The sky's the limit

Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you continue to do so. I don't own Transformers nor any OCs in this fic. All OCs and credit for this go to SuperSentai199.

They were alone now. All decepticons that were in the mine were now offline and chances of her being captured again were still quite high considering that she hijacked the ground bridge to escape but Predaking seemed to understand her need to leave which meant that any attempts she made to escape wouldn't be met with his hard, cold fury. It would be Megatrons.

It didn't stop her from remained where she was stood looking at her sire and not believing that he was there and that he knew it was her. Her spark caught seeing how his form had changed; he had become bigger and bulkier than before making him seem that more powerful. He moved forward again but with caution and Shade didn't blame him. In a swift action she jumped up and transformed into her bi-pedal mode gracefully landing on the ground again. Her wings she tucked into her back as she gave in to her greatest desire. The femme threw herself at Optimus her arms wrapping tightly around him and he did the same. The both of them making sure that this was real and not some hallucination – that the other would just suddenly disappear on them.

Happiness filled their sparks. They were together again. He had vowed to find her and he had after so long they were reunited again. No words needed to be said as they seemed to forget where they stood in a decepticon energon mine. The both of them couldn't help the lubricant that leaked from their optics "I…I've missed you so much" Shade stumbled on her words as she tried to get them out while processing all her emotions that she felt at once.

"I have missed you dearly, Shade" his voice was much the same. Still commanding and yet calming and sensitive at the same time. A voice she could rely on; particularly when the darkness was confining her. "I'm deeply sorry that this had happened to you. That I couldn't save you" his digits brushed over the predacon symbol that was shown on her chest. That was when she broke away from their embrace and looked upon it herself.

"It hurt so much, but now I'm more powerful than ever. I can use that to bring the decepticons down" she sounded confident, showing her place in the war. Making a stand that it didn't matter what Megatron did to her she would always be an autobot. She met her sire's optics and could see all the emotion that he had somehow kept in check in her absence and now it was pouring out; it was obvious that he wanted to hold her close and never let her go. Something told her that there was no way that Optimus wouldn't be over-protective of her from now on. "Has Ratchet upgraded you?" her curiosity got the best of her seeing her sire appear so much more powerful and bigger than before.

He cocked a smile seeing how she hadn't changed on the inside even if she had physically. She was still his daughter and will always be his daughter. "I was mortally wounded when preventing Megatron from finding the others on this planet when out base was discovered" he gasped hearing that her sire had almost died in her absence. She wouldn't even have none either since she was held by the decepticons. "However, a young recruit, Smokescreen, was able to pull me to safety and retrieved the Forge of Solus Prime that repaired me and gave me more strength to take down Megatron's fortress" Shade stretched out her wings as they felt stiff being kept folded behind her and Optimus ran his servo along one of her wings as she allowed him to he continued to talk to her, his voice soft and gentle "Megatron has gone to new lengths now that he had tried to revive Cybertron in his own image and cyberform this planet. All the while he had you and had the predacon growing under Shockwave's watch"

Shade's fist clenched at the mention of the decepticon scientist. The one that had turned her and had a lack of emotion in his processor and spark. But then there was the unexpected that emanated from her spark and that was the mention of the beast that seemed to have a soft spot for her now and she had come to see him as more than something that should be feared and thought of as primitive.

"Megatron is ruthless; he wants to use Predaking and myself to breed a new army of predacons"

Optimus heard of this little scheme from Arcee but didn't want to believe that such a thing would involve his daughter but this was the decepticon warlord they were dealing with which meant that anything was possible and they should always be prepared for something new that would disgust them further than Mgatron already had. "Is Predaking aware of this?"

Shade did think he was having a laugh for a moment as she placed her servos on her hips "Well I hope so considering that he tried to rape me" Optimus cringed at the word and moved closer to her but before he could say anything she continued "Don't worry I fought him off, that's when I ran into Arcee, but I think he's become more understanding of where I stand in all of this particularly after I pinned him" Shade looked to her sire as she spoke and she couldn't help but give a little giggle as she saw him raise his optic ridges. "My point is I don't think he wants this either, he's just misjudged and following Megatrons orders"

"You believe just as much as anyone that everyone has the capacity for change; you believe that Predakings spark is misplaced" his voice was calm and gentle as he was taking in his daughter's thoughts much like he did in the past before they were separated.

Shade nodded "He's only angry at the autobots for killing his people other than that, from what I can tell he wants peace like we do"

Nothing more was said between the two. Optimus had missed hearing his daughter and her beliefs so much he was sure that his body warmed just hearing her positive thoughts even when she had been experimented on and changed drastically. His arms out stretched again and Shade fell into them burying her head into his shoulder. A small drop of lubricant leaked from her optics. Not wanting to let go of him just in case she would horrifically wake up on Shockwaves lab table. She could feel his strong arms not allowing her to leave him either but their processors then realised that they were still in the decepticon energon mine which was probably not the best place to be and the autobot leader knew that his fellow soldiers would be over joyed to see her. They were after all family.

Pushing back Optimus looked into Shades bright blue optics that hadn't changed in the slightest. "Let's go home" she saw him direct his concentration elsewhere for a moment which she could guess as he commed the others.

"My comm system was damaged when I landed and Shockwave didn't both repairing it" he had already gathered that was to be the reason why she hadn't tried to contact him. It was then that they heard a ground bridge opened though he was from one of the higher levels which meant it wasn't the autobots. Optimus swiftly moved himself in front of Shade in a protective stance as the both of them watched Megatron walk through looking as intimidating as ever with Starscream on his left side and Predaking on his right.

The gladiator's optics saw the protective stand of Optimus but he was more focussing on the femme behind the autobots leader. "I appreciate you finding our runaway Optimus, perhaps you would be so kind as to return the specimen"

Shade saw her Sire's fists clench as she was referred to as an experiment; as something other than a respected cybertronian. Shade moved her servo to place it on his and she felt him calm instantly "Megatron, I will not allow you to harm Shade any further than you already have" his other servo transforming into a gun ready for a fight that obviously was going to entail. "My daughter stays with me" just as the sentence had finished Megatron gave a devilish smirk and another ground bridge opened this time on the bottom level with Optimus and Shade and a small amount of vehicons ran through their weapons already charged and ready to open fire upon command. They moved to surround the two.

"I suggest you rethink your decision, Optimus"

Shade growled as her predacon instincts were filling her up and she had to resist transforming and ripping the decepticons around them limb from limb. She felt threatened and it was never a good thing when a predacon felt as if it was being threatened. "Megatron I will never submit to you!" Shade couldn't help her outburst as she could see the deceoticons efforts to try and claim her.

"Take her" Mgatrons command echoed throughout the mine as the vehicons moved forward to try and restrain Shade.

As one put their servos on her back Shade growled out loudly that even the cowardly seeker at the warlord's side heard it. Seeing this Optimus sprang into action, his protective instincts kicking in as he spun around Shade and fired at the vehicon in the helm. The lifeless husk falling to the floor. The other vehicons returning fire. "I want her alive!" Megatron made his order loud and clear as he was angry at the insubordination of his soldiers that were firing at the femme that he needed to grow a predacon army.

Transforming in to her beast form Shade made a grab for the closest vehicon; the drone calling out in panic as he was grabbed in her mouth and her sharp teeth sunk in to his armour. Biting down Shade punctured his energon lines and dismembered his left arm from his body. As shots were fired out Shade raised her wings up to protect herself though the blasts barely did any damage to her. Looking up the femme saw that the cons were trying to separate her from her sire and the majority of the decepticons were trying to overpower the Prime but she wasn't going to let that happen. With a loud shriek Shade hit the closest cons to her with her wings as she pushed herself up into the air and over the others landing on top of Optimus that she forced him to the floor.

As a wave of gun fire came for them Shade protected her sire by encompassing him within her wings and then span on the spot; her long tail knocking the drones off their feet. Taking in a large amount of air within her vents her body gleamed to life as the fire within her was brought forward and pushed out her mouth as her fire breath. She attacked the drones with her fire and as they ran away she aimed at Megatron and the two at his side as the three of them seemed quite happy just watching from their places on the higher level. Though she was quite content with the change in their facial expressions when she began attacking them. They all took cover which allowed she Shade to let Optimus up as he began shooting as well, the both of them fighting together again and protecting each other.

Before anything more could happen another ground bridge opened behind the two autotbots and two bots came through ready to join the fight and much to Shades relief it was Arcee and Bumblebee. Happiness filled her spark as she saw two members of her family that quickly moved to her side and fought with her for her freedom. Shade let out a contented soft growl to them which the both of them couldn't help but stroke her soft armour and smile to her before reapplying their attention the decepticons that were attacking them. More and more vehicons coming through another ground bridge that Megatron must have ordered open. If they didn't retreat now than they were surely going to be over-powered by them all and Shade would be lost again and none of them wanted that, none of them would let that happen.

"Arcee, Bumblebee get Shade to safety now" Optimus's voice had turned a little showing his own fear of losing his daughter again.

Hearing this Shade transformed back into her bi-pedal form "no, I won't leave you"

There was defiance in her tone of voice and Optimus could see that although saving Shade was the right thing to do there would be no way that he could get through fighting alone. Just then Wheeljack and Bulkhead appeared obviously joining the fight from their own ground bridge. "Go kid, put some distance between them and you and get back to base" it was like Wheeljack knew exactly what was going on in Shades processor as he also told her to run.

Bumblebee and Arcee were then at her side, of course they couldn't forcefully move her now that she was much stronger and bigger than she previously was, their optics pleading her to go with them. To put some distance between her and the decepticons so that they couldn't recapture her again. Venting loudly she ran in the opposite direction with Bumblebee and Arcee with her. They moved fast as they made their way towards the exit of the energon mine. The sounds of the battle that they had left behind could still be heard but that was drowned out by the yelling of a very angry Megatron. "Bring her back!" obviously he wasn't very pleased with her absence and she could already guess who would be coming after her. The loud stomps of running peds further behind them getting closer as they could finally make out day light from the cave.

It might not be Cybertrons sun but it still warmed her plating as the light fell on her body. Somehow there was something so wonderful about being outside with other bots that she wanted to be with that made her fell free. As Shade made it outside she let her wings spread and the cooling wind blow through them. The fresh air going through her vents made her feel quite refreshed from her time cooped up on the Nemesis and inside caves.

"Shade!" she recognised the voice, though he was shouting he didn't sound as angry about her attempted escape as Megatron had but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid not for herself but what he would do to her family.

Her optics widened she motioned for Arcee and Bumblebee and move away "get away quickly" Shades voice was rushed. Using her wings Shade lifted herself up into the air and as soon as Predaking was out in the open he had laid his optics on the two bots that had refused to listen to Shade and leave. Anger grew in his spark and Shade saw this from where she hovered in the air where he hadn't seen her.

As Predaking took a single step towards them and their weapons were drawn out, Shade glided down and crashed into him. The two of them flipping over each other from the collision until they rolled to a stop and the mech could see that it was Shade that had attacked him. "Shade?"

She could see that he didn't want to hurt her, in fact there was some sort of concern for her in his optics. "I'm sorry but this is my family and anything they have done is to protect the innocent lives of others from Megatron" she whispered to him and then flipped them so that she had him pinned under her. Looking over her shoulder she could see the confused looks from her friends and grew annoyed that they were just standing there. "Get out of here!" she yelled at them.

"They killed my brethren and I must follow orders" he replied to her as he tried to push her off

"Who are you trying to kid, Megatron is just using you just like he's trying to use me. Your people wouldn't have been given the chance to live like you want them to" he tried to punch her to get her off of him but she blocked them and grabbed his helm so that his yellow optics locked with hers "remember you're not alone anymore and what the autobots did was save them from a life they would have hated" Predaking didn't say anything as his processor tried to get over what she was saying. The words she spoke weren't harsh at all instead they were full of complete empathy and logic something that he didn't possess at that moment.

He had professed his allegiance to Megatron and it would be dishonourable to go against that now, to disobey. With that he yelled out kicking Shade off of him and charging at Arcee and Bumblebee and taking them down. As the both of them fought against him he kept them pinned to the ground as he raised his clenched fist and let it fall on both of them knocking the two autobots beneath him out unconscious. His tense body the relaxed as he heard Shade behind him call out to her friends. Picking himself up and moving away he allowed her to run to them and he couldn't help but feel a little pang of guilt for her.

He himself didn't understand this freedom and that was probably because he gave himself to Megatron even after he was treated like nothing more than a mindless, primitive beast. But Shade hadn't treated him that way; though she was scared in the beginning she had tried to understand him more and could see that he was just like everybody else. And now that she was just like him he could see the way that she was treated. Like she wasn't even a cybertronian but something else and it did disgust him. Though he was part of it with siding with the decepticons.

"Arcee? Bee? Please wake up" she pleaded for them to online their optics but they didn't. The strength of the punch he had delivered to their helms had been too much for their bodies which was something that Shade could now understand with her change.

Her digits stroked along Bumblee's armour softly as she tried to wake him. At this action Predaking couldn't help as his body got tense and his fist clenched but he kept himself from stalking up to the unconscious scout and punching him again in jealousy.

"Predaking, I want that femme brought back to the warship and kept secure in your quarters" Megatrons orders rung in his audio receptor from the communication that he had received from his master. Letting out a big sigh from his vents he moved over to the femme. She was silent now and he didn't want to touch her, much less move her. But orders were orders.

A ground bridge opening directly in front of them Shade knew immediately that it wasn't one that belonged to the autobots. Before she could do anything in retaliation Predaking had a tight grasp on her servos that he held behind her as he forced her to move with him forward into the open portal where it would take them right to the warship, right back to the decepticons…any chance at freedom gone.