He wandered the galaxy in search of the ones who murdered his beloved ones. No one knew what went on behind that implacable face. Indeed, none could, for those who saw him often did not survive to tell the tale. Who is he? What happened to him? What will he become? This is the story of a shattered spark, the face concealing deep hurt, and a female who would attempt to uncover the deepest, darkest secret this wanderer bears. This is the story of Ninjusk Noir, expert assassin.

-Target Acquired-

Somewhere outside the Solar System

(Too long,) he whispered in his mind. (Far too long have I searched.) He had abandoned Cybertron long before the planet had breathed its last. During his wandering through the galaxy, he had heard that while Cybertron had died, Megatron had survived, and had retreated into the vast reaches of space.

(I promise you, Megatron. By the Primes, I'll find you. So says I, Ninjusk Noir.)

His introspection was interrupted by a loud *beep* from the console of his craft. The sensors had picked up a large number of Decepticon signals, and a disappointingly smaller number of Autobot signals. "8 Autobot signals," Ninjusk murmured. "Well, let's see who they are." Tapping a series of codes on a holographic keyboard, Ninjusk looked at the signatures he picked up. "There's Optimus Prime. Great. Ultra Magnus. He's real fun at parties," he muttered sarcastically. "Good thing I never went to parties." He looked at the remaining signatures: Bulkhead and Wheeljack, both Wreckers. He also recognized Arcee from when he briefly assisted her in swiping some Energon from the Decepticons. The other signatures were listed as: Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen, Autobots he did not recognize. "Hmm. Their signals are Autobot signals, but still, I've seen too many Autobots turn traitor to trust just anyone." He looked over the weapons he had: a sniper rifle that could break into a series of knives, knives that were easily concealed, and various poisoned blades, which glowed a faint green with Tox-en. The Toxic Energon wasn't strong enough to kill by exposure, but the knives coated with it made excellent tools for quick assassination. Looking over his ship's monitor, he changed the scan setting to identify high-ranking Decepticons. He quickly picked up Megatron's signal, as well as that of: Starscream, Knock Out, Soundwave, Shockwave, and Airachnid, whose signal appeared to be that of a Bot in stasis of some kind. After looking at the screen for a moment, Ninjusk turned to the navigation system and keyed in a course to the planet, identified by the onboard computer as Earth.

"You've hidden long enough, Starscream. Time for you to join with the Allspark."

Jasper, Nevada, Earth

The atmosphere in Autobot Outpost Omega 2 was one of celebration. Darkmount had been destroyed, Optimus was revived ("And radder than ever," Miko was quick to point out), and the Autobots had a new base to replace the one destroyed by the Decepticons. Ratchet and Raf had just finished installing the equipment necessary to detect Cybertronian signals when the alarm went off, signaling the detection of a moving signal.

"What? How is this possible?" Ratchet asked. Looking at the screen, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"What? What is it?" Miko asked.

"I'm picking up a Cybertronian signal, but it's so heavily shielded, I can't tell if it's Autobot or Decepticon."

"Are their communications on?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"It appears so," Ratchet said.

"Then we must attempt to contact this individual," Optimus Prime said, "for it would be unwise to shoot down an unidentified signal. It may belong to an Autobot."

Ratchet activated the radio and said, "Autobot Outpost Omega 2 calling unidentified signal. Identify yourself immediately."

"First, identify yourself," a flat, cold voice spoke from the radio. "Who are you?"

"Greetings, unidentified soldier," Ultra Magnus started.

"Greetings, Ultra Magnus. It has been a while."

A look of surprise mixed with disgust sprang up on Ultra Magnus' face. "Ninjusk?! We thought you were dead!" the commander said in astonishment.

"I've gotta update this blocker," the voice muttered in reply. "Can't have eavesdroppers listening in. Good to hear you alive and kicking, I guess. Is Optimus Prime there?"

"I am here," the Prime answered.

"Why did Ultra Magnus assume I was dead?"

"Your signal had appeared to go offline after you left Cybertron," Ratchet said.

"Good," Ninjusk said. "That means the tracking blocking program I installed did its job."

"Where you been, soldier?" Ultra Magnus said.

"None of your business," Ninjusk coldly replied. "I've had enough of this dialogue. I'll be arriving at your location within a few minutes. This is Ninjusk, signing off."

For a moment, the room was silent. Silent, that is, until Miko decided to break it. "Okay. Who was that? Why was he so rude? Even I'm not that rude."

"Agreed," Arcee remarked dryly.

"Ninjusk was one of our most controversial soldiers in the war for Cybertron," Optimus Prime said, going over to the computer. He brought up what looked like a file on the screen. It showed an Autobot with black coloring. He had a cold scowl on his face, with a lithe, agile-looking frame. Miko shivered slightly, unnerved by the figure's red eyes. "During the war for Cybertron, he was known as Ninjusk Noir," Optimus continued.

"He was well known in Wrecker circles as being a proficient assassin," Bulkhead added. "You never want to get on the bad side of him."

"Why?" Miko asked.

"Um . . Maybe it's because he's an assassin," Jack replied.

"Well, what else do we know about him?" Miko asked.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Optimus admitted. "Ninjusk always preferred to fight on his own. There were few records on him when Cybertron was alive. Now that many millions of years have passed since then, I fear such records are now even harder to find."

Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement. "Despite his controversial position as an assassin-"

"Wait a minute. Why was being an assassin considered controversial?" Jack asked.

"Being an assassin was considered to be the position of a coward," Ultra Magnus replied. "There weren't even that many Decepticon Assassins. Even THEY considered it cowardice."

"You made an exception for Tall, Dark, and Creepy, right?" Miko asked.

Optimus nodded, and replied, "His proficiency at hand to hand combat meant that he could make assassination his secondary function on the battlefield."

"He's a tough 'Bot," Wheeljack added. "I've seen him take some serious punishment. He's real good at dishing it out. Still, he preferred being an assassin. He was so good at his job, we used to call him 'The Silent Killer.'"

"Kind of like the Grim reaper of our legends," Raf said.

"Indeed," a cold voice said from behind them.

Everyone jumped and turned around to face the intruder, but there was no one there. Suddenly, someone dropped from the ceiling. He took Optimus down by sweeping his legs out, knocking his head against the floor. The figure did the same the same to Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack before they could react. Arcee was the only Autobot who had managed to block the figure's quick jabs. "Hmm. You're agile, I'll give you that," the mystery 'Bot muttered, "but agility isn't everything." He disappeared into the shadows. Arcee looked around the room, arm-blades at the ready. She didn't dare use guns against the figure, not while she was within the walls of the post. Suddenly, someone tackled her from behind. She fell flat on her stomach. When she flipped onto her back, she realized the figure had a knife to her spark chamber. "Never take your eyes off your opponent," the figure cautioned. He then dodged a swing from Bulkhead, then countered with a quick jab to the Wrecker's shoulder joints, temporarily knocking them out of alignment.

"That you, Ninjusk?" the green Wrecker asked.

"If you don't know me already, Bulkhead," Ninjusk replied, "then I have no reason to reveal myself. The less who know me, the better."

"Yeah, good to see you too, bud," Wheeljack drily replied.

Ninjusk's POV

They fell quickly. It was all too easy. "I don't know how Megatron hasn't terminated you glitches yet." I walked over to where Ultra Magnus stood. "You've grown soft, Ultra Magnus. It's a wonder you weren't terminated millions of years ago." I turned to Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Both turned away nervously. Perhaps my appearance unnerved them. "Never take your eyes off your opponent, Wheeljack. You know that. Bulkhead, less overswing." I looked coldly at the blue Autobot, one that I had given assistance to in the past when she needed some Energon for something or other.

"I know, I know," she interrupted, "don't take your eyes off your opponent."

"Actually, that's not what I was going to say," I replied. She looked so much like Elita . . . . . "Stay light on your feet. You'll survive longer that way."

"Awww, looook," Wheeljack yelled loudly. "Ninjusk's gone soft!"

"Glad to see you haven't changed," I replied coldly.

"Lighten up, dude," a high-pitched voice yelled from near my heel strut. I looked down to see a female human with black and pink hair glaring at me.

"B-better be careful, Miko," Bulkhead yelled.

"Miko . . . . . . An interesting name," I chuckled coldly, staring down at the girl named Miko. Not a Cybertronian name. I looked over at Optimus and said, "The natives, do they all display the same lack of fear for assassins?"

"Here," Miko interrupted, "assassins are like ninjas." Doing various karate poses, she continued, "striking from the shadows, taking down their opponents before they know what hit them! And then, they disappear, without a-" she looked up and saw that I was no longer standing where I originally was. "Trace," she said, finishing her remark.

"Oh, I'm all that and more," I reassured, appearing behind her.

"It would be so COOL if you could show me!" She yelled loudly, turning to face me. How they deal with this organic and her vocal tones, I never will know. "So ya gonna be staying a while?" she asked.

Hmph. "Since I don't have a ship of my own, I suppose I'll need a place to stay," I sighed, "that is, if I'm granted permission," I coldly added, staring over at Ultra Magnus, who in turn looked to Optimus. If I ever respected a being of authority, it's Optimus Prime.

"We will be more than willing to share our resources with you, Ninjusk," the Prime said. "However, you'll need a vehicle forme. Here on this planet, we are robots in disguise."

Reluctantly, I agreed. I knew that assuming a forme native to this world would keep me off the Decepticon radar. Curse that Soundwave. It took me a few weeks, but I was accepted as a member of the team. Ugh. It's not too bad, being a motorcycle. It took a couple of weeks to find the right one, but when it came, I knew it was the right one. Before I left for quieter areas to gather my thoughts, I heard the one named Miko arguing with her love, the human known as Jack. Their arguments are frequent, but have no fire in them. These natives are so annoying. Elita would love their ways. She always saw a joke in things. Elita . . . . . . . . .

(Flashback)

"Run, Ninjusk! RUN!" A pink female Cybertronian yelled. "Come on, Genos!" A black male Sparkling with pink highlights came running up. Suddenly, a blast came from the air, striking the Sparkling. He was immediately disintegrated. A Decepticon with missiles on his wrists, a slender head, and sharp fingers descended from the air.

"Elita. It's been so long!"

"I told you, Starscream! I'm not going back to your side!"

"Very well!" With a swift motion, he tore out her spark and exploded a missile in the hole. Even now, her scream pierces . . . . . . . .

(End flashback)

"Is something wrong?" a voice asked, interrupting my thoughts. It was the blue Autobot, Arcee. I could make out a slight blush on her metal cheeks.

"Nothing," I coldly growled.

"I was just asking," she replied, strained patience in her voice. We were sitting on the edge of the top of the former Autobot base, looking out over the canyon below. "Aren't we a little close to the edge?"

"I don't care about heights," I replied coldly.

The female Autobot shrugged, and sat down next to me. "I know that look," she said.

"What look?" I asked. As far as I knew, my face was an emotionless mask.

"You had the look of someone who was thinking about someone they had cared about, and lost. Believe me, I know." She looked behind her, at a mound of rocks that had managed to remain undisturbed by the Decepticons' destruction of the base. I could pick up traces of Dark Energon under the mound. "That's where my partner, Cliffjumper, lies," Arcee said, sadness tingeing her voice. "He would've loved to meet someone like you." I could tell by her voice that she had loved Cliffjumper deeply, but she had gotten over her loss. "So, who did you lose?" She asked.

"None of your business," I grumbled, uncomfortable with her question. She didn't pursue the point further.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Arcee said, scooting closer to me. "I'm not Miko, you know."

"Thankfully," I muttered. Suddenly, Arcee stiffened, and pressed a hand to her communicator. A message must have been coming in. My communicator wasn't on the same frequency as the others.

"Okay. . . . They're excavating what? Okay. I'll tell him," Arcee said before turning to me. "Not like he'll listen," she muttered under her breath. "Optimus just said that there's activity at a Decepticon mine over in Mongolia. Unusual activity."

"And they expect us to investigate?" I asked. "I can camouflage myself. Just don't get in my way," I added as I jumped off the cliff, switching to motorcycle mode just before jumping off a rock.

"Here we go," I heard her mutter as we drove through the groundbridge sending us to Mongolia . . . . .

Okay, time to give credit where it's due. Thank you, Darion Prime, for giving the idea of telling part of the story from Ninjusk's point of view. Heck, if it wasn't for the "If I were an Autobot" questions on Darion's profile, this story wouldn't exist. Now, just who is Ninjusk? Why is he so cold? And who is Elita? You'll have to review in order to get any hints. Read and review. All flames will be handed over to Predaking for thorough roasting. Oh, there's the barbecue sauce. Anyways, read and review. I will not update until I get a minimum of 5 reviews. Until then, have a nice day . . Hahahahahaha . . . . . . . . . . .