Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.

AN: This is being re-uploaded because it didn't go through right the first time. XD

Pandimala: Does this mean that we are older now?

Authoress: Yes it does. However, now we can start building up for the real excitement of the story. *evil smirk*

Vox: You know, I hate it when you do that evil smirk. That doesn't bode well for any of us.

Tana: No kidding! Stop it right now! *panicking*

Zarron: *helm slaps Tana* Calm down Tana.

Tana: *growls at Zarron* Make me! *tackles Zarron*

Authoress: *looks pointedly at Pandimala and Vox*

Pandimala:...I'm not stopping them.

Vox: *shakes helm* Don't look at me like that. They are big bots now. Let them sort it out. They won't maim each other. *Tana's morningstar comes out as does Zarron's scimitars*...much.

Authoress: *facepalms but isn't making way to stop them either*

Ch. 2: Having to Say Goodbye

Joint's 1st P.O.V.

A sigh escaped my vocals as I stared down at my hot cube of low-grade. The stellar cycles had flown by so fast that I couldn't believe that this solar cycle was already here. It felt like, just the previous solar cycle, I had four rambunctious younglings chasing each other through the kitchen or huddled together in a dark corner of the living room scheming their next prank idea.

But, that was all going to come to an end this solar cycle. No longer would I hear the laughter of younglings echoing in my home. No, those younglings that I cherished so much were now grown and, as was law during these times, my four darlings were going to be sent to the Autobot Academy where they would be trained to fight against the Decepticons.

However, while I knew that was what they wanted, it was going to be hard to let them go. However, as much as it would hurt me to let them go, I knew that they were going to do amazing work for the Autobot cause and it was going to be due to their hard work. Each one of my now grown charges had worked diligently and meticulously on the skills that they would need for their chosen dream career.

"Joint, are you alright?" I turned when I heard my bondmate and smiled when he walked up to me.

"Yes, just a little spark broken." My answer to him was honest. I then glanced toward the stairs. "They've become such a part of our lives that it is going to be hard to watch them leave home to continue after their dream careers."

Blockade then sat down next to me and pulled me in so I was leaning against his shoulder. "Come now Joint, this isn't goodbye forever, now is it? We can go and visit them and I am sure that we will see them around." I nodded as he let out a chuckle, his chassis vibrating as he did so. "And trust me sweetspark, I have a feeling that those four are going to rock Cybertron to its core."

Our four young charges had grown into fine bots and I knew that they were going to be great. I just needed reassurance from Blockade that I would see them again. While I wanted my four charges to reach for the galaxies, I didn't want them to reach so far that they might forget where they came from. I think that would hurt most of all.

Tana had started training as soon as she was able to use her mods, which with her determination was not long at all. Thankfully for her, I had contacts from my solar cycles in active duty with my team, Team Galaxy, and I had been able to convince one of my friends from another team to come and train her. That friend, called Kradox, was very dedicated to Tana's training and made sure that she was way more than ready to get through boot camp.

To describe Tana, I would say that she was slightly taller than the average femme with broader shoulders. She was almost full grown as it was and she was just about half a helm taller than I was, and I was almost the height of Councilmech Alpha Trion. Her main mods consisted of a flail that would replace her left servo and a morning star that would replace her right. I remember how happy she was that she had such versatile weapons that would help her to become a warrior. Zarron, on the other servo, was not so happy because she was in the middle of helm-slapping him for helm-slapping her when her morning star came out. Tana had gone to apologize by placing her left servo on his back but then her flail came out and whacked him to the floor.

Speaking of Zarron, he had grown into a very fine two-wheeler mech. If I had had to describe his looks in one sentence, I would say that he reminded me of the cyber-ninjas in height and build. Tall and lean but with good endurance to take hits. Out of my four charges, though, he was actually the shortest.. His mods consisted of two scimitars that were kept on his back, which he knew about, and to all our surprise his secondary mod was consisted of stasis darts that would come out of compartments in his wrists.

…Blockade had been whining to me earlier that solar cycle about taking a nap. Zarron just expedited it slightly.

To help Zarron learn the tricks of becoming a great scout, Blockade had dug into his own contacts and had asked a red and neon blue speed car mode femme called Nightingale to help Zarron train. At first, Zarron had been slightly concerned about having a femme train him but, after some special training, Zarron was completely dedicated to his training with her. With Nightingale training him, Zarron had made leaps and bounds in his training. He used it to help Vox with his training in intelligence.

Vox had grown into a very fine mech and I don't think that I could be any prouder in him than I already was…of course he might just get even better and surprise me. The car mech was the second tallest out of our four charges and he worked very hard to get as far as he had. For his mods, he had two knives that he would use simultaneously when he could and he had a long rifle that strapped to his back to use at long range. His instructor was very efficient at teaching Vox to use his mods as well as his work in information gathering.

For Vox's trainer, I had asked my teacher to ask some of his contacts for help and, thankfully, the old mech came through with a bot called Beatdrop. The mech was tall and lanky, probably just half a helm taller than Vox was now, and he had a very relaxed appearance. But, from what Vox seemed to get from his training sessions with the bot, Vox was hiding a master craft processor in his helm. It wasn't long before I was having Vox practice by setting up protective shielding on my personal photos. No other bot was allowed to see those and I didn't want anybot to keep trying to see them.

…They were embarrassing.

Lastly though, was Pandimala. I still remembered that solar cycle when Ultra Magnus had brought her to my home and she had been so nervous. I hadn't understood how the femme could be that nervous to be staying in the housing. However, Ultra Magnus had later explained that he had found Pandimala escaping from Kaon. That made her fear much more understandable. Thankfully, she had overcome her fearful stage and had grown into a very confident femme who I could see becoming a Prime. Pandimala Prime. It had a nice ring to it.

For her mods, she had two broadswords that she kept in her subspace and, of course, her cannons. However, I had to hold back a chuckle as I remembered how we all had discovered how special her cannons were. The six of us had been at the firing range practicing with all their instructors but, for some reason, Pandimala's cannons were refusing to fire when she wanted them to. Warpath, her battle trainer, and been standing in front of her and was trying to help her fix them. Pandimala, well, she never liked failing anyone and had been in a state of panic.

Of course, that panic had grown even worse when the fire came out of her cannons. Her mods must have been unsure how to switch between her actual ammo and her fire and so had gotten stuck. Pandimala's panic allowed her systems to make the choice of fire. Since Warpath was standing in front of her, he was hit full force with the fire and had to stop to put them out. Again, Pandimala went into a panic but, instead of firing off fire, her cannons released beams of ice that froze Warpath up to just above his cannon.

Poor Pandimala was a panicking mess after that and I had Vox and Nightingale help her out of the range while the rest of us worked on de-thawing Warpath. It took us about ten minutes and, once he was un-thawed, we had to convince Pandimala to come back inside and she apologized repeatedly to Warpath. Thankfully, the war veteran had laughed it off and said that they were just going to have to train harder. She did just that and, thankfully, she was able to learn how to control her attacks.

For learning to use her alt modes, Warpath was only able to help her with her tank mode. He seemed to enjoy having a student who was so dead set on supporting the Autobot cause in the fight against the Decepticons. However, while he seemed to enjoy his classes with Pandimala, he could not help her learn how to fly. As far as I knew, no other Autobot could fly and that would create a problem for helping Pandimala with her training. So, I had called Ultra Magnus to see if he could help me out with that.

Thankfully, he could in the form of an old neutral acquaintance of his that usually lived off world. The bot's name was Skyfire and he was quite mysterious. Even as far as flying neutrals went he was. I only saw him when he would come by the house to pick up Pandimala for her flying lessons and when he dropped her off again. I wasn't exactly trusting of the flier but Ultra Magnus trusted him and so I had to. He might even care about Pandimala more than Blockade and I did so I knew he wouldn't put her life in any sort of danger.

Blockade and I jumped as a large thud sounded from upstairs before we relaxed again. "Seems like someone's having issues packing. Wonder who it is?" Blockade questioned as he glanced up toward the ceiling.

"Well if they were raised by you two then it could be any of the four of the bots that we are here to pick up."

I jumped and Blockade and I stood and turned to stare at the owner of the voice. When my optics locked onto two figures in the doorway of my kitchen, I smiled before saying, "Well, it took you two long enough to show up. I thought we would have to escort our charges to the Academy lodgings ourselves."

Vox's 1st P.O.V.

"Tana, you idiot if you drop everything you try to pack like that you won't be able to bring anything to the Academy with you." Zarron lectured Tana, like usual, as the four of us packed up the last of our belongings.

This solar cycle was the one that we had been dreaming of since we were all little. Finally, we were going to be enrolled into the academy. I could barely wait. I knew, from my training with Beatdrop, that we would have to go through a one stellar cycle long boot camp basic training, where most bots would receive their names on the first solar cycle, and then after that we would continue training at the camp until we tested into our specialized fields.

For me, that meant that I had to impress one of the investigative branches of Autobot intelligence so they might take me on as one of their own. Then, I would train at whatever branch would take me until I was picked up by a team or assigned to a team. However, I hoped that the other three around me would excel enough in their fields so, by the time I was ready to join a team, I would be able to join my fellow family members in a team of our own…with Pandimala as our Prime.

I flinched as I heard Tana's servo slap Zarron on the back of the helm. It should be a common sound but it seemed just as fresh the millionth time as it did the very first time when we were younger. "Shut up Zarron and let's finish packing." Tana laughed before grabbing her weapon cleaning kit and putting it in her subspace.

"Hey," I turned to Pandimala, who was facing her berth. She sounded worried as she started to move all the items around her bed. "have you guys seen Mr. Lunor? I had him out last night cycle but I can't seem to find him now."

Ah, the elusive Mr. Lunor. She had been in possession of the stuffed moon for as long as I remembered and it was one of the few things that Pandimala had that I didn't know the background on. That, and a set of stacking blocks were the only items that Pandimala would not tell us where she got them. Sure, she would say that she got them when she was really young, but that was as much as she would tell us.

We all knew that she was rescued from the battlefield by Ultra Magnus the day before she came to live with us and, while I didn't know much else about her past, I knew that I would trust her no matter what.

True, in the beginning of her time living with us, she was jittery, nervous, very formal, and just never seemed to fully trust us, we all eventually grew closer to her and she became one of my most trusted friends. It didn't matter now what sort of past she had, I would always respect her and trust her. We were family and nothing was going to change that.

In answer to 'Mala's question though, "I think I saw him in-between the top right corner of your berth and the wall. You were tossing around last night and woke me and I thought I saw him go in there."

Pandimala immediately looked in the corner I suggested and she sighed in relief and, after a few nano-clicks, she stood back up straight with Mr. Lunor in her servos. "Thanks Vox. Not sure what I would do without you all." She laughed her response as she placed Mr. Lunor in her subspace.

"Probably lose your cannons." Tana laughed as she turned toward us. She must have finished packing.

Of course, the rest of us weren't far behind her and we all turned to face each other. As we stood in that circle, I remembered all the adventures that had brought us to this moment and, I knew that this was just the beginning of many more exciting adventures that we were sure to get in.

"This is it everyone." Pandimala suddenly said with a sigh. "After we leave here, we are officially cadets in the Autobot army." I could see her servos shaking in anticipation and I knew that the rest of us weren't far behind her.

"Vox," I turned to Zarron as he addressed me. "what do you know about where we are staying? Are they going to split us up?"

Shaking my helm, I could give them a somewhat positive answer. "From the information that I could get from Beatdrop, we are going to share a room for tonight but, after our introduction to the rest of our team for the next six months, we will be sharing living quarters with our fellow cadets."

I went to say more when a voice from downstairs stopped me. "Are you four going to get down here sometime this millennium or what?" That was Blockade. Guess that meant that our escorts were here. According to Blockade and Joint, there were some bots who actually tried to avoid going to boot camp and so the Council had to have escorts go to each eligible bot's housing and bring them to the Academy boot camp grounds.

"We're coming!" Zarron yelled down before he led the way out of the door. Tana followed right behind him and I went behind her. Finally, Pandimala brought up the rear of our little column as we made our way down the stairs. This was it. No going back now.

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

When I got down the stairs, I immediately studied the bots that were next to Blockade and Joint. The first was a law enforcement mech who was black and white and had dark blue optics. I could see a scar on his right side and, from here, I could see that he at least had a pistol weapon on him. But, since he was an Autobot, I knew he wasn't bad.

Next to him and now studying us was a silver mini-bot car femme with black markings. She seemed really small to me but I knew that was just because I was a triple changer and that was going to make me taller than most bots I met. Frag, the last time that I saw Ultra I was almost a whole helm taller than he was. But, from the look in her optics, I could tell that she was very skilled and it would probably not be a good idea to say anything about her height until I got some training at the academy.

"Glad you four could make it down here." Joint laughed as we made a semi-circle around the table where Join, Blockade, and the two new bots were sitting.

Zarron took the opportunity to respond for us. "Sorry Joint but Tana was being as klutzy as normal."

Bang!

And there was Tana's responding helm slap. I was glad that things hadn't changed in all our stellar cycles together as friends and family. "You're still not funny Zar." Tana frowned at Zarron before she turned to the new bots.

"So," And now it was Vox's turn and I was hoping that he had something a little more enlightening to say than Tana and Zarron. "I'm going to take a guess and say that you two are going to be escorting us to our housing at boot camp?"

Thank Primus he had his helm on straight at times like this. Normally Zarron liked to ask the questions like that as practice for being a scout but when he had a chance to tease Tana…well, Zarron couldn't pass up on that.

Blockade let out a laugh and said to the two new bots, "What'd I tell you two? These four are going to make this planet a very exciting place to live in the future." He then continued to laugh, which of course drew the rest of us into laughter. You couldn't not laugh when Blockade laughed. It would probably feel wrong if I didn't.

Of course, Joint soon helm-slapped her bondmate before saying, "Blockade, we need to make introductions." She then shook her helm and smiled and motioned to the small silver femme. "This is Rev," Then, she motioned to the law enforcement mech, "and this is Breaker. As you have guessed Vox, they are here to escort you to the academy. We served on a team together with two other bots back during the end of the major fighting here on Cybertron."

"Really?" Now Zarron was full front invested in this conversation. "We know that Joint was the medical officer on her team and Blockade was the scout, but what did you two do?"

I was curious as well, especially given Rev's size, and I paid especially close attention as Rev started to answer. "Well, I was our intelligence agent. Wasn't good enough to get into any of the investigative branches of intelligence here on Cybertron but I could give the Decepticons a run for their credits." She let out a laugh at the end of her answer. Of course, that answer allowed me to understand the studying look she had given us when we had come down the stairs. She was gathering all the visual information on us as she could, as I have no doubt Vox did with the two of them when he caught sight of them.

Now, however, I had to pay attention again as Breaker started to answer. "Well, I wasn't anything special like the others on our team were, but I was one kick-aft of a warrior. Frag I remember pounding down on the 'Cons whenever I had a chance and, when I wasn't doing that, I was hitting that training room. That's where I was approached by the leader of the Guardians, Hinge, and asked to join them. But, I had to decline them."

"WHAT?" We all jumped when Tana suddenly yelled that with wide optics firmly locked on Breaker and her jaw-plate dangling like it was going to fall off at any click. I was surprised as well. The Guardians didn't ask many to join their ranks, as of right now they only had five total and they were all original, and hearing that Breaker was not only asked to join them, but also turned them down, was stunning. That was Tana's dream job and I could tell that she was struggling to understand why. Of course, I didn't know either but I had a feeling that he had his reasons. "Why would you turn down a chance to become a Guardian?"

Instead of being annoyed, or angry, at her question, Breaker let out a loud laugh before hooking one of his arms around Rev's shoulders and saying, "Well, I would have accepted, except for the fact that I bonded with this firecracker not long after our first tour of duty and I wouldn't want to be away from her."

Tana's mouth was open in an 'o' like form and we all let out a laugh at that. It was nice to be able to have these kinds of interactions. Honestly, if it wasn't for Vox, Tana, and Zarron, I wasn't sure how I would be like. They helped me break out of my nervous shell to become a fully confident femme who was ready to work her aft off to become a Prime…and I was sure that it was going to be a lot of work.

Once our laughter ended, I realized that we hadn't introduced ourselves. Also, it seemed like I wasn't the only bot in the room to have this thought. "So, you know who we are now. Why don't you four tell us your names and what you want to be once you are out of the Academy?"

Sounded reasonable enough and, as I thought she would, Tana stepped forward first. "My designation is Tana and it is my dream to become a great warrior and, if they find me worthy enough, I wish to become a Guardian."

For a brief nano-click, I saw a look of understanding flash in Breaker's optics and he must now be realizing why Tana had reacted so strongly to his saying that he had turned down an offer to join the Guardians. "The name's Zarron and, when I get out of the Academy, I am going to work tirelessly to become the best scout that the Autobots have ever had." I noticed Rev raise an optic ridge at that and study Zarron once more quickly. Guess she figured he would want to be a cyber-ninja, like everybot else thought when they met him. But, that was his dream and we were all going to work to make sure that he achieved that.

Next, Vox spoke from next to me. "I'm Vox and once I'm out of the Academy, I'm going to put in an application to the intelligence agencies here on Cybertron and see if I can't get into any of them."

While Rev looked surprised again, she actually asked a question this time. "Really? What agency do you want to get in the most?"

In return, Vos smiled and said, "Well, if I had a choice I guess I would want to work for the Cybertronian Bureau of Investigation. They do a lot to help keep our planet safe from the Decepticons and all of our other enemies and I would really want to be a part of that."

"Sounds like you know what you want." Rev responded to that before she turned to me. "And what about you? What's your name and what do you want to do when you get out of the Academy?"

I responded to her almost immediately and with no hesitation, though I did smile. "My name is Pandimala and what I wish to do most when I leave the Academy is to become a Prime and lead my own team in order to support the Autobot cause and all that it stands to serve and protect."

Rev's smile grew wide at my response and she kept optic contact with me while speaking to Joint. "Joint, you and Blockade have raised these four into fine Autobot Academy candidates. I'm quite surpr,"

The four of us cringed when Joint responded to that with a wrench throw to Rev's helm. Yeah, she had a habit of doing that if somebot tried to tease her. Guess that went for her old war team as well. "Watch it Rev. Remember that you have your stellar cycle checkup with me in thirty solar cycles." Breaker let out a chuckle at that. "And Breaker, I see you the solar cycle after that." His chuckling stopped abruptly.

To my surprise, his optics suddenly widened before he said, "As much fun as this reunion has been, we need you all to say goodbye. We need to get you all to your temporary housing in a cycle and it takes about fifty cycles to get to the boot camp from here."

My spark seized on itself when I heard those words and, as Blockade and Joint started with Joint and made their way down the line, I found myself becoming very sad. These were the mech and femme who, without asking questions about my past, brought me into their home and raised me so I would have this chance at becoming an Autobot. I owed them so much and now I had to say goodbye to them. This was not going to be easy and I could already feel myself shaking slightly in sadness.

I focused in front of me when Blockade stopped in front of me and looked up while smiling a sad smile. "Pandimala, I am going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too Blockade." I whispered to him as I reached down and gave him a hug.

"Pandimala, I want you to promise me something." I paused and held the hug as he continued to whisper. "Promise me that no matter what troubles you may face, or trials that might stand in your way, that you will never change who you are. They will try and break you, see if you will crack under pressure, and you must promise me that you will not succumb to their tests." He then hugged me tighter. "Promise me 'Mala."

I returned the tightness of his hug while whispering back. "I promise to you, Blockade, that they will never break me. I will never change who I am…Never."

After another click, we pulled away and I turned to see that Joint was now standing in front of me, tears in her optics as she stared up at me. "Pandimala I remember the first solar cycle I met you. You were so small that you were the one looking up to me. Now…now you are a grown femme who is ready to face this world, and any other world that you may end up on." She then paused to compose herself before she said, "This house is going to be so quiet without you here…without any of you."

Bending over, I pulled her into a hug. "This isn't goodbye forever Joint. Remember, this is only a new beginning of our lives…not the end of our past. I'll make sure we call as often as we can."

She nodded and I went to pull away but she had other ideas and pulled me closer. "Pandimala," She was whispering this so softly that I was sure that only I could hear it. "I know that you are the youngest out of the four of you…even if it isn't by much. However, they look up to you as a role model…as a leader of sorts. Please…make sure you watch out for the others and help keep them safe. Boot camp doesn't always bring the best of bots to its doors and some may try to bully the others. Protect them."

While I knew that the others could fight their own battles, I would never leave them to fight one alone. We were a family and family stood together always. "I promise Joint. You have my word."

We then parted and stood before Joint went to stand by Blockade before saying, "Well, I guess it's time for you all to get going. Don't want you to be late for your first night." She then paused. "But make sure you all call sometimes."

With one last group hug, the four of us followed Breaker and Rev to the boot camp. The trip wasn't terribly long or difficult but I found myself worried. Joint's words about boot camp not bringing out the best of bots were bouncing in my helm with every step that I took and I was concerned. How would the bots at the camp treat me if they knew that I was a triple changer? So far, I was the only flying Autobot that I knew of and that made me very different. However, it was a challenge that I was going to have to overcome.

In what almost seemed like no time at all, we arrived at our temporary quarters that we were going to be sharing with each other. Rev and Breaker informed us to set our internal alarms for zero five thirty since the first day of boot camp began at zero six fifteen and we would need time to find the training grounds. They then left with promises to tell Joint and Blockade that we had made it safely to our lodgings.

While the four of us unpacked what we would need for the night, I thought back to my worries and realized what I was going to do. But, I wouldn't do that until tomorrow morning after I woke up. Until then, we needed to get some recharge. We were going to need it if tomorrow was even half as bad as the stories that Joint and Blockade used to tell us.

"Night everybot." Tana started as she laid on her berth and started to shut down her optics. The others followed her suit and did the same.

Finally, it was my turn. "Goodnight everybot. See you all…in the…morning cycle." Soon, my optics started to feel heavy and I was eventually lulled into the oblivion of recharge.

Pandimala: *excited* Oh my Primus we are at the boot camp! I am so excited for the next chapter! *bouncing off the walls*

Authoress: *frowns* Okay, who let Pandimala into the energon goodies?

Vox: *drinking premium hi-grade that was next to the energon goodies* What? I have no idea how she got it.

Authoress: *frowns in disbelief* Sure.

Vox: *smirks and watches the destruction that he has unleashed*

AN2: And here is this next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it because I really enjoyed writing it! Looks like some changes have been made from the original story! I am really enjoying writing this story in the first person view of the characters instead of, like the original, the third person. This gives me a great way of showing you an in depth view of the story and I know that, as the story progresses, that this will become even more prevalent.

Back to the story, next chapter is going to have the first solar cycle at boot camp! I am really excited for that and I know that it is going to be full of surprises (and one very annoying big chinned mech who is a royal pain in the aft). Some things will probably be changing from the original story but I will be keeping some things the same next chapter.

Well, I guess that's all that i have to say. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hi, so I know that I'm not stuck here alone with Pandimala and the others. Until next time though, TTYL! *sings about sailing the open sea in 1607 for the Virginia Company*