To Dance Among The Skies

by Aerith The Evenstar

Valerie Smith is friends with Alexis and has always been fascinated by the sky, and is taking ballet lessons. But she finds a Mini-Con panel and everything to the point that it even changes her life in the process. Please Remember To Review.

13. Severed

ATE: Oh, Primus! This is what happens when I haven't updated this story in so long. I end up making what is officially the longest chapter in this story to date, and it's a total of 19,213 words that spanned over 44 pages in word processor. I feel like I owed everyone this much due to not updating in a month. I'd like to thank Crystalmaiden62, Diamond White, Bumblebeecamaro38, Sally, Kimi-chan is a cat witch, Manderss.x.x, the rather bashful kid, and the kid for their reviews. I'd also like to thank Diamond White and Mistress Megatron for the ideas they gave me to use in this chapter and I hope everyone likes this chapter. Also, for those who have read my other story Astera, you'll notice some references to that story in this chapter. Enjoy!

Declaimer: I don't own Transformers, Transformers Armada, Lion King 2, or Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I only own my OC Valerie.

WARNING: There is a use of colorful language and other things in this chapter. And some characters will be OOC at a few points in this chapter.

---

Chapter 13: Severed

I sat in class listening to the teacher's lecture. Actually I wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying at all since my thoughts were somewhere else. I couldn't help but think of what happened two days ago.

It was that same day when I was almost raped by Sideways inside my mind (along with that incident with Jetfire) that I had found myself waking up in Jetfire's arms again. He had smiled lovingly at me before giving me a chaste kiss, which I returned gratefully. It turned out that I hadn't been asleep for more than a few hours, but I felt better than I did when I fell asleep. I suddenly felt like doing something and I tried to think of what I could do, especially since my sparkmate (it felt weird to call Jetfire that) was with me. So far I couldn't come up with anything.

"Well, what is it that you like to do, Skydancer?" Jetfire suddenly asked.

I stared at him, wondering why he said that before realizing something.

"Oh, right. I forgot you could hear my thoughts." I told him sheepishly.

"With the way you were thinking, it was kinda hard not to." He chuckled. "But back to my question: what do you like doing?"

I thought of all the things I liked doing. There was reading, video games (I don't play them that much though), watching TV, listening to music, singing-

"I didn't know you liked singing."

"I do, but I get too nervous when it comes to singing in front of people." I blushed, averting my gaze away from his face.

Back to my thoughts. There was also dancing, but I wasn't sure if that would be easy for Jetfire.

"I know how much you like dancing, so why not?"

"Y-you'd actually do that?" I asked, looking up at his face in surprise.

"As long as it's something you like to do then it's fine by me. I'm guessing downstairs would be the best option?"

"Yeah."

Jetfire unwrapped his arms from around me and pulled away so he could sit up. He suddenly gathered me in his arms and before I knew it he was carrying me out of my room bridal style. I felt my face heat up with the position I was in and I couldn't help but wonder if he was always going to do this even after we're bonded.

"Depends on if you want me to or not, Skydancer." He said.

"Why are you always carrying me when you're using your holoform?" I asked.

"I guess it's because I've been so used to carrying you around in my true form, so it feels natural. Plus I like being able to hold you like this now that I have a way of doing so."

"In other words, old habits die hard."

"But it's an old habit I wouldn't mind keeping."

I sighed before snuggling closer to him and placing my head on his shoulder.

"You're warm. It feels nice." I suddenly found myself saying.

"That was a little random on your part, but a compliment is a compliment." He joked.

We soon arrived downstairs in the living room. Jetfire let me down so that I was standing before going over to the boom box in the room. I started looking through the CDs for something suitable for dancing.

"You're okay with some music, right?"

"It'd be hard to dance without any."

"Apparently that's a 'yes'." I glanced at him to see him nod. I froze as I suddenly realized something.

"What's wrong?" Jetfire asked.

"I don't know what kind of dancing you know. It doesn't help that I don't know anything else besides ballet."

"Out of all the things to worry about, you're worried about that? I could always lead if you want me to."

I was surprised. Jetfire knew how to dance? AND he was offering to lead?

"T-thanks…" I told him, turning back to face the boom box as my face heated up.

I felt nervous and excited at the same time. I managed to find a CD with some orchestral music before putting it in and pressing play. Soft music filtered through the air as I slowly turned around to face Jetfire and I watched as he held his hand out to me, a soft smile on his face as he gazed at me with those gold eyes of his. I placed my hand in his and was soon pulled close to him, both his hands guiding mine so that they were placed on his shoulders before he placed his on my waist. I felt my face heat up again. True to his word Jetfire took the lead as we slowly swayed to the music and it was only then that I realized we were slow dancing.

"See? It's not so hard, is it?" Jetfire asked.

"It isn't." I agreed. "Where did you learn to dance?"

"On Cybertron, but to be more specific it was during the first 20,000 years I spent training and fighting. Apparently it's required for recruits to know how to dance." Jetfire seemed to make a face as he seemed to recall something. "Not exactly a day I'll be able to forget even if I tried."

"What happened?" I was so curious to know why he said that.

"There weren't that many femme recruits so some of us ended up having mech partners to dance with. Unfortunately, I ended up being one of them. I was paired up with this blue mech named Side Burn, and worse thing of all is that he kept going on about how he absolutely loved the color of my helm. I think he liked the color red a little too much."

"I can see why it wasn't so eventful for you. Was it possible that he was…you know…gay?"

"How would I know? I couldn't tell from just that incident. Unless he's hiding something."

I never thought Jetfire would be good at dancing, but I couldn't complain.

"Is it weird that I had a dream of you singing Mustang Sally?" I asked nervously.

"What? Mustang Sally?" He asked, seeming confused.

"You can look it up." My face started getting warm.

Jetfire was quiet and his eyes seemed to have a far off look. After awhile he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and his eyes focused on me.

"I was singing that? What was going on in that dream in the first place?"

"Everyone was at the base and it looked like we were having a party or something. Then I saw that you had a giant microphone and singing Mustang Sally for karaoke. And this dream occurred on the day I was grounded and before you called me."

"It's not a bad song. It's catchy and all, but I don't really sing."

"You can sing?"

"W-well yeah, I can sing, but I just don't do it a lot." Jetfire stuttered slightly and I was surprised to see his face turn red.

I laughed.

"Looks like we have something in common." I teased. Wait, teased? Where did that come from?

It was quiet between us as the music continued playing. I kind of felt stupid for telling Jetfire about the dream I had and I started wishing that the subject could be changed.

"You know, I realized that I don't really know much about you." He suddenly said. " I've told you about myself before, but I want to learn more about the femme who's going to become my future sparkmate."

"Y-you want to know about me?" Now it was my turn to stutter as my face heated up.

"If you're willing to tell me, that is. I would rather have you tell me willingly than snooping around in your mind or forcing you."

I thought about what he said. I couldn't exactly recall the last time someone wanted to know about me, so of course this came as a surprise. But I knew he was right. I've been so curious about wanting to know more about Jetfire that I hardly thought to tell him about myself. I felt so horrible as I realized how selfish I'd been.

{You're not selfish, Skydancer.} He told me as I felt reassurance and understanding through our connection.

I breathed in deeply before releasing, trying to get my thoughts straight.

"What would you like to know?" I asked.

"You've already told me your habits, so what about what you do? You know, like routine-wise?" He asked.

"Well, before I knew you guys existed I usually went to school from Mondays through Fridays and then I just go home to do my homework. Although on Fridays I go to practice after school before going home. On Saturdays and Sundays I tend to sleep in, but otherwise I somehow come up with something to do. I make sure to hang out with Alexis and the others when I'm able to. But now that I know about you guys my routine is slightly different, but still the same."

"So that's why you said it was too early when I told you what time it was this morning. What about your creators…er, parents?"

"My dad's name is Thomas while my mom's name is Sarah. Both of them work at some business, hence why they weren't able to come see me dance last night. Despite being busy most of the time I still love them. In the past I've kind of wished they could be around more often, but now I don't want that to change."

"How come?"

"Because if they were around more often we wouldn't be here dancing like this or spending much time together." I felt my face heat up. "To be honest I haven't felt this happy for who know how many years."

"I guess you're right." He chuckled. "Is there anything you'd like to do when you're older besides dancing, or is ballet going to be your future job?"

"I thought of continuing to do ballet, actually. Why not choose something I enjoy doing? You understand, right?"

"Completely." He smiled before he got a thoughtful look on his face. "What do you think about sparklings?"

My eyes widened when he said that. He wanted to know what I thought about children? I suddenly felt awkward. This wasn't going where I thought it was, right?

"Sparklings?" I repeated and he nodded. "Well…you told me I was one, but that's not what you meant, was it?"

"Not even close." He told me.

"Um…I-I think they're okay. I-I meant I've babysat once for one of my neighbors, and their child was no older than a year old. I can't exactly give you a good answer since it's kind of hard for me to know what I think of them."

"Can you see us having sparklings?"

I stared at him. So the conversation did go in the direction I thought it was. I felt somewhat anxious and uncertain as my stomach seemed to do flips, and I suddenly had a mental image of me and Jetfire with miniature versions of him running around. Would they either be human or Cybertronian?"

"I-I guess. It's a little hard to, though. Why?"

Jetfire sighed and the look in his gold eyes showed me that he was actually serious about this.

"I was hoping that someday we could have a sparkling of our own. Even two or more. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself and thinking about this too early. I just wanted to know what you thought of having one is all."

"I know. Like you said, it's too early to be thinking about having a sparkling. We just got together last night after you told me I was your sparkmate." I didn't miss the slightly disappointed look on Jetfire's face as he averted his gaze. I placed my hand on the side of his face so that he would look at me. "Jetfire. Maybe someday when I'm older we can have a sparkling, just not yet. Okay?"

Jetfire seemed to cheer up and gave me a smile before leaning down to kiss me. He had to in order to reach me since he was taller than me (only because his holoform was an adult while I was still a kid that was shorter than him). I just hoped I would get taller when I'm older so he wouldn't have to constantly do so.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the bell ran to indicate class was over. I gathered my things together before leaving the room to head to my locker. As soon as I put the combination in I opened the locker, only to feel a bit of confusion when I found a folded piece of notebook paper sitting on top of the textbook I needed for my next period, which was before lunch. Maybe it was one of the papers I used as a bookmark that fell out of one of my books.

Not thinking much about it I merely picked it up and replaced my textbook with the one I needed for next period before heading to class. As I was walking down the hallway I heard a few murmurs from a group of girls and when the words "did you hear…" reached my ears I immediately tuned them out since I knew they were gossiping. To me I knew gossiping was bad and I wasn't going to get involved.

I made it to class and took a seat at one of the many desks in the room. There were already students in the room that were talking to each other. I kind of felt left out since I really didn't have anyone to talk to.

"So, Valerie. Did you hear what's going on?"

I turned to where the voice came from to find that it was one of the girls that I'd seen gossiping earlier.

"I don't gossip." I told her, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Aren't you at least curious about what people are saying about you?"

"What?" My eyes widened.

She seemed to think that I was asking her what happened since she continued.

"Apparently you have a secret admirer who left you a note in your locker."

I immediately thought back to the folded up paper I found not too long ago and suddenly felt anxious as I started unfolding it. My eyes widened as I reread the note multiple times and my face paled in dread. This wasn't good. If I really had a secret admirer then telling Jetfire about this was definitely out of the question. I wouldn't know how he'd react, but I don't want to find out. So this was what those girls were gossiping about. But if they were gossiping about this then that meant that almost everyone in the school was going to know by lunch time!

'This can't be happening…!' I thought, making sure I blocked my thoughts so Jetfire wouldn't hear.

Lunch time came sooner than I wanted it to and just as I thought, everyone knew about what happened. People were talking loudly in the lunch room and everyone would look at me as I walked by them with my lunch. I went to the table I always sat at since it was one of the few tables that were farther away from the crowded area. I couldn't stop thinking about the note I read and I had to constantly make sure my mental shields were up so Jetfire wouldn't know what was wrong. I was so stressed out.

"Valerie, is it true?" I heard Alexis' voice ask.

I looked up and sure enough I saw Alexis, along with Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred taking a seat at the table I was at.

"Yeah, we heard you had a secret admirer." Carlos added.

"I wish it weren't…" I told them, lowering my gaze to the untouched food on my lunch tray.

"Why's that?" Rad asked.

"It's…hard to explain." I felt uneasy and slightly uncomfortable about telling them that I was in a relationship with Jetfire. Many scenarios invaded my mind of how they would react if they knew.

"Aw, c'mon! You can tell us!" Fred said.

"Don't be stupid, Fred!" Billy scolded. "Valerie doesn't' have to tell us anything if she doesn't want to!"

"For once you're actually right, Billy." Alexis said. I lifted my head when she said this and I turned to her. "Besides, you look like you've had enough stress for today."

I felt somewhat relieved when school ended. I took Alexis' offer to ride with her on Sureshock, in order to get to the base. I just hope Jetfire wouldn't find out about today.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire was watching some recent footage from their last few battles with the Decepticons, all the while coming up with strategies the Autobots could use for future encounters. But eventually he got bored and turned off the monitor before leaning against a wall. He thought of Valerie and what happened two days ago, especially when they had been dancing. He remembered how she reacted when he brought up sparkling and how he told her he would want one someday. He remembered how his spark flared hotly at the thought of having a sparkling with her-a tiny spark created purely out of their love. He cycled his vents quietly, which brought him to another thought. Would Valerie's creators (parents, he reminded himself) accept him if he were to introduce himself to them? Probably not at this point in time. They would probably think he was what humans referred to as a pedophile. He frowned behind his face mask. It was incredible (and somewhat frustrating) how vastly different human customs were compared to Cybertronian customs. And they had more than a 1,000 different customs, too! His best bet was to wait until she was older before introducing himself to her parents.

Out of the corner of his optic Jetfire noticed something moving slowly, as if sneaking around. He turned quickly just in time to catch Hoist trying to sneak past the doorway.

"A-HA! I knew I'd catch you one of these days, Smokey!" Jetfire exclaimed.

"Oh, well, whaddya know? I've finally been caught! Whatever should I do?" Hoist said jokingly. Same ol' mech, despite having a different frame. "But you need to remember that I'm 'Hoist' now, not 'Smokescreen.'"

"Oh, sorry 'bout that. I've been so used to calling you that, that's all. And it doesn't help that I can't come up with a new nickname for ya!"

Hoist laughed.

"Knowing you, I wouldn't put it passed ya." Hoist grinned. "Oh, and by the way, the kids are here." He then ran off.

"What?! Slaggit! How in Primus' name do you find these things out before me?" Jetfire asked, running after the white Autobot.

"Why, I just so happen to have my optics everywhere. Haven't you heard the human saying 'the walls have audio receptors?'"

"Yeah, but-" Jetfire suddenly realized something and smirked behind his face mask. "Oh, so the secret's finally out! You were spying on everyone through the security monitors!"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I was with everyone as we waited in the command center with the other Autobots for the ones that weren't in the room. I knew some of the others were busy so they probably wouldn't be here. I could feel Jetfire's excitement through our connection and I knew that he was on his way. Before I knew it the huge door slid open and I saw my sparkmate and Hoist walk in.

"Hey, did we miss anything?" Jetfire asked.

"Nothing much." Hot Shot told him. "The kids were about to tell us about their day."

Oh no…! I suddenly felt anxious as I dreaded what was going to be said. I could feel Jetfire's confusion as he wondered why I was feeling the way I did.

"Nothing much happened. Same old, same old." Carlos told them.

"Except that there's going to be a quiz in math tomorrow." Alexis stated.

"Aw! Why'd you have to go and remind me!"

"And it turns out Valerie has a secret admirer!" Fred said excitedly.

My eyes widened in horror as Fred just blurted out the one thing I didn't want anyone here to know. I turned to Jetfire and could feel the shock he felt from his end.

"A secret admirer, huh?" Jetfire asked bitterly, his gold optics narrowing at me as I felt his anger and jealousy.

"Yeah, why-"

Before Fred could finish Jetfire suddenly headed for the door in order to leave. I could feel the strong sense of betrayal mixing together with the anger and jealousy he had and I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Jetfire, wait!" I yelled, quickly running down the steps as I tried to go after him. I wasn't even at the bottom of the steps when he went through the door. I urged myself to run faster and I eventually made it through the door. I could see Jetfire was a good distance away as he merely walked down the hallway, his loud footsteps echoing through the air. "Jetfire!"

Jetfire didn't turn around to acknowledge me, but I knew he heard me since his hands balled up into tight fists, causing the metal to groan slightly. Not once did he stop walking, not even turning to look at me, and eventually I realized he was heading outside when I saw the entrance. I suddenly felt desperate and my legs were sore from running, but I couldn't stop! He went through the doorway.

"Transform!" I suddenly heard Jetfire's voice yell.

As soon as I made it outside the only thing I saw was the familiar form of a space shuttle flying away from the base. I suddenly felt sad as I watched it fly farther and farther away.

'Jetfire!' I thought.

I tried to reach out to him through the connection, but I suddenly felt a burning and shocking pain stab at my heart. My sore legs gave out from underneath me and I collapsed to my knees and my hand shot to my chest as I clutched it. Then out of nowhere I threw up on the ground, emptying my stomach of what was left of my lunch. I tried taking deep breaths, but I ended up dry heaving. The burning and shocking pain in my chest disappeared, but I could still feel the after effects from it. It hurt so much, yet I knew it was nothing compared to the pain I felt when I saw Jetfire's spark disappear in that one vision I had. What was happening to me?

"Valerie!"

I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and slowly turned my head to see that it was Alexis.

"Eww… that's so gross…" I heard Billy say, and I knew he was referring to the bile that was on the ground.

"Billy." Rad warned quietly.

"Are you okay?" Alexis asked me softly.

Was I okay? I wasn't sure anymore. I didn't know what to think anymore. I felt like I lost something important to me, yet I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I don't know…" I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. I felt tears form in my eyes and a few of them rolled down my cheeks. "I don't know…"

Alexis wrapped her arms around me in a comforting way. I couldn't stop myself from crying and I didn't care if anyone saw. I didn't know how long I cried, but I eventually stopped.

"I think I should go home…" I said when I finally calmed down a bit.

"Okay. Let me get one of the Autobots." She told me.

Alexis left me as she went to get someone to take me home. I found my gaze wandering up to the blue sky, hoping to see Jetfire flying back to the base. I didn't see him at all. Instead I could see a few gray clouds forming in the sky and I knew it was going to rain. Would he still be outside when it was raining?

"Hey." Alexis' soft voice caught my attention. "Hot Shot agreed to take you home. I'll come along for the ride."

"Okay." My voice was quiet.

Alexis led me over to Hot Shot, who was already in his car form, and I climbed into the back seat while my friend sat in the front passenger seat. Even as he drove I tuned out what they were saying. I felt…numb and was unsure how I should feel. Was it normal to be like this? By the time Hot Shot pulled into the driveway of my house I undid the seatbelt and was about to get out, but Alexis stopped me.

"Will you be okay by yourself?" She asked.

"I think so." I replied before looking out the window. "Maybe what I need right now is some time alone."

I got out of Hot Shot and quickly closed the door so he wouldn't get any water in his interior before making my way to the front door. I didn't care that I was getting soaked as I walked through the rain. When I got inside I knew I was the only one home. I glanced at the living room and I couldn't help but feel sad as I was reminded of when Jetfire and I were dancing. I quickly headed up to my room to try to get away from the memory, but it didn't help that my eyes landed on my bed and made the sadness return from another memory. I wanted to get my mind off of the memories and of what happened today and I decided to do my homework. I finished it an hour later, but even then I couldn't forget him. I couldn't forget the way Jetfire looked at me, the way his gold optics had been narrow in his anger as he glared at me. I knew he was jealous when Fred told everyone I had a secret admirer, but even when I tried to chase after him he never gave me a chance to even explain myself.

I suddenly thought of an idea and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I lifted the lid on the toilet up just in case before getting on my knees. I closed my eyes and tried to carefully reach out to Jetfire through our connection. At first I felt a bit of confusion, but then it quickly changed to realization before being followed by raw anger and hate. I was surprised at how strong his emotions were. I never thought anyone could be so angry.

{Get out of my processor!} Jetfire's voice growled loudly in my mind. He didn't hide how angry he was at me and it scared me.

I suddenly felt the burning and shocking pain in my heart that I experienced earlier, but I tried to ignore it as I attempted to push through it.

'A-at least…let me…explain, Jetfire!' I begged, my eyes squeezed tightly as I tried to endure the pain.

{GET OUT!}

The burning and shocking pain intensified to the point that it became unbearable for me and I suddenly lost my hold on the connection as I was forcible pushed out. My eyes shot open and I managed to lean my head over the toilet before dry heaving bile into it. I don't know how long I kept doing this, but I knew I didn't feel well. My throat felt like it was burning and I still had the aftertaste of the bile in my mouth. Like before I could feel the after effect of the pain in my chest, almost like a stronger version of phantom pain. I burst into tears as I realized that the burning and shocking pain I felt when I tried to contact Jetfire were caused by him! He hurt me even though he once told me that he'd never to anything to harm me. He didn't want anything to do with me. He didn't want to be around me or talk to me. He was rejecting me. He even went as far as to hurt me just to keep me out of his mind.

'It hurts so much…' I thought, my heart feeling like it was breaking to pieces in the metaphorical sense. 'I'm so sorry. I never meant to betray you.'

It didn't matter if he heard me or not. I didn't care anymore. I didn't feel like I was myself anymore; I felt like a complete stranger. Alone. I was alone. And I was so painfully aware of the huge emptiness I felt where I knew he should've been. What did I do wrong? I didn't cheat on him, yet he made it seem like I did just that. I loved him…but now he was gone.

After awhile I forced myself to get up and flushed the toilet before going over to the sink. I turned the faucet on and leaned my mouth close to the running water, taking in a mouthful before spitting it out and repeating the process to get rid of the horrible taste. As soon as I was finished I turned the water off and left the bathroom. I glanced over at my bed. It looked so comfortable, almost inviting… I went over to lay down on the bed, instantly noticing it felt different. It wasn't the same without him being here, to lay beside me, to hold me while telling me everything was going to alright. I couldn't feel his presence through the connection anymore. My eyes starting tearing up as I gazed at the white ceiling above me. I could hear the buzzing sound in my ears as my mind seemed to draw a blank.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed in that same position before I heard the sound of a garage door opening and I didn't have to guess that Mom was home. I knew Dad wouldn't be far behind. I slowly got out of bed before heading downstairs, only to see a woman with light brown hair that came down to her chin and brown eyes. She smiled at me when I came into the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetie." She greeted. "How was school today?"

"It was fine." I told her.

Mom seemed to notice that there was more than what I was telling her.

"What's wrong?"

I wasn't sure if I should tell her or not. Could I get away with telling half truths?

"There was a rumor going around school saying I had a secret admirer. But then someone told one of my friends about it and he got mad at me."

"He? Who's this friend you're talking about?"

"Jason. Jason Flynn." I found myself saying. I was surprised at how quickly I thought up the name.

"Jason Flynn." She said thoughtfully. "What's he like?"

"He's…the nicest guy I've ever met and he has a good sense of humor." I suddenly thought of all the times I spent with him and I felt my heart clench slightly. "He practically made it his mission to help me when he learned how low my self-esteem was, and he always tried to cheer me up whenever I was sad. But no he won't talk to me. He started ignoring me and every time I try to explain that I don't like whoever's my secret admirer he just walks away."

"It seems like he's jealous."

"I'm aware that he's jealous, he just won't give me a chance to tell him that he doesn't need to be."

"Well, in cases like these you have to be persistent. Keep trying until you've cornered him. Then he'll listen. He can't read minds, you know?"

'If only you knew.' I thought.

After that discussion I ended up helping Mom make dinner. Tonight we were having Thai curry and at the moment I was cutting up some onions and red peppers. I sniffled slightly. Stupid onions! Making me cry. I was almost done, too.

"Valerie! What happened?!"

Mom's panicked voice caught my attention and I turned to see that she had a horrified expression on her face while her gaze seemed to be set on my hands. I looked down at them and realized that my left hand was bleeding, yet I didn't feel surprised when I know I should've. I hadn't noticed that the knife I was using even cut my skin. And strangely enough I didn't notice any pain, yet I should be feeling it right now. Was my mind unable to register what happened?

Mom came over and gently took the knife away from me before helping me wash my hand. She went over to a cabinet before coming back with a bottle of peroxide, a roll of gauze, and a tube of triple antiseptic ointment before taking care of my hand. I didn't pay attention to what was going on as my mind thought of Jetfire. Was he even aware of what happened?

"I'll take care of finishing dinner." Mom told me, and I realized she was leading me to the couch in the living room and had me sit down. "It's almost done, anyways."

She left me there to sit on the couch, yet all I did was stare straight ahead. All I could think about was Jetfire as his face appeared in my mind, both robotic and human faces haunting me with golden gazes. His face…it wouldn't go away! It wouldn't leave me alone! It was almost like it was taunting me! I grabbed my head with my good hand, weaving my fingers through my hair as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. I couldn't stand it! Why was my mind torturing me with images and memories of the one person I deeply cared about, that I loved, but couldn't have any longer?! Why couldn't I just forget about him?! I never should have found that Mini-Con panel that day I was heading to practice. If I hadn't found it I wouldn't have to feel this way, so miserable, so heartbroken, so empty.

Couldn't I just end it all? No one would have to worry about me. No one would have to hate me. No one would miss me. Everyone could just go on with their lives and forget I even existed. No one would have to blame me for my mistakes. I wouldn't have to feel this way anymore. I wouldn't have to worry about the deal I made with Sideways. Everything Jetfire told me was a lie. He lied to me. He never really cared about me in the first place. He just led me to believe that he did, only to abandon me like this. I couldn't continue going on like this. I couldn't continue going around hiding how I truly felt. Tonight. I'll end it all tonight. Sure a few people would be sad to learn that I killed myself, but they would eventually forget about me.

"Why the long face?"

I turned to where the voice came from and found Dad gazing at me with his blue eyes, his blonde hair slicked back.

"I guess because of what happened today." I told him. "It…really got to me."

"Your mother told me about it. How's your hand?"

I glanced down at my left hand for the first time since it had been taken care of. It was wrapped up in gauze so that it could heal. I frowned, unable to feel the stinging from when it had pierced my skin.

"I don't know. I don't feel any pain. I know that the cut is there, but I don't feel it." I looked at Dad. "Is that normal?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's a good thing that you can't feel it for now." He told me. "We're ready to eat dinner so come join us."

I followed Dad into the kitchen and I saw that the table was already set with plates filled with Thai curry and rice and silverware to use. I watched Mom and Dad eat and talk to each other as I merely picked at the food on my plate since I wasn't hungry. I felt…somewhat envious of them both, knowing that neither of them had to worry about secret admirers or angry spouses. They had each other. They wouldn't have to worry when I was gone. They could easily continue on with their lives without me.

"Valerie?" I glanced at Mom and Dad, seeing their worried looks. "Aren't you going to eat your food?"

I lowered my gaze so that it was set on my uneaten food.

"…I'm not hungry." I said.

"But it's your favorite." Dad stated.

"I know. I'm just not hungry." I lifted my gaze to look at them. "May I be excused?"

They looked at each other.

"You may."

I got up from my seat and started to leave, but I stopped in front of the doorway and looked back at them. This would probably be the last time I saw them both.

"I love you, Mom, Dad." I told them.

"We love you, too, Valerie." They said.

I left the kitchen and went up to my room, shutting the door behind me. I picked up a pair of scissors that were on my desk and opened them before setting the blade close to my wrist. This was it. I was about to end everything with just the cut of a vein. Jetfire wouldn't be here to stop me this time.

{Don't even think about trying to kill yourself.}

My eyes widened when I heard the familiar deep voice in my head, but then I frowned, my eyebrows furrowed.

'Leave me alone, Sideways.'

{Remember our deal, Sweet Valerie.}He told me. {If you kill yourself, then everyone you care about will suffer the consequences of your actions. You wouldn't want your sparkmate to die, do you?}

'I don't care! Nothing matters anymore!'

I attempted to slide the blade across my wrist, but suddenly I found that my throat was being constricted by some invisible force, causing me to drop the scissors as I tried to claw at the hold on my throat.

{You're not very good at following orders. You don't have a choice but to follow my orders.} His tone was dark and intimidating as more pressure was applied to my throat, causing me to gag.

'Just do it. Go ahead and kill me. I told you I didn't care about anything.' I told him.

{I shouldn't have to constantly remind you that everyone will suffer if you decide to leave your end of the deal incomplete. Know your place, femme.}

Suddenly the pressure on my throat disappeared and I found myself gasping as I took in mouthfuls of air. I suddenly felt frustrated! Why didn't he just kill me?! If Sideways was really a Decepticon he wouldn't have allowed me to live if I told him I wanted to die. He would have gladly did it. So what was stopping him from doing that?! Why couldn't he just allow me to kill myself?!

I'll have to try again another time. Just not tomorrow since he'll probably suspect that. Tomorrow I'd just have to go around hiding my true feelings from everyone. Maybe I'll take this as my chance to spend what time I had left with them until I decided to try again.

I got ready for bed before decided to go to sleep.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I found myself in that dark void of a place I've been to countless times already. Over the past two days Jetfire had always met me here whenever we were both asleep at night and we always kept each other company until we woke up the next morning. This time, though, he wasn't here at all. He wasn't here to hold me close, to cover my eyes with a blindfold so that he could kiss me. I was alone. I couldn't help but think this place reflected the emptiness inside my heart, showing how truly alone I was. Even if I had been dreaming instead of being here I knew they would've been unpleasant dreams.

Suddenly I saw a floating orb of light blue light that I've come to know as a spark appear in front of me and slowly came closer to me as if to inspect me. I felt slightly confused as I stared at it, wondering what a Cybertronian spark was doing here, who this spark once was, but I dismissed those thoughts and ignored it as I looked away. At least I wasn't alone now…

{Are you…Valerie?} A masculine voice asked.

I looked at the spark in front of me, a little surprised that he knew my name.

"Yes." I replied.

The spark floated away from me and seemed to bounce excitedly, which reminded me of the fairy Navi from the Zelda game Ocarina of Time.

{Aha! I knew it!} He said, sounding like he accomplished something. {I knew you were the one Astera told me about! Her description of you was spot on!}

The spark got brighter and I had to cover my eyes and wait before it dimmed down. I looked back to where the spark had been, only to have my eyes widen at who I saw!

"J-Jetfire?!" I exclaimed, completely shocked. I suddenly thought of what happened when I had tried to contact him and the pain I had felt before starting to back away from the mech in front of me in fear. "No! Stay away from me! Don't come any closer!"

{Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down for a bit, would ya?} He held his hands up in front of him. {I knew my son looked a lot like me, but I didn't think his own sparkmate would confuse me for him!}

I hesitated as I forced myself to get a good look at him. He looked exactly like Jetfire, even having the same gold optics, red helm, and gold face mask, but he was less bulky with a deep blue lines outlining his armor and wings. Unlike Jetfire's wings, this mech's wings spanned out in a fashion similar to Starscream's. I realized that this wasn't Jetfire! Then that meant…!

"Are you Jetfire's father?" I asked.

{Yep!} The mech in front of me did a mock bow. {Silverbolt at your service!}

So Silverbolt was the name of Jetfire's father, the same one that died when he was still a sparkling. And this was also Astera's sparkmate.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

{What? I can't come to see my future 'daughter-in-law' for the first time? I'm hurt!}

I looked away from Silverbolt as I frowned, already feeling indifferent about the conversation.

"You're wasting your time, Silverbolt. It's never going to work out between us."

{What?!} Silverbolt sighed. {That sparkling of mine! Seems like he inherited more than just my looks.} I lifted my gaze to look back at him. {He ended up having my stubbornness and talent for holding grudges. I know for a fact that Astera didn't raise him to behave like that.}

"You can justify him all you like. I don't care anymore."

I saw the sympathetic look in his optics as he shook his head.

{All this because of jealousy?} It was more of a statement than a question. {He doesn't realize how much this rejection is hurting you or what it's doing to you, but in the end it's going to hurt both of you.}

"Well, it certainly doesn't seem like it. Plus, I think he'd be better off without me in his life. One thing less for him to worry about." I said bitterly.

{Don't you get it?! No, I think you don't, so let me put it this way for you to understand. I was offlined, killed, when my son was no older that 5 years old in human standards. Then my sparkmate was killed in front of him when he was 20. She literally died in his arms and for what we consider to be 7 years to us was how long he's been alone since then!}

I scoffed.

"I'm not stupid! I know what happened. Jetfire already told me this story. As I said before, he'd probably be better off without me."

Silverbolt gave out an exasperated sigh, his gold optics dimming as he shook his head.

{Great. Not only is he stubborn, but his sparkmate is as well.} He seemed to be talking to himself before his optics lit up again. {Are you always this stubborn?}

"To be honest I've never really paid attention to if I was stubborn or not."

{How about this, Valerie? How about you wait and tell Jetfire how much you hate him and explain that this is all a misunderstanding before you decide to offline yourself? At least give him that much!}

"Fine." I told him. "I will. But that's all I'm going to do. Nothing extra."

Again, he gave me that sympathetic look that I was slowly starting to despise.

{I can't believe how much this has affected you. Astera told me you were such a sweet femme. In fact you were much like her, too. But now you've become so bitter and indifferent.} He hung his head. {This situation isn't any different for Cybertronians, either. I've seen it happen before to a few of my friends. It's something I'd never wish on my worst enemy. It can change a person drastically and most of the time it can cause one to take their own life.}

"I'll admit that was deep, but it's not going to change my mind." My voice was calm as I turned so my back was facing him. My voice suddenly had a small hint of sadness and regret. "It's too late for me, Silverbolt. I can't go back after something like this. Give my regards to Astera."

{…It's never too late to go back…} I barely heard his voice since it was so quiet.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next day was like any other day for me, with the exception that I didn't feel any different than how I was when I spoke to Silverbolt. I knew I wasn't the same Valerie I used to be; I was a bit surprised that everyone still referred to me by that name. My parents had been concerned when I hadn't eaten breakfast this morning. Even Alexis, Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred were worried as well, especially when they saw that my left hand was wrapped in gauze. I didn't care. They wouldn't understand what I was going through. But they didn't have to since they wouldn't have to worry for long anyways. I went to my locker, but I didn't feel surprised when I saw another folded piece of paper inside. I unfolded it slowly and read the words before crumbling the paper in my right hand. So my secret admirer wanted to meet me in the courtyard at lunch? I finally get the chance to see the one who started this whole mess in the first place.

Lunch time came before I knew it (much to my relief), but I wasn't hungry. I went to the courtyard, but I didn't feel surprise (even though I should've) when I found Drake Ellison waiting for me. So it was him, one of the popular kids in school, that was my secret admirer! His green eyes lit up when he saw me and he ran a hand through his black hair.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." He said, flashing me a smile.

I felt my anger boil up inside me and my right hand tightened into a fist. It was his fault! He's the reason why this whole mess started in the first place! Before I knew it Drake was on the ground holding a hand to his nose (which was bleeding) as he stared at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" He yelled.

"You idiot!" I said, not bothering to hide my anger as I glared down at him. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me? One of my friends doesn't want anything to do with me and won't even talk to me because you had to go and put that note in my locker yesterday! You caused me to lose them, you self-centered moron! I don't even like you!"

With that I left Drake there. I felt somewhat satisfied with what I did, but it was short-lived since I had another loose end to take care of. I was going to wait for the right time before I took action.

I was glad when school was over and I went to meet my friends in front of the building. As soon as they saw me they gave me wary looks.

"What were you thinking, Valerie?" Alexis asked.

"Y-yeah! W-why'd you hit Drake Ellison?" Billy asked.

"I was merely…knocking some sense into him." I told them casually.

"Y-you're not going to go psycho on use, are ya?" Carlos asked, seeming uneasy. "I heard that the quiet ones are usually the type that go crazy."

"No. I'm sure he got the message that I wasn't interested."

"Are you feeling okay, Valerie?" Rad asked.

"I've never felt better."

We headed to the base, where we were greeted by Optimus, Hot Shot, and Hoist. I didn't say anything and just walked down the hallway as I made my way to the rec room to do my homework. I stepped inside to find Jetfire leaning against a wall. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, his head turned to me as he glared at me. I just stared at him, not feeling anything. I noticed that his optics fell on my left hand that had the gauze wrapped around it and for a second I thought I saw something flash in his optics, but it was gone just as quickly as it came. After awhile he took his gold gaze off of me as he pushed against the wall and stood up straight before making his way to the door to leave.

"I hope you're happy." I told him as he walked by me, my voice void of all emotion.

Jetfire stopped for a moment, seeming to hesitate, before continuing on his way down the hallway. I headed over to one of the human size couches and got started on my homework. It was when I only had one question left when Alexis came up to me.

"Hey, Valerie." She greeted. "Would you want to watch a movie with me and Starscream?"

"You managed to get Starscream to agree?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Uh-huh! Although it took a bit of convincing on my part."

"Okay. Let me finish this last problem first and then I'll watch. What movie is it?"

"Lion King 2: Simba's Pride." She told me.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Starscream wasn't sure what to make of this 'movie' he was watching with the two human femmes. What were their names again. Oh, yes, Alexis and Valerie (as the former had referred to the latter). They both sat on the human size couch as he sat on a Transformer size chair he had brought over to sit in front of the moderately sized TV. To humans the TV would've been considered big, but it was just the right size for him since he didn't have to zoom his optics in to see the footage. His impression of the movie? It took the meaning of animal kingdom to a whole new level. No, seriously! It did!

This one lion, Simba, was a king! There was his daughter, Kiara, who had feelings for another lion named Kovu, who was part of another pride that had been exiled by Simba when he took over the Pride Lands. Kovu's mother, Zira… She almost reminded him of Megatron. Almost. It seemed like everyone at Pride Rock didn't trust Kovu (although that was because his mission was to gain their trust, only to betray Simba), except for Kiara. Something about Kovu's story seemed familiar. He realized it was his own situation that was the same as Kovu, and the Autobots' were the same as the other animals at Pride Rock. Surprisingly, he found himself interested in this movie. Human's had an interesting way of telling stories. But then there were the songs. No one just broke out into song. It'd be like the Decepticons suddenly started to sing while working.

Whoa! Didn't that put a weird mental image in his processor?

Then there was the part when Kovu went back to Pride Rock to ask for Simba's forgiveness, but then he was exiled. The animals started singing, and he suddenly found himself paying attention to the words.

Deception
Disgrace
Evil as plain as the scar on his face

Deception (An outrage!)
(He can't change his stripes!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(You know these Outsider types!)

He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)

Deception (An outrage!)
(Just leave us alone!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(Traitor, go back with your own!)

He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)

Born in grief
Raised in hate
Helpless to defy his fate
Let him run
Let him live
But do not forget
What we cannot forgive

And he is not one of us
He has never been one of us
He is not part of us
Not our kind

Someone once lied to us
Now we're not so blind
For we knew he would do what he's done
And we know that he'll never be one of us

He is not one of us

Deception
Disgrace
Deception
Disgrace
Deception

He suddenly felt angry. If Kovu's story was the same as his, did that mean that his own situation would end the same?! He got up and went to leave the room. The sounds from the movie were silence as he heard Alexis call his name. He saw how his story was going to end. He was going to be labeled as a traitor! He had only taken a few steps down the hallway when he heard Alexis' voice.

"Starscream, wait!" She said. He stopped walking and stood as her small footsteps got louder as she got closer to him. "Starscream, what's wrong?"

"Why would you want to know?" He asked, giving her a sideways glance.

Alexis hesitated, seeming to be taken off guard by this question, but then she seemed to recover.

"Because you're my friend."

He was shocked when he heard this. Friend. She had called him her friend. But why? He hadn't done anything to deserve such a title. Or was it that humans were so naïve? Starscream turned around to face her, gazing down at her small form with his orange red optics.

"You really want to know, do you?" He questioned. Alexis nodded, and he knew that she wanted to hear. "It was that movie we were watching. Kovu reminds me too much of myself. And it doesn't help that that one part we just saw got to me. It's like that movie knows something about my situation."

Starscream didn't miss the sympathetic look in Alexis' eyes and he suddenly felt something in his spark. Something about being around her felt right. It had been like this when he first saw her. He found that he liked her for some reason, but he didn't know why. He liked what he felt, yet at the same time he hated feeling the way he did. It completely frustrated him! That was why whenever she tried to talked to him in the past he didn't stay around her for long and walked away. Was it possible that she was his…?

'Don't be stupid!' He yelled at himself mentally. 'I don't have time for that! All that matters is taking down Megatron!'

"But the movie has a good ending, though. This may seem like a depressing time in the movie, but it eventually gets better."

"Really?" He found himself suddenly interested. "Then what happens?"

Alexis giggled.

"I can't tell you. You're gonna have to watch and find out for yourself."

Starscream grumbled slightly as he followed Alexis back to the rec room. He noticed how the other femme, Valerie, was just staring at the screen, but it didn't seem like she was looking at it. Instead she seemed to look right through it, if the look in her blue optics (eyes, as humans called them) wasn't much of a giveaway. He found her behavior strange today; he knew for a fact that she was usually more…cheerful, but now she didn't seem to express any emotion anymore. Was this really the same human femme he watched dancing at that performance two days ago?

Something had happened yesterday, he assumed. Starscream had noticed how close she and Jetfire were, almost as if the two were sparkmates. Was it possible that they were? If that was the case, then what was it that happened yesterday that left the femme in the state she was in? He remembered hearing about her having a 'secret admirer." Was it that the Autobot was jealous of them and this was the end result? He wasn't sure, but that seemed to be the most likely cause.

Starscream turned back to the TV screen just in time for the movie to resume. He would watch it to the end and see if this 'happy ending' was really there.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Optimus sat in his office reading over a data pad that contained the strategies Jetfire had come up with yesterday. He had to admit they were interesting and there seemed to be a lot of thought put into them. He decided to take a break from reading and placed the data pad on his desk as thoughts entered his processor. He was aware of what everyone thought of Starscream being around. He knew his men didn't trust him, but the kids believed he could be trusted. Jetfire seemed to get along with the ex-Decepticon to some extent since their mission on Mars, but that was about it. Optimus believed that Starscream deserved a chance to fight against the Decepticons despite what his soldiers thought.

Then his thoughts drifted to his Vice Commander and Valerie. Jetfire had told him that he confessed his feelings to the human femme, and he noticed how happy he seemed to be. He hadn't been that happy since he discovered he would be going on leave to visit Astera 70,000 years ago. But after what happened yesterday everything seemed to go wrong. He didn't have to guess that Jetfire was jealous of this 'secret admirer' Fred told them Valerie had. It was somewhat amusing at first that his Vice Commander was jealous, but now Jetfire was doing everything he could to avoid Valerie. Optimus frowned behind his face mask. The shuttle mech really believed that his sparkmate had feelings for this 'secret admirer', but the Autobot leader knew better. He knew Valerie wouldn't betray Jetfire. It didn't help that the latter had been alone for so long since Astera's death, and he could still remember how hard it was for him to cope with it. He knew Jetfire was making a mistake by pushing Valerie away. He had seen how Valerie had been when she arrived with the other kids, how different and emotionless she was. She had changed drastically and he knew it was because of the engagement connection between them slowly being severed. If anything, she was the one suffering the most from it. He had seen something like this happened to a few of his soldiers back on Cybertron. It was a worst fate than just losing one's sparkmate.

Optimus would have to talk with Jetfire about this. He knew this couldn't go on any longer, and he swore to Primus that one way or another this mess was going to be settled.

And what better way to have a talk with Jetfire than to call him in?

"Jetfire, do you read me?" Optimus asked as he contacted his Vice Commander.

"Loud and clear, Optimus." Jetfire replied. "Is there anything you need?"

"I'd like to have a word with you in my office. Come as soon as you can."

"Roger! I'm on my way now."

With that Optimus ended their conversation on the comm link.

'Sink, lure, and hook.' He thought.

He waited patiently for Jetfire to arrive, all the while thinking of what to say to him. Only a few minutes later did the shuttle mech walk through his office door, which closed behind him as he approached his leader's desk.

"You wanted to talk to me, sir?" Jetfire asked.

"Yes, I did." Optimus replied, getting up from his desk and picking up the data pad before coming to stand in front of Jetfire.

"Is it about the strategies I gave you?"

"No, but they do relate to what I want to discuss. I wanted to talk to you about Valerie."

At this Optimus watched as Jetfire's gold optics narrowed at the mention of Valerie and his servos clenched into tight fists. There was no doubt that he was angry and didn't want to have this conversation, but the Autobot leader knew that this had to be addressed.

"Oh, I see where this conversation is going. And I don't want any part of it." Jetfire said, and he could imagine the shuttle mech sneering behind his face mask.

"You may not want to talk about her, but this needs to be addressed!" Optimus countered.

"Piss off, Optimus!"

That was it! Optimus grabbed Jetfire and forcefully slammed him into a nearby wall and kept him pinned there. Jetfire tried to struggle, but Optimus wasn't going to have that.

"What the frag?!" Jetfire exclaimed.

"Have you seen the way she's been recently?!" Optimus growled.

"Pft! Of course I have, and I could care less!"

"Don't you get it, Jetfire?! You're the reason why she's like that! It's your fault!"

"My fault?! How is this suddenly my fault?!"

"You got jealous over the fact that she happened to have a secret admirer!"

"So? It seems I'm not good enough for her, her own sparkmate!" Jetfire's voice was bitter as he spoke. "That whore can be happy with that human boy for all I care!"

"Don't you DARE call her that!" Optimus yelled, slamming Jetfire back into the wall. "She's your sparkmate, for Primus' sake! You never even gave her a chance to explain and just walked away from her! You were too stubborn to listen to what she had to say!"

"She didn't have to explain! There was nothing to explain! She betrayed me and that's that!"

"Are you even listening to yourself?! You need to realize that everyone's chosen sparkmate can't be taken by another! Even if Valerie is a human and a human male has his eyes one her, she would never be able to be with him! You once told me that if you ever found your sparkmate you'd do anything to keep her smiling! Whatever happened to that promise?!"

"Simple! It died as soon as I heard the words 'secret admirer' reach my audio receptors!"

Optimus was getting frustrated with how stubborn Jetfire was being and pulled out the data pad, holding it in front of the shuttle mech's face so that he was forced to look at it.

"See this data pad? This was the one you gave me that contains all the strategies you came up with yesterday. I can tell you put a lot of thought into them, and I know for a fact that you kept Valerie in your processor when you came up with these! You wanted to keep her safe from harm, but now you're the one that's ended up harming her!"

"What are you getting at, Prime!" Jetfire growled.

"As I said before: it's your fault that she's in the state she's in. Because you've been rejecting her the engagement connection between the two of you is slowly being severed. She's already lost her emotions. Her personality and everything that's made her the person she was is gone! All that's left of her is nothing more than a shell of her former self! You may not have known this, but I've seen this happen to many good soldiers that have served under my command, especially when it came to their sparkmates! If you don't do anything to stop this, you're going to lose more than just her being your sparkmate!"

"Wow! Great lecture!" Jetfire said mockingly. "I don't need you telling me this! I'm better off without her anyways!"

This left Optimus stunned and Jetfire took that opportunity to managed to shove him away before leaving his office. Optimus' gold optics took on a sympathetic look, knowing what would come of this if Jetfire continued to reject Valerie.

"If you continue going down this path, it'll be too late to stop what will happen next." Optimus said quietly. "She will end up taking her life and you'll end up losing your sparkmate forever, Jetfire. And all because of your jealousy and stubbornness."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire was fuming with anger after he left Optimus' office. How dare he say it was his fault that Valerie was in the state she was in! It couldn't have been his fault that her blue eyes had been so cold and emotionless, how her voice had sounded so empty and monotone. He shuddered as a shiver went down his frame's back as he remembered the way she had looked at him. Was it really his fault that she was like that?

'It's not my fault!' He told himself. 'If it's anyone's fault, it's hers!'

He needed to blow off some steam. Maybe blasting a few targets would do the trick. With that in mind Jetfire started heading to the training room. He suddenly remembered how her left hand had been wrapped in gauze and couldn't help but wonder why it was like that. He instantly dismissed that thought from his processor. Why should he care about what happened to her? She was no longer his concern.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

As soon as the movie was over I left the rec room. I had finally decided that it was time for me to take care of the loose end I had with Jetfire. Thing is that I didn't know where he was. As I wandered down the hallway I was in I came across Scavenger, who was walking towards me from the direction he was coming from. I didn't expect him to stop before looking down at me with his yellow optics.

"If you're looking for Jetfire, then he's in the training room." Scavenger told me, his face as stern as ever. How did he know I was looking for him?

"Thanks." Was all I said as I walked off in the direction he came from.

After awhile I came upon the training room and sure enough Jetfire was there. I merely watched quietly as he shot at the many targets in the room with his blaster, seeming to be completely focused on obliterating them. I saw how the blaster left the targets in a smoking charred state and I couldn't help but suddenly think. Would it be possible for him to kill me with that blaster once I've settled my business with him? Would it be a quick death or would it be slow? Would I feel the pain of the intense heat as it burned my body to nothing? I wasn't sure, but it'd be a lot better than being in the state I was in.

I noticed that I no longer heard the sound of the blaster going off and I soon found Jetfire's gold gaze locked with my blue one. Like before they were narrowed into a glare full of hate. Again, I didn't feel anything, no emotion in response to his. He put away his blaster before leaving the room, but this time I followed him down the hallway. I didn't feel tired, my legs didn't feel sore, as I ran after him. Even when he was outside and transformed into a space shuttle I never stopped chasing after him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Megatron sat on his throne, his thoughts causing him to boil in rage as he remembered how Starscream betrayed him by joining the Autobots. And if that hadn't been enough he had also taken the Star Saber with him! Now those annoying Autobots had the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield, leaving him with the Requiem Blaster!

'One of these days I will have the Star Saber and the Skyboom Shield in my grasp!' He thought.

"Megatron, I have some good news for you."

Megatron noticed that Thrust stood in front of him.

"And what could you possibly tell me that could be considered good news?" Megatron asked, already feeling annoyed by being interrupted by this Squidhead. Hmm… Squidhead…

"Well, I thought that you should know that the Autobots' Vice Commander and a human have wandered away from their base. This is the perfect opportunity to take them hostage and use them as bargaining chips for the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield."

Megatron smirked. This was good news, indeed.

"Hmm… A perfect opportunity indeed, yeesss."

Megatron stood up from his throne and started making his way to where the warp gate was.

"W-wait! Megatron, where are you going, sir?" Thrust asked.

"Why, I'm going to pay the Autobot and human a little visit on my own." Megatron told him as if it was simple. "You're in charge until I return."

With that Megatron went to the warp gate and went to where his targets were.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

As I continued chasing after Jetfire I noticed that we were getting farther and farther away from the base. Jetfire must've realized that I wouldn't stop chasing him and transformed in mid-air before touching down on the rocky ground below him. I was subjected to his glare as I came up to him.

"You never give up, do you?!" He growled lowly. I knew he was trying to intimidate me, but I wasn't fazed.

"You're being a total ass about this." I told him, feeling strangely calm. "You took something at face value and look where it got you."

"Yeah! It got me to where I'm being chased around by a slut!"

Something about what he said caused a stabbing pain in my heart, but it was short lived.

"You never let me explain and just assumed that I liked my secret admirer."

"Well, I can think of a few good reasons why you'd prefer him over me!"

"And what would those be?"

"First of all, he's human, then he's actually someone not involved in our war, and third he's able to come out publicly without needing to hide who and what he truly is! Plus you both would be around the same age and wouldn't have to worry about what anyone thinks when you two are together! How's that for reasons?! And the only person you can blame is yourself?!"

I suddenly felt my anger build up and I clenched my right hand into a fist to the point that my nails were digging into the palm of my hand. That bastard! Placing the blame on me for something I couldn't control!

"Why the hell are you accusing me for something I had no control over?! I can't help the fact that someone 'fell in love with' me or admires me! I had hoped if we were bonded you wouldn't be this jealous over something so stupid and unimportant, but apparently that's never going to happen!" I yelled, catching Jetfire off guard from my outburst. I didn't care if he was surprised that I was yelling at him, I wanted him to know how I felt about this whole situation. "I hate you. I fucking hate you! You're too stubborn to even listen to what I had to say about all this and you're going around acting as if I betrayed you! Well, I have news for you, Vice Commander: I never betrayed you! What proof do you have that I even betrayed you in the first place?! Tell me!"

Jetfire just narrowed his optics at me and I knew he was pissed, but I didn't care. I wanted an answer!

"My rank isn't a joke!"

"Oh, yeah?! Could've fooled me! I don't care if you're Vice Commander or something even higher than that! You certainly don't act like it! In fact, you don't even act like you're 270,000 years old or 27 years old in human standards! And to think Astera spoke so highly of you!"

I know that I went too far by bringing up his mother and I could tell he was beyond pissed. I knew how sensitive that topic was and I still brought it up. In what seemed to be a few seconds I found myself staring into the barrel of his blaster that he had aimed at me, his finger on the trigger as he seemed to be ready to kill me. I didn't feel scared at all, even though I knew I should be. I didn't even care that he could kill me with just a pull of a trigger.

"How dare you even bring my mother into this!" He growled. "Don't you dare bring her into this!"

"You know I'm right, Jetfire! Think about how she probably feels about this situation! I know for a fact that she's watching us right now and that she's probably disappointed in not just me or you, but in both of us! And to think that she wanted me to take care of you!"

"You better leave now before I decide to pull this trigger!" He was threatening me. "Sparkmate or not, it's doesn't matter to me!"

I simply glared at him as my anger seemed to go beyond the limit I thought it would've gone.

"I hope you burn in the Cybertronian equivalent of hell! But before you decide to kill me, how about you look into my mind! See if I really betrayed you as you so blatantly accused me off! My mind's open for you to read like a book! So go ahead! Do it!"

Everything was quiet as we stood there. I couldn't feel anything, but I knew there was a presence in my mind as it went around looking for something. I had nothing to hide anymore. I might as well let him see my whole life from my perspective while I was at it. I didn't care if he stumbled across something embarrassing that had occurred in the past. I didn't care if he came across all my dark thoughts or dreams. I didn't care if he found out that I tried to commit suicide yesterday. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I was ready to die now that I finally told him how much I hated him. How he had always been the one person on my mind or how he had actually made me feel like someone actually cared about me or made me believe I was loved. I couldn't feel any of that anymore. I was too numb to feel anything now. All I know was that I stood there in front of him with his blaster aimed at me, the weapon that was about to take my life.

I watched as his optics widened at what he probably discovered, but it was short-lived when a blast suddenly went off and sent him to the ground. I didn't move at all, I just stood there gazing at the spot where Jetfire once stood, and that was when I saw the Decepticon leader, Megatron. Strange how I didn't feel scared at all or that I no longer had any emotions. Would he be the one to kill me and end my miserable life? I wasn't sure anymore, as long as I died that was all that mattered to me. Megatron spotted me instantly and I watched as an evil smirk appeared on his face.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the little human femme that had delivered the Mini-Con to me the last time I came across you. A pleasant surprise, indeed." He said, sounding amused that this was the third time I've encountered him. I was reminded of when Optimus had protected me, but I merely disregarded it. It was only a memory. Memories wouldn't matter to me once I was dead. "Do you have anymore Mini-Cons for me?"

I didn't say anything. Even if I wanted to I couldn't make myself. All I could do was breathe and look around with my eyes. Megatron frowned when he saw that I wasn't going to speak.

"Apparently you don't have an answer." He suddenly reached out a hand and wrapped it around my body to the point that it was crushing me, but I didn't feel any pain. I knew for a fact that I heard something crack. "You don't even scream in pain despite the fact that you possible broke something in that weak fleshy body of yours." He glared down at me with his red eyes. "You're nothing more than a living doll incapable of doing anything!"

With that Megatron opened his hand and I suddenly found myself free falling to the ground. This was it. I was finally going to be able to die. I wasn't scared at all that my body was going to be battered beyond all repair. I was going to be released from the cruel thing known as reality. I was finally going to be free of every burden that was given to me. I would be free of all blame and accusation against me. I was going to be free of all the things that made me feel emotions. I was going to be free of everything.

"Valerie!"

I suddenly found myself landing on a hard surface, but it wasn't the ground. It was a large metal hand that I was in and it wrapped its metal fingers around my body with care. I found myself staring up into gold optics that gazed down at me with such worry. Whatever happened to the gold gaze that glared at me with so much hate? Where was the accusation and rage that I had seen not so long ago? Where had it gone? I continued to stare blankly, not feeling anything as I was held close to the Autobot symbol on his chest as Jetfire tried to avoid Megatron's attack. I didn't feel the warmth from his spark when I knew I should've. Was he…protecting me?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire did everything he could to avoid Megatron's attacks as he clutched Valerie close to his chest protectively. He couldn't handle the Decepticon leader alone and he certainly couldn't avoid the attacks forever. He needed backup now!

"Jetfire to base, come in!" He yelled as he took cover behind a boulder.

"Jetfire? What are you doing all the way out there?" He heard Red Alert's voice ask.

"I'm not exactly in a position to be answering questions at the moment! How about you try again when I'm not being fired upon by a certain Decepticon leader?!"

"What ?! Megatron's attacking you?!" This time it was Optimus who asked.

"No, I'm being attacked by a bunch of scraplets!" He just had to be sarcastic. "And to make matters worse I happen to have Valerie with me!"

"Hang in there, Jetfire! We'll be on our way, but it'll be awhile until we arrive! In the meantime just continue to avoid getting hit and protect Valerie!"

"Like I have a choice…" He mumbled before the call ended.

Jetfire looked down at Valerie and saw how motionless she was. She seemed to be lifeless, but he knew that she was alive since she was breathing and blinking her eyes occasionally. She had been yelling at him just awhile ago and now she was in this state. It was worse than her being emotionless; it seemed like she no longer had a soul! A living doll, as Megatron called her. Speaking of Megatron, he had almost killed her! He had a feeling that she broke something when the Decepticon leader had tightened his grip on her body, but the one thing that disturbed Jetfire the most was that she never screamed, not even a reaction or an expression on her face! She didn't even react when he dropped her! She might as well be an inanimate object.

Jetfire suddenly felt guilty now that he had looked into her mind and found that she had been telling the truth all along. She had never betrayed him in the first place. He had felt the memories of her fear upon finding out she had a secret admirer and the rumors that had been spread around her school about them. He had felt her anger (something that still surprised him) when she had discovered who her secret admirer was, even going as far as punching him in the face and giving him a bloody nose while she yelled at him, saying it was his fault for what happened (what shocked him even more was that this happened today).

But the one thing that made him feel downright horrible were her dark thoughts and the events that occurred after she left the base yesterday. She had cried her heart out and he had seen the hurt expression on her face when she had tried to contact him through their connection, only to experience pain when he rejected her. He had felt the loneliness and emptiness inside her. He had watched as she chopped up vegetables, only for her to cut her left hand, yet he didn't sense her pain as blood oozed out of the injury; she didn't appear to be in any pain at all! At least that explained why her left hand was wrapped up in gauze. And then there were her thoughts of him as he realized how much she constantly thought of him. It had gotten to the point that she couldn't take it anymore and wanted to forget all about him, even regretting that she had found the Mini-Con that brought the Autobots into her life. There were also the painful thoughts of how she convinced herself that he lied to her, that he never cared about her at all and had led to believe that he did before abandoning her.

He had finally got to see her parents, Thomas and Sarah, for the first time and he heard her thoughts as she had decided to kill herself that night. He didn't even sense any conflicting thoughts as she held the scissor blade to her wrist and he knew she was dead set on committing suicide. That was until she was stopped by Sideways talking to her in her mind, and he practically heard the conversation between the two as if he were in a room with both of them. He had stopped her from taking her life, but why?! What reason would he have for keeping her alive? What was it that she had to fulfill on her end of their deal?! All he knew what that Sideways threatened to destroy everything she cared about, even taunting her with the thought of his own death. But what hurt the most were her next words: "I don't care! Nothing matters anymore!"

Jetfire wanted to cry (he really did) after finding out how much he hurt her, but he couldn't. Not now. It really was his fault that Valerie had changed, becoming so bitter and broken before ending up being the way she was now. Optimus had been right all along. He had been too stubborn to listen to anyone or his own sparkmate and had been blinded by his own jealousy for a human boy that she never even like. She had tried to tell him that it wasn't true, that she didn't have any feelings for her secret admirer when he first heard about them from Fred, but he just walked away from her. She had tried to tell him through their connection, but he just caused her pain by willing it in his processor as he rejected her. He didn't doubt that she had hoped to die at his hands the moment he aimed his blaster at her and even now she probably wanted to die. She was no longer Valerie, his Skydancer. The girl in his servo was just a shell of what she used to be, of who she used to be.

Jetfire could feel the pain in his spark from this revelation, but he knew it wasn't even close to what she had endured since the moment he walked away from her. He would never get to see her blue eyes sparkle with the love she felt for him. He would never get to see her smile at him and express how happy she was just by being around him. He were never get to see her dance for him or dance with her. Was this how his mother had felt when his father was offlined? Was this the emotional pain she had felt when she realized that she didn't have as much time to spend with her sparkmate as she originally thought?

'What have I done?' He thought ruefully. 'Primus, what have I done?!'

Jetfire didn't get an answer, not that he was expecting to. Instead an explosion that had caused the boulder he was hiding behind to crumble to pieces was the only warning he got before being fired on. So it looked like the routine was set back to cat and mouse. He couldn't come up with a strategy, and even if he had one Optimus clearly told him not to engage the enemy and just continue to evade the attacks. Flying was out of the question since he'd be wide open for an attack. He shuddered at the thought of a hit-and-run strategy since it'd only serve to put Valerie in even more danger.

"Slaggit! Where's reinforcements when you need them?!" He asked no one in particular. "I can't keep dodging his attacks forever!"

Jetfire managed to find another place to take cover behind as he continued to wait for backup. He gold optics fell on Valerie's form and he felt his spark sink in sadness. Even in her seemingly lifeless state, was she aware of what was going on around her? Was she able to hear what was happening? Could she still hear him? He honestly didn't know. He when he tried to feel her current emotions and thoughts through their connection he seemed to come to a dead end. It was as if he were standing in an empty room with nothing inside it. All that left him to see were her memories and her past emotions. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve such a horrible fate.

"Valerie! I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I want you to know that I'm sorry! I know this may sound like a half aft excuse of an apology, but I promise to give you the extended version if we ever make it out of here alive!" He told her. "Primus! I wish you could respond somehow or give me some way of knowing that you can hear my words!"

Suddenly the boulder behind him crumbled to pieces and Jetfire turned around to find Megatron standing some distance away from his, giving him an evil smirk as he saw the enjoyment in his red optic, the enjoyment one got when killing innocents.

"It would seem like our little game of hide and seek has finally come to an end, Autobot." Megatron said. He chuckled darkly. "And here I thought that human femme in your servos was nothing more than your pet." Jetfire's anger flared up when he called Valerie his 'pet'. How degrading, even for a human! "To think that a Cybertronian and a human could end up being sparkmates. How the mighty have fallen, especially for the Vice Commander of the Autobots." Megatron frowned. "How disgusting that Primus would see fit of choosing to pair a Cybertronian, a superior being, with a weak fleshling such as the one you are holding!"

Suddenly Megatron was hit from behind by gunfire and Jetfire felt relief flood his processor when he saw Optimus, Hot Shot, Blurr…and Starscream?!

'Oh, brother…' Jetfire thought. 'Here we go again…in 3...2...1...'

"MEGATRON! I HAVE YOU NOW!"

'Aaannnddd right on que…'

Jetfire wasn't the least bit surprised at all. In fact, he saw this coming from a mile away. He should've known that Optimus would've brought him along. Well, at least he brought the Star Saber with him. As the others took care of Megatron, Jetfire gazed down at Valerie to find that she was looking at him with dull blue eyes, which caught him by surprise. He cycled his vents, not sure what to make of this.

"You're looking at me, so apparently that's a good sign." He told her. "But I want to know for sure: can you hear what I'm saying? Blink once for 'no' and twice for 'yes.'"

He waited anxiously for her reaction and held his breath. Upon seeing her blink her eyes twice he let out the breath he was holding.

"Good. Are you aware of what's going on around you right now?"

She blinked twice.

"I want you to know that help's finally arrived." Jetfire turned her body carefully so that she was looking at the battle that was taking place at the moment. "See? They finally arrived to help us." He turned her to face himself again. "We'll finally be able to get out of this mess…and I'll be able to give you a proper apology."

Valerie didn't respond and instead blinked occasionally like all humans did. Jetfire looked back at the battle just in time to witness Megatron retreating. Optimus and the others came over to him.

"Are you alright, Jetfire?" Optimus asked.

"I'm okay. I may be dinged up in a few places, but nothing that's gonna slow me down." He told him honestly. "And I see you brought Starbucks with you."

"Starbucks? Where in the world did you get that one?" Starscream asked, giving Jetfire a puzzled look.

"Well, you're name's Starscream and you happened to give Megatron a run for his money, hence bucks. Plus, Starbucks happens to be a place where humans buy coffee."

The ex-Decepticon growled in slight irritation.

"What?! You nicknamed me after a place where humans buy hot caffeinated drinks from?! How absurd!"

"Just chill, Starscream!" Hot Shot said, trying to be a peacekeeper. "Jetfire was only joking, that's all! No harm meant by it!"

"…Whatever."

"Okay, men. I need you three to head back to base for now." Optimus told the others.

"Are you sure about this?" Blurr asked.

"I'm positive. I need to talk with Jetfire in private anyways."

With that Hot Shot, Blurr, and Starscream headed back to the base, leaving Jetfire and Optimus alone. The Autobot leader's gaze fell on Valerie and they seemed to soften in sadness as upon seeing her in her motionless state.

"How is she?" He asked quietly, and Jetfire could hear the sadness in his voice.

"She…" Jetfire shook his head. "I don't know anymore. All I know is that she can hear us both talking and is aware of what going on around her. Other than that, she's been in this lifeless state." He glanced down at Valerie and was painfully reminded of her condition. "It's like she's no longer herself anymore." He looked back up at Optimus. "She never betrayed me, and yet I rejected her as if she did. I saw her memories of what she's gone through yesterday and it only makes the guilt I feel even worst. It's painful knowing that the last emotion she felt for me was hate. I don't know what to do now, Optimus. I don't know what to do about her."

Optimus placed a servo on Jetfire's shoulder as if to give reassurance.

"It's not too late, Jetfire. You can still bring her back." This caught the shuttle mech's attention and he felt somewhat hopeful. "You need to tell her how you feel. Show that you still care about her."

"Optimus…"

"You've both been through your fair shares of hardships. You'll need each other more than ever now that this has occurred. Take the time to reestablish your connection."

With that Optimus transformed and drove away in the direction of the base. Jetfire didn't bother transforming and just merely took off into the sky with Valerie still in his servo close to his chest. I glanced down at her, only to see that she blankly stared ahead before he looked up.

"You loved gazing at the sky whenever you got the chance." Jetfire started. "That's what you told me when I took you outside the base to see the morning sky, when I first saw you dancing. I gave you the nickname Skydancer because of that. You also told me how you wished you could fly. Remember when I took you flying when you were feeling upset and almost killed yourself?"

Jetfire knew that she wouldn't be able to respond with words and that she wouldn't feel any emotions from being told about the memories he told her about. He just hoped by telling her these things that she'd remember the good times they had together and how happy they had been before this whole mess took place yesterday. He wanted to hold onto the thought that somewhere deep inside her she subconsciously responding to what he told her, that she'd remember the memory of the emotions she had felt in the past, that the old Valerie was still there. Was it too much to hope for? Would he really be able to bring her out of this lifeless state? Optimus seemed to believe so.

'I just hope this works…' He thought.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire eventually landed in a place that was close to the Autobot base, but far enough away from it so that we wouldn't be interrupted. He placed me on the ground so that I was standing on my own before he sat down in front of me. He gazed down at me with his gold optics and I knew that he was thinking of what to say. Was he expecting me to do something? He sighed.

"Valerie. I know you can't feel anything or respond in any way from what I about to say. I just…need to know that you will be willing to listen before you make your final decision on what to do next. I have a feeling that you'd still be mad at me if you could." Jetfire said. "I've been a total aft to you this whole time, and it wasn't until I saw your memories that I realized I've been falsely accusing you of something you never did."

I didn't do anything except stare up at him. I couldn't feel any emotions in response to his words, just like he said. Jetfire seemed to realize something and adverted his gaze.

"Slaggit! Let me try something else."

With that Jetfire's optics deactivated before his holoform materialized out of nowhere and stood in front of me, the sunlight making his dark reddish-brown hair shine as he gazed at me with the same gold eyes that had once haunted my mind. I could see his emotions in them, the sincere sadness and regret.

"I was wrong when I said you betrayed me. I was too stubborn and didn't let you explain your side of the story. I've…I've been alone for so long while fighting in this war, long before you were even born. I've gone around looking for my sparkmate, for you, for 70,000 years. I was about to give up hope of ever finding the last and only source of happiness in my life, but then I saw you for the first time that night when you found that Mini-Con. I promised that I'd protect you, that I'd never hurt you, but I ended up breaking those promises."

I felt something stir inside my, something in response to his words.

"I got jealous that some human boy had his eyes on you and I thought he'd try to take you away from me. I'm so possessive of you that I can't help but be territorial."

I felt…surprised…when a tear fell from his eyes before releasing a shaky breath. He approached me and gently took my right hand in his larger one. I felt a faint warmth coming from his hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you through all this. I just didn't want to lose you to someone else." He was actually crying. I've never seen him cry before. There had been a few times that he appeared he wanted to, but held back the tears. And now here he was, crying because of me. "I love you. I'll make it up to you someday. I just…want my Skydancer back. I want you back."

My throat tightened a bit as I suddenly felt something wet slide down my cheeks and I realized I was crying. Like a wave all my emotions came at me at once, but the ones I felt the most were sadness, regret, slight relief, and touched. He wasn't lying to me. I didn't think someone could just cry like he was and not show so many emotions in their eyes, especially when every time he wanted to cry he usually held back. I could suddenly feel his presence in my mind as I watched his eyes widen. I could feel his emotions, his surprise at seeing that I was crying, that I was able to feel again. He could feel my emotions. I opened my mouth, my bottom lip quivering as I did so.

"Jetfire…" I said softly.

"Valerie!"

I suddenly found myself being held close to Jetfire as he embraced me. The emptiness I had felt was gone with his return. I could feel his love and relief flood my mind through our connection, causing me to cry in relief as well. I wrapped my arms around his waist as I returned his hug and buried my face into his chest. I felt one of his hands being placed on the back of my head, his fingers weaving themselves through my hair.

"I'm sorry." I told him. "I'm so sorry, Jetfire."

"Shh… It's okay now, Skydancer. It's okay…" He whispered.

I felt myself calm down eventually and I managed to stop crying. I missed this. I had missed the way Jetfire always held me like this, how he always expressed how much he loved me through the connection, how he made me feel so complete, even just being around him and hearing him talk to me. I can't believe I wanted to throw this all away, that I wanted to forget all about him. I can't believe I had felt regret for finding that Mini-Con and becoming apart of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons.

"Could you sing to me? Just this once?"

I felt Jetfire's surprise from hearing my request and I knew he hadn't expected me to ask him that. His surprise soon changed to happiness and love.

"Okay. Just this once."

Beyond the sun
Beyond the moon
There are the stars
In the night sky

In my head I imaged the sun and moon in space, followed by a night sky filled with countless stars that shined with beauty.

Beyond the skies
Among the stars
In quiet wait
Home Cybertron

I imagined looking beyond the sky, going far into the black nothingness known as space with stars scattered around, among them being a huge metal planet. Was that Cybertron? I didn't know what it would look like, so did that mean that Jetfire was showing me what Cybertron looked like?

Rest in peace
In my embrace
And listen to this lullaby

Jetfire's voice sounded the same as it did in the dream I had of him singing Mustang Sally. I recognized the song as the Cybertronian Lullaby, but this time it was in English. Was that really what the words meant in the song? Despite the fact that he didn't like to sing I found Jetfire's voice to be strangely soothing, even if it sounded slightly rough (but in a good way).

"Thank you." I said when he finished. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do."

Jetfire pulled back a bit so he could look at me. I gazed up into his gold eyes, seeing the love he had for me. He brought his face close to mine before our lips locked together for a chaste kiss. He pulled back slightly before kissing me again, this time lasting a little longer, but that was as far as it went. I suddenly noticed how tired I was and the pain I felt on my right side. I flinched and pulled my face away slightly as I hissed quietly. How was it that I didn't notice this earlier?

"What's wrong, Valerie?" Jetfire asked, his voice filled with worry.

"My right side hurts." I told him, my fatigue seeming to catch up to me. "I feel a little tired."

"Hang on! I'll get you back to the base and have Red Alert check you out!"

Jetfire's holoform disappeared and his bi-pedal form's gold optics activated before he transformed into a shuttle. He reactivated his holoform, scooped me up into his arms, and carried me inside his vehicle mode. He placed me in one of the many seats inside him and the safety harness buckled itself across my chest. Jetfire left his holoform up as his true form started flying back to the Autobot base, kneeling down beside the seat I was in as his eyes watched me. I absentmindedly started stroking the leather seat with my good hand, which caused not only the shuttle to shudder, but Jetfire's holoform to do the same as well. His eyes were shut as he let out a quiet moan. My eyes widened when I realized what I was doing and stopped stroking the seat as my face heated up. Both the shuttle and the holoform stopped shuddering at once.

"S-sorry…" I said, feeling embarrassed.

"It's fine." He told me, his voice sounding slightly strained. "I probably would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so worried about your health." I felt my eyelids grow heavy as they started drooping. Jetfire must've noticed since he placed a hand on the side of my face in a comforting way and I leaned into his touch. "Get some rest, Skydancer. I know you're tired after what's happened."

My eyes continued to droop as I was reminded of how tired I was. I was asleep as soon as my eyes closed.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire watched as Valerie closed her eyes. He kept his hand on the side of her face, feeling worried yet relieved that he had his Skydancer back. Before he knew it he arrived at the base and deactivated his holoform before carefully transforming back into his bi-pedal form without harming Valerie. He immediately started making his way to the med bay, where he found Red Alert. The blue mech just stared at him, his arms folded across his chest and foot tapping on the metal floor. It was as if he was expecting something.

"What?" Jetfire asked, wanting to know why Red Alert was looking at him like that.

I believe you owe me an explanation, Jetfire." Red Alert told him plainly.

Oh…

"We, as in Valerie and I, went away from the base and had an argument. The whole issue was about to be settled until Megatron decided to show up for a visit. You know the rest, but we just made up with each other not too long ago!"

"And Valerie?"

"She ended up falling asleep, but before that she told me her right side was hurting her."

"Let me see her."

Red Alert held his servo out to Jetfire, who had no choice but to comply with the blue mech and give Valerie over to him. The blue mech handled the girl with great care as he placed her on a berth and because to scan her.

"What?!" Red Alert exclaimed in surprise and he whipped around to face Jetfire. The shuttle mech flinched as the phrase 'if looks could kill…' popped into his mind when he saw the look on his face. "Were you even aware that she happened to have a fractured rib and showed signs of not eating?"

So that's why he was giving him that look.

"Nooo, I wasn't aware at all."

"I want you to tell me what happened, in detail!" Uh oh. Things weren't good when Red Alert started demanding information.

'He is a medic, so I can't exactly blame him.' Jetfire thought.

"Well, for one thing, you don't need to yell at me-!"

"Do you want me to take after my mentor and chuck a wrench at you?" Red Alert threatened.

Jetfire's gold optics widened in horror when he saw the transformer sized wrench that seemed to appear in the blue mech's servo from out of nowhere (he didn't even recall seeing him pick it up). He didn't even need to know that that the object was very much as solid, heavy, and unforgiving as it looked. It didn't help that Jetfire was reminded of the first time he went to the med bay back on Cybertron when he was still in training.

"No, no! As much as I've enjoyed my experiences in the med bay, I don't need to experience that again! Ratchet made it very clear that I should avoid getting hurt and being sent to the med bay as much as possible! Personally I thought you'd have a little more compassion than him!"

"I'm going to count to three and you better start explaining before I hit one."

"C'mon! We're both civilized mechs-!"

"…3...2..."

"Okay! Okay! I'll explained! As you know Megatron ambushed us, and it was just him alone! He shot at me and managed to grab Valerie! He tightened his hold on her and dropped her, but I managed to catch her in my servos! I basically got a dents from protecting her long enough for Optimus and the others to arrive!" Jetfire explained quickly, his voice obviously frantic.

"And the starvation?"

"I have no clue how that happened! Honestly!"

Red Alert regarded Jetfire before rummaging around the room and came over to the berth Valerie was on with some sort of bandages that looked weird. He placed them on the surface before activating his holoform.

"Luckily her fracture isn't severe. As long as she gets enough rest she should be able to do normal physical activities between three to six weeks, but she'll have to take it easy for now." Red Alert's holoform turned to look up at him. "Are you going to just stand there or are you going to help me?"

"What?! You want me to help you?" Jetfire asked, unsure if his audio receptors heard correctly.

"That's exactly what I said. Now hurry up and activate your holoform, Jetfire."

Jetfire cycled his vents before activating his holoform, materializing at Valerie's side. He looked at Red Alert's holoform, wondering what he was supposed to do. His eyes widened when Red Alert started to take Valerie's shirt off and he started freaking out!

"What are you doing, Red Alert?!" Yep. He was definitely freaking out over the fact that the medic was taking off his sparkmate's shirt! He had every right to be feeling the way he did right now.

"Unless you have a different method of treating a fractured rib, then I suggest you don't complain. At the moment her modesty isn't exactly top priority."

'But it's my top priority!' Jetfire thought.

Red Alert managed to get Valerie's shirt off so that he could have a clear view of the her right side. Jetfire winched slightly upon seeing the bruise that had formed over a spot along her rib cage.

"Jetfire, I'm going to need you to stretch her right arm over her head so that I can stabilize the fractured rib with the KT tape."

So that was what those things were called. Jetfire complied and sat down so that he could pull Valerie up into a sitting position and have her leaning against him as he stretched her right arm over her head. It took all his willpower to suppress the shiver he felt upon feeling her bare skin and he had to get rid of the thoughts that entered his processor. Red Alert started placing the KT tape on her right side in a way that reminded Jetfire of a splint of some sort. He couldn't help but wonder how doing this was supposed to stabilize Valerie's fractured rib, but when he looked up the method the medic was using he realized that it was actually effective on humans. Weird…

Red Alert was soon done and got Valerie's shirt back on her person before he deactivated his holoform. Jetfire did the same and the blue mech looked over at him.

"Since she spends most of her time with you, you need to make sure Valerie takes some pain relievers for the pain and encourage her to cough frequently so she doesn't get pneumonia, and remind her to constantly breath normally even if it hurts. Like I said earlier, she's going to need to rest so make sure she does that too." Jetfire noticed that Red Alert had a small bottle in his servos, which he handed over to him and the shuttle mech saw that it said 'ibuprofen.' "Have her take that pain reliever when she wakes up."

"Okay, will do." Jetfire replied.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

My mind felt groggy when I woke up. I found myself staring up at a metal ceiling and I turned my head to my right to find Jetfire next to the berth I was on with his head leveled with the metal surface.

"Jetfire." I said before sighing in relief. I soon regretted doing that since I suddenly felt pain and started coughing.

"Take it easy, Valerie." Jetfire said and I soon saw his holoform next to me. When did he activate it? Jetfire took out a small bottle along with a bottled water and placed them down before shifting behind me. He carefully pulled me up into a sitting position and I ended up leaning against his chest as he held me. It was when four familiar red tablets had been placed in my hand that I realized it was ibuprofen. "Red Alert wanted me to make sure you took these when you woke up. It should held with the pain."

"Pain relievers. An accident prone person's best ally when it comes to everyday hardships." I popped the tablets in my mouth before taking the water bottle Jetfire offered me to down the pills. I looked at him. "What happened?"

"Turns out you fractured on of your ribs when Megatron had you. Also, Red Alert found out that you haven't been eating recently. What happened?" I looked away from Jetfire as I suddenly felt the guilty. I heard him sigh, seeming as if he realized what I did. "When did you start doing this to yourself?"

"Yesterday. I didn't eat dinner that day, and today I didn't have breakfast or lunch. I didn't feel hungry at all and didn't realize what it was doing to me. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I'll take care of you. I'll even make sure you eat something once you've gotten some more rest."

"But I'm…not tired." I protested.

"You might not be, but you still need plenty of rest if you want your rib to heal in the next three weeks or so. Doctor's orders." I giggled quietly, but I stopped when I found that hurt as well. It hurt to breathe. "Just keep breathing normally. No pain, no gain, as the saying goes."

"I so accident prone. First my head, then my hands, then my left arm and left hand, and now a fractured rib on my right side."

"You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all."

"I wish that were true."

Jetfire chuckled quietly.

"C'mon, kiddo. Get some rest." He told me.

'But I want to spend more time with you.' I thought.

{Don't worry, Skydancer. I'll stay with you for as long as I can while you sleep. And I'll spend more time with you when you got to sleep tonight.}

I shut my eyes as I allowed a small smile to appear on my face.

'I look forward to that…'

That was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep.

---

ATE: That's it for this long chapter. If you managed to survive this long, then kudos! I actually cried when I wrote most of the emotional parts in this chapter, and I also had an interesting time writing Starscream, Optimus, and Megatron's POVs, but mostly Starscream's. I actually thought of Dinobot from Beast Wars (don't own) when it came to his personality since they're both similar, but what I enjoyed the most was giving him a child-like curiosity for human culture (and what better way than to have him watch a Disney movie?). I also included Silverbolt since it was bound to happen eventually. If anyone has any ideas they'd like to share, feel free to do so and I'll give credit. Please remember to review! ;D