Hey, guys!

This popped into my head some time ago - basically, it's what happens while Maria's stuck under the spell of the Crystal, aka: the stuff she forgot.

Extra Chapter - Introductions Forgotten

Maria opened her eyes and looked around at the blue, water-like expanse she was now standing in. It took her a moment to remember what had happened a second before, and the blue-eyed girl stiffened in alarm.

What do they want from me? the brown-haired girl thought, panicked. I'm not Atlantean - I shouldn't have been dragged into...into some sort of spell by the Crystal!

*They want to make sure you're not a threat* came another voice. It sounded like a young woman's, but not anyone that Maria was familiar with.

"Who's there?" Maria called out in a panicked voice, turning in order to find the source of the voice.

There was a pause that almost felt nervous. *You can hear me?*

"Yeah. Who are you?" A thought crossed Maria's mind, and she decided to ask. "Are you my conscience?"

There was a short, almost bitter laugh. *Your conscience? No, I'm not. It would be weird if I was, believe me*

"Then...who are you?"

Another pause. *I'm...a friend*

"A friend?" Maria frowned. "You don't sound like anyone I know."

*Believe me, I am a friend*

"OK... So what can I call you?"

*Call me?* The voice sounded surprised. *You mean you don't want my name?*

"Uh...if you don't want to give it to me for now, that's fine."

Maria tried to take a coupled steps forward when the voice went silent, but found her feet glued to whatever it was under her feet. Frustrated, she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at nothing in particular, as everything looked the same.

*M*

Maria jolted when she heard the voice speak again after what felt like forever. "What?"

*You asked for something to call me by, didn't you? That's my answer. M*

Maria blinked, her nervousness slowly leaving. "Um...okay. Why 'M', though?"

*I like the letter. You got a problem with that?*

Maria frowned, not quite sure about this new voice. "Okay. If you say so." Her vision started to blur, and the blue-eyed girl let out a tired yawn. "Boy, do I feel tired for some reason."

*They must be almost done. Be ready - who knows what happened after you got knocked out by that Crystal-thing*

"All right, M..."

Maria trailed off as she closed her eyes and slumped. An annoyed sigh from the voice' invisible source followed soon after.

*Not exactly what I had in mind* M muttered. *But suit yourself*

Spacial/Temporal Break

Inside a small, gunmetal gray room with a slab of metal welded to one wall, a woman with red-gold hair was pacing, her crystal-blue eyes shining with pure frustration.

"M? Really? Is that the best you could do?" the woman muttered to herself, stopping her pacing to look at the mirror propped against one wall. She stood there, her hands in the pockets of her jeans and glared at her reflection: orange jacket with a flame-like design; a red shirt with a face-like symbol; red shoes with a zipper up the front rather than actual laces. "I could have just said 'Inferno' and it would have worked just as well, considering she forgot what happened when the Crystal thing nabbed us."

The mirror's reflective surface rippled, and it showed what looked like some sort of collection of ruins. The picture then moved and looked up in the direction of some sort of lean-to, where a collection of figures were standing around looking down at something.

"Hmph." The woman blinked for a moment, then frowned. "Hang on a second...that's the king, isn't it? The old man Rourke punched..." The frown deepened. "Now I remember. This is a movie scene - the old man..."

The woman trailed off as a grim look came over her face. "Well, then. Looks like even us being here didn't save him. But we're definitely going to do something about that sneaky old coot." A dry smirk came over her face. "Man, if Jazz could hear me now. I'm talking more like a human than a Cybertronian."

She walked over to the slab of metal and lay down, putting her hands behind her head while voices seemed to come out from the mirror. Closing her eyes, the crystal-eyed woman murmured, "I'll just wait til things get interesting."

Just a little peek at what goes on when Maria isn't aware that there's a voice in the back of her head. If you guys want to know where "M" came from, don't be afraid to poke around in my other stories!