Disclaimer: ‘Transformers’ belongs to Hasbro, Paramount and various other companies – characters from the film or any related merchandise do not belong to me and I am making no money out of this fiction from the characters or plot. Any original characters and ideas do belong to me and require permission to use elsewhere.

Rated T

Author’s note: Sorry for the long breaks in between chapters. Besides all the other stuff I have to do, I’ve also been fiddling around with Photoshop and drawing more which distracts me but after a long wait, another chapter. Next Chapter will give some updates on what the Decepticons are doing. I’d like to say thanks to all of those who leave a review. Read and please, please review. Thank you.

“This ancient Coil”

The clatter of metal footfalls echoed loudly through out the ancient halls of Cybertron, while the constant hum of machinery filled the silence in between. To Harley the sounds around her where distant and quiet but the touch of metal gently rubbing up against her shoulder and thighs riled her senses. She struggled to wake her self but her body refused to respond. As her mind sat suspended between a semi conscious and unconscious state, visions of Optimus Prime vaguely registered somewhere deep within her memory banks.

The last few weeks of her life seemed to be a blur of bizarre images. It wasn’t to long ago that she was a normal human girl with her whole life ahead of her. And now she was on a strange planet and learning to live her new life as a mech. It had happened so fast that she still had not had the chance to let it truly sink in. It seemed like a dream and at any moment she’d wake from it and be normal again. She prayed for that day.

Optimus Prime glanced protectively down at Harley as he strode down the dark halls. Jazz and Ironhide had taken their positions at the secret entrance, guarding it as they had done in the past. Now Prime moved with swiftness, for time was short. The enemy was everywhere and the secret chambers of Cybertron were at risk as long as he traveled through them. After several turns he reached the end of the hall where he paused before a massive square door. In the center of the door was a round key hole. But Prime didn’t have a key this time.

“The disk,” echoed the voice of Primus.

Prime remember the disks that had been found with Harley. Unable to crack the codes before their stop on Cybertron, Wheeljack had given them to Prime for safe keeping. Prime shifted Harley closer to his body before reaching over to pull one of the disks out the subspace in his arm. With delicate precision he placed it in the key hole. He could hear the click and slide of the gears working within the thick steel door. A few seconds later it began to slowly open. Inside was the small room just as he had remembered. Nothing had changed. Even the tools that were spread out on the center table remained in their original scattered pattern. He moved quickly inside towards the table, clearing it was one sweep of his arms and Harley’s body. He then set her on the table before walking over to the computer.

“Prime, come closer,” Primus commanded.

Prime stepped closer to the computer and opened his chest, revealing his glowing blue spark and the matrix he held safe above it. Once again a metal spear shot out from the console and connected to the small round lock within Prime’s chest. Images moved through his mind as Primus unlocked Primes deeper memory banks.

“Harley is a gift to all Transformers. I will entrust her with you, Prime. A small part of her power has been inadvertently given to the Decpeticon, Soundwave. Although limited, he has the power to give life to some of those who have died. And there remains a bond between him and Harley. You are the only one who can break that bond. And with your help she will have the power to create,” Primus paused, giving the Autobot leader a moment to absorb what he was saying.

“But I thought we had lost that ability long ago? How is it possible now?” Prime questioned.

“Your answer lies through that door,” Primus said.

Prime turned and scanned the room before his optics came to rest on a tall arched door. A small beam of light emitted brightly from its center. Strange glowing symbols slowly rose from the doors smooth surface.

“The Well of Sparks!” Prime whispered in awe.

“Yes,” Primus responded. “The well of sparks will soon cease to exist. Harley is my only hope for their salvation. Each spark will have a chance at a new life. The Allspark is growing weaker as it is separated and dispersed throughout the universe. Soon its power will no longer exist. In ancient times Transformers had the ability to reproduce by reusing existing sparks that would flow into the well of sparks when their life was extinguished. The spark would exist in an alternate dimension till it was released again.”

“What about the previous owner of the spark?” Prime questioned, “Were they brought back to life then?”

“In some cases, yes, but in most no. Their memory was suppressed and stored deep within their memory core while new memories were created,” Primus explained. His mood changed quickly as if alerted by some unknown danger. “Prime you must hurry now. You will learn more in time but you must take Harley into the Well of Sparks.”

The computer released its hold on Prime allowing the Autobot leader to move over to where Harley lay in stasis lock. He tilted his head sympathetically towards her, knowing that her life would never be the same. It would be difficult to help her accept and understand her destiny. Carefully, he picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the door.

“Put her hand on the door,” Primus instructed.

Prime placed her hand on the key hole in the center of the door. A jolt of soothing electricity shot through him. He glanced down at Harley who seemed to glow through her oil covered shell. Their bodies together were surrounded by a continuous moving white pulsating light. The door opened, releasing a gush of hot air across his body. With the energy field still surrounding them, he moved into the large circular room. He glanced around unsure of what to do next. Without warning the floor began to slide open, revealing a molten pool of boiling orange lava. Mechanical screams rang out as faces of past Transformers rose up from the hot liquid. Prime pressed his body against the side wall and firmly planted his feet on the narrow ledge that remained after the floor had opened. The hot wind in the room began to pick up, whipping about his body. He tightened his grip on Harley. More ghostly faces swirled around the room as the screams grew louder.

“Together Prime….. you and Harley will hold the last of the sparks. She will give them life and you will give them the soul. The matrix cannot exist without the well of sparks. And only together can they ensure the existence of Transformers,” Primus said.

The rush of wind made it harder for Prime to hear the words of Primus. Slowly, lava began to rise from the center of the room as it was sucked up by the force of the swirling wind. And as it rose, Prime noticed that it wasn’t lava he was looking at, but glowing energy. Like a snake rising out of the water, it broke free from the vortex of wind and moved closer to him as if it had a life of its own. The heat from the energy bathed his body. He felt stronger and more powerful the closer it came.

“Open her chest,” Primus commanded.

Prime reached down and opened the small compartment in Harley’s chest. The glowing orange snake moved closer and closer till it came within inches of Prime’s face. It paused briefly before diving down and connecting to a small metal box within Harley’s chest. Prime watched in amazement as the Well of Sparks emptied into Harley. As whipping winds and the echoing rush of air reached their apex, he felt Harley jerk in his arms. He tightened his grip on her small frame. The hot winds instantly stopped when the tail end of the glowing orange tube of energy disappeared into Harley’s chest. The room became eerily quiet. Prime glanced down at the empty well. Nothing but a black hole remained. Quickly, he turned and left the room. He ran through the main control room and out down the hall towards the elevator that would take him to where Jazz and Ironhide stood guard.

Upon his return to the med bay Prime informed only those in the upper ranks of the Autobots about Harley’s status. They spoke through their private com link, being aware that Devon, in her current state of mind, could not be trusted to keep Harley’s secret.

“Y’ mean she’s a sort of carrier of sparks?” Jazz asked curiously.

“Yes,” Prime said, “Within her are all the sparks, of all the Transformers that have ever existed.”

“And she can bring back a spark by planting it in a new transformer body?” Ironhide questioned.

“She can help us replenish the existence of Transformers,” Prime responded. “However, we must use it wisely.”

“If she were t’ get into the wrong hands…,” Jazz started to say but drifted off at the horrible thought.

“It would not be good,” Ratchet said, finishing Jazz’s sentence as he gave Harley a once over check.

“So it’s important that her secret is kept amongst us,” Prime announced.

Ratchet, Jazz and Ironhide all nodded in agreement. Prime knew they could be trusted.

“Jazz, Ironhide….you two can return to your original tasks. We don’t have much time and must get back to earth soon,” Prime said as he glanced one last time at Harley.

“Ratchet, keep me updated on Harley’s progress and when you feel she’s ready I would like to spend some time with her myself,” Prime added.

“No problem,” Ratchet said.

Prime turned and walked out of the med bay to meet with Prowl and ready the ship for its trip back to earth.

Ratchet turned back to Harley as he readied to wake her. He shot a quick glance behind him at Devon, who continued to sit silently on the table. He shook his head at her seemingly unending stubbornness in accepting her situation. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Turning back to Harley he gave her a jolt of electricity, bringing her back online. Her arms involuntarily shot up, nearly smacking Ratchet in the face. He quickly reached out and forced her arms back down onto her stomach, holding them firmly in place.

“Harley, wake up,” Ratchet coaxed gently. He watched as her optics flickered before becoming a more steady hue of blue.

“What happened,” she moaned. Her head swirled with sounds and strange visions as she struggled to fully wake herself.

“You were sleeping. Now just try and relax a bit,” Ratchet said, easing up on his grip when he felt her arms relax.

Seeing Harley struggle to sit up, Ratchet reached out and lifted her into a sitting position.

“Thanks,” she said shyly.

“It’s not a problem. You may have difficulty doing things for awhile so don’t be afraid to ask for help,” Ratchet said soothingly.

Devon’s still figure caught Harley’s attention. Ratchet watched as Harley’s optics locked on to the back of Devon. A smile quickly spread across her face at the sight of her sister.

“Devon, I’m so glad your here!” she said with unsuspecting exuberance as she moved to the edge of the berth.

Ratchet reached out and stopped Harley. Devon, ignoring her sisters call, remained motionless.

“Devon?” Harley called out again. “Are you alright...Is she alright?” she said, whisper the last part to Ratchet out of corner of her mouth.

“She is alright, Harley…but you see…” Ratchet started to say but before he could finish Devon turned towards them.

“You are NOT my sister!” she screamed, eyeing Harley for the first time and with unadulterated contempt. “Do not speak to me again,” she hissed.

The smile on Harley’s face instantly vanished, replaced instead by a face of shock and utter sadness. Ratchet was amazed to see droplets of water emerging from the inner corners of her eyes. She turned her teary optics towards the medic.

“Ratchet?” she questioned sadly.

Her sadness broke his spark in two. He reached out and touched her shoulder.

“Don’t worry Harley we can fix this. It will take some time,” he said assuredly.

She sighed as she glanced back at Devon who turned her back to the pair once again.

Once Sideswipe had finished loading the energon into the ship, he returned to the med bay as requested, along with Sunstreaker, who had come along to get the scrape across his chest plate repaired.

“Sides, I want you to take Harley down to the wash racks and get her cleaned up,” Ratchet requested before turning to Sunstreaker. “Sunny, come and sit over here next to Devon.”

Sunny moved over and sat on the table next to Devon who gazed silently downward at her hands. He glanced down at her briefly before looking over at Ratchet questioningly. Ratchet just shook his head as if to say “don’t ask”.

Ratchet had brought Harley online while Devon sat quietly sulking, refusing to look over at her sister. She had yet to say a word. He decided to send Harley down to the wash racks with Sideswipe, until Jazz and Ironhide came back from fulfilling their duties in getting the ship ready for the travel back to earth.

“Sure,” Sideswipe said, walking over to Harley. He could see her tense up. “Easy Harley, I’ll be gentle.” He reached out and pulled her gently by the arm.

Harley looked down at her oil covered body. The stuff was like a light syrup. It dripped slowly down her exterior and down to the floor leaving slipper little pools of black liquid. She hadn’t meant to knock the container over but she couldn’t help the fact that she didn’t know how to use her body. She glanced up at Sideswipe, who observed her with amusement.

“You think this is funny?” she snapped irritably at him.

“No, I just wander what you are thinking sometimes,” he said coolly. “Now come on. We need to get you cleaned up.”

Harley stood still and glanced from Sideswipe to Ratchet with hesitation.

“Go ahead,” Ratchet encouraged her, “I need to get Sunstreaker repaired.” He made a waving motion with his hand urging her to leave.

She glanced over at Sunstreaker noticing the large scrape and dent along his chest. She winced as she remembered she had been the one who had caused that.

She looked down slightly to avoid looking Sunstreaker directly in the optics. “I’m sorry about that Sunstreaker,” she said softly.

“It’s not your fault. So don’t worry about it. Now get going,” Sunstreaker responded firmly.

Sideswiped placed his hand on Harley’s arm and pulled gently, forcing her to follow him out of the med bay and down the hall towards the wash racks.

It was a short distance to the wash racks and once at the door, Sideswipe entered in a code on the keypad to open it. Stepping aside, he motioned for Harley to enter first. She obeyed and walked in, only to stop short just inside with fear. Her senses where assaulted with the noise of several large mechs who were currently showering and cleaning up. All activity ceased upon her entrance and all optics turned to focus on her. Energon began to pulse through her lines at a furious pace as she felt herself grow warm from embarrassment. She was instantly reminded of a boy’s locker room and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

“In you go,” Sides said, giving her a solid push from behind.

But she resisted and stood firm. She couldn’t bring herself to go any further. She wasn’t about to shower in front of a bunch of very ‘male looking ‘bots’.

“I want to talk to Ratchet,” she whispered as she tried to back out of the room. “I’m not showering in front of all these robots.”

“What are you worried about?” Sideswiped asked, “you are not a human anymore, your one of us now. You have nothing to hide. All you need to do is step in that wash rack over there and wash off.” He pointed over to the wash rack while trying to push her towards it from behind.

“Stop it. I swear, if you don’t take me to Ratchet, right now, I’m going to freak out. And you saw what I did to your brother,” she warned as panic welled up inside her.

He moved in close behind her and brought his mouth down close to her audio receptor. “For one, I am a lot bigger than you. Two, I’m now aware of how little control you have over your limbs. So with that said, I’d say I’m prepared for any potential harm you may cause and will prevent it in any way necessary,” he threatened.

This time Sideswipe shoved her till she moved causing her to stumble forwarded. But before she could react, Mirage who had been standing nearby, and who had overheard their exchange of words, spoke up.

“Stop!” Mirage demanded loudly. The mechs in the room still had not moved. Captivated by what was happening, they continued to watch with interest while at the same time standing on guard and prepared to step in if necessary.

“Sides…wait,” Mirage said in a more directed tone. He could see the fear in Harley’s optics. He raised his arm and called Ratchet over his com link. “Ratchet, this is mirage. We seem to have a situation here in the wash racks.”

“What is the problem?” Is Harley all right?” Ratchet asked with concern.

“Yes, she is alright. However, she is asking to be taken back to you. Sideswipe wants to get her showered but she doesn’t want to cooperate. She is uneasy here and she says she will …,” he paused for a moment while remember the term Harley had used, “… freak out… if she isn’t taken back to you.”

After a brief moment of silence, Ratchet responded. “Well, it seems as though her human side is in control. She may look like an Autobot but she still thinks like a human. And human females don’t typically shower in front of large groups.”

Sideswipe shook his head with frustration, still feeling her reaction was ridiculous. “Well, now is a great time to help her get over her humans ways,” Sideswipe insisted.

“No,” Ratchet snapped, “She’s had enough traumas for the day. Mirage, when will your group be done?” Ratchet asked.

“We are almost finished,” he responded.

“Good. Sides, I want you to take her back outside and wait till the room is clear…” Ratchet started to say before being interrupted.

“But…” Sideswipe tried to protest but was cut off.

“No buts, just do as I say!” yelled Ratchet angrily.

“Looks like you get your way,” Sideswipe said irritably.

Harley visibly relaxed and in her mind was thanking Mirage. She flashed her optics at the tall blue and white mech as she turned to leave. Mirage caught her relieved glance and was glad he had been there to help. It may not have been pretty otherwise.

Harley stepped outside the door and rested her back up against the wall as a rush of air left her intakes with relief.

Sideswipe rested his shoulder up against the wall next to her, crossing his arms over his chest plates while glaring at her with a mixture of irritation and wonder.

She felt his heavy gaze and was compelled to respond. “What are you looking at?” she snapped.

“You,” he shot back. “Eventually you will have to get over the fact that you are no longer human. Just think…you are naked right now and I’m looking at you,” he said smugly.

She hadn’t really thought about it like that. She felt her systems warm with embarrassment.

“Stop it. Stop talking,” she snapped.

“Suit your self…,” Sideswipe paused and smiled. “..Naked ‘bot..,” he said quickly, chuckling to himself.

Sideswipe stared at Harley, trying to understand her irrational fears about her mech body when he noticed a sudden change in her expression. She appeared to become more nervous and her spark pulse began to beat faster. She stood up from the wall and straightened herself, looking past Sideswipe, she shifting nervously on her unsteady feet.

Sideswipe was jarred from his observation with a slap on his back from Jazz.

“Hey, Sides, how’s it goin’?” Jazz asked cheerfully.

Just as he was about to respond, he suddenly realized why Harley was acting so strange. Her human side was definitely taking over. A slow grin spread across Sideswipes face as he gave Harley knowing glance.

“Everything is just fine…Jazz,” Sideswipe said, locking his optics onto Harley’s surprise expression. He could see she now was aware that he knew of her crush on Jazz.

“Harley, is Sides treat’in you good or do you need me to take over,” he said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Sideswipe’s hold on her was instantly broken at the feeling of Jazz’s touch. She felt sparks shoot through her system as her optics met the soft glow of the saboteur’s blue visor. His charming smile melted her insides and it took every ounce of her strength to keep control of her new body. She was feeling all sorts of new things and she wasn’t sure what to do.

“He’s treating me fine,” she eventually squeaked out.

“That’s good to hear,” he said gently. “Let me know if that ever changes.” He gave her shoulder a gently squeeze before letting go and walking off.

She stood dazed with love struck optics.

“You know you might want to take some air in before you systems over heat. The showers aren’t empty yet and I’d hate to have to drag you in there for a cold shower,” he said with a chuckle.

“Whatever,” she said, avoiding Sideswipes smug grin.

The door to the wash racks opened as several mechs filtered out. Mirage was the last to exit and gave Sideswipe the all clear.

“It’s all yours. Be gentle with her, Sides,” he warned.

“Hey, I’m not Sunny, of course I will,” he said, offended.

They entered the now quiet room. Sideswipe guided her to one of the shower stalls. He could see she was still nervous but not as much as before. He conceded that Ratchet had made the right decision, best to ease her into the life of a mech one step at a time. He could see her shooting nervous glances at him.

“What’s wrong now?” he questioned as he reached in to turn on the water.

Harley grabbed his arm, stopping him short of reaching the shower knob.

“It’s….just….I’m not feeling comfortable showering while you watch,” she said hesitantly.

He rolled his optics. “You can’t be serious?” he said.

“Sides, please…can you just show me how this works and then turn around?” she pleaded.

He suddenly felt sorry for her. This would be a difficult transition. He reluctantly agreed. “Fine, here’s how you turn it on and over there is the cleaning sheet and solution, kind of like your soap you…humans….use.” He felt odd referring to a mech as a human, but he could see his patience relaxed her.

After he turned his back, Harley turned on the shower and started to clean the oil off her body. She vigorously scrubbed her exterior free of the dirt and oil. The warm water relaxed her systems. She was surprised at how the touches across her body felt the same as it had in her human body. She had assumed that mechs weren’t as sensitive as humans because of their hard exteriors. Instead, her sense appeared to be more sensitive than before. Harley reached over and turned the water off.

Sideswipe instantly turned around and handed her a dry polishing clothes from his subspace. Harley jumped at his quickness.

“What…you couldn’t wait till I was finished?” she said, grabbing the towel from him and instinctively covering the front of her body with it. “Turn around… I’m not going to rub myself dry while you watch.”

“Oh come on,” he sighed incredulously. But her piercing glare said she meant what she said.

Once again Sideswiped turned around, giving her more privacy. Harley began to dry the droplets off her body, relishing in how good it felt.

“Don’t have to much fun back there,” Sideswiped added with a mischievous chuckle.

“Does it matter…After all I’m no longer human,” she responded with a snort.

“Ok, you got me on that one. I guess there’s a lot more you still need to learn,” he said with slight defeat. ‘She has spunk,’ he thought to himself.

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