Swift wondered if Terminus was growing suspicious of just how long she and Harmony were staying in his workshop. For her part, she'd assumed they'd step out and rejoin her father after they'd finally kissed and confessed their feelings for each other. But evidently Harmony wasn't through with her… and evidently she wasn't about to drop her distrust of Terminus just because he turned out to be her girlfriend's long-lost father.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you might be willing to let go of the fact that he's been stalking you for weeks, but I'm not. Just because he's your spark-father doesn't mean he's not a creep."

"Keep your voice down!" Swift hissed. "He could be out there listening!"

"See, you even acknowledge that he's still creepy," Harmony noted with a smirk.

"I didn't mean that he's out there with his audial against the door," Swift protested. "This is his apartment, and I don't think he'd appreciate us trash-talking him in his own home."

Harmony gusted a sigh and threw her hands in the air. "You're not listening to me, sweetspark. I know he's your father, but… you still don't have any proof that he's NOT a creep. That he doesn't have some agenda for contacting you NOW, so many cycles after he lost you. Why wasn't he looking for you all this time?"

"He already explained that," Swift insisted. "He thought I was dead - our home got firebombed during the war. He didn't realize I was still alive until he heard my name at the museum that day we met."

"Uh-huh," Harmony replied, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. "And he just happens to pick a time when you're on the outs with your parents to come out of hiding. He hasn't been trying to talk you out of going home, has he? Talking smack about your parents?"

Swift glared. "Don't bring them into this. He's been far more understanding about the factionless movement and everything else than my adopted parents ever were. And he just wants what's best for me. Slag, he wants me - and right now, it's really hard to feel like Glory and Blitzwing even want me. Don't ruin this for me."

Harmony sighed again, though she sounded less annoyed and more worried. "Look… I'm not trying to be a killjoy here. I just want you to be careful. We still know scrap about this mech, and I don't want anything happening to you. Not when I finally got around to admitting my feelings for you."

Swift looked away with a sigh of her own. "I know… I just don't want to lose him. Not after everything we've been through."

"I know." Harmony reached out to squeeze her arm. "Hey… if you absolutely don't feel like you can go home, we have a guest room. You can crash there."

"Really? Um… what about your mom?"

"Eh… she may not be thrilled about me bringing home a femme from Polyhex, but she won't turn you away either. She'll let you stay." She rolled her optics a little. "Right after she gets done sealing me into my room for all eternity."

Despite herself, Swift snorted a little. "Let me think about that, all right? And I promise I'll be careful. But try to give him a chance too?"

Harmony frowned, but nodded. "I'll try. But if he tries anything fishy, I'm dragging you to Unitrex with me and you can't stop me."

Swift snorted again. "I'm too big for you to drag that far."

"I'd find a way. And if not, I know a few truckformers-"

A knock at the door cut off the rest of Harmony's sentence. "I hate to break this up, but my daughter has more guests. You're more popular than you let on, Swift."

She froze, dread congealing in her spark. Had her parents shown up? If Echo was able to trace their location, perhaps Glory had managed to convince Soundwave to do the same. Were they here to talk things through peacefully, or had they arrived with the police in tow? Or worse, some of Mom's old friends from the Air Corps, or even Shockwave himself? The possibilities got worse by the astrosecond as they churned through her CPU…

"SWIFT! Quit making out with your girlfriend and get out here!"

"Firebolt!" Relief swept away her anxious thoughts, and she opened the door to greet the red motorcycle-former. "Don't tell me you all showed up."

"We all showed up," Hornet chimed in, peering over Firebolt's shoulder. "'Bolt told us you were having a rough time of it, and we all wanted to be sure you were okay."

Her spark flared with emotion. She knew her friends cared about her, but to see them reach out of their own accord meant a great deal to her, especially after the turbulent few days she'd had. And seeing all of them crowded into Terminus' apartment, trying to peer over each other's shoulders and wings and kibble to check on her, warmed her spark.

She stepped out of the workshop to greet her friends… and stopped short. When Hornet had said they had all shown up, she hadn't realized he meant ALL of their friend group - including the one she had assumed wanted nothing to do with the rest of them after they had committed to the factionless cause.

"Hi, Valiant," she murmured.

The black Seeker gave a slight nod. "Hi, Swift." He looked her up and down, and his wings dipped slightly in a gesture of relief. "I'm glad you're okay."

She frowned behind her mask. "You are?"

Valiant huffed. "Just because I don't support you guys' cause doesn't mean I don't still care about you. And after your rally went bad the other day… I got worried. I thought maybe you were hurt and in the hospital, or your parents were keeping you home because of it."

"Really?" Lancer replied, sounding puzzled. "You didn't throw anything?"

"Oh come on," Valiant snapped. "We've been friends for too long for THIS to come between us. At least… I hope we have."

"Then why didn't you come forward earlier?" Stardust asked. "Why did you just ignore us for so long?"

Valiant glared at them, then sighed and looked away. "At first it was because I figured you'd drop this whole 'cause' thing and forget about it, and things would go back to how they were before. But then I saw you were serious about it… and by that point I thought that trying to talk to you again would just be awkward. That you'd either decide not to talk to me, or that we'd have nothing TO talk about besides factions. So I just decided it was easier to not say anything."

Stardust let out a sigh of their own. "Guess we didn't exactly make it easy for you to reach out to us, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, bad communication kills or whatnot," Ricochet/Terror-Byte grumbled. "But we're over that now, right?"

"I dunno, are we?" asked Valiant, raising an optic ridge at Swift.

All optics turned on the shuttleformer - including Harmony's and Terminus'. Even Snapper fixed her gaze on Swift, membranous wings twitching impatiently as if awaiting her answer. Her tanks clenched in response. She'd never really asked for a leadership role, and she wasn't prepared to have her word on the matter be the final say. And part of her just wanted to shrug and duck her head, deferring to someone else.

But no… in a way, she had spearheaded this whole movement. She had brought their cause this far. She couldn't stay silent now, no matter how tempting it was.

"Well… I dunno about anyone else," she said at last. "But I think the factionless movement boils down to one thing - choice. We want to be able to choose for ourselves… and that includes respecting other people's choices. If Valiant wants to keep his Decepticon sigils, then we let him. If anyone else wants to keep their sigils, or switch over to Autobot sigils, or join another faction entirely, then they have the freedom to choose. And if we want them to respect our choices, then we need to respect theirs. Valiant… you're still our friend, Decepticon or not. Or at least you're still MY friend."

Harmony smiled and squeezed her arm. "Well said, girl."

"Is there even a third faction?" asked Lancer with a puzzled look. "I dunno if Junkion counts as a faction, they have enough weird quirks that they're practically their own species…"

"There's that new-fangled Predacon movement that's picked up some steam," Echo pointed out. "Seems to mostly be beastformers, though, not sure how well they'd take to vehicle-formers…"

"Sign me the frag up," Ricochet/Terror-Byte chimed in.

"Before we get too far off-topic," Valiant cut in, "someone want to explain to me why we're lurking in some random mech's apartment?"

"Oh!" Swift turned to face Terminus, who was looking at the younger mechs with amusement. "Guys, this is Terminus, my spark-parent. Terminus, these are my friends. I guess you've met Valiant and Harmony already, but these are Firebolt, Lancer, Echo, Hornet, Stardust, and Terror-Byte."

"Whoa," Ricochet/Terror-Byte murmured. "So… does this mean you have three parents now?"

Her tanks twinged at that remark, and she tried to change the subject. "Won't you guys get in trouble coming here?"

"You're our friend, Swift!" Firebolt insisted. "You think we're NOT going to come make sure you're okay?"

"Besides, we're all already in deep with our parents," Hornet pointed out. "A little more isn't going to hurt."

"Speak for yourself," Stardust retorted. "Knock Out doesn't care if I join the factionless movement. Though he probably won't be happy about me traipsing around the lower levels of Kaon, even with a group."

"This is the city of Kaon, not the depths of the Dead Zone," Terminus grumbled. "You're safe here so long as you don't go flashing credit chips on the street."

"Still… we'd better not stay too much longer." Lancer turned to Swift. "You're coming back with us, right?"

Swift shook her head. "I don't know… I might stay at least another night here. Terminus and I have a lot of catching up to do-" She flinched as Harmony dug her fingers into her elbow joint, and she glared down at the carformer. Harmony just glared back, unrepentant.

"Dad or not, you just met this guy," Valiant pointed out. "Wouldn't you feel safer staying with one of us? We're your friends, you trust us, right? At least more than a random long-lost relative you just met."

"I'm standing right here," Terminus noted, scowling.

"Guys, I'm fine," Swift insisted. "I've already spent one night here. Another one won't hurt anything. I trust him, even if the rest of you don't."

Harmony looked thoroughly unconvinced, but she seemed to decide not to press the issue further - at least in front of Terminus. "At least call your parents and tell them where you are. They're probably worried about you."

Swift snorted. "After the fight we had, they're probably just glad to see the back of me. They can finally focus on building their new sparkling, right?"

"You're kidding, right?" Firebolt demanded. "They've been worried sick about you! Your mom practically broke down our apartment door demanding to know if you were staying with us!"

She stared at the red femme. "Wait… really?"

"Yeah, really," Hornet chimed in. "She grilled Uncle Swindle for a long time, sure that because he was involved in the factionless movement, he was either hiding you at his place or knew where you'd gone. He freaked out and now he has the entire Combaticon team searching Polyhex for you."

"My dads too," Ricochet/Terror-Byte added. "Motormaster's convinced you got kidnapped and wants to assemble Menosar to scare your abductor into letting you go. Your mom had to talk him out of it."

"Steelwing and Astrotrain are looking for you too," Echo added. "You've got a lot of mechs worried about you right now. And I know you're not getting along with your parents right now, but they're scared. At least let them know you're okay, all right?"

She snapped her mask in place, as if it could give her some privacy to think. She wouldn't lie, she was still upset with her parents, and she didn't really have any desire to see them right now. But that didn't stop a wave of crushing guilt from sweeping over her. Deep down, she had known they cared, and that her running away would worry them. Some part of her had wanted that, in fact - to make them worry about her for a change instead of a hypothetical newspark. Now that she'd accomplished that, though, she didn't feel any sense of victory - only a sickening remorse.

A hand rested on her shoulder - Terminus'. "As much as I want you back in my life, Swift… I agree with your friends. Talk to your parents. The rift between you isn't wide enough that you can't still patch it. And no matter their flaws, they do still love you."

Harmony stared at him. "You're not going to try to turn her against them? This seems like it'd be the perfect opportunity to-"

"You really have so low an opinion of me?" Terminus replied with a frown. "I want my daughter back in my life, but not if the cost is destroying something dear to her."

Harmony blushed and looked away. "Sorry… that came out sounding really bad. I just care about Swift, and I don't want to see her hurt."

"Understood," Terminus replied. "I'm glad you want to protect her. Rest assured that I do as well." He returned his attention to Swift. "It's your choice whether you open communication with your parents, Swift… but at the very least, I would let them know you're alright."

Swift hated to admit it, but they were all correct - fight or no fight, resentment or no resentment, she truly didn't hate her parents. And if they were this worried sick about her that they were sending entire combiner teams to look for her… well, maybe she'd underestimated just how much they cared about her.

With a stab of guilt she sent a comm message to Glory. I'm okay, Mom. I'm staying with a friend right now.

The answer was nearly immediate, and she nearly deleted it without reading it as she had every other message from her parents. But she checked herself and opened it, expecting a threat of grounding or a demand to know where in the Pit she was. Or perhaps worse, given that her mom had been in a bad temper when she'd taken off…

Swift! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Which friend are you with, is it someone we know?

I'm okay, she repeated. I don't want to say which friend right now, but I promise I'm safe. I'll come home at some point, but right now I need some space.

Glory didn't respond right away, but Swift winced as more messages began piling up in her queue - from Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Swindle, Steelwing, Professor Datastream, even Shockwave himself. The realization that her disappearance had reached and affected the Decepticon Commander himself was almost as much of a shock as the fact that Glory hadn't opened her message by chewing her out for running away mid-argument.

Swift… I am so, so sorry, Glory replied at last. I'm sorry I yelled at you, and I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you lately. Your father and I got so wrapped up in planning for the new sparkling that we didn't realize you still needed our help with things at home. I know you're upgraded now, and you've always been so quiet about things that bothered you… but that's not an excuse. Take whatever time you need… just know that we have a place for you if and when you come home, okay?

Her optics burned, and she turned away from the others before they could see her cry. I'm sorry too… I didn't mean to make you worry. I was just so mad, and I let myself believe you didn't want me anymore. I'll be home soon… just not right now.

Another long moment before Glory replied. Be safe. I'll tell everyone you're all right. Contact your teachers, okay? They were concerned when you didn't show up at school.

I will.

I love you, Swift. I always will. I want you to know that, okay?

Tears rolled down her face behind her mask. Okay… bye, Mom.

Harmony squeezed her arm. "Are you going to be okay, hun?"

Swift nodded, wiping her optics. "Yeah… I will be." She looked back at the others. "Do you guys need to go home? I'll be okay here. Promise."

"We probably should," Lancer replied. "Keep in touch, okay? We're all worried about you."

"I will. I'll try to be at school tomorrow, but if I'm not keep me updated on things, okay?"

"We will," Firebolt promised, giving her a light thump on the shoulder. "Hang in there, Swift. Things'll look up. And just 'cause the rally went bad doesn't mean the cause is sunk, right?"

She nodded. "Get home safe, guys."

Harmony squeezed her hand. "YOU be safe too, okay? I mean it. I don't want anything happening to you."

"I'll be careful. Promise." She waited until she was sure everyone else was on their way out before she bent down, retracted her mask, and kissed her. "Good luck with your mom."

"Thanks. You too."

Terminus sighed as the last of Swift's friends walked out of the apartment. "Should we expect any other surprise visitors? Your parents?"

Swift shook her head. "Mom's going to give me space, she says. I hope she convinces Dad of that too - he can be pretty protective."

Terminus arched an optic ridge, Swift's use of "Mom" and "Dad" rather than "Glory" and "Blitzwing" not lost on him. But he didn't press the issue. "Will they have a problem with me?"

"I.. don't know," she confessed. "I didn't tell them about you, and they don't even know you exist. We all assumed that my spark-parents were dead. I don't think we even considered that you'd come back into the picture at some point."

He nodded. "I know you probably have a lot more to discuss with your parents once you see them again… but at least you've made a start. And should you return to them for good… I hope there's still a place for me in your life. I just found you again, after all."

"There should be," she replied. "I don't see any reason why there can't be room for you in my life. But… I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

"That sounds for the best. For now… get some rest. You've had an emotional evening. We can continue with the Cityspeakers playthrough another time."

"Okay. And Dad… thank you. For understanding, and for not freaking out when a mob came into the apartment. I hope they weren't too much of a bother."

He chuckled. "To be honest, this is the most excitement I've had in cycles. Rest well, Swift."

"You too, Dad."

Recharge didn't come for a long time that night. Swift needed a little time to get herself comfortable on the couch - she didn't want to turn Terminus out of his quarters, and the workshop wasn't set up to be a bedroom yet. And once she finally found a position that didn't feel so cramped, she spent some time sorting through her messages. Part of her reasoned that it could wait until morning, but at the same time she knew she would feel better if she took care of them right away instead of putting it off.

Blitzwing's messages were similar to what she'd expected from Glory earlier - demands to know if she was okay, where the frag had she been, don't scare him like that again, come home now. The final message was far less urgent and frantic - a simple I love you, kid, please come home soon. She guessed that message had been written after Glory had calmed him down, and she sent back a simple I love you in return.

Astrotrain, Swindle, and Steelwing all simply sent messages of gratitude that she was safe, and she responded with a brief thank you before deleting the messages. She owed a lot of people apologies, it seemed - she hadn't stopped to realize just how many people cared about her, and had been affected by her disappearance.

Professor Datastream's message was pretty much what she expected it to be - formal, but with a note of emotion that she nonetheless kept in check.

You were missed at school today, Swift, but your teachers and I are relieved to hear all is well. I ordinarily would count your absence from our scheduled meeting today as a no-show and mark it against you, but I understand that there were extenuating circumstances. I have taken the liberty of rescheduling our meeting for next week at the same time. I do hope things have improved enough by that point that you are able to attend.

I'll be there, Swift sent back, then moved on to the final message. Why Shockwave himself had decided to contact a young civilian Decepticon - the daughter of a former Air Commander, yes, but still a civilian - she couldn't begin to guess. But she supposed she was about to find out.

Your misadventure today caused quite a disruption among the Decepticon forces, Swift of Polyhex. I say this not to rebuke you, but to remind you that despite your mother no longer serving as Air Commander, she is still held in good regard by my officers and soldiers. By extension, this also applies to you… so I suggest you do not abuse this regard in the future.

"Thought you said you weren't rebuking me," Swift murmured, fighting back a laugh. But there was more to the message, and she pressed on.

It has also come to my attention that you and a number of young Decepticons are responsible for the current "factionless" movement that has gained popularity in Polyhex and elsewhere. There are Decepticons who consider this movement harmful, and have requested that I take measures to abolish it.

Her tanks clenched. Surely he wouldn't…

Having given the matter consideration, I have decided to take no action against the factionless movement. I will continue to serve the Decepticon cause as long as I function, but it would be illogical and unreasonable to assume that every mech wishes to serve said cause, or wear the Decepticon symbol or any faction symbol whatsoever. Optimus Prime states that freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and while our opinions on many subjects may differ, we are in agreement on that subject. And if that freedom also means freedom from faction… then so be it.

I would suggest, however, that the next time you and your comrades hold a rally, you apply for a permit. This will not only ensure that your rally doesn't violate any laws, but that proper security can be put in place to ensure violence doesn't break out again. Good luck in your ventures, Swift of Polyhex.

She chose not to respond to that message - at least, not without properly considering her answer. She lay back and stared at the ceiling, marveling that somehow the factionless cause had managed to gain the approval, however reluctant, of the Decepticon commander himself. The fact that he was even giving advice on how to avoid a riot at their next rally made her CPU spin a little.

Perhaps things were finally working out for her. She'd reunited with her spark-father, she'd solidified her relationship with Harmony, the factionless cause was receiving more attention and support than she'd thought possible, and things were on the mend with her parents. She still wasn't sure how her next encounter with her parents would go, or how the cause would progress from here on out, or how she was going to admit to Datastream that she still didn't have a finished essay for her… but at least things were on the right track.

She had just started to doze off when a heavy fist pounded on the door to her quarters. Snapper, who had bedded down somewhere in the living room, immediately set up shrieking and flapping her wings.

"Fraggit, I'm coming," Terminus growled, stomping into the living room. "Who could it be at this blasted hour…"

Swift sat up as Terminus opened the door. She didn't recognize the Seeker standing in the doorway - a stormcloud-gray mech patterned with blue and black patches like camouflage. One of her mom's old friends from the Air Corps? Or was her father somehow in trouble?

"Terminus of Kaon?" the Seeker asked.

"Speaking," Terminus replied. "What's this about?"

"Trine Commander Stratos, with my comrades Crosswind and Slipstream. We're looking for a femme - Swift of Polyhex. We got a tip that she might be here."

Swift's tanks clenched in disbelief and mounting fury. Her mom had tracked her down. That talk of giving her space and waiting for her to come home on her terms had been a load of slag. Did she have to make a spectacle of it, though? Send an entire trine to march her home like some kind of criminal?

"What's this about?" demanded Tesarus, shifting to let his bulk fill the doorway.

"We're not at liberty to say," Stratos replied. "Are you refusing to grant us entry? I'll inform you that we have a warrant to search the premises-"

"Dad, let them in," Swift told him, pushing her anger down for a moment. "I don't want you in trouble."

He turned to face her, still scowling. The urge to protect her was writ large across his features - an expression she'd seen before in Blitzwing's faceplate, she realized - but in the end he relented, standing aside. The blue Seeker stepped past him, followed by his trine members - one magenta and gray, the other ivory with bronze and green trim.

"Did my mom send you guys?" she asked. "Tell her this is overkill-"

Stratos cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Swift of Polyhex, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit terrorism against the Decepticon military."

Her jaw dropped behind her mask. "What?"

"If you cooperate, we can do this painlessly," Stratos replied, his tone brisk. "But I'm authorized to use whatever force I need to in order to bring you in. So it's your choice how this goes down."

She stared at the Seeker, unable to form words, unable to so much as push herself off the couch. Terrorism? Was the factionless movement being called THAT now? What happened to Shockwave deciding their cause was harmless? Or had he changed his mind in the hours since he'd sent that message? Or worse, had someone sympathetic to the movement decided to take matters into their own hands and done something horrific?

"This is absurd!" Terminus snapped. 'My daughter's not a terrorist!"

"That's for a tribunal to decide," the ivory Seeker growled. "Get up, kid. Unless you WANT to be dragged out of here like a sack of scrap."

Dazed, Swift finally stood, not resisting as the magenta Seeker cuffed her wrists. And as they escorted her out of the apartment, Terminus dogging their steps and demanding to know what was going on the entire way, she couldn't help but think that the universe had made her the butt of an incredibly sick joke.