A/N: Gonna try to post three chapters today. Also, there won't be anything graphic like experiments. Maybe slightly, but nothing full on like a lot of stories are. Scythe in this story is gonna be like Silas from Transformers Prime.

Main Pairings:

Ann/StardustxOptimus

Child(s): Stella/Gem, Bumblebee (adopted),

future Ann/StardustxOptimusxJames

Child(s): Gem, Bumblebee (adopted),

BarricadexBumblebee

RatchetxLuna

Warnings: romance, kissing, mentions of interfacing, past violence, anything else I forgot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Only Hasbro. I only own my character(s).

Stella moaned softly, eyes fluttering open. She felt a bit cold. The girl looked around, seeing that she was on some sort of table strapped down. Monitors around her beeped with readings. She didn't see anyone around. Where was she? What had happened? Why was she here?

"You're awake," a voice behind her said.

Stella heard three sets of footsteps walk to her right side. She watched as three men came into her view. She noted the one looked completely bored and tired. The other two had similar expressions of wonder and a hint of sadism.

"Let me go! Take me back to my parents," Stella demanded, glaring at the two men.

"Oh, but we cannot do that, my dear. You are the key to getting them here. We already know you aren't truly human. Nor are your parents," the head man said. "You'll be staying here for a while. I am Scythe. These are my brothers Marcus and Caius. You'll be here for a long while, so best get used to seeing our faces."

Marcus looked over with a roll of his eyes. It was clear he was not with his brothers on this. Stella would have to make note of that. Scythe motioned for some men to come over, all wearing lab coats.

"In the meantime, while we wait for your parents, we will study you," said Scythe. "Get comfortable. You won't ever be leaving here."

Stella watched as the two brothers walked away. Marcus lingered a bit, looking at her sadly. He slightly nodded before departing. It was almost like he was telling her it would be okay. The scientists came over, attaching wired patches to her and taking some blood samples to study. Stella closed her eyes, terrified. She wanted to go home and to her creators. She prayed to Primus that they would rescue her soon.

~~~000

Optimus and Ann looked at each other. They had both felt Stella's fear. They headed to the Autobot hanger to find the Arcee triplets frantically looking around. James was even present and looking with Luna. They paused when the two entered.

"Where's Stella?" Ann asked.

"We don't know. She wanted to play 'hide and seek' with us. She hid while we searched for her. But we looked all over the base. We can't find her anywhere," said Chromia.

"We even tried using our heat scanners to detect her body. Nothing," said Arcee.

"Get Red Alert. I want the security footage scanned to see where she went," Optimus ordered, already heading towards the security area with Ann in his servo. James ran after them, worried about the child.

The flamed Prime stomped into the small office, going to Red Alert's side. The paranoid mech already knew what his Prime wanted, having gotten the message ahead of time. He was already looking through many screens from the last few hours.

"Have you found anything yet?" Optimus asked.

"A bit. I spotted her with one of the soldiers. They walked off together. I'm searching where they went now," said Red Alert. "I can't see his face, so I can't scan for facial recognition. Give me a few kliks."

The two waited, gaze scanning the moving images. Red Alert stopped on one that showed outside by the vehicles. James studied the footage closely, still unable to see his face. They watched as the man handed Stella a ball, the gas knocking her unconscious, and then him driving off base with her.

James recognized the vehicle. It was one of the soldiers that was there when the live grenade went off. If he remembered, the soldier was the one who threw it. He sprinted out, hoping to find the soldier had returned. Optimus and Ann didn't pay much attention to where James was going, opting to watch from the security cameras.

When he got to the parking lot, he noticed the soldier had not returned. The man swore and cussed, kicking the fence. As soon as the man showed back up, he was making the traitor talk.

"James, let's go for a walk," said Luna, having followed her friend out when she saw him run by.

"Are you sure you're allowed to yet? Ratchet doesn't want you to stress yourself," said James.

"I'm fine. You need a walk with me," said Luna. "Come on."

~~~000

Stella gnashed her teeth at one of the men that came near her, nearly biting him. She wasn't about to go down without a fight. She just needed to hold on until her creators came for her. She refused to answer any of the questions they asked her. They were getting nowhere, and it was only the third day.

"Give it up. You're never getting anything out of me," Stella snarled, trying to slip a hand out of her restraints. She's been slowly working them loose.

"Such a shame," Scythe said. "Though the samples we've collected do tell quite a bit of information. Your blood contains a substance we don't know. Your heartbeat is irregular and you've healed rather quickly from the small cuts to collect skin samples. This is all so fascinating to me. Just think how much we can get from the robot."

"You're a sick slagger, that's what you are," Stella said. "I'll never let you hurt my parents!"

"You are in no position to argue," said Scythe. "My organization has been successful every time we collect specimens. You can fight all you like, but it won't help you. Keep that in mind."

Scythe had gotten closer as he talked. Stella growled a bit. She fisted her hands before striking out with her freed hand, punching the scarred man as hard as she could. Scythe stumbled back, holding his displaced jaw. Blood trickled from his nose.

"Restrain her," Caius ordered.

"So strong," Marcus commented. Scythe popped his jaw back into place with a frown.

"You were lucky," the man said.

"Or just better than you," Stella said. "Go frag yourself."

Two guards came in and put the restraint back on her wrist. Stella bit one of the guards hard, smirking at hearing the pained cry. The others in the room stayed at least 5 feet from her so they would not get attacked too.

"Take her to the holding cell. I'll deal with her later. Right now, I must get ready to bag her parents," Scythe said.