Title: Survivalism

Author: Mini-Bot

Series: Movieverse/AU

Rating: Mature

Disclaimer: OCs belong to me. The Transformers belong to their respective owners.

I met sixteen of the most important cybertronians in my life about three hundred stellar cycles ago. They took me in after the wretched Autobots cast me out for being something they referred to as a "half breed". I wasn't even sure what I was, but the Decepticons didn't seem to care that I was different.

With them, I was never judged or mistreated for the way I was created. Perhaps, it was because the 'Cons were all outcasts in some way, themselves.

I can't remember exactly how I first got to Decepticon territory. All I can remember is waking up to a face that, at first, frightened me.

My vision was blurred, but I could tell who he was. I'd heard many awful stories about him. Stories that Autobot parental units would tell their younglings, so they would not venture out too far from their territories.

It was the face of one of the most feared Decepticons on the planet. Air Commander, Starscream, Megatron's traitorous second in command. Skilled fighter, murderer, egomaniac, liar...

Yet, the voice that spoke to me sounded nothing like the way he was portrayed in the stories, but rather a mech who genuinely cared about my, a random Autobot femme's, well being.

"Are you alright?" he asked running his claw over my forehead gingerly.

I couldn't speak, but I managed a nod to let him know I was indeed functioning.

"Dreadwing is going to do a few more repairs on you before we allow your normal repair functions to take over. He's never encountered a creature such as yourself, so fixing you up was quite difficult for him. You're extraordinary." The commander said turning away from me toward a computer that probably displayed my vitals.

I tried to focus my optics, so I could better see the 'Con, but to no avail. My optics had not yet returned to their functional state.

My struggle to see him didn't last long, as I fell back into a state of recharge.

In fact, I was in and out of recharge mode for quite some time, after that.

The medic looking after me told me, in one of my "awake" periods, that it was normal after the damage I had sustained.

The short cycles I was awake at a time, I pondered the many possibilities of my "sustained damage", and how the damage came about, but my processor drew a blank. What happened to me, I could not remember.

"Your *zzst* processor took critical *zzsst* damage. It will *zzst* be a long time before you remember *zzzzt* a lot of your past," the medic had said to me, as he fiddled around with some lethal looking instruments strewn out on a table beside me.

I was afraid of him. I was afraid of what was going to happen to me. At the same time, I was curious. Curious as to why these Decepticons were helping me, and not inflicting even more pain upon me.

Two orns had passed, since I first awoke in the Decepticon medical bay. There was no telling how much time had actually passed before that first awakening.

When I awoke this time, I was back to a one hundred percent functional state. I was able to see, hear, and speak clearly again.

I was alone in the medical bay.

I made myself believe for a moment that I was still in Autobot territory, and maybe I had dreamed the whole ordeal. However, the Decepticon symbol on the medic pack next to me told me differently.

I sat up in the berth, and peered around the room.

I wasn't sure what to do. Should I stay there, and hope that I wouldn't be interrogated to death for information that I did not carry? Should I run? Hide? Off-line myself to be free of this entire nightmare that I called a life? I was so lost and confused.

Just as I was about to get to my feet, the door opened, and in came a purple mech with a single yellow optic in the middle of his head followed by the Decepticon Lord, Megatron.

From that moment, I believed I would be sent to the scrap heap, for sure.

Before they turned their attention to me, I quickly laid back down, and pretended to be deep in recharge. This would give me a chance to listen in to what they had to say about me before deciding what I should do.

"She wears the Autobot symbol, my liege. However, someone clearly wanted her out of the picture by the way she looked when Blackout first brought her here. Dreadwing and I worked for mega cycles trying to figure out her hardware and how to repair it." the slightly smaller mech mentioned to the Decepticon Leader.

"Did you find out what she is exactly?" Megatron asked.

"Not entirely, my lord. We've concluded that she is at least one half Cybertronian, with the second half still undetermined. The tests show something of an organic nature. A direct origin is unknown, and untraceable in the data files, but I will continue my research."

"Hmmm... A half breed? Is she the only one of her kind?"

"Difficult to say. I've never even heard of an organic crossed with a Cybertronian before, which leads me to believe that she is indeed a very rare breed. At least, on this planet. What surprises me is the fact that she bares the symbol of an Autobot. I was always lead to believe they despised organics of any type."

"Perhaps she is an experimental creation that escaped her masters. Regardless, I am intrigued. I wish to speak with her the moment she awakes." Megatron stated starting for the door.

I let a small noise escape from my throat to let them know I was awake, or, at least, about to wake up.

My curiosity at Megatron's fascination got the best of me. I wanted to know what he wanted to talk about.

I waited a moment then opened my optics, hoping I was not met by the business end of a heavy weapon. Instead, I was met by two brightly glowing red optics and the face of the Decepticon leader.

I was once told Megatron likes to look his victims in the optics before he makes them suffer slow, painful deaths.

At the thought, I accidentally let out a tiny squeak, and shut my optics tightly.

"What's your name, femme?" he questioned ignoring my reaction to his close presence.

I let one optic slide open. He was standing beside the berth, peering down at me. Motionless. He was waiting for my response to a simple inquiry.

"C-C-Crystal," I stuttered. I was surprised I even remembered my name, but it just sort of came out.

"Crystal, huh? Tell me, do you happen to remember anything about your life?"

I shook my head nervously.

Aside from my name, I honestly could not remember a single detail about my life. Who were my parental units? My friends? My teachers? I had no memory of any of those things, whatsoever.

"I c-can't r-r-remember."

"In time, I'm sure your memories will return to you. I do hope I can be around you, so we may..."

Before he could finish, the door whooshed opened, and the Air Commander followed by two smaller mechs entered the room.

"Lord Megatron, some Autobot warriors are here demanding we release the femme," Starscream said followed by a low growl.

"It's been orns since her disappearance, and they are just now coming to claim her? Shocking. Usually, they are banging at our doors much, much sooner, when a disappearance takes place. Even, when we aren't responsible."

"Well, she must be important to someone, and that someone believes we have her, which we do. He demands that we release her, at once, otherwise we will have to go before the Cybertronian council faced with various criminal charges." Starscream literally spat out the last of his sentence.

"Release her? They act like we are holding her hostage. Since when has medically aiding someone become a crime?" he replied.

Megatron turned his attention back to me.

"Do you wish to return to the Autobots?" he asked locking optics with me.

Even if I wasn't sure what had happened to me, the very mention of going back to the Autobots scared me.

"No!" I shouted.

The mechs in the room all had their optics glued to me. They appeared to be surprised at my reaction. I was surprised at my reaction, but something inside me told me not to go back.

"Well, there you have it, Starscream. Tell them we do have the femme, but she chooses to live among us. They have no authority over her life, now. That ended when she entered this territory."

"And, if they have a snark counter attack comment involving the Cybertronian police and forcibly removing the femme from our territory?"

"Take care of them," Megatron growled.

Starscream did not say another word, but instead turned and exited with the smaller mechs that had followed him in.

"Shockwave, fix her up with some fresh armor and anything else she may need."

"Yes, My Lord."

The purple mech extended his hand to me.

I took it with little hesitation. My fear for the Decepticons was very slowly starting to wear off.

"Come, darling. We will get you fixed up."

"I believe it is time for a proper welcome, Crystal," Megatron voiced standing at the end of a grand table.

I was in a large room dining with Megatron, and his finest warriors.

He had me sit by him, even though the seat was reserved for the second in command. Starscream didn't seem to mind giving up his seat for me.

"I want to introduce you to my finest soldiers, and welcome you to Kaon, the capital city of Decepticon territory." he said slipping an arm around my shoulders.

Megatron went down the line, pointing to each mech as he told me their designations and rank. "Starscream: Second in Command and Leader of the Seekers, Blackout: Third in Command and Heavy Weapon Specialist, Soundwave: Head of Communications, Shockwave: Head of the Science Division, Barricade: Head of Security, Dreadwing: Chief Medical Officer, Brawl: Weapons Specialist and my own personal pet weapon, Bonecrusher: Battle Strategist, Thundercracker: Seeker, Skywarp: Seeker, Blitzwing: Seeker, Blackarachnia: Spy and our leading femmey, Frenzy: Mini-Con, Rumble: Mini-Con, and Ravage: The entertainment."

I studied each of them carefully.

These were Megatron's most finest soldiers. Soldiers that would follow him without question. Kill for him without question. Die for him without question. Soldiers that Megatron, himself, trusted with every ounce of his being. They were his everything, as they soon became my everything.

Through the stellar cycles that followed, they cared for me; trained me; taught me how to defend myself; and, most importantly, loved me like no other being had ever loved me before. But, the wretched Autobots took them away from me. All of them.

The disagreements between Autobots and Decepticons had turned into a full blown planetary war.

Sentinel Prime, the leader of the Autobots believed we were corrupt Cybertronians, that Primus himself would slaughter had he been physically present. He believed it was his duty to rid Cybertron of such corruptions.

Naturally, the Cybertronian High Council took his side, though they were meant to remain neutral.

They granted him and his army small rations of blue energon, which super powers any mech or femme that ingests it. We were not prepared for that kind of power. Even the strongest of us fell.

Soon, there were few of us left. Those that were left were encouraged to find the launch site of an underground ship called the Nemesis. If they were able to make it to the ship, before it's final departure from Cybertron, there was hope for them. Any that were left behind, were doomed.

I was not one of the lucky ones to find the Nemesis, but I was one of the lucky ones to make it off the planet before total Decepticon destruction.

I stumbled upon a small transport vessel, in my last search of Kaon, the fallen Decepticon capital.

With the cover of darkness, I escaped that hell, and began my new lonely space traveling life.

For stellar cycles, I had searched space for survivors, or traces of survivors.

That is how I found myself here, in this unknown part of the universe far, far away from Cybertronian life.

My ship was badly damaged, and on the verge of total shut down. My stored energon rations were reaching a critical low. I, myself, was on the brink of total insanity. I had nothing left. Nothing to keep going for, with the exception of the low possibility that maybe a single 'Con still lived.

I drifted in and out of consciousness.

My happy place was my dreams. Dreams of being back in the arms of a 'Con, any 'Con.

The ship alerting me of an approaching planet and the fact it was low on fuel woke me from the dream state I was in.

Up ahead was a mostly blue planet with hints of green and white. It looked promising enough. Perhaps, a planet I could locate some resources on. I decided to take the chance, as my ship would fail long before I came across another planet.

This is where my story truly begins.