"Hello, young one. I see you're awake."

'Huh? What the heck just happened? The last thing I remember was…'

Nadira's eyes snapped open and everything came flooding back to her. 'What's happening? Why am I alive? Why is this place so… dark?' Finding herself unable to move her body, her bottom lip quivered in fright. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. Just what was going on here? She struggled, trying to do something, anything! She couldn't just stand by and wait for calamities to befall her; death would claim her before that happened. Oh wait. She was dead already, wasn't she?

If Nadira was honest with herself, she would admit that she hated the dark. Incentives included or not, nothing would convince her to enter a pitch-black room without companionship. This stifling gloom was the stuff of nightmares. Imagination running wild, she cursed silently as her mind cooked up all sorts of demons waiting for her in the depths of this despairing venue.

Trying her best to calm herself, she took comfort in the fact that she was conscious and breathing.

'At least, I think I'm breathing. ...Am I?'

She tried to take a breath, and found that she couldn't even move her chest.

'No, no, no!' On the verge of hyperventilating, the girl's crimson-tinted eyes darted around like those of a panicked rabbit, searching for someone, something that could tell her that this was a dream. It had to be! How else could she be lucid and thinking?

Pawing at her memory, she grasped hopelessly at snippets of memories flashing by. Their elusive forms slipped through her fingers, and she gave a silent cry of frustration. All she remembered was that she was crossing the street when… when something bad happened.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice someone trying to reach out to her.

"Nadira... Nadira!"

She jolted with a start, panicking when she couldn't find the source of the voice. 'Wh-Who's there?' she whimpered tremulously, close to losing her mind she was so frightened. 'Please,' she begged. 'Please let this be a dream so that I can wake up!'

"I apologise, Nadira. What you are currently experiencing is real and is no figment of your imagination."

'W-Who was that? How did it know my name?' The Malay girl strained her vocal chords in an attempt to speak, only for the pressure on her throat to tighten.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that as well. It is physically impossible for you, as a non-mechanoid, to speak or move when you are in the Well of Allsparks. Also, I'd appreciate if you'd address me accordingly. I am Primus, creator of the race known as Cybertronians. I have been acquainted with your… unique designation due to a rather unfortunate series of events."

'Pri…mus…?' The prone girl mused, the familiar name bouncing through her skull as she tried to place it accordingly.

"I believe your… mentor introduced me to you in casual conversation."

'Oh.'

There was a brief flash; Nadira recalled a… lady. She mentally made a face as soon as that thought formed in her head. She wasn't sure why, but her mind addressed the figure with a respectful 'Mister', no matter how feminine the person looked. She remembered his boisterous tone and wild hand gestures as he bounded energetically around what seemed to be a workshop. She watched his lips as they formed familiar-yet-foreign words.

Rung, Jazz, Prowl, Blaster… Just what was he going on about?

Nadira winced as the vision faded as soon as it had appeared. 'Who was that, Primus? It feels like I've seen him around before…' She waited as Primus gave a contemplative hum, feeling more than a little uncomfortable at the position she was in.

"Hm... It seems that "he" has done his job well. As much as I dislike having potentials brought to me in such gruesome manners…" As if recalling that he had a guest, Primus cleared his throat sheepishly. "Right, my apologies. Going back to the matter at hand, I feel obliged to tell you part of what is going on. You used to be human, which you obviously should have figured out. As of now, you are hanging in the balance between your universe and mine, which run parallel to one another. You have potential, Nadira. However, that potential was wasted one way or another-"

Primus then coughed pointedly, causing Nadira's cheeks to burn as she remembered her lung-damaging habit. 'Damn,' she thought. 'I should have quit sooner! Ugh, how annoying. Even in death I'm reminded of how impulsive I was. Why didn't I listen to-' Nadira prattled on mentally, drowning out whatever her counterpart had to tell her.

"-And as such, my… colleague and I have decided to give you an opportunity to pick up where you left off. ...Nadira."

The girl blushed, embarrassed that she got caught not paying attention. 'I-I'm all ears, Primus!'

"...Alright then. It is of utmost importance that you hear what I have to say to you. You will be going into the 'Transformers universe', as some of your kind have dubbed it, and I expect you to perform to the best of your ability."

As if sensing that Nadira was at a total loss, Primus made a noise of understanding and broke things down further.

"My children, the Cybertronians, have been at war for eons now. They are separated into the Autobots and Decepticons, and have been fighting for the last few millenia. I do not wish to witness any more mindless combat and death. As such, I believe that you, with the support from others, will be able to help to put an end to this once and for all. However, you will have to-" Primus made a short clicking sound, admonishing himself for having a loose tongue. "Pay no mind to that last sentence, Nadira. Come. Now is the time for you to choose a side. Do you wish to side with the righteous Autobots or the ambitious Decepticons?"

'W-Wow…' Nadira stuttered, feeling a little bit dizzy. 'I'm sorry, Primus. It's just so much to take in at one go! I've only just met you, and now you tell me that I'm gonna be thrown into what is essentially a war-zone? No thank you!' she huffed, before her energy waned at Primus' silence.

'I... I don't have a choice, do I?'

"...I'm sorry Nadira."

Taking a shaky metaphorical breath, she struggled to swallow the large lump that had formed in her throat. She was essentially a dead girl walking, about to be thrust into a world which she had no prior knowledge of. To top it all off, she was doing it alone. Steeling herself, she chose to suppress the mounting dread within her. 'I'll do it,' she promised herself, fire burning in her scarlet eyes. 'I'll take this damn bull by the horns and go to whatever dimension Primus is sending me to!'

"Well, it seems that you have made your decision. Come, Nadira. Which faction will you join?"

'It seems that the term 'Decepticons' stem from the word 'deceit' so I guess I'll go with the Autobots. They sound nice… I think…' She soon lapsed into silence, unsure about the decision she was making.

"Very well then. Choose your alt mode and your designation."

Primus sighed when Nadira drew a blank at both terms, breaking them down into simpler phrases. "Cybertronians have the ability to transform between a bipedal, robot mode and a vehicular or bestial mode. Going by your situation, I would suggest getting a vehicle mode. Nothing too fancy, just good enough to get from point A to B. Your designation is ah..."

He struggled to find the right words for his explanation, before giving a soft 'hmm' as he gained a moment of insight.

"Your designation would be what you humans call a 'name'."

Nadira bristled slightly as soon as she understood what she had to do. 'What's wrong with my old name? I happen to like it very much, thank you,' she hissed, displeased that she had to come up with a new one on the spot.

"Nadira, please understand. Your current one carries human connotations and it is of utmost importance that no one finds out about your roots."

Hearing that deciding factor, Nadira exhaled in exasperation and began to weigh her choices. While she was never one to drive a car out of fear of collision, there was something about bikes that struck her. The purring engine beneath her, the wind in her hair, the thrill of utter freedom as she dominated the winding mountain roads back when she was alive-

A cruel smile bloomed within her. 'Hah, already thinking about your death, love? You're dead. That's all there is to it.'

"Nadira."

'Oh. Right, right! Sorry about that...' Pushing aside her negative thoughts, she dwelled on what her potential vehicle mode would be. Recalling a lovely model she'd seen at her cousin's house in the earlier year, she made up her mind. She would be a BMW Concept 6 bike, and no one could stop her.

An appreciative hum from Primus caused her to grin. "Good choice. How about colour and designation?"

Nadira brightened. 'Uhm… If it's not too much trouble I'd love to be rose gold with silver accents!'

"Done and done, Nadira. Designation?"

'Uh… wow. I never actually thought about it. Hm… Would Sparkstorm suffice- No, no. That's too flashy. Maybe… Sunstreak? Nah, not my thing. Ooh!' If she wasn't immobile, she would have jumped for joy at the major lightbulb that went off in her head. 'How about Crystal?'

Nadira felt more than a bit offended at the choking sound Primus made, positive that he was laughing at her choice of designation.

Primus cleared his throat and seemed to be trying to regain his composure. "Nadira," he began, "of all the designations you've suggested so far, that last one fits you the least." At Nadira's frustrated exclamation, he chuckled warmly.

'Well, how about this, then? Does "Splitspark" sound good to you? I mean, it's just as flashy as the other names but it's cool!'

Primus made a noise of assent. "I was not expecting you to suggest that name, young one. I'm surprised. It fits well for what you will be doing in the future. Very well then. From now you will be known as Splitspark, a member of the Autobots."

A sudden bright light enveloped Nadira. Shrieking in agony, she writhed as long, hot wires dug beneath her skin, leaving raw, blistered flesh in their haphazard wake. Clawing at her arms, she whimpered, nails encountering metal before chipping off. It hurt. It hurt so badly. Coughing from the strain, an anguished cry spilled from her lips as metal burst through her skin, coated in a sheen of red. She was going to throw up. Rolling over, she gave a few dry heaves, tears squeezing out of the corners of her eyes. Looking through her tear-blurred vision, she noted her metal-encased hands-

Wait. Those were her hands?

There was no sign of her previous organic form; everything was now made from metal. 'Strange...' Despite her situation, a thought pushed its way to the forefront of her mind. Her eyes... they hadn't changed?

In a nanosecond, her entire body stiffened as her vision went white. A primal wail clawed its way out of her throat as sharp objects dug into her eyes, severing the nerves before hurriedly drafting a set of glassy optics over the area. At the same time, a stabbing pain erupted in her ribs, over where her lungs would be.

With a small, helpless whimper, Nadira -now Splitspark- sunk to the ground and passed out. As the light faded, the quiet ping of her newly-formed HUD failed to alert her in time.

ATTENTION: COOLING SYSTEM OUTPUT EFFECTIVE AT ONLY 45%

It's 4.33 am right now and I want to die. Send help pls TT^TT Ahhh anyway, the chapter's a bit splotchy because I'm still hammering down Nadira's real personality so yeah. Hope you enjoyed it!