"From The Fire"

"Daddy!" Ash sang, flying into the living room when she heard the door open and shut. Without a thought, her arms opened and wrapped around a set of jean-clad legs. She grinned, squeezing her eyes shut and snuggling into him, "I waited all day for you to come home!"

"Um...Ashlyn?"

That was not daddy.

Ash blinked, tilting her head back. She continued blinking, "You're not daddy."

Instead of the deep brown eyes and blonde hair her father had, this man sported thick, dark brown hair that was just long enough to style. His eyes were deep and blue, like electric blue. There was a confused and mildly concerned look on his face. He was tall like daddy, but he was a bit wider, more solid.

She tilted her head, "Uncle J?"

A soft smile pulled at his face and he knelt in front of her, "Hello, Ash."

She stepped back, folding her hands behind her, "I'm sorry. I thought you were my daddy."

He tilted his head at her, "I'm sorry I disappointed you."

She mirrored him, tilting her head in the same direction, "Hey, uncle J, where is he?"

"He's going to dinner with your mother," he paused, turning his head towards the still open door. His bright blue eyes fell on a pretty blue car as the door opened to allow a big red dragon to climb out and rush towards them.

Ash stared at the dragon, a big smile filling her face. She squealed happily, "Sunny!"

Ash loved Sundance. She'd known the dragon for as long as she could remember, and she simply adored her. Sundance was amazing. And although Ash didn't understand why she couldn't go outside and play with the other kids, or why she wasn't allowed to say anything about her at school, but Sundance was still her best friend.

Sundance liked to play. She liked to sing and dance, two of Ash's favorite things to do. She'd also dress up with her, and play hide and seek. She was tons of fun, and she made a really good pillow even though she was metal.

Sundance smiled back, "Ash!"

Ash attacked her next, hugging her as tight as she possibly could, "I missed you!"

Sundance sat down and wrapped an arm around her carefully, holding her close. Both girls looked up at Ash's uncle J when he started, "Sundance is going to stay here with you until your parents get back."

"Okay!" Ash said, already pulling the dragon towards her room. Uncle J stopped her though, reaching out to touch her shoulder to get her attention.

His eyes were soft and firm at the same time, "You two behave. Sundance, you know what to do if anything happens while we're gone."

Ash watched as the dragon nodded, stretching up to touch noses with him. He smiled and ran a hand over her horns before he stood up and walked back outside.

Ash waited for the door to close before she threw her arms up in the air in a 'V', exclaiming happily, "Let's play, Sunny!"

Sundance chuckled softly, nosing her gently, "Play what, Ash?"

"Lets go dance," Ash suggested as she turned and took off down the hall. She heard the clatter of Sundance's claws, close behind her.


The best part about being friends with Sundance was that she never got tired of something.

Ash loved to dance. Her other friends did, too, but they never wanted to dance as long as she did. But Sundance was an entirely different story-she could dance for hours with her without getting tired or bored, and she was always smiling. Ash loved the fact that she was always smiling.

It was nice, since her mother didn't smile enough and her father was always so busy at what everyone called 'the shop'.

The danced for a really long time, until Ash couldn't hardly move anymore. She stopped jumping around and lifted a hand to cover a yawn, "What now," a second yawn followed the first, "Sunny?"

"I think it's time for a nap," Sundance said, using her tail to turn the stereo off. She lowered her head and pushed Ash towards the bed gently, "a great dancer needs her rest."

Ash grinned at her, "You think I'm a great dancer?"

"Amazing," Sundance confirmed softly.

Ash turned around and hugged her before scrambling up into her bed, yanking off her shoes somewhere on her way up, "Hey, Sunny?"

Sundance was settling on the floor beside her bed. She tilted her head, watching her with soft red eyes. She said, "Yes, Ash?"

"My mommy says she doesn't dream anymore." Ash snuggled under the covers, sighing dreamily when Sundance stretched out and used her teeth to pull the blanket up to her shoulders. She blinked down at the dragon, "I think she gave up."

"On what?"

"Her dreams."

Sundance was quiet for a while. Ash, afraid that her best friend had already gone to sleep, rolled over just enough to peek over the edge of the bed.

Nope. Sundance was still awake.

"Have you given up on your dreams?" Sundance finally asked.

Ash scrunched up her face, "You're silly, Sunny. One day I'm going to be the greatest dancer ever, and I'll get to dance on Dancing with the Stars! I'm not giving up! Not ever!"

Sundance smiled softly, "With Derek?"

The little girl giggled, burying her face in her pink pillow in embarrassment, "Yes! He'll be my boyfriend, too!"

Sundance chuckled again, "Then go to sleep, Ash. Maybe you'll dance with him tonight."

Ash continued to smile, watching Sundance as she curled up, big beautiful wings going slack. She watched and studied the dragon until she could hardly keep her eyes open, marveling at how beautiful her best friend was.

Ash woke again later.

She didn't know what time it was, and it she didn't even think about it. The air was heavy and hot, thick. It felt like she couldn't breathe, and in an instant, she knew something was terribly wrong. Ash struggled to get out of her cocoon of soft, pink blankets. She poked her head out and looked around, calling frantically, "Sunny! Sunny, where are you!"

She grabbed the sheets and pulled herself out further, leaning far over the edge.

But Sundance wasn't there.

Her heart started to pound, filling with fear. Tears gathered in her pale eyes, and she cried, "Sunny! Mommy! Daddy!"

She looked at the door, seeing that it had been thrown wide open. Her eyes widened when she saw orange and yellow dancing down the hall, lighting the walls almost dangerously. The strange colors licked up across the walls, some tall enough to reach the ceiling. Her house began to groan, like it was crying, too.

"Help me!"

The tears were falling now as she finally freed herself, dropping down to the floor. She started coughing, squinting her eyes to see through the thick smoke. She stared at the colors, finally remembering what they were called-fire.

Her house was on fire.

She stumbled forward a few steps blindly, trying to find someone. She kept calling for her parents, for Sundance and her uncle J. Even her uncles Critter and Pockets, and her Mimi. She cried for all of them, hoping that at least one would hear.

She moved towards the hallway even though it was on fire, knowing that it was her only way out. She stood staring at the flames with wide eyes. The house trembled, and she fell. Something thundered ahead of her, like a big angry, hungry beast. She saw something fall from the ceiling further down, hitting the floor with a shutter.

Ash gasped for breath, raising small hands to cover her nose. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop her tears, but they wouldn't go away.

She looked again, and her heart soared with hope.

Sundance was leaping through the flames. The fire grabbed for her, trying to pull her back, but nothing happened. Her wings spread in slow motion, feathers glinting. Firelight danced across her rose red armor, and her red eyes glowed.

Ash smiled weakly, opening her arms for a hug when the big dragon landed on the floor, splintering wood with her claws. Sundance bounded forward, wings beating in the hallway. But they were so big they broke through the walls, tearing through layers of paint and sheet-rock.

Sundance crouched down, wrapping Ash up in both arms and holding her close to her chest. Ash hugged her tight, wrapping her little fingers tightly around her armor and digging her toes in, too. Sundance leaned back on her rear legs, calling, "I'm here, Ash!"

Ash gave a muffled answer, snuggling closer to her. She cracked an eye open to see what Sundance would do-there was no way out. How would she save them now?

Sundance crouched down, never loosening her hold, and sprung back up into the air. She rotated her wings and swung them down, creating a gust of air that had the fire jumping crazily. She lowered her head and slammed her horns into the wall, shattering it. The studs snapped like twigs, breaking into pieces that flew out in different directions.

Sundance didn't even slow down, continuing to tear through the wall of Ash's house until cold wind assaulted them from outside. Ash opened her mouth and took in a deep breath, clinging to her best friend with new strength. Sundance glided outside, somehow running upright on just two legs. She kept going and going, clearing distance almost effortlessly. Her claws left deep gouges in the dirt, breaking the flat bricks that made up the path.

Suddenly Sundance dropped into a low crouch, bending her legs at the knees until she was almost sitting down. She leaned down and carefully laid Ash out on the cool grass a good distance away from the house. They could hear sirens in the distance now.

Ash was confused. Why was she putting her down? Why wasn't she trying to get them away?

Sundance fell back down to all fours, lowered her head just long enough to press her nose into Ash's chest, and said, "You're safe now."

She's leaving me.

Panic squeezed Ash's heart. She reached for her, wrapping her arms around her face and holding her tight. She started crying again, "Sunny! Don't go!"

Sundance tensed slightly as an ear-splitting crack echoed in the air. Part of the house collapsed behind them. Again, the dragon scooped up the girl and carried her, moving her even further.

Sundance set her down again, "Be strong, Ash."

Ash stopped and stared at her with round silver eyes. The sirens were louder now, they could see the flashing lights down the street. She whispered, "I'm scared."

"I'll be close," Sundance promised, "I won't really leave you."

Ash finally nodded, letting her go. Sundance stepped back and turned, rolling her body forward and shoving off the earth. She beat her wings and ascended, vanishing into the dark night just as the first of the emergency vehicles squealed to a stop in front of Ash's burning house.

Ash stared after her, searching. Even when a bunch of guys tried to talk to her, lifting her to the fire truck. She told them that no one else was inside, but her eyes never left the skies. She didn't relax until she caught a flash of twisting metal in the trees, reflecting the firelight almost sharply.

Ash smiled softly, feeling safe now that her best friend had kept her promise.


Several Years Later


Sundance's tail flicked slightly, red optics staring at the sky.

She turned her gaze down to her friend when she felt a small, soft hand press against one of her lethal claws.

Ash was watching the clouds, too, a hand raised to push through her long blonde hair. Sundance could tell that something was on the human's mind, and waited patiently for her to speak. Ash leaned against her after a minute of peaceful quiet, "Do you remember the fire?"

The femme hummed softly, tilting her head as she dug deep into her memories. She had been in her second frame then, and Ash had still been a sparkling. She remembered the strange men that she had sensed running around the house that night. She remembered leaving Ash's side to go after them. Then the fire that happened anyway, the one that burned the house to the ground. She had rushed back inside when she'd smelled the smoke and seen the flames, barreling right through the wall instead of taking time to go in through the door.

Ash, scared, crying, dirty, and weak. Huddled in the hallway and crying desperately for someone to come find her, to save her.

"Yes." Sundance answered.

"I thought you'd left me there, and I was trying to find you...then you just came flying out of the flames like some mystical badass."

Sundance grinned, "As far as you were concerned, I was a mystical badass."

Ash rolled her eyes, "Don't get cocky, Sunshine."

Sundance chuckled, "what about it?"

Ash's face slackened, the small grin gone. She seemed to space out for a moment, organic optics staring out blankly.

"Ash?" Sundance curled slightly, wrapping her thick tail around the both of them. She prodded the teenager carefully with her nose, "what's on your mind?"

"You never left my side that night."

She said nothing, watching the human carefully.

Ash, again, pushed her hair back, "I remember looking out the window, looking out into the dark, and seeing you. Your eyes, your tail, your wings. Even when mom and dad came running into the room like headless chickens...you wouldn't go."

"I was supposed to protect you," Sundance explained softly.

"You did," Ash finally focused on her, "you saved my ass."

Sundance stretched out one of her wings slowly, "Somebody had to." Another grin spread over her face when Ash smacked her arm.

"Do you remember what you told me that night?"

"That you'll marry Derek?"

Ash rolled her eyes, "No, you idget." She paused again, narrowing her eyes in thought, "you told me to 'be strong'."

Sundance turned back to the sky. Beside her, Ash kept talking, tone going uncharacteristically quiet, "I think about that a lot."

Sundance shifted slightly, stretching out her rear legs. Ash slowly sank down into a crouch beside her, hand still pressed against her armor for support, "It felt like my whole world just shattered when mom and dad split. I loved them so much, and I couldn't understand why they couldn't love each other anymore. Mom took me far away from him...and I just wanted to quit. If I couldn't have them both, then I didn't want to live anymore."

A tiny sniffle reached Sundance and she almost shot to attention, raising her head and tilting it sharply to stare down at Ash. The human was crying. It wasn't quite a spark-shattering sob. Her tears were silent, rolling slowly down her face. Her eyes seemed blank. Sundance's spark squeezed in panic. She tensed to move, to do something-"

"I stopped dreaming," Ash continued with a sharp, humorless laugh, "I stopped dancing. I stopped smiling. I got into my first fights, yelled at my teachers and said my first cuss words. 'She's spiraling out of control', they'd say, 'she's becoming a danger to herself and her classmates.' Mom didn't know what to do. She wouldn't let dad back in. And then, when I was on the edge, the craziest damn thing happened."

"I was walking home when I saw some crazy bastard lighting a house on fire. At first I didn't care, I kept walking. Mom was going to kick my ass if I was late again. And then I heard this little kid crying. I don't know how, but I heard her. And I remembered our fire, the one you saved me from. I had been so scared, but you were so fucking brave and strong."

Slowly, Sundance laid her head down, curling her neck so that her nose was tucked in against Ash's side. She coaxed softly, "What did you do?"

"I went running into the fire like a moron, and I kept running until I found her. She was crying like crazy, but when she saw me it was like this light switch flipped on in her head-she smiled at me like she knew I was there to help. I picked her up and carried her out. The entire time, I was thinking about you. What you did, what you said...and I was strong again."

Sundance hummed quietly for a moment, turning over the humans words in her processor. It'd been years since she'd heard Ash talk like this, the girl took after her creators with keeping all of her pain and demons bottled up inside until she exploded. It was a trait Sundance admired and hated.

"They say that...fire is a destroyer," Sundance said quietly, "that, if it grows enough, it can burn you to the ground. That there's no way to really tame it once it's released. But there's a beauty to it, Ash. Fire will eat away at anything too weak to stand against it. Only the strong can survive it."

She stared into the girls eyes, "You are from the fire, Ash. You survived because you are strong."

Ash stared back. Sundance watched as the turmoil in her silver eyes faded away, filling with a certain, soft peace instead.

"Thanks, Sunny."


A tiny bit of history on Ash. She sounds like an adorable little kid...

Alright, so I'm still working on the next update to 'The Storyteller', but no promises on when I'll have it up yet.

I'm really enjoying writing these, it's nice to kinda dig into the characters' feelings and thoughts without overdoing it with battles and fatal injuries...I think the relationship between Sundance and Ash is kind of like the one between Demona and Critter...

...Annnnd you still have no idea what happened to Rex or why Ash's parents split up. I'm cruel like that.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it. Much love.

Sundance and Ash and their family and the story belongs to me. Transformers does not.