"WHAT?! Bulkhead, what do you mean she is gone?! How is that even possible?"

"I don't know Optimus, we went into your quarters to say goodbye…and she wasn't in her bed. We looked all around in the other areas of your quarters just in case you had told us by mistake that she was in bed. I know that a bot's memory chips can sometimes become temporarily corrupted when they have been through an extremely traumatic situation. But she's not there…she's nowhere!" Bulkhead was wringing his hands as he spoke, his optics wide and frightened.

Julia pulled herself out of Agent Fowler's embrace and rushed over to the edge of the catwalk.

"What? My daughter is gone?!" She started to climb over the catwalk railing, forgetting the stairs in her panic. Ratchet stepped forward and allowed her to lower herself into his hands. Optimus brushed past the other Autobots in the direction of his private quarters, the floor vibrating with each heavy footfall as he ran through the maze of corridors in the Autobot silo base.

The tall sliding doors leading into Optimus' quarters were already open as Optimus tore through them. He went straight to his 'bedside table' on top of which Sky's double bed sat. The bed was painfully empty, the sheets still rumpled from where she had lain. He lightly touched the sheets, and they were still warm, indicating that Sky had not been gone for very long. Ratchet and the others had followed him through and stopped behind him, waiting warily to see the great Prime's reaction.

Ratchet set Julia down next to Sky's bed and she looked at it in disbelief. Her hands started to explore the dark blue bed sheets, as if she thought she might somehow find an invisible Sky. She turned to Optimus.

"Where is she?"

And for the first time in his life, Optimus could not answer the question posed to him.

.o

The first thing I was aware of was the darkness. The darkness that threatened to consume me, to crush my very soul. I couldn't remember anything; my memory was as black as the darkness that was currently enveloping me in its sinister embrace. It was pressing down on my arms and legs, making them feel as heavy as lead weights. The darkness wasn't just around me physically; it was in my head too. I could hear my pulse thundering away in my ears as the darkness embraced my brain, making all outside stimulus quiet and insignificant. Words that meant nothing to me but that were vaguely familiar flitted through my mind at what felt like one hundred miles an hour. Autobots. Ratchet. Arcee. Bumblebee. Cybertron. I fought the darkness, trying to keep it at bay with a mental wall.

Then there was a burst of colour, passing so quickly that it looked like it hadn't happened at all. But when I shut my eyes I could still see that bright blue behind my eyelids. When I opened my eyes once more, all that greeted my vision was the black darkness. A cold wind blew from behind me, causing goosebumps to raise on my arms and on the back of my neck. I couldn't understand why there was a cold wind blowing if I was literally in the middle of nowhere. I tried to call out, but my voice didn't work. All that came out was a raspy moan that no one would have a hope in hell of hearing.

"Sky."

I looked around for the speaker, but could not see anyone to match the voice to. I reached out to grab something for support, but found nothing solid to grasp onto. Solid objects had become as absent as the light, both in, and outside of my head.

I whirled around pointlessly in that blackness for what felt like hours before I saw the blue flash of light again. This time, I knew I had definitely seen it and started to make my way to where I thought it had come from. I was not walking, nor was I running. I was just floating through this empty, dark, nothingness. Thoughts came and went, so fleetingly I couldn't even be sure if they were thoughts or reality. The line between my mind and the outside world became more and more blurred until it eventually disappeared altogether. I saw fantastical things in my mind's eye that made no sense at all; lions fighting over a wildebeest carcass. The construction of the Empire State building. A woman with long black hair and fantastic chocolate brown eyes, bellowing and trying to draw enough air into her lungs as she struggled to birth her child.

I saw kings and queens sitting down to dine at great ornate tables, behind which hung vibrantly coloured tapestries, not yet dulled by the tests of time. All of these images passed in front of me like smoke, translucent but lingering for a few seconds. When I saw the moon, keeping sentry over the Earth, I tried to reach out and touch it. The image rippled like water as my hand went straight through it.

Nothing made sense anymore. Fish flew in the air and birds swam in the ocean. And yet still the darkness surrounded me. I turned and did a few somersaults, realising as I took a large volume of air into my lungs, that I had not breathed at all since I had first found myself in this claustrophobic darkness. My lungs expanded as the air entered them, and all I could think was; it doesn't hurt. I shut my eyes and concentrated so hard I thought my brain might explode. Re-drawing the line between fantasy and reality. Why didn't breathing hurt?

Starscream. He killed me.

The name hit me with a force akin to a wrecking ball. I gasped and reached out for my protector, my friend, the other half of my soul. But he wasn't there.

The panic was strong then. I felt my heart rate increase as I span wildly, looking in every direction for Optimus. I screamed his name, but no sound left my mouth. I tried to just scream, but all I did was a successful impersonation of a gold fish.

The cold wind started to blow again.

My hair blew into my eyes and into my mouth.

And then, that voice again.

"Sky."

I turned to the sound, desperate to get out of this purgatory. Then my mind clicked with the voice that I was hearing inside my head. Alpha Trion.

"Good girl. Let go of yourself now. Just give in to the sensations around you."

I focused on Alpha Trion's voice and moved through the gloom. It was like walking through cement that was not yet dry. Every movement was heavy and exaggerated, but I knew I had to reach Alpha Trion's voice.

I saw a giant silhouette start to form before me. I reached to it at the same time as a giant hand reached outwards towards me. The fingers curled around my body, the first solid thing I had felt since being in that blackness, and I was pulled into a different environment entirely. All around me were strange wisps of light, both far away and close up. Hundreds of thousands of tiny white dots littered a black back-drop, the wisps of light gently shimmering and moving amongst them. I turned around to look for Alpha Trion, and was surprised when I found that I could not see him.

"Do not fear young one. I am present, even though you cannot see me. Now, pay attention. You must understand."

Before I could make any kind of protestations, the scene before me changed. The black back-drop remained, as did the thousands of tiny white dots that it was adorned with. The wispy cloud like lights were gone, replaced by orbs, just floating. It dawned on me then that I was in Space.

Although I could not physically see Alpha Trion, I somehow knew instinctively that I was sitting on his hand. Once more the scene changed and I was looking at the beautiful blue planet that I knew and loved as planet Earth. It was tilted gently on its axis, spinning slowly, around and around. A beam of white light suddenly erupted from Earth and plunged forward, past the neighbouring planets and into the many clusters of immeasurable stars.

The hand that I was sitting on followed the beam of light with little effort, as if it was pulling me along. I sailed past nebulas, galaxies and so many stars that I started to see them behind my eyelids when I blinked. I passed colours I had no name for, and shapes that mathematicians had yet to identify. The wisps of light that I had seen previously turned out to be galaxies, and I was awarded with the breath-taking views of one as the hand I was sitting on followed the beam of light through it.

Finally, the light stopped, and two nebulas moved aside to reveal a giant planet. It was much bigger than Earth, and a metallic greyish-silver colour. Logic did not play a part as I gasped and filled my lungs with air at the sight of Cybertron. I shifted forwards on Alpha Trion's hand, wanting to be closer to Optimus' home planet. At his name, all rational thought left my mind. Optimus. Optimus. Optimus.

I repeated his name over and over in my head, as if reciting it would cause him to magically appear in front of me. Since I was breathing in space with no assistance from the usual appropriate breathing apparatus, it didn't seem like an altogether silly idea. Alpha Trion sensed my distress.

"Easy young one. All will be well. You must watch."

I turned to look at Cybertron again. It didn't look as I expected a dead planet would do. Beneath the thin clouds that served as the atmosphere, I could see blinking lights and what looked like moving traffic. The spires that Optimus had told me about stood tall and proud, giving the north side of Cybertron an impressive skyline. Right in the middle of the planet was a glowing blue light, surrounded by high metallic walls.

"Primus…"

Alpha Trion's voice was low and soft in my head, and I felt my eyes widen as I looked at the life force of the Transformers' life given.

The light dove forward once again, and once again the hand that I was sitting on followed it dutifully past huge metallic structures, and pits as deep as the spires were tall. The light led me into a city, bustling with life. Cybertronians of all shapes and sizes were milling about, some working on construction and some tapping away on data pads.

We followed the beam of light over a bridge that landed on a circular platform, on top of which was a colossal building. It was cylindrical in shape, surrounded by taller but thinner cylindrical buildings. Over the huge doorway were some engravings in Cybertronian, but I somehow I understood them to mean Iacon Hall of Records.

The beam of light continued through the doors, which swung slowly open. It was cold inside, and I landed on the floor with a soft 'thud'. I turned to look for the hand that I had been sitting on, but could see none.

"Do not panic Sky. The Cybertronians will not be able to see or hear you. You will have what I believe humans call 'an out of body experience.'"

"Okay." I didn't let my voice rise above a whisper, not wanting to alert anybody to my presence despite Alpha Trion's reassurance. I shut my eyes and rubbed my temples. When I opened them again, I saw everything from a bird's eye view. I could see the Cybertronian equivalent of bookcase, after bookcase, after bookcase. There were communication consoles (like the one on the base) every few hundred yards. Bots of every colour walked through the maze of shelves, filing, reading and typing. There were low murmurs of conversation, never rising above a low whisper.

I moved through the Hall of Records with an easy grace, one that I would never have been able to achieve had I not had my 'out of body experience'.

I found myself on the uppermost level of the majestic building. Instead of bookcases on this floor, there stood row upon row of filing cabinets. This floor was absolutely silent, not even the sound of metallic fingers could be heard tapping on a console keyboard.

I glided around, not really knowing what I was looking for until I stumbled upon it, quite by accident. A bot who was heart wrenchingly familiar yet at the same time completely different was working diligently at a station. He was browsing a data pad with religious scrutiny, swiping every few seconds on the smooth screen to access the next bit of text.

He worked with the same determination as my Prime, he had the same slight hunch when he was concentrating. Except I was not looking at Optimus Prime, but Orion Pax. Orion Pax who had once worked under the master archivist, Alpha Trion in the Iacon Hall of Records.

His body was more angular than the Optimus I knew. Gone were his curved shoulders, replaced by a squarer and smaller frame. His basic red and blue colour scheme was still there, shinier than it was on Optimus now, due to the significant absence of battle scars.

As soon as I set eyes on Orion Pax, I knew that I was there to watch the events unfold that led to his becoming a Prime. At this realisation, the mech before me started to move at an increased speed, as if being fast forwarded on a television screen. It stopped at Megatron, then Megatronus and Orion Pax. Their heads were both bent over something, and they were speaking, though it was not audible. Megatronus looked up and I was shocked to see that his optics were not the menacing red that I had become accustomed to, but the same blue as Orion's. They almost looked kind. He smiled, revealing even denta, not the shark-like fangs I had expected to see.

The scene fast forwarded again, this time to Megatronus fighting in what I assumed were the pits of Kaon. Orion looked on as a spectator, not enjoying the violence at all. Each time Megatronus extinguished a fellow Transformer's Spark, Orion visibly flinched. I felt my gaze soften whilst I was watching Orion. I was witnessing the foundations that would soon be built upon to become Optimus Prime, and at that moment, I could not have been more proud of him.

Then I was watching Orion address the High Council, his arms outspread, inviting them to listen to his words. He spoke of ending the Caste systems, of equality for all Transformers, and of how the Autobots, named for autonomy, could help start the new Golden Age. There would be no need for terrorist Decepticon attacks, or brutal abductions in broad daylight on the street. Megatronus would order his Decepticon followers to stand down, and Cybertron once again enjoy a time of peace as it had done in the age of the Primes.

I watched as Halogen listened intently to Orion's words, and watched him realise that here, right in this very room, stood someone worthy of being a Prime since Cybertron's Golden Age. Everything was occurring just as Ratchet had described it. My imagination had not done his words justice. I listened as Halogen bestowed the title of "Prime" upon Orion and placed upon him the challenge of undoing the damage that Megatronus and his Decepticons had done. I watched Megatronus leave the High Council chamber, not looking back as Orion called after him again and again.

Orion's shoulders slumped as he watched Megatronus exit the council chamber. The other bots stood around in shocked silence, the only sound being Orion's footsteps, as he too exited the council chamber. Time went into fast-forward mode again. I saw scenes of politics, the Autobots huddled together in a secret room, going over defence and attack strategies. I watched the Decepticons start their long and fateful assault on Iacon. I watched as Orion prepared to make the journey that would take him to the Matrix of Leadership and complete his transition to the rank of Prime.

I watched Orion descend deeper and deeper into Cybertron, getting ever closer to the core that was slowly poisoning the entire planet. I observed as he travelled alongside the Space slugs that fed naturally on the poisonous Dark Energon infecting the planet. The slugs paid him no mind, and Orion responded to the colossal creatures in kind.

After what seemed like endless travelling, Orion finally found himself before the very core of Cybertron. No Transformer in recorded history had ever been to Cybertron's core before, and Orion seemed to be surprisingly humbled. The core was a huge ball of light and it was pulsing gently. As Orion drew nearer, the great orb started to pulsate and glow. A beam of light shot out from the orb and enveloped itself around Orion. An extremely large object floated out of the orb and towards Orion. The object had a sphere situated directly in the centre. On either side of the sphere were two handle-like structures, both silver in colour. The sphere itself was a solid gold colour, with intricate hieroglyphics carved into the surface.

As the object made its way towards him, Orion's chest pieces lifted and the object floated to sit snuggly over his Spark chamber. Orion was then immersed into a bright light, so bright that I had to temporarily avert my gaze. I heard him groan slightly, before he let out a guttural bellow so loud that I could feel it in my absent body.

The light slowly dissipated, falling away to reveal Orion's – now Optimus' new body. The light fell away to reveal the Optimus that I was more familiar with, though he hadn't yet acquired his curved shoulders. The orb in front of him remained intact, though it started to shift and move, forming what looked like a face in the swirling mists of opaque light. Optimus caught sight of the face and fell to his knees at once, looking down at the ground.

He was as still as a statue, and one might have indeed thought that he was a statue, were it not for the quiet words he was repeating, over and over.

"Primus, the Incarnation of Creation. How may I serve you? Primus, the Incarnation of Creation. How may I serve you? Primus, the Incarnation of Creation. How may I serve you?"

He said these words over and over, all the while never raising his gaze from the ground.

A deep, resonating voice answered him.

"Rise Optimus. You do not need to bow to me."

At once Optimus got to his feet, but still did not raise his optics to meet the noble face in the centre of the orb of glowing light.

"Do not be afraid to look at me young one. Let me look into your Spark."

Optimus lifted his head and looked directly into Primus' optics. Primus' optics widened and then he regained his former composure.

"I sense an innate goodness and nobility within you, Optimus Prime. Speak, my child. I sense that you wish to say something to me."

"There is so much that I want to say to you Primus…but first, I must ask you this. Why are you calling Optimus?"

Primus chuckled gently.

"Let me tell you a story Optimus, of a language on a distant planet. There is a language, on a small but significant planet, a language that is known as Latin. This language is derived from our very own. The species that is indigenous to the planet in question have formed their own language, based on the basic writings of Cybertronian. Their language is more phonetic than ours, as they are a carbon based life form, and possess biological muscles instead of mechanical parts. 'Optimus' is a word in Latin, and loosely translated, means 'the best'. Simply put Optimus, I have given you that designation because you are the most deserving Cybertronian that the title of 'Prime' can be bestowed upon. You are going to be the greatest Prime that there has ever been, in the entire history of Cybertron. Optimus seemed a fitting choice."

"Optimus, I am sorry to tell you that we are running out of time. I would like nothing more to answer the many questions that you no doubt wish to ask me, but I must assign to you a task of utmost importance."

Optimus waited patiently for the Incarnation of Creation to inform him of what the task was.

"As you are aware Optimus, I became one with the very core of our planet once Unicron had been destroyed. By doing so I ensured that life on Cybertron was able to continue. Megatron…Megatron poisoned Cybertron with Dark Energon. The Dark Energon has reached the planet's core, and Cybertron is dying. As Cybertron and I are one and the same, I too, am dying. I can delay the process for only so long, but ultimately, Cybertron will perish and no longer be able to support life. Your task Optimus, is to save Cybertron. Cybertron will die before you can save it, but Cybertron can be revitalised. I know not how, or when. All I can tell you is that the key lies on the small but essentially important planet; Earth."

"Go well, Optimus Prime."

It was then that everything before me started to fade, Optimus started to swirl into the rest of the environment, all the colours mixing and bleeding into each other.

I tried to scream out for him, but once more, my voice was non-existent.

I felt myself being pulled back, and nothing I did could anchor me in place. I lost sight of Optimus and Primus completely, before losing sense of everything once more.

.o

When I regained consciousness, I was aware that once more I was seemingly without a body. I started to move forward, but was stopped by something invisible to me. I tried again, but I could not break the invisible barrier no matter how much force I slammed into it with. I stopped concentrating on trying to get out, and started to try and figure out where I was.

Below me I could see Alpha Trion bent over some sort of anvil. Like him, it was enormous, large enough for him to work comfortably on. He wasn't using any kind of tools that I could see, and the traditional sound of metallic banging was absent. Alpha Trion looked up directly at me.

"Ahh, you have awakened my young one. Do not panic, you will be free from the vessel in time. At this present moment in time, you exist only as an entity. I believe humans call it a spirit, or a ghost. You will have a new body, but this is a lengthy process. We must create you a new body, and then link your consciousness to it so that your mind and soul can be transferred into it. Sky…you must know that something of this ilk has never been attempted before. When the time comes for you to be transferred into your new body, I will call upon Primus himself. There is no other Cybertronian who knows more about mind-body splits than he."

"Will I…will I still be human?"

Alpha Trion nodded solemnly and then returned to his work on the anvil. I turned my attention away from Alpha Trion and towards our surroundings. We were in a circular room, with four columns situated at focal points throughout the circle. Each column reached right up to the ceiling, which was many hundreds of feet above Alpha Trion. The pillars curved in shape with the walls and all met in the centre of the ceiling, in which there was an ornate feature. It was silver in colour, but more colours emerged from the heart of the feature, all bleeding into each other, creating the illusion of a firework in mid-explosion. The only sound in the room came from Alpha Trion as he continually shifted his weight from one foot to the other. I floated to the bottom of the container I was in and let my mind wander into nothingness. There seemed to be no concept of time in that place, everything stretched over endless hours whilst at the same time passing by in the blink of an eye. It was a thoroughly disconcerting sensation. Alpha Trion continued to work at his anvil, never looking up.

The time went by, slowly and quickly at the same time. The room changed from light to dark, from light to dark and then back again. All the while, Alpha Trion never wavered in his task.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, Alpha Trion turned his attention away from his work and called up to me.

"Sky? It is almost time. Be ready."

I didn't answer him, but somehow knew instinctively that he would know I had acknowledged his words. I increased my consciousness level, unsure how else to prepare for my transfer into a new body. I floated over to where I had a better view of Alpha Trion below.

"Alpha Trion?"

Despite the fact that I had no voice to speak with, Alpha Trion still looked up as I said his name.

"Yes Sky?"

"Umm…can I see the new body please Alpha Trion?" Alpha Trion hesitated before he answered.

"No Sky, I am afraid I cannot allow you to see your new body just yet. If you are distracted during the transfer process, your mind could be lost to the void for all eternity, and it is my duty to return you to Optimus, physically and mentally intact. I cannot speak for your emotional health, as I feel that Optimus is no doubt better equipped to help you in that particular respect."

I decided not to argue with that.

.o

After a lengthy pause in proceedings, Alpha Trion called me once more. I made my way to the edge of the vessel that contained me and focused my vision onto him. He had stepped back from his anvil, but what he had been working on was covered by as sleek silver sheet. I could not see any shape beneath the covering. I started to feel extremely apprehensive.

"It is almost time Sky. I will summon Primus shortly."

"Alpha Trion?!" My voice came out higher than I intended, giving way to the fear present in my mind. "Will I still be human? How can you just summon Primus? I thought…I thought he was dead?" Alpha Trion smiled and looked up at me.

"Do not fear my young one. You will still be human – I do not know how to put your mind in a Cybertronian body, and even if I did, I sincerely doubt that you would want to go back to Optimus as an Autobot. As for Primus…he is as alive as you are Sky. Energy cannot be destroyed…it merely transforms."

He turned away from me and faced the western wall. He raised his arms and started to move his hands in a strange manner, waving them this way and that. After a few moments, a low humming noise started. It was quiet at first, but got progressively louder as time went on. The same orb of light appeared that I had observed Optimus standing before when he became a full Prime. It glowed brightly, swelled and then dimmed again. It did not appear solid. It looked misty and translucent, the wall behind it faintly visible through the eerie light. The same face slowly appeared in it, and the age old optics looked upwards to find me. The face within the orb smiled.

"Ahh. You are everything I had hoped for Optimus and for Cybertron my young femme. It will not be long now, and you will be back with your guardian. But in order for this to happen, you must first trust Alpha Trion and myself. Can you do that Sky?"

"Yes." This time my voice came out, barely audible. Primus smiled once more and then nodded to Alpha Trion.

"In order for your soul to be transferred to the new body Sky, you and I need to link minds. The link between our essences will form a bridge for your soul. I must warn you, nothing like this has ever been attempted in recorded Cybertronian history. Do you wish to proceed? There is no guarantee that the transfer will be successful."

I knew that I had to get back to Optimus, no matter the cost.

"I wish to proceed Primus. I must return to Optimus." Primus nodded solemnly, and then I felt the strangest sensation.

The sensation came from something that I couldn't fathom. A mental assault inside my mind, and I instinctively brought down mental walls to keep the intruder out of my head. I belatedly realised it was Primus and immediately opened my mind to allow him access to my soul. The invisible barrier of the vessel that I was in dissipated and I felt myself being pulled downwards towards Alpha Trion and Primus.

As my consciousness joined with Primus', I felt my whole self-awareness widen and expand. I was suddenly mindful of so much more around me. The dust motes floating in the air, just like their own little galaxy. I noticed for the first time the tiny flecks of rust in Alpha Trion's armour, around the inner corners of his optics. I felt Primus gently probe at my consciousness, and I let him in even further. Primus concentrated the bridge between our souls onto the body resting silently beneath the soft sheet. I felt him nudge my consciousness softly in the direction of the body and I took no hesitation before proceeding.

.o

As I started to link with the new body, things started to go dark. Noises grew faint and distorted. I was still aware of my surroundings, but it was as if I was trying to run through mud. It felt like I was in procession of a body once more, and when I tried to move my arms and legs, they stayed rooted to the hard surface that I was laying on. I could see nothing, and the limited hearing that I did have was not clear at all. It was like hearing things from a sound-proofed room, the sound was definitely there but had no definitive way to identify what kind of sound it was.

I suddenly felt a pain so intense that it felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. I didn't try to scream through the pain, as I somehow intuitively knew that I would not be able to make a single sound…not yet at least. Starscream stabbing his fingers through my chest was like walking through a field of wildflowers compared to the pain that was currently coursing through every nerve ending in my body. My head started to pound, and it felt like somebody had put a belt around my skull and was tightening it as much as was humanly possible. There was pain in the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet, as if I was walking and crawling on hot coals simultaneously. It felt as if my entire body was on fire and being submerged in an ice bath all at the same time.

My brain did not want to communicate with my limbs; they stayed laying stubbornly at my sides while I writhed in mental and physical pain. I was vaguely aware of Primus' presence in my mind, trying to offer me comfort from a distance. I knew he meant well, but his comfort did nothing to alleviate the pain that was soaring through each and every one of my veins. I could feel Alpha Trion's smooth stainless steel fingers dancing lightly up and down my body; down each of my arms and legs, around my neck and the backs of both knees. He tapped each knee lightly with his index finger and gave a satisfied nod when my reflexes behaved as they should.

There was an abrupt pounding in my ears, and it sounded like someone was playing a kettle drum right inside my head. My skull vibrated with each pound, setting off a super-nova style headache behind my eyelids. The banging in my head was soon joined by an equally intense pounding in my chest, which made my ribcage reverberate.

"Soon". Primus' voice startled me but I listened to his encouraging tone and took comfort in his presence.

Another low rumble that I recognised as Alpha Trion's voice sounded close by. He sounded pleased.

"Mmm. The heart has started to beat. It won't be long now my young one." I felt his fingers rest lightly on my forehead and move some hair away from my eyes. "The body temperature is rising. The transfer has been successful."

My fingers started to twitch, followed by my hands, and then finally my arms. I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I could see Alpha Trion looming over me with a broad smile on his face whilst Primus hovered silently behind him in his orb like form. Alpha Trion cupped his hands around me and lifted me into the air so that we were at eye to optic level with each other.

"Sky. There are a few things that you need to be made aware of before I return you to Optimus. You are now immortal. You can still be killed by a fatal injury and by illness. Please do not become unnecessarily reckless Sky; you are still very vulnerable. During the transfer process, the energy contained within the neckless you were wearing was also transformed. It has taken on a physical form and is known as the 'Heart of Cybertron.' It is absolutely imperative that it does not fall into Decepticon hands. You must protect it at all costs Sky, with your life if necessary. You are now in complete control of your energy power. Your power is comprised of a number of talents; telekinetic and psionic energy. This is the energy which you can project from your body. During the transfer you acquired a new power; telepathy. You will be able to read others' minds to a certain extent, but only if you concentrate solely on that one person. It will allow you to converse with Optimus inside your mind and vice versa. This will be extremely useful in any future battle situations or if you have to communicate over a vast distance. Do you have any questions?"

I thought for a millisecond and then shook my head. My new brain seemed to be able to absorb new information at ten times the speed that it had done before.

"No Alpha Trion. I don't think I have any questions."

"Good. Sky, in all my existence, I have never before encountered a bond like the one you and Optimus share. You are inextricably linked, and you must cherish one another for all eternity. Now Sky, we must move swiftly. The window of time which we have available to return you to Optimus is growing smaller by the astro-second.

.o

Autobot Outpost Omega One

Since discovering Sky's mysterious departure, none of the Autobots had moved, save for walking to the main communications room. Optimus was sat on the examination berth, staring blankly into space. Julia was sitting on his right foot, playing with a loose strand of her long, black hair. Ratchet was looking at the main console screen, but was not really seeing anything. Arcee was sat against the wall, her face buried into her arms which were resting on top of her knees. Bumblebee and Bulkhead were nearby, both playing with random pieces of scrap metal which was 'clinking' softly in their fingers.

They were all interrupted from their dazed reveries by the sound of the proximity sensor. Ratchet blinked dumbly for a second before pressing the button that shut off the harsh beeping noise. He selected the sentry monitor that showed the top of the silo. There was nothing to see.

Optimus wordlessly rose to his feet and walked over to the elevator which would take him to the top of the silo. He just had an instinctive feeling that he needed to inspect the interruption, and that he needed to do it alone. He held a hand up to his Autobots; a silent command that they were to stay where they were. They obeyed their leader without question.

During the short ascent to the top, Optimus armed himself with his left ion cannon. His left arm was always his first choice and always his best shot. He could fight with his right arm just as well, but his left always felt more natural.

He emerged from through the top of the silo and stepped cautiously off of the elevator platform. There was no obvious threat, and his scanners detected no Decepticon signals within twenty miles. There was an unfamiliar scent in the air, and Optimus increased the air intake into the vents on the back of his head through which he 'smelled.' The scent was definitely organic and female, but not one that Optimus recognised. Illogical hope ran through his circuits, and he quickly returned to rational thought, but not quickly enough to stop his Spark humming excitedly in its casing.

"Optimus?"

Optimus felt his Spark skip a beat before it started again. Her voice…but how? Not daring to believe what he had just heard, he slowly turned around to find the speaker.

His optics fell on a tiny human female, no taller than five feet. Her skin was pale ivory and her long black hair tumbled past her shoulders in loose waves before ending midway down her back. Her eyes were wider, more doe like, but still a brilliant blue. Her face was more defined, somehow more adult. Her lean and lithe body was clothed in a knee length white summer dress, her delicate feet bare. The young female looking up at him didn't look totally like his Sky, but he knew that she was his little one.

Emotion overcame the huge Prime, and he fell onto his knees. She ran forward to him, and he found his hands sweeping her off of the ground, seemingly of their own accord. Tears ran freely from her eyes and down her cheeks as he brought her close and she covered his face with kisses and tender embraces. He reciprocated with his own tender contact, nuzzling her with his helm and brushing his lips against her face, kissing her with the utmost gentleness.

He drew back and looked at her, using one finger to gently trace the outline of her beautifully warm, soft cheek and stroke her cashmere hair.

"Little one…is it truly you?" Sky nodded, her tears still in free-fall. She latched onto his thumb and planted a small kiss on it, before assuming her usual position in his palm. "H…how?" Sky laughed weakly and shook her head.

"It's a long story Op, how about we go for a drive and I'll tell you all about it?"

Optimus nodded eagerly and rose to his feet. Sky spoke once more as he started to make his way back down into the base.

"First, I need to tell you something that is of the utmost importance." Her voice was heavy with seriousness, and Optimus waited nervously for her to continue. "I love you, Optimus Prime."

Optimus treated her to one of his golden smiles and brought her close to his face.

"I love you more." Sky fixed him with her typical stubborn look, appraising him from beneath her dark eyelashes.

"Impossible."

Optimus kissed her gently, and then together, they descended into the base to reunite their little family.

Author's note: This is finally finished. Divided Souls has truly been a labour of love, and I am proud of it. Thank you to everybody who has read and commented on this, it means so much to me. :)

Worry not - this is not the end of Sky and Optimus! I have lots planned for them but I will give them a break now whilst I write my movieverse fics. :)

Thank you!