A/N: Yeah I needed a trigger happy Smokescreen because that's just who he reminds me of. Passionate, but sometimes too passionate. Umm...warnings? language, Drugs (but hey I live in Colorado, weed is legal here)

LOVE YO FACES *heart* ~K

Ch 25: I need to feel

Kirsten screamed when she hit the ground and grabbed her upper leg. It didn't hurt as much as she had anticipated but it was right in the joint so when she tried to get up and run, it hurt more than the hit itself.

"Smoke, stop!" Arcee said to him again, "She's unarmed!" she punched him and pushed him to the side and walked toward Kirsten. Arcee tapped into her communication. "Optimus, we have a weird situation, it's a 'con we've never seen before, a femme."

Kirsten grunted and clenched her teeth at the pain but still tried to get up. She hobbled away on one leg, trying to get as far away from them as she could, not moving very fast doing so though.

"Who are you?!" Arcee yelled at her from the side. She had caught up with Kirsten and demanded answers.

Kirsten just glanced her way but kept hobbling.

Arcee was curious as to where she'd seen this face before though. At first glance, she felt like she knew her, but something was off. But then it hit her. Arcee gasped when she realized that her face was the face of the missing girl from the MECH lab attack.

"You're that human!" Arcee said in disbelief. That was the connection. They had been looking for her, everyone had been. Optimus wasn't going to like this. If Megatron and the Decepticons had this kind of technology, they would be able to build a greater army in time.

"You'd better stay still 'con!" Smokescreen said and raised his cannon again and shot at her back, blasting her onto the ground again.

"Smokescreen!" Arcee yelled at him again.

This time, the pain raged in her back, right below her wings. Her face scraped against the small rocks in the grass as she tried again to get up, but this pain was more direct. She remembered how sensitive her back was when Knock Out had ran his finger over it, so naturally, it hurt 100x more to be shot on her back than it did on her leg.

Arcee was furious at Smokescreen, all he wanted to do was be a loyal Autobot but he just ended up being a trigger happy fighter sometimes. His job was to fight the Decepticons, no questions asked, and that's exactly what he did. Arcee held him back as they looked at her body lying in the grass, struggling to get up or move.

"We need to do something..." Arcee said, thinking that nurture would be the best option for the moment since she was unarmed, it was what Optimus would do anyway. They moved forward towards her until another ground bridge opened just above Kirsten's body and a large, angular, grey and indigo mech landed hard on the ground, making the earth shake and rumble beneath him. All of his cannons and Resonance Blaster pointed their way. Soundwave's visor lowered to them both, daring them to try and attack again.

"Shit, Soundwave..." Smokescreen whispered.

Soundwave crouched over her like an animal, protecting the smaller femme. The Resonance Blaster was charged and ready to go, but the Autobots did not advance to give Soundwave a reason to fire. They stood in position until two drones also came from the ground bridge and picked up Kirsten, who was whimpering in pain, hauling her back into the light. Soundwave never fired, but he backed up facing them, ready to fire if he had to. Arcee and Smokescreen lowered their weapons, and watched silently as Soundwave disappeared into the swirling green light.

Soundwave followed the drones to Knock Out's med bay. They laid her on the working table and Knock Out was ready to go, having known what had happened before she arrived.

"Mischevious Autobots, you know, just when we're trying to do things right for a change!" Knock Out said, flustered.

Soundwave watched him give Kirsten a nerve blocking anesthetic and began to repair her back. Kirsten's face crunched in agony and eventually relaxed as the anesthetic went to work. Laying on her front, her face rubbed against the table when she turned her head to try to look at Soundwave, who again, had saved her like some kind of fairytale prince charming. But she didn't feel like a princess, she felt like a burden. She realized her guilt and turned her head away from him.

But Soundwave didn't think her a burden, they would have watched over any Decepticon, two against one just isn't fair, that was just the unspoken rules of war. What he did feel, besides the guilt of not watching her meeting close enough to send help sooner, was the paranoia of an unintended dangerous situation that could have ended up worse. He knew that she was strong enough, agile enough, smart enough to outsmart and overcome obstacles, but she still hadn't been equipped with the proper weaponry, and that was his fault. Megatron had put her under his care for a reason, and now he wasn't following through on any of his plans because his thoughts had been derailed by jealousy. Jealousy, a stupid, primitive feeling that he had thought that he'd ridden himself of. Never again, he would never fall victim to it again. He trusted Kirsten too much, and he would have to let her know it soon or else it would slowly drive him mad, if it hadn't already.

"Mmmm." Kirsten's anesthetic was beginning to wear off, there was no more pain, but a strange tightness in her back and hip.

"Almost done." Knock Out said, sanding an edge of a fine wire just under her plating.

Kirsten looked down to where he worked by the edge of her leg and hip joint. She lifted her hands to her face and rubbed, grunting softly into them.

"Now now, it's not that bad." Knock Out said to her, turning and getting a polishing gun.

"It's not that..." she whispered into her hands, her words muffled into her metal wrists. She never had to fight before. She had taken a Karate class or two in her lifetime, but that wouldn't do any good now. She only hoped that she could reconcile herself to Soundwave and Megatron by learning to fight better in the future. "It's that it happened in the first place."

"It wasn't a fair fight, even if you had a weapon, they should know better." Knock Out said nonchalantly, as if it happened all the time. "And you're new at this." he smirked up at her, "And I know a few mechs who would be willing to teach you the basics." Knock Out got up and set his tools neatly back on the wall. "Good as new." he said to her. "Stretch."

Kirsten sat up on the table and moved her arms around, bending forward and bending backward, not feeling any kind of pain in her back. "I gotta admit, you're one hell of a doctor.." she said, amused.

"I know." He smiled and leaned on the table by her hip. "You know... I know a few things about fighting, contrary to popular belief." he chuckled.

She smiled at his words, relieved that he didn't consider her much of a burden. That was his profession, fixing things like this. She only hoped the same from Soundwave. She had felt so happy and angry at the same time when she realized that it was him standing over her, protecting her from the Autobots, but she wondered if he became weary from it. She didn't want to be that one. She didn't want to be the weak one.

"So, we should talk about weapons at some point." Knock Out told her, still leaning on the table.

Kirsten nodded, "Yeah, can I get something powerful right here?" She put her hand on her wrist.

Knock Out gave out a single laugh, then turned serious again, "You'll need more than that. We can talk about that...well.. maybe over some high-grade energon sometime." He looked at her with convincing optics, deep, glowing, red questions, "Maybe tonight..."

"Tonight?" Kirsten asked him. "High-grade?"

"You know, two beautiful beings seeing where the discussions take us, where the night might take us..." Knock Out leaned into her, taking his hand and brushing it just below her chin to tilt her head up slightly. Kirsten soon realized his intention, she had hoped that he wasn't as serious as she had suspected, but it seemed as though he was. She needed to finally let him down delicately.

Kirsten lifted a hand and braced it against Knock Out's chest, pushing against him so he wouldn't get any closer. She was silent, and tried to pick her words. She didn't want to suddenly be on his bad side again. From past experience, rejection had never set well with the boys she'd gone out with before and she didn't expect any different now.

"Knock Out..." she said, his face demanding to be closer, with obvious expectations. "I'm flattered, but...I—no." she shook her head. "You're...you're just not my type." She flinched at her own words, feeling suddenly bad and guilty for saying them as she watched the shape of his eyes change from yearning, to a shape of disbelief.

Knock Out couldn't believe it. Seriously? She had rejected him? Seriously?! Knock Out dropped his head down to the floor and started to chuckle nervously. He pushed his hand off the table from her side and began to pace for nothing in particular. Knock Out, the charmer, the casanova, had just been directly rejected? He placed his hands on his hips and tilted his head upwards and then down, venting as he did so. He finally looked at her, "Really?" He said with aggression, "I'm not your type?" He emphasized himself, "Nobody is your type, hybrid, but I think I'm pretty damn close!"

"Knock Out, I'm sure you're wo-"

"It's Soundwave isn't it." He clenched his fists as he interrupted her and then focused on her face, waiting for an answer. It terrified him, to know that Soundwave, somehow the silent, ominous Soundwave could do what he could not, and there was nothing he could do about it. "There's no room for me is there?" Knock Out seemed to express sadness in his angry, quivering voice, "Because it's all taken, by him." Knock Out's optics seemed to glow dimmer with every word, and the slits around them became thinner.

Kirsten nodded, not saying a word. Yes, Soundwave was there, he was there all the time, in her thoughts and by her side, he would always be there. She opened her mouth and whispered his direction without eye contact, "He was always there. He's...done a lot...for me."

"But so have I!" Knock Out replied, his voice growing louder, "I've repaired you, I'm the one who worked on your human body, I'm the one who built your new body." He banged his fist on the table. "I even rescued you from MECH's base! And you're telling me that it means nothing to you!? That my own personal disgust was put aside for your tiny body many times to do you a favor, to save your life, and my hard work earns me nothing?!"

He flung his arms to the sides as he talked, he couldn't believe that even after all he had done against his own will wasn't worth even a night of discussion. He had inappropriately let himself think that he could win her over, knowing that Soundwave was the one that he was competing with, it should have been an easy victory. His voice was distressed, his shoulders dropped, "Nothing?" He repeated, a throaty growl following the word.

Kirsten didn't know what to say. He was right, he had done a lot for her. She didn't know that it was him that rescued her from the base's collapse, she felt an awful feeling growing in the pit of her abdomen, a dingy, guilty feeling. She wished there was something that she could say to him, but her mind had been made up a long time ago.

Knock Out finished rubbing his brow plates with his hands and groaned, "Fine." he said shortly, "It was Soundwave who contacted me in the first place to rescue you, so I guess he gets that point." he started pacing again, but not as aimlessly. He grabbed a rod from the wall and walked back to Kirsten, who watched his optics carefully.

"If it's any consolation, I appreciate all you've done." Kirsten's hand was suddenly grabbed by his and he placed the rod in her grasp. Knock Out's optics met hers, deep and luminous.

"It's no consolation, but I'll get over it." He said, closing her hand around the jagged rod.

"What's this?" she said.

"A list of weapons." He sighed, "Go through it." Knock Out said and leaned against the entrance to his bay. Kirsten got up and walked out of the room towards her allocated quarters without another awkward word, hoping she could just give him time to vent off while she learned the list and chose a weapon.

Knock Out closed and locked the bay door behind him, ready to wallow in self-pity without being interrupted.

It would have been an easy escape if Soundwave hadn't tapped into the video feed just moments earlier to suddenly see Knock Out wisp his hands across her chin amorously. Soundwave turned from his station and began walking the direct route to the doctor's med bay, on the attack.

Knock Out leaned back in his metal chair, a rolled up energon joint in his mouth. He couldn't deny that he was lonely, but he wouldn't ever admit that he needed anyone either. In a way, him and Soundwave were very similar. He shook his head at the thought. It would take years to create another body like Kirsten's, but maybe he'd just have to be willing to wait that long. He took the joint from his mouth and rolled it around in his hand, the buzz of the chemically refined energon relaxing his processor as it seeped into his body.

Knock Out heard a few clicks behind him coming from the door. He had locked it, who was trying to get in, he wondered. It opened soon after and Soundwave's shadow graced the entrance. Knock Out should have known, only Soundwave would be able to pick the locks on the battleship. The tall spy walked forward towards Knock Out and reached out suddenly, grabbing the doctor by his throat. Knock Out shouted in surprise but Soundwave flung him against the wall of his med bay and held him there against his will, choking off the doctor's vocal vibrations. Knock Out's feet dangled under him, trying to kick at Soundwave, but his arms were too long for him to reach.

"Soundwave...Sound—gah!" Soundwave's grip became harder when Knock Out tried to speak. Soundwave would show no mercy now, he had made up his mind. No one would get in the way, and he would send that message to the far reaches of the universe if he had to.

"What do you want?!" Knock Out choked out, still feeling the grip on his throat tighten and his body being shoved into the wall harder.

Soundwave showed Knock Out his recording of the video feed that he saw of him and Kirsten before he headed over to show him what he thought of it. He wouldn't stand for such actions and he was prepared to battle for it.

"Fuck! Soundwave, you're an idiot! She doesn't want me!" Knock Out yelled in his grasp, "She wants you! And if you're too fucking blind to see that, then maybe you don't deserve her!" Knock Out threatened with his strained voice while kicking at Soundwave's arms.

Usually the doctor would keep talking if he was lieing. Soundwave noticed how Knock Out turned his head to the side in defeat, not even wanting to look at Soundwave. He had been beaten. Soundwave considered that he was telling the truth, that Kirsten had shown no interest in him. Knock Out's optics told the story. Soundwave looked closer at them. They were sparkbroken. He was telling the truth.

Soundwave didn't dismiss Knock Out's humiliation so easily though. He didn't pity him, he didn't let him down smoothly, that's not who he was in the past, and that wasn't going to change today. He dropped Knock Out harshly on the floor from the wall. Soundwave bent over and picked up Knock Out's joint and brought a hand to his visor. Grinding and clicking, it popped loose, and Soundwave put the joint in his mouth as he lowered his mask in his other hand.

Knock Out got to his feet, brushing off the debris from the floor. He heard Soundwave's deep steps as he was on his way out and all Knock Out got to see of him when he focused his optics was his back turning the corner out of his room.

"Message received..." Knock Out muttered to himself, and began rolling himself another.

Kirsten sat on the chaise berth in her quarters, leaning up against the wall as she went through the list of appropriate weapons for her size. Incredibly, the rod, when activated created a window of light that she could scroll through, like a reader. A few weapons had caught her attention, while they all were developed in the same concepts, the way they were mounted were the things that caught her attention. Some mounted on shoulders, some on wrists. She wondered if Knock Out had all of these readily available or if these were limited. Either way, she found it all fascinating.

While she was scrolling through the list more, she heard a beeping at her closed door. Surprised, because no one had ever contacted her in her quarters, she froze at the sight of her door opening and Soundwave's sillouhette leaning to one side of the door frame, his armed crossed in front of his chest. His body was shadowed from the light that came in from the hallway but she could see his glowing optics within the shadows of his facial features.

Her spark tumbled over several times seeing him in such a personal confrontation, realizing that he was at her entrance, with his mask removed. She stared at the shape of his optics, they looked at her lowly, lustfully and deliciously. He took a few steps forward, inviting himself into her room, and he closed the door behind him, clicking it locked remotely. He wouldn't make any mistakes now, he would make clear to her how he needed her.

He moved quickly and undetectably around her. Kirsten dropped the rod out of her grasp when she felt his hand suddenly appear at her side and scoop her into a desirous embrace against him. He had somehow already made his way to her berth and locked her against it. She shivered against his touch, she had wanted to feel him so bad since their last encounter and she longed for him for the first time since her transformation.

He brought his other hand to her face and roughly drew his fingers across her cheek and down her pouty bottom lip. Kirsten's head fell backwards at the magnetic sensations he was drawing up through her. Her shoulders shifted around as he dipped his face into the crevices of her neck, rubbing sensitive, exposed wires. His hand shifted and settled in the back of her head and slowly, he curled his fingers against the sensitivity that was her nervous system, from the base of her head, down towards her wings. It felt like icy tingles to Kirsten, the type that sent electrical sparks throughout her entire body.

In the lowly-lit room, Kirsten could make out the scars on his face and circuitry running from his eye into his helm with him being so close. she grabbed onto his chest, noting that Laserbeak had made herself scarce and exited his body before he arrived. He loved the feeling of dominating over her and letting her know that he had all intention of claiming her for himself. Finally having her exactly where he wanted her made him smirk victoriously. They exchanged unsaid passion behind those closed doors, privately and untamed.

After an undisclosed amount of time had passed, Soundwave was ready to treat urn to work, but not before he did something very important. He took his hand and placed it above Kirsten's breast plating and began carving a tiny symbol, his symbol. Kirsten held very still while he did so, a little shocked, not familiar with Soundwave's ritual being performed. She hadn't studied anything about Cybertronians branding each other, it must've been a Soundwave thing.

Kirsten began getting hot in the cheeks when Soundwave looked directly into her optics after that and she turned her head slightly, shyly, realizing that this was to be her future. Soundwave was to be her guidance into the life of being alien, of being different, and of never being alone. She knew how to communicate with him, he knew that she could be patient with his choices and most of all, he could trust her.

Soundwave silently reattached his visor. He stood, picking up the rod on his way up. He opened the window and scrolled through it. Kirsten looked up beside him and peered at the weapon he paused at. He began tapping the screen at. It was a duel cannon on both arms, best for fast moving subjects, not a lot of power, but if accurate, could do a lot of damage. Kirsten liked it, she couldn't wait to finally be complete with wings and a weapon. She looked at him and nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. Soundwave proceeded to make his way out of the room to alert Knock Out, but not before showing her where the communal showers were.

A few moments in a hot oil shower made Kirsten feel refreshed and relubed. It was her first oil shower and while her human showers focused on getting her clean and fresh, this type of shower not only refreshed her joints, but also made her shiny. She was to meet Soundwave in Knock Out's med bay in a short amount of time. It was quite easy getting ready nowadays, she didn't have to worry about what she wore, how to put her hair, or which shoes would be most comfortable. It was just...her, and a soon to be weapon.

Kirsten liked the fact that she could still be an independent, functioning person and that Soundwave didn't feel the need to lay everything out on the table for her to understand. She felt springy in her steps as she exited the shower and began the short walk to Knock Out's room where they should both be waiting.

In a small cave, in the remote regions of Nevada...

"Optimus, I saw her with my own optics!" Arcee pleaded to Optimus Prime. "It was that girl that the government has sent constant pictures of!"

"How are you so sure of this Arcee?" Optimus boomed in his dramatically deep voice that reverberated across the cave.

"It... it was..." Arcee tried to look back, what was it that had caught her attention, "Her eyes, and the lips! They were the same shape and NO femme has lips like that! It was like she was some kind of mix between a human and us...I saw her expression..." she became quieter, "I saw her body..." she shook her head, almost thinking that she was as crazy as Optimus might've been thinking.

"Arcee, would you be willing to scout out this femme again and put a fact to your theory?" Optimus said.

"Yes sir." Arcee responded immediately.

"Because if the Decepticons have this kind of technology, I'm afraid we might have to start counting our human heads..."

A/N: yes yes this is revised and I have decided after persistent comments and thoughts, all of you readers just make me smile so much! In the next chapter I'll explain myself...*

Also, this is a new revised version of this chapter, without smut, as I really want it. Sorry to the smut fans:) I again, would like to have this be a real romance and not trash. Thx! Love u all! ~K