Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.


Authoress: Hello my little pretties! This looks like it is going to be fun! *evil giggling*

Sentinel: *gulps* I'm not sure what I am more worried about; the evil part of that or the giggling. You don't giggle. Authoress you HATE giggling...What did you do?

Authoress: *hides tears* I...I...I didn't mean...I'm...


Prologue Part 2: Into the Spider's Web

Fifty Stellar Cycles Later

Sentinel's 1st P.O.V.

Fifty stellar cycles. It was strange to think that was how long that I had known Pandimala. After that second night, we were so much open with each other. We would have fun talks to help distract ourselves from the issue of Pandimala being stranded on a strange planet. But, at the same time, I made sure to keep track of Pandimala's condition. During the first stellar cycle, I was afraid that Pandimala would run out of energon and offline due to a lack of it. But, Pandimala continued to stay positive and, fifty stellar cycles later, we still talked every night that Pandimala could safely talk.

"Sentinel get your helm out of the sky and help us load the ship." Elita yelled at me as she moved some crates on board the ship that was nearby.

Unfortunately, I had yet to find any bots that would make good teammates. Oh, I had looked at a lot of bots who the Academy suggested would be good additions to any team. Some had even seemed good at first. But, I would ask Pandimala her opinion on the bots that I liked and she seemed to have a knack for telling what a bot was like just by what their basic files read. Every single time, she had been right.

One femme, who I was looking at as a medic, seemed to be a very nice femme and a good candidate to be on my team. But, when I had read her file to Pandimala, she said that the femme seemed to have ties to black market dealers due to the numbers in her credit accounts, of which she had many, having small deposits made into them on the same solar at the same time. When I suggested that something was wrong with the femme's accounts, the ICD…or Internal Crimes Division, investigated her and found that Pandimala was right. Not only was the medic working with the black market, she was a direct supplier of illegal drugs to addicts in recovery.

There were a few more cases like that over these fifty stellars but most of them just weren't what I was looking for. Some of these bots were counted as the best of the best in their field. But, they weren't what I was looking for in a team that would be with me for thousands of stellars at the very least. It was slightly upsetting that I couldn't get a team together yet, but at least I had Pandimala to help me get through all the stress that the extra classes had put on me. While being a Prime meant that we were technically graduated from the Academy, it was highly recommended to take supplementary classes to help provide us with more knowledge for the future. Well, with Pandimala helping me choose classes that she would recommend I take, I ended up with quite a course load over these fifty stellars. While most classes only lasted a stellar, though some were more…like that strategy analysis class that was a stellar and a half long, some were less…like the History of Cybertron's Mythology class that was only one hundred and fifty solar cycles. I still wasn't sure why Pandimala wanted me to take that one but she did say that she would tell me when we met one solar. Hopefully, that would be soon. Maybe once I figured out what planet she was on, then she could help me kickstart my team by being the first bot on it.

Of course, I wasn't the only one who was getting 'training'. Pandimala mentioned frequently that she had to fight some strange mutated organics on the planet that she was trapped on and, of course finding the positive in that situation, Pandimala said that she was getting precious battle experience for her training as a warrior. She hoped that, by the time that she met me, that I could convince her to be an Autobot so she could help me out

But, this solar was not going to going to be nearly as fun as it should be. Before last night, I had been planning on spending this solar going to the scouting academy to see if I could find a scout for my team. But, during an assembly of the Primes last night, Optimus' team was chosen to have space exploration practice. Since I was technically still a part of Optimus' team, that meant that I had to come too. It was fragging annoying that I had to go out with them. I was hoping that I would have my team by now and I would go on one of these with them. But nope. Stuck with Elita and Optimus.

This solar was not going to end well.

Shaking my helm, I moved to help Elita load the last of the energon supply. We were supposed to transport a shipment of energon to the forces fighting near planet Vehicon. The two types of Cybertronians on the planet, the Eradicons and the Obliticons, were putting a lot of support to our fighters there and we were to bring them a new shipment of energon. It would only take us fifteen clicks to reach the space bridge to arrive in the Skellion system, where Vehicon was at. Then, it was a three-cycle trip from our space bridge location, and a slightly graving of traveling through the Archa system, before we reached Vehicon.

Thankfully, from the History of Foreign Wars class that I took…which was another suggestion from Pandimala, I knew that the planet Vehicon was still trying to recover from their Machine War. Their Machine War was what they called the battling that they experienced on their home world during the Great War. That meant that the planet was still recovering from the last round of fighting that our war caused them and this energon would help us smooth relations with the leader of planet Vehicon.

Once I reached the last crate of energon, I helped Elita push it onto our ship, which was called the Scarab. From what I knew, our ship was a retired ship from the Great War and was named after the ship's first captain; Scarabin Major. It looked like it wouldn't last ten clicks in an actual battle but it should do alright for a simple energon delivery trip.

Elita and I soon got the crate in place and, once it was, I turned to her. "So, ready for this flight?"

She raised an optic ridge at me before shaking her helm. "I just want to get this done and get back here. I had a dinner date with Optimus planned for tonight and, if we hurry, we should get back in time for me to get to have it."

I shook my helm at that as she walked to the bridge. Really? She was worried about a dinner date? I was more worried about keeping in contact with a femme that has been stranded on an unknown planet for fifty stellar cycles and Elita is worried about a dinner date with a mech that she sees every solar. On the solar in the future that I finally met Pandimala, I had to ask her how to deal with these kinds of things. She had to have some insight on the subject.

…At least that was what I was hoping.

Realizing that Optimus was probably waiting for me to get to the bridge before we took off, I did just that and, in no time, I was walking onto the bridge and took my seat to Optimus' left. He looked focused as he typed in the coordinates for the space bridge. From how Elita was glancing at Optimus, I knew that this was going to be a long trip. So, before either of them could try and strike up a conversation with me, I activated my recharge protocols before leaning back. After a click, I was in the deep embrace of recharge.

Four Cycles, Thirty Clicks Later

The sooner Optimus and Elita got back to the ship, the sooner we could get back to Cybertron. That was something that I couldn't wait for. The trip bringing the energon to planet Vehicon went a lot smoother than I thought it would…though that might be partially due to me recharging through it all.

…Anyways, we arrived on Vehicon without much trouble, though that mech at the shipyard was in a pretty foul mood. Somebot probably got him mad and so he took it out on ships like ours. Thankfully, that was the worst of the problems that we faced delivering the energon. However, the leader of planet Vehicon, Carl, said that we were open to explore the capital until we had to leave to return to Cybertron. After our meeting with Carl, the three of us decided to go our 'separate' ways and explore the capital on our own for a cycle. Of course, while I had gone off in a completely different direction, Elita had gone down a very similar route that Optimus had. I was pretty sure that they were going to hang out together.

Honestly, I didn't mind. Just as long as I didn't see them during the cycle then I was fine. That hour was now up and, while I was on the ship and had some items that I had purchased, there was no sign of Elita and Optimus. We had six cycles to get back to Cybertron and I knew that there was going to be a wait of at least two cycles to get through the space bridge to Cybertron. If we didn't get back in time for my call with Pandimala, some serious slag would hit the rotors. She was a bit of sanity in my existence while I was sure I was a break from the monotony that her life was like. While I thought about it, I put some strangely-shaped trinkets into my subspace so I remembered to show Pandimala during our talk tonight. Maybe with her experience she knew what sort of shape they were.

The sound of pedesteps coming on board caused me to glance around and I saw that Elita and Optimus were finally getting back. And, from the number of bags that Elita had with her, I had a feeling that she had spent a lot of credits. "What took you two so long?" I asked them as Elita sat down the bags that she had in a storage compartment while Optimus did the same with the bags he was carrying. "I thought that I was going to have to leave without you two."

Optimus gave Elita a pointed look before saying, "Well, Elita and I bumped into each other not long after we split up." Right, like I hadn't seen that coming. "We then did some shopping." Optimus then held up the smallest bag that he had. "This is what I bought."

…Wait, that meant that Elita bought the stuff in all the other bags that Optimus brought in as well as her own bags! Did she have any credits left to her designation? I mean seriously. How did that femme manage to buy so much stuff in the period of a cycle?

"Well…they had a lot of cool stuff and I wasn't sure if I was going to ever come back here. So, I figured that you only live once right?" Elita weekly defended her terrible spending habits.

Instead of commenting like I wanted, I motioned to the helm where Optimus was supposed to sit…since he was technically the team leader. "So, are we going to get going back to Cybertron? I'd like to get there in somewhat decent time."

Optimus started the procedures to take off while responding to that. "Why do you need to get back to Cybertron so quickly Sentinel? You finished your class sixty solars ago. It's not like you need to get back for some test or late homework…which is your normal excuse. So, what is it?"

While the ship started to rise above the planet's surface, I stared at Optimus with a concentrating look. To him, I hoped it looked like I was trying to remember what I was doing. I just wanted to get back tonight so I could have my talk with Pandimala. But, since she was…in a sense, my little secret, I was trying to think of what I was doing tomorrow so I could get them off my backplates. Since I was done with classes I was going to have to start making up new excuses.

After what seemed like forever, my processor finally decided to remind me of my schedule tomorrow, which included a visit to the CIA for a visit to see if I could find an intelligence officer for my team. It was a long shot but I was hoping that they had somebot who would meet with my specifications. "I have an appointment at the CIA to try and find an intelligence officer for my team."

I frowned as Elita let out a laugh. "Yeah right. You've been trying for fifty stellar cycles to put together your perfect team. You have recruited…what? None?" She then smirked a wicked smirk that had me worried. What was going on in her processor? "I bet you have some secret rendezvous with a femme tonight, don't you? Scared it isn't going to work out so you won't tell us?"

Scrap! That was a little too close to the truth for comfort. I knew that I looked panicked and I had to cover it up…and quickly! "Elita I wish I could say I was surprised by that answer. I'm too busy putting my team together to be goofing off. It's not like we all are as lazy as you are." She looked mad at me for that one but didn't say a word. I was pretty sure that I had deflected their curiosity for the time being. But, eventually, I knew that my secret about Pandimala was going to come out. I just hoped that it wasn't going to be too late.

For the next forty clicks, the trip was uneventful. No storms popped up on the radar, and we seemed to be flying smoothly. However, as I studied the area around me, something seemed off. From my inter-galaxy astrology class that I took…another suggestion from Pandimala, I knew that the constellations on our trip should not be the ones that I was seeing. Actually…if I was recognizing the constellation of the Great Warrior and the Predacon this clearly…then that meant that…

Immediately, I stood and sent a glare at Optimus. I was getting a feeling like I did when he had Elita and I go to the off-limits section of Kaon with him so he could look at their archives. Optimus and Elita both stood at the same time I did and, by the looks they quickly shot each other, I had a feeling that they were both in on this…whatever this is. "Sentinel, what's wrong?" Optimus asked me slowly, though I could hear a guilty tone in his voice. Optimus could never lie to me. He was slagging terrible at it. Elita could lie better than that. Frag, I could lie better than them both.

But, to get my anger out. "What's wrong? Why don't you and Elita tell me why we are half-way through the Archa system!?" I was building up a fury at the two bots in front of me. The Archa system was known for organic planets and they were banned for visit by us Autobots. It would mean strong punishments if we set pedes on one.

Both Optimus and Elita glanced at each other before Elita spoke. "Sentinel, cool your engines for a click. While Optimus and I were out shopping, we heard some rumors about how a Decepticon ship carrying energon crashed on Archa Seven forever ago and nobot has gone there to try and retrieve it. The mech that we talked to even gave us the estimated coordinates of where the ship landed."

"You want to go to a planet for some supposed energon that might not be there? If we step one pede on that planet we could get into serious trouble!" I argued with them, still angry that we were even heading in that direction. This was a waste of precious energon that we needed in our fight against the Decepticons. We were already going to be in some trouble for this and that meant reports from all of us!

However, I was somewhat surprised that Optimus continued arguing. Usually the serious trouble for a rumor would deter him. "What if we don't land?" What was he getting at? "If it is a Decepticon ship, then it should be able to be seen from the sky. We just need to fly over the spot where the ship is supposed to be. If it isn't there, then we can head straight back to Cybertron and fill out the reports for travelling off course. But, if it is, then we could get some easy energon for the Autobot side. Plus, can you imagine the sort of historical data we could find on a Decepticon ship? It could give us a tactical advantage to use against the Decepticons and help the war effort."

While I was really against going to the planet in the first place, I figured that a simple scouting mission could be beneficial. We could just fly over the supposed ship and, if it was there, we would take aerial photos before returning to Cybertron and giving them to Ultra Magnus and the Council to let them decide on what to do. Yes, it was bending the rule of not stepping pede on an organic planet, but a quick fly-over at the specified coordinates would be so bad. So, I let out a defeated sigh. "Fine." Both Optimus and Elita smiled at me and were about to talk when I held up a servo. "We will fly over the coordinates of the ship. If it is there, we take aerial pictures and return to Cybertron to present our findings. But, if there is nothing, we immediately make our way back to Cybertron. Otherwise, we turn around right now."

They had both looked upset about my first condition but, at the mention of the second option, they both relaxed in a defeated way before they nodded and returned to their seats. I just shook my helm and sighed before sitting back in my own seat. As I glanced out of my window, I could only hope that I was doing the right thing. Going to organic planets was against the rules and we could get in big trouble for going. I needed to have the best picks that I could to put together my perfect team. But, if I got into as big of trouble that I could get into for going to the organic planet, then my choice of bots would be severely diminished. If I was going to make a good team, this little side mission had better go off without any problems.

About a cycle and a half later, our ship was descending into the airspace of Archa Seven. The planet, strangely enough, looked familiar to me. There were tall mountainous pillars that randomly seemed to be growing from the ground and the terrain itself seemed to be rocky. From the way particles shifted as our ship grew closer to the ground, though not on landing approach, I noticed that they were rust sand particles. But, from what I could remember, I had never been on a planet that was like this before. Glancing at the monitor in front of my station, I saw that we were close to the coordinates that Elita and Optimus got from this source. So, I used the outside viewer to see if the ship was below us. Like I figured, there wasn't a ship.

…The report that I was going to have to write for this transgression was going to be the offlining of me. "Well, looks like your source was off you two. Let's get back," A sharp pain came to the side of my helm before I was knocked unconscious.

Some Unknown Time Later

I groaned as I regained consciousness. What happened? I was just looking for the ship that the rumor said was here and, not so surprisingly, it was a no-show. So, I had been informing Elita and Optimus that this had been a waste of time when…

As my processor started to remember what happened, I became aware of a few facts. First off, we weren't moving. Secondly, there weren't any sounds around me. Lastly, however, was that it felt like I had been hit in the back of the helm by a weapon of some sort. Onlining my optics, I groaned again when I saw that there were a couple of things wrong with what I was seeing. One, we had landed on Archa Seven when I told Optimus and Elita that we were not going to be landing. Two, I was probably knocked out by Optimus and Elita which meant that I was going to offline them for this. However, lastly and most importantly, I was alone on the ship. That meant that those two idiots had gone out onto the planet's surface to look around and try to find the ship for themselves. We were going to get in so much trouble for this and I needed to get them back before they got into any actual trouble on the planet.

So, I stood up and, once I was sure my helm was clear enough to go and find the others, I went to the cargo bay doors and opened them before walking out and closing them behind me. The ground beneath my pedes was strangely loose, but it wasn't too loose that it caused me to fall over. This was a strange planet. But, I couldn't study it. I had to find Elita and Optimus. Unfortunately, there were not any pedesteps to follow so I had to pick a random direction and hope beyond all hopes that I was able to locate the two idiots who were my temporary team. I would be giving them an audio-full when this was all out of the way.

As I walked across the alien landscape, I noticed that there was a strange shimmer that appeared at random points on the stony walls of the cliffs next to me. They seemed to be made of a strange substance and, while I was curious about what it was, I knew better than to try and touch the stuff. This was an organic planet and who knew what that stuff would do to me. So, I continued forward while looking for Optimus and Elita.

However, after I took two steps forward, I paused as I saw some movement as a shadow moved behind a corner up ahead. Something had to be there. But, I had a feeling that it wasn't Optimus and Elita. So, I took out my lance and shield before I got into a battle-ready stance. "Who's there? Come out now or I'm coming after you!" I challenged the shadow. If it wasn't sentient, then I would be ready to defend myself.

What I wasn't expecting was to hear a familiar voice respond. "Sen? Is that you?" Immediately, I put away my lance and took out my personal communication screen. But, when I looked at the screen it was dark. What was going on? "Sen, that is you!"

I glanced up, as I put my screen away, and felt my optics widen as I saw the femme I was talking to for the past fifty stellars slowly walking up to me. Now I understood why this planet seemed so familiar to me when we flew over. I had seen the landscape in the background of Pandimala during our calls. Now, I was finally understanding the situation she has been in for the past fifty stellars. On an organic planet, all alone and with only me to talk to. Yeah, she was ready to get off this world.

Now that I was finally found myself standing in front of the femme who I did count as a friend, I could only think of one thing to say out of the many things that I could. "You…you're a lot taller than I thought you would be."

Pandimala and I were just over an arm's length apart from each other before Pandimala let out a laugh. "Well, I am a triple changer Sentinel. Give me some credit for not being a monstrous size…just a giant." We both then laughed at that for a few nanos and, to my surprise, she walked up to me and gave me a hug. "Sentinel, I'm glad to meet you in the metal…finally."

I was caught off guard and could only pull off a simple nod before speaking, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you too Pandimala." What was I supposed to do? The only other femme I knew was Elita and, while she hugged Optimus regularly, I was not a regular recipient of her hugs. I didn't know what to do!

She continued to hug me, and I was still unsure of what I should do, for a few more nanos after that before she parted from me and her look grew concerned. "Like I said, I'm glad to see you Sen. But…what are you doing here? I don't think you knew I was here so there has to be another reason."

And Pandimala was just as smart talking faceplate to faceplate as she was over the comm screen. I noticed that her wings twitched slightly as she waited for me to answer. Did fliers signal their emotions through their wings? Was that why they were so protective of them? But, before I could ask Pandimala my questions, I had to answer hers. "You're right. I didn't know you were here. This is an off-limits planet to Autobots since it is an organic planet. Unless we have express permission, Autobots are not allowed to step a pede planetside. But, my two…temporary, teammates decided to break rules when they heard that there was an old Decepticon ship that crashed here that could have energon on it as well as historical data. They tricked me to coming here before they knocked me out."

I would have continued talking but Pandimala looked like she was about to go into full blown panic mode. "We need to find your friends now. If they find that ship, then they are going to get themselves helms-deep in danger." I followed Pandimala as she started to move back the way that I had come from. As she moved, she thankfully continued to explain. "There are organics on this planet that are known as 'spiders'. But, I've been to organic planets before and these ones have been mutated by the strange energon that the ship was carrying. While not all organics are dangerous, and I might even go so far as to say that most of them aren't dangerous to us, these spiders pose a real danger. And, they just so happened to set up their nest on the ship."

Wait… "What's a nest?" I asked her as we came out to the 'field' where the ship was.

As we went down another of the canyons I could have taken, Pandimala continued to explain. As she did, I noticed that her wings were raised high and they were stiff. "A nest is pretty much like the spiders' main home where they all live together and raise their young. When you get near an organics home, they get savagely protective and they will not stop in attacking what they see as a threat until that threat is no more. I have to sneak into the nest and take energon from the outskirts. But, the spiders still see me and I have to book it out of there fast if I don't want to end up as mutated spider food."

That sounded terrible. I had to keep reminding myself that Pandimala had spent fifty stellar cycles on this planet…alone. Well, she would now be coming back to Cybertron with us and I would do everything I could to make sure that she never went through something like this again. But, until we found Optimus and Elita, I might as well get to know some more about her. "Pandimala, can I ask you a question about your wings?"

"Is this really the time?" She asked me right back as we moved over the terrain.

I motioned ahead, which wasn't showing any sign of a ship, before pressing on. "Are we doing much else right now? Might as well talk some more."

A short laugh came out of her before she nodded. "Fine. Ask away Sen."

"Do your wings convey how you are feeling at a certain moment?" I went right into asking.

And Pandimala was quick with the answer. "In a sense…yes. Right now, my wings are raised-up right?" She took a quick glance at me and so I nodded before she continued. "Well, when they are raised up like this, that means that I am feeling a strong emotion right now. Wings can't convey the direct feelings like being happy or sad. But, they can let you know how a flier is feeling an emotion. A flier is most calm when their wings are in a stationary position. Sometimes this can be higher than others so you should know the flier in question before trying to decide if they are higher or lower. If they are lower, that usually involves a submissive emotion. This can be fear, or embarrassment, or submission, or caution. Like I said though, you have to be familiar with the flier in question before you can begin to decide how their emotional state is."

That would be very useful information for fighting the Decepticons. Fliers were, as a rule, hard to predict and it was because their faceplates, while able to express emotions, were very hard to discern what the bot was thinking or feeling. But, as we turned another corner, I thought of another question that still contained to her wings. "Pandimala, I get the idea of the wing elevations letting me know about the bot's emotions…but why do your wings twitch at times but, like now are stiff and definitely not relaxed."

I caught her smirk slightly before she answered. "You really are smart Sen. Don't let anybot ever tell you otherwise." She then paused in her walking and looked around. As she did, I noticed that her wings started to twitch. "Most time when you see a flier, their wings will either be in a relaxed position or stiff like mine just were." She then grew a worried look before she continued. "When they are stiff, it usually means that said flier is monitoring the air currents around them for any disturbances…a sort of early warning system really. When they start to twitch, it can mean that we are sensing something around us. Or we are uncomfortable. A reason why most fliers have claustrophobia like I do is because of the sensors on our wings. They don't react well to enclosed spaces, that don't have ventilation, like caves. Of course, the flier could just be impatient as well. They tend to twitch when we are irritated or impatient as well."

As we slowed down in front of an entrance to a cave, I noticed that her wings were twitching even more noticeably now and I was positive that they weren't doing it because of me annoying her. "So, what are you sensing right now?"

Pandimala's wings twitched slightly before they came to a rest. "The spiders are organizing. I can sense mass movement inside the cave here. Your friends must have upset them. We need to keep moving."

I nodded and, as we moved, figured I had enough time for one simple question. "Are the sensors in your wings the reason why fliers are so defensive about their wings getting hit in battle?"

"Yes." She then dug into her subspace before she pulled out a small piece of metal that was shaped like a crescent phase of a moon. "Before we keep moving, I want you to have this. I found it when I was little and I carry it around as sort of a good luck charm. It seems to have served me well and now it's your turn to have it. Maybe with it you can finally get the rest of your team together."

"Thank you." I thanked her as I took the strange piece of metal from her. Scrap! I needed to give her something! But what? I didn't usually carry much in my subspace that would be nice enough to give Pandimala. I was about to give up when I remembered the trinkets I bought on Vehicon. So, I dug one out and handed it to her. "I don't have much with me, but I just bought this from a vendor on Vehicon and I was hoping you would be able to identify it. I also want you to have it."

What I wasn't expecting was for her to slow to a stop in the middle of the cave and smile softly as she took the trinket from me before she traced it with her sharp digit. "Wow. I haven't seen one of these since I was little. A travelling sales-bot came to our home-planet one solar and she had some of these. I wanted one but my creators never let me." She traced the image again before talking. "The image is actually a creature from a distant planet. This creature is called a 'dragon'. I don't know a lot about it but the sales-bot did say that dragons were known as very wise creatures as well as very strong." Pandimala stared at the trinket…the dragon, for a few more nanos before she placed it in her subspace and turned to me. "Thank you, Sen."

I was about to respond to her when I heard a very familiar yell coming from just down the corridor. "That sounded like one of my shipmates called Optimus."

Pandimala nodded, her faceplate now serious, and let me take the lead forward. As I did, however, she yelled up to me. "Be careful of the organic-wire like substance. It is called a 'web' and these particular webs can trap even something as large and strong as one of us. I got my pede stuck in one once and it hurt like the Pit to get it unstuck."

"Thanks for the helms up." I thanked Pandimala before we both grew quiet and moved quickly. Optimus and Elita had gotten into trouble and now I was going to have to bail them out. Luckily for them, this happened to be the planet that Pandimala was stranded on and she helped me find this place or they could be offline.

Well…they still could be but now we all had a better chance of escaping.

It wasn't long before I ran into a chamber and took in the situation. Elita was trapped in some of the 'web' that Pandimala told me about and she was struggling to get it off. I could imagine that it was difficult for Pandimala to get off since she was alone. Anyways, Optimus was fighting back a giant eight-legged organic that was pulsing a dark purple color, had many organic optics, and fangs. He was using his grappler to pull parts of the ceiling down around the organic.

"Sentinel?" Elita called out my name in surprise.

I looked at her and was about to say something when I heard a voice from behind me. "Sentinel move!"

Pandimala sounded serious when she yelled that and so I moved just as she ran by me and I saw that, not only were her shoulder cannons down and pointing at the organic, but they were glowing at the ends. In the next nano, Pandimala fired and I felt my optics widen, as well as saw both Elita's and Optimus' do the same, as a stream of fire slammed into the organic and, within ten nanos, the organic was offlined.

The four of us stood panting for a couple of clicks before I walked up to Elita and cut the web off her. Once it was off, she stood up and moved toward Sentinel while giving Pandimala a nervous look. But, before she could speak, Optimus decided to get a word in. "Well…that was a close one."

…I was going to strangle him! "A close one?" But, it seemed like Pandimala was just as angry as I was. "You went into unknown territory with no plan while also incapacitating one of your allies, angered a local species of mutated organics that happen to be mutated by an unstable strain of energon, and I had to risk my spark to save your idiot helms and 'that was a close one' is all you have?" She then placed her servos on her hips and I saw that her wings were raised high and they were twitching. She was not a happy camper. "The very least you could do is start off with an apology! Both of you!"

They both stared at her in shock for a nano before Optimus turned to me. "I'm sorry for not listening Sentinel. It won't happen again."

Elita nodded, though I couldn't tell if she was going to be sincere or not. Oh well. Just getting a forced apology from her would be nice. "Yeah, I guess we took things a little too far." Eh…close enough. However, Elita wasn't done talking and placed her servos by her hips. "But who's the flier? Can't be an Autobot. Autobots don't fly."

I was surprised when Pandimala just raised an optic ridge at that before she smirked and said, "Besides the femme that just saved both of your afts? The name's Pandimala, neutral for now but I want to be an Autobot."

Wait…she had made up her processor? Yes! That meant that I had successfully convinced her to join the right side! Now, once we got off this planet, I was so going to have her on my team. No bot else was going to and that was final! I would make it so.

Movement from Optimus caused me to look as he walked up to Pandimala and extended a servo. "Thanks for the save then. I'm Optimus Prime and this is Elita-One. She's a Prime too but she just likes to be called Elita…or Elita-One."

Pandimala nodded at that. "I'll remember it. But, you both were foolish to come here. As much as I appreciate a rescue from this planet, this is a very dangerous planet. The spiders," She motioned to the offline organic as she said that before she continued. "have been mutated with an unstable strain of energon. Not a place to just decide to pop in at."

Elita nodded at that. "I'm beginning to see why organic planets are off-limits."

While I had a feeling that Pandimala wanted to argue that point with Elita, the sound of more spiders coming from where Pandimala and I just came from stopped it and I saw Pandimala's faceplate grow serious. "The old Decepticon ship is not far from here. We should be able to reach the surface from there. But, it will be dangerous. The spiders will be more territorial there. However, if we can reach the surface, then the spiders won't follow us. They are nocturnal and actually hate the sunlight."

The three of us nodded and so we let Pandimala lead the way down the corridor and away from the amassing spiders. Thankfully, the trip to the ship wasn't long and, once it was in view, I found myself staring at it as I ran. That was a Decepticon warship. I couldn't believe it. It was huge!

"Wow, the warship is massive." Optimus commented from next to me.

As we entered the ship, however, Pandimala spoke. "No. It's not impressive. This isn't even the whole ship. I have a feeling that most of the ship must have been destroyed back when it crashed here. This was probably just the storage wing."

…Storage? The storage compartment was this big!? Maybe I didn't want to see a Decepticon warship anytime soon. Of course, what I wanted to do right now was get off this planet…and quickly. The halls of the storage area were huge and, after a few clicks, we went through a door that led to strange purple colored energon glowing. That must be the strain that mutated the spiders. It would probably be best if we didn't touch it.

Before we could say much, a high-pitched shriek filled the air and we were surrounded by hundreds of the spiders. We weren't going to make it! "What are we supposed to do now?" Elita asked as the four of us backed up toward a tall stack of the strange energon.

Pandimala seemed to have the answer as she pointed toward the ceiling. It was only then that I saw the hole above us that would lead to the surface. "Optimus Prime," Pandimala started. "grab Elita-One and use those grapplers I saw you use earlier to get out of here." As Optimus nodded and grabbed Elita before activating his grapplers, Pandimala grabbed me before saying, "Hold on Sentinel. Flying is a little unnerving the first time."

Nodding, I braced myself as I felt Pandimala's hold on me tighten slightly. In the next nano, I heard the sound of a jet engine starting…which I had to learn to identify in one of my classes, before we started to lift into the air. It was amazing! Optimus had picked me up a few times with his grapplers but this was something completely different. Flight. I wonder why Autobots couldn't fly? "Pandimala, you are so lucky you get to fly whenever you want." While we flew through the hole and toward safety, I decided that now would be the best time to ask her an important question. "'Mala…after we get to Cybertron and you are vetted as an Autobot…would you like to join my team as a warrior?"

Pandimala smiled and nodded as we neared the exit. "Sen, I would love to. Thank y," She cut herself off with a gasp as we were jerked to a stop.

"The organics!" Optimus shouted while pointing at Pandimala's pedes.

I looked too and saw that the spiders had shot a lot of web at Pandimala's left thruster and they were strengthening their hold on it. No! We would get passed this! But, when I looked to Pandimala to confirm that idea, all I saw was a torn look in her optics. What was wrong? For these fifty stellar cycles that I knew her, she was always full of hope. What was wrong now?

"Sentinel…please don't hate me." Pandimala whispered to me as I felt her slightly fly backwards.

A sharp jolt of pain went through my spark, though I wasn't sure why. "What do you mean 'Mala?" I was worried about what she was planning.

However, she didn't speak to me as she looked up at Optimus. "You! Optimus! Get ready to catch!"

Wait…no! She couldn't do this! "Pandimala what are you doing?" I asked as she changed her hold on my chassis.

I could see tears on the edges of her optics before she smiled. "Sentinel, thank you so much for being there for me when no-bot else was, for trusting me even though I didn't give you reason to at first. I'm just sorry I'm not going to see your home-world that you were always so proud of."

Then, before I could say a word, Pandimala threw me up toward Optimus. "Pandimala no!" I screamed as I felt Optimus' grapple grab me and pull me toward safety. "No! Pandimala!" I yelled again once I hit solid ground and I looked down toward the hole. If she was close enough, maybe Optimus could reach her with his grapples!

But, as I glanced down the opening, I could only watch as Pandimala was pulled down into the darkness below by her pedes, which I could faintly see where both covered in webs now. A few nanos later, I watched as she disappeared.

"Sentinel, we need to leave now!" Optimus yelled at me as he pulled me to my pedes.

But, I wasn't having it. "No! I can't leave her! I can't!" I couldn't leave her here alone! She spent fifty stellars here alone and I couldn't let her.

"Sentinel!" Optimus yelled at me while turning me toward him. "She is buying us time to get to the ship. The femme is a flier Sentinel. If she can get away from the spiders, she could meet us at the ship!"

While I didn't want to leave, what Optimus was saying did make sense. So, with a heavy spark, I turned from the opening and ran with Optimus and Elita toward the ship. Thankfully, it didn't take us long to reach it and, once we were inside, we closed the hatch while Optimus started the warm-up sequence. It would take a few clicks to fully warm up the engines before we could take off. Pandimala was strong. If she survived those fifty stellar cycles before we got here, then she would survive this. I knew she would,

My optics widened as a large explosion could suddenly be seen from the coordinates which housed the ship…and the unstable energon! "No! Pandimala!"

Cybertron…Two Solars Later

"Going to an organic world was foolish and against Autobot law forbidding such an action." Ultra Magnus addressed the three of us as we stood in front of the Council. I was thankful only that there would be no trial. I didn't want Pandimala's designation to be sullied by our court proceedings.

…she was offline and there was nothing I could do.

"Punishment for this offense will be as follows." Councilmech Alpha Trion took over. I didn't understand why, but he kept staring at me with a soft look. Why was he doing that? I doubted that the old mech knew what I was going through right now…and I wasn't going to tell him. "Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, and Elita-One Prime; all three of you will be put on planetary lockdown for five hundred stellar cycles. Also, a fine of two thousand credits is expected to be paid by each of you." He then slammed the gavel against the podium in front of him…making our sentence official. "Court adjourned."

While Elita and Optimus looked upset by the amount of time we were pretty much confined to Cybertron, I was upset that our punishment wasn't more severe. Even though the Council didn't know about this fact…a spark was unnecessarily extinguished due to that unauthorized and illegal trip. That was a serious offense and I would make sure that I never forgot Pandimala or her sacrifice for us…for me. I would never forget. But, for Pandimala's sake, I didn't mention her and I was relieved that neither Optimus nor Elita mentioned it as well.

Shaking my helm, I sent the fine money directly to the Council's fine depository and I made sure to note that it was my fine. Once I received a receipt saying that I had paid my fine, I nodded once toward the Council before I left the room. I had to return to my apartment and decide what I should do next. While that was going to take some time, what I did know was that I didn't want to be anywhere Optimus Prime and Elita-One Prime ever again.

I flinched as I felt a servo place itself on my shoulder and immediately yanked my shoulder away as I turned to see who was trying to stop me. A growl slipped from my vocals when I saw that it was Optimus and Elita. "Sentinel, I know you might be upset that we have to spend so much time stuck on Cybertron, since I know you want to build the best team, but I want you to know that we will be,"

"No!" I yelled at him, causing everybot around us to pause and stare. But I didn't care. I felt enraged as I continued to look at them. They were the cause of all of this! If it wasn't for them…then she would be… "Don't you ever come near me again! Either of you! You know nothing about what I am feeling right now!" I then paused to calm myself down. Causing a fight while we were still in Fortress Maximus was not the best thing to do after that very lenient ruling at our trial. So, I straightened myself and held a cold glare at Elita and Optimus, both looking shocked at my outburst, before I continued in an icy tone. "I don't know either of you."

I turned away from them and, as I walked away from them with slow and deliberate steps, I decided that I would never forget.


Sentinel: *staring in shock* You...you killed...

Authoress: *bawling eyes out* I didn't want to!


AN: Well...that's the end of that chapter and the prologue. I...I still can't believe that I offlined Pandimala so early in the story. Were any of you surprised? I thought about keeping it Elita but then I figured that this would be a little more entertaining. But, I do want to throw a reminder out to all of you; look at the details. In my stories, I have a habit of placing details in beginning chapters (and middle chapters) that will give away big plots for later on. Also, I alluded to a movie in one of the scenes above. Can you find it?

Besides that, Sentinel seemed very shaken by the loss of Pandimala. How will that affect the future? You can already see that it is affecting his attitude at the end. He has severed all ties with Elita and Optimus!

Next chapter, we will have a large time skip that will start the story and that will be started after the end of season 3. Sentinel will have a team with some members, but I don't think they will be what you are expecting. As for Optimus and Elita, well, you will see next chapter (I think).

Well, that's all for now! Please leave a review, even to say hello! But, I have to go! TTYL!