My internet was down for a day so I kept writing. I hope that you enjoyed the last few chapters. Chapter 51 was kind of filler but then not because I wanted to give the story a little action. Please take a moment to leave a review. They are very important to me because I love to read them and sometimes they even inspire me. I will be writing about the ritual that the femmes perform for the oracle. I been meaning to but other little subplots keep getting in the way. I haven't forgotten about Sentinel either. Please enjoy!

"Allie, we need to do a ritual." Chelsea said as she walked into Allie's office.

"I know. I have been thinking about it. Can we do one tonight even with some missing?" Allie asked.

"I strongly suggest it. The oracle is calling and we can't keep ignoring it or it will force us to come and that could be in a bad moment when someone might need us more." Chelsea stated.

"I agree and this is not the first time that we didn't have everyone with us. I have to make some additional communications so I will inform everyone what is going on. Even if we are missing some they will feel it through the bond. I have to leave early in the morning so we need to do the ritual early tonight. I will take the afternoon off so that I can have bonding time with my twins. I suggest that you inform the femmes with sparklings to use their afternoon for bonding because the sparklings can feel the ritual through the familiar bond that you share with them and they need your reassurance before we do the ritual so that they don't get scared if they feel something different or unusual in the bond. Also we need to inform our mates and any that might be in a relationship. I will inform Prime about it so that he can take care of any mechs that are concerned about their mates.

"I will inform the femmes then. Thank you Allie." Chelsea nodded to her Leator and left.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Soundwave, I need to send a communication to all femmes on bases and I need to send a coded our in the field. Do you mind that I ask for your assistance without you reading the message? I promise that Cassie will inform you but I would rather her do it than for you to read it in a memo because the memo is not personal and I will be using slang that you might not understand. I just feel you would understand if I let Cassie explain it to you. I promise I am not hiding anything." Allie told him. "If I was I would go through Comm and just send a telepathic communication to her.

"I am sure that it is alright. Will Lord Megatron be apprised?" Soundwave asked.

"He will along with Prime because there will be some that are mated and will not understand even with their mates telling them and I don't want them to panic." Allie said and then realized that it would bother her friend and he would worry. "I guess I might as well tell you some of it because I don't want you to worry about us. We have to perform a ritual tonight. The oracle has been calling for some time and if we put it off then it will force us to come and that could be when we are needed somewhere else."

"I understand." Soundwave said. "Inform Lord Megatron."

"I will after I send the communication." Allie replied.

Soundwave helped and she send the coded communication out informing all femmes what would be occurring tonight. Some would try to get here and so she sent Alpha Trion a message as well so that he and Ultra Magnus would be apprised.

"Thank you Soundwave. I appreciate your help and understanding." Allie said gratefully.

"You're welcome." He replied.

Allie left him to fine Optimus and Megatron. She was told they were in meeting in private in Prime's office and she pinged her mate to ask permission. He invited her in and she knocked twice and walked in.

"Allie, it is always a pleasure." Megatron said smoothly. Allie smiled. For a former war lord she liked to hear Megatron talk because it sent chills down her spine and gave her a feminine pleasure that made her feel special. She was glad he was now on their side.

"Thank you my lord." Allie turned and nodded to her mate. "My lord." She said to him.

"Allie, I hope everything is well since we last spoke." Prime said to her as he stood to greet her. She bowed her head to her mate in acknowledgement and took a seat next to him which he held out for her. "Thank you my lord and thank you for seeing me."

Megatron liked speaking with her because she understood the power of words and how to use them to gain political advantages. She was well spoken and had a way of making a mech feel powerful without giving up hers. He could see why Prime would be attracted to her. If she had not been bonded already he would have given Prime a run for her for she would definitely be worth having as a possession. In time he could see Shalon eventually being as good as Allie with lessons and Allie being her mentor. Both were good assets to their race and Megatron was proud to heave them.

"I need to talk to you about a matter that involves all the femmes that have been living here in the Realm. I have told you that we are bound to the oracle." Allie reminded them as she paused.

"You have." Megatron stated.

"Chelsea has reminded me that we need to perform our ritual. I have been putting it off because of the changes here in the Hall and for our race in general but I can no longer do this. The oracle is calling and we are all feeling it. If we continue to put it off then the oracle will telepathically take control of us and force us to come to it. I don't like to get to that point and it only happened once. The result was that a village was attacked and we were unable to respond thereby many of its residents were killed. We now have an opportunity to perform our rituals since we know have the manpower to run the base without our assistance. I hope that you understand. I am not asking permission to do the ritual because it will be performed regardless of how you feel." Allie stated.

Both mechs were quiet as the processed her words and Allie waited patiently. After a few moments Megatron leaned forward as did Optimus. "Optimus do you want to take this since you are Prime? I feel that it is more your expertise than mine. I have no objections if you want my opinions though." Megatron stated. He waited for Prime to start talking. Megatron had learned in the months working with Prime that he liked to choose his words carefully which gave him elegance to his speech and he had earned Megatron's respect because of it. Secretly Megatron had always had a respect for Optimus because he had been the youngest Prime and very little political experience and absolutely no military background. He had evolved into this great leader who commanded a quiet respect that Megatron would never achieve. Allie was right when she said that by them working together they balanced each other out.

"I have no problem with the ritual being performed. I do have some questions about it though." Optimus stated.

"Before you ask your questions I need to let you know what was sent out. The communication that was sent was coded although I did inform Soundwave because he is good at his job and I did not want him to be concerned before I could talk to you. To an outsider who has not been informed the communications would have upset you. The ritual is not like any traditional ritual that was performed on Cybertron. When the oracle transformed us he made out bodies as part of it therefore when the ritual is performed our bodies feel it. What that means is that femmes that are mated will close their part of the bond down and it will affect our mates and our sparklings. If you have any femmes that are patrolling I have requested that if they have sparklings then they need to come in earlier so that they can have bonding time. The sparklings will need to have someone with them tonight. It is not a suggestion but a fact because they will feel it and it will scare them." Allie wanted to get her point across because it was important that the sparkling be protected. "Over half of the femmes are telepathic and it is good for us most of the time but this is one time that it is important that the sparklings be protected. They won't feel their carriers during the ritual and they will need their sires or someone they are close to. I am especially concerned for Sunshine because she seems weaker but sometimes that doesn't necessarily mean that she is mentally weaker. She may be a strong future telepath. Our abilities we have found can be passed to our sparklings." Allie waited for either mech to ask a question but both were quiet for the longest time.

"Allie, will we feel our mates?" Megatron asked concerned and Allie could tell this bother Optimus as much as Megatron.

"No and you don't want to because it will scare you but I assure you we have done this for millions of years and we have never had a femme harmed." Allie stated.

"But it is not comfortable for you." Prime said.

"No it is a ritual that is demanded of the oracle and I am hoping that it will not demand too much of us tonight. That is why I am not putting it off any longer." She said.

"You have no choice?" Megatron asked to make sure he understood.

"To try to get out of it would put us in a difficult position because the oracle does have its own methods of punishment." Allie stated. Optimus immediately reacted.

"I do not like that you could be punished for something that you have no control over." He stated emphatically.

"Optimus I have no choice. I told you this from the very beginning even before I realized who you were and my part in our relationship. You can't hold me to something I have no control over."

"She is right Prime though I am inclined to agree with Optimus on this. I don't like any more than he does." Megatron said supporting Optimus' obvious displeasure.

"I'm sorry. I can't control this and to put it off any longer could pose difficulties for us." She steadily replied.

"Okay, you have informed us and I do appreciate it. I will make sure that we have the patrols covered by mechs that are not bonded so that you will have the time with them." Prime said as he silently commed Megatron to make sure he was in agreement. He nodded and Prime went on. "When will you perform the ritual?"

"I have to talk to Chelsea one more time but I will send you a communication as soon as I know the time. We are trying to get the ones that want to be here time to get in and I have to make sure that we have time afterward because of the mission that my team will be running in the morning." Allie informed them.

"Okay, I have one last question. Can we see the ritual or is it closed?" Megatron asked.

"It's closed. Any mech that tries to see it could be harmed. The oracle didn't just give us skin to fit in." Allie said dryly. "One other thing is that the entire Hall will throb with energy and pulse with harmonic vibration. That's at least how Alpha Trion describes it." Optimus and Megatron sat and thought about the information.

"We will do what is necessary to help mated mechs to understand." Optimus said after a while. Megatron just nodded as he thought about tonight. He was very interested in the energy but he also understood that this oracle was not to be trifled with.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"How do you feel Optimus?" Megatron asked him after Allie left.

"I don't know. Soundwave has already informed me that Comm and Wheeljack are on their way from Moon base 5. It seems that Wheeljack wants to take readings in the Hall tonight. It makes me nervous that it can affect them in that manner but I also know that they do this several times a year." Optimus expelled air from his vents as he leaned back in his chair. "I want to protect her and the twins but I know that I can't do that all the time. Do you feel that way about Shalon?"

"I do but to stifle them would make the bond miserable." Megatron commented.

"I know that and man can Allie hold a grudge." Optimus said tiredly as he retracted his mask and rubbed his face. "I didn't think she would ever forgive me when she first found out she was carrying."

"I know. What was that about?" Megatron inquired figuring that since it was over that Optimus would tell him.

"I encouraged Ultra Magnus to bond with Comm against her will. It didn't go well at first and we don't discuss it even now that she has forgiven me." Optimus told him. "We still are not sure that they are completely happy together. They love each other but they are both so stubborn."

"You can only try. I don't intervene unless it affects their work." Megatron told him. "I had some strange encounters to occur on the Nemesis but unless it affected me or their work I stayed out of their affairs. The encouraged the rules and yes some of them affected their personal lives. Unfortunately Skywarp loves sparklings and having bonded trines I had to make a rule that all procreation protocols had to be followed or Warp would have a sparkling every year."

"Yeah, I had the same problem with Prowl and Jazz. They would have had a whole brood of sparklings if Prowl had a say. Speaking of Prowl you do know about his relationship with Allie's agent, Tia?"" Prime asked him.

"Yes, Allie sent me a report that we lost another agent and why. She also tells me that they are not bonded and when I read Ratchet's report though he didn't use their names due to confidentiality, he did make a mention that it was a concern that she might be high risk due to lack of the bond." Megatron informed him.

"That would mean that I will need to have a difficult talk with Prowl and encourage him about resolving that situation but Prowl is Praxian by birth and I know that he would have talked to Ratchet so I might go to Ratchet first and if he has covered it then I will let things be." Optimus said.

"That might be a good idea. It is not wise to meddle with a mech's personal life." Megatron stated. He crossed his arms behind his helm looking like he was thinking. "You are much better at connecting with the troops. Have any of the cons began coming to you?"

"A few. Starscream seems to want a relationship with Allie and I. It may be that Kiki is good friends with Allie but we have been over to their home a few times. The twins love Starscream but then seekers are programmed to instinctively be protective towards them so I can understand the fascination." Optimus commented. Megatron laughed.

"Have Skywarp over and your sparklings may never want to stay with you again. Storm absolutely loves him. If she wasn't so small I would swear that they are already bonded and the gossip mill is stating that he has made it known that he is biding his time. Shalon thinks it is adorable. I, however, am not so sure because he acts so childishly and superficial but I know that there is a solid processor and he can use it well when needed." Megatron laughed. "I just know that they are meant for each other but I think I am going to mess with him a bit to make sure that he does right by my daughter."

"I would expect no less just as if my sparklings choose to one day court your daughter. I want them to know that they are to honor their mates. I don't want them to neglect them. I was fortunate as an Iaconian that my parents loved each other but many of the senators and politicians preferred arranged bonding so that they would look good or raise their family to a better position within their caste system. It was not a good situation and as our world became more unified I now see how they encouraged their practices on other cities. Praxis was one of the few cities that did not share that sort of practice and voiced it and that is why I will always feel guilt over the city being utterly destroyed and so many families that were completely obliterated." Optimus said. "It wasn't just the Decepticons, we both did it to the city and as much as I tell myself that I was trying to defend it, deep down I know that it was as much my fault as it was yours."

"At least you admitted your guilt. For a long time I saw it as justification. It wasn't until these last few months working with Prowl that I can appreciate his background and I regret what my cause did. We needed the war to some extent but too many innocents did die and I lost sight of that in my quest for power. My defense was that I didn't want to feel helpless like so many did in the mines and I didn't want to be controlled like they controlled us in the gladiator pits of Kaon. It took Shalon making me find focus again on the cause that we were originally fighting for. Then I saw through her that all those who had control over our lives are gone." Megatron said reflecting on his life experiences.

"I know. I remember how frustrating it was to report to the senate. They made me feel like a puppet at times. They even wrote a lot of my scripts for my weekly address to the people of Cybertron. The few times that I vetoed their decisions they would pull economic support for social programs or they would vote against a new law that would improve the lower classes of Cybertron. Do you know that I tried to get them to vote for a pay increase for the miners and their comment was that they were taken care of and did not need more credits? I even tried to tour one of the mines but they wouldn't let me go saying that as Prime I had no business worrying about dangerous places and that I was not trained like the workers were. I was young and stupid and had little experience dealing with liars and manipulators. I cringed every time you called me a simpering weak fool because in the beginning that was how I felt. If I had stood up to them sooner, if I had listened to the people sooner, so many ifs and I will always wonder if the war could have been spared if I just had listened to what my instincts were telling me."

"We both have regrets Prime. One of the deepest regrets was that I thought you would make slaves out of my followers. It was the main reason in the beginning that I refused to give up. Then of course after it was about power. I have often wondered if I was glitched in some way but deep down I knew what I was doing but didn't care." Megatron's optics dimmed in memories as he thought about his words.

"We have our regrets but we have a second chance here in the Realm." Optimus said in his rich baritone voice that Megatron had always liked despite their differences.

"And it is nice to know that you did try even if it is too late in coming. It helps for us to both be able to forgive." Megatron said. "Though you are too sentimental for your own good."

"Yes and looking back I am glad that I don't have to deal with the jar head idiots that the earth governments kept sending us." Optimus flatly stated and Megatron roared with laughter.

"I always wanted to know what your truly thought about them." Megatron said after he managed to control his humor to a minimum. "I couldn't stand them."

"It was hard hiding my frustration." Optimus admitted. "I like the humans here better. They seem to respect us more."

"I agree. I can even work with them. On earth I would blast first and ask question after and that would not be productive for peace."

"At least you can admit to your faults. I would still be rubbing my face and wishing for Ratchet to give me some strong pain killers or worse yet wanting to shoot myself to get away from their bickering." Optimus said while expelling air.

"Well the important thing is to get our mechs out of there before the earthlings cause more trouble for us. I am committed to making this peace last." Megatron stated as he stood to his peds. "I need to find Shalon. If I am going to spend time with her before the ritual I need to wrap things up now. You do too so that you and Allie have time together."

"I'll see you later?"

"I don't know. It depends on Shalon."

"Well if not I will see you tomorrow for work." Optimus stood and took Megatron's hand in a brotherly embrace. "May Primus watch over you and your family tonight."

"Thank you Prime. You too."