She expected to feel pain. 

She was expecting the coldness, the chills of the wind running against her spark-less husk. 

She expected to be offline. 

But all she heard was a roar. 

A loud commanding war, and the clashing of metal. Her optics flew open, and were met with a blur, swirled in silver and blue. Loud sounds of struggle, and the occasional roar brought the fact that there were battles raging all around her to her mind, and she gasped, falling out of the fear coma she had been lulled into. Panting, she back away shakily from the dueling couple in fear she would be stepped on or squashed. Trying her hardest not to scream, she pulled her ped underneath herself and pushed up. Through blurred vision, she scanned her surroundings. All around, small duos or trios of feuding bots danced around each other. Through the smoke and fire that now rained down on the bots, right before it disappeared into a dark tunnel leading into the rock, she spotted something, dark blue, wobbling wildly through the air as it trailed sparks behind it.

"It's that little mini-con."  The ground shook violently, sending her down to her knees. A few sparks fell gently into her servo, extinguishing immediately against the cool metal. Where it once lay was a small burnt shard of metal. "It's hurt."  Her caring-for-all-living-beings side kicked in, and she clenched her servo."It'll  never survive in there." 

Without even confirming with her logic, she stumbled to her unstable peds, and launched after the collapsing tunnel, peds flying and slipping against the loose sand. 

"C'mon, c'mon..." 30 feet away....20....10....

She yelled out in agony as something slammed into her chassis, sending her crashing into the rock behind her. Her helm jerked back, and was met with.....purple. Deep shining purple, so deep that it almost seemed back, one that she could see herself in. Two long servos pushed against her shoulders,   the pressure causing much pain to surge through her energon. The purple inched forward rapidly but paused as she flinched her helm back. Then, it backed up, giving her the much-needed unasked for space. As her optics scanned, she realized it wasn't just some purple void, but it was in fact, a bot, dark blue and slender like a stick. It's arms, made up of what looked like only plane wings, were extended out in front of it, pushing up against her. 

"Hey..let go...Mr...Ms...you!"  She grunted, pushing against his firm limbs to no avail. Her optics scanned his smooth armor; all the sharp angles and rough edges sent chills down her frame. But it wasn't that that ultimately pushed her fear over the top; but it was the distinctive symbol on his plane wing, with the sharp points and all-too-familiar shape. 

Decepticon. 

"Get...off!!" Growling the word, she jerked her helm forward, smashing it into the visor. A slice of  pain shot through her helm, but it didn't distract her from the bot, which she decided was a mech, grasping his helm in his long spindly digits, staggering backward, and releasing her from his hold. Gasping for air frantically, she didn't waste a second in taking off after the tunnel entrance that was now filling with rocks. She didn't hear any ped steps behind her; granted, she didn't hear anything. The world seemed to fall silent as her optics focused on the darkness that shrunk in front of her, that was occasionally obscured by a falling rock or waterfall of dust. With a sickening feeling, she realized there was no way she would make it, not if she continued her current path. So she did the only thing her frantic mind could think of; she crouched down, and propelled herself across the sand, sliding but losing friction quickly. 

"Almost there....come on....come on!"  With a space of less than an inch, she leaned back, her helm nearly dragging across the ground, and slid into the inky darkness of the cavern, right as the final towering bounder devoured any precious drop of light, wiping it completely from existence. 

~~~

As soon as the impact was made, Soundwave knew something, something he hadn't known before: this femme was trouble. Any thoughts of curiosity, friendliness, and wonder that had surfaced their first visit were suddenly taken over by animosity and fury. He stumbled back, struggling to find friction in the soft sand. His servo released her plating, and flew up to his visor, which was shooting spikes of pain through his helm. Slowly, he released his servo, and froze as, in his palm, he noticed small shards of purple, sharp and reflective. And in their reflective surface, he saw something, something he hadn't seen in a long time, something he had forgotten even existed. 

His optic. 

He peered at this stranger in the glass. Totally foreign in his glance, yet he got a sense of Deja Vu, like he had seen this bot before. No, it was impossible, it had to be. Yet, he got a sense of Deja Vu, like he had seen this bot before. The realization hit hard, like a brick to the spark. He didn't want to admit it, he didn't want to say it. Yet, he got a sense of Deja Vu, like he had seen this bot before. 

Because this bot was him. 

His vision began to blur suddenly, something he hadn't felt in so long. He got a sense of Deja Vu, like he had felt this before. Glowering, he lifted his helm, and stared intently at the sliding femme, hoping he could somehow burn a hole into her frame. This was her fault, it was all her fault. He had found himself for a second, and it had been all her fault. He had lived in the past for a second, and it was all her fault. A part of him had been broken, and it was all her fault. He had felt normal again, and it was all her fault. 

He had been himself again, and it was all her fault.