AUTHOR'S NOTE:

So far, I'm keeping up my promise to update weekly! I finally have my chapter plans finalized, so now, all I have to do is write it all down.

So long as I don't change any plot ideas again…

Anyway, just a quick announcement! I finally have a DeviantArt account! I only posted a few little things I've done, but I plan to post more after Christmas when some friends of mine open their presents. Right now, I have a fan art up for Graceful-Kuja's "It's Love?" and I'm working on a sketch of Everon/Shadow, but I can't seem to get happy with anything I do. I will have something up eventually!

Anyway, check out the link on my page!

And on to the story!

"Feeling solid
'Cause I have finally got my feet on the ground
Now You rescued me, You were gravity
I was upside down, down.

"I've got a fire in my eyes
I'm burning brighter than the sunlight
You orchestrated my escape
Now I'm awake
I feel alive for the first time
You ignite the fire in my eyes.

"Used to live my life
Locked up inside a room with no door before
You found a window, You broke it
And now I won't be contained anymore.

"Oh, I know You are
The reason I can breathe
Oh, I know You are
The reason I am free."

"Fire in my Eyes", by Firelight

"Rowback."

I don't turn around to face the voice. "What is it, Windglide?"

My fellow Vehicon moved to stand next to me, his gaze staying on the sight before us as does mine. "You know, you make it real hard to remember that you outrank most of us soldiers." The figure flying through the skies before us takes a twist in the air, and then dives straight down before settling into a glide after falling a few hundred feet in the air. "Then you pull something like that stunt on the bridge, and I realize how much of a leader you truly are."

I shake my helm. "Just made a suggestion, that's all."

"Yeah, in front of all of the other officers." The figure in the air made another twist and then a graceful arc. "You're lucky that she spoke up for you."

Though you couldn't see it behind our standardized masks, I smiled at the thought. "Our little princess turned out better than we ever could have imagined."

We were standing out on the flight deck watching said femme. Though Breakdown had claimed her combat training, her flight training fell to us. Our squadron members had been taking turns guiding her sessions, making sure for each of us to provide our perspective on flight as well as any tricks we have. I remembered her first flight. She had insisted on flying with me. Her excitement had her nearly bouncing as we headed up to the flight deck, her wings twitching in anticipation. Disregarding my trying to brief her on the basics of flight, she ran full speed and dove straight off the side of the ship, grinning all the way.

Later, after I had transformed and chased her down, she said that she wasn't sure why she had done that. She had just felt the sudden urge, the sudden need to fly. And fly she did. Never had I imagined she would take to it so instantaneously. Instinctively, she had known how to flex her wings, to angle them so to allow her control of her flight directions, and honestly?

I have never seen such joy on someone's first flight.

For the next few sessions, she had at least one guide, someone to either lead her through the air or to trail after her in case she found turbulence against the Earth winds. She never needed any help, even when she practiced in the storm just last night with Windglide and I. So, seeing her natural skill, we allowed her a solo flight today.

Under supervision, of course.

With a strong thrust of her wings, she shot straight upward, and upon reaching her highest point, she let her wings spread straight out to either side of her. As she did so, that mixed with her arms stretched above her head, one leg straight while the other tucked under her, the planet's native star illuminating her figure from behind: she looked… ethereal.

"An angel." I turned to glance briefly at Windglide, who in turn never took his gaze off of the femme. "On Earth, they would call her an angel. A holy being with feathered wings."

Just before I could comment, Shadow caught my attention again. Instead of returning to her flying pattern, she just… stopped. Her body gave way to free fall, and she slowly plummeted downwards. Windglide moved to go to her, as did most of the others on the deck, but I grabbed his shoulder and announced, "Wait." Everyone stopped, but I could tell that most questioned my decision.

Still in free fall, her wings limply wrapped around her as her body tilted backwards till she dropped helm first from high above the Nemesis. Suddenly, her wings spread out, and she leveled out to where she glided straight towards the upper platform of the massive ship.

I didn't notice that she was gliding straight towards me until her form barreled straight into me. Since she had been only gliding, the force of the impact was not enough to knock me over. Her arms locked around my neck as she happily laughed, the joy of flight still buzzing through her systems. When she pulled back, a spark-melting grin on her face, I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Cutting that close, aren't you?" I ask. "You nearly had the entire flight deck come to your 'rescue'."

She rolled her optics and shook her helm, a happy smile still on her face. She released my neck and dropped to the ground, stepping back with a twirl. "Sorry, I just lost myself… The winds are perfect today!"

I laugh again, but more at the stares the other Vehicons were giving us then her personality. Though it had only been a few days, I was already used to her eccentric personality, as were the others. What I wasn't used to, however, was the fact that I had somehow become a close friend of the Decepticon princess. No one was used to it, hence the stares.

With a renewed grin, she linked arms with me as she did the first day we 'met'. "C'mon, I need to get my energon rations. You can escort me." I shake my helm at her antics, but I follow just the same.

"How did you do it?"

I sigh. "How did I do what, exactly?"

Sharpshot scoffed. "How did you weasel your way into the princess' favors so quickly?"

I sigh again, shaking my helm. Sharpshot was one of my fellow commanding Vehicons. His squadron was ranked just below mine, though he believes that he should rank before mine. It's his arrogance in my opinion that disallows his squadron from advancing. "Honestly, I have no idea why she likes hanging out with me. I didn't plan it or something if that's what you are insinuating."

I didn't need to see his face to know that he was scowling. Living among so many Vehicons made us all experts at reading body language, a skill I had noticed in Shadow. She was very intuitive in emotions… "If all you want to do is harass me as usual, I going to go. I have somewhere I need to be."

Moving to carry away my empty energon cube, his arm shoots out to block my path. "Where are you going?"

"No where."

I could feel his optics narrow beneath his visor. He knew exactly who I was going to see. "The others are getting touchy about how close you two are… We aren't supposed to be close those of her rank. It just doesn't happen."

"You obviously don't know her if you think that she would follow the average social norms—"

"And you do? You know her?"

"She does whatever she wants, and I doubt that she would ever worry about what someone else might think."

His stance tenses even more so. "Just keep what I said in mind."

With a nod, I push past his arm and go to drop off my cube. The entire time, I can feel the gaze of the others in the room following me. I don't care what they might think. Few were jealous of me: most just were in awe. Honestly, I was still in awe. Here I was, a simple soldier, and within a week, I have become a close friend to our princess, a princess we had mourned and thought to be dead, only to come back as a Cybertronian…

It was a lot to take in.

But the way she was so casual around me and any other Vehicon she encountered, I often forgot all the complications that surrounded our budding friendship. She was merely Shadow, not my Princess, just Shadow.

Heading towards the med bay, my thoughts drifted more towards the matter at hand. This was not a social visit. Because of the skill she had been displaying in her lessons, both in combat and flight, Starscream wanted to officialize her for fieldwork. Shadow had told me a few hours ago how Knockout was putting off clearing her as a medic, but unfortunately, I do not have the ability to hold off as the doctor could. So, I was going to meet Shadow and quiz her on her knowledge of our squadron's flight patterns as the last finalization of her basic Seeker training.

Whereas everyone else was trying to put off her involvement in the field as long as possible, Shadow had been practically bouncing with joy over the thought of being in the field. Not for the lust of battle, but for the need to help others in the field. I shook my helm. The femme's spark was too pure to be healthy in an atmosphere of war. I hope it doesn't crush her.

Reaching the med bay, I enter and find said femme staring intently at a screen before her. Without noticing I had entered, she announced, "Patient 3, 6, and 7 require minor treatment for blaster burns to their armor. They can be classified as level ones. 1 and 4 need energon line patches immediately, as does 2 and 5 but the wounds are minor: they can hold and or patch their own lines since the influx to the med bay pushes them back in the priority. 1 and 4: level 2 alpha. 2 and 5: level 2 beta."

She then stood straighter and traced her sharp servo over the screen. "The last two are the priority cases, both level threes. Patient 8 has a blast wound that has burnt through the lower abdominal regions and requires a Texeraction patch. Nine will require extreme attention and care, needing the same treatment, but his blast wound breaks through the spark chamber, making his spark fragile. He is level three alpha while the other is level 3 beta."

She turned off to the back of the med lab. "How'd I do?"

Knockout stepped forward. "Very good. You described the treatments perfectly. But you have one mistake." Shadow's face clouded with confusion as the medic continued. "Patient eight is merely a level three."

Shadow grew even more confused. "But I leveled them. Eight is a beta like 2 and 5: the others on their number levels take priority due to their more severe wounds—"

"But whereas with 1 and 4 being an alpha, nine, which you leveled an alpha, is unsalvageable." She looked ready to protest, but he held up a servo. "His chances are nearly nonexistent. You know I'm right. Don't risk the many to save the few." Her face was crestfallen. "I'm sorry, but you have to be clinical, especially if you plan to work in high casualty areas such as in the field."

"But how can I just give up on—"

"Shadow, we've talked about…" His gaze turned to me. "Can I help you?"

The winged femme turned and saw me, her saddened face suddenly grinning. "Rowback! I take it you're here to quiz me?"

I move to speak, but Knockout's helm snaps to her and his arms cross over his chassis in an annoyed manner. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Her face was blank as she tilted her head to the side in a quizzical manner. Holding his helm in light frustration, he prompts, "Your armor, perhaps?"

Her large optics widened as her jaw dropped. Turning her helm back and forth between us for a minute, she then buried her face in her servos and groaned. Deciding to speak up, I say, "It's alright, I can come—"

"Don't. Move." She said suddenly. Lifting her helm to her mentor, she asked, "He cleared time for me in his schedule. Can he just quiz me while you patch and paint? You can put up a screen to block his view if you want."

Knockout's jaw clenched in contemplation, but with a sigh, he relented. Soon, a screen was set up, and the two were talking about how the armor patching and painting process works. "Honestly, you haven't even had this armor for two weeks, and you've already gotten your frame littered with dents and scratches."

She snorts. "Blame Airachnid."

"I know." I can hear a clanking noise, probably him trying to get out the dents. "How's the arm?"

"It's fine: didn't hurt that much." Knockout made a noise that suggested he didn't believe her, but she ignored him. Her next words sounded projected, and I realized that she was addressing me. "You want to start the Q and A?"

"Oh! Um, sure. I'm just going to call out a formation, and you tell me the directionality of your flight patterns relative to the other squadron members." I pull up a file on the data pad and scroll through the different patterns as to choose them at random. "Are you rea—"

"Pause!" I hear what sounded like Shadow hitting Knockout on the helm right after he interrupts me. "Watch the paint! And before you two get too involved in your Seeker business…" I can hear her sigh at his disdain for Seekers, and I can't help but smile at the idea of her shaking her helm and scowling at the medic. "…we need to discuss your paint. I'm thinking of—"

"Umm… I actually have a design idea already…" I can here her get off the med berth and scurry to the side before returning to him. "I'm… not sure if you will agree with the design but…"

"It looks like—"

"I know." She vented a sigh. Then, with an edge to her tone, she adds, "I want him to recognize me, to see himself in me every time we encounter one another, and I want him to regret ever letting me slip from his grasp. I want him to always remember the daughter he lost." She is quiet for a moment before speaking a softer voice. "He can't disassociate from a daughter who looks like him… I know my optics are silver in color, but I also can tell that they look like his, as does my face."

This time, Knockout vented a sigh. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice the similarities… If you are sure you can handle it, I'll do it. But the minute you want a different paint—"

"I'll come to you for your expertise," she interjected with a slight teasing tone.

By this point, I'm utterly confused. I decide to not say anything: I will see the final results soon enough. "Okay, Seeker," Knockout says as I hear him begin to test the paint sprayers. "Her audio receptors are all yours."

Clearing my vocal processors, I respond, "Okay… Let's see… Alright, here's the first question." For the next hour or so, I would call out a random formation, and in turn, Shadow would give me a play by play of her flight patterns down to the smallest tilt in direction. Occasionally, I would throw in a random scenario, and though her responses tended to be passive, they were suitable for a field medic.

Eventually, I declare that we were done. "Perfect timing," Knockout announces. "I'm done as well. And you get to be the first to see my final work." The medic steps around the screen, a smug look on his face. With an exaggerated voice and a flourish of his servos, he proclaims, "May I present to you, your new and improved Princess Shadow Tronus."

"Honestly Knockout. Is the formality necessary?" I can hear her move to walk out around the screen. "And I thought we had done away with the whole 'Princess' title."

Shock overcomes my frame as I look at her frame, and Knockout responds without even noticing my reaction. "Just because you say your some common soldier, field medic, or whatever. Still, you cannot simply deny that you are Megatron's daughter." She merely rolled her optics as I continued to stare.

The paint was far from what I expected. Her armor was majorly a dark, crimson red, a shade I suspected to have come from Knockout's private stash. Shockingly, her chosen details were not only an ebony black edging, but also a deep midnight blue that covered her pedes and the center of her chassis. The frame around her face was black with a red Decepticon symbol upon the top center of the frame like the center of her chassis, and the rest of her helm was red and blue with black detailing. To complete the look, her optics had been edged in black, and they flared on the edges, creating even more allure to her captivating, silvery optics.

The paint made her look even more like the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime.

The only real difference is that the black edging and the sharp armor angles made her look more dangerous. That and she was a femme. But I kept being drawn to her face, and I couldn't help but recognize what she meant by having 'his' face and optics. She may have inherited Megatron's gladiator stylized armor and fierce combative nature, but she gained Optimus' looks and caring demeanor.

Her helm tilted to the side as she looked at me with a concerned gaze. "Are you alright, Rowback?"

I jump, and then I quickly respond, "Oh! Umm… I'm fine! Just fine."

Knockout shakes his helm and sighs, but a smirk is still present on his face. "You should expect that, little sister. You were right about it accentuating how much you look like him." He then reaches over and pulls her into a close hug before kissing the top of her helm, a habit I remember from when she was a little human sparkling that the all of the officers sans Starscream would carry everywhere. She was far from that little sparkling now.

"I know. I wanted this: I can handle it." Her gaze was steady, her shoulders squared, and I could sense the determination rolling off of her in waves. Knockout vented a sigh, and then he did something I've never seen him do before: he smiled. Not some cruel, sinister smile, but a true, kind one. She returned the gesture before hugging him back and kissing his faceplate. Then, she released the hug and turned towards me. "Want to come with me to show off the new paint?"

Before I can answer, she has linked her arm with mine and was leading me from the med bay. Knockout stuck his helm out after us. "If you scratch that paint, I will lock you in an empty storage locker!"

Without looking back, she yells, "No you won't!"

"Don't try me!" But we could all tell from his tone that he could never lock up the innocent Aurial who musically laughed as she towed me through the halls.

We were all talking and laughing, enjoying our down time in between one of the shifts. It was nice, one of those simple moments that you look on and can't help but lightly smile at. That's when the call over our comm links came.

"D38TS-7's squadron, report to the ground bridge station immediately. Autobot activity requires immediate action."

We all tense. All of my squadron's optics fall on me. Treetop speaks up. "It's so soon… She was only cleared a few hours ago…"

I vent out a sigh. "There's nothing we can do but take her with us." Looking around at the group before me, I say in a serious tone, "But, we will ensure that nothing happens to her, and she stays out of the line of fire. Whether she wants to be or not, she is our princess…" I stand tall and sure as they all watch me. "And we will do whatever it takes to keep her safe."

They all stoically nod in agreement before rising with me, determination in their stances as with me. Quickly, we file out of the room in a tight, rowed formation as was drilled into us during our early years of training. Sprinting down the halls, we reach the ground bridge within short time. As we enter the room, I realize that Shadow is already there.

Her wings are tense, twitching on her back, while her silver optics glinted in the dim lighting while an excited grin grew on her face. Looking to me, she was practically bouncing in excitement. "C'mon! We need to move! Knockout and Breakdown are already there getting all the fun!"

As the ground bridge opened, I approach her quickly and grab her arm. Normally, I would never initiate contact with her, but I just needed to make sure she understood the gravity of the situation. As her helm whips around to face me, shock evident on her features, I say, "Remember: you are medic first, soldier second. Avoid the Autobots at all costs. I don't want them to hurt you."

A smile forms on her face, and then out of nowhere, she hugs me. "Thank you." Pulling back, she adds, "For being such a good friend."

I was so glad that my blush couldn't be seen behind my visor.

Clearing my voice processor, I say, "Well, umm… Everyone! Move out!"

Shadow laughed at my stumbling with the words, but she fell into place to Quickflip in the back of the group. I merged in the front with Windglide as we ran through the portal, jumping through to the open air before us. Transforming, we head straight for the nearby mountain, one which housed an important energon mine.

"Maintain standard formation till we hit the hot zone!" I announce over the comm. "Quickflip, help Shadow find the injured below and cover her while she treats the others. The rest of us shall head off the enemy and try to push them back. Am I clear?"

A chorus of "Sir, yes sir!" met my audio receptors in response to my directions.

Satisfied, I yell, "Then let's go take out some Autobots!" A few excited cheers holler over the comms as I lead our dive downward, including Shadow's musical laughter.

I wish I could say that I kept track of my friend, that I was knew where she was at all times to help better protect her, but the Autobots were out for our sparks today. Pent up anger was evident in their brutal fighting styles, and the number of injuries skyrocketed. Occasionally I would see a flash of silver from her wings, but she would be gone, finding the injury that was hidden behind a random rock or something.

My CPU kept flashing the number of injuries. Shadow had a huge stash of them back under a rock outcropping, and we had just reached the same number of injuries or deaths as those we had left to fight. And sadly, some of the fighters were injuries that Shadow had patched, and they insisted on fighting again.

Eventually, though, I could see shock and confusion shoot through the Autobot ranks. I heard someone scream out 'Everon,' and I knew that they had finally recognized her. Then, the owner of the voice, the Wrecker I believe to be named Wheeljack, went flying into a cliff face, courtesy of our new field medic.

I finally saw her, and she stood in a low crouch, a pair of unfamiliar daggers in her servos while she threateningly growled in the Wrecker's direction. Unfortunately, she couldn't see the Cybertronian femme approach her from the side.

I couldn't shoot the Autobot from this angle. All I could do is what was instinctive for me. I shifted, taking off at full speed, transforming just in time to stand between Shadow and the shot.

I heard her scream. A dagger shot flew over my form on the ground, followed by a pained cry, before it flew back to Shadow's servo as she crouched next to me. "Rowback?! Rowback, stay with me!" Her servos began to move to my chassis, and I knew she was patching some wound in my lower abdomen.

"How…how do…. do you know?"

Her helm doesn't turn from my chassis as she focuses more on my wound. "What do you mean?"

"How can you tell… me apart from… the others? You could always…" I gasp in pain. "…tell…"

I could tell she was borderline hysterical right now. "I… at first, it was the scar, the one on the side of your helm… but now, I just… I just know you. You're my best friend. I just know you."

My processor is spinning as her gaze suddenly snaps to the side. "Knockout!" she yells in utter agony. Hysteria grows, and her frame began to shake. "I can't… I can't—" She suddenly spins up, dagger in hand and screams, "Don't you dare touch him! Don't take another step closer!"

I wanted to help her. I felt so useless here on the ground. I couldn't even see who had approached her. But, I had no more strength in me. My systems cried for recharge, so I listened, slipping from consciousness as Shadow turned back to my frame and screamed for me to stay awake.

My last thought is of her words, ones that kept running through my processor.

I just know you.

I just know you.

I just know you.

She will never know how much those words meant to me.

And the end to another chapter! So, please let me know what you think! This one took me a while for some reason, so i hope it turned out well.

Also, I might be posting a chapter to Silver Eyes and Lullabies on Christmas Eve or Day. If I get the time… Hopefully I do! But anyway, next week's chapter will probably be a long chapter, so cross your fingers that I get it done!