"KIDNAP GRIMLOCK?!"

She managed to chase him down the hallway as he entered a cavernous garage. "HOW-argh!"

Body parts. Everywhere. The scent of death was not as strong as she recalled but it hit her and a wave of panic caused her optics to black out, coming back on when she was further up the hallway and gasping intakes of air.

Dauber was not there. She had to go back.

It was worse walking through that second time around, because now she had to take a good hard look at everything on shelves, in piles, staring blankly at her with gaping mouths and useless pleas for help in outstretched hands. She ran back outside.

Mercuria called her back to the table. "I can't go in there, either," she confessed, pouring half of her mug into the one Lyra had left and handing it over. "Too much like the prison breaks I used to help with."

Lyra didn't want to know. Maybe she did. It was better than re-telling her story instead.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Wait, yes I do. We did a break where everyone was, like in a cult, almost... they had drained all of their life force into their leader and were all dead in the feeder poses." They both took a moment to shudder. Lyra began to have second thoughts about asking. Instead she drank her energon. "Nova kicked one of them and he groaned. We freaked out and ran out the door, but one of them followed us." Lyra's optics widened as Mercuria met hers and nodded. "Here's the weird part: he was fine. Had no memory of the life before him, almost a new-spark. Arcee sent him off to Ultra Magnus...have you ever met him?"

"Who? The kid or Ultra Magnus?"

That made her smile, but not in the good way. "Ultra Magnus, dummy. He's always serious and really really boring. Elita-One HATED him." That made Lyra wonder. Elita-One gave away nothing. Ever. "She hated you, too."

"Who doesn't?" Lyra asked, trying not to let that statement bother her. It would explain a lot, though. Lyra had always assumed Elita-One was hard to please due to their hopeless scenario.

Dauber came out, wiping his hands on a cloth. "You're still here?"

"I'm formulating a plan." Where was she supposed to go? There was a bounty on her head and the Autobots had classified her as a fugitive and the only two places she could hide had either already kicked her out or were about to kick her out, PLUS the most familiar place to her would murder her when they realized that she had been the one to steal the energon dispenser.

Mercuria made a face and informed him at what point in the story she was revealing. "Did you tell her who that kid turned out to be?"

"Not yet. It was Hot Rod."

Who...?

"You ARE a dummy. Rodimus Prime! Our new Prime!"

Lyra had never met him, either. She'd seen him on the television screens around Cybertron. "So our new Prime came out of nowhere in a Decepticon prison..."

"Surrounded by hideous deactivated bodies like the ones that made you cry like a mini-bot," Dauber scoffed. "Great story. Now go get my Grimlock."

"This takes time and planning," Lyra countered. "This isn't as easy as busting into a minimum-security prison."

"Well, plan elsewhere. I've got company coming." When she still wouldn't move, he got ugly. "OR GO IN THE GARAGE."

That was that.

She was still admiring his handiwork – the scar on her face was completely gone, the forehead lifted, she looked, as HE stated "as beautiful as I see you." It was amazing. She hadn't felt attractive in forever.

"You should be watching the door, not your countenance," he purred. Whatever, she was pretty again. Prettier than his 'merchandise.' He'd given her a gift that made her entire spirit swell with joy.

But right, the door.

They stormed in while the bell continued to cheerfully ring to announce their presence.

"Backbeat!" Arkvander called, pausing his weapons repair.

The large truck glowered. Not as scary as Megatron.

"The word is on the street that the fire in your heart went out." He rumbled.

Arkvander smiled. "I'm sure you heard it all before but you never really had a doubt," he replied, soft and gentle as a bathtub surface. A bath...Lyra hadn't had one of those in ages...

"Lyra, watch the door," he ordered, opening a curtain and ushering Backbeat and company through.

"All I ever do," she replied, trying to smile. Being his helper was boring. The little mini-con Mega got to do all of the fun stuff. All Lyra did was watch and wait. Almost no one ever came through the door.

Mega...an enigma. She helped, and stayed in his recharge room, and mostly stuck by his side, saying little. She did not speak to Lyra. A tiny maroon and burnt orange weapon that never left his sight and seemed to be the reason he never really said anything of substance to Lyra yet his visor would flicker at her when he thought neither noticed. When Mega was nowhere to be found, Lyra and Arkvander had spent many many moments working together in silence, or if they had something to speak of, it was his questions about the war and her time as a spy for Megatron. The only warm part for her was talking about Starscream. It soothed a little to remember a time where everything was easier. He didn't reveal much about himself, other than he called Mega 'the wife.' Currently, she was at the curtain, as though waiting for a cue. She didn't have long to wait. A loud noise erupted inside, causing Mega to launch herself with a yell.

What little training Lyra had kicked in. Going invisible, she ducked through the forbidden curtain and blasted the hell out of Backbeat, causing his so-called followers to bolt in fear. Mega chased after them, snarling.

"Arkvander?" Lyra reappeared, grabbing his waist in an attempt to pick him up. "Arkvander, speak to me!"

"That REALLY hurts!" he groaned, grabbing at his side and trying to steady himself before she accidentally dropped him. "No, wait, Mega will fix me, it's okay." Another groan, a correction, and the wound didn't look as bad as they'd thought. Lyra let him slip a little further down. His hand went up to her face. "Let me look at you...for a second..." The visor flickered. "I love you." The visor went dark.

Mega jumped inside of the room. "LEAVE," she commanded, opening Arkvander's chassis. "Wait. Bring me -" she rattled off a list of things, giving Lyra something else to focus on instead of what had just transpired.

The next morning he was back up and moving - slowly - and asked her about what had happened. "Your combat experience came in handy," he praised. "But I can't keep you here."

Double-take. "What?"

"Darlin' I love ya, I really do, but you ticked off the wrong people. Twice. Backbeat came in to kill you but wanted us to bribe him first. That's just the beginning." He opened up the cash register and handed her a data-pad hidden below it. "Here's an address. Tell 'em I sent you."

"I... don't get this."

He sighed. "Lyra, for the last six cycles all you've been talking about is Starscream. This 'bot here knows how to talk to ghosts. Go see for yourself. Ya can't stay in the shop anymore, the wife doesn't want me keeping pets."

The wrath exploded. "I'm not a pet!"

"You're a liability. Go." He sat down at a monitor and didn't even look at her, let alone saying good-bye.

Lyra slowly trudged out the door.