A/N Dear Readers: The result of the challenge lays before you, a great many thanks to the Author Xireana Prime for creating not one, but two chapters worth of material! We start with the challenge prompting, which is to say the ¼ of a chapter that refused to carry on for me.

**Also, (03/08/17) as I took a gander around I noted that I seem to have neglected to publish ~⅔ of chapter 214, if you go back there I have it re-chapterized now... sorry about that.

Here we go...

Chapter 215 - The Wayward Wind

(ChPOV)

Chance had never been a watcher of clocks, he'd decided early on that the watching of the clock succeeded only in slowing the second-hand until each interval became interminable. Now he was utterly certain of it. Chance had everything finished: the reports were in, his latest batch of juniors all knew what they were doing, and there weren't any shipments due today.

In his mind's eye those violet eyes just watched him, gazed as longly toward him as he to her - and that blasted, cursed spindle just lurched and paused, lurched and stopped to glare hatefully at him as he waited for the sound of her engines.

Chance idly reached up and brushed the bars Lennox had stuck on his collar, then snorted softly. Chance was not a watcher of clocks, even the watch strapped to his wrist was barely spared a glance at the best of times; he'd been busted down and bounced around quite regularly for that. It was official now. He'd been a NEST officer longer than he'd stayed on any other base, because Will was the only higher-up who'd taken his insomnia and tendency to pass out in random locales perfectly in stride.

Then of course when put beside the giant sentient alien robots… Chance glanced at Ratchet and shrugged, he'd slipped through the cracks; he was fine with that.

Chance had never been a watcher of clocks, but now even the minute, high-pitched ticking on his wrist reached his ears; echoing the clock on the wall as it mocked him and Firelight's optics watched him.

All the while, his back itched.

Ratchet was watching him, the medic hadn't stopped watching him since he'd meandered into the med-bay precisely an hour after the bot's return from the seminars trying as inconspicuously as possible to spot his personal canister. No mean feat for a mere human: They were visibly identical.

"Chance!" Ratchet barked. Chance jumped, turning from his contemplation of the clock to look at the medic - the medic holding his canister out toward him! Chance grinned and immediately jogged toward the mech.

"I don't even have to beg?" he demanded brightly.

"Shirt off," Ratchet commanded gruffly in reply. Chance rolled his eyes and stripped his jacket, shirt and undershirt off; idly folding and tossing them onto the foot of the med-berth the holoform blinked into being beside.

"If you say pants and shorts I'm slugging your holoform," Chance stated amicably. Ratchet rolled his eyes - both sets - and reached out with the holo; poking at the tattoos which had popped out of nowhere.

"Nothing new up top," Ratchet grunted. "They're healing to set, rather than the rejected burns Kae'd have all down her arms… have any shown up on your legs?"

Chance blinked, pulled his eyes away from the clock, attended his belt, then dropped his pants - intently scrutinizing his own legs.

"I don't see any, do you?"

"No," Ratchet frowned, turning him and poking at the marks again.

"What's got you so fixated on these things?" Chance protested with a frown. "What could a handful of characters possibly say to get this reaction?"

"That's the point, I don't know what they say…" Ratchet trailed off with a frown, scowling at the marks on his chest with a hand straying to cover his holoformatic mouth in much the same way Kae had as a stumped human.

"You have an eidetic memory, why do you still need my shirt off?" Chance asked curiously, slowly crouching toward his pants with the thought of tugging them back up. Ratchet's proper form idly handed the harness to the holoform, neither glancing at the other.

"I needed to be sure that the processor which blew didn't corrupt my scan results," Ratchet grumbled irritably, the holo silently holding the canister out. Chance obediently kicked his boots and pants off the rest of the way and held his arms out. He flinched slightly as the typically inanimate straps reached for him of their own accord; the nanites dissolving the canister the instant those straps had connected themselves.

"New coding?" Chance asked in a slightly strained tone - Ratchet always double-checked the fit of the harness before activating it. "I don't think the less-seasoned bodies on this base are going to be too happy about it…"

"No," Ratchet frowned, the eyes of the holo narrowed suspiciously as the itchy tingle of another Ratchet scan crossed Chance's senses.

"If you really want to speed the process of suiting us up you could always let us activate it ourselves," Chance commented tentatively as Ratchet scanned him again.

"I didn't activate your suit," Ratchet scowled. "And now I'm not entirely certain I can de-activate your suit…"

"Way to spare a bloke's nerves," Chance grumbled at the medic as his suit settled comfortably into the uniform he'd been wearing a few minutes ago.

"You have the steadiest nerves of the entire NEST base by virtue of being certifiably insane at the outset," Ratchet grumbled at him.

"I thought you said you disagreed with the last shrink," Chance stated in a hurt tone; the super-advanced alien medic challenging the psychologist's reports on his behalf had been a highlight of his year.

"Because he wrote in your file that you are manic, and I have now had opportunity to study several sparks of those afflicted. You do not suffer any form of total psychosis or delusion, it's just your self-preservation circuits which were haphazardly wired; combined with a recurring chemical imbalance causing your insomnia," Ratchet shrugged offhandedly, turning back to the bundle of twisted wires and struts on his workbench.

"Have you told Will?" Chance asked in a sinking tone.

"Of course."

"I'm going to be busted back down and stripped of my wings again, aren't I," Chance stated dejectedly.

"Of course not."

"How are you so sure of that?"

"He gave you your grounder captaincy after having received my report. Your self-preservation is essentially non-existent, however you hold no delusion of grandeur, nor indifference toward innocent lives. You are certifiable, but neither malicious nor suicidal, thus not a credible threat."

"Meaning?"

"When you die it will in all likelihood be upside-down in a fireball of glory; yet the only casualties will be you, your enemies, and a multitude of marine organisms. Your insanity is that of the flier's creed; coupled with your high levels of data acquisition and retention-ability: The loss of your skill outweighs the eventual loss of a non-sentient aircraft."

Chance critically regarded the straight-faced medic for a long moment before shrugging agreement and looking back up at the clock again.

"The human fascination with external chronometers never fails to astonish and amuse me," Ratchet commented as the hands continued their tortuously slow journey.

"We don't have internal chronometers," Chance retorted distractedly, glowering at the ticking spindle; willing it to move more quickly, and succeeding only in slowing it's progress.

"No, your species have circadian chronometers, yet instead of listening to that internalized chronometer you insist on depending upon the pulsation of a crystal powered by a source which begins dying the moment it's engaged."

"Stop reminding me," Chance grumbled, never ceasing his vigil over that blighted clock. Then suddenly, the hint of a sound - the sound of jet aircraft and the certainty that Firelight was near.

"That's just Kae coming in to take Annabelle away from the safety of the ground," Ratchet grumbled after him, but Chance paid the medic no heed, scrambling to the yellow line as Kae delicately landed on her toes.

"Sorry flyboy, I already have a passenger," the femme informed him, but Chance essentially ignored the mechanical form of the young woman he still considered a sister, instead watching the sky with absolute certainty; a desperate hope justified as the distinct sound of her engines drifted toward him, and Kae stepped lightly into the main hangar, signalling the klaxon to warn his comrades out of danger.

Then she landed, and nothing else mattered.

"You made it!" Chance shouted excitedly, pelting toward the femme as she knelt down and lightly picked him up in extraordinarily careful hands.

"Of course I made it," the femme laughed sweetly, rising and cradling him lightly adjacent to her spark.

"You repainted! How'm I supposed to keep my single tiny processor from shorting out when you just look more beautiful every time I see you?" Chance asked the femme teasingly.

"Do you like it?" Firelight asked hopefully, looking down at her armour demurely.

"I love it, you look spectacular in red; really you just look spectacular no matter what you're wearing," Chance expounded grandly, making a show of eying the femme up and down as she blushed with pleasure.

"Are you free from your duties yet?" Firelight asked hopefully, glancing at the sky and his suit as it morphed into it's flight mode.

"Free and clear," Chance stated with a broad grin.

"Who'd you kill to manage that?" Firelight asked worriedly.

"Nobody," Chance stated earnestly. "Inventory and paperwork take absolutely no precedence over a beautiful femme and Ratchet knows it."

Firelight laughed and launched herself into the sky, transforming around him as his suit lightly integrated with her systems.

"Where shall we go?" Firelight asked him curiously.

"Wherever you want beautiful," Chance replied euphorically, gently guiding the harness Firelight was delicately endeavouring to wrap around him.

"You were borne to this planet, where did you come online?" Firelight asked with innocent curiosity.

"In Australia," Chance replied immediately.

"Where the Auto-bot common base is being built?"

"That's the continent," Chance nodded.

"Will you give me a tour?"

"Of the base? I don't think Gouge has an entrance carved out yet…"

"No, of the place you came online."

"I absolutely will," Chance stated earnestly, grinning as Firelight gracefully dipped and twirled in the air, meandering toward his home continent - time irrelevant as the waters of the ocean glittered and danced beneath them.

A/N And now Boys bots and Femmes, the commencement of the Winning entry by Xireana Prime and added to the saga with many many thanks!

As Firelight flew to Australia, she suddenly realized something. "Flyboy?"

"Hm?" Chance hummed, curious as to what she wanted.

"What is the place you came online called?"

Chance blinked before slapping himself in the forehead.

"Chance?!" Firelight exclaimed. Alarmed at his reaction to her inquiry.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just kicking myself for not telling you," he gave a chuckle. "I live in Brisbane. My family owns a ranch off the coast of the Lake Samsonvale." He blinked. "How am I going to be able to give you a tour? I thought your holoforms only last after a couple hundred feet or so?"

"A femme never reveals her secrets..." Chance could feel the smirk. Which made him give one in return.

"Sure I can't convince you otherwise?"

"Nope!" She chirped.

"Femmes!" the soldier groaned, he then crossed his arms and pouted.

This in turn made Firelight laugh at him. "So… Tell me about your family? What are your parental units like? Do you have any siblings? How many and what are their names?"

"Whoa there Beu, one at a time! I've only got one processor running!" He laughed. Her excitement for wanting to know about his family warmed his spark… heart. Chance shook his head at the revelation: Clearly, he had begun to use more bot slang than human terms; the proof? He'd used it in his own head to refer to himself. Getting back to the subject at hand, the lieutenant continued. "Well I've got a bit of a large family: there's my grandparents, my parents, my three older brothers and my little sister."

"Must be nice having a big family." Firelight murmured.

Chance hummed. "Sometimes..."

Hearing a sad tone to his voice, she was going to inquire what was wrong when he suddenly exclaimed: "Hey Beu! Lookie there! Sydney and the grand Amphitheatre."

Firelight looked in the direction he had been pointing and sure enough there was a soaring white construction on the edge of the land and ocean. It was a very pleasant picture, Firelight took a quick holo-capture of it before turning and heading onto their main course. Not too long after, a voice came up on the comm.

"Unidentified flier, this is Brisbane Air tower. Identify yourself, over."

"I got this," Chance hooked into the comm. "Brisbance Air Tower this is Airforce fCaptain Chance Taun Daniels and Aerialbot Firelight requesting permission to land."

A few minutes later a voice came over the comm. "Alright mates, go on ahead to runway three and be mindful of da wrinklies eh? Don't want them to be push'en daisies."

Chance gave a belly laugh. "Good on ya mate! Consider the wrinklies weeded."

Firelight then laughed at Chance. "Wrinklies?"

"Oh, uh… just some aussie slang for elderly people," he snorted.

She hummed in understanding as she prepared to land, scanning the runways for elderly humans wandering where they really oughtn't be. She was planning to show Chance her secret. Firelight was unsure if it was a good idea… but seeing how their femme Prime was the same… then she thought it would be fine.

Firelight came to a quiet landing and opened up the cockpit for Chance so he could climb out.

Chance gave a soft pat to her dash board and hopped out to greet the Airport employee.

"G'day mate!"

The man blinked before he laughed. "Ow ya goin', you right?"

"We're right, coming home ta see the old dears."

"That right? Well cheerio mates!"

Firelight then popped up her holoform next to Chance. "Is everything alright?" she asked quietly.

Chance turned to answer her but was struck speechless.

There stood the most gorgeous Sheila he'd ever seen. She was a head shorter then him with a slim body build, like that of a ballerina. She wore a long sleeved turtle neck sweater in sliver and red. Skinny blue jeans with slim engineer boots. Her hair was cut in a feather soft pixie style of a crimson shade that was winged back.

Her eyes though. Her eyes of amethyst purple grabbed his human spark and squeezed it until he remembered he had to breath. Taking a deep breath, Chance smiled her.

"Aw Bluy, you'll make me faint if you get anymore beautiful," he watched as Firelight's face lit up at his compliment. "So will you be revealing your femme secret to me yet?" Chance teasingly pried.

Firelight merely smiled and watched Chance's facial expressions as she began to transform into her alt mode, a second time.

Chance had only a few seconds before he saw Firelight do something with her alt-mode. As he observed her, he quickly figured out that she was turning into a ground type vehicle, but once she was done he was floored by her choice in alt mode.

Firelight's grounder form was that of an Apollo Arrow! Crimson red and very aerodynamic.

"Shall we be heading off now, Flyboy?" the femme quietly inquired, amethyst eyes watching him innocently.

Chance still was speechless, but was able to give a nod.

Going through Brisbane was an enjoyable time. It had been so long since he had been home, Chance forgot the majority of the fun things to do. Firelight didn't mind. She was there to spend time with Chance and get to know his family, not play games with strange humans.

Not too long after getting off the highway, they turned onto a dirt road that was well worn. To one side a large lake could be seen.

Chance smiled wistfully as he looked out towards the lake. "Me'n my Brothers had great time here. Mainly cat fishing."

"Cat...fishing? Why would you want to hunt cats? Aren't they….what was it called….a..a pet!" Firelight inquired.

"Oh no, this is a different animal. See, a catfish is a type of aquatic animal the dwells on the bottom of lakes and rivers. They're good eatin' when prepared right," He answered. Looking back through Firelight's windshield, he spots his child hood home.

It was very rustic looking. Chickens were running about the side yard coop. A dog sleeping on the porch with and old man reading what looked like a newspaper in an old rocking chair.

The old man looked up at them upon hearing Firelight's engine. He stood up and had a hand on his old side arm. Always wary about new-comers.

Chance sat a hand on Firelight's shoulder. "No worries, I got this." He then stepped out of her alt-mode.

"G'day Pops!"

The old man blinked. "Chance? You Blue suite! Come over here and let me have a look at ya!" Chance stood there and let his grandfather look him over. "You turned into a strappin lad!" He then spotted the rank on his shoulders. "What dis? Captain Lieutenant?"

"On the ground I'm a N.E.S.T. Lieutenant, but in the air I'm still an Aussie Airforce captain," the young man chuckled.

"Overachiever!" the Veteran snorted. "That's what y'are! Now mind tell'en me about the fancy wheel ye has? Not to mention the shy Shelia."

Chance motioned for Firelight to come out.

"Pops, I'd like you to meet Firelight, the most gorgeous flier in N.E.S.T." Chance stated with a dreamy smile at the femme.

The femme in question blushed at his words. "Just flattery. Greetings, Elder of my comrade. I am Neutral Flyer Firelight. It is wonderful to know you."

The old vet saluted the young femme. "Former Gunnery Sargent Abraham Daniels. You can call me Pops or Abe, Miss."

"At ease Pops, came here to get away from all the pomp and circumstance. How's Ba Noi? I heard she had a bad fall a few months back." Chance's face went from fun-loving to concerned.

The old man snorted. "Don't you worry about Vo Yeu, she's more stubborn than a gator with a chicken."

Suddenly, the sound of a woman's voice could be heard, it was calling out in a dialect which Firelight immediately cross indexed in the Autobot's data packet of earth's cultures, identifying it as Vietnamese.

"Chong Dang Kihn, why are you comparing me to a con quai vat nouc again?"

Out walked a tiny asian woman; her greying hair caught in a bun, and clad in a purple summer Ao Dai. She walked with what looked to be a beautifully crafted wooden cane with what appeared to be alligators on it.

Abe turned to smile at the woman. "Because Vo Yeu, you can be just as terrifying," he replied in the same.

The woman cackled at his reply before turning to the young couple.

"Chau Trai Douc Yeu Men, it is good to see you again. Come give your Ba Noi a hug," she said with a smile.

Chance gave a grin. He went over and bent down to give the older woman a hug. "I'm glad you're okay Ba Noi. I would have come sooner but, things were very… interesting back state wise."

Firelight was very curious about the older woman. In just the few moments with which she had observed her, the matriarch reminded her a great deal of the femme prime. The young flyer was startled from her thoughts when Chance lead his elder femme towards her.

"Ba Noi, there is someone special I'd like you to meet."

Firelight could feel her holoform's cheeks flush with simulated blood. The closer the two came the more she could see. The woman before her had once been a warrior if the scars on her face were anything to go by. The ones across her nose and on her cheek were thin, most likely made with a blade of some sort.

But it was her optics that confirmed it.

The old femme's optics held her's, judging her very spark. The cool green eyes - so unusual for those of Asian decent - looked into her amethyst ones. They stood there for a minute, but it felt like vorns for young Firelight.

Just as suddenly at the scrutinization began, the elder smiled. "Oh Chau Trai Douc Yeu Men, you found a good con gai, keep her well," She turned to Firelight. "Greetings to you little Vu Tren Bau Troi. I am Chau Lanh-Phong. You can call me Ba Noi. I have a strong feeling: we'll be seeing much of you in the future."

Firelight watched as the old femme reached for her Sparkmate's arm. He already had it out for her to grasp as the two lead the way into the ranch house.

Firelight looked to Chance with a deeply confused and worried look on her holoform's face as she stood at the portal to the matriarch's shelter. The matriarch had welcomed her upon their territory, but not into their dwelling…

"Its alright Firelight, I've seen my grandmother stare others down much like she did you today," Chance stated soothingly. Firelight walked toward his beckoning arm and shivered slightly.

"It...it felt like she was judging my spark. To have such a gaze..."

Chance sighed, holding her to his side for a moment to comfort her. "I apologize for her frightening you. I'm so used to her doing that to everyone in the family, that I forgot that her eyes can intimidate other people as well."

"She reminds me of Archangel Prime. An older, much wiser Prime," Firelight quietly laughed.

Chance hummed. "You know, now that I think about it. She does. Maybe that's why I was so comfortable around Kae when I first met her. She reminded me of a younger version of my Ba Noi..."

From within the house Abe's voice was heard.

"Aye you youngins going to come in or stay outside? The rest of the fam are waiting for ya!"

Chance snickered. "I don't know, it wonderful weather out here…" he called back tauntingly.

"Chance Taun Daniels, you get your hide in her this inside before I send your brother after you!" said a woman's stern voice.

Laughter could be heard - mostly male laughter. "Come on ma! Let us go embarrass our baby brother!"

"You stay right where you are!" the woman's voice commanded in tones touched with amusement.

Chance shook his head and grinned. "Come off it! We're coming. No need to get my uniform dirty," he called back, then led Firelight into his childhood home.

Inside, Firelight could see a vast number of holo stills of the family. Some black and white, others single coloured and those after it were coloured like a normal holo still. She saw lamps, and some couches which had four people siting on them - not including Chance's Grand Parental units.

Three of them were male, The lone female quickly stood up and rushed over to Chance. "My Baby boy!"

Firelight lightly stepped to the side so she wouldn't be struck by the emotional femme.

The woman had greying blond hair that almost looked silver; she had Blue eyes like Chance and a smile of the same caliber.

"It's so good that your home! After what happened in Chicago-!" She then sobbed into her youngest son's chest.

Feeling extremely guilty for not calling them after the ordeal, Chance tightened his hold on his mother.

"I'm sorry ma. So much has happened back at base, that I haven't had the time to think how the family was feeling after that. I promise when-if! If that happens again, I'll make sure to tell you all that I'm okay."

Chance's mother stepped back and sniffled as she wiped away her tears. The second oldest male came over and wrapped an arm around the femme. He had darker blue eyes and pepper coloured hair. He was tall. Just as tall as her Chance.

"You better! I still have half a mind to tan your hide for making your mother cry!" The man stated.

Chance stood at attention. "Yes sir!"

His father snorted. "At ease son. No need for that."

Chance rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry Dad. Tone an all..." He cleared his throat, turning back to her. "Um, well I guess I should introduce you to everyone, eh?"

He stepped next to Firelight and sat a hand on her waist. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Firelight."

His father smiled. "Hello, Firelight. I'm Alfred Bihn Daniels and this is my wife Maria."

Maria smiled at Firelight before giving her a hug. "It's wonderful to meet you dear. I'm sorry for my water works earlier."

Confused at the term she quickly looked it up and gave a look of understanding to her Chance's mother. "It's fine ma'am. I have had that happen to me a time or two myself recently."

Chance gave Firelight a concerned look. "Bluy?"

Firelight patted Chance's chest softly. "I'm fine now. No worries, Flyboy."

"Awe! They already got nicknames for each other!" Said the man with a green hoodie on. He looked more like Ba Noi then the other males did. Minus Alfred.

Maria turned back to glare at the man. "Ben! Stop Teasing your brother and his girlfriend!"

"Aw, Ma! I haven't done it in so long!" he turned to the young 'assumed' couple. "I'm Benjamin Hung Daniels. You can call me Ben! Everyone else does!" He chirped.

The man who looked like Chance's clone but with dark brown hair sighed as he slapped Ben upside the head. "You're older then us, Ben. Act like it for once in your life." He turned to Chance. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm Chance's twin Leonardo QuYen Daniels. Leo's just fine though. I'm the better looking, older twin."

"By five minutes!" Chance retorted.

"Yet I'm still the better looking one," he stated with a sly smirk.

Maria stood with her hands on her hips. "I birthed both your butts and I can tan them both as well!"

Both twins stood straight up. "Yes ma'am!"

"Not here twenty minutes and already at each others necks. What does it take for you two to get along?" Alfred sighed.

Firelight looked between the twins for a moment. "Sorry Leo, but Chance is better looking," she gave him an apologetic smile and leaned into Chance's side.

This made everyone on the room laugh.

Chance looked around and saw that his eldest brother was missing.

"Dad, wheres Adrian? I thought him and his wife would be here," Chance frowned.

The room got real quiet.

Chance looked to his mom who looked close to tears. "Ma?"

"Chance… Lydia… Lydia passed away three months ago," His father quietly stated.

Chance's eyes grew wide. "How…?"

"Apparently Lydia had a brain tumour that went un-diagnosed for a long time. She had a really bad head ache and went to sleep it off. She never woke up," Leo answered this time.

"How's he taking it?" Chance asked in a sinking tone, unconsciously holding Firelight's holo tightly. Firelight looked up at Chance and readjusted herself slightly to better support him.

"A hell of a lot more than Lilly," Ben replied.

"Poor Hoa Nho. She was the one to find her…" Ba Noi added, leaning close to Abe. Firelight put a hand on her throat as Ba Noi spoke - a hatchling had been the one to find her offline creator…

"How's the sparking holding on?" Firelight quietly asked.

Maria sniffled. "She's such a sweet girl. She tries everything to make Adrian smile - but all he does is push her away."

"Usually after he does that, she runs out back and hides in Pop's old dune buggy. And she'll talk to her fairy doll for hours," Leo replied.

Chance was about to say something before he turned his head as though noting movement in his peripherals. He motioned for everyone to be quiet as he stealthily followed the movement, Firelight immediately covering his back. As he turned the corner, he saw a door partly cracked and looked inside. He saw his brother staring at a picture frame and his niece on her knees trying to get his attention.

To be continued...