to Raf and Jack for a few minutes when they'd dropped off his snacks, and he was quite fond of them if he was being honest. June was a nice, sweet woman and she'd raised her kids right. Starscream had seen how some parents chose to raise their children, and he wasn't impressed.

June's husband Fowler was with them, dancing off-beat and trying to sing along; Starscream could hear his less than perfect voice from across the dance floor. He grimaced but didn't comment on it, for they were simply having their own fun.

Megatron was standing with a few of the other guests, and Starscream wasn't surprised with the company surrounding their host. Optimus, Ratchet and Ultra Magnus were all calmly sharing conversation over drinks, largely ignoring the dancing circle in the center of the floor.

Megatron and Starscream's eyes met, and Megatron gave him a simple nod and raised his glass to the guest, a sign of respect.

Funny. Starscream didn't remember this part. Megatron never showed him any respect at any given moment unless Soundwave was glaring the Lord of Castle down, and even then the respect was awkward and obviously forced.

Oh they had their differences, Megatron and Starscream did. Many, many differences.

Megatron's eyes shifted to look behind Starscream and the Councilman turned sharply. He managed to catch the end of Silas's coat as the man opened a back door and exited quickly out of the Ballroom.

He didn't remember this either.

Starscream slowly turned back around and nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw someone was directly in front of him.

"Holy Primus!" He exclaimed, taking a few calming breaths, looking down at his shoes. "You almost gave me a heart attack, you lunatic -"

Starscream's sentence stopped short as he realized he wasn't talking to a guest from the party, at least not one he could recognize.

They were dressed in the killer's black outfit, the mask covering their lower half and their eyes shrouded by a weird glitching color scheme that twitched every few seconds, preventing Starscream from seeing their eyes and being able to identify him that way.

The killer didn't move, just staring at Starscream.

"What do you want?" Starscream demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.

It's just a dream, it's just a dream.

The killer didn't say anything, but he turned slowly and began to walk away, towards the main exit where all the guests had come in earlier for the dancing.

Starscream followed slowly, and it was then he noticed the killer had a knife clenched in their fist.

He swallowed hard and continued to follow him.

The killer walked through the hallways, saying nothing to Starscream the entire way. Starscream tried to make notes of how they walked, which foot they favored if any, but he reminded himself that this was just a dream and any details he retained would likely be irrelevant.

The killer walked up a flight of stairs and turned, and Starscream distinctly remembered this being the path they followed Bumblebee after he claimed he found the body.

The killer stopped suddenly without warning at the start of a hallway, and Starscream once again recognized it.

They stood there for a moment, waiting for what Starscream knew was going to happen.

Silas appeared at the other end of the hallway, a drink half finished in his hand. The man looked up and saw Starscream and the killer there beside him. The Councilman gasped and took a step back, the pleading in his eyes evident even from a distance.

"No, please! Whatever you want, it's yours!" Silas pleaded; his last words.

"What I want," The killer's voice was warped in his mind. "you can't give me."

Starscream closed his eyes for a moment - no longer than that, it couldn't have been! - as he expected the killer to strike out and attack Silas before the half drunken man could get away, but the sound of thundering footsteps never echoed in Starscream's ears.

He blinked his eyes open and saw no one around him. The killer was gone, Silas was gone. The hallway was empty.

There was a gasp of pain beneath Starscream, and his heart sunk in his chest as he realized what had happened.

He slowly - very, very slowly - looked down towards the floor. He saw bloodstains on his own clothing, splattered from a fresh wound. The knife was in his hands now, stained with a deep red liquid so plentiful it dripped from the tip of the blade.

There was more blood on Starscream's pants, now ruined from the stain of it all. His dark pants were already darker, and he could feel the wetness of the blood against his leg. It was an incredibly unpleasant feeling, one that Starscream could have gone the rest of his life without knowing the details of it.

His eyes finally came to rest on what he already knew to be there. He looked at it for a moment before he looked away, turning away from the foul image that was now burned into his mind.

There was another gasp for air that forced Starscream to look back at what he - no, the killer did.

Silas's beaten body lay at his feet, his eyes still containing life though it was fleeing fast. His clothes were also stained, the wounds on his shirt still spilling what little blood he had left.

Silas looked up at him, and Starscream was surprised to see there was no sadness in his eyes in his last moments, no pain or regret.

There was a smug satisfaction in them, mixed with anger.

It infuriated Starscream in a way he couldn't describe, like the anger wasn't his.

Starscream reached his hand back, the knife still clenched in his fist. He brought the hand above his head, and Silas's eyes widened in that glorious pain Starscream had been waiting for.

Starscream brought his fist down as fast as he could, aiming for the heart…

…Starscream awoke with a start, shooting up in bed and screaming bloody murder as he thrashed around.

Soundwave was up in and instant beside him, his strong arms wrapping around Starscream and pulling him sideways against his chest before pushing them both back down on their mattress.

Stop screaming, people will think we're getting murdered. Starscream could practically hear Soundwave pleading. He forced himself to breath, to relax and get some air in his lungs that wasn't immediently expelled by screaming it back out.

"I…" Starscream said, gasping for air still. Soundwave didn't force him to say anything, he instead reached up and began to rub Starscream's head, pulling at his hair in the way Starscream liked and would always calm him down.

It took a few moments, but Starscream slowly came back to himself with slow, deep breaths and silent encouragement from his husband.

"I was the killer, Soundwave." Starscream breathed out. The sentence almost felt like a confession on his lips, but he didn't do it.

Then why did he feel so guilty?

"We were in the Ballroom, dancing and enjoying ourselves. But then the killer themselves appeared before me and I followed him through the hallway and saw him kill Silas. Only, it was me who held the knife and stood above the dying man, but I swear to you Soundwave I did not kill him."

Soundwave put a hand on the side of Starscream's face, a comforting gesture that was much appreciated.

I know. Soundwave seemed to say, his hand firm and secure on his husband's face.

Starscream placed his own hand on top of it, closing his eyes as he hummed appreciatively.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Starscream said, feeling much more comfortable now. He nestled closer to the other man who did not protest; pulling the covers higher on their bodies and snuggling in on their pillows.

"I couldn't see their face," Starscream whispered, his voice drowsy with sleep. "I still don't know who they are, I couldn't see their face…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Walk me through it. Give me a brief description of every person and their connection to this case." Ultra Magnus instructed, keeping his gaze fixed on their drawing board.

Their board was pretty impressive, to say the least. There was a layout of the Castle in one corner, giving a map of where all the guests where and where Silas was murdered a few hallways down. On the other side there was an image of every suspect, every guest at the Castle. A few had red ribbons connecting them to a picture of Silas in the center, while others had a blue star on the top right corner.

Smokescreen stood behind him, flipping through all the notes they had from their interviews and updates from all their little surprises along the way.

"Okay. Ready?" Smokescreen asked and Ultra Magnus lifted his piece of chalk, ready to carefully and legibly write little facts under each picture.

"First we got Megatron, the owner of the Castle. Used to be friends with Silas and arranged this party to get people to forgive him. Lied about the true origins of the invitations and encouraged everyone to lie about it too. We don't know why Silas and Megatron stopped being complete friends and why his death doesn't bother Megatron."

"If Megatron convinced them to lie about the letters it was probably easy for him to make everyone lie if he killed Silas." Ultra Magnus pointed out and Smokescreen shrugged.

"Those are two different things, but maybe." Smokescreen inhaled and continued. "Next we got Ratchet, married to General Optimus Prime. Ratchet has no direct quarrels with Silas, but the man did try to get one of his best employees fired, and he is a doctor so he would know how to make the death quick but sloppy at the same time.

His husband shows no motive either, he was supposed to be one of the mediators and for good reason, being such a level-headed guy and all. A trap was placed and Optimus tripped it, but we still don't know who the trap was actually for. Optimus might know something the killer doesn't want him to know, but he doesn't know he knows."

Ultra Magnus finished scribbling and sighed. "It is unlikely that is the case, Smokescreen."

"Maybe. I've been right before. Anyway, next there's Knock Out and Dreadwing. Knock Out's first husband Breakdown was killed in the same accident that killed some of Silas's loved ones, and he was always suspected to have played a role in his parents' own death. That's not an easy grudge to get over, shesh. Dreadwing himself has no issues with Silas, but he do doubt hates him 'cause he caused so much pain for Knock Out."

"Dreadwing is a caring man who wouldn't lift a finger against another, this I am sure of."

Smokescreen 'tsked' with his tongue. "Don't let your personal attachments cloud your judgement, Mags." He quoted the detective, who glared at him over his shoulder. Smokescreen coughed awkwardly and looked back down at his notes.

"Anyway, next we got Arcee and Cliffjumper. Pretty chill people who have no ties to Silas, but I do remember Cliffjumper being gone for a few minutes before Bumblebee showed up. Not at the time you asked me, but there was a point in time where he was missing. Arcee seems pretty clean, no issues in her past for Silas to blackmail her with.

Bulkhead and Starscream both were blackmailed by Silas, for the drug cartel Bulkhead's fighting ring ran - oh, say that ten times fast. Anyway - and Starscream is unclear, all we know is that it almost got him kicked off the Council that his family has served on for years. Their respective husbands, Soundwave and Wheeljack were probably invited to keep their husbands collected since they have no connections to Silas."

"That may not be true," Ultra Magnus added. "I asked Wheeljack how he felt about Silas and he nearly lost his temper with me before he stormed out the main door. He might feel so much anger for the pain Silas caused Bulkhead he took matters into his own hands. And Starscream," Ultra Magnus narrowed his eyes at the picture of the Councilman. "we need to figure out exactly what the blackmail was all about. That could make or break the case."

"I don't know. He didn't crack when we interviewed him, so he's less likely to confess now. He probably thinks he's safe though, since he helped us out with the second attack."

"No one's safe until the case is closed." Ultra Magnus pointed out. "Who's next?"

"Airachnid. We got a lot of useful info from her interview, how she tried to save Silas's parents but lost them anyway and then he tried to have her licence suspended. That would be something to kill for. Like Ratchet she would know how to fix a crime scene to her advantage." Smokescreen shuddered. "And she's creepy."

Ultra Magnus rolled his eyes and left that part out.

"Okay, now there's Shockwave. Silas supported him actually, or so Megatron says. Wouldn't surprised me if he wanted Silas's project gone too and just told everyone the opposite. I don't think Shockwave knows though."

"We'll have to interview Shockwave again. We need more details from him as well." Ultra Magnus nodded thoughtfully. "Anyone else?"

Smokescreen sighed. "Bumblebee. He found the body, so he technically could have done it. But he's a college law student who has never met Silas before. He was a mediator from the start."

"Smokescreen," Ultra Magnus looked back over his shoulder and raised an optic ridge.

"I know, I know." Smokescreen waved him off and flopped down on the chair. "I'm not letting it cloud my judgement. But Bumblebee, like your friend Dreadwing, could never hurt anyone."

"Let's only hope our intuition is correct." Ultra Magnus sighed. "Is that all?"

"Steve?" Smokescreen half jokingly added. Ultra Magnus gave him a suspicious look and Smokescreen shrugged. "Can't count him out. Butlers know everything, ya know."

Ultra Magnus sighed and drew a half-hearted picture of Steve and labeled it as such. He concluded the description with a simple, 'the butler'.

Smokescreen reached down to pick up a pastry, and he managed to find the one with the most frosting with a joyful grin on his face. He was lifting it to his lips when suddenly the terrifying roar from outside the Castle echoed in his ears, and the pastry fell frosting-down on the floor.

For a moment he forgot about the cry and let out an exaggerated sob as he knelt down by his pastry. "Why does this keep happening to me?!" He demanded.

Ultra Magnus, who had not forgotten about the scream dashed over towards the window, pulling back the blinds and staring out the back. "There are other pastries Smokescreen, now focus!"

"But that one had the most frosting!" Smokescreen wailed as if his world was ending. Which to him, it was.

"Oh shut up and get over here." Ultra Magnus demanded and Smokescreen snapped out it, picking the ruined pastry off the ground and putting it on a spare napkin on table. He grabbed the pastry with the second most frosting and took a big bite out of it as he walked over to the window.

"That is the third time we've heard that roar, but still no one has talked about it." Ultra Magnus thought out loud, staring out towards the woods.

"You don't think that has anything to do with the murder of Silas, do you?" Smokescreen asked around his pastry.

"I'm not sure what to make of it. All I know is that we need to figure out what it is and determine if it could be a lead."

Smokescreen narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Ain't no way I'm going out into that large woods to find some mangy beast that roars that loud. Over my bed body, Magnus." An idea popped into Smokescreen's head. "Hey! We haven't really gotten the chance to look back at the crime scene in the daylight! You should take some people out there tomorrow and look around the woods, and I'll stay here to try and figure out more from this crime scene."

It wasn't an entirely obscured idea, to say the least.

Ultra Magnus nodded approvingly. "Very well. We'll split everyone up into groups and report back by lunch, then interview Shockwave and Starscream and get this all sorted out by dinner tomorrow." Ultra Magnus grinned to himself as he stared out the window, excitement building in his gut. "It's all starting to come together. We'll have enough clues to solve this case in no time."

Chapter Text

"There better be a good reason for dragging us out into the cold morning air," Starscream complained, fluffing up the fur of his collar as he glared up Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen, his gave unwavering. "I'm never out of bed before seven o clock on a good day, so I would like an explanation as to why we're all standing out on the balcony like morons."

Ultra Magnus resisted the urge to roll his eyes, forcing himself to remain civil for the sake of the task ahead. It was not to his benefit to stir up trouble before the day started; they needed the help of the guests after all, and while they couldn't leave the Castle, there were certainly a few of them that would refuse to help if Ultra Magnus was rude.

"Did you figure it out?" Ultra Magnus turned his gaze to Cliffjumper, who was looking at him with an eager expression. His expression was not matched by his fiance, who was slouching where she stood and looked half asleep as it was. But Cliffjumper had a thermos of coffee in one hand and a pastry in the other, which likely had something to do with his upbeat attitude. "Did you solve the murder yet?"

"Drag us all out here to announce it, huh?" Knock Out raised an eyebrow. "There's no possible way we could have done this inside where the cold breeze wouldn't have messed up my hair?"

"You're fine, my love." Dreadwing chuckled, pulling his shorter husband closer to his chest. He wrapped his coat around Knock Out, who nuzzled closer. The taller man turned his attention to Ultra Magnus again, expecting an answer. "But in all honestly, why did you bring us out here, detective?"

Ultra Magnus looked to Smokescreen, who cleared his throat and stepped forward, fiddling with the paper in his hands.

"We haven't solved the investigation, that's still ongoing since we still need quite a few facts before we can make a definite decision," Smokescreen explained, and all the guests shrugged and grumbled, but didn't dare critique the work of the the detective and his assistant. "but that's why you're all out here; we need your help with the next part of the investigation since we can't exactly do it alone.

There's two questions that need to be answered: one is what the hell is out in the woods," Smokescreen pointed to the great beyond for extra emphasis without looking over his shoulder. "and two, if there is any way to trace the steps of the killer after his attack on Optimus."

Optimus shuffled his feet and looked down, and Starscream coughed awkwardly beside Soundwave.

"I can answer the question of what's beyond in the forest," Shockwave raised his hand, his expression blank as ever. "my old research lab used to be there, but it was shut down after Silas took office. There is no issue concerning it and it does not coincide with the issue going on in the Castle."

Ultra Magnus nodded. "With all due respect, we just need to be sure there's nothing going on back there. I have faith in you, but we need more than your word, Shockwave." The scientist showed no amount of displeasure, but Smokescreen imagined he couldn't be very happy.

"We'll be splitting into two groups to help get these tasks done as quickly as possible. Group one will be with me at the Castle trying to figure out the path of the killer, while group two will go into the forest with Ultra Magnus." Smokescreen smiled as he made eye contact with Bumblebee, who smiled back at him.

"Group one is Knock Out, Wheeljack, Starscream, Airachnid, Arcee, Steve, and Ratchet. Group two is Megatron, Bulkhead, Optimus, Cliffjumper, Soundwave, Shockwave, Bumblebee, and Dreadwing." Smokescreen crumpled up the paper out of nervousness and tucked it into his pocket. "We'll get started at ten o' clock with our respective jobs."

Everyone sputtered and yelled in shock as they realized they had been played.

Starscream pointed a finger out at Ultra Magnus, who was barely hiding a grin. "So there was no reason for making us get up this early!" He accused, and a few of the others grumbled right along with.

"It is a beautiful morning," Ultra Magnus defended, putting his hands behind his back. "and besides, don't be so dramatic Mr. Starscream; at least now the cooks will be finished with your regular things for breakfast."

"My eating schedule's going to be off now," Bulkhead grumbled, and Wheeljack snickered back up at his husband.

"You don't have an eating schedule sweetie, you just eat whenever you want." The smaller man patted Bulkhead's cheek affectionately.

"Yeah, but I still like to eat randomly with a purpose," Bulkhead explained and Wheeljack rolled his eyes. Cliffjumper sprang over and clapped Bulkhead on the back.

"I like your style, Bulk! I should take a page from your book sometime." The red head tapped his chin in pretend thought as Arcee shot him a glare.

Slowly, all the guests made their way back inside, conversation filling the otherwise still morning air. Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen hung back, watching everyone disappear inside.

"All the couples are seperated," Ultra Magnus said quietly, waiting to turn around to face the balcony until Steve's back had vanished back inside. "while it is not impossible that we have eliminated the threat of cooperation, the odds are significantly lowered."

"Yup," Smokescreen agreed, pulling a pastry wrapped in a napkin out of his pocket. At Ultra Magnus's shocked and disgusted glare, Smokescreen coughed around his first bite of pastry, "What? I need energy too in the morning! It wasn't my plan to wake up this early anyway. It was my idea to sleep in."

Ultra Magnus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are so dramatic. Enjoy your youth."

Smokescreen hummed around his pastry happily.

"Anyway, I do not know how long my expedition will take. Anywhere from an hour to all day, but it would be wise to return to the Castle before sunset to avoid the coyotes or any other wildlife."

"A wise decision," Smokescreen said, adding an accent to his voice just to make Ultra Magnus angry. He dropped it and leaned on the railing of the balcony. "My crew shouldn't take too long either, depending on whether or not we're able to find anything. But there's gotta be something to find, right?"

Ultra Magnus sighed and glanced over his shoulder. "One can only hope. I'm not quite sure how to proceed if we aren't able to find significant clues if today yields fruitless results."

"Oh be positive, Mags! Today is gonna be perfect, just you wait! We'll be driving home to the City and all the paparazzi soon enough, don't you worry!" Smokescreen's eyes were bright and his smile was genuine; he really believed that.

Ultra Magnus smiled softly. "Thank you, Smokescreen. Between the two of us, we're bound to find something of importance."

They stood in silence, Smokescreen finishing his pastry, licking his fingers as he swallowed the last bite.

"Airachnid."

Smokescreen said the same time Ultra Magnus gave his guess.

"Starscream."

Smokescreen nodded, and Ultra Magnus nodded back. They turned sharply on their heels and walked back into the Castle, not another word exchanged between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Ultra Magnus and his group were doing the last double check to ensure they had all the items necessary for the journey ahead.

Optimus and Soundwave had been entrusted with the snacks, since they were the least likely to eat them along the way. Megatron and Shockwave were given the map (originally it had been Soundwave and Shockwave, but Shockwave had insisted that would simply not work), for they knew the forest best and could guide them to Shockwave's old lab. Everyone else had small backpacks with a change of clothes and some survival materials, and knives were visible through the top of their socks or in their pockets.

They still didn't expect to be gone long, but still, it was always better to plan ahead for an emergency that be stuck in a nasty predicament.

Ultra Magnus looked around at his team, trying to interpret people's facial expressions to try and gain any insight into what they were thinking.

Bumblebee, for one, looked frightened and unsure of himself as he looked at all the items laid out before him that needed to go back into his bag. He was clearly running on autopilot, since he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing.

Dreadwing, luckily for Bumblebee, was a little more attentive and aware, and managed to stop Bumblebee before the young man picked up a live frog and tried to shove it in his backpack.

Soundwave, Megatron and Optimus were talking civilly on the far side of the group, their expressions blank and calm. Soundwave's face was still hidden, but his shoulders were relaxed and his fingers were loose at his side, and he nodded along as he listened to the old war heroes speak quietly.

Bulkhead, Dreadwing and Cliffjumper were having a loud laugh as they teased Bumblebee as he scooped the frog into his hand and tried to hide it from the other's bickering and laughter. Cliffjumper was laughing so hard he was crying while Bulkhead and Dreadwing were somewhere in between, not quite dying of laughter but not stone faced either.

Shockwave was standing on his own, staring out at the forest and his one good eye narrowed and nearly unreadable. His expression was downcast and his lips were set in a frown. There was tenseness around him that spread into the air, souring the spirit of adventure that the other members of the party were clearly feeling.

Ultra Magnus was never one to base his guesses off appearance and posture alone - though it was a factor of course - but if were to make such an assumption, Shockwave would be his guess.

"Alright then," Ultra Magnus stepped forward, and all eyes fell upon him. "shall we get going then?"

"Let's," Megatron agreed, pulling the map out of his back pocket as Shockwave appeared at his side. "Shockwave, let's lead the way."

They fell into pairs, Shockwave and Megatron at the front, Dreadwing and Bumblebee next to each other behind them, Cliffjumper and Bulkhead behind them, and Optimus and Ultra Magnus bringing up the rear. Soundwave walked alone, but if it bothered him, he didn't say so.

They made slow but steady progress through the woods, moving in deeper into the center. At first the going wasn't so slow, since there was a carved out path, but soon they had to go off said path and journey through the thick undergrowth and vines since the laboratory was built to be difficult to get to.

Megatron brought out his longer knife and cut through any overgrown plants while Soundwave held onto the map.

They'd been traveling about an hour at a decent pace, the sounds of birds and other animals running around them almost distracting enough to make Ultra Magnus forget just why they were out here in the forest to begin with.

"Kid, he's a frog, you can't just bring him around everywhere. He needs to be free, make some froggy friends." Bulkhead tried to reason, but Bumblebee retaliated by placing the frog on his shoulder and proudly marching on.

"I'm his friend, and that's just gonna have to be good enough. Besides, I've named him, so he's gotta stay around now."

"Kid -"

"Soot and I are done talking to you, Bulkhead. You're being rude."

Bulkhead let out an exasperated groan and nearly tripped over a root Megatron forgot to warn him about. The conversation dropped as Bulkhead gained his footing and Soot croaked at him, almost like he was laughing at the big man.

Ultra Magnus chuckled to himself as Bumblebee and Bulkhead started laughing together again and their trek continued on.

He paused as he noticed how Soundwave and Shockwave would always get close to each other before one of them would pause and the other would walk past as if nothing happened. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Optimus, who was busy looking up at the leaves above them.

"Say, Optimus," The retired General looked to his old friend, a surprisingly warm look on his face. "you wouldn't happen to know why Soundwave and Shockwave can't seem to be around each other, do you?"

Optimus's expression changed to surprised and a little confused, like he was puzzled as to why Ultra Magnus even had to ask.

"It never came up in your interviews?" Optimus asked first, avoiding Ultra Magnus's question.

"No," Now Ultra Magnus was getting concerned and beyond curious. What had Shockwave and Soundwave been keeping from him? "what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, I did not mean for it to come off this way," Optimus glanced forward to make sure no one was listening before he looked back to Ultra Magnus. "they just used to be a couple, is all."

"A couple?" Ultra Magnus said a little too loudly. Luckily, at that moment, two deer appeared in a clearing a few feet ahead of them, so no one was really listening to their conversation.

"Engaged too, I believe." Optimus tapped his chin as he paused so they could hold some privacy in their conversation.

"What caused it to end?"

"From my understanding, they were engaged but Starscream always had a fascination with Soundwave. He confessed his feelings and supposedly Soundwave felt the same; he and Shockwave had been drifting apart, their differences too much to mend. Soundwave called off their engagement and got married to Starscream about a year later."

"Any feelings of unrest between them?"

Optimus gave him a glance that said 'Seriously', but he was too polite to say those words. "You asked me if they had any tension because they simply cannot be around each other. You can answer your own question, my friend."

"I know that now, Optimus, but I mean motive. For anything."

Optimus looked forward, then looked back, and repeated this pattern one more time, his eyes showing how his brain was working to figure out an answer for Ultra Magnus's question. "I do not believe I have an answer to that."

Optimus walked forward to look at the deer before they disappeared again, while Ultra Magnus hung back, his own brain working a mile a minute to put it all together.

Starscream was on the Council, the same Council that took away Shockwave's projects.

Shockwave tries to kill Starscream out of his love for Soundwave and anger over the loss of his projects, but he kills Silas on accident.

Tries to strike again, with the spikes on the floor, but nearly kills Optimus instead.

Damn it all.

"Ultra Magnus!"

The detective shook his head and looked before him, where the others were waving for him to catch up.

"Come on, we're almost there!" Cliffjumper called out, and Ultra Magnus jogged over the underground to catch up with the others.

"Bumblebee, a frog is one thing, but you cannot take a deer home," Bulkhead rolled his eyes as he yanked Bumblebee by the collar to pull him along.

"But look at them! They need friends! I'll be your friend!" Bumblebee called out, and the deer stared at him, unmoving except for the occasional twitch of their tails. "I'll be back for you!"

The rest of the walk went normally, about another hour before Soundwave and Megatron stopped as Shockwave suddenly halted in front of them.

Ultra Magnus peered over Shockwave's shoulder and saw they had stopped before a clearing, the sun shining through since there was an absence of trees. Squirrels and birds made their way through the clearing, chattering and singing their way through.

Shockwave was looking around, but he didn't move any farther into the clearing, despite no one being around. As Bulkhead tried to step past him, he held up an arm and sent the man a death glare.

"You mustn't enter the clearing." Shockwave instructed firmly, and Bulkhead stepped back. All of them formed a line alongside Shockwave, none daring to pass him even by an inch.

"What are we waiting for?" Cliffjumper crossed his arms and tapped his foot, looking bored and more tired than he had this morning.

"He's missing." Shockwave said to no one in particular, but his tone showed an once of worry that was unusual for him.

"Who's missing?!" Cliffjumper cried out, looking around as if someone was going to jump out of the bushes and grab them. "Who was supposed to be here?!"

Shockwave stepped into the clearing, looking high and low trying to find whoever 'he' was. Ultra Magnus heard him utter a few choice words under his breath and scowled as he continued to look.

"The guardian of my laboratory; he's missing." Shockwave explained, clenching his fists at his side. "He was my greatest creation, his design inspired by a mixture of the bones of the old dinosaurs that once walked this planet and some of the top predators of today's world. I created him from scratch, gave him life and free will, though I would be able to control him if I so wished."

"Wait, is this thing a robot or an organic creature?" Bulkhead asked, looking around with terror in his eyes.

"Robotic," Shockwave explained, looking heaven ward, his eye narrowing as if he saw something. "but again, I gave him the ability to think for himself and act upon his own instincts. He's as close to false life as anyone has ever gotten."

Megatron crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "That was the project that was shut down by the Council, wasn't it?"

"Yes, they believed that if left alone, I would create more of my creatures and potentially take over the world, though I had no interest in world domination, only research."

"How comforting." Dreadwing sneered, drawing his knives from his boots.

"They destroyed my projects, but Silas helped me get my only creation to safety. He is supposed to be guarding the only laboratory I have left, but now he's missing." Shockwave almost sounded sad, like he was a father who had just lost a child.

Ultra Magnus couldn't help feel pity for the scientist.

"Could it be that the creature starved or was killed by another animal out in the woods? Perhaps a pack of coyotes were able to take it down?" Optimus suggested, his voice tender and kind as he reached out and placed a hand on Shockwave's shoulder.

Shockwave didn't pull away, but his gaze was hard and cold and Optimus dropped his hand anyway.

"My creature was not alive, it doesn't need to eat. It is powered by sunlight and I programmed it to enter my lab and take what it needed if it ever required any other form of sustenance. And I assure you, no mortal animal could have taken out my project." Shockwave was proud then as he spoke.

There was a screech from above, and Ultra Magnus looked up, expecting to see some giant robot flying towards them, but whatever made the noise was blocked by the reflection of the sun.

But not for long.

Soon, just as the detective dreaded, a large, robotic dragon came into view through the sun, its eyes narrowed in battle and its mouth open wide in a loud screech.

"Holy Primus!" Bulkhead cried out, running towards the under grove of the trees to hide, Bumblebee hot on his tail.

"Predaking!" Shockwave cried out, a small smile on his face as he watched his creature land.

Ultra Magnus stared in awe at the creature before him. He had expected a sort of mediocre type of robot that gleamed silver and that looked like a prototype or at least worn out from its years out in the woods, but he was surprised to see otherwise.

The dragon was huge, maybe about thirty-five feet tall and forty feet long. It had dark brown armor with added colors of gold and silver. Glowing yellow bio-lights were all over his plating, peaking out from around the cracks of his armor. He had a long neck with two large and glorious horns on his head that almost resembled a strange sort of crown. His tail was long and the dragon swung it back and forth menacingly while growling at all the people around him.

His glowing yellow eyes settled on Ultra Magnus and he took a few haunting steps closer, a few growls escaping him as he stepped forward. His armor shifted as he moved and creaked together as he moved, making a weird thudding noise.

He stopped when he reached Ultra Magnus, and the detective stood, frozen, his life completely in the hands of this beast.

"Bow to him." Shockwave's commanding whisper nearly caused Ultra Magnus to jolt if he wasn't used to compromising situations.

"What?" Ultra Magnus demanded, not moving his eyes away from Predaking, as Shockwave had called him earlier.

"He has not decided what to do with you yet. Bow to him to show respect. It is a major part of the animal culture. Just do it." Shockwave ordered again through gritted teeth.

Surprisingly, it was Megatron who bowed first, tapping his foot against the ground and waiting until Predaking heard him. Megatron's face was blank and he dropped his head low, his arms tucked into his side and not looking up at the beast before him.

Optimus followed after him, and Predaking let out a coo-like noise of appreciation and looked around for everyone else to do the same. Bulkhead and Bumblebee stumbled out of the trees and immediently bowed low; Cliffjumper bent down so far he kissed the floor.

Ultra Magnus bowed as well, and Predaking blinked at him.

In the end, Shockwave was the only one who didn't bow, but he walked right up to Predaking and lifted a hand, waiting for the beast to meet him halfway.

The creature leaned down, closing its eyes as it touched its snout against Shockwave's palm. The scientist's face was calm and controlled, and uncharacteristically loving. He reached forward with both hands and wrapped them around Predaking's snout, to which the creature cooed and nuzzled him.

"I think I might have peed my pants a little there," Cliffjumper broke the silence as he collapsed on the ground. "and my heart is beating a thousand times a minute here, oh goodness."

"I apologize," Shockwave didn't sound the least bit sorry.

"So this is the creature that the Council wanted terminated? Forgive me if I say I can understand where they're coming from." Optimus chuckled, stepping beside Shockwave and smiling up at the dragon.

"The Council seems to forget that animals aren't the only one who can bring destruction to the things around them. I tried to convince them of this fact, but they deemed that illogical and terminated my project anyway." Shockwave responded.

There was a moment of silence as they took in both what Shockwave had said and the giant beast before them. Bumblebee presented Predaking with his new frog friend Soot, and Predaking sniffed it before exhaling sharply.

"He's not food," Bumblebee scolded as the beast opened its mouth, revealing a sharp array of metal teeth. "he's my friend."

Predaking seemed to snicker and looked back to Shockwave.

"Let's get into the laboratory so we can get back to the Castle before nightfall." Megatron suggested, and everyone nodded. "Shockwave, I assume you know the way from here?"

"Indeed." Shockwave paused as Soundwave suddenly appeared next to him, and Predaking bowed to the silent man. "He still remembers you."

Soundwave, as always, said nothing.

The remainder of the walk to the laboratory wasn't far, in fact it barely took ten minute. Predaking, despite not needing physical food like Shockwave said, kept trying to eat either Soot or the foot stored in their bags.

Shockwave insisted he was just happy to see people again.

The doorway to the laboratory was well hidden, Ultra Magnus would have probably missed it if he'd been traveling alone. It was shrouded with vines and just the natural cover of being a few feet into a cave.

Ultra Magnus looked down at his feet and noticed a trail of footprints, one going in and the other going out. He paused, an eyebrow raised as he knelt down to inspect the footprints.

It was a large foot, and by the looks of the marks on the bottom it was a combat boot that made these prints. The etchings were a decent way into the ground which meant this person walked heavily and almost on the sides of their foot on occasion.

Ultra Magnus looked up discretely and looked at everyone's shoes. Most of the people here were wearing some form of athletic shoe or combat boot, so that did little good.

"Shockwave," the detective called out and the scientist looked down at him. "who could have made these prints? They go inside clearly and come back the way they came, though I didn't notice them until a few moments ago."

Shockwave paused, turning away from the keypad console he'd been channeling his attention towards. He looked down at the boot marks and followed their path into the laboratory, and Ultra Magnus watched his shoulders fall.

"There's a code word to open this door. I know it; no one else."

"Is there another way in?"

"Perhaps they snuck in with Predaking when he was getting fuel?" Bulkhead pondered out loud, and it was a completely plausible idea.

"Predaking would have noticed if someone was within several feet of him." Shockwave looked up at his beast before looking back to the console. "It makes me fear what we will find in my laboratory."

Bumblebee and Cliffjumper shared a frightened glance while Dreadwing and Megatron stood side by side, arms crossed as they waited for Shockwave to open the door.

"Alohamora." Shockwave said simply, and a smile cracked on Megatron's lips.

The door way to the laboratory opened quickly, a small puff of smoke coming out of the bottom, but eventually dissipating into thin air. The opening of the door revealed a dark hallway for as long as the eye could see, and the silence of it was more terrifying than the darkness.

"Didn't take you for a Harry Potter fan, Shockwave." The Lord of the Castle snickered as he moved to stand beside the shorter man.

The scientist sent him a glare but turned to face the now open door of the laboratory.

"After you," Cliffjumper insisted, and Shockwave rolled his eye before clapping his hands twice, lights flickering down the long first hallway of the laboratory.

They all began to fall in, going back to their partners from the original journey while Predaking brought up the rear.

Ultra Magnus forced himself not to jump as he heard the door snap shut behind them. Shockwave didn't seem worried, so Ultra Magnus figured it wasn't a concern.

The muddy boot prints were still on the floor, but they were getting more and more faint the more they walked. Ultra Magnus only hoped that they reached the room necessary or found some evidence before the boot prints disappeared.

They walked down the hallway until they came to a new steel door at the end, twice as tall as Megatron and was probably a few feet thick. Shockwave reached over and entered a few numbers, allowing the door to open.

Inside was a large, open room with high ceilings and bright light fixtures. The entire thing was made from the same steel as the hallway and doorway, and looked thicker almost in some areas than others, probably for research and safety purposes.

There were four doors, evenly spaced apart on the opposite wall. There were name tags and labels beside the keypad on each door, but even after Ultra Magnus got closer he discovered he couldn't quite read them.

"Shockwave, I believe someone has destroyed your labels here," Ultra Magnus pointed out, and Shockwave approached. A scowl settled on his lips and he simply removed the name tag and tossed it to Predaking, who bit it cleanly in half and didn't look down as the pieces clanged against the floor.

"Someone has indeed broken into my laboratory. I am very tidy with my workspace and Predaking would never destroy my property unless I ordered him too." Shockwave explained, entering the keypad for the first door.

The door beeped with an affirmative respond and a small light blinked green, but the door did not open.

Shockwave tried again, and then once more, both with the same results.

"I've been shut out of my own lab," Shockwave sounded utterly surprised and dumbfounded. "this is most illogical. Who could have broken into my lab without my knowledge?"

"It looks like someone used a key or a knife to destroy these signs." Optimus pointed out, the broken name tag in his hands. He flipped it over in his hands and squinted at the backside. "There's a word here, but I believe it's in another language."

Megatron approached and held it in his hand, lifting it up to the light so he could see it better. "La," He whispered, lowering the name tag down to his side. "Perhaps this forms a sentence, and the other words are on the back of the other name tags."

Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Soundwave moved quickly, grabbing a name tag off each door and walking back towards the center of the room where Megatron held the last one.

"Est," Bumblebee said, placing his down beside the 'la'. He grabbed Soundwave's and read it aloud, "Vengeance."

"Complete."

"What does it say?" Megatron demanded.

"Predaking, open this door." Shockwave commanded, and Predaking let out a loud roar before he charged forward, ramming his head against the steel plating of the door.

It crumpled but didn't break all the way, and Predaking screeched before backing up again.

"Complete esta la vengeance? Complete the vengeance?" Cliffjumper tried, but he shook his head and made a face of disgust. "No, that can't be right."

"It's an ancient language, I believe they occasionally speak it on Caminus," Optimus said. "I studied in college and learned it during the war, but it has been so long since I last spoke it."

Predaking's roar disrupted them and they turned to watch as the beast flew into the door, causing it to break off its hinges and fall in two around the robotic beast.

None of them noticed as Soundwave moved around the name tags into the spots he liked.

Dreadwing looked down, his eyes narrowed as he read out the new sentence.

"La Vengeance Este Complete."

"The vengeance is complete." Bumblebee translated, since it was obvious now what the sentence meant. "The killer was here."

"Yes, he was." Shockwave's voice caused them all to turn, and they rose and walked towards the now open room.

Most of the room was what could be expected, large tables and machines Shockwave likely had used for experiments of some kind or whatever else he could possibly be doing in an illegal laboratory such as this one.

But in the center of the room sat a pile of foreign materials, uncovered by blankets or dust or any show of time.

There were murder devices of all kinds, spikes just like the ones that had been found in the hallway and viles of clear liquids that were likely poisonous. There were blades and guns of all shapes and sizes, their bullets still in their magazines beside them.

But there was a small table behind the pile of stuff, and as Ultra Magnus approached it, he pulled a evidence bag out of his backpack to prevent any of his fingerprints getting on the object.

There, on the little table, the light from the ceiling shining down perfectly on it, was the knife that had been used to kill Silas. It was laid out like a precious artifact, like something that should be honored or worshiped.

The blade was still covered with blood, crusty and drying on the tip, but still a dark, crimson red.

Chapter Text

Smokescreen inhaled sharply, trying to gather his wits about him.

"You can do this, you can do this Smokescreen, come on now, you got this." Smokescreen began to hype himself up as he stepped onto his chair he'd been formerly sitting on so he could be seen above the guests.

Everyone else was talking and laughing as they finished up their breakfast. The other group had left about an hour ago since they didn't want to be around the forest come nightfall, but Smokescreen's group had insisted they didn't need broad daylight to do their searching, so they had asked for a little extra time to eat and enjoy themselves before they would be asked to walk the path of the killer.

Smokescreen worked to remind himself that the killer might already know the path, since they could be right in front of him and he wouldn't know it. Maybe, with any luck, said killer would slip up and Smokescreen would be able to arrest him without any trouble.

That would make Ultra Magnus proud for sure.

"Alright everybody! Can everyone hear me?" Smokescreen cried out, waving his hands so everyone would turn and see him.

Slowly all eyes fell upon him, and Smokescreen saw June and Miko give him a thumbs up out of the corner of his eye.

He sucked in a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Okay, has everyone finished their breakfast?" Everyone nodded and he continued. "Alright then, we should probably get started with the search now. I'm gonna ask that you get in partners, so you can hold the other person accountable during the search."

"But what if a partner couple did the crime together?" Airachnid suggested as she stayed close to Ratchet. The older doctor rolled his eyes and facepalmed. "Then they have an alibi."

Smokescreen sighed and bit his lip. "Well, we just have to hope that doesn't happen. And besides, I'll know." Smokescreen put his hands on his hips and tried to act confident, but judging by the smirk on Airachnid's lips, he wasn't doing a great job.

Steve raised his hand. "I don't have a partner, sir."

Smokescreen smiled and jumped off the chair, walking over to the butler. "Then I guess you're with me, Steve-o."

Steve kept his face controlled, but his mustache twitched. "How delightful, sir."

"Alright then everyone, follow me!" Smokescreen felt his upbeat, confident attitude returning as everyone grumbled but followed him anyway, marching towards the doors to begin their quest.

"Hey, wait!"

Smokescreen and the rest of the party paused and turned around to see the children running towards them, Miko's eyes bright while Raf and Jack looked a little more concerned.

"Can we come with?" Miko blurted out, clasping her hands together in a begging motion and giving her best pouty face.

Smokescreen winced. He liked the children, but he would never forgive himself if there was another trap on the floor and one of the kids tripped it and got hurt, or worse. "I don't know, I think we've got enough people as it is -"

"We can help! We know this Castle like the back of our hands!" Raf spoke next, adjusting the glasses on his nose with a smile.

"It's true, sir." Steve spoke up, a smile on his face as he regarded the children. "No one knows the Castle better than them."

"Well, I -"

"Oh relax, kid." Wheeljack walked forward and wrapped his arm around Miko. "We'll each take one and make sure they don't hurt themselves during the search. Let them come, they need some fun!"

Ratchet and Arcee followed Wheeljack's lead, standing beside Raf and Jack respectfully. Smokescreen realized he'd lost and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Was this how Ultra Magnus felt the first few times he'd tried to come along on cases? All bright eyed and begging to help in any way he could?

He supposed he had proven himself at some point, so maybe these kids would prove something to him.

"Alright, but you stick with your buddies the whole time, okay? No wandering off or anything." Smokescreen couldn't help but smile as all three kids bounced up and down excitedly, Jack even letting himself loose a little bit to fist bump Raf.

"Come on, everybody! Let's go!" Smokescreen gestured onward and turned around, walking out the door with the rest of the party in tow.

The walk to the trap scene was quick one, all and any small talk fading the moment Smokescreen stopped.

The detective in training knelt down beside the spikes, making sure they hadn't been tampered with or anything like that. They remained largely the same, still sharp and gleaming almost menacingly in the light of the sun through the window.

Smokescreen looked down the other hallway and saw the still broken window, the glass sharp and pointy where it still hung onto its frame. A sheet had been placed over it, but said sheet was blowing gently as a breeze came through the window.

"Alright, here's the plan. Half of us are going to stay in the Castle and try and find any more traps or evidence of the killer, while the other half is going to try and follow the path the killer took. Does anyone really care where they go?" Smokescreen offered.

"I'd like to stay inside. My old bones can't handle climbing around on the roof anymore." Ratchet volunteered, and Raf looked eagerly up at him and Airachnid.

"No way am I stepping onto any roof," Starscream crossed his arms and straightened. "I'm the one who helped with this trap anyway, I should be a part of seeing it through."

"Careful Starscream, you'll dislocate a shoulder patting yourself on the back," Knock Out taunted and Starscream sneered at him.

"Hey, be nice!" Smokescreen knew deep down that neither of them meant anything by it, but he really didn't feel like dealing with an argument right now.

"Whatever, but Knock Out, you and I both know you won't enjoy yourself out there, the wind will ruin your perfect hair and whatever shall you do then?" Starscream fired back and Knock Out ran one hand through his hair instinctively.

"No one ever said I would enjoy myself, but at least I'll be getting some fresh air; good for the skin you know. Looks like you could you some of that, given all your worry wrinkles." Knock Out smirked as he grabbed Wheeljack's arm and pulled him towards the window. The scarred man didn't even bother protesting as he was pulled away.

Miko made the 'I'm watching you' signal with her hand to Starscream.

"Stuck up!" Starscream called after them, and Smokescreen sighed and followed the other pair as they stopped before the window.

"We'll stay behind too," Ratchet stopped Smokescreen, gesturing to himself, Raf, Jack, and Arcee. "the children know the Castle well, they'll be helpful in searching the inside as opposed to the outside. And knowing my old bones, I'd fall off the roof in two minutes flat."

"I will stay with them as well, Mr. Smokescreen." Steve announced, and Smokescreen nodded respectfully. This was working out well so far, splitting into groups that made the most sense to get the job done well.

It occurred to Smokescreen for a brief moment that maybe that's what the killer would do: stick to the area of the house that they knew best and say they were bettering the search.

He shook his head and smiled at Steve again. The butler's mustache twitched, but he said nothing further.

"Have fun, losers!" Miko called back to her friends, who waved goodbye while sharing a bright glance with the other. "Have fun storming the Castle!"

"Actually Miko, why don't you come with us," Arcee suggested, which was followed by a loud groan of complaint from the young girl. "June would kill us if you fell off the roof too."

Miko looked at Smokescreen and Wheeljack for backup, who shrugged and gestured for her to go back to the others. Miko groaned again and gave them one last look of betrayal before moving back towards Raf, Jack and the others.

She ignored their triumphant looks and subtly flipped them off before Ratchet could see the act of profanity.

"Good luck!" Smokescreen called back, and the other group waved them their farewell. "Try and be back here in two hours tops!"

Smokescreen turned and walked the rest of the way after Raf and Jack led the way for the other group. Smokescreen's own minigroup were all looking out the window, Airachnid analyzing the glass pieces that had been shattered that fateful night.

"You know, the killer should have been walking with at least a limp, or perhaps a few new cuts on their face or hands." The surgeon cast Wheeljack a look. "Unless of course, we didn't know which scars were old or new."

Wheeljack met her glare, a scowl on his lips. "You askin' for a few new scars yourself, Doctor?"

Airachnid's lips curled in a crude smirk. "I could rip you apart without a second thought."

"Do it, I'll let you take the first shot."

"Okay, that's enough flirting for one night," Knock Out stepped between them. "Smokescreen and Airachnid, the two of you stick together and I'll take Wheeljack; we don't need anyone else at each other's throats tonight."

Wheeljack and Airachnid glared at each other until they were pulled apart.

"Alright then, junior detective, lead the way." Knock Out gestured to the open window, bowing tauntingly for dramatic effect.

Smokescreen blanched but sighed and made his way out the window anyway, carefully moving around the shards of glass and sharp edges of the window. He stepped carefully out onto the roof with one foot, and made sure the surface would definitely hold his weight before the rest of his body followed.

Smokescreen stepped a few feet onto the roof to allow everyone to step down behind him. Knock Out needed a little extra encouragement (Wheeljack pushing him out onto the roof) but soon all four of them were ready to continue.

"Okay, Optimus said the killer ran this way," Smokescreen pointed forward, which lead along the edge of the roof around around a corner of the back of the Castle. "if we follow the path maybe we can find how they got back into the Castle without anyone seeing them."

"Lead the way," Airachnid offered, and Smokescreen huffed but did just that, carefully treading along the roof towards the path the killer had taken.

Smokescreen made the original mistake of looking down at the ground before he moved forward. They were about thirty feet off the ground, which wasn't even the tallest point of the Castle but it was far from a small jump. They would all survive the fall should they need to take a risky leap, but probably walk away with a few broken bones unless they landed in the bushes Steve was so proud of.

What was originally a mistake paid off when Smokescreen noticed something.

He knelt down by the edge of the roof and looked carefully at the rain gutter. It appeared to be made of some cheap material; Smokescreen couldn't be entirely sure what it was since he wasn't a construction whiz or anything. Most of the gray material was straight and in well working condition, but there was a small area of the material that was warped and dented, perfectly mimicking someone's tight grip.

"Look at this," Smokescreen called out and his three companions knelt down beside him, peering down at the dented material. "the killer must have grabbed onto this in his escape."

"Pretty cheap aluminum if you ask me, but not surprising that Megatron would cheap out on the gutters of all things." Wheeljack raised an eyebrow when everyone looked at him. "What? My husband works in construction, sorry if I pay attention to what he has to say sometimes."

"Still, this could be helpful! The killer must have let Optimus think he ran one way when he really went another. This could be a big break!" Smokescreen said excitedly. "I gotta see what's down there."

"Careful, junior; we don't need you falling down and becoming a pancake on the pavement because you were trying to chase a lead." Knock Out stood up and away from the edge, his hands on his hips.

"I'll be fine. I got you guys, don't I?" Smokescreen asked both for reassurance and a challenge.

The three of them looked at each other and Smokescreen's heart skipped a beat.

Was he really cornered with the three killers right now, having just possibly discovered a means to how the killer had gotten away that night? And here he was, standing on the edge of the Castle; all they would have had to do was push him the wrong way and it would be over.

Airachnid broke the silence with a laugh and winked at Smokescreen. "Oh calm down detective, we would never let you fall. Besides, I think poor Bumblebee would be devastated if he came home and found out his lover was splattered on the ground."

Smokescreen's face heated up in a signature blush. "How do you know we're…" he paused. "…lovers?"

Airachnid laughed this time, sounding foreign but also happy on her tongue, like she was pleased with herself. Her laugh shook her shoulders and her eyes closed as she laughed.

"Oh come now, the two of you are beyond hopeless, staring at each other when the other isn't looking. Frankly, I get second hand embarrassment from it." Airachnid explained and Smokescreen felt his blush deepening.

"Hey! We've done stuff, we're not complete idiots." Smokescreen tried to defend himself, but it was no use.

"So," Knock Out drew out the 'o' as he spoke. "you guys have made eye contact?"

"Held hands maybe?"

"Made out over Silas's corpse?"

"You guys are incredibly rude, ya know that?" Smokescreen grumbled, getting in position to take the killer's path. He gripped onto the aluminum and flexed his arms a few times to get ready for the careful step off the roof.

"Remember when we were young, idiots in love?" Wheeljack said, a fake dreamy edge to his voice.

"You both are still idiots in love, don't act all high and mighty." Airachnid cut in. "The two of you act like whimsical newly weds with your husbands, and I'm not sure which is more disgusting: you or the kid."

"Uh huh, says you. You think you're all subtle staring after Shockwave like that, when all the both of you want to do is get in each other's pants." Knock Out quipped.

Airachnid glanced away, the smile on her lips giving her away. "Genius recognizes genius."

"Will you guys shut up and be ready to catch me?" Smokescreen interjected, and the three people currently on the roof knelt down close and grabbed onto Smokescreen's wrist to provide extra stability.

Smokescreen glanced up at them, his eyes wide. "Ready?"

The three nodded at once, and Smokescreen looked away.

"Here goes. One, two, three!"

Smokescreen kicked both feet off the edge of the roof and let out a startled cry as he stomach shot up to his throat as he felt his body falling for a split second.

The second of free fall was short lived as his body caught up to his arms still clinging to the gutter, and he released a cry of pain as his arm jerked, but he didn't fall any farther.

"Jesus kid, lay off the pastries!" Wheeljack grunted as he and Knock Out adjusted to better hold Smokescreen's wrists.

"I am a growing boy!" Smokescreen argued, looking ahead of him at the brick wall of the Castle. He looked as hard as he could, moving his eyes over each and every brick, trying to find anything that seemed out of place.

It didn't take long; his eyes soon fell upon a crack between two bricks. And not the regular kind of crack that came from years of taking on weather and construction or another causes, but a man made crack.

It ran down about six feet and Smokescreen noticed there was two parallel cracks at the end of the first on, stretching for about five feet in the opposite direction.

It was a door.

Right between the two levels of the Castle floors, sat a secret door only accessible from the outside.

Smokescreen grinned and looked up at them. "I think I got something! Hold on tight, I've got to kick forward."

Wheeljack and Knock Out looked ready to drop him, while Airachnid's eyes narrowed. "Get on with it then!"

Smokescreen nodded and began to swing his body back and forth, gaining enough momentum and push until his feet were pressing hard against the brick wall.

With a grunt of effort, he pushed back before moving forward with all the strength he could muster, and kicked against the brick wall. With a creak and a cloud of dust, the bricks gave way to reveal a secret tunnel on the inside of the wall, just large enough that someone could stand facing forward with no problem.

"Got it!" Smokescreen declared and everyone sighed in relief. "You can let go of my wrists now, and I'll let you know when you can come in!"

After Wheeljack and Knock Out's hands vanished from his own, Smokescreen once again began to swing until he gained enough momentum to launch forward, landing gracefully in the tunnel.

He took a moment to take it all in, looking in front of him and then behind him. He pulled a flashlight out of his back pocket and turned it on, trying to see how far down the tunnel went on both sides.

"Okay, you can come down!" Smokescreen called up, and soon Wheeljack was swinging his way into the tunnel, followed closely behind by Airachnid and then Knock Out.

"Damn this stupid Castle," Wheeljack cursed as a rat scurried past his feet. "of course there's a secret tunnel in the walls."

"This place was built years ago by some of the most superstitious people alive," Airachnid added. "they probably used these more often than the real hallways."

"Do you think Megatron knew about these? Or Steve?"

"Probably," Smokescreen said sullenly, his shoulders slumping a little. "two steps forward, one step back."

Knock Out pulled out his own flashlight. "Wheeljack and I will go this way," He said, pointing to the right. "you two go left. We'll meet back here at the main rendezvous later. Okay?"

"Why not back here?" Airachnid asked, hands on her hips.

Knock Out blinked. "I'm guessing there's many ways out of here that don't include this one. You'll find a way out."

The thought sent a chill down Smokescreen's back, but he gave the other two guests a thumbs up of encouragement. "Good luck, you two."

"Same to you."

They said nothing more, turning around and walking away in their respective directions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Step on the back of my shoe one more time and see what happens."

"What, you'll spray some perfume at me? Come on doctor, you're the one who wanted to be first."

"I didn't realize I would be in front of someone who would take such great pride in stepping on the back of my shoes so much."

"Oh lighten up, you'll live. I know for a fact you've got like, a million pairs of shoes, both here and at your house. Don't tell me you can't replace these."

"…But I liked these ones."

"Whatever."

The unlikely pair of Knock Out and Wheeljack had been wandering the tunnel for about an hour with little success. They'd found one exit so far that led into the Conservatory, but the Conservatory was far from both the Ballroom and murder scene so it provided little use.

They'd also found a glove the killer presumably wore, but it had been half eaten by the rats and was almost useless for evidence. Two of the fingers had been bitten off and the palm was missing more than it was still there, so the actual size of the glove was undetermined.

They'd contemplated turning around and giving up, but they knew they still had plenty of time and not much to report, so they would just have to trek on.

The silence of the tunnel was more deafening than the banter thrown between the two of them, and the scurry of the rats was even worse.

Knock Out was sure he was going to loose his mind pretty soon.

"Can you stop breathing so loud?" Knock Out demanded as he accidentally focused on Wheeljack's breathing so much it was the only thing he heard.

"Can you not breathe?"

"You first."

"You think if we die in here they'll remember to come get us?" Wheeljack asked, tapping the walls lightly, as if he expected some sort of code response.

Knock Out shrugged, shining the flashlight on his face for fun. "I sure hope so. I wouldn't want my last moments spent alone in here with you."

"There's definitely worse people to be stuck with." Wheeljack pointed out.

"Oh yeah, like who?"

"Shockwave. He gives me the creeps."

Knock Out shuddered. "Or Steve. I swear he knows everything."

Wheeljack gave a hum of agreement but fell silent.

But Knock Out was done with the silence. He needed something, anything, to fill the void.

"So," He said, a little awkwardly. "what's your connection to Silas?"

Wheeljack paused behind the doctor for a moment before he fell back into step. Knock Out could practically hear him scowling, and his hand that he was running across the wall seemed to press in farther, the light scraping noise it made a little heavier now.

"He blackmailed Bulk into doin' some pretty nasty things, things Bulk obviously didn't wanna do." Wheeljack sighed, his tone far from his usual sharp and cold one. "Bulkhead has always been a sweetheart, kind and helpful and sometimes a little too dumb for his own good, but the few months were Silas was usin' him, he was a completely different person. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, always lookin' over his shoulder as if the cops were gonna get him at any moment 'cause Silas decided he didn't want the trouble anymore."

Knock Out didn't say anything, giving Wheeljack the time to continue.

"Silas may not've cared about the trouble he put Bulkhead through, 'cause he got what he wanted out of it. But watchin' Bulkhead suffer like that was worse than death. I was worried I was gonna loose him."

Wheeljack paused again.

"It took Bulk a long time to turn back into the man I married." Wheeljack sighed, stopping in place. Knock Out realized he'd stopped after the footsteps stopped echoing, and he turned and looked back at the tired man. "I tried to help, ya know? But there's only so much I can do when I'm not the one blackmailin' him."

Knock Out walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder, and Wheeljack looked up at him appreciatively.

There was something missing, though, something familiar in Wheeljack's eyes that Knock Out had seen before in himself.

"Silas took someone from you," Knock Out guessed, and the fading of the small smile Wheeljack had forced gave his answer away. "more than your husband's joy, I mean."

Wheeljack grabbed the flashlight out of Knock Out's hand and pressed onward so Knock Out couldn't look at his face anymore.

There was silence for a long time, and Knock Out realized Wheeljack wasn't going to share.

Taking turns, he supposed.

"I'm sure you've heard by now what Silas took from me…in fact I told you, back in the Conservatory that night with all the other guests. My first husband Breakdown was killed by Silas in the same 'accident'" - Knock Out used air quotes even though Wheeljack couldn't see him - "that killed some other members of his family. His parents, actually.

But I don't think it was an accident. No one does, but there was never enough evidence to have Silas looked into as a suspect in his parent's or wife's own murder, when that had happened a while later. I suspect he killed them all for some personal gain. He never cared who he lost, didn't give a damn." Knock Out was the one who stopped now, his fists clenched at his side.

"But I gave a damn. I cared. Because my husband died in that crash. He was coming home from for our anniversary, a full bouquet of flowers in the back and a whole bunch of fancy foods. He had been taking culinary classes and had just learned a fantastic steak and lobster recipe he wanted to try out for me." Knock Out hadn't realized he started crying before the tears were slipping down his cheeks.

A chuckle escaped him, a sad excuse for one since it sounded more like a sob and a breath of air then a noise of joy.

"He called me, twenty minutes before he got home. Twenty minutes. He was calling to tell me he was almost home and that I should be prepared for the best night of my life. I'm not afraid to say that I purposely didn't answer the phone and let it go to voicemail, because I was busy getting in my best lingerie to surprise Breakdown for later, because that's what a good husband does, right? Surprise their husband, wait up for them to get home?"

Knock Out grabbed onto the railing that was on the edge of the tunnel, holding himself up as his knees gave out from under him. Wheeljack turned around at the sound of Knock Out's knee hitting the floor, and he rushed over and helped Knock Out into his arms.

"That was the last time I heard from him." Knock Our sobbed, fighting to keep himself together even though he was failing. "He ended the voicemail at five thirty two and he got into the accident at five thirty seven."

Knock Out's voice cracked and another choked sound escaped him. "I waited for hours, all sorts of thoughts going through my mind as to why Breakdown was late. Maybe he was getting a fancy picnic all set up in a park and would call me when it was ready. Maybe he was trying to convince one of our friends who owned a restaurant to let us have the entire place to ourselves. Maybe - I actually thought this - he'd driven into our old house's driveway out in the city and was having a nice dinner with the old couple who lived there.

I finally called after he was three hours late, and the phone was answered by my fucking coworker at the hospital, who said Breakdown was being operated on and in critical condition. Airachnid had joined the team after she'd lost Silas's mother."

Knock Out sniffed and Wheeljack began to rock them back and forth.

"They got him stabilized, but he was brain dead anyway. They brought him out of surgery, got in him all stitched up just to ask me about donating." Knock Out's tone got strangely void of emotions, like he was switching to his work voice. "I'm one of the best doctors in the whole world; but even I've lost patients. I've had to ask about donations, had to force myself to become unattached and kind at the same time. But really, no matter how many times you ask it, it doesn't prepare you for when you're the one getting asked.

Ratchet himself asked me, sat me down in his office with all the forms in front of me to sign. Airachnid was there too, and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't hate her. I just couldn't. I signed away Breakdown's eyes, his heart, his liver, his kidneys, his lungs, I signed it all away. It's what Breakdown would have wanted, to help others in his last moments, so I did it."

Knock Out managed to smile then. "I met Dreadwing that day, actually. He was in the hospital because his brother's wife was having a baby, and I accidentally ran into him."

Knock Out let another half sob half chuckle like noise. "Me, sobbing, wailing, awful looking of a mess me. But he sat me down and let me cry into his nice sweater, telling me it would all be alright." Knock Out chuckled, and this time it was genuine. "Dreadwing and I started going out to coffee and dinner dates, but we didn't start dating until he knew I was okay after the loss of Breakdown. Well, never okay, but better."

There was a pause as Knock Out chose his next words carefully.

"I've hated Silas ever since. Thought about murder many times too, but you know how that eats at your conscience; Lady Macbeth and all that. And besides, I'm a well respected plastic surgeon for Primus's sake, I took an oath to protect lives, not end them. Not even those who deserve it." Knock Out added sadly.

For a moment, he became aware of himself, realizing he was once again a sobbing mess in a stranger's arms, his eyeliner streaked with his tears and his hair horribly messed up from the day's activities. He coughed awkwardly and tried to pull away, but Wheeljack's strong arms kept him in place.

Knock Out looked up with his mouth open to demand to be released, but the words died on his tongue as he realized Wheeljack too, was a sobbing mess.

"Oh honey," Knock Out whispered, shuffling around on the dirty floor so that now it was Wheeljack who was curled into his chest.

He knew Steve would hate him; his clothes needed to be hand washed and the dust and dirt would take a lot of scrubbing to come out, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Silas killed my husband's spirit for a while, sure, but the fucker did more than that." Wheeljack spat out bitterly as Knock Out ran his hand through the other man's hair. "The second accident, the one that killed his wife and daughter, killed my sister."

"Oh my Primus, I'm so sorry to hear that. I know exactly how you feel, like I've been saying." As strange as it was to feel a kinship for another person since they both lost a loved one in the same way was strange, but who was Knock Out to judge?

"If I had a dime for every time Silas killed one of our loved ones in a car accident, I would have two dimes. Which is weird, isn't it?"

"No, no, you don't get it." Wheeljack grunted out, coughing as he realized how harsh he was sounding. "My sister wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time - oh shit, I'm so sorry I shouldn't've said that."

"It's okay. You're right." Knock Out forced a laughter, but Wheeljack didn't smile. "Continue."

"Silas killed my sister on purpose."

"I'm not sure I follow -"

"Libra, my sister, was Silas's wife."

The silence that followed Wheeljack's confession was sharp and painful. Knock Out could hear his heart beating in his chest so loud he thought it was about to burst.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly." Knock Out said after a few moments of trying to force that statement to sink in.

"You heard me just fine." Wheeljack grunted, pulling out of Knock Out's grasp, but staying close, resting his back on the wall and sitting beside the doctor. "Libra was my older sister, she raised me after my parents bit the dust pretty early on. We moved into our grandma's house, but she was a little…out of it most of the time, leaving Libra to do the grunt work of parenting. And she did a damn good job, raised me right and kept me in school after I tried - and believe me, I tried - to get kicked out of school.

She introduced me to Bulkhead, who really helped me get back on my feet and graduate college to become an engineer. She finished college herself with a degree good for anything, but not quite sure what to do with herself. I tried to give somethin' back and pulled a favor someone in the big office owed me and got her a job.

She met Silas after she took the job as an intern at the Councilman's office, where Silas was tryna run for the next election in two years. I'd heard stories 'bout him of course, and I tried to tell her that, but it only made her want him more. They hit it off and he gave her a spot on his team, and they started datin' soon after. They got married about a year after that."

"Didn't your sister realize he was a terrible man?"

Wheeljack sighed. "In her eyes he never was. I agree witcha of course, I've always thought he was good for nothing, but he started getting downright sociopathic after he got his spot on the Council, and all he was out for was blood. He lied and cheated and - literally and figuratively - killed to move up farther in the world. Needless to say holidays got a little more awkward as the months went by."

Wheeljack paused, reaching up a hand to wipe the tears away from his eyes. Knock Out pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it, which was accepted without a word.

"There was a point after his parents got killed that the other Councilmen started to suspect he couldn't do his job anymore; they wanted him gone anyway but this was the perfect excuse. He knew this of course, so he used the last pawn on his board: my sister and my newborn nephew."

Wheeljack pulled his knees into his chest and spoke very softly. "They were goin' to go away on a little family vacation since they hadn't seen much of each other lately, given how the Council was arguing over what to do with Shockwave's stuff. But he told her to take her car and go to the airport and go a day early; they earned it and whatever.

The last time I saw her was helping her get all packed and ready for her trip. Atlas, her son, was crying our ears off since he had hit his head hours ago, but no amount of soothing could get him to stop. We stopped packing and spent the next hour just trying to get him to shut up and go to sleep." Wheeljack smiled softly as another tear fell down his cheek, clearly remembering that day. "It was the first time in a long time we'd laughed like that, talked about everything and nothing, like new recipes to try or how our jobs were or how many kids Bulkhead and I should have adopted."

The smile lasted a few moments longer before it faded.

"We had ended up falling asleep together on the floor we were so tired, and Libra missed her flight. She called and they told her there was another flight available in two hours, and she would be able to board. We got her and Atlas all packed and ready, and I kissed them both goodbye and she drove away."

Wheeljack went silent for a moment, staring at nothing.

"I got the call a half hour later. Got them in a car accident or something, I don't know, but the bastard killed them. Dead on the scene, nothing they could have done. They chalked up the killers as Silas's enemies; the perfect cover." Wheeljack sighed. "I wondered for a long time about how if she'd left on time, she might still have been alive. But I guess I'll never know."

The strangers turned confidants sat in silence, staring at the wall before them and ignoring the rats that scurried past them, too focused on their own stories and the story of the other to care.

Slowly, Wheeljack's hand slipped into Knock Out's, and neither of them said a word.

"Make no mistake," Knock Out spoke after what must have been hours. "I love Dreadwing. More than anything. He saved me from myself and there is not a single person I love more. But I will always love and miss Breakdown."

"Bulkhead is the only person that means anything to me right now." Wheeljack admitted. "I love him, and he loves me. We saved each other, and I honestly don't know if I would have been able to go on without him."

Knock Out chuckled. "Strange how some friendships come about, huh?"

Wheeljack laughed in response. "Strange isn't the word I would use."

"Ridiculous?"

"Unnecessary."

"Needed."

"Appreciated."

Knock Out hummed in agreement, squeezing Wheeljack's hand.

Wheeljack squeezed back.

After a while, they did end up standing and continuing the search for the killer's footsteps, but it ended up being a fruitless attempt at they met everyone at the spiked hallway with nothing but the chewed up glove.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you know this Castle was built almost four hundred years ago by Megatron's great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother? Her husband died and left her a whole bunch of money and nothing to do with it, so she hired a bunch of people to build a Castle; because why not?" Miko blabbered on. "Personally, I would have spent the money on the Castle, but then added a giant moat so no one could bother me ever again, but that's just me I guess. Not everyone has great taste."

"Great taste in moats?" Arcee challenged, redoing her hair quickly.

"Duh. Maybe if someone decided to put crocodiles or piranhas in their moats, we could work something out. But I happen to think I'm the Queen of Moats."

The young girl had insisted on giving a detailed tour of the Castle to 'help everyone get in the right mindset' to search for possible clues. Raf and Jack, who had heard all these stories many, many times before, had tuned Miko out a long time ago and were listening closely to Ratchet and Steve talk about the good old days instead.

The newly formed group had been wandering the halls for any more traps or plans the killer might have accidentally left out, avoiding any carpeted areas and doing very in depth searches of every single room in the Castle. They could only hope the other groups had more success than they did, since they were getting next to no important clues.

Between the seven of them they were able to triple check any room pretty quick, since there was only so many perspectives one could look at an old paper weight or the drawers of desks.

Despite the lack of results, the group was moving pretty quick all things considered; nearly every room of the Castle had been searched in the hour and a half they'd been on the hunt, and now the only room left was the massive library on the other side of the hospital.

"The library is my favorite place in the entire world!" Raf added to Miko's informative tour for the first time. "I always like to come in here during whatever free time I have to read a new book. I try and read a new book every time, to gain perspective and learn a new language or aspects of history. I don't think I'll be able to read all the books in here!"

"Anyway, thank you Mr. Boring, but let's just get to searching, shall we?" Miko interrupted, causing Raf to droop a little in sadness. Ratchet was quick to comfort him, placing an arm around the young boy's shoulder and offering a warm smile.

"You know Raf, I am quite the fan of libraries myself; I had Optimus build us a large one in our house. I'm sure it's nothing compared to yours, but I would love to do book swaps with you every now and then, if you're willing." The old doctor offered, and Raf's face brightened immediently.

Starscream scoffed and Ratchet raised a brow at him. "You know, I also hear Starscream is quite the book fanatic as well, having several collections of limited editions and first editions of several famous play writes and authors, if I'm not mistaken."

Starscream gasped indigently that his secret had been exposed. "How do you know that?!" He sputtered, and Arcee chuckled.

"I didn't for sure, but you just confirmed it. You've always struck me as an educated man who loves to sit down and read a book if you're in the right mood."

"How do you know all of my books aren't cardboard cut outs to make myself seem smart?"

"The fact that you just referenced that book tells me all I need to know."

Starscream scoffed and muttered something as they walked on.

Jack and Arcee fell into easy conversation about something or another that clearly seemed to interest them, while Starscream, Ratchet and Raf continued to talk books and fairy tales. Miko glanced up at Steve, who glanced back with a puzzled look on his face.

"Can I help you, Miko?" The butler asked, clearly afraid of what Miko was about to ask.

"Do you think I should read more?" She asked, clearly looking for a specific answer.

Steve sputtered for a moment before he collected himself. "One can often find them lost in a book, perhaps you should try it sometime. Or you could always write your own books, you've always had an overactive imagination."

Miko seemed to like this answer, for the skip in her step returned as she continued to lead everyone forward.

The group rounded the corner and were met with the largest and most beautiful doors in the entire Castle. They stretched from floor to ceiling and were arched at the top. The wood was carved with intricate designs of centaurs and trees and lions and other beasts of all sizes. It gave the feeling of a new world behind the doors of this room, that when you entered you would travel to a place you never quite imagined.

Miko supposed that was the whole point of the book itself, but it had been a while since she'd read a book so cut her some slack.

Jack stepped forward and grabbed one handle while Miko grabbed the other, and they pushed the doors open with all their might. The large wooden doors barely made a sound as they slid open easily, revealing the large and beautiful library.

The library was gigantic, possibly bigger than the Ballroom itself, both in width and length. The large bookshelves stretched to the ceiling and to the back of the room, every inch of the shelves filled with so many books it was hard to possibly tell how many there actually were. Against the shelves were movable ladders to help someone reach a book at the very top or even just in the middle.

There was a small shelf right to the left of the doorway, and Starscream couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he noticed all of the books were children's books, their colorful covers a sharp contrast to the worn covers of the other books in the library.

Reading chairs were scattered around the room, and one of the window sills had steps leading up to it, with pillows and padding to provide an adequate seat for one to read and gaze out the window. There was a stack of books in the middle aisle that looked strikingly like a chair, and as Raf looked by it looked strikingly perfect for a boy his size.

"So," Jack put his hands on his hips and looked each shelf up and down. "are we supposed to check each and every shelf?"

Raf tapped his chin, already moving towards the back of the room. "Maybe not."

Everyone gave each other a puzzled look and waited for Raf to elaborate. Raf noticed all eyes were on him, and he sputtered for a moment and adjusted his glasses awkwardly.

"I mean, if the killer has used this library for anything, he's probably come recently." Raf approached one of the book shelves and swiped his finger across the wooden base. "Even though the library is used often, dust builds up really easy. If the killer has touched any of the books, then they'll be less dust by a specific book or shelf."

"That does help narrow it down," Arcee agreed, walking towards a shelf on the far side of the room. She stepped up onto the ladder and began to slowly push herself across, looking out for any specks of dust that gave a clue to where the killer was.

Each member of the search party went to their own bookshelf; there was one for each of them, which made it a little easier to divide up the work.

Ratchet began to hum a tune to himself as he walked down the way of the bookshelf, his eyes trained on the spine of the books visible to him.

Searching this room was giving him an increased sense of hope; he couldn't put his thumb on it as to why this room felt so lucky, but something told him that the library would hold an answer to some of their problems.

Maybe it was because the library was the last room they could possibly look through, or maybe it was that Ratchet was so desperate for some positive answers he was making himself hopeful, but he wasn't about to force the feeling of wishful thinking away, since he wasn't sure if he would ever feel it again anytime soon.

Starscream, meanwhile, was also feeling the hope that the library brought, but he was also worried for his husband who was still out in the woods. He knew Soundwave was more than capable of handling himself, but Shockwave had been included in that search party, and the two of them had never really mended their differences after…it happened.

Starscream paused as he noticed there was was a streak across the wooden shelf that was missing some dust, but there was still a thin layer over the very bottom. This book had been pulled out recently, but not very recently.

"Hey! I might have found something!" Starscream called out. He almost scolded himself for yelling in a library before he remembered that it didn't really matter about his volume anymore.

The other guests made their way over quickly, and Steve also had a book in his hands. Starscream gestured to the book on the shelf that sat behind the lesser layer of dust, and Raf stood up on his tip toes to grab it out of the shelf.

Raf pulled it back and into his arms, running his hand over the cover and spine.

The book was regular sized and a medium thickness, perhaps about three hundred or so pages. Arcee could immediently smell the signature scent she liked to call 'old book smell', and instantly wanted to curl up with Cliffjumper and a nice cup of tea and dive into this book.

The cover was black with a single red band across the top, the title in golden words that were engraved into the red band. 'Grimm's' Fairy tales' it read.

Miko remembered those; June had told them stories before they would fall asleep when they were kids. Whenever Miko asked where she came up with these stories, she would always say 'the Grimm brothers, but I had to change up the ending a little', and Miko had managed to read one herself, and figured out why June had changed it for their young ears.

"It looks normal." Arcee pointed out, taking the book into her own hands. Raf raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand up, opening the book's cover.

Sure enough, the book was no longer normal.

The pages had been glued to either side, so when the book would be opened it was laid out perfectly in half. The words on the page had been drawn over with black ink, but a few words had been left uncovered, a black out poem.

"That is the same with this book," Steve interjected as he presented his own book. This particular book was 'The Detailed History of the First King of Cybertron'. The cover was plain, a boring white with golden flecks on the spine and cover. As Steve opened the book, they were met with the same image: most of the words covered with black ink with only a few poking out.

"Maybe it spells out a new sentence?" Ratchet suggested as Raf and Steve laid down the books beside each other.

"I bet the killer did this to throw us off the scent. Who would think to grab a fairy tale book and then a history of a King in the same sitting? Or any sitting, really." Miko sat crossed legged and placed the two books beside each other. They were about the same height, and the lines on the pages would have likely matched perfectly if they were still able to be seen.

"In Grimm's book we've got 'The, back, holds, it.' Well, that's not much of a sentence, actually." Jack read aloud before he slumped back.

"Wait, wait," Ratchet spoke up, pointing to the second book. "What is still visible there?"

"'Back, shelf, the key. Pull."

"Read it across: The back shelf holds the key. Pull it." Starscream read aloud for them. He scowled. "Why does the killer have to be such a fan of puzzles?"

"They clearly have an acute intellect." Steve agreed, picking up his book and looking towards the very back shelf.

"Or a fascination with watching us wander around the Castle looking like fools." Arcee crossed her arms.

"Do you think they wanted us to find the books?" Miko wondered aloud. "You'd like to think they'd cover their tracks better."

There was a silence and everyone looked at the book still on the floor. Raf picked up the second book and they all made their way over to the back.

Personally, the back bookshelf was Raf's favorite. It was three shelves taller than the other shelves since it stretched all the way to the ceiling and touched both walls on either side. He remembered Megatron grabbing him the books off the very top shelf whenever he'd had a free minute and read a chapter or two to the young boy.

The group stood before the large book shelf and looked up to the very top.

"Well damn," Starscream said aloud, hands on his hips. "It'll take forever to look through all this."

"Don't be so dramatic, Starscream," Arcee jabbed and the Councilman rolled his eyes. "it won't take any longer than any of the other shelves."

"We don't need to look at all," Raf said, his voice barely a whisper. "Jack, there's a book on the far left side, fourth shelf up. It's called 'The Key', I think that's what we're looking for."

Jack nodded once and stepped onto the ladder, gliding down to the area Raf had described. It took the young boy only a moment before he found the book; the dust in front of the thick spine was clean and spotless.

Jack pulled out the book from the top, and was only slightly surprised when the book didn't pop out all the way.

There was a clicking noise and the sound of gears moving into place. These noises were followed by a louder creaking noise, and the large bookshelf parted right in the middle.

They all took a moment to stare in stunned silence, jaws open and eyes wide in surprise as the lights flicked on this new room, revealing a large, open room.

It was mostly used for storage apparently, judging by the various boxes and /things/ cluttered around the floor. It smelled terribly of mothballs and something else foul, and Starscream wasn't terribly sure he wanted to find out.

"Did any of you know about this?" Ratchet asked, cursing the feeling he once was praised as he turned his gaze to the residents of the Castle.

All four of them looked back in surprise, the genuine shock on their faces giving them away.

"No way!"

"I've been in here millions of times and never found this!"

"I have worked here for years, and I've never known this to be here!"

"You had as much idea as we did!"

Ratchet, Arcee and Starscream exchanged a glance and shrugged, accepting their answers.

"We should probably take a look," Arcee suggested weakly, not too keen on the idea herself. "in case, ya know, anything's back there."

"You first." Starscream insisted, and Arcee took a step back and scowled.

"Ugh! Scaredy-cats!" Miko threw her hands up and charged right into the room, stomping her feet as she did so. "See! I'm not dead! Let's move it people!"

The rest of the guests sighed and entered as well, taking in the room around them.

They split up and began to search every corner of the room, overturning boxes and looking through the open ones.

It wasn't long before one of them found something.

"Uh, guys?" Jack called everyone to him, and he turned around and showed them what he'd found. In his hands he was holding several articles of clothing, all black and folded neatly.

"These must be the clothes the killer wore!" Arcee exclaimed, and Starscream shuffled awkwardly as he saw a pair of goggles and gloves that he recognized from his dream.

"Is there a murder weapon?" Miko asked, pushing Jack out of the way to check for herself. After a few moments she came back empty handed, a pout on her face.

"That's probably much better hidden." Ratchet theorized.

"And this wasn't?" Arcee asked, gesturing to the secret room in the library.

"It would have been, but the killer left clues," Raf pointed out. "I think Miko had a point, he probably wanted us to find these."

"But why? Isn't he scared he'll be caught?"

There was a silence as they took it in.

Steve cleared his throat. "Maybe that's exactly what he wants."

Chapter Text

The walk back to the Castle was much worse than the walk out into the forest, even though the walk back included a large robotic dragon.

The entire group was silent, eyes barely focused on the path ahead of them. Their minds were obviously elsewhere, thinking about the things they'd found in Shockwave's laboratory. Bumblebee couldn't even bring himself to look up and over at the deer that were still grazing in the same field as before.

Ultra Magnus lead the group back, the evidence bag containing the murder weapon still clutched in his fist. Optimus had tried to insist the weapon would be safer in his backpack, but Ultra Magnus was rather convinced the safest place for the weapon would be his own hand, where it couldn't possibly been taken out of his sight.

The detective's mind was raging with endless possibilities, and every which way he spun the story suddenly made complete sense, even the most obscure stories he could possibly come up with.

And there were a lot of ways to spin what they'd found.

Silas himself had planted all this evidence, leading everyone on a wild goose chase to get the last laugh on all those who hated him.

Shockwave, who clearly had first access to his own lab, was utilizing his stellar lying ability to cover up his tracks.

Someone had reprogrammed Predaking to hide all the evidence and sneak into the Castle to kill Silas.

It was giving him a migraine.

Even though the walk back being in complete and utter silence (save for the occasional croak from Soot to break the silence) the walk back was much quicker since they just took the same path back, and didn't need to carve out a new path. Predaking followed easily despite his larger size, half-grown trees crumbling as he stepped over them.

They managed to make it back to the Castle just before the sun set over the horizon, stepping back onto the Castle grounds with breaths of relief that they were out of the thicket.

Bulkhead fell to his knees, too tired to make it the rest of the way just yet. Cliffjumper and Bumblebee followed suit, falling down and slumping against Bulkhead's wide shoulders, their eyes already closing with sleep.

Optimus nudged them gently and he and Dreadwing helped them to their feet after a moment, unspoken words of encouragement traveling between them.

There was a loud cry from the direction of the Castle, and Ultra Magnus wasn't surprised to see those who'd remained behind running towards them with impressive speed.

Arcee crashed into Cliffjumper and nearly knocked him over again, but he managed to gain his balance and twirl the woman around, their laughter a pleasant change from the silence that had formerly stained Cliffjumper's lips.

Wheeljack barreled right into Bulkhead, causing them both to roll back a few times until Bulkhead ended up on his back, Wheeljack laid flat out against his chest. Wheeljack began to attack his husband's face with kisses, and Bulkhead laughed and squealed as he struggled to get away.

Starscream and Knock Out were a little calmer, walking over towards their respective husbands and wrapping them in warm hugs, their closed eyes and soft smiles saying all that needed to be said. Soundwave and Dreadwing returned the embrace, their own eyes closing in bliss.

Ratchet waited for Optimus to come to him, his body wrapped in a warm coat and mittens on his hands. As Optimus approached, the doctor shed his coat and gave it to his husband, who accepted gratefully. Optimus placed a hand on the side of Ratchet's face, pressing a kiss to his forehead lovingly.

"It's good to have you back," Ultra Magnus looked down and smiled as he saw Smokescreen standing there, his eyes reflecting the light of the setting sun. "I like to think I did a pretty great job keeping everyone in check, but you are always better at it than me."

"It's good to be back," Ultra Magnus hid the knife behind his back as he saw Smokescreen's eyes wander, clearly looking for someone. "go on, go talk to him. He missed you too."

Smokescreen looked up in surprise, clearly expecting for Ultra Magnus to demand they go over all the new details once again. "What? What about all the new stuff we figured out today? I don't know about you, but we got a lot. Maybe even enough to solve the case."

Ultra Magnus look a moment to look around at those around him; watching as they hugged their loved ones and laughed about the stories shared between them. He sighed and turned back to Smokescreen.

"We'll take care of that in the morning, Smokescreen. You take the rest of the night off, it's been a long day." The detective smiled as Smokescreen's own smiled widened, his freckles dancing on his cheeks. "But don't stay up too late, alright?"

"Yes sir," Smokescreen gave a mock salute and a wide smile. He paused before he moved to leave, patting the senior detective on the shoulder. "Take some Advil or something for that migraine, Mags. And get to bed early, you need your rest after a long day."

Ultra Magnus didn't bother to ask how Smokescreen knew about his growing headache; Smokescreen always seemed to know when Ultra Magnus had overworked himself.

He smiled fondly at Smokescreen for another moment, then began to move back towards the Castle to take Smokescreen's advice.

Smokescreen felt happiness bubbling in his chest as he walked over towards Bumblebee, who was now facing the other way in an attempt to look for him.

Smokescreen stepped right behind his back and tapped the young man on the shoulder, who twirled around. Smokescreen had been leaning in for a big hug, but he jumped back in utter shock as he cheek touched skin that was bumpy and slimy, much different than how Smokescreen remembered Bumblebee's cheek to be.

The young detective jumped back and let out a cry of disgust as he saw it was a goddamn frog that he'd just hugged, of all things. He began to rapidly wipe at his cheek in an attempt to get rid of whatever slimy substance remained.

The only part about it that was worth it was that Bumblebee was giggling, and even though Smokescreen could see his shoulders slumping from exhaustion, he could tell the laughter was doing him some good.

Smokescreen also took another glance at the frog on Bumblebee's shoulder, who stared right back.

The frog croaked in what Smokescreen knew was a mocking tone.

"So who's this little guy?" Smokescreen asked, carefully reaching forward to pick up the little frog in his hands. Bumblebee let him, watching both Smokescreen and Soot with a happy expression.

"This is Soot. I almost put him in my backpack before we left, but then I ended up taking him with me anyway. Crazy, right?" Bumblebee chuckled. "Oh, and be careful, he might pee in your hand. Cliff said they do that sometimes."

"And Cliff is the frog expert?" Smokescreen said sarcastically, but he put Soot back on Bumblebee's shoulder anyway. The detective in training gestured back to the Castle and wrapped another arm around Bumblebee's shoulder. "So, how was your trip out into the great beyond?"

Bumblebee rolled his eyes, but allowed himself to be pulled away. "Not as much fun as I thought," he admitted. "we found Shockwave's old creation Predaking and his old lab, where we found some of the things the killer left there."

"Predaking?"

"Yeah. You didn't notice the giant robotic dragon? I thought it was pretty hard to miss."

Smokescreen rolled his eyes and glanced back to said robotic dragon. The beast was walking up the hill, and Smokescreen heard Megatron say the creature could sleep under the deck. "I thought I was making it up, honestly."

Bumblebee laughed again. "No, it's very much real."

"But what else did you find in the lab?"

"Oh, you know. The murder weapon." Bumblebee said nonchalantly, checking his nails.

Smokescreen stopped for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest. "Is that what Magnus had in his hand?"

"Yup. Wouldn't let anyone even look at it. He barely said a word on the way back, he just kept muttering under his breath about all the possibilities of what could happen during the rest of the case."

"Oh scrap," Smokescreen face palmed. "This is bad."

"What? Isn't this a good thing?" Bumblebee asked once they reached the door to the Castle. Bumblebee held it open and allowed Smokescreen to walk in first, and they began to make their way back to the bedrooms. "Finding the murder weapon is a big part of the case, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, obviously it's huge, but still. Magnus isn't gonna take care of himself now that he's got another clue. He might not sleep for a month, knowing him." Smokescreen groaned. "Hopefully the Advil is enough to knock him out."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Bumblebee assured, and Soot croaked on his shoulder. "You can check on him halfway through the night, just to make sure he's doing okay. But give him a chance for now."

Smokescreen hummed, deciding this was the best option.

There was a brief moment of silence that passed between them, comfortable and soft and not forcing anything. Smokescreen sucked in a breath and reached out to grab Bumblebee's free hand in his own.

The lawyer-to-be looked up at him with such happiness in his eyes he looked ready to burst.

Bumblebee coughed awkwardly after a moment and cleared his throat. "So, what you'd find in the Castle?"

Smokescreen sighed. "A lot too, I guess. There's secret tunnels running through the entire Castle, and there was a secret room in the library that the killer practically left gift wrapped for us."

Bumblebee paused as they reached the door to his room and looked back up at Smokescreen. His smile fell immediently once he noticed Smokescreen wasn't smiling back.

"You don't seem too happy about this."

"I'm not."

Bumblebee raised an eyebrow and opened the door. He placed Soot down on the bed, then walked back over to Smokescreen. He carefully wrapped the taller man in a hug, and it took him a moment but Smokescreen hugged back.

"Wanna tell me why?"

Smokescreen sighed, falling against Bumblebee a little. "I know I should be and all, and I am I guess. But this case seems so…different than any other case I've ever worked."

"How so?" Bumblebee asked, swaying them back and forth a little.

"Well, in every other case, there's much been a lot less suspects. I think the most we ever had was about six. And all of them had motive and opportunity, sure, but still. They wanted justice to be served no matter what. Right now, this job seems a little…"

"Irrelevant?" Bumblebee finished and Smokescreen sighed.

"Exactly; it's thankless. Everyone's cooperating and being more than helpful and we're finding all these clues and there's more possibilities to finish this case then I've ever had before. But no one cares about the outcome because no one cared about Silas. And yeah," Smokescreen pulled back a little so he could look into Bumblebee's eyes; wide and blue and encouraging. "now that I've heard everyone's story about him, I can understand why no one's really sad about this. He lied, killed, cheated, and paid his way to the top and hurt a lot of people on the way up.

But Megatron set it up in a way that every single person here doesn't care if Silas lived or died. And that makes our job harder 'cause we have to do our job, but I'm still gonna feel bad if we don't arrest the person responsible."

Bumblebee hummed. "That is the law," he agreed.

"Doesn't mean I like it. I just wish that for once, Magnus would turn the other cheek and we could just leave this case open. Not like anyone in the precinct will blame us either."

Bumblebee shrugged. "As a lawyer, I would advise you to finish the case anyway. Maybe one of the guests is really a serial killer, and they just killed Silas and will kill again. But you have an obligation to the law that you need to uphold, and you know that. Magnus knows that."

Smokescreen snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh believe me, I know better than anyone else about Magnus's knowledge of the law. He sometimes falls asleep in the office and recites every single law, word for word. It's incredibly annoying."

Bumblebee chuckled, glancing down at Smokescreen's lips before looking back up at his eyes.

There was a moment where they only spoke with their eyes, not even Soot making a noise behind them.

Bumblebee lifted himself up on his toes and pressed his lips softly against Smokescreen's, who kissed back happily. The kiss was passionate but chaste, a nice sign of appreciation and comfort around each other.

They pulled away after a moment, their eyes still locked.

"But as a friend," Bumblebee said next, pushing them back over towards the door, but he remained in Smokescreen's arms. "I'm gonna tell you to do what you think is right. If you think Silas's death isn't worth solving; don't. Convince Magnus to live and let live and leave it alone."

Smokescreen raised an eyebrow. "Now you're just trying to get me killed, aren't you?"

"Ah damn, you figured it out." Bumblebee laughed, and Smokescreen joined right in. "I am not, actually. I'm just telling you that you're a person first, then a cop. If you think the right form of justice to Silas's memory is to let his killer walk free, then that's that."

Smokescreen scoffed. "Silas deserved to rot in hell for everything he did, no if's and's or but's."

Bumblebee shrugged again. "I never met him before this. I was one of the middle people."

"I know." Smokescreen said quietly. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For just listening." Smokescreen pressed a kiss to Bumblebee's forehead softly. "For being a great friend. And I'll always be here if you need to talk about anything. My room's just down the hall."

Soot croaked loudly.

"But leave the frog, okay? I swear he's just staring at me." Smokescreen looked behind Bumblebee and glared at Soot, who was still staring blankly, his throat flap pulsing as he breathed. It was unsettling to say the least.

Bumblebee laughed and began to push Smokescreen out the door. "Uh huh, I'll be sure to bring along all my animal friends, okay?"

"There's more?!" Smokescreen joked exasperatedly. Bumblebee laughed loudly and gave Smokescreen one more kiss on the lips before he pushed the detective in training out the door. "No wait, how many more?!"

"Goodnight, Smokey!" Bumblebee called out as he closed the door. He felt like a complete and utter love struck fool as he turned and slumped against the door, biting his lip as he fell to the floor.

He heard Smokescreen's retreating footsteps, then the opening and closing of his door as he went into his own room.

Soot croaked again and hopped forward, as if waiting for Bumblebee to move.

"Oh shut it, or you'll sleep on the floor." Bumblebee joked, rising from his spot against the door. It was an empty threat and they both knew it, but that didn't matter.

Bumblebee changed quickly into his pajamas and collapsed onto the bed, barely staying awake to tuck Soot into his side of the bed before he was fast asleep, Smokescreen on his mind the entire time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sweetie! You're using up all the hot water!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Cliff! That's just a rumor and you know it!"

Cliffjumper rolled his eyes and adjusted himself on the bed, rolling over so he could kick his legs back and forth behind him. His journal - it was not a diary, thank you very much Arcee - was in one hand, a pencil in the other. He would always write about his day before bed, a therapy exercise Arcee's therapist had taught to her a long time ago that he'd picked up.

He found it made him more grateful for the little things and it was nice to look back at months ago and see what'd he done that day.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one that's gonna have to use cold water!" Cliffjumper called back, and he couldn't help but smile as he heard Arcee laugh in the shower.

The water continued to run.

Cliffjumper rolled his eyes and let his fiance win this - and every - round, and he settled for opening his journal to that day to begin his entry.

He doodled little stars on the corner of the page as he thought back to this morning, all the events in the woods and coming back.

Castle de Beauvoir Trip day: far too many.

Cliffjumper contemplated saying the actual day it was or even just how many days they'd been in the Castle waiting for the murder to be solved, but he shrugged and kept going anyway.

Today Detective Magnus got us up at an obnoxious time to travel into the woods. It was fine for me, since I wake up at that time to workout anyway. Arcee didn't really 'wake up' for about two hours after that, but she was in the Castle anyway so it was fine. I went into the forest to find Shockwave's lab; we found the lab, a dragon and the murder weapon!

With any luck, the case will be solved within a day or two and we can all go home!

Cliffjumper erased the last line and tried again.

I sincerely hope that Detective Magnus and Smokescreen can figure this out soon, so Arcee and I can go back to planning out wedding in the comfort of our own home.

Much better.

"Hey babe?"

"Yes, sexy?"

"Should we add any of these people to the guest list for our wedding?" Arcee asked and the shower finally turned off.

Cliffjumper pondered that for a moment. They had a few spots open yet on their guest list, and the friendships they'd made here at the Castle were some of the greatest Cliff or Arcee had made in their entire lives.

Crazy how a murder of a corrupt Councilman, a murder attempt on one of the highest ranking Generals of Cybertron, a trek through the forest to a crazy scientist's lab and finding a dragon could bring people together.

Cliffjumper tapping his chin with his pencil. "Sure! Why not."

"Assuming we ever leave this place, that is." Cliffjumper could see Arcee rolling her eyes in annoyance despite the closed door between them.

"Why don't you fess up to it then? Then we could get outta here." Cliffjumper suggested and he heard Arcee scoff.

"Oh yeah, then we can have our wedding in prison. Is that what you want, sweetie?" Arcee joked, and Cliffjumper pretended to consider it.

"I hear the food there is great," Cliffjumper replied sarcastically and Arcee laughed. "maybe we could get married here! It's pretty enough and I think I've made enough small talk with Megatron that we're best friends now."

"You've talked to him twice."

"More than that! He even moved me to sit next to him! You better watch out, he might be trying to make a move on me." Cliffjumper taunted as the doorway to the bathroom opened.

Arcee stepped out, one towel in her hair to help dry it and another wrapped around her torso, keeping her modest. Not that Cliffjumper really minded, Arcee was his fiance after all and she was beautiful no matter what she was wearing.

"All yours, big boy." Arcee smirked, flopping down on the bed and pulling out her own journal to write about the day. "And if you plan to leave me for Megatron, you at least have to get him to give you everything in his will then act terribly sad when he mysteriously dies."

Cliffjumper chuckled, but it wasn't as genuine as his last few laughs. "Ya know, normally I would loose it at that and give you my word, but given everything that's happened so far, I think I'll just stay engaged to you."

Arcee hummed, waving him off. "As you should. Now go shower, I'm tired and need a cuddle buddy."

"That I can give you my word on," Cliffjumper promised and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He picked his towel off the rack and used it to wipe down the mirror that had become foggy during Arcee's shower. He checked his face quick for any blemishes or food leftover from his snack earlier.

He gave himself a wide smirk in the mirror and finger guns.

His shower was quick and methodical, humming a tune he'd heard on the radio when he and Arcee had driven up. He washed his hair and his body without much thought; the same way he'd always done it.

He was out of the shower after what could have been no more than seven minutes, grabbing his towel and drying himself as he moved back to the mirror.

Cliffjumper grumbled a few choice words under his breath as he grabbed Arcee's face cream from the mirror's shelf and opened the small jar. Arcee had insisted he also use some product for his face to keep his skin clear and whatever (Cliffjumper hadn't really been listening as she'd explained it but that was beside the point).

He began to carefully apply the ointment, its soft smell of eucalyptus and mint filling his nose and almost causing him to tear up.

Cliffjumper waited patiently for the ointment to dry before he grabbed a smaller hand towel and got it nice and wet to wipe his face down. He leaned down and turned the faucet on to splash some water on his face, rubbing it in with the towel.

Cliffjumper didn't realize there was another presence in the room until he looked back up in the mirror and saw a figure standing behind him silently.

Needless to say, Cliffjumper almost shit his pants.

He sprang back, one hand grabbing his razor and the other supporting him on the sink. He struggled not to scream; he didn't want to alarm Arcee or any of the guests if he could just take care of this issue himself.

Cliffjumper barely restrained his scream as he saw who was standing before him.

Silas, in all his deceased glory, was standing before him.

The man wasn't how Cliffjumper remembered him to be, but he looked like he'd walked straight off the table in the infirmary. The man was shirtless, so Cliffjumper could see the y-shaped cut going from his chest and downward. The stab wounds still still on his shoulder and chest, soft and puffy and Cliffjumper saw muscle from where he was standing.

Silas's eyes were clouded and gray, like they were coated by death.

Cliffjumper couldn't stop the scream anymore, hollering at the top of his lungs as Silas took a step closer, leaving an ashy footprint where he once stood.

Silas took another step, then another, then one more, and soon he was diving towards Cliffjumper, arms outstretched like some zombie in the books or movies.

Cliffjumper screamed again and fell backwards as Silas crashed into him. Part of him hoped that he'd been hallucinating, that the form that looked like Silas had been nothing more than a poorly made drink or crumb of cheese, but he'd been wrong.

Silas had risen from the dead.

Had he even been dead? Had they been on a wild goose chase this whole time?!

The man pushed those thoughts from his mind and refocused on trying to get Silas off of him. The ghost - man, spirit thing - was surprisingly strong, his grip tight and unwavering. Cliffjumper jerked suddenly and almost pulled away from the beast, his eyes wide like plates as he looked at it.

"Get away from me!" Cliffjumper cried out, trying to break free again. Silas's grip was tight on his arms, and no matter what he couldn't get away.

Silas's clouded eyes were narrowed and his mouth was open and words seemed to be coming out, but Cliffjumper didn't really care about that at the moment. He was staring in shock at Silas's horrible, decaying mouth, the discolored gums and teeth enough to make him gag.

"Cliff, stop!" Cliffjumper closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw that it hadn't been Silas who was grabbing onto him, but Arcee.

The woman seemed taken aback, her face confused and hurt and maybe that was fear behind her eyes?

"What is wrong with you?" Arcee demanded, not letting go of Cliffjumper's wrist. Her grip was bound to leave bruises but Cliffjumper didn't care; at least he was seeing her and not…whatever that had been.

"'Cee?" Cliffjumper asked, well aware he sounded small and sad. He couldn't care less about that. He looked Arcee up and down, looking from her bright eyes to her perfect little nose to the birthmark on her neck that was shaped like a tiny apple.

"What did you see?" Arcee still wasn't letting go, as if she expected Cliffjumper to go crazy.

"Uh," Cliffjumper looked behind Arcee for a moment and his heart almost stopped. Silas was standing there again, leaning against the wall. His eyes were still clouded and his body still discolored, but he seemed almost more…human now, the smirk on his face as he watched Cliffjumper with a challenging expression concerning.

"My dad," Cliffjumper looked back to Arcee.

Arcee's mouth parted open a little, and she let go. Cliffjumper rubbed his wrists gently, but reached up and pulled his fiance close. Arcee sank into his embrace, sighing deeply.

It was a perfectly reasonable answer; Cliffjumper's dad had passed away years ago, and they'd been very close since Cliffjumper's mother died when he'd been young. In the first few months after his father's death, Cliffjumper had seen hallucinations of him every now and then, like walking casually down the street or struggling to fix his tire when it had popped on the side of the road.

"I'm so sorry, Cliff. I thought you were passed this," Arcee whispered, rubbing circles up and down Cliffjumper's bare chest. "I brought some sleeping meds, if you want to take those now."

"You got nothin' to apologize for, sweetheart." Cliffjumper kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry for scaring you, you didn't need that heart attack before we go to bed. And I think I will take some meds, thanks love."

Arcee hummed an affirmative and stayed put for a while, her arm body and soft heartbeat calming to Cliffjumper. He gripped her tighter, closing his eyes so he wasn't looking at Silas's sneering face anymore.

When he opened his eyes, the man was gone once again.

He sighed in relief and hugged Arcee even closer. "It's probably just the stress from being out in the woods for so long."

"I don't think this place is doing anyone any favors," Arcee agreed, pushing herself up and stealing a kiss from Cliffjumper before she stood and helped the man to his feet. She reached into the cabinet and grabbed the sleeping pills, and offered Cliffjumper two and the glass of water that sat by the sink.

Cliffjumper took them silently and without complaint.

"I'm pretty sure if we don't get out of here soon, we're all going to go crazy." Arcee continued, and Cliffjumper followed her out of the bathroom. "Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen better solve this soon, or I'll solve the case myself."

"Oh," Cliffjumper drew out the 'o' as he spoke. "Detective Arcee, huh? Would you get to use the hat?"

Arcee chuckled, and Cliffjumper could see some of the stress leaving her shoulders. They climbed into bed together, Cliffjumper being the little spoon and Arcee hugging him from behind.

"I think you'd look pretty cute in the hat," Cliffjumper whispered, closing his eyes and beginning to count his sheep.

Arcee laughed again and pressed a kiss to Cliffjumper's back.

It took a few minutes, but soon Cliffjumper felt himself beginning to feel tired and ready to sleep.

He opened his eyes for a brief moment, and the last thing he saw before he drifted into the darkness was Silas, leaning against the wall from across his bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It was so fun, June! I wish you'd come along too, then we could have all gone as a family! Hunting for murderers and secret passageways! What a fun vacation that would have been!" Miko said as she bounced up and down on the mattress.

Raf was bouncing on his own bed, trying to get higher than Miko and touch the ceiling. So far he had no such luck.

Jack was in the attached bathroom to their quarters, brushing his teeth. Fowler was beside him doing the same, both of their eyes half open out of exhaustion. Twice now Jack had to nudge Fowler in the side so he didn't choke on the toothbrush in his mouth, and it looked like he would have to do it again soon.

June was sitting in her nightgown on the edge of Jack's bed, waiting for him to come back so she could tuck them all in at once. This was their nightly routine, where they would share stories or June would read them a chapter of whatever book they were currently on.

Ironically, they were reading 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie, one of Jack and Raf's favorites. Miko herself preferred fantasy or pirate stories, since she could better imagine them.

"It has been a while since we went on a vacation, dear,' Fowler spoke up after Jack elbowed him awake. He sent his adopted son a half-hearted glare before spitting and washing his toothbrush. He walked back into the kid's bedroom and sat beside his wife, rubbing circles up and down her back.

June raised an eyebrow. "Whenever you want to go on a vacation, you can ask." The woman said firmly, just as she had said every time Fowler had tried to persuade her to ask Megatron about off time instead of him. "Besides, he knows you better than I do, he'll say yes when you ask."

Fowler scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "Maybe. But something tells me right now isn't the right time to ask."

June raised an eyebrow. "Sure it isn't."

"Anyway," Miko drew the attention back to her as she pulled herself underneath the sheets. "it was really fun today, even though I think my heart was beating two hundred times a minute. We found some stuff in the Castle even I didn't know was here!"

June and Fowler exchanged a glance. "What do you mean, kid?" Fowler asked.

"Well, there's a secret back room in the library, behind the back shelf," Raf offered first. "and I heard from Wheeljack and Knock Out that there's hallways in the wall!"

"Yeah! And they go around the entire Castle! Smokescreen says they found one that goes from the Ballroom to right by the spot Silas was killed!" Miko jumped a little on the bed, her excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"You guys don't seem very surprised," Raf observed, and June and Fowler exchanged another look.

Fowler sighed. "We knew about the one in the library," he admitted after a short while. Miko and Raf's jaws dropped, and jack pocked his head out of the bathroom.

Silence stretched on for an uncomfortable amount of time before Fowler sputtered dramatically. "What? We're the Head Chef and Head Servant, of course we know about the one in the library! I used to store food in there during the winter before Megatron got that nice storage system in the kitchen."

"And you never told us?" Jack asked around his toothbrush, his eyes narrowed.

June sighed, looking down at her hands. "We never felt the need to, really. I didn't think anyone else knew about it, let alone the killer themselves."

"Well they do." Jack sighed, trying not to get mad at their parents.

It was a reasonable answer, Fowler and June had been in the Castle a lot longer than Jack, Miko and Raf had, so they were bound to know a few more secret things about it than the kids did. And by itself, a room in the library wasn't that bad, but since the killer knew about it now, they only looked worse coming forward about it now.

"It's okay, Mom. I don't think Detective Magnus or Smokescreen will be able to blame you. Everyone loves you here." Raf smiled brightly. June and Fowler smiled back.

"Did you guys tell Ultra Magnus about this?" June asked, clearly concerned. Her heart was sinking in her chest and a new sense of worry was causing her throat to close a little, her mind racing with possibilities.

"No," Miko admitted, drooping a little. "we were going to, but we couldn't find him when everyone got back from the forest. Shockwave said he wasn't feeling well, and he went to sleep pretty much right away."

"Right," June's knee began to bob up and down until Fowler placed a reassuring hand on it. "you really should tell him tomorrow morning then, first thing. Before chores or breakfast."

"Why, Mom?" Jack asked, spitting out the toothpaste and moving back into the bedroom. "I think Smokescreen is more than capable of doing it himself."

"Well of course he is, but Smokescreen wasn't there with you guys when you found it. It would be best to hear all the details from you guys." June explained, and it made sense.

"I guess that's true." June and Fowler rose from Jack's bed so he could climb into his bed. June leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead, while Fowler squeezed his shoulder. They repeated this for all three kids, before they moved to the door and flicked off the light switch.

"Goodnight my little loves," June whispered softly.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Fowler added as he closed the door.

The two parents made it back to their room - which was only a door away - before they collapsed on their bed in a fit of sighs.

"Great," June muttered, putting her face in her hands. "now we look like the killers."

"No we don't," Fowler insisted. "we don't look more like criminals than anyone else does. And besides, Steve knew about the room, and so does Megatron, and so does the rest of the cleaning and cooking staff, so if Magnus is gonna arrest us for knowing about a storage room, so be it."

"A storage room that the killer used, that we could have told him about." June fired back, no heat in her tone.

Fowler lifted up the covers and pulled his wife in close, pressing a few soft kisses against her cheek. "I know it looks bad honey, but it's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. There's no way we could have known that the killer was gonna use the library room to store his clothes and whatever else they found in there. We hadn't used the thing in years, I bet I couldn't even find which book opened it anymore.

The point is, Magnus can't use this against us because there's nothing to use. None of us did it; we got alibis. We had no motive, no cause, no means, nothing. All of us had been looking forward to the Ball for weeks since we knew it would be the first real break we'd had in a while. Like any of us were gonna mess it up by killing a guy."

June sighed. "I told the Detective I didn't like Silas the first night he was here."

"So what? He wasn't Primus's favorite person either you know."

"I know but -"

"Sweetie, you're just being paranoid. The kids'll tell Magnus about the room first thing in the morning, if he doesn't already know about it. It'll all get sorted out soon honey, I promise. And then you can ask Megatron about that vacation for us."

June smiled and pressed a kiss to Fowler's forehead. "Sure, sweetie." She smiled. "Thank you, for talking me out of my own head."

Fowler winked. "Anytime, darling. Now get some sleep."

June did just that, rolling over in Fowler's arms and closing her eyes in soft sleep. Fowler's loud snoring filled her ears moments later.

Chapter Text

Smokescreen had nightmares before, many times.

As a kid, he would have the classic nightmares all children have; monsters in the closet, a clown whose smile was a little on the creepy side, or being forced to eat broccoli.

After his parents died, there was hardly ever a night he didn't wake up with terrible visions of the car accident, or how in his dream he was in a position to save them but never could move his feet.

His grandparents had gone with him to therapy, and after a few months Smokescreen was able to get his sleep schedule back on track, with a nightmare every few weeks. Sometimes during cases he would get terrible nightmares, but they usually all went away after the case was closed.

Because Smokescreen had spent nights tossing and turning and hardly getting any sleep, he knew what it looked like when one didn't get a goodnight's rest because of nightmares.

Cliffjumper was showing all the classic signs of a poor night's sleep, from the small bags under his eyes to how he was near constantly falling asleep, almost diving face-first into his cereal several times. Arcee would nudge him awake with some soft words and pinches to his arm, and it would work up until it didn't.

Apart from that, Cliffjumper seemed to tense whenever someone approached him, and he glanced at them with weary expressions. He shifted away from even Bulkhead's embrace, claiming he was coming down with something and didn't want anyone to catch it. He flinched and would glance up at the most random places and stare off into nothing.

It seemed like he was staring at something, but Smokescreen didn't see anything but the curtains and outside view from the window, so maybe he was just admiring the view.

Yea, right.

The stress was getting to all of them, it seemed.

Smokescreen shrugged and picked up a plate to move through the breakfast buffet, which was overflowing with all the classic breakfast foods. Fowler had chosen to go all out today, with slices of french toast, pancakes, waffles, fruits, hash browns, and many, many more. There was even a fine selection of homemade syrups, ranging from maple to strawberry to bourbon.

Smokescreen settled for picking up a few waffles and french toast, as well as a little bit of fruit (so Ultra Magnus didn't yell at him for being completely unhealthy) and drizzled a little blueberry syrup on top.

The young detective sat down beside Bumblebee and Airachnid, who were chatting about their respective colleges.

"Oh please, the University of Iacon is overrated," Airachnid shrugged, cutting up her pancakes. "overpriced too. I mean, seventy-thousand a year? University of Kaon is just as good education wise, and much cheaper."

"Yeah, but the University of Kaon has terrible sports," Bumblebee fired back, and Airachnid rolled her eyes. "we always beat them whenever we play them in anything."

"Do I look like the type of person to care about sports?" Airachnid asked tauntingly. "I spent my days partying and being top of my class. And besides, you got the better athletes, but we've got the better academics. Who's been crowned top college of Cybertron seventeen years running?"

Bumblebee grumbled. "We have more jobs straight out of college."

Airachnid snickered and took a bite out of her pancake again. "By one percent."

"That's something!" Bumblebee turned to Smokescreen, who was now distracted by making his fruit form little people on his plate. "Tell her, Smokey."

Smokescreen nearly choked on air and looked up, startled he was being brought into this conversation. "Well, uh." Smokescreen looked from Airachnid - who seemed silently demanding Smokescreen agree with her - to Bumblebee - who was giving the best pouty face he could muster - and he was honestly unsure which was better.

He knew he should probably consider agreeing with Bumblebee, considering they were an item and all that, but the University of Kaon had been his dream school from the moment he figured out what it was, even though he knew he could never get in.

"To be honest, they're both great," Smokescreen did his best to play the peacekeeper, but both parties involved groaned with his answer. "What! You guys are comparing the best schools on Cybertron! What do you want me to say?"

They continued their bickering for a while, and Ultra Magnus rolled his eyes as Bumblebee and Airachnid began to compare stats. They even brought over Shockwave and Optimus, who'd gone to Kaon and Iacon respectively to try and get more evidence for their side. Smokescreen continued to mediate the argument, making sure it didn't break out into an all out food fight.

"Do you have a preference?" Ultra Magnus turned and smiled down at Ratchet, who was watching his husband become very enthusiastic in the argument. "About which school?"

"Well, I attended Crystal City College actually, so I couldn't tell you which one's better." Ultra Magnus explained. "Graduated in two years and began my detective career."

"And the rest is history." Ratchet nodded. "You've done a great job, you know."

Ultra Magnus slumped a little. "It certainly doesn't always feel that way."

Ratchet scoffed. "Hey, we all feel that way. I'm a doctor, but just because I know everything doesn't mean I can see everything coming. Sometimes a patient will die in surgery and there's nothing I could have done, but I still tried."

Ultra Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Is this some kind of metaphor?"

Ratchet laughed, a rare noise from the doctor. "It was supposed to be, yes. But I realize now I'm terrible with metaphors. My point is, that you're doing the best you can when it's far too easy to do nothing. So just, keep up the great work."

"Thank you," Ultra Magnus replied sincerely. He looked back over towards the debate, and chuckled a little as he saw it had resorted to a rock-paper-scissors decision. "And what's your opinion on the matter?"

"University of Iacon, of course. I went there back in the day and it's where I met Optimus. Forgive me if I'm biased." Ratchet took a sip from his drink.

The tender moment was shattered in an instant.

The sound of yelling and a plate breaking caused everyone to look up from what they were doing and turn around, unsure of what they would see.

Bulkhead was passed out on the floor, a fresh cut on his forehead. It was bleeding steadily, the blood running in a little stream down his nose and to his chin. The big man was curled in Wheeljack's arms, who was holding his husband protectively.

The engineer's eyes were laser focused on Arcee who looked terrified as she held Cliffjumper back, and Cliffjumper looked both triumphant and confused. The burly man had an incoming bruise on his face, while Wheeljack's right knuckle looked a little redder than normal.

Broken pieces of the thrown plate were scattered around Bulkhead and Wheeljack,

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Wheeljack hollered, holding Bulkhead a little closer. He was still bleeding badly and from the looks of it, he would need stitches.

Knock Out stepped forward, his hands raised so he could take a look at the injured man. Wheeljack allowed it, but his eyes never left Arcee and Cliffjumper.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over him." Arcee tried to explain, her voice shaking a little. "But Bulkhead approached him, and he just got scared."

"He's not some animal, Arcee!" Wheeljack spat as Knock Out motioned for Megatron and Dreadwing to come over.

"He needs stitches," Knock Out whispered. "help me get him to your infirmary."

Megatron and Dreadwing did as they were told, helping to carefully pull Bulkhead away. Wheeljack looked away from the pair across from him just long enough to kiss Bulkhead on the forehead before he was back to glaring at Arcee and Cliffjumper.

"Look, I'm sorry, I wasn't seeing Bulkhead," Cliffjumper tried to explain, but he hiccuped in the middle of his sentence. He swallowed hard and tried again. "I was hallucinating. I was seeing Silas."

"What?" Arcee turned back to look at her fiance, clearly just as surprised as everyone else. "I thought you were seeing your dad."

"I just didn't want to freak you out."

"So you decided to wait until you snapped and threw a plate at Bulkhead?"

"No!" Cliffjumper groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "I didn't mean for it to get this bad. I was hoping it was going to go away during the night, but I couldn't sleep."

"Knew it," Ultra Magnus heard Smokescreen mutter.

There was an ugly silence as everyone took in what Cliffjumper had said. Wheeljack looked less angry but still incredibly pissed, while Arcee looked hurt to be out of the loop.

"So is this like some Lady Macbeth hallucination? Like you've gone crazy because you're the one who terminated Silas?" Starscream spoke up, his tong challenging. Cliffjumper perked up, raising his hand and swinging them back and forth.

"No! I didn't kill Silas, I barely knew the guy!" Cliffjumper attempted to defend himself. "I swear, I don't know why this is happening to me! I've hallucinated in the past, like when my dad died. But I swear I didn't kill Silas! I swear!"

Cliffjumper, up until now, had always been the funny, laid back guy. It was so strange to see him so uptight and hurt right now. It was unsettling, to say the least.

Ratchet stepped forward cautiously, his hands raised and his face soft.

"Let's get you up to the infirmary as well. I'm sure Megatron has some medicine I can give you for your hallucinations." The doctor explained slowly. Cliffjumper hesitated for a moment, glancing at Arcee. The woman was making herself smaller, her arms wrapped around herself and looking down at her feet.

Once she realized she was being looked at, she lifted her head. The gymnast offered a tiny smile to her fiance, and accepted the hand he offered her.

"Together," she whispered, and they walked side by side towards the door, Ratchet following behind.

Before they were completely gone, Cliffjumper turned back suddenly, his eyes ablaze once again. Everyone held their breath and took a few steps back, unsure of what was going to happen.

"Detective, you gotta solve this case," Cliffjumper pleaded. "I know most of the people here don't care, but if I stay here much longer I'm going to loose myself. I'm going to loose my mind."

Ultra Magnus's heart skipped a beat as all eyes fell on him.

"I can't do this anymore, Mags.I'm tired of it. So just do your job and solve the damn case. Please." Cliffjumper begged, waiting for Ultra Magnus to respond.

Ultra Magnus puffed out his shoulders and straightened himself. "Smokescreen and I are doing everything we can to solve this case. We will accelerate our efforts and work to finish the case soon."

Cliffjumper nodded, and Ultra Magnus could practically feel the tension that left the man's shoulders. "Thank you." He whispered as he turned and began walking away once again.

There was another beat or two of silence as everyone watched the three exit and make their way to the infirmary.

It was Starscream who spoke to break it. "I believe I've lost my appetite." He said simply, setting his plate down in the dirty dishes pile.

Gradually, everyone began to follow his lead, putting their plates down and walking out the doorway, until only Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus remained.

"You heard them, kid." Ultra Magnus sighed as his pupil approached him. "Back to the board we go."

Smokescreen offered his most formal salute, standing at attention and eyes focused. "Sir yes sir!"

It managed to crack a smile on Ultra Magnus's face, and that was all that Smokescreen needed. He reached forward and put a hand on Ultra Magnus's shoulder, an encouraging smile on his face.

"We'll get him, Mags. Don't worry. We're closing in on him, and he's got nowhere else to go. We'll be home by the end of the week." Smokescreen assured him, his voice confident and sure.

"I hope so." Ultra Magnus whispered, and they walked out of the dining hall and back towards the rooms, together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of the other guests had been pretty shocked and a little confused after Cliffjumper's breakdown in the dining hall that morning, and many wanted to go visit him and provide some comfort to both him and Arcee. Knock Out had met them at the door and asked they give the pair a little more time, so everyone decided to go back to their normal days for a while.

Shockwave had a very busy day planned, and he wasn't about to let a single disturbance in the morning stop him from getting all his tasks done. He had a very tight schedule (as evident by the pocket planner he always carried) and there was no time for relaxation.

The scientist had gotten most of his activities done before lunch, so his half hour lunch break was well earned. All he had left to do today was brainstorm ideas for how to make a new form of green energy for the city that didn't cost as much, and check over Predaking's systems.

He was doing the later just now.

Shockwave checked off another box on his checklist, a hum of approval managing to come to his lips. Predaking noticed this and nuzzled his face gently, his robotic purr filling the air. Shockwave chuckled and rubbed his face plate, knowing there was no one around to see him.

He was giving Predaking the routine checkup that become far less routine in the past few weeks, considering he'd never made it out to the forest to check in on his only remaining experiment. But thankfully, he had done a spectacular job (unsurprisingly) programming Predaking with self-care protocols, so he was almost in as good condition he was the day he walked off the assembly line.

He'd passed his vision, hearing and sight exams with flying colors, and all his internal system updates were promising and what Shockwave had expected. He was giving his creation the worn down test, to make sure his joints hadn't become rusty or slow in the months since Shockwave had seen him.

Once again, Predaking seemed to be passing with incredible remarks.

"Fly ten laps in the sky," Shockwave ordered, taking a quick glance at the beast's wings. They seemed to be fine now; he'd need to repair a few tears in them, but nothing too drastic or life threatening. "Once you're done with that, perform three loops and then you may come back down."

Predaking seemed to give him a pouty, bored look, but he did as he was asked. He opened his massive wings and took off toward the sky, a roar of excitement piercing the calm afternoon air.

Shockwave didn't turn at the unexpected noise of someone clearing their throat behind him; he recognized who it was without even turning around. He guessed there was some sort of awkward greeting coming, but he had never been one for small talk.

"What do you want, Starscream?" Shockwave demanded, keeping his eye trained on Predaking if for no other reason than to not look at Starscream's pathetic and sad face.

"Hello to you too, Shockwave." Starscream was unafraid now, and he walked right up beside Shockwave, following his gaze towards the sky. "Taking your little pet out for a spin I see?"

Shockwave scoffed, unamused. "Predaking is not my pet. He's a highly advanced techno-organic creature capable of thinking and handling himself. He is not my pet."

"Your companion, then."

"He has no feelings," Shockwave lied. He wasn't sure why he lied; perhaps it was just to argue with the man.

They were both incredibly stubborn people who had strong belief in their ideals, but on top of that they both loved to argue with others. It was literally part of their job. Starscream could say the sky was blue and Shockwave would argue with him just to prove him wrong. So if Starscream believe that Predaking had feelings, Shockwave was going to say he didn't.

"Come now Shockwave, you expect me to believe that?" Starscream laughed, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "What kind of fool do you take me for."

Shockwave resisted firing back on the last question. "And what makes you think you know so much about my projects?"

"Well it's obvious, isn't it?" Starscream asked, keeping his gaze on the sky even as Shockwave turned to look at him. "I studied your cases a million times over before your trial."

"Ah, so you would know every bad thing about them so you could terminate my projects." Shockwave finished for him, but Starscream rolled his eyes.

"No you imbecile, I studied your cases so I could defend them before the Council," Starscream explained, looking at Shockwave now.

Shockwave had expected Starscream to come out here and insult him, maybe ask about who he thought murdered Silas, but this was far, far worse.

Shockwave stepped back, the look of disgust apparent on his face. Surprisingly, Starscream didn't roll his eyes, but his expression softened.

"Wow, you really have believed Silas for all this time, haven't you?" Starscream said calmly.

Shockwave stopped a few feet away, and Predaking landed hard behind him. Shockwave's feet flew a few inches off the ground, but he fell back down and stumbled a little before he regained his balance. He reached back without looking to scratch Predaking on the snout for his good work, his eye trained on Starscream.

"This is most illogical, why are you attempting to lie to me?" Shockwave demanded.

"I'm not lying," Starscream insisted. He reached slowly into his coat and pulled out a large case file, and even from his spot a few feet away Shockwave recognized the date on the cover as the date of his trial. "have a look if you don't believe me."

Shockwave hesitated, looking up and down between Starscream's eyes and the case file in his hands.

"Where did you get this?" Shockwave took a step closer.

"I have access to all case files the Council has. There's dozens anyway, no one will notice if one is missing."

"Why did you bring this along, then?" Another step closer.

"I wanted to sway your opinion of Silas, since you've so blindly believed him all these years."

A step back. "Silas had never lied to me. He explained the step by step process of my court case for every moment I was not there, including the deciding votes. How you voted against me and he was the only one who voted for me."

"You've got it all twisted: I voted for you, and he voted against you. I was the only one who wanted your projects to continue." Starscream insisted sharply. He held out his hand now, shaking the file a little bit as if calling a dog. "I mean honestly Shockwave, you've heard how many times Silas has lied and cheated to get his way to the top, you really didn't think to call into question the time he helped you?"

Shockwave paused as he realized he'd believed the dead man without a second thought.

What sort of fool was he?

"And they call you the greatest mind on Cybertron." Starscream couldn't resist the taunt as Shockwave finally made his way over, grabbing the file roughly out of the Councilman's hand.

Shockwave muttered a few curses under his breath as he opened the file. The entire report was there, on one side of the folder sat evidence pictures that included Shockwave's laboratories, creations, and mug shot. On the other side was the entire case written out by the court reporter.

Shockwave began flipping through the papers, skimming them over. He had always been a gifted reader, capable of reading twice as fast while still understand the information clearly. He had been top of his class for this reason.

The first few pages were the required information, like what the case was about or who were the witnesses for the defense and prosecution.

The last few pages held the opinions of all the judges and what the deciding vote was. Shockwave read through quickly the ones he already knew, like Greenlight and Moonracer voting against him just like Skywarp, Rattrap and Thundercracker did.

Shockwave could feel his heart splitting in two as he read the final two opinions, and no matter how many times he blinked his eye shut and opened it again, the words on the page stayed the same.

Councilman Silas:

I have known Dr. Shockwave for many, many years and although he is an incredibly gifted mind and an even better inventor, I do not believe that his newest experiments (the techno-organic beasts) will prove beneficial to Cybertronian society. They were proposed under the guise of assistance or travel or even aids to those who are blind or deaf or any other illness, but part of me doubts if there are no other more sinister methods the good Doctor has in mind.

Maybe not intentionally, his project will turn out to be a failure. His beasts will no doubt develop minds of their own and will beyond even his control.

Given the evidence stated during this trial, it has come to my understanding that Shockwave's current mental health and personal life has deemed him unfit to handle his formerly impressive workload. Understandably Dr. Shockwave has been through a lot, but as we all know, we must push through are darkest days to see the light ones again.

I do not believe Shockwave has what it takes to push past this.

I cast my vote to the majority side and order that Shockwave's recent projects be destroyed or turned over to more capable hands.

Shockwave read it again, then again, then one more time until he had it memorized, stored in the back of his mind, replaying over and over again.

He ignored Starscream's tender look and flipped the page to read the last Councilman's opinion.

Councilman Starscream:

Shockwave and I have never been…friends. In fact, more often than not we are enemies.

We live in entirely different worlds with few things connecting us. He is attracted to science and how things work, where as I am interested by putting criminals where they belong and serving justice. But if there is anything that we have in common, is that we both have an interest in bettering society for the masses.

Doctor Shockwave's ideas of creating life that is both technology and biology has never been seen before in science. Some of the greatest minds were ridiculed and told 'no' for their bright ideas. I can guarantee you, if a certain fellow back in his day had not stepped up and discovered how planets and the sun orbit each other, the world today would be a very different place.

While Doctor Shockwave has proceeded with his experiments without the proper licensing, he has proven that his creations will do exactly as he says they will: help the world. They can come in all shapes and sizes, and help all sorts of different tasks. Construction, companionship, combat, and many more.

These creatures are the future, and I say the future needs to come faster.

Despite the hardships of Shockwave's life, how devoted his is to this cause demonstrates how determined he is to make his dream a reality. And while I may be alone in saying this, I cast my vote in supporting Shockwave and wishing that his projects continue.

Shockwave was tempted to rip the pieces of the paper to shreds. He could hardly believe what he was reading.

It couldn't be true. There's no way Silas lied to him. It was completely illogical of him to think so, to even ponder it was a disrespect on the dead man's soul. Silas had supported him. Silas had trusted him.

And Shockwave had returned that trust.

"I'm sorry, Shockwave." Starscream said, his tone void of the usual sarcasm it carried. "I know this must be hard -"

"Don't speak," Shockwave held back the file, unable to look at it anymore. Starscream obeyed, taking back the file and tucking it into his jacket once again.

Starscream waited patiently for Shockwave to get over himself and find words. A part of him was thrown off; he'd never seen Shockwave have such intense emotion behind his eyes or filling his mouth.

"Despite the hardships," Shockwave repeated, turning his furious stare to Starscream. The Councilman didn't flinch. "despite the hardships, you wrote. Who gave me those hardships, exactly?"

"I did." Starscream answered honestly.

"Yes." Shockwave hissed. Predaking gave a confused purr behind him. Shockwave pointed at the Councilman, but the utter anger he was feeling was sucking all the energy from his body. "You gave me those hardships when you took my fiance away from me."

"Yes, I did." Starscream answered again. He clasped his hands behind his back and waited.

Shockwave felt something wet hit his hands, and he stared in disbelief at his palm and noticed a drop of water. He looked up at the sky, expecting to see rain clouds or something along those lines, but the sky was still clear and the sun was still shining.

"Where is this water coming from?" Shockwave demanded, looking around.

"Shockwave, you're crying."

Shockwave stopped in his tracks. Time seemed to stop as he reached up and touched the side of his face with his hand, and sure enough; tears were falling slowly from his good eye. He brought his hand back down and stared at the salty tears in his hand in utter disbelief.

"This is illogical; impossible. I have never cried in my life," Shockwave swore, and that was the truth. His mother had told him that even coming out of the womb, he had cried once and ceased.

They'd called him a freak since day one. He had never, ever cried before.

Why was he starting now.

"Why would you vote for me?" Shockwave demanded, wiping the tears from his eyes and turning on Starscream again. He grabbed the Councilman's suit in his fists and pulled him closer, causing Starscream to gasp in alarm. "Why would you help me?!"

"Why do you think?"

But that was just it; Shockwave couldn't think.

His mind was racing, his thoughts were passing through his mind before he could fully comprehend just /what/ passed through his mind. His vision was becoming blurry, he wasn't sure if he was standing upright anymore or if the only thing keeping him from falling over was Starscream's bony fingers on his arms and Predaking pressed against his back.

For the first time - possibly in his life - in a long time, Shockwave was feeling feelings.

He hadn't felt anything like this since -

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Shockwave blinked once, and his vision cleared almost instantly. The roaring in his ears seemed to cease and he no longer felt like he was going to pass out anymore.

The doctor straightened, gently pushing Starscream's hands off his shoulder. Predaking stayed pressed close, a concerned hum emitting from his voice box.

"Him," Shockwave said simply as Starscream held his eye contact. "you didn't do it for me, you did it for him."

"Yes well," Starscream seemed to become almost bashful, and he looked away to pull something out of his coat again. Shockwave paused as Starscream held out a small, indigo colored envelope with golden pen writings.

Shockwave recognized Soundwave's handwriting instantly.

Shockwave hesitantly took the envelope, holding it as if it was about to burst into flames in his hands.

"Soundwave wanted me to give you that," Starscream explained, and Shockwave looked up again. "he wrote it for you a long time ago, but never had the courage to give it you. He brought it here in case…you know, motivation kicked in. Something about someone being murdered during a party you were both coincidentally invited to seemed like motivation enough."

"Then why didn't he give it to me in person?" Shockwave blurted out. Primus, he hated these mood swings; making him thinking before he thought about what to say. He was acting like his teenage classmates when they were acting like nothing more than horny, selfish assholes.

Starscream sighed. "He didn't really say."

While they both knew Soundwave had took his vow of silence long ago, the silent man had his own way of expressing himself.

"He knew I was going to talk to you about the case, so he just sent the letter along with." Starscream shrugged.

Shockwave stared down at the letter, attempting to work up the courage to actually open it. No matter how many times he repeated the mantra that it was okay, he couldn't bring himself to lift his thumb and tear open the envelope.

"Look, you don't have to read it. I haven't, which I know you were wondering; I have a sense of privacy you know. An ounce of respect in me, I'd like to think. Anyway, Soundwave didn't give that letter to you until just now, so you don't have to read it for a long time either. But I'm assuming you can use your powers of logic and deduce what Soundwave could have written." Starscream tapped his foot against the soft grass.

"And," He sounded more hesitant now, his voice getting softer and his eyes averting from Shockwave's. "I know you don't like me and I don't like you all that much, but we can agree on that much. But since Silas has been killed, I'll be getting a promotion and can pick a new Councilman to take his place. I would also like to bring your case back onto the floor, if you'd be willing to stand trial again."

Shockwave didn't move, his heart so happy that he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself.

"You would be willing to do that?"

"Yes," Starscream smirked. "as I've said, I've taken a lot of time to learn about your creations, and I really do believe they could be beneficial to the future of Cybertron. Let me know, okay?"

"Thank you, Starscream." Shockwave managed to find his voice as Starscream had turned and walked a few paces away. "Your assistance today has been most helpful."

"There's the emotionless hunk I know and hate." Starscream smirked again, waving back over his shoulder at the doctor. "Dinner will be ready later, though I'm not quite sure how that's going to go."

Shockwave looked back down at the letter, staring at it for another long moment. Predaking nudged him gently, a coo escaping his throat as he looked up at Shockwave with wide, glowing optics.

"You are correct, Predaking." Shockwave reached up a hand to open the letter. "I think I will."

Shockwave started hesitantly, but he gained confidence and drive as his thumb pierced the thin paper of the envelope, and he reached in with a pounding heart to read the letter his former lover had left him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mags, if you look at the board any harder, you're gonna get lasers in your eyes and shoot fire at it." Smokescreen said gloomily, his cheek perched on his fist.

Ultra Magnus had been staring at their Crime Board for the past half hour, moving his hands occasionally to connect imaginary dots from one picture to another.

The evidence was placed carefully on the table beside the Crime Board, from the knife to the books to a picture of the boot print found in the forest. The kids had come in earlier and told the detectives about all the secret passageways, and how Fowler and a few of the other staff knew about them since they'd been used for storage.

There was so much evidence out on the table, they should have found a way to make it work and fit a certain, single possibility. But the reality was, there was so much evidence and so many possibilities it felt impossible to narrow it down to a single outcome.

"Mags?" Smokescreen tried again when Ultra Magnus's concentration hadn't broken the first time he'd spoken. "You still with me buddy?"

Ultra Magnus gave a grunting noise and waved to show he heard his pupil, but he didn't turn away from the board. Smokescreen rolled his eyes and grumbled.

If he was going to sit and do nothing he might as well do it with Bumblebee. At this moment he felt more needed there than here.

"Maybe we should take a break." Smokescreen suggested, hoping Ultra Magnus wouldn't pick up on the desperation in his tone. But who was he kidding?

"If you want this case to remain unfinished, then by all means Smokescreen, go take a break." Ultra Magnus's words were a little harsh in tone, but Smokescreen had gotten used to his bitterness during their Crime Board scenes a long time ago.

The younger detective rose to his feet to stand beside his boss, coping his posture and focusing a long, hard stare at the board.

"Give me your top suggestion," Ultra Magnus demanded. "tell me what you think happened."

Smokescreen coughed to hide his smile; he loved it whenever Ultra Magnus could give him the opportunity to give an input with this much weight. Sure, he was usually wrong with guess or Ultra Magnus would disagree, but he sometimes would give Ultra Magnus the push he needed to find the correct answer.

"Well, let's see. Where to begin…" Smokescreen knew exactly where to begin. "nearly everyone here's got motive, so that doesn't narrow many people down. Even the people we used to case aside without a doubt seem guilty now, like how Cliffjumper got hallucinations of Silas. Like, you can't get much crazier than that."

"Yes, but he also got hallucinations after his father died, so perhaps it's a part of a deeper trauma." Ultra Magnus suggested, seeing how Smokescreen would react to this block.

Smokescreen pondered that. "Yes, that's true. But no one ever mentioned if he got violent enough to throw a plate at someone when his father appeared. I'm guessing there's a strong sense of guilt in this hallucination."

"Interesting."

"Anyway, I believe that based on the knife stab wounds, the killer deliberately made some deeper and others sloppy to throw us off the scent, and it did its job. The killer wouldn't have needed much time to escape the party since they could have simply left through the various hallways leading outside of all the Ballroom, so they would also have an alibi for most of the night. If someone noticed they were gone for a few moments, they could say they were getting drink and no one would be the wiser."

Ultra Magnus gave a hum of approval, and Smokescreen couldn't help the smile that came to his face that time.

"The gender of the killer couldn't be determined since an unequal amount of force was applied throughout, but perhaps that was on purpose rather than being caught up in the passion of it all." Smokescreen gestured to the picture of the crime scene, the one where Silas's hand was poking out of the blanket.

"I've got it narrowed down to three: Ratchet, Cliffjumper, Knock Out, and Airachnid. Ratchet, Knock Out and Airachnid are all doctors and good ones at that, so they know where to strike to make it hurt but also quick. Cliffjumper is so guilty by what's happened he's hallucinating the man he killed. Two out of the four have substantial motive: a dead husband and a trial concerning the ethics of her license. These are both probable causes, and hard to decide between the two.

But as we both know, there's three motives to murder: revenge, money, and sex. Knock Out fits the revenge category much better than Airachnid, so I say Knock Out," Smokescreen jabbed a finger at the red hair'd doctor. "is the killer."

"An interesting guess," both detectives turned in slight alarm, not expecting a new voice to be in their study. They relaxed as they saw it was only Megatron, standing in the doorway with his hands clasped behind his back. There was a passive look on his face and he looked rather impressed.

"You'll make a great detective someday, Smokescreen." The Lord praised as he approached the pair. He noticed that Ultra Magnus still looked surprised and he paused in his tracks. "Am I not allowed to be in here?"

"Yes, you should leave." Ultra Magnus said.

"No, you're good!" Smokescreen said at the same. "What? He could be good to ask opinions of! We already know he didn't do it."

"How do we know that?" Ultra Magnus was determined to finish this case; he wasn't going to allow a single slip up to push them back any farther.

The fate of everyone else in the Castle depended on it.

"Good detective, I was beside you until the very end that night." Megatron didn't seem affected that Ultra Magnus was conducting another interview on him. He wasn't a stranger to questioning. "And I've told you many times that I called this party to make peace, not kill. If I wanted Silas dead I would have done it myself a long time ago."

"You could have changed your mind," Ultra Magnus fired back. "and yes, you were with me most of the night but we discovered tunnels inside the wall that lead directly to the spot Silas was murdered. You wouldn't have been gone that long."

"I left out the main door," Megatron deadpanned. "you saw me leave."

Ultra Magnus paused, lifting an eyebrow. Megatron raised one back. Smokescreen kept looking between the two of them, waiting for one of them to budge.

"Fine. You can stay." Ultra Magnus conceded, and Smokescreen sighed in relief.

"I won't stay long," Megatron promised, walking over to the table. "I've got to meet with Steve and then call my banker to get some things in order."

At Ultra Magnus's confused glare, Megatron rolled his eyes. "For the construction of my new pool. You can have access to all my bank statements if you want."

"That won't be necessary." Smokescreen said cheerfully, hoping to lighten the tension in the room. "We trust you."

Megatron didn't react, but he settled for reaching forward and gently running his finger across the one of the destroyed books. "Rafael always loved reading," Megatron's voice was a little quieter than normal. "it has been a long time since the two of us have read a book together."

"Yes, well after we solve this murder you will have all the time in the world to read books with him," Ultra Magnus said over his shoulder since he'd turned back to the board.

Megatron took a seat where Smokescreen had once been sitting, and the junior detective didn't have the guts to tell the Lord he was sitting in his spot. He settled for leaning against the wall behind the evidence table, arms crossed and waiting for something to happen.

They were so close. All they needed was the push in the right direction and they could solve this case.

Or so Smokescreen hoped.

"Walk me through it, detective. I'm a pair of fresh ears, I can give you an unbiased opinion on your facts so far." Megatron offered, pouring himself a cup of tea from the spot on the small table beside him. He added two sugars and began to stir it, eyes on Ultra Magnus's back the entire time.

Ultra Magnus was silent for a few moments, eyes burning holes again into the Crime Board. One of his hands was perched under his chin, but eventually he slumped and conceded once again.

"As I'm sure you've figured out, nearly everyone has motive. Those who don't we can't entirely exclude since they might have been persuaded by what other people were feeling. The killer needs motive, opportunity, and means.

The motive, as I've stated, nearly everyone has. Some more than others, and that is a driving factor. The opportunity is a stressful topic since they wouldn't have needed much time, if they had knowledge of the tunnels in the hall they could have gone through them, killed Silas, and been back before anyone noticed. The means wouldn't have been hard to come by, a single trip to the kitchen to pick up a knife wouldn't have taken long."

"You think Fowler could have done it? He has access to all the knives at all times."

"You would accuse one of your own staff?" Smokescreen asked in disbelief.

Megatron shrugged. "I am helping you. Don't worry, I trust Fowler with my life, you just need pushes in the right direction."

"Fowler had no connection to Silas, but his wife -" Ultra Magnus had spun around to face Megatron, but his voice died in his throat. His eyes were wide and his mouth was parted open slightly, and he slowly turned back around to face the board.

"The stab wounds," Ultra Magnus breathed out, pointing to the picture. "Yes, yes! That's it!"

"What's it?!" Megatron demanded. "What did I say?"

"He's getting his Mot!" Smokescreen exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. "The case is solved!"

"Yes! Yes, it all fits. Smokescreen!" Ultra Magnus declared, turning to look at his young pupil. Smokescreen stood at attention, a mock salute at his forehead. "Gather all the guests. It's time to finish this case."

Smokescreen smiled brightly and dashed out the door, screaming at the top of his lungs that they'd done it. Megatron cast another impressed expression to Ultra Magnus, who beamed back at him.

"You've done it? Are you certain?"

"Yes, I am."

"And if you're wrong?"

Ultra Magnus approached Megatron and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm never wrong. Now, let's go finish this."

Megatron nodded, his heart pounding in his chest with the anxiety that Silas's murderer would finally be revealed.

Chapter Text

The case was going to end where it started: the Ballroom.

Ultra Magnus had requested that everyone report there, and that was where they all were now. Some of the guests were seated at the various high seats by the bar, while others stood and talked in small groups. Even the staff had been requested to attend, and so Steve, June, Fowler, and their kids were also gathered in the Ballroom.

Smokescreen stood beside the main doors, the same ones Bumblebee had burst in through after discovering the dead body of Silas Bishop. The doors that Magnus would walk in through any second now.

He hoped, at least.

Smokescreen's heart was pounding in his chest. The thrill of the chase was finally over; Ultra Magus had done it.

The detective had told Smokescreen he needed a moment to collect himself and he would be into the Ballroom soon, but apparently he was taking his sweet time or something since it had been about fifteen minutes and he'd yet to show.

It was giving Smokescreen flashbacks to the case just before this one, how he'd kept the guests entertained for several minutes before Ultra Magnus appeared with the last piece of crucial evidence to close the case.

Thankfully, none of these guests seemed all that appalled by waiting, in fact the time to just sit and talk had been good for them.

Shockwave had sat down beside Soundwave, and the two of them seemed to be having a normal, civil conversation about something important. Smokescreen tried not to be rude and stare at them openly, but their conversation had peaked his interest. He continued to watch out of the corner of his eye. Eventually, they shook hands and parted from each other, Soundwave going back to his husband while Shockwave moved to sit beside Airachnid.

Smokescreen had no idea what they were talking about; it could have been anything about the best type of pet or quantum physics for all he knew, but he got the sense that both of them were now content, and more at peace with each other than they had been before.

Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and Arcee had long since apologized for the issue that morning, and were laughing and sharing a drink like old times. Bulkhead had a few stitches in his forehead, but he seemed much more lively than he had been when he'd carefully limped in a few minutes ago. Cliffjumper's black eye had gone down a little, but he would likely wear that purple color beside his eye for a week or two.

Most of the guests sat silently, however, and if there was talking between them it was hushed whispers and silent stares in Smokescreen's direction. Smokescreen tried not to take it personally; they all knew it wasn't his fault Ultra Magnus was taking so long, but he still couldn't help but feel guilty.

Despite the fact he'd already announced it before, he got the urge to do so again.

"I'm sure Ultra Magnus will be here soon," Smokescreen raised his voice to address everyone. Conversation ceased for a moment and all eyes turned to the young detective. He smiled as Bumblebee gave him a thumbs up, Soot still on his shoulder. The frog blinked at Smokescreen. Smokescreen was tempted to throw him out the window.

"I mean, what's taking him so long anyway?" Smokescreen snapped back to reality as Miko asked her question, taking a danish from the plate being passed around. "Is he styling his hair or something? Maybe getting sized for a new suit for the occasion?"

"No, he just needs a few moments to collect himself," Smokescreen said firmly. "he'll be out in a few minutes, then we'll arrest the killer and you'll all be allowed to go home, I'm sure."

"Unless you're the killer." Knock Out huffed, but no one laughed. "Then you can't really go home."

"Knock Out, please," Dreadwing rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of his husband's forehead. "don't be rude."

"It's not rude, it's the truth." Knock Out smiled. He kissed Dreadwing's cheek and looked up at him adoringly. "Besides, we've got nothing to worry about."

The next few minutes drew out like hours, and Smokescreen began leaning against the wall since his legs were so tired from standing. He began to count how many identical structures there were in the Ballroom just to pass the time. He counted seventeen of the same lamps, four matching squares on the ceiling, and one massive chandelier with four smaller ones of identical shape.

"Can't we just leave and wait for him to come back?" Starscream asked, rising to his feet. "If he's going to take this long, we might as well make him wait for a while too."

Smokescreen sighed. "No, we all have to stay here, I'm afraid."

"Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop us from leaving?" Cliffjumper joked, and a few people chuckled, mostly relieved Cliffjumper was feeling like his normal self again. Cliffjumper was true to his word, rising to his feet and stepping towards the door. Starscream didn't need to be told twice, rising to his feet to follow the man out.

Smokescreen hesitated and made an awkward cry to try and get them to turn around, but the pair didn't stop. From the looks the others were giving each other, Smokescreen could see they were tempted to leave as well.

The door to the Ballroom was thrown open suddenly, and Cliffjumper and Starscream who still remained in the front of the pack, stopped in their tracks.

Ultra Magnus stepped into the Ballroom, his gaze hard and expression serious.

"Sit down," Ultra Magnus ordered, and Cliffjumper and Starscream awkwardly made their way back to their former seats. Arcee, who had stayed in her seat, punched her fiance on the shoulder. Soundwave turned his visor to Starscream that seemed to scream 'I told you so', and Starscream made an exasperated groan.

"Thank Primus you're here," Smokescreen whispered to the lead detective as he approached the front of the guests, and Smokescreen followed and walked a little farther to stand behind him.

Ultra Magnus offered a small grin and a nod before he turned around to face the guests before him. Everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats, ready for the murderer to finally be revealed.

"Our case began, not as a case, but rather an invitation." Ultra Magnus began, his hands clasping behind his back. He began to pace back and forth as he talked, keeping his gaze trained at the floor most of the time but looking up occasionally to glance from one person to another, seeing who would hold it or flinch away.

"An invitation from one of the finest establishments on Cybertron: the Castle de Beauvoir. It seemed almost too good to be true; an all expresses paid vacation at the most exclusive and secretive man known to Cybertron, Lord Megatron himself." Ultra Magnus gestured to the Lord of the House, who took a sip of his gin and tonic wordlessly. "My assistant and I accepted the invitation, eager for time away from the stress and bustle of the City."

"I wanted to get away, you were skeptical from the beginning," Smokescreen muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sorry. Keep going, boss."

Ultra Magnus turned back around and continued his pacing. "We quickly found out nothing was right about this party. We were lead to believe the invitations were fake, but they were real after a while, but the true event they were inviting us to was the lie. Smokescreen and I were called here as painful irony, to mediate the epic case of Silas Bishop v. The People, with a jury and everything. We were to keep everyone in line, and be here just in case something happened."

The detective paused to laugh at his small joke. "It could not have been any more ironic that Silas was killed at the very same party that was meant to cleanse his soul, but that is simply the way Primus works. There was hardly a friend for Silas here, no one who appreciated him or would be willing to defend him. From the very moment he walked in, it seemed everyone was already planning their own murder for the Councilman.

The night of the Ball rolled around, and all the tension seemed to vanish with the fine dining and one too many glasses of whiskey. Everyone seemed to come together that night, and I foolishly believed that all was well then."

Ultra Magnus paused where he stood, turning and walking a few feet behind where most people were sitting. He felt along the wall for a minute until he found what he was looking for; a tiny groove in the Ballroom wall that stood out from the rest. Ultra Magnus gave it a gently push and a doorway to one of the hallways inside the walls opened.

Those who didn't know the tunnels existed gasped and fell backwards. Those who had already traveled in them managed to stare at them for a few minutes longer before looking away.

"At first, we believed that the killer would have needed to leave out the main doors, which narrowed it down to exactly two guests: Wheeljack and Megatron. But as Smokescreen and his team later discovered, there were other ways out of this room." Ultra Magnus said firmly, leaving it open ended for a moment.

"Smokey, please tell me that there's no secret passageway into our bedrooms or something like that." Bumblebee pleaded, and everyone waited with baited breath to hear his answer.

"No, there is not." Smokescreen said, his assurance helping to calm everyone down. "My group and I searched every inch of the tunnels, they don't go near the bedroom. Right, Megatron?"

The Lord of the Castle nodded once, not looking at any of the other guests staring blankly at him.

"The killer didn't need much opportunity. Silas stepped out the main back door, and after that the only thing needed was the proper timing to get from here to where Silas was killed a few hallways over." Ultra Magnus closed the door and walked back to the front of the crowd. "From there, they could simply slip back in before anyone even noticed they were gone."

Ultra Magnus placed his hands on his hips, his lips pursed. "For a while, this was all we had. The only leads we had were the interviews we had with all of you and the second attack on Optimus Prime.

But then we ventured into the woods, and found a new friend and the murder weapon. Back in the Castle, the clothes of the killer as well as the secret tunnels in the hallway. We had so much evidence and key factors we hardly knew what to do with them."

"This is like those math problems you see in school," Arcee whispered to Cliffjumper. "like how many different combinations of clothes you can find based on what you're given. Like three pairs of pants and two shirts and a sweatshirt."

"Not really, sweetheart, but okay." Cliffjumper chuckled. They looked back to Ultra Magnus, who had waited for them to stop talking to continue.

"Didn't you also have the autopsy, in the beginning?" Airachnid pointed out. "Surely that could have provided some valuable input."

Ratchet shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the inference to Pharma. Not that Airachnid or Knock Out liked him either, but it was a point that needed to be made.

"I am so glad you pointed that out, doctor." Ultra Magnus sounded genuinely pleased that someone had pointed that out. Airachnid crossed one leg over the other and looked pleased with herself, but she waited to pat herself on the back until Ultra Magnus was done.

"The autopsy, as it usually does, provided key pieces into the beginning - and ending - of this case. It told us what we already knew: that Silas was killed by several stab wounds of various forces in various placed. It revealed what we were wondering: if there was any sort of poison in his system, and there wasn't. It left some open ended questions: who was the gender of the killer? And would this be enough to solve the case?"

Ultra Magnus began to pace again, and Smokescreen could feel it in his bones that Ultra Magnus was getting close to revealing the killer. He could barely stand still now; he couldn't wait to see who it was.

His eyes fell on Bumblebee for a moment, who didn't meet his gaze. His heart plummeted as he realized maybe he didn't want to know.

No. Smokescreen would have told him, there's no way he could have killed Silas. They were good friends; more than friends now, he would trust Smokescreen or feel it was his civic duty to reveal himself?

Right?

"We didn't receive our answer for a long while, not until Megatron gave us a push in the correct direction." Ultra Magnus gestured to Megatron, who silently took a sip of his tea.

There was a moment of silence as Ultra Magnus steadied himself, his eyes closed as he turned his head down to look at his feet. He looked up after a moment, his blue eyes steely and in control.

"What we originally thought as a sloppy, messy kill was actually the only mistake on the killer's part. Whether the sloppy wounds were meant to lead us off track or not, that is precisely what we did. But the stab wounds that were less deep or sloppier were not signs of struggle or weakness on the killer's part, but hesitation."

"What?" Starscream sputtered. "The killer was having second thoughts?"

"In a matter of speaking. See, they were only hesitating because the anger they were taking out at that moment wasn't entirely their's; it was their lover's anger. The killer was acting in place of their lover, doing the thing they believed they beloved couldn't and ending Silas's lifetime of blackmail and pain." Ultra Magnus concluded, his voice strong and powerful.

"The killer had no personal quarrel with Silas, but they saw how their lover had been hurt and poisoned by the actions of the Councilman and intended to at least harm him, but they decided halfway through that the only way to truly get justice for their lover's anguish."

Ultra Magnus turned his back on the guests, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Isn't that right, Soundwave?"

Everyone gasped in shock, and Wheeljack nearly choked on his whiskey. Everyone jumped up and away from the silent mech, who was looking around in distress.

Shockwave looked utterly defeated and confused, like Soundwave had hurt him in a way worse then death. But at the same time, he seemed to understand, there was a sense of peace that hung over his head, and despite all the scientist was doing to resist it, Smokescreen could see the understanding come into his eyes.

Others seemed entirely caught off guard by the reveal, as expected they would be. Bulkhead and Wheeljack's jaws were on the floor while Dreadwing was looking in between Soundwave and Ultra Magnus like one of the two of them was going to burst out laughing and declare it was all a joke, and Optimus looked about ready to puke.

Starscream didn't move away from where he sat beside his husband, but he pulled his hands out of Soundwave's grip even as the silent mech tried to take him back. Starscream let out a small gasp of shock and stood his ground, and Soundwave eventually was the one who pushed back.

Smokescreen couldn't see the man's face behind his mask, but he had a feeling he knew what Soundwave looked like. The silent man was looking in between his husband and the pair of detectives, his entire body shaking.

"Starscream…" a voice croaked out. "it wasn't me…"

It took Smokescreen a moment to realize it was Soundwave speaking. The man who had yet to utter a single word since he arrived, had said something. Words of defiance, words of pleading. He was trying to defend himself.

Starscream shook his head, tears falling down his cheeks. "That night, when I woke up screaming because I saw myself killing Silas, you were able to console me because it was you"

"No," Soundwave forced out again, his voice cracking and harsh from lack of use. "not…me."

"Surely there must be some kind of mistake!" Arcee exclaimed. "Why would Soundwave kill Silas?"

"As I said before, the killer acted through another's anger. Soundwave saw how Starscream had been blackmailed and mistreated by his fellow Councilman, and he acted how he saw fit. He chose to end Silas's life, so that Starscream may be free of his treachery." Ultra Magnus sounded almost sad that he had come to this conclusion, and deep down he was.

He had come to like Soundwave over the days they'd been together. He'd found his silent posture and understanding demeanor comforting and just what he needed sometimes. He'd never sought out Soundwave to talk to, but when they'd been out in the forest Soundwave would occasionally appear by his side and they'd walk in pleasant silence together.

Little had he known he'd been walking next to a killer.

"No!" Soundwave choked out again, flying up to his feet. Smokescreen could imagine his face behind his mask, a horrified expression with eyes as wide as plates and tears blooming in them. "I didn't kill him!"

His voice was gaining strength now as he struggled to defend himself.

Soundwave turned back to Starscream. "Please, sweetheart, believe me." Soundwave took Starscream's hands in his own and held them close to his heart, pleading and desperate. Starscream looked down at his lap, unable to look his husband in the eye.

"All those nights, laying beside me, listening to me rant about how terrible Silas was…that was feeding you, wasn't it?" Starscream choked out, a small sob escaping him. Normally he would have been appalled at his own behavior, but he couldn't stop himself now.

Not that anyone was going to say anything anyway; his husband was a murderer.

"I was giving you more motive, I caused you to do this." Starscream admitted sadly. Soundwave slowly reached out and gently took hold of his husband's chin, and turned his face to meet his visor.

Starscream met his gaze, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. A million words seemed to pass between them, the silent language they'd been perfecting over the years. They'd never needed words to communicate, and they didn't need them now.

In that moment, a weight left Starscream's shoulders and he breathed out heavily.

After a moment he turned and met Ultra Magnus's eyes, who stared back with a neutral expression.

Ultra Magnus broke their connection for a moment and looked down for a moment before he looked up directly at Soundwave. "Now, I do have some questions for you that I couldn't quite understand. What was the point of the second attack? And I suppose it makes sense that you would be able to get past Predaking and into Shockwave's laboratory, given that you were once an item. You hid the murder weapon where no one should have been able to find it, as well as your clothes and other belongings that would incriminate you."

"I must applaud you, Soundwave. You were by far one of the toughest killers I've ever had the honor of working with." Ultra Magnus said, a smug edge to his voice.

"But what need would Soundwave have for goggles to hide his eyes? He already wears a mask."

"Well, you see that has an easy answer, because Soundwave would have been recognized easily if he'd worn his mask to perform the second attack, and no one except Starscream and Shockwave have seen his real face. So he covered his face with simple goggles to throw us off." Ultra Magnus turned to Optimus, who he'd assumed asked the question.

Optimus stared back him with a puzzled expression. "I didn't say anything."

"What?" Ultra Magnus sputtered, looking around at the other guests. He could have /sworn/ that Optimus had been the one who'd spoken.

"It was me, detective. For you see, you are wrong. Soundwave didn't kill Silas."

Ultra Magnus turned slowly over his shoulder as he recognized the voice. The voice of an old friend, someone he'd always thought was incapable of violence.

It broke his heart when he turned fully and saw Dreadwing standing beside his husband, his hands curled in fists at his side and his expression serious.

"I did." Dreadwing affirmed for the entire crowd.

No one spoke. No one knew what to say.

There were no words.

Ultra Magnus's knees felt weak, his head was spinning. He felt two pairs of arms pull him down, and he was suddenly sitting beside Starscream and Soundwave. He kept his eyes focused on Dreadwing.

The well-dressed man offered the detective a small smile, then leaned down and kissed his husband on the forehead. He turned sharply on his heel and walked up to where Ultra Magnus had once stood, his hands clasped behind his back as he turned to address the crowd.

He offered Smokescreen - who was still standing with his jaw on the floor - a quick wink and turned out to look at his friends.

"To your credit, detective," Dreadwing began. "you got most of the details correct. I did not kill Silas out of my own anger, but I was acting for my husband; as my husband. I'm not sure if you all know this, but I met Knock Out for the first time when my nephew was being born in the hospital at the same time Knock Out was in the hospital signing away his husband's organs for donation after his terrible accident."

Wheeljack rose to his feet silently and moved to sit beside the red haired man. The doctor didn't look at the engineer, but he grasped his hand tightly when it was offered. He kept his eyes on Dreadwing, who was still speaking to the entire guest list.

Dreadwing continued. "It took Knock Out a long time to open up to me about his trauma, but from the moment he did I could see there was a lot of heartache there that I would never be able to fully heal. I've tried my best over the years to help him feel whole again, and I know we've made a lot of progress, he would never be fully ready to move on until his husband's murderer was removed.

The day Knock Out said yes to my marriage proposal was one of the happiest of my life. It was also the same day I started work at my new job, but it was lastly the day I figured out my most important task in life: finding every single detail about Silas's life he tried to bury on his way up to the top."

Dreadwing began to gesture to each member of the audience. "Silas has killed seven people, four of which were members of his own family. And the other three stood in his way of obtaining the power he wanted, so he disposed of them. Silas blackmailed," Dreadwing glanced at Airachnid, Bulkhead, and Starscream. "he killed," Wheeljack, Knock Out. "and lied." Shockwave.

Dreadwing's shoulders remained pulled back, the confidence never left his body.

"It was never a question of if Silas was to be murdered, but when. When Megatron sent out the invitations for a 'Redeeming Ball', I knew it was my opportunity to correct the wrongs this man had done. I was the bringer of justice, I was Primus in this scenario. I was the hand of punishment, the hand that killed."

Dreadwing looked directly at Ultra Magnus. "I killed Silas."

"When we arrived, it was a struggle not to kill Silas in front of everyone. But I had to buy my time, wait for the perfect moment. The night we arrived, after everyone went to sleep, I went around the Castle and began searching for the perfect place to perform the murder. I found the secret tunnels in the library first, and marked the books so I would be able to find it easily. I found the hallways leading from the Ballroom to a certain hallway, and I knew then that this would work.

The night of the Ball rolled around, and I waited for the perfect moment to act. I only needed a distraction, since Silas would not make himself stand out by leaving the party through the main door. I would wait until he left out the back door to leave out the secret tunnel in the back." Dreadwing gestured to the doorway Ultra Magnus had opened and closed earlier.

Dreadwing danced and danced, the feeling of Knock Out's laughter lifting above the music and filling his ears. It was a blessed, happy sound he wished he could hear more often, but whenever he did hear it he did not take it for granted.

The party was more fun than Dreadwing expected himself to be having. He was currently on the outside of the circle watching as Arcee and Starscream had a dance off in the center. He cheered them on before pushing them out of the way to take a turn for himself.

Everyone's cheers of encouragement kept Dreadwing going as he whipped out dance moves that should have probably broken his back in his middle-aged form, but he did them anyway. The sugar from the dessert had taken over, and even though he would probably be feeling this all tomorrow, it was all worth it now.

Dreadwing allowed Bulkhead to push him out of the way, and he gave a loud whistle of encouragement as the bigger man began to do a near flawless robot.

He glanced over his shoulder as he subconsciously heard the creaking of a door over the music. Dreadwing looked over his shoulder immediently and saw that Silas was making his leave, and suddenly all the music faded around him.

This was it. This was his chance.

Dreadwing looked around, trying to find the perfect distraction. He found it in the drunken Wheeljack.

"Hey, Wheeljack," Dreadwing yelled out to the drunken engineer. The man turned sharply and nearly fell forward, a drunken giggle escaping him. He gave a loud whoop and tried to down another shot he'd been holding, but Dreadwing stopped him.

"You know, Ultra Magnus looks like he could use another," Dreadwing pointed out. Ultra Magnus was his only real threat; he was facing the secret tunnel and the detective was the last person he wanted catching him slipping out of the party. Everyone else was at least slightly tipsy and if anyone saw him leave, he could saw they were seeing double and he really left out the main door.

Wheeljack nodded in agreement and made his way to the bar to grab himself another drink for the detective. Dreadwing couldn't help but roll his eyes as Wheeljack stumbled and was barely able to hold himself up to grab the drinks.

He would thank the engineer for this, if he even remembered.

Dreadwing slipped out of the dance circle without a hitch, and he opened and closed the door to the secret hallway just as Ultra Magnus cried out in alarm of Wheeljack spilling his drink on his nice suit.

Dreadwing found the flashlight and knife he'd left for himself earlier, and the black clothing was folded neatly. He undressed and redressed as he walked. He dropped the goggles halfway through, and decided he wanted Silas to look at him as he took his life away.

Dreadwing's heart was pounding so hard he could hardly see, but the excitement filling his veins was keeping him sane.

Dreadwing reached the end of the tunnel and opened the door easily. He looked left then right, and he distantly heard Silas's footsteps approaching.

Dreadwing took a deep breath in, then out. He uttered a quick prayer and an 'I love you' to Knock Out and stepped out of the tunnel. He closed it behind him, stepping out into the middle of the hallway.

He waited patiently, the knife hidden in his boot. He'd waited years to finally look Silas in the eye and confront him about all the atrocities he'd done, he could wait a few minutes more.

Not even a minute passed before a slightly drunk Silas stepped around the corner, holding onto the wall for some extra support.

Dreadwing wished for a moment that the Councilman be sober, but he supposed it would make this painfully easy at least. He did have limited time after all.

Silas looked up and paused momentarily as he saw Dreadwing standing before him, and he straightened and pulled away from the wall. Dreadwing knew that Silas knew this wasn't a chance encounter; Silas knew danger like the back of his hand.

There was an almost understanding in his eyes, like he knew what was about to happen.

"Dreadwing,"

"Silas,"

"Leaving the party early I see?"

"I could say the same to you."

Silas chuckled. "I'm not wanted there. Figured I'd turn in early."

"Sure," Dreadwing responded evenly. A bead of sweat ran down his back and Dreadwing clenched a fist.

Down to business he went.

"You remember Breakdown, don't you?" Dreadwing asked, and Silas pretended to think for a moment, tapping his chin.

"Ah yes. He was killed in the same accident that killed my parents. Terrible coincidence; wrong place wrong time type of thing, from my understanding. I always meant to apologize to Knock Out for that. Do you suppose this would be a bad time?"

"But it wasn't an accident, was it?" Dreadwing edged him on, a smirk rising to his face. He couldn't help it, this was just too exciting. Silas was being back in a corner and he knew it. That was almost better than the idea that his miserable life would soon be coming to an end.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." Silas played dumb, his eyes narrowing. He foolishly began to step closer. "You must be drunk, Dreadwing. Let's get you back to your room."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Dreadwing insisted. He reached down and grabbed the knife out of his boot, and Silas's facial expression warped into one of shock and dread. He looked up and met Dreadwing's gaze.

"You have spent your entire life, hurting others." Dreadwing said simply, gripping the knife tightly in his hands. "But that ends today."

Silas didn't even try to fight; the coward. He turned tail and tried to run, but he was drunk and didn't make it far. Dreadwing dove after him, catching him with a few easy strides and throwing him backwards against the ground.

Silas turned over and tried to crawl away, and Dreadwing resisted the urge to kick his stomach. A kick or two to the stomach, though well deserved, could trace it back it him in some way. The less evidence, the better.

Instead he flipped Silas over, raising the knife above his head.

"Please, I'll give you anything you want! Name it, it's yours!"

"What I want," Dreadwing hissed out. "you can't give me. You can't give him back to the love of my life. And therefore, you've outlived your usefulness. Your pitiful existence ends here."

Without a second thought, Dreadwing plunged the knife into Silas's chest, blood splattering onto his face and suit. Silas screamed, but Dreadwing covered his mouth with his free hand.

He began to stab a few more times, the thought of Knock Out sobbing over his dead husband in his arms enough motivation to go on. He thought of how broken Knock Out had been, how utterly helpless he'd been. He thought of the first smile Knock Out had shown him after he'd walked the doctor home, or surprised him flowers and his favorite meal after a hard day at work.

Dreadwing stabbed the man one final time, and when he pulled his hand away, he knew Silas was dead.

Blood was pooling onto the carpet, staining his shoes and suit. No matter. There was a reason he brought extras anyway.

Dreadwing stood wordlessly, brushing himself off quickly. He stepped back into the tunnel, and walked quickly back towards the Ballroom. He undressed and dressed on the way there, brushing the blood off his face and pushing his hair back into place.

He stepped out of the tunnel and back into the dance circle just as Bumblebee came running in, proclaiming that there had been a murder.

Dreadwing lifted his head and turned to look at Ultra Magnus, avoiding his husband's gaze. He could feel Knock Out's stare boring into his, but he was too afraid to look.

If he had looked, he would have seen the tears of love and gratitude, as strange as it was instead of hurt and anger.

Dreadwing held out his wrists and offered himself for arrest. "I have confessed, detective. I accept my sentence. I will make my call to my lawyer so we can set up my defense in court."

Ultra Magnus said nothing, his mouth set in a thin line and his expression impassive. Dreadwing blinked, maintaining eye contact.

"Arrest me!" Knock Out broke the dreaded silence by springing up and dashing over to his husband. He didn't look at the man, his gaze glued on the detective. The doctor glanced at Smokescreen once or twice for extra support, but he mostly kept his pleading eyes on Ultra Magnus. "Arrest me; I was the one who drove Dreadwing to murder, he would have never even spared Silas a second thought if it hadn't been for me."

"Now, wait a moment -" Ultra Magnus raised a hand, but he was stopped by Megatron.

"Arrest me, detective. I was the one who created this party, I created the environment that Silas was murdered in. You could arrest me for conspiring to murder, or premeditated murder." Megatron reasoned.

"Would you let me finish my sentence -" Ultra Magnus tried again, but was interrupted once again.

"Arrest us too," Starscream and Soundwave stood from beside the detective and moved to stand in front of Dreadwing and Knock Out. "we wanted Silas dead as well, I would have probably done it in the safety of my own court room if it hadn't been for Dreadwing beating me to it."

"If you arrest them, arrest us too." Shockwave and Airachnid stepped in and moved to stand beside the growing crowd.

"Us as well," Optimus and Ratchet followed suit, the kids and June and Fowler right beside them.

Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Arcee, and Cliffjumper joined them quickly.

Bumblebee gave Smokescreen a knowing look, and Smokescreen responded with an encouraging nod. The young man stepped up and stood beside Cliffjumper, who placed an encouraging arm around his shoulder.

Everyone turned and looked at Steve, who was still standing by the door with a neutral expression on his face. With an exasperated sigh, the butler walked and joined the large group. Everyone gave a small corny cry and clapped, and Steve couldn't have looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole anymore than he did right then.

Ultra Magnus stared at all the guests before him. A part of him was proud, that all the guests had grown together and stood together now as a family, which ironically had been the point of the party to begin with. He fought off the smile that was working to come to his face.

"What I was trying to say was," Ultra Magnus glanced at Smokescreen, who took the hint and crossed the room to stand beside his boss. They stood together and faced the guests, and to Smokescreen it felt ironically like the night Silas had been killed and the guests were in the Conservatory, and Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus weren't included.

But this time was different, Smokescreen knew that.

"There will be no arrest today." There was a few stunned gasps while most simply waited for Ultra Magnus to elaborate. "Silas was a wretched man but despite this, at first, I thought that he still deserved justice, same as anyone else. But I know that the only proper form of equal punishment would be to allow his killer to walk free, to watch from Hell as those he tortured and blackmailed live on, no longer in fear."

There was no loud cheering, there was no popping of a champagne glass. Knock Out grabbed onto Dreadwing's hand, but the taller man pulled away and dashed out the door.

The rest of the guests hugged and sobbed silently, the relief of this whole ordeal being over enough satisfaction for them.

Knock Out watched his husband leave, then turned to look back at Ultra Magnus.

The detective gestured onward, and Knock Out offered a smile and followed Dreadwing out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn't take Knock Out long to find Dreadwing.

It would have taken less time if he'd seen which hallway Dreadwing had turned down at one point (and of course he'd picked wrong) but he'd eventually found Dreading on the balcony, staring off into the setting sun on the horizon.

In that moment, Dreadwing looked better than Knock Out had ever seen him.

There was a small breeze blowing past them, ruffling his hair and collar. His shoulders seemed relaxed as he leaned on the railing on his forearms, face out towards the sun. There was the tiniest of smiles curling on the edges of his lip; blink and you'd miss it.

Knock Out approached him and stood by his side. Dreadwing didn't even turn to look at him, he kept his gaze trained on the horizon, where the sky was becoming a beautiful hue of pinks and oranges and the faintest of blues.

Knock Out realized he had no words. Honestly, what were you supposed to say to your husband after you found out that he killed your first husband's murderer and was being allowed to walk free? Thank you?

No, there was simply nothing to say.

Knock Out mimicked how Dreadwing was leaning, pressing close to the taller man's side and following his gaze outward.

Peace.

Knock Out felt at peace now.

Strangely enough, he swore he felt another person press against his other side, and he couldn't help the single tear that came down his face and slid off his cheek, landing on the railing beneath him.

Neither of them felt any pressure to say anything, felt no obligation to apologize or fill the silence with senseless chatter. The silence was much better anyway, more fulfilling, more what they needed.

It was a full conversation without words.

As the sun was half set and the pinks were beginning to fade, Knock Out finally spoke.

"You could have involved me, you know. Primus knows I would have helped you." He offered, a chuckle coming into his voice.

Dreadwing laughed right along with him. "No, that I could not do. You're a terrible liar, sweetheart. There was absolutely no way I could have done what I did with you as my right hand man."

"Then maybe I should have been the man in charge, and you could have followed my lead. Covered my tracks and such." Knock Out suggested, looking over at the man beside him.

"You're terrible at leadership roles." Dreadwing argued, and Knock Out knew he was right. He couldn't speak in front of large crowds for shit unless he knew everyone there, and that never happened. He would make his interns speak at conferences that were about his most recent surgeries since his anxiety would fly through the roof at the mere thought of speaking for himself.

"Maybe you're right again." Knock Out rolled his eyes and pretended to act defeated. Dreadwing leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead and intertwined their fingers at the same time.

Another loving, peaceful moment of silence settled between them, their eyes turning back to the nearly disappeared sun.

This time, it was Dreadwing who spoke. "You are my first husband, Knock Out. But I am not yours. And while I know you love me and care about me, there will always be a hole in your heart where Breakdown once was." Knock Out opened his mouth to comfort him, but Dreadwing was faster. "I know you love me, sweetheart. I'm not saying you don't. But you'll always miss him and a part of you wishes he was still alive."

Knock Out closed his mouth and barely nodded his head. They'd had this conversation before, it was nothing new.

"I wanted to give you some sort of peace about his death, some sort of sense that his spirit is at rest, that he's at peace." Dreadwing said next. "I wanted you to be at peace."

"I know he is." Knock Out leaned against Dreadwing's shoulder, fighting back tears unsuccessfully.

"I love you Dreadwing. I do."

"I know. And I love you, with all my heart."

"You know I'm incredibly thankful," Knock Out reached up and pressed his hand against his cheek, turning Dreadwing's face to his. They exchanged a quick kiss and Knock Out broke it. "but you didn't have to do this."

"I know." Dreadwing looked back out onto the horizon. "But I did it anyway."

Chapter Text

Ultra Magnus had made it his mission to avoid everyone for the rest of his stay.

He wasn't certain of the exact reason he was avoiding everyone, but it definitely had something to do with the fact that he had just allowed the murderer among them to walk free. Something that neither he nor they expected in a million years.

Part of it was Ultra Magnus was feeling guilty. He had wanted to uphold the law, he had wanted to see Silas's death honored with justice despite the terrible things he'd done; he was human just like the rest of them. He had wanted to return home with another closed case under his belt, he had wanted to feel like a good person.

The other part of it was that Ultra Magnus didn't want to deal with what everyone else had to say, and he could almost vividly hear what people might say upon seeing him "Hey, thanks so much for not arresting me for murder, you're a real one" or " Even though you're a great detective, this was really stupid of you." or better yet, the awkward small talk of not saying those things when they desperately wanted to.

So Ultra Magnus had asked Smokescreen to bring his breakfast to his room (Smokescreen, of course, was not shying away from social interaction, he never had and never would, but the junior detective wasn't nearly as guilt ridden as Ultra Magnus was about this) and he hadn't grabbed it from outside the door until he knew there was no one around.

He'd eaten his breakfast in silence and by himself, sipping his coffee as he stared at the fire he'd started in the fireplace despite not being cold.

He'd done the same thing for lunch, requesting Smokescreen bring it to his door. He could tell Smokescreen had made this meal himself because the peanut butter and honey sandwiches (Ultra Magnus's favorites) were cut into little hearts that were bite size.

Only Smokescreen would be so childish and so considerate at the same time.

Ultra Magnus hadn't even turned on the radio for some white noise, content to sit and think about nothing for what must have been hours (it was, actually. He had woken up at eight-thirty and hadn't said a word and it was now twelve-thirty).

He'd realized sometime in his silent contemplation that he hadn't once called back to the office to check in on Ironhide, Jazz or the others to see how they were doing. Last he heard from Smokescreen, they'd experienced a major issue that had required all hands on deck, but Ultra Magnus hadn't even bothered to take ten minutes out of his day to see if they were even okay.

Part of that had something to do with the major case on his hands, but still. Looking back on it, he definitely could have made time to check in on his colleges.

He was regretting calling the office now, since Ironhide was talking his ear off. He'd been hoping Jazz would answer the phone since he usually was always near his desk, but Ultra Magnus had been left utterly disappointed by Jazz not answering after three tries.

So here he was, talking to Ironhide as the older man kept saying in disbelief that Ultra Magnus must have been lying to him about the outcome of the case.

"No way. I don't believe ya for a second, Mags."

Ultra Magnus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Ironhide. As you've said already. Many times, I might add."

"I just can't believe that a criminal actually managed to evade you," There was a lot of disbelief in Ironhide's voice, his sarcastic tone was dripping with it, but Ultra Magnus was playing along.

For the sake of the case, he had to.

"So, run it by me again," Ironhide requested sharply, and Ultra Magnus heard the signature hum of the old coffee machine roaring to life. Ironhide always loved to have a dark black coffee in his hand when he was listening to stories.

Ultra Magnus rolled his eyes freely, it wasn't like Ironhide could see him.

"Quit rolling your eyes and get to the story, Mags, I don't got all day." Ironhide barked and Ultra Magnus sighed.

"Like I said, there was simply too much evidence in some areas and not enough in others. There were so many different possibilities it was almost mathematically impossible to pick the correct person, so I have made the executive choice to allow this case to remain open." Ultra Magnus summarized, since he'd already told Ironhide the basics long ago.

"If this makes you so upset, you can take a look at the case yourself when we get back and try it for yourself, but I must admit that all the guests are a little weary of the questioning."

"But you've never been wrong before, even wit' all the evidence stacked against ya. What gives, boy?" Ironhide took a large gulp of coffee and cleared his throat.

Ultra Magnus could have laughed at the irony, but he forced himself to remain professional. He looked up for a moment and took a look around his room, looking over his unpacked luggage and unmade bed.

Needless to say, last night had been a little restless, Ultra Magnus's conscience debating whether or not he'd done the right thing. Of course it was too late now to wake everyone up again and announce that he would in fact arrest Dreadwing, but then he knew he would feel guilty about that as well.

And so he remained in this constant back and forth nearly all night, barely getting four hours of sleep total.

"Detective?"

"Oh, yes sorry Ironhide, I'm here."

"You gonna answer my question?"

Ultra Magnus paused. "Could you repeat it?"

"I said what gives?"

"Oh." Ultra Magnus said plainly. He looked up and saw Megatron standing in the doorway to his room, his arms tucking behind his back as he respectfully waited for the detective to finish his phone call.

Ultra Magnus hadn't expected anyone to try and seek him out, but he wasn't surprised it was Megatron who'd shown himself, braved through the closed door of the detective to have the conversation the man was dreading.

"What gives is what I've already told you," Ultra Magnus replied evenly, turning away. "I had no choice but to leave this case open. You think I'd be coming back empty handed if there was any other option?"

It was funny because that's exactly what happened, but Ironhide didn't need to know about that.

Ironhide groaned and look a long swing of coffee. "So you're lettin' the killer go free then? What if he's some serial killer who'll kill again?"

"The evidence doesn't support that, and none of the suspects have given any indication to psychopathic tendencies or give me any cause to concern," Ultra Magnus wasn't exactly lying with that one. None of the guests were likely to kill ever again, if at all.

"Primus Mags, you losin' your touch already? You leave on vacation for a couple days and you come back unable to solve a simple theft crime?" Ironhide taunted. "You can never take a vacation again. We can't loose the best man on the force ya know."

Ultra Magnus heard a distant "I resent that!" coming from Jazz.

Ultra Magnus pinched the bridge of his nose again - much more of that and he was going to get a bruise. "Granted Ironhide, it wasn't much of a vacation."

That was very much the truth.

"Yeah, yeah. Pot-ay-to pot-ah-to." Ironhide mused. "I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doin'. Wait 'till I tell Jazz about this one. I bet he's gonna faint on me."

"See you soon, Ironhide." Ultra Magnus remembered the question Smokescreen had asked him to bring up. "And Mr. Nessler and Iruis doing okay?"

"They're fine. Great cuddle buddies, actually. And you can tell ol' Smokey that Mr. Nessler does in fact have a girlfriend, and I think you're gonna have to deal with the kittens in a couple months."

Ultra Magnus grimaced, already hearing Smokescreen's pleading voice to keep all of the kittens.

"Goodbye, Ironhide. I'll see you soon."

"Safe trip home, detective."

Ultra Magnus hung up and looked back at Megatron, who was still waiting patiently in the doorway. "Come in," Ultra Magnus waved a hand and the Lord of the Castle nodded his thanks.

It's not like he needed to be invited in, it was his Castle after all. But it just helped Ultra Magnus feel a little more at ease with the new presence in the room if he had allowed it.

The taller man stepped into the room and shockingly began to help Ultra Magnus fold up and pack his items. For a while they worked in silence, methodically folding all the shirts and leaving the bed a little unruffled so June would see it was dirty.

Megatron broke the silence as he began to put the sock pairs together. "Was that your coworker on the phone?"

"Yes, it was. Ironhide, one of my oldest friends." Ultra Magnus replied. "I called him a while ago with the update about the case and my decision, and we talked until now."

Megatron raised an eyebrow. "It's three in the afternoon."

"Ironhide does love to chat. You should invite him for some fancy ball, but then he might never leave."

Megatron managed a laugh at that, and Ultra Magnus smiled at his own joke.

"Yes, but I believe I'm done with Royal Balls and dinner parties for a while. Apparently bad things happen at them, or something." The Lord shrugged and shuffled around the clothes pile for the sock without a match. "I've already told my staff they are allowed a three week vacation, and I believe the time alone will do me good."

"I agree. I think we all need a little time to ourselves to rest and recuperate." The detective tilted his head. "Ironically, this was meant to be Smokescreen and I's big vacation."

"My most sincere apologies, detective." Megatron wasn't the least bit sorry. "But what about you then? Will you be getting back on the beat once you make it back into town?"

Ultra Magnus paused for a moment, the shirt he was holding in his hands hovering just above the comforter of the bed. His arms lowered after a moment and he sighed, closing his eyes.

"I think so. I want to, after all. However, I just feel…" Ultra Magnus searched for the words.

"Wrong?"

"Incomplete. Like I've taken advantage of something." Ultra Magnus let out a small chuckle. "You know, this is the first case in my entire career that has been left open or quote unsolved unquote." Ultra Magnus used air quotes with his fingers around the word 'unsolved', and they both knew why.

"My first case ever was actually the closing of six different cases when I realized they all had spoiled milk in their stomachs, and the milkman who delivered to them was the one and the same. Got him thrown in jail and confirmed he'd killed nearly ten people."

"Impressive." Megatron granted, finding the missing sock under the bed. "What will this mean for your career?"

"My catch-phrase, as Smokescreen puts it, is "I'm never wrong". Well, I never was." Ultra Magnus folded the shirt and placed it at the bottom of the suitcase.

"Do you think you would have arrested Dreadwing if you had guessed it was him?"

"First, I never guess, I always know." At Megatron's raised eyebrow, Ultra Magnus elaborated. "I was technically right, I just chose the wrong person."

"Second, I don't know. I was thinking about that last night and I cannot say with certainty what I would have done. Part of me thinks I allowed Dreadwing to walk free was because I accused the wrong man, and it was a favor for a favor type of thing. Another part of me believes that no one was ever going to be arrested for this case, since I'd been told before by multiple sources that maybe the best justice would have been to let Silas's killer go free."

"My deepest apologies," Megatron said again, and if it was possible, there was even less sorrow in his tone.

A beat of silence settled between them and they went back to setting the clothes down into Ultra Magnus's suitcase. Ultra Magnus was moving to grab his suit from the hanger in the closet when Megatron spoke up.

"You know, Smokescreen has one of the brightest minds I've ever seen. You must be incredibly proud." Megatron complimented.

If Smokescreen had heard Megatron speak of him so highly, the young man would have simply gone into a coma and never woken up.

"I am," Ultra Magnus smiled fondly. "he's like a son to me, and in a way my best friend. I'll admit when he first came to me at his internship and told me he wanted to be on my service, I just about laughed in his face. I waited until I was in privacy, of course, but it still made me laugh."

Ultra Magnus smiled as he thought of that fond memory that Smokescreen had no idea existed. "He is at times unfocused and erratic, but sometimes he catches things in cases I never would have imagined to look into. He keeps it interesting, that's for sure."

"He'll make a great detective, someday." Megatron promised.

"He already has." Ultra Magnus folded his suit nicely on top, making sure not to crease anything and carefully close the suitcase.

Megatron hesitated for just a half a second before putting his hand on Ultra Magnus's shoulder. "You know, I know you don't feel like a hero, but what you did yesterday for all the guests, you saved them. Some of them got justice for their lost loved ones. Others got to take a breath of relief that the terrible man who had hurt so many was finally gone.

You did the right thing, Detective Magnus. So thank you."

"Please don't thank me." Ultra Magnus said quietly, keeping his gaze down at the suitcase. When he forced himself to look up at the Lord of Castle de Beauvoir, his dark eyes were understanding.

Megatron dropped his hand and walked towards the door, his steps slow and methodical.

"The last dinner is at four-thirty. You're not required to be there if you don't want to face anyone." Megatron offered.

"No, I'll be there." Ultra Magnus promised. "It's our last night together, we might as well enjoy ourselves."

Megatron nodded once, then clasped his hands behind his back and walked out of the door, leaving Ultra Magnus alone with his thoughts once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sitting at the large dining table, surrounded by all his new friends, Smokescreen felt elated.

The easy and light conversation that echoed with laughter and gentle slaps on the table from a good joke made Smokescreen feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like someone had fed him too much cotton candy (which Ultra Magnus almost never allowed him to eat cotton candy since he would always get on the longest sugar rush in recorded history).

The dinner they were having tonight was so different compared to most of the the other dinners they'd had, despite what had been revealed last night about who killed Silas and why.

Maybe that was the reason that everyone was so relaxed, Smokescreen had to wonder to himself.

It was like a weight had been lifted off everyone's shoulders, that the stress of some foreign affair had finally left their minds.

Despite being the murderer himself, even Dreadwing had let down his guard a little bit and seemed to be enjoying himself. He'd avoided everyone except for his husband after he confessed and ran away, and half the guests - Smokescreen included - had expected him not to show.

Dreadwing had surprised everyone by appearing first, seated at the table with Knock Out and Megatron and talking about the most mundane things, like their opinions on the new movies coming out or the results of Megatron's recent plastic surgery with Knock Out.

The tension that everyone had been feeling had faded almost instantly after that, but now they were all waiting for Ultra Magnus to appear.

Despite what Megatron had said, that the detective would be in attendance for this last meeting, he'd yet to show. Smokescreen had tried knocking on his door several times, but the man had simply insisted he would be out soon.

Nevertheless, the dining hall was filled with happy faces and even happier conversation, but deep down they were all hoping that the detective would appear.

"Hey," Smokescreen turned and smiled as he saw Bumblebee nudging him, and he noticed with a smirk that Soot was not on Bumblebee's shoulder. "penny for your thoughts?"

Smokescreen hadn't even realized he'd been staring at nothing until it was pointed out to him. He'd been told before that his 'thinking face' looked strangely like he was taking a shit; he could only hope no one else had looked up and seen him.

"Oh, nothing really. Just wondering where ol' Mags ran off to." Smokescreen chuckled awkwardly. He wasn't sure if his voice was coming out in a tone that was sad or awkward, but either way, judging from Bumblebee's concerned face, it wasn't good.

"What, you don't think he jumped ship do you?" Bumblebee asked quietly. He didn't Smokescreen to feel more awkward than he already did, judging by the rosy blush on his cheeks.

"No, Mags would never." Smokescreen sounded like he was convincing himself of this fact, not Bumblebee. Smokescreen suddenly jerked up, the creak of his chair legs against the ground enough to alert everyone and look at him. "But I should go check he hasn't taken the car, or else I'll have to ask someone for a ride home -"

"Smokey," Bumblebee grabbed onto the junior detective's arm before he could pull away. Their eyes met and Bumblebee watched as Smokescreen relaxed in his touch, his shoulders slouching and his eyes closing for a moment. "he's fine. Give him a few minutes, and if he doesn't come that's okay."

"I would imagine he feels a little…awkward, around us at the moment." Dreadwing spoke up, fiddling with his napkin as he put it in his lap. "I would only imagine why."

"I went to see the detective earlier, and he admitted he was having quite the internal battle about whether or not what he did was the right thing." Megatron said from his place at the head of the table.

From where he was sitting, there were seven open seats: five for Fowler, June and the children, one for Steve, and one for Ultra Magnus. The detective's place was at the opposite end of the table, the place reserved for the highest guest besides Megatron himself.

"I won't say much more than that, I'm sure Ultra Magnus wanted our conversation to be in private, however," Megatron addressed Dreadwing now. "he doesn't want thanks for what he did."

"Does he not feel like he deserves it?" Airachnid suggested, sipping her wine.

Megatron shrugged, opening his mouth to provide another rebuttal, but the doorway to the kitchen opened and Fowler, June and the children appeared.

"Dinner is -!" Miko's happy voice cut off as she read the room and noticed it was not the time or the place for this. She noticed the still empty chair at the other end of the table and she awkwardly coughed.

"Magnus still not show?" Jack asked the obvious, just to hear it out loud from someone.

"No," Optimus confirmed, and the five staff members shared a glance. "but please, do come sit."

The kids didn't need to be told twice, dashing forward and taking their assigned seats beside everyone.

Miko was right next to Bulkhead and Wheeljack, who immediently fell into conversation about Bulkhead's old days in the ring and how Wheeljack used to do demolition derbies in his college career. Raf sat beside Bumblebee, and Smokescreen couldn't even be mad when the young lawyer turned to talk to the young boy, they were simply too cute. Jack sat down in between Arcee and Airachnid, talking about archery and Jack's future plans of study.

Steve moved to sit at the spare seat beside Ultra Magnus's, smiling in a way Megatron hadn't seen in a while.

Fowler and June sat beside Optimus and Ratchet, who accepted them into easy conversation. Knock Out even joined when the topic shifted to nursing and how June had taken a break from the Castle to be a nurse for while. Knock Out had said that if she wanted to, a spot would always be available on his service.

"Oh no you don't," Ratchet butted in, interrupting his attending. "if June comes to work in my hospital, she's working under me."

"Oh, so you're pulling the 'owning the whole hospital' card then, huh?" Knock Out taunted. "Well if you don't allow June to work for me, maybe I'll just have to find work elsewhere."

Ratchet raised an eyebrow. "Like you're going to find any better than my hospital," the man refuted, and Knock Out sneered at him.

"Oh please, you all are going after the wrong one here," Starscream looked to Jack, who looked both startled and bashful that the direction was now on him. "Jack has both the ability to listen and speak so that others will listen, he'd do great in the Council."

Jack wasn't sure what to say, his cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Now hang on," Bumblebee raised his voice so everyone could hear him. "Don't forget, Raf has the most genius mind of anyone I've ever seen, his talents would do well in the court of law."

"Now you're just being a fool," Shockwave spoke up, his voice taunting. "Raf would be much better suited to be a scientist, and I would happily take him under my wing."

Raf smiled brightly; that idea clearly interested him.

"Steve, I think you would make a great therapist," Airachnid remarked, and everyone agreed with this notion. Steve pondered this, his eyes glistening in the light of the room.

"I agree, you are definitely a person who I could trust," Starscream agreed, and Soundwave gave a silent nod. "and who would be willing to listen to my endless problems."

The man had returned to silence after he had spoken for the first and last time when he'd been accused of murder, but strangely enough, Smokescreen almost preferred it. It had been strange to hear the man speak, and it reminded Smokescreen of the whole scene and whatever.

"I think Miko could be a pro-wrestler!" Wheeljack whooped loudly, and Miko yelled loudly along with. June tried to glare her down, but the young girl was oblivious to her stare.

"I'd be terrified of her!" Cliffjumper added, raising a glass to that.

"Hey Megatron, you're really gonna let everyone take your staff like this?" Arcee taunted, and everyone chuckled.

Megatron lifted his glass and swirled around the remaining liquid. "My staff is among the greatest and most talented people I have ever seen, and if they wish to take their talents elsewhere, I will support them wholeheartedly."

June and Fowler smiled at their boss, and Raf, Jack and Miko all grinned at each other.

"A toast," Megatron lifted his glass and everyone followed suit. "to the most helpful and sweet group of people this Castle as ever seen."

"Cheers to that!"

"Cheers!"

The glasses all clinked together, some of the various drinks spilling off the sides and landing around the plates and glasses. Arcee cried out as Cliffjumper's whiskey landed on the napkin on her lab, and her fiance broke out into laughter.

The door to the dining room swung open and everyone's glasses and expressions dropped as they saw it was Ultra Magnus who stood in the doorway.

The detective looked a little disheveled, but not unpresentable. His hair wasn't combed and there was a five o' clock shadow on his chin, something that Smokescreen had never seen on the detective; he always wanted to be respectable. Ultra Magnus was wearing a pair of casual pants and a polo, also something that he didn't wear very often, especially not to a nice dinner like this one.

For a long beat, the detective and guests stared at each other, silence stretching between them since no one was quite sure what to say.

Smokescreen saw it in Ultra Magnus's eyes: he was sad, he was happy. There was so much self-disappointment, but also pride.

Ultra Magnus's eyes drifted to Dreadwing, who held his gaze before he nodded in respect. Ultra Magnus nodded back.

"Please sit," Dreadwing offered, gesturing to the open seat left at the head of the table. Ultra Magnus smiled softly and reached up to pull out his chair, but Miko and Raf jumped up.

"Allow us!" Miko exclaimed, pulling out the chair while Raf helped the detective onto his seat. He unfolded the napkin and placed it into Ultra Magnus's collar, all while the detective's smile slowly grew.

Fowler bolted up from his seat, moving to the kitchen to have everyone bring out the dinners now that Ultra Magnus was there.

"And tonight, I have prepared for you all a lobster tail with stuffed potatoes and a fillet minion. There is a side salad with clams and various vegetables, and June's famous biscuit recipe for your dining pleasure. Please, enjoy."

"It looks delicious, sweetie," June commented as her husband placed her meal down in front of her.

"Just for you, my love," Fowler kissed her on the cheek and Wheeljack stuck out his tongue.

"Hey, where's my side of a kiss on the cheek?" The man taunted, sticking his cheek out tauntingly. Fowler glared at him and Bulkhead leaned forward to do the deed himself.

After Fowler had sat down, Ultra Magnus cleared his throat. Everyone dropped their utensils and gave their full attention to the detective, who was still looking incredibly awkward, which was an usual emotion on the man's face.

"I realize that everyone likely wants to put the case behind them, but I just have a few questions that need answering, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that." Ultra Magnus spoke clearly, some of the confidence returning as he spoke. He turned his attention to Dreadwing, who looked as if he expected this. "May I?"

"Of course," Dreadwing offered openly, tucking his napkin on his lap and setting about cutting up his lobster and steak pieces so he could eat and answer questions. "go ahead."

"The second attack, what was the point of that? Did you intend to kill Optimus?" Ultra Magnus began, and Smokescreen couldn't stop the smile as he began to recognize the old Magnus.

Dreadwing paused a moment to think about it, then set back to cutting up his meal. "No, I never intended to hurt Optimus. I knew that Ratchet was upset after Pharma came in to do the autopsy, and I know he was there because I would recognize his car anywhere. Knock Out complained about it endlessly that he got the model he wanted to buy." Dreadwing explained under Ultra Magnus's confused stare.

"Anyway, I know that Ratchet suffered from fluctuating blood pressure, and the stress of his old enemy coming to the Castle would cause his anxiety to sky-rocket. And because of this, I knew Optimus would be a gentleman and do everything he could to help his husband out. So while he was getting cookies, I was setting up the trap - which was set up in a way that I knew he would be unharmed. The spikes were sharp, but sharp enough to pierce through his clothing and the carpet." Dreadwing took a few bites of his meal as he spoke, pausing to chew and politely swallow before continuing.

"So you were the footsteps I heard running the other way that night," Optimus spoke up, and Dreadwing nodded.

"Yes. I ran the other way and used the secret tunnels to get back to your exact spot."

"But then you ran out the window. Why was that?"

"To prompt a chase of course. I had awoken Predaking the first night when I journeyed out to Shockwave's laboratory, and then again a few days later when I left the murder weapon. The killer - me - running out the window would inspire you to fix some loose ends, which included finding the tunnels and Shockwave's lab."

"This seems pretty planned out for a spontaneous murder," Airachnid remarked.

"It wasn't spontaneous," Starscream surprisingly spoke up. "if it wasn't Dreadwing, it would have been someone else. Silas had it coming, that much's for sure."

"Oh hey, while we're asking questions, what was that whole 'the general is drunk' thing? Back in the Conservatory?" Smokescreen asked to anyone who was willing to answer.

"Smokescreen, it's like I told you." Arcee promised. "It was just a ploy to get Optimus to drink some alcohol, since apparently he's a pretty funny drunk, according to Ratchet."

"I am not, sweetheart." Optimus tried to save face as everyone chuckled at him.

Ratchet tapped his cheek. "If you say so, honey."

"Huh. I really thought there was something more to it than that." Smokescreen slouched and crossed his arms, a pouty expression on his face. Bumblebee gently tapped his shoulder.

"Yeah, thinking back on it, it was pretty suspicious." Wheeljack shrugged, taking an unnaturally large bite of potatoes. Ultra Magnus gave him a disgusted look. Wheeljack sneered at him, potatoes dribbling out the side of his mouth.

"Hey Cliff, can we ask about your hallucinations?" Knock Out offered hesitantly. His voice was open and soft, a little uncharacteristic for the typically upfront doctor. "I mean, do you need…help or anything?"

Cliffjumper took a long swig of his whiskey and sighed. "No, I'll be fine. I used to get hallucinations when I was really stressed out or sometimes just out of the blue. I promise it's nothing serious and I'm not crazy, it started for the first time after my dad died. Why it happened with Silas I have no idea, but as we already know I wasn't responsible for his death."

"You are responsible for the bit dent in my forehead now." Bulkhead said loudly, pointing with his thumb at his still bandaged forehead.

"And your husband's responsible for my black eye," Cliffjumper countered, and Wheeljack winked.

"Any other questions?" Dreadwing interrupted before Miko could reach down and grab a fistful of potato.

"A few." Ultra Magnus promised. He leaned forward on the table, his gaze deadly serious. "Did you kill Silas Bishop?"

The room went silent as Dreadwing responded with a simple "Yes."

"Will you kill again?"

"No."

"Can I trust you on this?"

"Yes. You have my word. If I kill again, you may arrest me on the spot."

"Knock Out, can I trust you to uphold your husband's honor?"

Knock Out nodded furiously. "Yes, yes of course you can."

Ultra Magnus leaned back in his chair. "Then that's it. The case of The Murder of Castle de Beauvoir will remain open forever."

Dreadwing's face bloomed into one of such joy and relief Smokescreen had never before. Knock Out slumped in relief, and a collective weight was lifted off everyone's shoulders.

"I have an announcement, actually," Airachnid lifted her glass and Shockwave tilted her head to her. "Shockwave and I are an item now."

"No way!"

"Congrats you two!"

"Your kids are going to be the scariest little shits."

"Miko!"

"What?! It's true."

Everyone laughed and offered their compliments to the new couple, and Smokescreen observed as Soundwave stood up and shook hands with Shockwave, a silent message sent through their contact.

"On that note," Megatron rose from his seat as Soundwave sat back down. "I would like to propose another toast."

Everyone lifted their glasses and waited for the Lord of the Castle to give his speech.

"The purpose of this gathering of people wasn't a Ball, it wasn't a murder, but it definitely wasn't intended as a way to meet such an incredible group of people. This has allowed me to rekindle old friendships," He tilted his glass to Optimus, Soundwave and Shockwave. "and to make some new, unlikely ones." He gestured to nearly everyone else at the table.

"While the murder wasn't what I wanted, I'm almost glad it happened. If fact, I am glad it happened. It has brought us peace, relief, and has allowed those who have left us to lie in peace as well. Despite not being invited, I am very glad all of you are here." Megatron quoted his line from the first night, and that got a few chuckles from everyone.

"I would like to offer another thank you to my spectacular staff, and a grand gesture of appreciation to Ultra Magnus and Smokescreen. That you both may live a long and happy life." Megatron lifted his glass higher. "To peace."

"To peace!"

Glasses clinked together once again, and laughter broke out as Raf broke a champagne bottle over the table that he'd managed to grab while everyone was distracted by the speech.

The remainder of dinner passed with humor, laughter and alcohol, and a few tears were even shed over their last night together. But Ultra Magnus wore a smile on his face the entire dinner, the first genuine smile since he'd arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The original plan had been to say their goodbyes that night immediently after the dinner, but several guests (Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, Starscream, and Optimus, surprisingly) had drank too much alcohol and it was decided that to be safe, they would simply leave the following morning.

Even though he hadn't had that much to drink, Smokescreen was still a little tipsy himself by the night's end. Ultra Magnus and Bumblebee had helped the young man back into his room and tucked him in for the night before stumbling into their half-made beds for their own alcohol induced sleep.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the terrible sleep he'd gotten the previous night, but Ultra Magnus was positive he'd never slept better in his life. He drifted off right away into a deep, dreamless sleep that allowed him to wake up feeling refreshed and happy.

The detective had gotten out of bed right away with a spring in his step, helping himself to the remaining coffee on the small table.

Smokescreen, on the other hand had needed a lot of convincing to get out of bed in the morning, a little reluctant to leave the Castle and its newfound comfort.

Ultra Magnus had needed to hoist him over his shoulder and walk him down the stairs towards the covered area outside where everyone was saying their goodbyes, some tearful and others full of laughter.

After Smokescreen had been placed down, he'd made his way over to Bumblebee, who was standing with Soot on his shoulder as he was talking with Dreadwing about joining the rugby team in the city.

"I think you'd be great, kid. I would be more than happy to teach you some of my special movements that aren't /technically/ legal, but no one has to know," Dreadwing winked and Bumblebee laughed as Soot croaked.

"I think I'll take you up on that," Bumblebee promised, sticking out his hand for a shake. Dreadwing pulled him in for a hug, but Smokescreen noticed that the taller man deliberately avoided the shoulder that Soot was sitting on.

After they broke the embrace, Dreadwing gave both of them a respectful nod and stepped away to talk to Megatron and Fowler.

Bumblebee turned around and jumped a little when he saw Smokescreen standing there, but he recovered quickly and pushed some of the hair out of his eyes. Smokescreen couldn't get over how beautiful his blue eyes looking in the rising sun.

"So," Smokescreen had never been very good at goodbyes. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and awkwardly kicked a rock on the ground. He watched it roll until it fell still before he was able to look back up at Bumblebee. "I guess this is it, huh?"

"It doesn't have to be," Bumblebee rolled his eyes at Smokescreen's awkward nature. He reached forward and grabbed the young detective's hand, and scribbled down his number on his sweaty palm. "call me at any time, okay?"

Smokescreen looked up and down between his palm and Bumblebee's bashful face, and the young lawyer was suddenly concerned he'd broken him.

Smokescreen surprised him when he lunged forward and captured his lips in a kiss, his arms snacking around his neck. Bumblebee recovered quickly and grabbed onto Smokescreen's hips, smiling into the kiss.

When they broke away, they were both blushing, smiling messes.

"Promise you'll call?" Bumblebee asked a little uncertain.

"I'll do you one better. You free next week Thursday for dinner and a movie?" Smokescreen wiggled his eyebrow and Bumblebee grinned brightly.

"I'll see you then," Bumblebee kissed Smokescreen on the cheek.

"It's a date," Smokescreen added dreamily as Bumblebee pulled out of his grasp. "Bye Bee. And thank you."

Bumblebee paused. "What for?"

"For being a great friend. For being there for me when I needed it." Smokescreen dug his hands back into his pockets, unsure of what to do with them now that Bumblebee had walked out of his grasp.

Bumblebee smiled sincerely. "Of course. I'll see you next week, Smokey."

Meanwhile, Shockwave and Soundwave had been watching from afar, adding commentary as the two young lovers went back and forth until Bumblebee pulled away to say his goodbyes to Raf and the other kids.

"Young love is so beautiful," Shockwave said almost without thinking. "with any luck theirs will last."

Soundwave looked at him curiously, his head tilting to the side as he waited for Shockwave to continue.

"Statistically, they'll break up. Most young love doesn't work out; through their jobs or interests or simply loss of feelings, the odds are against them. They may believe themselves to be above the normal, different from the others, but in reality they are exactly the same. It is illogical to think any different."

Soundwave placed a hand on his shoulder, and he watched as the scientist worked to piece together his body language, forming his own conversation just from that.

"I know. We were like that, but perhaps without all the PDA. Disgusting, really, that one could be so open about their relationship." Shockwave looked away for a moment, then looked back.

"You explained a lot in your letter, Soundwave, but you never owed me an explanation."

Soundwave perked up at this. Before when they had discussed the letter or even talked at all it was mostly just 'thank you', so if Shockwave was ready to talk about it, then Soundwave was ready to listen.

"A small, illogical part of me wonders what life would be like if we were still together," Shockwave began. He looked around between the happy couples: Wheeljack and Bulkhead, Knock Out and Dreadwing (minus the murder), Optimus and Ratchet, and Fowler and June. He smiled as he saw Airachnid and Starscream having their own deep conversation.

"That same part of me will always love you, Soundwave. But you have moved on and so have I. Starscream has been more than a great husband to you and Airachnid will prove to be a great companion and supporter to me. But I wish you the best." Shockwave pulled a letter out of his pocket. The paper was a deep red with golden writing, opposite to what Soundwave's had been. "This letter will explain it a lot better than I could with my words."

Soundwave took the letter wordlessly. He tucked it into his pocket, giving the man before him a nod that meant he would read it later.

"Good," Shockwave didn't reach out to shake Soundwave's hand, didn't smile or frown. His face was impassive and blank, much like Soundwave's own. "have a safe trip home Soundwave."

Soundwave stared at the letter in his hands, his fingers itching to open it. He would make Starscream drive home he decided, so that he could read the letter on the way home and contemplate it the rest of the way.

"Hey, K.O," The red-haired doctor turned at the sound of his name. He wasn't very surprised to see Wheeljack standing there, his scared mouth set in his signature smirk. "you got a minute?"

"Anything for you, Jackie." Knock Out replied, falling into step beside the engineer as they walked away from the group a few paces.

"Yeah, don't call me that. That's for Bulk to call me and Bulk only."

"I'll call you whatever I want W.J."

"That doesn't have a good ring to it."

"Yeah, you're right."

Wheeljack rolled his eyes and chuckled, and Knock Out joined in with a laugh of his own. Silence settled between them as Wheeljack crossed his arms and looked out onto the horizon. Knock Out felt a small sense of deja vu big ignored it, settling for looking out too.

"You gonna be okay?" Wheeljack asked after a while. "With your husband being a murder type of thing."

"Well, I think I'll need to make an effort to not think about it, or slip up and tell the police about it if I get pulled over for speeding or busted in street racing again. It happens more often than you think." Knock Out ignored Wheeljack's surprised look. "But I mean, sometimes people die on my operating table. Is it my fault? No. But sometimes it feels like it does."

"Yeah, I get that." Wheeljack agreed even though he didn't get that. There's no possible way he could. "Are you that bad of a surgeon that someone dies during a boob implant?"

Knock Out punched him on the arm for that one. "No you fool; I do skin grafts or facial reconstruction, and sometimes the stress is too much for the body to handle. Sometimes they just give out."

"And here I was thinkin' you would be the right guy to go for a butt enlargement. Now I guess I'll have to find someone else." Wheeljack continued to joke as he noticed a few tears in Knock Out's eyes at the mentioning of his lost patients and failures.

"I think Bulkhead would kill you for that. You already got a great ass."

"Why thank you. I think so too."

"But anyway, after a failed surgery, I always come home crying to Dreadwing, always. I've had my license for how many years and still cry like a baby whenever I loose someone. Dreadwing's dealt with my 'murder' all this time, I think I'll be able to handle his one case."

Wheeljack hummed in agreement, his hands falling to his hips.

Now it was Knock Out's turn to ask the question. "Did it give you any sort of peace? To know that your sister and nephew will be at peace now?"

"Of course," Wheeljack answered quickly, his voice full of confidence and strength. "I'm not the prayin' type, but I prayed everyday that my sister's killer would be brought to justice, and he was. I've never been more grateful in my life."

"You're welcome." Knock Out taunted.

"You didn't do shit." Wheeljack countered.

"I know." Knock Out leaned closer and pressed his head against Wheeljack's shoulder, and Wheeljack placed the side of his head on top of the doctor's.

"We're gonna be okay." Wheeljack promised to the both of them.

"Yeah, I think we are."

The sun was high in the sky as the last of the goodbyes were said, everyone shoving their luggage back into their car and getting ready to drive back home.

Ultra Magnus pushed as hard as he could on the suitcase, trying to compact them all enough that they would fit.

"It worked so much better on the way here!" Smokescreen complained as he struggled to close the trunk of the car.

Ultra Magnus didn't respond until finally Smokescreen managed to slam the trunk shut, jumping in the air and pressing down on it with all his might. They leaned against the trunk to catch their breath, relieved that they had finally gotten this damn trunk to close.

Ultra Magnus, in his effort to catch his breath, looked back up at the Castle and realized there was one last thing he must do.

"You get the car started, okay?" Ultra Magnus told Smokescreen over his shoulder as he began walking back towards the Castle. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Where are you going?" Smokescreen demanded. "We're holding up everyone else!"

"Just five minutes, okay?" Ultra Magnus ordered, and he began to jog a little faster up the driveway.

Megatron was standing just outside the door, the rest of his staff beside him. He raised an eyebrow as Ultra Magnus made a move to open the door.

"Forger something, detective?" The Lord asked, and Ultra Magnus shrugged, pushing past him.

"In a manner of speaking. I'll only be a moment." The detective promised as he stepped back into the empty Castle.

The silence was deafening, the only real sound made came from Ultra Magnus's soft footsteps as he walked into the center of the first room, directly under the massive chandelier and on the center of the beautiful floor.

"Silas," Ultra Magnus spoke out, knowing he would receive no answer. At least, he hoped so.

"I swore to you that I would bring justice to your death, and I have done so. You got every piece of justice you deserved; nothing more nothing less."

Ultra Magnus distantly heard the sound of the Ball music that had been playing when Bumblebee had burst into the Ball, screaming of murder.

"You have done so many terrible things, robbing others of their loved ones and your own family." Ultra Magnus said next.

His brain reminded him of another memory, the sound of Predaking's massive roar.

"Your death was not in vain, but let's allow the world think it was. For my first ever unsolved case, I'm happy it was for you."

Silas's own chilling voice in his mind, saying words there's no way Ultra Magnus knew if he said or not, but the terrible phrases sounded right on his lips.

Ultra Magnus said nothing for a moment, his feet pressed firmly against the ground and his hands balled into fists. He took a deep breath, his eyes closing as he inhaled and exhaled slowly.

He opened his eyes and his mind felt clear, and more importantly, free.

"I have done what I promised to do." Ultra Magnus said again. "May Unicron find a home for you beside his throne."

Flipping off the massive open area of the Castle, Ultra Magnus stepped back outside.

Megatron gave him a knowing look, but said nothing. Ultra Magnus appreciated that.

Ultra Magnus gave his final goodbyes to them all, giving the children hugs and firmly shaking June, Fowler and Megatron's hands.

He climbed into the passenger seat of the car, smiling at Smokescreen.

"Let's go home." The detective said happily, and Smokescreen cranked up the radio and put the car in drive.

"Home it is," the junior detective agreed.

They began the line of cars heading back towards the city, Predaking flying over them and Megatron and his staff waving goodbye until all the cars disappeared from view.