First of all, happy birthday to a couple of my good friends who were born in April. You know who are. (And happy birthday to all the other April readers out there too.)

Also I hope everyone out there is alright during these hard times. And I hope this chapter brings you all a little joy.

This chapter covers the rest of the episode 'Evolution' (s3e09), plus some.

Romeo was about to lay down for recharge when he heard a knock on his door. He opened his door to find Foxtrot standing outside his room. He looked very tired.

"Can't sleep?" Romeo asked.

Foxtrot just shook his helm. Romeo stepped aside, silently inviting him into his room. Foxtrot gratefully entered.

"Is it the predacon again?" Romeo asked as the door closed.

Foxtrot nodded. Romeo gently guided him over to the berth.

"Have you talked to the Madam about it?" Romeo laid down first.

Foxtrot laid down on top of him, audial resting on Romeo's chestplates so he could listen to his spark. Romeo pulled a mesh blanket over the both of them.

"Not yet," Foxtrot finally replied quietly while Romeo stroked his helm and neck. "She's been really busy lately."

"So you came to me," Romeo said. He huffed a laugh. "Just like old times."

Foxtrot lifted his helm to look at him. "If you don't want me here," he started to push himself up, "I can-"

Romeo pulled him back down with both arms and held him. "It's not that, Fox. Besides, you're a medic, you need your rest. If I can help you, even with just this… We are still family after all. No matter what happened in the past."

Foxtrot laid his helm back down on Romeo's chassis and closed his optics. "Thanks, Romy."

"Heh." That nickname was nostalgic. Romeo continued to stroke the medic's helm. "Rest well, Fritz."

"Hand me that wrench."

X-ray grabbed the wrench that Wheeljack asked for and handed it to him.

"So, did you make up with him?" X-ray asked as he leaned down to inspect Wheeljack's work, servo on his shoulder.

"Who?" Wheeljack grunted in reply as he tightened a bolt.

"With Bulkhead."

Wheeljack finished with the next bolt before pausing to answer. "Yeah. I talked to him. He's still kissing up to the commander sometimes to keep the peace but he's getting better about it… And I promised to maybe stop peeling Magnus' paint so much."

"Good." X-ray planted a kiss on the top of Wheeljack's helm. "I'm glad."

Ultra Magnus frowned as he turned to face Wheeljack and X-ray as they walked into the hangar. Wheeljack was trying to wipe some green liquid off his armor but only succeeded in smearing it further. X-ray followed him, still limping a bit but no longer leaning on a cane.

"Soldier, I don't recall giving you permission to leave the base," Magnus addressed Wheeljack.

"Because you didn't, sir," Wheeljack kept his tone in check, for the most part.

"Why are your servos smeared with coolant?"

"We recalibrated your ship's engines." Wheeljack nodded back at X-ray.

"Yeah," X-ray added. "You can expect a twelve percent increase in vector thrust."

Ultra Magnus raised an optic ridge at him. "You helped him? I thought you said you were a weapons engineer?"

X-ray shrugged. "Weapons are more my hobby. As an assistant to the lead engineer, I have to know how to work on pretty much everything."

"And why exactly were you working on my ship?" asked Magnus.

"Well, you said he couldn't leave the base," X-ray explained, "but we wanted to spend some alone time together, so your ship was the closest thing we could work on without getting in the way of the humans."

"Are you sure that was the only thing you guys were doing?" Bulkhead piped up, tone teasing.

X-ray rolled his optics and replied with a bit of an annoyed growl. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm still under medical restrictions."

Bulkhead rubbed the back of his helm sheepishly. "Ha, ha. Sorry."

Wheeljack just smirked and shook his helm. He looked up at Magnus again. "We came back to let you know we were going over to the CRC base to take a shower… Sir."

Ultra Magnus frowned again. "You mean ask permission to-"

He was interrupted by the sound of Optimus returning. Prime came flying in to land on his peds just outside the doors and deactivated his jetpack. The retractable wings folded up as he entered the hanger.

"Welcome back, Optimus," greeted several of the Bots at once as they moved to gather around him once he stepped inside.

"Hey, Optimus," X-ray called. "Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking Wheeljack home for a wash."

Optimus saw the mess on Wheeljack's armor and nodded. "Very well, X-ray. Just send him back quickly."

"Yes, sir." X-ray casually saluted before disappearing into a ground bridge with Wheeljack in tow.

"Optimus, what is the news?" asked Ratchet.

"Decepticon activity is at a low. I fear that Megatron has collected all the specimens he requires to…" He trailed off when he noticed Ultra Magnus standing back by himself. "...Clone his army," he finished, wondering what had happened while he was gone.

Sometime later, after Wheeljack had returned without X-ray, Optimus approached Ultra Magnus who was standing at the hanger door, watching the human soldiers doing their drills outside.

"Ultra Magnus." The mech turned at the sound of his name. "Something has been troubling you."

"I fear that Madam Liliy was right about me," Ultra Magnus replied.

"Ah. You can drop the title, Ultra Magnus. Only Liliy's subordinates call her Madam. And as for her attitude earlier, I understand that it is frustrating, but she is like that with everyone. She has even called me an idiot a couple times. And, to be honest, she was probably right too. But, how was she right about you?"

Magnus sighed. "It seems that my command style might be having a negative effect on unit morale."

"I see." Optimus put a servo on Magnus' shoulder. "Your services are most welcome, old friend. But this is not the Elite Guard."

"Things certainly have changed since the war for Cybertron."

Prime's servo fell back to his side. "And, we must adapt to that change. The members of Team Prime are not cogs in a machine." He turned to look at his team that was gathered around the main computer. "They have grown into something greater than an army." Looking back at Magnus, "They have become-"

He was suddenly interrupted by an alarm.

"Optimus, our scanners have detected exposed energon," Ratchet exclaimed.

The rest of the team looked at him expectantly.

"While Liliy has offered to supply us, we should not rely on her completely," Optimus said. "We will go and investigate!"

{Hey, Madam.} Lima said after Liliy answered her comm. {As far as you know, the Autobots don't know the location of Shockwave's secret lab, right?}

"That is correct… Why?"

{Because they're right outside it.}

Liliy immediately switched channels. "Leech! Meet me in the receiving room, asap!"

{On my way!}

When Leecher arrived at the scene, Bumblebee and Arcee were preparing to push two anti-grav carts full of energon crystals through a ground bridge while Optimus stood by.

[How much do you want to bet that this was a set-up?] Leech observed.

[[Yeah. But for who exactly?]] Liliy replied.

"Hey, Optimus," Leecher said aloud as they approached the Prime.

"Leecher," Optimus greeted as Arcee and Bumblebee disappeared. "What are you doing here?"

Bulkhead and Smokescreen were just emerging from the cave after not finding anything.

"We were just wondering-" Leecher started.

A massive explosion shook the earth, cutting them off.

"Whoa! What was that?" Smokescreen exclaimed, looking back at the cave.

"No. No, no, no!" Leecher cried as they checked the SDS and saw that the 24 new signals that had been in the cave were gone and there was a named signal in close proximity to the two Autobots still underground. "Fragging-" the rest of words came out as a garbled mess of Lassic.

"Leecher? What's wrong?" Optimus demanded.

Leecher was already moving toward the cave. They shoved past Bulkhead and Smokescreen as they called back. "Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus are in danger!"

"We're coming too!" Bulkhead insisted.

Leecher jerked to a stop in the entrance and turned to them. "No! Just Optimus will suffice. Any more than that and it will get messy."

"Why? Who else is in there?" asked Smokescreen.

"Predaking."

"You mean the predacon?" clarified Optimus.

Leecher nodded. "Bulkhead, you already know you don't stand a chance against him. Optimus, at least, will be able to hold his ground. But we are the only one who can actually take him down if the situation calls for it."

"Bulkhead, Smokescreen, return to base," Optimus ordered. "Let Leecher and myself handle this."

They hesitated but then they muttered acknowledgement and turned to go. Leecher waited until the two mechs passed through the ground bridge and it closed before they headed into the cave.

"I did not realize the predacon had a name," Optimus said as he followed Leecher.

"He didn't until Liliy gave him one," Leecher answered.

"Liliy named him?" Optimus sounded surprised.

"Yeah. After he transformed for the first time."

The surprise grew. "He can transform?"

"Yep. Just like the rest of us. It's just, instead of a vehicle, he's a dragon."

As they approached the cavern, they heard Ultra Magnus cry out in pain. Optimus tried to rush forward but Leecher stopped in front of him and held up a servo. Ultra Magnus lay on the ground, cradling a smashed servo. Predaking, in his biped form, was walking away from him. Several meters away, Wheeljack was slumped against a boulder, unmoving, his frame half buried under a pile of rocks.

Predaking picked up the Forge from where it had fallen and turned to go back to Ultra Magnus.

"Optimus, let me handle this."

Optimus looked at the sound of Liliy's voice. Leecher's mask was open and the little femme was climbing out. "Liliy? But-"

She looked up at him. "Please don't interfere."

There was a loud snap as Predaking broke the Forge of Solus Prime in two, letting the pieces drop in front of Magnus.

Ultra Magnus flinched when the pieces of the Forge hit the ground. He looked up at the predacon and he knew that this was likely where he was going to die. He wasn't ready to die yet, but unless some miracle happened, his fate was inevitable. If so, he was going to stare it in the face and accept it.

"Prepare to perish!" the predacon informed him as he raised his claw to strike.

Much to Magnus' surprise, a miracle did appear, but it was in the form he least expected. A small frame stood on top of the Forge head, their only arm held out as if to protect him.

"Predaking, stop!" they cried in a voice that he recognized as Liliy's. "I cannot let you kill them!"

Magnus' surprise grew when the predacon actually lowered his claw and took a step back.

"Move, little one!" Predaking snarled. "They are going to pay for what they have done!"

Liliy did not move. "I know exactly how you feel, Predaking! But killing them is not going to bring your clan back! And it won't make you feel any better, trust me!"

Predaking's optics narrowed. "How would you know?"

"Because…" Liliy hesitated, her servo falling to her side as she made a fist. "I killed the entire Decepticon squadron that destroyed my clan. Every last one of them. And you know what? It didn't help at all."

"I'm not like you!" Predaking growled.

"I'm aware but I can't let you kill any of Prime's family, just like I wouldn't let you kill any of my family before."

Family...? Ultra Magnus wondered. He wanted to ask what that meant but he felt his consciousness slipping as a multitude of warnings flashed across his HUD. The damage from the battle was finally catching up to him.

Predaking just glared at her, flexing his claws. "Move."

"No, I won't. And since you aren't going to stand down either, we'll have to make you."

There was a whine of a blaster charging somewhere behind him and the last thing Magnus saw before he went offline was Predaking being thrown back by a bolt of energy.

Liliy waited a tense moment to see if Predaking would get up again but he just continued to lay where he had fallen, chassis smoking.

"Medics to my location," she commed. "Two Autobots for evac."

"Liliy…" Optimus said as he approached her while also keeping a wary optic on Predaking.

"Optimus, go with them," replied Liliy, hopping onto Leecher's servo so they could lift her up. "You can contact your team from my place."

The CRC medical team was just arriving.

"What will you do?" Optimus asked.

Liliy was already back in the armor so Leecher answered for her. "Predaking needs to know the truth. We intend to tell him who exactly is behind all this."

There was a mech next to him when Predaking came back online. It was the black mech.

"Finally awake-?!" they started to ask.

With an angry snarl, Predaking grabbed their left arm and wrenched before ripping it from the shoulder socket. His other servo had the mech by the helm. Metal shrieked as he began to crush it.

They grabbed at his arm. "Wait, Predaking!"

One final squeeze and the helm was crushed. It popped off in Predaking's servo as the body stumbled back. Much to his surprise, it straightened up instead of falling over.

"Fragging Primus, mech," the voice spoke, but it was quieter and a little muffled, coming from inside the chassis. "Do you know how annoying it is to pilot this thing without the helm?"

"It's a good thing we decided to add the secondary controls." That was the little one's voice coming from the chassis as well, also muffled.

"What… are you?" asked Predaking.

Liliy's small helm popped up where the neck was supposed to be. "Armor," she said. "This mech is just armor."

Predaking stared in confusion. "Little one…?"

"Right. I realized earlier that I forgot to introduce myself," Liliy said as she climbed up and perched on the top of the chest armor. "My name is Liliy. And this is Leech." She gestured to the metal creature that was hanging off her left shoulder. The armor mimicked her movements since only the right arm remained.

"Hi," Leech said, their only movement was the swaying of their optic stems as their tails hung down inside the armor.

"Leech is the primary pilot of the armor," Liliy continued.

Predaking got to his peds. "I'm sorry about this, little one, but I have to kill you now."

Liliy frowned. "Why?"

"Because I was told that you were my enemy. Megatron ordered me to kill you on sight."

"What kind of king takes orders?"

Predaking froze in his tracks.

"Do you know why the Autobots were here?" Liliy asked, using his hesitation to her advantage.

"It doesn't matter," he snarled. "I will kill th-"

"But it does matter, Predaking," she interrupted, her voice calm, patient, as if she was dealing with a child. "This place was a secret, underground lab, impenetrable by Autobot scanners. So how did they find it?"

He didn't answer.

"They didn't. They came here looking for the energon that was left outside. They thought this was an energon mine, nothing more."

"That hardly seems like a coincidence."

"Because it wasn't a coincidence. Megatron had the energon planted on purpose, to lead the Autobots here."

Predaking looked startled by the news. "Why would he do that? Did he not order the creation of my brethren?"

"He did. But that was before you transformed and could actually speak your mind."

He looked confused. "Why would that matter?"

"Megatron knows how strong your kind are. He has cloned them before to rain down destruction on the Autobots in the past. He thought he could simply do that again and conquer this planet. But then you transformed." Liliy gestured to him with her own servo and the helmless mech she sat on mimicked her movements again. Predaking wasn't going to admit it but it was slightly creeping him out.

"Even though you swore loyalty to Megatron," she continued, unaware of his discomfort, "you expressed the desire to lead your kind. That scared him. You alone he can handle. You and an army of predacons would be able to wipe out the current Decepticon forces. He didn't like that idea so he took away your army. He lured the Autobots here to do his dirty work for him. And he let you come here, hoping that either you would destroy the Autobots or they might destroy you."

She paused to let him go over this new information. His servos curled into fists as he hissed in anger.

"What are you going to do now, Predaking?" she asked finally.

"Return to the Nemesis and confront Megatron about this!" Predaking answered with a snarl.

"Then can I ask you to promise me one thing?"

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Go after Megatron only. Don't hurt the vehicons unless they attack you first."

"You have a lot of demands, little one."

"Also be careful. Megatron is as cunning as he is strong. He won't fight fair."

Predaking hissed. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. If you fail, I'll be sure to come pick you up." She smiled, a small smile but it was kind and gentle and a tiny bit worried.

And it had Predaking hesitating for a moment. Then he bent his helm toward her and muttered "thank you" before he left.

Furious, Predaking returned to the Nemesis. He fought to keep his temper in check as he marched through the halls toward the bridge, the most likely place he would find Megatron. He growled at any vehicon who took too long to get out of his way. Word that he was angry must have spread around quickly because as soon as the other vehicons saw him coming, they immediately moved out of his path before he got to them.

As luck would have it, he encountered Megatron, who was walking and talking with Starscream, at a junction before the bridge. Megatron looked almost startled at the fury rolling off Predaking as he glared down at him. Starscream, on the servo, was very startled and even took a step back to put Megatron's bulk between him and the predacon.

"Megatron!" Predaking snarled. "Is it true that you ordered the annihilation of my army?"

Megatron frowned, wondering what had happened down there, but he decided not to lie about it and just deal with the problem now.

"Indeed," he replied, a challenge in his voice. "And it seems I am going to have to see the extermination through." He took a step toward Predaking and unsheathed his arm blade.

With a yell, Predaking rushed at him. As he came, Megatron raised his blade and took a battle stance. Predaking bore down on him, one claw raised to take a swipe at him. Megatron easily sidestepped the attack, performed a full 360, ducking under a back swing from the predacon, and delivered a blow to Predaking's midsection with his blade.

Startled by the sudden pain, Predaking grabbed at his chassis and took a step back. But Megatron was not going to give him a break. He brought his blade down and then back up again, slicing across Predaking's chassis twice more. Enraged, Predaking finally reacted. He brought his arm up and managed to stop Megatron's next down swing. Catching hold of the blade, Predaking pulled it down and then back up again, using his strength to throw Megatron into the wall behind him.

Before Megatron could fully recover, Predaking came around and slammed his fist into the warlord's midsection. The blow lifted Megatron off his peds and back into the wall. This time, Predaking grabbed him again and threw him bodily across the hallway. Megatron slammed into the opposite wall with enough force to leave a large dent. He caught himself with his blade point on the floor as he dropped to his knees.

"I will tear you apart!" Predaking roared as he advanced on him again.

Megatron barely managed to get back on his peds only to have Predaking raining blows down on him. He didn't even have time to defend before an upper cut to his jaw sent him sailing down the hall. He landed with a heavy thud and groaned. But Predaking was coming at him yet again, so he got to peds as quickly as he could, sheathing his blade as he did.

Megatron was ready for Predaking this time and they grappled. At first, Predaking was able to push Megatron back a bit due to his size and forward momentum but the door behind Megatron stopped him from going any farther. Megatron yelled in Predaking's face as he pushed back. Predaking replied in kind.

Starscream, who had simply been watching this entire time, took the opportunity to fire off one of his missiles while they were at a stalemate. It hit Predaking in the back and exploded. Predaking roared in pain and arched back, letting go of Megatron as he did. The predacon's bulk protected Megatron from the explosion and when Predaking let go of him, he slammed his fist down on the door's controls.

The door opened behind him.

Megatron punched Predaking in the face while he was still dazed from the blast. And then, grabbing the larger mech by the shoulders, he fell backwards into the room. He used their momentum to bring his ped up and kick Predaking over his helm. Predaking flew across the room and crashed, upside down, into an escape pod door before slumping to the floor.

Megatron got to his peds and wiped the back of his servo across his mouth. "Ah. That's the spirit. But I was a champion of the Pits of Kaon, not only due to my savage might! But also my cunning!" He reached over and hit a button on the console next to him.

The escape pod door opened behind Predaking as he rather unsteadily got to his peds, holding onto the door frame for support. Megatron didn't quite sneer as he reached over again and pressed a second button.

The escape pod launched. Without the door closed, it created a vacuum. Startled, Predaking grabbed the door frame with both servos and spread his peds to brace them as well. He had to hold on with all his might as the strong gusts of atmosphere rushed past him, along with a few pieces of metal that they had pulled loose.

"You should have faced me as a beast," Megatron said, coming toward him while, at the same time, trying to fight the vacuum. "You might have stood a chance."

Predaking looked on in growing horror as Megatron raised his blaster and fired. The shot hit Predaking square in the chest and he let go of the door frame. The vacuum pulled him out of the ship and the wind picked him up and carried along the side of the Nemesis. He cried out when he hit one of the ship's 'wings' and was sent spiraling off into the growing storm clouds.

Megatron grabbed the door frame after Predaking was gone to avoid being pulled out as well. Starscream hurried over to the console and quickly shut the door.

"Bravo, my liege," Starscream said as Megatron straightened up and turned. "It isn't everyday one witnesses the extinction of a species all over again."

"Let's hope that really is the last we've seen of him," Megatron growled. "The CRC tends to be ever so meddlesome."

"Hmm. You're right. But the damage that both you and I inflicted should be enough to keep him down for a little while."

"We shall see."

When Ultra Magnus opened his optics, he found himself staring at a strange, gray metal ceiling. His helm lulled to the left and he saw Optimus standing next to him, expression grim. It took a bit of effort to turn his helm again to find the source of the buzzing noise on his right. It was Ratchet working on his injured servo. When he paused for a moment and took the tool away, Ultra Magnus shakily lifted his arm to inspect the damage. He let out a ragged sigh as he laid it back down.

"Ratchet will take good care of you," Optimus reassured him.

Wheeljack sat on the next med berth. X-ray, looking worried, stood on his right while an unfamiliar copter medic worked on his left shoulder.

"Magnus fought like a Wrecker," Wheeljack said.

Ultra Magnus looked up at the Prime again. "Optimus…" He grimaced, like talking hurt but he still continued. "When we spoke earlier… What could be greater than an army?"

"A human concept. One I have learned since coming to Earth…"

"Family?" Liliy asked, suddenly appearing on Optimus' shoulder.

"Yes. Family… Honestly, I did not understand what family really meant until the first time I encountered the CRC and got to see a Cybertronian example." Optimus actually chuckled, leaving the three Autobots slack-jawed. "It was quite the learning experience."

Liliy looked at Ratchet. "Told ya he could laugh."

Optimus suddenly realized what she said and looked surprised himself. "I guess it has been a long time since…"

"Since the war started and you had a tremendous burden of responsibility put on you?" Liliy offered.

"Yes," Optimus agreed, glancing down as his servo ghosted over his chestplates.

Liliy just patted his plating.

Optimus looked at Liliy. "Since you're back, I assume you finished your talk with the predacon?"

"Yes. He wasn't particularly pleased to hear about Megatron's involvement but it should keep him busy for a little while at least."

"You sent him after Megatron?" asked Ratchet.

"Of course. It gives him someone to be preoccupied with instead of having him out hunting Autobots."

"Leecher said you named him," Optimus said.

"What?!" gasped several voices.

"Yes, I did," Liliy replied, pleased. "And what better title to give a dragon than King of Beasts? So I called him Predaking. He is quite taken with it."

"He also seems to be quite taken with your smile," added Leecher as they entered the med bay.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Leecher," said Liliy. "By the way, what did Bravo say?"

"Make this one last. He doesn't have time to keep fixing them."

Liliy sighed. "Understood."

"What happened?" asked Optimus.

"Oh, nothing for you to be concerned about." She glanced down at Ultra Magnus and asked, "What about the new servo?"

"If you don't mind sharing some spare parts, I can build him one," answered Ratchet. "It may not be the best but it will be functional. Probably better than anything I could make with the resources the humans provided us with."

Liliy stared at him. "What are you saying, Ratchet? This is the CRC. We don't do shoddy replacements."

"Yeah," Leecher agreed. To Liliy, "Since we still have the blueprints for Optimus' old frame and the servos are practically identical, Bravo left making a new one up to Whiskey."

"There. Ya see. Ultra Magnus will be getting a perfect replacement. You won't be able to tell the difference."

"You… would do that for me?" Magnus asked, bewildered.

"Of course." Liliy smiled. "You're Optimus' family after all. And it would be disrespectful if we gave a certain loathsome seeker a new leg but didn't fix you properly."

"Loathsome seeker? You mean Starscream?" asked Ratchet.

"Unfortunately, yes. This was the damage to his frame." Leecher handed Ratchet a datapad.

Ratchet's optics grew wide as he looked it over. "When was this?"

"Sometime between him losing his t-cog to MECH and the red energon incident."

Ratchet passed the datapad to Optimus who looked very startled, not to mention just a little bit disturbed, after looking it over.

"I am impressed," he said. "I saw no trace of this injury on Starscream."

"I'm not," Liliy grumbled. "And I intend to snap it off again if he hurts anyone else."

"I'll help you," Wheeljack growled, putting his arm around X-ray's waist and pulling him a little closer. X-ray, for his part, blushed slightly.

"Anyway, Optimus, can we talk to you for a moment? Privately?" Liliy asked.

"Of course."

Liliy nodded to Leecher. The black mech turned and headed for the door. Optimus followed. They left the med bay and crossed the main hall to go to Leecher's office. Once the door was closed, Liliy leapt off Optimus' shoulder and landed gracefully on the desk. Then she rounded on him.

"I'm sorry but why is Ratchet here?"

"I thought that Ultra Magnus would be more comfortable if Ratchet was the one doing his repairs."

"Oh, ok. Babying your commander. I see." She waved him off. "Whatever. As long as Ratchet gets along with Oscar and Foxtrot, it's fine I guess."

"Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?" Optimus asked.

"No…" Liliy moved over and sat on the box that Leecher kept on the desk exactly for that purpose. She leaned back on her servo so she could look up at him easier. "I sent Bravo to Cybertron like I said I would. He has already started making plans to rebuild the Omega Lock."

Prime's optics went wide. "Is that even possible?"

Liliy chuckled. "This is Bravo we're talking about. A genius among engineers. I'm sure he'll be able to find a way. The only problem this time might be mechpower."

"If we can be of any help…"

"I'll keep that in mind. Charlie also reports no change, so it would be best if the Lock is rebuilt."

Optimus smiled a little. "That would be a relief. By the way, Liliy, there is something I wanted to ask you about."

Something in his voice made her sit up. She probably was not going like his question. "What is it?"

"I thought you said the predacon was your first kill after Megatron."

It was Leecher who ended up answering since Liliy looked like she had shut down behind her visor. "...That was her first kill after the second time she tried to go after Megatron. But she never got any closer than being able to sense his spark on the edge of her perception before she panicked and we had to get her out of there. Back then, she suffered from nightmares every time she recharged and even from dark visions that haunted her while she was awake. It wasn't just her clan that she saw either. The Cons she killed would show up as well. That is why the 'boys' are all ex-Cons. A form of repentance, of sorts."

"Do they know about this?" Optimus asked.

"At this point, it is doubtful that they would even care. This family would not be what it is without Liliy."

"In that case, I apologize."

"Accepted… This time." Leecher leaned over the desk and nudged Liliy. "Hey, Lil'. Still with us?"

Her frame jerked slightly and she looked up. "Hmm? What were we talking about?"

"Was there anything else you needed to talk to Optimus about?" Leecher asked.

"Um… No? Not that I can think of."

"Then if there is nothing else, you'll have to excuse us, Optimus. Liliy has a promise to keep."

Liliy looked up at Leecher. "He left the ship?"

"Yes. Echo just informed us. Probable crash landing. Hasn't moved for twenty minutes."

"Then we better hurry," Liliy said, stepping on to the servo that Leecher offered. "Have Kilo and Seasar meet us in the receiving room."

"Who are you talking about?" asked Optimus.

"It's nothing, Optimus," Liliy replied as she climbed into Leecher's helm. Taking her seat and letting Leech attach to her shoulder, she smiled out at him. "We're just going to clean up a mess like we always do."

A steady downpour greeted them when they stepped out of the ground bridge. It had been raining for a while given the amount of water pooling around their peds. A large clap of thunder rolled in the distance and the already dark clouds were getting darker as the sun went down behind them.

"Let's hurry," Leecher ordered and headed off in the direction that Predaking's signal was located.

Seasar and Kilo, the only two that came along, were quick to follow.

They found Predaking in bot mode at the end of a long furrow of upturned earth that he created when he crashed after his fall from the Nemesis. He was already half buried in the mud and the rain was washing more of it over his frame. His biolights glowed dimly in the gathering darkness and Leecher could faintly make out the gaping hole in his chest armor.

He seemed to be unconscious but as Kilo pulled him out of the mud, he groaned. Leecher leaned over him, wiping a bit of mud off the side of his face. He opened his optics and blinked up at them. Leecher's mask split open and Liliy looked out at him.

"Predaking," she said.

The corner of his mouth turned up just a little. "...You really did come for me," he managed tiredly.

"Of course." She smiled back at him. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you. Just rest for now."

"Mmm," he acknowledged before falling back into stasis.

The mask snapped shut to keep the water out as Leecher straightened. A ground bridge appeared. Predaking was a big mech but Kilo still managed to pick him up and carry him through the portal easily enough. Seasar hurried after him. But Leecher remained for a moment, staring at the glowing vortex, the only light now amid the pouring rain.

[[Are we doing the right thing?]] Liliy wondered.

[You're asking that now?] Leech was quick to reply.

[[You're right. I shouldn't worry about it.]]

And Leecher disappeared into the portal, back to base.

When Leecher came back, Foxtrot and Romeo were waiting for them. Foxtrot wore a rather unsettled expression while basically hugging himself. Romeo was right next to him, trying to be comforting. He looked at Leecher when they arrived and glanced in the direction of the lab before turning back to comforting Foxtrot again.

Inside Leecher, Liliy facepalmed, realizing what was wrong. Foxtrot was one of the first six. The first six vehicons she and Leech had saved. From a predacon. And of the six, Foxtrot had had it the worst. The predacon had bit his arm off. It took him a long time to recover. And a lot longer to stop having nightmares. In fact, it was Romeo who had helped with that.

At the time, the team's newest recruit, the flirtatious mech that he used to be back then, took a shining to the miserable medic and somehow a relationship blossomed. Fritz, as he was called back then, improved a lot thanks to Romeo. But they eventually realized they were not suited to be lovers and the relationship came to an end with them as just good friends.

Then, of all the bots to attack last week, Predaking had to choose Foxtrot, pinning the poor mech under his claw. It was clear that the incident had affected Foxtrot greatly. And he had, once again, turned to Romeo for support.

Liliy climbed out of the Leecher armor and into their servo.

"Foxtrot," she called, reaching for him.

Romeo reached over and took her from Leecher. Then he carefully passed her to Foxtrot who cradled her kneeling form in both of his servos. He lifted her up so they could touch forehelms.

"Foxtrot, I'm sorry for not noticing earlier," Liliy apologized.

"It's ok, ma'am," Foxtrot said. "You've been really busy lately."

"It is not okay, Foxtrot. I should have noticed. I'm sorry."

"Just to be clear," Romeo interrupted. "That predacon you just brought back isn't going to be living here, is he?"

"No," Liliy replied firmly. "He is going down to the catacombs once we are finished with his repairs. Which Seasar, Delta, and I will handle. While he is fond of me, I don't need him scaring any of you," she bumped her helm against Foxtrot's again, "any more than he already has."

Foxtrot smiled a little, a mischievous twinkle in his optics. "Thanks, mom."

Romeo snorted.

And Liliy, on her part, grinned. "I love you too, son."

To be continued...

Btw, the "plus some" was the fight scene from the end of 'Synthesis' (s3e12).