Hey all! Here's another chapter for you guys. Hopefully you like it, and it's a little more original than most reader-inserts you folks have ever read. Not to toot my own horn or anything, I certainly haven't ever read something like this before. So please enjoy!

Again, thank you to all who reviewed, favorited and followed myself and this story. You guys are awesome. That especially includes Cinematronix, X Valkyrie Prime X, Sfrizz5959, WolfAssassin369, Great i dea, Gundam, Guest 1, and bajy. Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers Prime or any other recognizable works.

Chapter 21: Claustrophobia

"Optimus Prime you let me out right now!" the golden-haired girl thundered, eyes seeming to glow with her fury despite how tired she was. Oh he was so going to get it if he did not release her this instant.

"No," her guardian growled back. He had had enough.

"Let. Me. Out." Her silvery eyes were definitely blazing now as she roared looking almost crazed with her need to be freed.

"NO!"

—Twelve Hours Earlier, Aria's POV—

Attempting to suppress another yawn, I wished for the umpteenth time I could get my hands on a couple buckets of caffeine. Ever since I had signed on with Silas, I had been attending more and more fights as of late, attempting to improve my underground connections. I was trying to cautious with where I went so as to not give any clues as to where I live, driving several hundred miles out of my way to get to another fight in a neighboring state. I had tried to cram in a couple power naps here and there when I could, but I found that opportunities for those were few and far in between. I had already hit the 48-hour mark of no sleep a couple minutes ago and from the looks of how things were going, I was no doubt going to reach the 72-hour mark eventually too.

I massaged my face wearily.

Freaking fantastic. The next thing I know, I'll be breaking my record of going a week straight without any sleep at all. I almost pitied those unfortunate enough to get on my bad side in the coming days; I was probably going to be even more short tempered than before.

I knew I could probably lay off a bit but I also needed Silas to truly believe that I was going to work with him. Which meant that I needed to give 110% into this gig otherwise he'd be suspicious. After all, I knew from experience that men like Silas were never easily fooled. And I needed to do just that to beat this man at his own game.

So for now it was bye-bye to 'Aria Leisure Time' and hello to The Dark Phoenix.

Thankfully no one at base had seemed to notice yet.

—Optimus's POV—

Glancing over at his charge for the fifth time since she had arrived at base, he could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with Aria. She seemed worn down, almost haggard, as of late. Her eyes were darker, and the whites of them almost looked to be somewhat yellowed and bloodshot. He had even noticed the beginnings of shadows starting to form under her eyes, threatening to become worse with each passing day. If that wasn't bad enough, a new wave of fresh scars and bruises had started appearing on her skin with a renewed ferocity it seemed. Where one day there could be a half healed bruise on her shoulder, a new scar or scrape could appear the next day right on top of it like a disease before the first even had time to heal.

Not only that, but he had noticed that Aria had started to withdraw from their group. She was a lot quieter than usual, barely piping up anymore to make one of her typical sarcastic, witty remarks. Even then, the only ones that did come out were more snappish and openly hostile.

To say these facts worried him was an understatement. Not only was someone hurting his charge—as it could have only been a human that caused the hand-shaped bruise he saw once on her—but she was apparently working herself to death for some unknown reason.

"She doesn't look too good does she?" said a quiet voice to his left.

Turning, Optimus found Ratchet staring at Aria with a slight frown on his faceplates, having apparently followed his gaze to his charge. The older mech looked to be concerned as he was, if not a little more so since he was a medic after all. The wellbeing of others would always be the top concern of his oldest friend.

Silently, Optimus nodded.

Suddenly, an odd expression came over the red-and-white mech's faceplates as he said carefully, "Optimus, you know as well as I do how stubborn she is. Whatever that femme is up to, she will push herself until she offlines or otherwise." He met Optimus' optics briefly. "Maybe you should talk to her. You are the only one she seems to listen to."

The Prime hummed lowly, nodding once again. "Thank you, old friend. I shall…think on your words. I often find that approaching certain subjects head-on rarely ever works with her."

The older mech made a sound of assent but did not comment further, instead returning to his work at the monitors.

As soon as the other mech was no longer within range though, Optimus quietly sighed. Now all he had to do was figure out how to get through to his stubborn charge.

—Later, Aria's POV—

Aria should have known that something was up the second she looked into her guardian's optics. As it was though, the blonde-haired girl remained blissfully ignorant as she approached Optimus to request to go with him on his next scouting mission.

With exhaustion and insurmountable amounts of stress bearing down on her, she found that she yearned more often for the moments she got to spend with Optimus. It seemed like those instances were the only brief respite she got where she didn't have to act like a total emotionless bitch.

So, approaching the tallest of the Autobot's, Aria could not suppress the odd little trill of pleasure that went through her when her guardian took note of her presence, bending down and offering his servo for her to climb into.

"Optimus—"

"Aria—"

They both paused when they realized that they were trying to speak at the same time. Had they both been alone, Aria felt that both of them may have smiled, maybe even laughed a little at the foolishness of the moment. As it was, Optimus, being ever the courteous gentlemech he was, inclined his head toward her, a touch of amusement in his optics.

The corner of Aria's lips twitched, but she took the invitation to speak first anyways. "Hey big guy, I was just wondering if I could tag along again with you."

Usually, directly after she asked that question, Optimus would immediately say yes. This time however, those Persian blue optics of his darkened slightly and there was a brief and unusual moment of stillness between the two of them before he answered. And once again, all this should have sent red flags up, but Aria foolishly remained ignorant, choosing to become more concerned for her guardian.

She didn't notice the meaningful look Ratchet gave the Prime.

"Aria, I…I am sorry but no. I cannot allow for you to come with me," he rumbled in a quiet undertone.

Her brows furrowed as she frowned a little. Why did she feel so sad all of a sudden?

Reining hold over her emotions so as to not show any emotion on her face, Aria swallowed with some difficulty before speaking. "What's this about, Optimus? Is something wrong?" She paused, thinking for a moment and then added, "Have I done something wrong?"

Appear almost saddened, the bot shook his great head. "No Aria, but cannot allow you to go into the field the way you are. Especially considering the state you are currently in."

"Excuse me?" she snapped, tone rising slightly as anger took hold. "'The state' I am in? What the Hell does that mean? I am perfectly fine."

As if he had been expecting her outburst, Optimus did not look offended but her tone, merely waited patiently for her to finish speaking so he could say his piece.

"No you are not," he argued back, his tone steady and gentle but still firm and commanding. "Pardon my plain speaking but you look dead on your feet, Aria. You can barely stay awake let alone operate efficiently enough to anticipate a Decepticon attack. I do not know what you are doing to run yourself so ragged, but you cannot go on like this, Aria. You need to rest before you work yourself to death."

Aria scowled deeply, channeling her best imitation of her mother's iciest look. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much Optimus. I don't need you to baby me."

Amazingly, the Prime did not flinch. "Be that as it may, I will not risk you being harmed on the account of you being too exhausted to defend yourself."

Aria opened her mouth to argue again but Optimus cut her off. "So, I am hereby banning you from accompanying myself or any of the Autobot's on their missions until I am satisfied with your health."

Once again, she was about to speak, but Optimus looked her dead in the eyes and said in a very clear tone. "This is not up for debate, Aria."

Like magic, Aria's expression was wiped clean of any emotion whatsoever. However, underneath that stony façade, anger bubbled and simmered like a pit of lava. The only indicators of her emotional turmoil were the stiffness in her posture and the way her eyes seemed to glow like a cumulonimbus cloud would during an electrical storm.

She felt a little hurt to say the least. While Aria wasn't quite insulted, she still felt like her heart had just taken a steep plummet. Those times she got to spend with Optimus were the only excuses she could give herself to relax, and now he was banning her?

Knowing she could not win this argument, Aria eventually looked away and allowed herself the be set upon one of the catwalks as her guardian walked away. Never once did she look at him.

—Later—

Leaning against a boulder not too far away, I only half-listened as Miko complained loudly about our current location, a forested place with a big, rocky clearing.

"We're supposed to be at a rock concert, but all I see is rock," the Japanese girl bemoaned unabashedly, pacing a bit as Jack yawned, leaning lazily against a pile of rock boulders as we all waited for Arcee and Bulkhead to return from inside the abandoned mine.

So yeah, if you hadn't figured already, I had pulled a classic "Miko", quietly managing to tag along with the two kids and their guardians when Ratchet's back was turned. It was a reckless move, I know, but I think I just wanted to spite my guardian as payback for basically confining me to base.

Still, I seriously regretted not bringing anything with me now to keep me busy; I hadn't even brought one of my batons to twirl.

Anyways…

"Relax, Miko," Jack waved off, still casually lounging about in the afternoon sun. "The show doesn't start for two hours."

In a flash, the foreign exchange student was up in his face. "Do you know how long I've waited to see Slash Monkey?"

"Uh—"

"Forever!" she exploded. "And it's their only U.S. date!"

I rolled my eyes, listening as Jack said sarcastically:

"There's a shock," Jack said dryly. "I mean, who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shriek metal?"

I snorted quietly.

Primus, Jack you definitely have been hanging around me too much.

Usually, I would have made a sarcastic remark like that aloud, but I was a little too concerned with being unnerved at how close we were to the abandoned excavation site. Seriously, cramped, dark places and me should never be mixed together; that is just asking for it.

Thankfully though, I was saved from having to listen to the two bicker as Arcee and Bulkhead returned from scouting the abandoned Energon mine, discussing what they had found.

"By all appearances, the mine's been stripped," I managed to catch the small, blue femme saying.

"But I'm getting a signal," Bulkhead put in, gazing at the beeping device in his hand. "It's faint, but it's definitely Energon."

"Whoa," Miko gasped excitedly, sharing a look with Jack.

I didn't need to see her face to know she was eventually going to get in trouble. After all, this was Miko we were talking about here. She always acted before she thought things through.

Standing a little straighter, I watched as the two bots eventually stopped, both looking a little concerned.

"Doesn't make sense," Arcee said, shaking her helm. "This operation has been abandoned four, maybe five years. And Decepticons never leave Energon behind."

Silently, I nodded, understanding what she was getting at. Usually, a find like this would spell a trap for the Autobots. However, if Arcee was correct in her judgement with how long the operation had been abandoned…something just didn't add up.

Hopping off my perch, I approached the two, intent on adding my two cents in. "Could it possibly be mining equipment your picking up the signal from?"

The two turned towards me, the smaller of the two being the one to explain things to me.

"Not likely," the femme said. "The mining equipment the Decepticon's use is hard to come by, let alone make. They almost always tidy up a mining site before picking up heading to another location."

"Besides," Bulkhead added, "the scanner only picks up on exposed or raw Energon."

"Meaning that unless something or someone had sprung a leak down there," I finished slowly, putting the pieces together, "either something really weird is going on or the Con's really did forget to mine some Energon."

We all looked troubled at that. But before the conversation could continue, Jack suddenly got our attention.

"Uh, guys?" he called from his spot, pointing.

At his prompting, we all turned toward the entrance to the mine, just in time to see Miko disappear into its dark depths saying, "Cool!"

Mentally, I did a face-palm. Why am I not surprised?

"She went in. Unbelievable," Arcee said, sounding like she was having a mental face-palm moment too.

"Really?" Jack snarked, moving forward. "Have you met her?"

In a way, I was almost surprised Jack hadn't stopped her—and maybe he had and I just didn't know—but I guess when push came to shove, he got tired of attempting to stop Miko's shenanigans too.

"What he said," I grumbled, massaging my temples as I could already feel another 'Miko mischief' induced migraine coming on. I already wasn't too fond of being so close to what would inevitably be a dark, closed in space, but Miko always seemed to know how to make it worse.

Despite probably being accustomed to Miko's bouts of recklessness, Bulkhead groaned exasperatedly, before charging into the mine after her, calling, "Miko, get back here!"

"It would be kind of interesting to see," Jack admitted aloud before taking note of his guardian's facial expression and quickly adding, "You know, if it were–"

"Safe?" Arcee finished, strolling over and placing a servo on her hip. "A stripped mine can be structurally unstable, Jack."

Forcefully, I repressed the urge to shiver. Don't I know that. I didn't need a reminder of how easily I could be trapped in a lightless, confined space like a rat in a trap and then—

"I promise to step lightly."

I blinked, focusing back on reality when I heard that sentence tumble from my adopted brother's lips. He couldn't seriously be thinking of going down there, could he? I glanced at Arcee. She wouldn't let him…right?

So imagine my surprise when the femme merely said, "Just don't tell your mom."

They both glanced back at me.

"Coming, Aria?" Arcee asked.

Blinking once again and swallowing back what could have been traces of bile, I nodded stiffly, managing to choke out a curt 'yes' before following behind the two. Inaudibly though, I sent up a wordless prayer to whatever deity was listening, praying that this wouldn't end up like all the other Miko-related clusterfucks. I don't think I could handle it if something were to go wrong down here of all places.

—Megatron's POV—

Angling his vehicle-mode towards the ground, the Decepticon warlord transformed several human yards above the ground, landing with a firm thud, his traitorous second-in-command following close behind. Sunlight glinted off his heavily scarred armor, but the red-opticed mech paid it no heed, instead surveying the dry location with the yawning, black cavity in the middle of it.

Inwardly, the mech smirked, pleased with the coordinates his third-in-command, Soundwave, had provided. Yes, this would be the perfect place to end this little charade and a certain nuisance along with it.

Behind him, he could practically hear the sniveling seeker 'sweating bullets' as the humans would say.

"Uh, Lord Megatron," Starscream rasped, nervousness evident in his tone despite how much the coward tried to hide it. "Far be it from me to question your intentions, but I do not understand why we've returned here after all this time…alone," he trailed off, and the former gladiatorial champion did not have to imagine how the grey and silver seeker's blood-red optics were darting about nervously as he followed in Megatron's wake as the large mech headed toward the large mine entrance. "Uh—Every last trace of Energon was extracted from this mine. There's…nothing left."

Megatron quietly snorted; the mech sounded as if he was trying to convince himself of the fact rather than the large, grey mech in front of me.

Turning the warlord glanced back at the sniveling seeker with a miniscule touch of amusement in his optics. It was no secret to Megatron that seekers were not overly fond of confined spaces, but he knew all too well that Starscream's fear did not have anything to do with genetic coding.

Good, let the coward sweat a little.

"Indulge me, Starscream, won't you?" he requested, acting for all the world that he merely wanted to take a stroll through an abandoned mining operation.

Sunlight flooded in from the chambers above.

Leisurely strolling through the network of tunnels—the map of which had been provided to him by his ever-loyal TIC—Megatron was both pleased and angered by the sight of the mining drills that had obviously been abandoned along with the operation; angered by Starscream's obvious incompetence, and pleased to find more damning evidence to convict the sniveling coward with.

"How intriguing," Megatron merely said instead, a low growl evident in his tone as he turned his optics to the smaller Cybertronian next to him. Anyone who knew well enough could just hear the silent promise of pain in those two words.

True to his high and mighty seeker heritage, Starscream went on to blame anyone but himself. "Incompetent fools!" he snarled, stomping forward, growling with his wings taut and closely pulled together on his back struts in a show of anger. But Megatron knew better; he knew it was merely an attempt to seem ignorant of any crime. "This mining equipment should have been relocated. Why is it still here?"

Still, the gladiator did not provide an answer, preferring to wait a little before revealing the real reason of why they were there. He wanted the spineless mech to feel the pressure coming down on him before delivering the final blow.

"A most valid question," was Megatron said instead, watching as the seeker flinched at the sound of his voice before turning around to face him.

"My apologies, master. I believe Soundwave was in charge of coordinating transport," the seeker excused, before quickly adding upon the darkening of Megatron's expression and low growling, "But in fairness, during your interstellar travels, we all had to assume additional responsibilities. Clearly, mistakes were made."

It was in moments like these that Megatron remembered why he despised Starscream but kept him around anyways.

Thanks to how snotty and self-absorbed most seekers naturally were, Starscream very much reminded Megatron of the politicians from back on Cybertron. Each one was more stuck-up, snobbish, and self-centered than the last. Very much like how Starscream was. Oh how Megatron remembered how much he hated each and every single one of those pigs. Unlike him, they never cared about the other Cybertronian's out there who were struggling to survive just another day while these pompous fools grew fat and bloated thanks to their vast fortunes.

Which is mostly why he kept Starscream around despite all of his transgressions: he reminded Megatron so much of those fools. Maybe his true motives were sort of twisted in a way, but each time he put Starscream in his place, he felt like he was getting back at all the politicians who had oppressed and looked down on others like himself. And Primus did it feel wonderful.

Which is why it was so laughable to watch Starscream try and cover for himself now. Of course, little did the seeker know that he was already sinking fast and most definitely already in way over his head; there was no way he was digging himself out of this one.

"Yes. Clearly," Megatron finally said, feeling that now was as good a time as any to end this little farce. Then, using all the brute strength he had, Megatron plunged one of his clawed servos straight into a nearby wall of rock and withdrew it to show a large, unprocessed formation of Energon crystals. It looked to be enough to make a few decent cubes, though not many. "'Every last trace of Energon extracted'?" he mocked in a rumbling tone.

"Lord Megatron, I can explain," the mech began as Megatron advanced on him.

"Explain what? That you've been hoarding a supply of Energon for your personal use?" the warlord growled accusingly as he dropped the hunk of crystals that were then promptly turned to dust by his pede. He didn't need a lie-detector to know without a doubt that his guess was spot on; it was just the way the seeker's mind functioned.

"No! Not exactly," Starscream denied, but his little ship had sunk long ago and now it was time for him to pay the price. "You see, I—"

"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream!" the Decepticon Leader roared, red optics glowing brightly. It was time to lay it all on the table. "I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning. Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark, but you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It's no secret that you lost an arm in the process, which you've since had replaced."

He was almost on top of the blubbering cretin now.

The smaller mech was shocked, squawking fearfully, "You know about that?!"

"Soundwave is quite competent at surveillance; I can assure you." And much more loyal than two of you put together. "The fact is, Starscream, despite your treachery, I've allowed you to carry on this long because I took a certain delight in following your string of failures," he admitted. "But you've finally become tiresome, predictable. You've hit rock bottom."

By now the coward was on his knees with Megatron's cannon pointed straight in his faceplates, ready to blow the mech to oblivion.

"Master, please!" Starscream cried, knowing there was no other way to escape his fate, as he clasped his long, sharp-digits together in a pleading gesture. "Give me one more chance! I beg of you!"

Megatron sneered. This fool would do anything to save his own hide. He really hated when others attempted to beg for their lives; a more honorable bot would have either stood and fought or accepted their end. Those who scrambled, pleaded, and grasped at straws in the face of their demise, were less a bot than another weaselly cur.

So Megatron delivered what he expected to be some of the last parting words to the wretch before him, his cannon powering up all the while. "You have ceased to be of use to me, Starscream. So you shall simply cease to be," he thundered, as the grey seeker brought his servos up to his faceplates in a feeble attempt to block the impending blow.

It was almost poetic except then Starscream all of a sudden stopped pleading for his life, lowering his arms, and looking genuinely surprised as his gaze fixed on something else.

Taking a chance that it wasn't one of the seekers ploys to stop him from ending his life, Megatron followed the other mech's gaze and found himself a little stunned as well.

It was a couple of humans, but not just any humans: it was two of the Autobots little pets, one of which he knew belonged to Optimus himself.

For a nanoklick, no one moved. The two opposing sides just stood frozen, staring at each other in surprise; none of them had been expecting this. And in that brief respite before the blue Autobot femme walked out and effectively ended the standstill, Megatron's red gaze found and met the silver-grey one of the golden-furred, human femme from across the large chamber.

Then it was over, ending as the femme Arcee, grabbed both humans and pulled them behind a pillar of rock as Megatron released a war cry and started firing at them.

He could deal with Starscream later; defeating the Autobots always came first in this war, only becoming second priority when troop welfare was concerned.

Firing at the pillar behind when her knew the Autobot and human's lay, Megatron didn't give the femme a chance to return fire, barely managing to hear the femme's command to the humans to stay down. Typical Autobots, always trying to protect the humans.

However, things took a turn when Starscream, ever the coward, decided to bail on Megatron, releasing a short "Haaah!" as he went, like he was trying not to live up to his name and run away screaming, as he escaped through a tunnel.

"Starscream, you dare abandon me?!" he roared, turning to fire off a shot at the seeker in an attempt to finish him. But it was too late. The mech had escaped, and in that moment of distraction, the Autobot had used the interval to fire off her own weaker shots at his exposed back. Furious now, the giant grey and purple mech turned back to the fight only for the enemy fire to hit his arm and cause his aim to go wide and up toward the ceiling. Then the inevitable happened: the wild blaster fire shook enough rock loose to cause the mine's structure to destabilize. The whole place then began to rumble and shake as dust and rock of varied sizes rained down on all of them. Megatron just barely had time to look up and try to shield himself as a ginormous chunk of the ceiling broke loose and fell on top of him, causing the floor beneath him to crack like ice before eventually giving way completely, opening up and swallowing the warlord whole.

And that was the last thing Megatron knew as darkness descended.

—Aria's POV, Dream—

Like in those old horror movies where the dead rose from the grave, a clawed servo broke through a pile of rubble and rock. Managing to pull himself out of the rubble, the seeker looked back at the pile of rock before him, smirking triumphantly despite how damaged he was. He even managed to laugh a little, the evil sound shaking his dirty grey frame.

"Predictable, master?" he crowed jubilantly, smirking like the cat who ate the canary. "Is that what you called me? Well, now who has hit rock bottom?"

He held a servo up to his audial as if trying to listen for something. But from the gleam in his blood-red optics, it was obvious that the gesture was meant in mockery. "What's that? I'm sorry I can't hear you beneath all that rubble!" he laughed loudly, the sound reminiscent to the caw of a crow.

Oh this day was just too perfect. Not only would some of his enemies likely perish, but his former 'Master', his would-be executioner, was likely dead as well. Oh the irony!

And now he was free to lead the Decepticon's all on his own, just like he wanted to and without much hindrance either once he did what his master failed to do and snuffed the spark of Optimus Prime.

"Farewell, lord Megatron. May you rust in peace," he taunted.

He turned to go, managing to walk a couple steps, but then suddenly froze, a thought having to have struck him. "But you have survived far worse," he mumbled to himself, beginning to look as if the warlord had his cannon pointed at him again. "If you managed to free yourself, you would blame me for your setback, and there is nowhere that I could possibly escape from your wrath. Or, worse yet, your mindless followers will come looking for you and take credit for your rescue. Credit that could rightfully be mine."

Without further ado, Starscream bellowed in frustration, screaming out the designation of the one who seemed to endlessly taunt him even in death. "Raaaah! Megatron!"

Bit by bit, my senses began to return to me and with it, so did most of the feeling in my body. Ow. Why did my body ache so much? What the hell had I done now? Taken on a whole army of ninja's or something? What the frag had—?

I froze, fear sinking its teeth into my soft in like autumn frost on a farmer's crop as memories came rushing back and comprehension eventually dawned.

Oh no, no, no. Please, for the love of all things holy, please let this all be a bad dream.

Without my knowledge, my body began to tremble, breathing at an increased rate.

Oh god this cannot happen.

"Come on Aria. It's just a nightmare", I tried to console myself. "Just a stupid, silly nightmare. I'll open my eyes and find that I am back in my shop, probably asleep at my desk thanks to all those long hours of fighting and this was all just some simple night terror." I took a deep breath. "Come on, Slade, get ahold of yourself. Just open your eyes and take another deep breath. Cowardice does not become you."

Talking probably wasn't the smartest thing to do since I couldn't feel any fresh breeze and I no doubt had already used up a considerable amount panicking, but I really needed the verbal encouragement at that moment.

Taking one last deep breath but feeling no less shaken, I propped myself up in a sitting position and managed to open my eyes.

What I saw—or rather didn't see—however, did not bring me any comfort whatsoever. There was nothing; it all was completely pitch black. I could feel my eyes straining to the point of pain in an attempt to try and adjust to my evidently lightless surroundings, but I couldn't even see the outline of my nose as it was so dark. Of course, I didn't need my eyes to know that I was trapped in a very small, very dark, cramped space; my ears were sharp enough to pick up on the slight echo of my panicked breathing.

I began to shake as my heart rate picked up and my breathing became short and panicked. I knew that I was having a panic attack, but I couldn't find it in myself to bother enough to stop because for the first time in a very long time I was trapped in a dark space with no way out.

No, no, no! This can't be happening!

I was trapped; completely and utterly trapped.

Before I knew it, I had drawn in on myself like an armadillo, head between my legs, heart thundering in my ears, and breath coming in short, rapid bursts. I could feel how badly I was trembling but couldn't bring myself to care. I was too concerned with how the tight space I found myself in seemed to be closing in around me like a car in a trash compactor.

God this was one of my worst nightmare's come to life!

—Flashback—

"You damn brat!"

Aria's mother was in a towering temper. She wasn't sure what set the woman off this time. All she knew was that Layla was on the warpath and she was the only one home. If she didn't find a way to either leave or hide until her mother calmed down, it…well, it wouldn't be pretty.

Anyways, upon hearing the noise, little Aria scooped up her school bag and shoved all her homework and pencils into it before dashing towards her room, whispering, "Gonna make it. Gonna—"

"ARIA!" Layla roared upon catching sight of her daughter.

Immediately, Aria froze in her tracks. Then, ever so slowly, the little girl turned on the spot to face the Dark Ice Queen, rightfully fearful for what she would see. The child flinched. She knew she was caught.

Looking at the woman's face, the child knew no apt words that could describe how terrifying the Ice Queen's thunderous expression was.

So scared of what her mother was going to do, the child had no time to react before Layla's perfectly manicured hand found its way around her arm. Despite how non-athletic the woman was, Layla's grip on her arm was surprisingly strong, painful even, causing Aria to cry out.

"Momma, stop! It hurts! Please!"

The little girl struggled uselessly, fighting to get out of her mother's hold and terrified of what was going to happen. While her mother had never hurt her before (at the time), she did push her around a bit. But Aria was always fearful that one day, one day her mother would just completely snap and physically harm her.

"Shut the hell up!" Layla barked, eliciting a flinch and more tears from the eye of the struggling girl. "Just shut the hell up! I have had enough of your whining!"

The woman forcefully pulled the child through the darkened house.

Aria tried to obey her mother, but it was difficult to keep from crying out as her arm was crushed and the back of her heels were scraped across the carpet as her mother literally dragged her who-knew-where.

Then the next thing the child knew, Layla had opened some kind of door and threw her in. With a short exclamation of pain as her back collided with a wall, Aria managed to open her eyes in time to watch as her mother slammed the door shut in her face, plunging the little girl into darkness. Immediately, the youth began to panic, screaming and howling to get out. Apologizing profusely and hoping beyond hope that her mother would free her.

But all she got as a reward was the sound of something heavy slamming against the closet door and her mother screaming at her to shut up.

For what felt like hours, the little girl pounded, beat, scratched, pawed, and clawed at the evidently locket closet door, begging and pleading to be let out of the dark, cramped hall closet.

But no one came. It wasn't until two days later that one of her spiteful sisters had accidentally found her in the locked closest after her mother had apparently forgotten her there.

And thus Aria's combined case of claustrophobia and nyctophobia was born, fueled by the actions of her mother each time the Ice Queen locked her in that dark closet and forgot about her for days on end.

—Flashback End—

Again, I shivered, eyes wide and unseeing as memories of slowly going insane in the dark closet played in front of me instead. I barely had to use my imagination to remember how maddening the silence was with only my starvation and dehydration to keep me company.

Unconsciously, I drew my legs even closer to my body, shaking worse than the time I had jumped in a pool in the middle of winter. It seems that history could indeed repeat itself because I once again found myself trapped in a dark, cramped space with no idea when someone was going to come and get me out. Or if they ever would attempt to find me.

Shut up. Optimus will find us, a voice in my head reminded me.

I felt as my eyes began to glisten, even though they were both tightly shut.

But he was so cross with me earlier…and I went behind his back and snuck out of base without him knowing! If I died here, they wouldn't even know! Oh God!

And like that I was once again bordering a full blown, screaming, crying panic attack as images of death ran through my head. It wasn't until I heard another voice speak—that wasn't one of my own inner voices—that I realized that I most definitely was not alone.

"So Optimus' little fleshling is nothing more than another sniveling coward. How… underwhelming."

My insides turned to lead as my entire frame went stiff as freshly fired clay. I knew who that voice belonged to. Turning, I nearly shrieked when I came face to face with Megatron himself. Okay, to be more accurate for the sticklers out there, it was more like my entire body to his face since I was sitting literally less than five feet away from his lopsided face.

Of all the people to be stuck with during a cave-in…

My god really has abandoned me hasn't he? I mentally groaned amidst all the other panicked scrambling in my brain. Thank Primus I consider myself agnostic.

Trying to push myself into a defensive crouch (since I couldn't stand because of the ceiling), I admit that I felt somewhat proud of myself for being able to face the Decepticon leader despite my fear of the dark, cramped space I was in.

"You," I snarled, trying to focus on my dislike of the Cybertronian before me, instead of…other things.

"Oh, so the little cyber-kitty does have claws?" the gunmetal-grey con mocked.

I sneered at him, grateful I had not been reduced to tears as that would have made the fierce expression laughable. "Say's the giant piece of tin who can barely move," I retorted scathingly, referring to his obviously buried body as I could only see his head.

The con growled like an angry tiger, apparently greatly frustrated by this fact. I think he even tried to pry some of the rock away, but his efforts proved to be quite fruitless.

I smirked, deciding to mock him further. "Having fun there?"

I certainly was. Taunting the giant before me took the edge off my fears, though it still felt like the small was slowly shrinking.

"I will get out of this," he promised, red optics glaring at me. "And when I do fleshbag, I will take you and utterly crush you right in front of Optimus Prime's very optics. Right before I rip out his spark!"

Okay, now normally I would have reverted to my usual defense mechanism of sharp-witted, sarcastic humor, but this time around though it was not the case. I'm not sure what set it off. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the stress was getting to me. Who knows? Maybe it was my fear, or a combination of all three that set me off. Either way, immediately after Megatron's threat, I drew one of my baton's, shifted it to blade form, and had it pointing less than an inch from the warlord's left optic.

"Not if I kill you first," I snarled. Then, as naturally as if I were changing clothes, I could almost feel as I slipped into the mindset of the Dark Phoenix persona I so often used to intimidate street trash, smiling in an almost insane manner as I gently scraped the sharpened point of my staff under his optic. "Or maybe I'll just dissect you. I mean if you allowed yourself to be at the mercy of a mere human, something much smaller and weaker than you, then don't you deserve whatever fate awaits you? Right?"

Then the moment was gone, but some sadistic part of me enjoyed the minute unsettled look that passed through the ex-gladiator's blood-red optics. Still, it wasn't completely unexpected when Megatron, instead of cowering as most people would, merely gave me a shark-like grin and said, "Then seize the day femme! I guarantee that you will not get another chance such as this to finish me."

For a moment, I was completely silent, staring directly into the optics of the Cybertronian before me. He was right; it would be so easy just to finish him right here and now.

But would you really do it? Some part of me asked. Would Optimus kill him?

I knew the answer to both before the thought had fully formed. No.

So, snorting derisively, I pulled back, shifting the short staff to its normal form and sheathing it, before laying back against some rock, closing my eyes and saying dryly, "As much as I would love for you to kick the bucket, I am not that type of person."

And that was true. Despite how it may seem with the blood fights and my altogether dangerous lifestyle, I wasn't a killer in the slightest. Sure I fought with the intent to kill, but no one had ever technically died by my hand. Sure, there were those who made the decision to fight me and later died, but as I saw it, they made a choice to do what they did and paid the price for it. I didn't kill them. But aside from that, my hands were pretty much clean; I have never killed anyone just for the sake of wanting them dead. (And as far as I was aware, no one had ever died by my and intentionally or otherwise).

And my case with Megatron was no different. Maybe he did deserve to die for what he has done, but I was not going to be the judge, jury, and executioner on this one.

Peeping my eyes open just a bit as I tried to relax and not think of just how scared I really was, I looked over at the con, intent on finishing my previous thought. I may not mean anything to him, but Optimus certainly still saw something in him. So, for the sake of my guardian, I would try and make the warlord understand, even if he did not care about what I had to say.

"Even for you and what you've done," I began slowly, trying to focus on calming thoughts, "I don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Maybe one day you'll meet your end, just not by my hand." Unless you decide to force it, I mentally added.

"How intriguing," Megatron mused. "I wonder if it is fear or mercy that compels your actions fleshling."

I grunted. "Neither. I just don't see the point of killing you when all it will do is destabilize the Decepticon cause for a while before your cowardly second in command or someone else takes up the reins again."

"I see."

I raised a brow. "Do you? I somehow doubt that when this war you started left Cybertron a barren, lifeless husk."

Surprisingly, the warlord did not get pissed at me (though I did notice brief flash of some emotion in his optics before it was quickly squashed). Instead, he just grinned maliciously and said, "Oh is that what Optimus told you little fleshling? Did he mention that our society was already doomed? That it was rotten to the core? That while the politicians and nobles grew fat and bloated on their fortunes, others were struggling to survive?

Though he said it all in a mocking tone, I got the distinct impression that I had touched a nerve.

"He didn't tell me anything. None of them did." I didn't want to tell him about my weird dreams apparently concerning Cybertron's history. Something told me that it would not bode well for me. So softly inhaling and exhaling, I said in a soft but succinct tone, "You took things too far, Megatronus."

Megatron actually looked surprised when I called him that.

"So he told you," he said haltingly, seeming to regard me in a new light.

I shook my head, drawing my legs in and placing my chin on my knees as I stared at the wall of rock in front of me. "Again no he didn't. I…just have another…firsthand source."

It was a vague half-truth but hopefully he bought it.

We fell into silence after that. It wasn't uncomfortable per say, just a little stagnant. I mean, what do you say to the enemy when you can't attack them?

Still, I didn't know how long I was going to be trapped here so I might as well make the most of it. "Tell me, Megatron, why did you start the war?"

The warlord sneered at me. "Why do you care fleshling? Our war is no concern of yours."

Disregarding his tone, I settled back against the rock, attempting to get comfortable despite our current situation…and my fear. "Sweetheart, we are buried under several tons of rock with no way out until someone finds us, which may take a while, so indulge me a little why don't you? It'll help pass the time."

Though my eyes were no longer open, I could feel his gaze on me, like the mech was trying to figure me out or was looking for some ulterior motive to my request. Eventually though, the mech seemed to cave in and began to speak.

I listened closely, both to Megatron's story and keeping an ear out for anybody close-by.

Truth be told, it was quite interesting to hear about things from the Decepticon warlord's perspective. Nodding every once in a while to show I was actually listening, I found myself quietly admiring Megatron for his determination and strength. I mean it took guts to speak out when no one else had the courage to do so; it took an even greater strength of will to stay afloat against the tide of those who tried to push you down. I knew he wasn't telling me everything (probably thinking I will go and report everything to Prime), but the story he told of how he went from a nameless slave to a renowned gladiatorial champion before changing course once again and becoming a gladiator in the political arena—it was all so unique. If anything, he truly was a mech on a mission, trying to change a vision he desired into a reality.

All the while, I was slowly beginning to piece together certain snippets of dreams I remembered having in the past, gradually coming to realize that some of them had indeed been about Megatron. I'm just not sure what to think about that yet.

—Later—

Despite how sluggishly my brain was working, I knew I was slowly dying. I could just feel it. Of course, I had kind of already known it when I first realized that I was trapped, but as the air grew thinner and thinner, it just sort of seemed to occur to me. It wasn't so much a thought of 'OMG! I'm gonna die! Someone save me!' It was more like 'Oh hey, it's getting harder to breath. I must be using up all the oxygen in here. I'm slowly going to suffocate to death.'

Now truth be told, I wasn't really scared of death. When you lived on the streets for as long as I had, death became a natural part of everyday life. Friends you made could be there one day and then gone the next. Even my time as a blood fighter had taught me how fragile life was. And when you lived with a constant reminder that one wrong move could kill you, you start to just accept it. Death is just a natural part of life to me.

Still, I was somewhat grateful that I had someone with me in the end, even if it was Megatron. Sure, he didn't give a damn about my insignificant life, but at least I would not die alone. That was always something that plagued me. Living so alone as I have, never really connecting with anyone, I have always wondered if I would die alone or not.

I remember all those times on the streets, especially during the harsh winter seasons, where I would occasionally come across the body of another homeless person who had died during the night. No matter where I was or what city I was in though, I noticed that each and every one of them was alone. It was an astounding revelation. And through those experiences, I found myself wondering if that would ever be me. Would I die just like them, alone and in the cold, with no one to care or talk to? Or would there be someone there to hold my hand and say that it's alright?

It was just something that always made me wonder…

"Hey Megatron," I coughed in a low voice, body limp against the rock and eyes closed. I just felt so weak. "Thank you."

I couldn't see it, but I imagined that the huge mech seemed a little surprised by the appreciation. But before he could say anything though, a loud humming sound seemed to reverberate all around us.

"Sounds…*cough* *cough*…like drilling…*cough*…," I managed to say weakly. "Wonder who…it is…" I coughed some more. "Yours or…*cough* *cough*...mine."

I think I kinda blacked out after that because the next thing I knew there was a great high pitched humming sound like an engine, accompanied by a whole lot of dust and a garbled crunching, grinding sound like a rock grinder or something except ten times louder. Then suddenly it stopped.

"…hat?" I managed to croak out, coughing as hearing returned to me.

"It seems you are in luck femme," I heard Megatron grumble close by.

What was he talking about?

With great effort, I managed to pry open my eyes a bit to find some dim light streaming in through the settling dust. What…? Then I saw him. Covered in dust from head to toe but obviously not severely harmed, was my brother Jack. He was alone, but I was no less thankful to see him.

I smiled. "J-Jack…"

The guy turned towards the sound of my voice; face breaking out in a smile when he saw who spoke.

"Aria!" he said, jumping down from the drill and racing towards my limp form, worry evident. "Are– are you alright?"

Despite how tired I was, I managed to roll my eyes. That was a really stupid question on his part.

I wanted to tell him, No. I nearly suffocated to death, and I've got bumps and bruises in just about every place on my body, including some unmentionables. Instead however, I merely opened my mouth and said, "Aside from some wounded pride at being the one rescued, just peachy little bro."

He smiled wryly at the use of dry sarcasm but didn't say anything as he slung one of my arms over his shoulder and helped heave me up onto the drill. Where had he gotten one of those?

Climbing up next to me, I watched silently as Jack glared down at Megatron with an unreadable expression.

"I suppose helping those less fortunate would be completely out of the question," I heard Megatron say.

Jack said nothing, silence speaking for him.

"If it is the case, you might as well use your drill to finish me. I guarantee you will never have a better opportunity than right now," the mech persuaded.

Why would he say something like that?

I studied Jack's face carefully, doing my best to read his micro expression's despite how bone dead tired I was. If truth be told though, I was more than a little surprised to find that Jack was genuinely considering the idea.

Why…? Then it hit me: his family. He hadn't wanted to be a part of this in the first place. However, his mother had been put in danger because of this war they had been dragged into; people he knew and cared about were in danger because of him. As he probably saw it, if he were to end Megatron, he might just actually stop this war and the people he cared about would be safe.

I had to stop him; I would not let him go down this path.

It took a lot but I used what little strength I had to reach up a hand to clasp Jack's wrist. Surprised, he looked down and met my gaze. Upon doing so however, I did my best to convey a silent message: No.

Jack looked uncertain, and I caught a glimpse of several different emotions passing across his features.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Megatron demanded. "Think of the glory. Seize the day. Optimus would."

And just like that, as soon as the Autobot leader's name was mentioned, the spell over Jack seemed to break.

"No, he wouldn't," the kid said darkly, looking Megatron right in the optics. "Not like this."

And with that, he turned toward the console and started up the machine, leaving Megatron to his fate, whatever that may have been. However, just before we were completely out of earshot, the Decepticon warlord imparted one last thing:

"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversation with Optimus," he jeered. "The day I rip out his spark!"

Unseen or heard by Jack, my face twisted into an ugly expression as I growled lowly, "Not if I rip out yours first, Megatron."

Somehow, despite my fear and how loud the drill was, I managed to doze a little, slipping into a light but mostly dreamless sleep. Other than to stop once and fully check over me, Jack didn't bother me, staying silent all the while as he maneuvered the drill through the network of tunnels, attempting to locate the others.

Still, no matter what state of consciousness I was in, the conversation I had had with the warlord haunted me. It had given me much to think about.

Actually, looking back on it, I realized that Megatron and I weren't so different, as unusual as that is to say.

We both came from pretty crappy backgrounds where neither of our parents really wanted us.

We both grew up too fast.

We both had had our time in the arena, forced to take up arms to survive.

We both lived by the rules of survival, knowing it was either kill or be killed.

We both had fought to make a living.

We both tried to be more honorable in our ways than those around us.

We both kept others at arm's length, knowing that putting trust in the wrong person could be fatal.

We were both feared by others.

We both had started a war.

We both sought justice.

We both saw the world for what it really was and knew its corruption and harsh reality better than others.

We both strived to change the world, even if it was through force.

The only difference between us now were the choices we had made in the end.

While Megatron had thought that justice and change would only be brought about through force, inevitably starting a war that had destroyed his home because he thought killing and slaughter was the answer, I had taken a more passive route, still fighting and basically waging war too on the criminal underground but never once taking a life.

Sure we had come from mightily similar backgrounds, but our ideals were what differentiated us.

It was like a friend had once explained to me: where you come from influences how you make your decisions.

Thanks to how many others had taught me, I knew that killing never solved anything. Megatron, however, never had anyone to teach him that lesson, having his views influenced by the already jaded views of others into thinking that 'any means necessary' was the way to go. And for that, I pitied him.

So in a way, while I doubted that we would be making each other friendship bracelets anytime soon, I felt that I could understand where Megatron was coming from a little better.

"Hey, Aria, do you hear that?" Jack suddenly asked, drawing me out of my thoughts; he had stopped drilling.

Lifting my head up, I strained my ears to hear whatever had caught Jack's attention.

What could…?

Then I heard it too. Voices.

As if he had heard my thoughts, Jack nodded in confirmation going back to the console. "They don't sound too far away, but the sound could just be echoing."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I'm willing to take the chance that it might be one of the others."

Sharing a small smile, Jack then started up the drill, staring, like I was, straight ahead, determined to find the others and then get the hell out of this deathtrap of a mine.

We made it just in time.

Barreling through another mound of solid rock, we finally found Miko and Bulkhead…and a rather run over looking Starscream.

Oops, I thought it sounded like we ran over something important. Looks like it was just Starscream though. Oh well. Maybe we'll flatten him next time.

Anyways, Bulkhead looked to be in a rather…precarious position. Part of the ceiling had collapsed and the only thing keeping the whole Jenga shebang from toppling was Bulkhead doing an imitation of the titan Atlas holding up the sky.

Holy mother of all…

In any case, as soon as the green giant saw us, he said, "Jack, Aria, get Miko out of here now!"

Looking where the bot gestured, we found an utterly pathetic sight near the Wrecker's ankles.

It was Miko, except it wasn't the same Miko I remembered entering the mine like an idiot. Skin and clothes covered with dirt, the foreign fifteen-year-old no longer looked like her usual bubbly self which was a little disturbing to say the least. In fact, her hazel eyes were wide and full of unmistakable fear and worry as she clung to Bulkhead's ankle like it was a life-line, her frame quivering ever so slightly.

All in all, Miko looked utterly terrified.

Huh, maybe she was finally learning.

Thankfully, Jack managed to gather his wits about him first and immediately obeyed the green giant's order without question, hopping onto one of the treads of the device and holding his hand out to Miko.

"Come on! Come on!" he urged the girl, who hesitantly looked back at her guardian, looking as though she might cry.

"Run, Miko!" Bulkhead shouted, as he strained with all his might to keep the ceiling from collapsing on top of us.

Turning towards Jack with real tears now in her eyes, Miko slowly reached out a hand to Jack, who grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.

"We can't leave Bulkhead!" she cried, but before she could charge back over to him, I grabbed a hold of the struggling girl and pulled her close. Though we may never be friends, I understood what the girl was going through all too well. After all, I felt that way every single time I left my sister behind at my mother's house.

For a moment, as Jack pulled away and headed towards the surface, Miko struggled against my grip, desperately trying to get away. But ultimately, she stopped fighting, burying her face into my shirt and sobbing her heart out as she hugged me tightly. Truthfully, it was a little awkward for me at first as I really didn't do 'comforting'. Seriously, I barely knew the girl. How was I supposed to comfort her? Eventually though, I just settled on what I did for my sister on occasion when she had a nightmare, hugging her tightly and running a hand lightly through her dirty dyed locks, while the other rubbed slow circles into her back.

I think I may have been doing something right because slowly, her sobs lessened a bit, though that may have been my imagination. Like I said, I usually sent people home in tears; I didn't really comfort them.

"Arcee will save him, won't she?" Miko managed to hiccup, pulling away enough to look at Jack hopefully.

The raven-haired teen looked determinedly ahead. "We just need to find a way out of here before Megatron digs himself free," was all he said, earning a disapproving glare from me.

"Megatron's here, too?!" she exclaimed sounding near hysterical as I continued to hold her tightly; there is no telling what a hysterical Miko would do.

"Not helping Jack," I told him sternly.

Before anyone else could say a thing, we all heard the pound of a new set of pedes enter the tunnel. Calling a halt to the vehicle, we all looked up to see a familiar form standing before us.

—Later—

Standing before the remnants of the now-collapsed mine, the five of us all collectively breathed a sigh of relief in the light of the rising sun. Aside from the incident that permanently damaged my arm, never have I ever been more glad to see the light of day as it peeked over the horizon, seeming almost brighter than usual after that nightmare come to life.

"We could finish them here and now," Arcee finally said, breaking the silence.

"Shame we didn't bring any grenades," Bulkhead agreed pounding his fists together and no doubt thinking of Wheeljack.

I frowned at them from behind their backs.

However, it was Jack's voice and question that broke everyone out of their morbid thoughts. "Would Optimus finish them?" he asked hesitantly, walking up alongside Miko and I, no doubt wondering if he had made the right decision back in the mine.

There was silence for a moment, but I was pleased to see that the bloodthirsty light that had once been in their optics, had gone out.

Good.

Arcee was the one to speak first though. "No. He probably wouldn't," she admitted, looking a little woebegone. "Not like this."

"But Optimus wouldn't rescue them, either, right?" Miko hedged, bringing up a pretty valid point for once.

What would Optimus have done?

But no one had answer for her.

"Guys, let's just go home," I eventually called, deep in thought.

Everyone made sounds of agreement, though I caught Arcee shooting one last look at the pile of rubble before turning with a defeated sigh; I had no doubt she was having the similar thoughts to what Jack had earlier.

—Megatron's POV—

Making his way through the unstable halls of the abandoned operation, Megatron finally came to a cavern that held something rather intriguing.

It was Starscream. Arms raised over his head as he quavered and shook, trying to support the collapsing ceiling, the seeker looked a little worse for wear, which brightened the warlord's mood a little.

Optics landing on his huge hulking form, the traitorous mech gazed at him hopefully. "Master! You're alive! Thank the Allspark!" he cheered before noticing the unimpressed expression on the former gladiator's faceplates. "I– I did not abandon you, master," he tried. "I returned to save you!"

"Save me?" he scoffed. Please, if anyone 'saved' him, it was technically the Autobot's human. A fact of which did not go over well with him.

Probably knowing it was his last shot at survival, the seeker said, "Look into my spark, lord Megatron. My intentions were true. Please! Have mercy!"

For a moment, the large grey and purple accented mech considered the pathetic seeker before him. Normally, he would have just laughed and left the coward as he was to die a painful death. But after his conversation with Optimus' human femme and remembering his original reason's for starting the war, he wasn't so sure of himself. She had given him much to consider.

Eventually, Megatron came to a decision.

—Aria's POV, Base—

Arriving back on base, tired, dirty and beat up as I was, I barely had time to think of praying that Optimus was still out before the five of us were confronted with the towering form of a very tall and very peeved looking Prime.

And as he did so, only one word ran through my mind.

Fuck.

Blue optics darkened to a stormy cobalt color with in the wake of his quiet fury, the bot looked over all members of the group before his gaze at last landed on me. None of them spoke, but I could feel the pressure of his look bearing down on me as I attempted to look anywhere except at my guardian. Was it too late to go back through the ground bridge and beg for Megatron to take me with him?

As if in answer, the ground bridge portal was shut off behind us, closing with some finality to it.

"Arcee, Bulkhead, take Jack and Miko and home immediately." He didn't even ask for their reports.

That was all he said, but I could feel the looming storm bearing down on me. I'd almost take the claustrophobia over the impending tirade I was no doubt going to get soon enough.

In any case, the other four seemed to sense that now wasn't the greatest time to argue with the Prime and left pretty quickly and quietly, Jack only lingering just long enough to shoot her a piteous look before he hopped on Arcee and followed Miko and Bulkhead out of base.

Gee, thanks guys, leave little ol' me all alone to fend for myself why don't you. I see how it is.

Inwardly, I cringed as Optimus took a step towards my much smaller frame, but not once did I look up. To me, in doing so would be like admitting guilt…or maybe I was just afraid of what I would see.

Still, the silence the others had left behind with their departure was almost maddening. Wasn't he going to say something? Surely he had a few choice words prepared for her. But the heavy silence between them just seemed to stretch on.

It wasn't until I started wondering if I should say something (like an apology or even an awkward greeting) that I was suddenly scooped up in a large but warm, metal servo and sent tumbling as the bot transformed around me before landing in the passenger's side seat. But that was all he did.

Finally, when I couldn't take the stifling silence anymore, I said snappishly, "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

Still he said nothing.

Usual scowl in place in an attempt to hide how perturbed I was, I said, "If that's it, then I'm getting out."

—No One's POV—

She went to open the door but was stopped by the sound of locks clicking into place.

Aria focused back on the console. "Optimus, let me out," she said in a light tone that held a clear warning in it.

Again, he did not respond.

The scowl on her face darkened a little as she repeated the sentence in a firmer tone.

"Optimus, let me out."

Still nothing.

Deciding to try the door again in case he had unlocked it and she hadn't heard, she reached out to try again but was stopped this time by the seatbelt moving and locking her in place, preventing her from moving too far.

Trying to control her anger, she said one last time in a false, would-be calm voice, "Optimus Prime, either let me out, or I will make you."

"No."

As if that word had been the spark to ignite the flame, the young woman snapped starting to thrash wildly and struggle against the harness now binding her, which had now tightened even more in an attempt to restrain her further.

"Optimus Prime, you let me out right now!" the golden-haired girl thundered, eyes seeming to glow with her fury despite how tired she was. Oh he was so going to get it if he did not release her this instant.

"No," her guardian growled back. He had had enough.

"Let. Me. Out." Her silvery eyes were definitely blazing now as she roared looking almost crazed with her need to be freed.

"NO!"

The angered shout was so unexpected that Aria momentarily fell silent, staring at the radio with something almost akin to shock or maybe even fear.

In any case, the Prime seemed to realize this and stopped himself, venting deeply before speaking again in a slightly calmer tone. "No, this has gone on long enough. Until now, I have stood by and said nothing, letting you carry on doing this to yourself, even if I disapproved of it. But I realize now that that was a mistake."

He sighed dejectedly. "Aria, I have too often seen many valiant warriors, who possessed a strong drive much like yours, fall in battle because they were pushing themselves too hard and did not take the time to look after their own wellbeing. Even I myself need to take a break every once in a while because I know that no team can function effectively when one of its members is too tired to support them."

The young woman tried to argue. "But, I—"

"Aria, do you not understand?" he said, cutting her off, tone changing so that he almost sounded physically pained. "You could have lost your life today. And then how would the rest of us be left to feel?" The Prime may not have known what had exactly gone on today, but judging by the state of her clothes, it wasn't hard to figure out that things had gone sideways.

"I—" her voice cracked.

"Do you have any idea how your death would affect the others?" he finally said in something close to a whisper. "How losing you would affect me?"

And just like that, all the stress and emotional turmoil caught up with her and she broke. She didn't bawl or sob wretchedly like most people when they cried. Aria just looked towards her lap, hair falling to obscure her pale (though slightly dusty) face as crystalline tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

"I— I can't do that, Optimus," she said quietly. "I can't afford to stop."

"Then don't."

She looked up, surprised.

"Little one," he said gently. "I am not asking you to stop completely. Just merely take a short rest before you run yourself into the ground."

Aria looked conflicted, which Optimus seemed to sense as he said still in that quiet tone, "If not for yourself, then do it for the sake of others…please, little one, get some rest. I promise I will let you join me the next time I go on a scouting mission." The seatbelt tightened slightly as if to emphasize the point, the act almost reminding the grey-eyed girl of a hug.

"I—Fine," she eventually conceded, hand going for the door handle.

"And where do you think you are going?" the Prime demanded.

The girl blinked a little confusion, saying with a note of caution in her voice, "Um…out to get my bike so I can go home."

The safety harness still did not release her. "No, you are going to stay here, where I can keep an optic on you, Aria, and make sure you get at least one full night of rest."

Almost instantaneously, Aria's usual attitude was back with its usual sarcastic snap. "Um then I'll sleep on the couch, I guess, if you ever decide to let me go that is."

"No," he refuted, and it could have been the byproduct of an overactive imagination, but it almost sounded like there was a note of smug amusement in his voice as he said, "You are going to stay with me. I have a small camper in the back of my vehicle mode where you can rest for the night."

Aria spluttered, dusty cheeks turning slightly pink as she brushed some stray hairs behind her right ear. The girl had truthfully never really been with a man before, so she certainly had never slept with a guy before. And since Optimus was technically the vehicle and the bed…wasn't she basically sleeping with him?

"I– um– uh–." She cleared her throat nervously before trying again. "I– I don't want to get any dirt on your interior," Aria argued lamely.

The entire vehicle vibrated with Optimus' soft chuckles. "A little dirt never hurt anyone."

Aria opened her mouth to give a smartass retort and Optimus must have known it because he quickly with some exasperated amusement in his voice, "You know what I mean."

A small smile made its way onto her face for a brief second before it fell and she sighed out a grudging, "Fine."

The safety harness slid back in place, and the worn girl got up. Though she would loathe to admit it, Aria was kind of nervous. What if she had one of her nightmare's? What if she spoke during one of her weird dreams? What if she actually screamed or cried out this time?

She eventually found the small bed her guardian spoke of; it was simple but it looked comfortable nonetheless.

"A– are you sure?" she asked, hesitating slightly.

Optimus chuckled lowly, the sound sending shivers down her spine. "Yes, I am positive. Get some rest little one."

Hesitating only once more, Aria sat down, pausing only a little before removing her jacket and boots. She moved cautiously, like she was afraid of damaging something, though in truth it was only because of how wary she was of the cramped space. And after what she had just gone through? Well, her fear had not lessened in the slightest.

Oddly enough though, even as her head hit the pillow and stared at the ceiling no less than two-and-a-half feet away, she realized that she didn't feel the claws of fear digging into her skin. Sure, she felt a little nervous, but that was for other reasons. Why weren't the walls seeming to close in around her to suffocate her? Why weren't the shadows more menacing, seeming to laugh at her as they hid the face of her nightmares?

Inhaling the scent of leather, oil, metal, vanilla chocolate (oddly enough) and books, she failed to stop a huge yawn from escaping. She wanted to give into her body's pleas to sleep, but her worries kept her from falling off that precipice and into (hopefully) blissful unconsciousness.

Don't cave. Don't fall asleep…

Like he could sense where her thoughts lay, Optimus whispered softly, "Sleep little one. Everything will be alright. You are safe."

As if that was the push she needed, Aria's eyes closed, all tension leaving her frame, and breathing lowing and evening out as she took a swan dive into dreamland, feeling more at ease than she had ever felt in a long while.

But just before she did, one last murmur passed her lips, one so faint, no one heard it: "I believe you…my Sangroyal…"

Finally! Done!

And isn't that cute too? Aria finally gave Optimus a nickname. Kudos to anyone who can figure out where that nickname is from.

Well...hopefully no one seemed too OOC, but it was just kinda the way it went. I know some of you wanted me to go more into the Ironhide situation but that just isn't the way this chapter worked out. Hopefully, I should be able to get on that in the next chapter or so.

So for those of you who are wondering what Aria meant by being agnostic, that is Aria's (and mine) religious preference. Agnosticism is basically where you do not believe in the god (or gods) of other religions today (as those religions may contradict themselves them too often), but are still open to the idea that there is a higher power out there. I am sorry if this fact insults some of you, and I completely understand if you do not want to read about a character like that. But you folks will have to understand that I never really grew up with that sort of religious stuff, so I don't understand. Yes, I try to keep my mind open but I see any type of deity as a source of hope and a scapegoat. That's just my opinion; none of you have to agree or disagree with me. Anyways, back to Aria, I know back in other chapters Aria was teasing Burke about his religion but it was merely that, teasing. I hope that clarified things.

Review, favorite, follow please! Remember 5-Review Policy is in effect and have a lovely Spring Break.