So, after the appearance of MECH, there's a litlle bit of a lull. For the next two episodes of Transformers Prime, Aria isn't with the team. She just told Optimus to let her be alone for the next week or so. She's along the lines of emotional terror and anger. More anger than terror.

So, this chapter is after episode's ten and eleven in the main series and during episode twelve, which is Predatory. (Ten is Deus Ex Machina and eleven is Speed Metal) So, she doesn't meet Knockout or Breakdown for a while, but she doesn't meet Airachinid either.

Optimus sat in his room, sitting at his desk with his helm resting on his servos. It had been several days since the last Decepticon incident, and almost two weeks since their encounter with MECH. When he thought about that, however, his gaze darkened. He didn't even realize that earth had it's own Decepticons.

Thinking of MECH also brought his young charge to mind. Arianna had been silent since the incident. When he had driven her home, she had asked if he and the rest of the team would leave her alone for a while. That had been two weeks ago. Whenever he had driven by, he could see Aria sitting by her bedroom window, which looked out over the street. He could still see the sad expression that had always been on her face. Whenever she had seen him, she managed to smile, although that smile was full of pain.

Optimus gave a sigh and stood. He should probably check on her again.

"Optimus."

Optimus froze before giving a relieved sigh. It was just Micronus. "What is it?" he asked the Minicon Prime.

"Aria asked us if we could contact you for her. She wants you to meet her in the gully where the two of you sparred."

Optimus thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "I'll be there. Is she... doing all right?"

"Not completely," said Micronus, "Hearing about MECH and seeing them not too far from her has stirred up old memories. Memories that would rather have stayed buried."

Optimus gave another sigh and walked into the main room. Ratchet turned at the consul. "Optimus, what is it?" asked the old medic.

"The Primes just said that Arianna wishes to see me," he told him, "I might be gone for a while."

"I'll keep you alerted," said Ratchet, "Arcee still on her recon with Jack and the others went to go pick up the rest of the children."

Optimus nodded before starting down the tunnel, transforming into his alt. mode as he went. He hoped Aria would be at the gully when he got there.

Aria perched on a rock at the edge of the gully, looking blankly off into the morning sky. She didn't flinch as the sounds of a semi-truck came rolling behind her, or at the sound of a transformation sequence. "You came," she said as Optimus approached her.

"Of course I did," he told her. Optimus settled beside her and leaned on the rock beside her, looking into the morning sky alongside her, waiting for her to speak.

Finally, she said, "You remember when we first sparred together, and I asked you why you didn't ask me about my past?"

Optimus nodded. "I told you that you could tell us whenever you felt that the time was right."

"I want to tell you."

Optimus looked at her and asked, "Are you sure?"

"The only other people that I told about this live in Chicago. And in light of recent events, I should probably get this off of my chest." Aria took a deep breath and asked, "How much do you know?"

"Only that your parents were murdered by Silas when you were three," said Optimus, "Agent Fowler told us. He also said that you had an uncle that lived on an island."

"Griffin Rock," said Aria, nodding. "My Chicago friends, Reyna and Issac were really surprised that I remembered this because I was so young when it happened. Some things, expecially the shocking moments... they stay with you for the rest of your life."

Aria was silent for a while before starting. "It was pretty much a peaceful night. Nothing much going on. Me and mom had just finished baking cookies and we were sitting on the couch waiting for dad to get home.

"Suddenly, dad came through the front door. He was... scared. Frightened. Mom asked what was wrong. Dad said that someone found us. Mom was scared. Then, someone came in through the kitchen. Mom and dad hated him. They said he was called 'Silas'. He asked them something, something about joining them. They refused and dad attacked Silas.

"Mom ran to my room with me. She pulled back my bed. There was a trap door that my mom told me to go down. When I asked her if she was going to come with me, mom just pulled off her necklace and gave it to me. This necklace, in fact." She held up the silver-rimmed blue stone necklace around her neck.

"It's beautiful," said Optimus, admiring it.

"I don't know where my mom got it," said Aria, gently rubbing the stone. "She gave it to me before she sent me down the trap door. But she didn't come with me.

"For a long time, it was dark. I was scared. I wanted my parents to be with me. Then, there came a huge explosion. The flames were inches from my face. Somehow, by some miracle, I was unscathed.

"The police got there and a firefighter pulled me out of the wreckage. He tried to cover my face, but..." her voice broke when she said, "I saw my parent's bodies."

Optimus's spark broke when he saw the young adult trying to reign in her emotions, trying to control the tears that threatened to fall. Finally, she got a hold of herself. "I don't remember how long I was in that children's hospital," she said, rubbing a hand across her face, "The only things that I remembered was wishing that I could've died so that I could've been with them. And when I first came in, after I woke up the first time, my hair started turning white." She took a small portion in her right hand. "The doctors said it was from shock. It can happen sometimes. A big shock can turn your hair white, but they were pretty surprised with how quickly it did. They figured it was from my age.

"After what felt like for an eternity, they finally put me in the Richmond, Virgina Orphanage. It was pretty miserable for me, expecially when a few bullies came in. For seven years, Silas thought I was dead. Then, several months from my eleventh birthday, on the same day that I learned about you guys, Silas found that I was alive and invaded the orphanage. No one got hurt, and I barely escaped with my life."

"How did you escape?" asked Optimus.

"Cloaking was my first trick," said Aria, smiling bitterly, "I barely activated it in time."

Aria went silent again before finishing. "After the attack, I met Agent Fowler, who told me about my step-uncle and said that I could be moved to a foster home. They changed my name to Arianna Ariel Prime. It was Primus's idea," she quickly said at Optimus's expression.

His gaze softened and he gave a small smile. "What was your name before?" he asked.

"Katrina Leira," she said, "I realized a few years afterwards that 'Ariel' is 'Leira' spelled backwards."

"Clever."

Aria nodded before looking back into the distance. "There were so many times," she said, "that I wondered why it was me that survived. Why did I have to live? Couldn't it have been my parents? Why was it me?" She looked down, her expression confused.

"We all ask that question." Aria looked up as Optimus went on. "Why were we the ones that set off the events? Why are we the survivors? I asked those questions many times after Megatron started the war. He was jealous that I had been named the next Prime. He wanted to lead Cybertron to a new Golden Age. I kept wondering why I had been chosen. Was it because of the weight of my words? Something about me that only Alpha Trion and the rest of the High Council could see that I couldn't?

"I finally realized it when I was given the Matrix of Leadership by Primus. Megatron would have made Cybertron fall even quicker if I had not been chosen. Primus said that he chose me for my heart. He told me that if it wasn't for my heart, myself and the rest of the Autobots would have fallen a long time ago."

He turned to Aria. "There was a reason why you survived, Aria," he told her. "You just have not found it yet. Sometimes it is not apparent until we truly look inside ourselves. Then we see our answer."

Aria looked down again, thinking about what Optimus said as he continued. "We all face pain, Aria. But it's when we get through that pain that makes us who we are."

Aria sat there, thinking for a while. Then she nodded to herself and looked up at the Prime. "The guys were right," she said to him, "Talking to you did make me feel better."

"I'm glad that it did," he told her, "So, are you ready to come back?"

"Might as well," she said, "Can't keep on moping around my home, now can I?"

Everyone turned to see Optimus's alt. mode rolling into the main room. Their expressions turned to mixtures of relief and joy as Aria stepped out of Optimus's cab. "Hey," she said.

As Optimus transformed, Raf came hurrying down and hugged his friend. "Are you feeling okay?" asked Raf.

"Better than before," she assured him, rubbing his hair affectionately. He would usually duck down whenever that happened, but he tolerated it this time.

As Aria looked up, she noticed a few people missing. "Where's Jack and Arcee?" she asked.

"Recon," explained Ratchet, "Energon surge in the Oklahoma woodlands. They went to check it out last night, but they should have-"

*Ratchet, requesting Groundbridge.*

"Oh! There they are!" said the medic, relieved.

The Groundbridge swirled open, and through it came Arcee and a tired and scruffed Jack. The two of them froze when they saw Aria. "Aria!" said Jack, "When did you get back?"

"Couple of minutes ago," she said, shrugging. Noticing how he looked, she asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he sighed, walking up to her and Raf, who had been also joined by Miko. "Well, as fine as I'll be after you get chased the whole night by a Decepticon who wants your head as a trophy. Probably made her mad because I blew up her ship. Probably not a good thing."

"And here I thought Aria was the one with guts!" said Miko in surprise, only for the end of her hair to get pulled on by Miko. "Ow! Stop doing that!"

"Then stop saying stuff like that," said Aria. "Besides, I've got more sense than you do." She turned to Jack and asked, "What was the Con's name?"

"Airachnid," said Arcee, looking a little angry when she said the name.

*Wha-? Arcee, are you sure you're okay?* Bumblebee said, suddenly worried. The rest of the team, including Aria, looked concerned as well.

"I'm alright... mostly," she said, rubbing her arm, "Just a few dents. Airachnid probably got off worse. Jack said that she was in her ship when it exploded. She somehow survived."

"Who's Airachnid?" Raf asked Aria in a whisper.

"Con who killed her first partner, Tailgate," the older girl whispered back, "I thought she went rogue."

"And now she's stuck here on earth," said Jack, shuddering.

"Well, Arcee isn't the only one with demons around here." Aria looked up at the femme, who looked slightly confused until she remembered. "How are you holding up?" asked Arcee, looking at her.

"Truthfully," said Aria, "I probably won't be exactly the same for a while. But I'm better than I was before. And I've been worse." She looked up at the femme, a pained smile crossing her face.

Arcee's own smile was the same. She could relate.

Slightly short chapter, but now Optimus knows about Aria's past. He tells the team later on, but I won't write it down.