"He said they would be here soon...It's been an hour since that call!"

"Magnolia calm down."

Raf, Sari, Miko and Jack watched as their beloved friend pace back and fourth in a rush. The sound of bare feet pacing was enough to drive them to insanity. The bots were stuck in the ARTIC with a now enemy Beat and they wanted her to calm down?!

Sunstreaker was badly injured and the rest were about to freeze….What is taking Ratchet so long to send that groundbridge?

"Ugh why did that medic have us away from the main hall?"

Miko rolled her eyes, "Because he knew YOU would act like this. The guys have been in worse scrapes than this. Remember when Optimus and Arcee almost froze to death but ended up just fine?"

"Arcee was here?"

Jack shook his head toward Miko and stood up, "Miko, Magnolia wasn't around when Arcee was here."

"Oh yeah..."

"I've seen Arcee in pictures when I visit Bee but never would have imagined she was actually here."

"She left back to Cybertron because Elita-1 was in desperate need of aid and needed an experienced fighter to join her."

Sari played with Raf's hair while watching the trio speak. The Techno-Organic had met Arcee before. In fact, she was the only human who had met her when the femme's color scheme was pink. It was amazing how far Arcee has come. A true role model.

"Alright well where is Arcee when you need her?! I can't wait here anymore! I'm going to the bridge!"

Magnolia pulled on her socks and combat boots before jumping over the railing and onto the last flight of stairs before bolting off. Jack yelled after the woman but after not seeing her slow down he sighed and followed.

"So a chase? I'm down!"

Raf and Sari gazed as Miko laughed and followed behind the two runners. The two looked at each other for a long time before silently standing and walking toward the others destination.

"Optimus I'm not questioning your decision but WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Ratchet put his limbs in the air as Optimus sighed. The legendary medic was infuriated with those that returned. As soon as they walked inside, medical examinations and heating blankets were given while Sunstreaker was taken to the med bay. It was fortunate that none of them had frozen any major circuitry.

"Ratchet I will not allow Theta or Chroma to roam about the planet."

"Then why not let them freeze out there?!"

Prowl was next to step in as he noticed Optimus's tired expression. They were all exhausted and Ratchet screaming was not helping the situation.

"Chroma does not seem to be affected by the cold. Here they can cause no trouble and is in our watchful gazes."

Ratchet scoffed and directed his gaze at Chroma who stood in the center of Ironhide, WheelJack and Bulkhead. They surrounded the Teno with weapons pointed, there was no way they were allowing that maniac to try anything.

"Will it at least be staying in the brig?"

"Y-"

"No."

Ironhide growled at Chroma who stood in a relaxed posture. How dare those Cybertronians think they could put Theta in any type of jail? Chroma would not allow it. Not in this or any lifetime.

"You can't be trusted phony!"

Ah the one known as Inronhide, such interesting memories of him. Tough exterior but inside he was nothing but a pile of rainbows as Beat put it.

"I have done nothing for you to mistrust me."

"Oh no? Let's see...Lying about who you were, manipulating everyone here, trying to kill my friends and to top it all off you worked with the Decepticons!"

"Incorrect. Theta lied and manipulated everyone. Beat tried to kill you and worked with the Decepticons. I only just arrived."

Silence was the only tune playing in the room as the point was taken into account. Chroma technically did nothing wrong but none knew of what it was planning to do in the future. It was on Theta's side and it was clear the AI was on neither side.

"So? The moment we turn our backs you'll kill us!"

"Only if Theta commands it."

"It will!"

"Then expect to be killed."

A chorus of weapons powering up drew Chroma to alertness. Jazz saw the Teno's fists ball up and proceeded to push past WheelJack and Bulkhead. "Woah woah woah! Cool yer crank cases! I know Theta can't be fully trusted but if those two wanted to harm us they would have tried already. Put the weapons down and we can work this out..."

He looked over at Chroma.

"Peacefully."

Chroma relaxed once more and the Autobots put their weapons away. Jazz sighed in relief until the distant sound of yelling could be heard down the hall.

"Oh no..."

"JAZZ!"

The second in command looked down to see his charge, Magnolia, running toward him with a huge grin. He couldn't help but smirk as she latched onto his ped in a desperate attempt to hug him. His systems felt warm when the small yet powerful contact was made.

"You're ok! I was so worried!"

"Of course I'm alright doll! No way I'm leavin ya like that."

Jack soon rushed in with a small heave but instantly smirked as he noticed everyone was back at base unharmed. "Good. You're alright."

"Gee Jack you actually run freaking fast- AH! Welcome back ya big Popsicles!"

Miko, Raf and Sari waltzed in with smiles on their faces. Bumblebee rushed to pick up his former charge Sari and his newest one, Raf. Gentle hugs were exchanged between the three as words were quickly spoken.

"You all look alright but where are my twins?"

"In the med bay. Sunstreaker needs some time to recover."

"Will he be alright?"

"Yes."

Magnolia nodded and gently placed her hands on her hips. Something was off about the conversation they were having. Everyone seemed a little on edge but no one uttered a word. The tension was really heavy, regardless of the happy reunion they just had.

"What's going on?"

"Mag why don't you come up here with me? I wanna hold ya."

The beautiful woman looked up at Jazz with a confused expression. "Why?"

"So this is a human."

A chill ran up Magnolia's spine as a voice crept through her body. Slowly turning around the woman gaped as the Grim Reaper stood before her. With her body shaking, Mag gulped in absolute horror. What the hell?! Did she die and wasn't aware? Was she in a coma and the reaper had come to claim her soul? She was too young to die!

"Am I dead?"

"Do you wish to be?"

Magnolia took a step back as Chroma leaned down to stare at the woman. Her eyes fixated on the darkness under the Teno's hood. Quickly noticing the exchange, Jazz swiped the woman from the floor. An audible growl was heard from the second in command's chest as his shotgun suddenly appeared.

"Touch Magnolia and I will tear you limb from limb."

Chroma stared down the barrel of the weapon with a head tilt. Why would the fool be angry over a simple question? He must have assumed that his mate would be killed. The human would not be harmed. None of them would be. Beat's favor for them kept Chroma's blades at ease.

"Do not think of touching me with your silly toys."

"Pffft please!"

Chroma turned away from Jazz and Magnolia to look down at Sari who held an energy blast in her robotic hand. What a discovery, a Techno organic. Not too many of those in this quadrant of the galaxy and certainly not on this planet. What made this Sumdac a true treasure was the fact that she was only the one of her kind to be both human and Cybertronian.

"A Techno Organic. Human hybrid."

Sari looked surprised by Chroma's comment. That thing knew what she was?

"Y-you know about me?"

"You are not the only Techo Organic in the galaxy. However, you are the only one that is half human."

A stunned silence was filled until Theta suddenly appeared on the ground bridge control panel. Chroma looked at it's AI commander forcing the others to do the same. Hopefully the AI would command that these ungrateful morons be destroyed.

"Chroma I believe the darkness is calling you."

As if already hearing these words before, Chroma grunted before pushing past Bulkhead and WheelJack (no opposition surprisingly) to go stand in the darkest corner it could find. Leaning on the wall, the Teno crossed it's armored arms over it's chest.

"Autobots, before I proceed with pressing matters allow me to state that we are not your enemies."

"Nothing you say can be trusted."

"Your anger and distrust is justified. I suppose my lack of action must prove my honesty."

The looks of curiosity and hate made the Artificial unit feel a bit uneasy but easily pushed the feelings aside. It knew that Chroma could kill them all and the fight would have been educational. Even with that knowledge, Theta knew that it was Beat who kept the desire at bay.

"As Optimus Prime knows, Chroma and I are planning to leave this planet soon. We have gotten what we need and only a few small loose ends must be tied. None include harming you all of course. We will also need our ship."

Ratchet scoffed, "Yeah the ship that no one can access!"

"You attempted to get inside?"

"Of course! That is no normal Cybertronian ship!"

"No it is not. It is a ship that was given to us a lifetime ago."

"You mean one of your past lives?"

"Yes. Since we are on the topic of questions….Ask."

Prowl was quick to step up to Theta before anyone else. The AI expected as much, the amount of questions the lost teacher must have.

"Where is Beat? Or her personality?"

"It is stored away and fully active. I have placed her in a constant dream of sorts as I do with all the others. Her file will remain asleep until otherwise."

"Can she come back?"

"Of course she can. However her physical form cannot manifest without another protoform. Such is the trickiness of Cybertronian anatomy. A hologram of her can be used to substitute if need be."

The Ninja master slumped but nodded. He was completely devastated but the thought of Beat still around gave a small sliver of comfort. Who knows? Maybe one day she will return to his side.

"What are you going to do when you leave? Find some way to eradicate the universe?"

"As always Ironhide your questions bring joy. This is what Chroma and I plan to do."

And so Theta told them. To wait for the hunter to come back to life, take their ship and begin their hunt of Project Teno and all known allies. At this point 1337 was more annoyed with the organization than anything and just wanted to stop running. The galaxy would be a much safer place without their interference.

Other remedial question were asked like, 'Why did Chroma look the way it did?, Was it a he or she?, Why go through so many lives? Do they eat? And the questions seemed to be getting more foolish by the second.

Chroma looked at Theta speaking to all the fools bombarding it with questions. None seemed to be paying the Teno any mind at the moment. Like they had forgotten it was even there.

Perfect.

Giving Theta a glance, Chroma silently began to walk behind the Autobots. No sound was made as the death machine made it's way around the corner and away from the other. The smells of life were too overwhelming.

Wandering the halls, the Teno looked at the walls and wondered what they could have seen before Beat had gotten there. The smallest scents of life were scattered here and there so clearly at one point or another there are other walks of life. Interesting.

How the Autobots functioned so well with one another was fascinating. Nothing like the Teno back on their 'original' headquarters. They constantly bickered and often screamed at one another. To the public, Project Teno seemed like a thriving team but in reality…

"Thought you could slip away?"

Stopping in it's walk, Chroma slowly turned to see Sideswipe. He looked quite well minus a few scrapes and dents on his frame. That medical officer Team Prime had was quite skilled at his profession.

"You managed to survive."

"Of course I did. Bet you would have like the opposite outcome though."

"No."

"Wha?" Sideswipe watched as Chroma continued walking as if he no longer existed. He wasn't expecting to hear that from the Teno. Shaking his helm, the twin jogged to catch up.

"Uh you hit your head or something? I thought death was your thing."

"Begone."

"You're in my base last I checked. If anyone is leaving, it's you dude."

"I am attempting to leave yet you follow."

Swiftly turning a random corner, Chroma stopped at the sight at one of the recreation areas in this base. Unlike the other one, this room seemed to be hardly used. Many small tables and chairs littered about on the second floor along with computer consoles, vending machines and a place where Chroma could only assume was a bar. What was this location used for?

Down below was another large stone couch with yet again an enormous television that gave the whole room a great view. Shrugging, Chroma walked to the couch and decided to sit down in the dark room. It was peaceful here in the darkness. No one around to interrupt it's thought process.

"Sooo Bea-uhhh-Chroma?"

That is, until the annoying voice of Sideswipe contaminated the air. When will he learn?

"What do you want?"

"To talk."

"You and I have nothing in common. Nothing. There is no reason to talk."

"Yea there is."

"Go away."

"You owe me an explanation!"

"I owe you nothing. Go away."

Sideswipe grumbled a few curse words before rushing forward and grabbing Chroma's shrouded arms. His servos felt icy cold at the contact but he held on tight. The Teno on the other hand still maintained it's relaxed posture on the seat.

"You touched me."

The twin gulped, "Yeah I did."

"I could kill you now."

"You could try-"

"And succeed."

Sideswipe gripped the armored arms a bit tighter as his optics closed. It may have been a bad idea to just grab some death praising weirdo but he just had to know what happened to his Beat. Everyone just bought the whole she is asleep inside the armor gag but no, there was more to it then that! He just knows it.

Chroma looks nothing like Beat (that thing literally has no face or visible head!) But somehow he could just felt her there. It was hard to explain.

"This is about my weakest form."

It wasn't a question. This war machine was good at reading features.

"Yeah."

"Cybertroninan, look...Beat was simply a personality that was formed when Theta forced me to touch a protoform. I fall into slumber when a new life must be taken and Theta creates a new personality to fit in with the new species."

"You can shapeshift?!"

"No. Not exactly. Explaining things is much better suited for Theta."

"Alright? So you mean to say that Beat was never real to begin with?"

"Beat is real just not in the traditional sense."

There it was. The official confirmation of Beat's existence. So this whole time he's been falling for a femme that was never truly real? Impossible. The randomness, funny personality, shyness, skill development, adventurous spirit...that was real. Living things could feel emotions.

"Do you feel emotions Chroma?"

For the first time since their encounter, the Teno tensed. What an irritating question. Why is it that in every life some being must ask that question? And every time the answer would be the same.

"At first no. But later on, Theta gave that curse to me."

"A curse?"

"I am armor. Armor have no emotion or we are not supposed to."

"What emotions can you feel?"

"Why are you asking all of these questions?"

"Why not? Come on you're on a roll."

Chroma had a thought of just standing and leaving. Killing him also came but Theta would greatly disapprove of that.

"I can feel almost all the basic emotions except love and attachment."

"An existence without love...I couldn't do it. So you love nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Not even Theta?"

"I am protective over my AI but that is because we need each other to survive."

So no love between creator and creation huh? Talk about awkward roommates. Theta seemed so fond of Chroma, judging by how it spoke about the armor. Theta obviously felt regular emotions but if it created Beat's personality why not add onto Chroma? The little AI did create both of them after all.

"What do you look like under that armor?"

"Do you not pay attention? I am the armor. There is nothing beneath me."

"Oh...How do you speak then?"

"Good question."

Sideswipe chuckled at the Teno's very serious reply. It was then that realized that the uneasiness he felt before was gone. He was relaxed?

"Now release me or I will tear your limbs from their sockets."

Well the nervousness is back. Was he really still hanging onto this thing? Unclasping his servos from Chroma, the mech shivered as his digits felt numb.

"Why are you so cold?"

"Armor with no central heating, coming from freezing temperatures to sit on a cold, stone couch."

"Yeah I walked right into that one. Does it bother you?"

"No. You on the other hand..."

"Imma ignore that one. What are your plans after this?"

"To leave this planet but before that I must collect what belongs to me."

"And that would be?"

"David."

"Who is David?"

"Th-"

Sideswipe looked confused as Chroma stopped what it was saying. He watched the armor shift forward on the couch, as if on guard. What got the Teno all worked up like that? It was hard to tell since there was no visible face on that thing. Shaking his helm, Sideswipe looked at the wall to see a large shadow in the doorway. Slowly turning around, the twin gasped.

"Bro?!"

Oh man.

"So they actually decided to spare you? After everything you did."

"Sunstreaker."

The mech had seen better days but overall looked functional once again. His paint job had scratches and his armor was dented in several locations like his brother. The replacement sure did a wonderful job in combat despite it being programmed to lose. Impressive.

"I said they should have killed you and that damn AI."

The lambo twin stared down at the sitting Teno with absolute hatred. How could Optimus allow them to remain? He understood the whole second chance thing but Chroma had many chances and messed them up at every turn.

It took Beat away from them. From him.

Sideswipe worriedly looked as Chroma finally stood up. Not good! Not good!

"Hey Sides, I need you to leave us alone for a while."

"What?"

"I'll be fine."

The twin was conflicted. There was no way he could just abandon his brother like that! Especially since that thing was Beat before and we all know how the femme felt about them now.

"I will not harm him."

"B-"

"Go Sideswipe."

Reluctantly rising, the mech prepared to walk out but not before looking at Chroma. "If you so much as touch him the wrong way, I'll end you!"

"Understood."

With a nod, he finally left. Leaving Chroma and an angry Sunstreaker standing in a dimly lit room. There was so much to be asked but the anger he felt jumbled his thought process. He didn't know where to start. Why did he even come here in this state? All injured. He was weak but there was no way that armor should be seeing him like that. No way at all. Maybe he should just go. Yeah just go and pretend that none of this ever happened. This was going to be a mess.

No. Stop.

Relax Sunstreaker. Take a breath and start slowly.

"You were a mech this whole time weren't you? Posing as a femme."

Wow. He did not just open with that.

"No."

Sunstreaker's optics widened in curiosity as the short reply was given. "Go on."

The Teno looked at Sunstreaker, a sigh coming from it's darkened abyss. A question that was always asked. Amelia wanted each Teno armor to have a gender, it was only natural for a living being. But Theta decided against it, explaining that being neither male or female held a positive aspect.

"I am neither male nor female. My armor is gender less. Whatever gender my other lives take are theirs. Beat was chosen to be female and that is what she was-is."

"Oh. Good to know."

The mech rubbed the back of his neck. That was pretty awkward.

"You miss my weaker personality. That is why you came here."

The statement caught the mech off guard. Thinking now, he wasn't actually quite sure why he came. At first it was to spill his hatred at the armor but now that it said that to him, he began to think. Was this about Beat?

"What do you care?"

"You cared for her a great deal. Had things gone differently, you two could have been together."

Sunstreaker tightly shut his optics, Chroma held no emotion when speaking but the words hit his spark like fire. Nothing in life ever went as planned and as an Autobot, that rule never failed to apply. Deep down Sunstreaker hated himself for not confessing earlier. If he would have told her how he felt then perhaps things could have gone differently.

"Or so you believe."

His optics snapped open.

"What?"

"Beat would have never loved you back. You waste your emotions. Teno Armor was built to be just that, armor. No emotion behind us. It was Theta that later cursed me with emotions and feelings after our first two lives."

"You just said Beat couldn't love me. Yet, you had feelings?"

"Theta implanted the basic emotions. The others were learned as I went through my numerous lives. Theta however never allowed me to feel, learn or inquire about love. It would compromise all that I am meant to be."

"A killer?"

"A Teno."

"You say that like there's a difference."

"Do not judge the others based off me. I was meant to kill my enemies and collect data on their deaths that would prove useful later on. My former Teno allies were nothing like me. They walked with the light."

Sunstreaker had no idea what Chroma meant by that but it didn't sound reassuring.

"Look Chroma...I just have to ask. Is there anyway for Beat to come back?"

The Teno walked toward the mech, placing a cold servo on his scuffed shoulder. He stared into the abyss inside Chroma's hood. It was a moment of silence he couldn't really describe. In some warped reality, Sunstreaker felt Beat. He felt her standing right there in front of him. She was here.

"She will always be here. For as long as I exist, so will she."

Sunstreaker placed a servo over Chroma's and nodded. He may have been devastated that Beat wasn't here in person (if that's the correct term) but somehow that screwy weirdo made him feel a bit better. He had a feeling he'd see Beat again.

"Now come. Theta is ready to explain the next phases."