The Bond of Master and Servant

Author's Note: Here's the awaited chapter! Remember I said that Zephyr had a surprise for the Autobots? Well you'll all get to see what it is.*gives cookies to reviewers* Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. And never will be. *le sighs*

Chapter 6: Message from a Loved One

It's been 24 hours since Zephyr arrived at N.E.S.T Base after her battle with Ravage. The MechaPanther wasn't seriously injured either, much to everyone's delight. She healed up quickly and spent her free time with her Master Ironhide. Ratchet didn't want her walking around too soon but Zephyr was stubborn, Like her Master, she didn't care for being cooped up in the Med Bay for too long. Optimus and the other Autobots arrived back to base and heard about what happened between Zephyr and Ravage. They were glad to have her back. Optimus informed everyone that they upgraded the Vortex Barrier and fixed the Energon Locator at NASA. This time it can't be hacked and its virus protected, thanks to Wheeljack. Will Lennox informed General Morshower about the events and told everyone that he was coming back to base within two days. He'll arrive just in time to access damage and help control Galloway's temper when he arrives in three days. Jazz brought back some mined Energon he found along with some stuff for the humans. When he heard about Zephyr's fight he was disappointed to have missed it, but was glad to see the big cyber-cat again.

Right now Zephyr was waiting in the middle of the main hanger for the rest of the Autobots to show. After she healed, she told everyone over the com-link that she had something important to say to them. Soon everyone arrived in the room, the Autobots and the NEST Solders. Including Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes. Bumblebee picked them up and brought them over for a visit. They met Zephyr and, just like her Master, she powered on her twin-tail cannons as a joke to scare them. Ironhide laughed at Sam's reaction. The poor boy almost wet his pants when he met the huge Mechanimal. Mikaela liked Zephyr and even petted her nose when they first met.

Zephyr saw them staring at her in confusion. She never asked for everyone to meet up in one room so there must have been a reason for her doing so. She stood up and twitched her tails as Ironhide spoke to her.

"Zephyr what's wrong? You don't usually call on us for anything."

She stared at them for a second before she spoke. It was rare for her to even talk to anyone else besides her Master. "I called you all here because I have a message from Miss Elita-1."

Optimus's optics widened in shock. He hadn't heard from his Sparkmate in eons. The last time he saw her was back on Cybertron when she was helping out the Neutrals escape Tygar Pax. To hear that Zephyr has a message for them was, unbelievable. He controlled the quivering of his voice and asked her a question.

"From Elita? Zephyr you were with her?"

She nodded. "Yes, I was Sir. After me and Master Ironhide got seperated Miss Elita-1 found me and took care of my injuries. I stayed with her and the other Autobots for some time before I went out on my own. Before I did she recorded a message and instruted me to deliver it to you."

She pulled out a Data Disk from her subspace with her teeth and gave it to Optimus. He took it and pushed a button, activating a hologram projector that took the form of a pink and white Cybertronian Femme. Everyone recongized her as the Femme Autobot Commander Elita-1 and started speaking in their own language in excitement. After setting the language so the humans can understand the message, Optimus saw the hologram getting ready to speak and told everyone to quiet down. Zephyr sat next to her Master and watched as the hologram spoke.

[Elita-1: "Hello everyone. If you all are watching this that means Zephyr made it to Earth safely. The reason I'm recording this message is because I have great news. We rescued 16 Neutrals and 20 Autobots throughout our travels. The Neutrals joined us so adding to my team of 5, we have a total of 41 Autobots with us."]

"Pit yeah! We have new recruits!"

"This is awesome!"

The Lamborghini twins whooped and high-fived each other when Arcee shushed them. The hologram continued it's message.

["But... *sighs* We had a total of 44 but on our way to this Solar System our ship was attacked by Decepticons. Three of our own offlined while trying to fight them off... But it's thanks to them that we aquired most of their weapons and their supply of Energon."]

Ironhide crossed his arms and grumbled. "Fragging Con's..."

"At least they got their weapons and energon." said Flareup

["Right now our location is on this planet."] A picture of a planet with a huge ring appears on the message and temporary obscures Elita's face. ["I believe the humans refer to this planet as Saturn. We would've arrived within a Earth month but our engine on the Ark exploded... Thanks to a certain someone here..."] An Autobot fixing the engine in the background pans in and starts yelling. [Que: "HEY! Don't you blame me for this! I was only trying to make the fragging engine go faster!"]

[Elita-1: "Just hurry up and fix it Que!"]

[Que: "I'm fixin' it! Jeez!" *grumbles*]

The Autobots start laughing at their little argument, seeing their old comrade Que in the background. Wheeljack was excited to see his friend was alive and well. Que was a inventor like him but not a Medical Bot like he was. Epps, who was watching asked a question.

"Hey, who's Que?"

Wheeljack looked down at him and grinned. "He's my best friend and fellow inventor! I consider him my little brother!" He laughs. "Oh Primus! I'm so glad to know he's okay!"

"His inventions also explode just like Jack's." Ratchet groaned. He now had to deal with two crazy inventors once Que arrived.

"Should we be worried?" asked Will.

"I'd say so." said Jazz.

"His inventions don't blow up all the time!" yelled Wheeljack.

Optimus chuckled at that comment and motioned for them to quiet down. The hologram pans back to Elita-1 as she speaks.

[Elita-1: "Anyway... We're stuck on this planet until the engine is fixed but we'll be on Earth within a month."] She sighs as she crosses her arms, a saddened look on her faceplates as she looks out the window of the ship. ["It saddens me to hear that the Allspark, the life force of our planet is destroyed. But it was nessasary as long as the Decepticons don't get ahold of it."] She smiles warmly and looks back at the camera. ["Optimus, I honestly can't wait to see you and the others again. As you can see, I fulfilled my promise to you back on Cybertron that I'd make it out alive so don't go blowing a gasket worrying over me."]

Optimus glances back at his friends and hears them snickering at him. He rolls his optics and pays attention to the hologram.

["So... We'll be on our new home soon. Optimus? I want to say that I-"] Before she had a chance to say what she wanted to, a black and blue Femme shoves her out of the way grinning like a madman.

[Chromia: "YO! IRONHIDE! I miss you my Sweetspark! I can't wait to see you! And Zephyr? I hope you remembered to give him that gift I gave you!"]

Ironhide chuckled until he heard the Femme mention a gift. He raised an optic ridge and looked at Zephyr. "Zephyr, what gift is Chromia talking about?"

The Panther seemed to have blushed since her snout was a light purple. "Um... Something only you can see in your room..." She pulled out a box from her subspace and quickly gave it to him. He took it and opened it, soon smirking at what he got. The Chevy and Lamborghini twins hovered over him to see what it was.

"What'd ya get Hide?" asked Sideswipe.

"Oooh! Is it something naughty?" asked Sunstreaker.

"Dude, let us see! Let us see!" said Mudflap.

"I'd bet it's something naughty! Show us!" said Skids.

Ironhide put it in his subspace and stared at the two sets of twins. "Sorry, not showing ya." The twins voiced their protest until Ratchet told them to shut up. The femme known as Chromia got ready to say something else until Elita shoved her out of the way.

[Elita-1: "Chromia! What in the Pit are you doing?! There's only a few minutes of recording left and I wanted to say something to Optimus!"

Chromia: "You had your time! Quit hogging!" *waves at the camera* "Ironhide we'll see you soon! I love you sexy aft Mech! *gets shoved* OW! Don't shove me!"

Elita-1: *groans* "We'll all see you soon. Goodbye for now."

Chromia: *waves in the background*]

The holograpic message ends as Optimus tucks the disc away in his subspace. He turns to Zephyr and lets a small smile form on his faceplates. "Zephyr, thank you for delivering this to us. It's wonderful to know we'll have new Autobots arriving soon." Zephyr smiled and leaned in so he could pet her. She purred and looked up at him when he was done petting her. "I'm happy to have done so Sir." She wags her tails and mewed, happy that soon everyone will be reunited again. Will looks up and sees a smirking Ironhide. He himself grins and lightly punches the Mech's leg. "Ahhh, so someone's got a girlfriend huh?" He teased.

"Don't forget Bossbot here!" Epps grinned at the Autobot Leader as the other solders, including some of the Autobots snickered. Ironhide rolled his optics and waved his hand in a dissmissive manner. "All right, all right. Enough with the teasing. Since you humans don't know, Chromia is my wife. To use a human term."

"And Elita-1 is my wife." Optimus couldn't hide the growing smile he had on his faceplates. The solders along with Mikaela and Sam went "awww" towards the two Mechs.

"Why didn't you tell us you two were hitched?" Rick, one of the solders asked while laughing.

Ironhide shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"Hey look! Bossbot is blushing! HAHA!" One of the other solders named Max said. Optimus only shook his helm and chuckled as the others laughed at him blushing. Sam smiled at them as he chuckled. "So, is she a Prime like you?"

"No, but the way she acts she might as well be one."

"At least she'll be the civillized one around here. Unlike Chromia." Muttered Ratchet. Ironhide and the Lamborghini twins laughed at that comment.

"Don't expect me to save your sorry aft when she puts a bullet in ya!" said Ironhide. Ratchet huffed and playfully shoved him. The Hanger was buzzing with excitement. With news that Elita-1 will arrive with more Autobots they needed to make room for them on the base. While some talked it over others wondered who was all on the Ark."I wonder if Jolt is on the Ark?" said Sideswipe. "We haven't heard from him in a while."

"I'm sure he is bro." said Sunstreaker.

"Yo, waz it me or did I see Prowl in the background?" asked Skids.

"I don't know but I hope so." said Jazz. "I miss that guy."

"He's so uptight! How you and him are related I'll never know..." said Moonracer. Jazz laughed and patted her arm. "That's the beauty of it Racer'!" The femme chuckled at how different Jazz's and Prowl's personallites are. There was one thing on her mind, She and her sisters were excited to see the rest of their comrades and friends again. Everyone stopped talking when they heard Will clap his hands, getting their attention.

"Alright everyone! Me and Optimus talked it over and we need more room for when the Ark gets here. In addiction to fixing up the damage Ravage did on the tarmac, we'll build housing for them just like on base. It'll at least take a month if we don't have any Decepticons popping up. So, we'll start building the new part of N.E.S.T tomorrow."

Everyone thought that was a good idea until Sam spoke up. "What about Galloway? You guys need money to build like, 51 rooms on base. Money that he is in control of."

"Ugh, why is it he's the Autobot Liason? Knowing him he'll just say no." said Mikaela.

"Don't worry, we'll figure something out." Will had a mischievous grin on his face. Mudflap saw this and tilted his helm.

"What up with dat smirk man? You plannin' sumting evil are you?"

The solder chuckled. "Of course not. Hey Optimus? Can I speak with you in your office? Hide' and Zephyr you come too."

Ironhide nodded and bended down to let Will climb on his hand. He, Optimus and Zephyr walked towards his office while everyone had confused looks on their faces. Bumblebee raised an optic ridge and asked a question. "I wonder what they're up to?" Sideswipe chuckled and folded his arms. "Don't know but whatever it is it's probably not good for Galloway."

"I'm more curious about what's in the box that Zephyr gave him." Arcee said.

Flareup giggled and whispered in her audio receptor. "Maybe it's a fake spike." Arcee shoved the laughing Flareup and glared in her direction. "Ew! Flareup! I don't wanna know that!" Moonracer heard what her sister said and started giggling along with her. Bumblebee and Sam looked at the femmes then at each other.

"What are they whispering about?" asked Sam.

"No idea bro." said Bumblebee.

...

At the old werehouse Soundwave was repairing the open wounds on Ravage. He put the MecaJaguar in an induced recharge so he could work on fixing him without him going crazy. He didn't show it, but he was pissed. This was the second time his pet lost to the Weapons Specialist's pet. (Soon... those Autobots will be terminated... Ironhide and his pathetic pet will perish...) He was in the process of rewiring the cat's shoulderblades when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He didn't turn around as he addressed the person, his voice sounding cold.

"Hello Ruby..."

Ruby leaned in and hugged him from behind. She glanced at the recharging Mechanimal as she laid her head next to his neck. "Hey Soundwave. How's Ravage doing?"

"He'll be active again within the next hour... His injuries were not serious as to make him offline..."

He grabbed a tool to his right using one of his tentacles and began melding the Jaguar's tail back together. Ruby watched what he was doing and sighed. She began rubbing her hands on Soundwave's chest. "That damn Zephyr... She has more spunk in her than I thought. I wish we could just storm the Autobot base already, they probably found out about that virus Reedman put in their systems and did something about it. We should just go and kill them off." Soundwave didn't say anything and continued reparing his pet. Frowning, the red femme traced a finger along the seams of his Spark Chamber. "Hey Soundwave? Why are we even listening to that fragging Seeker anyway? He's annoying and not fit to be a leader." She nuzzled his neck and let out a light purr. "Maybe... you should become the Decepticon leader. I'd bet everyone would agree with me. A big, strong, powerful sexy Mech like yourself is more than qualified to lead." She lightly nipped his antenna where his audio receptor was and whispered in a sultry voice. "Don't you agree Soundwave?"

Soundwave lightly shuddered when she traced her finger across his chest and started nipping his antenna. He spoke after a few minutes of silence. "I'd rather not be a leader Ruby... The only true leader I'll ever serve will be Megatron..."

"And unfortunelly, he's dead. We have to deal with his cowardly Mech-servant." Ruby saw that the Mech was done fixing up Ravage and put his tools away. She let go when he turned and wrapped a tentacle slowly around her waist. His face didn't show any emotion when he gently lifted her up and placed her on the homemade berth in the other room. She smirked when he entered a few minutes later and closed the door. "Ruby? Why does your CyberHeat have to come now? You know what your scent does to a Mech's processors..."

She shrugged and laid on the berth. "I can't control when I come into CyberHeat. You out of all people should know that by now." Grinning, she beckoned him to the berth and he slowly climbed on, laying next to her and wrapping his tentacles around her body. Ruby giggled and nuzzled his faceplates. "I wonder what'll happen if Starscream walked in on us?"

Soundwave rumbled a little and rubbed his hands on her thigh, his anger slowly disappearing as he inhaled her scent. "...Then maybe he'll enjoy the show..." Ruby snickered at that as they enjoyed each other's company.

AN: Didn't expect that did ya? xD Yeah I included some Soundwave/Ruby fluff. If it can be called that. *shrugs* In three chapters the Ark will arrive with all the Autobots. I won't say anymore since I'll spoil it. R&R please!