"That's enough out of you," Ratchet snapped, returning from his hiding place. Adamant, he crossed his arms high on his chassis.

"Oh, but we were just getting started." Nova slinked towards the medic, his helm low. His crimson optics were still ablaze, and he bared his denta menacingly. There was an air of satisfaction about him, as if the way he and his companions had driven the Autobots nearly to tears pleased him. "You see, we learned so much about you all while we were held by those humans." His voice had dropped to a soft growl. "How you promise so much but do so little. Because you're afraid of what it takes to win."

"Now, Nova?" Voltage purred, cocking her helm at Bulkhead.

The white and gray mech nodded.

She sidled up to the Wrecker and traced her digits across his shoulder guard. "You and I have a lot to talk about, Bulkhead." When he took a step back, she pursued him, her optics gleaming with something savage and almost feral. "What's the matter, big guy? Afraid of a little ol' femme like me?"

"Frankly," Cypher chuckled, his optics narrowing happily, "I'm shocked they ever trusted you." He broke into laughter, calling for Bumblebee to return so that they could have a chat. His frame was trembling in excitement, and the visor covering his optics glinted in the dim light from above. "Bumblebee! Have I got something to tell you!"

"Don't be like that," Voltage whined, doing her best to sound pathetic. She started to pace in a slow circle around him. "Don't you wanna go,"— she stopped by his audial and hissed—"dune-bashing?"

Nova retreated from his position in front of Ratchet and stopped in front of Arcee. "Want to see my holoform?" Before she could reply, he activated the holomatter avatar, and when the static settled, the blue femme gasped, stumbling away. In the palm of his servo stood Jack—or, at least, a facsimile of him—wearing tattered clothes and with a venomous expression twisting his features unrecognizably.

A recording began to play.

"So, Jackson, tell me about the Autobots." The first voice was smooth and calm, completely unperturbed by the situation, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"What's there to say?" The second voice was unmistakably Jack's, but there was a different quality to it, one filled with repressed malice and anger. "They lied. They said they would protect us, but they lied. We waited for them—waited for months!—and they never came. Why would I defend them to you when you're practically the same?"

"Stop it," Arcee choked, her vents struggling to intake air. How could Jack hate her? How could he believe that she and the others simply didn't look for them? "Stop it, please. Just stop it."

Obliging, Nova turned off the recording. "Do you understand what you did to them now, Arcee?" he queried, tilting her chin up with the tip of a digit. Crimson optics met azure. He pulled his servo back to his frame, his digit scratching her chin as it moved away.

"Please, young ones, stop this." Optimus held his servos out to accentuate the request, but he was largely ignored.

"Nakama!" Voltage cried, throwing her helm back in amusement. "What a stupid concept! Like she should have ever considered you that close of a friend."

Cautious, Ratchet approached the younglings, taking care not to get too close to Voltage. "How do you know all this?" he demanded. As far as he was aware, none of the Autobots had relayed their designations to the newcomers, yet they already seemed so familiar with them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cypher shot back. He tapped the side of his helm. "Their memories: files in our data cores. We have access to everything from the first day they remember to the day they died. And quite honestly, they were idiots to entrust their lives to you."

"Our own memories erased in favor of theirs," Nova added. His mouth had curved downwards in an irritated scowl. "We maintained our personalities and reflexes, of course, but we know nothing of ourselves. I can't remember what my real designation is; none of us can. We simply came up with new designations that we thought fit."

"We don't even think in Cybertronian anymore. I wouldn't recognize the language if I heard it," Voltage commented, her angered expression fading into one of mere annoyance. A growl built up in her chassis, and her optics took on that wild glint again. "Such stupid kids. Stupid for trusting you. Stupid for believing you would protect them. Stupid for-"

Then Bulkhead had her by the neck cabling, dangling her several feet above the ground. "Don't talk about them like that," he warned.

Instead of being intimidated, Voltage seemed pleased. She didn't scrabble at his servo or thrash in a vain attempt to free herself. Her optics narrowed further, and her voice had a vicious edge to it as she snarled, "That's it, Wrecker. Threaten me. Hurt me. Prove that you're just like MECH."

"Bulkhead!" Arcee put her servo on his arm, staring at him with a gaze like flint.

He grit his denta, but he set Voltage on her pedes.

If the femme hadn't had a speaker grille, she would have been grinning. She broke into wild laughter. "Oh, come on! You, the level-headed one? Since when? One word could set you off! In fact, I know the word." Her laughter grew more unrestrained, more savage. She slid in front of Arcee, leaning in close to her faceplate. "Tailgate."

The designation hit the blue femme like a knife to her spark. Her vents cycled rapidly to try and counteract the sudden heat in her core. Her joints shook, threatening to give out. The younglings' laughter echoed in her audials; Nova and Cypher had joined in.

"Poor little Arcee," Cypher spat, "always losing her partners."

"Stop that!" Ratchet pushed them away from her, not even bothering to take care not to knock them onto the ground.

Bumblebee came storming back in, weapons onlined. He clicked angrily at Cypher, demanding to know why he and his companions would come with the Autobots if all they wanted to do was torture them.

"Puh-leez," Cypher retorted, waving a servo nonchalantly. "If we're going to play 'Twenty Questions,' at least ask me something difficult." He started rolling around seemingly aimlessly before coming to a stop in front of Optimus. "So proud of your Autobots, aren't you, Prime? Think you've taught them well?"

Optimus gazed down at the youngling, electing not to reply.

Cypher chuckled. "Do you know why we came with you?"

"Why we played innocent?" Voltage brushed past Ratchet.

"Well, I'll tell you." Nova leaned against the console. "It's quite simple, really. You see, the one thing we all know for certain about our pasts—our real pasts, not the children's—is that we were Decepticons."

AN: I have an announcement. Rules to Keep You Alive is officially coming back.