Okay, hello... ahh I'm so annoyed right now.

So here's the thing: I ALWAYS edit and post on my computer. And it broke...yeah. So now, I'm stuck using my phone, meaning I'm having a harder time doing pretty much everything.

So that's great, huh?

Another announcement! So that Outsiders fanfic...That's no longer a thing because it was really bad, and I kinda just don't want to write it. BUTTTT... In it's place, I will be writing a new story. And I've been working on this fic WAY longer than this one. Like two years longer. But I wrote about thirty to forty something pages of it, then realized I didn't like how it wen't, so I started over! But this one will be a drumroll please...AVENGERS story. Yasssss. I'm gonna actually end up collaborating with a friend of mine, so it's gonna be pretty cool. But don't get TOO excited because this is like, not close to now. But I will get there this time!

Also this chapter...whooooooooo...just read and find out, I guess XD

Enjoy!

(Also I'm listening to the Shia LaBeouf "Just Do It" remix because it's 2:30 and I'm, again, editing on my phone)

Chapter 14

I jolted awake, a throbbing pain still in my chest. It felt, somewhat, like when one wakes up from a nightmare. I gasped once tried to steady my breathing. I blinked, my vision still somewhat blurry, yet I could see the outline of the Autobots.

I saw what could only be Optimus, turn and bend down, his servo softly rubbing my arm. He was trying to make sure I was awake. I sat up, still blinking. I sighed and frowned. What the hell just happened? This wasn't a 'oh wow that was crazy' what the hell just happened. It was a 'what the actual hell just happened because I don't remember anything past Optimus giving me a sweet goodnight' what the hell just happened. The only thing I even vaguely remembered was who it involved. Me and...my Friend.

I stared up at my guardian, my vision finally clearing. He wore a concerned expression, beyond what I could think possible. I glanced past him and noticed the rest of the Autobots, who all wore a similar expression. Blushing in embarrassment, I muttered a quiet, "sorry." No one made a move to say anything, so I awkwardly cleared my throat and made a desperate attempt to change the subject.

"So er...are we still meeting the uh...nevermind," I trailed off with a sigh. Ironhide spoke up from where he stood behind Optimus.

"In reference to the new Autobot recruits," he paused, shooting Optimus a quick glare before resuming where he left off. "Their course has been a rather...difficult one, and therefore, they will arrive tonight." I blinked in surprise.

"Oh! Well...that's alright." I looked towards Optimus, my eyebrows furrowed in worry. My next question came out slow and in a small squeak. "That's alright...Isn't it?" Optimus glanced back at Ratchet, his dentals clenched. Ratchet crossed his servos. The Prime sighed before turning back to me.

"On the Autobots refugee ship, there are quite a few Autobots arriving to join us. Among those was our best engineer." I pursed my lips and frowned.

"Were? What happened? Are they alright?" My questions came out in an odd tumble. Optimus seemed to do an odd exhale before answering.

"While I am not willing to share many details, Wheeljack's spark…" he trailed off, and I distantly wondered that, if he was human, his voice might've cracked. I instantly reached out and placed a hand in his ped, giving him my condolences. I knew what that meant. Wheeljack had died. 'No, he was probably killed,' I thought bitterly. I wasn't Cybertronian, yet I still knew that it was pretty rare for them to die of sickness. Plus, considering with the quick talk I had with Jazz, I knew that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker fought alongside the rest of the Autobots on the field. So who on earth would kill an engineer and leave two soldiers alive? Ratchet huffed and looked away.

"We don't know if his spark was extinguished," he said, voice firm, though at this point, it only seemed as if he was trying to convince himself. I gazed up at Optimus, and he let out a silent sigh, only detected simply because I was staring at him. Or looking at him…I gazed back at Ratchet, my cheeks heating up as I strayed away from my strange ways of comforting people I actually I found… somewhat pleasant.

"Ratchet…" Ironhide started. Ratchet growled.

"Don't start that slag with me, Ironhide," he snapped before angrily walking away. I raised an eyebrow in confusion as the green mech stalked past a group of people, snarling at them. My eyes widened in realization. I was willing to bet money I knew why Ratchet was so upset. I would have to ask someone later. By the strained look in his optics, I would hesitate to ask Optimus. I would ask Jazz if I got the chance. Ironhide if that didn't work. Bumblebee too. Just not Optimus or Ratchet. Over the past few days, I had sorta begun to understand how my "powers" worked." Not the weird elements thingy. But the everything-Cybertronian thingy. I came up with that creative name. Everyone stood in a circle, most likely reminiscing, and I stood with my head bowed, a respect for a lost warrior. Eventually, Ironhide walked away, grumbling something I didn't fully understand. All I caught was, "radio. slagging humans. weapon."

Bumblebee, who was closest to him, followed him, a servo on Ironhide's shoulder. The large, dark mech shrugged it off and began again, after pausing, at a much faster pace. Optimus let out a breath and turned towards Jazz and I, though he never looked at us in the eyes.

"If you will excuse me," he said before turning away and walking outside of the base, leaving only Jazz and I to glance at each other.

"Heya Rose…ya wanna go for a drive?" He asked. I looked up at him, giving him a soft smile. Though I could see the pain in his optics, he still grinned back.

"Yeah, sure! Let's go somewhere. I know a cool spot we can go to." Jazz shook a little before transforming, and I gave him a look.

"Don' tell Ratch," he muttered, and for some reason, I giggled. I blamed it on hysteria.

"I wouldn't dream of it…but what's wrong with you?" Even if Jazz was still a car, I knew for a fact he would have shrugged.

"Ah don' know. Mos' likely jus' need ta change a few gears out." I played along, nodding as I did so, not believing a word he said. I would either tell Optimus, or simply check him myself. Still, I slid in when the doors opened, and lightly shut behind me. We sped out of what looked like a massive garage, which led out of the base and out of a massive gate. He immediately let the hood down, and I sighed as the wind whipped through my braided hair. I gasped in realization at my outfit. I forgot to change! I still wore the workout shorts and spaghetti strap top I slept in. I pursued my lips and sighed. I guess I didn't look too horrible. I pulled my hair out and shook it loose, every single strand flailing through the wind.

"Where to?" Jazz asked.

"Oh," I remembered. I quickly gave him the location and he sped off in that direction. It took us only about twenty-five minutes to arrive, and we were sitting above the ocean. Jazz stared into the horizon, optics lit with wonder.

"It's nice, huh?" I whispered. I hadn't taken anyone here. Not even my mother. Not even Optimus. Just Jazz.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Ya know, I love this planet. Even more than the rest of mah family. It's so vibrant and culturally diverse and rich. It wasn't like that back on Cybertron." I glanced up at him.

"What was Cybertron like then? I mean I've seen it visibly through...well visions…but what are the mechs and femmes like?" Jazz smiled and looked back to the skyline.

"Well Cybertronian people are just like humans. Some are more pleasant than others." I stared into the ocean thoughtfully as he continued. "Us Cybertronians, though, are all born into a class." I nodded.

"Okay, that makes sense. Kinda like humans." Jazz shook his helm.

"Nah, it's a bit different. Imagine the second class, which is the most common for you guys if I'm correct. You can get out of the class, either dropping into the third, or making it to the first. That's not how it works on Cybertron. We almost have to stay in our class." I frowned and looked at him. It was so odd how his accent faded in and out.

"So what if you want to be someone different? You just have to deal with it?" Jazz nodded.

"Pretty much. At least that's how the council would like it to be. If ya really try hard, some can get out. Not many though." I raised a brow.

"Wasn't Ratchet a Royal?" Jazz chuckled.

"Ah don't know how you figured that out, but you're smart fo' not bringing it up. A' least no' to his face plates," he said, chuckles turning into laughs. I grinned along with him. "Anyways, yeah he's a Royal. He worked hard and became a medic. Plus, the council was different when he was in training.

Same as Optimus, myself, and Hide. The council began to change, to lose the meaning of peace, when Bumblebee was jus' a sparklin'." I stared back out into the ocean.

"What happened to it? To the council?" Jazz shook his head before responding.

"To be honest, Rose…Ah'm not so sure what made it to be like it was. Megatron was a starter, the main thing. Cybertronians don't realize the time between his little er…show to the High Council, and the time before he actually started a rebellion. It took a bit of time." My eyes widened.

"Enough time for people to inch their way into the Council...Enough time for the rules to be changed." Jazz snapped and nodded.

"Bingo! Keeping that in mind…" he trailed off, waiting for me to finish.

"Meaning that at his little rebellion was only plan B!" He smiled at me, looking very proud. "No wonder you're Optimus's second in command! You're amazing on the field and you're really smart," I gushed over his logic. Jazz shrugged and looked away.

"Ah guess." I frowned.

"What's wrong? Come on Jazz, you know you're smart." He looked down at me and smiled.

"When ya get told things for so long, you start ya believe 'em," he said softly. I immediately sat up straighter. I would beat anyone who told Jazz he was stupid...And I meant anyone.

"Who told you otherwise?" The mech sighed before looking towards the sky.

"Mah carrier used to tell me that. Ah guess ah finally started to believe 'er," he said, face expression dropping sadly. I stared at him, biting my lower lip. I wasn't used to many emotions, but god I felt so damn bad. How was I supposed to fix this? The most awful person! How?

"You know it's odd. How everyone will tell you one positive thing. Then all but one person tells you somethin' different, and suddenly, it's that one person you believe." He turned to look at me, optics brightening slightly.

"Yeah, it's shit," he chuckled softly. I softly laughed with him.

"Yes, it is. But here's my point. You're second in command. Not in second in command of a general. Or a medic. Not a weapons specialist. Not even a scout. You're second in command of a Prime. If that doesn't tell you that you're pretty goddamn awesome and smart, then I don't know what will. Stupid mechs aren't second in command of Primes ya know," I smiled. He grinned at me.

"Yeah, Ah guess you're right." I narrowed my eyes.

"You guess? Oh, you just "guess" I'm right," I scoffed playfully. He laughed.

"Okay then! You're right!"

I shrugged.

"...I know. I'm always right," I easily teased.

"Oh really. Is that wha' ya tell yourself?" I grinned before shrugging.

"Maybe." He shook his helm. Suddenly I spoke up. "You know at the party? When I went to the bathroom?" Jazz nodded at me, grin still on his faceplate. And god, for the life of me, I didn't understand why I was telling him this. I never told anyone anything.

Still…"So I saw my dad," I said trailing off to raise my hands in a "calm down" gesture. "No, wait. Get this… He was with another woman! Like actually!" Jazz swiveled to stare at me in disbelief.

"He actually brought another fem-er person? Wha' if someone caught 'em?" I threw my hands up.

"That's what I'm saying. Do you realize how many people are friends with both of them? If they see them together, they wouldn't hesitate to inform my mom. As a matter of fact, I'm willing to bet she knows." Jazz raised an optic ridge.

"So you're sayin' you didn't tell 'er yourself?" I scoffed.

"I've learned to keep my mouth shut about things that would benefit my mother. Because it always turns out so well," my sarcastic tone ringing like a bell normal people would want to let Ratchet use for stress.

But me… well let's just say I loved that tone.

Jazz gave me a look from the corner of his optics, and I easily handed it right back to him. He shook his helm, muttering.

"I jus' don' understand ya." I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"What, me or my insanely crude logic?" I questioned, though it was sort of rhetorical.

"Both," he chuckled. I uncrossed my arms, because let's be real here, my feet were dangling off of a cliff, and below that cliff, was miles and miles of ocean. I had better things to do.

"I don't understand me either, Jazz," I sighed, my moods swinging like a pregnant cat again. Jazz sighed.

"Tha's tha thing though. In this world, are we really made to understan' ourselves. If we did, wha's really tha point in living?" I shrugged.

"What if there isn't a point to living," I countered. We let my question hang for a moment. Jazz choose that moment to cross his servos, and suddenly, he seemed a bit annoyed, though I couldn't tell if it was because of what I said.

"Maybe," he said, voice surprisingly soft. He made a move to stand, and as soon as he was on his peds, he had transformers. "Lets head out. Optimus and Ratchet wan' us back at tha base. Or more specifically, you." I rolled my eyes and hopped in, shutting the door behind me. What did I do this time?

"They give you any details?" I questioned.

"Nah. Optimus doesn't usually give details." I sighed and rested my head on the door...Oh wonderful.

As soon as Jazz had pulled into the N.E.S.T base, I was out of the car and quickly jogging to my guardian. He stared at me, optic raised.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, softly panting because, as it seemed, I had been layin' on the sugar a little but too much in my coffee. Or I'm just lazy...Nah, it's the coffee.

"Yes, everyone is safe. May I ask why you felt the need to arrive so quickly?" I sent him a look and shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the fact that you randomly sent a comm. to Jazz, giving absolutely no detail at all!" Optimus blinked slowly before speaking.

"I apologize for being so vague with my message, but I believe I did in fact give a brief summary of why I needed you to return," he said, glancing at Jazz with a concerned look.

I, in return, glared at the silver bot, who simply shrugged.

"To be fair, we ha' ta go through tha woods."

I growled, and stomped down on one of his peds. He winced but did nothing else. From somewhere across the room, Ironhide laughed, and I sent him a 'you're next' look, effectively silencing him.

"That's not freaking true, and you know it! Either you're audio receptors are messed up, or there's an issue with the comm. systems." Jazz sighed and shrugged. Optimus held up a servo, silencing us.

"This...issue will be handled later. As for now, the reason I called you here was to assist us." I raised a brow.

"With what?" I mean, there isn't much I can do than what they could.

"Simple," Ratchet said, coming literally out of nowhere. Oh yeah! He called me here too. "We need your help in making our holograms." I frowned.

"Don't you have holograms?" Ratchet nodded.

"Yes, but these need to be different. These need to be real." I blinked at them for a few moments before bursting out into laughter. They didn't laugh with me, so I immediately got the vibe that they were serious.

"You do realize what you're asking me to do, right? That's combining something that's based off of a projector or something, and trying to make it into something like a real person." Ratchet rolled his optics.

"Yes, Rose. We are aware of what we are asking you to do. Now, if you are done stating the obvious, I'd like to get to work." I pushed out a breath, trying to calm myself before staring up at the green medic.

"Ratchet?" I began softly, clenching my teeth together.

"Hmm?" I took a deep breath.

"Shut the hell up. Please. Shut up before I weld you to the ceiling." He glared at me, servo already moving to his chassis, and in return, my hand snapping to my side. Optimus put a servo on Ratchet's and Jazz looked at me, his expression somewhat terrified. I shrugged.

"It's his fault I have it in the first place," I said, pointing at Ratchet. Jazz shook his head.

"No, you've carried tha' around long before you and Ratch learned to terrorize each other," he said, mostly likely revenge for me calling him out for his lie. Well, lucky for me, I didn't give two shits. I nodded and moved over to the lab table.

"So, what have you gotten done thus far?" Ratchet looked sheepish, and he probably would've scratched the back of his helm if his servos weren't crossed.

"We were er...hoping you could lead us in the right direction." I blinked in a fast rhythm, once again. Was it weird how fast we "made up" or is it just me?

"Are we sure this can't wait until tomorrow? We have to meet up with you're um...family, I guess. Later? But we were gone for a bit so…" Ratchet immediately shook his head.

"We mustn't push this off for long." I waved his worries away, in an attempt to reassure him.

"No we won't! Just for like a day...or two. Two days at max!" Optimus glanced at Ratchet.

"Rose is correct. This isn't as mandatory as you claim, as it it just your personal interest and curiosity that is demanding that this gets done at once." I bit my lip to keep from laughing, and Ratchet's horrified/offended/outraged face expressions were not helping. "It can wait," Optimus's voice rang with finality and I mentally did my victory screech.

I had gotten my way, so now all I had to do was wait.

So, as it turns out, waiting can be quite uneventful, and by the time "tonight" rolled around, I was as antsy as ever. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down because this wasn't going to be a fun thing. It was going to be somber and bittersweet.

But still, as Optimus transformed and I hopped into his cab, I bit my lip in a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

"You are excited." It wasn't exactly a question. More like an observation. "As it would make sense of you to be. If it were under different circumstances, I would be too. But even still, I still may be a little excited as well." I grinned at him and his strange words, not even caring, simply because he didn't care that I wasn't just sad. In total, the drive took about forty-five minutes, and spent my time gazing from the window. I had wondered why Sam, Mikaela and Dylan weren't invited, but then Ironhide had information that it was simply because of Optimus's rank. Still, deep down, I knew that even if Ratchet was my guardian, I still would've been allowed to tag along.

Probably because I was "special." I'm sure you can figure out which type I'm referring to...The first type.

I was positive we had arrived simply because of the terrain. We had gone from the city roads and whatnot, to a dry, rocky clay clearing. It sorta reminded me of a desert. The sunset gleamed from what seemed to be the other side of the clearing. It was just below the mountains. I looked to the sky, already being able to see the lining of the Autobots carrier.

That's what I was calling it now. The Autobot carrier. Ratchet told me not to call it that, but now I'm doing it just because he told me not to. The ship landed about five minutes later, and I hung back, even though Optimus almost desperately gestured for me to join him at the front.

Suddenly, Jazz had me in his servos, and in the next moment, I was on my guardian's shoulder.

"Thanks," I muttered sarcastically. I watched one by one as the Autobots stumbled out of their ship, heads bowed slightly. Each one nodded respectfully at the Prime before giving him an odd look upon noticing me.

With each Autobot that nodded at the Optimus, I got small flashes of them. Of their lives. Of who they were before and after Megatron. Still, I had so many questions. I knew that the reason they arrived in a ship instead of the weird little pods the other Autobots arrived in was simply because they had more they all looked the same considering they hadn't chosen a vehicle form yet.

I distantly wondered which one was Sideswipe because I hadn't gotten anything from him yet. Especially about his brother. I felt so bad for him, about how he must be feeling.

But suddenly, I didn't wonder. Because I knew.

As his light blue optics made contact with my purplish eyes, something shifted inside of me.

I gazed at him, so confused, but I didn't want whatever this was to stop. Then I remembered.

The vision.

The mech in the ice.

...It was Sideswipe!

Holy crapppppp! Sideswipe. Him of all mechs XD

But man, poor Wheeljack! And poor Ratchet! But…what's the deal between those two anyways?

We'll just have find out!