I Am A Soldier:

[His kind do not dream. There are memories, certainly. But never dreams.]

[Not until the Elegante took that hard and fast rule away -- took him, changed him. Made him human. The change must have altered something. Ever since then, his recharge has been plagued with memories, with compounded memories and fantasies, fears and daydreams. He can't stop it. And while it's unsettling... it's something he's adapted to, more or less.]

[When the dream comes, he thinks it's going to be just the same as always. Another vague half-memory.]

[He is wrong.]


( DREAM SEQUENCE - cut for length and headcanon )

[The old soldier wakes alone, staring up at the night sky beside the lake. Cold sand presses against his back, where he'd simply dropped in his tracks. Water is lapping at one of his feet, damp and uncomfortable in the joints. Slowly, hesitantly, he lifts a hand, staring at it.]

[And for the first time since his arrival, he notices the barest hint of neon paint transfer, caught in the scars and grooves of his palm.]

[... you're stronger than this.]

Hmn.

Old fool...

[Oh hey Keep. It's Ironhide again. And boy does he sound unhappy.]

Tell me, lord.

[There is so much derision in that word, it should be a curse, not a title.]

Where are those who go missing? Do you send them home, to their "vanished worlds"? Or are you keeping them locked up!

[Something big and heavy impacts a wall.]

Answer me!

[... Finding Lea missing isn't sitting well with the big old bot.]

--guilty as charged! _{One of them.} You came from them, you were one of them once. You _know you were. Why not just let it all out? You were _{a Decepticon} once--

[A loud thwack interrupts - metal impacting metal. Someone dislikes what he's hearing. Nevertheless, the voice continues speaking, albeit cut off by the Autobot's snarling.]

--hat's why you can't _{keep them safe.} You worry you can't. _{You're right}. Optimus. Jazz. _{The little one}. Can't keep the female safe either. She _{blames you}, they all do--

[This time, it's cut off by an engine revving.]

--what about _him, you say? Is that why it's supposed _{to be secret}? It's not. Everyone already knows. _{You can't hide it}. He's _disappointed in you. You're going to _fail him like you did everyon--

[Ironhide doesn't bother answering the voice verbally. Not at that. All there is, is a roar and the sound of a heavy fist impacting a wall. Or a bee.]

--you can't even _{say it}. Can't even say you love hi--

[And the transmission is forcibly ended.]