Shrouded Origins Chapter 39, a transformers fanfic

Well here's an update for everyone! I hope you all like it. Let me know if anything seems out of place or anything because somehow a chunk of the chapter disappeared during editing and it was a pain to try putting it all back together! I do not own Transformers!

(Aurora's POV)

BAM!

The sound echoed as I slammed my head into the ceiling of the cave upon hearing what could only have been Ierena's terrified screaming. My horns buckled slightly under the force of impact and making me yelp when pain went surging through my skull. It was like my brain was bouncing around in my head, and it was lined in spikes and smashing against the walls of its' cavity. Sonuva goddamn fucking bitch! That hurt!

"From now on I'm going to sleep with a fucking helmet on!" I moaned as I gently rubbed my throbbing head with my paw, hoping to relieve some of the ringing sensation.

Mum looked down from where she was perched on an overhang, raising an optic ridge at me. "You did that back in the Roman Era, and you still managed to fall into the Mediterranean instead!"

"Are we really going back to that now?! Remember how I was drunk off my ass when that happened?! I was half hung over, and somewhat thinking that I was swimming in a bunch of that… what was it… Polistinian concoction, wait what was that called?"

Harp sighed. "Don't you think it's more important to go find out why your cousin is screaming bloody murder?"

The reminder had me bolting upright, damnit I'd gotten distracted! "SHIT!" I turned and raced out of the cave, taking to the air with a few strong beats of my wings, and trying not to get after Mum for changing the subject like that. The cause of Ierena's terrified screaming was more important to me at the moment, so I took off as fast as my wings could carry me in that direction. Well, as fast as I could without needing a few miles to slow down to a safe landing.

I paid no attention to the lake below as I raced over it, closing in on where the sounds of frenzied screaming were coming from. Blue tinted, black flames were raging about in what was once an old market town, licking at the buildings and bodies lining the ground. I soared high above the flames, searching in between the buildings for the familiar black form of my cousin.

My eyes snapped up when a building was knocked down at the very edge of the town. "That's where she is!" I sped up and spotted her large body as it weaved between buildings, black flames shooting from her maw and encompassing everything in their path. Her eyes had a crazed look in them, darting around the surrounding area with fear and desperation residing in them. Like she could see something that I couldn't…

Like she could see something that I couldn't…

"Oh fucking hell! She's having a vision!" Well that realization hit me like a ton of bricks… with Razor on top. No that would kill me… Well what the fuck was I supposed to do now? I definitely needed Sound's help and of course she wasn't here…

Ok I needed to focus… I needed to get her attention off of whatever she was seeing. Of course this was something that Auntie never trained me to do…

"Ro stop beating around the bush and just do something already!" Mum shouted from her place in my crown as I banked a hard left around the town, my wings whipping up the smoke and luring some of it out of the way akin to a tornado… maybe I could starve the flames of air?

I huffed, banking back to the right and hovering out of reach nervously. This wasn't something that I was prepared for, and I was anxious because it was out of my comfort zone. Dealing with my siblings was not as potentially life threatening as this situation was… "I'm so about to die in five seconds…" I muttered.

"Just hope that your cousin bond is strong enough that she recognizes you and doesn't maul you! Now go!"

"That was as comforting a speech as being told that I could only go through door A, or door B, and waiting for me in door A is a gun squad waiting to shoot the shit out of me, and door B having a pack of rabid Lake Guardians waiting to rip me to shreds and ingest my flesh!"

"You know Aurora… I don't think we really have time to be discussing this anymore… Look over there!" Mum snapped at me.

I looked over at where Ierena was, and a cold chill went through my furnace at the sight of the pitch black, pulsating energy pulsating along her body. If she went primal here and now, that would be the end of Harp and I, and what remained of Valunma… Something had to be done now!

My body was instantly moving, diving down towards her... the air passing by sounding like it was howling as my tail sung out something akin to a warning.

I didn't spot the vortex appearing close to the base of the mountain and the form which came hurtling through it.

(Ierena's POV)

Flames raged everywhere…

Massive bodies writhing as far as I could see…

Frenzied screams nearly made me go deaf… The roar of the flames mixing in with the angry bellows of the crazed ones running about everywhere… Their eyes were pitch black, tiny white pupils quivering with fury as the locked on the small forms of the hatchlings who were lucky enough to still be alive.

Everywhere around me bodies fell, mutilated and bleeding… sliced, torn into, headless, convulsing and slowly hardening and becoming nothing more than jagged rock formations, some of which were trampled and torn to shreds before they even finished the process, sending cascades of rock, flesh and blood raining down on the surrounding area.

I screamed and ran. I didn't look back, but everything became a maze, twisting and twining, wherever I ran, I couldn't get away.

Panic and fear were overwhelming me, instinct taking over as I ducked and weaved between buildings. Screams were falling from my mouth, and I couldn't even think enough to stop.

An absolutely massive form was visible in the distance…

Writhing…

Destroying everything around it, its gargantuan body partially standing on an equally massive one, one who'd worn torn and molten armour, and now lay dead, forming the mountain range which encircled the town…

Burning everything in its' wake with columns of fire which turned the purple sky into a hellish red…

Death everywhere…

Severed limbs falling from the sky above me… as smaller mad ones darted through the streets with hellish screams and cries.

I even spotted one succumbing, their body thrashing as one beside it pleaded with it, only for them to fall dead from a cluster of horns being rammed into their chest by the one they'd tried to help as they completely lost themselves.

Silver blood and hot ash was raining down on my scales… I could feel the warmth and I screamed again…

I screamed as another titan one jumped out in front of me, the same terrified look in his bright green eyes. He was taller than me, easily three times as tall as even Aurora, his body type the same as hers as well but he was a deep, bloody red and ebony black…

I skidded to a stop as he ran out from between two buildings and raced towards me. I panicked, heat building up in my chest as I opened my mouth and released a torrent of black tinted flames right at him. But he raced by anyways, his body shimmering and phasing right through my frenzied attack like it never even happened, even though I saw the flames start burning the building that used to be right behind him.

He galloped passed me like I wasn't even here, tiny heads poking out of his thick horns and shredded crown of feathers, chirping and warbling in terror as he tried to get away from something else.

The reason became apparent when a much larger, purple, strength class titan trampled over the building the speed class had come racing out from behind, and took off after him. The same crazed look was in her eyes as the rest…

I screamed and turned to bolt the way the red titan had gone, craning my neck back around as I ran and spitting another torrent of fire at her in an effort to ward her off. But just like with the red titan, her body shimmered and the attack phased right through her… and she just kept coming, her jaws splitting wide and open, revealing the death trap waiting for me.

My eyes widened as horror consumed me, my flight instincts in full swing as I spread my wings in preparation to take to the air. But before I could I slammed into something, which crumbled and tripped me up on the debris. I went tumbling to the ground in a twist of limbs, my legs somehow getting twisted together as I rolled across the ground.

I tried to scramble back up as soon as I stopped moving, but my legs were twined together and I couldn't untangle them fast enough!

All I could do was stare at the titan charging towards me in terror, while I was unable to move to run away! My eyes slammed shut as she closed in, but a strange sensation of something cold slipping through my body jolted me enough that I threw my head back and stared at the legs phasing right through my body.

What the hell?!

I rolled onto my other side and watched her as she passed by me and chased after the red titan like I wasn't even here…

Even from here I could see the tiny forms sticking out of his crown, multiple sets of different colored eyes wide with fear as the larger titan closed in. I saw his wings spread as if to take him up into the air, but he never got the chance to because the larger titan closed in and lunged at the back of his neck, her jaws clamping down and ripping a pained screech from him as she twisted back around and dragged him with her, twisting hard and slamming his body into a building wings first, the resounding crack as the limbs were rendered useless as they shattered from the impact, ripping an agonised howl to the heavens beyond the hell fire.

He squirmed and screeched, clawing at her underbelly so that he could get free. But her jaws were split into fourths and were holding tight, the flaps wrapped around his throat as a horrible whirring sound started up…

The screaming turned into bloodcurdling yowls of pure agony, silver leaking through her fangs as the top part of his neck just slipped off and hit the ground. He gurgled one last time, before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went still for the last time, the hatchlings screaming as they bolted from their former place of safety.

I couldn't feel anything…

I couldn't think about anything…

All I could do was watch as his young scurried out of his crown and tried to get away…

Only for their father's murderer to mercilessly stomp them into little more than puddles of flesh and silver blood…

WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON?!

(Sunny's POV)

We were all gathered in the hangar for a briefing about the move from the Diego Garcia base, to the new one in DC. The atmosphere was tense and heavy as it always was in the few months that had gone by since the battle in Egypt. I could hardly focus on what Optimus was saying…

I just wanted to think about Clare… We all missed her…

Sides turned to look at me sadly, and pressed himself into my side for comfort. I appreciated it… but it didn't really help right now…

(We should pay attention to this… It's important.) He said quietly.

I just grunted and turned back to look at Optimus again. His new appearance was still a little… strange… He looked like he did before, only now he had wings, a tail, and six large gray horns on top of his helm. His optics were a brighter shade of blue, and they still had a silver slit in the center. Most couldn't get over the changes… I didn't really care myself even if he was now towering over us to an even greater extent.

"As I was saying, we need to make sure that all of our supplies are sorted according to which cargo plane they will be going… on…" He suddenly trailed off out of nowhere.

Ratchet approached him warily. "Optimus?"

:Hello? Hello? Can you guys hear me?: A light, accented feminine voice echoed through my helm, but it was barely discernible over the horrible screeching in the background. Everybot tensed in response to it…

"What the frag?!" Ironhide cursed as he whipped around, as if to look for whoever was doing it.

:I'm not actually where you are!: The voice cut off with a pained shriek for some reason. :Son of a fucking cunt! Would you stop biting my throat Ierena?! That fucking hurts! I am trying to talk to your friends and you're making it quite difficult right now! Stop!: The voice sounded like something was choking them.

Another voice suddenly boomed through this strange mental link between us and whoever else was talking. :Ro what the fuck is going on?! Lia just pulled me through a portal and now there's a black and purple Titan ripping into you! What the fuck is going on?!:

:Look, we'll talk about that later! Right now I need your guys' help so I can get her to calm down!: She suddenly yelped and squeaked in pain. :OW! That's my fucking tail! Stop biting that! Look can someone just say something?! She's freaking the hell out right now!:

Optimus shook his helm and looked up towards the ceiling of the hangar. "Calm who down?"

:Ierena! Oh shit you guys didn't know her by that name! She used to go by the name Clare!:

"WHAT?!"

:Yeah! Look she died and then got put back into her real body! Now she's freaking out because she wandered off alone and now she's having a vision, it must be about the extinction of our race! So now she's freaking out because she must think that she's actually there as it's happening, and Sound can you come over here and help me! She almost stabbed me in my furnace!:

:Ok! Ok I'm coming! Why didn't you call me sooner if this was happening Ro?! She's seriously about to lose it right now!:

The terrible screeching hadn't once let up throughout the entire time this had been going on. But by now I was more focused on who was supposedly making such a terrified sound. My spark was pulsing with hope despite that. Could it really be…?

All of a sudden Sides dashed across the hangar and scaled up onto Optimus' shoulders like a friggin monkey. He grabbed Prime's helm and jerked it down so that he could start yelling into the tip of one of his horns. "SWEETSPARK?! ARE YOU REALLY IN THERE?! IS IT REALLY YOU?! ANSWEEEERRRRR MEEEEEEE!" He screamed so loud that that sound, mixed with the loud screeching, reverberated around the entire hangar.

Optimus suddenly jerked from the loud noise, lurching forward and tripping over his peds to land flat on his face. "Sideswipe… the screeching was loud enough… please stop…"

I finally overcame my shock and ran over to where he was, Jazz and Prowl following after me as we all leaned down and started yelling into Optimus' helm. "BABY CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Stop…"

"SWEETLIN' I'S YA OPI! WHERE ARE YA?! CAN YA 'EAR MEH?!"

"Sweetspark it's your dad, are you listening?"

:CAN YOU IDIOTS NOT YELL?! TALK ONE AT A FUCKING TIME! FOR THE LOVE OF THE ANCIENTS, I'M ABOUT TO LOSE MY HEARING FROM YOU LOT!: The first voice boomed through the mental link again, but it was quickly drowned out by the screeching in the background. It was slightly less loud now, but it was only a minute change. :Look, talk one at a time and calmly please. Screaming is not going to help calm her down right now, and it's definitely not helping me right now! She's clawing the shit out of my belly! If I had internal organs down there this would be bad!:

We all looked at each other…

And then I roughly shoved the others, including Sides, aside so that I could lean down and start talking. "Clare?"

The screeching died off into a low, choked off groan in response. :Ok, she heard you! That was good! She's calmed down some! Keep talking! Oh and by the way, you don't have to talk into his head like that. The link is established between everyone.:

Pushing myself to my peds, I looked towards the open hangar doors as I thought of something to say to her. The words came quicker, and easier than they ever had before, and I wasn't embarrassed to say them in front of anybot. "Baby, I want you to know that Sides and I love you. We all miss you, and we're waiting for you to come back. So calm down for your… friend please, and come back as soon as you can."

A rumbling sound came through, light pitched, like a lilting purr. :It's really starting to work! She's stopped beating our asses! Keep talking.:

I turned to look at Sides expectantly. "You gonna say anything?"

He crossed his knees and sat on the floor, staring towards the ceiling with this dopey, love struck look on his face. "Hey sweetspark! Maybe you should stop mauling your friend and calm down? That might be nice?"

:Oh she's not my friend! She's actually related to me, I'm kinda her father's cousin and mother's niece. Don't ask how that works, because the family tree is weird.:

"So you're related to the uh, shadow lady that scared Galloway and left him hanging from the ceiling with the worst atomic wedgie in history?" Sides asked.

:Oh Auntie Lia! She does that from time to time, well not the wedgie thing but… Whatever a wedgie is! Sound what's a wedgie?:

:You really need to keep up with human cultures Ro! You live underneath them for crying out loud! A wedgie is when someone pulls someone else's underwear up from the back and it gets lodged in their butt crack. That sounded really weird saying that… ok, I think I can let go she's stopped thrashing… I'm going to try and find something to patch you up.:

:Ooohhh… If you're a male that must be horrible… Humans just have it out, not hidden away like it's supposed to be! That must've made quite a few men infertile. Oh and good idea Sound, bleeding out is something I'd rather avoid.:

"Are they really talking about that…?" Ratchet muttered from his spot beside Optimus' still downed form.

Sides just shrugged. "Yeah but I don't really care. All I care about is Clare. Speaking of, can she talk to us too? She hasn't said anything yet. Sweetspark say something! Jazz and Prowl are here with Sunny and I, and the rest of the Autobots are here too! We'd love to hear your voice!"

:She can't talk right now. Just keep talking to her ok?:

"'Ey sweetlin', ah guess yo'r givin' ya cousin? A 'ard tahme ain'cha?"

:That's an understatement. If it weren't for Sound blocking my pain I would be writhing in agony right now. I'm already leaking out here.:

"What caused this to happen?" Prowl asked.

:I'm not sure, visions can be triggered by pretty much anything with historical or futurical value, yes that's a word before anyone tries to correct me. Visions tend to make shadows go whacky until they get used to them.:

He furrowed his optic ridges, but surprisingly didn't push it for once. "Well my spark, a vision can't hurt you. Calm down and focus on our voices. We're all here for you."

There was a moment with no sound, no screeching, or conversation between the two we'd spoken to so far… But then a third, light pitched voice moaned, distinctly lighter than the second, and slightly more so than the first. :Mmm… hey… Sunny… there's dead body soup… and a body, rocky mountain dragon…:

:Ok that was even weirder than your drunken rambling, and that's some of the strangest stuff heard by human ears!:

:Well do you expect her to be speaking coherently right now? It's a miracle she got that out! Well, she's gonna be out of it for a few hours or so, and maybe after she wakes up we can link you up again ok? As soon as she's prepared for the flight back to the Earth in our dimension, we can return and then jump to yours easier.:

My jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

:Yeah we're in an alternate dimension right now. It would take us a few days to get from here, to my Earth, then to jump to yours. But right now Ieren isn't ready to return, she's still falling out of the sky, and crashing into mountains, and getting pelted with ice when she went out in that freak ice storm that happened… I don't even understand where that came from! Has Valunma ever had an ice storm in recorded history?:

:I don't know. No Titans have been here in eleven trillion years, so there hasn't exactly been any weather control you know?:

The first voice snorted out a laugh. :I still can't believe she believed us when Mum and I told her gremlins did it.:

:You told her that gremlins conjured an ice storm?!:

:It was meant to be a joke to see if she got the reference. Obviously she didn't. But anyways, we need to unlink with you all now so we can get her back to where we're staying, as soon as Ierena is up and about we'll let her link with you so she can actually talk to you.:

"Ok… Just take good care of her until then."

:We will.: And with that the voices were gone, leaving a numbing silence in their wake.

Sides was the first to break the tense silence. "That was… just as strange as when we talked to Micronus Prime… and the rest of the Primes. They all argued like fragging siblings, like you and I Sunny!"

And didn't that just bring up a slag ton of questions…

(Ierena's POV)

I groaned as I came to, feeling like a few tons of bricks were weighing me down. It felt as if the deep, endless sleep I was in counted for nothing, because I was still exhausted as hell. My limbs felt like jelly, and my eyelids were so heavy that it took me a few kliks just to get them to open.

Bright blue, and silvery gray blobs were the first thing I saw. But I couldn't make out what they were, until I blinked a few times to get my vision to clear some and they were revealed to be Aurora and another Titan I'd never met before.

She was the light gray, and purple, like a slightly darker shade of violet. Her eyes were this bright blue mixed with a silvery purple, much lighter than Aurora's were, but a hers almost seemed to be fluctuating a bit. It reminded me of Opi's optics…

Wait… Opi…? I heard his voice in my dream… I heard the twins too, and Dad…

Was it… really a dream…?

No, it was more like a nightmare… Everywhere I looked there was death…

Everyone dead, or dying… I was so scared… I kept trying to get away but it was like I couldn't escape from it!

I started panting harshly as all the images came racing back like a whirlwind of fear and pain.

I remembered Titans everywhere, killing everything…

Killing everything…

Before I could freak out a strange sense of calm took hold of me and prevented a full scale panic attack. "Take it easy Ierena, we don't need you relapsing again." The newcomer spoke, her voice deeper and soothing.

I stared up at her in confusion, since I was literally unable to feel the fear or desperation that had been threatening to overcome me seconds ago… Any distraction was welcome at this point. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sounada. I was a Cybertronian once before the war, and your grandmother rescued me and altered me into a Titan so that I could serve… wait that's the wrong word, aid you and your cousin in fulfilling her plans. I do a pretty good job too, seeing as I'm useful for keeping everyone calm and on task. That's kind of what mind elements do." She did this odd bowing thing, drawing my attention to the fact she was standing on her hind legs, unlike how me and Aurora stood, her horns where straight, thin and looking like a porcupine was asleep up there, following the lithe neck down the sweeping wings were stretched out to block the light of the moons from me, allowing me to avoid getting blinded. Finally, two tails snaked around her right side, the ends looking more like bladed four way pincers mixed with an arcade crane grabber. Weird. I assumed she was a different type then.

"So… I still don't really know anything about this master plan people keep talking about, because no one explains anything to me…" I trailed off questioningly.

Aurora suddenly looked sheepish at the cold and condescending glare she was now on the receiving end of. "Well I'm forgetful, and Harp is as forgetful as me so… we both keep forgetting to tell you." She suddenly cut off and stumbled a bit, wincing and looking down at her side for some reason as her right paw moved to cover her ridged under belly.

That was when I noticed something that my foggy mind had overlooked so far. She was beaten the hell up, like gouged and scratched all to hell, with bite marks on her throat, and a gaping hole in her side that was sparsely covered by a homemade bandage of some kind.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

She chuckled and looked back at me with this odd dopey smile. "You mauled me when you were having that vision, and you kind of ripped my side open, and bit my throat, but somehow I can still talk which is weird considering something fell out of it… maybe it was just a flap of hide or something… I don't know, can you just fix this please? It kind of hurts and I'm potentially bleeding to death…"

I sat there processing what she'd just said, my brain slowly turning it over again and again, until it finally clicked in my head that I did that to her. As in, I really fucking had her ass and didn't even slightly recall doing it! I scrambled up from where I was laying and started healing her wounds, while spewing apologies for doing it even if I didn't remember it.

"I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, soooooo sorry about this! Normally I'm not the type too main or maul somebot, that's normally the twins or Ratchet doing that! Normally I'm the one that has to break fights up before limbs are lost, but now I feel bad because I'm the one that was tearing things off! It's kind of weird because I don't remember doing it but I still did it so I feel bad, and now I want to hit my head against the wall repeatedly for being a fuckstick."

She snorted out a laugh. "Don't bother doing that, it hurts like hell and there's no reason to. You weren't exactly… in your right mindset? You didn't actually mean to do it, but… shit happens sometimes?"

"Great explanation Ro… seriously." Sounada remarked dryly.

"Well what do you want me to say? Things like this happen all the time! I mean Rya trampled fifteen thousand people to death, burned their bodies to ashes, and half of London! Let's not mention the body she stomped on so much that its atoms were so spread out that it was impossible to find it! Razor flattened an entire mountain range, Uri's killed so many people that I can't even keep track of it, Sonic destroyed that jungle region in Mongolia and basically created the Mongolian desert, and let's not forget all the things that Emily did when she was well… off her rocker... I don't even want to talk about it because it brings up too many bad memories!"

"Those are your siblings right?" I asked while I worked to close the hole in her side, my tone riddled with disbelief.

"Yes they are. The point I was trying to make with that, was that all Titans are prone to bouts of extreme violence. Sometimes you just can't control it and you shouldn't feel bad about it… Unless you purposefully murder a few thousand people, and then you're just being an asshole. Not that we have asses to speak of." She remarked cheekily.

"What does that even mean?"

She turned towards me as soon as I was finished healing all her wounds. "It doesn't matter right now."

Before I could react she'd reared up and pulled me into another of those really odd feeling and kinda poorly positioned hugs. If we were mammals, this would feel a whole lot more awkward, seeing as we were both kinda naked... Not that I really think my cousin here cared much about that.

Glancing at her head, which was currently lying over my shoulders along with the top of her neck, I realized she'd been staring at me, and something told me she wasn't making a thing of blinking when it came to the look of absolute forgiveness she was giving me as she squeezed that bit tighter.

With a sigh I let what had just happened to me wash back over me as I effectively crumpled against her, her body holding mine up despite the weird position, and honestly? It felt even safer to be in than me twins' arms did. Why was that?

"Because you two have a family bond, and you haven't bonded with those mechs yet." Sounada answered, well, tick mind reading off the list of things she can do, not that it isn't weird that she can do that.

I turned to look at her in confusion. "Family bond?"

She nodded. "You're related by blood, and essence as well. That means that you naturally have a bond with one another, whereas you love your intendeds, but you still have no bond with them. Until you do you'll feel safer and more comforted by Ro."

That made sense, but it had me wondering if it was even possible for me to bond with those two now…? I didn't have a spark anymore, instead I had a ball of fire in my chest that was basically a compressed star. Would that hurt them if we tried it? What if it wasn't safe?

"Is it even possible for me to bond with them at all? I mean… my essence is a giant ball of fire… Will that hurt them if we try merging?" I asked.

Aurora looked to the side awkwardly. "Well… I'm not one for going into technicalities of the birds and the bees I guess you could say… but it is possible. But you need to be in a form compatible with them, so for a Cybertronian you'd have to take that form. For something like… a human, you'd have to take a human form."

"Well I don't know how to do any of that shit! I don't even know how you did that shit! That whole Lake Guardian thing scared the fragging shit out of me! Seriously don't do that again though because I'm gonna kick your ass if you do!"

"We don't have asses remember?"

"Well you have a rump area! Want me to say I'll kick your fucking rump?!"

"Please don't say it like that. It reminds me of a politician I've been having to deal with lately and he's driving me up the wall!" She groaned, muttering something so low I couldn't catch it.

"Huh?"

She shook her head and sighed. "I'm deeply involved in human politics because of some old ties which I took back up a while ago, but I think for now we should let that subject drop and focus on what's important right now. Such as what happened in that vision you had…"

I felt my body lock up at the mention of that… the memories once again becoming prominent, but I couldn't feel the fear that came with it. Now I was numb, yet still somewhat mortified by it, but the emotions were extremely dulled down. "It… really… happened like that…?"

Aurora nodded. "Unfortunately yes it did. We were all warned about what happened before being shown visions of it, so that we wouldn't react as badly as you did to all the carnage. I didn't think to warn you about it because I didn't think you'd wander off to one of the towns on your own. It's the reason why I was keeping us away from all the cities, and places where the massacres occurred."

"They told me about it." I whispered brokenly. "But… seeing it, like I was actually there… it was absolutely terrifying… I thought that I was going to die, that those crazy bastards were going to kill me! This one was chasing another… he looked like you, and he had his babies with him… She chased him, I thought she was coming after me, so I ran and I breathed fire at her but it went right through her! I thought she was going to rip me apart but… she just walked right through like I wasn't even there and she… she just grabbed him by the throat and… she had it in her jaws… there was this horrible noise like a blender grinding something up…"

Before I could go any further she laid her head on top of mine and released a low pitched purr as she pulled my head down with hers to rest against the base of her neck, above the furnace burning away inside, from this closeness, it was easy to feel the change in heat as our two furnaces heat mixed together. "Easy now… There's no reason to stress yourself out anymore. Sound got a good look at what was going on in your head, and she showed me. We already know."

I realized that I was quivering, and despite the calming influence of Sounada, it was starting to overcome me. My entire body was shaking, and I felt like I was on the edge of a full on panic attack… I took a deep breath to calm myself down a bit, and the forced calm she was subjecting me to slowly took over and suppressed the negative emotions again.

"She really… thought that would solve all her problems?"

My cousin pulled back and looked towards the sky dejectedly. "My mother… was never… the sanest Titan in existence. She thought that by creating the virus, and pinning its' creation on the shadows, she could gain back favor with her court and the people when she made the attempt to eradicate them. She knew by that point that her soldiers wouldn't be able to track down all the shadows that had gone into hiding. So by doing this she hoped that she could get the entire populace to side with her against them, in order to prevent Auntie from gaining enough power to fully oppose her. She didn't want to lose to her twin, who she viewed as inferior in every way. It's kind of humorous when you think of the fact that it was her who did away with my mother at the end."

I didn't really know what to say to that honestly… The thought that someone could be so utterly selfish and short-sighted that they would do something so desperate and ultimately… devastating to their own race. Too single handily be responsible for that… no wonder Aurora hated her mom.

"Why couldn't they be stopped?" I asked.

"The virus was meant to drive them crazy, but due to the rush of production its' creators were unaware of some of the less… desired effects. It did more than just drive Titans crazy, it increased their strength to monstrous levels, and made them impervious to pain. The sheer resilience made even the smallest of the ferals difficult to deal with, only the most skilled and powerful among our race could even hope to handle the larger ones. Because of this our entire race was driven to extinction in days… There was just no way to contain the virus."

Questions were brewing in my head, and I decided just to ask. "But… wouldn't a Titan's essence just burn up any virus or infection?"

"This virus was created to bypass the furnace altogether, and go directly to the brain and the musculature. It basically mutated the musculature, and destroyed the sentiency of whatever it infected."

"Your mom was a damn psychotic, crazy ass, mother fucking bitch." I deadpanned. There was really nothing else I could say right now.

She chuckled heartily at that. "Yes, yes she was. Unfortunately, saying that now doesn't change anything." She sighed, then she looked at me again. "Well let's get off this subject ok? How about we practice shapeshifting? You need to learn that."

"I don't have any idea how to do that."

"It's easy! For us shapeshifting is as easy as breathing! Even hatchlings can do it!"

What was meant to be encouraging actually made my ineptitude come back full force… Even hatchlings could shapeshift, and here I was as a teenager, unable to do it. I sulked like a dejected puppy, but at least it gave me a distraction from what was bothering me.

"Ok, shapeshifting is similar in mental capacity as walking, just think of the creature as you do the direction to walk, did you understand that? Or was I just rambling? All you have to do is envision what you want to shift into, and then will your body to become that. That's a much simpler explanation!"

I scowled at her.

Sounada shook her head and turned towards Aurora. "Ro, you're damaging her self-esteem."

Aurora stopped rambling and blinked at her. "Huh?"

There was a long silence that followed where the two just stared at each other like they were actually talking, and then Aurora smacked herself in the side of the head and groaned. "Well haven't I been an inept teacher?"

Sounada just shrugged. "You weren't paying enough attention to notice."

"That doesn't make me feel any better Sound!"

"It wasn't meant to make you feel better. I said it to get you to start being more observant Ro."

"She hides it well! I didn't have any idea!"

"That's just an excuse and you know it. I'm calling bullslag!"

"Hey language!" They were just going back and forth at this point, despite the harsh words, there was a fondness in both of their tones, like they did this only a daily basis for the fun of it.

"Ro your language is infinitely worse than mine and you know it! You lived with the Vikings for frag's sake! You were one of their main modes of transportation back then, and you sang those weird shanties just as much as the rest of them. I'm not even going to recall what some of those songs were about!"

"It's probably a good thing actually, seeing as they were quite vulgar…"

I looked between the two of them and raised a… brow… at them…? "You two have never seen the internet have you? Now that is a vulgar place! You think the Vikings were bad? Now their society and teachings are featured in children's movies! Have you seen 'How to train your dragon'?"

Aurora looked at me oddly. "No I haven't seen that, but that's beside the point. I think what's most important to address right now is my lack of attentiveness to you."

I ended up hunching over a bit guiltily. "It's not technically a lack of attentiveness… I just never said anything, so technically it was my fault." I pointed out.

"No, I should've been paying more attention to how you were feeling. But I wasn't, and I'm sorry for inadvertently fueling your self-doubts by not paying attention to you like I should've." She scooted closer and rubbed the side of her face against mine. "Everyone starts out somewhere, and you're just getting started now. There's no reason to feel inferior, or doubt yourself because you've just begun to learn about your abilities. In due time you'll catch up to the rest of us. No one is a perfect Titan, not me, not you, not Sound… well she's not a full Titan actually so she can't be a perfect one… And all my siblings are hybrids too, they're actually such a low percentage that they can't even take a Titan form. If they did they'd fall into a coma that they might not ever come out of…" She shuddered fearfully, and flicked her tail nervously, then shook her head vigorously. "And you think I'm perfect? I'm the worst in tail to tail combat!" She brought her tail up around her body and flicked the three-pronged scythe in front of my face. "See this? I can't move the two side blades together like I used to be able to! They're meant to cut things! See?!"

I blinked when the two blades snapped together with a loud clack, then moved back into place.

Even she seemed so surprised by this that she could only stare at her appendage in shock. "Mum… what the fuck just happened?"

Harp suddenly appeared on top of her head. "Well it seems as if your spine has been fully healed as well. The divot is still there from where all the nerves were ripped out, but apparently it's no longer an issue. How much of her did you heal exactly Ier?"

"I don't know? How did I fix that too?"

"None of that matters. What does matter is that I'm a runt. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect, none of us are perfect! Trust me, trying to be perfect only ends badly for all involved! Just look at what happened to my psychotic mother! She failed. Bad." She tried to reassure, but I could tell she was struggling, probably due to the fact that Sounada was death glaring her again.

"I don't want to be perfect…" I admitted quietly. "I just want to stop feeling like I'm so inferior to everyone else all the time. With the bots I was just this tiny, defenseless femme that was only good for healing others. I always needed to be protected, and it felt like everybot thought I was a liability even if they never said it. It's… I don't want to feel like that anymore."

Something slid under my chin and tilted my head back up so that I was staring into one of her ocean blue eyes. "Give it time and you won't have to. Right now we're just taking baby steps, learning the basics, and then we'll go from there. Eventually you'll catch up, and then you'll never have to feel like a liability again. It's just going to be slow at the start ok?"

I nodded, even though I was still unsure about a lot of things, and talking about learning all about what I was, made the uncertainty over whether the bots and my human family would accept me rear its' ugly head again.

Maybe she sensed that? Or maybe Sounada did and informed her of my doubts? I wasn't sure honestly… But she suddenly smiled reassuringly at me. "Now, I'm not sure if you're ready or not, but seeing as now that Sounada is here, if you want, we can link up with your bots? They were really happy to hear you were safe and alive. Wanna chat with them? They really wanted to speak to you and not just two random females yelling at them." She beamed, although, with all those teeth she had, it kinda looked sadistic in an odd way.

"I can really do that?" There was a hope forming within me as what she said dawned on me, I, I could talk to them?

"Yes you can. I did tell them that you'd get in touch with them as soon as you were able!" She turned towards Sounada and gestured her over, the silver and purple Titan quickly responded, moving to walk on all fours for stability, it put her chest a low lower to the ground though, wonder why? "You think you can handle another link up today?" Aurora asked.

She nodded, puffing out her chest in pride. "Yes I can. Do not doubt my abilities Ro. I've been doing this for far longer than you've been alive for." She stopped in front of me. "I think it's best that I link Ro and I in as well so we can answer any questions they might have."

"Ok. That's probably a good idea, because Dad is going to have a lot of questions about my safety." I mumbled… in a good way of course.

"That's fine. Shall we begin?" Aurora practically chirped.

"Yes." Sound declared, as her bright blue optics were overcome by the purple and began glowing this eerie violet.

(Sides' POV)

We were hanging out in the rec room a few groons after the weird conversation with Clare's caretaker, and her braniac friend. I wasn't really sure what else to call somebot that could link minds together… so braniac it was!

Sunny was sitting beside me on the couch, and Jazz was squeezed into the only remaining seat, while Prowl was busy working on some data pads at a nearby table. We were all feeling a lot better now that we knew that Clare was alright… well as alright as she could be. We at least knew that she alive, and that was better than thinking she was dead.

A sudden comm link flashed on my HUD, and when I saw that it was Optimus I answered it. :Hey Boss Bot. What's up?:

:The ceiling. And we have company again.:

:Huh?:

:Just come to the main hangar please. I've already commed everybot else.:

I just shrugged and stood up, as did everybot else, and we all made our way to the hangar. Optimus was standing there when arrived, along with all the Autobots who weren't currently on patrol. "Ok we're all here! What's going on?"

"Well, it appears that our acquaintances were able to calm Clare down sooner than expected. They've all linked up again, and she wants to talk to you."

I stiffened as surprise coursed through me, then I sprinted across the hangar and climbed up Optimus' shoulders again, leaning down close to his helm. "Clare?! Are you really there?"

"Sideswipe… that is not pleasant…" Optimus sighed tiredly.

:Yeah, you do know that you can talk without having to shove your face in his helm right? I think that you should probably show a little respect to the current Prime right?: The first accented voice declared with a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

"I wanna talk to sweetspark!"

:Well she's tongue tied at the moment… I think… Ierena get your butt over here and stop trying to edge away when you think we're not looking! Sound I think you need to do something about her anxiety, she's locked up again.:

:Well what do you expect?:

:I don't know! Maybe for her to be excited that she can talk to her friends and family? It's been how many months now…? Wait how long has it been for her? How long has it been for me? Sound how long have I been here? Did I miss the games?!:

:Ro calm down! You still have four months until then! You've only been missing for a few weeks! The only thing of significance that's happened is that Razor has developed a crush on Bara, and he almost had a panic attack because of his claustrophobia.:

:WHAT?!:

"Hey we're supposed to be talking to sweetspark right now! Not listening to you two talking about somebot we don't know, having a crush on somebot we don't know!"

:Oh yeah! Wait! She's already flown off somewhere! Ah there she is on the horizon! Sound you stay here and wait until we come back! IERENA! GET YOUR SCALY ASS BACK HERE!:

Jazz cocked his helm. "Why'd she run away?"

:Hmm… well let's just say that her emotions have run rampant and… wow… I'm not even going to try and name all of them… But let's go with inferiority complex, paranoia, anxiety, and potential depression blooming and all that… Ro's talking to her now..:

"Why's she paranoid?" Sunny asked.

:Wouldn't you be? She's just been put into her true body, and now she's basically a giant lizard. Well we're not lizards technically, but we're reptilian… we're part of a different genus. She's worried that you won't like how she is now.:

"Why the frag would she think that?!"

:Please don't yell… I already have a migraine from linking all of us together, and the screaming is hampering my ability to keep the link formed. If you have any questions please ask, without screaming or shouting.:

I looked down at my twin, who looked to be deep in thought at the moment. He looked up after a moment. "Well what does she look like?"

That was a good question! "Is she pretty?"

:Well by Titan standards she's actually drop dead gorgeous, but she doesn't seem to be aware of it yet. She took after her mother in terms of build, both of them are striker classes. Her colors however, are from her father, with only a slight hint of her mother on her underbelly. She's black with plum purple speckles, and an ice blue underbelly. Her crown is also from her mother, the feathers are purple and blue, and it's quite extraordinary as well. She got her eye color from her Sire and Liara, they're dark purple, with a midnight blue slit, and black and white flecks. Think of the sky at night.:

"That sounds… like a beautiful color scheme. Very stunning actually." Sunny mused, quite pleased at the prospect actually.

:You should tell that to her next time you see her, since she has no self-esteem to speak of. Oh! I see them coming back now actually! Hey Ierena! Your friends want to see what you look like! I'm going to show them ok?:

:WHAT?! NO!: A vaguely familiar, yet distinctly deeper voice yelled.

:Too late! I'm showing them!:

I toppled off of Prime's helm and crashed into the floor when the image of a dragon-like creature slamming into the ground invaded my processor. It was more like a movie, everything moving in real time as the black dragon stumbled slightly on her peds, the pale light from the moon shining down and making the dusting of dark purple specks shine, and illuminating her icy blue underbelly. The midnight blue slit in the center of her eyes widened, partially overtaking the dark purple that surrounded it, as the bright white specks seemed to light up with panic. Then she charged at whoever was talking and shoved her face into theirs, inadvertently showing the long crown of pale blue, and dark purple feathers jutting out from under a cluster of long, thin, twisting horns. :SOUND DON'T FUCKING SHOW ANYONE ANYTHING OR I'LL BEAT YOUR FUCKING ASS!:

:Technically Titans don't have asses!: A pale blue femme remarked as she landed with more grace than Clare's panicked self had. :Just relax! I don't know what you're getting worked up about anyways!:

:I think she's getting worked up the same way that you got worked up when I tried to link you with your father. You didn't even make it to contact and you were running in the opposite direction!: The second femme shot back as she pushed Clare's face away from hers.

:Touché… Now Ierena, don't you want to say hello?: She turned to look at our intended, who was looking distinctly mortified right now.

She spluttered. :Hello I am now a giant fucking dragon! Is that what I'm supposed to say?!:

:You do know that you can easily take a Cybertronian form right? You've transformed before right? It's just like that, only you're going to look a lot different than you used to! I'll show you real quick!: The blue femme's body suddenly became illuminated in a bright blue glow, and her form seemed to shrink in on itself and reform into a bipedal state. Then the glow faded and Cybertronian-esque femme was standing in her place. She was a pale blue, tall with long legs, shapely hips, and an extremely slender waist, a very flat chassis, slender neck, and a helm that was decorated in shorter, thicker horns that still twisted like Clare's did, but hers had dark blue stripes on them. Then she did a little twirl so Clare could see everything. :See? It's easy! Just like breathing.:

:Oh right, you mentioned we could do that earlier today…:

:Today is all about learning how to transform and chatting with your friends and family. Oh and don't worry about the market, that place was falling apart from trillions of years of neglect anyway. Now you try transforming!:

Clare grumbled unintelligibly, but followed the other femme's example, only her form was surrounded by a black glow that was eerily similar to her grandmother. It made it impossible to see how she reformed through the thick shroud.

I nearly choked when the shroud faded and revealed a femme who was absolutely gorgeous. She looked a lot like the first femme, long sculpted legs, an hourglass figure with full hips, a slim waist, and a chassis that was only a little fuller than the other femme's but was still perfect, and a helm that was decorated with long, slender horns that twisted like her Titan form. She had full purple lips, and a dusting or dark purple and gold over each optic, and three purple stripes under each as well.

My jaw dropped. "Oh Primus…"

:I look weird don't I?:

Jazz looked at me, then at Sunny who was gaping. "Uh, sweetlin' ah t'ink by yo'r mechs reactions ya go' nothin' ta worry abou'. Dey're droolin' right' now."

She blushed.

The blue femme nudged her. :Sound and I are going to go over there so that you can have some privacy. Make the next few minutes count ok?:

The two wandered off to the side, yet somehow we were still able to see what Clare was doing. Which was little more than her just standing in one spot and shuffling her claw tipped peds nervously. :Um… so… how is everything going at home?: She asked timidly.

"It's not the same without you sweetspark." I told her seriously. It wasn't as bright and optimistic without her here causing trouble, or just being her normal goofy self. "When are you coming home anyways?"

:I'm not sure… Let me ask Aurora. She's my cousin by the way. Hey cuz!:

"COUSIN?!" Oh yeah, they'd mentioned a familial relation last time, I guess that just slipped everybot's processors for a moment there.

:Uh, yeah she is. My grandma is her Aunt.:

:And your mother's brother is my dad, and your grandma plans to adopt my siblings and I so I'd be considered your Aunt and cousin. It's really complicated!: Aurora explained. :As for a time span for our return… I'd say maybe a few more weeks? Ierena is actually a quick learner, and as soon as she has the basics of Titan life down we can return… and hopefully there's still something for Sound and I to go home to after we get back to our home…:

Clare blinked. :Well I guess that's how long it'll be…: She trailed off quietly. It was easy to sense the anxiousness and uncertainty she was exuding through the mental link we were all sharing. I could feel it myself, so everybot else had to be able to as well.

"What are you so nervous about baby?" Sunny asked her.

:Umm… I'm different now.:

"Yes we can see that. Why does it matter?" I pressed.

:You don't think it's… weird?:

"Well we weren't exactly expecting it, but we don't mind it sweetspark. You're still you on the inside, so why would we have a problem with you just because you changed on the outside?"

:Because! I've become an entirely different species! And I don't have internal organs anymore outside of a brain and my reproductive ones! Well… would you classify a giant ball of fire an organ?:

I blinked. "Um... giant ball of fire…?"

:It's called a furnace! Like a compressed star! Very hot so don't touch it or your hand will be melted off!: Aurora yelled.

"Where the heck is that located at?"

:In the chest. It's our equivalent of a spark, and inside that is a very fragile and unique gem which basically holds our souls. They basically make up who we are as an entity.:

Clare turned to look at her. :How the frag does sparkmerging work then?:

:When you take a Cybertronian form your essence compresses and forms an outer layer that keeps the heat from escaping, and devastating the surrounding area. This acts as a form of… protection for any life form that you merge with, and it means you can sparkbond to a Cybertronian. Auntie explained it to me once.: Aurora explained.

:Well I guess that's how it works then.:

"So we can still bond with you when you get back?"

:If you want to still…:

"Why would you think we wouldn't want to?" Sunny asked her incredulously.

:I thought you might want somebot who's… actually Cybertronian. Not somebot who's a giant lizard disguised as one.: She mumbled apprehensively.

Aurora seemed to hear it, and she ambled over and wrapped one of her wings around Clare's side in what must be their equivalent to a hug. :I think that means they still want to. So instead of being so nervous about it, you should just go for it and mate to them so you can have them for as long as you can. You shouldn't hesitate, because if they do pass on you will live on without them and be able to mate with another if you want. Don't waste the time you can have with them now.:

My twin and I stiffened at the mention of Clare actually being able to take another mate if we died. Cybertronian bonding was more permanent, and the thought of her not dying if we did was unsettling. "Wait… she won't die with us if we do? So… a mate bond between us would be weaker then?"

:No! No! No! It wouldn't be weaker! It's more of an extension of what's already there… She could die from the after effects of the bond being broken, mainly from the grieving process which has driven many a Titan insane. She could die from that, but if we can get to her in time and prevent that, she can live on and mate again should she so choose.:

I scowled. "Sweetspark can't mate with another mech…"

Clare blushed. :I don't want to either Sides so don't worry!:

:Well… there is a way to fix their fragility Ierena. They could be altered into Titans themselves, and that way they'd be much more durable and less likely to be killed.:

:That can be done?!:

:You technically did it to Optimus already.:

"WHAT?! SHE'S THE ONE THAT CHANGED OPTIMUS?!" Ratchet exclaimed.

:I DID WHAT?!: Clare exclaimed at the same time.

:Your power technically altered him into a Titan hybrid, because you overloaded the Matrix with the stuff.:

:HOW THE FUCK DID I OVERLOAD THE MATRIX?! HOW THE FUCK?! OVERLOAD?! NOW I'M THINKING OF SEXUAL INNUENDOS!: She screeched in embarrassment.

I chuckled despite the situation. "I've rubbed off on you!"

:Shut up Sides!: She looked to be on the verge of a full on panic attack right now. :How the hell does that happen?!:

:Well the Matrix is an extension of your Father, and when you overloaded it with your energy, which is so closely linked to his own, it caused a bi-link between you two, and Optimus. So technically he shares both of your genetics now, but I think your Father kind of… altered him more to suit his needs so he's probably a strength class too.:

Clare started banging her helm with her fist. :Aurora you weren't supposed to tell them all of that!:

"Wait an astrosecond… Primus created the Matrix, and we just found out he was a Titan… And now you're basically saying that the runt is his sparkling?" Ironhide exclaimed.

:His one and only hatchling yes.:

:Aurora…: Clare sighed, then gently pushed her away. :Let me talk to them on my own for a bit ok? Let's leave anymore weird… explanations for later…:

Aurora didn't argue anymore, instead she gave Clare a sheepish look, before turning and making her way over to wait with the other femme. I couldn't even think right now, and I know that most of the bots in the hangar were reeling from that last piece of information. How often can somebot say that their intended mate was Primus' daughter?!

:So… can we all just forget she said that and talk normally?:

"Primus is your fragging Sire?!" Sunny literally exploded.

:Technically yes… He's my Father by biological link, and that's how I'm related to Aurora, he's her cousin. Well… my mother is related to her too… I think she's Aurora's Aunt? So the family tree is more complicated than I can be bothered to follow right now… At some point it needs to be drawn out so I can remember it all.:

"We banged Primus' daughter!"

:Sides!:

"We're in love with the daughter of a God!"

:I love you both too. Now please shut up about it!:

"How have we not been killed because of this yet?!"

:Because he likes you maybe…?:

Clare blinked. :Well I guess that's how long it'll be…: She trailed off quietly. It was easy to sense the anxiousness and uncertainty she was exuding through the mental link we were all sharing. I could feel it myself, so everybot else had to be able to as well.

"What are you so nervous about baby?" Sunny asked her.

:Umm… I'm different now.:

"Yes we can see that. Why does it matter?" I pressed.

:You don't think it's… weird?:

"Well we weren't exactly expecting it, but we don't mind it sweetspark. You're still you on the inside, so why would we have a problem with you just because you changed on the outside?"

I blinked. "Um... giant ball of fire…?"

:It's called a furnace! Like a compressed star! Very hot so don't touch it or your hand will be melted off!: Aurora yelled.

"Where the heck is that located at?"

:In the chest. It's our equivalent of a spark, and inside that is a very fragile and unique gem which basically holds our souls. They basically make up who we are as an entity.:

Clare turned to look at her. :How the frag does sparkmerging work then?:

:Well I guess that's how it works then.:

"So we can still bond with you when you get back?"

:If you want to still…:

"Why would you think we wouldn't want to?" Sunny asked her incredulously.

:I thought you might want somebot who's… actually Cybertronian. Not somebot who's a giant lizard disguised as one.: She mumbled apprehensively.

I scowled. "Sweetspark can't mate with another mech…"

Clare blushed. :I don't want to either Sides so don't worry!:

:Well… there is a way to fix their fragility Ierena. They could be altered into Titans themselves, and that way they'd be much more durable and less likely to be killed.:

:That can be done?!:

:You technically did it to Optimus already.:

"WHAT?! SHE'S THE ONE THAT CHANGED OPTIMUS?!" Ratchet exclaimed.

:I DID WHAT?!: Clare exclaimed at the same time.

:Your power technically altered him into a Titan hybrid, because you overloaded the Matrix with the stuff.:

:HOW THE FUCK DID I OVERLOAD THE MATRIX?! HOW THE FUCK?! OVERLOAD?! NOW I'M THINKING OF SEXUAL INNUENDOS!: She screeched in embarrassment.

I chuckled despite the situation. "I've rubbed off on you!"

:Shut up Sides!: She looked to be on the verge of a full on panic attack right now. :How the hell does that happen?!:

Clare started banging her helm with her fist. :Aurora you weren't supposed to tell them all of that!:

"Wait an astrosecond… Primus created the Matrix, and we just found out he was a Titan… And now you're basically saying that the runt is his sparkling?" Ironhide exclaimed.

:His one and only hatchling yes.:

:Aurora…: Clare sighed, then gently pushed her away. :Let me talk to them on my own for a bit ok? Let's leave anymore weird… explanations for later…:

:So… can we all just forget she said that and talk normally?:

"Primus is your fragging Sire?!" Sunny literally exploded.

"We banged Primus' daughter!"

:Sides!:

"We're in love with the daughter of a God!"

:I love you both too. Now please shut up about it!:

"How have we not been killed because of this yet?!"

:Because he likes you maybe…?:

I was literally bouncing up and down like an overexcited sparkling right now, and Sunny had to grab me by the shoulder and force me to stop. "Sides stop doing that. You're emasculating yourself more than usual right now."

"We have Primus' favor! He's letting us mate with his daughter!"

:Technically he never said you could or couldn't, but I didn't get to talk to him for very long at all. My crazy cat lady Aunt could probably give more insight into that seeing as how she's known him for longer than the rest of us. She's possessing Bob right now, and has been using him to keep watch over me since I came to the Autobot base. Before that apparently she was in Frankie or something… and now that I think of it there was that bird that always kept on staring at me relentlessly… then that cat ate it and it started staring at me and following me everywhere I went for about three years when I was younger. It was creepy. I think it was her though. Anyways, Auntie come on out! I know you can hear me you crazy stalker!:

A soft meow drew all of our attention over to the corridor that led to the private quarters, and lone and behold there was this white ball of fluff with a tail… It waddled into the room and meowed obnoxiously. "I'm a cute, fat kitty! Pet me! Nya!"

I edged away from her and hid behind Sunny. "What the frag…?"

Some of the human soldiers who were standing around turned and ran away, some ducking behind the legs of some of the Autobots gathered around as they squealed like little femmes. "DUDE THAT FUCKING CAT IS TALKING!"

"Yes I am!" She stretched and waggled her puffy little tail languidly. "Nya! Nya! Nya! Nya! Nya! I feel fat and needy! Why won't anyone pet me? It's the fur isn't it? Oh also, there's a rabid insecticon locked up in the brig right now. You're gonna have to deal with him because I'm tired of dealing with his instincts. It was super difficult! Let's not even get started on the fact that he's male… and a horny male. He wanted to hump everything. I don't ever want to go near him again unless I absolutely have to. A year spent within him was far too long!"

:Aunt Zyriun you're being weird again.:

"And you wonder where you get it from! Your grandma Hariun was the same way! All the females in our family are crazy to some degree! You should see Ro when she's drunk! I have so many stories to tell!"

:She's giving you a death glare right now…: Clare warned her, but she was smirking and seemed amused.

"I'm fully aware of the death glare I'm receiving right now." Her dark green eyes slanted our way, then down at the white tufts of fur decorating her. "This fur is really starting to annoy me… I think it's time for a change!"

Her small body exploded in a poof of smoke, and when it cleared a lean Cyber cat was in her place. Her armor was a bright green and purple, with gold biolights, and what appeared to be Egyptian markings lining the side of her face. Her eyes looked like they were made up of green, twisting vines surrounding a dark purple slit in the center.

She stretched and yawned. "So much better to be back in a form that's fur-less… Now all I need is a chin scratch and some treats… then I could just take a nap…"

"Clare your Aunt is weird."

:Yeah I know. I am very aware of that fact.:

Sunny snorted. "At least we know where you got it from."

:She didn't have any effect on my upbringing I'll have you know!:

"It runs in your genes then. Hariun and I always thought that it came from our Father actually, seeing as our mother was literally stiff as a fucking board. He died before we were born actually so we never knew for sure, but it sure as hell didn't come from her. She was a nut in a whole different kind of way, and not in the good way. But I think you should focus on Ierena for now. Sound can only keep you all linked for so long."

"Right… So… sweetspark we don't want to wait a few more weeks for you to come home. Where are you so we can come pick you up?"

:Titan home world, so out of your reach… We're actually in an alternate dimension too.:

"Yeah your cousin mentioned that… Why can't we come over there?" I pouted.

She giggled. :You need to be a shadow to get here, and then you'd need wings to fly from Earth to Valunma. Aurora and I have them, but you guys don't, meaning you can't get here. So we're going to have to fly back later on… and grandma has to open a portal so that we can jump dimensions too.:

:You could try doing that Ierena, but then we run the risk of ending up in some random place. So probably not a good idea.:

:Thanks for the words of encouragement Sound!:

:You're welcome. We need to wrap this up soon though. I'm about to collapse from exhaustion here.:

I deflated a bit at that, sadness pulsating in my spark at the thought that we only had a few more kliks to talk to her. "Sweetspark… come home safe ok? We miss you… and the berth is too empty without you. We'll even try to make room if you want to recharge in your real form somehow!"

She smiled. :I don't think I'll fit Sides, but thank you.:

"We can make something work baby. We just want you to come back as soon as possible."

:I know Sunny. As soon as I can come back I will, promise. Just try to behave yourself and keep Sides in line until then ok?:

"I will Clare."

:And Opi?:

"Yea sweetlin'?"

:Keep Dad from having any glitch fits because he's worried about me. Aurora's taking good care of me, and the area around here seems relatively safe so he doesn't have to worry too much.:

Prowl actually smiled a bit, albeit minutely, but it was still there. "Just because you say that doesn't mean I won't worry sweetspark. Promise that you'll be careful, for my peace of mind?"

:I will! I love you both. Take care until I get back!:

"We love you too, and we will."

The image flickered and distorted and one of the other femmes could be heard prompting Clare to hurry up. She smiled sadly. :I have to go now. When I get back you, Sunny, and I need to have a talk don't we?:

I nodded, but I didn't want her to go yet… "We do… and we have to bond when you come back too."

:Yes we do. We'll talk about that then ok? I love you two.:

"We love you too sweetspark."

She smiled one last time as the link faded, taking that last image of her with it and leaving us alone in our helms once again…

But I could still remember hearing her voice, and seeing her smiling and happy…

That was good enough for me.

R&R!