Song of the Fallen
Chapter 1: A Tranquility Greeting

"Blah blah" – Transformer talking in car mode
Blah blah – thinking
'Blah blah' – Cybertronian and private links.

Transformers ain't mine.
Dea Barr is.

Light Note: First Transformers fic. Movie based because all I remember from Generation 1 is that Jazz was a Texan, Beast Wars always brings up Turantulas molesting Cheetor, and so I'm left with the most innocent of the group; The movie.

Oh yes! And Jazz is dead because, and I'm sorry fan girls, he did in fact DIE at the end of the movie… Don't worry though. Things will get better.

Enjoy.

It was a cryptic melody. Singing of hope; a future they could only dream of. Singing of love; protecting those closest. Singing of praise; remembrance of the ones they lost. Singing of a promise; I will protect you.

It was a cheerless melody. The gentle rise and fall of the voice, filled with such sorrow, the people filling the room shedding tears, though they knew not the meaning. Eyes closed, hearts thrumming to the voice, latching onto the evident emotion.

It was her final melody. By the time the sun shined the next day, the girl would be gone. The pain she felt would be left here, left forever in these peoples memories so that no one would forget – she would be gone, but would live on.

It was the Song of the Fallen; for those who would never rise again.

"Introduce yourself to the class." The teacher said, dejected and obviously tired of trying to settle down the talking mass of teenagers. She nodded and blinked, figuring it'd be easiest to say it when no one was paying attention.

"Um…" She had a longer version of a pixie cut, the red hair angle forward and her bangs parted from the right. Her pale green eyes watched her fingers as they pulled and tugged on the sleeve of her over sized hoodie.

Sadly for her, as soon as that one word was utter by a non-authority figure, the voices dropped off one by one until the room was silent. She coughed nervously, and shifted her weight.

"My name is Dea Barr, with two R's not to be confused with a place that sells alcoholic beverages," a few people chuckled, and her mouth twitched in a slight smile, "Lesse, I moved here from Mission City," her eyes went to the floor, watching her bouncing leg flip her untied shoelaces around her feet, "And last year I got to see giant alien robots duke it out in the streets."

A few people laughed, some just smile, more of them rolled their eyes, but two of them sat up straight as pins, glancing at each other as Dea was dismissed to a seat in the back.

She fiddled with the sleeve of her jacket the whole class, answering blankly when the teacher called on her to start participating. Her mind was racing on the idea of this new place, all the new faces. What was she doing here? She was an outsider in Mission City, she'd be an outsider here too. It was only a matter of time before they started making the connections, tracking her down and getting rid of her as they'd done to everyone else there.

But she wasn't planning on having that happen. She couldn't have that happen. Glancing around the room, she noticed a yellow Camaro parked near the view of the window, and she felt a pain in her stomach. There was no way she could forget.

"Miss Barr."

"Miss is for teachers and door-to-door salesmen," she said blankly without registering the who or the what.

A cough brought her from the day dream and she grinned sheepishly, "It's a good thing I'm one of the former." She glanced around the now empty room and laughed, albeit timidly, grabbing her bag and bolting from the room as fast as she could run. Dea looked around her at the people in the hallway, then pulled out her cell phone to check the time. She hadn't come until the last period, so school was over, and the buses had most likely already left.

Great.

She was basically stranded in a brand new city with no one she knew to tell her where to go. Her dad would still be at work for a good few more hours, so she'd have to book it.

"Perfect…"

"Giant robots, huh?"

"Yup. Giant robots that squished my mom."

The voice she heard paused, and again, Dea realized she had said something without thinking, "Uh…" She looked up from her phone at a brunette girl with blue eyes that was in her class. On her right was the boy she had been sitting next to, short, slightly curly brown hair and brown eyes, "Hi."

"Hey!" The guy chirped, grinning at her as he fell into step by her side, "I'm Sam, that's Mikaela." Dea nodded her acknowledgement.

Mikaela linked her arm through hers, slowing her down from the door leading outside, "We just wanted to hear about those giant robots you were talking about."

"You serious?"

The brunette blinked, "Well yeah! What kid wouldn't want to hear about robots stomping around Mission City?" Dea narrowed her eyes, but as she kicked open the door, the sun shining bright causing her to blink, the strange feeling that had been in her stomach was gone, and she began adamantly telling them the story of her fateful encounter.

"Well there was this black truck, a GMC Topkick, pretty sweet, and an emergency vehicle – bright freaking yellow. A tank, fighter jet, mine digger I think, and a funny looking jet, evil police car, a freaking killer awesome blue truck with red flames, and a yellow Camaro, the brand new model I think..." Mikaela ran through the list of names in her head, Sam already had been mouthing the names behind Dea's back, "And a Solstice." Sam careened to a halt, Mikaela paused in her list, and they listened silently, "A beautiful silver Pontiac Solstice GXP. The paint had a few scratches, but nothing that couldn't have been buffed out, and the engine was so loud and powerful it made my heart skip a beat..."

Sam blinked as the two girls drifted off to car talk land, where he wasn't allowed entrance. He huffed and slowed behind the females as a Camaro rolled around the corner and parked itself, "Mikaela, I got to get you home so I can go to work." The brunette blinked, the grinned madly, "What…?"

"What do you say I take Bee after you go to work and show Dea around? You know he gets so bored when you're at work…" She tilted her head down slightly and stuck her lower lip out, the sun making the lip gloss she was wearing stand out. Sam licked his own lips and looked over at Dea, who was mimicking Mikaela's action, then over at Bee, the engine rumbling discreetly in agreement.

"Not today, but this weekend." Mikaela jumped, taking Dea with her – their arms had still been linked, "Yeah, yeah, your welcome, now get in! Dea you too." The red head blinked and pointed at herself, "Yeah, I'll take you home so we'll know where to pick you up from now on. Sound good?"

"Uh, sure!" The females crawled into the back, earning a disapproving stare from Sam to Mikaela, which she curtly ignored, "So I live kinda sorta far… You won't be too late for your work right?" Sam shook his head and switched his gaze to hers.

"Get this puppy off the main road, away from cops, and in Mikaela's hands and you got yourself a joy ride to remember!" The three laughed, and settled into the seats. The radio came on – a head banger song that was catchy but hard to understand – and they buckled up.

The tires squealed as they turned out of the parking lot, the Camaro picking up speed as the engine roared to life. Dea couldn't contain her glee and whooped, a grinning Mikaela copying her. Sam laughed and the car began to slow down, they were hitting the pedestrian area. Dea explained how to get to her house, then leaned back into the seat as Sam started the car forward.

She spoke quietly, woman-to-woman kind of voice, "You people get friends quick don't you?"

The brunette just smiled, "What can I say? We knew you'd make a good friend right off the bat."

Dea smiled back, "Good to know."

As it turned out, Dea lived a few streets over from Sam's house, and after a few rounds of laughter, a goodbye, more laughter, a few 'oh my god's, and another goodbye, Mikaela and Sam had driven off, leaving Dea at her house to her own devices.

"Sam, she was in Mission City."

"I know. Bee," The engine revved, and a voice spoke 'Yes Sam?' "What do you think we should do?"

"Telling Optimus about it would be a good idea, but after we do a little of what I do best."

Mikaela looked at the dashboard, "Are you suggesting we spy on her?"

"No. But getting information on what she saw and how much she knows is of up most importance."

Sam nodded at his girlfriend, "This weekend, when you, her and Bee go out. Try getting her to talk more about it."

"Okay."

The boy paused, turning to look back at her, "You okay?" She nodded, her eyes fixed out the window – they had arrived at her house, "Then I'll see you at school tomorrow." She nodded again, smiling as he kissed her cheek goodbye. Opening the door for her, Bee said his own goodbye as Mikaela disappeared into the house.

"Youokay?"

Sam sighed, "Yeah. But this is going to get interesting, isn't it?"

"Of course," the Camaro replied with a happy rev.

"I'm leaving…" Dea called to the empty house, hooking her bag over her shoulder and jogging down the driveway to the girl filled waiting yellow Camaro. Sliding into the passenger seat, she smiled politely at Mikaela's two best friends that were coming to the mall with them, and placed her bag on the floor.

"What store to hit first?" The platinum blonde sighed, racking her brain, "Hollister?" The other shook her head, "Oh yeah, you went there yesterday huh. Oh! What if we go to A and F?"

Dea felt her eye twitch, and she threw in her two cents, "How about we drop you two off at the mall to contemplate while Mikaela gives me a tour of the city?"

The one with black hair squealed and clapped her hands, "Perfect! I always feel bad when non-mall people are with me." Her eye twitched again and Dea gave her new friend a estranged look, the girl simply shrugging and turning the blinker on.

"What can I say?" She whispered to Dea, "I hang out with a strange crowd."

"Obviously…"

The two girls exchanged looks, both grinning from ear to ear. The radio jumped to life – a rock song that just begged to be head banged to – and they started out, the engine purring as they headed for the main road.

"So, Dea was it?" She turned to face the dark haired girl, "Why'd you move to Tranquility? Mission City is the boss!" She shrugged and faced forward in her seat.

"Parent's orders."

"Total lame-ness," the blonde chipped in, and Dea snorted, "Well it is!"

The song ended, and another song took it's place; Dea recognized it instantly and hummed along, "Yeah well, I can't really go against the old man. Teenage government leash and all…"

"Way."

They pulled into the parking lot of the mall, and Dea got out of the car long enough to let the other girls out from the back. She sat back down, pulling the door shut with a tug, "Where to magoo?"

"The lake first. It's a sorta long drive, so got anything you want to chat about?" Mikaela turned the left blinker on, cursing under her breath as a guy in a Bug flew past, breaking the imaginary rules of driving etiquette.

Dea clicked her seatbelt into place and shrugged, "Depends on if you don't mind me sounding like a complete crazy person."

"I'm dating Sam."

"Point taken."

The two fell into silence, and in that time, void of any sound, Dea contemplated the odds of her losing Mikaela as a friend if she told her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – dating Sam or not. They'd only been friends a few days now, bonding like that old saying, 'Birds of a feather flock together' except it was gender and not social class. She scratched her arm, something she'd done since she was little that had been the family trait on her mother's side.

"It's like foreshadowing," was her grandma's explanation, "Somehow, somewhere, you're brain knows that something is a miss, you just suck at charades."

"So you know those robots I told you of?" Dea finally said as the Camaro rounded a bend. Mikaela's eyes flicked over at her, so she continued, "I'm not kidding about it. One of them – the funny looking jet – killed my mom." She made a smooshing motion with her hands, "Stepped on her. Used a truck bed to scrape her off… I—" She itched her arm again, "It landed just freaking millimeters away from me…"

"Dea, god! I'm so sorry!" Mikaela freaked, looking at her with her face etched with worry, "That's horrible!"

Dea waved off the concern, "It's not like you could have done anything to save her, no one could; gravity was against her." The brunette fixed her eyes on the road again, but her grip on the wheel tightened.

"So that's why you moved, right? Living in the city, so close to where your mom died… It must have been hard on you and your dad." The car pulled to a stop; they had arrived at the lake and had parked in a shady area under a maple tree that was starting to turn gold.

She shrugged the seatbelt off, and pulled her legs under her Indian style, "It was at first… I'm pretty much over it, but my dad… I can't even tell my dad why she really died because he wouldn't believe me if I did…" The other girl gave her a confused look, "He'd been out of town. Heard about the 'earthquake' and came running home." She put air quotes around earthquake.

"And the Solstice? You gave a lot of detail about it, I'm assuming he was an important piece to your day." Mikaela had placed her feet up on the dashboard and was picking at a loose string on her shoe, "Tell me what happened after Me—the jet guy stepped on your mom."

Dea ran a hand through her hair, "I was totally flipping out; frantic screaming, randomly running around without knowing where I was going. I was scared half to death for my life, but numb about the whole thing at the same time… I remember that I started to run across the street for some reason, and the tank guy fired some missiles or something at me." She took a breath, leaning back into the seat.

"Total deer in the headlights moment; I just stopped and stared, thinking 'This can't be happening to me.' But right before they hit me, a blur of silver flew past – the Solstice. It was just radiating heat, and I broke after that. I just shut my eyes really tight and covered my ears. If I can't see it, it can't see me." Dea laughed, "When I opened my eyes again, there was a robot in place of the car, and it was picking up some of the littler cars and throwing them at it!"

Mikaela chuckled, Optimus's voice rang in her head, That is something he would do… "Damn. That must've been intense." Dea nodded vigorously.

"It was! After that though, a bright yellow one came and lasered the tank guy's arm off. Least, I think he lasered it. Could have been a sword, or he tore it off, but his arm came off I know that much."

She looked over at Dea, "Let's go down by the lake. It looks awesome." She knew that Bee would listen in anyway, but she felt confined in the cab of the Camaro, and could see that Dea wanted out into the late fall sunshine as well.

"Yeah! I want to give my feet a good soak!"

They trotted down to a more secluded spot, Dea kicking her shoes off on their way there, and sat down by the water. She skimmed the ball of her foot along the surface of the water and watched the ripples dissipate before lowering them in, "I hate what happened after that…" The brunette leaned back onto the grass, her hands laced behind her head, "The funny looking jet tore the Solstice in half."

Mikaela nodded, "Harsh. Killed your mom, and your only reason for being alive," she paused, "Wait, that came out wrong." Dea covered her mouth as she giggled, rolling on the grass and splashing water as she kicked her feet in merriment, "Oh shut up! You know what I meant."

"Do I?"

"Dea!" Mikaela scowled, leaning forward and cupping her hands into the lake, splashing Dea's exposed legs, "HA!"

She shrieked, pulling her legs away from the water, "Oh my god, COLD!" Dea put her warrior face on, and dove for the water, getting as much as she could in her hands and flinging it at Mikaela's head, smirking when it hit the side of her face, causing the brunette to cry out in surprise.

"Oh, you're dead."

"Bring it chicky."

If Sam hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed it. Not in the least bit. There was no way that something of that awesome caliber could happen without his knowledge while he was off killing his mind slowly in the torture that is work. God wouldn't allow it… Right?

Apparently he did.

The two water soaked girls grinned at him, their somewhat dry sweaters being used as towels. Muddy hand prints were evident on both girls faces, and was that a tear in Mikaela's shirt? It WAS! They must have gotten rough…

"God hates me."

"We'll give Bee a wash I swear!"

Of course, the car hadn't been left out of the equation, and had some of the mud from Dea smeared all over the hood along with sliding hand prints on the side windows, like whoever was trying to get inside had been tackled to the ground before they could succeed.

"He really hates me…"

Dea pulled herself into the back, where one of her shoes, Mikaela's shoes and three pairs water logged socks sat. They had no idea where the third pair was from, but they were in Mikaela's shoes, and she wasn't going to touch them. "Where to know fearless leader?" Sam parked himself in the passenger seat, sliding the seatbelt into place.

"Um, we haven't been to the lookout yet." Mikaela inputted, turning the key to the Camaro – the engine giving off a particularly loud rev. The brunette looked at Sam, confused, "Yes?" The engine revved again, "Then off we go…"

The drive was silent except for the low hum of the radio as it played the local rock station, power ballads and head bangers the whole ride. Dea had taken to itching her arm and fiddling with the hem of her hoodie located under her butt. Paranoia began to take over as they pulled off the road onto a dirt path that lead to a small grassy ledge. She started crawling out after Sam, and yelped in surprise when the car jerked and threw her onto the ground.

Sam instinctively pulled her further away, giving the car space to do what it was planning – though why, the boy didn't know. He looked from Bee to Mikaela, who was just has confused, "Bee are you sure?"

The car answered, "Yes. She is worthy, I deem her so, and Optimus will have to… Deal with it." Dea stared as parts began to shift out of place, the vehicle rising to stand at a height that made her shiver in fear. "Human Dea, do not be afraid." She continued to stare with saucer plate eyes.

"You-you-you," she looked up and slammed her fist onto his arm, "Your Camaro is THE Camaro I was talking about and you didn't have the decency to freaking TELL ME!" Sam began to sputter something, but Dea wouldn't hear of it. Instead she began babbling, "Oh dear lord, he heard me when I was talking about the Solstice!"

"Jazz." Bee inputted, shifting his weight as he watched the girl with curiosity.

Her hands flew to her head, ruffling her short hair, "Right, Jazz…" She groaned loudly, "This is the single most embarrassing moment in my life…" She looked at Mikaela, "Except of course maybe the time when I flung spaghetti at my friend and it hit our principal, who then started a food fight."

"People in Mission City are awesome," sighed Sam randomly.

"Anyway," she started again with her rant, "I was talking about Jazz with the best of my vocabulary like he was some cute guy in school! Like I had a crush on him!" She frowned, "Not saying he probably isn't worthy of having a crush on, I mean he's a Solstice obviously he's worthy of having a crush on, but the fact remains."

"And that is?" Bee asked delicately.

Dea's frown deepened, "I need to kick you." Bumblebee raised a brow, not questioning the girl, and transformed back into the Camaro, where Dea proceeded to kick Bee's closest tire with all her strength.

The car rumbled as the engine purred to life, "Better?" She nodded, "Good, because we're not done with the surprises just yet." Same blinked, shaking his head while telling the car that that wasn't going to happen – he still had a curfew to attend to.

Mikaela agreed quickly, "Bee, I think you've been enough of a scare for her today. Do it another day." Bumblebee denied, "Really, it's a better idea."

"No." The two teens spun around to face Dea, who was staring hard at the now obvious Autobot symbol, "I want to get all these surprises done and over with. It's like taking out teeth," she explained simply, her words suddenly clipped, "the faster you do it, the less painful it ends up being after the pain killers have worn off."

The brunettes exchanged looks, raging a war of thoughts with each other. Finally, they sighed, looking between Bee, who was getting impatient, and Dea, who was basically hypnotized by the insignia, "Fine, if you really want to."

"I do."

They all scrambled back into the car, Sam in the driver's seat, Mikaela in the passenger seat, and Dea sprawled out again in the back. Bee peeled out, dust flying in their wake, and Dea groaned inwardly. Why couldn't her life had remained blissfully ignorant? He picked up speed, the engine roaring, the cab vibrating with every pulse, every rev. The 'Bot flicked the radio on, turning the music up and drowning out everything outside the car.

Stupid itch.

"That?"

The Camaro had turned of the main road a while ago – after dropping Sam and Mikaela off – and they'd followed an old trail until they reached the dingy shack, the roof looking as if it had caved in years ago and green from the moss that grew on the outer walls.

"Looks can be deceiving Dea," Bee replied, slowing to a stop so she could get out, "Is that not a human saying?" She didn't reply, and he transformed, then opened a link to the Commander, 'Optimus, I have a human who was present in the battle in Mission City.'

'Is that so?'

Be nodded, more to himself, 'Yes. I wish for you to meet her.' There was a silence, then the ground shook, Dea squealing and latching onto Bee's leg as the soil beneath her feet shifted, revealing a large staircase going down into a basement. The putrid smell of bleach wafted to the girl's nose and she scrunched it up.

'If you want me to, she must be something,' Optimus said, the line going dead. Bee looked down at the quivering teen, flicking his hand toward the shack.

"There's an elevator inside for you to use." He held up two fingers, then started for the stairs, "Press the button for the second floor." His head disappeared and Dea was left alone. She could either make a run for it, or take a deep breath, suck it up, and see her fate through to the end.

Inevitably, she growled and smacked her hand, stalking toward the abandoned looking house. Pulling open the door, Dea stared in shock; the inside was clean, shining like the stairs Bee went down had been. It appeared to be a sitting room, a couch against the wall to her right, with a small stereo player on a night stand next to it. To her left was the elevator, and in front of her was a sink and a small fridge. She stepped in, bumping the door shut with her hip and making her way to the elevator. Pressing the button, she tapped her foot, feeling suddenly dirty and out of place.

The doors binged open and she jolted, dashing in and pressing the 'LVL2' button. She gripped the silver bar that went around the elevator for dear life,What the hell am I doing? The door binged open again, revealing Bee leaning up against the wall, scratching at his face.

"Oh!" he straightened, "We're going to see my commander, Optimus Prime." He beckoned to her and started out. She had to jog to keep up with him – hedid sort of have, oh… I don't know long legs! – and kept her mouth shut. The made a few turns, passing what Dea assumed to be sleeping quarters, and a medical bay before taking a right and entering into a brightly lit room.

Standing in front of a rather large looking computer stood another bot, she assumed this to be Optimus. He was taller than Bee, and when he heard their approach he turned, letting Dea get a look at the paint job – he was the blue semi with the red flames, "There you are." He faced them completely, "Miss, I am Optimus Prime. Bumblebee tells me you were present during our battle with the Decepticons." She nodded, "I'm not surprised that there were witnesses. What does surprise me is that none have stepped forward to tell their tale."

On there way, Bee had explained the jist of things. His group were called the Autobots, and they fought against the Decepticons, who were led by Megatron – the funny looking jet – before Sam killed him. How, Bee wouldn't say, and Dea wasn't in a mood to push for information.

Dea shrugged, "Government conspiracy most likely." Bee sent her a disapproving look, but Optimus chuckled.

"Your government does seem to keep many secrets from it's people." He bent down on one of his knees, so she wouldn't feel as intimidated as her energy levels suggested, "Your designation?"

"My name is Dea Barr." She ran her hands through her hair, "If I may ask a question, Mr. Prime—"

"Optimus is fine."

"Okay, Optimus," she locked eyes with the larger mech, "What exactly do we do now?" He chuckled again, obviously he thought she was kidding.

He stood back up to his full height and looked at Bee, "Ratchet and Ironhide are both out, so just take her to her home. We'll have her come again soon." Optimus glanced at her. She had paled considerably, and was fidgeting with the sleeve of her hoodie, tied around her waist at this point.

Bee nodded, "Later then Optimus." Optimus clapped Bee on his shoulder before the yellow bot turned and lifted her up, setting her on his shoulder. When she gave him a confused look, he shrugged, causing her to squeal as she was lifted up and down along with the motion, "This way saves time."

"Why'd you have me take the elevator in the first place then?" Dea asked, bopping his head lightly.

"I wanted you to know how to get it for if you get here on your own or are with someone less likely to be willing." They turned a corner, the stairs at the end of the hallway. He started up them, going slowly at first before so Dea could get her grip before he took a faster pace. When they got about halfway up, they came upon a door, a small window letting Dea see that it lead to a dead end hallway with doors on either side.

Bee took notice of her questioning eyes, "This base was started as soon as the battle in Mission City was over. At the time, we had need of human facilities in the base. The first floor is just that. There's a cafeteria, and bathrooms in each room, but they don't get much use as of late."

"Huh." She continued to eye the door until she could no longer see it, and then turned her attention back to in front of her, where they were reaching the top of the stairs. Bee pressed a button to their left, and the mechanical doors slid to the side, the darkened sky now above their heads. She sighed, her feet hitting the ground as Bee helped her down. He transformed, and she blearily crawled into the passenger seat, curling up in a ball.

As she started to doze, Bumblebee brought up a hologram driver – a young teen Dea's age with clipped blond hair with black tips on his spiked up bangs accompanied with blue eyes – and began the trek to her house. He left the radio off, opting for the sound of her deep breathing. He began to hum a lullaby that was a pleasing tune, and the girl reacted instantly to it, falling asleep fully before they even hit the main road.

"Humans and their music," smiled the hologram.

Light Note: Woo! Yeah, us humans and our confusing obsession with music. –giggle- Anyway, first chapter is complete! I hit some hard patches, and had a few moments where I pondered whether or not –enter subject here- could actually do –enter action here- but I finished it(much to my friend Maieve Avvi's prodding and pestering me). Tell me what you think and what you like!

Light of Heaven