Bluestreak's POV

I stood there numbly, my servo reaching out to thin air as my Spark bonded mate ran out the door. I will never forget the look on her face-plates; it was forever burned into my memory banks. She looked like she was gazing upon a monster.

I shivered and let out a low keen. My engine hiccupped and sputtered, while my spark shivered and clenched in its casing. I could feel her close the bond with a snap; it was like a door slamming closed in my face. A punch to the abdomen, a null ray to the spark.

Oh Primus, how it hurt. It hurt so badly to know that I was the one who had hurt her, that I-her bond mate- was the one who tore her spark apart... and I hadn't even physically touched her. No... it was because of that Primus damned bet!

I wanted to blame Smokescreen so much, but I knew that in the end... it was I who did it. I could have said no to Smokescreen. I could have just sucked it up and went to her without a bet hanging over my helm. I could have done things differently, but I didn't, and that is what hurt the most.

I clenched my fists and lowered my helm as the coolant tears slowly fell from my optics and to the floor. The pattering of their fall was the only noise in the room. I grit my denta and slowly opened up the bond to my brothers. I knew they would help me, no matter what I did, they had always stood by me.

.:...Help... it hurts so much:.I sent the words out to my siblings, hoping that they would help me filter the pain enough that I could go find Autumn. Go make amends before she did something both of us would regret.

.:Blue! It's Smokescreen, where are you!:. Smokescreen quickly sent back. I could feel his worry through the bond and no matter how angry I was at him for telling those little stories I was relieved to hear from him right now.

.:Bluestreak, what happened?:. Prowl's voice echoed through my spark and helm, he sent a surge of protective worry through our bond. I shivered and emitted a wailing keen that echoed throughout Autumn's quarters.

.:She's gone! I really slagged up this time! Please... oh please...:. I sent my pain... my anguish through the bond. I could feel their shock and worry.

.:She ran away?!:. Both of my siblings chorused at the same time. Prowl was calm, Smokescreen was worried with a tint of fear.

.:I shall alert the base to what has happened, Optimus will no doubt send out a search party. I highly doubt she could have gotten far, Bluestreak, this is an island.:. Prowl stated calmly, before all but disappearing from my spark. I could feel Smokescreen's worry as he sent me comfort and strength.

.:I'm sorry Blue, we'll make this better. I promise.:. Smokescreen then pulled out of the three way connection, leaving me to wallow in my pain. Another keen left my lips, but I forced myself to stand up and stagger out into the hall. Watching for humans underfoot, I moved dejectedly to the hanger. My wings hanging low on my back, displaying my agony.

Hound POV

I stood in front of Optimus, confusion the only thing I could really feel. Autumn has run away? It didn't make sense to me, but I suppose it didn't have to.

"So you need me to track her down?" I clarified. Optimus nodded with his deep cerulean optics intense with worry.

"I fear for her safety, as the Cons could appear at any moment. She still is weak and fragile compared to the rest of us. I need you to use your abilities to find her."

"Yes sir. Am I going alone or taking others with me." I asked. Determination quickly overriding my fear. I've done these kinds of things back on Cybertron. I tracked down rouge bots, Decepticons, and went out in search of missing Autobots.

When they sent me out it meant something bad had happened, and usually when I found the bot they wanted me to track... well to put it kindly they weren't moving. I nodded, swallowing back my worry for the femme.

I knew my friend Bluestreak had bonded with her, Primus everyone found out seeing as we didn't hide stuff from one another. I was just confused about why she ran off. Did Blue... no. Bluestreak would never harm another Autobot, no less a femme.

"I will be sending Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker with you." I nodded and looked back to see the three bots making their way to us.

"So the femme bolted?" Sideswipe rumbled. I heaved a sigh. Great... I got the pranksters to accompany me.

"Sounds like she's got a glitch." Sunstreaker grunted. Before I could even say anything back, Ratchet whacked both of them in the back of their helms with a deft swing of his wrench.

I smirked and shook my helm as they both yelped in pain. Well, Sideswipe yelped and Sunstreaker yelled about his paint.

"Let's get going, we don't know how far she could have traveled and what shape she's in." I stated while walking to the hanger entrance.

"If she ran, I highly doubt she's physically impaired Hound." I looked behind me to gaze at the twins.

"I'm not talking about physical shape Sideswipe. I'm talking mental." Ratchet grunted while nodding to me and walked past the glaring twins to my side. Not a second later the clouds gave way with an angry rumble and began to poor down rain. I cursed loudly and looked at the three mechs.

"Let's move before I loose her trail!" I sprinted out of the hanger and transformed. Shooting across the sands in four-wheel-drive I turned on my high beams so that I could look for any type of indentations or clues as to where she could have been heading.

For awhile I didn't see anything, but then I came across damaged brush. Transforming out of my alt. Mode. I crouched down and picked up the crushed branch, rolling it between my digits. I looked up through the pouring rain and turned my sensors on high, hoping to gain a signature. Nothing, not even a blip.

I looked behind me at the sound of transformation cogs being activated. A grim expression on my lip plates. I couldn't find tracks, the rain was washing them away, but I did find the branch. It told me she was in a hurry, disoriented. The scent of fear still lingered somehow.

"What did you find?" Ratchet asked. No matter how much he tried to look and sound angry, I could still smell the worry that filtered off of him; it was intense.

"No tracks so far, but I did find this. She's headed east, toward the cliffs. From what I can observe from the breakage of this branch and the surrounding brush-" I turned and pointed at the trampled vegetation, glancing back at them with concern.

"She was disoriented. Running from something or one." The twins growled their optics dark.

Ratchet was seething, anger rolling off of him. "Let's find the femme."

I nodded at the request and walked past the brush. From here we would walk, I figured it would be faster and I could pick up on the tracks easier.

Rocks were scattered, vegetation torn and abused. I frowned at the sight. It was... aggressive. As if she wasn't just disoriented, but also angry. I was confused. Why would she be in such a condition in the first place?

The sense that Bluestreak had something to do with this intensified. I couldn't shake it, and it worried me. Why would Bluestreak cause her to be like this? I froze upon seeing more tracks; my optics followed the trail to the old worn dirt path. I quickened my pace seeing tire tracks fade to staggering pede prints.

She was worse off then I thought. I took off running up the cliff face, worry coursing through me. Why is she going to the cliff?! I rushed up to the top and froze. I could see the slender form of the femme collapsed by the edge.

"Autumn!" I rumbled when I crouched beside her. Mud splashing up my thigh plating when I dropped to one knee. Shifting one arm under her I gently rolled her over and placed my servo on her chest plates.

She was warm and her spark was still pulsing, so that was a plus; however, her optics were dark leading me to the conclusion that she had fallen into stasis lock. My optics traced her face-plates, she had been crying. My spark ached at that, seeing the dried coolant tracks on her face-plates. What happened to you that distressed you this much?

"Ratchet! I found her!" I called out, my optics never leaving the dainty frame before me. Not a second later the cranky CMO was beside me. His usually pristine armor covered in mud and leaves. Opening up his arm paneling he pressed a few buttons and pulled out a slim cable.

"Lift her up, I need to plug up to her processors and see what made the femme glitch. Right now she's in stasis, but luckily it was a forced systems protection program that was activated. I did a quick scan, but found no physical injuries. So she must have glitched."

I nodded and obediently pulled her light weight up into my arms, using my knee joint as a brace for her back plating. I could feel the twins loom up behind us, their scent rank with irritation. Even through the rain I could smell that.

Ratchet silently plugged in to her processors, his optics dimming and for a while there was no noise except for our heating systems keeping us warm against the cold pouring rain. The patter of the down pour was soothing and yet it sent chills up my spinal plating. It was like the final ticking of a clock in my mind, the final breaths of a comrade in my arms.

I looked down at the femme, worry clouding my optics. Finally I heard a growl and looked up to see Ratchet's ire filled face-plates. I flinched slightly when a flash of thunder, and strike of lightening, lit up and back grounded him perfectly.

"I'm going to offline those slaggers when we get back to base. Let's hurry up and get her back to base, her programming is starting to get corrupted by the rain frying her circuits. She's going to have one nasty virus when we get back."

I winced and gently picked her up; she wasn't heavy at all, but nor was I the strongest… Moments like this was when I wished Inferno was here, he was way stronger than I and could carry her back to base with no problem. No doubt I was gonna need a good rinse in the wash wrack with hot water to uncoil my tense neck cables.

Autumn POV

I slowly onlined to the sound of yelling. I flinched and gave off a weak keen, my optics flickering online weakly. Distantly I picked up the swaying motion of movement, someone was carrying me.

I glanced around weakly to see that I was in the main hanger. Ratchet was looming over two frames, one was blue, red, and white while the other was a silver-blue. Smokescreen and Bluestreak. I distantly realized. I didn't feel so good; the swaying was making my tanks lurch.

Spark aching and feeling like my energon was going to come up, I decided that I hated coming out of stasis lock. Groaning I wiggled trying to get free of my captor, but I was too weak to get anywhere.

"Easy." I heard an unfamiliar voice rumble.

Glancing up I saw Hound and relaxed. I hadn't spoken with him personally, but Blue had told me about him once. He said that Hound was a fun mech, generally nice and the Autobots tracker.

Slag... Autobot Tracker... he... I wanted to face plant at that moment as my processors finally caught up to speed. He was the one to find me out there in the mud?

"Hey, the pipsqueak's finally online."

I jumped slightly and automatically regretted it. My tank's agitation made itself known to the world. I turned slightly in Hounds grasp and purged. It wasn't much energon considering I hadn't had any in awhile, but it was enough apparently to splatter the floor, his arms and his pedes.

I felt the warm servos around me shift and hold me a little closer; as if afraid I might hurt myself. I had expected the mech to drop me, but he just calmly held me in his arms up against his chassis. One of his servos gently rubbing my back in a soothing manner.

His steps went still as he waited to see if I would purge again. Nope, nothing. One time thing apparently. Hound's arms shifted to hold me on my back again, careful of my wings as he walked past Ratchet's furious form and into the hallway that led to med-bay.

"Ratchet's angry at me isn't he." I managed to grind the words out as we entered the med-bay. Hound gently set me down on a berth and disappeared for a moment, a second later he came back with a waist basket and set it on the floor right beside my berth.

"Not at you really. He's angry at Bluestreak and Smokescreen."

I looked up at him in shock. "What... how...?"

Suddenly he looked guilty and turned his optics away from me. "I tracked you down. We were worried that you would get hurt. Ratchet and the twins accompanied me, when we found you Ratchet plugged in to your processors."

My jaw tightened as I struggled not to purge again.

I knew that nothing would come up, but apparently that didn't deter my body from making me dry heave. Hound was soothingly rubbing my back again while I coughed and gagged. Once it finally subsided he helped me lie back down.

"I'm sorry." I muttered dully, my optics dim. He gave me a startled expression.

"For running? Why? You had every right to run under the circumstances."

I grimaced. Primus... Ratchet must have yelled loud enough for every bot and human on base to know what happened.

"Partly... but mainly cause I threw up on you."

He blinked before laughing softly. "It's alright, doesn't bother me. However, I am worried about how bad of a virus you picked up."

I shivered and moaned, a hand touching my abdomen. "Please don't talk about that."

He offered me a small smile of condolence, but remained quiet as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Suddenly the med-bay doors slammed open, Ratchet storming in with a fiery look in his optics.

"Autumn. How are you feeling?" I looked up tiredly to see Ratchet, his optics focused on me. I just lay there staring at him, not sure what to say. The reality of everything had sunk back in when Ratchet walked in.

A niggling voice suddenly whispered in the back of my processors. He betrayed you... he used you. I grit my jaw and servos. No... no he didn't! I thought back.

"Primus femme! Would you answer me!"

I was jerked from my thoughts to stare up at Ratchet. His optics were glaring at me, his features taught with barely constrained rage at being ignored. Silently I rolled over; my wings flicked down and back. I could hear his engine rev in his ire.

"You're fragging impossible! We go through the rain to find you and you don't even thank us?"

I didn't answer him, just stared away into space. His words ghosting over me, brushing against my conscious and then they were gone.

"You're fragging unappreciative. We could have left you." My jaw tightened as my vision swam with coolant. The pain in my spark growing. They would have left you, you are not vital. You can be disposed of...

I clenched my optic shutters tightly shut, holding back the sob until I felt Ratchet's and Hound's presence leave. The med-bay doors opening and then closing. My insecurities took hold of me, crushing me from the inside out. I should have jumped when I had the chance. I thought weakly, before slipping into recharge to sleep off the virus.

XXX

Not too long later I awoke from recharge feeling exhausted and nauseous. The whole med-bay was in darkness except a small section that was lit up over Ratchets desk.

I glanced up seeing Ratchet sitting at his desk at the moment, working on a data-pad. I swallowed trying to decide if I wanted to make a dash to the trash bin beside him.

I knew he'd probably yell at me, but my tanks were rolling and any minute now I was gonna heave up the energon he must have manually put in my tanks when I was in recharge. I could feel the gurgling sensation crawling up my throat.

Swallowing I shifted and felt the nausea grow. Slag it all! I jumped up and staggered to the bin; he looked up and then froze seeing my sick expression.

"Are you alright?" His sudden gentle tone took me off guard, but the gurgling persisted.

I shook my helm negatively and suddenly purged. Luckily it all went into the trash bin. I felt a gentle servo rubbing my back, while the other was placed gently against my abdominal plating to keep me steady. Ratchet was crouched beside me, taking care of me. I thought he was angry at me... what's with the sudden mood swing? I thought nervously.

A polishing cloth was pressed against my mouth plates, gently wiping the rest of the energon away. I looked up at Ratchet weakly, his optics weirdly gentle.

"Easy, you caught a very nasty virus."

I nodded weakly as he gently picked me up and set me on a berth in front of his desk. I lay on my abdomen, arms crossed to rest under my jaw while my wings fanned out over the berth. I was just too weak at the moment to expend energy on holding them up.

"I apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you, I was angry at those two fraggers for causing this mess."

I knew it took a lot for Ratchet to apologize; he was just one of those mechs who didn't do it often. I offered him a wane smile.

"It's alright." I mumbled. Suddenly I was flinching as a wrench slammed down on his desk, his optics full of anger and sorrow.

"It's not alright slaggit! Everyone yells and screams sometimes! Pit! I yell and scream all the time, it is not alright! For once in your life cycle quit with the fake smiles, the laughter, quit with the running, and hit some bot! Yell at them, do something besides saying placidly 'it's alright'!"

I blinked in shock and just stared up at him. Is he... defending me from myself? I had never seen Ratchet this passionate about something, it was... inspiring in a way. It felt nice to have someone defend me, even if it was from myself.

Bluestreak is the only one who has done this, and even then it wasn't like how Ratchet put it. My vents hitched at the thought of Bluestreak. Blue... I want Blue... my optics filled with coolant.

Ratchet froze and stared at me, suddenly looking guilty. I looked up at Ratchet and tried to smile. My engine hiccupped as I let out a soft keen. My spark hurt so much, I just wanted my Bluestreak.

"Autumn...?"

I gave another hiccup and started crying. The mech before looked alarmed as I lay there sobbing. I tried to tell him what I wanted, but I couldn't get it out right.

"B'ue... 'nt... ue..." I sobbed out. He looked utterly confused and worried as I lay there crying for a good ten minutes. Once it did die down and awkward silence slowly rolled over like a storm cloud.

"Autumn are you alright?"

I sniffed and looked up at him, coolant threatening to fall again.

"I want Blue..." I was aware that I sounded like a whiny child, but I wanted to make amends. I wanted my love back, but the problem was I didn't know if he wanted me... not after my performance.

I felt the large servo of Ratchet gently touch my shoulder, his optics intense. My bottom lip quivered as my nausea grew again. I leaned over the side of the berth and purged my tanks. Ratchet grimaced as his clean med-bay floor was splashed in purplish liquid.

"Sorry." I mumbled, my optics full of coolant again.

"It's alright femme. You're ill, you can't help that." He sighed softly after speaking, going about getting cleaners to mop up the mess. I sniffed and lay there quietly, contemplating on opening the bond.

Biting my lower lip, I tentatively opened the bond a fraction of an inch. It was open just a crack and I could feel Bluestreak's emotion slam into me like a ton of bricks. I could hear his thoughts... in a way I didn't want to know what he was thinking, but I also did.

'Fragger... getting me in trouble...' I flinched biting my lower lip. He might not be thinking about me. I tried to reason logically.

Oh... but how do you know he's not? Shut up! He... he can't be! Mmmhmm... you keep believing that.

I shivered at the cold voice, it was so cruel. I grit my jaw and shuttered my optics, tuning out Ratchet and my surrounding to concentrate on the crack in the bond. To listen to Blue's internal struggle.

'I'm such a glitch! I wish she would have let me explain. I could go to med-bay and explain... no, no she wouldn't want to see me... she's already sick and injured because of me! What kind of mate am I?!'

I could feel myself relax. At hearing those words.

.:You're an amazing mate... without you I probably wouldn't even be here.:.

.:Autumn...?:.

.:Nooooo, it's your subconscious.:.

.: -laughs- Primus, I can't believe you're talking to me! I'm so, so sorry! I should have explained earlier. Does this mean you forgive me?:. He sounded so excited like a sparkling on Christmas. I took way too much delight in my next words, kind of disturbing if you ask me.

.:No. Explain, Bluestreak. Now.:.I smirked feeling his apprehension. Opening the bond a little wider, I could feel his glee at that.

Just because I felt his sudden excitement I snapped the bond almost all the way closed again, feeling panic sweep through him was... exciting. I hated the idea of torturing another, but I felt that he deserved it.

.:Wait! Autumn, wait! Please!:.

.:Start talking! Do you think it's funny to mess with me! To use me! Well?:. I snarled angrily. Pain sweeping through my spark again. It felt like being around my sire all over again. Suddenly horror swept through the crack and into my chassis.

.:No! I could never think it would be funny to do such a thing! I would never use you, never.:.

.:...then why did you?:.

.:Autumn... I didn't use you.:.

.:Why do you feel so guilty then? Is there something you're not telling me, Bluestreak?:.

.:What? What are you-:.

.:Answer me dammit! My spark is not a toy!:. I hadn't realized it, but I was snarling and hiccupping on the berth. My stress levels causing my tanks to roil roughly.

.:Smokescreen bet me to bond with you because I was too scared to ask you!:. I was deathly quiet, contemplating my next words.

.:Did you mean the bond?:.

.:Of course I did!:.

.:Then prove it!:. I hiccupped the words, my distress flowing through the bond. I snapped it closed and then blocked him from being able to communicate with me.

"Arguing huh?" I looked up at Ratchet; he was leaning against his desk watching me. I nodded and just sniffed softly and buried my face-plates in my arms.

I activated my recharge protocols, not wanting to talk to anyone. I couldn't handle it, I felt as if someone tried to talk to me I'd snap.

Shuttering my optics I let myself sink into recharge. Darkness swamped me, blocked out everything else like a safety blanket.

Unknown POV

It was fascinating the type of rocks he found, the minerals that popped up in abundance in this galaxy. His Blue and silver armor was dimly lit by the distant star, a yellow dwarf only in its early formation.

He grinned and walked across the large rock, looking at all the interesting minerals. Pausing he crouched down to see a block of shimmering brown-red metal known as copper. It was a spicy mineral and good for a bots systems.

Activating his sonic pick he slammed it into the dusty rock, a few more hacks and the chunk of copper came free. Grinning he picked it up and let his sonic pic transform back into his left arm. His right holding the small cyber-mouse sized chunk of copper.

"Element eleven, atomic weight is 63.546, atomic number is 29 and remains a solid at 298 degrees kelvin. More precisely, it's 24.850 degrees Celsius and if broke down further it's 79.730 degrees Fahrenheit!"

The mech spit out the information happily, even if it was just himself on the cold rock circulating the young Yellow Dwarf Star. Looking down he noticed the planet that the rock was orbiting, and the planet was orbiting the Yellow Dwarf.

"Well hello! What kind of Geological wonders are down there I wonder?" The mech smiled behind his face mask, his blue visor shimmering with curiosity. A sudden transmission caught his minds optic; shifting his attention to it he dialed in to listen.

"I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here, we are waiting." The mech grinned happily. He wasn't alone.

"Well then, looks like I'm gonna have to come and... check this place out!" The mech quickly sent a signal out to space, toward the new planet.

He hoped the Autobots got his message, because not a second later the mech lunged from the moons surface and activated his traveling cog.

Heading out into deep space and to the planet called... Earth.

Prowl's POV

I looked up from the tracking system that we had created; it was a miniature Teltran-1. The screen was lit up and bleeping, an incoming Autobot signature was shown on the screen.

I couldn't tell who, but I could tell where he, or she, would be landing. I was tense, reading the coordinates. The bot would be landing in New Mexico, close to the border of Texas.

"Optimus. We have an incoming Autobot." Optimus walked over to me, his servos sliding behind his back in a relaxed commanding position.

"Do you have and ETA?" He asked me, his sapphire optics honing in on the screen.

"Yes sir. Twenty-one hundred hours (11:00 PM)." I glanced at my internal chronometer; it was already nineteen-hundred hours.

We had two hours to get to the bot before the cons did. Optimus glanced at me, his optics darkened in thought. Suddenly they brightened telling me that he had made a decision.

"Prowl, I trust you can create a team and have them go collect this bot?"

"Yes sir."

"I shall leave it to you then." Optimus turned and walked away, ever regally. I couldn't help, but to hope that Elita-1 would show up for Optimus' sake.

I quickly shook the thought from my processors and began inputting data into my tactical defense processor.

The statistics showed that we had a fifty percent chance of making it there before the cons, and based on that percentage I calculated that I should send the twins; Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, with Ironhide and Ratchet.

Turning, I quickly made my way through the base; intent on tracking down the said bots to tell them their mission. Then I would find Captain William Lennox and let him decide his human team.

Unknown POV

I landed on the planets surface with out sound-barrier-breaking explosion. Skidding across the warm sand and into a river.

A hissing noise erupted from the cold water cooling off my hot frame; the atmospheric gasses had created a ball of fire around me upon my entrance.

Unfurling, I quickly transformed and stood up. I looked around and didn't see any creatures I could have harmed, much to my immediate satisfaction.

Killing just wasn't in my code, but I had seen too much of it from the Decepticons to not harm them. They were the only exception, and that was just barely.

I took off at a brisk jog, accessing the 'internet' and finding an alt mode called a Dune Buggy. Downloading the specs, I felt my blue and silver armor change into the fitting I would need to morph into this particular Earthen vehicle.

"Fascinating, r-r-really fascinating." I grinned, humans were the dominant organic creatures of this planet. Bi-pedal like us Cybertronians and yet they didn't transform, but they did make these vehicles. Hmmm... I need to study these creatures more through their... world wide web!

Transforming into said Dune Buggy I sped off across the sand, the glowing rock I had been on hours before now was high up in the sky. I picked up four signatures on my radar, all Autobot and headed my way. Revving my engine I swerved and turned around. Fellow bots here I come!