Primus Promise

Ch. 1: Discovery

The base had been abandoned quickly with the autobots arrival. There were no signs of the unnatural intruders. Dragons were supposed to be myth and legend. Nobody could explain their natural existence, not even a Cybertronian historian or scientist. There were many theories for their existence. They could have been lost sparks that had taken formation. They could have been the early ancestors on Cybertron and that human forms had been their evolutionary form. They even went so far as to say that seekers were the closest ancestors to dragons. Of course there was never a conclusion and dragons were in near extinction from the Great War.

The team split up to look around the base and see if anything was useful. Optimus Prime went into a room that looked like it could be used by a scientist. Lots of equipment were scattered over the counters and floor. There was a monitor present and Optimus pressed down on the surface and was surprised to feel that it was very warm from recent use. He pressed several buttons and finally it turned on. The screen showed several tabs with files on them. One of them read: Elisa I.

He clicked it and a video appeared on the screen. The camera was pointed at a small dragon that was a light blue color with a dark blue helm.

"We are starting to begin the first stage of progression. Elisa is one week two days of age. Injections of steroids to increase growth starting now." The narrator stated. The small dragon in question, or Elisa was shown held down to a table by the large claws of an adult. The sparkling squealed in pain at the injection and instantly started snapping at the retraction of the needle.

Optimus turned off the footage and scanned the key pad again. CLANK! Optimus instantly retracted his gun as he looked for the source of the sound. He heard a light continuous clap of something hitting the ground so he kneeled down and his optics blinked in surprise at what his optics found. The little dragon was staring at him with bright blue optics and was shaking. He shifted his weapon back to his servo and cautiously approached the dragon so as not to scare it. He retracted his face mask as well to appear less menacing.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He said gently. The dragon continued to shake as it cautiously went forward to his outstretched servo. The dragon dragged itself forward and it finally sniffed him. Optimus patiently waited and finally it licked his fingers in recognition that he wasn't a threat. Still, he slowly walked forward until he was finally close enough and carefully pulled the dragon into his arms. He held it as a human would with a new born, but still the dragon squeaked in pain. He gently placed the sparkling on the table and was able to see why.

The back of her neck was completely torn open down from the start of her helm to the start of her back, a little past her shoulders. The wound looked dirty and covered in crusted blood. It could possibly be infected.

"Optimus do you read?" Arcee spoke through the com link.

"What is it Arcee?" He answered.

"We found a decent supply of energon in one of the storage vaults, all cubed up and ready to go." She said excitedly.

"Excellent Arcee. Ratchet lock onto Arcee's coordinates and activate the groundbrige."Optimus said. He returned his attention back to the dragon and it looked up at him with curious optics. "Hello Elisa." He said and she reacted instantly. She jumped to her feet, but whimpered when she fell back down. Her body must be weak. "Ratchet I require your assistance. Bring your medical kit and a flash drive." He ordered.

"Are you hurt Optimus?" Ratchet asked in concern.

"No, but someone else is. I'll explain it when you get here." He answered. He traced his fingers over the sparkling to try and comfort her. She managed to lick his servo every once and while and she did crawl closer to his form. Ratchet appeared a few moments later with his medical kit in on his back and a flash drive in his servo. His optics instantly saw the dragon.

"By the Allspark." He whispered in amazement. "Optimus, do you know what this is?" Ratchet asked still amazed as he walked over to him.

"It's dragon sparkling Ratchet. I found her here." He answered.

"Her?"

"The files on the monitor are what I need the flashdrive for. I watched one of them and they said her name is Elisa." Optimus explained.

"How is she hurt?" Ratchet asked looking over at her. Elisa had scooted over to Prime's side, afraid of the new comer.

"The back of her neck is torn. I fear the wound might be infected." Optimus answered. He gently picked up Elisa back into his arms and showed the wound to Ratchet, who flinched at the condition of it.

"I'll take a look here." Ratchet handed the flashdrive to Optimus while he set Elisa down on the table again. She instantly bit him. "Ouch." Ratchet snapped and shook his hand.

"Introduce yourself. Hold out your hand. She's just frightened Ratchet." Optimus explained gently. The medic grumbled in reply as Prime set to work on the files. He did as he was told and the dragon sniffed him this time and she finally submitted to him. He gave her a light pat and set to work, by putting the medical kit on the table. He gently applied antiseptic to the wound to clean it out and the dragon just wailed in pain.

"It's alright. It's alright." Ratchet whispered and he rubbed her side to calm her down as she continued to whimper. He was very gentle with her and eventually her cries died down.

"Optimus all the energon is at the base." Arcee spoke.

"Ratchet and I will join you shortly lock onto our coordinates and send a ground bridge." Optimus said while looking at the monitor. It opened quickly and the two retreated back to base. The sparkling was in Prime's arms as the bridge powered down.

"What is that!?" Smokescreen shouted in surprise. The dragon instantly became alert and hissed at the other autobots baring her teeth.

"It's a dragon sparkling. What else?" Ratchet snapped at him.

"I thought they didn't exist." He said confused. Ratchet blinked in surprise as he realized Smokescreen was just too young to know about the dragon legends.

"They became nearly extinct during the war on Cybertron. A few scattered into space to survive, while others joined both the decepticons and autobots, but because of their mythical properties they were never fully trusted on either party and the fled." Ratchet explained.

"What's a sparkling doing at that base?" Arcee said as she walked over to Optimus. Elisa hissed again, but stopped when Arcee held out her servo. Optimus lowered her down so she could sniff her and after she did, Elisa just stared at her in curiosity.

"Bebebe boop buuummm." Bee said. Elisa instantly looked at the scout because of the sounds he made. She let out a little high pitch roar that sounded almost like a music note at him and Arcee chuckled.

"Yeah I know we saw dragons in the place, but they left just as soon as we got there. They were obviously in a rush and left a few things behind." Arcee said. Elisa made a roar again a Bee and looked at him with curios optics. "I think she's trying to talk to you Bee."

"Wheeep!" He said surprised and Elisa turned her head at him, making Arcee laugh again.

"It doesn't seem like she hasn't heard those sounds before." Ratchet walked past Arcee and went to get Elisa again. She huddled in the medic's arms as he took her into the medical bay.

"So what's it's name?" Bulkhead asked.

"Elisa. I found some files on the lab that she was in. It seems as if they were experimenting on her." Optimus stated.

"But she's a sparkling!" Arcee protested.

"I'll have to watch the other files and see if there is anything conclusive." Optimus said calmly as he plugged in the flashdrive. The others looked over at Ratchet who was trying to heal a whimpering dragon. She was laying on her stomach as Ratchet worked with pinchers to remove dead skin from her wounds.

"Why isn't she leaking energon?" Bulkhead asked, seeing that her blood was actually red.

"Dragons are more organic than mechanical. Instead of wires and cables, she has muscle and bone. I have thoroughly studied the science surrounded dragons since they were around during my time, but I never thought I would actually use it." Ratchet explained.

"Can you tell how old she is?" Smokescreen asked looking at the dragon curiously.

"No, maybe Optimus can find something on those files." Ratchet answered. Finally the wound was clean and it naturally started bleeding again. He pulled out some pain killers and Elisa snapped at him. "Easy Elisa." He said calmly. The dragon growled at him, but she was staring at the needle.

"Hey take it easy." Smokescreen said before he grabbed hold of her snout and held her down.

"Smokescreen, don't hold her so tight." Ratchet ordered before he injected them into her. The race car slowly released her, but she didn't react.

"She's inebriated Smokescreen. The pain killers will make her sleepy." Ratchet explained. He turned around and faced everybody. "Also, nobody touches that energon we found at the base until I clear that it's stable and un-tampered with." He ordered and returned to the dragon.

He found that Elisa was six months old now and heavily subjected to abuse. He couldn't see what her captors looked like and he certainly hoped that it wasn't her creators who had hurt her. She was malnourished and her wings had some damage to them as well. Her wounds were not infected as they had been somewhat treated, though very minimally in Ratchet's opinion. She slept heavily, so Ratchet was able to give her a full physical examination.

Ratchet also found that she hadn't bonded with her creators.

When a creator bonds with their sparklings their spark shows a circle of energy and has a very strong heartbeat. Elisa had no energy and her spark was weak. Not to mention that Optimus had no idea as to who her creators were from the files he saw. The others were a little nervous of having the sparkling, but they had to go along with it as she had nowhere else to go and she couldn't be released out into the wild here because on earth dragons were myths. She had her nice light blue coloring and she had a little bit of red strips in her wings, after Ratchet cleaned her up. Everyone laughed at the medic fusing over the dragon who just wanted to play and splash away.

Finally Optimus held onto her as Ratchet looked over the energon. After over an hour of studying it, it was cleared to be of use to the others and Ratchet instantly set to work to make a formula for the sparkling. He gave Optimus a small liquid cube a few minutes later.

"Slowly Optimus. I don't want her to choke or purge because Primus only knows the last time she refueled." He said. Arcee had the biggest grin on her face to see her own leader, the high and mighty Optimus Prime, sitting down and feeding a dragon sparkling. The dragon let out a small hum as it grabbed hold of the cube.

"Auuuoooo." Bee said.

"I know, she's so cute." Arcee said. Optimus paused every so often to make sure she swallowed properly and then feed her again. When she pushed the cube away he gave to Ratchet, who kept it in cooling. She let out a little mumbled of something and Bulkhead laughed.

"I think she burped." He chuckled.

"Bulkhead would you like a look at her? She needs to meet you too." Optimus said. Bulkhead walked over to the sparkling and she looked at him in pure curiosity. He held out one of his big fingers and she started rubbing against them to get some attention.

"You're a winner Bulk" Arcee said with a pat on the back. Smokescreen approached her and she warmed up to him this time.

"So what are we going to do with her?" He asked.

"Raise her as one of our own. She's already had a very difficult start." Optimus answered.

"So we're keeping her?" He said and Arcee whacked his shoulder. "What?!" He snapped.

"She's a sparkling not a pet rookie." Arcee snapped at him. Both bots turned to Prime when she gave her little roar. She was trying to squirm out of Prime's arms, but he made sure not to let her go.

"Watch it you two." Ratchet said. "Dragons are highly sensitive beings. They can sense your energy field and know when there is someone in distress." Ratchet explained. "It's even been said that some of them can actually see energy fields as well."

"Weeeppp bebe booom?" Bee asked.

"Well, it's never actually been proven since we can't exactly see in a dragon's optics now can we?" Ratchet stated. Elisa was calmly down and was starting to fall asleep in Prime's arms.

"So who's going to watch her?" Arcee asked a little nervously.

"I will watch her for tonight Arcee. We must decide what to do about taking care of her in the morning." Optimus said and with that he left for his room. He suddenly realized he didn't exactly have a proper bed for the sparkling. He gently placed her on the bed and she only stirred slightly as he thought of what to do. He finally got another blanket from storage and bundled it up into a little ball for Elisa to sleep on. When he picked her up again she flipped over in his servos and started licking his chasis. "Hello Elisa." He said as he sat down on his berth.

He waved his fingers in front of her and she gently nipped at them, knowing he was playing with her. He had to smile at the presence of an innocent mind. He gently placed her down on her makeshift bed and made sure she was covered. Ratchet's healing showed as the stitches to her neck were sturdy and clean. He rubbed her helm a few times and she hummed in approval as she got comfy and fell back to sleep. Not too later Optimus did the same.

Ch. 2: Parents

Optimus awoke the next morning on his side and Elisa wasn't in his sight. He instantly became alert, but the feeling passed just as quickly as it came as he saw the little sparkling was nestle into a ball by his side. He took a moment to look at her. Her helm looked a lot like his with the pointed antenna and dark blue color. Her body was mostly a nice sky blue; she had curved spikes along her back which were a neutral black. There were small stripes on her wings, but they were mostly light blue as well. Her breathing was normal and she occasionally flinched while she slept from her dreams.

"Elisa." Optimus whispered and her optics slowly opened and blinked a few times at the light. He got up out of the berth and gently picked up the sparkling, who whined in protest. He went out into the medical bay where Ratchet was already on one of the monitors, probably doing research. He got the cube out from yesterday and Elisa instantly warmed up at the sight of food.

"How was she last night?" Ratchet asked as he walked over to Prime.

"No problems Ratchet. She was by my side when I woke this morning." He answered as he slowly fed her. "Have any of the others woken yet?" He asked.

"No, just you of course." Ratchet answered. She had finished her cube and looked up at Ratchet. When he stared back at her, she did her little music roar and tried to go to him. He took her quickly before she could fall and she started to lick his chest plates. "Stop that." He protested, but she just ignored him.

"I think she's bonding with you." Optimus commented. The medic let out a sigh of frustration.

"I don't see why." He mumbled.

"We were the first two people she saw and we've treated her much better than her captors have. It's a normal reaction Ratchet." Optimus explained.

"I'm not a creator." He whined and instantly ate those words when Elisa started to get comfy in his arms and she let out a small burp, making him laugh. He blinked in surprise and Optimus just looked up at him. "What?" He snapped.

"Did you find anything of use?" He asked nodding over to the monitor. They both walked over to it and Ratchet open a file to him.

"It's some of the data I had from when we were still on Cybertron. It's nothing big, but it's some of my basic notes on the dragons. Here." He handed a data pad to Optimus. "She likes you more so you might want to read this." He explained. As Optimus read Ratchet checked up on Elisa's wounds. "Her wounds are healing nicely. I should be able to take the stiches out in a day or two." Ratchet said and Optimus nodded, still reading. When Ratchet was done and putting his tools away Elisa stood up on all fours. She looked around the small base for a few moments and spotted Optimus. She squeaked to get his attention, but he was so engrossed in his reading he didn't hear her. When her cries didn't work Elisa started to flap her wings. Ratchet looked up at the sound and was surprised to see the baby so active. The only problem was being a sparkling she couldn't fully open her wings up for another few months. She jumped off edge of the table and lasted only a few feet before she fell hard on the floor before either mech could react.

"Elisa!" Ratchet shouted in concern snapping Optimus out of the notes. This time her cry was a high-pitch roar that sounded like a sad screech. Optimus picked her up first and she started licking him for comfort.

"It's alright Elisa. Sssshhhh." Optimus rubbed her back to comfort her and she finally calmed down.

"I told you she likes you more." Ratchet snapped.

"What happened?" Smokescreen said from behind them. Both mechs turned around and he waved good morning at them.

"Elisa just fell that's all." Ratchet answered first.

"Awww poor thing. Hey Elisa." Smokescreen said and walked over to Prime. He waved his fingers in front of her and she playfully bit at them, making Optimus hand her over to him. He laughed at how playful she was. "She's got some nice colors. Even her helm looks like you're Optimus." He said as he continued to play with her. He tapped her nose playfully and she looked at him confusion he did it again and she tried to catch his servo with her own.

"Watch out for her claws Smokescreen. She maybe playful, but their sharp." Ratchet warned.

"'K Ratchet." He said and he didn't raise his servo so high after that. The other quickly got up soon after and they watched Elisa for a little bit before going on patrol, which included Optimus. Ratchet made sure to watch her as she wandered on the floor, looking and sniffing everything new, plus he didn't want to trip over her. Being so small she could crawl up to the second level in the base and looked around their too. She let out her more peaceful roar when she appeared above the keyboard Ratchet was working on. He gave her a little pat before going back to work. She stayed that way for another hour as Ratchet looked over his notes to find any more information, when she started to whimper.

"What's wrong Elisa?" She continued to look at him in despair. "Are you hungry? Do you want food?" He asked slowly, but she didn't respond to the words. When he tried to reach her she avoided his grip and hurried down the stairs. "Elisa!" Ratchet watched her as she ran into the groundbridge portal, which was off for the moment. She laid down in the glass floor and whimpered again. He blinked in surprise when he realized what was wrong. He gently picked up the sparkling and she kept looking at him and then back at the portal. "It's alright Elisa. Optimus will be back soon I promise." He whispered gently to her.

He was petting her helm when he saw a smudge on it. He went and got a rag to clean it, but she yelped in protest. He looked at it more closely and saw that it was actually a mark of some kind. "By the Allspark." He whispered as he realized what it was. This wasn't just any mark. It was a marking in the language of the Primes. How was this possible? He had never heard of a dragon having these kind of marks, but this could only mean one thing though.

Elisa was going to grow up and be a Prime. It was possible because with dragons, Primes were actually a breed of them. Unlike the humans where one had to earn the title, it was a common occurrence to see a Prime Dragon. The most distinct trait was their helm as it looked just like Optimus' helm. The most common were male Primes. Males were more valuable as they continued the family and female Primes appeared less and less. Many dragons had different views on a female Prime as their creation. Some thought it was a blessing, while others terminated the sparkling as soon as they knew what the sex was. Female Primes were more powerful than males for unknown reasons so they might be considered a threat as well.

As Ratchet cradled the sparkling in his arms it made him wondered if her captors were trying to harness her natural power for their personal gain.

Bulkhead was the first go come back from patrol, making Elisa awake from her nap. She had been wrapped up in her blanket from Prime's room and she made a mess of herself as she tried to stand up.

"Easy there girl. Don't want you to trip and fall." Bulkhead said as he walked over to her. She gave his finger a lick before squeaking in joy. "How's she been doing Ratchet?" He asked as they continued to watch each other.

"She misses Optimus." Ratchet answered.

"Awww poor girl." He said in sympathy. "Hey how about a game Elisa?" He said excitedly. She only tipped her head at the foreign word.

"Absolutely not." Ratchet snapped at him.

"Relax Ratchet, I'm not going to throw the ball at her. I'm just going to put it on the floor and roll it to her." Bulkhead insisted. Ratchet thought about it for a moment and finally let out a sigh of recognition.

"Fine, but be gentle, she's still injured." Ratchet snapped before returning to the monitor.

"Alright. Come on Elisa." He said before gently picking her up in his arms. She clutched his arms tightly for a few moments before she realized she was safe with him and she started licking his chestplates. "Hey hehehe that tickles." He said to her and she only responded by licking his chin. He held her in one arm while he got his ball in the other. They quickly returned to the main room and he placed both the ball and sparkling on the floor. She stared at the ball for a moment before crawling around to look at it. Both Ratchet and Bulkhead watched as she tampered with it.

She bit it, licked it, and sniffed it before she finally put her front servos on it. She yelped in surprise when it move forward knocking her down. Bulkhead chuckled as she continued to look at it. She repeated the action again and got the same results and finally looked up at Bulkhead in confusion. He pushed it forward and Elisa jumped back and tensed up looking at it. Bulkhead laughed again as Elisa continued to stare at it. He pushed it again and she jumped back again. After a few more moments, she pushed it with both servos and it rolled a few feet and Bulkhead quickly rolled it back to her. She finally understood the action and jumped up and down excitedly while squeaking in joy.

"Beepp bob bop!" Bee said over the monitor.

"Alright, Bee I'm opening the groundbridge now." Ratchet answered and Bee quickly came into the room. "Wheeop bob." He said excitedly as he saw Elisa playing with Bulkhead. He kneeled down and waved at her, "Weeeoooppp." He said and she responded with a little roar of her own and pushed the ball to him.

"She wants to play with you Bee." Bulkhead said. Soon everyone was back at base, with the exception of Optimus. Elisa quickly became upset again at the absence of one of her true caretakers. Arcee picked her up and cradled her as she whimpered in distress.

"It's ok Elisa. He'll be here soon." She whispered and just as she finished talking a familiar honk sounded, making Elisa look at the sound. When Optimus transformed Arcee could barely hold onto the excited sparkling.

"Easy Elisa, we wouldn't want you to fall again." Optimus said calmly. She nudged her helm into his chest and listened to his sparkbeat in comfort.

"She missed you Optimus." Ratchet explained.

"It's understandable. She in a new environment and doesn't understand the concept of coming back yet." He added.

"I also found something interesting on her neck Optimus." Ratchet stated, making the Prime look at him. "See these markings." Ratchet said pointing to her neck and Optimus blinked in surprise at what he saw.

"The language of the Primes." He stated.

"Whoah. How did she get that?" Bulkhead asked amazed.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure she'll grow up to be a Prime." Ratchet answered.

"Hey that's not fair, Optimus had to earn his title." Smokescreen protested.

'Smokescreen, it's not her fault. She was born a prime. Back on Cybertron, dragons came in all sorts of breeds and the Prime breed was one of them. They were the alphas of the dragons." Optimus explained.

"How can a Prime be a breed?" He asked confused.

"No one is certain, but there is the possibility that the Prime breed is a descendant of their own version of the Thirteen." Optimus answered. "We were always unclear of their origins and since the dragons had no ancients to speak of it, much is left to speculation and myth. However, Elisa's case is much different as she is a female prime." He explained carefully.

"What does that mean?" Arcee asked.

"Female primes were always more powerful than males, but they were not valued as much as males. So females became rare and a delicacy with many powers. Some were cherished and others killed." Optimus finished.

"I never saw any females, just us guys." Bulkhead said.

"Neither did I Bulkhead. The only dragon I interacted with was a Prime named Aquarious. His team led different missions than mine, but he kept me informed." Nobody saw Elisa's eyes open at the mention of the name.

"What happened to him?" Bulkhead asked.

"He was killed in battle by another rival Prime named Magma." Optimus stated and Elisa suddenly squeaked, making the others jump. She continued to squeak even as Optimus gently rocked her back and forth. Ratchet handed him a cube and she instantly calmed down.

"She hasn't eaten when I've tried to feed her Optimus." Ratchet explained as Elisa started to suck on the cube.

"Why did she get upset?" Smokescreen asked.

"Bob beep booom beeb." Bee said.

"No Bumblebee. She couldn't possibly know those names. Aquarious was lost on Cybertron and Magma disappeared soon after." Optimus explained. This time Elisa was more focused on food to pay attention. "But I do fear that what those files tell us is that her captors were trying to harness Elisa's power." Optimus said.

"For what purpose?" Ratchet said.

"To possible wipe us all out."

"She could do that?!" Smokescreen gasped.

"With maturity and the harsh conditions of abuse, I believe it is quite possible that this little sparkling could have become a fierce predator." Optimus stated. He took the cube away from her and she let out a burp, making everyone laugh.

Eventually everyone refueled and started playing with Elisa again, but soon the excitement was too much and she actually got scared of the loud noises. Arcee reacted first and scooped up the sparkling into her arms. She hummed a melody to her and Elisa quickly calmed down.

"Not so loud guys." Arcee whispered.

"Her hearing is extremely sensitive right now since it's still developing." Ratchet explained. Arcee continued to hum to Elisa, who quickly fell asleep. She handed Elisa back to Optimus, who headed to his room for recharge. He had to smile at her tiny form so comfortable in his arms. He gave her helm a quick kiss before recharge.

High in the night clouds a deadly figure was gliding through the black sky. It's red optics glowed deadly in search of it's objective.

"Have you found it yet?" A deep voice growled into his com link.

"Negative." The other replied.

"Return to base to regroup."

Ch. 3: Bonding

It didn't take too long for everyone to adjust to Elisa, but it took the sparkling longer to adjust. She didn't understand for a long time that Optimus would come back for her and so she waited by Ratchet most days. The medic didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to enjoy the company. Elisa always watched him with curious optics and occasionally "talked" to him when his emotions changed in his energy field. There was only one problem.

Elisa's spark was still weak.

It wasn't a big problem and it would eventually go away in time if she didn't receive a parental bond, but Ratchet believed it might help her immensely in the long run. The problem with that was that two teammates would have to bond with her.

"I would consider the possibility Ratchet." Optimus said to him. They were in his quarters and Elisa was playing with his fingers in his lap. Her wounds were completely healed and her body just seemed to glow with her good health. She was more active both physically and vocally. The team had even caught Ratchet playing with her once or twice.

"You want to bond with her as a parent?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"Ratchet I am already taking care of her as one." Optimus stated. "The only thing I am concern with is who else would be willing to bond with her. Sparklings always bond with a carrier and a sire."

"Arcee might be a good candidate." Ratchet suggested.

"Actually Ratchet I was hoping you could bond with her as well."

"What?! Me? Bond with a sparkling!" He asked amazing. Elisa jumped up at Ratchet's outburst and stared at him.

"You don't have to Ratchet and I am not going to order you to do so." Optimus said gently, trying to calm Elisa down. She did lie back down, but she was still staring at Ratchet. "But you seem the most ideal partner as you are the only one other than myself who spends the most time with her." Optimus explained. Ratchet blinked in surprised.

"Oh well, I'll have to think about it Optimus." Ratchet said while in thought.

"I understand old friend." Optimus said kindly. As if to sense his thoughts, Elisa chirped and jumped into his lap and started licking his face as if to persuade him.

"Elisa." Ratchet laughed as he picked her up to hold her back. She continued to chirp to make him happy again. "I think she's trying to persuade me Optimus." Ratchet said as he handed her back to him. She still wasn't able to open her wings yet as she still had a few months before she could have the strength to try it. "Good night Elisa." He said to her and she licked his servo before he left the room. The instant he was gone she looked up at him and gave his face a kiss as well.

"Thank you Elisa." Optimus smiled. True he did enjoy the idea of being a bonding figure to her, but he still had to consider all his options first. The idea of being a parental figure to her was very promising, but Optimus was fighting a war and had a team to lead. Not to mention that there was the possibility of Megatron discovering her. He hated to imagine what the warlord would do with a powerful being such as her in his possession. Not to mention that he could get hurt and she could get hurt.

The other thing was that what happened if Ratchet did bond with her as well. Would this change their relationship at all? He certainly hoped it wouldn't as Ratchet was one of his closest friends. They had spent so much time on Earth and Cybertron that it was hard to imagine him without his old friend. Elisa sensed that he was deep in thought and laid down on the berth with her helm on his thigh just looking up at him. His field was giving off a calming emotion and it was quite a lovely shade of gold tonight. It took him a few minutes, but he finally noticed Elisa and had to smile at her loving nature.

"Time for bed Elisa." He smiled.

"Any sign of her yet?" A deep voice asked.

"No Sire. I haven't been able to locate her signal since we lost the other hideout." Another answered. Not a second later another signal came up on the screen.

"Is that it?"

"Yes Sire."

"Both of you come with me. Titania you're in command until my return."

The decepticon warship was quiet this time of night. Lord Megatron was at the bridge starring out into the clouded sky. There had been no sign of the autobots as of late, which peaked his interest, but didn't concern him too much. Megatron found it quite boring just as much as his second-in-command Starscream did. However, tonight was different as a signal sounded on the monitor. He looked over to see the vehicon was trying to decipher the signal, but found he could not.

"Lord Megatron, there is a signal of unknown origin." He stated.

"Autobot?" Megatron asked as he walked over to it.

"No my liege. I cannot decipher the signal." He answered. Soundwave was instantly working on the monitor. He couldn't find out who it was, but rather what it was.

"It cannot be." Megatron said in awe. "Soundwave are you sure that's what it is?" Megatron asked. The spy only nodded in reply.

"I thought they were extinct Lord Megatron." Starscream said.

"As did I. I remember a few left Cybertron in the remaining days of the war, but the ones that joined the decepticon cause perished in battle." Megatron said to him. "Soundwave, keep on monitoring the area. Starscream with me." He ordered.

Sure enough the human and his troops landed in the area of their signal with their weapons drawn.

"Show yourself." He ordered. The mech was obviously an alpha with large size and ordered demeanor. When they finally did the mech's optics went wide with shock.

"Well, well, Megatronous it's been quite a while." The dragon smiled, showing a mouthful of fangs. Megatron growled at the name. He only allowed one mech to call him that every so often and even that was being generous.

"I am Lord Megatron!" He shouted into the air and taking aim. Before he could fire Megatron was instantly pinned against a rock while as two other dragons wiped the vehicons and had Starscream on his knees with their claws on his sensitive wings.

"I think leadership has gone to your processor Megatron. I liked you better as a gladiator." The dragon whispered. He felt Megatron trying to react but he growled deep into his neck warning him of a threat.

"What do you want Magma?" Megatron snapped.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Megma said and let go of Megatron, but he remained standing in front of him.

"We thought you dead." Starscream snapped, but winced in pain when one of the dragons dug into his wing.

"Shut up Starscream. They'll tear your wings out without a second thought." Megatron snapped at him. He took one look at one of his captors and he smiled back with nice white teeth.

"As to your question Commander," Magma laughed, "no I didn't die. It was merely a cover up. We came to Earth and started exploring. Once we got settled in we started making plans." He explained. Megatron took his time looking over the old dragon. His body was deep shade of blood red with black wings that had red stripes covering it. His spikes were a dark orange. His eyes were a deadly glowing red and very observant.

"What kind of plans?" Magma started to walk away from him and looked over at his two companions, but he made sure his back wasn't to Megatron.

"Oh in time Megatron. You remember my two sons don't you. Rhodius and Rising Dawn." Magma said cheerfully. Rhodius nodded first. He was the spitting image of his sire, but his spikes were red and his wings didn't have the red stripes. Rising Dawn had the red body, but his wings were orange as well as his spikes, plus his eyes glowed yellow instead of red.

"Unfortunately yes." Megatron grumbled. Dawn smirked at him. "Release my second in command I need him if you are going to make a proposal." He stated. Magma looked over at Starscream who scowled at him.

"I'm surprised Megatron hasn't offlined you yet." Magma chuckled before nodding over to the two boys. They let him go and he grumbled to himself as he got to his pedes. He stayed by Megatron's side, keeping an optic on his former captors. "You know me all too well Megatron, but I can assure that this proposal has a great benefit to you." Magma stated.

"And that would be?"

"Recently my bonded gave birth to another sparkling."

"Where is that wretch anyway?" Megatron mocked. Magma frowned in disapproval, but continued.

"The sparkling has been taken by your stupid little autobot rivals." He snarled and Megatron laughed.

"Why is this sparkling so special?" Megatron laughed.

"The sparkling is a female prime." Megatron's optics went wide instantly and even Starscream couldn't hold in his gasp of shock. Any female sparkling was a precious gem that had unbelievable power.

"A femme?" Megatron whispered.

"I need your help getting her back and if you do you can use her in your quest to kill the autobots." Magma smiled knowing Megatron would never let this slip by him.

"That could take years." Megatron frowned trying to remain unimpressed.

"I always knew you were a patient mech. This is my only offer." Magma teased.

"Give me a moment." Megatron asked and gestured over to the other two. Magma waved his claws over to them so they could be away from the humans.

"I would exercise extreme caution master." Starscream whispered to him.

"Are you suggestion I help them?" Megatron arched an eyebrow at him.

"My lord this dragon could end the war for us and then some." Starscream whispered. Megatron looked over at the other dragons before looking at the seeker closer this time. "You know how he works. He could turn her on us as well."

"Get to the point." Megatron whispered angrily.

"If we could get a hold of her and train her like he wants us too, then maybe we could convince her somehow to get rid of them." Starscream said. Megatron blinked in surprise at the idea. It could have it flaws, but think of the reward it could bring. "And if this goes wrong I will not get the blame for this because you agreed with this." He added and Megatron chuckled.

"We'll see Starscream." Megatron said to him before he looked back at Magma. "I believe we have an agreement." Megatron said calmly and held out his servo. Megma firmly shook it and the deal was sealed.

The next night Megatron and met with Magma and Titania at the abandoned base.

"Well hello Megatron, long time no see." She winked at him.

"Not long enough." He grumbled. "What are we looking for?"

"This was where we hope to contain my little Elisa." Magma explained. Megatron tilted his helm in curiosity at the name but remained silent. "Our energon signal must have been spotted because the autobots invaded the base. That was when they took her and our files, but Seek Gazer has obviously made back-ups." Magma explained. "You remember Seek Gazer?" He asked curiously.

"Soundwave is still better." Megatron shot back. The dragon only chuckled. Magma pressed a button and Optimus appeared on screen. Megatron frowned at the image. He finally got a good look at the sparkling though. Quite the contrast of sky blue compared to blood red. She wasn't even Titanian's colors of black and gold. "Quite the contrast from her creators." Megatron pointed out.

"Oh come now Megatron. You know that not ever sparkling has to have the same colors, but it is rather unfortunate that she has the colors of the late Aquarious." Magma teased.

"Primus' Promise." Megatron said outloud making Magma look at him. "That's what her name means doesn't it." Megatron said casually.

"That because she is Primus' Promise as she is the last." Magma snapped.

"That's not my problem."

"No, but it's your fault."

Megatron growled in respond, but remained silent yet again. Ratchet appeared in the video and looked over the sparkling, who snarled at him. She eventually calmed down and eventually the two left with the sparkling in Prime's arms. The video clicked off and they both looked at each other.

"They obviously took her to the base." Megatron stated.

"And the energon cubes." Magma added.

"Not from my mines."

"Oh please, it's a dragon's natural ability to find energon. It's called a survival skill." Magma mocked. Megatron looked around the base while avoided Titanian's lusty gaze on him. They sure made a perfect match.

"Now what?" Megatron snapped and then a groundbridge appeared before him and Magma gestured for him to follow. They entered a new base that seemed better equipped and had plenty of soliders for him. "It's been a while since I've seen an Omega." Megatron said to himself. They were the dragon equivalent of an insecticon since dragons, even femmes, were never smaller than humans, even Titania was a little larger than Starscream.

"Seek Gazer can find Elisa's signal anywhere, but if the autobot base is shielded like your ship, then we will have a difficult tracking field." Magma explained. Seek Gazer was a silent dragon like Soundwave. His optics glowed a mystical white as his silver claws easily grazed over the computer keys. His spikes were small and black and his wings were thin and black. He was a watcher dragon that was made for gliding silently while watching and eyes that were precise and could take in plenty of detail. Seek Gazer stood out from the dragons as he was a misty color. In light he was white in shadows he was grey and speaking of shadows.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Lord Megatron himself." Another dragon teased him. Megatron frowned at the new comer.

"I'll make it perfectly clear Magma. I always hated your group." Megatron stated and Magma only chuckled. Shadow was his name and thankfully his bondmate SkyBlade wasn't present. Shadow was just a typical mech dragon just like Titania was a typical femme. He was a commoner and he lived up to his name by being pitch black all around, except for his optics which were red.

"Guess you don't miss me huh?" Shadow asked sarcastically.

"Not even close." Megatron stated and walked with Magma.

"Perhaps if we put our resources together we could resolve our problem more quickly." Magma said and he opened a door to reveal a nice pile of energon. "Consider it a thank you as I still remember quite clearly that you humans consume far more energon than we do."

"Noted."

"They will have to be looking for energon as sparklings naturally need the nutrition. I would suggest keeping a closer eye on your mines just in case." Magma suggested carefully, trying not to aggravate the former gladiator.

"Noted." Megatron repeated. He was also doing the same as he so fondly remembered the Alpha's temper as well. Magma had been the only one to openly confront him once during their brief time in the war. It had eventually been broken up by Soundwave and Rhodius, but the two Alpha's new they both had to defend their territory against the other. Magma gave a quick tour before they both went on their separate ways. When Megatron was back at the helm of his ship he looked over at Soundwave, who looked back at him.

"Magma says hello."

Three months had passed with little Elisa in the base. She was just as playful as ever and a little bigger now too. Everyone had gotten used to her now and she was starting to get used to everyone leaving and coming back. Optimus had made up his mind about Elisa. He was going to be her creator and make a bond with her. He would announce it tonight. He smiled at how she was waiting for him by the bridge when he came back to base. He picked her up in a playful manner, making her squeak in delight and kissing him.

"You should have seen her Optimus. She's trying to fly, but her wings won't open yet." Bulkhead said in wonder.

"Elisa you know you can't fly yet." Optimus said while he tickling her stomach. She wiggled in his arms and kept grasping at his fingers. Ratchet only nodded at him in greeting before returning to his work. He sat down with Elisa who was nuzzling his chest plates now. "Autobots I have an announcement to make." He said catching all their attention.

"Wheep?" Bee asked curiously.

"I have decided that I am going to be Elisa's adoptive creator." He said proudly. They all smiled and clapped for him and Elisa looked at them in confusion.

"Boooop beee beeeb buuuuoom." Bee cheered.

"You said it Bee. Congrats Optimus." Bulkhead. Elisa looked back at Optimus in confusion and instead he held her close to his spark. She listened it and purred at the sound. He looked at Ratchet who was just smiling at him. Elisa squeaked and tapped him with her servo to get his attention, which he gratefully returned. That night Ratchet went into Prime's quarters to watch the bonding, just in case anything happened with Elisa.

"When you open your spark to her, she will open hers as well. The bond will form quickly as she has already gotten attached to you." Ratchet explained. "Take it slow Optimus, she might get scared." He added and Optimus only nodded. He took a deep breath before he opened his chest plates and exposed his spark to the sparkling in his arms. Elisa stared at it for a moment before her chest glowed a bright white. She clawed at his chest plates in order to get closer which he did. Elisa let out a yelp of fear for a moment before a burst of energy reached out to her spark, calming her.

It's alright Elisa. I'm here now. Optimus said through the bond.

Eeeep, was the only reply as Elisa couldn't form words yet.

I am your Sire Elisa, nothing will change that. Optimus said kindly.

Hurrrrrrr, Elisa purred in happiness and actually licked at his spark. Optimus cried out in surprise at the sudden action, but quickly regained his composure. When she looked up at him, her optics were glowing a bright blue at him.

"Hello my sparkling." Optimus whispered and his chest plates closed as the glow dimmed. He almost fell back on the berth if Ratchet hadn't been there.

"Easy Optimus. It's the energy burst. You should regain your strength in a few moments. He looked down at Elisa, who was laying down in his lap and was very close to falling asleep.

"Why did she…lick my spark Ratchet?" Optimus asked a little embarrassed.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about Optimus. She is acknowledging the bond that has been formed in the only way she knows how. By giving her creator kisses." Ratchet explained with a smirk. "Trust me she's more tired from this than you are. You both should stay close for a few days to solidify the bond. Once everything is in the clear you can return to duty Optimus." Ratchet finished.

"Thank you Ratchet." Optimus said kindly.

"What title did you take? Sire or carrier?" He asked.

"Sire." Optimus answered.

"Still hoping someone else will help out?" Ratchet joked.

"Perhaps."

He woke up feeling different for some reason. When he looked over to see Elisa lying next to him helm he instantly remembered. His fingers lightly traced her small helm and she seemed to nudge into the touch.

Good morning sweetspark Optimus said to her through the bond.

Hummmmm, she whimpered back as she didn't want to wake up yet. He decided he could wait a few minutes as Ratchet had told him he needed to remain close to her. Elisa moved a little bit and her body curved into arch as she continued to sleep. He laughed to himself at the odd position she was sleeping in. He tried his best to get out of the berth quietly. Elisa still didn't move, so he carefully wrapped her up in a blanket and walked out of the room.

"Even when you sleep in you're still the first of the others to wake." Ratchet said once Optimus entered.

"Well, not everyone is awake yet Ratchet." Prime said pointing to Elisa. Ratchet wave him over to the medical table and he did a quick scan of Elisa, who didn't even flinch as she was sound asleep.

"She's doing just fine Optimus and look," Ratchet said pointing to what the scanner showed on the screen, "even her spark is getting better. She's got a stronger spark beat now." Ratchet said and Optimus nodded in approval. "She'll be tired like this for the next few days as she too went through a lot of energy." Ratchet explained.

"Morning guys." Arcee said from behind them. Both mechs nodded in return as Arcee walked over to sleeping Elisa. "Gosh she's adorable." She chuckled and Elisa's optics opened for a second. She saw Arcee first and then Ratchet and Optimus. She waved her tail in her own lazy greeting and then fell back to sleep as Arcee covered her mouth to keep her laughter quiet. "She must be exhausted." Arcee chuckled.

"Optimus has to stay with her for a few days so the bond can settle." Ratchet explained.

"Makes sense." Arcee agreed. "So are you her carrier now?" Arcee winked jokingly.

"Sire Arcee." Optimus answered.

"Hurrrmmmmm." Elisa murmured at the sound and looked around again. Optimus gave her helm a few pats before she was satisfied that everything was alright and back to sleep for her.

"Maybe you can take her out for a drive Optimus." Arcee suggested.

"Hopefully she'll wake up for that." Optimus smiled. He sat by her side as the others awoke too.

"So how's the little sparkling?" Smokescreen said a little too loudly.

"Hrrrrrrrr." Elisa growled at the loud noise, even with her optics closed.

"Hey take it easy Elisa." Smokescreen before he patted her side. She instantly snapped at him not knowing that it was Somkescreen and not an enemy. "Hey!" Smokescreen shouted back.

"Smokescreen don't do that to her while she's asleep. She doesn't know if your friend or foe." Ratchet snapped at him as Optimus walked over to her. She stood up and swatted at Smokescreen, who's back was to her. When he looked back at her she gave his armor a lick to apologize.

"Reeeeppp." She squeaked.

"Awww, that's ok Elisa." Smokescreen laughed and Optimus pulled her up into his arms.

Eppp, Eppp, Eppp, she chirped through the bond to show her excitement to her sire.

Hello baby, Optimus replied and he started to feed her. When she stopped feeding she looked over at Smokescreen. That's Smokescreen Elisa.

Sssssssrreeennnn, she replied. She was just trying to mimic the sound.

That's Smokescreen Elisa

Sssssssrrreeennn.

He gave her a pat on the helm for her effort, knowing it would be awhile before she could figure out words. When Bumblebee came up to her and gave her a playful wave she chirped excitedly.

That's Bumblebee sweetspark

Reeeeeeeee!

He pointed out everyone's name, but when Ratchet came up something interesting happened.

That's Ratchet

Crrreeeeeerrrrrrr! She chirped.

No Ratchet. Optimus said gently.

Crrrreeeerrrr!

Suddenly Optimus blinked in surprise at what she was trying to say.

Carrier.

"Optimus are you alright?" Ratchet said suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Oh yes Ratchet thank you." Optimus replied quickly. "She certainly has some interesting thoughts." Optimus said out loud.

"I'm sure she does." Ratchet said still looking at Elisa. She started chirping again and trying to get to Ratchet, which Optimus helped by handing her over to him. She instantly started licking his chest plates.

"Crrreeeerrrrr!" She chirped, making Ratchet blink in surprise and looking at Optimus.

"Carrier." He said gently to him. His finger gently scratched at her cheek and she started sucking on it as if she wanted to give him a nice gesture as well. After a few moments she looked over at Optimus and chirped loudly.

"Ssssrrrrrrrrrr." She chirped.

"Sire." Ratchet whispered. "Optimus I have been thinking about your offer for a while now." Ratchet said as he cradled Elisa in his arms. "I…I…I…I would like to be her carrier." Ratchet finally said and she looked up at him again because of the word.

"I think she agrees with you." Optimus said.

"Crrrrreeeerrrrrr!"

Ch. 4: First Encounter

Ratchet had to wait for Elisa to recover from her bond with Optimus before he could bond with her as well. Seeing Optimus so happy with the sparkling just made him want to be there for her even more. He spent the days with her, while Optimus spent the nights with her. He didn't want to admit at first that he was bonding with her, but soon he couldn't help it as he had to comfort her when Optimus wasn't around. In the months that followed he had grown to care for her just as much as he would for a sparkling of his own. She was a pleasant distraction for him at first, but soon she came to be a playful sparkling that he was starting to love to chase around the base in case she wondered off. He soon realized he wanted those feelings to stay.

So he chose to be her carrier.

While she was still recovering Optimus took up Arcee's suggestion and took Elisa for a drive. While he was driving he talked with Ratchet.

"Ratchet this won't affect our relationship at all will it?" He asked over the com link.

"Optimus, you and I have known each other long before the war. This is just another thing we can share together." Ratchet said calmly.

"True, but we've never worked together as creators." Optimus pointed out.

"I don't mind learning." Ratchet said.

"I think the same way old friend." Optimus came up to an empty stretch of land and stopped. He wasn't in plain sight as he transformed and opened the back of his trailer. Elisa blinked in surprised at the light and instantly jumped into her sire's arms. She huddled closer to him at the unfamiliar area. "It's alright Elisa. We are outside." He said gently. He placed her on the ground and she didn't leave his pedes for a while. He gave her a gentle nudge of encouragement and she finally started walking around. Well crawling was more like it as she sniffed the air and took in so many scents. She got to a tree trunk and looked at it.

Optimus just watched as she growled at it first and the tree didn't move. She licked it and shook her helm at the bad taste and Optimus chuckled. She finally put her two front servos on the trunk and pushed. She pushed it several times and it still wouldn't budge. She looked up at Optimus and squeaked in distress.

"It's a tree Elisa." Optimus said.

Tree.

Reeeeee!

Soundwave got a signal up on the screen. A quick click and he found the location and immediately told Lord Megatron.

"I told Magma you were still better than Seek Gazer." He chuckled.

Optimus couldn't help but laugh when Elisa chewed on a leaf and instantly spit it out. She was certainly learning alright. When she felt her Sire's happy mood she looked at him and then rolled around in the dirt to make him laugh again. His energy field couldn't have been more positive.

Until a groundbridge opened.

Optimus reacted immediately by picking Elisa up into his arms and point his gun at the approaching stranger.

"Optimus you have company." Ratchet said gravely. Megatron walked through first and was followed by a squad of drones. His optics went wide when a dragon came through.

"Magma." Optimus stated and instantly brought his battle mask up.

"Why hello there Prime. I believe you have something of mine." Magma stated. Elisa whimpered in response. She didn't like these strangers. Their energy was very different by being very hard and angry. The silver stranger's aurora was a deep purple, while the dragon's was a deadly black.

Srrrrrrrrrrrrr! She whimpered through the bond.

It's alright Elisa. They will not hurt you.

Srrrrrrrrr! She continued to cry through the bond and was whimpering in his arms.

"So she's yours than?" Optimus said cautiously. He was far more concerned about the dragon than Megatron. "Why should I give her to you? You've treated her with nothing but cruelty." Optimus said holding his ground as Magma paced in front of him. He still remembered the first bit of advice that Aquarious had given him so long ago.

Never back away from another dragon. It shows your weakness. Hold your ground and assert yourself like any Alpha mech would do.

"It doesn't matter!" Magma snarled and bared his teeth. He started to directly approach Optimus, who stayed put. "Give her to me now and I'll let you leave with your spark intact." He growled.

"Hhhhrrrrrrrrrhhhh!" Elisa hissed at him with her own teeth bared. Magma looked at her surprise and when he did Optimus fired. The dragon reeled back in surprise as Optimus bombarded him and forced him to knock over Megatron. Optimus started running as Megatron shouted an order at his troops, which quickly followed with him being surrounded by gun fire.

"Optimus everyone is here and I'm bridging them to your coordinates now." Ratchet said through the com link. A groundbridge opened to his right and his teammates started firing. He didn't let go of Elisa as he fired, but he made sure her helm was covered. He didn't see Magma charge at him from his fast speed and the dragon Prime slammed into the human Prime. Elisa was thrown out of his arms and she hit the ground hard.

Srrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! She screamed his name through the bond, but Optimus didn't have time to respond as Magma charged at him again. Optimus dodged his claws and slammed his pede into his side. Elisa scrambled behind a tree trunk and fearfully watched the two battle. Magma let out a deep roar with his wings expanded to make him look bigger. His spikes suddenly flashed red and a red energy beam fired out of his mouth right at Optimus. He couldn't dodge it in time and the fire slammed him to the ground. Magma approached him slowly and he flashed his claws that were glowing red with power.

Optimus responded as quickly as his sore body would allow, by transforming into his guns and repeatedly firing at Magma. The dragon fell back as he swopped into the air with a grunt. Elisa kept her terrified optics on the dragon stranger as he did an air dive right at her sire. He easily dodged it and grabbed Magma's tail with both servos. He cried out in surprised as he was slammed to the ground, once, twice, three times before he was thrown into the trees. He hit the trees hard as they scraped his skin on impact.

Optimus was too focused on Magma to notice Megatron was searching for the little sparkling. He quickly found her trembling behind a tree, watching Prime battle Magma. He smirked at his good luck and approached the sparkling from behind. She didn't hear him come up because she was so focused on the battle in front of her. She yelped in surprise when he easily picked her up with both servos. She looked up to see the silver stranger looking at him in curiosity, but she was frightened by those red optics.

"SRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" She howled into the air. Optimus turned at the sound and saw Megatron holding Elisa in his servos. He started firing at him only to get taken down by Magma.

"Elisa!" He shouted into the air alerting the others. Megatron's glare seemed to mock him as a groundbridge appeared behind him. Elisa was desperately trying to get out of his grip and started biting at his fingers. He knew his fingers were tough and he certainly could take a little nip from a sparkling. Starscream appeared in front of him with reinforcements as the other autobots tried to get to Megatron. He turned around to go into the bridge only to get knocked down by Bulkhead. He grunted in surprise at the blow, but held on too tightly to the sparkling and she whimpered in pain.

"Put her down bucket head!" Bulkhead snapped at him. He was kept at bay by Megatron's fusion cannon.

"Now now Bulkhead," Megatron sneered, "name calling won't get you anywhere." He smirked. He didn't get enough chances to play fun mind games with autobots, so he wasn't going to miss a chance.

"I could care less about manners. Hand over Elisa NOW!" He shouted at him. He didn't wait any longer as he started swiping at him with his wrecking ball. Megatron easily caught his wrist with one servo and slammed Bulkhead into the rock wall. He fell to the ground dazed before Megatron gave him a good kick to his helm to knock him out. Elisa squeaked in distress. He looked over the little sparkling and he was curious all over again about her name and color.

"Easy little one." He whispered to her. He gave her helm a soft rub and she looked at him with bright blue optics. Just as quickly as the moment started, it ended when Smokescreen snatched Elisa out of his servos.

"Made you look." He cheered as he left the decepticon leader in shock. He quickly recovered with a frown and charged at him with a battle roar.

"Srrrreeeeennn!" Elisa chirped excitedly at her savior. She liked his aurora a lot better as it was a light blue and gave off positive energy.

"That's right baby girl I got you. Ratchet open a ground bridge I've got Elisa!" Smokescreen ordered. The bridge quickly flashed before him and he went through first.

"Autobots retreat!" Optimus ordered. Arcee helped Bulkhead to his feet as Bumblebee was still firing. They quickly ran to the bridge and managed to get through without another scratch. Optimus scanned the room quickly to find Elisa was in Ratchet's arms and trembling against his chest. He didn't look at Optimus as he gently set Elisa down and did a quick scan of her body. He quickly let out a sigh of relief as he saw that she wasn't hurt.

"She's fine Optimus." Ratchet said before going to check on the others. He scooped Elisa up into his arms and she reached up to lick his chin.

"It's alright Elisa. I'm here now." He said calmly as he gently rubbed her sides in comfort. When Ratchet was working on Bulkhead's helm, Elisa kept trying to go over to him, so Optimus brought her over to him.

"Reeeeeeeeeddddddd." She squeaked at him, making Bulkhead laugh.

"Close enough Elisa." He said with a chuckle and tapped her nose playfully. She still kept trying to get to him, until Bulkhead finally moved away from Ratchet.

"Bulkhead, I told you don't move." He huffed in annoyance.

"Relax Ratchet, Elisa's upset." He said as he took the sparkling in his servos, but she quickly jumped on his shoulder and started licking his helm, making Bulkhead laugh. "See she just wants to make it better." He chuckled since it did tickle a little bit. She stopped after a few moments and licked his chin. "Awww thanks Elisa. All better." He smiled and handed her back to Optimus. She smiled at him before Optimus took her out of the med bay.

Bbbb…bbb…bbbbrrrrrreeerrrrrr." She said through the bond, having a lot of difficulty with the new letter b.

Yes Elisa he's all better.

Magma growled in annoyance at the situation.

"She was right there!" He snarled.

"You'll get another chance. They don't know how to block her signal yet." Titania cooed. Magma knocked her to the ground with a roar.

"She has been contaminated with the autobots. We need to get her back NOW!" He roared. Both Rhodius and Rising Dawn remained silent at their stations as Titania mumbled to herself before retreating out of the main hall. "I can't afford to piss off the gladiator or else I could lose him." Magma muttered as he paced the room. "We have to find that damn autobot base in order to proceed anywhere."

Megatron was at the bridge staring through the open window deep in thought, but like the bad solider he was Starscream interrupted him.

"If I may say my lord, I did get a little glimpse at the sparkling and she certainly has some interesting colors." Starscream said. Megatron thought for a moment before deciding that he could afford a "conversation" with his SIC.

"I did notice that myself." Megatron said without turning to look at him. "She kept snapping at my fingers." He chuckled as he waved his claws around. "Sparklings are always fascinating creatures." Megatron said finally looking down at the seeker.

"I'm surprised by Magma's reaction my lord. I would have thought he wanted to rip your throat out with the glare he gave you." Starscream said cautiously.

"He can't afford a conflict with me because if he does he knows he's on his own." Megatron stated. "We both know we can't afford to lose the other so this "truce" of ours might take some time." Megatron said thoroughly not pleased with the predicament.

"I didn't trust him then either master and I don't trust them now." Starscream spat.

"Really Starscream? I would have thought you got along quiet well with SkyBlade." He teased.

"Blech! That idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut and his wings open." Starscream said in disgust.

"We might not get this opportunity again for a long time Soundwave." Megatron said as he looked over at his station and Soundwave returned the gaze. "Analyze the sparkling's signal in every way possible." He ordered and Soundwave returned to work.

"Oh scrap! I should have thought about this before." Ratchet snapped to himself.

"What's the problem Ratchet?" Arcee asked as Elisa climbed into her lap.

"Sssseeeee." She chirped.

"Like all of us Elisa gives off a signal, but she doesn't know how to block it because she's too young." Ratchet said.

"That's how the cons found Optimus so quickly." Arcee finished.

"Is there any way we can make something that will scramble her signal?" Optimus asked gently.

"Beep beep boom baaabooom." Bee added.

"I know she can't stay in her forever Bumblebee. Her wings are proof of that, but I'd have to contact Agent Lennox about building one. I may be a scientist, but I honestly don't know much about wave, frequencies, and such." Ratchet said. Agent Lennox is their liaison to the outside world. They had quickly told him about Elisa and naturally he wasn't happy about the idea of there being a third party coming in. He hadn't seen her in person yet, but he saw the sparkling through a video feed. "I'll contact him in the morning and see what I can do." Ratchet grumbled.

Lennox still couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw. The small creature in Prime's arms was staring back at him with just as much curiosity as he was. Dragons were supposed to be myth and legend and yet here one was staring right in front him with bright blue eyes.

"It's…It's cute." He finally got out.

"Elisa is a female Agent Lennox, a she." Optimus said politely.

"Oh right sorry. Hello Elisa." Lennox said quickly with a wave. She replied with a chirp. "So how does she give off a signal if she's organic?" Lennox said. Ratchet explained to him how dragons weren't like themselves as they didn't have wires or metal plates, but skin and muscle.

"She's still a Cybertronian Agent Lennox. Even on our home planet dragons were surrounded by legend and magic, but every Cybertronian gives off a signal, human or dragon." Ratchet answered. He only nodded as he went to one of the human size computers and looked up the files Ratchet had on his monitor. One of them was a sample of the dragon's signal. As he was downloading it he heard a scratching sound. When he looked up he saw the dragon was trying to get out of Prime's hands.

"Elisa no." He said sternly, but she didn't understand. She stopped moving, only to look up at Prime then at Lennox then back at Prime. "No Elisa." He repeated.

"What's the problem?" He asked.

"She wants to see you." Optimus stated.

"She's not going to eat me is she?"

"No you're just the first human she has seen." Optimus answered.

"It's ok I guess." Lennox shrugged a little nervously. Optimus walked over to the balcony and held onto Elisa with both servos as he edged her towards him. She sniffed the little stranger and was a little surprised by his aurora, as it was a tan color. "Hi Elisa." Lennox said shyly and waved at her. She chirped in excitement and licked the air, trying to say hello to him.

"She likes you." Arcee said with a smug smile on her face. Optimus pulled Elisa back into his embrace as Lennox walked towards the elevator.

"I'll see what I can do Ratchet."

Elisa had adjusted very well to the bond with Optimus. In fact, she seemed to have more energy than before. Ratchet waited a week before deciding to bond with her.

"You going to bond with her or what Ratchet?" Arcee asked.

"I had to make sure she was stable from her bond with Optimus." Ratchet argured back.

""Bout time. She's been calling you carrier for a while now." She winked.

"Crrrrrreeeerrrrrr!" Elisa squeaked on cue, making Arcee laugh. She walked over to Elisa who was in the floor looking up at Ratchet, before she picked her.

"That's right Elisa." Arcee said in an energetic voice. "He's your carrier." She smiled.

"Crrrreeer! Crrreeerrrr!" She chirped happily. Ratchet looked at Arcee and couldn't help but smile at Elisa bouncing joyfully in her arms. Arcee quickly handed her over to Ratchet and she started licking his chin.

"You and Optimus talked this over right?" Arcee asked.

"Of course we did." Ratchet said, trying to dodge Elisa's kisses to speak.

"Good." Arcee finished. They both turned at the sound of car engine and Bee pulled in. Elisa saw him squirmed out of Ratchet's servos before running over to him.

"Beeeeeee!" She said happily. Sire had been teaching her words and she was getting better at it.

"Wheeeooop!" Bee waved before he picked up Elisa and gently swung her around. She found Bee fascinating because of the sounds he made, plus his aurora was bright yellow, so how couldn't she be happy? She greeted everyone the same and stayed with her Sire for most of the night. She did get confused when she was brought into an unfamiliar room. Optimus handed her over to Ratchet as she looked around the room in confusion.

"It's alright Elisa. This is my room." Ratchet said to her as he sat down on the berth. She sniffed the blankets and felt a little better as it smelled a little bit like her Carrier.

It's alright Elisa. Optimus said calmly through the bond. That seemed to calm down as she relaxed in Ratchet's lap.

"She doesn't know my room." Ratchet mumbled to himself.

"She will." Optimus said with a pat to his shoulder.

"I can't believe how nervous I am." Ratchet huffed.

"It's a big responsibility Ratchet, a new change in your life. It's alright to feel nervous. I was too." Optimus explained.

"EEEppp." Elisa sounded. She was looking at Ratchet with concern on her face.

"I'm alright Elisa." Ratchet said as he picked her. She gave his face a few licks, just to make sure before he opened his chest plates to reveal his spark. Her own chest instantly responded with a glow of its own.

"Huurrrrrrrrr." She purred out loud as they felt energy exchange between them.

Crrrreeeerrrrr! She said happily through the bond.

Yes, Elisa I'm your carrier. Ratchet said through the bond. He tried to remain still as she gave his spark a lick of excitement before he closed his chest plates. Optimus caught him as he almost fell backwards.

"Easy old friend." Optimus said with concern. "It's the energy exchange." He explained. Ratchet only nodded as he looked down at Elisa. She got up again and purred against his chest plates and Optimus rubbed her helm in comfort as well.

"We love you Elisa." Optimus said. She looked up at him because of the new word.

"Yes we love you Elisa." Ratchet answered.

Love Ratchet said through the bond. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher the word.

Love sweetspark, Optimus said as well.

"Llllllooooovvvve." Ratchet said slowly.

"Lllllllllaaaaaaaaahhhhhh." Elisa said slowly, trying to repeat the action.

"Lllooooovvvveeeeee." Optimus said this time.

"Llllllaaaaahhhhhhvvvvvv." Elisa said.

"Very good Elisa!" Ratchet said eagerly.

"Lllaaahhvv. Lllaaaahhhv!" She chirped excitedly. Ratchet picked her up and gave her a kiss on the helm, which she oh so eagerly returned.

"I'll be right back." Optimus said and left the bedroom for a moment. He quickly came back with her blanket in tow. "I think you might need this." He said as he handed the blanket to Ratchet. Elisa was busy wondering around the unfamiliar berth and Ratchet jokingly tossed the blanket on top of her.

"EEEEEEPPPP!" She cried out in surprise. She tossed and turned in the blanket making a mess until she finally poked her helm out from underneath the blanket. Ratchet laughed as Optimus just smiled.

"She feels so happy." Ratchet said as wrapped her in the blanket.

"I know and she's full of energy." Optimus added. Elisa then yawned on cue and lay down on the berth. Optimus picked her up and kissed her nose. "Good night my sparkling. Be nice to your Carrier." He whispered to her.

I love you Elisa. He said through the bond.

Laaaahhhhvvvv Srrrrrrrrrrr." She answered back with a kiss of her own. She watched him leave the room before looking up at Ratchet.

Laaaaaahhhhvvvvv Crrrrrrreeerrrrr. She said to him.

I love you too Elisa. Ratchet said and he never felt so proud before.

For the first time, Elisa fell asleep to the sound of her Carrier's spark.

Ch. 5: Learning

When Ratchet woke the next morning, Elisa was cuddled up into a ball by his side. She looked so cute while sleeping Ratchet didn't want to wake her up. He just watched her sleep for a while before gently rubbing her helm to wake her. She took a deep breath and moved a little, but didn't open her eyes.

Elisa, he said through the bond. Her optics blinked open and her blue eyes seemed to glow for a moment as they settled on him.

"Crrrreeeerrrrr!" She chirped excitedly and jumped to give him kisses.

"Good morning to you too." He chuckled before rising up. Elisa easily jumped ahead of him in the hallway, but made sure he was coming. Optimus wasn't up yet, but he figured he soon would be with Elisa awake. He got Elisa a small energon cube and started to feed her. He always did it carefully to make sure she didn't choke. He was so engrossed in his task that he didn't hear Optimus walk into the room and just watch. When he was done feeding her Elisa jumped out of his arms and ran over to Optimus.

"Srrrrrrrrrr." She hummed as she rubbed against his ankles.

"Well hello and good morning Elisa." Optimus said cheerfully as he picked her up. She gave his cheek a good kiss and rubbed her helm against his face as she purred.

"If you get a chance Optimus, can I have her back please? I need to scan her spark." Ratchet said gently.

"Saaaaaarrrrkkkkk." Elisa said suddenly, making the two blink in surprise.

"What did you say Elisa?" Ratchet said amazed.

"Saaaarrrkkk." She chirped again.

"Very good Elisa. Carrier said spark." Optimus said gently. She let out a little roar of excitement jumped into Ratchet's arms.

"Easy Elisa. We don't want you to fall." Ratchet said quickly before he brought her over to the med bay. She watched her carrier as he scanned her for a few moments. "I figured she would be alright, but I had to make sure anyway. Her spark is doing just fine Optimus." Ratchet said pointing to the screen. Ratchet picked up Elisa and showed her the screen and pointed to her spark. "Look Elisa, that's your spark." Ratchet said quietly.

"Saarrrrkkkk." She chirped again.

Elisa went to sleep once everyone left for patrol. Ratchet looked over her signal in the monitor to try and see if he could come up with a solution as well. He kept tinkering with things for a while and didn't notice Elisa look around the main room in boredom. She wondered over to the groundbridge and looked around. She noticed her feet were making a different sound so she looked down and squeaked in surprised. She jumped in the air and crouched to the ground as Ratchet hurried over to her. He didn't see anything wrong with her, but decided to watch her just in case. She looked down at the glass floor again and growled at her own reflection. Ratchet couldn't be more surprised. He hurried to the med bay and got a mirror and went back to Elisa.

"Elisa." Ratchet said gently. He kneeled down next to her and she hurried over to him, squeaking in distress. "It's ok Elisa." He patted her helm and she relaxed a little. When she looked back at the ground bridge she became confused because the "other dragon" was gone. "Where did it go Elisa?" Ratchet gasped playfully, trying to get her attention.

"Eeeep, eeeepp." She cried back at him and then he showed her the mirror. She instantly growled at her reflection and swatted at it with her claws. Ratchet did his best not to laugh as she slowly approached the glass again and sniffed it.

"Ratchet is something wrong with Elisa. I feel she's in distress." Optimus said over the com link.

"It's alright Optimus. Elisa is just seeing her reflection for the first time." Ratchet answered.

"Oh I see. She probably thinks it's another dragon."

"She sure does. Poor thing is so confused." Ratchet chuckled. Elisa's nose was finally touching the glass and she pulled back and touched the glass again. Still puzzled she wondered around Ratchet's servo that was holding the glass. She pulled at the glass with her claws as she was slowly discovering it. "That's right Elisa. It's glass." Ratchet explained slowly. She looked up at him with confusion for the new word. "Glaaaaasssssss." He said slowly.

"Rrrrrraaasssssss." She tried. He chuckled as he put the glass down and picked her up.

"Ggggglllassssss Elisa." Ratchet repeated.

"Rrrrrraasssss." She said again.

"No gah gah gah." Ratchet said trying to teach her the letter g.

"Rrraahh." She squeaked.

"No Elisa try again. Gah gah gah." He repeated. Her optics narrowed as she tried to process the sound she heard.

"Rrrah..grrraahh, grrahhh." She tried slowly.

"That's it Elisa, keep going." Ratchet encouraged.

"Grrraahh... grrrraahh…gggaaah." She said again.

"That's it. Gah, gah, gah." Ratchet smiled.

"Gah gah gah." She repeated eagerly.

"Glllllllllllass." Ratchet said.

"Glllllaassss." Elisa repeated.

"Yay Elisa you did it." Ratchet cheered.

"Glllaassss, gllassssss." She chirped excitedly.

Srrrrrrr, glllllaassss, glllassss! She said to Optimus excitedly.

Very good Elisa. Optimus said back to her proudly.

Of course being the cute sparkling she was, Elisa made sure she told everyone about the glass. They were all smiles as she eagerly said the new word to everyone and pointed out where it was. Optimus was no exception when he drove it.

"Srrrrrrr, srrrrrrr!" She said eagerly looking at him and then at the groundbridge.

"Yes what is it Elisa." Optimus said back, kneeling down to her. She looked at him once and then back at groundbridge before running over to it and jumping up and down. She kept chirping for him to come over and when he did she started talking again.

"Gllassss glaaasss." She said excitedly while jumping.

"Yes that is glass Elisa." He smiled and rubbed her helm. She quickly crawled in her Sire's arms and gave him kisses.

"Eager little thing isn't she." Smokescreen said.

"All sparklings are like that. They want you to know what they have learned." Arcee said to him.

"Now if she can get sire and carrier right, we'd be all set." He laughed.

"There's no rush newbie." Bulkhead added.

"It was a joke guys relax. I know sparklings have a lot of learning to do." Smokescreen laughed.

"Boop be?" Bee asked.

"Yes I do Bee." He chuckled. Not long afterwards Elisa started falling asleep. She had gotten so excited that she used up her energy for the day. She slept on the balcony for a while until Ratchet carried her into his room and they fell asleep.

The next day, Elisa did a little exploring in the med bay. She sniffed a few things and looked around, but didn't find anything interesting. She laid down for a little bit to watch Carrier for awhile, but she was getting bored again. She looked around again and managed to find where the glass piece was, but she couldn't get it out.

"Glass. Glass." Elisa said to Carrier. He looked over to her and saw that she wanted to look at the mirror again so he pulled it out and propped it against the wall for her to see.

"You be careful with that Elisa." Ratchet said sternly before going back to the monitor. She played with her reflection with it for a little bit and even licked the glass once or twice. She finally kept bouncing on it with her claws when Ratchet noticed. "No Elisa don't do that." He said sternly again. She looked at him confused. "I don't want you to break the glass." He answered. When she chirped for an answer Ratchet went back to work. She played with it again, but not with her claws, until she charged at her reflection and jumped onto the mirror making it shatter instantly.

"Crrrreeerrrr! Crrrreeerrrr!" She cried instantly.

"Elisa what did I tell you." Ratchet said angrily as he hurried over to her. He picked her up and brushed her off to make sure there was no glass on her to cut her skin. When he was finally done he let out an annoyed huff. "I said no Elisa." He said aggrevated. Elisa looked away from him upset. Not wanting to be too harsh, he gently brought her face to his own. "That is no." He said at a gentle volume, but in a firm voice. "You could have gotten hurt." He insisted. She blinked at the new word.

"Eeep." She said quietly.

"Hurt." Ratchet repeated. She licked his fingers as if to say sorry. Ratchet left her for a moment to clean up the glass and quickly returned to her. "That is no." Ratchet said sternly again. "You could have gotten hurt." He repeated. Elisa noticed that his energy was giving off an emotion that she never felt before with anyone. She realized that it had to do with the new word: hurt.

"Hhhhuuurrrr." She whimpered to him. Ratchet blinked in surprised when she said the new word.

"Yes Elisa Hur-T." He said slowly.

"Hurrrttt." She repeated.

"I was worried you might have gotten hurt." Ratchet said gently. He took her into his arms rocked her against his spark to comfort her. She didn't know it yet, but Ratchet's energy was giving off worry and concern, something she never felt with her captors. She stood up in his arms and gently licked his neck cables to try and make him feel better. "It's ok Elisa." He whispered to her and placed a loving kiss on her helm.

I love you

Llaahvvvv Crrreeerrr.

Elisa stayed close with Ratchet for the rest of the day as a sort of apology for her actions. Slowly his white aurora glowed back to its normal brightness and she felt a little better. She knew that she didn't want Carrier to feel that way again so she was good for the rest of the day. She even stayed closed to him when Sire arrived home.

"Elisa what's wrong?" He said gently as he took her into arms.

"Huurttt." She chirped into his chest. He looked over at Ratchet with concern.

"She was playing with the mirror today and she started pushing on it. I told her no for fear that it might crack or break. Later she jumped on the mirror and broke it. I kept telling her no and she must have sensed my concern." Ratchet explained. Ratchet rubbed her helm as she remained in Prime's arms.

"Llllavvh crreeerr. Llllaaavvvh srrrr." She said to them, as the others smiled at the scene in front of them.

"It's alright Elisa. We were just worried about you." Optimus said gently. She perked up at the word again, but felt that neither Creator was worried. Their energy felt warm and positive and full of love.

"I think maybe this emotion might be foreign to her as her captors weren't obviously concern with her safety." Ratchet explained quietly so Elisa wouldn't get upset. Then the room started blinking green. "Looks like Lennox is here." Ratchet announced. He came in wheeling a large device that allowed any autobot to hold it.

"Well I've got your signal scrambler." Lennox said. Arcee gently took hold of it and looked at it.

"That was fast." Bulkhead said as he looked at the device.

"Well after we managed to convert Elisa's signal into a frequency it was a piece of cake from there." Lennox explained. "How long will she need it for?" He asked.

"Probably until she reaches the first stage of maturity." Ratchet answered.

"What does that mean?"

"It's like when humans reach puberty from what I have read." Ratchet answered.

"Oh. Hey what's wrong with her? She looks a little down." Lennox said as he pointed to her.

"We had a little accident today with some glass. She got upset because I was upset." Ratchet answered.

"Alright Prime, what about these other dragons that you mention earlier?" Lennox asked, changing the subject.

"The decepticons and the dragons have formed a truce so that they can reclaim Elisa as their own." Optimus explained with a brief glance towards the sparkling in his arms.

"Why?"

"She will be a powerful dragon when she grows up and they want to harness that power to destroy us." Optimus answered solemnly. It was a sad reality that a sparkling was born into this world just so that her creators would just use her for their gain. A sparkling was meant to be loved and cherished by their creators, no matter who they turned out to be. A sparkling was meant to be born because creators want it not because creators need it.

"So who is this guy?" Lennox asked.

"Magma is his name. He was the alpha dragon of his tribe, which joined the decepticons. I don't know if any of his team survived, but I believe it is safe to say that his partner may be still alive as Elisa is here with us." Optimus explained.

"Who's his partner?"

"Her name is Titania. She was his partner before the war even started. She gave birth to twin boys. Their names are Rhodius and Rising Dawn. I have not seen them, nor do I know if they are alive." Optimus answered truthfully, unaware that Elisa had been looking at him the entire time. She had never seen Sire with the names she had heard in the dark room, so why was he saying them?

"They're working for Megatron huh?" Lennox asked amused.

"No, Magma would never work for a human. He always believed that humans were inferior and he would strike when the time was right."

"Hey but, oh Megatron would be a human on your world because of the dragons duh!" Lennox said to himself as Prime nodded.

"It would be the other way around Agent Lennox. Megatron is working for Magma."

"Not that he would ever admit it." Arcee said from the sidelines.

"Hurrrmmmm." Elisa whimpered, making Optimus look down at her. He rubbed her helm, but she seemed uncomfortable about something.

Elisa what's wrong? He said through the bond.

Mmmmmm She continued to whimper. Arcee came over to Optimus and offered to take her. He gently handed her over to Arcee.

"What's wrong Elisa?" Arcee said sweetly, rocking her back and forth in her arms. Elisa relaxed and snuggled into her arms. "Maybe she might know the names Optimus." Arcee whispered so Elisa might not catch on. Both Ratchet and Optimus said nothing and Lennox took over again.

"Well let me know if you spot any more of them Prime." Lennox said before he left. He figured this was more of personal issue with the baby so he figured it was time to go. Once he was gone Elisa's creators returned their attention to her.

"How would that be possible?" Ratchet said, slightly irritated.

"I don't know. Maybe they said their names when she was…captive." Arcee said quietly. Optimus and Ratchet looked at each other again and then back at Elisa, who was now sleeping in her arms. Smokescreen walked over to Arcee and looked at Elisa. He kept quiet and just stared in wonder at the sparkling, making him smile. Optimus let out a deep sigh before he spoke.

"You are right Arcee. I saw all the files on the hard-drive and their names were mentioned often." Optimus said sadly.

"They might be trigger points for her." Smokescreen said quietly.

"We may not be able to help her like we would any of you, but with time, love, nurturing and care, she can be at peace." Optimus insisted.

Optimus decided to let everyone enjoy the day, so they all drove to a nearby valley a few hours out of Jasper and watched Elisa play. She was in a much better mood today than last night. She instantly recognized the trees and ran over to one.

"Reeee, Rrreeee!" She chirped excitedly.

"Tree Elisa Tree." Smokescreen spoke first. She turned her head at him confused. Isn't that what she had been saying.

"Pronounce the T Smokescreen. She knows she's saying tree, but not the T." Ratchet explained as he laid out the signal disabler and turned it on.

"T…T…T." Smokescreen said. Elisa blinked at him in confusion for a moment. "T…t.t.t.t. ." He said.

"Ratchet is the disabler working?" Optimus asked.

"Elisa's signal is not on the map." Ratchet said pointing to the green light. They looked over at Smokescreen trying to teach her the letter T.

"Teeeee, teeeeee." He said.

"Eeeeeee, eeeeeee…" Elisa paused for a moment because she realized her sound wasn't matching Smokescreen's. "Eeee…eee…Tttteeeeee." She finally said.

"Hey way to go Elisa teeeeee." Smokescreen cheered.

"Teeee teeee!" She jumped excitedly. Bee was the first person she saw and she ran up to him excited. "Teee teeee!" She chirped again.

"Wheeoooppp!" Bee cheered with a clap of his servos. She saw her creators and ran over to them.

"Teee teee!" She said excitedly.

"Very good Elisa. Trrreeeeee." Ratchet said as he picked her up and brought her over to a small tree.

"Trreeeee! Treeee!" She chirped and gave him a kiss.

"She's a lot better than she was last night." Bulkhead said across from Ratchet.

"True Bulkhead." Ratchet said with a glance his way. He put Elisa on the ground and she ran over to the tree again. She stood up on her back legs and pressed her claws into the wood and jumped up. "Elisa no!" Ratchet said in concern, but Optimus held him back.

"Easy Ratchet, let her explore." Optimus said gently.

"What if she falls and breaks something?" He snapped. Elisa looked over at her Creators, while hanging onto the tree and saw that Carrier was going through the new feeling again, worry.

"I will catch her and then you can say I told you so." Optimus answered. She felt better when Sire sent her a positive wave through the bond and so she looked back up and continued. Ratchet was still tense as Elisa climbed higher and higher up the tree, but she stopped around the middle of it and looked around. She saw Bulkhead and gave him a playful roar.

"Heeaad, head!" She said to him.

"Hi Elisa." Bulkhead waved to her. She climbed up a little more to get some support from the branches. When she did she got her herself into position and jumped forward, trying to spread her wings.

Except she was still too young to open them.

"Whoah look out!" Bulkhead said before he lunged forward and caught Elisa in his servos before he crashed to the ground with a loud BANG! When the dust finally settled, Elisa was safely in Bulkhead's servos and she gave him one little look before she started licking his helm as if nothing had happened. Ratchet picked her and frowned and Optimus.

"I told you so." He grumbled as he did a quick check to see if she was alright. He set her down when he was satisfied and did a quick scan of Bulkhead as he stood up.

"You alright Bulkhead?" Arcee said as she watched Elisa.

"Yeah no worries." Bulkhead answered.

"Awesome catch!" Smokescreen said excitedly.

"Hah, thanks." Bulkhead chuckled.

"This was a bad idea." Ratchet grumbled.

"Oh come on Ratchet. She saw me and wanted to get to me, no harm done." Bulkhead insisted.

"She could have broken something." He argued back.

"I caught her. She's fine."

"She shouldn't have gotten up on that tree in the first place." Ratchet snapped, getting angry.

Crrreeerrrr

"She's a sparkling Ratchet. She was just exploring." Arcee added.

"She's only nine months old! It takes about a year for a sparkling to open her wings."

Crrreeerrr!

"Ratchet!" Optimus finally spoke, making everyone be quiet. "Would you please excuse us?" Optimus said as he guided the medic away from them with Elisa following. She was crouching to the ground in submission and looking at Ratchet.

"What?" He grumbled.

"Creer hurt." Elisa said making Ratchet blink down at her.

"Oh by the All-Spark." Ratchet mumbled, his voice heavy with guilt as he kneeled down to Elisa took her into his arms.

"She can sense your emotions Ratchet. Don't forget that. She knows when your happy, concern, or angry." Optimus explained gently as he rubbed Elisa as well.

"But you let her up on the tree." Ratchet insisted.

"Yes I did because as Arcee said she's a sparkling and she needs to explore. She needs to learn about this new world. She's not an experiment." Optimus said.

"I thought you weren't watching her as closely as I was." Ratchet said.

"True I wasn't and I am sorry for that. I will watch her more closely because that is my responsibility as much as it is yours." Optimus said with his servo touching Ratchet's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I overreacted." Ratchet said.

"No Ratchet, you didn't overreact. You reacted as a carrier would." Optimus said sincerely.

"Loove Crreerr." Elisa said suddenly, making both of them smile.

"Yes we love you too Elisa." Ratchet said gently. Carrier felt a lot better now and he showed it by kissing her face and Sire quickly followed.

Everybody was happy again.

Ch. 6: Growing

Even though the autobots had Elisa for six months, she was a year old now. She was a little bigger and started to explore the base more, so Ratchet had to keep an eye on her. She had definitely learned a lot more as well because she had many teachers. Elisa was a sweet and generous sparkling, but she still didn't understand a lot about the world. She didn't understand why her family kept leaving, but she understood that they would come back. She didn't care that her creators didn't have wings as she just loved everybody. She was always puzzled when the small creature came and talked to Sire and Carrier. She didn't understand why they were talking about her captors. As far as she knew they were gone forever so why were they talking about them. Sire got upset with her when she talked to the small creature one day.

"No Magma!" She insisted.

"Elisa don't do that." Optimus said calmly.

"No Magma!" She yelped again.

"Elisa don't interrupt." Ratchet said joining in.

"NO MAGMA!" She shouted in a high pitch voice. Everyone started at the sparkling as she got upset.

"Elisa don't do that. That is very bad." Optimus said sternly, his deep voice seeming deeper than usual. She lowered herself to the ground and crawled away into the med bay under the berth for safety.

"Uh-oh someone threw a tantrum." Lennox said.

"No it's not a temper tantrum. She just thinks Magma doesn't exist anymore because she hasn't seen him since we brought her here." Optimus explained. She stayed under the berth until the small creature left and her creators came over to the berth.

"Elisa come here." Ratchet said gently. She refused to move. "Elisa." Ratchet said more sternly.

"Elisa stop." Optimus said. She still wouldn't budge and Ratchet let out a frustrated sigh. "Elisa come here. Now." Optimus said with authority. She finally relented and slowly came out, her body low and her optics on the floor. "Elisa look at me." Optimus said more gently this time as he and Ratchet kneeled down to her. Optimus gently raised her face to look up at him with his finger.

"No Magma." She whispered. Ratchet gently rubbed her back to calm her down.

"No Elisa, Magma is not here." Ratchet stated.

"No Magma." She insisted again. He wasn't here so she was right, but why were her creators upset with her.

"Magma is alive." Optimus said. She looked over at Sire. She understood the word alive.

"Alive?" She asked.

"Yes he is alive, but he is not here." Optimus emphasized his point with that word. She slowly started to understand why they talked about him.

"Sire sees Magma?" She asked.

"Yes Elisa I see Magma." Optimus answered.

"No hurt!" She suddenly shouted in fear, but both creators sent warmth through their bond to calm her down.

No Elisa he won't hurt you.

That had been one of the few times Sire had been strict with her. Carrier was usually the discipliner because she wondered around base to much. She slowly learned not to wonder out of his sight for too long otherwise he would make her stay with him for the rest of the day. Sometimes Carrier got upset at the others, but it was mostly at Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead I needed that!" He shouted at him as his tool sparked in defeat. The first time she had heard that Elisa jumped and was instantly alert. When Carrier still hadn't reacted towards her as he looked at the broken tool, Elis jumped on his shoulder and started to lick his face. He instantly started groaning at her, but he understood that she was just trying to make him feel better.

She still didn't understand Bumblebee, but she was starting to understand the tone of his beeps and boops. If it was high-pitch he was happy and when it sounded almost like a moan he was sad. She liked playing with him and Bulkhead, who seemed just to laugh all the time. Smokescreen annoyed her to no end. He kept teasing her and she couldn't catch him, but to make him pay she snapped at him every once and awhile. However, Carrier and Sire told her that biting was bad so she apologized for it. When they both talked him for a brief moment, he started playing with her again and she was able to catch him every now and then. Arcee was her favorite of the team. Her dark blue aurora was strong and nurturing. She was very peaceful towards Elisa and she helped out a lot when her Creators were busy. It was no surprise to the others that on some nights Elisa was by Arcee and eventually fell asleep by her side at night.

It was quite interesting when she finally met Wheeljack for the first time.

He had been briefed ahead of time about Elisa so he pulled into the base slowly in his vehicle mode. She heard a new sound and looked up at the stranger when he transformed. His aurora was grey and she didn't know him so she started growling at him, baring her teeth.

"Easy girl." Wheeljack said casually as he kneeled down and held out his servo to her. She stopped growling and stared at his servo for a few seconds before slowly coming towards it and sniffing it. She jumped back when his finger rubbed her cheek, but she quickly realized he meant no harm and leaned back into the touch. When he withdrew she walked over to him and sat down in front of him, just staring at him in curiosity. "Hey there." He smirked as he started to pat her helm.

"Her name's Elisa Jacky." Bulkhead said first as the others watched.

"Hi Elisa." He said as she looked up at him. "I think you and I are going to get along just fine." She didn't understand that he wasn't a permanent member of Team Prime and was upset for a few days when he didn't come back. Bulkhead thought it was so cute that Elisa was looking for him, so he explained as bests he could that he would be back again later. It was then that she truly understood the concept of being alive, but not being at home at base.

Ratchet was looking over some data when he suddenly heard a strange noise one day. It came from the hallway and he knew it had to be Elisa. He finally walked into the opening of the hallway and watched as Elisa crawled around very slowly for some reason. When she stopped she stood up on two legs and started to flap her wings.

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

"Very good Elisa." Ratchet smiled. She could finally open her wings. Her red stripes were barely noticeable as her wings remained open.

"Carrier look!" She chirped and started flapping her wings again.

"You can open your wings Elisa." Ratchet said proudly.

Sire open wings! Open wings! She said through the bond. He had to think about what she said for a moment before he finally understood that Elisa could open her wings up now.

Very good Elisa. You'll have to show me when I get home.

Show! Show!

Like everything else she had learned, Elisa made sure to show everyone her new ability when they arrived home. They were all smiles and cheers and Elisa flapped away. She was ecstatic when Sire got home. She actually ran to him flapping her wings and when she jumped up to him she flew a few feet before Optimus quickly caught her in his arms.

"Oh dear Primus Elisa." He gasped in surprise when caught her quickly. "You can fly." He said. She looked at him puzzled at the new word.

"Sire?" She asked confused.

"Fllllyyy Elisa. FFFFFlllyyy." He said slowly.

"Ffffffllllyyy?" She repeated back slowly.

"Yes Elisa. That's it. Fly." He said.

"Fly! Fly!" She chirped excitedly and she gave his face a few licks as the others laughed.

The next day Optimus and the team returned to their familiar forest where they let Elisa play ever since they got the signal scrambler for her. Optimus and Ratchet kept a closer optic on her than the other teammates, even though everyone wanted to see her fly. Optimus made sure she jumped from a rocky ledge than wobbling tree branches like she normally did. She was up higher than she normally was and this time she noticed.

"Siiiire!" She cried in fear.

"It's alright Elisa. Just open your wings and I will catch you. I promise." Sire said sweetly to her. She looked over at the others who were silently cheering her on. All their auroras were glowing bright with positive energy.

"Come one Elisa, you can do it." Bulkhead cheered.

"Beep Boop Beep Boop Beep Boop." Bee said as he chanted her name. Arcee just looked at her with a bright smile on her face.

"You can do it baby girl." She winked. She looked back her at creators for a moment before she steadied herself. She didn't wait a moment before she leaped off the ledged and opened her wings. Everyone watched in awe as the sparkling glided through the air and right into the arms of her Carrier.

"Elisa that was wonderful!" He smiled as he held her close. Everyone was cheering and clapping for her.

"Fly! Fly!" She repeated.

Either Primus or Unicorn were giving him good fortune today or it was just dumb luck that brought the decepticon warlord to a merry band of autobots on this fine sunny day. He was well above them when he spotted them so he headed down quietly as he could in his jet mode before transforming and landing softly on the ground. He got as close as he could so they wouldn't suspect they were being watched. The whole team was here so if they were to attack he would have to call the Nemesis. He held in his small gasp when he saw the little sparkling. She had grown in their care and was actually flying. She jumped into the air and circled Optimus letting out quiet squeaks that should have been roars. She landed on his back and licked his helmet as he chuckled at her playfulness.

"I love you Sire." She smiled. Megatron blinked in surprise at the words. Optimus as her Sire. That could only mean that Magma and Titania hadn't bonded with her when she was born. It made Megatron growl inside. Even though he knew he had no hope of having any sparklings of his own, he knew a creator's bond with their sparklings was meant to be special and cherished for as long as they lived, not to be an abandoned concept for the sake of a power struggle. With Optimus as he Sire that left only one question: who was her Carrier? Elisa chirped in surprise when she fell over Optimus, but she quickly caught herself by flapping her wings and regaining her composure.

"Elisa be careful." Ratchet said.

"I love you Carrier." She smiled. Megatron turned away from them so he could cover his mouth with his servos to muffle his laughter. Optimus Prime's medic as a Carrier for a dragon! He clutched his waist and dug his palm into his mouth as he continued to silently howl with laughter. This was just too good to be true. Ratchet just never fit the bill to be a carrier. He finally calmed down and looked back at them and just watched for a while. He saw the unlikely couple acting as Creators and it brought back memories to him. Memories of a young gladiator and an enthusiastic librarian who dream of many things. They dreamed of peace and equality and hope for a bright future and a family. Megatron let out a heavy sigh at the long distant memories now. Those mechs were long gone, replaced by a dark warlord and a wise Prime.

Soon everyone when their separate ways to enjoy their day. They still had several hours left as it was just barely noon. Elisa started to wonder his way.

"Elisa don't wonder too far off alright." Ratchet said a little sternly.

"Yes Carrier." She said before sprinting away. Megatron remained still as he heard her approach. Elisa tensed as she saw the purple aurora, but not the Silver Stranger. She moved cautiously forward and jumped in front of Megatron baring her teeth. Megatron had to smile at her courage for such a young sparkling. He kneeled down and held out his servo so as to show he wasn't threatening her. She cautiously moved forward sniffing to the air around him to make sure it wasn't a trick. When she nipped at his fingertips he chuckled quietly.

"I remember you too little one." Megatron said quietly.

"Little one?" She whispered as she looked up at him. He slowly rubbed his fingers over her cheeks and her skin felt cool to the touch. When he reached for her she jumped back with a hiss. "No hurt!" She snapped at him.

"I won't hurt you little one." He said calmly with his palm exposed. She slowly approached him and he gently picked her up into his arms. Even at a year old she was tiny his arms, even his servos still seemed a little big compared to her size.

"Elisa." She said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Elisa." She said pointing to herself.

"Megatron." He said pointing to himself.

"Megatron." She repeated. She looked him up and down for a little while, until she settled on his purple decepticon insignia. She gently touched it with her claws as she looked at it with curiosity. "Like Sire's and Carrier's sign." She said.

"Almost." He said quietly.

"Megatron sad." She whispered before she crawled up to him and nuzzled his face to try and make him feel better. She was feeling an emotion that she never felt before with another. The emotion was conflict. He gently kissed her helm before she looked back at him. "You no hurt me." She said at the memory of how he held and gave her some brief comfort.

"No I did not."

"Why?"

Before he could answer Megatron reacted instantly by aiming his cannon at Optimus who had his own gun pointed at him. Elisa squealed in fright as she scrambled behind her Sire.

"Soundwave, ground bridge now." He ordered. Thankfully no autobots appeared to block his path as the others arrive close to Optimus. Ratchet held Elisa in his arms.

"No hurt! No hurt!" She cried as Megatron casually walked back towards the bridge.

"I couldn't think of better Creators for her." Megatron taunted.

"Don't you dare!" Ratchet shouted, knowing what he meant.

"Perhaps I won't tell him right this moment, but Magma will find out sooner or later. He already suspects something since she has been gone for six months now." Megatron answered.

"He abandoned her Megatron. She was never bonded." Optimus added.

"I'm well aware of this. In all sincerity I applaud you taking on a Creators role." Megatron said with his weapon down. Optimus did the same and soon the others followed, but watched Megatron as he hovered by the groundbridge.

"Then leave her be Megatron. Why go after a sparkling?" Optimus asked, his optics were pleading as if to tell Megatron to stop this quest right now.

"Because I want to win just as badly as you do." Megatron said before he went through the bridge.

"Megatron!" He heard the little sparkling cry before the groundbridge closed behind him.

"Elisa did he hurt you?" Ratchet said with concern.

"No hurt." She answered quietly, but both of her Creators could feel her sadness and confusion in her spark. Everyone went home and Optimus split everyone up to do patrol, including himself to look for any cons. Elisa just stayed in the medical bay berth, thinking of Megatron all day. Why was he so sad? What was that emotion he felt? She just laid in her own little world for the day and she didn't even hear everyone come home until Optimus and Ratchet came over to her.

"Megatron sad. Why?" She said to them. Ratchet stepped away as he knew Optimus could answer better.

"Megatron was my friend once Elisa." Optimus said. She looked up at him, but he thought for a moment before he decided to take her into his room.

"Why go in private?" Smokescreen asked.

"Because it's private that's why." Arcee answered.

"Megatron friend?" Elisa asked curiously in his room.

"He was my friend once." Optimus repeated. He laid on his berth, while Elisa laid on top of his chest plates near his spark as a way to comfort her. "But that was a long time ago. We are enemies now." Optimus said sadly.

"No friends!" Elisa insisted.

"Maybe when you're older you will understand."

Elisa didn't sleep well that night as she wondered through the halls of the base. They all left their doors open a small crack, just in case she wanted to go in, but she didn't tonight. Sire was hurt by the fact that he and Megatron weren't friends anymore. This new emotion hurt her spark and she had a restless night.

"Elisa baby." Carrier said as he gently lifted her into his arms. "What's wrong?" He asked as he rocked her back and forth. Her sparked flashed it's white glow in response so Carrier went into the bond and felt the emotions that Megatron felt. "You feel the conflict Elisa." Carrier said.

"Conflict?" She said confused.

"It's when a person doesn't know what to do." Ratchet explained.

"Megatron conflict." She said and Carrier blinked in surprise. He sent positive energy through the bond and slowly she fell asleep. Ratchet cradled her for the rest of the morning, even as Optimus and the others rose.

"She felt conflict in Megatron Optimus." Ratchet said as he rubber her neck.

"How is that possible?" He asked.

"Well she was with him a little longer before we got to him." Ratchet answered. Optimus only nodded.

"Elisa, sweetspark." Optimus said kindly as he gently woke her. "Goodbye Elisa, I will be home soon." He whispered as he gave her small servo a little kiss before he was off on patrol. She snuggled back into Carrier's arms and purred against his chestplates.

Love you Sire

The next emotion Elisa felt was pain. She hadn't felt pain in a really long time, but this was a different pain. Instead of getting ignored like she had in the dark room, she had her Creators who looked after her and wouldn't leave her side. She had gotten hurt when she was practicing flying again. She had tried to do a running start, but she tripped and had a nasty fall.

"RRREEEEEAAAHHHHHH!" She screamed in pain as Sire lifted her into his arms as gently as he could.

"It's alright Elisa. We're here. Creators are here." Sire said as he hurried over to his trailer.

"Be careful something might be broken." Carrier said, trying not to sound too panicked, but his spark said otherwise. Arcee climbed into the trailer and held her arms out Sire didn't question her as she gently held her in her arms. Despite being a year old Elisa still fit comfortably in Arcee's arms. Sire drove as quickly as he could home and was thankful for Bumblebee's speed as when he got to base he opened a groundbridge for Prime and the others.

They didn't see the speck of rock and dirt fall as a white dragon flew back into the sky to inform his master.

Elisa cried and sniffled as Carrier scanned her over. She had cuts and scrapes on her wings, wrists, and back. Nothing was broken, but her right wrist was dislocated.

"Hold her sides Optimus." Carrier said quietly. Sire did his best to hold her in comfort as Carrier took her bad wrist into his servos. She shrieked in pain as Carrier did his best to find the area quickly.

CRACK!

Everyone flinched at the sound as Elisa cried out in pain. Tears of pain flowed down her face and before Carrier knew it Elisa snapped at him.

"Ouch!" He snapped and looked at his fingers, but there was no damage. She growled at him as he looked at her. The others blinked in shock that Elisa would snap at her own Carrier.

"It's alright Elisa. I'm sorry." Carrier said calmly.

I had to make you better baby.

Better?

Yes, you were hurt and I had to make it better.

"Better." Elisa said out loud and she lowered herself to the berth. When he held out his fingers, she licked them in apology. "Sorry Carrier." She whimpered, ashamed that she had snapped at him when all he did was help her.

"You were in pain baby. It's alright, you were mad, that's all." Carrier smiled and gently rubbed her claws in forgiveness. Elisa moaned in pain when they cleaned up her scrapes and put medicine on them so they wouldn't get infected. Afterwards, Elisa was given food and put to sleep.

"Poor girl." Bulkhead said sadly.

"I'll bet yah she's playful tomorrow, or if not the day after." Smokescreen said with a wink, trying to stay positive.

"What is it?" Megatron said calmly as Magma entered.

"Seek Gazer saw the humans with Elisa. She's learning to fly." Magma said as he came over to Megatron. Neither failed to see Soundwave tense, but he continued to work. Thankfully Magma came by himself, but he knew to be on his guard.

"She's over a year old now. Isn't that to be expected?" Megatron said casually.

"She's bonded to those…those…humans." Magma snarled.

"We value the bond between a creator and creation. No matter what kind of sparkling we have, it is loved and cherished without a second thought." Megatron said darkly.

"Even if the sparkling is a dragon?"

"She was found abandoned with no bondings, the autobots simply took up the responsibility. The species here call it adoption if I am not mistaken." Megatron said casually, enjoying Magma's squirming.

"She's bonded to Optimus Prime and his medic!" He roared.

"Really?!" Megatron said, faking his shock.

"Of all the humans, I wouldn't have cared if you had bonded to her, but the Prime! Rrrraaaaaarrrrrr!" Magma roared and stomped out, seeing that his message was received. Megatron wasn't offended by statement at all. In fact it made he wonder what would have happened if had bonded to Elisa if he had found her first.

Would his librarian come back if he had asked him to be her Carrier?

Ch. 7: Understandings

"Hey slow down Elisa!" A young man with brown hair and bright blue eyes ran through the woods after a little girl no more than eight years old. Her dark red hair had highlights of dark blue that were almost black and she had her Sire's bright blue eyes.

"Can't catch me Smokescreen!" Elisa giggled as she ran, trying to get away from the race car driver. He decided to double back to make his move. She screamed in delight when he caught her and twirled her in his arms.

"Gotchya!" He laughed. "Now come on it's time to go home." He said as he held her hand.

"Awww man." She pouted the whole walk to Smokescreen's true form before she got in the car and he dimmed windows black so nobody could see that there was no driver as the holoform faded away. Unlike the others, Elisa couldn't make a holoform. Instead she could turn into an actually human and they had learned that the hard way.

Elisa was five when she first transformed into a human. Not by accident of course, but it was a big scare none the less. She was sound asleep with Sire the night before and when she woke up she was on the floor and cold. She looked at herself and saw ten little fingers in front of her as her hands wiggled in the air. She felt her face and skin and hair. Her skin felt smooth and warm, while her hair felt soft and a little tangled. So Elisa reacted the only way she knew how.

She screamed.

Optimus woke with a start and looked around the room for any sign of the decepticons. When he found none he suddenly realized that Elisa wasn't next to him on the berth.

"Elisa, honey where are you?" He asked as he got out of bed.

"SIRE!" She screamed into the air, making Sire look down on the floor. He gasped when he saw a tiny child in the corner of his room. He kneeled down to her and saw the little girl was crying and that she had bright blue eyes.

"Elisa?" He asked amazed.

"Sire!" She cried again as she fell to the floor, holding herself and crying. Optimus transformed into his Peterbilt and out came his holoform with a blanket. He was well over six foot tall, with black hair, autobot blue eyes, with a t-shirt, jeans, and boots on. Elisa flinched when the blanket was wrapped over her.

"It's alright baby." Sire said as he cradled her back and forth. She continued to cry as he held her as she was afraid of this new body. He just cradled her back and forth as she slowly quieted down and started sniffing.

"What is this Sire?" She cried.

"It's alright Elisa. Look at me." He said gently and she suddenly realized that he wasn't a giant robot.

"What are you?" She asked amazed as her fingers traced over his soft skin.

"It's called a holoform." Sire answered.

"Holoform?" She repeated and Sire nodded yes.

"It's a human body."

"Human?"

"Like Lennox?"

"Yes like Lennox." Sire stood up and went over to the truck. He got inside and he drove out into the medical bay, where Carrier looked at him in confusion.

"Optimus?" Carrier said confused. He came out with Elisa in his arms and Ratchet transformed into the ambulance. His human form came out, but Elisa wasn't looking at him.

"Who is that?" He asked as he came over to Sire.

"It's Elisa." He answered. She looked up when he name was called and she looked over at Ratchet. He looked to be the same age as Sire, but with brown hair that was greying around the edges. His eyes were the same autobot blue and he was fully dressed.

"Carrier?" She whispered.

"Oh my." Carrier said wide-eyed. He took Elisa into his arms and she snuggled close to his chest.

"It's alright Elisa. We're both here now." He smiled at her. They walked over to the ambulance and he opened to doors and they sat down on a bench.

"Why now Optimus?" Carrier asked as he continued to hold Elisa.

"I'm not sure. I never thought that she could be a human." Sire answered. Carrier handed her back to Sire and got out a scanner out. He scanned her body and everything came back healthy.

"Why human?" She asked quietly.

"Humans are main inhabitants of Earth. It could be that maybe one of your powers was active and changed your form." Carrier answered.

"We chose a human form so this way we can blend in more with the outside world at times." Sire added.

"I'm scared." She cried.

"There's nothing to be scared of. You'll be alright Elisa. We'll stay with you." Sire said.

"What happened here? You two having a little tea party?" Arcee said as she walked over to them. She was in a black biker outfit with short brown hair and nice strong blue eyes.

"Arcee?" Elisa whispered.

"Hey Elisa." She said sweetly as she walked over to her. She patted her hair in comfort as she saw that the child was trembling. "Don't worry, we've all got human forms." She smiled.

"Even Bulkhead, Smokescreen and Bumblebee?" She asked hopeful.

"Yes even those big lugs." She winked.

She got better as the day when on, but they had to call Lennox to get clothes and food for her.

"Hey Elisa I got you something." Lennox said after she came back out fully clothed. He held out a stuff animal that was a husky dog.

"He's cute!" Elisa said as she took the dog and squeezed it tightly.

"What do you say Elisa?" Sire said to her.

"Thank you Lennox!"

She had transformed back into her dragon form two days later. They had discovered that if she concentrated she could turn into a human and form and back. After three years of this Elisa was a pro at it. She was given a little bit more freedom in human form because a human didn't give off any signal. Carrier and Sire were waiting for them when they got back to base. She instantly transformed into her dragon form and flew right into Sire's arms.

"Hello sweetspark." Sire said as he kissed her helm.

"Hello Sire." She said before rushing over to Carrier. "Hello Carrier." She said cheerfully. He gave her a kiss and hug as well. Most nights were un-eventful and during the day everyone took their turn watching over Elisa, unless she wanted to spend the day in the base with Carrier. Most of the time that happened. She was starting to become more aware of the situations around her, like the war between autobots and decepticons. She still didn't understand why Sire and Megatron couldn't be friends, but she knew not to ask. Sire always got sad if she did.

Today she wanted to play outside and everything seemed quiet and peaceful. She was allowed to go off on her own for a little while before checking back in with Sire. He took watch over her today. He watched for any decepticons from his hiding place in the brush as his holoform watched over Elisa.

Like the silent watcher he was Laserbeak saw them easily.

Elisa was just walking along, making sure she was in sight of Sire when she lost her footing suddenly and stumbled down a hill. She cried out in pain as she twisted her ankle.

"Sire!" She cried out into the air, but no answer came. She called out once more, but when nothing happened she crawled up to see where he was. She froze instantly when she saw Sire was battling Magma. She fell backwards again, trying to figure out what to do. She kept hearing snarling and laser fire, so she decided to go forward and go hide somewhere farther away. Her leg was throbbing with pain as she limped away. Some of the roars were getting closer so she had to move faster. When she looked back she saw Magma was gaining on Optimus and more dragons were coming into the woods. She turned away and tried to start running. She didn't get very far before she cried out in pain.

CRACK!

Something in her leg snapped and Elisa screamed and fell to the ground.

Sire I think my leg is broken!

Elisa hide!

She groaned in pain as she started to crawl away. Her eyes were closed as tears of pain and fear flowed out so she didn't see she was coming up another hill. She cried out again as she rolled down the hill, her leg just feeling as if it was on fire. "Sire!" She moaned her voice barely a whisper. The pain kept coming and soon she lost consciousness.

When Elisa woke up, it was dark outside and it was quiet.

"Sire!" She cried out, but nobody answered. "Carrier!" She called out, but again nobody answered. She tried to crawl to her feet, but whimpered again when the pain hit. She rolled over so that she was on her back instead of her stomach and saw that the night was cloudy and no stars showed.

SNAP!

She gasped when she heard a small twig break. She quickly got to her knees, trying to muffle the sounds of her pain as she crawled over to a trunk and tucked herself into a ball. The footsteps got louder and louder as she trembled in fear. They finally stopped behind her and she closed her eyes shut tight. For the longest time nothing happened before the footsteps finally moved closer to her. She whimpered when fingers brushed her tears away.

"I will not hurt you little one." A familiar deep and raspy voice said to her. She opened her eyes and saw an older man staring at her. He had scars over his face from battles long ago, his hair was silver, his body was large with muscle, and his eyes were red.

"Megatron?" She asked fearfully. He gave her a small smirk as he looked her over.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked.

"I think my leg is broke." She answered and let her legs drop slowly.

"Which one?"

"Right." He started to gently squeeze and looked at her face to see her discomfort. Right before he got to her knee she cried out in pain. "I..I…I think that's it." She cried tears coming down again.

"Anything else?"

"I hurt my ankle too. I tripped down a hill and that's when I hurt it." She explained. He took her shoe and sock off and saw that there was already a dark bruise on her ankle and that it was swollen.

"You did a number on this one." Megatron chuckled. "You just twisted your ankle little one." Megatron added. "Starscream," Megatron said as he tapped into his com link in his ear. "send Knockout to my coordinates with a medical kit and in human form." He ordered.

"Master?" Starscream said confused.

"Did I stutter Starscream?" Megatron growled, but Elisa only giggled.

"Of course Lord Megatron." Starscream said quickly.

"Who is Starscream?" She asked him.

"Your Sire didn't tell you?" Megatron asked in curiosity.

"No, he says I'll learn more when I'm older." She said quietly.

"But you already know some things already don't you?"

"I understand you and Sire are fighting each other, like a war I think." She said quietly avoiding Megatron's gaze.

"Perhaps that is enough." Megatron said quietly.

"Why are you so sad?" Elisa asked suddenly, but before he could answer a groundbridge opened and Knockout came out.

"Well, well, well, who is the pretty patient today?" Knockout said with a wicked smile. She instantly backed away from the stranger. His aurora was a deep red just like his eyes. His hair was also a slicked back red with some black highlights. His outfit was red too. Elisa didn't like the feelings he gave off, but it wasn't her fault for she was too young to understand lust. He walked over to them and gave Elisa a deadly smile as he kneeled down to her.

"This is Elisa Knockout. I expect you to keep your manners in check." Megatron snapped, making the medic lose his focus.

"Of course my liege. What's wrong with her?" He asked, trying not to get into trouble.

"Her leg is broken and she twisted her ankle." He answered.

"Double wammy hmm." Knockout said causally. He opened his kit and took out a scanner. He went up and down three times on her leg. "That's a broken bone alright." Knockout said as he looked over the x-rays on his handheld. He wrapped her ankle in bandages and got out some straps to keep her leg in place. "Hey where's Magma?" Knockout asked suddenly. Elisa's eyes went wide with fear and Megatron growled at Knockout.

"None of your concern Knockout." He growled darkly, making the medic hurry back to his work. Elisa flinched when he tied the strap in place. Before he could finish something swooped down next to them. The dragon stood on two legs and stared at Elisa for a moment making her tremble in fear. "What is it Magma?" Megatron snapped, drawing his attention away from her.

"Were you not going to tell me you had her?" Magma growled.

"I was when we had her on the Nemesis. I couldn't risk her trying to get away." Megatron answered.

"Fair enough." He shrugged bitterly, hoping for some backlash. "Doesn't look like she could have gotten away though. Is her leg broken?" Magma asked.

"Yes sir." Knockout answered still work. When he finished he got up and went to his medical kit, Magma leaned over her.

"Get away!" She cried at him. His black aurora made her whole body turn cold.

"That's no way to talk to your Sire." He teased.

"Optimus is my Sire!" She shouted back. She cried out in pain when he slapped her across the face.

"He's a filthy human that has contaminated you and nothing more." He growled darkly, making Elisa sob in terror. Elisa's fear made Megatron's energon boil in rage. Even though he had a short time with his creators, Megatron had always been loved by them no matter what circumstances.

"Enough!" He shouted at him. Magma gave him a sideways glance, but that was enough for Elisa, who transformed her human body in her dragon form and swiped her claws at him. He snarled in surprise and she jumped into the air and started to fly away regaining the size and appearance of her true form. Magma roared into the air before charging after her. "Return to your post Knockout." Megatron said darkly before reluctantly following the elder dragon.

Elisa tried to fly as fast as her wings could carry her, but Magma was faster, stronger, and larger than her. He leaped into the air and slammed her to the ground. She screamed in pain as Magma held her down. She felt like she was back in dark room all over again. The back of her neck burned as Magma's claws glowed red with fire. Elisa heard a small thud to her right and she saw Megatron approaching.

"Megatron please!" She begged him. He looked down at her and she saw pure pity in his optics.

"Seek Gazer, open a groundbridge now!" Magma ordered the instant the bridge opened; Magma was falling back from laser fire. Optimus Prime and his team were charging at them full force. Megatron fired at everyone, but Prime. Smokescreen and Bumblebee went for Megatron and Arcee and Bulkhead tried to distract Magma, except Rhodius and Rising Dawn came charging through. Rhodius charged at Bulkhead who knocked him to the side with his mace. Elisa did her best to crawl out of the way. She managed to get a little bit of distance before someone snatched her up by her neck.

"Sire!" She screamed as fiery claws dug into her neck. Rhodius was holding her tightly against his body and everyone froze.

"Rhodius release her." Optimus stated. His optics were narrowed and Megatron knew he was pissed.

Sire it hurts!

It's alright Elisa. I'll get you home baby.

"Why should I? You've contaminated her human." He snarled.

"NOW!" Optimus shouted at him. Elisa responded quickly by biting his arm. He yelped in pain and dropped her to the ground. Optimus instantly started firing at him as Bulkhead ran towards Elisa. He quickly snatched her up into his arms and held her close.

"Ratchet open a groundbridge. I've got Elisa." He ordered through his com link.

"Bulkhead." Elisa moaned.

"It's alright E. I've got you." He saw calmly as he made sure he was out of firing range. The groundbridge quickly opened and Bulkhead scrambled through it.

"Elisa!" Carrier cried out when Bulkhead handed her over to the medic. She started crying all over again as Carrier laid her down on the medical berth and scanned her for her injuries. Soon the whole team had scrambled through the groundbridge and watching as Carrier worked. He put a solid cast on her leg and ankle and bandaged up her scrapes and cuts. Her neck was still bleeding, but not bad enough for stitches. When Carrier was finally done he let out a sigh of relief and started to rub her back in comfort.

"Carrier." She mumbled in her exhausted state.

"Get to sleep sweetspark." Carrier whispered to her.

"No excuses Megatron! Why didn't you tell me about Elisa when you first had her?" Magma snarled. The bridge was tense as the two alphas started a heated argument.

"I couldn't have her scrambling to get away if she knew you were coming. I already told you that!" Megatron snapped back.

"Her leg was broken, she couldn't have escaped." Magma growled.

"She has a parental bond with Optimus Prime. She could have alerted him." Megatron explained, trying to remain calm, but by now all optics were on the two leaders.

"Impossible." He shrugged.

"You didn't even know where he was." Megatron teased ever so slightly.

"That's not the point!" Magma roared. "You had her. You were supposed to give her to me." Magma bared his fangs at Megatron, who didn't even flinch.

"She's a youngling." Megatron stated. Everything got silent for a moment before Magma finally spoke.

"They always grow." Magma sneered.

"She's YOUR youngling." Megatron insisted.

"So are they," Magma said gesturing to his two sons, "and they turned into fine warriors." Magma smiled proudly.

"A sparkling is supposed to be loved and nurtured not tortured and learns only rage." Megatron said coldly. Magma's eyes narrowed when an idea hit him.

"She reminds you of the past doesn't she Megatron?" Magma teased.

"Yes." Megatron stated. He couldn't lie to the dragon, he had learned that long ago.

"She reminds you of what you wanted." Magma got closer and closer to Megatron as he spoke. "She reminds you of the future you had hoped for so long ago…with Orion." Magma finished.

That did it.

With a snarl, Megatron back-handed Magma right across the face. He quickly recovered and grabbed Megatron's wrist with his fire claws before slamming his other fist into the others waist. When Megatron bent over, Magma slammed his claws into his exposed back, drawing energon. When the dragon looked up, everyone's guns were pointed at them. Magma teased Starscream by licking at the energon on his claws before facing Megatron again.

"You give her to me and maybe I might consider letting you survive after she achieves her full potential." Magma whispered before he released Megatron and left the bridge.

"Megatron!" Starscream said with actual worry as he hurried over to him.

"What!?" He growled at the seeker.

"You should get those wounds checked. They might leave burns." Starscream said. Megatron arched an eyebrow when he saw that Starscream actually meant it. "I'd rather duke out the worst punishment you have to offer me my liege before I spend a moment under that beast." Starscream hissed.

"Well at least we can agree on one thing."

Elisa was in miserable pain for the next few days. Her leg kept throbbing angrily with every small movement that she took. She wasn't allowed to walk not that she couldn't for some time so Sire and Carrier carried her around, not that she minded. However there were new questions that she had now.

"Who's Knockout?" She asked after she had regained some strength.

"He's the decepticon medic." Carrier answered.

"Like you Carrier?" She said curiously.

"Yes like me, he's not necessarily a good one." Carrier grumbled.

"Why was he all dark red?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"His aurora was dark red and all of his clothes were red. He had a strange feeling coming off of him too." She explained. Even now Carrier was amazed by her abilities. She had just turned four when they realized that she could see auroras.

"Pretty color Sire!" She smiled at him one night feeding.

"What do you mean Elisa?" Sire asked confused.

"Gold light, gold light." She giggled and waved her servo in the air as if to play with something. It was then that Carrier gasped in shock making everyone look at him.

"Elisa, what's my color?" He asked, his voice full of pure curiosity and wonder.

"Carrier white! Carrier White!" She chirped excitedly. When the two mechs looked at each other Sire suddenly understood.

"She can see auroras." Sire said outloud.

"Whoah! You mean like our energy?" Bulkhead said in shock.

"Green, green green!" Elisa answered back.

"Well Knockout's vehicle form is a dark red and he cares a lot about his appearance more than he does his patients." Carrier answered. He really wanted to avoid the specifics of Knockout's demeanor for she was far too young to hear about it. She seemed satisfied with the answer as she settled down again. Sire hadn't left her side when she got hurt. He felt so guilty for losing sight of her during the fight. He was surprised Ratchet hadn't yelled at him for it, as the medic had said it wasn't his fault. He was just glad Elisa hadn't been taken.

"Elisa." Sire said quietly, making her look at him. "What color is Megatron's aurora?" He asked gently and Carrier looked over at them to hear her answer.

"Purple, like same color of the decepticon sign on his chest." She answered.

"Did you feel anything different from him?" Carrier asked, paying full attention to her now.

"At first I didn't understand it, but I learned that he was feeling conflict." She answered. Both mechs looked at each other shocked and confused. What would Megatron be conflicted about? All he had to do was take Elisa and be done with it. "Magma's is black." She said suddenly.

"Black?" Sire asked.

"Black and cold. I never felt so cold before Sire." She shivered and huddled against him. She shifted in the bed so she was looking over at Optimus. "Are you really my Sire?" She asked quietly.

"Of course I am. What would make you think I wasn't?" Sire answered back.

"Magma said he was my Sire." Elisa answered.

"Oh no." Carrier whispered and Elisa looked over at him confused and a little fearful.

"Elisa look at me." Sire said gently as Carrier walked over to him. "I am going to be honest with you. Your Carrier and I are not your true creators. Magma is indeed your true Sire." Sire said, his voice was starting to tremble and tears were starting to come to his optics as Elisa's face started to crumble with sadness.

"But I can feel you here!" She insisted, putting her servo to her spark.

"Yes you can Elisa." Sire said taking a deep breath. Carrier squeezed his servo for comfort.

"Do you remember when we found you Elisa?" Carrier asked.

"You found me in the dark room." She answered.

"When we found you, you didn't have a creators bond in the spark. So we decided to take up that role." Carrier explained as gently as he could.

"Why did you do that if I'm not yours?" She whimpered.

"Because we love you Elisa." Sire answered as the tears started to come. He gently wrapped his arms around her and kissed her helm. Elisa dug her helm into his chestplates, trying to ease his hurting spark.

"Don't be sad Creators." She said to them.

"Elisa, we will always love you no matter what." Carrier said and he was crying too.

"Always?"

"Always." Carrier smiled.

"Carrier, Sire don't cry." She said to them, her voice sweet and pure. Sire smiled at her courage. As he looked at her Elisa reacted quickly and licked his face, trying to get him to laugh and make the tears stop. It worked as both Sire and Carrier started laughing. "Did Magma not want me?" She asked, trying to get one more answer.

"No Elisa, he didn't want you." Sire answered. "He was going to hurt you." He said strongly.

"I love you creators."

"And we love you."

Elisa's ankle had healed about a week and half later, but she still couldn't really walk that much. Her leg needed a lot more time to heal and as long as she said she felt pain in her leg while laying down Carrier wasn't taking any chances. She could fly around for a little bit, but Carrier didn't let her do it too often. She usually slept the day away and made sure to pay attention to the team when they got home. Tonight Bulkhead seemed more cranky than usual.

"What's wrong Bulkhead?" She asked.

"Oh nothing, just a bad patrol night." He grumbled as Carrier scanned him for injuries.

"Did you run into Megatron?"

"No Breakdown." He answered.

"Who's he?"

"Just another con." He grumbled. Elisa frowned, but decided to leave it as Carrier was working on him. Arcee came over to her and gave her a pat on the back.

"How's the leg holding up?" She asked.

"Still sore." She answered.

"Sorry to hear that Elisa."

"Bulkhead stop moving!" Carrier snapped making them both look over at the two.

"What, I'm fine Ratchet!" He argued back. Ratchet had some sort of tool in his hand, which Bulkhead promptly swatted away. It fell to the floor with a loud crack.

"Bulkhead I needed that!" Carrier shouted as he walked over to the broken item. Bulkhead promptly walked away and hid in the hallway, while the two girls giggled all the way.

"You always say that Carrier." Elisa giggled. "Bulkhead I needed that." She repeated jokingly making the others laugh. Sire couldn't help but smile at her playfulness.

"Well it's true though Elisa." Carrier said with a small pat on her shoulder. Elisa fell asleep early that night, so Sire put her in his room.

"Isn't she a little old to be sleeping with you now Optimus?" Smokescreen asked, promptly earning a harsh slap from Arcee. "Owww, hey!" He cried out.

"True she is growing Smokescreen, but she's nowhere near big enough to have her own room yet." Optimus answered.

"Sorry Optimus, didn't mean to upset you if I did." Smokescreen said rubbing his shoulder.

"It's alright Smokescreen." Optimus answered. It did make him sad to think that Elisa was growing up now. He now wished for the days for when she was just a sparkling and learning all kinds of new things. It made him hold her a little closer that night when he went into recharge.

Ch. 8: New Editions

Now at twelve years old, Elisa was going through some changes. For starters she had her own room now. The first night was the hardest.

"But I want to stay with you tonight Sire." She begged.

"Elisa, you're getting too big now." Sire said gently. He knew this would be hard for her.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked a little fearful.

"No of course not. You can't sleep with Carrier and I forever. You need your own room with your own space." He explained.

"Ok." She said sadly. Optimus stayed with her for a while, until she went to sleep. He left as quietly as he could, but he knew it would be a long night for her if she woke up.

"How is she?" Ratchet said in Prime's room.

"She's upset about it. Which is to be expected." Optimus answered.

"She'll learn. She always is." Ratchet said and he let out a chuckle making Optimus look at him curiously. "I still remember when she first got here and how sad she was every time you left." Ratchet said.

"Yes, she was always sad to see me leave and she greeted me like there was no tomorrow." Optimus added. Soon both mechs looked at each other for longer than they realized.

"I'll keep an optic out for her." Ratchet said quickly before leaving.

"Good night old friend." Optimus said.

"Good night Optimus."

Elisa woke in the middle of the night and tossed and turned. She couldn't sleep very well and she felt cold without Sire and Carrier by her side. She knew what Sire was talking about though. He wanted her to grow up a little bit. That didn't mean she wanted to. Elisa stayed awake for an hour before she got out of her own berth with a blanket in servo. She laid down next to her Sire's door and she felt a little better before she wrapped the blanket around her and fell asleep. Ratchet was the first to rise the next morning. He let out a sigh when he saw Elisa sleeping next to Optimus' door. He gently picked her up into his arms and carried her to the medical berth in the main room. She was still sleeping when Optimus woke up.

"Oh no." He sighed when saw her.

"She was by your door when I woke up this morning." Ratchet explained.

"Oh poor baby." Optimus said as he rubbed her back. She rolled into his servo, but didn't fully wake up. "Elisa baby." He whispered to her and she finally opened her optics.

"Good morning Sire." She said to him and then looked at Ratchet. "Good morning Carrier." She smiled to him.

"Elisa where were you this morning?" Sire said in a playfully stern voice, but Elisa bowed her helm to the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Sire." She whimpered fearing she would be yelled at. Carrier walked over to them, trying to comfort her.

"Elisa, we're not mad at you." Carrier said.

"I couldn't sleep very well." She said less frightened.

"We understand Elisa, but this is something you will have to get used to." Sire explained.

"Just because you want me to grow up doesn't mean I like it!" She suddenly snapped into the air. The instant those words left her mouth she instantly lowered her body down.

"Elisa don't yell like that." Sire said strongly this time.

"I'm sorry Sire." She said quietly again.

"We all have to grow up Elisa. I grew up, your Carrier grew up. Everyone in the team had to grow up too. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad, but we all have to do it no matter what." Sire stated. Elisa sat up and nudged her helm into Prime's chest as another apology. "It's alright."

The next night was a little better. It still took her awhile to fall asleep, but Elisa eventually did. She slept in and the team was already on patrol by the time she got up. She wanted to go on patrol with Sire, but he forbade her. She wasn't old enough and on top of that he wouldn't let her go if she could because it was just too risky. As long as Magma and Megatron were working together she couldn't go out on her own. Days went by and slowly they turned into weeks. It didn't hurt to sleep alone anymore.

She always felt her Creator's love through her spark and that kept her plenty warm.

The next change came when Agent Lennox came with another human one day. This man was a little shorter, black and not as fit as Lennox and even dressed in a suit and tie, but Elisa could tell he was like Lennox in a way. His aurora was a mixture of tan and green. His eyes went wide when he saw Elisa.

"In the name of the Statue of Liberty!" He gasped. Elisa only looked at him puzzled as the team walked over to them.

"To what do we owe this visit Agent Lennox?" Optimus said politely as usual.

"This is Agent William Fowler. He's my replacement." Lennox answered.

"No you can't go!" Elisa cried immediately.

"I'm retiring Prime. I'd like to watch my granddaughter grow." Lennox said.

"Who's this?" Bulkhead asked.

"I am Special Agent William Fowler and I will be your new liaison to the United States government." He answered proudly.

"I'm surprised you aren't shocked about all this." Arcee said.

"I made sure Fowler was well prepared, but he thought Elisa was photoshop picture." He joked.

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"Boowwboop." Bee said waving his servos.

"Nothing?!" Elisa said confused.

"This is Optimus Prime. He's the leader." Lennox started.

"Yes, I know I made sure to look your papers over. Prime's the leader. Ratchet's the medic, Arcee the second in command, Bumblebee the Scout, Bulkhead the muscle and Smokescreen the new guy." He said.

"Hey, I've been here for over twelve years now!" Smokescreen objected.

"Optimus and Ratchet are Elisa's caretakers." Lennox added sternly.

"Hello Elisa." Fowler said sheepishly, unsure as to what to say to a little dragon.

"Hello Agent Fowler." She answered back politely.

"Congratulations on your retirement Agent Lennox. We wish you the best of luck in the future." Optimus said.

"It's really been an honor serving with Team Prime." Lennox said with a smile.

"Hey what the!" Fowler shouted as a small girl ran past him. She had long red hair with small streaks of dark blue. "Hey where did the dragon go?" He asked.

"This is Elisa." Lennox said pointing to her human form.

"That's not possible!" He said shocked.

"They all can make human forms to blend in more if necessary." Lennox said pointing to the team. "Elisa can do it too." He said as he smiled at her.

"I'm going to miss you Lennox." She said sadly as she hugged him.

"I'll miss you too Elisa." He said patting her back.

"Has it really been that long?" Ratchet asked amazed.

"Over twenty years Ratchet and nearly half of them watching this little bundle grow." He said proudly, making Elisa giggle. She went over to Fowler and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you Agent Fowler." She said.

"Uuuhh…nice to meet you too." He said and shook her hand.

"Better be nice to her. She's the crown jewel here." Lennox said as Fowler only nodded.

"That's right. E isn't just an image." Bulkhead said sternly.

"I'll be sure to remember that two-ton." Fowler shot back.

"Better watch your bearings too!" He snapped.

"Bulkhead, not in front of Elisa." Carrier snapped, making the wreaker only huff in reply.

"I'm so glad to have met all of you and I hope that someday peace will come for you." Lennox said strongly. "Good luck Prime." He said.

"The same to you Agent Lennox." Optimus said as both humans walked into the elevator. Lennox waved to them and Elisa before the door closed and he was gone.

Two more years passed and Elisa became used to Agent Fowler just like the others did. He naturally had respect for Optimus, but he and Bulkhead hadn't been exactly seeing eye to eye. He did eventually get used to Elisa too and he even started to like her. Being the youngest she had a more playful personality than her autobot family. Several changes to Elisa started come out. She was entering the first stage of maturity and humans had entered their world. Arcee and Bee came home one day and Elisa could tell she was tense.

"And the cons would have been scrap metal if I hadn't been distracted by that human." She said annoyed with her report.

"Human?" Optimus asked curiously.

"Beep boom bab beoowww." Bee added.

"Two boys?"

"I guess the second one caught us in action, I don't know, was a little busy at the time." She snapped at Bee.

"If the decepticons are targeting us, anyone perceived as our ally will be in grave risk." Optimus stated.

"How old do you think they were?" Elisa asked suddenly. She wasn't looking at her Sire as he tensed at her question.

"One was old enough to drive and he was working so he must have been at least sixteen." Arcee answered.

"Why do they let them drive at that age?" She asked curiously.

"Don't know, but it's a weird tradition I think." Arcee muttered.

"Beeop baam baoouup." Bee said.

"A little guy?" She chuckled at that.

"Weeeopp." Bee said sadly pointing to his pede.

"Awww don't worry about it Bee. Maybe you can make it up to him." Elisa added.

"Elisa, what are you suggesting?" Optimus said seriously to her. She had grown in size and was still growing. She was a taller than Arcee now, but not as tall as Carrier yet.

"Why don't I go look for them?" She finally said.

"Absolutely not!" Carrier shouted instantly.

"In my human form of course." She added.

"My answer is still no!" Carrier said sternly.

"But Carrier…" Elisa started, but stopped when Sire put a servo on her shoulder.

"I appreciate your suggestion Elisa, but I think Arcee and Bumblebee are better suited for the task as they have already seen the humans." Sire explained.

"Ok Sire." She said quietly.

"If the decepticons are back, than I can't take the risk of them seeing you." Sire added.

"I know." She said quietly before leaving the main room.

"She should have apologized." Ratchet huffed in annoyance.

"She just wants to help her Creators Ratchet." Arcee said defensively.

"Oh." Ratchet wasn't sure what else to say so he returned to his lab. The next day two boys and a girl came in with Arcee and Bumblebee. Optimus thought it wise for Elisa to be in her human form for the meeting. They all looked in awe at Carrier and Bulkhead.

"I thought there were two?" He asked confused.

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." Arcee grumbled.

"I'm Raf." The little boy said. He had a sweater vest on with glasses and a lot of hair.

"I'm Miko." The girl said. Her hair was long and dyed pink and her outfit was wild. She instantly ran up to Bulkhead as Elisa watched from the back. "Who are you?" She asked excitedly.

"Bulkhead." He stated cautiously.

"Are you a car? I bet you're a truck, a monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh? Ever use a wrecking ball for a punching bag?" She asked excitedly making Bulkhead look down at her in shock.

"So if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raf asked innocently. Elisa covered her mouth to keep from laughing as Ratchet snorted in disgust.

"Plllleeeease." He grumbled. Then on cue Sire came in behind them.

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as autobots." He answered.

"Why are you here?" The boy Arcee called Jack asked cautiously.

"To protect your planet from the decepticons."

"The jokers who tried to bump us off last night." Arcee added.

"Ok, why are they here?" Sire kneeled down to their level before he spoke.

"A fair question Jack. In part they are here because out planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war."

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked.

"Foremost for control of our world supply of energon, the fuel and lifeblood of autobots and decepticons alike. The combat was fierce and endured for centuries. In the beginning I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother, but in war ideals can be corrupted and it was thus that Megatron lost his way." Sire said sadly. Elisa was in shock from all of this as this was the first time she had heard any of it. She had always asked about the war, but he had refused to answer. So why was it so much easier to answer to a human?

"Is there going to be a quiz?" Miko asked bringing Elisa back to the present.

"So what is this Megatron or any of this have to do with us?" Jack asked.

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time, but if his return is immanent as I fear, it could be catastrophic." Optimus answered. "And since you now know of our existence, I fear as of last night the decepticons know of yours."

"Got it, if we spot any strange vehicles call 9-1-1. Can we go now?" Jack asked.

"Are you insane? I'm living a dream here in bot sauna and I will not allow you or anyone else to shatter it!" Miko insisted. Elisa finally laughed out loud catching the others attention.

"Hi, I'm Elisa." She said with a wave. She was a little taller than Miko and her red hair was dark with natural blue highlights. Her appearance was due to the energy she was cared for by and the colors reflected Sire's own appearance.

"Whoa! Cool hair girl!" Miko said excitedly.

"Thanks Miko." She said.

"So how did you meet them?" Jack asked her.

"I live here."

"What?!" All three of them said shocked.

"How?" Jack said shocked.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you." She said with a wink and a smile. Before they could go any further the base flashed green with Agent Fowler's arrival. The meeting didn't go well and left Sire frustrated along with a annoyed Bulkhead and an angry Carrier. Things didn't last long before he picked up a strong energy signal and the team left, leaving the humans in wonder at the ground bridge. The team returned after a rough encounter and Arcee was out of breath. Elisa had to laugh when the humans had to return home. Sire might have been knowledgeable, but he forgot about Earth customs. Jack was paired with Arcee, Miko with Bulkhead and Bee with Raf as they left and went to their homes for the night. The instant they were gone Elisa immediately went in.

"You answered Jack so easily and he's human! What makes me so different?!" She demanded returning to her dragon form. Carrier looked over at Smokescreen who left the room so the Creators could talk.

"Elisa, he had a right to know. This is his world that is in danger after all." Sire said calmly.

"And I don't!" She cried out frustrated.

"You were a sparkling Elisa and you still are. There are some things you don't need to know." Sire answered.

"I've reached the first stage of maturity! Shouldn't that count for something?" She snapped.

"You are OUR sparkling Elisa." Carrier added making her look at him. "We thought it was best that you don't know these things so you could have a happy childhood and not be scared for your spark." He explained.

"It's not like I didn't have a rough start or know about Megatron." She snapped angrily at him. Tears started to come to her eyes because of the frustration she felt.

"Don't you snap at me like that!" Carrier stated. She glared at the floor for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Well, it's true Carrier. I still remember that dark room and I've got the scar to prove it." She said bitterly, pointing to the back of her neck.

"Elisa we know that. We found you there and that's why we took you in." Sire said softly, trying to ease her pain the he felt in his own spark.

"You don't trust me." She stated.

"How dare you Elisa!" Carrier shouted at her.

"I just wanted to truth! Is that too much to ask?" She cried. Angry tears started to roll down her face.

"Sometimes it's necessary to not know the truth for better things." Carrier insisted.

"Fine." She said quietly before she brushed past them and hurried to her room.

"By the Allspark." Ratchet said frustrated.

"I should have expected this." Optimus said.

"She's barely a youngling Optimus. She doesn't understand." Ratchet insisted.

"It is our job as her Creators to help her understand old friend." Optimus answered. Ratchet could only nod as Smokescreen poked his head out into the hallway. That night Optimus quietly walked into Elisa's room. She was facing away from the door and she was in a tight position in her sleep. Optimus could only let out a quiet sigh at his sparkling's pain. He kneeled down and gently kissed her helm.

"I love you Elisa. Please don't ever forget that." He whispered

Ch. 9: War Has Started

"Not even Megatron could have survived Ground Zero." Sire said seriously. Elisa felt saddened by Megatron's death. Even though she hadn't seen him in years she still remembered his kindness. She did her best to hide her sadness at the thought of it. However, she could not hide her jealousy at the children. She did like them, but they got to help out when Elisa was told no. It made her jealous beyond comparison. Even with the decepticons under the command of the seeker Starscream things were still dangerous with Magma alive and well.

One day Carrier was making projects for everyone and Elisa thought it was hilarious. She tried her best to hide her sadness as he paid attention to them, but things were just hurting too much for her every now and then. When Sire asked her about it she refused to answer or just denied it even though he knew fully well that she was lying. She did feel a little guilty for seeing Jack squirm for using Bee for racing, but she told him no just like Raf had and Miko had screwed it up.

She liked Raf the most because he the youngest and the most curious. He kept asking her questions about her life and she gladly answered them to the best of her ability. She didn't like how Miko kept getting Bulkhead in trouble and Jack was alright with Arcee, but with her it was another story. He couldn't believe that Elisa had been with the autobots her whole life and kept making comments about her stories. They had gotten into plenty of fights about it and soon Jack was getting cautious around her because he was starting to learn that he was in her home turf whether he wanted to accept it or not.

Things changed quickly when Sire became infected with the Cybonic plague. She stayed by his side the entire time while she listened to Carrier go back and forth with Arcee.

Sire, you'll be ok. She pleaded through the bond.

It's alright Elisa. He answered weakly.

"Arcee we have the formula disconnect Bumblebee now!" Carrier shouted at the screen. She had never been so happy to see Arcee and Bee come back safely. As soon as the humans were gone Elisa almost tackled Sire to the ground as she held him close.

"I'm going to be alright Elisa. It's ok." He said gently as he rubbed the back of her neck. The next morning Bee and Bulkhead were playing a game as Jack and Miko watched. Elisa paid attention to Bee as his aurora was off. Instead of it's usual bright yellow shine, the color was dull and she noticed hints of purple every now and then. She wasn't sure what to make of it until Bee complained of his nightmares.

"Prime you spotted any decepticons wearing hula skirts lately?" Agent Fowler said loudly through the com link.

"No Special Agent Fowler, why?" Sire said in a certain tone, making Elisa cover her mouth in laughter.

Oh no here we go. She said playfully through the bond.

It must be one of those days Elisa. He answered back and she knew he was hiding a smile. Bumblebee started acting up after the rest of the team left and now Elisa was certain Megatron was doing something to Bumblebee.

"No Bumblebee needs me." Raf insisted.

"Of course he does." Carrier said quietly holding out his servo.

"Ratchet let me help too." Elisa insisted.

"Elisa it's too dangerous for you." He argued back.

"Maybe I can convince Megatron to leave Bee alone." She pleaded.

"You know Megatron won't do that." Carrier snapped back.

"He didn't hurt me back then and he can't hurt me now." Elisa snapped back. Carrier let out a sigh of defeat as he let them both onto the Nemesis. They followed the trail of broken drones as they finally headed into the medical lab. Elisa's eyes went wide as she saw Megatron laying on a table with a cable hooked up to his spark on life support. She flinched when Bee sent Carrier flying. "Megatron leave him alone!" Elisa pleaded.

"Bumblebee!" Raf pleaded as well.

"Bumblebee can't hear you anymore!" Megatron's voice rasped out from the scout.

"As much as I want you out of Bee's body I can't let you go back to your own." Raf said sadly as he tackled the cable. He didn't last long as he was easily flung off of it and Elisa held him tightly in her arms as the dark energon disappeared into Megatron's spark chamber. Thankfully Raf was in front of Elisa as he didn't see her true dragon eyes show as they were focused on the purple crystal. She continued to stare as Megatron rose to pedes and announced his presence like the warlord he was.

"Decepticons, your rightful lord and master has returned."

He causally walked past Bee and Carrier and Elisa didn't fail to notice his optics meet hers briefly before turning away. "Finish these pests." He snapped. "I have my own extermination to perform." He muttered angrily before walking away as the troops opened fire. Elisa snatched Raf out of the way before Carrier picked them both up and everyone ran to get out. She didn't know where they got out, but the Artic was surprisingly warm out today. She figured it had to be because of Starscream's plan for the lens.

"NOOOOO!" She heard someone scream out into the air before the Nemesis flew off.

"Ratchet we need a bridge." Sire said.

"You are not the only ones." Carrier answered. Raf waved as Elisa stayed put for the moment. She knew what was coming when the humans left that night and Sire turned to face her.

"Elisa what were doing with Ratchet?" He asked calmly.

"I was only trying to help Sire. With Megatron inside Bee, I thought if I did something maybe he would leave Bee alone." She insisted. Sire turned to Carrier for confirmation.

"It's true Optimus. She was just trying to help Raf, that's all." Carrier answered.

"Still, Elisa you should know better than to put yourself in a situation like that. What if the dragons were aboard the ship?" He asked sternly.

"But they weren't! I was just trying to help." She snapped.

"Elisa you are too young for this." Sire stated.

"And Raf isn't!" She shouted back making everyone stare at her in shock. "Ever since the humans got here they have be allowed to go on recon missions with them, while I'm stuck at base." She argued.

"Elisa you are more important to us." Carrier insisted as gently as he could. He knew this wouldn't end well as he could clearly see her point and so did Sire.

"That doesn't matter! They are more fragile and in more danger than I ever will be. I can fight back if I have to. They can't, they can get hurt or even worse. I have a better chance than they ever will out there." Elisa said bitterly.

"Elisa you know the others look after their human ally's when it is necessary." Sire said sternly.

"I DON'T CARE!" Elisa cried hurtfully. She tried so hard to hide the tears, but her emotions were exploding now after weeks of being kept back inside. "Ever since they got here, they get all the special attention. They get to go anywhere they want with their bots. They are even allowed to help on missions, while I stay and watch from here."

"Elisa I am your Sire and I am trying to do my duty of keeping you safe." Optimus finished.

"YOU'RE NOT MY TRUE SIRE!" She shouted back at him. Everyone froze as Optimus actually stepped back in shock. His optics were wide with shock and hurt and Ratchet's optics were as well.

"Elisa…you…you…you don't mean that." Optimus whimpered. She didn't answer as she ran out of the room.

"Elisa wait!" Smokescreen shouted as she continued to run out of the base. When she was finally outside she leaped into the air, spread her wings and took off.

"Elisa come back!" Arcee shouted into the air. Her creators could only watch in pain as she flew out of their sight. Ratchet scrambled back into the base to find her signal, but she wasn't on the radar. He shouted in frustration as he slammed his servo down.

"She's blocking her signal." He said in defeat.

"I've never seen her that upset before." Bulkhead said sadly.

"I was a little worried about her with Jack. I don't think they get along very well." Arcee added.

"Beep, beeoouuuu." Bee asked quietly.

"We have to spread out to find her." Optimus said quickly and quietly.

She didn't know how long she flew, but it was close to dawn before she landed. She landed on a cliff's edged and started to cry. The pain in her spark was unbearable as she felt the sadness from her creators. She didn't answer them and managed to shut them out as they pleaded for her to come home through the bond. She just laid on the edge looking out into the landscape as the sun came up. She was fading in and out of sleep so she didn't see or hear the approaching Cybertronian jet. Megatron landed as silently as his large form would allow as he saw the bright blue dragon before him. She certainly had grown since the last time he had saw her, in her true form and human. However, he knew that something must have happened as she wouldn't be this far from Optimus. She didn't even twitch when he walked over to her and kneeled down to look at her. Her helm looked just like Prime's with its sharp antenna and dark blue color. Her wings had traces of red and her spikes were getting stripes of dark blue as well against a neutral black.

"Wake up little one." Megatron whispered as he traced her cheek with his claws. She slowly opened her optics and let out a small gasp when she saw it was him.

"Megatron." He felt her whole body tense as she looked at him.

"My, my how you've grown." He complimented.

"Thank you." She said making him chuckle.

"Still polite I see, a rare commodity these days." He said out loud. She sat up to look at him, but remained lying down. "I'm surprised you didn't sell me out earlier." He added, trying to start a conversation.

"I wasn't sure what was going on, until it was too late." She explained. "May I ask you something personal?" She asked cautiously. He arched an eyebrow at her, but only nodded. "Sire said you two were friends once. Is that true?" She asked quietly. He frowned as old memories surfaced in his mind, but she didn't know.

"It was in another time and in another age Elisa." He answered.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and nuzzled her helm into his chest. He brought her face to his own so he could speak.

"Why are you here?" He asked. She looked away from him and he could see tears starting to come to her optics. "It has to be something with the humans. I did notice some interaction with them and it didn't seem very good." He added.

"I…I…" She took a deep breath before finally speaking again. "I got into an argument with Sire." She cried.

"Why?"

"Ever since they came into our lives he gives them special treatment. All I want to do is help him, but he refuses every time." She snapped bitterly into the air as she stood on all fours and started pacing. Megatron watched in curiosity he did his best not to snicker at her childish antics.

"He doesn't want to see you hurt Elisa." Megatron stated.

"I know that." She mumbled quietly. She was thinking for a moment before she turned to Megatron and tensed again. "You're not going to hand me over to them are you?" She asked cautiously.

"Not now, but eventually." He winked, but the answer didn't ease her body as she kept her body prepared. "You should go back home." He stated.

"I don't know if I can. I said something really bad." She said sadly.

"They are probably missing you." Megatron added, trying to change her mind. She looked around trying to make up her mind.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked suddenly. He stood up back to his full height and so she stood up on two legs as well.

"I'm not really sure. I'm curious about you." He answered quietly.

"Why can't you two just be friends again?" She pleaded.

"It's beyond your understanding little one." Megatron answered sadly. "You should go home. I don't know how I can keep this up." He stated again. Elisa's head immediately went down and her body shook as silent sobs racked her body. He could see the tears coming down her face and fall to the ground.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered as she tried to wipe the tears away. "I try to stay strong like Sire, but sometimes it's too hard." She cried. She turned away to try and hide her sadness, but Megatron took her into his arms as she started to sob.

"This is war Elisa. Things have to change." He said quietly. He brought her face up to his and wiped her tears away.

"I understand." She whispered.

"Go home little one, while you still can." He said again. He kissed the top of her helm before he let her go. They stared at each other for a few moments before Elisa took a deep breath and leaped into the air to fly off. He watched her for a few moments and she looked so majestic in flight. She hadn't left his sight yet before he transformed and flew in the opposite direction.

Elisa didn't take Megatron's advice and return home. She didn't think she could yet and so she landed in a large valley and wondered for a bit. It was the afternoon before she wandered up to a lake and sat by it for a while. She listened for a bit and tensed when she heard something unfamiliar. She turned towards it and tensed. Nothing happened for the longest time until something tackled her to the ground. She snarled and snapped at the intruder as she slipped out of his grip and hissed at him. Magma snarled back at her with a full set of fangs ad teeth. Elisa held her ground and snapped in the air as a threat.

"You little brat." He growled as he advanced towards her. Elisa didn't hesitate and swiped her claws at his shoulder. He snarled as she scratched him and he bleed. He stood up on his hinds legs and opened his wings to look bigger. Elisa was still on all fours as she roared back at him as his claws glowed red and he swiped his claws at her helm. He made contact instantly and sent her flying into the trees. She landed hard on her side and she just couldn't move for a moment. She heard Magma's footsteps and struggled to get on her feet. She gritted her teeth as she stood up and leaped up at him. Magma snatched her up by her neck and slammed her into the ground, making her scream in pain. Waves of pain just racked through her entire body as she heard a ground bridge open before she passed out.

She woke up slowly and her whole body was in pain. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and when it was cleared she was in an unfamiliar room. She tried to get up, but quickly found her wrists were bound to the table. She suddenly realized she was back in the medical bay on the Nemesis.

"Why hello their pretty girl." Knockout said as he walked over to her. "I see that leg has healed nicely."

"That was six years ago." Elisa said.

"Wow, I guess it's been a while." Knockout said. She looked around the lab and saw another mech that was large and blue. He reminded her of Bulkhead with his size.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously.

"Breakdown." He answered as he looked at her. She blinked in surprise when she saw that his optics were orange instead of the traditional red.

"Breakdown's my assistant pretty girl." Knockout winked at her and she tried to break the cuffs. She froze when his servo turned into a drill. "Now now we can't have you doing any of that now." He teased darkly as she didn't move. His servo returned and Breakdown handed him a needle.

"No don't!" She cried in panic.

"Relaxe Elisa, just taking a sample." Knockout said casually. She flinched when the needle dug into her skin and he took a blood sample. Things were quiet for a few minutes before someone came in. She looked to see Megatron with a smaller flyer that was scraped up pretty bad and she had to guess that this was Starscream, and Magma enter the room.

"Does she have any injuries Knockout?" Magma asked.

"None that I have seen. Just bruising nothing serious." Knockout answered.

"What do you want with me?" Elisa snapped with an angry glare at Magma.

"You're going to do what you were born to do and destroy the autobots." Magma answered darkly. She noticed the flyer look nervously over at Megatron who did not return the glance.

"I'm not going to destroy my family." She argued back.

"The family that keeps you locked away without a second thought." Magma added. She blinked in surprise at the comment and became nervous for Megatron, fearing he would get in trouble.

"At least they wanted to keep me safe." She said weakly not sure what to do next. "I won't do it!" She snapped into the air.

"I'm not giving you a choice." He growled. Magma snatched something off of another table and before Elisa could react a heavy metal collar was wrapped around her neck. She cried out in pain when a shock went through her body.

"Take it off please!" She begged. Magma didn't respond as Knockout handed him some kind of remote.

"Very good." Magma said. "I'm taking her back to base." Magma ordered.

"You agreed she was staying here." Megatron finally spoke.

"Do you think that Seek Gazer didn't see your little talk this morning Megatron?" Magma growled at him. Megatron tensed ready for a fight, but Magma ignored him and pressed a button that unlocked Elisa from the table. She rubbed her wrists, but otherwise didn't move. She looked away from him fearfully as Magma approached her. He gently pulled her face to his before he spoke. "You see Elisa, Megatron has been lying to you this whole time." He said to her. Megatron gritted his fangs in anger as Elisa's optics went wide with shock. "You know he works for me, but he's been conspiring against me as well." Magma explained. "He was going to get you on his side so you would be against me. He never cared for you as he was just thinking of himself this whole time." Magma added.

"What?!" Elisa whimpered. "Is that true Megatron?" She whispered. When her tear-filled optics met his, Megatron looked down to the floor in shame.

"At first." He answered slowly.

"He's lying, he still doesn't care, after all he is the leader of the decepticons." Magma chuckled. "Come Elisa." He ordered as he started to walk away. He had a smug grin on his face as Elisa walked behind him reluctantly, unsure what else to do. They walked down the hallway before Soundwave greeted them. "You can't hide everything Soundwave." Magma chuckled in delight. Elisa turned when she heard footsteps behind them and saw that Megatron and Starscream had followed. "Open a groundbridge." He ordered and when she heard the bridge behind her Elisa made her move. She leaped onto the nearest drone and threw him at Megatron and Starscream as they dove out of the way. She ran through the opening and down a hallway. She did her best to ignore the shocks through her body as she tried to find a way out. "She won't get far." Magma snapped at Megatron, who blatantly ignored him.

"Where is she Soundwave?" Megatron asked before her image appeared on his visor. "Starscream!" Megatron snapped before running to catch up as the seeker followed. Elisa just kept turning and turning as the pain became more intense in her body. When she reached a dead end she collapsed shaking hard and let out a moan. Her claws racked against the metal door that refused to budge. She growled at Magma when he found her. He growled back, but she noticed his open mouth glowed red, flashing fire. She didn't know what else to do as she started to plead to Megatron one last time.

"Megatron open the door please!" She half moaned half cried as another shock went through her.

"I can't." He answered gravely and she received another shock.

"TAKE IT OFF!" She finally roared and suddenly her spikes flashed blue before she shot a blue heat ray into the air. Starscream lived up to his name as he let out a feminine shriek as metal exploded. Magma looked at the burnt metal before frowning.

"The first stage of maturity." He mumbled to himself. It was the first defense a dragon learned. How to harness their firepower. Elisa blinked in surprise for a moment before she turned back to the wall and focused her power again. Another flash of blue and her heat ray came forth to shatter a hole into the dead end Elisa had run into. She had never felt so relieved to see that it lead to the outside. She scrambled through the opening and leaped off the ship. She heard another groundbridge open in the air and three more dragons came out and charged at her.

The computer beeped loudly and Ratchet scrambled over to the screen.

"Optimus!" He shouted as the team came over to the screen. "Elisa's signal is back online!" He shouted with joy.

"She's in trouble." Arcee spoke first as she saw that her signal was surrounded by Cons.

"Is Elisa going to be ok?" Raf asked from the balcony as the three huddled close to help.

"Ratchet send us to the coordinates now." Optimus ordered. The medic immediately opened the bridge as everyone moved in. Elisa wasn't on the ground, but flying in the air scrambling away from other dragons. Optimus opened fire first and the other followed his lead.

"Sire!" Elisa shouted full of fear. She flapped her wings harder to get away, but she had a little help as the team made the dragons fall back a little bit. All except for Magma, who dove forward and shot his fire red heat ray right at Elisa. He hit her right in the back and she roared in pain as spark flew. Her wounds were steaming from the heat as she tried to land. She made the mistake of turning back towards Magma out of fear and he shot her again, hitting her right on her side between her neck and shoulder.

"Elisa!" Optimus shouted, but his warning came too late. When she looked back she slammed into the ground hard and scraped across the rock surface several feet before stopping. She tried to get up, but she barely had any strength left in her and her vision was black around the edges. She saw the team advance and they fired fiercely at the enemy. Magma tried to dive in to snatch Elisa, but Optimus was there with his blade as he sliced into the dragon's wing making him snarl in retreat.

"I suggest you retreat Magma. Prime's determination cannot be beaten when it comes to something he cares for." Megatron said in his jet mode as he was already taking off. Magma snarled in frustration as they left the scene.

"Elias baby." Optimus cried as he gently picked her up into his arms. All she could do was lean into his chest and give his neck a few licks in comfort.

"I'm sorry Sire. I didn't mean it." She whispered in pain as she clung to him. "I didn't mean it." She repeated over as she clung to him.

"Ratchet, groundbridge now." He ordered as he lifted Elisa into his arms.

"I didn't mean it." She kept repeating the words as the bridge opened and they ran through.

"Elisa!" Ratchet cried in shock when he saw his daughter's body. "Quickly lay her down on the berth." He ordered as he tried to focus on her wounds. The children stared in shock as they saw that Elisa was an actual dragon! They all stared in shock as they all saw that she was hurt badly and bleeding all over. "Get me supplies from the storage now!" Ratchet ordered as he started to clean her side wound. That was bleeding the most and he had to get the debris out to prevent infection. Elisa whimpered in pain and her whole body shook in fear and shock. Smokescreen was already returning with what he could fit in his arms and Ratchet took the bandages immediately.

"Arcee get me an energon cube. She's in shock and I need to calm her down." Ratchet said quickly, but before he was even finished she was moving. She came back as quickly as she could and handed the cube over to Optimus before she got out of the way, like the others. Only Optimus stayed be Elisa's side as Ratchet worked as he slowly feed her the energon.

"It's alright baby. It's alright." Optimus whispered to Elisa as he rubbed her neck in comfort.

"Will she be alright?" Raf asked the others quietly.

"She's seen a lot Raf. E will make it through no problem." Bulkhead said as strongly as he could.

"Bulkhead I need your help." Ratchet said. The former wrecker hurried over to them. "I need you to help Optimus turn her over. She's got a wound on her back." He explained. Optimus was already on one side and Bulkhead took the other. He gently caught her as Optimus turned her onto her stomach. She let out a low-pitch moan in pain as she was gently laid back down.

"It's ok E. You're doing great." Bulkhead said strongly.

"Bulkhead you and Bumblebee start cleaning any scrapes you find on her. Arcee and Smokescreen stay be me, I might need your smaller servos for something." Ratchet ordered and everyone did as they were told. No one dared to talk as they all worked to help Elisa. Even the children came down from the balcony to be closer for support. Even with everyone working, it took an hour before Elisa's wounds were properly treated and Ratchet could start working on the collar.

"Out of the way." Ratchet snapped as everyone moved. Elisa had been fading in and out of consciousness the whole time as he didn't dare give her any sedatives for fear it might send her body into to shut down from her shock. He shifted his servo into a blowtorch as he melted through the lock on the collar. He worked slowly and carefully to avoid burning Elisa and he finally got the trough the lock. He gently pulled it off and Elisa twitched again as Ratchet saw that the collar had actually burned her skin. He patted the wounds with a wet cloth and she seemed to have calmed down a bit. Ratchet took a scan over her body to find anything else. Her pulse was weak, but he was confident that she would recover over the next few hours to stable herself.

"Her pulse is weak from the blood loss, but I've treated her serious wounds." Ratchet explained. "The damage isn't permanent, but she will need some time to recover." He added.

"Is that a collar?" Miko suddenly asked making everyone look at her.

"I believe so. I haven't seen one of this make though." Ratchet answered.

"Wait, did her neck have burns?" Miko asked and Ratchet only nodded. "It might be something like a dog collar." She explained.

"Elisa is not a dog!" Ratchet snapped.

"What Miko meant is that people use shock collars on their dogs. It gives them a little shock so they learn to stop barking outside." Jack explained quickly.

"Oh." Ratchet mumbled. It was the closets apology Miko was going to get at the moment.

"Will she be alright?" Jack asked.

"She's stable for the moment." Ratchet answered.

"Guys come on. We're taking you home." Arcee stated. Ratchet and Optimus just watched the others leave, with Smokescreen remaining.

"Do you guys need anything?" He asked sincerely.

"No thank you Smokescreen." Optimus answered quietly.

"Ok, I'll leave you guys alone. I hope she gets better." Smokescreen said before leaving the Creators alone. Ratchet and Optimus just sat in silence for the longest time. Neither said a word even when the others came back from taking the children home. Arcee broke the silence first by handed the two mechs energon cubes.

"You two need to be strong for her. She never likes it when you're upset." Arcee explained gently.

"Thank you Arcee." Optimus spoke, while Ratchet only nodded.

"You should get rid of this thing Ratchet." Bulkhead stated, pointing at the collar.

"It's dragon technology Bulkhead. I need to look it over." Ratchet mumbled.

"The one thing I can smash and you say no." Bulk snapped.

"Bulkhead don't…"

"Carrier."

Everyone froze when Elisa's voice came out in a small whimper. Ratchet scrambled over to Elisa's side as her optics blinked awake.

"It's alright Elisa. I'm here now." Ratchet said quietly to her. He gently kissed her snout and she gave him a weak smile.

"Sire?" She called out to Optimus who was on the other side of her.

"I'm right here baby." Optimus whispered. She looked up at him and smiled again as her optics filled with tears.

"Sire, I'm sorry. I…I…I didn't mean it." She cried as she clung to him.

"It's alright Elisa. We're just glad to have you back." Optimus said as he held her servo.

"I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it." She sobbed.

"It's alright Elisa." Ratchet said gently rubbing her side. They both waited for her to calm down before Ratchet spoke again. "Elisa does anything hurt?" He asked gently.

"My whole body feels sore, but my neck feels like it's burning." Elisa answered. Ratchet got a wash cloth and started to dab her burns with the water again to try and soothe her pain. She whimpered in pain as Ratchet worked. The team came over to the end of the berth and Elisa had to smile at seeing them again.

"Beeeooowwwpppp!" Bee waved happily, trying to make her feel better.

"Hi Bee." Elisa rasped back.

"You gave us all a scare there Elisa." Arcee said.

"We were all worried about you E." Bulk added.

"I'm sorry." Elisa said unsure of what else to say.

"That doesn't matter anymore. We're just glad you're back." Smokescreen said with a wink and a thumbs up. Elisa only waved as she was starting to fall back asleep again.

"Optimus can you carry her to her room. I honestly don't want her staying out here." Ratchet said. Optimus only nodded.

"Elisa, baby this might hurt a little ok." Optimus said gently. She only nodded before he wrapped her arms around his neck before lifting her body as gently as he could. She still cried out in pain and it made Optimus flinch to hear that sound. He carried her to her room and gently placed her on the berth where she refused to let go of his neck. "I'm right here Elisa." Optimus said as he lay down next to her. Ratchet closed the door and quickly followed suit.

Ch. 10: Field Work

For the next three days Elisa stayed and bed and stayed close to her creators. The humans came in every once and while to wish her good health, but otherwise stayed away. Her body was terribly sore and new wounds started appear. Pulled muscles and a hard concussion from Magma's slamming her to the ground showed the morning after her arrival. Her minor cuts were already healed, but the burns were still healing. On the fourth day Elisa finally got out of bed and did some stretches Carrier told her about. He came in not too long after she started and she was glad to see him happy again.

"I'm sorry Carrier." She said to him as she held him tight.

"I'm sorry too. Just remember that we will always love you Elisa." Carrier said with a smile. She nodded in understanding. "Now were those stretches I was seeing?" He asked in his usual stern tone making her laugh. Thankfully she wasn't limping when she walked out, everyone was out on patrol. Sire was on a monitor as she knew he wouldn't leave until she was better.

"Sire I need to tell you something." Elisa said quietly. Optimus turned and looked over her for a moment and saw that she was upset about something.

"What is it Elisa?" He asked with concern.

"I saw Megatron again." She said and even Ratchet went over to her.

"Did he hurt you?" Optimus asked quickly.

"No, he just talked to me that's all. He told me to leave so I did, but that was when Magma caught me." She explained.

"You were taken to the Nemesis." Ratchet stated.

"Yeah and that's when he put the collar on me, but he said Megatron was working for him and that he was supposed to give me to Magma." She said sadly. Ratchet looked up at Optimus who gestured for Ratchet to leave.

"I'm sorry Elisa. I hoped it would never turn to this." Optimus said sadly.

"What happened?" Elisa cried. "I asked Megatron about it too, but he wouldn't say. I kept asking him to just be your friend again."

"Elisa, I am afraid we cannot be what we once were. We became enemies many years ago." Sire said. He looked at Elisa and he realized that the truth was unavoidable now. "Many years ago, long before you were born I wasn't Optimus Prime." He started.

"How could you not be?" Elisa asked confused.

"On Cybertron, a human Prime is not born, but the title must be earned." Sire explained. It made Elisa think about herself, but she didn't say anything so he continued. "I was an Iacon archivist in the Iacon Hall of Records."

"Iacon was a city on Cybertron?"

"Yes, later it was turned into the autobot capital during the war, but back in Iacon my name was Orion Pax. I was the equivalent of a librarian on Earth. In my time, things were hard and there was much political corruption. One mech had the courage to stand up against corruption and his name was Megatronous." Elisa gasped as she realized who he was.

"Megatron." Sire only nodded.

"Megatronous was a gladiator that called for equality and freedom. It was during that timer that I collaborated with him as we planned to meet the council. Megatronous and I became good friends and I came to think of him as something of a brother to me." Sire said sadly. She had a feeling he meant something more to him, but she didn't dare ask that personal question.

"What happened when you saw the council?"

"Megatronous became Megatron before we met the council and the meeting is what destroyed our friendship. Megatron wanted to overthrow the old ways with force and violence. He also demanded to be the next Prime, but that would never be possible. When I finally spoke I had no idea the effect of my words on the Council as I called for reform for the freedom and equality of all. The Council declared me the potential Prime and Megatron left to start a war." Sire finished.

"He thought you betrayed him?"

"Yes, even when I swore I did not know this would happen he said it was all lies." Sire answered quietly.

"How does one become Prime?" Elisa asked curiously.

"They have to earn the Matrix of Leadership."

"How did you get it?"

"When war had destroyed Cybertron, I went to the planets core to try to find a way to reverse it, but instead I came face to face with our life giver Primus."

"You saw Primus?" Elisa exclaimed her optics full of wonder, making the Prime smile at her fascination.

"Yes, he must have saw something in me for he gave me the Matrix of Leadership. Now I am Optimus Prime. The last of the Primes." Sire said a little defeated.

"You won't be the last Sire. I'll be a Prime like you someday." Elisa said strongly, making her Carrier feel proud.

"Elisa, you already are a Prime." Sire stated.

"No, I'm not. I haven't earned it yet. I'll earn it just like you did." She said excitedly.

The next day Elias came out in her dragon form to the children.

"So when you say you were adopted you really meant it didn't you?" Jack said shyly.

"Yes Jack." Elisa answered.

"So does this mean we have to stay away now? Raf asked.

"Of course not Raf. I don't want you to go." Elisa insisted. She shifted into her human form and went over to them.

"How are you able to do that?" Jack asked amazed.

"I honestly have no idea, but Sire says it's just my body adapting to this planet. If I'm human you can't tell I'm dragon right." She winked. Jack nodded in understanding and Raf walked up to her and hugged her.

"We missed you Elisa." He said sincerely.

"I missed you guys too." She hugged him back. Optimus watched in silence and he couldn't help but feel proud of Elisa. Arcee watched as well and had to smile watching her.

"Does this mean you can breathe fire and stuff?!" Miko asked excitedly.

"Well it's not fire, but an energy beam and mine's blue." Elisa smiled.

"Oh my gosh that's awesome!" Miko jumped in excitement.

"Hey Elisa." Jack said and it made her look over at him. She saw that his hand was out. 'I'm sorry."

"Me too." She shook his hand and felt a lot better about him.

"Mom, meet my science group." Jack said as Arcee pulled up with Jack and another woman. Optimus and Ratchet walked over to the group as Elisa, Miko and Raf did the same. The woman was staring at Prime and Ratchet with wide eyes until Jack spoke up. "Mom, this is Optimus Prime. He's the leader of the autobots. That's Ratchet, he's the medic." Jack explained. Optimus kneeled down so he could speak.

"Hello Miss Darby, I hoped that this meeting would have happened due to better circumstances, but you are safe and most welcome here." He said gently.

"Wow, thank you Optimus Prime." June said amazed. 'I'm June Darby, Jack's mom." She said to the others. "Nice to meet you Ratchet." She said politely.

"Miss Darby." Ratchet said.

"Are you a doctor?" Elisa asked.

"What?" June asked.

"Your clothes. Are you a doctor?" Elisa repeated.

"No, I'm a nurse actually." June answered.

"Well you and Ratchet ought to get along then." Elisa winked at her Carrier making him frown at her. June got quickly introduced to the other autobots and was eventually on her way.

"Hey Elisa, why didn't you show her the wings." Smokescreen asked with a chuckle.

"I just met her. I'm not going to show to a stranger and besides Carrier said so." Elisa laughed at the last part.

"Excuse me Elisa?" Carrier snapped at her making her giggle.

Sire finally allowed Elisa to go on a recon mission with Arcee and Bulkhead. Miko and Jack were present at well. While Miko argued with Jack about a band Arcee explained some things to her.

"This is a stripped energon mine Elisa. You have to be careful as it could collapse." Arcee explained.

"Got it." She said to Arcee.

"Miko get back here!" Bulkhead said suddenly running in after her.

"Is it ok I go off alone Arcee?" Elisa asked politely.

"Don't tell your Sire." Arcee answered with a smile. Her excitement was worth it as Elisa went off to explore. She didn't get too far before she saw some energy from the rocks. Being as careful as she could Elisa dug her claws into the rock and started digging. It wasn't too long before she grabbed onto something and slowly pulled it out. She gasped in shock when she pulled out a chuck of energon crystals.

"Wow!" She said excitedly. The crystal felt warm in her claws the energy it radiated off of it was completely positive. She went to find Arcee when she heard voices.

"You have ceased to be of use to me Starscream. So you shall simply cease to be." Megatron growled pointing his cannon right at the seekers head. He flinched away only to open his optics wide as Elisa walked in. Her gasp in shock caught Megatron's attention and that was when Elisa realized that this was it.

Megatron snarled in anger as he fired at her. She easily dodged the fire and hid behind a rock pillar as the energon was quickly forgotten. When she turned to look he fired again making Elisa cry out in surprise.

"Starscream you dare abandon me!" Megatron roared and he returned his shots to the fleeing SIC. Elisa saw her chance and shot her heat ray and hit his back. She shot at his cannon, which in turn fired at the rock above his head. Unfortunately, when the boulder landed it caused a cave in. Elisa tried to run so she could fly off, but the ground gave way too quickly and she fell into the debris. She woke up a little while later and the place was completely dark, but for her she could see just as clear in daylight and her blue optics was practically glowing in the dark. She crawled around and she kept hearing a humming sound, but she couldn't place it as the walls echoed. She eventually did see a red light, but when she found it she froze. Megatron glared at her from the other side of the hole.

"Megatron."

"Elisa." Her wounds had long since healed and she looked majestic in the light. Her optics glowed brighter than any autobots Megatron had ever seen.

"I'm not going to save you." She stated as she didn't know what else to say.

"I didn't expect you too." He answered back calmly.

"I'm sorry…I just don't know what to say." She said quietly. Megatron felt pity for her as he knew she was in conflict with her feelings towards him. He had to push her away now. He was the decepticon warlord, she couldn't be friends with him no more than he could be gentle with her anymore, but the poor girl had no idea how much she reminded him of Orion Pax.

"You shouldn't say anything, just leave." He ordered in a darker tone.

"I didn't want things to go like this, but when I saw that look in your optics I just knew."

"You're still a youngling Elisa, you could never make the first move so I made it for you." Megatron explained.

"I understand." She stated sadly. Her spikes flashed blue and she shot at the rock above his head and Megatron thought for an instant that she meant to bury him, but it was a weak shot and she only created a bigger hole for him to work his way out of. "I guess this makes us even." She said before quickly leaving. She finally managed to find Arcee and they in turn found Jack and Miko.

"Don't move Starscream." Arcee growled and Elisa bared her fangs at him as he froze. "Hey Bulk."

"Hey girls." He huffed gladly.

"Raise your hands." She snapped and he let out a pitiful moan when he understood her intentions. When they got out of the mine it was morning and everyone was dirty.

"We could finish them here and now." Arcee stated.

"Shame I didn't bring any grenades." Bulk added.

"Would Optimus finish them?" Jack asked.

"No he probably wouldn't, not like this." Arcee answered.

"But Optimus wouldn't rescue them either right." Miko said.

"Let's go home." Bulk stated.

Elisa did her best not to look back.

Elisa wasn't allowed to come with the team when a decepticon signal came onto the screen. She stayed with Carrier for most of the day and was horrified when Bee called in saying Arcee was hurt and her Sire and Bulkhead were frozen. Arcee was bleeding bad so Carrier took looked after her first while the others pulled in Sire and Bulkhead. Apparently a decepticon named Airachnid had gotten a weapon called the Immobilizer. When Arcee was stable, Elisa helped her Carrier put the machine back together and the two mechs were quickly moving.

"The damaged looked bad, but it was a snap to repair allowing us to reverse its effect on you. You should regain your full range of motion before long." Carrier said.

"And Arcee?" Sire asked instantly.

"She's rather resilient for a two-wheeler." Everyone looked over at her as she turned away, but Sire went over to her anyway.

"It is the external wounds which heal the quickest."

"I thought settling scores would allow me to move on. Instead I chased away our hope of winning this war anytime soon."

"Wisdom cannot be granted Arcee. It must be earned sometimes at a cost."

"Carrier are you alright!" Elisa cried out.

"Ratchet wake up!" Raf yelled out.

"How is it that such small beings can be so loud." Carrier groaned.

"Carrier are you ok?" Elisa asked gently holding his arm in concern.

"I'm fine…I'm more than fine!" He said out loud. He said some medical terms Elisa didn't understand and quickly went out to help the others. Like Elisa, Sire was concerned about Carrier using himself as a test subject and Smokescreen was nervous about it when he was usually all for this type of thing. Elisa refused to touch it as time went on and they went on other energon mission. It wasn't too long before Elisa clutched her spark when she felt Sire's pain and Carrier's anger. Something was happening and not too long after Carrier came through.

"Carrier what happened?" Elisa asked gently. Ratchet took one look at Elisa and made up his mind. He didn't answer her as he ran back out and slammed Bulkhead into Smokescreen and Bee before driving off. "Sire where's Carrier?" Elisa gasped when everyone came back but him. Arcee went right past her to the monitor.

"I can't find Ratchet's signal." She stated.

"Ratchet drove off to fight against Megatron." Smokescreen stated.

"What?" Elisa cried out.

"Watch it kid." Bulkhead snapped.

"Hey Ratchet's her Carrier she should know." Smokescreen argued back.

"Enough." Optimus stated and everyone looked at him. "Unfortunately the only thing we can do is wait for Ratchet's signal to appear. That includes you too Elisa." Sire said sternly. She went into Carrier's room and found a jar of the synthetic energon. She pulled it up close and sniffed the jar, but it didn't give off any scent. The energy that came off of it disturbed Elisa though. It just felt way to strong and gave off a rapid pulse as it was far different from the simple warmth a regular energon crystal gave off. Elisa put the jar down and checked the hallway before quietly heading out to the exit. When she was in the clear she opened the hanger door and jumped into the sky.

Carrier where are you?

Elisa?

Carrier please come home!

I'm sorry baby I have to do this. We're running low on energon and I won't let you or any of the others starve for fuel.

Carrier don't go against Megatron. He'll hurt you.

I'm a lot stronger with the synthetic energon. Don't worry.

Carrier!

Carrier didn't answer as Elisa landed at the last coordinates of the ground bridge. She looked around to find anything, but she knew she didn't have a lot of time as she heard drilling below her. She looked a little longer before she concentrated again. She focused on Carrier's spark and suddenly she gripped her helm when a memory hit her.

"You know for such a big strong bot you're soft!" Carrier snapped at Sire. "You didn't pound Megatron into scrap when you had the chance, many chances in fact." He shouted at him. Sire closed his optics in pain for a moment before looking at Carrier.

"I am afraid the synthetic energon has impaired your judgment old friend. I am confining you to base until further notice. Elisa bridge us out." Sire ordered.

"Fine." Ratchet sighed. She saw again Bulkhead start to walk forward before Carrier came out again and threw Bulkhead into Bee and Smokescreen and quickly drove off in…

That direction!

Elisa opened her optics and instantly flew off the same way. She quickly arrived on another mining operation and did her best to remain quiet. Luckily, her entrance was empty, but she felt Carrier was close.

"You call yourself a scientist!" Elisa tensed when she heard a familiar voice. "You were supposed to have located a fresh energon source by now." Megatron growled as he leaned in close to Knockout.

"Apologies Lord Megatron. We were a little distracted by the new autobot who attacked us." Knockout explained.

"Really and what new autobot would that be?" Megatron got his answer when Breakdown came out and fell to the ground hard.

"Howah!" Ratchet cheered.

"Well…uuuh." Knockout said backing away.

"That is your fearsome new advisory. He's Optimus Prime's medic." Megatron laughed.

"Oh no Megatron. I am your doctor of doom." Ratchet said before punching the gladiator square in the face making him slam into the rock wall. Elisa's jaw dropped at the force of the punch.

"Alright then."

"For Cybertron.—AAAHHHH!" Ratchet screamed in pain as Megatron twisted his arm hard and held it tight.

"Ratchet is rather more spirited than I recollect." Megatron said curiously.

"Chemical enhancement perhaps." Knockout suggested. Megatron tightened his other servo into a fist and slammed it into Ratchet's side. Ratchet gasped in pain as his optics went wide with shock before Megatron pulled his servo free and threw him to the ground. Elisa reacted instantly by leaping onto Megatron's back and bit right into his shoulder. Knockout scrambled out of the way as Megatron grabbed at her. His claws dug into her neck when he grabbed her and threw her across the room. She shook off the blow and jumped in front of her Carrier and snarled at him baring her teeth. "Dragon!" Knockout screamed into the air and backed away even further when she snapped in his direction.

"Elisa." Megton said, but she wouldn't answer and just growled at him baring her fangs. She bared her spikes and they kept flashing blue in warning as he thought of his next move.

"Elisa." Carrier suddenly moaned, making her look at him. Megatron took the opening and slammed his servo into her side, making slide away from Carrier. She tried to get up, but Megatron was just too fast as he grabbed her snout and held her tightly from behind. Her snarls sounded like moans with her mouth held shut as she tried to squirm out of his grip. Knockout left the two to fight as he collected a sample of the green liquid pooling around Ratchet. Elisa managed to open her wings and flap them into the air to try and get Megatron off of her, but they both fell to the ground hard. Megatron wrapped his free servo around her waist and his grip on her mouth never loosened. They rolled again so that Megatron was on top her and he pinned her down with his large frame.

"Stop!" He shouted at her. She froze unsure of what to do next. Megatron heard a grunt behind him and he saw that Knockout and Ratchet were fighting as well. Breakdown the fool was still unconscious. Elisa's spikes flashed blue and the sudden heat burned Megatron's waist catching him by surprised. Elisa lunged out his grip and fired at him. She got him in the shoulder, but it was enough to make him reel backwards. She hissed and hunched down on all fours, showing him that she was ready to strike.

"You idiot Megatron will have my head!" Knockout suddenly shouted, making them both turn in time to see Ratchet collapse and the other autobots heading their way. She turned at the sound Megatron leaving and quickly ran over to her Carrier and cradled his head in her arms until the others arrived. Sire tended to Carrier's wound with her help and Elisa stayed by his side for most of the night. He didn't wake until early morning and by that time Sire was awake as well.

"Easy old friend. You lost a lot of energon good and bad." Sire said gently.

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody I just wanted so badly to…"

"Help us we know, but you could have led to the loss of something irreplaceable, our medic and a most trusted friend."

"And my Carrier." Elisa added snuggling up to him.

"You did lead us to a much needed energon supply and for that we should all be thankful." Sire said.

"The synthetic energon clearly needs refining before it can be tested again. On machines not autbots." Carrier stated.

"Let us take comfort in the fact that you were able to dispose of the quantity that remained."

Carrier squeezed Elisa's servo to let her know he was alright. She still buried her face into his hack cables as a comforting gesture. It wasn't too long before he went back into recharge.

"Sire can I talk to you in private for a moment please?" Elisa asked before she headed to her room. Sire quickly followed her.

"Is something wrong Elisa?" He asked concern.

"When I was looking for Carrier I concentrated on finding him and saw his memory. How is that possible?" She asked. Sire blinked in surprise and thought for a moment before he found his answer.

"They're spark memories Elisa." He answered.

"How did I get them?" She asked confused.

"Spark memories are passed down to you through the bond. You saw one of them to find Ratchet." Sire explained. "Which reminds me that you snuck out of the base." He added making her look to the ground embarrassed. "You know better than to engage the enemy alone."

"I went looking for Carrier Sire." Elisa insisted.

"I know and I proud of the fact that you defended him against Megatron, but you can't win against him. You are still too young." Sire said gently.

"Am I going to be stuck at base?" She asked fearfully.

"No, but Smokescreen is going to be your guardian when you are not." Sire stated.

"Really?!" Elisa said excitedly.

"For the moment only recon missions. You have enough fighting for the time being." He added.

"Thank you Sire." Elisa cheered and hugged him tightly.

"Breakdown you one-eyed scrap!" Megatron roared as both Breakdown and Knockout flinched at Megatron's fury.

"I'm sorry Master. The medic was way too tough." Breakdown flinched.

"And you…" Megatron growled stomping over to Knockout. "You ran away from a youngling!" He roared making everyone jump as they did their best to avoid the conflict.

"She's a dragon my lord. I don't know what she can do." Knockout pleaded.

"That's no excuse. We need to capture her by any means necessary. Do you understand!" He roared.

"Completely my lord."

A familiar mech was staring out into the sky. Elisa felt like she knew him but couldn't place who he was.

"Orion…" A deep voice said behind him. Orion turned and stared at his good friend. Megatronous looked so young with his bright blue eyes and red protoform instead of purple. "You should be coming inside." He said gently as walked over to his side.

"I was just thinking Megatronous." Orion replied.

"Of what?" Megatronous asked curiously.

"About us." He answered shyly.

"Orion…" The gladiator leaned in closer, but was cautious as Orion was very young and inexperienced.

"Megatronous please…" Orion begged. With permission given, Megatronous leaned in closer and kissed Orion and wrapped his arms around him. Hoping to protect him from the battles that were to come.

Ch. 11: Rising Darkness

Not long after Carrier healed from his wounds, Elisa couldn't recharge well at night. Something was wrong and Elisa didn't know what it was.

She started having nightmares.

She was sitting down by a dried up lake. The dirt was cracked and dusty from long exposure. She cautiously walked over the ground and felt that it was completely dry and not even remotely muddy. She walked a little further until she found that she was in the center of it. She looked around the forest and was disturbed by the lack of noise. She jumped back when the ground started to glow purple. Red claws burst from the ground as the dragon started to emerge.

Elisa screamed and fell backwards, trying to escape the blood red menace that was Magma. He was larger than before and his scales were crackled with a glowing purple. His eyes were pitch black and his fangs were dripping the purple substance. His wings were cracked and broken, but that made him look even more menacing. His breath was heavy as he dug into the earth and pulled out a purple crystal. Elisa realized that it was dark energon as she had seen it when Megatron had taken over Bee.

Before Elisa realized it, Magma leaped so that he was on top of her. She pushed her claws into his chest, but the deep scratches did nothing, but make him growl in pleasure from the pain. He leaned in close to her neck and she whimpered at the sound of his heavy breathing.

"Sire help me please." She whimpered even though she knew he wouldn't come.

"Nobody's coming." Magma whispered into her ear. She cried out and trembled all over when he licked her neck. He growled at the taste before he snarled and bit into her neck. She screamed in pain as it washed over her and just seemed to burn her from the inside.

"Stop please!" She begged, trying to get away, but his grip on her neck didn't falter. It took way too long for him to let go and by that time Elisa was exhausted. When he let her go she fell into the dirt gasping for breath.

"You're mine." Magma growled before he slammed the dark energon into her spark.

Elisa screamed in pure agony.

"ELISA WAKE UP!" Sire shouted as he shook her awake. It didn't register to Elisa that it was her Sire speaking so she snarled and snapped at the intruder. "Elisa's it's alright. It's just me." Sire said again as he held her back. She finally realized that her creators were in the room and she started breathing hard. She collapsed in her Sire's arms and held him tightly. When she opened her optics a crack she saw the others were in the doorway.

"What happened Elisa?" Carrier asked concerned.

"I had a nightmare about Magma." She said quietly. Her creators sat down on her berth while the others looked at her with concern.

"It had to be bad. We could hear you screaming all the way down the hallway." Arcee said with concern.

"Sorry."

"It's alright Elisa we all just got scared and ran over here." Arcee said with a comforting smile.

"Bee boop baaooom beeop beep bob." Bee joked.

"I did not scream like a little girl!" Bulkhead grumbled making Elisa finally giggle.

"What happened in the dream Elisa?" Smokescreen asked.

"Magma attacked me with dark energon." She asked.

"Dark energon?" Carrier asked shocked.

"He was a lot bigger too. It looked like he was contaminated by it or something. His scales were glowing purple. He pinned me down and when he shoved the crystal into my spark I guess I actually screamed out loud and woke everyone up." Elisa explained.

"Wow that had to be intense." Bulkhead said. Arcee looked up at Optimus for a quick glance before looking over at everyone else.

"Alright back to bed. Hope you feel better Elisa." Arcee said before pushing the others back into their rooms.

"Will you be alright Elisa?" Sire asked concerned.

"Yeah I'll do my best." She said. Sire and Carrier gave her a kiss before they left her room.

"Love you Elisa." Carrier called out.

"Love you too creators." She answered before the door was closed. Optimus and Ratchet went into the next room to talk privately.

"Optimus you don't think this could have something to do with the prophecy?" Ratchet asked with worry.

"I'm not sure Ratchet. For once I hope this is just a coincidence." Optimus answered.

"Maybe we should just figure this out in the morning." Ratchet mumbled.

"She will be fine old friend. I can feel her right now as well as you can and she feels calm." Optimus said as he put his servo on Ratchet's shoulder.

"I…I…I just never felt that kind of fear from her before, when she ran away that was physical pain, but this was just emotional fear." Ratchet said.

"I know Ratchet and believe me when I say that I was scared as well." Optimus said. Ratchet only nodded. "We will talk in the morning. Good night old friend." Optimus said gently.

"Good night Optimus."

The morning wasn't any better. Optimus was actually up first as he had a difficulty recharging, but he was used to the long hours so it didn't bother him too much. Optimus found what he was looking for when he looked at the planetary alignment.

"Optimus?" Ratchet called out when he entered the main hanger.

"The thing you were afraid has already come true in fact." Optimus stated.

"Oh no."

"It is the prophecy." Optimus answered. Soon the others arrived and Elisa was the last to wake. Optimus did not like her weak pull in the bond, but spoke nothing of it at the moment. "Autobots, I believe that Elisa's dream last night was a warning of what is to come." Optimus stated.

"What is that?" Bulkhead asked first.

"The prophecy that Ancients foretold is nearly at hand."

"What kind of prophecy?" Elisa asked quietly.

"And it was written in the covenant of Primus that when the forty-seven spheres align a perpetual conflict will culminate in a planet forged by chaos and the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness." Optimus answered.

"No skies raining fire?" Arcee asked.

"Goes without saying, it is a doom prophecy after all." Ratchet said.

"I said it's a load of hooey." Bulkhead grumbled.

"I'd always assumed the ancients were referring to our home planet, but being that Cybertron has been dark for eons." Ratchet added.

"And considering what has befallen this planet since Megatron's arrival here." Optimus added.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we've know about these superstitions for ages and never gave them a second thought." Bulkhead objected.

"Why all the ominous rumblings now?" Arcee asked.

"Because the planetary alignment to which the prophecy refers is nearly upon us." Optimus answered.

"And it would seem that it's end point is Earth." Ratchet added.

"Uuuhh crazy coincidence right?" Bulkhead asked skeptical.

"How long we talking?" Arcee asked seriously.

"A few days at most." Ratchet answered.

" However unsettling this revelation may be I am more concerned about those who believe that the prophecy speaks to them alone." Optimus stated referring to Megatron. "Elisa are you alright?" Sire asked concerned. Everyone turned to see Elisa weakly walk towards her room.

"I need to go lay down Sire. I don't feel well." She answered. Smokescreen saw that she was shaking and went over to her. He pulled her into his arms and walked her back into her room as Sire and Carrier went over as well.

"Thanks Smokescreen." Elisa answered weakly.

"Any time." He winked before leaving the three alone. Sire put his servo on Elisa's forehead.

"Ratchet she feels cold." Sire said worried. Carrier scanned her over, but nothing showed up.

"I'm not getting anything physically wrong on my scanners." Carrier explained. He touched Elisa and pulled back in shock. "By the all spark." He gasped in fear. "Elisa, how are you feeling?" Carrier asked gently.

"Weak." She moaned quietly.

"Elisa, will you eat an energon cube if I get it for you?" Carrier asked.

"I don't know. I'm not hungry at all." She answered.

"Can you at least have a little bit please?" Carrier begged.

"I can try Carrier." She answered before snuggling against his side. He knew that she knew he was distressed and she was trying to help him.

"Stay here." Sire said before he went to get a cube. Carrier ran his servo down her back to comfort her as he waited.

"I'm sorry baby. I don't know what to do." Carrier started to cry as he pulled her in close. She leaned up to him and tried to lick his tears away making him laugh. "I remember when you used to do that as a sparkling too." He smiled weakly. Even though her optics were bright, her scales were pale, she felt cold, and he could see her shaking a little. Sire came back in and handed Carrier the energon. She drank about a quarter of the cube before she put it down. Carrier gently laid her back down and she mumbled as she was starting to fall back asleep.

"I'll check on you in a little bit baby." Carrier said gently. She only nodded before the two left.

"Ratchet do you have any idea what this is?" Optimus asked.

"The only theory I have is that she's acting like we were when we fighting Megatron's undead. The dark energon took away our strength and made us weak, but I don't know where there is any dark energon." Ratchet said.

"Ratchet we can make it through this. I know we can." Optimus said strongly.

"I hope so Optimus."

"What is this I sense…a taint of Primus here!" A deep voice asked in the darkness. She was surrounded by a dead forest. Everything was black and burnt and falling apart.

"Who's there?" She called out, looking all over. A cold metal servo suddenly rolled her over onto her back. She gasped in shock when she looked up at the largest mech she had ever seen. He was brown or earth colored, but his optics glowed purple. His servo was so cold that it felt like that it was burning her scales.

"You will perish, just like the others." He growled as he pointed a finger away from her. She looked to where he was pointing at and started to cry. Sire was lying on the ground face up. His optics were wide with fear but they didn't glow as he was dead, a gaping hole in his chest. Carrier was a few feet away from him lying face down with claws marks all over him.

"Creators." She cried as tears rolled down her face.

She gasped in pain when the cold started to spread over her body.

Elisa shot up in her berth before she scrambled out of it.

"I need energon!" She heard Carrier shout, so she quickly went into her human form and gasped when she saw Raf lying on a table.

"Elisa where have you…are you alright?" Jack asked when he saw how pale she looked.

"What happened Jack?" She asked again.

"Wait you said energon was devastating to humans." June said.

"Under normal circumstances quite, but I am relying upon the dark matter inside Rafael's body to meet it head on." Carrier said.

"Raf he…" Elisa whimpered.

"He's been hit with dark energon." Jack finished as Elisa ran over to the table. She held his face and he felt cold like she was. Ratchet took the energon offered by Bee and set it in a machine.

"I need him over here now." He said pointing to room. Jack and his mother ran the cart into the room and Ratchet activated the energon. When the door slid open everyone ran in and Raf opened his eyes.

"Pulse read is stabilizing." June said.

"Bee." Raf gasped.

"Beeooopp."

Miko hugged Raf as the others gathered around him.

"Optimus we did it." Ratchet said. Elisa touched Raf's hand and she felt dizziness roll over her as the remaining energy went into her body. She stumbled away from the table and Jack had to catch her in case she fell.

"Elisa are you alright?" Jack asked again.

"I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy, maybe I got up too quick." She answered quickly, but when she looked up Carrier was looking at her with fear in his optics. Elisa walked away from the others to sit down and Smokescreen came up to her.

"You ok Elisa?" He asked concerned.

"I don't know." She whispered to him. She looked around for Sire and he was nowhere to be found. "Where's Sire?" She asked.

"Yeah about that…" Bulkhead started making everyone look at him. "He went to fight Megatron."

"Bulkhead you went and let Optimus face Megatron alone!" Arcee snapped.

"I didn't have a choice." He shrugged.

"It could be a trap. We have to get a fix on his location." Ratchet snapped. He was working on the monitor when Elisa felt a sharp pain in her spark.

"Carrier!" Elisa cried out as the pain grew.

"What did she say?" June asked. Elisa fell to the ground gasping for air. Sire was hurt and he was in pain. Smokescreen transformed in his alt-mode and his holoform came out as June and Ratchet went for her. Smokescreen pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, but shivered slightly at how cold she was. "She's freezing!" June gasped.

"We think she might be sick. She started acting this way this morning." Smokescreen explained. Ratchet didn't know what to do, but Elisa answered it for him.

"Sire's in trouble." She gasped. Carrier worked on the monitor and he finally found Optimus and something else.

"I'm locked onto Optimus' signal…wait how is this possible!" He gasped.

"What? What is it?" Arcee snapped.

"We need to get Optimus out of there now!" Ratchet shouted. He opened the ground bridge and Bulkhead went out swinging with Arcee following. Ratchet quickly left as well. Elisa's eyes went wide when she saw her Carrier and Bulkhead helping her weak Sire get into the medical bay. "Easy Optimus, from the looks of things you've been exposed to a massive amount of dark energon." Ratchet said.

"I am not the only one." He said sadly before sitting down. He smiled at Raf, who returned it.

"Hey, he's lucky to be alive." June snapped angrily.

"Sire." Elisa said loudly making Optimus look at her.

"Elisa, what happened?" He gasped as he struggled to his pedes.

"Woah, be careful Optimus." Bulkhead said cautiously. He kneeled down to Elisa and saw that Smokescreen was holding her.

"Are you feeling any better Elisa?" Sire asked, his voice laced with deep concern.

"I feel a little stronger Sire." She answered. Smokescreen touched her forehead and felt that she was a little warmer.

"She feels a little warmer too." Smokescreen added. Carrier came over and scanned her and he saw that her temperature had risen, but not enough to his liking.

"Megatron found more of the dark stuff." Jack said as he and Miko came over to them.

"A volcano full." Arcee added.

"The question is how!?" Bulkhead asked. Elisa flinched at the loud noise and buried her head into Smokescreen's chest. He held her tightly and rubbed her back in comfort. A rumbling noise sounded in Elisa's head and it just wouldn't go away as June argued with Optimus and left with Raf in her car. She did manage to fall back to sleep, but it didn't last long.

"Megatron do as I command!" The same deep voice sounded out. Megatron froze on the spot as he stared out at something.

"Destroy the Prime" He ordered.

Megatron screamed in pain.

Elisa woke with a start in Smokescreen's arms making him jump as well.

"You ok?" He asked worried.

"Yeah sorry." She answered before slowly getting to her feet. She looked up just in time to see Bee pull in with June and Raf.

"We're back." He said weakly.

"And we are glad." Ratchet said. More and more bad news was coming as Elisa walked up to the balcony and watched the TV before Carrier came up with something. "By the allspark." He gasped. "If I convert these datapoints to audio files." He started pressing some buttons.

"What? What is it?" Fowler asked.

"Listen." Carrier whispered. The noise started as soon the whole room was quiet. Elisa recognized the sound instantly.

Dragon!

Elisa screamed in pain and clutched at her head when Unicron shouted a warning at her.

"Carrier turn it off!" She cried. Carrier shut the sound off immediately as everyone ran over to Elisa.

"Elisa are you alright?" June asked concerned. Elisa took a few deep breaths to clear her head and the sound faded quickly.

"I'll be ok, I just had a headache." She answered quickly, but she knew her Creators knew she was lying.

"Looked like a migraine to me." June said as she looked over her.

"Thank you, but I'll be ok." Elisa said. She gave a weak smile to the team as everyone thought for a moment.

It wasn't long before things got complicated.

Optimus went to the epicenters where Unicron attacked, but he was saved by none other than Megatron. The two bitter rivals had no choice, but to work together in order to defeat Unicron. With reluctance the team allowed him to enter the base.

"So this is where the magic happens, quaint." Megatron stated and before anyone could stop him Raf charged after him.

"Raf!" Jack shouted.

"Rafael no!" June added.

"You…" He started as everyone ran out after him.

"Ah, you're looking much better than the last time we met little one. Humans resilient." Megatron said strongly.

"Come on Raf he isn't worth it." Jack said.

"And you I never forget a face even that of a human." Megatron said darkly. Jack just looked at him and walked away with Raf.

"You double cross anyone, mine is the face you'll never forget. NEVER!" She shouted into the air before Fowler grabbed her.

"Elisa, what's wrong?" Megatron asked and the humans turned to look at her. "You look sick little one." He said sadly.

"Ratchet obtain the destination coordinates from our guest." Optimus said suddenly before Elisa could answer. Megatron sneaked in a glance at Optimus before he went over to Ratchet. Optimus managed to catch his daughter alone for a moment.

"Elisa…will you keep something for me?" Sire asked cautiously.

"Of course." She answered instantly. He pulled out what she thought to be a charm of some kind before he tapped it and shrunk down to her human size. "What is it?"

"It is…the key to the ground bridge power supply." Sire answered.

"Ok, but shouldn't Carrier have this?" She asked.

"Perhaps, but I've been impressed by how much you have matured since the argument and I have also been impressed by your strength my sparkling. As such I feel you have earned the responsibility of safe guarding this important device until I return." Sire said sincerely.

"I won't let you down Sire. I love you." She said to him.

"I love you too Elisa." Optimus whispered before he stood up and walked back to the others. The ground bridge opened behind Megatron as the others went over to him.

"You first." Arcee grumbled.

"As you wish." Megatron said calmly and he took a little bow before walking through the bridge. Everyone looked back at the humans one last time, but Sire took a little longer before leaving. Elisa did her best to stay strong as she started to become cold again.

Elisa couldn't believe that she was finally hearing this.

"There was a time back on Cybertron in the twilight hours of the Golden Age, when Megatron and Optimus were not sworn enemies. Do you recall when I told you that Optimus wasn't always a Prime? Well he wasn't always Optimus either. He was once a clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records name Orion Pax. But as he learned more about Cybertron's past, he grew increasingly concerned about the corruption in high places. Orion became inspired by the words and ideas of a gladiator. One who had named himself after one of the thirteen original Primes: Megatronous. Megatronous vowed to challenge Cybertron's leadership and demanded that all Cybertronians be treated as equals. This gladiator turned revolutionary rapidly gathered a loyal following, Soundwave chief among them. Orion began corresponding with Megatronous, who came to be something of a mentor to him. As Megatronous left the gladiatorial arena for the political he saw fit to shorten his name.

Before long, Megatron appeared before the high council to propose his vision for a just society, and it was here that he began to show his true colors. Proclaiming the need to overthrow the old guard with force and arrogantly demanding to be named the next Prime, but Orion did not believe in violence as a means of achieving justice. The sparks and minds of the council were moved by Orion's words. Here for the first time since Cybertron's Golden Age stood someone worthy of being a Prime, but the honor could only truly be achieved by earning the legendary Matrix of Leadership.

His ambitions thwarted, Megatron spitefully severed all ties with Orion and the Council and came to wage war on all who opposed him through his growing army of followers which he named Decepticons. He vowed to claim the Matrix for himself, wherever it might lie. In time, warfare consumed Cybertron, poisoning the planet to its core. Orion journeyed there, hoping to reverse the ill effects and found himself before the spark of our life giver: Primus, himself. The ailing Primus sensed the innate nobility within Orion and bestowed the Matrix upon him. It was thus a surprised and humbled Orion Pax became Optimus, the last of the Primes."

Elisa didn't really know what to say, but she had to sit down as Carrier talked to Fowler. June came up behind her and touched her skin.

"Elisa you're freezing." She gasped before she snatched up the blanket from the couch.

"Thanks, but I'll be ok." Elisa said quietly. Her spark was hurting a little as she felt Sire weaken from the dark energon exposure.

"Elisa…" Carrier whispered to her. She turned and smiled up at him.

"He's getting weak Carrier." Elisa said quietly.

"Why are you calling Ratchet Carrier Elisa?" June asked.

"It's a long story mom." Jack said quickly. She went over to her son as Carrier looked over the monitor again.

"Communication links are down as expect, but we've lost their signal." He said.

"Doesn't that mean?" Raf asked quietly.

"Usually, but the more likely explanation would be the interference from these electromagnetic anomalies." He added quickly.

"But if we can't contact them and they can't contact us…" Raf started.

"How are we going to know when they're ready for pick-up?" Miko finished. A glint caught Carrier's optic and he looked over at Elisa who was staring down at the key Sire had given her.

"Where did you get that?" He gasped.

"Sire. I don't know why he gave me the key to the groundbridge power supply." She answered.

"Elisa, there is no key to the groundbridge." Carrier stated.

"Well then what is this?"

"That is the key to Vector Sigma."

"The what?"

"You are holding one of Cybertron's most important relics."

"I shouldn't have this Carrier."

"Optimus entrusted it to you Elisa."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why?"

"Because he doesn't plan on coming back."

"What!? NO!" Elisa screamed and fell to her knees in fear.

"Easy Elisa." Fowler said as he lifted her back into the chair. "Optimus is going to come back. I just know it. He's got you to come back to." Fowler said as he rubbed her shoulder. There wasn't much he could do other than that as Elisa continued to silently cry. She stared at the key for the longest time before she felt a sharp pain in her chest again.

Matrix of Leadership I call upon you.

Suddenly the whole base started to shake.

"Earthquake!" Fowler stated.

"Take cover!" Carrier shouted as he put his arms over the children before June and Fowler quickly followed. The shaking seemed to go on forever before it finally settled.

"There could be aftershocks." June added.

"Do you think?" Jack asked first.

"I do." Carrier stated. Soon everyone's signal appeared online and everyone cheered. Everyone but Elisa. Her spark felt different. Her bond to Sire wasn't as strong, but felt extremely warm and full of love. Even though she felt that often, it was never this intense and it didn't have the feelings of strength and determination that Sire had.

"Carrier something's wrong." Elisa said to him.

"What is it?" He asked concerned.

"Something's wrong with Sire." She said quietly. Carrier hurried over to the monitor and quickly opened a groudbridge for the team and only four came through. The children greeted their bots before Ratchet spoke.

"And Optimus is he…"

"Dead? No." Arcee answered.

"But he looked right at us without recognizing us. Didn't even know his own name." Bulkhead added.

"When Optimus surrendered the Matrix of Leadership, he lost more than the collective wisdom of the Primes, he lost his own memories."

Ch. 12: Earning Their Titles

Elisa bared her fangs and roared at Magma. She stood on all fours in front of her Sire as he was on the ground gasping for breath.

"You dare defend this…human?!" Magma roared in pure rage.

"This human is my Sire!" She snapped back and bared her spikes flashing blue in warning. Magma only growled and leaped at her. They both grabbed at each other with their claws and tumbled away from Sire as he watched in horror.

"Elisa no." He moaned in pain as he clutched at his waist that was bleeding energon. Both dragons separated for a moment as they both open their wings and snapped at each other. Elisa wasn't intimated by Magma's size anymore. They both knew their wings were open to make them look bigger. Elisa swiped her claws at him, but he tackled her to the ground and pinned her down. She looked over at Sire and gasped in pain when Magma bit into her neck.

The look in Sire's optics were pure fear.

Elisa woke up from the violent dream rather quietly actually. She didn't know why she was having dreams about Magma after Unicron had been destroyed. She had hoped that the dreams would stop but instead Magma kept coming instead of Unicron. Things were rough with the team as Sire had been away from over two months now. Elisa wanted to help, but she was still sick for some reason even with the dark energon gone.

When Sire had given her the key to Vector Sigma he had appointed her as his savior. Only she could get to the super computer and get his memories back, but the problem was that the autobots didn't have a space bridge to go to Cybertron, but the cons did know that they had the power source for it. Tonight seemed to be in their favor as Carrier and Bulkhead came with information that the Space Bridge was actually in an energon mine from a "reliable source."

Thankfully, she didn't have to explain her true form to June when she returned to her dragon form before going to the team.

"You go with Arcee Elisa. I'm going to help Ratchet." Smokescreen said He knew Elisa had a stronger bond with Arcee as a mother figure, but he didn't have to say it out loud.

"Be careful." She said to them and gave Carrier a hug before she stepped up to Arcee in front of the portal.

"Don't worry space bridging is just like ground bridging." Arcee said before the portal opened. "Just a little more intense." She shouted over the noise before they went through. Elisa looked out onto Cybertron and was suddenly saddened by how it was just a grey wasteland. "You're Sire wouldn't have wanted you to see our home like this." Arcee said sadly. Elisa took out the cube and it flashed in a specific direction before they moved off. They key flashed again at one point.

"That way."

"Toward Kaon."

"The decepticon capital. Swell." Elisa mumbled before they stopped.

"We're on foot from here. Don't want the noise to attract any unwanted attention."

"Cons?"

"Vermin." Arcee stated before the headed into the city. Just as they entered it a large platform came out of the ground to reveal the entrance to Vector Sigma. Elisa jumped when she heard a roar and out came a giant insect that charged right at Arcee.

"Carrier we're being attacked by some kind of giant bot beetle." She cried out.

"An insection." Carrier answered.

"A what?" June asked.

"What would a decepticon be doing on Cybertron?" Raf asked.

"They were left by Megatron, Centuries should the enemy return." Carrier answered.

"Elisa go!" Arcee shouted as she continued to fire at the insecticon.

"Carrier I don't think I can do this." Elisa said quietly.

"It's alright Elisa I know you can. Sire is counting on you." Carrier said gently. Elisa blinked at the realization and felt a little stronger.

"You're right Carrier." She said before walking through the doors and they closed behind her. It wasn't long before she finally got to the room itself. "Carrier I'm in." She said before she lowered the key card onto the platform. A lot of gears shifted and turned before the super computer itself emerged, glowing brightly. "This is…wow." She gasped in awe at Vector Sigma. "Commencing download I think." Elisa said as she watched. It was taking a long time, but Elisa knew she had to be patient.

Too bad the hungry scraplets weren't.

"Scraplets!" She shouted into the air. Carrier didn't answer so she pulled a few off with her claws before crushing them with her fist, but there were too many of them. Then the insecticon showed up. She growled and snarled at it, but it back up from the scraplets. She got an idea quickly. "Hey guys the main course!" She shouted as she threw one into the air. The others quickly followed it as the insecticon fell off the platform in pieces just as Vector Sigma finished it's download and closed off from the world. She had never been so grateful to see Arcee as they rolled out. They were about halfway there when Elisa collapsed again.

"Elisa what is it?" Arcee asked concerned.

"It's Sire he's in trouble." She moaned as she clutched her spark.

Somebody help! Sire cried through the bond as he was beaten.

Sire, it's alright I'm here. Elisa answered through the bond.

Who…who…who is this? Orion Pax asked fearfully from the bond.

It's Elisa Sire. You will be safe soon I promise.

Elisa?

Sire I'm coming.

"We have to move." Elisa gritted her teeth before pushing on. "We're almost there."

"Ratchet we have the Matrix we're coming through. Ratchet?' Arcee repeated again as they landed in front of the open bridge. "Something's wrong."

Carrier?

"Arcee he's not answering." Elisa said. "We can't not go through can we?"

'I'm going first." Arcee stated. Elisa screamed in pain again and crumbled to the ground.

Elisa help!

"Arcee, Sire's in trouble!" Elisa shouted. Arcee transformed and charge through the portal. Elisa quickly followed and saw that Arcee had tackled Megatron across the room and slammed him to the ground. Orion looked up and saw the dragon before she held out the key card.

"Elisa?" He asked amazed.

"Sire." She whispered.

"Are you certain I am worthy?" He asked cautiously.

"You have no idea." She answered before she held the key out and it sent an energy beam right to his spark, but his chestplates opened to reveal the Matrix of Leadership. Elisa looked in awe at the legendary artifact and lost track of Megatron until he nearly slammed his blade down on Sire, but he easily caught it in his hands.

"Megatron…" Optimus Prime's face mask clicked back into place and Megatron's optics went wide in shock as he knew Prime was back. "Be gone." He stated before slamming his fist at Megatron. Elisa never felt so happy to see her Sire again as Megatron was flung across the room. "Ratchet, how did we arrive here?" Optimus asked.

"Long story old friend." Ratchet answered.

"Base to Arcee, we're reading five autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?" Fowler asked.

"And Elisa." She added before Megatron emerged and snarled at them. A ground bridge opened to their right. "It's ours." Arcee shouted.

"Autobots fall back!" Optimus shouted. Arcee grabbed Elisa and tugged her through. They quickly emerged and everyone waited anxiously for Prime to arrive.

"Sire?" Elisa whispered hopefully.

"Hello my sparkling." He answered as he pulled her into his arms.

"The big guy remembers us. Yahoo!" Miko cheered. Sire looked down at Elisa for a moment before he looked at his shoulder and saw the decepticon insignia.

"Although it seems there is much I do not remember." He said gravely.

"Optimus it has truly been our darkest hour, but know this from every indication your spark never ceased being that of an autobot." Ratchet said proudly to his leader. He looked over at everyone as they gathered around him. They were all so happy to have Optimus back.

Elisa…you're mine.

Elisa gasped in pain as she felt Magma tug at her spark. Her optics went wide with shock and she felt blood come out of her mouth. Somebody screamed as Sire caught her in his arms.

"Elisa baby what's wrong?" He asked fearfully. Her body was just frozen in pain as Elisa tried to answer him, but all that came out of her mouth was blood.

"Elisa!" Raf shouted as the others watched in horror. She was gasping for air as Sire ran her over to the medical berth and Carrier scanned her spark.

"Her spark is too weak. I don't know what's wrong!" Carrier shouted into the air in frustration. The edges of Elisa's vision were starting to turn black.

"Elisa please come back to us." Sire pleaded as he wiped the blood away.

Sii…siirre!

What is it baby tell me please?

Ma…Mag…Magma.

"That's not possible. He has no bond with Elisa." Carrier said as he heard her speak through the bond as well.

"Perhaps it he might be reaching her with the dark energon. We don't know the effects it has on a dragon." Sire said calmly before cradling Elisa's head in his arms.

"Will she be alright?" Miko squeaked out, her voice full of fear.

"I do not know." Optimus said sadly as Elisa lost consciousness.

"Whatever, you're doing leave me alone!" Elisa shouted into the air.

"You're losing." Magma stated behind her. She whimpered when he wrapped his arms around her neck, holding her to his body.

"Please stop. It hurts." She moaned.

"I know it does my dear, but it's the only way I can get you." Magma teased.

"How?"

"Just come to that lake dear girl and give yourself to me. If you do I'll make the pain stop." Magma whispered.

The vision ended quickly and Elisa barely opened her optics. She shivered from the cold and clutched at the blankets she found more tightly.

"Elisa." A voice called out to here. She looked up and saw Sire staring at her.

"Sire, I'm so glad you're home." She whispered.

"As am I Elisa." He smiled at her. "I felt you Elisa. Even though I was Orion Pax, I felt you." He said proudly.

"I felt you too."

"I'm so proud of you Elisa. You save me." He said quietly as he kissed her forehead.

"You gave me the key."

"But you braved going to Cybertron and going to Vector Sigma."

"Carrier helped me."

"I know he told me." Sire said as he gestured for Carrier to come over.

"How are you feeling Elisa?" Carrier asked.

"Tired." She answered.

"I don't blame you." He chuckled.

"Sire can I ask you something?" Elisa asked.

"Anything."

"Why aren't you and Carrier bonded?" She asked. She still remembered the spark memory of Sire kissing Megatron but it was clear that they didn't have those feelings for each other anymore and it made her not mention the memory to begin with. She knew that it was an odd time to ask, but all the bonding interaction lately made her think about them as she had felt Carrier's distress when Sire was gone for those months. Both bots blinked in surprise at the question before looking over at each other, unsure of what to say. "Don't you love each other?" She added.

"Of course we do Elisa, but it's not a love like that. It's a strong friendship that your Sire and I have had for a very long time." Carrier answered.

"Oh…ok." She whispered before she started to fade again. When her optics closed they both knew she was a sleep.

"Ratchet… I" Optimus started.

"I didn't know what else to say either Optimus." Ratchet answered.

"But I still missed you deeply."

When Elisa woke again she felt a little stronger and her room was empty. She looked around and slowly got out of the berth. She poked her head out of her room and saw that the base quiet as everyone was in recharge. She quickly went to the ground bridge and plugged in the coordinates and made sure they would be seen if anyone came out to look. When she arrived at the lake it was a dark night out as the moon was covered by the clouds. She purposely didn't block her signal and all too soon another ground bridge opened behind her.

"You're sick Elisa." Megatron said from behind her. She turned to look at him and he saw that she looked exhausted.

"Is he coming?"

"Soon."

"He's using dark energon and it hurts so bad." Elisa explained quietly.

"It's too powerful for you because you are so young still." Megatron said. He started to walk towards her, but Elisa backed away, so he stopped.

"You loved him…didn't you?" Elisa whispered.

"What?"

"You loved him Megatronous." Elisa said slightly louder.

"Where did you hear that?" Megatron gasped.

"I dreamed it a long time ago. A spark memory of Orion." She answered.

"That was a very long time ago." Megatron stated.

"He would never hurt you like that." Elisa argued.

"That's enough Elisa." Magma said suddenly from behind her. She reacted instantly by swinging her tail at him. He didn't expect the attack and was thrown back by the hit. Elisa's optics went wide when she saw the dark energon crystal fall to the ground. She went to grab it only to be held back by Megatron's blade across her throat. Magma growled in aggravation as he snatched up the crystal and stalked towards her.

"Don't please!" She cried, trying to back away from him, but Megatron held firm.

"It's alright Elisa. The pain only lasts for a few moments." Magma teased.

SIRE!

A ground bridge appeared and Optimus came out alone shooting. Magma fired his heat ray, but the Prime easily leaped away.

"Get away from her!" Optimus shouted at Magma, who only laughed at him. Elisa bit into Megatron's arm, but he only dug his own claws into her. She knew he wasn't going to budge.

"I would advise you to stand down Prime. You might not know the effects of dark energon on a dragon but I do." Magma smiled wickedly and his optics flashed purple. Elisa growled to herself and fired her heat ray at the shard, shattering it instantly. Magma roared in fury and slammed his fist into her head knocking her out of Megatron's arms. He reacted fast with Prime's fast approach. Elisa trembled in pain as Magma's heavy breathing came into her ears.

"Go away." She whimpered. Magma easily turned her over and stared down at her.

"You're much more valuable to me alive." He mocked. Elisa blinked in surprise when she saw that his spark glowed purple. Without thinking Elisa shoved her claws into his spark, making roar in pain. Elisa concentrated on the shard and her claws glowed a light blue like her scales. "Nooooo!" Magma roared when she pulled the shard out of him. When he was still trying to recover Elisa swung her tail and made him fall right into Megatron.

"Elisa destroy the shard!" Sire shouted at her. She squeezed her glowing claws tightly and the dark energon shattered. As she was trying to get up, she was knocked backwards by Magma's fire. Optimus tried to get to her, but Megatron blocked his path yet again.

"Megatron help me please." He begged.

"You know I can't do that." Megatron stated his voice neutral. Elisa scrambled to her feet, just in time to get tackled into the water.

"Elisa!" Optimus shouted, forgetting his opponent. He went to the edge of the lake and saw the water swirling as the two dragons fought, but neither mech could see who was who. "Come on baby please." Optimus begged. After what felt like an eternity, there was a flash of blue before Magma was flung out of the water. His chest was bleeding and Optimus could see blood in his mouth. He snarled in frustration before he flew off into the air with Megatron quickly following. Optimus suddenly realized that Elisa hadn't surface so with a running start he dove into the water. He spotted Elisa at the bottom and he wrapped his arm around her waist before lunging for the surface. He gasped for breath as he swam quickly to land and gently laid Elisa on the ground.

"Elisa. Elisa baby!" Optimus cried out, but she didn't respond. He started to do CPR on her, but after a few pushes into her chest, she coughed up the water quickly. Optimus turned her on her side so she wouldn't choke as she continued to cough for a few moments. Her first few breaths were painful gasps, but she managed to calm down and get her breathing steady. "Elisa, sweetspark." Sire whispered to her. She moaned in pain as she curled up into his arms.

"How did you find me?" She wheezed.

"I heard the ground bridge, so when I saw the coordinates I got here as fast as I could." Sire answered.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly at him.

"You're warm baby." Sire said happily. Even though she was wet he could still feel that she was a lot warmer now and not a sick freezing mess.

"I feel better too." She added, giving his neck cables a few licks for affection.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sire asked.

"I had a vision about Magma. He told me to come here and the pain would stop. I didn't want you to worry. I just wanted to protect you." Elisa explained as she snuggled into his chest.

"Elisa you're not strong enough to go against him, but I am proud of you for what you did." He smiled.

"Really?"

"You put other's before yourself because you love them. It something that any Prime would do." He said proudly.

"Wait, does this mean that…"Elisa asked excitedly.

"I think it does. Your actions tonight and saving me with key of Vector Sigma have proven that you are more than worthy of becoming a Prime." Sire said as he held her close.

"Thank you Sire. Thank you so much." Elisa said excitedly.

"Let's go home. Your Carrier is worried about you." Sire said gently.

"Sire can I talk to you and Carrier about something tomorrow? I need to be just you two please?" Elisa asked.

"Of course. Anything baby."

Ch. 13: No Deal

"Just promise you won't get too mad at me ok Carrier?" Elisa said shyly.

"That depends." Carrier said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well this happened when I ran away." Elisa said cautiously. Optimus knew this was something important to her. He had sent everyone on patrol and he and Ratchet had the base to themselves.

"What happened?" Carrier asked.

"I ran into Megatron." She answered quietly.

"Did he hurt you?" Carrier asked first.

"No, but we did talk for a little bit." She answered.

"What did you talk about?" Sire finally spoke.

"About the argument. He said I should go home, but I wasn't sure I could because of what I said." Elisa answered, her optics down to the floor in shame. Sire noticed tears were starting to come to her optics.

"He said something else didn't he?" Sire asked, making her look up at them.

"He said we couldn't be friends anymore." Elisa cried.

"Why in the name of Cyberton would he say something like that?" Carrier said confused.

"Remember when I was eight and I broke my leg?" They both nodded. "He didn't hurt me. In fact he got mad at Magma when he yelled at me. I honestly think he didn't want to bring me to him." Elisa explained. Sire and Carrier looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "I think I remind him of you Sire." Elisa whispered.

"How so?" Sire asked. Elisa looked around for a moment, unsure if she should really answer the question.

"Orion Pax, Sire." Elisa said barely above a whisper. Both mechs went silent again. "I'm sorry Sire. I didn't mean to upset you." Elisa suddenly cried out.

"It's alright Elisa. I appreciate your honesty about this." Sire said, putting a gentle servo on her shoulder.

"I talked to him at the lake too. He showed up before Magma did and I told him that you wouldn't hurt him like that." Elisa explained.

"Did he say anything?" Carrier asked.

"No, that's when Magma showed up." Elisa answered.

"Elisa I greatly appreciate your honesty with on this subject. However, I know you will not like what I have to say as it might hurt you." Sire said. Elisa only nodded for him to continue. "I strongly recommend that you leave these types of subjects alone. Megatronous and Orion Pax are a distant memory like the Golden Age of Cybertron. I am also asking you to stop these conversations with Megatron. I can already see that you have become somewhat attached to him because he hasn't hurt you." Sire said as gently as he could. Elisa bit her lip, but he could see the tears coming. He kneeled down to her and wrapped his arm around her neck so they were looking at each other's optics. Carrier leaned in closer too as he felt Elisa's sadness. "My parting friendship with Megatron hurt my spark a great deal and I do not want that happening to you." Sire said sincerely.

"When I was on the ship Magma told me Megatron had to get me so he could give me to Magma and he was only being gently to gain my favor, but even now with some of his previous actions I really don't think he wants to." Elisa said quietly. She knew this was an argument she couldn't win, but she wanted Sire to know her feelings.

"I understand your feelings Elisa. Please believe me when I say I really do, but you are our sparkling and we don't want to see you hurt." Sire said. She smiled at both of them and they gladly returned it.

"We love you Elisa, just please don't forget that." Carrier said.

"I love you too Creators."

Megatron couldn't get Elisa's words out of his head. That small conversation just kept ringing in his ears.

"He would never hurt you like that." He could hear her whisper it in his head. Thankfully Magma was nowhere in sight to mock him about the subject. Truth be told he was even starting to miss Starscream's screech of mockery, not that he would admit it of course. He knew he had to stay away from her, but the damage was already done. He wouldn't call it love, but great care. He did care for the little one deeply. Seeing things from a younglings optics brought a new perspective on the present and the past. Perhaps maybe one day she would be strong enough to free herself from her hunters, maybe then he could make a move.

"Lord Megatron, the drones have picked up a signal from the drilling sight." A drone said to his left, drawing him away from his thoughts. He didn't say a word as he left the bridge and flew to the sight himself.

"Show me." He ordered as the drones brought out a case from the dirt. "Bring it to me with utmost care." He ordered. He could not have been more pleased at what he saw.

"Megatron, I cannot allow you to pilfer autobot relics." Optimus Prime said, his weapon drawn.

"Not only are you misinformed Optimus, but I would strongly advise you to lower your weapons, unless you're in the mood for mutually assured destruction." Megatron said as he raised the weapon.

"It can't be." Ratchet gasped.

'The spark extractor."

"Rather unassuming, yet capable of extracting every spark within its radius and to think that you lead me straight to it Optimus. Or should I say Orion Pax did. You really should have let your decepticon shield intact for you have no idea how useful your code breaking skills proved to be during our all but brief time together." Megatron mocked and Optimus frowned. "Soundwave send a groundbridge. Engage them!" Megatron shouted the order when the bridge opened. He easily walked through until the scout snatched the relic from his grasp. "What!" He snapped and drew his blade. Bee transformed and easily drove out of Megatron's reach.

"NOOOOOO!" He roared in anger. When he leaped out cannon ready he found nothing but deactivated drones, making him snarl in frustration. He ordered for a clean-up before he flew back to the ship. He slammed his fists into the monitors in frustration. "The spark extractor was in my grasp. I should have removed more than that scout's voice box when I had the chance!" Soundwave came up behind him and showed the other two coordinates. 'Indeed Soundwave, we possess two more sets of coordinates, which Orion decrypted before departing our ranks. Let us see what other long lost treasures we might be reunited with."

Elisa did her best to keep from laughing as Bee kept bugging Ratchet.

"Will someone please keep him occupied so I can get some work done!?" Carrier shouted into the air. Needless to say, Raf's choice of a racing video game and Miko's car commercial were not helping. For some reason that night, Elisa couldn't sleep very well. She kept thinking about her conversation with Carrier and Sire. She went to the top of the base to look out at the stars and wondered where Megatron was now. She wanted to help him against Magma, but she knew the only answer for that. Magma would have to die and Elisa was no killer. True she had fought against him and Megatron, but killing and fighting were two different things.

"What do I hear a fusor in need of voice box repair!?" Carrier said with a groggy voice.

"What's a fusor? What's going on over there?" Fowler shouted.

"I am able. Just ask Bentor. He was all mandrail before I put a tiger in his tank." And with that Carrier passed out cold. Elisa clutched her mouth tightly to keep from laughing hard out loud.

"Don't worry Agent Fowler. We'll be sure Optimus gets them." Jack said sweetly. Elisa went with Bee and she was surprised to see Starscream there as well. Starscream teased and taunted Bee and when the t-cog went flying, Elisa grabbed it, but Starscream shot at it, hitting Elisa in her shoulder before he flew off.

"Beep bob beaaoup beeuopp?" Bee asked.

"I'm fine Bee, nothing too bad. Look I even caught your T-cog." She smiled at him, holding it out.

"Bee boop bee boop bee boop!" Bee cheered almost dancing for joy.

"You're welcome Bee." Elisa said and they looked to see the others coming through the ground bridge.

"What happened?" Sire asked instantly.

"Starscream is working with MECH and they ran off, but we got Bee's t-cog." Elisa answered.

"Elisa you know better than to go off like that." Sire said sternly.

"Uh-oh." Bulkhead said a little too loudly, earning him a smack from Arcee.

"I know and I'm sorry Sire, but Agent Fowler got the location and Carrier was already a sleep." She giggled at the last part, earning and curious eyebrow from Sire. "I couldn't let Bee go off on his own because of the t-cog. Starscream was going to fry it, but I caught it before he could do any damage." Elisa explained.

"Dose it hurt?' Sire asked as he kneeled down to look at her wound.

"Not really just stings Sire." Elisa answered.

"Ratchet bridge us out and prepare for surgery."

"What is this relic that you have?" Magma said as he casually strolled into the room.

"See for yourself." Megatron replied calmly, pointing to it. Magma looked at it and gasped.

"The Forge of Solous Prime." He said out loud. Megatron waited as he slowly grasped the handle, but nothing happened. Growling, Magma gripped it in both servos before slamming it into the already smashed energon cube. Megatron laughed at Magma's frustration.

"It can only be used by a Prime." Megatron explained.

'I am a Prime!" Magma roared.

"Not a true and virtuous one like Optimus…or Elisa."

Magma snarled and leaped at Megatron, who tossed him around so he couldn't pin him to the floor. Knockout and Breakdown reacted better this time and were in front of their leader as Magma stood up.

"It looks like I have found a weakness in the Mighty Megatron." Magma teased. Megatron didn't flinch as he raised his cannon to attack. "Must I do everything myself you miserable human!" Magma spat before leaving.

"Lord Megatron?' Knockout asked.

"Leave it!" Megatron snapped.

Dreadwing's arrival proved beneficial to Megatron's thoughts as he stopped thinking about Elisa for the time being. After all a warlord had to keep his traitors in check when they threatened his title. The battle with the Insecticon proved most invigorating for him as he hadn't had a challenge like this in quite some time.

"Let that be a warning to anyone who crosses a gladiator of Kaon!" Megatron roared into the air. 'Be they deceticon…" Megatron paused as the autobots landed and Elisa was among them. "Or autobot." As he walked towards Prime his knees gave out and fell to the ground in a heap. "It would seem that I am un-armed and at your mercy. So tell me Optimus, do you intend to take me alive or end this here and now." Megatron asked. Optimus glared down at him for a moment before exposing his gun.

Out of the corner of his optic he didn't fail to see Elisa try and hide a flinch.

Before Optimus could fire, someone else did from above. He looked up to see Dreadwing and a group of drones arrive and draw their weapons. "The surprises never cease." Megatron muttered out loud. The dust settled as Dreadwing landed.

"Oh scrap." Bulkhead muttered.

"Deliver Megatron to us and I will allow you to live." Dreadwing ordered.

"Never trust a con, kick bucket head's bucket." Bulkhead shouted.

"Dreadwing do I have your word?" Optimus asked. The felt long and hard, but it was short and sweet as Dreadwing retracted his gun and Optimus did the same. The team headed over to Prime as Dreadwing went over to Megatron.

"My liege." He said as he helped Megatron to his pedes.

"Dreadwing may have given you his word, but I did not." Megatron snapped. "Destroy them!" He shouted and as everyone fired Megatron and Dreadwing shot off into the sky, but Elisa quickly caught up with them. Since her wings were silent Dreadwing didn't hear her as she swooped out of the clouds and swiped at his wing with her claws. She heard him shout in pain as he tumbled through the air for a moment before regaining control and returned fire at her. Elisa easily dodged the fire and flew above him, only to swipe at him with her tail. She looked around for Megatron for a moment, but she couldn't see his aurora anywhere.

When she finally spotted the purple she dove for it, but didn't expect him to be so close. She couldn't dodge him in time and his wing tore through her's. She roared in pain and was shot down again as Dreadwing returned fire. They both knew she didn't have her advantage in the air anymore and so did she as dove for the ground. Just as she was about to land Dreadwing swiped at her with something sharp and she hit the ground rolling before settling on her stomach. She gritted her teeth as she got up on all fours growling at the larger seeker, who had a sword drawn.

"It is an honor to see a creature rare and powerful as you dragon." Dreadwing said with actually sincerity.

"Thank you." Elisa said calmly as she didn't really know what else to say to the new comer. She didn't need to say anymore as Megatron landed and stood up and his wound was still bleeding.

"I need her alive Dreadwing." Megatron stated, making her growl and bare her fangs. Her spikes flashed blue and her mouth glowed the same color as she threatened to fire. Both mechs tensed as she kept snarling. Dreadwing finally acted first as he leaped into the air. Elisa instantly fired and hit him straight in the chest sending him flying. She quickly leaped out of the way as Megatron slammed his own blade into where she had been. She stood on two legs again and roared, flapping her wings at him. She dodged two swipes at her before her claws blocked the blade and drew spark. "You don't frighten me little one." Megatron said calmly.

"I'm not little anymore!" Elisa snapped before she spun around and hit him with her tail, making him stumble back.

"You get stronger every day." He commented.

"Good!" She shouted angrily. Sensing energy behind her, Elisa looked just in time to see Dreadwing try and swipe at her again. She dodged it, but screamed in pain as her bad wing was pierced down to the ground by Megatron's blade. She squirmed around trying to get away and grunting in pain before Megatron grabbed her throat and held her steady.

"Stand down." He growled darkly at her.

"Soundwave we need a ground bridge now." She heard Dreadwing say. When Megatron saw her spikes flash he grabbed her mouth before she could fire at him. Her legs dug into his sides as smoke came out of her mouth from the restrained fire. Megatron growled to himself as the heat burned at his fingers. When Dreadwing saw his Lord in distress, he ran over and pinned Elisa's arms down.

"Soundwave get out here now." Megatron ordered. Elisa stopped struggling and looked to see the menacing TIC come out. He was a dark blue with glowing seems and a black face mask. When Elisa saw the tentacles come out she reacted fast. She grabbed the arm that was around her throat and dug into the metal with her blue fire claws. Megatron shouted in pain and Elisa leaped to her feet. Her breath was haggard as blood dripped from her mouth. Elisa snarled as best as she could when she saw Laserbeak flying at her, firing away. She easily leaped into the air and slammed him down hard to the ground. He quickly flew back to Soundwave and refused to budge.

"I said stand down!" Megatron roared at her. She retaliated by firing her fire at the ground at their pedes. The smoke gave her cover as she ran off into the wilderness.

"If I may ask, who is she my liege?" Dreadwing asked once Megatron had been repaired and was standing comfortably in the bridge.

"Her name is Elisa and she is the adoptive daughter of Optimus Prime and Ratchet." Megatron answered.

"She was never bonded as a sparkling?" Dreadwing asked slightly amazed.

"Prime found her at an abandoned base and I guess the bond was instant." Megatron answered.

"Is that how you know her?" Dreadwing asked curiously.

"I've had several run ins with her as a child. She has proved to be quite the kind-sparked femme." Megatron said calmly. "Magma is her Sire, and he should be along shortly." Megatron added. Not a two minutes later Dreadwing saw a red dragon come in. He was just as tall as Lord Megatron and had black wing with orange spikes. It made him wonder how Elisa was blue.

"What's the damage?" Magma asked in a deep voice.

"We fought last here." Megatron said pointing to the screen. "She probably fled on foot as I tore one of her wings. The only other injury she has is a burnt mouth." Megatron explained.

"Really and how did you manage that?" Magma asked curiously.

"I held her mouth closed when she tried to shoot at me." Megatron answered.

"Ouch that stings." Magma flinched before looking at the blue seeker. "And who is this?"

"Dreadwing is my first lieutenant now." Megatron answered.

"He's an improvement from Starscream. His voice got terribly loud at times." Magma mocked. He looked around for a moment before looking back at Megatron. "Is the insect gone too?" Magma asked referring to Airachnid.

"She has gone rouge, but not before she took Breakdown apart." Megatron answered.

"Oh my my Megatron. You're just losing officers left and right." Magma teased again. Megatron only frowned. "Well not to worry I have the perfect solution." Magma said before the door opened again. Dreadwing tensed when a large and muscular dragon appeared. It was as large as an insecticon. It was a dark green with black stripes. It had a large set of teeth and eve had sharp husks on the sides of its mouth. It's wings and spikes were large and a neutral black. It's optics glowed read and nothing else.

"An Omega." Dreadwing said out loud.

"Very good Dreadwing. I will send a team of three out to find her." Magma said as he started to walk away.

"Why only three?" Dreadwing asked, but instantly backed away realizing his rank to the dragon.

"They can track by her blood as that is how they learn to hunt." Magma answered without looking back as he and the Omega left.

"How in the name of Primus did she end up with a blue color?" Dreadwing asked, making Megatron laugh.

"As the humans say Dreadwing, damned if I know."

Elisa didn't stop running until she couldn't feel Megatron's or Dreadwing's energy fields. When she stopped she was breathing hard and spit out the blood in her mouth. She walked a few feet before she collapsed to the ground. She kept breathing hard for a while to steady herself, but when she finally did she started walking again. Even though her wounds were healing by themselves she couldn't be in the air for a while and she didn't dare contact Sire for fear of the signal of the autobot ground bridge being found. She did managed to find a cave opening so she sat down and fell asleep.

She woke up roughly as she was thrown to the ground. She looked up to see an Omega staring at her with hungry teeth. She didn't dare move for fear that it might strike.

"Oh my looks like my pet found something." A female voice said behind her. She looked to see a female dragon coming towards her. She was gold and black with gold eyes glowing at her. "Oh my you do look good baby." The dragon winked.

"Who are you?" Elisa asked.

"I'm Titania and I'm your carrier sweety." Titania chuckled with a wink.

"Ratchet's my carrier." Elisa snapped back.

"He's a human. He wouldn't know any better." Titania muttered. A ground bridge opened and out came two other dragons that resembled Magma. "These are your two brothers. Rhodius and Rising Dawn." Titania smiled. Rising Dawn only smirked at her, while Rhodius just examined her. "Just cooperate with us." Titania smiled darkly as the two mechs reached down and grabbed her. She struggled in their grasps, but Rhodius pressed his fire claws into her arm, making her fall to her knees. "Naughty girl." Titania teased. Elisa looked up to see her laughing. With all the strength she had, Elisa yanked her arms free of the two mechs and swiped at Titania's face, striking her right across her optic. The dragon screamed in pain, clutching her bleeding optic as Elisa ran for it. The Omega's were literally on her tail, but Elisa's wing still hurt.

Finally one of the Omega's rammed into her, sending her tumbling on her side. She got to her feet and she was surrounded. The Omega in front of her roared and charged at her. Elisa ran to it and leaped above it's head and ran her fire claws down it's back. The Omega collapsed, twitching in pain as another Omega swipe it's claws at Elisa sending her flying into the rock's edge hard. Pain pulsed down her back and she clutched at her stomach as she felt blood coming out. She couldn't move for the longest time as the Omega slowly approached her, growling all the way.

"She's mine!" Titania shouted as she landed hard on the ground in front of it. The Omega backed away from its superior as Titania approached Elisa with her teeth bared. Her face was still bleeding and Elisa knew she would have a scar. "You miserable child! You will learn to obey me." Titania shouted before she swiped her tail out, making Elisa fall to the ground again. Before she could do it again, Elisa fired her heat ray at her, making her stumble back. She did her best to ignore the energy of her "brothers" as they watched the fight. Titania snarled and leaped up at Elisa as she barely got out of the way. Elisa snapped at her claws with her teeth and roared at her before pouncing. They tumbled around, biting and clawing for what seemed like an eternity to Elisa. Finally out of desperation Elisa stabbed her fire claws at Titania. The femme froze in shock as she looked down to she had been stabbed through her spark. Elisa didn't flinch as she felt her fire burn the energy in her spark before she collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

"Carrier!" Rhodius shouted before he leaped to her side. They started to let out deep roars that sounded like moans before another ground bridge appeared with Megatron and Magma. Magma took one look at the scene in front of him and charged at Elisa before Megatron could react. Elisa couldn't run away from him in time as Magma closed his jaws around her throat. Megatron's optics were wide with fear for Elisa's life as he dragged her across the dirt. She skidded across the dirt and went limp, but Megatron could see her shaking hard. Magma's two sons took his bonded's body away through the bridge and it closed behind them.

"You will pay for that." Magma growled in her ear. He turned her over and stabbed her in the stomach.

"AAAARRRRRRRRAAAEEEEEE!" Elisa let out a high pitch roar that was a terrible scream of pain.

Megatron decided he had enough.

He brought his cannon forward and shot at Magma right in the back of his head. He was sent reeling back, clutching his head as it smoked. The Omega's were long gone with their master's lady as Megatron ran to Elisa's broken form.

"Elisa." Megatron whispered his voice trembling with fear.

Mega…tron." Elisa gasped and brought a trembling servo to his face. He held it as gently as he could and gave it a small kiss before looking up at the Alpha dragon that was growling in pure rage.

"The deal is off. I won't have any part of taking Elisa." Megatron snapped, defiantly showing his affection for her right in front of her biological sire. "She's a youngling not a weapon."

"I'll make you eat those words human." Magma growled. Elisa whimpered at the cold feeling that rushed over her body. Magma tackled Megatron, who managed to throw him off.

"I homed my skills in the pits of Kaon long before you came along!" Megatron shouted at him in pride. Magma roared again and the both charged at each other, but Magma got the upper hand quickly. Magma pinned Megatron down with his wings before his fire claws slammed into his side. Megatron shouted in pain, but continued by wrapping his legs around his waist and grabbing his throat. Magma snarled and flapped his wings to get Megatron off, but that just made his will that much stronger. Megatron managed to get on top of Magma and pin him to the ground.

"Soundwave open a bridge now!" Megatron shouted in the air. The bridge opened and Dreadwing came out before Soundwave did with his gun drawn. "Rope!" Megatton shouted and Dreadwing snatched up fire retardant rope from his subspace and threw it right into Megatron's servo. Magma squirmed uncomfortably as Megatron managed to wrap the rope around his mouth. His wings kept scratching at him, but the wounds were easily ignored. Soundwave exposed his tentacles and tried to shock Magma except he managed to throw Megatron off of him. He bared his fire glows and they glowed brighter now before he swung them in air and energy beam flew right at Soundwave and Dreadwing. They both dodged the energy, but the explosion it caused shook the ground hard. Magma was in the air and he tore the rope off his mouth before firing again. He hit Dreadwing, who slammed right into Soundwave.

Suddenly, a blue heat ray shot right at Magma and went right through his wing. The cons looked to see Elisa on all fours, breathing hard before she fell back down. Magma was forced down because of the hole in his wing and Soundwave pounced first. The tentacles dug into his sides as he roared from the shocks. He grabbed the tentacle as he swung Soundwave off of him. Megatron saw he was headed for Elisa so he leaped in front of her with his blade drawn and cannon ready. Magma glared before running off into the forest. Megatron kneeled down to look at Elisa. He could only pray to Primus that her internal wounds weren't lethal. As gently as he could, Megatron slipped his arms around her and lifted her up to his chest.

"AAAAHHHH!" Elisa cried out in pain as he held her. She held on tightly to his neck as Megatron ran through the bridge and right to the medical bay.

"Is that…" Knockout asked amazed.

"She's bleeding bad internally. I think an Omega might have swiped her along with Magma's assault." Megatron snapped as he laid her down onto the medical berth. Knockout did a quick scan to see what the full damage was before he set to work. He gave her a quick sedative before he hooked up an energon line as he worked to stop the bleeding. Dreadwing came in soon after and spotted Megatron's wound.

"My lord, you are injured." Dreadwing said before he managed to make Megatron sit down.

"Sorry, Dreadwing I'm a little busy." Knockout snapped.

"I can attend to Lord Megatron's wounds myself thank you." Dreadwing said calmly. Megatron's optics remained on Elisa the whole time, but flinched when a cool cloth was applied to the burns. "My lord do you require any other assistance?" Dreadwing asked when he was finished.

"No Dreadwing." Megatron stated. The seeker quickly left and everything was silent, except for Knockout working.

"Might I asked what happened Lord Megatron?" Knockout asked cautiously.

"She must have been ambushed by the Omega's, but she managed to extinguish Titania." Megatron answered.

"Isn't she Elisa's…"

"Carrier yes. She was." Megatron finished. "Magma saw what happened and nearly tore her throat out." Megatron finished.

"She's a brave little thing." Knockout said quietly as he bandaged her up.

"Prime is probably looking for her." Megatron muttered.

"She can't be moved my liege. She'll start bleeding again." Knockout insisted.

"I didn't say that we had to tell him did I doctor?" Megatron said slightly irritated.

"Of course. Apologies my liege." Knockout said quickly. He finished soon after and left the room so Megatron could be alone with her.

"You may be brave, but you will always be the little one." Megatron whispered over her. His claws traced her neck and he saw the old language of the Primes on her scales and on her spikes. "I should have never made that deal with him." Megatron said. "You are a beautiful femme and a treasure to this world, but as you well know there is a war and I must stay the course as does your Sire and for that I am sorry." Megatron said quietly. Elisa didn't move I her sleep and he hoped that she could hear him.

Ch. 14: New Ground

The team couldn't believe what they were seeing. Optimus Prime kept pacing around the base nervously waiting for any news on Elisa. Optimus and Ratchet felt incredible pain from her, but when the pain stopped the bond seemed to become way too calm.

"Why did she even go after him in the first place?" Ratchet mumbled into the air.

"She went after them to stop Megatron from getting away." Bulkhead answered.

"She shouldn't have even been there." Ratchet snapped back. Optimus felt heavy guilt on his spark as he blamed himself. He shouldn't have brought her into these missions. He should have kept her at the base like any normal Sire would have, but he wasn't a normal Sire as he was Prime. Not to mention that he was a human bonded to a dragon, something that had never been heard of before.

"Ratchet please don't take your anger out on Bulkhead or the team. If anything take it out on me. Elisa is my responsibility as much as she is yours and I am truly sorry for involving her in this." Optimus finally spoke up being as calm as he could. Ratchet blinked in surprise at Optimus' defeated tone.

"Please excuse us." Ratchet said to the others before gesturing Optimus to follow him into his room. "Optimus I'm sorry…I didn't want you to feel guilty." Ratchet said ashamed of himself. Optimus let out a sigh before he sat down on Ratchet's berth.

"It's all right old friend, but I understand your concern." Optimus said kindly.

"Optimus…I've been thinking about some things." Ratchet said as he looked at him. "Do you really care for me?" He whispered.

"Of course I do Ratchet. You are one of my most trusted friends." Optimus said proudly, but then he blinked in surprise when he realized what he meant. "Ratchet…I…I honestly don't know what to say." Optimus said quietly.

"Optimus, I think Elisa has brought us closer in more ways than one. It's just that when she gets hurt I my feelings for you always get stronger because I want her to be stronger too." Ratchet said as he leaned in closer to him.

"I did feel some things through our bond with her, but I didn't think it was appropriate to act on them." Optimus said quietly.

"Well I can't wait any longer." Ratchet stated.

Optimus Prime's optics went wide when Ratchet finally kissed him. It wasn't long before he gladly returned it.

Elisa felt a warmth in her spark like she had never felt before and it made her blink her optics open awake.

"Sire." She whispered out loud.

"Sorry, pretty girl they're not here." Knockout said gently. She then quickly remembered what happened.

"Where's Megatron? Is he alright? Are the others alright?" Elisa asked quickly.

"Megatron is on his way here and yes he and the others are just peachy." Knockout answered. The doors opened and Megatron walked in. "Told you pretty girl." Knockout winked again.

"Elisa, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Sore, how long has it been?" She mumbled.

"Two days, you've been drifted in and out of consciousness." Megatron answered.

"I have to get back to my creators." Elisa said and tried to get up, but Megatron pushed her back down.

"You're in no condition to move Elisa." He stated firmly. "Knockout leave us." He ordered. When the medic was gone, Elisa suddenly became nervous with Megatron.

"Megatron…" Elisa whispered fearfully. She nearly jumped when he caressed her cheek.

"You heard me didn't you?" She only nodded yes in reply.

"You know you don't have to fight Sire." She pleaded.

"Our ideals are not the same Elisa. You're too young to understand." Megatron answered.

"I understand perfectly. Both of you are just too stubborn to admit your wrong." She shot back. She didn't flinch at the glare he gave her.

"And you forget that you are on my warship. That makes you my prisoner and I could just as easily keep you here instead of giving you back to your Creators." Megatron growled. Her optics went wide and she tried to sink into the medical berth, but failed miserably. "That is why you are the little one Elisa." Megatron finished.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Magma's on his own now, so don't count on me to come and save you anymore." Megatron stated.

'Thank you." She said suddenly making him blink in surprise.

"For what?"

"Saving me." She smiled weakly at him.

"Go back to sleep Elisa." He said gently before leaving. Knockout was outside the lab and looked up at Megatron. "Could you please give her an energon cube doctor?" Megatron said before walking away. He did give Elisa her cube.

"Where's Breakdown?" She asked curiously.

"He's dead." Knockout said quietly. He nearly jumped when Elisa suddenly licked his cheek.

'I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"Thanks."

It was another day before Elisa was finally able to move and get off the berth, granted she nearly fell into Megatron's lap, but she was just glad to finally move. She was on her best behavior for Knockout and did the stretches he told her to do and she was glad to see her wing was healed as well. She could see clearly in his aurora that Knockout was upset about Breakdown, but she didn't bring up the subject as she could tell it would upset him. Dreadwing's aurora was blue and yellow and Soundwave's was silver with a little light blue aurora around Laserbeak. She was surprised to see that the drones didn't have an aurora. She kept feeling the positive energy from her bond and was eager to get back home, but didn't dare press the matter from Megatron's earlier threat. Finally after the fifth day, Megatron brought her through a ground bridge and her Sire was waiting for her.

"Elisa baby!" Sire cried as he pulled her into his arms.

"I missed you Sire." Elisa said happily cuddling against his neck. He held her tightly for a few moments before looking back at Megatron.

"Magma is on his own." He stated to Prime.

"You broke the deal." Optimus stated and Megatron only nodded.

"Don't count on me any more Prime." Megatron said before he walked away back into the ground bridge. Elisa and her Sire went back to base as well where everyone held her close and kept saying how much they missed her. She was so glad to be back in her own berth that night, but not before her Creators spoke with her.

"Elisa your Sire and I have something to tell you." Carrier said with a pleased smile.

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Your Sire and I are going be bonded." Carrier said excitedly.

"Really!? Oh yes!" She said excitedly before she hugged them both. They both gave her kisses as she held them close.

Happy Creation day Elisa. They both said to her through the bond.

Elisa gasped when she saw the stasis pod with Airachnid in it.

"Stasis, she deserves worse." Carrier stated.

"I intended worse." Arcee grumbled back.

"You are stronger for the choice you made…" Sire was interrupted with Bulkhead charging in.

"Guys you are not going to believe the day I've had." He gasped, but stopped when he saw the scene in front of him. "You too huh?" He shrugged making Elisa laugh out loud. Turns out Elisa came home just in time as Bulkhead had smashed the engines of the Nemesis and it crash landed. Elisa made sure to stay quite when Sire left with the spark extractor in tow.

"Team's down requesting med evact." Fowler called not soon after. Elisa hurried out quickly with Carrier and they found that everyone was frozen just they had been with the immobilizer. Elisa helped Carrier getting everyone back to base as the kids look at them confused.

'Their alive, but I've never encountered this form of stasis lock." Carrier said as he looked at the readings. Turns out something was going in the deception warship from what Fowler said. Carrier really didn't have a choice in literally calling the ship.

"It hung up. Rude!" Miko stated once the call was over. She felt guilty snickering in the corner, but sometimes Miko was too funny. When the ground bridge opened and the others were ready to go Carrier was instant that Elisa stay behind.

"Dark energon is running through that ship. It might make you sick again." He insisted.

"Carrier, I would already be sick if that were the case. The dark energon is controlled by the ship, not by Magma." I insisted. "I promise I'll stay in my human form too." I added.

"Just be careful Elisa please." Carrier finally said in defeat. Sure enough everybody was in stasis and nobody was moving. Turns out they had to take the dark energon out manually in the engine room, but not before the ship found us and starting attacking us. With Jack's quick thinking the cube got pulled out and only four sets of coordinates were decoded. Elisa sent everyone through the groundbridge and tried to get the flashdrive out, but being in a human body she couldn't do it.

"Say aahhh!" Knockout said behind me. She growled at him as he smiled darkly.

"I'm here to offer a second opinion!" Carrier snapped behind before he landed him a good punch. Knockout slammed into the console before falling to the ground. Sire and the others were finally moving again and Elisa was very happy about that.

"The download of the Iacon database may have been incomplete, but we now possess four more sets of coordinates decoded by the ship." Ratchet said.

"Then we must act quickly, for Megatron has the same four sets and he will not hesitate to get the four potential doomsday devices which lie at the sight of each." Optimus stated. Miko, Jack, Arcee, and Bee went to New York City. Bulkhead and Smokescreen went to the equator. Sire went to the Antarctic, while Carrier called up Wheeljack as they looked for their relic in the wilderness somewhere. Elisa didn't dare object to staying behind this time. She knew things were getting serious as these relics were important Raf, Fowler, and Elisa were at the base in communication with the others.

Carrier came back first, without a relic and without Wheeljack, but they did put a virus in Laserbeak to download the entire Iacon database.

"Rafael, you are a genius." Carrier said joyfully.

"Will you keep it down!" Fowler shouted at them. Something was wrong at Bulkhead and Smokescreen's end. A bridge was open quickly and they both entered looking battered and bruised. Suddenly Bulkhead shouted in pain as he was thrown forward, knocking Smokescreen out of the way.

"No." Ratchet whispered in shock.

"Bulkhead!" Elisa shouted reacting first. She tried to lift his head, but he was limp and his energy field was extremely weak. Raf brought in the NYC crew and Miko got scared as Ratchet tried to revive him.

"Bulkhead! What happened?" Miko shouted.

"Tox-en exposure among other things. Bulkhead has suffered a complete systems failure." A scan showed his faint life signal. "Help me get him into the medical bay." She helped the others lift him up and place him on the medical berth as Miko argued with Fowler. Not long after Sire came back.

"Wheeljack's on his way." Arcee stated.

"I can't believe you're giving up on Bulkhead already!" Miko snapped.

"All I meant was the Wheeljack and Bulkhead are close. I thought he'd want to be here." Arcee insisted before Miko stalked away.

"Miko where are you going?" Optimus asked.

"Home! While Agent Fowler can still give me a lift." She mumbled before leaving in the elevator.

"She needs time." Sire said to Arcee. Wheeljack showed up not a half hour later.

"What's the damage doc?" He asked.

"Bulkhead suffered massive trauma to his central neural conduit." Ratchet explained.

"I've watched you work. You're a maestro."

"The tox-en exposure has caused system wide shut down on submicronic level. I can't even begin to operate until Bulkhead regains some strength.

"You're going to tell me who did this to him?" Wheeljack asked Optimus.

"At the moment I believe it is best to focus on Bulkhead's recovery rather than revenge."

"You do that."

"Wheeljack will do something mostly likely rash you know." Ratchet said.

"And I am not sure we could stop him if we wanted to." Optimus finished.

Miko had gone missing, but Elisa wasn't surprised when she came back with Wheeljack. She looked tired and he had a limp and was holding his arm.

"Miko are you alright?" Arcee asked.

"She's fine. Kids a pro." Wheeljack said.

"I wasn't talking to you." Arcee snapped.

"How is he?" Miko asked and everyone lowered their heads at that.

"Bulkhead will survive. He may never be fully functional again." Ratchet stated, before Miko ran over to him. "Miko I don't think it's wise for you…" He stopped when Optimus put a servo on his shoulder. Hearing Miko cry got Elisa angry at Wheeljack.

"I'm sure I want to see Bulk right now. Not like this." He stated and she made sure she stood behind him before he left.

"Was it worth it?" Elisa stated. He didn't answer and drove out of the base. Elisa felt tears come down her face when she heard Miko crying again. Eventually Miko reluctantly left for home and everything became quite at the base. Sleep was impossible for Elisa that night as she tossed and turned. Eventually she got out of her berth and quietly walked to the med bay. Bulkhead's sparkbeat was thankfully stable and Elisa could see his energy was gaining strength as his aurora glowed brighter. She curled up into a ball at his pedes and was finally able to sleep.

Ratchet wasn't surprised to see Elisa by Bulkhead's side the next morning. She never reacted well when somebody got hurt, but she couldn't help it as it was in her nature and Ratchet wouldn't have it any other way. He remembered how she used to curl up into a ball by his side when she was sparkling. He had to scorn himself because he remembered when he used to think he would be glad that she would get older. Oh the irony as that she was now older he wanted her to be a sparkling again. He carefully avoided her as he looked over Bulkhead. A quick scan showed that Bulkhead was getting better, but nowhere near normal. It wasn't long before he heard Optimus approach.

"Why am I not surprised." Optimus said quietly.

"She's definitely your sparkling." Ratchet grumbled jokingly.

"She's our sparkling." Optimus shot back before he came closer to Ratchet. "How is he?" He asked.

"His sparkbeat is steady but nowhere near strong as it should be." Ratchet answered.

"He's in good hands Ratchet." Optimus and looked over at Elisa for a little bit before glancing over at Ratchet. He managed to get a small kiss from the medic before he went to the console and started his own work. Smokescreen came in not long after and looked right at Elisa.

"Don't you dare." Ratchet snapped, but Smokescreen went right for her.

"Elissssaaaa." Smokescreen teased in a whispered voice.

"Rrrrrrr." Elisa growled in her sleep as he kept poking the tip of her nose.

"Oh Eeeeeeeee." Smokescreen teased again.

"RRRRRR." Elisa bared her teeth before moving away. Smokescreen just giggled as the creators just watched, waiting for their sparkling to strike.

"Elisa." Smokescreen said quickly before another poke.

"AAAAAHHH!" Smokescreen shouted in surprise when Elisa jumped up and tackled him to the ground. Her front claws pinned him to the floor as they stared optic to optic for a moment. "Morning." He smiled sheepishly.

"Don't do that again." Elisa snapped before getting off of him and standing up.

"Sorry I was just playing." He joked.

"RRRRRR." Elisa only growled again in reply. "He's getting stronger carrier." Elisa said to Ratchet.

"His aurora?" Carrier asked. Elisa only nodded yes.

"It's getting brighter." She answered. Optimus was always still amazed at that ability.

"What's my color? Just curious." Smokescreen asked.

"Sky blue…a BRIGHT sky blue…for all that ENERGY you have." Elisa growled. "You should be worried about Bulkhead." She grumbled.

"He'll pull through. He's got all these friends waiting for him. You and Miko are just two reasons why he'll be alright." Smokescreen smiled.

"I might be ruining the moment here, but how are you always so bright and cheerful in the morning." Arcee asked in the doorway with Bee behind her.

"I always think positive." Smokescreen answered.

"I'm going on patrol." Arcee grumbled.

"Beep bop bab boouup." Bee said with a wave.

"Morning to you too Bee." Elisa waved before the two transformed and drove off.

"Sire could I go scouting for energon please?" Elisa asked.

"You know the rules Elisa." Sire said nodding over to Smokescreen.

"Oh scrap." Elisa muttered.

"Got any place in mind?" Smokescreen asked.

"Yeah…the scrap yard." Elisa muttered. Carrier snickered quietly, earning a nudge from Sire. "He is going to be ok Carrier?" Elisa asked seriously looking at Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead won't wake from stasis for quite some time. You know I will let you know the instant something changes." Carrier answered. Elisa plugged in the coordinates and activated the groundbridge and gave a quick kiss to her creators before she left.

Love you

We love you too Elisa.

Elisa and Smokescreen wondered around the rain forest for most of the day. Elisa did manage to find a few scattered crystals around, but nothing like a mine…unless the mine found them. Elisa pushed Smokescreen to the ground when she saw the Omega's digging around.

"Scrap! Those guys are huge!" Smokescreen gasped.

Sire I need a ground bridge. Smokescreen and I found a dragon mine with Omega's digging nearby. Elisa said through her bond. A bridge opened behind them not shortly after with the team behind her with Sire.

"Weep oop be be beoop?" Bee asked.

"Those are Omegas. They're like the Instecticons but a lot stronger." Elisa answered Bee. "Everyone be careful of their claws." Elisa whispered to them. They all slowly advanced as close as they could before they opened fire. Elisa talked the first Omega and slammed her glowing claws into his spark. The beast twitched and died instantly. Everyone was firing away when something swiped at Elisa knocking her to the ground. Hanging on the rocks edge was dragon she had never seen before. His body reminded her of Starscream's as even though he was thin he still had muscle to him. His wings were large, sleek, and well taken care of. His colors were certainly different. His body was mostly a deep purple with orange optics. His wings and spikes were black. Another dragon that was pitch black with red eyes crawled up close to him and licked his neck.

"I see you're enjoying the view." The black dragon teased.

"Who are you?" Elisa demanded.

"Shadow and this is my partner SkyBlade." Shadow answered. SkyBlade didn't answer as he dived right at Elisa and knocked her right off her feet and sent her tumbling back. She managed to get up, but someone started firing at Shadow.

"I've got him E." Smokescreen said as he charged at the dragon. She saw Skyblade in the air and so she leaped after him. Their blows were hard and fast as they swiped at each other several times before staring at each other again.

"You certainly have Magma's claws." SkyBlade teased, making Elisa grumble. "Oh that's right, you're contaminated by humans." He smirked.

"I am NOT CONTAMINATED!" Elisa roared in the air and fired at him. Optimus looked up and saw Elisa fighting SkyBlade in the air. He wasn't sure how to help her, but got distracted when another groundbridge opened. Two dragons came out and they heavily reminded him of Knockout and Breakdown.

"WHHEEEP!? Beeop beeouupp wuuaaoopp?" Bee asked confused.

"No the decepticons did not get turned into dragons Bumblebee. Slider is the red dragon and Glider is the blue one." Optimus answered.

"As if I would be associated with you humans!" Slider snapped back. Glider roared at Optimus who started firing at him. When he was close enough Glider spun around and slammed his tail into Optimus knocking him off his feet. Optimus tried to get back up but grunted when he was knocked back down again. He covered his head as Glider kept stomping on him. He heard a shout and looked up to see Elisa in front of him. Her back arched high, spikes flashing blue, and her teeth bared in a vicious snarl as she protected her Sire.

"Out of my way runt!" Glider snapped.

"Easy Glider." Slider said as he started running towards Elisa. Glider followed suite and Elisa saw that they were both headed towards. She kept her laughter inside as she quickly dodged out of the way and both dragons ran into hard. Slider slowly got up first and he stumbled around before falling over again and groaned in pain. "Ouch." He moaned.

"Aarrgh!" Shadow shouted in pain right behind Elisa before she even knew he was behind her. Sire came up to and stood by her side.

"Watch out Elisa. Always be careful of your surroundings." He said to her, she only nodded as SkyBlade hovered above them. Elisa fired at him, making him screech in panic.

"Shadow come on!" He shouted before leaving. Soon all dragons followed suite, Glider stumbled along behind them as they left.

"Awesome E!" Smokescreen said as he gave her a high five. They went into the mine and quickly discovered a stock pile of cubes with more raw energon still embedded in the rock.

"Wow." Elisa said in amazement. The crystals just seemed to sparkle and the cubes gave off a bright light as well.

"What do you see Elisa?" Sire asked, making everyone stare at her in curiosity.

"Everything is practically sparkling." She answered.

"Even energon gives off energy?" Smokescreen asked.

"Energon is energy Smokescreen. It's just solid that's all." She answered.

"Booop bewup beeeoouuu." Bee said.

"That's right Bumblebee. Call Ratchet for a bridge and we can start to get the cubes back to base." Optimus said.

"Better hope the Cons don't show up." Arcee said.

"Weeop beuup."

"Yeah or more dragons."

"You lost the mine!" Magma roared at him tribe.

"Elisa and the autobots ambushed up." Slider answered. He yelped when he was lifted off his feet by the Alpha dragon.

"She is still a youngling she shouldn't have been able to defeat you so easily." Magma snarled.

"Apologies master." Slider gasped before he was dropped to the floor.

"Get out all of you." He snapped. He looked over at his two sons, who quickly approached him. "The autobots are already down one autobot and Megatron is too focused on his little artifacts to think that we are still tracking him." Magma said.

"What do we do Sire?" Rhodius asked.

"Perhaps we should wait for the time being, let them destroy each other as this treasure race might become interesting." Magma smiled.

"Do you know what artifacts are?" Rising dawn asked.

"Maybe one or two, but things are going to get ugly really fast so I can promise you that." Magma stated.

"I don't understand Sire. Why don't we just take the artifacts?" Rhodius asked.

"We don't have the database for one. I'm not willing to go back up to that ship after my last encounter with Megatron." Magma growled. "Besides humans were always inferior to us. Some of the artifacts may help their power struggle, but they know we can obliterate them with a wave of our claws." Magma smiled wickedly at the thought.

"What about Elisa?" Rhodius asked.

"I'm not sure yet. All three of us need to work together if we are to capture her." Magma stated. "One thing I know of is that all the artifacts give off a signal that can be easily tracked once they are unearthed. If they find anything of value than we snatch it." Magma finished.

"Of course Sire."

Ch. 15: Power Struggle

"Uuuggghh."

Elisa looked up when she heard the moan.

"Herrrrgggaayyyy."

It sounded again and Elisa realized that Bulkhead was waking up. She ran to his side and gently put him back down.

"It's ok Bulkhead." Elisa smiled down at him.

"Elisa…is that you?" He asked quietly as his optics tried to focus.

"Yes, Bulkhead it's me. You're going to be ok." She said kindly.

"Am I…" He started.

"Back at base, yes. Just stay right here Bulkhead. I'm going to get Ratchet." She said before quickly hurrying to get him.

"Carrier!" She snapped as she shook him awake.

"What?! What is it?" Carrier shouted into the air, angry at being woken.

"Bulkhead's awake." Elisa answered.

"What?" He said confused.

"Bulkhead is out of stasis." She said again. It suddenly clicked in his processor what she was saying and he hurried out of his berth and over to Bulkhead. Elisa stayed well out of his way while he worked.

"Elisa go get your Sire." He ordered. She nodded and went into his berth room

"Sire, sire wake up." Elisa said gently, shaking his arm. He slowly opened his optics and looked at her.

"What is it baby?" He asked concerned.

"Bulkhead's awake." She answered. He only nodded before getting up and going to the med bay. Not long after Elisa was waking everyone up so they could see the good news.

"Relax guys you could never lose me that easily." He joked as everyone was gathered around him.

"We were all worried about you Bulk." Arcee smiled.

"Yeah Miko's going to be so excited." He said happily.

"Alright, alright, Bulkhead needs rest. Everyone go back to recharge." Carrier ordered. It took a little longer before everyone finally left and her creators knew Elisa wasn't going anywhere. She took her place by his pedes and waited to go back to sleep.

"Goodnight Bulkhead."

"Night E. Good to see you."

"Yeah, good to see you too."

Recovery was long and hard for Bulkhead. Being a former wrecker, he wanted to get back in the field, but his body wasn't ready for it. Miko wasn't exactly a help at first, but a little talk from Arcee calmed her down. Elisa saw that he was upset when Smokescreen got the Apex armor from Starscream. Even though he was trying to help Bulkhead was in denial about the whole.

"Maybe you try using the armor I snagged from Starscream, instant muscle suite." He said happily.

"You think I need a crutch!" Bulkhead shouted before he swiped the armor away with his wrecking ball and cashing it into the computer causing it to spark.

"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Carrier shouted, making Elisa flinch.

"Out of my way rookie!" He shoved Smokescreen aside and started doing reps with his metal ball.

Then Raf got grounded.

Sometimes they just couldn't win at times. The Team still had to be careful with Bulkhead still out. Carrier shouting from before gave Elisa a headache so she started to retreat.

"You ok Elisa?" Smokescreen asked concerned.

"Yeah, just a little headache. I'll be back in a few minutes." She answered.

"Scrap." Ratchet mumbled when she was in her room.

"What?" Smokescreen asked.

"Her hearing is still sensitive." Ratchet answered.

"Why?"

"Everyone goes through three stages of maturity. She's past her first stage and she has to get used to her heightened senses." Ratchet answered. Optimus walked went past them and went into Elisa's room. She was holding her head in her servos to calm her nerves. Optimus sat down gently beside her and rubbed her shoulders.

"Ouch, Sire that hurts." She cried out.

"You're too tense Elisa." Sire answered.

"I can't help it. There's too much tension in the base as it is." Elisa answered.

"I'm sorry Elisa."

"It's not your fault Sire." Elisa said as she leaned into him. "Something's not right Sire." Elisa said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sensing some odd energy. I can't decipher it real well." She answered. "It doesn't feel natural. It's almost like something tampered with it." Elisa said.

"Is it another dragon?"

"No, I know it's human I can say that much, but because it's unnatural I can sense it and I don't know why." Elisa explained.

"You senses are heightening Elisa. It's a natural process in your body." Sire explained.

"Are you alright?" Sire said as Elisa stood up. She nodded yes and went back outside. Not long after Agent Fowler showed up and said that Breakdown had been sighting going into a military base and stealing a form weapon from a former military officer name Colonel Bishop a.k.a Silas.

"Breakdown's dead." Elisa stated.

"How would you know?" Jack asked curiously.

"Knockout told me when I was on the Nemesis." She answered. "Sire he must be the energy I am feeling. He must have done something with Breakdown's remains." Elisa said to Optimus, who only nodded and looked at Agent Fowler to continue. It turns out the weapon was Project Damocles, which was basically a laser cannon connect to a satellite.

"And in Megatron's hands…"

A threat to anyone anywhere on the planet.

Elisa did her best to hide her flinch as she heard Megatron's voice in her head. Silas must have been with him. The unnatural energy had to be disbursed or otherwise the balance of energy was tipped away. They headed over to Colorado and Silas wasn't there but Soundwave was.

"The autobots have arrived."

"Megatron relax." Megatron growled deeply as the human's casual tone. "Lord Megatron." He added. "Soundwave may need the codes to remotely operate Project Damocles from here on your war ship, but while jacked into the main frame Damocles is his to command." Silas pressed a button as the satellite was ejected into space. "Is that really a dragon?" Silas asked amazed.

"Yes." Megatron stated and said nothing more.

Smokescreen looked up to a laser beam headed right for him. He shouted in surprise when someone shoved him out of the way. He looked up to see Elisa staring at him in worry.

"Thanks."

"Soundwave is in the building. I can see his aurora." She said. Elisa was tempted to go after him, but she knew he could easily divert the beam right towards her so the effort was useless. Finally the beam was gone and so was Soundwave, but when Ratchet called for backup for Bulkhead, Elisa scrambled for it. When she came through the groundbridge she saw the mangled form of Breakdown. She couldn't even imagine what Knockout must have thought. The thought of Breakdown's body being used by another being instead of being left in peace made her blood boil as she let out a mighty roar before she charged at him and knocked him to the ground.

"Watch out Elisa." Bulkhead warned, but his warning went unanswered as Silas made the mistake for her. He thought he had the advantage of size, but she easily dodged him and shot him with her heat ray, knocking him to the ground. When he got the order to return to base he shot a rocket at them, only to be blocked again by the heat ray.

"Thanks Elisa." Bulkhead smiled.

"No problem. It's what the new guy's for." She winked at him, making him chuckle.

"Silas you have earned your place at the table." Megatron stated.

"Lord Megatron, I am honored."

"Knockout's dissection table." Megatron snapped angrily. Silas looked towards the medic horrified.

"Breakdown would be tickled." He said proudly.

"No Lord Megatron why?"

"Because Damocles was the best you had to offer and it is no more. The human factor did indeed tip the scales…in favor of my enemies." Megatron answered darkly. Silas shouted in pain when he knocked about by Knockout's electric rod. "He will make a fascinating case for study." Megatron said wickedly.

"I will leave no fiber or fiber optic unexamined." Knockout said before having him dragged away.

"No, Megatron! I'm here to serve you! NOOOOOO!" Silas' screams of fear echoed through the halls as he was dragged away towards his execution.

The energy was gone that night and Elisa felt more at ease. She knew she wasn't supposed to, but she felt sorry for Knockout. She guess that he and Breakdown were friends as they were often seen working together on missions. Having his body being used like that must have enraged him. She honestly wished she could express her condolences to him, but she knew that was out of the question.

The next morning there was another artifact signal and Elisa and Smokescreen stayed behind with Ratchet. For some reason they couldn't find the artifact and when another one came up Elisa and Smokescreen left to find it. The problem was that Megatron was there, but it turns out he had unearthed the Star Saber. Elisa had never seen anything like it and the energy coming off of it was phenomenal. It was so strong that it almost gave Elisa a headache.

"I just pulled a Miko."

Elisa and Smokescreen looked down and saw none other than Jack below then.

"Jack what are you doing here?" Elisa growled.

"Back-up." He smiled weakly, but was a little nervous at Elisa baring her teeth like that.

"You know better." She snapped at him.

"I just want to help. Hey I've got a question for you. Why doesn't Megatron just take the Star Saber?" He asked.

"Germaphobe." Smokescreen said making Elisa roll her eyes. "I'm going to make Optimus proud." He smiled.

"Wait Smokescreen Jack's right. Something isn't right here." Elisa said.

"You heard Ratchet back there, back-up won't be available right now." Smokescreen said before running off after the artifact. Elisa stayed put and watched for a moment.

"Elisa!" Jack shouted. She turned just in time to get knocked sideways by an Insecticon. Another group of them were going after Jack as Elisa tried to fight the two that were on her. She swiped at them with her claws and nearly tore one of their arms right off making it squeal in pain. The other one punched her right in the chest sending her flying into the open field and into Megatron's view. He frowned at the sight of Elisa fighting the Insecticons. She easily dodged one trying to stop on her and she fired her heat ray at the other that was wounded. It squealed in pain again as Elisa slammed it to the ground hard, causing sparks to fly and for the Insecticon to lay still. The remaining one grabbed her with its pinchers and flipped her away right into Megatron's path. When she looked up at him, her optics narrowed in bitter emotions, but before she could growl she grunted in pain when the Insecticon slammed into her pining her down.

"Bring him to me." Megatron ordered. "Long time no see Smokescreen." Megatron said smugly.

"Not long enough." He shot back.

"Smokescreen shut up!" Elisa snapped.

"Get off of her." Smokescreen argued. The insecticon only dug its claws deeper in her neck causing her to bleed.

"Ahhhh no get off please!" Elisa begged. Panic began to seep into her spark. She started to remember the dark room. Those cold claws digging into her scales and making her bleed. Megatron was curious at how she started shaking, but she refused to look at him as her optics were closed.

"Now now little one…" Megatron teased. Elisa's optics snapped open and she snarled at him as her reaction was instantaneous. She had to keep remembering that she couldn't look to Megatron for help anymore. Her spikes flashed blue making the insecticon jump off of her. She fired at him right in the head, destroying it instantly. When she looked back at Megatron he had his cannon pointed at Smokescreen. Neither spoke before they heard more gun fire and saw that Team Prime had arrived.

"Where's Optimus?" Megatron looked around and finally spotted Elisa's Sire. Before he could transform Elisa tackled him to the ground. Growling in frustration he grabbed her and tried to throw him off, but she countered by holding onto his wrists. He changed by sending a hard kick to her gut and she grunted in pain and came off of him. She quickly came back to try and grab him again, but Megatron slammed his fist into her head as she charged at him. She fell to the ground instantly and didn't get up. Megatron charged at Optimus and did manage to get a shot at him, but it was too late as he grabbed the hilt of the Saber. He retreated to his ship and saw that Optimus had landed safely to the ground.

"Drop the mountain on him." He snapped. The mountain was rolling towards Optimus as he ignored his teams cries to run. Elis woke at the loud sound and looked up just in time to see her Sire slice the mountain right in two. Elisa's optics went wide as she saw the energy from the Star Saber just glow around Sire's own aurora and everything looked so much brighter. She wished she could have seen Megatron's face.

In the Nemesis the bridge was deathly silent. Megatron's jaw had dropped and his optics were wide with shock at the display of power before him. He knew the decepticons were finished. He watched in a daze as Optimus charged forward with his own battle cry as he swung the Saber and an energy beam hit the Nemesis, shaking everybody off their pedes. The ship nearly crashed into the ground, but a quick maneuver sent it flying high into the sky.

"We decepticons now face our darkest hour."

"Elisa are you ok?" Bulkhead said as he hurried over to her.

"I think so." She said quietly. She tried to get to her feet, but her legs gave out as she groaned in pain.

"Wheep bep bap beouuu?" Bee asked.

"Megatron hit my head…hard." She answered.

"E, I'm so sorry." Smokescreen said sincerely. The team started to crowd around her and it was making her nervous.

"Ok, everyone back up. Give her room." Arcee ordered pushing everyone aside so Optimus could get to his sparkling. He gently lifted her into his arms.

"Elisa, are you alright?" He whispered as he didn't want his voice too loud.

"Yeah, I just got a headache Sire." She answered. When she tried to rise again Sire supported her and held onto her fast.

"Ratchet send a ground bridge." He said. They all came through and Smokescreen was excited about the Star Saber.

"How epic was that? I saw it with my optics, but I still can't believe it." He said excitedly.

"You know what I don't believe. That after everything you've been told you still put a human at risk." Arcee snapped at him.

"Look Arcee it…" Jack started.

"Don't you even start with me. We'll talk tomorrow. Send Jack home." She said to Ratchet. Jack left without another word.

"We've been need of another autobot in our ranks, not other child. Elisa is still a youngling and she's taken more hits than you!" Arcee snapped.

"Look I'm sorry. I was wrong, and if you need to kick me off Team Prime…" He started.

"Disregard for human safety or anyone's safety will not be tolerated. Do you understand?" Optimus said sternly.

"Fully sir."

Elisa was behind her Sire and her optics were fixed on blade that stood in front of her. The energy was glimmering right in front of her.

"We must never lose sight of the fact that upon this earth we are titans and such power must be used wisely."

Elisa didn't hear her Sire as she touched the blade and wrapped her servos around it. When she did her optics and claws glowed the same bright blue that the Star Saber did.

"Elisa!" Carrier shouted, but she didn't respond. The energy around the blade came off in small waves around her claws and Elisa just toyed with them for a moment.

What do you see Elisa? Sire asked through the bond.

Powerful energy just like yours

She stared at him and everyone gasped as her optics were pure silver. She waited a moment before handing her Sire the blade. When he took it his own optics glowed as well.

"Whoah!" Bulkhead gasped.

"Optimus speak to me." Ratchet said. When his bondmate didn't answer he tried again. "Optimus!"

"I am receiving a message."

"From whom?"

"Alpha Trion."

"Optimus, what is Alpha Trion saying?" Ratchet asked, but he didn't answer. While everyone was focused on Optimus they paid no attention to Elisa. Faster than any of her normal possible speed Elisa was out of the main room and in her Sire's. Her optics and claws still glowed as she had her own vision. Another dragon walked into her vision. It's optics glowed blue and was pure silver with streaks of blue that looked like fire across it's scales. It showed a gentle smile to her.

"I've been waiting for you." It said. It's voice sounded soft and gentle and Elisa realized that it was a she.

"Who are you?" Elisa asked amazed at what she saw. Before she could answer another dragon came in. She could tell he was a male by his size. He was dark blue with gold marks across his body.

"My name is Aquarius and this is my bond mate Leucothea." He said, his voice and strong. "Elisa you must listen to us very carefully." He said as they came over to him. Out of respect Elisa bowed her head at the elders, but Aquarius lifted her back up. He began to speak as his bond mate walked past her and started to trace her claws over Elisa's back. The touch felt like water to her, but she somehow remained focused on Aquarius.

"You are the last." He stated.

"The last of what?" She asked confused.

"The last of the Primes, like you Sire." He answered.

"I don't understand, Magma is a Prime too. Isn't he?"

"He is not a true anymore Prime. He lost that title a millennia ago. As your Carrier said, 'one is not born into greatness, rather one must earn it." He finished.

"There is great danger ahead of you Elisa." Leucothea finally spoke. "An ancient evil is about to be awakened." She said sternly.

"How?" She asked weakly. The elders sensed her fear and Leucothea rubbed her back in comfort.

"Alpha Trion speaks with your Sire now. He speaks of the Omega keys. They can revive Cybertron once they unleash the Omega lock, but that will not happen." He said.

"Why?"

"The lock will be destroyed and everything will change."

"How will it be destroyed?"

"I cannot answer that."

"Your Sire will be in grave danger once the Omega lock is destroyed. You must help him." Leaucothea said.

"Help him? How?" She asked a little panicked.

"In any way you can." Aquarius stated. He lifted his claws up and she became frightened as they glowed a dark blue and touched her forehead. She gasped at the energy that filled her body.

"Help him Elisa." They said together.

Everything became red as fire erupted around them. The Elders were nowhere to be found as Elisa was surrounded by fire. She heard a mighty roar from above and saw a mechanical black dragon with orange wings soaring above the sky shooting fire into the air. She ran through the fire only to stop when she saw Magma in front of her. Some parts of his body were glowing fire as his fangs were covered in energon. He roared in fury at her before taking off, his wings leaving red streaks in the air. She went to follow him, but froze when the mechanical dragon landed right in front of her. Her optics went wide with fear as it approached her. She quickly made up her mind to stand her ground and stared at the beasts yellow optics dead on.

When it finally roared at her everything went black.

"Elisa! Elisa! Wake up!"

Someone was shouting her name and Elisa slowly opened her optics. Carrier was holding her in his arms, his optics wide with fear.

"Carrier?" She said confused.

"Elisa are you alright?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered. She looked towards the door and saw her Sire standing over them with the others in the doorway. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?" She asked quietly.

"You're glowing Elisa and we found you passed out." Arcee answered. Elisa looked down at herself and saw markings over her body glowing gold.

"What are they?" She asked afraid.

"The ancient text of the Primes." Sire answered. Not even in a few minutes, the glowing faded and only the markings on her back remained, standing out in their gold color. Elisa took a few deep breaths to steady herself before she spoke again.

"How long have I been out?" She asked.

"Only a few minutes." Carrier answered.

"Sire are you ok?" She asked looking up at him.

"I'm fine Elisa." He answered kindly. "Did something happen?" He asked. Elisa wasn't sure what exactly to tell him, but she had to answer him.

"I had a vision of two Elders." She answered.

"Who did you see?" Carrier asked first.

"Aquarius and his bond mate Leaucothea." Everyone stared at her wide-eyed for the longest time.

"Elisa how…" Carrier started, but he couldn't figure out what to say.

"Elisa, Aquarius and his bond mate have been dead for many years now. I saw their deaths with my own optics back on Cybertron." Sire explained.

"Did you know him?"

"I did during the start of the war. When Megatron began seizing other territories on Cybertron he came to my aid when I was still Orion Pax and he stayed with me after I became a Prime. He and his tribe supported the autobot cause." Sire explained. He kneeled down so he could explain things to her and the others entered the room listening to him.

"Did Magma support the decepticon cause?" She asked.

"Whatever that is." Arcee muttered.

"He pretended that he did for a time, but he wanted all the power. He knew that if he wanted to know an enemy as powerful as Megatron he would have to see him up close, when Magma couldn't defeat Megatron he and his tribe separated from the decepticons."

"He went after Aquarius." Elisa stated.

"Yes, he killed Leaucothea first and in his weakened state Aquarius fell to Magma, but when his tribe couldn't hold against the autobots he fled Cybertron." Sire explained.

"What happened to the other tribe?"

"When we left for Cybertron I offered for them to join us, but they declined and fled to another world I do not know." Sire finished.

"Elisa did they say anything to you?" Carrier asked. Elisa instantly started to sob into his chestplates. Carrier held her close and looked up at Sire, who was becoming more concerned by the minute.

"They said something bad was going to happen." She cried.

"Nothing bad is going to happen baby." Sire whispered to her gently.

"Sire don't go looking for the Omega keys. It's not going to work." She pleaded. Arcee looked at the others confused. She wasn't even in the room when Optimus spoke of the keys.

"Elisa we have to get the keys. Otherwise Megatron will recreate Cybertron in his own image." Sire said gently.

"Dooming it's future." Carrier added. Elisa took a few deep breaths before looking at him.

"Then I'm going to help you." She stated.

"Elisa I'm not going to let you get hurt." Sire stated.

"They told me I had to help you, so that's what I'm going to do." Elisa argued back.

"Elisa, why don't we talk about this in the morning. You should get some rest, Megatron did hit you hard." Carrier suggested.

"Do you think I imagined the whole thing?" She asked him shocked.

"No Elisa I believe you. We all do, but I think the stress is too much for you at the moment. You need to get some recharge." Carrier explained. The others nodded in agreement. Elisa slowly got to her feet with Carrier's help and her creators put her to bed.

"Is she going to be alright?" Smokescreen asked worried.

"I don't know Smokescreen, whatever she saw must have frightened her badly." Ratchet answered.

"Perhaps we will get more answers in the morning Smokescreen." Optimus finished. When the others went into their rooms Ratchet and Optimus continued to talk.

"Optimus what are you going to do?" Ratchet said worried.

"For once I do not know." Optimus said defeated. "But I want Elisa to stay away from the Star Saber. I'm sorry Ratchet. I didn't know that this would happen to her." Optimus said. Ratchet silenced his guilt with a gentle kiss.

"Perhaps she is just unwittingly living up to her namesake." Ratchet said quietly, but neither smiled at the small joke.

"I'm scared for her Ratchet." Optimus whispered, his voice trembling.

"I am too." Ratchet said as they held each other close.

"We have to do this Ratchet. I want to give our daughter a better future. I want everyone to have a better future." Optimus added sincerely.

"I know Optimus, but you have to take care of yourself. She needs you here." Ratchet insisted.

"She needs you too my love." Optimus said before giving Ratchet another kiss.

Since Optimus was staying at the base to decode the Iacon database Elisa stayed with him and watched him work. She didn't want to leave his side anyway as she was too frightened by the vision. He quickly decoded one set and Arcee and Smokescreen went on their way. Everyone would go in teams in case Optimus decoded another set before another team returned. When Arcee came back, Smokescreen wasn't with her.

"Where's Smokescreen?" Elisa asked. Arcee didn't answer and looked away from her. Elisa instantly broke down in tears as Bulkhead held her shoulders. Megatron had come and apparently made a deadly blade that was just like the Star Saber, but out of dark energon.

"Sire don't go please." Elisa begged.

"I'm sorry Elisa, but this is something I must do." He said sadly. He gently kissed her forehead before going through the groundbridge.

"Claim your prize Optimus…if you can." Megatron taunted as he came closer to Optimus. He nearly gasped when he saw that servo of a former Prime attached to Megatron.

"By the Allspark Megatron. What have you done?" Optimus demanded.

"This…I find it affords me certain advantages. Such as the use of the Forge of Solous Prime." Megatron gloated. He slowly pulled out the blade he had created. "My first creation fashioned from the very blood of Unicron. I call it the Dark Star Saber. Slayer of Primes if you will." And with that Megatron charged at Optimus. Optimus quickly followed suite and went after Megatron. They kept firing energy beams at each until Optimus leaped up and slammed his blade into Megatron's. An energy mixed of purple and blue every time the blades collided. They countered each other move for move until the blades finally interlocked.

"At last we take our rightful places Optimus…as gods wielding the power of the cosmos." Megatron sneered before he grabbed Optimus by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"I am but a solider Megatron and you are a prisoner of your own twisted delusions!" Optimus snapped back before he shoved Megatron away from him, making him fall to the ground hard. He retaliated by shooting another wave of dark energon, but Optimus easily dodged it.

"How's Elisa?" Megatron teased darkly.

"Leave her out of this!" Optimus stated before they charged at each other again. Megatron was faster this time and managed to swipe Optimus right across his arm. The burn stung heavily and it made Optimus groan in pain.

"My Dark Star Saber has tasted one spark tonight. It still thirsts for that of a Prime." Megatron growled before they locked blades again. Only Megatron punched Optimus right across the face, sending him to the ground. Optimus looked up at Megatron as he slowly approached with the blade in his hand. Megatron looked menacing as he breathed heavily until it turned into a snarl. When Optimus got up and went at him again with his blade Megatron roared into the air and the Star Saber shattered. Optimus' optics went wide in shock as it shattered like glass and the pieces fell to the ground, disintegrating at his pedes before he collapsed on the sand in defeat. He felt the heat of Megatron's dark energon on the back of his neck but he didn't look up.

"And so it ends, just as I envisioned, with your head beside my new trophy." He raised the blade his to make the final blow but froze when he heard a voice.

"Oh you mean this…finders keepers."

They both looked up to see none other than Smokescreen holding the Omega key in his servos.

"You!" Megatron roared in anger only to stop when Optimus grabbed him and hit him across the face with the broken blade. Smokescreen went running to help his leader.

"Smokescreen fall back." Prime ordered, only for an energy beam to come right at him, but Smokescreen easily jumped out of the way. He looked up to see Optimus slam Megatron to the ground. He was trying to get the blade from him, but Megatron thought fast and punched Optimus off of him. Smokescreen barely got in front of Prime before another energy beam went right through them with the phase shifter.

"Ratchet ground bridge!" Optimus ordered.

"No!" Megatron shouted.

"Missed us." Smokscreen smile before they ran for the bridge. Megatron shouted in frustration before he fired off one last energy beam, but they were already gone. Then Megatron started to laugh.

"Run Optimus run. Those trinkets from Iacon will not save you. Not when I now possess the power TO TEAR THIS WORLD APART!" A purple lightning cracked through the sky sending out a warning. It was then that Megatron turned around quickly and blocked the heat ray that fired right at him. "Magma!" Megatron shouted at the flying dragon.

"I'm impressed at how desperate you've become Megatron." Magma smiled darkly.

"You better watch your wings dragon." Megatron growled pointing the blade at him threateningly.

"You won't win Megatron. You'll make a mistake. Humans always make mistakes." Magma gloated.

"Like you did when you tried to terminate me?" Megatron teased making the dragon growl at him.

"Watch yourself Megatronous." Magma finished before he flew, making Megatron sneer in disgust.

Everyone saw the broken blade, but Elisa didn't pay attention to that. She saw the wound on her Sire's arm.

"Sire you're hurt." She said quietly Ratchet went and looked at the wound.

"Smokescreen!" Bulkhead shouted. Elisa's optics went wide when she saw her friend.

"And Omega Key number one." He said holding it up.

"But how? I mean I saw you." Arcee said confused.

"I decided to borrow the phase shifter." He said showing that as well.

"Again!" Ratchet said annoyed, before Optimus walked away from him. Elisa followed her Sire instead. She could sense that he was feeling distressed because of the broken blade. She followed him to comfort him.

"Good thing too. The weight of the blast hit me like a wrecking ball. I don't know how long I was unconscious, but when I made my way back outside Optimus and Megatron were deep in an epic throw down. I waited for the right moment to make my move." He explained.

"You're learning." Arcee added.

"So can I keep it? I mean it is really working out for me." Smokescreen said asking about the relic.

"Fine fine." Ratchet muttered.

"Sire, your wound." Elisa pleaded quietly.

"I'll be fine Elisa." Optimus answered.

"Just let me look at it please." Elisa begged. One look at her optics and he saw her fear. He kneeled down so she could look at his wound. He had to smile at her tender care as she gently felt the wound.

"Yes signature weapon." Smokescreen said happily. He walked over to a small table and saw that the Star Saber was on it, the blade broken beyond repair and everyone gathered around it.

"You got yours Optimus lost his." Bulkhead said sadly.

"The balance of power shifted again." Arcee stated.

"While he may have wielded the power of the ancients for only one day, Optimus does not require it to be the mightiest of warriors." Ratchet said proudly. They looked over and saw Elisa caring for her Sire. Her claws glowed blue as she weaved them just above the wound, making Optimus gasp in relief.

"What did you do?" Optimus asked.

"There was dark energon around the wound and I destroyed it." Elisa answered before the glow of her claws disappeared.

"Thank you my sparkling." Optimus said as he gave her a loving kiss.

Neither creator was surprised the next morning to see Elisa sleeping at the foot of their berth.

Ch. 16: Everything is Destroyed

Nothing went well after the Star Saber was destroyed. They managed to get three of the Omega Keys when none other than Starscream stole them away. The pain Elisa felt from her Sire was unbearable and she had nearly collapsed by the time her creators came back.

"Ratchet, Optimus get back here now!" Arcee ordered. Elisa was passed out on the floor as Smokescreen opened a groundbridge.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked. "Elisa! Is she hurt?" He asked when he saw her.

"No she just passed out. I didn't see what happened. One moment I heard a cry and the next she was on the ground." Arcee explained. Ratchet scanned her over and saw that her spark had been temporarily weakened, but was getting stronger.

"Her spark is weak, but rapidly gaining strength." Ratchet said to the others.

Elisa can you hear me? Ratchet said through the bond, but Elisa didn't answer. When he looked at Optimus, he picked her up and placed her on the medical berth.

"Is she going to be alright?" Smokescreen asked.

"She's stable. She should wake up anytime now." Ratchet said. He went over to the sink and dabbed a rag in water before gently washing her face. Sure enough, Elisa's optics blinked open.

"Carrier?" She whispered.

"I'm here Elisa." Carrier said gently as everyone sighed in relief. She slowly stood up on the berth and rubbed at her chest.

"What happened?" Elisa asked confused.

"You passed out Elisa." Arcee answered. Elisa's optics went wide at the realization.

"We lost the keys." Elisa stated.

"Starscream has them." Bulkhead stated. Elisa looked over at her Sire and for the first time he looked away from her in shame. She gently tugged at his servo and he came in close to her. She wrapped her arms around him and nudged her head affectionately into his body.

"I'm sorry Sire." She whispered.

Optimus couldn't hold back the tears as he held her close.

However it seemed that fortune had returned when Dreadwing gave them the Forge of Solous Prime. Elisa watched amazed as her Sire turned the ground bridge into a space bridge. It wasn't too long after that another bridge was activated for Cybertron. No one argued this time when Elisa stood by her team mates. Everyone paused when they heard Optimus banging away at something.

"What's he forging now?" Bulkhead asked, but Elisa knew what it was. Her Sire came out tall and proud with the new Star Saber in his servos. Everyone's optics went wide at the sight as he came to the bridge.

"Megatron must be stopped no matter the cost." He stated before they all transformed and went through the bridge.

It wasn't too long before they came up to Megatron's army. Everyone was focused as they split up and prepared their attack. Smokescreen did a little sneak attack first before finally letting himself be seen.

"Smokescreen…but that's impossible. The autobots do not possess the means to…" Megatron started but looked up in time to see a huge chunk of metal slam down on a number of troops before Bumblebee ran off.

"Crush them!"

The troops started firing as Bumblebee drove down the building and Bulkhead fired at them with the Immobilizer before landing hard and crushing them with his wreaking ball. Arcee soon followed as she leaped down and the Apex Armor enclosed around her before she landed. She swatted drones like flies at the hard hits she gave them. Elisa finally swooped down and started firing at the drones with her heat ray in the air. Some of the drones transformed and tried to fire at her, but she easily knocked them aside with her fire claws. She made an open path for the other autobots as they made a line and charged at the decepticons. Elisa quickly joined them as she ran next to her Sire on all fours before he grabbed the Star Saber and flung several drones aside. She heard Megatron charge right at her Sire and nearly became dizzy at the energy that the two blades created.

"I bested your little blade once and I shall do it again." Megatron shouted at Optimus. He pushed the Prime back and he easily blocked the dark energon blade, but not the kick Megatron gave him. Prime returned with a kick of his own sending Megatron back before they charged at each other again. Elisa did her best to give Bulkhead and Bee a clear shot at the drones that held the keys. Bulkhead immobilized them as Bee snatched them up with on weapon and each team member got their key. Megatron looked up when he saw this only to be pushed back yet again by Prime before he sent and energy beam right at him and sent him flying. As the others transformed Elisa knocked some fliers out of the way before she joined them.

"I will have those keys or I will have your sparks!" Megatron roared at the drones before Smokescreen came out.

"I can help with the last part." He said holding a familiar relic in his hand.

"The spark extractor!"

The drones missed him as it activated and they were sent sprawling to the ground. Megatron grounded his sharp denta in anger before he flung his sword and directly hit the relic destroying it for good. He landed among his dead troops before picking his blade up from the ground.

"Starscream the autobots have ceased the Omega keys. Send reinforcements immediately." Megtron ordered.

"Actually Lord megatron, Soundwave has been briefing me on recent developments and we may have a more effective solution."

"Our headstart won't last long." Arcee said.

"This is where Alpha Trion said we'd find it right?" Smokescreen asked.

"These are the coordinated." Bulkhead stated as they came up to something. Optimus wiped the dust away to reveal the autobot symbol.

"Ratchet we have located the Omega lock." Optimus said. "According to Alpha Trion the Omega lock is a conduit to the very Allspark itself."

"Optimus an honor like this shouldn't belong to me." Smokescreen said holding the key up to him, but they all glowed and slowly the lock emerged in front of him. While everyone looked overjoyed, Elisa couldn't have been more frightened. She never told anyone about what the Elders had said about the lock in her vision and she figured they wouldn't believe her anyway if she did. The moment was short lived when Megatron appeared and everyone geared up.

"Autobots I would strongly suggest that you hand over those keys." He stated.

"And why would we do that?" Smokescreen dared. Behind Megatron a ground bridge appeared with Starscream holding Jack, Knockout holding Miko, and Soundwave holding Raf.

"So that I may hand over the humans." Megatron gloated.

"And if we refuse?" Optimus asked.

'Then I will have no choice, but to open the pods. Exposing your pets to Cybertron's toxic atmosphere and then we can all watch them instantly perish together." Megatron answered. Elisa was starting to feel sick from the tension in the air. When nobody made a move Megatron did.

"Starscream."

"Jack, it's time to come out and play." The seeker teased before he scratched at the glass with his claws.

"Go ahead. The autobots were prepared to sacrifice themselves for my planet. I'll do the same for theirs." Jack said.

"Me too creepy." Miko added. Raf only nodded weakly with a loud gulp.

"Perhaps we should oblige them." Megatron said.

"If my decision dooms the future autobot cause on Cybertron so be it, but I will never forsake our human allies." Optimus said before he slammed the Star saber into the ground and retreated back. Soon everyone threw their relics in a pile and Megatron smiled in victory.

"Megatron wait." Elisa said as she walked forward. She came about an arm's length away from him and stared up at him. She was a little bit taller than the last time he had seen her. He hadn't notice it during their previous battle.

"What could you offer me?" Megatron asked curiously.

"Take me instead. Let the others go." Elisa pleaded for everyone.

"Elisa no!" Optimus gasped, but Megatron ignored him.

"Can you activate the lock?" He asked harshly.

"No." She stated back, staying strong.

"Then I have no use for you." Megatron snapped, before he took a threatening step towards her. Her spikes flashed when he pulled out his sword.

"Elisa get over here now!" Optimus shouted.

"Your Sire's calling." Megatron teased. She slowly backed away from him and Optimus gripped her tightly in his arms.

Don't ever do anything like that again

I'm sorry Sire.

I know Elisa, but I love you too much. I couldn't possibly let you go.

I love you too Sire.

Ever so slowly the keys were handed off and they were surrounded by troops again.

"Now bear witness as a new era dawns on Cybertron."

"BEHOLD THE AGE OF THE DECEPTICONS!"

Everyone gasped in awe when a crumbled building was built like it was brand new again.

"You have what you want Megatron. This conflict is between the autobots and the decepticons. Allow me to return the humans to earth." Optimus said.

"Oh I wouldn't recommend it. They'll be far safer here." Megatron said to Optimus. "Is the spacebridge locked on target?" Megatron said to Starscream.

"Per your instructions Lord Megatron."

"Excellent. Why rule only one world when I could rule two?" Megatron said and before they knew it the Lock was set firing at earth.

"No." Optimus moaned.

"If the Omega lock can restore Cybertron it will do the same to earth right?" Miko asked.

"No it will cyberform your planet in favor of it's new matrix. Destroying all indigenous life in the process."

"Such raw power." Megatron gloated. "What should I call my new domain, New Kaon or perhaps gilded earth?" He taunted.

"No!" Jack shouted.

"Leave our planet alone!" Miko shouted. All the deceticons did was laugh in their faces. Elisa gasped when Optimus pushed her out of the way and knockout out a drone with his blade before running for the Star Saber. More drones tried to take him down, but he easily brushed them aside. Megatron let out a warrior's cry as he shouted as his opponent.

"Sire!" Elisa screamed into the air as he ran right at Megatron. Their blades collided before Megatron was thrown back. Optimus made another swing and cut Megatron's arm clean off. It landed a few feet from him, it's grip still tight on the blade. As Megatron shouted in pain, Optimus kept running as the others fired at him. He literally walked over Starscream before he shouted into the air as he plunged the Star Saber right at the control panel for the lock. Everything exploded around them and all they could see was fire for a few moments.

"Sire!" Elisa shouted again, but started to cough from the smoke. She looked up finally to see his form as he placed the Star Saber behind his back. He grabbed her and then ran for a space bridge that she hadn't heard open. Everyone was silent as they came back.

"The children? What happened?" Ratchet asked, but nobody answered as they put down their humans. "Somebody say something." Ratchet ordered.

"Optimus destroyed the Omega lock." Bulkhead said sadly.

"What?" Ratchet gasped his optics wide with horror. "You did…"

"What was necessary." Optimus finished. "There was no time for another prolonged battle, not with earth in imminent danger." He explained.

"So you destroyed the only device in any universe of destroying our home." Ratchet slumped against the monitor in defeat.

"Optimus we needed that."

Ratchet and Optimus didn't see Elisa bite her lip to hold back the sobs as she heard her Carrier's pain through his voice. She could feel his pain through the bond and she knew Sire did as well. She couldn't stop the tears.

"You weren't there doc and it's not your place to second guess a battle field decision," Smokescreen said defending Optimus.

"It most certainly is!" Ratchet shouted back. "There had to be another way." He cried out.

"It wasn't that simple Ratchet." Jack pleaded.

"Megatron was using the Omega lock to attack the earth." Raf explained.

"Optimus save our planet." Miko finished.

"What about OUR planet?!" Ratchet argued back. "All of our struggles and energon spilled and countless sacrifices FOR NOTHING!?"

"Right decision or wrong, what's done is done, but we have another problem here on this world. The cons just changed the rules when they put Jack, Miko, and Raf into play." Arcee said calmly.

"Prime!" Everyone looked to see Agent Fowler on the screen. "The Pentagon is preparing to go death con one. I need to know what we're dealing with."

"To what do you refer Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked confused.

"Maybe you should step outside and see for yourselves."

"Ratchet watch the children."

They took the elevator up to the roof and froze at what they saw. In front of them a huge fortress stood up, tall, dark, and proud. The building looked absolutely menacing as dark clouds approached from above.

"Megatron has achieved the first stage of his cyberforming of earth. The construction of his fortress." Optimus stated as Fowler ran over to them.

"In Jasper Nevada? I don't get it. I've already had the town evacuated. Why here?' He asked.

"Beeeeep!" Bee shouted, making everyone look up. Everyone turned in time to see the decepticon warship arrive as it started to approach the base.

"Because the decepticons have discovered the location of our base." Optimus stated.

"Sire, I'm frightened." Elisa whimpered at his side. He gave her a small squeeze as the ship got closer and closer. It wasn't long before Starscream and his troops came after them. Elisa leaped into the air and roared at the insecticons, but they roared back at her. She kept firing right at their necks, making them fall to the ground. She kept firing even when Optimus sent out an energy beam and destroyed a squadron, only to get fired upon by the second line.

"Autobots into the base!" He shouted.

"Fowler what are you doing?" Bulkhead asked amazed as Fowler went into the helicopter.

"My job two ton." He answered.

"Elisa get back!" Optimus shouted. She quickly landed on the platform as they retreated back inside.

"What is going on out there?" Ratchet asked.

"The decpticons had invaded Jasper." Optimus answered.

"And Fowler seems to think he can hold them off." Bulkhead added.

"Prime reinforcements just arrived." Fowler said.

"Agent Fowler your military cannot prevail against…"

"You didn't think I was going to let Team Prime have all the fun did yah?" A different voice said.

"Hey, it's Jacky." Bulkhead cheered.

"Wheeljack, but how did you?" Ratchet asked.

"I picked up a strange energy surge. Hope you don't mind the company." He said as he appeared on screen.

"No it's just that after everything well..." Ratchet trailed off.

"We're still on the same team doc always will be." He finished. Elisa looked as her Sire moved away for a moment.

"Ratchet prepare to bridge everyone out of here."

"We're abandoning the base?" Ratchet asked amazed.

"The base is lost. Wheeljack and Agent Fowler can only buy us time to escape. Bumblebee, Rafael you will depart first." Optimus said quickly.

"You're splitting us up?" Raf asked confused.

"Shouldn't we stick together?" Jack added.

"All for one and one for all." Miko joked lightly.

"We must disperse to avoid capture until we can regroup and launch a counter attack. Survival is our only priority now."

Elisa started to tremble as the realization of her vision became clearer and clearer to her. All she knew what that she had to stay with Sire. She couldn't bear the thought of separating from him or Carrier. She watched, shaking, as he went to the ground bridge controls and picked points for all the autobots. Bee and Raf left and Bulkhead and Miko weren't too far behind.

"We haven't much time." Optimus urged and soon Bulkhead was gone, followed instantly by Arcee. Elisa shivered when she felt none other than Megatron's energy close by. She could feel his anger so strongly. It felt like pure rage. "Smokescreen go with Elisa." Optimus ordered.

"No Sire I want to stay with you please!" She cried. "What about you Carrier? Please!" Elisa begged.

"Everything will be alright Elisa." Carrier said gently to her. "We'll come and find you." He said with his voice trembling. Elisa clutched at Carrier as tightly as she could.

"I love you Carrier." She cried.

'I love you too Elisa." Carrier said as a tear came down his face. He gave her a small kiss, which she returned before clutching tightly at her Sire.

"Sire, you're going to get hurt." She pleaded.

"I'll be fine Elisa. I promise." He said as he smiled at her. He kissed her forehead and gently wiped her tears away.

"I love you baby."

"I love you too Sire."

Smokescreen saluted them before they left through the bridge.

'I'll watch out for her I promise." He said to both of them and they both jumped through the bridge and were gone.

"What about you?" Ratchet asked.

"I will ensure that the decepticons cannot follow."

Ratchet came over to Optimus and pulled him into a deep kiss.

I love you Optimus. I'm so sorry I wasted so much time.

I love you as well Ratchet. I have no regrets.

"You better stay alive for Elisa. She needs you so much." Ratchet whispered when their lips parted.

"I know." Ratchet finally approached the bridge and hesitated once more.

"I…never imagined it would end like this." Ratchet said sadly as he looked back at Optimus one last time before he stepped through the bridge and it closed behind him.

"Neither did I old friend."

Optimus clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He didn't know what was going on outside and he didn't care. He had to destroy the bridge and get out if he could. He grabbed the Star Saber and it glowed its familiar blue light as he raised it above his head.

I'm so sorry

He swung the blade down and never had time to scream as the base exploded around him. Pain erupted all around him as he couldn't register what was happening. He didn't know what to do. He never felt so frightened in his entire life. He needed his bond mate. He needed his sparkling. He needed his family.

Elisa! Ratchet!

Then just as quickly as the pain came everything went black.

Megatron watched the base burn for a brief moment before flying down into the burning rubble with Starscream not too far behind. They both landed easily, but Megatron took a little longer to regain his balance with his missing arm. They looked down to see the autobot symbol clear as day beneath their pedes.

"This is the place alright." Starscream gloated.

"This was the place." Megatron corrected him.

"United we stand. Divided they fall." Starscream sneered as they looked around the burning rubble. Megatron concluded that they would have to go through the rubble to make sure of the fate of the autobots, but that would have to wait until the fire burned out. "Lord Megatron…do you think she is…" Starscream trailed off, not sure if wanted to finish his idea.

"No she's not. Prime would never allow her to be hurt. If she was we would have heard something by now." Megatron answered.

'I'm surprised Magma hasn't captured her yet." He added. Megatron frowned at that, but didn't say anything. Thinking about Elisa reluctantly made him start to worry. He walked away from Starscream, making the seeker puzzled.

"Lord Megatron?" Starscream called, but he ignored him. Megatron wondered what she would think of him now. She would never forgive him for this and there was no turning back now. Their bond was torn for good now, just like it had been with Orion all those years ago. He should have never interacted with her. He could have easily prevented this, but looking back Megatron realized he had never stopped himself. Megatron let out a deep sigh as he thought of their next encounter. He knew she had to be alive. Optimus loved that girl too much to even think about letting her get hurt. She was out in the world somewhere. He would just have to find her.

He would find all of them if it became necessary.

Ratchet!

The medic cried out in pain and clutched at his spark as it burned from his bond mate's agony. He screamed and fell to his knees as it became more intense. He felt Optimus' panic, fear, agony, and need all in one. Optimus needed him.

Optimus!

Ratchet called out for his bond mate, but he didn't answer.

"Optimus!"

It was night time in the forest they bridged too. Smokescreen saw the tears coming down Elisa's face. He couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling.

"Elisa." He said as calmly as he could. She looked up at him with sadness in her optics before they went wide when she saw the phase shifter come out and he put it on his wrist.

"Smokescreen?" She said confused.

"I can't do this. Hold onto me." He said, holding out his servo. She took it instantly and they went through the groundbridge just before it closed.

Elisa!

When they got through Elisa instantly collapsed and screamed into the ground as she clutched at her spark. Smokescreen reacted fast by muffling her screams with his servo over her mouth. He shivered inside as he felt her body shaking hard with pain and he felt more tears come down her face. Then just as quickly as the pain came it stopped.

Sire….

SIRE!

Sire didn't answer.

Elisa opened her optics and saw that the base was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Everything was hot and on fire. She was shocked at the destruction before as it reminded her even more of the vision from the Elders.

"Where is he?" Elisa whispered.

"I…I…I don't…know." Smokescreen stuttered out as he too was in shock at the view of the destroyed base. He finally released her and they cautiously looked around. Elisa hunched over when she saw the backs of Megatron and Starscream in the rubble further off.

"Be careful." She whispered nodding off to them. He only nodded in understanding as Smokescreen cautiously walked forward.

They didn't have to look too long.

Elisa gasped when she saw a black servo sticking out of the rubble. She ran to it and cried at what she saw. Smokescreen came up behind her and rubbed her shoulder in comfort. Optimus Prime's broken body was buried under the rubble and showed no signs of life. "We have to dig him out." Elisa said suddenly as she started with the debris by his arm. Smokescreen looked up and saw the two decepticons walking around and thought better. He activated the shifter quickly.

"We don't have time. I'll get him out of here. Just stay hidden until I can come back for you ok?" He said urgently. Elisa silently nodded.

"Don't even think about them." He said nodding off to the Cons.

"It's too dangerous."

She moved quickly so Smokescreen could work on Sire as she waited. She jumped whenever she heard an Insecticon. She was starting to get nervous with the arrival of more troops as they started to look for bodies. She never wanted so desperately to get away from this place in her life, thankfully Smokescreen was back not too long later and he guided her to safety. Elisa became heavy again at what she saw what had become of her Sire.

Every part of him was burnt, charred, and black. There were cracks all over his body and his window shields were shattered. He had numerous cuts across his face and his antenna on his helm were bent and twisted. Elisa was relieved to hear that he was breathing, but she shivered at the sound of it because it sounded so pained. It was raspy and harsh and Elisa hoped to never hear something like that again.

"Stay here. We're so far deep that no one can detect our signals. I'm going back to look for medical supplies." Smokescreen said gently. Elisa didn't respond so he left.

"Sire…." Elisa whispered. She gently traced his face with her claws and he felt so cold to her. "Sire…" Elisa pleaded again. Ever so slowly his optics cracked open and he looked at her. Tears feel down her face as she saw that his eyes dull and almost gray as they almost practically glowed with no life.

"E…lisa." He gasped. She flinched at the sound of his ragged voice as she did her best not to break out sobbing.

"Shhhh…It's alright Sire. Don't talk. I'm here." Elisa said comfortingly. She leaned into his chest and gently licked at his neck in a loving gesture. "I love you Sire. I will always be here." She whispered gently into his audio. He looked at her and gave her the smallest smile and she knew he was crying inside. She took his face into her hands and gave his cheek gentle kisses as she showed him all the love she could without causing him pain.

"My..baa…by." Sire whispered to her. When she looked up at him she saw that his optics were closed again. She gave one last kiss before laying down at his side.

She gently placed her hand in his and she felt his squeeze back.

Ch. 17: Search and Observe

"Human kind as no idea what lies ahead for them."

Megatron couldn't be more pleased with the way things were going. The humans were falling to their knees before the decepticons and the autobots were scattered to the wind, but being closely watched for any movement. That only left the dragons to deal with for the moment.

"Lord Megatron…" Starscream drew him from his thoughts as Megatron looked over the seeker.

"Make sure to keep an eye out for the dragons. I wouldn't be surprised to see them try to attack Dark Mount." Megatron said.

"If I may ask my liege, are you actually concerned about Elisa?" Starscream said cautiously. Megatron nearly growled at the comment, but thought against it since Starscream hadn't really seen the interaction he had had with Elisa anyway.

"She's a young Prime Starscream. Being separated from her adoptive parents makes her vulnerable. I doubt she is alone, but if she is she will be an even greater target to capture." Megatron explained.

"Still want control of her hmmm?" Starscream chuckled, but it was cut short by a glare from Megatron.

"I severed ties with that dragon when he tried to kill her." Megatron spat.

"Why?"

"She killed Titania."

"She killed her own carrier!" Starscream said amazed.

'They were never her creators." Megatron stated. "She was being used even before she was born. Innocence like that should not be created by such creatures." Megatron growled.

"You made a mistake my lord." Starscream said. Megatron sneered and stepped towards him, making Starscream back away fearfully, but then he realized the seeker was right.

"Yes you are right Starscream. I made a mistake of getting involved with the child." Megatron said quietly before walking away.

"Return to you station and leave me be."

Rhodius and Rising Dawn looked over the landscape of the desert. The city of Jasper was destroyed and so was the Autobot base. However, there no bodies to be found as there was no trace of human, autobot, or dragon. Elisa was nowhere to be found and Sire could care less about the other humans and their smaller counterparts. The citadel stood tall and dark among the rubble. It wasn't long before Sire flew over them and right towards the decepticons with his two sons following close behind. They were instantly greeted by drones pointing at them followed by Soundwave, Starscream, and finally Megatron himself.

"I'm surprised you didn't stop by earlier Magma." Megatron teased with a wicked grin.

"I'm surprised you even managed to get this far." Magma replied juts as quickly, making his two sons snicker and Megatron frown as he approached them.

"What is it?" Megatron growled.

"Where is Elisa?" Magma snapped.

"I haven't the slightest idea. I'm busy trying to find the autobots." Megatron answered.

"Fair enough. How did you get this…citadel here?"

"It was built before Optimus Prime destroyed the Omega lock." Magma's eyes went wide at the revelation.

"The Omega lock…destroyed by a Prime." He said shocked. Megatron only sneered at the dragon, but before he knew he was knocked down and everyone started firing. The dragons flew into the air and started firing back as Magma snarled at Megatron. "The lock was made to revive Cybertron!" He roared. "And you pathetic excuse for a human used it on a lesser world!" Magma let out a fierce roar of war into the air before he fired at Megatron. He easily dodged it and he refused to transform into his jet mode to go after Magma. Magma was going to have to come to him, which he gladly obliged. He slammed his claws into ground causing sparks before swiping red claws at Megatron. He dodged again and landed him a swift kick before firing off his cannon. Magma grunted in frustration before charging again. The fire claws burned at Megatron as he blocked the blows with his arms. He got slammed in his helm hard by Magma's tail before he fell to the ground.

Magma's claws slammed into his back, making Megatron grunt in pain. He let out a snarl when the burn started to become more intense. He exposed his blade and cut Magma's arm before he fired his cannon right at his mouth. He let out a high-pitch roar of pain as he stumbled, holding his bleeding mouth. Megatron wasted no time as he punched his opponent in the stomach before driving his fist into his back, making him fall. Magma reacted fast by swinging his tail, but Megatron saw this and jumped out of the way. Letting out a deep growl Magma swung his fire claws creating a ray of energy that slammed right into Megatron. The blast slammed him right back into his throne and before he knew it Magma has his claws wrapped around Megatron's throat.

"How fitting you should die on your throne human." Magma whispered into his audio before he bared his fangs with a growled. He was within millimeters of his throat when he froze. He looked at Megatron to see a smirk on his face before he looked down at his stomach to see his blade sticking in it.

"Sire!" Rhodius shouted before he and his brother ran to his aid. They pulled him off of Megatron's blade making him groan in pain before Rhoduis grabbed hold of him and both brothers flew off.

"You know that won't kill him Master." Starscream stated.

"It won't kill, but it is my only warning."

Elisa jumped up when she heard an unfamiliar sound, but she only found that Smokescreen had returned.

"I'm back." He stated before Optimus woke up and looked up at him. Elisa held his servo tightly as it felt loose in her own. He groaned in pain as Smokescreen came forward. "I combed through every square micron of our old base. I couldn't find Ratchet's medical kit, not even a bandage." He said in defeat.

"The Forge of Solous Prime." Optimus rasped deeply.

"It's gone too. The con's picked the place clean." Smokescreen answered. Optimus tried to say something, but words just couldn't come out because he was in so much pain.

"It's ok Sire. Just go back to sleep." Elisa said gently.

"Wait!" Smokescreen said suddenly making her look up at him. "If you had the Forge you could fix yourself up, power of the Primes!" He said excitedly. Elisa's optics went wide with excitement, but she tried to keep herself steady for fear of further bad news later on just in case. "Optimus, hang on just a little longer. That hammer has got to be somewhere in Megatron's fortress." He finished before he left with the phase shifter again. Elisa trembled when she heard another mangled moan pass his lips.

"I'm here Sire." Elisa whispered into the air as tears started to form in her optics. She felt his pain through their bond. She wished desperately that she could get contact from Carrier, but his side of the bond was blocked. She didn't know if he was dead, captured, or just gone and she wanted desperately to give Sire something good to hear. Sometimes she felt weak to her stomach because his aurora was so pale. It used to be a bright powerful gold, but now she only saw the faintest wisps of energy around him and it frightened Elisa a great deal. She did the only thing she could think of.

She started to hum a lullaby melody that Sire used when she was little as her claws glowed bright blue. She focused on his aurora and when she saw the faint color she reached at it and interlaced it with her own energy. She swirled it around in her claws very gently and delicately as if the energy was made of class and could shatter at any second. She continued to hum the melody while she worked. She let go of that little piece and started to work on another. She started to feel weak at the third bit of energy she found, but she tried to keep going. She was so focused on her task that she jumped slightly when Sire gently touched her side.

"Elisa…" He gasped.

"Sire, I…I don't know what else to do. I just want to help." She cried quietly before she laid down on his chest.

"I know baby." Sire said weakly as he wrapped an arm around her. "Elisa…I…I…" He had to take another deep breath before continuing. "I need to…tell you…something." She looked at him and bit back her lip to keep from crying.

"If…anything happens… I…I want you….to know…that…" Elisa stared to tremble at his words as she had never felt so afraid before. "In my spark…I…will…always love you." He finished, barely mustering a small smile on his lips. Elisa let out a small sob before Sire's servo went up to her face to wipe the tears away. "I am…so proud…of you…and I always…have been." Elisa clutched at his servo in desperation and she hated how cold he felt. "No matter…what happens…I will always…be here…," His servo went down to her chest at her spark. "with you…inside you…always…because I…love you…so much." He finished before his servo went down to the ground again. Elisa grabbed it and kept a gently hold on his fingers.

"I love you Sire." She whimpered as she knelt down beside him. "I have always love you and Carrier ever since they day you saved me and nothing will ever change that. I promise." Elisa said before she gently kissed his neck.

"I will always be with you."

"I present to you my liege the ultimate autobot hunter." Shockwave stated before he stood aside. Slowly the beast he had created stalked forward. One giant clawed servo came out first with a loud thud, shaking the ground, before it was followed by another. Starscream's and Knockout's optics were wide with shock and fear as the stumbled out of the giant's path, which was quite the contrast to their leader. Megatron's optics were wide with awe and wonder as the beast stepped forward and when it was fully emerged he stood up and stared at it with pure fascination. The beast let out a roar into the air before kneeling down and growling before it let out another roar exposing it's sharp teeth and extending its pinchers around its mouth.

"A Predacon." Starscream said fearfully with his arms up high to defend himself. "They've been extinct since the beginning of Cybertronian history."

"Indeed." Shockwave stated before walking over to it. "But the specimen you see before you was breed in the laboratory." He explained. "Cloned from fossilized remains, which I discovered on Cybertron."

"Shockwave, it does my spark good to see you once again tampering with creation." Megatron stated as he started to walk forward.

"Master please keep your distance." Starscream said quickly.

"No need for alarm, the beast is completely under my control." Shockwave said. Megatron stepped right up to the beast and stared right at it.

"Such primal magnificence." Megatron said proudly as the beast leaned in to examine him.

"A sample of energon, from Wheeljack's, spilled during the autobots failed interrogation." Shockwave said as he held a small jar in between his fingers. He held it up to the beast who looked at it for a moment, before it's eyes glowed in recognition.

"Let the hunt begin."

Elisa opened her optics for a moment when she thought she heard something. This time Smokescreen did not appear, but nothing else did as well. She stood up to scout the area quickly, but found nothing out of place. When she turned to back to Sire, she moaned and fell to the ground when a strong energy hit hers hard. The energy passed just as quickly as it came as Elisa opened her optics. Thankfully, Sire hadn't stirred from his recharge as Elisa slowly walked over to him and laid back down next to him. She knew something was here now. Something large and powerful. Something deadly had been awakened just like the Elders had told her in the vision. She feared that it was the large dragon she had seen in the vision, but she didn't want to find out.

"Master is the Predacon really an ancestor of their smaller dragon counterparts?" Starscream asked curiously. Before Megatron could answer, Shockwave did it for him.

"The Predacon's had many forms. This species is an ancestor of the dragon breed, an ancient if you will." He stated as the others looked at him. "The dragons that lived back on Cybertron were the evolution of this species." He finished.

"Looks like Elisa has a grand-sire now." Knockout chuckled.

"Elisa?" Shockwave said puzzled, looking at Megatron.

"Shockwave during your absence, we encountered Magma and his tribe." Megatron started.

"Most unfortunate." Shockwave commented, making Knockout laugh, but a quick glare from Megatron shut him up.

"Magma had a daughter and her name is Elisa. She also just so happens to be the only female Prime in existence now, the only problem is that Magma lost her to the autobots and she was adopted by Optimus Prime and his medic Ratchet. We haven't been able to find her since the autobot base was destroyed." Megatron finished.

"A rare specimen indeed." Shockwave said.

"Hopefully the Predacon won't eat her." Starscream mocked. "It is far too large compared to her."

"Actaully the Predacon would have no interest in her because he is hunting for Wheeljack and the focus will be on the autobot, but if he comes across her by chance it is a possibility that he might act within his primal nature and try to mate with her." Shockwave explained in his very logical voice. Starscream stared at him for a moment before he burst out laughing and Megatron only rolled his optics. "I fail to see the humor in this." Shockwave added, making Starscream chuckle even more.

"Forgive me Master, but the idea of Elisa being mated with the Predacon is quite humorous because she was already protected enough as it is." Starscream explained. Shockwave didn't react so Starscream continued. "Size wise the Predacon could literally rip her in two if he tried anything." He added with a loud snicker.

"Predacons have powers that even we are not aware of. Life will find a way that I am sure of." Shockwave stated, ending Starscream's humor. "How old is this dragon?" He asked Megatron.

"Fifteen Earth years." Megatron answered.

"What is the state of Magma's current tribe?"

"Magma is temporarily out of commission for the moment. He tried to attack Dark Mouth and was sent packing." Megatron said proudly. "The only death I know of his mate Titania, killed by Elisa's own hand." Megatron added.

"Interesting results." Shockwave commented. "I never cared for Magma when he first came to you my liege, but I despised him even more when he tried to overthrow you."

"When we capture Elisa, I want her taken alive and in one piece. She will be given to you Shockwave to study in the laboratory, but she needs to remain alive as she is more valuable than any of us are even aware." Megatron stated.

"As you wish my Lord."

With that Shockwave turned and left for his lair, leaving a curious look on Starscream's face for a moment.

"You know she won't give up without a fight." Starscream stated.

"I am well aware of that Starscream, but one look at the Predacon and I am quite sure she would gladly take sanctuary in Shockwave's lab." Megatron answered. He looked over into the desert valley before transforming and returning to the Nemesis.

"Are you just trying to edge him on?" Knockout asked once he was gone.

"I believe Lord Megatron might still have feelings for the child. I'm trying to make this as painless for him as possible." Starscream argued, but Knockout only laughed.

"Right and the next thing you'll do is start kissing the ground he walks on." Knockout chuckled.

"He spared my life Knockout. It's the least I can do." Starscream snapped before the doctor waved him away and left the throne level, making Starscream fly off back towards the Nemesis.

She saw Optimus was fighting Megatron in front of Dark Mount. The tower was on fire and Team Prime battled inside, but everywhere there were mangled drones and spilled energon. She watched her Sire fight his former lover with every ounce of power he had. They kept punching and kicking and with each new blow more energon was coming out of them.

"Sire!" Elisa screamed out as she started to run. She didn't get there fast enough as Megatron had forced Optimus to his knees with a blade pointing at his neck. "No, don't Megatron please!" Elisa begged out in fear. He looked at her and his eyes just seemed to glow a menacing blood red.

"Please take me instead." Elisa begged and she could see the tears start to fall down Sire's face and onto the ground. Megatron didn't answer, but held out his free servo as he kept his blade pointing at Sire as she came towards him. She put her servo in his and Megatron kicked Optimus out of the way before he grabbed and pulled her into a kiss. Her optics went wide as she tried to push him away, but with his size and strength Megatron easily over-powered her.

"Get away from her!" Optimus shouted as he pointed his gun at Megatron. He pulled away from Elisa and pointed his cannon right back, while holding Elisa in the other servo.

"Please Sire just go." Elisa cried out.

"I'm not leaving you Elisa." Optimus shouted back.

"The lady insists." Megatron said calmly as his cannon started up. Ever so slowly Optimus lowered his weapon in defeat. He didn't know what else to do and he knew Elisa wouldn't attack Megatron for fear of him getting hurt. Optimus finally slumped back in defeat and stepped away. Megatron chuckled darkly before he brought Elisa closer to him. "Call back your troops and I just might let you say goodbye." Megatron said darkly and it made Elisa shiver. Optimus remained still for a moment and looked up at the citadel before reaching for his com link.

Except, Optimus Prime never said a word.

Just as he was reaching to his helm, Opitmus' servos transformed into guns and he started firing again. Megatron shoved Elisa aside and charged right back. Elisa tried to stop him, Megatron gave her a sharp kick that sent her reeling. The fight didn't last long as Optimus managed to deliver a harsh punch that sent Megatron skidding back. While he tried to recover, Optimus ran over to his daughter.

"Sire, I'm sorry." She cried as he took her into his arms.

"It's alright. I love you too much Elisa." He whispered into her ear before he gave her a gentle kiss on her helm.

"I love you too Sire."

Suddenly, Optimus screamed as a blade came right through his chest. Elisa jumped in shock as his energon spatter across her face. Megatron growled in fury from behind him as he slowly twisted the blade, making Optimus scream in pain again. He looked at Elisa and she saw a tear go down his cheek.

"One shall fall."

Megatron tore the blade out of Optimus and he staggered forward before he fell to his knees.

"Elisa…" Sire moaned in pain as he reached out to her with his servo. She didn't grab it in time before he collapsed on the ground. Elisa looked up to see Megatron sneering at him. Before she knew it her furious roar rang in her ears as she tackled Megatron to the ground. He tried to push her off of him, but her fire claws were burning right through the metal and into his protoform. He snarled in pain and frustration, but froze when he heard Elisa's menacing growl. He looked right at her and didn't flinch. Megatron didn't fear death. He was a gladiator after all.

That didn't stop him from screaming in pain as Elisa bit right into his throat. He tried desperately to fight back, to push her off of him, but the more he struggled the tighter her teeth became. Elisa didn't flinch when she tasted Megatron's energon in her mouth. She growled in the back of her throat as he struggled against her. She roared in his throat as he started to stab her with his blade. She kept moving her teeth deeper and deeper into the protoform until she couldn't take his attack anymore. She clamped down hard on his throat before she tore it out.

Energon sprayed everywhere when Elisa pulled off of him. She spit out the protofrom before looking at him. Megatron's optics were wide with shock as he desperately clutched at his throat to stop the bleeding. He started to cough so violently that his whole body shook. Elisa never flinched as she saw the color in his optics start to dim away.

"One shall stand."

Megatron didn't respond, but his body gave out one last rattle before he collapsed in a pool of energon. When he stopped moving Elisa didn't look back as she ran over to her Sire, who was still on his stomach. She gently turned him over and cradled his helm in her lap. She started to cry as she saw that he had lost a lot of energy and his spark wasn't glowing as brightly as it should have been.

"Sire!" She cried out as she tried to wake him. Thankfully he opened his optics and she let out a bitter sob when the light was fading fast.

"It's ok baby. Everything will be fine." He said in a tired tone. Elisa only nodded in agreement. "You remember what I said don't you?" He asked weakly. She nodded yes as she furiously wiped her tears away. "I will always be with you." He smiled lovingly.

"I love you Elisa."

"I love you too Sire."

Elise cried as she held him closer. She tried to stop the bleeding, but it was already too late.

"The Matrix chose you. You will be the new Prime." Sire explained. "But I already knew that. You were always a Prime in my optics. Do you know why Elisa?" Optimus said weakly and she could feel his body shaking.

"Why Sire?"

"Because you saved me the day I found you."

Elisa cried hard into his neck and Sire continued to breathe hard.

"We will be united again by Primus, but I don't want to be for a long time alright?" Optimus smiled and Elisa had to chuckled.

"Ok Sire." Elisa whispered.

'I want you to grow and have a family of your own and teach them what you know." Sire said.

"I'll teach them about the greatest Prime who ever lived and I'll them that that Prime was my Sire." Elisa added with a smile.

"Sounds like a great story." Sire smiled, but he started coughing and Elisa saw the energon. She saw him dig his servos into the ground as he tried to stop himself from shaking.

"Elisa…" He groaned her name as she held him tightly.

"It's ok Sire…I'm here." Elisa cried.

"Elisa…baby…" Sire whispered desperately. She looked down at him and smiled again, even as tears came down her face.

"I love you Sire. I love you. I love you. I love you." She kept repeating it as she start to see the light fade from his optics. Sire tried to speak again, but only let out a mangled gasp before the light faded from his optics and he went limp in her arms.

"Sire…Sire…" Elisa whimpered, but her spark felt cold. Elisa burst out sobbing and cradled her Sire in her arms, rocking back and forth as she sobbed hard. She held him tightly and refused to let go as she became completely unaware of the battle going on behind her.

Elisa let out the most mournful roar that rang out into the sky.

Elisa woke with a start with a roar ringing in her ears. She did a full circle of the area and couldn't find anything wrong yet again and Smokescreen had not returned. She looked back and saw that Sire was still in recharge, his raspy breath still heard loudly. She thanked Primus that it had only been a nightmare. She heard a familiar sound and saw that Smokescreen was back, but he was empty handed.

"I couldn't find the Forge. That fortress is just too big." He said before he finally took notice of her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I had a bad nightmare." She answered.

"What happened?"

"Megatron killed Sire."

"Don't worry Elisa, nothing like that is going to happen." Smokescreen said strongly.

"Smokescreen I need to borrow the shifter for a little bit." She stated.

"Why?"

"I felt another energy shift and I need to see what's going on." She answered.

"You know I can't contact you if something happens." He said looking over at Optimus.

"I know, but I'll hurry back if I feel something." She said pointing to her spark. He took the relic off his wrist and handed it to her. He showed her how it worked before she started to leave. She thought against it and gave Sire a quick kiss before heading to the surface. She looked around and found that she was far off from the citadel so she went back under before checking the distance again. She repeated the process one more time before she finally came up to it. She didn't feel as much as disturbance like she had before, but she sensed some powerful auroras. She leaped up the wall and started climbing it with her claws digging deep into the metal. With the shifter she literally dove into the wall when she heard something and didn't move until the sound faded. She slowly made her way to the top and had to frown at what she saw.

A giant throne was at one end of the balcony and she knew that it was for only one person. Thankfully he wasn't here at the moment, but Elisa waited anyway for the moment. It wasn't long before Megatron showed up and easily landed on the balcony floor. She suppressed the growl in her throat as he casually sat down on the throne and looked at his desert kingdom. She glided to the other side and landed behind the throne and waited for a while.

"Shockwave any sighting of the Predacon?" She heard him say and face squinted in puzzlement. Shockwave? Who was Shockwave and what was a Predacon?

"No signal has been detected my Lord." A deep unfamiliar voice replied and she figured this had to be the voice of Shockwave. Megatron grumbled and let out a sigh of boredom. She wanted to flinch when she heard him start tapping on the arm rest with a finger in irritation. She didn't want to wait anymore so she quietly got up on the ledge and silently stalked towards the throne. Her fire claws glowed an autobot blue before she swung them right at Megatron. He shouted in surprise and pain and dove back, causing her claws to make long slashes across his chest plates. He managed to stay on his pedes as Elisa slowly crawled up the throne like a predator and bared her fangs at him, still showing her fire claws.

"So you did make it out." He stated.

"You shouldn't be surprised." She hissed back at him. Neither said anything to one another for a moment.

"Where are the others?" Megatron snapped.

"I…don't…know." Elisa growled back.

"I know Optimus far too well to send you off on your own Elisa." Megatron stated.

"He didn't have a choice. We had to separate." Elisa said.

"Where is Optimus?"

"I can't find him."

Megatron frowned because he knew she was lying.

"Don't lie to me dragon!" He snapped. She snarled at him before shooting fire at him. He easily dodged it and she leaped in front of him so that they were facing each other in the middle of the balcony.

"You're a monster." She whispered. He bared his sharp denta and growled deeply, but wasn't sure how to reply.

"You should have seen it coming."

"I was a sparkling I didn't know! I didn't understand yet!" Elisa argued back. She tensed when a ground bridge opened behind Megatron. She recognized the seeker that was Starscream, but went wide-eyed when she saw the mech behind him. Spiky, dark purple, one big red optic, and a gun for a servo this mech looked absolutely menacing to Elisa.

"Elisa, meet my top scientist Shockwave." Megatron said proudly.

"Quite the magnificent find." Shockwave said in a deep neutral voice. She knew she was outnumbered and that she had to get out now. She leaped into the air but stopped when a pack of silver drones came in front of her. She bared her teeth and charged at the as they started to fire at her. She easily dodged it and shot one drone out of the sky, followed by slashing one right across the top making sparks and then it fell. She fired her heat ray again and another drone exploded.

"Aaaahhhh!" Elisa cried out in pain as she was hit hard in her stomach. The blow pushed her back right into one of the pillars and she landed down hard on her stomach. She grunted again when Megatron's large servos slammed down on her and pinned her down. She continued to struggle even as Starscream pointed his gun at her.

"I suggest you cease your actions dragon. It would make my sample taking less painful for you." Shockwave stated, making Elisa look up at him. His gun was smoking as evidence that he had knocked her out of the sky. He pulled from his back something that reminded Elisa of her Carrier's medical kit, but it was far from that. Shockwave opened the box and she saw scalpels and needles which made her start shaking.

"No, please don't." Elisa whimpered, but her pleas went unanswered as the scientist took the instrument into his servo and stalked towards her. Since she couldn't mover her upper body, Elisa swung her tail and her legs, clawing at the metal ground and making scratch marks.

"Knockout get up to the throne room immediately and bring your prod." Megatron ordered through his com link. This made Elisa struggle even more and she didn't stop even when Knockout appeared.

"Hey there pretty girl." He teased as he walked over to her with his prod in servo. "You want me to sedate her?" He asked Megatron.

"Her legs." Megatron answered. Knockout understood and walked over to her thigh before stabbing at it with the prob. Elisa cried out at the shock and stopped moving as her legs burned with the shock. "Keep a close eye on her." Megatron ordered Knockout before Shockwave grabbed a spike on her back with the scalpel in the other servo. She bit her lip to keep from screaming and dug her claws into the ground deep as he started to cut away at the bone.

"Those spikes really are bone. I never really believed that." Knockout said out loud.

"Affirmative. The spikes on a dragon are extensions of the spinal cord. Any major damage or even a removal of even a small spike could cause massive nerve damage and bone damage to the spine." Shockwave said as he continued to cut.

"If she has nerves in there why isn't she bleeding?" Knockout asked.

"The nerves are mostly bundled at the base where they are connected to the spinal cord. The nerves then go very thinly up the spike, but the bone is very think and the nerves are well protected." Shockwave answered. Megatron looked down at Elisa as she whimpered through her clenched teeth. Her optics were tightly shut and her arms were shaking as her claws were in the metal. Knockout watched in curiosity as Shockwave put the blade down before grabbing a needle.

"Ooooh, I see. It's more spinal fluid than actual blood." Knockout said.

"Affirmative."

Shockwave grabbed the spike before he carefully pressed the needle into the opening he made and pushed his way down. Elisa let out a high pitch shriek as the needle went deeper. Megatron clutched at her tightly to subdue her in case she tried to move, but she didn't. He looked up to see Starscream was kneeling down as well and had put his claws on her neck to make her freeze. He didn't say anything as he stared back at his Master. Elisa shuddered and moaned as Shockwave took out some fluid with the needle. It wasn't a large sample, but it was enough to satisfy him. He placed the needle delicately back into the case before reaching for the scalpel and tugged at Elisa's side.

"What are you doing? Please stop!" Elisa moaned, but again no one answered. She flinched when the scalpel dug into her skin as Shockwave started to scrap it away to get a skin sample. It was a small cut that wasn't life threatening, so he took the skin and placed it in a container before grabbing a second needle and he stuck it right into her wound making her gasp. He filled the needle with her blood before placing it back into the case. He took out a scanner before closing it up and placing it a safe distance away from her. He went over to her face and grabbed making Elisa look up at him.

"Careful Shockwave, she bits." Starscream teased with a chuckle. She blinked a few times as the scanner was placed in front of her and he started examining her.

"She is in excellent physical shape. Strong, healthy, active, and a femme." Shockwave said as he looked her over.

"Let go." Elisa whimpered pitifully. He turned her head to examine her neck and was fascinated by the gold marks on her body.

"The ancient writing of the Primes. You are very fortunate to have this gift." Shockwave said as he kept looking. Elisa started to tremble when his claws started to trace her chest. Sure enough, he stopped at her spark and did a quick scan. "A healthy spark from your two adoptive creators. Very fortunate indeed." He remarked. He pressed a claw into the area of her spark, causing Elisa to cry out. When the claw pierced her skin and started to go deeper Elisa snapped.

Without warning she shot her heat ray right at Shockwave and hit right in the shoulder hard, making him fall back. She grunted when Megatron gripped her hard, but she couldn't stop now. She had to get back to Sire. She swung her tail right at Knockout and slammed him right into Starscream. Elisa spread her wings as she furiously tried to get out of Megatron's grip. She suddenly grinned when she activated the phase shifter as she couldn't move to activate it as her right arm had been pinned under her stomach. When she turned it on she easily flew right out of Megatron's grip.

"What!?" Megatron roared in anger as she furiously dove down the wall of the citadel. She heard firing behind her, but she didn't look back as she focused on the ground. It wasn't long before she finally disappeared under it. When she got down to the right level she collapsed on the ground and started to cry. She spike still hurt, but the pain just seemed to spread all down her back as she tried to calm herself. She couldn't tell Smokescreen what had happened, but she could tell him about Shockwave. She got up on shaky legs before she hurried back to Sire.

"You alright? What happened?" He asked.

"It's not in the fortress." She said defeated as she handed him back the relic. "There is a new decepticon and his name is Shockwave, apparently he is a scientist." Elisa explained quickly before looking over at her Sire.

"I'm sorry he hasn't woken up since you left." He said to her gently. She plopped down beside him and held his servo gently. "Wait I've got one last idea. I'll be back as soon as I can." He said to her before he ran off. With a weary body, Elisa let out a sad sigh before she slowly walked back towards her Sire. She gently laid down her upper-body into his lap and placed her servo on his before she closed her eyes.

Ch. 18: Reunions

Elis woke when she heard the familiar sound of Smokescreen returning. Her smile brightened when she saw the Forge in his servos.

"Optimus…" He gasped out of breath before he kneeled beside her. "I have to Forge. You can use it to repair yourself."

"That…is not the reason…I had you retrieve the relic."

Elisa nearly let out a bitter sob when her Sire finally spoke. Smokescreen's optics went wide with shock.

"What?! I don't understand!" He gasped.

"Sire please…." Elisa whimpered. Smokescreen squeezed her hand in reassurance to let her know that everything would be ok…even though he wasn't sure now.

"The power of the Forge is not unlimited. It's energy has already begun to ebb." He stated.

"So it's running low, who cares? All we need is enough juice to get you back into fighting shape." Smokescreen urged.

"Whatever power remains must be used to rebuild to Omega lock to restore Cybertron." Elisa flinched at every gasp her Sire took. He couldn't support himself to sit up for even a second and he felt unbearably cold to her.

"But that would mean…"

"The fate of all our kind is more vital than that of anyone one of us including me."

When he sagged back down against the rock, Elisa gently nudge her helm against his as silent tears ran down her face. Smokescreen sagged in defeat at the spark breaking sight before him. He wanted so badly to tell Elisa it would be ok, but now he knew it wouldn't.

"Optimus the Forge is a relic of the Primes. We can't use it to restore Cybertron, not without a Prime. Not without you." Smokescreen still argued.

"There will be a new Prime."

"You can worry about that after we get you patched up and we take down Megatron." He said positively and tried to reach for the relic, but Optimus actually reached up and stopped him.

"The time for a new leader is upon us. In my spark I believe that new leader stands before me right now."

"Sire…sire no." Elisa whimpered. Sire looked upon Sparkling with weak and dim optics. His expression showed that he was crying, even though his body was body was too torn to let out tears.

"I…I can't do this." Smokescreen suddenly spoke up. "I mean sure who wouldn't want to be a Prime, but I'm really not ready for that kind of responsibility."

"Smokescreen the choice is neither yours nor mine to make. When it is time the Matrix of leadership will present itself only to one whose spark is worthy."

Both Elisa and Smokescreen looked at each other unsure of what to say. When Elisa looked back at Sire, his optics were closed again.

"Elisa…" Smokescreen started.

"I wish I could get Carrier." She whispered.

"What? You can't get Ratchet?" Smokescreen said nervously.

"I can't feel him. He's blocked the bond for some reason." She said sadly.

"Elisa…I'm so sorry." Smokescreen said before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She cried quietly and bitterly into his chestplates, never losing sight of her Sire. She gently pulled away from him and wiped her tears away with a shiver.

"His energy…is fading. I can…barely…see his aurora now." Elisa whispered. She quietly walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sire…I love you."

She gave his cracked cheek a gentle kiss.

"Who…stands…before…me?" The words came out in a strangled gasp.

"What? It's me Optimus. Smokescreen." He answered gently.

"Sire?" Elisa called out.

"Who…beckons….?"

Elisa started to shake at the strangled gasp he let out and his optics started to flicker.

"Sire?"

He didn't feel any pain anymore. In fact, his whole body felt new again, but Optimus Prime barely noticed as he started walking towards a familiar sight.

"Come Optimus." Alpha Trion spoke, surrounded by a majestic glow. Optimus stopped just short of it.

"Is it truly you…Alpha Trion?" Optimus called out.

"I stand before you my student as such it would seem that your time." The teacher revealed himself to Optimus. "Why do you hesitate?" He asked when he saw Optimus sag sadly.

"I do not fear joining the All Spark but for the fate of the Matrix of Leadership." Optimus answered.

"You know as well as I a worthy candidate is near. One who will learn to be a Prime As you once did."

"Sire…"

Optimus heard a small voice call to him from behind. He froze waiting for the sound again. He felt like he knew that voice from somewhere.

Why couldn't he place it?

"Take my hand Optimus and join me. Join with the Allspark."

Optimus slowly walked towards Alpha Trion's outstretch servo. He slowly lifted his own servo to his teacher's.

"Sire…"

There! The small voice sounded again and Optimus looked around, but he could not find the source of the sound. The voice sounded so beautiful and full of nurture and care and love.

So why couldn't he remember who it belonged to?

"Optimus no!" Smokescreen cried out.

"Sire!" Elisa screamed.

Optimus Prime's optics went dark.

They both jumped when his chestplates opened to reveal a glow Matrix of Leadership. Even though it was a relic of the Primes, Elisa suddenly hated it with all her might. It took her Sire away from her. The energy felt cold and unfamiliar to her and she started to growl at it's presence.

"This isn't how the stories supposed to end." Smokescreen stated, but Elisa suddenly gasped in realization.

"The Forge!" She cried out and Smokescreen looked at it. He grabbed it instantly and placed in in Optimus' servo.

"Sire…"

He felt something tug at him with all his might. When he looked around Alpha Trion was nowhere to be found, instead he found a small sparkling dragon at his pedes. He looked at it with puzzlement as he walked up to it. The dragon stood up on all fours and was waving it's tail at him in eagerness. It was a sky blue color and Optimus could just feel the positive energy it had through its bright blue eyes.

Then it let out a musical roar.

"Elisa!"

Smokescreen and Elisa were thrown back by the energy as it dissipated around them. They both mumbled and slowly got to their feet, sore from the hard landing. When Elisa looked up, her eyes went at what she saw. She couldn't believe it and remained frozen on the spot.

"Hello baby." Sire cried as he easily picked up his sparkling into his arms. Smokescreen looked at Optimus Prime amazed. He was much larger now, but Smokescreen didn't care. Optimus was alive and that was all that mattered.

"Sire!" Elisa sobbed with joy as she held him as tightly as she could.

"I love you Elisa. I love you so much." Optimus whispered to her. He rubbed her back in comfort and almost refused to let her down, but he did. When she looked him over, her smile got wide with excitement.

"Sire…you can fly!" She cried out. Optimus smiled with her in excitement. He always wanted to fly with her, but being an autobot meant he never could with his vehicle form. Wings did not work will with his large frame as he was never a natural born flyer to begin with.

"I can fly with you now baby." Optimus said before he knelt down and kissed her forehead. When he stood up he took a deep breath before they realized they had to move.

Now.

"I know that color scheme." Starscream said with puzzlement. Megatron looked out into the horizon and froze at what he saw. "Wait he can't fly…can he?" Starscream asked amazed. Elisa didn't even roar as her Sire landed swiftly on the ground before he let out his attack. Optimus did a three-sixty and landed two solid punches right at Megatron's face. He did a swift upper-cut before he punched Megatron right in the middle that sent him flying right back into his giant throne, shattering it instantly. Elisa tried to fire back at the guards, but Optimus pulled out a gun and took them out easily. She looked around just to see Starscream get knocked out by unfamiliar mech that looked a lot like Sire. He was blue and orange in color and had more shoulder armor.

"Commander." Optimus stated.

"Sire you're looking…robust. It is paramount that we disable the fusion cannons below." He stated.

"Understood."

He nodded towards Elisa before they took of the deck together.

"All units, Optimus Prime has returned." Ultra Magnus stated. They were almost to the cannon when Elisa heard a familiar snarl. She looked up to see Megatron transform and she broke away from Sire to counter Megatron from another angle.

"OPTIMUS!"

Elisa bared her teeth in anger at the threatening roar as he started to fire at Sire. She was barely able to keep up with them as they chased each other hard and fast, but she took her chance when Sire returned fire. Megatron got hit by Optimus first and he barely avoided Elisa's fire. They chased after Megatron as he retreated with both of them firing at him. Megatron flew upward before he dived back down at them making them separate and Megatron went after Optimus again. Elisa let out a threatening roar as she tried to chase after the two, but even though she had natural flying power they had boosters and were quickly out of her reach. She stopped short when she saw Sire turn around and slam his fist right into Megatron before he grabbed him.

"Megatron…BE GONE!" Optimus shouted before he flung Megatron right across the fortress and into the reactor, causing an immediate explosion, shutting it down instantly.

"Sire, look!" Elisa called out making Optimus turn around. They saw six jets coming their way.

"Elisa lets go." Sire said before he dove up with Elisa behind him. They were a safe distance away as the black tower crumbled into fire and scrap metal. Heavy black clouds of smoke and dust filled the air. When the smoke cleared the tower was no more and Elisa let out a loud victory roar into the air that was heard for miles.

Elisa was all smiles back at the military base, set up by Agent Fowler. Elisa had yet to be properly introduced as Fowler showed his thanks and appreciation.

"Sir, I am honored to relinquish command of the autobots to you." The mech said.

"Welcome to earth Ultra Magnus and to Team Prime." Optimus said.

"Ok someone's got to say it. Optimus 2.0 is rad! Imagine what the Forge could do for your bod." Miko said cheerfully, earning a huff from Ratchet, making Elisa tense in anger.

"Is it true that the Forge has been drained of its power?" He asked quietly. "Then any hope of rebuilding the Omega lock has truly been lost."

"I did what I felt was right." Smokescreen said.

"Then your instincts have again prove to be quite sound." Ratchet said kindly, making Elisa frown even more. She was staring so hard at Ratchet's back that she didn't notice Ultra Magnus come up to her.

"And who might you be?" He asked politely.

"My name is Elisa." She answered calmly holding out her hand. He shook it firmly.

"Ultra Magnus. I was the commander of the Wreckers back on Cybertron." He said. "How did you…get here?" He asked confused.

"Optimus and Ratchet are my adoptive creators. They found me when I was a sparkling and took me in." She answered.

"So, may I ask who your true creators are?" He asked.

"Magma and Titania are my creators, but I got in a fight with Titania and I…killed her." Elisa answered nervously.

"Magma is here?!" Magnus gasped.

"Unfortunately yes, but their location is currently unknown." Optimus said as he entered the conversation. "I took on the role as Elisa's Sire and Ratchet is her Carrier." He explained. Magnus only nodded before he left the two only, but Ratchet came over and held onto his bondmate tightly. Then Elisa did something they never expected.

Elisa growled deeply at her Carrier.

"Elisa!" Optimus instantly protested. "You know better." He argued.

"Elisa what's wrong?" Ratchet asked confused.

"You know what you did!" She snapped at him, making the others look up. They quietly started to back off.

"I don't understand." Ratchet said confused.

"You blocked your side of the bond!" Elisa nearly screamed at him, making Ratchet freeze.

"Elisa…I…" He started.

"I don't want to hear it!" She snarled. "You weren't there when Sire nearly died. You weren't there to hear him struggle to breath. You weren't there to hold his hand and keep him warm!" She cried out, nearly getting into Ratchet's face with each sentence.

"Elisa…I could barely feel Optimus. I didn't know what else to do." Ratchet whispered. Optimus stared at Elisa with a neutral expression, unsure of what to say.

"You weren't there when the glow went out of his optics. I wanted to tell Sire so badly that you were ok and I couldn't even do that because you ran away like a coward!" Elisa snapped bitterly.

"That is enough." Optimus stated. "You cannot blame your Carrier for the choice he made Elisa." He said calmly.

"What about me!?" She cried out. "I needed you too!" She shouted before she stalked away from him.

"Elisa get back her now." Optimus nearly ordered, but Elisa ignored her Sire and turned into her human form before going out of the building, leaving the place in unbearable silence.

"Let me try." Smokescreen said before he transformed into his vehicle mode and his holoform came out. He found Elisa leaning against the side of the wall, crying silently with bitter tears.

"Go away." She snapped at him.

"Hey come on E." Smokescreen urged.

"I said go away!" She said loudly.

"E calm down. The team is back together. You have to be happy about that." He smiled nervously.

"Calm down? Calm down!" Elisa shouted, making him flinch. "I needed Carrier and what does he do? He shuts off just like that." She said with loud snap.

"Maybe Ratchet might have made a wrong move, but he thought we were done for." Smokescreen said calmly.

"If he loved Sire then he would have come back!" Elisa shouted. Inside Ratchet flinched at Elisa's bitter words as he realized she was right.

"I need to talk to her." He finally said before he went out. When Elisa saw him coming she started to walk away.

"Oh no you don't. Get back here right now young lady." Ratchet said sternly as Smokescreen left.

"I'm sorry Optimus. I tried to calm her down, but she's obviously really upset." Smokescreen said.

"I am disappointed in Ratchet's decision, but with Elisa it is something else entirely. She feels that he abandoned us because of what had happened to the base." Optimus explained.

"He's still has got some explaining to do." Smokescreen added.

"Agreed."

He took a position against the wall before powering down and going out in his holofrom. Outside Elisa refused to look at Ratchet and he could have sworn that he felt heat coming off of her body from her anger. She still didn't look up when Optimus joined his bondmate.

"Elisa I am so sorry…for all of this." Ratchet pleaded.

"If you were sorry you would have come back." She muttered.

"You didn't have to say goodbye like I did Elisa. You didn't hear your Sire say he would stay behind so that you could be safe." Ratchet snapped back angry now.

"I had to say goodbye nearly twice. You didn't hear Sire say that he knew he was going to die. You didn't hear anything!" Elisa argued right back.

"I thought the battle was lost. I didn't know what else to do, so I went into hiding." Ratchet explained.

"But you knew I was out there. Why didn't you look for me?" She pleaded.

"I…I…I don't know. I will admit I was upset over losing Optimus that I didn't even think about going for you and for that I am truly sorry." Ratchet said gently, but Elisa wasn't buying it.

"You probably wished I had died instead of Sire."

Both creators' eyes went wide with the statement as Elisa just glared at him.

"Elisa, you know that's not true." Optimus finally spoke up.

"Elisa I would never wish your death over anything in this world." Ratchet pleaded.

"Not even over a new Omega lock?" She muttered.

"I was upset Elisa. I want to go home. We all want to go home." Ratchet answered.

"What if I don't?" Elisa asked and Ratchet looked at her confused. "Earth is MY home. I've never seen Cybertron the way you have. What if I thought Sire save MY planet?" Elisa explained. They both looked at each other with new realization.

"Elisa…" Ratchet started.

"I didn't like how you were so mad at Sire when we came out of the bridge. I've never seen you that mad at him before." Elisa said.

"It was an emotional moment. You know me…I have a…tendency to speak my own mind." Ratchet shrugged nervously and for the first time that day Elisa started to smile at her Carrier. Her angry walls started to crack and give way as tears came down her face.

"I thought I lost both of you." She cried before slumping against the wall and letting out sobs. Ratchet brought her into his arms as Optimus rubbed her back in comfort. "I needed you. I thought I wasn't strong enough." She sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry." Ratchet whispered as he kissed her head. Elisa continued to cry for a few more minutes before she finally looked up at him and saw his own tears. "Elisa, I promise that I will never do anything like that again. I promise you that will all my spark because I love you."

"I love you too Carrier."

Optimus smiled as they finally embraced each other and held each other close. They didn't let go for a long time and soon they would have to go back inside as it was getting dark. She made sure she was quiet when she snuck into her creator's room that night before she fell asleep at their makeshift berth.

The next evening Agent Fowler rolled up in the biggest army truck Elisa had ever seen, but with Sire standing right in front of it she knew what it was for.

"Prime, what we have here is an experimental all-terrain expeditionary fighting vehicle. Designed by the finest engineers in our mask division." He explained quickly.

"Thank you Agent Fowler, this will most certain do." Sire said before he started to scan it.

Elisa couldn't stop smiling behind him.

Ch. 19: Prehistoric Meet and Greet

Optimus Prime had never yearned to fly in his life. Even back on Cybertron he was never bothered by the fact that he couldn't fly with Megatronous. The subject just never came up. However, on Earth it was frustrating at times to see the Cons just fly off without a scratch while he would have to drive back to base. Now with the last energy of the Forge all that had change.

Now he could fly.

Elisa had pleaded and pleaded all morning for a small flight with him. There was a lot of bickering from Ratchet's end, but even Arcee came into the fray and said a little flight wouldn't hurt. He could feel Ratchet's frustration through the bond, but in the end it was well worth it. Elisa was now circling him in the air with the brightest smile on her face. She hadn't stopped cheering in excitement as she playfully circled him as he flew in the air.

"Siiiiiirrreeee!" She cried out as she flew right up to him. He got into an upright position as Elisa stopped in front of him. Elisa was still smiling with little giggles in her cheeks. Optimus grabbed her and held her tightly in his arms. He could barely remember the pain she must have felt when he was hurt. He could only imagine what had happened in her spark. Her wings continued to gently flap as he placed him helm on hers.

"I love you Elisa." He whispered.

"I love you too Sire." She whispered back.

"Don't ever forget that."

"I won't. I promise."

Her smile made his spark soar again and he quickly teased her by pushing her off and flying away.

"Can't catch me." He teased. Elisa laughed and accepted the challenge before she dove after him. He teased and circled her before she finally latched onto him from behind making him chuckle.

"Got you!" She said happily. He squeezed her hand before his com link sounded.

"What is it Ratchet?" Optimus asked quickly making Elisa get off and face him.

"Optimus I've detected decepticon activity. Hopefully they might be excavating an energon mine." Ratchet answered. "I will send a ground bridge to send you to the coordinates." He added before the bridge quickly appeared. Elisa only nodded as she followed his lead and they went through. They quickly found the mine and Optimus landed rather loudly Elisa noticed. The opening was rather small, but Elisa could fit through it on all fours. Elisa giggled when she realized her Sire was far too big for the entrance.

"Hmmmmmm." He made a puzzling face at her before he transformed in his vehicle mode. Elisa smiled proudly before she quickly followed him. "Elisa stay behind me." He said sternly.

"Yes Sire." Elisa answered as the continued. There was only one path, but Sire kept on going so she didn't want to stop him yet when she saw the trickles of the energy in the ground of missed energon. They were looking for a bigger find and it wasn't long before they found it. Only it wasn't energon that the cons were looking for and none of the usual suspects were present. Instead they only found insecticons.

"Abandon the excavation. Now." Optimus ordered before he revved his loud engine in warning before his tires skid as he charged.

"Attack!" The bug hissed before the others roared and charged after them. Elisa roared in warning, but she didn't dare fire with Sire in front of her as there wasn't enough room. Instead Sire let out three missiles that took out the three flying insecticons as there was two more that charged on foot. One fired at them, but Elisa barely avoided it before Sire tripped him over. Elisa thought fast and her spikes flashed as she hit the con in the back. There was a lot of sparks flying on its back when she heard Sire transform. She looked up just in time to see him punch the big right in the chest and drag him several feet with his helm scrapping the rock. She heard a growl behind her and she turned and fired her heat ray again right at the bugs helm killing it instantly. When she looked back she saw that Sire's servo had transformed and he fired. There was a glowing hole in it's chest as it fell over and Sire went after the last insecticon.

However, it had something in it's servo before it quickly transformed and flew up through the hole that had been drilled. They watched it fly away before Sire turned to what they were drilling at. Elisa looked at the item puzzled as it looked like a bone and not energon. Sire gently took the item in his servos and let out a neutral sigh. She stared at it curiously as it gave off no energy that allowed her to understand more clearly what it was. So instead she looked around the area and found several traces of energon present. Without a word she started to dig.

"Elisa we already found what the decepticons were looking for." Sire said slightly confused. Elisa ignored him and continued to dig. It took a while but she managed to get a small chuck of energon. She took it out and placed it on the ground before she dug up two more large crystals before Sire called for a bridge.

"Optimus did you find energon?" Ratchet said eagerly.

"No, Elisa did." He answered. Ultra Mangus quickly took the cubes from her and gave her a polite nod and thankful smile, but before he could speak his thanks Optimus continued. "But I did uncover this." He stated before putting the skull on the table.

"It cannot be." Ratchet gasped.

"Be what?" Jack asked quickly as Ratchet walked towards the skull.

"The ancient remains of a predacon." Optimus answered.

"Though it remains unclear why such a skull would be found on your planet, it's presence reveals all too much about the preadacon that Megatron recently sent in pursuit of us." Ratchet finished.

"You mean that dragon bot we put on ice?" Miko asked amazed. Elisa knew about the metal dragon from her vision and was very concerned about it, but didn't dare tell anyone about it or about her encounter with Shockwave. She didn't want her creators to worry as it now looked like there were bigger things to worry about again.

"Except the preadacons have been extinct since well…"

"Since before most life began on Cybertron." Smokescreen finished.

"There like Earth's dinosaurs." Raf said amazed.

"Which means for you guys would be like us meeting a T-rex." Jack added.

"So then what were Dino-bots?" Miko asked.

"Totally different." Bulkhead answered.

"With Megatron's seeming new interest in the excivation of prehistoric skeletons and a certain scientist back among the decepticon ranks…" Ratchet stated evaluating the situation.

"It would stand to reason that Shockwaved clones the beast from one such find." Optimus finished.

"Now Megatron's looking to clone another." Ultra Mangus finally spoke making everyone look at him.

"What makes you think bucket head would stop at just one?" Wheeljack stated a little angry.

"We could have beast wars on our hands." Bulkhead added.

"And if Shockwave requires only a single strand of CNA from which to clone a beast…" Ratchet pointed out.

"He already possesses what he needs to engender this one." Optimus finished. "Autobots we must become beast hunters." He stated.

"One thing still doesn't follow." Smokescreen said confused. "Predacons went extinct on Cybertron, so what would their bones be doing here?" He asked. Elisa remained as quiet as possible and she hoped that no one would notice her tense mood, but when she looked over at Ultra Mangus she quickly turned away and he immediately became concerned. He wouldn't approach her just yet as Ratchet was looking up information.

"From our historical texts." He stated.

"But those are metal versions of creatures from out Greek Mythology and Medieval literature." Jack said amazed.

"Not dinosaurs." Raf added.

"It would stand to reason that predacons did indeed walk upon this earth in ancient times, as they seem to be the basis for much of human kinds folklore. Illustrating once again that the pasts of Earth and Cybertron or inextricably linked." Optimus explained. Once the talk was over there wasn't much to do but wait. Elisa made sure to give a nice compliment to Smokescreen about his new paint job. She was very nervous with Ultra Magnus because of his strict protocol and with the added tension between him and Wheeljack. He tried to speak with her, but she avoided him and he eventually left her be. Eventually the day went on and with nighttime the kids easily fell asleep from sheer boredom. Elisa kept quiet as she heard her Creators talked about synthetic energon. She got nervous all over again for fear that Carrier might test it on himself again, but it didn't look like that would be the case.

"Prime!" Agent Fowler suddenly called out. "Satellite surveillance has picked up two signs of decepticon activity. One near an oil field outside of El Paso and the other near the Hiberty Bluffs in Scotland. So don't forget to pack your kilts." Fowler said making Elisa giggle.

"We must divide our resources." Prime stated. "Ultra Magnus lead the wreckers to the Bluffs." He ordered.

"Yes Optimus." Magnus stated before he looked around nervous before going up to Optimus. "Uuuuhhh…what's a kilt?" He asked quietly. Elisa bit her lip to keep from laughing as Sire looked at Fowler than back at Magnus before he answered.

"Agent Fowler can at times be oblique. I find it best to simply nod and mobilize."Optimus said quietly. Elisa used both hands to cover her hard silent laughter.

"Elisa!" Carrier whispered. He shook his head no with a small smile on his face and she only grinned back. Magnus gathered the wreckers and with Prime's permission he took hold of the Forge and placed it on his back. Elisa looked up at her Sire in a silent plea to join him. He looked at her then at Ratchet then back at Elisa.

"Make sure you stay close to me." Optimus stated before they went through the bridge. They were literally transported to another bridge that divided the field in two. "Elisa and I will search this quadrant." Optimus said before taking off.

"Sire, a kilt is a type of skirt some of men in Scotland wear as a kind of tradition." Elisa said when they were airborn.

"Oh, a cultural reference." Sire said in understanding. "How do you know that?" He asked curiously.

"I spend more time with the kids and they taught me a lot about Earth with all of their countries, cultures, and history too." She explained.

"Fair enough." He said before they continued their search.

It wasn't long before a big explosion told who found the cons.

They hurried back towards the bridge and Elisa nearly froze when she saw the familiar purple on the fleeing vehicle. She had to stand her ground as Shockwave pointed his cannon up at them. They easily dodged the blows and Optimus fired first makind Shockwave take a tumble before he had to transform back and drop the bone he had in his servo. Elisa heard Smokesceen cheer before they flew above them and make a turn. They quickly heard another bridge open, but instead of more autobots, Soundwave went through and started to fire on the sports cars. He soon turned around and started to fire at them. Elisa turned around and shot at Soundwave with her fire.

"Enough." She heard her Sire say angrily before he also fired back hitting Soundwave. He deployed Laserbeak and Elisa dodged him as he landed on Optimus and shocked him.

"Sire!" She cried out when he hit a bridge pillar and landed hard on the rocky floor. She looked back to see Bee, Smokescreen and Shockwave pulling on the bone before it snapped into three pieces. Elisa instantly dove for the third piece as Optimus did the same. Soundwave was faster and a groundbridge opened and the piece fell through before Elisa had to dodge coliiding with her Sire.

"No!" He gritted out. Elisa turned around and glared at Shockwave.

"We have all that we need." He said to Soundwave before turning back to Elisa. "And then some." He said staring right at her, making her freeze. "Your contribution will be very beneficial." He said before he started to run back towards the other open bridge as Smokescreen and Bee started to fire again. They landed quickly onto the bridge.

"A single strand of CNA." Smokescreen said in defeat, making the piece he had in his servo useless. Optimus slowly and cautiously turned around and faced Elisa. He felt her fear through the bond as he wondered what Shockwave meant.

"Elisa what did he mean by that?" Optimus asked as gently as he could. Elisa only bowed her head in shame and with tears running down her face she kept shaking her head. He walked closer to her and lifted her head up to his and she let out a bitter sob.

"I want Carrier." She whispered. Optimus called for the bridge and Ratchet didn't even ask about the bone before he hurried over to Elisa. He gently held her face as she cried. Optimus nodded for the others to leave them be before Elisa started to speak.

"Sire, when you were still…hurt, I used the phase shifter once to go to the decepticon fortress." Elisa started.

"Why did you do that?" Carrier gasped. "It was way too dangerous."

"I don't know…I just…I just…I just wanted to confront Megatron I guess." She sobbed before Optimus rubbed her shoulders in comfort. "Shockwave was already there and they…they managed to pin me down." She said before she buried her face into Sire's chestplates. Thinking about it now, she felt like it was her fault in a way that she got caught. She wished she fought harder and made she would have gotten away and maybe Shockwave wouldn't have hurt her.

"What did he do baby?" Sire pleaded gently.

"He…he…" She wiped a few tears with a deep breath. "He took some of my blood and skin, he even put a needle in one of my spikes and it hurt so much. I felt like my body was on fire." She sobbed fearfully. "He said something about samples or something along those lines I really don't remember." Elisa added shaking her head.

Nobody's going to hurt you. Sire spoke through the bond before Elisa completely broke down. He kneeled down to her level and she wrapped her arms around him as she cried. Carrier kissed her shoulders and rubbed her back as she continued to cry.

I'm so sorry Elisa. I'm so sorry I wasn't there. Carrier spoke. It made Elisa look at him before she wrapped herself around him too. They both could feel her shaking and Optimus knew the others were quietly watching somewhere.

"Shockwave will never hurt you again." Sire vowed in a strong voice.

"It was my fault." Elisa whimpered.

"Elisa, don't you ever say that." Carrier said firmly and she noticed tears were brimming in his optics. "It was never your fault Elisa." He repeated.

"But, if I had fought harder maybe…" Elisa tried to argue.

"Ratchet is right Elisa. It was not your fault. It was only Shockwave's because he hurt you." Sire added.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Carrier asked.

"I…I…I was afraid you would think I was weak." She whimpered.

"Elisa! We would never think that." Carrier said in comfort.

"Really?" Elisa said with hope.

"Of course baby. We would never think of something like that." Carrier answered proudly. Elisa instantly hugged him tightly making him squeeze back before he kissed her cheek. Sire wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her temple so she knew he thought the same.

While Elisa slept to recover her nerves, it turned out that Wheeljack had returned from Scotland and was with Arcee looking for another bone and on top of that Agent Fowler and June were also looking for one as well. Raf said that the artifact was in storage in a museum. So when Elisa was all settled in everyone was back and the situation was explained. Arcee wasn't pleased to lose another bone to Knockout, but they destroyed the back bone she had found with Wheeljack. Optimus explained what Elisa had told them in simple terms and nobody was happy, especially Smokescreen.

"Optimus, she never told what happened. I am so sorry." He said sincerely.

"I understand your concern Smokescreen and thank you, but there is nothing we can do about it now." Optimus said a little sadly.

"So does that mean she's grounded?" Wheeljack asked curiously. Optimus let out a heavy sigh. As much as he wanted to keep Elisa at base the more people they had out scouting for energon the better.

"Only if she chooses to stay here. If she does go out into the field she will not be alone." Optimus finally said. Everybody was finally in agreement so there really wasn't much left to do, but recharge and the night surveillance shift. Smokescreen went and looked for Elisa and he found her rolled up into a ball in one of the hallways. He smiled down at her form and was saddened by the fact that she got hurt when he wasn't there. He gently patted her shoulder before he sat down next to and fell into recharge.

What it was Ratchet's turn to take his shift he had to get Optimus when he found a peculiar sight. The two Creators looked and saw Elisa and Smokescreen sleeping side by side. He was on lying on her back with his arm tucked under her and she was lying down comfortably on that arm like a pillow and she was tilted into his chest. Optimus and Ratchet couldn't help, but smile at the tender scene. Smokescreen was always close to Elisa. He adored her the minute she came back to base. They had gotten closer as she grew older. They both knew she would be safe with him if anything happened.

That was why Smokescreen was her guardian.

RREEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH!

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Smokescreen nearly jumped through the roof when Elisa let out a terrible scream. She was still asleep, her eyes tightly shut as she tried to fight off something in her dream.

"Elisa….Elisa!" Smokesceen said as he shook her. She woke up and roared right at Smokscreen making him fall to the floor. "Elisa!" He shouted again making her stop and blink in surprise. Her legs shook as she fell to the ground. He instantly reacted by pulling her into his embrace as she silently cried.

"What happened?" Ratchet finally spoke. They both looked to see the team staring at them. Elisa wiped away her tears before she stood up with Smokescreen's help.

"Sorry guys, but I had another nightmare." Elisa said quietly.

"Whebeob boob beuuup?" Bee asked.

"There was this metal dragon that was flying right towards me." She answered.

"How is that possible? You've never seen the Predacon." Magnus spoke up.

"I've seen a lot of things in my dreams Commander. I feel like they are premonitions." Elisa said quietly. She rubbed her eyes to try and calm herself, but she noticed everyone was still staring at her.

"Guys, I'm fine. I promise." She said quickly. They were hesitant, but eventually they left her alone.

"Elisa did you see anything else?" Sire asked concern.

"No Sire. It just kept coming at me and let out this horrible screech." She answered.

"Come on sweetspark, perhaps a flight will do you some good." He said gently. Carrier gave her a quick kiss before they left with Magnus giving out orders to the others. "Elisa, may I ask you something?" Sire said gently after some time.

"Of course."

"Does Ultra Mangu bother you? He approached me to the other day and noticed you seemed upset after we found the skull. He said you were avoiding him." Sire said.

"I was nervous because you were talking about Shockwave, that's all." She answered quietly.

"You still seem a little tense by his presence." Sire added.

"His energy is very strong, but very…firm…or tightknit. He's not easy going like everyone else is." Elisa explained.

"What's his color?"

"Orange."

"Ultra Magnus has always been by the book so speak. Perhaps with time he will learn how to open up." Sire finished. They didn't talk much after that and with no decepticons in sight they soon went back to base. Everyone greeted them happily, but Elisa noticed something the others didn't at the moment.

"Decepticon is at a low. I fear Megatron may have collected the specimens he requires to…" Optimus looked to see Ultra Magnus standing alone at the monitor. "Clone his army." Elisa knew Sire had spotted the same thing she did. When everyone returned back to the monitors, Ultra Magnus left them to look outside at military activity. Elisa watched silently as her Sire walked up to him.

"Ultra Magnus, sometime has been troubling you." Sire stated.

"I fear that my command style may be having a negative effect on unit moral." Magnus stated.

"Your service is most welcome old friend, but this is not the Elite Guard." Optimus spoke. Elisa always loved the special words Sire used for others and she wondered what the Elite Guard was.

"Things have changed since the war for Cybertron." Magnus said sadly.

"And we must adapt to that change." Optimus said before looking back at the team. The memebers of Team Prime are not cogs in a machine. They've grown into something much greater than an army. They have become…" The monitor sounded loudly of an alert.

"Optimus our scanners have detected exposed energon." Ratchet said with hope.

"With our reserves at a critical low, we cannot afford not to investigate." He stated.

The battle was quick and easy and the rewards were much welcomed. Three full cases of energon crystals glowed bright and welcoming. Elisa couldn't help but smile.

"Look at all that sweet fuel." Smokescreen smiled.

"Stealth team, transport our cargo back to base. Wreckers reconnoiter the mine." Optimus ordered.

"I've always wanted to roll with the wreckers…uuuh sir." Smokescreen said quickly making Elisa chuckle. Optimus looked over at Elisa.

"Elisa I want you to go with Ultra Magnus. You have the best skills for finding more energon." Optimus said sincerely. Elisa nodded and the group headed into the mine. She felt the weakest pulse here and there, but this mine was quite large and it would take some time to find the energon if there was any at all.

"No energon signals." Bulkhead said.

"And no additional security." Wheeljack added. "Something doesn't smell right." He stated in suspicion. They soon came to a fork.

"Pair off, Elisa you stay with me." Magnus ordered. She felt something that was totally different and unnatural and it bothered Elisa greatly.

"Please be careful Magnus I sense something isn't right." Elisa said quietly. He only nodded before they continued. Her eyes went wide when they found it. Elisa's breathe trembled as she saw unfamiliar creatures floating in yellow liquid, encased in glass. There had to be dozens of these tubes and Elisa didn't like it at all. What troubled her the most was that she felt a somewhat familiar feel to the creatures and she knew her own CNA must have been intertwined with the beasts.

"Well this is a whole lot of ugly." Wheeljack said.

"Megatron's cloning operation seems further along than we anticipated." Magnus added. Elisa spotted green cases before she looked and spotted Shockwave. She gasped in fear and froze. Her sound instantly alerted him and he fired at her, hitting her hard. Magnus scooped her up and fired back as they ducked for cover.

"Thank you." Elisa said to him as he continued to fire. He gently pushed her back against one of the tubes and continued to fire. Elisa watched as the scientist pressed a button and an electrical current ran through all of the tubes. When they looked back Shockwave was already in front of a groundbridge and tripped before he went through. Elisa jumped back and hovered above the ground as the yellow liquid started to pour out of the tubes. When the beasts started to wake and screech Elisa cried out and covered her head.

"They're too loud!" Elisa shouted as she fell to the ground. It was as if hundreds of voices were talking to her at once and it overwhelmed her. Her body shook as she looked around and saw the glowing green boxes again. "Wheeljack!" She called out pointing to the cubes.

"Permission to employ a grenade in a confined space sir?" Wheeljack asked getting the message instantly.

"If we are all that stand between these monsters and the natives of this planet then by all means blow these beasts back to the rust age." He ordered. Wheeljack activated the grenade and tossed it right at the crates. Magnus pulled Elisa away and he urged her forward before he transformed and they all sped off. They were forced to stop when a bridge opened in front of them and the largest mech Elisa had ever seen stalked forward with a loud thumb. She froze and her eyes went wide as she knew who he was.

"Who's this guy?" Wheeljack demanded.

"The very same who has previously allowed you to live but not today." He answered in a deep voice. Magnus saw the insignia on his chest.

"He's the predacon." He gasped. Before anyone else could say anything the explosion sounded and Elisa reacted fast and pushed the two mechs out of the fire, landing hard on the ground. They looked up to see the predacon looking back at the burning tunnel with his yellow optics wide with shock.

"What have you done to my brethren?" He gasped. "What have you done?!" He roared before he charged at them. Elisa leaped into the air and Wheeljack and Magnus jumped in either direction as Predaking charged. Magnus rolled around and tried to fire at him, but got swiped with his claws that literally made him fly across the mine and land hard on the top of a rock column. As he started to fall, Elisa caught him under his arms and they landed softly on the ground. She heard Wheeljack cry out and flew right at the predacon. She knocked him over with all four claws as Ultra Magnus ran after him and swiped at him with the Forge. He easily gained the upper hand and the two chased each other before Magnus knocked him back with the Forge again.

Predaking leaped into the air and tried to stab at Magnus with his claws, but he dodged at the last second and swung a hit at him, making him grunt in frustration. Magnus hooked the Forge behind his neck and slammed his face right into the rock, but when Magnus raised the Forge again Predaking dodged it and threw Magnus across the mine. Elisa saw the predacon charging right at the stunned Ultra Magnus, so she flew right into his path, taking the hard hit. She flew like a rag doll and landed on her side gasping for air as she tried to stand on all fours. The beast hadn't followed her as it raised the Forge again only for Wheeljack to snatch it out of his grip with an electric whip. Elisa shook her head and looked up to see Jacky swing the Forge around and hit Predaking again making him fall back.

He charged forward and Elisa took flight as the two wreckers charged. She fired her heat ray as Wheeljack threw his two blades. He didn't flinch when they hit his arm, but he had to stop when Elisa's heat ray burned the stone causing smoke. It created the perfect distraction as Wheeljack hooked the whip around the Forge and made a line. By the time Predaking was able to look up, he was hit hard in the chest and he hit the ground hard before skidding. Jacky gave her a thumbs up before they went back to the predacon. He pulled the blades out and was running hard as Wheeljack got a boost from Magnus and leaped over him, but at the same time he wrapped the electric whip around his neck making him lean back. He quickly torn the whip off and Wheeljack gave him two hard kicks before he stumbled right into Magnus. Magnus hit him with the Forge and he stumbled back into Wheeljack. Back and forth, back and forth from the two autobots and Elisa watched from above. She didn't want to risk an opening so she didn't try and hit the predacon before he stumbled into the rock.

Being cornered made Wheeljack leap onto the ledge above him as he fired at him, but when he looked up he got a better idea. Elisa joined in and so did Magnus before the large rock column fell right on top of him. They barely had time to breath before the column shook and fell over. Elisa dodged it, but Wheeljack got hit hard as Magnus barely dodged it. Elisa gasped when she saw Predaking holding the column and running right at Wheeljack. He had no time to react before he was buried under the rock that cracked on impact revealing his battered form. Magnus looked for the Forge and started to crawl towards it but shouted when Predaking landed right on his servo. Elisa tried to reach him, but flinched when he shouted in pain as his servo was completely crushed and severed from his wrist. Tears started to form in her eyes as she felt his pain through his energy and body as her rolled over and clutched at the limb.

This time Elisa roared in fury before she charged at him. She tilted her body up and her hands and feet slammed into his body as he dug his own claws into her shoulders. Elisa snarled and bit right into his shoulder before her spikes flashed and she burned him. He shouted in pain before his claws sunk deep into her shoulders, making her roar in pain. She started to choke when he grabbed the back of neck and swung her over his shoulder, making her back hit a rock ledge hard. She fell onto her stomach and looked up to see Predaking walking slowly towards the Forge.

"And here I was just beginning to tolerate you." Wheeljack barely laughed.

"It's been an honor serving beside you solider." Magnus gasped in pain. Elisa groaned in pain as she started to get up. "Elisa no…it's alright." Magnus smiled weakly at her as he started to accept his fate. When she finally looked up Predaking raised the Forge above his head and broke it in two like it was nothing. Elisa gasped in shock as the precious artifact of Cybertronian history was destroyed. Tears ran down her face as she felt the energy it had disperse and die as it's golden shards glittered the ground. Elisa felt weak all over again as it almost felt like some of her own energy left her body.

"No." She whimpered to herself.

"Prepare to perish." Predaking snarled. He raised his claws high but before he could strike someone knocked him away, making him slam through not one but two rock columns before stopping. Elisa felt relief as she saw her Sire lift his machine gun and fire at more columns making the rubble fall on him. Optimus grabbed Wheeljack and Magnus and Elisa grabbed the two pieces of the Forge before they both leaped into the air and flew out of the mine.

"What? Noooooo!" Predaking shouted when he saw his prey escaping. He ran out of the mine before he transformed. He tried to fire at them, but they managed to escape through a groundbridge and he roared in fury into the air.

Wheeljack sat down and clutched at his shoulder, while Magnus was put down on the medical berth. Elisa gently put the pieces of the Forge in a quiet corner as she watched her Carrier work on Ultra Magnus.

"E sit down you're bleeding!" Smokescreen gasped before he made Elisa sit. She suddenly remembered the wounds on her shoulders and saw that she was bleeding. Smokescreen got some bandages and with Arcee's help they were soon covered as Bulkhead and Bee helped Wheeljack. When she was done she went over to Ultra Magnus' form as Ratchet continued to work on his wrist, but he stopped when Elisa came up to him.

"What is it Elisa?" He asked curiously.

"His energy is weak Carrier." Elisa answered before her claws glowed blue and she intertwined her claws with his aurora. Ratchet blinked in surprise when he saw flashes of orange across her claws. She moved from his shoulder down to his arm before Magnus started to wake. Optimus joined her at his side as his vision cleared. Magnus looked to see Ratchet working on him before he stopped. He lifted his arm up and let out a heavy sigh when he saw the mangled metal.

"Ratchet will take good care of you." Optimus said gently.

"Magnus fought like a wrecker." Wheeljack said proudly from behind them.

"Optimus when we spoke earlier what could be greater than an army?" He asked as he flinched in pain.

"A human concept, one I have learned since coming to Earth…family."

Elisa's smile couldn't have been wider as she leaned into his side. He kissed her forehead and returned the smile as the others gathered around him to see that he was ok. Ratchet quickly shooed everyone away as he worked. Optimus quickly noticed Elisa's silence as he walked over to her. His optics went wide when he saw the broken Forge as Elisa in a way almost cradled the precious artifact.

"Elisa…" Optimus spoke softly and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I know he doesn't understand what it is, but that beast just broke it like it was nothing." She cried quietly. Optimus kneeled down and placed his servo gently on her shoulder careful of her wound.

"Elisa I am very surprised by your reaction." Optimus said.

"This is the Forge of Solous Prime!" She cried. "This is something special meant to be treated with care and…he just shattered it all." She sobbed.

"Elisa what happened?" He whispered.

"I felt the energy it had die…just as much as I felt Ultra Magnus' pain." She whimpered out. He took her into his arms as she sobbed into his chest.

"You fought bravely against a mighty foe Elisa, please don't feel guilty. You fought as bests you could I know that." Sire said encouragingly.

"Now I feel so selfish for staying away from him." Elisa sniffled. Sire placed the handle of the Forge into Elisa's hands and he placed his servos over hers.

"Don't think of the past now Elisa. Perhaps think of it as a way to Forge a new present…and perhaps a new future."

"Do not despair my Predaking." Megatron said with fake sympathy. The plan did work to a degree as they let the autobots destroy Project Predacon and now Predaking was more determined than ever to destroy them. Predaking only growled deeply in response. "For I vow to you that autobots will pay dearly for the outrage against your kind."

"I want that dragon." He suddenly rasped making everyone freeze.

"What dragon?" Megatron said.

"There was a blue dragon with the two autobots. I want her." He growled again baring his fangs. While Megatron grew concern, Starscream could barely hold back his laughter as he remembered Shockwave's previous statement on the citadel. He flinched when Knockout gave him a harsh kick to his leg that told him to shut it.

"The dragon's name is Elisa and she is most precious to the autobots." Megatron spoke calmly. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt concern for her as the beast growled for her. Megatron knew the beast would not be kind to the adolescent even with their own feud, he couldn't bare the thought of Predaking harming her to the worse extent.

"When I take her they will know what it is like to lose something dear to them!" Predaking roared.

Ch. 20: Alone Time

Ultra Magnus was still on the medical berth the next morning. When he awoke he was very surprised to see Elisa curled up in a ball at one side of the medical berth.

"Elisa?" He called out in a strong voice. Her eyes slowly opened and they blinked a few times before she finally woke up and looked over at him.

"Ultra Magnus are you alright?" She asked standing on two legs.

"Yes, I'm doing much better thank you, but why were you sleeping there?" He asked confused.

"To make sure you were ok." She answered. He blinked in surprised and cleared his throat before he answered.

"Thank you." He said softly.

"I…I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I've acted towards you." She spoke up. He arched an eyebrow in confusion. "I was avoiding you because you were so stiff and strict on yourself." She explained.

"I understand. You aren't a solider or a…team member like the others. Optimus has told me you are still very young." He answered. She bowed her head in guilt before he continued. "There is nothing to be upset about I fear I was a little too strict for Team Prime." Magnus added.

"I'm still very sorry though Ultra Magnus. I hope you can get better." She smiled before she placed a hand on his wounded wrist.

"You fought very admirably against the predacon." He complimented.

"So did you."

"Elisa!" Ratchet called out.

"Sorry got to go Carrier doesn't like it when people bother his patients." She winked. He smiled as she quickly hurried out of Ratchet's way.

"Get some energon with those bruises you need it." He ordered sternly.

"Yes Carrier." Elisa smiled sweetly before she took a small cube making Ratchet huff in annoyance.

"She knows we use the fuel more than she does. She's barely refueled since we got the new base." Ratchet muttered.

"She's very protective." Magnus said.

"We're all she has and she will do anything to keep us safe." Ratchet said quietly.

"I must say Ratchet, you and Optimus are the perfect match for her. She has Optimus' tenderness and leadership and she has your caring and determination." Magnus explained.

"I don't even know what you're talking about." Ratchet muttered making Magnus laugh.

"May I ask what she was doing to me before I woke yesterday after the battle?" Magnus asked curiously.

"Healing your aurora." Ratchet answered.

"What is that?"

"It's a circle of energy around all of our bodies, like a life force if you will. Since she is a dragon Elisa can actually see this energy and use her own to heal others." Ratchet explained.

"That's…amazing." Magnus gasped.

"She is no doubt gifted Ultra Magnus. She slept by your side to make sure you were alright. She did that with Bulkhead, Optimus, and myself when we were hurt." Ratchet explained.

"Like a support system." Magnus finished.

"Yes, exactly."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The monitor sounded and Smokescreen clicked it.

"Optimus, we've got more energon…but we've also got dragons." He said nervously.

"Eveyone stay in pairs, Elisa you stay with me no matter what." Optimus ordered. The groundbridge opened and they went through into an open mine. Slider, Glider, Skyblade, and Shadow were all present and digging with a small pile in the center. They all saw the bridge and they scrambled throughout the cave to start firing at the humans. Elisa was surprised to notice that Magma and her two brothers were absent. Elisa tried to get a shot off, but all the dragons were moving too fast. So she set her eyes on the seeker dragon, Skyblade, and hunched over to prepare for a jump. He finally moved to the right spot and Elisa tackled him instantly. Skyblade shouted in aggravation as they tumbled. They stumbled through a top ledge into another chamber and landed hard on the ground. Skyblade reacted fast by quickly getting up and flying around the room. Elisa kept firing at him, but he easily dodged each shot. They heard footsteps as Optimus ran after her.

"Lord Megatron…we have a peculiar signal on our sensors." Starscream said. Megatron looked at his SIC interesting tone before he looked on the screen. Once he saw the four dragon signals he clicked a button to talk to someone.

"Predaking, I have a situation for you."

Optimus tried to run into the other chamber, but another bridge opened and a dreadful screech filled the air. The predacon flew into the room and everyone froze. Predaking fired at the auotbots so the other dragons grabbed a few crystals before they flew away in pure fear. He fired where Optimus was once standing and the tunnel collapsed, blocking Elisa from them. On the other side they both flinched and jumped at the impact before Skyblade flew through the other opening and literally bumped right into the predacon. He turned around and growled baring his sharp teeth right in Skyblade's face. The seeker dragon let out a shriek that almost gave Starscream a run for his money before he moved out of the way and flew right out of the mine. Predaking barely paid attention to the shots fired at him before he looked into the opening. He instantly dove for it as Elisa tried to go through the opening. She screamed and flew backwards and hid behind some rocks as she heard the predacon come into the chamber. She heard him activate his fire before he sealed the room and she trembled in fear, biting her lip to keep from screaming.

Sire help me! He's in the room! She screamed.

Hang on Elisa! I'm coming! Optimus pleaded back.

I'm right here Elisa. Ratchet said through the bond as well.

Tears rolled down her face as heard the predacon stalking her. His feet making loud thumbs through the mine as he searched for her. She froze when she felt his long claws wrapped around her thigh. She screamed when he pulled her out of her hiding spot and threw her across the mine, making her skid ad scrape her skin. She looked up with her body shaking as he transformed in front of her and she saw his mech mode again.

"Please…please…please don't hurt me!" She begged.

"You should have thought of that before you destroyed my brethren." He snarled. She gasped when he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her high in the air. She whimpered as he glared at her with his teeth bared in fury. She couldn't think of anything else to do but bite at his servo. He flinched in pain and dropped her. She tried to crawl away, but she screamed in fear when he turned her over onto her back and pinned her down.

Sire! Carrier! Get him off!

"SIRE! CARRIER!"

Elisa screamed both mentally and physically and Predaking's large body loomed over her. He smiled in pure delight as her fear showed brightly.

"Now you know the fear that my brethren felt before you destroyed them." He growled deeply.

"Please…please get off!" She sobbed. She whimpered when his claws ran down her face and traced her tears before his claws went down to her shoulder before he sank the claw into her shoulder. She cried out and whimpered as the claw went deeper and deeper before the rest of his claws sunk right into her shoulder. She tried to push him off of her with her fired claws, but Predaking snarled before he back handed her across her face making her vision blurry. He slowly pulled his claws out of her and licked the blood off savoring each drop. He hummed in approval at the taste. Elisa did her best to shove him off with both legs. He was surprised by the movement and did stumble back. She started crawling away, but he grabbed her again.

"MEGATRON!" She screamed in panic, not knowing what else to do.

MEGATRON!

A high-pitch voice shouted in his helm and Megatron fell to his knees clutching it.

"Lord Megatron!" Starscream cried out in surprise. Megatron didn't hear him as the voice echoed in his helm. When the scream finally ended Megatron looked up to see Starscream and several drones staring at him.

"What are you staring at?" He snapped. While the drones instantly turned around Starscream continued to look at him.

"Are you alright master?" He asked. Megatron only huffed in annoyance before he returned to his monitor.

"Lord Megatron will not grant you mercy because you are at MY mercy." Predaking snarled right at her face. Elisa tried to squirm out of his grip, but he squeezed her tightly making her whimper. Her breath trembled when he leaned into his neck. He growled deeply before he licked her skin. Elisa tried to scream, but Predaking covered her mouth as she continued to scream into his servo with tears running down her face. She tried desperately to push him off of her, but he didn't even flinch at the hits she gave him. He licked her neck and licked the blood on her shoulder before he let out a vicious snarl.

Baring his fangs he bit right down into Elisa's neck and tasted her blood.

SIRE! CARRIER! GET HIM OFF ME! HE'S HURTING ME!

Both Optimus and Ratchet clutched at their sparks when Elisa screamed for them. They could dig fast enough with the equipment they had and everyone was using something. Ultra Magnus was using his free hand to fire at the rubble caused by the predacon. When the pain subsided Optimus shouted in pain and rage before punching at the rubble. His body shook with fear and hate as he never felt so helpless to save his only daughter.

Elisa's claws dug into his chest and Predaking drank hungrily from Elisa. She moaned and whimpered in pain as his sharp fangs just seemed to sink deeper and deeper into her neck.

"No more…please no more." She gasped, but he ignored as he roughly twisted his fangs in her neck, making the bite get deeper. Her blood felt like the sweetest victory before he finally released his hold on her neck. She moaned and turned to her side barely holding her neck and he looked down on her breathing hard. His claws barely grazed her skin as he went down her leg. He looked over her body and realized that she was quite small and she also had no armor on her so she didn't transform. He licked his bloody fangs when he started to trace the inside of her thighs.

"NOOOO!" Elisa screamed and shot her fire right at him, making Predaking fall back. He finally caught his footing and looked up to see Elisa slowly getting up. "Don't touch me!" She cried out bitterly.

"I am Predaking!" He roared at her. "You will bow to my command!" He shouted before he charged at her. Having no strength to fly, Elisa leaped out of the way of an incoming punch. She tried to look for a way out, but the top opening had led to another tunnel, but it was sealed. She suddenly gasped when Predaking grabbed her wing and flung her to the ground. She screamed in pain as the limb was pulled out of her socket. He grabbed her by the tail and swung her around again. She hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet and didn't get up. He glared down at her and sneered at her trembling form.

"Please don't…I was only…protecting…my…home." She gasped.

"And I was protecting my brethren." He snapped before he kicked her hard in the back. She rolled into a ball, but was quickly pulled back onto her back and she grunted in pain when he stomped his giant pede onto her chest. "I wanted to extinguish your spark, but now I know that keeping you as my prisoner is an even worst punishment for you." He smiled darkly as he leered over her. He let out a snarl that turned into the horrible screech Elisa dreamed about as he transformed into his best mode. Sharp teeth and spikes covered his mouth as his fangs practically dripped down her neck. Just as he was about to take hold of her in his claws, Predaking was thrown back as something exploded at his side. He looked up to see the autobots firing heavily at him with everything they had. He looked over at Elisa and his optics went wide when he saw her crawling away…getting away from him. He charged at her, but was blocked by Optimus, who fired his machine gun right at his head. The shots stunned his eyes and audios as his flew around disoriented. Without proper concentration Predaking had no choice leave the battle as they were all attacking him at once, but he vowed to fight the Prime again another day.

"Elisa?" Optimus called out.

"Elisa!?" Ratchet shouted desperately.

"Carrier…"

The faint whimper came behind some rubble and Ratchet scrambled to it first. He let out a bitter sob as he saw Elisa lying on the ground with blood all over her. He picked her up into his arms and rocked her small body back and forth as he started to cry. Optimus Prime fell to his knees and started to cry as he kissed Elisa's head. The others looked on in silence with nothing but pain and sadness in their optics as tears started to come.

"Need a bridge…" Someone whispered. The others looked and finally saw Smokescreen raise a trembling servo to his com link with tears running down his face. "Agent Fowler…we…we…we need a bridge now."

"The organic dragons fled before I could challenge them Lord Megatron." Predaking stated as he stood before Megatron in the bridge. Starscream frowned at his presence, but said nothing.

"So why the delay?" Megatron asked.

"I had Elisa in my grasp. I was almost ready to take her back here when the autobots saved her." Predaking snarled. Megatron barely kept his reaction in check as his tanks churned with unease. He noticed Starscream go stiff out of the corner of his optic.

"Quite a shame Predaking, but Elisa is not the only one to take your anger out on. In order to make the autobots pay for what they have done they must all pay the price." Megatron stated. Predaking was hesitant for a moment, but nodded in agreement.

"You are right my Lord. They will all pay." He finished.

"Dismissed." Megatron snapped and Predaking left without another word. Starscream was on him once the door closed behind him.

"Master you don't think…" Starscream said fearfully.

"I don't know what he's done to her, but if I know Optimus he would have torn Predaking apart if he did hurt her." Megatron stated. Starscream nervously nodded before returning back to his station. Megatron began to feel unsteady so he hurried to his private quarters. He was against the wall when he let out a strangled gasp of horror.

MEGATRON!

That had been Elisa calling for him. She must have been in so much pain and fright that not only did she call for her Creators, but she called for HIM! His servos trembled and his vision blurred with tears before he ran into the wash racks and purged hard. He was still coughing against his sobs after he was long done with purging. He felt terrible guilt now thinking back to the citadel and how he treated her like she was nothing. How she screamed in pain under his grip when Shockwave poked and prodded at her. He realized all too well that it was Orion all over again. He knew she would never forgive for what he had done, but that didn't mean it still didn't hurt him. He wanted to make sure she was safe. He wanted to see her. He wanted to hold her again and protect her.

He didn't want the beast to hurt her ever again.

"There was what?" Magma shouted as Skyblade cowered in terror.

"It was an ancient master." He answered in a trembling voice.

"That's impossible! The predacons have been extinct for thousands of years!" Magma snapped.

"We all saw it master." Slider added quickly making the others nod in agreement.

"It was large and orange and black with lots of sharp teeth." Glider said moving his own hands for effect. Rhodius only rolled his eyes, while Rising Dawn snickered.

"I swear with my own eyes master! We all saw it. I even accidentally ran into it and it roared right at my face." Skyblade pleaded.

"I will still have to see this beast for myself to be sure." Magma growled in annoyance. His wounds from his previous battle against Megatron were healed and when the others said they saw Optimus Prime alive and well and even with a brand new body and Elisa in the mine he was itching to go out and fight again. He settled with finding the beast first.

He did owe a visit to Megatron after all.

Elisa felt something soft on top of her and below her. She let out a heavy groan before she finally opened her eyes. She blinked a few times before she adjusted to the light. She was surprised to see Smokescreen next to her. He gave her a bright smile and gently placed his servo on her hand and squeezed it in comfort.

"Is he gone?" She whispered, still very weak.

"Yeah he's gone and he ain't coming back." Smokescreen said strongly. He waved to the others and she heard footsteps approach her. She cleared her vision and Carrier was looking her over as Sire stood behind him.

"Drink it." Carrier stated, holding out a cube of energon. She started to drink it slowly and gave it back to him too quickly. "All of it." Carrier ordered.

"But Carrier, you guys need it more than I do." Elisa protested weakly. She didn't fail to hear a tremble in the sigh he let out before he pushed the cube back towards her.

"Just drink it all baby, please." Carrier whispered. She nodded and took the cube out of his servo.

"Can I still fly?" Elisa asked between sips.

"You can, but I would strongly advise against it." Carrier said.

"Anything broken?"

"No thank Primus, but you lost a lot of…blood, so drink the energon." Carrier said quietly. Elisa took a small sip and looked up at Sire, whose face was calm and neutral.

"Sire, did he hurt you?" Elisa called out weakly.

"No he didn't hurt any of us." Sire said calmly. Elisa looked at him confused as she felt mixed feelings through the bond. She tried to focus on her bond with Sire, but he was pulling back for some reason. She put on a good face and leaned back into Smokescreen's embrace. She did a quick glance at the others and saw that they were looking at her.

"Hi guys." She smiled with a weak wave.

"Wheeeop." Bee replied back cheerfully with his own wave, making Elisa laugh. Her body did feel sore, but not as painful as she thought it would be. She felt more tired than anything else. She did notice Arcee had tears in her optics and Elisa knew why. Even though she always had Sire and Carrier, Arcee was the only adult female figure in her life before June came it. Granted June was a good mother to the kids and Jack, but she wasn't like what Arcee was to Elisa. Arcee was her female role model in a way and she was a mother to her as the human term went.

"Arcee what's wrong?" She asked as the femme stepped forward. The others were trying to start moving, but they all knew that they kept glancing at her. Arcee placed her small servo over Elisa's and had to smile at her tenderness.

"I was really scared for you baby girl." Arcee said quietly.

"We all were." Sire added and Elisa noted a deeper tone in his voice. Elis flinched as she stood up and wrapped Arcee in a hug.

"Thanks Mom." Elisa whispered. Arcee let out a happy sob before she rubbed her back in comfort. Elisa playfully licked at her faceplates making her laugh as she wiped some tears away.

"Just take it easy Elisa." Arcee smiled before she walked away. She caught sight of Ultra Magnus and he nodded at her and she nodded back before returning to her cube. Carrier kissed her head before he slowly and reluctantly returned to another screen. She watched as Sire left her alone in silence and stood in silence next to Carrier. It was then that she realized what was wrong and she never thought she would ever think this.

Optimus Prime was pissed off.

Megatron let out a frustrated groan when the alarm sounded during his recharge. Not that it had been a pleasant one with recent events, but it was recharge none the less. He stomped out into the corridors as other drones were moving to stop the intruders. He was heading towards the bridge when he heard a familiar growl. Megatron sneered as Magma finally came into view, on all fours baring his sharp fangs and spikes flashing a deadly red. Megatron didn't flinch as he pointed his cannon and it glowed, ready to strike.

Magma roared into the air as he pounced at Megatron. He took the hit hard from his cannon, but Megatron flew backwards when he was hit squarely in his chest by Magma's heat ray. Megatron barely dodged his fire claws as they sunk into the wall. He reacted fast and landed a swift kick, knocking the dragon sideways. He tried to charge again, but was hit hard by another firepower that Megatron couldn't see who was bearing. Magma let out a frustrated sigh as he looked up at his second opponent.

"Shockwave." Magma gasped in surprise as the large mech slowly stalked towards him.

"You're attack is most illogical." He stated in his familiar deep voice.

"Oh how I wished for a dragon solider as logical and tactical as you." Magma teased. He remembered how Shockwave was the only member of the decepticons to question his methods openly. The scientist wanted every detail fixed so that everything went perfectly. Which was why he had been caught in his plan to take control over Megatron and forced to flee.

"I did not miss you presence." Shockwave replied coolly making Megatron laugh.

"Neither did I." Magma growled before his fire claws let loose deadly energy making the two humans jump out of the way and pieces of the wall flew around them. Magma pounced onto Shockwave, but he didn't land on the purple mech before he caught him in midair by the throw. Magma gasped and struggled against the sharp claws as Shockwave tore into his skin. He lifted Magma high into the air and slammed him to the ground, making his head spin. Before he could recover Megatron kicked the dragon right across the hallway.

"Nice catch." Megatron said to Shockwave.

"Thank you my Liege."

Magma hurried over to his two sons as they fought off Starscream and his seekers. He tried to leap at Starscream only to get tackled yet again by someone else. Magma looked up to see a large orange and black mech with yellow optics staring down at him with a sneer. Magma let out a fierce roar of warning as he stood on his hind legs and opened his wings as a sign of aggression. The mech charged but was flung back by Magma's heat ray. Predaking was flung around when he was hit hard by the red dragon's tail. His helm was slammed hard into the ground as he groaned to get on his pedes. Predaking grunted when he was slammed down by his back by fire claws as Magma roared his dominance into Predaking's audio. With a swipe of his claws Magma flung him back and he hit the wall hard as Magma hurried out onto the deck to eliminate more seekers. Predaking growled deeply before he stalked forward. The red dragon stared at him with angry red eyes and baring his sharp teeth.

"What can you do? You're just a mech." Magma snarled.

"Show him what you really are my Predaking!" Megatron cheered proudly as the predacon stalked forwards and transformed into his beast mode. All three dragons instantly froze as the Ancient stalked forward with massive spikes and teeth. Predaking stood on his hind legs and opened his wings as he let out his own primal roar. Before the intruders could even move Predaking swung his tail and flung all three dragons across the deck of the Nemesis. They all scrambled to their feet and hastily flew away as Predaking stalked toward them with a deadly roar. Once they were out of sight, Predaking transformed back into his bi-pedal mode and looked over at his master.

"They won't be coming back." Megatron stated.

Ch. 21: Ticking Time Bomb

Elisa was having trouble sleeping that night. She kept tossing and turning in her room and her body was very sore. Her wing was still hurting and she still had plenty of bruises on her body. She finally decided that she had enough and concentrated and was able to turn into her human form. Her back hurt badly, but she was able to sneak out for some fresh air. She stretched out her body and walked around for a little bit. Elisa concentrated hard for a few moments.

Megatron if you can here please meet me at the rocky ledge we met at once.

She quickly transformed back into her dragon form and slowly managed to get back to the ledge. Megatron was already waiting for her and he approached her slowly and carefully. He saw the tears in her eyes and he slowly reached out and wiped them off of her face.

"I missed you." She cried quietly ashamed of her own feelings. The barriers finally broke down and Elisa ran into his arms crying hard. Megatron gently caressed her bruised body. He tenderly kissed her neck in welcome, but nothing more as she continued to cry. "Why did you have to do that?" She sobbed with her body shaking. "Why? Why? Why?" She cried bitterly beating her small fist lightly against his chestplates. She pulled away from him and wiped the tears away and stared at him in hurt. "You almost killed my Sire!" She shouted in anger.

"He destroyed the Omega lock." He said calmly.

"Because you are a greedy son of bitch!" She shouted. He blinked in surprise at the words and he figured it must have been a human phrase. "The Omega lock was supposed to restore Cybertron, not destroy Earth." She added and now she was crying angry tears.

"You've never even seen Cybertron." Megatron snapped in irritation.

"It's important to my Sire and my Carrier. If it's important to them, it's important to me." She argued back. Megatron stepped back in surprise and flinched as he looked over her wounds.

"This is war Elisa. It's what I want." He said sternly.

"Forget about Earth!" Elisa shouted. "Cybertron is your home! You need to save your home!" Elisa cried pointing at him. She sobbed for a few moments before she wiped tears away. "You can't keep doing this. The dragons are still out there and you can't kill them. Only I can as a dragon's fire can only extinguish another dragon's spark." Elisa explained quietly, her claws shaking in the air.

"You would kill your own family." Megatron said cautiously.

"The dragons are not my family. Optimus Prime and Ratchet are MY CREATORS!" Elisa stated strongly. "The autobots are MY family." She stated. Megatron remained silent as he looked over her wounds yet again. "If you won't listen to me about Earth and Cybertron then just listen to me about one thing please." She begged quietly before she walked over to him and placed a hand on his insignia.

"You have to kill that predacon."

He stared at her silently for a moment, unsure of what to say. The pleading in her bright blue eyes just made him want to break down all the barriers he had on his emotions. He didn't fully understand why, but he wanted nothing more than to grab Elisa and just run away with her. She made him feel different than anyone had for many, many years. She reminded him so much of Orion that he wanted nothing more than to protect her, but at the same time push her away with all his might.

"Why would I get rid of my strongest asset?" Megatron said darkly, narrowing his optics. Elisa froze for a moment unsure of what to say, but then she frowned and she stood up straight and slapped Megatron right across the face. He blinked in surprise and looked down at her in shock.

"Don't you DARE try to do that tough guy act with ME!" She snapped right at him. "He did this to me!" Elisa screamed and started to cry all over again. "I called for YOU TOO!" She cried before she fell to her knees sobbing hard. Megatron scooped her up and cradled her close. "I was so scared. I thought he..he…" Elisa couldn't finish as she kept sobbing. He tried to stay strong, but he felt a tear roll down his face.

"I know. I felt it." Megatron whispered, making Elisa sob even harder.

"Megatron please get rid of him! His energy is so bad. It's unnatural." She pleaded.

"It is not that easy little one." Megtaron said gently and she only gripped him tightly.

"He'll kill you." Elisa pleaded.

"He may be a beast, but he doesn't have the experience I have." Megatron stated. Elisa pulled away from him and looked into his optics.

"Just stop it Megatron. Just come back with me and talk to Sire. He wants peace too. If we all really want to survive we have to beat Magma." Elisa insisted.

"It's not that simple." Megatron whispered.

"Do it for me."

Megatron couldn't hold back any longer and bowed his helm in defeat. His body racked with silent sobs as tears rolled down his face and onto the ground. Elisa wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back in comfort while she nuzzled against his neck.

"Why?" He rasped out finally. "Why are you doing this to me?" He pleaded. Elisa made him look at her before she answered.

"I think some people deserve a second chance." She answered truthfully.

"Oh Elisa." Megatron cried before he held her close. "You stupid, stupid, girl. If you knew and lived through what your Sire has you would hate me with every fiber of your being." Megatron nearly sobbed. "I have betrayed you so many times and yet you still come back to me." He said strongly.

"I met Megatronous first, it was only until I was older that I met Megatron." Elisa explained.

"I am NOT Megatronous!" Megatron shouted making her jump.

"Then kill me right now. You have a sword. Just put it right through my spark and be done with me." Elisa snapped back pointing to her chest. Megatron mashed his denta together and growled deeply. Elisa didn't back away and just stared right back at him.

"You know I can't Elisa." Megatron finally spoke in defeat. Elisa ran back to him and put her hands on his insignia again.

"I want to help you Megatron. Please let me help you!" She cried. Even though he didn't move the dark energon in his spark pulsed purple for a brief moment, almost in protest to the young Prime's touch. "Get rid of the dark energon. It's nothing but poison." Elisa pleaded.

"It's what I need." Megatron stated before he pulled away from her.

"Don't go Megatron. Please don't go!" She begged before trying to grab him, but he pulled away from her again.

"I shouldn't have come in first place." He muttered.

"No! Megatron please! I don't want you to die." She cried. He let out a heavy sigh before he slowly looked back at her.

"I only see two outcomes to this war. Either my spark is extinguished or Prime's spark is extinguished." He stated.

"It doesn't have to be that way." Elisa whimpered out, but Megatron shook his head no.

"I've come too far and fought too hard to just give up now." Megatron stated.

"No Megatron, it can't end like that." Elisa whispered.

"It's WAR! It is how it is supposed to be!" Megatron shouted making Elisa jump and fall back. He sneered for a moment before he started to walk away.

"I love you Megatron."

His whole body froze and his optics went wide before he looked at her.

"I love you like a protector. Even though you've hurt me you still protected me sometimes. I love you like a guardian." Elisa explained quietly.

"I'm a monster."

"I've never thought of you that way." She whispered.

"You should." He stated. He started walking away when Elisa started to protest again.

"No Megatron. Don't please." She begged, but this time he ignored her and leaped into the air and flew off. Elisa fell to the ground and started sobbing hard. She cried for what seemed like hours and hours on end, but she finally stood up with shaky legs. She slowly flew up into the air and returned home. She came back in her human form before she returned back into her true form. She was wiping her tears away when someone touched her shoulder in a tender manner. She looked up and saw her Sire staring at her with concern.

"Please don't tell Carrier." She whimpered. Optimus knelt down and scooped Elisa up into his arms and she quietly cried all over again. "I'm sorry Sire. Please don't be mad. I just wanted to see him again." She cried.

"I know. It's ok baby. I am not angry." He said gently. She buried her head into his chestplates and Optimus sat down and hummed a lullaby that he had always used when she was little and she slowly fell asleep in his arms. Optimus knew Elisa went and saw Megatron again. As much as he didn't want her to, he knew what she was feeling. He had done the same thing when he was Orion back on Cybertron. He was good friends with Ratchet back then too and Ratchet begged and pleaded for him to stop seeing Megatron just before the war. He saw Megatron one last time before he became Prime and that was one of the most painful memories of his life.

He knew things were going to hit hard and he prayed to Primus that Elisa could handle it.

When Elisa woke up Optimus wasn't with her. She slowly and cautiously walked out of her room and looked around and still found no one. She hurried into the main hall and blinked in surprise when she saw everyone huddled around someone on the medical berth. She tilted her head curiously, but didn't say anything yet as nobody hadn't noticed her yet. Another thing that was drawing her attention was that she saw an aurora that she hadn't seen before. It was a dark blue interlaced with black and it felt very…drawn back, just like Magnus' aurora had been when he first arrived on Earth.

"Because we had the foresight to shield out new base our captive will be unable to transmit his coordinates to the decepticon warship." Ratchet said. It made a little bit more sense that the new field was from a decepticon, but she still didn't know who yet. She remembered Starscream's, who was quite electric, and Knockout, who she now understood had a lot of lust in his personality, but this field was still very different and it wasn't Shockwave.

"Nor in turn will they be able to pinpoint his location." Optimus said.

"Guess we have all the time in world to make Mr. Personality tell us everything he knows." Wheeljack said with mischief. Elisa finally decided she needed to know who the captive was and she finally stepped forward.

"Sire?" Elisa called out quietly making everyone step back and realize that she was finally awake. Her wing was still sore, her cuts still very visible, but her bruises were starting to fade. With the team looking at her she was finally able to see who the captive was.

Soundwave.

Her eyes went wide with surprise. She had always heard rumors that Soundwave was one of Megatron's most loyal officers, apart from Shockwave. She looked down over his skinny body that was strapped to the medical berth and she finally noticed empty chestplates. She realized that Laserbeak was missing. She cautiously stepped forward and she suddenly felt a dull pain in his aurora almost like a wound that had healed long ago, but was still present. She didn't understand it, but she didn't speak it out loud. She was still very surprised that he was even here and she had to figure that it might have been just sheer luck that got him caught, though she wouldn't say that either.

"Elisa, watch it." Smokescreen said with concern as she got closer. She ignored him and looked over the black faceplates. She wouldn't dare try to take them off simply out of respect, but she knew he was looking at her with a tilt of his helm.

"Soundwave." Elisa said quietly unsure of what else to say. Ratchet cleared his throat drawing her from her thoughts on him and Smokescreen pulled her back away from him. She walked away and noticed Magnus' servo had been replaced with a three digit claw for lack of a better word. "Glad to see you up and about Ultra Magnus." Elisa said politely.

"Thank you Elisa. I am glad to see that you are healing nicely as well." He said in a more gentle voice. She smiled and nodded at him before Sire's voice caught her attention again.

"Why is Megatron stealing human technology? What is he attempting to build?" Optimus stated firmly. They were all surprised when his voice came back in many different tones and paces as a sort of taunt.

"Oh Optimus Prime the remix." Elisa heard Miko say. She had to admit that was a little funny. Suddenly a purple smiley face appeared on his mask as an even bigger taunt and Elisa tensed at the instant anger in the air as Bulkhead pulled out his wrecking ball.

"Oh yeah why don't I wipe that smile off his face." He stated fairly.

"Soundwave, we have treated you fairly. For the sake of the natives of this planet, tell us what Megatron is attempting to build, before we are force to rely upon less civil manners of interrogation." Optimus stated. Elisa covered her mouth as she gasped at the threat her Sire gave. She did her best to hide her shaking body.

It's war! It's how it is supposed to be!

Soundwave retaliated by unleashing an array of alarms, ranging from high to low pitch. Everyone covered their ears and audios and shouted in distress, while Elisa let out a high-pitch roar of pain before the sound finally died.

"Scrap this!" Ratchet snapped in anger. "Soundwave is no ordinary Cybertronian inside or out. So I would strongly suggest opening him up so we can have a firsthand look at the information recorded on his drives." He stated. Elisa grew fearful of her Carrier's tone as well, but she knew better than to protest as her opinion was highly out-numbered and they didn't have the time to wait as Megatron could be building a weapon of mass destruction. Before they could proceed data appeared on Soundwave's screen.

"Uh-oh." Arcee said with concern.

"Alright he's downloading data." Bulkhead said happily.

"No Soundwave is erasing data." Ratchet said in defeat.

"Soundwave: Superior. Autobots: Inferior."

Everyone's optics went wide as the Communication Officer finally spoke in his deep unnatural voice. She wasn't sure if anyone else knew, but somehow Elisa knew that was his real voice. When the deep sound was heard it made his aurora flare and that just gave it away for Elisa.

"Is he…" Bulkhead said cautiously as Ratchet did a scan of Soundwave.

"His vital signs remain functional. It seems he has simply severed all communications by crashing his own drives." Ratchet said in defeat. Finally everyone went their own way and Elisa looked around cautiously before she slowly went back to the berth and laid down, curling up into a ball and stared up at Soundwave's limp form.

Soundwave was still in the same position the next morning so Elisa assumed her quiet post. She wouldn't say it but for some reason the Communication officer's aurora felt pleasing to her. It eased the tension in her body as she healed and her sleep remained peaceful. She briefly woke at the sound of Sire talking to Agent Fowler about a meeting or something before she drifted back off to sleep. She only woke several hours later and after staring at his aurora for so long Elisa finally realized something. Soundwave's field was weak in…places. His energy as a whole was strong, but some individual parts didn't have any color. His aurora wasn't a complete circle. She knew one piece of the puzzle was Laserbeak that was usually on his chest, but she noticed there were three other missing pieces to his aurora. Elisa concluded that Soundwave must have lost those other three pieces during the war. It suddenly made Elisa sad to understand that Soundwave had lost a little part of himself during the war. It made her want to forget Megatron's words that much quicker.

"I'm on my way to the base but I just got word the cons busted into the Selars particle collider project at the South Pole." Agent Fowler announced, drawing Elisa from her thoughts.

"Autobots." Sire called out. She saw Magnus step forward and squeeze his make-shift servo into a fist and Carrier immediately became defensive making her smile.

"Doc the Commander's ready." Wheeljack spoke up boldly, making Elisa proud that they had finally saw each other equally. Carrier was none too pleased and huffed by Wheeljack.

"Fine. Fine." He muttered.

"Bulkhead, Smokescreen, remain here with Ratchet and Elisa to guard our prisioner." Optimus stated, making Elisa stand up on all fours, but he gently waved her back down and she nodded in reply. "Eveyone else transform and roll out!" Ratchet opened the ground bridge and everyone did transform and drove through the bridge which closed moments later. Bulkhead and Smokescreen looked back at Soundwave, uneasy.

"Can't we throw a tarp over him or something? He's creeping me out." Bulkhead said nervously making Elisa snicker quietly as she settled back down.

"Yeah, it's like he's watching no matter where you go." Smokesceen said moving back and forth, making Elisa burst out laughing. "Hey go back to sleep." Smokescreen said with a tease and Elisa sat back down in a ball.

"Would both of you stop focusing on what Soundwave can or cannot see and help me figure out what he did not tell." Ratchet spoke loudly. "Like why Megatron would be interested in something believed to generate enough power to create a black hole." Ratchet stated. They didn't notice Elisa look up at the window as she thought she heard something moving.

"Black holes?" Smokescreen said confused. "So Megatron's looking to swallow up the known universe." Smokescreen said.

"And everything in it." Bulkhead finished.

"No no!" Ratchet protested. "He would merely want to harvest the power of something capable of swallowing worlds in order to…create one. Oh my." Ratchet gasped. Elisa looked back over at her Carrier at the word create. Her eyes went wide when she got what he got. "Optimus I know this hardly seems the time but it may aid you in your task." Ratchet called out through the com link.

"Go ahead." Optimus spoke.

"I believe that Megatron may be attempting to rebuild the Omega Lock. Do we let him?" He asked quietly, fearing that he already knew the answer.

"No for you know as well as I that Megatron will use a reconstructed lock to cyberform both Cybertron and Earth and that is one abuse of power that we cannot allow." Optimus stated firmly.

"Understood." Ratchet said with a deep sigh. Elisa quietly walked over to Carrier for a moment on all fours and licked at his servo in a comforting gesture. He looked down at her and helped her to her feet and patted her shoulder in reassurance before he turned and walked away do something else. Elisa let out a sad sigh for her Carrier before she returned to her adopted post by Soundwave.

"Ratchet it may not be with the Forge or the Omega lock but we're going to find a way to get our planet repaired." Smokescreen said in reassurance. Before Ratchet could speak Agent Fowler stepped into the room. Elisa heard the humming noise again and jumped when Laserbeak flew into the room.

"Oh no." Ratchet said shocked as the others tried to capture Laserbeak, but he fired at the others knocking them down and Elisa ducked out of the way as the symbiote shot off the glowing bonds on Soundwave. Smokescreen fired at hit Laserbeak knocking a part of it's wing off before it flew over them scraping at Smokescreen before it attached to Soundwave and downloaded something. Bulkhead and Smokescreen charged, but stopped when each of them got a tentacle attached to their chestplates and were shocked into blackout. Agent Fowler even tried to attack, but he was easily knocked off to the side as well. When Elisa saw that Soundwave was going for Carrier she posed her body and charged after him. She landed hard on his back plates making him stumble. Elisa snarled and bit right into his shoulder, cracking the armor before she felt a tentacle dig into her skin. She flinched at the shock, but dug her teeth in deeper to get him to stop. When a second tentacle started to shock her, Elisa's spikes flashed blue and she focused her energy on the electricity to cancel it. She felt the shock pull away briefly as Soundwave's thin fingers traced over her in an attempt to get her off, but she growled in warning as a reply.

Finally Soundwave had enough and her eyes went wide when a tentacle wrapped around her throat and squeezed tightly. Elisa had no choice, but to let go for air and when she did she was thrown of off him and the second tentacle wrapped around her throat and she was completely unable to breath and started to foam and gurgle at the mouth.

"Soundwave no!" Carrier shouted before he ran over to Elisa. "Let her go please!" He begged looking up at him. He gave Elisa's throat one more tight squeeze before he released her and knocked out Carrier with a shock. Elisa tried to stay awake, but her body just became more and more numb as her Carrier was dragged away by Soundwave.

"Ratchet we require immediate transport back to base."

"Ratchet do you read?"

"Arcee?" Bulkhead called out as everyone finally woke up.

"Bulkhead…is everything alright?" Arcee asked with concern.

"He's…he's gone." Bulkhead answered.

Ratchet?! Ratchet are you alright!? Optimus called out to his bond mate, but he got no response. He still felt the connection so Ratchet was alive at least. Elisa are you ok? Optimus asked through the bond, but again no response. Something was very wrong. Bulkhead opened the bridge and everyone hurried through. Optimus looked around his optics went wide when he saw Elisa on the floor with foam dripping out of her mouth.

"Elisa!" Optimus called out before he ran over to her. Her throat was red from being chocked as Optimus tenderly lifted her up into his arms. "Elisa, baby wake up." He whispered fearfully as he gently shook her. Her eyes slowly opened and she had a bad coughing fit for a brief moment before she looked at him.

"Oh baby!" Optimus nearly sobbed when he saw Elisa's bright blue eyes had turned red from sickness. He held her close and kissed her head as she purred quietly in his arms. She licked at his chestplates as a sign of comfort.

"Peeled some paint off Laserbeak." Smokescreen spoke up as Arcee held the burnt piece in her servo, checking it over. "If I were a better shot Ratchet would still be here." He said in frustration.

"Chin up solider. We've combed the entire floor. For the moment that remains our only clue." Magnus spoke with confidence.

"Nothing in the ground bridge log. If they bridged Ratchet out of here they used theirs not ours." Bulkhead added.

"Why take Ratchet prisoner but leave these two behind?" Arcee asked.

"If Megatron intends to hold our medic hostage I find it curious that he's made no demands." Magnus answered.

"It would stand to reason that Ratchet must possess something the decepticons want." Optimus said still holding Elisa. Smokescreen tried to comfort her, but she only huddled even further against her Sire so he backed away.

"Well whatever the cons are after Ratchet won't give it up…right." Bulkhead said with hesitation. Elisa just wanted to glare and growl at him, but she was too tired to care. Optimus picked up Elisa and gently placed her on the medical berth and covered her up with a blanket. He kissed her forehead again and she quickly fell back to sleep.

"Will she be ok?" Arcee said with worry.

"She's sick Arcee and…I don't know what to do." Optimus said sadly. Arcee placed her servo on his large arm making him look at her.

"Just be her Sire. That's all you can do." Arcee said with confidence.

Elisa kept waking up on and off, but even in her dreams she heard voice.

We would very much like to complete your work…on the formula for synthetic energon.

The restoration of our very home world.

Collaborate with the barbarian who essentially destroyed our planet in the first place, who sadistically crushed bumblebee's voice box, while looking him in the eye…no thank you.

It's a little too quiet out there.

Since the decepticons no longer seek predacon bones or earth technology, there is no activity to track.

Ratchet didn't think this hand he built for me was good enough, but I'll tell what truly isn't good enough giving up.

Elisa jumped at the sound of a bang from the back and she hurried out with everyone and saw that the decepticons had "destroyed" the hanger in behind them had been destroyed. When the action had settled down Elisa settled down in the corner as she was still in a lot of pain. She wanted her Carrier and everyone knew that. She closed her eyes, but didn't fall asleep as she heard the others talk about the broken piece off of Laserbeak. It was a good idea and Elisa would make sure to act on this one. She was tired of staying here right now. The space was too cramped and she needed to open her wings.

I'll do it…but then you already knew that didn't you.

"We have Optimus and Elisa." Raf said proudly. The device was fully operational and ready to go. All that remained now was for them to head off into the skies. A quick thanks and good luck before Elisa jumped into the air first with her Sire following as they both followed the tracking device.

"Prime, haven't heard from you in a while. Everything alright up there?" Agent fowler asked after several hours of silence. Optimus let Elisa fly ahead and he knew that as long as he saw her, they would be fine.

"So far Agent Fowler." Optimus answered. Optimus shook his head in frustration when the device flew right into pitch black clouds.

Elisa be careful.

Yes Sire.

Elisa closed her eyes and focused on her Carrier's spark energy. She didn't need a machine to guide her, but Sire did. Once she felt the energy loud and clear she shot ahead. Optimus wasn't so lucky as he unfortunately spotted Starscream in the midst of a lightning storm.

"Optimus Prime!" He said surprised before he shot forward. "How dare you continue to live." He sneered before he shot a rocket right at him. Prime easily dodged it and shot right back at Starscream with his own machine gun, but Starscream also easily dodged it. "Blast that autobot into oblivion!" He ordered and Prime looked up to see a squadron of seekers right above his head that started to fire right at him. Starscream watched as Prime handled the troops, while he looked for the signal. "The frequency isn't imitating from Prime and it's still on the move." He said to himself. "Finish him." Starscream ordered the troops. "If I cannot locate the source of the signal before it finds the warship, Megatron will have our heads." He said before he flew off.

Optimus was nervous as he couldn't find Elisa so he finished the drones quickly before going after Starscream as he was after the device as well. By the time he got there it was too late and the device was nothing but black smoke.

"No." Optimus said in defeat before he charged after Starscream.

"Aaahhh! I need a ground bridge now!" He shouted.

Again Optimus was too late and he looked out into the flashing sky filled with electricity and thunder, knowing his family was out there somewhere needing him.

Elisa felt pain from her Carrier and she flew as fast as her wings would carry her, but it still wasn't fast enough. She kept feeling sharp pains in her spark and she knew her Carrier was in danger. However, thankfully the pain didn't last long, but she still didn't quicken her pace. She thanked Primus when she found the warship and nearly crashed into the deck walls before they had a chance to open before she ran inside. She followed the destroyed drones before she ducked into a hallway at the sight of Predaking.

"Megatron!" He roared.

"I'll just go fetch that little something we talked about." Knockout said quickly before he ran off.

"Is it true that YOU ordered the annihilation of my army?!" He growled.

"Indeed and my only mistake was not seeing the extermination through." Megatron shot back before his blade appeared. Elisa's eyes went wide at the revelation. He had planned on killing the beast from the start, but Elisa feared that now was too late. Predaking clenched his claws before he gave a shout and charged. Megatron posed with his blade forward standing his ground before he spun around with a grunt and got a few swipes off Predaking causing sparks to fly. Predaking barely flinched before he grabbed Megatron's shoulder and flung him into the wall before he punched him right in the gut that literally lifted him off his pedes. Elisa flinched at the sound before Megatron was flung to the opposite wall and landed hard on his knees, with his sword on the ground to steady him.

"I will tear you apart!" Predaking shouted before he grabbed a dead trooper and started to whack Megatron with it. The drone shattered the pieces with hard blow that sent Megatron flying down the hallway. Elisa stayed still, but the Predacon didn't even see her as he stalked forward to Megatron. They locked servos as they kept each other at bay with their arms shaking at their strength. Megatron shouted baring his sharp denta and Predaking easily replied with a shout of his own before pushing Megatron back. She blinked in surprise when Starscream fired a rocked right into Predaking's back as a cheap shout and he shouted in pain. Elisa saw the door open before Megatron gave him a harsh punch that sent him reeling before Megatron grabbed him and flung his body inside the room.

'That's the spirit when I was a champion in the Pits of Kaon not only due to my savage might, but also my cunning!" Megatron stated, barely out of breath. Predaking stood up as a door behind him closed and looked up at Megatron in time to see him deploy the emergency pod. Predaking shouted in anger as he clung to the walls so he wouldn't be sucked out by the air. "You should have heeded my advice and faced me as a beast!" Megatron roared before he shot Predaking right in the chest. Megatron clung to the walls as he looked out into the empty sky before Starscream closed the doors behind him.

"Bravo my liege. It isn't every day that one gets to witness the extermination of a species all over again." Starscream said with a grin.

"One ultimate weapon coming right up." Knockout announced. "Where's tall dark and scaly?" He added instantly confused. He shouted in pain when Elisa fired right at his back and he dropped the Dark Star Saber. He ran back to Megatron and Starscream. When the seeker tried to grab at the blade Elisa roared and swiped her fire claws at him making him shriek and fall back as Elisa bared her fangs. Her glared went to Megatron as his optics were wide at seeing her red eyes.

"You're sick." He whispered.

"I told you to get rid of this!" She snapped bitterly pointing down at the purple blade. Megatron growled in annoyance before he snatched the blade up and pointed it at her. She hunched over unsure of what he would do, but he stayed posed just as she did.

"You should have stayed put." He stated.

"I want my Carrier NOW!" Elisa shouted baring her teeth and standing on her hind legs. Megatron pointed the tip of the blade at her to make her stop. Elisa swiped the blade out of his servos with her fire claws and snarled at him. "I told you save Cybertron please!" Elisa begged. Starscream and Knockout looked at the scene with wide optics and in total silence.

"Get out." Megatron said darkly.

"No! I swear to Primus above there is nothing wrong with joining my Sire in a truce." Elisa insisted.

"I said get out."

"The dragons are going to destroy you if you don't change. Please Megatron…please!" Elisa begged.

"GET OUT!"

Megatron shouted in pure rage before he punched Elisa as strong as he could. He hit a perfect shot on the inside of her shoulder. There was a sickening crack and Elisa let out a terrible scream of pain as she went flying across the hallway. She fell onto the ground hard and moaned in pain clutching her bleeding shoulder before she let out high-pitch roar of pain. Knockout was trembling as he slowly picked up the blade. He and Starscream nearly jumped when the alarm sounded.

"Report." Megatron ordered.

"Lord Megatron the ship is under attack…by the autobots." A troop answered.

"But the warship is cloaked how is that possible?" Starscream said confused.

"The medic lives." Megatron stated. "Mobilize what remains of our forces. The Omega lock must be defended at all costs." Megatron ordered before he snatched up the blade again from Knockout's servo.

"If Optimus Prime wishes to wage a battle for the fate of both Earth and Cybertron than I shall oblige him. This will be our last stand."

Ch. 22: The Last Stand

" Autobots lock on to those coordinates and prepare to storm the warship. Members of Team Prime, autobot and human, it has been my honor to lead you. On this day the fates of two worlds hang in the balance and the battle to come may very well be our last but for earth, for Cybertron, for our comrade Ratchet we must take the decepticon warship."

Megatron looked back out into the hallway and saw that Elisa was gone, only traces of her blood were on the floor. He growled to himself mentally as unpleasant memories rose to the surface of his processor.

Megatronous please!

Young Orion's voice rang through his head and Elisa's pleads to him were echoes of his bitter past. History was repeating itself as he committed the ultimate betrayal with that one blow. He bowed his head in silence for only a brief moment as the alarm rang through the ship and he knew what he had to do.

Silently he walked towards the platform, which brought him to the outside of the Nemesis with the Dark Star Saber in his grasp. He paid no mind to the other autobots as Optimus Prime was his intended target. He saw Optimus and leaped off the platform and with a snarl he hurled a dark energon wave at the Prime. The blow was right on target as Optimus went flying out of control before he scrapped onto the wing of the ship. He started to crawl up the wing and started jumping. By the time he got there the platform was opening and he opened fired on Shockwave. It only lasted a few moments before Megatron tackled him to the lower platform's below and his gun went flying. Megatron shoved the gun out of the way without a second thought.

"Shockwave, commence Omega lock firing sequence."

The containers slowly filled up with their blue liquid and Ratchet tried to fend off Shockwave. He wasn't doing very well as he was still weak from his attack with Predaking. Optimus was still fighting Megatron, who grunted at a heavy hit before he swung the Dark Star Saber right at Optimus. They paid no mind to the Omega Lock as it was once again restored to its full potential as the synthetic energon was activated. Optimus ducked and knocked the blade out of Megatron's servos right before he flung off his pedes.

"Shockwave prepare to fire the…"

BANG!

"What?" Megatron looked around confused as his own ship was moving from side to side for a brief moment, before it finally steadied. Neither mech saw the race for the real star saber on the deck as it lay on the ground.

"Optimus you must use the saber to destroy the Omega lock." Ratchet called out before Optimus knocked Megatron aside and looked up. "It is the only way to save earth." He called out.

"Beep beuoop. Beb beb beuuooop." Optimus heard Bee call out. Megatron saw the scout as well and pushed Optimus out of the way and fired three shots right at Bumblebee, before his fourth shot was blocked by Prime.

Everything stood still as the three shots were a direct hit on Bumblebee's chestplates. Everyone's optics were wide with horror as Bee's chest burst into flames as he released the star saber. It was as if he was falling in slow motion for the longest time. All too quickly his optics started to blink and they went dark forever before he hit the pool of energon. Even the flames on his chestplates were extinguished before he hit the pool. He didn't move and his optics were black as his spark was extinguished.

Elisa collapsed in her small corner as tears rolled down her face as his body disappeared.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Optimus shouted in pure rage as he gave Megatron hard hit after hit until it sent him reeling into the wall. He grunted before he fell to the ground…right in front of his weapon. Optimus didn't see as his servo transformed into a gun to make the final blow, but Megatron roared as he swung the dark star saber and hit Prime right in the chestplates and sent him skidding across the platform until he fell right off the ship.

Megatron took long and deliberate steps towards the Last of the Primes as he was ready to make the final blow. Optimus looked up at Megatron as he raised his deadly blade above his head.

"Prepare to join your scout in the allspark."

"Megatron!"

An unfamiliar voice called his name and he turned around he gasped in shock and pain as something went right through him. He breath became strangled as he slowly looked down and saw the star sabre right through his spark with the scout, Bumblebee holding it in two servos. His wounds healed right before everyone's wide optics. "You took my voice. You will never rob anyone of anything every again." Bee stated with firm authority. Megtron only groaned as he raised the blade again, but his servo shook in weakness and it fell from his grip down to burn in the planet's atmosphere below. Megatron let out a strangled gasp as he fell to his knee and gripped the saber tightly. He looked up and his optics went wide as he saw Elisa staring right at him. Tears were rolling down her face as Megatron saw nothing but pain in her eyes.

"Lord Megatron no!"

Dear Primus those bright blue eyes.

No one paid attention to the small tear the leaked down his own face.

Megatron.

I'm sorry little one. I am so sorry.

Megatron!

He felt his spark slowly beat away and the last thing he saw was her before everything went black. His whole body went limp and it slowly skid down the large blade that he was impaled on before it fell off of the platform of the Omega lock. Optimus just watched as Megatron's body fell. He didn't even react when his body burned up in the atmosphere and the flames disappeared. Quite ironic as he remembered how sad he felt when Megatron had "died" the first time. A servo appeared before him and Bumblebee helped him.

"I will avenge you master!" Starscream called before he tried to charge at the autobots only to be caught by Shockwave.

"Starscream do not be a fool." Shockwave argued as the seeker struggled in his arms.

"Curse you and your logic!" Starscream snapped as the remaining decepticons fled. Elisa remained where she was and no one noticed her as they climbed up the platforms to the decks. She looked up at the team in bitterness as they all rejoiced.

"Bumblebee!" Ratchet gasped.

"Your voice." Arcee added with a smile.

"My voice…what are you…my voice!" He cried out as he realized he was talking and his mouthpiece was removed with joy. "Ratchet I got my pipes back." He cheered as he hugged the medic.

"Yes, yes we noticed." Ratchet chuckled.

"The cybermatter."

"It is the only possible explanation." Ratchet finished.

"It would see the old field medic made good after all." Optimus said happily.

Old field medic? Ratchet teased through the bond.

It was a compliment Ratchet. Optimus said back.

I was only joking Optimus.

"Optimus Prime to all units. Megatron is no more." Optimus announced. Everyone jumped for joy at the announcement. "Wreckers a job well done securing the bridge." Optimus complimented.

"It wasn't us Sir. The credit belongs to the humans." Magnus explained.

"Ho-yah!" Miko cheered striking a pose.

"The Omega lock is under our control. I suggest we put it good use." Ratchet said happily.

"Agreed old friend. Ultra Magnus set course for Cybertron." Optimus stated.

"Hey Raf, if you can tear yourself from your laptop for two seconds bridge yourself up here so we can go to Cybertron already." Bee said happily as he walked inside. Everyone started to walk inside, but Optimus froze.

"Where's Elisa?" He asked out-loud.

"I didn't see her anywhere." Smokescreen said and Arcee shook her head no.

"How did she get here?" Ratchet said confused.

"We went looking for you, but she was able to find you through searching for you energy. I got separated from her." Optimus explained.

"Elisa!" Ratchet called out.

Elisa? Optimus called out through the bond.

I'm here Sire. She replied quietly.

Where are you? Carrier asked.

On the ship. She answered.

Come up the bridge baby. Sire said gently.

I don't want to.

Ratchet looked over at Optimus confused, but Optimus knew why she was upset.

"She needs time."

"Optimus I was never able to learn Shockwave's side of the cybermatter equation. This may be all we ever have and Cybertron is a much larger planet than Earth." Ratchet explained.

"Then we must launch the Cybermatter at Cybertron's very core." Optimus stated.

"Into the heart of Primus himself?"

"Commander we've arrived at the well of Allsparks." Wheeljack announced. The team watched from the bridge and Elisa watched from the deck as the cybermatter was launched. She watched the whole well disappear and waited. She gasped at the sudden warm and welcoming energy as the planet was granted life once more.

"Aaahh such luster." Knockout said, ruining the moment. "What? I'm joining the winning team." Nobody stopped Miko as she knocked out Knockout.

As the sun rose everyone blinked at the shadow that crossed their path.

"The predacon." Ultra Magnus stated.

"Though our homeworld is once again capable of supporting life, we have much rebuilding to do. Alas we will miss our home away from home and the family we've made here." Optimus said sadly looking over at the humans. More tears came to Elisa's eyes as she knew that this was goodbye.

"If cons are still out there won't earth be on their radar?" Raf asked fearfully.

"Raf is you ever need me, need us for any reason we're just a spacebridge away." Bee said with a smile.

"Besides we'll be in good hands with you, Jack, and Miko continuing to serve unit E in a semi-official capacity." Fowler announced.

"Whoa we're agents?!" Miko squealed.

"Consultants, until you're of age." June added.

"I trust that unit E doesn't have rules forbidding the enlistment of rusty old autobot consultants." Ratchet added.

"Ratchet you of all…?" Arcee started but was shushed.

"I know where I am needed." He stated firmly.

"Carrier does that mean you'll be staying here permanently?" Elisa asked fearfully.

"Just for a little while longer Elisa, until everything has settled down. I promise I will join you soon." Carrier said gently before he kissed Elisa's forehead. She watched her creators go off as everyone started to say goodbye. She went over to Jack first.

"Goodbye Jack." She said quietly.

"Sorry for the rough start." He said embarrassed.

"It was worth it." She winked before she moved on to Miko. Mikor cried as she wrapped her arms around Elisa's arm. She kneeled down and rubbed her snout in a tender gesture.

"I'm going to miss rocking out with you." Miko said sadly.

"Me too Miko. Don't stop being a rock star." Elisa said with a smile. Her composure broke down quickly as she looked at Rafael's young eyes.

"Goodbye Elisa. I'll miss you." Raf said sadly.

"Me too Raf. Thank you so much for everything." She said with a bow and tears in her eyes. Finally she walked towards the edge of the hanger as everyone else said their goodbyes as well.

"Raf…" Bee said to his friend.

"I know Bee…you don't need to say anything."

"I never did."

Miko crawled up on Bulkhead's pede and started to cry.

"Miko I guess this is…"

She continued to cry as she held his finger close.

Arcee slowly walked up to Jack and finally looked at him.

"It's been quite a ride."

"Keep in touch Jack…

Don't make me hunt you down."

Ultra Magnus, Smokescreen, and Wheeljack came up to Agent Fowler and June. Fowler gave them a final salute and the mechs gratefully returned the gesture.

The bridge just seemed too bright as it finally opened. Elisa went up to Ratchet.

"I love you Carrier." She said quietly.

"I love you too Elisa."

"I will see you soon." Optimus said with handshake.

I love you Ratchet

And I love you Optimus.

Slowly everyone started to go through the bridge and slowly their forms disappeared.

Optimus Prime looked back one last time on the family that everyone had all shared throughout the years.

"Til all are one."

Ch. 23: New Home

Nobody saw Elisa since they had arrived on Cybertron. They kept trying to find her on the Nemesis, but nobody was having any luck. She didn't want to be found. She stayed on the platforms of the Omega lock for a while, but when she heard someone she hid so she wouldn't be found. She knew nobody would understand her feelings. Nobody was mourning the way she did. Elisa was deeply upset over what had just happened in less than twenty-four hours.

Megatron was gone. He was dead. His body had been destroyed falling through earth's atmosphere. She had felt his last moments as she called out to him from her mind. She cried as she remembered his last words.

I'm sorry little one. I am so sorry.

She wasn't angry at Bee for delivering the final blow. She was just sad that Megatron was dead. She was upset that he was right. Either he died or Sire did and Sire was still alive. Her shoulder was still hurting from his attack, but she didn't care. She didn't tell anyone about her wound either as she just wanted to be left alone. She missed him greatly. He was her friend, her protector, he talked to her when she needed it and she wanted to talk to him when he needed it, but he wouldn't do it.

She missed him and she missed her Carrier. She didn't understand why Carrier was staying on earth. She wanted him here. She felt abandoned and rejected. Nobody would care that she mourned for Megatron. Carrier chose the humans over her and Sire. Why did he do that? She wanted someone to cry on. She didn't even trust Smokescreen with her feelings. She felt so alone. She had cried for a long, long, time now. She cried quietly, and then she let out bitter sobs that she almost threw up. Now she was quiet again with her body shaking as she hadn't eaten in days. She slowly fell asleep again and didn't have any dreams.

"Elisa?"…she stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up. "Elisa?" The voice called her again and she woke up. She looked up and saw her Sire staring at her. "Hi baby." He whispered. She reacted instantly by bolting. "Elisa wait!" Optimus called out as she flew up on deck and scrambled into the ship. He climbed up as fast as he could and tried to look for her, but he couldn't find her. He let out a bitter sigh as he knew he lost her again. He knew this would come sooner or later. She was upset that Megatron was gone…and he felt guilty that he didn't care. Megatron had gone too far when he "killed" Bee and he was just too angry. He knew by now that Megatronous was long gone and he had been a fool to think otherwise, but he had to get her back. She was weak and he felt it through the bond. He figured she hadn't eaten in days and she needed energon. However, nobody had caught her except himself, even Smokescreen couldn't find her at times and she hadn't talked to him since they had been back on earth.

Finally after two more days of no sign of Elisa, Optimus nearly beat his helm when he realized where she might be. He cautiously approached the room and unlocked the door. He got in as quietly as he could and his spark nearly broke at what he saw. There was Elisa on Megatron's berth shaking in her bitter sleep as she knew she was the only one who mourned for the former warlord. He hovered over her and saw plenty of bruises on her body and when he gently touched her shoulder she felt bitterly cold.

"Elisa." He whispered and she slowly and reluctantly opened her eyes, still red with sickness.

"Go away." She muttered crawling away from him.

"Elisa I can't do that. You need to get some energon." Sire said sternly.

"I'm not hungry." She said bitterly.

"Elisa please…just look at me." Sire pleaded. Elisa covered her head as a rebellion. Sire rubbed his optics in frustration. "Elisa I know you're upset. I can feel it, but you need to eat." Sire repeated.

"Did I do something wrong? Does Carrier not want me anymore?" Elisa suddenly cried out finally looking at Sire.

"What? No, baby no. Once things get settled here on Cybertron Carrier will join us. While Cybertron may be restored there are still decepticons out there, particularly Shockwave and Starscream." Sire explained.

"They got away?" She asked curiously and Sire only nodded.

"Elisa you need to come out. Everyone is worried about you."

"They wouldn't understand."

"No they wouldn't. They just want to see you safe and sound." Sire said gently.

"Even you don't understand!" She snapped into the air. "You hate Megatron. You always hated him!" She cried as fresh tears started to come.

"No I…" Sire started but then he held back as he knew she was right.

"He was your friend once. He loved you! How could you throw that way!?" She sobbed.

"Because Megatron threw it away first." Optimus said sadly.

"No he didn't. It was still there. I promise you Sire. Why do you think he cared for me? Because I reminded him of you. I reminded him of Orion." Elisa explained weakly.

"Elisa I am not Orion. Orion Pax is long gone. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the autobots. I cannot care for someone who has crossed the line for the opportunity of redemption." Sire stated.

"Well I thought he did. " She whispered before looking away from him.

"I know he hurt you. He made you sick with mind games. Elisa that's what he does." Sire insisted.

"He didn't make me sick!" She shouted. "I'm sick because I was hurt in battle and I am upset that I lost a good friend. I…I…I just wish he hadn't been right."

"Right about what?"

"In the end either you or him would die."

"It was always like that for years Elisa. We always thought that one would destroy the other in the end. I could have spared you all that pain." Sire insisted.

"No you couldn't!" Elisa shouted again. "I begged him to form a truce with you."

"Megatron would never compromise. It is not in his nature…not anymore." Sire said gravely.

"He compromised for me. He save my life more than you will ever know!" She snapped bitterly.

"Elisa I must know, did you ever…make love to him?" Sire asked quietly.

"No." She answered honestly. "I loved him like I love you. I loved him like a guardian…a protector to me." She explained.

"Oh Primus. I should have known better." Optimus muttered to himself.

"I would have kept going to see him. You couldn't have stopped me if you tried." Elisa said firmly.

"I know." Sire said with a sigh. "I want you to come with me. I want you to see Cybertron and everyone wants to see you." Sire said holding out his servo. Elisa was hesitant to take, but she finally did and Optimus did his best to not just pull her into his arms right then as he knew she would push away from him again. He gently helped her to the deck and Elisa was finally looking at Cybertron again. She really didn't know what to think as the buildings were crumbling with age, but some had cranes of reconstruction on them. She had to figure Bulkhead would be there watching over things. "Drink this please." Sire insisted again holding out a cube for her. She finally took the cube and had a few slow sips to make sure she didn't purge. "What do you think?" He finally asked.

"It's different." She said quietly. "It looks very unique and mystical all most." She added.

"When you're better I will show you the Hall of Records." Sire said proudly. Elisa only nodded as Sire guided her back inside and they took a groundbridge to the construction.

"E!" Smokescreen shouted in joy and everyone instantly gathered around her as they were so happy to see her. Smokescreen got to her first and gave her a big hug.

"Uuugh Smokescreen I can't breathe." Elisa gasped before she was finally put down.

"Are you ok we were so worried about you?" He said with concern.

"I'm fine Smokescreen." She answered quickly.

"Glad to see you're up and about kid." Wheeljack said kindly.

"It's good to see you Elisa." Ultra Magnus said softly.

"It's nice to see you all too." Elisa said right back. Arcee gently pulled her into a hug.

"Missed you baby girl." Arcee joked.

"Missed you too Arcee."

"How are you feeling Elisa?" Bee asked and Elisa had to look at him for a moment to register that he was speaking.

"Sorry, I'm doing a little better." She said quickly, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey don't worry. Everyone else is getting used to hearing my voice too, including me." Bee winked.

"Yeah, I was the worst. I didn't even pay attention to him at first." Bulkhead joked.

"Are you leading the construction Bulk?" Elisa asked curiously.

"Yeah you betchya." Bulkhead smiled proudly.

"We've all been doing our part." Ultra Magnus added.

"Sorry I haven't been much help lately." She said quietly.

"You still look sick Elisa. Best thing for you to do is get better first." Bulkhead insisted.

"Ultra Magnus, has there been any decepticon sightings?" Optimus finally spoke.

"None Optimus." Magnus answered seriously.

"They have been picking at their old hiding spots." Arcee added.

"The cons are on the run for good now. Why don't you get back to bed Elisa." Smokescreen said gently.

"I'll be alright." Elisa insisted.

"Elisa, Smokescreen is right. You need to rest now…peacefully." Sire insisted.

"Alright fine."

Optimus flew Elisa in his arms back to the ship then got a groundbridge in case the others wanted refuel. Only Smokescreen came back and Optimus directed him to Elisa's room. Arcee came back a few hours later.

"Sure you can trust him in there?" Arcee winked. Optimus brought up the surveillance from the room Elisa was put in and they saw her on the berth with Smokescreen sitting on the floor, but leaning into the side of the berth sound asleep.

Elisa refused to join the team when they went to Kaon. She knew what they were going to do and she didn't want any part of it. She was happy that Bee would now be a warrior, but she really had no interest in the festivities. She did her best to blink back tears as something exploded off in the distance. She slowly went back to her berth and did her best to try and sleep again.

Megatron…

Megatron…

Megatron!

Elisa gasped awake, breathing hard as an un-natural voice entered her mind for a brief moment. She shook her head as Sire entered her room.

"Are you alright?" He asked quickly.

"I'm fine, just sore." She answered.

"Elisa, I'm afraid that I will have to leave Cybertron." Sire stated.

"What for?"

"To retrieve the Allspark."

"What's the Allspark?" Elisa said very confused.

"The very vessel which creates new life on Cybertron through the well." Sire answered.

"You're leaving now?" She asked curiously.

"The soon the Allspark is returned the better."

"Oh…sorry."

"It's alright. I know you don't understand, but you will someday I promise." Sire said proudly. He was going with Wheeljack in Ultra Magnus' ship.

"Don't worry Elisa. I'll have the chief back before you know it." Wheeljack winked making her smile.

"I love you Elisa." Sire said sincerely.

"I love you too Sire."

Everyone watched the ship leave until it was out of sight. Elisa chose to watch Bulkhead work the reconstruction and had to laugh when one troop after the other either kept bumping into equipment or falling over.

The Age of Chaos.

Elisa jerked again as she heard the unsettling voice again. To clear her thoughts she decided to go for a little flight, but an open plain caught her eye and she soon arrived to see that the ground was covered in nothing but Predacon bones.

"Come to gloat autobot!" A voice roared behind her. She didn't flinch as she looked up at Predaking glaring at her.

"No, I was just exploring." She said calmly. Predaking blinked in surprise at her quiet and calm tone.

"Something…troubles you." He said cautiously walking closer to her.

"Something you wouldn't understand even if I told you." She said sadly.

"You cared for Megatron?!" Predaking growled.

"I've known him all my life and he happened to save it once or twice, so yes I am upset that he is gone." Elisa nearly snapped at him. Predaking again blinked in surprise at her explanation.

"Well…fair enough for you I suppose." He snapped in irritation before he stalked forward. "Quite a kingdom is it not?" He said bitterly into the air.

"Megatron destroyed your brethren because he feared you. Perhaps you can prove that there is no need to be afraid, just as I have done with the autobots." Elisa said gently.

"You were born dragon. I was created in a laboratory. I have no…creators to speak of." Predaking added.

"I killed my real Carrier long ago because she was hurting me and my Sire was doing the same thing." She said quietly before she pointed to the back of her neck. "I have these scars from my own Sire, from when I was just a newborn. I could have kept the anger I was born with when the autobots took me in and I could have killed them all if I wanted to, but I didn't. I never wanted to act like Magma did. I never wanted to be like him." She spoke gently.

"I scared that fool away back on the ship not too long ago." Predaking smirked.

"I wish I could have seen his face." Elisa chuckled. "Predaking we all have a choice and I will admit I was afraid of you too."

"But I attacked you. You had reason to fear me."

"Yes and I also told Megatron to stop with the other predacons as well because I was just as afraid as he was, because I didn't understand you." Elisa explained.

"What if I didn't want you to understand me?" Predaking stated leaning in closer.

"Then that is your choice. You were just like me when I was younger. I wanted somebody who cared for me and wouldn't hurt me. I didn't want to be alone and then the autobots found me. You don't have to be alone if you don't want to Predaking."

"I am alone and nothing can change that." He said sadly.

"Only if you don't want to. Perhaps when the time is right you can prove them wrong and show that Predacons and autobots can live peacefully." Elisa said gently.

"That will only happen when I am another fossil."

"I…I hope you find something that makes you happy someday." Elisa said sincerely before she started to leave.

"Wait…I…I would like to say that I am sorry for…frightening you." Predaking said shyly.

"I forgive you."

"Why?"

"Because I believe that some people deserve a second chance."

Ch. 24: New Arrivals

Sire was gone for several days now and Elisa was moving about to try and help with reconstruction to try and keep her mind occupied. However, when night came she didn't sleep well as she had uncomfortable dreams. A deep voice kept talking in her mind and she even saw flashes of Megatron as well. Tonight was even worse. She dreamt that she was in Kaon and no one was around. She looked around and finally spotted someone and she ran towards them.

"Megatron!" Elisa called out when she recognized him. The warlord looked at her with sad optics as she cautiously approached. He smiled weakly at her before he fell to his knees with tears coming down his face. Elisa grabbed at his shoulders and lifted his face up to hers.

"I'm sorry Elisa. Please forgive me." He begged.

"It's ok Megatron. I'm here." Elisa said kindly. He looked away from her ashamed before his body shook in pain. Elisa stumbled back and started trembling when Megatron shouted in pain and his body started to shake. His claws dug into the ground as his spark glowed purple. They both jumped when a roar sounded above them and Elisa tensed when she saw Magma land on the ground. Megatron grunted as he got up on one knee and armed his cannon. Magma reacted calmly before he grabbed Megatron's cannon and ripped it off of his arm with one tug. Elisa's eyes went wide with shock as Megatron screamed in agony. Magma raised his fire claws high and Elisa slammed him onto the ground. Elisa growled at him in pure fury, but froze in shock when fire claws slammed into her spark.

"No! Elisa!" Megatron cried out.

The fire claws went deeper and Elisa let out a terrible high-pitch scream of pain as the fire started to burn her spark.

"No! Let me go! No!" Megatron shouted. Elisa looked up as saw Megatron being dragged away, by a large figure that was hidden in darkness, but all she saw was purple optics. "No! No! Elisa!" Megatron continued to shout as the darkness continued to suck him in.

Her vision started to blur when she heard deep laughter.

Elisa nearly fell out of the berth as she woke with a start. She looked around the room and saw that it was empty and she breathed a sigh of relief. She shivered as she felt a cold feeling wash over. She got off the berth and started to walk down the quiet halls of the Nemesis. She quietly entered Megatron's room again and she crawled onto his large berth and took deep breaths to calm herself down.

"I wish you hadn't been right."

Elisa just doing her own flight patrol when she heard a deep roar. Her eyes blinked in surprise when she saw Ultra Magnus on top of a large blue and silver Predacon dragon. She dove after them and by the time she got there Ultra Magnus was down with a hard hit. Elisa landed hard and stood on two legs and opened her wings and roared as loud as she could in warning and the she sensed a second Predacon behind her. The dragon looked at her puzzled, unable to determine if she was friend or foe so she decided for him and fired her head ray right at the dragon making him fall back.

"Bumblebee I need an emergency groundbridge stat!" She heard Smokescreen call out as an eagle-like predacon chased after him. The dragon tried swiping it's claws at her, but she easily dodged it and slammed her fire claws into the predacon, knocking him off his feet.

"Smokescreen get him out of here!" Elisa shouted quickly as she fired a warning shot at the eagle predacon. He dodged it and tried to leap at Elisa, but she moved out of the way a split second early and he ran right into the dragon.

"Hang tight chief, getting you out of here." Smokescreen grunted as he started to drag Mangus toward the bridge. Elisa ran over to Magnus and lifted him onto her back and started to run as the predacon's tried to catch them, but they ran through the bridge just in time. Elisa wasted no time in getting Magnus to the sick bay and putting him on the medical berth. "No one besides Knockout has the medical experience to treat Ultra Magnus." Smokescreen said gravely.

"No one here on Cybertron." Elisa said quickly. Bee got the message quickly and called for Ratchet. Arcee arrived not a few minutes before Ratchet came via groundbridge.

"Where's the patient?" He said immediately. Ratchet instantly got to work when he came into the medical bay and Elisa let him be. "He is suffering from a multitude of internal injuries, most quiet sever." Ratchet stated.

"So anyone care to explain what two more predacons are doing on Cybertron?" Arcee asked everyone.

"I thought Optimus said new life wasn't possible without the Allspark." Bulkhead said confused.

"I'm no authority, but something tells me cloning old bones doesn't constitute new life." Bee said bitterly.

"Shockwave been playing in his lab since the war. Why stop now?" Bulkhead added.

"Doesn't matter where those beasts came. We've got to take them down." Smokescreen nearly snapped.

"If Shockwave's back in business there could be more of them, a lot more." Bee said quickly.

"We need to call Optimus." Bulkhead stated. '

"Really Bulk, and interrupt his quest to save the future of our race on Cybertron?" Arcee said slightly sarcastically.

"I think I might know a place where we can look." Elisa said quietly.

She led them to the empty plain where she had seen Predaking previously. She led the way with Bee not scouting too far behind her along with the others behind them.

"I have to warn you this is where I last saw Predaking." Elisa said quickly as she heard the flapping of wings long before the others would have.

"Whoa!" Bulkhead gasped just before Predaking landed with his large wings wide open in a territory threat display Elisa easily recognized.

"Hold fire!" Bee shouted before he walked forward. "Recognize this Predaking?" Bee said holding up a small bone up high. "You served aboard Megatron's warship. Surely you're familiar with this little treasure from his vault. The immobilizer. It causes instant stasis lock though the victim remains fully conscious, a living death." Bee finished before Predaking snarled and Bee put the bone down. "But we didn't come here to fight your highness." Predaking tucked in his wings before he transformed into his bi-pedal mode.

"Then why have you violated my refuge autobot?" Predaking demanded avoiding Elisa's gaze.

"We need answers. Do you know of any other predacons currently on Cybertron?" Bee asked quickly. Elisa bit her lip to hide her sad expression as she might have guessed his answer.

"Indeed, legions of them. Behold my subject, a countless multitude, rendered extinct ages ago by the great cataclysm. Unearthed by the shifting of plates during our planet's restoration." Predaking said bitterly.

"Yah well me and Ultra Magnus just got scraped by two living predacons. Know anything about them your highness?" Smokescreen said with sarcasm.

"Two, where?" Predaking asked eagerly.

"We came to ask your help in finding them." Bee answered.

"For revenge?"

"No, Optimus Prime would deem it a tragedy to stain Cybertron's fresh soil with any newly spilled energon. So help us prove what Megatron was never willing to, that more than one race can peacefully exist on our planet." Bee stated firmly and Predaking gave Elisa a curious glance and she nodded in agreement with a small smile.

"You assumed that because I turned against Megatron I can forgive the autobots, their role in the destruction of my brethren on earth!" Predaking snarled. "Leave me be and dare not trespass here again." He stated firmly. The others started to walk away, but Elisa cautiously stepped forward and leaped up to the ledge that Predaking was standing on.

"One was another dragon that was blue lined with silver and the other was an eagle that was blue and lined with orange. I saw them myself and I fought them myself." Elisa said calmly.

"You once told me I had a choice and this is my choice." Predaking said slightly gentle.

"Fair enough." Elisa said with a nod. "Good luck." She said quietly before she flew off with the others.

"I have returned partner. I trust you haven't strained yourself tinkering in your lab while I was tolling the field like a common drone!" Starscream snapped as he dropped the hefty fossil down. "I mean I seem to supply old bones faster than you can grow new clones."

"Starscream given our lack of infrastructure and frequent need to relocate in order to avoid detection it is not logical to expect greater productivity at this point in time." Shockwave answered calmly.

"At least your new clones lack the arrogance of your last effort. The one who named himself Predaking." Starscream said with disgust before he jumped at a clatter across the room as the two predacons, Sklynx and Darksteel entered and made an instant mess. "Be careful you clumsy brutes." Starscream shouted before he approached them. "Where have you been?" He demanded.

"Gutting autobots." Skylynx answered as Darksteel laughed.

"What?!" Starscream snapped his wings high in the air with irritation. "You were ordered to avoid all contact with the enemy!" Starscream shouted before he shocked Skylynx and repeated the action with Darksteel. "I don't here you laughing now Darksteel."

"We weren't followed." Skylynx added quickly.

"Fools, now that they know of your existence we have lost the element of surprise." Starscream argued back.

"The autobots are weak." Darksteel snickered.

"They fled like cowards. We have no need to fear theme." Skylynx added.

"Perhaps Skylynx, but we must not underestimate them either. Their treacherous scout was able to fell the Might Megatron, rest his spark." Starscream said sadly with wings drooping.

"As such it is paramount that we harvest the CNA necessary to clone more of you, many more of you." Shockwave spoke calmly.

"So that we may build an army of beasts great enough to eradicate the autobots and conquer Cybertron in Lord Megatron's memory and name." Starscream stated.

Elisa followed the team from above as they flew to a familiar sight. She was surprised to see the citadel that had once been on Earth here on Cybertron. The others explained to her the Dark Mount was a military base for Megatron during the war, hence the resemblance. They got to the top of the citadel as quickly as they could and none other than Smokescreen started to mess around making Elisa roll her eyes.

"Lord Smokescreen emperor of destruction." He said in a deep voice wiggling away in the much too large throne. Elisa eventually had to laugh.

"How can you sit there, that's some bad mojo?" Bulkhead protested. Elisa didn't hear what the others had to say as a wave of nausea fell over her so fast it made her dizzy. She hurried behind the throne in case she might purge, but she heard an engine rumbling instead. She slowly went back to the others just as the large ship transformed into a large and familiar mech.

"Minions of the Prime, prepare to be obliterated!"

Ch. 25: The War of Chaos PT. I

Elisa barely heard the others gasps and shouts of disbelief as Megatron's voice rang through the air.

Only the body did not belong to that voice.

The new body was massive with sharp horns and glistening sharp claws, with a mix of dark brown, silver and purple. Elisa could only stare as the being answered.

"Megatron cannot answer you at this moment though I can inform you with utmost authority that he owes his lease on life to me…Unicron!" The demon answered boldly. "And I will not be so easy to deliver into oblivion." He finished before his servos glowed purpled before massive cannons appeared on both of his arms. Elisa snarled and was thrown back by the explosions they emitted and the feeling of dark energon just erupted over her. She stumbled and watched at the others fired back. She watched in curiosity as…Megatron froze and stared at Bee for a moment as if a flicker of the memory of his execution flashed through his mind.

You possess nothing!

It is I who possess all that you were and every will be!

"Elisa!" Smokescreen shouted as he dove behind the throne and she quickly followed him. She could again barley hear the others over the explosions and cold feelings of dark energon over her body.

"Behold my infinite might!" Megatron shouted as the cannon on his servo disappeared before a spear morphed into his tight grip. The end tip rammed through the throne and it started to beep.

"Let's roll." Bee stated before the all turned around and transformed. They autobots drove right off the ledge as Elisa dove after them and fired at the tower below to get an opening for them. She heard an explosion off in the distance behind followed by a roar of the possessed Megatron. They drove as fast as they could, but Elisa spotted the ledge first.

"Stop!" She called out as the other screeched to a halt.

"A smelting pit!" Bulkhead said with surprised.

"Cybertron's been dormant for thousands of years but that thing's still burning." Arcee said shocked as well.

"Ratchet we need a ground bridge!" Bee said quickly into the com link before an explosion sounded around them. Elisa flew back to avoid the blast, but the others were not so lucky. Bulkhead caught Arcee and she caught Smokescreen as Megatron flew above them. Elisa watched for him as Bee helped Bulkhead up.

"Hold tight!" He shouted as he started to lift Arcee and Smokescreen. She shook her head and concentrated Megatron as he landed. She landed on all fours and bared her back flashing blue spikes in warning to stay away, but the demon ignored her as giant hooks appeared on his servos. He swiped at her, but she dodged it and fired her heat ray right at his shoulders and he barely flinched. He swung at her again and she fired right back at his chestplates this time making him grunt in aggravation. He slammed the hook down onto the ground and the metal cracked and started to give away.

"Bee, Bulkhead look out!" Elisa shouted, but it was too late as the ground gave way beneath them. "No!" She shouted as they fell into the smelting pit, but she breathed a sigh of relief as they all fell through a ground bridge. She cried out in pain as the hook scraped her back. She roared in fury to make the demon fall back, but he didn't flinch.

"Servant of Prime, you will now join your brethren." The demon snarled.

"Well if you insist." She smirked before she dived down to the groundbridge below.

Unicron snarled in aggravation at the autotbots got away.

"I am weak!" He snapped.

"But our merciless attack drove the autobots into submission. They fled for their very sparks." Megatron said proudly.

"A victory over unworthy opponents, especially one that did not result in their demise is far from an achievement." Unicron spat unamused. "Clearly our improved state is not enough to accomplish the deed for which I have come. For that I will require a much greater instrument of my destruction." He said firmly. Megatron kept to himself as thought about the fight and Elisa. He was very happy to see that she was alive and well as he regretfully left her in a dismal state. His optics shut tightly as he bitterly remembered the harsh blow he gave her before she ran away bleeding and in pain. Given the hurt he had brought upon he wondered if she even cared that he was still alive despite Unicron possessing his body.

"How is this happening?" Arcee asked in frustration. "I mean we put out a call inviting refugees back to Cybertron and Unicron's the first in line!"

"Not to mention those predacons. What have we come home to?" Bulkhead asked.

"What are we supposed to call him huh? Megacron? Unitron?" Smokescreen asked making Elisa shake her head.

"Really? That's your biggest issue right now!?" Arcee snapped.

"Right. Right." He said quickly. "So what's the game plan?" He asked as Bee walked over to the communication monitor.

"While Unicron might inhabit mortal form, he is still a god. Thus cannot be defeated by customary means." Ratchet stated. Elisa had barely spoken to her Carrier since he arrived here and quiet honestly she really didn't want to start now. She was hurt by his decision and afraid of his anger if he ever learned that she had cared for Megatron as a friend.

"Optimus? Wheeljack?" Bee called out. "This is Bumblebee we have an urgent situation."

The two mechs heard him on the ship and they quickly responded.

"Bumblebee this is Optimus Prime proceed." Optimus answered.

"Optimus can you hear me?" Bee asked as if he didn't hear Prime. "Come in please. Wheeljack do you read?"

"That hit we took did some damage. Receiver's operational, but we can't transmit." Wheeljack explained quickly.

"Nothing." Bee said in defeat.

"You have your voice back. Now is not the time to go radio silent." Arcee said gently. "Optimus in the event that you can hear us, Unicron has found his way back to Cybertron. Repeat the Chaos bringer is here on our soil in possession of Megatron's body."

"Wheeljack ensure that the lightspeed drive is still fully operational." Optimus said quickly.

Elisa.

Yes Sire are you alright?

Our transmitter is down, but we heard Arcee's message and we are on our way.

Fly safe Sire.

"Sire heard you." Elisa spoke quickly. "He told me their transmitter is down so they couldn't respond, but they heard the message and they're coming back." She added quickly.

"So what now?" Bulkhead asked, driving the attention away from her. Elisa quietly sulked away and hurried off the ship. She flinched as her back burned from the hit she took earlier, but she pressed on and started to fly searching for the possessed Megatron. Instead she saw fire rise in the sky and she knew it was Predaking. She hurried over and saw the demon talking to Predaking as she huddled on a rooftop to watch.

"In the name of the mighty legions of predacons who proceeded me I shall never again yield to your charge, but I will heed your previous advice and face my true enemy AS A BEAST!" Predaking roared before he transformed and fired right the demon making his shout in pain. Elisa flinched as angry voice shouted in her head.

For your insolence I will only make you endure greater suffering!

Predaking bit right into the demon as he tried to swat him off, only to get thrown by fire. The demon quickly got to his pedes and his large cannon returned and fired at Predaking. He stumbled back at a square blow to the chest before he resumed his charge. He tried a different tactic of leaping into the air, but was thrown back yet again into a building this time by another hit from the cannon. A spiked hammer appeared his free servo as Predaking rose and charged a third time, but was cut down quickly by a sharp blow. The dragon never got a chance to get another blow to his opponent and as…Unicron slammed the hammer down and knocked Predaking unconscious.

"Now let us learn more of these might legions of which you spoke, by peering directly into your mind." He placed a clawed servo on his forehead and the dragon's yellow optics opened briefly before Unicron left him in his unconscious state again. "Aaaah I know now what I require to tear this world asunder and where I might find them."

"Demon!" Elisa shouted as she landed right in front of him.

"You again." Unicron growled. "I remember you dragon. You didn't heed my warning on earth." The demon teased with an evil grin on his face. Elisa roared and stood on two legs this time and fired her heat ray right at him, but he dodged it quickly transforming and flying high into the air.

"Leave her be. So is of no use to you." Megatron stated calmly.

"Why do you suggest that?" Unicron said cautiously.

"She's only a youngling barely going into her second stage of maturity. She doesn't have the power which you seek." Megatron explained trying to stay calm.

"I will decide that for myself."

The jet quickly turned around and Unicron landed on his pedes. Elisa cautiously backed away and tensed when something formed in his servo. Her blue eyes went wide when it was in the shape of a blade and it reminded her of the deadly dark star saber. She froze in fear and Unicron took his chance and swung the blade at her. She grunted in pain as she was thrown backwards, but quickly got back on her feet and leaped into the air. She fired her heatray, but Unicron blocked it with his blade. She dove in low and swiped at his side with fire claws making him grunt at the sneak attack. She tried again, but he dodged her attack and grabbed her tail. She squeaked in surprise when she was slammed into the ground hard on her stomach. She coughed for air before she was quickly turned over and Unicron hovered above her. Her body shook in fear as she stared into those deadly purple optics.

"No please no!" She whimpered. Unicron chuckled darkly as a silver claw traced her neck line and down to her spark. "Megatron…make him stop…please." She sobbed closing her eyes tightly and looking away from him.

"No! Don't hurt her! Run Elisa! Run!" Megatron shouted, but he could only watch in horror as Unicron leaned into her neck and licked her skin. She let out a strangled whimper as he hummed in approval at her taste. "Please I'll do whatever you want. Don't hurt the little one please!" Megatron begged.

"Megatron cannot help you."

"RRRRREEAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Elisa let out a high-pitch roar of pain as Unicron's claws dug into her chest and started to pump dark energon into her body. She continued to scream as she tried to push Unicron's large body off of her, but he didn't even budge. She tried to hold back the shivers as a coldness started to burn within her. She felt as if death was eating her from the inside out.

"HHHHEEERRRRRRRRRRRAAYYYYY!"

Unicron blinked in surprise when Predaking roared in the air and swiped at him with his tail, knocking him off Elisa. She gasped in relief and shook in pain as the cold burning continued. Unicron stood up and frowned as he saw the predacon stand over Elisa's shaking form and growled protectively of her. He decided to not take a rick and flew off toward the Predacon graveyard. Predaking turned and looked at Elisa as she rolled onto her side and continued to moan and pain. He noticed tears were rolling down her face as well. He gently placed his metal claws on her chest wounds as a sign of comfort and she looked up at him, still in pain. To show he meant no harm he nuzzled the back of her neck and she understood as she lay back down and tried to calm her shaking body. Predaking laid down next to her and used his wing to cover her body as he watched her twitch while losing consciousness. He nuzzled her neck again and she finally closed her eyes.

Predaking craned his neck up high as he stood watch over the young Prime.

"I do find it curious that I am not the only currently seeking the remains of mighty legions."

Starscream couldn't believe his optics or his audios as he heard none other than his master's voice rang out into the air.

"It cannot be." He gasped amazed.

"It defies logic." Shockwave stated amazed as well.

"Lord Megatron, but, but how?" He asked looking at Shockwave. "You…aahhh…oooh what does it matter!" He stated overjoyed. "Our master is back and looking far more imposing than ever. My liege rest assured we have been working tirelesslyin your absence to build an army powerful enough to conquer Cybertron." Starscream explained calmly.

"I do not wish to conquer this world! I wish to eradicate it!" Megatron snarled.

"Uuuhhh….uuhhh…apologies Lord Megatron I can't say that I'm following?" Starscream said very confused.

"Silence fool!" Megatron shouted before he backhanded Starscream sending him flying back and hitting the ground hard. The real Megatron flinched at the blow; even he hadn't been that harsh to the treacherous seeker.

"Your master is under my control! I am the destroyer of worlds, the bringer of chaos, and the lord of the undead."

"Unicron." Shockwave stated.

"I say we show the lord of the undead what it's like to be unloving." Skylynx said.

"Rip him to shreds." Darksteel said eagerly before they ran and transformed. Darksteel got to him first and got three good bites in before he was shoved aside. Skylynx roared behind him and engulfed Unicron in fire. The two predacons circled around the flames, glaring for any signs of life…which glowed in purple smoke. Darksteel squawked in before Unicron fired right at his head and he fell back only to get hit again and get thrown back even father. As the flames dies down Unicron fired at Skylynx as he dodged the blows, but eventually the continuous fire caught up to him and he was hit into being barely coconscious. Starscream flinched and covered himself as Unicron stalked forward, but this time he was ignored. Purple lightning erupted from his fingertips before he sunk them into the ground and a pulse of dark energon rushed over the ground.

"My legions, arise and purge this world with your dragon fire!" Unicron ordered. The two predacons and the two mechs look on as ground before them just rumbled and shook before it was broken to bits as bones emerged. The first un-dead predacon reared it's skull and let out a deep roar as it started to walk once more, before many, many others began to join it.

"Terrorcons created from Predacons!" Starscream gasped.

"It defies all science." Shockwave said again amazed.

"We're doomed!" Starscream shrieked before he transformed and abandoned Shockwave in flight. He looked on in awe as the terrorcons stalked forward and they were nearly at his pedes before logic took a hold of him and he transformed and started to fire, but he was quickly swarmed by the terrorcons and he fired several quick shots in order to retreat.

Elisa woke with a gasp and groaned at the renewed soreness in her body. She looked up and nearly jumped back when she saw none other than Predaking staring at her, but he quickly transformed back into his bi-pedal mode.

"Don't be afraid. I am not here to harm you." He said firmly. She looked at him puzzled for a moment before she remembered the demon hovering over her as he tried to control her with dark energon.

"You saved me didn't you?" She asked curiously and he only nodded yes. "Thank you." She said gently. "That wasn't Megatron you fought. It was a…demon called Unicron and he has taken control of Megatron's body." She said quickly.

"How can you be certain?" Predaking asked curiously.

"I saw him before over in Kaon not a few minutes earlier and he said it himself." She answered.

"So… what does this…Unicron want?" Predaking said slightly confused.

"He wants to destroy Cybertron, by destroying the Well of Allsparks. My Sire told me that our creator Primus is the living core of our planet and if Primus is destroyed…"

"No more Cybertron!." Predaking gasped before he blinked at a sudden thought. "The burial ground quickly!" He shouted before he flew off with Elisa following him.

"Given that we are dealing with Unicron himself, the energy mass can be only one thing, dark energon, but for what purpose?" Ratchet said with worry.

"We all saw it. The valley was filled with ancient predacon bones." Bee answered.

"Unicron's raising an undead army." Arcee added.

"One currently traveling across the Hydrax Plateau towards the Well of Allsparks!" Ratchet gasped. "The most direct route to Cybertron's core and Primus."

"The past shall consume the future! The dead shall consume the living and CHAOS SHALL REIGN SUPREME!"

Ch. 26: The War of Chaos PT. II

Predaking roared his arrival as the other two predacons looked on. Elisa landed quietly behind the three while Predaking continued on.

"Skylynx look one of us!" Darksteel said with excitement.

"Indeed Darksteel most likely our predecessor." Skylynx answered. Predaking landed in front of them and transformed to look at the empty graveyard in horror.

"The burial ground…desecrated." He gasped. "Strip mined of all that remained of our ancestors."

"You should have been here to see them rise and shine." Darksteel chuckled.

"They live?" Predaking said confused.

"If you call being undead living." Skylynx explained.

"Dark magic, perpetrated by the demon who lives in Megatron's skin." He said looking up at Elisa. The other two spared a curious glance at her before Skylynx had to comment.

"Just be glad you're alive so the demon can't pull your strings." He spat.

"Do you not comprehend the scope of this tragedy? We three are proof that our mighty race might once again have flourish. There remains must be reclaimed if for no other reason then to be properly laid back to rest." Predaking said before he stalked forward.

"And who made you boss?" Darksteel snapped.

"I am not your boss. I am your king!" Predaking snarled.

"No, don't fight!" Elisa called out but it was too late as the predacons charged at each other. Predaking was able to beat down Darksteel as Elisa got in front of Skylynx. "You don't need to fight." She pleaded, but it went ignored at he transformed and flew above her. "Predaking look out!" She called out, but he didn't move away in time as he was dragged and pinned to a ledge by Skylynx's dragon claws. Darksteel charged in beast mode, but Predaking flung the dragon right into him before he transformed himself and slammed into the smaller Predacons. He flung Darksteel away with his teeth before he knocked Skylynx off his back and they tried to charge him again. Predaking was ready and pinned them down easily with both claws and roared with a fiery glow.

"All hail Predaking." Skylynx stated.

"An impressive display from my creations, but would it not be more logical to employ your might elsewhere at this time?" Shockwave said curiously.

"Predaking let's go!" Elisa shouted as she started to fly off. The three predacons instantly followed her lead.

"Resistance from my own warship." Megatron said amused.

"Demon hoards take flight and eviscerate them!" Unicron ordered.

The Nemesis started firing away with every gun in it's arsenal at the flying terrorcons. Many of them were instantly turned to dust with every hit, but it certainly wasn't enough compared to the infinite number on the ground. The autobots watched from inside the uncovered glass and Knockout started to get nervous.

"Maybe Starscream had the right idea." Knockout said nervously as the seeker was currently locked up in the brig. Knockout's point was nearly proven right when a terrorcon slammed into the glass and roared right at him. "Zombiecon! Zombiecon!" Knockout shouted in fright as he ran away instantly while the autobots pointed their guns at it in case it did break through the glass. It didn't as it was instantly turned to dust by blast of flames.

"Is it Optimus?" Arcee said quickly, but knew instantly that she was wrong when blue flame burst through the air.

"It's Elisa with the predacons." Bulkhead said. They continued to fire at any moving target they saw. Being the leader Elisa let her heatray continuously flow until she had to take a breath and then she repeated the process again, trying to get as many terrorcons as she could so the Nemesis could get less damage.

"More flying pests." Unicron said angrily.

"Whom to route for? The lines have certainly blurred." Megatron said highly amused and proud as Elisa lead into the fight head on without fear.

"Predacon allies, you called it Bee." Smokescreen said with a thumbs up. "To think Optimus almost passed down the Matrix to me." He added quickly.

"Whoa, what?" Bee said shocked.

"Yeah I said it, but right place, right time, doesn't mean right bot. I know that now." Smokescreen said with a smile. Elisa continued to fire when she noticed another group of terrorcons approaching the back of the ship.

"No!" She shouted in protest as they started to fire on the ship. She tried to get there as fast as she could, but she was too far away as finally the ship took a hard hit and a part of the side exploded. She gasped and nearly froze when it started to dive down to the ground.

"Brace for impact." Bulkhead shouted as everyone grabbed for something. The ship landed hard and skidded onto it's side and stopped just before the Well. Elisa hurried over to the team as they stood in front of the broken ship and the predacons landed behind. She shivered when she heard Megatron's voice ring out.

"My legion the time is upon us. Destroy Primus with your dragon fire." Unicron ordered. Finally all the undead predacons flew into the air and everyone became tense.

"We're the last line of defense." Bee announced.

"I would recommend leaving that to those more suited to the task." Predaking said. He looked over at Elisa who only nodded. "Skylyn, Darksteel, allow nothing to enter the well." He said before they transformed and the predacons and Elisa jumped over the autobots and ran towards the incoming terrorcons. This time they all tried firing at them in short bursts, but the terrorcons formed a massive and thick purple and black cloud and it was just too much.

"All together now!" Elisa shouted. They all fired instantly and continued to fire destroying every terrorcon that tried to escape as they separated into four columns trying to escape. Predaking saw it first as the swarm was nearly upon them so he swiped his tail out and knocked Elisa off her feet. She cried out in surprise as she tripped and fell. She screamed as the swarm came and she ducked under her arms. The terrorcons didn't touch her as they slammed into the predacons and dragged them into the Well before the entire swarm disappeared inside of it. Elisa shook her head and looked to see the others looking over the Well and she hurried over to them.

"Really this is how it end?" Bulkhead said just unable to say anything else.

"We're not losing our planet, not without taking Unicron with it." Bee stated unafraid.

"What?" Unicron said amazed as he looked away into the stars. "A familiar resonance, pure energy, not unlike Primus. One I have not encountered since ancient days." He said curiously, but Megatron knew what it was instantly. "The Allspark!" He said as he looked up and saw a much smaller ship fly overhead.

"Optimus." Bulkhead said making Elisa smile.

"I'd never thought I'd be so happy to see that big rig." Knockout said eagerly. Elisa would have laughed in a better situation.

"We must keep the Allspark from Unicron's reach." Optimus said on the Magnus' ship.

"I thought the container was indestructible." Wheeljack said confused.

"Indeed, but if this vessel once trapped the Allspark I fear that it can also be emptied of it." Optimus said before he stood on the landing platform and started to fly towards Unicron.

"So the Prime returns." He said gleefully as a spear appeared in his servo. Just as Optimus reached him, Unicron threw the spear and an engine exploded on the ship, which spun out of control and landed hard.

"Jacky!" Bulkhead cried out before he transformed and drove towards the ship with Arcee following him. Elisa jumped when sparks flew as her Sire kept punching and kicking at Megatron's possessed body.

"Thank you Prime for delivering the Allspark, so that I may erase it from existence." Unicron spat.

"Not while I stand before you Unicron." Optimus said strongly before they charged at each other. Optimus grunted as he was hit hard from an uppercut punch to his helm, but he managed to hit Unicron from below and send him stumbling back as well. "Megatron you and I once united to save a world from Unicron. We must do so again." Optimus called out as he continued to fight.

"Megatron may hear you, but he cannot help you for he is enduring eternal suffering." Unicron shouted back.

"No! Megatron! Leave him alone!" Elisa shouted before she pounced on Unicron's back and dug her fire claws into his thick shoulder's armor. She snarled as he tried to shake her off. She bit into his shoulder and started to burn the protofrom making Unicron grunt in frustration.

"Elisa, get away!" Optimus called out in fear, but she ignored him as she continued to burn him. He growled before he dug his claws into the back of her neck and the harder she bit back the harder he dug his claws into her. Finally the pain got too much for her and she released him before he flung her easily aside and knocked Optimus to the ground with his spiked hammer.

"Your efforts to protect Cybertron's most sacred relic are futile. My legion is within reach of Primus, your planets very core and we both know that the Allsaprk cannot thrive in a poisoned Well." Unicron said before he raised the hammer high, but was stopped short when Bee grabbed a hold of it with the polarity gauntlet.

"Downside of wearing metal near a polarity gauntlet…" Knockout said.

"You're subject to the laws of magnetism." Smokescreen finished.

"Optimus go save the Allspark!" Bee shouted. He did as he was told and flew in the direction of Ultra Magnus' mangled ship. Bulkhead and Arcee were caring Wheeljack out of the wreckage when Optimus landed in front of them.

"I've been worse." Wheeljack mumbled. "So how are we going to get that thing to safety?" He asked curiously.

"By the only mean available to us, under these most dire of circumstances the very survival of our species on this or any world depends upon it." Optimus stated firmly.

Unicron continued to struggle against the magnetic pull until finally he finally slammed it to the ground flipping Bee right over him. Smokescreen fired right at his back before he turned around and he was hit back with Unicron's firepower and Knockout ducked out of the way. Elisa fired her heatray right at him and he snarled in frustration yet again at her efforts.

"Let Megatron go!" She shouted as she kept dodging his fire. He smirked inwardly when she got too close and he hit her hard with the hammer before he transformed and flew right after Optimus. Elisa reacted quickly and flew right after him. "Sire look out!" She cried out, but he was shot out of the sky with one shot from Unicron. Optimus groaned in pain as he held the vessel in his servos. Unicron yanked the vessel right out of his servos, but Elisa tried to snatch it right back. Instead Unicron caught her by the back of her neck and slammed her into the ground. She screamed in pain as Optimus ran over to her and held her in his arms.

"Elisa." Sire said with fear in his voice. She groaned as she looked up at him before Unicron spoke again.

"I shall devour your Allspark whole." He announced before he opened the container to find it empty. "What…a glitch!" He shouted as his whole body shook and the deep voice of Unicron let out a scream as his life force was pulled out of Megatron's body and into the container and sealed instantly. Nobody saw how close the undead got to Primus before they froze and instantly turned to dust as the Predacons looked at each other with confused glances for a brief moment. Elisa gasped when brown body armor disappeared and the silver armour and arm cannon returned to Megatron's true body before he collapsed on the ground. She smiled as she saw his purple aurora once more before she hurried over to him, trying to wake Megatron up.

"As a being comprised of pure energy Unicron's antispark was vulnerable to this reliquary of the Primes." Optimus said happy that the threat was now over.

"But if he's in there, where's…" Smokescreen said confused.

"Praise the Allspark!" Starscream shouted with joy as he nearly knocked Elisa down getting to Megatron. "Master you're alive." He said happily.

"Indeed." Megatron said shaking his helm.

"It's a shame your new battle armor disappeared but we will reunite all decepticons and once again grind Cybertron under your mighty heel." Starscream said all too happily.

"NO!" Megatron shouted.

"What why?" Starscreams said confused. He took a few sturdy steps forward before finally looking at Optimus, who all but glared at him in a neutral expression. His gaze quickly left Prime's and he saw the most beautiful blue eyes he would ever see in his life. Elisa hurried over to him and smiled up at him with as much tenderness as her gentle nature would allow. He smiled back at her and gently traced her cheek and she clutched at his servo as if to make sure that it was really him.

"Because I now know the true meaning of oppression and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it." Megatron stated quietly.

"You've clearly been traumatized master. A good power down and a stroll around the smelting pit will bring you back in touch with your inner warlord." Starscream said gently, but Megatron's shaking fist said otherwise.

"Enough! The decepticons are no more and that is final." Megatron spat as if the word of his faction disgusted him to no end. He started to walk away, but a tug on his arm stopped him.

"Don't leave please." Elisa whimpered out. Megatron flinched as he traced the back of her neck and felt blood and he saw the faintest outline of a bruise on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry little one, but…I cannot stay right now." He said gently before he kissed her forehead. "Rest assured I will find you." He smiled before he transformed and flew off.

"Yes well we all have plenty to think about, don't we?" Starscream said awkwardly before he too transformed and flew off towards Kaon.

He landed ever so gracefully on the top of Darkmount with the biggest grin he could muster.

"This is not quiet how I envisioned my rise to the throne, but since Lord Megatron all but surrendered it to me I will gladly revive the decepticons in my name." Starscream said deviously until he heard the flapping of wings and slowly turned around in fear. He gasped when the three mighty beasts landed with a roar of their arrival. "Though perhaps a throne is more befitting of an actual king." Starscream said quickly trying to cover himself.

"I am not here to cease thrones Starscream, but I need you to deliver a message." Magma grinned before Starscream let out a frightful shriek.

Ch. 27: One With The Allspark

Elisa had never been so happy to see the sun rise. She was even more surprised when Carrier ran right up to her and gave her a tight hug.

"I missed you Elisa." Carrier whispered before he kissed her cheek.

"I missed you too Carrier." She said quietly. Tears started to flow down her face as she buried her head into his chestplates.

"I wasn't mad at you about anything. I promise." Carrier explained looking right at her. She looked at him puzzled for a moment before she looked over at Sire who only winked at her. She looked at him curiously as his golden aurora was extremely bright and she could see a faint blue glow inside his chestplates.

"In order to protect the Allspark and secure Unicron's defeat, it was necessary for me to empty the vessel's contents." Optimus spoke up to everyone.

"Into where?" Bee asked first.

"The Matrix of Leadership." He answered and Elisa knew what the blue glow was. "As such my spark can no longer be separated from the multitude of others within me."

"Are you telling us that you are now…one with the Allspark." Ratchet gasped. Elisa's eyes blinked in surprise and her body was starting to shake as she realized what her Sire was saying.

"That's what you when someone kicks the…"Smokescreen started before he realized what was happening as well.

"To not return the Allspark to the Well would be to prevent future generations of new life from existing on Cybertron. My quest must be completed." Optimus stated.

"Sire!" Elisa cried out.

"Optimus I didn't return to save a life only to lose the one I care most about." Ratchet pleaded.

"Ratchet's restored planets. He'll find a way to save you." Bulkhead said.

"We can turn to Vector Sigma just like we did before." Arcee said quickly.

"Because the Matrix must now be relinquished with the Allspark, it cannot be restored or passed down to another, but while this may very well mark the end of the age of Primes, leadership can be earned with or without the Matrix and in my view you have each acted as a Prime." Optimus said strongly before looking over at Elisa.

"Well I never really had the best role models." Knockout said shyly.

"As even Megatron has demonstrated on this day, every sentient being has the possibility for change." He turned around and the wings to his jet pack opened. "I ask only this of you fellow autobots keep fighting the noblest of fights."

"You can count on us to keep the peace." Bee said stepping forward.

"Sire no please!" Elisa cried out before she grabbed hold of him and started to cry as Ratchet walked up to him as well.

"Shhhh Elisa everything will be alright. Remember what I always told you." Sire said gently as he lifted her face up to her. "I will always be right here." He said pointing to her spark.

"I love you Sire." Elisa sobbed.

"I love you too Elisa, never forget that." Optimus said before he gave her a gentle kiss. He looked over at Ratchet, who just jumped up and kissed him deeply. The others had to smile as they had always suspected, but never really knew.

I love you Optimus

I love you Ratchet

They finally parted and Ratchet with tears in his own optics he pulled Elisa slowly away as she continued to cry and finally Optimus flew high into the air before diving down into the Well. Elisa fell to the ground and burst into tears and Ratchet pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back. Not a few seconds she gasped when a rainbow of colors burst from the Well. It was as if all her sadness was washed away as all this warm and comforting energy came over her. She looked up at Carrier and he smiled at her before he kissed her forehead with joy. Her eyes caught a red spark floating towards them. She kept her eyes on it as it moved left the right before it flew right at her and a reassuring feeling came over her body. She smiled to herself as she knew that it was her Sire, telling her everything would be ok.

Above all do not lament my absence, for in my spark I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning, simply put another transformation.

Ch. 28: New Age Hard Truths

Megatron stared in awe as the Well started to flourish once more. It was a pleasing feeling to see that Cybertron would thrive once more. After a few moments he turned around and headed towards the former burial ground of the ancient predacons. Of course Predaking was none too pleased to see the familiar silver mech.

"I'm looking for Shockwave." He stated firmly with no desire to fight anytime soon.

"He left some time ago, towards Kaon." Predaking answered. Megatron only nodded before he flew off towards the city. He had several guesses where Shockwave might be and it took him three times to finally find the right lab.

"Shockwave." Megatron said calmly and the scientist pointed his cannon at him.

"Lord Megatron, is it really you?" Shockwave asked.

"I can assure you it is." Megatron chuckled. "Unicron has been sealed away, never to bother us again." He added. Shockwave lowered his cannon and went up to his master.

"My apologies Lord Megatron, but I had to defend myself in the most logical manner." Shockwave explained. Megatron only chuckled.

"Yes quite logical. It seems the predacons are taking a like to their new home." Megatron added. He searched around and finally found a drive and took it into his servo. "I want you to go to the main laboratory. I shall join you shortly." Megatron stated.

"Where are you going my liege?" Shockwave asked.

"To Darkmount I need to collect all the data from the main frame and erase it." Megatron stated.

"That's illogical." Shockwave said.

"I have made my decision Shockwave. The decepticons are no more. Once I get the data I will have to find Starscream as the fool still as war on his mind when there is no point." Megatron stated firmly.

"How you be sure?"

"The Allspark has been returned and Cybertron has been restored. It was only when I learned my lesson through Unircon's wrath that Elisa was right." Megatron explained.

"Right about what?"

"A truce has to be made in order to survive…a permanent truce." Megatron finished before he flew off to Darkmount. He landed at the top of the citadel and instantly activated his own fusion cannon when he saw claw marks everywhere. It felt good to be able to use his own weapon again. He never felt so happy to have control over his own body again. However, now was not the time to think of such things as he saw that there had been the sure signs of a struggle. There were claw marks everywhere and spilled energon. It wasn't fresh as it had started to dry into the metal and he also noticed a stain of red. Confused for a moment he touched with the tip of his fingers and looked down on it. His optics went wide when he realized it was blood, but that was impossible only Elisa bleed and she had been at the Well when this had occurred.

Unless…

"Frag it!" Megatron snarled before he turned around. A quick glance showed that the large monitor above the throne had been shattered, but all of his war data was not his top priority anymore. He paused before he took flight again as he still had to figure out who's energon was spilt. He growled when an obvious answer came to mind.

"Starscream."

Despite the spectacular energy the Well gave off, Elisa was still emotionally drained by yet another loss. Her Sire was no longer here. She missed him so much, much more than when Megatron had been killed. Megatron may have been a friend to her, but Optimus was family. She cried very often silently when she thought that she would never hear his deep voice again or the warmth of his embrace, or a rare smile that he gave only to her, or his bright blue optics that showed her nothing but love and encouragement. Carrier was working with the others as they tried to keep themselves occupied. It was as if they were ignoring her yet again. She hadn't spoken to Smokescreen in ages, but only when she was helping with reconstruction. Carrier was also working on repairing Magnus' servo as he had the proper resources this time around. She didn't speak to any of the others as their energy was mixed with feelings around her. She knew it had something to do with what happened before Megatron left, but she didn't say it out loud. She was all alone again. There were no other dragons on Cybertron and she couldn't fit in with the Predacons as they were a species all their own.

She wondered where Magma was as she hadn't seen him or his tribe in ages.

The Nemesis was slowly starting to be abandoned as more buildings were starting to be finished and everyone was starting to get their own homes. Elisa stayed on the Nemesis as she felt safe. That night in another act of defiance, in her own personal way, she activated a groundbridge and placed her glowing claws through it. When she felt a tug on her hand she pulled with all her might and none other than Soundwave fell on top of her. Of course he didn't say anything as he started to reach for her neck with his tentacles.

"Wait a second here!" She snapped and pushed him off of her. "Listen to me, I didn't bring you here just to kill you alright. There's really nobody here, except for me." She explained. He pointed to the closing bridge before it disappeared. "I felt your energy as it was almost a faint whisper at times and I even caught a glimpse of it once or twice. So I figured I would give it a try." She said and she was grateful that he eased it up a little bit. "Megatron is back, I don't know where he went and last time I looked Shockwave was still alive as well. Unircon is gone, but in doing so Sire put the Allspark in the Matrix of Leadership and now he's…gone." She said quietly. She nearly jumped when Laserbeak left Soundwave's chestplates and hovered near her. She held out her hands and he landed on her open palms and nuzzled her chest. "Thank you." She said quietly before she left him fly back to Soundwave. He turned and looked out into the open glass and saw Cybertron being rebuilt.

Beautiful isn't?

She blinked in surprise as she realized the calm voice was Soundwave speaking to her in her mind…telepathically.

I guess so.

He turned to her at her answer and she just shrugged her shoulders in reply. "I don't know where Megatron is but he said he would come find me again. There's still energon in the storage vault if you need some." She added quickly.

Thank you.

He walked out of the bridge without making another sound and Elisa settled down and took a deep breath before she tried to sleep.

Vos.

Megatron traveled to Vos as this was home of the seekers. It was a city that was one of the first to be destroyed at the start of the war. It was the reason Starscream joined his army. Unfortunately, at the moment it was a big city and Megatron didn't have the time to search through it all to find Starscream. He landed on a random rooftop and looked over the ruined city. There was no construction going on as of yet as there wasn't nearly enough people to spread throughout Cybertron. Megatron took a deep breath and looked through the ruins finding nothing, of course. He didn't know where to start looking for the seeker as all of the city had sentimental value to Starscream in some way, but he had to start somewhere.

He growled to himself as he transformed and started to search the high towers first. It took him most of the day to search through most of the towers. By the time he got to another one he landed hard and let out a sigh of exhaustion. He decided to head inside and he sat down hard with a grunt. He stared at the city through the long broken windows and many thoughts swirled through his head. He finally settled on Elisa and he flinched inside when her screams of pain rang out. He was amazed that after all that he had done to her she still fought to save him. His optics went wide for a moment as he wondered how the autobots would react.

"E?" Smokescreen called out as he searched the remains of the Nemesis. Elisa heard him, but paid him no mind and didn't move. "Elisa where are you?" He called out. She didn't move from her place on the bridge as the doors finally opened and he saw her. "Elisa why are you still here?" He asked confused.

"I know where I'm not welcome." She answered bitterly.

"Elisa, don't do that. We've been working on Iacon and we could really use your company." Smokescreen said cheerfully. She looked at him and he noticed she wasn't happy at all. "Come on come see home." He insisted.

"This isn't my home." She snapped angrily making him flinch. "I wasn't born on Cybertron. I was born on Earth and it's the only home I know." She nearly shouted.

"I can show you around. I can help." He pleaded.

"Why hasn't Ratchet tried to look for me?" She demanded. Smokescreen had to pause she called Ratchet by his name rather than Carrier. Then he shut his mouth as he realized Ratchet hadn't asked where she was for a while yet. "He's worried about you." He lied.

"Liar." She snapped back quickly.

"Honest E, just come back with me please." He begged. Elisa frowned as she thought for a moment.

"Fine." She muttered before she followed back to Iacon. Everyone was happy that she was back and it Elisa a little better knowing some of her impressions were wrong. However, she dreaded when she would see Carrier. Her fears were soon answered when he approached her that night.

"Where have you been?" He asked not so kindly. She turned away and looked towards the horizon.

"At the Nemesis." She answered quietly.

"There's nothing there now. You shouldn't have been there." He snapped irritated.

"I'm sorry Carrier."

"What were you doing with Megatron?" He demanded quickly.

"Nothing."

"Don't give me that. Optimus told me you were mourning for him." Ratchet stated.

"So why do you care?"

"He's nothing but a monster despite his change of mind on the decepticons."

"What do you know?"

"He ripped out Bumblebee's voice box. He nearly killed Bee as well. He also nearly killed your Sire many times. He's the very reason Cybertron was destroyed in the first place." Ratchet shouted.

"I don't care!" Elisa shouted back. "Cybertron isn't my home anyway." She snapped. Ratchet blinked in surprise and was silent for a moment.

"Yes it is. Cybertron has always been your home." Ratchet said more calmly.

"No it hasn't. It's your home and just like I told Smokescreen Earth was my home. I don't know this world and right now I don't want to know it." She said firmly.

"Optimus wanted this for you." Ratchet said quietly.

"He wanted this for everyone, not just me! He wanted it for you, Arcee, Bee, everyone, not just me!" She cried out.

"You made the same mistake Optimus did." Ratchet said gravely.

"What is that?"

"You loved Megatron."

"I love him like a friend not as a lover like Orion did." She snapped irritated.

"How do you know about that?" Ratchet demanded.

"I have Sire's spark memories." She answered slightly more calmly.

"Elisa…we can work through this. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes we did." He said more calmly as well.

"I will never be Orion!" Elisa screamed as tears started to come and Ratchet froze. "He's not coming back and I'm sorry. I miss Sire so much, but don't blame me for it!" She sobbed. "I don't have anyone here. I'm all alone. There aren't any dragons." She cried.

"Then leave!" Ratchet shouted at her. Elisa's eyes went wide for a moment before she took a deep breath and dove off the rooftop. She didn't care what direction she went, but it wasn't long before she entered Kaon again. She landed hard in the remains of a former battle area and cried long and hard before she finally fell asleep.

She woke up bitterly to the bright sun on her eyes. She took a deep breath before she got on her feet and stretched her back. She blinked in surprise as she finally realized that she was in an open arena.

"I wonder if Megatron fought here?" She asked herself.

"He did once." A deep voice called out. Elisa jumped and gasped at what she saw. Magma stood on the other side of the arena and had a wicked smile on his face.

"How did you get here?" She gasped starting to back away.

"Some decepticon left a ship and a spacebridge unattended." He answered quickly. "And what are you doing out here…all alone?" He said wicked and started to stalk forward.

"Get away!" Elisa screamed in fright before she fired her heat ray at him and scrambled into the sky. She was nearly knocked out when a black blur swiped at her back and she cried out in pain. She looked quickly to see Shadow and SkyBlade not far behind. Elisa looked at her surroundings and soon chose which way to go. The two dove after her with Magma not far behind. She flapped her wings as fast as they would carry her.

"Split!" Magma ordered the pair. They gave him a quick nod before they glided off in different directions and Magma fired his heatray at her. She dodged it and let out roar of alarm, but no one would be coming for her and he knew it. He gave her some distance, but she was still flying hard as she didn't see Shadow or Skyblade. He had to frown when Shadow fired his own heatray too early. She dodged it and flew off course and he went right after her. However, Shadow paused in confusion when she turned around and dived right at him. She head-butted him right in the stomach and he nearly fell on a broken rooftop gasping for air. She cried out when SkyBlade fired at her back. She roared in anger and tried to swipe at him with fire claws, but her back was to Magma and Shadow. They fired right at her before Skyblade joined in and she let out a high-pitch roar of pain before she fell through a building smoldering from burns.

She tumbled long and hard before she finally stopped. Elisa let out a deep moan of pain as she started to get up. She growled to herself when the energy shifted and she knew they were coming. She huffed and blood came through her teeth before she turned around and burst through the building and started to fly again. She heard Magma roar in frustration as they chased after her. She didn't bother looking back as an empty plain was her final destination. She didn't see that they were gaining on her before SkyBlade slammed his fire claws into her back. Elisa screamed in pain as she was knocked out of the sky and took a hard tumble on the hard ground. She tried to get up, but her legs collapsed from under her and she let out a painful moan. Magma landed in front of her and laughed as he approached her.

"Go away." She moaned and he laughed at her again. He was so close to her that she could feel his cold energy and it made her shiver. He didn't touch her as he knocked away hard by fire. She could barely turn her neck as she saw the Predacons had come and Predaking jumped in front of her. He let out an angry roar and fired at the dragons again making them jump out of the way. Magma snarled before he charged at Predaking. Both got on their hind legs and started swiping at each other with their claws. They both got blows in, but Predaking hit Magma so hard he went flying onto his back hard. Magma tried to charge again, but Darksteel and Skylynx stood by his side growling with their mouths glowing. Magma left without another word and the predacons didn't transform until the dragons were out of sight.

"Elisa!" Predaking called as he hurried over to her. She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you." She rasped.

"We heard you off in the distance. We need to get you to the autobots." He stated firmly.

"No!" Elisa protested. Darksteel and Skylynx looked at each other very confused for a moment.

"But you need medical attention." Predaking protested.

"I'll be fine." She muttered before she slowly got to her feet.

"Why?" Predaking asked quietly. She turned away from him to hide a tear that came down her face.

"I left the autobots." She whispered. She heard him transform and nearly jumped when he nuzzled her neck with affection. She moaned in pain when he pushed her onto his back and started to fly. The other two followed and she was surprised to see the empty plain was starting to show signs of life as they landed near an energon river. Predaking gently placed her on the ground and all she did was stare at the energy flow as it gave her warmth.

"Elisa please drink." Predaking insisted.

"I'll be fine." She said quietly before she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

"Will she be staying with us now?" Skylynx asked cautiously.

"It is her decision." Predaking answered.

"Awww, but she would make a good playmate." Darksteel winked deviously. Predaking growled at Darksteel who took a few steps back.

"Elisa is no playmate. She will be respected." He snapped making Darksteel back off. "Go patrol the border lines and signal if you find any intruders." He ordered them both.

He didn't really want to, but Megatron started searching the palace tower in Vos. Starscream had been royalty in the days before the war. When Vos fell he was the seeker Prince that they looked to and he joined the decepticon cause. Megatron didn't want to go there because the royal seekers of Vos had not been kind to him during his meetings there. True they were polite to a gladiator twice their size, but he hated the sneers and whispers behind his back as he was considered a "grounder" to them as he was not naturally born with wings. Even Starscream was arrogant to him at times, but for some reason he seemed to hit it off with the seeker from the start. He entered the palace from the ground and started to search it's empty halls. He always hated royalty anyway as they never cared for people in class like his own. Which was why most of the time he meet any senators with either Orion or Soundwave present as they helped control his temper when he just wanted to pummel them.

"Starscream!" Megatron called out in the empty halls, but of course there was no answer. He let out a sigh of reluctance as he started to march towards the seeker's old room just as hunch. "Starscream." He called out quietly this time as he slowly opened the door. His optics went wide when he did see none other than his former second in command lying on the berth with his back away from him. He approached slowly as Starscream was covered in scratches that were either still leaking energon or dried up and healing on their own. He heard raspy breathing from the seeker so Megatron knew he was still alive. He thought that the Predacons might have something to do with his beating, but he…were those burns?! "Starscream!" Megatron snapped into the air as he hurried over to the other side of the berth. Starscream's optics snapped opened and he screamed and started to jump back from Megatron. "It's Meagtron." He said quickly trying to calm his fears.

"Wha-what do you want?" Starscream asked weakly.

"What happened to you?" Megatron demanded.

"What do you care? I'm on my own now remember?" Starscream said bitterly.

"For once just stop being a fool and tell me what happened." Megatron growled deeply.

"It was…Magma." Starscream said fearfully.

"WHAT!?" Megatron cried out in shock making Starscream flinch. "How is that possible?" He snapped into the air. Starscream bit his lip nervously as he tried to answer the question.

"The…Harbinger perhaps?" He squeaked out. Megatron frowned, but it was the most sensible reason as they had left Earth and their crash sites abandoned.

"Can you fly?" Megatron asked quickly.

"Yes, but I might be a tad slow." Starscream answered truthfully. "Why? Where are we going?"

"The autobots. We have to band together we are to survive Magma's attack."

"What makes you think he will?" Starscream said curiously.

"Magma has always hated us…humans, as he calls us. He will enslave us all if any of his followers come back to Cybertron." Megatron answered.

"You do realize that Elisa is the only one that can defeat him." Starscream added as they started to walk towards the main hall.

"I am well aware of that as only a dragon's fire can put out another dragon's fire." Megatron said solemnly.

"You might not like this, but I don't think she's strong enough to do it." Starscream said looking right at him.

"No, you're right. She isn't strong enough. Elisa is no killer." Megatron said too quietly.

"But we've got to tell them." Starscream said quickly before he started to walk out the main entrance. Megatron followed him and they flew over to Iacon.

"I would suggest getting those injuries looked at. Perhaps Knockout could help." Megatron suggested as they approached the city.

"Perhaps." Starscream said nervously, knowing the last time he saw Knockout the doctor had knocked him out cold with the Immobilizer. They soon landed and of course Arcee and Bulkhead had their weapons pointed.

"We have not come to fight autobots." Megatron stated.

"Why should we believe you?" Bulkhead snapped.

"Because we came here to warn you about Magma!" Starscream snapped right back showing his wounds.

"Woah…Magma?" Arcee said nervously as her weapons were gone.

"Where is Elisa?" Megatron asked looking to the sky.

"She left Iacon and headed towards Kaon." Ratchet answered as he approached them from behind.

"Why?" Megatron asked very confused.

"We had an argument and she left." Ratchet answered plainly. Megatron frowned as he suspected something else was at play.

"You made her leave didn't you medic?" Megatron spat leaning in close to Ratchet.

"What, Elisa's gone?" Smokescreen cried out as he transformed and approached them. "When were you going to tell us?" He demanded.

"Hold it!" Starscream screeched. "Unfortunately, we can't argue with this right now. Magma is back on Cybertron. I saw him and his twin sons myself after I left the Well. I went to Darkmount with foolish plans and they landed and soon attacked me. Magma wanted me to give you the message of his arrival." Starscream explained quickly.

"So what does that mean?" Bee asked with concern.

"It means we have to fight Magma if we want to avoid enslavement." Ratchet answered.

"Hold on, a dragon can only be killed by another dragon. Elisa's not a killer." Arcee protested.

"She might not have a choice." Ratchet said making Megatron frown.

"So where is she?" Smokescreen snapped at Ratchet.

"How should I know?"

"You're her Carrier! You're supposed to know!" Smokescreen shouted back.

"That's enough!" Ultra Magnus ordered.

"She was afraid this would happen. She knew you would be upset that she was friends with Megatron. Did you blame for Optimus' decision too!?" Smokescreen continued to shout.

"Hey calm down." Arcee protested.

"Easy doc." Wheeljack said as Ratchet started to approach Smokescreen.

"And I thought we had problems." Knockout said as he stood behind Starscream.

"I think I know where she might be." Smokescreen said before he transformed and drove off.

"Where's he heading?" Wheeljack said confused.

"The Nemesis." Arcee said quietly before she drove off after him. Megatron looked on as the femme drove off before he looked off in another direction.

"Get those wounds checked Starscream." Megatron said quietly before he transformed and flew off in another direction. He was thankful he didn't see any setbacks before he found what he was looking for.

"Get out!" Predaking snarled as his claws transformed into a weapon.

"I have not come to fight. Where is Elisa?" He asked calmly. Predaking frowned before he stepped aside and revealed Elisa still sleeping. "Oh no." Megatron whispered to himself in horror as he hurried over to her. "Elisa…wake up little one please." He pleaded. Elisa slowly opened her eyes and she smiled up at him.

"Hello Megatron."

Ch. 29: Late Arrivals

Elisa smiled up at Megatron and nuzzled into his chestplates and started to purr.

"Elisa, what happened?" Megatron asked with concern.

"Magma's here and I saw Shadow and Skyblade with him." She answered.

"Come on we need to get you medical attention." Megatron said quickly.

"No, I'm fine." Elisa said just as quickly and backed away from him, but she fell down in pain. "No I can't." She insisted still backing away, but Predaking placed a reassuring servo on her shoulder.

"You're hurt." He stated.

"I can't go back." She started to cry. "I know where I'm not welcome. I'm not welcome there." She sobbed.

"Elisa, Smokescreen and Arcee went looking for you. They're worried about you." Megatron insisted.

"No, I can't." She said firmly.

"Let me take you to Shockwave." Megatron suggested after a moment.

"He's not going to hurt me is he?" She asked nervously, unknowingly backing into Predaking embrace.

"No he won't hurt you." Megatron answered. "Shockwave?" Megatron called out through his com link.

"Lord Megatron Soundwave is with me." He answered.

"Soundwave?!" Megatron said surprised as he hadn't seen the silent mech since his demise.

"I'll explain later." Elisa said to him.

"Lock onto my coordinates. I need you to give Elisa medical attention and nothing else." He ordered. A bridge opened quickly and Elisa slowly started to walk towards it. Megatron scooped up Elisa into his arms and she clung to him tightly. "Keep a patrol of your borders Predaking. There could be more dragons coming." Megatron said quickly to him.

"What of the autobots?" Predaking asked.

"They already know the situation. If you wish I could come back at a later date with an update on things." Megatron suggested with caution. Predaking only nodded before Megatron walked through the bridge and entered Shockwave's main laboratory. Elisa let out a moan as she was placed on a medical berth. She let out a giggle when Laserbeak landed next to her and nuzzled her cheek. She flinched when Shockwave started to examine her wounds. "Be easy with her understand." Megatron said firmly. Shockwave only nodded before he turned and found Soundwave staring at him. He started to play back the footage of his last conversation with Elisa. "Interesting." He said curiously. He looked back at Elisa, but she wasn't looking at him. "Magma's back." He stated.

"What?" Starscream's voice squeaked out and Elisa let out a smirk.

"How is that possible?" Shockwave asked as he started getting supplies.

"He must have gotten access to the Harbinger back on earth and from there to the space bridge." Megatron answered.

"How unfortunate for him. He will most certainly have to be eradicated." Shockwave said so plainly it made Megatron grin.

"Ow!" Elisa cried out when Shockwave pressed into her ribcage. He took a scanner out again and looked her over to check her ribs.

"You are very lucky. You have several cracked ribs, but nothing broken." Shockwave explained quickly. He grabbed a bottle and put a cooling agent on his servos before he started rubbing at her burns. Elisa growled in pain and gritted her teeth, but did her best to stay put. Megatron went over to her side and placed his servo on her hand to calm her down. "How long have you been healing?" Shockwave asked.

"I don't know…a few hours maybe." She mumbled.

"When was the last time you had energon?"

"When I got to Predaking's land." Shockwave pointed and Soundwave went quickly to retrieve a cube.

"You were right next to an energon river. Why weren't you drinking more?" Megatron asked.

"I'm not hungry." She muttered. Megatron trailed his fingers down her cheek and neck and she shivered. She felt cold. Soundwave appeared with a cube in hand, but Megatron held up his servo to halt him. Elisa still had her eyes closed so she didn't see Megatron dig into the protoform of his arm and he started to bleed. Elisa mumbled when he lifted her head up and she finally looked at him.

"Take it." He said offering the open energon line. Elisa turned her head away and shivered again. "Elisa you need to heal and you need to feed. Please little one." Megatron begged. She looked up at him with hesitant eyes until she finally took his arm and bit into the open line. Megatron barely grimaced at the pain as she started to drink his energon. She growled deeply and her eyes opened and were glowing silver.

"Primal instinct takes over." Shockwave commented. Elisa drank deeply for a few moments before she pushed him away. She licked at her lips at the remaining energon as she started to fall asleep. "She's healing quickly." Shockwave said pointing to the healing burns on her body.

"How?" Megatron said amazed as her skin healed right before his optics.

"Dragons always had superior healing abilities my Liege." Shockwave answered. Before the burns had disappeared Elisa turned over on her side and fell asleep. "Where is Starscream?" Shockwave asked.

"With the autobots getting looked at by Knockout, but there is another problem aside from Magma as Elisa seemed to be separated from the autobots." Megatron explained. "I have also informed the Predacons." He finished. Megatron paced thinking for a moment, while keeping an optic on Elisa. "We have to be prepared." Megatron said quietly and he caught Soundwave giving him a curious look. "Other autobots and decepticons will be coming back to Cybertron and possibly more dragons. Primus knows how they will see things. Magma had many followers just as Prime and I had." He explained quickly.

"He also had enemies." Shockwave added.

"True, right now it's a matter of who gets here first." Megatron said with a sigh.

The dragon opened his eyes and let out a painful moan. Everything was so bright and so loud. He buried his head under his arms and took a few deep breaths to steady himself. The dragon's head emerged again and he growled in aggravation at the bright light. He blinked a few times and huffed at the harsh noise that kept attacking him. He shook his head and started to rise to his feet. The feeling felt odd and foreign for some reason. His legs felt wobbly and his knees almost gave out, but he forced his legs to stand up straight and he stayed up.

He looked around and everything felt so foreign to him. He thought he recognized the place, but he couldn't place it. Everything felt big, but it was cracked, charred, and broken. He didn't know why, but he thought he should know. He couldn't focus on that right now so he started to walk forward. It was a slow start but soon everything felt at ease and he was walking at a steady pace. Not too long into his walk he felt something foreign on his back. He looked to his side and jumped when he saw his own wing. He slowly opened it up and stared at it. He had a long and wide wingspan on his right wing and found the same thing with the left wing. He flapped his wings up and down and yelped when he felt himself being lifted off the ground. He tried again and felt a little bit steadier this time. However, he decided not to try a third time and looked for a direction to go. For some reason he didn't want to go towards the buildings and went in the direction of the empty fields.

Elisa was none too pleased to return to Iacon, but nearly jumped when Smokescren hugged her tightly.

"Uuuuggghhh…Smokescreen I…can't…breath." Elisa choked out.

"Sorry, I'm just glad to see you." He said happily. Footsteps attracted her attention and she saw Megatron going into the crowd of the autobots. She started to follow him, but froze when she saw Ratchet. Their eyes meet and Elisa quickly looked away.

"Hey pretty girl." A voice called out and Elisa turned and saw Knockout talking with Starscream. Smokescreen pulled her over to them quickly to avoid Ratchet as Megatron was going to talk with the medic.

"Starscream?" Elisa said slightly confused.

"Hello Elisa." He said plainly.

"Are you ok?" She asked as she didn't know what happened to him.

"I saw Magma first over at Darkmount." He said quickly.

"What were you doing at Darkmount?"

"Something…foolish." He said quietly. Elisa didn't press the matter.

"Are you alright?" She asked again.

"Fine now."

"Still on short terms with me though." Knockout huffed earning a giggle from Elisa.

"Hello Knockout."

"What happened to you?" He asked pointing to her scratches.

"I ran into Magma with Skyblade and Shadow." She answered.

"What?!" All three mechs said at once.

"Uuuuhhhh…" Elisa said unsure how to respond.

"How did Megatron find you? We looked through the Nemesis." Smokescreen asked.

"I went back to Predaking's land." She answered.

"So where is he now?" Starscream asked.

"Predaking is patrolling his land and I don't know where Magma is." She answered. She looked over at Megatron and Ratchet and saw that they were still talking.

"Strategy time." Starscream explained. "Say what happened to Shockwave?"

"He's with Soundwave in his lab." She answered.

"Wait how did…Elisa?" Smokescreen said shocked.

"What? The war's over. We've got a different problem now." She snapped irritated.

"You do know there's only one way out of it?" Knockout said seriously to her. "You have to kill Magma."

"I don't know if I can." She said quietly.

"You really don't have a choice Elisa." Starscream added.

"I'm not strong enough." She said angrily.

"Starscream get your aft over here and Knockout leave her be." Megatron ordered.

"You can't make me." Starscream teased. Elisa growled and he scrambled over to Megatron and Knockout hurried away as well. Elisa looked around the completed buildings before she looked up at the sky. She kneeled down and focused before she leaped into the air and flew up to a rooftop.

"E, where are you going?" Smokescreen protested. She didn't answer as she looked up at the sky. For some reason she thought she saw an energy streak in the sky. She kept staring at the sky for the longest time before the energy just seemed to fade away. She looked back and saw some of the team looking at her so she glided back down.

"What did you see?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know, some kind of energy I guess." She answered.

"Someone is coming." Megatron stated.

The dragon landed hard and dented the ground beneath him. Once the dust settled he looked around and frowned for a moment. He stretched forward and arched his back before letting out a small snarl. He stalked forward and looked around for someone. He was only walking for a few minutes before he heard flapping in the distance. He turned and saw three dragons coming towards him. He smiled as he knew who they were and just waited. It wasn't long before Magma, and his two sons appeared and landed beside him.

"I was hoping you would be here soon." Magma said with a grin.

"Of course Magma." The dragon said in a deep voice.

"Mecha, we have work to do."

Across the planet two more dragons landed safely on the ground.

"Reconstruction is going on." The smaller dragon said.

"Hmmpff." The larger dragon huffed.

"Still don't like the…mechs and femmes don't you?" The smaller one chuckled.

"I don't care for humans." The larger spat making his point perfectly clear.

"You sound just like Magma."

"Magma is a fool! Always has been always will be. He cares for nothing but power." The larger growled.

"I thought you cared about power too." His partner joked as they started to walk.

"Hmmpff." He huffed again blowing smoke.

"Well what do you want now?"

"To be left alone."

"If you wanted that then why did you want to come back?" His partner said annoyed.

"Because this is home."

He heard voices from far away so he walked cautiously forward and watched in his surroundings. His head tilted when he saw three figures talking. He thought he recognized one of them, but he didn't know where. He kept watching for the longest time until his stomach began to growl. He looked down at his stomach at the curious sound before looking up again and seeing and energon river, but the three figures were close by. However, his empty stomach was starting to get to him and he had no choice to but slowly crawl forward and get closer to the river. He froze when he heard some type of odd sound and when he looked up he saw the three figure flying away from him. Not caring anymore he dove for the energon and drank from the river hungrily.

When he took a breath he was instantly slammed down onto his back. An angry dragon gave a deep roar at him before it looked up at it's compatriot.

"How are you?" The large mech demanded, but the dragon only looked at him confused. "Answer my question intruder!" He snarled and bared his claws making the dragon flinch, but still no answer. "Keep him down Skylynx I will contact Megatron for answers." Predaking ordered.

The bridge opened quickly for them and Megatron, Elisa, and Smokescreen soon arrived for Predaking. They hurried over to them and saw an unfamiliar red dragon staring at them.

"Who is this?" Megatron asked highly confused.

"I was actually hoping Elisa could tell me." Predaking answered.

"I've never seen him before." Elisa answered as she walked over to the stranger. She could tell he was a Prime by his horns and she got a little sad as they reminded her of her Sire, but that made her look at him closely. His body was a bright red while his wings were a dark blue. He was a big dragon too, probably bigger than Magma. It made Elisa wonder if he was from a different tribe as his eyes were blue. Then all too quickly Elisa's own blue eyes went wide as she recognized an unforgettable trait that her Sire had.

The dragon had a gold aurora.

"Sire?" Elisa whispered out. The dragon snarled and grabbed at it's head while tossing and turning, which made Skylynx let go of him. The dragon rolled onto his back, revealing plain black spikes as he roared in pain. Then just as quickly as it had come the pain was gone and the dragon looked up at Elisa. He got up on all fours and slowly approached Elisa as Megatron and Smokescreen tensed, ready for a fight.

"Hello baby." Optimus Prime answered.

Ch. 30: Who What Where?

Mecha wasn't a Prime. He was a mixed breed of sorts as he was part Omega and part Watcher. He was larger than Magma, but with sleek wings he made for a fast runner instead of a flyer. Also despite his heritage he had intelligence that rivaled Shockwave. In fact he looked to Shockwave for inspiration from time to time in terms of…experiments. He had many failures but some rare feats the most didn't know about all except Magma.

He lived up to his name as some of his body parts were mechanical. His left arm up the elbow was all metal and he even designed it to transform into a deadly drill. He had to replace parts of his wings with mechanical webbing as several holes had been blasted through and never healed properly. He even had armor on his right shoulder as the bone had been broken too many times. However, unlike Shockwave he had two red eyes that worked without trouble.

He was pleased to be home and was surprised to hear of the developments that Magma had given him. During the war, Mecha served under Magma's rule and worked on several breading and cloning projects. Even went Magma left for earth he stayed on Cybertron and worked on the projects. Once they were completed either in failure or victory Mecha left Cybertron as the planet had been dying. He stayed closed to Cybertron and when the signal went out that the planet was revived Mecha hurried home looking for his master.

He was very surprised to learn that Magma had a femme Prime on earth, but she wasn't with them. Apparently she had been adopted by…humans and grew up with them. Not only that, but this Elisa had killed Titania as well. However, things had changed on Cybertron as Optimus Prime was no more and there were Predacons! He would love to get his claws on just one of those Predacons if only for a CNA sample. To have one of those mixed with dragon genes would be a deadly weapon.

"Is it still alive?" Magam asked turning him from his thoughts.

"Of course Magma, upon my departure all of my subjects were put into stasis." Mecha answered.

"I think it's time to put something into action. We need to strike now." Magma ordered.

Everyone just seemed to freeze and nobody took a breath for the longest moment.

"Sire?" Elisa finally gasped again. Tears ran down her face before she fell to the ground in a faint. Reality instantly snapped back into place and nearly everyone rushed over to Elisa to wake her up. Optimus kept nuzzling her neck and licked at her face for a few moments before she woke up again with a groan. "Sire!" Elisa said happily and grabbed him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Elisa sobbed with joy as he returned the gestured and pulled her into his chest. They both suddenly gasped as their sparks glowed bright for a moment before it stopped. Elisa felt warmth through her body as she realized that their bond was connected once more.

"Optimus?" Megatron called out weakly. Optimus looked up and gave Megatron a small smile. His optics went wide and he nearly stumbled back in pure shock.

"Smokescreen is that you?" Optimus called out.

"Optimus…is that you?" Smokescreen called out. Optimus nodded and gave out a small chuckle.

"How did this happen?" Elisa whispered.

"I don't really know how to be honest with you baby." Optimus answered. He thought for a moment before he remembered something. "I had a conversation with someone…Alpha Trion." He started slowly. "He told me that Primus had given me a second chance with a new life of peace. He told me I had a choice between being a mech again and being a…dragon." Sire said it proudly as he looked down on Elisa as she gave him the biggest grin. "I didn't have my memories of the past until you spoke to me Elisa." He finished. Optimus stood up on two legs and was as tall as Megatron now. "I am afraid I did not check your names." Optimus said pointing to the two predacons that were unfamiliar to him.

"This is Skylynx and Darksteel." Predaking answered quickly.

"Megatron what has happened in my absence?"

"Magma is back on Cybertron." Optimus blinked in surprise before he quickly steadied himself.

"There are more coming back to Cybertron Sire. I thought I saw an energy streak approach the planet." Elisa added.

"I think it's obvious we get back to the others first."

Everyone had their guns raised when they saw the red dragon.

"Is that anyway to greet an old friend?" Optimus said gently.

"Optimus!?" Ratchet spoke first before he hurried over to him.

"Hello Ratchet." Optimus said happily before he hugged him. Elisa frowned and walked away and the action didn't go unnoticed by Megatron. While everyone listened to Optimus speak his story Megatron spoke up to Elisa.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

"Ratchet." He blinked in surprise at how she spat his name out. He kneeled down to her seated position and ran his fingertips down her back. Elisa did her best to suppress a shiver. "You should talk to him."

"I don't want to."

"Now you're acting like a child."

"I am a child. I'm not even eighteen yet." She snapped back. He noticed she was carefully avoiding his gaze.

"Megatron!" Ultra Magnus called out.

"What is it?" He said addressing him.

"Do you have any idea where Magma might be?" He asked.

"Magma had many places to hide. Unfortunately I never met him at one of those places as he always came to me." Megatron answered.

"We need to scout open land. Most dragons never lived in the cities, but some did live underground." Optimus spoke up.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Wheeljack said excitedly.

"Predaking is already keeping guard over his plains, while I can have Shockwave and Soundwave look into things as well." Megatron added.

"Soundwave! How did he get out of the shadowzone?" Magnus said confused.

"Elisa let him out." Smokescreen answered earning a frustrated growl from her. "What?" He asked confused.

"We'll talk about that later, but some of us need to stay here incase reinforcements arrive." Ratchet said quickly.

"Try and find places rich in energon, they might stationed there." Optimus added.

"Wreckers with me." Magnus ordered quickly before they left.

"Let's go." She whispered to Megatron before she quickly started to leave.

"Elisa, why don't you stay here." Sire said gently.

"I'll be fine Sire. I'll go look with Megatron and Starscream." She said quickly and before Optimus could object she leaped into the air and was on her way.

"What happened? She's bitter for some reason." Optimus said confused.

"Ask your medic." Megatron said before he followed after her with Starscream close to his side.

"You might want to follow us this way Elisa." Megatron suggested calmly as he flew by her side.

"Lead the way." She said before he did just that. Elisa looked for the colors of energy, but nothing stood out of place for a good long while.

"Why did you have to bring me along?" Starscream huffed in annoyance.

"I thought it made sense." Elisa teased earning a groan from him.

"Why was he given a second chance?" Starscream asked her.

"When he managed to get Unicron out of Megatron's body he sealed him in a vessel that held the Allspark. Sire had apparently kept the Allspark within the Matrix of Leadership and he couldn't separate it from his spark." Elisa explained.

"So he was literally one with the Allspark." Starscream added.

"Yes, so Sire bonded with Primus and I guess after that he met with Alpha Trion." Elisa finished. "Oh and by the way…" Elisa bumped into Starscream earning a shout from him.

"What was that for?" He snapped.

"You were going to make the decepticons in your name!" She snapped.

"No…no…I wasn't." He stammered out.

"Starscream, you're a terrible liar still." Megatron chuckled. Starscream quickly quieted down and soon Megatron dipped down into an open field. A few minutes later he landed and looked over at Elisa. "Can you see anything?" He asked. Elisa looked around in all directions, but nothing stood out for the longest time.

"I'm sorry I can't see anything." She said.

"You mean energy wise?" Starscream asked for clarity and Elisa nodded yes. "He really hurt you didn't he?" Starscream asked quietly, earning a harsh slap from Megatron.

"Quiet you!" He snapped.

"It's alright Megatron and yes he did." Elisa said gently. She walked around some more and froze when she saw something in the distance. "Someone's coming." She announced quickly. She got on all fours ready for a fight as the mechs activated their weapons. However as they got close Elisa saw that they were dragons she had never seen before. She also noticed that their energy was strong together almost as if they were…bonded. As they got closer Elisa growled deeply and bared her fangs as her mouth glowed in warning. The two dragons landed hard causing dust to rise, but nobody moved. When the dust settled Elisa was ready to fire.

"Galvatron!" Megatron gasped in shock.

"Oh it's you." The one called Galvatron spoke up. Elisa looked up at him confused.

"Still with the brute Starscream?" The other dragon chuckled.

"Nice to see you too Cyclonus." Starscream grumbled lowering his arm.

"Prime has this…mech hurt you in anyway?" Galvatron asked walking up to Elisa. Elisa panicked for a brief moment and snarled at the much larger dragon making him freeze. "Prime I'm not here to hurt you!" He said quickly, but Elisa bared her sharp back spikes and they flashed in warning.

"It's alright Elisa. He speaks the truth." Megatron said gently putting a servo on her shoulder making her ease up.

"I don't understand?" Galvatron said confused.

"This is Elisa. She's a young dragon, only seventeen cycles." Megatron started quickly. Both new dragons blinked in surprise and looked at each other for a moment.

"But she's a Prime." Cyclonus spoke up.

"Yes she is a Prime, because she is Magma's only daughter." Megatron explained.

"Magma!" They both snarled making her flinch and shrink back as they glared at her.

"She isn't like him at all. She was found as a sparkling by Optimus Prime where he bonded with her as her Sire and cared for her like his own." Megatron added quickly seeing the tension. Elisa was not liking the males at all as their energy went from calm into a fenzy at a moment's notice and it frightened her.

Both males were larger and far more muscular than her. Galvatron was a dark purple with three horns that looked almost like a crown on his head. His spikes were a neutral black and orange laced through his wings. Cyclonus looked almost like his partner. He was purple as well except it was very light to the point where it looked almost blue. He had two large horns on either side of his head, almost like Elisa's horns but they were tilted downward. Cyclonus' spikes were also a neutral black and he had black stripes on his wings. Both had red eyes.

"If that's so then why is she with you?" Galvatron demanded drawing Elisa out of her thoughts.

"We're looking for Magma actually. The war between the autobots and the decpticons is no more and Magma is our enemy now." Megatron finished. Galvatron growled deeply and glared at Megatron.

"What do you want?" Elisa asked weakly making Galvatron look down at her.

"You actually." He said in a disappointing tone.

"Still following the royal duty?" Starscream teased.

"Watch it seeker." Cyclonus growled.

"Royal duty?" Elisa called out.

"We are rouges that protect the Prime." Galvatron answered.

"But I am no Prime." Elisa said confused.

"Of course you are. You have the features don't you?" Galvatron said tapping lightly at one of her horns.

"Have you seen anyone else arrive?" Megatron asked.

"No we haven't seen anyone." Galvatron answered. "No one your side I presume?" He said slightly smug.

"No one yet." He answered.

"So where to Iacon or Kaon?" Cyclonus asked with a grin.

"You are not Optimus Prime!" Galvatron snarled and nearly pounced on him when Megatron stood in his way.

"Let me explain Galvatron." Optimus said calmly as the other dragon continued to huff in rage. By the time Optimus was done with his story Galvatron had calmed down and was thinking it over.

"So where's the Matrix?" Galvatron demanded.

"It's back with Primus." Optimus answered.

"I don't care about that one. I'm talking about the one that is for a dragon!" Galvatron snapped.

"That's real?" Ratchet gaped.

"Of course it's real. Aquarius was the last to have it before he was killed. He showed it to us himself." Galvatron answered quickly.

"A matrix of leadership for a dragon?" Elisa gasped. Galvatron groaned and glared at her.

"For the last time YES!" He shouted at her making her jump.

"Sorry." She said quickly and backed away from him.

"Please leave Elisa be." Optimus insisted.

"She should learn to take of herself." Galvatron muttered under his breath making Optimus frown. Elisa slowly backed away from the conversation and watched the two from the sidelines. She didn't register that Cyclonus had walked up to her until he nudged her shoulder.

"Sorry." She said quickly.

"I know he can be intimidating, but it's how he is." Cyclonus said gently. "He took care of himself for a long time and when I first met him I hated him because he had no problem voicing his opinion." He explained.

"You're bonded with him aren't you?" Elisa asked cautiously.

"Aaahhh I was wondering if you could see that." He said eagerly. "Yes I am bonded to him. You get used to his ranting after a while." Elisa finally smiled at him. "Don't worry he'll warm up to you. I guarantee it. He's always been a sucker for younglings." Cyclonus winked.

"Thank you." Elisa giggled.

"What's his color?" Cyclonus asked nodding over to Galvatron.

"A dark orange mixed with light purple." She answered.

"Hmmm funny I see his as a dark purple like Megatron's" Cyclonus said amused.

"That's how I see Megatron's as well. How is that possible?" She asked curiously.

"Well to those of us that can see auroras, sometimes we can see the same colors for certain people, although not all the time. Prime's color is that of a mix of red and blue. What do you see?"

"Gold."

"Aaah how fitting since he is your Sire." Cyclonus said gently. Elisa looked away from him shyly for a moment. "You get frightened easily don't you?" He asked quietly.

"Sometimes."

"I saw the scars on the back of your neck. Magma was not very kind to you."

"I was an experiment. I was supposed to be used to kill the team." Elisa answered quietly. Cyclonus frowned in anger.

"Well thank Primus Optimus found you. You are most certainly better off with him." Cyclonus said sternly.

"Thank you."

"Is Optimus bonded?"

"Ratchet." She answered quietly.

"Is he your Carrier?"

"I suppose."

"You suppose?" He said with an arched eyebrow.

"It's complicated right now." Elisa answered. They were distracted by the sound of motors and the wreckers had returned along with Smokescreen and Knockout coming in from another direction.

"Oh no." Galvatron groaned in annoyance at the sight of Ultra Magnus.

"Galvatron." Ultra Mangus stated.

"Magnus." The dragon replied.

"He never liked the commander's strict style." Cyclonus whispered to Elisa making her giggle.

"What are you doing here?" Ultra Magnus demanded.

"It's my home too you know." Galvatron snapped.

"Lord Megatron." Shockwave called out through his com link.

"What is it Shockwave?" Megatron said quietly.

"I believe there is something you might want to see."

Shockwave transported them all to where the Sea of Rust had been. Elisa's eyes went wide before she jumped.

"Elisa no!" Optimus shouted but it was too late as Elisa leaped into the air and dived right into the water.

"Aaahhhh!" Starscream and Knockout shrieked before diving for cover as they got wet. Elisa stuck her head up and splashed in their direction making them back away even more.

"Elisa get out of there now!" Optimus protested.

"Sire it's water! Real water just like on Earth!" Elisa said happily as she dived down again making Optimus huff in fear and annoyance. Galvatron dipped his tail down and shivered.

"It's too cold." He grumbled.

"You're too old." Cyclonus joked making his mate frown.

"How is this possible?" Ratchet asked.

"Perhaps it is a changed cause by the reawakening of Primus." Megatron suggested.

"Well there was an ocean before…just not here." Cyclonus added. Some of the bots looked at him annoyed and he just shrugged.

"Yahhhooo!" Elisa jumped out of the water and hovered in the air smiling.

"Watch out for water dragons." Galvatron said.

"There are water dragons?" Elisa asked curious before she landed by Galvatron making him frown. Cyclonus nudged him to calm him down.

"Fine." Galvatron growled at him. "Let me give you a brief history lesson."

"It's a rebirth of Cybertron." Magma announced as they saw the signal of the water from their base.

"We could take the planet and shape it into what we want." Mecha added.

" However, we also have some Predacons to deal with."

"Predacons?" Mecha gasped excitedly.

"Shockwave made three clones and they are residing in the empty plains of a former burial ground." Magma explained.

"Ooooh the perfect specimens." Mecha smiled.

"Careful, one of them calls himself Predaking and he's bigger than the other two." Magma explained.

"It doesn't matter my specimen is much larger than that beast. Ha! To think he would think himself superior." Mecha snickered.

"Just hurry up and get things started will you. We still have the element of surprise as they have yet to discover your arrival." Magma ordered.

Ch. 31: Surprise!

"Obviously long before you were born, dragons were the dominate species on Cybertron. Nobody really knows how the first humans, as we call them, came to be. It is said that the dragon elders morphed their own energy into human form, but of course not all of the energy is pure which is why Unicron came around. I'm sure you know all about the war between Primus and Unicron and how he created the Thirteen Original Primes. I'm sure you also know that when Primus became one with Cybertron's core he created the Well of Allsparks and such. It was during this time that dragons and humans were…breeding. I'm sure you're old enough to hear that at least. Hmmpfff, anyway, this was how Predacons came about. How else can you explain a human turning into a giant beast?"

At this point Elisa had to let out a laugh, but quickly covered her mouth to let Galvatron continue.

"A few centuries go by and of course the Great Cataclysm wipes out the Predacons and they're fossilized and such. Then humans start coming through the Well Of Allsparks and as more humans came in dragons started to disappear. They either went off world or just went further away from the humans. People have mixed feelings about our kind. Either they hate us, accept us, or fear us. So now we just watched the humans destroy themselves."

"Or only some of us did." Cyclonus added making Galvatron frown.

"Is there a record of this? How do you know so much?" Elisa asked.

"Aquarius told us because the record of our history is in our Matrix." Galvatron answered.

"I take it the matrix chooses it's owner?"

"You guessed right."

"So why come back if you don't like…humans." Elisa asked as she didn't like saying that word.

"Cybertron's my home as much as yours." Galvatron nearly snapped.

"I'm not saying it isn't and I wasn't born on Cybertron. I was born on Earth." Elisa said quietly.

"Hmmmm…Earth is better to a certain extent, but the natives there are destroying themselves as well." Galvatron said into the air. Cyclonus only rolled his eyes.

"I can tell you're still not pleased my Sire is a dragon." Elisa said cautiously.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you talking to Ratchet as you told Cyclonus he's bonded to you as a Carrier." Galvatron stated. Elisa had a frown and Cyclonous gave her a sympathetic look.

"Ratchet was angry at me for what Optimus did so he told me to leave." Elisa answered quietly. Galcatron growled but was stopped short when Cyclonus gave him a little nudge.

"That's ridiculous. We all have choices in life we have to make and some might be much harder than others." Galvatron spat.

"But they're bonded." Elisa protested weakly.

"That's no excuse to take it out on you. I'm sure you must have been mourning for your Sire too right?" Elisa nodded yes to the question. "Typical human, being selfish and not caring for his own sparkling." Galvatron snapped.

"But I'm not his sparkling."

"It doesn't matter!" Galvatron snapped making Elisa jump. "He took the responsibility of a Carrier. Nothing about that duty should change no matter what the circumstances." He said sternly and Elisa had to look away to hide her tears.

"Galvatron, be gentle please." Cyclonous whispered. Galvatron only frowned before he stopped to look at the young femme. He blinked in surprise when he saw the scars of claw marks on the back of her neck. Perhaps he might have been a little too harsh on her. Galvatron cautiously stepped forward and gently licked at her scars as a sign of comfort. She looked back up at him confused as tears rolled down her face. He purred as he nuzzled at cheek and neck to comfort her. She quickly returned the gesture of comfort as a silent thank you. When he looked back at her she gave him a gentle smile. He was starting to realize that she was a very fragile femme. Magma thought of her as an experiment and was cruel to her, not to mention that a friendship with Megatron had to be unhealthy for her at some point.

BOOM!

All three dragons jumped when an explosion sounded off in the distance. It was so far away that it sounded like a rumble of thunder if you didn't see the quick flash.

"We have to get moving." Galvatron ordered quickly. All three leaped into the air and started to fly the way of the explosion. They had gone on another patrol when Galvatron finally relented and started giving her the history lesson. Nobody spoke as the hurried over to the site. When they finally got their all three dragons gasped at what they saw. Right in front of them was a rock formation that was much bigger than any of them.

"Is that a big as Omega Supreme?" Cyclonus asked.

"Hmmmm I was actually thinking Devastator." Galvatron answered.

"Who are those guys?" Elisa asked highly confused.

"Oh don't worry about that now." Cyclonus said quickly as they started to fly around the rock formation.

"Don't touch it!" Galvatron shouted when Elisa got near it. Elisa still touched it anyway and nearly jumped back when she felt something.

"I think it's pulsing." She said wide-eyed.

"What?" Impossible." Galvatron muttered before he touched it as well. He yelped back when he felt a pulse as well. "Oh no." Galvatron said gravely.

"What do you think?" Cyclonus asked.

"Mecha has to be back."

"Are you sure?"

"Really? Magma is not smart enough to create a being this size." Galvatron answered.

"Who's Mecha?" Elisa asked.

"He's a deadly dragon that works for Magma. He's like Shockwave for Megatron. He experiments and creates weapons for Magma." Galvatron explained.

"He's bad." Cyclonus summed up making Galvatron frown at him.

"So what is this then?" Elisa asked.

'It's a monster of sort, but what I don't know. I've never seen or felt something like this before." Galvatron answered.

"That's because nobody has seen this species for quite some time." A deep voice called out from above. All three looked up to see a large black dragon staring at them. It's wings were lined with silver and one of it's arms was mechanical.

"Mecha!" Both male dragons shouted at once before getting in front Elisa.

"So this is the little femme Magma was talking about." Mech grinned as he hovered close to them. Galvatron growled while Cyclonus stayed silent. "You'll appreciate this little gem when it wakes up and starts moving." Mecha grinned. Elisa didn't like this dragon one bit. His energy felt cold but not like Magma's though. Suddenly, Mecha's claws shifted into a gun and he started firing at them.

"Scram!" Galvatron shouted as all three dived in different directions. When Elisa turned around she saw that she wasn't being followed so she cautiously started to move towards the sounds. She poked her head out from the side of the rock formation as saw Galvatron firing at Mech. His heatray was a bright orange, but Mecha easily dodged it. Elisa froze as Mecha started firing at Galvatron, but he couldn't dodge fast enough and got hit square in the back…then his wing…then his chest….

"Galvatron!" Cyclonus roared for his bondmate as he dove right at Mecha and knocked him off course. Cyclonus turned around for another swipe but Mecha had his claws back.

"Watch out claws!" Elisa called out, but it was far too late as Mecha dodged the strike and grabbed Cyclonus by his tail and swung him right into Galvatron. Both dragons snarled in pain as they slammed into each other before hitting the rock formation. They quickly fell to the ground in a heap and Elisa saw they weren't getting up. She looked at Mecha who was glaring at her with red eyes and she turned and started to fly as fast as she could away from him.

Sire help!

Before she could call again she was slammed into the ground hard by her stomach. She tried to get up again, but Mecha kept slamming down on her. She let out a roar for help before she was grabbed by her neck with Mecha's teeth and swung around. She skidded to a stop on her side. She tried to fire a shot at him, but he knocked her mouth away as he pinned her down on her back.

"Get off!" She snarled baring fangs. She snapped at him, but with one hit of that metal arm and she was in a daze.

"Now then let's see here." Mecha smiled down at Elisa as he hungrily looked at her neck. Elisa moaned as he tilted her head to the side and one of his fingers turned into a syringe.

AAAARRRRRRAAHHHHH!

Mecha let out a snarl of pain as he was tackled hard to the ground. A large red and blue dragon stood on top of him baring sharp teeth and glowing blue spikes. Mecha tried to scramble out of the dragon's grip, but he only bit and swiped at him even harder.

"Who are you?" Mecha asked…slightly fearful.

"Stay away from Elisa." The dragon snarled. Mecha's eyes blinked in surprise at the deep voice.

"Optimus…" Mecha whispered. Prime let out a deep roar and Mecha scrambled away into the air. Optimus glared at his disappearing form for a brief moment before he ran over to Elisa.

"Elisa baby." He whispered gently as he nudged at her face. She groaned as she rolled onto her side and shook her head to clear her vision.

"Sire…that was you!?" She gasped amazed. He nodded with a small smile. "Galvatron…Cyclonus!" Elisa tried to run over to them, but instantly fell back down.

"Easy Elisa." Optimus said as he helped her back up. They hobbled over to Galvatron and Cyclonus who were still down and out.

"Galvatron." Elisa whispered gently and nuzzled his face. He still didn't respond. She started licking at his face to wake and he finally grumbled as his eyes opened.

"Oh…good…grief…Elisa?" He said confused.

"Get off you beast." Cyclonus grunted. Galvatron looked down and smiled weakly at his frowning bondmate before he scrambled off of him, which then prompted him to fall down again.

"Are you alright?" He asked in concern as he looked down at Galvatron.

"I'll be fine in a little bit, don't worry." Galvatron answered.

"Oh believe me I won't." Cyclonus teased.

"What happened here?" Optimus asked drawing their attention.

"Oh…we were attacked by Mecha." Galvatron answered quickly before he started to lick away at his wounds.

"Mecha! Oh Primus Elisa are you sure you're not hurt?!" He asked with deep concern.

"No Sire I'm fine." Elisa said gently. "Who is this Mecha?" She asked confused.

"He's an insane dragon in my opinion." Optimus answered firmly. "He's a scientist for Magma."

"You mean like Shockwave?"

"Exactly like Shockwave, only much stronger." Cyclonus added.

"He won't like the fact that he's got competition again." Galvatron chuckled.

"That is illogical." Cyclonus joked in a deep voice to imitate Shockwave making Elisa laugh loudly.

"Oh sorry Sire." Elisa blushed when she saw his serious face.

"It's alright. What is this?" He asked looking up at the rock formation.

"Don't know. It's one of his experiments, but this is way out of the normal for him. He's usually experimenting with Omega CNA." Cyclonus answered.

"Perhaps we should get Shockwave here to study it." Optimus suggested.

"Unfortunately there is nothing to study Prime. Not at least until the rock cracks and something comes out, which I doubt will be too long." Galvatron said getting back up.

"How do you know something is living inside this?" Optimus asked.

"Just touch it." Optimus did as he was told and nearly jumped back when he felt the pulse as well.

"Wait didn't he say that whatever comes out of this will be something that nobody has seen in a long time." Elisa called out.

"True, but that could be any number of things, from an extinct species of dragon to a giant predacon." Galvatron huffed.

"But Predacons don't get that big do they?" Elisa asked nervously.

"I don't see any fossils laying around that we could look at." Cyclonus commented. Elisa's eyes went wide and she looked over at her Sire. He grumbled and did what the humans say is a face palm.

"What?" Cyclonus asked confused.

"We'll tell you when we get back to base."

"He did what?!" Galvatron gasped before glaring back at Megatron.

"But it wasn't his fault. Unicron took over his body. So it was really Unicron who turned the fossils into terrorcons." Elisa added quickly.

"Made from predacons." Starscream shivered at the memory.

"You got lucky." Galvatron spat at him.

"I never liked you either Galvatron." Megatron said right back him smugly. Galvatron snorted before flinching as Ratchet cleaned his wounds.

"I have to have a chat with you later." Galvatron said to Ratchet silently.

"What about?" Ratchet said confused.

"I'll tell you later."

"Judging from what you have told me Galvatron, that is no predacon under those rocks." Shockwave finally spoke up.

"Are you sure…ouch!"

"It is a most logical conclusion." Shockwave stated. Elisa and Cyclonus snickered making Shockwave look at them in confusion.

"Then what have you concluded." Galvatron mocked. "Ouch!" He growled at Ratchet this time.

"Stay still then." Ratchet snapped. Galvatron growled in annoyance but did as he was told this time.

"I do not have a conclusion at this time, but I do have a theory." Shockwave answered.

"Well?" Cyclonus added.

"It could possibly be a Ghidorah."

"NO!" Galvatron and Cyclonus shouted at the same time making everyone jump.

"That's not possible." Galvatron snapped.

"The species died out millions of years ago and their remains destroyed by Predacons." Cyclonus added.

"Only because they hunted Predacons for energon." Shockwave said.

"Sire what are they talking about?" Elisa whispered as the argument continued.

"I have no idea sweetspark." Optimus said highly confused as well.

"You thought Predacons would be extinct but you saw three predacons in front of you not too long ago. It is logical that Mecha could do the same with more resources." Shockwave argued calmly. Galvatron grumbled in anger before looking over at Cyclonus.

"Now what?" Galvatron snapped.

"I don't know. We have no choice but to wait." Cyclonus said heavily. After Ratchet tended Galvatron's wounds he grabbed the medic and dragged him away into a private area.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ratchet demanded.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Galvatron snapped.

"About what?"

"About how you treat Elisa."

"Oh please that's none of your business." Ratchet huffed.

"You hurt that little femme. That's not right. She looks up to you." Galvatron said.

"Stay out of it." Ratchet nearly growled.

"You shouldn't blame the youngling for Prime's actions. He's here now isn't he?"

"That's not the point. First she gets upset because Megatron gets killed and then Optimus goes and sacrifices himself so the Well can flourish. She didn't think about my feelings did she?" Ratchet argued. Little did Ratchet know that Optimus had silently approached them and was watching from behind.

"She was mourning for a friend. What's wrong with that?" Galvatron asked curiously.

"Megtron is nothing but a killer. It was wrong of her to even see him let alone get to know him. She doesn't think I know this but Optimus told me he betrayed her and broke her spark. It was history repeating itself."

"But she's not Orion Pax. You keep forgetting that Ratchet."

"She might as well have been." Ratchet shouted in protest. "How could she care for someone that has caused so much mayhem and destruction? Just in our team along he's damaged everyone's life in some way, even my own as I was there when he turned on Orion."

"But you can't blame her for the sacrifice Prime made in the first place. He is and always will be a Prime in some way. True Primes will always make the ultimate sacrifice in the end if it means saving countless lives or creating peace." Galvatron said calmly.

"How would you know?" Ratchet snapped.

"Aquarius did the same thing. He sacrificed himself so that many others could get off world and be safe during the war. He didn't want the dragons to become extinct." Galvatron explained. Ratchet only huffed again unsure of what to say.

"That was then this is now." Ratchet finally spoke and Galvatron let out a mockery laugh.

"That doesn't exclude the fact that you basically pushed Elisa away because of your own selfish desires. So what Prime was your bondmate. He's her Sire."

"He's not her Sire. He never has and never will be!" Ratchet snapped back. Galvatron's eyes narrowed at the statement.

"You know Elisa might be the only child you and Optimus ever get in this lifetime. Don't you dare take a chance like that for granted." Galvatron all but growled. "As for Megatron, I never thought he could change and I was proven wrong. Some people do change it just takes longer than we want it too." Galvatron finished.

"And if he did truly want to hurt her he would have done so already." Optimus finally spoke up making Ratchet freeze. His optics were wide as Optimus walked up to him on two legs and stared down at him in anger. "How could you Ratchet?" Optimus stated.

"I was upset. You were gone."

"That's no excuse Ratchet. You bonded to her as a Carrier just as I bonded with her as a Sire. You cannot abandon those responsibilities because you are the only Carrier she will ever know." Optimus said firmly.

"Optimus I…"

"Do not apologize to me, apologize to Elisa."

"But she won't even talk to me right now."

"And for good reason, so you have to make things right on your own. As for her feelings towards Megatron, she learned things on her own. This is a new age Ratchet. We have to move forward just as she has." Optimus finished before he started walking away with Galvatron following him.

BOOM!

All three jumped at the sound of the explosion.

"By the Allspark what was that?" Ratchet shouted as more explosions sound off in the distance. Galvatron saw Elisa rise up and look in the direction of the sound.

"Something's going on with that rock formation." Elisa said to them.

AAAARRRRRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHRAAAWWWWWWW

"Oh dear Primus." Galvatron gasped.

"What is it?" Optimus asked him.

"DesGhidorah."

Ch. 32: Interrogation

"What's DesGhidorah?" Elisa asked nervously.

"It's part of a species of dragons known as Ghidorah." Galvatron answered. "The Ghidorah breed is the largest of the dragons and the most dangerous as it has three heads." He added.

"What about the Hydra?" Elisa asked curiously.

"What?" Both Galvatron and Cyclonus asked at once.

"Uuuuhhh a dragon that when you cut the head off of one, three more grew in it's place." Elisa answered.

"There is nothing like that here." Cyclonus answered.

"Sorry, it's a mythical creature our human friends told us about on Earth. Just thought I would ask." Elisa shrugged. Smokescreen had to smirk a little bit. "So how do we kill it?" Elisa asked.

"That, we don't know." Galvatron answered.

"Watch out!" Elisa cried out and everyone dove for cover when the DesGhidorah glowed red and explosions rattled the ground.

"Scrap." Smokescreen muttered as he clutched at Elisa tightly.

"What was that?" Elisa cried out over the dragon's roar.

"It's starting to do it's warm-ups." Galvatron shouted back.

"We need to get to higher ground!" Optimus shouted as the ground shook even more.

"Soundwave we need a groundbridge to Darkmount now." Megatron ordered. A bridge quickly appeared and everyone started scrambling. Elisa came up to Megatron and shouted when another explosion rang out with a roar that just seemed to get louder. Megatron held her steady as they both looked up to see the three-headed dragon spew fire from it's middle head. Even though it was far away from them Elisa screamed and clutched at Megatron as he ducked on instinct. When the glow of the flames simmered down Elisa gasped when she realized something.

"The Predacons." Elisa shouted before she started to run towards the dragon.

"Elisa where are you going!?" Megatron shouted as he ran after her.

"The Predacons are still out there." She shouted back before she leaped into the air and started flying. Megatron growled in frustration before he transformed and flew after her. Elisa did her best to stay low as DesGhidorah continued to roar. She kept trying to find their energy trail, but it was far too small compared to the giant energy DesGhidorah gave off.

"Elisa we have to go back. It's no use." Megatron called out. Elisa stopped and looked around in plains, but found no trace of the Predacons. She looked back at Megatron and shouted when she was hit hard by someone. She turned just in time to see Mecha tackle her to the ground.

"Get off!" She snapped as she tried to push him off. Megatron transformed and tackled him to the ground, but Mecha reacted fast and rolled so that he landed on top of Megatron. His robotic arm transformed into a drill and he slammed it right into Megatron's shoulder. Megatron shouted in pain as the drill went deeper into his protoform spilling energon. Elisa got on top of Mecha and bit right into his shoulder. Mecha snapped at Elisa and spun around to get her off, but she held tightly by her teeth. Transforming back into claws, Mecha used his hand to grab Elisa by the back of her neck and slam her down hard onto her back. She coughed and gasped for air as he stood over her.

RRRRRRREEEEEEEHHHHHHH

Mecha jumped back when Predaking's fire went right at him. All three predacons landed in a circle around Mecha and growled in warning.

"Oh my my…three predacons. I must be one with the Allspark." Mecha said with glee before Predaking charged at him. Mecha tried leaping in the air to dodge him, but Predaking was far too big and caught him easily. He pinned Mecha down and his chest glowed orange with fire as he roared in anger. The threat didn't phase Mecha as his metal claws transformed into a cannon and fired right into Predaking's mouth. He screeched in anger as smoke bellowed from his mouth. Mecha knocked Predaking off and charged back at Elisa, but Megatron got in front of her and started firing at him. Another explosion went off in the distance making the ground shake and Megatron stumbled back, but Mecha kept charging.

"Magma I need a bridge." He said quietly. He dodged the shots Megatron kept firing as a bridge opened behind them. Elisa looked at the bridge in confusion, but then yelped when Megatron was shoved into her and they went through the bridge with Mecha standing in front of them. Megatron reacted first and pointed his blade at the dragon as he only smirked. Mecha didn't moved, but instead Elisa screamed in fear as someone grabbed her and pinned her down. Megatron turned around and saw Magma pinning Elisa down. He shouted in pain when claws racked down his back drawing energon and fell to his knees.

"Let her go! Now!" Megatron shouted in protest, but snarled in pain again as the claws made him bend at the waist.

"Megatron stop" Elisa whimpered out.

"You have an audience Mecha." Magma said proudly.

"What can I do my Lord?" Mecha said elegantly.

"Whatever you can to get her to say yes."

Predaking blinked in surprise when Megatron, Mecha, and Elisa disappeared through the bridge. They didn't have time to wonder where they had gone as the large three headed dragon continued to roar and spew hellfire. The three pedacons scrambled out of the plains and head to safety. Once in a safe area Predaking called for a bridge and they were transported Darkmount.

"Where's Elisa?" Smokescreen asked.

"Where's Megatron?" Starscream asked at the same time.

"They were fighting a dragon with a mechanical arm when he shoved them both through a groundbridge." Predaking answered.

"Mecha." Optimus said gravely.

"What's that mean?" Smokescreen said fearfully.

"It means we have to find Elisa and Megatron immediately." Shockwave answered.

"Let him go! Please let him go!" Elisa pleaded as Mecha chained Megatron to the wall with his servos raised above his head. She tried to protest again, but Magma dug his claws into her back making her whimper instead and Megatron flinched slightly. Once Megatron was secure Magma released Elisa and quickly left the lab, leaving Elisa shaking as she tried to back away from an approaching Mecha.

"Get away from her!" Megatron snarled as he tried to push against the locks, but shouted when he received a shock.

"The more you move the higher the voltage." Magma said without even looking at him.

"Just let him go please." Elisa sobbed as she bumped into the wall and fell down shaking even harder now.

"Oh don't worry about him. Not yet anyway." Mecha said darkly. "Perhaps you can spare your little pet some grief if you answer my question correctly." He said before he grabbed Elisa and pinned her down on her back making her cry out in fear. "Will you be a good little femme for your Sire?" He asked in a frightening tone. Her eyes went wide at the dark question, but she knew her answer.

"No."

"I was hoping you would say that."

Without any warning Mecha grabbed Elisa and flung her across the room making her hit the opposite wall hard. Megatron's optics went wide as Elisa coughed for air. She tried to snap at him, but instead earned a harsh punch to her face making her fall down again. Pinning her down he racked his metal claws across her wings tearing the soft tissue. She didn't scream, but let out small whimpers with her eyes tightly closed as he went from one wing to the other.

"No! Don't!" Megatron shouted when Mecha grabbed her shoulder and bent her arm forward, snapping her arm instantly. Despite the shocks he was getting Megatron tried to get out of the cuffs, but nothing was working as Mecha slammed his fist on Elisa's hand shattering her fingers before twisting her wrist and breaking that as well. Megatron shivered at the screams of pain Elisa let out as her wrist, hand, and arm was broken in let than thirty seconds. Elisa started sobbing as Mecha stepped back to look at his handy work. "Mecha please don't hurt her. I'll do whatever you want just leave her be." Megatron pleaded.

"Oh I know you will, but is she willing to do the same?" Mecha said deviously. Elisa cried out as Mecha dragged her into the center of the room as she still was crying. She groaned when Mecha turned her over back onto her back and his drill appeared. She let out loud whimpers as Mecha teased her with the drill by bringing it close to her neck. Before Megatron could react Mecha slammed the drill into Elisa's bad arm. She let out a terrible high-pitch scream of pain as blood started to spatter the ground.

"No! GET AWAY!" Megatron roared before his knees felt weak from the shocks. Mecha stopped the drill and his claws appeared. He only laughed as he licked the blood off of his claws. Elisa let out bitter sobs as she tried to breathe normally. She continued to whimper as Mecha turned her onto her stomach and grinned up at Megatron. "Stop it…leave her alone!" Megatron snapped as he tried to pull in the cuffs again. Mecha only laughed before he stabbed his claws into Elisa's hip and dragged them right down to her ankle making her bleed even more. Elisa instinctively kicked at him and landed a blow to his head. As he recovered from the small blow Elisa started crawling towards Megatron. He continued to pull against the cuffs, desperately ignoring shocks traveling down his body. Mecha recovered fast and snatched Elisa up making her scream in fear as he grabbed her throat and started to choke her. Megatron's optics went wide as Elisa was lifted off the ground as she gasped for breath.

"St-stooop." Elisa moaned in pain.

"Are you going to listen to your Sire?" Mecha asked darkly. Elisa slowly shook her head no with tears coming down her face she knew that the answer meant more pain. Mecha huffed and flung her into the wall and she crumbled to the floor. She wasn't even able to get up as Mecha hovered over her and started to punch her in the gut and chest. Megatron gritted his denta and he started to feel energon on his wrists as he tried so hard to get free. He knew Elisa was failing as she wasn't even screaming anymore. It was too long before Mecha stopped punching and he wasn't even breathing hard. He smirked as he saw that Elisa was unconscious. "I'll be back when she wakes up." Mecha laughed before leaving.

Megatron let out a heavy sigh and slumped over in despair. He looked at Elisa's broken form and felt tears coming down his face. He bowed his head in shame and his body shook in bitter sobs as he felt ashamed of himself. His sobs came out in rasps as he felt so pathetic for not being able to protect Elisa. Not to mention that he too had hurt her once. He wanted nothing more than to take everything back. He should have listened to her and perhaps they wouldn't be in this position.

"Elisa…" He called out weakly. "Elisa…please answer me." He pleaded wanting nothing more than to hear her voice.

"We have a problem." Galvatron announced as he returned from his patrol with Cyclonous.

"I am well aware of the situation." Ratchet stated. Galvatron frowned but decided not to comment.

"DesGhidorah is getting stronger and soon it will be able to open it's wings." Galvatron explained.

"What are you suggesting?" Ratchet asked.

"We need to launch an assault." Galvatron stated.

"We don't have time for that. We need to find Elisa and Megatron." Ratchet snapped.

"I'm surprised you're even worried." Galvatron snapped back.

"Galvatron shut it." Cyclonous snapped. Ratchet glared at Galvatron in anger, but didn't comment.

"If you are suggesting an assault perhaps it is possible for the fliers to attack the dragon as the grounders can continue the search." Shockwave suggested.

"I'll get the others back here quickly." Ratchet said. They wasted no time and soon everyone was in teams with a plan of action.

"What happens when it opens it's wings?" Optimus asked.

"We won't be able to stay at Darkmount that's for sure." Cyclonus explained. Ratchet opened a bridge and the fliers, including the Predacons, went off to their target.

Elisa let out a small moan as her whole body was a beacon of pain.

"Elisa…" Somebody whispered out. She knew that voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. It was someone she knew…she had to know. "Elisa…" The voice called out again. She blinked as her memories started coming back to her. Megatron…Megatron was here. She turned her head and saw Megatron staring at her.

"Meg…a…tron…" She rasped out.

"Elisa!" Megatron called out again. She let out a painful moan as she turned over and could barely lift her head to look at him. She tried to lift her head up, but it feel right back into her hands so she looked at him with her eyes and she saw that he was crying.

"Why are you crying?" She whimpered out. Even the act of breathing hurt her ribs so painfully and it made her wheeze in pain.

"I'm sorry Elisa. I'm sorry. I can't get out of these cuffs." He said sadly. She smiled up weakly at him and it broke his spark even more.

"Don't cry." She whispered as her eyes began to droop.

"Rest Elisa just rest please." Megatron said gently. She hummed in approval at his suggestion as she was already half asleep anyway. He let out a bitter sigh as she fell asleep. He knew it was only a matter of time before Mecha came back. Taking a deep breath and deciding not to waste any more time, Megatron started working on the cuffs as his shocks began anew.

AARRRRRRRRAAAYYYYYY

The predacons lead the attack as they opened fire on DesGhidorah's chest. They gathered in a formation they continued to use their fire as they got closer to it's chest. As they got closer there was a small explosion on DesGhidorah's chest and it jumped off it's front legs in anger. It started shooting fireballs as the predacons scattered. They were a distraction in the front as the other fliers attacked from behind and fired at it's back.

"All at once now!" Optimus shouted. The three other dragons and Soundwave and Starscream fired on the large dragon's back and it let out a high pitch roar of pain as multiple explosions went off on it's back.

"Look out!" Starscream shouted as it's tail swung right towards them. Luckily everyone dodged it and regrouped. Realizing it had multiple attackers DesGhidorah raised it's front legs and slammed down on the ground causing a massive earthquake as well as a sonic boom that sent everyone flying. Reacting even faster the middle head spit out fire right at the predacons and hit Predaking hard. He let out an angry screech as he was knocked to the ground, but quickly got back up and charged back into battle.

Activating his fire claws Optimus focused before swiping hard and sending a wave of red energy at one of it's heads. Galvatron and Cyclonus used their heatray as the wave hit the head. It twitched in aggravation as Optimus joined in with his red heatray. Not a few moments later there was another explosion and scales went flying as the beast started to bleed. All three dragons froze when the three heads turned and shot fireballs right at them. They didn't have time to dodge the blows and skidded to a stop on the ground. The predacons took over and fired again at the beast's chest. Starscream and Soundwave shot at what they could as they traveled through the air.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea." Galvatron huffed as he stood up on all fours.

"Wait…is that metal on it's back?" Optimus asked pointing.

"Hmmmm I believe it is." Galvatron answered.

"Is the creature more metal or organic?" Optimus said confused.

"The wings might be metal." Cyclonus suggested.

"Fliers concentrate all your fire power on it's back. It's wings might be made of metal and we can disable it's flying capabilities." Optimus said through a com link before taking off into the air.

"Oh…so that's why we have these." Galvatron teased making Cyclonus roll his eyes as they hurried off after Prime. The beast roared in frustration as the fliers started hitting it's back and he couldn't get a decent hit on any of them. However, Starscream wasn't paying attention and he got knocked out of the sky by it's tail. He landed hard and took a rough tumble while he transformed back into his bi-pede mode. Soundwave landed behind him and opened a bridge. Starscream's wings were heavily scratched and bleeding and he even had bad wounds along his side, not to mention that he was holding his helm in pain. Soundwave helped him through the bridge and Knockout hurried over to the seeker as Soundwave returned to the battle. He resumed firing at the dragon's back.

True enough they did start to see metal bits and they soon realized that the metal had been disguised as the wings were folded in. Bits of shrapnel started flying everyone and they knew they were close to destroying the wings, but DesGhidorah had a plan. Suddenly red sparks started flying from it's back, but because the damage was already done the energy the sparks caused an explosion that sent everyone reeling again. Even DesGhidorah let out another high-pitch roar of pain as black smoke bellowed off of it's back. Optimus let out a bitter groan as he stumbled to his feet. He watched the three-headed dragon stumble before falling over onto it's side in pain. The middle head reached out and let out another deep roar making Optimus suspect it was calling for something…or someone.

"Fliers we need to evacuate now!" Optimus ordered. A bridge opened not too far ahead of him and everyone scrambled through it as they were in no shape to fight Magma's tribe if they showed up.

Elisa jumped as the door opened with a bang and an angry Mecha entered the room slamming the door behind him.

"Your team disabled my dragon." Mecha growled before he slammed Elisa hard across the face making Megatron visibly flinch and Elisa cry out. Mecha continued to slap her hard and Megatron's optics went wide when he saw that her face was bleeding.

"Stop please." Elisa sobbed as she felt blood in her eye. Mecha only growled at her before he tossed her into the center of the room. His claws turned into a drill as he headed right for Megatron, making him tense up. "No…don't hurt him!" Elisa moaned in protest. Mecha ignored her as he punched Megatron in the gut making him grunt at the sudden attack. He growled bitterly when the drill dug into his shoulder and he instantly felt energon flowing down his arm. When he felt the inside of his protoform get hot from the fast drill, Mecha pulled away and his claws returned. Megatron growled when Mecha dragged his metal claws over Megatron's chestplates drawing more energon.

"Stop it!" Elisa called out even louder before having a painful fit of coughs. Mecha sneered and whacked Elisa back with his tail making Megatron snarl. Grabbing Megatron by the neck Mecha started punching Megatron in his gut. The pain started to get to him and he felt his knees weaken. Mecha smiled over him as he tugged on the cuffs sending a loud shock through Megatron and making him shout. Elisa let out a whimper as Megatron shouted. She gasped when Mecha activated purple fire claws and he slammed them into Megatron's shouted. She burst into tears when Megatron screamed in pain and more energon came out. Megatron groaned as the claws were slowly pulled out of his side. She took a deep breath before she charged at Mecha. He easily saw her coming and swiped at her. He hit right at her waist and blood spattered the floor as Elisa was flung into the wall again.

CRACK!

"NO!" Megatron shouted when he heard the crack. Elisa screamed as she crumbled to the ground clutching her broken hip.

"Stupid femme." Mecha sneered as he approached slowly with pride on his face.

"Mecha, I'll do whatever Magma wants. I'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt her." Megatron begged.

"SHUT UP HUMAN!" Mecha roared and Elisa flinched and curled up into a ball. "Magma doesn't want anything from you! Don't you get it!?" He growled. "You are weak, insignificant, and useless! You deserve nothing more than to lay at our feet and bow to our every whim. Us dragons will always be superior." Mecha finished. Megatron glared at Mecha's eyes unafraid and didn't even blink. Before Mecha could strike Magma and his two sons came into the room.

"What do you plan on doing?" Magma snapped and Mecha huffed in frustration.

"As long as DesGhidorah can walk, everything will be fine." Mecha said annoyed.

"That's not good enough. We need to get things moving now!" Magma ordered. Megatron blinked in surprise as he recognized the body language Mecha was displaying.

"Elisa look out!" Megatron shouted. Magma blinked in surprise, but was too late to stop the attack from Mecha. Using fire claws Mecha stabbed right at Magma's spark. He gasped in pain before Mecha released him and he fell to the floor. Activating his drill he slashed at Rhodius's and Rising Dawn's throats and more blood spattered the walls. Elisa screamed as her brother's blood spattered across her face. Megatron's optics went wide as the other two dragons fell to the floor gasping for breath. He extinguished Rising Dawn's spark without a second thought. Rhodius tried to put up a fight, but one hit that exposed his bleeding throat and he was gone as well.

"How…how could…you?" Magma gasped as he clutched at his bleeding spark.

"You're a fool Magma, nothing but a spoiled little prime." Mecha sneered. "I was just binding my time and now I have what I want." Mecha grinned as his red eyes turned a familiar shade of purple Megatron knew all too well.

"Wh-what are you?" Magma asked in pure fear. Mecha only growled deeply in reply for a moment.

"Everything you were not."

With that Mecha thrusted his purple claws deep into Magma's spark making him thrash in pain. Elisa let out small scream as his spark finally went dark. Mecha turned towards Megatron and stood on two legs tall and proud as his true colors were revealed. While a bit of black remained his color was replaced by a glowing purple.

"Dark energon." Megatron stated.

Ch. 33: Evaluation Period

With Mecha's true form revealed Megatron instantly felt fear for Elisa. He knew from first hand dark energon was deadly to either mech or dragon and Elisa was already in a dismal state. Elisa let out small whimpers now and then as Mecha started to drag the bodies out.

"Mecha you aahhhh!" Skyblade screamed when he saw Mecha glowing. Shadow huddled next to him while Slider and Glider remained frozen on the stop. SeekGazer was alarmed, but was able to hide it as he stared at the glowing Elder.

"You…you are a…a…"

"An Elder of course." Mecha sneered. 'It's very easy to conceal one's true form with enough power and experience." He chuckled. "Now are you going to be my good little servants or do you want to join your former leader?!" Mecha snarled holding Magma's dead body high in air. The remaining tribe instantly bowed to Mecha as they accepted him instantly as they feared for their sparks. Mecha came back into the room and went straight for Elisa.

"No! Get away from her!" Megatron shouted, but of course he was ignored as he turned Elisa onto her back making her moan in pain. Mecha stared at her as Elisa whimpered in fear.

"Hmmmm, what am I going to do with you?" Mecha teased. His claws started to trace her neck before they started to go lower…and lower.

"Megatron get him off me." Elisa sobbed.

That did it for him. With the last of the willpower he had flexed his arms and did his best to ignore the pain from the shocks as he tried to slam his fists to the ground.

And he did.

The binds shattered and Megatron was free, so with an angry shout he charged at Mecha. He tackled Mecha to the ground and slammed his blade at the first place he saw, which happened to be his chest. Mecha shouted in pain before he stabbed Megatron with his claws and they went right through his waist. Mecha shoved Megatron off of, but he started firing. Mecha roared as debris started to fall on him and bury him. Reacting fast Megatron grabbed Elisa, making her scream in pain as he hurried out and made for their escape.

"Attack!" Skyblade shouted as Megatron ran past him.

"Can anyone here me!?" Megatron shouted in com link as he kept running, never looking back. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he needed to get out or else Elisa could die down here. "Can anyone here me!?" He shouted again, but still no answer. "Aarrgh!" Megatron shouted as he was tackled again and Elisa was flung from his arms. He got up to see Mecha hovering above Elisa and hissing at him with deadly fangs exposed…and he noticed they were dripping a venom of some kind. He started firing, but Mecha easily ignored the blows and he fired at Megatron making him dodge and leap further back. It gave Mecha time and he bit Elisa right on her neck.

Megatron stumbled to his pedes at the sounds of Elisa's scream and he saw Mecha was pumping venom into her. He shoved his blade into Mecha's side and he snarled at Megatron in anger. He fired right into Mecha's mouth sending him back again. Megatron grunted when something hit him and he saw the remaining tribe charging after to him. Grabbing Elisa, she clutched at him tightly as he started running again.

"Somebody answer me!" He shouted in frustration, but still nobody answered. However, Primus seemed to be on his side because he started to see moonlight and so he headed towards it. He nearly burst into tears of joy when he finally made it to the surface. "Almost there Elisa hang on. Please hang on." He said as he kept running. "If anyone can hear me I need bridge now!" He snapped. Nobody answered but a bridge did open with Optimus and the predacons coming through and firing at the dragons chasing Megatron.

"You can't escape me!" Mecha shouted into the air as Megatron went through the bridge. Optimus stared at Mecha wide-eyed at his new form.

"Go!" He shouted at Predaking and they scrambled through the bridge. When they came through Optimus saw Elisa screaming in Megatron's arms and clutching him tightly as he cradled her. "Elisa…Elisa…it's alright. It's alright." Optimus said as he rubbed Elisa's side, but she continued to cry and hold Megatron tightly.

"She needs medical attention." Megatron huffed as he started to feel weak from energon loss. They scrambled to the medical bay and Megatron cautiously placed her on the berth, but Elisa wouldn't let go of his arm.

"No. No. No. No. Please Megatron…please no!" She pleaded as her breathing became erratic.

"Elisa…Elisa. It's alright. You're safe now." Megatron said caressing her cheek. Ratchet injected her with a sedative and she flinched, but almost immediately fell asleep. He quickly backed away to let Ratchet work. "Mecha broke her arm, wrist, hand, hip, and possibly a few ribs." Megatron explained as he backed away. Knockout guided him to another berth and he started working on his open wounds, but soon lost consciousness as well.

Megatron woke up first in a lot of pain. He groaned as he rubbed his waist and felt the work done to close the open wound. He looked around and saw Elisa on the table across from him. He got up from the table and grunted as his wounds still hurt him. He limped slightly as he walked over to her. Tears began anew as he saw the state she was in. Her entire right arm was in a cast and that included her wrist and fingers and there was a small cast around her hip. Her waist was heavily bruised as well as the rest of her body. He caught glimpses of bandages on her wings. He bowed his head in shame as he cried and his body shook with silent sobs as he rubbed Elisa's other arm.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry little one. I'm so sorry." He whispered before he kissed the top of her head. He looked up when he saw Ratchet and Optimus enter the room.

"You should be back in the berth. Those wounds are still tender." Ratchet said quietly as he went to the monitor to check Elisa's vitals.

"You should know by now that I have had a lot worse Ratchet." Megatron said quietly. It was then that he noticed her neck wound. It looked awful. He could see the veins in her skin as they had turned black and it seemed like it was seeping down her arm. "That has to be dark energon." Megatron said pointing to the wound and showing Optimus.

"We already know. It's spreading through her." Optimus said quietly. Megatron's spark fell at the thought of the dark venom taking her. He knew he couldn't let that happen.

"We're working on trying to eradicate it, but so far nothing seems to be working." Ratchet explained.

"What have you done?"

"Given her energon, but it just gets absorbed and turned into dark energon." Ratchet answered.

"I think it might act as a venom as I saw it dripping from Mecha's fangs. Is it possible to create an anti-venom?" Megatron asked.

"Possibly, now that you told us that." Ratchet said as he took a syringe and took a sample of Elisa's blood and it was already a darker color that was almost black. Ratchet quickly left with a sample to start working with Shockwave on an anti-venom. When the doors closed behind him Megatron looked back at Optimus with heavy optics.

"You should get some rest Megatron." Optimus said gently.

"I'm sorry Prime. I couldn't stop him. I was too weak." Megatron said in defeat.

"I'm not angry at you and I don't blame you for anything. I know she's safe with you." Optimus said in such a gentle tone that it made Megatron want to go on his knees and beg for forgiveness.

"He wouldn't leave her alone. I kept telling him to go after me, but he kept going for her." Megatron said.

"Don't beat yourself up over this. You need to get your strength back, because in case you haven't noticed, we need you Megatron." Optimus said with a slight tease.

"Thank you Optimus." Megatron said sincerely. Optimus gave his arm a pat before slowly leaving the room. Megatron let out a deep breath and sat down by Elisa's medical berth. He watched her for some time before he fell back into recharge.

"Ratchet this substance is highly unstable and quick to respond." Shockwave said as he looked over Elisa's blood sample.

"I'm well aware of this Shockwave, but we need to find a cure now." Ratchet said sternly.

"There is no cure for dark energon."

"This is a poison! There has to be a cure!" Ratchet shouted. "We can't look at the dark energon aspect of it, but anything else that stands out." Ratchet insisted slightly more calm. Shockwave didn't say anything, but returned to the work at hand.

Megatron groaned awake when Galvatron walked into the room.

"May I speak with you?" He asked seriously.

"Give me a moment." He grumbled as he slowly stood up with a flinch. "Getting old is not fun." Megatron mumbled before going out into the hallway with the dragon.

"What did you see?"

"He was glowing with dark energon, but I didn't see any shard on him. He said he was an Elder and he killed Magma and his two sons." Megatron explained.

"Oh scrap, this is worse than I thought." Galvatron groaned.

"Did you know any of this?" Megatron asked curiously.

"I had no idea Mecha was an elder. I knew he was a scientist like Shockwave. That is it." Galvatron answered. "How is she?" He asked nodding over to the room.

"Still asleep, but I think her wound is getting worse." Megatron said going back inside. The blackness had spread through her arm as Megatron could see it on her fingers. It was up further on her neck and spreading to the left side.

"Is that venom?" Galvatron asked.

"I don't know, possibly so. Mecha bit Elisa and the substance was leaking from his fangs." Megatron answered.

"I'll be back." Galvatron said before leaving.

Taking a bridge to one of the farther plains on Cybertron, Galvatron started digging. He had seen this venom before in one of Mecha's labs during the early days of the war and anti-venom had been made in case an epidemic broke, but it never happened. He knew the original sample was long gone, but the materials to make it weren't. He kept digging for the longest time before he finally hit what he was looking for.

Iron.

Through lab experiments they discovered that iron mixed with energon was thick enough to absorb any poison. Galvatron grinned as he held up the large shard before calling for a bridge and handing the shard to Ratchet.

"Melt this down and mix it with energon." Galvatron stated.

"What does Iron have to do with this?" Ratchet snapped.

"Iron and energon mixed are thick enough to absorb any poison. We found a sample of this venom that is inside Elisa long ago in one of Mecha's earlier labs." Galvatron answered.

"This way Ratchet." Shockwave said quickly.

"Nooooo….dooooon't…." Elisa moaned in her sleep alerting Megatron instantly.

"Elisa wake up." Megatron said gently shaking her. She cried out in pain and looked up at him.

"Megatron?!" She gasped in shock that he was here.

"Hello little one." Megatron said as he kissed her hand.

"You're ok." She said happily.

"Of course. How are you feeling?" He whispered.

"Tired, sore, and a little hot." She answered. The doors opened and Ratchet and Optimus came into the room. Ratchet had a needle that was filled with black liquid.

"Carrier what is that?" Elisa asked nervously. He blinked in surprise as she hadn't called him that for some time now, but he couldn't wait any longer.

"It's an anti-venom from the bite Mecha gave you." Ratchet answered calmly. He cautiously injected the substance inside and she moaned in pain. Optimus caressed her face in comfort as her breathing started to get heavy and she started to sweat.

"I don't feel good." She moaned as she started to wither under the medical straps. Ratchet reacted fast and got a bucket before she quickly started to purge hard. Megatron inwardly flinched at her hard coughs that shook her body and made her throat raw. She purged a grey substance mixed with purple and they knew the anti-venom was working. Thankfully for Elisa's painful ribcage she stopped purging and tried get her breathing down to normal. Ratchet scanned her vitals and saw they were improving and the blackness in her veins was disappearing fast.

"Thank the Allspark."

Elisa woke up in a forest, which puzzled her, since she had been on Cybertron for a while now. When she started to get up she gasped in pain as it ran down her back. She let out small whimpers as the pain continued as she tried to move. She gritted her teeth as she reached behind her and touched her back. Her eyes went wide and she panicked when she touched her back.

Her wings were gone.

Tears started running down her face as she started to scream. She screamed in pain both physical and metal as her wings had been cut from her body. She kept screaming and crying as the pain kept coming. As she kept screaming her vision started to fade, but someone was in her view at the same time.

"Elisa! Elisa! Elisa!" Megatron shouted as she kept screaming. She stopped screaming long enough to realize that Megatron was holding her and that she had been dreaming.

"Megatron!" She gasped breathing hard. She grabbed at his arm and cried out in pain as her arm was still in a cast and the sudden movement also hurt her broken ribs. He placed her hand back down on the berth and she looked around. She saw that she was in large quarters on a soft berth. The door opened and her Creators came running in with concern. "Sire…Carrier." She mumbled in pain.

"Hi Elisa." Optimus said happily and nuzzled her cheek. "You shouldn't be moving so be careful." He said gently. Ratchet started scanning her over to examine her wounds.

"How did I get here?" She mumbled.

"I got you back here." Megatron answered.

"Really? I don't remember…sorry." She said to Megatron.

"Don't worry about it little one." He chuckled.

"Wait…I…I remember something. Magma said something about DesGhidorah walking." She said quickly.

"We know Elisa. We led an assault on DesGhidorah and managed to destroy it's wings. Right now it hasn't been moving, but with Mecha's true form revealed I have a feeling that it will not last long." Optimus explained.

"What about Mecha?" She asked. The three mechs looked at each other for a moment.

"I'll get Galvatron quickly." Megatron said as he hurried out. Elisa looked at the door puzzled for a moment before Megatron came back in as Galvatron came back in as well.

"I'm glad to say someone is awake." He teased. She wave hello at him with her good hand. "Mecha is an Elder from what Megatron has described. Unfortunately he's one of the more powerful ones that we all thought had died out eons ago. I really don't know much about him, but what I do is not good. He's a master of creation and dark energon. DesGhidroah is currently disabled but we need to strike an assault soon, but you have to stay here. You need to heal." He said sincerely.

"Does he have a connection with Unicron?" Elisa asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they exchanged words once or twice, he could be that old." Galvatron answered.

"I'm sorry Galvatron, but you're going to have to leave now." Ratchet announced. He glared at the medic for a moment but quickly left the room and Elisa didn't fail to see the tension.

"Can I talk to Carrier real quick?" Elisa asked weakly. Megatron and Optimus reluctantly left the room and Ratchet came closer to her.

"Carrier…I…." She started.

"Don't. I'm sorry Elisa. You don't have to apologize I do." Ratchet said sincerely. "I shouldn't have said the things I said. I was wrong to take my grief out on you Elisa. I was just…oh Primus…I'm so sorry Elisa." Ratchet said with tears coming.

"It's ok Carrier. I missed you." She mumbled half-asleep because of the pain in her body.

"I missed you too." Ratchet whispered before he kissed her forehead.

"Love…Carrier." She whispered before she was back asleep.

"I love you too baby."

Ch. 34: Unknown Territory

Smokescreen gladly watched over Elisa as plans were discussed.

"As long as DesGhidorah stays put we have to strike now." Galvatron said sternly.

"An all-out assault is our best option." Megatron added.

"So you're basically saying just point and shoot?" Optimus asked plainly.

"Pretty much Prime." Megatron answered bluntly. Prime looked around the room and when nobody objected Optimus just nodded.

"Alright, I guess that's settled then."

Megatron checked on Elisa again as everyone started to gather weapons and divide into teams. She smiled at him weakly as he approached the berth.

"Feeling any better?" He asked quietly. He gently caressed her cheek and she blushed slightly.

"I don't feel as sore and I'm not cold anymore." She answered.

"That's good. We're going to leaving for a full assault on DesGhidorah. Ratchet is going to stay with you." He explained. He felt his spark racing as her claw tips gently caressed his upper chest-plates. He knew she probably didn't understand the tender gesture completely as she was still very sleepy.

"Good luck." She whispered. He started to walk away, but she grabbed at him again. He looked down at her and saw pain and fear in her eyes. He kneeled down right next to her face and she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Just come back ok?" She said in trembling voice. He smiled at her and hovered over her face for a moment.

"Of course Elisa, everything will be alright." He said in an assuring tone.

"Megatron…I…" She started but the words couldn't come. He knew she was still hurt by that fact that he watched her get tortured. He saw a tear of shame roll down her face, but he easily wiped it away.

"Don't feel like that. Don't be ashamed." He said tenderly before he suddenly realized how close he was to her and then her shaky hand caressed his face. He couldn't take it anymore.

So he leaned in and kissed her.

She quickly responded and gave into his touch. He felt her shiver in pleasure as their glossia intertwined for a brief moment. He gently pulled away, but their foreheads were still pressed together.

"Be careful." She whispered.

They expected a disabled DesGhidorah.

They did not expect Omega guards.

The large dragons roared and charged at the opponents as both humans and dragons charged at them without hesitation. The wreckers started firing while the dragons dug their fire claws in the first Omega they saw. Everyone else started to fight and weaken their opponent. Megatron shoved his blade through an Omega's head and it screeched in pain before he tossed it to the ground. He kept slashing away at the large guards, but just as quickly as the battle had started it ended when a loud roar sounded.

AAAARRRRRRRRAAAAGGHHHHH

Everyone froze when DesGhidorah roared and started to stand. The dragons immediately started to fly towards the large opponent and started to fire at it's legs, but the middle head started spewing hell fire. Everyone dodged out of the way and looked up to see the dragon standing up. He lifted his two front legs and slammed them to the ground knocking everyone back and skidding across the ground. Somehow Optimus got up first and started firing at the middle head with all his might. It screeched in anger and snapped at the air trying to get at them, but they were too fast. Galvatron and Cyclonous kept tackling the head with their fire claws. Nothing seemed to be working.

Something was different.

A deep roar sounded above them and the dragons looked up to see Mecha glaring at them.

"Stop him!" Galvatron shouted as he dove towards the Elder. Mecha simply whacked Galvatron out of the way and he slammed into the ground unconscious and bleeding. Cyclonous hurried to his side as Mecha kept grinning above them. Megatron transformed and hovered next to Prime.

"Behold my infinite might." Mecha shouted in mockery as purple lightning bolts started to connect to the three-headed dragon. DesGhidorah's eyes started to glow purple as dark energon entered it's body. Black wings started to emerge out of it's battered back. When it's wings opened it's chest had a purple glow to it.

"Ratchet we need a bridge now." Megatron ordered. The bridge opened quickly and everyone scrambled through it as Mecha laughed behind them.

"What happened?" Ratchet said as he looked over the battered Galvatron.

"Mecha upgraded the Ghidorah. He pumped it full of dark energon and it has wings." Megatron answered.

"Guess an all-out assault wasn't the best idea." Wheeljack muttered. Megatron only muttered to himself before he quickly left to Elisa's room.

"What's going on out there?" She asked quickly.

"DesGhidorah has been filled with dark energon." Megatron answered.

"Oh no." She said to herself.

"It's ok, we'll figure it out." Megatron said sternly.

"I can feel the energy from here Megatron. It scares me." She said nervously. Megatron rubbed her bad arm in comfort and she tugged at him to get closer. When he did she gave him a small kiss which he gladly returned. His servos gently started to race her body as he started to kiss her neck. She flinched when he pressed too deeply into her rib cage he quickly released her.

"Sorry." He said quietly.

"What do we do?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Is this real? I don't know what to do about something like this." She insisted.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want. I won't hurt you Elisa…not anymore, I promise." He said sincerely. The door opened and Optimus walked in to check on Elisa.

"Megatron told me what happened, are you alright?" Elisa asked him.

"I'm fine, Galvatron got hit hard." Optimus explained.

"What do we do now?" Elisa asked nervously.

"I'm not sure." Optimus said quietly. He looked over at Megatron and he nodded for him to follow. "Just be careful with her right now. She's still healing." He said with concern.

"My apologies, you're right." He said sincerely.

"Perhaps when this all has blown over we can discuss some things." Optimus said and Megatron nodded.

"They're having a meeting." Ratchet suddenly spoke up as he walked up to them. They hurried to the main hall and on the screen was a picture of DesGhidorah with the purple glow in the center of it's chest.

"So everyone knows it's dark energon that DesGhidorah is being powered by now." Galvatron started. "It we destroy this we stop the monster." He announced.

"We can't stop the monster truly until Mecha is defeated." Predaking added.

"True, but no one is powerful enough to defeat him." Cyclonous added.

"What about Optimus? He's a Prime?" Ratchet asked curiously.

"He's only one Prime." Galvatron said quietly.

"But Elisa's healing. She's in no condition to fight let alone walk!" Smokescreen protested.

"I'm well aware of that Smokescreen." Galvatron snapped.

"So what exactly are we going to do?" Ultra Magnus asked. Galvatron let out a bitter sigh as he really didn't know what to do.

"Wait a minute, you guys are dragons can't you just take the spark out with Prime's help?" Bee asked.

"No, a Prime's fire is more powerful we would just get in the way." Galvatron answered.

"So you're saying that even your fire couldn't help at all?" Bee asked.

"No, our fire isn't even going to burn through dark energon. If we could do that we would have done it already." Galvatron said irritated.

"I could sooner do that then transform into a helicopter." Cyclonous added.

"We can just sit here and wait for that monster to destroy Cybertron." Arcee protested.

"We really don't have a choice right now." Galvatron grumbled.

Elisa wanted to get up and hurry to see what was going on, but she had a broken hip and it hurt to move her body still. Smokescreen came in a little bit later and smiled over at her.

"Hey E how yah doing?" He asked.

"Sore and what's going on?" She asked quickly.

"Mecha put dark energon into DesGhidorah and now we can't kill it." He answered sadly.

"But there has to be a way." Elisa insisted.

"Well there is, but it involves you." He said nervously.

"What? What do I have to do?" She asked.

"The monster has a purple spark that you can see. If you and Optimus could get close to it than you could extinguish it and the monster would be killed." He explained. Elisa was silent for a moment as she thought about the plan.

"I could do it." Elisa said.

"What?! No way Elisa! You can't even walk yet." Smokescreen protested.

"If we don't do something than that thing could destroy Cybertron and nobody could come home." She insisted.

"What in the Allspark is going on here!?" Ratchet snapped as he burst into the room.

"Nothing." Smokescreen blurted out.

"Carrier, let me help you against DesGhidroah." Elisa insisted.

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet shouted. "You have to heal. You can't even get out of the berth yet. Do you really think you'll last one minute out on that battle field?" Ratchet demanded.

"But Carrier we don't have that kind of time. I want to help please." She begged.

"Elisa the answer is no." Ratchet said calmly. She bowed her head in shame and Ratchet knew the conversation was over. He snatched Smokescreen up and he gave a yelp as he was dragged out of the room. Smokescreen kept protesting as Megatron strolled by him with a curious look. "Be gentle." Ratchet said to him as they left down the hall. Megatron went into Elisa's room and saw her crying into her pillow. He sat down and rubbed her back in comfort as she continued to cry. When she finally looked up at him she was wiping tears away.

"I want to help." She whimpered out.

"Elisa you must rest. You need to heal." Megatron said gently.

"We don't have time for that. I can help please." She begged.

"Elisa we can work through this, but right now you need to stay put." Megatron stated.

"You should know I really can't stand still." Elisa mumbled.

"I know, but you have too many broken bones and more broken bones won't help you." Megatron said. He gently pushed her back down on the berth and rubbed her side in comfort. She reluctantly closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

More dragons invaded Elisa's dreams. Roars and flashes of fire clouded her vision making her frightened as she ran across the plains. She ducked behind some breathing hard and in fear for her spark. The noise was getting too loud for her as she clutched her head in pain.

"Somebody…please help me." She whimpered out, but nobody could hear her as they were all fighting. Lightning and thunder flashed in front of her and she looked up and gasped. A dark blue dragon landed in front of her, but he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were silver and he had large horns on his head. Stripes of light blue glittered across his body as he took a deep breath and let out a might roar that made Elisa scream in fright. If she could roll into a ball she would have, but all she could do was huddle in fright.

Another large dragon charged behind her at the dark blue male. This dragon was pitch black with purple glowing out of it's body. To her it looked like dark energon and that dragon reminded her of Mecha. Just as the black dragon was going to hit the blue dragon, he grabbed his opponent and bit him in the throat. Dark energon seemed from the wounds as the dragons started walking away from her. Elisa wasn't sure what to do as she was frozen in fright.

"Sire…Carrier…Megatron?" She whimpered out, but again it was too quiet for anyone to hear. She was shaking badly when a small blue light suddenly appeared in front of her. The light was comforting and sent the fear away. She slowly held out her hand, but the light went right into her spark. Elisa gasped as enormous strength suddenly ran through her body. She stood up and flew into the air and looked to see the two Alpha males still fighting. Focusing her spikes glowed blue and she unleashed her heatray on the black dragon.

He let out a high-pitch roar of pain as he was instantly destroyed.

The blue dragon flew up and stared at her for a moment when he lifted up his hand and she saw blue fire claws. He touched her spark gently and Elisa screamed as enormous energy ran through her body.

Elisa gasped as she woke up before quickly bending over in pain as her body was still hurting. She looked around her room and saw that Megatron had left and she was alone. She looked around the room and made up her mind. She threw off the covers and grabbed her bad leg and slowly turned to the side of the berth. She whimpered as she finally set her legs down on the ground. She groaned when she stood up only to fall to the ground breathing hard. She whimpered loudly as she stood up on four legs and started to drag herself across the floor as she started to walk with three legs. The door opened and she looked to see nobody was in the hallway. She wanted fresh air and so she started to make her way outside. It took her a long while to get outside but she did and nearly collapsed when she was there. She laid down and took a few deep breaths to steady her aching body.

"Elisa what are you doing out here!?" Optimus cried out in surprise when he found her.

"I wanted some fresh air." She said tiredly. He hurried over to her and nuzzled her neck in affection before he licked at her bruises to try and make her feel better.

"You should be in bed." He said quietly.

"I can't sleep. I keep getting nightmares." She replied quietly.

"About what?"

"War."

She didn't see Optimus turn away and bowed his head in shame. He didn't want this for her. He didn't want Elisa to be constantly be in fear and wonder if she would survive the next day. He wanted better for her.

"We need to get you back to your room." Optimus said quietly and started lift her up. She cried out in pain making his hesitate.

"Just a few moments please Sire?" She begged. He took a deep breath trying to figure out what to do, but he decided to let her stay for a few minutes.

"Has Megatron been behaving himself?" Optimus asked making her blush.

"Of course Sire why?" She asked curiously.

"Just asking." He said quietly. She settled back down again and Optimus noticed she fell asleep quickly. He just watched her sleeping form for a while and just didn't have the spark to wake her for the moment.

Fortunately, something else did.

He nearly jumped when a blue light just seemed to appear out of nowhere. He watched it circle them and reacting on instinct he tried to swipe at it to either make it go away or catch it. He gasped when the blue light suddenly went inside Elisa's chest and she instantly let out a scream of pain as silver light washed over her. She was lifted into the air and her eyes glowed silver as her wounds healed before his eyes. The bruises faded away and the broken bones healed as the casts over her body fell to the ground. Her wings grew longer and her skinny body more muscular and the markings on her back glowed gold and remained that color. Any traces of red in her skin disappeared as silver took it's place. She leaned down and took a deep breath before she let out a mighty roar that seemed to echo for miles and everyone inside the base jumped at the sound as it seemed to make the walls vibrate. Once the sound was gone Elisa landed softly on the ground laying down as if she had still been sleeping. Optimus immediately went over to her.

"Elisa! Wake up!" He insisted as he shook her awake. She slowly woke up and looked at him confused as if she didn't know what had just happened.

"Sire…what's wrong?" She asked half-asleep as she stood up.

"Elisa…don't…don't you remember?" He asked confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked. They looked to see Galvatron, Cyclonus and Megatron land and quickly run over to them.

"What happened?" Galvatron asked, but quickly froze when he looked at Elisa. She gasped when her chest glowed and Optimus recognized the familiar shape around her spark.

"It can't be." Cyclonus said in shock.

"The Matrix of Leadership." Optimus stated.

Ch. 35: Final War

"Wow Sire, this is heavy." Elisa said placing a hand over her chest. She looked at her healed body and nodded in approval. "I wish it would have made me taller." She teased.

"That has to come naturally." Galvatron explained as he came up to her. "You're still growing. It doesn't make you grow any faster." He teased slightly.

"So what happens now?" Elisa asked nervously.

"First we have to tell the others." Optimus answered.

"Woah!" Smokescreen spoke first after the announcement was made. "I always knew you had it in you E." He said proudly.

"That was you?" Ratchet asked amazed and she nodded. "That echo was for miles." He added.

"Sorry, but during those few brief moments I really don't remember what I did." Elisa said with a shrug. "So what are we going to do about Mecha?" Elisa asked trying to get everyone focused. It worked and a hologram of DesGhidorah was brought onto the screen.

"Right now DesGhidorah is in the plains, but for some reason not moving just yet." Optimus started. "If we attack it's spark perhaps it would be disabled for good." He added as the purple orb in the center of the chest became highlighted.

"I don't have that kind of fire power." Elisa said.

"You and Optimus do." Cyclonus said quickly.

"What exactly happened during the last fight?" She asked.

"Mecha was waiting. He had a pack of Omegas before we could even get to the big dragon." Magnus spoke up.

"Obviously we can't do a head on assault like before but perhaps hitting in teams to distract him?" Elisa suggested.

"Like what you did at my former citadel?" Megatron said with a sly smile making Elisa roll her eyes.

"No, it's too risky for the moment. Only scouting teams in the ground and the air. If Mecha isn't moving he has to be planning something." Optimus stated.

Elisa wanted to help with the surveillance, but nearly everyone insisted that it was a bad idea. Plus, they wanted the information of Elisa being the new Matrix bearer a secret from Mecha for the moment. She couldn't stay still so she kept pacing around for a while trying to ease her newly healed muscles.

"Elisa." A familiar voice called out to her.

"Hi Megtaron. Everything alright?" She asked.

"No news at the moment." He answered coming towards her. It felt good to see her healthy again. He started to caress her cheek and she smiled and took his large servo tracing her claws over the metal. "What were you doing out on that balcony?" He asked curiously.

"I needed some air. I couldn't sleep well. I was having nightmares." She answered.

"About what?"

"War."

Megatron blinked in surprise at the answer and looked over her for a moment. "May I ask what happened in the dream?" He whispered.

"I was dreaming about two dragons, one blue and one black. They just kept fighting until I managed to stop them." She answered.

"Perhaps it is a sign of good luck." He said with hope. She smiled back at him and leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss. He leaned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. The kiss broke and he leaned into her neck and gave her skin gentle kisses. "When this is over I promise to take care of you if you'll let me." He whispered sincerely.

"Of course, but right now I would like to take this slow." She said nervous of his reaction. He gave her a gentle smile and nodded in understanding.

"Whatever you'd like little one."

"What is that?" Wheeljack asked as they looked at the screen.

"It's a…graveyard." Elisa answered as they received footage.

Mecha was working furiously on something in a makeshift lab on the surface. He was surrounded by purple fog as the remains of Magma's tribe wondered around limping and wheezing in pain as the dark energon was too much for them. DesGhidorah growled deeply as he stood watch with red eyes and a purple heartbeat. "Get back here now. All that dark energon will do you no good!" Elisa insisted immediately. Both teams came back and Ratchet checked them over just to be sure, but everyone was in good health.

"Soundwave could you see what was on the ground?" Megatron asked, but he shook his head negative. "Something is underneath that fog and it's not good." He stated.

"What was your first guess?" Arcee said sarcastically. Megatron chose not to reply.

"Is there any way to clear that fog?" Elisa asked Galvatron and Cyclonus.

"No not unless we attack Mecha." Galvatron answered. Her shoulders slumped over at the answer and knew the odds were not good.

"While a full on assault is not our best option right now, perhaps guerrilla warfare is our best option." Ultra Magnus spoke.

"Now you're speaking my language." Wheeljack said happily.

"What is that?" Elisa asked confused.

"Random attacks, but we could attack in waves instead of a full on charge." Magnus suggested. Optimus bowed his head in defeat. He knew they were out of options and out of time. Mecha could spread the dark energon all over the planet if they let him continue his work.

"I am afraid we don't have a choice. From what we have seen we have run out of time. Autobots prepare for battle." Optimus announced.

Predaking offered to be part of the first wave, but they couldn't risk having the predacons be taken out so fast. Instead the wreckers went first and blew up several grenades over the plans attracting DesGhidorah's attention and putting Mecha on high alert. DesGhidorah reacted fast as the middle head spewed hell fire trying to locate it's opponent, but the wreckers were already gone and moved behind the giant and started setting off grenades behind him. Mecha growled in frustration and with a wave of his hand three figures stood up.

"Find out the source now!" He roared. Elisa watched the figures and saw that they were dragons and had dark energon infused in their bodies.

"More soldiers….great." Galvatron huffed.

"They look different." Elisa whispered to him in caution, but the older dragon just rolled his eyes and inched closer to attack. They saw a grenade go off in a certain spot and more of the grounders rolled out into the battle field for sneak attacks. Elisa stayed put and noticed more purple fog rolling. "Galvatron! Cyclonus get back here!" She whispered fiercely, but it was too late as DesGhidorah fired in their direction and sent everyone scrambling for cover.

"Get them!" Mecha roared.

The three dragons charged and the battle was on.

Elisa scrambled out of the way as the fog cleared away as if sucked in to something and Elisa feared she knew who that was. She took one look at Mecha and gasped loudly. She could see a black aurora around him that just made the air around her cold and she was many feet away. What frightened her about the aurora was that it was out in plain sight, not just her in energy vision. Something un-natural was going with Mecha and she realized that she had to stop it fast. Taking a deep breath Elisa let out a mighty roar that instantly attracted Mecha's attention. He glared at her and snorted, purple smoke coming out of his nostrils as he stood on two legs, opened his wings and roared right back.

The two dragons charged at each other and all Elisa could think was that this fight was going to be the one from her dream. She had to win if Cybertron was to be saved. She tried to dig her claws into his chest, but Mecha was much faster and more experienced and grabbed her and bit right into her throat. She shouted in pain as she started to bleed before she was slammed to the ground on her back. She coughed and tried to look up at Mecha, but her vision was blurry for a few brief moments. Mecha raised his fire claws high ready to strike.

"Elisa!" Optimus shouted as he fired at Mecha. It was direct hit that sent him stumbling back, but not falling to the ground. Elisa rose on four unsteady legs as her Sire tackled Mecha to the ground. Her eyes went wide as the two Alpha dragons immediately started to bite and claw at each other. Optimus gave an angry roar when he was dragged through the ground by Mecha's teeth. He stood back up on two legs and gave a loud, baritone roar and charged at Mecha swiping fire claws at him.

"Sire no!" Elisa protested, but it was drowned out by DesGhidorah's roar. The three-headed dragon fired at her and she dodged out of the way and flew right up to the beast's eyes in aggravation.

"Elisa!" Galvatron and Cyclonus shouted, but she ignored them and fired her heat ray right at it's purple spark. The dragon let out a high-pitch roar of pain as it stumbled back and nearly fell onto it's side, shooting fire balls madly at it's opponents. Elisa went to fire again, but was tackled by one of the new dragons. She was right in saying that they looked different as this dragon was all black with purple eyes and nothing else. It even acted like it was inanimate almost. By the time she hit the ground she realized she was fighting nothing but a shadow. She placed fire claws on either side of it's shoulders and it tried to instantly get away, but she held fast. She continued to burn the creature until the fire started to spread. It let out a hideous shriek of pain as the light consumed it and the darkness instantly disintegrated.

She looked up and saw that DesGhidorah and gotten back on it's feet, but it was still slightly disoriented. Another shriek sounded and Elisa saw Galvatron and Cyclonus burning another shadow. She looked for the third shadow, but it was nowhere to be found. She was looking for too long and DesGhidorah shot a fireball at her. It was a direct hit that sent her skidding into the dirt. She groaned as she tried to get up but her body was just too hot all over. She heard the sizzling of her skin and her eyes cracked open to see smoke coming off her body because of burns. She heard gunshots and more snarls and she looked to see autobots and decpeticons firing at the remaining dragons while trying to get a shot at DesGhidorah. Elisa started to step forward, but she fell hard on the ground breathing hard as her body was still very much in pain. Her vision went blurry again and the sounds became nothing but mumbles as her ears started to ring. Suddenly someone grabbed her and lifted Elisa to her feet. That person was shouting something at her. Elisa looked and recognized Smokescreen.

"Elisa are you alright?" He asked.

"Huh? Oooh…yeah I'll be alright." Elisa said slowly regaining her senses. A roar of pain suddenly sounded making them jump and Elisa turned to see her Sire was losing against Mecha. She growled and dove up after him. She fired her heatray and hit his wing making him snarl in anger. He swiped Optimus aside and fired at Elisa, but she easily dodged it and tackled him in the air. They suddenly became a tangled mess of wings and claws as they corkscrewed through the air. He suddenly focused on her spark and he let out a deep growl that sent a chill down Elisa's spine.

"The Matrix." He said with pure rage in his deep voice. With a snarl and fangs extended from his mouth and tried to bite at her. Elisa was ready and alert for venom this time so she grabbed at his mouth and twisted him any which way away from her. Getting aggravated quickly he pushed her away with fire claws. She yelped as she felt blood on her waist, but reacted fast and fired at him. He swooped out of the way and Elisa covered her ears when a loud roar sounded. Someone was shouting for her to get out, but she ignored them and turned to face the beast. Summoning up all of her anger and fury, Elisa let out a mighty roar of defiance. In the brief silence that followed everything seemed to stop. Nobody moved or blinked or even breathe. It was as if the roar was an announcement.

The announcement was: This is it.

Just as fast as that moment of silence came it left and everyone was back fighting again. The wreckers were fighting Glider, the large blue muscle dragon, while Arcee, Smokescreen, and Knockout were fighting his much faster red partner Slider. Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave were dealing with Shadow and Skyblade and Ratchet and Shockwave was destroying the makeshift lab equipment. The predacons were annoying DesGhidorah to no end. Galvatron and Cyclonus were tending to Optimus as he was trying desperately to get to his feet. Only Mecha attacked and all three of them stumbled back.

"Elisa get after DesGhidorah!" Cyclonus shouted. She gritted her teeth, but did as instructed.

"Predaking! I need your help!" She shouted as she approached the purple spark. He followed her lead and she nodded for him to shoot. His pure fire shot into the air and Elisa added her blue heatray. The two blended and hit DesGhidorah head on and he let out an angry screech of pain. Elisa and Predaking continued to charge, but DesGhidorah shot it's hell fire and the two were forced to dodge and separate. The left head started shooting fire balls at her, but she easily dodged it and got another direct hit at the purple glow. DesGhidorah roared up on it's hind legs and roared in pain. Elisa suddenly froze, but not by her own will, as her eyes were suddenly zoomed in on the purple spark and she saw something.

The spark was cracked.

The vision the Matrix gave her vanished quickly and she knew what she had to do. She was hesitant and she looked away and saw the three dragons fighting against Mecha and holding him back. A suddenly yelp drew her attention and she saw Skyblade was gaining ground on Starscream. Grumbling in annoyance Elisa easily knocked the dragon off of the seeker.

"Hehe…hi Elisa." Skyblade said weakly. She grabbed him by the throat and he whimpered as she brought him up to her face and she growled baring her teeth. She felt his body tense in fear before she threw him right into Shadow. The two nearly fell to the ground before they untangled themselves.

"Thanks." Starscream said to her before he started to shoot at the dragons again. She looked back at DesGhidorah and saw the three predacons firing yet again at him. She took a deep breath to steady herself before she went for the spark. She couldn't and wouldn't stop this time even as the middle head snapped at her as if to gobble her up. When she was out of range of his bite her fire claws glowed as she sank them right into the spark. DesGhidorah let out a high-pitch roar of pain as she kept sinking the claws deeper and deeper.

"No!" She heard Mecha shout. She didn't dare turn around and look as the predacons reacted quickly and blocked Mecha from getting to her as DesGhidorah kept tossing and turning to try and get her off of him. As she kept digging making the crack larger she felt her arms burning from the dark energon…and her wings…and her spikes…and her legs. The dark energon was fighting against her, trying to expel her just as any body would of an intrusion. She was getting hotter and hotter by the second and she just wanted to leave and never come back. She growled to herself working furiously and she pushed harder to make the spark shatter. She heard shots and roars behind her, but she didn't dare look.

The Matrix glowed brightly as if to help her and suddenly the air went cold, so cold that Elisa could see her breath. She didn't know if this was because of the Matrix or the dark energon, but she couldn't afford to care as she had a job to do. Everyone looked on as her spikes glowed blue. Without hesitation she fired right at the spark and continued to fire even after it felt like her lungs would burst, but the Matrix just gave her more power.

"No! No! No!" Mecha shouted as he kept getting blocked. Predaking swung his tail and gave Mecha a direct hit sending him flying. Suddenly everyone stopped and looked when a red light appeared. Elisa's spikes were now glowing red and she spewed a red heatray.

"Come on Elisa!" Smokescreen cheered.

The instant the red heatray hit the spark it shattered.

Purple light just exploded everywhere and everyone was sent flying. DesGhidorah let out one final desperate roar before it collapsed and disintegrated into nothing. Purple particles floated in the air before slowly fading. When the fog cleared Elisa stood flying high holding a fragment of the spark in her glowing claws. She let out a mighty roar and shattered the bit in her claws.

RRRRARAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

An angry roar sounded making everyone jumped as Mecha roared into the air. Everyone scattered when he fired at everyone in frenzy. Elisa hurried to join the fight, but was thrown back as well. Before she could get up she was pinned to the ground and a rage infused Mecha stood over her.

"My Matrix." He snarled in an unnatural voice. Her eyes went wide and terror grabbed her spark as she stared at fangs that were dripping with deadly hunger. Just as he was about to bit her he was tackled again by Optimus. Elisa could only stare as fangs snapped and claws slashed through flesh in a frantic battle as Optimus Prime and Mech stood on two legs fighting each other like the Alpha Males they were. Optimus managed to bit the back of Mecha's neck and dragged him across the ground. Mecha growled in anger as he grabbed at Optimus and flung him to the ground. He instantly slammed his claws into Prime's gut and he let out shout of pain.

"Sire!" Elisa shouted as she ran over to attack Mecha. Instead he swung his claws right at her head and she let out a scream of pain as she hit the ground hard. She got up quickly and tried to go after him again. Mecha only frowned as he knocked her over with his tail. She was breathing hard and she thought a few bones might have been broken by now. She got up on shaky legs and tried to fire her heat ray but another tail whip landed on her neck and made her dizzy.

Why wasn't anyone else coming?

She groaned as she looked around and she was shocked to see a dark energon barrier burning brightly and blocking everyone from getting closer to them. Her legs were shaking as she stood up yet again. Blood was starting to come from her mouth as she glared up at Mecha. She was done being afraid.

Elisa Prime was pissed off.

Letting out another bloody snarl she leaped at Mecha. He anticipated the blow yet again and he grabbed her neck and slammed her to the ground. She groaned in pain and coughed up more blood as she looked up at Mecha still baring her bloody teeth.

"Why do you still get up?!" He snapped at her.

"I can't let you win." She wheezed out.

"Elisa! Get out!" Megatron shouted out in desperation.

"I'll make you stay down and never get up." He sneered. He turned away from Elisa and walked over to Optimus.

"Sire! Sire get up!" Elisa shouted as she turned to her side and tried to get up, but only coughed up more blood. Mecha turned Optimus' head towards Elisa and he smiled at her weakly.

Everything's going to be ok baby.

Elisa shouted in pain as she stood up, but hit the ground hard again, pain rolling in waves over her body.

Mecha raised his fire claws and sank them deep into Prime's spark.

Optimus Prime let out a scream of pain as Mecha twisted his claws and Optimus withered in pain. Tears and pain ran across Elisa's body as she stumbled to her feet. Letting out a bitter snarl she tackled Mecha to the ground. She buried her fire claws into his shoulders and bit him right in the throat.

I can't let you win.

With her remaining strength she pulled Mecha's throat out with her teeth. His eyes went wide as blood poured out instantly and he could barely breath, but Elisa knew the blow wasn't enough to kill him. She barely flinched when his claws dug deep into her side. She spat out the flesh in her mouth and lifted him off his feet. Mecha stumbled in pain and still was bleeding heavily as Elisa forced him to his knees.

I can't let you win.

She yanked open his mouth and fired her heat ray right into his body. She remained focused on the light inside his body as it slowly died and was extinguished for good. A dragon's fire extinguished another dragon's spark. It didn't matter if it came from the claws or the mouth. When Mecha's spark became no more Elisa's heatray gradually died out. Not a few moments later she realized she was holding Mecha's head in her hands. She snorted in disgust before she dropped it and ran over to her Sire. He was breathing hard and gritting his teeth to stay awake. Elisa grabbed at him and lifted Optimus into her lap and caressed his face.

"It's ok Sire. I got him. We won." She said happily with tears in her eyes. She didn't look as the fire barrier slowly died down. He smiled up at her and flinched in pain. "Hang on Sire please." She begged desperately.

"It's ok Elisa." Sire whispered. He gave her neck a tender lick before flinching in pain again. His strong golden aurora was fading before her eyes and she didn't know what to do. "Stick together alright. Stay with Megatron…I know…he will…take care of you." Optimus whispered.

"Sire come on. It's ok." She cried. She shook him gently to try and get him to stay awake, but his eyes were starting to close.

It's ok baby.

I love you both.

Optimus' eyes closed and didn't open again.

"Sire…Sire…SIRE!" Elisa started to scream to get her Sire to wake up, but he stopped moving and was quickly started to feel cold. She let out a bitter sob before she let out a mourning roar that made everyone realize what had happened.

"Optimus!" Ratchet shouted as he started to run. Elisa didn't hear him as she looked down at him. She let out a gasp when the Matrix suddenly glowed and everything was too bright to see. Everyone covered their optics as there was a silver light. It lasted only for a few moments before the light faded. Everyone looked and saw Elisa laying over someone. Nearly everyone scrambled over to them, but the predacons circled around them to give them space. Ratchet was allowed through and he gasped in surprised when he saw Elisa laying on top of Optimus.

Optimus had his cybertronic body back.

"Optimus!" Ratchet snapped trying to get him to wake up. Optimus let out a deep groan and slowly stood up. He rubbed his helm and saw that he had a servo instead of claws.

"Ratchet…wha-what happened?" Optimus said confused. Ratchet let out a sigh of relief as he looked over at Optimus. They looked down at Elisa and she was unconscious but still breathing. Ratchet did a quick scan and saw that she was stable.

"Elisa?" Ratchet called out. She groaned loudly as she stood up clutching at her head.

"What happened?" She groaned before she looked up at Optimus. "Sire!" She screamed for joy and wrapped her arms around him hard making grunt for a moment.

"Hi baby." Optimus said happily it was then that he saw his jetpack lying close by and he had to smile. Everyone slowly stood on unsteady legs and walked up to everyone. Elisa spotted the remaining dragons and hurried over to them.

"What do you want?" Shadow snapped.

"I'm giving you a chance." She answered calmly. "Come with us and live in peace." She said sincerely.

"Sorry no chance." Shadow said before he started to walk away.

"My offer stands to everyone." She added. All the dragons eyes looked over at each other before they all decided to back away.

"We'll stay together by ourselves." Slider said getting closer to his mate.

"If that's what you want, but you're always welcome to come back. I promise." She said sincerely.

"Thanks Elisa….glad you turned out better than Magma." Skyblade said before they all dove off into the sky. She turned around and was instantly tackled to the ground by some of the team as they kept shouting for joy at the victory. In the blur she spotted Smokescreen's colors.

"Smokescreen…can't breathe." She gasped and he started shoving everyone off. When he tried to pull her to her feet she fell right back down. "Sorry Smokescreen, I'm spent." She groaned in pain. She still had burns and she was pretty sure she still had some broken bones somewhere.

"Well we can't exactly take a ground bridge back." Ratchet huff still holding Optimus tightly. Soundwave did that for them and opened a bridge instantly.

Elisa was asleep by the time everyone got through.

Ch. 36: Peace

Elisa started healing quickly and she saw bonds start to form between everyone. Starscream and Knockout got closer. Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus were a pair while Elisa wasn't surprised to see Wheeljack and Bulkhead get at it. Bee and Arcee were just too cute in her opinion and every so often she was shocked to see Soundwave and Shockwave getting closer. Megatron kept close to her but was respectful of boundaries as she was still young. The predacons were adorable as ever as Predaking tended to Darkseel and Skylynx without hesitation right in front of everyone. Sire was sad to lose his dragon body, but the jetpack made up for that somewhat. He and Carrier seemed to be closer together and she was happy that they were happy. Once she was back on her feet she started helping with reconstruction. Although she was surprised that there wasn't many refugees returning.

"Give it a little bit of time, people are coming from light-years away and they may not have the transportation we had." Ratchet said as he looked over again for what seemed liked the millionth time.

"Carrier, I'm fine you've already checked me over twice today." She insisted with a laugh.

"I'm just making sure." He insisted right back at her. He gave her a quick kiss before retreating and Elisa was able to get back to work. She was working with Smokescreen as Megatron was doing more of the heavy lifting with her Sire. Everything seemed to be going so well that Elisa wasn't sure it was real, but it was. She was so used to fighting, no reconstruction.

"So how are you and Ultra Magnus?" Elisa asked curiously. Smokescreen immediately blushed.

"How did you know?" He asked embarrassed.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm happy for you." She said with a smile.

"Slow, but steady, nothing official yet." He answered. "He's a lot different from when he first got here. He's a lot more easy going and not strict anymore. He's really gentle." Smokescreen added.

"Awww that's nice. I'm glad you're happy." She said sincerely.

"So what's the scoop with you and Megatron?" He asked grinning.

"Oh…nothing much. It's a steady thing, he's being respectful and talking to Sire and Carrier about things." She answered.

"That's fair." He nodded. "Have you seen Bee and Arcee?" He whispered into her ear.

"I know. They make the cutest couple." She laughed.

"I'm surprised Knockout and Starscream got together, considering what they've done to each other." He commented.

"Well sometimes it just works out that way. Megatron's told me Starscream still comes to him every now and then." She explained.

"You're ok with that?" He asked amazed.

"Yeah, Carrier told me about this stuff." She said slightly embarrassed this time.

"What stuff?" He asked edging her on.

"Like how you can share…other partners. I believe that humans called it…polyamorous." She said quietly blushing.

"Well, it's part of our culture. It's one less thing we have to worry about." He shrugged. Elisa slumped her head over laughing as Smokescreen gave her a playful push.

"Ok moving on!" She laughed.

Elisa groaned in relief as she crawled into the berth. Megatron always went to recharge later than her so she wasn't bothered by his absence. With all the work she had done today she easily slipped into sleep. She didn't hear Megatron come in about an hour later. He stood against the wall as the door closed and he just watched Elisa's sleeping form. He had been worried that the Matrix might have changed her in some way, but he was glad to say that he couldn't have been more wrong. It made her stronger, healthier, and happier. He didn't care about the power of the Primes anymore. He had learned the hard way about how badly his obsession hurt others. He made a vow to never go back. He wanted to learn about life again and he would gladly do it with Elisa. He quietly crawled up to the berth and rubbed her side to wake her. He wanted to show her something. She mumbled in her sleep but otherwise didn't wake.

"Elisa?" Megatron whispered. She twitched again, but no open eyes. "Elisa." He called out a little more loudly. She groaned and cover her eyes.

"Just five more minutes Megatron please." She groaned and he had to chuckle as she thought it was morning.

"It's not morning yet, in fact it's barely even midnight." He said and shook her a little. She huffed as she looked over at him before giving him a smile. "I have to show you something." He said eagerly. She looked at him confused as he got off the berth and expected her to follow.

"What is it?" She asked confused. He rolled his optics before he grabbed her and pulled her into his chestplates as he started to carry her. She had to laugh at the gesture.

"I'll show you when we get there." He whispered.

"Oh ok." Elisa whispered back.

"Close your eyes." He said before they went through a groundbrige. She did as she was told and they went through. "Open." He said when the bridge closed behind them. Elisa opened her eyes and gasped at the beautiful sight before her. Everything was glowing brightly, but it was all crystal. The crystal was all shiny and glittering in the moonlight and she couldn't believe all the colors she saw as she got out of Megatron's arms and looked around.

"It's so beautiful." She said amazed.

"I'm glad you like it." He said with a smile. She looked over at him and he leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her back up into his body as he continued to kiss her. She hummed as he ran his fingertips down her back making her shiver in delight as he started to kiss her neck. It only lasted a few moments before he set her back down her feet.

"Can you do me a favor?" She asked.

"What?"

"Can you shrink a little for me….please!?" She teased. He had to laugh.

"You still have some growing to do little one." He teased right back. She stuck her tongue out at him and they laughed some more. "Come." He said holding out his servo. She took it and he guided her through the crystal garden until they came up to what reminded her of willow trees on earth except that they were glowing blue instead of white. Elisa felt right at home here. She felt warm all over from the positive energy that came out of the crystals.

"It's so beautiful here." She said staring at the glowing branches.

"It matches your colors." Megatron added she only nodded as she continued to look around. "I have something for you." He said suddenly drawing her attention. Elisa became instantly nervous as he got down on one knee and handed her a small box. She knew he didn't like earth customs so why would he do this? She opened the box and nearly dropped it when she saw a beautiful necklace sparkling brightly in the light. The first three strings had two blue with silver crystals in the middle. The fourth string had several extensions of red, gold and purple crystals, while there was only one blue extension in the middle.

"Oh Megatron." Elisa cried. Tears of joy started to flow as she couldn't take her eyes off of it.

"It is my gift to you." He said sincerely.

"But I have no gift for you." She said slightly ashamed.

"I don't need a gift from you Elisa. It is a gift that I give you in hopes that you will accept my courtship." He said elegantly and proud. Elisa smiled to herself as she already knew the answer.

"Of course Megatron. I accept your courtship." She said happily. He was still taller than her on his knees, but she was able to easily wrap her arms around his neck as he held her closely. "Can you put it one?" She asked eagerly after a moment. He only nodded as he took the necklace and clasped it to her neck.

"You look so beautiful Elisa." He said gently. He let out a surprise grunt when Elisa suddenly kissed him and he fell onto his back. He gratefully returned her kiss as he slowly and cautiously rolled over so that Elisa was on her back.

"Is…is this what you talked about to my Creators?" She asked curiously.

"Yes." He answered.

"What happens now?" She asked slightly embarrassed.

"Whatever you'd like Elisa." He answered. She ran her hands over his chestplates and he did his best to stifle a growl that was inside him as he didn't want to frighten her. As much as he wanted her, he didn't dare cross any boundaries unless she gave him permission. Optimus and Ratchet both told him that if he got Elisa's permission for a courtship any other steps would be up to her. There was still much to be done with Optimus and Ratchet's full approval of their relationship, but this was a very good start. Now he needed to prove to them that he could take care of Elisa in any way that she needed and he was more than willing to do that.

"Just stay with me right here." Elisa suddenly spoke drawing him away from his thoughts. He went to one side and pulled Elisa into his arms.

"Of course." He rasped as he started to drift into recharge.

Elisa noticed over the next few weeks it looked as if everyone was handing out courtship gifts. Smokescreen gave Magnus a new hammer that he had made himself. Bee gave Arcee crystal jewelry. Bulkhead gave Wheeljack a brand new sword and Knockout gave Starscream a few crystals from Vos to adorn his wings from time to time. The predacons had moved on to the open plains as their new home, but they came back every day to help with reconstruction. They hadn't seen any signs of the other dragons. Nobody was too bothered by it as long as they didn't cause any problems.

Then three months after Mecha's defeat refugee's started to arrive.

The first were two more wreckers, Ironhide and Hound. Hound was a lot older with more experience and war stories, while Ironhide was a trigger-happy mech.

"How y'all doin'?" He asked when he got off the ship. All Elisa could see was bright red, but he turned out to be a nice mech too. Hound was just hilarious and more than once Carrier had to shush him for his language. They both had a hard time accepting the cons but after a few rough days of working together they started to show signs of improvement. Elisa was surprised to see that no dragons had returned and Galvatron and Cyclonus were only helping with reconstruction.

"It's in there nature to wonder Elisa." Sire said to her one day as he caught her staring at them. "They always come in times of need. They never were very sociable during and a brief time before the war. They prefer to keep to themselves." He explained.

"Kind of like you." She teased quickly and it earned a curious eyebrow from him. "Like Arcee said Primes never party." She laughed. His small smile was all she needed as he playfully pushed at her shoulder.

"Galvatron, wait!" She managed to catch the pair before they left for the night. They turned and looked at her curiously as she hurried over to them. "I just wanted to say thank you." She said slightly gasping.

"Thank you for what?" Galvatron said confused, but Cyclonus could barely hold back his smile.

"Thank you for all your help and thanks for believing in me." She said sincerely. Galvatron nearly fell over in shock when Elisa nuzzled him with a purr.

"You-you're…you're welcome." He still very shocked. Cyclonus gave her a quick kiss on the cheek making her giggle as she looked back at him.

"You know you're more than welcome to stay." She insisted.

"It's alright, but we have our own place, but thank you for the offer." Cyclonus explained.

"Ok." Elisa said quietly.

"If you ever need anything just tell and we'll be there." Galvatron said fully recovered before he dove off into the sky.

"Thank you!" Elisa shouted as they flew away.

The first of the few buildings were finally complete. They took a well-earned break to celebrate. Personally, Elisa thought there was too much high grade. It burned her throat after one sip so she stayed away from the cube. Megatron came by not long after with a cube in each servo.

"No thanks." She said waving the cube away.

"No, try this one. It's sweet I promise." He said holding it out. She took it cautiously and took a sip. She blinked in surprise at how sweet it was. It reminded her of sugar on earth.

"Wow, thanks." She said taking another sip. He smirked and took a sip of his cube too. "Well, it's a good start." She said looking at the buildings.

"There's still plenty of work to be done, but we need a break." He explained. They settled down and looked up at the two moons.

"I miss Earth a little bit." She said quietly.

"I thought as much." He said looking at her.

"There's no nature here." She said sadly.

"Maybe not yet, there are still plains out there and there might be stuff growing right now." Megatron said happily trying to cheer her up.

"I hope so." She said before having another sip. "The two moons are nice." She said trying to change the subject as she was unsure of what to say next.

"Yes, yes they are." He said as he wrapped his arm around her. She leaned into his embrace and they sipped their cubs for a few minutes just staring at the two moons.

"Any chance we can ditch this party and go to the gardens again?" She asked quietly.

"I'd thought you'd never ask." He said with a grin. They practically raced over to the gardens and tangled in each other's embrace. Megatron was soon on top of her and kissing her neck as she traced the seams his chestplates. Their foreheads meet and everything finally seemed quiet for the moment. "You saved my spark Elisa. I can't thank you enough for that." He said sincerely.

"Just don't let me go."

"I'll never let you go. I promise."