Fanfic: Sedna: The Akhlut From The Depth Ch 16, Transformers/Beast Wars

I sincerely apologize for the long delay of this chapter. Hectic life changesand the pandemic got in the way, causing me to halt up writing completely. But now, the motivation is slowly coming back again. Should this website go under, this fanfic is now in AO3. Trigger warning for graphic depiction of car crash collision involved with human and this chapter is also dark with emotional distress and struggling recovery from trauma

Hidden Wounds

What the scrap happened last night, it was her first thought. Strongarm literally remembered nothing. It was all blank, completely empty. No matter how harder she tried to recall anything that happened yesterday, there was nothing.

Koouush!

The sound of a blow caught her by surprise. The femme recognized undoubtedly.

"Sedna?" she looked to the direction where the sound came from. She saw the dorsal fin. Sedna was there in the water. Thou, the Akhlut Predacon did not spyhop a single time. Strongarm tried to call out. "Sedna! Wait!"

But before the cadet could even get up on her peds, the Predacon dived under the surface. However, despite the discouragement, Strongarm got up and walked in fast pace toward the water's edge. She wanted to communicate. Standing on the edge, she felt the waves tickling her peds. She called out Sedna's name again, again and again, but the Predacon did not emerge. Now the cadet felt discouraged, her servos and limbs shaking violently.

She wanted so desperately to talk with Sedna. It was awfully quiet. No vocalization was heard coming from the recorder. Sedna was completely silent. Why was the Predacon femme, her very only friend, not coming to her? Just then, the sounds of tires alarmed Strongarm, which she was quick to respond as she looked over her shoulder. She froze seeing Optimus standing near her range.

"Sir..." she lost her speech. Her gaze reflected confusion and anxiety.

No reply was heard from him. But instead speaking a word, the Prime walked toward her and hugged her in a tight hug. Strongarm stood frozen for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, shaking a lot. Silence hung in the air for a while when Optimus let her go, looking at her. He looked relieved, but worried simultaneously. "Strongarm, I thought you'd never wake up. I'm relieved to see you're awake."

"How long have I've been unconscious?" Strongarm was very confused, she felt like she had recharged forever. The cadet tried her best to remember anything. It was all blank, completely empty.

"You've been unconscious for ten hours," came the answer from Optimus. He caressed his servo onto Strongarm's cheek plate, noticing directly something was not right with Strongarm. She looked like a lost child without memories. "Do you remember anything from last night?"

"I… I don't remember," she answered with a sad tone, but then a few memories appeared inside her CPU. Directly, she saw herself standing on the beach, looking out on the sea and walked toward the waves. "Wait, I remember I was standing out on the beach. A storm was coming. But after that, I don't remember anything… What happened to me?"

"Sedna found you at the sea bottom. You were completely knocked out." Optimus explained. He did see only more confusion appearing on the femme's face plates.

"What do you mean I was at the sea bottom? How did I get down there?" Strongarm questioned, puzzled and terrified spontaneously. Then she walked backwards, raising her servos to hold her helmet like she was about to lose her processor, her entire body quivered a lot. "What's going on with me? What did I do last night? I can't remember anything. I cannot remember anything!"

The femme lost her nerves, falling down on her knee joint gears and hid her face in her servos. In an instant sparkbeat, Optimus wrapped his arms around her chest and hugged her closely, giving her the comfort she needed desperately. He was not letting her go at all. Like a father, he let Strongarm crying on his shoulder. Unsuspectingly, Sedna had spyhopped to watch them from a distance, then sank below the surface.

The Prime and the cadet stayed hugging together for a long moment, until Strongarm softened her grip and dropped her arms down. Yet, Optimus did not let her go yet, not entirely. When he finally moved his arms off and let the femme go backwards, the Prime looked at her.

"Please… I need help," still tearful, Strongarm begged Optimus.

That moment, she finally understood. She needed help and comfort. The traumatic experience of the orca attack had left her mentally and emotionally unstable. Now, finally realizing it, the cadet had no other choice but to accept help. Her quivering body remained shaky. However, in the Prime's presence, she felt safe. Optimus lay his hand on the femme's shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. Just then, they heard a blow. It was Sedna. She came up to take another breath, spyhopping to see what was going on. As Strongarm saw her friend, she waved her servo to signal the Predacon femme to come, only to see Sedna sinking below the surface.

Disheartened, the cadet became desperate. Why was Sedna not coming? But when she tried to run to the water, Optimus stopped her. "Don't do it."

"Why not? I want to talk to her, I want to tell her I need her," Strongarm snapped suddenly at him, only to regret it when she noticed the sad expression on the Prime's face. "...Did I do something wrong?"

A sigh came from him, then he replied. "Sedna feels guilty. She wants to stay away for a while. She thinks she has broken your trust entirely."

The cadet could not believe in it. No, it cannot be possible. Why would she do that? As it happened, Strongarm recalled the moment when she punched right at Sedna's face, how badly blinded she was by her trauma and she had called her a friend a monster. It made her spark sank heavily as the cadet accomplished it was not Sedna's fault.

"It's my fault…" she spoke quietly to herself, looking at the sea water. "It's my whole fault, not hers."

"Strongarm, you called her a monster. She got hurt by it," Optimus spoke, seeing the cadet's changed expression of utter guilt and regret. Simultaneously, he caressed on Strongarm's shoulder as he continued. "She wants to give you time."

"Time for what?"

"To recover from your trauma and overcome your fear for orcas."

The cadet turned silent, dread appeared all clear on her optics. Strongarm looked down on the rocky sand, her hands shaking. She felt her throat gear thickening hard, making it hard to swallow. She wanted to say how truly sorry she was to Sedna, how truly she wanted to fix the problems and restart everything. Now, seeing her friend hidden underwater and staying away, it discouraged her a lot. Her hands turned into hard fists, struggling to hold her nerves at bay.

"What must I do?" she asked, her voice squeaking by the thick lump in her throat. Strongarm struggled to hold her tears back.

"It does not go away over one night. It takes a long time," the Prime replied, tracing his servo to stroke gently on Strongarm's wet cheek plate. He knew the recovery will not be a short one.

"How long?" she stared at him, unsure what he meant.

"That's something I cannot tell for sure. It can take weeks, months or longer. It can take even years to recover."

Silently, the femme looked down on the rocky sand again, thinking thoughtfully. How long will it require for her to overcome her traumatic experience? Then, without warning, the attack reappeared inside her CPU. The jaws of Big Jake clashing onto her face, holding her in an iron grip. Impulsively, Strongarm threw her servo up to touch on the wound that sat on her cheek. It stung a lot by touch. But the touch itself caused her to gasp, holding her vent whereas her whole body shook rapidly. The panic awoke like a firestorm inside her chest plates, overwhelming her entirely before Strongarm panicked.

Her scream was heard for miles away.

It scared all birds away. The memory of the orca attack clouded her optics, entrapping her. Strongarm could not hear anything except the echoing vocalizations. Not even Optimus' voice could be heard. Then, the cadet felt suddenly numb on her legs and fainted.

An hour later

Strongarm woke up once again, all dizzy and blurry. The strong sunlight made her optics to flicker and squeeze hard for it stung a lot. As soon her vision cleared, she noticed the Prime was building a temporary shelter made of wood and metal. Instantly, she called out. "No, don't do it. We're not allowed to make shelters here -"

"I'm aware of it," Optimus answered, who seemed ignoring the fact Strongarm was awake after an hour's unconsciousness.

"Hey, I'm right here and I am awake," Strongarm snapped unexpectedly, though it was understandable.

But just then, the Autobots heard a loud splash, which caused them to look out on the bay. They saw Sedna thrashing her tail, the flukes smashing the waters quite violently. What was she trying to tell them? Then, they saw her heading to the exit out to the open sea. It meant two things. Maybe the Akhlut Predacon was going to hunt for own prey, or maybe she needed to scout around the sea bottom to learn more about the areas.

"No… Please don't go away," Strongarm pleaded, fearing that it was going be the last time for her to see her friend again. Yet, deep inside her spark, a small hope beat alive. She had to have faith on Sedna.

"She'll come back, Strongarm. You have to believe in her," Optimus reassured her, yet his tone revealed he hoped the Predacon femme will return later the day.

Eventually, the femme accepted some rules had to be broken. A shelter would not harm much as long no humans traveled past the hidden bay. The Autobots can't afford to get seen by humans. Another hour passed until the shelter was completed. It was large enough for them both to share and recharge. Just then, it gave Strongarm a feeling for a nice, warm blanket. She felt her own digits tingling to hold something.

"Sir, can I ask you if it's okay…" Strongarm began, then stopped as she felt unsure what to say.

"Yes?" Optimus noticed her digits tingling a lot. It made him think that the cadet needed something to hold on and release the stress. It gave him an unusual idea.

"Is it okay if I try stitch some blankets? I mean, it can get chilly at night sometimes and I feel -" she gave him the question she wanted to give, although her tone was doubtful.

"It's absolutely okay. I would appreciate to join if you want some company," he answered to her, his tone encouraging.

Strongarm looked at him for a sparkbeat, then she nodded. She wanted some company with the Prime, thinking it was maybe the best way to have him by her side if something serious would occur. It was all decided. The two Autobots prepared to take a trip to the harbor town for some time, perhaps a few hours there. Around half an hour later, they went uphill to the road where they drove off to the harbor town. The sky started to get cloudy, yet there was no signs of rain or thunder.

At the time they arrived in the town, it was quite calm. Strongarm recalled a store that sold different kinds of textiles along with stitching tools. Just as they parked, the Autobots activated their human holograms.

The cadet's human facial features looked different; the wounds from the orca attack were visible and the skin looked paler. Even the white hair looked unbrushed. Strongarm looked to see Optimus, and she got amazed to see his human hologram. The Prime's hologram looked like a rough man in his forties raised in the harsh wilderness, wearing a long coat with a red turtleneck sweater, a pair of blue jeans and black boots. He had shaggy black hair, thick black beard and sharp blue eyes.

"Wow…" Strongarm's human hologram expressed in amazement, only to get embarrassed to realize it was the first time she saw Optimus' human hologram. She shunned her face a little bit away. "Well, I mean, you look really nice."

Optimus shook his head amused, chuckling briefly. "I take that as a compliment, cadet. When I use my hologram, I walk around as Aaron. You got a human name?"

"It's... Samantha," Strongarm sheepishly answered, finding it awkward.

"That's a good name. It's important that we use human names instead our real names," Optimus then explained. "We can't draw too much attention from the locals."

"I know," came the simple answer from the cadet. "About your human name, why Aaron?"

"Well, the truth is... I wanted to have Aragorn as human name."

"Aragorn? Who's Aragorn?"

That moment, Optimus' holographic human eyes thrust largely. "Are you familiar to Lord of The Rings?"

"Um...No," Strongarm shook her head.

"...Your next lesson is to read Tolkien's novels," came the stern reply from the disbelieved Prime. "Every single of them. Including The Silmarillion."

"Ooookay?" the cadet felt like how her holographic human body started to sweat nervously.

They two walked to the town's center. The townspeople noticed little of the two new faces. Simultaneously, Strongarm turned to see the Prime looking on the opposite direction. He looked like he had something in mind.

"Prime?" she questioned him, which made Optimus turn his eyes back to her. "What's wrong?"

"I had something in mind," he replied quickly. "I think we need to find something that will help you to calm down from distress."

Strongarm turned silent for a bit, reconsidering the plan. She thought he was going to stay by her side the whole time. Had Optimus planned something else?

"What kind of thing? I mean, how and what can I use?" Strongarm inquired questionably.

"Some human things can help," Optimus said calmly, figuring out that the femme did not want to walk lonely. "If I don't find anything, I will come back to you."

Thinking he was going only to check for something stress-relieving, Strongarm let him go to do his business. So, they walked on separate ways.

Meanwhile, a small boy named Jesse sat on one of the rocky wall close the boats. He had an orange jacket, a pair of jeans and a light backpack. The jeans were worn with torn holes. He had curly brown hair that would had mistaken him as a girl easily. The green-eyed boy held a pack of his treasured cards, checking the printed figures when he saw a tall man walked past him. Curiously, he held his eyes on the man's pockets. Silently, he jumped down from the wall and stalked after the man.

Jesse had learnt to be quick and quiet. Despite he was only ten years old, he proved to be a skilled pocket thief.

As he followed the man, he remained aware of the surroundings. Jesse was new in this harbor town, thus he had to be extra careful. The police was never far away. Just then, when the man stopped, Jesse caught his chance. Now, he ran from behind, reached his hand to pull the wallet from one of the pockets as efficient as possible. It happened in a split second, and so Jesse ran away with the wallet in his hand.

"Stop him!" the man yelled out.

That moment, Jesse had missed to see one of many mistakes he was going to do today. One of them was there were many eyewitnesses that saw it happening, which led some trying to catch the running boy. Jesse managed to run around the corner to an alley, climbed over a fence to get out of reach. However, just as he thought he was lucky escaping, Jesse heard the sounds of sirens.

"Darn it!" he cursed under his breath. Jesse knew he can't outrun the cops, nor can he outsmart their dogs.

Running on the sidewalk, the boy tried to find another way to escape. He jumped over a brick wall, ran to right side and tried to outrun anyone chasing after him. But he ran out of luck when his legs stumbled forward by an outstretched leg. Time seemed to have stopped for a single heartbeat when Jesse flew straightforward and landed hard on the asphalt. Then, the boy got pulled up by a strong hand that held a firm grasp on his jacket. Jesse started to fight back immediately as he kicked aggressively to get free.

"Lemme go!" Jesse exclaimed defensively when he used one fist to punch at the stranger's face, only to get his fist captured by another hand, stopped inches away from the stranger's face. Though, his kicks remained persistent. The boy cast his angry eyes onto the tall, muscular man who glared at him. What Jesse did not know was he was dealing with Optimus. The sounds of the sirens echoed louder as a police car arrived on place.

"Boy, you should've thought twice about the consequences," Optimus expressed with a harsh tone. He could see easily that the boy hadn't thought much out.

"So what? You adults ain't bothering to care a prick like me!" Jesse kicked harder, his voice cracked in fear as the cops stepped out from their vehicle. "Let me go, you stupid moron!"

But it was all in vain when the boy was handed over to the cops, handcuffed and then taken away. Optimus stood stoic, yet his spark beat hard thinking the boy's words while he watched the police car driving away out of sight.

20 minutes later

The Autobot Commander couldn't find what he was looking for, so he went back to his position and deactivated his human hologram. He waited for Strongarm to return. He waited and waited, but he did not see the cadet coming. As time passed, he grew increasingly worried. Where was the young cadet up to? That moment, he took actions as he contacted Strongarm through the comlink.

'Strongarm, where are you?' he called to her, concerned.

'O-Optimus, I'm in the library,' Strongarm sounded startled by his call, although her answer surprised him a lot.

'Library? Stay where you are,' he told her with a semi-strict tone.

'Oh… I understand,' he heard the defeated reply from her.

Optimus used his scanner to locate the library, which was super easy as it was near the center of the harbor town, though afar from the harbor. Using his human hologram, he went straight to the library, and after three streets' walk later, he arrived on place. The library turned out to be a two-story building, and the inferior gorgeous with beautiful aquarium exhibits on all floors. The Prime stood there mesmerized as memories from his time as an archive clerk awoke inside his CPU, and he could not help but to smile seeing the tall shelves packed with books. To his amazement, there were quite a lot of humans that had come to spend a good time reading, borrowing or leaving books.

'Strongarm, I'm here. Where are you?' he called to the cadet through the comlink.

'I'm on the second floor,' she replied swiftly.

Eventually, Optimus found Strongarm on the second story. What surprised him was he found her sitting on the floor next to a rectangular aquarium in a big reading corner with an organized pile of books piled beside her. She was not alone though. Around one of the book alleys stood an elderly woman in her seventies checking the novels. One of the library staff, a teenager in late teens that was practicing for the summer, was around in another shelf alley to put books in order. The books revealed to be natural books, specifically marine life books. The cadet held a book with jumping dolphins painted on the cover.

"Samantha," he whispered her human name. Strongarm jerked up, looking up to see him standing in front of her, but then she dropped her shoulders down. Just then, he squatted down. "You got me worried."

"I'm sorry, Aaron… I…" as it happened, the young cadet's human hologram seemed to quiver as if she was not sure how to answer properly.

"You must not explain straightaway," Optimus reassured her as he put his holographic human hand on her shoulder. "I don't see this as an issue."

No answer came from the cadet. That klik, the Prime saw the current pages in the book Strongarm had in her hands. One of the pages had a big photo depicting a big orca bull beaching itself to catch a seal cub. She had her sea-blue eyes on it.

"Samantha?" he whispered again, increasingly worried for her sudden silence and glued gaze on the photos. He read her body language, which alarmed him a lot. She was tensed up, trapped inside a tunnel without light. That was then he responded immediately as he extended his hands to remove the book from the cadet's hands but found her holding the book with a stronger iron grip. "Samantha, look at me. I'm right here."

No response. Strongarm sat there motionless, so tensed that her arms started to quiver in shaky spasms. Realizing that she was unresponsive, Optimus knew very little how he was going to get her back to reality. Then he saw how her chest started to move rapidly as she began to gasp irrationally, her eyes widening. Just then, as it happened, the teenager came in haste.

"What happened? Do you need help?" he asked quickly, unsure what to do.

"Big Jake..." just then, Strongarm's hologram muttered. "Big Jake..."

"Sam, talk to me," now growing alarmed, Optimus placed his hand on the cadet's face. Then he glanced to the teenager. "Call for help!"

"Understood," the teenager nodded, then he ran off to the office downstairs.

Of course, Optimus figured it was going to take a quick moment for help to arrive. But it felt like an eternity for him to watch Strongarm deteriorate so quickly. The feeling of helplessness grew like a wildfire inside his spark. The cadet looked like she was trapped inside a cage as her breathing intensified rapidly, her trembling spasms worsening by every minute. That moment, a signature pinged within his proximity sensor. A signature he hadn't detected in a very long time. Hope and rejoice awoke inside his spark.

However, as it happened, Strongarm suddenly tossed the book to the side, then pressed her knees to her chest and hugged her legs tightly. She hid her face between her knees, her whole body trembling intensely. Optimus put his hand on her shoulder, only to get his hand smacked away by a hard knuckle. He prayed that help will come very soon.

And help did come in the most unlikely way.

It took barely five minutes until an ambulance arrived just outside the library building. Directly, as the medic came in with a medical kit, Optimus could not believe who'd came. The medic was a burly old man in fifties, wearing regular ambulance clothes to blend in among humans, tricking humans and the thick ginger braid had grown gray. The bearded face was square with clever blue eyes, the forehead wiggled. It happened so fast for Strongarm while the medic helped her at his best. Worrisomely, she turned silent. Whenever she heard a question, she simply nodded or shook her head. Then, she together with Optimus followed the medic to the white and red ambulance outside the library.

As soon as her hologram went inside the ambulance, to trick the humans, the car doors closed behind and she vanished quickly. Not far, her true form regained as she ignited her engine, waiting for Optimus and the medic who'd come to help. Then, the three Cypertronians drove away, leaving the harbor town behind. Led by the medic, they went on the road heading to a hidden clearing within the woods afar from human activities. That moment, they transformed to their robot forms. Strongarm saw the baffled expression on the former Autobot Commander's face, followed by a rare expression of joy.

"It's been so long, old friend," Optimus spoke to Ratchet.

"Optimus, I'm so happy to see you again," the old medic expressed a grimace, walking towards his old friend. "I thought I'd never see you again. You've been gone so long that I moved on."

However, the little reunion moment got spoiled when footsteps came out of nowhere. Out from the trees stepped two more Autobots, two mechs. The first mech was orange and crimson red with yellow flame prints on the chest plates, the optics sapphire blue while the second mech was yellow, darker orange and silvery gray with a turquoise visor hovering over the helmet, revealing the soft blue optics.

That was then Strongarm tensed up, her optics large, not by amazement but by shock. Her whole body became so tense that her cables grew hard, starting to hurt while trembling half-visibly. She could not believe who she was seeing before her own optics.

"Hey, Ratchet. Who're they?" the mech with visor asked first, his gaze glued on the elder Autobots.

"Hot Shot, this is Optimus Prime," the medic huffed, displeased over the young Autobot's naive attitude. He then glanced to the cadet, quickly noticing her tensed body language. "And you are...?"

"You don't need to introduce. Hello, Strongarm. Long time no see..." the flamed Autobot intervened, his neutral gaze glued at her.

"Hello... Hot Rod," she felt like she'd lost her voice entirely, withdrawing herself back. Bad memories awoke inside her CPU, reminding her of the time back in the academy on Cybertron. Her withdrawn behavior alarmed Optimus directly. He extended his servo to touch on her shoulder gear, only to see her jerking her shoulder away, avoiding any physical contact.

"Sir, I'll head back to Sedna," the femme spoke, turning around and left in haste. Abruptly, she started to jog. She ignored the Prime's calls completely. Sedna. I need you more than ever!

Swiftly, she changed into her police vehicle, driving at record speed. She drove so fast that she spooked a few drivers driving on the road. She really did not want to see Hot Rod again. Strongarm arrived to the hidden bay within record time, changing back to her bipedal form and ran to the left cliff wall. She did not care if she got herself injured among the cliffs. She paid little notice until she found herself standing on her favorite rock where she'd sit sketching. There she sat down, hugging her legs pressed to her chest plates and hid her facial plates behind her knee gears. She began to weep silently, fighting back against the hurting feelings that beat hard inside her.

Everything hurt. Why must every bad thing occur to her?

It was the sound of a blow that startled her up. She looked where the noise came from, in which took barely a few sparkbeats for her to find the source. Ahead of her was the Akhlut Predacon. In her beast form, Sedna spyhopped barely. She tried to keep her entire body under the water surface, seemingly afraid to terrify her friend. Directly, Strongarm got up on her peds, her tearful optics glittering in the sunlight.

"Sedna," she called, growing desperate in a need for her friend's presence.

Deeaaiiaaaiiaa, Sedna vocalized, her icicle-horned orca head briefly visible as she raised her rostrum above the surface.

Then, spontaneously, the cadet made an unexpected action. She jumped out, diving through the water and entered the cold underwater world. However, while floating in the cold seawater, she had her optics shut closed. Despite her desperation, the trauma forced her to swim in darkness. She can only rely on her audio receptors and sense of touch. That moment, she floated her abdomen plates pointed down, almost like she imagined the bay's seafloor. But then, she felt something that came right below her. A gentle movement that caused her to hug instantly.

She was entirely unaware that Sedna swam below her, using her chest to hold the cadet closely like a mother supporting her calf. Like a sea otter, the Predacon femme's flippered forelegs gracefully hugged Strongarm, never letting her go. Gradually, Sedna used her tail barely; she found the gentle gliding through water a lot more comforting. Indeed, it helped Strongarm too. With her chest plates and helmet touched on the white, broad chest, the young femme's spark rate slowly calmed down as she herself listened to her friend's sparkbeats.

The two friends held onto each other, clinging tightly. But oddly enough, Sedna was completely silent. All the sounds were the smooth sounds of the waves coming from above, the gradual clinging sounds of the rope chain holding the bay dock and the splashing sounds of the barrels holding the built dock.

Though, sadly the moment got ruined when new sounds echoed on land. The sounds of wheels and metal transforming. Those sounds were easily recognizable to the Akhlut Predacon's oversensitive audio receptors.

But those sounds triggered Strongarm to flicker her optics wide. Luckily, instead kicking or punching, she used a very cautious push using both her servos, which signaled Sedna to let her go. In an instant, the femme swam up to the surface and got her head above.

She saw immediately the other Autobots standing there on the beach, Optimus waving her to call her to come back. Hesitant, she swam back to land where she met the Prime.

"Strongarm, are you okay?" he asked, increasingly worried for her frail condition.

No response came from her. She didn't want to speak a word. Although, as it happened, Ratchet approached to her to inspect her medically. "What happened to your face?" he asked politely.

"It's nothing..." she denied answering. "Even if I tell the truth, you won't believe a single word."

That astonished the old medic beyond words. He then exchanged a troubled glance to his old friend in silence. Just then, Strongarm caught a small glimpse on Hot Rod but avoided optic-contact. It pained her too much. But then, all suddenly, the Autobots were interrupted by a blow. They all turned their gazes to the sea. Ratchet, Hot Rod and Hot Shot dropped their jaws in amazement to see the Akhlut Predacon spyhopping.

"What in Cybertron's name is that?!" by accident, Ratchet exclaimed, horrified.

"That's Sedna," Strongarm spoke, her tone sad as her gaze was downcast on the sand. "And she's the only friend who I can trust..."

"Ratchet, we have a lot to tell you," Optimus was next to speak, though his optic ridges were arched in concern as he shifted his optics between the medic and the cadet. He grew increasingly troubled over the cadet's drastic changes.

The Predacon femme dived below the waves, hiding out of sight.

A few moments later

"Is the Predacon over 55,000 years old?!" Ratchet was entirely dumbfounded, his facial plates pale. "Prime, how didn't we detect her sooner?"

"Beats me," the Prime replied, shrugging his broad shoulders.

The five Cybertronians sat on a circle close to the oak tree, listening to Optimus mostly. Strongarm was awfully quiet as she muttered her answers when she must. That moment, she opened her chassis to take out her sketch pad and handed it over to the medic. Politely, Ratchet checked on the sketches drawn by her, becoming astonished over the fine details and written studies. Hot Shot and Hot Rod glanced on the sketches too, looking amazed.

"Seriously, you got great art skills," Hot Shot said first, giving Strongarm a compliment. "You have a great sense of details too."

"Thanks. It has helped me a lot since... I left Bumblebee's team months ago," she replied briefly, withdrawing quickly.

A few kliks later, Optimus began telling his old friend and the newcomers about the events that occurred months ago. The attack in the Arctic, finding Sedna and her escape from the scrapyard, which led to the accusations that Strongarm got blamed on. He added also that he chose to leave Bumblebee too, something that astonied Ratchet who questioned why.

Hearing the story brought new pain within Strongarm's spark as she tried so hard not to remember the day when her former comrades blamed her and Bumblebee not believing in her. She wished she'd have amnesia to lose memories of that dreadful day. Just then, another sound of a blow caught everyone by surprise. The cadet gazed to the direction, seeing directly Sedna spyhopping once again. The Akhlut Predacon had her eyes on her.

"Optimus, is she... dangerous?" Ratchet asked, his chin quivering. He looked terrified, now knowing that there was a Predacon that hadn't been discovered until recently.

"Yes," Strongarm answered first. "She becomes dangerous if you make her angry."

"How dangerous if I may ask?" just then, Hot Rod questioned next, his optic ridge raised.

"Dangerous enough to get your spinal strut broken in many pieces and she can easily tear your arm off. I've learnt that through the hard way after I got slapped hard by her tail flukes and got my ankle twisted," came the dry reply from the cadet who chose to ignore the flamed printed mech. Though, she did hear a few loud gulps coming from the mechs that shared same scaredy cat expression.

Suddenly, Strongarm walked closer towards the water's edge when the Akhlut Predacon swam closer to the beach. That moment, however, Sedna stopped suddenly and made a sharp turn, heading to the floating dock. In an instant nano-klik, Strongarm heard loud gasps as the massive orca tail fluke raised above the water surface, followed by a violent smash that created a tremendous splash. The cadet read the tail slap as a sign that she wanted the Autobots gathered on the dock instead coming up to the beach.

"Optimus, she wants us there on the dock," the femme said, looking over her shoulder.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Optimus frowned slightly whereas reading Strongarm's body language. "I think it's too soon-"

Another splash from the Akhlut Predacon's tail slap intervened. The motion was impatient. That told the Cybertronians that they should hurry up. It took its time but eventually all the five Cybertronians got on the dock. Surprisingly, the dock didn't sink despite the huge amount of weight. That moment, Strongarm had her arms around the Prime's arm, holding him closely. He'd insisted her to hold his arm just in case she'd get suddenly triggered by the traumatic experiences. Silently, Optimus used his left servo to splash on the water, calling to Sedna to come. Indeed the Akhlut Predacon did come. Sedna spyhopped briefly, looking at the newcomers. Her optic pupils acted weirdly as if she was conflicted between wary awareness to curiosity simultaneously.

"She looks way bigger," Hot Shot spoke, mesmerized.

"You're not joking, Shotty," Hot Rod added, mesmerized as well.

Piieeeaaauuum...

Directly, Ratchet, Hot Shot and Hot Rod dropped their jaws hearing the vocalization before witnessing Sedna's swift transformation from Predacon form to robot form. The bulky femme's tattooed face peeked above the surface, her optics focused only on the cadet. As it occurred, Strongarm gazed to her friend, sending a single expressive message.

I need you more than ever.

Slowly, Sedna swam closer to the dock, seemingly ignoring the newcomers that stared at her. Though, she stopped halfway within one arm and half's distance from the dock.

Eeeaaam, she vocalized, using her hand sign language that baffled Ratchet most.

"I'm not okay, Sedna," Strongarm replied back, using hand gestures. First, she pointed at herself, shaking her head before using her index digit to gesture a circle around the middle of her chest plates. Then she hugged Optimus' arm again.

Eeeeiiiuuuum, another vocalization followed, this time Sedna had her optics on Optimus. Her optic pupils had dilated to round shapes as she expressed awareness over her friend's frail condition.

Without speaking a word, the Prime shook his head, expressing sad.

"Wait a second. Can't she speak a word?" Ratchet inquired, stunned over the Predacon's vocalizations.

"No. She doesn't have a voice box," Optimus shook his head, explaining to his friend. "Listen closely."

Like said, Ratchet turned his focus to the Predacon femme, sharpening his audio receptors along analyzing her properly. That was then he saw the rhythmic pattern of her breathing and he heard the deep breaths. Directly, he returned his gaze to Optimus, too dumbfounded to speak. Just then, Sedna approached closer toward the Autobots cautiously. Wisely, the newcomers stayed still, not moving a single muscle cable, thinking that they'd get attacked if they'd make a mistake.

The Akhlut Predacon femme shifted her gaze back and forth between Strongarm, the Prime and the newcomers. She seemed analyzing the situation carefully, wary over the newcomers.

Kriiiiiiiiick, she clicked, her echolocation loud and clear.

Her breathing deepened. However, as it happened, Ratchet moved up his left forearm to activate his screen frame that illuminated, showing the scanning. Although, his rapid motions caused Sedna's optic pupils to turn narrow cat-like pupils as she snarled up her lips, showing her fangs.

Bruuugh, her growl-like sound made the medic to jerk back, terrified over the sudden growl.

It happened the same to Hot Rod and Hot Shot that stared somewhat horrified over the Predacon femme. But oddly enough, Sedna held herself back from lashing outward in primal rage. With Strongarm in presence, she couldn't risk it. The cadet hugged Optimus' arm tighter, her optics shut while trembling. That moment, the bulky femme turned silent, inhaling a deep breath through her filled lips before diving under the surface.

"Aww man," Hot Shot moaned briefly, mostly disappointed that their chance to learn more about Sedna got ruined. But then he turned his optics to Hot Rod whom glanced at the cadet. He saw directly a difference on the flame-printed mech's facial plates.

"Strongarm, is everything okay?" the medic paid attention on Strongarm, alert. "Your stress levels are increasing. Optimus, we need to go back to the beach-"

But then, all suddenly, Strongarm did something unthinkable. Without warning, she let go off the Prime's arm, then pushed him to the side before taking a jump out and dived through the water. Like a seabird, she dived through the water with still closed optics until her servos touched the soft, sandy sea soil where she spun around to lie on her spinal strut on the bottom. The world underwater was a whole alien world to her. Despite the times she'd spent swimming, she actually had not spent time embracing it.

It felt so entirely different under the surface.

The ambience sounds that echoed through the endlessly vast sea, bouncing back and forth between the cliffs and the faded sounds coming from the world above surface gave Strongarm an ultra rare sense of tranquility. For the first time since the orca attack, she felt she was in a safe place. She narrowed her audio receptors to listen only on her pulsing sparkbeats. It helped a lot for her to calm down, her spark slowly slowed down to calm humming rhythmic pulses. But unaware of it, the cadet had shut down her proximity sensor. That led her lying there blissfully unaware of the immense beast coming toward her.

Sedna

Blue Eyes, she thought seeing her friend lying at the hidden bay bottom.

She saw the blank expression on her friend's facial plates. Cautiously, she swam closer towards her friend until she floated right atop of her. Her spark pounded hard under her broad chest as she felt a feeling awakening inside, an old feeling that she'd clung since calf-hood. The feeling of family. Quietly, Sedna read carefully on Blue Eyes' face. As it happened, the images of her siblings came before her optics, causing her spark to pulse harder. For the first time, she didn't see Blue Eyes as a friend, but as her youngest sister.

Little sister, she thought, moving her arms to grab Blue Eyes, hugging her tenderly.

Her tail moved slowly to create smooth thrusts and the Predacon femme glided through the water, heading to the surface. Simultaneously, she felt Blue Eyes hugging her tightly, her head resting on the left shoulder and as she emerged, she made sure that the young femme had her head above the waves. Their hug tightened harder.

Optimus

The Prime could not believe what he was seeing. He shifted his gaze back and forth between Ratchet and Sedna. He could see that his old friend looked like he'd witnessed a miracle happening. Hot Rod and Hot Shot exchanged a glance between each other, whispering somewhat silently. Watching the spectacle occurring, Optimus felt a temporary relief. He dearly hoped the hug was a positive sign of a turning point, feeling hopeful that Strongarm's path to recovery had begun. Just then, however, he tilted too far out and thanks to his weight, the dock moved up, leading to the most ridiculous flip.

The whole dock flipped up-side-down entirely as the Autobots went underwater. Of course, that did spook the Akhlut Predacon femme who'd spun around and Strongarm awoke at the same time, which triggered her to snarl her teeth out of annoyance, but she avoided making the slightest sound. The first one that popped up was Hot Rod who cried out like a little sparkling, kicking and waving his limbs wildly.

"It's freaking cold!" he splashed around, trying to get back up on the now up-side-down dock.

Hot Shot was next to pop up. "By Primus, this is wonderful!" his grimace beamed as he began to float on his spinal strut like a sea otter, relaxing instantly. "Ahh, I've missed taking a nice swim."

"Should you say that, Shotty," Roddy replied while he tried to climb up on the dock. "You've become warmblooded."

It didn't go well. It ended up the dock flipping again, now floating properly. A few muffling curse words were heard below the water surface. Then came finally Optimus and Ratchet. The medic shot an annoyed glare at the Prime, sending daggers to him. Just then, the old mechs held their optics onto each other, transfixed as old feelings awoke within their chest plates. But just then, they were interrupted by a single splash. It came neither from the young mechs nor the Akhlut Predacon femme.

No, it came from Strongarm who'd broken herself free from Sedna's grasp and dived underneath the waves. Directly, both Optimus and Ratchet put their face plates through the surface, floating on abdomen like penguins as they gazed down to the bottom. There they saw Strongarm lying on her spinal strut at the seafloor. Puzzled, he observed her carefully when he picked up a certain sign. Strongarm was at peace.

"What is she doing?" Ratchet asked after he peeked his head, meeting the Prime's optics.

"That's new to me," he replied hastily. "I haven't seen Strongarm do this before."

"Hmm, I detect her stress levels deceasing. It looks like she's a lot calmer down there," the medic activated his datapad, scanning a fast scan over the cadet despite the far depth and received the level conditions.

"That's good to hear," Optimus got relieved hearing it. He put his face plates through the surface, gazing down. Seeing the cadet lying there so peacefully made him feel further relieved. Though, he saw the large shadow swimming around Strongarm. Sedna was watching over her, yet she didn't intervene.

Late afternoon

The hours passed surprisingly quickly for the Autobots, but relatively slow for Strongarm who'd spent all her time simply staying in the bottom of the hidden bay. As the sun started slowly to march to its final destination, that was then the young femme finally decided she'd spent too long time and she began to swim up back to the surface. The entire time, Sedna had been watching over her, making sure that nothing disturbed her peace.

However, when Strongarm stepped up onto the beach, she felt the sudden burden weighing inside her chassis. Optimus and Ratchet sat under the oak, discussing about the recent events. Not far, she saw the other mechs spending time together chatting. Seeing Hot Rod did not bring her any good feelings. Quietly, she walked toward the elders, wanting to talk with them.

"Hmm? Ah, you're finally here," Ratchet was first to see her. He raised his servo, waving a 'come here' gesture, in which she obliged as she came and sat down beside the Prime. She was utterly quiet, her optics half-down.

"Strongarm?" Optimus stroked tenderly on Strongarm's shoulder gear like a parent, his face plates expressing concern.

"I feel... a bit better," she replied casually, although her voice was full with honesty. "I didn't mean to lose track of time."

"It's okay," the medic said. "We figured you felt secure there, so we let you be. In fact, the Predacon didn't allow anyone of us to dive to check up on you."

"Her name is Sedna," abruptly, Strongarm snapped.

That startled the elder Autobots whom stared at her, astonished over her snapping. Just then, a loud sound of blowing air caught them off guard and they all peered to the water. Sedna was in her Akhlut beast form, spyhopping. And as soon as she sank below the surface, she raised her tail fluke to slap the water. Suddenly, out of the blue, Strongarm's optics thrust wide-eyed as she flew up on her peds.

"Scrap! We forgot to buy some fish for her!" she exclaimed before she took a sprint, transformed into her police vehicle form and attached herself with the trailer. In a blink of an optic, she drifted away.

"What did just happen?" Ratchet dropped his jaw.

"It's probably best you see the answer once she comes back," the former Autobot Commander gave a simple answer. By accident, he peered his optics to take a swift glance on Hot Rod and Hot Shot. He saw directly an expression on the flame-printed mech's face plates that spelled trouble. Simultaneously, he chose to call. "You two, come over here."

Neither of them protested. Both of them came at place, their optics on him. However, the Prime had his optics on Hot Rod.

"Hot Rod was it?" he asked politely.

"Yes, but please call me Roddy. It helps a lot to separate which Hottie you want to speak to," Roddy replied, semi-bothered but not offended.

"And call me Shotty," Hot Shot cut in, adding.

"Roddy and Shotty. I'll keep that in mind," Optimus nodded a single nod, acknowledging. "So... How long have you two been with Ratchet?"

"We met him around six years ago," Roddy began. "Before that, we've been together for five years."

"Actually five years and ten months. We met when my sparkmate came shortly from Cybertron," Shotty corrected.

"Are you two sparked together?" Optimus' optics thrust large, then he smiled warmly.

"Yeah, it was instant love between us. We dated straightaway after we met and we sparkbonded, like within a year," Roddy's face plates blushed up, mostly by the fond memories.

"Actually we sparkbonded around one month later after our first encounter," Shotty corrected once again, his servo gripping on his sparkmate's servo.

"Seriously, your memory is way better than mine," an optic ridge stood up.

"Heh, yeah, 'cause you forget easily whenever we have our knotting times."

Immediately, a dry clearing of a throat intervened. Ratchet had a grumpy face, unamused and unimpressed. "You are absolutely over 9000 percent active when it comes to that intimate part. I'm still traumatized over your world record of being stuck for an entire week."

"Yeah, so what? You couldn't tear us apart at all," Roddy glared at the medic with a teasing smirk.

Another dry clearing of throat interrupted. This time, it came from Optimus who had both of his optic ridges raised up as he glanced on the young couple sternly, looking like he had no time listening on such things. That did silence the couple though.

"It sounds like you'd be worthy challengers to compete the Decepticons," he chuckled. Although, he then changed subject. "Roddy... Do you know Strongarm previously?"

"...Yeah, I do. She happens to be my ex-girlfriend," Roddy's face changed from teasing to rough like he'd gone through hell and back alive in an overdramatic way. "I can't believe that I'd see her again."

That answer baffled Optimus. Had Strongarm a relationship before? That information was something he hadn't expected to hear nor hadn't thought about it.

"Once she comes back, I want to talk both of us," he then spoke more strict. "I won't be surprised if there is tension between you that has not been settled down. If you're going to stay here, you two need to get along."

"Fine..." the young mech groaned almost silently, his wing doors dropping down. However, Optimus could see the reluctance visible on his facial plates.

The Autobots waited both patiently and impatiently for Strongarm to return. During the time, Sedna showed also signs of impatience as she spyhopped constantly, tail-slapping and eventual breaching. Whenever she breached, she'd jumped quite high, leading to gigantic splashes. While Ratchet and the sparkbonded couple grew amazed over the Akhlut Predacon femme's behaviors, Optimus worried for Strongarm. Inside, he feared that she'd panic to see Sedna opening her jaws.

Occasionally, the cadet returned. This time, the trailer consisted two barrels full with salmon, tuna and snappers. By the time she transformed to her robot form, Sedna spyhopped once again before she began to swim toward the beach like an excited dog. However, the Predacon stepped up on quite a far distance from the Autobots. That moment, both Optimus and Strongarm had opened the barrels, something that surprised the newcomers. Then, the cadet held a salmon in her servos whereas Optimus stood next to her side for support.

"Strongarm, I'm right here if it gets too much for you," he assured her, encouraging the cadet that he'd be there to support her.

"I can handle it," she muttered. She then walked forward, concentrating on one solid thing: Sedna.

She walked rather forcefully as she approached closer and closer until she stopped suddenly. She discovered quickly that Sedna had backed several steps. Understanding the behavior, she inhaled a deep inhale, stretching out the salmon. She closed her optics, waiting for her friend to come. Optimus shifted his optics back and forth between the femmes, ready to intervene if something bad happened. As for Sedna, she was extremely watchful and cautious. The Akhlut Predacon was also quiet; no vocalization nor echolocation clicks were heard.

Cautiously, Sedna watched over her steps, making sure that she moved like a feline relying on stealth. She came closer and closer until her orca head was merely one arm's length from Strongarm's servos. Then, she neared her rostrum closer, but instead gaping her jaws wide, she gaped her jaws barely so a tiny gap appeared, and she grabbed the salmon, then sucked it inside her jaws before swallowing.

However, Strongarm's arms trembled a lot tensely. Her legs quaked too, making her look like she was about to lose her own balance. Wisely, Sedna backed off four steps away, giving the cadet more space. Optimus read quickly the femme's body language. He read her body as tensed, full of anxiety and fighting an inner conflict to resist the traumatic images. He extended his servo to pat on her shoulder gear.

A big mistake.

Without warning, Strongarm's optics snapped open, staring straight at the Predacon. Her sudden motion caused Sedna to accidentally open her jaws, revealing her yellow orca teeth. That led to a drastic spiral down. The cadet unleashed a scream out, her servos over her helmet and face plates as if she tried to protect herself from invisible monsters trying to attack her face. Her scream terrified every bird away.

That moment, the medic took actions as he sprinted onward, ready to assist whereas Optimus was quick to catch Strongarm in his arms, holding her in a tight embrace. She started to kick, waving her clenched fists around like a youngling. However, without the slightest warning, Strongarm's optics changed; the optic rings squinted into tiny rings, a clear sign of severe distress.

Both Optimus and Ratchet struggled hard, in which led to an unlikable option that neither of them wanted to make. Directly, the Prime caught the handcuffs off the cadet's hip that somehow got jumped out from a hidden hip gear inside her thigh. And as the elder mechs pushed Strongarm down, he managed to grab one of her wrists.

Deeeiiaack! Piieeeaaauuum!

Both Optimus and Ratchet heard the infuriating vocalizations, but before they could react, Ratchet felt sharp teeth penetrating through his right shoulder and upper arm. The sharp pain exploded all over his spinal strut as the medic exclaimed a cry in sheer pain. Sedna reared up like a wapiti, throwing the medic backwards and he flew quite far before landing hard on the sand. He cried out a scream in pain. Optimus managed to dodge in time, though he knew that Sedna won't hesitate to give him rough treatment too.

Without hesitation, he focused on Ratchet as he sprinted, only to get met by the Akhlut Predacon's powerful tail that swung and hit him right at his chest plates and face plates. The slam was equivalent of a train wreck. And the sheer power was enough to send Optimus away like a canon from a catapult and he crashed onto one of the cliff rocks. Directly, both Roddy and Shotty had run to protect the medic from Sedna, though foolishly, they two had their blasters activated on arms, ready to fire when must.

But weirdly enough, Sedna did not charge to attack them. Instead, in her beast form, she stood above Strongarm like a mama bear shielding her cub from enemies and she vocalized multiple calls of growls, whistling and squawks. She had her jaws gaping to display an aggressive warning. That moment, both Roddy and Shotty managed to pull Ratchet away to a safer distance, blasters loaded but kept nerves under control.

However, simultaneously, Strongarm rolled over to lie on her spinal strut, and as she glanced up to see the Akhlut Predacon femme's orca teeth, she panicked instantly. In frantic panic, the cadet kicked right on the chest between Sedna's forelegs, which made her to shriek out.

Deeeiiaaauum!

But what happened next was beyond the Autobots' belief. Instead backing off, Sedna used her left foreleg paw to press Strongarm down before she used her jaws to grab the cadet's ped. Then, she began to spin around in an intensive spin before she threw her friend far out to the bay water. Entirely dizzy in CPU, the young femme couldn't comprehend nor react in time until she crashed through the water surface.

Optimus got up on his peds and ran out to the water. He was not alone either. Sedna had already leapt out to swim. He dove down to find Strongarm sunk down to the seabed again. Nonetheless, he quickly discovered a drastic change. This time, Strongarm lay perfectly still, her facial plates emotionless and no expression visible. For a moment, he thought she was unconscious. In haste, he swam as quick as he can until he came closest so his servos touched her chest plates.

His servos detected the fast pulsing sparkbeats pounding right below her chest plates. But as it happened, he saw Sedna swimming right above him like a ghost whose dark blue and white silhouette blended so well that he didn't see her at first. Once again, Sedna was completely silent while swimming around in a circle, keeping a watchful optic.

Figuring out a decision, Optimus used slow sign language to the Predacon, hoping she'd understand. His sign language included the 'trust' gesture. His signs read: I'll go back to the beach. Can I trust you to watch over Strongarm?

Quietly, Sedna nodded, getting the message all clear. He then returned to the surface, heading back to the beach where he was met by Hot Rod. "Shotty's taking care of Ratchet," he stated, pointing at his sparkmate fixing on his old friend's wounds. What astonished him was the visored mech proved to be skilled fixing wounds.

"How are you holding, Ratchet?" Optimus knelt in front of the medic, deep worry visible on his optics.

"I'll manage it through. Ow, ow, take it easy!" Ratchet huffed before groaning in pain, jerking his injured shoulder.

"Stop movin'. You move worse than a motorcyclist crying in pain while getting tattooed," Shotty talked annoyed. "Well, the good news is your wounds aren't severe. The bad news is you'll walk with those scars for some time."

"Pft, I tolerate that - OW!" Ratchet cried out.

"Heh, I see you still act like a sparkling when you get fixed up," Optimus shook his head, amused.

"Oh shut up," the medic groaned.

Evening

The sun was getting closer and closer to the horizon, painting the whole sky red, orange, yellow and pink. Before then, Optimus made sure that Sedna got the fish to get fed, something she did not protest since she proved to be extra hungry due the anxiety. Between anxious waiting, the Prime spent his time accompanying Ratchet who sat below the oak tree, extra grumpy over the nasty aching pain that strung across his shoulder and arm.

The sparkbonded couple shared the duty to keep an optic over the scenery. Much to Optimus' surprise, the couple had their own drone that they used to view a nice angle. The drone camera showed Sedna swimming in a constant circle around Strongarm. By the time evening arrived, Strongarm had finally regained consciousness and came back on dry land. Sedna did follow her silently, this time in her robot form.

The Akhlut Predacon femme was vigilant as she kept her optics sharply on the mechs, pulling up her upper lip to show her fangs. This time, Strongarm was a lot more silent and defeated as she awkwardly walked to sit a distance away from the other Autobots, not wanting to talk about it. Though, Optimus and Ratchet went over to discuss with her.

The conversation was brief.

"Strongarm..." Optimus began casually, thinking twice over his words.

She shook her head immediately, refusing to speak.

"Cadet, you'll need to tell us. I may be a medic but I'm not a magician with telepathy," Ratchet cut in, more serious than before. "I cannot guess how you are feeling. But I can easily read your body language."

"Ratchet, take it easy with her," the Prime gazed at him in disbelief. "She has gone through too much in short period of time."

Bruuugh!

Suddenly, Sedna used her growling sound to warn the elder Cybertronians to back off, in which they responded hastily by stepping back. She then approached to the cadet, sitting next to her side like a guard dog. That moment, she signed hand gestures that were easy for Optimus to understand, but very complicated for the medic whom understood nothing. Her signs moved like this; first, she pointed at Strongarm without touching her, shaking her head and made the facial circle to express the sad face before moving the tips of her clawed digits down from her optics, describing tears.

Piieeeaaauuum... Deeeiiaack, eeeaaam...

With a combination of sign language and vocalization, Sedna's message was simple: Blue Eyes is not okay at all. She's very sad.

"Wait a second," just then, Hot Shot spoke. He risked to come closer, now standing beside Ratchet. Slowly, he raised his own servos to use sign language as well. His signs said: I can use sign language too.

Though, it led only confusion as Sedna's optic pupils widened and she inclined her head to one side. However, Optimus stood there astonished to see Hot Shot using sign language.

"You use sign language?" he mouthed, baffled.

"Yeah. I'm skilled in advanced American and European sign languages," Shotty nodded proudly. "It's very handy when you've worked as a caretaker among humans."

Unaware of it, Strongarm glanced temporarily at the visored mech, her defeated optics reflecting no emotion. She then turned her optics to Sedna before she extended her servo to touch on her friend's right servo-paw, seeking closeness. Simultaneously, Sedna moved her servo slightly to hold her friend's servo, giving a close touch of safety belonging to an older sibling comforting its younger sibling. As it happened, the cadet moved closer, leaning her side onto the Predacon's bulky side.

You're the only one I can trust, she thought, increasingly tensed in anxiety. Her spark raced under her chest plates.

"How long have you been practicing with sign language?" Ratchet said his question, directed to Optimus. "I bet you got lucky to start learning sign language."

"Sedna was the one who taught me," Strongarm intervened unexpectedly. It caught the medic by surprise who was met by Optimus confirming with a nod. "We started to practice sign language in her way, not only to understand better but to prevent fights."

"Fights?" the medic raised both of his optic ridges, surprised.

Abruptly, the cadet turned silent, gazing downcast on the sand. Almost immediately, her servo squeezed hard on Sedna's paw-servo. The Akhlut Predacon glanced to Optimus, using her other servo to sign several gestures. Once again, she did it swiftly, yet elegantly in front of the Autobots. Her signs said: Blue Eyes is very scared. She doesn't want to be here.

"What did she say?" Hot Rod spoke, somewhat rude at first.

Bruuugh!

Suddenly, Sedna snarled up, showing her fangs as her optic pupils narrowed into thin cat pupils. She glared right at him, and Hot Rod was smart enough to avoid optic-contact by looking downcast, his body language tensed but submissive simultaneously. He was not the only one though. Hot Shot mimicked the same action.

"She says that Strongarm is very scared," Optimus translated, although he didn't bring up the fact that Sedna called the cadet for Blue Eyes. As it happened, he then gazed to Strongarm, thinking it was best if he'd discuss with her and Hot Rod later.

But then, without warning, Strongarm stood up on her peds. "I need to take a walk. Alone. I will be back," she spoke quickly, excusing herself before walking away.

Though, Sedna stood up on her four limbs, holding a watchful optic on the femme. The Akhlut Predacon snarled up her lips, but not by aggression, but by anxiety as her optic pupils shrunk smaller and narrower.

Strongarm

The cadet walked quite fast through the forest from the beach uphill. She felt the need to get away and get surrounded by silence. She felt overwhelmed inside. Her spark raced so madly that she thought she was going to burst up. Roughly ten minutes later, she stopped behind a big pine tree and sat down on her aft where she finally let her tears creek from her optics. Her whole body trembled intensely, her CPU overwhelmed by a whirl of thoughts spinning inside and her spark ached.

Why can't I remember what happened last night? She thought, feeling helpless and lost. What did I do last night? How did I end up out in the sea?

That moment, she froze when she felt the ground quaking by heavy steps. Someone was coming. Against her will, she forced herself to toughen up as she quickly rubbed her optics dry of threatening tears and she got herself back on her peds. She froze immediately to see Hot Rod standing before her. Instantly, she felt like a beast cornered, trapped in freeze mode.

"Strongarm... How are you doing these days?" he began.

No response came from her. The anxiety punched and kicked within her like a youngling caged inside a big pod.

"Look, I want only to talk with you quickly," he took a step closer, his optics glued on her. Reactively, Strongarm took a few steps back. That caused the mech to halt for a moment, then he sighed in disappointment. "Seriously, I want to tell you that I didn't expect seeing you again. Since I left Cybertron and came here to Earth, I've felt a thousand times happier and way more free than before."

Strongarm replied nothing. All she did was simply stepping a few more steps backwards. Just then, she saw a familiar figure coming. It was Optimus who'd followed after Hot Rod. Directly, the Prime hurried to stand next to the cadet, concern visible on his face plates. However, just as he lay his servo on her shoulder, Strongarm jerked up out of fright and pushed his arm away. It startled Optimus.

"Leave me alone!" unthinkably, she yelled out.

Then, she ran away. Strongarm sprinted as fast as she could, fleeing out of sight while turning deaf as she did not hear Optimus' calling. Everything turned all blurry before her own optics whereas she ran and ran with her spark pounding under her throat gear.

I need to get away from here! Silence. I need silence around me!

Something awoke inside her, a different feeling that she had no familiarity to. It drove her forward.

Seek solitude elsewhere...

However, as she ran further than thought, the feeling started to burn like a wild fire spreading over her entire body, pulsing like magma coursing through narrow tunnels. Around the same time, the sun touched the horizon line, readying itself to disappear and let the night come. The dying rays of sunlight stretched furthest out. The tall trees surrounded her, standing like shadowy watchers judging over her. However, unexpectedly, she found herself standing on a clearing where a big warehouse stood abandoned. It had been left to dust and rust into ruins.

Almost immediately, she sought refuge inside the warehouse. It was semi-empty with rusted vehicles, damaged wooden boxes and forgotten tools. Strongarm hid herself between two vehicles, squatted down and servos covering her facial plates. This time, she wept, releasing her emotions out.

"Why?" she hiccuped between sobs. "Why is he back? Why am I so afraid for him?"

Indeed, she fled because of her fear to face those whom hurt her, and she feared it much. By then, as the sun finally vanished below the horizon, bringing dusk, that was then Strongarm felt a sudden sharp pain exploding inside her. It felt like she got shot through her abdomen plates, stabbed numerous times and headbutted simultaneously mercilessly. The pain spread all over her body, tearing and snapping through her limbs.

She let out a scream, but it was not her own scream.

Optimus

Minutes earlier

The Prime felt defeated inside. He really wanted to be with the cadet, to comfort her and help her feeling better. But he chose to let her walk away. She deserved some space. In haste, he returned back to the beach where he saw Ratchet standing at the water's edge, gazing at the sunset. Hot Rod had already walked to his sparkmate, wanting to talk with him in private.

"Where's Sedna?" Optimus asked to the medic.

"She went back to the water," Ratchet replied, pointing at the bay.

Kruush!

Just then, a loud sound of a blow caught the elder mechs by surprise as they turned their gazes to the direction and saw Sedna spyhopping. She was back in her Akhlut form. She spyhopped for a brief sparkbeat, then vanished below the water surface after inhaling a deep breath through her blowhole.

"Unbelievable," Ratchet muttered, amazed. "She's far more different than Predaking. Come to think about it, I think she has outlived every single Predacon."

"About that, you're wrong," Optimus shook his head.

"What? What do you mean?"

"You see... before Strongarm and I left Bumblebee, we managed to uncover Sedna's CNA. The tests showed that she is not Predacon. She's 100 percent Cybertronian."

"What?! But that's impossible. No Cybertronian has been capable to evolve into a Predacon before."

"I'm aware of it, old friend."

"I need to take some samples from her," the medic raised his servo, touching on his left side of his helmet and grimaced like he dealt with a nasty headache. "I can only get convinced to see the evidence."

"We'll do it tomorrow," the Prime answered, approaching his old friend closer.

Silence hung between them. For a moment, Ratchet stared up at the taller mech, looking confused for a few sparkbeats before his expression changed into a long forgotten expression rarely expressed.

"When was the last time we two were entirely alone?" he slipped his intimate question through his half-sealed lips, his spark pulsing madly below his chest plates.

"To be honest... it's been too long," Optimus' optics softened. "Far too long."

Slowly, Optimus knelt down on one knee and neared his face plates closer toward Ratchet's blushing face. Feelings from the past awoke inside them, feelings of yearning. Slowly and gently, their faces touched onto each other.

But the moment proved to be fragile and short-lived when a scream was heard echoing miles away. It startled the mechs whom jolted back, then gazed swiftly to the direction where the scream came from. What made things worse was the scream sounded otherworldly. It sounded like a wolf's howl, a cougar's roar and a woman's shriek trapped inside the same bag. Optimus stood up, gazing to the forest, remembering that Strongarm ran uphill alone.

"What in Primus' name is that?" it was Hot Rod who exclaimed. Just like the elder mechs, the sparkbonded pair shared the same startled expressions as they had their optics on the forest. "That has to be a coyote."

"That was not a coyote," Shotty joined, shaking his head before making a single head throw to move his visor and covered his optics. His visor activated proximity detection and heat radiation sensors automatically.

"And that was definitely not a wolf either," Optimus spoke, concern shaped on his face plates. Then he thought straightaway on Strongarm. "Strongarm. She's up there. Hot Shot, can you detect any motion?"

"Shh!" Shotty hushed rapidly, his servo raised up in a 'wait' gesture.

That moment, as the Autobot stood there still without making noise, that was then they discovered a drastic change in the air. It was dead silent. The silence was vast. They heard absolutely nothing. No birds, no insects and no mammals. Nothing.

Strongarm, where are you? Optimus thought on the young femme, mentally praying that she was safe. Yet, his spark warned him that the outcome can turn to be opposite.

"Wait, I detect something," that was then Hot Shot saw something in his visor. His heat radiation sensor detected movements further away. "It's far uphill and it's moving fast. But..."

"But what?" Ratchet demanded a fast answer.

"It's massive," came the answer. "And it's on four legs."

Abruptly, the mechs heard faint rattling sounds ahead of them. Highly vigilant, the young pair took actions for they activated their arm blasters, loaded and locked. Optimus and Ratchet readied themselves too. The tension rose higher as the rattling sounds approached closer and closer, but then ceased without any trace. That itself got the Autobots chills through their spinal column for Hot Shot started to quiver.

"It's close by," Shotty whispered to his sparkmate, his voice quivering by tension.

Suddenly, a loud crack of a snapped twig broke the silence. Hot Shot's visor's sensor glowed showing a threat. That was then they four heard a sound that sounded completely different. But before they could comprehend, an immense shadow stalked behind the trees like a prowling feline. However, the shape of the shadow looked abnormal. As it occurred, Optimus froze when he thought he saw a pair of easily recognizable optics in the shadows. But as it happened, the shadow took a turn and vanished between the trees. Although, it didn't stop the young mechs from taking actions by following after the shadow.

A huge mistake.

'Shotty, we should prevent whatever it is from getting sight by humans,' Roddy told his sparkmate through the sparkbond link. His spark pulsed hard and he was fully vigilant over every sound, every scent and every movement. 'The harbor town is not far from here.'

'I agree, Roddy,' Shotty replied back, his visor displaying a red marker of the shadow's presence and range. 'It's heading uphill. Wait!'

"What's wrong?" his sparkmate whispered, now aware over the sudden, anxious rush through their sparkbond.

"Shh!" Hot Shot hushed him, then whispered quieter. "It has turned to left."

That told the flame-printed Autobot to turn his focus to left, arms outstretched. He expected a direct attack coming from front of him. Except, it never happened. Before the sparkmates could react or comprehend, they heard loud rattling sounds of fast cantering feet running past them. That moment, they suddenly realized.

"Scrap!" Hot Rod swore. "It's heading back to the beach!"

Neither of them thought. They simply reacted. They were not the only ones who reacted. Down back on the beach, both Optimus and Ratchet had braced themselves for the threat. What happened next turned up-side-down. Just as Hot Rod jumped over a fallen tree log, that was then the shadow attacked from the side.

KRIIIAAAAAAA!

He screamed out as he got two large paws pushing him down on the ground, then he felt sharp claws clawing and tearing through his chest plates, upper arms and abdomen plates. The pain was pure agony. But all that went swift over when he heard the loud blasting sounds of blasters firing at the attacker. Another sharp shriek was heard. This time, it sounded identical to the shriek from earlier, and it was so deafening that he instinctively covered his audio receptors to block the shriek from turning him deaf.

With his whole frame damaged with countless bleeding claw marks, he struggled to get up on his peds. That was then the attacker charged forward to strike right at Optimus. The attacker was nothing he nor his sparkmate had ever encountered before, and it was the same for Optimus and Ratchet who got caught off guard of the sudden attack. The attacker was a hybrid creature beyond this world. It had the powerful legs and body of a cougar but had the head and tail of a bottlenose dolphin with a tall dorsal fin located on the middle of the spine.

The dolphin beast leapt onto the Prime with front paws outstretched and its claws protruded out. It screeched out with a deafening shriek as it clawed on Optimus' chest plates and he fell backwards, landing violently on the sand. However, on that exact moment, Optimus used his left fist to punch on the creature's right eye with the hardest punch he can ever give. His fist hit hard on the eye, which led the creature to screech out agonizingly and it jumped to the side, retreating. But within a blink of an optic, it suddenly turned around and fixed its gaze on him.

There was only primal wrath, no sense of remorse in presence at all.

Before he could get up on his peds, Ratchet had rushed to his side and pushed him down using his body. And that occurred in the right time when the medic felt razor-sharp teeth slashing over his collar bone plate, dangerously close to his neck cables. Ratchet let out a scream in sheer pain as he felt the teeth digging through his plates. But suddenly, the creature abruptly let him go as a loud booming sound was heard. Hot Shot had shot at the creature. His laser had hit its hips behind the dorsal fin.

"C'mon! Come 'n get some, you beast!" he yelled, aiming his arm guns at the creature.

The hybrid let out a hissing squawk as it charged forward like a ferocious mountain lion. Then, out of the blue, Hot Shot dodged rolling over the sand before running to the water, acting as bait. It happened so swiftly that the other Autobots failed to act in time. But as soon as their CPUs caught up, Hot Rod was first to realize that his sparkmate was swimming out to the middle of the hidden bay.

"Shotty! Watch out!" he ran to the beach, calling out to his sparkmate while watching on as the hybrid beast swam after.

That was then Optimus, Ratchet and Hot Rod saw a major weakness. The beast could not swim. It swam clumsily in similarity of a dog and a small child learning to swim for the first time. It kept its head up above the water while paddling its front paws, its loud squawking shrieks upset as if the creature had stumbled upon its biggest obstacle entirely unprepared and unready.

But then...

Deeeiiaaauum!

Without warning, the creature got suddenly rammed from below and, with a sheer force of outstanding power, it got flung up high in the air as Sedna leapt up with an astonishing jump. She jumped far higher than she'd ever done before in front of the Prime's optics. And as it happened, it ended with the Akhlut Predacon diving through the water surface whereas the dolphin hybrid clashed dangerously close to the cliffs. Miraculously, Hot Shot was spared. He floated among the waves, optics stuck on the event. Just as the hybrid arose its head above the waves, gaping its jaws wide as if it tried to inhale a breath, it got rammed again. This time from the side.

The Autobots could do little. All they can do was stand and watch in horror over the attack. Sedna fought like a real animal; she used her strong tail, jaws and front paws to smack, slap, rake, bite and claw onto the creature. Abruptly, the recorder placed on the cliffs recorded a vicious series of vocalizations.

Deeeiiaack, deeeiiaack, deeeiiaack!

Piieeeaaauuum! Piieeeaaauuum!

Piieeaaam, piieeaaam, piieeaaam!

Deeaaiiaaaiiaa!

The sounds got so loud that the speakers on the recorder began to crackle up buzzing statics before one of them burst blasting apart. Then, in a blink of an optic, Hot Shot caught his chance and swam back to safe land. It took barely long for him to reach to land, though as soon as his peds stood on sand, he could not help but to look over his shoulder and witnessed the whole scenario.

"Outstanding..." Ratchet murmured a single word as he stared wide-eyed. Although, his servos and arms trembled.

"Optimus, we've gotta do something! We should try to help her!" Hot Rod exclaimed, his optics on the Prime.

Then, things took a drastic turn when the Predacon femme used her tail to smack the hybrid with a slap so mighty that the beast flew far enough to collide on the cliffs closest to the beach. It clashed on one large boulder, and the Cybertronians could hear an easily recognizable sound of steel cracking apart. The hybrid shrieked out in pure agony, then it attempted to get up on its paws, only to collapse down again.

The cause was apparent. Its right shoulder and front leg was completely injured with multiple fractures, causing it to walk with a severe limp. Momentarily, it started to cough up blood. Except, it was not organic red blood. No, the creature coughed up blue energon from its mouth. But then, it raised its bruised dolphin head slowly up and turned its head to the direction where the Autobots stood.

"He...Help... me..."

Optimus dropped his jaws when he heard the squawking cry from the creature. That was then his spark dropped as he met the creature's eyes. He could not believe in it. He did not want to believe in it. But the eyes didn't deny.

The creature's optics belonged to Strongarm.

"No..." Optimus uttered quietly, too stunned to take it in.

Though, right before he or the other mechs could act or react, Sedna emerged from the water as she leapt up and landed between the Cybertronians and the hybrid. That moment, she reared up like a grizzly bear.

Gruuuoogh!

Her roar-like vocalization terrorized the dolphin hybrid instantly. Cowardly, it took the opposite direction and limped weakly like a dog with its right broken front leg dragged. Its pitiful squawks and shrieks now sounded like a human weeping with choked sobs. Oddly enough, Sedna did not chase after the beast. The reason was easy to see. Her optics had thin lines of tears filling on the corners.

Deeeiiaaauum, Sedna's vocalization was sad.

Although, just then, Optimus thought he saw something falling from the fleeing hybrid, something shiny in silver. In haste, he sprinted past Sedna to the spot where he found the necklace with its silver locket. Astonished, he opened the locket to see and his jaws dropped. The locket had two photos; the left photo showed Strongarm and Hot Rod in younger years. But it was the right photo that captivated Optimus more.

The photo revealed to be a sparkling swaddled in thick blanket, its chubby face looking peaceful. But as he took a closer look, he realized something horrifying. The sparkling's face plates and head were very premature; in fact, they were in the development stage in middle gestational term. His spark broke into pieces as he recognized the perfectly identical facial features.

Deedaadiii, Sedna's vocalization startled the Prime.

He peered his optics over his broad shoulder to see a tearful Akhlut Predacon coming to him. She looked like she wanted to see what he had in his servo. That sparkbeat, as she moved her orca head to left so her right optics could see what he had in his servo, her pupil grew large and she swiftly transformed into his robot form. She used multiple servo gestures, telling Optimus to come closer and show her the locket. What shocked the Prime most was Sedna had her optics on the photo of the sparkling.

Deeeiiaaauum...

Strongarm

She lay in a curled position, shivering. She felt totally cold like she'd been stuck out in frigid weather for days, but there was more than the ice-cold touch. She felt scared.

How many times must you repeat the same mistake?

Concentrate! If you can't concentrate then you've set yourself for absolute failure!

Failure... I've failed everything, Strongarm thought, tears streaming down from her closed optics.

Though, abruptly, she snapped her optics wide open. All she saw was a pitch black darkness surrounding her, and what she thought was a floor was nothing else but a dark abyss of emptiness. But she sensed something. A presence totally unknown to her and yet nonthreatening. But her fear had paralyzed her. Then she heard the sounds of sharp claws clanging on the cold floor, which she instinctively reacted by curling herself up into a ball, laying as motionless as possible.

I have huge expectations on you. Don't disappoint me...

Hah, look at you dummy! Once a stray, always a stray!

The claws came closer and closer. Strongarm prayed that whatever or whoever was approaching would not pay much notice. But then, suddenly, the sounds stopped and as it happened Strongarm felt how the atmosphere surrounding her changed from cold to warm.

"My dear..." just then, a deep feminine voice hooted. It was deeply angelic. "I hear how deep your inner wounds are."

Too weak to resist the temptation, Strongarm abruptly opened her optics and looked up. What she saw was a sight that she wished she hadn't been so afraid of. In front of her stood a massive barn owl creature, towering easily over Optimus twice his size. The vividly violet and pink spotted owl looked nothing she'd seen before.

The barn owl had a pair of impressive reindeer antlers, adorned with crescent decorations dangling from the beams closest to the head on either sides, and turquoise wisps flaming around the top realms. Extended fur-like feathers covered around her neck and the folded wings proved to be a long, dark purple cape with a long ruby bead chain attached to a ruby crystal necklace hanging on the chest. The chain had a shorter cape with a row of thick fur-like fringes attached to it. What amazed the cadet was the owl's soft blue glowing eyes and the crescent signature illuminating before forehead.

"Oh little young one," the owl hooted sorrowfully. "I hear how much pain you bear inside you."

"W-W-Who are you?" Strongarm stammered, her trembling body still shaky.

"I have no name. I've lost my true name a very, very long time ago and sadly I can't remember my name," the owl replied, bowing her head down to look closer at Strongarm. "Many before you have given me different names and I always answer to those who givesme each unique name. But I go by the title of Guardian of the Dream."

No reply came from the cadet. Strongarm's face had only confusion plastered visibly as she stared blankly.

"Oh, I understand if you're feeling lost at this moment," the Guardian apologized gently when extending a wing out, seemingly wanting to help Strongarm to get up on her peds. In which, Strongarm obliged by stretching her servo out and grasped the wing arm.

"Does this mean that I can... give you any name I want?" Strongarm asked carefully, gazing at the owl.

"Oh yes. But choose wisely. I will easily reject any name I find distasteful," the Guardian answered politely.

Within seconds, Strongarm began to think through what name would she give to the owl. She bit on her underlip when she looked back to the owl. "I need to think first. I can't get any name ideas in my CPU."

"No worries, my dear. Take all the time you need," the Guardian hooted. But on that same moment, the owl spread out her wings. The cape ignited into violet flames, disappearing into flaming dust and the bright pink and purple inner wings glittered like stars. Right before Strongarm could react, the Guardian flapped her wings, then used talons to grab on the cadet's shoulders and picked her up into the air.

"P-Put me down!" Strongarm cried out in panic as she began to squirm and kick in the air. She felt really terrified to be so far high in the air.

Though, before she knew it, the pitch black darkness that had surrounded them started to vanish in a flash. That was then a deep blue and soft violet light shone ahead of them, and as the Guardian flew closer in record speed, Strongarm's jaws dropped off over the scenery. The light turned out to be a gateway to a whole realm beyond imagination. The realm was an endlessly vast forest where gigantic trees stood all way up to the sky, and instead for regular tree canopies, the towering trees had swirling branches that reminded much of a galaxy. The atmosphere was different.

It felt tranquil but also somber. The Autobot felt less mesmerized and more somber while she looked around. The forest itself illuminated in richness of blue and purple. As it happened, the Guardian chose to dive down, heading down to a small clearing. The clearing gleamed in beautiful white lily flowers and soft violet lavender flowers. Once landed, the Guardian let Strongarm go of her talons and the cadet made space. It felt so real; the ground, the plants and the air around felt physically real for Strongarm.

"What is this place?" Strongarm asked, astonished and yet sad.

"This is the Realm of the Dream," the Guardian screeched softly. "It is a Realm where both souls from the living world and the afterlife intertwine within same space. It's a place for the... less fortunate souls who's denied to either enter to the Oceans of Eternity or the Void."

"If I'm here... am I... dead?" Strongarm mistook the facts.

"You dead? No, you're still alive," the owl corrected her. "The Dream is the main Realm of living souls bearing the Dreamswimmer curse."

"Dreamswimmer curse?" she asked further, more confused than cautious.

That moment, the Guardian turned her gaze to the left, raising her wing like an arm to point at something. Strongarm followed the motion and she nearly panicked to see what the Guardian pointed at. Farther away ahead floated a large orca bull, seemingly in deep sleep but quivering like it got severe cramps after an intense hunt. She could see the closed eyes moving as if the orca dreamed a horrible nightmare.

Her whole body became completely shaky when Strongarm discovered the whole clearing had other cetaceans floating in the air. But it was not just cetaceans. To her horror, there were also humans lying on the grass, moving restlessly in their sleep and their faces tormented. The cadet had never seen anything like this before. It had to be nothing else but fantasy turned nightmare.

This can't be real, Strongarm thought, feeling her rapid spark pulsing harder below her neck.

"Young one, what is your name?" abruptly the Guardian screeched.

"My name is..." the cadet spoke, only to stop. Her optics grew wide-eyed. "My name is..."

Silence came, then quickly shattered when she fell down on her knee gears, servos covering over the sides of her head as despair and confusion shaped on her face plates. Tears leaked from the corners of her optics, flowing down her cheek plates. Strongarm felt her anxiety kicking in alive, pounding like a vicious carnivore using its claws and jaws to rip and tear throughout her entire body. Her spark pulsed panicked below her throat gear.

"Why can't I remember my name?" she began raising her voice, both whimpering and exclaiming simultaneously. "Why can't I remember my name?! What's happening to me?!"

It broke her down as she fell to lie on her right body side, curled up like a ball on the soft grass and her face buried in her servos. She sobbed loudly, weeping heavy tears as her spark ached sharply in a new sparkache. But then, without warning, she felt the ground below her changing from soft to solid hard concrete. The air changed too. It changed from new to a familiar air.

A far too familiar air.

That moment, the cadet snapped her tearful optics wide when she felt tiny vibrations quaking through the concrete ground, which led her to raise her head away from her servos. Her spark skipped a few beats. She was lying in an alley in the unfinished streets of Cybertron. The planet was slowly recovering as the streets and buildings had begun to get reconstructed from ruins to new glory.

"No..." she wept silently as she recognized the place. In midst of her anxiety, she bolted up on her peds, trying to make a sprint. Except, she could not move a single muscle cable. She tried to move anything. She could move her arms and upper body, but not her peds or legs. It was almost like she got her peds glued stuck on the ground.

"You cannot escape," as it happened, Strongarm heard the soft, yet sorrowful screeching voice as she looked up and saw the Guardian standing next to her side. "If you want to find your true name... you must go through the Trial of Memories."

"The Trial of Memories?" the cadet asked, but then she froze.

"Help!"

A cry was heard. It came from a little youngling. That exact moment, the youngling emerged out through a narrow crack between the walls of the building next to Strongarm. The youngling wasn't older than three stellar years, equivalent to a three year old human toddler. The youngling was covered in dirt and filth, wearing a ragged poncho over her upper body.

Once a stray, always a stray, Strongarm thought. Indeed, she was an orphan at an early age without any memory of sire or carrier.

"Can anyone hear me?! Help..."

The little youngling squatted down, weeping quietly. Any loud noises of weeping was a sign of weakness among strays, and weaknesses meant certain death. But then all suddenly the ground shook by heavy footsteps belonging to a giant. The orphan squeaked out with a jolt, then looked up. Strongarm stood quivering when she saw the immense Cybertronian coming around the corner and stepped in the alley in search for the source of sound. The Cybertronian wasn't a Decepticon nor Predacon.

"Ultra Magnus..." Strongarm's voice quivered as she watched the tall, blue and silver mech kneeling down on one knee, his sharp optics checking for clues. The Guardian stood motionless, observing the scenery with sympathy.

"Youngling, where are your parents?" Ultra Magnus spoke, walking closer toward the petrified youngling, then knelt down on one knee. His stoic face softened once he realized the stray orphan panicked up, running to the nearest hideout, which was a big pile of rusted steel particles. "Don't be frightened."

No reply came from the orphan for she shivered so much in fright that she seemed was close to get her body shutdown. The reason was simple. It was because of Ultra Magnus' right servo; his ridiculous servo made many young Cybertronians think he'd gone mad. That moment, Strongarm turned around, pressing her face into the wing feathers to hide her emotions. Despite it was only a memory, it hurt too much for Strongarm to see Ultra Magnus again. Yet, she knew what happened next.

Slowly, the orphan saw the left functional servo and despite her internal fear, she crawled over the steel and walked toward the servo. The youngling had sought out for attachment, to have the connection to a parent. Within a single klik, the youngling reached to Ultra Magnus' servo, and he lifted her up, giving her a gentle hug.

"My dear... is this too much for you?" the Guardian hooted, gazing down at the young cadet. "Does he remind you only bad things?"

"Why are you showing this to me?" Strongarm fought hard to keep her voice strict without sounding weak. She can't whimper or sob in front of Ultra Magnus even if he was part inside one of many memories, both good and bad. "Please take me away from this place."

"I understand," the antlered owl replied.

The place changed drastically. When Strongarm opened her tearful optics, she peered over her shoulder to see a new landscape. This time, the Guardian had taken her to a place inside the vast and dense forest. The trees towered twenty times her size, showing a great diversity that made her feel like she'd arrived inside a true fantasy forest. There were gorgeous willow trees with long wisteria flower plants, majestic oak trees, slender breech trees and cherry trees. The trees had latticework branches.

Strangely, Strongarm felt surrounded by a celestial energy. It was like this forest carried many secrets bearing only sorrow and loneliness. That moment, she walked to a large, smooth rock and sat down. She had her face buried in her servos again, sniffling silently. It was too much for her to handle. "Why am I in this place?" she mumbled between sniffles and sobs.

"My dear... the reason you are here is because you bear the Dreamswimmer curse," the Guardian told her. The barn owl expressed melancholically. "You've committed an unforgivable crime and the price you paid is your name."

Strongarm didn't reply. Yet, she listened on.

"You killed an innocent dolphin mother and her unborn calf," the Guardian continued. "That enraged the Twin Goddesses very much. Thus, they have stolen your previous name and gave you a new name. But to find it..."

However, as it happened, the barn owl peered over her shoulder to see a spirit coming towards them. It was the spirit of an orca cow with a broken jaw. Directly, the Guardian stepped several steps away, giving the femme space.

"Fluke-stander?" that moment, Strongarm bolted up hearing a new voice. She spun around to see where the voice came from, and her spark skipped pulsing when she saw the orca cow.

"Stay away from me!" she cried out, throwing her servo down to her hip to grab her weapon. Except, it wasn't there. In fact, she was entirely unequipped. Once realization hit her, Strongarm raised her fists up, readying herself for a fight.

"Why are you so defensive?" the orca cow sang, looking sad at her. "Is it because of your new fear of us orcas?"

"Who're you?" Strongarm trembled, conflicted between flight and fight instinct. Somehow, she felt that the orca wasn't there to attack her, but she couldn't trust the feeling.

"My name is Sehaláq, youngest daughter of Närakaláq. You are my precious daughter's only friend..."

When she heard the name and the word 'daughter', something snapped inside Strongarm. The femme lowered her fists as she looked on the orca's wise but aged eyes.

"Are you... are you Sedna's mother?" she gave a confused question. For the first time since she arrived here, Strongarm felt so astonished that her triggered fear subsided.

"Sedna. That name is what the fluke-standers call her," Sehaláq whistled with a sad vocalization. "But that's not my daughter's true name."

"Is Sedna not her true name?"

"No... My daughter's name is Healiáq."

"Healiáq?"

"My dear, your time is up," suddenly the Guardian hooted, extending her wings out as if preparing for a flight.

"Wait! I need to talk with Sehaláq," Strongarm pleaded with a servo raised up. She then turned her optics to the orca. "I promise I'll call Sedna by her real name from now on."

"You can't do it," Sehaláq shook her head with a melancholic tone. "Once you wake up, you won't remember anything. You won't remember our conversation, neither will you remember my daughter's true name."

"What do you mean?" confusion hit the cadet like a punch in the face.

"Time's up."

Before Strongarm could react, the Guardian folded her wings around the cadet and a bright light illuminated around Strongarm. The last thing Strongarm did was crying out a single speech.

What do you mean I won't remember anything?!

The next morning

Strongarm woke up mumbling, dealing with a pounding headache all over her helmet. Groggily, she forced herself to get up when she noticed something. She wasn't on the beach. No, she woke up inside another warehouse, this time closer to the harbor town. Frightened over the changes, the femme got up on her peds, only to slip accidentally by the wet floor. That moment, she detected a scent. It was the strong scent of fresh fish. As she checked around the room, she realized that she was inside one of the big garages connected to the warehouse where fishermen would come to deliver caught fish. Anxiety kicked in within an instant second.

Fortunately, there were no humans in sight, thus Strongarm could sneak away undetected. She got lucky this time. The weather outside was gloomy with thick clouds, blocking any sunlight from shining. It felt like it was going to be a super cloudy day with rain and possibly thunder. Though, as she transformed into her police car form and drove on the gravel road, she prayed to Primus that nobody saw her. Driving at slow pace, she reached to the center of the town when she stopped noticing a police officer talking with a small boy. She sharpened her audio receptors to eavesdrop the conversation.

"I'm telling you the truth! I saw a large monster last night," Jesse told the officer. "It's massive. It's got cougar legs but have the head, dorsal fin and tail of a dolphin. I saw it coming to the warehouse over there and it was limbing with a broken front leg. It also bled from its jaws and it looked like it got completely beaten up."

Broken front leg? Strongarm thought, baffled beyond belief. But I feel perfectly fine. I have no injuries. Wait... what happened to me last night?

"Boy, there are no such things as monsters. If there is this kind of monster you state, we'd already call the military to find it," the officer spoke, not believing a single word the boy said a moment ago. "And I can guarantee you that your statement would waste our time."

That moment, Jesse exploded as he yelled at the officer. "That's why you adults can't be trusted! Good luck finding any foster parents to me!"

The boy then swung around and left running away. The officer stood shaking his head.

Poor boy, Strongarm felt sorry, but then she thought. What if... yes, I should talk with him and see if I can listen to his statement.

Thus, she drove following after the boy who stormed off, walking on the street leading to the road out from the town. She drove really slow; she could not risk losing her chance. The boy managed to reach to the road, taking right as he walked on the wrong side of the road. Strongarm made sure she was out of sight by giving the boy a good space. But then Jesse stopped hearing tires coming behind him, swinging around to see and he took a drastic turn.

He ran across the road.

But at the same time, a van truck speeded at high speed from around the sharp curve.

Everything happened so fast in front of Strongarm's optics as the driver behind the wheel in the van truck failed to react in time, failing to press the brakes in time before the boy was hit by both bumper and headlight. The boy fell under the truck, run over by the heavy wheels. In response, Strongarm activated her red and blue headlights as she activated her human hologram and jumped out. She ran toward the lying boy, kneeling beside him to see if he was alive despite he got run over, nearly crushed to death by the weight.

To her horror, the boy bled a lot, suffering multiple fractures and wheezed with weak breaths. Strongarm felt petrified seeing the large eyes staring blankly as if he didn't comprehend what had just happened to him. She rolled him gently to lie flat on his back. She made sure she did it slowly and made sure the child's neck lay straight as possible. Her spark pulsed rapidly.

"Boy, can you hear me?" she asked. No response came. "Boy, can you hear me?"

She stretched her hand to touch gently on the boy's throat. She felt the pulsing aorta slowly getting weaker pulses. That moment, the world became slow motion to her. The ambulance came along with other police cars to block the road. The driver behind the van truck was hysteric. Strongarm got pushed to the side as she watched the medics trying to save the boy's life, then dragged further as a police officer demanded answers from her. She answered the best she can, yet she prayed the police won't find traces of her true identity.

For the first time in a very long time, she felt hopeless. And irresponsible.

It's happening all over again, Strongarm thought as horrible memories flooded before his optics. And I've caused it.

In midst of the urgent and dramatic scene, after answering everything she could give, the hologram backed off to make sure nobody noticed her. Due the crowded number of cars, Strongarm was capable to pull back and drove off. This time, she headed to the direction leading to the hidden bay. But when she reached to the path leading to the hidden bay, she rethought her decision. She felt not ready to see the others. Instead, Strongarm continued to drive onward. She sought solitude.

Driving at high speed, she felt the need to find a place elsewhere. She couldn't bear the thought on crying tears in front of Hot Rod. It awoke only ugly memories, memories that haunted her so much since her early years. Eventually, she found a gravel road that led down to a long but narrow beach. By then, she drove roughly two miles away from the hidden bay. The high tide had come in. Down in the beach, she transformed to her robot form and walked to a tall coniferous tree where she sat down under it.

It was then she burst out crying.

She had her face plates buried in her servos again, sobbing and weeping. But then she moved out her right servo to slap violently onto the rocky sand. The tiny rocks weren't sharp but they were pretty hard enough to make Strongarm's palm aching in stinging pain. She then started to swear insults directed to herself and no one else as she punched a driftwood spontaneously. And the last thing she did was lying on her side, curling up like a ball and wept silently. She closed her optics, and abruptly without warning, her body calmed down rapidly.

Dream

Strongarm woke up lying on the soft grass. Directly, she rose up finding herself lying in a clearing rich with white flowers. That moment, she realized she was back in the Dream. Horrified, she glanced around to see if she was along, which turned out to be opposite. The clearing had spirits of cetaceans and humans, tormented in their sleep. Quietly, she stood up, brushing her knee gears, legs and arms. She then gazed up to the sky, seeing the ocean of countless glittering stars.

It felt like a dream for her. A dream she had no memory of but somewhat remembered the atmosphere. As it occurred, she peered her gaze over her shoulder to see the towering antlered owl. "Welcome back, my dear," the Guardian greeted Strongarm with a bow. "I didn't expect you to be back here so soon."

This time, the femme chose not to reply. Instead, she moved her gaze away, avoiding eye-contact. She wasn't up for any chat. Fortunately, the Guardian respected her silence and stepped back a few steps, stretching her wings out to take flight. "If you need my help, call me. I'd like to hear what name you'll give me," the owl screeched softly.

Strongarm inhaled a deep breath when she decided to take a small stroll through the forest. She sought no answers nor did she want to find a way back to the world. She simply walked. What kind of meaning did bring her here in the Dream? Quietly, she closed her optics, letting the stinging tears leak. Yet, the sorrowful trees brought a sense of comfort to her. A comfort she had minimum experience of. But then, Strongarm stopped suddenly and gazed up her tearful gaze to see the trees around her.

"Why am I here?" she questioned to herself whereas glancing around the surroundings. It took barely long until she saw humans lying on the grass, squirming and rolling in their anxious sleeps. Although wondering what happened to them, Strongarm ignored them and continued walking.

Her walk didn't last long though when she stopped again. But this time, it was due to a change of environment. Strongarm witnessed the swift changes; one minute she stood in a forest, the next she was standing inside a large private quarters belonging to Ultra Magnus. The cadet stood around the corner in the living hall, watching the door slid open. Ultra Magnus walked in with a big cargo carrying behind his spinal strut and he held the youngling - herself - in his functional servo.

Ultra Magnus put down the youngling first before putting the cargo on a safe distance. The youngling held her large, vigilant optics on him, following every movement he made. Stay vigilant and you'll live another day. Those words were commonly spoken among strays. She stayed perfectly still, not daring to move the slightest nor make any sound while watching the giant mech opening the cargo to pick up new equipment and stuff, including Energon securely stored in a big container.

Directly, the youngling bolted scared by a loud thud. The thud was caused by Magnus accidentally dropping a bag of cloth textiles. The sound of the thud did make Strongarm jerk, remembering the fear of loud noises. The youngling trembled in complete fear when Ultra Magnus corrected the bag, then shifted focus to her.

"Little one, you'll get fully fed with Energon after a nice, warm bath," Ultra Magnus spoke calmly, bending forward to grab the youngling gently. The youngling tensed up as she got carried from the hall to another room. Strongarm followed them, watching the scenery.

This memory... My memory of my very first bath, Strongarm smiled thin but warmly.

She watched Magnus filling the huge, broad bucket with warm liquid. The flushing sounds of liquid terrified the youngling who jolted scared, gripped by the instinct to freeze still. Then, once the bucket was filled more than half, Ultra Magnus lifted her, but just as the youngling was close to tip her peds, she screeched out a wail of protest. Rain liquid was freezing cold, sharp and harsh. Despite her protesting wails, Magnus didn't give in at all. Yet, never did he raise his voice to yell at her to calm down.

Firmly, he moved the youngling down to the bucket, not caring the kicking peds splashing warm liquid. Of course, Strongarm knew why he did it. Like it started, the youngling's fit ended swiftly when she felt the warm, cozy liquid warming around her legs. It felt so different, so entirely new that she didn't know how to react anymore. Once her body turned limp, Magnus moved the youngling slowly until her aft touched the bucket's bottom and the warm liquid engulfed her body.

"You are a very filthy youngling," Ultra Magnus spoke, not displeased but more surprised. Indeed, the liquid turned from clean, clear to a dirty brown soup.

Strongarm huffed a small scoff whereas watching him grabbing a big soap and body brush to scrub the youngling's head and facial plates first. She remembered how ticklish it felt getting brushed and scrubbed tenderly. But then, without warning, she sensed a disturbance in the atmosphere.

Strongarm! Wake up!

Reality

Strongarm woke up feeling her shoulders rocked back and forth. She looked up to see Optimus knelt in front of her view. She saw his worried expression first, then she saw Ratchet standing beside him and behind them both Hot Rod and Hot Shot. That moment, her spark skipped a few sparkbeats as she reacted, backing away by crawling backwards from them.

"Strongarm, it's okay, we want only to help you," Optimus tried his best to reassure her.

Strongarm.

That name went past her audio receptors. It wasn't her name anymore. It was a name belonging to a stranger. Yet, despite the abrupt confusion, Strongarm acted like she recognized the name but only because of Optimus calling her. Her spark pulsed rapidly below her throat gear as she felt her tension growing skyrocket high. Then the images of the crash reflected before her own optics.

"I didn't mean to cause it, I didn't mean to cause it!" she cried out, using her servos and arms as a shield. "I didn't mean to cause it to happen!"

"Strongarm, I can see you're highly distressed-" Ratchet tried to speak.

"I DID NOT MEAN TO CAUSE THE ACCIDENT!" Strongarm screamed the top of her air tanks. Her scream stunned both the mechs to the core as they backed off with their optics large and wide. Then she got up on her peds, running away from them along the beach.

Strongarm ran as fast as she could, ignoring the calls. It hurt too much for her. Their presence brought no comfort either. She didn't want anyone to be with her. Just then, unwittingly, she'd stumbled upon a narrow passage between a tall vertical cliff and sharp cliff rocks. She climbed over the rocks, praying she'd get rid of them when her left ped slipped through a gap between two rocks and she fell slamming hard on chest, face plates and forearms.

However, as she lay still on the rocks with left leg stuck, Strongarm stayed perfectly motionless as if she tried to pretend she was camouflaging herself among the rocks. Although, that didn't work at all as she heard heavy footsteps approaching her from behind. By then, she braced herself for the worst when she felt a broad servo touching her shoulder, in which she reacted by freezing up.

"Strongarm... what happened?" Optimus' baritone voice soothed her while he stroked her shoulder gently. That gentle gesture didn't help much.

Strongarm shook her head, avoiding looking any optic-contact at anyone. Yet, Optimus persevered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Another shaking. Though, the cadet found herself on the verge of tears as her aching body became too much for her to bear.

"Do you want a hug?"

That was then Strongarm nodded. Without saying a word, she raised up her arms high enough to get a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her and she felt being lifted up from the rocks. Directly, she was embraced in Optimus' arms and she tucked her facial plates onto his chest plates. Unaware of it, she had a few small cracks on her olfactory sensor, causing her to bleed Energon. She felt a servo stroking between her doorwings as she let herself sob silently.

Optimus

It pained his spark seeing Strongarm this. Optimus really wanted to help her, but in order to help her, he must find the key to her spark. While holding the cadet closely in a tight embrace, he peered his gaze to Ratchet who stood ready to intervene, only to hold back seeing him raising a digit and pressed it onto his lips. That gesture spoke clear and enough. It wasn't the right time to talk.

But just then, Hot Rod had his head over his shoulder, looking to left when he thought he saw something. He had his servo over his optic ridges, scanning over the rocky beach passage between the vertical cliffs and ramming waves. He then looked at his sparkmate. "Shotty, I think there's something ahead."

Hot Shot was quick covering his optics with his visor, scanning the area with precise position and he raised his optic ridges when his visor detected some activity far ahead. Then he turned to the elder mechs. "Optimus, Ratchet, I pick up some activity ahead. It's not human activity."

"Decepticon?" Ratchet spoke with an obvious question.

"No..." Shotty shook his head, now hesitant.

"What do you mean no?"

"I can't tell what is it my visor is picking up, Ratchet!"

"Shh!" suddenly, Optimus hushed everyone. "Listen."

Ayeeeyaaaiii!

"What the - what kind of noise is that?" Hot Rod mouthed baffled, though perplexed.

As it happened, the Prime broke his embrace with Strongarm, although he allowed her to hold his servo for comfort as they walked ahead with the others following in haste.

Ayeeeyaaaiii! Ayeeeyaaaiii! Ayeeeyaaaiii!

The cries became louder as they came closer to its source, climbing between rocks and avoided slipping as possible. Then, Optimus stopped at a halt, a gasp coming out from his dropped jaws. There, stuck in a seaweed covered rock flat, was a tiny orca calf. The calf's tail between dorsal fin to fluke had four deep cut wounds where he could easily see the blubber. As it occurred, Strongarm was close to let out a scream when Optimus shifted focus from the beached orca to her.

"Strongarm, look at me, look at me," he spoke to her, trying to get het attention. It worked for a brief moment as she looked at him straight in the optic. "Strongarm, that orca isn't going to attack you, but it needs our help to return to the sea."

The cadet cast a swift glance at it, then flinched as if she'd brace herself to get a slap on the face plates as she hugged the Prime tightly around his chest. Just then, Ratchet and the young couple caught up, seeing the beached orca in shock and disbelief. Directly, the medic approached to it, kneeling on safe distance and inspected the wounds. His face saddened over the results.

"Prime, this orca calf is in desperate need for help," he'd moved his head over his shoulder, looking at his old friend. "She's not only severely injured but also dehydrated. What shall we do?"

For a moment, Optimus felt unsure for the first time in a long time. He glanced back and forth between Strongarm and the orca. A part of him urged him to help the orca calf, but another part of him told him the risks of Strongarm's deteriorating condition. What choices did he have, and what different outcomes would impact Strongarm most?

"Ratchet, we'll take the orca to the bay," Optimus decided a crucial decision. He was met by a shocked Ratchet who stared at him.

"Prime, I'm a medic, not a veterinarian!" Ratchet exclaimed. "I've no idea how to treat nor provide proper nourishment to an orca at all!"

Ayeeeyaaaiii! Ayeeeyaaaiii! Ayeeeyaaaiii!

The cries silenced everyone. The cries were full of fright and desperation as the orca raised her tail fluke up weakly.

"C'mon fellas, let's bring the little orca to the bay," Hot Rod spoke, determined. His sparkmate huffed with a nod in agreement.

Everything went smooth and fast. Somehow, the sparkbonded couple proved be absolutely prepared for everything; they'd packed plentiful of equipment and tools. As soon as they picked up a blanket large enough to carry the orca, the couple helped carrying whereas Ratchet followed behind them just in case one of them would lose grip. Optimus and Strongarm trailed behind them, mostly because of Strongarm whom walked in slow pace.

That moment was then Optimus grasped his chance. He opened half side of his chest plate, shoveled his servo and took out the locket. He showed it in front of her, but before he could speak a word, Strongarm was quicker to snatch the locket from his servo and held it in a tight grip as she pressed her fist to her lips. Although the Prime understood it without doubt.

"Strongarm... do you want to talk about it?" he questioned her.

To his dismay, he saw Strongarm shaking her head, dropping a downcast gaze on the peddles.

"I need to see Sedna," she simply said a demand, avoiding the subject regarding her silver locket. "I want to see her. I feel... she's the only one who I can trust right now."

The only one who I can trust right now.

Those words felt like an arrow punctured through Optimus' spark. But despite the ache inside his spark, he understood her. Strongarm had spent time with Sedna much longer than him, and the evidence was apparent yesterday.

Her bond to Sedna remains, he thought, still worried within. But how strong is her trust?

All right we've reached the end of this mega chapter. So, Strongarm has a new form to transform, thus she's now a triple-changer in this fanfic. If werewolf curse is involved as inspiration, you're guessing it right. Now, the biggest questions: Will Strongarm overcome her fear of orcas now when the Autobots have rescued the little orca calf and takes it to the hidden bay? Will Optimus, Ratchet, Roddy and Shotty help her overcome the fear? And will the bond between Strongarm and Sedna remain strong, or perhaps grow stronger? Stay tuned!

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