The Next Day

Shadow's POV

I was in my human mode after a while of practice with Ratch I could switch back and forth if I wanted. Which is totally awesome!!!

Anyways I was listening to my music in my room, my door closed and locked, I was up dancing listening to the songs that made me want to get up and dance, I moved my body the way the music wanted me to, Ratchet excused himself from my mind and went off hasn't come back since, which I was glad, I didn't want him to know about this.

This? You ask, well I like singing and dancing in private, I didn't want the others to make fun of me if they found out. I was listening to "Welcome to the Club by Manian" I was moving to the fast beat.

Once the song was finished I changed the song and smiled at the next on "Titanium by Sia"

I cleared my throat and sang along.

Sideswipe's POV

Me, Jazz and Blaster, an old friend of Jazz, were walking down the hall then stopped hearing a nice pair of vocals singing.

We all looked at one another before following the singing quietly, the beautiful singing got louder while we inched towards Shadow's door, we all looked at the door hearing the singing.

I knew this song since they play it on the radio like every day!

Jazz and Blaster both get the others and lead them quietly to Shadow's room. I turn the knob quietly and see Shadow has her headphones on the volume is up.

https://youtu.be/AsrnGyRS6l4

You shout it out

But I can't hear a word you say

I'm talking loud not saying much

I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet

You shoot me down, but I get up

I'm bulletproof nothing to lose

Fire away, fire away

Ricochet, you take your aim

Fire away, fire away

You shoot me down but I won't fall,

I am titanium

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

Cut me down

But it's you who has further to fall

Ghost town, haunted love

Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones

I'm talking loud not saying much

I'm bulletproof nothing to lose

Fire away, fire away

Ricochet, you take your aim

Fire away, fire away

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium, I am titanium

I am titanium

Stone-hard, machine gun

Firing at the ones who run

Stone-hard, as bulletproof glass

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

You shoot me down but I won't fall

I am titanium

*Whispers*

I am titanium

Shadow then chooses another song and starts dancing, Jazz and Blaster along with the rest of us are stuck in a state of shock. None of us knew she could sing like that! Well maybe except Ironhide, "Ironhide," Jazz starts, "Ah think we have ah singin gal on our side," Ironhide just smirks to himself proud of Shadow.

Shadow's POV

I move my body to another song by Nightcore I had bought, I wanted to sing....but I didn't. Titanium killed my throat making it sore since Sia can scream but sound good at the same time. I did sing to myself when Devin was out with a woman all day and night leaving me home alone.

My heart stops and I hit the ground with my body, my body became stiff.

'Okay Shadow, calm down! Devin is gone! Your alright!' I scream to myself, it was a panic attack it happened when I remembered the bad things in my past then my door comes flying open, my headphones are pulled off, "Hey baby, baby, calm down," a smooth sweet voice soothes while my vision became blurry, "Hey sweet spark, calm down, don't worry," I hear a familiar tough but soft voice, I felt a hand comb my hair, "It's alright Squishy," I hear a voice growl but I could hear the soothing tone beneath it, I hates these things! I find it hard to breathe, "Sweet spark, I need you to calm down," I hear a soft but tough voice whisper soothingly, "Don't worry, I'm right here, calm down, calm, come on girl you can do it, calm down," he soothes, I knew who it was, Ironhide, "Breathe baby, breathe, come on, your alright," I hear Mom soothe gently.

I remembered all the times Devin left me at bars and then left me in an alleyway while he was in a drunk fight, my brain became flooded with more images from my bad past, I felt I'm being rocked, "Hey baby, baby, it's alright, listen to me, calm down," Mom soothes, I try to move but my arms and legs felt like cement, I felt my tears reach the brim of my eyes, no don't you dare cry!

No please don't cry! Your not weak you're strong!

"You worthless piece of shit!" Devin screams in my head.

I whimper 'No' "Baby, calm down, come on your almost there," DragonFly whispers, my breathing becomes heavier and harder to breathe, "Sweet spark!" Ironhide says getting my attention, "It's alright, I'm right here, Oppi is right here and he won't leave you, do you understand?" He asks firmly but he keeps a promising tone.

I felt my breathing and vision come back, Devin's voice and words fade away quickly, Ironhide takes me into his arms and rocks me, "I got you sweet spark," he whispers softly, my body goes back to normal slowly, I felt tired, I had always felt tired after my panic attacks, Ironhide takes deep breathes his spark is at an alert stage in his chest I could hear it, the others look at me gently, Mom strokes my hair smoothly, "Your alright baby," she soothes softly using her mother tone on me, these panic attacks didn't happen very often and when they did I was mostly alone.

Ironhide kisses my hair and cheek, "Sweet spark please don't do that to me again," he whispers gently through my hair, "Come on let's get her to my med-bay and see if I can figure out what's wrong with her," DragonFly says and with that, I fall asleep.

Ironhide's POV

Shadow drifted off into sleep in my arms, my spark still in alert wanting to know what happened to it's sparkling.

Once to DragonFly's med-bay she laid Shadow on a berth and hooked her up to a machine that we could see everything through her eyes like her memories and thoughts, it was like a virtual word except with a human that could turn Cybertronian child.

We all turned on our holoforms and put the helmets on and laid back.

Shadow's Memory

I ran through the woods with a smile, my heart pounding from the activity, the warm summer wind brushing through my hair while I ran. I ran to my favorite spot:

My barn

I touched the old wooden door and pushed it open, the smell of hay tickled my nose making me sneeze, I giggle but continued inside of the barn, I had a long stick in my hands pretending it was a sword, "Copy this is Shadow, do you copy Gibby?" I ask through my fake walkie talkie to my imaginary friend Gibby, "I copy Shadow! Keep going straight you'll be fine!" I say in a deep male voice, I got so into my game I forgot the world, the bad things, my mom, everything, all I cared about at this moment was my game.

I jump with a yelp when I hear Monster yell my name, I tense and run as fast I could towards the house, once home Devin has a beer bottle in his hand, his hand around the neck of the bottle, I smelt the beer on his clothes and breath, he grabbed my arm and yanked me inside, he slams me down on our glass coffee table breaking it, I yelp with a scream when glass goes into my arm, "You piece of fucking shit!" He sneers repeating to hit me, he pulls back and throws a beer bottle at me nailing me in the head it breaks on impact, "I hate you!" He sneers, "I wish I could just end your dumb pathetic life!" My heart raced and my body filled with pain, I closer my eyes waiting for a large hit to come from Monster but he scoffs and walks out the door, I laid there on the floor bruised and bleeding, my body in pain while my own blood trickles down from my wounds.

I sit up painfully with a cry, I hear Monster and his friends hollering like a bunch of morons-

End of Memory

The memory cuts off when someone pulls off their helmet, I see Chromia crying, we all pull our helmets off, "I-I am N-NEVER doing that again!" Chromia sobs holding herself while she was in her Holoform like the rest of us "If that aft hole was alive he wouldn't be anymore!" Crosshairs growl, "Who would do that to a helpless child?!" Sideswipe growls, I grab Chromia gently and hold her in my embrace while she cried.

I remembered begging Shadow to stay with me when I was still in her barn and how she told me no and that I would die. I tried to help her but I was too weak and injured! I'm SUCH AN IDIOT! If I was quick enough and pushed the pain to the side I would have been able to help her! Killing that aft hole before he could make one more move!

I felt my anger take over my processors but Chromia soothed it.

::Ironhide, you are not weak. It isn't your fault my love, you know Shadow wanted to protect you at that time and now::.

I grumbled to myself but then Shadow shoots up with a yelp, "Mommy!" She sobs holding the closest mech which was Sideswipe, who holds her back just as tight, "Calm down," he whispers to her, "Mom is right here," Chromia soothes to our sparkling, "I had a nightmare!" Shadow sobs clinging to Sideswipe like a lifeline, "What was it about?" DragonFly asks with a smile.

Shadow answers sobbing:

"I lost you all and I was the only one left!"

Chuckling, I walk over to my little femme taking her in my arms, "Now sweet spark do you seriously think that your going to loose us?" I ask making her bury her face in my chest, I comb her hair, "Now that nightmare would never ever happen, we'll be with you no matter what," Sideswipe says with a promising tone and smile making Shadow smile against my chest, "Thanks Sides," she whispers then climbs into his arms, Sideswipe chuckles and looks at me, "I'm just gonna hang with Shadow a bit, if you don't mind Ironhide?" Sideswipe asks.

I nod making Sideswipe smile at Shadow then put her on his back, "Come on lets go for a quick walk then we play a game!" I hear Sideswipe call down the hall.

Sideswipe's POV

Cutie was sitting on back while I walked down the hall, "So Cutie?" I ask.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?"

That question made Shadow become super quiet, "I-I d-d-don't kn-know w-wha-what you-your talking a-about!" She stutters embarrassed making me smirk, "Come on! I know you know what I'm talking about!" I tease to the femme.

::Tell her I think she has a nice voice::. Sunny sends while I set Shadow by my side.

"Sunny said you had a nice voice," I inform her making her blush get darker from her spot beside me while we walked down the hall, "I.....tell him I said thank you," she whispers, Sunny was in my mind with me so he could hear my thoughts and see what I'm seeing.

Once to mine and Sunny's room, I offline my Holoform and Shadow changes into her Cybertronian mode, she climbs on the berth and sits between Sunny's legs and watches him drawl, "What are you doing?" He grunts looking at her, "Watching!" She chirps, "I like to watch a simple scribble become something amazingly beautiful!" Her words made Sunny's spark melt in happiness, he kisses her helm and continues drawling.

Moments Later

Shadow's POV

My optics went over Sunny's drawling over and over, he made the drawling look so real, Sides was passed out beside Sunny on their berth, it was night and time for my bedtime but I couldn't go to sleep this drawling had me entranced.

It was a picture of all of us in a group picture, everyone look so happy, me, Chromia and Ironhide were in the middle, Ironhide and I were mostly in the middle, Hide and the others were in their holoforms while their Autobot faces were like in the sky above them faded. Ironhide had his hands on my shoulders while I stood in front of him smiling, Chromia had an arm around Hide's while she smiled, the others were beside them, Sides and Sunny both were in a brotherly pose, Sideswipe had an arm around Sunny's neck, they all were either smiling or smirking, but I looked the happiest if my smile could get any wider it would, I take the drawling and hold it close to my chest hugging the drawling, Sunny just strokes my helm and kissed my forehelm, "Ironhide wants you to go to bed," Sunny whispers holding me, I look at the drawling then notice Sunny didn't write his name, "Sunny you better write your name!" I chirp, "Why?" He asks looking down at me, "Because they have to know the name of the amazing artist made this drawling!" I chirp making Sunny shake his helm with a small grin then he writes his name in the corner of the picture, "There" he says "Happy?" I chuckle nodding, he hands me the pen "Now you write yours," he whispers gently, I write my name as neat as I could.

He kisses my helm while he has me in his arms and sends me on my way, while I walked towards my room I noticed I still had the drawling!

I go to run back to Sunny's room and give it to him but Hide grabs me up, "Come on lets go," he yawns, I kept the drawling clutched close to my chest, once to his and Chromia room I see Chromia laying down and just staring at the ceiling deep in thought, Ironhide gently grabs the notebook that the drawling was in and set it down the picture facing down.

I smile at Hide, he laid down and put me between him and Chromia, "SunStreaker has informed me that you have had your energon and everything else," Mom said stroking my helm, I nod with a yawn, "I love you mommy and daddy," I yawn closing my optics slowly waiting for Daddy's que.

Daddy's sweet soft but tough voice whispers:

"We love you too our little sweet spark"