A/N: Hey all! Sorry this is so late, but stuff has happened, like I just got hired at a new job and will be starting in a couple weeks (Grins and does a silent happy dance,) and other stuff. Also got a Beta, say "Hi," Khalthar!

Khalthar's Notes: Greetings Readers. Some of you may be familiar with my work from the AVP section, or follow some of my own stories; if so, then you know that I enjoy a quality result. Well, you'll find that and more in this story. Enjoy.

A/N1 Cont: Anyway, there are a couple of notes at the end that can answer questions about more new terms appearing in this chapter. Finally! Holy shhhhhh-sugarplums! This chapter is over 5,000 words without the A/N's. If it's too long, let me know, otherwise the last couple of chapters will probably be the same. As always; let me know what I did wrong or right, or if I've neglected any of the characters. Tracy

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE:

Skywarp watched Barricade pace jerkily back and forth in the so-called command center of their hastily scavenged base. The idiot, Lugnut, naively tried to improve the front liner's disposition by providing information that only made him angrier. The high-altitude ambush specialist smirked in barely suppressed humor when the black and white missed his backhand attempt and caught the flimsy wall.

"Slag it!

"Lugnut! Fix that hole you made me make," he ordered crossly.

Submissively, the military transport hastily scampered off to find materials to do as his best friend ordered. The Seeker had to give the lug-head credit; at least he was smart enough to know when not to push the volatile grounder.

"Has there been anything yet on the channel?" he demanded of his acting communications officer with impatient anger.

Motorhead just shrugged nonchalantly, "Not in the fifty three seconds since the last time you asked."

Barricade gave a frustrated ex-vent as he turned toward the Seeker. "So, where's your illustrious leader? Looking for a doll to make a mech out of him?" he sneered in irritation.

Skywarp hissed in warning as he hiked his wings and flashed his fangs. "Watch your words, grounder, or you will be looking up at the dirt of this miserable planet.

"Despite his current condition, he retains his processors and is still the Decepticon commander; even if he allows you to pretend to be the acting leader.

"But to answer your real questions, he is currently getting some flight time with Thundercracker and no, we have not yet heard anything from the Auto-scum or the femmeling. Even though we make no secret of our disdain of working with you and your kind, we do, at least, have the logic capacity to know we need each other to get as many of our own kind as functional as possible again.

"You also would be well served to warn your mechs that the femmeling, Ellie, is to be considered an ally and kin to both Starscream and Megatron. I can assure you, if ANYone tries to harm one strand of that covering on her helm, either through direct or indirect actions, they will not only face severe punishment from Starscream, but also from Megatron, when he returns."

"And from Soundwave," Starscream gleefully informed as he was carried into the command center.

"You see," he happily informed the stunned looking Barricade and company, "we all grew rather fond of that little squishy, reliance tends to do that, but Lord Megatron, in his infinite wisdom, took extra care to ingratiate himself with her. He decided to extend his personal protection over her as long as she continues to provide for him and search for his body. In fact, he issued standing orders that any and every one of the shell-less Decepticons that become re-integrated before him is to protect her at all costs. Further, he made it widely known that Soundwave was to take a personal interest in her continued well-being, and severely punish anyone who tried to harm her; emotionally, socially, financially, mentally . . . and especially physically."

"Speaking of physically harming the youngling," Skywarp conversationally redirected the topic, "the Auto-dolts informed me that she had to be taken into emergency surgery after she returned you."

"What? Why?" Thundercracker hastily asked in convincing surprise. Even though his head was turned to face his trine mate, his optics were locked on the black and white mech. If he hadn't been paying attention, he would have missed the calculating look that entered the quad-optic'd grounder.

"Well, they discovered that she had suicide assassin battle protocols installed in her implants, so, of course they removed them. Trouble is, they couldn't determine what the trigger was. Unfortunately, when I warped out of the meeting, the bang from the air displacement jarred her severely so that she had pain in her implants. Fortunately, they found out that it wasn't my warp that caused her harm; somehow, the trigger was activated and it caused a cascade failure in her implants when there was no path for it to follow.

"Last I heard, she had survived the surgery and they were waiting for her to wake up."

"Any idea on what the trigger was or how it was activated?" Starscream asked thoughtfully.

Skywarp shrugged in feigned doubt, "Dunno, they said that the bug and Soundwave were going over the removed circuitry to try and figure it out."

"If it was purposely activated," Thundercracker mused aloud, "whoever did it better hope and pray the bug finds it before Soundwave. At least with the Auto-bums, he'd have a chance of surviving."

"Incoming transmission!" Motorhead interrupted the conversation that had suddenly taken an odd turn.

"What does it say?" Barricade hastily demanded as he turned from the command trine.

"'Enroute to rendezvous. ETA, fifty-three minutes,'" the communications officer recited.

"Looks like my cue," Skywarp offered with a predatory smirk as he turned away.

"Yes; make certain Doctor and the rest of the scalpels know that their orders are to fully repair ALL Cybertronian shells – Decepticons and Autobots alike," Starscream ordered.

"Will do, Star," the black and purple seeker acknowledged as he left the ancient barn.

"Thundercracker, I require recharge time. It is best to not allow the preserver's reserves to get too low. I wish to be informed the moment 'Warp makes the drop and recharging at this point will allow for a standby charge. That is the least disorienting method to allow for a sudden interruption."

"Of course, Star. Besides, I imagine you're going to want to figure out ways to punish whoever triggered those failures in the femmeling," the large seeker agreed as he turned from the command center and left.

"Whoever hurt that insect is really slagged," they heard Motorhead muse aloud as they left out of audial range.

Neither of them heard the surprised yelp he had issued when the sound of metal hitting metal rang out.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

"Oh great," Skywarp muttered darkly as he landed gracefully at the rendezvous, "you two are together again."

"Aww, did ya miss me 'Warp?" Sunstreaker sneered sweetly.

"About like a bad case of space rust," he answered sourly.

"Yeah, yeah! You two can insult each other later," Ironhide interrupted grouchily as he looked up at the surrounding mechs. "We need to focus on getting the spidrobots and your scalpels inside the compound now.

"Anything we need ta know?"

"Reedman is already on site. He wanted to scout ahead to establish entry and egress routes.

"We also informed Barricade that the femmeling is under Megatron's and Seeker protection; even politely warned him that Soundwave was helping to find out the cause of her spontaneous implant failures.

"We know that Barricade and the rest of the grounders don't take us all that seriously, because they're not nearly as respectful as they should be, but one mech they ALL fear is Soundwave. Honestly, he's feared even more than Megatron," Skywarp informed with a shrug, keeping a wary optic on the newly restored Sunstreaker.

"I just bet," Sideswipe muttered sourly as he made sure to keep himself between the seeker and his still-healing twin. "It's terrifying to know that you can't even escape him in your own processors; he can and will follow you."

"You're telling me," the flier agreed with a shudder.

"Anyway," he turned back toward the suddenly miniaturized weapons' specialist, "the scalpels were informed to repair all Cybertronians, not just Decepticons. Although, I'm thinking they're probably not going to be permitted to work on Autobot shells independently, they shouldn't give your spidrobots any troubles."

"Good! But I'm sure that Maestro would also be able to keep them honest," Ironhide acknowledged with a chuckle.

"So, what's your plan for delivery?" Sunstreaker asked with an irritated huff.

Skywarp smirked at the obviously unhappy front liner. "I'll carry both the scalpels and the spidrobots in my cargo hold and fly to a range of three miles from the drop zone. When I'm there, veer as if going back outside of their scanning range and warp to the dee-zee to unload the minis. Once they all meet up with Reedman and are safely on their way, I warp back to the point I should have been at on the previous trajectory and notify both you and Starscream on the selected channel. As soon as you both acknowledge, I return to base to wait for the next phase."

"Right. And if anything is not right, you will abort and return to your base until we can figure out our next move," Ironhide nodded with an authoritative air.

"I mean it 'Con. Don't try to be a hero; we are all, essentially, already dead. Don't join the ranks of the shell-less," the weapons' specialist insisted as he eyed the jet with speculation.

"Awww, I didn't think you cared," the Seeker teased without sarcasm.

"Don't worry, he doesn't" Sunstreaker was quick to inform with a chuckle. "He just doesn't want Ellie to slag him to the Pit if anything happens to the spidrobots."

Ironhide rolled his optics and crossed his arms over his chassis. "Ignore them. Just go now so it gets done already.

"The last thing any of us wants is to risk this temporary truce by injuring each other in a fight."

"Toodles!" Skywarp waggled his digits at the three Autobots after the spidrobots were secured in his cargo hold. He activated his warp drive and disappeared with a loud pop.

"Toodles?" Sunstreaker looked to his twin in confusion.

Sideswipe just sighed through his vents and shook his head. "Never mind. Let's get back to the lair; Ratchet will have my helm if I keep you out so long the cold starts to affect your welds."

"Alright, I need a good waxing anyway. You know if Ellie has any decent quality stuff at the lair?"

"Yeah, she absolutely spoils Clyde, Jukes an the spidro's," Ironhide assured with a chuckle.

"Good. Think she'll let me use some?"

"Definitely. I think she even had Epps stock up on some more when he went to get the new kitchen," the weapons' specialist replied as he climbed into the new, gold chrome colored Corvette.

"Is the wax any good on this planet?"

"Absolutely!" Sideswipe was quick to inform as he led the way back to the lair. "It's even better than Armor Ambrosia."

"Better than Ambrosia? Now this I gotta try."

Sideswipe grinned in his own processor; that was his Sunny, always worrying about his armor. Yeah, his brother was going to be just fine.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

The spidrobots and scalpels assembled in front of the razor thin droid who was to help them enter the compound. After a few micro-seconds to open the files he had sent, the entire group was on the move. Scuttling quickly up the vent shaft, they made certain to keep the structure between them and any possible witnesses. Given the pronounced shine of their armor, it was expected that the sun would have glinted off their bodies with every move they made.

Without a backward glance, they entered the compound's systems and were immediately swallowed by the shadows of the pathways. Neither the scalpels nor Reedman paid any attention to the small insect that clung to the ceiling above them. Once they had passed, Itsy took flight and followed them, keeping a steady uplink with Maestro to monitor their progress.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

J.J. and Fig were on duty when the subtle clicking of the radio alerted them to the current intruders. Glancing at each other quickly, they easily assumed a normally relaxed, but attentive posture as they made their way through their rounds. The game just jumped a level; ten days until go-time.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

"Where do you think you're going?" Ratchet asked the rather excitable child as she tried to leave the lab/med bay.

"They're back," she answered hopefully as the sound of high performance engines echoed from the walls of the lair.

"They aren't going anywhere, anytime soon," Livewire was quick to point out.

"Now, come on," he continued as he gently pushed her back into her seat, "and let's move on with your therapy."

"Heyya Hatchet!" Sunstreaker greeted cockily as he sauntered into the chamber. He was hoping to distract the sharp optic'd medic so he wouldn't notice the way he was slightly favoring his left leg.

"Here he is Doc Bot," Sideswipe presented as he stood guard at the entrance, "just like you insisted."

"Mm-hmm, and favoring his left leg I see," the medic said; quickly dashing the golden front liner's hopes.

"According to my scans," he continued on, pointedly ignoring the purposeful butchering of his designation, "it seems as though you might have gotten some rock salt in your ankle servos. It also seems that the cold has contracted the hydraulic line coupling a little more than anticipated. Just let me realign the temperature control conduits, and there. It shouldn't be a problem, but let me know if you experience any more stiffness like that again.

"A good wash will take care of the salt.

"I'm actually pleased with your progress, Sunstreaker," Ratchet stated candidly.

"Can I start training again?" the gold Corvette asked hopefully.

"Firearms only," the Hummer was quick to limit, "with light recoils; your spinal strut was cracked in the crash and I don't want it to have too much stress put on it too soon."

"Fine!" the smaller mech huffed out begrudgingly.

"What about the femmelet?" he continued, turning his attention to his small savior. "I heard you talking about her needing more therapy?"

"Yes, she hasn't been using her new cybernetic arm as much as we would like," Livewire informed as he directed her through another range of motions. "If she is ever going to fully integrate her new cybernetics, she is going to have to develop new neural pathways by routine use."

"I think I can help," Sunstreaker offered quickly.

"How?" Ellie asked eagerly. At this point, she would have done just about anything to get out of doing that boring old therapy.

"What are you up to?" Ratchet asked skeptically.

"Nothing too strenuous," Sunstreaker answered honestly as he held his hands up in surrender. "I'll take a nice plasma bath and then, after I've cooled off, I just need some help waxing my finish.

"It'll give her a productive reason to actually use her arm instead of the incredibly boring repetition of therapeutic motions, and I will get my armor into some semblance of order."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ratchet muttered as he turned back to the spark he was examining.

"Can I?" Ellie was quick to beg her spindly medic. "Please? Please? Please? With sugar on top?"

"Will doing something like that really help you practice?" the small mech asked to confirm.

At Ellie's incessant nodding, he huffed out an audible ex-vent and relented. "Alright, I will also see if I can find your puzzle cube.

"However! Until he comes back from his bath, you will continue with your therapy. Understood?"

She smiled again and proceeded to focus intently on her therapy.

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

Ellie's look of absolute concentration was a blatant signal to everyone who knew her to let her be. She had a self-appointed mission to accomplish and could not be dissuaded from completing it.

Cautiously, she reached out her biological hand and gently placed it on Sunstreaker's hood.

"What are you doing?" he asked in honest curiosity.

"Testing to see if your armor surface is cool enough to the touch to wax. If it's too hot, we can't wax it 'cause it'll dry too fast and be really hard to get off. That'll leave a dull finish and probably make you itchy."

"Why are you using your organic hand instead of the cybernetic one?" Sunstreaker asked with a bit of confusion.

"I don't know how to determine temperature with it yet.

"I haven't been able to feel anything with any of my cybernetics before these new ones ya know."

"Well, is it cool enough to wax?"

"Feels like it," Ellie agreed with a shrug.

"Then test it with your cybernetic hand; it'll help you calibrate the more subjective measurements with your organics."

"That's weird," she said with a scowl.

"What's weird?"

"I got like a little pop-up window in my cybernetic eye with measurements in it."

Sunstreaker chuckled in understanding. "It's called a HUD; Heads Up Display. We all have them; when we first get a new system, we can actively monitor its function.

"Try to imagine something like; 'range: cool,' and tell me if it goes away or another screen pops up."

"Whoa! Another screen popped up, it looks like it wants more temperatures in it."

"That's because you assigned the temperature value to a range you've just identified. If you know the range of temperatures you would consider 'cool' to the touch, you can enter them into the fields. If not, there should be an option to come back to the file later."

"It's a subjective value that depends on the surrounding temperature," the girl informed with a shrug.

"Well then, that's going to require some additional lines of coding. You should tell Ratchet next time you see him so he can get to work on writing it.

"With Cybertronians, we pretty much just have a range of temperatures we can operate in that we concern ourselves with. We don't generally have too many 'subjective' values."

"It went away, but there's now this weird looking little yellow icon in the lower left hand corner of my eye."

"Mmhmm, it's so you can come back to it later and finish the range. It's a reminder that you have an incomplete file that needs attention.

"Ratchet, Optimus or any medic will also be able to see it when they access your file history."

"Why would they need to see my file history?"

"Medics use it as part of their examinations. Optimus would have access to it because he has taken on the role of your creator. It would be a way to make sure you haven't been exposed to any negative programming or viruses."

"I don't need no baby-sitter!"

"Of course not," the Corvette was quick to agree, not bothering to hide the smile in his voice.

"Let's get you waxed," Ellie stubbornly changed the subject.

"This is carnauba wax," she informed him as she showed him the container. "It's the best wax available, but I think it might be better if it was a gel."

"I'm sure it's fine like it is."

Shrugging, the girl opened the container and began to transfer the substance to a yellow micro-fiber cloth. With knowledgeable strokes, she began to vigorously rub it onto the roof in circular motions.

"Oh! Ohhhh! Mmmmmmm," the Corvette began to moan at the gentle ministrations. "That carnauba wax feels amazing. Can I have a case or two-dozen of that stuff?"

The child laughed at the silliness of the front liner. "We'll see," she teased him as she continued rubbing on the wax.

As she focused on the application, she didn't quite realize the extent of her reach until she felt her cybernetic hand catch on the trim on the other side's window. Surprised, she dropped the cloth and jerked back with a squeal.

"What? What's wrong?" Sunstreaker asked quickly as he immediately transformed and drew his blades, looking between the entrance and the expanse for the threat. When he could not find one, he turned back to the girl and saw her standing and staring in absolute shock at her cybernetic arm. Tilting his head in curiosity, he quickly did some calculations and realized that her arm was much longer than it should have been.

"Femmelet?" he asked gently as he retracted his blades.

"S-s-sunst' – S-s-suns'," she stuttered as she stared at her elongated arm in shock.

"It's alright. It must be a function of your new, redesigned arm.

"Do you have a HUD message?"

"M-m-message?" she stammered as she slowly came out of her shock. "N-no? No, I have a little green icon at the bottom right of my eye."

"Select it and tell me what it says."

"It, it's a diagram of my arm. It looks like it is longer than it should be." She said in confusion.

"Imagine expanding the field and see if any more diagrams come into view." Sunstreaker suggested.

"How'd you know? There's two more diagrams now; one on either side."

"Two?

"Huh, well, focus on selecting the one that looks like your arm should be; it'll probably be white."

"Okay, hey! My arm is back to normal."

"Yeah, it seems that you have a few transformation sequences available to you.

"What was the color of the other option when you first expanded your HUD?"

"It was green."

"Really? Select it and let's see what happens."

The distinctive sounds of a transformation sequence echoed faintly from the walls of the chamber as they both watched her hand seem to fold in on itself. Raising it up to examine closer; the glinting edge of a small knife poked out of the end of her sleeve.

"Blades? Cool! 'Course, it would make sense since you don't have Energon to generate any sort of projectile weaponry.

"Alright, I'll talk to Optimus and Ratchet about getting you trained in the proper use and maintenance of your blades. I'm sure Ironhide will want to assess any other weaponry you have and establish a training regimen to get you to a competent level of at least basic self-defense.

"Now, let's get this wax off my roof; it's starting to itch."

After Sunstreaker folded down into his alt, a knowledgeable look at the dried wax proved there was little likelihood his transformation sequence got the substance on the inside of any of his armor. Satisfied, Ellie quickly began to buff off the dry wax to reveal a mirror-like finish to the gold paintjob. Working efficiently, she began to deftly apply the wax to a different section of his armor as she examined the new abilities she had discovered with the other half of her attention. As she discovered each new system, she would describe it to the Corvette who then explained it to the best of his abilities.

Ellie proficiently performed her task of waxing and buffing the vain Corvette's finish to a mirror-like shine, making quick headway until she was buffing off the wax on his rear. Bending over to determine how far under she could continue to wax, she yelped and jumped when Sunstreaker's engine roared to life and he jerked forward a foot, making her drop her sunglasses in her surprise.

"What was that for?" she accused as she glared at his alt.

"You tell me! What were you tryin' to do under my aft?"

"I wanted to see how far under the finish went so I could tell if that needed waxing too!" she huffed as she reached down to grab her glasses, and froze.

"I'm not a car, femmelet. I can handle that particular part of my anatomy without your help."

When Sunstreaker's sensors indicated that the girl had not moved from her position at his rear, he began to get self-conscious . . . especially when he realized she was staring at his aft.

"Ellie? Um, yeah, I know I've got a fine, eh, bumper, but it's really getting kind of uncomfortable with you staring at it."

Her only response was to move closer as she gingerly touched the side of her face.

"Ellie? You alright?"

"M-my… my . . . face?"

VVVVVBREAKVVVVV

Optimus did not understand the reason behind the odd processor flux that instantly drew his attention to his young ward. The humans he was often around would call it an "instinct," or "parents' intuition." If she had been a Cybertronian, he would have called it a creator's or guardian's bond, but whatever it was, he needed to get to her. Something was distressing her, he could feel it.

Rounding the corner to the arena chamber, he paused in his step when he saw Sunstreaker holding a crying child to his chest, his crying child. Immediately tamping down the instant rage he felt at the sight, he quickly approached the pair.

"What is going on?" he demanded with rarely heard venom in his voice. "Why is she crying?"

"I don't know. She was giving me a wax and practicing using her new arm when she stopped at my rear and started talking about her face. That's when she started to cry."

Studying the girl's posture, he realized that she seemed to be intently watching her own reflection in his front liner's chest plating as she touched her face in disbelief.

"Ellie?" he asked gently as he ran a light digit down her back. "What is it? What is wrong?" he continued, shamelessly using the soothing timbres of his voice to calm the child.

"My… my face," she tried to explain in between sobs. "It's . . . it's . . . not . . . ug-ly . . . an-y-mooore," she finally was able to get out.

"Whoever told you your face was ugly?" Optimus demanded in total shock as he reached out to her.

"Mirror," she answered as she willingly clambered onto his hand.

"What's goin' on out here?" Epps asked as he came out of the garage chamber. "I thought I heard her cryin'?"

The prime turned and retreated with the child towards the expanse. He would let Sunstreaker deal with the concerned human as he dealt with his distressed one.

"Ellie, your face was never ugly. Why would you believe it was?" he asked in honest curiosity as he sent soothing pulses down their bond. He did not even look up when he felt the concerned presence of his scout arriving.

Instantly, he saw a memory flux of every human that she had ever met while under her uncle's custody. Without exception, every single one had an initial reaction of utter revulsion, absolute disgust and total fear the first time they saw her. Those who managed to stay around for any length of time eventually got over their fear, pity taking its place, except for the scientists. Them - she saw how they only saw her as a thing; an experiment to be poked and prodded. She had realized, even at a young age, that to them, she wasn't even human.

"Oh Ellie," he sighed in true regret at the treatment she had endured. "The fault was theirs, not yours. You were never ugly. They were looking only at the scar damage, not you. Your . . . custodian," he spat the word; he would never again condone the use of a term of kinship for that monster that hurt her, "left the scar and the obvious damage as a method of maintaining control over you. He wanted only to see you as a thing to help him achieve his goals and to ensure that anyone else who would interact with you did as well."

He felt Bumblebee gently rest his helm against his arm as he stared in concern at their young ward. He could feel the honest worry radiating from the scout as he watched the tears of the child slow.

"You are truly beautiful, Ellie. Even before we ever met, I read about your actions with my mechs; how you would rush in to help them even in the heat of a pitched battle. That showed us all your soul. The true essence of who you are. You inspired all of us with your bravery and talent. In fact, even Ratchet was forced to admit that if it wasn't for your timely intervention in at least three incidents; we would have lost the mechs because of the damage they received. Damage that you repaired to keep them alive.

"Then, there is what you have done for our fallen, Jazz, Ironhide, Arcee and her sisters? You were never asked to intervene, yet you chose to do so, to save the lives of them, and many more. We have been indebted to you longer than we even knew, and still, you have asked nothing of us for yourself. The only reason you sought us out was still to gain our help for one of our own . You have demonstrated your honest selflessness at every turn, and I believe you still think nothing of all that you have done for us.

"No, Ellie, you were never ugly. Your type of beauty is indeed rare and cannot be bought or taught. It is not based in the superficial armor or surface of the skin, because your kind of beauty lies much deeper than that. It is the very essence of who you are. That is why we repaired your scars; not to repay the debt none of us could ever hope to begin to erase, but because you would never have thought to ask."

Optimus watched as the child blinked up at him in exhaustion. He watched her for a moment as she seemed to mull over his words. Then, when she gently tugged on Bumblebee's finger and put her visor in his hand, he felt an unexpected euphoria crowding his spark.

"It still gets bright in here, so I'm gonna need 'em, sometimes," she told the pair as she lay down on his palm.

"Optimus?" she continued after a few more moments of thought, obviously fighting her fatigue.

"Yes Ellie?"

"You can call me 'Urielle,' if you'd like," she whispered as she finally gave in to her body's demands.

Optimus stood perfectly still as the enormity of that simple statement registered.

"Wow!" he heard Bumblebee whisper as he also realized the gravity of the situation.

Gently, as if he were handling the gossamer skin of a soap bubble, he opened his massive chest plates and revealed his hold. With deft movements, he deposited his girl into the secure compartment and closed it, allowing her to recharge without the risk of undue interruption. Automatically, he connected to her implants and scrolled through the recent activity. He instantly caught the incomplete file she had managed to start and briefly examined it before he closed it to bring to Ratchet or First Aid's attention. Completing his examination, he quirked his optic ridge before turning around to return to the main lair. The entirety of his present troops stood in respectful silence, the glowing figures of the sparks' holographs watching him as well in the arena chamber.

"How long have you been there?" he asked rather sheepishly.

"Since the beginning," Ratchet assured as he began to stride forward.

"Yes, well, I automatically connected with her implants; she managed to start a range file that will need additional coding," he tried to distract.

"Already?" First Aid asked in amazement as he turned toward Sunstreaker. "Just what did you two do?"

"Later," Optimus ordered.

"There is evidence she has transformation sequences for her arm and legs," he addressed the golden twin. "Do you have any knowledge as to what kind?"

"She can adjust the length of her arm and legs, and she also has a basic non-projectile based weapons system."

"Weapons? She has a weapons system?" Ironhide demanded as he turned to confirm the knowledge with Ratchet.

"Mmhmm, primarily blades. Didn't want to leave her totally defenseless, although they should have been locked down."

"She can keep them, for now.

"Sunstreaker, you have a gyne to her?" the prime asked the still healing twin.

At his nod, Optimus continued, "Then I would like you to oversee her blade-specific training. You will confer with Ironhide about a weapons curriculum and allow Sideswipe to do the physical part until Ratchet clears you. If Megatron is willing, I would appreciate it if he also took part in her training.

"Any questions?"

When no one had anything, he moved to walk into the lab/med bay so that Ratchet could determine the line of code she needed.

"Prime!" Megatron's gravelly voice boomed from the arena as he strode by.

When Optimus paused and glanced back at the hologram of his greatest foe, the warlord continued; "You were not wrong. What you told her. She is very brave and extremely selfless."

The Peterbilt nodded and continued on his way.

"And beautiful," the Decepticon commander added quietly to himself, knowing that his old friend and enemy would have heard what he left unsaid.

A/N2: "Armor Ambrosia" is a fictional name brand of a high-end armor wax and conditioner from Cybertron. So, anyone planning on using the name for their own stories, make sure you reference this story and let me know so I can try and give you a shout out. It might just generate a couple more people worth of traffic for your story.

A/N3:Gyne:(Pronounced like "shine," only with a "j" instead.) literal translation – "spark oath." It is the Cybertronian equivalent of a life-debt. Got the idea for a life-debt from "Antebellum" by SavvyEnigma, and used with her knowledge. The term, "gyne," is my own.

A/N4: Note of Cybertronian customs: earlier in the story, Ellie informed Optimus and the rest of the Autobots that only her dad and grandmother had ever called her "Urielle." In essence, she was informing them that her given name was a reserved privilege that only her true family would be permitted. By granting Optimus permission to call her by her full name, she, essentially, adopted him as family. Since she is an orphan, she is asking him to become her father, or creator. When Optimus then put her in his own hold, he was publicly accepting her adoption and acknowledging himself as her true father/creator. Of course, during the course of a war, the adoption significance is suspended in order to help protect their young.

A/N5: Finally, I wanted to give my sincere gratitude to Khalthar for taking the time to Beta this chapter. You all can thank him for the length, and the interlude between Optimus and Ellie regarding her scar.