TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED

Re:Animated

Rewrite of 'Grey Matter, Silver Lining'. At the same time as Megatron reawakens, a woman falls to earth and Sari manages to convince her father to let her become her nanny. Emma doesn't talk much, and certainly isn't saying she knows them from a cartoon! But when the All-Spark shatters, it makes her question everything . . .

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Time Of Your Life

Every time, everyday, everything,

Even if we were to go our separate ways, I'll hold us together,

You are my special person,

Every time, everyday, everything,

I have faith, even if time doesn't stop . . .

— AZU ft. SEAMO

It took a few days to be able to talk to the others about the Vampires - they couldn't do it the same evening after making the decision, because the young ones got back from the amusement park in various states of what Emma dubbed 'roller coaster hangover'.

"But … I only rode the Jump The Shark once . . . " Bumblebee had said, somewhat weakly. "Or, was it seven times?"

"I said hangover, not hang-ten!"

Thankfully, they got at least some of the conversation out of the way a couple of nights later, because the following day there was an alert saying that Nanosec had just committed a robbery.

"What?" Said Sari, from where she and Bumblebee were trying to beat Emma's high score on the unicycle racing game.

"Really?" Added Emma, as she clung to Prowl's neck and he swung down from the rafters.

"Sky and I can stay on the monitors." Honeybee spoke up.

Capi, who was somewhat curled up near Sky Dancer, like a cat, raised his trunk; they figured that he wanted to stay there.

Optimus nodded. "The rest of us, transform and roll out!"

They did so, and Sari climbed into Bumblebee's alt mode. Emma, dressed all in black including a leather jacket, jumped onto Prowl's alt. mode after she'd put on her helmet.

"Let's roll!" Emma and Prowl said in unison.

Sari and Bumblebee laughed.

"Maybe they're gonna try and take over from the boss-bot?" Bumblebee suggested.

"Although, since Em's also a Prime, I guess that means that she'd rule the roost in both their relationship and as team leader?" Sari added, and she and Bumblebee both laughed, again.

"Would you two please focus?!" Emma and Prowl said testily.

"It doesn't work like that!" Optimus added sternly.

"The whole Prime thing or those two not focusing?" Bulkhead wondered.

"Both." Ratchet replied.

The Autobots soon located Nanosec, who was swiftly skating away with his stolen loot, and Bumblebee posed the question: "How come he looks young again?"

Sari shrugged: "Hmm … wrinkle cream?"

"If it worked like that, kiddo, then I'd be using a whole ton of the stuff!" Emma told her, through the com. link.

Prowl commented that Emma didn't need any wrinkle cream. He also added that this high-speed pursuit was posing a danger to innocent organics, making Emma think back to his character in G1.

Optimus agreed, and told Bumblebee to take a side-street and cut Nanosec off.

Bumblebee, of course, didn't listen, but Emma knew that he wasn't expecting Slo-Mo's power. Neither was she, actually, because she was too busy feeling all tingly about what Prowl had just said to her.

The slow-down ray hit Bumblebee and caused him to stop before either he or Emma knew what was happening.

Emma was jolted back to reality when she felt the familiar tingle in her chest, and resisted the urge to yell out to Slo-Mo to give her the All-Spark fragment.

Bumblebee's stopping caused a bit of a chain reaction, when the other Autobots all but crashed into him.

Prowl nearly hit Bumblebee, but managed not to - the end result was that Emma found herself facing the back of Prowl, with one leg over the handlebars and her forearms resting on the seat of the motorcycle, to avoid being crushed since he'd screeched to a stop right next to Bumblebee.

Emma was frozen, and just blinked, feeling like Woody did in the first Toy Story, where the truck's wheel stops about an inch from his face.

Bulkhead, meanwhile, had hit a pole and Optimus hit him.

Bumblebee regained movement and drove forwards before turning around. "Oh, those oughta buff ... right out?" He said lamely, as Emma jumped down onto the pavement and leaned over Prowl, examining the scratches on his left side. Bumblebee couldn't see the expression on her face, due to her helmet, but he imagined that she might've been looking both annoyed (at him) and concerned (for Prowl).

"Bumblebee, you disobeyed my order!" Optimus told him, transforming so that he could glare at the little yellow speedster - he was definitely annoyed! "I called for a flanking maneuver! We're supposed to work as a team!"

"Well, a team's gotta go with the best player, right?" Bumblebee protested, as Emma stepped back and Prowl transformed. "Or, at least the fastest . . . "

"Then, why did you hit your breaks?" Prowl asked him.

"I didn't." Bumblebee told him. "I'm ... well, I'm not sure what happened." He watched as Emma and Prowl exchanged a glance. "But, if you hadn't been tailgating me, you wouldn't need to have those dents pounded out!"

"Mmhmm," Prowl said. "So, now you're shifting the blame to us?"

Emma just sighed, but was secretly happy. Compared to Vampires and trying to remember her past, this was actually kind of fun!

Bulkhead transformed, and stepped back from the pile that he had just hit.

Optimus said that they were heading back, and that he was going to ask Ratchet to do some repairs … as well as to diagnose Bumblebee's drive-train!

"What - you think this was my fault?!" Bumblebee couldn't believe it.

The others transformed, and Emma was sitting astride Prowl again.

"If the hubcap fits . . . " Emma and Prowl sang in unison. Emma giggled.

"Fine," Bumblebee muttered. "Then I'll just go find Nanosec on my own..."

"But, you guys are a team!" Sari reminded him.

"Which is why I can't let them think their star player's losing his touch!" Bumblebee told her. "Besides, it's not like we caused too much damage this time!" He added, just as the pole that Bulkhead had hit fell. Bumblebee froze. "Oh, wait – just – I'm — !" He gasped, as the first pole hit the pole next to it, which also fell over … only to hit the pole next to it, and so on. "I didn't do it."

Sari just groaned, as the final pole fell down across a main road, which thankfully didn't have any traffic on it at the time.

"I might just give Sari a call, and see what's going on." Emma said, as she watched Ratchet fix up the slight injuries that Prowl had sustained.

Capi got her phone for her, and Emma called Sari. "Oh, wait, video call … oh, okay, never mind!" Emma shrugged, as Sari's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, kiddo, what's happening?"

"Bumblebee's driving me crazy." Sari shrugged.

"I've got something to prove!" Bumblebee himself protested loudly.

"He just picked up something on his police radio," Sari went on. "About a crime in progress — "

Ratchet, who was still working on Prowl, rolled his optics.

"And," Sari went on. "He bets his rear axle that it's Nanosec … wait a sec … looks like you owe me a rear axle." She told Bumblebee.

"Eh, Nanosec, Angry Archer, same difference." Bumblebee replied indifferently. "Either way, I have a point to make!"

"Mmhmm." Emma nodded, not at all worried. "And, how's that working out for you? What's the situation?"

"See for yourself." Sari said, holding her phone out the window just as the Angry Archer noticed them.

"An Autobot!" They heard him say, as he nocked his bow. "Verily the arrows of outrageous misfortune seek to pierce me to the quick!" He fired the arrow, and its magnetic tip stuck to the back of moving bus. "Exeunt!" He added, as the rope that was attached to the arrow carried him onto the back of the bus.

"I might so have to try that when I go back to camp." Emma mused thoughtfully.

"You want to go back there?!" Bulkhead exclaimed, from nearby where Ratchet had told him to wait to be seen to.

"Hey, there was nothing wrong with the camp!" Emma responded. "I mean, aside from the safety concerns, but Fuchsia assured me that those are fixed — Sari! What's just happened?!" She suddenly asked sharply, even though she knew exactly what it was.

"Uh . . . " Sari's face appeared back on the screen. "We're okay … of course I'm not lying," she added, correctly interpreting his nanny's expression. "But I'm gonna hang up now, bye-bye!" She added, and quickly did just that.

Sky Dancer and Honeybee exchanged a glance, and shrugged.

Despite all of that, Emma was fairly walking on sunshine for the next few days.

She and Prowl were almost always together - he had picked her up from work yesterday, they had watched a nature documentary on Australian animals that same evening, and the next day they had gone up to their favourite spot just outside of the city.

Not even being asked to come down to the station to answer a few more questions about what had happened a couple of weeks ago could dampen Emma's spirits.

I … have a boyfriend! Emma thought, as she made her way down the street - she didn't mind this time apart from Prowl, because they would be together again soon.

Capi didn't say anything, not even when Emma started singing.

"Finally, you've come along … the way I feel about you, it just can't be wrong!"

Finally … finally! Emma thought. Somebody finally loves little old me … and, he just happens to be the coolest, smartest, most handsome guy in the known multiverse . . .

"If you only knew the way I feel about you . . . "

"Uh, Em?" Capi said suddenly, stopping in mid-air.

"I just can't describe it — "

She was so distracted that she ended up walking into somebody.

"Em!" Capi gasped.

Emma looked up into his eyes, and gasped, feeling her blood run cold.

She knew who was standing before her, his holoform looking pretty much the same way that it had last year, although now with the addition of the silver scarf.

"Hello, Ember." Starscream said calmly.

"S-Starscream!" Emma said, taking a half step back, but he reached out and grabbed her wrists.

"I said I'd come and get you." He reminded her.

"Yeah, but only after you took Megatron offline," Emma reminded him, and watched as his red eyes flashed. "Which … I presume … hasn't happened yet?"

"It's a work in progress." Starscream said reluctantly.

"Mmhmm. And, has been for … since Megatron began looking for the All-Spark?" Emma tried to remember.

Starscream sighed. "I really don't want you to remember so much about him!" He told her.

"Oh, please, you were my first!" Emma responded, and watched as Starscream paused. "Memory." She corrected herself hastily. "I mean … the very first memory that I got back … was of you . . . "

"Really?" Starscream asked her.

She nodded. "Yes … I remember that I kept on getting into trouble after we fought, because of how much damage was done!" She added, somewhat hotly.

Starscream actually chuckled. "It kept on happening, if I recall correctly. We never could stay apart for too long back then." He sobered slightly. "Life certainly became harder when you were put in charge of other Autobots."

"It was a way of keeping me out of trouble without actually saying that's what it was." Emma groaned.

"I've really missed you." Starscream told her suddenly.

She didn't say anything, but Capi did.

"Em," he said softly, coming to float beside her. "He needs to let go of your wrist, right now!"

Starscream's eyes flashed again. "Give me one good reason why I should?" He said, in a low voice.

"SUV." Capi responded quietly.

"What?" Starscream had no idea what that meant, but Emma's head snapped up, just as the sound of sirens could be heard.

"Go!" She urged Starscream. "I mean, unless you want to be captured again, before you can take out Megatron? We have three known Elite Guard members on this planet right now - one of which is Blurr," (she saw Starscream's eyes flash for a third time). "And the other two follow Femme Code!" She managed to yank her wrist free of his grip, feeling a strange and empty sensation when she did that. "And, for some odd reason, I don't want you to get caught, so go!" She told him, before running off down the street towards the sound of the sirens, with Capi clinging to her shoulder.

Starscream transformed and flew off in the other direction, never really able to refuse an order from her, but all the while thinking:Just be patient, Starscream ... she remembers ... she'll come back to you … she loves you . . .

Emma ran down a street and turned right, coming onto another road in time to see four adults and one little kid riding a flying robot unicorn throw a lot of stuff into an SUV, and then make their getaway. Sirens wailed in the background.

"Swindle?" Emma guessed, staring as the car disappeared around a corner.

"Yes . . . " Capi whispered. "Yikes . . . "

They suddenly spotted Sari and Bumblebee, as the pair showed up too late. Emma hurried over to them, holding Capi.

"The perps couldn't have gotten too far!" Bumblebee was saying. "They're on foot!"

"No, they're not!" Emma exclaimed, running up to them. "We saw them take off in an SUV!"

"Well, that's just great . . . " Bumblebee said, sarcastically.

"We can't just hope for a gentle curve on their route!" Capi decided.

"Let's follow them!" Sari exclaimed.

They discovered, of course, that the criminals were stealing all sorts of cables and electrical things, and Bumblebee said that they'd tail them until they found out ... then, in the absence of any gentle curves in the road, take them down!

"Shouldn't we call the others for backup?" Emma asked.

"No!" Bumblebee said, quickly. "You saw the way they all treated me the other day! I have to remind them that I've still got what it takes!"

"To what? Get us all into danger?" Sari sighed. "Okay, I trust you." She shrugged.

"Me too." Capi added.

"Me three." Emma nodded.

"Thank you." Bumblebee told them all. Then: "Okay, so … Em … about you and Prowl . . . "

Emma got out her phone, put on a song, and began singing along when the chorus came on.

"So shut up, shut up, shut up, don't wanna hear it! Get out, get out, get out, get out of my way!"

"In case you couldn't tell, that's Emma-Talk for 'shut up and leave me alone'." Sari told Bumblebee.

Bumblebee sighed. "Good song, though."

"Yeah."

They were silent about fifteen minutes later, however, as they watched the criminals - SUV, the Society Of Ultimate Villainy - set up their weird-looking machine, and Emma and Capi knew what it did but Sari and Bumblebee didn't.

"That lady in the cook hat doesn't wanna give up the watch thingie." Capi observed.

"Ooh . . . " Emma said suddenly. "He's not gonna like this . . . " She had suddenly recognised Swindle - and, not from the cartoon! She had propped herself up on her elbows, and watched as the SUV transformed into the Decepticon, Swindle. "That's a true Decepticon."

"We gotta call Prime!" Sari exclaimed from behind her binoculars. "Get some backup!"

"Yeah, right, right," Bumblebee smiled. "I'll do that ... but, first, I'm gonna take these creeps down myself!"

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose?!" Capi exclaimed softly.

"Hey, I wonder," Emma suddenly said. "That Decepticon has purple optics, just like Clear Air Turbulence - what does that mean?" She was starting to wonder about the colour of optics - blue and red … violet and yellow . . .

"It probably means they can see in ultra-violet light or something!" Sari grabbed Emma's hand. "Come on, let's go!"

As Bumblebee sped up onto the other rooftop, Sari suddenly noticed Slo-Mo's slow-down ray, and told Bumblebee that he had to get out of there - she certainly didn't want him to get slowed down again!

Bumblebee slammed on the brakes and then reversed, back into the above-ground carpark in the building, and Sari, Emma, and Capi jumped out.

Sari was angry now.

"Okay, no more arguing!" Her pigtails stood on end. "You either call for backup, or I do it for you!"

Emma was so proud of her right then, and smiled at the display of sensible authority.

"Fine." Bumblebee caved in, and transformed, activating his com-link. "Bumblebee to Prime ... we've got a situation here ... huh? Prowl? What? Yes, Em's fine!" Bumblebee rolled his optics. "How did you even know she was here?!"

It soon became apparent, though, that the enemy that they were dealing with was quite skilled at what he was doing - Swindle used his new invention to shut down all electro-mechanical devices in the city ... including the Autobots!

Sari gasped, as Bumblebee was seemingly frozen, whilst he was saying: "I'm losing power . . . "

"What's … happening … Bumblebee . . . ?" Capi suddenly drifted to the ground, much to Emma's horror.

"That clock … thingie .. is slowing us … down . . . " Bumblebee managed to tell him, right before they both came to a complete and total stop.

"Ah!" They both managed to cry, right before it happened.

Emma sank to her knees beside Capi, reaching out and gathering him into her arms. She hadn't realised that the slow-down ray would affect him, too!

It was at this point that Sari realised that the lights in Sumdac Tower were still on, and that the emergency force-field must have kicked in before the slow-down wave hit.

"You're gonna be okay, you two!" Sari told the two Cybertronians. "I just gotta get you to the tower!" She tried to push.

"Sari . . . " Emma began. She hadn't moved from the ground, yet.

The little girl was not listening to her. "Oh, you sure picked a lousy time to go solo!" Sari sighed, still trying to move Bumblebee but to no avail. "Oh, if only we still had a team!"

"Mayhap you do!" An English accent said.

Emma and Sari both looked, as they realised that the SUV were there - the Angry Archer, who had spoken, the lady with the cool hat aka Slo-Mo, Nanosec, and Professor Princess.

"We wanna give Swindle a little payback for his double-cross." Nanosec explained, as Sari and Emma just stared at them.

"So, we thought, why not join forces with you two and your little Autobot friend?" Slo-Mo, despite her name, spoke very quickly, although not as fast as Blurr - Emma had no trouble keeping up with her words.

"Uh, no offense, but you're a bunch of lowlife crooks!" Sari reminded them. "Why should we trust you?!"

"Because," Professor Princess spoke up. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

Nanosec looked at her. "What?"

Sari stepped back, probably realising that they had no choice.

Emma stood up, and placed Capi gently onto the top of Bumblebee's still form. "You're going to be just fine," she said, not even sure if they could hear her. "Both of you." She added, and then looked round at Professor Princess. "Where's Powdered Sugar?"

The little girl ran to fetch her mechanical unicorn, which had also succumbed to the slow-down wave, and Emma helped her to lift it up onto Bumblebee, beside Capi.

They really had no choice but to work together, and so all six of them worked together to push Bumblebee to Sumdac Tower, encouraging each other.

"Put your back into it!" Angry Archer exclaimed.

"Honestly, you men aren't trying nearly as hard as we women are!" Slo-Mo snapped.

"Sorry, I'll try harder!" Nanosec apologized.

"No giving up!" Professor Princess cried.

"This is so unorthodox!" Sari complained, even as she used her key to let them through the forcefield and inside.

"We can always turn them in once this is over." Emma whispered to her.

"Hey!" The criminals cried.

Well, sort of . . .

Somehow, they managed to make it into the tower, and Emma remembered that it was the first time that Sari had been back since being kicked out.

To make matters worse, the robot receptionist said: "Welcome to Powell Tower."

"Powell Tower?!" Sari exclaimed, just as Bumblebee came back online.

"Aurgh. . . " He groaned, holding his head as he sat up. "It was horrible ... I could hear and see everything ... but I couldn't talk!"

"Yes, it was lovely . . . " Emma told him sweetly, and he groaned again.

"I couldn't move . . . "

"That part … was not so lovely." Emma admitted, just as Capi jumped into her arms. "You're okay!" She said, hugging him, as he put his trunk over her shoulder to return the hug.

Bumblebee gaped, and turned to the nearest person - Professor Princess - as if to say 'why didn't I get such a nice welcome back?'.

She just shrugged, as she happily greeted Powdered Sugar, who was also back up and running.

Sari said that Bumblebee and Capi were safe from the slow-down ray in here, but Bumblebee wanted to know how to stop Swindle out there, and Sari said that they'd take the force-field to Swindle.

Being the smart little cookie that she was, she was able to give Bumblebee full-bodied protection against the slow-down ray.

Emma thought that Sari would make a fine President of Sumdac Systems when she got older, as she watched Sari give Capi the same full-bodied protection.

"Hey, what about us?" Nanosec asked.

"No way," Bumblebee grinned. "I work solo."

"You're gonna need backup!" Sari told him. "And, right now, they're all we've got!"

Bumblebee took one look at the criminals, and groaned again. "Oh ... okay . . . " He caved in, unable to say no to Sari.

"Nanosec's gonna need the full-bodied protection as well," Emma directed Sari. "Angry Archer needs the force field for his bow and arrow. And, don't forget Powdered Sugar too, course." She added, and Professor Princess smiled.

They criminals were soon ready to go.

"We hope you enjoyed your time at Powell Tower." The robot receptionist told them.

Sari glanced up at Emma, an obvious question in her maroon eyes.

"It's not criminal damage if it's your own property." Emma found herself saying, and then realised that the four criminals were now all staring at her. "What?"

Sari, meanwhile, had placed her key into the robot receptionist's head, and whispered something.

The receptionist was now programed to say: "Welcome to Sumdac Tower - Porter C. Powell is a booger-head!"

Sari looked very pleased with herself.

The SUV and Bumblebee set out to take down Swindle, attacking him with their weapons that they could now use thanks to Sari's giving them the force-field ability. She had been smart enough to be able to transfer it to all of them - which probably came from growing up around machines.

As Swindle was being attacked, Emma, Capi, and Sari made their way over to the machine which had shut down all of the electro-magnetic devices in Detroit.

"Heeeey," Sari grinned. "Where's the off-switch on this thing? Oh, yeah, here!" She used her key to shut the thing down, despite Swindle's protests.

Sari then gasped, because Swindle looked about ready to take the time-piece back by force.

"Not on my watch!" Emma cried, and she jumped up, swinging her leg up in her kick-punch combo, and following through with the punch, pushing him over the wall and following him through as they both crashed to the ground but, luckily, he broke her fall.

They both just lay there for a few seconds.

"Em?!" She heard Sari and Capi call.

"I'm ... okay!" She called back.

"How?!"

"My fall was broken ... by my spine . . . " Violin music played from the shop across the street, which had just gotten its power back.

"You mean by ... me . . . " Swindle said, as he grabbed Emma and then he stood up. "Well, if it isn't one of my favourite Autobots, Ember Prime!"

"Yeah, right," Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm the only Autobot you like."

Swindle actually laughed. "Well, I can't deny that - it's been over a million stellar cycles, and that hasn't changed!"

She just stared at him, and then they both looked up when they heard, from up on the roof, Bumblebee saying that they were going to destroy the time-piece.

"Not so fast!" Nanosec exclaimed. "This ticker belongs to my girl, Slo-Mo!"

"I knew it!" Emma smiled, despite the situation. "I guess even crims need fall in love! Too bad they've turned on Bumblebee - stop smiling about that, Swindle!" She scolded him.

"I just haven't felt this good about a situation since I got that voucher!" Swindle replied.

Something dawned on Emma. "You're Mr. TA-36!" She realised. "Lockdown said he knew who it was! Half of that prize should be mine, by the way! You only won because I didn't die!" She added, just as the time-piece came flying over the edge of the roof, and she caught it. "Ah!" She cried, startled.

Swindle was still smiling. "This is turning out better than I though!" He mused.

"Well, not for me!"

"Swindle's got the time-piece and Emma!" Sari told Bumblebee, panicking slightly. "We've gotta stop him!"

"All taken care of." He suddenly told her, smiling, as Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Prowl showed up (they found out later that Honeybee and Sky Dancer were on monitor duty … again). "Thanks to my real team. . . " He turned to the SUV. "And, as for you guys . . . "

Sari and Capi watched as he sent the criminals falling through the floor, to land (somewhat safely) in a heap on the floor below them.

Powdered Sugar kind of looked at Bumblebee, Sari, and Capi for a second, before flying down into the hole after Professor Princess.

Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Prowl transformed, taking immediate note of the fact that Emma was in the hands of a Decepticon - again.

"Spread out!" Optimus told his team. "We don't know what this Decepticon is capable of!"

"Funny you should mention that . . . " Swindle remarked, as he attempted to take the time-piece away from Emma.

She gasped. "No! No, no, no!" She desperately clung on to the time-piece. "You can't!"

Swindle sighed. "Okay . . . " And, he suddenly transformed into his holoform, for just a second.

Emma caught sight of short black hair, and purple-lensed sunglasses on a handsome but decidedly untrustworthy face, a black, beige, and purple suit, and a silver Decepticon symbol, even as she found herself letting go of the time-piece out of pure shock.

As she went flying back, Swindle transformed back into a robot. "Oh, it seems I can, Ember. Don't worry, I'll make sure to share this time."

He used the power of the time-piece . . .

Emma, meanwhile, had landed in Bumblebee's hands, when he'd jumped in front of the others to catch her.

And now Capi came flying out of nowhere, and the time-wave hit the protective shield from before, and bounced back at Swindle - it sent the Decepticon into his vehicle mode, and locked him in it!

Bumblebee looked at Capi. "I could've done that." He reminded him.

"Yeah, but . . . " The tapir just stared back at him. "I haven't done much in this episode … of our lives." He added, when the others looked at him also, and then Bumblebee approached Swindle.

"Use caution, Bumblebee!" Prowl exclaimed, mindful of the fact that Bumblebee had Emma with him. "He may still pose a danger!"

"Nah, he's stuck in park for good." Bumblebee explained, before using his electric powers to let down one of Swindle's tires. "Aww, and he's got a flat, too!"

As Bumblebee spoke to the other Autobots, accepting that he'd learned a lesson about team-work, Emma approached Swindle, and retrieved the time-piece.

She sighed. "Share what, though?" She murmured. "The proceeds of crime? Please … our teacher back on Cybertron said that if you didn't shape up then you'd be an illegal arms dealer one day." She added, shaking her head at the fact that your allegiance wasn't set in stone. "Guess she was right … I wish I could remember her face . . . " She trailed off, and then froze as Nanosec, Slo-Mo, Angry Archer, and Professor Princess all rushed past her and jumped into Swindle's alt. mode.

Emma rolled her eyes, and then jumped back when she noticed Powdered Sugar right next to her, as the police arrived to arrest the criminals who weren't going anywhere in this particular SUV!

"Well, looks like somebody had a four for one sale on small-time crooks." Fanzone said, once he'd finished taking all of their statements. "And, as for your getaway car, it'll be stripped and sold for parts at police auction." He motioned towards Swindle, who was still stuck in his alt. mode and unable to move. "Yeah, should fetch a pretty good price . . . "

"Uh, Captain?" Emma spoke up, from where she was sitting on Prowl's shoulder. She motioned for Prowl to put her down. "Umm, just a quick question about all this … the part where I mentioned that those fellas," she nodded her head towards the members of The Society Of Ultimate Villainy, who all glanced at her. "Did assist in helping us to take down the Decepticon," she nodded towards Swindle. "Umm . . . "

"For their own personal gain!" Sari reminded her.

"Only to turn on us afterwards!" Bumblebee added.

The four criminals all turned to glare at them.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Emma nodded. "But, they didn't have to team up with you afterwards … even if it was only for four seconds … I mean, I'm just saying … that's gotta work in their favour for a reduced sentence . . . ?"

Fanzone sighed. "Well, that depends. No promises, of course."

"Naturally." Emma nodded, and then turned to find that Sari and Bumblebee were just staring at her. "I had a teacher who once said to repay all acts of kindness, no matter how bad the one who was kind to you is, because you don't have to be bad." Emma said quietly.

"Does that mean that you're going to pay our bail?!" Slo-Mo asked suddenly, and the other three criminals all looked extremely hopeful.

"I'm a single guardian on a part-time wage!" Emma exclaimed, shaking her head. "They'll probably set your boyfriend's bail at some ridiculous amount because he's been in jail before!" She added, nodding towards Nanosec.

"You could always rob a bank." He suggested.

"Uh, no." Prowl spoke up, as he went over and picked Emma up. "My girlfriend and I are not Bonnie and Clyde."

He said it! Emma thought happily, not caring what anybody else thought about it. She said to the four criminals: "Yeah, so … uh … good luck, though . . . ?"

"Yes, yeah, sure . . . " They all sighed, as they were led to the waiting squad cars.

Sari glanced up at Emma, and opened her mouth.

"No." Prowl told her.

Sari rolled her eyes. "I wasn't gonna ask about you guys! I wanna know about this teacher of yours!"

"Back on Cybertron," Emma said, looking at the time-piece in her hands and, as she watched, the All-Spark fragment was drawn into her hands. "Come on . . . " She said softly. "Help me remember her . . . " She closed her eyes for a moment, and then she opened them again, and sighed.

"That was short." Capi murmured.

"Not the right memory?" Bulkhead guessed.

Emma shook her head. "No. But, it simultaneously answered nothing and made me question everything . . . "

Five Million Years Ago . . .

Ember held onto Starscream, knowing that there was a battle raging above them, but the Autobots and Decepticons up there had no idea what Ember and Starscream had just had to endure.

"That Vampire … nearly took us out . . . " Ember muttered.

"No . . . " Starscream sighed. "It nearly took me out … it wasn't trying to offline you, though . . . "

"So you've noticed." Ember sighed.

"It's a bit hard for me not to." Starscream reminded her, his crimson optics - so different from the scarlet optics of a Vampire - glowed slightly. "You're my spark partner, after all."

"How unfortunate for you. You get the most disagreeable and stubborn femme as your spark partner, who's being targeted by Vampires, and is on the opposite side of the war." Ember told him, looking right into his optics. "Why in Primus's name would you want to be with me?!"

"Because — "

A hole was suddenly blown open in the ceiling above them, and the three Autobots and seven Decepticons all just happened to look down.

"So, how is it me?!" Ember asked Starscream; one of her fists had flames dancing around it, and was aimed directly at his spark chamber.

Starscream smirked. "Better you than any other bot!" He replied, moving at the same time that she did.

They were both experts at making it look like they were fighting, even when they weren't, and nobody had actually picked up on that yet, but there was another issue.

"It's Ember Prime!"

"That's the Decepticon second-in-command!"

"Ember's fighting Starscream again!"

"Oh no, not again!"

"Frag! Get clear, get back to the ship!"

"For Primus's sake, she's been told!"

"Abort! I repeat, ABORT!"

"He had her cornered underground, what was she supposed to do, just surrender?!"

"Is he trying to offline us all?!"

"Contact Ultra Magnus, hurry!"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Ember fairly yelled, even as flames circled around her.

"All Decepticons, retreat!" Starscream suddenly ordered.

"Autobots, fall back!" Ember added. "I'll handle this!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The two songs that Emma sings are Finally by Cece Peniston, and Shut Up by Simple Plan.