In Azura's Dream

Azura remained fixated one what she was seeing. The image that faded in was an image of a large planet. This planet looked very different from Earth. It appeared to be made of some kind of metal, and it seemed to be very bright and healthy. The image changes and showed a close up of the planet. She saw the cities of this planet and thousands of Cybertronians going about their business. She realized she was seeing Cybertron as it used to be before the devastation of the war. It actually was interesting. Azura has never seen the world before, so seeing Cybertron as a safe place to live was interesting to her.

However, that image did not remain very long. It changed to show the very same city, but it was burning with black smoke and bright, orange fire. Azura watched as she saw decepticons plundering the city. They were shooting at fleeing civilians who were unarmed, taking cover behind autobots who were protecting them. She heard the sound of a laughter that made her shudder. A large decpeticon with silver armor and bright, red optics marched with his canon raised, firing mercilessly at the autobots in front of him.

"Show no mercy, decepticons!" The con ordered loudly, his voice echoed between the smouldering buildings. His cold voice made Azura nervous just to hear it. "Leave none alive!"

"You heard, Lord Megatron!" She flinched hearing Starscream's voice. She saw his jet flying above with dozens of other decepticon fighters flying behind him. "Fire upon the autobots, my armada! Destroy them!"

She whimpered as she did not wish to see any more of the war. She hated watching the autobots go down, and the bots who were defenseless fell from fleeing. It was horrible watching their energon stain the ground and the laughter of Megatron. She could see the devastation, and why Optimus would need to destroy him. If Megatron had no problem destroyed those who were defenseless, he would certainly come after this planet.

As she was thinking that, the image changed, much to her relief. But she was not relieved for long as she saw Megatron again in what looked like a lab. A large con was working on something, and he only had one optic and no face. He seemed like a cyclops, and yet, there was something about him that screamed danger. She hoped she would never meet this decepticon because his large, bulky body and canon was something she already hated.

"Shockwave, I am intrigued in whatever it is you are designing," Megatron spoke to the decepticon with his arms behind his back. "It looks like a pulse emitter of some sort. It this something that is going to be beneficial to us?"

"I do not know if it will be logically beneficial long term," The cyclops responded in a cold, calm manner. "But it may provide an interesting experiment for us." Megatron raised an eyebrow at the con's response, but he said nothing as Shockwave continued to speak. "I have been able to successfully create a piece of technology that can launch a burst of energy, creating parasitic, habloid sparks within bots and cons."

"Habloid sparks?" Megatron sounded utterly surprised by the answer he had received from Shockwave. "How would this be of beneficial to us? It seems illogical to me. But do tell me what the parasitic part of these habloid sparks are meant to do. I would be interested to know if femmes can be affected too."

"The simple answer is, these habloid sparks will not be able to be sustained, even within a mech or femme with a gestational chamber," Shockwave explained, turning his eye to look at Megatron. "The habloid sparks will be created against the spark chamber, and the sparks will be in self destruct mode, which is detrimental, even in a normal case of self destruct." He turned back and pressed buttons on the console in front of him to bring up an image to explain. "Self destruct normally does not affect the carrier intensely, but these habloid sparks will. They will have enough self destruct material and poison to flood the system of any autobot or decepticon, causing a rapid shutdown."

"Fascinating…" Megatron's face had a smile growing as he listened. Azura was shocked to hear that she was created as a parasite so many years ago, and she had no idea. "Could these sparklings survive at all?"

"If they are separated by the carrier on time and placed within a separate gestational chamber, yes they can," Shockwave explained in an affirmative tone. "The self destruct will only occur within a Cybertronian. When they are not attached to one, the self destruct will be null and void, making it possible for the sparkling to grow and become a Cybertronian."

"Hmm…" Megatron was rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he listened to the con. He was thinking deeply on this machine, and he seemed to like it. "Would the spark even grow normally, even with how it is made?"

"I am afraid any sparkling born from this method will be weaker and smaller than average compared to any habloid sparks created in a normal manner," Shockwave explained again, seemingly having an answer for every question Megatron was asking. "In my opinion, the sparkling may even die after the birth because it will be too weak to function."

Megatron was still deep in thought and Azura couldn't help but realize what he was thinking. And this would be the reason why she herself existed. Not because Optimus was in the line of fire, but because it was aimed at him. "I wonder if that would be true if a habloid spark was created within Optimus."

Shockwave was silent for a moment as he thought about the idea and looked at the screen. "The spark would still be weaker. But this machine might affect the Matrix to an extent, meaning that the sparkling could receive a portion of its power and making it able to survive."

"A Prime sparkling would be something we could have within our ranks," Megatron said in a joyful tone. "Oh, the pain that Optimus would have to go through as he is forced to fight his own sparkling. But we are going to need a special pod if we are to bring his sparkling here. One that will speed grow the sparkling to adulthood, skipping the entire sparkling phase and birthing a mighty warrior for our ranks."

"I see…am I understanding that we will only use this machine until Optimus himself ends up with sparkling?" The scientist questioned curiously and Megatron nodded affirmatively. "I still have many test tubes in my laboratory that can be altered for the means we need. However, you should understand, Lord Megatron, this may not necessarily be successful. Optimus is still at risk of perishing from this spark."

"That might be true. But it will also not be in his nature to destroy something small and innocent that was created by such means." The decepticon leader laughed in enjoyment, sending shivers down Azura's spine. "This is going to be a most wonderful plan! Crushing Optimus's spark will never be so satisfying. Physically and emotionally."

The scene faded and Azura was left feeling rage. This was the reason why she was born. Megatron wanted Optimus to have a sparkling so he could kidnap that sparkling, force the growth of the sparkling, train it and have it fight against Optimus. She couldn't believe what she had heard, she was seething. And yet, it took only a few minutes before she actually let out some tears. It also hurt. She was created to, not only be a parasitic spark, but also with the purpose of hurting Optimus down to the very core of his being.

"That's the reason I was created…selfishness," Azura said as she backed away from the pond and turned to face Alpha Trion. "I…I knew…that when Optimus and Ratchet told me how I was created, and their assumption of the fact Megatron wanted to kidnap me, the decepticons had realized I had survived. But I had no idea it was planned."

"Unfortunately, the decepticons became rather twisted in their ideals," Alpha Trion said in a sad tone. "And as much as Megatron is evil today, he had good intentions a long time ago." She gave the bot a surprised expression. "I am sure you are familiar with discrimination among humans." She nodded. "It was also the case on Cybertron. Megatron saw there was unfairness and he wanted change, demanded it and demanded he wanted to be a Prime. But he was interested in going about it in a violent way, which was something we did not want. But Optimus had also seen the same thing, and had a different approach. Those two were close friends at the time because of it."

She had no idea that Megatron had different ideas before. She knew he was not evil at birth, he became that way over time. But it seemed as though his ideals have been corrupted, and he preferred to become a conqueror instead of someone Cybertron could look up to. And Azura knew that there was probably jealousy as well. Optimus became a Prime, Megatron did not. That must have hurt, and fuelled the anger at the time. Now she wasn't sure what the motive is. Aside from absolute power.

"Why was I shown this?" She asked softly. She felt shaken and upset knowing this, and she didn't want to think of herself as something bad. "Why should I even exist, Alpha Trion? I know I have a connection with the elements, and I know I could transform into a dragon. But what is so special about me?"

"You don't think you are special?" Alpha Trion asked in a surprised tone. "I am surprised that you feel that way. You shouldn't base this on the reasons why you came into existence, Azura. You are special, regardless of the destiny ahead of you."

Azura sighed as she looked down. "I don't see myself as special. I never did, I still don't. I might Optimus's daughter, but I don't see myself accepting that knowing what I know now. It hurts...and I've lost one of my best friends in the world. I just...don't know."

Alpha Trion stepped forward and placed his hand under her chin, lifting it up gently so Azura could look at him. "Azura, your beginning has absolutely no influence on who you are today." She didn't know if she should agreed with his statement, but she said nothing. "You are right that your abilities and being able to transform into a dragon shouldn't be the basis of being special. You are special because you are strong."

"Strong?" Azura scoffed as she stepped away from the wise bot. "How am I brave? I'm nothing like Optimus. I..." Tears fill her eyes as she spoke. "I have run away from things, Alpha Trion. And I...I have found myself in awful situations because of it. I don't want to be a coward anymore, but I have considered just leaving again."

"You should know that no one expects you to be like Optimus," Alpha Trion said gently as he smiled at her kindly. "Running from something doesn't always make someone a coward. You fled from the orphanage because of the mistreatment you experienced there. It was good and noble for you to try and find a better life for yourself." Azura just shrugged as it still led to the bus being attacked. "And when you fled from the base, you were frightened and overwhelmed by the fact the autobots did not come clean sooner. If I was still around, I would have told you, Azura."

"I believe you." Azura sniffled and looked at him, not knowing how to feel now. "I just am struggling to understand how I even can be...well...if I am able to transform someday into a dragon outside of this dream, how would I possibly find the courage to fight. I am sure I'd have to once the decepticons know."

"Finding your courage at your age would hard. Facing fear is more courageous than trying to find courage on a whim. Right now, you are already facing what you fear. Your identity and accepting Optimus as your father." Azura did not think of that. It made sense. "I know you will come to accept who you are soon, Azura. You have a lot of years ahead of you to spend with the autobots. We are your family."

Azura let more tears fall as hearing that they were her family was something she both loved and hated hearing at the same time. She had accepted that she is Cybertronian to a point, but she had not fully accepted it yet. She had years of memories of mistreatment and going to bed, crying herself to sleep, wondering where her family was and if someone would adopt her. Those were extremely hard to get past.

"Tomorrow, you should practice influencing the weather." She looked at Alpha Trion in surprise and gave him a curious expression as to why she should. The bot simply smiled. "You could use a rainbow to make your day a little better. Plus, you need to practically your abilities regardless."

"Well...Jasper does need some rain," Azura said with a smile. "I suppose I can do that." Suddenly hugged Alpha Trion. The old bot was not expecting that, but he hugged her back. "I appreciate you being here, Alpha Trion. You have some of the best wise words I've ever heard."

He chuckled gently as he rubbed her back. "It is certainly something that I am good at, so I hope you feel better, Azura. You are brave and stronger than you think you are. All you need to do is let yourself relax more and embrace the autobots. You will find life will be better if you let them in more."

Azura wasn't sure about that, but she was willing to give it a try. "I do want to see if Optimus will take me somewhere this weekend. I'd like to...just getaway somewhere and relax. He did promise that we can do something."

"Ask him. You won't know if he will do it if you don't say anything." Alpha Trion stepped away from Azura and she was a lot more relaxed than she was before. "I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."

Azura nodded in agreement. She found herself relaxing in the dream world, even though she didn't know what she would see next time. She glanced at the pools briefly just as the world began to blur and fade as she felt as though she was waking up. She did not hear Optimus's voice this time, which meant she was waking on her own, and she was happy about it. She just hoped she woke up on time for school.

End of Dream.

Opening her eyes slowly, Azura yawned and stretched her limbs as she found herself in the familiar berth. Even though it looked and felt like a crib, Azura actually liked waking up in it. It was warm and comfortable, and she felt well rested. She saw the unicorn against her side and moved it away as she sat up. She grimaced from the pain in her back, but it wasn't as bad as it was the day before.

She rubbed her eyes and stretched out her arms again with another yawn. She had no idea what time it was. She looked around groggily and stood up slowly before making her way to the stairs to walk down them. She wished there wasn't so many, but she got to the floor easily and went to the bathroom to use the toilet.

Once she was finished, she grabbed her brush to brush her hair and walked over to the fish tank to check her fish. She saw there was some algae growing on the glass so she decided to take care of that first. She grabbed an algae scrub to reach in and scrub the algae from the glass. She added a couple drops of ammonia treatment and fed the fish.

"Good morning, Azura." She glanced away from the tank as she heard Optimus's voice as he walked into the room. "I was about to wake you up to get ready for school, but it seems you got up on your own." She smiled at him as she continued to brush her hair. "Were you able to get enough sleep?"

"Yes I was." Azura walked away from the fish over towards one of the drawers. "What time is it? School starts at nine, and I don't want to oversleep."

"Well, you'll be happy to know it is fifteen minutes until it is eight in the morning. Though…our sense of time is different from humans, but we have to go by time on this planet." Optimus looked at Azura in surprise when she rushed to grab out a nice pair of three-quarter jeans, white bra and a blue, one shoulder shirt. "You have no need to rush, Azura. We will make it in time."

"But I also need to have low-grade before we go," Azura argued as she placed the clothes on her desk and began removing her pyjamas. "That will take up time as well."

Optimus smiled as he heard what she was saying as she slipped on her jeans first after removing her pyjamas. "You have no need to be concerned. You can drink it on the way to school." She paused and looked at him in surprise. "It isn't hard to pull the fuel line out in the cab, Azura. You have no reason to panic."

"Right…" Azura did not think about that very clearly and she felt silly. She put her bra on and slipped her shirt on. "I did not think of that…I guess I should have realized." She grabbed her brush and walked over to the mirror, looking at herself as she brushed her hair. "I am curious…my hair is metal, right?"

"It is a special kind of metal," Optimus said affirmatively as he dropped to one knee, watching as she brushed her lovely, golden hair. "There are not many Cybertronains with hair, or the type of metal that makes us look like we have hair. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because I wonder if putting human hair products in it would be damaging," She said thoughtfully. "Along with putting it up into styles and that. I never have a problem with oily, dry or frizzy hair, which most would be jealous of me for. And I have never had any strands fall out…and I have never had to use hairspray to keep it in place when I style it either…"

Optimus's smile widened as he listened to her. "You will not damage the hair from the human hair products that you have used. You will find that you are actually too young to be using majority of the products we use." She looked up at him in surprise. "We do not possess the right cleaning products for a sparkling. All of those were destroyed on Cybertron. But the human made products are safe for you to use, Azura. They will not cause any damage to your body or hair. Corrosion isn't something that occurs until we get much older where out bodies start to rust naturally."

Kind of like when humans get stiff and slow in old age.

Azura looked back at the mirror as she began to French braid her hair. "Good to know. But if you think I need to use other products, let me know. I can always get soap free products that are great for sensitive skin."

"That will not be necessary, Azura." Optimus relaxed as he watched his daughter braid her hair. He looked at his hands, knowing he wouldn't be able to do that for her at this time. But he could certainly brush her hair. But he knew she liked having independence, so he was willing to let her have that. "I understand you are learning about being a Cybertronian, but you have no need to be worried. After all, you'll eventually lose that outer fleshy shell and be able to put on a proper metal shell."

Azura did not know how that would work. She didn't know if she would even grow much bigger than she is now. "You seem to have confidence that I will grow."

Optimus was surprised by the comment and softened his expression. "Of course, I do. You have many more years of growing to do, Azura. Humans stop growing around the age of sixteen, correct?" She nodded. "We don't stop growing for…I was about five thousand Earth years when I was fully grown…Bee was when he was four and a half thousand Earth years…so you have a long time to keep growing."

Azura definitely was not expecting that. She had not realized she had that many years until she was fully grown. "Oh…I didn't know…"

"It is okay, Azura," Optimus said to her in a reassuring tone with a light chuckle. "You are still learning, and you have nothing to worry about." She finished braiding her hair and turned to Optimus as he smiled at her. "You look very nice today, Azura. Your hair looks really nice."

"Thanks." Azura shook her shoulders playfully as she walked over to him and he picked her up gently as he stood up slowly. "Anyway, um…I was wondering…" She pressed her index fingers together as Optimus listened to her while he walked out of the room. "You remember when you said you'd take me to places. I was thinking…could we go somewhere this weekend? I'd love to go to a beach if I can and place in the waves."

Optimus was extremely happy by her question. "I would be very happy to take you there to spend time together, Azura. I have no doubt it will be a nice break from doing school, though I know you do enjoy studying, but getting out in the fresh air is great."

She was really happy. "That sounds great! Hmm, I will need to get a swimsuit. I don't have any, so that'll have to be on my to-do list." She paused for a moment as she thought she could hear Ratchet shouting. She looked ahead and she felt Optimus tense. "Hey, do you hear that?"

"I do." Optimus began to walk faster through the hallway, holding Azura protectively against his chassis. They both heard Ratchet shouting something and there was the sound of something else in the room with him.

"I needed that!" They both hear Ratchet shout.

Azura felt a little nervous on what they would find. As Optimus reached the lobby, they both saw some kind of spider-looking bot leaping at Ratchet. Azura swore she had seen this thing before as it looked a lot like the equipment that Bulkhead destroyed the day before, and now it was some kind of spider bot. She did not know what happened, but she heard Optimus's left arm transform and stared for a moment before covering her ears when he shot at the spider bot in the air. The blast hit the bot away, making Ratchet relax.

However, the thing was not destroyed as Optimus walked towards it and stamped on it as it got back on its feet. He lifts his foot and it was completely destroyed. "And stay broken!" Ratchet sneered at the broken bot and looked at Optimus in disbelief. "Now what could have caused that?"

Optimus pulled down his face plate, something Azura had not noticed he had pulled up before, and looked at Ratchet in concern. "I have a grave suspicion, Ratchet. Dark energon." Azura felt shivers of fear course through her as though she had heard the name before.

Why am I reacting to this like I've faced it before? The dragon that helped the original Primes would have faced Unicron, maybe dark energon comes from him…wait…am I reincarnated or do I simple have sub-conscious memories of the past? I think I'd prefer have memories of it…somehow…

"Um…" Azura rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully and looked up at Optimus. "Is it something you can deal with after you drop me off at school?"

"Oh, uh, I am afraid that the school you go to is closed," Ratchet said suddenly, surprising Optimus and Azura. He looked a little guilty as he said it. "I was informed just before that thing attacked me from Bulkead, Arcee and Bumblebee that the school informed their parents about the closer. Apparently, someone ransacked the school and took information files of every student."

"Wait, what?" Azura widened her eyes in shock as she listened. "Why?"

"I already looked into it," Ratchet explained, turning to the console and typing on the keyboard and bringing up the news article. "There was already information regarding it this morning. And this…" He brought up an image of a broken classroom window, showing it had been broken into from the outside as the walls looked like it was scraped by something with sharp tips. "It looks like Soundwave sent Laserbeak to the school." He turned his head in concern as Optimus was immediately concerned. "But as they took the information on the students…I know they are searching for Azura, but they will get the information about Jack, Raf and Miko."

"But they have only seen Jack and Raf," Azura said with a frown. "And only once. They may not go after them, and Miko is only safe because they have not seen her."

"That is not the point, Azura," Optimus said gently in a concerned tone as he opened the panel on his chassis, surprising her, as he brought the line out. "They are clearly looking for you. They must think they will be able to track you down. Now you aren't living in that unit, it will be harder for them to find you."

Azura groaned as she took a hold of the fuel line. "Great…it will only make you want to keep me here and stop me from going to school…I only have a few months left before I graduate, it's not like it will be that long."

"Be that as it may, we at least know they cannot find you by going after paper files in human possession," Ratchet said calmly as Azura began to drink the low-grade energon as it flowed through the fuel line. "It is good that you did not go to school yesterday. I have a feeling they were indeed watching it closely to see if you were brought there. And when you weren't, they infiltrated the building to retrieve sensitive information." He took a deep intake and shook his head. "This is not good. And now we are potentially dealing with something else. And I still do not believe it."

Azura listened to him and guessed that he was right. She was upset she wouldn't be going to the school, but with the school broken into, it would likely be closed for a little while until the investigations and repairs have been finished. She would have to put up with not having to go to school for a few days. She was fine with that, mostly. Right now, she drank the low-grade energon while she thought about how she could possibly know what dark energon is. She has never seen it, nor been told about it until now. But she had to wonder if she was the reincarnation of the dragon who helped the Primes many years ago. Or if she simply had part of her memories and know what it is instinctually. She had a lot more questions to ask Alpha Trion later.