Beyond the Darkness

by RazormusPrime

The key to Vector Sigma is destroyed in mid-download, leaving behind its scars on Team Prime. Jack bears physical scars while Optimus bears the mental scars of incomplete memory and the burden of a Prime, but was Optimus memories the only thing lost? Was anything lost to begin with or was something gained? What Jack will learn is that nothing ever is destroyed, it only transforms.

2. Inside Our Scars

A/N: Hello there, for my old followers this chapter combines the old Chapter 3 Inside Our Scars and Chapter 4 Spoken from the Past but this chapter has additional things and changes so you might want to read it just to refresh your memory ;D Because I doubt if I don't remember things from my own fanfic you guys won't either XP Anywhoo! Hope you guys like it. Enjoy!

Oh and I'll think of better names for the chapters later, my brain's not too creative right now XP

---

"Are you guys sure you don't want any help?" Raf asked as he watched his friends clean up the remnants of the decorations of the party. Nightbeat couldn't help but watch the two older teens curiously from Raf's shoulder as they popped balloons and tossed their deflated carcasses into a plastic bag.

"Don't worry about it, Raf. We've got everything handled." Jack reassured him, offering Raf a smile. "Besides, it's late and you should be heading home."

Raf knew Jack was right but couldn't help but shuffle on his feet. He knew that if he didn't head home soon he would get an earful from his mother. Still, he didn't want to leave all the clean-up work to Jack and Miko.

"It's not like we'll be bored, Raf. " Miko added before taking out a pair of sling shots, tossing one to Jack along with some pebbles. "This gives us time for target practice." She said, grinning mischievously before taking aim with her sling shot and popping one of the several balloons Bulkhead and let escape to the ceiling during the party's preparations.

Raf couldn't help but laugh at that, "Can't argue with that, I guess. See you guys tomorrow then." He added as he began to make his way to Bumblebee who was already waiting in his vehicle mode.

"See ya, Raf." said Jack before following Miko's lead, taking aim on a balloon on the ceiling.
Raf waved back at the two before seating down in the passenger seat of Bumblebee's vehicle mode. They left the moment Raf's seatbelt clicked into place.

"Hey, Bulk! How's it going taking that banner down?" Miko called over to her guardian, not taking her eyes off her task.

Jack couldn't help but smile when Bulkhead ripped a piece of the banner and was desperately trying to ask for forgiveness. Unfortunately, the distraction make Jack miscalculate his aim and the pebble he shot bounced off the wall and somehow made its way to Ratchet's head.

"Oops..." Jack winced as Ratchet growl softly in annoyance. "Sorry about that, Ratchet..."

"Must the two of you be using those things to get those balloons down?" Ratchet groaned as he shot the two teens a glare.

"How else are we supposed to get them down? Even you guys can't reach them!" Miko countered before shooting down another balloon.

"Perhaps you could wait until they come down on their own once the helium escapes?" Ratchet suggested. Jack and Miko gave each other a look. They hadn't really thought about that but just shrugged.

"This is more fun." Miko replied before the two began to take aim again. "Besides, why aren't you helping? You partied too."

"I wasn't the one who put them up." Ratchet stated bluntly before looking over some balloons, still intruding in his work space. In a swept motion he grabbed those balloons and all they popped the moment he tightened his grasp.

Miko only pouted a little before aiming at another set of balloons beside Ratchet and successfully popped a few balloons with a single pebble.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle when the two began to bicker amongst themselves. Picking up a trash bag, Jack began to pick up all the deflated balloons he could get that lay scattered on the floor.

Though, while he was doing that he noticed something was missing. Looking around could see Bulkhead take down a few decorations. Optimus was doing the same, insisting he would help them with the cleanup. Miko and Ratchet were still bickering, Ratchet arguing that Miko could have broken sensitive equipment. It Jack a second to realize Arcee was nowhere in sight. Come to think of it, Jack realized he hadn't seen her in a while.

He doubted she was in her room, considering the bots hardly needed to sleep. Though, she couldn't have left the base, otherwise he would have noticed. He figured he might ask someone where she was but as of now he only had two options; Optimus and Bulkhead.

Setting down his trash bag, Jack walked over to the only bot he figured would have an idea where his guardian was, considering he was the only one among the two whose memory wasn't impaired. "Hey, Bulkhead. Do you know where Arcee went?"

The Wrecker perked up when he heard him and turned to look at him. His joints still creaked with stiffness from the effects of the tox-en but it was getting better now. Bulkhead took a moment to think about Jack's question before answering. "Ummm, not sure. She might have gone up top to talk to Cliff."

"Alright, I'll try looking there then." Jack replied before thanking him.

With a destination in mind, Jack made his way to the elevator and clicked the button to head outside. Moments later he was almost blinded by darkness of night. It took his eyes to adjust to the low light but he didn't need his vision to know where Arcee was.

Stepping out of the elevator, Jack made his way to Arcee's lone figure, sitting in front of a pile of rocks, symbolizing the memorial for her lost partner, Cliffjumper.

When Jack finally got to her side he knew she hadn't registered his presence yet. He decided to wait a moment to try and figure out what to say. The only thing that came to mind was the way she acted at the music store earlier. He had been too busy with the party preparations to ask her about what happened but now that the party was over there was time to talk.

"I was wondering where you went off to," said Jack, catching the attention of his guardian. He offered her a smile before looking back at Cliffjumper's memorial. "Did you come to give Cliffjumper some birthday cake?" he asked and Arcee couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Very funny, Jack." Arcee replied softly and Jack smiled.

"Still, it was a pretty good cake, I wished you guys could have tried some," Jack chuckled before sitting down beside his guardian. Arcee offered him a weak smile before shaking her head.

"I know what you came here to talk to me about, Jack." Arcee sighed as she glanced back at the memorial.

"You know me so well; you can read me like a book." Jack replied with a weak smile, "And I've known you long enough to do the same, you know."

"I'm sure of it," Arcee replied, looking down at him. With the low light, Jack could barely see Arcee's faceplates, only the parts that were lit up by her optics. Though, he didn't need to see her to ask her what he needed to.

"So, what happened in the music store?" Jack asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It was just a car that drove by," Arcee sighed; Jack did recall seeing a red car drive by the front of the store before seeing how distraught Arcee's holoform looked. "It reminded me a lot of Cliffjumper, that's all. I just came up here to think." Jack nodded, understanding and remained silent so he could listen to his guardian.

"I've been thinking about Cliffjumper more recently, I guess the grief just got to me." Arcee muttered softly, thinking about how her holoform responded to seeing the red muscle car drive by, thinking her old partner was somehow alive. "It's been almost a year since Cliff's been gone." she added.

"Has it gotten easier?" Jack asked, looking up at his guardian, placing his hand on her servo.

"Somewhat, scars do fade." Arcee admitted, "Though, it doesn't mean it doesn't get hard sometimes."

"I hear ya." Jack replied with a light smile as he stared up at the stars. Arcee could sense something more in his voice but wasn't sure what it was. "Losing someone you love is pretty hard, especially if it's two of them."

"Hmm," Arcee agreed, glancing back at the memorial and thinking about the last time she saw Tailgate alive.

"But you'll see them again when you're ready, I'm sure of it." Jack added. Arcee agreed silently and followed Jack's gaze to the sky. She almost wondered if Jack was speaking from experience but she couldn't image Jack ever permanently losing someone he cared about.

For a while the two remained silent, enjoying one another's company and Arcee was considering breaking that silence by asking Jack if he's ever lost a loved one but he spoke up first.

"What does Cliffjumper look like?" He asked curiously, his eyes brightened as if he had an idea in mind. "I mean, do you have a picture of him?"

"Sure," Arcee replied with a light smile before taking out a holoscan. She sat the black device down on the ground front of Jack.

As she reached down to turn on the device it just dawned on her that no matter how much she's told Jack about Cliffjumper, he's never had a visual to compare the information to. She has shown him a picture of Tailgate before though. So when the holoscan came to life, lighting up Jack's face in the darkness, he looked very surprise.

"He looks like Tailgate," Jack replied, sounding a bit dumbfounded, "Except he's red."

"I forgot to mention they were twins." Arcee replied, a light smile formed on her face.

Jack only nodded. Now it all made sense in the story she told him about how she and Cliffjumper became partners. At first Arcee had been bitter towards Cliffjumper in his attempts to get her to open up. Jack now realizes it was because Cliffjumper's face was a cruel reminder of what she had lost when Arachnid killed Tailgate.

Though, now that Jack thought about it Cliffjumper was a little different from Tailgate. In the picture he had seen of Tailgate he'd been rather serious while in this picture of Cliffjumper he had an easy smile and his optics looked a bit brighter. It wasn't hard to figure out who was the oldest between the two because of them.

Jack took a moment to try to memorize what Cliffjumper looked like. Once he figured he had it down, he patted her hand gently before hopping onto his feet.

"We should head back down; Miko's going to give me an earful for leaving in the middle of clean up." Jack sighed as he began to stretch, wincing lightly when he stretched his healing arm a bit too much.

"Sorry I didn't come to help." said Arcee, feeling a little guilty for leaving too soon. Jack only shrugged, meaning it didn't really matter either way.

"Don't worry about it," Jack replied, offering her a smile as he headed for the elevator.

Arcee couldn't help but smile before glancing back at Cliff's memorial one more time before turning to follow Jack. On the descent down to the ground floor she began to wonder exactly how long it would take for her to see Cliffjumper and Tailgate again.

---

Meanwhile, back in the small town of Jasper a lone crimson muscle car sat parked on the side of the road. At first glance nothing seemed out of the ordinary about this car. In reality, it was an autobot deep in recharge. This autobot had no name because he couldn't remember it. There was a lot he didn't remember and since the moment he had awakened on the planet earth he has been searching for answers.

Though, for as long as he could remember, those answers were only in his dreams. They were bits and fragments of his memories off this planet; memories of a brother and a blue femme, a friend. He would always try to figure out what those dreams meant but every time he tried there wasn't anything he could get that was helpful.

The autobot would have continued his power nap if it hadn't been for something clamping onto his tire. Powering up his optics, the autobot looked down at his tire and saw a weird metal device clamped tightly on. The word boot entered his mind and he couldn't help but make a face at that. He wasn't sure why he felt that way but he did and without a second thought he kicked off the dreaded boot.

Unfortunately, the moment he kicked off the boot it onto the hood of a black and white car with red and blue sirens. The autobot couldn't help but laugh when the driver hit the brakes and ran out to inspect the car in panic. Then before driver looked back at the autobot, seeing him as the source for sending the boot flying he was gone, already speeding down the road.

He couldn't help but laugh at the nostalgic feeling he got as he drove out of the town, into the desert. It felt good to laugh at something simple like accidently scaring the scrap out of a human.

As he drove down the interstate, putting space between him and Jasper he was almost relieved to be getting out of such a small town. This town had no style, expect for the occasional car or two that made up for it, he figured as a sleek yellow and black muscle car drove by, heading into Jasper.

Though, as time began to pass he had a strange nagging feeling in his spark, like he shouldn't have left so soon. He only just arrived to the town the day before; he hasn't even started for looking for evidence of his kind was there. Was leaving the best option?

He contemplated the idea until his sensors went off, signaling an energon source was nearby. Good, it was about time he found another source; the last of his supply was already running low. So instead of turning back he decided to follow the trail instead. It was his first energon lead in a while so he figured it couldn't hurt trying to find it first before deciding what his next move was.

Despite being in the situation he was in, the autobot felt in high spirits now. He may have not found any answers yet, or any proof that any other Cybertronians were on this planet but at least he could still laugh.

He continued going forward for a mega cycle or so until the signal had him go off road. This led him into a dense forest that eventually forced him to transform into his robot form.

It felt good to finally be able to stretch after being cooped up in this vehicle mode for so long. What made it even better he was in a pretty secluded part of the forest, so he had a good chance no one would spot him while he followed the energon source.

The closer he got, the larger he began to realize the source really was. It may have been the biggest source he's found in the entire time he was on this planet.

Suddenly, his scanners started to go off again as he reached an open clearing. At first glance there wasn't anything in sight. For a moment he began to think that his sensors must have been scrambled or something until something in the center of the field caught his optic.

Taking a couple steps into the clearing he could see it; a pit leading somewhere down below the earth. Tilting his helm is curiosity he walked over to the mouth of the pit.

From the surface you couldn't see much at the bottom. He began to weigh his options for this cave. If he used up his energy to climb down he might not have the strength to come back up if he doesn't find any energon or any other way out.

When in doubt, dive in. Without a second thought he jumped.

The descent was a long one, he was glad he decided not to climb down. When he saw the ground approaching he quickly extended his arms and grabbed for the side of the cavern with all his might. His servos slipped down the rock wall for a few moments before he had lost enough momentum to stop completely. Setting his feet onto the ground, he steadied himself before turning around. The first thing his adjusting optics came across astonished him.

"Energon cubes?" he said, suddenly dumbfound by the sound of his own voice. It sounded unnatural and raspy, most likely due to lack of use considering he hadn't had anyone to talk to for a while. It was strange…but not as strange as the packaged energon in front of him.

Shaking his helm, he focused his attention back to the cubes and several things went through his mind. The main thing was that he's not as alone on earth as he thought. It was great and a big relief; the thought that he wasn't alone on this hunk of rock, except it wasn't just a thought, it was really true. It made him feel overjoyed but something didn't feel quite right.

Why did he have this feeling of dread in his spark?

Glancing down at his chestplates, just over his spark chamber he could see the familiar scar pattern he's had ever since he had awoken on this planet. Did it have something to do with what he couldn't remember? He wasn't sure about that but he knew one thing; he needed answers. He's needed them since he woke up alone in that valley almost a year ago.

Sighing softly he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he stared down at the energon cubes. He needed the energon now more than answers at the moment. Opening one of the storage containers nearest to him he found his prize.

On first examination the cube seemed fine; bright blue, etc. Taking the energon cube out of the container he held the energon cube close to his lips but he didn't drink. Instead he took a servo and gently dipped a single digit into the bright blue liquid and placed it in his mouth onto his glossa to taste it. He relaxed almost instantly when his glossa detected the familiar flavor of the fuel as it activate his sensors. Recognizing that there was nothing wrong with the energon he tilted the cube up to his lips and drank it gratefully.

The energon was immediately a relief to his systems but the more he drank the more it made his processor a little dizzy. A dull ached formed on his chest. Pulling away the half empty cube from his lips he figured it must have had something to do with his energon deprivation for the past couple of solar cycles.

He decided to finish the rest of the cube slowly in hopes it avoid causing his processor to fog up again and reduce the aches. A deep sigh escaped his voice capacitor once he finished the cube. Now that that was taken care of he had other matters to attend to. Setting down the empty cube he glanced back down at the other stored energon cubes before looking around at cavern he was currently in.

Answers, right. He could probably find some if he managed to find someone else in the mine.

Noticing a conjoining tunnel on the other side of the cavern he began to make his way towards it. He walked slowly to avoid making any more noise than he needed to. As he walked he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Something about this place brought back that nagging feeling in the back of his helm. Knowing it was probably best not to push that thought aside he continued forward with caution. The deeper he went into the mine the more alert he became.

For a while he just walked through a tunnel system craved into the wall until he began to hear something far off. He came to a halt as he tried to focus the noise. It was a dull mechanical sound off in the distance he figured could've been a drill. He didn't notice it before when he was in the room with the energon.

That definably meant someone was close by and with that he continued on until he came into a large cavern. His aqua green optics widen because he was completely taken aback and all he could do was stare.

All around him was a complex operation of drilling and mining equipment for excavating energon. Surrounding him was a massive operation, metal walkways, leading high up along the walls of the cave. Servant class bots operated several types of tools to excavate the energon, including massive drillers. Pretty much everything you could possibly need to mine energon was here before him.

He watched silently as several workers were milling back and forth with their tasks. They were so busy with what was at hand they didn't seem to even notice him. Suddenly, a gleam of silver on one of the worker's armor caught his attention and he froze when he recognized the insignia.

Decepticons…It was one of the only things he could actually remember which was both a good thing and a bad thing. He mentally cursed himself for going this far into the cave. How could he be so stupid? He wanted answers, not to be captured by the enemy!

Quietly and swiftly he turned to try to head back to the tunnel he came from. Normally he couldn't back down from a fight but he wasn't an idiot. He was hilariously out outnumbered and stood no chance against them alone. The cons probably didn't notice he was there and he might have a chance to get out of there.

"Freeze, autobot!" someone shouted behind him as he felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of his head.

Scrap. Was his luck really that bad? Sighing softly, he raised his servos over his head to show he was no threat. He won't be able to get out of this situation so easily.

"Listen fellas, I don't want any trouble here." He said, trying to reason with the cons, turning his head as much as he could to look back at the cons. Not that they will listen but it was worth a shot.

There was a sudden uproar when his optics meant with the dark red visor of his captor as several other decepticons circled them and they seemed to be keeping their distance. Several of them seemed to go into a panic while others seemed to back away in fear and some displayed anger.

"Primus, it's HIM!" he could hear a con say in the chaos.

What are they- He began to think before a sudden force stopped his train of thought and pain erupted in his processor. One moment he wasn't in the mine anymore, he was somewhere else, he was outside and a ship loomed over him.

---

Blasters activated in his arms as he watched a unit of decepticons drop down from the ship. They let off a steam of shots and attacks; the initial bombardments of blasts suddenly shot him into the air. He hit the ground hard but they weren't going to keep him down.

Getting up and transforming, he drove right into the enemy and the battle had begun. They knock him back down, this time disorienting him for a moment; they knew he wouldn't give up without a fight. Suddenly a stray shot set off a nearby energon crystal and it erupted beside him, causing a chain reaction.

KA-BOOM

That was the last thing he heard before there was nothing but the darkness...

---

Gasping out in pain, the autobot jolted awake and he realized he was on the ground. The processor splitting pain coursing through his helm almost forced him under again but he forced himself to remain conscious.

What in the Well of Allsparks was that!? He thought, before a throbbing wave of pain suddenly stuck him like he was hit by a train. He gripped his helm tightly in his servos, waiting for it to stop. He could feel something warm and slippery on his servos but he hardly paid any attention to that.

It took him a moment to remember he was in the decepticon energon mine. He was injured, so he was attacked, for some unknown reason. Then again, when did the cons ever have a reason to do anything?

He tried to get to his feet but he immediately found out that was a very bad idea when pain shot into his processor. Then he was shoved forcefully back down on the ground.

Argh…what now? He thought as he tried to look above him, the pain only disorienting him. For a moment he began to see shadows around him and panic suddenly came over him as he heard those voices again. Then as quickly as they were there they were gone and he just thought his processor was playing tricks on him.

"Down, autobot filth!" ordered a decepticon as he tried to get up again and he was hit in the back of his head by the barrel of his gun. In response, he couldn't hold back a scream as pain erupted all over his processor. Gasping out in pain, he would barely make out what they were saying above him.

"How… is...e stil…con...cious?" the con he assumed was the one who hit him in the back of the head.

"Trus…me…h…won't…b…fo…long." Another added into the conversation.

"For…get…it…th..shot…sho…ave…kil…im!" another said, he was less comprehendible than the first two guys.

"Wha…d…we…do…wit…im?" the first one said and his processor began to pound painfully and he tried to ignore them.

Suddenly the autobot's internal systems began to give him several warnings along with warnings of stasis lock. The next thing he knew he felt like he was starting to slip away.

No…not now…He tried to fight to keep his optics, it just dawned on him that he could no longer hear the activity in the mine anymore. Not a good sign, right? Fighting to stay conscious he tried to focus his optics on anything and found something; a piece of crystalized energon on the floor of the cave not too far off. As he stared at the crystalized energon more images flashed across his optics. So many were flashing in front of him he couldn't really focus on one thing.

"Hold still for the holoscan, brother!" a youngling's voice called out.

His flickering aqua green optics widened in shock and he frantically began to search where the voice came from. Unfortunately, they came with another uproar from the decepticons and he felt a hard blow collide with the open wound on his helm. He let out a roar in pain and was shocked by how savage it sounded.

"Come on, hold still, little ones!" another voice, older and more feminine, ringed cheerfully but almost impatiently. His frame suddenly froze as he stared straight ahead as he began to see the owners of the voices.

"I'm trying!" a familiar red youngling whined as he looked up at his white and blue brother.

It took him a moment to realize the voice of the youngling was coming from him.

The blue and white youngling only watched his brother as the red youngling glared at the bright yellow sparkling clinging to his back.

"He won't stay still!" He whined as he tried to get the sparkling to stop squirming but the sparkling refused to do such a thing. Instead he took a sudden interest on one of the horns on his head and began teething on it. A look of utter horror and disgust swept across the red youngling's faceplate as the sparkling seemed oblivious of the older youngling's horror.

"Hey! Stop that!" whined the red youngling and a soft ring of laughter escaped his brother's voice capacitor just as their caretaker took their holoscan.

Pain suddenly coursed through his spark, making the pain on his chestplates feel like he had only a few dents. A hollow emptiness filled him that he couldn't explain as he watched his brother.

Why did he feel this way? Why did he feel pain while seeing his brother?

Suddenly he began to feel the pull of the cold and darkness again as stasis lock began to activate. Fear coursed through him and he tried to calm himself and tried to override the stasis lock. His processor screamed at him, it had already taken too much damage to stay conscious.

Suddenly his processor began to fill with blurred memories, both memories of his life and also one he couldn't understand or remember…

Was this what happened when you were dying? Your life flashes before your optics, you get strange feelings? He sure hoped not, he couldn't end this way. He didn't want to die here, not having been able to do anything to remember who he was or find the autobots.

He wanted so badly to remember…to remember everything…no matter how dreary it may have been…

Suddenly the pain in his processor and pain in his body seemed to subside. Before he could even think as to why what was a clear image came to mind.

Bright blue optics with purple rings met with his aqua blue optics. He stared into those blue optics for what seemed like an eternity. They were so familiar; he didn't even need to think a name to know who it was. He knew her optics anywhere.

"Let's get you home, Partner!" She said to him. After that darkness pulled him under and there was nothing but the cold and emptiness. Then, nothing was louder to him at that moment than the silence.

---

"Where to start…" Jack muttered as he put a red cap on his head and set down his bucket of paint on the lift. The same life he, Raf and Miko used to break into the museum in Greece, but that was a different story. The lift was meant to be able to reach the higher part of the rather large mural they were making for the bots.

Looking up at the wall he inspected the mural that was on the wall. It was a project that the three of them had thought about making after Jack got out of the hospital and he could move around with minimal pain. This mural was of Team Prime and was meant as a gift for knowing the bots for a year.

So, once all the supplies were bought and brought to base, Miko made every autobot cross their sparks that they wouldn't look beneath the tarp covering it until they were done.

Unfortunately, the mural was practically in the middle of the command center. That meant they could only work when they were sure an autobot wouldn't accidently see it when they walked into the room. Though, Ratchet was the only exception, though, considering he did all his work there but he promised not to look at it.

Jack knew they still had a lot of work to do. The last time he remembered they actually remembered working on it was maybe a few weeks ago. He only remembered it because it was the time Miko accidently dropped a bucket of paint onto his head. Jack had actually screamed loud enough that the autobots actually came rushing over to see what was wrong.

As a result, there was a chance that they could see the mural before it was done so Miko, doing the only think she could do to stop that pulled the tarp back over the mural. Unfortunately, the paint was still drying underneath so the tarp smudged a few places and it was hard to remove the tarp without the assist of the bots. It took them a while but they managed to fix the damage and all is good. This also happened before Bulkhead's accident with the tox-en, so they haven't worked on the mural in for a while.

As of now, each bot had a base coat and now they were getting into some detail. Though, before that they had been mostly fixing up what had been smudged by the tarp so there hasn't been much progress besides the fact there was also a new addition to the mural.

Jack couldn't help but smile at the image of Arcee and who was now standing beside her with that care free smile. Jack hoped he got the expression down as he finished up the lines of Arcee's former partner, Cliffjumper.

It was Jack's idea to add Cliffjumper onto the mural of Team Prime, considering he technically was on the team but that was before him, Raf and Miko even knew about the autobots. It was also the reason he asked Arcee to show him a picture of Cliffjumper the day before, so the image was mostly done from memory.

It looked pretty decent as of now, all it needed was the color. Though, as Jack stood there with a bucket of red paint and a brush he couldn't help but have this strange feeling as he stared at the image of Cliffjumper. The feeling just came over him all of a sudden; he wasn't sure how to explain it really.

"Earth to Jack! Hand down some blue paint!" Miko called, pulling Jack away from his thoughts.

"I'm coming," Jack replied as he lowered the lift and handed her the spare bucket of blue paint he had. He was going to use it to work on Optimus' helmet but since it was an extra bucket he didn't make a fuss in giving it to her.

"Thank you," said Miko as she took the bucket and opened it before dunking her brush onto the paint.

Jack only nodded in acknowledgement before raising the lift up to work on the image of Cliffjumper.

Meanwhile, Raf was rolling up his sleeves as he stood beside a bucket of yellow paint. Nightbeat seemed to be curious about the paint and sat at the rim of the open paint bucket. His curiosity got the better of him because not a moment later he stuck his beak into the yellow paint.

Raf could only laugh as his little friend jumped back, bewildered by the sticky bright substance covering his beak. Miko heard the small Cybertronian bird squawk and started laughing when Raf tried to help Nightbeat clean off the paint but he wouldn't stop moving.

A few hours later the three of them decided to take a break and let the paint dry before they draped the tarp over the mural.

A bit exhausted from the work they made their way up to the human sector and plopped down onto the couch. Today Jack managed to finish up the paint on Cliffjumper while Raf and Miko managed to touch up a bit of paint on the other bots.

"So guys, where do you think Optimus is going to take all of us tomorrow?" Raf asked he got comfortable on the couch.

"Don't know," Jack shrugged, tugging his red cap over his eyes, looking like he was about to fall asleep any moment now.

"Who knows, but hey, field trip!" Miko grinned widely before standing and walking over to Raf's new Guitar Hero. "Wanna play?"

"Pass," Jack said immediately and Raf only shrugged. He wasn't really up to playing either; working on the mural took a lot of energy out of him.

"Boring much," Miko hummed before walking back to the couch and sat down between them.

Raf just smiled at her apologetically before he began to think about the trip. He got excited when Optimus said during his birthday party that he wanted to take everyone on a trip somewhere. Though, Ratchet practically had a fit when Optimus suggested it the idea so out of the blue. Ratchet had argued how they all just got Optimus back a month ago and that there hasn't been any decepticon activity since the last relic was discovered, so anything could happen at any moment.

To be honest, Raf had to admit that was very suspicious of the cons to stay quiet like that.

It was so…unsettling. It was like the calm before the storm; you weren't sure when it was going to strike and tear apart the world around you.

That was why the bots were all out today on patrol, minus Ratchet and Bulkhead. Ratchet was doing his own work while Bulkhead was still healing from his injuries from the tox-en. Though, Raf wasn't really sure where the Wrecker was at the moment. The bots wanted to make sure everything was alright before they went on the trip.

Raf remembered Optimus calling it, "Taking a day off," for all the autobots, so they could spend some time together with the three of them before he and Miko left for their summer trips. Miko was supposed to go back to Japan for the summer around the same time Raf would be leaving on his family trip to Spain.

Then, it suddenly just occurred to Raf how much of a family Team Prime was. Looking over at Ratchet by the monitors, Raf could see Ratchet as a bit of a grouchy uncle or something. He couldn't help but laugh at making that connection.

Standing up, Raf walked over to the autobot medic. He could see him working on something and from where he stood it almost looked like he was studying human anatomy. That surprised Raf, considering when he was almost killed by dark energon poisoning Ratchet hated himself for not knowing human medicine to help him. Everyone had been worried about Raf at the time and it was another thing that reminded him they were all a big family.

"Is there something you need, Rafael?" Ratchet suddenly asked, not looking up from his work.

"Huh? Oh, not really," Raf replied, "Just thinking."

"Is there anything in particular you are thinking about?" Ratchet asked, glancing down at the young boy for a moment.

"Family mostly," Raf shrugged before a thought came to mind. "Hey, Ratchet, do Cybertronians have families?" At this both Miko and Jack perked up, curious as to what Raf was talking about with Ratchet. Ratchet also seemed rather surprised by the question.

"I mean do you guys have kids?" Raf asked as Miko and Jack walked over. Though, Raf wasn't sure where the sudden curiosity came from. The three of them were a little surprised when the medic abruptly stopped working completely and turned to them with a look for surprise.

"Well, of course," explained Ratchet, looking down at the boy, "but, not in the same sense as humans." He added.

"What do you mean?" Raf asked, a bit curious by what the autobot medic meant.

"It's a bit complicated." Ratchet explained as he tried to continue with his work on the monitor. Though, he knew he wouldn't be able to get much work done now that he had all of their attention.

"But weren't you guys created by the Well of Allsparks or something?" Miko added in, remembering Ratchet mention that once before. Cybertronians practically rose out of a giant hole in the ground and the Primes were the first to come from it. Still, she didn't really get the concept that well.

"That is precisely the reason why it's a bit complicated to explain." Ratchet replied. "There are several ways to create new life for Cybertronians. The Well of Allspark was just our main method before it shut down during the war."

"You guys have more than one way to make new bots?" Jack asked, astonished. The medic merely nodded as if it wasn't anything new. He understood Jack's confusion considering there was really only one way for humans to reproduce, so he figured he should explain.

"The Well of Allsparks merely generates new sparks from the ones that linger inside it." Ratchet replied, catching the interest of the three kids. "On Cybertron, new life is created by placing those sparks created by the Allspark into a preprogrammed protoform. Then the protoform molds into a hatchling, our first stage of life." Ratchet explained.

"Why is it called a hatchling?" Raf asked curiously, part of him wondered if they hatch from eggs. That would be a little weird if they did as he imaged someone like Bumblebee hatching from an egg.

"When the spark is placed into the protoform it's in such a fragile state it cannot survive on its own without further development. Because of this, the protoform requires a lifeline, serving as nourishment and a protection from the outside world until it is mature enough to survive on its own. This lifeline is known as an energon sac, which provides to the hatchling until it matures and the hatchling's vital systems have developed completely." Ratchet explained as he continued to type commands into the monitor, determined to multi-task.

"So it's like in a womb?" said Jack as he watched the medic and tried to imagine what an energon sac looked like with a hatchling inside. It was like a mother's womb except it would probably be blue because of the energon and there would be a little metal transformer baby sleeping inside. At least, that was the only way it made sense to him.

"Yes, but a femme body type does not carry the sparkling within her body like humans." Ratchet explained in a way the children would understand before considering something. "However, there is a method that we adopted after the Well of Allsparks closed and we left the planet in mass exodus."

"Which was?" Miko asked, eager to know more.

"I'm getting to that," Ratchet sighed softly. "The method is where a bot, whether it be mech or femme, there is no real difference, can carry the hatching's spark within their spark chamber and the spark matures within them before it's placed into a protoform. It's the closest method similar to human reproduction but it's not quite the same." The autobot explained and the children took a moment to consider what they were just told.

"Also, the hatchling is referred to as a sparkling." Ratchet added in and the three of them perked at that term, considering Ratchet has called them sparklings on more than one occasion. So, he was calling them infants then. At least that made sense now.

"So, how does it work?" Miko asked, still not getting it. Ratchet said they had that method after the Well of Allspark shut down, so then how did the bots could get the spark? "Where do baby sparks come from?"

"From spark bonding," Ratchet said simply and the kids looked at him curiously at the word.

"In human terms it would be considered as marriage but it's much more than that. A spark bond creates an inseparable bond between two mates, a bond created by merging sparks that intertwines the souls and minds of the two individuals until they become one, resulting in a spiritual bond." Ratchet began, pausing a moment to make sure the children understood. "This connection may also result in the ignition of a new spark which can form in either mate's spark chamber and it remains there until it's mature enough to be placed in a protoform mold."

"That's incredible," Jack replied, and Ratchet nodded in agreement. Spark bonding was indeed an incredible thing. It practically saved their people from extinction when all hope was lost. Not only had it brought them life, it also brought them new hope to live on as well.

"There is, however one disadvantage for spark bonds." Ratchet added and the three kids looked up at him in surprise and waited for an explanation. "A spark bond is unbreakable and cannot be destroyed until death of either one, or both bondmates. In the case of only one bondmate going offline, there is the possibility of the second bondmate to eventually go offline due to the pain of the separation." He added, almost sadly but it was quickly snuffed out by usual hardened demeanor.

"So spark bonding can create life and end it," Jack muttered, letting it process for a moment. "It sure does bring a whole new meaning to 'til death do they part'…" Jack added softly, looking away a little sad. It was a lot to take in, spark bonding was an extraordinary thing but at the same time it could be something sad and painful.

"That's a depressing way to put it," said Miko and Jack agreed before feeling a lightly thump on top of his head. Looking up, he could see a pair of blue optics staring down at him curiously that could only belong to Nightbeat.

Raf walked up beside Jack and looked both a little worried and embarrassed where his little friend was perched on. Jack reached up on top of his head and gently grabbed the Cybertronian bird before handing him back to Raf, who placed Nightbeat on his shoulder, only for the small bird to return to Jack's head and nestle into his hair.

Miko watched, amused as Raf only got embarrassed that Nightbeat was making a nest of Jack's hair while Jack tried to convince him it was fine. Suddenly, a thought came to mind.

"Do Optimus and Elita have a spark bond?" Miko asked curiously.

"Yes, but I'm not going to go in depth with their personal life," said Ratchet, making it clear he wasn't going to share that information. "And that doesn't give you can excuse to go to Optimus and bombard him with questions about his personal life," Ratchet warned.

"Can we ask about your life then?" Raf asked curiously. "Do you have a family?"

Ratchet recoiled a bit before glancing down to look at the boy in surprise. The kids returned the look and were a bit surprised by the medic's reaction. He looked startled, flustered by such an innocent question.

"Uh, well yes…" Ratchet muttered a bit awkwardly, looking away from the children for a moment. That didn't stop the grin forming on Miko's face.

"Well, tell us about them!" Miko said excitedly, clearly eager to learn about Ratchet's family.

Ratchet only sighed, "I have a mate as well as a son." Meanwhile, the kids just stared at him with an expression that was a mix of surprise and awe. Ratchet braced himself for the flood of questions from Miko.

"What's your son's name? How old is he? Is he a medic like you or is he a soldier? Where is he now? Why haven't you mentioned him before? Does he look like you? Who's your mate? Is she pretty? Where's she-" the girl asked before Jack's hand rested on her shoulder, gesturing her to stop.

Ratchet immediately felt overwhelmed by her questions and groaned softly as he pinched the bridge of his 'nose'. Ratchet was a bit relief Jack had stopped the girl from asking any more questions for the moment. Shaking his helm, Ratchet dropped his servo and looked down at Miko. He figured he might as well answer some of her questions. Sighing softly, Ratchet thought he might as well start with Miko's first question. He knew too well that the girl wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't answer a few of her questions.

"My son's name is First Aid and he just a little older than Bumblebee by now," Ratchet began and the kids seemed to be intrigued by every word he said. Were they really that interested? Considering the expressions they had on their faces, apparently they were. Sighing softly, Ratchet took out a vid scan from a compartment in his chest and placed it down on the platform beside Jack, Raf and Miko. The vid scan quickly came to life and showed them a picture of himself and a smaller mech beside him.

The bot beside Ratchet had red/orange and white armor and familiar aqua blue optics, just visible behind a blue visor. Not only was his optics familiar, they were the same designed as Ratchet's. Though, his optics weren't the only thing similar to Ratchet. There was also the shape of his helmet, his curved shoulders and slightly bulky appearance looked very much like the wise old medic standing beside him in the vid-scan. However, there was still something a bit different about this bot. It was in his optics, despite looking like his father's; they were far more spirited and curious. It was also strange to see it in optics that looked so much like Ratchet's.

Ratchet remained silent the entire time Jack, Raf and Miko studied the vid-scan. He watched as the image of First Aid looked straight ahead of them, unaware of their presence, only the vid scan, capturing the image of him and his father.

"He was created from the Well of Allsparks and the only reason he is considered by son is because the protoform his spark was placed in contained the coding of his mother and I." Ratchet explained and the children looked up in a mix of surprise and awe.

"Tell us more!" Miko exclaimed, obviously interested to hear more about Ratchet's son.

"First Aid practically joined the war the moment he was old enough to." Ratchet explained as he watched the image of his son thoughtfully. "He became a medic much to our surprise. He never showed much interest in being a medic before that…He's a lot more like his mother, personality wise, that we both thought he would be a soldier like her. Then again, we both thought he would be a flier like her as well."

"Your sparkmate's an autobot flier?" Raf asked, fairly surprised the autobots had fliers to begin with. He always felt they were more ground base than anything else, considering all of the autobots had vehicles alt. modes. Then again, decepticons like Knock Out and Breakdown, as well as some of those Eradacons had car modes as well.

"Yes, autobot fliers were common and there were several autobot flier units on Cybertron." Ratchet replied, "The best known are the Aerial bots. Their leader is a mech that goes by the name Silverbolt and he was her mentor."

"What's her name?" asked Jack as he watched the old medic curiously.

"Windrazor." Ratchet replied as he pressed a button on the vid-scan projector. The image instantly changed to a picture of Ratchet, a hatchling First Aid riding on his shoulders. Beside the two was a beautiful red and blue autobot femme, her optics were closed as she was laughing at the two while Ratchet struggled to get the energetic hatchling to sit still. In the photo, Ratchet appeared considerably younger compared to now.

Jack, Raf and Miko were silent as they stared the image of Windrazor. She was a fighter that much they could tell. Her right cheek was covered in scars but despite that she was still very beautiful. It wasn't hard to see that she was a hardcore soldier.

Yet, despite both her and Ratchet having demanding jobs in the war, all the horrors they must have faced, they still found a way to be happy. Happy for the tiny little hatchling they created that was a part of both of them. It was just extraordinary.

While looking at the picture, Miko was the first to break the silence, "Aaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwww, you actually look happy, Ratchet!" Miko exclaimed cheerfully.

Before Ratchet could say anything, Miko flipped out her phone and took a picture of the vid scan, "And yet another addition to the scrapbook." She said as she stared fondly at the picture before putting her phone away.

Ratchet just stared at Miko, unsure what to make of the situation. He almost didn't hear Jack speaking. "What was that?" Ratchet asked as he turned to the boy. "I said how'd you meet her? Windrazor I mean." Jack said as he leaned up against the railing.

"I met her when I was a field medic early in the war…" Ratchet replied before shutting off the vid scan and returned it into the compartment in his chest. "But that's a different story." He said, brushing it off before straightening his composure and becoming serious again.

"Considering we met not long before the war started, First Aid was in one of the last waves of sparks created by the Well of Allsparks and Vector Sigma before the Well of Allsparks mysteriously shut down." He added as he looked down at Jack, Raf and Miko.

"Vector Sigma?" Jack asked, taking a step back in surprise. "I thought you said it was a super computer." He said, completely stunned by what Ratchet was saying. Was Vector Sigma, the ancient power he used to get Optimus' memories back and almost died for, really linked to creating new transformers?

"Vector Sigma is a super computer, but in the time when the Well of Allsparks was still open, it was used to grant personality to every Cybertronian brought into existence by the Well of Allsparks." Ratchet stated as if it wasn't out of the ordinary before continuing. "Every spark is spiritually connected to Vector Sigma as they are to Cybertron. As a hatchling or sparkling matures, it gains personality from Vector Sigma and from that, Vector Sigma stores a piece of our beings within it."

"Wow," Miko said, surprised before looking down at the picture she took of Ratchet's family. She focused her attention on First Aid for a moment, the son of the autobot medic standing right in front of them.

"Well, that explains how Optimus' memories and the wisdom of the Primes were in there and we were able to get both back." Jack said thoughtfully, pulling Miko out of her thoughts as she looked up at him. Ratchet simply nodded in agreement. It was fascinating in a sort of magical kind of way that somehow involved alien robots from another planet.

"Anyway, where's First Aid now?" Miko asked, changing the conversation, asking the question they all wanted to know.

"Somewhere out in the cosmos, I'm sure of it." Ratchet replied simply, without any doubt.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Raf and Ratchet actually offered him a weak smile.

"Parent's instinct." Ratchet replied simply before tapping his chest. The children immediately understood it must have been the parent and child connection he had. Like he said, when a bot died from a bond, those connected to that bot could feel it; it must be the same for him and First Aid.

"When was the last time you saw First Aid?" Raf asked as he placed his hands on the rail and looked up at Ratchet through the rails. Ratchet considered this for a moment and tried to look back through his memory bank to remember when it was the last time he saw First Aid.

"It was after the attack of Tyger Pax." Ratchet replied, remembering he was with him as one of the first responders to the sight.

"Tyger Pax?" Raf asked, having remembered Ratchet mention it before not long ago, "Isn't that where Bumblebee got his voice box ripped out by Megatron?"

"Ouch," Miko grimaced, having not heard the entire story behind Bumblebee's muteness, reached for her own neck, "That sounds painful."

"Yes," Ratchet replied to Raf and somewhat ignoring Miko's comment before continuing, "At the time, First Aid was still my apprentice and he helped me stabilize a critically wounded autobot. He remained caring for this autobot and had helped him with his rehabilitation." Ratchet explained, for a moment he thought back to that day. First Aid had performed admirably that day and had helped him save that autobot. In return, the autobot became close friends before they went their separate ways.

"After that, First Aid left to go join an autobot group called the Protectobots." Ratchet explained, remembering First Aid's childhood friend was the leader of the group. "Then there was the Exodus and the last I heard of First Aid, he and the Protectobots were still stationed on planet, aiding in the mass evacuation." Ratchet explained, almost sadly before finishing. "Meanwhile, I was one of the first to leave with Optimus. Eventually, everyone left the planet and now, I have no idea where he is."

Jack watched the autobot medic and couldn't help but feel bad for him. He hasn't seen his own son, probably in centuries. He just really hoped they would be able to see each other again one day.

Rubbing his head, Jack almost forgot Nightbeat was still perched on his head. He startled the small bird slightly but Nightbeat, who let out an annoyed squawk, stayed where he was. This was a lot to take in; the Well of Allsparks, Vector Sigma, hatchlings, sparklings, spark bonding, adaption, Ratchet's family.

"None of us may know where our love ones are, just as I do not know of First Aid's whereabouts. However, those of us who are fortunate enough still have unbroken bonds connecting us to those we love. That bond gives them hope to see their love ones again just like it gives myself hope to see First Aid and it gives Optimus hope to reunite with Elita." Ratchet explained Jack understood this completely.

Their bond and love still gave them hope and helped them get through the days without the ones they care about. It would hurt Jack to see any of them give up the hope they have, or to see any of the bots who have bonds to others to lose them.

"Are you hopeful to reunite with Windrazor too?" Raf asked suddenly, realizing Ratchet hadn't mentioned her as much, Ratchet seemed caught off guard by this; even more than when they asked him if he had a family.

"Ratchet, may I have a moment to speak to you," Optimus asked suddenly, appearing out of nowhere, surprising the group. None of them even realized when he showed up. Ratchet looked up at Optimus but seemed a little out of it. Jack motioned to Raf and Miko that they should probably leave them to talk.

Miko stole a glance at Ratchet before looking up at Optimus. "Saved by the Prime," she said, before Jack motioned her to leave with them and the three of them headed to the stairs to give the medic and the Prime privacy to talk. Jack followed close behind but stole a glanced back at Ratchet for a moment before following his friends down the stairs.

By the look he saw in Ratchet's optics he felt like they might have hit a nerve or two. Turning away, Jack walked down the stairs and out of sight of the two metal titans. Optimus watched the children leave and waited for them to get out of hearing distance. Once they were gone he turned to Ratchet and was troubled by the far off look in his optics.

"Are you alright, old friend?" Optimus asked as he placed a servo on Ratchet's shoulder. The gesture seemed to break his trance as the medic looked up at the red and blue Prime.

"I'm fine." Ratchet replied as Optimus removed his servo from his shoulder. "What is it that you need, Optimus?" asked the medic as he recovered his usual stoic demeanor he could only have for his closest friend.

"I have completed the necessary procedures needed for the debugging program to have its full affect to eradicate the virus on the Iacon data base." Optimus explained as he handed the medic the software. "Once it is installed it should take about twenty-four hours to wipe out all the damages," the Prime explained.

"Then, afterwards you'll be able to decode the relics without further issue?" Ratchet asked as he installed the antivirus into the Iacon Data base they had recently recovered from the decepticons when he and Wheeljack had teamed up to locate one of the relics.

"Affirmative." Optimus replied. Ratchet looked up at his friend. The virus Optimus, or should he say, Orion had planted before escaping the decepticon ship was very sophisticated the decepticons couldn't even breach its defenses.

Considering Orion only had time to take the three coordinates he had already decoded he had left a massive virus in the decepticon's systems to prevent them from using the Iacon data base. Unfortunately, the virus had not been able to keep the locations of three relics Orion had already decoded from Soundwave. As a result, the Decepticons retrieving two out of the three relics; one of them, the force field generator, was destroyed. The other, perhaps the most important of the three, The Forge of Solus Prime, was taken by the Decepticons.

The virus hadn't been able to do much when the decepticon ship gained a consciousness and broke though the defenses temporarily. As a result, four more locations were uncovered and it was a race to locate them. The autobots only became a part of this race thanks to the children boarding the Decepticon ship and downloading the locations manually.

However, despite the virus not having much effect on the location of the first seven relics, once the ship had been ridden of the dark energon it prevented the Decepticons from locating any other relics. Because of this, now both sides were at a standstill. That is, until now; soon enough the Autobots will be able to debug the Iacon data base. After that, they'll be able to locate the other relics with little to no problems.

"You are studying human biology?" Optimus asked suddenly, pulling Ratchet out of his thoughts. Ratchet almost jumped out of his skid plates at the suddenness of the question but he kept his demeanor in check. He didn't realize Optimus was still there, he thought as he turned to look at his Prime. By the calculated look in his optics, Ratchet could see Optimus had been studying the files on his monitor, both intrigued and perhaps a bit curious.

"Yes," Ratchet replied simply as he turned back to look at the monitor. He quickly realized Optimus wouldn't remember his reasons for his studies. "Not long before your memory loss and you became Orion Pax, Rafael was injured by exposure to dark energon and he nearly lost his life." Ratchet explained simply as he continued to read through the files. He was a fool to know so little of the humans they've chosen to safeguard. "Because of my lack of knowledge of the human body I was able to do little to help him. Luckily for us, Jack's mother is a nurse. Without her and my quick thinking, Rafael would have perished…" Ratchet trailed off.

"It's good for you to learn now, rather than repeat the mistakes of the past." Optimus said, understandingly as he looked at the screen.

"Hmm," Ratchet huffed softly before another matter suddenly came to mind. "You don't think it would be a mistake to take the trip tomorrow?" he asked, looking up at the Prime in the optic. "With us being so close to getting somewhere with the relics, is it wise for all of us to go? Or is it even wise for us to go at all?"

"Perhaps not," Optimus replied truthfully, catching the Autobot medic by surprise. "Both sides are currently at a standstill, its better take this trip when we still have the luxury of time."

"Optimus, you can't be serious." Ratchet replied in disbelief as he watched his leader.

"I am and there is also something else to consider, old friend." Optimus replied before placing a servo on the medic's shoulder. "With everything that has occurred since my return and what I have been informed of what has already passed, I've discovered something."

"And what could it possibly be that you discovered?" Ratchet asked, crossing his arms. No matter how he saw it, there was no logic in going to this pointless trip. They were under enough strain with locating the relics, not to mention the war. It simply wasn't the right time for any of this.

"Many sacrifices have been given to bring an end to this perpetual conflict, both by Autobot and humans alike," explained Optimus, pulling the medic from his thoughts as he stole a glance over to the human sector. Ratchet followed his gaze and caught a glimpse of three remote control cars race by, followed by the cheers of victory and the cries of the disappointment of defeat from the children.

"So much has been given; it's time we give something back, before we must return in this hunt for the relics." Optimus said as he turned back to Ratchet.

"I see your memory loss hasn't changed your spark." Ratchet sighed softly, somewhat in defeat, yet in admiration. "Though, I'm not sure if that's a good thing…" Ratchet added. He could see Optimus's logic and he also knows they have all face so much in such a short time. The trip may not be a responsible choice but it was a choice made from Optimus' spark.

Optimus offered his friend a weak smile before patting his shoulder lightly. "I intend for everyone to go tomorrow, old friend, which also includes Wheeljack." He added before Ratchet gave him a look of detest and irritation.

"Optimus, you can't be serious!" he protested, staring at the Autobot commander in disbelief. Ratchet may have respect for Wheeljack but after the stunt he pulled with Miko to take revenge on Hardshell, Ratchet wasn't sure what was possessing Optimus to actually invite Wheeljack.

"I am very much so and you will most certainly be joining us as well," Optimus added, knowing full well Ratchet didn't want to go, especially now. "Jack, Rafael and Miko will also be parting ways soon for their leave from school. It would be good for all of us to go out and spend some time together before that." Optimus added gently, with great care.

Ratchet looked up at his commander and saw a hint of compassion in his optics as he spoke of the children. It never ceases to amaze Ratchet how much Optimus seems to care about the humans, despite his memory loss. Then again, Optimus does owe his life to them; if it wasn't for them he would have never found his way and he would have been lost forever…

"You won't even tell me where we're going." Ratchet sighed softly, knowing there was nothing he could do to convince the Prime to let him stay. He at least wanted to know where it was he was taking them.

"That, my friend, is a secret I will keep to myself until tomorrow." Optimus replied as he turned to leave, almost with a smirk. Ratchet blinked in surprise. Did he hear… mischief in Optimus voice? Ratchet couldn't be sure. He shuddered mentally, unsure whether or not that was good or bad. Shaking his head, Ratchet figured he just imagined it before getting back to work.

Walking away from the medic to leave him to his work, Optimus silently made his way out of the command center. As he walked the halls of the autobot base, his thoughts drifted to the current events that were underway.

Now that the antivirus was doing its work, they now had a chance to find the relics without the decepticon interference. Stopping in his tracks, Optimus glanced over at the holding unit of one of the relics they managed to obtain.

The spark extractor was one of the Decepticon's more deadly weapons. Keeping his gaze on the inactivated device, Optimus thought back to his time with the Decepticons, which were perhaps his only memories while on earth. They weren't his proudest moments but mentally, he was merely Orion Pax.

However, now he wasn't exactly one hundred percent Optimus Prime either. He's lost three years of his life but who's to say he hasn't lost more? Unfortunately, Optimus didn't have the answer to his questions and the matrix was silent to him.

This troubled the Prime greatly, no matter the cause, he would always sense the matrix's presence but now it was like it was dormant. It was as if the matrix knew it was incomplete and needed to be whole once more. The only way Optimus could think of to return the lost knowledge is with Vector Sigma but the key had been destroyed.

There was nothing to be done but to keep marching on forward. Taking a final glance at the Spark Extractor, Optimus turned to leave with lingering thoughts swirling in his processor. Fate had already allowed for the key to be destroyed, not to mention the discovery of seven relics by both sides despite the virus.

As he continued to walk, the thoughts became fiercer to Optimus. Just for a moment, it was like he sensed the presence of the Matrix and the powerful hold on him. Then as quickly as it came it was gone, but the thoughts lingered, of what fate has in store for them all. Both for now, and in the future; even events of the past could affect the outcomes of their destiny.

---

Smokescreen knew all this must have been destiny's work. Outside, a brigade of Decepticon forces were desperately trying to get inside the room him and Alpha Trion were in. Sure, Smokescreen had to admit he was scared out of his processor; it was just him, about to face any number of cons, all by himself. This was the moment he's been waiting for his whole life, to show off his skills, to prove himself. He was finally going to take on the cons and play his part in the war. It's exactly what he's been waiting for!

"Smokescreen!" he heard Alpha Trion call from behind him, "Away from the door!" Alpha Trion called over to the young Autobot. The mech was slightly distracted by the bangs coming from the other side of the door. By the sound of it, the Decepticons will be breaking through any moment now. When that happens all Pit was going to break lose and the situation would be very bad for the both of them.

"No, my mission was to protect you, and that's exactly what I plan to do, Alpha!" Smokescreen called back as he kept his position. His mission was to protect Alpha Trion with his life but it wasn't just because of his mission anymore. Alpha Trion had become a true friend to Smokescreen in the time they're spent together and he'd give his life to protect him at all costs.

Alpha Trion sighed softly as Smokescreen called him by his nickname. Smokescreen was the only one who called him by his true name and for that Alpha Trion was grateful in a way. Alpha was just the beginning of his name and title as a Prime. Suddenly, the bangs from behind the door became louder and more frantic.

"Just stay back and I'll handle it, Alpha!" Smokescreen said as he prepared himself for the decepticons to break through at any moment.

Smokescreen was too young for this, Alpha Trion thought to himself. He may have been trained for this but he has no experience on the field and this is his first battle. If the enemies' numbers were too great, Smokescreen would be overwhelmed and surely go offline trying to protect him.

Looking down at his servos, the relic Alpha Trion had in his possession, he looked at it as if it held the answers to their current predicament. Shifting his gaze back up at Smokescreen, Alpha Trion could not allow Smokescreen to die for him. If the vision he had received is true he knew there was going to be a lot in store for the unlikely youngling.

There was no time for both of them and the key out of there in time, but perhaps they didn't need to. He just needed to get Smokescreen out alive, somehow with the key... Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he shifted his gaze back and forth from Smokescreen and the key.

There may be hope yet… Alpha thought as he produced a needle from his subspace. He stared down at the dark liquid within and closed his optics for a moment. This would have to be done, no matter how much Alpha Trion knew Smokescreen would be against it. Fortunately, he would never suspect what he planning to do now.

"When the Cons get through, make sure to get out of the line of fire!" Smokescreen called out over the noise. Alpha Trion looked up and met optics with the young autobot. Alpha Trion admired the fire and courage he could see in Smokescreen's optics. It was something that could rarely be found these days…

"Smokescreen, it was an honor to have met you and have made such a trusted friend," said Alpha Trion, truthfully as he stared into the young autobot's optics. He only wished they could have met under different circumstances, and then perhaps, neither of them would have been in this situation.

Smokescreen kept his optics locked on the wise pale optics of Alpha Trion. He was touched by Alpha's words and now he knew wasn't going to let him down no matter what happened. Suddenly, an explosion from behind the door shook the room violently; it shook Smokescreen to his very core. Smokescreen turned back to the door and half expected to see decepticons flooding through. He was relieved to see the door was intact and smirked lightly.

"We're not dead yet!" He called back to Alpha Trion before feeling a sudden burst of pain in his neck. His optics widen in shock as he tried to process what happened but a moment later he plugged into darkness. Just before the light faded completely, he almost thought he saw Alpha Trion over him, but it must have been his imagination.

Alpha Trion whispered an apology into Smokescreen's audio just as his body slumped against his. Pulling out the empty syringe from the young autobot's neck, Alpha Trion watched Smokescreen's optics as they faded into darkness.

Alpha Trion had seen Smokescreen's optics filled with sudden shock and fear and then as quickly as it was there it was gone. The contents of the syringe had done its job, it would drop Smokescreen's spark rate low enough so it would appear he was offline. In reality he merely slipped into a temporary stasis that he would eventually awaken from on his own.

Wasting no time, Alpha Trion quickly got a better hold of Smokescreen and was careful to place the young autobot down on the ground. Kneeling down beside him, Alpha Trion opened the young autobot's chestplates. Fortunately there was an empty compartment just below his spark chamber that was big enough to hide the key in. Making sure not to disturb any of Smokescreen's other systems, he placed the key in an empty compartment within his chestplates.

Closing the young autobot's chestplates, Alpha Trion held him in his arms and stroked his helm absentmindedly. In Alpha Trion's spark, Smokescreen had become like one of his own. It pained him to be doing this to Smokescreen but it must be done. This may also be the last he would see Smokescreen but he knew the young mech would be alright. The affects the syringe will wear off in a few megacycles and he would awaken completely fine.

Glancing back at his desk, Alpha Trion zoned his optics on a data pad and stylus he left on top. They will be safe as long as they're hidden in plain sight… Alpha Trion thought before an audio shattering blast tore him from his thoughts. Setting down Smokescreen gently and getting to his feet, Alpha Trion watched as the door blew off its frame.

Reaching back, Alpha Trion produced his staff and once at hand it transformed, gaining spikes and sharpening on both ends. At spark, Alpha Trion had always been a pacifist; preferring to solve issues with words rather than force, not unlike his long time pupil, the mech once named Orion Pax. However, when the times called for battle he would not back down to defend all he held dear to him.

Alpha watched as the room flooded with decepticon soldiers. A thousand to one; there was no possible way for him to win this battle with the odds he had. There were simply too many decepticons to fight alone. However, the battle isn't lost if the point was not to win in the first place. Taking one last glance down at Smokescreen, Alpha Trion muttered a silent prayer to Primus to keep Smokescreen safe before jumping into the fray.

"Til all are one!"

The sounds of fire blasts and bomb raids were something that have always plague Smokescreen's dreams since he was a youngling. It was also something he had grown accustomed by now after growing up with the war outside of his door. That is why he didn't question or find it odd when he heard the sound of fire blasts in the distance. It was so muffled and distant he thought it was just a dream.

Then he heard a far off battle cry, "'Til all are one." It reminded him of an old saying Alpha Trion used to say, "Until the day 'til all are one". It was a strange saying but Smokescreen found it within himself to like it. Funny, Alpha's wisdom was getting to him in his dreams.

By the now, the sounds of battle where long gone and there was nothing but silence and the darkness. That had felt like mega cycles ago and there was nothing louder than the silence. After some time, Smokescreen almost thought he was offline when the solitude seemed to last for an eternity. He had to keep reminding himself it was just a dream. Destiny would never kill him if it wasn't his time to join the Well of Allsparks.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness. It was very dim and very faint but a light nonetheless. Smokescreen's first instinct was to follow that light so he did just that. At the same time he tried to open his optics but he found that task rather difficult. His optics felt heavy, and he barely found the strength in him to open them even in the slightest.

Slowly but steadily, began to open his optics. The more he tried, the more the darkness slowly began to dissipate until it was a hazy dull grey. Smokescreen soon realized the haze was from his clouded optics, not get used to the lighting. Blinking his optics a few times, Smokescreen tried his best to clear his vision but to no avail. It also didn't help at all that his processor spinning, the blurred vision made it more painfully.

Smokescreen also had a strange feeling in his arms as he tried to move them. For one reason or another there was resistance. Smokescreen realized the strange feeling came from numbness in his arms, but why? For one reason or another it felt like his arms were raised over his head, like they were bound.

What happened…? He thought wearily, as he tried to get his bearings. His vision may have been foggy but he could tell he was in a dim lighted room. For a moment Smokescreen almost thought he was in his own room in Iacon.

An old habit found him checking his internal clock and he recoiled when he saw the time. He should have been up mega cycles ago and have already been at his station, guarding Alpha Trion! He thought frantically, jolting up quickly.

In his sudden motion he felt himself swing and his wrists resist against bounds. Smokescreen's optics shot completely open and his fatigue from earlier was completely gone. He was hanging; why was he hanging?!

Smokescreen blinked a few times in a further attempt to clear his vision. Finally his optics cleared and his bright blue optics caught a glimpse of something across from him. His bright blue optics widened in shock was they met with ones of darkness, surrounded by armor of gunmetal grey.

What's going on here?! He thought frantically as he began to jerk against the bounds, desperately trying to get free. Suddenly, he stopped his frantic struggling as everything came back to him like he had been hit by a train. The attack on the Iacon Hall of Records, the decepticons, Alpha Trion…

"Smokescreen, it was an honor to have met you and have made such a trusted friend…"

"We're not dead yet!"

"ALPHA TRION!" Smokescreen suddenly screamed in horror as he frantically began to look around the room amongst the other hung up autobots. Every single one appeared to be decommissioned but there was no sign of Alpha Trion. However, that didn't help Smokescreen relax at all.

Smokescreen tried to calm himself, to try to recollect what had happened. The cons got broke through to Alpha's work station and he was captured. Now what did that mean? It meant he failed in protecting Alpha Trion. It meant he failed in his first battle and he got himself knocked into stasis lock for Primus' sake! Now he was surrounded by Cybertronian dead just waiting to be melted down for spare parts, trapped on a decepticon transport ship, Primus knows how far from Cybertron.

A sudden noise startled the young autobot, which he quickly realized it was the opening of a door. He quickly powered down his optics in an attempt to fake shut down as an unknown number of decepticons entered the room.

"I know I heard something in here." A decepticon stated after a few moment. By the sound of it, the con was in the same unit Smokescreen was hung up in. He mentally cursed himself; the con must have heard a dead scream and came to investigate.

"Are you sure you heard something?" Another voice said as the two decepticon began to walk closer to him. Smokescreen mustered all his will to make himself appear dead and lifeless. Simply enough but the wait was nerve racking.

"I'm sure, now quiet!" hissed the first decepticon. Smokescreen began to get nervous as the silence continued. Either these cons were light on their feet or they were scanning the room for any signs of life. To make matters worse, now that neither decepticon was speaking, Smokescreen had no way to know where they were. He couldn't open his optics to check either. A decepticon could be staring at him in the face for all he knew.

"This is a waste of time," said the second decepticon. "It must have been a glitch in the system. You should probably get your audio receptors checked out." He said as he began to walk off to where Smokescreen assumed was the door. Smokescreen would he a low growl, he assumed was from the first decepticon, before hearing him follow the other to the door.

Smokescreen activated a single optic sensor the moment he hear the familiar 'whoosh' of the metal doors close. He leaned his helm out to take a peek, making sure the coast was clear. Once he realized he was alone, he let out a sigh of relief. That had been a close call and he wasn't going to waste it now.

Taking another look around, everything was quiet and he took that as his cue. Shifting his gaze, he focused his optics on the bounds cuffing him to the ceiling. Fortunately, these cuffs weren't energon cuffs; they were just simply metal bounds. They didn't expect a dead bot to escape from his bounds. So why bother with wasting resources on the finest energon cuffs available?

"Now to make my great escape," muttered Smokescreen and not a moment later he was out and about. After that it wasn't difficult to slip out of the room past the guards. Soon enough he was carefully making his way through the halls of the decepticon base. Smokescreen made sure to stick to the shadows and avoid any decepticon that appeared at all costs.

His best chance of getting out of there was to find out where the Shuttle Bay. After that he should find an escape pod and go…go where? It would probably be best for him to return to Cybertron to look for Alpha Trion. Then again, he had no idea of his fate…He could very well be offline for all he knew.

Smokescreen quickly pushed that thought aside. He couldn't afford to think about that at the moment. He needed to get out of there alive first, and then he can focus on other things. So, with that mind he pushed on forward.

It took Smokescreen a little while but he finally managed to find the Shuttle Bay. Unfortunately, it took Smokescreen a while to actually get inside. There was too much foot traffic going in and out of the place, he had to make sure he could get through without detection. He thought he finally caught a break when the decepticons ceased to come and go from the Shuttle Bay. Smokescreen took that as his chance to sneak his way inside.

The moment Smokescreen entered the Shuttle Bay it felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. The Shuttle Bay was enormous and was a sight to see. There were large structures holding up massive decepticon shuttles. All around them was machinery to repair or maintain each ship. Smokescreen had to admit, it was impressive, despite being the cons shuttle bay.

Moving on, Smokescreen quickly noted that there were still a few cons in the shuttle bay. Luckily, most were too far away to see him, high up on the catwalks, working away.

Smokescreen quickly scanned the room and his optics brightened when he spotted what he was looking for. On the far wall of the Shuttle Bay were small escape pods, lined up one after the other. Smokescreen quickly decided he would take the pod the closest to him.

Swiftly and steadily, he began to maneuver his way towards the pod without detection. He was sure he made it to the clear the moment his servo touched the door of the escape pod without incident. Sure enough, the universe loved to prove him wrong when the time called for it.

Smokescreen heard the charging of the energon blaster before he felt the shot hit. The moment he felt the shot time just seems to shift. One moment he was in front of the pod door, the next, he was thrown against it and crashing down onto the floor. He let out a pained groan as the metal in between his door wings began to melt from the heat of the blast and it didn't help he landed on his back.

Smokescreen was so sure he got through undetected, but where was he now? The pain disoriented the young autobot, but that wasn't about to stop him from gaining his freedom. Looking back as he laid there in pain, Smokescreen's optics met with a dark silhouette standing high up on the catwalks. Beside the silhouette was the hot blaster of a decepticon.

"Where do you think you're going, youngling?" asked the decepticon in a strangely calm, yet cold voice as he came towards the light. Smokescreen recoiled slightly when he saw the con in the light.

The decepticon had chilling crimson red optics that looked colder than Megatron's himself. Another thing that was off about this con was his strange horn shaped helmet that reminded him of a demon from Cybertronian myth. If Smokescreen had been a real youngling and had heard of the stories, he would have definably thought this con was a demon.

Smokescreen then quickly pushed that out of this thoughts; he needed to focus. So, he got back to his feet and activated his blasters as the decepticon began to charge his blaster again.

"Do I look like a youngling to you?!" yelled Smokescreen before having to quickly evade another blast from the decepticon. Smokescreen quickly ducked down beside the computer console for cover. Smokescreen quickly shot blasts in retaliation to the decepticon.

The decepticon suddenly jumped off from his catwalk and landed directly in front of Smokescreen. Smokescreen quickly rolled to avoid the onslaught of this decepticon's blasts and hide behind several crates to shield him.

Glancing back at the con, Smokescreen saw he was currently the only thing standing between him and the escape pods. Great, just great… Smokescreen thought before taking a quick look around. He could also see the blasts had gotten the attention of the servant class cons in the room. From the looks of it some of them seemed like they were running to get backup.

Smokescreen knows he'll be in deep scrap if more cons show up. He also knew he wouldn't be if he wasn't there when the cons got there. Looking back at the escape pod, he knew he had to get past that decepticon to get to the pod…

"Is that all you got?" challenged Smokescreen from his hiding spot.

"You haven't seen anything yet." The decepticon said in retaliation as he withdrew his blaster and activated a bizarre, twisted dark blade. The sight of the blade sent shivers down Smokescreen's spinal cortex. He quickly brushed that off the moment the con tried to strike him in the chest. As the con attacked Smokescreen ducked and dived in every attempt to avoid the twisted blade. If he were to get stabbed by it or injured it wouldn't be pretty.

Suddenly, the con blindsided him as he struck him in the faceplates, causing him to fly back against the wall. Smokescreen was almost relieved to see he had been slammed into the door of the pod. He couldn't relax yet; he needed to get inside at all costs. The decepticon smirked lightly at his cornered prey. A look Smokescreen wasn't too pleased to be on the receiving end of.

Smokescreen knew he was running out of time the moment he was an army of cons enter the Shuttle Bay at every entrance. He needed to get in the pod, now! With that last thought, Smokescreen slammed the controls of the pod in the exact moment the con stroke down with his blade aiming for his spark. Smokescreen immediately fell into the pod as the door opened. The decepticon missed his mark with his spark chamber as he lost his balance the moment Smokescreen fell through.

"Sideways! Stand down!" It was the last thing Smokescreen heard before hitting the floor of the escape pod and hearing whoosh of the doors close. Then, not a second later Smokescreen felt himself slip away as he put under forced stasis lock and all was silent.

The next thing Smokescreen knew he was hitting ground hard. The force was so extreme; it jolted the young autobot out of stasis. Considering he was not properly secured down in the pod, Smokescreen was thrown around like he was a ragdoll. To make matters worse he would occasionally slam right into Sideways until the pod finally came to a screeching halt.

For a few moments, Smokescreen was disoriented from the assault of the crash. Fortunately he quickly came to his senses and a moment later he shot the door of the pod. Without looking back, Smokescreen jumped out of the pod and began to run. He caught glimpses of the planet around him, browns, greens, greys; it was like nothing he's ever seen back on Cybertron.

Still, he needed to get out of there before Sideways came to his senses. Smokescreen needed to figure out where he was and if there were any cons on this planet. Thought, at the moment, he didn't really care where he was as long as he got away from that con.

"Come on out youngling! Come and face your destiny!" roared Sideways as he emerged from the pod, knowing the young autobot hadn't gone far. Smokescreen shivered lightly at Sideway's words. He'd rather not face the destiny Sideways planned for him so he kept on running.

There was something about that decepticon Smokescreen didn't like and it troubled him. He stopped dead in tracks the moment he heard a roaring sound echo throughout forest. Looking behind him, his optics widened to see a large spiraling vortex, swirling in green and white energy. Moments later, several black and purple cons, followed by a couple of Insecticons emerged from the vortex. The whole unit was heading in the direction of the crash, unaware of Smokescreen's presence.

Smokescreen kept his optics locked on the spiraling vortex in awe. If he hadn't paid attention to Alpha Trion's work while he had been protecting him, Smokescreen wouldn't have known he was staring at a spacebridge. It was impossible but there it was before his very optics. Then a few moments later the space bridge disappeared into the sky, leaving the forest as quiet as it had been after the crash.

Glancing back to where the decepticons had gone to, Smokescreen knew he was in deep scrap. Not only was he on an unknown planet, he was trapped on an unknown planet teeming with decepticons. Taking a glance back to the forest, Smokescreen figured it would be best to make a break for it before the cons starting looking for him.

However, just as he made his first step the familiar roar of an activated spacebridge off in the distance got his attention. More cons?! Smokescreen thought frantically as he ducked back down behind from trees. Would the cons really need more backup for one escape pod? It didn't make sense and Smokescreen didn't like the look of things. Something wasn't right…

Suddenly, the pops of energon blasters filled the air, startling the young autobot. In that moment he took off towards the sight of the crash. If there were shots being fired they were most definably not being shot con against cons.

Smokescreen took off as fast as he could and by the time he returned to the site of the crash there was anarchy. There were Insecticons and Vehicons everywhere, shooting at about four bots taking refuge behind boulders for cover. Smokescreen's spark practically jumped in joy the moment he saw the familiar autobot insignia on the four other bots.

Activating his cannons, Smokescreen thought it was pretty lucky he got there in time. He raised his cannon instantly and began firing upon the decepticons. As Smokescreen ran up to get closer to the battle, the two autobots took notice that shots were being fired over their heads.

"Incoming!" called out the blue autobot as she turned her blasters on Smokescreen. The yellow autobot beside her did the same, both thinking that Smokescreen was a decepticon.

"Down in front!" Smokescreen yelled out to make sure the bots would get the message he was on their side as he continued to shoot at the cons. Fortunately, the two of them didn't fire on him and not a moment later he was jumping over the two autobots and into the fray.

Using a con as a landing pad, Smokescreen wasted no time to take out cons left and right. Unfortunately, as he fired at Insecticon he miscalculated his shot. As a result, he ignited the pool of energon just behind the Insecticon, the energon that had leaked from the escape pod.

"Fall back!" called out the commander of the small team of autobots. No one thought twice about the orders and quickly made a break for cover. Not a second later after Smokescreen managed to jump behind some cover the energon exploded. It wasn't until the smoke cleared that any of the autobots arose from their hiding spot to inspect the area. Looking around, the decepticons were in crisp, charred pieces and the battle had been won.

"Woo! Too hot for you, cons?!" yelled Smokescreen, across the battle field, which was now covered in blue flames of burning energon. It kind of gave the place a nice touch, a bit of a dramatic flair, now that the battle has been won.

"Friend of yours?" Smokescreen heard from behind him. Turning around, he could see the bot who had spoken was an old, rather cranky, orange and white autobot. The elder autobot had been speaking to the two younger bots standing begin him. As Smokescreen recalled, they were the two that would have shot him if they didn't know he was a bot like them.

"Never seen him before," said the blue femme bot while the yellow bot merely shrugged. Also, by the look in the femme's optics, Smokescreen could tell she didn't trust him. Then again, by the look of all of them, none of them really seemed to trust him. A smile formed on small Smokescreen's faceplates; he'll get them to trust him soon enough.

Suddenly, a flash of black and orange appeared in front of Smokescreen's optics. It took him a moment to realize it was a small Cybertronian bird of some sort. The bird seemed to watch him curiously before flying back to the other autobots and perching on the yellow autobot's shoulder.

Smokescreen shifted his gaze back at the team of autobot and knew it was destiny that brought him to them. Not only that, but it also destroyed Sideways in the explosion he caused.

"Torching that energon leak, pretty good plan, right?" Smokescreen said, grinning widely at his accomplishment. He was eager to know what destiny had in store for him next. However, as Smokescreen cleared his story that he was a trusted autobot and returned to the autobot base there was something he didn't notice.

Off in the distance, hidden in the shadows, a pair of red optics watched him and the autobots as they departed. The crimson red optics watched as the ominous blue flames of burning energon scorched through the battle field in silence. Once it was clear the autobots had gone, Sideways emerged from the shadows.

Silently making his way among the body of decepticons, Sideways searched for a con that had been the least damaged in the explosion. As he searched, his thoughts kept wandering back to the new addition to the autobots.

That autobot youngling, Smokescreen, was someone not to underestimate as he's learned centuries ago. He could not afford more mistakes, such as underestimating an autobot youngling. Looking around at what was left of the battle field, it was just another reason for that. Sideways could sense there was something different about this youngling.

There was something more than met the optic sensor and he didn't like that one bit. It meant the youngling would most likely be unpredictable. Fortunately, Sideways was just as unpredictable, if not more.

Success shined in Sideways' crimson optics as he finally located an offlined decepticon he had been looking for. It was badly damaged from the blast but still intact enough to have a working comm. link. Kneeling down beside a fallen decepticon Sideways grabbed his wrist and activated his comm. link. This decepticon was a vehicon stationed on the Nemesis, Megatron's lead flagship. If Megatron was here on this planet he was determined to rejoin his ranks after his long slumber.

He had already lost enough time as it is while he was trapped within the pod. Also, underestimating that autobot may have set him back in his mission but no matter. If things went according to plan from here, all will fall into place as it should.

He will find the bearer of the key and the knowledge held within it.

---

A/N: YAY I HAVE ADDED IN SMOKESCREEN AND SIDEWAYS XD We can only wait and see what that is going to lead to XD Destiny's child and Twister of Destiny ;D Oh and Ratchet's son and sparkmate, I'm sorry it was a plot bunny that just grew and manifested and had to be done ;p Oh yeah, don't ask why his mate is Windrazor, it's just a random autobot flier I picked XP