~General Narration: Raven~

She stayed up tonight, wondering about too many things she didn't have answers to. NightFang was asleep at the moment, but he wasn't sleeping soundly like she wished he would. But at the same time, she couldn't keep herself from thinking.

He was restless, tossing and turning. She vented slowly, trying to calm down, but he'd already woken, immediately looking at her out of instinct and transforming to his Cybertronian mode, preferring it to his wolf mode when he felt her emotions. He was always concerned about his sparkmate lately.

NightFang: "Raven . . . ?"

She nodded slowly. Answering his question before he could ask.

She was okay. But things in her processor were not. She was shuffling through old memories, and she wasn't liking some of what she was finding. Given what she knew about the relationship between Optimus Prime and JewelBlade, and what she'd found about her sister from vorns ago . . . Well it made her wonder so many things . . .

She immediately brought up a vivid series of memories, allowing NightFang to see them through the bond. He didn't fight the sensation, absorbing the messages within, waiting a few moments before they finally passed.

Fang: "So . . . she had an affair. So what?"

Raven: "She cheated on her sparkmate, Fang. What happens if he finds out?"

Her bonded thought for a few long moments. Okay, so maybe it wasn't as simple as it seemed. If he found out, they didn't know how he'd react to this.

Fang: "He's never been irrational before, Raven."

Raven: "His BONDED CHEATED. She was going to leave him for another before everything changed."

Her mate nodded slowly, mulling it over. What would they do if he found out . . . ? What would HE do . . . ?

Fang: "So what do we do about it?"

Raven sighed, coming to the conclusion she'd been mulling over for quite some time.

Raven: "I'll have to talk to Angel. I know she'll be able to put the information to good use, anyway, so if anything happens . . ."

She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to contemplate what situation would even lead to this information being relevant, but it was still important that Angel knew.

~First-Person Narration: Jasmine~

I sat on the edge of my bed, four a.m., breathing slowly. I didn't want to fall asleep tonight. It was almost morning, so surely I could last a couple more hours, right . . . ? It couldn't be too hard. I'd just go downstairs and make some coffee or something.

I shook my head. No. I didn't want coffee. I didn't even want to leave the room. I just wanted to relax and close my eyes and . . .

No. I snapped them open quickly. I refused to give in tonight. I couldn't handle that emptiness of waking up alone.

Or the fear. The vague image of a man with silvery hair stuck in my brain. His smirk showed me images of shark-like teeth . . . He was coming for me. He was going to hurt me, use me . . .

???: "Mommy . . ."

I snapped my eyes open again, not realizing I'd let them close. I looked around the room quickly, seeing no one. Nothing. The word had been little more than a distant whisper, anyway . . . It wasn't real . . . It wasn't real . . .

???: "Mommy why don't you love me?"

And yet again. Surely this wasn't my imagination anymore. That echoey, ghostly question. I couldn't pinpoint it anywhere.

Until I realized that it wasn't coming from . . . well . . . anywhere, really. It didn't sound like it was bouncing off any walls or coming from any direction. It just sounded like . . . it was coming from nowhere.

Nowhere but my mind . . .

Great. I was going to have to be put n a mental institution at this rate.

???: "You're avoiding us. Don't you want to be a family anymore . . . ?"

I closed my eyes tightly.

Jasmine: "Get a grip, Jas. Get a fragging grip."

I clenched my hands on the edge of the mattress.

Jasmine: "Don't go back to the doctor. Power through. You're okay, Jas, you're fine."

But when I opened my eyes again. Everything was far from 'fine'.

In front of me stood this iridescent little girl with black hair and beautiful eyes.

And she scared the absolute scrap outta me.

I shrieked, quickly moving backward on the bed, trying to get away from whatever this was, and I felt a tiny hand grasp my ankle. I screamed again, trying to move away.

The next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes. Sunlight was streaming in the window, and when I looked at the clock it read 9:47 a.m. Great. I'd passed out. So the little girl from nowhere was just a dream.

And 'Mommy'? What was that about?

A knot formed in my stomach when I recalled the years I'd lost, the ones I couldn't remember. But had I had a child at such a young age? It didn't seem likely. As far as I knew, I wasn't that kind of girl. I wasn't . . . well . . . maybe something had happened through circumstance . . .

No. I couldn't think of that. I couldn't let myself indulge in those kinds of thoughts. They would only worsen my wild imagination, and I couldn't afford it at the moment. I had to power through the days to come. I made my way to the dresser and the purse that sat atop, quickly digging through and finding the two letters inside. One crumple to a ridiculous extent and the other still in good shape. I read them over and over again until I could finally relax on the bed, sprawling out like starfish and just letting my mind blank out.

It was nice . . . for a change of pace, anyway.

However, that wasn't how the entire day was going to go.

~General Narration: On set~

Emery sighed.

Emery: "Ugh, every single spot in this place looks the same . . ."

A distant thunder cloud rumbled as she wandered around.

Emery: "Kids, kids, where are my kids-."

She suddenly crashed into another body.

Emery: "Yo! Watch-!"

She froze, her eyes widening as she saw the familiar face. Her jaw dropped in disbelief.

???: "Sorry about that!"

She exclaimed, brushing away strands of hair.

???: "I've been . . . a little distracted. Didn't mean to bump into you."

She extended her hand to Emery.

???: "Jasmine. Jasmine Brookes. And you are?"

Emery: "JB!!!"

Was the first thing she blurted out and lunged forwards, hugging her.

Emery: "OH MY PRIMUS JB!!!!"

Jasmine tensed, leaning back slightly.

Jasmine: "Those are my initials, but I'm . . . afraid I don't know you, Ma'am."

Her hands were straight out, arms bent at the elbow, not returning the embrace, but not pushing her away, either. Not yet. Emery's mind was running a mile a minute. She gently punched her shoulder, sending a slight jolt of electricity through her.

Emery: "Girl, THAT'S for scaring me half to death! After the explosion I searched everywhere for you and the others!"

Jasmine's head tilted slightly.

Jasmine: "I'm . . . afraid I don't know, Ma'am. You must have me confused for someone else . . ."

Emery: "Seriously JB I-."

She froze, her electric blue eyes widening.

Emery: "You . . . you don't know me . . ."

Jasmine shook her head lightly.

Jasmine: "I'm afraid not. I wish I did, though."

She offered a gentle smile to Emery.

Jasmine: "You're very colorful. Colorful people are always the best company."

Emery: "I . . . thanks . . . JB."

She said slowly, then shook her head.

Emery: "Oh c'mon! You have to know at least something! Ange said you see blue because you're wearing my bracelet!"

Jasmine looked down at her wrist carefully. The item she'd worn all these years belonged to this strange woman?

Jasmine: "This . . . is yours?"

She lifted her wrist, the charms gleaming. Then she looked back at Emery. Her eyes.

Jasmine: "I . . ."

Emery grinned and held up her necklace.

Emery: "JB, you've gotta remember me. I've been looking for you too long . . . you gotta remember Team Prime and Team Siren. Optimus, Jumpstart, Red and Soundwave and-."

She was cut off when Akane approached.

Akane: "Is there trouble Ms. Brookes?"

Jasmine shook her head lightly.

Jasmine: "No, Akane. Just . . . a little brain overload."

She glanced from her guard to Emery, not entirely sure what else to say. She'd been telling herself the blue she saw when she looked at the bracelet was just some sort of stress reaction . . . But the blue of this woman's eyes . . .

Emery: "Soundwave! Whoa, you've sure changed. No mono?"

Akane: ". . . . I beg your pardon ma'am?"

Emery: "Oh no, not you too! Augh, does EVERYONE have amnesia?!!"

There was a distant crack of thunder as storm clouds appeared. Jasmine's eyebrows stitched together.

Jasmine: "Are you . . . all right? We're not trying to aggravate you."

Emery: "No. Sorry. I'm just frustrated. I mean, you two were-."

She stopped short when she saw Meggy walk out with Tanisha and Yistina. Meggy waved and hurried over.

Meggy: "Em! Hey!"

Emery: "Hey kiddo! I came a day early. Kids'll be here with Seth tomorrow. How's the shoot? JB been good to you three?"

She said the last part without even thinking.

Meggy: "Uhm . . . J-JB?"

Emery: "Wha-. . . Oops."

Emery muttered. Jasmine rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

Jasmine: "I, um, guess I've been designated a nickname . . ."

Tanisha looked at Emery quizzically.

Tanisha: "What's all this about?"

Emery: "Uh . . ."

Emery looked at her watch.

Emery: "Whoa! Yo, I gotta run. And uh, JB, if you ever need me, just call."

She turned and walked away.

Emery: "I'LL BE CHECKING ON YOU LATER MEGGY!"

Jasmine watched her go, confusion haunting her eyes. Angel watched in the distance, murmuring under her breath.

Angel: "I warned you, Em . . . I told you she doesn't remember."