Author's Note: First update of 2014! :D I wanted to update on Christmas, but things arose, distracted me, and otherwise took up all my time and gave me writer's block. :/ Later in this chapter, I'm going to reveal Riley's Autobot name. Yay! And you're going to be treated for a bit of drama, more battles, and quite possibly character death.

On with the story!

Chapter Thirteen: Bleed Red

"Isaiah! Please, let me in there! I have to see him!"

"Riley, this isn't the time nor the place for you to have a come apart. Optimus, Ironhide, take Riley out of here," Ratchet ordered, making me cry out as both the Prime and weapons specialist practically dragged me out of the Med Bay to allow for Ratchet and the other medics on base, Autobot and human medics alike, more room to work. Before the doors closed, I caught a glimpse of the unconscious and bloody form of my only sibling on the berth, bandages being wrapped around him and hooked to machines to keep him alive. The very image was burned forever into the back of my mind as I was brought into a new wave of hysterics.

"Isaiah!" I screamed, tears spilling from my eyes freely as I struggled against the mech's grip. "Let me go! Isaiah!"

"He's in good hands, Riley. Let Ratchet do his job and stay out of his way. He'll contact you the moment Isaiah's been stabilized."

I screamed, a sound of sheer agony and distress over my only sibling and my inability to help him. "Ratchet! Please! Bring my brother back to me! Don't let my brother die!" I screamed, finally allowing myself to be led away by Optimus, still entrapped in Ironhide's arms. Twisting around in Ironhide's grip, I hugged him, burying my face in his chest and cried. "It's all my fault!"

"No, it's not, Riley. It was that Decepticon's fault he's in this condition," Ironhide sighed, lowering his voice to mumble it into my audio. "Come on, Riley. The good doctor will come get us when he's done."

XxXxX(Several hours earlier...)XxXxX

Glancing up from my project to meet my new companion, I scowled slightly but otherwise said nothing, choosing instead to continue working.

"You seriously gonna keep avoidin' me, Riley?" Ironhide asked, taking a seat beside me to appraise my work. "What'cha ya doin' there?"

"I'm trying to keep myself occupied. Work is a good distraction for me to keep my mind focused," I answered curtly, hissing in pain when the welder's flame nicked my knuckle. "Damn it!"

Ironhide sighed, shaking his helm. "I don't see what you're trying to get at. Explain yourself."

"I don't need to explain anything to you, mister," I snapped, looking up sharply to meet the mech's gaze. "I simply need a distraction for a while. The surviving brothers of Arch Wing are going to come for me and my family and I don't want to see them hurt. They are literally all I have and I won't lose them if I have any say in it."

"I can see where you're going there, Riley. I'd do the same for my own family. Now tell me what it is you're up to."

I smirked. "Lighten up and smile for once, Ironhide. Smiling makes the world wonder what the hell you're up to. Besides, you can't very well protect yourself from harm with only a gun. Sure it can be used for offense and defense, but one simply needs something primarily for defense like a shield," I sighed, shouting when the flame nicked my finger again. "Frag!"

Ironhide snorted. "You ever learn how to use an arc welder?"

"Nope, but I loved building bonfires and getting them hot enough to melt a Coke can. You'd be surprised at how hot I got them. I completely melted a grill and a lawn chair the last time I had a bonfire and my mom had a fit over it, but the lawn chair was old and gross and covered in mold and the grill because rats made a home in it."

"Sounds about right for you. Don't think it escaped my notice that half of the targets are covered in ice and others almost completely melted," he said, crossing his arms.

I shrugged, deciding for the moment to turn off the welder and set it down. "That wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"The one armed man."

"..."

"Ironhide? It's a joke."

"Now I get it," he said finally, chuckling slightly before reaching over to inspect my project. "Not bad for a beginner building weaponry."

"I have you to thank for that. When I trans-scanned you, I copied a lot of the files from your memory, particularly weaponry since that's almost all of what's on your mind anyways," I sighed, allowing him to tinker with what I already have made up.

We sat like this for some time in relative silence as I continued working before Isaiah and Crimson Flame entered the room and joined us.

"S'up, sis?" Isaiah greeted me, watching with interest as I worked.

"Not much. Working on making me a shield. How are you faring with having your every move shadowed by a thirty five foot tall robot?"

"To be honest, I sometimes forget he's even with me. For someone so big, Crimson Flame's surprisingly quiet," Isaiah responded, scratching his head. "If he were human he'd be the perfect roommate: you forget he lives with you and he pops up behind you from outta nowhere like a ninja."

Before I could say a word, an alarm went off, resonating throughout the entire complex. Ironhide reacted to the sound with an evil smile and brought his cannons to bear, heading for the exit. "We got company. Let's go and give 'em a warm welcome."

XxXxX

"Where is she?!"

The moment I heard the voice, I paused, glancing through the crowds of Autobots with their weapons drawn and aimed at the irate mech as he continued shouting at them. Taking a moment to steel my nerves, I pushed my way through the crowd to get a better look at the large silver mech and put myself in full view of him. "I'm here, Drone Strike."

Drone Strike's optics narrowed dangerously. "You're the one! You're the one that desecrated my brother's corpse and carved his insignia from his body!"

I frowned. "I don't remember doing that to him, but if I did, I'm starting a trophy collection," I replied, allowing myself to alter my appearance to take on that of Arch Wing and smirked. "Are we going to do this or what? You gonna try and avenge your brother, Drone Strike?"

Drone Strike snarled and attacked, shouting, "You mock his memory impersonating him and you will pay for terminating his Spark!"

At that, I swapped appearances again to mimic Ratchet as I dodged his attack. "Better now? Excellent!" I cackled, bringing one of his tools to bear as I avoided another punch to the head.

"Don't toy with me! Fight me in your true form, femme!" he roared, catching me with a kick to the stomach. "Fight back!"

Rolling to my feet, I made straight for Drone Strike's midriff, tackling him and took him to the ground. "Dog pile on the Decepticon!" I shouted, laying into his face with multiple blows before I was pushed aside and pinned to the ground to receive a strike to the face.

Drone Strike got in quite a few punches to my face and upper body, stunning me temporarily enough to prompt the appearance change back to my true form. "You had talked a good fight, but I'm not seeing that much action to back up your words," he mocked, an evil smile spreading across his face when I let out a surprised gasp when he grabbed my legs.

I allowed a wicked smile of my own, partially transforming to allow for my thrusters to come out and activated them, knocking Drone Strike off balance as I took off from beneath him and into the air. "I'm coming for you, Drone Strike!" I shouted, diving right for larger mech and grabbed him, lifting Drone Strike off the ground before taking an abrupt nosedive to the ground and stopped myself before I could join the massive Decepticon in a pile on the tarmac.

Drone Strike recovered quickly enough as he climbed to his feet and brought a gun to bear. "Enough playing games with me, damn it! Face me!"

"I am, Drone Strike. I thought you were supposed to specialize in sneaky attacks. There's nothing sneaky about trucking somebody and punching their face in," I answered, dropping to the ground and charged him again, delivering a roundhouse kick to his jaw. "I'm sure your brothers will present more of a challenge to me when they come seeking revenge for you." Taking hold of his arm, I gave it a harsh twist and a yank, tearing it from his body, getting rewarded with a roar of pain and outrage.

Somehow, I took pleasure from the mech's pain, briefly wondering why nobody else was jumping in to help. It's just me he's after, I mused, dropping the disembodied appendage and blocked a hit to my face. Retreating a few steps, I went for my gun and fired, the barrel unleashing what looked most like a heavy cloud of mist, surprised to find a section of Drone Strike's chest encased in ice. "That was awesome!" I grinned, pulling the trigger again and help it longer, observing as the heavy mist-like appearance of the liquid nitrogen became more like giant ice crystals encasing the larger mech's entire torso and part of his legs.

"Is that all you got?!" Drone Strike snarled, twisting himself around and shaking loose the ice that accumulated on his body.

"Nope. I've got lots more settings!" I answered, opening fire again. "Wanna see?"

The larger mech charged and took me to the ground easily, delivering several punches and kicks to my face and torso. Recovering from the shock of the blows, I twisted around in an attempt to scramble to put distance between us for me to attack again. Before I could even try to get out of the Decepticon's reach, Drone Strike slammed his pede down between my wings, making me cry out in pain. He removed his pede and kicked me onto my side, grabbing me by the neck and brought me up to his level. "Where did you think you could go if you escaped my reach, femme? There's nowhere for you to go or run that I won't find you!" he snarled and threw me into a building.

The force of my landing temporarily jolted my vision to make everything seem as though the world were spinning. I blinked. "Hoo... that's one way to make someone dizzy. The world is spinning," I moaned, shaking my head in an attempt to correct my vision. From out of the corner of my optic, I noticed a familiar face and immediately ordered, "Isaiah, go back inside! It's not safe out here!"

Ever the stubborn male creature he is, Isaiah chose instead to cock the weapon he was carrying alongside the other NEST soldiers ready to jump in the fight to assist me. "I didn't run when there were hordes of these bastards swarming our home; I'm not running from this one. I'm not going anywhere."

I scowled, turning my attention back to the larger mech making his way to where I sat reclining against the halfway destroyed building. Pulling my weapon out again, I opened fire, continuing to lay into him with the sheer force of the liquid nitrogen pouring out of the muzzle of the gun. Climbing to my feet, I continued my onslaught on the larger mech as he decided the cold was too much and back away. For every step he took backward to escape the cold, I took two steps forward, very much aware of the NEST soldiers advancing behind me. The sound of gunfire from the soldiers was nearly lost on me over the sound of my own weapon being fired and those of other Autobots that decided to jump in to help, further pushing Drone Strike backward. It finally seemed he decided the odds clearly weren't in his favor and transformed to take off but not before he unleashed a few more shots in my general vicinity and disappeared from sight, the explosions of whatever ammunition he used shaking me enough to throw me off balance and throw the soldiers forward, debris from the buildings Drone Strike hit raining down on us.

"Damn it!" I cursed, hitting the ground with my fist in frustration, pushing myself into a crouched position to survey the damage. A few structures were clearly damaged and even more soldiers were injured, some of them appearing to be either dead or near dead, impaled with debris from the collapsed buildings. One particular figure amidst the chaos made my Spark nearly stop. "No... Isaiah!" I cried, scrambling over to him, careful not to harm anyone around him as I gingerly picked him up and cradled him in my hands.

He looked as though he were dead, gasping for air and coughing up blood, his face screwed into an expression of sheer agony. Major gashes and cuts decorated his body, debris sticking out of some of the wounds, one of the worst of his injuries a few bones jutting out of his skin from the force of impact. Blood matted his hair and stained nearly all of his clothes, his skin looking as though it's lost all of its color.

"Isaiah, you stupid asshole! Why didn't you listen to me?!" I bemoaned, tears welling up in my own optics as Ratchet quickly came to my side to take him.

"I need to take him, Riley. If he and the others don't get treatment now, we'll lose them," he said seriously, carefully taking my brother into his hands and quickly began barking orders to the other medics, human and Autobot alike, as they rushed to help.

XxXxX(Now)XxXxX

"Riley?"

Looking up to meet the gaze my new companion, I sighed as Crimson Flame knelt down to the floor beside me. "Hey, Crimson," I sighed, leaning against the larger mech's side.

"You charged me with protecting your sibling and parents and I failed. For that, I am truly sorry. I will take whatever punishment you see fit to make up for offlining Isaiah," he said lowly.

"Isaiah isn't dead, Crimson Flame. And why would I punish you? I wanted you to keep him out of harm's way, but boys will be boys and get themselves hurt anyway despite the precautions taken to ensure their safety," I sighed, fresh tears pooling in my optics from the bone chilling sight of my brother lying prone on that medical slab as doctors swarmed around him and other soldiers. "It was his choice to fight though I must admit I don't see why the soldiers let him take up arms in the first place."

"Riley? Ironhide told us what happened. Have you gotten word that he's okay?" Mom's voice asked, bringing my gaze back down to my parents as they walked over to join us with Ironhide following close behind. "Have you heard anything at all?"

I shook my head. "Sadly, I haven't. The doctors are pretty overwhelmed with all the patients they have. To make matters worse, Isaiah is one of the most critical they have since he was among those closest to the blasts," I moaned, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees. "I'm just waiting for Ratchet to tell me when he's stabilized."

Dad moved closer, patting my ankle. "Ironhide told us you feel responsible for what happened to him. You're not the one that did this to him: that Decepticon is. And if I had the power to, I'd be going after him myself," he said, a frown etched on his face in concern for his son.

Glancing down at him in wonderment, I pressed, "How far would you be willing to go to avenge him?"

"All the way."

The gears in my mind were already turning as I began cooking up scheme after scheme to achieve revenge on Drone Strike. "I think I have a way for you to get it."

Ironhide and Crimson Flame apparently caught that devious look in my optics. "I know what you're thinking, Riley, and I don't think that's a good idea," Crimson Flame rumbled, pulling away to better see my face. "I'm definitely sure Optimus wouldn't like bringing more people into the fight."

I scowled. "I'm the Allspark and I can create stuff if I want to, damn it!" I exclaimed, already picking myself up and stalked off in search of my supplies. "I'll be back. Eventually."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Narnia!"

XxXxX(Several hours later...)XxXxX

By this point I felt as though I were having an out of body experience. I felt as though I had no control over my actions as I constructed three separate protoforms, two male and one female. Everything around me was now tinted purple and the voices in my head were talking nonstop as glyphs danced around in my field of vision.

"Riley? May I speak with you a moment?"

I was aware of Optimus and his request to speak, but I felt like I couldn't bring myself to stop in my task. "Mmm," I hummed, nodding my head in acknowledgement of his arrival.

"Crimson Flame, Ironhide, and your parents became concerned for you after you left them. Crimson Flame informed me you wished to give your father something to help him avenge Isaiah," he said, leaning over me to observe my work. "I realize you wish to avenge your brother and give your father the means to achieve vengeance himself, but I'm afraid I don't understand what it is you're doing."

"My brother and I share a special bond with each other. When we were little and Isaiah was hurt and crying, I would come and sit beside him and break down into hysterics with him and he did the same when it was me. I can kinda sense his distress and it kills me that he's hurt and I can't help him. I'm hoping what I'm doing will help ease that pain." A quick glance up at the large red and blue mech showed a somewhat puzzled look on his face.

"I'm not certain I understand."

"He's dying, Prime. I can kinda feel it," I said grimly, working faster on the smaller male protoform to get it finished. "I'm going to try and make him something like myself so he has a chance to survive."

Optimus' puzzled look softened into one of sympathy. "Riley, you must consider how Isaiah would feel about what you're proposing. He may not want to go through with your plan. Even if you finish this protoform for him, where would you even begin to get him to become a Cybertronian?"

"What if he will accept it, Optimus?" I retaliated, feeling my temper flare at the questions. "Isaiah's my only brother just like Megatron is yours, so don't tell me you wouldn't do anything to keep him among the living!"

Prime's optics narrowed slightly at my outburst but otherwise stayed calm. "But you must consider my brother has caused death and destruction. He had helped start the war that destroyed Cybertron."

"Thanks to The Fallen. I know. I have the entire history of Cybertron and its inhabitants buzzing around in my head, remember?" I snapped, only pushing myself to work harder on what would be Isaiah's new body if he chose to accept it.

"I am sorry for what has befallen your brother and I also realize that you want revenge, but that will not make Isaiah heal any faster nor will it undo what happened. Letting your emotions take over your actions will only do you harm in the long run, Riley," he said calmly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Humans are emotional creatures. What do you expect?" I sighed, pausing to look up and meet Optimus' gaze. "And hey, do you think I could... um... get the symbol? I wanna make it official where I stand," I asked, gesturing to the Autobot insignia on his chest.

"Of course, Riley. I don't see why not," he answered, offering a slight smile.

"I'm also thinking of getting the name Metal Frost going around, too. So..."

"You wish to be called Metal Frost?"

I shrugged. "It's probably not the most creative name you've heard before, right? The only reason I came up with it is that I'm made of metal, my childhood nickname was 'Frosty', and I fully intend to make the liquid nitrogen my trademark ammunition. Metal Frost was the best thing I could come up with to describe me," I replied. "Plus I don't think I could be called a human anymore and I kinda figured I should adopt something that could be considered a Cybertronian name. I'm not pushing it asking people to call me that is it?"

Optimus shook his helm. "Not at all. Let's see if we can't get it going around for you."

I grinned at this, pleased to find someone would accept my new name. Turning back to my work, I found that all but a few small things needed to be finished before it could be called completed. "Sometimes it's actually cool to have the Allspark's power to build stuff like this. I just pray Isaiah will allow me to help him," I sighed, feeling distressed at the prospect of my brother rejecting it.

::Riley, Isaiah's been stabilized.:: Ratchet's voice rang out, making me heave a sigh of relief.

::Thank God. I'm on my way. Oh and Ratchet?::

::Yes?::

::Would you call me Metal Frost from now on?::

::Very well. Bring your parents with you. I'm sure they would love to see Isaiah as well.::

XxXxX

The sight of my brother alone nearly killed me.

Isaiah looked pale as a ghost, barely breathing even as a machine breathed for him. The pain in his eyes was clearly evident as he turned his head to regard me and our parents' arrival. A small notepad and pencil sat beside him to help communicate. He grasped at the pencil for a few moments before managing to scribble out: Hi.

"Isaiah, why couldn't you listen to me just once in your life?" I moaned, sinking to my knees beside him.

I'm sorry. Isaiah actually looked embarrassed as he wrote. I only wanted to help, but now look at me. How's my hair look?

That made me choke out a soft laugh. "Well, there may be some dirt in it, but that's nothing you couldn't take care of if you only took a shower every once in a while, you dope."

Ratchet decided then to come closer to where I sat, his tone grim. "A few of his internal organs ruptured when the shock from the blast hit him. I've done all I could to make him as comfortable as possible."

"Are you telling me my baby's dying?!" Mom cried out, tears welling in her eyes as she raced to Isaiah's bedside and grasped his hand. "Tell me you're lying!"

Ratchet said nothing. He didn't need to.

I choked on a sob, climbing to my feet. "Isaiah? I may have a way to save you, but I want to know if you want it."

Ratchet, my parents, and Isaiah seemed to all exchange glances with each other before Isaiah took up his pencil and wrote out: What do you mean?

"I created a protoform for you to become a Cybertronian. I wanted to ask you if you wanted it before I did it," I sniffled, motioning for Optimus to carry in the lifeless body and lay it on a berth. "Do you want it?"

Isaiah blinked owlishly, his green eyes darting from me to the protoform and back again for several moments before he responded. I don't want to die, Riley. Do it.

I smiled in satisfaction. "I'm glad to hear it. Now I hope what I'm going to attempt works," I said, delicately unhooking him from the machinery and scooped my older sibling into my hands to carry him across the room to where the protoform laid, chest plates pulled apart to show an empty Spark casing. Carefully situating Isaiah inside, I prayed what I was attempting would work as I focused on pulling the Allspark's ability to create a Spark for him to survive.

Placing my hands on either side of the Spark casing, my gaze never left my brother's face as electric blue sparks danced between the glass casing that would hold the Spark and my hands, the energy buildup growing in intensity the longer I held it. Isaiah looked no less comfortable now than he did attached to the life support, his body now shaking and twitching erratically as the energy of the Allspark flowed around and through him, eliciting a strangled scream from him before the energy completely engulfed him. His form was quickly becoming less and less viewable until the energy almost instantaneously fizzled out to show me an empty Spark casing.

"Dear God. Don't tell me I..." I sobbed, collapsing to the floor beside the protoform, an overwhelming sense of failure hitting me full force.

Optimus and Ratchet were by my side soon enough, pulling me to my feet before the sound of a faint thrumming filled the air. Pushing myself away, I went to lean against the berth that Isaiah's protoform was sprawled out on to find a Spark pulsing within the casing before the chest armor snapped back into place. I held my breath, eagerly watching for any signs that Isaiah would indicate that he's okay. "Isaiah? Can you hear me?"

No sooner had I asked him of his condition, the once darkened optics flared a brilliant emerald green and Isaiah lurched forward to let out a blood curdling scream before falling onto his back and powered down. I frowned, grasping at my sibling's hand, tugging his arm in wonderment. "Isaiah? You okay? Isaiah? Please answer me!"

Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter turned out to be kinda short, but I needed something to go on with for the next chapter.

I have to say I nearly died writing that part with Isaiah. TT-TT What about you guys? How many of you guys out there like (or even a fan of) Isaiah? Just out of curiosity.

Riley vs. Drone Strike: did I do good or bad in terms of the descriptions of the fighting and Drone Strike surviving long enough to escape?

I kinda think some of you guys were probably a little dissatisfied with how easily Riley defeated Arch Wing but didn't say anything. :/ I only really let her take him out real easy because I wanted his character to feel like he was real cocky and confident that he would win and that he knew what he was dealing with even though he didn't. Plus he's supposed to be young and act confident and cocky in his mission to find and take out Riley.

So what do you guys think? How do you like Riley's Autobot name? And out of curiosity, as far as Sunny and Ratchet go, how many of you would like to see them as a couple?