Starlit's view:

I needed a way out of here, but it wasn't going to be easy and I could already feel my strength fading. I was now considered a virus in my own body and had been locked behind a strong fire wall. My last try at breaking out had made the evil coding even more paranoid and alert to what I was doing. The weak point I had exposed was now gone, and I had to quickly try to find a new one before she hurt someone. I wasn't in control long enough to know if she had hurt Bee or not.

You should just give up and give into you fate. Her voice sounded from all around me.

I won't let you hurt them! I sounded much smaller and weaker than I meant to. Slag, was I fading faster than I thought? I had to somehow gain control back, even if it was only long enough to tell them to run.

Make you a deal, I'll let you watch your friends be melted down for scrap before I get rid of you.

I'll stop you before you get the chance. My last hope was to try processor of matter, but I was nowhere near as good as Prowl or Jazz. I sighed and concentrated, trying to focus on breaking the fire wall cage I was trapped in. I tried to remember what Prowl told me to do, but my memories were being affected as well. "Picture it…focus on it and…" and what? I couldn't remember.

There will be nothing left of you soon. All I have to do is wait for your own anti-virus systems to weaken you, then I can delete you for good. She laughed.

Prowl's View:

"Let them go." I glared at the crazed gold and black mech. "It's me you want." He grinned but didn't lower his gun.

"Starlit my dear, is that any way to greet family?" Sideways cooed. "Lower you blades and let him pass." Starlit growled at me but listened to him, lowering her blades but didn't put them away. I didn't listen and choose to stay where I was.

"Come now Prowl, I won't hurt them. That is, if you agree to come with us." He held out his free hand in a "friendly" gesture. "You want to be a family again, don't you?"

"You expect me to come with you after everything you've done? You killed our creator, had Starlit hunted down like some convict and now you've reprogrammed her, just so you could pretend we're a family. You're insane, more so than I thought." Starlit briefly had a look of anger when I mentioned our creator.

"You don't understand, Prowl. Your creator took you from me. She wouldn't let me see you, told both of you I was bad and warped you minds."

"The only one I see with a wrapped mind is yours." Bumblebee lunged but Starlit quickly blocked him, her blade inches from his neck.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She smiled.

"Starlit, come on! Snap out of this, this isn't you! Please…you gotta fight this." He pleaded with her. It wouldn't work, the programming had taken over and she could no longer hear us.

"Your Starlit is gone!" She retracted her sword and punched him hard enough to knock him back into the wall behind him. "Get it through your processor." She turned away and went back towards Sideways. I had to stop this. One way was to try to get close enough to grab Starlit and get out of here, but that wouldn't stop Sideways from returning. He had to be taken down first.

"I'll go with you, on one condition. You let the others go." The others looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"Prowl!" Bee cried. "Are you crazy?!"

"No, let him go. It's his choice." Optimus made optic contact with me and I understood. He knew I had a plan in mind.

I had to be quick, he was close enough to a vat that I could easily knock him into it; but if he caught on, he could easily throw Starlit in instead.

Once I was close enough I sprang into action, I pushed Starlit away and kicked Sideways hard in the chassis. Unfortunately, he seemed to have anticipated an attack and launched himself off the side of the vat with his hands into the cat walks above. Slag it all!

"Grraww!" Starlit cried and came after me, just like I wanted her too. She may have gotten a battle upgrade from the download, but she was still wasn't strong enough to take me down. I easily caught one of her punches, spun her around and pinned her arm behind her back. I had her trapped at least while the others tried to find Sideways.

"I know you are still in there…" I struggled with her. "You have to fight it Starlit! Picture you self in a peaceful place. Now focus on the energy around you and use that energy to free yourself."

"She can't hear you." She laughed evilly. But she did…

Starlit's View:

I had broken through just enough to be able to hear what was going on. Thankfully she hadn't felt it yet. I had heard my brother agree to something but it wasn't clear enough for me to tell what. Not a few clicks later, Prowl seemed to have a hold of "me" and reminded me what to do. I refocused myself and pushed the energy around me against the firewalls and watched them crack with the force. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

I faintly heard Prowl humming and knew he was trying to help as well. With him helping me now, there was still a chance I could get out of here.

Bumblebee's view:

While Prowl was trying to get Starlit back, the rest of us searched for the 'Con. Prime and I went into the catwalks while Bulkhead and Ratchet searched below. It was really dark up here but we didn't dare turn on our lights. Sideways would be on us in a nano-second! So the only light I had to work with was the glow from the molten iron below.

"Slag I would not want to fall into that…" I muttered to myself. This mech was insane if he filled six vats just to melt us down to get his sparklings. Wait…six? He really only needed one…unless he planned on making us watch as we were all slowly dropped in, helpless to help each other! I pressed a finger to my temple and called Prime.

"This guy wants us up here!" I whispered. "I think he plans on dropping all of us in and torturing us while doing it."

"And you'd be correct." A deep voice said from behind me. I cried out as he grabbed my back plating and dragged me towards a part of the walk way that was over a vat. "You just can't seem to keep your mouth shut…I think I'll just drop you now and have fun with the rest. I'm sure Starlit will forgive me. She really wanted to do this herself."

I struggled but I couldn't get a good angle to zap him or enough traction under my peds to kick away. My arms were still weak from earlier as well. I was slagged. As we got to the edge, Optimus came up from the left but stopped when Sideways lifted me up, dangling me over the boiling vat. My spark felt like it was in my throat and I tried to grab his arm to keep him from letting go of me. This was not how I imagined going out…

"Prowl! This is what happens when you don't listen!" Sideways boomed.

It felt like everything was in slow motion as he let go, I screamed as my arms reached out for anything to grab, and to my surprise I felt a hand grab mine as Sideways tumbled over me. I twisted my body so I could grab with both hands and saw my savior.

"Starlit?" I gasped. It was her but…her optics were still red.

I looked down in time to see the horror of what happens when a bot is melted alive. Sideways hit the vat, forcing the three bots below to dodge the splash. His screams were quickly distorted as his vocals melted. The last thing to go down was a hand desperately reaching for the edge.

"Hold on." I looked back up to Star. That creepy two tone voice was back, but the higher pitched voice was dominant this time. She was struggling to keep herself from being dragged off the edge with me. Unfortunately, she had to lean over the bent rail to catch me but was now unable to pull me back up. Thank Primus Optimus was there or else we both would have been scrapped.

He grabbed her waist and pulled back, allowing me to grab the railing and climb back up.

"How…how did you get up here? And…who pushed him. And how…I mean are you…you?"

"I saw he was about to drop you in the iron. I was able to get up here in time because of Prowl." Down below I saw Prowl. His processor thing must have worked. "I had to get to you…" So she pushed him, not Optimus? "I was able to create a crack in the fire wall big enough to break through. I'm not sure how long I have till she take over again…"

"Everyone is alive thanks to you." Prime put a hand on her shoulder. I knew though, after everything was corrected, the guilt of killing her own Sire could haunt her.

Prowl's view:

Ratchet, Starlit, Bumblebee and I went back to the base while Bulkhead and Prime cleaned up the mess at the plant. They were the best equipped to handle the molten iron. Before that, we found Sideways' ship where Starlit had found the chip. Finally Ratchet was able to complete the programming that would change her back.

I was still in shock at Starlit had been able to do what she did. Not only had she broken through the strong firewalls surrounding her, but the speed and skill she used…She had kicked Sideways first and had twisted him an a way that she was also able to grab Bumblebee's hand when she landed. I wouldn't have believed that she did it if I hadn't just seen it. That raw power she held hadn't been seen since Yoketron. I'd need to discuss this with Jazz. If she really did have this kind of power, we needed to help her hone and contain it.

"She's resting for now." Ratchet came back to the living room. He had been clearing Starlit's processor and ridding her of the reprogramming virus. "There may be a small problem, however."

"What do you mean?" Bee asked.

"The virus not only tried to delete Starlit but everything that she was. That included her memories." He bowed his head. "I don't know what has been lost, but some of the files were so corrupted, they couldn't be saved. She may suffer a permanent memory glitch because of this as well."

"You mean…she might not remember who we are? Or…anything that's happened?" Bumblebee was distraught by this.

"How long until we know?" I stood from my lotus position. "May I see her?"

"She should wake up soon. I must warn you, she's missing the front panel of her helm. I have her hooked into a scanner to find any other damages."

Bee wanted to visit as well, but Ratchet said it was best not to over whelm her processor right now. Only one bot was allowed in the room at a time. I took a deep intake, preparing myself for the worst and opened the door. She was still offline when I entered. It was a bit of a shock seeing her without front panel of her helm. I gently stroked her cheek with my thumb.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't protect you. I…I tried…" I told her. "If only I had been there…"

"Prowl?" I looked up and saw she was staring at me.

"Starlit." I sighed happily. "You're awake."

"What…happened?" She looked around, confused about where she was.

"Do you remember fighting Sideways?" I asked. She looked back at me with a blank look. Ratchet was afraid of this, afraid that some of her memories would be corrupted. "What do you remember?"

"I…remember Sideways had me on his ship with Bumblebee. But…I don't remember anything else. How long have I been out?" So she didn't remember the fight or any of the last few days.

"I see…" I looked to the floor, torn between telling her everything or lying to her about somethings. "Sideways is gone. You won't have to worry about him anymore. Ratchet was also able to bring you back to your old self." I proceeded to tell her there was a chance she would never remember what happened, but she was now safe from danger.

"Did…I hurt anyone?" She asked.

"No. You never hurt anyone." I lied. What else was I to do?

Please R&R