A few months had passed since the last incident involving Nightstalker and the base had returned to its normal routine. Well as normal as it ever got. "Tell me again why we are up here?" Folding her wings back slightly as they scraped against the ventilation duct Nightstalker continued to crawl behind Sunspot.

"Oh come on, stop wining. This is what we have been planning on and working up to. It is the big one, the grand mal of pranks, you can't be thinking of backing out now." Pausing Sunspot bent his head down and stared under his arm back at Nightstalker. "Plus I need you for this in a big way" grinning he continued to crawl forward "and try to be quieter."

Stopping their conversation Windstorm and Refit listened to the sounds coming from the hallway. Walking forward in silence they looked up at the ceiling. "Must have retro rats in the ventilation ducts again. I'll have to get Tunnelers crew to check it out" Refit looked to windstorm who nodded in agreement before they continued down the hall.

"Are we almost there yet? Hay!" bumping into Sunspots aft with her head as he suddenly stopped. "Gee a little warning next time."

"Shhh were here." Squeezing over to give enough room for Nightstalker to crawl up beside him he took his fingers and motioned for her to look down through the grate. Peering down they could see Skuffle hard at work on something in his office. Humped over his desk, back turned to the vent opening, they could hear him mumbling to himself.

Whispering across to Nightstalker "ok you know the plan. I rigged the lighting in the room and you know your part." Sunspot knew she was ready by the look she gave him. "Ok! phase one begins now."

Directing her attention back to the room she focused in on Skuffle. Within a few breams they saw him lift his head and look around "whose there?" Not seeing anything he went back to work. "Ok that is not funny. Knock before you enter…" looking up he died mid sentence as he found himself alone in the room. "What is going on? I could have sworn I heard someone talking to me…am I going crazy?" Taking one last gaze around the room he focused back on his papers. Yet one bream had not passed when Skuffle stood up, turned around and screamed at the wall "That's it. I know your there come out this instant." Walking towards a storage locker he was sure the voice came from he flung open the door. "Nothing! What?" scratching his head "I got to cut back on those energon goodies." Closing the door her turned to go back to his desk but stopped in shock. "What!? Where…where did my papers go?"

They were so engrossed in their prank they failed to notice the strange sounds coming from the shaft they were in. Meanwhile Skuffle had crossed the room and was standing in the middle of his office, tensed and ready to pounce at the slightest movement. It was bad enough that the lights were brightening and fading on their own, but now not only was he hearing stuff, he was seeing movement in his peripheral vision and every time he jumped to face it nothing was there. "Oh I am going crazy…I'm going to join that other mech who lost it a few months ago. Wait what was that?" Jumping he turned to face empty space.

Watching from above both could see the nervous twitches developing over Skuffles body. They watched with enjoyment as he jumped around the room looking for the non existent. Suddenly he bolted for the door only to slide to a screaming halt "WHERE BY PRMUS IS THE DOOR!?" They snickered as they watched him frantically try to find a door which was in front of him the whole time but for which he could not see compliments of Nightstalkers new ability.

Again the strange sounds became present in the shaft but this time was picked up on by Sunspot. Looking around at the walls "umm…Nightstalker?"

"ummmm?" was all she answered as she kept messing with Skuffles mind.

"You did figure out the weight restrictions for the ducts right?" Sunspot examined the fitting and welds for any movement.

"Um hum" she sounded while watching Skuffle run screaming around the room beneath them.

"And you did remember I just got that upgrade and took that into consideration too right?"

Her head snapped up and over to Sunspot at the last comment. Opening her mouth they listened as a loud metallic groan came from the vent followed by a shuttering. "Oh slag."

Skuffle jumped and spun around as a horrible metal tearing and crashing sound erupted in the room. Looking down from his perch on his desk he saw Nightstalker and Sunspot wearily gazing up at him amid the pieces of broken ventilation. Looking from them, to the hole in the ceiling and back again his optics darkened as a sinister sneer spread across his face.

"Ummm Sunspot?" Nightstalker pocked him in the side with her elbow.

"Yes?" Sunspot shifted to get off of her.

"RUN!" she screamed while flipping herself up and taking off out the door.

Running down the hallway they shoved other mechs out of the way as Skuffles screams of bloody murder came careening up the hallway after them.

"Sunspot I think I might have over done it just a tad" Nightstalker said as she jumped over a mech who had fallen trying to get out of her way.

Shoving another mech out of his way "oh really now! What was your first clue?"

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Windstorm laughed to himself as he raced through the outpost to get outside. As soon as he heard about it laughter was all he could do. After all these years Skuffle finally caught those two and the notion of Sunspot being what the humans refer to as a piñata was too much to miss. Even though he knew he would have to put a stop to it once he got there. Upon reaching the scene his laughter died as the seriousness of the situation became apparent. Pushing his way through the crowd he saw why nobody was trying to help or laughing. An enraged and pretty much loco Skuffle was hitting away at a strung up, broken and offline Sunspot. Looking down he saw Nightstalker still online but in massive pain crushed and pinned under Skuffles Foot. Her wings having been ripped off were lying a few feet away and her painful screams of agony pierced even the most hardened sparks.

Approaching slowly and from an angle that Skuffle could see him, Windstorm tried to talk him down. "Ok! That's enough now. I'm sure they learned their lesson and will not bother you again." Slowly approaching and in a non hostile manner he continued to speak in a low soft tone. "Skuffle stop. You are going to kill them soon if you don't."

Security arrived at that exact moment and Windstorm held up his hand to command them to stop and hold their positions. In the relative silence he could hear Fastscan cursing as Skuffle placed new dents into Sunspots body. Quickly he reached up and caught the beam before it hit Sunspot again. "I said enough" this time in a more forceful tone.

Infuriated Skuffle glared at Windstorm before letting go of the beam. Not being completely satisfied yet he twisted his foot into Nightstalker again before stepping off her and returning to his office.

"Cut him down now" Windstorm ordered as he knelt down by Nightstalker. Her optics flickered as she tried to remain online. In all his years of war even he had to admit it looked bad. Lying on the ground her lower torso was almost completely crushed; energon, oil and other lubricants were leaking and surrounding her body; as well she had numerous gashes and broken plating. Looking up as they brought down Sunspot he could see that he did not fair much better. In reality he looked like he got the worst of it.

"MOVE! MOVE! Get out of our way." Fastscan screamed as he and his medical staff pushed through the crowd and got to work. Venting in deeply as he got his first good glimpse of the two he started giving orders to his staff. Kneeling down by Nightstalker he tried to work on her only to be held back by her hands.

"No. Help Sunspot first. He…needs it more than me" Nightstalker pleaded as her optics struggled to stay online.

Admiring her courage and loyalty to her friend he nodded and watched as she slipped into emergency stasis lock. Shouting new orders to his staff they transported the two inside to the medical bay.

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Hearing the light knock on his door Windstorm got up and crossed his office. It was late at night so the light knock was expected but her presence this soon wasn't. He had told her to come see him but not immediately. After all she had just been in the med bay for the last five days. Touching a button to unlock the door it slid open to reveal a very solemn and downcast Nightstalker. She literally had come straight from repairs as she was still wearing the braces that were supporting her recently reattached wings.

"Ah gee Nightstalker. You could have come latter I didn't mean right away." Stepping aside and gesturing for her to have a seat across the room.

Walking in quietly she crossed the floor, took a hold of the chair, spun it around and sat down. Resting her arms across the chair back she leaned forward and laid her head on her arms. "I was told you wanted to see me." Weary and tired she turned off her optics.

Coming back Windstorm leaned up against his desk in front of Nightstalker "you know you should have gone and had some rest. I'm sure Fastscan would not appreciate you being here right now."

Not moving her head or even reactivating her optics she remained silent for a moment. "Fastscan is still busy with Sunspot so it would not matter if he knew I was here." Her wing twitched slightly causing the braces to groan and if it hurt her she did not show it. "Now what did you want. If it is another lecture I don't need it" rubbing her forehead against her arms.

"I don't think you need another lecture. I know you will not be doing that again unless you are completely daft. No, I asked you to come here for another reason all together." Shifting his weight he pulled himself up so that he was sitting on his desk. "I'm concerned for you. I don't believe the current situation you are in is the best for you. There is to much negative influence and so I have made a decision. From here on in you are banned from contacting or being in the presence of any decepticon." Seeing her head snap up he held his hand up to silence her. "And you are restricted from using those new abilities of yours. If you defy these orders you will be punished accordingly."

Her optics flared as she sat up. "How dare you order me to have no contact with Riverrun or limit myself." Her temper was starting to rise "no! I will not comply with this." Standing up she turned and started to leave.

"NIGHTSTALKER sit back down you are not dismissed yet." Standing up from his seat on the desk Windstorm grabbed the chair and slid it towards her.

Kicking the chair away she clenched her fists together "oh and next you'll be ordering me as if I'm a soldier or something. Well you can take that order and shove it up your tail pipe."

"Well it is apparent she didn't get any obey your superior programming." He didn't want to resort to this level but now it was the only card he had left to play. "Look if you walk out that door know this. You will never see Sunspot again. I will have him transferred to another post if need be so make you choice wisely."

Coming to a halt she stared at the floor. "Oh that is low even for him. He wouldn't do it, he's just bluffing…or is he? Maybe he's not and I can't lose Sunspot but to keep him means giving up everything else. I just…" She stood silent and motionless for the next few breams, then slowly her hands relaxed and she turned to face Windstorm. "Fine" sounding defeated "have it your way. I just can't lose Sunspot he's the closest to family I have." Stepping away she left the office without waiting to be dismissed.

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Although it has been well over a month since Nightstalker was banned Riverrun was still fuming over it. Originally he defied it but every time he managed to catch her she just look away, say she was sorry and take off. He knew that there was something behind Windstorms decision and it had nothing to do with her best interest. No it had something to do with him being scared. Riverrun knew Windstorm still distrusted decepticons even thou it has been ten years since the war ended.

"Why cant he put it behind him? Refit used to be my enemy but now we are good friends. So why does he cling to his old ways. Well what am I saying I trust him only so much." Slamming his hands down on his desk "HOW DARE HE!" Still fuming he became distracted by a faint but sharp sound "what? that sounded like a bomb?" Before he could even stand up the building around him started to shake and vibrate, furniture falling over. "What the….?"

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Nightstalker and Sunspot were outside the building working on repairing the roadway leading from the post. Having almost completed the task they decided to take a break and rest up for a bit. Sitting down on a nearby crate Nightstalker stared down the long and empty road.

"You miss them a lot don't you?" Sunspot inquired as he laid his tool down. Watching her stare down the road he realized that she had never spoken of them or inquired as to how they were doing. Still waiting the only reply he got from her was a long vent and a deep sigh. Walking over he placed a hand on her shoulder "you know I can get Refit to courier messages for you."

Continuing to glare at the horizon Nightstalker shook her head. "No. As much as I would leap at that opportunity I can't. Some things just come at too high a price."

"What do you mean come at too high a price?" her behavior completely baffled him. "It's not like her to just roll over and submit to Windstorms demands. She had never done it before…well there was that one time." The only possible reason flashed to his mind as he stepped in front of Nightstalker. "What does Windstorm have on you?" he angrily glared at her.

Standing up she looked him in the optics trying to hide her pain, then turned her body away from him. "No!" reaching up Sunspot grabbed her shoulders softly and turned her to face him. "Please tell me he didn't. Did he threaten you with me? Is that what this is all about?"

It hurt and was not a physical cause. She could not even look him in the optics as it reminded her of what she had to give up. Feeling his hand lightly touch her jaw she let him pull her head up so that he could see into her optics.

"He threatened you with me didn't he?" Her silence was all the answer he needed. "You gave up all contact with the others and the use of your abilities for me didn't you?" Sighing Sunspot knew what the answer already was. "Look I never would leave you. Were best friends and nobody can take that away."

Smiling she reached out and gave him a long and much needed embrace. "Thanks. Now let's finish this and get inside I still need to beat you at that game."

Just as they had gotten back to work their attention was directed towards the sky. "Did you hear that?" Sunspot looked around confused. Twisting and turning he tried to find the source and direction the sound came from.

"Yah sounded like an explos…" her words were cut off as the ground started to shake violently. Trying to maintain their balance they both were thrown backwards as a large blast of supper hot air surged past them. Landing apart they became covered by debris. Just as quickly as it came the horrific noise ebbed and the shaking stopped- silence was all that remained.

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It was so quiet he rebooted and checked his audio sensors five times before concluding it was not him. Suddenly he heard the clash of moving metal and daylight poured into his optics as debris was lifted off him. Focusing he saw Nightstalker reaching down to him. Grabbing her hand she pulled him up and that is when he got his first look around.

"Sunspot wha…what just happened?" Nightstalkers voice quivered in fear and he could see why. In the horizon great plums of black smoke hung in the air. All around windows were shattered and buildings lay striped or were completely gone altogether.

"I…I don't know." Noticing that his jaw trembled on its own accord he tried to stop it but failed. Checking his internal clock he was shocked to find that more than five cycles had passed unaccounted for. Lifting his arm he went to open a com link.

"Wont work, I tried already. Nobody is answering on any frequency." Nightstalker started to walk towards the building while avoiding large chunks of metal lying about. "Common maybe someone inside knows what happened. Communication is probably down because of that blast."

Making their way through the building they passed by many grizzly scenes of mechs dead or injured from flying material or from having been blown out of buildings. Everything was in a state of panic and chaos so the two stuck together as close as possible. Rounding a corner Nightstalker reached out and grabbed Sunspot under his shoulders as he fell from the hallway, which had suddenly disappeared into the outdoors. Engaging her thrusters she slowly lowered them down the four story drop. Looking back up they were shocked to see the whole side of the building gone.

Just as their confusion and terror started to overwhelm them Riverrun came running down towards them holding weapons in his arms. "Oh thank Primus you both are alright!" Dropping the items at her feet he reached out and gathered Nightstalker into a long overdue hug. "And before you say anything frag Windstorm, his orders and the autobots." Letting her go he reached down and picked up the weapons. "Here these belong to you. I never thought I would have to give them to you but you might need them now." Taking her arms he connected two laser cannons to the outer part of her upper arms. "Plus your creator would want you to have them. He had them specifically designed for you and they were based off of his." Then picking up two daggers he attached them to her upper thighs and gave her a gun to which she subspaced.

"Riverrun what happened? What was that explosion? Where is everyone" Nightstalker pleaded for answers.

Stepping back he looked around cautiously. "Somebody nuked the whole planet. Communications are down, everything is in chaos. Nobody knows who did it but each side is blaming the other around here." Hearing voices he stepped forward giving her one last hug while whispering in her audio receptor "be careful and don't trust anyone but yourself and Sunspot." Letting her go he turned to flee but paused for a moment. "Sunspot take care of her for me. I don't know when or if we will be able to meet again." With that he disappeared into the ruined buildings.

"What did he mean…don't trust anyone?"

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