I LIVE!

Sorry for the wait, college has been more than a little hectic. But I finally finished this chapter.

Been waiting quite a while to bring these characters into the fold. I've mentioned a few times that Silver was bullied at her high school, but never really showed any of their personalities, so this should explain a lot why she only once tried to fight back.

Also, thanks to The Symbiote (Guest), who gave me a key idea for this chapter. Heads-up, I tried to research what I could about the characters you suggested, but sorry if their backstory/personality is a little different.

Enjoy!

"Bullying builds character the way nuclear waste creates superpowers: rare and often does more damage than good."

- Unknown

Chapter Twenty-Three: Class of Cybertron

"After the Exodus, we were left hopping from rock to rock," Firestar explained, "'Til we picked up a huge surge of unknown energy from this marble and decided to check it out. But we weren't the only ones."

Lunova nodded, "A Decepticon ship drove ours out of the sky, capturing one of our own in the process."

"We managed to escape because Ratchet bridged us to your base," Trailblaze folded his arms, "But I coulda easily taken those 'Cons on."

Ratchet rolled his optics and continued typing at the computer, "I see you haven't outgrown your arrogance."

I was still trying to process what was happening. Even orns later, I was struggling to face them.

"S-So...you're all part of Team Prime now?" I asked, selfishly hoping for the answer to be no.

"Guess so," Firestar stated, placing her servos on her hips, "At least until our ship's repaired."

"Cool," I nodded and tried to force myself to stay calm.

"Could you help us fix it?" Lunova said hopefully, "You always were pretty smart back in school."

"Yeah, 'smart' was never one of the words used to describe me..." I said quietly under my breath.

Trailblaze laughed and rolled his optics, "Aw, c'mon. You must've gotten over that by now. Especially after what you did to Fire-"

"Blaze," She shot him a partial glare, immediately shutting him up. She then looked back at me, "Look, about all that stuff we did. We were young and stupid."

I tried to shrug it off casually, "Forget about it. He's right anyway. Why am I still hooked on this? It was ages ago."

Lunova tilted her helm, "Y-You're sure?"

I nodded, "Yeah, i-it's fine. Really."

I really was a terrible liar.

"Yes, yes," Ratchet mumbled, "Now that the little reunion is done, would you three mind picking up the humans from school? It will give you a chance to get to know the area."

Trailblaze groaned in annoyance, "Do I look like a babysitter?"

Firestar gave him a serious look, "Blaze, we all have to put in curbside duty." She momentarily glanced at me, "We'll have to catch up later, Silver."

I nodded and put on a fake smile, "L-Looking forward to it."

As the three transformed and departed for Jasper, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Of all the 'bots that could've arrived in our hour of need...

Bumblebee gazed at me with a concerned expression, "So, what was that all about?"

I shrugged, "Just...'bots I knew from Prax Academy."

Ratchet scoffed as he continued monitoring the computer, "That's quite literally the nicest way you can put it."

He was right. Everything they did...it was a whole lot more than 'just joking'. But we were currently facing a much bigger problem. I wasn't about to create a rift in the team when we needed more Autobots on our side.

Lunova and Trailblaze seemed to have barely changed at all. But Firestar? I was unsure.

Even though she was mean, she was always so outgoing and bold. A part of me envied her for being so fearless. Now, she seemed much more reserved. And I didn't really know what to think.

--

No One's POV . . .

"If this second space bridge is to work, I will need more than a primitive human 'battery'," Megatron growled, overlooking the progress on the portal from the screen in the central control room, "And I let the perfect power source slip through my digits. Which is why your arrival is of great solace to me."

He turned back to face the new group of familiar faces. Four in total.

Two mechs stood side by side, one purple, one blue. They bore a strong resemblance to a certain former SIC seeker, though with more brawn to their frames. Both stood with their arms folded, grinning to one another.

Beside them stood a femme, also a seeker. Her sleek frame was violet with streaks of turquoise. She seemed to be paying attention to the Decepticon leader.

Finally, at the end was a mech who stood solemn and silent, staring off into a empty corner. His black frame bore only small hints of blue and white.

"We're dubbed bounty hunters now, huh?" Skywarp smirked to his brother.

Thundercracker returned the expression, "There're worse titles, I guess."

"Forgive their incompetence, Lord Megatron," Slipstream glared at the two out of the corner of his optic, "We are fully capable of retrieving whatever device it is that the Autobots have stolen."

Megatron shook his helm, "It is no device, Lieutenant. The power source I seek is among the Autobots themselves. An Enhanced. Had I known what strength she possessed when in our captivity, she never would've been allowed off of this ship." He sighed, "But alas, I must now enlist your help."

He paused for a moment, glancing over to the black and white mech, "You are quieter than I remember, Barricade. Tell me, do you believe your team to be up to this task?"

The mech ceased glaring into empty space. He stared at Megatron through shuddering red optics.

"We killed plenty of those freaks before the Exodus," He stated bluntly, "Capturing one'll be like taking energon from a cyberfox. All I need is a name."

--

Silver's POV . . .

The dark energon was now completely out of my system, but that didn't take away the fear. Knowing what I'd almost done...I couldn't look Arcee in the optic.

Ratchet put me under observation until he was sure the effects were over. I couldn't blame him for it.

As for the others, tension was still high regarding Optimus' disappearance. When he gave up the matrix, he gave up a part of himself along with it. There was apparently a way to get him back if we commandeered the Decepticon's space bridge to Cybertron. Even that was a long shot.

And the 'new recruits'? I'd done everything I could to keep my distance from them. They were apparently leaving after their ship was repaired, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relieved. Not even Arcee knew the full story about what happened at Prax, and I intended to keep it that way.

Today was fairly quiet. Ratchet and Bulkhead were on a mission, Arcee and Bee were picking up the kids and the 'rookies' (as Arcee called them) were sparring in the training room.

I sat quietly at the med-bay desk, trying to fix a datapad that Trailblaze had smashed. He really hadn't changed since school.

"Afternoon, Sunny!" Speaking of which.

Quickly lifting my helm up, I saw him striding towards me from the hallway. The purple and orange mech had a smirk on his face, as always. I tried to be friendly.

I was slightly wary, "Um hi, Trailblaze. Do you need something?"

"No. Training got boring," Trailblaze walked over to where I was sitting, leaning on the desk, "So, what're you working on here?"

"Well, I..." I wasn't exactly sure of what to say, "I'm just fixing this."

"Huh. For a change?"

I cracked a small smile, "Yeah. I know. Nerd back then, nerd now."

I went back to what I was doing, hoping he'd get the hint, but his optics were still on me. Not wanting to be too rude about it, I just kept working with the uncomfortable proximity.

"Hey," He spoke in a serious tone, "No hard feelings, right?"

Was it that simple? Say 'no hard feelings' and all the pain he and the others caused me just disappeared like that?

I didn't think so, but at the same time there were bigger issues at base to worry about. I couldn't start causing trouble for something that happened orns ago.

"Um...sure," I eventually said.

"Cool," He spoke before the silence could take over again, "So...you wanna try again?"

I raised an optic ridge at him in confusion, "Try what again?"

He smirked smugly, "I mean, that kiss was pretty great."

I wanted to scream at him. 'Pretty great'? That's all he remembered about it?

"Trailblaze, I..." I could barely think of something appropriate to say, "You kissed me as a prank. You knew it. The whole school knew it."

"Well, yeah, that time was a joke," He laughed, almost in disbelief that I'd turned him down, "C'mon, I thought you were over that."

Yeah. He really hadn't changed.

My mouth hung open as I struggled for the right thing to say, like 'Frag no'. Luckily I didn't have to respond as the communications link turned on.

"Silver Sun, please bridge us back," Ratchet's stern voice echoed from the main computer.

I instantly shot from my seat and headed for the ground bridge controls, eager to get away from Trailblaze. But I could still feel his optics on me. The portal spun to life. Ratchet and Bulkhead walked through, unknowing of what had just happened.

"A-Anything?" I asked, ignoring Blaze.

Ratchet headed straight for the computer, "We may have a location. It's likely we'll need to act fast in order to secure the space bridge."

I nodded, "I'll call the others."

--

Vector Sigma. At school, we were taught it was only a myth. Now, it was our last hope for returning Optimus to the leader we knew.

"Whoa, hold up," Firestar interrupted, "You're trusting Starscream's intel on this?"

Ratchet nodded, "He is no longer affiliated with the Decepticons, and even then his loyalty to them was tainted."

"And if it's a trap?" Arcee folded her arms.

I guessed she still recalled the last time her and the seeker SIC met.

The doctor shrugged, "His intel has been somewhat reliable in the past. And besides that, I fear that we may be limited in both time and options. This may be our only oppurtunity to secure the space bridge."

He was right. Megatron wouldn't be as merciful to Optimus/Orion forever. Realising his logic, the others prepared to roll out.

"You coming on this one?" Bee's voice drew me out of my train of thought.

I wanted to go, but knew in my current state that I would only be a liability in battle. For some reason, the bite wound in my arm hadn't fully healed yet. And I felt a little more tired than usual. It was probably nothing.

Before I could respond, an amused snort of laughter came from the other side of the room.

"And mess up the whole mission?" Trailblaze butted into the conversation, "She couldn't fight if her life depended on it."

He really hadn't changed since the academy.

Bumblebee's usually calm optics narrowed as he moved to confront the mech, but I quickly held out a servo in front of him. It wasn't worth creating a rift in the team. Especially before a mission so crucial.

"H-He's right," I stated, quieter than I meant it to be, "If I go, I'll only end up slowing you guys down."

Bee had caught the tone in my voice, looking at me in concern, "Don't let him get to you."

It really was nowhere near that easy. Even at a small remark like that, other spiteful things he'd said would roam around my processor. But this was no time for dwelling on the past.

I forced a smile and nodded, "Just be safe out there, okay?"

He knew I was lying, but must've just decided to let it go. I was relieved that he didn't pursue it. Telling him about Trailblaze...that would've only made the situation worse.

"Prepare to roll out," Ratchet called to the others.

He began to type in the coordinates. I watched as the team gathered around the ground bridge. Each of us knew that we only had one shot to bring our leader back. But that wasn't the only concern in my processor.

Whether I liked it or not, the new recruits were going to change the way we saw each other as a team.

For the better and worse.

--

I know, I know. I've left this one for quite a while. It wasn't a matter of writer's block, since there were four versions of this chapter. It was just a matter of which direction I wanted the story to take.

Question: Should I give Silver a human friend? I have a few ideas for one, but want to hear yours if you have any.

That's a wrap for this chapter.

'Til All Are One,

GreyroseLegacy