Sam - Evening! Alright alright I promised Syndrome I wouldn't put another one of his memory files online. But I read through this one and it was sweet! He'll forgive me later... Well he won't have to if he doesn't know I'm doing it! Roll the Disclaimer!

DISCLAIMER - I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS BUT I OWN THE CHARECTERS IN THE FLICK! SYNDROME, FLASH, NAPALM, CANNONBALL AND ALL THE OTHERS ARE OF MY DESIGN! Oh but the mentioning of the Nexus and Nighthunter Skydive? They belong to my friend ToaVeka... heh...

-Designation : Syndrome-

-Commence Memory Playback-

Syndrome - Aussy Spazz

"Excuse me... could you tell me the fastest route to the youth zone?" Another neutral looked down its nose at the youngling in discust. Without even speaking, everyone nearby moved away. The child sighed, slinking back into the shadows of the allyway.

It was dark now. The only light that could be seen were two lime green pin pricks in the darkness of the street. Thunder sounded above and the streets started to get littered upon with rain. Mechs and femmes alike ran to find shelter, passing by a youngling as it searched a nearby trashcan for scraps of energon that might have been left in the bottom of a discarded cube. Nobody took pity on the child as it jumped down and ran to another, eventually giving up and crawling under a bench, shivering from the cold.

"Another night without food..." the youngling spoke to himself, pulling his knees closer in an attempt to stay warm. He shivered again. It was going to be another long cold night, just like all the other nights had been for the past cycles. He didn't care anymore. No one was coming for him. A cold blue changed his optics as he sat alone in the darkness of the night.

'You're nothing!'

The child whimpered, remembering the last words his creators had told him. The argument was still fresh in his mind, despite the loud rumbles of thunder and the occasional crack of lightning. The rain thudded down on the ground, flooding underneath the bench, surrounding him.

'You're a worthless pile of scrap Syndrome! Your a freak of nature! I'm ashamed to be your creator!' Syndrome tried desperately not to shed a tear, curling up into a ball tighter. He shut his optics tightly, covering his audio receptors with his small hands.

"Shut up shut up shut up!" he squeaked loudly, trying to block out the shouts inside his mind and the loud thunder rumbling overhead again. The thunder reminded him of the loud booming voice of his father as he stomped through the door after a hard days work. A flash of lightning made him cringe and whimper. It reminded him of the last thing he used to see before his father hit his optics out...

"Threre! Ya happy now Storm? I was a street mech! A Dero! alright!" Syndrome ran out of the rec room, his stealth kicking in halfway through the door, turning him invisible. Firestorm stood on the otherside of the room, shocked, stunned at what Syndrome had just blurted out. The room was quiet. Nobody spoke, too shocked or just waiting for someone else to break the silence.

"Wow... You've done it this time"

Firestorm turned to face Bullet. The silver mech had lost his usual chirpy smile for now, instead was a look of utter discust.

"I Hope your happy with yourself Storm" Airstrike added, scowling. The two left the room together to catch up with the distraut saboteur. Everyone else just sat, not moving, their optics still placed on the joint Second in command. Firestorm panicked.

"What are you all staring at! Get back to your duties!" He quickly left the room.

Syndrome sat on the berth in the corner of his room, the lights dimmed to their lowest setting so he could just see. The brightness in his lime green optics was gone, instead they were replaced by a faded blue. His body colour had changed from his usual dark grey to a deep red. He was so embarrised! He was a lost cause, a skint wanderer that had lived outside the town for most of his life! Why should they treat him the same now?

"I'm a freak..." Syndrome whispered to himself as tears flooded his berth below. Feelings like this wern't uncommon to him, but to show them wasn't so easy. He was a low life... someone who raided trash cans and pick pocketed for a living. Life hadn't been easy for him. He was also the only bot alive with his 'unique' capabilites, making him even more lonely. Sure, others could activate stealth, but he had designed his morphing capabilities himself... No one else had them! He was alone on that matter... He shut his optics, turning on his stealth as the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

"Go away Firestorm! I don't wanna hear it!"

"Its us Drome! Bullet and Airstrike!"

Syndrome gasped. His friends...

"Come on Syndrome let us in!"

'Tell them to rack off Drome... You don't need them to take pity on you...'

Instead of listening to the voice in the back of his head which had been his only companion for many vorns, Syndrome clicked a button on a remote, unlocking the door automatically. Bullet and Airstrike looked round before entering. They couldn't see him...

"Dude? Where are you?"

Syndrome squeaked, then replied "Here..."

"We can't see through your stealth bro. Come on turn it off"

'Heh... They're not related to you... Don't show yourself then eventually they'll give up and leave...'

Syndrome hesitated, then obliged, ignoring the voice yet again. He stayed in his curled up position, squinting at the light from the hallway lit him up like the 4th of July. He brought a hand to cover his optics, till the usual hiss of the door sliding shut blocked him back into the darkness. Airstrike and Bullet immeadiatly walked over, sitting down on the berth. Syndrome buried his head into his knees, his body colour morphing from the dark red to a pale white.

"Drome..." Neither of them knew what to say. Syndrome looked up and blinked, trying to remove the leftover tears in his optics. He felt a sudden jerk in his back then everything clicked.

'Don't give in to their sympathy! Give em a piece of yer mind go on! Show em what an outsiders really like!'

"Betcha gonna think that because I lived outside in the bush I'm used to bush tucker and not pommie food like bikkies and cherry ripes"

"Huh?"

"Woah..." Bullet moved back a bit "You alright Syndrome?"

Syndrome moved forward, his optics turning a slight shade of red. Airstrike shifted backwards as well in shock.

"Just because I'm a dero doesn't mean I ain't been in the big smoke ya know!"

"Syndrome what in Primus are you saying!? calm down!"

"Why! Ya gonna dob in ta Firestorm ya drongo! Fess up! Ya think that coz I used ta be a battler livin off freebies ya can dob me in ta that dill! fess up!"

Airstrike jumped up "I'm getting out of here!"

Bullet followed in suit. Syndrome stood up, his red optics deepening and his anger as his shook his fists in the air at the retreating pair.

"Fine! Choof off then!"

They did. The two mechs left immeadiatly, leaving Syndrome alone in the darkness once again. Syndrome fell backwards and leant against the wall, sliding down it until he was on the floor. He blinked, his optics returning to their normal green selves. He breathed deeply, trying his best to get a grip on himself.

"Crikey... what was that?"

'You listened to me. It's about time you started to again...'

Syndrome looked up. The voice in his head...

"What?"

'Oh come on Drome... Who's been there for you and helped you through every situation? Me. Remember the name you gave me when ya was just a sparkling?'

Syndrome thought back then clicked his fingers "Stormcrow?"

'Yes...'

"That was scary!"

"I know! What happened to him?"

"No idea..." Bullet looked at his jet friend "But we need to tell Firestorm. He's in charge until Sam and Cannonball get back"

Airstrike looked back at his comrade "We can't! Don't you remember the humungous fallout they just had!"

"Also true... But who else are we gonna tell? Napalm can't do anything about it, Flash is too frightened to talk to him after that spazz anyway and the double Ds are probably recharging somewhere!"

"What about Grindz?"

"Nah..." Bullet shook his head "Can't risk him having another breakdown. He's got enough on his mind as it is"

"Skartplug?"

"Repairing" Airstrike tilted his head slightly "Repairing? Repairing who?"

"Himself. Him and Napalm ran into trouble on their last supply run apparantly"

"What? How do you know this?"

"I was in the medbay when he came crawling in! Literally!"

Airstrike sighed as the two bots reached their shared quarters. The lights were already on, illuminating the room brightly and showing its contents clearly.

"Well he's the only one I can think of that will be able to help..." He slouched into an armchair. Bullet dove onto the sofa, landing sideways.

The two sat in silence for a good ten minutes, until Airstrike finally stood up. Bullet had dozed off in the time, but a quick flick on the helm had him whirring to life instantly.

"Where you goin Strike?..."

"To tell Skartplug. I can't sit around whilst our friend suffars"

Bullet nodded in recognision, then waited for his friend to leave the room before he shut off his optics.

"I hope he's ok..."

"Oh my god ewwww!" a femme screamed, jolting the sparkling awake from another rough night. Before he had time to wake up properly and remember where he was, a datapad connected with his faceplates, sending him sprawling across the ground.

"Kill it! Kill it!" the femme screamed as a mech grabbed his arm plating. The child whimpered as his fingers dug into the circuitry, then screamed as the armour was pulled off.

"Get outta here you outsider! Your kind isn't wanted here!" The mech shouted, obviously trying to sound impressive infront of the femme. He didn't need to tell him twice! Syndrome was gone before he had finished his sentence, clutching his wounded arm and wrist. The mech had completely pulled the small light plate off, exposing his circuitry to the world. Plotting a route to the nearest allyway, the small sparkling ran down the streets, mechs and femmes alike gasping and ewwing him as they moved out of the way like he had a catchable disease.

The ally was reached in a record time, and immeadiatly Syndrome fell to the ground, catching his breath. His body was a dark shade of grey...

"Slag..." He quickly opened a panel in his other arm, wincing after having to use his damaged one. He fumbled over a few buttons for a while, eventually giving up and leaving it.

"Stop changing with my emotions! I created you so I could disappear and look different for when I go to the market place! Not so you can glitch up on me and change my body colour when you feel like it..."

'It suits you'

Syndrome looked up and around quickly. "W-whos there?"

'I am...'

"W-where are you?"

'Up here...'

Syndrome looked up. There was no one there...

'Not up there you dimwit! Inside your head!'

Syndrome tapped his helm. Was he hearing things?

'Yes in here...'

"H-how did you get inside my head?"

'I've always been here. You've just never spoken to me until now'

"D-do you have a name?"

'Nope. But I don't see why I shouldn't have a name seeing as I'm a part of you. Why don't you name me?'

Syndrome sat down beside the dumpster to think. What could he name his little voice inside his head? He looked up at the sky. It was going to rain again. Storm...

His thoughts shifted to an animal he'd heard one of the warrior femmes from Earth speak about. It was a black bird which was meant to being bad luck. Well he was always having back luck so...

"How about Stormcrow?"

'Stormcrow... I like it... From now on you may call me Stormcrow Syndrome...'

'You remember that?'

Syndrome smiled like a youngling "I do now... I'm sorry I've kicked ya aft outta the way Stormcrow..."

'No worries. Just don't do it again. It's lonely up here you know...'

"I won't!"

To : Skartplug - Freelancer Medic
From : Napalm
Subject : Great Night

Message :

Hey, hope your feeling better.

Thought I'd say thanks for a great night. We should go back to Orion more often. Oh and thanks for the repairs, They're holding up just fine. If you're up to it, how bout you pop by later? Flash is going out with Firestorm to the Nexus so I'm stuck on my own. We can have a couple of drinks and just chat if you want. I managed to convince Firestorm to let us both have the cycle off, so don't worry about working today. Alright I better go, Flash is waking up.

Napalm.

P.S - Thanks for the hangover cure. Tell Nighthunter Skydive he's a legend for sending some over at such short notice.

"Heh... will do Napalm..."

Skartplug smiled, reading the email he'd recived from Napalm. He was only a few doors down, but neither of them felt like moving today. Last night had been brillient. Skartplug smiled, remembering the events that had happened in only a few Earth hours. They had gone to the Orion bar to chill out. Instead, They both ended up in a contest which ended in a brawl. In english - They had both gottn completely drunk and started a bar fight. Skartplug chuckled, something not really recognisable with the dark medbot.

"Good times..."

"Skarts?" Airstrike's voice wavered as he tapped on the door. Skartplug quickly hid the message on his computer and brought up some medical files. His smile disappeared as he looked towards the door.

"Yes?"

Airstrike entered the room. He didn't waste time with pleasentries and went straight to the point.

"I don't know if you know about what happened earlier, but Syndrome and Firestorm had a little argument..."

Skartplug nodded "Yes I know full well about that"

Airstrike chuckled nervously at the comment, then continued "Well.. me and Bullet went to see if he was alright and he flipped out on us! We think there's something wrong with him but I thought I'd ask you..."

That got the medbots attention. He leaned forward in his chair "Expain what you mean by 'flipped out'"

"Erm... well he kept saying things..."

"What kind of things?"

"I dunno really... words and phrases we've never heard before..."

"Such as?" Airstrike had a think, trying to remember some words he had spoken "Erm... drongo... choof off... bush tucker... Dero..."

"Woah wo stop there. Dero? Drongo?"

"That's exactly what we throught but seeing as you're reletively smarter than we are..."

Skartplug smiled "The words don't sound familier. Hang on I'll look them up" he turned to his computer. Sam had always told them about the Internet, but he had never any intentions on using it. Airstrike looked at the screen, just as the email from Napalm came up. Skartplug quickly closed it but Airstrike had already read it.

"Great Night? Couple of drinks? Where did you really go last night?"

"Nowhere... Just a supply run..."

Airstrike crossed his arms over his chest plate. "Oh really?"

Skartplug snapped under the pressure "Alright! We went to Orion for a couple of drinks!"

"That place is dangerous Skarts!"

"I know! But it also does the best triple highgrade cocktail around here. Now without further ado..." The two bots went back to the computer. Skartplug typed in a website and it came up almost instantly, a large multi coloured word with a box underneath.

"Google? What the heck is that?!"

"Its a human search engine" Skartplug typed in 'Dictionary definition for 'Dero' into the box and hit search. Airstrike tilted his head.

"And what the heck is a dictionary!?"

"Sush! I'm trying to read!" Skartplug pressed the first link. A white webpage came up, along with every letter of the alphabet. "Alright Deros spelt with a 'D' so..." he pressed the hyperlink on the D. Airstrike peered over his shoulder as they both read the information on what Syndrome had been saying.

"...What?"

'He shouldn't of accused you of that...'

"I know... but he did"

'That isn't fair at all Drome...'

"Heh... Lifes never been fair Crow..."

Firestorm listened through his comrades door. He was talking to himself. Firestorm had originally come down to apologize, but it seemed the saboteur didn't want to see him right now.

'You should give him a piece of your mind!'

"What? I can't he's higher ranked than me!"

'And your point is?'

"I can't!"

'Drome...' Stormcrow suddenly spoke quietly 'You do know he's outside right?'

"What?" Syndrome looked up, sitting cross legged on the ground. Sure enough, there was a dark shadow behind the door. He quickly looked at his room. The floor was covered with pictures he had found stashed away somewhere in his piles of datapads. Most of them had been ripped apart or drawn over. He picked one up. It was his acadamy class. He was the only one in the group standing alone. Everyone else was standing together and smiling. Syndrome was trying his best to smile in the picture, but it was obvious he wasn't happy.

'They are what started this... Thanks to them you're alone'

The red returned to Syndromes optics as he stared at the photo, Stormcrow whispering things into his ear.

'Look to the right of that picture...' Syndrome did do, his optics landing on another picture taken not too long ago.

It was a picture of him and Firestorm, standing side by side. Syndrome had his arm around his friends shoulders, laughing about something. Firestorm was smiling with a thumb up.

'Tell me what you see...'

"I-I see me and Firestorm..."

'Now remember what he did to you. Remember all the pain he made you feel, all the embarrisment of making you admit you used to live on the streets infront of everyone...'

Syndrome started exhausting angrily. His vents sucked in air deeply to try and stop his circuits from overheating. His red optics deepened as he continued to stare at the photo.

'Tell me... what do you see now?'

"I see... I see a traitor... A backstabbing glitch... An enimy!" Syndrome shouted and threw the framed photo. The glass and frame shattered then collapsed on the ground.

Firestorm jumped, hearing the crash. Slowly, he backed away from the door. It opened, revealing Syndrome, his optics red and his body a midnight blue.

"S-Syndrome?"

Syndrome wasted no time with words. He immeadiatly jumped a Firestorm, tackling him to the ground and ripping open anything he could get his hands on. Metal and wires alike flew in different directions as Syndrome continued his attack. Firestorm screamed and tried to push the mad bot off, but to no anvil. Syndrome had his arms pinned underneath him.

"Syndrome its me!"

"Don't talk to me ya nong!"

'Syndrome... To your left theres a coolant pipe leading to the ships main engines. Break it off and freeze that glitch before he can call for help!'

Syndrome complied to Stormcrows orders, smashing into the wall grabbing a small red pipe. He broke it easily and bent it downwards, his finger over the top of it. Firestorm panicked.

"Drome don't! Y-you trying to kill me!?"

"Yes! Now hurry up and kark it!" he released the liquid, sending it sprawling onto Firestorm. Firestorms body hissed and started smoking, being reacted to something so cold. He writhed and screamed, the freezing liquid dripping down through the gaps in his armour. Syndrome just stared, his grip firmly on the pipe as the liquid continued to flow.

"Syndrome! Stop! Please! Stop!" Firestorm cried out, followed by a continuous scream. His frame was shaking and writhing. He had to get away from the coldness of the coolant before it extinguished his spark like water on a flame.

"What.. what am I doing?" Syndrome whispered to himself, seeing Firestorm under his grip, the pipe spewing out the goey neon mix.

'Don't stop Syndrome... Remember what he did to you...'

Syndrome remembered and snapped back into his madness, pulling the pipe further and into Firestorms shoulder. Firestorm's optics flickered and his vocaliser cracked as he desperatly tried to remove the piping from his arm.

"S-Stop! P-Please!"

"Shut Up!"

"SYNDROME! WHAT IN PRIMUS'S NAME ARE YOU DOING!?"

Syndrome looked up. Skartplug and Airstrike came into veiw. It was his turn to panic.

'Run Syndrome! Activate your stealth and leave the ship! Its your only chance!'

Syndrome did what Stormcrow commanded, activating his stealth. He released the pipe leaving it bent over Firestorm and stood up, running in the opposite direction towards the loading bays. He didn't look back as he ran, Firestorms screams still echoing throughout the ship.

"Firestorm!" Airstrike was the first to reach him. He quickly moved the pipe away, it's contents now spilling onto the floor. Firestorm's cries died down, but he continued to shake and struggle aganist an invisible enimy. Skartplug arrived and immeadiatly fell to his side, taking out several dianostic devices from his field pack.

"Airstrike get that coolant under control and call Napalm! I need him to help me get Firestorm back to the medbay!"

"I-is he gonna be alright?"

"There's no time for questions! Just do as I ask!"

Airstrike nodded, grabbing the pipe and clogging it with a cloth Skartplug passed him. The pipe continued to drip dangerously, but he eventually bent it back into the wall near the other half. He radioed Napalm about what had happened as he soldered the pipe back into place.

"What?! I'm on my way now!" Napalm cut the line. Flash sat up on his berth.

"W-whats going on?"

Napalm ran to the door "Syndrome went mad and nearly killed Firestorm! I gotta go help I need you to stay here!"

Flash panicked "H-here? O-on my own?"

Napalm sighed impaitently "I'll radio Bullet to come stay with you alright!? It'll only be a few minutes before he gets here!"

"B-but Napalm.."

"NO BUTS FLASH! I DON'T HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS THIS!"

Flash whimpered, crawling into the corner of his berth. His optics glazed over as his frame shook in fear. Napalm sighed irritably.

"Oh for goodness sake Flash grow up!" with that he left the room. The door hissed shut and immeadiatly Flash broke down. He didn't like it when Napalm shouted at him... He didn't want to be a burdan...

"I-I'm s-sorry Napalm..."

"W-what have I done?!"

'You just settled the score... that is all...'

"Settle the score! Crikey Crow I almost killed 'im!"

'But you didn't, thus, the score is settled'

"The guys highly reactive to the cold and you told me to wash him through with coolant! I-I" Syndrome trailed off, trying to get a grip on himself.

'Well how was I supposed to know that?'

The grey bot sat down on an asteroid which happened to be floating around nearby. He looked at his shaking hands. There were dents where he had pummled to wall to grab the pipe and small traces of coolant still on them. He clenched them into fists.

"The thing is Crow... I-I wanted to..."

'To do what my dear Syndrome?'

"I wanted... At that time... I wanted to kill him... I was just so angry I..." He clenched his fists tighter, trying desperatly to forget what he had just done.

'I can understand that... He exposed you... But what is done is done. It cannot be changed. Remember; Always look forward...'

"...Never look back..." Syndrome finished his sentence. Stormcrow was right again. What had been done was done. He couldn't reverse it even if he wanted to.

"Who's there?"

Syndrome looked up, seeing a red bot appearing from behind a small formation of asteroids. The bot immeadiatly spied the saboteur and raised his weapon.

"What are you doing all the way out here Syndrome?"

"I could ask the same to you... Drillz"

Drillz lowered his weapon, seeing no resistance in his enimy. Syndrome sighed. If he was going to kill him then so be it. At least this nightmare would be over.

'Who's this Syndrome?'

"It's Drillz. He's the leader of the Convicts"

'The.. Convicts?'

"Yeah. They're in my memory banks somewhere..."

Drillz looked around "Who are you talking to?"

"Huh? Oh Stormcrow. He's my friend inside my mind" Syndrome tapped his helm. Drillz didn't press on the matter. He immeadiatly just assumed Syndrome had gone mental and left it at that.

'I'll read up on the Convicts and leave you two to talk...'

Syndrome nodded. Drillz wandered over "So uh... What are you doing out here?"

Syndrome sighed. "Trying to get away from the others. I nearly killed Firestorm..."

"You what!?" Drillz sat down beside him. He could just imagine his little brother Shredz screaming at him for talking to the enimy, but at this point he didn't care. Syndrome needed some REAL to talk to...

"It's a long story..."

"Well I'm not going anywhere..."

Lime green eyes met Yellow as Syndrome explained in every detail the events that had recently happened. He broke down twice, yet Drillz comforted him, thinking nothing of it. He made sure he left out anything he thought Drillz could use against them such as where exactly the pipe was in the wall...

"So all this happened because Firestorm made you confess you're a street mech?"

"It isn't that simple Drillz... He made me look like a reject... Like I shouldn't even be there..."

Drillz sighed. The mech was badly troubled. "I know how you feel Drome... All of us do..."

"Huh?"

Drillz smiled "You tried talking to Grindz about it? All of us Convicts were street mechs. You just... live with it I guess"

"What?" Syndrome turned back to stare at the red bot. Drillz smiled and nodded

"We were streeters..."

"You guys lived out in the bush like me?"

"Yep"

"Crikey..." Syndrome was quiet for a moment. Drillz checked his internal clock. He tapped Syndromes shoulder, then stood up.

"Why don't you come back with me for a while?"

"Oh no... I couldn't ask you to do that for me... I mean, how would your bros react when they see you're bringing a Freelancer into the base?"

Drillz chuckled "Don't worry about that. Shredz isn't in. I'll get Rollz to check you out incase you're hurt, we can grab some energon and chat a lil more. You can leave when you please..."

"I don't know..."

'Go with him Drome... it isn't like you have anything else to loose' Stormcrow started talking again. Syndrome shrugged.

"Slag it go on then. But theres still one thing ya haven't told me."

"Which is?"

"Why are you out here?"

"I always come out here. Its a place the others can't find me. Just to... wind down ya know?"

Syndrome stood and smiled, walking alongside Drillz "Ya know Drillz mate? For a Convict ya ain't half bad..."

Napalm felt his spark beat heavily as he watched Skartplug work quickly. He couldn't get Flash out of his mind. The look on his face was of pure fear. He had told him to 'grow up'...

"Dammit! Come on Firestorm live!" Skartplug shocked Firestorms spark again. Firestorm jerked, then nothing.

Another shock.

Another Jerk.

Nothing.

Another Shock.

Another Jerk.

A slow beep ran across a scanner.

Skartplug sighed with relief, then continued his work on drying and removing the coolant that had rested in his circuits.

"Skartplug?" Napalm was only just able to hold back a tear.

"Yes?"

"You mind if I go now? I need to talk with Flash..."

"If you must" Skartplug didn't look up from his work, so he failed to see the tough mechs tear.

"Thanks... Comm. me if you need me"

"Will do. Thanks for your help"

"Anytime" Napalm quickly left. He had to speak with Flash.

"A-and then he told me to grow up..." Flash sobbed in Bullets arms. The child had been greviously shaken by Napalms words. Bullet sighed, comforting the small mech as he told him what had happened. He'd recived a call from Napalm telling him to keep and eye on Flash and when he'd arrived the kid was sobbing under his berth. It had taken him a good long while until he was able to coax him out...

"He probably didn't mean it Flash... You know Napalm wouldn't say anything like that on purpose. He's just like that"

"Y-yeah... but... He doesn't deserve to have me being a burdan..."

"You're not a burdan to anyone Flash. Nobody thinks that... especially Napalm"

Flash sniffed, still latched onto Bullet tightly. As much as Bullet hated sitting around, the suberu could sit and comfort Flash for hours if need be. Everyone in the base could, but only Napalm was able to cheer him back up again. Both Bullet and Airstrike had acheived that once or twice, but no one was better at it than the childs guardian.

The door suddenly hissed open, revealing a very distraut looking Napalm. He crossed the room quietly and jumped onto his berth, laying face down. Flash let go of Bullet and sniffed. Bullet stood up, feeling he was no longer needed since there was someone else with the child now.

"How's Firestorm?"

Napalm shurgged, still laying face down "Skartplug was joltin his spark last time I saw so not very good."

"Primus... Syndrome did a number on him... what the heck possessed him to do that?"

Napalm twisted his head to the side, resting his cheek on the ice cold berth "I dunno. Could you leave me and Flash alone please? I wanna talk to him"

Bullet looked at the youngling. He looked back, his optics pale. He didn't want to leave him, but he knew Napalm would rather give up his spark than hurt him on purpose. He nodded.

"I'll be in my quarters if you need me"

"Thanks Bullet. I ow ya one"

With nothing more to say Bullet left, leaving the two in the room alone. Napalm sat up, tapping the space beside him

"You wanna come over here?"

Flash nodded and soundlessly crossed the room. He sniffed and wiped his face, the wet patches from where his tears had landed still visable. Napalm sighed.

"Listen, I'm sorry ok? I was stressed. I didn't mean what I said... I was out of line and I relise that..." He put a hand on the small mechs shoulder. Flash tensed then relaxed, a movement he always did when someone touched him. Without hesitation, he leaned into Napalms side, sighing happily.

"I'm sorry..." Napalm repeated, stroaking the smallers helm. Flash looked up "It's ok Napalm" He smiled "I forgive you..."

'Alright... Take a left after that planet'

"But... where are we goin Crow?"

'You'll see...'

Syndrome did what he was told, looking around as he went in the direction Stormcrow directed. He was dangerously far from the Freelancer HQ, but he didn't really care anymore. He felt like a street mech again. Alone, Uncared for, yet suprisingly free. He could roam anywhere he wished with no worries at all...

He looked on his shoulder where his Freelancer insignia was. Stormcrow could hear what he was thinking, and it disappeared, being replaced with a blank spot.

'We're here...' Syndrome looked ahead and gasped. It was his home planet...

"Rapture..."

'Yes... I thought you might want to return after all these years and see what happened to it...'

"What do you mean Crow?"

'Well after you were found by the Freelancers, Rapture was attacked by the Decepticons...'

"Crikey..." He made his way towards the planet. After he'd entered the atmosphere, he landed on a familer street. The once bustling city had been completely destroyed. There weren't any bodies around, but an attack had definatly happened.

'The Auto-Bots cleared this place up then left it for dead...'

"Were there any survivors?"

'None save for you...'

Syndrome looked around the street. He remembered it all, bursting with life. Yeah they all avoided him and treated him like scum, but it was his living space... The sun no longer shone, the whole place had been replaced by crumbling buildings and large craters where bombs had been dropped.

'I need to show you something...'

"Hmm?" Syndrome felt his body turn as Stormcrow steered him towards an allyway. It looked familer...

'Remember? This is where we first met...' Syndrome looked around in the darkness. He remembered meeting Stormcrow here... he remembered it all... his attention shifted to something sitting in the corner. He stepped forwards and bent infront of it. It was a body. It wasn't damaged, it was just sitting prone in the corner...

"Ack!" Syndrome wasn't able to say anything when someone suddenly grabbed him from behind. An arm snaked around his neck, holding him tightly in a headlock.

"Well well well... what do we have here?"

'It's me Strife...'

"You brought a nice one back this time Stormcrow! Now lets get you out of there..." The mech pushed a weapon into Syndromes back using his spare hand. Syndrome gasped.

"Get offa me ya drongo!"

Strife laughed "Wow! An Australian I see! You picked a nice one this time Crow!"

'That isn't all... this one can turn invisible, change his optic and body colour, and morph his insignia... My guess is he's a programme genius...'

Strife snarled evilly "Well... quite talented arn't you?"

"Let me go right now!"

"Oh I don't think so...now march" The figure marched Syndrome forwards towards the prone form.

"C-Crow? Whats going on?"

'Just shut up and hold out your hand'

"Why?"

"Just do as the Crow says and I might let you go" Strife snarled, pushing the weapon in further. Syndrome complied and held out hand.

'Good... Now extend your scan circuits...'

Syndrome did so. The wires found their way into a hole in the empty shells side, then connected automatically. There was a sudden jolt, then Syndrome felt his energy being drained slowly through the wires.

"Wha... What's going on Crow?" Syndrome gasped for breath as his energon levels dropped rapidly.

'I'm transferring back into my own body... Now how about you shut up and leave it to go...'

"Why... why are you doing this?..."

'I said shut up.'

Syndrome gasped, his breathing slowing. The still form infront of him powered up his dark purple optics just as he blacked out...

"S-sssstormcrow..."

"Ugh..." Firestorm groaned as he came online. His internal systems ached. Almost everything except his major systems was offline, His scanners, sensors, even his optics. His audios were still working, same with his voice but his voicebox was sore. He guessed that was because of all the screaming he had done...

"Take it easy Firestorm..." Skartplugs voice rang loud and clear through his audio systems.

"S-Skartplug?"

He heard him chuckle a little "Yeah it's me. How are you feeling?"

"Sore..."

"You will for a while. Just rest ok? I'll have your optics back online in no time"

"W-wheres..."

"He ran off. No ones seen him since his attack on you... and to be honest no one knows where to start looking"

Firestorm had a though. Him and Syndrome were best friends, he should know out of all mechs. But the only place he could think of at that moment was...

"R-Rapture..."

Skartplug tiled his head slightly, then remembered Firestorm couldn't see "What?"

"His home planet... H-he used t-to go there..."

"Do you have any idea where it is?"

"B-sector..."

"But that was attacked by Decepticons years ago..."

Firestorm couldn't help but smile slightly. His voice hurt so much he resided to whispering "I know... P-perfe-ct f-for a sa-boteur..."

"Rapture huh..." Skartplug walked quickly over to his main computer. He looked up Rapture on the universal map, pinpointing it. It wasn't too far from the planet Pluto in the Earths solar system, which was pretty far away from where they were based. Seemed a little far for Syndrome to go, but if he had done it before like Firestorm had said, then he would probably do it again.

"Right. I'll send a team there. Anyone in particular you want to go?" He looked back at the SIC. It was his authority after all...

"Either Cannonball o-r N-apalm... I-incase somthings up... Airstrike... for air cover and B-ullet..." He smiled weakly "To keep an eye on Airstrike..."

Skartplug nodded "I would go myself but I can't leave you just incase something happens. I'll throw Grindz into that mix as well" Firestorm merely nodded. He was so tired...

"S-speak later..." he quickly slipped into a mild recharge. Skartplug smiled, quietly running around doing various duties.

Syndrome tilted his head to his other shoulder, onlining his optics dimly. He was lying on the floor. He felt so weak... What had happened to him?

"Wow... wasn't expecting you to wake up so quickly. You really are full of surprises..." He looked up, still dazed. Once the blurrs of colour stopped whirring and swooshing around, he was able to focus on a dark green form.

"Who..." He wasn't able to finish his sentence. The bot came forward. Syndrome could then tell it was a femme, slimly built. It was the prone form from earlier... alive and well...

"Remember me now?" the femme bent down to his level, brushing a hand gently over his cheek. Syndrome still couldn't put his finger on it...

"How about now?" The femmes voice suddenly turned into a mechs, speaking low and clear. Syndrome gasped

"S-Stormcrow?"

"Well done Syndrome..."

"H-how... W-why...?"

"Tell me Syndrome. Do you remember where exactly you got those parts for that darling creation in your arm?"

Syndrome nodded slowly. He had gotten them out of a waste recepticle round the side of the main spy acadamy he used to sneak into and watch through the ceiling...

"I could say you saved my life... but thats pushing it a little too far. I wasn't asleep in that circuit board, I was waiting..." She looked at him and smiled evilly "Waiting for someone like you who is poor and stupid enough to bin raid to install me. And that, my poor friend, unfortunatly happened to be you this time round..."

"This...time round?" Syndrome was hardly able to keep speaking, but he listened and saved everything the femme told him for future reference. Heck, he was gonna need it to get back into the Freelancer ranks...

"Yes... I've been given many names whilst I've been working as a virus... But I must say your's is the most original. So original infact I think I'll keep it" she began pacing slowly infront of him, never looking optic contact "You're a unique mech Syndrome and you don't deserve to be treated the way Firestorm treated you. I've never seen another mech like you before..." Stormcrow smiled, brushing her fingers across his cheek again

"Tell me. Who made that control panel for you? Being a steet mech you couldn'tve done it yourself..."

"F-frag off..." Syndrome snarled.

"Temper temper... Don't make me bring Strife back in here..." she smirked "He's handy with a blowtorch"

"Get outta my face..."

"Tell me who made that technology!"

"Make me..."

Stormcrow smirked again. Sydrome mentally slapped himself. Bad thing to say...

"As you wish..."

To be continued...

Syndrome - Nice Try Sam...

Sam - Darn it!

Syndrome - I'll tell ya what. I'll hide the rest. If you can find it, you can put it online!

Sam - Deal!

-Transmission Temporarily Interrupted-