((rewrite of KOTSS that was originally written back in 2012))

"So, how far along are you now?"

I glanced up to see Beth eyeing my swollen stomach. "Seven and a half months." I grinned at her.

"This is so exciting! I'm gonna be an auntie! Have you picked out names?" Beth was the type of person incapable of speaking in anything less than a squeal - in high school, she had been bullied pretty badly for it, but I always thought it made her more personable. Her excitement was always genuine, and I never had to second-guess what she was thinking. Beth was easy, cheerful, and my best friend.

I shook my head no and heaved myself off the couch. "I know people always say this, but I seriously do miss seeing my toes."

Beth laughed one of her clear, tinkling laughs. "Don't worry, you're not missing much." she informed me as I walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "I've got athlete's foot right now - I wish I couldn't see my toes!"

The kitchen was bathed in a soft golden light - for the first time in two weeks, the autumn sun wasn't so harshly bright that it was blinding. The window above the sink had become my go-to spot for gazing and thinking when I was on my own during the day; I had a fantastic view of the front garden, the lawn painted in shades of gold and bronze as the leaves fell from the few trees planted along the sidewalk.

"We should go outside." Beth's suggestion was casual - too casual. She knew me too well, I'm sure she had seen the look in my eyes.

Despite the fact that I was dying to go out, I hesitated. "I don't know.."

"Oh, come on, Molly! It'll be good for the baby!" she squealed, bobbing on her toes in a manner distinctly reminiscent of a perpetually excited Pomeranian. There was really no refusing her when she got like that, and I didn't really want to anyway, so I smiled and nodded and got my scarf. As I was practically physically dragged from the apartment, I found myself absently grateful that it was on the bottom floor of the building. I couldn't imagine hauling my giant pregnant ass up several flights of stairs in the case of the unreliable elevator breaking down.

As soon as I got one lungful of the fresh autumn day, my mood buoyed. I had forgotten, honestly, how good fresh air could actually make me feel. It was sharp and cold, the kind of day that you could feel the cold in the air as you dragged it into your lungs, but the sun warmed the cruelty of the wind. Beth took a seat on the grass of the lawn and patted the ground beside her. She laughed loudly and joyously at my clumsy attempt to seat myself down, and poked mischievously at my bottom (which, admittedly, had gotten quite significantly rounder since I had gotten pregnant).

After I had slapped her hand away (ignoring her indignant squawk, because she had deserved it), we sat in contented silence for several long, glorious minutes. The grass was slightly damp beneath us, but the sun was warm and the air was chill and we couldn't have cared less anyway. Out of pure ingrained habit, I pulled my phone out to check for any messages, and paused when I saw I had a notification. "Paul's coming home early."

"That's good." Beth said absently, casting her fingers through the delicate blades of grass. When I didn't reply, she looked up. "Isn't it?"

I was silent for a moment, chewing the inside of my cheek. "We're.. having small problems." I admitted.

All traces of good humour had vanished quite abruptly from Beth's face. "What kind of problems?" she asked suspiciously.

My fingers twitched over my protruding stomach, and I tried to pull down my top where it had begun to ride up over the bump. "Mmm..."

"Is he drinking?" her gaze had turned sharp and serious, her eyes as grey as bedrock. Beth was rarely serious like this, and the uncharacteristic change in demeanour made me take her more seriously than I would have otherwise.

I sighed and nodded slowly. "Yes. But not much! I mean, it's a problem, but it's not so bad that I can't handle."

"No, Molly! Come on, sweetie. You're pregnant." Beth waved a hand weakly at my abdomen, as if I had somehow forgotten about the baby I had been carrying around inside of me for nine months. "You want to start a family. Neither you or the baby deserve to have Paul coming home drunk every night."

"It's not every night!" I said quickly.

Beth shot me a pained look. "Please stop making excuses for him. Does he hit you?"

"Stop." I pleaded. I knew she hadn't missed my flinch.

"Tell me the truth; if it weren't for the baby, would you stay with him?"

My jaw clenched, and I had to look away. I could feel the telltale sting of tears pricking my eyes, and I angrily wiped at my eyes. "Damn hormones."

Beth sighed and leaned forward, capturing me in a tight hug. "It's gonna be okay, Molls. Everything's gonna be good."

Beth had always been a bad liar, ever since we were kids. I didn't have the heart or the stomach to call her out on it. "Yeah."

"Come on." she bounced to her feet like a rocket. "Let's go for a walk!"

Walking when I felt like an elephant with enormously swollen ankles was not my idea of fun , but Beth was already hauling me up. For a small girl, she had the strength of Hulk Hogan.

"To the park!" she cheered, and I smiled. She was going to make a great auntie.

Getting to the park felt like one the Twelve Labours of Hercules. I am not an athletic person, that is a key part of my personality - I love sleeping, I love food, I love drawing, I love kittens. Exercise? No. In contrast, Beth is quite frighteningly athletic. She jogs. For fun. Sickening.

We were just walking past the local playground, which was packed with kids laughing and enjoying the beautiful day, when Beth grabbed my arm and gaped at the road. I turned to see what she was staring at and caught sight of a very nice yellow car. A very expensive looking one, too. "Holy shit." Beth whispered, gaping at the car in astonishment.

My lips quirked up in a smile. In addition to being a sports freak, Beth was a massive car nerd. Basically every man's dream woman (please note my heavy sarcasm here). "Good car?"

Beth levelled me with a withering look. "That's a Lamborghini. It's more than 'a good car'."

I grinned. "Excuse the fuck outta me. I can't even drive, what would I know?" We both laughed, and then I turned to look at the kids playing. I could feel a wistful smile tug at my lips as I watched little girls dance and play around. Privately, I hoped for a little girl more than anything. But even saying that, I really don't mind. I know that's something all expecting parents say - "Oh, I don't mind so long as they're healthy!" - but it's true. I couldn't care if my kid came out with four extra limbs - a baby would be camaraderie, it would be a new little personality to help stave off the crushing loneliness that threatened to overwhelm on the bad days. I glanced at Beth and saw that we had matching wistful expressions on our faces, except she was staring at the Lamborghini. I snickered and shook my head.

A curious sound hissed through air, shattering the peaceful atmosphere. It sounded like hydraulics whirring, but wrong - it was too loud, too computerised. "What-?" I began, but was cut off by a single, shrill scream. A child's scream.

It was as if the scream was some kind of catalyst - a volley of screams rose into the air, and people began to run. I yelped and struggled to protect my vulnerable stomach as stray elbows carelessly smacked into me in the frenzy to escape the park. I heard a panicked scream of my name - Beth - right as someone crashed into me hard, and knocked me to the ground. Panic swelled sour and sharp, and I desparately tried to curl over my belly to protect my baby from the frenzied stampede. I could have sobbed in relief when the frantic pounding of footfall around me lessened, but then I realised that the sound of hissing hydraulics was closer. And it was accompanied by a shaking of the ground and a thrum of energy, so strong I felt my hair stand on end and my throat close over.

There was a monster standing above the park, and it was laughing. I saw blood red eyes, I saw oil splashing from its joints like black blood, and I saw a titanic, metal foot swinging down above me.

I had no chance of getting up fast enough, not encumbered with the extra weight from the baby.

There was the foot, and blinding pain, and then nothing.

And then I opened my eyes.

That in itself was such a shock that I couldn't move for several long, stretching moments. When I managed to pull myself together, I dragged myself up into a sitting position and looked around. It was in.. a field? "Wha-?"

"Greetings, child."

The noise that scraped free of my throat was similar to the sound a panicked goat might make if you pushed it out a window, and I was on my feet so fast that I fell straight back down again. Beside where I had woken up, there was a metal person sitting in the grass. He was human sized, unlike the one from the park. That thought hit me unceremoniously with the memories I had briefly pushed out of my mind. "Oh my god. I'm dead. Oh my god. Shit!" I panicked through a mouthful of grass.

The metal person frowned, and shook his head. The movement was accompanied by a light tinkling sound as some of the protruding metal from his head clinked together. There was a leonine grace about him, despite the metal countenance, that was both startling and reassuring. When he spoke, his voice was a deep, rumbling hum. "Please, calm down. You are temporarily offline. That will change if you-"

My brain blanked out. I imagine my thought process was something along the lines of: death + mysterious field = heaven + robot = ?.

"I'm in heaven with a Terminator." I bleated, scrambling back.

Under vastly different circumstances, the look on his face might have been funny. As it was, I was terrified. "Termin-? Never mind." He took a moment, and appeared to make a concentrated effort to put his question out of his mind. "I am a Prime, child. My brothers and sisters are close and watching, but cannot be here to greet you."

"There's going to be no.. terminating..?"

The Prime shook his head placatingly, but his expression was pure bemusement. "No. I understand it must be difficult for you to take in, what with what happened to you. But please allow me to explain." He paused for a long moment, until I realised he was waiting on a reaction. I jerked my head in a nod, and he continued. "It was not your time to join the Matrix. You were carrying a sparkling-" he hesitated at my confused look, and then said, "A baby."

Before my brain had fully caught up with his use of past tense, my hands had flown to my stomach. My very, very flat stomach. "I- my-? I don't - where's my baby?"

The Prime's eyes were made of metal and glass, but the sadness reflected in them was as clear as they would have been on a human face. "It was not your time. Nor was it your daughter's."

"It was a girl?" I whispered; at least, I tried to whisper. It came out strangled and hoarse, as I couldn't get a full breath of air into my lungs. It felt like I was dying all over again. ".. Is she here?"

"No. Her spark was not developed enough to make the journey to this place. But she is one with the Matrix. Do not fear for her." he said, his voice rumbling so deeply the vibrations could be felt in the ground.

"What is this place?" I whispered.

"The place of the Primes. Few ever make it here." he replied calmly. "Only those who receive second chances."

My head throbbed and my chest ached. I couldn't keep track of the conversation, it felt as though my mind was miles and miles away - back in an autumn morning, with crisp air and sunshine and my best friend and my baby girl safe inside me. Second chances. "Second chances," I mumbled, barely aware of what I was saying. "I don't understand-? You want to bring me back? Like Jesus?"

The robot's face contorted. It took a few confused seconds to recognise it as a smile. "Not quite. We cannot return you to your old body, as it was crushed."

I winced. "Ah."

"But we will set you up in a Cybertronian body." he continued as though I hadn't said anything, which I was more than used to.

"Cybertronian?"

"Yes. It is my race, from the planet Cybertron." the Prime explained patiently.

I blinked slowly/ "I've never heard of planet Cybertron."

"No, I would not expect you to have. Our planet is well out reach of any human technology. The being that destroyed your old body was a Cybertronian."

"Not a friendly race, then." my hand returned to my stomach, and I winced when I was met with empty space where my baby should have been.

"Not all Cybertronians wish to harm the human race. There was a war once, that ravished our planet. The Cybertronian race was split into two factions; Autobot, and Decepticon." the Prime said gravely.

"I'm guessing Decepticons are the bad guys." I said dryly.

"I am afraid so. They.. are not particularly fond of humans. Or Autobots." he sighed. "Well, enough on that. I will give you a data packet with the essentials you must know. The rest, you will be taught."

"Wait, what?" I blinked.

"You shall be in a Cybertronian body. The information you will need will be downloaded."

"So.. You're sending me to other Cybertronians." I said uncertainly.

"Yes."

"The, ah.. Good guys?"

A nod.

"I don't understand. There are hundreds of people dying everyday. There must have been other people who died at the park - there were children-" I choked on my own words then, horror stricken. It took a moment to regain my voice, but then I whispered "Why me?"

There was a long silence between us. In this place, wherever it was, there was no wind and no sound of insects or animals. The quiet was eerie, and I found myself wanting him to say something, anything, just to break the silence. At last, he did. "It has been… a long time, since I've seen my descendants happy. They are tearing each other apart - they have been for centuries - and they have lost sight of what it means to be fundamentally alive. They have destroyed their own planet, families, cultures, and for what? An endless war, where neither side can even remember what they're truly fighting for." he turned his ancient gaze on me, "That's where you come in. Sparklings are sacred in our culture, and you will be the perfect mix of worlds. Physically Cybertronian, mentally human. You will pull them out of this cycle."

My tiny brain had focused on part of his entire speech. "Hang on, I thought sparkling meant baby."

I could have sworn the metal bastard looked sheepish. "It makes more sense to turn you into a sparkling rather than a fully grown adult Cybertronian. For one: there would not be enough trust if you arrived as an adult. If you are raised by them, you will trust them and they will trust you."

"The fuck-?"

"And also," the Prime hurriedly cut me off, "It's the opportunity to live like your sparkling may have, had she lived. Only in Cybertronian form." the Primes voice was so gentle, it was hard to believe he was made of metal.

My mouth shut so fast my teeth clicked harshly. That was a low blow. I clenched my jaw and tried to think of something else (anything else). "Why aren't you big, like the other robot."

The Prime frowned. "A robot refers to a non-sentient being; a mere drone. I am a mech. And I was as big as the other mech. But if I appeared in front of you in that size, I may have startled you slightly, hmmm?" he said wryly.

The tears pricking at the corners of my eyes were nearly impossible to ignore now, and I had to look away from his benevolent face before I completely lost my tenuous grip on myself. We sat in silence for several long moments, and it wasn't uncomfortable this time. The lack of interference had become comforting rather than disturbing.

"You were never happy anyway." he said suddenly.

"Excuse me?

"In your old life, you were never truly happy. Your partner was constantly inebriated, and

unfaithful. You knew this. You never knew true love with him. Your creators were one with the Matrix. The only reason you did not leave was because of your sparkling, and your best friend."

"Beth!" I gasped - I was horrified I had forgotten. "Is she alright?"

The Prime nodded. "She is unharmed. She will mourn you. She will blame herself for not pulling you away from the crowd before they trampled you. She will move on. She will meet a man. She will have four kids. She will name her first daughter Molly."

The weight of my emotion was physical, weighing on my chest and affecting my breathing. "Oh. She always promised she'd name her kid after me, but I just.. I didn't expect her to."

There was another silence, but this one was shorter than the ones previously. Before long, the Prime was glancing sideways at me and smiling. "You will know love in this new life. That I promise you. And now, it is time."

Panic seized my heart, and I shook my head. "I'm not ready to-"

The Prime laughed, heartily and joyously, and laid a warm metal hand on my head. "You will do fine, my friend. Now go."

He touched my forehead with his finger, and I felt myself fading and falling, until everything was black once more.