The darkness was familiar to her, Warrior Star realized as her optics onlined, lighting the air around her and making it glow a deep, cobalt blue. Slowly she rolled onto her stomach, pausing a moment before rising to her feet and looking around as she took a deep breath of the stale, musty air.

This place has not changed at all since I was last here. She mused as she started walking, knowing better than to try and find some sort of path in this place. If her path was meant to enter the light, it would.

After all the things that have occurred recently, I cannot help but wonder if I am destined to walk in the light ever again. Her tail waved gently behind her as she made her way through the darkness, seeing nothing and hearing nothing to indicate where she should go, what she was meant to do…not a thing. Yet somehow she knew the moment she was no longer alone.

"You have fallen far, Warrior Star." The voice that echoed at her from the darkness was one she knew well but the tone left her tense and uneasy. She heard the soft scrape of razor-sharp claws as their owner moved to walk at her side, his ice-blue optics glowing almost eerily in the dark as he looked at her from the corner of his optics. His white armor gleamed in the reflection from her optics, nearly blinding her when she stared at him.

"I know, father. I know." Her voice was soft and pained, and the mech's optics softened slightly as he stared at her sadly. Warrior Star couldn't meet his gaze; Saber had always been so proud of her that she couldn't bear to see the disappointment in his optics.

"You have been through much during your life, but I never expected to see you do what you did. Why, daughter? Why?" The great white wolf asked, and Warrior Star couldn't help but raise her gaze to his. The look of pain in those brilliantly expressive optics reminded her strikingly of Breaksteel and how he had looked at her when he had stopped her from killing herself. She immediately looked away, shuttering her optics at the thought of the mech.

"I lost…too much, father. Killing Andante…my exile…the deaths of you and mother…losing my brothers for so long. Then I found them and lost my dark sister…and then Swiftpaw, poor Swiftpaw…and then that fool mech Breaksteel had to go and bond with me…I just can't take it anymore, father. I just can't." By the time she stopped speaking, Warrior Star was shaking with pain and rage and grief. She looked back at her mech creator, seeing not disappointment like she had expected, but a painful wisdom and no small amount of grief. He understood; Warrior Star knew this. But she couldn't help but flinch at his words when he spoke.

"I know what you have suffered, Warrior Star. I know the pain it has caused you, and the many days and nights of grief and self-loathing you have endured because of it. But your journey is not meant to end, not like this. The fates have much in store for you still, my beloved daughter. You have many things left to do, and whether you like it or not, your brothers and Breaksteel will be right there with you. Destiny placed that mech at your side for a reason. And I do believe that if you give him a chance, he will turn out to be everything you have ever wanted and ever dreamed of having. He is your sparkmatch and will be a great sparkmate to you. You just have to be willing to open up and let him in. Let him in, Warrior Star. Let him in." The bronze femme and the white mech stared at each other for the longest of moments, then darkness began to take Warrior Star's sight. She understood what that meant; the tranquilizer was wearing off and she was coming out of stasis. She looked deep into Saber's optics one last time before the darkness took her, and she saw him nod slightly. Then there was nothing.

The first thing Warrior Star was aware of was a dull pain throbbing through her entire frame. She knew it had to be left over from her injuries…however long ago they had occurred now. She couldn't be entirely sure how long she had been in stasis. The next thing that caught her attention was the fact that she was shackled to the berth. Instantly her cobalt blue optics snapped open, and she rolled as hard as she could with a roar of fury. The restraints were built to keep the strongest of 'Bots in place, but Warrior Star was no ordinary 'Bot. That and her entire weight hit the shackles as she rolled herself off the berth. All four of them snapped off, and she landed heavily on one side. The bronze femme was on her feet a second later, and she bared her massive dentals as Ratchet grabbed for a syringe.

"Take one more step, medic, and I swear, your assistants will spend the next week putting you back together. Keep that slagging syringe away from me." The chief medic froze in place, his optics comically wide as Shadowfang came around the berth and stopped just in front of the mech. Warrior Star's optics were instantly drawn to her brother's jaws, which still hadn't been repaired. She couldn't help but cringe at the damage she had done.

Calm, sister. He's not going to tranquilize you. His voice came to her through the bond but she was still suspicious as she backed away from them both. She saw Ratchet's optics go to someone behind her and then he nodded slightly, and instantly she whirled. Her left shoulder slammed into Jolt's hip, knocking the medic flying into First Aid, and Warrior Star paused for a moment to study both of them.

"What's this, then?" She snarled, her hackles raising angrily when she saw the syringes that both of the medic assistants held. They looked at her with terror in their optics, and she immediately leaped over a berth before heading for the Med Bay doors at a swift lope.

"Warrior Star! Get back here!" Deciding not to take the time to open the door, she lowered her head, knocking the door off its hinges as she raced away across the base. She could care less if her repairs were done; she wasn't staying there.

The fates have a lot left in store for me, eh father? I find that ironic. She thought bitterly as she bounded over the perimeter fence and kept running. She felt Keystone and Shadowfang both tugging at her spark but she ignored them. Breaksteel was there too, very dimly but she felt him. She blocked them all, refusing to listen to what any of them had to say.

Betrayers, all of you. I can't even trust my own pack. Warrior Star snarled at them all, then she stretched the bonds again before disabling her comm unit. And she ran on.

A/N: Man. Warrior Star just can't get a break, can she? Another random chapter. I hate random muse; it just never makes any sense. Oh well.

Thanks for the reads and the reviews! ^.^

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

Until we meet again...

Kani