AngelFoodCake08

@turtle-babe83 got my brain turning about accepting asks, and I'm still not sure I'm ready, however, me and my girl @leosgirl82 conducted an experimental ask.

So, without further ado, I give you my first official "ask" featuring our man in Purple 😘

18+ content - for mature audiences only!

Reblogs only, please!

Laundry Day

Ch.1: "Memories, Dear Memories" Pt 1

A/N: Mature themes are present in this chapter. You've been warned. All rights reserved!

The hand-made blue lanterns glimmer atmospherically as I strode along through the underground maze of passageways & dead ends I had specially structured to confuse those who intruded my shared domain with a half-filled crate of unprocessed Energon crystals in my arms. It was a quarter less than last time, but something is better than nothing. The lanterns' patterned covers casting illuminating shapes over everything in the cornflower light's path as if it were a veil of some kind or another while some of their lights refracted off of my cargo like a disco ball bring me comfort as I stroke along. I love walking down paths like this, it's spooky & puts most nerves on edge, but not mine. It relaxes me. After a fatigue-inducing quest like today, foraging for food & other necessities, I sigh happily at the wall beside me. Specially designed spots glint almost undetected in the dim lights as I take a gentle breathe & recite my password.

'Et neutralitatis in pace.'

The hidden twin doors fracture into intricate floral patterns as I pass through them like mist. They close silently behind me, setting back into stone as warm golds & other hues of the like light up the end of the short hallway. Little giggles can be heard from where I stood, pulling a soft smile to my face. I remember the day I found out what Megatron was planning with the sources of those giggles I have come to love, that horrible day, my birthday. Sure, he was, well, is the sort of mech who followed the least straightest path any mech would have taken in his life, but he took it too far that day. I had just finished a laborious training session with Carrier & was on my way to refuel when he caught my attention.

"Ao, my little heiress, come here for a moment, I have a surprise for you." The whole walk went differently than the usual cold, corporate walks we'd take occasionally when he needed something from me or vice versa, but that day was different. Warmer, even.

The way I saw it, it was like I was in a warm pot of water & the temperature was steadily rising, but I didn't notice it back then. I could handle myself against him on a usual basis even after a long training session, however, my curiosity got the better of me right then. The whole walk was him complimenting my rapid maturity despite being made a few years prior, how well I was accelerating in my studies, both athletically & academically with the help of Soundwave, Shockwave (Via the coms connecting us to him), & others, all that good stuff. The first stop was the meeting hall portion of the grounded ship where a small box wrapped in flushed hues & ribbons sat on the table beside a glowing cup of liquid Goodie.

"Happy Birthday, my precious heir." I was ecstatically grateful for the drinkable treat & whatever was in that box to the point of hopping up to hug my Sire's shoulders. I may not be as big as him, but I'm not as short as Carrier, I'm in between the twos' heights which makes hugging them a little tricky. I manage to do so, however, before blurring over to the box first because of my racing processer's love of the mystery that vastly outweighed my love of the addictive sweetness beside it. He knows how this goes; I get to the gift first, start playing detective, he gives vague answers, then he caves & just tells me to open it. It was a thing for us. Our thing. I miss it sometimes.

"Is it something fragile &/or alive?" I ask as I lift the box carefully at first, fretting for the safety of the possible life or lives in the femininely wrapped cube.

"Has it ever been?" I cast an unmasked look at him as he tenses.

"That was one time. One. How was I supposed to know that creature needed sunlight & water to live?" I laugh at the memory of my confused little processor as I peered into my second celebration's gift as it sat in the sealed box, a large, very wilted flower, or what I thought was a flower, the memory is missing some pieces by now. Carrier wasn't too happy about the gift's delivery to my young self, but I salvaged it quickly by taking the box to the watery area where the ship landed over, then turned to my creators who followed me worriedly, hoping that I wasn't about to do something foolish. I crossed the slab of dislodged metal laid over the parting then stop at its edge to turn back & smile at the couple who'd skidded to a halt behind me. Sunlight filtered through the weaknesses in the stone walls as slight simple vegetation peeked from the waters. Sun, water, ventilation, perfect. I defend Sire innocently as I explained it the best way I could back then.

"I like this better than one flower, Si-si. I can help it make more of itself with its leftovers." I carefully remove its seeds & summon my built-in Neko-te to make a pocket in the soil to place the future blooms carefully.

"Now, when they grow fully, I'll get to see many of them instead of one. Even if the first one died, its decedents can carry on its beauty. Life from Death."

They were stunned by my understanding of such philosophies at such an age & began letting me figure things out for myself knowing I could handle myself on a higher level than they originally thought. Those few seeds grew & evolved into uniquely stunning orchids that resemble animals & other things. Among these beauties were my favorites that I had saved the seeds from before my departure was green squids, an extinct species of bees, white egrets, doves, & my all-time favorite, the Monkey Orchid. All grew around a trine of benches I had carved out of a hunk of what I came to find was a 'precious' stone that I came across when the scouts chased away some workers who were using saws & water to cut through it on my third celebration. It was white with sweet woodruffs & mauves, deemed unworthy of the humans' time & effort solely because of its coloration whereas I saw it as a blank canvas to shape into a lovely item. I have a thing for "shaping the unprepossessing into pulchritudinous works of art", or so Sire would say. Surrounded by my garden of rarities & seated on the benches, my creators & I would sip Energon & talk. Just talk. That was rarer than the blooms around us that remain treasured memories to me.

I give the box a soft shake, hearing something rattle on the inside. Something metal. An unbridled smile whipped over my face as he laughed, amused by my reaction.

"No, it's not a miniature form of my fusion cannon nor a fission cannon. Your Carrier would have my head if she found out I gave you a ballistic weapon." He knocks at his head's covering then leans on the table, crossing his arms.

"Okay, the gift is not alive, fragile, or of the ballistic nature. It sounds like metal, but I cannot pinpoint what type or types." His smile grows a bit more as he continues to watch me play 'Birthday Detective' for the nineteenth time in my life by then. A soft tilt sent a sharp sound through the cubical container & into my audio, like blades dragging against each other.

"Are they forms of melee weapons?" I asked as a toothy grin rippled over where my other grin had slacked into a smirk. His smile pulled from audio to audio as he gives a fake look of defeat.

"No, it's a mini-bot. Just kidding, it's one of those four-legged herbivores you young femmes love so much. Just open it!"

His playful command pulled a laugh from both of us as I carefully undo the ribbons & lift the lid to see small blades, too small for me to use. 'Okay,' I thought, still appreciative for gifts no matter their sizes 'I can work with these. Maybe turn them into décor or accessories for myself &/or others. I can think of something.' I scan them over with a little light from my almond optics, yellow with red pupils that change shape accordingly.

"They're adorable! Are they accessories?" He shakes his head.

"That's the first half of your first gift. The other half is in the med bay. C'mon." he jerks his head to the now open door as I pluck up the resealed gift & canter after him. I'm sure the drink will be fine on its own for a little while. We arrive & a couple of our medics were chatting between themselves until they noticed us walking in. They warmly wish me a pleasant birthday & began gathering a few tools & another long box that looked to be a bit shorter than my forearm. 'It's my own cannon!' screeched through my mind as I stifled a bouncy walk. As if he heard my thoughts loud & clear, he bends to whisper something into my audio.

"I know you can handle ballistics better than your Carrier says you can because I taught you better. I couldn't give you this where we were because she was spying on us via her taps. I sent her on a fake mission that she could not refuse. Now, would you like your cannon on your left arm or your right? I know you are dexterous with both."

I could barely contain my giddiness as I sat on the medical cot. The medics didn't mind as it was a welcomed change of pace compared to the dreary, dreadful tasks & patients they usually faced. Sire attempts to calm me, but the head medic chuckled, fanning off his concerns.

"We don't mind, Lord Megatron. Besides, this is her very first time with such a weapon. I remember my first time with my first weapon, we all do." spoke the main medic who tended to the task of attaching my gift to me. The others collectively agree & chortle from their respective localities in the med bay as some mocked each other for acting far giddier than I was acting. I doubted that for a moment, but let it sink in that I wasn't the only hyper first-timer when it came to such things. It's humbling, to say the least, in a good way.

"Finished. Be careful, Lady Ao Andon; I'd hate to have you back here on your birthday because of your gift." I sit upright quickly after he moves from my arm to give me room to ogle my newest addition. A giggle finally breaks from behind my mask, earning chuckles from the surrounding mechs.

"Lord Megatron, Lady Nightbird is en route back to base. Greetings Lady Ao Andon." Soundwave's cassettes ran in after him carrying some weirdly shaded orange discs & offering to throw them outside of the base for me to use as target practice to which I looked over to Sire with silent pleas of hope.

"Very well, but be back in before sunset. You still have your last gift to see. Go on, before your Carrier gets here." I waste no time swooping the discs into the box my arm-mounted gift came with along with my box of weapons & allowing the few minis to hop onto my shoulders & head to speed down the halls to the vast desert fields outside of HQ. Once I put a fair distance between us & the base, I set everything down in an orderly manner for my aesthetic purposes. The last portions of daylight were spent shooting miniature beams at the discs, called 'skeets' by human hunters, & fiddling with the cannon as the cassettes kept me company, as usual. I note an out-of-place panel on the side of my weapon facing me & open it. A note was written inside of it. Strange.

Dear Ao,

I was aware of your Sire's intentions for today & found that small fractions of energy blasts do you & your skills no justice. None at all. So, I managed to alter the very weapon you wield now to better aid you in far more harrowing situations. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure them all out by yourself. Happy birthday.

-Skyfire

I smile at the note as it deleted itself. Clever Mister Skyfire, always looking out for me, almost like an older brother. It's a shame he left a few cycles before that evening or I'd thanked him by giving him my glass of Goodie. Sure enough, I had unlocked several modifications. There were fission & fusion mods, antigravity mods, size manipulators, it even launches a variety of grenades! I only knew this because of a sudden influx of data that found its way into my processor, the rest was testing. Once the testing was over, one of the cassettes drew my attention back to my box of 'accessories'.

"Oh, I almost forgot about those! Thank you, Rumble." The earth-shaking cassette handed the first twin weapons he saw out of the mixed-up artillery to me, giving little encouragements like "Do it! Do it! Do it!" & "Maybe it'll work on us, too!?" I declined the latter in fear of their safety, well-being, & an angered Soundwave then pinched the weapons between my fingers.

"These look like a good start to practice the magnifying ray on. Step back a bit, please. Thank you." After they take cover behind a rock, I set the items carefully on the ground then aim. Beams of pinks & purples lit up the dim area as a dual pair of Energon-based Sai grew into view. I sort through the rest of the weapons after giving the Sai a quick, playful test spin to grow & test out.

At the end of resizing all of them, I compile a list of weapons in my inventory: shinobigatana, dual nunchaku, endless shuriken kunai knives, kamas, crossbow with replacement strings & vast amounts of reasonably sized arrows, some of which were dipped in some sort of toxin, tanto blades, throwing knives, & finally, my particular favorite sense sparkling-hood, a Chigriki. The last one is a sleeker, more foreign cousin to a medieval mace, like Sire's, but more manageable for anyone with my build. There seemed to be more, but I ultimately decided to shrink it all down again & store them in my spacious subspace. Eventually, to mine & the cassettes' displeasure, I had to stop my inventory taking as Sire had called for me via comlink.

He did say be back before sunset, after all. The walk inside was filled with laughter & jokes about how funny I looked when testing out each of the weapons or how cool I looked when I tested the longer weapons by doing well-practiced kicks & flips, though all of their remarks ended with how far I had come since I first awoke with sentiency nearly two decades ago today. The walk ended when we stepped into the meeting room & the cassettes scattering from my shoulders, head, & empty, lengthy box I was carrying them with after noticing Carrier sitting impatiently on the long table with a displeased glint in her canary eyes. I gave them the empty box to play with as I step in & close the door behind me. Carrier peers over to Sire who was properly seated at the end of the table with a look over his faceplates. "Heyyy, Carrier! You're back from your mission early! How'd it go?" I chuckle nervously, attempting to hide my mounted weapon behind me as she cuts her glare over to Sire, who'd stood himself up by now.

"My sparkling, It is time for you to see your final gift. Come." What the Pits? Why did his mood shift so much? Carrier & Sire walk to either side of me as some bots duck into random rooms to avoid getting in their path as I glance back at them with confused, worried looks to which they could only shrug. We step into a room filled with five gestation chambers & other science equipment. They stop & angle their focuses on me in the dim room. I know he's expecting me to play detective like I always do with all of my gifts.

"Uh... I'm going to be a big sister?" I ask with an unmasked askew smile as Carrier shoots Sire another glare, jerking her head to me as if demanding something of Sire. "Yes & no." his tone is grave & heavy as I feel a weight building over my spark. I furrow my brow & unsteadily purse my lips.

"Yes, technically you are a big sister. No, because you will not act like one to your new minions." My spark went berserk in its chamber as I blink incredulously as the pieces bomb into place. The out-of-character patience & warmth, his joking, fatherly nature, the education, the weapons, all of it. He wasn't raising me as his daughter; he was grooming me into the perfect heir. I should have known better! Why didn't I see it sooner!? I was so focused on pleasing my Creators with my success that I didn't notice anything amiss until right then.

"Wait, minions? But they're my siblings, does that not make them as worthy of your time as I have been, Sire? Or of your nurturing, Carrier?" I ask, heaving my optics between the two I had grown to trust & idolize my whole life up to that point in a vain search of anything other than cold, calculating precision. Nothing. Sire turns to lock his featureless, crimson optics into mine as he spoke.

"You are better than they are, Ao. In more ways than you could ever imagine. You are the Princess of the Decepticons & the future leader of them all. You have been specially trained & taught in everything you will ever need to command effectively & perfectly. Second guesses & a guilty conscience have no place in your destined role." I saw my horrified, disbelieving expression in his shined armor as he spoke. Before he could grind my spark down any further, alarms blared as we were alerted to an attack, a possible rescue mission, executed by the Autobots themselves. As per usual, I was swiftly escorted to my lavish room but this time I was roughly shoved in & locked in there as guards stood watch at my door. I always thought they were there to protect me from possible intruders, but I realized that it was the opposite.

"Hey! Let me out! I need to go somewhere! You can't keep me here forever!" My demanding calls & pounding fists were met with silence & a distant battle. I step back & scan my living space as I grimace at the years of 'precious' memorabilia & tokens of remembrance lined neatly on pristine shelves & stands. Fractured pieces of Autobot armor & other grotesque items of the such that I had pridefully polished with Sire nearby telling Carrier how I had performed almost flawlessly in those fights. If he made a negative comment, I'd take heed & ask Carrier to help me fix that problem in our next training sessions. I see countless missions filled with a blind determination veiled & fueled by the desire for parental acclamation. Years of propaganda neatly lined the available spaces on my walls & the ceiling. Framed copied poetry I had written for my Creators that they signed & framed for me, they kept the originals, right? My focus turned to the bowl of sparks I had accumulated in my last few missions.

How many of those aboard this ship knew of my Creators' plan for me? How many of those Autobots have I hurt? How many Amica & Conjunx did I tear apart in my pursuit of my childish ego's desire? Guilt-ridden self-reproach razed the pride I once felt to ashes as I grit my denta, nipping a piece of my pointed tongue off in the process. In my manic state, I snatched a large, portable box from my 'closet' & shaped it into its intended shape. I swoop the sparks into a dense, safe container & set it in first towards the middle then carefully arrange everything to where it would all fit. Before sealing the box securely, I took the time to scrawl a note down. Hopefully, they don't shred it or throw the box away without seeing its contents first.

Dear Autobots,

A wave of long overdue enlightenment has recently washed over me & tore the veil from my view to shine a blinding light on the atrocities of my actions in my foolish pursuits. I cannot bring your fallen comrades back to you, but I can return what I have stolen. These were never mine to keep nor to display in my chambers like trophies. I pray that you may find it in your sparks to forgive me for my actions. If not, I will accept whatever you have to throw at me, no matter what it may be. I only ask that if you do come for me, take my siblings under your wings as I no longer trust those who've taught me everything I know & influenced all I've done. I do not wish for them to grow into what I have become if they grow at all. Thank you for not shredding this letter.

P.S: Mister Skyfire, thank you for the bonus modifications to my gift. I will use it as honorably as possible. Thank you for your contribution.

Signed, Ao Andon, the rebel Decepticon princess.

I scratch a line through the affiliation part & lay the note neatly on top of the gathered items, sealing it well. I slide it to the side, ignoring the sounds of battle drawing near me. I scan the room again grabbing whatever I deemed valuable; my data pads with vast storage, writing tools, two blankets, another datapad filled with all the medical & scientific studies I'd ever need that I had gathered in my free time over my life span, a thumb drive, some Energon cubes I had stored for late-night snacks during study sessions, pillows I had sewed myself from random wraps of fabric I discovered on the side of the old roads during my rare solo flights, a book on sparklings I 'borrowed' from Skyfire before he left, & finally a small, square box with a hinged lid; stuffing it all into a sack. I notice a framed iconically themed photograph of our 'family' portrait in the cutesy frame I had made in my fourth or fifth year of living & grimace.

"Frag it all!" I cursed aloud as the frame was hurled into the wall, shattering on impact. 'No time for tears, femme. Rescue your siblings & make a break for it before they break you.' With my mission in mind, I slap a hastily made ribbon onto the box of parts, shrink the gathered items into my subspace, then aim my newest weapon to the barrier.

"Heads up!" I shriek as I blast my fission ray through the door, narrowly missing the small, yellow Autobot & the twosome of door guards who were trying to acquire him. I blink at my cannon then at the guards as they ran to me in an attempt to contain me.

"Nope!" I sibilated, snatching the pair into my anti-gravity beam & hoist them into the ceiling roughly.

"Need some help there, lil' guy!?" I called over their angered protests as the little yellow Autobot smiled at me. After locking the tied-up pair into my ex-chambers, the bot quickly introduced himself as Bumblebee. I don't recall him ever being present during a battle of mine before.

"That's a nice name, I'm Ao Andon." He stares at me in horror before he babbles out my disgraced title. "Not anymore. If you need something, tell me now because I got friends to bust out before they're born."

We race down the halls as he follows me closely, explaining that they were there because one of their own had been taken during a sting operation & he needed to find the brigs quickly. I skid to a halt in a three-way split hall & point to the left one.

"Go down this hall, hang two lefts, a right, then go straight. The elevator shaft will take you directly to where you need to go. While I have you, here." I summon the condensed consolation gift & set it in his hand. "If you get back to base, set this on a spacious floor & step back. It is my way of apologizing for my mistakes." He struggles to form a proper sentence other than "But!" & "Why?" before stray shots ricochet our way.

"There's no time for questions, Bumblebee, go!" We split into opposite directions to our destinations until I reach mine, where two other Autobots stood, attempting to get in.

"Sky, I thought you said you knew the code to get into this one!?" Spoke the sleek, optic-catching mech as he peered carefully around the corner, literally dodging bullets as Skyfire fiddled frantically with the code pad to the door of my resting, unborn siblings' dwelling.

"It's not my name anymore, Mister Skyfire!" I call over the sound of flying ballistics. He stares slack-jawed at me as he looks me over.

"Ao! What are you doing out of your chambers!?" a bullet ricochets off the wall behind him, but he dodges it habitually.

"What does it look like I'm doing!? I'm Rebelling! Starting with freeing my siblings!" I kneel next to him as I type in my birthday nearly twenty years ago. The doors coast apart effortlessly as Skyfire drags the other mech into the lab for cover while I aim my cannon at the pack of shooters who're caught off-guard by my sudden appearance. I don't want to kill anymore, so I blast them with an EMP blast, knocking them unconscious instantly.

"Yo, Sky, who's your friend?" The mech asks rubbing his arm where a tear was visible. Right, Sire didn't let me do missions with him if the main Autobots were present, so a good few don't know who I am.

"I am Ao Andon, ex-princess of the Decepticons. Nice to meet you, sir. It's good to see you again Mister Skyfire, thank you for designing my cannon." I quickly answer as I shoot to the large computer & insert my innate data cord into the port of the computer, accessing all of its information quickly with some trouble.

"She's way cooler than you described her, Sky! The name's Jazz, Ao. You can drop the whole 'sir' thing." I smirk at this mech's pure open-mindedness as the download finishes in record time. My cord zips back to its place just under my breastplate then I turn to the chambers as they switch from their vertical stands to recline into horizontal stances.

"Alright." I huff tensely watching as the five chambers turn into their emergency mobile settings for easy transportation.

"Let's get you sparklings out of here." I stated as I activate my cannon to shrink the chambers & their contents into truly portable tablets of joy. They fit in my hands as I smile compassionately to them as the light from the computer showed their outlines through the green goop they're growing in.

"Hello, my siblings." I murmur with a newfound sentiment I barely ever felt.

"I hate to break up your reunion, Ao, but we got company coming, fast." Jazz points to the in-lab security screens as it shows Bitstream, Skywarp, & more heading straight for us.

"Jeez! Can't those two pick someone else to browbeat!?" groaned Skyfire as I wrapped my siblings' containers in cotton & gauze for padding. I turn my soft gaze to Skyfire as he notices my odd look while approaching him.

"Let me handle those bogies, you two get whatever you were after in here. Skyfire, I am entrusting you with these. Please, protect them as best you can. Excuse me." He cradles the bundled tubes of soon-to-be-joy in his hands while Jazz makes a beeline for the computer, cheering me on briefly before focusing on the screen. Skyfire set his hand on my shoulder, clutching his hopefully temporary responsibilities to his glass chest.

"Ao, be careful."

"Always am, Sky-fi." My cannon churrs in anticipation of violence while I bite back that thirst for the acts I had grown disdainful of. 'No. No killing. Only stunning.' I step into the hall & plant my pedes firmly as the jets transform ahead of me with the floor of stasis-driven 'cons at our pedes. I make quick, nonlethal work of them & make a path for the two mechs who're following at my heels, ultimately ending after I blast the door to the hanger off, revealing the desert scene in broad daylight. Skyfire & Jazz skid to a halt at either side of me, staring at the trail of stasis napping 'cons behind us.

"Memories, Dear Memories" Pt 2

A/N: Mature themes are present in this chapter. You've been warned. All rights reserved!

"Slag! It's Sire!" I turn to Skyfire, glancing between him & the wad of medical dressings before we lock optics. He nods & leans to speak to Jazz on my other side.

"Let's roll, Jazz. You got this, Ao. Kick his aft for us!" I nod doggedly as he & Jazz slide down the rocky slope to the ground where the other Autobots had just busted from the back exit after one of the two contacted them about their half of the mission completed like the others did. A warning shot skims my shoulder as I wince, turning to face my Sire with Carrier not too far behind him. My mask folds back to show my uncontainable black look as he stops at the mouth of what was left of the door while I stood on the edge of the slope, undaunted & unflinching.

"Ao Andon, go back to your room, now." His commanding tone that I confused for caring a few hours ago booms from the new mouth of the base as I shuffle backward to let my heels edge over the end.

"No." My own dour, truculent tone flares his already waspish nature as he charges his cannon & takes aim.

"You have 'til the count of three. One," I notice a familiar fighter jet screaming around the base as it turns to aim its weapons at me in my peripheral. I never had a real buddy-buddy relationship with him, but I was always respectful to him, especially when Sire beat him as I saw it as unfair & gratuitous on Sire's part.

"Two," I drop my gripping hand from my shoulder's leaking wound, leaving my whole midsection unshielded & stare him down belligerently.

"What? You're going to shoot your 'better heir'? Good luck starting all over again, Lord Megatron." Venom seethed from my words & bubbled over the sides as I churr out a mocking

"Then do it, Sire!". He bears his denta, gnashing them furiously as Carrier drops her shaking head. He grits out an enraged tone.

"Three!" as he & Starscream shoot at the same time, their blasts crossing & making an unstable structure, blinding them. Giving me the critically needed getaway opportunity only Lady Luck could deliver. I leap off of the cliff & take off, still in my bipedal form, right as the structure combusted violently, knocking my flight pattern off for a moment. I yelp in shock before regaining my stability & soaring quickly into ascension, behind the mounting grey clouds.

"Ao!" I look over my undamaged shoulder to spot a blue jet nearly identical to Starscream's build following me closely; Thundercracker. He taught me to read & write, encouraged me to start journaling my life a few weeks into it, snuck me several fairy tale tablets, he even 'mistakenly' left some history books written from the Autobot side of things. This might have been what jump-started my questioning of the world I was raised in, even when Sire- Megatron dismissed my questions & observations, twisting them onto me by filling my young processor with horror stories about what the Autobots would do if they ever found me or hunted me down. Other 'cons lent their own stories about other Autobots that they had fought against & rarely 'made it out alive', this reinforced the fear & hatred imposed onto me at a young age. This worked for a long while, but not anymore, not for the most part.

"Ao! Stop!" He calls again, switching to his bipedal form to fly backwards effortlessly beside me while opening his palms to me.

"Ao, please!" The pained expression in my optics met his own as my mask claps back for him to see the rest of my turbulent bearing. I straighten midair as my own jets keep me afloat. He shoots ahead before readjusting himself to be at least three or four yards from me.

"For what, Thundercracker!? To give him another chance!? To go back to the life of a 'princess' who is forced into using her own siblings as fodder & minions!? What should I stop for!? As far as I know, everything you ever read to me or gave me to read on my own has been lies!" I couldn't help but scream at the top of my vocalizer as the shrill cries echoed across the vast skies, coolants threatening to fall as he cringes from the sharp, anguished words spilling from my usually quiet intake.

"I don't know who to trust right now & having you block my escape isn't making it any easier for me to figure that out. Move." I demand as I steal a quick glance at the pack of brightly colored vehicles & the low flying plane carrying the precious cargo from between the brief break in the storm. Thundercracker doesn't seem to take heed of my demand, even after I point my cannon at him.

"Ao-chan, I know how you feel about that firearm, & I know you're not going to shoot me. You're not going to hurt me or anyone, you never liked doing so in the first place. It's not you." His soft expression & wings easing into a patient position hauls my feelings from their grave I had crammed them into years ago when I vicariously learned that 'love' & 'romance' had no place in war or the life of a Decepticon leader to be. My lips purse as his words ring in my processor bittersweetly. Thundercracker, my reading teacher, the first one to show me genuine kindness, my first & currently only spark throb though he only saw me as a favored student of the literary arts, that's it. He's right, I could never hurt him. My anguished, dolorous spark is surely throbbing now, but he's mistaking my unrequited feelings as some sort of youth-driven sense of rebellion & estrangement. I clutch my chest while lowering my cannon as it powered down.

"There, see?" He begins to close the gap between us as I finally run out of strength to hold back the coolants now streaming down my faceplates & attempting to choke back sobs only to hiccup a few times with the sobs to boot. My jets begin to fail me as Thundercracker comes closer. My shoulders hike up suddenly as I shout loudly.

"No!" I use my gravity disruptor to grab him, flinging him back into the direction he came from. I blast off full speed in the same direction as Skyfire & his new team were going, but my spark began having emotional complications that forced me to land behind a large rock formation with a sizable divot at the base where I huddled into the shade. How did I get so weak so quickly!? There, in my temporary hiding place, I finally broke. Curled in as tight as I possibly could do, hidden in the shade & hollowed spot facing oppositely from the road the Autobots are on, I bawl my sorrows away while holding my hand over my intake to muffle my screeching cries of inner pain that I had been denying for my whole life.

My frame racked, my spark panged in its chamber, my body refused to calm down, I was a mess. I just shifted until my fore helm was pushed to the wall my damaged shoulder was grinding against & stayed like that until a gentle tapping came to my shoulder. I yelped in fear of it being Megatron or Carrier, which it wasn't. In their place stood a femme with a bright pink & white color pallet looking at me with an unusual amount of what I assumed was pity or something... nicer? Sympathy? Compassion? It's unusual for me as I had never seen a pure amount of it that wasn't being used as bait or some other underhanded reason.

"Oh! I'm sorry, young one, I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you hurt? Did someone hurt your intake?" Her solicitous voice felt right, somehow. I push myself off of the wall weakly & choke back a few sobs, still clasping my intake. My to & fro head movement answered one of her questions but I angle my damaged shoulder to her abashedly as small sparks flicker from being shot into exposure & shoved against the course stone I encased myself under.

"Ouch! That looks like it hurts. Let me-" I recoil from her reach, unintentionally ramming my damaged part into the rocky surface again, whimpering vehemently.

"Mm-mm!" I muffle through my servo as curl tighter into myself. She, too, flinches & apologizes for her rash action. I merely sniffle in reply. She stands slowly, asking me to give her a moment of thought as she mindfully strides around the structure before trotting over to someone. I can't hear everything but I hear a familiar voice tell her not to worry.

"Hey, Double-A. What's up?" Jazz leans into my view as I sniffle again.

"You ran out of juice?" His smooth vocals & calm demeanor soothe me enough to remove my servo from my intake with an innate hiss from peeling the appendage from my lower faceplates.

"N-no." I choke out as I wrap my arms around my legs like the frightened sparkling I was.

"Well, what's happen'en? Some hosers baggin' on you?" I take a moment to put my years of secretly listening to broadcasts of places like MTV to use; from what I can tell, he's asking me what the latest events were & if some bullies were talking bad about me. I lift the back of my condensation-coated servo to wipe away my tears as I began to piece things together as best I could.

"I just rebelled against everyone I knew because my Si- because he wanted me to use my unborn siblings like fodder & pawns because I am somehow 'better' than they are. I had to confront one of my teachers, who views me as a simple student, whom I threw back to my only known home before finding my way right here to cry my sorry little spark out." He stares at me through his shiny, blue visors in silence as he digested everything I just said before humming stiffly.

"That is extremely molded, kid." Yeah, it is a bad situation, thanks for noticing.

"You're leader, this 'Optimus Prime' guy, is he going to hurt me?" I asked as he rocks onto his heels from his crouching position with a dumbfounded look. "Nah, that's not him at all! OP is totally legit, no foolin'. He isn't going to hurt you, especially when you're already hurt like this." He gestures to my wound as it casts wavering flashes of light against the dim space.

"What about that Doctor of Doom? Or the warrior femme whose Conjunx with Optimus?" "Who? Ratchet & Elita? They're cool. If OP tells them to back off then they will." He pauses to press the side of his helm then furrow his optic ridges in worry.

"I hate to cut our game of Twenty Questions short, but you just have to take my word for it; our base is chill. We gotta jet, now." I blink away the tears & scramble from my spot.

"Why? Who's coming?" I frantically search the deeply leaden nimbus clouds overhead for a flyer only for Carrier to slam into the side of my hiding spot skillfully, not caring for stealth at that moment. Thunder boomed across the scene as I gawk at her form outlined in lightning before bearing my denta.

"I'm not going back & you can't make me! So just dash back to Megatron!" I snarl as Jazz tenses, calling to the femme from earlier for back-up, spurring her to skid around the structure & dodge Carrier's throwing stars. "Stop that!" I summon the shielding mod in my armor then set it around me & my two companies.

"You have no right to attack them! They've been nothing but nice to me!" She matter-of-factly points to my shoulder until I snap at her.

"Megatron did this & you just stood aside & let him do it! No arm pull, no interruption, nothing!" My typically red doughy circles slashed through the yellows to form harsh, cutting slits, driving home my point. A shot rang with the thunder as water began to fall to the earth, as did Carrier. I open my intake in shock as the shields drop from around Jazz & the femme. Habitually, I move to help her up & tend to the large gunshot on her left waist but I stop after one step.

'She's just as bad as he is. You shouldn't help her or even consider it. She is just as bad as he is.' The reminder percussed over the sky's tumulted dirge as I wince at her writhing form in the wet, orange soil. I look over my shoulder to Jazz while covering my own wound to shield it from the heavy moister.

"I'll be taking your word about that base now, Mister Jazz, sir." Another pink femme landed behind me as I flinch away from her & her brandished shotgun, outlined in foreboding lightning & water washing over her slightly darker pink person.

"U-uh, greetings?" I chuckle out nervously as the first pink femme came by my side swiftly.

"Thanks for the save, Elita!" I look to the first one in shock before looking back to Elita, fear readily prevalent in my optics as they morph back into dewy circles. Jazz passes us three quickly, splashing by as he goes.

"Elita, Ao, Ao, Elita, Arcee, Ao, Ao, Arcee. Now that the introductions are out of the way, we got company!" He points to the jet shapes above us as they careen into our direction. A disdainful groan ripped from my vocalizer as I spot Dirge, Thrust, & Ramjet heading straight for us.

"Those three!" I hiss disdainfully as I activate my gravity disruptor again. If I remember correctly, these three take after Starscream's easily upset tank. Let's give them a spin, shall we?

"I got these birdies!" I call over to the arguing trio who disagreed with whether to trust me or not to trust me as I pluck the three from the air & smirk at their surprised reactions. Right, they haven't seen me use my cannon yet! Lucky me! They look at me, standing nearly less than half a mile away, smugly waving. They catch on fast & shake their heads with pleading optics to which I nod mischievously. My jets blare under me after I signal the trio to step back for their own good which they do thanks to Arcee's pulling. Once I was level with the three who always bullied me, my smug nature faltered into a grave ambiance.

"This can go one way or the other, it depends on how you three-" Thrust & Dirge bark off comments about their 'dominating' selves as Ramjet tries to free himself to do as his name suggests. So rude! I give a quick jerk of my arm as if I were fishing for large-mouthed fish, whipping them through the air, narrowly avoiding a streak of electricity that might've cooked them cosmetically if it struck them head-on.

"As I was saying,-" I began again as they trembled in my grasp "-how you behave is how I treat this moment & you three in general as of right now. If you're decent, then I'll let you fly back to base to make up a story for Megatron to hear. I don't care what the story is, as long as you sell it." I scan them as they begin to show signs of calming down, though they were very slight. "If you're jerks, as per usual, then I'll fling you through those canyons over there until you're so hurt that someone'll have to tow you back to base. Well?" I glance between the trine of coneheads.

"We'll be good." They said in unison as I squint suspiciously at them. Their servos are clasped together, they're in a vulnerable spot, even they know it's foolish or dimwitted to challenge me now.

"Alright. Go back to base & do not look back." They vanish above the clouds again while their engines rev off behind them & their loud arguing. I turn & begin to descend back to the three Autobots before a sudden sound catches my attention; the sound of a souped-up trio of engines roaring my way. Dimwits!

"Take cover!" I call over the thunderous sounds as I shoot across the little impound of rocks, dodging Ramjet narrowly, who rammed himself cone first into a tall shape of rocks sending the Autobots into cover. My split panicked processer didn't think quick enough & I was shot in my damaged shoulder by Dirge. Thrust zips ahead of me as they all turn their focus to me.

"So, the canyon it is then." I glare as the three blast towards me. I evade the attack as they slam into each other then make a beeline for the distant canyons.

"Go ahead, I'll catch up!" I shout to the three friendlies as they transform & speed of, except for Elita who stood & watched me block each attack with her bright optics gashing through the dim scene. I make a lap around another natural structure to goat them into following me as I blur to the large fracture in the Earth's surface. Those three hate tight places but I've grown quite skilled in them. I touchdown roughly with one pede landing in the shallow water coursing through the fissure as I duck behind some boulders for cover.

"I told you she'd go down there!" Dirge's voice echoed over the walls as Thrust & Ramjet snip back at him while I try to make a game plan to smoke these pointy-headed- wait, smoke! I roll my right wrist to summon the magnetic rings of smoke bombs from their cases. Got it!

"Yo, pointy tops!" I mock, stepping out from my hiding spot & activating my smoke bomb launcher to land headshots on them. The pieces that stuck caused the smoke to remain around their faces while I used my fission cannon to widen the gap beneath them then pull them into the tighter stones for a stony conehead sandwich. With smoke still in their faces, they curse me as I resized the gap for a tighter fit & blur off back to Elita who had cuffed Carrier & placed her in my hiding spot.

"Thank you for not vanquishing my Carrier, Miss Elita, I'm sure Megatron will be out looking for her soon enough." I spoke as I flinched from her glare. She doesn't trust me, got it.

"You'll be caught faster flying than driving. Can you transform into a ground-based alt?" Her cold tone starkly contrasted the other two as I lift my undamaged shoulder into a shrug.

"I can try." I jog to the road & look around until I see a broken down van of some kind sitting on the side of the road though it was mostly intact. I scan it & make some minor adjustments until it fits my build. It wasn't too bad for my first grounded alt, honestly. I looked like a sturdy van with my color scheme over it, though my wound was still present on the door.

"How do I look?" I ask as she pulls up beside me in her bipedal form.