Disclaimer:Hasbro and Takara-Tomy own Transformers. I just like hounding their giant robots.

Warnings: A long boi chapter like old times! I don't have much free time now and it's not for fun reasons either, there's a reason why Prowl is one of my consistent favorites.

Off-topic but:

If I ever had a chance to make a show similar to this, we're going full 80's Bubblegum Crisis OVA/ Eureka 7/ Arcane (fluid, retro, grungy animation/ killer multi-genre soundtrack, with bot designs somewhere between classic mecha and the newer TF humanoid incarnations and "what the hell is that?!") and this would be the season 3 opener

The Kintsugi Kid (Ten Years) -Fall Out Boy


"Glory Always Sounded Empty"

"Do you think fish get jealous of birds?"

Cypress shifted beneath their shared tarp, still staring up dreamily at the ceiling posters, and pulled a piece of broken chair from her back. She left her chestplates open, lazily toying with the ethereal tendrils spilling from her chassis and twining through her frame The same wisps ran across Bee's plating, coiling taut around his exposed spark.

Bee arched awkwardly, "Cut that out."

Cypress beamed, twisting the differing hues of blue up against her digits until they trembled. For someone so adept at fighting, she was surprised he was so passive while interfacing. Everyone needed a break sometime… until his attention shifted to another position. The mech could not stay still.

Case in point…

His optics narrowed, "That's it." Bee pulled back under him, nuzzling into her throat cabling and tonguing the wires.

"Aw come on…not fair."

"You know how to stop it." He pinned her tenderly, mouth full, "Do it."

Full of warmth and oneness, Cypress let out a string of giggles.

"There you go. Come on, what do you think?"

"Probably. I don't think most fish have a concept of birds. Some fish fly."

"Ughh. It's the climbing fish thing again."

"Yes. That is a wild aft question considering…"

"Last night."

She curled up, tucked beneath his chin, "What are we going to tell everyone?"

"Do we have to?" Bee groaned.

"Well, we're going to have to come up with something, got a staff meeting in twenty."

A more coherent rev escaped his vents, "Tell them to mind their own damn business, they hid enough from us."

"Ooh, look who's getting aggro."

"I randomly found out I can hear them one cycle and no one noticed!"

Cypress rolled over to sit on Bee's back and massage his wing joints, "You're fine now though, sweetspark."

After a long nano, Bee sat up, gathering her into his arms chest-to-chest, "Stay for a bit?"

And just like that, they were running late.

"Is my armor on straight?"

"Yeah, marks on me?"

Bee swatted her aft, "Nah, come on."

Ever the oldest sibling, RoadRage intercepted them at the rec room with Voltage blocking their escape.

"You didn't come home to recharge."

"Where have you been all night?"

Cypress made a show of checking her claws, "Rearranging my cable collection."

~ Noooooo ~ Bee moaned.

"You fell asleep in the vents again, didn't you?"

Cypress sent a smirk back, "Yeah. Had Bee helping with a project."

Voltage gestured to the bridge, "Get a move on, I'll meet you there."

~o~o~o~o~o~

You had to recharge at some point.

Jazz hated that it took Prowl falling asleep on his shoulder to get him to drift off. Squashed with Prowler in the command chair was the first true rest the Ops mech had in weeks. "Mech, move over."

"You're sure you're rested?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"You need rest to siege New Kaon."

"We ain't–"

Prowl's visor relit to full icy blue, "We are not. You're a commander now, use proper grammar."

"Glad you're better, but ah do what I want.

We're not laying siege to the Cons, just paying a not-so-friendly visit."

"Possibly ending in our deaths."

"I've thought about that…" And Jazz had. At length. They were traveling into an Autobot's nightmare. The fact a good half of those on board weren't Bots was promising. Maybe they'd live to be Con entertainment.

"I'm giving them an out…"

"That no one will take," Prowl countered. "Were it not for Optimus we wouldn't be here. We're getting them back."

"Right,"

The Praxian stretched, briefly revealing scutes tucked beneath his back plating. "I'll handle the presentation, you go check on Bee. He's been too quiet lately."

"Right."

Bee was probably somewhere contemplating his next mood for the orn. They'd had massive changes on the Ark in too short of a time, little guy was going through it.

Jazz didn't bother knocking and barged into the kid's room."Hey, you okay in-"

He was greeted with Barricade's back hunched over a collection of randomized test strips–CNA testing strips.

"Alright, who hired you?"

Cade held his helm up defiantly, "I serve my lord Megatron. This caught my interest."

Jazz slid the door closed and locked, "Does the 'this' in question mean I need to kill you now or later?"

"No. I like to be thorough with researching my nemesis," Barricade turned attention back to Bee's room, "He keeps trophies."

"Most 'formers call them souvenirs."

"Mhm."

"You seen where he went?"

"No." The scout went back to his nefarious business, huffing as if Jazz were annoying him.

"Ya leave this room in the next few joors you and your Driller are out the airlock. It'll give you some time to relax."

"No."

"Bye 'Cade."

Jazz had seen nemesis obsession before and this was severe. Everyone had to fight their own battles though. He expected the yellow mech to put up more of a fight over his room though… Bee wasn't answering his comm either; him not answering a bond ping had him speed-walking.

Where was he?

Jazz could hear Voltage and Rager carrying on down the hall from him but he slowed to listen.

"They're fragging." Voltage said bluntly.

"Big time."

"Worse, bonded fragging."

"How can you tell?"

"I can see you guys as fields and theirs are all twisted up together."

That had Rager bubbly, almost giddy. Primacron, she could be enthusiastic when she tried… He still didn't know how to feel about that. "You mean we could have had a ceremony and everything?"

"Femme, we're missing people." Voltage hissed back.

"You care that deeply?"

"I just want things back to normal, it feels like a bed of ants in here."

"You miss 'em, go on, admit it."

"Never."

"Whatever, but a party would be a nice distraction." Through it all, Rager still pushed the cheer, now slightly forced, into her voice.

So that's what Bee was up to…

Games, excess plotting, whatever Sideswipe was locked in his room doing—they were all chasing distractions. Not that he wasn't proud of his little mech, if not concerned. You didn't mess around with bonds. It made Jazz nostalgic. His parentages explained you could bond before a mission; you had to be prepared to follow your mate in death or live with a tear in your spark though. Most Ops formers went through life alone.

"I guess," Voltage sighed, then turned and made optic contact with him through a wall. "What do you think, Jazz?"

Ice formed in his lines. Sometimes he wondered how long the Ark would have lasted if Vo wasn't as easygoing.

RoadRage chuckled, "Still eavesdropping, Shorty?"

"Yeah, yeah," he leaned against the nearest wall, "I should talk to that kid."

"Don't, I want to see how long it takes for them to realize we know."

He let out a huffing chuckle as he sent Prowl the news–and the mech promptly lost his slag.

~ They DID WHAT-~

He muted Prowl. "You two ready?"

Jazz adopted his 'I mean business' walk and strode into the rec room.

He studied the team individually. Thundercracker had been removed and stuffed into what was left of the brig.

That left: Lockdown, looming near the door, Arcee shifting next to him as the two fussed over a sound dampener. Sideswipe, Prowl, and Sunstreaker stood lined up against the wall, the latter two finally back to a healthy state. The twins were back to their normal mode, ready for a fight. Their resident former enforcer kept watch over the security feed on his HUD and a glaring contest with Cypress. True to form, the wolf Preda had no idea why and asked so through audio gestures. It only made the pressure bend in one audio more obvious. Prowl's doorwings only lowered further in disapproval. Voltage and Rager kept nudging each other beneath their shared table. Bumblebee hung back by the projector, unaware he had a massive UV bitemark on his left wing.

Oil Slick, Gidget, and Flamewar lounged on the couch.

Surprisingly, the two-wheeler commed him, : Is this how you all get your kicks? :

: Yup. :

: Heh. :

"Mornin'"

Any conversation ceased and all optics turned to him.

"Good, we're all here. No point beating around the bush, we're en route to New Kaon, guys. We're up against Soundwave and his master. If any of y'all are inclined to, I suggest you make peace with your maker and pack extra ammo. If you want to leave, you should do it now. I won't hold it against you. Most of you didn't ask to be here."

Jazz waited. The crew waited with him.

He vented. "No takers? Okay. I'll say this, whatever happens, it's been an honor fighting beside you all. Wouldn't want you guttering out without knowing I appreciate you. We don't have much family left, but fraggit if I'm going to let anyone take the last of them: 'Bot, 'Con, or otherwise.

Make no mistake, this is a trap we're walking into, and we'll walk out smiling covered in energon, or die trying.

Right. So New Kaon."

Prowl dimmed the lights and activated their holo-screen.

"I broke into the Vengeance and got access to basic maps. The trouble is, I don't know where they're being held. Sure would be nice if we had someone empathetic to our cause with insider information…"

Voltage nodded solemnly, "Say no more."

"We get that, we're golden. Until then, be ready, when we get our target, we're going in hot. Any questions?"

"Who do we kill first?" Sideswipe rumbled.

"Don't be stupid, you'll cause an uproar," Prowl said.

"Yeah, stand by on that one," Jazz shifted, "But you do need to be prepared. We're not the worst, but we're not going in as the good guys. Keep that in mind. I don't want you getting killed because you had a moral crisis at a bad time. Be smart about it. No going off half-cocked." He aimed a pointed look at the last two.

Cypress' servo shot up.

"Go 'head."

"I have antivenom, and my frames being weird again. Better safe than sorry."

"Define weird," Prowl said flatly.

"Aerosol venom dispersion."

The former youngling handed out a spine each, giving two to Sides. One for him and one to hold for Sunstreaker.

Whatever Sunny had to say about that was contained in a sneer and cut off by Oil Slick.

"What did they do to you…that's not normal Eukarian or Cybertronian design."

"I don't know. Worst comes to worst, you can stab someone with it."

Slick leaned back to look Voltage up and down. "I've worked on fragged-up, wide-damage weaponry before…" he held up a servo to stem any retort.

"No offense, this is fantastic. We got a strategist?"

"Nerd," Lockdown said, nodding to Prowl.

"I got a suggestion. Orange, Green, you two need to go in as a shock. Your design screams mass incapacity fast. Knock a few guys out, spread confusion, and clear the way. Now if you want casualties." Slick gestured to himself, multiple glass vials glinting on his back. "Say the word and I can melt a room. There's no antidote for that though. I work solo."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Anything else? No?" Lockdown rumbled, "Been an honor working beside you too."

For once, looking at the mech didn't make Jazz's energon boil.

Lockdown stepped forward, "Right, so if things do go to slag, leave Kaon, find these coordinates, and contact a mech named Swindle. He owes me."

Oil Slick hissed, "Why him again?"

"You want protection or not?"

"He stole my rims."

"And he owes me for that too. You all die, that makes me a bad contractor, and my reputation tanks. I still need work after this job, try not to screw it up."

"Love you too–aftport," RoadRage ground out.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Thundercracker had been in worse situations. It was hard to go a joor without one of the Ark crew lurking around him, silent and staring. It was as bad as being under surveillance. They even had the pets on guard duty. Thundercracker thought Deadlock's beast would have let him go. Currently, the fox was snarling down at him.

"Traitor."

In hindsight, letting Skywarp torment the turbofox wasn't one of his brighter ideas. Another helm, slim and felid, replaced the fox's.

"Not too fun down there, is it?"

He relaxed. Just Voltage. The Preeker swept down, wrapping him in an extended embrace, "You have to go."

He startled as his cuffs fell away and Voltage's creepy sibling tugged the restraints free.

"What?"

"They're talking about making an example of you, you need to run while you can," Volt whispered.

Thundercracker paused, "What about Cade?"

"Mech is harder to kill than armor lice, it's you they're after. I can protect Barricade, but you need to go now. We'll catch up."

This crew of Autobot rejects wasn't cruel–or that's what he thought.

"There's an escape pod, wait for me?" There was a flash of panic on her face as she herded him down the halls.

"Okay."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Voltage watched the pod vanish into the dark void of space.

Flawless.

"No wonder Screamer always has an optic on him… absolute idiot." There was a tiny beacon pinging away his location as they spoke.

Cypress whistled, watching the mech's pod disappear, "You are a cold-sparked femme, you know that?"

Voltage rolled her optics, wiping the forced coolant out of her optics, "He's a born follower, that's why he's kept close. Dutiful, but starved of meaningful connection–a fatal flaw in a Decepticon. But he's reliable and serves his purpose."

"Cold as ice…" her circuit-sister hissed.

Voltage shrugged, she still stood by her methods. There had to be a softer member to temper a team—or exploit.

"It's a living, consider it their first payback. Watch your six."

Cypress glanced back at Prowl's lurking beast-mode, "Aw slag, what now?"

Prowl skulked against the wall, allowing his frame to blend into the shadows.

"Good job, Voltage. I have questions for you, youngling." With every step, Prowl's movements were getting more coordinated. He easily could keep pace with the other beast-modes.

"I'll pass."

"Run."

Cypress took off in a flurry of spines with the thylacine hot on her tail.

At least Prowl was finally using his alt.

~o~o~o~o~o~

New Kaon was all Megatronus had promised and more.

Drift looked out over the limited view of the thriving, blacklight-drenched planet from Morhold's prison unit.

Oh, he wasn't in jail. On making out of the warp, Drift made sure of that. With unfamiliar grounds beneath his peds, he tore into the nearest formers. He'd fought through worse withdrawals, the spinning he could handle-being slammed to a stop was the problem. The EM looming above him slowed his movements.

Other Decepticons milled around. Optimus and Ironhide stood back-to-back, ready to tear into them. Ratchet made the mistake of putting a bead onto Drift's captor and got himself mobbed.

Megatron shrugged off the partial stab Drift inflicted. "Welcome home, Deadlock."

Drift couldn't articulate just how much his lines buzzed hearing that. He hadn't changed in the least.

What distracted Drift was Ratchet behind him fighting off his two captors. A loud crack later and the medic went still. That only served to rile Optimus and shift Megatron's attention.

Drift fell back into old habits, shouldering the offending mech, "This one's mine."

He and Hide shared a glare. Drift shifted one final slightly and hauled Ratchet up by the middle. The medic was far heavier than he expected.

"After all this time, you return." It wasn't directed at him, Megatronus was eying Prime.

Drift had been away while the original Decepticons split. He supposed now was as good a time as any to get caught up.

Optimus remained unmoved, "This was your idea."

"Partially. Nice to see you again, brother." Megatron spat.

There was a prominent face lurking among the sea of new soldiers. Gasket bristled wildly and squared himself in the face of the massive saurian. The way the hound telegraphed his movements read anger. Gasket smelled Gidget, but he couldn't see her…

Drift had a sinking feeling he knew what became of the rest of the Ark crew.

Several joors later, Ratchet came to the same conclusion as the ringing verbal abuse from downstairs told him.

He didn't know where Prime and Ironhide were, and Megatronus left Drift to his own devices. Besides the skittish rookie guards, the dark looks from older Decepticons, and Soundwave's intangible presence; he was free.

Time to go make sure Ratch didn't get himself murked.

A young (by comparison) racer sat beyond Ratchet's line of sight, jumping to his peds as Drift approached.

"Sir! I can't allow you to–"

"I ain't stupid, runt. He's my responsibility. You want him to stop raging?"

"Okay."

Drift grunted.

Spurred on by latent aggression and the scent of fear, Gasket started harassing the kid.

Now they had privacy to talk.

Drift was greeted with a wrench to his forehelm.

"RATCHET!"

"Your responsibility, huh?"

How the medic had gotten the projectile through live energon bars he'd never know. Drift did see how the twins had maintained their feral tendencies. Ratchet's plating stood on end, frame rigid, only lit by biolights and the warning lamps on his frame. Why the order to kill medics went through, he'd never know. Megatronus should have turned them loose on the field.

Drift popped the dent out of the middle of his helm, "I still have some influence. You're welcome, you old coot."

"I didn't ask."

'Where are you guys?'

Hearing Bee's voice coming from the singed bird made Drift flinch. Terri continued cycling through the younger 'former's voices with various locating phrases.

'Guys, that's not funny! Where are you?'

"She talks…"

Ratchet jerked to shield her from view.

Ohh…so that's how it was… "I didn't betray you to Megatronus."

"Why do you still call him that?"

"That's how I remember him. Prime might have saved me, but he–" Drift didn't finish.

Ratchet's bio-lights intensified, a mix of rage-hurt-loss flashing in his EM. The swordsmech looked back at the harried racer outside, the timid bird prowling around Ratchet's peds, and the "signals lost" message on a discarded data-pad.

"Doesn't mean they're dead."

Ratchet made a noise of disgust.

Anddd that was enough to trip Drift's nastier inclinations.

"I came to protect you, you pompous aft. I don't know if you've noticed, but you're the only Autobot here. Maybe don't draw so much attention to yourself. Do you think you're the first to suffer loss? Suffer quietly like the rest of us."

It was fortunate the bars worked, Ratchet lunged at him aiming for his faceplate.

"Don't talk to me about loss when you lot are the reason."

"You'll never survive if you don't stop dwelling on it. I nearly didn't. It was a long war, there will be other younglings. Pit, you should consider making some of your own, if your spark chamber hasn't rusted shut."

He expected more yelling and dents.

Terri's consoling chirps made Drift turn around.

"Did it rust sh–"

"SHUT UP, Drift, and mind your business."

"What happened?"

When asking didn't work, he stared. Ratchet tended to the bird he swore he didn't like.

"You're insufferable."

"I've been told."

Ratchet shifted to lean against the nearest wall, "By the time I was made, it wasn't seen as a priority that MTO medics reproduce. It was rescinded a few models before Cybertron fell, but my generation? It's permanent."

"And you still hate the Decepticons more?"

"I can live with being sterile. I can't live with what the Cons have done. Drift, I helped haul away the corpses of 'formers they tortured."

Drift mulled it over, "I'm sorry you had to see that. But it's the same difference. Elite Guards used to go on target practice runs in the district down from Dead End. Agree to disagree."

"I used to fix some of the ones that survived …I can't abide cruelty." Ratchet cut his reply short.

Drift hit him with questioning optics.

"There were Massicon attacks in Hyra and I had two new builds raring to fight on whichever side would have them. Sides almost died in the junior pits… With Sunny's tendencies…I would have lost them both to the Cons. I chose somewhere we'd all be safe." Ratchet sighed, "The older ones, no…they're prepared. It's the younglings I'm scared for."

Drift lied for the medic's sake. "Knowing them, they're fine. Probably having a nice vacation from us."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Cypress was still getting her spark rate down. None of her old hiding spots fit so Prowl had free range to chase her all over the ship.

She wouldn't complain. The faster Cypress ran, the less she thought. It finally ended when Prowl's frame revolted, throwing him back into his bipedal mode.

Then she had an alien police cruiser to run from.

Bumblebee joined her slumped against the wall and handed her a bag of unrefined energon.

"Where have you been?"

"Voltage keeps locking me in rooms."

"Unsuccessfully…" Voltage called, "This ship is weird. Like it has a mind of its own."

Sideswipe joined in, patting the wall reverently, "Yeah, he's like that sometimes, quit jacking his controls."

"You're joking. Is this another Transformer joke?"

"Nah, I think Ark is gaining sentience. He's just picky about showing it."

Sunstreaker elbowed him, "Stop telling people that, they'll think you're crazy."

All the while, Jazz tapped out a rhythm only he could hear on his thigh. Cypress pretended to be more invested in downing another cube of mixed fuel. The stress had worn Jazz's nerves to nubs. The Ops mech checked and rechecked everyone without disguising it. His digits curled, shoulders tensed.

One quiet "Hey…" silenced the bustling rec room. Out of nowhere, a restless, inky EM expanded from his field.

"Whoever is playing elevator music, stop or I'll break your knees."

Unphased by the turn in mood, Sunstreaker snorted, "Great, Cap's gone crazy already."

"Not crazy, just annoyed. Fess up."

"You can hear that?" Prowl asked. The bond went quiet, absent of loading screen music. "Apologies."

Cypress was more concerned that no one else noticed it. Now that the background noise was gone, she missed it.

Jazz caught her optic. "Of course, you like elevator music….we're approaching in two joor. Game time."

Thundercracker's signal pinged away tics out on the Con's new home turf.

Jazz leaned over the view and his paintjob color began to rearrange to a dark pallet. "Remember: we're not visiting as Autobots. Leave your moral hangups on the ship."

Two joors later, Cypress stood in alt awaiting the next departure time. They were leaving in shifts, group by group to infiltrate the city. Barricade nudged her, "Relax. Want some engex?"

"Not from you."

He shrugged, tipping back his flask.

Bee paced around, "I'll take some."

"Seriously?"

Bumblebee took it and started filling bottle bombs.

Cypress checked her rifle for the fifth time. "How can you guys be so calm?"

"Experience. You two have never been on a real infiltration. You have to relax."

The floor vibrated.

Cade stiffened. "What was that?"

"You felt it too?"

Cypress frowned, "Shh."

She forced her audios forward and olfactory wide, and the spicy-itchy sensation returned. "That presence from Eukaris. They're back and on the ship."

Bee palmed the wall, drawing in sensory data from the security feed. He shunted the feed to her and after some hesitation, Cade.

"Whatever it is it's cloaked."

The Decepticon growled, "We're cornering it?"

"No, look."

The Ark logged minor disturbances, nothing that couldn't be blamed on normal air circulation. "It's looking for something."

The distortion stopped and began digging through the bridge's logs, then the bridge flooring. From above, the intruder dislodged an ovoid sphere.

"Whatever he has, we want," Bee whispered.

Cypress dug her claws into the nearest vent, "I know a shortcut."

A crawling trek later, Cade scooted forward and dropped from the ceiling, Judging from the deep, "Ooof" their intruder was a mech.

He didn't cloak quite like Lockdown, it mimicked whatever he walked in front of, leaving the afterimage of a 'former when viewed up close.

The unknown mech scrambled to regain his footing as Bee joined in the fray, dragging him behind the bar.

Before she could register, her frame reacted, slinging spines in a random direction.

A blade clipped her right audio in return.

"There's two!"

Barricade took heed and fired indiscriminately, making confetti out of the rec room.

Months of struggling to run on tile came in handy. Cypress' claws gained enough purchase to slide out of reach from the other invader. She grabbed at the sphere, got kicked, bit the offending leg, and continued sprinting away from the madness. Behind her was a horrendous crash of metal.

Bee's engine roared to life, "Go, go, go!"

Halfway to the ramp, Bee nudged her onto his hood. "Hold on!"

Being on the outside of his alt was only slightly better than being inside.

Twisted backward, she could see the two intruders gaining on them: a heavy off-road vehicle and a high-powered racer streaking toward them.

Cypress folded flush with Bee's hood and armed herself, trading a paw for a blaster.

They flew out of the ramp just before the other two came streaking behind them.

"Hey! Follow me." 'Cade called. The mech made a hairpin turn, transforming to pitch a mix of smoke bombs and grenades back at the pursuing pair.

"Are they still there?"

"No."

Bee climbed from the dumpster and cased their alleyway. "Clear."

~ Jazz, we have interlopers. We got away. ~

~ Good. Keep moving, I'll let you know where we stop. ~

"Now what?"

"Now we head to a safe house. You can bunk with me. You're going to have to change, Bee."

"What's wrong?"

Cade gestured to the Praxian's whole frame, especially the insignia.

"Going to be hard to explain that."

"Right." Bumblebee swapped his color pallet to black and yellow. He blended in neatly with the shadow-soaked city.

Cypress cringed, "Is it always this dark here?"

"It's nighttime, dummy. Let's get moving."

They traveled on foot, attempting to be as casual as possible. New Kaon's shadows brightened into pastels in the pre-dawn light, the nearest sun finally peaked over the horizon. 'Formers were up, starting their day-cycle. Market stalls opened, cleaner drones scooted along, and new types of fuel wafted in the air. Cypress paused out of the flow of traffic to soak it all in.

Across the street, a dark green mech did the same.

The details didn't matter, he smelled of the Ark intruders.

She tilted one audio in acknowledgment, he nodded back.

Cypress sent a short-range comm, : What gives, mech, why are you tailing us? :

A rough but friendly voice greeted her, : Come over here, we can talk about it. :

: Nah. : She sunk back into the flow of traffic.

~ We got a tail. Midsize guy with a missile launcher on one shoulder. I don't see his friend. ~

~ Ok ~ Bee's servo shot out, pulling her into a crowded turnstile. A few shoves and narrow squeezes later Barricade joined them in the middle of a tram. They were all roughly the same size, so they couldn't reach the grab handles. In a rare show of alliance, Cade wrapped both arms around them, making their own little huddle.

"What do you think you're doing?" Bee half growled.

"Just taking care of my new besties."

"Stop groping my aft."

"That's not me."

"Cy?"

"Not in public."

A soft chuckle came from behind Cypress and a gaudy two-wheeler slid into their huddle, sandwiching her and Bee between them, "You're back!"

"And you know it."

They were subjected to an incomprehensible conversation that had Cypress' audio tips burning. Kaonite slang was next-level.

"And you two are?"

Cypress removed the two-wheeler's wandering servo from her hip.

"My Amicas: Yellowjacket and Spruce."

"Nice."

"Thanks."

"I'm Flamewar. Nice to meet you. He treating you right?"

"No." Bee spat.

"Don't mind Yellowjacket, he's just tired."

Cypress finally relaxed into the pressing weight of the 'formers around her, listening to 'former Flamewar. The longer they stayed the more their scents would mingle. When the tram stopped, they took off behind 'Cade in the opposite direction their pursuers went.

Barricade watched them tail Flamewar with a grin. "That will buy us some time."

Another few turns and the Decepticon scout was hit with a barrage of nods and greetings.

"You're popular…" Bee said, out of audio-shot.

"I've got a position in high command and two good-looking 'formers on my arm. Yeah?"

"Will you stop joking like that? It's not funny."

'Cade paused in swiping his key-card at the nearest flat door. "You don't realize what you look like on Kaon, do you? Come on in. Just moved in an orn before we left. I've never had visitors before."

Cypress slipped in while the mechs were distracted.

Surprisingly, the place wasn't a wreck or full of attackers.

Barricade sat on his dusty kitchen counter, "Praxians are rare here, even more so one that's battle-ready. Predas tend to be a status symbol of how violent your crew is. Here, it's not how elegant your plating is, it's how well you can throw down in a brawl. Even better if you can balance functionality with nice curves. No one ever told you you're beautiful?"

Cypress subconsciously pointed at Bee, only to look up and see him mirroring the action back at her.

"Hmm."

She sat on an ornate chest carved with Driller tendrils, "I can never tell if you're hitting on us or joking…What's an Amica?"

"Like what your Ops heads have going on. Don't worry about it. Unlike you 'Bots, we put a name to things."

Bee, thoroughly weirded out, flopped down beside her, "I thought you hated us."

"Yeah, and?"

"Nevermind."

Arms wrapped over their shoulders, he pulled them close, "There's only one berth. Hope you don't mind."

Barricade slept on said berth starfish- style, taking up every available spot.

He didn't have a couch.

Or tarps.

Just a shrug before he drifted off.

"Typical…" Bumblebee hissed.

Cypress didn't dare scroll the local data-net, instead, she watched the pre-dawn traffic slowly pick up from a corner of the shades.

Bumblebee looked over his map. ~ We're in Mangham, not too far from the capital. We can walk. ~

She watched an enormous flier wade through the walkway traffic. They needed to get to wherever high command was for this to work. Megatron wouldn't let a prize catch far from his sight.

~ You're ready? ~

~ Yeah, let's roll. ~

Bee started undoing the latch to Cade's flat and opened the door—to the same scout glaring back at him.

So he had a back door…

'Cade looked disgusted. "Rookie mistake… What kind of Decepticon would I be if I let you two run rampant? You're not ruining New Kaon."

Given Barricade's position, passing security clearance was easy. Realizing 'formers weren't just staring at your audios was another matter entirely.

Cade ushered them through a dim room lined with monitors filled with security footage. "Do not make me look stupid," he hissed, "Good cycle, Soundwave."

Silence.

"I brought the scouts."

Cypress had to reset her optics several times before recognizing part of the massive main console was a living mech. Soundwave was different from his profile on the Ark. He'd discarded much of his old battle armor for a sleeker appearance. A network of cabling began to writhe free with movements somewhere between a Driller's and a Quintesson's. Ink blue plating absorbed the artificial lighting, making it difficult to gauge how close he was. She couldn't even make out his faceplate.

"Barricade: Very good."

So many little biolights and monitor lights made him appear like some massive deep-sea predator casting its net-like appendages.

Beside her, Bee had dropped into his blank soldier's stare, clearing his mind and locking his ports.

Cypress played dumb and pretended not to notice the room-temperature fiber optic creeping up the back of her neck.

If there was one thing Cybertronians couldn't stand, it was the way her processor worked…

She let every random human thought and phrase pour through her processors, old art projects and saved files of animal movements. It lasted all of a nano before the tendril withdrew along with an EM of revulsion.

"Query: Unwilling to submit extra information?"

"We don't work for you." Bee hissed.

Cypress restarted her vocalizer, "Where do you start and the monitor ends? Is that standard for symbionts-builds? Are you hardwired in–"

Soundwave's annoyed EM was inescapable, "Order: SILENCE. Wait in the adjoining room. Think quieter. Barricade: did not say they were glitched."

"I thought that went without saying, sir, they're Orion's."

"Acknowledged."

The next room was the same: dark, lit with monitor lights, and had suspicious presences in the corner.

A large inky colored cat and bizarre bird creature: Soundwave's symbiotes.

Bee went rigid at the sight of the felid.

Catching his partner's discomfort, Lazerbeak spoke, "Come on in, we don't bite."

The southern twang threw Cypress off enough to gawk. Lazerbeak shuffled along the railing high above them, "What's wrong? I thought you liked birds…" A sick feeling crept up her spine. He had downy, grey fluff adorning his claws.

Bee's back slammed into hers as he fended off Ravage. The trouble with being below average height was symbiote attacks. They were roughly like fighting a similar-sized 'former–made worse because symbiotes were used to the disadvantage.

Cypress recognized the foreign fighting information somewhere between transforming and getting a mouthful of feathery iron.

That wasn't one of her thoughts.

~ Sorry, I got excited. ~

It was RoadRage then…her roommate had a startling lack of information on catch-poles.

A guard looped her head like a stray dog. Cypress thrashed wildly until her throat met the flooring. She caught sight of Bee cuffed and prone across from her.

They had to make it look believable–

Both were dumped in a huge arena.

"Aren't these yours, Optimus?"

Cypress managed a glance up into the optics of the warlord. She melted into the flooring. Any thought of mouthing off evaporated.

"I've heard good things about you both from my scout, talented in your fields. I especially appreciate your assistance, Preda."

The catch wire slid under her throat tilting her helm upward, back up to the owner of the rolling voice.

Great.

They had an audience. She could just make out Ironhide's half-squinted glare. No Ratchet. Yeah, if Megatron didn't kill her, the weapons specialist would. The warlord stood impassive and the color of a greyed-out frame. Every scar from his previous battles stood out bold and unfilled even from here.

The wire dug deeper into her throat and her captor edged a ped onto her tail, "Answer."

"Apologies, my liege. It wasn't my intention to help. Your mechs live up to their name."

There. Nice, neutral, to the point.

The shockwave of a large former landing slammed her right back to feeling freshly robotic and drenched in CR fluid. Cypress made herself flat.

But Megatron wasn't looking at her.

Bee's guard was out, slack faceplate facing hers and a spine jutting out of his side.

Bee had a blaster trained on her guard and the other on the warlord. The remaining guard didn't budge to his credit.

~ You. Are. Insane. Lie down! ~

~ Just trust the process. ~

Megatron approached with all the ease of someone who had already won.

"What is your designation, Autobot?"

"Bumblebee."

"You don't know where you are, do you?"

"New Kaon. Looking at a tyrant." He said simply.

Megatron didn't rise to the bait. "What is it you hope to accomplish– Bumblebee?

Her scout squared his shoulders, doorwings rigid, "You have my family, I want them back. I think you've taken enough."

A barely there smirk. The priming of a massive arm cannon…

Cypress used the guard mech's pole against him wrenching him backwards.

The guard still kept his blaster trained on her while she clawed the catch pole off. Cypress bristled and snarled over the downed vehicle-mode.

"Who is this?"

"My partner."

What a wonderful phrase…vague enough to imply, strong enough to warrant an aft beating.

She felt the heat burning into her back.

"Hailstorm, stand down, you as well Preda. Bumblebee…I think you'll find you have gained more than lost."

Cypress carefully transformed, servos raised. Hailstorm retracted his blaster and made optic contact with the flier who made some sort of low screech.

Megatron took a little too long looking Bee over, "He takes after you, Prime."

"Yeah, we're trying to break him of that."

The flood of relief she felt hearing Jazz outside of comm.

Jazz sat perched on Megatron's throne with the nastiest EM rolling off his frame. The Ops head leaned forward, a wide snarl marring his faceplate, "Howdy."

The absolute slag-eating grin that spread over Bee's faceplate warmed her spark.

They weren't interesting anymore; the cocky intruder Jazz played was.

Megatron's distraction didn't last long. "This was your doing, Polyhexian?"

"Yeah? Needed a way in, these are my third-best slag-stirrers. Tell Soundwave he's gotten sloppy."

"If they're only third, you shouldn't miss them."

A speck of acid began eating away at the warlord's shoulder, liquefied metal followed oozing from a bullet-sized hole. Prowl.

"Nah, we like 'em too much."

"What is it you want?"

Jazz strolled to the arena's edge, he hefted himself to perch on the barrier wall. "Your head on a pike…but another Great War would cramp my plans. Imma need our boss back. Who do I need to kill to convince you?"

"I don't meet demands of an insane underling."

"And I don't negotiate with terrorists." Jazz barked, "We do this or I'll give you a repeat performance of what y'all did to Polyhex."

The bitter stab of hate or the promise of violence didn't shock her as much as the EM tinge that followed. Jazz meant every word and the wound was worn raw and festering.

"You expect to survive this stunt?"

"Ah expect you're smart enough to listen to reason. You're a showmech too, a gladiator. I didn't put on this for nothing."

Jazz folded one leg over the other, "Lots of targets Sounders is keeping an optic on. Multiple factions…Y'all having a little get-together. I think I know what it's about…"

Lockdown leaned over the edge as well.

"Lord Megatronus."

For the first time, the warlord's face soured, "Lockdown…is this a friend of yours?"

"Yeah. You have a Massicon problem, we want our gang whole and have a wide skill set. You should hire us out."

Megatron stared, eyeing them both, "You'll come down here, I'd like a demonstration of your skillsets."

Cypress attempted to move backward only to catch the attention of Hailstorm. This felt bad, like a trap type bad.

Jazz and Lockdown spoke over comms, then nodded.

"Sure, come on in everyone."

Arcee and Rager melted out of the upper arena's dark edges, mirrored by the twins on the opposite side. Prowl and Voltage dropped from the vaulted ceiling above. Everyone lined up to face the warlord.

~ This is the dumbest thing I've ever done. He's got a clear shot on us all! ~ Prowl muttered.

~ Ya trust me? ~

Several tugs and nudges followed.

~ Follow my lead. ~ "This is all of us."

"Interesting. Are you in need of weaponry?"

Sunstreaker revved his engines, "Never leave home without 'em."

Megatron eyed him carefully, "I hear Mortillus is kind to his servants."

Sunny kept his gaze until the warlord retreated to the side of the ring with Hailstorm.

"Guys, something's off," Sideswipe started. His twin finished, "Partner up, Bee, Cy, stay close to someone experienced. We're fighting someone and it ain't him. That's a pitmaster's blessing."

When Cypress looked back across the silty floor a scream three years in the making tore loose.

Massicons, plural, emerging from a hidden passageway on the far side.

Panic leeched into the bond from all angles.

Getting cornered in Hyra.

Forced to fight for test results.

Getting trapped in a rock quarry on Earth.

An abandoned neighborhood filled with the victims of Shockwave's testing.

"Hey! Don't look at them. Look at me," Arcee called eerily calm. She had her back to the monsters and offered a servo wrapped in EM to the twins. "Come on in, just for now."

Cypress winced as two pricks of spark pressure came and went. She snagged Voltage.

Arcee went from 'former to 'former, touching the side of their helms as she checked their optics. Cee urged them into a half circle, standing like a master of ceremony over a ritual.

"We go. We fight and we don't stop until they're dead."

Arcee nodded to Prowl. They strode off as one.

Simultaneously their back plating split. Arcee's plating went from pink and white, to riddled with cracks and belching distortion. Her beast-mode landed with no discernible form, a four-legged mass wreathed in black. Prowl reverted to his scaly form, scutes and all.

Voltage dropped into her beast-mode. Peals of electricity ran through the floor, blocking and killing any extra Massicons. One by one the misshapen experiments had their chests broken open and sparks torn free like a pit being ripped from rotting fruit. Any spare energy soaked into Voltage's tendrils and back to her systems. The look of pure panicked determination in her overbright optics steeled Cypress.

~ Holding a perimeter… ~

~ I got your back, V ~

Sixty. Sixty Massicons left in the ring. Cypress lowered to all fours, immediately faced with a charging Massi. She leaped, jaws snapping around sensitive throat cabling. With a jerk, warmth coated her face and throat. Just like that, the most wonderful flavor hit her glossa. Acid, steel, and the burning aftertaste of a new obsession.

She licked her chops and turned back to check on Voltage before snapping the ankle of the next experiment and disemboweling it.

They came in clusters.

All Cypress couldn't manage at once, Voltage tore apart. The bond was all there was. Voltage was her shield and Cypress was her sword. She felt a guttural snarl tear from her throat as the next Massi charged forward only to implode with tendrils where a transformation cog should be.

~ Oops. ~

~ That one was mine and you knew it. ~

Voltage beamed, sending out another wave to replenish the boundaries.

~ There's still more. Hop to it. ~

Split into ten different points of view, everyone had an in-depth look at their opponents. It was like coming in from the cold.

Like coming home.

For the second time that cycle, she found home in a spark.

~o~o~o~o~o~

On the growing list of things that concerned Optimus, Prowl having a monstrous alter ego had not been on that list. Now that it was out in the open, that surprise was rapidly dropping on his list of concerns.

At the moment, their conscious objector scout was willingly eating Massicons sparks. Voltage seemed to have taken control of the very metal of the arena and whatever unfortunate Massicons were in her way. RoadRage's aggressive chainsaw-wielding cousin was here, as was Arcee–in the frame of a voracious Terrorcon. The twins were making an uninhibited energon-drenched mess. RoadRage was earning her name alongside the former pit fighters and Bumblebee seemed to have learned far too much from them.

And Jazz was at the helm of it all in full assassin mode, blades glittering with fresh oil.

Prime could see his wicked grin from here.

Despite their current situation, Ironhide still shot him with his 'I told you so' squint. The weapons specialist would have been harassing Ratchet about it, but Ratchet only had optics for the slaughter in Megatron's court.

His sparklings were down there.

Drift, on the other servo, remained unaffected but near the medic, a corner of his mouth lifting.

Optimus never doubted his crew had something ludicrous planned.

This was not it. But it was effective.

They had Megatron's full attention.

In a matter of kliks, the Polyhexian held up a servo. The crew fell still and set about laying their targets, or what was left of them, side-by-side in an even line across the arena floor.

There was nothing else to kill.

Jazz took his time cleaning his visor, replacing it, and stalked to take his place at the center of his team's line facing the warlord.

"Need us to take care of the rest of the problem?"

Incredulous for once, Megatron glowered, "What?"

"Light it up, V."

The dark sectors of the arena that hid the spectators burst into overly blinding light. Notably, their section was still dim. Optimus felt a familiar vulpine head brush the backs of his partially uncuffed servos. An unfamiliar set of canid jaws freed him. He caught a flicker of blue flame-patterned plating disappearing behind Ironhide next and Drift's smirk turned predatory.

Now they were showing off.

Jazz aimed a digit at the sparse Autobots, Predas, and Decepticons present. The Polyhexian had bearings… Assembled in the stands were Ultra Magnus, the Elite Guard, a scattering of Wreckers, the mech known as Predaking Scourge and his 'formers, including Carnivac's pack, and of course, most of Decepticon High Command. The odd Transformer out was the hulking figure of what Optimus assumed was his first proper look at a Dread.

"I don't appreciate being hunted down an' shot out of the skies. Or left for dead. Someone better start talking or you're all going to have problems."

Megatron approached with an even stride, towering over Jazz.

"If you'd cease your posturing."

An unpleasant roll of bass jarred the flooring around his Ops head. Jazz had no intention of backing off— or so he thought. In a flash, he was joined by Lockdown.

"Explain to me why I want anything to do with this feral demon."

The bounty hunter seemed nonchalant, "I thought he was right up your alley. He's hard to kill and he hates Massicons a lot more than you, Lord Megatronus. You pay on time, thought I'd give you first choice of my new squad."

"Yours? I suspect Crankcase has a different opinion."

Lockdown blew out a long vent, picked out this 'Crankcase' in the crowd, then gestured the girls forward.

"Got 'em."

The alien-looking Dread mech glowered, all four optics narrowed. "You may keep them. They've served their purpose. I've no need for a glitched Sparkea–"

Crankcase narrowly missed getting his jaw blown off by a rifle shot.

"Goddammit…" Cypress hissed, holstering the weapon, "You don't get to talk. You all made us. Come down here and talk like a man. Where's Rilo's sorry aft? I'd like a word."

Crankcase took his time approaching…before wrenching the scout up by the throat. "You are just like your guardian, stubborn and not worth the parts wasted to make you."

"And yet, you still need me…" Cypress mocked.

The Dread's movements said he intended to fling her clear across the arena. Up until his servo gushed with his own energon and partially crystallized venom.

Cypress dropped to her gore-soaked soaked beast-mode, keeping her distance from him.

Crankcase observed the mild scratch that opened into a festering wound on his servo and the other along his horn-like helm crests. "So you've adapted."

"Hard not to. You had a long-term deal with Lock? And a bounty on me and V? And you say you don't have a use for any of us?"

"Correct."

"Prowl, what's the legalese for that?"

"A repaid debt and a contract fulfilled," the Praxian rumbled.

"You didn't let me finish, MTO."

The tone Cypress took set off an instinctive alarm in Prime's processor, "And you let Marci die, asshole."

"Still hung up on that damaged little human and can't see the bigger picture."

Voltage had her now bipedal sibling by the shoulders, dragging her back from Crankcase.

"Enlighten me then. I could be in Orlando, instead I'm here with you jackwagons."

Sensing another lure to attack, Crankcase lowered his helm to her level, "I use what I have at my disposal. You two were meant to track down factions and be offlined at my convenience. You have no idea what you've stepped into."

The girls glanced at each other and then back at the Dread.

Voltage released her sibling, "No shame at all…You actually admit it…"

"The Autobots made you into experiments of war, who are we to turn down a free weapon?"

The Preeker grew a look of revulsion, "How are you going to claim to be any better than Autobots? You used the same emotional bait for Rilo–Daihatsu, that's why you have no troops and everyone hates you."

Crankcase stood unaffected, "The Dread's one mission was to protect Cybertron from its people. We failed in that and our Terrorcon brethren paid the brunt of the price. I swore never to fail again–no matter the cost." He turned to the stands, "On a backwater planet called Earth there is growing Massicon activity. I seek assistance from the 'formers who made them and destroyed Cybertron to end it before it spreads."

"All Massicons left over were decommissioned for instability," Starscream butted in, "There are no more active units."

Crankcase shared a look with the Ark crew, then back at the Seeker. "I am sure we can prove otherwise."

Megatron folded his arms, "We'll say there are rouge Massicons around, besides firepower there isn't much else to be done. Shockwave hasn't been heard from in vorns. He's the one mech that would know them best. I am not willing to send 'formers to the middle of nowhere on baseless claims."

Optimus grit his denta, now they could add a missing rogue scientist to their list of hazards.

A new Autobot face spoke up, likely a Prime under Magnus' direct command. "That's beside the point. Decepticons released Massicon onto the general population, the Decepticons should be the ones to kill them off."

Megatron's rolling voice quieted them, "And this is the benevolent Autobot rank you wish us to accept, Ultra Magnus, ones stingy to offer help to their fellows and castaways?"

Optimus wasn't expecting a savior from his old commander, but hearing "Those Ark 'formers aren't ours" stung.

Crankcase bristled, "I argue otherwise. The Earthling speaks the truth, this team was made…from war. You'd deny those who bear the same faction mark?"

Magnus' armor flared to match, "The Ark crew has been MIA for vorns and the Autobots at large don't claim these rouges or their consorters."

Lockdown let out a bark of a laugh, "But you all are equally more than happy to use my services. Don't act so high and mighty, Mags."

Optimus finally rose amidst the growing argument, "I claim them."

In the interest of honoring Kaon's practices, all parties gathered in the ring. Prime took the lead, and The Ark's crew fanned out behind him.

To his left, Drift and Jazz, and on his right Ratchet and Ironhide. At an equal distance away stood the three other factions in similar arrangements: lax but armed.

Optimus took a quick headcount. They were fine, unharmed physically. Megatron hadn't bothered speaking to him in confidence. He still wanted something. "Now…what's this all about?"

"The future of our factions and you are proving my point, brother." Megatron dropped into his orator drawl. The same one he'd helped him cultivate vorns ago in the Decepticon's first run-down base. "Ultra Magnus seeks an alliance, Autobots infiltrating New Kaon through ambassadors and eventually bases."

Ultra Magnus begrudgingly agreed, "It is in the interest of us all to put the war to rest."

"And these are your heralds of peace?" Scourge spat, a wide gesture aimed at the Ark crew. "We left Cybertron to be rid of vehicle modes and their issues. I won't be the first Predaking to fall back under Cybertronian ped."

"As I've said, we don't claim them and we want nothing to do with deserters of Cybertron."

A cool look passed between the other heads, including himself.

The massive saurian took a step forward, "You forget: we were chased out."

Crankcase eyed the Ark crew, "Voltage."

The Dread stiffened as Cypress followed beside her.

Voltage gave a deep formal bow, ignoring the Dread. "If you'll excuse the impudence. We function as a unit. How may I be of service, Lord Megatron?"

"What are your origins?"

"Koa, my lord. Bred for hunting, specialized in killing Massicons. I aim to please."

"Under who's badge?"

A pause, "Whoever my team deems to be worthy."

"Made for war from birth. Would you consider that a life worth living?"

Voltage jerked in surprise.

"One of the core tenets of the Decepticon cause was freedom from a predestined fate. Do you consider what the Autobots and now the Dread have done is fair to you?"

Thoroughly shaken, the Preeker looked from left to right and finally vented, "As long as it is in service to the greater Decepticon's cause, I would welcome it. In fact–"

"Enough. I have Starscream for flattery. You, wolf, your opinion on your circumstances?"

Cypress looked the warlord up and down, "May I speak freely?"

"A strong suggestion."

Optimus watched the fog of outrage filter over the femme's optics. Oh, Primacron…

"Your war experiments killed my family and fragged up everyone in my team. They have never had a stable home life. The Dread made me believe I was one species and I had to relearn normality." Cypress cut off the growing snarl building in her frame, "I hate a good two-thirds of the 'formers here. I don't like you. Magnus freaks me out. I don't trust Predaking. Crankcase isn't worth mentioning. This war is idiotic and none of my business. You won; everyone got what they wanted: their own rule. I don't care. I have to pick up what's left over and mine is a mild case. Cybertron is gone. They don't have anywhere to go. I want to go home and I'll take my chances with Optimus. I mean it all personally, sir."

Megatron made a grave hum. "And where is this home you speak of?"

"Yeah, no. I'm a screw up but I'm not that stupid. Crankcase and Predaking know, ask them. I won't be the one to doom innocents. But if you're that curious.."

Cypress offered a wrist port along with a network of painful-looking helm cables.

"I'll be glad to show you."

"Desist." Soundwave spat from an intercom.

"It seems my spymaster dislikes you."

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Experimental programming." Cy tapped her helm, "As close to human as metal can achieve, a modern monstrosity."

"You are made to be a collector of information. You defy your function?"

"Yeah? They only made me to support Voltage and to pacify Daihatsu. As the spare sibling, I plan to be as frustrating as possible. V watches a lot of your old rallies. Freedom is the right of all?"

"Sentient beings and the call to action is credited to Optimus." Voltage hissed, "Apologies, my lord."

"No need, I find your ignorance intriguing. One indoctrinated on pretty lies of the past, the other a backwater imposter. "

The electrified walls constricted.

Voltage bristled, "When met with two choices, one unthinkable and the other righteous, I gave up everything to be the best Decepticon by your standards. I did not suffer fools, forgo a trine, and nearly lose my other half to be disrespected! I follow what you left behind. The Bots made us monsters, the Dread worsened it, and I refuse rejection a third time. Call me what you like, but an uninformed follower I am not. I can't fathom a mech like Optimus saw nothing in you…my liege."

The Preeker ended with a bowed helm, missing the first step Megatron took toward her.

Cypress sidled in his path.

"You believe you can stop me?"

"No, but she's like touching a live power grid, sir."

Done with distractions, he continued forward forcing the Preda wolf away.

Megatron knelt to Voltage's level, shocking everyone but Optimus with a servo on her shoulder. The Preeker relaxed, helm bowed, frame shivering.

His brother had that effect on his most devout. Wide, vulnerable optics casting all their hopes on one 'former and seeking salvation.

Unfortunately, Optimus was familiar with that look as well.

"Your efforts haven't gone unnoticed. You've done well. No one should be exiled from their fellows." His optics changed from hard to empathetic toward the pair.

Cypress folded her audios back, looking for support from anyone else.

"The Autobots have asked for a truce and I intend to use your experience to prove my point."

And that's what Optimus feared. Every former that received special attention was a tool. "I call on you both to express the truth in whichever way you see fit."

Voltage looked at her younger sister with excitement. Cypress stared back with unreadable darkening optics, "We'll need a data translator."

From the Ark's side, Prowl strode forward without acknowledging the warlord.

"How much did you need to see?"

The images were what Optimus expected: the traumas of war hoisted onto one's far too young. Every younger member of his team contributed thoroughly. Voltage plastered the image captures and video footage all around her electrified barrier like a hologram projection.

It ended with all of Earth's horrors.

Cypress cracked her optics open to dimmed workings.

"To answer part of your question: Earth isn't much different than anywhere else. It's full of morons and admirable sparks. Depending on where you land, you'll have an easier time blending in. It's a big place, every territory is vastly different. The native population isn't to be underestimated. They can kill Massicons. Be it sentient creatures or not, they will kill you. Do you have any idea what you all look like to Earthlings? Soulless monsters. Should you acclimate, stay long enough and Earth will change you how it sees fit."

"Anything more to add?"

"Not to you," Sideswipe said through grit denta.

Cypress spooled her cables back, color returning to her optics as they captured still images.

"What is on your processor, wolf?"

"For what it's worth, I understand why V's so devoted to you and Optimus. Had it not been for you, we wouldn't exist."

"So ready to betray factions?"

Cypress fell into full formal bow, "Despite the tempting offer, I cannot in good conscience pledge to one side. My loyalties lie with pack."

"Noted. Voltage?"

The Preeker mirrored her sibling, left arm tucked and right extended. "No, I agree with my sister. If you'd forgive me, I would like a purpose outside war."

"Acknowledged and dismissed." Megatron turned back to Ultra Magnus, "For all of the Decepticon's cruelty at the least, we are honest in how we present ourselves."

Optimus didn't have the patience to endure his half-brother's rants anymore.

"Be that as it may: You don't get to speak for us." Optimus took full advantage of the effect his voice had when pitched down to an aggressive throttle.

"I decided to leave because you went too far. There is no revolt without death, but I will not turn a blind optic to tyranny. I stand by what was said. I have no intention of asking for your help either. You have your empire but can't muster forces to take care of the experiments you set on the loose."

Optimus rounded on Ultra Magnus before he could get a word out, his old commander and alleged supporter turned apathetic observer.

"Were you aware why the Ark has been missing for so long?

We were ambushed and left for dead. Had it not been for Drift they would have succeeded. It causes me to wonder how much you knew about that. I needed to ask you face to face. Look me in the optic and tell me the pain and starvation my crew has suffered has been worth a modicum of your respect."

If there was a trace of remorse in his optics it only lasted a nano. Always direct, Magnus shook his helm. "You can't expect me to keep personal tabs on every team during a planet-wide conflict."

Optimus said nothing.

Scourge and Megatron subtly crept forward, expectant.

"But you were aware."

"You were one of the best soldiers I could have asked for, Optimus. Your cooperation aided us in a dark time and I appreciate your sacrifice."

Prime heard the rest of his crew mobilizing behind him. Ironhide took point on his right, Drift at his left. Behind them, Ratchet's blaster chambered a round.

"And?" Optimus rumbled.

"I am giving you this choice because of your discretion. Go, take care of this last mission, you'll have your teammate back, but you're never to come back to Autobot airspace."

Exile was about what he expected.

Jazz pinged him a headcount, : Everyone's here. Who… :

Prime hadn't noticed the cuffed figure at the back of the Autobot's group. As the bright powder blue frame visible was forced ahead a slow, sinking dread leeched into his spark.

Chromia.

'Hide went speechless.

'Mia was disheveled, dented, and gagged as if someone had caught her off guard. Her badge was still intact though.

"Take her and don't come back."

"You really don't play fair…" Drift snorted, "You know, it's remarkably simple to kill a Magnus. Your predecessor went down easy." He aimed a digit and thumb at the commander's neckcables where it met his helm. "That armor isn't as strong as you think."

Prime always harbored suspicions it was Drift that took out the original Magnus; now he knew. Now they knew. Instead of fracturing the Ark team, they united.

Prime waved Drift down, "It won't come to that, right Ultra Magnus?"

The unreadably stern visage yielded a fraction, "Of course not."

Magnus' face screwed up again as he heard the rending screech of metal as Optimus handed over his Autobot insignia.

~o~o~o~o~o~

Seeing an inwardly furious Chromia gagged and cuffed shook Bumblebee more than he wanted to admit. She'd been the closest thing to a carrier he had. Dimly, Bee was beginning to understand why Megatron outlawed bonding during the war. He resisted the urge to find Cy's servo in the crowd.

Mia was unharmed and remained straight-faced until she met optics with Hide.

He'd never seen Hide click before.

The "meeting" fell apart after that. Each group splintered into smaller divisions. They weren't leaving anytime soon and he didn't have any inclination to go wandering off without the element of surprise.

Bumblebee found himself under Sideswipe's surveillance next to Barricade and a massive former Wrecker turned Decepticon, Bonecrusher.

"This is my nemesis, Bumblebee."

Cade was immune to the withering look Bee was giving him.

The "You fight well, mech," from the new mech was unexpected, as were the looks of approval from other Decepticons.

Okay, so that was weird…and his plating was crawling. Barricade came back around, shoving him away from the crowd, "Come on, there's something I need you to see."

Sideswipe made a move to argue when Lockdown stepped in.

"I'll go with him. You watch Sunny."

Sunstreaker needed watching. He was riding a battle high out of this world and was still looking for a fight. A few like-minded 'formers were more than willing to oblige. Side muttered under his breath, "Don't go far."

Barricade's destination was only a few rooms over, hidden away in a massive alcove.

What stood before them was a massive purple crystal growth, a memorial to all fallen Decepticon soldiers.

"No point in drawing it out." Barricade presented him with a hidden hologram wedged at the back of the dozens of crystals and mementos. Blackout and a smaller Praxian stood in the faded pixels.

"Welcome back, Goldbug."

Bee's vents stalled, "Why would you show me this?"

"It's the one thing I knew would hurt more than a physical wound," Barricade patted him on the shoulder–and Bee slugged him for trying.

"This isn't a game, Cade. Cut it out."

The 'Con scout hissed, "I'm not playing. I had suspicions, turns out I was right. Always good to have a brother-in-arms free from processor-washing."

Lockdown just watched Bee mentally combust and 'Cade slink back into the maze of corridors.

It took forever for him to get his systems under control to speak. "How much would I have to pay you to kill him?"

"Way more than you've got on you, kid." Lock shifted awkwardly, "Probably not worth the faction backlash."

Bee let his doorwings droop, "Now what?"

"It's whatever you want, you're free to choose. The beauty of being factionless."

"They just dumped us…like trash."

Bright red optics caught his, "I thought this version of you would be used to that by now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember those warps? There are dimensions beyond this one. Put simply: I have seen some slag out there and I like where we're heading better. Don't worry about it, kid." A mismatched servo massaged between his horns, "Don't worry about it."

"I was always going be a 'Con?"

A frustrated grumble from the mech tore itself loose. "I swear you all have hearing loss… Faction isn't genetic. You're from good stock. She was a war hero. Damn fast too."

"How would you know?!"

"Trust me, I know."

Bee dug around until he pulled back a cluster of red and white crystal wreathed with shed turbofox plating.

Oh…that made more sense.

"Did you get her name?"

"Her designation was Lightfire."

"Ok… You know the way back?"

Lockdown sent him the bond equivalent of an awkward side hug.

"You don't have to play nice."

"Consider it a delayed favor."

It was good Lock was there, he couldn't have found his way back with a GPS.

Bee killed time watching Cypress and Voltage mingle. Whatever trepidation the other scout Cons had evaporated. The sisters were hemmed in getting interrogated from all sides. Even a few Autobots had gotten in on the action. And then Barricade was dragging him into the circle.

"You're going to enjoy yourself if it kills you."

Voltage fell in with a mixed faction group of fliers, keeping the group lively. Cypress had gotten picked up by a crew of beast-modes and they were amid trading files.

He watched a massive wolf-former striking up a conversation, all inky blue armor and spikes topped off with a purple emblem.

And there was that deep pang of jealousy. They had a build to fall back on–

Someone yanked him up, spinning him around.

"Bee!"

"Man, you are a sight for sore optics…"

Strongarm beamed, "I thought you were dead. You're still short!"

A parallel to his jealousy flared back.

~ Who's this? ~

~ Come and see. ~ he teased.

"Strongarm this is my bonded; Cypress, this is my sister."

Strongarm offered her chevron, catching Cypress off guard.

"Dang, sorry. Too forward?"

Cypress headbutt her gently. "Any relation of Bee's is one of mine."

"Oh, so that's why you two have been so cozy."

Barricade ducked the elbow aimed at him.

"That's Barricade. He won't leave."

The scout bowed deeply, "Never said you had such a gorgeous sibling, happy to make your acquaintance, Strongarm."

"He also does that."

The young Wrecker cocked her helm, "Wait…I know you…"

"No, you don't."

"Decepticon Scout: Barricade, otherwise known as the head of Fratenite fan club."

Bumblebee turned slowly at the mention of his crew's old name. "Oh really?" Suddenly, the openness of the younger Cons made more sense.

"It's not like I started it, the last guy got his helm caved in–stop looking at me like that, Autobot."

"You do like us!"

"I'm trying to figure out what a team with so much potential wants with you."

"That's not what you said earlier."

This time Bee had to dodge a punch.

Eventually, he checked his chronometer to realize it had been three joors and he had ninety-eight new contacts.

He didn't care about being suspected of being bonded, he'd fight them off when it came to it. What he'd learned still weighed heavily on his processor.

~ What's wrong…~

~ Nothing ~

~ Something's wrong, you feel like curdled milk. ~

Bumblebee wedged them into a crevice off of the main arena.

~ Cade showed me something. ~

~ Eww… ~

~ Not like that. He's getting better at psych warfare. ~

~ Wanna talk about it? ~

~ Not now. ~

He pressed them as close as conventional decency would allow. It could've been written off as close friends–but who was he kidding? Bumblebee reveled in the post-battle haze, the calm after the storm, with someone that smelled like data-pads and warmed energon.

Bumblebee stirred awake to Cypress blocking the way out and arguing with an unseen 'former.

"Get lost."

A quiet drawl answered. "Hand over what your buddy found and I'll be out of your spines."

"If it was in our ship, it's ours. You two broke in. What is it anyway?"

"Kiddo, it's classified–OW!" The first voice retreated, before snarling back, "Your guardian never taught you not to bite?"

"She was banned from several territories for doing so. Servos to yourself!"

A second voice, sharper, cut in, "Hound, move. Viper, wake Bumblebee. Now."

"Cy-press and he's resting. Come back tomorrow."

"So help me, MTO, I will reach in there and–"

Bee propped himself up cutting Mirage off, "What's wrong, sir?"

Axiom Nexus' spymaster let out a sigh, "Finally. I need the storage unit you stole back."

"You could have just asked."

~ You're not actually going to give it to them? ~

~ No? I want to see what it is first. ~

Something shocked his servo as he brushed the little disc in his subspace.

Bee wound up with an armful of panicked, clawing, shrieking creature. That sent them both tearing out of the crevice. He had seen scraplet bombs go off and the odd Horrorcon release. Their reaction had the Ops mechs armed and ready to shoot.

Until Hound cocked his helm, "Wait…aw no. You dropped him on his helm!"

"I think he slashed me," Cypress backpedaled in her alt mode, "Dude, what is that!"

"Where have you been that you've never seen a capsled sparkling before?"

"Earth?"

"Oh, my bad."

Bumblebee snatched the still silvery and, for lack of a better term, bald sparkling by the scruff. He wasn't newly sparked, but he had no crests and no colors, minus wide terrified yellow optics.

Cypress rubbed at the tiny claw marks on her shoulder, "Can you hold him like that?"

"Should be fine, Prowl did it to me."

"Yeahhh, no. Hound is that okay?"

"It's fine, stops them from clawing, just like cyber-kittens."

Mirage swore quietly, "Just an experiment."

The tiny former hung there shivering in silence. It took a nano to realize he was sobbing… That shouldn't be. Sparkling's cries were supposed to be audio-shattering. One digit swipe beneath the sparkling's chin told him what he feared. A hasty weld mark.

"I'll take it from here."

And then Bee heard it, a quiet pop at the back of his helm. He shifted the anxious ball of metal and sensors to Cypress.

Bumblebee straightened with his wings drawn tight against his back.

"He."

"What?"

"I don't believe you're sensor blind, sir. He, not it."

Bee squared himself before Mirage and his partner, "With all due respect, sir, why do you need him?"

"It's none of your business."

Bumblebee widened his stance. "Negative, I aim to make it that. What do you want with him?"

"That's. Above. Your rank. Hybrid. You're an Autobot. Act like it."

Mirage half crumpled under the impact of a swung rifle butt to his olfactory.

Cypress stood, unbothered and patient, rifle glistening with spilled oil, "I'm not. Talk to my partner like that again and your helm is next."

"Alright, kid, now I'm mad." Hound ground out.

Bumblebee watched as an oversized steeljaw alt took Hound's place and he slowly put together what the four of them had in common. He let Cypress handle Hound and squared up with Raj, mirroring his rigid stance.

"I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but don't think I forgot about you. I've seen all of what Special Operations has done. I keep records." Bumblebee let out a cooling vent, "I remember faces, particularly yours. Funny you guys never noticed me in the vents, I guess hybrids aren't worth noticing."

He held two digits to his comm, "Keep talking and I'll burn your career to ash. You or your crew did something to him. He's not going back."

"You're endangering the good of the Autobots cause–"

"The cause doesn't mean jack shit!" Bumblebee roared back. "It never cared about any of us and the only thing it did was make me hate myself. The good of the Autobot cause, my aft. You only care about freedom for the 'former's that align with the old reign. Some of the only 'formers that ever bothered to do something to help me are here and you don't want them associated with you. Take your fragging badge back."

Bee slung it hard enough to wedge into the nearest wall and hustled Cypress and the new kid past the Autobots.

"Bumblebee-" Hound started, tempering his vocalizer.

It almost worked.

"I mean it, Hound. Don't come after us and I won't tell a spark. I'm not siding with the Cons either. Just…just leave me alone."

They had to get back to the other Ark members. It wasn't safe. They were nearly back to the arena when Starscream met them on his way out.

It was too isolated, too quiet with the majority of the factions dispersed.

The Seeker had the nerve to look offended Bee dropped into a fighter's stance.

"They're waiting for you at the gates. Blackout and I will walk you."

The Seeker dropped back to talk with Cypress, much to the Preda's dismay.

Bumblebee couldn't focus on what was said with all the new static in his doorwings. It was coming from the massive chopper.

"You have a nice crew and family," Blackout said in passing, shortening his strides so they were side-by-side. "They stick by their values."

"Thanks." He couldn't look at the mech in the optics. What if Blackout noticed he knew?

The chopper continued, "Pax is a just leader, I have seen it. Good choice. You are wise for your vorns."

"Eh. Not always."

"You chose what was best for you and yours. You intend to expand your family as well." Blackout didn't phrase it like a question.

"Yes."

"Keep an optic on them, they're easy to lose."

Bee didn't meet the optics he felt on his helm, "I will."

"Keep Barricade out of trouble."

That made him look up. "He's coming with us?!"

"That is my stipulation for silence. You're not the only 'former present with the capacity for a long memory."

"Fine."

"Thank you, scout."

"No problem."

Starscream strode ahead of them, "You've been keeping records of Special Ops during the war–very deceptive of you. Didn't expect that from you, of all Bots."

Bee didn't know what was worse, the fact he was getting a compliment from Screamer or he could feel his voice scraping the paint off his doors. He dropped back to meet up with Cy, pinned audios in a similar state of pain and notably missing their new passenger. She winked.

~ Why are they so chill now? ~

Bee forwarded his capture of the memorial and Barricade's smug explanation.

~ Think there's a chance it's not legit? ~

~ Too much makes sense now… ~

She shoulder-bumped him instead of a hug. ~ Need anything? ~

~ To get out of here, the lighting is terrible. ~

~ Mhmmm. ~

Starscream continued to meet Optimus, "Your missing scouts. You will heed my advice?" Starscream asked, throwing a glance back at Cy.

"You've got it. And you'll send me pictures?"

"Continue to send these messages of Jane Austen and you have a deal."

Cypress beamed, "He does astrological photography, Lockdown's are too shaky." Over bond she sent, ~ We gotta leave now. ~

Bee looked past them, back to Mirage skulking serval yards away. "What do you want now?"

"Only seeing you off. Your kind aren't welcome in Axiom Nexus."

"And you're banned from Earth you slagging–" Cypress began, only to get snatched up by Hound.

"Not again, kid."

"Hit her and I rip your optics out." Bee hissed.

Jazz held up his servos, "At ease, guys. Hound put her down, she's contagious."

The army green scout did not, he had the handling experience and the reinforced plating to keep it up all cycle.

Jazz tilted his helm, "You two seem to forget you're asking for our help. We don't take too kindly to you insulting our mech. Or snatching a sparkling."

His visor darkened as he turned back to Mirage. "Care to elaborate?"

"No, no I don't. You both forget your place."

"Hey, my place went up in smoke with Iacon. I could have slagged you given half the chance then and I wouldn't hesitate now."

Optimus placed a reassuring servo on his spymaster's shoulder. "But it won't come to that at all. We have an understanding, right Mirage? We're not in your jurisdiction. I quit, remember?" Optimus rumbled, the light shrug conflicting with his tone. "You should go back to Magnus."

Jazz tossed his badge back with a quick salute, "Hope I don't hear from you."

Mirage took too long to move as he stared down each of them, committing faces to memory before he stormed off without another word.

Hound rolled his optics and whispered something in Cypress' audio that had her optics going pale before letting her down.

"You understand?" Hound snarled.

Cypress managed to unhinge her jaw into a wide grimace, "Do you?"

They switched over to something English-based and pidgin, arguing back and finally ending with a grumble.

Bumblebee herded her back to the others, flashing the rudest gesture he could in passing.

All this took place with the object of his sparklinghood nightmares watching like a cyber-hawk.

"This is how your subordinates behave, Prime?" Megatron rumbled close to something that sounded like a laugh.

"They've earned a reward."

The gunmetal mech watched his half-brother carefully. "I will be seeing you, Orion Pax."

~o~o~o~o~o~

Cypress didn't care anymore. She laid out on the shower floor of the Ark with everyone watching.

Jazz had the whole crew, alien Roombas included, sweeping for bugs and bombs, ending in the showers with an improvised chemical wash.

Never in a million years did she think the freaking demon Seeker would be nice. No that wasn't the word. Helpful? He knew about sparkling holds anyway. She shunted the cycle's events to the back of her mind only to be drawn back by her HUD.

And oh God, the messages rolling across her HUD. Shady threat advice from Hound, actual advice from Strongarm, and someone named Weaver asking for RoadRage's comm.

Above her, Terri preened away the dried energon on her helm, returning her tight embrace in her own birdy way. Poor scorched birdy….Cypress smoothed out a rough patch where new, deep crimson feathers were emerging.

Ratchet released Terri as soon as they hit a safe orbit away from New Kaon.

Like everyone else, he didn't dare say a word until the ship was cleared. Now, in the relative safety of the racks, she attempted to avoid drawing too much attention to herself. It wouldn't be long until someone asked questions about who contributed to half the crew getting captured.

Cypress had ten kliks of peace before a shadow fell over her.

"Come on, Con sympathizer, get up." Sunstreaker barked.

"Leave me alone, you wretch."

"That all you got? You're tired already?"

"Go fight your brother."

He stepped on her tail and Cypress let out an enraged snarl.

"Since you two can't seem to keep your servos off each other-" Optimus called," You won't mind working on our new faction symbol together. I'm not blind, I see those welds. I cannot think of a worse punishment than fighting Massicons, do not force me to."

"Yes, Prime."

"Pax." He corrected, "I relinquished the title of Prime. We're all on the same side now, I will not tolerate anything less than full cooperation among ourselves."

At that moment, the bond chose to release all its tension, causing all ten of them to stagger at once. RoadRage just barely managed to catch Volt before she hit the floor. The suddenness of the group collapse had everyone uninvolved on their peds.

Ironhide propped Prowl back up, "Are you all–"

"Good, we're fine." Arcee said, frame still in its haunting pink-streaked true form, "Just stressed the bond out."

"That reminds me," Jazz seemed to squint behind his visor, "Slick, did you disable the bombs?"

"I got 'em taken care of."

"The what." Ratchet started.

"Ah was serious about avenging Polyhex. If we couldn't get out we could sure make a big enough distraction to try."

Out of her line of sight, Chromia whistled. "Good you're on our side, hmm?"

Cypress got yanked up for the umpteenth time to face a furious Ratchet also holding Sunstreaker by the shoulder. Sides was stuck beneath his arm in a chokehold.

"Don't you three EVER scare me like that again."

Maybe it was Ratchet's voice breaking halfway through, or Sunstreaker refusing to look up, or the sparkling-like way Side's face screwed up. Or how much he sounded like Marci.

So she bawled like a lost child along with the siblings she never knew she wanted.

Ratch was unharmed but exhausted.

Joors later, she slithered from the tight pile only to be snagged by the medic again.

"I'll make the rounds. Go to sleep."

"We're talking."

"Later."

Ratchet growled half-heartedly but settled back against the wall.

Cypress transformed to click around the shower's dimmed light, making noise for everyone else's sake. Chemical fog still swirled low to the ground as she passed a wide scan over the crew.

Jazz was out cold; Prowl kept him folded in his lap equally as unconscious. Hide and Chromia were missing. Slick and Lockdown were across the racks talking in low tones. Barricade of all 'formers chose to hang around Drift.

Drift kept him at arm's length away.

Overall, there wasn't anything that couldn't hold until the day joors. A huge blessing in this mess. They were low on supplies as it was…

She nodded, passing Prime–Pax.

"Are you sure you're the same Cypress?"

She wagged her tail, transforming to give a solemn bow, "Partially. Neither half is prone to friendly fire. I'm sorry."

"Do you think a blaster minds the kickback and fire that comes with battle?"

And that was part of where Bee's abstract questions came from. "Your brother's–compelling."

That had Pax's optic ridges up, "And that's how it started for the original Decepticons. You don't show your admiration openly."

"Nothing screams a mortal's self-importance like a throne…I don't like him…because I get where he's coming from… Did I ever tell you about the fragged-up stuff on Earth?"

"I believe this is the first willing conversation you've had with me."

"Yeah…sorry." Something about him sitting, arms on knees hunched in the shower had him looking less intimidating.

"Go on."

Cypress shrugged, "Back home we have similar struggles. I don't look or act like the ideal on Earth either. You get treated differently and it hurts. I'm glad things were different because if I ran into your brother first…."

Cypress contorted her body into the same lanky nightmarish form she'd used in the arena.

Orion Pax didn't flinch.

"I'd have done the same as Megatron. People get too whipped up on either side and you forget your sentience, your humanity, and that the people you hate are the same as you. It might not be my place to say, but I'm glad you're like you are, Pax."

"My greatest regret is what this war has done to all involved, especially you younglings. Worse, that Megatron was correct. But two things can be true at once and regrettably, there's no change without pain."

Cypress paused, "What was he like before he went mad with power?"

"Unlike any 'former before or since. The ability he had to inspire confidence in the broken was amazing and he knew it. He never went crazy, he only fed into his darker tendencies. We didn't grow up together, but to hear his old colleagues talk he sounded so full of hope."

"I see," Cy knew a sore subject when she heard it, she gestured to the cluster of femmes to the side.

"Carry on."

Rager, Voltage, and Arcee sat in a huddle around…another sparkling.

"Who's this?"

The yellow visored kid huddled into Arcee, blue-black plating telling off on whose kid she was. Her hatred of Autobot's high-command increased tenfold. If not 'Mia–she would have been the next pawn in negotiations. Her processors cramped.

Arcee patted the kid's helm, "This is Scattershot…Yeah, she's scared of Predas."

"Of course she is."

Cypress undid her hold and removed the sparkling, holding it before the terrified femmling.

"I don't eat kids."

Cypress settled with the traumatized mechling still quietly sobbing.

Voltage side-eyed her, "What the hell, Cy? Where'd you get him from?"

Bumblebee clomped over to sit behind her.

"Mind your business."


End Credits Song: Abstract (Psychopomp)- Hozier

Maybe it's nostalgia and the latent weeb in me, but I like the idea of this song playing over the end credits but in the style of the '07 live-action movie's DVD menu.

Cut scenes from the main cast's memory refracted through a clump of crystals. A bunch of easter eggs that might not be addressed in the main storyline. That would be cool.

Happy belated 40th to my favorite comfort series in all its incarnations. Pretty sure I lost a few brain cells dealing with TF but it still feels like home.