Note: This is part of my rewrite of this series. This (hopefully) final book has the most 'new' material of all of them. Brings many more twists and turns to the general plot of the original series. (still ends the same way..)

Raptor the Character: F-22 stealth Seeker. Built by G1 Starscream in Raptor Chronicles 1: The Beginning. Was animated using a human spark, thus thinks and feels in a human way - not a Cybertronian way.

IceOwl (or Ice): F-22 stealth Seeker. Built by Raptor in the Next Generation book. Animated using a hybrid spark that is a combination of Raptor's and Armada Oprtimus Prime's. Basically, she IS Raptor's future daughter.

... This sage begins in Post-Armada.. but shall end in G1...

Space/Time Rupture

IceOwl lifted off into the brightness of Earth's dawn. The light updrafts already radiating from the warming desert lands caressed her dull blue/gray wings. A soft smile filled her thoughts, for she was headed for Cybertron on an official visit as Earth Mech's Second-in-Command, but she'd also have time to visit with Blurr.

Pleasant memories of working side-by-side with the serious Autobot filled her thoughts. He seemed to understand her quiet thoughtfulness, even appreciate it. This made the rather plain-looking femme feel special, for around her rambunctious sisters, she always seemed to stay hidden in the background. Although she was Second-in-Command, she would forever stay in Raptor's shadow, her mother's dominant personality and greater experience, being the guiding force for Earth Mech Command.

Reaching the edge of Earth's atmosphere, the F-22 Seeker prepared to teleport, her primary and two secondary power cores overfilled in anticipation for the long haul to Cybertron. Warming up her plasma engines she engaged warp.

The cool plasma of warp phase flowed over her fuselage, maintaining her coordinate lock, IceOwl darted around the reality bubbles floating in this extra-dimensional phase. As she passed over a large bubble's hot plasma skin, it suddenly seemed to rupture. Seeming to blow out and reach toward her wings, throwing full power to her afterburners, the Seeker tried desperately to avoid the skin.

Too swift for her to avoid, the bubble's skin engulfed her. She fought valiantly, plasma engines overheating with the strain, the intense heat caused by the friction of her fight against the bubble's skin peeling the paint off of her metal alloyed areas. But her carbon-fiber wings held, allowed her to keep fighting, to escape its painful grasp. Finally, her cores near exhaustion, the Seeker admitted defeat and shut down her afterburners.

Sucked into the reality bubble, she suddenly felt the sensation of gravity pulling on her. An atmosphere met her wings, dampening her intakes with her bleeder vents, IceOwl struggled to level out, to regain control. Trying to use her sensors to scan, she realized that her primary nets had been knocked out when she had overheated. She needed to get down in order to reboot and reset, but without any sensors other than gyros and skin sensation – she was flying blind.

Staying calm, the Seeker decided she'd have to transform. Judging her rate of vertical descent by the sensation of the vertical breeze on her skin; she just prayed that she would land on a solid surface, not on water or magma.

Transforming, IceOwl slowed her descent with her thrusters, she gauged her speed at 50-60 knots. Not knowing where the ground was, she desperately tried to slow her descent speed further, bending her legs to absorb the shock of impact. Her blinded optics filled with concentration.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through her air frame, causing her to begin to tumble uncontrollably toward the planetary surface. Then she impacted, the agony shocking the few remaining systems which were still online.

Sentry

After seeing a brief flash of Con insignia on the wings of the Seeker descending in robot mode, Rodimus had drawn his weapon and gotten a bead on him. With much satisfaction, he watched as his round hit the Seeker straight on, and the Seeker had tumbled to the ground.

"Good shot Rodimus!" Springer exclaimed, slapping his friend on the shoulder.

Transforming, they drove towards where they suspected the Con had crashed.

On the Ground

Stunned, IceOwl struggled to her hands and knees, her sense of touch telling her that she had landed on a flat, rocky surface. She knew she had to shutdown to reboot and get her systems back online; but she'd been hit by weapons fire, and didn't have a clue as to where she was, who was shooting at her, or if they'd destroy her helpless rebooting form. In desperation, she stumbled weakly to her thrusters, falling as one of her knees gave out.

Then she heard the unmistakable sound of a large truck and helicopter approaching. Again, she tried to stand and get away, but she was immobile. The sound of Mechs transforming, filled her audios. Anxiety filled her as she wondered if they were friend or foe, and just where in the sloggers she was, anyways.

Suddenly, she was kicked over. Groaning weakly, she curled into a fetal position, too depleted and disoriented with sensory blackout to protect herself.

"Rodimus, would you look at that. Seeker's got both Con and Bot insignias!" a male voice exclaimed.

She was roughly picked up into a sitting position, in her mind she envisioned a Mech staring into her blind optics. "So just what in the sloggers are you? Autobot or Decepticon?" another male voice demanded.

Barely able to hold her head up, IceOwl mumbled, "Earth Mech Command… lost.. warp.. explosion.." Then she could stay activated no longer, and she blacked out.

Mystery Seeker

Rodimus stared at the now-unconscious Seeker. "What in the sloggers is Earth Mech Command?"

Springer shrugged, crouching down he ran his hands over the damaged Seeker. "Well, she's built exactly like Raptor, but there's been no reported F-22's stolen since Raptor. Very strange."

"But another femme? And why does she have dual insignias?" Rodimus muttered.

Putting his arms under the blue/gray Seeker, Springer picked her up. "Guess she'll just have to tell us that back at Autobot City. I'll ride with her, make sure she's not playing possum like Raptor did."

Nodding, Rodimus transformed and transported Springer and the mystery Seeker back to the city.