Despite what Swift feared, she wasn't carted off to a jail cell. Though part of her wished they'd locked her up and left her to rust instead of dragging her in front of a joint meeting of Decepticon High Command and Optimus Prime.

Her memories of Shockwave were oddly fond ones. He didn't exactly have a warm personality, but he had always been kind to her. He'd been her guardian while she'd been a foundling at the Academy, and whenever she'd visited her mother at the command center he'd greeted her and inquired about her health and studies. She tried her best to show him the proper respect, but in her CPU he more fit the mold of a favorite teacher than a commander.

Now, however, she felt no rush of fondness at being escorted into the interrogation room, cuffed and mode-locked and under close guard. She only gazed at the gathered officers and wished she could melt into the floor.

"Swift of Polyhex," the violet mech noted, his voice utterly devoid of inflection. "Be seated."

Trembling, Swift lowered herself into the chair. She kept her gaze on the floor, not wanting to meet the optics of any of High Command or the Prime. It would be near-impossible to read Shockwave or Soundwave's moods, but she couldn't bear to see whatever Stormrunner or Prime were feeling - anger, disgust, disappointment, loathing, who knew?

"Guards, leave us. Remain outside until you are called."

The mechs nodded and ducked out, the door hissing shut behind them.

Silence reigned for a long moment, interrupted only by the whirr of fans and the thudding of Swift's own fuel pump in her audials. Some part of her wondered if this was a tactic they employed to engineer a confession out of someone - just stay quiet until the suspect blurted something out just to break the silence. If that was the case, it was very close to working.

Before she could speak, however, Prime beat her to the punch. "It would seem that your attempts at social reformation have escalated rather quickly, Swift."

She flinched and finally dared to look up. Shockwave and Soundwave gazed at her impassively, not even a flicker of the violet mech's headfins betraying any emotion. Stormrunner held her gaze as well… but to Swift's shock, the black Seeker looked troubled rather than upset. And the Prime, incredibly, looked more amused than upset behind his mask.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir," she replied, trying but failing to keep a quiver out of her voice.

The amusement dimmed from Prime's optics, and he leaned forward with interest. "You were not informed of the reason for your arrest?"

"They said conspiracy of terrorism," she replied. "But I haven't even done anything, so I don't know why I'm being accused of it."

Stormrunner gave a sharp nod. "I told you it was completely unlike her to call in those threats, Commander Shockwave. Maybe if Valiant were leading this crusade, but not Swift."

"Threats aren't exactly your son's style either," Prime noted. "He'd be more likely to charge in with fists swinging than resort to anything subtle."

"Enough out of both of you," Shockwave snapped. "Your commentary is not helpful."

Swift frowned behind her mask. "Threats?"

"Messages received at both Decepticon and Autobot headquarters," Soundwave replied, and the monotone of his voice sent a shiver up her spinal strut - he usually didn't modulate his voice when she was visiting Echo or hanging out with the cassettes. "Contents of messages: reports of explosives planted in both headquarters. Threat: detonation of explosives unless both factions dissolved."

Her spark jolted, then sank into her fuel tank. Someone claiming to be part of the no-faction movement had delivered bomb threats to both of Cybertron's factions. In one bold move, whoever it was had ensured that neither faction would take her cause seriously again. And worse, the mechs in charge believed her to be responsible.

"I swear I had nothing to do with this," she insisted. "I never called either base. And our organization isn't about getting rid of factions - it's about mechs being free to choose their own factions, or to forego factions altogether. We don't condone violence."

Stormrunner frowned, brow ridges drawing together. "Judging by how quickly your rally broke down into a riot the other day, I'm not sure I believe that."

"It wasn't us!" Swift insisted. "The crowd started throwing things! All we did was run away!"

"We have already established that the rally was an anomaly," Shockwave replied, cutting off Stormrunner's retort. "Measures will be taken to ensure the next one does not deescalate into violence. But that is not why Swift is here today."

"Have the messages been traced?" asked Prime.

"Tracing: ineffective," Soundwave replied. "Frequency scrambler: utilized. Can only determine the message was sent from somewhere in Polyhex."

"So you can't prove that it was Swift here who sent them," Prime continued.

"We cannot prove that she did not send the messages either," Shockwave retorted.

So Shockwave thought her guilty. After he'd pretty much given the movement his blessing, he thought her a potential terrorist. If she got out of this room without being dragged into a cell, she was going to hunt down whoever sent that message and punch them. Even if it was one of her friends - though she couldn't imagine any of them doing something this misguided, even in the heat of the moment.

"Don't the humans have a saying?" Prime went on, either oblivious to Swift's terror or ignoring it for the moment. "'Innocent until proven guilty'? Do you have any solid proof that Swift is behind the threats?"

"She is the leader of the anti-faction movement," Shockwave pointed out, his headfins angled back as if annoyed that he had to explain this to the Prime. "Whether or not we have evidence that she sent the threatening messages, she is still our most likely suspect. And even if another member of the organization sent the messages, she should still be held responsible for the actions of her movement-"

"Organization?" Swift blurted. "We're not an organization… not really. Just a bunch of friends who had an idea…" Her voice trailed off as sudden realization hit.

"What is it?" asked Stormrunner, leaning forward curiously. "You know who might have done it? Was it the Stunticons' kid? He's a reckless sort."

"Terror-Byte's not THAT reckless," Swift countered. "But when were the messages sent?"

"Approximately 1850, according to Polyhex standard time," Shockwave replied.

Relief swept through her. "Then none of us could have sent it. At least, none of us in my friend group. We were all in Kaon at the time."

Shockwave's headfins pricked up. "Do you have an alibi?"

"Terminus of Kaon," she replied immediately. "And Valiant. They can vouch for us." She knew that didn't cover other members of their movement - there were too many of them by now to keep track of - but she hoped that would at least clear those closest to her. Except Uncle Swindle, but she figured that Onslaught was keeping him under close scrutiny at the moment and would be able to vouch for his innocence.

Stormrunner's wings dipped, and Swift realized that the Air Commander had been hoping for her innocence all along. "I can bring Valiant in for questioning, if it would help."

"Unnecessary," Soundwave replied. "Commencing contact with Terminus and Valiant." The blue mech's visor flickered for several seconds, then he nodded. "Contact: achieved. Terminus and Valiant confirm alibis of Swift and associates. Conclusion: Swift and associates not responsible for threats."

Shockwave leveled a long look at his Communications Officer, then vented a sigh. "Very well. Optimus Prime, has your CO been able to track down the source of the transmission?"

Prime shook his head. "Blaster and his cassettes are working on it as we speak. Perhaps if both our Communications Officers put their CPUs together, they would have better luck? This was a threat to both factions, after all."

"Indeed." Shockwave turned to the blue cassette-carrier. "Soundwave, once this meeting is over, contact Blaster and attempt to trace that transmission to its true source. Use voice recognition if nothing else works."

"As you command."

Shockwave turned back to Swift, and to her relief his headfins pricked up - not a happy expression, but at least a less suspicious and annoyed one. "It would seem you are no longer a suspect, Swift of Polyhex. Stormrunner, release her."

Swift felt her legs nearly buckle from relief as the black Seeker stepped forward and undid her cuffs. "I'm… I'm free to go, then?"

"Not yet," Stormrunner told her. "We wanted a final word with you regarding this… project."

Her tanks clenched again, and she forced herself to make optic contact with Shockwave. This was it, then - the moment he backpedaled on his support of their no-faction movement. Now that it had led to an actual threat of violence, he was going to demand that she shut the whole thing down. She wasn't sure she could handle that blow… nor was she even sure that it was in her power to call a halt to it anymore. The movement had gained momentum far beyond Polyhex now, and there was no recalling it.

To her surprise, it was Prime who spoke first. "What you've been doing, young femme, has taken a lot of courage. It's not easy standing up for what you believe in, even if everyone else thinks it's wrong. But as you've just found out, it's also a very quick way to make enemies."

Don't I know it, she thought, thinking back on her encounter with Sunflare and her cronies, and the junk-throwing rioters at the rally. "Yes, sir. Does… does this mean I need to shut down the no-faction movement?"

"Not at all," Prime replied. "Everyone should have the freedom to voice their opinion, even if it proves unpopular with the rest of Cybertron. But I want you to understand that freedom to speak and assemble doesn't mean freedom from risk or consequences. You and your friends are free to continue to champion your cause… but you need to be prepared for people to not like what you have to say, and to react to it in unpleasant ways. Don't give up your quest… but please, be safe as well."

"Optimus Prime and I will discuss this in further detail later," Shockwave added. "But at this time, my original decision still stands. We will take no action against your cause… but I am assigning a security detail to remain outside your home until the individual behind the threats is captured."

Swift's spark plummeted. "But if I'm not a suspect… why?"

"It's for your own safety, Swift," Stormrunner assured her, squeezing her hand. "If this mech's willing to frame you for a terrorist threat, then it's entirely possible that they'll go further to hurt you. Once they're caught, we'll recall the guards."

She supposed that made sense. "I… I'm not staying with my parents right now. I've been-"

"Parents: waiting in lobby," Soundwave informed her, then turned to Shockwave. "Permission to escort her to Glory and Blitzwing: requested."

"Request granted," Shockwave replied. "You're dismissed, Swift."

Swift just nodded dumbly, and she let Soundwave take her arm and lead her out of the room. Relief that she wasn't about to be charged for the bomb threats warred with shock that they had been so quick to let her go after her arrest. She'd half-expected a more brutal interrogation - not torture, but at the very least a much firmer questioning.

Soundwave waited until they were in the lift before breaking the silence, dropping his vocal modulation in the process. "We'll find them soon."

She believed that - with both factions' Communications Officers on their trail, whoever had called in the threats didn't have a hope of staying hidden for long. "Did they really think I'd make threats like that, though?"

"I never thought that," Soundwave replied. "Nor did Prime or Stormrunner. Shockwave considered you the most likely suspect, but was looking for proof that you weren't." A low chuckle. "He's more fond of the mechs who had once been students at his Academy than he wants to admit."

The thought of Shockwave being fond of anyone, let alone sparklings, baffled her. But if it meant she and her friends had a powerful protector on their side, who was she to complain? "How long has he known about the factionless cause?"

"Since the beginning," Soundwave replied. "Echo isn't as good at keeping secrets as he believes he is. I kept a close optic on your cause, and reported it to Shockwave as necessary."

Her faceplates flared with heat as they stepped out of the lift. Well… she should have realized that keeping anything secret from Soundwave was nearly impossible. At least he and the rest of Decepticon High Command seemed tolerant of their cause, if not exactly accepting. And Optimus Prime himself had spoken out in favor of their movement, even if as the Autobot Prime he couldn't directly support it. Perhaps their cause wasn't in as much danger as she had assumed.

The sight of two familiar mechs pacing the lobby of the base - a purple Seeker and a violet-and-gray triple-changer - made her freeze in her tracks. The memory of their argument and her fiery outburst returned with a vengeance, and suddenly she wished Shockwave had opted to keep her locked in a cell for a few days. She wasn't ready to face them again, not after lashing out so fiercely…

Soundwave clasped her shoulder. "Go. They have been worried about you."

Swift shuddered, then stepped forward. Glory spotted her right away and ran toward her, wrapping her arms around her daughter. It made for an awkward embrace - Glory's head didn't reach higher than Swift's chest - but evidently she didn't care.

"Swift! What happened? Are you okay? When Stormrunner told us you'd been arrested-"

"I'm fine, Mom," Swift assured her, hugging her back. "It was a misunderstanding, that's all."

"Some kinda bomb threat, she said," Blitzwing growled, moving in to hug Swift as well. "Who called it in? Who do I need to hunt down and punch?"

"Dad, no," Swift groaned. "No punching anyone."

Blitzwing grunted but released her. Glory held on for a few minutes longer, then let go and stepped back, her gaze never leaving her daughter.

"Swift… I'm sorry," she said at last, her voice tight. "Your father and I never meant to ignore you. We were so excited to get Vector Sigma access that we didn't stop to realize we had a child who still needed our love and support. And we never meant to treat you like you weren't important, or that what you wanted didn't matter."

"What your mom said," Blitzwing murmured - a phrase that, coming from her father, was pretty much the equivalent of a full-sparked confession of apology.

Swift had thought of any number of vicious retorts for any apology her parents could have given… but all of them melted from her CPU. She simply sank down onto the nearest bench, struggling to hold back a sob.

"Aw, kid…" Blitzwing hurriedly sat next to her, rubbing her back with one hand. "Hey… we're here. Promise. We're not gonna leave you. Not even for a new kid."

"I'm sorry," she blurted, covering her face with her hands. "I'm sorry I blew up… I'm sorry I didn't come home… I didn't mean to hurt you guys…"

"You were hurting," Glory told her, sitting at her other side. "Mechs who are hurting often lash out and hurt other people. But your father and I are tough. And… and we know that a lot of what you said, we deserved." She rested a hand on Swift's arm. "Swift… I'm so, so sorry. I said a lot of things that were uncalled for too. And… and if you felt like you couldn't tell me about you and your friends' factionless cause, then I did something wrong. I never wanted you to feel like you couldn't tell me something… but it happened anyway."

Swift sobbed again and wiped her face. "You guys fought in the war… you fought for the Decepticons. You lost family and friends. You had a right to be upset."

Glory squeezed her arm. "Upset, yes… but I had no right to lash out at you like I did. Just because your father and I fought in the war doesn't mean we expect you to keep fighting it."

Blitzwing took her other hand in his. "You're always gonna be our sparkling, Swift. No matter what. Having another kid in the house ain't gonna change that. Sorry we made you think otherwise in all the fuss."

Swift wiped at the fresh wave of cleanser that flooded her optics. "I… I love you both. So much." She pushed herself to her feet. "Should we go home?"

"If you feel up to coming home with us," Glory replied as Blitzwing led the way to the doors. "Wildfire's been frantic, by the way. He keeps pacing the house and repeating your name, demanding to know if you're safe."

Swift's tanks clenched, remembering something else she had screamed at her parents in her fit of anger. Her mother had been willing to let go of her beloved childhood pet for Swift - she could be an adult and give him up in turn for her younger sibling. "He… he's going to make a good bodyguard for my little sibling, isn't he?"

Glory gave a soft chuckle. "I don't know… Wildfire seems pretty attached to you, and you to him. We just may have to commission another drone for your little sibling-"

Swift yelped as she walked straight into Blitzwing, who had stopped in his tracks the moment they'd walked out the doors of the base. He stumbled but didn't take his gaze off the mech who waited outside… though it wasn't a gaze so much as it was a malevolent glare.

"That's him, isn't it?" he demanded.

Cold dread chilled Swift's core. She'd hoped to have more time to prepare for a meeting between her parents and Terminus. The silver mech, for his part, looked at the trio with a storm of emotions on his faceplates - relief, confusion, and, to her surprise, regret.

"Who-" Glory began.

"The guy who's been stalking you!" Blitzwing snarled. "Astro told me about him!" He stormed forward, fists clenched.

"Dad, no!" Swift charged after him, spark blazing with panic. She'd forgotten all about the day Astrotrain had picked her up at the Rustbucket after she and Harmony had fled their "stalker." And she hadn't even stopped to think that Astrotrain would report that incident to her parents, especially after she'd gone missing.

Terminus stepped forward, mouth open to greet Blitzwing… only to duck to the side, optics flaring with shock, as the triple-changer took a swing at his head. Blitzwing growled and struck again, and this time Terminus grunted and doubled over as he took the blow to his abdomen.

"Stay away from my daughter, you freak!" he raged.

"Dad!" Swift grabbed his arm, struggling to pull him back. "Dad, stop! He's not going to hurt me!"

"Fraggin' right he's not," Blitzwing growled. "Because I'll rip his lasercore out and make him eat it if he ever so much as looks at you again!"

Terminus straightened, one hand over the dents in his abdominal plate. "Ah… I take it… you've made up with your family, Swift," he groaned.

"What's going on here?" Glory demanded. "Who are you? How do you know our daughter?" Her fingers flexed, and Swift could hear the soft click of her armblades twitching in their sheaths, ready to slide out at a moment's notice.

"Mom, Dad, please back off," Swift pleaded. "This is Terminus of Kaon… and he's my spark-father."

Glory and Blitzwing stared at her, optics and visor blazing with shock. Terminus, for his part, backed up a step, as if concerned that one or both of them would come after him with renewed anger at that announcement.

"He… he was just trying to re-establish contact is all," Swift went on, knowing full well how lame her words sounded even to her own audials. "He's okay, really."

"How long have you been in contact with him?" Glory asked. Her voice had softened, but Swift could still sense the undercurrent of anger and hurt.

"I only learned who he was right after I… I left home," Swift replied. "He let me stay at his place."

Blitzwing growled. "I don't trust him. Some mech shows up claiming to be your real dad right after we have a fight? Sounds suspicious to me."

"Dad!" Swift exclaimed. "Seriously, why does everyone not trust him?"

"I'm not denying that he might be your spark-father," Glory told her, "but it still seems suspect. Especially if he's tried to convince you not to contact us."

"He hasn't!" Swift insisted. "I mean, he hasn't told me not to contact you…"

Terminus raised his hands and took another step back. "Swift, enough."

Blitzwing rounded on the silver mech again, clenching his jaw. "Don't you tell my daughter what to do!"

Terminus shook his head. "It's obvious she already has a father in her life. It would be entirely wrong of me to take that from her. Swift… I'm grateful that I got to see you again, and have that reassurance that you were alive and well. And I'm thankful for the time we had to get to know one another, however short it was."

Swift's spark twisted in its chamber. "D- Terminus, you don't have to leave-"

"It's for the best." He nodded at Glory and Blitzwing. "Thank you for taking care of her. I'm in your debt. Just remember that she's precious, and don't let disagreements come between you." He lowered his hands and turned to walk away.

"But…" Swift's protest died in her vocalizer. She watched Terminus go, optics burning, emotion churning in her spark. She'd only known her spark-father for a few days, and she'd already lost him again.

Glory squeezed her hand. "Swift…"

She pulled her hand free. "Let's go home."

"Swift, we didn't mean-" Glory protested.

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped. "Let's just go home."

"Yeah, let's," Blitzwing agreed. "And I'm telling Astro and Octane and Steelwing to keep an optic out for that fragger. If he comes near our family again we'll-"

"Blitzwing, not NOW," Glory snapped. "We'll talk about this more at home."

Swift remained silent as the three of them made their way to the transit station, not looking at either of her parents as they stepped aboard the train. First the attack at the rally, then the fight with her parents, then her arrest, and now this… was the universe determined to make sure everything in her life went sour just as she thought things would work out?