chiv-id: All righty, just wanted to get the first chapter done at least! And if it seems like I'm rushing through the story, please say so! I enjoy it when people give me (USABLE) feedback because it helps improve my writing! However, no flaming or mindless bashing...it doesn't help the story progress any further and it's just distasteful. Anywho, hope you like this next chappie!

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. None of it. Except for my OCs and this story.

A Fated Exchange

Chapter 1: Unexpected Misunderstanding

PRESENT DAY: Jasper, Nevada

"Centennia, they're still out there…what're we going to do?" a calm, but clearly worried tone emanated from Marleen Lavender's mouth, her short red-hair being blown by the subterranean drafts that rose from the caves she hid in. It was a dire and grim situation Centennia had gotten herself and her humans into that day. They were just trying to find a place to stay for the night before and in the morning, found themselves cornered in the caves they took sheltered in by large robots that were not unlike Centennia. Marleen Lavender, 29-year-old mother of the 10-year-old twins Ally and Max Lavender, was currently trying to keep her children quiet so as not to alert the dangerous bots as Centennia surveyed the outside.

"We have to wait them out…because as far as I can tell," Centennia looked behind herself and noted the cliff and the bottomless drop that awaited them a few yards away with the flashlights on her chest, "We can't retreat into the rest of the caverns. And trying to outrun them is useless, not when I haven't been able to recharge." Centennia attempted to transform, but her energy was just too low even for that: a white beat-up 1953 Chevrolet 210. She briefly glanced at her own body, even more horrid than her first appearance some hundred years ago. There were more than a few rust stains now and there were many makeshift repairs that she herself had to do, considering her make and model wasn't exactly Earth-based to begin with. The only positive attribute she had gained over the years that's prevented her from shutting down completely was the solar energy panel system in her chest, probably the only part of her that was well-kept and a gift from one Dr. Harold Lavender, an innovator and inventor who had been deceased for some time.

"The children haven't fed since last night and it's already the afternoon," Marleen hugged Ally and Max tightly, both of them weak from hunger, "They'll starve if they don't eat…" Centennia knew full well the risks of deciding to stay out of the public sectors of Jasper, Nevada, but she had sensed some strange goings on in the area since she had visited last. Now, she regretted it, watching as Ally and Max both grew paler from the lack of nourishment, their red hair only a stark contrast to their skin and a reminder of their condition.

"I'm sorry, but those candy bars were the only things we had since the last town over and-sshhh, get down," Centennia curled herself over Marleen and the kids, inching away from the sun that crept into the crevice that they had crawled into before, watching as a large purple-tinted robot walked past them unknowingly. And he wasn't the only one out there, armed with deadly lasers and other alien tech that could fry them in a heartbeat. These other bots had no mercy for humans or Centennia, a learned experience over the years she had spent watching out for the Lavender family. Now, the only surviving blood relatives were Marleen and the twins, Centennia desperate to keep them safe.

"It's just not safe out there. We have to stay," Centennia told her reluctantly, putting a hand around the three small humans with an apologetic expression, "It's our only chance." She had seen countless descendants of Holly die, some of them from natural causes such as old age and childbirth, and others from being hunted by those same purple robots that were outside the cavern now from mere association with her. However, she would never abandon them again, remembering the slaughter of June 1934 when she'd decided to disappear from the Lavenders' lives completely, only to hear that the enemy had taken advantage of her absence…and burned an entire plantation of Lavenders.

"Maybe someone'll come help us…" Max mumbled quietly, his eyes opening slightly before closing. Centennia woke from her reverie to look down at the small boy. Though he was Ally's older twin, he was slightly shorter than her and smaller in size, making Ally look more like the older sibling. Max was innocent and kind, though a bit hard-headed when it came to food and wanting to ride shotgun in her cab, but…he didn't deserve this…

"Shhh, shhh…save your strength," Marleen glanced at Centennia, both of them having no hope that there would be any rescuing done…at least, not for the likes of them. Suddenly, the roaring of an engine perked Centennia's audio receptors, Centennia pressing the humans to keep low to the ground as she ventured closer to the opening of their cave. She peeked and saw that there was a blood-red bot standing at the lip of the crater before it was shot down by some of the patrolling violet automatons, causing her to narrow her eyes. She'd never seen the others shoot their own kind before, Centennia becoming suspicious as she watched the purple robots attack the red one with horns as if their mortal enemy.

"Centennia, what's going on?" Marleen asked, bringing an arm up as the battle started causing the cavern to quake, pieces of rock and rubble falling around them as Centennia rushed back to cover them. Suddenly, several red lasers darted towards her, one grazing her on the shoulder as she continued to protect her human companions.

"One of them is fighting the rest, but I-"

KABOOM!

A gigantic blue-flamed explosion erupted outside their cavern, Centennia's optics going wide before she shut them tight and curled into a ball around Marleen, Ally, and Max. The magnitude of the blast caused her to pitch forward towards the unending darkness of the drop, but she managed to hold onto the lip of the cliff before they completely fell. However, the pain Centennia felt was excruciating, every nerve in her metallic body coursing with a searing burning fire that almost made her lose her grip on the three humans she was trying to keep safe.

"Everyone, hold on!" she yelled over the roaring flood of blue-tinged flames, pouring over her and the edge of the cliff. Every circuit in her hand felt as though it were being ripped apart by the power of the explosion, but once it subsided, she slowly pulled herself and the others up with a measure of difficulty. They immediately started coughing violently as the aftermath of the blue-fire faded into dark black smoke, constricting their lungs.

"Don't breathe in the smoke and stay low, hurry," she told them, not having the need to breathe as she hovered over them while crawling towards the exit. She hissed when she tried to use the hand that had been bathed in the fire, pieces of her metal armor slipping off and showing the wiring underneath, oozing blue liquid. Centennia tried to fully comprehend what had happened, but upon seeing the dim slate-grey color of the once vibrant blue crystals, she had a slight understanding that perhaps they were the cause of the blow-up. She looked up as the rest of the purple robots had evacuated luckily enough, allowing her time to find an opening in the dark black plumes of smoke to recharge via the sun, opening her chest panels to let the rays soak in while cradling her injured hand. They were all filing into a warship that was obscured by the cover of the smoke, allowing some safety in her decision.

"Uggghhh…w-why're they leaving?" asked Ally as quietly as she could, one hand over her mouth to prevent the violent hacking from making too much noise.

"They were here for all this…whatever this is," Centennia picked up a dull gray shard and dropped it from her chest height, causing it to shatter while her eyes narrowed slightly, "And since most of it looks dead, they don't need to be here anymore." During the small moments that they were shaded from the warship that hovered over them and safe, Centennia wondered who that red bot was, where did he go, and why the others were attacking him when they were clearly of the same origin? These questions had to wait, however, as the warship suddenly took off, capturing her attention.

"So…can we go get something to eat now?" Max eagerly questioned now that all the commotion was over, Centennia and the others chuckling at his enthusiasm for food. They were ever the optimists, despite the things they had seen and the constant nomadic movements of their journey, and Max was perhaps the most light-hearted out of them all.

"…Of course, once my recharge is done," Centennia responded, turning her chest more directly towards the sun. The female machine hoped fervently that one day, the Lavenders would be free of this persecution, from these foreign combatants who seemed to be so hell-bent on hunting down every last one of Holly's descendants.

"Hey, Centennia," Marleen kneeled by a large chrome horn that resembled the ones the red bot was wearing, broken and scuffed, "What do you make of this?" Centennia reached over and picked it up with her unharmed hand, turning it over to her other palm as she examined it.

"It must've come from that red robot I saw earlier…" the weary machine replied, sighing, "They were fighting rather seriously…but because of the explosion, I couldn't see what had happened to it…"

"Maybe it was like you," Ally offered, coming over and hanging over Centennia's knee, which was larger than her own head, "Maybe it was a good robot." Centennia didn't reply, only continued studying the strange object until a bubbling sound was heard and a green-white portal erupted near where the enemy warship had once rested.

"Quickly, hide!" she shouted to the humans, ushering them behind a couple of desiccated crystals, their location luckily obscured by the residual smoke. And while she had managed to keep them out of view, she wasn't able to find her own hiding spot as more robots came through that portal, causing her to freeze in an awkward crouched position. They flew out with their weapons readied for action and Centennia backed away to lure their sight from her human charges. Her eyes narrowed as the last one came out…and it was a big one.

"Stand down," it ordered in a low and serious voice, the rich timbre showing that the bot was male, "And surrender yourself." Centennia had a long history with the alien invaders, and it had surprised her that this one had asked for her to surrender as opposed to just shooting her immediately. Moreover, these were actually quite the array of colorful automatons, the biggest one and supposedly the leader adorned in blue, red, and chrome. However, she still didn't trust that these were any different, years of painful experience teaching her that just because they seemed like her, didn't mean they weren't going to blast her where she stood without a moment's hesitation. Centennia kept her eyes on them as two poles morphed from her back, her free hand reaching up to grasp it in preparation.

"Not likely," she replied in a steely tone as her battle mask slid on, her optics glowing a bright white. She couldn't fight them, knowing that her energy needed to be saved for driving and the fact that it might endanger the Lavenders. If she could just get a distraction, she could drive off with the Lavenders and escape, hoping for a quick getaway.

"…You, that's Cliffjumper's horn!" one of them yelled at her now, a clearly angry female voice rattling off the stones in the crater, "What did you do to him?" It came from a blue and pink android, her guns pointed at Centennia's hand that clutched the chrome horn. Centennia looked at it and gripped it tightly, raising it so that they could all see it.

"Was this your comrade's?" she asked, the blue and pink female furiously glaring at Centennia, "…Then perhaps we can negotiate." The leader of the other robots continued to keep his weapon up after some consideration, Centennia not budging in like.

"You are outnumbered and surrounded," the matter-of-fact tone in his voice made her grip the weapon still residing in her back tighter, "There is only surrender." And of course, he was right, Centennia mentally noted, her optics darting between the five of them.

"A pity," she said without much sarcasm or lip, "I believe that there's a second option…" With that, Centennia suddenly threw the ornamental piece at the robots before running back towards Marleen and the kids, scooping them up and transforming around them. The thrown object only caught the others' attention for a second as the opposing forces redirected their firing on Centennia's fast-moving automobile form, veering up the side of the crater to rocket up before landing heavily on her tires.

"Centennia, get a move on!" Marleen yelled, covering the children in the back seat as Centennia punched it, the wheels screeching and throwing up dirt as she sped off towards the suburban area of Jasper, Nevada. As far as Centennia could tell, the enemy robots tended to stay away from the populated areas when they needed to and she could only hope that she wasn't bringing more trouble as she roared along the road away from her new pursuers.

[AUTOBOT RECORDS]

"The first Decepticon activity in three years..." Ratchet commented in a serious voice as he watched the vehicle speed away, Optimus having ordered everyone to ignore the white robot that had just fled the scene.

"That we know of. If they're scouting for Energon, they may be preparing for his return," Optimus replied, walking along the ridge as he stared at the scorched mess of the once usable Energon surplus. Arcee was carrying the horn that the mysterious femm in white had thrown, looking at it worriedly. Optimus turned towards Ratchet as the medic examined the horn next to her.

"Ratchet, can you track his position?" Optimus asked, Ratchet opening his scanner to check for Cliffjumper's signal.

"No…" the medic whispered in horror as his eyes widened, a dead long beep sounding that made everyone back away from shock, "Cliffjumper's life signal…just went offline." Arcee turned away, gripping Cliffjumper's horn tightly as she closed her optics, then she glared, looking to Optimus.

"We shouldn't have let her go!" she cursed, her expression vengeful, but Optimus put a hand on Arcee's shoulder, "Why did you let her go?"

"She was wounded," he told Arcee as she calmed down somewhat, having noted it when he saw the hand that was carrying Cliffjumper's horn, "We'll be able to track her with the Energon scanner." He slipped his hand away from her shoulder as he looked out towards the residential suburbia of Jasper, Nevada, optics locked on it. A Decepticon would never run towards a human population, not if they wanted to keep a low profile…and why hadn't she gone with the rest of them when it was obvious that they had fled in an orderly matter or else there would have been more Decepticons left behind?

"She has a lot of explaining to do…" Optimus heard Ratchet say as he turned to follow Arcee to give Cliffjumper's horn a proper burial, at least. The leader of the Autobots stayed for a few more seconds before turning his back to the fleeing white vehicle and following his subordinates.

"…That she does, Ratchet…that she does."

chiv-id: And that concludes chapter one of the story. Yep, starting WAAAAYYYY back in the series, from the MINISERIES. God, I totally love this new Transformers series, it is the BOMB. *GUSHES* Anyway, REVIEW peoples, I would love to hear your comments!