Disclaimer: I own nothing…

Title: Kaleidoskop - different sides of her

Setting: In the cave before Barricade returns from distracting the Autobots


Dear Kagome,

Be back in a week. New prototype demonstration. There is much to prepare.

Love,

Dad

It was short and to the point but the trouble that it brought her was enormous. In three short sentences, the email already dictated her actions: go back to Washington HQ, catch up with the latest business trends and gossips, pick up a dress, call her personal hairstylists and start acting like a millionaire's doll that she was.

Though in a shorter and less favored manner, it basically told her: Vacation's over.

Simple.

And simultaneously brought more complications than she'd liked to have.

Funny thing was, two years ago she had not thought those complications would ever exist.

What to tell Barricade for one. While she had had him for more than a year as her constant companion, this part of her life was not something that she was ready to share freely with him just yet. This side of her where she was a slithering snake garbed in the finest of silk and endowed with the best that the world could offer but in exchange she had to mingle with a race she hated more than anything.

Kagome didn't want him to know that her yet.

The young-looking girl chuckled lowly before it turned into a full-blown laughter. "Kagome, Kagome, just who are you trying to kid?" she asked, her amusement palpable.

It was never about him.

She was not the one who was not ready to return to that yet.

She wanted to remain the adventurous and crazy girl who had too much time in her hands and more power than was wise under her command.

But her Father would not recall her if there was no emergency.

Kagome sighed heavily, twirling her office chair. "There shouldn't even be a consideration."

Her choice should be clear.

"You have no idea how true that statement is, milady," a voice cut through her musings. Instead of being surprised, Kagome only smiled at the figure that emerged from the shadows.

The smell of ozone marked his entrance, letting her know that GATE was used. Her latest piece of reinvention from Cybertronian technology that allowed a portable transporter to be activated at will. Some of the ancient Primes would balk at the idea that their Warp Gate was modified to suit her various self-indulging ventures – blasphemous! Kagome grinned before facing her visitor.

"You're late," the miko admonished acerbically. "Not something I expected from you, Hideyoshi."

The man smirked at his employer. "Just as I never take you for someone who think twice before deciding, Kagome-sama. You are your first priority after all. Why change now?"

Kagome glared balefully at the dark haired man, her blue eyes glowed threateningly. "Watch that mouth of yours, Hide."

The tall Asian man gave a curt bow. "Of course, Kagome-sama."

"I suppose the container is ready?" Kagome questioned just as shortly. Her temper was rarely good when meeting with this subordinate of hers. "I can't have a drone tracing our HQ just because you got careless."

Brown eyes were indignant when the owner replied, "We will put the drone in stasis before we transport him back to headquarter. It will never know its location."

"Good," said the girl, satisfied with his report. "Barricade should be back soon. I'll stun the scorpion long enough for you guys to stuff it in and transport it back."

Silence reigned in the cave, disrupted only by the humming of machineries around them.

One of the computers suddenly sprang to life, static filling the screen while harsh grinding noise was produced. One that might not mean anything to ignorant humans but Kagome knew better. She wished she didn't though. It would make life much easier.

Hideyoshi caught her grimace at the Cybertronian encrypted message. "He knows you have this?"

Kagome shot an annoyed scowl at him. "I don't think so. He'd be gone if he does."

"So he doesn't know you disabled his transmitter yet?"

His smug face was truly inviting a punch, but she refrained no matter how tempted she was. "He knows. But then again, he knows that he's still mine. I am entitled to do what I want and there is no way he would say no." her smile was arrogant. "My mech is honorable like that."

"He is loyal, first to them before to you," Hideyoshi voiced the problem that has been rolling in her head since she heard Starscream's transmission the first time. "His involvement with them predates you by several hundred times your age, milady. You should not expect him to stay."

"Of course I don't," she replied, almost somberly. "Doesn't mean I won't keep him in the end."

Hideyoshi's chuckle sounded mocking in her ears. "He'll rebel."

"I'm stronger than him. I can subdue him."

"He is cunning. You will break free, eventually."

Kagome glared at the lack of faith he showed. "It will be a new game then. I won't be bored either way."

He gave his master a searching gaze, reading her as easily as she did him. "But you don't want him to." He concluded, his eyes widened with amazement. "You actually care for him."

Her silence was more telling than any words her mouth could ever say. Unable to contain his mirth, Hideyoshi laughed, genuine and grating at the same time, ignoring completely Kagome's glowering eyes as she watched him mocked her in silence.

"You're repeating the same mistake again, Kagome-sama," the dark haired man stated patronizingly. "Getting attached, that is."

"Still none of your business, Hide," Kagome warned. "And I will return to see Father. You can be sure of that."

Hideyoshi shook his head wearily. "Not with this kind of trouble, you won't. We have too much riding on our anonymity to chance him going Judas on us, milady."

Teeth bared threateningly, Kagome rose from her chair. "He is mine!"

"His temporary alliance," Hideyoshi snarled back. "Not his loyalty. You cannot even decide if you trust him or not! Else you going to Washington will not be a problem at all!"

She flinched back as if slapped. His words, while cruel, described her insecurities perfectly. "I can have anything I want. Even his loyalty."

Hideyoshi smiled sadly. "You know that is not so, Kagome-sama. Even if you act like a child more often than is good for you, we both know you are aware that there are some things you cannot force." He approached the volatile girl carefully. "Given time, he can be yours, but time is not a luxury that we have."

Kagome rolled her eyes, sitting back on her comfortable chair. "I thought that is the only thing we have in abundance."

"There is another war brewing. One that will make you a target because of the power you inherited from the AllSpark and that in return will reveal your most coveted secret – your immortality(1)," Hide kneeled in front of his master, taking her hand in his. "Our idle days are numbered."

Her expression was steadfastly rebellious however, but his sincere worries eroded it. "I know," she finally relented. "I felt the presence of another Prime outside our atmosphere."

"We confirmed it," Hideyoshi reported. "The Nemesis. Decepticon's warship."

"A corrupt Prime then," she chuckled although her heart was not in it. "Or an imprisoned one. Barricade memories did not give me enough data on this new adversary."

"That is not all," prompted the man. "We know there are more, but our scanners are not advanced enough to penetrate their defenses without getting spotted."

Kagome frowned. "We'll have to rectify that."

"Our science department is already working on it."

Sighing, Kagome leaned back in her seat as her servant stood. "There are hundreds of little ones in there, Hide. Dying, starving, at the verge of their birth only to die due to malnutrition. The Decepticons may not be attacking purely on the principle of revenge."

"We don't know that," Hideyoshi shook his head. "It is best if we stay out until we receive more information."

"Agreed." The girl was silent as she mulled over the possible scenarios in her head.

"He cannot stay," Hideyoshi said, softly but firmly.

It cut through her thoughts abruptly. The girl glared at him, masking the flinch that reflected the sharp throb in her chest. "That is remained to be seen."

Hideyoshi did not say anything, his brown eyes bore into her blue ones deeply. It was the understanding in them that made her break their staring match.

"Our kingdom is strong, milady," he said. "However we are supported by one central pillar and we cannot afford to lose it to a passing fancy." He stroked her cheek tenderly. "We cannot afford to lose you. Without you we are lost."

"He is mine," her stubbornness held strong.

Hideyoshi nodded. "I never said otherwise, nevertheless he cannot stay. We cannot trust him."

For a second, the girl looked like she was about to cry but then she slapped away his hand. The malice burning in her eyes at his presumptuous behavior indicated the return of his selfish, taciturn master.

"It is not your place to dictate what I should or should not do, Hideyoshi," Kagome stated arrogantly. "I created you only to do my biddings, puppet. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I did," he replied shortly, his antagonistic attitude returning. "I cannot stand seeing you lead us all to ruin by your rashness, milady. That is too much like Inuyasha-sama than we'd all would prefer."

Without warning, her aura lashed out uncontrollably – both her natural and Allspark birthed ones, her fingers were buried deep into the man's throat, piercing his larynx with precise intent. "It took me years to mold you to perfection, Hideyoshi; it will only take a word from me to end you – permanently."

Blood gurgled into his lungs and his breathing became shallow, yet the smile remained. "Y-you won't," he rasped confidently, coughing out blood when she ripped out her fingers out viciously. "I'm still your favorite retainer, Kagome-sama."

She regarded her oldest adjutant coldly. "You need a reminder that nothing in my world is irreplaceable," the girl smirked emptily. "Not you, not Barricade, not even my kingdom. Just like you said, dearest Hide, I am my most important concern. Now stop bleeding on my ground. Barricade will be asking questions if there is too much fresh blood lying around."

A soft glow around the wound that lasted for a brief second later, Hideyoshi cough one last time before standing up, his throat unblemished expect for signs of drying blood. "I just bought this suit, Kagome-sama." He complained good-naturedly as he took off his tie to wipe the remaining red liquid off his skin.

"You have a closet full of them," she dismissed easily. Absently, the girl looked over the room she was vacating. "Tell me Hideyoshi; just how precious is this base to us?"

Hideyoshi looked around, taking in the carvings of Cybertronian glyphs mixing with the invisible energy network that was made by the magic of the Sandworm youkai who once occupied these caves, he calculated the consequences of it exposure to outside world.

"Nothing compromising is inside," he finally concluded. Giving her a mocking smile, he reported acerbically. "Even should this place be discovered because of your penchants for dramatics, there will be no dire consequences to us. Not if we move all these machines out of this place with GATE. The worst damage will be the loss of energon mine."

"We have bigger ones all across the world," Kagome mentioned, nodding to herself. "Yup, we can lose this place then."

"What –"

"Just clean out this place after Barricade and I leave, Hide. We have no more need for this," commanded the miko. "This will be my investment for this war. I won't be someone without power over them."

Her knowledge of energon mines would be her leverage over the Cybertronians, both Autobots and Decepticons alike.

"It is as you wish," Hideyoshi bowed. "If that is all?"

"Yes, go. Barricade is going to be here anytime now," she gave a dismissive wave.

He bowed once more, the diamonds on his watch glowed eerie blue and in an instant, he was swallowed by a vortex of energy. Kagome smiled when she smelled the ozone that permeated from the distortion of space that just happened in front of her.

Now all she had think about was how to break the news to Barricade that Starscreams was gathering all Decepticons on Earth.

And readied herself to let him go…let her fun self meet its end.

Well, it was time, she supposed.

All good things always end, she thought morosely. But I was hoping that this could last just a little longer.

She moved out of the room, heading towards the entrance where Barricade would appear – if he trusted to the coordinate she set as their rendezvous point.

She'd subdue the drone.

Then she'd tell him about Starscreams' message.

And Kagome had known Barricade long enough to not hope that he'd stay.

Pity.

"Ah well, I've had my fun."

While striding towards the rendezvous point, Kagome ignored the dull throb in her heart that she thought was covered safely under permafrost of indifference.


(1) The secret that she was talking about last time in chapter 6. See A/N in chap 6 to see which part. Or drop a question I'll clarify if you can't catch it.

And we also know that this place was not built by humans but by youkai. Nyahaha, finally some answer ne?

A/N: Barricade is leaving usssss??!!!!! Is he really? Well, lets see, ne?

Well, quite a long interlude, but I need you all to know that Kagome is powerful – not only because of the AllSpark but because she is someone influential. In any case, this is set between Movie 1 and 2. Stay in tune for more craziness!!!!