As I mentioned, I have diverged from pure bayformers 'canon' (I use the term loosely because they can't even get it straight half of the time). I'm sorry if this upsets you.

Happy Chanukah everyone~

And for those of you who can't remember how long a vorn is:

1 vorn = 83 years

"Virigo…" His deep voice echoed all around her.

Her claws gripped the smaller mech tightly around his neck, optics trying to focus while fear and guilt gripped her processors. Her spark was pulsing erratically; slowly one minute then racing at the next. It had all been too much…. too much death. "Why?" The word escaped her vocal processor before she could stop it.

"I gave you an order, my child." His massive, clawed hand found her shoulder, and she struggled not to purge her tanks. "Now end him."

She steeled herself, shoving down her desire to flee as she stared into the optics of the mech in front of her. So much fear there. 'Please,' he whispered, but she shut him out, plunging her hand into his chassis, and shattering the glass casing of his spark. Only a strangled cry escaped from his lips before he became dead weight in her clutches.

"Excellently done, Virigo," Hissed the ancient behind her. Digits gripped her shoulder appraisingly, but she did not react. Emotions deadened as she released the mech's throat… watching him fall to the dusty red earth. How many did this make now…?

Vertigo awoke with a start, cerulean optics flicking about the room for any signs of danger. Only the mulling of humans and Autobots met her gaze, and she relaxed, breathing out a soft sigh of relief. It had only been a dream.

"You okay?" Sideswipe's voice drifted gently from her side, and she turned her head to meet his gaze. His head was cocked to one side, concern tinting his vocals. The femme nodded, lip plates curling up into a ghost of a smile which he returned.

"Being grounded does not sit well with me. That is all, Sides," Replied Vertigo rising to her feet and stretching her legs. Tension filled every nook and cranny in her body from the tips of her talons to the edges of her wings. She spread said appendages out as far as she could in such a small space, rolling her shoulders and arching her back to try to work out the feeling of stiffness from her limbs. Any more of this and she would go stir-crazy…. She remembered Skywarp's stories about those who did not fly enough.

A shiver ran down her servos. It wouldn't come down to that. It couldn't come down to that…could it?

Vertigo finished stretching, offering a hand to her male counterpart, helping him to his feet. Nodding appreciatively, Sideswipe flashed her a mischievous grin. "So let's get out of here."

The femme shook her head, "We can't. I have no desire to add to the pile of problems Prime is already dealing with."

"Ahh, it's nothing he couldn't handle." Replied Sideswipe saucily, earning him a playful scowl and a punch in the shoulder from the flyer.

"You really are an aft…."

She frowned after a moment, wondering just what to do with the down time.

It was getting rather ridiculous, she had to admit. The aount of time they were forced to spend in the base was downright pathetic. Sometimes she would browse the internet, but that was beginning to be relatively boring as she processed all of the information she gathered almost instantaneously. Periodically the humans would put on a "movie night" and would all gather together to watch an Earth film. It was usually something that was filled with explosions and riddled with plot holes, but they would occasionally find something that was halfway decent. Vertigo enjoyed these nights. They distracted her from the tedium of everyday life now.

Boredly, the femme looked around, watching Dino recount a tail of particular daring to some of the small organic beings crowded around him. She had heard this one before.

There wasn't much of anything to do. There wasn't even much room for sparring… at least not for her. They had dedicated one such room to that task, but the triple changer was on unequal footing with the rest of them given the restricted size of the alcove. Her strengths rested in her ability for quick movements and being able to outmaneuver her opponents by taking to the air. Enclosed spaces were not her ally.

"This place sucks."

Their civilization had spanned nearly two billion years. Two billion years of technology, philosophy, art, and wisdom neither lost nor forgotten. It lived on within the older generations of their species, but this war was making finding those who remembered more and more difficult.

Humans could not even begin to comprehend the depths of the Prime's mind. His life had spanned nearly fifty thousand vorns; the lifespan of a generation of humans occurred in the blink of an optic. At times, Optimus found it tragic. In the time it took for a human to grow old and pass into the great beyond, a cybertronian would have only just finished developing. He was envious of their short lives at other times. They did not have to bear the burdens of past mistakes for millions of years, carry the responsibility of their entire race for the rest of an immeasurable lifespan.

They were arrogant creatures to think that they were better suited to command the Autobots than Optimus Prime, but this was their planet. The Prime would play by their rules while he was here.

A sigh escaped from his lip plates, rousing the medic who stood beside him from his work. The smaller mech quirked a brow at him, and Optimus shook his head wearily.

"I never wished to come back." He confessed after a long while. This war had taken its toll on them all. He was tired, worn, weighed down by the ghosts of the past.

Ratchet's optics snapped into focus, "You don't mean that." His voice was gruff, but his leader could hear the concern in the undertone.

There was a pregnant pause, and Optimus returned to gazing into the distance, a contemplative expression etched into his visage. "In death, there was peace." The memory of what had happened when his spark had been extinguished was blurry at best… like trying to remember a dream he had had as a sparkling. It was more a feeling than a tangible recollection. He remembered freeing, unbounded serenity; the light brush of a lover's fingers over his battered plates. "I was finally released from this unending war."

"Optimus," Growled Ratchet darkly, "We need you."

The Prime nodded thoughtfully. "I… know. I understand your concern, old friend, and I wish for you to know that will not abandon my people. I promise you that." He had a duty to his people, and as the last Prime, he could not take his responsibilities lightly. His troops really did need him.

Ratchet cuffed him in the arm with a wrench, hissing "You damned well better." The CMO returned to tinkering with an object Optimus could not identify. "I swear to Primus himself if you dare die again I will patch up that overgrown body of yours and reignite your glitched-up spark. You still have to produce another Prime before you can rest."

"Ratchet, I do not think now is-"

"Primus help me, Optimus," The old mech snapped. "You're not getting any younger. You died once already. And by sheer dumb luck we managed to find a way to bring you back to life. You may think all of this is fate, but I do not share your faith." He shot a glare over his shoulder. "How long are you going to wait?"

The Prime remained silent. This was not the time to discuss such matters. They were still under the direction of the human bureaucracy, and the mech had no intention of giving them a personal demonstration of cybertronian reproduction. Nor did he have the intention of broaching the subject with the any of the available bots in the vicinity. Raising a sparkling during war time was to be avoided if at all possible, and currently it was indeed avoidable….

He caught sight of Virigo in a far corner, stretching her wings restlessly as she discussed something with Sideswipe. Optimus was genuinely gladdened that the two had forged an exploratory friendship since the demise of The Fallen. It was impossible to miss the way the young mech looked at her sometimes, but she didn't seem to mind it much anymore now that he had halted the majority of his advances.

Vertigo looked around haphazardly as she spoke as was her habit of scanning her surroundings. Noticing that the Prime was observing them, she caught his optics, inclining her head in acknowledgment. She had never broached the subject of what she had said during Megatron's revival, and the wizened leader made no move to push her for it. There was time. If she ever wished to open herself up once more, he would be there for her.

He returned her nod with a slight smile, though part of him felt disheartened as he viewed how wings constantly twitched and stretched haphazardly. She could barely extend them past their usual resting position swept back along her dorsal side. They were massive, mildly awkward given her size.

Sideswipe tugged at her hand, tearing her gaze away from the Prime as he pulled her toward the box in which he kept his meager possessions. Most of the items that were stored in there were weapons of some sort or another, but Optimus knew that the young mech was more sentimental than he let on; there were objects in there that filled an emotional need in their time of war. He picked up a cannon of sorts, cradling it like one would hold a small child as he- presumably- described it in detail. The weapon was passed to Vertigo's hands and she seemed to heft it appraisingly before nodding her approval, handing it back to the mech. Optimus had to admit that they fit well together… perhaps she wouldn't end up mentioning anything to him at all.

"It's a beautiful weapon, isn't it?" Sideswipe positively beamed, waiting for Vertigo's reaction as she held his new cannon in her claws. She regarded it for a few moments, testing its weight and feel in her arms. It was well balanced; not too heavy, but not terribly light either. Running her fingers down the barrel, the femme finally raised her optics to meet those of her anxious counterpart, nodding and cracking a small smile of approval.

"It has a very good feel to it, and the grip is very comfortable. It is quite a very fine piece of weaponry." Said Vertigo after a moment, handing it back over to the mech. "I can certainly think of many situations in which it could be put to good use."

Her thoughts immediately drifted to darker times, remembering the dream that had consumed her earlier in the day… was it even day? She checked her chronometer, verifying that it was indeed daytime. It could sometimes be so difficult to track the span of time when one was consistently denied access to the outside world. She barely had any use for tracking time while grounded. She shook the dreadful remnants of her thoughts and shook them from her processor.

She was a different person now. These were different times.

Sideswipe must've caught on because for a moment his cobalt optics conveyed concern, his free hand coming to rest on her shoulder as he asked "What's up?"

Her visor plates unfurrowed once more as she shook her head. "It is nothing."

These really were different times.

His fingers lingered on her armour, warm, and for a moment it was all she could focus on. It was… strange; not quite unpleasant, but not particularly welcome either. It had been a while since he had attempted any form of physical contact with her, and Vertigo couldn't quite decide whether to shrug him off or to allow the amicable display of affection. After a few seconds she finally pulled away, gaze falling to her pedes. Her wings twitched uncomfortably.

The mech took the hint and took a few steps back, placing his new toy back in his trunk. "So… ah…." He faltered for something to say, optics wandering around the relatively small enclosure. "I was think-"

"Sideswipe," A gruff voice interrupted him. Ironhide manifested him a nanoklick later, clapping the young male on the back. Said mech hunched his shoulders in turn, glowering at the weapon's specialist. "It's your turn to play with the humans."

"Again?" Sideswipe groaned, rolling his optics in a very human fashion. "They get all over the place and leave these muddy little footprints all over my finish."

"Bumblebee can't. He's going to visit Sam." Ironhide frowned, "And that bossy little human female that always barks at Optimus doesn't trust Vertigo not to crush any of the soldiers. And I don't want to do it, so I relegated it to you, youngling. "

The dark femme snickered, shoving Sideswipe towards the miniscule training bay of the humans. "You do not wish to keep our almighty guardians waiting now, Sides, do you?"

He shot her a glare then shook his head, rolling his way over to where a group of soldiers had gathered. If nothing else, watching this would be entertaining.