Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox is the property of a friend of mine.

Authoress: *smiles* I feel good about this. My mind has so many ideas moving forward.

Knockout: *shakes helm* Just keep us out of the bad ones alright?

Authoress: *shakes head* No promises. Stories need to have their fun.

Dreadwing: You are a strange human. Skyquake warned me about you and yet I have not realized how serious he was being in his description of you.

Authoress: Should I be worried about this description?

Chapter 38: Receiving An Outlet

Thundercracker's 1st P.O.V.

I was glad that Starscream and I were the first ones to be able to keep watch at the bar, which was empty besides the drone staff and ourselves. While Skywarp and I were worried about the femme currently being held by the Autobots, it was Starscream who needed the relief of standing guard. My brother was sending anxiety through our trine bond faster than Skywarp and I could process it.

I realized that I was the best, between Skywarp and myself, to help Starscream to calm down. So, I had immediately volunteered to accompany my brother on this shift of his. I think Lord Megatron realized what state of processor Starscream was in and that was why he agreed so quickly.

"Have you heard how the mission is going so far?" I asked him to hopefully take his processor off of Pandimala and her predicament.

My brother's soliform glanced at mine before he nodded. "Thanks to the intel we had from Pandimala's memories, along with the decryption of the Iaconian database, we were able to retrieve the Apex Armor. It is now secure on the ship." He then scowled. "Of course, it would mean more if the femme was on the ship to see it's retrieval herself." He then growled. "Instead, she is a captive of the Autobots and we are supposed to just wait until she can hopefully reach out to us."

Well, so much for keeping him away from that subject. Might as well get that straightened out while we are here. "Listen Starscream, we've all trained Pandimala to deal with this. You helped train her for solars since her arrival on the Nemesis...even before she became a Decepticon. Don't you trust her?"

"Of course I trust her!" I flinched at the harshness behind Starscream's tone. "It's those fragging Autobots that I don't trust. While both sides of the war have committed acts that would go against intergalactic law, at least we Decepticons are trying to better ourselves. You've seen what the Autobots are like down here. Some of them won't hesitate in running her through the back given the opportunity. She shouldn't be the one there."

"It should be you?" I pushed him.

"Frag yes it should be. That's how it was supposed to be. She shouldn't be paying for fixing our mistakes. If only this timeline was going as it was originally supposed to,"

"Skywarp and I would possibly be offline."

That caused my brother to halt himself for a nano and he stared at me in shock. "This isn't a time for jokes."

"And I am not," I responded. "If the original timeline came to pass, Lord Megatron would not have called Skywarp and myself to Earth. Since he wasn't, then we would have continued on the heading that we had been on. We were heading toward Nebulos. I was reading the current affairs of our fight across the cosmos and, about the time that we would have been in the area, the Autobots had launched a surprise assault against our base there. There were no survivors."

That seemed to snap him out of his worry for a few nanos. I honestly found it a relief that Pandimala had arrived when she did. She was able to help us make sure that we were still online. She had set into motion events that caused our leader to call us from Cybertron right before we left for Nebulos.

"But still," Starscream just seemed determined to be against Pandimala's predicament full force. I was against it, but I did realize the good that could come out of it. "While I would not want that to happen, she shouldn't have been there. Her training…"

And it was then that I finally realized what was truly eating my brother up about this situation. It wasn't the fact that he didn't believe in Pandimala, it was the fact that he and the rest of us had been purposefully holding back in teaching Pandimala, despite the danger that the Autobots faced. He was feeling guilty that he didn't give her the training that she wanted.

"Starscream," I placed my soliform's hand on his knee. "Despite not getting the training that she asked for, you and I both know that she did get enough to get through this in one piece. She'll be back with us, completely, before you'll know it." He seemed to relax at that. "Plus, when she does get back, you can train her to your spark's content...and I'll be right there to help you."

Finally, a smirk came to my brother's faceplate. "She'll get so much training when she returns that she won't be able to even crawl out of the training rooms."

I smirked back. "That's a promise." The two of us then shook hands.

After a few clicks, my brother started to look concerned again. Scrap. Now what? "If we are hoping that she can get away from the Autobot base in her soliform, we might have another problem. It might take her too much time to make it to the bar before she has to return to avoid suspicion from the Autobots."

That was worrisome. However, even if she couldn't make it to the bar right away, there was still a positive in all of this. "While she might not be able to make it here for some time, she should be able to make it out of their signal jammers to at least send us messages about her status and any other information that we might need. She'll figure something out. Pandimala always seems to."

"You're right. We've trained her well enough."

While I now had him convinced, I was the one worried now. While she could do that, I wasn't sure that the Autobots were going to leave her alone for that amount of time. She would have to be very careful about how she moved about. There were a number of the Autobots who would not hesitate in cutting her down if they caught her doing something like this. I could only wish for her to have all the luck that she would need.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

I was so slagging offline if any of the Autobots had outside cameras. When Wheeljack left, I waited for Ironhide to take his place. However, after about ten clicks, I realized that the Autobot was not coming in here. This would be my best chance at accomplishing any sort of contact with the Decepticons. So, I had laid in the berth I was given and put myself into a meditative stasis-like mode. The Autobots would think I was recharging if they checked in on me.

However, I played with my soliform program and realized that, while breaking through this wall with my weapons disabled was a no-go, my cell was close to an outside wall. I worked my way from the farthest I could activate my soliform from and was able to determine how far from the base I would have to be to make it seem like my soliform was real. While I was able to make it outside of the base, I was still too close for comfort.

So, right now my goal was to try and get to the bar. While that was a far stretch from my current location, Neutrality would give me a chance for a face-to-face report with Lord Megatron. There was so much that I needed to tell him about the Autobots and what I already told them. But first, I had to get to my allies. If I couldn't, then I should at least make it outside of the signal jammers the Autobots had set up to send out a data-packet to Lord Megatron with the information.

After about twenty minutes, I let out a cheer as I found myself far enough away from the Autobot base to have my comm. link activate. At least now I could contact somebot if I couldn't make it to the bar. So, as I walked, I prepared a data-packet to send just in case. It needed to be ready so I could send it and then get back. In my estimation, I had about a cycle to get to Neutrality, report the information I had, and make the walk back to the Autobot hideout. Unfortunately, I would have to push it to make it to Neutrality. Walking there would take that amount of time alone, let alone giving my report.

Plus, I couldn't risk using the comm line to ask one of the other Decepticons to pick me up. The Autobots would be bound to be watching them and I wanted to save that line of communication for emergencies only. If something happened with the Autobots that caused me to need an extraction, then that would be the best line of communication. So, I had to make sure that the Autobots didn't think about watching the airwaves at this point.

The sound of a humming engine caused my heart to freeze. Was it the Autobots? I couldn't have them stop me! Not now! But, with a glance around, I realized that there was nowhere for me to hide. So, I was going to have to give the craziest excuse of how I 'escaped' the nemesis since I was in my Lizzie soliform right now. Seeing yellow from the little light the moon gave, I realized that this had to be Bumblebee. He was the only Autobot who had yellow on his plating. Slag this was not going to be good. He would not take no for an answer.

The pressure on my heart somewhat lessened as 'Bumblebee' came closer. Now that the vehicle was closer, I realized that this was not the Autobot. The vehicle itself was too small and seemed to not be traveling very fast. Maybe I could convince whoever this was to get me a ride into town? Then, I could get to the bar quickly and report.

So, I stepped to the side of the road and waved as the now identifiable Prius drove past. Not three seconds later, the brake lights could be seen followed by screeching tires. So, I was either about to get a ride to the bar or I was about to be kidnapped and killed by whoever this was. Oh well. Good thing this was a soliform. If I was still actually human I would be worried.

The Prius, which was driving in reverse, eventually stopped. The windows were tinted so I couldn't see who was inside it at first. Then, the doors opened and out stepped a person I never thought to see around here.

"Well, strange seeing my fake-girlfriend hitchhiking in the middle of nowhere." Michael Lincoln, the man who saved me at the club, spoke. While I didn't remember much about what happened during all of that, I did look him up later once the others told me what his name was. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth...though with the money he came from it was probably gold. He spent a lot of his time traveling if the different tabloid articles were anything to go by. No one knew where he lived. But, what was he, "What are you doing on the side of the road in the middle of the night?"

"I was walking from where I was staying and trying to get to Neutrality. Some friends of mine own it and I wanted to see them." I answered him.

He smirked. "I see. And why did you decide that it was best to walk from there to this bar?"

Letting out a laugh, I answered as truthfully as I could. "My ride's kinda stuck at the place I'm staying at. Couldn't take it out. So, walking was going to do me good. Honestly, though, I was going to head back if you didn't show up. Think you could give me a lift?"

I mean, the guy had every chance to take advantage of me during the whole incident that we met. If he didn't do anything then, I doubted that he was going to try anything now. And if he could get me to the bar quickly, I could make my report and then just deactivate my soliform from there. It would give me so much more time to talk with Lord Megatron and the others. It was exactly what I needed.

"Well, I think that my sexy taxi can take a late-night fare," He let out a laugh before moving to the passenger side and opening the door for me.

I walked to the opening before raising an eyebrow. "Sexy taxi? Really?"

"You can't get any better-looking Lizzie," Michael seemed unfazed by my teasing and still had a smile on his face.

So, I let out a sigh of defeat. "I will say that I have never seen a sexier-looking Prius." I then got in the car. Once Michael shut the door, he got in on his side before he continued toward Jasper.

"So, how have you been recovering?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.

I shrugged and glanced at him. "I'm doing fine. I heard that those guys were killed after breaking into a zoo. Nothing for me to worry about."

"So you haven't been nervous around other people that you don't know?" He shot back at me.

I was going to answer no when I stopped myself. Thinking about it, my first interactions with the Autobots was of immediate distrust. While I knew some of them deserved that, there were still others who deserved a chance at a clean slate. I felt a little annoyed at myself. I let myself get into a tunnel-vision attitude that I was trying to avoid. I needed to be more open. Hopefully, after this talk with Lord Megatron, I could start doing that with the Autobots. "Well,"

"I thought so." I raised an eyebrow at him. "You've been on my mind lately and I figured that you might not be adjusting. So, I looked up where you were staying last through my contacts. I've been staying in town for a week now hoping to run into you."

"That doesn't sound like you're a stalker or anything," I then shook my head. "Thanks for thinking about me, though I'm not sure why you would." And really, why was some rich guy spending time in Jasper of all places just for me?

"Honestly, you seem different from a lot of people I've met before, and I think I want to get to know you a little better," He then slowed his car to a stop and I realized that we were in front of the bar. "Maybe I'll see you in town again soon."

"We'll see. I'm on a pretty tight schedule right now," Yeah, a schedule to not get caught by the Autobots while I work on trying to give them a chance.

He then took out his phone and turned it on. "Could I get your number? At the very least, the sexy taxi and I could come and drive you around some more if your ride is still unavailable."

Well, he could solve a lot of problems for me if I had a ride out of the base. Of course, that would be until I could get the Autobots to trust me...however long that would take. "Sounds like a good idea. I mean, it would look weird if I didn't have my fake boyfriend's phone number."

He laughed at that. "Yes, it would." The two of us then exchanged numbers. Then, Michael smirked. "Well, until the next time we meet, have a good night Lizzie."

I smiled at him. "You too, Michael." He then nodded and, once I closed the door, he drove down the road. Once he was gone, I turned to the entrance of the bar and walked toward it. Standing outside, were two soliforms that I was sure were drones. What I was told about the bar was that only drone soliforms were on staff. Period. No officers and no humans. Only the drones. The one on the right looked toward me as I walked closer. "Sorry ma'am, the bar is closed for the night. Working on cleaning it for inspection." And that was what they should say if there were officers inside having a meeting.

So, I smirked. "I'm expected," When he gave me a disbelieving look, as did the other one, I realized that both of these drones must be ones I hadn't met yet, which was odd in and of itself. A sigh escaped me before I could stop it. "Tell them that Ms. Val is here to give her report."

The one that talked motioned to the one that didn't, who then ran inside. While he did, the remaining soliform and I stared at each other in a showdown sort of way. This was quite entertaining. I had to learn his designation once this was all said and done. He had a spinal-strut if he was able to keep a staredown with me...even if I was in soliform.

I could hear the stampede of footsteps heading toward the door before it was flung open. There, standing in the doorway, stood Stewart and Terrance Scarlett. Their eyes were wide and focused on me completely. "Pan...Lizzie...you made it. You made it…" Stewart seemed to struggle to get out.

Letting out a laugh, I walked up to them and pulled them into a hug, "Did you think I was going to be kept from checking in?" I then motioned toward the inside. "Why don't we go inside and talk a bit. And if one of you could please call Lord Megatron that would be great."

Lord Megatron's 1st P.O.V.

My spark felt like it was going to break out of my chassis as I transformed to activate my soliform. While I expected Pandimala to make contact with us, I did not expect her to be able to get away so soon. We could not waste this opportunity. Pandimala wouldn't have risked an escape if she didn't have information to report on. Having her with the Autobots needed to be worth it. It needed to be.

Once my soliform was active, I got inside of Knockout's alt mode before the medic went through the open ground bridge. We appeared in an alley next to the bar and, once Knockout was parked, he activated his own soliform before we made our way to the back entrance of the bar. When we entered, we immediately went to the VIP section upstairs. I only hesitated a nano before opening the door.

Immediately, Pandimala's soliform stood and bowed in my direction. "Lord Megatron, my apologies for the delay in my arrival."

Of course, she felt like she took too long. I had not even expected her to be here this soon and yet she still felt the need for apologizing. So, I gave her a nod. "No need to apologize, Pandimala, given your pressing circumstances. Do you have anything to report?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron," Pandimala responded before she delved into all that she had witnessed at the Autobot base so far.

I was most surprised to hear about the fractured state that the Autobots seemed to be in currently. While I knew that keeping the state of 'Lizzie' from the Autobots would fracture their unity, I did not expect it to take such a heavy toll. No, more than likely, my plans only helped cut the ties that were already fraying on their side. According to Pandimala's report, there seemed to be four sides to this fractal split in the Autobots.

One side was made of Sentinel Major, Pitch, and Flamewar. They seemed to be an overly aggressive split that did not hesitate in using whatever means they could to accomplish what they wanted. The opposite side to them was made of Zarron, Balm, and Wheeljack. The three of them seemed to be standing with proper regulations on how to deal with bots and seemed to conflict with the other three. After them, and where the majority of the other Autobots set on this split, was seemingly torn between the two sides and didn't seem to know who to choose. And, as expected, Optimus seemed to be trying to impose peace and unity onto his troops as the fourth split.

However, something Pandimala just said caused me to interrupt her. "Optimus interrupted one of his own? That is very unlike him." It was not like my rival to do that to his troops. He, when I knew him better, would allow his troops to finish what they were saying before he jumped in like that. Very strange.

"That is what I thought as well, my Lord," She had a confused look on her faceplate that showed just how much this did not make sense to her. "Of course, I must say I am glad that happened because I would not have been able to talk to Wheeljack if he hadn't insisted the mech stand the first guard over me."

She then delved into her conversation with Wheeljack and, while it seemed to start slow, the femme seemed to be able to make a small connection with the mech. That would be useful later. Plus, she was able to make up for the slip that Dreadwing said to Ironhide about her past self. While it seemed that the Autobots did not need any help with tearing themselves apart, the information that they might have succeeded on their raid, even though unbeknownst to them they did, would drive them insane. It would bring about a great chance to maybe move forward. "Pandimala," I noticed that the femme seemed hesitant about something, even though she was trying to hide it well. "There is something else on your thoughts. Speak them now."

Her optics immediately focused as she looked at me. "Yes, my Lord. As you no doubt realized from my memories, I hope for this war between our faction and the Autobots to end peacefully. While the original timeline seemed to have this, in reality, the Autobots came out of the war far greater than the Decepticons. I do not know what all was planned for the sequel series, but, I had heard that it would have the Autobots fighting the Decepticons...again."

Yes, I had seen those rumors from her memories. Not the end I wish for my Decepticons. However, not the worst end that could have befallen that specific timeline given the circumstances. "Yes, I remember that."

"I believe that creating connections with the Autobots now would create a start to the camaraderie that will affect possible future communications...if they would happen." She then bowed her head, though her soliform's eyes seemed to connect with my own and held their gaze. "I request permission to start opening up to the Autobot Wheeljack. For now, he is the only one of their faction that seems even remotely willing to speak with me cordially. However, I will have to give him some information."

There was a part of me that wanted to agree with the femme immediately. I reasoned with myself that she had rarely been wrong about anything about our encounters so far. Since I was moving toward my original goals for my Decepticons, then peace with the Autobots, even if we might not be back on Cybertron, was an option in the future. Creating connections with the Autobots now would save us many troubles in the future.

However, there were problems with this plan of hers. Firstly, she would not have any backup and if the wrong information is leaked to the Autobots, that could place her in danger of their retribution. Normally, I would not be worried about this with Optimus among them. However, Pandimala's report about Optimus' behavior upon her awakening was concerning, to say the least. Then, there was the problem of the effect the information would have on the Autobots when we would confront them. Having a prisoner who was giving them information would increase their confidence on the battlefield against us. Plus, to make sure that the femme's information-gathering methods remained between us and her, we would have to act surprised and react as such when taunted by the Autobots about it. All of my troops would have to be on the same page about everything that was given.

While the risks would be great, I realized that this was going to have to be Pandimala's choice, though she was asking for my approval. The femme would be placed in the most danger should we move forward with this and, while I didn't doubt my strategist's ability to plan, I wanted to make sure that she understood everything that she was risking to do this. "Pandimala, you would be the one in the most danger from the enemy if we go along with this plan of yours. They have access to your chassis and, should what you are planning leak to them and they not agree with your idea they will have access to cause you great harm in response."

Pandimala continued to look toward me as she gave a single nod in response. "I understand my Lord, but the benefits that could be gained for the Decepticons would more than outweigh the risk that I am taking. However, I understand your worry, with me being in the grips of the enemy, so I will do the best that I can to keep myself out of suspicion. I spoke to Michael on my way here and he helped me realize some mistakes that I have been making due to the incident at the club. Interacting with the Autobots socially will be a way to help me rectify that mistake."

I raised one of my eyebrows at her response. I hadn't realized how she had arrived at the bar. Having this human involved with Pandimala again had to be more than mere coincidence. "You have interacted with Michael Lincoln again?"

"Yes. I was making my way toward the bar from the Autobot base and, about a third of the way here, he drove by in his yellow Prius and said that he was worried about how I was handling the incident at the bar so, he tracked me down to Jasper, where Paul had me staying as a part of my original cover-story. He's been hanging out around town waiting to run into me. Guess being a multi-billionaire with a lot of free time makes some people bored. He's even offered to bring me to future meetings until 'my ride isn't held up anymore'. It seemed like a useful resource to waste. He can get me here to report and it won't put my activities on the Autobot's radar as soon, if at all. Paul might find something strange but unless he tells them about himself, which I doubt given the current atmosphere at the base, he won't be able to voice his concerns and give them a lot of credit." Pandimala was correct.

While I was suspicious of the human's reappearance in my strategist's life, as she said this would be an advantage we would be fools to waste. However, more research would have to be done on Michael Lincoln. I wanted to know more about this human who wanted to place himself in the life of Pandimala. If this human could be an ally in the future, then it would be best to be ready to work with him.

"Very well." I then glanced at the other soliforms and motioned toward the door. Thankfully, my troops didn't need any more of a hint as they filed out, leaving myself and Pandimala. This seemed to make Pandimala tense slightly, but more in a nervous way than a worrying way. Interesting. "Pandimala, I will expect regular updates on your condition. While this mission has a chance to reap great rewards for the Decepticons, I would be disappointed if you were to unnecessarily be injured or incapacitated. If you ever worry your safety is in danger in a way that you can't defend against, scrap the mission."

"My...my Lord?" Pandimala seemed confused and flustered by my concern for her in this way. Her face seemed to gain a slight reddish hue to her face.

It took my processor a few nanos to realize why she might be upset. It too much of my training to keep the same reaction from appearing on my face. "I have spent much of my time, and the time of my Decepticons, training you and bringing you into our faction. It would be an extreme waste of resources if we were to lose you to the Autobots due to this." But, even as the femme seemed relieved and continued to speak to me of her time upcoming with the Autobots, I found that I wasn't sure I completely believed my reasoning to her.

Authoress: See, I make good. Pandimala got to visit you all!

Starscream: *smirks* Yes, and just what were you discussing with her Lord Megatron?

Lord Megatron: *shakes helm* I do not know what you are implying Starscream. I just reiterated to my strategist, whom I helped train, to be cautious among the Autobots and to pull back if it becomes too much.

Authoress: I'm not getting into this fight. *walks off as yelling and punching are heard*

AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this. I know I did.

So, I have decided to stop my analysis of each chapter. It is lengthy and might be taking away from everyone's discovery on their own. So, I am going to stop unless I am asked from multiple sources to start them again.

The sexy taxi was actually taken from my sister and her stories of college. My sister didn't have a Prius nor was it yellow (though the color was in that family) and she would drive her drunk friends home safe. Seemed fitting to bring it back for Michael bringing Panidmala's soliform to the bar.

So, that is all for now. The next chapter is going to have more with the Autobots and Pandimala interacting, and some more Lord Megatron and Pandimala possibly (depends on how the chapter goes for that last bit). Well, here are the next chapter names!

Chapter 39: Sound of Silence Triage

Chapter 40: Being a Friend Toxicity

Chapter 41:...(well, that should be next time...whenever that will be)

And that is all for now! Drop a review if you would please and I hope you all enjoyed reading this! Don't forget to check out the poll on my profile if you want any say in who Pandimala's next bondmate will be in the next installment of the 'of One chronicles (Power being the first and Resolve here being the second).

Until next time though, TTYL! *thinking about what amore is and pizza pies*