Vaughan hovered down, her feet landing on the edge of the stage as she walked over to the pile of ashes. The remains of The Mesmerizers, Dagio, Mitso, and Sanato.
Footsteps could be heard from behind her, as her friends and bandmates joined her on stage as well.
"D-Did we win?" Andrew asked slowly.
"I... I think we did... we won!" Josh exclaimed.
The group cheered, rejoicing in their celebration.
"What is the meaning of this?!" An old voice bellowed.
The group looked over to see Headmaster Roger storm over towards them, Mr. Smith following closely behind.
"First you unexpectedly vanish from the face of the Earth, and then you come back only to eliminate one of the finalists?! I should have you arrested for murder!" Roger screamed.
"But Headmaster, we're not the bad guys here!" Vaughan stated.
"Those three boys, they were Decepticons! Robots!" Daphine added.
"What?" The old man glanced over at the ashes, spotting a shinning metal object in the dust. He bent over, picking it up as he examined it.
"They took control over everyone, including you and Mr. Smith. They used the Battle of The Bands as a way to absorb all of our negative energy so they could become more powerful." Jazz explained.
"Decepticons?—" The old man questioned as a loud roar erupted.
Everyone turned around to see Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons jump down from the roof of the stadium. And the Decepticon leader looked anything but happy.
"What have you done to my creations?!" He barked.
He aimed his ion cannon at the group, firing a shot. Everyone screamed as they braced for the impact, but Optimus Prime quickly swooped in, his hand transforming into a glowing, orange energy axe as he whacked the blast like a baseball, deflecting it as it struck Megatron in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"You've lost Megatron, just admit it." Optimus spoke.
The Autobots surrounded the Decepticons, aiming their weapons at the group as Thundercracker helped Megatron to his feet.
Vaughan and the others stood their ground, Soundwave standing just in front of them at the front of the stage.
"Don't just stand there Soundwave, finish them!" Megatron ordered.
Soundwave turned his to face the band, a look of worry on Vaughan's face. Slowly, he turned and walked towards the group, a few of the Autobots shaking in anticipation, waiting whether or not to shoot him. He stopped in front of Jazz and Blaster who stood with the humans, their holoforms deactivated. He then extended his hand out towards them.
"He's alright." said Vaughan.
"Are you sure?" Jazz asked.
"Trust me. He's proven his metal." Vaughan answered.
The two mechs looked back at the Communications officer, his servo hanging there. Finally, Blaster raised his hand, grasping Soundwave's as they shook hands, even shared a "bro hug" before Soundwave walked over, standing between the two as Jazz patted him on the back.
"What are you doing?!" Megatron yelled.
"Soundwave's not a Decepticon. He never was." said Vaughan.
Optimus Prime watched the scene from his spot before turning back to face the Decepticons, aiming his weapon at the group once more. "Leave... now."
Megatron growled at the Prime before glancing back at his once loyal follower one more time.
"Fair warning Soundwave. The next time we meet, we will be enemies." he spoke.
"I am aware of that, Megatron." Soundwave replied.
Megatron turned around, shrugging Thundercracker away from him as he faced the remaining members of his army. "Decepticons... return to base."
The group was reluctant at first, exchanging confused looks with each other before they took off into the air, transforming into their aerial modes.
The Autobots watched them leave, their weapons never leaving their side until the Decepticons were out of optic sight.
Once they were gone, everyone relaxed, looking back up on the stage. Headmaster Roger coughed, adjusting his tie as he picked up a microphone, powering it on for the audience members, who were still around after all of the chaos to listen.
"Attention, everyone! Due to extremely unnecessary force, The Mesmerizers are disqualified from the finals. Therefore, the winners of this years Julliard Showcase, Music Nation!" he announced.
Everyone had shocked looks on their faces as the audience clapped and cheered for them. Mr. Smith brought out one of those giant checks and handed it to Jazz who took it in his hand for the humans. The band celebrated, congratulating each other. After the compliments, Raoul glanced up at Soundwave, a small smile on his face.
"You know... Spike does have to go back to school ya know? We could use a certain someone to replace him for back up vocals." he suggested.
Everyone seemed to like that idea as they smiled up at the mech. He glanced around, spotting a guitar near by. He activated his holoform, Oto, jogging over to the instrument as he pulled the strap over his head. He began to play it, and boy, oh boy, could he play. When he was finished, he placed his hands behind his back, smiling cheaply.
"I... also play guitar?" he added.
The band memebers had shocked looks on their faces. Heck Andrew was even covering his mouth with his hands.
Vaughan chuckled, recalling that old memory from her Cybertronian days. They may have been rivals back then, but he sure was talented. She rolled her eyes playfully at the holoform as she shrugged. "We'll see."
Before he could react, he was bombarded by a huge group hug from the human members of the band. He glanced around at them before smiling himself, surrendering to the sudden display of affection.
As they parted from the hug, Josh suddenly gagged, clutching on the collar of his shirt, growling like he was in pain.
"Josh? Are you okay man— UGH!" Then it started happening to Andrew, then Raoul, then Daphine, and Spike. And then out of nowhere, it started happening with Jazz, Blaster, heck even Soundwave. All except for Vaughan though.
"Autobots, move!" Optimus ordered as they all ran towards the stage.
However as they did so, a sudden burst of light came soaring out of Josh's chest. Kind of like that uni-beam Iron Man shots out of his chest plate.
One by one, the blast from each of the paining members struck Vaughan, surrounding her in a colourful energy ball. It glowed brighter and brighter until it exploded, knocking everyone back.
They all winced from the pain, slowly pushing themselves up from the stage floor.
"Ugh... what happened?" Andrew whined, rubbing the back of his head.
"I... I don't kno— AAAAHHH!" Daphine screamed, nearly fainting if it wasn't for Blaster catching her.
The rest of the Autobots made it up on the stage to see a huge scorch mark on the spot where Vaughan stood.
Only... Vaughan wasn't there.
"Where did she go?!" Jazz yelped.
******
Vaughan slowly opened her eyes to see that she was standing in a strange void. It looked like she was floating in space, but it didn't feel like it.
"Hello? Is anyone here? Where am I?"
"Congratulations."
Vaughan instantly shot her head around to where she heard the voice, to see a large Cybertronian mech step forward from the white mist.
Vaughan gasped, seeing him. "Alpha Trion!" She ran over towards him as the elder mech knelt on one knee as she neared. "I don't understand. What did I do?"
"You have taken the steps of recovering everything from your past life. But in order for the test to be completed, you had to remember and forgive moments from your past." he explained.
"... you mean... S-Soundwave... I had to forgive Soundwave." Vaughan realized. "Everyone, even I blamed him for Remix's death."
"The lessons you have learned here on Earth have taught you well." He smiled, standing back up to his feet as he began walking forward, glancing back at the girl as he walked. "You have proven that you are ready, Remix."
Remix?
"Ready? Ready for what?" Vaughan asked as she jogged after him.
He waited for her to catch up before the two of them walked through the void, and as they did, at their sides, images appeared, replaying past memories of Remix's life on Cybertron as well as recent memories have Vaughan's life on Earth.
"You've come such a long, long way.
And I've watched you from that very first day.
To see how you might grow,
To see what you might do,
To see what you've been through,
And all the ways you've made me proud of you."
Vaughan stayed quiet as she watched Alpha Trion present his speech, once they were at the end of the slideshow, he walked passed her, turning around to face her.
"It's time now, for a new change to come."
He knelt down, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. After all, Remix was his daughter.
"You've grown up, and your new life has begun."
He stood back up to his feet, pointing in one direction, and then another.
"To go where you will go,
To see what you will see."
He then pointed at her...
"To find what you will be..."
Vaughan's eyes slowly widened as her mouth gaped open as thoughts raced through her mind. He wasn't saying what she thought he was saying, was he?! He summoned a staff in his hand, raising it up in the air as a bright light flashed on him.
"For it's time for you,
to fulfill your destiny!"
All of a sudden a light drop shot itself out of Vaughan, and it began circling around her, going so fast it would have made Vaughan dizzy. She began floating up in the air as the rush from the orb blew her hair in the air. She made a turn, looking down at the elder Cybertronian who gave her a warm smile and a nod.
She gulped nervously. "Here goes nothing." she muttered.
She then flexed her hands and legs out, as the light flashed brighter and brighter, the drop travelling faster as loud wiring noise sounded in her ear.
*******
Everyone desperately looked around the stadium for Vaughan, but she was nowhere to be seen. When everyone regrouped on the field, Soundwave pointed up at the sky.
A flash of light, like a shooting star brightened the sky. Everyone shielded their eyes and optics, as the light source hovered down towards them. Once it was on the ground, it flashed, revealing a silhouette of a female Cybertronian.
Jazz stepped forward, using one hand to shield his optics from the bright light.
"Vaughan?... Is that you?"
The light vanished, revealing a Cybertronian femme standing tall. She had a light purple and blue armour colour scheme.
"...Hey guys." She smiled.
"I... I don't believe it." Daphine spoke, looking speechless. "VAUGHAN!"
"Vaughan is Cybertronian! Awesome!" Raoul exclaimed. "Now I have two Autobot buddies!"
"I didn't even know that was possible!" Spike chuckled.
"AUTOBOT PARTY!" Josh cheered, sliding across the grass.
"Wow..." Blaster whistled as he and Jazz walked over towards her. "You... you look just like Remix."
Then, there was another flash of light, as Alpha Trion emerged from a portal, a smile on his face plate, hands behind his back.
"That's because, she is Remix."
"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"So wait... the transformation worked?... I'm really back?" She asked.
"Since you first discovered your connections, you've displayed the characteristics of your true self, and reuniting with old friends, without even knowing it." Alpha Trion explained.
"So wait, Vaughan was a human reincarnation of Remix. And since we resemble her band members... are we their human reincarnations?" Spike asked.
"... I don't know. All I know is that this was my destiny." Vaughan answered truthfully.
"That is true. However, whether you all want to go through your next transformations, is entirely your choice." Alpha Trion added.
Vaughan turned around, looking down at her friends. "Well, we have come to like our lives here on Earth. But, if I did remember the slightest thing about my Cybertronian life, I would certainly miss it." said Daphine.
"I don't know what I'd be without you guys, all of you." Vaughan smiled.
"It would be pretty neat to remember everything from our previous lives." said Andrew.
"We're more than just friends Vaughan, we're family." Josh added.
Vaughan could feel her eyes— uh, her optics, tearing up. "Thanks you guys... that's really sweet of you to say."
"So, it is settled then?" Alpha Trion asked.
Vaughan... Remix, turned around to face Alpha Trion as her friends joined her by her side.
"I think it is." She smiled. "Music Nation, no matter what, stays together."