A/N: Dedicated to Answerthecall, a dear friend of mine on this site. Without you I'd probably have called it quits on fanfiction entirely. And, thank you for giving me confidence on this little four-shot. *hug* (check out his own stories, they're awesome! :D)

To say this came out of the blue is just a step beneath 'on the nose'. But, I think I know where this is inspired from. Recently, I visited the theaters to watch 'Epic', and Queen Tara and Ronin were just amazing, and a sweet pairing (watch the movie, I recommend it!).

Somehow, I kept seeing Ronin and Ultra Magnus being very similar, and one way or another in my funny mind Queen Tara equated to Elita One.

O.o Weird, I know. Ahead of time: sorry for any OOC-ness.

So, I hope you guys don't mind the rare pairing I have for this one. Enjoy!

It started out as an energon scouting mission for the youngest members of Team Prime. Ultra Magnus was monitoring them when an unknown Autobot beacon appeared just a few miles away from Smokescreen and Bumblebee.

:Ultra Magnus, sir, permission to go and investigate?: Smokescreen inquired.

"Proceed with caution, soldier," Magnus advised. "The same goes with your partner."

:Yes, sir: Bumblebee responded on the comm. The second in command of the Autobots watched the screen as the two Autobot energy signatures ventured toward the beacon. On the green colored screen the beacon was a halo of azure light.

Curious, the mostly blue mech began to look into the unique signature of the beacon. Something was oddly familiar . . .

Suddenly, five Decepticon signals popped onto the screen , practically several yards from the origin of the beacon.

"There are five bogeys, dead ahead!" Ultra Magnus exclaimed.

:We see them!: Smokescreen responded. Soon, the sound of cannon fire was exchanged with the Decepticons and the two younglings.

"Do you require back up?" Ultra Magnus inquired. The others sans Ratchet were on their own scouting missions. The medical officer looked up from his workstation to look at the screen.

Immediately, three Decepticon signatures went offline.

:With all due respect, sir,: Smokescreen stated coolly, :I think we're doing ok-AH!:

A minor explosion was heard from the other end. Automatically, Ultra Magnus moved aside in order to let Ratchet take over to input their coordinates. "Respond! What happened out there?"

:Well, the escape pod just exploded!: Smokescreen coughed. Nearby, Bumblebee made hoarse hacking sounds himself. :Took care of the last the-: Silence reigned for a moment before Bumblebee reported what he saw.

:I am not so sure if you'll believe me sir, but it's the Femme Commander!:

O*O*O

Ratchet diligently started the repairs on Elita One. It took just a few minutes before the rest of Team Prime returned to their base in order to see what was going on.

"Arcee!" Elita greeted when the femme came up to her. The blue femme saluted the elder femme, but Elita waved her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine, nothing more than a little damage."

"Nothing more than a 'little damage'?" Ratchet repeated icily. Everyone flinched as he raised his voice, "Nothing more than a little damage?! Dear Primus femme, your shoulders are fried, you have several broken bits of armor that can't cover your most vulnerable parts of your protoform-" The medic went on and on about her other injuries.

A few noticed something odd though. Elita kept glancing to Ultra Magnus, but the mech wouldn't make eye contact with her. Even while she limped in-albeit with the help of the two younglings-the second in command had made himself scarce.

Optimus took note of this and managed to find the second in command nearby the entrance much later. At the same time, Elita fell into a steady conversation with Smokescreen. The rest were surrounded by the new monitors that the CMO had managed to finally piece together, watching for signs of exposed energon.

"Ultra Magnus," Optimus started. The mostly blue mech turned around to face his superior. "Something has been troubling you."

The shorter mech exhaled. "I fear that my command style may be having a negative effect on unit morale." Optimus reached out and placed a reassuring servo upon his shoulder. "Your service is most welcome, old friend. But, this is not the Elite Guard."

"Things have changed since the war for Cybertron," Magnus noted as he looked to the floor. "And we must adapt to that change." Optimus added.

"However, I do not believe that the unit's unease around you is the whole story." The Elite Guard member tried to hide it, but he knew well that Optimus could see right through him.

"What has been done has been done. The break off was mutual, and the sort of a relationship between me and Elita One, formerly known as Ariel, was and still is against many codes of conduct during the time of war," Ultra Magnus quietly answered. He pushed aside the feeling in his spark.

Regret was the last thing he needed on his mind, especially now.

"I believe she wants to speak to you in private about that," Optimus countered.

"With all due respect, Optimus Prime," Ultra Magnus quickly uttered, "there is nothing more to be said about Elita One and I."

Meanwhile . . .

Elita was so occupied with trying to hear what Ultra Magnus and Optimus were speaking about, she didn't notice the younglings in front of her until one coughed.

"Um, ma'am-?"

"No need to use such formality around me youngling," Elita interjected tiredly. She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, however she grimaced the whole time. "Optimus had informed me the war had changed from Cybertron to this little blue marble." Smokescreen immediately relaxed from his stiff position, causing the femme commander to chuckle.

"Um, anyway . . . can I ask you a question?" Smokescreen inquired. Elita raised an optic ridge. "Go ahead."

"Why is Ultra Magnus avoiding you as if you were the-OW!" Smokescreen winced from the slap upside his helm he received from Bumblebee. "What?" the elder of the two snapped. "-One: that isn't your business, and two: you shouldn't ask that!-" Bumblebee retorted.

"No, no, it's all right," the femme pacified the scout. She noted his tense wings and added, "Calm down youngling, nothing to fuss over." Her tone saddened, and Smokescreen and Bumblebee shared a look.

Suddenly, several alarms went off. Smokescreen and Bumblebee excused themselves and rushed over to the monitor. Elita's optics wandered around and she came upon the few energon cubes stacked neatly to the side. Her optics widened as she realized how low the energon reserves were for the unit.

Once the Wreckers and the rest of Team Prime, sans Ratchet, left the base, Elita bit her lower lip.

"I have a bad feeling about this," she commented. Ratchet exhaled brusquely.

"You always say that, but many times nothing terrible had come into fruition," Ratchet retorted. "But, I won't say any more unless I want to jinx it." Elita raised an optic ridge at that. The medic explained, "Human term." He snorted a bit and added, "We've been here so long the native's slang has rubbed off on me."

"You're fond of one though," Elita pointed out. Ratchet sputtered and shook his helm. "Oh come on now, don't deny it. You said the same thing when you got attached to Bumblebee."

"Not a word to anyone," the elder mech huffed. He turned to her with a serious expression. "I have a reputation to upkeep."

"What words?" the femme commander rejoined.

"Get some recharge, Ariel. You need it for your self-repair systems to work."

O*O*O

"What in the name of Primus-"

Elita immediately jolted upright at the tone of the medic's tone. Her optics immediately locked onto Optimus. The Prime hauled in two of his comrades, one was Wheeljack-

Her spark stalled at the sight of him and the stump of his arm. "What happened?!" The commander leapt off her med-berth.

"Elita, calm down!" Arcee exclaimed. Instantly Bumblebee and Smokescreen flanked the femme commander. Elita couldn't believe it as they pinned her arms back onto the berth. The injured femme couldn't believe it. No, she and Magnus hadn't-

"Bulkhead, help me get him onto here!" Ratchet commanded.

Everything soon became a blur, and Elita One collapsed into the berth.

Later . . .

"She's coming out of it-"

"Shh! Quiet."

"Shush, shush!"

"Be quiet yourself!"

"Shut up!"

The femme opened her optics. Elita let out a groan as she rubbed her forehead. "Please tell me what happened to Magnus was just a creation of my nightmares." She blinked blearily and slowly looked to the Autobots around her. Their expressions were grim.

Elita's optics soon found the one Wrecker that had his helm bowed. "Wheeljack?" At the sound of his designation, the scarred Wrecker soon made eye contact. "He fought like a Wrecker."

The elder femme's face-plates became ashen as she saw the metal piece on Magnus's arm. Elita's tanks roiled within her and she swallowed bitterly.

"He'll be all right," Ratchet confirmed as he continued to weld the stub of the injured mech's hand. "Although, losing his hand might be . . ." The medic's voice trailed off and he stuck to fixing his patient's injury in silence.

"Elita." Optimus Prime's tone implied many things only the others could imagine. The pink and purple femme sharply breathed in as she pressed her servos over her face-plates. Everyone could see the minute trembling of her frame.

Quietly, Smokescreen stepped forward. Even with the shaking head of Bulkhead warning him, the youngling ignored the green mech. "Um, Com-Elita?" he quickly corrected himself as he squatted near the Femme Commander, "is there more to you and Ultra Magnus?"

The Femme Commander let out a deep exhale. As she lowered her servos, there were specks of lubricant that dotted the lower rim of her optics. "Much. There is a lot of history between us."

Smokescreen shifted a bit as he gave her some space. "Rumor had it in the Elite Guard that . . . you and Magnus had a falling out." He paused a bit and continued, "You two were close."

Elita's optics darted back over to the second in command. "Yes, we did . . . over what our partnership had become over the years." Wheeljack stared at her incredulously.

"Are you sayin' what I think you're saying?" Wheeljack questioned. Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee's wings perked up; his optics whirled in shock.

Elita looked to her superior, and Optimus nodded. "As I told Ultra Magnus earlier, this unit is more than just an army-"

"We're family," Arcee finished, a servo going over her spark. Elita couldn't help but smile at her comrade.

"Long story short," Elita exhaled. She couldn't help the few beads of lubricant leaving her optics. The Cybertronian quickly wiped them away as she finally said it.

"Ultra Magnus and I were romantically involved."

A/N: Evolution couldn't have come at a better time, lol! Well then . . . love it? Hate it? *cringe*

Please read and review, I'd love to hear it either way!