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Ramjet: Oooh look a mountain... mmmm... mountain....

*Crashes into mountain*

Ramjet: ow....... Ramjet calling in for repairs.

I wonder what happens when something crashes into him?

He probably gets really pissed and can't calm down unless he chases it and rams it into a bloody pulp/scrap heap.

No, he's more bonkers than Frenzy. Oh, and I'm leaving a portion of the story out because it's not exactly gonna fit under a G rating. I know you'll figure out what happened, though.

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Chapter 21: Becoming

Pebbles rained down the cliff face upon the Autobots who stood as one and tried to think of what to do. “Go up the cliff?” That was shot down. “No, the rock’s not strong enough to hold us.” Another idea was put forth. “Go around?” That was shot down as well. “We wouldn’t get there in time.” Frustration took hold. “Well, there has to be something!” Not a one of them was against trying to save Megatron if they could. Former enemy or not, he had earned his place among them and become a comrade, no, a friend. Ratchet was getting ready for the direst of emergencies and praying with all his might to whatever god was listening that it would be damage he would see; just damage and not death. His hope was already dying, and it faded more and more with each savage grunt and pained cry.

Sarah, for her part, was half past hysterical as she tried again and again to use her power, to take control even despite the fact that she was out of range. The only thoughts running through her mind was that he was up there, he was alone up there, outnumbered and possibly incapacitated, judging from Starscream’s words moments before… This whole war was her fault; she was supposed to have all this power, the power to give life and rejuvenate worlds, but what good was it doing her now? She was supposed to have power over life and death, so why was she powerless to save the life that mattered most to her? There had to be a way to fight, a facet to her power that she hadn’t considered yet…

Anger swelled inside her, hatred of those Decepticons; oh, how she longed to be able to fly up there and make them pay for everything! She’d never been this angry before in all her life. In her experience rage burned as a searing flame, but never before had it burned quite like this! Before it had only burned in her chest, but now it surged throughout her whole body. Fire was rushing through her, saturating every fiber of her being, filling her, energizing her, empowering her, becoming her… and that fire was blue.

A high, piercing scream drew Optimus’s attention away from the cliff where he knew his brother now struggled to survive and made him focus on the torrent of wicked blue fire erupting from Sarah where she stood. The scream had come from her; not a cry of pain but a wordless expression of pure black rage with an undertone of sheer wild elation. All around him the other Autobots were staring as well, wondering if the All Spark’s power had somehow turned on its bearer. The fire raged stronger, rising higher, burning brighter, until they could see nothing save a pillar of roiling, churning blue…

The All Spark’s energy faded away, but what stood there… wasn’t Sarah. Huddled on its knees, panting and badly shaken, was a being that looked like a slightly smaller version of Megatron; that same spiky armor, those spidery claws… Rather than being silver, it was a shade of gray so dark as to be almost black, glittering in the light as the blue died away. The black was far from perfect, as delicate traceries of that same bright blue trimmed every spike and every curve. The eyes were different, the same color as the highlights that marked its body; blue lightning instead of crimson fire. As they watched, a few seconds elongating into an eternity, the dark being stood, revealing vaguely feminine curves. It was then that they knew. This was Sarah, and she had yet to realize what she had become, as if her mind was on autopilot, some unknown force guiding her. A small rain of pebbles drew her attention upward and she abruptly looked up, newly formed fangs bared in a look of hate-filled fury that reminded Optimus of how his brother had been during the war. Crouching down, she leapt straight up with a sharp, brutal grace she had never shown in her human form… and instantly pulled off her first transformation, becoming a darker version of that infamous alien jet and rocketing straight upward on a pillar of purple fire.

The scream wasn’t lost on the combatants above. Thrust and Downburst were working together to both help support Megatron and to restrain him so he couldn’t attack the evilly smirking Starscream who stood before him, taunting him in his moment of weakness. Starscream, for his part, was enjoying each and every millisecond of what was going on. He’d already more than humiliated Megatron, already more than hurt him… He’d made sure that his former superior had paid dearly for denying him his desires and being in his way, but still that wasn’t nearly enough for him. He wanted to hurt him more, and hearing that scream made him realize how he could do that… “Do you hear that? The girl screams for you.” His smirk only grew as he saw his former leader’s eyes narrow at the mention of the All Spark girl. Evidently he’d touched a nerve. “She’s next, you know. After I’m done with you, I’ll see if she can scream any louder!” Snarling wordlessly, Megatron tried to lunge for Starscream’s throat, practically dragging both Thrust and Downburst along with him. “You leave her out of this!” The two Decepticons just barely managed to hold him back as he fought with all his remaining strength to break free and strangle his former second in command. Taking a step back at his former commander’s sudden burst of strength, Starscream knew he had gotten to him, and this pleased him greatly. “As a matter of fact, I’m not sure who to kill first. You… or her.”

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Now she can transform too, it seems. It must be a self-defense adaptation caused by the All Spark.

...What, no reaction to that twist I threw in? Aw heck, I'll just put up the next part anyway. You're gonna love this.

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Chapter 22: Starscream earned it

“You’ll do neither, Starscream!” The sky erupted in a mighty roar as a jet as black as coal, that unmistakable jet, ripped past the cliff’s edge to spiral skyward, trailing that brilliant purple fire. Banking sharply, it came around and transformed in midair to land gracefully before them, backlit by the late afternoon sun and thrown into shadow, save for the blue traceries that covered it, as they shone with their own light, and those eyes, those electric blue eyes. It slowly stood up, revealing itself as female. “Not while I’m around.”

By that point all four were staring and Starscream momentarily regretted sending the other three home before taking control of the situation. “Don’t panic, you fools! She’s unarmed!” The new arrival grinned at him, taking up a wide-legged battle-ready stance. “Am I?” Raising her arms and holding them out before her, palm to palm, her forearms morphed and melded together into an enormous cannon, which she immediately aimed and fired at Starscream, sending him flying halfway across the mountain. Ramjet and Dirge released their hold on Megatron upon seeing their commander go flying. Badly beaten and too weak to stand, the former Decepticon leader could do nothing save collapse. Managing to turn his head enough to see the newcomer who had blasted Starscream, his dazed mind tried to make sense of what was happening. “An… an angel?”

The two Decepticons drew their weapons and took aim at her. Even if she shot one of them, the other would surely shoot her. Her arms reverted and she lowered them. The battle had become a standoff. Growling angrily, weapon at the ready, Starscream was abruptly back in the picture. “Surrender, female! You’re outnumbered and you can’t take all three of us!” She didn’t so much as flinch at the sight of such big guns aimed her way. Instead, she stood quietly, concentrating, as her blue highlights came to sudden electric life and leapt outward, a tendril snaking out for each of them. Awed, elated understanding thrilled through every fiber of Megatron’s being in that moment, as she spoke three words, three little words that told him exactly who this was… “Stand down weapons.”

Surprised, irate exclamations sprang forth from all three of the Decepticons as their weapons spontaneously deactivated themselves. After a few seconds of trying to get them to reactivate, they looked to her again, this time in shock. “Yes, I did that,” she eventually said. Starscream was starting to panic. He excelled at subterfuge and backstabbing, but in face to face combat he was as cowardly as they came. But no, he couldn’t let that happen. He was the leader now, and as such he had to have no fear. “We still outnumber her,” he called to his comrades. “Come on… we’re Decepticon warriors! We can take her!” She did nothing, letting them charge at her for a long moment… And then she concentrated again, her blue highlights once again springing to life, this time touching the Decepticons themselves. She spoke only one single word. “Stop.” All three found themselves frozen in mid-step, utterly paralyzed. Grinning again, she crossed her arms and struck up a pose that would be considered downright sassy on any planet. “Did you really think that was all I could do? Take control of your guns?” Chuckling, she ambled over to Starscream and tauntingly caressed his cheek as a lover would, smile broadening at the stark hatred in his eyes. “You thought wrong. It doesn’t stop there; oh no indeed.” Sashaying around behind him, she lightly drew one claw across his throat, further highlighting to him how helpless he was. “I can do that to any machine. Anything mechanical is in my power, up to and including you.” She giggled, smiling sweetly as if she had merely divulged an embarrassing secret rather than incapacitating a trio of Decepticons. “You’re my puppet, is what you are. My little puppet.” A moment later she had him in her arms and was waltzing with him. “I don’t suppose I have to enlighten you on all the fun I could have with you in my grasp like this…” Embarrassing as it was, Starscream found he could do nothing save what she wished him to, and he swore on the spot that he would be the one to kill her. Off to the side he could hear the weak laughter of his former superior officer. Even now, after being soundly defeated and utterly humiliated in so many ways, Megatron still laughed at him. “…But I’m not that kind of girl.” Her voice was low and sultry now and they were face to face, her looking like she was about to kiss him, him wearing an expression that would have annihilated the universe several times over if looks could kill. “I think I’ll just send you boys home. …Minus your guns, of course. Drop your weapons.” The last three words were spoken in that unmistakable tone of command, and without hesitation all three obeyed. Another cute yet fiendish giggle escaped her and she patted Starscream on the head as if he were a dog who had just done a trick for her. “Good boy!” By this point, Megatron was laughing hysterically. Watching her completely humiliate Starscream in front of his subordinates… Oh, this was just too rich, especially after what he had done to him! “I’m going to send you three home now, little puppet. Maybe we’ll play again some other day. Return to base.” That commanding voice came again, and all three took off without a word, flying away on an arrow-straight course that would most likely take them straight back to wherever their headquarters was located.

Not bothering to watch them leave, she turned and looked at the guns they dropped. Walking to the edge of the cliff and peering over the edge, she called down to the waiting Autobots. “Hey everyone! A gift, courtesy of Starscream!” She then kicked the guns off the cliff and the Autobots caught them. The lot of them, Optimus included, stared up at her and wondered what the heck had happened up there. She could see the question in their eyes, but she didn’t bother to reply. The only answer they got was the high, almost delicate sound of her delight-filled laughter echoing from the mountaintop.

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He SOOO deserved that!

Hmmmm... one wonders how they may get around that problem.

IjuinTekka wrote:Hmmmm... one wonders how they may get around that problem.

It's really fricken hard if she doesn't have a moment to gather her thoughts and concentrate, and a good scare will stop her commanding skills in their tracks.

This gets my imagination going. Having suffered that kind of humiliation I can see Starscream taking out his frustration on nearby humans. In the aftermath of that skirmish I could see him happening upon another shard of the Allspark, not very powerful as the majority of the power would be in Sarah, but just enough to protect him from her control and rally his troops. And a glow from it reflected in his evil eyes, and the smirk spreading across his face. But that's meeee and I want to see where you take this now, so don't keep me waiting!

Here's the next chapter. The reason I was able to put things up so fast was that I'd already written most of it out. But we're getting to the end of what I'd already written. So my updates may start to come less frequently.

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Chapter 23: Aftermath

Paying them no more mind, all humor and mischief immediately forgotten in favor of intense concern, she dashed over to where Megatron lay and knelt beside him, gently helping him to move onto his back. “…Sarah?” Smiling reassuringly, her only response was a silent nod. “…Sarah, how did you…” She cut him off. “Don’t try to talk right now. You’re hurt very badly. I’ll get you to Ratchet just as fast as I can, all right?” Through all of this she had yet to notice how she had changed, so it only seemed a little odd to her that she was able to help him to stand up. It was then that she revealed that she wasn’t wholly like Megatron. Rather than take the long route down the mountain, she stepped off the cliff and revealed that her normal form was flight-capable, just like Starscream.

Moments later the two of them alit on the dusty ground as lightly as a falling leaf. All the same, Sarah staggered, almost falling to her knees before quickly recovering and marching resolutely to where Ratchet stood, helping Megatron to lie down comfortably before backing off and walking over to the others. It was only then that she realized something was different. “Hey Optimus… Is it just me or did you guys all shrink?” The response he gave was the only one he could think of. “Sarah… Look at yourself.” Doing so, she gasped in shock when she caught sight of her hands. Stepping backward, she looked herself over with increasing panic. “I… How did I… What did I…” Optimus had a theory, and he voiced it. “The All Spark, Sarah. I don’t know how, but… You were so desperate to get up there and help Megatron that you unconsciously called forth the power of the All Spark… upon yourself.” Badly shaken, she said nothing as she quietly walked over to the Ark’s entrance. Rumble came up to her as she sat down by the door, thoroughly confused. “Human girl no-no-not human girl?” She sighed. “I don’t get it either, Rumble.”

Megatron was barely conscious as he lay on the ground and submitted to Ratchet’s scans. The beating he’d taken showed up clear as day, but what else he saw… Several coolant lines had ruptured, and the surrounding area was badly damaged. And their location… His eyes went wide. “Megatron…” This was unprecedented brutality, beyond anything the Decepticons had shown for the longest time. “Megatron, did Starscream…” There was a soft groan as hazy crimson eyes met his. “…Ratchet…” The sheer pain in those soft, whispered syllables answered his unspoken question. He was about to get up, to go tell Optimus what those despicable excuses for mechanisms had done to his brother, when he felt a feather-light touch on his arm. Looking down, he saw that Megatron held his wrist in a feeble grip. “…Ratchet… Don’t… tell…” Immediately settling back down, he decided that he would still tell Optimus, but not right away, and not in the open. He’d do it secretly. For now, he had a job to do. He couldn’t do anything about what the other Decepticons had put Megatron through, but he could do something about the damage they had left behind. That was what he did best, after all.

Even though the battle was over, Sarah was still practically beside herself with worry. She still wasn’t sure what she had done, but had she done it in time? All she could do was watch Ratchet as he worked, since she had a feeling that she currently couldn’t access any of her other powers. Somehow, some way, she just knew. “Say you’ll be all right,” she murmured as she stared at Megatron’s unmoving form. She didn’t know what she would do if he didn’t make it out of this one. It was an illogical thought; the memories given her by the All Spark showed her that he’d been through similar situations in the past, but she couldn’t shake her worries no matter what she tried. Rumble could sense her agitation, and he knew why, since he could tell where she was looking. “Silver one hurt?” She nodded. “He is. Oh, I hope he’ll be all right…” He surprised her by climbing up to sit on her shoulder like a parrot and keep her company that way. “Rumble ho-ho-hope so too.”

It seemed like forever and a half before Ratchet leaned back and looked to her. He didn’t have to say anything. The look of satisfaction on his face said it all. Megatron was going to be all right. She could feel the tension and worry draining from her body as she sighed in relief. But it wasn’t just the tension and worry that were leaving her in that moment. Her strength was following it out, and consciousness wasn’t too far behind…

Rumble found himself having to hop down from his perch as she rapidly shrank, returning to her much smaller human form even as she slumped to the ground, out cold. She lay there in the dust, stretched out as if she were sleeping, but he knew she wasn’t. “Human girl?” Not sure what to do, he reached out and poked her arm. “Wa-wa-wake up…” No response came. Rumble had always been high-strung, but now he outright panicked. Shaking, he looked around at the Autobots who were in the process of regrouping, and picked out the one he wanted, the one he thought could help. “Fixer!” Squealing, he ran over to Ratchet and practically jumped on him. “Human girl no-no-not wake up!”

A glance down at where Megatron lay told him that the Decepticon wouldn’t so much as twitch for the next few hours. He could afford to leave for a moment. Quickly standing, the larger Autobot walked over to where Sarah lay, Rumble skittering at his heels. A quick scan told him all he needed to know, and he summarily passed the information on. “She’s all right. She just drained all her energy… I think it was from that transformation. She’ll be just fine.” Rumble smiled. “Rumble thank you for help…” Ratchet paused. “Oh, and one more thing… Could you ask Bumblebee to get her to the repair bay? Optimus, Ironhide and I have to do the same for Megatron.” He barely managed to finish his sentence before Rumble was off and running, looking for Bumblebee as he had been asked.

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Yay for Rumble being cute! And poor Megatron. I wonder what happened to him...? Well, what occurred came between Chapter 20 and Chapter 21, and would have bumped this up to an M rating had I put it up here. Just know THIS... Starscream is *EVIL* and would do ANYTHING to utterly humiliate his prey.

InjuinTekka, thank you very much for the idea. I think I'll use that.

I'm glad to be of service, don't let me step on your creativity though. And please, Tekka will do fine, the Ijuin is just because there is always another Tekka, everywhere.

This story will probably end up being VERY long. After all, there's a whole war to cover, Sam and Mikaela have to find out about this (imagine Megatron APOLOGIZING to Sam for trying to kill him while the poor kid's about to wet his pants...), they have to go to Cybertron...

That's not a bad thing, I love epics.

And now for a bit of fluff...

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Chapter 24: Between the two of us

Sarah was the first of the two to awaken, mere hours later. That wasn’t a surprise, since the more she used her powers, the less they drained her, as if each use was helping her body to get used to handling such energies. Still, Ratchet kept her in the repair bay for observation after the spectacular transformation she’d pulled. Everyone had expected her to object to that since she hated that kind of attention, and it unnerved the lot of them when she didn’t. No, she didn’t so much as say a word. All she did was sit there quietly, out of the way, badly shaken and deep in thought about what she had done. She saw Ratchet call Optimus off to the side and whisper something to him, some secret that had to relate to Megatron somehow since the Autobot leader immediately glanced at his silent form in absolute shock before then proceeding to look angrier than she’d ever seen him.

She’d never really thought about what it would mean to lose her humanity, she now realized. The form she’d taken… It had felt so natural, so right, that she had fought off three Decepticons and rescued a friend before she even realized something had changed. Even now, some part of her wanted to go back to that form, as if that was what she was truly meant to be. Was that the All Spark inside her having its say in things? And why didn’t she feel more fear? Ratchet had said her brain had become mechanical… Had the process altered her thoughts and feelings? Were these thoughts hers? Or was the All Spark twisting her mind to suit its purposes? So much had changed, her life, her world, herself…

Even Ratchet couldn’t tell whether Megatron was sleeping or unconscious. This worried him a bit, but it made sense given what he had gone through. So there he lay, silent and motionless, dead to the world, the only sign that he still lived the soft hum of his inner workings, much like a human heartbeat. In all likelihood he would awaken in time. It didn’t escape Ratchet’s notice how Sarah watched him where he lay. Her gaze never wavered, not for a moment. The two were very close friends and everybody knew it, but Ratchet had a feeling that there was more to it than that. Neither of them were aware of it, but what they had between them seemed to be changing, deepening, evolving…

White… White everywhere. A haze enveloping him, hiding everything so he couldn’t tell where he was or what was going on… A voice echoed in the silence, a voice calling his name. “Megatron…” He could see her faintly, that small, frail-looking organic form, those bright eyes, that face… She seemed to be beckoning to him, asking him to follow her, but he couldn’t. His legs didn’t seem to want to work and she was receding into the distance, still calling out to him, disappearing into the haze. He had failed to protect her from the other Decepticons and now he was losing her. She’d been the first to trust him, the first to believe in him, and that had meant so much, but now she was leaving, he’d failed her, he’d lost her… Grief and despair flooded him, anguish so powerful he thought his spark would be crushed beneath it, as he futilely reached out after her fading form…

“No… Sarah…” Ratchet was surprised to hear the sleeping Decepticon cry out as if in pain, squirming feebly where he lay, caught in dreams… or in nightmares, as the case seemed to be. “Sarah… I… Where are you…? Don’t go… I… Sarah… No…” It sounded as if he were in pain, either physical or emotional, and the Autobot couldn’t help but get the feeling that Megatron was beginning to feel it too; the change taking place between him and Sarah. He also got the feeling that, unconscious or not, he would be comforted greatly by her presence, so he decided to go find her and bring her there.

The first thing he noticed was that she wasn’t where she had been sitting for the last few hours. She’d been deep in thought the whole time, so deep as to almost qualify as being in a catatonic state, but now she had disappeared? Maybe she’d gone to see the others, or… “It’s all right, Megatron…” And there she was, in the last place he had expected to find her, which was also where he wanted her to go. He saw her clambering over the side of the table where the Decepticon in question lay. “I’m right here beside you, and I’m not going anywhere.” Pausing a moment, she looked to Ratchet and gave a knowing smile, as if to tell him that she had already known what he would have asked of her had he gotten the chance to. A few moments later she was curled up like a kitten in the hollow between his neck and left shoulder, pressed up against him as if he were warm flesh and not cold metal. His outcries ceased as nightmares gave way to quieter, more peaceful dreams, and she herself seemed calmer as each took comfort in the presence of the other. It looked to Ratchet as if she was starting to feel it too, how things were changing between them.

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Megatron claims no responsibility for what goes on in his unconscious mind... and neither do I.

I'm still waiting on comments about my latest twist to things, but I figured I'd add a little humor by posting THIS...

RUMBLE'S NICKNAMES FOR PEOPLE

Optimus = Mister Truck.
Ratchet = Fixer.
Ironhide = Big Guns.
Bumblebee = Buzz-Buzz. (OMFG! )
Jazz = Loud Sound.
Megatron = Silver One.
Sarah = Human girl.

When Rumble gets up close and personal with more people, he'll make more nicknames.

I'm not really sure what I should say about it. It certainly was unexpected but I liked the image I had of her before, but I suppose that's because I'm attracted to girls and not to robots. But it was still a good move!

PM me if you want to know what happened between Chapter 20 and Chapter 21. I’ll send you a copy and you’ll get the answer to this question: “What happened on the mountaintop above the Ark?

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Chapter 25(!): Look what I can do!

Once he had recovered fully, Sarah decided it was time to try to duplicate what had happened to her on the battlefield. It had been a reaction before, a manifestation of the desperate terror she had felt, but if she could learn to do it at will… She grinned. If she could learn to do it at will, she could do more than help Ratchet and watch the others fight. It had really burned her that she couldn’t do more. Even Rumble was able to fight. But now… She headed for the commons area and went into the secluded corner where she’d crafted those laser cannons so seemingly long ago. Standing there quietly, she closed her eyes and focused inward. All right, she thought to herself. It can’t be much different from shaping metal. That had been easy once she’d mastered it, since it was merely a matter of focusing on what she had wanted it to become, what she had wanted it to do. Now she directed that focus inward, remembering what her desperation had made of her and pushing to become that again. She had known deep down what she had needed to become during her first transformation. The Autobots were strong, but none of them were capable of flying. Starscream and his kin were able to fly, but they weren’t quite as strong. She wanted to be both, but who could she look to as a basis for her new form? There was only one who was the way she knew she needed to be, to her knowledge. Only one had possessed the balance of power and flight she wanted, and that was Megatron himself. No wonder she’d transformed into something very like him. Give me strength to fight, she urged the power inside her. Give me wings to fly. Make me into what I want to be… now!

The play of brilliant pale blue light on the walls alerted Optimus to the fact that something was up in the commons area. Jogging down the hall, he rounded the corner in time to see the last scraps of blue fire die away from the dark-hued being that had obviously been Sarah mere moments ago, that coal-black almost-twin of Megatron himself… Opening her eyes and looking to him, she smiled. “I did it,” she said in delight. “I can change at will.”

Her newfound ability to transform would place another fighter on the battlefield when the Decepticons returned, but before that could happen she needed training. A scan by Ratchet confirmed the hypothesis Optimus had come up with. Though her eyes were blue, her new form was not an Autobot. She had taken on Megatron’s design, and Megatron was a Decepticon, so that made her a Decepticon as well.

Sarah met his gaze and reality seemed to fracture around them. Time stopped. It was as if neither of them had really seen the other before this moment. Both of them could feel something between them, some kind of connection, a bond… It made sense. Had they not been tied together from the moment she first touched the Shard? She had been his lifeline, keeping him from dying under the sea, giving him the strength to escape and find her, and if they ever won the war she would regenerate the world that was the homeland of the power she now bore… She was a lifeline for a whole planet. Indeed, she was bound to all of them, but all those bonds of trust and friendship were as nothing compared with the bond she shared with Megatron. If there were words for what they had between them, she didn’t know them. Friendship had deepened into something more, something she couldn’t quite describe or explain, save to say that she knew he felt it too…

The decision was made with little to no discussion, as if it were a foregone conclusion for everyone involved, Sarah included. “Megatron, since she copied your design and you’re the only one who really knows what you’re truly capable of, the lot of us have come to the agreement that you should be the one to train her.” Megatron didn’t mind in the slightest, since he had the feeling he’d have ended up doing just that anyway. From what he’d heard, her first transformation and flight had been guided by the All Spark, so he would have to teach her to do both. It had always been a pleasure to fly with her, but now he would be able to fly alongside her… Starscream’s actions aside, things couldn’t have been better.

The first few days were filled with her practicing transforming and building up her tolerance for doing so. It wouldn’t be anything but bad for her to collapse again as she had the first time she’d done it; not on the battlefield, anyway. No, it was better for her to do it here, changing back and forth at a whim. It was a little like having a very young child around as she tested her reflexes and learned what her new form could do. Optimus was put in mind of his youth as he watched her run. Megatron had been playful like that once.

Ironhide headed for the shooting range for some nice relaxing target practice like he usually did, but he was stopped in mid-step by the sound of shots, and the sound of voices. “Ha! Beat that!” A feminine voice laughed in delight. Sarah? Several shots followed, and then a second exclamation. “All too easy, Sarah. Try this!” That was Megatron. The two were talking and laughing together as if they were playing a game. Entering, he saw them standing side by side, forearm cannons smoking as they took turns at blasting the targets. “Three in a row, straight through the center! How’s that for a trick shot, huh, Megatron?” Ironhide found himself staring at the former Decepticon leader, thrown for a loop by how utterly different he was acting. Sure they’d been a team for months now, but it hadn’t really sunk in just how much Megatron had changed. Were it not for the fact that he still looked the same, Ironhide could have easily believed him to be someone else entirely.

He taught her to transform, to use both her cannons, to wield her own whip, and to fly. The latter was their favorite thing to do by far, and all the Autobots couldn’t help but want to watch them do just that. It would have made an utterly astounding sight to anyone not in the know… A warplane seemingly sculpted of solid chrome circling overhead, with a coal-black alien aircraft following a little bit behind it. She mastered quickly everything he tried to teach her, the use of her jet form’s weapons included, and soon she was as ready for her first real fight as any amount of training could make her.

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Okay, so now she can do it at will. She deserves to at least be able to fight, and shouldn't the fact that she's the living incarnation of the very life essence of all Transformers mean she should be able to transform too?

First off, I'd like to thank IjuinTekka for this little plot twist.

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Chapter 26: Starscream's Shard

The Decepticons obliged the lot of them days later as the same six jets came roaring over the horizon. The laser cannon turrets Sarah had made were shooting up a storm, picking shots with enough accuracy to set the attackers dodging and weaving even before the actual fight began. Looking at each other and nodding with a pair of the most devilish grins ever seen in the universe at large, Megatron and Sarah took off running side by side, almost completely synchronized as they took all their momentum into upward leaps, transformed and raced upward to attack the Decepticons head on. They hadn’t really been expecting two jets to come up to meet them, and that gave the duo the upper hand long enough for them to unload on their enemies with everything they had. Dirge didn’t even get a chance to fire back before a shot to his afterburners sent him packing in a hurry.

“Goodbye, slag-for-brains!” The coal-black aircraft trailed laughter behind it as it banked and sought another target. Megatron busied himself with chasing Thrust and Backfire while Sarah transformed into her normal form, extended her whip and began to let Ramjet have it repeatedly. “One! Two! Three! Four!” Downburst tried to take her from behind, but she stopped beating the absolute heck out of Ramjet long enough to blast him straight in the chest and send him flying straight into Megatron’s line of fire. “Nice shot,” he called over to her. Returning to the task at hand, she lashed out with her whip, letting it coil around Ramjet’s arm. “Come here, you!” A moment later she’d yanked him close enough to get a good grip on him. Wasting no time, she started slapping him around. Behind her, Megatron caught up to Backfire and blasted him halfway into next week, sending him packing as well. Now all he had to do was do the same to Thrust.

Sarah was about to deliver the grand finisher when a laser blast came from behind her and arced over her shoulder, drawing her attention. The shooter could have easily shot her in the back, but he hadn’t. That had been a warning shot; nothing more. Releasing Ramjet, who immediately fled the scene, she turned to behold Starscream. “You again?” There was no surprise or fear in her voice, only annoyance, as if the Decepticon were no more than a nuisance to be dealt with rather than an enemy to be fought. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?” The look of absolute hatred that took shape on his face when she said that was enough of an answer for her. She smiled. “Do I have to do this again?” She wasted no time, concentrating as her highlights came to life to lick at him… only to start in shock as the pale blue tendril she sent his way broke against him like a wisp of smoke drifting into a wall. “What in…?” He was smirking as she tried a second time only to fail again. “You’re not the only one,” he said smugly as their gazes met, a sudden surge of blue lightning pulsing through the fiery red of his eyes… and she knew. “Impossible,” she gasped. “Yours was not the only Shard!” Shock froze her in place and time seemed to slow down to an agonizing crawl as he raised his gun, took aim at her chest and fired.

Megatron finished dealing with Thrust in time to see Sarah fall from the sky, a smoking, burning hole in her chest… and to see the smoking gun Starscream held. To say that the sight enraged him would be the severest of understatements. Literally out to kill, he didn’t bother with weapons. Instead, he hit top speed, banked sharply and rammed Starscream. Nearly thrown from the sky, Starscream took severe damage and fled the scene just as his cohorts did, cackling evilly all the while. “I know fatal shots when I deal them, Megatron. You beat me, but not in time to save her!” The other Decepticon’s words rattled him so badly that he didn’t even bother to pursue. “No! Sarah!” Starscream’s retreat went unopposed as Megatron pulled into a steep dive, almost sending himself into an uncontrolled freefall in his haste to get to the ground. It was only then that he realized that ramming Starscream had damaged him severely as well, since instead of landing on his feet he just about landed on his face. Having just barely avoided a crash, it took some effort for him to transform, but he managed. Stumbling to his feet, in agony but not noticing it, he struggled toward where Ratchet now had his work cut out for him in trying to repair her.

“Sarah…” She was all that mattered in that moment, and he fought with everything he had to get to her, at least until his legs gave out beneath him. He would have ended up on hands and knees, if not face down on the ground, had someone not caught him. More surprised by the fact that someone had caught him than by his collapsing in the first place, he looked up and met the concerned gaze of his brother. “…Optimus?” He was about to say something in reply when a groan drew everyone’s attention, followed by Ratchet calling out to them. “Megatron, I need your help over here!” Trying to pull free of his brother’s supporting grasp, he wavered again and nearly fell. Optimus ignored his attempt to push him away and helped him anyway. Soon he was kneeling beside Sarah’s fallen form and staring in numb disgust at the hole in her chest. Starscream’s shot had nearly cleaved her spark in two. On her other side, Rumble had her shoulder in a death grip embrace and was squealing incoherently, all vestiges of composure long gone. Just then, Ratchet spoke up. “Megatron, you’ve got to keep her awake. If she loses consciousness she’ll revert to human form and I won’t be able to help her then. Talk to her, distract her, I don’t care what you do, just keep her awake!” Giving a silent nod, not trusting himself to speak a reply lest he flip out and lose it completely, he reached out and gently took her hand in his own. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and gave a weak smile. “Hello there,” she whispered, as if they had merely crossed paths in a hallway. He returned her smile reassuringly, trying to project a confidence he didn’t feel. “The Shard I found wasn’t the only one… Starscream found a second.” He cringed mentally at the shock and utter disbelief in her eyes. “Megatron, the All Spark touched him too… He’s immune to my power. He’s immune to me.” That explained everything. “I’m sorry, Megatron… I let him get me. I let everybody down…” Latching on to that statement, he shook his head vehemently. “No you didn’t, Sarah. Who took out Dirge, Downburst and Ramjet, huh?” She went quiet. “…I did,” she said as though she had just remembered doing so.

Ratchet was able to stabilize her enough for Ironhide and Jazz to move her to the repair bay, and Optimus helped Megatron follow. Refusing repair until he knew she would be all right, he merely sat and watched the medic at work, Rumble clinging to his leg the whole time. If Megatron was troubled, the little red Autobot was traumatized. “…Rumble fail,” he abruptly whimpered, earning him a look from the silvery Decepticon. He’d never seen Rumble this depressed before. “Rumble su-su-supposed protect human girl. That why Rumble become alive. But Rumble no-no-not protect human girl, and human girl get hurt.” The little Autobot was shivering as he pressed up closer. “Rumble fail…”

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Poor little guy, he's really taking it hard...

I am SO close to giving up on this... Will somebody throw me some fricken ideas or at least tell me if they like how things are going?

OKAY THAT'S IT!!! If you want to see this story, go to this URL...

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3716393/1/A_Series_of_Impossibilities