Minga: (drools over Jumper)

Ina: (rolls eyes)

Minga: What?

Ina: (rolls eyes again and goes back to drawing)

Minga: Speaking of which, 1) the gory violence will be coming next chapter, and 2) Ina drew Barricade, Bonecrusher, and Whin in their dragon forms. She's been procrastinating, however, so she hasn't posted them on her deviantArt page. When she has, I'll let y'all know.

Ina: My favorite's Barricade. :3

"You look lonely." Narzenim's head jerked up in surprise and gave a shy smile to the boy who sat in front of her. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked belatedly and still surprised, Narzenim shook her head dumbly. "My name's Sam – short for Samuel – but my friends call me Bee."

Narzenim ducked her head and grinned. "My name is Sara but my friends call me Narzenim or Narz."

"Well, Narz, it's nice to meet you. I think I've seen you around before."

Narzenim smiled. She liked this boy; he was nice and seemed to emanate a grace that belied his scrawny form. "We have four classes together." She replied. "Math, history, science, and mechanics."

Bee stared. "You're taking mechanics?"

Narzenim looked down. "Yea. My mom likes to tinker with things and she always used to take me into her workshop, you know? So I've grown up around tools and I like to be useful too."

"Ever heard of the Autobots?" a strange look passed across the pretty but alien face that disappeared almost as fast as it had appeared. "They're mechanics and work at Autobots down the street from the school. I work there part-time as a sort of secretary, but sometimes I need help. Do you want to come by and get a form?"

Narzenim brightened at that, then wilted slightly. "I have soccer practice after school." She said apologetically. "Varsity."

Bee gawped but recovered quickly. "Boys varsity practices and finishes at the same time as the girls – we can go to Autobots together."

Narzenim gave him a shy smile, eyes practically glowing. "Thanks, Bee."

The boy returned the shy smile. "You're welcome, Narz."

-

"Ironhide said he'd teach me some mechanics…and they have a lift!"

"I would expect so," Whin told her daughter with unconcealed amusement. "I'm glad you're having fun."

"What's interesting is that they're all Marked," Narzenim babbled on, helping her mother clean up after dinner. "I could see them all."

"Are their Marks active?" Whin asked distractedly, scrubbing at the frying pan.

Narzenim nodded happily, drying a dish. "All of them."

"Have you recorded them yet?"

Narzenim winced and shook her head. "I didn't get a chance to today. Sorry."

Whin looked up and sighed, hugging her adopted daughter. "It's all right so long as you do it eventually; I don't want to be surprised if I have to deal with anybody."

"You won't, Ma. I can take care of myself."

Whin chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead. "I know, sweet. Just be careful, all right?"

Narzenim smiled. "Will do." With that, she began to resume putting away the clean dishes.

-

A soft knock on her door woke Whin and a second later, Narzenim walked in, stuffed dragon held to her chest. "Something bad will happen."

Whin sighed as her daughter sat in front of her on the bed. "I have that same feeling too." She admitted.

Narzenim nodded. "I think it has something to do with Bee." While Whin hadn't met the boy, she knew that her daughter and he were close friends. She also knew from what Narzenim told her, that he was very close to Orion. "I don't think they'll listen to me, though."

Whin sighed again and rubbed her face. "I'll talk to Orion tomorrow. Will that be acceptable?" Narzenim nodded and went back to sleep without a word.

'Sometimes I wonder if she'll ever have a real childhood.'

Ranthanoss snorted. –She doesn't have a childhood out of her own choice. I think she feels that she needs to grow up fast to be useful.-

Whin sighed. Don't give us that, Whin. You wanted that when you were her age.

'That was decades ago, Syrioss.' Whin told him. 'I'm different now.'

-Because like her, you chose to grow up fast to be useful.- Ran told her sensibly. –You waited for decades before you finally begin to feel useful in this whole stupid war.-

Whin shook her head. 'I'm going back to sleep.' She declared and her mind-voices fell silent.

She had a lot to think about.

-

Later that day when Whin stepped into the shop, Narzenim and Bee greeted her cheerfully from the desk. "I came here to talk to Orion."

Bee hesitated. "Is that really such a good idea?"

Whin gave him a small smile. "No, it's not, but I really need to talk to him."

Narzenim jumped up and walked into the garage area of the shop, leaving Bee and Whin standing there. After a moment's hesitation, Bee picked up the phone and called Orion while Whin followed her daughter.

'She looks happy.'

-Indeed.- Ran's deep voice echoed in her skull. –Like a kid in a toy store but without the annoying.- Whin chuckled out loud, not caring that Bee gave her a strange look.

'What am I going to do if she wants to join?' Whin's eyes closed at the mere thought of it and she sighed. 'Do I join with her or do I let her go like I did…'

Let her make her own choice, Whin. Syrioss spoke up. If she wishes to join, then allow her. If she asks you to join with her, then do so and do not back out on your word unless you wish to live in guilt for the rest of your life.

Whin was silent for a long moment. 'Okay.'

-Heads up. Here comes the big man.- Syrioss snorted at that and with a shake of her head, Whin silenced them before turning to look at her brother.

"Now what do you want?" Orion growled, wiping grease off his hands with a rag he had slung over his shoulder.

"Something bad will happen to someone very close to you if you're not careful." Whin told him seriously, golden eyes flat behind their blue glasses.

Immediately her brother bristled. "Is that a threat?"

Whin stuffed her anger back and merely glared at him. "It's a warning. You'd best heed it or you may lose someone you truly care about." She gave him a pointed look before continuing. "Regardless of how you feel about me – or how much you hate me – remember that I will always be there for you when it feels like your heart was ripped to shreds and trampled on." With a grim nod, she left the shop.

-

Jazz poked his head into the kitchen to find Whin cooking. "Where's Narzenim?" he asked, drawing the woman's attention.

"Soccer practice. She'll be home late today. Where's Prowl?"

"Napping." Jazz drew a stool over and sat, watching Whin move about the kitchen for a while. "What did you mean last night?"

Immediately Whin's eyes were on him. "I don't understand your question." She told him stiffly. "Elaborate."

Jazz bristled at the almost-hostile tone. "About the Seer. Do you know who he is?"

Whin snorted. "I know where she is, yes. I know her very well and the only way I'm letting her join any side in your stupid war is if she really wants to."

"Who are you bound to?" golden eyes bore into his at the question.

"No one but myself." She growled at last.

"What do you mean by not giving the Seer to us? We wouldn't force her to do anything."

Whin said nothing for a long while, occupying herself with putting the hot food on plates. When she was done, she turned and stalked over to Jazz who stifled the urge to back up. "I watch over the Seer. She is like a daughter to me and I cannot bear to see her hurt. I know the status of your war enough to know that you desperately need her because you are horribly outnumbered. She will remain neutral with me until she makes a decision to whichever side she wishes to join, if she ever does choose."

"Daughter…Narzenim's the Seer?" the sudden thought hit Jazz and he stood abruptly, knocking over the stool.

With a growl, Whin nodded, watching as Jazz raced out of the kitchen, no doubt to call Orion. She growled again and shook her head, kicking the stool before returning to the kitchen to finish dinner.

-

When Narzenim came home, she gave Jazz an odd look before climbing the stairs to her room. When she returned for dinner, she carried an odd sort of compass with her which she placed beside her plate.

"Is something wrong, Narzenim?" Whin asked gently and the girl looked up at her, giving her a hug.

"Orion will be coming over soon." She told her mother, voice muffled.

Whin sighed. "Good thing I made a lot of food." Narzenim pulled away and sat down to eat, keeping her odd compass under one hand all the while. Whin was just finishing her plate when Narzenim looked up then at the door.

"He's outside." She said seconds before someone knocked on the door. Getting up, Narzenim trotted to the door and hauled it open.

Whin stood up as a sopping wet Orion walked in, pausing at the door to the warmly-lit dining room. His hair was messy and matted down, water dripping of the ends and making tracks down his face, mingling with his tears. In one hand was a length of grimy gold fabric, clenched tightly in his fist.

Seeing his sister, he ran over, embracing her and nearly tackling her. Whin, to her credit, merely rocked backwards and reciprocated his embrace, resting her cheek on his hair as her brother cried into her chest.

-

Calmer now and wrapped in a towel, Orion sat at the table, eating. The scrap of fabric was still clenched in his hand and he continued to shake. Across from him, Whin sat, looking as if she was thinking. "I've called Jumper and Firebird; they're on their way as we speak." She said at last. "They'll help me track him down, Orion, but I won't be able to get him back on my own. Call your men. When we found where they're holding him, we'll return and take you there."

Orion shook his head. "No. We should all go together. That way once we find the base, we can rescue Bumblebee right away. Who knows what they're doing to him now?"

Whin looked at Narzenim whose green eyes were closed. "Nothing. They've tossed him in a cold, damp cell, but they haven't harmed him in any way other than to rough him up a little."

"Do you know their direction and distance?"

"Five minutes dragon-back, headed due north." Narzenim replied after a pause. "Not sure who, though."

"Likely Slash and Blackout. They're two of the fastest in the air, and Megatron wouldn't want to go himself; he'd send his subordinates. One to retrieve Bee, the other for backup. They may even have a Shapeshifter with them." Whin said thoughtfully, calculating. "Slash was pretty fast when we were young, so if she grew at the same rate I did, then she'd be over twice as fast. Flying full-speed in good weather for five minutes could put them at around ten miles away, if my math's correct."

Orion's lips moved as he calculated that. "That would put them at a hundred and twenty miles per hour!"

Whin nodded idly, concentrating more on her math than what her brother was saying. "If they're smart they'll keep changing altitude to find the jetstreams, but stay low enough for Bee to breathe. However, the weather's bad so they'll have to stay low to the treetops to avoid getting struck by lightning. The wind is crazy out there, so it is unlikely that they'd be flying very far; perhaps five or six miles but no more. If they're six miles away, it'll likely take us seven minutes if we travel by dragon and be careful and not run into anything unpleasant." She looked at her daughter. "Will I need my armor?" Narzenim shook her head. "Okay then. Twenty minutes to scout and get back, then seven minutes to get there. That'll give you guys plenty of time to get ready." Narzenim nodded as the door opened, revealing a massive man.

Seeing them in the dining room, he walked over. He stood taller than Whin, looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the muscle department. His skin was dark like Whin's and his hair was in a plethora of tiny braids, each ending in a steel-gray and blue bead. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark army fatigues. "Sorry for the delay, Whin." He rumbled. "'Bird and I were held up a bit by the rain."

Whin gave them a sad smile. "Well, we'll be in the rain a lot tonight. Autobot Bumblebee was taken today, and we estimate that the place they took him to is perhaps six miles away to the north. You, 'Bird and I will scout the area then return to take everyone else there."

The man saluted her jauntily, baring sharp fangs. "I do love tracking." Whin shook her head in amusement and turned to Orion.

"Is that what he was wearing?" she asked her brother who looked at the scrap of fabric in his hand.

"Yea." Whin beckoned for it and reluctantly Optimus handed it to her. She then brought it to her face before handing it to the man who did the same. Handing it back to Optimus, she turned to Narzenim.

"You know what to do, right? They'll likely try to attack while we're gone, so be prepared, and we'll be back shortly. Don't forget to get the harnesses." With a nod to the rest of them, the man and Whin ran outside.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what's going on." Prowl said quietly, having listened to what was going on around him.

Narzenim gave him a small smile. "We're going to rescue my friend using a few…ah, inhuman tricks."

"'We'?" Orion echoed, looking at her. "You are not coming."

Calmly, Narzenim turned and regarded him. "I am, too, coming. You'll need me in any case." She held up her hand when Orion was about to deny it. "We have been following the track of your war, and we know the odds piled against you. You have with you three full-warriors including yourself, one healer, and a Shapeshifter whose Mark isn't yet fully active. Against you, you have fourteen full-warriors, five of which are Dragons, and four of which are Shapeshifters. Unless you wish to be killed before the war has even fully started, you'd best allow us to help." She propped her hands on her hips and glared at him. "With us in addition to your three full-warriors, healer, and half-warrior, you'll have three full-warriors, one of which is a Dragon larger than most of the Decepticons. You'll also have a Seer – the Seer, in fact, willing to help if not join your merry band of guerilla warriors."

"Full-warriors?" Jazz echoed.

Narzenim smiled. "Those whose Marks are fully activated. You'd best call your comrades now, or we'll have to wait."

"Already done. They should be here soon." Jazz told the Seer who nodded and true to his word, they appeared five minutes later.

"One thing I regret is involving Prowl in this." Jazz told Narzenim quietly as they settled to wait in the living room.

Emerald eyes regarded him. "Prowl will be involved in this regardless if he was thrust into it tonight or gently drawn into it tomorrow." The Seer replied. She looked down at her odd compass-thing for a moment before looking up. "I have a feeling that Prowl will greatly affect the outcome of tonight, so don't protest when he announces that he wishes to accompany us." With a nod to him, Narzenim walked over to Orion and spoke quietly with the man.

"Ratchet, do you know if Prowl's Marked?" Jazz asked the medic in an undertone.

Ratchet looked back at him in surprise. "I would think that you'd know that, not me." He glanced at Narzenim. "The girl seems odd, though."

Jazz snorted. "That's Whin's adopted daughter Narzenim. She's Marked, all right. She's the Seer."

"You're kidding." Ironhide rumbled and Narzenim looked over at them, raising a bright red eyebrow but otherwise ignoring them.

"Interesting." Ratchet murmured but said nothing more as a thunderous growling echoed outside.

Narzenim was on her feet in a second. "Jazz, Prowl, take them down to the cellar and lock the doors and barricade the windows." A shadow passed the window; a flash of darkness, silvery-gray and white. The growling resumed and a great red eye peered into the window. "Now." She shooed them downstairs, following them after a moment and locking the door.

"What is that, Narzenim?" Orion asked warily as the girl whistled; the wan light flickered on and she moved to lock and bar the solitary window.

"Barricade, the smaller of the two Decepticon land-dragons." She replied after looking at her compass. "He may have a Shapeshifter with him, so we have to be careful."

"I say we just go out and bust his ass." Ironhide rumbled and a red eyebrow rose for the second time at him that night.

"If you want to go up against a thirteen-foot Dragon empty-handed, then be my guest, but if you get killed, I'm not the one explaining it to Mom."

"Thirteen feet? He doesn't sound that big." Ironhide muttered and Narzenim propped her fists on her hips.

"Thirteen feet tall with a very, very bad attitude is enough for me." She told him flatly.

"How big is your mother?" Orion interrupted and Narzenim blinked, thinking.

"Shhh." She flapped a hand at him, lights going out. A shadow passed the tiny window and paused, snuffing.

"I know you're in there, little humans." A deep, thunderous voice said, drifting in through the window. "You cannot hide from Barricade."

"Have you found them, Barricade?" another, deeper (if that was at all possible), rougher voice asked.

"Affirmative. They're in the cellar." Barricade rumbled and unconsciously Prowl backed up until he felt Jazz's soothing presence at his back.

"Bonecrusher." Narzenim whispered softly as the new voice grunted.

"Stand aside, Barricade." There was a hiss (likely from Barricade) and suddenly the house began to shake. Quickly, Narzenim packed the compass in a pouch over her stomach and beneath her shirt, settling into a fighting crouch as the glass in the window shattered. The house shook again and an enormous crack announced the splintering of wood; great cracks spread across the wall.

The door behind them burst open and the man there grinned maliciously. Narzenim whirled around as he pounced, turning into a lion in midair. With a furious hiss, Narzenim absorbed the blow and flipped backwards, becoming a spotted leopard and sinking long fangs into the lion's face. The lion yowled as the wall collapsed, revealing two enormous creatures.

The first, most visible of the two was also larger, looking like a tank on legs. It had great slabs of armor that was part of it rather than anything placed over its bony skin. They were like enormous spots, orange-brown edged with pebbly violet-brown scales over leathery green-brown skin. Its tail was thick and heavy, good for bludgeoning as well as balance. Blood-red eyes glared at them from the great horned head that towered nearly twenty feet above them.

The second was slightly smaller, perhaps two feet shorter at the shoulder. Most of it was covered in fur, black-blue-violet on its sides and legs, silver-gray on its left foreleg, and indigo-violet on its belly. Its spine bore silver-gray scales and white spikes that went to the tip of its long, slender tail. Its face had a canine shape though spikes jutted from its angry brows and jawline. The top part of its face was slate-gray, abruptly becoming fur just above its upper jaw before smoothing back into pure white scales. A canine nose gave it a sort of odd look, but the angry red eyes didn't allow them to poke fun at it. Between the scales and fur on its back, blue-violet spikes edged its back, and odd, elephantine-slash-bird-like feet ended the ensemble.

Narzenim yowled and alarmed, Ironhide whirled to find that she was being backed into a corner by a nearly-invisible panther in addition to the lion from before. Four more people entered the cellar, two of which bore great coils of rope. A third bore a strange sort of collar and muzzle and advanced on Narzenim who was being held down by a gorilla. The other three moved and began herding them toward the gaping hole in the wall.

Suddenly the air was split with a great roar that shook the trees; an immense red shape burst from the forest and leapt at the larger of the two creatures, fangs buried in the armored neck and claws drawing long furrows in the bony skin. The creature roared, caught unawares, and nearly fell to the ground. The blackish one leapt on the red's back. All three toppled over, the red over the armored one's neck.

The new creature was the largest of all of them, a good twenty feet tall at the shoulder. It had reddish scales and a gray underbelly of hard, armored plates. Its tail was abnormally long and ended in spikes that cracked like a whip as it lashed through the air. Its forehead was armored, colored gray-brown and ended in two sharp points behind its head. Golden eyes swirled to orange and red as the creature slashed and bit the other two, tail proving to be deadly as it made the air sing with the golden blades.

While they watched the enormous creatures battle, more men had come and tied up those in the cellar.

"Stop." A great voice commanded and all three creatures paused. The red was on its hind legs, cuts and scrapes bleeding sluggishly. "Barricade. Bonecrusher. Stand down." The other two backed away, growling. "I suggest you do the same." The man told the red, motioning at the bound humans and muzzled snow leopard being pulled out of the cellar. "You wouldn't want someone to get hurt, now, would you?" a knife appeared in the man's hand as another group of men dragged over a set of chains, harness, and muzzle. A hand fisted in Prowl's hair and yanked his head back, pressing the sharp tip of the blade to the hollow of his throat. "Come down and be good, now." The man grinned maliciously.

Golden eyes suddenly lost the fight and with a long, mournful moan, then red sank to all fours and lowered its head, reluctantly allowing the men to chain and muzzle it.

The man smiled as their new prisoners were loaded on the red's back and tied in place to the heavy metal harness they forced her to wear. Barricade and Bonecrusher flanked her while the kidnappers scrambled up the latter dragon, fearing Barricade's sharp spikes more than Bonecrusher's loping gate and foul attitude.

Wait 'til Megatron saw what he, Blackout, brought him.

Ina's Monologue:

Ookay. This will be a long monologue. O.o

Seer: Once more, we return to the topic of the Seer, and once more she won't be explained very much in the Monologue, as she will be explained sometime later in the story. Essentially part of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons is to find the Seer and get them for join their side; with the Seer their power has the potential to be near limitless, as there are many things that she can do for them.

Seer's Compass (the compass thing Narzenim was playing with earlier) : The Seer's Compass is like the alethiometer in The Golden Compass (the book is better than the movie in my opinion...), but it doesn't 'measure' the truth. The Seer's Compass can answer any question directed by anyone, yet only gives the right answer to the Seer. For example, five people could ask it what one plus one equals to: the five people would get the incorrect answers, but if the Seer asked it, then the Compass would tell her that one plus one equals two. The Compass has thirteen symbols, each with their own meanings: Angel: Pure-spirited, innocent; willing to do the right thing even if it means injuring oneself. Ant: One always willing to take orders from those theey see stronger and more powerful; hardworking, loyal servants; vulnerable due to inability to change shape. Bear: fierce fighter, angry when provoked; strong, steadfast, hard to budge, stubborn. Caduceus: Medic or one who wishes to help others instead of doing harm. Cat: free-spirited and independent; acts on one's own thoughts instead of what they are told to do; instinctual. Dragon: courageous, strong, fierce when provoked; possessing an unusual trait that sets them apart from others; independent, disinclined to follow orders; stubborn. Hawk: Having the alternate form of a bird, usually a bird of prey; free-spirited, independent, predatorial. Lion: Brave and courageous, royal and just leader. Shield: Protector of the weak; strong, steadfast, brave. Spyglass: Spy or one who Sees. Sword: Warrior with a fierce fighting skill; bloodthirsty and trigger-happy. Torch: Leadership or sorcery, or having such skills; passionate. Wolf: A friendly person, strong and fast; works well with others unlike solitary Dragons, Hawks, and Cats.

Active (Marks) and full-warriors: In this context, Narzenim's concept of 'full-warriors' refers to the activation of their Marks. As mentioned last chapter in the 'Marks' Monologue, I mentioned that the Marks appear on the day of birth, disappears the next day, and then reappears when the Mark becomes Active. The speed in which a Mark activates depends on the person; there is no set time. For example, Whin's Mark activated in the space of three to four years while Ironhide and Jazz's Marks activated in the space of a day.