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Lets continue, shall we? Uhm... mild violence within, k?

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Chapter Three : Trust

A man who doesn't trust himself can never really trust anyone else. ~ Cardinal De Retz

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Prowl was in a foul mood. A very foul mood. Prime had, apparently, gotten tired of him leaving the base without giving probable cause. There was a brief argument, and then the ninja bot decided it was best for him to leave the room. He did have a temper, but he kept it on a very short leash. He had decided, for the sake of the crew and himself, he would go on the roof. No one bothered him when he went there. But, the truth was, he wanted to go off to visit Nellie. She was always happy to see him, always there to talk or listen, almost always wanting to engage him in some sort of activity... and now he had depressed himself. Just a little, but still...

There was a creaking sound, and the ninja bot turned to see Sari coming onto the roof. She hadn't changed much since... the incident a few years ago. She still had the build of a teenager, but she had grown to control her powers. She had only used them a few times outside of battle, and when she did she always felt terrible afterwards. Her dark red eyes had long ago turned an icy blue, and her cute pigtails had been grown out to her shoulder blades and hung loose. The artificial skin on her left arm had been removed to reveal black plating to blue circuitry. She was truly a beautiful young lady. "...hey Prowl." He'd take Sari any day.

"Hello Sari."

"So what's gotcha on the roof, huh? You get in a fight with Prime?"

"You heard?"

"Prowl, half of Detroit heard you guys." She said, giving him a goofy smile.

"...I see..." He mumbled. She sat down next to him, looking up with curiosity.

"I'm just wondering. Where have you been going anyway?" Sari asked, cocking her head to one side playfully. "You get a girlfriend?" He was absolutely dumbstruck by that.

"No! No, not at all... I, uhm... did meet someone... well, found someone. Do you remember Nellie?"

"Oh my god! You found Nellie?!" Sari squealed excitedly. She hugged his leg, which caught him off guard.

"Yes I... wasn't aware you missed her that much."

Sari beamed at him, giggling. "Are you kidding me? She was one of my best friends! Well, after you guys of course." He smiled down at her, but then frowned upon remembering his 'restriction'. "What? You should be happy! She's a sweetheart! I'm sure she likes you so... what's wrong?"

He sighed quietly. "Prime has decided that until I tell him where I'm going, I can't visit her."

"Then... lie! You have fun out there, don't you? I think that if you have fun, you should go!" He looked at her like she was out of her mind.

"Sari, you know how I am about lying." He hated to do it, but he'd do it if he had to. Or felt he had to.

"I know, but... you're not happy here, at least not right now, you want to go, and Prime's just doing it to look good for Ultra Magnus. Come on, you know that! And Magnus isn't really paying attention." Sari wanted him to go. All she wanted was for her friends to be happy. "Why not, next time you go out there, you ask her to come to the base?"

"Sari, you know we can't do that."

"Hey, she was here a few years ago, remember?" She thought a minute, then said, "Well, she was but you didn't see her. I don't think..."

"She told me about that." He still felt bad about that. She remembered him at a glance, and he couldn't remember her if he stared at her for hours on end.

"Oh, cool! So you like her or what?"

His visor shifted. "Excuse me?"

Sari put her hands up defensively, giving a nervous smile. "No, no I didn't mean LIKE like her or anything! I meant that, uhm... well, why do you like going back to her?"

He had to think of that one some. "There's... a lot I like about her. She's a good listener, even though I'm...pretty quiet. And she's honest. She's caring... and she loves nature, like... I do..." He looked at the sky. "Perfect cloud watching weather today..." He felt an urge to change the subject.

Sari giggled. "You miss her! I knew it! Hehehehe, you made a friend!"

He frowned at her, looking over the rooftops. "I suppose I have..." Prowl stood up quietly. He looked down at Sari, frowning lopsidedly. "...Do you... think you can cover for me?"

"Sure! Optimus won't know a thing. Promise!" She said to him as he dove off the roof. Sari grinned to herself, laying on her back. "He was right, great weather today."

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"Hello Nell!" Prowl said from the far end of the field. He still wasn't used to saying her name. She looked up at him, giving him that friendly smile.

"Hey Prowl! It's been a few days. I was getting a bit worried there." Nellie said. Now this was a strange sight. Nell was on her back, in the middle of a field, with the black donkey a few feet away. The very fat donkey who could care less about the bot standing just feet away.

"My commander decided that until I show him where I've been going, I can't visit you."

"Well, that worked didn't it?" She said with mild sarcasm. "Any particular reason he wants to do that? Like, is it 'I'm an asshole' day or something?"

"No. He just likes to keep tabs on his crew. To make sure they're in reach." He stated matter-of-factly. He looked at the donkey, who looked at him with little interest. "So, Nell, why are you out here?"

"Well, Brandy's pregnant. She's due in a few days really. So, I'm just spending all my free time with her, keeping an eye on her. Sometimes the birth times can be off a few days." She said from the ground. She looked up at him, grinning. "Sit. It's a nice day..."

"Yes... it is..." He sat down next to her, then slowly eased his way onto his back. She giggled at him, which was confusing. He hadn't done anything funny... "What?" He sat up, looking on his back. "Did I lay on a land mine?" Nellie was now giggling like a maniac."What's so funny Nell?"

"It's just... well you act like you've never laid down before is all."

"...I have lain down, just not very often." Did he just say lain?

"Did you just say 'lain'?" She grinned up at him. "Go on, lay down. No land mines out here. I don't think Brandy's gonna give birth today... but I'm not taking any chances..."

"I can see the point of that." The ninja bot laid back, putting his hands behind his helm. They were quiet for a while. He couldn't think of anything to say. That wasn't a problem, he liked quiet.

Nellie spoke up after about twenty minutes."This is gonna sound pretty out of the blue here but... are you any good at singing?" She had propped herself up on one elbow, grinning curiously.

He chuckled at that, looking at her with a light smile. "I wouldn't know. I've never tried."

"...I bet you could..." Nellie said, going back to folding her hands behind her head. There she was, doing it again. She just stared off at the sky, looking for something. "...if you wanted to. You'd probably be pretty good."

Prowl thought a moment. What music did he know exactly? He didn't know that much. He preferred the sound of rain or birds. He thought for a while longer, and started quietly. "Well, I had a dream I... I stood beneath an orange sky..." Prowl tried it a bit louder this time. "With my brother standing by... said brother you know... it's a long road we've been walking on..." Then he fell silent. "Uh...That's... really all I know from that one." That was a little strange, singing. He had never tried before. He could hum, he knew that. But the look that Nellie was giving him...

"...now that was nice..." She mumbled. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had seen her blushing. Now that he couldn't understand.

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It was pretty dark, wherever Sarah was. And it was cold too. When she tried to sit up, she found immense pain across her stomach. There was a weight on her stomach, and she was reaching down to feel it when she heard-

"Ah, finally, you're awake!" Said a raspy voice from her left. Sarah turned her head to look, but found she couldn't see anything, even with her eyes open. "Oh, right, I need to remove that thing first..." Said the voice, getting closer. There was a whirring sound, and something sharp grabbed at her face. She pulled back, starting to remember what had happened. Something, some sort of robot, had taken her... away from Cole! Where was her friend?!

"Where is he? Where's Cole?!" She screamed at the shadowed form. It seemed to move, like to look at her.

"Cole? I didn't take any Cole..." The robot thought a minute, hand on it's chin. Then it slammed it's free hand into a wall, making a loud 'thoom' sound. Sarah jumped, scooting back. It was angry. That wasn't good. He could kill her with a finger and she had pissed him off! Well, she guessed it was a male... did robots even have genders? "Slag it to the almighty pit! I knew I should have kept looking..." He sort of growled. Then, the robot turned, showing bright red eyes and giving her this dark, nonchalant smile. "...Oh well! Too late to return you now. You aren't in any condition to return to earth, mind you." The thing frowned at her, before breaking out into a wide smile. "At least, not yet." It said in a sing-song voice. She couldn't see him too well, and she really wanted to get a closer look at him. The instant she moved, her stomach erupted in pain. She gave a small scream, hands going to wrap herself into a ball. "Ah... I would be a bit more careful, if I were you, little one." There was a dull chuckle from his end.

"What... did you..." Sarah's eyes widened in panic, and her hands slid down to her stomach, hoping to just find bandages. Her hands went to find something that made her hand recoil in fear. Wires. There were wires inside her! He had put wires inside her! The sick bastard! She grabbed the thick bundle with both hands and tugged, screaming when pain filled her insides. He was on her a second later, teeth bared.

"Stop tugging at it, human! Do you want to die?!" He screeched darkly, pinning her none too gently to the floor. He looked down at her, eyes lit with a fury she didn't know. "Slag it... if you go bleeding out on me like the last one I swear to Primus I'll...!" He stopped suddenly, lifting up from her. He kept growling, leaving her sight after a moment. He was terrifying in the right light. A purple chest, wider than her arms could reach. Long, powerful arms. Huge, red eyes narrowed from anger and knowledge. A long, silver face, somewhat wolf-like. He had claws, massive claws that he flexed in warning. He was a monster. But at the same time... he was stunning. It was terrifying. Much like her on those days the... oh dear god where was her bandanna?!

"Where is it! Where is IT?!" she screamed, covering her face with bloody hands. To her horror, she found there were... loops in her face. One in her nose, bottom lip, the left eyebrow, and two in the upper ear. Her breathing grew heavy and she grabbed her shoulders in fear. He could see her face and had made her even uglier! Why did this have to keep happening?! He obviously couldn't vomit or he would have already! Maybe he already did... she whimpered.

"Where is what human? Why are you screaming now?" He looked at her sideways, tilting his head. "Oh my, you sure know how to bleed... we can fix that..." He seemed to be smiling, which just pushed Sarah's temper over the limit.

"My name is Sarah dammit! Where did you put my bandanna?!" Okay, maybe swearing at the massive robot was a bad idea. But he just turned his head the other way, picking a few things up and putting them in the opposite hand. His fingertips looked like they could shred her to bits. He seemed to be ignoring her for now. Then he froze, seeming to be in thought.

"Oh, you mean that disgusting thing you had over your mouth? Yes, I used it for target practice. I had to have it removed to finish your... alterations..." He walked over to her, sitting down. She looked past him to see these... jet wings protruding from his back. He blinked in confusion at her strange look of fascination. The look changed into one of warning, and he pointed a finger at her. "Don't pull those rings out of your face either. They help you breath... and keep your eyes from imploding." She was still watching his wings. He frowned. "Hmm, you seem easily distracted... My name is Lord Starscream. Like you'll remember." He didn't think the human would add 'Lord' to his name, but he may as well try. With caution and a low glare, he dabbed the blood coming from Sarah's navel with a sterile cloth. "No more tugging these either. Infections of the navel don't work well with humans."

"...how do you know that?" He was strangely delicate in cleaning her, which wasn't a word she thought she'd use for him. Those claws he had... they were horrifying. At least he wasn't using them on her.

"Hmm... I guess I could say practice, but you might start pulling wires out again..." He looked down at her with this strange look on his face, and pinned her down with his palm. "This will hurt, try not to move." Sarah glared at him. What was with this guy? He was all sadistic then calm then pissy... he had robot PMS or something, she was sure.

"What are you? BipolaaAAAAAARRRR!!!" There was a searing pain on her abdomen, right near her navel. Her first instinct was to run, but he had her pinned. "Let me go! LET ME GO!" He held her still, and she grabbed two of his fingers from the pain. He didn't seem to mind, let alone care.

"Just relax, and trust me, it will end soon. I just need to cauterize this..." Soon, the pain faded, and Sarah was a quivering mass on his hand. He frowned at that. He sometimes forgot how fragile they were. He pulled his hand free and stroked her arm awkwardly. He had never been good at comforting. Stress was terrible on humans. He didn't want her crashing because he tried to fix her. He didn't mind that she flinched. It would have been strange if she liked him touching her. As soon as his hand pulled away, she pushed herself into the farthest place she could.

Starscream shook his head at the petrified human in the corner. For once, he wasn't trying to inflict pain on someone. He knew he didn't have to do these experiments, but the urge... the need... the desire... it was more important. He needed control over someone. Make them need him. He smirked. "The wires should be out in about an earth month... less so if you're a fast healer and stop trying to pull them out..." He stopped talking after a moment. Sarah was lying on her side, arms wrapped around herself, trying to hide. Oh well, she'd get used to it. She'd have to. She was his pet now. He wasn't the type to just let his pets go when they got hostile. Shoot them, maybe, but let them go loose where they could get hurt? No.

Never.

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"A duck."

"I see a shoe."

"I swear to you, it looks like a duck!"

"If you say so."

"Well it does! ...to me at least."

The cloud above looked nothing like a duck to Prowl. It looked like a shoe. Well, a sandal actually. How could a sandal look like a duck?

"So... how are things at the base?"

"Hmm?" Prowl turned his head, mouth open a bit. That was unexpected. "Well... the Elite Guard aren't too bad... Sentinel Prime is still... Sentinel. Jazz is an Earth fanatic, from what I understand. Ultra Magnus has Optimus on edge. He hasn't instructed him to do anything and he's all tensed up. He needs to learn to relax. I tried getting him to meditate once, he didn't really understand the concept. He tried at least..." He sat up suddenly. "Bumblebee is as rowdy as ever. Bulkhead has picked up painting again. He's interesting to watch. Ratchet has been watching an older television program called E.R. ...and that's really it."

"Hmm, sounds like you never get a second to yourself." He nodded and stood up.

"It's peaceful out here... with you..." And she was blushing again, but just barely. He was surprised he even noticed.

"Well, that's why I moved out here. The city of Detroit is a madhouse! And, well, I've always loved horses..."

He smiled. "You've made that clear..." The bot thought for a moment, and looked down at Nell. "I spoke with Sari today. She is... very excited to know I have found you." Nellie was pulling herself to her feet with the help of Brandy, wrapping an arm around her neck and rising with a grunt. "She suggested that you come out to the base. She's very excited by just hearing about you, and I'm sure she'd be even more so if you came out to visit."

Nellie blinked. "That sounds great. I'm flattered, I think. But...uh..."

"But?" Okay, that got him confused.

"... I don't know Prowl... I've changed a lot... a whole lot... and from what you've told me, I won't like some of these 'Elite Guard' bots..." She played idly with a tuft of Brandy's mane. He put his hands on his hips, then got to one knee and looked at her, elbow on the upright knee. She looked straight at him, sort of confused. "What? I just don't want to go." She crossed her arms at him, trying to stand firm. "Besides, I can't exactly pick up and leave. I have a job out here."

"I understand that but... think of it this way. You haven't seen Sari in years from what I've heard. I know Bumblebee would like to see you. Jazz loves humans, and he's a ninja, like I am..." He smiled down at her. She wasn't shy around him at all. He tried a different approach. "I'll be there too. And you know me. You know Sari and the others... and Prime will see the reason I've been away from the base so much..." He didn't know why he did it, but he put his fingers, very carefully, on her shoulder. "Please, Nell. Will you at least give it a try?" He smiled, cocking his head.

Nellie blinked at his fingers. It was very warm, to be honest. She realized she hadn't touched him before now. It was funny. The first time he touched her was him talking her into something. She liked him touching her. He felt safe. The only reason she herself never made contact was that, Prowl, to her at least, didn't seem like the kind of guy...bot... that wanted to be touched. She sighed. "...Okay. I'll... have to get it planned out so that there aren't any issues with my horses. But yeah... yeah I'll try it."

She didn't recall seeing him smile that wide as he did then.

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Hehehe! Yeah, I'm mean to Sarah. Wait'll you see what happens to Cole! 0W0

R&R! Love you guys!