It was dark. She was running. To where or from what, she didn't know. All she knew was the blinding panic in her spark, telling her to hurry or that she would be too late.

Then it came. A howl so piercing and so pained that she found herself screaming aloud, her entire being wracked with an agony that was not her own. Then she saw her. Surrounded by throngs of dark creatures and alone. Yet she didn't waver. Blazing red optics shone in the darkness, fierce and unafraid. Then the dark swarm converged, and the red light from her optics was snuffed out like a candle's flame. Forever.

A cry so desperate and so painful was torn from somewhere so deep within her frame that it seemed to shatter the air around her. The world took on a crazy tilt as a roiling agony ripped through her spark, the pain unbearable as she felt the connection she had with the other femme stretch, then go cold. All she knew was loss and darkness as she fell into a deep, dark pit from which there was no return…

Warrior Star jerked awake with a snarl, her massive head snapping up to scan her surroundings with blazing cobalt blue optics that burned with grief and rage. Within a few seconds, it registered in her processor that she was alone and in no danger, so she lowered her head to the ground again and vented harshly.

A dream… She thought, shuttering her optics as a very gentle tug on her spark made her attention drift elsewhere. A few seconds later, her sensitive audios picked up on the distinct sound of razor-sharp metal claws slicing over rock, and she opened one optic to study her guest.

Eighteen feet tall at the shoulder, Shadowfang stood before her, his steel gray armor glowing an eerie whitish-silver in the light from the moon as his flame red optics met hers piercingly.

"Warrior Star? Are you all right? You seem…distressed." He asked, his deep voice thrumming into her chest and soothing her still racing spark somewhat. Oily tears filled her optics as she lifted her head and looked away from him, shuttering her optics as his widened in shock. Shadowfang had managed to catch his sister during one of her rare moments where all her walls were down and she was willing to break down and cry. He jolted when she spoke, her voice broken by pain and grief.

"No, Shadowfang…I am not all right. My spark…my processor…they hurt. They hurt worse than anything I have ever known. I feel like I lost a spark mate, I hurt so badly…" As her words trailed away, he moved, walking around her and laying down so that she could lean against his side. She did so immediately, leaning on his spark through their bond as well as she dropped her head onto her paws and shuttered her optics again. Oily tears dotted the ground beneath her massive jaws as Shadowfang gently laid his head on top of hers.

"You and War Beast…you shared a unique bond. Not even your bonds with me or Keystone or Swiftpaw compare. She was born within you, an offshoot of your conscience. You two were very much alike, though it took many millennia for that to become apparent. You probably hurt like this because your processor and your spark think you lost a twin. I am not surprised to hear you say that you are suffering as much as you are…War Beast's loss was catastrophic. Though had she known that this would be the effect of her not coming back, I do not believe she would have made the same choice that she did. She would not have wanted you to be suffering like this." Warrior Star's frame trembled slightly as she leaned against him just a little more, taking comfort in his love and his strength as he softly spoke again.

"You will be fine, sister. You are strong, stronger than any femme to ever live. It will take time, but you will adjust without her. You still have the three of us; all you have to do is ask, and we'll all give you whatever strength you need to get through. You will be all right, Warrior Star. You will be all right."

The night was cold but the sky was clear, a half-moon lighting the rocky landscape in an eerie fashion. Shadows crept and danced across the landscape, sending small creatures scuttling for cover at the slightest movement as high above, a massive shape expertly rode the night winds. Moonflight had stayed with Warrior Star and her pack after Shockwave's demise, preferring the company of the four wolves over the Autobots and the humans.

Lately though, the femme that had been his friend for as long as he could remember was just…not the femme she had been before. He knew, just as her brothers did, that War Beast was the reason. Her loss had hit Warrior Star much harder than any of them could have anticipated.

It hadn't been obvious at first…Warrior Star seemed much like her usual self after her return from The Mists, but as time went on, War Beast's loss began to take its toll. The nightmares began, then came the severe ache in her processor, then her spark began to suffer. Moonflight had spoken to all three of her brothers about it, and he was shocked when they told him that there was nothing they could do besides lend her their strength in the hopes that she would eventually begin to recover. Moonflight was puzzled, and he was also extremely concerned. He had no idea what he could do to help…if he could even help anyway.

As the Predacon slowly wheeled in circles in the night sky, Keystone and Swiftpaw emerged from their den below him, and he focused his dark red optics on them out of sheer curiosity alone. He was glad he did, though, once he took note of their stiff postures, the tenseness in both mechs' frames.

Something isn't right… Moonflight thought, tucking in his wings and diving as Swiftpaw took a few cautious steps forward and raised his head to look up at the stars. Transforming mere feet before he hit the ground, Moonflight landed in a crouch in bi-ped mode, rising to his full height as both mechs turned to study him.

"Something is wrong. What do you smell?" The Predacon asked, and Keystone turned to look at Swiftpaw as the youngest of the four wolves lifted his head again to take several deep breaths in, his green optics glowing brightly in the moonlight as he slowly traced a path across the sky uneasily.

"I…am not sure. It isn't an Autobot, it isn't a Decepticon. Can't even tell if it's mech or femme. All I know is that it's coming…soon." Swiftpaw said, keeping his optics trained on the sky as Keystone took over.

"He can't smell it yet, Moonflight. We've been tracking an odd signal the past two days, heading straight for us. Don't think the Autobots have it yet…if they did, I think they'd be screaming up a storm at Warrior Star by now. They haven't sent a single scout out since we've been roaming out here. But in the condition she's in…we haven't even told her. Don't want to get her any more riled up than necessary." Moonflight saw the sadness in Keystone's gold optics, and he took a few steps closer and lowered his voice as the black mech met his gaze solidly.

"She is not getting better?" The Predacon asked, noting that Swiftpaw had turned to stare at him as well as Keystone slowly shook his huge head.

"No…if anything, she is getting worse. If this continues, I am afraid her spark will sustain permanent damage…or worse…" The mech didn't say it, but Moonflight knew what he was thinking, and he felt his spark go cold.

"So…if she doesn't start making a turnaround…" Moonflight said, and Keystone finished his sentence.

"She will follow War Beast sooner than we thought."

A/N: Okay. So I'm like a TERRIBLE author. I promised that I'd finish my other two stories before I started the sequel to The Wanderer...but then this really great idea hit, and I didn't want to make everyone just sit there any longer after the teaser I threw in the epilogue to The Wanderer...so here it is! The start of the long-awaited sequel!

Sorry it took so bloody long. Today was my first day home from the Mojave Desert, which is where I was from like the 6th of February up until...1100 this morning. But just to forewarn, this story may or may not take precedence until Battle Song and Shadows from the Past are done. I just couldn't wait to post this. Am I horrible for that?

Anyway! My usual spiel, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.

Until we meet again...

Kani