You guys, I swear it's like the universe is determined to keep me from writing this story. Luckily, though, I'm not about to let that happen. So, before we jump back into it, here's some things I've done that y'all have probably noticed, along with some other things I wanna say.

1. Song lyrics were removed to avoid risk of copyright and/or rule breaks. That and finding songs was kind of a task in and of itself. By the end of this story I may post "Celeste's Playlist", though, as sort of an 'extras' thing.

2. Along with the song removal, I decided to be a little more original with chapter titles.

3. Prologue was sort of a 'pilot' chapter when I first posted it. Now that I've gotten this story straight, it no longer is really reflective of Savior's updated story and has been removed.

4. I promise I won't be doing any more wonky upload/deleting with my chapters anymore. Everyone should be able to review normally after a few chapters, since I know a good amount of my readers have reviewed already on Savior's previous iteration.

5. So... some of my document files got corrupted; an unfortunate side effect to working with a super old laptop. Savior's file I was able to backup on WordPad, but it took a while.

6. Update times on this story are still weird as hell, as it usually is. Work, college, and life gotta come first but I am going to TRY and go for an update each month. I give you guys permission to yell at me if that doesn't happen -if anything, that'll help me write when I have the time.

7. I'm working on a couple of other stories, as some of you may have seen. I've decided to extended Tomfoolery into an all-out story that is open to idea/prompts from my readers, started Annihilation, and am posting more regularly on a story I'd been writing on the side when I had to take a break from Savior. It's called In the Eyes of the Beholder, a Crosshairs fic. If you guys enjoy my writing, go check them out and give them some love and support!

So now that that's all out of the way, please enjoy! Had to split this chapter in half since it ended up so long. Next update shouldn't take very long. :)

Savoy dropped to the floor in a small explosion of blood.

Aiko could only watch, horrified as Bishop stood over his leader's form with a snarl upon his lips. Savoy tried to crawl away, but Bishop kicked him hard and planted a boot onto Savoy's heaving chest. Blood smeared the floor and soaked through Savoy's right shoulder. Aiko wrenched at her bindings while she had the chance, but her arms were bound by rope and chain and her wrists were handcuffed behind her. It seemed almost like her bindings were purposefully reinforced in case she could break through them.

"Bishop," Savoy gasped, clutching at his wound, "What the hell are you -"

Bishop pressed down, and Savoy hollered. Aiko had to turn away when she heard the sickening crunch of ribs breaking.

"You, sir," Bishop said, "Are no longer in control."

"Like -GAH - like hell I'm not!" Savoy bit out, through heaves and gasps of pain. His attempts to twist his second's foot off of him were completely fruitless. Aiko came to realize that she was witnessing an abrupt change of power, and the man now on top was someone twice as sinister as the one he had been previously serving.

"It's a new world, sir, and we're fighting a new war," Bishop leaned down, seeming to enjoy seeing Savoy contorting beneath him, "It's time we become something more than what you've made us to be."

Savoy bared his teeth, "Cemetery Wind will fail under your lead."

"Cemetery Wind is no more," Bishop aimed his pistol at Savoy's head and smiled, "Now, we are M.E.C.H."

Savoy flew into motion. His hands shot up and twisted Bishop's leg at the knee in the span of a few seconds, bending the limb enough for Bishop to lose his balance and tumble. Taking his chance Savoy shot up and rolled them over so that he was on top, with one hand clamped on Bishop's throat and the other reaching to confiscate the gun.

With speed that was entirely inhuman, Bishop swung and pistol-whipped him across the head with enough force to send his former superior flying off of him. Savoy grunted and stumbled to his feet, a palm to his now bleeding temple with his teeth bared in pained anger. Bishop was on his feet in an instant as well and spread his arms in a taunting fashion, his pistol still in his grip.

"You can't fight this, sir," he said, spitting the formality like an insult, "I think we both know that I have been the superior one for quite some time."

Savoy seethed, "You're insane."

"No," Bishop tore his sleeve aside, revealing a serum tube in his wrist that Aiko had seen on another soldier before, "I'm enhanced, and you are not. Your refusal to become something powerful has made you weak, Savoy. You've become obsolete, and it's time for a new leader to take your place-"

Savoy charged him before he could finish. The Cemetery Wind commander grit his teeth and lunged with an arm swung out in an attempt to disarm his second in a quick, practiced move.

Bishop deflected him, shoved his pistol into Savoy's gut, and fired three times. The shots rang in the small room, ringing into Aiko's ears and making her flinch and yelp in surprise. Glistening red droplets sprayed through Savoy's stomach and painted the wall behind him. Bishop let go and Savoy collapsed to the ground, into his own pool of blood.

When his eyes met Aiko's again, she feared that this would be her last living moment. Bishop fingered his weapon, like he was considering it. But then he snatched the Sector 7 files and tilted his head almost curiously at her, as if he hadn't just brutally murdered someone just moments prior. Aiko froze in place with her eyes wide and her heart thumping frantically.

"Don't be so surprised," Bishop said with an ominous tone, "You've spilled more blood than I ever have."

It took a minute for those words to register. Aiko allowed her mouth to part slightly but words failed to reach her lips. Her? How could she, a small teenage girl, have spilled more blood than this deranged, dangerous man? It wasn't possible. That didn't make sense.

Bishop noticed her mortified and confused expression. He smiled, but there was no friendliness to it, just the smugness of a truly evil being, "Want a hint?"

Aiko swallowed shakily.

Bishop leaned forward, until his face drew uncomfortably close to hers, "They weren't foster homes. They were assignments."

He pulled something out from his pocket and placed it on the table. Upon sliding it towards her, Aiko's stomach dropped when she realized it was her Sector 7 badge.

"After all this time, you kept it," Bishop grinned, "I'm flattered."

Aiko didn't reply. She glared at him until he stood up, looked her over again, and smiled.

"Two down. One to go."

And then Bishop left the room, leaving Aiko with a dead man and barrage of questions.

As soon as the man had slammed the door shut Aiko worked at her bindings again, twisting and writhing so much that she'd nearly tipped herself over twice. At the other side of the room, Savoy's bloody puddle grew and his body became deathly still. The coppery smell hung in the air. She fought for what felt like hours, and it wasn't until she'd thoroughly tired herself out when a loud noise made her jump.

BANG!

The metallic door jerked from whatever sudden force struck it, but it refused to give.

BANG!

She stared, wide eyed. Was someone trying to break in?

An odd scraping noise followed -metal against metal, it sounded like. Then all she could hear was an eerie beep, beep, beep...

And then, the door exploded. Aiko screeched and turned away as the blast scattered the concrete doorway and obliterated the door, sending it flying across the room as a misshapen slab of metal. Something skittered into the room through the heavy smoke, uttering a series of odd mechanical noises.

Coughing, Aiko looked back to see a pair of little blue optics staring back at her. Of all the things Aiko could have expected to come through, a minibot most certainly was not one of them. It -he?- was bigger than Wheelie, standing on a spindly pair of legs. He was silver in color, with sharp edges and skeletal features.

The minibot ejected a sharp blade from its hand and suddenly crawled at her. Aiko kicked out, "H-Hey, no! Wait!"

Ignoring her, the minibot chittered more nonsense and scrambled up her legs and into her lap. Aiko squealed in surprise and squirmed in panic. He lifted his hand with the blade to her face and clicked some more. And then, to her surprise, he spoke.

"Ch-ch-chill out-t-t," the minibot hissed with a scraggly, erratic voice. He raised his blade again and began to saw away at the rope, "I help-p-p."

"Oh..." she said. Aiko was still very unsure of the situation, but she held still and allowed her... new friend to cut the rope. Once it fell away, the minibot scrambled behind her and fiddled with the cuffs.

"Um," she craned her neck, "Do, uh... do you have a name?"

"F-F-Frenzy."

The cuffs dropped to the floor. Seconds later, the chains followed. Aiko surged to her feet the moment she was free. Her first instinct was to run, but she paused when she caught movement in her peripheral. Savoy was squirming just slightly, with his chest heaving and his breath rasping through the blood clotting his mouth. His sunglasses had fallen off, and it was only then that Aiko had come to know why he'd always worn them before.

He was missing an eye. One socket was entirely empty, but healed. The eyeball itself had clearly been gone for some time.

Aiko had to turn away. She pressed one palm to the wall, one to her stomach, and fought the oncoming urge to vomit.

Frenzy was tugging at her arm suddenly, dragging her along, "C-c-come on! No t-t-time!"

"W-what about..." she dared a sickened glance at Savoy.

"Gonna d-d-die," the minibot said, shrugging, "G-good thing. B-bad g-g-guy."

She knew he was right, but that didn't make her feel any better. She wouldn't consider herself a person with a bleeding heart, but leaving another human being to die, bad or not, made her feel as though it was becoming stone cold instead. She didn't particularly want to save Savoy. But she didn't want him to die, either.

Aiko couldn't move. Frenzy yanked her arm.

"N-now," Frenzy growled.

Aiko shook her head, "No."

She yanked back. Tore off her jacket and ventured towards Savoy as he choked on his own blood.

He can't die. Not like this.

The smell of blood was sharp on her nose. It had to be her enhanced senses allowing her to detect it so heavily and for once she wished she didn't have them. The coppery scent was so strong that it permeated her tongue, left a metallic tang in her mouth without her even opening it. Again, she almost vomited and again she fought it down.

First thing's first -help him breathe. If the shots hadn't killed him yet, the blood filling his throat would.

She knelt down and shoved him, quickly and harshly. Savoy groaned in pain but Aiko knew it was better to push him on his bad shoulder instead of forcing him to turn over on it. She looked up at Frenzy, "Help me."

The minibot didn't move. For a moment she thought he was going to ignore her or turn away. But Frenzy's optics flashed, and he looked at Savoy with a look she couldn't identify. Then with clicking noises, he finally relented and scrambled over. He didn't help her push, but he cut away at Savoy's clothing instead.

"What are you doing?"

"Help-p-ping," he answered, with a scraggly claw pointing at her jacket, "Works b-better without-t-t clothes-s."

Savoy was successfully turned over after one more hefty shove. Almost immediately he coughed, and blood spurted from his lips and he was breathing once again. Frenzy tore away at his gear and under armor, until he was bare chested and Aiko had a clear view of the bloody entry wounds and the black bruising where Bishop had crushed his ribs.

Pressure on the wound. Pressure on the wound.

She had to will herself with those words. It took a few seconds, but she forced her palms over Savoy's abdomen with firm pressure, trying her best to ignore the blood running between her fingers.

"Why are you here, Frenzy?" she asked as he ripped her jacket to shreds, "How'd you get here?"

"S-s-snuck in. T-trying to s-s-sabotage."

Aiko wasn't sure how a tiny minibot was planning on sabotaging a warehouse swarming with soldiers, but it was evident that he had a plan. Whatever it was, maybe it could help her and Mirage escape.

"Sabotage?" she asked, "You're trying to sabotage Cemetery Wind by yourself?"

"Nah. G-g-got a f-friend."

"A friend?"

Frenzy nodded vigorously. He went and wrapped a strip of Aiko's jacket tightly around Savoy's bleeding shoulder, reinforced it with more strips from Savoy's own clothing, "We help-p-p. T-t-take out b-bad guys-s."

Again, Aiko wasn't entirely sure what to think. She had a nagging feeling, however, that Frenzy and his 'friend' had been doing this for a while, and probably weren't taking out the 'bad guys' in a conventional way. Which begged the question...

"If you're taking out the bad guys, why were you willing to help me save him?" she asked, gesturing to Savoy's practically half-dead form.

Frenzy paused. His buggy blue optics met her eyes. Then he looked back down at Savoy, answering rather hesitantly, "I w-was one. A b-bad g-g-guy."

Aiko blinked, "You were?"

"Yeah. D-d-decepticon. But I ch-ch-changed. W-we changed," Frenzy said, handing her what was left of the torn jacket, "M-maybe he c-can t-t-too."

She didn't have a response to that, so instead she took the piece of ripped clothing and quickly wrapped it tight around Savoy's midsection. Her hands were shaky and slick with blood, so it took a few tries and Frenzy's help before she was able to secure the makeshift tourniquet, adding what remained of Savoy's ripped clothing to it.

Savoy grabbed her arm suddenly, stilling her movements. His grip felt strong for someone in his condition, causing Aiko to yelp and tense. Savoy kept his grip as firm as possible, tugged her closer, and stared at her with his one glassy, bloodshot eye.

"Let me activate it," he spat hoarsely.

Aiko tried to writhe away again, but Savoy still refused to relent. The man was looking increasingly desperate -not for his life, she realized but for hers.

"Activate what?" she murmured, "I don't understand."

"The 12th system. I need to activate the 12th system," Savoy pulled her closer again, graining his bloodstained teeth as he spoke, "It'll protect you. Help you escape."

Aiko stared for a moment, "You want me to escape, now?"

"Bishop can't -can't have you," he said between wet coughs, "If he takes control of you, it's over. Nothing will stop you. Nothing can stop a Chimera."

"What?" she said, but as she spoke she could hear voices steadily approaching. She felt her heart rate increase, each pump thundering in her ears as Aiko came to realize that she had no time to escape the impending soldiers. With a quick look towards Frenzy she decided to discard Savoy's delirious talk in favor of getting out.

But instead of letting her go Savoy growled, yanked her closer, pulled out a device she hadn't realized he had, and whispered to her though bloodied teeth, "Get out."

Within seconds Aiko was overcome by white hot electrical pain. For a moment she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't even scream as the device jammed into her jugular sent shock after shock into her head until her brain felt like it was on fire. Aiko gasped and fell back until she was curled into herself, groaning as something like lava seemed to explode within her -an inferno that was encasing her brain and shooting down into her spine, her arms, and her legs. Somewhere in her head Aiko felt something spark, as if something long dormant had suddenly been hotwired back on.

Voices erupted around her, but they were muted like background noise beneath the static and the waves of faces and voices and places filling Aiko's mind a mile a minute. She could see familiar faces -faces of foster families who had taken her in. Some smiles, some frowns, some hurtful words, some comforting. So many homes, all memories Aiko should already have but somehow realized she hadn't. The memories flowed like endless files, filled with images that grew red with blood, dark with violence.

"They weren't foster homes. They were assignments."

Hands grabbed her arms and hauled her up. Aiko's mind was frayed with images and sensations that she couldn't comprehend. She heard screaming in the distance- herself?

"What do we do with her?"

"Get her out of here."

The hands grew painful on her arms. Her feet dragged. Aiko couldn't determine what was past and what was present. The swirl of memories was gone suddenly, like a switch had been flipped in her head. Aiko's body flew into motion before even she could comprehend what was going on.

The back of Aiko's fist shot up and hit the first man in the face. There was a distinct crack of broken cartilage, a wail, and then his weight flew over her shoulder as she grabbed him and hauled him into a violent somersault. Almost simultaneously Aiko's leg shot out and swept behind the second soldier's knees, sending him to the floor from the force.

Snatching the gun off of the first man's person Aiko aimed and shot, downing the third man before he could barely move.

Aiko stumbled as time caught up to her. She gasped and stared with wide eyes at what she had just done. She dropped the gun and looked down at her hands, "Oh my god... what..."

Her eyes landed on Frenzy, whom had been watching her closely. Then she glanced behind her and approached Savoy, careful to step over the men she'd just taken down by instincts she hadn't realized she had. Aiko grabbed him and hauled the man to his feet, slamming him into the wall, trying not to think about how easy the action was for her to do.

"What did you do to me?" she hissed.

Savoy's head lolled from her rough handling for a moment. His one eye stared down at her and he said in a weak voice, "I awakened you."

"What do you mean, you awakened me?" she shook him, "Tell me what you did!"

Savoy gripped her arms and shoved her. Without her holding him up, he collapsed against the wall with a pained groan, "The Chimeras... were created. In Sector 7. Made to be... the first attempts at... super-soldiers."

Aiko hung on those words, "Super... soldiers. Me? No, that... that doesn't make sense! That-"

"The 12th system... is a program," Savoy coughed again, pressing his palm against his abdomen. Blood was beginning to seep through the slipshod wrappings, "Inside you. Inside the Chimeras. Meant to control them. Enhance them. Wipe them, after every assignment. That's why... why you don't remember any of them. I short circuited it... so it can't control you."

Aiko shook her head, clenching her fists when they began to shake, "That can't be true."

"It is true. And Bishop was there. He led... Project CHIMERA. When Sector 7 was shut down... he entered in the CIA," he clenched his teeth, "Should have known. He was hiding... waiting... to take over. And now he'll use my men... to continue his own plans..."

The Cemetery Wind commander was growing weak. Aiko knew she was running out of time. None of this was information she was probably supposed to be hearing. But maybe if she could pull Bishop's plans out of Savoy, and if she could find the right people, she could help put a stop to him. For him to have been in Sector 7 meant he was up to no good, especially if Aiko's own dangerous existence was the result of it. A Chimera. Super soldier. How many were there? How did she even escape their control? How was she even... created?

"What is he going to do?"

"Don't know," Savoy shook his head, his movements becoming progressively loose, "But he's insane. Always believed in some... new world order."

"New world order. As in, what?"

"I want Cybertronians dead," Savoy said, "He doesn't. Always wanted to... learn from them. Use them to... further mankind. That's why you exist. The Chimeras. That's why... he has a serum."

Savoy's eye widened suddenly, as if something had just come to mind. He lurched forward with surprising speed and managed to grab Aiko's arm. She grunted and had half the mind to rip away, but he placed something in her palm. A flash drive and a keycard. Aiko eyed them, "What's this?"

"This is how you stop him," he said, "If M.E.C.H. takes control of KSI, they'll destroy the whole goddamn world."

"KSI?"

"No time. Go!" Savoy shoved her, "Get to... control room. Download the files and get out."

Aiko felt Frenzy pull at her pant leg. He clicked anxiously, "G-g-gotta go."

"Wait," she turned back to Savoy, "Say I somehow manage to get past a bunch of your soldiers and download the files. What then? What do I do with them?"

Savoy held her gaze with a burning, determined look, "Find N.E.S.T. Take it to them. They're the only ones... who can stop him."

Aiko shook her head, struggling to wrap her frazzled mind around all of this, "Your men are everywhere out there. I could die doing this."

Savoy snorted, "Chimeras don't die."

Someone groaned behind her. Aiko's mind and body moved on their own accord and her leg swung in a wide arc, her heel meeting the soldier's head and knocking him out once again. She gasped and blinked for a moment and then turned back to Savoy, "...Was that the 12th system?"

Savoy nodded.

Aiko gripped the keycard in her hand and slipped the flash drive in her pocket. If this was what she was unknowingly capable of then maybe, just maybe, she had a chance. Maybe, she could get Mirage out. And maybe, she could get those files along the way. She only had to face whatever amounts of guns and enhanced soldiers were waiting for her on the other side of that door.

Can't be that hard... right?

"Frenzy," she murmured, "You know the way to the control room?"

Frenzy chirped affirmatively, "I have an id-d-dea."

She took a deep breath, "Let's go.

Mirage teetered between being on and offline.

Eventually the hot electrical pain began to grow numb. Mirage descended into a bland, empty darkness, oblivious to the world around him. He heard voices, muted by his compromised audio receptors. Vaguely he could feel his body being manipulated, moved, and placed onto some hard slab. Straps and chains held him down. The immobilizer rendered him too weak to fight. Small figures danced across his glitchy optical feed.

It wasn't until a shadow cast over him that Mirage turned his head and reset his senses. He was met with the looming figure of a Cybertonian, black as night and optics venomously green.

The Cybertronian knelt next to him. Mirage twitched here and there, still not in control of his own movements. The immobilizing device continued its current through the spy's internal and external systems.

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" the black mech said. He gestured loosely to the device stuck to Mirage's convulsing torso. "Having your own technology used against you. It was unwise to leave it on me. I expected better, for an Autobot as smart as you."

Mirage tried to speak. His vocal processor sputtered nothing but strained static.

The mech tilted his head, his expression painted with morbid interest. He finally reached over and ripped the immobilizer off. Mirage gasped, arched, and vented deeply as his frame was freed of the pain. He squirmed under the restraints. Guns ticked all around him.

The unknown mech held the small device between his digits and rolled it around, "I've heard a lot about you, Mirage. An Elite, becoming a soldier? And an Outlier, as well? How rare. And here I had assumed your class had perished along with Crystal City."

"Who are you?" Mirage growled. His voice was robotic as he forced it to function.

"My designation doesn't matter," the black mech stood up, "You won't live long enough for it to be important."

"Where's Aiko?"

"The girl?" he scoffed, "I don't know. And I don't care enough to find out. M.E.C.H. may have her under their control by now."

As he spoke, the Cemetery Wind soldiers split apart. A man walked through them, his chin held high and his face hard. He addressed the Cybertronian with a troubled voice, "She refused to speak."

The mech bristled, "Then make her speak! I will collect my bounty, Bishop, and I will kill all who stand in my way. Even you and your pathetic soldiers."

Bishop frowned and he glared dangerously at the Cybertronian. Undoubtedly he was offended by the black mech's words. He retorted with a finger jabbed at Mirage, "I am not Savoy. I am not afraid of you and will not cower from your words, Lockdown. Why don't you make him speak, instead?"

Lockdown. Mirage filed that little piece of information deep into his processors for a later date. Assuming he was going to still be alive at a later date. He watched as Lockdown bore him a seething stare and Mirage was quick to leer back.

"He lies," Lockdown hissed, pacing around the spy, "That is what he was trained to do. It's all Autobot spies are good at. His words may not be credible. Isn't that right, deceiver?"

Mirage spat with sarcasm, "Do you truly think so little of me."

Lockdown ripped a knife from some previously hidden compartment and drove it between the plates of Mirage's abdomen. The spy cried out in surprise and gasped in pain as the bounty hunter twisted and pushed the blade deeper and deeper, until it breached sensitive protoform and sliced through minor lines. Energon gushed immediately. Lockdown uttered a mirthful laugh, as if the prospect of watching someone suffering beneath him was something he reveled in.

Mirage's voice fell silent quickly. He held in his pain, held in any ounce of weakness for this cruel mech to exploit.

"Tell me, spy. Dishonestly will only cause you more pain," Lockdown brought his face close, his lip plates curled into an ugly snarl, "Where is Deadlock?"

Mirage looked up at him and replied in a genuine, soft voice, "I don't know who that is."

It wasn't a lie. Not to him.

Lockdown tore the knife out of him. He stabbed into a different place -dangerously close to Mirage's t-cog. He wanted to scream, but Mirage kept quiet. The blade was serrated. Each sharp nick ripped through his parts, his protoform, garnering more energon to flow. Fluid leaked from his optics. Drift. He wants Drift.

...Why?

Lockdown tilted his head. He seemed interested in the tolerance that Mirage was displaying. The spy took in a deep vent and then let it out. His optics grew dim and half-shuttered. His fame grew lax, as if he wasn't being strapped down and tortured, but was relaxing on a comfortable berth. Lockdown drew close, green optics narrowed, "You aren't afraid."

"Should I be?" Mirage asked.

Lockdown didn't respond to that. He twisted the blade again. Mirage's energon was staining his fist. "Where is Deadlock? I won't ask you again, spy."

"That's not his name," Mirage said automatically. He stared Lockdown in the optics and his voice did not shake, "Not anymore."

Lockdown snorted and spat, "Drift. Deadlock. It doesn't matter. He's still a coward. A fugitive of the Decepticons. He has committed treason, and his commander wants him back."

The bounty hunter the ripped the blade out again. Mirage stifled a yelp. The knife was brought to his throat, it's serrated tip threatening to cut his lines. Lockdown poked them for a moment, then used the flat end of his weapon to tilt the spy's chin up. "You defend him. Tell me, little Elite, what are you to him? Just a comrade? A lover, perhaps?"

Mirage answered calmly, "A friend."

Lockdown hummed. He took and knife and dragged it across Mirage's vulnerable throat with a teasing, minimal pressure. It nicked outer cables, caused them to leak small drips of energon, but still Mirage did not flinch. The black mech drew the weapon away, perplexed, "You still don't fear me."

Mirage did not answer.

"...Then let us find what you do fear," Lockdown said, "and perhaps then, you will give me the truth."

Cemetery Wind soldiers shifted uncomfortably. Bishop watched the scene with expressionless eyes. Mirage's head fell to the side, to save himself the sight of this mech's ugly, vicious face. If he didn't look at him, maybe this would be easier.

But Lockdown's digits brushed over his chest armor. Then, they dug between seams and began to pry. It became clear what his intentions were. Agony threatened to spike his systems, but Mirage remained still. He didn't fight it, didn't cry out as he was overcome with white hot pain and ice cold fear. Lockdown peeled and tore until he was graced with the blue glow of Mirage's pulsating spark. His blunted digits hovered inside the open casing that he had forcibly opened.

"Where-" Lockdown's fist encircled Mirage's spark, "-is Deadlock?"

Mirage's spark cackled at and around the bounty hunter's hand. It must hurt, but Lockdown ignored the pain. He growled, low and predatory, "Just one squeeze, and your life is done. Oblivion. Nothingness. Death. Do you fear yet, little Elite?"

Mirage met his optics. He did not tremble, or beg, or spill the truth. Instead the spy braced his weakened frame, suppressed his fear and awaited his fate. Drift. His name is Drift.

"Lockdown!" someone shouted. Bishop. The man came forward, "Don't. We need this one alive."

Lockdown whirled on the human and snarled like a mechanimal, "Do not tell me what to do, organic filth. Our contract does not make you my superior."

"But breaking it will make you our enemy," Bishop challenged, "I don't imagine you want to end up like your targets."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I'm advising you," Bishop seethed, "to not break our agreement."

Lockdown glared. After a moment he regarded the Autobot at his mercy. Mirage had since closed his optics, regulated his spark's pulse rate to a calm pattern. He was fully prepared to embrace his end. The spy was willing to die before he revealed Drift's location.

For the first time in a long time, Lockdown was impressed.

"Bring the girl," he said, and that sentence alone was what finally broke Mirage.

"Wait-!"

Everyone paused. Then Lockdown hovered and said in a slow, delighted voice, "What was that?"

Every cable in his body grew tight. Mirage whimpered, "Not... not her."

Lockdown's hand released his spark. Wisps of white smoke slithered from the seams of his digits, from the powerful, defensive electricity of Mirage's vulnerable core.

"Of course," Lockdown said, "Of course, I should have known. This is your fear, isn't it? You value others more than you value yourself. You fear not for your own life, but for theirs."

Bishop barked orders. A group of soldiers disappeared, guns in hand. They were going after Aiko. Mirage closed his optics and sighed. Primus protect her. Please. Please...

"Sir," a soldier jogged up to Bishop, "We've detected a breach in the area."

"Who?"

"...Cybertronian. Energon detectors picked up a signature."

Bishop hummed, not seeming too concerned by the news. He turned back to Lockdown, who was gauging the situation as well. Some unspoken command went between them, and the bounty hunter abandoned Mirage and transformed.

Bishop tapped into a communications device in his ear, "Requesting CH03."

Not even five minutes later, a small figure walked in, a few soldiers at their sides. Mirage reset his optics, trying to process what he was seeing. No.

She stood attention before Bishop in thick and yet form fitting tactical gear, laced with leather and bulletproof material. Short, chin-length bright red-pink hair adorned her head. Her eyes and mouth were covered with a tactical mask. Barely reaching Bishop's chest, her stance was rigid and braced, shoulders back and fists clenched beneath a pair of leather gauntlets.

Small as she was, soldiers shuffled nervously around her.

Bishop brought a finger beneath her chin, "Soon, I will have two of you. All that's left is to make her comply."

Lockdown rumbled impatiently.

"There's been a breach in the premises," Bishop said, "Find it."

CH03 strode past him. She took a semi-automatic from a nearby soldier and climbed into the black Lamborghini.

"A child," Mirage whispered as they drove away, "She's a child."

"She is a weapon," Bishop said, "One I'd designed fifteen years ago. The Chimeras will be what will help M.E.C.H. achieve a new world order. But you..."

He approached Mirage's slab, eyeing the energon steadily dripping to the floor, "You have another purpose. As do all other Cybertronians we capture."

"And what purpose is that?"

Bishop smiled, "You will see, soon enough."

No one noticed a particular pair of soldiers glance at each other, their grip on their guns firm from concern. One of them discreetly turned the other way, slipped his hand to his ear, and murmured, "Ay, Jazz, we've got a problemo..."

Drift had two options. In his ten second limit, he only had moment to ponder on them.

One: his assailant was small. If luck was in his favor, he could try to overpower him and hope that Primus protects his helm from being blasted in the process.

Two: try to reconcile. If he said the right words, Drift might be able to get out of this unscathed.

Neither option was necessarily favorable.

His systems struggled to come back online from the violent aftershocks. He'd had a fair amount of experience with shock batons, but Primus almighty were they painful. Only when Drift heard the whine of charge did he come to a decision. He didn't trust his body in this state. Reconcile it was.

"Wait," he huffed. His voice was thick in static and he had to reset it, "Wait. You don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" his attacker hissed, "I come here to find my agent missin' and you prowlin' around the property."

"Mirage is fine. I did not... I haven't -"

"Yeah? Why's the yard messed up? You fought?"

"We sparred," Drift answered, as honestly as he could. He kept his field open, projecting his earnest emotions and kept his frame relatively loose and non-threatening. Being submissive was the best chance he had, as much as he disliked being powerless. "I -he's been... keeping me here. We -"

The Autobot's blaster lifted away, "He what?"

Drift craned his neck. After a moment he realized he was no longer being forced down and slowly, carefully, twisted himself around without seeming threatening. He shifted until he was sat up against the side of the berth. The Autobot's weapon was still aimed at him, but at least now Drift could see who was on the other side of the barrel.

Small mech. Even when sitting Drift could almost reach his shoulders, which could have been amusing if this wasn't a serious situation. A quick scan over and Drift noted the shock baton in his other hand, held defensively in case the Autobot felt he had to use it. Again. Deciding he most definitely did not want to get shocked again, Drift remained put, but his processor worked on quick paths to take, in case things went south. They stared at each other.

"You know me," Drift said quietly.

"Didn't at first," the silver mech said, "Then I saw the swords. Only one mech I know of who carries those around."

A pause. "Do I know you?"

"You should. I'm one of the first mechs ya had to go though. To join the 'Bots."

Drift's optics brightened, "You're Jazz."

"And you're Drift," he said, "And you're gonna get up and tell me what exactly's been goin' on around here. Do that, n' maybe I won't fry your processor again. Yeah?"

Drift nodded. Jazz lowered his blaster.

He heaved himself up, slowly as to not startle or alert the other Autobot. By simple instinct he went for his swords laying peacefully on the berth, but something smelting hot and painful grazed Drift's hand. He hissed and snatched his hand back, startled by the smoldering patch on the berth. He turned to Jazz, whose blaster was smoking.

"Don't touch 'em again," Jazz said. He flicked his weapon in a gesture, "Come out here. With me."

Drift's armor flared, displaying his brief annoyance, but he did as he was told. Jazz kept his weapon trained and his baton charged as Drift edged past him and out of the barn. Once outside, he glanced around, seeing the telltale signs of his spars with Mirage through upturned grass and scrapes. Jazz must have seen him looking.

"Sparrin', huh?"

"Yes."

"Looks a lil' violent for sparrin'."

Drift wasn't sure how a spar couldn't look violent. For a brief moment he felt his core temperature spike in annoyance. Here it was -the prejudice. The accusation. Drift could guarantee he wouldn't have a gun trained at him at the moment had he been anyone else.

"Please, listen to me," Drift turned to face Jazz, "I am not your enemy. And I most certainly have not harmed Mirage. The only reason he is not here is because -"

"How do I know you're not tryna trick me? Huh?" the silver Autobot challenged, with narrowed optics, "How do I know you're not lyin'?"

"I -"

"Lemme clarify somethin' for ya," Jazz edged forward. Drift backed away. "We've been betrayed before. By another 'Bot. In fact, that's the reason we're in this whole mess with the government anyways. I'm afraid I can't take anythin' you say 'til I have a more reliable source."

Drift put two and two together quickly. He remembered what Mirage had told him about Sentinel Prime -that one of the most trusted Autobots they knew had turned against them for the Decepticons, had crippled the N.E.S.T. organization and had completely destroyed what positive support Autobots had from public opinion. Because of him, Autobots were fugitives.

And now, because of Sentinel, Drift realized with a sinking spark that he was now among the first Autobots to be suspected of doing the same.

"What are you going to do, then?" Drift asked. He kept his tone curious instead of challenging.

"Protocol says I should incarcerate ya," Jazz said, "But you ain't gonna make that easy for me, are ya?"

Drift wasn't sure what he meant by that. He was not going to fight Jazz, and it was a tad irritating that Jazz was presuming he would. Though, he should have known that this kind of situation came with his reputation.

"You said Mirage has been keepin' ya here," Jazz said carefully.

Drift nodded.

"Where is he now?"

The samurai decided to answer honestly, allowing his growing worry to lace his voice, "I don't know. He was supposed to be back by now, but..."

"But what?" Jazz griped.

Drift didn't have an answer. He stared at the smaller Autobot rather helplessly, making it evident that the samurai was simply caught in a very confusing predicament about as much as Jazz was. Before either of them could say anything, however, a bedroom window burst open from the house, revealing Wheelie leaning out to see the commotion.

"What the frag?" the minibot looked between them, and then at Jazz's blaster leveled firmly at Drift, "Okay, what the frag is going on?"

Jazz looked astonished, "Wheelie?"

"Jazz?" Wheelie stared with wide red optics. He glanced at Jazz's weapon again and then at Drift, "Uh... am I interrupting something here? And where the frag is Mirage?"

"That's what I'm tryin' to figure out. Mirage has failed to keep contact. I came to investigate," the silver Autobot's optics narrowed suspiciously, "An' I come here to find him."

"I told you," Drift drew out through clenched dentals, "I did nothing to Mirage. He left some time ago, and has yet to come back."

Keeping Aiko out of the picture seemed to be the best choice at the moment. Drift refused to risk anything happening to her if Jazz knew. But then Drift thought about how she was with Mirage and how they had not returned and felt his tank churn. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

"He's telling the truth!" Wheelie chirped. The minibot waved at Drift, urging him to come closer. Understanding the gesture, Drift sidled closer to the house and held out his arm, so that Wheelie could scale the limb and settle onto Drift's shoulder in a show of trust. "'Raj brought him here. He ain't a threat."

For a moment Jazz didn't let up. But Wheelie must have been enough of a credible source, because the smaller Autobot lowered his weapon and even decided to put his shock baton away. He peered between Drift and the minibot on his shoulder, looking wary but easing up his defensive stance. Drift allowed himself to relax as a result.

"Jazz, listen..." Drift said, "It is evident that we are both concerned for Mirage's disappearance. I fear that something could be wrong -"

"Wait," Jazz raised a hand. He turned away and touched an audio receptor.

Wheelie, evidently, took that time to ping Drift internally. Drift answered it.

/You defended me./

/Yeah. Guess I did./

Drift glanced at him.

/Why?/

Wheelie looked away. /Let's just say I've been where you are./

He closed the link and left it at that. Drift let his surprise flicker across his features, but decided in the end to let it go. For now.

Jazz turned back to them, but this time he looked more than a little worried.

"You were right," he said, "'Raj is in trouble."

Drift tensed. Mirage being in trouble meant that Aiko was too. "What do you mean?"

"I've got allies behind enemy lines who just got through to me," Jazz said, lowering his hand, "Mirage got nabbed. I've gotta rough location of where he might be."

Drift took a determined step forward with his fists clenched and his jaw set, "We have to help him, then."

Jazz threw him a look, seeming a little confused that Drift was so eager and quick to rescue the spy. Distrust flickered in the silver Autobot's optics as well, making it nonverbally known that he wasn't too willing to join Drift side-by-side into battle so quickly either. In a sense Drift expected this and even understood it -he was new, and it wasn't wise to throw trust around so easily no matter how dire the situation was. But his worry for Aiko -and even for Mirage's- safety overrode those feelings and he dared another desperate step forward.

"Let me help you. Please," he said. When Jazz didn't respond right away, he added, "...I owe Mirage. He... has done a lot for me. The least I can do is to help to save his life."

What Drift didn't realize was how truthful he felt saying those words. Yes, he was adamant about saving Aiko, but he found himself legitimately fearing for the spy as well. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Drift did grow to care about Mirage, despite how arrogant, secretive, and deceiving he could be. He was still a mech with a good spark. He was a mech who understood Drift better than anyone else ever could.

"He's... my friend," Drift murmured out loud without even realizing it. He stared blankly ahead as he said it, as those words fully ingrained themselves into Drift's processors.

He didn't even realize Jazz had left until he came back and tossed Drift's swords on the ground between them. Startled back into the present, he looked down at them, then to Wheelie, and then to Jazz. The silver Autobot had a fascinated and newly confident glint to his glowing optics.

"Help me bust that stupid fragger out, then."