Moonflight had been wheeling above the battlefield, seeking out another target when a deafening shriek echoed from below, swiftly transitioning into a scream that shook him to his frame. He twisted so sharply that he felt his joints creak in protest, his dark red optics searching quickly to find the source of the sound. He found Warrior Star, shaking and barely on her paws but still standing, her cobalt blue optics wide and filled with a dawning horror that he had only seen once before. He instantly followed her line of sight, and felt his spark twist uneasily at what he saw.

Breaksteel stood over the body of the dark mech that he knew to be Steelbite, the leader of the mechs still battling below him. Steelbite's energon covered the muddy ground, but something was…off. Moonflight dove, aiming to land between Breaksteel and Warrior Star, but suddenly the storm gray mech fell, hitting the ground with a crash that startled the Predacon. Instantly he corrected his flight path, transforming and hitting the ground in a crouch next to the fallen mech as Warrior Star limped forward and sank down at Breaksteel's side.

Moonflight's energon blade sang as he sliced through a mech that stood a few paces away, leaving the enemy screaming as Shadowfang and Keystone fell back into a defensive perimeter around their sister and comrades. The Predacon knew he needed to keep his mind focused on the fight, but the soft voice of the bronze femme cut through the fog of war with stunning clarity.

"Mech…Breaksteel…he wanted me, not you. You shouldn't have done it…" Warrior Star whispered, crawling close enough to lay her head on the shoulder of the storm gray mech, and it was then that Moonflight saw the wound that had felled him.

A massive tear crossed Breaksteel's chest plate, energon pouring out to join a rapidly growing pool that the huge mech lay in as his optics flickered weakly and his spark pulsed unevenly in his chest. Feeling the femme's head coming to rest on his shoulder, the storm gray mech turned his head, his optics brightening when he saw her there. He trembled with the strain but reached out anyway, touching his nose to the femme's so gently that Moonflight felt oily tears fill his optics.

"I could not merely stand by and watch you die, Warrior Star. I had to try, and in the end, Steelbite got exactly what was coming to him. I can die at peace, knowing that." Out of the corner of one optic, Moonflight noticed that Shadowfang and Keystone were no longer fighting. Looking around quickly, the Predacon realized that all of Steelbite's mechs were either dead or had fled following the demise of their leader. His optics snapped back to Warrior Star at the bronze femme's next words.

"I will be waiting for you in the Mists, Breaksteel…maybe I'll even find my creators there now that their murderer is dead…" Her voice was fading and her optics were growing dim, and Moonflight felt his spark seize with dread. The voice of one of her brothers filled the air and both mechs immediately went to her side.

"No, sister. It is not your time. Lean on us; we will keep you alive until we get back to the Autobots. Ratchet will fix you up." Shadowfang's voice was deep and intense as he spoke, then he gently took his sister's spine in his lethal jaws, lifting her and draping her over Keystone's back as the black mech stood quietly. Breaksteel's optics flickered again and he struggled to stand, and Moonflight immediately went to his side to support him.

"Go, mechs…get Warrior Star back. She…she is in more dire need than me." Breaksteel said, his voice a grating snarl as he leaned on the Predacon. Shadowfang and Keystone nodded, both mechs breaking into a quick trot as Moonflight helped Breaksteel stagger slowly forward, energon still pouring from the wound to his chest.

"What happened, mech? What caused this injury?" Moonflight asked, eyeing the wound uneasily as the storm gray mech moved along slowly.

"Steelbite went for Warrior Star's neck. I managed to get between them…when I turned, his jaws caught the top and bottom of my chest plate at the same time as I got his spine. His jaws closed before I could kill him. End of story." Breaksteel grumbled softly as his paws slipped in the mud, and Moonflight put an arm around his shoulders to help him get his feet back under him.

"You saved her. Warrior Star. Why?" The Predacon asked, unable to keep his curiosity curbed as they came to the edge of the forest, pausing for a moment so Breaksteel could catch his breath.

"She is my spark match. Without her I'm as good as dead." He growled, raising his head to study the horizon, which was slowly growing lighter as the night came to an end. Moonflight felt his spark jolt in shock at the mech's words, and he spun his head to look at the mech.

"She is your what?" He asked, unable to keep the shock from his voice. The other mech didn't look at him, his light yellow optics unfocused as he pondered over something for a moment. Then his gaze sharpened and he turned to meet the Predacon's gaze.

"Spark match. I take it she didn't tell you." Breaksteel said, stepping out again as the sky grew lighter above them, the rain finally ceasing as the storm moved on. Moonflight stepped out in time with the wounded mech, feeling himself reeling mentally at the implications of what Breaksteel had just told him.

"No…no she didn't. She must not have told Shadowfang or Keystone either. I am certain I would have heard about it if she had." Moonflight fell quiet, musing to himself internally.

Warrior Star…found her spark match? After all these years, all the violence and the despair that has followed her…she found a match. This lost, roving waif of a mech, a self-proclaimed neutral and one that despises battle…is her match. How ironic. The Predacon couldn't help but snort softly at the irony, and he found himself on the receiving end of a less than friendly look from the storm gray mech walking next to him.

"What amuses you, mech?" Breaksteel asked, huffing softly as they crested a small rise and the Autobot base appeared in the distance.

"It is the fact that Warrior Star, legendary Guardian of Cybertron and the femme known once as the War Beast, is your spark match. You, who are a self-proclaimed neutral and seeker of peace. You, the mech whose brother murdered Warrior Star's creators and many other innocents. You are her spark match. It is ironic. And that is why I am amused." Moonflight said, unable to keep a slightly bitter edge out of his tone as he spoke. Breaksteel looked at him sharply when he heard it, and Moonflight stopped suddenly, staring right back at the injured mech.

"I will say this, mech: you hurt that femme in any way, for any reason at all, and I will kill you. She has been through so much over these last few millennia, and she deserves peace and a mech that will treat her well. Warrior Star has sacrificed so much, and lost more than her fair share of loved ones. I will not let any mech, especially one that is her spark match, be the cause of any further harm to her. This is your first, last, and only warning. Warrior Star suffers at all, and you die."

A/N: Well...quite the last few weeks it has been. Random shenanigans at work aside, I got a last second reservation for a six week long class...so the last two weeks have been insane. First the hoop-jumping necessary for me to get all the paperwork for my class, then I drove halfway across the States to get there...now I'm there and up to my ears in homework. How ironic. lol

Anyway! New chapter here. I know I left ya'll hanging with that cliffie last go round...I think I mentioned I hadn't decided who died yet. So I killed Steelbite and gave Warrior Star and Breaksteel some life threatening injuries. Aren't I just a joy? LOL

A big THANK YOU to my many reviewers and readers and followers! Ya'll are fantastic!

As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.

Until we meet again...

Kani