Mikaela POV

"Well… she's… she's from Cybertron. I… I guess things are a lot bigger there." Autumn suggested with a hesitant stammer.

I couldn't believe this. Granted, I hadn't been one of Autumn's friends in school, because she didn't have any. That doesn't mean I don't know what she was like from observation, because I had seen her almost everyday. I had to know… and I had to know now!

"Okay, Autumn… what the hell happened to you?" I demanded.

She looked at me like she was confused about something.

"I'm not stupid Autumn, and I'm not a blonde either, so don't try to play me for a fool! Back in school Sharon would try her best to slap you silly, and you'd just grin at her! Her best wasn't even enough to piss you off! You'd get tackled and the fight would be on, because you'd make sure that whoever did it was hurt worse than you were! The reason everyone always called you 'Demon' is because you scared the crap out of people! It never mattered how bad you were outnumbered, if they were bigger than you, or a better fighter than you… you would never back down! It didn't matter how tough they were or how bad they were, or what they did to you, because you'd just smile and motion for them to try again. Now you're acting like a scared little two year old when all I'm doing is being friendly. Right now I couldn't even hurt you if I broke a baseball bat over your head. So what changed?" I demanded in exasperation.

"I don't know!" Autumn shouted at me.

She sat down cross legged with Ravage in her lap and buried her head in Ravage's shoulder. Ravage turned her head to look somewhere else for a minute before looking back at me. Somehow, I just knew that if I made one threatening move towards Autumn, that the oversized metal panther known as Ravage, wouldn't hesitate to shred me in to little pieces. That was when I heard it. The sound of sobbing, and I knew that Autumn was crying.

"Autumn, listen to me. It doesn't matter how it happened, okay? I just want to know what it was so that we can somehow… fix it!" I said in a softer voice.

Autumn lifted her head to look at me with tears in those optics of hers. "You… you mean that… don't you?" She asked doubtfully.

"Yes Autumn, I do." I said before I laughed sardonically. "I didn't break my wrist on that bitch's head for nothing."

Sam and Ratchet both snorted at that. I could almost swear that they were trying not to laugh, but Ironhide didn't bother to conceal anything, because he was chuckling.

"You shouldn't have done that. I'm not worth it." Autumn said softly.

I could feel it as my face fell. I knew what had happened to her. Oh God… I actually knew what the problem was… and I didn't know if I could help or not. Her father had finally broken her. Her spirit, her indomitable will, her 'never say die' attitude, her heart, and maybe even her mind had been broken by her father's constant torture. I guess when he tried to kill her, it was just too much for her to take.

I could feel the tears glistening in my eyes as I put my hand over my mouth to keep from crying myself. The next thing I know, I'm babbling away.

"He finally did it didn't he? He broke you. You went through absolute hell and kept right on fighting, but he finally broke you." I whispered in horror.

I'm not a psychiatrist, or a shrink, and I don't know where to even begin to help Autumn with this kind of problem, but I can't… I can't leave her like this. She's gone through way too much to give up now!

"That appears to be the case Mikaela. Without having known Autumn prior to her presence on this island, we couldn't recognize the problem. Now… thanks to you, we know what the problem is, and that is something we can help her with." Chromia said as she stepped over to Autumn and started rubbing her doorwings.

"Chromia speaks for much more than just herself Mikaela. Chromia, Arcee, and I have only been on Earth for a few of your days, but in that short amount of time, the three of us have come to care for Autumn greatly. The problem that you see is one that we are familiar with, and one that we know how to correct. If there is a way that we can show our thanks, simply name it." Elita said seriously but kindly as well.

My mind was racing as I thought about what Autumn needed. Sure, I'm no shrink, but then I figured that she could do with participating in some of the things that normal people did. That's when it hit me, and I couldn't stop the grin.

"Okay…" I said smugly. "In that case we're going to do a 'girl's night' tonight. That means only girls and femmes allowed. I'm sure we can keep the males away, so that means me, you three, and Autumn as far as I know. Now who else?"

"Can I bring Ravage?" Autumn asked me.

When she asked me that question, she sounded like I was going to beat her while I said no.

"Is Ravage a female?" I asked with a sarcastically stupid look on my face to which Autumn nodded in answer.

"Then yes she can come along, because it's females only… whatever the species. Now I've heard that it's supposed to be a clear sky tonight. So we can head up to the cliffs and have our little girl's night there. How does that sound?" I said cheerfully.

"I've never heard of a 'girl's night' before, but it sounds like a wonderful idea. We should have done such things back on Cybertron. I take it that this is a human custom?" Arcee asked me with a smile.

"Sort of." I answered easily. "It's more like… it's more like something women do to get away from men for a while. Relax, let our hair down, and not worry about whether or not we're being sexy enough to attract the particular man we want." I added after thinking about it.

"It's not actually a custom or tradition, but I'm pretty sure that most women have done it at least once… well except maybe for Autumn. I doubt she's even been to a sleep over." I said with a frown.

"I… I never have been to a sleep over… so I don't know what to do at one." Autumn said nervously.

"Don't worry about it Autumn." I told her seriously. "All you have to do is relax, have a good time, and improve your friendships with the others who will be there."

"That's what a sleepover is… it's also what a 'girl's night' is about… having fun." I added with a smile.

Chromia POV

"That sounds easy enough." I replied.

I knew that both Elita and Arcee were very glad that Mikaela was here… I was too. She had quickly recognized a problem with Autumn. A problem that we hadn't been aware of, simply because we weren't aware that Autumn had changed. That was when I heard Elita on the comm. system. She did not sound pleased to be relaying this information, and I couldn't blame her, but at the same time, Autumn needed for others to know.

:This is Elita-1 to all Autobots currently in range. The reason behind the apprehensive and fearful nature of Autumn has been revealed by a human femme who knew Autumn prior to her arrival on base. Sadly… it seems that Autumn's spirit has been broken by the actions of her sire. We already know that this condition can be treated, and that Autumn can recover her natural personality with time, kindness, and compassion.:

I could tell from both her voice and expression that Elita was not happy about having to send that message.

:Is there any type of corroboration for this assumption?: Prowl sent quickly.

:This assessment comes from Mikaela who was formerly an associate of an antagonist of Autumn's. Apparently Autumn's entire nature has changed from one who was willing to defend herself against any odds… to one who will not defend herself at all.: Ratchet answered quickly. :I know this to be a fact, because I've even had to defend Autumn from herself!: He added.

:That is… unfortunate… When I introduced myself to Autumn, I could see that she was indeed very nervous and timid. However, she was somewhat defiant later, and was placed in the brig for disobedience of regulations. I have issued an apology to Autumn for placing her in the brig, and I have attempted to correct the mistake I made in preventing her from the enjoyment of her first time to try her wheels. When Bluestreak and I arrived to remove her from the cell, she appeared to be more of a victim of the Decepticons rather than a bot who was simply placed in the brig for a violation. I observed then that she seemed to have been broken.: Prowl sent heavily.

:From what Mikaela has just told us, there can be no further doubts that Autumn's spirit has in fact been broken by the torment that she's endured…: Elita began before she was interrupted by Prowl.

:I do not believe that the constant torment was the deciding factor. It would appear that the constant torment was contributory; however… the first attempt at permanently offlining Autumn was prevented by Bluestreak. Autumn was unable to completely recover from that before being subjected to a second attempt to offline her which included captivity and repeated rapes. Both attempts were clear and obvious to her in their intent to end her existence. The second attempt was a blatant escalation of Autumn's foul treatment. The captivity and multiple rapes would have been considered torture even without the fatal injury she suffered. There is a ninety-two percent probability that it was this final attempt which broke her.: Prowl sent quickly.

:I'm forced to agree with that. Autumn was mute and unable to plead or reason with her assailants. They brutalized her in such a way that if she had not been converted into a Cybertronian, that she would never have given birth to children of her own. When I… told her about that… she was actually relieved! As if she were glad that she would never bring a child into the kind of life she had experienced. Chromia… you know how to deal with a sparkling. Since we know now that Autumn is broken, you will need to help build up her confidence again… we all will!: Ratchet sent seriously.

:I am instructing all Autobots are to assist in this! I do not know why or how the Allspark changed her from human to bot, and at this point, I don't care either. Autumn has been given a chance to be happy for once in her life. Now that she is a Cybertronian, I want her to see that we are not like her sire; that she will not be made to endure such treatment. Prowl I want you to revise Autumn's schedule to account for what we now understand her problem to be, and advise the rest of us from there. We will help Autumn as she learns to cope with this problem.: Optimus ordered firmly.

:Designation Soundwave reporting. Autobot Autumn's mental status confirmed. Memories of previous personality include stubborn persistence, intentional defiance, and obvious hatred of authority figures. Analysis of current personality; terrified of authority, fearful of strangers, and constantly wary. Emotional state of Autobot Autumn; timid, fearful, and extremely depressed with certainty of having been abandoned. Self esteem is non-existent. Use of telepathy to repair emotional damage… ill advised. Current level of femme involvement; inadequate. Autobot Autumn craves companionship of authoritative femme along with emotional support of said femme.:

I couldn't but look over at Elita after hearing that statement from Soundwave. She was clearly as surprised as I was. Neither of us could believe that Soundwave had verified Autumn's mental state. None of us trusted Soundwave; not him or his motives… but now… now he was telling us that we were the key to helping Autumn. The strange thing was that Soundwave also said that he shouldn't use his telepathy to alter Autumn's mental state. I had no doubts that he'd still monitor Autumn, because knowing how she felt and what she was going through would be vital to helping her.

I was glad that the entire conversation over the comms had taken place in less than a human second, because Autumn wouldn't suspect that a conversation had just held regarding her.

"That it is. So… what do you four need to gather up so we can spend a night under the stars?" Mikaela asked with what I could tell was a forced smile.

Elita POV

I have to give Mikaela my respect. She admits that she doesn't know Autumn all that well, but she isn't going to allow that sweet sparkling to suffer as she has been. In mere moments, Mikaela has taken charge and begun to arrange something that Autumn wasn't able to participate in when she was human. That means that this event should mean a lot to Autumn. I can see that she is looking forward to it, even though she has no idea what she's supposed to do. I don't either, but from what Mikaela has said, it should be simple enough.

The comm. from Soundwave is somewhat disturbing to me. According to what he said, the three of us will need to become a lot more involved with Autumn… especially myself. Soundwave didn't actually say it… but Autumn needs her Carrier. Unfortunately, she was rendered offline while Autumn was forced to watch. That means it is now important for me to stand in as Autumn's Carrier. I can't replace that femme, and I won't even try! Autumn would never forgive me if I attempted such a thing… and honestly… I don't think I could forgive myself for doing so. Still, I can be a substitute for her. To my knowledge, Autumn is the only sparkling to exist within the past sixty-thousand Earth years. That alone necessitates every effort to ensure her survival and health.

"Well, we're going to need some energon if we're going to be out all night, and Autumn could use some additional minerals in hers. I can also check to see if Wheeljack has managed to start making mineral wafers yet… if he has, then we can bring some of those as well." Chromia mused.

"Good! I'll grab an ice chest and fill it with what I need, and then we can all head out. Anyone got a particular place in mind?" Mikaela asked with a grin.

"Can… can we go to the cliffs?" Autumn asked softly.

As Mikaela looked over at Autumn her grin became a wide smile.

"A night under the stars with friends, and the waves crashing against the rocks below…? That sounds good!" Mikaela said with a nod.

Three bream later I walked back into the main hangar where Autumn, was still sitting with Ravage in her arms, and Arcee was quietly stroking her back.

I knew that I had obtained several cubes of energon from Ratchet, and that Chromia was checking with Wheeljack to see if he'd managed to produce and mineral wafers. I actually hoped that he had, because Autumn was very fond of those. Ratchet had told me that Autumn had somehow faked her energon consumption right in front of Prowl. It was a practice that would severely degrade her frame. The fact that she considered the mineral wafers to be better than energon treats was an incredible boon. Not only would those wafers provide the minerals that Autumn needed for her frame, but she would be forced to fuel properly while eating them. As soon as Chromia and Mikaela returned, we would be ready to head up to the cliffs.