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(A Few Days Later, Normal POV)

"This is... Whoa!" Mikeala clung close to Sam, despite his obvious displeasure. She ignored the dark look he shot around the place, which would dart to her whenever she shifted her hold on his arm, sometimes making a point of kissing him on the cheek. She'd learned early on that her support was helping him fight it, and had seen him visibly soften at times, so stuck true to a plan that seemed to work.

"Scans reveal alarming amounts of vital human life fluids, but the majority of it is tainted with energon. I am also picking up several mutated forms in nearby alleys, that have not been evacuated as of yet." Ratchet's human holoform frowned as he raised an eyebrow. "And I thought the Canadian soldiers would have cleaned it all up by now."

"Give them a break." Sam sighed heavily, his eyes much darker than usual. "They're humans trained to fight other humans. Not clean up the mutated bodies of humans and animals." The corner of his lip pulled up in a hint of a sneer, and his eyes narrowed, before he shook his head and his expression cleared. "Sorry."

"I can take the-"

Sam silenced Optimus by shooting his holographic form a dark glare. Even the great Autobot leader was forced to take a step back from that look, not used to seeing such a dark expression on someone so young.

"Forgive me, Sam." He spoke quietly, seemingly at a loss for words.

Once again Sam sighed, and he shook his head. "No, it's not your fault. Look, I know you're worried, but I'm still...me. I know I'm changing but I can take this for a bit longer." He wrapped his free hand around Mikeala, pulling her close to him. "I can take this a little longer." He was insistant. He took in Ironhide's calculating gaze, endured Ratchet's almost automatic scan, and kept his eyes on Optimus', almost willing him to understand.

Optimus' holographic form was that of a hispanic man, of average height -surprisingly- with short, black hair that sat in an unruly mess on his head, and bright blue eyes. His skin was tanned, and his body long and lean -like most of the Autobot males in their human holoforms- and he looked to be about his mid thirties.

Pale, full lips pulled into a grim line, eyes almost as scrutinizing as Ironhides, before he closed his eyes and nodded. Opening them, he tore his gaze from Sam, although his expression spoke volumes about how he wished there was more he could do. "What have we found so far?"

Ratchet was frowning, his eyes scanning the area slowly, almost blankly. He seemed distracted, but at the sound of Optimus' voice, he turned his head towards the semi, his eyes still unfocused. "Scan results are puzzling. I've found nothing more unusual about the blood stains, however..." He paused as his eyes focused. "I've also picked up a Cybertronian signature. It's an Autobot, but that's about all I can tell. The signature is several days old and far too degraded for me to be able to tell if it's a familiar signal or not."

"But we have no idea where this priestess is, or if she's still alive?"

"We can follow the energon signal. It's much like..." His eyes went unfocused again, for a long moment.

"A...trail of....bread crumbs...sorta?" Mikeala offered hesitantly, her eyes stubbornly refusing to meet any dark looks Sam might send her. "You mean we can more or less follow it, right? We should get going then. The sooner we find her, the better."

"If she's still alive." Everyone turned to Sam, who was looking around quietly. Sensing their stares, he raised an eyebrow and looked right back. "What? We have no idea if she's alive, or one of these bodies."

"If we think that way, we might as well head back to the base and let the world fall into ruin." Ratchet rolled his eyes darkly. "If we're going to follow the energy signal, we should hurry before it degrades any further."

Sam's look was dark, but he closed his eyes a moment before sighing and nodding. He opened his eyes, pausing as Mikeala's hand tightened in his own, before nodding at Ratchet, his look saying what his mouth refused to. Then he turned and climbed into Bee, settling back and relaxing as they returned to their search for the nameless priestess.

As they set off, they couldn't help but wonder what else they were missing out on.

(Kendra's POV)

"Let me go!" I pulled, glaring at the creature in front of me. I could feel the quiver on my back, sliding back and forth a little, the arrows clacking around inside, and my bow hanging almost limply off my shoulder. A fat lot of good that did me. My eyes glanced to my left, locking on the tentacles wrapped around my wrist, then to my right, where more were wrapped around that arm. Well...this is awkward.

My only real saving grace was that, if I was really going to die here, at least Rana wasn't around to witness it.

Abruptly, I frowned. Wow, way to just give up. I glared at the monster as it cackled evilly, it's voice like nails dragging across a chalkboard. "You know, you sound like you could use an oiling." My mind suddenly showed me less than decent images, and I groaned as a wave of nausea rolled over me. Oh dear Lord! What a time for a gutter mind to kick in!

I tried to shake the images, glaring at the disgusting ruined once-human body where tentacles sprouted from the shredded shoulder blades. The body itself hung limply in the mass center of it all, eyes glowing like red hot coals, and it's mouth twisted in an inhumanly wide grimace of sharpened teeth, dripping disgusting yellow fluid. The tentacles themselves were pale yellow, with sickly purple splotches all over them, and they were huge, ranging from ten to fifteen feet long, and about four inches wide in some places.

"You talk to much." The mouth barely moved, but the gutteral sounding words were out, floating over the air as a thick tentacle raised up in front of me. "Maybe I should do something about that."

I closed my eyes, immediately bringing my power to my fingertips, but something hot wrapped around my throat, squeezing and cutting off my oxygen, distracting me and causing my eyes to shoot open.

"No, no. We can't have you purifying me, priestess." There was a hiss and a laugh. "Imagine that. A human carrying the power of the shards!" Another laugh.

I choked out a laugh of my own. "Look whose..." I gasped and wheezed, coughing as the tentacle tightened. I didn't let it deter me, though. "Talking." The eyes seemed to widen, and I forced a smirk, despite the way my body screamed and begged or oxygen. "At least...I'm s-still pretty..." I gagged, choking and rolling my eyes away from the leer, as the tentacle tightened even more.

Once again I found myself pulling at the restraints, struggling to breathe, and trying to ignore the funny hot hum in my chest, even as red began to flash in my vision. I felt something pressing into my chest, and I forced my head to tilt down as I pulled back, watching as two tentacles, ending in little claws, grasped at the area between my breasts, where my skin went in on a tiny divet indentation down the center of my chest, following where my ribs met in the front.

I pulled back, but could barely move. Instead, I found myself choking on my cries as the little claws dug into my skin.

Instead of blood, however, I watched as they slipped inside, my chest parting almost neatly for them. I was too shocked and fascinated by what was happening to really notice, however, that the claws were getting further and further inside me. Then, I watched as one snapped up, grasping at the chain I wore, with the three shards of the allspark.

No!

Suddenly, loud clicks and whirls sounded. The claws pulled back, even as I felt myself being dragged harshly with the body's sudden movement. My vision was blurry, but for some reason it was like I was stuck between being awake and unconscious. I could see, a little, what was going on around me. I could hear, though the sounds seemed distant and distorted, but my entire body felt heavy.

My chest slid shut once again, sealing without so much as the slightest hint it had ever been open.

This must have been what he meant. I couldn't help but shudder, still far from used to being more metallic.

"What's this?!"

Blinking, I gasped as the tentacle around my throat suddenly disappeared. I would have yelped, when the others joined it, and I suddenly felt myself landing painfully on the ground, except I didn't have the air to do so. Instead, I lay there, panting and gasping, trying to identify and ignore the red flashing in my vision at the same time, while slowly managing to tilt my head up.

The growled clicks and whirls were met with angrily whistles, and I watched as the tentacled monster seemed to try and climb the one who interrupted him. The new arrival stomped his foot, angrily hissing and digging mercilessly at the creature crawling up it's leg, blue eyes narrowed in rage as it pulled the tentacled monster off. I watched as it lifted the creature to the air, and seemed about ready to throw it.

"NO!" I shouted, jumping up, and then collapsing to my knees as my vision spun and I coughed some more. "Please!" I gasped. "He's...got a shard!"

The new arrival's eyes turned down to me with an angry sneer on it's face, but it-he(?) seemed to take me in. It looked male at least, but then again, I'd never seen a female of their race so I had no idea. I could only guess. I felt the tell tale tingle of a scan, but endured it as his eyes narrowed as he lowered his fist, glancing down and tightening his fingers around the monster when it seemed to dig at him.

Then it yelped.

Eyes seemed to widen in pain, shock, and rage, before it's fingers slipped open. I watched as the mass of tentacles fell from it's grip, hitting the ground and quickly getting up. My eyes took in the way the newcomer grasped at his wrist, obviously in pain, to where the tentacled monster seemed to be getting ready to bolt.

My mind flashed through images of bodies lying on the ground, severed bloody limbs all over the place from where this thing had pulled them apart. Grabbing my bow, I forced myself to my feet as I grasped an arrow. I knocked it, flowing my energies into it as I raised an aimed. The monster seemed to sense the power buildup behind it, because it suddenly froze, turning with a look of horror.

As soon as my eyes locked on it's undead ones, I released the arrow, watching the streak of glowing light as it struck the creature, burning with ease through the tentacles, and then hitting the creature itself right on the left thigh.

Directly above the allspark shard that sat in one of it's pockets.

As it screamed in agony, the tentacles began cutting through the air wildly, as if in a disarray of their own. I raced forward. I ducked under some tentacles, and used my bow to block others.

A sharp pain ran through my arm, causing me to cry out and drop my bow.

Then everything went still.

I froze where I stood, my hand clasping over the new wound where I'd been stabbed, blue-ish green liquid dripping down my arm. My eyes darted around, and I stepped back warily as my eyes took in the lack of tentacles swinging.

"Would you hurry the frag up already?!"

The yell had me jumping, and I grabbed a second arrow from the quiver, intending to use it to stab if I had to, before looking up. The voice had come from the new arrival, and I blinked, watching as it -he?- held the tentacles stationary in both hands.

"Come on! I don't have all fragging day." He growled, his eyes narrowing. "Slaggit, why are humans so slagging slow?!"

Blinking again, I looked back at the monster and raced forward. I placed my hand flat against it's chest, while focusing my energies into my fingers, and saying a quick prayer as the monster screamed bloody murder, smoking and disintegrating as it went. Then I watched as it turned to ash, dissolving around the shard, and blowing away in the wind, leaving the blackened shard floating in the air.

I watched it a moment, hesitating because I knew it'd make me sick again. Then it hit me, once again, that if I didn't purify it and keep it with me, others would only be hurt. With that in mind, I reached out, my fingers curling around the warm piece of metal, and the same flash occuring as the black energies faded into a light blue. I removed my necklace, sighing in relief to feel and see all three shards already on there, and added the fourth, before refastening it.

"Now..."

I looked up again, watching as the newcomer sat down heavily, crossing his wheeled feet, his eyes resting almost indignantly on me as he gazed downward. It was such an odd position, but the look on his face kept me from laughing about it.

"Mind explaining what the frag's going on? One minute I'm getting a message saying my brother's on this planet, as well as the main team led by Optimus Prime, and the next I find a human-" Was it bad I was insulted by the disgusted tone in his voice? "-fighting things with allspark radiation, changing into a Cybertronian, and collecting shards of the allspark!"

"Um, we'd better find another place to talk." I rubbed at my throat, and then hissed as I looked at the gash on my arm. Finally, I shook my head, deciding I could rest later. "I need to meet up with Rana and Prowl."

His eyes seemed to widen. "Prowl??" He groaned, before getting up.

In an...admittedly fast and smooth transformation, I gasped a little to find myself facing the yellow Corvette from before. The same Corvette Prowl had been trying to find since it saved Rana's and my life the other day. Well...this is...

"Come on!" The door swung open as the engine revved loudly. "If Prowler's here, I'll get my information from him. But be warned, if you make a mess inside me, I'll scrap you myself!"

'Prowler'?? I could only raise an eyebrow as I lifted my bow. I grimaced, feeling slime on it, and bit my lip as I looked up. I've got slime and 'energon' all over me. I'm undoubtedly gonna make a mess. But then again, something about his attitude... "I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh! Keep your doors on!" I grumbled as I walked forward. I slid into the driver's side, placing my bow in the passenger seat and feeling it as the entire frame of the car seemed to shudder violently.

There was a pause, and I had to bite my lip hard to keep from laughing, even as the door seemed to slam shut.

"Well? You're driving. I don't even know where you're going!"

I rolled my eyes. Wonderful. At least now get at least a little bit of an idea why Prowl wasn't too happy to find this guy here. I had to bite even harder to keep another smirk at bay. This is one reunion I'd definitely pay to see.


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Tenshi