Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.


Authoress: Now, enough waiting. Time for some reactions!

Team Apocalypse: *still stopped in shock*

Authoress: *rolls eyes* Seriously bots. This is too long to be in shock even for this

Pandimala: *shakes helm* They'll snap out of it eventually.


Chapter 12: Brief Respite and Reconnection

Sentinel's 1st P.O.V.

"Are you alright Sen?" Pandimala asked me, offering a servo toward me to help me up.

I continued to stare at the femme in shock. How was she still alive? Memories of that solar so long ago still haunted me. Her disappearing into the depths of the ship, while Optimus and Elita forced me back to our ship. The small hope I had of her escaping and joining us was blown up with the explosion that filled my view.

And yet, here she was. Pandimala was in front of me, smiling and real. It was like nothing had changed. Every single painful moment since the incident on Archa 7 that I had been through, it was like it was swept away. Her chassis looked different, though she was still obviously a triple changer. Cracks were formed in her chassis, though there was no energon leaking from them. Also, they didn't seem to be causing her any pain. Of course, with the shock coursing through me, I doubted I could recognize her in pain. Seeing her here, with me now, was more than enough.

"Pandimala...how?" I raised a servo toward her.

She smiled and took my servo in hers. The contact alone shook me slightly before I allowed her to pull me up. "There will be time for that later Sentinel." She then glanced at my Autobot insignia before she smiled. "Or, if I remember correctly, Sentinel Prime."

I shook my helm at that. "Please Pandimala, from you...no formal titles. We're friends and teammates. Actually, that makes us more than teammates. That makes us family." Pandimala had been there for me, before the incident, whenever she could be. Even the smallest troubles and she would give me her audios to talk to. Of course, I was sometimes stubborn about what I wanted to hear from her. But, at the end of it all, Pandimala was always a reliable audio. She was even more stubborn than me...and that said a lot.

Before I could react, Pandimala dragged me toward her before she wrapped her arms around me. "Sen...thank you." This time, I knew how to respond. I didn't know how to respond before, back when we first met. I had been so nervous. But, when I lost her, it put things in perspective. She was my friend and I couldn't miss this chance again. So, without hesitation, I returned her hug. We stayed like that for a click before Pandimala let go and stepped back. "Sen, as much as I want to talk to you now, I think the rest of our team needs our help." She had a knowing look on her face.

"How do you know about…"

"Later Sen,"

I frowned at her before I crossed my arms. "There had better be a later this time 'Mala." Of course, that was more than just a joke for me. The last time 'Mala and I talked, there wasn't a later. I thought she had offlined.

A laugh escaped the femme at that before she spoke. "Of course Sen. We're only dealing with assassins. It isn't like any mutant spiders are attacking us this time." She then moved forward. "So, let's get to it. It would do no good for me to lose our teammates before I get to meet them. I already did that once. I won't let it happen again."

I then followed her as we made toward our teammates. As we did, though, I felt tense. Pandimala, when she was speaking, looked sad. It was only then that I realized that I was not the only one who was affected by her supposed offlining. Pandimala must have felt so alone. I had just asked her to join my team, and she had accepted that before she fell. But, after that, she was all alone. She was all alone without any support.

Now...now she was back with us and was ready to fall right in with the team. I hoped she approved of them all. Each of them, even Pastel, I had accepted with her in mind. I had suspicions about what she was with how easily she interacted with my team and the ease that she took all of the surprises we took our way. So, when she had finally showed herself during our fight, I had been curious about what her true history was, and not the story of her soliform Lizzie.

When she spoke about how she had been forced into exile, I remembered hearing about her. It was about two hundred stellars after the incident on Archa 7. The femme in question had held speeches about the problems in the governing system that we held. I had planned on Trecke and myself going to one of them but, before we could schedule a solar off when she was speaking, she had vanished from Cybertron.

While I wish it had, the news she had been forced to either live in exile or be imprisoned didn't surprise me. The political system on Cybertron was very set in its ways and, like Pastel used to say, was highly corrupted. My team and I had to make sure we moved carefully to avoid becoming focused on by any of the unsavory bots in power.

So, asking her to join our team was the right choice. She, and each of the others, were just the sort of bots that I hoped Pandimala would approve of. We were our own selves, with our own motivations and personalities, and we wouldn't leave each other. That I knew. Pastel had even shown that with how she had interacted with my team as Lizzie.

Now, a solar I never thought would arrive was here. Pandimala was here and she would finally meet the team. Once we defeated the other assassins, then Pandimala would finally meet the others. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Hopefully, everything went well.

Fable's 1st P.O.V.

I only needed a few more clicks. I had taken off my own servo before but in this sort of situation, I was having difficulty focusing on detaching the right wires. I was honestly surprised our guards hadn't noticed yet. It was obvious since we weren't offline yet that they were ordered by that leader of theirs to wait. I wasn't some strategist like Trecke, yet even I could see that.

Of course, from how Delirium, Howler, and the other new mech, that arrived with the femme, were grouped up and arguing amongst each other they weren't all happy with that. Fools. With their focus away from me, I had time to detach my servo. Once I was free of my offending appendage, I would strike at them. I would make their energon pour down my servos as I carved out their sparks. Then, when I was sure I would not be followed, I would track down the two monsters who dared take away my great caesar. If he was still online, which was likely the case since this was our leader, then I would make sure he was freed of his bonds before we took out the last two, the femme and Eclipse.

In the unlikely case that those monsters did offline my leader...then I would draw out their offlining as much as I was able until not even their memories remained. Then, once I discovered who hired them, I would free Trecke and Pastel, and together we would hunt down all responsible for our caesar's offlining. None would escape the wrath of the Apocalypse.

"I say we just offline these fraggers and go watch Eclipse tear their leader apart," Howler stated with a motion toward where those scum took my leader.

The unknown mech was quick to strike Howler with an open-servo hit. Ouch. If I wasn't so focused on trying to remove my servo, I would have applauded the mech. "Shut your vocals off Howler. You know the rules. Our leader took the mission personally, so he is the one who offlines the lot of them unless he allows us otherwise."

"I'm usually with you Gopex, about the rules of our association. However, it is taking Deja and Eclipse longer than normal to return." Delirium spoke while he shook his helm.

Gopex shook his helm at the two of them. "You know the rules. Eclipse has ten more clicks to return to start his executions of the three here. If he has not returned in that time," He then glanced over toward us so I stilled my movements as much as I felt I could. "After that, then I won't stop you from doing what you wish."

"So that means that I have to listen to you fraggers talk for another ten clicks?" I glanced at Pastel, who was on Trecke's right, as she said that. "You sure you all just can't offline me now? You all argue like a bunch of old ladies. And trust me, they can argue." I smirked at that. The femme was going to be a perfect addition to our team.

Of course, our captors didn't think as much. "Oh, I'll enjoy tearing out your voicebox if Eclipse doesn't get back femme," Gopex growled before he stood in front of her. "Yes, your screams will be beautiful even if he is the one to cause them." He then shook his helm before walking off towards the others.

"How much longer do you need?" Trecke whispered to me.

From the glance he made to Pastel before speaking to me, it seemed like Trecke had realized what I was trying to do and asked Pastel for a disturbance. A decent job from our strategist, all things considered. Well, it would be useful to answer him. "Five clicks if they don't look toward me anymore, ten clicks at most."

"Cutting it a little close aren't you, sadist?" I smirked at his response to me. It felt amazing to hear him talking normally to me. During the fight, he was acting strangely nice, which was nice at the click, but I reveled at the passion he put behind cursing me whenever he could.

So, I smirked back at him as I picked up work again on my servo. "Then it's a good thing that I am exceptionally adept at cutting, pretty-bot."

Trecke, in turn, glared at me before facing forward again. Good, still just as easy to get under his plating. Wouldn't want that to change after all of this now. We needed to keep our relationship like it was if we were going to repay the two Primes of Team Orion for the way they have been treating our caesar. Who knew what sort of trouble they were going to cause for our Prime once we got out of this. And if by some disaster our caesar did not escape offlining this solar, what sort of backlash they would try to place on us.

I would love to see them try.

"What are you doing?" I glanced at Delirium as he seemed to be boring into me with his optics. Scrap, I hadn't been careful enough. If I needed to, I could rip my servo off if I was about to be made. However, I would need medical attention from somebot other than myself. I was going to be in too much pain to think straight after I got Trecke free. I figured I would have that much time before my processor locked up from the energon-loss and pain.

'Why just wondering how much fun you will be to tear apart," I smirked before tilting my helm.

The rather annoying assassin growled at that and stalked up to me. "Delirium, don't touch him," I heard Gopex growl in reminder.

"Yeah, won't touch him," Delirium growled as he stood in front of me. "Just want to get a close look at him to make sure he isn't trying anything. You heard what the report on this bunch said. Crafty little psychos the lot of them." He then glanced over at Pastel. "Even the new femme seems to have a damaged processor." And we were already fragging proud of her, though he would pay for trying to insult our newest teammate.

"As long as you don't touch them, then do what you wish," Gopex said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Perfect," Delirium smirked as he looked over me. After a few nanos, he spoke. "Shame we have to offline you really. That pure energon-lust in your optics, just seeing it is like a shot of high-grade coursing through my circuits. I could get used to having you bound in front of me."

I grimaced at that before staring at him. "You aren't that lucky. Though if you are that desperate for a piece of your chassis to have contact with me, then let me thoroughly dissect you and you will have more contact with me than you could hope...energon included." I smirked at that and made sure to show my denta as I did.

He, of course, didn't take kindly to that. "You piece of, Ack!"

My optics widened in shock as a blade came from over my helm and impaled Delirium, his energon splattering on my faceplate. The other two mechs glanced up and I saw their optics widen just as I felt something break behind me...my bindings. "Free the others. I'll keep them busy." An unknown femme voice said before I saw a glimpse of a figure moving past me on my left. As I worked with my good servo on breaking Trecke's bonds, I watched as the femme took on the two assassins. The triple changer had two broadswords out and she seemed to be working on driving them back.

That looked like fun. The energon that the femme was already spilling from the mechs she was fighting was incredible. Plus, she seemed to be on our side. However, as I moved on to free Pastel, since with my wrist like it was I would be useless in a fight, I felt like she was familiar. But, I had never met her before. I was certain about that much at the least. So, why did I feel like I could trust her already?

Before either Trecke or Pastel could move though, I felt my spark jump for joy when our caesar appeared from behind us and put his servos on their shoulders, stopping them from moving. "My love?" Trecke asked him hesitatingly. I know how he felt. It would be strange questioning our leader, but he usually didn't stop us from fighting when we should be able to.

However, the smile on his faceplate was one that I was not used to seeing, except when he talked about… "Don't worry. We shouldn't spoil her fun. She would be pretty put out if we did." He was smiling, and he seemed happier than I had ever seen him. Just who was this? Hopefully, our leader would answer that once the fight was over. Soon, the femme had offlined the last two assassins and was seemingly trying to calm her intakes, though there was a smile on her faceplate.

"Thanks for that Sen,"

...Sen?

I glanced at Sentinel to see how he would react. To my surprise, he was smiling at her. Outside of our team and close friends, none were allowed to call him a nickname without fearing severe consequences. Yes, an explanation was in order.

"Of course. However, I think introductions are in order so the rest of the team doesn't lose their processors." He seemed smug. It had been before we arrived on Earth that I had last seen him so smug.

"Of course."

"Wait! I know you?" All of us turned in surprise to Pastel as she pointed at the strange femme, who seemed to be smiling knowingly at Pastel. "You're Lizzie!"

Wait...what?

Trecke's 1st P.O.V.

Wait...I thought that Pastel was Lizzie? She even said she was. How could this femme have been Lizzie if Pastel was?

However, the femme seemed ready for that. "And you are Kim Garson. I am quite upset with you for taking my Lizzie Val soliform name from me. I have a cycle that I get to use her and you just pushed it back by taking her." The femme then shrugged her shoulders. "But, I guess that we are teammates. I'll let it go this time."

Wait...teammates? I glanced at my love and saw that he was not moving to correct her. Did he just invite her onto the team...or was there something that I was missing?

"Pastel, how do you know her?" Fable asked our newest teammate.

Pastel motioned to the triple changer, who we didn't have an official name for yet, before she spoke. "This femme used to have a soliform that was called Lizzie Val, who I based my current soliform on. She had a disease similar to the one that Anastasia had except the illness caused her to be born blind, and it slowly deteriorated."

Wait...the soliform had the same illness show up as Anastasia? Either that was a strange coincidence, or this femme was also… "You were Anastasia as well...weren't you?"

At that, all optics moved to the femme, even my love's in surprise. "Yes. I'll talk more about it later, but due to what happened the last time I saw Sen, my chassis has taken a long time to heal itself. Whenever I would make a soliform, a portion of the program would not work...hence the unknown disease. I also needed a disease to explain the suddenness my soliforms would die at. I am sorry for making you upset about her death."

"Spar me later and we'll be even," I growled in annoyance when Fable said that to our newest teammate. She was just living her life the best she could before we came into it. And then breaking out of that once she realized that we were what, and who in the case of my love, we were was only natural.

"Don't blackmail her for something that needed to happen you energon-thirsty glitch."

Fable simply smirked back at me. "It isn't blackmailing if we both agree."

Annoyance ticked in my spark before I shook my helm. We didn't have time to deal with this. "I'll deal with you later." I then looked back to the femme. "While you have met my love before, the rest of us need introductions, dear lovely. Also, as the newest members of the team, we need to get information on both you and Pastel."

"Plus I'll need to have you femmes read my medical forms and sign them before I can work on you," Fable added before he smirked. "I can't wait to dismember you both."

Pastel looked understanding, despite the cruel way that the mongrel just spoke to them. However, the other femme had an optic raised and paired with a knowing smile on her faceplate, I felt like I was missing something important. But, what could I be missing?

My love and leader then motioned to the femme, who I realized we did not have a name for. "Fable, Trecke," I felt a shiver travel down my backplates as he spoke my name. "while you are both correct on what we need to have the two of them do, you have missed something. Pastel is the only new member of the team."

Wait...how could Pastel be the only new member of the team? I didn't know the femme in front of us, and neither Fable nor Pastel seemed to know her as a bot. However, there was the fact that my love and leader did know her. Not only that, but he seemed to be very close to her too.

"My love," I spoke hesitantly, motioning to the triple changer. "Who is this?"

The femme and our leader exchanged a look before she nodded toward him. With that, he smiled and looked back at us. "Pastel, you will not have heard of this femme before. Trecke and Fable; I have told both of you about this femme many times at this point. It is an honor to introduce to you all, in the metal...Pandimala."

My optics widened as I stared at the femme in front of me. This...this was the first member that our dear leader recruited onto our team. She, who was supposed to have died back on Archa 7, was standing in front of us. I could barely believe it. Of course, the ease that my lovely leader acted around her already, should have explained it to us.

It was then that I let his words truly sink in and I felt a smile spread across my faceplate. Pandimala...the teammate that I had been so cruelly denied being able to meet by those two incompetent Primes. My lovely Pandimala, the one that had helped guide our dear leader from the wayward path he had been undertaking by a stroke of fate. The one that our leader helped keep company as she suffered those long stellar cycles she was trapped on Archa 7. The one that was willing to sacrifice herself to save our leader and those two Primes.

Here she was before us. I felt so unworthy to even be in her presence, let alone being on the same team as her. This was such an honor...I felt...I felt…

"It is my honor mechs...and femme," I glanced up with wide optics at Pandimala as she spoke those words. "You have been there for Sen...been there when I couldn't." My spark constricted when I heard a small cry come from her. "Thank you...thank you all so much. I worried for him so much after the explosion. I hoped that he was okay...but I never knew." She was now crying as she continued to speak. "I couldn't know what would happen to him. What hardships might face him? But you were there for him. You were there." She then dropped to her knees in front of us, causing looks of panic on each of our faceplates. "Thank you,"

Our leader was the first to move as he quickly knelt in front of Pandimala and embraced her in a hug. I was quick to follow my leader's lead, as seemed the other two were, and soon the four of us were gathered around our upset teammate. As well all knelt there, our chassis so close together, my spark felt like it was beating in time with theirs. We were a team. No...not just a team. We were Team Apocalypse. Those who dared to cross us would meet their ends. We would take no prisoners.

Something had to end this moment, however, and from the angry sigh that came from my love a few clicks after we entered this unification seemed to signal that. Most likely Team Orion. So, we all separated and stood as my leader seemed to read whatever message came through.

"This isn't good," my leader finally spoke after a few clicks. "Optimus sent me a message to meet at coordinates north of the city. It seems that, while we were fighting for our lives against assassins, the Decepticons attacked them. It also seems that they have tried to call us to help...multiple times during our own fight." I could hear the anger in Sentinel's vocals. Of course, my love had a right to. Did Team Orion think that we were ignoring them for the fun of it?

"Your signal was disrupted," Pandimala spoke with a confused look on her faceplate. "Won't Optimus understand that once you tell him?"

I shook my helm. "My lovely Pandimala, Team Orion...which is the team that Optimus Prime and Elita-One Prime, does not get along with us for the most part. Outside of the scout and techno-organic that we are training, my lovebug Bumblebee and my dear Sari, their team despises ours. They try to make us get along when they have put no effort in for us to do so. They despise us, think themselves superior to us because we are a little different."

"Not only that," Fable jumped in with, for a rarity, a serious look on his faceplate. "But as far as we have seen, they take no responsibility about what happened to you, Pandimala, on Archa 7. Their team is starting to fray at the edges because they have refused to talk to their team about what happened on that solar." Fable then let off a growl, returning to his sadistic ways. "They dare allow my leader to take the burden of that solar solely on his shoulders while they stay clear of the energon spilled. Those who were supposed to be his friends left him to be torn apart by society. They wouldn't stand up for him, and take responsibility as they should, while he was scorned, ridiculed, and sometimes even attacked over that." I sometimes forgot how much research Fable had done into our love and leader. Those early solars for our team were especially rough, the solar I met my love and leader flashed through my helm. Of course, before I could deep into that, Fable continued to act like a raging beast. "I will tear them to shreds for that. Each bot who dared to hurt our leader."

"That should wait for now,"...wait. Pandimala was agreeing with Fable's ravings. "For now though, while on Earth, it seems we need to watch our step. And that means that I shouldn't be seen. I'll just cause tension for now. Sen," Our leader turned to Pandimala as she addressed him. "Go to Team Orion, and try to explain to them what happened without bringing me into it. Try not to offline their team," Her look turned to Fable and me as she said that. "It is best to let that build for now. I just have a feeling that their treatment of us will bite them eventually."

My love nodded toward her. "That sounds like good advice...like always 'Mala. I've already sent you the coordinates for our base. Since Team Orion doesn't spend much time there, outside of Bumblebee and Sari, then we should be able to keep you under the radar there." Pandimala nodded. "The rest of us will go to this meeting with Team Orion. Please, try to restrain yourselves."

Well, I would try for my love and leader. "Of course my love."

"I'll try my best not to disembowel them, dear Ceaser," Fable added.

Finally, Pastel gave a relaxed salute. "I'll give it my best effort Sentinel!" She then let out a laugh. "Let's go meet them quickly. Pandimala and I need some femme time to get to know each other since you all are at least familiar with her." She then started to move out.

"I'll meet you all back at the base then," Pandimala said in farewell before she moved toward the base.

"You better be there when we get back, or there will be Pit to pay," our leader yelled after her.

Pandimala smiled at that and nodded. "I would expect nothing less from you, Sen." She then disappeared into the woods.

I stared after her for a click before transforming next to my love and following him. However, even though we moved away from Pandimala, my thoughts stayed with her. She was everything that our leader had promised she was, and even more. I felt hope just being with her for those few clicks. And my leader had fifty stellars of this kind of interaction with her. It was now no surprise how he changed so much.

Pandimala was going to be an amazing love to work with.


Fable: Oh, I cannot wait for the chance to dissect you femmes for the first time.

Pandimala: *slow smile* Of course. But first, you all must survive your meeting with Team Orion.

Trecke: *sighs* My lovely femme, why do you bring up such a challenge for the rest of us?

Pandimala: *laughs* Because it will only be a matter of time before my own meeting with them, and I will enjoy every click before my own meeting.

Fable: *smirks* I really can't wait to work with you Pandimala.


AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you have all enjoyed this! Pandimala has met the team and all went as well as it could. The next chapter will start the drama with Team Orion and the separate fights that took place. Possibly, depending on how I feel when writing the next chapter, we may even see Sentinel allowing Fable and Trecke to let loose on them. Lots of excitement to come in the future! Thank you all for staying with me through the sparse updates!

So, without further adieu, here are the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 13: The Autobots Strike Back

Chapter 14: Vulcan and Athenia

Chapter 15:...(find out next time)

And that's all for now folks. Please leave a review, or just leave a hello. I'll greatly appreciate it! So, until next time, TTYL! *desperately wanting a pickle wrap*