Chapter 9 To Cybertron With Help

The very foundation of Ocean City shuddered under the force of the attack. Oriona's feet were knocked out from under her and she landed hard on her stomach, knocking the wind out of her intakes as the shuddering stopped. She coughed before rolling out of the way, growling up at the mech that had landed beside her. The green mech that had attacked Mirage was smirking down at her, his battle axe out and the blade glinting in the rising sunlight.

"Hello, Pax," the mech greeted before lifting the blade over his head, "and goodbye."

She rolled out of the way just in time, watching the blade slice into the bridge with ease; how that could have easily been her helm. She leapt to her feet as he yanked the blade back out, growling at her as he glared at her, dark blue optics promising death. She looked around quickly, looking for any place that she could lose him in; with no melee weapon at hand and her gun wouldn't charge fast enough to hit him, she didn't stand a chance. She took off as his axe whizzed over her head, heading towards the group that was fighting with the Terrorcons. The mech hollered behind her before his heavy footsteps followed her.

Hot Shot lifted his head up before he shot over her head to hit the mech behind her. She heard the mech go down with a howl of pain and gave Hot Shot a thankful smile. She stopped beside him as the group shouldered their weapons, looking around in search of a new enemy. There were fewer Terrorcons in this attack, almost as if they were not the focus this time. Instead, there were Cybertronians thrown about at random along their entire city, each with their own little group of Terrorcons, either trying to break into the city or take their mechs out.

She was still reeling from hitting the ground earlier, an ache building in her processor, when she spotted something up on the towers. She zoomed in on the image, curiosity taking over, and blinked in surprise. It was a black and white wing, but it looked different from the other Seekers. She activated her com and almost yelped in surprise as Megatron's arms wrapped around her waist a second later.

"You spotted that too, huh?" he asked before taking to the air, slipping past laserfire with ease.

"The wing?"

"Yes," he replied. "Starscream and Flamewar have never seen it before."

"So I get to investigate," she laughed before poking his nose. "I'd better get air-cover or your aft will be fried."

He smirked before giving her a quick peck on the cheek, nuzzling her gently, before depositing her on the tower. She nodded to him as he flew away, planning on drawing the other Cybertronian's attention towards him. She crept forward quickly, gun out for added protection, taking the curve of the tower. She caught sight of the black and white wings and crouched in preparation to pounce. The Cybertronian wasn't looking at her, shooting instead at the two Seekers darting by in front of them. She smirked triumphantly before darting forward and grabbing their wings, earning a scream of pain and surprise, before she wrenched the other Cybertronian off their feet and slammed them into the tower.

"Alright, you traitorous slag...er?" she gasped before staring at the other's face, the other staring back at her with equal surprise. "Prowl?!"

"Oriona?" Prowl asked in return, tilting her head to the side before sighing. "Figures...."

She gawked at the slightly taller femme, surprised to see her again after so many eons. She had been one of the few Autobots that had left with Hot Rod to "get away" from the war. Oriona knew that the other had been carrying her sparkmates'; yes, she had two; sparklings. Surely they were full grown by now, probably tagging after her boots like their fathers had. Question was what were they doing here and why?

Prowl shook her head, red chevron sitting up higher on her forehead. Her door-wings perked slightly before she looked over Oriona's shoulder, growling at the Seekers that were probably hovering behind her. Megatron let out a dark growl behind her before she felt his chest pressing on her back.

"Wait," he murmured before her head was half supporting his chest, "Prowl? What the slag are you doing here? I thought you left with Aft Rod to go colonize another world away from, I quote, 'death and repression'."

"Aft Rod?" Prowl asked, the serious tone re-entering her voice. "Is that your nickname for Hot Rod? Rather fitting considering all the slag he's put us through."

Oriona smirked before letting her go, knowing that Prowl wouldn't try to attack if she was overpowered. She was a logic-centered person who never liked to attack unless her plans were perfect or she had solved every last problem that went with the attack. She crossed her arms over her chest before looking at them curiously, her door-wings lifting up before she nodded.

"So, you two finally made up?" she asked, to which Megatron chuckled and nodded. "About slagging time."

Megatron chuckled before his arm wrapped around Oriona's waist, ignoring the sounds of battle behind him. Starscream finally flied over and shouts that the mechs need his assistance in taking the "green menace" out. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning and flying after his SIC, firing his shoulder-mounted guns repeatedly.

"Not all of us want to be here," Prowl murmured as she glanced over at her. "We're only doing this because we were told to...or else."

"Or else what?" she asked.

"...Alpha-Q's going after Cybertron next," Prowl changed the topic quickly. "After we're done here, we're heading there. Blue's already told you what we're planning to do; you have to stop them."

"Why can't you?" she asked.

"We're under constant scrutiny," she growled, her door-wings quivering. "I can't so much as yawn without Springer breathing down my neck."

"Springer?" Oriona gasped before groaning. "Slaggit!"

She touched her com link before glancing at Prowl. Her optics were narrowed at the sky, as if she was zooming in on something hovering far above their heads. She tipped her head back and squinted at the sky, trying to find what her old friend was staring at. There was a faint outline of a mech sitting just below the disk of the sun, but she couldn't quite make out who it was. Prowl let out a faint gasp as her optics came back into focus, her hand clamping around Oriona's wrist before she turned and started dragging her around the curve of the tower.

Oriona shouted at her to explain what was wrong, but she only received a terrified murmur in return. She glanced over her shoulder at the outline of the mech before her optics narrowed and she zoomed in on the image. The mech was still impossible to identify since his face was cast in shadows by the sun, but she saw something on his chest that made her optics widen in horror. Two tongues of flame reached around the Autobot symbol on the mech's chest, standing out boldly against the dark red chassis. Hot Rod was here.

"Prowl," she hissed, pulling her arm back to slow the other femme down, "why is he here?"

She looked cornered, her door-wings rising defensively for a moment before she shook her head. "He's in charge of the attack; Scorponok only gave the call for attack," she replied before shivering. "I have to find my sparklings; he'll kill them."

"Why?" she demanded.

"Because he saw that I wasn't attacking you," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm a traitor in his optics and he'll take my sparklings as punishment."

"Where are they?" Oriona asked.

"Blue's on one of the towers; I've already got in touch with her and she's trying to figure out how to get down," Prowl replied, slipping back into her serious persona. "I have to find Tracks personally though; she always closes her spark off when she's fighting." Her optics got a faraway look in them, as if she was looking into a different time. "She's so much like her father."

Oriona gripped her shoulder before asking what Blue and Tracks looked like. Prowl sent a data-burst to her, showing a pair of femmes leaning on each other and pulling a face at her as they stood on an outcrop of rock. Blue looked almost identical to her mother only she was grey and white instead of black and white, and her chevron was smaller and a lighter shade of red; she was the sniper that Oriona had trapped the day before. Tracks looked almost nothing like her mother, instead she was dark blue with twin flames adoring her chassis, her blue optics narrowed slightly in an almost sultry manner and her red faceplate holding a delicate smirk. Oriona looked at Prowl and smiled sadly, seeing their fathers staring back at her at the same time as seeing the young femmes.

"They're beautiful," she murmured, earning a nod of agreement from Prowl.

She reached down her bond and sent the image to Megatron, telling him to find the one that looked like Prowl and get her safely to the ground. Megatron didn't ask why he was doing such a thing, having seen the resemblance and the strong sense of fear through the bond. Prowl was crouching at the side of the tower, gauging the gap between them and another tower some meters below them. She nodded before pointing to it and lowering herself over the side, telling her to follow closely. Oriona nodded before watching Prowl drop onto the edge of the tower.

Oriona lowered herself over the edge and stared between her feet, making sure to line them up with the lip of the other tower. Prowl was standing off to the side, crouching down to look at the next drop to the bridge. She released the edge she had a firm grip on and felt her fuel tank rise in her chest as her feet encountered fell through the air. She hit the lip of the tower with a dull thunk, pushing herself backwards into the wall on impact. She stood there for a moment before looking at Prowl, grinning weakly as the other femme lowered herself over the edge again.

They both dropped onto the bridge and stood up shakily, looking around as they heard shouts go up. Both of them pulled out their gun and set off in search of Tracks, heading for where the fighting was. Prowl frowned for a second, her footsteps faltering before she charged forward, gun on her shoulder, and headed for a small group of soldiers near the side of the bridge. They heard shouting as they approached and Oriona pushed ahead, letting out a loud shout before the mechs all turned to look at her.

"Stand down, now," she ordered, watching Prowl rush past her to wiggle through the mass. "That's an order."

The mechs let out weak protests before stepping back, their guns still on the grinning blue femme that was bleeding from her arm, leg, and broken lip. The femme sneered at them before Prowl smacked her helm, telling her not to geode them on since they were not fighting. Tracks hung her head slightly before muttering that her paint job was ruined now, earning another cuff from her mother before Prowl stiffened.

"No," she whispered, looking towards the tower.

A loud scream of pain split the air and everyone turned to see what had happened. Oriona's optics widened as she watched a body tumble through the air, crashing into the ground with a sickening thud that shook the bridge beneath her feet. Prowl let out a shout before pushing forward, Tracks right on her heels with wide optics. Oriona ordered the mechs to keep fighting the Terrorcons until there were none left, before turning and following the two femmes. There was shouting up ahead and they reached the impact site, only to watch Prowl crush Blue to her chest, running her hand over the young femme's head as she sobbed over and over again. Blue was weakly protesting, her face twisted in embarrassment, and kept repeating that she was fine.

"What happened?" Oriona demanded as she pushed past the small family, heading to where her mechs were holding a group of Terrorcons at gunpoint as they defended the small crater that was made in the bridge.

Megatron and Flamewar were circling overhead, their hatred and rage surging through the air around the impact site. Her spark clenched in fear before she made to push forward, only for one of the Terrorcons to step forward and snarl at her. She faltered for a moment before glaring at it and telling it to let her pass. It snarled again before a stepping aside, its head low as another voice came from the crater.

"No, let her come," Scorponok's voice called before Oriona moved forward.

She gasped in shock at the sight of the other femme, her hands stained with energon as she tried to hold the gaping wound of another Seeker shut. Oriona stumbled forward, stopping beside the other femme before applying more pressure to the wound, trying to ignore the size of the wound and the fact that the broken bridge below was plainly visible through the Seeker's back.

"You just have no luck with your chest, do you, Starscream?" she tried to joke around her tears.

"Don't make me laugh," he grumbled in reply, his silver optics flickering. "It hurts."

"Sorry," she apologized before looking at Scorponok. "Why?"

Scorponok looked at her for several long moments before she looked down at the hands that were stained with her enemy's energon. Her claws were flipped back over her elbows, revealing the delicate hands beneath, and she shook her head in defeat.

"I'm sick of this fighting," she replied. "I'm sick of being a pawn in Alpha-Q's grand scheme of returning Unicron to the living world. I want freedom...I want...a life."

Oriona pushed her shoulder against the other femme's shoulder, nodding in understanding. She pulled a hand away and activated her com link, telling Quickstart to get out there to perform field dressings to Starscream's injuries before they could get him inside. She received a mountain of swears in return before the com link cut off. She smirked in spite of herself before looking up at Megatron and Flamewar.

They were still circling, but Megatron was firing at the sky, snarling about ripping someone's head off. She could still see the outline of Hot Rod against the sun, but now Springer was with him, his massive frame dwarfing her brother's. She could see a faint, faint outline of another mech hovering just below Hot Rod before they all vanished. Megatron stopped shooting at the sky and instead turned his attention back to his injured friend.

Both Seekers dropped onto the other side of Starscream's frame and pushed their hands onto the wound. They all sat there, hands deep in sticky energon, before Quickstart finally arrived, Red Alert in tow. They ordered everyone to stand back, getting in on either side of Starscream before they stared closing off fuel lines. All four of them stepped back, glancing at Scorponok as she bent down to stroke the head of one of the Terrorcons. She murmured something Oriona didn't catch and the Terrorcons purred before walking over and rubbing their heads against their legs.

Flamewar smirked before crouching down and petting the Terrorcon's head affectionately, earning a content purr. Megatron gave the two rubbing against him sceptical looks before glaring at the three that had tackled Oriona to the ground and snuggling against her. Oriona laughed before petting their heads, commenting that they were oversized pets. Scorponok nodded before adding that they were "killer attack cats", grinning as she flipped her visor back, leaving a streak of purple on her forehead.

There was a loud shout before Ironhide, Hot Shot, and Side Swipe raced over, guns out and pointing at Scorponok before Megatron told them to stand down. The Terrorcons stared at Ironhide for a moment before the ones on Oriona raced over to wind around his legs, purring and meowing loudly. Scorponok shook her head and muttered something about "cats" as Ironhide stared down at the Terrorcons snuggling against him. Side Swipe let out a snicker before looking over at Prowl's little family.

"Who's that?" he asked.

Prowl led her twins over to the group and shook her head. "We'll introduce ourselves later," she stated simply before moving forward. "Right now, Starscream needs medical attention. Hot Rod's lasers have a corrosive consistency to them that will continue to eat away at his armor if we don't get him out of here and into a proper medbay immediately."

Quickstart stared at her for a moment before cursing and calling Inferno over the com link to open a space bridge to Cybertron. She added to warn Ratchet of a critical condition Seeker inbound for his medbay. She pointed at Oriona and told her to come along; if worst came to worst, she'd have to use that weird upgrading ability of hers to save Starscream. Megatron growled that he was coming to, which prompted Hot Shot, Ironhide, and Side Swipe to shout that they wanted to come to. Scorponok muttered that she wasn't staying with the mechs of Ocean City, confirming that she too would be accompanying them. Prowl added that she and her daughters would also come, planning on talking to Ultra Magnus about stepping security up for the time being.

Flamewar volunteered to stay behind to keep everyone in line. Quickstart ordered Red Alert to stay behind in case they came under attack again, transforming and opening the back of her alt mode to let them fit Starscream comfortably inside. Everyone headed for the space bridge, ignoring any of their injuries as they transformed and raced through it. The moment they left the space bridge, Ultra Magnus escorted them inside, his optics roaming around in paranoia.

Quickstart didn't bother waiting for an escort, taking off in the direction of her brother's medbay, sirens wailing to make sure no one got in the way. Everyone else gathered in the Command center, a few of the leading human scientists in attendance with worried expressions. Oriona stated that the bases on Earth were safe for now and instead they had to focus on keeping Cybertron safe. Wingdagger burst into the room with Padlock on her heels, demanding to know where Starscream was and why he was in pain.

"Medbay," Megatron stated curtly. "Laser to the stomach. Ratchet's tending to him right now."

"Fraggit!" she hissed, leaning on the doorframe as she clutched her midsection. "He took it hard; he hasn't been in this much pain ever! And he was almost dying ten years ago."

"Is he...?" Blue whispered, her innocent blue optics widening.

"No, it just hurts like a glitch," Wingdagger replied before turning and leaving."Hey Prowl; I was wondering when you'd turn up. Thanks for the heads up on the prisons, by the way; place is on high alert thanks to you."

Oriona glanced at the other femme and received a small smile in return. "I don't want any of those criminals getting out," she stated matter-of-factly. "I want those frag-tards to rust in there for all eternity."

"Ouch," Kup chuckled before shaking his head. "Harsh, Prowl; never thought I'd hear something like that come from your mouth."

Prowl smiled before trailing a hand over Blue's head, earning a squeak of indignity and a loud "mom" in return. Tracks snickered at her twin's misfortune before looking at Ultra Magnus curiously, tilting her head before smirking and waving. Ultra Magnus gave her a serious look before shaking his head and muttering about how much like her father was. Oriona chuckled before the floor beneath their feet glowed and turned transparent, making several of the room's occupants to gasp in surprise.

A large glowing spark could be seen far below them, pulsing gently before the room glowed with the same soft light. Oriona had a sensation of a caress over her antennas before she nodded to the glowing spark.

"So, some of our lost ones have returned," Primus murmured. "Welcome back, little ones."

Blue and Tracks' optics widened and they whispered to each other in surprise. Primus chuckled as Prowl bowed her head respectfully, signalling her sparklings to do the same. Scorponok was edging closer to Ironhide, her energon stained hand closing around his forearm, and her optics full of unease.

"You have nothing to fear, Scorponok," Primus stated gently before chuckling. "You are welcome here."

The femme relaxed her stance, but did not leave her place beside Ironhide. Oriona pretended to ignore them, shooting her mate a smirk as he shook his head slightly.

"Oriona," Primus called, bringing her attention back to him. "You have learned to upgrade the mechs and femmes around you."

"Yes," she replied. "But I don't know how to control it, only that their dying sparks triggers the reaction."

"Your powers are premature, still developing," Primus replied, a tendril of warmth spreading across her cheek. "We will worry about honing it after; Starscream needs an upgrade now. His armor is deteriorating but his body is strong. Your brother's attempt to kill him to get at young Bluestreak was powerful, but lacked the precision to actually send him to the Matrix."

"Hot Rod did that?" Hot Shot gasped. "But...why?"

"That will be worried about later, young one," Primus replied gently. "For now, Oriona and Megatron must head to the medbay; Starscream needs his upgrade while he is stable."

Oriona nodded before she and Megatron turned and raced out of the room. They headed for the medbay, both worried about Starscream's current state. She felt Primus' presence in her limbs and his gentle voice telling her that he would help her control the upgrade so that Starscream would not be harmed. She glanced at her mate and noticed the faraway look in his optics; Primus must have been speaking to him.

They burst into the medbay and Ratchet immediately led them over to where Starscream was lying. He looked worse for wear, but he was looking at them with a small smile.

"My turn?" he asked before laughing weakly. "Hopefully I don't end up in the medbay anymore; this is getting very annoying."

She smiled down at him before moving to stand at his head. Primus instructed her to concentrate and the pressure in her chest reappeared. She closed her optics and focused on bringing in air to cool her systems, watching as an image of Starscream appeared before her optics. Primus' spark moved around the image and started making changes to it, taking over the reformatting process as she felt the blast of heat leave her chest. She onlined her optics to Wingdagger's cry of shock, catching sight of Megatron holding her back as the white light swept over Starscream's body.

He inhaled in shock before the light started to pulsate and move around him. There were no sudden jumps as the other two had had. The changes were far more gently, moving as easily as water around Starscream's body before it stilled. It hovered over him for another moment before it vanished, small tendrils of light floating away.

Starscream sat up and rubbed his head, his colours startling her for a moment. Wingdagger let out another cry before she tackled Starscream, making Oriona jump in surprise at the sight before her. Both of them paused before Wingdagger pulled back, blinking at Starscream in surprise before giggling. Starscream let out a weak growl before his new green wings twitched in annoyance. He was smaller than Wingdagger now, his head just fitting under her chin, and his colours were oddly put together; startling greens with white and dark blue.

"Very nice, Starscream," Megatron laughed.

"Oh shut up," he grumbled before looking at his hands, flexing them. "At least I'm alive."

Oriona sighed before sitting down on the berth beside Starscream's. She rubbed her helm before sighing and falling backwards onto the berth, staring at the ceiling. Megatron appeared upside down in her perspective, grinning down at her as she stuck her glossa out at her.

"Prowl's sparklings look a lot like their fathers," Wingdagger piped up suddenly. "What'daya think she'll do when she finds out that one of your sparklings is...?"

Oriona hadn't stopped to think about that and sighed. "Hopefully, they'll think twice before telling her their names," she grumbled.

"Darling, it's Ironhide," Megatron sighed.

"Slag."

ASDFGHJKL;'ASDFGHJKL;'ASDFGHJKL;'

Prowl glanced at the two mechs that were staring at them curiously, one of them with their arm around Scorponok's waist, and nudged her daughters. Tracks shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, growling that she wasn't talking to them. Bluestreak only shook her head, glancing at them nervously; she did not trust new mechs very well. She sighed before pushing them forward, grumbling about them being friendly before the two mechs glanced at them.

"Hi!" the smaller of the pair greeted, smiling and waving. "Welcome to the base."

Prowl smiled. "I've been here before, little one," she replied before nudging her daughters forward. "They haven't though. This is Tracks," she added, nudging Tracks, "and Bluestreak," she nudged Bluestreak. "I'm Prowl."

The taller one nodded. "I'm Ironhide," he stated.

Prowl's optics widened. "She named you after her uncle?" she asked.

Ironhide nodded. "Yeah," he replied before smiling shyly. "I don't think I'm as good as the original though. He's got a lot more firepower and accuracy."

"Stop tearing yourself down, bro!" the smaller mech laughed before punching his shoulder. "You're pretty good right now!"

Prowl smirked before looking at the smaller mech. "And what's your name."

"Side Swipe," he replied with a smile.

Prowl felt her spark fall out of her chamber and her door-wings threatened to fall as well. Bluestreak frowned and she shot her daughter a warning look. She thanked Side Swipe and Ironhide before turning and walking over to Ultra Magnus, wondering if there was a temporary room that she could reside in. The older mech nodded and gave her the access code to one of the rooms, his optics full of understanding.

She thanked him before turning around and leaving the room, going as fast as she could down the hall. She found the room easily enough and punched in the password, only to get a loud and angry blaring to tell her that it was wrong. She stared at the touch pad in surprise before punching the password in again. The blaring sounded again and she growled in frustration.

"That one's touchy," a voice called, making her jump in surprise. "Gotta really hit the five when ya touch it."

She spun around, planning on attacking, only to freeze up. Jazz was leaning against the wall across from her, grinning gently before walking forward. She relaxed her stance slightly before greeting him, thanking him as she turned back around. His hand settled on hers before he pressed close to her back, making her stiffen.

"Prowl, why don't ya come with me?" he asked gently his mouth pressing against her audio. "You'll feel better if you're with company."

"Jazz, don't," she murmured before looking at him, staring into his blue visor. "I still...."

He turned her around and smiled at her before kissing her, making her gasp in surprise. "Prowl, yer insulting yer mates worse with this mourning slag; ya know that they would want ya ta keep havin fun."

She closed her optics and looked away from him. "How can I when they aren't here?" she whispered, a sob growing in her throat. "The wound has been reopened again and...."

"How can hearin it make the wound reopen?" Jazz snorted. "Tracks looks and acts so much like her poppa that I thought he'd come back to life."

"I'm not talking about this, Jazz!" she snapped, growling up at him and struggling for a moment. "Let go!"

She heard Jazz grunt for a moment before two extra bodies were pressed against hers, making her gasp in surprise. Jazz stepped back and lifted his hands up, showing that he wasn't touching her as the two bodies pressed closer. She felt a set of head-fins brush her chevron before a glossa slid along her chin, two very familiar purrs echoing in her head.

"Prowly," a voice cooed before she glanced to the left, meeting a set of blue optics and a cocky grin, "be nice to Jazz."

"He'll take good care of ya," another voice added, making her glance to her right and seeing a brilliantly yellow chest. "Don't worry about it, Prowl."

"Sunny...Sides," she whispered before both mechs pressed closer to her. "I miss you...so much...."

"We know, darling," Sideswipe whispered before he placed a kiss on her jaw. "But you've been hurting yourself enough; we know that Jazz'll care for you. And we know you feel for him too."

"It's okay to fall in love again, Prowl," Sunstreaker murmured as he nuzzled her chevron. "We'll always be in your spark, love, but don't hold back because of us."

She closed her optics before inhaling shakily. The two bodies pressed closer before moving away, their love flowing around her even as they vanished. She looked up at Jazz and smiled weakly before straightening up.

"I'll...take you up on that offer, Jazz," she murmured before he wrapped an arm around her waist. "But I want to recharge, that's all."

"I can deal with that," he chuckled before nuzzling her. "Not like I'm gunna 'face you into the berth."

She made a face and smacked him over the head, grumbling about inappropriate discussions. He laughed and told her that she hadn't changed a bit since she left the Academy. She smiled before murmuring that was how she liked to live, glancing over her shoulder to see if the Twins were still there. They grinned and winked at her from where they were leaning against the wall, their brilliant colours glowing for a moment before they vanished.

'I miss you,' she thought before leaning on Jazz's shoulder, snuggling against his chest. 'Why'd you have to die?'