Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers…. Dang it.

Much thanks for the story alerts I keep getting. Though, admittedly some suggestions would make my day for eternity. My head is starting to hurt from pulling stuff out of the air. I wrote this set after watching Shutter Island for the first time at two in the morning and Clerks just afterwards, so don't be surprised if this chapter is like something out of Alice in Wonderland while getting stoned.

Also, this chapter will involve simple sentence collection, because I feel like it gets more across in one go at times. Enjoy.

Going down the rabbit hole gives a new spin on things. –Alice, Syfy Channel.

The Heart of Mystery:

Above Starscream's head a pulsing beat echoed through the whole of blackness that was a stark contrast to the white he and the Mini-cons had been in only moments before. There was light, but it was like the flickering of a candle, barely laminating the corridor that he had been dropped into. Swindle and Sureshock were gone, leaving him to try and find his way out of this strange mirror world of Earth.

Taking tentative steps forth, servos tracing the walls that he idly registered were fashioned to his own height. The stones, at least he thought they were stones, that made up the wall were covered in grey and green moss that fell to the ground like down feathers under his fingers. His stabilizing servos stepped atop them, but when they lifted, wherever they had been under his weight, they disappeared.

"Wait for us."

Pausing from taking another step, Starscream turned swiftly to the voice that sounded half-familiar to his audio receivers.

Steps that were similar to his echoed from the place he'd come until they were upon him. Out of the dark, into the orange light, came two mechs that the Seeker felt he may have met before, but didn't register in his processor. They both were as tall, if not maybe a little taller, than him.

The one that spoke wore a deep red that rivaled Starscream's own along with black here and there along the seams and his helmet, which reminded the Seeker a little of Cyclonus, was white. He was a racer, made all the more obvious by the tires attached to his shoulder struts and the joints of his knees. He was smiling at Starscream mischievously, made all the more attractive by his light blue optics.

Behind the half-familiar mech was a slightly taller orange and grey mech. He looked upon Starscream rather passively as Starscream watched him. He was a little tougher looking than the red one, with a grey band with what seemed like an upside-down eye in the center upon his forehelm and looked rather like a thousand times more mature Hot Shot. He wasn't smiling like his friend, but he wasn't frowning either. And his circular yellow optics were dimmed in half-moons, to make him look all the more sedate than the other.

Starscream didn't know why, but he knew they weren't his enemies when they got closer to him, "Wait for you? Do I know you?"

The red mech laughed a little at the comment, all in good nature, and the other snorted and pushed his friend closer to the Seeker, seeming to finally show emotion as his own optics lit out the half-moons and into full brightness. Both of them obviously knew something the Seeker didn't and he was unsure if that was a good thing or not. He decided not, when the red mech came close enough to pat Starscream's shoulder in a way a close comrade might for another.

"Sorry boss," The red mech said jovially, moving beyond the spot he'd been, to the other side of the Seeker, where Starscream had been heading for himself, "Didn' mean t' confuse ya'. We probably should have told you we had this in store when Alexis invited you along today."

Tiny synapses that made up the processor functions of a Cybertronian processor snapped through Starscream as he registered the voice and the visage of the mech before him. His optics ran along the whole of the red racer and, in the lowest volume available to his voice box, uttered two names without him fully realizing it, "Swindle? Sureshock?"

"Yes." The orange mech finally spoke up, walking ahead of both the red mechs in what looked like impatience, footsteps of his own making no sound like the other two. Like he weighed so much less than either of the ones behind him.

"Swindle?" Starscream asked again, unknowingly moving towards the way Sureshock had, his Mini- His partner, walking beside him with that smile Starscream never knew he had upon his faceplate.

"Yeah boss?"

"How did you get like this?"

Swindle's smile widened kindly at his partner, a hidden sparkle in his optics, "We'll tell you when we get there."

"Get where?"

"Well, I don' know exactly," Swindle admitted, speeding his stride as Sureshock took a turn neither of the red mechs had seen coming in the dark and dragging Starscream with him so they didn't lose sight of the mech who knew this place much better than them, "But the king of the pumpkin patch up there, he does. So, we best not lose him, yeah?"

Glass Eggs:

"Put me down, put me down, PUT ME DOWN!"

Holding the young winged girl away from his face like she was a virus, Tracks looked down at Raoul, as if asking if putting the female down would be the right thing to do. She was still hyperventilating, the white feathers from her wings were falling out as she flapped them in an attempt to get out of the vain mech's grip and her eyes were starting to leak.

Tracks was afraid if he put her down she would attack him and ruin his paintjob.

Raoul was looking like he was thinking the same thing, while at the same time holding his hands in front of himself in a sign of submission most humans presented when faced with uncomfortable situations such as these, "Easy now princess, calm down. Nobody is going to hurt you, Tracks just wanted to make sure you were unharmed."

"I am fine!" Alice screamed, tears falling from her eyes, though now in anger, fists slamming against the mech's digits, "I'm not hurt! See, no blood anywhere! Now put me down you overgrown pile of scrap!"

Tracks' face scrunched in a rather undignified manner at the young woman's language, and despite his better nature, obliged the shrieking harpy in her demand.

"As you wish."

The girl had no time to react as the mech's servo unclenched and she was released, falling in a rather undignified manner into Raoul's arms. The long haired mutt gave a groan of protest when the weight of the girl sent him backwards to land onto his rear, tail bending painfully as he hit the ground. Alice made a similar noise when her right wing's end feathers were crushed beneath the tan male.

"Now that," Tracks grinned, "Is more like it."

Raoul raised his hand to give Tracks a gesture the Corvette had come to find was very rude.

Bright Spiral Dancer:

Lori wasn't very good at controlling her talent of shedding light, not at all, and that's why she loved Sunstorm so much. He had patience that she hadn't found in many others so he made a fantastic teacher for her.

"You're getting better at least."

The blue and white half-wolf didn't believe the now merely eight foot yellow Seeker. Partly because he was just being supportive, like he was with everyone, be they friend or foe but also because the armor of his servo was still sizzling dangerously with little bubbles from the melted paint.

"Don't try and make me feel better," Lori mumbled, pressing the sopping wet rag she had into the seams of her fingers.

"But you are," Sunstorm chirped kindly, "That was pulled off much better than Jetfire. He sent his own fireball into Sentinel's chassis. You at least managed to make it stop and die before doing any more harm."

Lori sighed. Her eyes roved over the scorch marks upon the metal that had been so bright earlier and now held a color rather close to Wheeljack's paintjob. She had tried to make it stop before it hit him, but like Coby had said earlier, she lacked the fundamentals to do anything of the sort. She felt like a rank amateur at best, "You still got hurt, though."

Sunstorm's optics dimmed at her tone. He had known the girl for a relatively short time, but in this form, he had a much better grasp of what she felt simply by being able to better read her body language and vocal tones. She was upset and he didn't like it, not at all. Despite being a Decepticon he still felt he should try to do something to make her feel better.

Hesitantly, the optimistic Seeker brought his arm around the girl and gave her a gentle hug. Not tight enough to hurt her, but just close enough to instill a sense of security. He felt her breathing still for a moment during the act and gave an even broader grin when he realized she was blushing and embarrassed in his strong arms.

"What brought this on?" Her voice questioned, face still planted against his chestplate so close he could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought it was appropriate."

Border Patrol:

Jazz sometimes wondered how the humans did it. He had been taking patrols with Epps and today, among many other days, the large stallion had to deal with the Predators that had wandered into their territory hoping to find one of their herds' foals or elderly to eat.

The silver music loving mech couldn't help but notice the similarities between the Herbivores and the Autobots and the Predators and the Decepticons as Epps charged after the two hyenas that were twice his own size and most likely very deadly in large numbers. The things that reminded Jazz of the never-ending robot war were hard to see if one wasn't looking, but he was watching and he saw.

The Predators, like the Decepticons, didn't play fair and went after the weak when they were most vulnerable. When confronted with an enemy that was decidedly much stronger than themselves, they ran like cowards or fought to prove themselves the better being. Sometimes they even won, but not in this clan that Jazz and a few other Autobots had become attached to.

Because these Herbivores, like the Autobots, were some of the strongest of their kind. They fought like warriors, because they were. They fought, because unlike the Predators, they had something to protect. And it showed fully when Jazz watched Epps.

The grand ebony stallion bore some scars from his fights with his enemies, but he wore them with a quiet dignity. And they showed he carried a quiet strength as well when he confronted the hyenas and managed to seriously wound one and at least scare the other into leaving before similar wounds were inflicted on him. Both of them were allowed to leave, but only because Epps had not eaten yet and didn't want to chase after them.

"Man, you're good." Jazz complimented, coming up the hill to stand beside Epps as he reverted to his biped form. The dark man grinned up at the Autobot saboteur as he watched the retreating forms of the hyenas.

"It was nothing. Those two clowns were just young bloods," Epps replied modestly, "Compared to an adult hyena or even a young lion, that was a snap."

"You're too modest. That was awesome, I don' care what ya' say."

Desert Charm:

"….That's a woman?" Carlos choked, pointing none too politely at the femme who was glaring down at the boys like the Unmaker himself.

"A femme." Grindor corrected off-handedly, his spindly alt mode legs trembling under Strika's optics. Admittedly, he hadn't ever seen a femme of her build or frame or temperament, but a Transformer, even a Mini-con, can simply tell if they are confronted with a mech or femme just by their energy signature.

"Oye ve…"

"I can hear you, puny organic insect," Strika growled, taking delight in the fear that crossed the human's face as she bent over him threateningly.

Grave Digger:

Rad would not admit it to anyone, but he often thought about Alexis, her mother, his mother and his father. Not with sexual overtones, but with avid curiosity.

Both of their mothers had been Pre-cogs of grand ability. His mother was more certain of herself when she knew of what might be, but Alexis' mother was open minded to other possibilities. This may have been why they were the best of friends, even in death. His father was decent at what he could see, but since Rad's mother's passing, he'd gotten only shadows of what he used to be able to comprehend.

The young man secretly also thought about exactly why their mothers died. They were the best, but their wills to live seemed to cease when he was old enough to understand things. Both were always small and beautiful, his father had told him that, but they always carried a sadness that couldn't be explained. Maybe that is why when his mother died just two weeks before his coming of age from her heart giving out, Alexis' mother had gone away a mere day after into the woods and never to return.

He remembered Alexis saying that they hadn't been self-destroyers, they had just been languishing and needed release. It was like that for most female Pre-cogs, because they cared too much. That was why Rad's father was still living and would continue to live for decades. Because, he had no reason to not want to live. Rad often admired her for telling him that. It was somehow comforting.

At times, remembering made him grateful that he was a Push and not like the rest of his family. He had every intention of living and helping people in his own ways.

Stillness:

In the only cavern in the Autobot base with a giving hole that allowed sunlight to stream in and warm the many plants in it, Yoketron sat at peace, watching Prowl explain to Sari, Carlos, Bulkhead and a handful of Mini-cons the art of Circuit-Su; ever proud of his best pupil for being so patient.

Washing Wounds:

"You know, for something as small as you are," Starscream spoke to lighten the mood if only by a notch, "You certainly secrete a lot of fluid when injured."

Alexis growled up at the red mech as he attempted to pull out the second piece of shrapnel from Ironhide's weapon. Whereas the earlier piece had come out relatively quickly, this one was splintered and had lodged into her ribcage. While she claimed that she didn't really feel pain, she just got used to it, he still wanted to stave it off if he could.

"It's called bleeding," Alexis shot back, teeth digging into her tongue afterwards to keep herself from screaming when the metal tore horribly at the movement from Starscream. If she could have helped it, she would have gotten it out on her own. She wasn't completely lacking in the energy necessary to do it, all she had to do was… oh, who was she kidding. She could barely move her head to growl at the Seeker.

Amazing how that tight-ass Lennox could get that psycho black Autobot to shoot her for trespassing even as his boss and Sureshock had asked him not to. She should be grateful that he hadn't blown her head off outright, but she wasn't going to be. That aggressive son of a glitch had no reason to do what he did and despite herself, her mind wandered to fantasizing his demise.

Starscream noted her discomfort and ceased his pulling for a moment to ask one more time, almost despairingly, "Are you sure you don't want me to take you to Blackarachnia? She'll at least have some notion of what to do with organic wounds."

Alexis shook her head, some small amount of blood travelling up her throat from her stomach and dribbled down her chin along with some vaguely slurred words, "D-don't want to b-bother her. She's t-too low on energy to make the trip from the bottom of the canyon, ch-change her size and b-be bothered to f-fix me up. You're r-right here and doing fine. Just get the s-stupid smoking shrapnel out and I'll leave for the burrows."

He sighed and shook his head, despite her not noticing as she'd suddenly found the blood she'd already spewed on the dry ground rather interesting. He may have been an emotionless Seeker, but he found himself not wanting her to crawl down a shaft of the hot desert ground to be alone and in pain until they left in a day or so. If she was still alive at that point.

"No," His scratchy voice corrected adamantly, "I'll have you stay with us in the canyon tonight and I'll take you back with us in my cockpit."

"But Sureshock-"

"Swindle will inform him of the arrangement. I'd like to be sure you'll be alright."

The large black wolf felt as if she should be screaming and arguing that she didn't need charity from a giant robot, but in the farthest regions of her mind, she was grateful that he was offering such a thing. Sureshock was the kindest person she'd met in five years, but she was getting slowly attached to this particular Decepticon. So, ears folded rather pathetically backwards, Alexis bowed her head gratefully and shut up when he found another metal piece. This one didn't hurt so much when he pulled it out.

Charity:

Barricade watched Frenzy like a parent with a child as the little crack-bot ran in that strange little alt mode after Bonecrusher, Crumplezone—and here Barricade allowed his smile to lift sardonically—and the now miniaturized Megatron, leaving the black Cruiser to wonder if he should assist the horned leader of all Decepticons.

Breakfast:

"Simmons?"

No answer came as Banacheck leaned over the black haired man whose head was still pressed against the blueberry bagel he had assumingly been eating before passing out. Some of the little berries retained the drool Simmons was expelling along with snoring.

Holding up his own metallic lunch box for a moment before slamming it onto the table with a resounding BANG, Tom waited for his long-time friend to jolt up. He didn't even twitch from the noise, another snore escaping his lips.

"Simmons? Simmons. Simmons! SIMMONS! SIMMONS!" Banacheck practically screeched, hands forming a cone around his lips to amplify the annoyance and volume from himself.

Still nothing.

Unwilling to admit defeat, the calmest agent in The City went into the big metal kitchen all the Guardsmen used for meals when stuck into the housing unit, grabbed the bucket generally used for when it rained to catch the droplets that poured from the ceiling, filled the bucket with freezing water from the sink and went back to Simmons.

Lifting the water carrier just above the brunette's head, Banacheck started to tip it just enough to let it pour into a steady stream-

"Do it and Maggie gets to see that picture of you in her blue kimono."