A/N: Heyo everyone! This...this took way to long! My word, I think I rewrote this chapter like ten times! Ah well, its here so lets look on the positive side of things here, RIGHT?! Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this new chapter, it was literally hell to write and yeah...to think I wanted to add this on to the previous chapter before deciding to split it...it was a good choice in the end.

But enough with the ramblings, this chapter is gonna be awesome ;D

Anyways, please, enjoy the show!

Chapter 20-Gifted, Cursed and Blessed

Bulletta's POV

As I pulled up to Sierra's home, I came to a thought. I haven't talked to Sierra since Saturday, the day of the attack. And she was with her Mother for Sunday, now it's Monday. Even though it was one day of not seeing her, I missed her. She was a breath of fresh air, and someone I had interesting conversations with. Also, she was a great academic when she put her mind to it, it kinda made me feel proud that my charge was doing well in school as well as socially with the other kids.

I heard the door opening and I saw her running towards me, a little disheveled, wearing a sweater, jeans and running shoes with her backpack, her hair usually in a ponytail not tied and messy, she had a brush and tie in hand and a frown on her face as I opened to door and let her in.

"Woah, you okay there Sierra?" I asked as she buckled herself in and started brushing her hair as I started making my way to school.

She sighed heavily, "No, my Mom is such a nuisance, she had me stay with her all Sunday trying to get me together with Vince and 'suggesting' that I ditch the others for my old friends!"

I sounded my displeasure right there and then, "Goddess, if I could ring her neck, I would."

Sierra burst into a bubbly laughter, snorting to herself, "Ha, I'd pay to see that!"

I chuckled, "Thanks, but what's with the look?"

"Oh this? I just overslept because she was yapping late into the night, so I am also super tired." She finished her ponytail, still slightly messy but she didn't seem to care too much and placed her brush in her bag. "So, what'd I miss on Sunday?"

"Not too much," I sighed, lying to her never felt right, "So don't worry about it, everyone's getting better, they are on their peds today."

We arrived at the school, it seemed we were last to arrive as Bulkhead, Arcee and Bee were already there waiting.

"And this is where the fun begins," I opened the door and Sierra groaned, "Remember, even though you are tired, do your best alright? Now, I'll see you at the end of the school day, alright?"

She shook her head, "I'll never get how you love this stuff so much, no matter, see ya Letta!" She said as she headed towards the school and the first bell rang.

As soon as she was in, the others began to take off back to base.

Sierra's POV

I groaned and yawned for the millionth time today, it was only the second period and I was so done with this Monday. I thought I would hang with the bots all weekend, not listen to my horrid Mother all Sunday! God, if only she would drop dead, or something. My head was placed on my arms that were crossed on my desk, my bleary eyes staring off to the side facing the rest of students in the room.

It was then, ignoring the math lesson, that I noticed something odd.

Rafael, the best student of the school and the most studious, wasn't paying attention.

More specifically, he was writing down something in a new notebook that didn't seem school related. He was only a row from me, and shorter, so when I raised my head to look I could see strange writing on the page, like unreadable writing. I didn't know if it was code, another language or what, but it seemed...strange.

There were also drawings beside the letters, it was hard to make out, but they looked like a ring, a deck of cards, and a...jacket? On the seat was the same jacket, leather and brown with silver studs on the shoulders and sleeves and around the hem of the jacket with beautiful designs imprinted onto the leather. The leather itself looked real and expensive.

I know fashion, I live for fashion and by GOD is that jacket incredible...but where did he get it?

Looking back at the clock I saw that it was another half an hour till this period ended and I had to trudge through before lunch, then I could corner the kid and get the info as to where he got that jacket!

And also ask about the notebook.

"MISS CHAMBERS!" A shout knocked me from my thoughts, my head spun to the teacher who was staring at me with a death glare, apparently he was trying to get my attention for...something.

I weakly said, "Y-Yes?"

He frowned deeply before growling out, "What is the answer for the question on the board?"

"Uhhh…" I looked at the question and was completely lost, we were starting a new lesson today so I had no idea what it even was. "...t-ten..?"

He was silent for a moment, scrutinizing me with beady eyes before sighing, "Miss Chambers, if you want to pass the class I suggest you keep your focus on the lessons, lest you fail my class."

I bowed my head in shame, I could hear Bulletta berating me in the back of my head, "R-Right, sorry…"

He huffed before going on, the other students snickering, especially Vince and my old friends. I groaned and tried to focus for the rest of the class. But it was hard, when all you could think about was the possibility of finding a new place to buy clothes that you actually want.

Outside the Secret Lab...

Cenotaph's POV

Through slight shimmers and angles I got a good look at the Celestial Promise, already here and prepped for what was to come. It was cloaked, as agreed upon, but how it got here only Primus knows...probability with some god-voodoo magic.

"Well...that's one puzzle piece." I said to myself before heading back inside.

You see, creating a new spell, from scratch, was not easy. Some take years to complete, some take so long that many people over the span of hundreds of years are needed for completion. So, I had a large task ahead, both me and Ratchet. But for now, Ratchet was back at base and wouldn't join me till later, guaranteed no Decepticon action happens, that is, though I doubt it.

So I was alone, with my thoughts, and my lab...what a necromancer to do?

Well, I am raising cybertronian undead, maybe I need to learn more about my subjects, both living and dead. I got the dead part, with Skyquake in a resting state in another part of the lab, now I just need a living subject.

"Quintus, are there any Decepticon mines in proximity to the lab?" I asked out loud, I knew he appeared in the mirror behind me.

I turned as he nodded and said, "Southwest, approximately 50 miles away."

I growled, "50 miles...that's a ways away...ah, nothing magic can't fix."

I walked away from the mirror as Quintus disappeared from it. Returning to the jungle outside I tapped my staff on the ground, alighting it with a blue tint before tapping myself with it. Instantly I was lifted off the ground as the spell Fly took over.

Using my mind to control my movements, I shot up into the air before speeding off at unnatural speeds southwest heading for the mine. It wouldn't be easy to get a live one, but if I could grab one of those Vehicons, then I could call it a victory as they seem very killable...from what I've heard.

It took some time, even with flight, but eventually I was upon the mine, before being spotted I darted into the trees, leaping from to another using the littlest power of the spell. I soon came to the edge of a clearing and there before me was the mine. The hole in the ground seemed to be a sinkhole with the Cons having made an elevator to get up and down into the mine.

Around it were at least a dozen Eradicons and Vechicons. Coming in and out, as well patrolling. As I stared at them I realized something...I am going to need multiple. On Cybertron, during the heydays of the war, mostly true cybertronians fought, not these copies. Which meant...I need one these, or well two since Eradicons and Vechicons are different, as well as a true blooded cybertronian, that was also living...well...this just got harder.

For now, I will just take one, if possible two of each.

But how? Without having the whole mine go after a squishy unarmored wizard such as I?

Then, it hit me.

I slid down the tree I was perched and alighted my staff again, drawing a glyph in the air with it that shone purple. Then I placed it beneath me and shunted it upwards. Magic passed over me as the spell took effect, to me I still looked the same, but to the others, I now looked like Soundwave, it was easier to do the somewhat same height for oneself with the Disguise Self spell to make it more believable.

But it didn't allow me to disguise my voice, so Soundwave was the only option.

Also, how do I know what he looks like? The Dream, and that whole learning of what the others had been through, I saw Nerium and Moonfall respectively met the mech, so here we are.

With confidence, because if you got none then it's easy to see you are a liar, I stepped into the clearing. I walked straight towards a Vechicon that looked to be the one in charge. The others stopped, surprised and shocked to see their 'superior' here, without anyone noticing.

The Vechicon itself-or was it a he? It was hard to tell, their frames were all so similar. But, from the squeak and the soft yet tough voice that came next assured me that it was a she.

"C-Commander S-Soundwave...what d-do we owe the pleasure, sir?" She stuttered out, slightly shaking in her armor.

I motioned for her to follow me, she tilted her helm slightly, "I-Is there a p-problem, sir?"

I simply nodded yes and more forcefully motioned for her to follow.

"B-But sir, aren't you supposed to be with Lord Megatron giving the daily reports?" She asked, slightly more assertively.

I was getting annoyed, and grabbed her arm, forcing her to follow me.

She gasped, "S-Sir! I-I-I didn't m-mean to question..." She trailed off though, to my relief.

I ignored her stuttering...it was getting on my nerves. But before I could get out of the clearing, another Con, an Eradicon, mech, stopped me.

"Sir, I don't question your wisdom, but our leader needs to present for the operation, what if something went wrong?" I frowned but before I could I noticed the Vechicon staring at my hand.

That's when I realized my error.

Quickly I let go of her, but it was too late. She noticed that my supposed 'spindly digits' were actually thicker and sharp than what was seen. That's when the illusion flickered in my mind, and now I registered that she could see straight through it.

She screamed, "It's a ruse!"

Suddenly her arms transformed into blasters along with everyone else's.

Acting quickly I took my staff, cracking it across the ground and creating a purple door way, a Dimension Door spell. I snatched at the femme Vechicon and forced her and myself to fall into said portal. It was quick, a flash of purple and then we were on the other side, about 500 feet from the mine, the furthest the spell could go.

She tumbled into the ground before getting back up and firing, I dodged easily as she was shaky from the teleportation and I whipped my staff across the air, casting Thunderwave and pushing her back 10 feet with a thunderous wave of force and knocking her onto her back.

But to my surprise she quickly got back up and switched up to blades, charging at me like a crazed bull.

This time I felt the blades pierce my protoform in my shoulder and across my chest and the warm Energon poured out like rivers. I used my greater height and slight strength to grab her helm before lifting and slamming her onto the ground. Then I pointed my staff into her helm, a Fire Bolt spell, a cantrip that shoots a fire bullet, reading it in her face.

I growled, "If you want to keep that spark beating, I suggest you stop struggling…"

She spat back, "I'll happily die for the Decepticon cause, Autobitch!"

I smirked at that one, which made her still in her fury, "Well then...I don't mind but…I want you alive for what I am about to inflict upon you...but first…"

I raised the staff and cracked across her helm, knocking her out completely.

Huffing, I sat back before saying to myself, "Sometimes...brute force will just do."

Back at the School…

Raf's POV

I rubbed my head as a headache came in waves, I was obsessing with what I had discovered late last night. I had come home from the base, and found that in my exhaustion I had overlooked somethings left in my room. It seemed Primus and the Primes had granted us Satellites with gifts to aid us in the waking world. He had granted me a Deck of Illusions which according to him, if I draw a card I could create a random illusion which could be interesting.

Then there was the jacket, which was to mimic my armor in the Dreamworld, it was a jacket imbued with Bludgeoning and Force Resistance which could come in handy if a Con or some other tried to squash me or hit me. And finally, a ring that held the Falling Stars logo on it. According to Primus, when activated by the command word 'Astrum' I would transform into what I looked like in the Dream.

Also, when just worn, it granted me things like languages from their worlds that I could pick from and instantly learn. Of course I could only choose one, so I chose the most interesting, Celestial.

And amazingly enough that wasn't all, I had limited access to spells, only Cantrips up to Level 2 though, which was quite cool. I also became proficient at an instrument of my choosing, to which I choose the electric violin. Why? It looks cool, it sounds cool and it's weird, which makes it awesome. But, with all this new info in my head, it felt overwhelming. So I focused on basically purging the 'data' as it were, onto paper in a new notebook.

It eased my headache little by little, but it had side effects, I was completely ignoring those around me. And I was at school...so yeah, today was a really off day. With this in mind I also came to the conclusion that all of this was way more important than school so I gave into apathy and completely dived into my writing subject as I moved on from the artifacts to the new abilities I got from the ring during Lunch.

"Hey, Raf." Sierra's voice suddenly was right beside me.

I jumped, snapping my head to see that she looked...shabby if there was any word for it.

I gave her a nervous smile and waved, "H-Hey, you scared me."

She smiled as she sat down next to me, we were outside, away from the nosy cafeteria. Miko was in detention and Jack was finishing a test he had for another class. So that meant we wouldn't be interrupted, which meant I had to deal with her. Not saying she is a bad or boring person to be with...but I had way more interesting things to do than to speak to her.

"So," She said, staring at me with curiosity, "Where'd you get the jacket?"

I froze, suddenly remembering her obsession with fashion...great.

"Oh...it's a gift, I-I don't know where it came from." I said nervously, trying to derail the topic at hand.

But she wasn't having it, "Oh, then can I see the tag?"

I began even more nervous and slightly shuffled away, "...uh, no…"

She then frowned, confused, "But...why? It's just a jacket, a really nice looking one at that."

I stood up, closing my notebook and grabbed my backpack, "S-Sorry, I-I have to go."

I needed to get out of this situation, because for the first time ever, I felt something...off. There was this cloud or all consuming fear that was wracking my whole body the longer I spoke with Sierra. My heart was racing, palms sweaty, I was shaking and my mind was stuttering and stammering and my thought process was racing yet going to slow.

This is the first time I've ever felt like this...and I hated it.

So, running away sounded really good right now.

But she stood, grabbing my shoulder with a concerned expression, "Raf, are you okay? You look pale."

I can't think, my throat was closing up and I was starting to break into a sweat.

Without saying a word to Sierra I wrenched free from her and quickly walked away, and down the road. I didn't even consider going back into the school building. I just needed to be...away. I didn't understand where this came from, what it was, or what just happened. But, with this new, and I think I knew what brought it on.

My secret, the big secret, the Falling Stars.

But I didn't know why, but I wanted to scream it to everyone, especially Bee, or my new friends. But I couldn't, that would ruin the mission, so it would remain in the shadows. Which is easy, not that hard. Though now, I was having trouble. Why now? I saw Miko and Raf and the Bots yesterday, and today I was around them, and other people and Bee and I felt fine.

Now though, I was...scared? Nervous? Shaken? All of the above.

I stopped walking when I realized I was on the other side of the town, I looked at my phone to see that lunch had ended almost an hour ago. I cringed, realizing I was skipping classes. Then a horror took over, the school would call my parents, and then I would most likely be grounded, away from the Bots and the Stars.

Starting to run, I ran to my house. I had to be careful, I had a lot of siblings at home and most likely my parents as well. I would need to sneak in, and if and when they called, delete it. I finally came to the block that my home was on but then stopped as I remembered something.

Spells...I had access to limited spells.

I could use this.

I felt the ring grow hot, not uncomfortably, but just warm as a list of spells cycled through my brain which was...weird. And distracted me from my weird mental state right now, which was good. I 'scrolled' through my options and found one most suitable.

Invisibility. It was a Level 2 spell and lasted for an hour with concentration. This spell could come in very handy in the future when avoiding 'certain' people. Everything I had on me would also be invisible, so that was good. I chose it and felt the need to move my hand with the ring. I let it happen, my hand clenched as suddenly, white light appeared before the ring, drawn into a magical circle before raising it above my head, making it bigger and then dropping it around me and disappearing as it hit the ground.

I...could still see myself, but I knew, in my head I was invisible.

It was all very strange and very cool at the same time.

I began to make my way to my home, when I did I saw some of my younger siblings out in the front yard playing and doing whatever. The door was open, as it was like that whenever they played in the front yard, so that was a clear bonus. To mask my footfalls, I took off my shoes and put them into my backpack before quietly making my way up the driveway and to the door.

Suddenly, one of my younger siblings was in the doorway, she came rushing out at me.

With speed, I shifted and moved out of the way so she didn't hit an invisible me and give me away. I nearly lost my balance as she raced by me, I heard my Mom calling out from inside for her to slow down, but she didn't listen, clearly. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked in. More of my older siblings that were just out of school or didn't have classes anymore were inside distracted by their devices.

Mom was clearly in the kitchen, with what all the wracked and the sounds of cooking she was making and my Dad was out back, seemingly working on fixing something out there. I walked swiftly and quietly as possible towards the hall where the land line was, as my parents didn't have cell phones. I knew that the school would most likely call after the day ended, but since it had only been more than an hour that wouldn't happen for a while.

So, there was only one thing sensible to do.

I took my laptop out, still invisible, and hooked up to the landline. Hacking as quickly as I could I made it so that any call the house would receive would alert me on my computer or phone. That way, before the phone rang, I could accept or reroute it to me. There by bypassing it and making it so that I could 'pick up the phone' or 'leave it ring' so that message is left on it, then delete it.

It was simple, really, just reroute that, connect this, cut that and bam. Done.

But...then I remembered something else...BUMBLEBEE! He's gonna pick me up from school! And Sierra also saw me walking away from school and most likely waited till lunch was over for me to come back! AW man, I really dug myself into a hole...or have I?

"AHH!" A shout alerted me to my right to see my older brother trip on some of the wires coming off my invisible laptop that was still connected to the landline. He landed hard, and slowly started to get back up confused.

Quickly, I gathered up everything, pulling my now useless physical connection, out of the land line and clutching everything I scooted back as more family members rushed the hall to check on my disoriented brother. In my head I apologized but I had no time. I went to the end of the hall to my room and ran in.

Placing my stuff back into my backpack, I looked for an escape route. The window was the only option, it faced the side of the house so no one was there that I could see. Slowly but quickly as the spell would wear out any moment I opened the window and slipped out. Landing with a small grunt I made my way to the front, seeing my family still out front I made a break for it, with no shoes on, onto the road and down and out of sight of my house.

As soon as I was a block or two away, the spell ended and I sighed in somewhat relief.

Now that I was out of 'danger' I focused on the other problem.

Putting my shoes back on I went to the only place I felt safe, under the freeway. I made it all the way there, next to the pipe where I had first met Bee and pulled out my phone. First, I realized that Miko, Sierra and Jack had been group texting wondering where I was. So, I replied back with a simple white lie.

Sorry I missed the texts, I wasn't feeling well so I went home early-Raf

It was simple enough, not too complicated. They replied instantly.

Aw man! That's 2 bad...does this mean you not coming?!-Miko

Don't listen to Miko, if you don't feel well, then rest up. We'll be fine for one day.-Jack

You did look pale when I talked to you, hope you feel better soon! :D-Sierra

I cringed reading their texts, another twist in my head and heart rattled through me and I shivered.

Thanks, you guys, I think I'll stay home today.-Raf

Keep it simple. Very simple.

Then, the text I waited for.

Do you want us to tell Bee?-Miko

Yeah, if you could, my phone's about to die!-Raf

Another white lie.

We'll let him know, get well soon, okay?-Sierra

Yeah man! We'll tell you all what happened tomorrow if you are up 2 school!-Miko

Get well soon, Raf.-Jack

I stared at my phone as the minutes ticked by. My hand was shaking, I was sweating and my guts did feel twisted and wrong.

What is wrong with me? Why does this feel...like this? This fear, nervousness, anger at myself. Why do I feel like the world is crumbling? Why do I feel like crying? Am I wrong? Am I somehow losing my mind? Even though I am with others in this secret, I feel alone yet thrilled. To be a part of something bigger than me is thrilling to me. But, there is this dark voice in the back of my head, telling me how awful I am for lying, deceiving and tricking those around me.

My phone buzzed, I don't know how long I stared into space, the landline was receiving a call. It was the school, so I diverted it to my phone without making my house line or the caller at the school aware that it did. I let it ring till the messenger went on, I had copied the one Mom made on the landline to really sell it and soon I noticed that I had a message on my phone popped up.

I listened, basically just telling my Mom that I didn't show for class and that it would go on my record.

I can easily hack that and change it later.

I walked home, pretending I just came from school. My family greeted me, I told them I didn't feel well and was going to my room. I closed the door shut, shunted my stuff off and laid on the bed, staring at the ring around my finger.

...just what I have gotten into...and can I handle it?...

Back at Cenotaph's Lab…

Ratchet's POV

When I finally could, I got away from base. There was palpable tension in that base and I needed some time to just breath. As well, I wanted to help Cenotaph with the spell but more importantly, there was something I wanted to discuss with her. I had found something in my berth room, something's, I should say and I wanted her opinion on them.

As I walked into the lab I came to the main hub and part of the lab where most things were set up only to see the...strangest sight so far that I've seen involving Cenotaph.

There, on the dias in the middle, was a Vechicon strapped to it and completely knocked with Cenotaph staring at her with slight malice as she held scraps of cloth to her shoulder and chest.

What startled me the most, was the sight of Energon staining those scraps of cloth.

"Cenotaph?!" I shouted, her helm shot up, locking onto me, "What happened to you?!"

I ran over staring at the wounds she was trying, failing, to cover up.

She huffed, "Oh it's nothing, thrall, it's just a flesh wound."

I gave her an incredulously glare, "I'll be the judge of that."

Forcing her servos away I stripped the cloth away to see two deep wounds in her shoulder and across her chest, ripping parts of her dress and scoring her clasp. I frowned and poked at them, earning a hiss of pain from the femme in front of me. I looked back up at her, her helm facing away from me and her face slightly flush in purple and pink.

"I need you to stay still while I put you back together." I said, looking at her with a hard yet soft glare.

She glanced back, and nodded silently, "Do you...want my clasp and cloak off?"

"Preferably, yes. I need to see the full extent of the damage." I said in annoyance and worry.

She sighed, "Fine."

Cenotaph unbuckled the clasp and both it and the cloak were tossed away landing with a loud clunk onto the floor with the purple cloak fluttering down after it. I side glanced at the Vechicon but sighed in relief when it didn't awaken from the loud noise. I looked back to Cenotaph and put my full focus on mending those wounds.

The slash across her chest was not deep but the stab wound in her shoulder was, my HUD lit up with an option. You see, one of the reasons I came here was because of what I had received from Primus and the Primes, and it seemed now was the perfect time to show off my new powers.

Being a Paladin, I had access to healing spells and abilities. One was Lay on Hands, which I could give to someone to heal them up. It came with a limited pool so I couldn't do it all the time, but it recharged after a good night's sleep. I accepted the question of whether or not to activate it, and I felt my new necklace hidden around my neck and armor heat up and I felt that heat travelling down my arms to my hands.

Cenotaph squeaked in surprise, which was a rather amusing and cute noise, as she looked down to see my servos on her wounds that were slowly patching themselves up, the Energon reversing back in before both wounds closed, leaving only the slightest scar remaining.

She vented heavily, I could feel it, and she looked up at me with the widest violet optics I had ever seen.

"You...just healed me...h-how?!" She said with the widest smile, as she grabbed my shoulders pushing in closer.

"O-Oh, that's actually one of the reasons I came to see you, the other to get away from the base." I scoffed, "I swear someone's going to stab someone in the optic sooner or later."

She chuckled, "I'd pay to see that show, but enough about those losers, I wanna talk about you! So, how did this all come about my darling thrall?"

I moved away from her slightly, making her huff in disappointment, I grasped the golden chain around my neck and pulled it out. Hanging from it was a small disk of gold engraved with the Falling Stars symbol.

"This is one of the things that was granted to me and the other Satellites according to Primus and the Primes in the letter that came with it. It allows me to transform from my current state into my Dream state, though height wise I still don't know how it would work. But it also allows me to grant spells and abilities to a certain extent. With both sides of mine I can only perform up to Level 2 spells. As well, I've become adept at fighting with different weapons, I've learned two new languages, and I am able to summon my staff and spellbook" I said, as she gently took it in her sharp claws.

She stared at it in amazement, "Incredible, though I am interested in what languages you chose?"

"With the list I was given, I chose Giant and Celestial, they seemed the most interesting." I said as she stared at me with a grin.

Then, in the language I instantly recognized as Giant, she said, "Good choices, that may come in handy later."

I stared at her surprised, then smirked, replying in Giant, "You think so? I thought it was quite silly. But alas, that's not all I have."

She cocked her helm to the side like a curious animal, she crossed arms and asked, "Show me."

I rolled my optics but pulled from my subspace a dadao sword, with runes on the blade and a large gem in the hilt. She eyed it carefully, as I held it between us.

"They called this a Life Stealing Sword, it has a magical property to take someone's life force and give it to me, healing wounds I may have." Then I took out a shield that was too small to be called a shield, made of black metal with gold at the center with a gem as well. "This is an Animated Shield, when activated, the shield becomes bigger and becomes partially sentient with it's sole aim to protect me from attack."

She plucked the sword in her servos, slightly bending before lifting it back up, "Well, those are quite the magical artifacts, you should be praising them for such gifts."

I shrugged, "As long as they serve the cause well, I don't want something useless, you know. Speaking of such…" I looked to the Vechicon and pointed, "What are you doing with that?"

She chuckled, handing me the sword back and I placed both back into my subspace as she said, "Well, in order to develop the right spell, I need to know how my subjects work internally and externally and since I am a 'hands on learner' I decided I needed...a live subject and since I already have a dead one, here we are."

I gave her an incredulous stare, "Really? Is this first and last...or only the beginning?"

Her violet optics sparkled with a sweet darkness that I've come to find very attractive as she smirked darkly and said, "Oh, my dear sweet thrall, this only the beginning of a long road of experimentation and exploration into creating this spell...unless you don't want to help me?"

She walked around the unconscious frame of the Vechicon, without her clasp and cloak, her protoform was more visible and the light shining down from the jungle above lit her in such a fashion that made a batch load of lustful thoughts and I had to clench my fist tightly not to give in.

"I always want to help you…" I said, straining to keep my voice level, she smirked, she knew.

She cocked her eyebrow, placing her servos on the side of the dias and leaning across the Con slightly, the light of evening dancing across her pale protoform, her dress slightly falling off one shoulder, the deep cut of it showing off her breasts….Primus help me...no mech can or should resist that.

Then her voice dipped into the richest tone I've ever heard, "Then what's stopping you from helping me rip open every Cybertronian to make this spell work? Autobot morals? I thought you were an Oathbreaker? Prove to me, that you are worthy of such a title, my dear sweet thrall…"

…

…

That. Damned. Beautiful. Fragging. Femme.

So this is how you wanna play it?

Alright then.

I planted my servos on the other side of the dias, frame still between us, I felt the heat of the necklace again as this time I activated a spell, a discrete glyph appearing under one hand which caused another to appear behind her helm. And when that glyph completely itself, a spectral servo was floating there, the cantrip Mage Hand was going to help me for what I am about to do to her.

With a smirk of my own, she stared in momentary intrigue before I mental commanded the hand to do what I instructed when the key words were said. Leaning halfway across the table, our helms closer together but not straining ourselves as we leant over the dias I finally put my new plan into action.

"Okay then, my dear Cena, let me prove it to you of my devotion to this and you." I said, my servos twitching in anticipation and my spark racing.

She tilted her head, her challenging smirk still in place, "And how do you plan on doing that?"

I smirked darkly, "Simple, like this…"

Those were the key words.

The mage hand suddenly went into action, performing it's instructions to the tee.

That hand grasped the back of her helm and pushed her forward, not too hard, to keep her balanced. I grabbed the sides of her helm to stabilize her, and to guide her. I think I finally got the drop on her this time, and I think genuinely, that this kiss was better than what happened in the dream.

Cenotaph seemed to freeze as our lips touched, before she melted into it.

I swore electricity ran through our frames as we deepened the kiss, she tasted so sweeter in real life, I just wanted more.

She gasped as I bit her lip, before she tried to bite mine. I don't know how long it was before we parted, but by the time we did, we were gasping, I could taste Energon running down my lip and my back ached from being leaned over this dias.

Her entire form glowed purple and pink, and I could tell that I was blushing heavily as well.

She smiled in what could only be described as pure ecstasy. "Well, then...I must say, that...was hot."

I huffed, "Oh you haven't seen anything yet, Cena." I smiled as well.

There were few moments of silence before something shifted below us, looking down we realized that the subject was awake. Though not speaking as it seemed Cenotaph had wisely torn off the mask of Vechicon and tapped its mouth shut. But it's big red optics were staring at us with a mix of hatred, disgust and fear.

Even though it probably just watch us madly make-out with each other over it, I felt no embarrassment, more thrill and dark desire than anything else.

"Ah, she's awake." Cenotaph smirked down at the Vechicon.

I looked at her curiously, "She?"

She nodded, "This one has a more feminine voice, and if you look closely, you can tell she is a she, but that doesn't really matter now, what matters is how she ticks, inside and out."

I looked back to 'her', and smiled at the prospect of learning something new, "That makes two of us, come on, this day isn't over yet and you've got my undivided attention…" I said, smirking at Cenotaph.

She cooed as she plucked a saw from a nearby table, "I thought you never ask, my dear thrall."

Night Time, Autobot Base...

Cliffjumper's POV

Luckily, Arcee was fast charging next to me, not to notice as I got up and exited the room as quietly as possible. Closing the door behind me I vented a sigh of relief and began my trek towards the Main hub of the base. I needed some privacy and I would not get it here.

I needed to really think about the day I just had, which to be honest, was mostly boring except for one thing. In the morning, when I had gotten back to my room, I noticed that there was something for me on my berth. Gifts, from the Primes and Primus.

So, here I was, about to enter the main hall when I heard someone talking to someone else.

"Sunny, why can't you just forgive and move on?! This is getting out of servo and you know it!" Sideswipes' voices filtered down the hall.

I crept up towards the doorway, staying in the shadows, to see Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, the only bots in the room, talking to each other, Sunstreaker's back to me.

"Out of servo?! Seriously, Sides, am I the only sane mech here?!" He snarled at his brother who merely barked back.

"No Sunny, you aren't the only sane mech here, you are the only insane mech here!" Sideswipe said, crossing his arms and angrily staring at his twin.

There was a moment of silence before Sunstreaker growled out, "What are you even talking about? Insane?! Me? Ha, don't make me laugh, okay? I-I don't understand how you could defend such...such a thing from me?! It's not us, alright?! When is that going to land in that dull processor of yours?!"

Sideswipe angrily spat back, "Bulletta is not a thing, Sunny! Just because she got anger at us doesn't mean-"

"NO!" Sunstreaker cut him off, "It didn't just get angry with us, it used and manipulated those around it to make us look like fools, it threatened our lives, your life! And it got away with it. We were the ones berated by Prime, not it and it's not FAIR!"

Sunstreaker huffed, his shoulders shaking and his whole frame twitching. Sideswipe's expression melted into that of pity and sadness.

"Sunny," He sighed, grabbing his shoulders, "Bulletta isn't Astraea."

There was a pause, and my mind was suddenly reeling. Was he talking about the same Astraea that's with the Cons? What the Pit happened between those two? How do they know each other? What the Pit are they hiding?

Sunstreaker smacked his brother's servos away from him, "Don't ever mention that name again." He growled out.

Sideswipe frowned, "Well I'm gonna because now, she's on Earth, with the Cons. And you are afraid that Bulletta and maybe even Cenotaph will end up like Astraea. But I can tell that isn't gonna happen. They chose to be Autobots, to help us. You need to see that they aren't the same, especially Bulletta."

Another pause, then Sunstreaker spoke, "I refuse to back down, I know the signs, I've seen it. And if you think you are going to step in the way of getting rid of her, then you are not my brother."

Then, he stormed off, leaving Sideswipe alone, and looking pretty hurt by those words.

But what had me worried was Sunstreaker's words, and that threat didn't sound good either.

Sideswipe eventually left, which meant I could get on the road and out of base for a while. As I transformed, I heard a soft tap on the floor, like someone just landed from a height. Adjusting my mirrors I saw Bulletta, crouched, waiting for me to leave. It seemed like she was in the rafters the whole time.

"I can see you." I called out, she jerked in surprise before sighing and coming out of the shadows.

"Hey, Cliffjumper." She said with as little enthusiasm as ever.

I frowned, internally and said, "Why don't you join me, I think we both need it tonight."

She nodded silently and transformed into her jeep mode, we both sped off together and out of the base. For a while, we didn't speak, just driving in silence in the cool desert air of Nevada. I supposed that I should at least tell her of the gifts I found, it might distract her for a while about what we just listened to.

When two hours passed by with no speaking just driving, I pulled off the road and headed towards a canyon. I stopped at the edge, transforming and sitting down, legs hanging over the sides. She parked beside me, not transforming but just sitting there.

"Bulletta," I said, starting out the conversation, "Do you notice anything different about me?"

For a moment, there was silence, before she answered flatly, "No, why?"

"Well, that's good that it isn't obvious then." I said before moving my servo slightly, my protoform sticking out of my armor to see a band of gold with the insignia of the Cabal placed upon it.

She transformed instantly, grabbing my left servo and inspecting it with a curious frown.

"Where did you get this?" She asked, staring at me with curiously sparkling optics.

I laughed, "It was a gift, from our Patrons."

"Ah," She said, before asking, "So, I assume it grants you powers? Otherwise why have such a thing in the first place."

I smiled, "Smart one you are. You are correct, it grants me really, really cool Monk abilities that I can use for literally anything I want."

She gasped, "Can you run up walls like a badass!?"

"No, because I am currently wearing armor," I said looking at her weirdly, before lighting up, "But, I can Slow Fall which basically means I can't really die from falling, or it just doesn't hurt as much, I can also Deflect Missiles, which is awesome because it means I can basically deflect any fire directed at me. There's also this thing called Ki, which is basically my inner strength or something that allows me to stun foes, or move really fast or even get into a defensive position.'

She then asked, "You are subclassed as the Way of Kensei, right? What you got from that?"

"Oh, right! Well, I have mastery of these." And I pull out of my subspace a bow of gold and white and a greatsword. "I have such mastery over these weapons, that I can change their properties with my Ki to make it more deadly or accurate. And the great part is, the bow, is actually already magical. The Primes call it an Oathbow, once I choose a foe I can mark them as my sworn enemy and can hit them even with them in half cover! And it does more damage to my sworn enemy than any other, and will do so until the death of the enemy, then I chose a new enemy!"

Bulletta's optics sparkled as I handed her the weapon, "Do you have more?!"

I laughed, "One more," I pulled out beautifully made bracers of gold, "These are Bracers of Defense, basically gives me more protection, magical speaking of course."

"Amazing!" She said as we switched items, "So, that ring is the biggest deal, but it seems not to grant all of your Monk abilities, why's that?"

"Again, you are very keen. Yeah, I only get half of what I get in my other form, which this bracelet can allow me to transform into. I forgot to mention because it's not as cool, but I also have Fire Resistance from my tiefling background and the ring grants me the knowledge of a new language, which is Infernal." I said, taking the bracers as she handed them back and placed them back into my subspace.

'Ah, so you can speak in our 'native' tongue now?' She said with a playful smirk in Infernal.

I rolled my optics, my plan to distract her working perfectly, 'Yeah, it will so creep everyone else at base...especially Bumblebee.'

She suddenly looked frightened, "Oh then maybe not…"

I laughed, "Ah, so you do like him?"

Then, the blush consumed her grey protoform, "Pfftt, t-that's...thats...of for the love-IS IT THAT OBVIOUS!?"

"Pretty much, at least to me that is." I sighed, "Here's some advice for you though, don't wait too long, before you know he or you might be around anymore. So, do it soon, so at least he knows, alright?"

She sighed, wrapping her tail around herself, "Okay, okay...fine…"

Silence fell between us, and it stayed like that for sometime.

For the longest time, I've been my own mech, I never had siblings, I was just me. Then, Arcee came along, and I found my better half, the femme I'd lay down my spark for. I thought that was all I needed, but now...after having met Bulletta, I now see her as not just my friend, but a sister, if you will. We complemented each other in that sibling bond kind of way, we both had different styles but we meshed together like we grew up together.

It was nice, and I wanted to make sure no one messed with her, or any of my friends.

"I won't let him hurt you." I say as a statement, clear and precise.

"He will, no matter what." She replied, somber and cold again.

I looked at her, "No, you don't get it, I won't let him hurt you and if he does, he'll answer to me, personally."

She looked at me surprised, but then settled as said, "Hm, okay, why are you telling me this?"

I smiled, "Because whether you try or not, you are bottling yourself up and putting up defenses. You don't need to, because me, and everyone else, will be there to stand in between him and you. You can trust that we have your back, that I have it. No matter what, family sticks together."

She smiled fondly and leaned against me as we stared at the night sky.

Quietly, she said, "Thanks, I always did want a brother."

I chuckled, "No prob, besides, I always wanted a sister."

We both laughed at our own humor, staring out at the sky, content to stay exactly where we were.