Author's note: The female empty in this story belongs to Margartet C. Racine aka MCat, and MV Jynx belongs to VCat. If you want to use them in a fic, ask them, not me. Thank you. Now, enjoy the story! :-) (Well, OK, you don't *have* to enjoy it, but I hope you do.)

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I can hear it. They're coming. The ground rumbles with their approach. They're looking for me and others like me. They're looking for target practice...or worse "contestants" for their arenas. I'm perfect for those either of those jobs, but somehow, the benefits are lacking.

I'm exhausted, but I get up anyway. When was the last time I refueled? I can't remember. I must hurry to find a hiding place. Well, I hurry as much as my battered body and frighteningly low energy levels will let me. I slip along a half-collapsed wall, using it for support. I enter the shadows of the alleyway and look around for a place to hide. A small alcove under an overhanging piece of rubble presents itself, and I head for it. A small piece of loose exo-plating on my arm catches on a sharp edged piece of rubble as I crawl underneath. It rips away, sending a trickle of mechfluid down my arm. I wince, but make no sound. If I do, they'll find me.

Once inside my rather dubious temporary shelter, I think of what this place used to be. Looking at the pit it's become, one would never guess that it was once one of the proudest and most beautiful cities in the province of Polyhex. It's once graceful domes and towering spires have been turned to rubble. It is the fault of my brothers and sisters. They fight each other, destroying the world they seek to protect or to conquer. It's so clear to me; why can't they see it? Their kind calls us Empties, a fitting term. We used to have hope, families, friends, jobs, and lives. Now all those things have been taken from us, and there is nothing left. We are empty.

I listen. I can no longer hear or feel the rumbling. They're gone. They'll take someone else today. I crawl out of my hiding place and try to stand, stumbling as I do so. The world blurs before my optics for a moment, and I lean against the wall to keep from falling. I shiver, both from weakness and from cold. My temperature controls must no longer be functioning. I stumble forward, using the wall for support. I must leave here; they could come back. With every few steps the world seems to blur even more, but I can't stop now. I round a corner, and suddenly a dark figure looms over me. I fall backwards and land on my skidplate. The figure reaches toward me. I crawl backward a few steps, but I know I cannot escape. At last, I collapse. My last thought before the world fades to blackness is that I've been caught.

**********************************************

The small Decepticon scout unit, led by Straxus, had had to duck away quickly to avoid being spotted by an Autobot patrol. Once they were certain that the patrol had passed by without incident, they came out of hiding. "Well," said Ramjet, "I think it's safe to say that the Autobots have cemented their control of this sector as well. We should probably head back to Darkmount. Nothing more to do here."

Straxus gave him a solemn nod in agreement. Once again he wondered how all of this had come about. The Decepticons had managed to keep the Autobots at bay following the death of their previous leader, Sentinel Prime. Without an official leader, just about every reasonably powerful Autobot tried to claim the position, resulting in much infighting among the Autobot ranks. Normally, this wouldn't have lasted, because one Autobot or another would have stepped forward to claim the Matrix, that accursed object which marked it's bearer as Autobot leader and empowered them with almost supernatural strength and speed. Following the death of Sentinel Prime, the dark totem that had made him so powerful seemed to have vanished off the face of the galaxy. The leaderless Autobots became seemingly more interested in fighting each other than fighting their enemies, and the Decepticons started gaining ground. For a time, the Decepticons were winning, and Cybertron was relatively peaceful. The former Autobot aggression was all but forgotten, except by a very few, as the planet prospered under Decepticon rule, and people called it Cybertron's Golden Age. Then, out of nowhere, a new Autobot leader appeared, bearing the thought lost Matrix and calling himself Optimus Prime. In less than a vorn, he had the Autobots reorganized and more aggressive than ever. They began conquering territory left and right, and now it seemed that every time you turned around they had seized yet another sector.

He turned around, and was about to give the order to return to Darkmount, the last Decepticon stronghold in Polyhex, when suddenly he nearly ran into another bot. At first he thought it was one of his group, but almost immediately realized that it was, in fact, a neutral. "I refuse to call them Empties,' he mentally confirmed once again. The obviously frightened bot fell backwards. He realized with surprise that it was a femme. Femmes were fewer in number relative to mechs to begin with, and being generally smaller, lighter, and less physically powerful than their male counterparts, having one survive alone under conditions such as these was uncommon. Also, most femmes had joined one side or the other when the war began, which made neutral femmes all the rarer. He extended his hand to help the femme to her feet, but this seemed to frighten her even more. She backed away a few steps before collapsing and going into stasis lock.

Straxus realized that the femme was in desperate need of some fuel. The others in his group saw what had happened and agreed with him when he said, "We're taking her back with us." Straxus scooped the femme up in his arms, took to the air, and headed back to Darkmount with the rest of his group right behind him.

Upon returning to Darkmount, Straxus told Ramjet to send their report to Megatron and then took the femme directly to med bay. As he got ready to work on her he got a good look at her. Her optics were red, like his own. Her paint, where it hadn't been chipped away or been covered in vorns worth of grime was a light blue-green and white. He also noticed that her transforming cog was all but scrapped, which left her completely unable to transform. This had also erased her old alternate mode and caused damage to several vital subsystems. If the cog were not replaced, the damage would only worsen, even if the old cog were removed. Transforming cogs were difficult to produce, but, if one could be found, reprogramming it with a new alt mode was fairly simple. He checked the records and found that, as he had expected, there were no transforming cogs available. He knew what he had to do and, as he set to work, made a mental note that he would tell Megatron about this mystery femme as soon as possible.

**********************************************

My optics slowly came back online. Where am I? I sit up on my arms and look around. It looks like a repair center of some kind. How did I get here? I expected to wake up in a holding cell, waiting to entertain high-ranking Autobots in the arenas. Either that, or not to wake up at all. I look down at my body. I've been repaired. I even have a new paint job. I'm no longer hungry. I have no pain. But I am alone. Very alone. I hug my legs to me and rest my chin on my knees. I can only wait for something to happen.

I hear a door open and look toward the sound. A large mech enters. His coloring is dark blue and red with some silver as well. His red optics look at me kindly. After a moment I recognize him. He was the mech from the roadway. He must have brought me here. Was he the one who repaired me? Why would he care enough about me to do that? I'm an Empty. No one cares about Empties.

He tells me his name is Straxus and asks me mine. I don't answer him. I'm just an Empty. Empties don't have names. I used to have one, but not anymore. He tells me to lie down so he can check me over. I do as he says. What can he possibly do to me that is worse than what has already been done?

**********************************************

Straxus entered the med bay to find the mystery femme sitting up on the recharge bed where he had set her to rest after finishing his repairs, hugging her legs against her chest. She looked up as he entered.

"Well now," he said, "I see you're awake. I'm Straxus. What's your name?"

The femme just stared at him. In fact, he noticed, she was watching his every move.

"Don't feel like talking, eh? That's fine by me." He came over and stood by her bedside, medical scanner at the ready. "Would you mind lying down so that I can check you over? See how everything's holding up?" As soon as the femme did so, Straxus picked up a medical scanner and began the diagnostic. "You know," he said to the femme, "you're very lucky. If you hadn't happened to run into us on the roadway, you would very likely be dead about now," he said.

The femme, however, remained silent giving no indication at all that she had heard him. "You have a new alternate mode now, you know," he told her. She gave him a look of surprise, at which he mentally smiled. He would have been smiling physically as well, but the design of his faceplate made that impossible. "Ah, so you can hear me. Yes, you've got a new alternate mode, a Zeon 7 model hovercraft. Here," he said, as he finished his scans and held up a datapad displaying the picture and statistics of her new alternate mode, "this is what it looks like."

The femme sat up on the edge of the recharge bed and studied the image for a few moments before lowering her gaze to the floor, still not having uttered a sound. Despite his earlier statement, Straxus was somewhat disappointed by the fact that she would not speak to him. He knew she was capable of speech; there was nothing whatever wrong with her vocalizer. This meant she was choosing not to speak. " Ah well,' he told himself, " she can't stay silent forever.'

"Well then," he said out loud, "I'll leave you alone now. Your systems are still adjusting so I suggest that you get some rest. You'll have a visitor later today." He walked out of the med bay, leaving the femme a small energon cube on the stand next to the recharge bed on his way out.

**********************************************

The mech who calls himself Straxus picks up an instrument and scans me. He tells me I am lucky to have survived. He doesn't know how wrong he is. He does not know how many times while hiding in the dark, crumbling, rusting ruins of my once beautiful home I prayed to Primus for death. Death could be no worse than life.

Perhaps I am dead now. While in the ruins of my city my pain, my fear, my hunger all told me that I was alive. Told me that no one cared about me and that nothing I did would ever matter. Told me that I should just give up and surrender my spark to whatever waited beyond. Now I have no pain, no hunger, and no fear. Perhaps Primus has finally heard my prayers and answered.

The mech called Straxus sets down his scanner as he tells me that I have a new alternate mode. What is he saying? I haven't been able to transform for vorns! I look at him, not quite registering this information. He holds up a datapad and tells me that this is what my new alternate mode looks like. I sit up and look at the image displayed on the pad. A sleek, streamlined hovercraft, flight-capable if the statistics are correct. But why give it to an Empty? I lower my gaze to the floor and ponder this question.

He says he'll leave me alone now. He tells me that I should get some rest and that later I will have a visitor. A visitor? Who? No one knows me. Who then, will be coming? The mech named Straxus leaves and I am left alone again. I lie back down on the recharge bed. I have nothing left to do but wait.

**********************************************

Later that day, Straxus was in his office looking over the plans for project "Nemesis'. As Megatron's second-in-command, his go-ahead was needed before the plan was sent on to the Decepticon leader himself for final approval. "The Constructicons are really getting ambitious,' Straxus thought as he studied the plans before him. "It will take vorns just to get enough materials together to build this thing.' The "thing" was a spacecraft, one of the largest and most powerful ever built. It also had a lot of weaponry for an exploration ship, a lot more than Straxus liked, but he also realized that it was a sad necessity. Autobot warships were armed to the gears, and if the huge ship was to be of use, it had to be able to defend itself.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his office intercom coming on and a voice informing him that the visitor he'd been expecting had arrived. "Send him in," Straxus told the voice. The intercom switched off and Straxus looked up from the plans and prepared to greet his guest. As it turned out, he had not had to tell Megatron about the mysterious femme now resting in med bay; Ramjet had told Megatron about her when he'd made his report. Megatron had said that he would send someone over to see if the femme could be persuaded to join their cause. The door of Straxus's office opened and another Decepticon stepped inside. Straxus immediately recognized the new arrival as Starscream, the young leader of the elite Seeker sub-group, from the descriptions given by Soundwave, who had been Starscream's teacher at the Cybertron Peace Academy. The blue Decepticon had called Starscream one of his most promising students.

"Ah, Starscream," Straxus greeted the young Seeker. "Welcome to Darkmount."

Starscream smiled. "I see my reputation precedes me," he said in an amused tone.

Straxus also smiled, at least if he could have, he would. "Soundwave spoke of you often," he said.

"And, depending on what he told you, it's all true, or I deny everything," the other replied jokingly.

Straxus chuckled and said, "He actually spoke highly of you. I can see he was not exaggerating when he spoke of your skills. Seeker sub-commander is an important position for someone your age."

Starscream gave an exaggerated sigh and said, "Don't I know it. Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I am here for a reason. Where's our mystery femme?"

"She's in med bay, at the moment," Straxus answered. "There's a room just off of med bay where you and she can speak privately. Come," he said as he exited his office, gesturing for Starscream to follow, "I'll take you there."

**********************************************

I once again hear the door open. The mech called Straxus enters and tells me that my visitor has arrived. He ushers me into a small room and then leaves. Waiting in the room is another mech, slightly taller than Straxus, but not as heavily built. His coloration is mainly silver, with some red and blue, and a little bit of black. The wings on his back mark him as having a flight capable alternate mode. On each of these wings, a purple insignia is clearly visible, if upside down. He's part of one of the factions, then.

He tells me his name is Starscream, and that he is a Decepticon. I glare at him. He seems not to notice and asks me my name in a friendly tone. Again, I remain silent. He goes on, saying that his leader thought that I had potential, and after a short time asks me if I would join the Decepticons. I am furious at this, and make no secret of this fact to him, telling him precisely what I think of his offer. I then storm back into the empty med bay and curl up on my recharge bed.

So this is why they helped me. So that I could become a soldier for the Decepticons. I now remember that Straxus also wears the purple insignia. He only helped me so that I could fight for them. And for a moment I was beginning to think... No, no one cares about Empties. I was a fool to think otherwise. As I lay there, a drop of cleansing fluid falls from my optic. I haven't cried in a long time...

**********************************************

Starscream looked toward the door opposite the one he had come in as Straxus ushered the femme into the room, then left the two of them alone. "She sure cleans up pretty,' the Seeker thought as he got his first look at the femme. From Ramjet's description, she had been in pretty bad shape when Straxus brought her in, so Starscream hadn't known exactly what to expect. He saw little sign of her previous condition in her present one. She seemed to be studying him as well, and when her optics landed on his insignias, she started to glare at him. He pretended not to notice and said to her, "Hi, my name is Starscream. I case you couldn't tell from the insignia, I'm a Decepticon."

When she only continued to glare at him silently, he asked her, "What's your name?" Still the femme remained silent. "OK, let's just forget that for the moment then. The reason I'm here is that my leader, Megatron, sent me. He thinks that anyone who could survive on their own like you did has the potential to be of great help to the Decepticon cause, and... uh... slag... I'm no good at diplomacy. I'll just get right to the point. I'm here to ask you if you want to join the Decepticons."

As soon as he saw the look on the femme's face he knew he'd said something wrong. "Uh-oh...'

The fury and pain she was feeling was obvious in her optics and in her voice as she yelled, "Why in Primus's name should I? It's people like you who destroyed my city, my home, my world! You took away my life! I'll never forgive you for that! NEVER! And as for your leader, he should pray to Primus to forgive him for what he's done to our world and for all the destruction and suffering yet to come. I hate soldiers! I hate YOU!" With that she stepped forward and delivered a roundhouse slap to the side of the stunned Seeker's face. "I'll never join you! Never..." she practically sobbed and then stormed back into the med bay.

"Primus..." whispered Starscream in astonishment as he stared at the closed door. His hand moved almost of its own volition to the cheek where the femme had struck him. The blow itself hadn't hurt much, but her words still stung him. "You took away my life!' she had said. Was she right?

"No! Those Autobot sons of scraplets did that!' the Decepticon in him answered. "You're trying to stop the Autobots from conquering the galaxy! They *must* be stopped, no matter the cost!'

"No matter the cost...' he thought. "That's an easy thing to say. But I think that maybe we should stop and think about the cost. We get so wrapped up in fighting that we forget about people like her who get caught in the middle and whose lives are ruined because of our war. Yeah, I think it's *definitely* time we started counting the cost. One innocent life is one too many...'

**********************************************

After leaving Starscream and the femme alone, Straxus returned to his office to wait for Starscream to finish his meeting with the mystery femme and to finish going over the plans. Just as he was finishing with the plans, Starscream entered his office. Straxus could tell by the look on the Seeker's face that things hadn't gone well, but still he asked, "How did it go?"

Starscream sighed and took a seat opposite Straxus. "She basically told me to go to the Pit." The Seeker put a hand to his face and then said in a self-depreciating tone. "And then she hit me."

"Really?" asked Straxus. He hadn't thought the femme would get angry enough to attack Starscream. "What did you say to her that precipitated this?"

"I just asked her if she wanted to join the Decepticons is all. Primus, you should have seen how she reacted to that. She seems to hate us as much as she hates the Autobots. And ya know what? I think she has good reason to. I mean, we spend so much of our time fighting that we forget that it's not just Autobots and Decepticons involved in this war. We can't forget about the innocent bots like her who get caught in the middle and whose lives are ruined because of a war they want no part of."

Straxus looked at the young Seeker with a new respect. Soundwave is a fine teacher, but there are certain things that just can't be taught in a classroom. I think Starscream just learned one of them. Experience might be a hard teacher, but her lessons sure stay with you. "Still," he said, "it's a shame she won't join us. It would probably be better for all concerned if she did."

"Yeah," agreed Starscream with a sigh. "But it is her choice. We can't force her to join." The Seeker rose to leave and said, "Well, I've gotta be going. Megatron will be expecting me back soon."

"Here," Straxus said, handing Starscream the "Nemesis' plans. "Take these with you. I've given them my approval."

Starscream gave a little smile and said, "Heh. Well, at least I'll be able to bring Megatron *some* good news." He subspaced the datapad, and then extended his hands, palms up. Straxus also extended his hands, palms down. They then clasped each other's forearms and exchanged an old Cybertronian blessing. ""Til all are one," Starscream said.

""Til all are one," his companion repeated. The pair then released each other's arms, and the Seeker headed out the door and towards the nearest hanger bay. He had barely gotten halfway there, when suddenly an alarm began to sound. "Perimeter alert! Autobot strike force on approach! Evacuate all non-combat personnel immediately, and prepare for battle!" came Straxus's urgent voice over the intercom.

"Primus below...' thought the shocked Seeker. "They're already moving on Darkmount...'

A voice over his communicator brought Starscream out of his momentary trance. "Starscream," Straxus said via communicator, "contact Megatron at Vilnacron! Inform him of our situation and tell him to send reinforcements!"

"Copy that, Straxus. Will do, over and out," Starscream responded, cutting of the comm. channel just before the first explosion sounded outside.

**********************************************

Starscream had only just left Straxus's office when Ramjet barged in, obviously distressed about something. "The Autobots are on the move!" the conehead blurted out.

"What? So soon?" his surprised commander exclaimed, and then swung into action. "Where are they headed? If we can get there ahead of them, we may be able to-"

"They're on their way here! They must have that blasted Blaster with them jamming our sensors, because we didn't pick them up "til they were almost on top of us! They could get here any moment!"

Straxus, wasting no time on a reply, activated the alarms and spoke urgently into the intercom, "Perimeter alert! Autobot strike force on approach! Evacuate all non-combat personnel immediately, and prepare for battle!" His words were heard all around Darkmount, and after a moment's shocked silence were obeyed. He quickly contacted Starscream to send for reinforcements from Vilnacron and just as the first sounds of battle began outside. "Ramjet, aid in the evacuation," he told the gray jet, who nodded in response then hurried off to do as instructed. "I've got something to attend to," Straxus added to himself as he sprinted out of his office and toward med bay.

**********************************************

I come out of recharge to the sound of wailing alarms. Straxus's voice comes over the intercom and says that there will be an attack. I'm used to attacks. But when the sounds of battle begin, they make the attacks I have known seem like nothing. I remember when my city was destroyed; it was much like this. I must find a hiding place, but where?

Just then, the mech called Straxus bursts into the med bay. He tells me to come with him, that the base is being evacuated. I tell him to leave me alone. That I know now why he saved me, to be a weapon for his leader, and that I will never be that. That he and the others never cared what happened to me. I tell him that I hate him. I see the hurt look in his optics, but I don't care. I push past him and run out of the med bay. I have to find somewhere to hide. As I round a corner, a large, gray mech who also wears the Decepticon symbol points me in the direction of a group of unmarked bots that is making for the exit. When I simply stare at him, he shoves me toward them urgently, and I am caught in the crush of escaping bots.

**********************************************

Shocked and hurt by the femme's words, Straxus stood stunned near the med bay door as she shoved her way past him and ran out. He was brought out of his trance by a small, black, robotic feline who came bounding into the room and said, his tone one of urgency, "Straxus! I just heard from Soundwave. The reinforcements are on their way and should be here in less than a breem. At the moment, however, we are needed outside!"

The much larger Decepticon looked down at the cat and nodded. "Then let us go, Ravage," he said, reluctantly shunting his energo-axe out of subspace and following after the Cassetticon as the little felonoid bounded out of the med bay. "What does it say about us when even a child is forced to become a soldier?' Straxus thought, looking at the small felonoid robot who ran before him. "This young one was barely a vorn old when this war began, and his brothers, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, have never known anything but war. With all my spark I hope that they, and the two new cassettes that Soundwave plans to build, will one day know peace.'

**********************************************

Outside of Darkmount, the battle raged. Thrust and Dirge swooped in low, strafing a group of Autobots. They were soon joined by Starscream, who temporarily took the place of their usual wingmate, Ramjet. A blood-red Autobot tank fired at seemingly random targets all the while uttering thunderous battle cries that could be heard even over the noise of the battle. Blaster was living up to his name and blasting every Decepticon he saw with his electro-scrambler gun, scrambling their circuits and making them easy targets. The Decepticons fought bravely, but it was clear that they were sorely outmatched. The arrival of Straxus and Ravage in the battle went largely unnoticed, as did another feline form slinking stealthily away from Darkmount. Once well away from the thick of the fighting, the cat-bot activated his communicator and said in a voice as well oiled as his joints, "It is done, Lord Prime. In less than a breem, it will all be over."

On the other end of the communication, Optimus Prime's optics glinted evilly as he received the message. "Confirmed, Jynx," he responded. "Your part in this is over."

"Your will, Lord," Jynx responded and closed the comm. channel. Leaping up to a rooftop, he looked towards Darkmount with a predatory grin. "All that's left to do now is to sit back and watch the fun.'

Optimus Prime fired his laser rifle and another Decepticon fell. "Peh...' he thought, "These weaklings give me no sport. But if I know Megatron, he'll come rushing to the rescue in typical fashion. Not that it will do him or his pathetic followers any good.' As a Decepticon swooped down on him from above, he fired again. The shot struck home, and its unfortunate recipient cried out in pain. Unable to control his decent, the Decepticon's cry had barely faded before he struck the ground and exploded in a spectacular fireball. The Matrix within him pulsed with savage glee as it relished the robot's demise and in anticipation of the destruction yet to come. The Lord Prime laughed wickedly and gloated, "None can stand against the might of Optimus Prime!"

**********************************************

Megatron flew though the starry Cybertronian sky, on his way to Darkmount where even now his followers were in danger of being overwhelmed. Flanking him, one on either side, were Thundercracker and Skywarp, both in jet mode. Following were the two avian cassettes, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, and the Constructicons, who, once they merged into the mighty gestalt Devastator, could very well turn the tide of battle. "I just hope we're not too late,' the Decepticon leader thought as they approached Darkmount. The unmistakable sounds of battle reached his audios and the distant flashes of laser fire became more distinct as they reached the fortress.

Thundercracker and Skywarp broke away from Megatron's side and flew to join their fellow Seekers in a strafing run. Ramjet had also rejoined the battle at this point, and together the six Seekers rained down a storm of laser fire on the Autobots below. Behind the Seekers, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw swooped and dove; firing on the Autobots the Seekers had missed while deftly dodging the Autobots' fire from below.

The Constructicons landed on the fringe of the battle. "Constructicons transform and merge into Devastator!" ordered Scrapper. The Constructicons transformed, first to their respective vehicle modes, and then merged together to form the robotic colossus known as Devastator.

Several Autobots immediately turned to fire on this new threat, but their attacks had little effect on the gestalt warrior. As the gestalt brought one of his enormous feet down in their midst, the Autobots ceased firing and decided to exercise the better part of valor. Devastator looked down at his foot and at the scattering "Bots. "Oh, pardon me," he said, "but I really must reach the battle."

The red tank turned its turret and fired several shots at the much larger gestalt, striking Devastator square in the chestplate and causing a large scorch mark. "Take that BLAM! Decepticon!" the tank bellowed.

"Oh my, how rude!" said Devastator. He then introduced the tank to the end of his foot as he booted it off to one side in his advance.

Megatron, meanwhile, after fighting off several Autobots, had finally found the one he was looking for. "Prime!" he called to his enemy, making himself heard over the noise of battle, "Your evil ends today! Darkmount will never be yours!" He leveled his fusion cannon at the massive red and blue Autobot as Prime turned to face him.

The Lord Prime laughed wickedly and said, "For once, you're right about something Megatron. Darkmount will never be mine, but neither will it be yours! Look!" Prime gestured toward the fortress. Megatron, suspecting a trick, did not immediately follow his enemy's gaze, but moments later an explosion was heard from below that dwarfed the sounds of the battle on the surface and drew every set of optics, Autobot and Decepticon alike, to its source. As the Decepticons watched in shocked horror and the Autobots in smug triumph, the fortress of Darkmount began to crumble.

**********************************************

The crush of fleeing robots pulls me along until it reaches the exit, at which point it spreads out in the more open space, allowing me to escape. I run in the opposite direction they are going, skirting the edge of the battle as I make my way back to the shadows in which I had lived for so long. I pause when I see an enormous purple and green mech. He is so large that he dwarfs many of the nearby buildings. I realize what he must be, for I heard talk before the war of a technology called gestalting, which would allow a team of robots to merge into a single, enormously powerful being. There were many experiments done in that area before the start of the war, but none were successful. Apparently someone finally got it right.

I continue on as the battle rages nearby. I hear a gravelly voice call out the name Prime. I look in the direction of the sound and see a large silver mech and an equally large red and blue mech facing each other down. The gravelly voice is coming from the silver mech so the other must be Prime. I have heard that name before, but where? Suddenly the realization hits me, and I fall to my knees, trembling. Prime, as in Optimus Prime, the fearsome leader of the Autobots. Suddenly I realize that it is not only I trembling but the ground as well. There is a thunderous rumbling sound that seems to shatter the air around me. I look towards the source of the sound and see the fortress that I so recently inhabited begin to crumble to the ground. The battle has stopped for the moment as all those present look towards the crumbling fortress. I sit there on my knees, too shocked by the sight to move, until a piece of rubble falls dangerously close to me, snapping me out of my trance. The battle resumes at an even greater intensity than before, but I barely notice as I run dodging both pieces of falling rubble and stray laser blasts.

As my blind panic fades, I find that I have run back towards the fortress, or rather what is left of it. A large beam falls near me. I dodge it, but apparently someone else does not for I hear a moan from nearby. I look for its source and see a small, black felonoid robot lying near the beam. Apparently the falling beam had struck the cat-bot in the middle of a jump, stunning him. A much larger, boxy red mech decides to take this opportunity to destroy the fallen felonoid and levels his gun at the smaller bot, a wicked grin on his face. The cat-bot, still recovering from the blow, has no chance to escape. My body seeming to move of its own accord, I leap at the red mech, tackling him around the legs. He goes down with a cry of surprise. He kicks me off of him, seeming to have forgotten the tiny felonoid who is even now running off. He gets up and turns to me, anger written all over his face. His blue optics flash with cold fire as he levels his gun at me.

**********************************************

Ravage watched, numb with shock, as the as the place he had called home for nearly a vorn began to collapse. He tore his optics away from the scene of destruction to look up at the face of the mech who stood next to him, and asked, his voice quavering slightly, "Straxus...do you know how many of our people were still inside?" When the larger mech looked down at Ravage, the look in his crimson optics gave the Cassetticon his answer. He knew.

The numbness that had gripped the tiny Decepticon was burned away by the sudden flare of anger that overtook him, and Ravage let out a very uncharacteristic snarl. He dashed back into the fray like a black lightning bolt. He ended his dash by leaping onto the back of a red minibot, the force of his landing sending the mech forward onto his face. Deftly leaping from the momentarily stunned Autobot's back, he landed in a crouch, facing his foe. Before the Autobot could recover completely, Ravage fired two missiles from his hip packs which struck the now kneeling minibot square in the chestplate, shattering his vehicle mode windshield and knocking him onto his back and into stasis lock, smoke coming from his wound.

The Cassetticon dashed off again, dodging laser fire. As he leapt clear of one laser blast, something else struck him across the back, stunning him, though his momentum kept him moving forward. He landed hard on his side, moaning as he tried to shake off the effects of the blow.

He heard a cry of surprise followed shortly by a crash nearby. He shook off the last of the blow's effects he saw that an unmarked femme had tackled a large red Autobot around the legs. He quickly realized what had happened and, knowing that he could do little to help the femme on his own, raced back to find Straxus.

"Straxus!" he called as he approached much larger mech. Straxus looked down at Ravage as the cat-bot skidded to a stop. "Hurry, please! He'll kill her!"

That was all Straxus needed to hear. "Lead the way," he said to the black Cassetticon who had already turned and was racing back the other way. Straxus following close on his heels, Ravage told the larger mech how the femme had saved him. Both of them made a silent prayer to Primus that they wouldn't be too late.

They rounded a corner and saw the femme bracing herself up on her elbows, the same femme, Straxus realized with surprise that had been in his med bay only a few breems before. Standing over her, with his weapon trained his intended victim, was a large, boxy-chested red Autobot. "Wrong move, missy," said the Autobot with a heavy southern accent and prepared to end the femme's life.

Straxus raced up to the red mech and with one swipe of his energo-axe, knocked the Autobot's weapon out of his hands. "Must you Autobots get your enjoyment by attacking those who cannot defend themselves? Perhaps you do not have the courage to attack someone who can!" Straxus struck the red mech a blow with his energo-axe as he said this, shattering the windshield on the Autobot's chestplate. This enraged the red Autobot who launched himself at Straxus with a furious roar.

Straxus dropped, and the Autobot's charge was brought up short by the impact of Straxus's feet on his already damaged chest. The red mech fell backward, but recovered and got to his feet. He looked at the midnight-blue Decepticon before him as the Autobot prepared for another charge, blue optics burning with hate. So intent was the Autobot on his target that he did not notice when the small, black felonoid, who had been off to one side, again fired a pair of missiles from his hip packs. The missiles unerringly found their target, and struck the red Autobot's chestplate. Despite his tough armor, this was more damage than the Autobot could take in one spot, and he fell, optics dimming as he went into stasis lock.

Straxus heard the all-too-familiar sound of Megatron calling the retreat, and turned to help the femme up. Ravage had already taken to the air and was well gone, when Straxus saw a large mech in the shadows aiming his gun at the femme's back. The mech was too far away; he could never stop him before he fired. There was no time to think, only to act. The mech fired, and Straxus once again did what he had to do.

As the shot tore through his chassis, Straxus cried out in pain. He collapsed the ground, leaking fuel lines, sparking wires, and destroyed circuitry showing in his gaping wound. He felt someone cradle his head in their lap, and through his fading vision he realized that it was the femme. "Run...hurry..." he rasped. She looked as though she were about to protest, but then nodded.

"Forgive me..." she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. He then watched as the femme who now literally carried a part of him with her ran off after his retreating comrades.

Straxus watched as the mech who had shot him stepped out of the shadows and came toward him chuckling evilly, until the massive figure loomed over him, casting a shadow a cold and dark as space over his victim. Only when the figure finally spoke did Straxus realize who it was.

"Well, well," the Lord Prime said with mock surprise, "if it isn't the infamous Straxus, Megatron's right-hand mech." Prime's icy blue optics narrowed and his voice took on a dangerous tone as, he spoke. "You have been an obstacle to me for quite some time, Decepticon. One I intend to eliminate right now." And with that, the warlord reached down, picked up Straxus's own weapon from where it had fallen, and raised the energo-axe above his head.

"At least...she made it...' was Straxus's final thought, before the blade came down and severed his head from his body.

As several of his troops came over to investigate, the Lord Prime held up the head of the Decepticon second in command like a trophy. He tossed the energo-axe onto the now gray body of Straxus. "Leave that here," he ordered, indicating the corpse at his feet. "They will find it before long, and they will know that such will be the fate of all who oppose me. This, however," he said holding the head up so that its dead optics glinted eerily in the light of Cybertron's moons, "this I have other plans for." Some of the gathered troops looked as though they might want to ask what those plans were, but one look at their leader's face told them that they didn't want to know.

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As Starscream flew after his retreating comrades, he noticed that a light blue-green hovercraft had fallen in beside him. "Is the offer still open?" it asked him, and he realized with surprise that it was the femme from the med bay. There was something...different...about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Because if it is," she said, "I'd like to join the Decepticons."

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I stand in my temporary quarters at the Decepticon base in Tarn. It has been several lunar cycles since the battle at Darkmount, and tomorrow the shuttle is arriving that will take me to the Peace Academy. I examine myself in the mirror on one of the walls. I must look my best for my Branding Ceremony, which will make my acceptance into the ranks of the Decepticons official. I am no longer an Empty. I am alive. I have a new home, a new family, a new purpose. I have a new life, and I owe it all to the mech known as Straxus. I have since I heard that he died. He did so to save me. I was wrong, and I told him so. I can only hope that he accepted my apology. He is the one who showed me that I was worth something, and I will do all I can to prove him right.

My door chime sounds. It must be Starscream, here to escort me to the ceremony, where the commander of this base, Shockwave by name, will initiate me into my new life. I have regained what I lost, and more. I am no longer nameless.

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Starscream stood outside the femme's door, waiting patiently for her to emerge. When she did, he couldn't suppress a low, appreciative whistle. "You look great!" he told her. She smiled shyly at the compliment, which he thought made her look even prettier. "Well then, shall we go?" he asked, offering her the crook of his arm, which she accepted. "By the way," he said as they started off down the hallway, "you still haven't told me your name."

The femme seemed to hesitate for a minute, as if unsure whether or not she should answer. Then all trace of indecision vanished as she smiled up at her companion and said, "My name is Spiral."