Sorry for dropping off of the face of the Earth again. I can be such a horrible author sometimes. And I'm not going to make any excuses.

So, in September, I went into the city and had my wisdom teeth taken out, and then at the beginning of this month, I was rushed into the city to get my appendix taken out. That was the first time I had stayed in a hospital for more than half a day. In November, I participated in NaNoWriMo…and didn't finish my novel. I was going to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo April, but the appendix surgery happened, and I lost all energy to do the novel I had planned :( And that's what has happened to me since the last update.

Andromeda's life is adventurous, it seems *sighs*

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it ties you guys over until I have the next chapter done, lol. Sorry if it seems a little slow.

18 – Bad News – 18

The last thing I was expecting to leave Mrs. Darby's mouth was my human name. I stared down at her in utter shock, unable to will myself to utter a single word. It seemed like an entire day had passed before I managed to get one word out. "…How?"

She crossed her arms with a smirk. "I'm a mother—and I overheard a couple of conversations Jack had with his friends on his cell phone when he thought I wasn't listening," she said.

I collapsed down into my ground alt and activated my holoform up on the catwalk. A whimper escaped me before I nearly ploughed into her awaiting arms. "Oh, Mrs. Darby!" I wept, a variety of emotions swirling inside of me. I was happy; thrilled she knew who I was, while I was just devastated that our reunion had to happen like this. I fought to regain control over myself, and eventually I did. "M-Mrs. Darby…how are you so sure that it's me? I…I have little to no friends here. They probably all suspect I'm going to stab them in the back." I kept my face planted in her shoulder for a couple more seconds before I pulled away.

She smiled down at me (which felt strange because I had been looking down on my former kind for so long). "Oh, I had my doubts, but when I finally got to see you in person, some of my worries were cleared," she replied. "But…" she added abruptly. I looked at her wide-eyed. "You have to keep proving to me that you are the Mikaela I used to know. Don't break my heart again."

I hugged her again. "I won't let you down, Mrs. Darby," I assured her.

Deactivating my holoform, I transformed back up into my robot form. A small smile graced my black-painted lips. "Optimus trusts me. The others just need to learn to trust me as well."

The next morning found me in the main room of the new base. I stood off to the side, feeling incredibly out of my element. Oh, Primus, the correct term was quite possibly 'shy'. I was shy. I felt like I was not worthy to be even in this base. A part of me whispered that I should have just let myself die on Cybertron. But then the rest of me shoved that irritating little voice into a far back corner of my processor, firmly reminding myself that this was totally worth it.

The others will eventually come to trust me. I just have to prove myself, I thought. It will be highly unlikely that they will allow me to serve as a medic. They'll probably send me on field missions.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Jack and Miko came out from a human-sized room and stepped onto the catwalk lining the wall. Slowly, cautiously, while keeping an optic on Bulkhead and Arcee, I walked over to the two and smiled at them. "Hello, Jack, Miko," I greeted. "What were you doing in there?" I carefully gestured to the doorway they just came through.

The both of them looked up at me, but Miko still looked guarded, so Jack answered my question. "That's Agent Fowler's office. He called us in there to arrange how we are going to be schooled from here on out—since it's a little too dangerous to leave and go back to a public school at the moment," he said.

I perked up at this. "Will you two be enrolled in an online school?" I crouched down a little so only my wide optics were visible above the catwalk. I didn't put my visor down very much anymore, I found that people could learn to trust you better if they could see your optics. Optics were almost a literal window to the spark, since the colour of one's optics, if they were not changed after birth/emergence from the Well, were often the same colour as one's spark.

"Bor-ring!" Miko exclaimed, throwing her arms up dramatically. "It'll be just as boring as going to public school! We'll have to sit in front of a computer all day."

"Actually, that's not true, Miko," I said, lowering my voice so that our conversation could only be heard by us and to eliminate any chances of having an eavesdropper or two. "When I was human, back before I moved to Jasper, I did online schooling."

"What was that like?" Jack whispered loudly.

"Great," I said with a smile. "Though you had to do a lot for each course, each course had an allotted time of about 80 minutes a day. The school I was attending gave you one 'lesson' and one worksheet to complete each week for each course. I thought it was pretty light. Each worksheet was only a couple pages long."

Miko seemed to ease slightly, but I could still see the dislike for the subject of returning to school floating in her hazel eyes. I straightened back to my full height and grinned. "Don't come whining to me, Miko, when you see how much schoolwork you'll have to do. All schools are different. Just be lucky you didn't have to go to medical school like I did on Cybertron, where you didn't have a choice. To me, it was fascinating, but it was also a lot of work." I couldn't help but cross my arms and look away slightly. It hurt to think about that time now…now that Knock Out was my enemy. Every time I thought about him now, a jolt of the feeling of betrayal rushed through me. Sure he didn't like humans like I did…but he knew I used to be human. I wondered if he even cared about how much it affected me.

The opening of a GroundBridge jostled me gently from my thoughts, and I turned to look off in its direction. Ultra Magnus drove in through the 'bridge and waited for Bumblebee to take something off from behind his cab before he transformed up into his robot form. He walked a few steps into base, and as he did so, I wondered if he'd ever come to trust me. Sure, he brought me to Earth for retribution at the servos of Optimus Prime, but I was welcomed to the team instead. What would I have to do in order to make him trust me? I didn't need him to like me, just trust me. He was basically second in command now, I couldn't have the SiC running around basically hating my guts.

"We didn't find much else in the rubble of the former base," the Wrecker leader reported.

"You call this not 'much else'?" Wheeljack stated as he stepped out of the green and silver vortex. In one of his servos, he held a large lobbing ball.

In a flash, he whirled around and, with a lack of a better word, lobbed the ball at Bulkhead. It came at Bulkhead so fast he was unable to compute that Wheeljack actually threw it at him, so it ended bouncing off of his wide green chest. A gasp escaped me when it changed trajectory and kept going as fast as Wheeljack had thrown it, heading straight for me and Jack and Miko. "Watch—!" was all I managed to get out before the roughly spherical object slammed into me with enough force to slam me into the wall behind me, crushing part of the catwalk and blocking the door to Agent Fowler's office. I was pretty sure there was a me-shaped dent in the wall now.

Slowly, I slid down from the wall and slid down onto my aft. "—out…" I finished with a wheeze. The lobbing ball was roughly the size and mass of my torso, so it look some effort to shove it off my lap, revealing that the hunk of random metals had left behind a decent-sized dent in my chestplates. A groan escaped me before I tilted my helm back and asked, "Jack? Miko? Are you two alright?"

"Wheeljack!" Ratchet bellowed. "You could have caused serious damage!" he stalked forward. He did cause some serious damage.

Miko climbed to her feet, a cross look on her face. She propped her hands on her hips and glared at the candy-cane Wrecker. "Ta me!" she added loudly.

Jack leaned on the railing and looked down at me. "Are you okay, M—Wavelength?" he asked, almost slipping on my name.

I nodded as I rose to my pedes unsteadily. "Yeah…I should be," I told him as I looked myself over. "I just…gotta go and…get rid of some awkward dents. Consider it a 'wardrobe malfunction'," I added, complete with air quotes. But before I could walk away, Agent Fowler opened his office door. I turned and looked at him, and watched as he looked down at the missing section of catwalk that now ran in front of his door.

He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "Uh…a little help here?"

I couldn't help by chuckle a little. "Sure thing, Agent Fowler." I stepped up to the door and cupped my servos together, waiting patiently as he stepped onto my palms, not entirely trusting that I'd not pull something on him. I just smiled calmly as I took a step over to the intact part of the catwalk and set him down next to Jack and Miko.

In the background, I could hear Ultra Magnus chastising Wheeljack roughly, but I paid no mind to it. I was just glad no one was seriously hurt, and that my friend and his friend were okay. It wasn't until Magnus started to raise his voice a little that I turned to look over at the SiC.

"An effective combat unit begins with discipline," Magnus was saying. "If you won't accept that, feel free to choose the path of least resistance—as you did before."

There was a slight pause on Wheeljack's end. From what I could see, the white Wrecker didn't seem bothered by Magnus' words. I don't know how he did it, but my spark was racing in fear, and I was fighting to not cower at the Wrecker leader's loud tone.

"If my ship wasn't a twisted wreck at the present, I'd do that," Wheeljack jabbed, taking a step towards the blue and red Peterbuilt-former. "Sir," he jabbed again before walking away.

We all watched him go before we turned to look back at Magnus. The dents on my chest were forgotten for the moment. "So…" Magnus said after a weary sigh. "Any word from Optimus?"

Ratchet chose to answer. "He's investigating recent Decepticon activity. Hopefully an Energon mine."

Jack and Miko walked down the stairs and onto the main floor. I was mindful to keep an eye on them as Fowler glared up at me and gestured at the missing section of catwalk with one hand. I could tell he was very upset that it had been destroyed, and likely blamed me for its destruction since he still didn't trust me. All this distrust was really starting to grate on my nerves. Putting on a nervous smile, though, I said, "Don't worry, Agent Fowler. I'll fix it."

One of the few things the Autobots allowed me to keep was my field medical kit. So out of the medical kit came the welder I knew came with the kit and I reached forward to grab the crumpled up bit of catwalk, which now hung from the wall haphazardly. Gently, I pulled on it, flattening it out and smoothing out the creases with my thumb-digits as I did so. The metal was very thick and brittle, so it was extremely difficult to bring it back to some semblance of what it used to look like, but somehow I did it. Then, bringing my visor down to protect my optics, I urged Agent Fowler to take a few steps back for his own protection, before I started welding. I made sure it was reconnected quite firmly before I stopped and watched the welds cool.

"There you go, Agent Fowler. It should hold for now, but make sure some experts come and take a look at it," I told the man, smiling brightly.

Agent Fowler looked up at me suspiciously, but eventually returned the smile, though it was a slight one. "Thank you," he said. He walked back into his office, and I could hear him mumble something about getting someone to look at his door, too.

I turned away from the catwalk and subspaced the welder. Carefully, I walked over to where the bots were standing grouped together. I stayed a few steps away, not wanting to stand too close to anyone lest they not appreciate it do to my former 'allegiances'.

"How rad would it be if you all had jetpacks like Optimus?" Miko asked from out of nowhere.

We all looked down at her, before Ratchet piped up, "Quite 'rad', Miko." I could see he was fiddling with something, but from my angle, I couldn't see what. "But the forge has been depleted of its power to do that."

"Now it's only good for pounding out dings," Bulkhead said.

"I could try building one from scratch," I offered. That drew three pairs of optics and a pair of eyes my way. "I can fly because I have a jet alt-mode. I theorise I won't be leaving base for a while, so why don't I try make something that could aid the Autobots? My experience in being able to fly would help me figure out how to make the jetpack help you guys fly."

There was a small silence. Ratchet, Arcee, and Bulkhead glanced at each other, obvious dubiousness in their optics, before Ratchet looked my way again. "We…appreciate the offer, Wavelength. But we don't have the necessary equipment or supplies in order to make one, let alone eight."

I merely shrugged. "I can find a way. I'm going to be stuck on base for a while. I just need to be able to tinker without you guys worrying I'd be building a bomb or something."

As Ratchet opened his mouth to reply, he was cut off by the sound of a roaring engine. Through the open doors screeched a blue Corvette with yellow and white racing stripes and matching yellow accents. It spun out as it stopped, and I could see a familiar number 38 painted on the door facing us.

"Smokescreen?" Arcee questioned before the Corvette transformed up into a familiar mech.

"Aw," the young mech said. "What gave me away?"

I stepped forward. "How about the flashy paint job? Or the familiar '38' painted on your doorwings?" I gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, but I think the Decepticons are going to take one look at your new paint job while you're racing down the freeway and think: Smokescreen." I turned and walked towards the quarters area of the hanger. "Though, I think the colour scheme is pretty neat," I complimented over my shoulder as I went.

As I stepped into the hall leading to the Cybertronian quarters, I heard Miko whistle. "Wow, brutal honesty from an ex-Decepticon."

A sigh escaped me and I looked down at my chestplates. I better skedaddle and get into my quarters before someone blows up about my comment.

When I emerged from my quarters some time later, my chestplates fixed, and my anxiety eased slightly, I reached the main part of the hanger in time to see Optimus return from his Energon-scouring mission. But he wasn't carrying Energon. No, he was holding some sort of dinosaur bone. Why would he bring back a piece of a long-dead dinosaur instead of what we really needed—our life-blood?

"Optimus, did you find Energon?" Ratchet asked hopefully.

"No, but I did uncover this," the Prime said as he set the bone down.

I stepped closer, curious as to what it was, and when I was close enough I could see that it was a serpentine skull.

"It cannot be!" Ratchet said, walking closer.

"Be what?" Jack asked from where he stood on a catwalk.

"The ancient remains of a Predacon," Optimus stated grimly.

Ratchet moved over to it and knelt down. I watched with curiosity as he thoroughly scanned it several times before standing once more and moving over to his computer console.

"It remains unclear why such a skull would be on your planet," he explained to the humans present. I watched as he walked back over to where it rested on a low platform as he continued to speak. "It's presence reveals all too much about the Predacon which Megatron recently sent in pursuit of us."

"You mean that dragon-bot we put on ice?" Miko asked from where she stood next to the skull.

Ratchet seemed to think for a second. "Except that the Predacons have been extinct since…well…"

"Since most life began on Cybertron," Smokescreen chipped in.

"They're like Earth's dinosaurs," Raf stated with awe.

"Which for you guys it would be like us running into a T-rex!" Jack mused from where he stood next to the boy.

A half thoughtful/half confused look appeared on Miko's face. "So…what were Dinobots?"

"Totally different," Bulkhead and I ended up saying at the same time. We looked at each other in surprise before I looked down and away from him in embarrassment and shame.

"With Megatron's seeming new interest in the excavation of prehistoric skeletons, and a certain scientist back among the Decepticon ranks…" Ratchet mused.

The look on Optimus' faceplates was grim. "It would stand to reason that Shockwave cloned the beast from one such find."

"And now Megatron's looking to clone another," Magnus added.

"What makes you think Buckethead would stop at just one?" Wheeljack asked with a slight shrug.

"We could have a beast wars on our servos," Bulkhead noted worriedly as he turned to look at his leader.

I lifted my servos to my mouth and covered it lightly as my optics widened. "Oh, this is bad," I said worriedly, my wings trembling slightly. "Megatron never mentioned anything like this to me or to anybot on the ship."

Optimus was the one to answer me. "It could be because Shockwave has recently appeared amongst the Decepticons once more. He may have brought the existence of successful cloning to Megatron's attention."

"And if Shockwave only requires a single strand of CNA from which to clone a beast…" Ratchet said, glancing up at the leader of the Autobots.

Optimus turned to look at the medic. "He already possesses what he needs to engender this one," he stated in a grave tone. I took a step back as he turned and addressed the rest of his troops. I wasn't one of them. "Autobots, we must become beast hunters."

"One thing still doesn't follow," Smokescreen piped up from the back, where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. "Predacons went extinct on Cybertron," he continued as his arms dropped to his sides. "So what would their bones be doing here?"

It only took Ratchet a few moments to turn and search for evidence of Predacons through history. I hugged myself as I thought about the Predacons' presence on Earth. There had been the presence of these monsters on Earth way back when the Dinosaurs still roamed? They had been here before the bulk of the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth today even stepped foot on this planet? But how? Why? How tightly was Cybertron's and Earth's pasts intertwined?

"…from our historical texts," Ratchet suddenly spoke up, breaking me from my thoughts and leaving me confused at what had been said.

Jack tilted his head to the side slightly. "But those are metal versions of creatures from our Greek mythology and Medieval literature," he pointed out.

"Not dinosaurs," Raf added.

Optimus turned to them. "It's would stand to reason that Predacons did indeed walk upon this Earth in ancient times, as they seem to have the basis for much of humankind's folklore. Illustrating once again that the pasts of Earth and Cybertron are inextricably linked."

I went back to my quarters for some quiet time in order to think over what had been discovered. That…dragon Predacon that attacked us while Ultra Magnus tried to gather us together…its kind was what helped make stories like those found in the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table collections?

I stared down at the metal palms of my servos and flexed my digits as I mulled over my thoughts and concerns. I wasn't sure about how I was fare against a Predacon if I had to go up against one, and who says Optimus or any of the others would let me go out on a mission so soon after I defected?

Maybe they would call me if they needed back-up? I hoped so…I wanted to prove to them that I was sincere about becoming an Autobot. How was I supposed to show them that I really meant it if they kept me cooped up?

Dragonmaster789: Sorry for taking so long to update :( I'm glad you're still liking it so much.

Little Ai: :D Thanks! I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth once again for this story. I'll try to update sooner.

AkatsukiKittenGirl: YES! lol

FallenNietehre: :3 Glad you are liking it. When I think about it, it seems logical that Wavelength/Mikaela should have forgotten some of her human life, since her life as a Cybertronian has been much, much longer than her life as a human. But, I also figure that a Cybertronian's brain is a lot stronger at remembering memories than a human. Thanks a bunch for your review, and I hope the coming chapters continue to satisfy :)