"Mirage you ok?" Bumblebee gasped, examining the bones on the floor of ice. Gazing back at the red youngling, Bumblebee sighed when Mirage gave no reply.

"Looks like a mother and her pups didn't do to well in a storm." Arcee replied sniffing the area.

meanwhile the twins gave their own examination of the remains. "By the looks of it, seems more like a murder." Sunstreaker pointed to the cracked bones on the cervical vertebrae.

"Who the hell would murder a mother and pups!?" Jazz growled outraged by such a cowardly act.

Ironhide stepped over the bones staring at Optimus. "Decepticons no doubt." Ironhide answered.

Bumblebee's attention turned to Mirage, catching site of tears escaping his adopted brothers eyes. Mirage whimpered laying himself down next to his fallen mothers bones. The twins, and Jazz looked confused at the actions done by the usually silent, emotionless, youngling.

"What's the matter Mirage?" Arcee lowered herself beside the red and black youngling.

Optimus went to approach his adopted youngling, but was stopped by an old medic.

Ratchet gestured to the crying youngling. "I will speak with him. Take the pack over the bank, see if you can find some small game."

"Ratchet maybe you should let Optimus take this one." Ironhide suggested instead.

Ratchet growled bearing his fangs at the annoying black and grey scar covered warrior.

"Ok, ok we will go." Ironhide quickly scooted off towards the twins.

The alpha pressed his ears flat, taking a deep breath. "Call me if you need me." Optimus sighed, leading the pack away.

Arcee gave a lick to Mirage's forehead, before following the pack up the snow bank. "What's wrong with Mirage Arcee?" Bumblebee trotted beside the female.

"I don't know sweetheart, maybe he knew the wolves. But I just wonder what pack would be way out here?" Arcee sighed with confusion.

Laying beside the saddened red wolf, Ratchet licked the tears off the younglings face. Then began cleaning his wound on his right leg.

Mirage sobbed, looking up at Ratchet with watery eyes, slightly annoyed but was more occupied with his family bones. "What did Jetfire mean Ratchet?"

"When he called you an assassin? Well that would be the same reason why your mother tried to take you away to a new home." Ratchet replied, allowing Mirage to rest his head on his ancient paws.

"I don't understand?" Mirage choked back tears, confused on how Ratchet knew so much.

"You were a project pup, from one of Shockwave's psycho experiments to create assassins for Megatron's pack. And he had succeeded with the project, you don't remember much because you were so young. But you excelled in the training that was why Megatron tracked you down when your mom took you away." Ratchet explained.

"I what?" Mirage lifted his head. "What training, I don't remember?"

Ratchet met eye to eye with the youngling. "And you wont." Ratchet said. "But you are the only survivor of the project. So if the cons can convice you to return they will do that at any time. Optimus made the right choice bringing you back to our pack. If you hadn't come you would have froze to death, died of starvation, or intense training." Ratchet sighed. "In other words your mother and sibblings met an unfortunate death. They did how ever escape the agony and torture they were put through, they are now free. You continue your mothers life, you will become a strong alpha one day. Im sure your mother would be proud to see you a leader of a pack." Ratchet tried to throw some encouragement in his words.

"Pa why does Mirage have scars on his eye and body like Ironhide, and the boys and Arcee don't?" Bumblebee asked following his fathers tracks in the snow. "Did he go through a war like Hide, or is he just really clumsy?"

"He was kind of in a war I suppose." Optimus replied sniffing the ground for a scent of food. "He went through a battle at a very young age."

"Is it something to do when you found him?" Bumblebee sat waiting for any sign of action. "This is the place where you found Mirage! That was his families bones!" Bumblebee realized.

"Yes Bumblebee. Megatron and Shockwave had murdered his family right infront of him. And then attacked him, scaring his body." Optimus sighed sitting as well.

"Huh no way!" Sideswipe gasped from behind a bush.

Optimus raised an eyebrow to the bush behind him. "Come out boys." Optimus rolled his eyes.

"How come you never told us that story about Mirage?" Arcee growled in annoyance.

"Because we wanted to repress that memory from Mirage." Optimus looked over his shoulder and replied.

"You didn't think he was going to remember?" Sunstreaker tilted his head.

"Yeah or wonder why he has scars all over him?" Sideswipe added.

Mirage's ears drooped his breath seen in the air. Standing he sighed nodding in agreement, he headed to the bank the pack traveled up. Ratchet followed with no more words he let his addvice swim through the younglings head.

"How did Mirage get those scars anyway?" Jazz repeated Bumblebee's question.

"I attacked Megatron, and he attacked back. He bit my left eye then grabbed my shoulder and tossed me aside like a piece of scrap meat." Mirage's emotionless accent replied.

"Lucky he didn't take your damn eye out." Ironhide came out of the snow banks.

"Ha was he trying to make you look like that one eyed cyclops Shockwave!" the twins snorted.

"He got the same side if he was really trying." Jazz joked.

Mirage pinned his ears looking away from the laughing young adults.

Ratchet was quick to give the twins a warning snarl at their unknowingly hurtful comment. Both twins got the hint tucking their tails hiding behind Jazz.

Mirage looked to the sky, hoping for an answer from Primus, but all he got for an answer was an over cast of dark blackened storm clouds.

Optimus sighed deeply as wind blew the snow harshly against his blue and red fur. "We should move out those things probably have our scent." He began to push the pack further across the icy desert.

Mirage walked solemnly as the wind began to howl keeping his distance from the pack, hoping they wouldn't see his depressed mood. Though Bumblebee was closest to him, thinking he would comfort him Mirage suppossed. He thought about his family's remains, his eyes were bearly open and yet everything he ever knew was ripped right away from him. His black ears pricked at the sound of a distant howl, gazing off in the distance, the snow danced creating a dire wolf like figure. The flustering snow flakes gave a brief break revealing an actual wolf.

A large white wolf with a blue aura and piercing blue eyes, the wolf resembled what Mirage remembered to be Primus, from his puppy hood days stories.

Mirage's curiousity got the better of him, walking over to the stranger, stopping a foot away from the spiritual dire wolf.

Bumblebee noticed his adopted brother walking towards the strange glowing wolf, slowly and wearily deciding to investigate, trailing only a few feet behind the red wolf.

A strong gust of wind hit Mirage's chest, feeling like a billion little ice crystals penitrating his heart, Mirage winced closing his eyes briefly. Upon opening his eyes once more the stranger now had a beautiful female beside him he recognized her almost immediately.

"Mother?" Mirage questioned unsure of what was happening, his expression happy but confused.

A warm smile grew upon the female's face as she stepped into Mirage lovingly embracing her son with her neck. "Yes my child, your sibblings and I have been watching over you." A godly echo lingered in the females voice.

Mirage eagerly leaned into the embrace rubbing his head on his mothers scared chest. "Mother how... I..." pulling himself out of the loving hold he looked into her soft violet eyes.

Licking her sons forehead embracing him once more she hushed him. "Hush child, listen. Primus has given you a gift."

Nuzzling his mother wartorn chest he gazed towards the glowing wolf a few feet away. "A gift?" Mirage watched as Bumblebee spoke with the godoy wolf.

"Yes my son. All leaders get a visit from Primus, however born leaders recieve gifts, only special pups are born to be a leader." His mother spoke ergently as his sibblings gathered around his mother.

Peeking through his mothers fur to see his brutally scared sibblings standing beside them. "Wha.. I... Uh?" Mirage was even more confused now.

"This gift will be unlocked by a significant event. We do not have anymore time to speak, but please my son, carry on our family, create a legacy." The female and sibblings dissapeared into whirling snowflakes.

"Mother!?" Mirage cried out as a strong wind pointed him towards Primus, who was visiting with Bumblebee.

"Hello my child." Primus spoke to the nervous looking youngling.

Bumblebee pressed his ears against his head nervously. "But I'm... Optimus is my father?" he stared at the godly wolf who chuckled in response.

"Optimus Prime, a grand sire yes. But my children are rarely passed through a Prime. You bear the same eyes as I. Youngling you are coming into an age that will once more bring more then one prime into a single era. You will be beconed as the next Prime, but you will not be alone child." Primus began approaching Mirage, standing between the two younglings.

Bumblebee was confused with the riddles he was given. "I what?!" Bumblebee gave a small yelp as a sharp pain hit his chest like ice, as he watched the godly wolf's every move.

"You have the gifts, unlock them." Howling once more the white wolf figure disintigrated shooting into the sky sending the blackened clouds off clearing a path for the sunlight to get through.

"There they are!" a familiar voice called from behind the confused younglings.

"Come on you two quit lagging behind." Ironhide growled as he was supposed to guard the rear of the pack.

Exchanging confused looks both dire wolf younglings ran off to catch up to the others. Traveling through the now clear white waste lands, nothing but snow for miles was to be seen. The sun reflected harshly off the snow. Mirage's nose twitched as a familiar scent hit his nostrils. A very old scent he could not pin point the owner, but recognized it well.

Sticking his nose in the air he stopped taking a look around. Catching the attention of the others.

Optimus copied Mirage's movements, testing the air for scents, he caught a scent but did not recogize it personally. He could only identify it as a Dire wolf scent, who's he hadn't a single clue. Turning swiftly to adress his pack he pricked his ears carrying his tail high and defensively. "We may have company soon, we seem to be trespassing on somebody's territory." he warned his pack.

"Who in the forest would create a territory in the middle of no wolf land?!" Ironhide scoffed, clearly voicing his opinion that the land was unfit for a wolf.

"I don't want to find out." Optimus gave a low growl urging his pack forward.

Following his pack Mirage swore he could hear footfalls of another being, through the sound of their own paws crunching onto the snow. Checking over his shoulder for safety Mirage looked back at a few idstant banks the recently climbed. Looking closer he saw a large black wolf stood watching him fom the top of a snow bank.