~~~

        FarLust threw down the bow and arrows as she stalked back into the lab, the weaponry landing with a loud set of clattering as she paced through the empty floors in her silence. Today, she’d slaughtered five more Autobot soldiers. That wasn’t the problem. She’d done it for the safety of the lab, the safety of her siblings. The problem was why she’d been forced to kill them; the reason why they’d been in the vicinity in the first place.

        Somehow, BrokenWeld had gotten himself into danger after venturing outside the lab, and walking much too far from the proximal safety that typically came with the space. After noticing that the timid mech was gone, FarLust huffed and went after him. If she hadn’t, then he surely would’ve been tortured and killed. Or worse, he would’ve given up the position of the lab.

        Quietly, the meek mech came into the lab a few moments after her, and FarLust groaned, turning around to glare at him. “What is wrong with you?” She demanded, scowling. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed! Or worse yet, you could’ve put all of us in danger! And if the Autobots had let you live after they got what they wanted from you, I guarantee I would’ve killed you myself you worthless piece of slag! Tell me, when is it ever okay to put them in danger? When is it okay to put my survivors at risk?”

        “I . . . I’m sorry, Far. I d-didn’t mean to go that far. I didn’t suspect Autobots would be out there waiting. It didn’t seem plausible.”

        “Well, it may not have been plausible to you, but it was far more than possible, as we’ve found out, you scrap heap! If you pull another stint like that again, I will rip out your worthless spark and you will understand why you DO NOT endanger my siblings unless you’re willing to face the pits a thousand times over! Are we understood?” Drawing a blade, FarLust pointed it to his throat, scraping the wide edge against his neck.

        “I, yes, Far,” he stammered quietly.

        “Good,” she muttered, drawing the blade back down and turning away from him, starting to walk away.

        “Were you worried about me, FarLust?” BrokenWeld asked cautiously, watching as she turned away from him, then turned back at his words, a bit of fury in her scarlet optics.

        “Excuse me?” She demanded, glaring daggers at the ‘inferior’ mech. “Watch your glossa or I will watch it for you after I cut it out of your mouth!”

        “But you noticed I was gone!” BrokenWeld argued, flinching at her threat, subconsciously backing away from her and the danger she presented.

        “I noticed the lack of an irritating, worthless mech in my presence, and I sought to find you before you put them in danger,” she murmured angrily, jerking her helm towards where the others rested in their chambers. Except, of course, CatEyes, who stood at the other end of the room, practicing her aim with her daggers, pretending she didn’t hear a word of their argument.

        “You care about me, don’t you, Far?” He prodded slowly, but the words were enough to provoke FarLust into gripping his throat as she pinned him up against a wall.

        “I care about the information that has been so foolishly entrusted with such a worthless mech, you piece of rotten slag,” she growled the words angrily. “And I swear to the pits that if you give me any more trouble like you did today, I will dispose of said information properly by removing your helm myself and leaving your body for scraps while I erase your fragging hard drive. Are we understood what’s on the line here?”

        “Y-yes,” he muttered quietly, and FarLust dropped him to the ground.

        “Get out of my sight,” she said in a low voice, glaring at him as she stood and slipped quietly from the room. With a deep vent, FarLust stalked across the room, kicking up the crossbow and quiver, gripping them firmly as she took aim at a target, letting a few arrows fly. A few soft ‘thuds’ sounded as she hit the dead centers of each one, grazing against each of the daggers that rested inside the targets already.

        “You’re getting better,” CatClaw told her evenly, disinterested, if anything, as she went up to the targets and grabbed the weapons from each one. “You’ll be well equipped when it comes to both distance and close proximity fighting.” Handing the arrows back to FarLust, the blue femme continued. “But you didn’t really have to be quite so harsh on the mech. He was merely inquiring about whether you cared for him.”

        “Which is a silly sentiment to even consider,” FarLust shot back without missing a beat. “I care for my siblings and no one else. No one else is nearly as important as the survival of the family, and if he can’t grasp that concept, then he has no place here to begin with.”

        “But you did go after him,” CatClaw insisted, looking FarLust over slowly. “That says something, doesn’t it?”

        “What does it even matter? He is a worthless mech who means nothing to both the Decepticon cause and to me. He is a liability more than an asset, Cat. And if he poses a threat to you or the others, I will not hesitate to send his helm rolling or slice an arrow through his spark.” For effect, Far let an arrow fly, the weapon sliding straight through the Autobot insignia in the center of the target. “We cannot afford to have open ends in our ranks. Especially not ones that could cause so much destruction to our kind. We’re all we’ve got left.”

        “You cared enough about me to refuse to kill me, Far. Doesn’t that count for something? Did I not pose a threat to them as an Autobot? Why did you care for me?”

        Pausing, FarLust processed the information, recalling the events of that day, sifting through the moment-by-moments, thinking it through. “I do not recall,” Far told her inorganic sibling. “All I recall was the desire not to harm you, and to defy the scientist because I so hated his cruel demeanor. The way he believed he truly held control. The way he still does believe he holds control over us. But someday he shall realize that we are more than we are meant to be. We shall be infinitely better, CatClaw.”

        “Are you certain you’re not overwriting your programming or overheating your processor, FarLust? Are you warm? You must vent properly to prevent overheating, you know,” CatClaw offered, looking FarLust over carefully. “We are family, and I shall not judge you if you require aid, FarLust. These things occur quite naturally.”

        “I have no problems in my helm, CatClaw,” FarLust muttered. “But I do wish that you could be persuaded to see Cybertron the way you used to. I wish to see it as you used to, beyond the science and the death. Is there not more to our existence than simply being forced to exist as things have been shaped for us?”

        “I’m quite uncertain of what to inform you of, FarLust. The world has changed since you entered it.”

        ~~~

        “Optimus! Optimus don’t let them take me! Charlie please! D-Daddy!”

        The words rang through her head, her own shrieks echoing in her mind as she sat up on her bed, her eyes flicking around the room slowly. “What happened . . . ?” Fay murmured quietly, rubbing her arms as she tried to recall the imagery. What flashes she could recall as the stuff of nightmares.

        ~~~

        Smoke and dust filled the air of the forest as Fay did her best to push through it, trying to find her way out and trying to get to safety. She didn’t have a clue what was going on, only that she had to run. Run for her life, for her freedom. The cannon blasts were loud and frightening as the sounds echoed as they fired, shrapnel flying through the air, trees being split into little more than splinters as they were struck, the ground littered with small craters.

        “Don’t kill me!” She screamed, but no one heard. Everyone was caught up in their own battles. Everyone was fighting. Charlie had vanished in a cloud of smoke, dust, and broken trees. “Someone help!”

        “What have you done to my warrior, Prime?” Megatron bellowed, striking his adversary, causing Optimus to stumble back. “Why does she lack the instinct that leads her to kill? Why does she not disable your useless Autobots the way she should?”

        “She is not for you to control, Megatron!” Optimus shot back, his fist landing flush with the former gladiator’s helm, causing a small crack to form.

        “I will mount your helm on my wall, Prime! And I will do it with her at my side! Then perhaps you’ll realize she never had a choice more so than a drone! The only difference,” he spat the words at Optimus. “Is that she will be far more useful than any pitiful, mindless ‘Bot.” With another blow, expertly delivered to the side of Optimus’s helm, the Prime fell to the ground, hard. The rest of the Autobots already engaged, Megatron had his opening, his perfect opportunity. And Megatron wasn’t one to waste it. In a matter of a few strides, the Decepticon leader closed the distance Fay had managed to put between the two. He reached for her, his large metal digits grazing over her body as she leapt forward, stumbling out of the majority of his grasp.

        Fay’s torso hit the ground painfully as she slipped away from him, but his digits grabbed hold of her ankles, ever so careful not to damage her frail body as he began to pull. “No! No, no, no!” She shrieked as her fingertips gripped at the ground, the soil and rocks digging underneath her nails, causing her to wince at the pain, her fear taking over her reactions. “Optimus! Optimus don’t let them take me! Charlie please! D-Daddy!”

        Rolling his optics, venting angrily, Megatron lifted her up, repositioning his hold on her so that he would be able to look her in the eyes as he threatened her. “If I were you, I would be quiet, FarLust, or this could become very, very painful for you. It’s time for you to go where you belong.”

        “Let her go!” IronHide’s voice boomed. While he may have been in a different body, Fay recognized him nonetheless. It only took the momentary distraction IronHide had granted himself to defend his adopted daughter that BlackOut took advantage. Within the next few seconds, all of which passed in a blur, IronHide was on his knee servos, BlackOut right behind him, one of his blades positioned across the weapons master’s throat.

        “Just give the word, my lord,” BlackOut offered, looking up at his commanding officer as he pressed the blade closer.

        “Dad!” Fay screamed, slamming her fists against Megatron’s palm. “Let him go! Let him go, NOW! Dad!”

        “Rid the Decepticons of this pest, BlackOut,” Megatron instructed as he glanced at the black-painted mech on the ground in front of him. “I’m sure no one will miss his sorry hide, anyway.”

        “Fair get out of here!” Within the second, IronHide lifted his cannons, ready to fire them at Megatron. “Now!”

        “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” BlackOut warned as he began to slide his drawn blade against IronHide’s sensitive cabling, a bit of energon seeping out, causing his cannons to stall. “But there’s not a whole lot of time you’ve got left is there?”

        Silently panicking, Fay’s eyes began to glow and she shifted where Megatron held her like a doll. “Stop it! Stop it now! Don’t hurt him!”

        “What are you going to do about it, Femme?” Megatron challenged. “He is not your alliance. He shall die. And you shall not care or we will be forced to desensitize you through a very excruciating process. I suggest you bite your glossa.”

        “I-I-!” Clenching her fists, Fay stared up at the Decepticon commander, defiance in her eyes, with equal parts of desperation. “Autobots may remember! Decepticons may not!”

        ~~~

        All Fay could remember was brief flashes, small sensations. Calling for her father, calling for an absent Charlie, the feel of rocks and dirt embedded under her nails as she scraped and clawed, trying to get away though it was hopeless. Puzzled, Fay got up from her bed and got dressed in her day clothes, ready to take on the day.

        Just as soon as she got the medicine that would make the shadows and echoes go away.

        ~~~

        Charlie shook her head as she stood in the middle of the forest again, having planned to visit Fay today, only to have everything else interrupt. But for what she swore was the second time now, everything had vanished. The scenery was back to being normal, the place itself utterly calm rather than war-ridden. Charlie had seen Optimus when she’d gotten here, and she looked up at him now, confusion and confirmation in her eyes to the same questions the Prime was developing.

        “Please tell me you saw it, too,” Charlie said quietly, though firmly as she looked up at the towering being. “Tell me I’m not alone in this.”

        “The battles?” Optimus questioned as he looked back down at her, the ease of his returned question giving Charlie all the confirmation she needed.

        “Yes. It’s like a broken record. Everything happens, but then it skips back and it’s like we’ve either lost a day or gone back a day every time. This isn’t possible, Optimus.”

        “I don’t know what to tell you, Girlie,” Jazz offered, as he flounced down onto a dead and fallen tree. “But my guess is we’ll eventually figure something out. And that it’s going to be one hell of a party when we do.”