A/N: I do not own transformers.


chapter four

"Heyzephyr! Howareyou?" asked Blurr as he came into the med bay.

"Hey Blurr!" said Zephyr as she stopped re-calibrating a scanner that had been acting up to look at the midnight blue mech "What can I help you with?"

"The weapons system in my right arm has been a bit glitchy since the last encounter with the decepticons." said Blurr as he forced himself to speak slowly so that she could know

what was wrong. Zephyr shook her head and pointed to the berth.

"Sit down and I'll take a look at it." she said as she activated one of the good scanners. Blurr nodded and sat down on the berth as Zephyr manipulated the scanner so that it

moved over to the speedy Autobot and began to scan him. She hummed slightly as she watched the results appear on her holo screen before tsking.

"This is pretty bad Blurr," she said as she hitched a ride over to the berth on one of the moving screens "But I think I can fix it. It might take a while, so bear with me."

"Iunderstand." said Blurr "Justaslongasitgetsfixed." Zephyr nodded and pressed a few buttons on the holo screen which deactivated Blurr's weapons systems and pain receptors.

Gently, she pried open the armor and began to repair the damaged wiring in his arm. Zephyr glanced up at Blurr and noticed him flinching slightly. She checked his pain receptors

and sure enough, they were deactivated.

"Blurr, you're thinking about the pain again." she said "You have to stop doing that."

"I'msorrybutIcan'thelpit." said Blurr. Zephyr sighed.

"I really don't want to put you into stasis but if you keep this up, I'll have no choice." she said.

"I'm sorry." said Blurr, surprising Zephyr since he was talking at a normal speed "I just can't stop thinking about the pain since I was held captive."

"What happened Blurr?" she asked "Have you talked to anyone about it?" Blurr shook his head.

"I've been afraid to talk about it." said Blurr.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" said Zephyr "You know that you can tell me anything Blurr." Blurr nodded and looked down at the ground for a minute before speaking up.

"It all started back on Cybertron." he said "I had just infiltrated a decepticon stronghold and somehow I ended up walking into a trap. They caught me and I was sent to the high

security decepticon prison ship. Once I was there, I was tortured in so many different ways as they tried to get information from me that I didn't have. I don't know how long I was

there but the pain that was inflicted on me while I was there remained with me after I escaped and it seems to still linger even now."

"It's alright Blurr." said Zephyr "You just have to learn to let the pain go and to not let it rule over your life. I speak from experience."

"I guess you're right." said Blurr with a small smile "Maybe I should just let it go."

"Exactly." she said "And now I'm done fixing your weapons system. See that wasn't that bad when you had your mind on something else." She took a quick scan and smiled

"Alright, everything's in tip top shape. Just be more careful from on when you're fighting 'Cons, 'kay?"

"IwillZephyr." he replied as she reactivated his weapon system and his pain receptors "ThanksBye!" He jumped off of the berth and ran out of the room. Zephyr sighed softly as she put the scanner away.

"You're way too nice for your own good Zephyr girl."

"Switchblade!" said Zephyr as she turned and smiled at her friend "What are you doing here?"

"Well," said Switchblade "I managed to get today off and I was wondering if you wanted to go for a ride with me 'n Surfy, since he managed to get the day off as well."

"That sounds like a great idea!" she said "We haven't hung out in over eight months. It will be awesome!"

"Great!" said Switchblade "Should we go now or later?"

"How about later?" said Zephyr "I need to watch the med bay until Ratchet comes back from the meeting he's in."

"Right." said Switchblade as he walked towards the door "Just give me a buzz when yer done!"

"Will do Switch!" called Zephyr as he walked out the door. Once the door was closed, she sighed and sat down before falling back onto the berth. Even though she hated to admit it,

she was tired, both physically and mentally.

"I need a vacation," she said as she closed her eyes "And a nap." She laid there for a moment before suddenly whipping out her trusty titanium wrench and chucking it. There was

the sound of metal hitting metal and Sideswipe fell out from behind the transformer sized filing cabinet with a dent in the side of his helm.

"Damn, girl," said Sunstreaker as he walked out from behind the cabinet "You've got good aim and you're lucky you didn't hit me and ruin my paint job."

"That was the the reason I threw the wrench at Sides'." said Zephyr as she sat up "That and he is the one who comes up with all the pranks. Now could you please leave before I

put a dent into the side of your pretty head, you vain 'bot." Sunstreaker scoffed before dragging his twin out of med bay and past a confused Ratchet. The CMO shook his head and

walked into the med bay.

"Any particular reason Sideswipe was being dragged out of the med bay with a dent in the side of his helm?" he asked as he looked at his human assistant with his arms crossed.

"They were plotting against you again Ratchet." she replied "So, I stopped the prank before it occurred and Sideswipe just happened to be in the path of the wrench I threw with

my eyes closed." Ratchet raised an eye ridge.

"You managed to hit Sideswipe with your eyes closed?" he asked.

"Yep." she replied "While he was hiding behind the filing cabinet too. If you don't believe me, watch the security footage." Standing up, Zephyr walked over to the edge of the berth

and slid down the leg "I've gotta go Ratchet and no complaining because you owe me a day off. Just give my cell a call if you needed my help." She picked up her wrench and

shoved it into her messenger bag before leaving the med bay with a wave of her hand.

"I will never understand that femme." said Ratchet with a sigh "Her personality is a bit too strong at times." He shook his head and went about cleaning the already clean med bay.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Soundwave sat in his dark blue media van alt. mode just off of a lonely stretch of desert road. Next to him sat Barricade, who was also in his alt. mode, with Frenzy in the

passenger seat. Ravage was lounging in the back of Soundwave's alt. mode as Laserbeak flew about, scouting the area. Soundwave was still fuming about the loss of one of his

cassettes, Rumble, who had turned against him in order to protect a human and a human femme at that! That femme must've done something to Rumble because his cassette

not only did not recognize him but his form had been upgraded and the telepathic bond that he shared with all of his cassettes had been severed. He was going to make sure that

femme suffered in the most painful and drawn out manner he could think of. The only reason Barricade was with him was because the mech had nothing better to do and he was

up for both torturing humans and fighting off any Autobot that decided to try to stop them. As the two of them sat there, debating on their next course of action, Laserbeak flew

up and landed on Soundwave's roof. A strange, low metallic noise filled the air as Laserbeak delivered his report to Soundwave before vanishing into the back of the van.

Soundwave revved his engine before shooting off down the dirt road followed closely by Barricade.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

'YEEEEEEHHHHHHAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!!' said Switchblade as he launched into the air in his motorcycle form with Zephyr on his back. Slicksurfer was wrapped around her head

as a helmet as the road through the desert.

"DAMN IT SWITCHBLADE!" yelled Zephyr "I AM SO GOING TO REFORMAT YOU INTO A TELEVISION WHEN WE GET BACK!" The only response she got was laughter from

Switchblade and Surfer urging the motorcycle mech to go faster. Switchblade turned sharply, kicking up a cloud of sand as he shot off in another direction.

"I am so going to take a screwdriver to your hard drive when we get back to base." said Zephyr a Switchblade slowed down a bit to allow her to regain control of her rapidly beating

heart.

'Aw, come on Zephy girl,' said Switchblade 'Ya know you're having fun.'

"Shut up Switch." she growled "You purposefully jumped off of that rock without warning me."

'I'm sorry Zephy girl.' said Switchblade 'I'll warn ya next time 'Kay?'

"Alright," said Zephyr with a sigh "Just don't do it again."Surfer decided to speak up at this time.

'Zephyr, there is an Autobot following us.' said the small 'bot 'I know that he wasn't ordered to follow us because we snuck out and he is hiding with the help of a cloaking device.'

An unreadable look crossed Zephyr's face as she suddenly hit the brakes, making Switchblade swerve. That was followed by the sound of a car screeching to a halt. Swinging her leg

over the back of the motorcycle, Zephyr turned and stood there with her hands on her hips.

"Alright, I know that you're there Mirage," she said "Now come out before I throw a wrench at you and don't even think that I would miss you because I managed to hit Sideswipe

when he was hiding behind the filling cabinet earlier." The air distorted before a cobalt blue Giugiaro Ford Mustang appeared. It sat there for a minute before the whirling of gears

filled the air as the car transformed into Mirage. Once he had fully transformed, Mirage kneeled so that Zephyr didn't have to look so far up to talk to him.

"Why are you following us?" she asked as she crossed her arms.

"You left the base without permission." said Mirage "I came along to make sure you didn't get hurt. There are still Decepticons on the loose and it's dangerous for you to come out

here without protection."

"I have Switchblade and Slicksurfer with me." she said.

"They aren't enough to fight off a larger Decepticon for a long period of time." said Mirage.

"Hey I resent that!" yelled Switchblade but Mirage ignored him.

"I will not allow you to get hurt." said Mirage "You are the first real friend I've had in a long time." Zephyr let out an irritated sigh.

"Mirage, I'm able to take care of myself," she said "Do you think I've learned nothing in the eight months that I've lived on the base?"

"No," said Mirage "But it's too dangerous. Even if you are strong and have all the knowledge in the world, that doesn't change the face that you are far more fragile than us."

"Is that what you think?" she asked "That I'm just some delicate creature that needs to be treated with care?"

"No," said Mirage "It's just that you wouldn't stand a chance against a Decepticon."

"So now you're calling me weak?" she asked as irritation began to spread throughout her.

"No," said Mirage "It's just...."

"I think you've said enough Mirage." interrupted Zephyr as she sent him a glare "You've said more than enough." Swinging her leg over the motorcycle, Zephyr took off before

Mirage could even move, leaving the mech sitting there. Mirage's door wings drooped as his shoulders slumped. He had just messed up royally and now, Zephyr was probably never

going to speak to him again. That thought hurt his spark. He never meant to call her weak or fragile, he just wanted to tell her that he was concerned for her safety and that he

wanted to protect her but he had failed at doing that. Maybe he didn't deserve to have her as a spark mate or any spark mate at all. Maybe he should just avoid her completely and

avoid the spark ache that was destined to happen if he accepted her as his spark mate. He transformed and was about to start heading back to base when he picked up two

Decepticon signals and both of them were heading in the direction Zephyr had taken off in. Mirage took off in the direction that Zephyr had taken off in and prayed to Primus that

she was alright.


'Zephy girl,' said Switchblade 'Did ya really need ta yell at Mirage like that? He looked like a kicked cyber puppy when we left.'

"No." said Zephyr sadly "I didn't mean to yell at him like that. I know what he said was true, I just don't like people telling me things like that to my face, it hurts. It makes me feel

like I'm worthless. Which I am when compared to you guys."

'Don't say that Zephyr.' said Surfer 'You are worth the whole world to me and Switchblade. You sheltered and protected me when you could've easily turned me over to the

government.'

'Yeah,' said Switchblade 'You repaired me and let me live with ya and Surfy when ya could've just left me ta die and ya even went out of yer way ta help Sparkplug get fixed up and

ta reunite him with his fellow Autobots.'

'What we're trying to say, Zephyr,' said Surfer 'Is that you are special, whether you want to admit it or not. Any one of your friends would willingly give their life for yours and you

know that but you're just afraid to admit it.'

"I guess you guys are right." said Zephyr "I'll apologize to Mirage when we get back to base. It's the least I can do for yelling at him." Switchblade revved his engine and Slicksurfer

chirped in agreement just seconds before the sound of sirens filled the air. Glancing behind her, Zephyr saw a police car coming right at them at high speed and she quickly realized

that it wasn't Prowl.

"Slag, it's Barricade!" she said "Switch go faster!" Switchblade complied and quickly speed up, easily pushing two-sixty but Barricade was catching up fast. The smaller blue mech

sped up to three hundred mph but he didn't want to go any faster for the fear that he would harm his passenger. Slicksurfer managed to send out a distress signal to the Autobot

base just before his and Switchblade's long range communicators went on the fritz.

'Soundwave's here.' said Surfer 'We are in deep trouble if we can't get away from them.' Switchblade yelped when Barricade's bumper grazed his back tire.

'Get the hell off of my tail ya damn fraggin' 'Con!' yelled Switchblade effectively mixing both Cybertronian and human curses in order to insult Barricade. His response was Barricade

pulling back before ramming into Switchblade's back wheel which caused the small Autobot to swerve before he ended up skidded sideways into a boulder. Zephyr was sent flying

upon impact, hitting the ground hard and rolling several dozen times before coming to a stop. Switchblade transformed and held onto the boulder for support before spotting

Zephyr's unmoving form.

"Zephyr! Slicksurfer!" he yelled as he half staggered, half ran over to them, only to be tackled to the ground by Frenzy. Slicksurfer removed himself from Zephyr's head and

transformed before looking over Zephyr's unmoving form.

"Zephyr?" said Slicksurfer as he gently touched her arm and shook her slightly "Zephyr, wake up!" He was rewarded with a groan and Zephyr's eyes opening.

"Slicksurfer?" she asked as she gasped for breath "Is that you?"

"Zephyr, you need to get up!" said Surfer "We need to hide!"

"I can't feel my legs Surfer." said Zephyr with another groan "And it hurts to breathe." She tried to move but whimpered when pain jolted through her body. Surfer took a step

back and scanned her. When he got the results of the scan, he almost fell over. Both her arms and her legs were broken in several places as was her back and ribs. She was also

bleeding internally and she would die if she wasn't brought to Ratchet quickly.

"Hold on Zephyr." said Surfer "Just stay alive, help will be here soon." He quickly whipped around when he heard a low growl and came face to face with Ravage. Ravage snarled at

Slicksurfer, who glared at the cyber feline.

"Back off cat breath," said Slicksurfer "Or I'll send you to the pit." Ravage made a noise that sounded like laughing before crouching down and getting ready to spring. Slicksurfer on

the other hand pulled out what looked to be a metal boomerang with a really sharp edge. He threw the boomerang but Ravage ducked, the weapon missing completely, and the

cyber feline looked at the small mech with a smug look on his face, only to be nailed in the back of the head by the returning boomerang. Ravage was sent sprawling, face first,

onto the ground while the boomerang returned to Slicksurfer's hand. A snarled escaped Ravage as he leapt at Slicksurfer, surprising the small mech, and grabbing his arm in his

mouth before proceeding to scratch and bite every bit of the mech he could get his teeth and fangs on. Zephyr watched the scene in horror until Ravage tossed Slicksurfer's

wrecked form and it landed near her.

"Slicksurfer." she whispered as tears ran down her face. The little mech, whom she had come to know as her closest and best friend, looked at her with his pale blue optics as she

reached her hand out to him, ignoring the pain it was putting her through. Slicksurfer, in return, reached his hand out shakily and grabbed her soft human hand, holding it in his

metallic one as loud footsteps headed towards them. Glancing up, Zephyr saw the dark blue Decepticon know as Soundwave aiming his arm mounted cannon at the two of them

and she watched as the cannon began to charge, energy glowing in the barrel of the weapon.

'So is this how it ends?' she wondered 'Getting killed by a Decepticon set on revenge in the middle of the desert? I never really thought that it would end this way but then again I

never really thought about how I would die. I won't get to apologize to Mirage either. That makes me feel really bad. I'm so sorry Mirage, even if you can't hear me, I'm so sorry for

yelling at you. Please forgive me. Mikaela, Ratchet, Blurr, Switchblade, Sparkplug, please forgive me as well. I'm sorry that I must leave you like this, without saying good-bye.

Damn it, I don't want to die!' Her eyes suddenly widened when a cobalt blue blurr tackled Soundwave, throwing the dark blue mech off balance as he fired his cannon, sending the

blast into the air.

"Mirage." she whispered as she watched the two transformers duke it out. Her gaze returned to Slicksurfer whose optics were now dead and empty.

"Slicksurfer?" she asked quietly as she reached forward and touched the armor that covered his spark case. It was cold where it suppose to be warm from the heat of his spark.

Tears began to freely fall down her face as she stared at her now dead friend. Looking up, she saw Switchblade tumble past as he was double teamed by Frenzy and Ravage and

Mirage being pummeled by both Soundwave and Barricade. Her hands clenched into fists as she squeezed her eyes shut, her tears falling down even harder than before.

'Please, whatever deity is out there, please give me the strength to help my friends. I'll do anything if anyone gives me the strength to protect them.' The shard of dark metal that

she always carried in her pocket, pulsed as the symbols on it began to glow blue. It phased through the material of her pants and melted into her skin before sending out a pulse of

blue energy through her body. A scream erupted from her throat as blue electricity danced across her skin.

'Do not worry child.' said a kind yet ancient voice in her mind 'I shall grant your wish and all I ask for in exchange is for you to give my children their hope back.'

Zephyr's eyes glazed over as another shock of electricity shot through her body and her breathing was short and ragged.

'The pain is only temporary. Once it is gone, you shall be born anew but for now, I shall give you the strength you need to save your two friends.' Zephyr's eyes

became pure electric blue as a white aura surrounded her.Her body move without the slightest thought and she stood up as her tattoos began to glow silver. All six mechs stopped

fighting and stared at her glowing form as several Autobots arrived at the scene and transformed. The Autobots were Blurr, Ironhide, Hound, and Prowl.

"What the pit is going on?" asked Ironhide as he stared at the scene.

"These energy readings are off the chart." said Prowl "The only thing that had this much energy was the All Spark but it was destroyed!" Zephyr found herself glaring at the

Decepticons as she held out her arms. Four glowing silver dragons that were identical to the ones tattooed on her arms and legs, appeared next to her. Their huge heads hovering

near her own while their bodies faded into nothingness. The four dragons roared before lunging forward, their bodies appearing as they attacked the Decepticons. The Decepticons

attacked back but once they realized that they couldn't win, they transformed and ran. The dragons stopped attacking and then faded completely from existence as Zephyr lowered

her arms. Her eyes returned to normal and she wavered for a moment before collapsing. However, Switchblade caught her before she hit the ground and held her in his metal

arms.

"Stay with me Zephyr." said Switchblade "Stay awake."

"Switch, I feel so numb." said Zephyr as her eyes slowly began to close "And so tired."

"No don't go to sleep, just yet Zephyr." said Switchblade as he carefully carried Zephyr over to the now transformed Blurr "We've gotta get ya back ta Ratch, so just stay awake."

He gently set her down in the passenger seat and strapped her in "Go Blurr, get her ta Ratch as fast as ya can, we're losin' her!"

"On it." said Blurr before shooting off towards the base.

"Primus help him get there fast." said Switchblade before climbing into the bed of Ironhide's alt. mode while Prowl hooked up Mirage's alt. form to Hound's jeep form.

-^(_)^-

Floating. She was floating. At least that's what it felt like. It felt like she was floating on water. Opening her eyes, Zephyr saw orbs of light floating past her and great clouds and

swirls of dust. It looked like the images of outer space that she had seen on the internet but how could she be out here without an space suit? Maybe she was dead. Maybe that

was why she was seeing this. She must've died.

"You're not dead little one." said the voice from earlier "Nor will you be dead for a long time."

"Who are you?" asked Zephyr as she moved into a sitting position.

"I am Primus." said the voice.

"Primus?" said Zephyr "The one who created all transformers?"

"Indeed." said Primus "Ratchet and Optimus Prime taught you well."

"So, why I am here?" asked Zephyr "And if I'm not dead than where am I?"

"This is the very inner reaches of the mind." said Primus "It exists in every mind and belongs to every mind yet there very few who have the level of inner peace

and knowing needed to come here. It is here that all the known knowledge of Universe resides. As to why you are here, this is were you have sent yourself in

order to block out the pain that you are feeling as your body heals and transforms."

"Transforms?" said Zephyr "Why am I transforming?"

"You will need a stronger form in order for you to fulfill your part of the deal we made." said Primus "You are becoming the living embodiment of my spark."

"Your spark?" asked Zephyr.

"Yes." said Primus "You were carrying a shard of my spark. It became one with you and endowed you with its power. You are becoming one of my children. You

shall be my daughter, born from my own spark."

"Does that mean I will no longer be myself?" asked Zephyr.

"No not at all." said Primus "You will still be yourself, just in a different form." Zephyr looked out at the stars with a far off look in her eyes.

"What happened to Slicksurfer?" she asked.

"He is at peace." said Primus "He said that as long as he did not die in vain and that you lived, he would be happy. If you wish, I can allow you to speak with him

one last time. It's the least I can do."

"I'd appreciate that." said Zephyr "I never really got to say goodbye earlier." Primus didn't answer. Instead, an off white spark floated in front of her before forming into a small

mech she knew very well.

"Zephyr!" said Slicksurfer as he jumped into her arms "I'm so glad that you are alright."

"Surfer," said Zephyr "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you as well." said Slicksurfer "You are the reason I am alive, after all."

"I guess." said Zephyr "You know what I'm going to miss the most?"

"Me and Switchblade having our 'sibling' arguments?" asked Slicksurfer.

"I'll miss that, alright." said Zephyr "But what I will miss the most is when it was just the three of us, hanging out and listening to music as we watched the sky or worked on a

project together. When we would sit around with nothing more to do than enjoy each other's company. That's what I'll miss the most."

"I'm going to miss that as well." said Slicksurfer "At least we have those moments to remember. Zephyr, I want you to be happy again. Whatever has been bothering you, I want

you to let it go. I don't want you to be sad anymore. You have friends and people that care about you now, there's no reason for you to be sad."

"I'll try Surfer." said Zephyr she hugged him "I'll try my best but I'll need sometime. Alright?"

"As long as your happy." said Slicksurfer as he snuggled into her hug. A smile tugged at Zephyr's lips for a moment before she noticed that she was fading. Slicksurfer pulled back

and looked at her.

"I guess this is goodbye, Slicksurfer." said Zephyr.

"I guess." said Slicksurfer "Goodbye Zephyr and take care of yourself until we meet again and tell Switchblade that I say goodbye and that he can have my dvd collection."

"Goodbye Surfer." said Zephyr "May you be at peace until we see each other again and I'll tell Switch. Thank you Slicksurfer... for everything that you've done for me."

-^)_(^-

Zephyr found herself waking up and she saw start up messages flash across her vision. 'So I really have changed. This is going to be really fun, especially since I'm going to have to

explain my change to everyone. Do I really have to wake up?' All her systems were green and her optics came online. Zephyr winced at the brightness before her optics adjusted to

the light and everything came into focus. She wasn't surprised to find herself in the med bay and everything was still the same size as it had been when she had been there last.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, she looked around the room which was eerily empty. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was now completely mechanical with armor

that was an indescribable metallic color. Engraved in the armor in black was numerous symbols that she couldn't recognize. Looking down at the berth, her reflection stared back at

her with pure white optics. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she stared at her reflection, her metallic hand tracing her reflection.

"So I see that you're finally awake." Zephyr looked up and saw Ratchet standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe. White met electric blue for a moment before she

looked back down at her reflection. Ratchet pushed off of the doorframe and walked over to the berth. Zephyr felt him scan her for any damage but said nothing.

"What's wrong?" asked Ratchet.

"What happened?" asked Zephyr in a small voice.

"I was hoping you could tell me." said Ratchet as he carefully picked her up and held her in his hand "You were badly damaged when Blurr brought you here but when I went to

start repairing you, you began to change. Your structure morphed from organic to organic metal before finally becoming completely metallic. I tried to help ease your pain as you

transformed but your body rejected everything that was suppose to help. Do you have any idea what happened?"

"Primus." said Zephyr "He gave me a new life." Ratchet looked at her critically for a moment.

"Is there anything else that you're not telling me?" he asked.

"I am the All Spark." said Zephyr quietly as she looked down. Ratchet's optics softened as he gently ran a finger down her back in a comforting manner.

"It's alright little one." he said "Everything will alright. I spoke to Optimus while you were recovering and he gave me the all clear to build you a larger form. It will take me a few of

your Earth weeks to complete it with both Wheeljack's and Skyfire's help. Once that is done, we'll see about helping you get use to your new form."

"Thank you Ratchet." said Zephyr.

"It's nothing." said Ratchet "Everyone's been worried about you, even the twins."

"Do they know?" asked Zephyr.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Ratchet "But don't worry. No one outside the base knows. Once you've been transfered to your new form, you'll need a new name so that the

Decepticons won't know your true identity."

"Alright." said Zephyr "I'll start thinking of names." Then she noticed a flashing light in the corner of her screen along "Ratchet what's the flashing red light mean?"

"That means you need to refuel." said Ratchet with a chuckle "I guess its time for your first taste of energon." Zephyr looked at him curiously.

"You mean the pink stuff that you told me not to consume?" she asked.

"Yes." said Ratchet as he walked towards the door "But now that you're one of us, you'll have to drink it." He set Zephyr down on the junction between his shoulder and his neck

before turning off the lights and exiting the room. Zephyr was silent for most of the trip to the rec. room but once he got there, she began to voice her concerns.

"I don't know about this Ratchet." she said in a small voice.

"You'll do fine." he said "Just relax."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." said Ratchet "It's been almost one Earth month since the attack. Everyone's been worried that you wouldn't come back online."

"That long?" said Zephyr.

"Yes." he said "Now if you don't have anymore concerns, we're going to be going in now."

"Alright." she said "Let's do this." Ratchet smiled slightly before entering the rec. room. The room wasn't too crowded as they entered and Zephyr recognized the occupants of the

room as those she hung out with on an almost daily basis. Blurr, Mirage, the twins, Sparkplug, Switchblade, Bumblebee, Sam, Mikaela, Will, Wheeljack, Skyfire, and Jazz. Ratchet

carefully took her off of his shoulder and set her on the table with Switchblade, Sam, Mikaela, and Will.

"Zephyr!" said Mikaela as she ran up to Zephyr "You're alright!" Zephyr thought for sure that she was going to hug her but instead Switchblade got to her faster and pulled her into

a hug.

"Zephy girl!" said Switchblade as he spun her around in a circle "Yer alright! I was so worried about ya!" He set her down and Zephyr promptly fell on her aft as the world spun.

She had been awake a total of thirty minutes and already her equilibrium was off. This was so not going to end well. That much she was sure of. Standing up, Zephyr realized that

she had gotten taller, standing only about a half foot shorter than Switchblade, who use to tower over her.

"Well, look at ya." said Switchblade as he patted her helm "Ya grew a bit, Zephy."

"How are you feeling Zephyr?" asked Sam.

"Like I've been run over by a speeding dump truck," said Zephyr "Before crashing head first into something hard, metallic, and sharp."

"That bad huh?" said Mikaela.

"Yeah." said Zephyr "This is going to take some getting use to."

"Don't feel bad Zeph." said Sideswipe with a stupid grin "At least now we can prank you." Zephyr's optic twitched in annoyance and Sunstreaker noticed this.

"Uh, Sides," said Sunstreaker "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not Sunny?" asked Sideswipe "It's not like she can do anything about it." The red lamborgini failed to notice Zephyr pulling a wrench out of no where and taking aim until

said wrench collided with the side of his head, knocking him senseless.

"I think she can throw that wrench even harder now." said Sunstreaker as Sideswipe fell out of his chair and flat on his back. Everyone at the table got a good laugh as Ratchet

came back to the table with a small cube of energon for Zephyr and gave it to her. Zephyr stared at the glowing pink liquid for a moment before taking a careful sip. Her face

scrunched up in displeasure but she continued to drink it until every drop was gone.

"Can't say that's the most pleasant thing I've ever tasted." she said "But it ain't the worst. I'll get use to it... eventually."

"That's the spirit Zephyr." said Wheeljack "And don't worry about a thing, We all are going to help you out if you need it."

"Thanks." said Zephyr "That means a lot to me."

"Well, we all owe you." said Skyfire "You've helped us all out in many ways. You are our friend."

"Yeah." said Blurr "Youarealwaysthereforus,sonowitsourturntobethereforyou."

"I really appreciate this." said Zephyr "I've really never had friends like you guys."

"Well, there's always a first." said Jazz cheekily.

"Don't make me get my wrench and throw it at you!" said Zephyr with a playful glare.

"How ya gonna get it girl?" asked Jazz "Yer up there on the table and your wrench is down there next ta Sides' head."

"I'll show you!" said Zephyr before going over to the edge of the table and sliding down the leg. Then she went over to Sideswipe's head and pick up her wrench before waving it

threateningly at Jazz.

"Alright, ya got the wrench." said Jazz "Now what are ya gonna do?"

"I'm gonna throw it at your big head that's what!" said Zephyr as she went to throw the wrench but Mirage stopped her.

"Zephyr, could I talk to you?" he asked before shooting a look at everyone else "In private?"

"Umm, sure, I guess." said Zephyr as she lowered the wrench before putting it away. Mirage held out his hand and she carefully stepped onto it. Lifting her gently, he stood up

straight before exiting the room.


"Are you sure that you should be letting him talk to her about something this important, Ratchet?" asked Wheeljack "I mean she just came out of stasis lock."

"He needs to do this 'Jack." said Ratchet "I normally wouldn't allow this but you should have seen Mirage when he came out of stasis a few days after the battle. He refused to

leave her side until I kicked him out of the med bay and I caught him sneaking back in on several occasions after that. Something must have happened that day and its really been

bothering him. I hope that by allowing this, we'll get back some normalcy in our lives."

"You know that really didn't make any sense doc bot." said Sideswipe as he sat back up "And I thought you couldn't get any crazier." For the second time that day, a wrench

collided with Sideswipe's head and the red mech fell back onto the ground in a dazed state.


Mirage and Zephyr were just outside the base watching the sun set. The cobalt blue spy was sitting on the ground with his back against the rock wall and Zephyr was sitting on his

knee.

"So," said Zephyr as she glanced up at him "What did you want to talk to me about?" Mirage looked down at her with his royal blue optics.

"What has Ratchet told you about relationships amongst our kind?" he asked.

"Well, he said that they're not always between mechs and femmes." she said "They can also be between two mechs because femmes are so rare." Ratchet had told her that her

first day on base so that she wouldn't be freaked out if she came across two mechs acting all loving towards one another.

"Did he tell you anything else?" asked Mirage.

"Well he did mention something about spark mates." said Zephyr "He told me that Primus created each spark with another that would complete them. The two sparks could be

identical or opposites or in rare cases there would only be subtle variations between the two but just enough so that they can make up for the other's failings. Tell me if I'm wrong,

but I believe that Jazz and Prowl aren't just bond mates. I think that they're spark mates."

"You're correct." said Mirage as he stroked her helm "Not many can tell the difference but you seemed to be able to." Zephyr felt her spark pulse erratically as he stroked her helm.

For some reason she always felt so awkward around Mirage. Before, her heart would race and she would have to fight to keep a blush hidden, which was so weird because she

never use to blush. Only Mirage seemed to be able to do that and even as a transformer, he could still make her feel so odd.

"Mirage." said Zephyr after several moments of silence "About the other day. I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I didn't mean for it to come out that way. Please forgive me."

"I already have." said Mirage "It was my fault anyway. I shouldn't have followed you."

"It's alright." said Zephyr "Besides, I owe you for coming to my rescue."

"You ended up coming to my rescue though." said Mirage as he ran a finger down her back "Listen, Zephyr, the way I've been acting since I've meet you isn't the way I normally

act. I'm normally more reserved and withdraw from others. You somehow managed to bring out a side of me that I haven't shown since my best friend died. I... I want to thank

you for doing that."

"You're welcome." said Zephyr. Silence fell between the two of them as they watched the sun fall further beneath the horizon. Mirage was contemplating on how to best tell the

small femme that they too were destined to be spark mates but he couldn't find just the right words to say it. He decided to tell her another time. For now, he wanted to enjoy this

moment of peace with the one person in the universe that would appreciate it as much as he did. The time would come when he would have to tell her and he hoped that he

would have the courage to say it when the time came.


Zephyrstar: I finally got chapter four up! This chapter was really hard to write. I'm not really sure why but it was. Also if you were thinking that Mirage was finally going to tell Zephyr how he felt, well he is but just not in this chapter. I also feel really bad about killing off Slicksurfer but alas, I needed someone to protect Zephyr from the big, bad, cyber cat, Ravage and Switchblade was getting pawned by the much smaller Frenzy. Anyways, please review, I always appreciate hearing what you have to say! See ya!